#but I thought pinning your ask would be an easy temporary post for now

[rosicheeks]

I just realized (i'm kinda slow sometimes) your pinned post is my ask! WOW!

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (18)

(Hey, everyone! I have an announcement to make! After posting this chapter, I am going to be taking a temporary leave due to family matters. They’re fun family matters, so don’t worry! but they will prevent me from writing any further chapters at this time. I plan to post the next chapter on June 27th. Sorry for the long wait! That’s just how things worked out, but I hope I’ll get to see you all then, and please enjoy this new update! Feel free to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries!)

Ch. 1 / Ch. 17 / Ch. 19 (ao3)

Chapter 18: It’s the Little Moments

Felix grumbled to himself as he picked up his tie to pull it around his neck. Valentine’s Day parties were bad enough already with all of the love-sick couples that tended to crowd around him throughout the evening. Did he really have to further his torment by dressing up as well? His previous suit was perfectly fine for an event such as this. Fashionable, sleek, formal- there was no reason to change. Especially when it came to this ridiculous, unseemly-

“Oh, lighten up.” His mother told him, shooing his hands away so she could tie the tie herself. “It’s just a Valentine’s Day suit, and you’re wearing it for one night. There’s no need to scowl over it. I’m sure the other boys will be wearing some form of pink too.”

Felix scoffed. “Mother, don’t patronize me. You know I don’t care about the pink color. It’s the fact that you’re dressing me up to match the theme.”

Bridgette eyed him. “And?  You’re supposed to match the theme for parties. That’s why it’s called a theme.”

“But if I match the theme, other girls at the party will probably think I approve of the theme too.” Felix argued. “And then they’ll be asking me to dance or trying to talk with me in general. I’ll have to spend the entire evening trying to shoo them off.”

A laugh tumbled from his mother’s lips. “Aw~, it must be so exhausting having all of the girls fall in love with you.”

Felix shot her a flat look. “Would you want to spend an evening rejecting people?”

Bridgette tilted her head in a nod. “I’ll give you that one, but you know Allegra could always scare them off if they become too overbearing.”

Felix blew out a relenting sigh. He supposed that was true.

“Besides, even if the girls are chasing you, you still need to look nice Marinette, don’t you?”

Felix furrowed his eyebrows, confused. “No? Marinette’s not going to care what I look like, so long as I’m not a fashion disaster, that is.”

Which, in this suit, he might very well be, to be honest. Perhaps he should text her a warning.

“I thought you two were supposed to be going on a fake date tonight.” His mother replied, tugging lightly on Felix’s tie to straighten it.

Felix’s gaze snapped to her. “Where did you hear that?”

Bridgette chuckled, offering him a teasing glance as she said, “Oh, please. You know Allegra and I talk.”

Felix tisked and rolled his shoulders, making sure his suit wasn’t too tight. Of course Allegra would mention that ridiculous suggestion to his mother. Those two loved to gossip together, specifically about him.

“Well, we’re not.” He remarked, leveling out the annoyance in his tone. “That was just some frivolous idea that Claude came up with the other day.”

“Really? I thought the idea sounded rather exciting.”

Felix resisted the urge to scoff again. Her too? “Why on earth would it be exciting? You galivant around with someone, probably doing the exact same thing you would do with them on a normal basis, but you call it a ‘fake date’ for what? A good laugh when someone assumes you’re a real couple? I can’t wrap my brain around the reasoning.”

Another chuckle came from Bridgette. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t, but consider this: If you and Marinette pretend you’re dating for the evening, you might not have so many girls coming to ask you for a dance.”

Felix paused, his eyes widening slightly. That.. actually wasn’t such a bad idea. He might even consider it if the thought of asking Marinette didn’t sound so incredibly arrogant. ‘Would you mind being my fake date to help me escape the supposed hoards of girls who are going to chase after me tonight?’ You can’t convince him that that proposal didn’t sound anything less than tacky. She’d probably tease him about it the whole night.

“If it bothers you so much, though,” his mother spoke again, “why not ask Marinette out on a real date?”

Felix sputtered a bit at the comment, blurting out a bewildered, “Excuse me?”

Don’t get him wrong, Marinette was an extraordinary person and anyone who ended up with her would undoubtedly be lucky, but the very thought of him asking her out on a date felt.. strange. He couldn’t imagine asking her for anything more than what she was giving him right now, and he didn’t think there was anything she’d want from him when it came to a relationship anyway. Their dynamic was comfortable as it was. Why should they try to complicate things?

“Alright, alright, I was just asking.” his mother assured, almost seeming to laugh as she did. “You two are only friends. I understand.”

