#Without actually learning how to care about herself without him constantly complimenting her.
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I adore the way the HC of Shiki being a dysphoric trans girl ties in so neatly with her whole Thing about identity and valuing yourself and being so jealously coveting of what someone else has which in your head has been built up to be the epitome of what you think you want.
What dysphoric trans person hasn't wished they could wake up cis one day? Wished they could just swap bodies with their identity compatible trans friend?
Waking up as Eri, as an 'actual' girl, Shiki would initially be over the moon. It's everything she wanted- except. Except.
Internally she still feels like a fake, because she's trying to be like Eri instead of herself. And eventually, her dysphoria would catch up with her again just in a different flavour because the face and body she sees in every reflection isn't hers, she doesn't look like herself. She has the body she's always coveted in her friend, been jealously green eyed over, and it ruins her because she doesn't look like her.
'Shiki' is erased the more she tries to be Eri. Tries to be cis.
A trans Shiki not only learning how valuable she is to herself, but her value to herself also lies in appearing as, and being true to, her genuine self- something she can't do borrowing someone else's appearance and mannerisms.
Shiki doesn't have to be Eri; doesn't have to act like her, look like her, be cis like her, to be valid as a girl. Shiki, as herself, was always enough.
#twewy#I just have a lot of feelings about Shiki's whole journey over her gaining perspective of the value in herself.#And how it's not tied to her feelings for a boy. Shiki's journey about how she feels about herself is entirely focused on HER#And how SHE grows to care about herself from a genuine place instead of being shallowly propped up by compliments from Love Interest Boy-#Without actually learning how to care about herself without him constantly complimenting her.#One is genuine self confidence. The other is gonna crumble the moment she no longer has that source of self esteem around.
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What are some of the characters secret little things that make their heart flutter. Like seeing their love interest wearing their clothes, or when they come home and their partner comes flying at the for a hug. What's that little thing that really gets them going?
Vice Virtue
Nicholas
The little things that make his heart flutter:
A woman who knows how to dress, who would compliment his aesthetic. A woman that kills it in the fashion department, even on her worst days.
A woman who exudes a loving motherly nature, kind and graceful. Though, no where near being a pushover.
The deeper things that would make him fall in love:
A woman whose seen him at his absolute worst, witnessing the part of him he so desperately tries to keep at bay. And still chooses to stick by him, helping him through these difficult times, every time. To tell him that he was only just a boy at the time, and what happened in the past wasn't his fault. That he isn't a burden, that he too was a victim of his condition....
Tobias
The little things that make his heart flutter:
A woman whose clean and organized, almost meticulously so.
A woman who prides herself on being open and honest. Telling the cold, hard, truth, despite how bad others may take it.
The deeper things that would make him fall in love:
A woman finding out about his past, his story and not pitying or judging him for it. Just simply understanding that he did what he had to do, in order to survive. And that despite all he's done, he's here today because of those sacrifices.
Elias
The little things that make his heart flutter:
Though Elias enjoys sex, and literally has no interest in love. Instead, only partaking in one night stands and/or f*ck buddy arrangements. When he deeply cares for someone, he'd actually love it if that person were to express their affection for him in softer intimate ways. Rather than constantly taking it to the bedroom.
Someone with tattoos....he likes the aesthetic, points if the tattoo has a story behind it. He also kinda has a thing for tattoos that aren't completely obvious, hidden one's.....he likes to find them.
The deeper things that would make him fall in love:
Someone to learn of his past, and to tell him he's neither a curse nor a blessing. Simply a man trying to live in a world, that won't let him truly live. That he isn't a puppet on a string, that he too deserves a life of his own....
Kacey
The little things that make her heart flutter:
Someone who reciprocates her affections, who seems just as happy to see her, as she is to see them.
Someone who won't hold her childlike nature or tomboy ways over her head and degrade her because of it. Someone who instead appreciates those parts of her, whilst also recognizing that isn't the entirety of who she is.
The deeper things that would make her fall in love:
Someone who learns of her past and isn't disgusted by what she has done. Instead crying with her, mourning the loss of a little girl who never had a chance to truly grow. To mourn what she has taken from this world, without judgement. Someone to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that she only tried to help and most importantly....that she shouldn't reject such a big part of herself because of it.
Mason/Marley
The little things that make their heart flutter:
Someone who gets along well with their close group of friends, dog and beloved mother.
Someone who finds their nerdy side endearing, without trying to turn them into something they're not, points if they're a nerd too.
The deeper things that would make them fall in love:
Someone to tell them that they're nothing like their father, and that they never will be. Someone to remind them of all the good they've done for their mother, that what they've given her over the years is more than enough. That they should never feel guilty about ever wanting a carefree childhood, and a life of their own at the expense of their own mother's sacrifices. That despite everything, they did protect her as best they could, even if they thought otherwise.
Shuri/Shyam
The little things that make their heart flutter:
Someone with taste, who also likes to pick out outfits for them and allow them to do it in turn for the other person.
Someone with a sense of humour, who can both take a joke and dish it right back.
The deeper things that would make them fall in love:
Someone to tell them that they see them for who they are, that they no longer need to hide behind the jokes and smiles, because you can see them as clear as day. That what happened wasn't their fault, that they're allowed to grieve. That everyone's happy they're here, that you're happy they're alive.....even if they're not.
Leena/Luther
The little things that make their heart flutter:
Someone who is driven, with a determination to succeed, no matter the setbacks.
Someone who talks back to them, without being outright rude. Someone with social finesse, a viper of sorts. Who would do well in higher social circles, without being a complete kiss ass.
The deeper things that would make them fall in love:
Someone to tell them that they're not perfect, far from it actually. That they're just like the rest of us, and that's completely fine. To tell them that the expectations placed on them since birth. Are as non-sensical as the people, who thought a child should've been the one to constantly rise to the occasion. Someone to tell them that their life is entirely their own, and that you'll be there to guide them through this unfamiliar journey. Towards a happiness they never knew existed, nor one they thought they ever deserved....
Alpha, Beta, Omega
One
The little things that make his heart flutter:
A woman who can hold her own in a fight.
Wearing anything of his.
The deeper things that would make him fall in love:
For a woman to simply tell him that he's doing a great job as leader, and that the perfection he's so desperately chasing is simply unattainable. That no one is perfect and that no one ever will be, a woman to tell him that none of it was his fault. Not the nightmares that plague him from the past, nor the fact that he ruined his own brother's life.....
Zero
The little things that make his heart flutter:
Someone who sees behind his mask, peering into the filth and sheer ugliness of his soul. And still wanting that side of him, all of him. The good, the bad and especially the ugly, rather than simply enjoying the pleasant parts of him he prettily puts on display.
Someone with a back bone, who talks back when needed. Someone with enough willpower to refrain from cowering in the face of danger. Even if the danger is him....
The deeper things that would make him fall in love:
Someone who loves and cares for his younger brother as much as he does, helping One through his stresses and internal turmoil. Someone to learn of Zero's past, what he's done, what he's had to sacrifice and to tell him that whilst his brother is not to blame.....Zero was too a victim.
Viper
The little things that make her heart flutter:
Someone who has a fighter's spirit, someone with the willpower and willingness to survive in the harshest of conditions. Without turning into a complete monster because of it.
Someone who understands why she has to be harsh at times, why she has to be ruthless and unfeeling. Seeing the motives behind her actions and not judging her for it.
The deeper things that would make her fall in love:
Someone to tell her that she did the best that she could, that she isn't to blame for how things turned out. To tell her that she too was only just a child....
Wolfe
The little things that make his heart flutter:
A woman who speaks her mind, and can hold her own in a fight.
A woman with a sense of humour, who can both take a joke and dish it right back.
The deeper things that would make him fall in love:
A woman who reassures him that he's not a monster, that though his anger is fierce. It's never unjustified, that he channels his anger to help others. To hurt the real monsters, the one's that hurt others with no reason or remorse. And that his father would be so proud of him for it.
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Wait, this is actually brilliant?? And all those scenes from Punk Hazard finally make sense to me?? I need to look at them again, excuse me (you're all ofc invited to revisit it with me):
Zoro is expecting Monett to fight him on equal ground, but she's actually not at all interested in that. She's using dirty tricks, going after the weakest opponents and would rather not face Zoro at all, thinking she's no match for him anyway. She reaches that conclusion without even fighting him properly, she did the same earlier with Luffy as well. Monett's not really a fighter and she doesn't even want to be one.
I originally was so taken aback, because I never expected Zoro to refuse fighting women seriously. He did fight Tashigi seriously in Logue Town, he just spared her. As we learn later, ever since joining the crew, Zoro spares his enemies constantly. it wasn't really special treatment just for women. After all, Mr 1 is also still alive, among others.
Zoro and Sanji's mutual understanding here is kinda fascinating, all things considered. "Go protect the women, that's your job", "Gotcha!". They're literally on same page here.
Again, Zoro's surprise that Monett sees herself as just a girl, not really a fighter. He's disappointed in her as his opponent, because he thinks she should be more serious. He wants her to be bold and fight him without holding back, because for Zoro genders don't matter. A woman, a man, who cares; on the battlefield all he cares about is whether the opponent is strong or not.
But this time it's different. Monett wants to be seen as a girl, to be complimented for being girly and charming, that's something that's personally important for her. She doesn't care about fighting. And it's fine, women don't have to be manly and want to prove men they're strong to not be discriminated. That's probably something that never occured to Zoro before and was the factor that made him finally decide that Monett and Tashigi should fight each other instead. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Monett wasn't really feeling comfortable fighting men anyway, she was scared of them. She had no problem fighting Tashigi though or going after Nami.
Ouchie. It's of course a callback to Logue Town.
Did Zoro change at all since that day?
Later he claims he would have defended himself, but his hands aren't even resting on his swords. He clearly didn't plan on doing anything here.
Of course he means inferiority in terms of swordsmanship skills.
"You will never win!", oh how wrong she was. Tashigi in Punk Hazard realized that mercy has different shades and isn't just about sexism.
Interesting how much faith Sanji has in Zoro, despite both of them having such different views on how to treat women.
But it's such a big change from Logue Town. Sanji in Punk Hazard had no problem leaving Zoro to fight against Monett.
Old Sanji would never say that. Zoro's and Sanji's views might clash, but they definitely influence each other. Both of them learned how to leave things up to others when they themselves can't handle them (Zoro to Tashigi, Sanji to Robin).
It's interesting how in both cases they decide to just give the liberty to women instead of making decisions for them. Zoro started to recognize when his female opponents aren't interested to fight it like "a man to man" and that it's also okay if that's the case and he shouldn't be the one to force them to anything. Sanji understood that he can be exploited by women as well, who are not beyond using their own charms in the battle to their advantage.
Sanji declares his indiscriminating love for all the women in the world. Definitely the result of spending time with Zoro and the two of them influencing each other, if you ask me.
The final result is interesting, because it boosted Robin's selfconfidence and showed Sanji's trust in her fighting skills. Sanji is no longer discriminating his female crew members by always trying to protect them, he lets them shine. Zoro would approve, because no matter if you're a man or a woman, you can be a skilled warrior.
I'm kinda stunned I missed out on this theme all this time in One Piece and only saw Sanji's chivalry as a gag and nothing more. Damn, Oda. This is actually pretty progressive in a shonen manga, ngl, I'm impressed. It might not be perfect (as in, there are still many problematic things in One Piece), but it's a goddamn good shot.
Also Zoro and Sanji are both right, they just see different angles of the same problem. You need to see every angle to fully comprehend stuff. Zoro and Sanji *need* each other, because despite fighting about it, their views are also complementary. They make each other better people as the result.
I've broken this down in opla but I wanna talk about it in animanga context too: Zoro and Sanji's ongoing conflict is largely about sexism!! Which is a fascinating thing to do with male shounen protagonist power players, for one, but also just adds so much to the overall team dynamic and treatment of women in the writing.
Zoro and Sanji are both carrying on the legacies of oppressed women they lost in their childhoods, but in wildly different ways.
Kuina's oppression had to do with being seen as a lesser warrior for being female even though she was incredibly capable. Fighting with her was respecting her. To refuse to fight her would have made Zoro complicit in belittling her dream and status. So he treats women just like everyone else, only discriminating based on actual strength and skill, not gender. His concept of the systemic oppression against women is that they're being excluded from things they're capable of participating in.
Sora's oppression, on the other hand, had to do with her body being used as a tool of war against her will, to birth soldiers for Judge's army. It wasn't a case of being treated differently despite being just as capable, it was a case of being exploited directly using her biological differences and social position as a woman. To use more violence against her would be disrespectful and cruel. So Sanji focuses on protecting women from violence and refuses to be an agent of it, based on gender rather than strength and skill. His concept of the systemic oppression against women is that they're being taken advantage of for things inherent to them that they didn't choose and can't change.
Essentially Zoro only sees sexism as an issue of discrimination and Sanji only sees sexism as an issue of exploitation. And they're both too dumb and traumatized to articulate it, so they just hit each other.
#one piece#zoro#sanji#zosan#feminism and indiscrimination#one piece meta#excellent post op#you changed my view on Zoro and Sanji forever!#bless you!!#reblogs
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Heyyy chica!
Since your fave is Mr. Kiba... who do you think he would/should've ended up w/ in the series?
Ive seen abit about him and Hinata (I definitely ship that more than NaruHina but I'll save that for another day 😅💀).
If Hina how do you think they'd be as a couple?? 🤔
ok so this is just my opinion, but i'm a huge kibahina shipper, as well as one for narusaku!!
i mean c'mon, kiba and hinata would look so fucking cute together. tamaki was okay for him, i suppose, and naruhina never truly made much sense to me, but the rugged, rough-around-the-edges brute, in love and dating the soft-spoken, timid cutie? sign me up for that.
kiba was always caring towards hinata and super protective of her, but the thing that really stuck with me was that even though his protectiveness for her was potent, he at the same time respected her a lot and believed in her capabilities. like he was the first person to actually notice her and was her number one hype man; always cheering her on, pushing her to strive for the best version of herself she can be and to never settle for anything less or hold back when it came to fighting/using her powers.
he was such a meanie towards everyone but hinata. it's sooo obvious that he has a soft spot for her; always teasing her about her crush on naruto and holding onto her whenever she was close to fainting, oh my lord. they're just so precious, ahhhh!!
i remember him telling naruto [i think?] that she was "more than able to fend for herself", and i love that about kiba - he knew damn well that she was strong and fierce and made a point to make it clear for anybody who dared fuck with her.
i think their dynamic would be the "we're two completely different people, but it still works." like imagine them going to a party as a couple - the sly extrovert holding the shy, quiet girl by the waist, getting her a drink, teasing her, holding her close.
i feel like she'd blush at anything he'd do and he'd poke her cheek just to feel the warmth of her skin on the tip of his finger even though she'd flinch at the physical contact in public. he'd talk to friends, but try to ease her into the conversation gently [nothing too intense that'd overwhelm her, just like similar interests or random chatter], and he'd constantly ruffle her hair, and gossip into her ear, until she'd scold him that he's being rude.
he'd give her the biggest bear hugs, like sway her from side to side until she'd start to laugh. would nibble on her soft cheek just to see her smile when she's having a bad day. would compliment her cooking. braid her hair, because he'd learn to do it just for her. give her those wet, loving smooches all over her face that'd make her giggle. would always let her wear his jacket and sweaters because he knows she likes oversized clothing and it'd just make her smell like him anyway. would jokingly sink his teeth into her finger when she'd trace it over the tip of his nose when she'd think he was asleep.
she'd be really hesitant about trying any sort of thing in their relationship, but he'd make her feel comfortable and safe enough to the point where she'd actually want to initiate something first.
i think hinata would be able to finally relax around kiba, unlike with other people; like she'd show more of her personality and actually share her opinion on certain things she likes and the hobbies she enjoys indulging in. she'd open up like a bright sunflower because of him, and he'd be the sunshine that makes it grow.
despite being arrogant and rude at times, kiba's actually really sweet towards people he cares about and would be super open with her when it came to how he's feeling. i think it's the thing that would draw her to him in the first place; his ability to portray such raw, intense emotions without ever feeling ashamed or scared of people seeing them.
kiba would be like an anchor for her, he'd keep her grounded and safe, but would still help her grow into this confident person that has always been hiding underneath layers upon layers of shyness.
he'd teach her how to enjoy life and live in the moment and just let loose from time to time and fucking breathe in the summer air before jumping into the icy sea completely butt-naked, because she'd know that he'd be waiting for her on the shore with a dry towel and a warm kiss right after she'd come running back.
hinata on the other hand, would teach him how to be patient and rational, and how to be more gentle and kind towards others. she'd show him how to be satisfied with the little pleasures in life and that less is more at times, and that he doesn't need to keep proving himself to her because he is enough - goddamn, he is enough. and he always will be enough for her.
he's the man that could sense when something would be off with her just by one look to her face, and that would give her hand a gentle squeeze to assure her that everything is all right. and when she'd look up into his eyes and see that dazzling, silly grin of his - she'd just know that everything really was going to be okay. that he'd make it be okay.
both of their hearts are so, so big and golden. sigh, i love them so much.
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How to Exploit Kindness [A New Kind of Lila Salt Prompt]
[ Ive seen Lila and Class salt that goes a lot of different ways. In some Lilas a sad lonely girl who will do anything for friends and the class fall for her lies through a mixture of manipulation and Lila’s genuine sad lonely but real persona. In others Lila is insane and the class get basically sucked into her cult. And in others still, Lila slowly breaks the class down by preying on there insecurities, hidden jealousies ect. There are the versions where Lila just bribes the class with connections and the versions where Lila frames Marinette until no one believes her. But I wanted to write a new idea for people to use, one that I feel is a bit more realistic. One where Marinette’s classmates are more their more authentic kind selves but still get slowly pulled into Lila’s web and where Lila is just a bit more intelligent. ]
[ As usual with all my prompts feel free to borrow the idea to write for your own thing salt, sugar, cuteness angst ect just be sure to credit me for the idea so I can read it. ]
Lila was furious! This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! She was supposed to be everyone's friend! She was supposed to finally get a cute perfect boyfriend who would cherish her like she deserved! She was supposed to be HAPPY! But no, the pathetic beetle Ladybug and that goody two shoes Marinette kept ruining everything!
