#anyways her whole thing is her future self went back in time to give herself catgirl hrt before she even knew she was trans. which she has

[midbyte]

Falling down the lancer rabbit hole again with a girl who took fucked up catgirl hrt

[jesssssssssica]

how you get the girl mv1

max verstappen was not normally someone who would go to other people for help, seeing as he deems it too embarrassing, expecting himself to be the only person that can fix his problems. 

that’s why when daniel was on the receiving end of a call with max verstappen at midnight on a tuesday, did he find himself shocked.

“i need your help”

“oh hello to you too max.”

“sorry, i just need your hel-”

“yeah, i heard you the first time. anyway you need my help? i thought you were mr independent, a lone wolf?” he chuckles slightly at the end of this question finding this whole situation quite ironic. 

“this isn’t funny dan, i really need your help, i messed up bigtime.” he whimpers, cradling his forehead with his spare hand. 

only now does daniel realise that his friend is truly being serious, having previously thought that the only help he needed was getting into his locked apartment but no it must have been much worse.

daniel quickly clears his throat before questioning,

“what happened max?”

“i broke up with her.”

silence. the air thickens on both sides of the phone, shivers running down the pair's backs. 

“why?”

that’s all daniel can say, knowing that if he were to say anything more he’d find himself getting angry at the issue at hand. in his mind a breakup between y/n and max wasn’t physically possible, they were so in love with each other it was insane. the pair were soulmates and nothing could get between the two which is why even the mention of a break up between the two leaves a sour taste in your mouth. 

“i…” max slowly says, “i don’t know dan. one moment we were on the sofa just talking and then the next we were just shouting and i just got so mad and so i just broke it off and left.” 

“what were you two talking about? it must have been something if it caused such an outrage.” 

“i was talking about y/n giving up her job to join me…” he utters, embarrassed at his past self's words. he knew from previous conversations that y/n would never ever give up her career, having given up so much to put herself where she is right now. 

‘how could i ever think so selfishly?’ max thinks, pulling at his hair, fisting it and scrunching it up as he fights off the tears brewing in his eyes, waiting for daniel. 

safe to say daniel was not very impressed with his friends words, knowing that you had not liked to even think of the idea of leaving your job, it being a big part of your life. 

“max… you know how she feels about that, she’s just afraid that if you ever were to break up then she would just be stuck and as much as she does love you, she just doesn’t want to risk it and plus she loves her job!”

“i know daniel, i know! but i miss her too much and it’s not like i wouldn’t be able to support the bo-”

“max! you have to learn that y/n wants to be known as y/n not max verstappen's girlfriend, which already happens when you’re apart. what do you think would happen if she went with you hmm?”

it’s as if time has repeated itself as once again the call goes silent.

“i just love her too much to not be around her all the time. it’s as if i can only live when she’s around, and it’s probably true. y’know my mum told me that she’s never seen me as happy as she did when i was y/n, claiming that when she was in the toilet i wasn’t wearing the same smile i was when she got back. i know that she’s my future dan, my world and now i’ve gone and messed it up just like everything else. when i told her that this wasn’t going to work, i swear the look she gave me made me regret everything and yet i just stood there, looking adamant at my decision. even as she packed her things i said nothing, i watched her go and did nothing. who does that to the person they love? who just lets them go so easily and doesn’t fight for it? i need her back daniel but surely she won’t let me back into her heart when i’ve only just broken it.”

by the end of max’s ramble, daniel is sure he hears a few sniffles, though he’s not sure if it’s from him or max. 

“i’ll help you max.”

—

the very next morning, max is woken from his broken sleep by relentless knocks on his door, followed by the shouts of,

“max!” “let me in!” 

“what are you doing here daniel?”

daniel, doesn’t reply, instead reaching into his bag and tossing out a booklet. 

How to get the girl by daniel ricciardo 

“since the call last night, i’ve been making this guide on how to get y/n back and i swear if you follow these steps, then all will be good.” 

“oh really? this is what’ll take to get y/n back yeah? just a few simple steps?”

“well if you read it then you’d know what these ‘simple steps’ were.”

step one - go to her (preferably in the pouring rain)

so he does. 

‘stupid daniel’ max thinks, shivering in cold and dreary rain, waiting anxiously for you to open the door.

“hell- oh max. what are you doing here, it’s tipping down? are you insane?”

“i missed you.” is all max can say.

“you miss me? you broke up with me and then you have the audacity to say that you miss me?”

“i didn’t mean it y/n, i just really wanted you to come with me because i love you too much to live without me-”

“hang on, you’re saying that you wouldn’t be able to live without me and yet you did the only thing which meant i wasn’t in your life. max, you could’ve just let our life continue on as normal and then you would still have me but you didn’t.”

“y/n i’m a mess without you and i am so sorry for everything. i love you with my heart and without you i’m not me. i don’t know what came over me in that moment but i will never regret anything more than i did in that moment. you’re my soulmate y/n and i can’t continue living without you. i’ve lost sleep and i’m not the same person anymore. i’ve gotten snappier and i’m distancing myself from all my friends because i’m scared i’ll lose them too.”

“oh.”

step two - say nice things 

“i want you for worse or for better y/n and i would wait for thousands of years for you to come back to me and i wouldn’t regret it because it would mean i would have you again. i know i broke your heart but hopefully it means i can put it back together because i truly do love you y/n.”

“max you need to understand that it’ll take time for me to take you back because even though you regret it, i need to heal and maybe once i’ve healed i’ll let you back in. i do love you though max, always will and i thank you for loving me too.” 

“i won’t give up y/n, i’ll keep coming back.”

“i’ll be here max.”

step three - remind her how it use to be 

the second time max appeared at y/n’s, he found himself feeling much more confident than how he did during his first endeavour, daniel having given him some motivation. 

he takes a moment to breathe before knocking his fist on your door. 

“when you said you’d keep coming back i didn’t know you’d actually follow through with it.” 

“of course i would, i meant it when i said i wanted you back.”

you just stare at the man as he talks, arms crossed around your chest resting on your doorframe. 

“well… what do you have to say for yourself? or are you just gonna stand there and stare at me for half an hour?”

“well if you’re offerin-”

“max! get to the point please or i will close this door.” 

he only smiles, staring at your face, admiring you before coming to his senses and speaking once more. 

“i just wanted to remind you of the time we spent together, y'know. i mean i was just lying down on the sofa and just staring at some old photos and i was thinking of the nights where we would just stay and lay and cuddle. nights reserved just for you and i remember? or as soon as we both had time off work, then we’d just jet off to a new country and relax, tanning under the sun or skiing in the snow. we should do that soon, have a nice holiday to just relax and love each other, wouldn’t you just love that, a romantic holiday just for the pair of us?  i certainly would but we’d have to get back together first but i guess that’s why i’m here.” 

“that would be nice i guess but i could do that with any man, a man that wouldn’t selfishly try and get me to quit my job when he knows i love it so much.”

“they don’t know you like i do though y/n! they also don’t deserve someone as sweet and perfect as yo-”

“so what? that makes you the perfect man for me then?”

“yes it does as a matter of fact! i know that even though you say that you love redbull, you really wish that some other team was winning but you also love that i’m winning. you also say that you prefer dogs but jimmy and sassy are your only exceptions. i know that y/n and no other person knows that. you say that you don’t want kids but you can’t help but want them when you see luka and lio and yet you still always claim that you will forever be the cool aunt! i also know that even though you put up this strong front, i know that i hurt you and i know that i will have to fight hard for you but i promise y/n, i swear that i will fight for you, i really will.”

by the end of his speech, both yours and his ears are filled with tears.

“...max.. i don’t know what to say.”

“then don’t say anything but yes, don’t say anything but i trust you max. reassure me y/n, tell me that we still could be something, don’t give me false hope i swear. i know i messed up but i really didn’t mean it.” 

“i swear max, that if you fight for me hard enough, then i’ll let you back in.”

step four - Say more nice things!!! 

the next time you get a visit from max is a week later in the early hours of the day. 

knock. knock. knock. 

repeatedly max knocks his fist on the door, over and over. 

quickly you get up, rubbing your eyes, stretching your arms and legs as you walk across your apartment, yanking the door open. 

“max? what are you doing here? it’s…i don’t even know what time it is but it’s way too early for me to talk to you about this.”

“i couldn’t sleep y/n, you kept me awake, i couldn’t stop thinking about you and so that’s why i’m here. i’ve been losing sleep everyday anyway but tonight was just unbearable. i need you y/n, please.”

“come in max.”

so he does, walking towards the sofa when a cough breaks him out of his daydream.

“no max, if you can’t sleep then sleep in the bed.” 

max’s heart soars at the prospect of being back into your arms once more, which is why he immediately scoops you up into his arms and dumps you onto your bed, tucking the pair of you under the covers. 

it takes a few minutes of staring at the ceiling to finally break down and hold each other, you having the confidence to rest your head on his chest, that soothes you, listening to the beat of his heart. 

it’s silent before the sound of soft sobs are heard throughout the room. the sobs are then followed by shaking. it’s max. 

“i love you, so so much.” is all max can manage to get out. 

“i love you too max.” 

that’s all the reassurance he needs, both of you falling into a deep slumber holding each other, just as you always would.

and that’s how you get the girl.

a/n: so i didn't die but i've just been so unmotivated to write and i just keep coming up with new ideas but no words to go along with it but oh well! this is for 1989 tv xxx

[angieblogging]

Yelena Belova - Sociopath

A/N: This is simply my observation. If anyone wants to add anything to this feel free to. Please DO NOT repost this anywhere without giving credit, DO NOT claim as your own work or I will fucking get you. If you have any issues with this post feel free to let me know by commenting or in the “ask me” box. Be civil.

This is something the MCU probably won’t do, but you can always imagine lol… Yelena or at least how I see her shows sociopathic traits. I shall explain.

“Those with ASPD have no regard for others’ rights or feelings, lack empathy and remorse for wrongdoings, and have the need to exploit and manipulate others for personal gain. Nature and nurture play a role in ASPD. The reasons behind the disorder are not fully understood. The current belief is that psychopathy generally comes from genetic factors, such as parts of the brain not developing fully, while sociopathy results from an interruption in personality development by abuse or trauma in childhood.”

Obviously Yelena has childhood trauma, so yeah. Anyways so there are some traits I’d say fit her, here’s a list of traits and I’ll explain which ones I find suited to her and why.

SOCIOPATHIC TRAITS:

Lack of empathy for others

Impulsive behavior

Attempting to control others with threats or aggression

Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others

Not learning from mistakes or punishment

Lying for personal gain

Showing a tendency to physical violence and fights

Generally superficial relationships

Sometimes, stealing or committing other crimes

Threatening suicide to manipulate without intention to act

I think couple traits match and those would be:

“lack of empathy for others”

she is an assassin, a killer, I’d say there’s no room for empathy and hard feelings there, obviously if the situation is different like for ex. Bucky’s, he has nightmares, is no longer a killer or an assassin, he has remorse and empathy that’s clearly shown through his screen time, the only times he lacks it is when he’s a Winter Solider, but even then he shows glimpses of it.

“impulsive behaviour”

she without hesitation went to take down the Red Room, which makes sense, as that place plays a big role in her childhood trauma. she literally bought herself a vest and my question is when?? got a dog, like bro you’re an assassin, when tf do you take walks? and as soon as she saw her opportunity to go back into killing, she did, which is to me at least quite odd. We don’t see that with Natasha, sure there are certain traits that stay with her, like paranoia probably, her spying skills, her ability to blend in and be on the run too, but Natasha would never, she did what she had to to survive, but she came out of it clean and wouldn’t approve, same thing with Oksana - the widow who freed Yelena, she was an older widow, she chose to help other widows, she made the antidote.

“using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others”

literally she manipulates Kate Bishop and apparently a bunch of audience. the important part is that she is no longer under the Red Room’s influence, so everything post her being a Black Widow is simply Yelena.

“showing a tendency to physical violence and fights”

self-exploratory. she got out of the red room, is literally free, went to help widows as that is what Natasha told her to do, lost Natasha, it all went downhill from there, she could’ve continued the mission, she went downhill from there and went back on the path of violence and such.

“not learning from mistakes or punishment”

she was a widow once, she killed people, i don’t even think she talks about that, she definitely talks about other widows. but she goes back to be the same thing she was freed from.

“sometimes, stealing or committing other crimes”

obviously, self-exploratory.

“lying for personal gain”

i don’t think we’ve seen her do that, but that is tying into the whole manipulation thing, so i wouldn’t be surprised if she had done that or was intending to in the future projects.

[invisibleraven]

"I would love to go with you. Not as friends." and Rulie or peterpatterlina?

Julie bit her lip as she took in the suitcase in front of her, filled to the brim full of the things she would nee for the trip. A trip she wasn't sure she should be going on.

On the one hand, she had always wanted to see Brazil, the culture, the food, the sights and sounds. Sure she would have preferred to go during Carnivale, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Plus she would technically be working, earning her 10% while Luke did his whole photo shoot promo deal.

But therein lay the problem-the Luke of it all.

She didn't regret their break up a few years ago, nor the few trysts they'd had since then. They weren't right for one another back then, and they had become better people for the separation.

Yet now they were both older, wiser. Luke was more accountable for his actions now, much less self centered and mature. Julie could see them being good together now, in a more balanced, equal relationship that was about the both of them, not just her playing arm candy and Luke playing the cocky rock star.

Yet... Julie's heart was torn. Because as much as she cared for Luke, could see a real future with him... Reggie still owned a part of her heart.

Reggie who had grown so much in the year they had spent broken up. Who was open and sharing, willing to let Julie in and let her know his damage, and able to deal with hers as well. Who didn't want to hold her back, but saw that he could stand by her while propping her up and letting her shine. Who proved he was willing to try again-and be better this time.

Thus why Julie was so conflicted. She knew if she went on this trip with Luke, they would fall back together, of that there was no doubt. But was that fair to either of them? To give herself to Luke when she still loved Reggie too?

Plus... well Julie wasn't blind, she could see the way that Luke and Reggie looked at each other. The sneaky, stolen looks and tension between them. They way they denied that there was nothing but a hard won friendship and mutual respect between them.

Then an idea struck her. She ran it past Luke first, but amidst a lot of blushing, he admitted to wishing he had the strength to tell her long ago how he felt. For them both.

She grinned, pulling him in to a kiss, and pulled out her phone to FaceTime Reggie.

"Hey cariño," she said, smiling at Reggie who grinned, and if she wasn't mistaken, blushed a little when he noticed Luke right next to her.

"Hello darlin', Lukie. What's up?"

"Do you have a passport?" Luke asked.

"My passport?" Reggie repeated, confused. "I mean, yeah. Needed it for that trip to Amsterdam a few months back."

"Ah, windmills," Luke sighed, and Julie made a mental note to ask about that.

"Anyways, Luke has a shoot in Brazil next week," Julie said. "He invited me, so I can get my fee, and we were wondering if you'd like to come with us."

"As a friend?" Reggie asked.

"Or more if you want it," Luke offered.

There was a moment of silence, and Julie held her breath, watching as Reggie thought, and she clutched Luke's hand in hers, hoping against hope. Finally Reggie spoke.

"I would love to go with you. Not as friends."

"Yes!" Julie and Luke chorused, high fiving. Reggie laughed.

"We'll need to talk first," he said. "And maybe it won't work... but I'm willing to try."

"That's all we ask babe," Luke said.

"I'll arrange everything and send you the tickets," Julie said. "Digital this time. Gibson doesn't seem to know you can still get paper tickets."

Reggie gave a weak laugh at that, but Julie knew it was water under the bridge between them now, that fateful trip they didn't take-the beginning of their end. But she looked at the fond look he was sending her-and Luke and wondered if maybe this could the beginning of something much more beautiful.

And if not? They would always have Brazil.

[wxtchpilot]

[ Okay, think I'm able to mention at least one thing about the ending right now. My brain feels clearer so might even make a post about the episode later too (probably after work but anyway).

What stands out to me about the ending, not only its visuals and clear intent on showing us something, but the fact that Suletta's hair is out for the latter half of it.

Suletta's natural hairstyle consists of using her mother's headband and two ponytail holder...bands. Not sure what else to call them haha. Either way, that's what her hair consists of.

Now, Suletta has taken off the ponytail holders before, she does whenever she's in her pajamas, yet she always keeps her mother's headband on.

The only time I can think of this NOT being the case is when she's talking to Miorine about building a school on Mercury.

Though this was also before she joined Earth House so not sure if that made any difference either. As time went on in the first season, it was clear the headband was important to Suletta, even from her innocent comment in the first episode where she was being teased by some students about how her mother told her to wear that "backwater" headband but she didn't realize it and happily said "of course!"

So it's obvious why Suletta would treasure such a thing from her mother.

However, when getting into the season 2 ending, in the beginning we have Suletta attempting to connect, or reach??, out to Miorine only to fail.

This can be due to how Suletta's actions in episode 12 created an even bigger wall between them, despite their rather personal conversation in episode 11.

When she fails to connect with Miorine, Aerial then appears and it feels she's attempting to do the same thing.

(A side note is that in this ending, Aerial is actually in her original design, not the Rebuild version, which is interesting as well).

But soon enough, Aerial strikes her right in the chest, and from there it starts feeling like some sort of metamorphosis or a change within Suletta, and from there her hair out and free.

(Honestly the lines showing on her body at this point are also curious and food for the mind, since it's like the markings that show up when someone is using a permet score).

(this whole sequence of her being "bathed in red" is so strong, her conducting the GUND-bits with confidence like she is, we haven't seen this version of Suletta before, not in such a light. It gives off a completely different feel than anything else. Also nice note of the first image is her creating the UI of Aerial that's in the cockpit).

(Some people attributed this part of her and Miorine "dancing" as a window into who Suletta truly is, Miorine seeing her true self, hence Miorine's eye glowing/shining immediately before this. Miorine is clearly apprehensive, whether due to seeing Suletta in another light in episode 12, how she struggles with that, her feelings or maybe even any future things she learns about Gundams and how Suletta is connected, we just don't know the exact reasons yet. But she eventually allows herself to lean back and spin as Suletta holds her steady, as if she learned let herself trust her despite her hesitations. IDK. Also, of course, very nice how their necklaces and shoes are each other's respective colors; Miorine wearing red shoes and a red necklace, Suletta wearing white shoes and a white necklace).