Something about the smile in her eyes told him that she didn’t understand, but he simply glanced to the side, electing to ignore it. Arguing wouldn’t change her mind either way, and in the end it was just a question. His friendship with Marinette wasn’t going to change over it, because neither of them harbored romantic feelings for each other. He was perfectly content to keep it that way. 

~~~~~~

Marinette stood in front of her vanity mirror, twisting her hair into a side ponytail for the fifth time that evening. She’d spent the last hour trying over and over again to perfect the hairstyle, but she could never seem to get it right. The ponytail was always too lopsided or too messy or the braid tied into it would begin to unwind. Now, the ponytail was tied tightly enough, but the braid was crooked, and there were too many stray hairs flying around for it to look neat. How can she still be struggling after practicing this for an hour?

“Ugh! I give up!” She huffed, throwing her hands down and staring ruefully at her nearly knotted locks. This is what she gets for taking the easy route and always putting her hair in pigtails. “I’m just going to stay home.”

“No, don’t do that!” Tikki quickly spoke up, flying to her holder’s side. “You’ve worked too hard on your dress to stay home! And your hair really doesn’t look all that bad. I’m sure no one will think twice about it.”

Marinette tisked, plopping into her rolling chair and crossing her arms. “But I’ll think about it, Tikki, and I’ll be more self-conscious than I was going to be before.”

Tonight wasn’t just a Valentine’s Day party for Marinette. That was mainly what it was, of course, but she also saw it as a sort of debut. With the amount of time she spent hanging around Allegra and Claude and the others, she hadn’t had time to truly meet her other classmates at Rosemary, but tonight, they would all be gathered together for her convenience and she would finally have a chance to introduce herself to the school as a whole. It was exhilarating.. and a tad frightening. She’d seen plenty of students in passing that appeared to be less than friendly. How were they going to react to her? Were they going to be as sweet as her current friends? Or did she happen to run into the best group in the school first? There was no telling.

“Try not to overthink it.” Her kwami said softly, though they both knew she would. “Why don’t you try a different hairstyle?”

“Because I don’t know any other hairstyles.” Marinette sighed. “Well.. I know a bun, I guess, but I really wanted this hairstyle for tonight. I feel like it would really bring the dress together, you know?”

“It would.” Tikki agreed. “And it does. But if you think you can’t figure it out-”

“Marinette! Felix is here to pick you up!”

Panic seized Marinette’s chest at the call, and she leapt out of her chair to look in the mirror again. Felix was there already? The party wasn’t for another thirty minutes! Why did he always have to be early? 

“Uh- j-just a second, Maman!” She called back, frantically trying to straighten her braid and smooth the wisps of hair around her ponytail. It didn’t work, unfortunately, so she threw a silver pin in her hair as a last ditch effort and made her way downstairs, trying not to whimper too much.

“Oh, Marinette, you look wonderful!” Her mother cooed as Marinette descended the stairs. “I need to go get Tom. Oh, and a camera!”

Marinette pulled a wince. They were going to have photo evidence of this failure of a hairstyle? 

“Maman, are you sure that’s necessary? I get dressed up like this all the time.” She tried to dissuade, but Sabine merely waved off her comment. 

“Of course it is! This is your first party at Rosemary. We must have pictures.”

“Best be prepared.” A voice cut in, catching Marinette’s attention immediately. “Claude will undoubtedly be thinking the same thing when we arrive.”

Marinette turned towards the front door with a smile, but a gasp escaped her when she saw Felix standing there. She knew it would be him, of course. She simply hadn’t expected him to be wearing a different outfit. 

“You..” She paused, briefly wondering if it would be rude to finish, then continued, “you changed your suit.”

Logically, she knew he had more than one suit. No one can wear the same suit forever, and Felix seemed to be too proper to do it even if he could. However, when he didn’t wear his usual suit, he continued to maintain the black and grey color scheme, so it never quite stuck with her that he’d changed. Tonight, though, his suit was entirely red, so deep a red that she might acquate it with blood, and he had a wonderfully pink tie on, along with a pink cloth folded in his front vest pocket to complement it. The sight nearly knocked her off her feet. He was even matching the party’s theme! She didn’t think he cared for things such as that.

A smirk ghosted Felix’s lips, and he nodded. “Yes, courtesy of my mother. I see you changed your hair as well.”

A blush crept across her cheeks, and Marinette reached up to feel how horrible the hairstyle was again. Here Felix was, doing his best and looking great as always, and she was just standing there looking like a mess. Typical.

“O-Oh, yeah, I mean.. I tried to change it. I don’t think it worked out too well..” She muttered, glancing down at the ground. Maybe she still had time to take it out before they left? 

Felix’s footsteps brought her gaze back upwards, and she watched him cross the room to her. His eyes were squinted ever-so-slightly, the way they always were when he was pondering something, and once he was close enough, he reached out, his hand lightly tracing over the side braid she’d attempted. 

Marinette stood still, allowing him to ‘examine’ her for a moment before saying, “It’s awful, isn’t it? I couldn’t get anything to stay where it was supposed to.”

Felix hummed absently, bringing his hand down to let the tip of her ponytail slide off of his fingertips. “No, not awful. If you practice a few more times, I’m sure it would be perfect.”

Marinette blew out a small sigh. That meant it wasn’t perfect now.

“Do you have the reference you used? If I see it, I might be able to straighten the braid out before we leave at least.” Felix inquired, causing Marinette’s eyes to widen. Oh?

“You know how to do hair?”

“Not quite,” he admitted, “but I learned some of the basics during a few sleepovers. For some reason, Claude and Allegra thought it important that I had a decent grasp on the subject.”

A smile came to Marinette’s lips. That sounded like something they would do. “And you think you can fix my hairstyle from your limited knowledge?”

“Possibly, if you have reference,” Felix smirked, “but it’s alright if you prefer to keep what you have.”

“Oh no, please.” Marinette said, quickly pulling her phone out of her heart shaped purse. “Anything’s probably better than what I have in now. Are you sure we have time, though?”

Felix nodded. “I always leave around ten or fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, so we should have plenty of time.”

Marinette nodded as well and opened the reference video she’d used for her hairstyle. Felix took the phone from her and watched it once or twice as she pulled out the pins in her hair. Then, when everything was down again, Felix handed the phone back to her and let it play in her hands for a third time while he set to work. His fingers brushed through her hair, carefully separating the different locks and tying them together. The feeling behind it was quite strange, mostly because she could hardly feel it at all. His hands were so gentle, so cautious that even when he had to tug on her hair to tighten the braid, it seemed as light as a cloud. Felix was always soft like that. He spoke harshly to others and liked to scowl often, but when it came to his actions, she couldn’t recall a single time he’d been rough. 

Recently, she’s been hearing that secret softness in his voice too, and it never failed to make her smile. 

“Aw, did her hair fall out?”

Sabine’s voice brought the two’s gaze to the living room doorway. She was standing there with Tom, a camera in her hands and a slight, disappointed frown on her lips.

“No, I took it out.” Marinette assured over her shoulder. “Felix offered to do the hairdo himself so it would look better.”

“Oh, how gentlemanly of him.” Tom chimed in with a satisfied smile. 

“Do you mind if I get a picture?” Sabine requested, prepping the camera in her hands.

“Uh..” Marinette looked to Felix as best she could. “Are you okay with that?”

“I don’t mind.” Felix shrugged. “Mother already bombarded me with pictures before I left. What’s a few more?”

Marinette chuckled. “You said she was the one who gave you the suit right?”

“No, she’s the one who made me wear it.” Felix corrected. “Something about having to match the theme.”

“Ah, I see.” Marinette said. She should have known Felix wouldn’t throw away his black and grey color scheme willingly. “She has great taste. You’ll have to let me meet her sometime so I can tell her ‘thank you’.”

A playful scoff passed his lips and brushed against her ear. “You know, I’m sure she would be delighted to do just that.”

*Click!*

The camera flash brought the two’s attention back to Sabine and Tom, who were both holding giddy smiles at this point.

“I think you both look fantastic.” Tom grinned. “Those boys will be falling over each other to get to Marinette tonight, I’m sure.”

Felix hummed as he twisted her hair to pin it into a side ponytail, muttering, “I quite agree.”

The comment was soft and absent, and it sent a blush exploding across Marinette’s face. That’s the second time he’s agreed to her being pretty and a supposed ‘boy magnet’. Does he ever think about what he’s saying or is it just some logical fact to him that shouldn’t mean anything? She’s not sure which one she prefers. 

“Done.” 

Felix’s hands fell back to his sides, and Marinette reached up to feel the hairstyle- gently, though, so as not to mess it up. The pull of the bobby pins was comfortable and tight, and her braid felt nice and straight as she grazed her fingers over it. Overall, it felt perfect, which was exactly what she’d wanted.

“Thanks, Felix.” She said, offering him a quick smile as she checked the reflection in her phone. “It looks great. You’re a life-saver.”

“And you two are going to be late if you don’t hurry up.” Her maman cut in. “Now gather together for a picture so we can send you off.”

Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile and tucked her phone back in her purse, then turned to stand next to Felix. He, in turn, straightened slightly next to her and clasped his hand behind his back for the picture.

“Alright, say cheese!” Sabine coaxed, holding up her camera.

The pair smiled. “Cheese!”

*Click!*

