#Princess serene noir

[midnightsnackblog]

and some more updated designs of the next gen ocs! plus a few new faces!

[quintessencewrites]

Y-yes, Daddy pt. 3

college student!ShuRiri x college student!black!fem!reader

Her eyes sent the message that her lips didn’t; they couldn’t, too busy being bitten to the flesh between Riri’s perfect rows of teeth, the gold on her lower set mirroring the gold around her neck.

Warnings: (buckle up, there are a few) 18+!!!!! Smut HEAVY, dom! Shuri, switch! reader, switch! Riri, cuckold? voyeurism, fingering (reader receiving), oral sex (reader/ Riri receiving). rough sex (reader/Riri receiving), public sex? explicit language (as always), double penetration (not saying who, it's a surprise), anal sex (not saying who), heavy praise kink, slight illicit drug use, strap slinging! all three of them... etc because I know I missed a few...

Word count: 8.4k+

Tags:

@percsane @zestgodtj @k3nn3dyxo @mlmilani @letitias-fav @doms-fav @sweetalittleselfish-honey @g4yforu @widowmakker @becauseimswagman1 @zayswriting @inmyheadimobsessed @laurensmabel1 @malltake12 @msudaku @faeriah-thv @fetchyourlife @mbakuetshurisprincess @sinsikoxo @honey-teaaaaaaaa @rxcently @pinkcorns @takeyaki @yamsthoughts @thethickerside @0hshoot1tsl4ni @shurisbathwater @shurismainbxtch @luvrzhearts @sadfreakx @shuri-my-love @justariellove @heartsforjojo @blackgirlfariy @tuesdaylovesu @chocoflagcutii @taiiunknown @zhanylai @ziayamikaelson @verachii @taiiunknown @beautybyfire @soearthquakequeen @remwritess @pinkwright @jenlouvre @letitiasleftfoot @6-noir @kya-rose @saintwrld @someshuriposts @jessiap @ilikegecos @iiluvl4n @katymae12344 @shurismainbxtch @crookedsaladlover @motheroffae @saintwrld @marsolgy @ogbells16 @verachii @shuriszn @playgurlxoxo @ashleighshaw @te-23 @dominquesheart @shuridefenselawyer @iminlovewithdomandtish @limbozqueen @cansah2002-blog

A/N: Y'ALL!!! I'M BACK <3 I don't know how to thank you guys enough for checking in on me while I was gone and giving me such grace while I got myself together a bit <3 I love you guys

Dedicated to my baby, @inmyheadimobsessed, Yes Daddy's biggest fan, president of the fan club, and one of my biggest supporters. She also gave me an idea for one of the scenes in this so co-writing status goes to her <3 Anyways ily, Lyric. As always, I hope I did you justice.

The cobalt waters glistened around your figure, swaying to and fro with a serenity unlike any you’d experienced. Eyes closed, face warm from the sun’s rays kissing your skin, Wakanda was a beauty to behold, with such vibrancy in its colors and its people. 

Its marketplace was adorned with rich tapestries, the palace was picturesque. The rivers that flowed through the heart of the capital flowed the bluest blue you’d ever seen; the grass was too green, the sand too yellow. 

“You grew up here? Shuri, it's fucking beautiful. Why would you ever leave?”

Riri’s hand never left yours, excitement traveling back and forth between your bodies. “I’d asked her the same thing, baby.”

“It’s unreal. It’s cartoon-like, like the trees and flowers, even the fucking sky, were painted that bright.”

Shuri couldn’t deny the pride that swelled within her at your awe of her home. She’d experienced it with Riri the first time she brought her over, and now, with you, her heart skipped a few beats just the same.

Your mouth dropped at every spectacle, arms wide, ready to engulf every new person. Merchants shared your contagious grin when you approached their displays, excitement beaming across every feature on your face. 

“Princess, Miss Williams,” they greeted. They’d nod in return, dropping a wave or two every now and again.

Shuri fell into your forestep, presenting a beam just as wide. Her usually too-cool demeanor dissipated the moment her sandaled foot touched the Wakandan dirt. Even Riri couldn’t deny the peace that the country brought forth from her. Her shoulders fell, relaxed for the first time in weeks as the stress of midterms and exams and assignments finally evaporated. 

 The princess hadn’t anticipated taking you home to meet ma dukes so soon, but you were ready. 

“Wakanda? Why?”

You rolled your eyes, an exasperated sigh floating from your lips and through the air. Riri sat on the other side of your dorm room, man spread with a wrap between her fingers, preoccupied, but still tuning in. “I told you, y/n.”

“Hush, Ri. She ain’t even say no yet.”

“I’m waiting to hear why before I say no.”

Upon your face were the biggest, roundest, neediest eyes Shuri had ever seen. Your bottom lip protruded into a plump little pout that quickened the pace of her heart. In her mind, she’d already lost. Regardless of the reason, she wasn’t going to be able to deny that look.

“Because it's spring break, I’m tired of the same old beach trips, and I’ve never been,” you walked closer, until your bosom rested on her stomach, eyes batting up at her with sweetness. “What better tour guide than the Princess?”

“Give it up, baby. Ain’t no way she gon say yes that ea-”

“Shut up, shortie. What better tour guide than the Princess, right?”

Shuri made plans to take you to her home that very night.

You were ready to visit the fairytale-like land; the very place where the rumors of its grandeur couldn’t even do it justice. The place where vibranium ran through its streets and every shade of brown sparkled under the sun's rays like a spotlight on the deserving natives. 

You were ready to meet their monarch, the powerful woman whose monologue at the State of the Union address those few years ago still gives you goosebumps. The awe-inspiring mother who raised such a capable daughter, so unlike herself and allowed her off to the States. 

You were ready to put a face to the names Shuri and Riri spoke of, those who were oceans away and still held such a prominent place in their worlds, one which you wished to be a part of. 

Thank Bast, or God, or fate, or whatever the hell it was for placing you at MIT at the same time as Shuri and Riri. Their pervertedly twisted minds complimented yours so beautifully, like the missing piece in a complex puzzle. 

 Nerves didn’t dare touch you when the Queen greeted you, slender, loving arms pulling you in, holding you tight, and giving you a motherly love you hadn’t felt in quite some time. 

“Y/n,” the older royal’s voice was booming. “Shuri, umhle (she’s beautiful).”

“Ndiyazi (I know), mother.”

“Grinnin’ like a dummy” Riri’s voice was a barely-heard whisper, not risking her words to be heard by the well-respected monarch. 

Shuri's eyes threw daggers at the small girl, an even smaller smile playing at her lips. She felt such serenity at your acceptance of her country that not even Riri’s words would get to her. 

The young royal wanted so badly to praise you, to kiss you, to shower you in the melody of ‘good girls’ that you deserved. 

Slender fingers snaked around your exposed waist, rippling the water around you and pulling your mind back to the present. Your lids lulled open, meeting a familiar gaze in the foreign place.

“Hey, ma.”

 The scent of cocoa butter radiated off you in an aura. Riri inhaled deeply, taking it in, entangling her brain with your essence in a dizzying spell. You were so soft under her touch, your chocolate-colored skin melting in her hands.

Her head was heavy against your shoulder, pushing her weight against yours until your back was pressed into the damp marsh of the riverbank. 

The lifting of your hand and caressing of her curls was instinctual and Riri softened even further underneath your fingertips. She’d been wanting this for hours; just to fall into your hold, to grab you and know that you were really there. 

Barely an arm's length away stood your princess with Nakia, engulfed in a conversation of their own, paying you no mind. Okoye sat close by, only allowing her feet to be swallowed by the water’s gentle waves.

“I see the States are treating you well, Shuri?” Nakia’s light voice curved at the end of her sentence, a tease evident between her words. 

“What makes you say that?”

“You haven’t returned home yet is what.”

“I haven’t graduated yet, Okoye.”

A string of mumbles leaves the general’s mouth, laced with curses. “You’ve gotten greedy, Princess.”

Shuri leans over the shore, elbows resting in the sand. “Greedy how?”

“You went to America for school, not to become a sister-wife.”

The poor young royal can’t hold back the laughter that erupts from her. “A sister-wife?! What the fuck are you talking about, Okoye?”

“You need two girlfriends, Shuri?”

“I do.”

“For what?”

Shuri’s wandering gaze over to you and Ri is full of desire that spills over her ducts like a tear. “They both got something different to offer.” 

Riri caught Shuri’s gaze from the corner of her eye. Of course, her majesty was watching you. She was always aware of what her girls were up to, both on and off campus. She saw the way Ri’s nails grazed the small of your back and the way your body curved upward in response, pressing your two figures into one another even further. 

She saw Riri’s hands travel further and further south, tickling your skin until they stiffened in the waistband of your bikini bottoms and came to a stop. Shuri’s breath caught in her throat, waiting and watching, wondering how far Riri would go considering the audience that surrounded them. 

Riri knew Shuri was watching. She wanted her to; she wanted her to see the effect she had on your body, without Shuri’s presence. She knew the panther could smell the heat radiating from your frame, pressed tightly against hers.

 So tight, so close that the chain that never left Ri’s neck was resting in your bosom. The chill of the metal contrasts with the humidity in the air and causes a shiver to travel down your spine.

It was such a slight movement, one that didn’t go unnoticed by either girl. Those mocha-colored eyes that you adored bore into yours, and baby, if only you could read the filthy thoughts behind them. 

Luckily, you didn’t have to. Riri wanted you and she wasn’t being slick about it. Her slender fingers toyed with your bottoms, one hand gently tugging the drawstring that held the thin pieced fabric together. The other grazed the front of your dangerously low waistband, touching your sensitive skin, but barely. 

“You’re so pretty, y/n, baby. I tell you that enough?”

“More than enough, Ri.”

Hmm, the distracted girl hums. “I like this swimsuit on you.” Her fingers don’t move from your waistline, playing and fiddling with the fabric there, tugging it away now and again. 

You wanted more; you craved more, and Riri didn't need to be a mind-reader to come to that conclusion either. Her eyes sent the message that her lips didn’t; they couldn’t, too busy being bitten to the flesh between Riri’s perfect rows of teeth, the gold on her lower set mirroring the gold around her neck. 

She cocked a thin brow and a devilish smirk played across her face. Her thin fingers continued to move, slowly and meticulously so that the water didn’t stir. 

Shuri caught the exact moment Riri succeeded in untying the dainty strings of your swimsuit. Her gaze traced your startled features when the fabric floated away from your body. 

“Riri, what the fuck?” It’s supposed to come out intimidating and intense, but the pitch of your voice and vibrato in your vocal cords melodizes a low moan from your lips instead. 

Underneath the still waters, from the waist down, you are completely naked. Everyone is oblivious; except Riri, whose actions were intentional, and Shuri, who was using every bit of restraint held in her slim frame to remain stoic.

“You gonna be good for me, baby? Good and quiet?” Riri’s lips brush the sensitive skin where lobe meets neck. In the back of your throat is a low moan, one that you know can’t be expelled. It stays tucked away and you nod instead, head barely moving, bobbing curls that can be explained away by the breeze. 

Shuri’s truly amused at the sight before her and the reaction it has on her body. She’s hypnotized by Riri’s fingers playing with you, gliding through your slit, brushing against your tender bud much too gently for your liking. The wetness in your folds can’t be deciphered from the wetness of the water, yet those bejeweled nipples that stood at attention, straining behind the padding of your top, exhibited the arousal that started in your toes and crept its way upward. 

She’s amazed at how little the water moves around you, eyes darting back and forth between you struggling to remain quiet and the conversation she held a part in with lifelong friends. Her mouth waters at the thought of you, so exposed. Thoughts of how fucking wet you must have been, how slick your pussy was, calling out for her. 

Your mind is muddled, completely ignorant of the extra set of eyes on you. Riri’s teasing you, never putting her long phalanges right where you want them. She’s taking her sweet time, mapping out every line, dip, and curve of your core. Her touch is too light for your liking as the neediness in the pit of your stomach expands. 

She’s got a few moments left in this game of cat and mouse before you break and the moan you try to disguise as a cough tells her just that. 

Shuri’s eyes wander back over at the sound she knows all too well. She couldn’t help but smirk at the noise. The heat she burns into the back of Riri’s head causes the distracted girl’s head to turn, resting her gaze on the princess’s watchful glare.

Ri’s brow raised once more in a silent question to Shuri, one that you weren’t able to decipher. 

Too bad for you. 

She doesn’t even look at you as her dark eyes drag slowly down Riri’s small frame and back up. Her chiseled face is unreadable to you and with a nod, a quick tilt of her chin towards the sky,  Ri reaches for your bottoms, dragging them back between your two bodies. 

“Lemme help you put these back on, baby,” Her whisper is so low, it’s almost nonexistent. 

Your sigh in response is frustrated, so sexually frustrated, just oozing an attitude Riri wants no part of. “You fucking tease-”

Her hand leaves the water, snaking around your chin and drawing your faces together. 

“I’m not done yet, baby. Just listen, damn.”

The chill behind her words shut you up immediately. Silence washes over you as your choppy movements ripple in the water, too quick for Nakia and Okoye to notice anything but your smiles, plastered across your face like a mask.

Shuri’s stifled laughter reeks of “I know.” The way she looks at you, so deep, so suggestive makes it clear she knows exactly what you two were up to. Her voice pulls her friend's attention back to her, those glistening coffee-bean-hued eyes dancing with knowing. 

“Nakia, how is my little Toussaint?” 

Riri’s body emerges from the river first, bottoms hanging so low on her waist, the indent where her abs meet her pelvis winks at you. Her hand reaches down, extending to you and the little effort it takes for her to lift you from the water is beyond impressive. 

Your drenched swimsuit runs streaks of water down your body, glistening against your dark skin like glitter. Your steps falter, the quiver from your heat making its way down your legs and tripping you. Riri guides your walk back to the palace, a ‘goodbye’ to Shuri barely playing on your lips as she lingers. Squelching emits from your soaked steps, following Ri’s quick ones. 

Goosebumps prickle your skin at the icy air in the palace, the large place still maze-like to you. Riri, however, is an expert guide. She makes every turn with precision, every array of large doors leading somewhere. 

Her steps suddenly stop, in the nook of a long hallway. Yours skip a bit, not expecting her sudden standstill, and her cool hands, still damp and shriveled from the water, reach for your bicep, pulling you into her. 

“Ri-what?”

Her lips crash into yours, kissing you the way she’s craved all day. They’re moving in sync, tasting every crook of her mouth, entangling your tongues, and swapping saliva. The moan that remained trapped in your throat finally releases, deep and breathy between her lips.

“Couldn’t wait til we got to the room. Need you, now.” 

The way Riri’s hands travel your body, the way they hunger to hold you, squeeze you, anywhere, everywhere. It’s fucking intoxicating, coating your mind like a drug.

