#and I'm surprised that I managed to find so much!

[temis-de-leon]

When they don't know you as well as they thought they did

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub and Belphegor (x reader, separately)

Main Masterlist

C/W: the boys are crushing on MC and it's implied MC is crushing as well, but there isn't any established relationship. Just friends feeling things for their friend, very common. Self-insert, perhaps?

A/N: this is just fluff, very silly, a little ooc maybe, but I'm not sure. I just wanted to make something fun and lighthearted after the recent news.

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No one is surprised anymore at the firmness the brothers speak with when they call you part of the family. Between the pacts and the unsolicited free therapy, it’s only fair, and only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see the affection running through the House of Lamentation.

Still, there are instances every once in a while where, although it’s difficult at the beginning, the boys have no other choice but to accept the fact that you have a completely different life back in the human world and they may not know you as good as they would like.

It starts with the small things; embarrassing conversations where their ignorance gets you to laugh like a maniac more than a couple of times. There they are, blushing in self-consciousness while you cackle uncontrollably because they believed some urban legend about a faceless suited man with freakishly long arms.

Then, slowly, but surely, it turns into more personal things about you, like your irrational, downright, phobia of lizards or the fictional characters you’re surprisingly attracted to.

(Some of those aren’t human, which makes them all feel a strong sense of hope, but you don’t need to know that).

The brothers learn about your studies, favourite subjects and what you’d like to do with your future, even if it sounds hopeless or unlikely. They also keep every bit of information about your friends and family; little comments that you let go here and there and help them understand why you are someone they love so much.

The whole situation evolves in such a way that inviting them to your birthday party in the human realm seems to be the obvious next step.

‘It’s so I can celebrate it with all my loved ones’ you say, and they really can’t deny your offer after that.

So, after a few awkward introductions and half-truths about their origin, everyone is happily talking to each other and eagerly waiting for their turn to be with you.

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Lucifer, who has had a special interest in your family for a while, finds himself chuckling in understanding when your mother complains about the occasional mess in your room. In your defence, he feels obligated to partially throw his brothers under the bus and blame them for keeping you in a constant state of disarray, but then she says something that… perplexes him.

You don’t like perfection? His eyes open wide at the revelation and your mother chuckles, misinterpreting his expression. She doesn’t know who he really is or what he represents, after all.

Just how vast is the veracity of that statement? Does it refer only to a state of mind or do you apply it to everything else?

Thankfully, he doesn’t have time to feel too anxious before he remembers the little details. When your triumphal smile shone in the dimness of his room that time he made a silly mistake in chess, ultimately granting you the win; or when the Anti-Lucifer League managed to leave his hair unkempt for an entire day, which got you to shamelessly look at him for longer than any of his younger brothers would’ve ever liked.

Not being perfect isn’t something he would ever do consciously and he had always found solace in the fact that you like him despite his mistakes. However, knowing you actually like him because of those mistakes? Perhaps letting those cracks show in his façade isn’t so bad as long as it is for you.

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Not far from him, Mammon chats with your human best friend. There’s an air of competitiveness between them, both wanting to be the ultimate best friend, but it all stays light-hearted. There’s no real threat when Mammon gets to be your first demon, you know? It’s a unique position!

But he still makes sure to assert dominance by stating he would’ve made the perfect party for you, better than the one you’re currently enjoying; with food and decorations from the Devildom and the Celestial realm included, matching outfits and, of course, keeping everything hidden so you can have the best surprise of your life. He had thrown a lot of those with Asmo’s help back home, so he knows you love them!

Or he thinks you do, at least.

Your friend sniggers harmlessly when they hear that last part, pointing at him with an infuriating smartass attitude, and immediately shatters Mammon’s reality.

What the heck do they mean, you don’t like surprise parties? He’d done a lot of those back at the Devildom and you’d never complained, appreciative as you are, even helping him do the same for other’s birthday parties!

Sure, you had always looked dumbfounded by the loud cheering and the confetti after stepping through the door, but that was part of the fun… right? You would tell him if you wanted him to stop, wouldn’t you?

He feels a pang in his heart when the idea of you being uncomfortable for his sake appears in his mind, but it doesn’t make sense. While you undeniably treat him better than anyone else in all of the realms, you still correct him when you see fit and him making you unhappy on your own birthday would be one of those occasions.

He trusts you to confide in him when things are wrong just as much as you trust him to do his best. That’s what friends are for, after all.

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And where else would Levi be if not hidden in a corner playing with his DDD?

He had tried mingling with people at the party, or at least tried hanging around them, he swears, but conversations became repetitive and boring and then he received a notification for a daily reward from one of his apps, so, of course, he had to sit down to collect it. Then minutes passed as he completed minigames to power up his cards and… you get the idea.

So when a friend of yours walked towards him, complimenting the pins and badges on his bag and the faint music coming out of his headphones, sure, the evening started going way smoother.

He talks enthusiastically, just like any other time his interests are mentioned, wildly gesturing with his hands and letting the little bubble around them be full of their eager exchange. However, a casual lament from his companion stops him right in his tracks.

It’s a shame you don’t like anime…? His first reaction is to laugh, enumerating everything you’d watched, and later commented on, with him under a blanket in the tranquillity of his room, but the utter surprise in your friend’s face leaves him speechless.

You really don’t like it? But… But he’s made you see so many things! Did you like any of them? Did you lie to his face when you said you enjoyed them? He would’ve never chosen a best friend like that; you were not like that and he refused to believe the contrary.

Also, would a liar buy merch on their own like you did? Would they watch the best episodes again or listen to the soundtrack on repeat when they had a bad day? This new revelation only makes him aware he was the one to change your perspective of the fine arts and he’s damn proud of that.

You are still getting an earful when you get back home, though.

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Satan thinks the kid is a young cousin of yours, but he really hasn’t been paying attention to anything in a long while. How could he, when the enthusiastic toddler had taken their mother’s phone just to show him the family cat’s pictures and videos?

A Mackerel tabby cat, too chubby for his own good but not enough to be actually concerning; playing with feathers, blinking slowly, bumping his head against legs and shoulders, meowing sweetly and, basically, opening his heart in half and making it roam inside his chest like a butterfly.

What a good party.

He mentions all the stray cats behind his house, obviously leaving behind the name of the House of Lamentation and the Devildom, and all the times you’ve gone with him to feed them and play. Satan even shows pictures on his DDD and stops with an adoring expression when you appear on the screen, sitting on your toes with a kitty on your knees and smiling past the camera, straight at Satan.

However, what he hears next takes the air right out of his lungs. He sits down and clutches his pearls and the kid stares at him in anxious confusion, clearly witnessing but not understanding the severity of his distress.

Who, in their right mind, doesn’t like cats?

He remembers the first few times you had accompanied him to his route, intimidated and slightly lingering behind. Initially, he had assumed it was due to the novelty of your friendship or a possible fear of Devildom fauna, but nothing against cats!

Were you afraid of them or just plain uninterested? Why keep going with him if you weren’t as fond of them as he thought you were? Wouldn’t it be because of him, would it?

A warm feeling covers him like a blanket, makes him search for you with his eyes and then immediately blush when you excitedly wave at him, point at the kid and mouth ‘Cute cat!’

Yeah. Very cute.

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On the other hand, Asmo hangs out with the people responsible for the decorations of the party and compliments them on their work. The colours are well-coordinated, there’s nothing out of place and the distribution was thought with all the guests in mind.

Although he hasn’t been able to help in that regard, he’s made sure you would be the centre of attention that evening; a complicated feature coming from him, but he had never minded sharing the main spot just as long as you were the one by his side; and everyone knows that.

You look cute and pretty and hot in your outfit, a style that both compliments and pleases you. You also worked together in your makeup for hours before getting to the party.

However, taking that much time might have been due to scrolling through social media and gossiping so much, but never mind that. Everyone agrees you look incredible and that is more than enough for him.

It isn’t until one of your friends mentions how weird it is to see you wearing makeup that he dares take his eyes away from you to stare at them in disbelief.

He would’ve never guessed that given that one of your favourite pastimes together is makeup as a whole: going shopping, watching tutorials, following trends, doing your own next to each other, doing each other’s… And, even if he wants to use it, his charming power is useless against you, so he knows you do your makeup because you want to and not because you feel forced by him.

Whether it’s something you share because you enjoy it or something you enjoy because you share it with him, he isn’t sure, but he can swear on his precious damned soul that makeup isn’t a need for you.

It’s just a bonus to your beauty.

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Sitting at one of the tables, Beel is simultaneously talking to your older sibling while gulping down an entire plate of bite-sized snacks; thankfully, whatever apprehension anyone felt at his hunger died hours ago and now the conversation flowed more naturally, mainly centred around you.

As much as he loves having you near him and his brothers in the House of Lamentation and thinking of you as another member of the family, he is very interested in knowing how your human family is, especially your siblings. It’s another way of relating to you and making him feel closer.

Plus, he gets to know stories from your childhood you may never tell him on your own; anecdotes that will stay at the table he is currently sharing with your sibling.

Unfortunately, they reach a point where, although he wants to keep asking questions about you, doing so with a mouth full of food might end up with Lucifer’s scolding of the year. Also, he really wants to make a good impression.

So your sibling begins asking the questions. Surprisingly, they start with his tattoo; dark red curling around his muscles and almost going unnoticed under the colours of dusk. Beel smiles without giving it any importance because it really doesn’t have it, but forces himself to stop gulping down food when your sibling throws a fun fact about you.

You find tattoos attractive?

He feels an instant burning on his cheeks followed by the rapid beating of his heart and a knot in his stomach, but there’s also a faint unpleasant sour taste in his mouth.

You’ve never asked him about his tattoo, barely sparing a glance at it when you worked out together or he took off his jacket.

He wonders if you don’t like it or if you think it doesn’t look good on him because all he can remember is the focused look in your eyes while looking at his and the curve of your smile growing bigger as you listen to whatever he says, even when it is entirely about food, and…

You know what? He doesn’t really mind. He is fine with things as they are.

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As both a friend of yours and a fellow younger brother, Belphie respects your sibling’s decision to spill your darkest secrets and thoroughly enjoys the air of comradery between them.

Don’t worry, he won’t let it go past actual serious matters; if you want him to know any of that, he’d rather have you telling him yourself when you’re ready and not get betrayed by your sibling. Silly and harmless pieces of information, however? Those are more than welcome.

And he already has a favourite.

You need to hug plushies to sleep? Tell him more. He doesn’t judge you for feeling the need to hug toys or pillows while sleeping. Actually, he understands.

Do you have a favourite? Is it in the human realm or is it in your room back at the House of Lamentation? While he can recall seeing that ugly zombie iguana on your bed, he’s never seen you cuddling it while sleeping and, other than that, he doesn’t remember seeing one, so he wonders if you hide it somewhere when you know he’s going to your room; but what about those times he enters uninvited?

Does that mean you left your preferred plushie in your room in the human realm? Does that mean that you don’t actually need to hug anything to sleep?

Whenever you share a bed, which is pretty frequent, Belphie can sense an invisible barrier between you that he’s dying to break. It’s nothing physical, given that only he knows how truly comfortable your lap and your chest are, but it’s obvious in the way your hands hesitate to bring him closer.

Shy and indecisive, while you don’t reject his advances, he’s still unsure what your feelings on the matter are. He’d initially thought you weren’t used to having anything so close to you while sleeping, but… now… Maybe he has to assure you that you can hug him as hard as you want.

Belphie is just as good as any plushie, after all; if not better.

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Taglist: @ilovecandys2010  @ollieoven @kingofspadesdelusion @whimsybloom

[louisferrignojr]

based on this hilarious post thank you @bidisasterevankinard and @aringofsalt brief timeline explanation: this is an au in which they broke up sometime in february instead of november. good? good, let's go also on ao3

They were here last year, holding hands as they strolled through the market, briefly stopping at every stall to browse the menu or admire the handmade crafts. 