Even at the very end, when she's back in her school uniform with Miorine, her hair is still fully out and not held back by her mother's headband and the ponytail holders.

(another personal sidenote; their hands shaking as they interlace their fingers together. Some people have said it was mainly Miorine but I honestly think it's both of them shaking. Feels like a lot of uncertainty between them, maybe once again about their feelings, what they're about to be thrown into from any truths they may be hit with, their feelings for each other, etc. Yet despite the uncertainty, or the hesitation, they still try to connect with each other, or maybe go through the struggles together).

Frankly, I attribute this to possibly "breaking free" from her mother's influence. Regardless of Prospera's true feelings or intentions, it IS known that she's using her daughter for revenge without her knowledge, as revealed in the small novel. And Suletta is so naïve and innocent that she would never even DARE think that her mother would be using her or even be a bad person. She even calls her mother a "magician" in episode 13 that somehow manages to keep her moving forward, despite how scared she is.

The hard lesson that Suletta may have to end up learning is that her mother is not entirely innocent or this picture perfect person she sees her as. I don’t think she’ll end up hating her mother, and I still firmly believe that Prospera loves Suletta dearly despite her actions.

Because for Suletta to not wear her mother’s headband in her uniform makes it feel like she’s WILLINGLY choosing not to wear it and it’s not because she has to go to sleep or something like that. She would be choosing not to wear it in her day to day tasks and that’s such a huge step.

It will surely be a painful one, something that Suletta will have to deal with and possibly confront her own personal feelings on the matter, but something that I find interest in, and look forward to seeing if it DOES happen.

After all, this is just a interpretation of the ending and how I personally attribute her hair haha.

I feel like I'm looking too deep into this ending but it's so visually appealing and full of, what I assume to be, references to so many things that we just don't know yet since the season just started.

If I could find the translation of the song and think about the lyrics at each specific scene, then whew, brain might explode.

The opening has its own visually appealing things as well but probably save that for another post.

EITHER WAY, YEAH. This ending is a very strong one, this is why I love watching opening and endings to shows. It can give hints or tell stories of their own before the whole entire season is even finished airing haha. But again, I won't be making predictions, I'm not good at those, these are just personal thoughts and doesn't mean any of it will even happen.

I'm eager to simply enjoy the journey, wherever it may take us. ]

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Another Reason For Me To View Devil (From Cuphead) As a Steven

even if this shouldn’t be taken seriously or like in a wrong way, but we know that Sans is considered to be a future self of Steven Quartz Universe.

and well even if I did talk about this type of theory before, but here goes...

if you haven’t watched the three seasons so far of the Cuphead Show, it would be best to watch the episodes first before reading this.

anyway besides the whole pink bubbles and being able to shape shift.

the other reason I believe that Devil from the Cuphead Show, could be seen as Steven reborn as The Devil, is because he ends up fusing with Santa Claus.

even if it was a spell, but at the same time we could view it being possible thanks to Devil’s physical manifestation of light consciousness having genetics of a gem in it.

if Devil was a Steven, he would be the version that doesn’t become Sans,

and would of been the Steven that had first traveled back in time just to fix some mistakes and problems, and who had his time clones turn on him whenever he brought up anything negative or tried to explain something to them, but even if that version of Steven did the right thing in the end.

he was the original Steven before being replace by the Steven we know now. 

so if some fans of both Steven Universe, Undertale and Cuphead,

can view Sans being like the future self of Steven that appears in both the original and future series, then I can view Devil from Cuphead Show as being the version of Steven that broke that time traveling item, to fix things so the Steven that was his past self, didn’t have to go through the same mess.

it be interesting if deep down, Devil still has some memories of his past life as Steven, the one who made sure that his past self didn’t end up making the same mistake with time travel as him.

like picture Cuphead or Mugman or Henchman finding a box of Cookie Cats, and when they say the word “Cookie Cat”

Devil starts to be triggered and sings the song that Steven would sing.

and when re-watching some of the episodes of Cuphead Show, I know that those bubbles that go around the things and person that Devil holds dear, are indeed a pink color.

even if this weird thought could be like Fanon and Alternate Universe, I still think it is a interesting idea about the Steven that had died in the past episodes, who was the original Steven, becoming reborn as The Devil from the Cuphead Universe.

while the new version of him, ends up becoming Sans of Undertale.

 even if Pearl isn’t biologically Steven’s Mom, she can still be considered his real mother, and she has formed a bond with him where she does consider him her baby.

so picture if a version of her, that survived from the other timelines where Steven went missing, and the Steven that started the whole mess, his version of Pearl didn’t give up trying to look for him, and found a way to get to him, but when she did so, the timeline she was originally in started to break apart.

so picture Pearl ending up falling into the Cuphead Universe, and when meeting Devil trying once again trying to get Cuphead’s Soul and knowing right away that Devil is Steven reborn.

Pearl could have a different outfit from the other version of her from the new main timeline of Steven Universe.

and despite what her son’s become, she could still hold some love for him, and might blame herself for him time traveling and what he had to do to fix everything back to normal.

all fans can have different headcanons and theories, plus the whole Devil from Cuphead being the version of Steven that died with the rest of the Steven Clones, is just one of those types of ideas that don’t have to be canon, but can be like fanon and semi-canon.

I’m weird and sometimes weird ideas pop into my head, and Devil from the Cuphead Show being a reborn version of that Steven that first started the time traveling mess and had to fight his Steven Clones, is just one of those weird ideas and I like it, and it’s okay not everyone agrees with it.

it’s fine if only a few like that idea about Devil from the Cuphead Show being the reincarnation of that version of Steven Quartz Universe.

at least he is the version of himself, that didn’t find out Greg wasn’t all that great than how he seem, I mean sure he still has his good points, but I still think most of his views on his parents were stupid, I mean if they did make him take up wrestling, it was probably for self-defense, and Greg needing a curfew and chaperons was probably to keep him safe.

plus there was the whole crying wolf he did, when using that whistle and even lying about still being hurt.

him NEVER using the new money he got to put Steven at school, like either getting a home tutor, or like online classes, him never taking Steven to the doctor even once, just because he is a gem doesn’t mean his human half doesn’t still need to see a doctor.

Connie’s Mom had every right to not be happy with Greg, when she found out that Steven’s Dad never took him to the doctor.

it doesn’t help that Greg says when talking to Steven, “Your a Gem.”

not that “your Half-Gem”, Steven is still Half-Human, and his human body might be a mix of some form of organic and some stuff that make up a gem.

and even if some fans might think that Steven had no right to get mad at Greg the way he did in Steven Universe Future, but I think he did have a right to be mad at Greg.

and Greg wasn’t helping by keeping playing that song “Mr. Universe”

and he wasn’t only making things worse, and we know that the whole negative stuff that Steven went through, didn’t start in Steven Universe Future.

Steven was going through a breaking point that started to show, it’s possible that it first started in the movie, after finding out what Rose/Pink did to Spinel.

I still want to view that the Rose that is Steven’s Mom, could turn out to be a different Pink Diamond, that was created by the Original who had left Spinel in the garden.

and the pink diamond that is Steven’s gem, was a new diamond that was created by Rose, and when she fragmented a part of her light and placed into the gem, it broke into two pieces, one staying in the gem and the other becoming the organic part of the human half of Steven’s soul.

and if Devil was one of the Steven’s from that time traveling episode, he could possibly have his Pink Half somewhere in his domain.

like picture a Pink-Devil being the one in charge of placing Devil’s items and even Henchman in Pink Bubbles, to get him to work on getting more souls.        

but Devil doesn’t like anyone seeing his other half aka his “brother”

and like if Devil sees Pink-Devil, he will scream “GET BACK IN YOUR ROOM!”

that would be funny and interesting, well I think it would be. XD

but yeah, another reason for viewing Devil as a reincarnation of a version of Steven, possibly the one who started the whole time traveling mess...

is because of the whole fusing with Santa Claus, I mean he can shape shift and ends up having pink bubbles, that Devil-Boy be a Steven.

it be weird if he did one of those memes

where he says “I’m the D, to the e, v, i, l...” and then says he’s “devilicious.”

that be weird if the Devil from the Cuphead series did that, and kind of funny.

[ciel-phantomhives-world]

Here's my thought about what might happen to Lizzie, once she decides to fight again.

She might find out about what the twins went through or maybe she might not know at all, even if the whole manga ends. But, I would be really, really happy if she and people like Francis, Alexis finds out about who attacked the Phantomhives, then whatever happened to the twins in that one month and maybe about Angelina's true nature as well (if I'm not asking for too much).

In my opinion, I believe that once (hypothetically speaking) Lizzie eventually stops feeling guilty for not knowing that it was our Ciel the whole time or for developing feelings for Our Ciel or for being disappointed had our Ciel came back as his true self and just moves on and somehow, somewhat gets over it or heals, well, somewhat then maybe she will choose our ciel's side.

She may think to herself, once she gets a bit better, about how she's actually helping a bizarre doll (one of the zombies that she, herself just fought back at that Campania cruise but this one is just the body of her beloved fiance and looks a bit more improved and better) and she may eventually realize or accept that Real Ciel has been dead for a long time (if she still isn't aware of what Real Ciel truly is) and nothing can bring him back to life or back to how he naturally was as a human and that nothing can heal or cure Real Ciel as he is but a bizarre doll who's forever going to be dependent on human blood and whatnot. She may put some logical thoughts to this matter and eventually realize that it's a lost, hopeless cause for what's lost is already lost and hence cannot be restored as once was. She may try to see a future with Real Ciel but everytime she tries to do such, she gets reminded of real Ciel's current state and the fact that it's not an illness or a disease that's going to be cured eventually but it's just a fake empty shell made by undertaker to somehow give him and people like Lizzie the illusion of real Ciel still being there with them even though he died 3 years ago.

Unlike undertaker, she might end up respecting the dead people and eventually learn to accept the fact that Real Ciel is gone and that none of that is her fault and all she can do is just move on. She may learn to let things go that are already gone but rather protect the things that are still out there (her other cousin, our Ciel, for example). And then, once she learns that, she may realize that she already did a lot for Real Ciel, starting from wearing low heels to backing him up as a bizarre doll, then having to see Real Ciel do so many shady, cruel stuff to other people but still keeping her mouth shut (if she did see how much low Real Ciel has stooped to by killing many innocents), although undertaker is the one pulling the strings here, but still.

I'm pretty sure that if Elizabeth is aware of whatever Real Ciel/ undertaker is actually doing (the framing, killing innocents including Agni, then having many blood collecting branches, etc) then she's definitely not enjoying being a part of that. She knows (or would know) that all of that are wrong, evil, fucked up and r crimes and that her parents didn't raise her to be a vile person as undertaker. She may eventually realize that being involved with Real Ciel/undertaker is actually filled with way more guilt than all those other remorse that she's feeling right now. Problem is that we readers don't really know that how much Lizzie actually knows about this whole thing.

But anyways, if she takes her time and think all of these thoroughly then she would realize that the best thing to do right now is to either do nothing and just sit back and watch whoever is going to win this battle or just help Our Ciel (to make up for betraying him) since I believe that she already helped Real Ciel enough (and she even knows that undertaker and real Ciel are up to no good) even though it's a moving dead body that she has helped. She may not even like any of the twins romantically anymore or even want any of them to be her fiance but she may fight the good fight, for the justice as that's what midfords r supposed to be doing (according to Alexis and Edward).

If real Ciel mastermind theory comes true then she may end up hating Real Ciel forever, who knows. Lizzie might even try to find out about whatever happened to the twins in her own way while the twins r having "this brotherly battle". Whatever happens, I believe that Lizzie is not going to stay with Real Ciel for that long as the thought of having to do more degrading stuff (like being involved with killing other innocent people) just to keep a bizarre doll alive is way more remorseful than the guilt of not being able to tell her fiance apart from his twin or even catching feelings for that twin. She might even learn that doing anymore "wrong" stuff, just for real Ciel's sake is going to be just too much for her to handle (plus more new guilts for her).

Anyways, at the end, I think that Lizzie might try to protect our Ciel from Real Ciel or undertaker or whoever and she might be getting herself into a deadly situation but then all of a sudden, the fatal blow that Lizzie is supposed to be taking might be taken by Edward, who knows. So, it goes like this, in my head:

Our Ciel fighting with real Ciel leads to Elizabeth being either confused in her dilemma or neutral about the whole thing, so she just tries to stop these 2 from fighting or either chooses one side and then the fight might get dangerous/out of control and then right at the final moment, her brother jumps in at the right time and takes the blow and then he dies (I hope he doesn't though). And before Edward hypothetically dies, he tells Lizzie to not get into any life threatening situations anymore, protect herself, just be herself, enjoy her life, and most importantly be a kid (that she wasn't able to do as she had way too much going on ever since she was a toddler 😢). Or hey, the one sacrificing themselves for Elizabeth might not be Edward but rather Francis or Alexis. Then she might either just mourn her brother's/mother's /father's death and in the meanwhile, Sebastian, undertaker and the twins finish it off once and for all. After the battle ends, let's say nobody's alive except some (if not all of the remaining) servants, ranmao, lau and Lizzie. All of them goes on their own different paths from now on and Lizzie gets the hell out from being associated with anybody that works for the queen. At the end, there's no Phantomhive anymore, queen might be dead or whatever and some of the people who knew the Phantomhives might make it alive but keep everything that has happened to themselves (just like Arthur Conan Doyle) and move on and live a free, completely different life while sometimes remembering whatever happened or missing the Phantomhives.

BLACK BUTLER/KUROSHITSUJI SPOILERS

Don’t continue if you don’t want to be spoiled

So if you continued reading this then you know what’s happened in the manga series so far.

We all know Lizzy ended up betraying ociel after being lied to and with rciel’s return. I had a theory before that Lizzy would eventually go back to ociel after she’s sorted through her feelings and thoughts. I personally think rciel is always going to have a special place in her heart like he has one in ociels heart but I think the one she actually fell for out of the twins is ociel based off the scenes we saw in the manga all this time. I think the same can be said for ociel even if he hasn’t realized it yet. I think there’s enough moments that show although he tried to keep a distance between them he also grew extremely protective and fond over her. That being said, like I said before my theory is that Lizzy will return to ociel in the end but I just came up with another theory while rereading the manga. Honestly though I hope this ain’t a theory that will come true because I think ociel and Lizzy deserve happiness in general after everything they’ve both been through.

What if this scene here is foreshadowing that Lizzy will end up dying at the end of the series?

We see ociel see another family and then thinks of his parents and twin brother rciel who’s pulling Lizzy with them. If they were all looking back at ociel I wouldn’t have even thought about this theory but a small detail caught my attention. Vincent, Rachel, and rciel are looking back to Lizzy like she’s meant to be with them as they lead her away to where they’re going. We know canon wise the rest of ociels close family is already dead. While ociel sees this he tries stopping them from all leaving but he can’t reach them.

Now we have seen that Lizzy is the only person left that he truly cares for and has a special place for. Ociel tried keeping a distance to stop her from getting to close as well as him getting too close to her but it failed as we can see with how much he cares about her and does anything to try and make her happy.

He always tried keeping her happy and made sure that she wouldn’t see anything that would taint her or change her like he did. He didn’t want her to see anything he saw of how cruel the world could be even to the point where he thought that she would be heartbroken if he came back and revealed he wasn’t really Ciel. Here’s another clue although it ain’t from ociel directly. Just look at how the phantomhive servants. Look at how much effort they put into making sure Lizzy doesn’t hear anything going on during the book of circus arc. They know how special she is to ociel that they do everything in their power to make sure she is just as protected from the dangers or situations in general that she shouldn’t see.

Here’s more direct proof of how ociel wants to always protect Lizzy

Now let met get into this important panel here for my theory that Lizzy might possibly die at the end of the series

As you can see we have ociel saying he’ll definitely protect Lizzy one of the people he loves. He has guilt that he failed everyone else. In this particular scene ociel hugs her close trying to shield her with his body even if they’re the ones who both die in the end because of the zombies remember Seb still wasn’t anywhere in sight during this scene so ociel was ready to put himself between her and the zombies to try and protect her even if it ended up failing and he didn’t have anything else.

Now I would like to think ociel would be able to protect Lizzy like he has multiple times but I don’t know if he’ll be able to in the end based off of what Lizzy says in these two panels

Now we see here Lizzy wants to know what happened with Ciel but he’s closed off and she wants to protect him. Some people may argue but she was talking like this when she thought it was rciel. Lizzy as shown here is completely torn and confused in between rciel and ociel

If she didn’t care or love ociel she would have easily chosen rciels side but she doesn’t. We see she’s torn about what to do and decides to stay by rciels side out of guilt for not realizing ociel wasn’t him and I also think she feels guilty even more because she actually grew feelings for ociel too although thinking she’d always only love rciel. Now look back at the two manga scenes before lizzy’s break down. She says she wants to know more about Ciel and wants to protect him this time. While she protected ociel in the past she has yet to do it with her recognizing ociel as his true self(aka his real name and identity that we have yet to find out in the manga).

As I said before the manga shows that Lizzy is torn between both twins. In one part in that scene she admits to herself just how horrible she was when thinking what would have happened if ociel came back and revealed the truth in which she scares herself with the thought that she might have thought I wish it was rciel who came back. I also think she has guilt over this and acknowledges that she not only failed rciel but ociel by making him feel like this. So to sum it up we saw Lizzy protect ociel when she thought it was rciel but not her protecting ociels true self.

My theory is that once she’s gotten her feelings and thoughts cleared up she’ll return to ociels side alone with edward. Though I feel like somehow she’s going to find out what ociel and rciel went through even without being told by ociel. Now why do I think this? Because the truth is bound to come out like we saw with ociel faking his identity. I don’t think Lizzy would just sit around without questions. She already stated she wanted to know what happened but this reveal should have been one to make her more curious as to why ociel lied in the first place. Since she can’t go directly to him and ask questions herself maybe she’ll do her own investigation where she finds out the truth.

Do you remember the one scene after the book of circus arc where Nina comes in and takes measurements of ociel while she tries to make him and Lizzy matching clothes??? Ociel tries to desperately hide the mark on his back from her. Some people may say he tried to hide it from Agni and Soma too but here’s small differences in that scene.