“W-wait, fuck, Ri,” her lips move from yours, trailing down your jaw, licking up your neck in such a way that you shudder. She’s famished now, having had a taste of you, and she needs more. Her lips attack your throat, nipping and biting. You’re close, so close to melting in her arms, right then and there.

“Come on baby, you know my name and it ain’t Ri. Say it.”

There was a part of you that hated the effect their vulgar words had on you. They were so lewd, so perverted, and they had such a fucking hold on you. The dampness in your bottoms couldn’t be explained away solely by your swim any longer and Riri knew it. She could feel your body temperature rise, your skin growing warmer under her touch. 

“Ma-”

She tasted the word from your lips, growling at what they did to her. She couldn’t keep her hands off you, overwhelmed, not knowing where to grab. They rested on your right breast, squeezing, but she removed them quickly, afraid that your left one would grow envious at the lack of attention it was receiving. Caressing your back didn’t feel exact either; your front being so soft- there it was, begging for her fingertips to sink into it as well. 

Riri’s mind was racing an unwinnable race. What if the Queen was around, or the Dora? What if her body broke, fucking fell apart, needing so much of your touch that it couldn’t be satisfied by the little bit you were offering up?

Your still-wet (now even wetter) bikini bottoms were glued to your skin. The effort it took for Riri to pull them away from you, to pull them to the side just enough to reveal your pussy to her left water dripping to the stone floor beneath you. 

She wasted no time. Fuck all the teasing she did before, Riri fucking needed you. Her lips were on yours once more as she lined up two fingers at your entrance, preparing herself to swallow the moans that would spill from your lips. 

And swallow them she did, keeping your lips connected until she was knuckles deep, only coming up for air once your moans had died down to whimpers. 

“My good girl, baby. I know you can be quiet, right?”

You weren’t so sure. As soon as those digits got to moving, you knew that biting your tongue would be a near-impossible task. 

“C’mon, baby. Gotta be quiet so I can fuck you good.”

How pathetic was it, the way obedience ran through your veins? Your nod was hard, curls bouncing back in forth. “I’ll be quiet, ma,” the words quickly followed before Ri could correct you for not using them.

You felt your knees buckle beneath you the moment her slender fingers slid out of your wet center, only to be thrust in once more. What a beautiful pattern, one that left a warmth spreading through your body, face hot, cheeks hot, cunt hot. 

Ri knew your body better than no other, though she and Shuri were neck and neck. Her free hand had already slithered around your waist and her center of gravity shifted, preparing herself to catch you if your legs were to give out entirely. 

Your bottom lip was rolled between your teeth, moans collecting behind it. You were a sight to be fucking seen, a pussy full of creamy fingers, and eyes that begged and pleaded for more. 

“Look at you, baby. You doing such a good job, taking me like that.”

Riri was enjoying the sight before her, the tightness of your walls, clenching around her. She almost drooled when she looked down and saw the cum she was digging forth from you, collecting in the palm of her hand. Even she had to resist a moan as the need to taste you, to fuck you, to ruin you crossed her mind. 

The fingers trapped within you would not speed up, nor slow down, much to your demise. Your hips rocked, pelvis crashing back against Riri’s hand as you rode her. Whispered moans were shared between you, lewd praises being thrown your way. 

“Shit, baby, you doing so good. Look at you, fuck.”

Low moans were all you could respond with.

“You gon ride me like this in the room, pretty girl? Gon let me get strapped up and watch you bounce on my dick?”

Fuck, Riri’s words had opened the floodgates. She could feel you tightening and convulsing around her fingers. Your moans had grown at that point, but she couldn’t stop you, Your head was thrown back, so her lips couldn’t cover yours. She couldn’t use her hands either; one of them was holding up your limp figure, the other, still being ridden into the sunset. 

You’d earned those moans, she decided, and as soon as you were done, the trek to your room would continue. 

All Riri could do was watch as her fingers tipped you over the edge. Your chest strained against your top, rising and falling with every gasp; those lips, round and full and so fucking biteable, parted and poised as you came. 

A sea of thoughts swam through Riri’s pretty mind, not a single one of them an intelligent one. There wasn’t a moment when she didn’t think you were stunning, but baby, when you came? Ugh, it fucking did things to her, bringing forth groans from her chest. 

Your brows furrowed, your body stilling and Riri’s hand was drenched. “Ohh, shit-” Your voice shook, just as unsteady as your legs, but Ri had you. 

“I know, baby, I know.”

You were a bit louder at this point, your voice echoing off the tall walls. Riri wasn’t religious, but she was truly praying to Bast that no one would wander upon you two. 

Her thighs were pressed together, her body shaking a bit, still in the wet swimsuit. You didn’t even have to touch her for her body to react. Just watching you, so vulnerable, so needy, all over her-just for her. 

Your head rocked back up slowly, eyes finally meeting Ri’s. A deep blush grew in your chest and rose to your face. Riri’s was adorned with a sexy smirk, one so delicious. 

“Good girl, baby.” 

You had made Riri soft and she hated to admit it. She’d never been so gentle to someone, so tender. 

“You ready to keep walking?” She plants a sweet kiss on your cheek, pairing it with one on your neck, nuzzling her head into the sensitive space.

“How much further we got?”

She pulls her head from you and glances down the hall. “Um, not too far.”

Mm, you groan. “Do we have to? You could just take me right here.”

Riri’s chuckle is so deep and alluring. “Don’t tempt me, baby. C’mon, it’s not that far.”

“Carry me?”

She couldn’t tell you no. You knew she couldn’t. Neither of them could, especially Riri. You were spoiled in every sense of the word, and they’d stopped trying to deny you. Why should they? 

“Bridal style or piggyback?”

Your dark eyes danced with joy as she trekked through the halls, you upon her back with a goofy ass grin. 

She was right, it really wasn’t that far. 

The bed bounced when Riri finally dropped you on it, legs spread wide, bosom bouncing with the fall. 

Ri tapped your pussy through your bottoms, standing to retrieve her suitcase. “Off, baby.”

You were eager, the fabric still sticking to your skin, falling to the floor with the weight of the water drenching them. Your damp pussy came into view to the girl across the room, whose breath caught in her throat at the delicious sight.

She watched you sit up and untie the strings to your top, the barely-there piece falling from your body. You watched her visibly drool when your breasts come into view, full and round, nipples erect, begging to be touched in any way.

You had her, every bit of her attention was on you, waiting so patiently for her to touch you.

Patience had never been your virtue, however. 

Your hands stuttered as they traced up your body, your nipples hardening at the sensation. With fingers you wanted so badly to be Riri’s, that you imagined were hers as she watched you from a small distance. 

The piercings adorning your bosom were one of her favorite parts of you. If her pupils could form tiny hearts, they would have. The sight before her was mouthwatering. Your fingers flicked the jewelry, that perfect little “O” forming on your lips. 

The heat in the air was palpable, the intimacy between you two undeniable. 

Your left breast weighed heavy in your hand as you brought it up, further and further until your tongue flicked out, eyes never parting from hers while you tasted your hard nipple and the metal pierced into it. 

Every bit of her demeanor cracked under the sexiness that was you. She stood frozen, in awe as you rose from the bed, strutting towards her on your toes, ass high, head even higher. 

You bent into her suitcase, finishing the task she’d abandoned. The harness was tucked away into the bottom, hidden beneath weeks worth of clothes. 

Still on your knees, you grab Riri behind hers, pulling her closer, until her clothes pussy sat in your face. “Here, lemme help you.”

The wet suit was already hanging so low on her waist that it only took a tug to drop them, her pretty, wet cunt coming to view in front of you. 

Your mouth is on her before you can resist the urge. She accepts your hands on her ass, holding her in place against your tongue. 

Riri’s hand rests on your head, trying so hard to keep her balance and not collapse. Your mouth goes to work, the taste of her satisfying your insatiable hunger. Her clit is so plump against your tongue, the sensitive bulb of nerves twitching, jumping away from the licks that won’t let up. 

“You taste so good, mami,” the urge to please fueled a courage unfamiliar to you. Riri bucked at your words, eyes rolling into her head. 

“Shit-“ the moans came from her in rapid succession, her lungs never fully expanding to take in a complete breath. They were music to your ears. Your pussy leaked, needing to be stuffed full of her. 

You couldn’t part from her just yet. Her hands tangled in your hair, gripping and pulling. Your name was on her tongue, her abs flexed with the orgasm building within her. 

“Shit, baby, you doing so good.”

The praises rang in your ear, satisfying something deep within you. You lapped faster, sucking and slurping. Riri’s pussy was wet, the vulgar sounds echoing in the room. 

She was close-so fucking close. The juices that poured from her were streaming, dripping onto your tongue with a taste that you couldn’t get enough of. Her body burned, needing to feel you everywhere. 

Ri’s thick thighs trapped your head between them, drowning you in the waters that she released, so warm and sweet. Your satisfied moans vibrated within her and though your jaw grew sore, you weren’t stopping. 

Not until you’d planted a passionate kiss to her center, tonguing it as though those lips would kiss you back. 

She watched you stand to your full height with a look full of lust. Oh, she was gonna fuck you up. Riri no longer cared who heard; she needed to hear you scream her name, she needed the bed to be soaked and she needed you to spill over for her time after time. 

“Strap up, Ri.”

The harness had gone from your hand to hers as you backed away, returning to her suitcase to choose the dildo you so craved.

“Where’s mine?”

There were at least six toys, all stored away from any wavering eyes. They were different shapes and sizes, different lengths and girths, all ones that you’d used before.

“Which one, baby?”

Ri wasn’t looking at you, too preoccupied with the straps around her hips and thighs. 

“The vibranium one-“

“They’re all vibranium, y/n.”

You made an audible sound when your teeth smacked your lips, one that Riri took note of. 

“The one I like the most, Ri.”

“I don’t know which one you talking bout, baby,” she stepped towards you, reaching into the bag to pull a thick piece from it, securing the toy to her pelvis. 

“Guess we gotta try them all, see if any of them are ‘yours’.”

She sat on the bed, resting on her forearms, arm held out and welcoming you over. Your steps were slow, and when you were finally close enough, Ri grabbed your waist, pulling your legs on either side of her hips. 

“This how I like you most, pretty girl.”

You hovered over the thick cock awaiting you. Riri’s hands on your backside, eyes scanning you. She brought your hands to her chest and tilted her hips upwards. 

“Sit on it, baby.”

Her whispered commands floated softly to your ears and you groaned at them as the heat burned within your chest. Your pretty lips parted over the tip of her dick, her hands guiding your body onto the extremity. 

Ri was biting on her lip so hard, she was afraid it would bleed, but the sight of you would be worth it. Your body lowered, further and further and she could feel your pussy stretching over the thickness of her cock. She could feel your warmth as her tip kissed your cervix and your pelvis kissed hers. A deep groan rumbled in the back of her throat.

Your pussy felt so full. Beneath you, your legs quivered, the tightness of Riri in your cunt weakening you. “Ohh, fuck-”

Riri gave you a moment to get adjusted, lifting your hand to kiss the palm before resting it back above her chain, the metal cool compared to the heat emitting from your bodies. “Move, baby. Bounce on this shit.”

You weren’t one to be told twice. Knees planted, toes digging into the mattress, you gave her what she wanted. The faux dick slid in and out of you, slurping with your wetness. Ri’s head is thrown back, mouth wide open. “Fuck, baby-”

Riri was something to behold. Her brows furrowed, forehead pulled tight in concentration. Each time you landed back on her cock, your ass slapped her thighs and the sound vibrated through the room.

“S-so good, ma. D-dick so fucking good.” You were already stuttering between clenched teeth. It felt so good, so right. Riri fit into you like she was made for you. Your thighs started to burn, your speed picking up, throwing Riri’s small body into the bed each time your body slapped hers. 

“Griot, soundproof the room.”

Her African accent was thick and low and it shocked you to stillness. You hadn’t even heard her come in.

“Ugh, baby-” Riri didn’t give a fuck who had entered. She already missed the feel of your pussy swallowing her cock.

Shuri sat on the loveseat adjacent to the bed. Her swimsuit had been swapped out for a black shirt and jean shorts, Her chains swung around her neck with each movement, her curls hanging lower in her face than usual, still weighed down by the water. 

“Who told you to stop, intombi entle (pretty girl)?”

She rested her elbows on her knees, hands folded before her. Her tongue flicked over her lips, moistening them before her canines sunk into them. 

“Ri, fuck her.”

Wakanda was doing a number on all of you because Riri did as she was told with no smartass comeback. Her hands grabbed your wrist, pulling them from her chest and restraining them behind you. Alarm bells rang in your head, but you ignored them, your body too excited for what was to come. 

You could feel Shuri’s eyes on your ass, anticipating Ri’s next movements. She fiddled for a moment, her thick cock sitting stuffed between your walls, jerking into you just slightly. You were leaking around her, growing wetter at the watching panther. 

Riri’s first thrust was anything but gentle. You bounced back down on her dick with the echoing sound of skin slapping skin. “Oh, my g-”

Your words are gagged in your throat, the next thrust coming quick and hard, cutting you off. Shuri’s eyes follow your body as Riri finds her rhythm. 

“You fucking her good, Ri. Look at her, just taking that shit.”

You and Ri share a moan at Shuri’s praises. She can’t wait until she can step in and get a taste. She’s allured by your bouncing breasts, so heavy and needy, the way they jump with your gasps and Riri’s movements. Your cunt is spilling onto Riri’s thighs, causing a stickiness between you two that the princess can’t wait to get her mouth on. 

Your movements sputter, cries growing louder, climbing higher. You feel Riri deep-its like she's in your stomach, the way she pounds into you. You’re clenching around her, squeezing your thighs, praying away your impending orgasm. You weren’t ready to cum yet. You didn’t want her to stop, Bast, you didn’t want this to stop. The lack of feeling in your legs was nothing compared to the feeling in between them.

“Ooh, pretty girl. You gon cum already?”

Words no longer exist in your mind so your head shakes in response. Shuri doesn’t move, fueling your flame from her front-row seat. “You not? That dick not good enough to cum on? My bed not good enough for you to flood?”

Riri is fucking drilling you. Her hips rotate into yours, her cock digging into parts of your cunt that you don’t think have ever been reached. 

“C-cum on m-me, baby,” Riri is breathless, her own orgasm fighting to get past the dam she has in place. “F-flood my shit.”

Their words are too much-they’re always too much. You could be on the edge of a cliff and their words would be what pushed you over. It did, every time, and this time was no fucking different.

Your cunt rains down on the girl beneath you, a scream trapped in your chest as she continues amidst the mess you’re making. 

“Fuck-” it drags from Riri’s mouth. She can’t hold it anymore. You’re just too warm, too wet, too tight. “I-shit, baby, c-can I cum in you?”

A nod is all she gets as confirmation and it's more than enough for her. Your eyes hit the back of your skull when you feel her warmth fill you, pushing around the cock that was still buried within your walls. 

“Ooh, fuck, ma-” your words find you, still gasped and low. 

