#anime or donghua illustration hair

[xcziel]

Liu Chang mv for 藏海花

[hazurine]

Coloured version of Jing Xuan’s fanart from The Island of Siliang made by me

as a mouse user i like the result:”)

[minsarasarahair]

tag game ✨

I was tagged by @tanjianci​, thank youuu!!! It’s been a while since someone tagged me in something like this

1. why did you choose your url?

@minobishe? It’s a combination of two words. Mino, my name and Bishe came from Bishounen. So my blog name means “Mino’s favorite fictional bishounens(Beautiful men)” lol

2. any sideblogs?

I used to have one! An art blog because I also draw(mostly long-haired bishies) but I’m so bad at maintaining it. I’m always busy IRL so I deleted it long ago. 

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

My archive says I made this blog in February 2015? That long?

4. do you have a queue tag?

No? I don’t even know how to use queue lol

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

Well, I want a blog where I can talk about something that can relax me, something I like, “Long Haired Bishounen” At the beginning, I only focus on anime-related stuff but I expanded it more bc my span of attention is short such as Bishies from Manga, Manhwa, Manhua, Donghua, Drama, Stageplays, Game, CD series etc.

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Ah that? My icon is Maeno Tomoaki, my favorite Japanese voice actor cosplaying as a member of Shinsengumi. I just think that this icon represent all of my favorite things such as my love for listening to voice acting, fictional idols voiced by voice actors, anime, historical theme stories and long haired men. Plus, Maeno and I share the same birth date. Not year, of course. He’s way older than me.

7. why did you choose your header? 

My self-made gif header? Well, isn’t that already obvious bc I love long haired fictional men lol

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

The photoset for sanrio guy I made, I guess? Has 4,411 notes. I don’t really track my posts if it’s doing well or not.

9. how many mutuals do you have <3?

Very few. I just check and it says only 11 LOL 

10. how many followers do you have?

2,839. I have no idea where are these people came from and most of them are inactive I think? I appreciate it tho. Maybe bc my blog is Multifandom that’s why these people follows me in different things.

11. how many people do you follow?

247. Most likely the source of my reblogged posts.

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

What is shitpost? Random post? I’m not sure if my once in a while random rambles is consider one lol

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

Depends if I’m busy or nah. You can tell I’m busy If I have no time to make GIF set. I used to make GIF set depend on the anime I watched every season but now I can no longer do that. I usually reblog stuff nowadays. 

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Most of it are misunderstanding or people being aggressive. I tend to discuss unpopular opinions so usually it attract toxic people or Antis. They probably forgot it’s ok to discuss unpopular opinions as long as it’s not daily basis and you’re not hurting anybody. 

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts

It depends if the said post really deserve to reblog.

16. do you like tag games?

Sure! I can do it if I have time to answer. 

17. do you like ask games?

Neutral? There are asks that I don’t appreciate that’s why I turned off my tumblr’s ask function. Or more like rude people exist in this world.

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? 

@utapribr​? Because she’s probably the most popular blog I knew that focus in Utapri? I used to be a hardcore Utapri fan lol

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

Just admire. Like I admire their skills. For example, @virgichuu. She’s a good artist. Her illustration of long haired men are so pretty!

20. tags?

I don’t really want to tag anyone, Just bc I don’t know who to tag lol But if you want to do it, just do it.

[vaixation]

Can I add something really important?

All three books are 17+. If you are a minor, do not read them.

They're excellent stories with really good characterization, plots, and really in-depth commentary about a lot of things in general, but they really are all 17-18+. Please don't take this as a challenge; they're meant for adults and all three of them have mature topics in them. SVSSS and MDZS have graphically explicit sex scenes (mostly in the extras, but both of these have one in the main story too). TGCF has sexual content but the actual sex scenes are off-screen, just very strongly implied (again mostly in the extra chapters). Even though TGCF doesn't have as much sexual content, it has quite a bit of other triggering topics in it that you may want to watch out for.

---

Also, small correction:

SVSSS has 80 chapters, 20 extras, for a total of 100. HERE is a chapter list.

MDZS has 113 chapters, 13-14 extras, for a total of 126-127. HERE is a chapter list.

TGCF has 244 chapters, 8 extras, for a total of 252. HERE is a chapter list.