Ociel tried hiding it from Lizzy multiple times refusing for her to see it(ex 1:placing his hand over his mark on his back 2:Seb coming in to cover the mark for him 3. Asking Lizzy to turn away because he was shy 4.Not allowing Lizzy to help him change into a new shirt)

When Agni and soma came in they didn’t even have time to question anything since they had no idea and Seb quickly covered it from all 3 of them. Lizzy on the other hand saw everything from the way ociel and Seb acted even looking slightly confused as to why he was acting weird. We all know Lizzy is quite observant as it was revealed she had little suspicion grow overtime.

What if she finds out what the twins went through while investigating and has a hard time believing it but if she comes face to face with ociel again and sees that mark/decides to look at it and has everything confirmed then what? She’ll only grow more guilty for not being able to help both twins in anyway.

Her and ociel already lost rciel so what if she refuses to lose ociel too? In this type of situation I feel like she’d go back to his side with Edward/forgive ociel but die trying to protect him.

I’d like to think this won’t happen but that scene of his parents and rciel taking Lizzy with them while ociel tried to stop them from leaving worries me a bit. I would personally love ociel and Lizzy to be okay in the end but idk. We know this manga is really dark. While I do think Lizzy will eventually accept her feelings for ociel and go back to his side and help him after she knows everything I also can’t see it happening without something going wrong such as Lizzy dying to protect Ciel.

Since I can’t share anymore photos here since I reached the limit for this post let me share this one line ociel said during the book of circus arc in the end.

“I am indeed arrogant however I’m not so arrogant as to boast irresponsibly that I can save anyone”

Ociel has stated and shown multiple times he wants to protect Lizzy at all cost. He may have been able to protect her better if things had stayed the same before the reveal but he’s lost her, she’s changed and so did everything else. So that line specifically stands out even more to me now.

Now if we’re talking about going really dark and let’s say this does happen if anything could make it worse it is that Seb has the chance to save Lizzy but doesn’t due to wanting ociel to suffer even more and making the deal when completed even better for himself. I don’t even want to think much about that scenario because he could very well do that. We saw he only is gentle with Lizzy because of ociel but when ociel ain’t around he doesn’t care at all for her. If in this scenario ociel was too panicked and worried over her Seb can come with the excuse that ociel didn’t order him to save her in his state/that he’s only responsible of keeping ociel alive until their bargain is completed.

Anyways this was long but what do you all think? Do you think that scene was foreshadowing? And what are your predictions for what will happen to ociel and Lizzy in the end of the story?

[zxvtrpnljhfdb]

I fucked up BIG

I had my usual rant all prepared for the afternoon when I fatfingered it. I hadn't blocked my ex on my main account so that they could communicate with me about their dog, who's staying in the apartment while they're out on their....... whatever staycation.

The detective was supposed to be by tomorrow, but they were able to come out after I got off work. So they served my ex with the warrant for the computer, but I don't think they were necessarily able to get a warrant for the hard-drive, which my ex took with fOr SoMe MySteRiOuS rEaSOn.

Anyway, just before they came through, my ex had stopped by to get the dog. They forgot their keys??? I've never seen them forget their keys. I just gave them the leash, dog attached, and the dog did the rest.

Finally, about an hour ago, their new plaything brought the dog back. She is seriously sick. I hope it's not contagious.

Anyway, so my dumb ass was all crowing about how amazing my life has become--I have a stable employer, I've had a really stable living condition. I don't think my partner necessarily meant to give me that self-esteem boost, but I deserve it. We have had money to pay rent every single month. And in large part, I owe that to myself. Now, there were a few months where she did carry us herself. She does deserve that little credit. Those few months were awesome. This place was so fucking clean. There were even a few months where we both worked. Not at all sure where the fuck all that money went to.

I was also stupidly, stupidly crowing about how the fertility situation was actually good, I'm just concerned that the sperm was bunk.

Then, like I mentioned, I mentioned the cops coming to literally solve our dispute over the computer. It was mostly coincidence that she was apparently coming back, keys in hand, to supposedly return the dog, and she ran into the cops.

I put all my fucking cards out there in this stupid blog post. I can't fucking believe she got it open or up so fucking quick. All I can fucking hope is she navigated away from it before she could record it. But that's a slim hope.

I have been so fucking sleep deprived this week. I'm really happy between the depression and my hormones, things are going better for me physically, because otherwise these last few weeks, I'm not sure how I would have been able to handle things. In the about hour between the time they called to say they were on their way, and the time they arrived, I actually passed the fuck out and I was so fucking groggy when they got here.

The camera gal took pictures of e v e r y t h i n g. And I am not even remotely proud of how this place looks, it is abso-fuckin-lutely trashed. It is so embarrassing. It's still gonna be a dump when I'm fully out.

I filed a TRO. Between this and the CSAM issue..........I see soooooooooo many hours in court in my future.........

That my ex finally blocked me is of truly cold comfort. It is not that hard to make up new accounts to keep an eye on people. Even if I cut and dyed my hair and posted a whole entire thing about a negative pregnancy test, I've shown that I can apparently lie pretty goddamn well when I feel unsafe. Or, sorry, apparently, according to my ex, I don't feel unsafe. I'm making it up for attention.

False, but, potayto potahto, right? I have plenty of reasons to feel unsafe around my ex. I'm no longer of any value to them with someone more malleable and with more money around. They've pointed a gun at me so many times, but like hahaha like funny don't be so serious take a joke. Her first response when ending it was to clear out the bank account of my money. Money that I earned. Money that was supposed to go to rent and utilities for the person who earned it. Instead, she high-rolled her fucking vacation with it. But oh, I guess she really needed it more than I do.

So yeah, this high likelihood of pregnancy could turn out to just be really good evidence that the engines just need some actually functional sperm and she still wouldn't believe me. I wouldn't be safe.

So I at least need a restraining order.

Anyway, I need sleep. With this level of stress, I probably am going to have to try again later. With all the fucking harassing and lying and bullying, I wouldn't be surprised if it did get fertilized but my uterus was just like, nope! My eyes are struggling to focus so I'm out

[princeresnikov]

it's in my nature {Tangerine} // 3

three. the scorpion: the frog denies his fable.

Chapter Summary: The Scorpion experiences second-hand ego death watching as The Twins come to terms with her true identity. It may be her last job before she's no longer in debt to The White Death, but the conversation she has with his Son reminds her that there will be no love lost if she never speaks to him again. Or anyone in this godforsaken family.

{ Masterlist }

A/N: 4339 words. and we're back with more shenanigans! there's a lot to build here and im fighting the urge to explain all the backstory because i KNOW it plays out in the story and i just have to give it and myself time. anyways i think this went through three drafts before now, but im pretty happy with it all things considered. i would love to hear any and all feedback, suggestions, anything! these chapters keep getting far longer than i anticipate, i hope y'all don't mind. again im iffy on characterisation but that's mostly for The Son this time, but tbh it's not like that's going to be an ongoing issue as we all well know so... i hope it works for now.

Warnings: Don't be surprised when the OC is a terrible person and is implied to have done terrible things along with the rest of them. There will be smut in the future chapters.

Chapter Warnings: Discussions of death and violence.

Taglist: @venusthepirate @malar-region @tangerinesgf @esmaada @sarcastic-sourwolf @djjskfkskjf @justshutupmars @somikesoc @chachadelight @andydre4m @evangelineflowers @darkchai @basementsoup @bellatrix124 @kunikidaswhore @thewinterschildren178 @felhomaly @perksofbeingamultifandomm @aniglio18 @geeiz @mimidior

[ always open, just message or comment! ]

-----

Turmoil is a word Clementine is trying to stay away from when looking for ways to describe her current mental state. Turmoil, she believes, downplays the absolute clusterfuck of confused, startled, blinding rage she's feeling right in this very moment.

The absolute last person she wants to see in this exact moment would be that rat-fuck Son of the White Death. Yet here he is, of course, still calling her Clementine and Scorpion, like he has any right to either! Both are names he is responsible for in one way or another, both of which she absolutely hates him for! That stupid little frog! After everything he's done!

Unfortunately for Clementine, there is also a non-zero chance that he is in some way part of this whole ordeal, probably some last challenge or punishment before she's out of this godforsaken family's clutches; if anyone would know where her cash bonus would be, it's him. 

But he's not the issue, he's easy to deal with after all the time she's known him, it's his babysitters who throw a real spanner into the works. Guards alone would be an issue considering she has know way of knowing how much they know about the situation, if anything, but The Twins, Lemon and Tangerine, present a unique challenge that of course only she would end up facing. She'dclosed her book with The Twins in New York, in a very permanent way, a way that would be messy to even attempt to reopen.

Messy. That's a word for it. Messy, deceitful history with the twins. Messy, definitive end to their time together. Messy, tumultuous clusterfuck in this exact moment.

The jig is up. Tangerine and Lemon are both looking at her, Lemon like he's seen a ghost, while Tangerine who's already powered through that particular revelation was quietly glowering at her like he was still trying to figure the rest of her out. Or like he's about ready to kill, which Clementine knows she absolutely deserves. It's also Tangerine who moves first, looking to Lemon with that same, burning intensity. She'll let them have their moment, instead turning her attention to The Son. He's regarded her warily, which Clementine had to admit, did feel rather good. Had he been his usual arrogant self she doesn't know if she could have stopped herself from mauling him. 

Except in the next moment his eyes as grazing down her attire. Leering? Perhaps. Usually at least a little. But when he meets her gaze again there's noticeable tension in his jaw. It's a subtle shift, but Clementine knows the moment The Son stops regarding her as a threat to himself; perhaps it's the reproachful look in his eyes, or the way he slouches further into his seat, but some of that arrogance is back. It's never far away. Frog. 

Clementine's chameleonic prowess is more than familiar to him, using it to his full advantage when she'd been assigned his security detail in the past, so of course The Son can see his sister's fingerprints all over Clementine's current aesthetic -

Ah. Right. Damn it, The Prince, four cars down and completely untrustworthy at the best of times. Whatever brief feelings of affection she'd had for the girl, thinking she may have been trying to help Clementine as some sort of final, kind gesture, have evaporated. 

She hates every single part of this family and she'll be so glad to be rid of them after today -

Again it's Tangerine moves first, but this time he isn't the only one. Clementine may be watching him slide from his seat, but in her peripheries Lemon is fidgeting with something she can't see. But she has her guesses; The Twins were never unarmed if they could help it. Now beside her, Tangerine gestures to the window seat with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. Still in his suit jacket, she can see both his hands; gun still probably holstered knowing him, not that she should underestimate him. An attempt at misdirection? Maybe, but probably more for the sake of the passengers around them than Clementine herself. 

Lemon stops fidgeting, resting one hand on the table almost casually. His other hand rests beneath the table, subtle unless you know what to look for. The window seat is a trap.

"Hold this for me, would you?" Clementine's smile is all teeth as she passes Tangerine her bag, the little leather satchel. He's not thrilled to take it, but isn't exactly given a choice before she gracefully takes her seat by the window. Tangerine takes the aisle seat before she's even settled,  the picture of quiet fury as he boxes her in as intended. Her bag rests on the table between The Twins rather than being given back directly, undoubtably a subtle power play. Clementine knew what she was doing handing it over in the first place, so she'll let it be for now, nothing inside is truly vital, though she'd be sad to leave her first aid supplies. Escape would be tricky if necessary, but not impossible -

"I'd keep sudden movements to a minimum," Lemon says carefully across the table. Clementine's darting gaze settles on him immediately. Her lips twitch into a warm smile out of habit; people generally have more patience in the face of kindness, a few moments of silence becomes more tolerable, less unnerving to people, if she wore a believable smile. But Lemon's frown deepens, unconvinced. 

"I'll behave," and despite how she tries to sound genuine, the low, irate sigh that escapes Tangerine does not go unnoticed by her.

"Clementine isn't here for me," that goddamn smug voice has Clementine's expression darkening almost as if a switch was flipped. When she looks to The Son, he's not smirking but she can tell he wants to. Her lip curls in reflexive, visceral disgust at the nickname; the urge to maim him passes through her almost like a shiver, so strong they all see hints of it, down to the way her fingers flex out on against the table. It's a jarring contrast to the harmless expression she wears.

"You'll have to forgive us for exercising a healthy level of caution anyhow," Tangerine interjects. At least he sounds calmer; each word still sounds like a threat, but he seems to have settled into the situation. Only The Son, focused on Clementine herself, sees the split second that a wicked gleam shines in her eyes. The tense set of her shoulders visibly relaxes. Everything about her seems to change in the blink of an eye, from poised and deliberately calculating to sweet and understanding, as if trying to make herself appear as small and unthreatening as possible. 

"Of course, you have every right to feel safe!" And maybe she raises the pitch of her voice, makes herself sound earnest as she turns doe-eyed looks upon The Twins. All three at the table with her see the act for what it is; internally she revels in the way Lemon and Tangerine are regarding her with growing distrust, "but surely, for three gentlemen such as yourselves, the gun is overkill against a little lady like me," her gaze locks on Lemon, making it abundantly clear that while she understood his threat, she didn't actually seem to take it all too seriously. 

"Not after the little lady walked away from a bullet to the head," Lemon doesn't even blink despite how intently Clementine had been committing to the bit. Good. All that she'd managed to observe back in New York still appeared to hold true; she knew what tune to sing to make The Twins dance. 

The smug look is gone from The Son's face when she finally looks back at him; the message has reached it's intended audience loud and clear. For as long as they'd known each other he'd held the power, he'd been The White Death's son, he was to be protected, his bruised ego cost her the life she'd been building and she'd never so much as raised her voice at him; his Clementine was never a real threat to him. He'd grown complacent. 

Despite the messiness of the situation, it had to be said that there was something exhilarating about being respected as a competent threat. The Twins saw it, and from the look in his eyes The Son was finally seeing it too. 

The White Death's children all play the same games; at least with this one she doesn't have to sit here and let him win today. 

So she lets the act drop all at once with a pleased sigh, savouring this small joy amongst the mess of these moments. Another change in her demeanour, another deliberate choice of what she shows the world. There's a jarringly relaxed confidence to her now, languid movements almost masking how deliberate they were. 

"Listen, Scorpion- Clementine -" Lemon straightens up, looking firmly between Clementine and The Son, finally settling to focus on the mercenary, who's instinctive, venomous 'Scorpion' goes mostly overlooked by The Twins, but not by the Son, who rolls his eyes. Lemon continues on insistently, "Scorpion, we can all have a big, old fuckin' tea party where you explain how exactly you survived a sniper round to the skull, after we deliver this prick to his dad," which is the exact point The Son checks out of the conversation, as Clementine had seen him do countless times before, choosing instead to focus on the blur of landscape beyond the window. "But right now -" but Lemon cuts himself off, heaving a deep sigh as he can't quite find a way to finish his sentence. Something changes in his expression and suddenly he can't look her in the eye. Had it finally hit him?

Does he remember how they used to run into each other while she had been on her lunch breaks back in New York? Does he remember the deli and how she'd listened so intently when he would talk? How must it feel to remember the way he had thanked her for recommendations around the city, or does he wonder if she knew he'd invite her out on her days off as a cover when he was tailing his mark? How long would it take him to realise there was no such thing as coincidence?

Even so, before that last revelation could occur, it had to be strange to have to hold the girl who looks no different from those memories at gunpoint, to ask her if she's here to kill the man sitting beside him. 

"He's actually right," it physically pains her to admit as much, despite how she cushions it with a gentle sigh, thereby also easing the burden from Lemon, "our respective jobs on this train run parallel. This..." her gaze flicks for one resentful moment to The Son, "this is simply an unfortunate intersection." After a beat, Clementine wets her lips, diverting her focus from Lemon and Tangerine to her real target with a mean little smile at the corners of her mouth when her explanation was met with no resistance.

"Speaking of unfortunate, you look like shit," Clementine gloats, reaching out across the table to take hold of The Son's chin, gently angling his chin to get a better look at the damage he'd sustained. Almost as if by instinct, his focus shifts to her bag on the table, as if aware of the medical kit inside. There's bitter resignation in his face, like he expects her to do something about the wounds, as she's always done in the past. But he's not her problem today.

"I'd rather you kill me than make me listen to you talk like that," The Son can't meet her gaze, jerking out of her grip when it was clear she wasn't planning on aiding him, instead focusing instead on the scenery speeding past the window, "who are you today?" As Clementine pulls back, resting both gloved hands on the table between them, he can't help how his attention is drawn to them, watching from the corner of his eye, still mostly turned away.  

"Depends on who you ask."

"Did my father send you too, you selfish little Scorpion?" He rolls his eyes, spits the word like it's an insult. Rage burns white-hot through her veins the minute the name leaves his lips. The tension that suddenly holds her hostage is the only thing stopping her from lurching across the table and mangling him in broad daylight on this otherwise pleasant train. Bright expression frozen, she flexes her fingers out against the little table again. He watches her hands; selfishly she hopes it's because he feels at least a flicker of guilt.

"Your father," there is poison in every single sweet syllable she utters, "was right about you, you pathetic, little frog!" The malicious tone she uses is almost a threat unto itself, and it's enough to incense The Son from his feigned apathy to lurch forward, against the table, against where he was restrained in his seat, growling that he isn't a fucking frog while he looks her in the eyes like he hopes she gets the message. "If it walks like a frog, and runs it's mouth like a frog," her lip curls in defiant cruelty, "it'll bleed like a frog," Clementine's fingertips are arch and spidery braced against the tabletop, slowly leaning in to meet his challenge head-on, nose to nose, practically made of malevolence. In that moment her Brooklyn accent drops, the words spilling from her with a weight and tone that is distinctly Russian, mirroring The Son -

"Clementine?" Tangerine's jarringly casual tone immediately brings her out of the moment; how long had his hand been on her thigh? How long had he been trying to get her attention? But the intensity is gone the minute the name leaves his lips. Clementine blinks, looking as if she'd been caught off guard by her own anger, immediately softening to rectify that, if only for a second before she catches herself once more. A second is all it takes, however, and despite her mask barely slipping, The Son had seen it. His eyes light up with recognition, the kind that pits worry in Clementine's stomach, the kind she can't predict the consequences of. Still she allows her focus to shift to Tangerine, not even realising that she's started fidgeting with her gloves again. The Son simply shifts low in his seat. 