~~~~~~~

Claude’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he watched his fellow Rosemary students pile into the Mandarin Oriental. As usual, people of all shapes and sizes were here. The ‘cool’ kids, the music kids, the nerd kids, the geeks, the dancers- anyone and everyone who had a popular status at the school, along with a good group of others who counted as the stalking crowd. The younger, less-popular students who tended to follow the social hierarchies like loyal dogs. The ‘baby paparazzis’, if you will. They were all crowding inside with an urgency that only his- and Allegra and Allan and Marinette and Felix’s -parties could bring. Soon, Marinette and Felix will be there as well, and then the fun will really begin.

“Alright, Marinette just texted.” Allegra spoke up behind him. She was currently hovering around the buffet table to ensure the punch drinks were being dispersed properly. Claude, of course, was hovering around Allegra in case she needed his help with anything. 

“She said they’re parking now.” His ‘fake date’ continued, glancing over her phone screen as she re-read the text. “You remember what to do, right?”

Claude huffed out a playful scoff, reaching for the platter of shrimp as he replied, “Of course I do. Take her onto the dance floor to help her get comfortable in the ‘party atmosphere’, convince her to dance with Felix while you convince Felix to dance with her, and-”

Allegra slapped his hand, coaxing a yelp from the brunette.

“Don’t touch the shrimp until the other guests have some first.” She scolded.

Claude rubbed his hand with a pout. So touchy. Why should he have to wait for the guests to eat? If they wanted shrimp, they should come up and get some. Why can’t he have the food that he helped pay for? (Well, the food that his parents helped pay for.)

“And keep your voice down too.” Allegra added, flipping her hair over her shoulder when it fell in the way. Wearing it in a half-up-half-down style wasn’t nearly as convenient as her casual braid, but he had to admit, the free curls that fell around her shoulders were extremely nice. “Do you know the amount of people here who would love to get their grubby little hands on the fact that we’re trying to set stubborn, stuck-up, stone-faced Felix with the new, cotton-candy-sweet, bakery-girl Marinette? The gossip would reach both of them within seconds.”

“Yeah, it probably would.” He agreed. “But at least they’ll both know they like each other then. Saves us the trouble, right?”

Allegra shot him a flat look, meaning he probably said something wildly inaccurate again.

“Claude, the only gossip that would be spreading would be the fact that we’re trying to get them together. Not that they like each other. How do you think Felix is going to react when he realizes we’re playing matchmaker? What about Marinette? I think they’d probably be a little uncomfortable considering neither of them probably think that the other person likes them. Which is why we decided to be subtle about this in the first place.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yes, it does.” Allegra said, crossing her arms. “So keep your voice down when talking about it from now on, please.”

Claude nodded, leaning back on the buffet table as he faced the crowd again. “Sure, sorry.”

This was going to be a tough evening, trying to get Marinette and Felix together while not blurting the scheme out to the world. He just felt like everything would be easier if they simply talked to each other about it openly. But Allegra was more perceptive than he was. She probably knew things he didn’t about the situation. So he’ll go along with her plan and hope it works out. 

Besides, this way he gets to mess with Felix as much as he wants. And he won’t get scolded, this time! 

And if everything does work out, Marinette and Felix will be all the happier for it.

Win-win-win-win.

“Hey, guys.” Allan spoke up, joining them at the table and swiping a shrimp. “Do you know if Felix and Marinette are here yet? I haven’t seen them.”

Allegra opened her mouth to scold him about the shrimp as she had Claude, but Allan popped it into his mouth before she could. Claude held back a snort, watching Allegra purse her lips in annoyance. If he couldn’t have a shrimp, at least Allan got one.

“They’re on their way up now.” The blonde replied with narrowed eyes, unbeknownst to Allan. “They just parked a few minutes ago.”

“Cool. We’re still having Claude do his thing, right?”

“Yep.” Claude said, a devilish grin spreading across his lips. “And I am so ready to cause mischief.”

Allegra snorted and lightly nudged him in the arm. “Not too much mischief. This is supposed to be romantic, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Claude waved her off. “I’ll get them to be romantic. After I get to mess with them.”

“Claude-”

“Oh- there they are! Hey, guys!” 

Claude perked up at the interruption, the familiar voice drawing his gaze to the front of the Mandarin Oriental. It was the very voice they’d been waiting for, and the source wasn’t hard to find.