---

Some additional information:

The author is named Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù (墨香铜臭). Most of us just abbreviate her name to MXTX for short. (This isn't her real name, it's a pen name.) All three of her novels classify as both the xianxia (high Chinese cultivation fantasy) and danmei (gay) genres.

And, in the case you're not a Chinese speaker and have no idea how to pronounce the names, you can copy + paste the Chinese text (not the pinyin - the symbols) into THIS TRANSLATOR and hit "Say it" (little blue button above text box) and it will read out the Chinese word / name for you. Additionally, you can search through THIS SITE if you need help with understanding the tones in the names / words. (Chinese has four tones that change the pronunciation - that's what all those little symbols in the romanized text are indicating.) While I haven't found a pronunciation guide for SVSSS, there's one for MDZS here, and one for TGCF here (turn on subtitles - the video has some extra notes in them). (NOTE: I really recommend using the translators I linked however, as both of these guides have some slight inaccuracies to them I've found, but they're very useful regardless.)

All three of her novels are also being officially licensed in English by Seven Seas. While not all of them are out yet as of writing this post, you can see the full RELEASE SCHEDULE HERE. When possible, I highly recommend purchasing the books if you can to support the author. Also, all of them have wonderful story illustrations, character glossaries, a term glossary, and SVSSS even has bonus character art at the end of the two currently-released volumes!

Also, people in the fandom often abbreviate characters' names to the first letter of each individual pinyin section. For example, 沈清秋 (Shěn Qīngqiū) often gets abbreviated as "SQQ" because of 沈清秋 = "Shěn Qīng Qiū"!

---

FIRST BOOK (WIKI LINK):

Chinese Name: 人渣反派自救系统 Chinese Pinyin: Rén Zhā Fǎnpài Zìjiù Xìtǒng English Name: Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Abbreviations: SVSSS, RZFZX Main Character: Shěn Qīngqiū (沈清秋) SQQ Main Love Interest: Luò Bīnghé (洛冰河) LBH

Notes: Most people use SVSSS instead of RFZFX when referring to this one (probably because of the alliteration, I'm assuming). It also has a donghua (Chinese animation, equivalent to Japan's anime) adaptation under the name Scumbag System (Chuān Shū Zì Jiù Zhǐ Nán / 穿书自救指南). This takes liberties with the story, including playing up the humor level and censoring some of the more violent details of the story, so take it with a grain of salt! It's very good though; if the animation style doesn't bother you, I definitely recommend it (although it's worth mentioning the fandom at large tends to view Luo Binghe with curly hair, and this version has him with straight hair). Currently, the donghua is only on its first season and is incomplete. (Season 2 when?!)

If you want to read it online, I personally read the MAIN STORY FROM HERE, the EXTRA CHAPTERS FROM HERE (scroll down). I believe both of these sources have the extra chapters in the wrong order: HERE IS A GUIDE TO THE ORDER OF THE EXTRA CHAPTERS, and HERE IS ANOTHER GUIDE (this one is especially good for TWs in the extras). Do note that I think this particular story's online translation isn't as good as its actual licensed version from Seven Seas, and I personally highly recommend reading the Seven Seas license translation above reading this one online, but it's doable, it just might not make as much sense.

Also, this storyline requires quite a bit of critical thinking and reading between the lines. Don't take everything at face value, because the main character is a very unreliable narrator.

I'd also like to warn that depending on the translation you read, I've seen some very ableist language being used (especially in the version of the donghua I watched), so keep that in mind.

---

SECOND BOOK (WIKI LINK):

Chinese Name: 魔道祖师 Chinese Pinyin: Mó Dào Zǔ Shī English Name: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Abbreviations: GDC, MDZS Main Character: Wèi Yīng (Wúxiàn) (魏婴 / 魏无羡) WY / WWX Main Love Interest: Lán Zhàn (Wàngjī) (蓝湛 / 蓝忘机) LZ / LWJ

Notes: Most people tag this one as MDZS. Also, many of the characters in this particular story adhere to ancient Chinese naming customs, in which they have two names - the birth name and the courtesy name. The basic gist of this is that the courtesy name is what most folks will use to refer to someone (say, Wei Wuxian for example), versus their birth name (Wei Ying) is reserved for people who are close or intimate with you. However, people can also use this name if they mean to insult you, too, so in Wei Wuxian's case you'll hear "Wei Ying" get used a lot by both people who care about him (such as his future husband, Lan Wangji) or people who really dislike him (basically most of society).