He’s on his third cup of gluhwein and it’s mostly lukewarm at this point, he knocks it back and throws the empty cup in the closest recycling bin and turns to go find Sal and the girls when his eye catches a baby in a stroller a few feet away. 

Tommy blinks back the tears. He can almost picture Evan next to him, smiling at this adorable baby, pulling a face to make it laugh — and God, it was supposed to be them, they were supposed to be here together, and it’s been nearly a year since the breakup and Tommy still isn’t quite right.

That’s when he notices the baby’s dad straightening up from where he was digging around in the bag underneath the stroller and — it can’t be.

“Evan,” Tommy whispers, a rush of a breath knocked out of him like he’s been gut-punched. Before he can fully process what’s going on, Tommy’s making his way over, calling out Evan’s name louder this time, too loud to be polite. 

“Tommy,” Evan says, and he’s surprised to see him, but there’s no anger in his eyes, nothing but fondness in the way he utters his name; Evan looks happy to see him. 

Tommy loses half his mind. “When did — why didn’t you tell me?” Tommy demands in a shaky voice. He’s too drunk to do the maths, and he’s spectacularly bad at guessing baby ages — the kid looks about 6 months old, if you asked Tommy — but it’s the only explanation. “I’m so sorry, Evan, I wish I could have been there for you, oh my God, you should have told me!”

Evan is blinking at him, as is his baby. Tommy is trying so hard not to break down crying. 

“Um,” Evan is glancing around nervously, and distantly Tommy knows he’s making a bit of a scene and attracting attention from the people around them but he’s too drunk to keep his voice down. 

“You didn’t have to go through it alone! How far along were you when we broke up? I would have stayed if I’d known, why didn’t you tell me?” Tommy covers his mouth with his hand, then pushes it through his hair, mussing it up. “Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I don’t want to be a deadbeat dad, Evan!” 

And then Evan is smiling and reaching out to grab Tommy by his wrist, squeezing gently. “Let’s go somewhere more private and we can talk about it, okay?” He takes Tommy’s hand and laces their fingers together and starts pushing the stroller one-handed, still smiling as they wade through the crowds.

Tommy lets the tears fall, blurring his vision, awkwardly letting himself be led to the parking lot. He’s a sniffling mess, wiping at his eyes and nose with the sleeves of his hoodie, and he wishes he could have taken this time to compose himself but as soon as they stop by Evan’s Jeep, Tommy turns and falls into his arms, and Evan holds him and squeezes him tightly and lets him cry it out. 

“I think you got some wires mixed, babe,” Evan tells him when Tommy finally manages to detach himself from the man. “Did you really think you managed to knock me up? I mean, I know you gave it your best shot, but, Tommy, honey…” 

Tommy's face falls. He blinks as he snaps back to reality. 

He looks down at the baby in the stroller as Evan bends down to unbuckle the seatbelt and scoops it up in his arms. “This is Skylar. He’s a safe surrender baby. His mother dropped him off at the firehouse a few months ago. I'm fostering him.”

“So… he’s not…” 

“No, he’s not our baby, you dummy. How much mulled wine have you had?” Evan is grinning at him and Tommy feels the embarrassment setting in, warming up his already flushed face. 

“I’m sorry.” Tommy whispers. 

Evan nods and unlocks the car, goes about securing the baby in his car seat and folding the stroller and putting it in the trunk. then he turns to face Tommy again. 

“We’d like to invite you over for a coffee or a tea. Probably coffee to sober you up.”

Tommy hangs his head and stares resolutely at his shoes. This is so goddamn embarrassing and Evan’s inviting him to his loft for a coffee and he wishes he was sober enough for a real conversation. 

There's so much he wants to say. 

“I’d like that.” Tommy mumbles. 

Evan steps closer to him. He grabs Tommy’s chin between his finger and his thumb and tilts his head so their eyes meet, and then he’s sliding his hand over Tommy's cheek and Tommy is weak but to lean into the touch, eyes fluttering shut. “I've missed you.” Evan says, voice soft. 

“I've missed you, too. So much.” 

“Come on.” Evan nods for him to get in the passenger seat. “We have a lot to talk about. Maybe afterwards I'll let you try to knock me up again, see if you have better luck this time,” he adds with another grin and Tommy groans and drops his head in his hands. 

He’s never going to live this down. 

[csainzsgirly]

I came across this on Twitter and just need a bit of Carlos fluff 😪 Maybe the reader comforting him after this? https://x.com/sextappen/status/1862475685970784505?s=46&t=p5sYAMSk8Ik3q_9U0csk7Q

fyi: i chose the middle pic randomly, idc about isa/rebecca, just thought the pic was cute (: Also, I don't know the details of this whole thing, so just enjoy the fluff x

synopsis: carlos just finding out his contract at ferrari is not renewed and his life briefly collapses (x)

One of your hands is supporting your head while your other is holding a book. You're curled up under a blanket on the sofa, a couple of vanilla candles lit up on the table, cozy lightning on. Carlos had told you a couple of hours ago he was driving his Ferrari back to Monaco instead of staying the night in Milan, which surprised you, as he normally took a hotel when he had a late afternoon meeting at the headquarters of his team, but apparently not today. The smell of chocolate chip cookies was still filling the kitchen, warmth blossoming in your chest at the thought that your boyfriend would be home again soon. It was January, and as Carlos picked up his training for the new season again, you would soon be home alone when he travels to Portugal for training camp. For Monaco terms, it was rather chilly outside, the Christmas weather lingering, which you loved. Partly because Carlos would always leave one or two of his hoodies for you.

They were your favorite. They smelled like him, they were so warm and cozy, getting you through the weeks he would be away. You heard the faint ding of the elevator at the end of the hallway, your fingers flicking another page while his keys rinkled in the door. "Mi vida?" his voice sounded, making you place the bookmark between the pages and get up. "It's dark here," he chuckles a little, his arms wrapping around you while you bury your face in his chest. "How was it? Do you want coffee and a cookie?" you chirp, moving into the kitchen while Carlos turns on another small lamp. "No, thank you," he replied. "Sure no cookie? They're freshly baked!" Carlos heart clenched a little in his chest, but there was no way he would get a cookie down his throat. "I'll taste them tomorrow, I promise," he says, sitting down on the sofa, leaning his elbows on his knees while he moves his hands over his face.

The drive home had been so cruel to him. He had been alone with his thoughts after everything that was discussed. It had been so much. His heart sunk again at the words that he was going to be replaced at the end of the season. He thought his time with Ferrari would have no end. The red... It fitted him so perfectly. You could feel something was wrong when you walked into the living room to join him. "Baby?" you asked, your hand brushing over his cheek before you sat down next to him. "My contact is not getting renewed," Carlos spilled right away. You felt your heart stop for a second. Your hands were freezing all of a sudden. "What?" you asked. "They told me that I'll be replaced at the end of the season. This is my last season with Ferrari," Carlos continued, running his fingers through his hair, gnawing at his bottom lip after. "I don't get it," you whisper. Ferrari was... everything he wanted, everything he dreamed of.

And you knew how exciting he was after his last meeting in Maranello, when they showed him how the car was developing. He was so eager to start again, knowing that his feedback had helped to improve the car. With everything coming up, the rule change in 2026, in his dreams he was winning titles with this team. "That's exactly what I said," he chuckled in disbelief. "They managed to get Lewis Hamilton, so I guess I never stood a chance against that," Carlos said, letting himself fall back against the cushions. It was silent for a second, and you didn't manage to keep your eyes from watering. "It broke me," he softly said. "And it makes me question what I did wrong, why they told me I didn't have to worry. I'm entering the season with finding a seat being on my priority list instead of winning races." He pinches the bridge of his nose, seeing you were struggling to hold back tears.

"Don't cry, mi amor," Carlos hums, bringing you into his chest. "It'll be fine," he kisses the top of your head. "I should be telling you that," you sniffle, knowing that he won't end up without a seat, but you can sense that he's acting tougher than he feels now. "I called my dad on the way home. I didn't want to stay there any longer," Carlos says, his thumbs drying your cheeks. "Forgot to cancel my hotel," he lets out a humorless laugh. "What now?" you hum, your fingers curling into his shirt as he pulls you onto his lap. "The hunt for a new seat starts now. Anything is open," Carlos says. "I should be able to get a good seat, right?" his eyes dart over your face. "Every team boss who's not calling you tomorrow is an idiot," you said. He smiles at your attempt to cheer him up. "They're putting up a statement at the end of the month to announce Lewis and... my departure," he said. "It hurts a lot."

Your fingers lift to trace his face, finding his pouty lower lip that he can't even force into a tight-lipped smile. "I know, and I hate you're leaving for Portugal in three days, feeling like this. Did you speak to Teto on the way back?" you asked, to which he nods. "Yeah, I did," Carlos replies. "We'll get through it," he adds, taking a deep breath. You look into his deep brown eyes, caressing his face again before kissing his lips. You were about to pull back, but his arms hold you tightly against his chest, to kiss you a bit longer. "I have to confess something," Carlos speaks against your lips. "I kind of want a cookie." It makes you laugh and your heart blossom at the same time. He was always like this. In times when he was hurting the most, he was still trying his best to make others happy. "We can get the plate, milk and get under the blanket?" you suggest. "Sounds perfect," he says, kissing you once more.

Carlos lifts you up with ease to put you on the floor, moving into the bedroom to get changed into something more comfortable. You get the plate of cookies you baked from the kitchen, taking the milk and two glasses to dip the cookies in. You snuggle up under the blanket in the corner of the sofa, sinking into the cushions with the plate on your lap. Carlos reappears, dressed in a pair of sweats and a black hoodie. "I will leave this one for you, mi vida," he says, a finger under your chin angling your face up to his so he could press another delicious kiss to your lips. "The gray one is my favorite," you say, eyeing how good he looks in this hoodie too, anyway. Carlos moves your legs on his lap as he gets under the blanket with you, taking a cookie from the plate to taste it. He groans at the taste. "You said no to this earlier, can you imagine?" you tease him. He laughs, but you can't see it reaching his eyes.

"Tell me about the book you're reading," Carlos says, needing something to get his mind off things. "You're gonna be so bored," you warn, but he shakes his head. "Just tell me something." He rests his head atop of yours, fingers wrapping around yours.

[bearimba]

Ok wait I have vague GIG(G)S ideas:

Impulse: an Experienced Ghost Hunter(TM)!

He worked for whoever the in-game company is (they don't have a canon name as far as I'm aware?) for a while before going independent.

Accidentally made a pact** with a demon during his early days and is now racing to reverse it before he dies and his soul gets eaten

Something about the pact gives him plot armor so he's lowkey immune to dying (yes this is counterproductive. no I don't know why/how this works yet. probably something happened to make the contract go awry)

Surprise surprise, making deals with a demon goes against company policy, but breaking the pact like they want would also probably kill him. He makes a get-away by stealing their van, and since he's got the equipment and skills for it, he continues ghost-hunting to make a living while on the run.

He also offers services as an electrician on the side just for extra cash, which is great because faulty electronics is often a sign of EMF stuff.

He gets little demon horns? Maybe? It's for the vibe (and maybe a tail too, to hold his lighter with)

The cheat sheet is just a journal (or maybe a collection of journals?) full of notes he's taken over the years

Skizz: a literal and metaphorical angel*!

For backstory and world-building reasons I haven't figured out yet, he forms a sin-eating pact** with Impulse, and that's why they stick together (besides the fact they enjoy each other's company, of course).

He's a tradesman on the side just like Impulse, but he does more home-repair and carpentry stuff.

All his clothes are torn-up because he keeps dying in stupid ways, but he hasn't replaced them yet because he insists it makes him look cool.