"What, Tangerine?" In matching his energy she'd gone back to the Brooklyn accent. When she looks at him she's surprised by how calm he is, or at least how calm he seems; when he tilts his head to meet her gaze, the smile he's wearing is one she almost recognises. It's almost warm. 

"Play nice would you, love? Don't wanna do to you what they did to Old Yeller," the way he talks is completely incongruent to the words themselves, sounding so warm and casual one might think he was joking, that it might border on fond teasing to a passing stranger. He gives her thigh the faintest squeeze for emphasis.

The Son actually snorts a laugh, but Clementine ignores him. 

"That's grim," Lemon added, chatting just as casually with his brother as if it wasn't a threat, as if he wasn't the one with the gun, "even for you that's grim." 

Tangerine takes the bait, because Tangerine always takes the bait. It's all so familiar. When Clementine leans further back in her seat, she pushes her luck and leans her shoulder is against his. Tangerine seems to allow it. The points of contact grounds her, but The Son's gaze darts between them, not that she can bring herself to give a shit, she'd always enjoyed The Twin's petty squabbling. Brief moment of dark amusement aside, The Son once more checks himself out of the conversation before Clementine's very eyes. However, this time he fixes his gaze on her, watching her with intrigue. Unfortunately, this too she is used to. It's easy enough to ignore.

"Well I don't dictate how to deal with rabid dogs, I just know the reference." 

"You've seen Old Yeller?" 

"I know the reference well enough to make it; you harass everyone on Big Brother on if they've read 1984?"

"You haven't -"

"'course I bloody well haven't watched Big Brother!"

They're arguing about how to best allude to killing her, this should not be the kind of strangely familiar that makes her chest grow warm. But Tangerine's hand is still on her thigh, thumb running back and forth in comforting repetition, most likely out of distracted habit. At least that's what Clementine tells herself. Even so, it's a reminder to behave, to not scare the poor civilians around them by causing any sort of scene. A small, familiar moment of contact. She not even fidgeting with her gloves.

"She should be put down," even The Son's cruel interjection is thrown into the conversation light enough to not bring the banter down. Clementine parries in kind with a roll of her eyes, telling him that she'd put him down in a minute -

"Now that's not playing nice," Tangerine's hand is still on her thigh, that hint of warning back in his words. Clementine almost trips on the subtle tone change, you've never complained before pressing against the back of her teeth behind her teasing smile, before she meets his gaze. In his eyes she sees his warning, but watches as he seems to realise what she'd thankfully left unspoken. 

"I'm not Old Yeller-ing Clementine," Lemon cuts through their moment. When Clementine looks at him, she makes a disgusted noise in the back of her throat clearly directed at his use of the nickname. Tangerine's disappointment matched Clementine's disgust.

"You are holding the gun."

"I'm not Old Yeller-ing The Scorpion," Lemon repeats in the exact same no-nonsense tone, adding, after a beat, "I'll pull the trigger but I'm not calling it that." 

"Call it whatever you want, I'm not gonna argue the referential fuckin' semantics of Clementine's public execution," it's said like it's final, and it at least seems to satisfy Lemon for the time being. It takes only a moment, however, for Clementine to chime in hesitantly.

"I have an argument."

Tangerine turns to her so slowly, as if he can't believe she'd have the gall to keep this inane argument going. When both his hands come to rest on the table she's already disappointed at the lack of contact.

"Hate to burst your bubble but you don't exactly get a say in your own execution." 

"Actually it's about that; it's about the semantics," she corrects. Tangerine blinks at her. There's something undeniably conflicted in his eyes for a moment; there's a different cadence to the way they used to talk to each other, but he still has to be remembering it in this moment. It passes, however, in half a second landing instead on being unimpressed. But lets her continue, "it's not a public execution." 

"Not public enough for you?" 

"No, no, not that at all! The Shinkansen is definitely a top ten spot to be killed, definitely enough passengers for it to be considered a public execution -"

"Then what is your problem with my semantics?"

"I just think it's a bit bold to call it an execution," when she glances over at the other two, Lemon is giving her the most deadpan look she thinks she's ever received. But, in a shockingly rare moment of solidarity, she catches The Son turning away as he struggles to fight off an amused smile, knowing her well enough to know where she was going with this. At least there's one moment of levity on the last day she'll ever have to put up with him again, she finds herself musing.

"A bit bold?" Tangerine's dry tone brings her focus back to him. Perhaps it's wrong to be amused, but she can't help the faint smile she wears as she explains her thoughts.

 "Execution implies -" hesitating, she can see Tangerine's already looking like he doesn't like where she's going with this, "or, well, no, there's a certainty to the implication that I'll die." She should have probably stopped talking before now. Someone should have stopped her. But they haven't, so that's on the other three she reasons, "and I think it's bold of you - either of you -" she gestures off-handedly to Lemon, who's expression is mirroring his brother's, both exasperated, "to, you know, guarantee that, or implicitly guarantee that- that you'll be capable of that. And presumptuous," she adds after a beat, making a show of straightening her posture. Here is where her tone becomes more than a little wry, watching The Son out of the corner of her eye, "that you'll have to injure me that is; I'm playing nice with the frog." 

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Lemon chimes in, choosing wisely to mostly ignore her rant, and The Son now actively glaring at Clementine across the table. They all were. And really she did have a point; shooting her was the absolute last resort, the arguments were unnecessary. Lemon's always been particularly reasonable about most things, which in this moment she's grateful for.

The question still managed to surprise Clementine, the woman growing quiet and pensive in the moments that followed. It takes her several moments of looking between both Lemon and Tangerine before she fully seems to believe that the question was genuine; both seem too genuinely curious to have already pieced it together.

"Because I'm The Scorpion." Like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

They aren't given proper time for the explanation to sink in before The Son himself tells her to fuck off if she isn't here to kill any of them, which might be the only thing she's glad he's said this entire time. It had become abundantly clear that even if The Son did know where her money was, he'd torture her like this for as long as he could before he'd hint at a cent. As always, he is of no help whatsoever. But Clementine can't help but take the bait - 

"God I can't wait," Clementine cuts him off with a smug kind of vitriol, gloved hands coming to rest on the table in front of her, fingers spread wide and palms flat against the wood, "for your father to finally take something permanent from you," this time she speaks solely in Russian, clear and elegant, "I hope he starts with your idiot tongue." She's well aware that The Twins can both understand her, but she couldn't even begin to care. The message is clear.

The Son hadn't even been looking at her as she'd threatened him, only able to fixate on her gloved hands against the table; that too was deliberate on Clementine's part, a particularly cruel attempt to make him feel guilty when he can't look her in the eyes. But when he does, when he looks up from her fingers splayed out wide and meets her gaze, he has no tells, expression carefully controlled. He seems unphased by her threat. For a moment his eyes roam her face, analysing her. He's drawing this out, toying with her. It seemed to be an inbred skill within their family, this capacity for a specialised kind of cruelty. The way his gaze deliberately then slides to Lemon first, then Tangerine sets Clementine's teeth on edge.

So she'd gladly fuck off.

"Feels wrong somehow," Lemon muses quietly, there's unease written all over his face. Clementine can't blame him, "are we just takin' her on her word here?"  

"I don't have time for this," Clementine snaps, finally, "I'm going to get an earful from my charge if I'm not back before the next stop." She shoves at Tangerine's side, but he doesn't protest, sliding out and graciously making room for her to pass. Standing once more, she gives pause to rifle through her bag in case The Prince had sent her any kind of message. None. 

"Seventh car, right Clementine?" Tangerine's tone is unreadable, looking at her expectantly. It's not a threat, but it is some sort of promise, of this being unfinished, of her still owing them an explanation. The anticipation is warmer than expected, not wholly unwelcome, but she'd never admit that out loud.

Her phone goes off. Uncanny timing from The Prince, just like always. 

Instead of answering Tangerine, Clementine turns on her heel and leaves in the direction of the seventh car, answering the call with a brisque what.

"Tone, fruit fly," The Prince chides her with faint amusement. Clementine's unimpressed silence speaks volumes, and the young girl tsks for a moment before continuing, "you've left me alone far longer than I anticipated, you really are searching thoroughly." There's something about the way she speaks, so carefully casual that it sets off alarms in the back of Clementine's mind.

"What have you done?"

"I rather like the word 'shenanigans' now that I've had time to think about it."

"I'm heading back now; what did you do?"

"Did you find the money?"

"Answer the question."

"Really you need to work on your tone," again The Prince's inherent air of superiority bleeds through the phone and grates on Clementine's nerves, "if you haven't found it I'm not too concerned, I'll have a look myself later on. But I'm glad to hear you're headed back, as I've found myself," she takes a long moment to pause and Clementine picks up her pace instinctively, "caught up in shenanigans, I suppose."

"Ma'am." Through gritted teeth.

"Tone, fruit fly! Really!" And a sigh that was both far too blasé and far too dramatic all at once; The Prince's malicious theatrics left her frustratingly unpredictable at times like these, "anyways if you could, hurry back. There's a situation developing. I already know you won't like it, but it's not as if you're being paid to enjoy your job as much as you are to keep me safe in situations like this."

"Like what?"

As she's then promptly hung up on, Clementine picks up her pace almost past the point of acceptable on a train, once more lamenting why The White Death couldn't just have had at least one normal goddamn child.

[puffin-smoke]

Duarte took a few steps back. "I mean, no, but- are you sure?" They narrowed their eyes at him. "You sure you didn't hit your head or some shit? Your leg acting up?"

1 - Been turning this over in my head for a while, and it can go one of two ways. Duarte is a self aggrandising asshole who took the crocodile bite as just another reason to continue the way she did; someone who didn't care for anyone, who thought herself incapable of doing any wrong. OR after the bite she fully loses confidence in herself as a hunter while simultaneously having to confront the fact that she was a shit person, thus becoming more anxious, jittery and oftentimes spineless. The first one wouldn't really make sense for staying with the , so I'm going with the second :D

(its rambling time motherfucker) Duarte's disgust over everything she had done now manifests as an extreme anxiety, instead of main!Duarte's anger. Duarte doesn't entirely trust herself to not hurt people again, so she never tries to make amends, simply wallowing in her regrets. They tend to not establish boundaries and are very easily pushed into doing things, because they have convinced themself that they would make the wrong call. She went into that swamp to try one last time, to see if she could ever be the hunter she had thought she was. Getting caught in that trap didn't give her the confidence they needed. She's quite soft-spoken and tends to ramble out of nervousness. Can she fight? Probably, but she won't. She'll sprint away, even if there are people who need her help. They don't think they can help, so she won't even try. I'd like to think main!Duarte has quite a bit of hope for the future. She believes that things can get better, that they can make things better. But Switch doesn't think that. She thinks she already knows what will happen, that their future is already written. They can't fix things, so why try? Why apologise when you already know they won't forgive you?

2 - Fun fact: I gave Duarte her poncho-cloak-thing to sort of represent how she's emotionally closed off; it covers her whole torso, her heart, so she seems less vulnerable. It also looks cool as fuck. ANYWAY, Switch!Duarte would have a different version of this. No poncho, but an oversized scarf of the same colours. It would cover her mouth and chin and be long enough to hit the floor (god I love characters with oversized scarfs). no idea what else she wears but, yknow. Cool scarf.

I had an AU idea and I wanna share it with you!!! But we're doing it through a scenario cause it's been a while, sooo let's go!

☆---------------☆

??? AU:

Bug had been hanging out with Chester in the forest, nothing out of the ordinary, just relaxing by the trees. Chester was mumbling to himself, clearly irritated as he always was, Bug chose to ignore his grumbles and lay back against the tree slowly feeling their eyes drift shut

They were suddenly startled awake when they heard a giggle coming from beside them, they shot up and glanced around. They noticed that the forest seemed...different. I mean it had trees, grass, plants...but it was different, it wasn't their forest. Bug quickly shake away the feeling, once again searching for the source of the noise

They saw a familiar individual stood nearby, Chester! Except..there was something very different about him, his whole...vibe was off. Bug groaned slightly, their head aching slightly, this caused Chester (?) to spin around.

"Oh!!! *Bug*, you're awake! ^^"

Wtf was he doing...was he...smiling? Huh? Chester never smiled, let alone like that. The Chester like person came over and crouched beside Bug, he grabbed their hand, pulled them up onto their feet and embraced them in a super tight hug!

"You were asleep for soooo long hun! I missed you!"

Bug was so confused, who tf was this and how did they look like Chester? He tried to shrug hun off as they asked if he was feeling alright?

"Hm? Of course I am darling! What, is it so wrong to miss my best friend??"

He hugged them tighte before finally letting go. Bug just stood there, they were so bloody confused. Why was Chester being like this?

What does Bug do now they're stuck with this...alternate Chester?

(AU reveal under the cut)

The AU is a sort of Switch AU, where every Bugs personality is flipped. I'll use Chester to explain, in normal AU he's a reserved, anxious asshole who hates physical affection but in the Switch AU he's an energetic, confident, fluffball who is full of love! Here's a silly drawing of Switch! Chester

Their backstory doesn't necessarily change, just how they responded to it!

☆---------------☆

So here's a couple questions bout your Switch! AU Bug :D

1. What is your Bug like in this AU?

2. Have there been any changes to their backstory or outfit?

☆---------------☆

Tags ->

@willowve01 @asmrbrainrot @kaiamtt @iistxrmyskyii @insignificant-anarchy @stxph-artist @aspenm00n @keyaartz @fangsshadow @rustycopper4use @piffany666 @dreamyshape @idontevenknow7878 @lunaritychuwolf @littlesiren79 @castbracelet240 @strayharmony943 @proxdragon @tiefling-chaos @threeweekinsomnia @recated @wilderrorcard @diamondzoey @fennaboysenberry @lunnats @lightdragon789 @pinkcocopuff-aqualoid @astralbulldragon13 @ccstiles @puffin-smoke @fruity0salad @takashishihoin @reefhastoomanyaccs

[mc-lukanette]

Have you considered writing a "Truth" fix-it with Marinette admitting her secret to Luka? Maybe he could be a confidant like Marianne was for Fu.

Truth was having a terrible, awful, rotten, very bad day. If he could use his powers on the universe, he would've asked what he did to deserve this kind of treatment.

It started with his girlfriend keeping a secret from him concerning her ditching their dates, then escalated to Jagged Stone - who'd been his idol for years - turning out to be the father who abandoned him, and now he was fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir in Marinette's room after he’d been told by multiple people that Marinette’s supposed “secret” was that she was in love with Adrien, as if he hadn’t already known that and they just wanted to mock him.

His civilian self had never been never someone to presume, but now it's all he could do. Marinette must've ditched him because she didn't really love him, Jagged probably never even felt bad about abandoning him, and despite Adrien never even trying to win Marinette's heart, he was just better than Luka in every way, because the rich model with all the connections Marinette could ever want would always outmatch the "guitar boy" who worked a part-time job, lived on a houseboat, and had parents who either kept secrets from him or flat-out didn't want him.

Had it not been for his akumatization working to drive him towards a goal without interference, he would've cried. He wanted nothing more than to wake up and think the whole thing was just a bad nightmare, with dating Marinette just being brief highlights of it that kept getting shot down with a reminder that he wasn't good enough.

He wanted it all to be over.

Chat Noir was still trying to banter with him, but Truth wasn't having it. While going after Ladybug first wasn't ideal, as she was the smarter out of the two, it was easier to get rid of Chat Noir and deal with the heroes one at a time.

Thus, when Ladybug had run across the room to use her Lucky Charm, Truth acted. He managed to grab Chat Noir and throw him into the chest that Ladybug had been hiding in before, then locked it tight to prevent Chat from escaping. That done, he went after Ladybug, who was stunned but nevertheless prepared to fight. Chat Noir being out of the picture didn't impact her ability to fight, but Truth had Pharo on his side to knock Ladybug around when it was too hard to get a spotlight on her.

Finally, he managed to tackle her, her lying on her back and him pinning her arms down. The chest nearby rattled in protest, but Pharo shined its spotlight on it, preventing it from moving anymore.

Truth watched as Ladybug looked around for a method of escape, but she came up empty. Her eyes widened in the realization that... this was it. This was the end.

"Now," Truth said, clamping down harder on her arms as he leaned down, "tell me the truth!"

Ladybug tried to shut her lips tight, but he could see her struggling, her body shaking as she tried to free her arms to stop herself. It was only a matter of time.

Then, her mouth opened, and out came the words, "I love you, Luka!"

He froze, his fingers twitching in his confusion while he could only stare down at her in shock.

"And I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for everything! I wanted to tell you - I always wanted you to know - but I couldn't, and you deserve so much better than a hero who can't give you the time you deserve!"

A cold realization washed over him in form of a shudder. Those words could've been interpreted in so many ways, but he was the only one who registered their real meaning: that Marinette was Ladybug, her "ditching" had been her needing to fight akuma, her keeping secrets had been out of a desire to protect him, and he—

...He had only caused her more problems by getting akumatized, being no better than all those that had interrupted their dates. She loved him, and he gave into Shadow Moth to go against her.

Ladybug continued rambling, oblivious to his internal crisis, "You're incredible, and I just love you so much. I knew you were special from the day we met, when you called me—"

Truth clamped his hand over her mouth, preventing her from spilling any more secrets. He could feel Shadow Moth's influence in his mind, demanding that he remove his hand, but Truth ignored it, just as he'd been ignoring so many of his commands. The energy from akumatization that once made him feel powerful now made him feel disgusted with himself, guilt swirling in his gut and making him regret everything.

He reached up with his other hand, grabbing at his necklace and tearing it off. Ladybug's brows rose at the crunching of his akumatized object, and the last things he saw were the akuma flying free and Ladybug's expression turning to something...

thoughtful.

—————

Marinette de-transformed in a nearby alleyway and headed down towards the Seine, having not yet processed all of her feelings from that day. She had a little time left, given that Luka had quietly asked to walk back home himself, but she’d gotten no closer to clearing her mind since leaving her house. She was still a jumbled mess of "what if"s and "but maybe"s, and ultimately knew that it was going to be a matter of essentially winging it and just saying everything that she had on her mind.