No… No that wasn’t quite true. As much as she wanted to blame her problems on those two it wasn’t entirely their faults. Honestly Lila wasn’t quite sure what had happened. Her lies had been working at first, they had gotten her praise and compliments and adoration and friendship! But now? Now they were all ignoring her, unimpressed by her celeb lies! She could not understand it! At first she’d been sure it was Marinette or Ladybug maybe even Adrien had turned on her! But when she’d probed for information she’d learned that none of them had blown the whistle. So what was it! Tomorrow… Tomorrow she will find out one way or another. She needed to get them back under her thumb somehow.
It was Chloe who gave Lila her answers. Chloe was the reason none of her classmates cared about her stories! Chloe was the idiot mayor's brat. And what a brat she was constantly wiggling her way into her mothers fashion shoots or had celebrities over at the hotel. Of course Lila’s classmates didn’t care about Lila’s celebrity connections because Chloe was always name dropping just as many people as herself. The only difference was Lila used fake modesty and shyness that made her ‘friends’ view her lies in less of a gloating light than Chloe’s haughty claims of celebrity meetings.
It was a damn shame, celebrity lies were her bread and butter, they were exciting got people to think you were important and they were hard to prove or disprove allowing Lila to easily get around the messy little detail of ‘proof’ if someone asked for pictures all she could say was that her mom didn't let her take any because she didn't want her precious daughter being targeted by crazy fans. And if someone asked her to use her celebrity connections? Well she could just turn on the water works and cry about them just being her friend for her connections. Thus her prey would be forced to be her ‘friend’ , always listening to her and doing things for her, unable to ask for anything in return. Then when her mother announced their next move Lila would tearfully say goodbye and leave all her suckers behind. But without the sway of her celebrity lies her system broke down. That was the problem with picking the school full of rich talented idiots she supposed.
Well with Chloe ruining her system she’d need a new one. Scrolling through her classmates' social media for a clue she sneered at their overly cheerful and cutesy posts. Always encouraging one another and posting encouraging puff pieces about this or that. Always acting like they were so nice. As Lila scrolled over a charity fundraiser event that Alya had retweeted from Milene a sudden thought crossed her mind. Her classmates were very ‘nice’ and annoyingly so. They were always butting into each other's business, always being SO concerned, always organizing events to help each other and appreciate each other and going to charity events.
In fact now that she thought about it the stories that had intrigued her ‘friends’ always had some sort of charity garbage attached. Saving Jagged’s kitten or raising money for some cause or other that always got her heaps of praise. Sure saying Clara whatshername stole her dance moves got attention but not in the same way saying she raised money for some green project. Was it really that simple? Sure her classmates all loved Marinette for her extreme generosity and kindness but was it REALLY that simple? She needed to check.
It was actually that easy. One simple little lie about how she pulled a blind old man out of danger when he was nearly run over and suddenly the class was bathing her in praise. And the ‘fact’ that the whole very real thing made her miss first period and sprain her ankle? Well that was just the cherry on top. Suddenly Max was offering her a copy of his notes and everyone was back to caring for her like she was a princess. The fact that Marinette looked like she was seething only for sweet naive Adrien to keep her mouth shut was just so perfect. She’d found her golden ticket. Her classmates were truly ‘good kind people’ and nothing could be exploited quite like kindness.
With this knowledge Lila would easily be able to destroy Marinette, sure she wouldn’t be able to do it quickly but slowly she would replace her, with every good deed she made up with every act of false modesty she would build a reputation greater than Marinette’s she would replace her and become there new ‘everyday ladybug’ and the best part was she wouldn’t have to say ANYTHING against Marinette. Not. A. Thing. No sweet righteous Marinette would eventually snap, sadly for her it would probably be too late with how much control Adrien had over her, so when it happened Marinette would look like the jealous crazy girl going after the girl that was kinder, sweeter, and better than herself. As for Adrien… Well she had a hard time believing it at first but he really was an idiot with a pretty face as long as she was careful as she built her new reputation he would genuinely believe that she was changing for the better and then he'd fall for her.
The best part was, her classmates were genuine. As she built her new good girl heart of gold persona they would genuinely come to love her, all the loyalty Marinette got to enjoy all the perks of being friends with such talented, kind, sweet people would become hers. Slowly no matter how Marinette struggled she would lose, eventually she’d have nothing left. Of course she’d need to be careful with her lies but that was easy. Bring the class to a charity here and there and tell them that she was the one who gave the idea for the charity to the actual organizer but didn't want any credit because she was just that kind and humble. If they tried to make her do actual work then she’d have a sudden accident that would require she sit down.
And then once she’d done more photoshoots with Adrien for Gabriel she’d ‘convince’ the man that a charity would make him look good and boost sales. She’d MAKE her lies true all while winning over her future father in law, and heck maybe she’d even pocket a little of the money, she could use a better wardrobe and the extra would be perfect to buy her ‘friends’ the occasional ice cream or presents. In between that she’d just lie about saving people or volunteering on weekends. Maybe even let it ‘slip’ how she was a temp hero for Ladybug . One of the sweetest parts was that between volunteering with Lila, there own activities and hanging out with Lila so she could ‘thank them for their hard work’ no one would be spending a second hanging out with sweet pink little Marinette, they'd abandon her without even realizing it because they’d be SO busy. Sadly this plan of hers would take a little more work then her others, but it would be worth it to become the queen bee of the class- NO the school! And when Marinette eventually slipped up and looked like the biggest jealous bully in the school. Well she’d have no choice but to leave the school with her tail in between her legs.
Victory was looking sweet and satisfying.
[ And where it goes from here is up to you. Lila can win, she can slowly convince the class and school that she's a model citizen and an everyday hero. She can sneakily maneuver the class to not spend time with Marinette slowly separating the girl from her friends. In this way Alya and the rest of them don't become evil salty versions of themselves who overnight hate Marinette and love Lila, but rather they are good naive people who got slowly separated and tricked by someone who wants to use their genuine talents and skills to make herself look better. Adrien who is already shown to be naive and wants to believe the best in people, can fall into Lila’s trap and become genuinely convinced that his high road method really worked and ‘reformed’ Lila into a better person. OR Lila can fail, she can claim to be the wrong temporary hero for ladybug, or she can pick the wrong charity to lie about, or get exposed any number of ways and the class can realize with horror that because they are kind but flawed people who are perhaps too trusting and gullible that they got pulled away from Marinette through subtle manipulation and so they can be redeemed because instead of turning into outright bullies they stayed the same kind people they always were but just got genuinely tricked which is something that can actually happen in real life. You can go heavy salt where Marinette does eventually leave the school or class heartbroken that her kind friends have fallen prey to a bad person Marinette cant find a way to expose. Or you can go clever salt where Marinette figures out Lila’s plan and fights her from the inside slowly exposing the cracks in her facade. Or you can go sugar and redemption where maybe just maybe Lila actually LIKES being nice to people and having real friends who dont care about her fake celeb connections, maybe she honestly redeems herself and even makes amends with Marinette. You can do genuinely anything with this idea and I hope to see this generate some new less *and suddenly everyone is evil* content for those that like salt and angst. ]
#my writing#ml salt#lila salt#lila salt prompt#now technically there isnt any actual class salt or adrien salt in here because its more of a prompt but to be safe il tag it anyway#adrien salt#class salt#ml salt prompt
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Always.
“Truth” is just... I mean, I want to say “garbage” but that doesn’t even do how bad it is justice? Like, okay, I take four major issues with it (my followers be like: just four? :P):
First is the writing in general and the continuity of it all. This episode looks like it’s been through multiple drafts and the final product is an amalgamation of a bunch of them with no coherency between any of them. I already could kind of guess it from the Adrimi kiss that the finale removed, but it’s obvious that there were going to be Adrimi/Lukanette arcs in Season 4 but then stuff happened (i.e: the staff being cowards) and they got cut. It’s totally possible that the plot with Jagged Stone being the father and Marinette having to keep secrets from Luka were still the same episode even in the original draft, but I imagine it at least wasn’t episode one.
There are other, more subtle hints as well, like the episode giving no time to Luka learning that Jagged is his father (making the fandom wonder if Luka remembered when he was Truth) and Ladybug being shocked when she realizes that the akuma is Luka as if she didn’t already see him be akumatized. Juleka also gets weirdly sidelined in the episode despite being Luka’s twin (Astruc has stated that both Luka and Juleka are older and Juleka got held back, which is why she’s in Marinette’s grade but Luka isn’t), so she’s Jagged’s offspring as well. One might presume that Juleka just never cared at all but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be allowed to interact directly with the guy or have any involvement at all. All it would’ve taken is for Luka to mention that Juleka never cared about who their father was but he did, thereby implying that Juleka’s reaction to Jagged would probably be more like, “oh okay.”
You know, if they didn’t reduce her to incoherent mumbling.
Second is the timing of this episode. We had the New York special with Paris being destroyed, but it’s clearly fine here (so I guess it isn’t canon now; thank God honestly), and while it’s technically possible that enough time has passed (supported by the vague implication that Marinette having to miss out on dates with Luka has gone on for a while, given Tom and Sabine’s lack of reaction to them dating), it’s not supported by Marinette examining the Miracle Box as if she’s only just gotten it.
There’s also Shadow Moth, where we’re shown an extended version of the scene from the end of “Miracle Queen” where Gabriel repairs the peacock miraculous, giving the episode a “Volpina”->”The Collector” vibe but then why are the events lining up the way they do???
The narrative also does a really bad job at showing us why Marinette is so strapped for time. She has guardian duties now but you’d think it’d balance out with her not having to go to Fu anymore for guardian training (you know, that thing we never saw but was said to be happening or at least that it was Fu’s intent to have it happen). You could argue that maybe Shadow Moth is more active, but then Chat Noir should be affected by this too; Ladybug states outright that she’s been busy and Chat Noir responds with something akin to, “oh I know, because you’re guardian,” which implies that it’s her guardian duties keeping her busy and Shadow Moth is just interrupting her dates specifically.
But we don’t even see what responsibilities she has added on as guardian. I knew the writers would make it so her being guardian was a hassle, but it’s the first episode of the series and we’ve gotten next to no answers for what being guardian actually adds.
It’s almost like this was a rushed first episode to break up the only thing that unambiguously made Marinette happy for the sake of bringing the love square back and needlessly making her suffer because the writers think it’s hilarious.
Speaking of which, the third thing thing is the comedy because--just--I hate the comedy in this show.
Like, just to start, there’s the kwami, who clearly begin with their mob mentality from the later episode of “Furious Fu” and all proceed to act like children. No, I didn’t expect them to all be wise (I mean, Xuppu exists and is very much not that, having been implied to be a fit for Kim who is known for being a total himbo), but I don’t expect them to all scatter like they do. Kaalki in particular, who was shown to be more poised and refined, blatantly reveals herself to a bunch of civilians just for the sake of Marinette freaking out and needing to make up an excuse.
Same with Alya and her friends. Marinette is panicking because of the kwami and Alya “deduces” (while shading Marinette so blatantly that it’s insulting) that Adrien must be there in her house which--maybe don’t SAY THAT OUT LOUD in case Adrien is literally in her room???). Then Marinette gets a call from Luka, shouts his name, and the girls do a complete 180 in support of Lukentte. It’s not like I’m not for them supporting whatever Marinette wants to do, but the shift is so sudden (and contradicts “Frozer”) that it gave me whiplash and the entire scene ends up being pointless since the girls still go with the “Marinette is in love with Adrien” thing when Truth asks them what Marinette’s secret is. Like, we could’ve gotten small, stupid secrets that everyone thought only they knew about Marinette, but instead it’s just the same thing over and over again (which makes no sense since, by the time Alya blabs the secret - which Alya has already told Nino before anyway - it’s no longer a secret therefore making the answer invalid).
Heck, the whole “secret” thing could’ve even been the people Truth shoots finding ways of answering his questions in a way that is technically telling the truth but also not really, such as if Anarka had answered the, “Who’s my father?” question with, “someone you know/someone famous,” so as to avoid saying that it’s Jagged Stone. It’s just boring seeing characters answer with whatever the asker wants to hear instead of being able to find a way around it.
And then there’s Chat Noir, who’s just--ugh.
Like--okay, I’m going to be extremely petty for a moment and just go off because I hate Chat Noir’s role in this entire episode. The Season 3 finale went out of its way to have Chat Noir be all like, “I have a girlfriend,” when it was a lie, and then Season 4 just parkours around Ladybug telling him that she’s dating (Ladybug clearly took no issue with Chat Noir telling her he’s dating so it’s not like she’s worried about issues there; she’s gotten on his case before in episodes like “Startrain” so there are exceptions) because they want to keep having him flirt and not be sAd because this is Marinette’s episode of suffering and Chat Noir actually having to face the reality that Ladybug is dating (not just in love with someone else) would’ve actually been interesting. Chat Noir gets tons of unnecessary screentime in the episode - mostly for the show to shove in LadyNoir shipping fuel - and then actively avoids telling him the obvious thing because he would’ve actually been forced to grow/develop/stop flirting.
It would’ve been so cute and sweet to see him awkwardly trying to flirt without overstepping boundaries (so more like banter than flirt) or - you know - actually try to support Ladybug and want her to be able to finish her dates by him offering to keep akuma/sentimonsters busy, but no, he’s just left in the dark.
The finale had Chat Noir supporting her (terribly but I digress) and then doesn’t do anything with it at the start of Season 4, meaning his support of her was completely meaningless and just there.
His first appearance is him pranking Ladybug when she’s already overstressed and busy, which comes off as super poor taste and I’m both glad he got splatted into that window for it but also upset because it’s screentime completely gone to waste, and of course it’s just a lead up to him guilting her by being like, “nooo the only thing that hurts me is when you leave me alone during patrol!”
I know he’s teasing (...probably) but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because we know (well, I knew because I know how this show works) that Luka and Marinette were going to break up because of Marinette’s hectic schedule, so it just comes off as insensitive to joke about it, especially when Ladybug’s busy guardian status just serves as a reminder that Fu is gone.
Even when he’s protecting Ladybug from Truth’s questions by cutting in and asking a question of his own, of course he asks about himself to forcibly fish compliments out of Ladybug because she can’t lie to him, and of course they have Ladybug compliment his humor most of all as if that trait hasn’t nearly gotten them in danger multiple times and she’s been repeatedly annoyed when he decides to joke during the worst possible times. It’s as if the writers wanted to pat themselves on the back for their own comedy, so they had Ladybug be a mouthpiece to stroke Chat Noir’s ego.
He claims he won’t force a truth out of her and then literally forces her to say what her favorite things about him are. I acknowledge that this can be seen as me nitpicking but we went from the finale where Chat Noir actually stepped up and took charge (because Ladybug was stressed but I guess him doing anything useful is just whenever it serves the plot) to this where he’s back to flirting constantly and jamming in as much LadyNoir shipping fuel as physically possible. It’s not that he’s useless but he’s annoying and takes up space in an episode that’s supposed to be about Luka and Marinette.
And that leads us into the fourth thing, which is the break-up and just the treatment of Luka and Marinette in general. I could go on and on about how the Season 3 finale built up their relationship just to tear it down in the first episode of Season 4, but that’s not the main issue here.
Luka brought Marinette comfort. He made her happy. He never judged her. He was happy to just date her regardless of any conflicted feelings she might have because hey, who is he to complain if she wants to give him a try and who knows what’ll happen?
And the season couldn’t even give one moment of them being unambiguously happy without ruining or interrupting it. I was ready for the break-up and I was even ready for it to be the first episode but I wasn’t ready for it to be so bad.
Marinette’s Adrien pictures appear out of nowhere (again, makes no sense for the timeline) when they’ve been gone for basically all of Season 3 and even “The Puppeteer 2″ specifically which makes a direct reference to “Troublemaker,” the episode that purposefully overdid it with her pictures (”Truth” has more hanging up and clearly used “Troublemaker” as a reference, by the way). They’re just there for force the love square and Adrien into the episode as much as possible to remind the audience that Adrien breathes. There is literally no purpose to any mention of Adrien and bringing him up isn’t even relevant to Marinette and Luka’s break-up.
It’s just upsetting to know that the umbrella scene from “Origins” (which is already flawed in and of itself) kickstarts this whole thing. Adrien did basically nothing there except for clear up a misunderstanding and give Marinette an umbrella when his ride was a few meters away and Marinette’s house was just across the street, but that actives Marinette’s absolutely crippling crush on him that lasts for 3-4 seasons. Marinette is in this eternal struggle of not being allowed to grow and change because the writers think her stammering/crushing on Adrien is funny while actively punishing her for having this crush in the first place (again, like in the scene with Alya, which insults Marinette for her crush when she wasn’t even panicking over her crush).
It’s the same with Luka, and I can’t believe that it took me until this episode to realize that he and Marinette are both treated the same way: tormented by episodes for having a crush on someone. Episodes will go out of their way to forcibly insert Adrien into the plot to both humiliate Marinette and make Luka feel awkward when the episode isn’t supposed to be about Adrien at all. “Truth” is just “Desperada 2.0″ except Adrien is barely on screen at all and they still felt the need to name drop him constantly. The writers are so sensitive to the idea of people jumping onto another ship or forgetting that Adrien exists that they’ll find any possible way to include him.