He's in charge of taking pictures because his ✨angelic presence✨ counteracts the EMF stuff that messes up the camera. They used to have a much nicer one that wasn't affected by EMF back when Impulse first started, but they managed to break it and haven't been able to afford one like it since.

Honestly I don't have enough headcanons for him yet and it makes me sad :(

Gem: a totally normal… individual!

You heard of not-deer? Yeah, it's kinda like that >:]c Has she been replaced? Was she once Gem but has been transformed into something else? Has she always been this way and no one noticed until now? Who knows!

She and Grian met in middle school while causing trouble in the same arts class and have been buddies ever since.

She liked to spend a lot of time in the woods near her home partially due to a casual interest in botany and partially because she and Grian could get up to shenanigans without getting caught. Even when they moved to a different country for college (it was the only university they could find that offered decent programs for both architecture and medical science, not to mention his cousin offered to let them stay at his place rent-free), she enjoyed driving out to the nearby national park to hang out. That park was also her last-reported location before she went missing.

If you look too close, there's subtle details that hint that something's not quite right---eyes that reflect light, limbs that are a little longer than they used to be, very sparse blinking, and a smile that's a little too wide...

Grian was going to be her first victim. He was an easy target, after all---unlikely be missed under the right circumstances, and scatterbrained enough to fall for her tricks---but there was never a good time to strike without blowing her cover. Eventually, the cravings for human died down completely, and she (mostly) forgot he was supposed to be her meal instead of her best friend.

She likes to study other people and mimic their behavior, and she's gotten a lot better at it than she used to be when she first reappeared.

Imp and Skizz both realize there's something off about her, but she's not exactly aggressive or anything, so they just let her be. It doesn't help that whenever they try to question Grian about it, he insists there's nothing wrong.

She usually stays in the van because for some strange reason, the ghosts don't like to appear when she's around.

Although she didn't get to study anything in-depth, she does have more medical knowledge than the rest of the crew, and getting her to help is cheaper than going to a doctor.

Grian: a blind clairvoyant!

Despite Gem's disappearance, Grian managed to pull himself together enough to continue college in the fall. But about halfway through his degree, Jimmy pulled him along to study in a supposedly haunted part of the library because no one else would bother them there, during which the whole building experienced a blackout. The staff fixed it quickly enough, but when the lights came back on, Jimmy was confronted with a knocked-out Grian. For the rest of the semester, he'd be plagued by headaches, insomnia, sleepwalking outside and sleeptalking about the moon and eyes, paranoia, periods of amnesia, and other symptoms that almost made him drop out of college.

Ever since, he's had has this uncanny intuition for when something's about to go wrong and often suddenly knows things without any explanation as to how. Skizz swears it's like he's got eyes in the back of his head or something.

When Gem popped up right after he graduated and suggested to him that they leave on a long roadtrip, he wasn't really in a state of mind to question it. He just thought it would be a good chance to get his head on straight, and strangely enough, just being near Gem helps him to think much more clearly. He just assumes it's because they're such good friends.

He gets possessed at Point Hope, and although the crew manages to exorcise him, he still occasionally gets the urge to set sail and never come back. He's also noticed a lot more mollusks in strange places since then, though surely that must be unrelated...

Scar: a lovable salesman!

He's also considered an angel*, and he definitely likes to play the part to sell his wares.

The GIGS crew buys their supplies from him since certified sources are rare and trustworthy vendors are even rarer. Scar is still a pretty shifty guy, but he hasn't let them down yet---killing off his customers beloved friends would be bad business, after all!

He lives on the road just like GIGS for his own reasons, so they have to arrange to meet with him way both they run out of supplies.

His previous life is a well-kept secret, but he had an interest in the occult even before he became an angel. He claims it was to contact his old pets from beyond the grave, but unsurprisingly, no one quite believes him.

He loves to make outdated references, but no one knows if it's because he's that old or he's just a nerd.

Sometimes he'll join the crew on an investigation for fun, but he dies more often than not, and recovery is so inconvenient that he doesn't like to be on-site very often.

The crew:

They mostly deal in ghost identification, but they do offer extermination for an extra fee. It's more expensive than companies that specialize in extermination, but that's just the price for convenient/speedy service.

Each person has an unofficial role with Impulse as the ringleader, Skizz as the photographer, Gem as the man in the chair, and Grian as the odd-jobber. Of course, everyone has a little experience with everything, but they're most comfortable like this.

They all live in the van, and will usually stay in a town for anywhere from a few days to a couple months depending on how much work is available.

They tend to stay nights at motels and the like, but when money's short or there's nowhere to stay nearby, Imp and Skizz usually sleep in the cab of the truck while Grain and Gem get to camp in the back with sleeping bags.

Pay is split five ways: each member gets a set stipend for personal stuff, and the rest goes towards "work expenses" such as food, motel fees, gas, and the occasional treat for a job well done.

Other appearances:

Pearl, a mysterious woman with a wolfish grin and strange knack for attracting the supernatural.

Jimmy, Grian's well-meaning cousin who accidentally gets Grian possessed, freaks out when he goes no-contact on a sudden "road trip" with someone who's been presumed dead, and then nearly dies himself after an investigation gone wrong.

Lizzie (Jimmy's cousin on the other side) and her husband Joel, who contact GIGS for help and are surprised to find two old acquaintances among them (which is how Jimmy finds Grian again).

Ze and his new colleague Sneeg, two employees of Imp's old company that they run into at a haunting that got double-booked.

BDubs ("is that even a name?" "shut up. like you can judge, Mr. 'my-name-is-Grian-not-Grain.'" "yeah--- well--- at least I'm not named after some stupid stars!"), a very concerned patron who insists on supervising the investigation and gets roped into helping.

Ghostie-ghoulie stuff:

The supernatural is common enough to be recognized but isn't typically considered a part of everyday life.

"Ghost" refers to any supernatural creature that forms from human souls, which mean their appearences and attributes can vary just as much as human personalities. However, their traits can be greatly affected by the circumstances in which they were created (aka how a person died), so there's enough commonality to classify them.

Just like any other being, ghosts need energy to function. They absorb this energy in the form of heat and expel it and electromagnetic radiation. If they output enough of this radiation, they can create EMFs that can be detected by readers. This is also why haunted areas tend to be cold and events/hunts can be tracked by spikes in EMF levels.

If ghosts aren't formed enough enough energy to subsist right off the bat, they can wither away without intervention.

Most ghosts the GIGS that exist are fairly new, so they aren't strong enough to kill anyone. It usually takes at least a year of residence for enough EMF to gather for them to mess with the environment, and even longer to cause events. However, the older a ghost is, the more its sentience slips away.

The reason ghosts kill can vary wildly and may even depend on the type of ghost. Some ghosts are simply territorial, some hold grudges towards the living (though they aren't always aware enough to realize what/why), and some even want to possess the living.

Possessions are incredibly rare because it takes an immense amount of energy to possess someone, but most ghosts are no longer sentient to want such a thing by the time they've amassed enough power. Possession of a living body is even harder for the exact same reason.

*Angels and demons don't actually have anything to do with Christian mythology. Unlike other ghosts, neither are fully dead. The link between their soul and body is just messed up, though due to the rarity of both entities, how exactly this occurs is severely under-researched. For demons, their soul has been banished from their body (the still-functioning body is called a zombie and can be killed to destroy the demon), and their creation typically happens within an abundance of "bad energy" (ex: violent murder). On the other hand, angels are permanently bonded to their bodies and are created in the presence of "good energy" (ex: heroic sacrifice). They can also be killed by destroying their bodies, but unlike demons, the fact that their soul remains inside the body means they're able to regenerate even though the scars always remain. Both entities can rot (not age) to death within the average human lifespan but can prolong the wait by consuming energy, and both tend to have very clumsy/uncoordinated bodies due to the messed up soul link.

**Also, although it costs demons a lot of energy to form a pact with humans (and again, the manner in which a pact is formed/maintained is unknown), the fulfillment of a contract will grant them much more power than they out into it---it's bascially an investment. Angels can do a similar things called "sin-eating" but it works in reverse: it takes a little energy to make the pact, but the fullfilment will drain them greatly (no I don't exactly know how this works yet either. but it sounds cool so I'm keeping it >:]c )

[unabashegirl]

Different 15 — college hs

Harry's quiet, routine-driven life changes one weekend when he meets Y/N through a mutual friend at her party. She comes from a superficial, materialistic world with absent parents who believe money solves everything. Despite their differences, something clicks that night, and Y/N can't stop thinking about him.

Author's note: Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Here is a new chapter of Different. Here are a few things I would like you to know!

I'm trying to come up with new ideas for one shots. Pls vote! Especially if you are subscribed to Patreon! Help Decide the Next One-Shot!

I'm still trying to gather the money to continue my journey to medical school in January. I've only gotten 1% of my goal. I'll leave the link here in case you would like or are able to help me. Please I am desperate! 🥺 https://ko-fi.com/mariabernal8706

check out my patreon (starting at $2) and get full access to the rest of the chapters, various one shots and much more :)

--> different masterlist <--

WARNINGS: mentions of sexual abuse and violence.

Harry found it weird that so many people at the university knew about her. He hated that they knew her for the wrong reasons.

“Styles!” Ezra Hart called out to Harry as he had just walked out of the classroom. Harry was going to make his way to the pool, wanting to blow off some steam before meeting up with Y/N later.

“What do you want?” Harry asked dryly. He never stood up to Ezra’s constant condescending comments. Ezra chuckled and smiled at his friends that stood with him.

To Ezra, everything was a big game. He was kind of surprised that Harry had responded to him in that sort of tone. He enjoyed pushing Harry’s buttons. It was fun.

“How is your girlfriend?” He decided to brush off his rude tone. He wanted to know how he had managed to catch the attention of Y/N.

“Who?” Harry frowned as he took a few more steps closer to him.

“Her” Ezra showed him Y/N’s Instagram account where she had uploaded a lovely picture that Sarah had taken of them. It was a picture of them on the train, as he was about to kiss her. It was the first picture that she had ever uploaded of them. Harry’s heart felt like it was about to explode. He felt all fuzzy inside and giddy. As opposed to other men, he felt incredibly happy to be shown off on his girlfriend’s social media. It also meant that she wasn’t embarrassed of him or to be seen with him.

“That’s you, right?” He asked again, capturing Harry’s attention again.

“Yeah,” He confirmed proudly. “That's my girlfriend.”

“Congratulations. You’ve finally grown up” He joked, “Now. Tell me. How is the sex? Good? Is she as good as everyone says? Or bad?” He smirked, “Because after all she has been with multiple other men,” Harry clenched his jaw which didn’t go unnoticed by Ezra, who could tell that he was pushing the right buttons. “How does it feel to have the leftovers from everyone in Chicago?” Ezra laughed.

Harry was never able to remember how everything in the following seconds unfolded. He just remembered coming back to his senses and finding himself on top of Ezra after his fist had already come down on his face a few times.

Mitch had been walking past that all when he had noticed that people were gathered. Him being very noisy, he approached to check it out, come to find out that it was his best friend. Mitch was quick to pull him off Ezra, not wanting Harry to get in any sort of trouble.

“Don’t you ever fuckin’ talk about her!” He yelled as Mitch tried to drag him off the scene. “You twat!” he said under his breath just as he picked up his bag and left.

No one could believe what had just happened. People hadn’t gotten involved because no one thought that Harry was capable to fight with someone. People knew him to be very serene and quiet, and today he had proven a point. Harry had proven to everyone that he was more than capable of fighting for the people that he cared for, and he wasn’t going to be pushed around anymore.

“What the fuck?” Mitch exclaimed as they walked out of the building. “What happened? Breath, Harry” He patted his back, hoping that the chilly wind would calm him down. His hands were shaking as he ran them through his hair.