As she approached the Liberty to wait for Luka, she paused as she noticed another figure already standing there. After all, Jagged Stone wasn't exactly someone you could not notice.

Before she could debate on whether to approach him, Jagged seemed to sense her and glanced over to make eye contact. She stiffened, only able to wave awkwardly and pretend like she didn't know why he'd be there.

"Hey, frockstar," Jagged greeted tiredly, his smile not quite reaching its usual lengths. "What are you doing here?"

"Um..." She walked over, standing next to him and staring in the direction where Luka was going to come from. "I need to talk to my boyfriend."

"Ah." It took a few seconds for the words to actually register with him, at which point Jagged turned to her, mouth agape as he grabbed her shoulders. "My son's your boyfriend?!"

She didn't quite have the energy to feign total surprise at the “son” comment, but she didn't have to. Jagged immediately pulled back without really looking at her, regaining his composure just as quickly as he'd lost it.

"You... wouldn't happen to be able to put in a good word for me, hm?" He grinned sheepishly, jabbing at Marinette with a hopeful elbow. "Haven't exactly figured out what I'm gonna say yet."

She was torn between being upset with him on Luka’s behalf and feigning sympathy because it was not only none of her business, but she was in a similar boat and felt like she had no right to judge.

She went with the latter, smiling weakly and jabbing him back. "That makes two of us." Then, she frowned as her nerves came back. "And... anyway, I don't know if he'll want to keep being my boyfriend after tonight."

For once, Jagged didn't pry or ask questions, the atmosphere probably felt even by him. They just stood there, waiting.

After a few minutes, Luka finally walked into view, staring at the ground and seeming defeated. Marinette felt ill at the sight, her fingers clutching at the fabric of her capris to find a sense of stability.

Should she approach him? Let Jagged go first? Or, maybe that would seem evasive, so—

She felt a pat on her shoulder, looking up at see Jagged urging her forward with his eyes. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful or consider him to be the evasive one, but Luka's akumatization was also mostly because of her and thus it only made sense for her to go first.

She ran the distance to get to him, Luka glancing up at the sound of her footsteps and stopping as she got to him. The usual light in his eyes wasn't there, and she had to force herself to even say a simple, "Um... hi."

"Hey." He hesitated, then rubbed the back of his head. "I'm really sorry, Marinette."

"Huh?"

"I got akumatized, and I was in your room when I woke up." His brows furrowed with uncharacteristic anxiety. "I didn't have to hear the song to know what the notes were. I must've gone after you."

Marinette blinked, having not even thought about him feeling guilty over the whole thing. She shook her head, reassuring, "No no! I mean—you told me to run! You didn't go after me, not really!"

She wasn't technically lying; he never sought her out to her knowledge, and even as Ladybug, she'd always had to chase him.

Luka sighed in relief, though his expression didn't change much. "I'm glad."

He met her gaze again. She yearned for the way he used to look at her like he wanted to get lost in her forever, but his eyes soon darted elsewhere as he noticed Jagged Stone standing not too far away.

Marinette tried not to get discouraged, stepping back into his vision and waving her hands to try and divert his attention. "Ah—don't worry about that! Look—" She paused, needing a moment to breathe, then lowered her hands and shifted to seriousness. "Can we talk? And walk? It's... really important."

She couldn't imagine the conclusions he must've been coming to in his head, partly because he didn't voice any of them. His eyes merely searched hers, seeking nothing in particular.

"Sure, Marinette," he agreed.

She managed a smile, happy that she made it this far at least. She reached out to take his hand, but stopped herself at the last second and simply walked past him, Luka taking one look back at Jagged before following after her.

The walk was tense and quiet, the only sounds coming from the evening ambiance and their footsteps. The uncertainty of it all gave her anxiety, but she'd been sure of that uncertainty since she first decided to talk to him about this.

Because, whatever the future of their relationship was, it would be in his hands.

—————

As they arrived at her intended destination, Marinette heard Luka briefly stop behind her, perhaps processing where she just took them. It was the Canal Saint-Martin, also known as the place where they'd first agreed to date, and now it was potentially the place where they'd break up as well. Marinette vaguely pondered if that would be for the best, like the memories would just cancel each other out and Luka could forget about it altogether if he wanted to.

Nevertheless, she walked over, glancing at the bridge for reference and sitting in roughly the same place she’d been all that time ago. She then tossed Luka a hopeful look, and he walked over to sit next to her.

Steeling herself up, Marinette took a breath, inhaling until she couldn't take in any more oxygen and then exhaling for just as long. At least a little more emotionally prepared than she was before, she finally spoke up.

"I...I'm sorry, Luka. I'm sorry that I got you akumatized—" She saw that he was about to interject and cut him off. "—and I know you don't blame me, but it doesn't matter—I mean—it does matter, but I'm still sorry anyway, okay? You had a right to be hurt and maybe if I'd explained myself better, then things would’ve been different."

He still seemed to want to argue, but was holding himself back so she could continue, which she appreciated.

"It's not that I didn't trust you. If anything, I—I trust you more than anyone else. You've never betrayed me and I know you'd never tell anyone if I told you my secret. You understand me even when I'm being the disaster that everyone laughs at - everyone but you - and..."

She sighed, pulling out her phone and navigating to her text conversation with him. Mentally wincing, she tapped on the photo of her Adrien wall that Ziggy had sent, then presented it to him. He leaned in to make sure of what it was, then looked back at her, clearly not understanding where she was going but knowing it wasn't her being spiteful or rubbing it in.

She said as much, "You don't assume anything, like when you got sent this dumb picture. I know it was obvious that it was an accident, but you didn’t have to go with it and you did. I wouldn't have blamed you if you got mad, but you didn't. Whenever I'm stammering and being an idiot because I'm scared or nervous, you don't judge me for it or think that whatever comes out is what I actually mean. That's so important to me, Luka, you have no idea."

She settled the phone between them and kept the picture on-screen. Her gaze flickered down to it, silently encouraging him to look at it too, then glanced back up at him.

"How much do you know about fashion?"

He tilted his head, thrown off by the sudden question, but answered anyway, "Only what my sister's ever talked about."

"Do you know why fashion trends die so quickly?" When he shook his head, she explained, "Part of it is the over-exposure. When people hear about what's in at the time, suddenly everyone starts wearing whatever it is, so everywhere you look, you see it, and then people get tired of it."

There was a flicker of understanding in his eyes, Luka looking back-and-forth between her and the phone like he was piecing a puzzle together.

She confirmed it for him, "That's why I have so many. I don't feel that way about him anymore - I don't think I ever did - but I just don't know how to act around him. I hate how the whole idolizing thing took over my life and I already tried everything else, so I figured this might work." She groaned. "And of course it blew up on me and you got sent that without any context. Of course."

He gave a look of concern at the exasperation in her tone, but she tried to ignore it, not wanting his sympathy.

"My point is..." She gestured vaguely at the phone. "I stammer about him, but it's not because I'm in love with him, it's because I've never really been his friend and I don't know how to do it. I'm not dedicated to him and I'm getting better at not doing the stuff I used to."

His eyes flickered again and she wondered if he was thinking about that day on the Liberty where she was late to Kitty Section playing, where she ignored Adrien entirely. Just for emphasis, she tapped her phone and deleted the picture, adding on, "I'm only dedicated to you, Luka. I—"

She shifted in place, hitting the wall behind her feet a few times with her heels to ease off the anxiousness. It was so much easier when she’d been Ladybug, though granted that she was under the influence of Truth's spell at the time. She and Luka were dating, yet she was sure he'd ask her to end it, making putting herself out there all the scarier.

"I..." She met his gaze. "I love you." He gaped at the confession and she continued on, "I love you like I haven't loved anyone else before; definitely not Adrien. It's the kind of love that actually makes me happy, and comfortable, and my life is better with you in it."

She bit her bottom lip, hands curling into fists at the tight feeling in her chest. She turned, placing one hand on the ground as she began to push herself up, her other hand landing on Luka's shoulder to wordlessly insist that he didn't have to stand with her, so his gaze merely followed her as she moved.

"But that's the thing." She took a few steps away, back turned to him as she stared up at the sky. Her stomach twisted itself in knots at the words in her throat, but she nonetheless admitted, "I don't think it's mutual."

Luka's voice took on a sharp, offended tone. "Marinette—"

She spun to face him, cutting him off, "—and I know that you're going to say something sweet and heartfelt about how everyone has a place in your life and then something about how bad notes can still make good songs, but... Luka, you don't understand."

She turned away from him again, this time pacing as she counted off events. "Bullies and liars target me, and sometimes that means going after people I care about. I'm clumsy and a stuttering mess and you wouldn't believe the mistakes I made that I couldn't have even seen coming. It seems like I draw bad luck wherever I go; I mean, your mother is one of the most chaotic people I can think of, so you'd think she'd get akumatized a bunch, but it was only the day I showed up that she did. Even the other boys who only loved me for a little bit either got akumatized over it or became an anxious mess until they found out who they actually liked, and that last one would've at least been really useful to think about if I'd just made the connection back then, but I didn't!" She paused, then met his eyes with a pained expression. "And then there's you."

"What do you mean?"

She stopped in place, not knowing whether to be touched or not by the fact that he either hadn't noticed or was pretending not to. Throwing her arms out, she explained, "Things go bad whenever we hang out! I already mentioned your mom, but then there was the ice rink; even without me getting distracted when all you were trying to do was make me feel better, there was an akuma and you probably got frozen solid by him. When we were hanging out on the Liberty, Adrien just happened to show up on that day with Kagami to turn me into a mess, and then Desperada came to make everything worse."

Marinette couldn't remember when she'd started thinking about such things or feeling guilty for everything that ever happened. There was just a point where it felt like she was always apologizing for something, no matter how small it was, and stuff being her fault became par for the course by then.

"Then, both times you got akumatized, it was because of me—and I know you don't blame me, but I'm always involved! You were ready to leave the TV station, but because I tried to put up a fight, Bob Roth threatened me and that was your last straw. Today was the same thing; you were already upset about what happened with your dad and then it was me who sent you over the edge!" She shut her eyes tight, the memories painful to relive. "You're always putting up with me, Luka. You put up with me crying all over you and even dropped your guitar for it, and then you had to protect me from Miracle Queen's mind control! I'm supposed to protect you!"

He recoiled at the volume of her voice, then furrowed his brows, his eyes darting back and forth as he seemed to process something particular about what she said.

"I'm supposed to make you happy, and I can't. Out of all the people in Paris who should be able to keep you from getting akumatized, it should be me, and all I've done is hurt you. You're the calmest person I've ever known and then I came along and gave you feelings you didn't ask for. Sometimes—" She shook, choking briefly on the words. "Sometimes I wonder if it would've been better for you if you never met me."

Luka's gaze sharpened. He didn't reply, but turned fully to her, pushing himself up as if to approach.

However, she stepped back, his look then flashing to hurt. She took a breath, expression determined as she said with her whole chest, "I'm Ladybug, Luka."

He froze, his body going stiff and his eyes blinking rapidly at either the reveal itself or the way she’d so firmly said it.

"I'm Ladybug," she repeated quietly, this time with an ache in her voice, "and I'm telling you not because I trust you—I mean, I do trust you—but I also believe in you; that you wouldn't sell me out to Shadow Moth even with all the mind control in the world. You've always had my back and supported me even when I didn't deserve it, and I want you to know. It's dangerous and I don't know what'll happen and I'm scared but I want you to know it." She put a hand to her chest. "I'm the one who has to save Paris whenever something happens, and that's why I always had to ditch you. I'm the one who messed up and lost you your identity as Viperion. I'm the new guardian of the miraculouses, and the kwami don't even listen to me; they invaded my privacy and it was one of them that took and sent you that picture."

She realized that her vision was staring to blur and looked skywards, trying to fight back tears.

"I-I'm not a normal girl. I can't be a normal girlfriend, or give you everything you'd want out of a normal relationship. It's my fault that you got akumatized because I just—I wanted you. I wanted to be in a relationship and go on dates with you, but Ladybug isn't supposed to want things. She's supposed to be selfless and only worry about everyone else, but... you made me happy, and I wanted more of that. You were the first person I really felt like I could be myself around without being scolded or lied to and I thought it would be okay..."

She noticed him moving and quickly turned her back to him, at least able to let the tears fall now without him seeing them.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I always think I can handle things but then it goes wrong and I end up hurting people. If I'd just gone home the day of the music festival instead of complaining about Adrien not being around, then none of this would've happened." She sighed in frustration, wiping her eyes clean of tears, and she was so focused on forcing her words out that she didn't hear the footsteps coming from behind her. "I-it's okay if you want to break up, Luka. It wasn't fair that I kept you in the dark, and I understand if you're mad, or you want to date other people, o-or if you don't love me anymore—"

Her voice cut off with a gasp as a pair of arms wrapped around her midsection, pulling her against a familiar, warm chest that had an unfamiliarly pounding heartbeat. She tried to look up at him, but his hair was shadowing out his eyes and left only his trembling lips visible. In fact, his whole body was shaking, as if it were winter and no amount of layers could keep him warm.

"L-luka?" she called, confused.

"Stop," he begged quietly, the hug tightening briefly to give her a squeeze. "Please."

"But..." She trailed off, acknowledging the request. She'd never heard his voice just break like that.

"You've already sung your part of our duet, Marinette. Now it's my turn." He paused, taking an unsteady breath before continuing, "I'm glad you told me your secret. I know you're worried about me being in danger, but it makes me happy that you can rely on me now. Music boxes aren't meant to stay shut, and you deserve someone who you can open up to, even if I hate that you have to mute yourself in the first place to keep everyone safe."

She opened her mouth, wanting to say that it was okay and it was just her job, but kept quiet to respect his earlier request.

"My life isn't worse because I met you," he murmured, an unspoken plea in his tone that told her to never think that way again. "I felt things with you that I never have before. My song started out as a flatline, then we met and you made it move. Music isn't exciting if it doesn't change but you did that for me. What you might see as bad notes is my passion for you, and I won't apologize for it or make you apologize for messing up just like every person does. I'd never wanted someone before you, and even if you never wanted to date me, I'm grateful that I got to know you; to fall for you."

Marinette blinked in an attempt to stop oncoming tears, Luka pulling her closer for comfort when she whimpered.

"All that mattered to me is when we were together, just the two of us. That's when your melody plays the clearest and when I get to see you. Those two weeks when we were preparing our music video were some of the best two weeks of my life because I got to see you in your element. I've accepted every break in the tempo because I've heard you, I've heard the Marinette you've wanted to be, and I want to be there for every beat of it." Then, he exhaled, adding with a somber tone, "I can't imagine how much pressure you must be under, or how awful things are and how impossible it must be to sing when you can't even take a breath without something going wrong. I just... I want to help you be happy. I don't care what you, your kwami, or anyone else says; you're allowed to be happy, Marinette, and I'd drop a thousand of my guitars if it meant that you get to play happy notes one more time."

She let out a sob, blushing pink as her hands unconsciously raised to rest on the ones around her waist, Luka sighing in content and nestling further against her.

"So I don't want to break up with you, Marinette. Not at all. I just want to find ways to make it easier on you - on both of us - and if that means finding ways of planning our dates around akuma attacks, or not planning at all and going wherever the rhythm leads, then that's what we'll do."

She tried to keep quiet, but couldn't help voicing, "W-what if... what if it doesn't work? What if I have to bail on you every now and then? People will think—"

"I was never worried about that," he retorted immediately. "I'm a Couffaine. My clothes are ripped, I carry my guitar in the basket on my bike, and I live on a boat. I stopped caring about what people thought a long time ago."

He was unbelievable. Marinette didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she did both. He just held her there, his heart still beating against her back but now serving as something to calm her.

"The only opinions that matter in our duet are yours and mine," he said. His hold loosened, though hesitating like it was physically painful to release her. He let her go nonetheless and held his hands out in front of her, palms facing the sky. "So what about you, Marinette?"

She stared at his hands, then slowly raised her own to hover over them. She breathed up, then slid her fingers across his palms until their calloused fingertips met, neither making any move to pull away.

"I...I want to make it work," she whispered, leaning back against him. "I want to be with you, Luka. I'm at my best when I'm with you. I just..."

She stopped, knowing that he would have an argument for anything she said. If she apologized for the failed dates that she can never fix, he'd argue that it'd be worse to leave things off a sour note, and that not every good song starts out good. If she tried to suggest other people for him to date or imply that it'd be easier with someone else, he'd say that his guitar plays only for her and he wouldn't change that even if he could.

"...I'm sorry," she said, smiling her first genuine smile of the night. "I won't doubt myself anymore."

Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was smiling too. "Do you feel better?"

"Yeah. Do—do you?"

"Yeah," he replied, voice thick with emotion.

Wanting to see his face, she slowly dropped their hands and turned to face him, silently hoping that she didn't look awful from her earlier tears. However, to her surprise, she noticed that Luka's eyes were watery despite his smile, just like her. Realizing something, she raised a hand to her shoulder, where his face had been hovering over ever since he'd hugged her from behind.

It was wet.

"Oh, Luka..."

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him against her. He returned the gesture, squeezing her lovingly and giving her back a few rubs that she responded to with a happy hum. They held the position, the warmth of the hug completely negating the slight chill of the night air.

Even when they pulled away, it wasn't far nor for long. Marinette wasn't sure which of them initiated it, but one moment they were staring at each other and the next they were kissing. It had been long overdue and she idly thought that it was better than she would've imagined their kiss at the cinema to be.

She breathed in his scent, her fingers blindly reaching up to slide into his hair. She almost felt like crying again, though this time in relief that everything had actually worked out for once and they were kissing without interruption. Even though Luka was more subtle in showing his emotions, she could tell that he felt the same from the way his hand on her back shook, practically vibrating with happiness.

The kiss eventually broke with a soft click, though she kept her hands on him for the sake of stability. They were both breathing a little hard from the emotional toll of the conversation yet not necessarily in a bad way.

And the love in his eyes - the life that she missed so much - was back. She honestly thought she wouldn’t have seen it again and she was tempted to just keep kissing him in relief, part of her aware that he definitely wouldn’t have minded it.