MDZS is the most well-known out of MXTX's storylines, and it has... an absurd amount of adaptations. HERE is a nice and useful guide to all of them. The novel, being the original source, is the most uncensored version, after that it would be the audio drama. You can download and listen to the audio drama from SUIBIAN SUBS. (Please read their rules!) I personally think its donghua (S1, S2, S3) is fantastic though, and heavily recommend it even though, because of Chinese censorship laws, they don't have as much of their romance on-screen (it's still very much there though). Also the animation is absolutely gorgeous. I mean when they zoom into these characters' eyes they literally drew in their tear ducts, okay. It's very pretty! Unfortunately, it doesn't cover any of the extra chapters content, though it is fully complete otherwise!

It's worth mentioning that the live action (The Untamed / Chén Qíng Lìng / 陈情令), often abbreviated to CQL, is extremely different and takes a lot of liberties / makes a lot of changes. In the Chinese fandom, CQL and MDZS are viewed as different things, and it's considered rude to tag CQL into the main MDZS tag. This seems to be more lenient with the western fandom, however.

I personally read it ONLINE HERE. This translation was done by the group Exiled Rebels (as they're the only group that had a full translation completed), and some of the extra chapters + end scenes have a few sentences and things that are infamously mis-translated that caused some unnecessary drama within the fandom, so take their translation with a grain of salt. Seven Seas hired a different translator (Suika, the same one who translated TGCF online) for the job instead of EXR, so I'm hoping Suika handles those extra chapters with a little more care. (Absolutely no salt to EXR, just that their wording can cause misunderstandings, and that's worth noting if you find some things iffy in some of the extra chapters or end scenes!)

It's also worth mentioning, this book has homophobia in it, but it's an in-story thing and not an overall narrative choice from the author. HERE is a trigger warning list for MDZS.

---

THIRD BOOK (WIKI LINK):

Chinese Name: 天官赐福 Chinese Pinyin: Tiān Guān Cì Fú English Name: Heaven Official's Blessing Abbreviations: HOB, TGCF Main Character: Xiè Lián (谢怜) XL Main Love Interest: Huā Chéng (花城) HC

Notes: Like MDZS, everyone seems to abbreviate this one as TGCF. Also, don't make the same mistake I did when I first got into the story and misread "Heaven Official's Blessing" as "Heaven's Official Blessing," okay. The apostrophe comes after the second word... The name of this one refers to a phrase that gets reiterated multiple times throughout the story, the full phrase being "tiān guān cì fú, bǎi wú jìn jì!" (天官赐福，百无禁忌！) HERE is a post that explains the meaning more in depth. It's been translated in multiple different ways, but my personal favorite translation is "By Heaven Official's blessing, all taboos are off!" which I think makes the most sense to the story, considering how it goes.

TGCF currently has two adaptations: a donghua (S1, Extra Episode - again, Season 2 when?!?!) and a manhua (Chinese comic, equivalent to Japan's manga). You can actually read the manhua FOR FREE from BiliBili's official website HERE. Note that it also not complete, and after a while there's a timegate system, and then a few episodes that are app-only. The manhua's artwork is by STAREMBER, who is extremely talented. Although this adaptation doesn't do the best job of explaining the story, the artwork is absolutely mindblowingly phenomenal, and it's worth checking out. Additionally, there is a live action for TGCF that is in the works, the name of which I believe is "Eternal Faith."

Personally, for chapters 1-20, I read them ONLINE HERE. For 21 (1) to 25, I switched to THIS SOURCE instead. For 25 to 40, I recommend THIS SOURCE, and for 41+ I went back to the original source I linked. I know that seems like a hassle, but frankly I found issues with a few of the sources as I was reading through them, and it was exasperating to hunt down proper translations. For the bonus chapters... I actually don't know a source to link. I downloaded a PDF and it doesn't have great translations, so I don't think I'd recommend that; good luck with finding a source for the extra chapters if you choose to read them online.

As mentioned before, TGCF is very intense, and in my opinion, has the most triggering content out of the three stories. HERE is a TW guide. There is another one additionally HERE that adds a few things. And here is a discussion on TGCF's age rating. (I would also like to personally add "animal harm" to the TW list, as there are several cases in the beginning at least of some animals getting killed, sometimes brutally. Most of this was in response to said animals attacking the group, but still it's worth pointing out.) Furthermore, there is an overtone of ableism in the story that cannot really be excused by just being in-story. There are also mixed reactions to the cross-dressing that can come off as transphobic, but take that with a grain of salt considering there's an actual genderfluid character in this story who is depicted very positively and is an utter delight.