“Who the fuck does he think he is?” Harry whispered as his eyes filled with tears. He was filled with rage and just wanted to go back and finish what he had started. He was tired of feeling so helpless and powerless. Mitch looked at him with concern and didn’t know what to tell him or how to call him down. He had never seen him such as.

“Should I call Y/N?”

“No!” Harry stopped walking, “Please don’t tell her” He sniffed as he tried to stop the need to cry out of anger. “Just give me a few minutes.” Mitch allowed Harry some minutes of utter silence as they walked in the direction of the athletic center. “I am sorry,” he said as they stopped in front of the building.

“What are you apologizing to me for?” Mitch chuckled, “I am just sad you didn’t break his nose sooner” He joked, earning a small smile from Harry. “Proud of you for standing up for yourself and her”.

“I am just going to blow off some steam and do a few laps before Y/N gets here.”

“Is she picking you up?” Mitch asked him not wanting to leave him alone in case Ezra’s friends came looking for him.

“Yeah, in an hour or so”

“Alright. I’ll see you. Text me if anything” Mitch called out the building’s door closed behind Harry.

Y/N arrived an hour and twenty minutes later. She pulled over outside the building and waited patiently until he died off and threw on some clothes. She hadn’t had class all day, so she wore sweatpants and a hoodie. Y/N had just left the apartment to pick him up. She had been in bed all day sleeping. She had been having nightmares that involved Brian. They had woken her up multiple times at night and had made her night a living hell.

As soon as her eyes landed on him, she knew that something was wrong. She could see it. He was in much discomfort as he walked up to the car.

“Hi,” She smiled at him as he got into the car. Harry kept his head down and gave her a weak smile. Y/N frowned and started to drive toward her apartment. She didn’t push him knowing that whatever had happened, it had affected him. She drove quite quickly and was soon enough parking. “What happened?” Y/N finally asked when the elevator doors had closed.

“Nothin” Harry shook his head at her. He wasn’t proud of what he had done. He wasn’t the kind of man that gloated after a physical altercation. He had been feeling very guilty to have resorted to fists. So, Y/N took the cue and instead of asking again, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his torso.

“Sorry, I didn’t make the bed” She sheepishly said as they walked straight into her bedroom after taking off their shoes at the entrance and dropping the bags at the door. “I’ve been having a lazy day” she explained, “Last night, I didn’t catch much sleep”.

Harry nodded and helped her to make the bed in utter silence. He threw himself on it as soon as Y/N disappeared to the kitchen. He closed his eyes for a second as he went over everything that had happened earlier. He was exhausted. The swimming had drained the last bit of energy that he had.

“What are you doing?” He asked as she felt her cold fingers on the hem of his shirt. “I - I’m not in the mood”.

“Just shut up” She demanded as she started to undress him. Y/N pulled him into the bathroom where she had prepared him a bath. She wanted him to relax and get the chlorine smell off his skin and hair. “Get in” she encouraged him. “See? Not everything is sex” Y/N pointed out before turning to leave.

“You are not coming in?” He asked as he soaked his body up to his chin with hot water.

“This is meant for you” Y/N smiled, “Let me just do something and I’ll be right back.”

Harry sat in the warm water, enjoying the sensation of relief and the smell of eucalyptus that the water had.

“Here” She had prepared him a cup of tea using her favorite cup that had pigs on them. “I’ve never made tea before, but I hope it’s drinkable” Y/N explained nervously as she sat on the floor by the edge of the tub. She rested her chin on the edge of the tub and smiled at him. “Is it okay?”.

“I’ve had worst” Harry smiled, feeling cared for and thankful to have her in his life.

“Now. Let’s see those hands” Y/N had brought out the first aid kid after noticing that the skin over his knuckles had opened without much dialogue, she had figured out that he had gotten in a fight with someone. Although she was concerned, she wasn’t going to push him or interrogate him.

“We need to talk.”

“What do you want to know?” She asked as she used hydrogen peroxide to clean his knuckles.

“Everything”

“Our freshman and sophomore year is a big blur to all of us” Referring to James and Sebastian in us. “We partied and drank until we couldn’t remember who we were and regretted it the morning after” Y/N shrugged, “and like most privileged kids spent our time traveling, spending money on unnecessary things.” She chuckled, “Not my proudest moment” Y/N regretted it every day and even though all those experiences had made her closer to James and Sebastian.

“I met Brian my sophomore year. I found him very charming, and he was in the same social circle as us, so we clicked. Plus, he was very nice to me.” Things hadn’t been that bad at the beginning which was why she had never seen it coming. “What an idiot” she shook her head in disbelief. “Everything carried on well for a year and a few months. There was a huge party at the end of junior year. I don’t know if you heard of it, but it was at the home of this new kid who lived on the Magnificent Mile” Y/N decided not to wrap his hand, so she was done tending to his wounds very quickly. “We met up with Brian at the party. James and Sebastian had gone with me. By the time we found him, Brian was already drunk. He and I went upstairs after I persuaded him to take a nap and drink some water. The issue was that he wasn’t just drunk. He had also taken something else” Y/N paused and fiddled with her fingers as she tried to gather up the correct words. “I don’t remember what led to it, but we started arguing back and forth and he suddenly got very violent and attempted to abuse me after I refused. Thankfully, James busted in before anything else could happen. I’ve never seen him angrier. It was punch after punch. Sebastian ripped them apart before he killed him” Y/N wiped her tears, “We hid at home for a week before flying out to Spain where we detoxed ourselves from all the shit that we had put our bodies and mind through.”

Harry was shocked. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He had thought that things were less complicated, and it had been a cheating incident something more benign.

“I never told anyone else because no one would believe me. I had been sleeping around before Brian and he could have used that excuse. I kept it to myself and asked the boys to do so too. I just wanted all of us to forget about the whole thing and enjoy the last year. I wanted things to go back to normal. Come to think of it was very selfish of me to ask them to forget about it as quickly as they did and not let them process everything at their own pace”. Y/N exhaled loudly as Harry leaned over and placed the cup of tea on the counter. “And now you know”.

Harry leaned over and gripped her chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

“I would’ve” He whispered to her, “I would’ve believed you.” Harry pressed their foreheads, “I believe you” he repeated just before he kissed her.

[narashikari]

I officially have ChocoGummy brainrot 🫠🍫🍬

Post Shouma Granute reveal ChocoGummy were on the outs and Shouma left so Sachika wouldn't have to choose sides. Hanto's been unable to transform for a while because he ran out of Gochizous and he couldn't bring himself to ask Shouma for more- out of guilt, anger, pride, what have you.

Meanwhile, Shouma decided to do something incredibly dumb: He confronted Stomach Inc on his own, intending to take it all down for good. He managed to deal a great deal of damage to Stomach Inc's production and even to his siblings but he was badly hurt in the process.

Somehow, Hanto caught wind of this- maybe Dente told him what his crazy grandnephew was planning, maybe one of the Gochizous fled during the carnage and found Hanto. In any case, Hanto managed to find Shouma near death, and despite whatever anger/disappointment he felt against Shouma, he didn't want Shouma to die and helped him get out of there.

While Shouma recovered, Hanto came to the realization- or maybe someone else told him- about why Shouma had gone alone. Shouma didn't care about whether he survived or not. Shouma thought it was okay if he went down with the Stomachs, not only because he wanted to stop what they were doing at all cost, but also because he thought he deserved it as much as they were... after all, they were his "family".

But worse... he also he truly thought no one would miss him if he were gone. He had no real connection to the Granutes, and with his friendships with Hanto and Sachika ruined and his mother dead for years, he felt like he had no connection to humans either. No one would mourn him if he died... or so he thought.

Hanto, in spite of everything, knew that was false. Dente would mourn his grandnephew. Sachika would be devastated to lose a friend. And Hanto...

Shouma regained consciousness, and was surprised to see Hanto tending to him. He stayed quiet while Hanto fussed over him, making sure that his wounds were healing properly and grumbling about his accelerated healing etc. Shouma asked him who pulled him out of the wrecked factory, and Hanto admitted it was him.

Then, in a reversal of ep 12, Shouma asked him, "Why didn't you just leave me to die?"

And Hanto replied, with conviction- "I don't want to lose another person I love to them."

"But I'm a Granute. You hate Granutes like me, don't you?"

"Even when I was mad at you, I couldn't hate you, no matter how hard I tried. Shouma is Shouma... and you're nothing like them." He tapped on the exposed Gavv (since Shouma would be half-naked from being treated for injuries). "This doesn't make you like them. You didn't have a choice in it and you used it to stop what they were doing. You're still the Kamen Rider... and you're my friend. And I'm sorry I was stupid for not realizing it earlier..."

And that's it for now. I might come back to this later if I have more ideas lolol.

[ebenelephant]

@yummycookies233 Sorry that it has taken me several days to get back to you. Buckle up.

Okay so the basic premise is this: Sam and Dean got drunk and hooked up, probably when Sam was about twenty (yk how he says in canon that it's been two years since they've spoken even though he's on the 4th year of his course? yeah); both of them are disgusted at themselves and spiral in a variety of really unhealthy ways for several years, cutting of each other, their dad, and in Dean's case basically everyone who's ever known him; main action takes place close to present day, I'm thinking maybe in 2019 since that would be Dean's 40th, when John, now an old man who they both occasionally call, strolls in and says that he doesn't want to die with sons that hate each other, especially since he still doesn't know why, and especially especially since he's been playing messenger pigeon for the last 5 years and they both obviously want to know what's going on with the other. We're assuming that at some point in the background to all of this, John killed Azazel and restlessly retired – I'm ignoring every plotline after that because I simply don't want to consider them.

Dean will be the central character because all things considered, Sam has actually managed to pull his life together. Sure, there's that constant feeling of guilt gnawing away at him 24/7, but he's got a wife (Jess) a kid (not Jess's, product of said spiralling, much loved) and a job he's good at. Dean, by contrast, hit rock bottom at twenty-five and scraped his belly along the floor for the next decade. I think he decided to be a firefighter like he wanted to as a kid, partly because he genuinely wants to save people (and has a massive complex about it) and partly because it's an easy out. No one is surprised when a fireman dies on the job. He never stays at a place long, going through five firehouses in those first ten years and refusing to put down roots or make connections – you could hardly call him reserved, but after he leaves people tend to notice that they never actually knew anything meaningful about him. Captains are always sceptical to take him, but no one can deny that he's excellent at the job.

By the time he gets to the 118, he's sort of trying to turn himself around. His goal at AA isn't to cut out alcohol entirely; simply to cut back, so his liver stays mostly in tact and he doesn't get fired. He's been there a few months (and outlasted three captains) by the time Bobby Nash blows in and bets on himself lasting. And then he blows into a meeting, and completely by accident, they end up as friends when neither really wants one. Dean finds that he can't leave.

As I suggest in my tags, this is not a very healthy friendship. It's the one person in the world (other than a priest) with whom they can be honest; that honesty is ugly and angry and cruel. When Bobby tells Dean that he plans on killing himself once he's made his amends, Dean doesn't try to talk him out of it. What he does do is let him sleep on his couch on the nights he feels like reaching for the bottle, so he never gets the chance to repeat his worst mistake. Dean has had his bisexuality on lockdown since 2003 due to some unhealthy and misinformed views of himself and what happened, but he is later free to admit that if Bobby had been anything other than straight and mourning, he might have fallen a little bit in love. As it happens, they instead forge this deep, deep understanding of one another.

I would like to clarify that this isn't even that important to the story? The actual bulk of the story will be focussing on the familial reconciliation, the pain of missing loved ones, John's failures and successes as a father that led to this, and the decision that they would rather have each other in their lives, even if it's only over the phone because they don't trust themselves or each other with anything more. You know. Heavy stuff.

But I've been fleshing out the background relationships that shape the Winchester men: Sam and his little family, and the wounds he's scared he might reopen; John's profound loneliness after the realisation that he never stood a chance of being a civilian again; Dean's looming fear of letting anyone know his monsters, all the while seeing how opening up brought him the one good friend he's had since his teen years.