You raise up on shaky legs that fail you. Riri releases from your pussy with a wet squelch and you fall beside her, body spent, legs sore. Both of you lay side by side for a moment, hoping for a few moments to recover, but Shuri is having none of that.

She stands from the chair, eyes stuck on your dripping cunt. It’s calling her and she saunters over, a “good fucking girl” falling from her parted lips. Her large hands hook beneath your thighs, dragging you to the edge of the bed with swift movements. 

Her head dips to your sore center, blowing gentle, cool air over your soaked lips. They’re so pretty, so puffy. You quiver beneath her, “W-wait, Shuri, I need a second-”

“I don’t care,” Her tongue is flat and wide, licking your entire core. The moan she releases at your taste is primal. Both you and Riri’s juices dance on her tongue, and it's better than any chef-made meal she’s ever had. 

The princess’s lips cup your clit and suck. Your back arches, throwing more of your wetness into her face and she accepts it graciously. You feel her everywhere down there-tongue stiffening and darting into your slit, nipping at your lips, kissing on your clit. 

Her tongue picks up speed, developing a pattern. It goes from left to right, up and down, in circles and drawing shapes. A square, a triangle, an S-H-U-

“D-did you just spell out your name?”

A big, stupid grin stretches her cheeks when she parts with your pussy. “I did. Good girl, picking up on that.”

Her praises bring forth a slight chuckle from you. “Why?”

“It’s mine; you’re mine.” She shrugs and her lips are warm and wet when they return to yours.

Riri is mesmerized, stomach heaving. “Can I taste?”

Shuri’s eyes may leave you, but her mouth does not. She beckons Ri over with a quick nod, tongue on your clit while her finger toys with your entrance.

You thought Shuri would move then and make way for Riri, but you were so fucking wrong, it was laughable. 

Two tongues, two wet mouths were on your pretty little cunt and it was heavenly. Shuri and Riri had your sensitive bulb trapped between their tongues as they tasted you, tasted each other. 

“Fuck, fuck, please-”

“Please what, baby?” Riri’s voice was muffled, her head still between your thighs. She wasn’t talking to you, though. Her words were directed to the glistening pussy stuffed in their faces, begging for them to tear it apart.

Fingers enter you and again, you didn’t know whose they were, but they were fucking you, deep, hard, so damn fast. “You squeezing me so fucking tight, baby, damn. Squeeze on my fingers, just like that. Look at you, you doing such a good job.”

“I-shit, mm, I w-wanna cum, pleaseeee-” That last syllable dragged through the air. It was too much. Fingers and tongues and mouths, everywhere. You couldn’t tell them apart, but it didn’t even fucking matter. They were going to bring you to your release, orgasm after orgasm. They weren’t planning on stopping, there would be no breaks. 

“Ooh, Shuri, she asked so nicely.”

Mhm, she moaned, too busy with your clit in her mouth. “Give her what she wants then.”

There was perfection in their movements. The two fingers curved into your cunt were rubbing your G-spot every time, the tongue on your clit further tangling the sensitive nerves behind it. Baby, you were so fucking close, you just needed one more thing-

The third finger in your pussy is what did it. 

“F-f-uck, I, coming, da-shit-” You were drunkenly incoherent. The feeling was overwhelming, so much so that it hurt. Your body needed to get away, but it couldn’t move, frozen in place as pleasure mixed with pain. 

Shuri and Riri were soaked, faces still deep between your thighs as you squirted before them. They devoured you, not letting a single drop go to waste. Your juices ran down their chins, glistened on their cheeks. It was so sloppy, so fucking messy, and it was delicious, the way they swallowed you.

Finally, your sap ran dry and your breathing evened out. Shuri flicked your bean with her tongue once more before she parted with it.

“Aye, Ri-”

Riri’s eyes departed your quivering cunt with a roll. “I swear to God, if you say I took that like a bitch, Imma-”

Shuri’s lips shut her up, pressing hard against Ri’s. It catches the small girl off-guard for a moment, and her mouth drops open.

The princess uses that as her in, tasting your essence from Riri’s tongue. The kiss is sloppy, strings of spit connecting them, your cum being swapped between their mouths. Riri moans into it, and you follow up with one of your own. 

You can see their tongues caressing each other, twisting and tangling, and it's so damn sexy.

You’d never seen them like this, so tender with one another. 

Shuri drops Ri onto the bed beside you, their mouths never detaching. An idea forms in your mind at the sight and you will yourself to get up. Your sore muscles scream as you turn towards them, reaching between their close bodies to unfasten the harness still strapped to Riri. 

Her moans fill the room, coming out muffled underneath Shuri’s lips. Neither of them notices you leave the bed, moving through the room like a ghost. Riri’s suitcase is still open and at the very bottom, zipped behind a discarded pocket is exactly what you’re looking for.

You weren’t one to strap up often in this relationship, and you had no idea how the straps were supposed to go around your hips. “Shuri, c’mere.”

At the sound of your voice, Shuri pulls away from Ri, drool covering their faces and sparks behind their eyes. She turns and catches a glimpse of you, struggling with the harness, and cocks a sharp brow your way.

You can’t help the eye roll you let follow through. “C’mere, please?”

“That wasn’t the problem with that sentence, and you know it, baby girl.”

“I need help,” you whined, patience thinning. 

“What are you trying to do baby?” Shuri reaches you in two steps, her long fingers taking the harness from you and securing it properly. 

You ignore her, directing your next words at the girl still on the bed, watching, waiting for what was to come. 

“Ri, can I fuck you?”

Her mouth fell agape, stunned by the thought. You took her dick so damn well, but she had never taken it from you. The thought was dizzying, excitement in her bones, slick in her cunt.“Y-yeah, baby.”

“You sure it’s not you who need to get fucked again?” Shuri grabs your face, index finger, and thumb sinking into your dimples. “You seem to have forgotten how to address us, baby.”

The smile that spreads on your lips is devious. “Whether or not I address you correctly won’t change the answer, now will it?”

You’ve rendered the princess speechless. Before she can open her mouth again, you throw a pair of boxers in her direction, the ones she used when she fucked you into oblivion. 

“What you want me to do with these?”

“Wear em on your head,” your sarcastic tone cracked a smile on the young royal’s face. She reached up to catch the object you threw her way. It was one of your toys from home, a smaller cock compared to others you used, but still impressive. 

“Safeword, ma?”

Riri sat on the bed, legs spread wide. Anxiety pooled through her veins at what was coming for her and she couldn’t wait. “Um, shit. Red?”

“You always choose red.”

Her shoulders rise and fall, “Then it should be easy to remember.”

You were too busy trying to secure a thicker piece to your body, the vibranium running through it connecting you to the fake cock like it was real. A soft moan lingered on your lips at the feeling radiating down your legs and through your center. 

“You think you in charge now baby?” Shuri’s tone was teasing but her words were true. You’d taken a new lead in the new country and she kind of liked it. 

“Nah, I like being taken care of too much,” your wink actually causes the princess to blush. “Can you go sit behind Ri? Put her on your lap?”

“Yes ma’am,” Shuri gave you a swift salute and made her way back across the room. She lifted Ri with no effort, placing her still-naked, still-wet body on her lap, back to front. 

You made your way behind her, the bed dipping with your added weight. Riri was mesmerized by the sight of you, on all fours, making your way to her like a predator to its prey. 

Her lips are parted so prettily, waiting for you. Her breathing hitches as your mouth approaches hers. When they connect, it’s with a moan and you can still taste yourself, still taste her on her own tongue. 

The kiss is brief and wet. Your lips wrap around her tongue, sucking on your own flavor and when you pull away, you pull her bottom lip with you, teeth sunken into their softness. 

“Remember the safe word?”

“I-yeah? I just said it like two minutes ago.”

You move past her, lips brushing her ear ever so slightly. “Just making sure.”

Shuri’s your target and you get close, your voice getting low so that only she can hear you. 

“Has she ever taken you in her ass, daddy?”

She sputters, her nickname rolling off your tongue and straight to her core. “U-uh, y-yeah, baby. Why?”

“Because that’s where I want you.”

This fucking confidence, it looks so good on you. Shuri can only nod, mind foggy. She lifts Riri by the back of her thighs, planting slow, tender kisses on her neck. “You ready, Ri?”

Shuri’s cock is lined up, ready to enter and Riri’s caught on. “Baby wh-“

You’re running your hand down her front, over her golden chain, through the valley between her breasts, down the tattoo that sits at the top of her stomach, past her belly button, all the way down to her clit. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

Riri fucking loved this, whatever this side of you was. “I-I want to.”

“Good,” your arms fall around her shoulders and you nod at Shuri to continue. “And we gon take real good care of you, I promise.” You seal your vow with a kiss, just as Shuri’s tip slides in, trapped in Riri’s tightness. 

“Shit,” Ri hisses between clenched teeth. Shuri’s breath is gone, Riri’s squeezing around her just too well. 

“R-Ri, I-“

“Go ahead,” Riri’s pussy glistens at you, awaiting Shuri’s next movements. “B-bottom out. I’m good, f-feels good.”

Riri’s ass swallowing Shuri’s cock was a fucking delicious sight. Excitement grew in your stomach, your clit beneath the strap jumping at the sight. Her legs were spread wide as Shuri’s dick disappeared completely into her. 

“F-fuck Shuri-“

“Yeah, baby. It’s been a minute,  you so fucking tight. C-can I move?”

“Not yet,” you butt in, crawling into the space between Riri’s thighs. Your own cock lined up at her entrance, tip tracing her slit. “Ri?” 

“O-oh,” a dry chuckle escapes her. “Y-you’re gonna destroy me, baby.”

Your lips land against hers once more as you will your hips forward, just a bit. “Is that okay?”

Her nod is frantic, “F-fuck yes.” 

You’d intended to give her all of you at once, but with Shuri in her as well, you’re met with resistance. Riri has to feel every inch of you penetrate her walls slowly, digging deep. She throws her head back against Shuri’s shoulder, mouth wide open, eyes lazy. 

“Oh my god, baby, fuck!”

You stop before you’re fully in, halted by her curses. “Am I hurting you?”

Don’t stop, don’t you fucking stop. Riri’s already gotten a taste of what you were about to give her, she wants it all. Her fingers grab your hips, pulling you closer until you’re hilt deep. “N-no, baby. F-feels good, please, fuck me, fuck me.”

Shuri’s index finger taps your chin, pulling your eyes from Ri and onto her. “You ain’t boss man yet, baby. Follow my rhythm.”

You agree, and pull out at the same time Shuri does. Riri whines, feeling too empty. She needs to be filled again and it doesn’t take long to fulfill her wishes. 

Shuri thrusts so you do too. “Fuck!” It’s more growl than moan, but it sounds lovely coming from Ri’s mouth nonetheless. 

You’re mimicking Shuri’s movements and Ri is a wet mess between you two. You can feel her, all of her. Her juices are trailing down your cock, her walls squeezing you, and god, they were so soft. 

It was like you just melted into her, your moans meshing with hers as though you were the one being fucked. 

“Babyyy, you’re doing s-so good, f-fucking me so good,” her words were fuel to your flame. Your fingers tightened around her waist. The pressure of her gripping you, the pressure of Shuri’s cock pressing against yours through the girl between you, my god, it was fucking delicious. 

And she was fucking delirious, unable to control the sensation as it ran hot through her body or the incoherent words that ran from her mouth. 

“S-so close, so close-“

When Shuri picked up speed, so did you. From the look on her face, full of focus and lust, she was also close. 

“D-don’t cum yet, ma. N-not ready to stop.”

You wanted her to hold it? Fuck, fuck that was gonna be hard. Her orgasm was right there, you were grinding into it with your tip, her pussy splashing around your cock, dripping down to Shuri’s. 

“O-oh baby, I-I can’t-“

“Yes, you can. I know you can.”

Your lower stomach was covered in Riri, the wetness slicking your clit. She couldn’t though. She was already coming, your name on her lips, loud. 

“Y/n, baby, oooh, my b-baby, I-I’m f-fucking coming.”

Shuri breaks your rhythm, bouncing Riri on her cock at inhumane speeds, panther-like speeds. You slip out at the swift movements and Ri is free to release, coming, fucking squirting on your torso, soaking you in her stickiness. 

“Just y/n, Ri? You only coming for her?”

“N-no, Shuri, fuck, t-too deep-“

She lifts the girl slightly, but doesn’t stop. “Oh now you know my name? Didn’t know it when you were coming, so guess I gotta make you cum again, huh?”

Riri’s trying so hard to squeeze her legs shut, her body too sensitive from the orgasm that just wrecked her. “N-no, sorry, S-Shuri, fuck-“

The panther’s got her canines bared, eyes dark, voice low. “Nah, that’s n-not my fucking name no more, baby-“

Shit, what a fucking sight. Ri’s breasts bounce hard, her little body being thrown into the air, landing back on the entirety of Shuri’s cock. 

“I-I’m n-not-“

Shuri showed no mercy, her hand reaching around Riri’s front to swipe at her clit. The overly sensitive bud was already worn out. 

You watched, hypnotized, wondering when Riri would crack. Shuri’s eyes met yours and god, her smirk was so sexy. “Like what you see, baby?”

Your nod was slight, lip pulled between your teeth. “Good, cuz you next.”

She turned back to her task at hand, teeth sinking into Riri’s neck, licking away the pain she knew it caused. 

“C’mon, baby. Give it to me.”

“F-fuck, Shuri, please-“

Shuri was relentless-her torture wasn’t letting up. “My name, Ri. Say my name baby.”

She had to. Riri knew she had to as her second orgasm tethered near. It was going to rip her apart, Shuri was going to rip her apart. Eyes squeezed shut, cunt leaking once more, she caved. Riri gave in, just as her pussy poured into Shuri’s sheets, her name roaring through the air.

 

“D-daddy, fuck!”

Shuri was fucking pleased and her cock twitched deep in Riri, spilling her seed into her ass and back all over her dick. “Was that so hard? Huh, baby?”

Riri was silent, body shaking, nut collecting beneath the three of you. She convulsed like she was possessed, mouth wide open, a beautiful contortion on her face. 

Her body went limp afterward, falling into the wet comforter beneath her. “Shit-“

Shuri leaned over, a wet kiss falling from her lips and planting on Riri’s. “You called me da-“

“Nigga, no, okay? We don’t speak of it.”

You make your way between their two bodies, having enjoyed the tender moment, even if it was brief. “You did call her daddy, though.”

If looks could kill, you’d be six feet under, and then some. Riri’s eyes were slits, staring daggers into your head. 

Shuri’s lips moved to yours next, “I didn’t know you had all that in you, baby.”

Your blush brought butterflies to the princess’ stomach. “Did I do good? Did you like it?”

Her arms wrap around your body, pulling you on top of hers while Riri scoots closer, kissing down your arm. “You did phenomenally. I fucking loved it, fucking love you.”