“Silencer” knew better. “Silencer” knew that Marinette’s life didn’t have to revolve around the mere mention of Adrien’s name and that she had other interests/desires/traits outside of him. Adrien isn’t brought up once and it was great because the show didn’t feel the need (for once) to throw Adrien into an episode that he had nothing to do with.
Even if I was a love square shipper, I would feel insulted by “Truth” because one half of my ship kept getting name dropped and used as a tool to humiliate the other half, which makes it all the more eyeroll-worthy when the love square stans of the fandom praise this episode for breaking Lukanette up when--oh, wait, they didn’t even break up “because Adrien.”
And that ends up being the real thing here. The writers had to invent a reason for Marinette and Luka to break up. We already know that Jagged Stone being Luka’s dad is a retcon (not technically in the show’s canon but in information we heard about outside of it), so they shoved in Luka having issues about not knowing his father specifically so that he would be pushed over the edge when Marinette couldn’t tell him about her being Ladybug.
When Luka and Marinette were just together and hanging out, Adrien wasn’t mentioned once. Say whatever about the Adrien pictures being on the wall and Marinette’s stammering (she always says stupid stuff when she panics - especially stuff she doesn’t mean - so I’m not upset with her so much as the writing for having her mess up in that specific way), but the only time Marinette talks about Adrien at all in the episode is when someone else brings him up.
She goes on a date with Luka to the cinema and they were having a great time without Adrien involved at all. I know I already stressed this point in a previous post, but one of the reasons that I find Lukanette to be so amazing is because the show actually focuses on Marinette’s interests and doesn’t force her to be the writer’s mouthpiece for gushing about their sunshine boy a punching bag for comedy. In every Lukanette scene that doesn’t bring up Adrien/before Adrien shows up, Marinette is either praised, able to be happy, or is showing one of her interests that isn’t aDrIeN, and whereas Adrien being on-screen around Marinette usually just means that she’s gushing about/stammering around him with no development, Lukanette features us actually learning more about Luka or other characters.
“Captain Hardrock” - lets her bond with Luka over a shared interest in Jagged Stone, and Luka is established as a sort of empath who uses music as a way to speak for himself
“Frozer” - gets to practice ice skating with Luka, who is actually good at ice skating and also can tie laces despite not tying his own because he’s a rebel
“Desperada” - gets to try out guitar with Luka and we learn that Luka has been playing guitar for as long as he can remember
“Silencer” - showcases Marinette’s interest in fashion and properly introduces Kitty Section; has a plot featuring all of them together doing something not even remotely love-related and we get actual confirmation of Luka’s crush on Marinette, along with Marinette’s reaction (blushy+happy; just saying, idk how anyone could watch “Silencer” and not think that Marinette was crushing on Luka)
“Heart Hunter” - Marinette gets a song written for/about her and Luka is established to have a job
“Truth” - brings up Lukanette’s shared interest in Jagged Stone, features Marinette’s interest in fashion when she gives him a gift she made + had Jagged Stone sign, and shows her raising her voice but not being judged by Luka for it, who’s happy with her just the way he is
When the show focuses on Lukanette, it’s all about lifting Marinette up, praising her, and making her feel good. When Adrien is involved or it’s hyper-fixating on Marinette’s crush on him, it’s about bringing her down and making her feel bad for a crush they keep forcing her to hold onto and humiliating her for.
Point being, the writers had to force their way into getting Lukanette broken up because of their precious love square and the fact that Marinette and Luka being happy is the opposite of what they want.
It’s embarrassing to watch a team full of old white guys (I’m convinced at this point that they just hang their female writer on a coat hanger so they can point to her whenever someone says that their staff is too male-dominated) treat their female biracial lead with such disrespect, and I can only presume that the mistreatment of Luka is because he’s supportive of her and they don’t like that, meaning that the way she’s treated ends up rubbing off on him.
It doesn’t come off as a fun or interesting plot; it comes off as cruel. When Adrien is sad, he usually gets people rushing to comfort him (”Party Crasher,” “Gamer”), but “Truth” has Marinette in tears over the fact that she can’t have a boyfriend due to being Ladybug and the writing has the gall to crack jokes about Kaalki not knowing what tears are, and then Marinette has to ask for the kwami to hug her for comfort.
When Luka gets akumatized into Truth, the episode doesn’t even hesitate at bashing away at him, from everyone saying that Marinette’s secret is that she “loves Adrien” (which, as Truth points out, isn’t a secret, and they could’ve had this somehow lead up to a twist ending where Marinette actually isn’t into Adrien anymore and the Adrien pictures were genuinely for reference, but she stammered about it because it was embarrassing that her boyfriend got sent it with no context) to one of Luka’s favorite songs actually being about how Jagged abandoned him to go on tour. Luka has to deal with Marinette ditching him constantly (not that I blame her) and not knowing who his father is despite wanting to know, and the episode treats him like trash for... what? Having a crush on a girl who’s secretly Ladybug? Because that’s all it seems to come down to in the end.
I also have serious gripes with the fact that Marinette has this huge schedule established in “Gamer 2.0″ and they don’t even try to explain why she can’t use it to keep track of her obligations. The episode has her say (in a roundabout way but still) that she’s forgetting stuff constantly because of all of her emergencies (the emergencies of which are not stated and I hate the subtle implication that forgetting something means you don’t care about it when that’s clearly not how things work and also not what Marinette comes off as because - again - they establish that she’s overworked) but fails to properly explain it. The episode hammers away at Marinette having all these issues and even has Tikki chide Marinette by asking her about leaving Luka alone while apparently neglecting the fact that Marinette HAS to go be Ladybug right now and what else is there to even do??
Both Luka and Marinette are punished for just having a crush and wanting to be together and I hate that the episode forces a break-up instead of coming up with a solution to the problem. Instead of “Marinette isn’t ready for a romantic relationship,” it feels more like she’s just not allowed to be happy.
Long-distance relationships are a thing. Relationships where people don’t get to go on dates frequently are a thing. Instead of forcing a break-up, the episode could’ve had a lesson/development where Marinette is told that she’s allowed to pursue a relationship and just needs to plan accordingly. but they just didn’t want to.
For example: instead of planning dates, Marinette could wait until an akuma/sentimonster is defeated to call Luka and ask him out, because Hawk Moth usually doesn’t strike immediately after one is dealt with. I’m positive that Luka would happily take impromptu/sudden dates over planned-but-inconsclusive ones. Heck, they don’t even have to date specifically and can just stick to phone calls (kwami can’t be picked up on technology) or hanging out in Marinette’s room/on Marinette’s balcony while they do their thing.
Relationships are a commitment, but that doesn’t mean they have to be a burden, and the episode absolutely drags Marinette over it. The whole thing with the kwami being released and stressing her out when they’re not supposed to be able to just come out normally is explained away by, “oh, the new box must be like you, Marinette; full of surprises!” when the reality is just that the show wants to take away everything that’s sacred to Marinette. The Season 3 finale had Fu’s letter telling Marinette that “life doesn’t always give you what you want, but the real gift is life itself,” then proceeds to turn Marinette’s life into a living hell.
Her room? She has to say good-bye to her privacy because now the kwami are always going to be around. The first thing one of them (Trixx) did was start reading her diary, showing that they have absolutely no shame or regard for Marinette’s feelings.
Her schedule? Conveniently pops away into the realm of non-existence so she can look bad for ditching Chat Noir on patrol and neglecting dates with Luka due to her responsibilities/stress.
Her boyfriend, the one person in the entire show who loved her, respected her agency, never judged her, actually apologized when he made her sad, and who she was genuinely in love with rather than just having the equivalent of a celebrity crush for? She had to break up with him because plot and needing to force her to go back to fawning over the guy who has only made her life worse by her crushing on him.
When I say the universe hates Marinette, this is what I mean. It created random akuma to attack Paris all for the sake of forcing Marinette away from Luka, and apparently didn’t realize what they were doing in the scene where Marinette hurries back to the Liberty when Kitty Section and Adrien are playing together when Adrien is Chat Noir so he should’ve been late too.
(Oh, and Marinette completely ignores Adrien in favor of waving at Luka and even tells Luka outright that Adrien isn’t even a factor in their relationship issues, further proving the “multiple drafts smashed together” and “the Adrien name drops are pointless” points.)
The whole thing in “Backwarder” where it was basically outright stated that Marianne could’ve been Fu’s confidant had Marianne not been outed by Ladybug’s mistake? Completely forgotten and left to the wayside. Marinette could’ve told Luka that she was watching the Miracle Box in Ladybug’s place (for any number of reasons, really: either Ladybug thinks it’s too dangerous to keep with her, or if the public doesn’t know that Ladybug is guardian, then Marinette can just say that she’s guardian) and that she has to run off to keep guard of the Miracle Box when an akuma/sentimonster happens in case Ladybug needs a miraculous.
Boom, done, episode solved. Luka gets to help Marinette with the kwami, Marinette is less stressed because someone knows half of her secret, and Luka and Marinette continue to date but are able to plan around akuma attacks.
But no. That whole thing in “Backwarder” where guardians (or at least Fu) can have a confidant was just there so Marinette could feel guilty about screwing it all up, because she’s not able to take advantage of that perk herself.
How convenient.
#category: salt#category: critique#episode: Truth#other: ml spoilers#other: ask and answer#((This is mostly incoherent because I am very tired.))#((''In general or at the episode--'' Yes.))
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Meant to Be (Charlie Weasley x OC)
What happens when Bill brings home a girl and Charlie is completely awestruck by her?
WARNINGS: curse words, minor angst
Chapter 16
Charlie
“Charlie, mate.” I took my eyes off Ren for a split second to let Andrew know I acknowledged his voice. “What’s going on with you and Rhylee?”
“What do you mean?” My eyes still on the dragon, my wand in the air, levitating his dinner towards him.
“She seems…distracted.” Andrew chose the last word carefully. “And as if she’s avoiding you.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Haven’t noticed.”
“Don’t give me that. What’s going on?” He persisted.
“I noticed it too. She’s a little off lately.” John joined the conversation. “What’s up with her?”
“As I said, I don’t know.” I said through my teeth as Ren started paying more attention to us than his meal.
“Has something happen between the two of you?” John didn’t stop.
Ren finally jumped for his piece of meat and I turned to them.
“Look, I am not having this conversation for the third time this week.” I rubbed my fingers against my temples. “Peter asked me the same thing yesterday. And Evan and Theo the day before and I am sorry to disappoint you but I don’t have an answer for you.” I went to grab the box with food and walked past him to go feed the next dragon.
I wasn’t lying and they weren’t wrong. Something was going on with her. She missed work twice in the past two weeks and she has been avoiding me to the point that it was obvious to the rest of our team.
I gave her two days off so she could go to London as she insisted on talking to Nick. I don’t know if she actually did it because I haven’t seen her until the second she had to show up for work again.
She doesn’t talk to me and if I say something at work, she simply nods her head and follows my order. She never makes eye contact and eats at a separate table from ours. She hasn’t been out on a Friday or Saturday ever since that party and she doesn’t really talk to anyone if she absolutely doesn’t have to.
All and all, she looks completely miserable.
I don’t know what to do about it. Peter tried talking to her, being her boss, but she said she was fine. I knew he wouldn’t get a word out of her, at this point, I don’t think even I could.
I miss her.
Her energy at work and her playfulness. The way her laughter fills the room and how she ignites something in my chest when she smiles at me.
I haven’t seen any of that since her two days off. I don’t know what happened between her and Nick, if she ever made it to London. It was frustrating because, for the first time, I felt as if I couldn’t read her. The look in her eyes was foreign to me. She didn’t feel guilty like that morning when she woke up at my place. She wasn’t happy either. She looked tired, to be honest, and full of regret.
I just wish I would know what for. I tried talking to her a few times but she always made some dumb excuse and hurried off to Merlin knows where. I was concerned for her. As her co-worker and as her friend. I miss talking to her and going for a run and I hate that she completely isolated herself from everybody and I hate it even more that I am struggling to get through to her.
“Don’t you think you should talk to her? Ask her what’s wrong?” John disturbed my train of thoughts.
“You think I didn’t try that?” I chortled.
“She looks miserable. We have to do something.” Andrew scratched his head, thinking.
“I’ll try talking to her again. Perhaps I can get through to her this time.” I sighed.
If my co-workers were concerned for her, I had to do something about it. They know I still have feelings for her and they are not going to stop pressuring me until she is back to normal.
The thing is, I’m afraid that that might not happen. What if I ruined everything by sleeping with her after that party? What if she completely shut down because of it?
I wish I could somehow stop my feelings. The whole thing was getting out of control and I was powerless over it. I was hoping that by her not talking to me, my feelings for her would go away but they didn’t and I hated it. I just wanted to be there for her. Help her with whatever she is dealing with.
She has been avoiding me to the point that I can’t even help her with the dragon case. I don’t even know if she made any progress or if she got the trial date yet. I felt horrible about the whole thing and it was making me sick. It also made me desperate and it was time for me to do something about it.
The next morning I woke up and saw that the sky was cloudless. I dressed up quickly and without making myself some coffee like I usually did, I hiked to my sunrise gazing spot. I hoped she would be there so I can catch her alone. It might just be the only time she would be willing to talk to me.
I stopped right before reaching the peak. I was getting nervous. I couldn’t help to shake the feeling that this all had to do with me and I wanted to be the last person to make her sad. I wanted to be the guy to put a smile on her face not make her cry herself to sleep.
I inhaled sharply and let the fresh morning air fill my lungs and made my way to the top. I was right. She was there, at our usual spot.
Ever since we became friends and I learned how to control my feelings and got over my guilt, we have been coming here to watch the sunrise together. It was the best way for us to bond and it was private. Even though it hurt thinking that we were nothing more than friends, I longed for those moments again.
I wanted her to be able to talk to me. I, out of all people, know how it’s like when you bottle something up and not talk to anybody about it. I wanted to be her friend if I can’t be more.
“Thought I might find you here.” I said in a soft voice, careful not to startle her.
“I was just leaving.” She started to get on her feet.
“Don’t.” I tried grabbing her wrist to stop her but she stepped away from me.
“Rhy, you have to tell me what is going on.” I looked at her but her eyes were looking at everything around me.
“Just…leave me alone, Charlie.” She dusted her pants and started walking away.
“I can’t do that.” I tried snatching her hand one more time and this time I succeeded.
“Yes…you…can.” She said through clenched teeth. “Now let go of my hand.” I loosened the grip and she took a step backward.
“Okay, that’s enough!” I raised my voice.
I didn’t like it but it made her look at me. She was on the verge of tears and I could sense she was looking for a way to escape. I will not let her get out of this so easily. She can’t go on like this.
“What in the bloody hell happened to you in those two days that you said you will visit Nick?” She flinched when I mentioned his name.
“It doesn’t matter, Charlie.” She spoke after a few seconds of thinking about what to say. Probably to feed me another lie. “It doesn’t concern you.”
“The hell it doesn’t.” I took a step closer to her and she instantly took one backward. “I’m your friend and I’m concerned for you. Our whole team is. You have to let us help you.”
“Help me?” She let out an incredulous laugh. “The last time I checked I can take care of myself just fine!” “You don’t look fine to me.” I bit my tongue after saying that but it was the truth.
She looked paler than usual. Her hair was all over the place and she constantly looked tired.
“Thanks for the compliment.” She scoffed and started walking downhill.
I ran after her. I can’t let her get away like this. She might be done talking but I wasn’t even halfway through. I don’t care if we both miss work, I am getting to the bottom of this. I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her around. She was skinnier too as if she hasn’t been eating for days.
“You will tell me what is wrong or I’m firing you.” I had no idea where that came from but I was getting desperate.
I didn’t know how else to convince her to tell me what was making her not talk to me, be late to work, and destroy herself like this.
“Look…” She sighed and bowed her head. “I can’t repeat what happened between us, Charlie.”
“I didn’t know I was coming on to you.” I blinked at her. “I just want to talk to you, friend to friend.”
“As I said…” She swallowed hard. “I can’t.”
“You are trying to throw that night in my face and it’s honestly insulting.” She looked up at my words. “You know I know you better than that so stop lying to me.”
“I’m not lying.” She rolled her eyes.
“Yes, Rhylee. You are.” I tightened the grip on her shoulders. “I want the truth, Rhy.” I lowered my tone and lifted her chin for her to look at me but she was avoiding my gaze.
“I went to see Nick.” She finally said after a long pause, still looking away. “I told him everything.”
“Okay.” I said slowly.
I wanted her to continue.
“He took it pretty hard.” Her eyes started to water as she reminisced on it.
“Did you…”
“Break up?” Her eyes finally locked with mine and the wish of it being true sparked in her eyes. “No.”
That made my heart stop.
She was staying with him?
Or should I rephrase it.
He was willing to forgive her?
I mean, good for him, perhaps Bill underestimated him but I can’t deny I was hoping that this would be her escape ticket. Somehow, I still thought that we might end up together.
This is a fucking nightmare, isn’t it? I can’t believe that she was going to stay with him after everything that happened between us. It might only have been one night but I know that neither of us saw it that way.
“He…” She bit her lip.
“What?” I encouraged her to speak.
“He told me that he’ll stay with me if I stop talking to you.” She blurted out.
I let go of her. She was joking, right? I was in complete shock. He gave her an ultimatum and she took it? She actually obeyed him. She chose him over me?
She chose him over me…
If the information that they didn’t break up broke my heart, then this fucking shattered it.
“What?” I breathed.
I didn’t know how to respond to such bullshit.
“You wanted the truth and here it is, Charlie.” She cried.
“Oh, yes! I see how happy your choice makes you!” I pointed at her face which was beginning to be soaked by her tears again.
“What do you want me to say?” She barked at me.