Other 911 relationship moments: relating to Buck's impulsivity (emotional regulation whomst?) and Eddie's anger and toxic masculinity; being genuinely really proud of Bobby when him and Athena get together; talking about parentification with Maddie; he really likes Hen but it terrified that his proximity to her nice, healthy family will destroy it completely; Chim doesn't really know what to do with him since it takes them like five years to have an honest conversation. Also, he would've known Tommy. I don't know what I'm going to do with that information, but it's kinda bouncing off the walls in my brain. Lowkey I also think that one of his past stations should be the 126 in Austin, because I would frankly love to see Judd's reaction to a new and improved Dean several years after they last knew each other. Maybe a spinoff?

Anyway, if you were wondering anything else/have any suggestions I'm all ears because this fic idea is consuming me just a little bit.

in my sam-and-dean-fuck-during-stanford-era-thus-ruining-their-relationship-and-causing-them-not-to-talk-for-almost-twenty-years-in-which-time-dean-becomes-a-firefighter au, dean and bobby nash are really good friends. just, fyi.

[fictionadventurer]

Beauty and the Beast for the WIP game?

My only real attempt at writing poetry before this year happened during a stretch when I tried to write a Beauty and the Beast retelling in verse. I got about two-thirds of the way through before it fizzled out and languished forever unfinished.

When it comes to my recent novel-in-verse obsession, the simplest option would be to take another look at this work and try to finish it. There's a lot of terrible poetry in there, but there are some that are somewhat better than I remember. I can't claim to be a judge of what's good poetry, but some of these are readable, so I'll share some of them here.

The first set of semi-readable poems covers the first meetings between Beauty and the Beast. (These are all numbered, and I'm leaving the numbers in place to better differentiate between separate poems. I think the speaker in most of these is fairly clear from context, but just in case, I'll put the speaker's name in the title, too.)

VI. beauty and beast

he is every nightmare i’ve ever forgotten he is thunder and darkness and death he is fear with fangs he is beastly

she is every dream i’ve never dared for she is roses and sunlight and life she is hope with jewels she is beauty

*

VIII. beauty

the chair creaks when he sits

my knees quake when he speaks

the master laughs when i ask

when i will die

my ears doubt when i hear

my mind reels when i realize

the master wonders when i began

to think he’d kill me

IX. beast

the rules are these you are mistress of this castle the servants will obey your every whim the rooms and all within are yours including me

you will dine with me at dusk we will not speak if you want silence you will look at me and try not to scream

i will not harm a hair of your head i will not cause a moment’s worry you will do whatever you wish except leave

X. beauty

his mercy shatters my world makes it bigger and at the same time smaller

how can i live in a monster’s cage

my life will be long and lonely with him my friend and at the same time jailer

how can i look at a monster’s face

the castle teems with wonders that all belong to him and at the same time me

what do i do with a monster’s love

*

The next set of poems I feel like sharing starts with Beauty finding a portrait in the castle, and then leads into her sharing a dance with Beast that makes her kind of freak out over the fact that she might be falling in love.

XXII. beast

today you found a painting in a long-forgotten room covered in cobwebs and shrouded in dust

there was a reason it was lost

the portrait showed a man with a face like the dawn and eyes like the sea you thought he looked kind

he was young and a fool

you may keep it if you wish or lock it back in darkness it matters not to me i used to see him daily

i doubt i’ll see his face again

*

XXIV. beauty (and beast)

if rooms have souls the ballroom is wise a radiant beauty long past her prime

she treasures the days when she lived and was loved she keeps them and counts them like pearls on a string

(she is not the only one, my dear)

long past midnight in moonlight and hush this sleepwalking girl can glimpse former days

a flash of a gown and a whisper of waltz what glorious balls must this room have beheld

(they were marvelous indeed, my friend)

it seems a shame she grows old alone with nothing but darkness and dust held within

i would dance for her return the spark of life if only we had music and i had a partner

(i will gladly dance with you, my love)

XXV. beast

my dear beauty don’t you know i learned dancing long ago

one step closer take my hand with a waltz you’ll understand

let the music guide your feet in a dance that’s slow and sweet

hand in hand and heart to heart it’s not love but it’s a start

XXVI. beauty

he is hulking beastly

i am small delicate

i should be stumbling crushed

but

we marvelously miraculously dance

and it feels like flying

XXVII. beauty (to the portrait)

man on the wall i may be mad but i must give voice to the storm in my heart and you are the only one near

the master puzzles me i know his home as well as my own but i know so little about him

(is he beast or man or nightmare or dream or captor or friend)

i saw his face and thought him a beast

(but he grows roses and reads poems and has never killed or even raised his voice)

i heard his voice and thought him a monster

(but he spared my life gave me his home and all he owned offered his heart and never once has been anything but gentle)

i watched him dance and thought him a man

(with grace like an angel or a prince and i think that maybe he was not always so lonely and that his heart aches for things lost)

what am i to think do say be feel about him now

and why do these questions always come at midnight

*

The final poem is one that I had completely forgotten about, so I was shocked to find it lurking in the latter sections of the document and showing signs of using some decent imagery. By polishing up the last couple of lines, I've got something that's not half bad as a standalone poem.

This one occurs during an extended period when Beauty is still trying to process her feelings toward Beast and figure out if this is really love or if her feelings are being warped by isolation and close proximity.

XXX. beauty

if this is love it is a dark and grasping love a child stumbling in the night crying for a candle flame and cherishing the smallest spark of light

if this is love it is a bleak and desolate love a skeleton tree in a barren desert windbeaten and scrubbed to bone and bursting into bloom at the first drop of rain

if this is love it is a smoke and mirrors love a sleight of hand or trick of light that takes my broken heart and fools me into thinking he can make it whole

[spotaus]

Late Night quick thing (New Age Sillies)

Bad news: That joke post about including Reset + Orchid is definitely not canon. (I legit got sad thinking about Reset being in a universe where Orchid isn't- because their stories are so so intertwined- but Nightmare 100% would NOT risk the whole twins exploding Error's soul thing.)

Good news: This means I COULD include Kane (Reset's older brother who usually dies in timelines where Reset is born) and use it to develope his character a bit more! Also! Perhaps a Blue × Dream kiddo is finally in the stars for me to design?

[yohankang]

it's my last day of work tomorrow... i'm happy and relieved but also sad and terrified

[lesbiansanemi]

I'm so tired

[daz4i]

one thing they don't tell you about song writing is you WILL get hit with inspiration at 1 am and you WILL have to write down the whole thing before you forget and you WILL find a tune for it while typing and now you gotta actually finish it so you can record a draft so you don't forget it and- oh look it's 2:22 am

[helladventurers]

Bloodstained beaten!!!! The final boss 100% gave me vibes of chaos from aria of sorrow's lol

Fun game tho~ I'll be back later to try out the other game modes and play around with shard setups some more

[ghostess-with-the-mostess]

Okay so I DO agree you're absolutely correct that Miraculous is an uneven mesh of different ideas that aren't thought through in the SLIGHTEST and make character relations wonky as hell, but can I also make a few small (ha) corrections to your explanation here? As well as bolster your points/bring up ways to actually do these plotlines well.

What you're describing isn't the magical girl genre, at least not in its entirety - what you're describing is the sentai/superhero team subgenre that was started by the likes of Sailor Moon and further expanded by Pretty Cure.

You're also correct in that drawing irresponsibly from this subgenre is (part of) what's causing all these problems, because the sentai/superhero stuff is what Miraculous Ladybug is consciously drawing on - but the conclusion from the writers of Miraculous (and your essay) that it's 'because magical girls and romcoms don't mix' is not only incorrect but it ignores the actual history of magical girls, both pre- and post-Sailor Moon.

MAGICAL GIRLS AS ROMANCE, AS SITCOM

"Miraculous is trying to be both a Magical Girl Show and a romantic comedy, but those are not genres that mesh."

First is the fact that the original magical girl template was FOUNDED on romance and sitcom tropes.

Most sources are going to tell you that the origin point for Magical Girls was the sitcom Bewitched, which if you're not familiar, is about a witch falling in love with a mortal man and vowing to be a normal housewife for his sake - but her family, who doesn't approve the marriage, constantly interferes to break them up through their magic, thus hijinks ensue.

Not EXACTLY described as a romcom, but I'd argue it DOES count as at least romcom-adjacent seeing as the focal point is the relation between Samantha and Darrin, even if a big part of the conflict between their relationship comes from outside the two's interactions.

It was popular in Japan, and was where two of the three grandmas of all magical girls gets its main inspiration from - one series being Sally the Witch, which is about a witch girl who finds herself in the mortal realm and decides to stay when she makes some friends, but with the caveat she has to hide her magic powers - hijinks ensue.

Now, with this one we do see some of that initial inspiration that would also bleed into Miraculous Ladybug well down the line - namely the whole 'keep your identity a secret' thing being a hard rule, rather than something the characters do for the sake of keeping their loved ones safe like in superhero works.

(Albeit, Miraculous does it incredibly poorly, as it IS the superhero safety thing, but wants it to be the magical hard rule because... drama.)

But this is the starting point of the original magical girl, founded on these sitcom tropes, whether or not they also include romance.

But they CAN be romance focused.

Two good examples of this type of sitcom magical girl with a romance focus (and hilariously, a more 'spooky' focus) exist both east and west.

In the West, (though most people might not really consider it) we have Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

(I just like making people aware that this actually existed)

Predating both Sally, as well as Bewitched by two whole years, Sabrina has had multiple permutations (the original comic, the ABC sitcom, four cartoons, the more recent show, and however many versions of her appear across the Archie-verse) but they generally follow a similar plot to Sally - girl who has to keep her witchy side secret from the normal people around her.

But compared to Sally and her friends, Sabrina doesn't really have consistent friend characters, sometimes not even within the same continuity/series.

But who is the most prominent human character? It's (at least usually) her love interest, Harvey Kinkle.

Interestingly, in a way that does bolster OP's essay, is while Harvey often gets to be the main human secret-keeper (when he's allowed to be, and for as long as it lasts), the one instance where its a female friend instead of him (the first DIC animated series) is also the first where he isn't really focused on as a love interest due to being a show for much younger kids (as far as my memory can go, it's been a while since I watched any Sabrina so forgive me.)

On the eastern side, is my beloved Tokimeki Tonight.

God I love Tokimeki Tonight

Tokimeki Tonight revolves around Ranze Eto, a half-werewolf, half-vampire girl who finally gets her parents to allow her to go to public school, where she falls in love with a boy named Shun Makabe - but not only do her parents not want her dating a human boy, she also has a bitter rival in the form of the rich mob boss' daughter Yoko Kamiya. In trying to maneuver through this, she makes use of her power to turn into anything she bites (and turning back when sneezing), and with this, hijinks ensue.

Out of all the titles I'll bring up as examples this one is more magical girl-adjacent, particularly the manga which is much more shojo romance than classical magical girl (the anime, which only adapts a small portion of the manga, veers much closer to the genre) But it does have the hallmarks of those older series - girl with magical power, and the conflict of interest (having that same 'family nonapproval' thing as Bewitched) which she comes to blows with.

In the manga, she does have a couple of friends, but in the anime, we don't really see any friends of hers, at least not beyond any bit roles - the focus is on Ranze and Shun, and Yoko, her yakuza father and Ranze's own family/magic society who tries to get in between them.

No matter what, though, there is one through line between all of these series - a girl with magic powers, in conflict with her social life. Friends or romance, what is important here isn't the girl's relationships, but what the girl is going through.

There leads into my second point, and my main point of contention with OP's argument. Magical girl series aren't SPECIFICALLY all about 'women and their friendships'.