---

Finally, some of my personal thoughts on the optimal order of experiencing them:

I myself read them in the order of MDZS -> TGCF -> SVSSS, and that's the order I would recommend to people, but that's just me. MDZS is a really good starting point because it's the most popular and it's most accessible + has the most information floating around for it, I think, and while yes, it does kind of just throw you into ancient Chinese cultivation shenanigans, I think due to the amount of information floating around for it, it's not too hard to follow if you just take things slowly. The donghua is a great starting place if you want to test the waters to see if it's the kind of story that vibes with you, but the book itself goes into MUCH more detail that will explain a lot of key plot points that got rushed at the end of the donghua, I think.

Secondly, TGCF is much more in-depth / complex than MDZS, and over twice as long, so it can be a large undertaking, but it's a very rewarding story. I heard some people say if you read TGCF before you read SVSSS, don't even bother with SVSSS - but I have to STRONGLY disagree with that because I read SVSSS after TGCF and I was glad / thankful I read it in that order. There's some content in SVSSS that, for me at least, required some faith that the author wasn't putting in certain scenes just for shock value and that she had a very good reason for them being there, that if I had seen SVSSS first I admittedly probably would've given up on the book at a certain point. (SVSSS in my opinion, is also the most-deserving of a second read, because I think the entire story changes when you know what's really going on, and it's very eye-opening the second time around.)

Again that is just me, but personally I'm very thankful I read TGCF before SVSSS for this reason. TGCF and SVSSS also have a lot of shared themes between them, and some topics that could be controversial if taken out of context. (For instance, in SVSSS the two main characters have an age gap - however, MXTX actually handled this extremely well, and without spoiling anything, it works out JUST FINE - and I might not have had faith that she was going to do this respectfully if this was my first exposure to her as an author. Having seen how carefully she treats her world and characters from both MDZS and TGCF made me a lot less overly-critical over some of the things happening in SVSSS by comparison.)

Also, all three of her stories are fantastic. I personally like them all equally, and very strongly at that, but they all have different vibes and they might not be for everyone. Which one is the "best" story often depends on what vibes with you the most (ie. do you want the most romantic story? Go for TGCF. Do you want all the DRAMA and ANGST? SVSSS is your best bet, etc.)! All of them can be intense and have triggering content in them (like, for instance - all three of them have torture in them), but MXTX doesn't write this in for shock value; they all have reasons to be there. She also has some VERY GOOD motifs that span across all three of her stories, and all of her stories make you think a lot about deeper things. They're ALL very good and 100% worth checking out if the TWs won't upset you. (Personally, I had multiple anxiety attacks reading TGCF and I'd still wholeheartedly recommend it, I think it was very much worth it, but that's just me - do judge for yourself what you think your limits/boundaries are, and like OP said, do not push yourself to finish something if it's genuinely upsetting / distressing / etc. even if they're good stories.) They're all very complex and fascinating in their own ways, and it's clear MXTX puts a lot of love and care into what she writes and creates!

And as a final note (possible spoilers):

All three of them have happy endings. I'm putting this here because I was personally worried about the "bury your gays" trope, since it's such a homophobic trope, and as an LGBT+ person I'm so tired of it + exasperated, but all three of the main couples wind up very happily and canonically married by the end of the stories. So if you're worried that they're not going to end well, they do! I think, personally, that's a huge relief to know since it very much is a LGBT+ concern and all three of the books are gay / LGBT+ stories, so.

If you do decide to check them out, good luck! (Especially with TGCF because it's so long haha LOL!) Hope any of this helps you (or anyone else...). :D

(No but really LOOK how long the word count is for TGCF, y'all. What the heck...)

hi I’ve decided to trust you with media opinions bc of ur rockin art and bodacious posts. if I was theoretically* interested in reading the mxtx novels and haven’t read any yet, what order should I read them in? thank you for your help 🙏

*this question is not theoretical at all

First of all, thank you for liking my posts!!! ^^ I'm glad you're interested in reading the books hehe!!