“Oh, I don’t know…” I put my hands on my head. I wanted to scream, I was so angry. “How about you admit to yourself that you are not happy with him and move on with your fucking life!”
“You’re the one that needs to move on, Charles!” She shouted at my face.
I started breathing faster and I felt as if I couldn’t move, as if someone stupefied me. What was going through her head? Why would she want to torture herself so much?
“You’re going to say that you’re happy with him?” I knew I should stop talking but if we were going to shout in each other’s face we are going all the way.
“Don’t do this, Charlie.” She begged.
“Are you happy with him?” I repeated the question. “Because it sure doesn’t look like it.”
“You don’t understand.” She shook her head.
“Then fucking enlighten me, why don’t you!” I was the one who raised my voice now.
“How would you feel if your partner told you they slept with someone else? It’s only natural in the way he reacted. He loves me and he is willing to forgive me if I do one simple thing for him.”
Was she seriously defending him?
“One simple thing.” I laughed sarcastically. “Tell me, Rhylee…” I scratched my chin, bowing my head. “Who’s your closest friend here?”
There was a moment of silence. Another tear ran down her face. She didn’t answer.
“That’s what I thought.” I bobbed my head. “He asked you to stop talking to me and just like that…” I snapped my fingers. “You obliged. Not even telling me. Not even warning me.”
I pressed my lips together. I was so furious.
“Were you ever planning on telling me this? Or did you think I would simply let it go? Ignore the fact that you are late for work. That we are all worried about you. That you lock yourself in your hut the second we are done with work? That’s not life, Rhy.”
I stepped closer to her again. She was just standing there like a child being scolded by their mother, looking at the ground. She knew I was right. She knew she was making a mistake but she blinded herself, trying to convince herself that she made the right choice.
“When was the last time you were in a relationship?” She asked calmly. “In a serious relationship, with real problems not just a one-night stand with some bimbo from the neighboring village?”
“6 years ago.” I bit my cheek.
“Then don’t pretend you know what I am going through.” She turned around and started walking away.
“You deserve better.” She stopped at my words and looked at me over her shoulder.
“Excuse me?” She asked, pretending she didn’t hear me.
“I said that you deserve better.” I repeated myself.
“Life isn’t a fairytale, Charlie. Sometimes we simply can’t get what we want.” She wiped a tear off her face, her gaze on me just for a second longer before she turned her head and ran down the hill.
I didn’t stop her this time. I knew it was meaningless. I knew she made up her mind. But there it was again. The silence that was supposed to be filled with words. Her eyes that were saying she wanted to tell me more but couldn’t. What was stopping her? Why was she so determined to stay with him?
I don’t know what hurt more; the fact that she gave up our friendship to stay with the guy she cheated on or the fact that I now know I lost her forever.
Probably both.
I turned around and sat where she was sitting before and stared into the distance. I wasn’t observing the sunrise. To be honest I didn’t even notice it. I was distracted by the pain in my chest.
By my broken heart.
By the fact that I will never be with her and I was beating myself with the question…why?
Why did she choose him?
#harry potter fanfiction#charlie weasley#charlie weasley fanfiction#the weasleys#weasley family#hp imagine#charlie weasley x oc#charlie weasley imagine#the burrow#harry potter imagine#weasley fanfiction#charlie weasley x mc#bill weasley#harry potter#wizarding world
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A Team Effort - Liu Yangyang
When you learn from your teacher that the biggest project of the year will be a team effort, you can’t help but grow frustrated. Yet again, you’ll have to give double the efforts for an assignment that’ll be signed by two names that haven’t done anything close to equal work. You can’t help but be pleasantly surprised when you find out your partner is actually a fairly decent person.
Genre : Stranger to lover au, fluff
Pairing : Liu Yangyang x reader
Word Count : 3,2k
This goes out for the anon that requested a stranger to lover au with a shy yangyang confessing. Hope you like it <33
It had all started when you had been assigned to a project with a name you weren't familiar with. Your teacher had decided on making the biggest project of the year a team effort, which you found to be ridiculous. Your grades were something you were proud of; not like the usual student that attended your school. Even if you were in enriched classes, the vast majority of the class couldn't care less about their academic performance. All from rich families with contacts in almost every field, they didn't have to worry about studying, knowing their dream job was already waiting for them.
When your name had been called after the one of Liu Yangyang, you were everything but happy. You wanted nothing more than to be able to work by yourself, without having to constantly drag someone behind you, only to get a passing grade.
Not knowing much about the boy, you had been reluctant to meet up with him. You could already imagine how your first meeting would look like. Awkward silences followed by ideas the both of you wouldn’t agree on, and even more awkward silences. You had already come to the conclusion that you would have to do the work on your own.
Surprisingly, it had gone well. He had arrived ten minutes earlier than planned, with arms full of notebooks. You clearly remembered how he approached you with a warm smile since you were expecting the complete opposite.
"(Yn), right?" He asked, to which you nodded. "Hi, I'm Yangyang. I'll say it right now, I'm so happy to be paired with you. Now I won’t have to worry about Lucas leeching off my back for good grades." Relieved flooded through you. You let yourself relax into your chair as he sat down next to you.
"Okay, so, I did a bit of research this weekend since I had free time. I hope that’s okay with you." He said flipping through pages, already immersed in the work. To say you were in awe was an understatement. You couldn’t believe he was real. "Uh, hello?" He waved his hand in front of your face.
"Yes! Sorry- yes. It’s perfect." You said, trying to hold back a blabbering mess from spilling. "I just… I didn’t think I'd be paired with someone so enthusiastic."
"Is… that a bad thing?"
"No!" A loud shush resonated through the library. You swallowed nervously, repeating lower. "No, it's a great thing." Yangyang stared with a playful glint in his eyes.
"Good. I was joking by the way." With that, he continued explaining his ideas as if nothing happened. Your mind couldn’t process the situation. First off, you had been teamed up with a decent person. Well, decent was underplaying it. He seemed hard-working, interested, and even… kind? You concluded the next few weeks weren’t going to be so bad after all, and you were right.
In fact, the first few meetings in the library had gone so well that Yangyang had invited you to work over at his place instead. He had tried convincing you by saying that you’d be able to share your ideas more freely without the constant death stares of the librarian.
"Plus, I have an amazing variety of snacks and drinks at my place."
"Mmmh, I'm not sure if I'm convinced." You said with a teasing frown.
"Well, I also have a hot older brother that you can swoon over while you're pretending to listen to me." You through a pencil his way, trying to distract him from the blush that was slowly glazing your cheeks.
"You’re an idiot."
"I'll take that as a yes. We can walk there tomorrow together after school." and that’s exactly what you did. Walking down the streets of the neighborhood felt comfortable with him. The conversation flowed naturally, with jokes and teasing being the main elements. It was as if you had known him for a long time.
After walking through his front door, you immediately complimented the nice home. He had laughed a bit, promising to tell his mom. He assured you that it would bring her over the moon. You smiled thinking about Yangyang talking to his mom about you.
If you had thought that studying at his house would be a good idea, it had turned out to be a horrible one. Without the constant supervision of the librarian, you and Yangyang were left on your own. Almost no work was done that night. Instead, you discussed your favorite shows, meals, hobbies, and much more. You quickly realized you had a lot in common and that you liked being in his company. You hoped he felt the same way.
The rest of the week was spent forming a pattern. With you walking side by side with the grinning boy, arms occasionally touching each other. It was such a banal touch, but it still got your heart pumping faster. You were getting more at ease in his presence.
You had spent every afternoon over at his place. Sometimes you even forgot the main reason you were over, too occupied talking about anything and everything. It was so out of character of you to avoid finishing your school work, but here you were, captivated by the words of a boy you barely knew.
You usually left before his mom got home, trying your best to avoid any uncomfortable introductions. Each and every time, he’d walk you out with a twinkling smile and a promise to see you again tomorrow.
You always felt on cloud nine while walking home, reminiscing over every little detail that had stained your mind. For example, when his finger brushed against yours while reaching for the same pen at the same time. Or when he’d compliment your makeup and your clothes, although already seeing you that day.
Those small moments brought out the cliche school girl in you. You wanted nothing more but to stay in a constant state of daydream, with these little bits of souvenir being its main plot.
God, you were such a hopeless romantic. One more step and you were about to write his last name with yours in a journal.
It was only on Friday night that you told yourselves you needed to concentrate at least a minimum on the project due in a week. The both of you putting your mind at work for once, you had completely forgot about the time ticking by. It must had been around 6 o’clock when a little girl appeared in the dining room.
"Yangyang?" The girl called out. She could only be his sister, you assumed.
"Yeah?" She shyly walked up to him.
"Mom was wondering if your girlfriend was staying over for dinner." Shoot, you had overstayed your welcome. But wait... Were you hearing things right? Had she just called you his girlfriend?
"I don’t know, why don't you ask her." You felt as if you were on the edge of bursting. He stared at you intently, a smirk plastered on his lips. The girl inched towards your side of the table.
"Will you?" Her eyes held a hopeful glint.
"I- I, yeah. I mean- yes, sure." The little girl's smiled grew as she excitedly exited the room. You didn't dare to say a word until the sound of her skips resonated further in the house. "What was that about?"
"She wanted to know if you were staying over for dinner." He answered, unbothered, his attention glued to the screen of the laptop in front of him.
"Huh? Yeah, I got that part." You tried formulating your next words without sounding like an idiot. "She called me your…"
"You'll have to speak up if you want me to understand anything you're saying." He was playing dumb, you thought. Unless he was actually dumb but that couldn't be right. You crossed paths with a lot of stupid people in your life, and Yangyang wasn't a part of them.
Shaking your head, you let out a small laugh. It had probably just slipped out of his sister's mouth by accident. She probably called all of his female friends that and it just went over his head.
"Nothing. Don’t worry about it." You still weren’t sure if he was messing with you. He probably hadn’t heard it. Looking back at him, you swore you could’ve seen a look of disappointment flash on his face. You instantly tried lightening up the mood.
"Didn’t you tell me you had a hot brother?" You took the snicker he let out as a success.
"I only have a little sister… How else was I supposed to convince you to come over?" Definitely not the answer you were anticipating.
"Oh… I see." Silence followed. You had no idea how you were supposed to answer. You continued writing down on your paper until his voice interrupted you.
"The rosy cheeks is a good look on you." That's when you officially knew that Liu Yangyang would be the death of you.
After the dinner you had spent with his family, you felt that you couldn’t get closer to the boy. It was crazy to you that you barely knew of his existence a week ago.
His sister had shown herself to be way less timid at the table, blabbering her day away to you. You had listened carefully, adding jokes, where you thought, was necessary, earning high pitched giggles from the girl. You hadn't noticed how Yangyang was carefully watching the interaction.
His mom also noticed the way her daughter had opened up so easily to you. She also had caught the way her son's smile formed as he talked with you. She hadn't seen his smile get that big in a while. Peacefulness invaded her mind. She automatically knew that you were going to positively influence him.
When the dinner was finally over, you took the time to thank his mom for her kindness and the meal. You helped clean the table while the overjoyed girl insisted on showing you her doll collection.
"Don't bother her dear," Her mother tutted. "Y/n will have to go home now.” The girl crossed her arms, displeased with her mom.
"Yangyang, why don't you walk her up to the door?" Her mom sent you a wink, assuring you that you didn't have to clean up. She made it clear that you were welcomed whenever.
Arriving at the front door, the boy cleared his throat. "Sorry for my sister and my mom, they're a bit intense."
"Don't worry, they're super nice. I might come back next week just to see them again."
"Not me?" He let it out as a joke. He would have never admitted to it out loud, but he also wanted to see how you'd react.
"I think we've seen enough of each other for a while now, don't you think?" You teased back. He shrugged, his hands hidden in the pockets of his pants. Any trace of sarcasm had left him.
"It's nice spending time with you." He admitted. Your breath got caught in your throat. The expression on your face said it all. He took it as a win. "See you next week then."
The weekend succeeding that Friday night felt like the longest you had ever lived. Confined between the four walls of your bedroom, the minutes felt like hours. It was the first time you could remember being bored alone. Usually, you’d love having time to yourself, but now it seemed so pointless.
Still, an idea popped into your mind. You could take some advance on the work. That way, you'd get more time with the boy without this stupid project butting in.
“I’m such a genius.” You had mumbled to yourself, tipping furiously away on your computer. Even then, the subject had become dull and boring. You huffed and puffed through a few paragraphs before coming to a realization.
You wanted nothing more then to be in Yangyang’s presence again.
That’s why when you got to school Monday morning, the first thing you did was to scan the hallways, in search of his brown locks. When you had finally landed on his tall figure, putting his books in his locker, you felt an instant boost of happiness. Clutching the straps of your backpack, you walked up to him.
"Good morning!" You chirped. In response, he laughed gingerly. He was wearing a black hoodie and black jeans. It might not have been the finest fashion, but he shined in whatever clothes he was wearing.
"Someone seems to be in a good mood." You couldn’t even let his teasing get to you, too happy to finally see his charming face again.
"Your place tonight? I found more information, I think we might almost be done with this project!" The intentions behind your words were to be encouraging, but Yangyang had taken them like a blow to his guts. He didn’t want this project to end this fast. You, on the other side, we're working on the side to finish it quicker. Maybe he had read this wrong.
"Yeah, sure. I’ll meet you at the end of the day when the bell rings." With no other words, he walked further in the sea of students. You stood in the middle of the hallway, a pit forming in your stomach.
Something was wrong. You hadn't known him for long, but it had been enough time to know that the lack of emotion in his voice was not normal. You disparately wanted to run after him to know what was wrong, but ultimately decided against it.
You shouldn't have to push any information out of him. If he had something on his mind, you believed he'd come to you to discuss it.
In the meantime, you had continued your day as normal. It had gone by longer than usual, the itching thought of an upset Yangyang never quite leaving your mind alone.
As promised, when the last bell ranged, he was waiting beside your locker. The walk was different that afternoon. You had tried the usual small talk, but his answers were cut short. Even when you had thrown a few jokes, his reaction had stayed the same; serious and thinking, almost.
Arriving at his house, you were already making your way to the dining room until he grabbed your hand, stopping you from walking any further.
"Is it okay if we study in my room this time?" He asked. It was the first real sentence he had spoken to you in the last hour. His voice had a hint of a plea in it.
"Aren’t we going to finish the work in the dining room like we usually do?" The boy let out an exasperated sigh. There you were again with your fixation on finishing the project.
"Is that all you care about? Finishing the project and then going back to what it was like before?" He said, his grip on your hand tightening, almost as if he was scared you were going to disappear into thin air.
"Yangyang… I have no idea what you're talking about." He signed again.
"Can we please just go in my room, I’d prefer having this conversation in private, out of prying ears." He gestured to the side with his chin. You looked over to catch sight of his little sister's curious eyes peeking from the living room.
You agreed, following the boy in silence, your hand still in his. Entering his room, he closed the door behind him. His eyes wouldn’t leave the floor.
"Look, I know that you only care about the assignment at this point and all you want is to end it as quickly as possible, so here's what I suggest. I can finish it myself and you won’t have to come back-" You rapidly cut him off.
"Stop rambling, I won’t let you finish this thing alone." He had been bottling up his thoughts for the whole day and now they were coming out like word vomit. He bit his lip, annoyed with himself.
"Look, what I guess I’m trying to say, is that you don’t have to spend time with me anymore. It’s okay, I won’t take it personally." You held his arms as if to shake him out of his weird thoughts. His eyes finally met yours.
"I don’t know who or what made you think I didn’t want to spend time with you but it’s the complete opposite. I want to finish this project to spend some time with you, you idiot." Right away, you felt himself relax in your hold.
"So that’s why you continued working without me this weekend?" His tone was suddenly much gentler.
"Of course it is. This weekend felt like an eternity to me. The least I could do was to take some advance to spend some time with you doing literally anything else." The boy felt all his worries wash away. You knew exactly what to say for him to feel better.
"I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought those two days were abnormally long." You broke into a giggle. His expression quickly returned to a serious one.
"Y/n… I have to tell you something." You nodded, encouraging him to continue. " I- um, this is kind of hard to say."
He started playing with his fingers, trying the find a good way to deliver his feelings. You would’ve never thought you would get to see the boy grow so nervous. It was the first time you saw him stumbling over his words. Normally, you’d be the one in that position. You found the situation quite amusing.
"Stop smiling," He whined. "I’m trying to be serious!" You pressed your lips together, repressing a laugh.
"Sorry, sorry, go on." He walked around his room for a while before taking in a big inspiration. He stood in front of you, standing as still as a statue.
"I like you, Y/n." He said. His confession was remarkably anticlimactic that you couldn’t help but be confused.
"I like you too…?"
"No, you’re missing the point." He bit the inside of his cheek. " I like you, like you. I like the way you laugh or the way you’re so serious about your studies. I like your smile, your eyes, your nose, the way you giggle, or the way you roll your eyes when I say a stupid joke. I want to spend all of my free time with you. But most importantly- I want you to be my girlfriend." Your hands reached for his face, cupping his cheeks gently. He closed his eyes at the contact, his hands coming to layover yours.
"You’re in luck then, because I’d really like for you to be my boyfriend." You didn’t leave him the time to answer, instead choosing to press your lips carefully against his. He hummed, his hands diverting to your neck. His thumbs threw circles on your skin as he deepened the kiss.
His tongue swiped on your lip, to which you gladly let access into your mouth. Shivers ran through your body, the closeness being almost intoxicating. When he backed away for air, your lips mindlessly followed his, to which he chuckled, resting his forehead against yours. His lips landed one more time on yours, in a quick and chaste way.
"Don’t worry, when we finish this project, we can do all the catching up we have to do in that subject."