MAGICAL GIRLS - EXPLORATION OF SELF

It entirely depends on the series (and the sentai/hero subgenre often uses it because its a universally common trope to team-based kids programming) but the ONLY real requirement to a series being generally considered a magical girl series is that its about A) a girl, who B) has some sort of magic/power, that C) causes her conflict, either in daily life and/or through an antagonist they have to face.

Sally the Witch may have friends, but they are a means to an end so that Sally can get into hijinks that involve her hiding her magic from the normal, non-magical people in her life.

Sabrina and Ranze have love interests, but they often exist more as plot devices that drive along that same wacky conflict of keeping things a secret.

Not to mention: in those Showa-era days, there really wasn't a lot of 'magical girls fighting evil' like the whole genre has been wrapped up in. Rather, many of these stories would serve as vehicles for girls to be able to fantasize about all the sorts of fun things they could do, once they get older.

Lets get into that second grandma.

Himitsu no Akko-chan, which predates Sally the Witch in manga form but didn't get adapted until after Sally's own adaptation, is about an elementary schoolgirl named Atsuko Kagami (nicknamed "Akko") whose mirror becomes enhanced by spirits thanks to the respect she'd given it upon it breaking, thus becoming a magical tool that allows her to transform into anyone and anything, and even allowing her to copy abilities of others.

This isn't the only magical girl series that has this type of setup - You have other early examples like the (more mundane) Marvelous Melmo, where a girl gets magic pills from her dead mother that allow her to age up and de-age at will, or Magical Princess Minky Momo, in which a Princess of a magic land is sent to help revive the hopes and dreams of mankind, usually via transforming into an older version of herself, with a costume and skills that suit the task on hand.

There's also the five Pierrot magical girls series, most notable of which is Creamy Mami, where a girl gets temporary powers from aliens that let her transform into an older version of herself that becomes an idol singer. Three out of the four other series that succeeded it (Persia, Magical Star Emi, and Fancy Lala) also transform into older/adult alter-egos.

Now, this style of magical girl is pretty well (mostly, the above is the ad for a new Pierrot series) dead in favor of the Sentai-style or just team-based magical girl groups, but it IS another important branch of the magical girl trope - and none of these really focus on 'friendship' first and foremost.

Sure, these characters often have friends, families, love interests - but they are not the focus of any of these series. The focus is on the magical girl herself, as she learns lessons and experiences the cool possible things that the future holds for her as she grows from a little girl to a teen, and later, adult. Modern team shows do this as well, of course, but its through the circle of friends that she can confide in rather than the fantasy of the future.

But why did that shift occur, from slice-of-life-fantasy self-expression to beating up bad guys and friendship?

One (smaller) element is that it was thought that girls couldn't really handle/be interested in action series or genuinely evil threats.

This was quashed by the eventual success of Majokko Meg, which appealed to both boys and girls and had these elements, including the first dark magical girl, Non.

If you've watched Sugar Sugar Rune, this is the show it cribbed its notes from.

Majokko Meg itself was the followup (in terms of the staff who worked on it) to Cutie Honey, which was not aimed at girls, being a sexy action comedy that skews way, WAY closer to being a classic Sentai like Kamen Rider, just happening to star a female hero (you know, for the sexy). It does still serve as a precursor alongside Meg to action-oriented magical girls before Sailor Moon existed, and thus does play a role into the gradual change the genre's most popular form would experience once SM did release.

But obviously that's not all it, right?

And for that we need to take a quick detour in the world of Idols.

MAGICAL GIRLS AND IDOLS: THE PAST AND FUTURE

In Zombie Land Saga, one of the girls, Junko, has difficulties embracing the modern idol culture. She's a fantastic singer and a great presence, but she's not a great dancer, and, more importantly - she struggles to work in a unit, as idols of the Showa-era were generally solo acts.

Magical girls and Idols are VERY inextricably linked, especially in the 80's - one of the most popular avenues to promote actresses in anime and live-action shows during that time was to have them release an idol album and do performances - Creamy Mami being one example of many, whose voice and singer would go on to produce over two dozen albums in the wake of Creamy Mami's popularity.

That's not the only way in which magical girls resemble idols - both in their most typical forms are market-and-merchandise-driven media that exists to advertise 'the idealized girl' albeit in different forms, and sometimes (though not always) to different market groups.

In the 80's, both the ideal magical girl and idol were usually a single girl as the promotion, untouchable yet relatable. By the 2000's, what was popular was instead a collection of different girls, often distinguished by certain characteristics that made them stand out, yet also act cohesive in the group, allowing them to gain a larger following than one might be able to alone.

Also, they dance!

The multiple girls is especially important for magical girls, as unlike (most) Idol units, Magical Girl shows have a story to tell - and by the new millennium, having a more intricate story and world in place was becoming more important compared to the more story-light and sitcommy series made in the Showa Era. One of the easiest ways to do that is, of course, have more fleshed out (or at least different) characters that can actually bounce off each other.

Because, like. Girls, they have different personalities and interests, right? As much as I love Showa-era magical girls, many of them had quite similar 'average girl' personalities that made them comparably less distinct from each other. It's just good sense to cater to as wide a range as possible via more relatable archetypes split into multiple girls, rather than shoving every archetype into one bland girl.

(I'm no expert on Idol culture, especially in the 80's, but I don't believe the variance in personalities was much greater in that industry either - if an idol lover can correct me in another paragraph-spanning post, please do)

But that's not the whole picture, either.

Wait, I keep using words like 'Market', don't I?

(look, I'm getting to one of my two points in making this, please allow me my very short rant to set my bullshit up)

I'm not saying anything new when I bring up that Magical Girls (and Idols) are intended to be money-machines - most animation made since the days of President Reagan have been made for the sake of making millions of moneys off of the kids (and kids at heart) that want to buy the toys, the merch, the dvds, the albums (if they bother with the last two), etc.etc.etc. And with more characters? That means you can make more merch, more dolls of the characters, each of their magical tools, blind bags that people can keep drawing on until they get the one actual girl they like, the works.

(But as long as people are properly passionate and have the time they need they can make good work, blah blah blah, if I get into the obvious here I will unquestionably go on a massive detour its 1am I've been thinking about and writing this for seven hours - just remember that point about passion and time for later when I attempt to wrap this around)

But with that, lets get to....

MAGICAL GIRLS AND FRIENDSHIP

So, this part is less about me explaining it, as OP explains it very well above. What I have here is just to explain the two series that founded this perception of magical girls being 'about friendship'

Sailor Moon and Futari wa Pretty Cure.

ESPECIALLY the first Sailor Moon anime.

The original manga for Sailor Moon is long, albeit not even close to the longest out there, at a solid 18 volumes (later compiled into 12).

(Its also been eons since I read the manga and even longer since I watched the anime, I've fact checked this with a friend but forgive any errors I've made)

The manga does cover female friendships, of course - compared to many magical girls before this which were written by men, this was notable as a series written by a woman, both for the friendship element as well as its much darker story on top of that.

The anime, meanwhile, has 200 episodes which granted the anime a lot of juicy filler, including opportunities to further flesh out the other scouts, their daily lives, and their friendships with each other.

It also had Kunihiko Ikuhara as its second series director.

Now, the rumor mill has it that he HATED Mamoru with a fiery passion and quit because he wanted to break up the leading pair - this is more an exaggeration, at best. He's been on record saying that, really, he's just not fussy on the 'perfect prince' archetype that he felt Mamoru embodied (and is something he would explore in his beloved Revolutionary Girl Utena) and he moreso quit after SuperS because he disliked not having the creative freedom he wanted in his projects.

Even so, I would at least make the argument that his interest in the girls over Mamoru meant he kept the focus on the friendships between its female cast in the seasons he worked on, where a lesser director and/or writer might've taken that focus away and diluted it with something less important or unrelated (COUGH COUGH COUGH)

I didn't bring it up specifically above in my explanation about solo vs team, but this series probably WAS the one that blew everyone's minds and made them realize 'hey, more magical girls... means more depth, AND more merch to sell!' (depending on the individual's inclination of course)

This is taken up to eleven by the next big magical girl franchise to take off, Futari wa Pretty Cure, by putting all that friendship power into the single friendship between two girls. With this one, we get a bland satellite love interest (and a doomed villain love interest), but both of which are still overshadowed by the bond between Honoka and Nagisa - and from which the pattern of magical girl friendship would be perfected into a science.

this is what I grew up on, you now must face it with your own two eyes and ears. Fresh was the airing season when I got into this series GET ON MY LEVEL NONCANADIAN/NONBRITISH SCRUBS

Again, I don't have to tell you how big Sailor Moon was, and how it was then followed up by Pretty Cure, Tokyo Mew Mew, Shugo Chara, Cardcaptor Sakura, and many, many others. So, of course, that's the series that defines 'magical girl' to MANY in the west.

I wanted to get into this topic because HONESTLY, AS A HIPSTER SHOWA-ERA ANIME LIKER it pisses me off to see people frame genres in these hyper-specific ways, likening them to hard rules when its better to look at these things like interconnecting threads that you'll snip pieces off and knit into a cool sweater - sure, the knots might be wobbly, the colours might be mismatched - some might think its the ugliest sweater ever made, others might love the colour clash - but its an effort of love built from one's own gathered ability and frame of reference, and it's really cool to unravel that sweater and see where it used to connect.

But that's only one point I wanted to make with this incoherent nightmare, I've still got more to say!

And that is...

ARE THERE MODERN TAKES ON OLD MAGICAL GIRL ARCHETYPES?

Obviously, of course there are - I just noted above that Pierrot's making a new magical girl series, and we'll see if they go for a classic solo girl or try to make a team.

Sugar Sugar Rune takes the classic 'girl from the magic world on a quest' archetype, where two friends must collect the hearts (or, more accurately, the emotional power) of human boys as a competition to see who becomes the new Queen, while evil lurks in the shadows threatening the world and their friendship.

Arina Tanemura is very fond the the classic magical girl as well - One of her earlier works, Full Moon o Sagashite, takes the magical idol/age-up and gives it a heavy does of tragedy, in that the girl is terminally Ill and is given this power by shinigami to find the boy she fell in love with before her time is up, and only gets more sad from there. There's also Idol Dreams, a josei manga which subverts the 'older form' magical idol girl by instead being about a woman pushing into her 30's that finds herself able to turn back into a teenager via experimental science, which as per the genre, she uses to enter the idol industry.

There's probably others I don't know as much about, but many of those would be pretty niche (or are just beyond my scope, who knows)

But there is one more series that I think does the 'sitcom-solo-magical-girl' thing, not great, but as a decent start.

Its called Miraculous Ladybug: season 1.

Okay, so I said I agree with OP, and the above essay does bring up Origins, which is a season 1 episode - I can't deny that we were seeing the cracks form as early as that. But a lot of those cracks are things we only really got a look at in hindsight.

Season 1, as it stands on its own, is a 6.5-7/10 decent start to a kid's cartoon that embodies the classic magical girl ~but with a twist~ alright.

Miraculous Ladybug, as stated in the opening, is about an ordinary girl named Marinette. She has a crush on young model Adrien Agreste, but has to hide the fact that she's his own biggest crush, the superhero Ladybug. The twist is - Adrien himself is also her sidekick, Cat Noir, who also must hide his identity from her, his father, end everyone else in his life. Hijinks, of course, ensue.

Its a neat little gimmick, turning the often normal/satellite love interest into arguably a more in-line typical magical girl than even its actual female lead, giving us two parallel protagonists that also serve as love interests to each other. It also has a diverse and fun, but one-note cast of characters that serve as decent satellite civilian friends for the cast, as well as fodder for the villain to use his abilities on.

If Ladybug had stayed a single season show, it might've been seen as a rocky but decent start to a possible franchise, with wasted potential in having not continued so that it could blossom into something great from its starting point, albeit perhaps with the less-considered risk of getting stale with its romcom setup.