It took her a few tries to get the words out, hesitant to break up their wordless exchanges of love. She knew what revelation was waiting for Luka back at his houseboat - maybe he'd already guessed it - and she wanted to be there for him, so she asked carefully, "Do you... want me to come back to the Liberty with you?"

Eyes half-lidded, he gave her a soft smile and gently squeezed her hand. "Yeah. Do you want to sleep over?"

She nodded. "Mm, I'd like that."

Holding hands, they began making their way back to the Liberty, the ambiance of the night finally coming through to soothe them. Marinette glanced down at their joined hands, then at the wide smile on Luka's face, the latter clearly caused by the former.

She looked ahead at where they were walking, pretending that she hadn't just been admiring him. "We could always go out for breakfast together. That might work out."

"That sounds amazing." Luka feigned a look of thoughtfulness. "Maybe Shadow Moth doesn't like mornings?"

Marinette squeaked mid-giggle. "You'd think that'd be the case from the name, huh?"

He chuckled, covering his mouth with his free hand, and the conversation remained light from there. Any bad feelings from the day had evaporated, leaving only smiles and hope for the future in its place.

Everything was going to be okay. For once, Marinette could truly believe that.

[itsivyberry]

no longer his

Mako x f!nonbender!reader

Part 2 of number 1 supporter

request: could you please do a part two of number 1 supporter please. like what happens with Korra added to the picture? 🥺👉👈 (i absolutely loved it btw! great job!!! ❤️❤️❤️) [ @xxspqcebunsxx ]

a/n: thank you so much!!! I’m so glad you wanted another part, I’m so sorry it took so long! enjoy <3

warnings: heartbreak, Korra being a home wrecker and not my favorite person 😬 Mako also being a bitch, Bolin being the best ever. Some major descriptions of physical pain due to strong emotions ig

summary: Korra coming to Republic City not only ruffled many citizens, but also jeopardized Mako and Y/N’s relationship.

word count: 1276

song recs: it’s not the same anymore - rex orange county, another love - tom odell

gif credit: @bolin-hits-rockbottom

Korra coming to Republic City wasn’t all that bad, really. Bolin had already become fast friends with her before he knew her title.

Y/N and Mako were doing just fine, for the most part. Y/N continued to watch the pro-bending matches and practices. The only difference was that Korra began to watch with her, mesmerized by the swift movements of the brothers.

Korra hit it off well with Y/N. Neither of them had any issues, but Y/N made it obvious which one of the brothers was taken. Bolin was very forward with the avatar, making advances to get closer with her. Y/N was rooting him on, while Mako wasn’t the biggest fan of her. Y/N couldn’t quite pinpoint why Mako was such a jerk to her, especially since Korra was so nice to all of them and thanked them profusely for being her first friends in the city. His mood had decreased significantly since she first showed up before one of his matches, and it was taking a toll on Y/N’s attitudes as well.

~.•*✰

When Bolin began to show Korra how to bend during a match, Y/N could notice that she was almost trying to impress Mako with her bending skills. Y/N began to grow extremely insecure, her non-bending suddenly becoming something she was ashamed of. There was never any issues with her not being able to bend, especially when hanging out with Mako and Bolin, but now Korra was suddenly making her very self conscious about herself.

These feelings started piling up. Y/N felt sick whenever she went to pro-bending matches, worried that Mako would suddenly decide to take an interest in her instead of his beloved girlfriend.

It wasn’t long ago when Y/N thought Mako was going to propose, and now some random girl from the Southern Water Tribe showed up, introduced herself as the Avatar, and put a wall between the lovers.

Korra was also leading on Bolin, which made Y/N’s dislike for her grow tremendously. She had been hanging out with him, making advances with him, and accepting every date he threw in her direction, yet still disregarded his attraction to her and used him to get closer to Mako.

Y/N saw right through this, and would often confide in her old friend, Lu, from school that lived in Republic City.

“Maybe the Avatar just wants to be close with an earth bender and a fire bender.” Lu had tried to tell Y/N.

“No, I’m telling you. Bolin really likes her but she’s after Mako. I don’t know why she isn’t understanding that I’ve been with him for a very long time and that he won’t leave me for her.” But oh, how Y/N was so incredibly wrong in that moment.

Not only did Korra manage to break Bolin’s heart, but she soon enough ripped Mako and Y/N’s relationship to pieces when Bolin was on his way to get her flowers.

~•.*✰

“She’ll love these, Bo! They are gorgeous. Don’t you think so, Pabu?” Y/N gushed, picking a flower from the bouquet and lifting it up to the fire ferret who was sitting on her shoulder to smell. Pabu took a big whiff, squeaking and nodding in approval.

“Thanks, Y/N. And thank you, Pabu. Let’s go give these to her! I’m so nervous, but so excited!” Bolin exclaimed, practically vibrating with anxiousness about the girl he really and truly fell for.

As they walked throughout the city to the bending arena, they spoke on and on about anything and everything. Y/N had always gotten along with Bolin famously, which helped boost her and Mako’s relationship.

They reached the arena, and curled around the back near the large patio that overlooks the water and Air Temple Island. The sun had set almost half an hour ago, leaving a gorgeous array of oranges, yellows, and reds in the sky that reflected off the calm water’s surface. City lights were twinkling throughout the sky, and stars began to appear faintly.

“It’s a perfect night to do this. Wish me luck, Y/N/N!” Bolin turned, controlling his breathing and still shaking with anticipation.

Y/N passed Pabu onto his shoulders and adjusted the bouquet. “Good luck, you’ll do amazing. Just tell her how you feel and give her the bouquet!”

“Oh, please walk a bit further with me! You can hide behind one of the pillars, I’m just too nervous!” Bolin gasped out, out of breath from the nerves. Y/N begrudgingly agreed, eager to get upstairs and visit Mako.

She walked slowly along the edge of the railing, keeping an eye on Bolin as he walked.

But, something had stopped him in his tracks. His face grew immensely disappointed, angry, sad, and a whole jumble of emotions Y/N couldn’t name. Tears welled up in his eyes, the dim light on the walls making his eyes glisten. Bolin glanced over at her, his bottom lip trembling.

She hesitantly peeking out from behind the pillar, and was frozen just as much as he was.

There, right in front of the beautiful scenery, was Korra, macking her very own dearest Mako. A small puff of air escaped her lungs as she took a larger step towards the scene, dropped her arms & shoulders in defeat.

The very thing Y/N didn’t think would happen had came true. Her boyfriend, her love, her future, had cheated on her, with the very girl he had absolutely no previous interest of even being friends with.

Bolin blinked, and tears dropped to the marble ground. Y/N was crying now too, as she suddenly watched her future crash and burn. The two ahead of them broke apart, a smile growing on both of their faces.

That was, until Korra had looked behind Mako and saw the two people she was avoiding. Bolin, crying and holding a now messy bouquet that had been ruined by the wind, and Y/N, who was crying watching Korra help Mako cheat on her.

Korra never had any issues with Y/N. She’d always looked up to the girl, who had always gave so much love wherever she went and was never discouraged from people who made fun of her lack of bending abilities. But now, she had ruined any chance of being friends with her after she ruined the beautiful relationship of Mako and Y/N.

Mako was confused, and turned around to meet the eyes of his devastated brother and heartbroken girlfriend.

“Oh, no, no, no-!” Mako said, panic and realization setting in as he reached for his girlfriend. “This isn’t what it looks like!”

He was now running towards her, the tears streaming down her face more visible as he got closer. He stopped in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

“I saw everything. This,” Y/N motioned between the two of them, “is over. Don’t ever speak to me again.” She turned and left, crossing her arms over her stomach to try to alleviate some of the pain that was reverberating through her chest.

“Bolin, please!” Mako’s voice cracked, turning to his brother to reason. Bolin angrily threw the bouquet at his feet, more tears falling on the slick ground.

“How could you?” Bolin asked quietly, furrowing his brows at Mako. He quickly turned and followed Y/N, catching up with her to comfort her.

Mako watched, defeated and absolutely broken, as his brother and girlfr- ex girlfriend walked away from him in tears and sorrow.

There was no recovering from this, and he soon realized he lost the love of his life and his very best friend, along with his last remaining family member that he loved so dearly.

And it was all because of the damned Avatar.

~•.*✰

a/n: okay so I really don’t like Korra like at all, I’m sorry if you do but I really don’t like her 😃 she’s my least favorite character in the atla universe so it was only fit that I wrote a literal hate fanfic about her. anyways Mako is a bitch in this but I love Bolin so I hope you enjoyed 🙄 also thank you for requesting, it meant a lot that you wanted more about a small silly little blurb I wrote from a separate request!! love you all <33

[alltheworldsinmyhead]

ON FEYSAND’S PLOTLINE IN ACOSF

              !!!!MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE ACOSF!!!!

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Let’s be honest for a while, okay?

ACOCF had potential to be SJM’s best book, if not for any other reason then because of the sheer idea of it. Coming-of-age, healing story of the most complex and polarizing character she has ever created set in the time of peace, away from the familiar setting (according to the later changed concept which still remains in the snippet at the end of ACOFAS), development of her arguably most feisty and angsty love story... It could be her absolute trumph. Even with the change to stick to Velaris instead of exploring the Illyrian culture of the Mountains and with the added conflict of the Mortal Queens and Koshei, it still could work quite well. 

It didn’t. For many, many reasons, but the most important one, in my opinion, being the feysand pregnancy plot. 

Nothing about this plotline made sense. Not a single thing. From start to finish, it was an absolute disaster from the character-writing POV, from the narration POV, from every single context of it. It broke the rules of real-life logic, it broke the rules of this fantasy world setting and it completely exposed that Rhysand, while not a bad guy, is a pretty terrible partner, even worse ruler and an absolutely terrible contender for the High King title. 

Let’s break this whole mess down (and expect this post to be mammoth-sized. it’s not my fault, though, write to SJM if you have any complains):

1) Feyre, 21, decides to get pregnant, even though less than a year earlier, she expresses the delight with not being forced to bear children to her new mate and told him herself she wants to wait a while and enjoy her life with him. Feyre decides she wants a baby though and Rhysand goes along with it, even though he is aware how young Feyre is and how hard her life has been up until this point. He wants a baby too much to have an honest discussion with Feyre about it, to stop and wonder what is the reason for her sudden change of heart, to reassure her that they have a lot of time ahead of them and don’t need to rush. No. She mades a sudden decision to have a baby after A YEAR OF MARRIAGE and not much more of being turned fae, JUST AFTER having her whole world put upside down, having received a completely new title and responsibilities, surviving the wat and being mated. Great. 

2) Feyre decides to get pregnant and Rhys goes along with it less than a year after the end of the bloody war. It is politically a delicate time, everyone is still not sure how the balance will shift, some countries don;t want to sign the peace treaty, etc. There are a lot of enemies and a lot of turmoil remaining. But sure. Let’s have a baby. Perfect time to add yet another target, another weakness that can be use by the Mortal Queens, Beron or whatever else with malicious intent towards the Night Court. 

2) Feyre gets pregnant after approximately a year of trying. I know healthy people of reproductive age for whom it takes ages more than this. Fae’s pregnancies are rare af and precious and happen once in a blue moon, but ofc SJM broke the world’s rules for her darling Feyre. And again, for Kallas and Vivianne who are also expecting the baby, even though it has been a maximum of 3 years since they’ve mated. 3 years is also not a particularly long time to try to have a baby for those who have issues with their reproductive systems like Fae women. Thank you, next. 

3) Rhys has unprotected sex with Feyre in her Illyrian form when she conceives, even though he knows full well having a winged baby would kill her. He does it anyway, for shits and giggles apparently. They probably have sex in the sky above Velaris, for all we know. 

4) The baby has wings. Now, the whole explanation with Illyrian wings being bony (bc they resemble bat wings) and Seraphin ones being more flexible (bc they resemble bird ones) is so insanely stupid that it takes around 3 seconds to wikipedia this shit and find out it’s exactly the opposite. But okay, the baby has wings and Feyre will die while giving birth, along with the baby. Madja forbids Feyre from turning into an Illyrian to carry the pregnancy because it MIGHT hurt the baby. Now, remember, Feyre conceived while in Illyrian form and then turned into High Fae. The baby survived it just fine. The baby MIGHT be hurt by Feyre turning .... but it will FOR SURE die if she stays High Fae and Feyre will too. Idk about you, but I would take the risk of MIGHT instead of FOR SURE. Especially when she is already in labour and dying. Cauldron or Nesta or idk who alters Feyre’s pelvis after the baby is cut out of her for no apparent reason but to allow feysand to make exactly the same mistakes later on. How convinient. And Nesta also alters her own pelvis bc god forbid she won’t be able give Cassian babies like the little useful mate she is now. She should’ve probably done it with Elain too, just in case she decides to fuck Az in the future, because fuck consequences and fuck the stakes in the story that make the readers actually CARE about characters bc they know the author may actually kill them and not save their life every fucking time.  

5) I don’t even want to comment on the fact Rhys hid the true danger of this pregnancy for Feyre and their family went along with it. It is absolutely disgusting. And Nesta telling her and that being condemned as the act of the ultimate cruelty which is a final straw to break her self-loathing back.... is abhorrent. It made my sick, actually, phisically sick. There is no justification for it. No at all. And the fact that they did not even consider abortion sends a message that I really don’t want to think too much about it. Feyre was 2 months along when they learned the baby is winged. 2 months. 8 weeks. It wasn’t a baby yet, let’s be honest. They could’ve at least discussed it. She - oh my god, I cannot believe SJM wrote it this way, I’m gonna be sick. 

6) For the entirety of Feyre’s pregnancy, they have no plan to really help her. Labour plan? Haven’t heard if it.  They have money and power and access to the healers of the whole land. And did not figure out how to stop her from bleeding out after a fucking C-section. THIS WORLD HAS MAGIC AND THEY COULDN’T STOP HER FROM BLEEDING OUT AFTER A FUCKING C-SECTION. Didn’t even ask Thesan, the High Lord of Healing, to be present. Cassian had guts hanging out of his stomach and survived. Az was fucking slashed apart in Hybern and survived. But yeah, Feyre was on a brink of death after a C-section. Great, Sarah. Keep it up. Let’s force the thought into young girls’ heads that labour is the most lethal thing ever, why not. 

7) Also, for the entirety of Feyre’s pregnancy, Rhys keeps quiet about this idiotic bargain. He, as far as we know, doesn’t make any plans for the moment when him and Feyre and possibly their baby are dead. If they died and baby survived.. who would take care of it? Does Rhys have a conversation with his family about it? NAH. Doesn’t write any sort of plan how to keep the Court going, doesn’t inform even the closest of his co-workers how they should proceed to act after he’s gone and his and Feyre’s power go to god-knows-who. Their deaths would mean a sure chaos for the weakend and fragile Prythian and the Night Court especially and yet nor Rhys nor Feyre make any sort of preparations for it. Rhys doesn’t tell his brothers or Mor or HIS SECOND IN COMMAND they will all soon have to somehow manage without him. He was about to just leave them to their own devices and told them in the last. possible. moment. 

And this man - this man is, according to Amren, the best candidate to handle the whole country? To unite it? This fool who makes idiotic bargains, who thinks first about his cock and his own selfish desires and considers his subjects and his responsibilities as a High Lord last and least important of all? Who has so much trust in his wife, in his High Lady, the mother of his son that he doesn’t tell her she will almost surely die on a birthing bed because it MAY UPSET HER? 

This plotline was the straw that broke my back. ACOTAR, at it’s heart has always been a ya fantasy with added ‘spice’ and I was willing to bend my critical-thinking skills in many cases and forget and forgive many smaller idiotic issues in this series. But this? It is not idiotic. It is massive and stupid to the point when it becomes insulting to the reader. It was a plot straight out of a bad fanfic, not something that should be in a published book written by someone who writes for a living. You could even argue that Twilight has handled this toxic trope better.  I have wasted my money on this book and thinking about it will always be painful for me. So yeah.

ACOSF could be great. Ended up quite pathetic. 

[heiterbroward]

Hsm: the waste: the series

Ok so right off the bat, is anyone else bothered by noticing that multiple different relationships seem to be developing the same dynamic? The guys all become huge simps for the girls just for the couple to actually get together and for it to reverse w the girl having to give the guy constant reassurance bc he's insecure for whatever reason.

This was especially seen w Redlyn's plot. How was she supposed to know what his dreams were if he never said? Especially since he always acts embarrassed about the tap dancing...like maybe Ashlyn misinterpreted it and thought he was too scared to pursue that in the future or something. Also why was he so jealous of the French guy? Was Ashlyn supposed to tell him to let her fall that one time? It's not like Big Red was there to catch her. Also don't like how their season plot started w her being insecure about playing Belle just for him to give her one sentence of vapid praise and then it was never brought up again. Also, saying "you're perfect" when she's feeling insecure doesn't really help like he might think it would bc it kind of just invalidates Ashlyn's insecurity and makes it seem like she's ridiculous for even thinking about it. Whatever Gina said seemed to give her more comfort. But then the rest of their S2 arc was spent w him getting insecure about something every episode and her having to reassure him that she actually likes him.

This also happened w Rini although not for long bc Nini peaced out after a sec, and I'm worried it might happen w Portwell, but I'll get to those dweebs in a min. Also why did Mr. M become totally whipped for Miss Jenn this season? I liked when their dynamic was more balanced; now, it seems like he is madly in love w her and she got the ick from him. Luckily, I care about them zero percent!

Another thing is that the competition was ultimately pointless af! Like I knew it wouldn't be satisfying whether they won or lost, but they didn't even reveal it? Ok? Wasted the whole yr ig! Miss Jenn became mentally disturbed for what? Plus wouldn't it make more sense if they didn't open the results at the end bc they realized how much the Menkies tore them apart this year bc they only cared about winning and lost sight of their passion? But no...they maintained throughout the whole time that they're still a big happy family, so I guess the awards didn't affect them? Besides just making them indifferent to the results for some bizarre reason.