I would personally recommend reading them in order of publication (Scum Villain's Self Saving System > Mo Dao Zu Shi / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation > Tian Guan Ci Fu / Heaven Official's Blessing) for a few reasons:

- The first book, SV, establishes a lot of the author's opinions on writing itself, world-building, themes, etc that are important to understand in the latter works.

- The second book, MDZS, further establishes a lot of themes of society that, imo, lay the foundation for some events in TGCF.

- There's a visible shift between focus across the 3 books: SV is mostly character driven, MDZS is fairly mixed character/plot driven, and TGCF is mostly plot driven. If you're new to danmei/Chinese media in general, it's very easy to get lost in the grandiose plots and extensive worlds that the latter series drop you into. I personally found that SV is an especially good onboarding point given that it's such a meta book, so there's a great deal of footnotes and narration* regarding common tropes/structures that are played straighter/assume prior knowledge in MDZS and TGCF.

*However, I believe all the official translations feature footnotes and glossaries, so hopefully you won't get too lost regardless!!

- Along with focus, the scale of the books' settings definitely increase as the series go on; SV has the least amount of important characters/locations, MDZS focuses on a considerably larger cast and world, and TGCF goes even beyond that.

- Lastly, the length of the books goes up considerably the farther you get down the line! SV is only around 100 chapters, MDZS is something like 200, and TGCF is like 500! So if you have any doubts or want to give yourself a way out in any way, definitely would recommend starting with the one with the least required investment.

However I will say that you can honestly read them in any order you'd like! Majority of people these days start with MDZS because it's the most popular, and though it's a bit rarer, I've seen people start from TGCF as well. Ultimately just go for the one that interests you the most and work from there! You don't need to read them all either, and definitely check out tw lists before you start them! Always prioritize your personal health over completionism ^^

Hope you have fun reading though! And if you have any other questions, feel free to send another ask!

[ao3bronte]

if i had a wish (i’d wish for more of this)

Also on AO3

3 < 4 > 5 

For centuries, people have traveled from all over the world to visit the temples of the Oracle for their prophecy, an inside scoop into their future. Any question could be answered, any problem could be fixed unless…well, sometimes prophecies were simply too dangerous to share.

A Miraculous Ladybug Soulmate AU.

"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."

Ayn Rand

le 17 juillet 2015

Nathalie wears many hats, one of which is that of a travel agent. For years, Monsieur has only trusted her to make his various travel arrangements, being the paranoid man that he is; he claims that he's had poor experiences with other travel professionals sharing his location with paparazzi and the like in the past but Nathalie is fairly sure he just uses that excuse so he doesn't have to pay another person for something she's perfectly capable of doing herself.

Evidently, this is how Nathalie finds herself painstakingly planning an itinerary for a two week trip to Tibet. She would have spat her coffee all over her tablet at the very concept had she not been in on the scheme from the very beginning; Monsieur deigning to visit a third world nation? Preposterous. Except the revelations that had occured since procuring the peacock brooch four years ago had been...

Well, miraculous.

Since that's what they were called of course. With Mme. Dubreil’s help, they had managed to track the peacock brooch across history as it passed from hand to hand and continent to continent time and time again. From Locusta to Marie Antoinette, it was both rumoured and proven that this seemingly magical brooch had been far more important to the history of the world than any of them could have imagined at the start.

Their research had inevitably led them to a second brooch, this one far more subtle in its design in comparison to the bright blues and greens of the first. Nathalie still remembers the day Monsieur had come home with it in his possession, his normally stoic facial expression wracked with an excitement she can hardly even remember seeing on the man before that day. He'd called her into his office immediately and shut the doors behind them as he recounted his exchange with an elderly Chinese woman with unusual animation. Nathalie had been in charge of the wire transfer from one of his hidden offshore accounts and although she had the bank account number, she never did get the woman’s name.

From there, Mme. Dubreil, Monsieur and herself had been meeting regularly to determine the history of the purple brooch, which proved to be far more difficult than the peacock one due it its sophisticated, if slightly plain appearance. However, once the connection between the brooch and the butterfly motif had been made (and finding that out had been an adventure all its own), tracing its history became far less impossible and equally as fascinating. They'd even managed to associate it with both François Leclerc du Tremblay and Machiavelli, a fact that Monsieur found particularly fascinating; he'd become so smitten with the purple brooch that he’d taken to wearing it with his cravat on a daily basis and had even used its design as a source of inspiration for his 2013 spring line.