“I love y-“

A hard knock cuts your words short. Okoye’s voice rings through the heavy door, “Hey! Yeah, your soundproofing didn’t work, Princess!”

[gloomy-prince]

To celebrate RAINBOW!'s release today, I'm going to go over all the daydream references that have been made so far, since it's fun for me to sneak them in 💖 there's a lot of them though, so it's gonna be under the cut!

Episode 1-- Kiki's Delivery Service and E.T.! People focus on the Kiki reference so much that the other seemed to be missed.

Episode 2-- Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion, Sailor Moon. Another one obvious enough to be called out in some comments. It was referenced again in episode 54, where this panel was taken from.

Episode 5-- Marceline, Adventure time. One of the few reference that isn't an outfit specifically, but a character.

Episode 11-- Revolutionary Girl Utena. Not necessarily supposed to be the characters themselves, just the outfits.

Episode 11-- Minako Aino, Sailor Moon. In hindsight, I don't remember why I chose this specific dress to reference and not the maid outfits from Sailor Stars or the fruits maid outfits from the manga... especially since I think the fruits maid outfits are adorable.

Episode 11-- Catra, She-Ra reboot. I kind of regretted this one immediately just because like 80% of the comments on the episode were "CATRA SUIT!!!" as a result...

Episode 18-- Sailor Moon manga. I was always intrigued by the way characters would be dressed in dreamlike/ethereal sequences in the manga, so this reference was a must for me. I went with the version that is a full dress with straps rather than the dresses from other moments in the manga that have no discernible top half.

Episode 30 and 31-- Not a reference to any specific film or character, but just film noir in general. I do remember referencing a female character specifically for this but sadly I couldn't find it again.

Episode 40-- Pomeranian scene, IT Chapter Two. Surely you saw this coming (or maybe not?) I don't think I got the camera angle good enough to really sell this reference, but I couldn't resist it anyways.

Episode 43-- Adult Losers, IT Chapter Two. The only reference besides Marceline that references the characters themselves, since I normally use our other characters for background character purposes. Also one of the only references that isn't a daydream.

Episode 54-- Disney's Snow White and Cinderella. I couldn't decide which to reference, so I ended up leaning mostly into Cinderella, but referenced the Evil Queen's crown as well. Boo's dress is also somewhat referenced from the the live action Cinderella dress instead of the animated version, just because I liked it.

Episode 54-- Treasure Planet and Treasure Planet 2 concept art. Treasure planet is one of my favorite movies, so there was no way I was missing out on referencing it. A few people brought up some wlw pirate webcomic(s?) in the comments of this episode, but the actual reference seemed to be mostly missed. The sash around Boo's waist is also meant to be fabric from her princess dress in the previous panels.

Episode 54-- Revolutionary Girl Utena. Another one I was kind of surprised wasn't called out just because of how iconic the whole clothed shadow/silhouette thing is.

Episode 55-- Saint Tail. I couldn't reference this one as closely as I would have liked since it probably wouldn't have been very readable as a magician's costume to someone who didn't know it, so it mostly references the brooch from the anime and her hat.

Episode 61-- Jane Fonda in Spirits of the Dead. A super random and out there reference, especially to end on, but I liked the outfit so much that I couldn't help it. Maybe Boo used to fall asleep to old movie channels, lol.

That's it, at least for now! We'll have to see what shows up in future episodes~

[lady-charinette]

Shadows of Chat Blanc

Sometimes, Marinette dreams of going on dates with Chat Noir. Always, Chat Noir is a true romantic, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Once, Chat Noir promised her something that made the blood in her veins freeze. "I would even give you the moon, princess." Her dream changed. She wasn't with Chat Noir anymore, somebody else greeted her. His smile never reached his icy blue eyes, so unlike her kitty. And yet, all the same. "I did good, didn't I? I gave you the moon, purrincess, I did good, right?!"

It was a cool evening, but his arms around her allowed Marinette to feel none of the chill.

Paris was quiet, a serene city plagued by chaos and nightmares during the day to be granted some respite in the evenings.

Sometimes, Marinette wished this moment could last forever.

The warmth of her kitty left her when he stood up, standing on top of her balcony railing and offering her his hand with a kind smile. “Just say the word princess and I’ll grant you any wish.”

A smile lit up her face and Marinette took Chat Noir’s offered hand. “Silly kitty, what if I ask for something impossible?”

Chat Noir leaned his head down, grabbing both of her hands into his own to pepper gentle kisses on her knuckles. “I would even give you the moon.”

Marinette smiled, leaning in to kiss him sweetly when ice rushed down her spine like lightning.

The moon.

Behind Chat Noir, the image of the brightly shining moon flickered.

Distorted.

Disappeared.

“No.”

Something snapped, a distant image filled Marinette’s mind.

A dream.

A vision.

A memory.

The warmth of her evening date with Chat Noir disappeared, replaced by the rush of harsh winter prickling her skin like sharp blades.

A soft thud behind her alerted her of another’s presence and when Marinette turned around, she swore the cold around her froze her very blood.

Standing before her isn’t Chat Noir anymore, but Chat Blanc.

Striking green eyes became piercingly blue, betraying the pain and anger that consumed him. That plagued him.

Chat Blanc offered Marinette his hand, a distorted mirror image of her kitty from mere moments before. But his smile was pained, drawn tight over the corners, all teeth.

No warmth.

“I did good, didn’t I?” his words struck her chest like a physical blow.

“…What?” Marinette shook her head, the burn in her eyes worsening when she spotted the rising water consuming the buildings. The floating bodies.

A haunting laugh.

“Here purrincess, I gave you the moon. I did good, didn’t I?”

A dull thumping sound echoes in Marinette’s ears and she realized Chat Blanc had grabbed one of her hands, like Chat Noir had done, only he didn’t kiss her hands, he pressed them over his heart. Each pulse a reminder of the agony that coursed through his veins, a desolate existence, where warmth and life have been extinguished, replaced by the unbearable chill that grips him from within.

A chill that threatened to consume her whole.

Marinette wrenched her hand away, stumbling backward.

Chat Blanc’s eyes narrowed at Marinette’s silence and actions. He crawled towards her form on the ground, claws digging into her arms as he gripped her close. “I did good, didn’t I?! Wasn’t this what you wanted?!”

His maniacal laughter drowned out all the alarm bells ringing in her mind, the icy shower covering her body replaced with the white-hot pain of Chat Blanc’s claws digging into her arms.

His shoulders suddenly slumped low, the world was silent until Chat Blanc lifted his head again, stark white hair falling into icy blue eyes.

Hollow.

“I said I did good, isn’t that right, little bug?” Chat Blanc traced his fingers across her jaw and gripped her chin, the claws nicking her skin, a river of blood trailing down her neck.

Chat Blanc licked his lips at that, Marinette swallowed thickly.

“I did everything you told me to, Marinette!” Chat Blanc’s voice filled with malice as it taunted her.

This is all your fault!

When Marinette found her world changing again, she woke up in her room, her bed damp with cold sweat.

When her eyes landed on Tikki sleeping peacefully, her body finally relaxed, evidence that her recurring nightmare didn’t turn into reality.

Again.

Gazing out through her window, Marinette’s gaze stayed transfixed on the source of the white glow that illuminated the dark night sky.

The moon.

Hope you enjoyed! Angsty prompts are welcome :3

[aeskanera]

hey, just know that your moodboards are absolutely breathtaking! I'd definitely read more about your OCs if given the opportunity 🥹

🥺🥺🥰🥰

Thank you! This made me so happy 🩷It’s been very gratifying to know that there’s more Old Republic fans on tumblr than I had thought. As we SPEAK I am writing up a whole bunch of gigantic posts about them all that I want to stick under a masterpost. But here’s kinda the quick basics about each of them

Lexie is my Exile (such a clever name, I know). She’s a Zeltron (if unfamiliar, they’re basically just the green-skinned-space-babes trope but with red skin). This is partly because she is THE hottest bitch in the galaxy (which is an integral part of her character. to me) but also because Zeltrons have this whole thing with sensing emotions and that really struck me as like an Exile thing. A story about running away from her emotions and pretending everything’s fine even to herself, healing through forming loving and caring relationships with others who have been through similar trauma

Revan was born Felicyta but post-amnesia she goes by Zyta. So obviously she’s all about redemption and grey morality, but I’m also doing this other thing with her that’s all about how without the burdens of being Revan (leading a Sith Empire, PTSD from fighting a war, her tense frienemy thing with Malak, whatever weird shit’s going on with the Emperor, etc) she’s far happier, healthier, and overall more herself than she ever had been before. So then finding out about her past is like, she’s facing that not just with different memories but basically with a whole new personality as well that has nothing to do with anything the Jedi put in her brain

We love a Chiss agent in this house. Riassa’s full name is way to long for most people to pronounce so her core name is Riassa. I feel like she’s the person version of like an australian shepherd, so elegant and beautiful and poised on the outside but then on the inside is just so full of anxiety. Luckily she’s got the tools and emotional intelligence to handle it well for the most part. I wrote an extensive backstory for her that will probably never see the light of day in its entirety, mostly because Chiss politics are so goddamn complicated

Rakiya is a Mirialan Consular, and she’s all serene and spiritual etc but also the underappreciated beauty of the Consular story is as a mystery novel. So her point of view of the story will have elements taken from Holmes and Agatha Christie novels to name a few. She IS a little old lady who randomly gets involved in murder investigations only to be smarter than everyone else in the room

Speaking of detectives, in one of my bigger posts I describe Lyna the bounty hunter as a hard-boiled 1940s film noir detective. If classic Hollywood made the bounty hunter story as a movie she would be gender swapped and played by Humphrey Bogart. Human gladiator from Rattatak raised by Weequays

Inquisitor is Ulla (last name eventually becomes Kallig). I use manipulative to describe her a lot but it’s more like she’s just really good at PR. Like the way that like TSwift/Princess Kate and Meghan/Met Gala attendees can like destroy the environment or commit war crimes or serve the interests of the ruling capitalist class BUT no one except leftists on tumblr brings it up and they all have the vast majority of people excusing and supporting them JUST by virtue of being conventionally attractive and wearing pretty and expensive clothes while also maintaining an image of being oh so relatable. That’s Ulla right there

Mydha is Thee hero!!!! It’s pronounced like mihd-hah (as in the words MIDdle and HAnnah). It was important to me that the Knight be South Asian coded because of just how much Star Wars as a whole has stolen from South Asian cultures and never gave any credit for it. Her character’s big thing is that she’s an optimist (in like the most positive sense of the word, I’m not like one of those people who think optimists are naïve or idiots or smthing)

The smuggler is a twi’lek called Paavy (similar to Riassa, that’s not her full name). And uh idk how to put it other than that she’s a slut (affectionate). I personally am very pro her having a lover at every port with no negative consequences. She just has sort of commitment issues sort of

The trooper is Nuala, or Sergeant Croí at the start of the story (pronounced sort of like kree). She’s a cyborg with implants on her face and I have a whole detailed story about the injury that caused the need for them as well as how they impact her. She’s also Corellian (from the system not the planet) and if you’ve ever scrolled through some of the wookieepedia pages for Corellia, it’s very…usamerican liberal-centrist “there are some good cops!” type of thing. So that kinda felt right for the soldier character lol. She will learn and grow though

Asha Kûsk is my bb girl little darling. By process of elimination she is the Sith Warrior. She’s the only child of wealthy Sith nobility, a pureblood Sith, a prodigy in swordsmanship, the youngest of my ocs - this girl is s p o i l e d. But like what does all that look like when the parents that baby her and spoil her would also kill her in a heartbeat to promote their own interests? When she’s grown up in an environment of conflict and mistrust as just the norm, that kinda negates a decent chunk of her privilege (on an internal emotional level)

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

Footsteps of a Stranger

Written in 2019 to be part of an anthology that I don't think ever quite got off the ground. Spawned a good character, tho. Inspired by the Noir Princesses art by Ástor Alexander. I have a version that's broken into chunks but also decided to just post the thing in full for anyone that wants to read it in one go

[[Character Introduction: Becks]]

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WC Total: 6289 Warnings: There's guns/shooting, light description of burns

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It was the sound of teeth cracking on knuckles that caught my attention. I had found a place to camp out, having tailed a pair of crumbs over to a local farmhouse to finish out my last case. They walked the streets all day, trying to lay low and failing. When dusk fell, they headed this way, and now they were punching up the farmhand’s face.

Sliding a hunting rifle from her case, I lined up the shot and let lead fly. The bullet hit the bullseye, and creep number one grabbed his shoulder with a yelp. Thug number two looked around with a snarl, fists at the ready. That was when my partner showed up, pistol drawn, and trained on his ugly mug. They traded threats, my partner an expert at this kind of dance. Thug two made for him and got a cheek of led from me as a result.

Creep one had recovered and put both hands up, ready to squeal on his boss. I saw him look up and open his mouth, only for a gunshot to cut him off. He slumped to the ground, my partner instantly ducking while I scanned the forest. There wasn’t a trace of anyone but us and the farmers.

My eye went back to my partner, relieved at the sight of Thomas moving without a hitch. He hadn’t taken a hit, and was checking on the farmers. With a smile, I packed up my rifle and slung the case over my shoulder.

We worked well together, Thomas and I. He made a great face for our snooper jobs because he was white as paint and had a set of danglers in the right place. I made a great shadow, because I was a dame with skin brown as the forest. But I was the one with the rifle, and he was the one with the heart. We worked well together.

Thunder rolled across the sky. The case was finished. Thomas knew the clean-up. Time for my favorite after-hours jig: an honest hunt. I preferred the serene set of nature and the calm concentration of a hunt to the bustle and noise of my city. I could never quite understand those who lived day in and out under cement and stone. Then again, I was a mix of two worlds; my father was a human true enough, but my mother was an earth spirit. I had chosen not to follow in her footsteps, a choice I questioned every sunrise.

I hustled into the forest, leaning into the hunt in order to refresh my instincts and aiming to find the way before the rain fell. I wasn’t too far off. The rain began as I found a trail of hoof prints. Following them led to a deer and fawn grazing among the trees. Rare, this day and age. They began to die out around here in the 30’s, and twenty years later you were considered blessed if you saw one. Settling into a crouch, I crept forward until I was in position and swung my rifle into my hands. I aimed. Took a steadying breath.

I hesitated. Once.

Once was all you ever got in life.

Something in the distance crashed, and the deer was gone, running into the forest with the little one on her heels. I tensed, shifting enough to look around. Heat rolled through the brush, though I saw no fire. Someone ran by. A human. Rain glinted off his shoes, a white coat splashed with mud. That was all I caught before he was gone.

With that, my hunt was blown. I glanced up through the rain to spot movement in the treetops. I blinked water out of my eyes once. Twice.

A shot rang out.

-

The walk back was cold and lonely. Not many folk out this time of morning. Not many with a reason to be. A small pair of squirrels were slung over my shoulder by the tails, my only show for the whole night. Not that it mattered. I was the only one eating wild game. Thomas was a lamb and did his best to eat clean.