Marinette and Felix were making their way through the crowd towards them, Marinette clearly excited as she waved them down with a bright smile. The designer dress she was wearing looked fantastic, as Felix had predicted, and the hearts littering it matched the theme perfectly. She even had her hair all done up tonight! (Which really brought out the elegance of the dress, in his opinion.) An outfit like that was only going to make his job of setting up a romantic thought process between the two that much easier.

(Of course, with the way Felix was staring at Marinette right now, Claude had a feeling that that thought process might already be set up.)

“Hey!” he greeted, meeting the pair halfway to give Marinette a hug. Was it the flowers on the table or did this girl actually smell like roses tonight? Did she use a special perfume? Oh, Allegra was going to love this.

“You two look awesome! I was starting to think you’d never get here.” He teased, stepping back again to get a better view of her face. She decided to go with a pinker shade of lipstick tonight, along with a glittering, light pink eyeshadow, and it’s a wonder that Felix hasn’t collapsed from swooning at this point. (Though maybe Claude can catch that when the two dance later. The video footage would be priceless!)

Marinette let out a light laugh, touching the tip of her side ponytail with a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. Felix was helping me with my hair.”

“Aw, Felix!” Allegra cooed, coming up behind Claude just then to join them. “You did Marinette’s hair? It looks lovely.”

“I knew those lessons would come in handy.” Claude smirked. 

“Yes, who would’ve guessed?” Felix muttered, briefly rolling his eyes, but Claude wasn’t fooled. He could hear the almost airy tone to Felix’s voice, see his eyes soften anytime he so much as glanced at Marinette. That guy had probably been ecstatic to do Marinette’s hair, and he just didn’t want to show it. 

He would, though.. Soon enough.

“Hey, guys.” Allan chimed in, finally joining them as well. “You both look great. I haven’t seen Felix wear that dark of red in a while.”

“Or red in general.” Allegra remarked with a smile. 

“Or pink.” Claude added, eyeing Felix’s shirt sleeves. “Actually, I haven’t seen you wear anything besides gray or black since Marinette had you wear that green, plaid shirt after the ‘flour incident’.”

“In other words.. Your mom made you wear that, didn’t she?” Allegra asked lightheartedly.

“Of course she did.” Felix said. “Why else would I wear it?”

“Well, I imagine you’d just want to look nice.” Claude joked, wrapping his arm around Felix’s shoulders and ignoring the blond’s scowl. “Either way, remind your mom how awesome she is for me when you get home.”

“I’m sure she already knows.” Felix replied curtly, shoving Claude’s arm off of him again.

A giggle brought Claude’s attention back to Marinette, who was now observing the party with sparkling interest.

“Everything looks incredible, you guys!” She nearly squealed. “The lights, the flowers, the food.. But I thought the party started at six. Did I get the times mixed up again?”

“No, it does- er, did.” Claude said. “People just get excited and like to get in as soon as they can.”

“Oh.” Marinette muttered, relief smoothing out her features. “So we’re not late?”

“Not at all. In fact..” Claude swept into a bow, offering his hand to her with a grin. “We were just about to start the dancing. Would you mind giving me the honors?”

A surprised laugh fell from Marinette’s lips. “Me? I thought Allegra was your ‘fake date’ for the evening.”

“She is, but I have to save the best for last, right?” Claude threw a wink at Allegra, who also let out a laugh and rolled her eyes. The slight blush on the her cheeks gave her away, though, and it caused his grin to widen.

Marinette gave an “Aw~.” and slipped her hand into his. “Well, in that case, I’d be delighted to dance with you.”

“Great!” Claude cheered, pulling her close. 

They glided onto the dance floor, quickly catching the attention of the room, and with that, the first part of the plan fell into place. Claude was dancing with Marinette. Now he needed to convince her to dance with Felix.

Out of the corner of his eye, Claude could already see Felix starting to flounder. He simply stood there, quietly watching them dance with that neutral expression of his and occasionally looking elsewhere. Without Marinette to anchor him in a room of people, the blond would no doubt resort to being a wallflower again and wander over to some corner. A nice, hidden corner where Allegra could easily- and discreetly -convince Felix to dance with Marinette. They all knew him too well.

“Are we the only ones dancing?” Marinette asked, bringing Claude’s attention back to her.

“For now,” he confirmed, “but someone has to start it, right? Look, they’re already joining in.”

“I guess that’s true..” Marinette said, glancing at the few couples that had indeed started to join them. “I don’t normally dance all that much, to be honest. So it’s a little weird for me to be the one starting it for once.”

Claude laughed and took a step back to spin her around. “Really? You’re a natural at it!”

“Oh, thanks. That’s a relief to hear.” Marinette smiled, hobbling into a spin.

“Course. But you know who else is a natural at it?”

Marinette hummed. “Let me guess.. Is it you?”

Claude snorted. “Well, duh, but I was actually talking about Felix.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Felix?”

“Yeah! He takes waltzing classes at the school and everything, but he never dances! Can you believe it?”

A chuckle passed Marinette’s lips. “Kind of. This is Felix we’re talking about. Maybe his mom wanted him to take dance lessons like she wanted him to wear that tuxedo.”

“Maybe.. But it’s still a shame to waste such carefully crafted skills. You should try to get him to dance tonight.”

Marinette snorted. “Oh? And who would I get him to dance with? He doesn’t like getting close to random people.” 

Claude hummed. “Now, that’s a question, isn’t it? Who should dance with Felix tonight..” 

He made a show of looking around the dance floor as he and Marinette waltzed in a circle, then looked back to her. “..Why don’t you dance with him?”

Marinette nearly tripped over her own two feet at the suggestion, and Claude had to hold back a smile. Was she getting flustered? That’s a good sign.

“You want me to.. Are you sure he’d be comfortable with that? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even want to dance.”

“Come on, who else could get Felix to dance?” Claude insisted. “He’ll say yes if it’s you, and we can’t let him be a wallflower forever.”

Marinette let out a soft laugh, looking quite bashful as a blush curled onto her cheeks, and she glanced over at Felix. He was already standing next to the wall near the punch bowl, looking idle as he watched the dancing crowd. 

“I don’t know, Claude. I think he rather enjoys being a wallflower.”

Claude chuckled. “Just say you’ll try? At the very least, it’ll make Allegra happy to see Felix out and about.”