Aaand it's done! This is my longest work yet and I'm super proud of it.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read it. Feedback is always appreciated:)
#kpop#kpop drabbles#kpop imagines#nct imagines#wayv imagines#nct#wayv#nct u imagines#liu yangyang#yangyang#liu yangyang imagines#yangyang imagines#yangyang drabbles#yangyang scenarios#00 line#00 line imagines#yangyang fluff#00 line fluff#stranger to lover au
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So I Wrote You A Song - Tam x Keefe
A/N: So this is finally done? I’m freaking out because this idea has been circling in my head for a while and I am so glad it is finally done! This is basically a high school!band!AU and I did headcanons about the four keeper boys being in a band here, which was kind of the inspiration to do a oneshot. Plus, I’m absolute Kam trash as well... and yes I did write an actual fucking song purely for the sake of the oneshot I’m just that extra don’t judge me and enjoy! (also let’s pretend Elwin adopted Keefe shall we, cassius sencen who?)
Warnings: I think there’s like a minor curse word in there but other than that pure kam fluff
Word Count: 1.4K
Taglist: @stardustanddaffodils @dreaminq-out-loud @sunset-telepath @summer-waves9764 @falling-drops-of-rain @jenniecrushed @jaxtheshade @beautifuldaysahead @bianavacker-is-bi-as-hell @the-genius-behind-the-mask @real-smooth @scribblesnsketches05 @the-sky-isnt-blueee @spreadyourwingsandfly @cadence-talle @linhamon2 @xonar-verse @an-absolute-travesty @hershis-kotlc @turquoise-skyyyy @blxckh0les42 @completekeefitztrash @gay-paladin-of-etheria @the-robins-chronicles @the-angel-of-all-storms
Read on AO3
“Okay, I don’t care what any of you say, but you sounded awesome!” Biana shrieked as the boys finished playing their latest song. “Best you’ve ever played, in fact.” The brunette had quickly become their biggest fan after they’d started playing for an audience, constantly stopping by rehearsals, screaming about them to everyone she met, and nominating herself Crystal Gambit’s manager--and she actually did a pretty good job; half the gigs they’d landed wouldn’t have happened without her.
“You say that every rehearsal,” Fitz grinned. “The sentiment is appreciated, though.”
“Oh, you were kind of awful,” Biana replied, “but the rest of you rocked it.”
Fitz scowled, and the others laughed, but in truth, Fitz was probably the best musician out of all four of them. Or the best singer, at least--his voice was amazing.
“But, Tam,” Biana continued, spinning around to face him, “you killed on the drums. I have no words.”
Tam gave her a small smile. If he was being honest, he never really knew what to do when Biana--or anyone really--complimented him. “Thanks, Bi.”
“And the new song you wrote,” Biana pressed, “what are you calling it again? You kept talking about it and now I’m excited so--”
“Wait,” Keefe interrupted, holding a hand out to stop Biana from rambling. “New song? What new song?”
Fitz looked just as confused as Keefe, but Dex knew exactly what Biana was talking about, and at least the periwinkle-eyed boy had the sense to save Tam from confessing. “Biana’s talking about that song Tam showed us earlier,” Dex lied. “Y’know, the work in progress. It’s a rough draft, Bi, and Tam’s only written the chorus.”
Biana caught on quickly and her eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “Oh. Oh. Yeah, for some reason I thought it was finished… um, but the chorus was great! I’m looking forward to the rest of it. Anyway, uh,” she grabbed her backpack and her brother’s arm, “Fitz and I should probably get going. Mom wants us home a little earlier today.”
“Thanks for the save,” Tam whispered to Dex as Fitz and Biana left.
Dex winked. “No problem. I know you aren’t ready to sing him the song yet.”
“Well, actually… I’m planning on confessing soon. Just not in front of an audience.”
“Well, good luck. Not that you’ll need it.”
“I’m going to need all the luck I can get, Dex.”
Dex snorted. “Come on. Everyone can see the way you two look at each other. Honestly, it’s surprising you two aren’t dating already.”
Before Tam could stammer out a response, Keefe slung his arms around both him and Dex. “Guys, don’t leave me out of this secret,” the blond pouted. “I’m lonely.”
Tam rolled his eyes, but really he was trying not to blush at how incredibly close the two of them were standing together. He was not going to think about how Keefe’s arm was around his shoulder, how Keefe smelled like vanilla, and--
Shut up, brain, Tam commanded himself.
“Shit,” Dex muttered, looking down at his watch. “You guys are gonna have to leave… Mom’s insisting that we go out for dinner, sorry...” But one look in his direction and Tam knew that Dex wasn’t the least bit sorry, that he didn’t have to go anywhere, and that this was all an act to get Keefe and Tam to be alone.
“Don’t worry about it,” Keefe said cluelessly. “Bangs Boy and I have some things to discuss.”
“Do we?” Tam cocked an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Keefe said stubbornly, dropping his arm from Tam’s shoulder and grabbing his hand instead, dragging him out of the garage and outside. “Come on, come to my house--Elwin’s making dinner, he won’t mind if there’s another person.” Keefe smiled and Tam’s heart started doing cartwheels.
Honestly, Keefe, Tam thought as he stared at their intertwined hands. I’m already in love with you, so stop making me fall even harder, goddammit.
Before he knew what he was doing, Tam pulled out of Keefe’s grip and studied his reaction. Keefe seemed fairly indifferent to it, though his brows seemed to furrow a bit… but maybe Tam was just imagining things. Maybe it was all just wishful thinking.
But… every passing touch, every soft smile. It always felt like there was something more between every glance they shared, every word they said. There was more to the two of them, more to their relationship than they were admitting.
“Since when do you have an acoustic guitar?” Tam asked as they entered Keefe’s messy bedroom.
“Well, you started learning,” Keefe said with a one-shouldered shrug. “I couldn’t let you one-up me, now could I?”
Tam rolled his eyes. “Always a rivalry with you.”
“Only with you, Bangs Boy, you’re special that way.” Keefe winked. “Anyway, what’s that song Biana was talking about? The one you haven’t shown to me and Fitzy?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tam fibbed.
Keefe looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You’re really gonna try and hide it? Come on, dude, I know you--and I know whatever you’ve written will be even better.”
“It isn’t a song for the band, it’s… it was just something I wrote.”
“So there is a song! But even if it isn’t for an audience, or even for rhe four of us to play, I want to hear you. So,” Keefe gestured to his guitar, “can I hear it?”
Tam hesitated for a second. Was he really ready to do this? Ready to confess. Yes, he thought. I’m tired of him not knowing how I feel. I’m tired of not knowing if he feels the same.
He summoned courage, strummed the opening chords on the guitar, and started to sing.
There’s something that I’ve been meaning to say A truth I’ve been hiding for who knows how long My heart holds a secret, it’s been kept locked away And you might think it isn’t real, that I’ve got it wrong
But I think I kind of love you When I’m lost in the dark, you’re my light I know how cliche it sounds but it’s true I promise, it’s true that I love you
I know after this you might hate me And I won’t blame you if you don’t feel the same But I had to tell you, had to set these words free Because I think you like me too, so can we stop playing this game?
I think I kind of love you When I’m lost in the dark, you’re my light I know how cliche it sounds but it’s true I promise, it’s true that I love you
Why do we keep dancing around our feelings? Why do we keep pretending that this isn’t real? Because it is I know it is, and I know you know too So can we maybe just try this Try this and see where it goes?
I think I kind of love you When I’m lost in the dark, you’re my light I know how cliche it sounds but it’s true I promise, it’s true that I love you
Tam opened his eyes, watching Keefe’s expression, worried of what he might say. This is it, it’s over, a voice inside told himself, but another part said, You did it.
“Was,” Keefe said softly as he connected the dots, “was that about me?”
Tam nodded slowly, still studying Keefe’s face. “Um. Yeah, yeah it was. And… it was all true.”
Keefe shook his head dazedly, not saying anything, just staring at the floor.
“Keefe? Say something, please.”
The blond looked up to meet Tam’s eyes, and Tam gulped, wondering if this was it, when he was rejected, when his heart was broken, when--
Suddenly Keefe’s lips were on his and they were kissing and oh.
The kiss was everything. It was soft, and sweet, and filled with yearning and love and dreams and felt like fireworks. He tastes like vanilla, Tam noted.
Keefe pulled away for breath, and Tam felt a teensy bit disappointed, but that feeling was lost in the thought that Oh my God, I just kissed Keefe Sencen.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Keefe whispered softly, “I love you too.”
Tam felt euphoric at his words, it was all he’d been wanting to hear for he couldn’t remember how long. “Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do that?”
“Enjoyed that kiss, huh?”
“Just shut up and kiss me again, will you?”
#kotlc#keeper of the lost cities#keeper of the lost cities fanfiction#kotlc fanfiction#kotlc au#kotlc fanfic#fanfic#fanfiction kotlc#shannon messenger#keefe sencen#tam song#kam#tam x keefe#keefe sencen x tam song#keefe x tam#kam au#kam fanfiction#band au#high school au#kotlc kam#kotlc ships#keeper of the lost cities kam#shipping
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HCs: How The Companions Confess/Date A Tsundere Sole
Note: Did my best to capture the tsundere personality! Please let me know if this is totally off base and thank you again for the request.
CW: The mildest of suggestive warnings
The Set Up:
Sole wasn’t the easiest to befriend. Sure, they had their personable side where they could calm any settler, convince any negotiator, haggle at every vendor, etc. Once things got past that, got personal, though? It seemed they shut down. They brushed off affection, went silent at compliments and reassurances, and struggled to be open with their emotions. There was no question it wasn’t a lack of affection, but a lack of expression. They defended their friends fiercely.
Once the companions began thinking of Sole as more than a friend and started looking more closely at their behavior, though, they saw how flustered they became when shown affection. It wasn’t simply a dismissive personality; they felt something and immediately short circuited. Maybe it was a reluctance to show a sign of weakness, who knows? Regardless, the companions had their work cut out for them when it came to confessing and developing a relationship.
Cait:
The Confession:
The tsundere meets the next most emotionally blocked person of the Commonwealth
Cait didn’t have her own feelings under control, that’s for sure
She cursed loudly when she realized how she felt and how that would affect things
The worst part is, Sole was the only person who struggled with things like that more than she did
The urge to scream nearly overcame her self restraint
However, she steeled herself, and began dropping hints
She watched as Sole’s cheeks lit up red whenever she threw her arm around them playfully before they shrugged the weight off and moved away
The hardest part was reminding herself that she was right; they felt the same way about her
They hesitated to sit down when she announced she needed to talk to them
Never making eye contact, they listened to her as she stumbled through her feelings, searching blindly in the dark for the confidence she once had. The confidence before she was willing to let them break her heart
The first time they spoke, it was barely a mumble, and she leaned forward to hear better
They repeated themself, hardly any louder with a “Feel the same way.” before they abruptly stood up and walked towards the window, looking out as they chewed on their nails
Cait had to laugh to herself; they may be an emotionally constipated mess, but now they were her emotionally constipated mess
The Relationship:
The longer the relationship lasted, the more confident Cait became in seeking out affection even if they didn’t enthusiastically reciprocate every time
She would hug them from behind and they would bow their head, cheeks red for the nth time, and simply continue what they were doing before
When they did reciprocate she made sure to give obvious cues that she was happy about it; she’d grin even wider, hug them tighter, and press a kiss to their cheek
Once they got truly comfortable in their relationship, Sole began seeking out affection themself
They were fond of quickly side hugging Cait and taking off immediately, but the first time they did, it made Cait’s day
The day they crawled into bed beside her and curled up into her side without hiding their face she knew they were making progress
Curie:
The Confession:
Curie isn’t sure what to do or think at first
From what she knows of human body language, ever cue they give should indicate they don’t care for her, but then when someone tries to insult or hurt her, they don’t hesitate to put themself in the line of fire
At first she takes studying their behavior as a chance to become more knowledgeable
Then, she begins to notice their smaller, less noticeable behaviors
They get flustered when she touches them, brush off her affection, but with red cheeks and shaking hands
That’s when she realizes there’s more to their habits than she’d realized at first, and comes to the conclusion that they’re simply overwhelmed when they’re faced with caring for someone
Somehow this makes her feel even more fond for them; she came to terms with her own feelings long ago
She’s learned to be quite responsible with her emotions and sits them down to talk almost right after she realizes they feel the same way
She doesn’t expect a grand response
When Sole fumbles their words, messing with their own hands as they stare into their lap, she’s patient
Eventually they get out that they feel the same and she relaxes into her seat with a sweet smile
The Relationship:
Curie’s extremely open about affection, so she and Sole are polar opposites
She presses kisses to their cheeks whenever she passes them, pulls them in for tight hugs every time they return from a job, etc
They greet her with the same embarrassed, red face and mild response
They’re not big on PTA and by not big I mean they get completely flustered and struggle to respond in any way
However, they give her shy hugs and quick kisses when they’re alone, disappearing as fast as they appeared afterwards
She’s secure enough she doesn’t question whether or not they care, she just knows they have a different way of showing it
Danse:
The Confession:
An unstoppable force meets an immovable object
The world will stop spinning before something goes on between these two
All jokes aside, Sole will actually have to say something first
The two struggle to even look at each other; at one point Haylen threw her hands up and said “Jesus Christ, I think the only people here who don’t know you guys are into each other are you two”
Safe to say there was no longer anyone on the Prydwen who didn’t know about their feelings
After that it was a miracle if the two were within the same room
Maxson had had enough of the two best soldiers dancing around each other and sent them on a mission together. Only them.
They moved in complete silence almost the entire time- they knew each other well enough that they didn’t need to communicate verbally to have each others backs luckily- until a specific night
They were camped out, eating beans out of a can on the cold ground, and Sole suddenly said, “So.” looking extremely uncomfortable
Danse’s head shot up before he even knew it
They looked at each other for a moment before Danse nodded and just went “Yeah, I feel the same.” quietly
“Cool”
It felt more like a business transaction
The Relationship:
Afterwards, they returned to their normal short, business faces in the field
They were on the same page about physical affection and it took a long while before they were completely comfortable with showing affection
The upside to this arrangement was that they would often break into flustered, quiet laughter together whenever they were cuddling
It’s easy to be comfortable with your embarrassment and hesitancy when the other person’s just as embarrassed as you
Deacon:
The Confession:
Total opposite dynamic of Danse and Sole
Deacon loves teasing them, to the point where even Des had her head in her hands at some points
It’s a miracle Sole’s left standing after spending time with Deacon. He’s constantly flirting with them, teasingly leaning down to look them in the eye when they bow their head
When they have a stony expression in response to his affection, he just amps it up
Wants them flustered by the end of the of the interaction
Honestly, if they keep up their cold appearance, it makes them the perfect duo
Deacon loves messing with them and they never really break
He’s great at denying his own feelings; he convinces himself he only thinks he’s interested in them because he’s so in the habit of flirting with them
One day, Deacon’s been bugging them nonstop and they finally break, but not in a way that they show they’re flustered
Instead, they step into his personal space and kiss him to shut him up
(It works)
When they pull away their expression hasn’t changed even a little bit
They look him up and down for a moment and then turn and keep walking
That’s the first time they short circuit Deacon
The Relationship:
Not much changes between him messing with them and them being in a relationship
Sometimes Sole catches him off guard by getting brave all of a sudden but they always disappear right after
He’s often left calling after them, asking why they abandoned him so fast
It takes the rest of the Railroad months to realize anythings changed between the two
It’s when Sole has to leave for an extremely dangerous recon mission and they abruptly kiss Deacon so hard even he’s surprised that they realize they’re together
Gage:
The Confession:
Between Gage outright having aggressive undertones and Sole’s flat tones in response to everything Gage says, it’s hard for the raiders to believe they even get along
The pair know better though
They just struggle to make a move
Gage is terrified of letting someone in again, Sole doesn’t think they’re good enough, and together they make the world’s most anticlimactic mix
Gage has a little jealousy issue
When Mason makes some flirtatious comments, he gets angry
As soon as he and Sole get back to the Overboss quarters he faces them, “So are we coming to terms with this shit yet?”
“Excuse me?”
He moves slow enough that they can stop him, but grabs their face in his hands and kisses them
When they pull away they pause for a moment before replying, “Yeah. I can deal with that.”
They turn and return to business right away. “So what are we doing with the kiddie kingdom territory?”
They infuriate him in the best way possible
The Relationship:
Sole doesn’t particularly react to affection; they basically ignore it
Gage takes this as permission and often keeps an arm around their waist when they’re discussing something
Sometimes slaps their ass as he walks by just to get a reaction
They often turn and glare, or give him a flat expression
He knows they’ll tell him directly if he’s crossing a line, so he knows they don’t actually care
They show affection in the most nonchalant way
Often they’ll be talking about the plans for the raiders and just drop into his lap while talking to him, not reacting at all to their own movement
Hancock:
The Confession:
Quite similar to Deacon
Loves jokingly flirting with them but honestly can’t tell if they care for him in return or not
He comes to terms with his feelings quite easily; he knew there was something that was gonna draw them in about them when they walked through the gates to Goodneighbor and simply flicked their cigarette at Flynn’s threats, not changing their calm expression
They react to his flirtations the same way; they simply don’t
Eventually, he has to tell them; life’s short after all
When they listen to him, expressionless, but respond with a “Yeah, same.” he takes it as a win
The Relationship:
The only thing that changes is that Hancock knows they’re happy with the flirting he does with them
Their pushing him away eases and eventually they find themself relaxing into his embraces
They don’t particularly think about it. It just happened automatically over time
Still doesn’t approve of blatant PDA but they’re fine with him keeping a hand in their back pocket
MacCready:
The Confession:
Poor Mac
He has no idea what to think of the way they react to affection
On one hand they seem to hate it; on the other hand, they still stand closer to him than necessary and quirk their eyebrow, displeased, whenever someone hits on him
Eventually he realizes that’s just how they are, but it doesn’t particularly please him
He definitely wishes they had a better handle on their emotions
He’s one of the most notorious companions for getting flustered but Sole’s mannerisms get him so frustrated he ends up just blurting out how he feels, arms crossed, seeming annoyed
They nod. “Me too.”