Why is this show so anti-ambition? Heart and ambition don't have to be mutually exclusive. When Nini went to YAC (so damn irrelevant but anyways...), she was iced out of the friend group and portrayed as lonely and miserable and bored bc she chose to pursue her ambition rather than stay w her friends at East High. I get the point they were trying to make, but Nini seems like an ambitious character who just hadn't gotten the chance to explore that side of herself bc she never believed in herself enough to go for it. Oh well ig she has to give it up for Ricardo and her friends. Also, Gina's whole thing about "taking a step back" it's like...from what? You get no leads (except offscreen pre-pilot ig? Idk). And now, they have to prove they only care about family by not checking if they won even though there's nothing inherently wrong w being competitive as long as you're not undermining people to achieve your goals. Like are they gonna act like they weren't spying on the other school and making diss tracks back to them instead of rehearsing? But that wasn't addressed.

And tbh it made it seem like Miss Jenn only wanted to drop out bc she was nervous to perform against Derek Hough bc otherwise why was that scene w her and Seblos talking about it included? But now she can have an out while also taking the moral high-ground and claiming they quit bc they're above it or something. Self reflection = none. Also love how she was willing to go get pizza for Ricky but not Carlos. What happened to that dynamic?

Also, why did every episode end w a cliffhanger that was resolved offscreen by the beginning of the next ep? Oh no, Gina's moving! Jk her mom said no. Oh no, EJ has to tell his dad about Duke! Jk they talked offscreen and the dad is ok enough w it (why was it built up so much then?). Oh no, Carlos recorded the Rose Song! Jk Nini doesn't care. Oh no, Ricky and Ashlyn fell! Jk they're fine and can still perform. Oh no, Lily stole the harness! Jk they did Ricky's transformation offscreen and it went great...k guess I'll take your word for it. So much telling instead of showing going on this season.

Something else annoying is how every conflict was the result of miscommunication and how they would spend time resolving problems that were created that episode instead of actually addressing things that were going on. So many passive aggressive elephants in the room and no fights.

Why did Rina seemingly forget who each other is? I don't even ship this, but it makes no narrative sense after they spent so much time giving them dialogue that was exactly what the other needed to hear just for it to result in nothing. Ricky was the first one to say that Gina isn't intimidating and to get her to soften up, and Gina told Ricky she wouldn't quit on them if she was staying. What was the point of that flashback? They had a deep friendship and one they both desperately need when you consider how quickly they jump at any opportunity to connect w someone experiencing similar issues as them (Gina spilled her guts to Jack once she found out he always moves, too and Ricky gained sympathy for Lily once he found out her parents are also divorced). Why didn't they try to talk at all the whole rest of the season? Did they even process their feelings for each other or just to choose to ignore them? Ig ignore them since Gina shifted all her attention to spending 24/7 w EJ and Ricky decided to call up knock-off Gina aka Lily. Are they ever gonna talk again or?

Also Nini and Gina barely scratched the surface of talking about things bc Nini stormed out of the room like she always does to avoid conversations. Rini took too long to break up. The drama should come from the fall out, not the long-ass build up, just to result in a treehouse conversation that summarizes what's been happening instead of digging deeper into either of their mindsets. "We've been miscommunicating all year!" Yeah, we know. But what about Nini reflecting on why she impulsively got back together w Ricky just to, a couple months later, not even be able to say she wants to fight for the relationship? What about Ricky explaining whatever was going on w Gina? How much does Nini even know about that? Couldn't Gina/Nini or Ricky/EJ talk about how it's weird how they keep dating the same people? Or be jealous about it or something? Anything besides ignoring each other!

Seblos was also weird. Why did they spend the first few eps setting up a conflict that Seb is poor and Carlos is rich and keeps making him uncomfortable by buying him things just for it to never be talked about again? And why did Carlos make comments suggesting he was jealous of Seb being in the play w him just for that never to be brought up between the two? The only time they addressed a conflict was when they randomly decided to make up a problem that episode about Seb being insecure about Carlos and other guys or something. Like ok? Couldn't you have addressed all these other issues and passive aggressive comments that have been bubbling beneath the surface instead of making up a new problem just for the episode to have a plot? Bc of course it will never be brought up again next ep.

When did this show become so episodic and plot-based? S1 had more of an overarching plot and more character focus, including different friendship dynamics. But ig this season, people can only talk to the person they're dating. Also why was Carlos so rude and randomly classist this season? It seemed like whenever Seb was upset about something, he would get annoyed as opposed to concerned. And a song (which was Ricky's idea and not even Carlos's) doesn't fix the issue.

Howie was just being weird. Like he was making all faces and acting sus on opening night bc...Kourtney was just SO good! ...Next!

Next up is Portwell and EJ's character development this season in general. Didn't really like it! Everyone is saying EJ had such great character development this season, but why did his entire development happen offscreen? There are also so few remnants of his S1 self that it's almost unbelievable. Like he's no longer the least bit arrogant, ambitious, image-obsessed, etc? And he didn't speak to anyone about this really either. It's like he sat in a room alone by himself for hours and came to all these conclusions himself out of the blue and came back to school the next day a changed man. It would have been more beneficial to see more of this rather than being told about it. They're trying to market EJ as part of the "core 4" but don't want to give him the same relevance and depth as Ricky, Nini, or Gina. Then again, Nini's development has also been totally odd this season. But anyways!

It's also a little annoying that what triggered EJ to want to change was getting cancelled last season. So he realized he wasn't well-liked and therefore decided to get a personality transplant. But sometimes it seems more like he wants to look or feel like a good person rather than it coming from a place of genuine compassion or kindness in his heart.

Like last year, EJ claimed to "love" Nini, but the only pain he feels about their relationship is from shame and a bruised ego? The only thing he's proud about in that relationship is letting her go. You're not proud of building her up and helping her to believe in herself more? You're just happy that you had a chance to step up and be the hero on opening night by "letting her go" back to Ricky. He didn't even really let her go though since she was done w him way before that. Also bc of his relationship w Nini, he's afraid to be rejected again. So which is it? Were you such a bad boyfriend that you have nothing but shame about the way you acted, or do you feel rejected? If he knew he was being a bad boyfriend, he should know why he got rejected.

They try to parallel Gina and EJ's respective heartbreaks, but it's not the same at all. Gina got rejected bc Ricky chose Nini, but EJ got rejected bc of his own actions. It MIGHT make sense if he said he was nervous Gina would reject him bc she still has lingering feelings for Ricky, but of course that was never brought up and he's ok w the chocolates, so...what is he so nervous/confused about? It's like he thinks that last year, he was a "bad guy" and was rejected bc of it, but this year he's trying to be a "good guy" so if he puts in all this effort to do all these gestures for Gina and STILL gets rejected, then he really can't do anything right. He needs to learn to do good deeds from an internal place and not as a way to get validation or to feel like a good person.

I also don't like how he became friends w Gina AFTER it was implied that he had a crush on her. People say they had build up since S1, but there was no consistent friendship. They schemed together once, then he got her the plane ticket, then they didn't talk again until Carlos's party when he looked at her all lovey dovey. I think part of him latches on to the idea of Gina as representing his "goodness" or new start bc the first good deed he did was getting her the plane ticket. This made him feel like a good person, so he wanted to continue doing good deeds, especially for Gina since she helped "change him." But I wish they had maintained an onscreen friendship for a while BEFORE he started developing feelings for her. It's weird that he decided to become friends w her only when she's heartbroken and feeling down and also living at Ashlyn's house.

Like of course she's gonna latch onto you bc she's so lonely and seeking any kind of intimacy/stability. You're basically inserting yourself into the family unit that she's inhabiting, the wondering why she may view you as a brother. It's because all the things you're doing are coming off more like gestures a family member would do to "take care" of someone rather than something romantic. Gina needs a family, and the Caswells are supposed to be her surrogate family. I just don't want her to feel pressured to have romantic interest in him bc he's a nice guy and has been doing so many gestures for her and bc it would be very convenient to date someone in her surrogate family/built in support system. I don't want her feelings for him to be intellectualized and based on logic or for a million other people to have to tell her that she likes him when she had no problem expressing her crushes on Ricky or Jack. What makes EJ any different? Does she like him bc it "makes sense" and bc she is latching onto him for stability or bc she has genuine feelings for EJ and his personality? Not sure bc the show didn't even address her feelings for Ricky or how/if she processed that, so...DID she process that, or is she just jumping headfirst into spending 25/8 w EJ to distract herself from difficult emotions? I would have preferred if she at least sorted things out w Chard THEN made a conscious realization that she liked EJ more and chose to be w him. At least then, the narrative would be direct and intentional.

I just really wish EJ had a storyline outside of Gina being a symbol of his "development," like maybe he could have talked to Nini about their futures since they were both experiencing the same issue about school choices, or maybe do more w Mr. M and behind the scenes work? Also was really annoying that Gina bawled her eyes out more than ever after EJ cancelled their date, even harder than she ever cried about Ricky. It's like she was broken after that so she tried to use EJ as her final chance to build a connection and was depending on him so hard for emotional support, just to be blindsided and left feeling "off-putting" or like she needs to not only run away but also to put her walls back up. Like this was the last straw for her emotionally.

I thought the appeal of Portwell was that while Ricky made her cry and was constantly vague and unclear about his feelings, EJ was consistently there for her and she knew where she stood w him and that he would stay and not let her down. But now EJ is making her cry, too, being vague, and having miscommunication? All for the sake of them having a last minute complication just for it to result in Gina ONCE AGAIN having to be the one to put herself out there and express her feelings to EJ bc he was feeling insecure and din't come talk to her about it. For once, can't someone be the one to confess their feelings to her? Otherwise, what's the difference between Rina and Portwell if she has to deal w the same problems? Like no, SHOW why he's the better option for her, don't make him act stupid just to cause drama for a second. He was pretty intuitive last year about Rini still having feelings for each other, so why is he oblivious this time around? And why did he go talk to Ashlyn about it but not Gina? That's like last season when he talked to Ashlyn about his problems w Nini instead of bringing it up to her. Why does he keep making the same mistakes? Gina needs someone to be direct and secure in their feelings for her. She can't be expected to coddle EJ, who already has way more relationship experience, bc he will make assumptions about her without addressing it to her face and lead w his insecurities even when she is clearly hurt by what he's saying. Could he not tell she was upset he cancelled the date or??

Also unrelated, but why did they make Ricky mess w Nini's phone and delete stuff just like EJ did to her last season? Once again, SHOW why Ricky is the better option for Nini. Otherwise, she might as well have just stayed w EJ if there's no difference anyway, right?

The villains this season were also so irrelevant. Like where did Derek Hough go after he talked to Miss Jenn that one time? And couldn't Lily have been more involved if they're gonna force this plot of her liking Ricky?

With the amount of underdevelopment going on, Nini should have just transferred to North High instead of YAC and had a storyline there about choosing between ambition and friends or whatever. Then, she could've gotten to know Howie, Lily, French guy, etc, and it would intertwine the characters more. And also create more tension for Nini when she finally transfers back to East High and had to compete against her former classmates in the Menkies.

Instead, Lily's only relevance is to randomly have a crush on Ricky even though she spent the whole time manipulating him. Why does he even like her? If I was Big Red, I would get mad bc Lily has done nothing but be cutthroat to his supposed friends and make Ashlyn insecure all season. Doesn't he care about that? Or does he want to ignore his own problems yet again and focus all his energy onto "saving" or "fixing" Lily? He's so codependent. He and Nini both need to stop being so self-centered about their feelings.

I wish Ricky and Nini had developed a genuine passion for theatre by now like Troy and Gabriella did, but it seems like they could always take or leave whether they're in it or not. Does Ricky even have any passions outside of being codependent on girlfriends? The career test suggests not.

And Nina needs to learn to be a better friend. All season, Kourtney has been dealing w shit and her only advice is "you can handle it; you're Kourtney!" Like ok? Kourtney gives you all support and helps build you up, but is expected to figure everything out on her own bc she's "strong" and "independent." That doesn't mean she doesn't also need emotional support!

Plus why were all the songs so overproduced? I like the acoustic feel of S1 bc it added more emotional impact. I felt nothing from any of the songs this season. Cool!

[robininthelabyrinth]

Curse-breaker (Chapter 4/4)

- ao3 -

“You know him, right?” Jiang Cheng asked Lan Xichen. He was trying not to appear as nervous as he felt in asking, but he was pretty sure he was failing. “Nie-gongzi?”

Lan Xichen smiled. “I do. And thank you for calling him that, he prefers it.”

There were those that had started calling him Curse-breaker, as if it were a proper title; Jiang Cheng had heard it said a few times, and while he didn’t personally disagree with the moniker, which seemed appropriate, he also knew better than to just drop it into a conversation.

Luckily. He was trying to make a good impression here.

“What’s he like?” Jiang Cheng blurted out, then immediately wanted to kick himself. “I mean – it’s just – I didn’t see him much when he visited the Lotus Pier –”

He was making it worse.

It was only that he’d never quite met anyone with so much presence as Nie Mingjue: taller even than Jiang Cheng’s father, with that strange eye that seemed to see everything and anything. His features were generally set in a neutral expression that made him seem almost unworldly, like some god untouched by human concerns, but which sometimes softened a little when he approved of something – or someone.

Jiang Cheng could feel his cheeks going red, and tried to suppress it.

“Mingjue-xiong liked you,” Lan Xichen said, and Jiang Cheng lost the battle at once, his whole face heating up until it felt unbearably hot. This was worse than the time that Nie Mingjue had come to the Lotus Pier and told his parents to value Jiang Cheng more or else, and then his father had come in with a smirk and a snarl and somehow made them do it. “He said so.”

“He did?”

“Oh, yes. He said you were talented and faithful, with a good heart, and that we’d see great things from you.”

Jiang Cheng was going to die.

“That’s nice,” he said, with an effort. “I thought very highly of him, too. He’s…great.”

Wow. ‘Great’. Was that really the best he could do?

Lan Xichen studied him for a moment, then nodded. “He really is,” he said, and sighed. “I had the same reaction, you know. He’s…a lot.”

Jiang Cheng felt seen. “I know,” he said effusively. “He’s just – you know?”

“I do,” Lan Xichen said. “Just –”

He waved his hand in the air. Not even making some sort of gesture, just a meaningless sort of wave, but for some reason Jiang Cheng understood him completely.

There really just weren’t words sometimes, when you wanted to describe things or people that inspired feelings that went beyond the merely describable. Nie Mingjue was one of those – Jiang Cheng had known that Lan Xichen would understand, and sure enough, he did.

And to think that Wei Wuxian liked Lan Wangji better!

Really, his shixiong might be more talented than Jiang Cheng in many ways, ways that were often a matter of jealousy, but Jiang Cheng clearly had better taste.

“Oh, there you are,” a voice said, and Jiang Cheng tensed and turned to look – but it was only Wen Qing, so that was fine. “Lan-gongzi, Jiang-gongzi, I was sent to spend some time with you.”

She probably meant that she was sent away so that the adults would have time to talk about issues they thought were too sensitive to involve the younger generation, or else they just wanted to start drinking earlier in the afternoon than usual and didn’t want her judging them from a medical standpoint. Either might be true – Wen Qing was widely acclaimed as one of the most talented in their generation, as terrifying with her needles as other people might be with their sword, from more or less the first moment she’d finally been allowed to join the rest of them on equal grounds.

They greeted her, trying to stand up to be polite, but she waved them down irritably and took a seat instead. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nie Mingjue,” Lan Xichen said, and Jiang Cheng nodded. “We were just commenting on his many admirable qualities.”

Jiang Cheng nodded a second time, even more emphatically.

Wen Qing looked at them both with that critical eye of hers for a long moment.

Then she sighed in a huff. “He’s really all that and more, isn’t he?” she said.

“He is,” Lan Xichen said.

“He’s just –” Jiang Cheng tried the same gesture as Lan Xichen earlier, and was gratified when Wen Qing started nodding herself in total agreement. “Right?”

“Right.”

-

Nie Mingjue was aware that many people liked to stare at them, but they had assumed it was because of how unusual they were – even putting aside the eye, which was their most obviously not-normal feature, their behavior was not always in line with regular people’s. They didn’t show their emotions on their face as easily, being more naturally inclined towards sternness, and their manner was both sharp and incisive, straightforward and blunt; they had missed critical years of social development while lost in what amounted to seclusion, too busy solidifying their sense of self, consolidating their we into an I.

(They were still trying to figure out gender, a process complicated by the fact that it hadn’t made much sense to either of them to begin with. They were starting to suspect it would be better to just give up on it entirely.)

It turned out, according to Nie Huaisang, that that was not why all those people were staring.

“When you say they like me…”

“Sexually or romantically attracted, usually both,” Nie Huaisang said. “You have a lot of would-be suitors. Lan Xichen, Jiang Cheng, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Jiang Yanli –”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to use their names directly like that,” Nie Mingjue said, though they weren’t sure about that. They’d forgotten more etiquette than they’d ever learned. “Also, isn’t Jiang Yanli getting married to Jin Zixuan?”

“He’s another of your admirers. As is Meng Yao…no, sorry, Jin Ziyao. You know he secretly thinks that you killed Jin Guangshan for him, right?”

They’d killed Jin Guangshan because he was rotten through and through, and he didn’t even have a qi deviation or a tormenting heart demon to blame for it. He just thought of people as things, even the ones he supposedly liked, and acted accordingly…they hadn’t really thought through the consequences of killing him when they’d done it, having long ago forgotten the concept of political considerations, but it was really amazing what could be covered up or excused if multiple sect leaders put their minds to it while the rest just breathed a sigh of relief that Jin Guangshan was gone.

“That seems like too many people,” they said. “They can’t all be my…admirers.”

“You think that’s it? I haven’t even gotten to Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian – both at once, if that’s your preferred flavor – and even that feral child Jin Ziyao found in Kuizhou…you know just the other week, he loudly declared that you were better than sweets and the entire room sighed all at once in agreement?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not. There are even rumors that say that Sect Leader Wen might be interested…”

They shrugged.

Nie Huaisang squinted at them. “Da-ge. Did you know about that one?”

“Sect Leader Wen is not subtle,” they said dryly. “But if it makes you feel better, his interest is purely a matter of cultivation, and also our father has already hit him for even making the suggestion.”

Nie Huaisang didn’t look impressed. “Are you sure it’s purely a matter of cultivation? Would you be able to tell if it wasn’t?”

Nie Mingjue considered how little they’d recognized any of the other people who were purportedly interested in them. “No,” they admitted.

“Hmm. What about Teacher Lan?”