But that's not what happened.

DESPITE EVERYTHING, LADYBUG IS A GODDAMN CONFUSED MESS

Like, what else do you need me to say that OP or dozens of other ML fans and critics haven't said? This show started what could've been a fun, modernized, general audiences take on the classic magical girl + superhero ~with a twist~ but bloats itself trying to line itself up to be more like other modern magical girl shows without considering its setup, gives its female protagonist self-reflection/lessons that range from weak to even sometimes terrible, putting what should've been civilian characters further ahead while sidelining one of its protagonists to the point that he doesn't get involved the THE FINAL BATTLE THAT REVOLVES AROUND HIS OWN BACKSTORY, failing to actually address this issue while acting like it was building to something meaningful about it all along (season 4), pretending to have character arcs for characters before taking it back and making them worse (Chloe) and thoughtlessly destroying the logic of its story so hard for the sake of drama that it turned its entire cast into Ron the Death Eaters in the countless fanfics and essays written of it.

But again - it doesn't work not because 'magical girls and romcoms don't mix' its because of the writers, who appear to be writing each season in EXTREMELY not enough time actually needed to smooth out the kinks. They are over-eagerly putting in all this glut because 'that's what a magical girl series should do' or 'this could be super hype!' to which companies looking to make more merch aren't going to complain about (yeah sure have 19 possible minimum heroes/villains think of all the toys and merch! environmental variants! fusions! power swaps! so many possibilities! The hype will keep them in!)

This comes at the cost of actual cohesion, and thus multiple threads that are just kind of being jumbled up into a ball that vaguely has the shape of a sweater.

Hbomberguy, when talking about RWBY, said that it 'threatens to be good' which is something I'd say aptly fits Miraculous Ladybug as well - there's a lot of good, or at least fun, ideas, but its so bogged down by that perceived 'idea of what magical girls should be' or 'what a good romcom should be' and hell, that whole 'each episode will have a bomb on par with Chat Blanc' bull that it just leaves something that becomes more fun when placed into the hands of fans that care about doing something fun with these characters, or this world.

I do think, now that the Gabriel arc is over and they're pushing the whole 'everyone is a permament hero!' thing, that the series DOES have the opportunity to swap to the ensemble cast idea presented at the end of OP's essay - Adrien and Marinette are together, leaving only their identities being revealed (and maybe, doing something with the fact that Marinette is now constantly lying to Adrien about his dad) on the table, so it might be neat to use this to further expand on their relations to the rest of the cast... not that I could see them feasibly doing something to that scale, with 18 heroes to work with, but its a lofty thought.

I have like a lot more to add but holy christ its now 3 am (at the time I finished this) and I should sleep

Pick One: Magical Girl Show or Rom-com. You cannot be both.

Early in season four we get the episode Gang of Secrets. An episode that ends with Marinette outing her secret identity to Alya. A touching moment that sparked outrage across the fandom because it meant that Marinette had made the choice to reveal her identity to her best friend while keeping her hero partner in the dark.

This choice spat in the face of the exceptions that many fans had for the series. Thousands of pre-season-four fanfics feature moments where Ladybug and Chat Noir promise each other that they'll be the first to know each other's identities. After the Alya reveal, scores of fanfics were written to salt on Marinette's choice to tell the "wrong" person.

Most of these fics feature a betrayed Chat Noir quitting or otherwise punishing Ladybug for breaking their promise to be each other's first, thereby destroying his faith in their partnership. But that promise was never made on screen. It only existed in the realms of fanfic and, when Chat Noir finally found out in canon, his reaction was largely neutral. He never once blamed Ladybug for her choice or pushed for a reveal or even asked for the right to tell one of his friends.

So what happened here? Why did the fans have such wildly unrealistic expectations of canon? Were their expectations even unrealistic or did canon betray them? The answer to that is not as straight forward as you might think because it all comes back to one of Miraculous' many, many, many writing problems: Miraculous is trying to be both a Magical Girl Show and a romantic comedy, but those are not genres that mesh. You can only be one (or you can be a third thing that we'll get to at the end as it's the easiest way to fix this mess, but I want to mostly focus on where the anger is coming from and why the writing is to blame.)

To discuss this mismatch, we're going to do something that breaks my heart and talk about some of Origins flaws. While I love that episode and unironically refer to it as the best writing the show ever gave us, it's not perfect and its flaws are all focused around trying to set up both genres. Do note that I'm going to use a lot of gender binary language here as magical girl shows have a strong focus on gender segregation and rarely if ever acknowledge gender diversity.

Let's Talk Magical Girls

Magical girl shows are shows that center on young women and their friendships. While male love interests are often present in these shows, the boys tend to take a backseat and function primarily as arm candy while the girls save the day and carry the narrative.

A great example of this is the show Winx Club. This show features a large cast of teenage girls who save the magical universe from various threats with their magical powers. Each girl has a love interest, but the boys are usually off doing their own thing and only occasionally show up for a date or to give the girls a ride on their cool bikes or magical spaceship. I don't even think that we see the guys fight or, if we do, it's a rare thing. They are not there to save the day. They are there to be shipping fodder.

Like most magical girl shows, Winx Club starts with the main character making friends with one of the girls who will eventually become part of her magical girl squad. This brings us back to Miraculous.

Did you ever find it weird that Origins implies that Marinette has no friends? She doesn't even have a backbone until new girl Alya shows up to become Marinette's First Real Friend:

Marinette: I so wish I can handle Chloé the way you do. Alya: You mean the way Majestia does it. She says all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing. (pointing at Chloé) Well, that girl over there is evil, and we are the good people. We can't let her get away with it.

This is a bizarre opening because Miraculous is not about Marinette making friends or learning to stand up for herself. If you skipped Origins and just watched the rest of the show, then you'd have no clue that Marinette wasn't close with her classmates before this year. You also wouldn't know that Alya was new in town and you definitely wouldn't know that Marinette had never stood up to Chloé before this year. So why is this here? Why waste screen time setting up elements that aren't actually important to canon?

Miraculous did it for the same reason that Winx Club did it: magical girl shows traditionally start with the main character making friends with at least one of her eventual female teammates because Magical Girl shows are all about the girls and their relationships. The boys are just arm candy.

But Miraculous isn't a magical girl show. The writers have explicitly stated that it's a rom-com and romantic comedies aren't about female friendship. They might have female friendships in them, but that's not where the focus is. The focus of a rom-com is on the romance and Origins is very clearly all about the romance.

Origins as a Rom-com

Origins has a lot on its plate. It has to establish the villain's motivation for the first time, show us how the heroes got their miraculous, show us how the heroes first met on both sides of the mask, show us how they met their respective best friends, and show us how the heroes dealt with their first akuma. It would be perfectly understandable if this 40 minute two-parter didn't do anything with the romance. They have a full show to give us that!

In spite of this, Origins has some incredibly touching moments for both Ladynoir and Adrienette because romance is the heart of Miraculous. It is the main focus of the show. The driving motivation for both of our leads and the majority of the show's episodes. To tell the story of how their journey started without at least one of them falling in love would feel wrong. That's why we see both of them fall in love!

First we get Chat Noir giving his heart to his bold and brilliant lady, then we get Marinette's heart being stolen by the shy sweet boy who never once thought to blame her for her snap judgement of his character. We even get a touching moment where Chat Noir inspires his lady to accept her role and be Ladybug, leading her to boldly face their enemy and call him out:

Roger: I have a new plan, unlike you! Move aside and let the pros do their thing. You've already failed once! Ladybug: …He's right, you know. If I'd captured Stoneheart's akuma the first time around, none of this would have happened! I knew I wasn't the right one for this job… Cat Noir: No. He's wrong, because without you, she'd no longer be here. (they look at Chloe) And because without us, they won't make it, and we'll prove that to 'em. Trust me on this. Okay? Ladybug: Okay.

I love this moment, but it does lose a little of its power when you remember that we had an Alya-driven variation of this exact same thing five minutes prior:

Alya: HELP!! (Marinette suddenly gets filled with courage. She gets the case out of Alya's bag and puts on the Miraculous. Then, Tikki appears, happy to see Marinette again.) Tikki:(raising her arms) Mmmm! Marinette: I think I need Ladybug! Tikki: I knew you'd come around! Marinette: Well, I'm still not sure I'm up for this, but Alya's in danger. I can't sit back and do nothing.

This scene initially confused me because - if Miraculous is a rom-com - then why would you make Alya the reason that Marinette became Ladybug? Why wouldn't you have Chat Noir be the one in danger so that Marinette chose to fight because of her love interest and then encourage that bond with the later scene of him encouraging her? Why split the focus like this? Why give Alya so much attention?

In case you haven't figured it out, it's because Origins is trying to establish two different genres of show. Two genres that will continue to fight for the rest of the series (or at least the first five seasons).

Magical Girls Vs Rom-com

Why is Alya the one to shake off the nightmare dust and inspire the others during the season five finale? Why is Alya the one that Marinette trusts with all of her plans while Chat Noir is kept in the dark? Why does Alya and Marinette's friendship get so much more focus than Adrien and Nino's? Why was Alya the only temp hero who got upgraded to full time hero?

It's because Alya is Marinette's second in command in a magical girl show and magical girl shows focus on female friendships while the boys are just there to be cute and support the girls.

Why do most of Marinette's talks with Alya focus on Adrien? Why is Chat Noir the only other full time holder of a Miraculous for the first three seasons and then again for the final season? Why do Marinette's friends become more and more obsessed with Adrienentte as the show goes on? Why is the love square's identity reveal given so much more narrative weight than any other identity reveal?

It's because Miraculous is a rom-com and the love square is our end game couple, so of course the story focuses on their relationship above all else!

Are you starting to see the problem?

Circling back to our original question: no, it was not unreasonable for the fans to expect that the Alya reveal would have massive negative consequences for Ladynoir. That is what should happen in a rom-com and Miraculous is mainly written like a rom-com. But the writers are also trying to write a magical girl show and, in a magical girl show, Alya and Marinette's friendship should be the most important relationship in the show, so it makes perfect sense that the show treats the Alya reveal as perfectly fine because the Alya reveal was written from the magical girl show perspective.

When it comes to Miraculous, if you ever feel like a writing choice makes no sense for genre A, re-frame it as a thing from genre B and it suddenly makes perfect sense which is fascinatingly terrible writing! It's no wonder there are people who hate the Alya reveal and people who will defend it with their life. It all depends on which genre elements you've picked up on and clung to. Neither side is right, they've both been set up to have perfectly valid expectations. Whether those expectations are valid for a given episode is entirely up to the mercurial whims of the writers!

How Do We Fix This Mess

At this point, I don't think that we can, the show is too far gone, but if someone gave me the power to change one element of Miraculous, that element would be this: scrap both the magical girl stuff and the rom-com stuff and turn Miraculous into a team show where the friendships transcend gender.

At this point, I've written over a quarter of a million words of fanfic focused on these characters (the brain rot is real) and one thing I've discovered is that it is damn near impossible to keep Adrien and Alya from becoming friends. They're both new to their school while Marinette and Nino have gone to the same school for at least a few years. Alya and Adrien are both obsessed with Ladybug plus Adrien is a natural hype man who loves to support his friends and Alya loves to talk about her blog. Alya is dating Adrien's best friend. On top of that, Alya, Adrien, Nino, and Marinette are all in the same class, meaning that they pretty much have to be spending time together five days a week unless French school don't give kids a chance to socialize or do group projects. If so, then judging them for the first issue, but super jealous of the latter.

Given all of that, why in the world is does it feel like Alya is Marinette's close friend while Adrien is just some guy who goes to Alya's school? Along similar lines, while canon Marinette barely talks to Nino, I've found that Marinette and Nino tend to get along smashingly, especially if you embrace the fact that they have to have known each other for at least a few years.