The rain was clearing, a fog spreading across the streets as the sun came up. My office loomed from the mist, a solid brick blending into the shops around it. It was the closest thing I had to a home out here, the private office doubling as a bedroom with a rollout.

I got there first, dragging the rain in behind me. It may have finally stopped, but I was soaked through and couldn’t stop the parade of water leaving a dark stain of evidence as to my path.

My coat added a sloppy circle around the coat rack as I slung it into place, hanging the squirrels above it and sliding my rifle against the doorframe. I nabbed a dirty towel from a nearby chair and wiped down, squeezing the rest of the rain from my black hair. The sun finally rose outside the window, golden light catching in the thick fog. I could barely see the street below. I switched on the nearby radio and began to change.

Danny Kaye was finishing up Civilization when a knock came at the door. I closed my private office and went to answer. The man standing opposite was shorter than me, clean-shaven with brown hair dangling down to his cheekbones while his baby-blues stared up at me.

"Morning, Miss Becka!" he greeted me with a smile, placing his umbrella next to my rifle. He shook his coat off and slipped off his hat, placing them both on the coat rack. "How's things?"

I tapped the door with a knuckle, showing off the wide letters on the glass window that read “R. E. Beck”. “You know that isn’t my real name, Mr. Bayle. Just a bit of gobbledygook to throw off the fuddy-duddies and fat-heads so both of us can work and eat in this town.”

"I -- I know ma’am. And you know Becka is easier for me to say.”

I smiled and moved to one side. “I suppose Matoaka is a bit of a mouthful for you.” He nodded his thanks, ducking as he squirreled his way inside. “Although you’ve been working with me long enough to have figured out how to say it by now, haven’t you, doll?”

“You would think so,” he said, immediately going to the desk and eyeing the papers. “Yet ‘Rebecka’ has always rolled out easier.”

I swung the door closed, Thomas rifling through the papers. “Good job staying on the beam last night. How were the farmers?”

“Shaken, but good. No harm.”

“Close the case with them?”

He nodded, glancing up at me. “Easy as pie, boss. Especially since the pair attacking them are now both dead. Almost an open and shut case. They’ll be coming by to pay the last of our fee and give their thanks.”

“Then I’ll wait in the wings when they come, per usual.” I didn’t like the feeling of hiding, but this was part of the business. We got more clients once we made the switch and came up with a name that could be either of us, which meant more money came in on a regular basis. He never treated me like the other guys, mostly because he wasn’t like the other guys. He was fine acting the stiff gumshoe for the clients, and so was I as long as I got to wear the shoes.

I heard a shuffle of carpet by the door and started towards the back out of habit, assuming it was our client. They had us investigating a murder of an uncle, someone that owned a farm out near the border of cement and woodland. The police had written it up as a hunting accident, something I was able to disprove, mostly on the grounds that the uncle didn’t hunt and his farm was nowhere near hunting grounds. I had tracked down the triggerman and closed the case, but couldn’t shake the suspicion of something larger going on.

“Uh...Miss Becka?”

The stammer caught my next step, halting it from its goal. I turned to see Thomas kneeling by the door, poking at a small enveloped package. I joined him, giving it a quick check with my magic sense before touching it.

The contents were bits and pieces of a puzzle I recognized: reports about a recent string of farms closing down only to get bought by a local landshark company. Sitting next to them were pictures of several forest fires.

I dug around our desk, pulling reports I had already dug up on the fires. All began at night, with no specific start. There had been one a night for about three nights last week. They stopped as suddenly as they started. These new reports furthered a suspicion I was already building: the fires were in relation to the farms not selling.

While I stared, Thomas tossed another component onto the desk. A handful of reports from the company itself. Things I hadn't been able to get my hands on so long as I wanted to keep them clean. But these had showed up on their own.

I turned to Thomas. "Anything else?"

 He held up a single page with a handcrafted note. "Take a close look," he read aloud. "You might find someone you recognize." He hesitated. "Someone you recognize?"

 I looked again, asking idly, "What's the ink at the bottom?"

 "Uh…" he scanned it before flipping it around, "J.Smith."

 Hah. Anonymous. Luckily smoke never threw me from the trail. I scanned the pictures but found no overly familiar faces. A knock came at the door, and I barely noticed a poke at my shoulder.

"The clients," Thomas reminded me.

Ah. Right. That was my cue to keep up appearances and scram. I gathered the notes and envelope from my guy, taking it all into the back room to look over. "No new clients after them," I said over my shoulder. "Get the money and toss ‘em back."

 He nodded, the doors taking turns opening and closing.

I spread things out on the floor, crossed my legs and sat. Someone I recognize…? There was no one. Not anyone overly familiar. I recognized some of the faces from the ones in town but only from flashes of exposure. I wouldn’t say I knew them.

My eyes slid from the faces to the forest. Trees sat stacked on top of another, the trunks bitten away by flames. The empty husks sat in the pictures, black and white and grey displaying the cruel nature of life. Smoke was rising from the branches in thick, black clouds, and…

Wait a minute.

I peered closer.

Got up.

Grabbed a magnifying lens, I fixed it over the corner of the mess. Among the blackened tangle of branches was a different kind of limb−the kind that belonged to an earth sprite. Someone had caught an earth sprite in the fire and subsequently killed it. How did I miss this?

I shook my head. Doesn’t matter. I shuffled through the papers and found where this photo had been taken, gathering a few things I might need. I needed to see the site; if this was intentional, it was murder on a different level. And I was one of the only ones who could follow these tracks to the truth.

The smell of destruction still lingered, even days after the fire had been put out. The blackened heart of smoke had stained the trees, the nubs, the soil, and it seemed to cloud the very sky. Dragging my sickened stomach along, I stepped into the hollow husks and began to explore. The sprite in me twisted in turmoil as I walked, but I had to know. There was something here if that letter was right. Something I missed the first time.

I didn’t see it until I was well into the destruction. Bending down to inspect the forest floor, I spotted a different kind of broken limb; it looked human. Didn’t make sense; they had accounted for all the people in the area, dead and alive. So this was humanoid but not human. A quick examination revealed a bark-like texture along the skin, including small moss pieces grown from the skin itself. At least...that’s what it looked like under the burn marks.

So the ‘someone I recognized’ wasn’t a person. The letter was referring to a fellow earth sprite caught in the fire. Which shouldn’t have happened, as they are among the first to sense a threat to their forests and usually flee. Sprites are better at healing than fighting. I had to wonder why this one hadn’t had time for either.

Something clinked under my fingers−something metallic. Numbness shot up my fingers, and I jerked back, shaking my hand and peering at the spot. There was a metallic cuff wrapped around the wrist, scorch marks running up and down the broad sides of the cuff. I tapped it again with a curious finger with the same result.

I heard footsteps behind me and grabbed the arm, yanking the cuff free and stuffing it into my coat pocket. Just in time.

“Excuse me,” the tone was high-bred. British. Snobby. “I do believe this area is off limits.”

I stood and turned, taking in a white tailored business suit and shoes so clean they looked out of place. Something clinked as he moved, watching me with haughty superiority between his bushy eyebrows and a nose to rival an eagle’s beak.

“Excuse me,” I echoed his pretentious politeness, “but the forest is open to all.”

He smirked. “Not anymore. This land was bought by my company after the fire. We offered to handle all the restoration, and the city heartily agreed.”

“And what company is that?”

Instantly whipping out a card, he held it out. “Virginia Co.”

I took it with a glance. “And you’re what? The representative?”

“David Ratcliffe,” he answered with a sniff. “I own the company.”

My eyebrows went up. “The big boss, huh?”

“Yes. And you’re still standing on private property.” He held out a hand to direct me away, trying to both escort me and shoo me. I went with it, having no real reason to argue; the body hidden among this wreckage was a signpost of which trail to follow, and this Ratcliffe had given me footsteps in the mud.

--

“David Ratcliffe,” I repeated the name to Thomas while sorting through my files. “Apparent owner of Virginia Co.”

“Oh,” he said, the pages from our mysterious tipper spread out in front of him. “They’re the land sharks that set up shop a few years ago...an offshoot of a company overseas, I think. And they’re the ones trying to buy up local farms.” He tapped me on the shoulder with a pile of papers.

Company reports. “So,” I mused, thumbing through them, “they’ve been putting money into buying up the land right outside of the city, including any farms still in residence.” I glanced at the location of all the farms that had been vandalized or had the owners suddenly die off and back at the Company reports. They had made bids that were ultimately rejected by the same farms. Suspicious coincidence, of course, but not enough for the local police to be concerned about.

“So...they’ve been buying up land and possibly committing crimes against those that won’t sell,” Thomas mused, thumbnail pressed between his teeth. “But what about the forest fire? And the sprite you found?”

I had been wondering about it myself. According to their records, all the places that suffered from wildfires had been bought up by the Virginia Company years before. The news articles in my own stores all boasted the Company declaring land preservation with each purchase. I was always bothered with big money buying up the forests inhabited by earth sprites, but had little recourse; very few humans knew about the world behind the curtain, and had proven they’d rather remain ignorant than admit they were at fault for a population’s decline. Both sides of my heritage were proof enough.

Regardless, it made little sense why they’d start setting fires on land they owned.

I shifted my seat and felt something shift in one of my pockets: the cuff I found. I turned my pocket inside out and let it clatter to the ground, catching Thomas’s interest. He picked it up and began turning it over in his hands, glancing up at me with eyebrows raised.

“What’s this?”

“Not sure; found it attached to the dead sprite. I think it might be the reason why it was dead.” Thomas dropped it with a startled look, and I shook my head. “No, not poison. I think it’s iron.”

“Iron? How can you tell?

“It blocks magic,” I explained, nudging it with a finger. Cold spread through the tip of my index up to my knuckle. “I’m not affected as badly, but it still gives me a chill the way no other metal does.”

“So someone put this on the sprite, and...it died?”

I shook my head. “No, but it kept the sprite from healing the forest. Probably kept it from healing itself after it was caught in the fire.”

“Which means whoever started the fire knows about sprites and how to stop them.” He said exactly what I had been thinking, which put a different spin on this whole case.

“Exactly,” I said, gathering up the papers and watching Thomas start to do the same. “I need more information.”

“What are our questions?” The response was automatic, and I was grateful. He was becoming a decent investigator−more of a partner than an assistant.

“The contents of the forests that burned,” I began, sliding the papers back into their folders. “What’s so important about them, about the farms that have been bought up. And, if we can, keep your ears open for humans that know about sprites and magic. We may be looking at something more serious than a human-on-human squabble.”

He nodded, standing and getting our coats. “I’ll hit the local spots. See if Meeks and Flint know anything.”

I took my coat, swinging it over my shoulders as I headed out the door. “Good. I’ll visit our friend in the forest and see if she can blow away some smoke.”

-

“Blue?” I called her name for the tenth time, wandering through the heart of the forest. “Where are you?”

A cold wind blew across my back, the hairs on my neck instantly rising from the chill. It was inexplicably cold for the season, and I knew why.

“Quit playing around, Blue,” I shouted. The wind grew to a low moan, enough to shake the trees and shower me with leaves. I shrugged my shoulders, turning around. “Alright, fine. I had a puzzle for you, but if you’re not interested…”

The forest immediately died down, the cold vanishing into a humid mist. Something formed inside the mist, not completely but enough to see a humanoid shape about as tall as a child, with small points of light emanating from where the eyes should have been. There she was: Blue. The resident wind sprite.

“...puz-zle?” The word was whispered through the branches with the slightest brush of wind, a chill accompanying the breath. Blue stared, waiting.

I turned, hand on hip. “Forest fires around here. All the land was ‘owned’ by a company claiming preservation, so it’s hard to see why they’d set fire to their cause. The latest fire held the body of an earth sprite, iron cuff around the wrist. There are also humans getting harmed and killed when they won’t give up their homes to said company, which winds up buying the land anyway. Here’s the puzzle: is this a human-against-human problem or a human-against-sprite problem?”

"Both," she breathed. "Or neither. Related?"

"Everything's related," I snorted. "I'm just not sure how these events are related.”

A puff of air swished from one side to the other, Blue shaking her head. Or maybe that was supposed to be hair. “No. Related to you.”

“Me?”

“Nevermind.” A short sigh made the trees sag from the wind, Blue’s form wavering before coming upright again. “Company comes into forest where sprites live. Sprites cause trouble. Men leave, come back with cuffs to trap sprites. Remove the problem. They like removing problems.”

“So why the fires?”

“One problem they can’t remove.” Blue stumbled on that last word, her form shifting as the mist began to clear. “Old wound keeps coming undone. Open scratches. Some wounds must be burnt away.” The mist cleared, her form evaporating with a blast of air. “Bor-ring puz-zle,” the wind moaned. “Bohr-ring Puz-zle!!”

I was already on my way out, leaving the forest behind in a hurry. Blue liked puzzles, but if she found them boring enough she would throw a tantrum, sometimes in the form of tornadic cyclones. While she was busy wailing about my puzzle being a boring one, I was already on the path leading back to the city. She had given me some clues, but I wanted to see what Thomas came up with before trying to draw the complete picture.

--

Thankfully, we ran into each other in the middle of the street.

“Oh,” he puffed, “good, I found you.” Short gasps of air inserted themselves between words. Made me wonder what he was doing between here and there. “Meeks had...nothing. Wasted perfectly good...cookies.” He took a deep breath to steady himself, standing straight. “Flint was more help. He didn’t know anything about the fires, but heard something on the street about the Virginia Company hiding toxic waste in nearby forests−apparently to the point of poison. Flint remembers a few sick orphans in the house when he got there, and no one could pinpoint anything aside from said poison.”

“Interesting,” I muttered, “but it doesn’t really draw a complete image.”

“Except the sick ones warned him not to go in the forest or drink any water coming from the river. That’s how they got whatever they got.”

I nodded, motioning for him to follow. “Alright, then. One last bit of snooping and we should be able to see the bottom of this barrel.”

He immediately was a clip on my heels. “Where are we going?”

I tugged out a business card and flipped it to face him. “Where erosion likes to show itself: to the very head of the beast.”

The company building loomed near the edge of the forest like a tombstone marking the slow death of nature herself. The windows were carved into the industrial-looking front, gleaming like several pairs of eyes in the growing dusk. Paved stones led to the double-doors. An invitation into the unknown.

“Plan as usual?”

I nodded. “Plan as usual.”

Letting out a stern cough and tugging at the front of his duster, Thomas strode forward with me in tow. This world respected him more than I, and I was not one to leave an advantage on the table. He hammered on the doors until they opened, the secretary unmoved and unconcerned at his demanding to see the man in charge. She shook her head, tried to tell him Ratcliffe wasn’t in, but he insisted and managed to push past her. I played the part of the underling and apologized. She shook her head and ran after him, trying to stop Thomas’s tirade down the halls.