Marinette turned her attention back to him and smiled. “..Alright. I guess I’ll try, but no promises about actually getting him to dance.”

“Deal.” Claude grinned. Mission success!

“On an entirely different note, though, your dress is incredible. You made that yourself, right?”

Marinette brightened and nodded. “Yes, I did! I had lots of fun with it so I’m glad you guys like it.”

“Aw, I’m pretty sure I’d like anything you make. You always put a cool twist on things.” Claude smiled. “By the way, how’s my prince suit coming along? Have you started it yet?”

“I have! It’s actually pretty close to being done. I’m on the ‘details’ stage.”

A gasp of delight escaped him. He hadn’t realized how close she was to finishing it! 

“Oh, sweet! You’re gonna have to come over to my house when you finish it. We can even have a mini-fashion show for you!”

Marinette giggled. “That sounds like a blast.”

“Yes!” Claude briefly let go of Marinette’s waist to pump his fist. “Man, am I glad you came to Rosemary. I mean, not just because of the prince suit- even though that is pretty awesome -but also because you’re a fun person to be around, ya know? Everyone thinks so.”

“Really?” Marinette’s steps lagged slightly, clearly taken aback by the statement. “That’s.. Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

For a moment, she almost looked relieved.. Or even sad. But another blinding smile appeared before he could figure out why.

“I think you guys are fun to be around too.” She said warmly.

Claude smiled, feeling his uneasiness melt away. She didn’t sound sad or solemn at all. He was probably just imagining things, or seeing a trick of the light.

“Excuse me.”

Claude and Marinette slowed to a stop, turning to another boy who had come to interrupt them. 

“Mind switching off with me?” He asked, offering his hand to Marinette. Was that even allowed during an informal dance such as this?

Nevertheless, Claude caught Marinette’s eye. “What do you say, Mari? Wanna switch off?”

Marinette blinked. “Oh- uh -sure. If you’re okay with it.”

“Absolutely.” Claude smirked, jokingly spinning Marinette into the other boy’s arms. “Just don’t forget your promise to try!”

Marinette chuckled as she re-situated herself into the dance position. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Claude watched the two dance away, smiling proudly at the seed he’d sown for Marinette and Felix’s romantic evening. Allegra was surely going to be pleased with his work, and he was going to be pleased watching it unfold.