The Relationship:
It sure as hell is a tricky relationship to navigate at first
Mac finds him frustrated a lot and eventually sits them down and has a serious discussion with them about expressing their emotions
They work on it after that to make things easier
It definitely helps
They still struggle when they’re around other people but they get a lot better about being more affectionate in private
Nick:
The Confession:
There’s… no confession moment
They kind of just ease into a relationship without discussion
They’re so casual about it and there’s so little discussion that they’re genuinely surprised when people as if they and Nick are together
Nick understood from the get go that they wouldn’t be obviously reciprocating his affection so when they didn’t react to them holding their waist, he didn’t think anything of it
Eventually this evolved and they were dating without realizing it
The Relationship:
At some point after everyone else in Diamond City starts asking questions, they do talk a little and decide, yeah, they’re in a relationship, just forgot to talk about it
Almost nothing changes when they do, though
Nick is in the habit of showing nonchalant affection without expecting anything back
When Sole does initiate it’s rare and quick, but he appreciates it all the same
They ease a little more into the affectionate side of things easily after they have the discussion about their relationship
Piper:
The Confession:
She gets flustered easily and Sole has a mask of stone when it comes to flirting
Overall, just a mess
She struggles to make a move on them and when she does they don’t even react which confuses her even more
She’s the type of person to try and hide her feelings and then it all comes rushing out one day, so that’s exactly what happens
“I have feelings for you, but I can’t even tell if you want to be friends still!”
“Oh. I have feelings for you too.”
Piper’s never wanted to fight someone and kiss someone so badly at the same time
The Relationship:
She definitely has a talk with them about expressing their emotions and not pushing her away
It can get upsetting to be brushed off when showing affection
Sole puts in effort and openly accepts affection in private, but struggles to initiate it for a while
Once they start initiating affection Piper relaxes and is much more reassured in the relationship
Preston:
The Confession:
Honestly doesn’t pick up any cues that they’re into him
He barely even thinks they’re friends a lot of times; sure, they defend him fiercely, but he assumes that’s just part of them defending the Minutemen/settlers in Sanctuary
They’re so straight faced all the time it’s difficult for him to believe there’s anything more than a work relationship to them
It’s when a settler comments that they’ve never seen Sole care for someone more than they do Preston that he starts questioning his previous views
Then he notices the little things they do to help him out; they pick up shifts as soon as he mentions there’s a watch slot that needs to be filled. They bring him coffee without a word when it’s freezing out. He wakes up and finds his gun cleaned and ammo restocked.
This is what gives him the confidence to come forward about his feelings
He gives a speech about how he hopes this doesn’t change how they work together and if it’s disrespectful to cross this line he apologizes
Sole just replies with a nod and says “Surprised it took you this long.”
The Relationship:
They remain completely professional in the field/in front of settlers
In fact, very few people suspect a thing
Preston gets a little confused by the lack of affection after their talk but he realizes he never should’ve expected things to 180
He simply adapts and starts showing affection the same way they do; he wants to make sure they know he cares for them by reciprocating in a way he knows they understand
So, considering he wakes up before them, he leaves hot coffee or tea by their bed every morning right before he leaves for patrol
When they get home from a tough run across the Commonwealth they wake up to the clothes they were wearing cleaned and folded on top of their dresser
Eventually they start showing traditional affection on their own
X6-88:
The Confession:
Obviously X6 is the king of a tsundere attitude, especially if he stays with the Institute
Affection??? Who’s that
They keep track of each other well and have each other’s backs and that’s how they show affection
There’s no super-forward gestures of affection
They both know about their feelings for each other; they have the same way of showing emotion, it’s hard not to know
If X6 stays with the Institute there isn’t a relationship; there’s certainly a lot of straight-faced pining, but no relationship
The Relationship:
If X6 eventually leaves, and so does Sole, then they slowly ease into a relationship after X6 gets settled in the Commonwealth
It’s a hesitant process, but happens nonetheless, and they also get more comfortable with showing each other affection (though only in private)
Overall way more understanding of Sole’s mannerisms than the rest of the companions
#fallout 4#fo4#companions react#headcanons#hcs#fluff#Cait#Curie#Paladin Danse#Deacon#Gage#Mayor Hancock#Nick Valentine#RJ MacCready#Piper#Preston Garvey#X6-88
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First off, I am not sending hate to any Mileven shipper. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I will only be providing actual facts and evidence, and hopefully will be staying relatively unbiased. As always, this is a PRO-BYLER account. If you do not ship Byler you do not have to read all the way through :).
This will be a 2 part series. The first part will address MILEVEN and how they will not be endgame. The second part will address the likely hood of BYLER being endgame.
So, I’ve been sucked into the Mileven side of Instagram after liking ONE Mileven edit, which is besides the point. Recently I’ve noticed a lot of people say that “They were love at first sight!” Or that “Why would they break up now if they’ve had 3 seasons of development?!” So I’m going to go ahead and supply you all with:
MILEVEN VS BYLER.
PART ONE (MILEVEN)
To start off with the first statement, “They were love at first sight!”
May I remind you how utterly mortified Mike was when he found Eleven. As any 12 year old boy would be. He did not give her any form of “heart eyes”. He looked genuinely scared. He took her home as a courtesy, not because he was “madly in love with her!”. Obviously not everyone would take home a random 12 year old bald girl, but El being taken to the Wheelers was not meant to be seen as a romantic gesture, it was literally just a plot device for the Kids to figure out she had powers.
May I also remind you that Mike wanted to get rid of her. He stated multiple times that she was just a weapon, and a device to find Will. He only let her stay BECAUSE she knew who Will was. He was fully ready to let her go, and send her back to wherever she came from. In the end of it all, he only cared about Will and finding Will. El was simply used as a device to find him. Obviously, now, I do think Mike cares about El. But not in a romantic way, more so a “cute puppy way”. I think he loves her, but that he’s not IN LOVE with her, romantically.
The show has shown constantly how horribly they work together. El’s most confident and prideful moments were when she was AWAY from Mike. Mike’s most loyal and selfless moments was when he was AWAY from El. They do not compliment eachother like that.
Second of all, they have nothing in common. In season one when Mike was explaining his figurines to El, she looked genuinely disinterested. Now some may say that this could be because she didn’t quite understand what she liked back then, which just further proves that she shouldn’t be in a relationship! If she can’t decide if she likes a dinosaur toy or not, how is she supposed to decide if she likes Mike! And we also know that she did have the ability to differentiate between things she liked as she seemed genuinely interested in Nancy’s clothes and photos. The only thing they have in common is shared trauma! Notice how all the other couples share something:
JANCY: love for writing and adventuring
LUMAX: both are comical and enjoy the cinema and the outdoors
DUZIE: science
Along with most of the other couples. But what does Mileven have In common? Can anyone please name ONE good memory between the two when they weren’t in danger. All the “good memories” they have are from when the world was ending.
If you said “Oh, but they make out a lot!” That’s not a ‘good memory’, hell, that’s hardly memorable at at all. Hoppper, Will, and Lucas even admit that for those 6 months in between season 2 and season 3, all they did was make out. That is not love, that is infatuation. Infatuation is a strong desire for someone, mainly romantic, that focuses on the physical aspects of their relationship rather than the emotional. Love is a deep rooted feeling. You do not need to make out all the time to be in love. Love is emotional, of course it can be physical, but you need that strong feeling before any physical aspect of love can be genuine.
Mileven have nothing in common. It’s very clear that Mike is still into D&D and is a nerd. Especially as he might be in the Hellfire Club next season (a D&D club) and also because we’ve seen that D&D is going to be a big aspect of season 4, meaning he’ll most likely be infatuated with it again. It’s obvious that El needs to figure herself out first. She needs to develop into her own human being. She’s still learning. She’s into poppy colors and magazines and makeup (which is great!), but even on a more basic level, they still share nothing in common. Mike is a nerd, we have established that. And notice how in s3 (when he was with El) he felt the least like himself. He acted so out of character. He didn’t use weird Star Wars analogies or gush about the new movie coming out like previous seasons. Now of course one could say that he’s growing up, but we see that he is genuinely still a nerd as when he’s in time of crisis he goes back to those analogies. He goes back to gushing about the new toys he’s getting at Christmas, he goes back to being a nerd. It’s almost as if he’s wearing this mask, and at the end of s3 he forgets to put it on. And then El kisses him, and he realizes that he didn’t enjoy that. So we know for a fact that he is very much still into D&D and those other shenanigans atleast to an extent, considering how happy he was to hear that Will wasnt giving up the party or D&D. Shouldn’t Mike be with someone who is atleast a little similar to him? Regardless of his sexuality, shouldn’t he be with someone that allows him to be his true self? He was incredibly Cocky and arrogant in season 3, almost like he had to be a “man” for El, and in his mind, being a ‘man’ was giving up all of the things he loved, and only kissing El, almost as if she was an object he had to obtain more than an actual human. Which Max agrees with! He treats her more so of a mask he has to wear to cover his true self. Shouldn’t el be with someone who likes the same thing she does? But then again, what does el like?! Exactly! She needs to figure out who she is before she dates anyone. She didn’t even know what shirt she would like to wear!
Now I just find this silly. Development? Really? Okay let me show you their “development”
SEASON ONE: El could only speak 4 or 5 words. They had essentially zero romantic interactions besides the kiss at the end. If El and Mike never kissed (excluding the time they almost kissed in the bathroom), people would most likely only see them as a friendship. Let’s flip the tables a bit. If El was a boy and Mike and El never kissed, this would further prove that they don’t have any romantic tension. Lucas says it the best: “You only like her because she’s the only girl who isn’t grossed out by you!” Which I agree with completely. It’s more of an infatuation. Mike is infatuated with the idea of finally having a girlfriend. Because he knows something is wrong inside him and wants to ‘fix it’ by dating a girl, as if suddenly his sexuality identity issues would disappear. El doesn’t know anything about Mike, and to El, Mike is a hero. To El, Mike is fearless warrior. And Mike knows that isn’t true. But with el, it gave him the chance to start fresh. It gave him the chance to start and become a different person. He puts on his persona of being “strong” and being able to stand up for himself, yet in the end, it’s El who does the saving. The reason he ‘likes’ El so much is because she isn’t disgusted by him. But mike is afraid that if he shows his true self, El wouldn’t like him anymore, and he’d lose that mask. And without a girl to cling to, he’d finally have to confront his sexuality. Which is why we never see Mike being his true self around El. In every single season, he is this false person. He’s wearing a facade, to keep up with these lies. Because he fears that If El knew how nerdy he really was, she’d be uninterested, and he ‘can’t lose her’ because he knows that El is most likely the only girl who will never be grossed out by him. Because all the other girls in this town know who he is. That nerdy guy from the AV club. And he needs a girlfriend. He feels safe that way. Because if he doesn’t have a distraction from his sexuality then he might take an extra step on accident and accidently act on those feelings
Ep 1: making out
Ep2: breaking up
Ep 3-6: fighting
Ep 7: neutral
Ep 8 ½ : neutral
Very end of ep 8: together?
How is that romantic? So from what we know, Mileven got a kiss in season 1, a kiss in season 2, 2 make out sessions, and then they fought. HOW IS THAT A GOOD RELATIONSHIP?
90% of their relationship throughout all 3 seasons has been kissing and fighting. That’s literally it. Not once have we seen them just hanging out and talking. Not once have we seen them go on dates. And as Hopper, Lucas, and Will put: that’s all they do! The Duffer’s purposefully put that line in to show that, it’s really all they did for those 6 months. There was no emotion to that. Just kissing. That’s it. Kissing and fighting is all Mileven has been. And honestly they would have been pretty cute in season 3 if the Duffer’s hadn’t messed it up. But the duffers aren’t stupid! They did this on purpose! Because they wanted us to disagree with Mileven. They wanted us to find it obnoxious. Because they know that they don’t have chemistry! Finn and Millie are brilliant actors and could have definitely pulled that off, meaning the Duffers had to have specifically said to “not act in love”. Mileven is a summer fling, Finn said so himself. They are their true selves when they are apart, and when they are together romantically, they stunt each other’s growth. They’re way better as bestfriends. El needs to figure herself out before she can date anyone.
Thank you for reading part one! Part two will be up soon, and will follow why I believe Byler will be end game!
Heavy inspiration from @kaypeace21 & @hawkinsschoolcounselor
#stranger things 4#stranger things#byler#byler rights#byler theory#stranger things theory#anti mileven#byler is endgame#st4
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the sweetest life (and the loving is easy when you’re with me)
tumblr version:
"It all started with an eclair. "
(Modern Polin AU) A mini series on how a couple of delectable desserts have the power to make Penelope Featherington's dreams come true.
rating: mature
tags: tooth rotting fluff, seriously so sweet it’s cavity inducing , it starts off sweet but we will be getting smutty in later chapters!
Chapter One: Mocha Eclairs
It all started with an eclair.
No wait, Penelope was getting ahead of herself.
It all started when she finally moved out of her mother’s home. The day when she realized that she was free from all the backhanded compliments, the nitpicking statements or worse, her mother’s “helpful” advice that wasn’t really helpful at all. Penelope loved her mother, she really did but Penelope would also be the first to admit that they had nothing in common and those differences often led to moments of extreme dislike and disappointment. But that daily torment was the past, now that she was in her own flat, and out of Portia’s critical eye, she was only privy to criticisms when she deemed it necessary to visit her mother, which to no one’s surprise, wasn’t often. And more importantly, living on her own - oh alright, with Eloise Bridgerton as her roommate of course - Penelope was finally free to indulge in one of her favorite secret hobbies. Baking.
When Penelope couldn’t write, she found that redirecting her brain power to learning the techniques and rules of baking, a satisfying distraction. (Self taught and with nothing but online tutorials, plenty of hands on attempts and several spectacular failures, Penelope felt a spark of excitement when, eventually, her creations didn’t turn out as complete disasters) . She still remembers the day her pastry attempt finally didn’t crumble or fall in on itself! When she had taken a bite and sighed with pleasure at how delectable it had turned out to be. To say she felt complete joy and satisfaction was a vast understatement. Her baking steadily improved and now she’s reached the point where sharing her creations with her favorite person was no longer unthinkable.
A flutter of butterflies erupted in her stomach and Penelope took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. Before her very eyes was her own take on a mocha eclair; lightly brown, oblong choux pastry filled with an espresso creme patisserie. It was topped with a dark chocolate mascarpone and simply decorated with chocolate shavings. It looked divine and it smelled heavenly and all the while Penelope’s heart was about ready to burst. She had only one person in mind while she was making these treats, the one person who was constantly in her thoughts.
Colin Bridgerton.
Colin, her best friend’s older brother who was also her friend...sort of. At least she considered him her friend and Penelope dearly wished he felt the same. Well, if she was honest, she would prefer it if he viewed her as more than just a friend, but Penelope had been Eloise’s friend since childhood and because of that she was, unfortunately, like another sister to him.
Penelope shook her head, her loose curls flying about as she attempted to redirect her thoughts from the depressing spiral of her unrequited love. Instead she focused on boxing up her beautiful chocolatey creations. She was after all, expected over at the Bridgertons’ for dinner.
What was unexpected, was the sound of the front door opening and Eloise clamoring her way in. Penelope tilted her head in confusion as she stepped out of her tiny kitchen and followed the sound to see El.
“Why are you here? I thought we were meeting up at your mum’s place?”
Her shouted question was met with silence. No response came from her best friend as she zipped her way to her room, mumbling something utterly incomprehensible.
“According to her, she needed something from her room quite urgently , and no it could not wait, so here we are. At least we can all head to mum’s together.”
A distinctive male voice answered her, startling her enough to make her flinch. Her stomach dropped and her heart began pounding double time, but not just because of the fright, no... even without turning just yet there was no way she could ever mistake his voice. So melodic and captivating as it was, Penelope merely lifted her hand to her heart, willing it to slow down as she turned around to face the man of her dreams.
“C-Colin, you startled me.”
She tried to laugh off her reaction, cursing the fact that his simple presence was enough to make her body go haywire.
A little crease on his forehead appeared as he frowned. “I’m sorry Pen, I didn’t mean to give you a scare.”
He scratched at the back of his head, a small smile making its way onto his face.
“I thought you would have seen me behind El.”
Whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by Colin sniffing the air and casually heading towards the kitchen. “Pen, what is that? It smells really good in here,” his voice got softer the further away from her he got and Penelope quickly chased after him, knowing better than to leave him alone with a box of sweets. Penelope knew the instant he noticed her eclairs. It was hard to describe how excited he was, but his whole being came alive at the sight of food.
“Where did you buy these? Can I try one?”
Instead of answering, Penelope booked it, managing to reach the box before he did. A little miracle as she zoomed past him before standing in front of her treats, using her own body as a barrier to keep the man with a black hole as a stomach away. If she hadn’t been so busy trying to catch her breath, she would have laughed at the astonished look on his face. Colin had clearly not been expecting her to react like that but it wasn’t long before his stunned expression morphed into one of humor, his eyes alight with fondness.
After a few deep breaths Penelope finally had the capacity to answer without wheezing,
“I didn’t buy these. I made them. Yes you may have one, but not now. I was going to bring them to dinner.”
Penelope nervously pushed back her loose curls behind her ear before continuing.
“I know you Colin, if you eat one now, you could be tempted to finish the whole box and that wouldn’t be fair to your brothers and sisters.” she teased.