I took my advantage in quick succession with a quick glance around. The poor frazzled woman was tasked with keeping this base upright on her own, it seemed. No one to help her make the appointments, or keep track of the workers, or file all the necessary documents in a timely manner. A small cubby to the side was stuffed with stacks of paper, hidden away so that her desk remained clean and efficient.

I went to the wall-shelves and began to fish around for the company’s history, opening each drawer and flipping through the contents as speedily as I could, looking for anything that had to do with fires or poison. I may have missed several opportunities for evidence, as I could hear the scuffle down the hall escalate, other men’s voices adding to the mix.

Nothing. There was no hidden treasure, no secret information tucked away in the files to make my case. The closest I had was a small invoice of payments to someone who used to work for the city.

Wait. Wait wait wait...here was a small mark noting the purchase of a hunting rifle, same as mine. This company wouldn’t need a hunting rifle unless they planned on hunting, and I doubt anyone here liked to hunt animals.

The voices were coming closer. I pocketed the invoice and mark before stepping to the door, hands behind my back and waiting calmly.

“...last time I come here, you just see!” Thomas yelled behind him, the blonde secretary following him back to the door.

“...so sorry, I’ll see he gets notified of…” she hesitated, thick curls hugging her head like a straw-colored helmet even as she glanced back at her desk and at me. “...I’m sorry, I didn’t catch--”

“No need,” he said stiffly, adjusting his hat as he strode out the door. “We’re done here.” I gave a slight bow and followed him.

“So?” he asked as soon as we turned away from the monstrosity. “You find anything?”

I heaved a shake and sigh, hands slipping into my pockets. “Very little. No phone calls, no lawsuits, nothing except an invoice with no notes and nothing big enough to be considered a payoff. The closest I found was a note linking the company to the purchase of a hunting rifle, but no proof that anyone used it out of bounds.” I glanced at him out the side of my eye. His brows were down, and he kept looking behind us. “You?”

“Found some mud in Ratcliff’s office. Right on the edge of the forest, so it makes sense…” He shook his head. Hesitated. Looked directly at the land on the other end of the street.

“What is it?”

“The assistant...said he went out earlier and hadn’t been back. Missed a few calls. She seemed...almost worried. As if something was wrong.”

I followed his gaze, looking over the forest. “Let’s go back and ask.”

“What?”

I smiled as I turned around. “A good tracker has to understand what they’re tracking as well as notice their surroundings.” I paused. “Plus, it never hurts to ask.”

We got back with a few jogging strides, Thomas going back in without me. She would be more inclined to think she had to answer him, and I seemed to make her uncomfortable. I waited, looking back out over the land and watching an orange hue burn the sky into a golden dusk.

Wait.

Was that…?

I peered at the horizon, just above the nearby treetops. And I was right. A small trail of smoke was growing deep in the forest, curling like a thin tail wagging in the breeze. Fire. Someone had started a new fire.

Thomas emerged at a dead run, jabbing a finger at the forest. “He’s there, he’s there!”

We took off together, headed directly for the thickening smoke. The air grew hotter as we traveled, more humid as we neared an open angry flame. Small sparks had already licked at a few branches, the edges of the leaves curled in burnt agony. I slowed as we neared, spotting a flickering flame directly ahead. It raged and dimmed before raging again, as if someone were controlling its intensity. I motioned for Thomas to slow down and move around one side, while I moved the other direction.

I crept along, skirting the forest as best I could. I was keenly aware that my only weapon was my short pistol, good for close-up but not quite meant for longer-range shots. If this got ugly from a distance, I would be in trouble.

I got close enough to hear someone talking. No, two someones. Ratcliffe was there in front of the fire. I could see he was kneeling, bent over and cowering on the ground. But I couldn’t see anyone else around the fire. So who was the second?

“...told you, I didn’t know!!”

“Of course you didn’t,” the second voice seethed as the flame got bigger. “How could you? We don’t exist, remember?” A spit of flame separated, swirling out into the night and singeing the above branches.

Don’t exist?

Ratcliffe bowed, head scraping the forest floor, voice trembling under the weight of attempted humility. “I am...so sorry…about your family…”

Flames lashed out, striking him across the face. He grabbed at the burns and screamed, reeling back. “Don’t you talk about my family!!” the second voice screamed. “We happily lived in our forests until you came along and dumped a pile of toxic waste at our door!”

The fire began to spin, swirling faster and faster as the voice rose in pitch. “Because of you, my family’s dead. Because of you, I turned into this!” It raged into the sky, towering over him and bending around in a spiral. “Your poison soaked into my body and warped me, and the fire you used to try and kill me only made me this. Made me this!!!”

Oh. Oh no. Don’t tell me this was what I thought it was.

The fire died down until it was the size of a human, dimming until dark embers cascaded along a two-legged, humanoid figure. The body was twisted with burns like a roasted tree, the skin bumpy and wooden. Each movement creaked and groaned, the splintered remains of branches still sticking out from the back of its skull.

It was an earth sprite...or what used to be one. If I understood her raging monologue right, she was the evidence of Ratcliffe’s company dumping waste where they shouldn’t have. It crept into her as it had crept into the forest she guarded, and the fires nearby were a result of Ratcliffe trying to get rid of her.

A charred stump of a finger stabbed at him, fire beginning to burn again as she stated, “even after you found out what was wrong, who was trying to fix the damage you caused, you only used that information to latch an iron cuff around my wrist−to trap me, to bury me in flames. Me!” The fire grew along her arm and ate away her image. “You don’t get to play the hero tonight.” The fire swirled around her head. “You don’t get to walk away from me now.” It grew into a formless flickering mass. “You won’t bury me tonight! Because I’ll be the one burying you!”

I hesitated.

Ratcliffe needed to answer for his crimes. I needed to bring him to the humans, get him to confess to them. This was something the city needed to know. There was a right and a wrong way to handle this.

But in the world of magic, the world I grew up in, there was a different sense of justice. You did wrong, you paid the price. Usually with your life. The sprite was doing nothing more than any other sprite.

Except this fire. I watched as the flames got bigger, caught the edges of the trees. Her rage would soon be the start of a wildfire, and that would cost innocent creatures their lives.

“Stop!” I blinked as Thomas’s voice rang out, lashing through the trees. The sprite halted, fire dimming as Thomas emerged with a hand out as if he was trying to steady the flames. “Everyone just...take it easy.”

A blast of heat swept his way as the sprite screamed, “Stay out of this!”

His head poked up from where he ducked, carefully moving forward as he talked. “Easy...I’m only here for him.” A stray finger pointed directly at Ratcliffe, who had now shrunk his cries into muffled whimpers.

“And I’m here for his head!” Another slice of flame cut through the air. Thomas dodged again, rolling to his feet and keeping a calm face as he continued to advance. I pulled at the pistol attached to my belt, crawling through the forest to find a better vantage point. “First he poisons me, then he tries to kill me, then I heard that he was buying up forests to cover his tracks. Well he won’t get away from me that easily!!”

“That’s wrong!” Thomas called out, trying to halt the sprite’s anger. “His company is buying forests to help preserve the land!”

Fire shot out over Thomas’s head, the tree bursting into flame. I pulled at my pistol and crept forward as the sprite spat fire, screaming, “Wrong. Wrong! He’s trying to cover his tracks through lies, buying the forests and telling you he’s preserving them when all he’s doing is making sure no one can find out about his dirty past!” She spun around to Ratcliffe and advanced, flames spitting in every direction as she moved. The forest was catching, the heat beginning to press. “You don’t get to be a hero by burying your past!!”

She reached for Ratcliffe, who was worming away in a last attempt for his life.

Thomas began to run between them, drawing his own weapon. She didn’t budge. She was going to burn both of them. Kill both of them.

I squeezed one eye shut and took a steadying breath.

Once was all you ever got in life.

A shot rang out.

--

Rain. It always seemed to soothe me in one way or another−little drops of starlight falling, glistening in the dull glow of the moonlight like tiny angels, plummeting towards the earth.

I stood under a sheltering cluster of branches, in a tiny bit of nature away from the city. It was far enough away, the light in the distance like a foggy memory of hope. Hope for anything new. But nothing was really new these days, was it? Memories haunted the foggy rain as I stared at the ground, where a small ring of rocks marked the grave of the tortured earth sprite. The gunshot still pounded my ears, the echo of a decision I made daily to exist in one world over the other.

The exceptions were on slow days like today. Today I was forced into a corner. Forced to reconsider my efforts. To live as a human knowing it might come at the expense of the sprites. To live as a sprite knowing my world was constantly shrinking...and one day may be gone.

I stood in the small corner of nature, standing long enough to grow roots. Didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Only listened and thought of my mother.

Something in the trees moved. I tensed, shifting my stance enough to look over my shoulder. Thomas emerged with a small smile and an umbrella. He stood next to me and extended the plastic shelter, letting the downpour fill our silence.

“Ratcliffe,” I finally said, hands in pockets and staring at the grave. “Did he confess?”

Thomas shook his head. “Of course not. But the evidence did enough talking for the police.”

I glanced at his shoulder, captured against his body by a white sling. “Sorry.”

He shook his head again, droplets flicking out of the brown mess of his hair. “Don’t worry about it, Miss Becka. It was a one-in-a-million shot you tried to pull, and this,” he shuffled his arm, “helps tell the story that Ratcliffe shot me.”

“True. But I wish for her sake we could snag him for dumping poison in the forests.”

Thomas smiled. “Don’t count me out yet, Miss.” I shot him a suspicious look, to which he smiled wider. “I may or may not have found out who he’s been hiring to dump the waste for him. And I bet once we link his assaulting farmers to the land-buying and dumping, he’ll be sorry he ever set his sights on this forest.”

“It won’t change the damage he’s already done,” I sighed. “Or bring any peace back to the sprite he shot.”

“Maybe not, Miss Becka,” Thomas answered, looking back to the grave. “Maybe not. But maybe these events will get ripple beyond what we can see. Death isn’t always the end, not when it can bring about change for the better.”

I nodded, glancing up at him. “I suppose that’s true. As long as we make sure it's a change for the better.”

“I have every confidence in you, Miss Becka.”

We stood there a moment longer, listening to the rain, watching as it struck the ground. The strong smell of fresh earth wafted into the air. As we watched, a small piece of earth twitched in the center of the grave. My hand went to my pistol, but there was no need. In the very center of the sprite’s resting spot, something began to emerge. A single twig poked its head from the ground, unfolding in the damp of the night into a strong sapling.

I let out a small laugh. “The last of her magic,” I muttered.

“What?”

“An old myth my father told me once: ‘Bury an earth sprite in the ground, respectfully mark it with rocks around, the last of their magic is new life found.’ He used to tell me every time we visited my mother’s grave. I never knew what to make of it, but…” I shook my head. Looked up at my assistant. “Nevermind. Let’s go, Mr. Bayle; we’ve got work to do.” Turning towards the distant halo of street lamps, I walked out into the night fog.

[black-and-white-showdown]

Brackets are finally here! All duos were matched up randomly.

Side 1:

Nezumi and Shion - No.6 vs Cole and Zane - Ninjago

Bi'an and Wujiu - Identity V vs Shinji and Kowaru - Neon Genesis Evangelion

Izuru Kamukura and Nagito Komeada(Servant) - Danganronpa vs Roman and Remus Sanders - Sanders Sides

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan - Mo dao zu shi/The Untamed vs Kabane Kusaka and Kon - Kemono Jihen

Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat - Sonic vs Lenore and Anabel lee - Nevermore

Ming Yi and Shi Qingxuan - Heaven Official's Blessing vs Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka - Deviman(and crybaby)

Raiden Mei and Kiana Kaslana - Honkai Impact 3rd vs Akira Kurusu(Joker) and Goro Akechi(crow) - Persona 5

Miles Morales and Gwen Stacey - Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse vs Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee - RWBY

Side 2:

Ingo and Emmet - Pokemon vs Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion - Sailor Moon

Suguru Geto and Sataru Gojo - Jujutsu Kaisen vs Yuuri Katsuki and Victor Nikivorof - Yuri on Ice

Jack Noir and Peregrine Mendicant - Homestuck vs Callie and Marie - Splatoon

Simon Blackquill and Nahyuta Sahdmadhi - Ace Attorney vs Mr. White and Mr. Black - Johnny Test

Crowley and Aziraphale - Good Omens vs Bad Billions and Good Billions - Kipao and the Age of the Wonderbeasts

Meowlody and Purrsephone - Monster High vs Rue and Ahiru(Duck) - Princess Tutu

Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk - Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint vs Ryuji Korekuni and Tomohisa Kitakado - B-Project*

Atsushi and Akutagawa - Bungou Stray Dogs vs Noelia and Yuelia - Fantasy Life

Round 1 will start later on today and will continue onto tomorrow

[leagueofgardens]

Assault Lily: New Chapter — "At the Seeds' Frontier" | "When the Bugle Blooms"

This upcoming stage play in December is Assault Lily's first double feature.

The official website (in Japanese of course) is here.

"When the Bugle Blooms" — Oshima Offshore Nest Investigation Team chapter

TL Note: Bugles are a kind of flower, sometimes considered a weed. This specific species, Ajuga decumbens ("kiransou" in Japanese), is not well known outside Asia.

After four Huge Nests suddenly appear near the island of Izu Oshima, the Gardens of Tokyo decide to secretly assemble an "Oshima Offshore Nest Investigation Team" to simultaneously destroy the Nests and investigate a closed GEHENA research facility on Oshima, which they suspect relates to the recent sightings of abnormal Huge in the Tokyo area.

Cast and Character List

Team Hitotsuyanagi, Yurigaoka Girls' Academy

Izawa Mikako as "Yurigaoka's Beau Idéal" Kaede Johan Nouvel

Nishimoto Rimi as "Yurigaoka Lily Newspaper Chief" Futagawa Fumi

Legion Hronesnæsse, Odaiba Girls' School

Ishii Haruna as "Priestess of the Trance" Funada Kiito

Saiba Mizuki as "The White Witch of Odaiba" Funada Ui Saiba Mizuki hasn't posted a visual yet; this is an old one from TSA.

Nomoto Sora as "The Lady-Tengu of Kurama" Shiba Tomoshibi

Legion Ironside, Ludvico Private Girls' Academy

Nakamura Yukari as "La Pucelle" Fukuyama Jeanne Sachie Nakamura Yukari hasn't posted a visual yet; this is an old one from the Ludvico plays.

Nakagawa Rika as "The White Rose Princess" Kishimoto Lucia Raimu

Hoshimori Sana as "Knight of the White Rose" Amamiya Sophia Seren

Legion Hakolberand, Irma Girls' High School for the Arts

Sasaki Yukari as "The Empress of Hakolberand" Kamigoori Marimo

Kitazawa Saki as "The Priestess of Irminsul" Ueda Imari Kitazawa Saki hasn't posted a visual yet; this is an old one from TGoD.