Eventually one thing had led to another. Monsieur called her in on her day off in the middle of the night back in the summer of 2014 to reveal what he had discovered, which turned out to change just about everything they thought was possible. Coming upon a PDF scan of an ancient scroll, Monsieur had learned that there weren't just two magical brooches at stake, but several magical pieces of jewellery that ranged from hair combs to earrings. They never did figure out the exact amount, but that particular piece of the puzzle wasn't what interested him.

As it turned out, not only did the scroll confirm what Gabriel had already figured out but it also revealed an even more intriguing aspect of their ever growing puzzle. The scroll, written in Sumerian and richly illustrated with seven ancient Chinese symbols, revealed a plethora of new information on the subject, including what could happen if a person wore multiple Miraculous on their person at the same time. Unfortunately, the butterfly and the peacock weren't compatible as matching pairs as they were both brooches; the style of the jewellery had to be different in order for the bearer to yield the rewards of the match.

Gabriel revealed all of this to Nathalie that night, extolling the details of the scroll with fervour. It turned out one of the matching pairs could grant the bearer the ultimate wish, something that had turned his hobby interest into a full blown obsession. In the scroll, he'd learned that not only did these magical pieces of jewellery continue to exist to this day, but the whereabouts of the majority of them could be found in a temple in Tibet, the location of which was described on the scroll in great detail. In his spare time, Gabriel had carved out the location through satellite images and insisted that Nathalie begin to organise a trip to Tibet to locate the rest of the Miraculous jewels immediately.

Opening another tab on her browser, Nathalie confirms the appointment with their Tibetan guide and copies the appropriate booking number into the spreadsheet she’d been using to keep track of all of their reservations. It would take them roughly four days to reach the temple by foot and another four to return, so Nathalie had to plan hotel stays, car rentals and the like accordingly so as to make their trip as comfortable as possible. Once she’s triple checked everything, she forwards the itinerary to the French embassy so they can monitor his whereabouts at all times and make sure that his safety is of the utmost importance throughout the trip.

At some indeterminate point, Monsieur had brought his wife in on his plans. Madame seemed particularly keen with the idea of being granted the ultimate wish, the result of which would most certainly lead to the long awaited addition to their family. In all honesty, Nathalie hasn’t seen Madame so excited in years, her sallow cheeks and pale skin from spending so much time in her bedroom suddenly blushing pink with the resurgence of hope that throbbed between her and her husband.

Adrien, as usual, was left in the dark.

Not literally of course, but figuratively. His parents would be gone during his 12th birthday, something neither of them had considered when giving Nathalie the dates for their trip. More often than not, it was Nathalie who took the responsibility to remind Monsieur of Adrien’s birthday on his calendar, but even then he tended to miss it as celebrations and holidays were ranked lowest priority on the program’s software. For the past few years, Nathalie had personally taken Adrien to various patisseries around town to pick out his own birthday treats on the sly and he would happily snack on them in the back of the Mercedes before returning home. It was their little secret, one that wasn’t shared with anyone else save Adrien’s seemingly mute bodyguard who still hadn’t spoken a word to her since being hired shortly before Adrien’s birth.

Nathalie calls the first class bureau of Air China to confirm their seats and submit Monsieur’s tailored list of demands during the nearly twenty hour flight, all of which is taken into account after a few well placed comments in regards to the sheer magnitude of influence their travellers possess in the eastern hemisphere. Gabriel’s right hand design aide was stationed at their Shanghai headquarters and he hired many budding fashion students from Donghua and Fudan, two of China’s top fashion schools. In an odd twist of whimsy, Gabriel even had Adrien studying Mandarin in case his modelling duties ever took him outside the country, something that Nathalie foresaw happening should the Agreste’s actually find success in Tibet. After all, with a new baby in the family, Monsieur would have to keep Adrien occupied and out of his hair somehow.

It bothers Nathalie sometimes, the fact that Adrien is often considered an afterthought to his father and mother. She knows her place of course, but it still niggles at the back of her mind that something about this is so so wrong.

...if only she’d told Gabriel the truth about Adrien’s prophecy.