Now to get that shrimp.

~~~~~~~

Felix leaned against the wall, quietly observing the other party members dance, specifically Marinette. Her smile shined brightly as a boy twirled her, and her shoulders shook with giggles when the boy dipped her a second later. She appeared to be enjoying herself, and Felix was enjoying watching her. He had a feeling the other boys from Rosemary would be showering her with attention tonight- it was one of the rare times when she wasn’t being smothered by himself and the trio, after all -but he was admittedly surprised by the amount of stamina she possessed. It’d been at least an hour or two since the dancing started, yet she was still going as strong as ever, non-stop.

Well, he supposed it wasn’t non-stop. She had spun over to his little corner a few times to talk, which was how he ended up carrying two cups of punch instead of his one. Still, she should probably take a seat soon. Those heels she’d decided to wear were bound to be painful after a while. Perhaps he should grab her attention and find an empty table-

“U-um, excuse me, Felix?”

Felix glanced to his right, meeting the face of a girl that seemed vaguely familiar and a tad timid. She stood a certain distance away from him, her lips stretched into a nervous smile, and gave a little wave. Was that all she intended to do?  

“Can I help you?” He asked, raising a brow.

“Oh- well-” The girl faltered, as though she hadn’t expected to get this far, and rubbed her arm. “A-actually, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to.. Dance? With me. Of course.”

Ah, Felix thought, heaving a mental sigh. He should have known that that would be her intention. Now her visible anxiety made sense.

“Apologies, but I don’t dance.” He replied smoothly.

The girl’s shoulders sank. “Oh.. really? I thought you took waltzing classes at the school.”

Felix schooled a neutral expression, if only to avoid glaring. What, was she stalking him or something?

“I assure you they are for my Mother’s pleasure only, but I myself do not dance.” He said, a flatter note in his voice than before. Take the hint.

Thankfully, she did, but not in the way Felix was hoping.

“Ah, I see.. How about I keep you company then?” The girl suggested, getting entirely too comfortable next to him. “You’ve been over here by yourself for a while now.”

Felix’s grip on the cups tightened. So she was stalking him. 

“While I appreciate the gesture, it’s quite unnecessary. I’m simply waiting for my friend to get back.”

“Your friend?” The girl asked, glancing into the crowd curiously. “You mean the black-haired girl who gave you that drink, right?”

Felix held back another scowl, his eye twitching. Seriously, how long had this girl been watching him? Didn’t she have someone better to bother? There were plenty of other guys here that would be willing to dance or talk with her. Why did she have to choose to annoy him specifically?

“Her hair is raven, and yes, she’s the one that gave me this drink.” He responded curtly, taking a sip of his own punch.

The girl nodded thoughtfully, blissfully unaware of his thinning patience. “I guess her hair does have a blue shine to it. Do you want me to hold one of the drinks? I imagine they get heavy after a while.”

Felix pulled the drinks away from her grasp, finally fixing her with a look. 

I want you to mind your business, you little-

“Felix!”

Marinette’s punch was plucked from his hands, and an arm settled on his left shoulder. He whipped to the new interruption, thinking what now? and about ready to snap at someone, until he saw Allegra’s smiling face. She must have noticed him getting irritated and came over to investigate.

“You look like you’re having fun.” She said brightly, swirling Marinette’s punch in her hand. “Thanks for holding my drink for me.”

Felix winced, practically feeling the gears in the girl’s head turning. He’d just told her that the drink was Marinette’s, not Allegra’s. She was no doubt going to pick up on that. (Unless she was dimmer than he gave her credit for. That could always be a possibility.)

“Wait-” The girl said, her brows furrowing. Great. “Your drink? Felix just told me that that raven-haired girl gave him the drink.”

Felix gave Allegra a tired look. Try getting out of this one now.

At least she got Marinette’s hair color right that time.

Allegra ignored Felix’s look, instead throwing the girl a sharp smile. It was a rare sight to behold, but a welcome one. (So long as it wasn’t directed at him, of course.) It meant she was preparing herself to tear someone apart.

“Yes,” She replied shortly, “I gave the drink to Marinette, so she could give it to Felix. Is there a problem?”

The girl frowned. “But that doesn’t make any sense. I saw her-”

“You don’t believe me?” Allegra cut her off. “That’s rather rude to say to the hostess of the party, don’t you think? Go ask her yourself if you’re so skeptical. I wouldn’t recommend coming back to me afterwards, though.”

The girl huffed and crossed her arms, but turned around anyway, marching right off to a small group of girls that must have encouraged her to come talk with him in the first place. They swarmed her quickly, asking what happened and glaring at Allegra, but all Felix cared to do was take Marinette’s punch back from the blonde.

“I’m grateful, but I’m still going to need this back.” He said.

Allegra laughed and straightened to throw her hands in the air as a sign of surrender. “Fine with me. I didn’t realize you’d grown so attached to the beverage.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I didn’t. You just might drink it by accident while we’re talking.”

Allegra tilted her head in a nod. “That’s a fair assumption. So what did that girl want from you?”

He sighed. “A dance. What else would people be asking me for at this ridiculous party?”

“Hey, it’s not ridiculous.” Allegra argued. “Marinette’s having a pretty good time.”

Felix’s gaze swept over the crowd again, finding Marinette easily as she switched off to a new dance partner. Her smile was contagious as always, and it spread onto Felix’s lips with little resistance.

“Yes, I suppose she is.” He agreed, taking another sip of his punch.

Allegra leaned against the wall next to him with a light chuckle. “You know, I bet if Marinette asked you to dance with her, you would.”

Felix scoffed at the implication her tone gave. Of course he would dance with Marinette if she asked, but only because it would make her happy, not because he wanted to dance with her. (Not that he particularly minded dancing with her either-)

“She wouldn’t ask me to dance,” he said before his thoughts could get out of hand, “because she knows I don’t fancy it.”

Allegra hummed. “Maybe you should ask her then.”

Felix shot her a look. This was going to be as tiresome as the other girl, wasn’t it?

“And why would I do that?”

“Because you need to not be a total wallflower this evening.” Allegra smiled. “And it would make Marinette happy. She’s already danced with Allan and Claude tonight, but with your professional lessons, I’m sure she’d have a blast.”

“I believe we just established that she is already having a blast.” Felix remarked, to which Allegra groaned.

“Just think about it, alright?”

“Unlikely.”

Why should he have to entertain an uncomfortable idea when Marinette was already enjoying herself? Granted, dancing with her didn’t sound awful, but the thought that it might encourage others to attempt dancing with him did. People were already asking him to dance while he was hiding near a wall. Imagine how many girls would come out of the woodwork once they actually saw him dancing.

Allegra rolled her eyes and waved him off. “Alright, whatever. I’m going back to the buffet table. Feel free to walk over if you start getting the urge to snap on someone again.”

Felix smirked. “In other words, I’ll see you in a few minutes?”

Allegra snorted as she walked away, and Felix settled back against the wall.. Just in time to see Marinette making her way towards him from the midst of the crowd. She appeared to be out of breath, though she offered him a tired smile when they locked eyes, and he moved forward to meet her halfway. That way she won’t have to trek all the way across the room for a drink.

“Are you finally taking another break?” He asked, handing her her punch when they joined at the edge of the crowd.

Marinette breathed out a laugh and took her drink with a “thanks”. It amazed him how well her outfit was staying together. The bow that held the dress together over her shoulders hadn’t loosened at all, and her hair seemed to be in place as well, save for a few stray strands. One would think that that amount of dancing would have her looking more disheveled.

“Yeah, just for a second.” She panted. “I’m starting to get dizzy from spinning so much.”