Herensuge Girls' Academy

Fujii Ayaka as Aizawa Kazuha (Legion Hervor) Fujii Ayaka hasn't posted a visual yet; this is an old one from LoG. Also, yes, Kazuha is the only Lily without an epithet.

Tamegai Hana as "Xana" Matsumura Fuuka (Legion Cuélebre)

Ryuto Girls' Academy

Mutou Shiori as "The CHARM Meister" Amatsu Marei (Legion Himinglæva)

Instructor

Onose Mirai as "Professor" Nakagawa Mary Tomoyo

"At the Seeds' Frontier" — Legion Sanngriðr chapter

After four Huge Nests suddenly appear near the island of Izu Oshima, Yurigaoka decides to dispatch Legions Álfheimr and Sanngriðr on an emergency expedition to destroy the Nests and secure the Kamakura shoreline before they launch their expedition to recapture Koshu.

Cast and Character List

Legion Sanngriðr

Oomori Rio as "The Uncontrollable Lily" Kondo Misaka

Makiura Itsuki as "Lys Noire" Hasebe Touka

Sonohara Arisa as "Golden Wolf" Luise Ingels

Shiraishi Mayumi as "Iocheaera" Murakami Tokiwa Also notable for her role as Suzuki Chinami in the Odaiba plays.

Hamaura Ayano as "Jungfrau" Kiko Totori

Hayashida Mahiro as "The Sword-Saint of Yurigaoka" Imagawa Homare Also notable for her role as Hishida Haru in the Odaiba plays.

Itou Yui as "The Magician of Sanngriðr" Yamanashi Hibari

Hata Misaki as "The Wizard of Oz" Kurokawa Nady Hanna

Ootaki Saori as "Mad Dog" Seike Tomoyo Also notable for her role as Matsunaga Brigitta Kayo in the Ludvico plays.

Ando Chikana as "Tempest" Imai Seira Also notable for her role as Saigo Kurena in the Odaiba plays.

Flowers of the End

Hinaga Urara as Kinoe no Hana (The First Flower) Also notable for her role as Imamura Yukari in the Odaiba plays.

Tachibana Rii as Kinoto no Hana (The Second Flower) Makihara Yui as Hinoe no Hana (The Third Flower) Yazawa Rio as Hinoto no Hana (The Fourth Flower) Sanada Uruha as Tsuchinoe no Hana (The Fifth Flower) Udagawa Momoka as Tsuchinoto no Hana (The Sixth Flower) Hoshino Sae as Kanoe no Hana (The Seventh Flower) Inadama Honoka as Kanoto no Hana (The Eighth Flower) Suzuki Rina as Mizunoe no Hana (The Ninth Flower)

We don't know what any of these characters look like. I can't be entirely sure that this is how their names are pronounced either.

Former Yurigaoka Girls' Academy Instructor

Fujioka Sayaka as Kojima Nadeshiko

[theconstructorr]

Episode 7: Su Han

Princess Fragrance Rewrite

As the afternoon light streams through the stained glass windows, Ladybug and Cat Noir step back to survey their work. The church, once chaotic with dark energies, is still and serene. They exchange a nod, relieved to see their city safe once again.

A priest, clad in his robes, approaches them cautiously, his face a mixture of awe and doubt. "How...how did you do this?"

Ladybug's gaze drops. "They're powers I've been given."

"Why?" he presses, voice trembling with intensity.

"I...I don't know," she admits, fidgeting slightly, feeling exposed under his searching gaze.

"How is this possible?" His questions begin to probe deeper, suspicion sharpening his tone.

Ladybug shakes her head, her voice barely a whisper. "I don't know."

The priest leans in, eyes narrowing. "What are you hiding?"

Ladybug looks at him, startled. "Nothing."

Cat Noir steps forward. "We keep secrets to stay safe," he says, his voice firm.

The priest's face hardens. "From whom?"

Cat Noir glances around. "From the people against us."

Suddenly, a voice rings out from the shadows of the church. "We should be against you!"

Ladybug and Cat Noir turn, eyes widening as they take in the crowd that gather, whispers rippling through them like a rising tide. Police edge closer, and faces in the crowd show suspicion, fear, and anger.

"If you're as good as you say, you wouldn't have anything to hide!" someone shouts.

Another voice joins in. "Who are you?!"

"Tell us the truth!"

The police step forward, seizing Ladybug and Cat Noir. Ladybug struggles, her voice rising. "You can't do this! We didn't do anything wrong!"

But the officers clamp handcuffs around her wrists, the cold metal biting into her suit. She looks over, horrified, as they try to restrain Cat Noir as well. In a flash of fury, he cataclysms his handcuffs, black energy radiating from his hand as he breaks free and lunges toward Ladybug. The officers tackled him, a scuffle breaking out. Cat Noir, desperate and frightened, cataclysms several officers, sending them sprawling to the ground.

Gasps echo through the church. The crowd recoils, horrified.

"They're fine!" Cat Noir yells. "They're just unconscious!"

But the crowd turns against him, calling him evil. Accusations and questions erupt, growing louder and sharper. Ladybug and Cat Noir find themselves surrounded, police leveling their weapons at them.

One officer, standing firm, demands, "Explain yourselves."

Ladybug's voice quivers as she answers, "We don't know. All we know is that people are being possessed."

"Why are you here, then?" another shouts.

"To save people!" she insists, desperation lacing her tone.

"Why you?!"

Ladybug hesitates, feeling small beneath the weight of their suspicion. "I...I don't know."

The crowd presses closer. "Explain your powers!"

"I—I don't know how they work!"

"You think we're going to believe that? You're hiding something!"

The accusations grow darker. Someone yells, "They sold their souls to the devil!"

Ladybug's face flushes. "No, we didn't! We're just trying to help!"

"You're lying!"

"No, I swear!"

Cat Noir shouts, "Leave us alone! We don't know anything!"

"You're the devil's advocate!" someone hissed.

Cat Noir turns, fury blazing in his eyes. "Do you think the devil wants us to save people? To release them from possession?"

A hush falls over the crowd. The silence is heavy, charged with tension. But a voice breaks it. "You're still not telling the whole truth. Why should we believe you?"

"Because we've never hurt anyone!" Cat Noir shouts, his voice raw. "All we've done is try to protect you."

A man from the crowd shakes his head, disgusted. "If that's true, why did you attack those officers?"

Cat Noir's voice trembles. "We're barely learning how to control these powers."

"You clearly know enough!" someone yells. "You made them drop dead right in front of us!"

Cat Noir turns to Ladybug, his voice wavering. "We need to go."

He grabs her hand, ready to lead her out, but then a gunshot rings through the air. He gasps, clutching his side, and in the next moment, Ladybug feels a searing pain as a bullet hits her too. She staggers, shocked, as the crowd pulls back, horrified by what they'd done.

Cat Noir, bleeding and struggling, pulls her close. "Are you okay?" he whispers.

She nods, but it's a lie.

On a rooftop, Cat Noir studies Ladybug's face. She's quiet, withdrawn, her gaze distant.

"Why were you acting so... off today?" he asks her.

Ladybug blinks, caught off guard. "What?"

"In the fight with that magician," he presses, "you weren't yourself. You were... different."

Ladybug hesitates, her voice faltering. "I—I didn't realize."

"Don't lie to me, Ladybug." His tone is gentle but firm, his gaze steady and unwavering.

She freezes, the fear of being exposed flickering across her face. "I'm sorry," she whispers, voice barely audible. "But I—I don't know."

Cat Noir studies her a moment longer, seeing her struggle in her silence. But he only nods, not pressing further.

Su Han adjusts his grip on his single suitcase as he steps into the cramped apartment. The dim lighting and the faint smell of something fried clings to the walls, reminding him that this is a world far from the temple he'd left behind.

His new roommate, a tall, wiry man with messy hair and a curious gleam in his eyes, gives him an appraising look as he shows him around. After a brief, silent tour of the space, the roommate finally leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms.

"So," he begins, a hint of skepticism in his voice, "why'd you decide to move to Paris?"

Su Han meets his gaze steadily. "I'm a monk. My path requires travel—to spread our word."

The man raises an eyebrow. "What religion is that?"

"I'm part of a small church in Tibet," Su Han replies evenly. "It's... divergent from the religions you've probably heard of."

The roommate hesitates, his expression caught somewhere between interest and wariness.

It's lunch break and Marinette, Alya, and Nino head out of the building. The halls buzz with students, and Marinette keeps her head down, feeling the weight of the day settle over her.

"So... where were you during fourth period?" Alya asks, eyeing her with a curious look.

Marinette sighs inwardly. She'd gotten used to Alya and Nino assuming she just skipped classes sometimes. Keeping up the act, she shrugs. "I was in the restroom."

Nino shoots her a skeptical glance. "The whole time?"

"Yeah," she replies, trying to sound casual.

Alya raises an eyebrow. "Doing what? Just going on your phone or something?"

Marinette forces a smile. "Yeah."

"In which bathroom?" Alya presses.

"The one in the locker room," Marinette says quickly.

Alya and Nino share a look but don't push further. Soon, they say their goodbyes and head off, leaving Marinette to walk home alone. When she gets there, she makes her way to her room, feeling more exhausted than usual. She barely has time to lay down before her mother's voice floats up from downstairs.

"Marinette! Dinner's ready."

Groaning, Marinette gets up, not feeling particularly hungry, but knowing better than to skip a meal in front of her mom. Sabine's already at the bottom of the stairs, her expression laced with concern as she looks Marinette over.

"Marinette, you've been getting skinnier," Sabine says, her brow furrowing. "You really need to eat."

Marinette crosses her arms. "That's not true."

"It is true! Look at your arms; they're thinner."

Marinette feels the prickle of discomfort but forces herself to brush it off. She turns, intending to go back upstairs, but her mom stops her with another question.

"What time have you been going to sleep?" Sabine asks, her voice softening.

"Early," Marinette answers, though she can tell Sabine doesn't buy it.

"You look like you haven't slept in days," Sabine says, folding her arms. "If you don't start going to bed earlier, I'm taking your phone.”

Marinette sighs, knowing it's easier to give in. She joins her parents at the table, picking at her food under Sabine's watchful eye. Halfway through the meal, Sabine looks over at Tom with a worried expression.

"I'm worried about you, Marinette," she murmurs, her gaze lingering. "You don't look well."

"I'm fine," Marinette replies, her voice clipped. She doesn't want to talk about it—not now.

After dinner, she retreats to her room. Sitting on her chaise, Marinette can't shake the heavy feeling that has been growing inside her. She feels off. She calls out for Tikki, hoping the kwami would show up and offer a word of encouragement, but there's no answer. The silence is jarring.

"Spots on," she says softly, transforming, desperate for some sense of comfort. But the transformation feels hollow. She detransforms, the empty feeling hitting harder than before, and she finds herself sinking into tears.

Su Han slips quietly into Master Fu's home, his footsteps barely making a sound as he searches for any sign of the old man. The house is still and unfamiliar. But instead of finding Fu, he encounters a woman—Marianne. She gasps in fear when she sees him standing in the doorway, her hands trembling slightly.

Su Han stares, momentarily thrown. He expected Fu or, at the very least, someone Chinese. He moves past her, ignoring her fear, and begins searching the room. Soon, he finds the Miracle Box, tucked away as if it were just another trinket. His fingers brush the ancient carvings as he prepares to take it, when he hears the woman's voice, speaking in precise, hesitant Chinese.

"Who are you?" she asks, her voice a blend of confusion and fear.

Su Han turns to face her, his voice calm but curt. "Who are you?"

"This was the home of my partner," she says, her voice softening as she speaks of him.

"Where is he now?" Su Han demands.

Marianne's face grows somber. "He... passed away. Only a few weeks ago."

A shadow crosses Su Han's face, but he quickly steels himself. "I am a monk, a guardian of ancient knowledge. I've come to retrieve something Fu took from us many years ago."

"The Miracle Box?" she asks cautiously, her eyes searching his face for a reaction.

"Yes. You know of them?"

Marianne nods. "Fu left them to me in his will. If anything happened to him, he wanted me to protect them."

Su Han shakes his head, frowning. "The Miraculouses never truly belonged to him. They belong with the guardians, in the temple, under the protection of those who understand their true purpose.”

Marianne's gaze softens with understanding but hold firm. "I understand, but... you can't just take them and leave. There's more to it than that."

Su Han remains silent, but her words strike a chord. He knows well enough about the other Miraculouses that had been activated—the Guardians had felt the tremors of their power ripple across the world. He opens the Miracle Box, inspecting it, and immediately notices two additional Miraculouses were missing.

"Where are the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses?" he demands, his tone sharp.

Marianne takes a shaky breath. "They were lost a long time ago, when Fu was a boy. When he escaped the temple."

Su Han's expression hardens as her words strike him like a blow. "When he caused the temple's destruction?"

Marianne nods, remorse filling her eyes. "Yes.”

Su Han clenches his jaw, barely containing his frustration. "What about the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses? Where are they?”

Marianne's gaze is steady. "They're with two young heroes here in Paris. They call themselves Ladybug and Cat Noir."

He absorbs this, his mind racing. "I see," he says, making a decision. "Let's make a deal. You will help me when I need it."

Marianne hesitates, then nods. "Alright."

With his plan taking shape, Su Han decides he needs to embed himself in Paris. Finding the right connections was key.

Adrien and Chloe are outside school, their presence drawing the attention of onlookers and curious fans. A small crowd begins to gather, chattering and snapping photos as the two friends exchanged glances.

"Are you dating?" one of the fans call out.

Chloe smirks, slipping her arm through Adrien's with a confidence only she could pull off. "Yes," she answers, giving Adrien a mischievous smile. They brush past the crowd and make their way to Adrien's car, ignoring the whispers trailing behind them.

Back at Su Han's new apartment, his roommate's lounging on the couch when Su Han enters, his mind still racing with plans.

"Hey," Su Han starts, "what exactly do you do for a living?"

The roommate looks at him lazily. "I don't really do anything. Just pick up jobs when they come around."

Su Han raises an eyebrow. "What kind of jobs?"

The roommate shrugs. "Whatever my friends pass my way. Sometimes it's moving things, sometimes it's middleman stuff. Drugs, money—just helping out."

Su Han's eyes narrow thoughtfully. "You work with the mafia?"

His roommate laughs. "Not really. But I've got friends who do."

"Get me in on your next job," Su Han says, his voice firm.

The roommate grins. "Actually, I got a call earlier. Me and some others are supposed to meet up soon. You should come."

Su Han nods, his mind made up. "I'll be there."

Marinette had wandered through the day in a fog, haunted by visions of the church and the weight of the people's fear and anger. She sought comfort from her friends, but they too began to question her behavior. Alya and Nino whispered about her in the halls, the warmth of their friendship growing strained as doubt and worry crept into their minds.