He didn’t need to know that the reaction she was looking forward to the most was his. In fact, Penelope had gone to great lengths to hide how pathetically in love she was with the third Bridgerton brother. From the moment boys had stopped being icky to her, her heart had belonged to him. It wasn’t just that he was ridiculously handsome and charming. Or that he was constantly smiling and having a good laugh. It was the fact that deep down, he was so... kind . He included her when he didn’t need to and he listened whenever she found the strength to push her shyness aside for actual meaningful conversation. Colin more than any of the other Bridgerton siblings -with perhaps the exception of Eloise- made her feel like she belonged . A feeling that was hard to come by in her own family. To feel it with him was something she so deeply treasured.
What started off as a childhood crush simply grew with every new detail about him she collected through the years. A soft and simple affection that bloomed into a deep, unshakable love. Of course, with every year that passed, her love grew stronger; the heaviness of the unreciprocated feelings began to build up too. The pain settled in her heart, encasing it bit by bit. She learned to tolerate the pain because the alternative, to cast him out completely, was unbearable and impossible. She’d rather have him as a friend, if nothing else. For now that was enough.
“You made them?”
Colin perked up and he leaned in closer, his height giving him the advantage to look over her and peer at the box.
“I didn’t know you could bake! Why didn’t I know? I feel like that is information I would know.”
His furrowed brows and mumbling was so cute Penelope had to squeeze her hands into a tight fist to resist the urge to softly brush away the wrinkles on his forehead with her fingers. And oh how she wanted to lightly cup his face and stand on her tippy toes for a simple kiss on his lips.
She pushed those thoughts aside and instead she laughed, oddly pleased with his reaction, with the knowledge that he cared. Cared enough to be disgruntled that she had secrets.
Pushing at his chest so that he would back up, Penelope looked up and smirked.
“Bold of you to assume you know all my secrets, Bridgerton.”
-
A huff of shocked laughter escaped him; this was a new side of Penelope, and Colin couldn’t help but be a little awed by the sight of her. There was this new confidence about her, and he liked it.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had been surprised so many times in such a short amount of time. Since when did she bake well enough that her pastries looked like they were ordered fresh from a bakery? Since when was she fast enough to be on one side of the flat one moment and a second later right in front of him? Since when did she know how to smirk?
Nevermind that she was still adorably flushed, her bright blue eyes brimming with mischief as they met directly with his gaze. He was soon distracted by her deep red curls flying loose around her face. An unnamed feeling spread through him as he looked at her and he shifted his stance, backing away a little and letting her hand drop from his chest.
He was a little dismayed at the sudden urge he felt to get closer and wrap his arms around Penelope’s soft curves. To personally push her curls behind her ears before tilting her head and - stop. Stop. Where did that thought even come from? Trying his best not to think about where his mind was venturing to, Colin instead took Penelope’s full body defense of her treats as a challenge. God knows what was taking Eloise so long, but he would take advantage of this time to charm his way to a snack. The smell in the kitchen was absolutely mouthwatering and he couldn’t imagine Penelope not excelling at whatever she put her mind to, so he was positive in the knowledge that those eclairs would be delicious.
Throwing away any shame, Colin Bridgerton immediately clasped his hands together in a praying motion. He widened his green eyes pleadingly before setting his mouth into a perfectly formed pout.
“Oh come on Pen, please? Just one. I’m hungry.”
Penelope was not impressed, her single brow rising was enough to inform him of this.
“Colin you are always hungry! The sky is blue, water is wet and Colin Bridgerton has a black hole for a stomach.” She uttered dryly.
Colin pressed his hand over his heart dramatically as he gasped.
“Penelope! What a barb!”
Her resulting giggle was music to his ears, but he still had not given up on his endeavor. If regular pouting wasn’t enough, he would have to try something a little more drastic, but he was committed to this now.
-
Penelope’s mouth dropped open as soon as Colin went down to his knees, once again his hands clasped together, this time with him shaking them back and forth as he whined.
“Pen have mercy on me, your friend, who is so hungry and only wants to try your food. Please Pen. Please.”
Stunned, Penelope takes a few seconds before covering her face with her hands and bursting into laughter.
“Oh my god. Colin! Stand up! You are so bloody ridiculous, I can’t believe you just did that!”
She leaned forward and offered him her hand, still laughing, but she was shocked when he didn’t immediately reach out.
“I’m not getting up until you let me have an eclair, Pen.” He grumbled.
Rolling her eyes she giggled as she agreed to his demands. The fact that she had been able to resist him this long was enough of a victory for her. A few weeks ago the pouty face would have been enough for her to cave.
“Oh alright, yes! I’ll let you have one. Now get up.”
She helped pull him up, not really needing to do much since he was strong and agile enough that he didn’t really need her support. But it meant a lot to her that he still accepted her help, for she would always freely offer it. And if a spark went through her at the mere brush of their hands, and a tingling sensation followed as he gripped her tightly, well she would keep pretending like it was nothing. Even though it was everything.
After ensuring that they’d washed their hands, she pulled out a paper plate for him. Penelope then carefully opened the box and pulled out a single mocha eclair. She watched as his green eyes gleamed with pure want, and for a second she was insanely jealous over the fact that he would never have that expression on his face as he looked at her. She snapped out of it though, getting jealous over a pastry was a new low. Even for her.
Penelope held her breath, her stomach tangled up in knots as she waited for his verdict. Trying her best not to let her eyes linger on his mouth too much, she watched as Colin took his first bite of her mocha eclair. The one she’d made especially for him, with all the love and care she never had the bravery to share aloud. She almost looked away, something about seeing him eat a treat she made with her own hands felt a little too intimate, but his moan of appreciation had her unable to tear her eyes away from his face.
His expression… it was bliss. Green eyes widening before closing as he took in the flavors she incorporated for him, that heady mix of chocolate and coffee.
Penelope could only blush as her heart beat a tad bit faster and a beaming smile made its way onto her face as he took another hearty bite.
“That good, huh?” She said cheekily, feeling confident in the face of him devouring the sweet instead of, say, spitting it out politely.
“Inf oh ‘ood”
His mouth, still stuffed, made his response sound like pure nonsense but the approval was unmistakable. Penelope wrinkled her nose a bit at him attempting to speak with his mouth full but even that lapse in manners was utterly endearing.
Damn him .
She was so caught up in her joy that he liked it that she almost missed him reaching out for another one as soon as he had taken his last bite. Penelope’s eyes widened in alarm and she reached out for her box of eclairs.
“No! Nope! Colin the agreement was one eclair! I did not make this whole box for you! I did, in fact, make them with the intention of sharing with your whole family!”
She stepped out of his reach, protecting the rest of the pastries from his never ending appetite.
“Pen,” Colin whined, his eyes staring longingly at the box.
“You can’t just let me try one of the greatest eclairs I’ve ever had in my life and expect me to only be content with one!”
He reached for the box again, single-minded in his attempt to satiate his craving for another bite. The fact that Penelope had made it still had him in awe. When he had taken his first bite, the urge to groan had been practically overwhelming. It was like ambrosia, an explosion of flavor, the bitterness of the coffee followed by the sweetness of the chocolate and creme. He was distraught when he had opened his eyes to realize that he had devoured his whole eclair. He needed more.
Penelope turned her back on him, cradling the box and using her own body as a shield, shaking her head back and forth all the while. Another huff of laughter escaped him, she was so cute, protecting the sweets for his family. A noble endeavor indeed but he was much taller and the wall she made was nothing compared to his height. He stepped forward, his chest to her back, his arms wrapping around hers, Penelope stiffened in his pseudo embrace but Colin didn't notice as he finally had the box in his hands. Just in time too, as Penelope let go and twisted her way out of his arms.
“That’s not fair! Using the fact that you’re a giant against me is rude.”
Penelope was amazed that her voice wasn't shaking considering her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. What was that? She had been so close to melting into his embrace, the urge to lean back against his chest and breathe in his scent had been so strong. How dare he do this? Didn’t he know she was only so strong? The fact that she could still feel him around her was enough to drive her insane.
“It’s not my fault you are so tiny, Pen.”
Colin grinned as looked down at the box, lifting the cover and mentally counting how many were left, “Come on Pen, there’s enough -” his sentence was cut short when Penelope grabbed the box from his hands unexpectedly and bolted to the other side of the counter, leaving him standing there in utter shock.
“Again? When did you get so fast? I swear I only blinked!” Twice now she had exhibited an alarming sense of speed.
“You guys are cute.”
Both Colin and Penelope are startled when a husky voice enters the conversation. They had completely forgotten about Eloise being in the flat with them. Caught up in the impromptu tug of war over the eclairs. They looked over at Eloise’s grinning face. Neither one of them sure they liked the twinkling light in her expressive brown eyes.
“I was here for a solid ten minutes enjoying the show, but mum’s waiting for us so let's get a move on.”
Eloise then grabbed the box from Penelope’s hands and headed towards the door.
“Let's make haste people!”
-
It didn’t take long after that dinner for Colin Bridgerton to become a frequent guest in Penelope’s kitchen. What started off as simple requests for his favorite treats quickly became an insistence on her part that he was to be her sous chef and help her clean up. Not that it was ever a chore, but if she was to dedicate so much of her time to feeding him, it couldn't be for free. His time was more than enough of a payment for her and every dessert she made was a labor of love. It was liberating in a way, to channel all her feelings into the dough and creams and treats. She was no longer bottling it all up, no longer letting it stew and fester and morph into agony.
And it was indescribable, the joy she felt to see Colin enjoy her food so earnestly. To see his hearty appetite satisfied by her own creations. Penelope felt like she was high in the clouds, he was always texting her new recipes they could make together or locations of different bakeries they could try. She never expected any of this, the fact that their friendship would grow into something deeper. Of course she still yearned for them to be more, and she constantly had to remind herself to not make a big deal out of normal platonic affectionate gestures. She was content for now, to have him at her side.
It all started with an eclair…
But it all escalated with a strawberry crème brûlée.
|| CHAPTER TWO || || AO3 ||
#Polin Fics#Polin#Penelope Featherington#Colin Bridgerton#Colin x Penelope#Bridgerton Fics#Bridgerton#fic: the sweetest life#yes I know I have this on AO3 but I also always planned to have a tumblr version#i'll be reposting chapters two and three soon as well#I love my babies sooooo much <3#ale's fics
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My first thing to do knowing hyperfixating on LEGO Monkie Kid is making a role swap AU because of course, though I was also inspired by @cassidyisnowdrawing ‘s Yellow Light Verse (that I really hope it doesn’t look like I’m copying you, I did my best to make them different from each other)!
So in this role swap, while everyone’s roles in the story are swapped (Mei’s the Monkie Kid, Red is her partner in crime, and MK serves DBK and PIF) their backstories haven’t changed, if that makes sense. Now while I keep their personalities similar to canon, they’re going to still have some differences due to their different circumstances.
Mei:
Mei would be a lot more insecure and eager to prove herself, both as Sun Wukong’s successor and her worth as a person since while I’m having backstories for the characters stay the same, I could see Mei and MK both being worse off self-esteem wise without having each other around growing up.
She’d still just as bubbly, excitable, protective, and phone savvy as Canon!Mei, if not more so on the protective aspect. Tends to go absolutely apeshit the most when someone threatens Green, Pigsy, Tang, Sandy and eventually includes MK and her own mentor, Sun Wukong, under this umbrella.
Case in point: when she sees Sun Wukong and Macaque fight. Through sheer protective anger and hurt about being betrayed allows her to lift the staff and decimate Macaque.
Sun Wukong would get attached a lot quicker to his successor in this AU because Mei just has that energy which activates Parental Instincts he didn’t even know he had.
Does noodle deliveries for Pigsy but has also makes vlogs of what it’s like working at Pigsy’s Noodles. She says it’s to better advertise the shop, but really she just likes making memories that she can look back on and show others. Starts doing it while also being the Monkie Kid and training with Wukong.
Was genuinely scared/intimidated by Demon Kid upon first meeting him but was quick to find that while he’s got the dramatics of being a villain down, he fails at the aspect of actually partaking in villainous behavior. After that, they’re quick to transition from enemies to frenemies to just being friends.
Makes no effort to hide her wanting to be friends with Demon Kid and finds his quiet bewilderment at her friendship adorable but also kind of sad.
A troublemaker despite her innocent face, which definitely makes Sun Wukong proud to see her causing chaos and get away with it. That, alongside her kind nature, are the reasons he chose her as his successor.
Creates tech for the team alongside Green, though their differing styles of inventing can cause complications or make the inventions backfire on them both, though she takes these more in stride compared to Green.
The undefeated queen in DDR and Monkey Mecha despite Green’s multiple attempts to dethrone her.
Mei: Hey, hey DBK look at me. DBK: [turns towards Mei] Mei: [ready to kick his ass] B I T C H!
A slight bit better at focus and following Wukong’s lessons compared to Canon!MK but still tends to get ahead of herself in wanting to learn flashier techniques before even getting the basics down.
Likes to wage psychological warfare on her enemies. By that I mean, she essentially likes pulling Bugs Bunny level antics to frustrate them to do stupid stuff in combat out of anger, allowing her to fuck them up with a smile on her face.
Green (AKA Red Son)
The most changed personality wise due to different circumstances in this AU, a lot more calm and composed to counteract Mei’s hyperactive demeanor and less prone to losing his temper. Though he’s still pretty uptight.
Is still the son of DBK and PIF but he had ran away some time after DBK had been imprisoned. Makes an effort to make sure he’s not recognized by anyone, dying his hair and wearing makeup. Still wears Canon!Red Son’s shades but they’re larger and he still dresses like a rich bitch because he has standards. He refuses to wear the color red for unknown reasons to Mei and the others, at least until they find out about his family.
Just as protective of Mei as she is of him, to the point he had some objections to her being chosen as Sun Wukong’s successor but eventually let it go once he saw how important it was to her. Begrudgingly chose to fight alongside her, thinking he might as well and avoid her getting herself killed. His way of showing he cares can appear condescending but Mei has known him long enough to know he really doesn’t see her incapable of taking care of herself.
Works alongside Mei to use their combined tech knowledge to combating the threat of DBK and his demon forces. However, his inventions can also have a tendency to backfire or not work as intended, much to his frustration.
Enjoys racing on his motorbike, participating in races across the city and often winning in 1st place. He is most definitely a cocky little bastard about his skill in racing, one the few things about himself that he puts a lot of pride in.
Had a complicated relationship with Demon Kid at first. At first, he resented the other for essentially being his parents attempt to “replace” him after he ran away and led himself to believe that he was much more appreciated by his parents for his control of his flames and magic power. However, that illusion is soon shattered once he sees how Demon Kid gets when they foil his plans since he’s familiar with that look of worry and resigned accepted that he’d have to go back to DBK and PIF with another failure on his back. Tries to show empathy after that without revealing his true identity, which only causes confusion for Mei and Demon Kid on how he’s so familiar with DBK, PIF, and demon culture as a whole.
The exhausted voice of reason among the team alongside Pigsy.
Often challenges Mei to video game championships which devolve to them play fighting once Mei inevitably beats him at everything.
Has his own façade of confidence but often fears not being strong enough to keep his found family safe but is too proud to admit until someone gets injured and he starts fearing for the worst.
Sun Wukong enjoys messing with him due to his uptight nature, especially at the Monkey King’s impishness.
Goes completely feral in combat once he gets the Dragon Sword. Even before that, he was willing to run over Demon Kid’s demon puppets with his bike to give Mei a hand.
Demon Kid (AKA MK)
A kid who’s a lot like Megamind: he lives for the dramatics and presentation of being a villain but fails at actually acting villainous when it comes down to it. Does his best to appear serious, intimidating, and someone not to mess with but that façade slips very often when it comes to things like being complimented or when someone mentions the Monkey King and he turns out to be a complete dork.
Not the son of DBK and PIF, but rather a low level demon that PIF had chose to be help her free DBK after Red Son had disappeared and she was left alone. Mainly because Demon Kid had no one else either and she saw potential with his strong magic, though it was rather out of control when they met. PIF had decided alongside DBK that they’d keep him around as an assistant/minion of sorts once he had helped her free DBK.
Since he doesn’t have Canon!Red Son’s prowess with technology, I considered instead that he’s skilled with magic and his own fire powers, using them a lot more in combat or during his schemes against Mei’s team. Still a major contributor to DBK’s army, but instead of the mechanical Bull Clones, perhaps Demon Kid instead supplies his king with sentient demon puppets given life through his magic. The armor can run the same, except with a magical angle instead of technology.
I have this idea that he’s actually able to pull out Sun Wukong’s staff on his own, much to his surprise. He’s quick to try and say it was due to a spell when PIF questions this. He’s left both amazed and terrified at the mere possibility of him being worthy to wield the staff of Sun Wukong himself.
His first meeting with Mei plays out similar to the show’s canon, though instead he intended on teleporting Mei away with a spell under the guise of “eliminating” her for DBK. Even while chasing her through the city, he was going to simply take the staff and scare her enough to never cross the Demon Bull King again. He tries to convince himself it’s to allow fear of DBK to be spread by leaving her alive but really, he just could never bring himself to kill or seriously harm someone.
Though like Canon!Red Son, he’s prone to losing his temper with others before immediately apologizing afterwards out of reflex. Also tends to teleport away from situations when he’s embarrassed himself, often saying he’s only allowing Mei and Green to win this time but next time will be different.
Spoiler alert: It rarely ever is.
DBK and PIF are often frustrated with Demon Kid because they know he has potential to bring Sun Wukong’s successor and her team to their knees with his powers and knowledge of magical spells but he fails to fulfill this because of his own inability to be cruel. They’re both like that episode of Spongebob where Plankton tries to teach him to be assertive/aggressive except they’re both Plankton and Demon Kid is Spongebob.