It’s been a weight on her shoulders for nearly twelve years now, her transgression. She’s laid in bed and stared up at her ceiling a million times and wondered how Monsieur would have treated him if she had told him what actually happened, that the Pythia had explained that he had a prophecy but it was simply too dangerous to share. Would Monsieur have treated him like a son? Was Monsieur even capable of acting like a father? She’d only ever seen him consider Adrien with disdain and occasionally mild interest and Adrien learned quickly that there was no pleasing his father, no matter how hard he’d tried. Goodness knows she’d spent countless hours consoling him over that particular life lesson.

She wonders vaguely if and when the inbalance she’s caused with her omission will come back to haunt her. She wonders if it already has and her punishment is to continue to be the pseudo-surrogate mother for a boy with a dubious future until whatever danger lies ahead of him ultimately consumes him.

Something tells her she’ll soon find out.

~

le 7 septembre 2015

Adrien is in the renowned Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie with a credit card and a list of his favourite sweets when Nathalie receives a phone call from the French Embassy in Tibet. Her hands shake as the man on the other line relays the news, relays that the backpacks of both Monsieur and Madame and their guide have been found abandoned on a riverbank high up in the mountains with their passports still inside. He assures her that they’ve sent a search party out to try and find them and that all available resources are being assigned to the mission. Nathalie demands that he keeps her updated, hangs up the phone, and waits for Adrien’s return.

“This place is awesome,” Adrien extols breathlessly, plopping onto the backseat with three boxes in his lap, “I bought a vanilla and a raspberry Saint-Honoré for me and I bought a chocolate millefeuille for Mme. Doré because I know she likes them and I bought these for you Nathalie! There’s orange blossom and raspberry and pistachio ones...Trip Advisor says they have the best macarons in all of Paris and I would know, I looked them up on the way here to see if they were better than the Ladurée ones because I know you like them the best but I thought maybe you would like these better and…”

Nathalie blinks a few times and takes the proffered pink box, setting it down across her knees. She listens as Adrien prattles on, oblivious to her inner turmoil as she opens the box and takes a vanilla macaron between her numb fingers, lifting it to her lips. It smells heavenly and tastes even more so, the delicate flavour and texture of the meringue melting on her tongue like snowflakes on a ski hill in the Alps and it hits her like a hurricane all at once, the significance of the past few minutes, her situation now.

“...and literally, they had the biggest ispahan I’ve ever seen on their counter and they don’t just raspberry ones either, they had…”

Nathalie hears the engine roar to life as their driver accelerates by the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, her Gothic silhouette casting a heavy shadow across the road they’re driving down. Vaguely, she feels the gentle breezes of the air conditioning brush against her cheeks and forehead, smells the sugar on her fingers and the t-shirt of a boy who spent a little too much time running about in the sunshine earlier that morning. She takes another bite and tries to pay attention, tries to focus on something, anything but the sudden rush of uncertainty in her gut, writhing and thrashing against the bitter panic that’s threatening to take over. She takes a few steadying breaths and stares down at the box of macarons instead, counting them over and over again like a mantra until the blood stops rushing in her ears.

“...and the lady there was really nice and helped me choose all the flavours because I didn’t really know which ones to get you but she said that these ones are the most popular so I…”

Nathalie nods occasionally as Adrien continues to babble on about pastries and begins to make a mental checklist of all the things she’ll have to do when she gets back to the estate. She’ll have to call the lawyer to make sure Monsieur’s affairs are in order, after which she’ll have to remind him and his firm of the gag order in regards to their media involvement. Then she’ll have to call an emergency staff meeting and explain the situation, cut all forms of communication and boot up the wifi jammer so Adrien can’t access the internet. Nathalie figures she’ll have at least twenty four hours before the story leaks and shows up on social media so she’ll have to block his data as well, if only for a week or two. By that point, he’ll be wondering why his parents haven’t returned and Nathalie will be forced to explain…

...oh.

It dawns on Nathalie at that moment, the realisation hitting her skin like a dousing of freezing cold water. It’s the reason Monsieur had renounced his faith in the Oracle and refused to let his wife travel further than the border for modelling contracts except when he was with her…

Nathalie shoves another macaron in her mouth and opens the messaging app on her iPad, jabbing the ALL STAFF button with a manicured finger. The alert goes out immediately as the Mercedes pulls into the driveway and rolls to a stop by the door.

“Nathalie?”

His voice breaks her out of her reverie and she jerks her head around, staring wide eyed at the son of her potentially deceased boss, his lips and cheeks dusted with icing sugar.

“Yes Adrien?”