In Marinette's room, she takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but the worry in her heart doesn't settle. She looks over at Alya, who's busy scrolling through her phone, and finally speaks up. "Alya... when you were possessed, were you scared the whole time?"

Alya looks up, her face darkening with a memory she'd rather not revisit. "Yeah," she says, her voice softer. "I was terrified. I felt like I was trapped inside my own mind."

Hearing this, Marinette's chest tightens, and before she can stop herself, tears well up in her eyes. She quickly turns away, but Alya already noticed.

"Did something happen?" Alya asks gently, her voice filled with concern. "Do you... feel like that too?"

Marinette bites her lip, fighting to keep her emotions in check. "I don't know," she whispers, wiping her cheeks. "I just... feel like something's wrong, but I can't figure out what."

Alya's brow furrows. "Did you go somewhere? Do you think something happened that might've caused this?"

Marinette swallows hard, remembering her strange encounter that morning at the old church and the unnerving feeling that has lingered ever since. She can't tell Alya about the attack or the dark whispers that followed. But she nods. "Yeah... it started this morning."

Alya's eyes narrow, almost accusingly. "You were skipping class, weren't you?"

Marinette hesitates, then gives a small nod. "Yes," she admits, her voice barely a whisper.

Alya sighs. "What are you doing when you skip? Are you meeting up with someone?"

"No," Marinette says quickly. "I just... sit alone. That's all."

Alya folds her arms, her gaze skeptical. "You're lying."

Marinette's eyes widen. "What?"

"I know when you're lying, Marinette," Alya says firmly. "You're up to something."

Marinette shakes her head, struggling to keep her voice steady. "No, Alya. I'm not lying. I just... don't go to class. I sit in the restroom. That's it."

Alya studies her for a long moment, then leans closer, her voice softer but insistent. "Why, Mari? Why don't you want to go to class?"

Marinette can't find the words. "I just... can't."

Alya's expression softens, concern returning to her eyes. "Have you always been like this?"

Marinette shakes her head. "No..."

Alya lets out a sigh, as if she's trying to piece it all together. "Whatever's going on, whatever you're doing while skipping... stop it, okay? It's not helping. It's only making things worse."

Marinette looks down, not answering, but Alya's words linger in her mind.

Meanwhile, Adrien and Chloe sit in the kitchen, sharing a quick lunch before they head back to school. The last person Adrien expects to see is his father, but Gabriel appears in the doorway, his face stony and cold. Without a word, he raises a gun and shoots Chloe in the face.

Adrien freezes, shock pinning him to his seat. The silence stretches until he finally manages, "Why'd you do that?!"

Gabriel's eyes are ice. "You will not have girls here without my permission."

Adrien's anger flares. "Why do you need to know everything I do? You don't even know me!"

"I'm your father! Of course I know you!"

"No, you don't!" Adrien shoots back, his voice cracking with frustration. "You don't know anything about me! You just want to control me—for what? You don't even care about me!"

Gabriel's face hardens further. "You're right," he says sharply. "I don't give a damn about you. But you will not disrespect me by doing whatever you want in my house."

Adrien clenches his fists, his heart pounding as his father's words sink in. The silence between them is louder than ever.

In a burst of rage, Adrien lashes out, but the sight that meets him is no longer his father—it's a monster. Pain and darkness wash over him, leaving him gasping on the floor.

Chloe's crouched beside Adrien, shaking him, her face twisted with worry. "Adrien, wake up!" She starts to panic. "What the fuck?—are you on drugs?"

Adrien groans, blinking himself back to consciousness. "No, Chloe."

"Then what is wrong with you?" Chloe's voice cracks. "This is the second time it's happened!"

"I don't know," Adrien mumbles, struggling to his feet.

"You have to tell Nathalie," Chloe insists.

Adrien sighs. "Fine." But he knows he won't.”

At school, Chloe stays by his side, trying to keep him focused. During a break, her irritation resurfaces as she taunts Marinette and Alya nearby. Adrien's barely listening. A strange heaviness settles over him, his vision distorting, and suddenly he's seeing things. Marinette and Alya, but twisted, as if they're threats. His vision blurs, and he lunges, attacking Marinette in a fit of rage, his mind trapped in a nightmarish hallucination. In his eyes, she's not herself—she's a monster.

Marinette cries out, collapsing under him, trembling on the floor. Chloe's screaming his name, trying to pull him away, while Alya rushes to help Marinette, her eyes wide with fear. Teachers arrive, the air filling with chaos.

Marinette blacks out and falls into a dark, unsettling dream. She's back at that church, alone in the dimness, the high ceilings and broken windows casting shadows that swallow the light. Adrien's there, standing in the shadows. He grabs her by the neck, his eyes cold and detached. "I'll never love you. Why would I love ever you?" His face morphs into a monstrous form, and the walls shake as glass shatters around her. Voices fill her head, accusing her, calling her evil, unwanted.

Meanwhile, Adrien's in his own nightmare, alone in his room as shadows gather around him. His father's voice is the loudest, harsh and unforgiving. "You'll become just like him," they whisper. Then his father's face twists into something monstrous before morphing into Plagg, then more demons, floating around him, closing in. Their voices grow louder, tormenting him, telling him he will hurt everyone he loves, that he's destined to repeat his father's sins. He tries to fight back, to break free, until finally, desperate, he uses his Cataclysm on himself, bringing a twisted end to the vision.

In the hospital, Marinette's parents sit beside her bed, their worry mingling with frustration. They can't understand why she's back in the hospital again. Sabine's patience finally snaps. "Marinette, we're so tired of this behavior," she says, her voice thick with emotion. "What happened to you?"

Marinette just shakes her head, tears welling up. "I don't know," she whispers.

Sabine sighs heavily, exasperated, while Marinette buries her face in her hands, feeling the weight of it all.

In another hospital room, Adrien's awake, glancing at the door with a mixture of anger and disappointment. "So... my father couldn't come?"

Nathalie's face softens. "I'm sorry, Adrien," she says quietly.

As night falls, Su Han and his roommate meet with a boss. Su Han had hoped for a more dangerous mission and voices his disappointment. "If you ever need someone for a... more permanent job, I'm experienced." The boss looks him over with new interest, and they exchange numbers, a subtle understanding passing between them.

Marinette, back in her room, is seething. She feels the tension in every muscle, anger boiling up inside her. She throws her belongings around the room in a fit of frustration, until she finds herself staring at a picture of Adrien. Her anger morphs into desperation, her fingers brushing the photo as if he might somehow offer her solace. She hates how Chloe always seemed to win. She wants Adrien to herself.

The thought twists her mind, and before she knows it, she's transforming. But something's wrong—her body feels heavy and numb, her movements sluggish. She can hear faint tapping and murmurs, echoing around her, and a chill runs down her spine.

Adrien, back in his own nightmare, finds himself surrounded by the same demons, taunting him, accusing him. He fights them, clawing and kicking until, out of options, he uses Cataclysm again, his body convulsing as he collapses. When he comes to, he's no longer in control. A dark presence within him takes over, and he staggers to his father's room, intent on hurting him. The last thing he remembers was raising his hand in anger before he uses Cataclysm again, collapsing into darkness.

The following morning, Nathalie finds Gabriel and Adrien dead in Gabriel's room. She barely suppresses a gasp, instructing the bodyguard to leave for the day and ensuring no one would ask questions.

At school, Marinette's called to the office, where a police officer awaits her. They question her gently about Adrien's recent behavior.

"Does Adrien... bully you?" one of them ask carefully.

Marinette shakes her head. "No, Adrien's... he's nice to me."

"And do you know why he might've hit you?"

"It was an accident," Marinette says, her voice breaking slightly. "He didn't mean it."

The officer glances at her skeptically. "You don't have to lie. You can tell us the truth."

"I'm not lying." She looks down, swallowing hard. "Adrien would never hurt me on purpose. I saw it. He wasn't himself."

Chloe had also been called in and repeated the same story, insisting that something was wrong with Adrien and that he wasn't himself.

By lunchtime, Alya and Nino are grumbling in the halls, suspiciously eyeing the empty desk Adrien should've been occupying. "Of course he didn't show up," Alya mutters.

When they ask Marinette about what she'd said, she admits she defended him. Alya and Nino share a look of disbelief, questioning why she would.

Meanwhile, Su Han returns to Marianne's, determined to take one of the Miraculouses to aid him. He choses the Snake Miraculous, but ultimately decides the remaining Miraculouses would be safer with Marianne.

Marinette, after classes, doesn't go home. Instead, she transforms, her emptiness enveloping her as she perches on a rooftop. She drifts through the city, finally finding herself near Adrien's house. She climbs up to the roof, but before she can reach the top, a dark, clawed figure appears before her, snarling. In her fear, she slips, landing hard. Headless, she stumbles inside his home, setting off security alarms. Nathalie rushes down, her expression a mixture of disgust and horror as she takes in Ladybug's paranormal state.

Ladybug tries to make her way upstairs, but Nathalie strikes her down. When Ladybug falls, Nathalie spots a trail of blood left behind. Following it, Nathalie finds the remains of Ladybug's head.

With steady hands, she unwraps the faded scar on her forearm—a mark Gabriel had once carved for a binding ritual. Taking a deep breath, Nathalie presses the blade to her skin, removing a thin layer of skin from her forearm. Her blood spills, severing the connection. Finally, Ladybug gasps, her eyes fluttering open as life returns to her.

[coherentmarketinsights]

Scented Sophistication: GenB_Luxury Perfumes Pantheon

Luxury Perfumes - A world of rich fragrances Introduction to Fine Fragrances Luxury perfume brands create fine fragrances that transport the wearer to a different world with each spritz. Perfumers are true artists, carefully crafting complex olfactive compositions that elicit memories and emotions. Let's take a deeper look at some of the iconic houses and their signature scents. Chanel - Timeless Elegance in a Bottle The House of Chanel is renowned for its refinement and understated glamour. Created in 1922, Chanel No.5 was one of the first luxury fragrances and it remains hugely popular today. With notes of may rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang and sandalwood, it epitomizes Coco Chanel's aesthetic of quietly luxurious femininity. Another classic is Coco Mademoiselle, featuring orange blossom, Tunisian jasmine and warm vanilla. Whether day or evening, Chanel perfumes are always in good taste. Dior - Romanticism in a Spray Christian Dior captivates the senses with perfumes that transport the wearer to a world of romance and couture. Miss Dior blooms with rose essence, peony and apricot in a delicate floral bouquet. Joy is a much brighter explosion of bergamot, jasmine and ambrox for a sunny disposition. But it's J'Adore that has become an iconic staple, merging golden jasmine, Chinese ylang-ylang and damascena rose. Dior makes women feel and look like princesses. Guerlain - French Artistry and Heritage As the oldest French perfume house, Guerlain brings a heritage of exquisite craftsmanship. Shalimar, first blended in 1925, defined oriental perfumes with notes of bergamot, vanilla and incense. The timelessly glamorous scent remains eternally sensual. Another masterpiece is Mitsouko, a rich yet delicately balanced blend of peach, iris, jasmine and benzoin. For a warm gourmand twist, try La Petite Robe Noire, a seductive blend of wild berries, mundi peach, lily of the valley and praline. Guerlain pushes creative boundaries while respecting grand tradition. Tom Ford - Sensual Sophistication Former creative director of Gucci, Tom Ford exudes bold glamour from his eponymous line. Initial fragrances like Tom Ford for Men and Black Orchid are iconic for their intense Oriental accords. But it's Lost Cherry that truly wows, an opulent blend of sour cherry, tonka bean and balsamic accords giving way to succulent notes of ripe plum and sensual black cherry. His perfumes whisper sex appeal and leave a lasting first impression - just like their owner. Nichey & Dreams - A World of Discovery While houses like Chanel and Dior are fixtures in the luxury game, new niche brands are springing up with innovative concepts. Byredo creates woody, transparent fragrances inspired by far-flung destinations from Tokyo to Morocco. Each candlelit boutique transports customers to a serene oasis. Another cult favorite is LA's By Kilian, known for unlikely yet harmonious blends like Straight to Heaven, mixing white flowers with creamy notes. The luxury fragrance world offers boundless possibilities for self-expression and discovery. Each bottle houses not just notes and accords, but the very soul of the perfumer and brand. So spritz on your olfactory adventure and see where it takes you!

[miraculouslybobatea]

Mini art dump of projects I’ve been too sad to post (don’t get me started on the amount of abandoned WIPs I have)

[kudotsurugi]

Here it is, the beginning to the epilogue for the Dr Chimera story. Things have calmed down a bit since the main story, but there is one last surprise our heroes aren’t expecting.. and it’s not an akuma attack.

For a full look of the play’s poster, click here.

I’d put the whole thing in one post, but it can only take 10 images at a time, so I’ll have to split it. It’s not complete, but I’ll try to get the rest out here soon. If you want to see it unfold page-by-page, feel free to check by my dA folder for the comic.

Also, to answer some questions for the AU: Yes, Alim and Nina know Marin and Adrienne are in a relationship at this point. No, they don't know they're Ladybeetle and Chat Noire.

Links for all the parts so far here: (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8-a | Part 8-b) (Part 9) 

(Epilogue: Pt.1(HERE)| the rest coming soon)

And as always, check out the inspirations behind this story down below, they are awesome folks that are worth checking out.

@yaushie‘s lovely art

@ceejles’ mermaid AU pic: http://ceejles.tumblr.com/post/152358918673/i-actually-like-reading-turn-loose-the

@princess-sakura-serenity‘s dub of said picture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK7HY9LlBCA

@philsterman01 and @maekankouya‘s dub of @instantmiso‘s Siren’s Lament: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhLhsD0lG6hh8xCrzj31AdEX0qRTv3v-h  

@therealphantoms’s dub of @ipkunoir‘s ‘Furry Situation’ comic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62XLAWolrBw

[miyukey-arts]

These two fandoms are too perfect for crossover! I couldn’t resist! =))) Love outfit and I love characters   support me by    Patreon!

[reblogalogalogalog]

"Marinette's Bad Girl Side" - Miraculous Ladybug Comic Dub

Original Artist: andreisart and maygc17

Princess Sakura Serenity’s Channel

[thescrolls-haveforetold]

Ten Characters, Ten Fandoms, Ten Tags (probably no tags tho)

Tagged by @babyblueetbaemonster thank you<33

Near/Nate River (Death Note)

Daenerys Targaryen (ASOIAF/GoT)

Galadriel (Lord of the Rings)

Sotha Sil (The Elder Scrolls)

Giorno Giovanna (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Bec Noir (Homestuck)

Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100)

Cinnabar (Houseki No Kuni)

Bee (Bee and Puppycat)

Princess Serenity (Sailor Moon)

Tagging: no one, anyone who sees this and wants to do this, consider yourself tagged <3

[piripikapip]

Now that the @meowraculouschatnoirzine is up and is free download here, i can finally post my full submission!

I’m super happy I had the opportunity to participate in this project!

I also did a speedpaint, so check it out~