Felix chuckled. “Would you like to go find a table for a bit?”

“Uh..” Marinette glanced around the room for a moment, thinking it over. “You know what? Sure. I could sit for a bit.”

Felix smiled and gestured for her to lead the way, though he did point out an empty table that he had spotted earlier.

Marinette sat down first, with Felix pulling out her chair for her, and he sat down next to her. Their position faced the party rather than the wall, which allowed them- or at least Marinette -to continue enjoying the party atmosphere while they spoke.

“So are you having a decent time?” Marinette asked, taking a quick sip of her punch. “I know parties aren’t your thing, but you’re not too miserable, right?”

A bitter laugh escaped him, and he twirled his cup on the table as he said, “Miserable is certainly a good word to describe this evening.”

“Aw~, I’m sorry. Do you think going out to get some air would help?”

Felix offered her a smile. “That sounds delightful, but it’s as you said: Parties simply aren’t my preference. This party especially.”

Marinette’s eyebrows knitted together. “Because it’s a Valentine’s Day party or because there are so many people?”

“The Valentine’s Day theme.” Felix confirmed. “Not only are people more inclined to invade my personal space, but they also like to make the ‘Day of Love’ about romance exclusively. It diminishes the other definition to a ridiculous amount in my opinion.”

“Other definitions?” Marinette inquired. “What do you mean?”

Felix allowed a small, humorous smile to catch his lips. She’d just inadvertently proven his point right there. People were so focused on the romantic sense of love that they seemed to forget the several other types of love that exist. 

“There’s more than one type of love, such as platonic love or familial love. In fact, the Greeks had seven different words for love. I believe they’re all important, so to see them all be dwindled down to just romantic love is aggravating.”

“Huh..” Marinette muttered, absorbing his words. “I never knew about the Greeks using seven different words for love. What were they?”

Felix briefly glanced up in thought. “If I remember correctly, they were Philia, Ludus, Storge, Philautia, Pragma, Agape, and Eros.”

“Wow.” Marinette smiled. “They sound beautiful. What do they mean?”

Felix smirked as well. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Always willing to listen and learn from my random facts.

“Well, the meanings are all decently complicated, but I supposed they can be summed up to this: Philia is the type of intimate love between friends. Ludus is the playful and ‘exciting’ type of love that one would get with a random crush. Storge is familial love, Philautia is the love of self, Pragma is the enduring type of love- which is the type of love needed for marriages or serious relationships -Agape is the unconditional love for humanity as a whole- which I clearly do not have-” He gained a snort from that “-and Eros is that of sexual love.”

The meaning of the last one felt a bit awkward on his tongue, but he pushed away the uneasiness. She had asked for the definitions, after all.

“I like those definitions.” Marinette said, a soft look coming to her features. “It’s cool that you know so much about them.”

“I have mentioned that I enjoy knowing things.”

Marinette giggled. “So you have. Just out of curiosity, though- and this may be a bit contradictory to the conversation -but have you ever had a crush on anyone? Or just, you know.. Been in a relationship in general? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Felix’s eyes widened slightly. He honestly hadn’t expected her to ever ask him such a thing. It made sense, considering the topic of the conversation they were having, but it was still surprising coming from her.

Nevertheless, he answered. 

“No, neither. I’ve never been interested in anyone enough to pursue them, and anyone interested in me has always been too clingy. If I wanted someone to fawn over me constantly, I would simply invite Claude and Allegra to my house more often.”

For some reason, his answer didn’t feel quite right as he said it, and he found himself gauging Marinette’s reaction. Did he answer the question incorrectly? Was she going to be upset? Or possibly disappointed? Why would she be either? How could there possibly be an ‘incorrect’ answer to the question he’d just been asked?

Marinette snorted, clearly not upset at all, and it left him wondering why he’d bothered to worry.

“I figured you’d say that. You don’t seem like the type to get caught up in feelings like that.”

Felix nodded, though he silently questioned what she meant by the comment. Was she implying that he couldn’t get caught up in those types of feelings? Why did that seem so offensive to him?

“What about you?” he asked, brushing his thoughts to the side. He was just being ridiculous anyway. “Have you ever had romantic feelings towards another or been in a relationship?”

He already knew about her affections for Adrien Agreste, of course, but he’d yet to find out how far they went. And, on top of that, there was always the possibility of her having more than one lover. So it only made sense to ask the question, especially since she had asked him first.

A grimace overtook her features, clearly telling him that she had, in fact, had a romantic encounter before.

“Well.. I’ll admit I’ve had a lot of crushes, but there was this one that really got me. You, uh, you’ve actually met him already. Technically, anyway.”

Felix took a guess. “Adrien Agreste?”

She nodded, a bitter smile coming to her lips. “Cliché, right? The baker girl falling for the famous model..” She glanced down at her drink, absently tilting the cup to watch the liquid swirl. “I didn’t like him because he was a model, though. I liked him because he was sweet, and he was thoughtful, and.. I don’t know, I guess I thought.. that we could live a happy life together.”

Felix frowned at the cloud that seemed to pass over her, the pain that swelled in her eyes. He hadn’t realized how strong her attachment to Agreste was.

Marinette shook her head, breaking free of the thought process, and plastered on a smile. “I’m sorry, you didn’t ask about that.”

“No, it’s alright.” He assured her. “You can’t let things weigh on your mind unattended. If you feel you need to talk about it, then I’m willing to lend an ear.”

Marinette’s posture relaxed, relief making her smile a bit more genuine as she said, “Thank you. I appreciate it.. I don’t have any feelings for him now, but the pain is.. It still comes back, especially with how things ended. Sometimes I wish it had been different, sometimes I wish I had been different, and sometimes I wish I hadn’t fallen for him at all.. but mostly, I’m just glad it’s over.”

“What happened?”

“Well.. nothing happened, to be honest. And I think that was the hardest part.” Marinette drew in a deep breath, allowing herself to relax before continuing, “He came to my school a little over two years ago. Everyone was excited, but I didn’t even know who he was. When I did find out, though, we actually had a little bit of a misunderstanding. It’s funny when I think about it now, the way things turned out during that first day.”

“He apologized about it later, even though it wasn’t his fault, and I think that’s when I started to see him as something more than a friend. The more I got to know him, the more I started falling head over heels, and soon my friends found out about it. They thought we would be a great couple too, which kind of made me excited, and we all started planning these elaborate schemes to get him to notice me.”

She put her head in her hands and groaned. “It was so embarrassing, Felix, you should have seen them. One even involved me dressing up like a cat since he loved Chat Noir so much.” 

Felix grimaced, though he tried not to show it. Marinette dressing up like a cat for some random guy’s attention? He couldn’t even fathom it. Who came up with that suggestion?

“Did it.. work?” He almost hesitated to ask.

Marinette laid her head on the table then, shaking it with a whine. “Not even close. This group of dogs saw me on my way over, and I guess my costume was too convincing because they chased me all around Paris. I ended up muddy and scratched up when Adrien actually saw me, which didn’t help at all.”

Felix was careful not to react, but he almost felt the need to pat her on the shoulder. How had she not died from embarrassment yet? If someone put him through that, he’d never go outside again.

“You see? That’s how all of it was. All. of. It.” Marinette said, lifting her head again to lean her chin into her palm. “Two years I spent chasing after him, making all of these plans and trying to catch his eye just once, but no matter what I did, I was only ever his ‘good friend’. A-And I’m not saying I hated being his friend or anything, I just.. I was trying so hard to be more, wondering why I wasn’t enough, and my friends were constantly cheering me on to keep going. It was exhausting.”