Quickly becomes attached to Mei and Green since they’re genuinely nice to him and while he insists that it’s because they’re his “personal archenemies”, he most definitely sees them as his friends and is constantly coming up with flashier schemes to impress/amuse them as well as get feedback from them. Was actually really lonely before meeting them, having to use his demon puppets for company. His attachment to Mei and Green can quickly evolve to possessiveness when he thinks someone is trying to take them away, whether they be other enemies that decide to fight them or a friend who is simply spending noticeable amount of time with them.
In the case of someone else trying to kill them, Demon Kid would be quick to shut that down and make that person immediately regret it since, in his words, he’s the only one allowed to destroy the two. This is one of the few situations where he gets completely serious and doesn’t bother with the theatrics.
Does his best to make himself look scary such as shoes to make him appear taller, jagged face paint, and perhaps sharp eyeliner to imitate PIF since he sees everyone fears her.
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‘Akumatized Marinette’ A funny prompt!
So ive seen a few different fics and posts where Lila convinces the class that Marinette is in fact Mayura and/or is working in some way for Hawkmoth, using such evidence as ‘Marinette’s never been akumatized’ and citing how sometimes Marinette’s attempts to be helpful or friendly or yes her mistakes have resulted in an akuma going after her classmates. Also other evidence like how many akumas the class has had total. But what if Lila could not convince class that Marinette was working with Hawkmoth, desperate to connect Marinette to the supervillain in hopes of plummeting her reputation Lila claims that Marinette is in fact AKUMATIZED hence her villainous actions towards Lila!
Now just follow me here:
What if the class don't believe Lila THAT MUCH. Sure Lila has them convinced that she’s a diplomats daughter and that shes got a million illnesses and physical problems and yes she even has everyone believing that she’s famous and that her and Adrien are a secret item [how scandalous!]. But no one in the class will for a SECOND believe that Marinette is working with Hawkmoth. Lila has tried broaching the subject several times, shes tried leaving ‘hints’ and pointing things out that seem ‘incriminating’ but each and every time she does the class scoff and each of them begin listing a 100 reasons why Marinette is definitely NOT a fan of Hawkmoth and would never work with him.
Frustrated but determined to connect the super villain to Marinette and alienate the girl further Lila seethes and plots. Getting more frustrated each failed attempt and trying to chew off her own sausage hair when people talk about how Marinette would definitely kick Hawkmoth’s ass. Then one day Marinette walks in with a totally new look, she’s cut her hair into a messy pixie cut and is going for a pink punk look. The look gets everyone's attention and the day is spent with everyone complimenting the baker girl [she even gets asked out by a few of the guys in the other classes] frustrated that everyone is paying attention to Marinette instead of herself Lila cant help but make up some big lie about how Marinette assaulted her and stole her money.
The class is justifiably shocked! They have been especially protective of Marinette and her reputation ever since she was expelled and nearly akumatized so more then a few of them start yelling at Lila even Alya who normally sides with Lila due to her belief that her designer friend is jealous is furious at Lila for making an accusation like that! Desperate to recover from the poorly timed and worded lie she’s made Lila thinks fast and comes up with a scheme just crazy enough to work! She claims that obviously it wasn’t ACTUALLY Marinette, no it was the horrible akuma MARIONETTE! The class blinks taken aback but they can’t help but ask what Lila is talking about.
The italian smirks feeling sinister pleasure course through her. She begins weaving her sob story tale! About how Marinette had snuck into one of Adrien and Lila’s photoshoots! Where the poor baker girl saw them *gasp* KISSING! Poor Marinette heartbroken and distraught was akumatized into the horrible monster Marionette! Who stalked Lila home and attacked her! She goes on to claim that the Marinette who was in class today was NOT in fact their good friend rocking a new style and haircut but was instead a vicious akuma after all why do you think Lila was keeping so far away from Marinette all day? She’s TRAUMATIZED after her ordeal and now Marionette the akuma is attending class as if she were Marinette! How terrible could Hawkmoth be to be using their heartbroken friend like this!
The class doesn’t want to believe it, but it makes such perfect sense Marinette WOULD be heartbroken by seeing Adrien the ‘love of her life’ kissing Lila her main rival! And just yesterday Marinette looked completely normal with her cute little pigtails and her signature outfit! She never told any of them she was even GOING to get a haircut! And surely if Marinette was going to make such a big change in her appearance she would have told her bestie Alya right?
But now what is the class to do? Poor Marinette is akumatized and they have no idea what to do or what her object could possibly be! Max, always the logical one concludes that they should simply contact Ladybug and have her help poor Marinette! Lila quickly jumps in claiming she already tried contacting Ladybug OBVIOUSLY since the pair are besties! But that Marionette tricked Ladybug into believing she wasn’t akumatized at all! “No!” Lila laments, “were going to need to take care of this ourselves!”
The class is resolute determined to help poor Marinette without the help of Ladybug who has fallen for Hawkmoth’s most clever trick yet. But Lila is quick to warn them that they MUST be careful after all Marionette is a VERY powerful akuma, they cant know for sure the true extent of her terrible powers or when or WHO she might attack next! Lila fears that it will be poor Adrien or perhaps herself again! Insert fake sobs here. The class vow to protect Lila and Adrien from Marionette, and Alya who believes she’s best equipped for this situation since she IS Rena Rouge takes charge of the situation, they decide that no one is allowed to be alone with Marionette and NONE of them are to let the akuma know that they are on to her! They need to play the long game and figure out what her akumatized object is so that they can snatch it and free Marinette from Hawkmoth’s dastardly clutches!
Lila rejoices believing that she’s finally achieved victory, the class now think that Marinette is a dangerous monster and will isolate her, not to mention Lila now believes she can make up any lie she wants about Marinette and that the class will unquestioningly believe her! She goes home with a pep in her step eagerly plotting for all the lies and perks she can get from this newest lie and decides to eat a whole tub of ice cream to celebrate her cleverness, unaware that she’s just signed the ticket for her defeat.
You see the class LOVE Marinette, she’s their friend, and ‘learning’ that she’s been turned into some sort of monstrous extremely clever akuma is both a suprise and none at all. Later on as they all chat in the newly made text group Max points out how it was obvious that Marinette would become the most dangerous and clever akuma shes the smartest person in class besides himself and extremely creative and resourceful. Rose laments about how hurt Marinette must be and how they simply MUST save her as soon as possible. Alix curses Hawkmoth out and claims that the sick freak was probably TARGETING Marinette for awhile now because of how awesome she is. Nino and Kim cry about how their childhood bff needs them now more then ever! And Alya tells them to get ready because they cant abandon Marinette now that she needs them most!
The next day Lila comes to class ready to spin another tale about how the vicious akuma Marionette destroyed her room last night! And while the class do listen and tell Lila that it sucks that happened they seem noticeably... Distracted. When Marinette walks into the room the class practically explodes, Rose and Juleka INSIST that Marinette sit behind them so they can talk! Everyone has some sweet compliment to give to the baker reminding her about how wonderful she is! Lila’s jaw drops open as her classmates practically rush to hug and touch and talk to what they believe is a horrible monstrous Akuma! And it doesnt end their.
Lila asks Alya to hang out at the mall? She cant her and Nino are going to be on ‘Marionette’ surveillance tracking the akuma to see what shes up to and if she might show her akumatized object! Lila decides to try woo Mylene and Ivan into letting her handle their charities ‘finances’? Mylene starts crying about how the charity was Marinette’s idea before she got akumatized and now she might not even remember how amazing it was when shes eventually de-akumatized Lila cant stand hearing them talk about her enemy and gives up her pursuit of the funds. Lila decides to hang out with Kitty Section? They invited Marionette to every show hoping Luka would notice that she’s an akuma and use his amazing intuition to help free poor poor Marinette!
Instead of ostracizing the girl Marinette is now invited to every big event, and is constantly being showered with compliments and love as if the class believes that just loving Marinette enough will be the thing that ‘de-akumatizes’ her. “At least they wont let her anywhere near myself or Adrien.” Lila thinks bitterly as she gets her 5th warning that day that Lila might want to sit out the class going to the movies together with MARIONETTE.
During this time the class has been pulling off various ‘heists’ slowly going through each and every one of Marinette’s belongings to check if its the akumatized object. And I do mean every single belonging. Her sketchbook was ruled out within the first few days same with her signature earrings it was Kim who checked those and it involved a complicated plan involving taking Marinette swimming and having Kim fake a drowning in order to get close enough to ‘Marionette’ to check the studs. Luckily for Tikki, Ondine who was also at the pool decided to save Kim instead and the poor jock got quite flustered when the swimmer performed CPR on him.
Nino and the rest of the boys are the ones tasked with breaking into Marinette’s room while the girl is away on a sleepover with the girls. In order to ‘test’ each object in her room for the source of the akuma. They got a bit too loud and had to make a last minute escape when they heard Tom and Sabine going into fight mode. Poor Nino wasn’t fast enough and was forced to lie through his teeth that he’d been trying to surprise Marinette with a hangout like when they were little kids. [poor kid ended up drinking hot cocoa with Tom and Sabine as they showed off embarrassing baby pictures of Nino and Marinette together]
After about a month or so of shenanigans including a very embarrassing incident involving the entire class accidentally spying on Marinette’s first big date with Luka/Kagami/Felix/Damian [just pick one they are all great ships] and them getting caught red handed thanks to Alix and Kim roughhousing and making a scene at the nice restaurant. And another incident that Alya refers to only as the ‘duck incident’ [Nino can no longer be around birds or feathers] the class is no closer to learning where Marionette’s akumatized object is. And Lila Rossi who thought she’d be bathing in her victory is on the verge of screaming if one more person ignores her!
How does it end? Well maybe the class stage an intervention hoping they can free Marinette with the power of love only for Marinette to fall off of something laughing when she learns what Lila’s big lie was. Maybe Lila finally snaps and screams when she hears the class lament about POOR Marinette for the billionth time. Maybe the class try breaking absolutely everything Marinette owns, Maybe Juleka points out that its kind of weird that Marionette the akuma doesn’t really do... anything? And can change clothes? Can akuma’s do that? No right??? Aren’t their clothes like melded to their body??? Maybe the class finally get Adrien thinking he can ‘fix’ Marinette only for him to very confusedly tell them hes not dating Lila and has never kissed her and what Marinette akumatized??? Maybe The class recruit Luka and Kagami, Marinette’s other friends only for them to have a great laugh at the class before pointing out the literal mountain of things wrong with everything they just said.
Just fun shenanigans and ‘akumatized’ Marinette.
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#lila salt#my fic#lukanette#kagaminette#felinette#ml salt prompt#alya sugar#class sugar#miraculous ladybug#marinette dupain cheng#daminette#miraculous salt#lila rossi#lila salt prompt#ml prompt
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Oh, can I request an Izo headcannon where he falls for the head nurse of the Whitebeard Pirates please? Tx!💗
Izo would try to keep things professional at first, especially if Pops was around. Flirting with one of the crew's nurses would distract them from tending to Whitebeard on a daily basis, as well as taking care of whatever injuries the rest of the crew would get.
Still, despite his best efforts, the rest of the crew catches on to why his cheeks turn a bit pink (even through those layers of foundation) whenever a particular one of Whitebeard's nurses is near him. Marco and Ace (and Thatch, if he's around) would definitely urge him to go for it, and with their encouragement he'd decide to actually do something.
He'd ask ____ if they had free time at some point in the day, and if they'd like to sit next to him at dinner with the rest of the crew. He'd try his best to keep things friendly though: asking about her, talking about his interest and asking about hers, just getting to know each other. He'd add that he admires the hard work she does for Pops and everyone else on the ship, and there's a hint of extra warmth and softness when he compliments how much he appreciates their presence.
There'd be a little bit of awkward silence, and he'd hastily ask if she'd like to hear him play something on his shamisen. It's too loud in the dining hall, but maybe they could go outside onto the deck for some privacy. Marco and Ace would wink and give him a thumbs-up on the way out, and he'd blush again and pretend he didn't see them.
He asked if she had any requests and if she didn't, he would play an old romantic song from Wano. He'd explain the story to ____ since it's in another language (Wano citizens canonically speak a bit...different? Idk if it's meant to be a different dialect of what everyone else is speaking or a whole-ass other language), of the story of the Sky Princess Orihime and the shepherd Hikoboshi she fell in love with.
He always plays music beautifully and with passion, but as he sings and plucks the strings of the shamisen he's never felt so lost in the feeling of a song before. When he finishes, he just looks up at ____ like she's the beautiful Orihime herself--quite fitting, since she looks like she has stars in her eyes from how well Izo played.
He's too "honorable" to try to kiss someone before properly courting them and becoming a couple….buuuut, if ____ surprised him by pulling him in for a kiss, he certainly wouldn't be complaining. The two of them getting together would be known pretty quickly by the rest of the crew, and Whitebeard is constantly asking his best nurse how things are between her and Izo. Whitebeard also teases the hell out of Izo too, jokingly telling him not to steal ____ all for himself; she's the best nurse in his crew and doesn't want Izo to woo her away from her duties...well, not all the time. He wants his son to enjoy the fun and happiness that comes from a young romance, after all.
She insists on tending to any injuries Izo has, no matter how minor. He'll get a papercut and she's immediately offering to get a bandage for him. He just smiles wryly and says that for something so little, a simple kiss should make him feel better. He's more "flirty" than "suggestive", if that makes sense (like, flirting without being overly sexual). Although ____ does learn how useful a bit of Vaseline can be for getting rid of any noticeable lipstick marks peeking out from the collar of her uniform, thanks to Izo~
Sometimes he tries making up little songs and stories with his instruments in his spare time, about a beautiful healer who traveled the seas and won the heart of a wandering bard/musician. He also wishes that when he reunites with Kiku again, he'll definitely introduce ____ to her. And...he also likes the idea of asking Kiku to be one of ____'s bridesmaids, daydreaming about seeing his lovely lady in a shirokakeshita (wedding kimono)...
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I just reread One Of Us Is Lying and am once again struck by emotions, so here is a rushed pile of compliments.
(spoilers under the cut, in case anyone is later to the party than I am)
Reading Book 1 the first time I genuinely couldn’t tell who did it. Maybe I’m just stupid but she makes everyone look suspicious. the TALENT
Speaking of talent: this is the first high-teen book I’ve read where the author really seems to get how high schoolers think. Sure, there’s romance, but it doesn’t take up most of the plot, and they all have lots of other things to worry about. It’s refreshing to read about teenagers who are in real trouble besides the romantic sort, looking at you Meg Cabot, this 15 y/o girl is looking VERY VERY HARD at you MEG CABOT,
Despite the fact that I’m pretty much his exact opposite in terms of personality, I, too, can relate to Nate Macauley because Bronwyn Rojas would be the love of my life if she were real
and, you know, willing to notice me.
This came out of nowhere but I really appreciated how not all of the characters had a “tragic backstory” involving bad parents. Bronwyn’s family is so supportive, and so is Addy’s sister.
Speaking of the queen herself: Addy’s arc?? How does one begin to describe Addy’s arc??? Addy’s arc is perfect. I heard its dramatic haircut moments are insured for 10000 dollars. I cried for her. Her POVs were so emotional but so full of growth and ultimately hope
In book 2 it’s mentioned that Addy is the “queen of second chances” and Phoebe or someone needs that reminder now and I just. Going from the girl who needs inspiration to the girl who inspires others is a PERFECT ending for Addy it was handled so well hhhh-
Have I mentioned that I would die for Addy Prentiss yet?
Not gonna lie I was kinda hoping Jake would suffer a tragic accident as a footnote in the epilogue. But nothing happened, he’s still there and Addy gets to move on from him completely of her own will without any external force to move them apart. *slow clap*
Moving on to Nate and Bronwyn because I have a massive crush on both of them they’re both such interesting characters. I find Bronwyn the most relatable character of all of them, it’s easy to understand why she does things, and the way she protects her sister was so sweet. This was handled really well in Book 2 also. They genuinely care for each other instead of falling victim to the “ugh I’m so unique and misunderstood I hate my sibling” trope.
While we’re on the subject of tropes, Nate and Bronwyn’s entire relationship was just *chef’s kiss*
I love that they’ve known each other for a long time before they decide to get together, too- these childhood flashbacks are precious. And they actually seem to enjoy one another’s company. It’s the typical “good girl falls for bad boy” cliche, except the bad boy is falling approximately eight thousand times harder and not that “dark” when you get right down to it.
Also appreciate that Bronwyn gets to be the coolest most “badass” character in the book and save the day without getting into any physical fights at all. Her strength is in her intellect.
COOPER. COOPER OUR CINNAMON ROLL.
I love that he conforms to exactly zero (0) gay stereotypes
I know some people tend to over-praise straight authors for including the bare minimum of lgbtq+ representation but Cooper had a complete arc that was given as much attention as the others’ and it gives me life my dudes
I have never played baseball, ever, in my life, but I somehow managed to get emotionally invested in Cooper’s games and the beginning of Book 2 just CAME TO GET ME
“Preteen girls don’t care that he might have committed murder because he has dreamy eyes” I strongly suspect that this is a callout for one specific person
Also someone says “ooh burn” unironically in the second book, and popular culture and Internet language is referenced constantly without ever being awkward. None of that “hey there, fellow young people” vibe at all. The author doesn’t try too hard.
The closer I came to finishing this book the first time around, the more worried I got because I thought everyone was going to get their picture perfect happy ending without addressing any of their trauma but nope, none of that tropey stuff comes within a hundred feet of that epilogue. Sure, the ending is happy, but it’s also realistic, it fits them and lets them be imperfect. And it continues into Book 2: the murder club still has their issues, they’re still growing up and growing and learning. They’re allowed to be three-dimensional and interesting and flawed right to the end and I love that for them.
#one of us is lying#one of us is next#ya books#bronwyn rojas#nate macauley#cooper clay#addy prentiss#i just. i love these characters so much#they're the kind that stick
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