“Are you alright?” he asks, tipping his head to the left. He looks down at the half eaten box of macarons in her lap, “You haven’t said a word since you got back in the car...do you not like the pastries I got you?”

Nathalie shudders, if only slightly, “They’re delicious Adrien. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” he grins, his eyes lighting up immediately, “I’m going to go bring these to the kitchen staff to put in the fridge okay? Bye!”

He’s out of the car before she knows it, skipping up the stairs and through the front door of his lavish home with a wave and a smile at the staff member manning the front door and Nathalie can’t help but feel that crushing weight against her chest again, heavy and exhausting. How on earth is she going to be able manage all this? What would happen to her, her job, her life if Gabriel Agreste was gone?

Heaving a heavy sigh, Nathalie lets her head fall back against the headrest with a thunk.

~

“Mobile phones in the basket please,” Nathalie orders as the staff all file into the ballroom, settling themselves in a vague semi circle around Nathalie. Once all of the devices have been gathered up into the bread basket and set on the table in front of her, Nathalie laces her fingers together and begins.

“I received word from the French embassy in Tibet roughly an hour ago. Monsieur and Madame Agreste are missing.”

There’s a pregnant pause before a raucous hum of voices bubbles up from the twenty odd people standing in front of her, all showing different expressions of shock and concern. Nathalie gives them a few moments to react before raising her hand to regain their attention, “The Tibetan government has called in reinforcements and has sent out a large search party to look for them. The member I spoke to at the embassy assured me that it’s quite likely that Monsieur’s guide simply wandered off their initial path for weather related reasons.”

Nathalie waits for the information to sink in before continuing, “As you know, it is quite likely that this story will hit international media sooner rather than later. To prepare, I will be reinstalling the jammer on the estate’s Wifi and temporarily disengaging the televisions that are connected to the cable. You will need to sign into the hidden Wifi signal again in order to use your devices,” Nathalie squares her shoulders and faces the crowd, “It is imperative that Adrien does not hear anything about their temporary disappearance until their whereabouts are confirmed. Any questions?”

One of the maids raises her hand, “When will we know more?”

“The embassy will be calling me every four hours with updates,” Nathalie replies, “If I receive anything worth noting, I will call another staff meeting.”

“And what about Adrien?” Mme. Doré asks, the live-in tutor jittering nervously, “Surely he’ll get suspicious if we don’t let him go outside the estate for fencing practice.”

“We will need to come up with a list of excuses then,” Nathalie taps her fingernails against the side of her iPad, “I’ll leave it to you to draft a list so our stories all correspond if he decides to go looking for answers.”

“But Mme. Sancoeur...” Mme. Doré averts her eyes and wrings her hands together, “That’s lying.”

Nathalie takes a deep breath, “To protect Adrien. If we’re doing it for the right reasons, the balance will remain in our favour.”

There’s another heavy murmur from the crowd. Nathalie knows that her opinion isn’t exactly the most popular one but she knows her staff; if Adrien is involved, they’ll do whatever it takes to keep him as happy and sheltered as possible.

“We should have known this would happen…”

“...I knew the prophecy would come true!”

“That’s what Monsieur gets for rejecting the Oracle…”

“...don’t say such a thing, there are lives at stake!”

“And what about Madame? What will happen to Adrien if…”

“The Oracle did say that she would die, this is just the balance at work…”

“...and Adrien, he’ll be heartbroken! What will we…”

“ ENOUGH! ”

Nathalie pinches the bridge of her nose, “As a staff, we have a job to do and that hasn’t changed. Your directives are the same until you’re told otherwise. And as for all of you, keep your gossip to yourself in case Adrien can hear it. If he learns anything about what is happening in Tibet from any of you, you can guarantee that your position at the Agreste estate will be up for debate. Shielding him from the media will be challenging, but I expect you all to be up to the task. Do I make myself clear?”

Nathalie scans her audience with a shrewd expression before continuing, “Good. Now, remember your duties and get back to work.”

~

le 12 septembre 2015

Bzzz-bzzz-bzzz

Nathalie jerks awake and blindly rummages for the iPhone on her nightstand, wrenching the mobile free from its charger.

“Nathalie Sancoeur speaking.”

“We found him.”

[hazurine]

Fanart of Jing Xuan from The Islang of Siliang

it doesnt look alike with Jing Xuan but i kinda like the result :D