“What about Teacher Lan?” they asked, suspicious.

“Nothing, nothing. Just something I read somewhere…”

Probably one of those spring books that he was always sneaking around, they concluded.

“Though…you have been going out of your way to meet up with Teacher Lan more often recently…”

“He’s helping me figure out some of the bureaucratic intricacies of changing succession,” they said. “He’s had the most experience, having to do it twice – once to get his brother out of the line of succession, and another to get him back in. He’s a good teacher.”

He was, too. For all of Nie Huaisang’s tall tales about Lan Qiren’s strictness and overly-rigid insistence on orthodoxy, the man himself had a very calming presence, still and tranquil. It made them think of a musical instrument and, using the Nie cultivation method as a base, start to think strange thoughts…

Though not the sorts of thoughts Nie Huaisang had in mind.

“I mean, I guess. Even I learned eventually, and – wait. Why do you need to know about how to change succession? You’re already the heir.”

“That’s the problem,” Nie Mingjue said. “I need to figure out how to abdicate my position in your favor.”

Nie Huaisang gaped at him.

“No, I’m not joking,” they said, because they knew their little brother. “I’m not suited for politics. I don’t think I ever was, and after everything that happened, I’m even less suited.”

They really weren’t. Too blunt, too sharp, too concerned with justice, too inhuman – they were good at fighting, in the sense that they knew how to be a saber as well as a human and could wield sharpness in the same way, a slash from their fingers being enough to cleave a man in half, but that wasn’t what being a sect leader was about.

No, Nie Huaisang would be much better at it.

“Da-ge, you can’t do this to me!” Nie Huaisang wailed. “Do you know how much work it’d be? Anyway, you can’t – our father’s already promised all of Qinghe Nie to your future spouse! So there!”

“Then I just won’t ever get married.”

“What?!” Nie Huaisang waved his hands wildly. “You can’t do that! You – you – do you know how many hearts you’d be breaking?!”

“So you’ve informed me,” Nie Mingjue said dryly. “It’s all right, Huaisang. I rather like the life Teacher Lan has made for himself, traveling all around and coming back every few seasons to teach something. I want to fight evil, and there’s a lot more evil out there than there is in here.”

Or, at minimum, there was more evil of the sort they were allowed to just stab. That was apparently frowned upon, in politics – there was a reason they said they weren’t suited for it.

“You’re not suited for fighting evil with a blade,” they added while Nie Huaisang was still spluttering. “But you can do wonders with people, if you’re given enough time to plan it. Being sect leader will put you in the position that will let you fight evil best, in your own way.”

“Not everything is about fighting evil, da-ge!”

“Isn’t it?”

Nie Huaisang didn’t seem to have a good answer to that.

After a while, he finally said, “…you really think I’d be good at it?”

Nie Mingjue pulled their younger brother in for a hug.

“You’ll be magnificent,” they promised.

-

They liked travel, just as they’d suspected they would.

People always recognized them – the eye was very distinctive, and they were also very tall – and immediately rushed over to share all their problems. They were very happy to help. Some of them they could fix personally, generally the ones that were stabbable, while they had a wide enough set of acquaintances to deal with many of the others: those who needed healing to go to the Lan sect or Wen sect, depending on whether problem was mental or physical; those that needed advancement to the Jin sect or Jiang sect; mysteries to be solved to the newly established Wei sect over in Yiling; and anyone with anything more abstruse than that over to Nie Huaisang personally to sort of.

Their little brother liked a good puzzle.

As for Nie Mingjue’s part, they liked fighting evil, and they liked helping people, too, if they could manage it, so it all worked out quite well. The road could be a little lonely at times, all alone with no one around, but it wasn’t really that bad. They were welcome at just about every cultivation sect and most of the other places they’d passed by, so it wasn’t like they were lacking for company if they wanted it.

It was only sometimes that they wished that there was someone else who might want to share this type of life with them.

It was a difficult life, always roving and never satisfied, intent on fighting evil for an eternity and prizing the doing of it over normal things, everyday things; they knew that they couldn’t ask someone else to take on a mission so absurd as stamping out all evil in the world, and so they didn’t. Who would be so foolish as that? Not everyone could leave behind all their responsibilities and ties to the world the way they did, passing instead through their beloved one’s lives by chance like a leaf tossed in the wind – nor should they, if those ties gave them joy.

Take their current mission, for example. One of Nie Mingjue’s earlier trips had taken them from Yiling to the Baixue Temple, with the highly unorthodox Wei sect’s equally unorthodox head disciple, Xue Yang, tagging along with them so that they could – in Wei Wuxian’s words – beat some sense into his head, and it had been on that trip that they had met Song Lan, who was thoroughly charmed by the idea of a sect established on principles of brotherhood rather than blood.

He'd also been rather charmed, they thought, by Xue Yang himself, and the interest had been mutual.

(They were getting better at recognizing that sort of thing.)

So Song Lan had gone off with them, with Nie Mingjue dropping both him and Xue Yang back in Yiling, and when he’d gone back again another time they had seemed very happy. But Song Lan had been thinking about his master and martial brothers back at home, and he’d asked if Nie Mingjue would be willing to carry along some letters that he didn’t dare trust to the post.

Nie Mingjue, suspecting a request regarding marriage was involved, had readily agreed. Sure enough, once they’d dropped it off, the entire Baixue Temple had all but exploded in excitement – they’d barely managed to make it out of there in time to avoid being dragged into all the fuss.

And now they were wandering around nearby, shaking their head in amusement at all the noise they’d left behind, looking for something more interesting to do. Some evil to fight, or something like that.

They found both.

“Well, that was exhilarating,” they commended to the cultivator in white that had worked together with them to defeat a rather astounding number of evil creatures in an effort to save some rogue cultivators who’d gotten in over their heads. Nie Mingjue’s reputation was already ridiculous, and was only going to get worse, they knew, but really this was a lot even for them. They wouldn’t have been able to manage it without help.

“It was,” the cultivator said, and smiled at them. “My name is Xiao Xingchen, disciple of Baoshan Sanren. Who are you?”

“Nie Mingjue,” they said. They thought they’d heard of Baoshan Sanren before, but they weren’t entirely sure – they had a tendency to forget things that weren’t that important to them. They thought it might be something to do with Wei Wuxian’s mother –something to do with the immortal mountain, and a doom that fell on those who descended from it…?

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did those rogue cultivators call you Curse-breaker?” Xiao Xingchen asked.

They thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.

Xiao Xingchen laughed.

It was a warm sound.

“Where are you going?” Nie Mingjue asked. “I can escort you, if you like.”

“Don’t you have things of your own to be doing?”

“Not really,” Nie Mingjue said. “I want to eradicate all evil in this world, a task that’ll take me a lifetime – and evil can be found anywhere. Why not with you?”

Xiao Xingchen ducked his head. “I don’t have a destination either,” he admitted. “I came down from the mountain because I wanted to help save all the people in the world.”

Nie Mingjue blinked. That was nearly as stupidly idealistic a goal as theirs.

“Well, then,” they said, and smiled. “In that case, why don’t we go together?”

It would be nice to have company, unrestrained by any obligations tied to the mortal world, and in return they could show Xiao Xingchen everything there was to see – introduce him to all the people, eat all the food, fight all the battles. And if in the end it turned out that that doom people talked about in regards to the mountain really was a thing…

Well, they’d see about that.

After all, Nie Mingjue had a bit of experience with curses like that.

[princessofprocrastination]

The Faceless Youtuber (Sapnap)

MASTERLIST

pairing : sapnap / nick armstrong x reader 

summary : people often pressure faceless youtubers to reveal themselves. but for you, you were happy to show it to the world. but were they ever ready to see who you actually are? (fluff)

a/n : hi! i know it’s been awhile since i wrote a sapnap one, so here it is. (finally it’s not an angst.) AU 

-

 the first faceless legend that anyone could really think off would probably be sia. she kept herself secluded, always performing on big stages with her face covered, until she didn’t.

you loved your time being a faceless youtuber. you enjoyed it, if you say so yourself. you knew that once you let the world know what you look like, you can’t really take it back, no matter how many people respected your decision, there would still be a couple who don’t. 

the world knew very little of you, just your first name, and maybe which state you lived in. you liked to keep them anticipating and kept in the dark. 

they also knew that you were for some reason close with the twitch streamer, karl jacobs. the same karl jacobs that is always on mr beast’s videos. when they kept asking you two questions, you would tell them that the two of you simply met through mutual friends. 

of course, being friends with the opposite gender, or not would mean that there would be certain rumours, which included that the two of you are dating, or that the two of you are siblings. 

you laughed and played along sometimes at their stupid theories but it seemed like no one really had guessed who you actually are. 

honestly, you weren’t sure how no one has figured out who you are, or even just whose sibling you are. 

granted, it wasn’t often that you appeared in your brother’s videos, but you appeared in a couple, enough for at least a couple people to figure it out. 

being a friend of karl meant that you were friends with his friends, so you’ve met and spoken to everyone he knows, which obviously included everyone that’s in the dream smp.

so you’ve met everyone on the smp, eventually you got so close to dream that he allowed you into the smp. 

being karl’s fiance and all, you’ve definitely met quackity and sapnap before. and for some reason, you and them clicked so well. 

you and sapnap got really close whilst you joined the smp, being a year younger than he is. he treated you like his sister almost. 

what he didn’t know was that you hated that he treated you as his little sister. but what he doesn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him. 

you and your brother had a couple times talked about what you should do, or how you should do your face reveal. 

and it clicked to you that your brother is doing a spin on youtube rewind for 2020. and since everyone pretty much was on lockdown or in another country, he couldn’t really film people so he asked content creators to send him certail clips he wanted for the big video. 

so you brought it up to him, and not to everyone’s surprise, he loved the idea. also being the fact that he wanted to troll people about dream’s face reveal, he liked the idea of an actual faceless youtuber making a face reveal in his video. 

if people reading this hadn’t figured it out yet, yes, you are indeed the sister of the mighty mr beast. as fun as that sounds, life can get chaotic with him around, which was one of the reasons you moved out, away from him. though not far, it felt good to be able to wake up to no screaming. 

you’ve definitely thought about the consequences of doing a face reveal on his channel. 

first of all, would people even know you enough to acknowledge you? you’ve also been in the background of some mr beast videos, but they knew you as a crew member. 

of course you told your brother about your concerns, but him being his bubbly self, he told you to never say that about yourself ever again, and that your face reveal would top of dream’s future face reveal. 

-

although you and sapnap, or nick, are close, you’ve never showed him your face, and never revealed to him that you are jimmy’s sister. he respected that, and told you once that it was your choice and never rushed you to show him your face. 

but that didn’t mean you guys didn’t facetime. but instead of your face, he’d see your ceiling. 

he was one of the first people to know that you were planning to do a face reveal on mr beasts’ channel. 

you remembered exactly how the facetime conversation went. 

“sappyyy.” you greeted as the texan boy answered your facetime call. you wanted to tell him your plans as of december 2020. 

“i’m doing a face reveal on mr beast’s 2020 rewind.” you went straight to the point, not wanting to drag it out. you never understood the point, anyways. 

“holy shit, really?” you could see his face as he asks you, in shock. you nodded to him. 

“since we all know dream is really just trolling, jimmy said i could fill in the void in people’s hearts after that.” you laughed, remembering what your brother told you. 

“wait, that means he gets to see your face first?” he asked you. you nodded again. 

“ugh. he never loses, does he?” he jokes around, laughing towards the end of the sentence, clearly clueless about the two of you being siblings.

-

time came for the countdown for the premier of the video. you were nervous, but more excited. you couldn’t wait for people to see you, and to get to know more about the dynamics of you and jimmy’s sibling-ship. 

when you tweeted out a teaser video for the mr beasts’ rewind, everyone was pumped. and although a lot of people knew deep in their hearts that dream wasn’t actually going to do a face reveal, they still had that little bit of hope left in them. 

nonetheless, they were really excited to finally see you, and to get to know more about you, besides knowing which part in america you live in, and what your voice sounds like. 

you saw yours and dream’s name trending on twitter for the face reveal. while you waited for the countdown to touch zero, you scrolled through twitter, to see what they were talking about. 

some were making theories about the face reveal, saying that it was sus that dream and you wanted to do one together, that the two of you were dating. some say that the both of you were just going to troll everyone and isn’t actually doing a face reveal. 

you laughed at some of the stupid tweets you read. they were all definitely in for a treat. 

your brother, jimmy was talking to his cameraman as everyone was anticipating to watch the video. obviously he wanted to document this, he felt a sense of pride for you. also, you brought him a lot of views, according to him. 

you sat next to karl, texting nick as you bounced your leg in mixture of excitement and nerves. 

“oh my god, stop. it will all go well.” karl’s hand stops your annoying leg bouncing as he rests it on your thigh. 

“i can’t help it, after this video, everyone will know what i look like.” you told him. honestly, you didn’t care about what the public would think about you, you were more worried about what nick would think. 

what if he thought you looked weird or just generally didn’t like what you looked like. 

as if karl could hear your thoughts, he said. “he will think you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever laid his eyes upon.” 

you rocked yourself in the chair you sat to calm yourself down. and just in time, your brother’s video started playing. 

-

SAPNAP’S POV

everyone thinks her and i have this amazing sibling relationship but none of them really know how much i hate that word so much. 

siblings. 

do we not look good together? granted, no one really knows what you look like, but why don’t people ship us together as much as they ship you with all the other guys?

i pushed that hurtful thought down my chest, though. this was it. i can finally see what she looks like. not just the top of her beautiful, healthy hair. not just the side of her neck. 

i watched through the entire mr beast video, seeing all the small creators who have became successful during the pandemic, you being one of them. 

i watched as clips of yours and dream’s youtube videos and streams popped up. i smiled hearing your soft voice talking in the background of the video. 

knowing mr beast, he would put all the important parts towards the end, so i had to sit down and watch the whole video. not that i minded, though. 

there was another thing i was curious about. i knew dream isn’t actually going to show his face, but what if you did the same thing, too? 

you wouldn’t, right?

i bounced both my legs as it came towards the end of the video. 

at that point, they were playing the dream’s supposed face reveal. i chuckle as dream removed his cardboard sign to reveal a mask. i was sure everyone knew that this was coming, anyway. 

then, your part came. 

i heard people in the background of the video talking a little bit about you. they were talking about how mysterious you are, and what they expect you to look like. 

the background voices goes quiet, as the screen starts to show your back. 

everyone right now is staring at the back of your head, your shiny hair as you type away on your computer. your hair was put down, not long but longer than shoulder length. 

your hair isn’t a natural colour. it seems like it had a tone of purple in it, just dark. although i hadn’t seen your face, your hair was just what i had expected. 

you heard mr beast call out your name from behind you. 

“hey, uh, sis? i kinda need your help.” i heard him say. 

wait. did i hear that right? 

there is no way he meant it as actual siblings, right? but then, it he didn’t mean it like that, what was the point of saying it. 

i heard you hum as an answer to him, still not turning back. 

“just turn around and see, dear sister.” mr beast himself, said again. 

oh my god. you and him actually are siblings. that basically confirmed it all. 

“why have you said sister twice now?” your voice soft, but confused to why he repeated that word. 

on screen, you slowly turned to face your supposed brother. you looked straight to your brother, finally giving him the attention he wanted.

soon, you realised that there is a camera pointing to your face. your eyes widen, not expecting a large camera pointed to you as you spoke to your brother. 

your eyes visibly flicked from making eye contact with your brother and the camera, confusion still etched on your face. you offered a small smile and wave to the camera as the scene cuts there. 

holy shit. when karl said she’d be pretty, i didn’t think she was going to be gorgeous. is she even in my league? 

the outro rolls in. mr beast has his arm around your shoulders. 

you were wearing something different this time. you wore a blouse under a sweatshirt, tucked in jeans that fitted you so well. goddamn, you are beautiful. 

“hi.” you exclaimed to the camera, now visibly more comfortable. 

i could hear karl say something, though it sounded far. in the next second, karl came in the shot, hugging you, making sure to wrap his arms on your waist, tightening it after a while. you gave karl a small kiss on the lower part of his cheek since he’s slightly taller than you.

queue the ship comments. the little interaction burned me a little but karl’s love language is physical touch and you and him have been friends for a while, so i tried to not think about it too much. 

i focused on the grin on your face as your brother went on to talk about how proud he is of you, and how far you’ve come. 

the video finally ends with you grabbing and holding karl’s hands as you went forward, near the camera to give it a kiss. 

“i love you guys, byeee.” you ended it, pulling the ‘e’ as far as you can. 

the video ends. 

holy shit. i need to call this girl. 

-

YOUR POV 

as the video ends, while the guys and you are laughing at you giving the camera a kiss, your phone goes off. a facetime call from someone you wished to hold like you did to karl. 

you jumped in your seat, on the couch, excited to finally call him and not have to cover your face.

“helloo.” you dragged your ‘o’s.

“you beautiful woman, why would you hide that from me for so long?” his voice louder than usual, almost screaming. he has a large smile on his face that complimented all his facial features. 

you smiled back to him, knowing that he wasn’t actually expecting an answer from you. 

“is karl next to you?” he asked you.

“you called me to talk to your fiance? this is unfair.” you pouted. 

“just you wait, gorgeous. pan the phone to him.” he told you. 

you showed karl’s face on your phone, now karl sitting even closer to you to get a better look of his friend. 

“yes, my betrothed?” karl starts conversating with the man on call. 

“listen here. you are to be far far away from my woman, got it? no hugging her anymore. you can only sit next to her if there’s room for jesus, no closer.” he said seriously. that was intimidatingly hot, you couldn’t lie.

“what? i got her before you did, this isn’t fair at all.” karl whined. 

“nah, before i seclude her from you, i better see some space between you and her.” nick told karl. 

“i guess you’re losing the fiance card, karl.” you told your best friend, laughing. 

karl, although still whining, tried not to laugh along with you and some of the boys who heard your conversations.

you glanced at your brother who was standing opposite you. he gave you a small wink and gave you a thumbs up, mouthing “i approve.”

you rolled your eyes. you glanced at the camera next to jimmy, recording this very conversation. you knew that everyone would not live this one down ever. 

you blushed, remembering the very words nick had said on the call.