If you embrace this wider friendship dynamic and scrap the girl squad, replacing it with Alya, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino, then the fight for narrative importance quickly goes away. It's no longer a question of is this episode trying to be a magical girl show or a rom-com? Instead, the question is: which element of the friend group is getting focused on today? The romance or the friendship?

A lot of hero shows do this and do it well. I think that one of the most well known examples is Teen Titans. That show has five main characters and the focus is usually on their friendships, but there is a very clear running romantic tension between the characters Robin and Starfire with several episodes giving a good deal of focus to their romance. I'd say that this element really starts in the show's the 19th episode - Date with Destiny - and it all culminates in the movie that capstones the series: Trouble in Tokyo. The character Beast Boy also gets a romance arc and, while it's more short lived, it's further evidence that you can have strong romances and strong friendships in the same show and even the same episode. You just have to own the fact that boys and girls can be friends with each other, a very logical thing to embrace when your show has decided to have a diverse cast of heroes instead of imposing arbitrary gender limitations on its magical powers.

I couldn't figure out a way to work this into the main essay, but it's relevant so I wanted to quickly point it out and give you more to think about re Origins. Have you ever found it weird how Origins gives both Adrien AND Marinette the "I've never had friends before" backstory and yet wider canon acts like Marinette has this strong amazing friend group while Adrien doesn't seem to care about making friends and instead focuses all his energy on romance? Why give both the protagonist and the supposed deuteragonist this kind of origin if it's not going to be a major element of the show? It makes so much more sense to only give one of them this backstory and then focus that person's character arc on learning about friendship.

[motomamita]

fugitive!könig × naive!farmer!reader

warnings: smut, +18, no condom, innocence kink, breeding kink, baby trapping, virginity loss, female reader, dub-con!!

fugitive!könig who managed to escape the law, after committing several crimes, and now travels throughout the country hiding his identity.

On one of his many trips he ends up arriving at a small town, almost lost in time, where its few inhabitants live off their animal farms and orchards. Apparently no one had televisions, and the few radios only broadcast music that was overshadowed by static. This ensured that no one there would be able to recognize him and gave him the opportunity to stay and rest for a few hours.

Tired of walking and extremely hungry, König sat down in a small cafe to have a drink. The people around him looked at him strangely, not only because they didn't know him but also because of his intimidating appearance. His back was broad, he had long legs, and the muscles in his arms were noticeable even though he was wearing a wind jacket that covered him. However, no one seemed to be bothered by his presence, the people there loved tourists and König seemed completely like one.

When it was time to pay, he noticed that he had ordered and consumed more than he could afford. He was about to offer some of his "camping" knives in exchange for the money he was missing until a figure approached him.

"Don't worry if you don't have the money to pay." you spoke with a sweet voice and doing everything possible so that Konig would not feel embarrassed. "I sell the fruits to the owner of the place so I'm sure I can reach an agreement with him."

König was fascinated by you. Not only because of your timely friendliness but also your very natural and almost unique appearance that was very difficult to find in other places. You were wearing a jean gardener, some comfortable shoes and you were carrying a basket that minutes ago was full of fruits and vegetables from your garden. König looked down, somewhat shy and not knowing how to react to you, the truth is that during his escape he had not met many friendly people.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for anything in return." You smiled when you saw that no words came out of his mouth. "Here we greatly appreciate tourists and travelers, after all they are the ones who keep this small town from turning into a ghost town."

You invited König to take refuge in your small house for as long as he needed before leaving again for another place. König accepted, surprised at your remarkable naivety in letting a complete stranger into your house and providing him with all the care.

When he arrived, you showed him where the shower was and what his room would be where he could rest. You left a clean change of clothes on his bed and selflessly went off to make dinner. Once he cleaned, König followed the delicious smell and came to the kitchen where you were on your back stirring a large pot of what seemed to be a stew. You were so focused that you didn't notice the presence of the big man behind you. he thought about how easy it would be to cut your neck with one of those long knives you had there. But the idea quickly disappeared when you turned around and a wide smile formed on your face when you saw him.

That stew was the best he had tasted in a long time, so much so that he served himself 3 plates, leaving you totally pleased. The next morning, König didn't really know exactly what to do. He could stay one more night and wake up in the middle of the night to raid your entire home, even leave after having a trip with you. He was hesitant, and that hesitation turned into doubt when you offered to cut his hair and trim his long beard, which he accepted.

That same afternoon König sat down to drink a lemonade made by you while he watched you harvest super large, red strawberries from a distance. He fixed his gaze on the way your pants hugged your butt in a tempting way and how you hummed a melody quietly that he couldn't make out. A tingling appeared in König's tummy and he suddenly noticed an erection growing inside his pants. You looked so pretty, so innocent. It was obvious from afar that you didn't kill a fly and that your care for him was sincere.

The days passed and König seemed to have no intention of leaving, that didn't bother you at all. Now he helped you with the heavy work on the farm, carrying large amounts of hay on his shoulder and feeding the animals. His favorite activity was watching you milk the cows, fantasizing about your hands and the way the milk dripped from them.

His approaches to you intensified, taking advantage of the slightest opportunity to touch you or rub against you. he soon discovered that you had no idea about any sexual activity, acting confused at his double meaning words and insinuations. You were the perfect muse to fulfill all his fantasies without anyone being able to stop him.

Your parents had died a long time ago, leaving you alone in charge of the big farm and all the obligations of the adult world. That led König to think that life on that farm couldn't be bad. He knew how to handle hard work well and you did everything you could to teach him and please him. The idea of ​​starting from scratch, with you there, totally convinced him.

You were a healthy, hard-working woman and you needed someone like konig with you. But König needed to have something that would force you to keep him there with you, forever and that would confirm the mutual love that you both had to give each other. That's when he found the solution: he had to get you pregnant.

That afternoon he made a point that you wouldn't leave the stable until you were full of his cum. He started by complimenting your dress and how pretty that color looked on you. Then the caresses that increased in intensity until he managed to let you be carried away by him and his carnal desire. Now he had you under him, with your skirt up and your underwear hanging from one of your feet. Out of desperation, König only lowered his pants to his heels, even with his work boots on. You were on a large pile of hay, sweating from the great summer heat and moaning loudly.

His thrusts were brutal, making their way inside you that you barely had time to understand everything that was happening. The pleasure was so much that you could barely think about anything other than König's gaze and the way his balls slapped your ass.

"Oh, baby. You're so so tight.. And wet, shit" König groaned, sighing loudly at the pleasure your pussy was giving him. "Tell me, how did a cute little thing like you stay a virgin for so long, huh?" You opened your mouth to answer but only moans came out. "Uh? Talk to me, sweetheart, talk to me.."

"I.. I don't know.." you managed to say, overstimulated by everything. König's rough shirt rubbed against your clit, giving both pleasure and pain. König was so big that he covered you with his entire body, leaving you with almost no place to breathe air other than his breath.

"Uh? Don't you know? These farm boys are idiots... They wouldn't know how to please a pretty thing like you..." König cut off his sentence to get even closer to you and kiss you, putting his tongue inside your mouth. You tried to keep up with him but that triggered the kiss to be even wetter and hotter for him.

"König.. Give me more, please!" He smiled as he heard the urgency in your broken voice. You looked so pretty like that, almost not understanding what was happening but still pleased and eager for him to give you even more.

He, ready to please you, grabbed your legs and raised them to your shoulder, adopting a new position. His thrusts continued, his fat cock forcing its way into your no longer so virgin pussy and the simple sound of your skin slapping together made your warm walls embrace him. Not really knowing what to do, you brought your hands to König's big, muscular shoulders, feeling a few scars on them.

"Oh, my pretty little thing.. I'm going to fill you inside and you're going to be the prettiest mom in this whole damn town.." You dug your nails into his shoulder and your gaze was filled with confusion. "You like it, huh? You're going to make me so happy, isn't that what you want?"

You hesitated for a few seconds, not sure what he meant but his cock rammed even deeper into you leaving you almost without any thought. Tears formed in your eyes from the pleasure and absolute adoration with which he looked at you.

"Come on, mommy.. Make me happy, carry my precious baby.."

In the same way that König had managed to get his way in prison, he had gotten his way with you. Now you both lived together as a couple on the farm, happy and with a baby on the way inside your fertile womb.

[nereidprinc3ss]

pillow talk

in which spencer reid chooses a very odd time to reveal an anecdote from his past to fem!reader

18+ (fluff, extremely suggestive) warnings/tags: fingering but nothing graphic whatsoever, it's basically fade to black sex, discussions of spencer's gsw from season 5, medical talk (and inaccuracies), spencer is a sarcastic little shit a/n: found this super random little thing in my drafts and it was done and i think it's silly and cute so i'm posting it! 600 words, short n sweet!

“You got shot in the knee?”

It’s perhaps said too loudly for the setting—tucked into Spencer’s bed in the late hours of the night when up until this point the conversation had been nothing but murmured stories and quiet giggles. And before that, well—before that there hadn’t been much conversation at all. 

Still you can’t find it within yourself to apologize as you sit up, holding the top sheet to your chest and looking down at Spencer incredulously. His eyebrows raise like he’s surprised by your reaction. 

“Thigh, technically. And it was years ago. Come back.”

You huff but allow yourself to be pulled back down, head on his shoulder as his hand finds its place stroking your hip once more. 

“How have you never told me that?”

“You never noticed the multiple incision scars on my leg?”

“What? No! Can I look now?”

“You won’t be able to see them. It’s too dark.”

You angle your head toward him, and he does the same, tilting his down until your noses almost brush. 

“So turn the light on.”

“If I turn the light on I’ll get distracted.”

“Distracted by what?” You ask, realizing what he means and voice quickly fading even as you finish the sentence. He chuckles and kisses your head. 

“I’ll show it to you in the morning. Come here.”

“I am here,” you grumble. He hums, leaning down further to try and kiss you. 

“Closer.”

So you scoot up the mattress and roll onto your side, pressed right against him, to meet him halfway in a sweet kiss. 

“You’re kind of spoiled,” you laugh against his lips as he begins pushing the sheet from your body. 

“You have to be nice to me. I got shot, remember?”

“Right. And how long ago was this, approximately?”

“It was 19 days before my 28th birthday.”

So much for approximations. 

“Aw. You got shot for your 28th birthday?”

It’s his turn to laugh into the kiss as he carefully rolls over you but recovers quickly, assuming a deadpan delivery. 

“Yeah. And it was really bad.”

“Sexy,” you murmur as he kisses down your jaw. “Tell me more.”

“Shots to the leg can be life-threatening if the femoral artery is nicked. Thankfully the bullet missed mine. You’re welcome.”

Your heart skips with a split second of true anxiety, but you snort at his cavalier attitude. 

“Yeah? This is really working for me.”

He lowers his voice to the one he uses in more intimate contexts and you giggle as he explains his gunshot wound to you like it’s dirty talk. 

“The bullet went in through my rectus femoris…” now uninhibited by the sheet, he finds the spot on your thigh and pinches lightly, “and came out clean through my semitendinosis muscle.”

“Clean? No bone fragments?”

“Nope. The doctors said I was extremely lucky it didn’t splinter my femur but it completely destroyed my muscles. I had to do physical therapy for a year and a half and I had a cane for months.”

“That’s kind of hot,” you breathe, losing commitment to the bit as his kisses get lower and his hand creeps higher. 

“Wait until you hear about the mid-surgery aortic clamping and ligature complications. You’ll love this—I was awake the whole time.”

A soft moan slips from between your parted lips and your brows pinch. 

“Spencer—”

“What?” He murmurs. “Me getting shot in the leg isn’t sexy anymore?”

You manage something between a breathy laugh and a mewl as your back arches. 

“I’m gonna kill you.”

He hums against your throat. 

“Good luck. You’d be far from the first to try.”