Felix offered her a sympathetic look as she went on, though he couldn’t help feeling annoyed by the story. What kind of ‘friends’ did she use to have that they would willingly push her to make a fool of herself in front of her love? What kind of friends would encourage her to continue chasing after someone who clearly wasn’t interested in her? That wasn’t healthy at all, and he could only imagine how miserable it would have made her.

Wait..

“Is that why he’s coming to see you now?” Felix asked. (or more of blurted out.) “Because of your previous feelings for him?”

“Oh, no.” Marinette said, going so far as to let out a laugh. “No, I doubt he’s ever going to see me in that light, but it’s still frustrating that he’s trying to visit me. Moving to Rosemary was supposed to be an easy break, but he just has to follow me here too.. Again, it’s not that I mind being his friend or anything, it’s.. I need time. To get over him. I don’t like the person I became when I only lived to gain his affection, and it’s hard to get over that mindset, ya know?”

Felix nodded. He didn’t quite understand her experience since he’d never loved someone himself, but he knew that old habits were hard to break, and that love can be known as an intoxicating and addicting emotion. It wouldn’t be easy to get rid of.

“You’re strong for deciding that.” He said sincerely. “It takes an immense amount of will power to let go of something that you think will make you happy, but I believe you’re right in thinking you’ll be better for it.”

Marinette pulled a small smile, twisting the small tip of her ponytail. “Thanks. I hope I am.”

Felix smiled as well and turned his chair to face Marinette more fully. He wanted to ensure that she would hear the words he was about to say.

“Marinette, you are.. an incredible person. And I’m not just telling you this to lift your spirits, I am saying it because it’s true. You are talented, intelligent, kind, and capable all on your own. You don’t need anyone to validate how amazing you are, because it’s evident in everything you do, and I truly hope you don’t ever doubt yourself because of Adrien’s foolishness.”

A blush bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks, and she glanced down to fiddle with her hands. “O-Oh, uhm.. Thanks.. Again. I won’t.”

Felix smiled, satisfied with the reaction, and picked up his cup to extend it towards her.

“Here,” he said light-heartedly, “to finding someone new, someone who appreciates you, even if that someone is yourself.”

Marinette giggled and picked up her drink as well, clinking the glasses together. “To finding someone new.”

Felix took a sip of his cup to complete the toast, but to his surprise, Marinette set hers to the side, instead standing up and offering her hand to him.

“Let’s go dance.”

Felix choked on his drink.

“Pardon?”

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Marinette insisted. “I mean, you only have to come if you want to, of course, but I haven’t danced with you yet, and Claude said that you took waltzing lessons at the school.”

Felix held back a scoff and glanced around the room, hoping to catch Claude’s eyes so he could glare at him. Why did that dolt keep telling people he took waltzing lessons? It only made it harder for Felix’s to reject people when asked to dance. 

However.

He looked back to Marinette, who held a fresh, bright smile, waiting for his response.

“I bet if Marinette asked you to dance, you would.”

Allegra’s words resurfaced in his mind, unwelcomed. Why did she always have to be right? It only made her more smug as a person.

Nevertheless, Felix took Marinette’s hand. “Alright, but only one dance. I don’t want anyone else thinking I’m open to the idea.”

Marinette chuckled and pulled Felix to his feet. “Of course not. We’ll dance near the darker spots of the room so your face won’t be seen.”

They moved to the dance floor, and Marinette put her hand on his shoulder, while Felix wrapped his arm around her waist. It was a bit awkward pulling each other close, since the only other person he’d been this close to was his mother and father, but once they actually started to dance, his years of practice easily took over. Felix slid into the role of leading, and Marinette followed him willingly as he spun her around the party room, smiling when she laughed during a dip.

Such a fool.. He thought, tugging her back up to him. How anyone could pass up Marinette’s affection was beyond him, but in a way, Felix was delighted that Adrien had. He might not have been able to meet her otherwise.

With the two being so enveloped in each other’s movements, they didn’t notice Allegra, Claude, and Allan watching them from across the room, nor did they catch the smiles and high-fives that the trio shared.

Tag List: @sasstrashforlike5fandoms  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything @magnificentcrapposts @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @vixen-uchiha @casual-darkness @luxmorningstarr @jjmjjktth @kaithehero @itsme1598 @theymakeupfairies @xjaccyx @miraculous-ninja @miraculouspenta @swiftie-miraculer13 @justafanwarrior @all-mights-asscheeks @ira-sairain @lookatthestars1 @dahjokester @blissful-passing @solangelo252 @canivialemonsquints07  @derbygracie  @pleaseignorejustheretoread

[carlyraejcpsen]

alright, i’ve tried to keep quiet because i truly believe in karma and wanted this rp to close through the admin’s own actions and not give them any opportunities to blame it on me instead. it also felt like beating a dead horse, because i was sure they’d close the rp after losing a huge proportion of their active members and the majority of their diversity. however, after seeing multiple people sharing their experiences today, they are still posting promo posts and starting their event. so yeah, here’s my experience with @thevillagerp​​

NOTE: i no longer have screenshots from my conversations with the admins, as i blocked them when i left the rp for the sake of my own mental health, but i did save the text in my drafts, so the messages below are copy pasted. i have not edited them in any way. They also deleted my original anonymous messages off of their blog.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: racism, very vague allusions to homophobia and transphobia

so i was a member of this roleplay for around two months. during my time there, it was startlingly obvious that white fcs were preferred and prioritised, both from the fact that they got more plots and interactions in general and from the fact that admins never promoted diversity on the main. even now, they repeatedly say they “would still love to receive some more male and non-binary apps” while ignoring that they currently have a ratio of 8 fcs of colour to 24 white fcs. their diversity rules at the time were that 1/3 of a mun’s characters had to be played by an fcoc. so people could easily just play one or two white characters.

a while ago, i sent an anonymous message to the main asking if they had considered perhaps changing this rule to be 2/3 characters instead of 1/3, since there were so few muses of colour in the roleplay (as i said before, they’ve since deleted this from their blog so i cannot provide a screenshot). they responded that they had been thinking of upping the character limit to four instead of three, with a rule that 2/4 must be played by an fcoc. i gave them the benefit of the doubt and the time to enact this change, but nothing happened.

so a few weeks later, i sent them this message on anonymous:

I was wondering if you had thought any more about the diversity rules here? I know you said before that you were considering increasing the character limit, but I noticed that hasn’t happened and I wanted to know if that was a change we’re going to see or if you would consider changing the rules in another way? I’m really disheartened by the lack of diversity in the roleplay

at the time there were 18 characters of colour out of a total of over 60. they responded (again, i’m sorry i don’t have the actual wording since they’ve deleted the messages) that they had thought about it and decided against upping the character limit, but instead would be having a weekly “poc acceptance day,” where they would only be accepting apps with fcs of colour. they also said they were doing this “now that the waitlist was mostly cleared,” which meant that the rp was mostly at capacity anyway, so they needed to look more at how to encourage their existing members to promote diversity, since there weren’t spaces open for new people to bring them in.

i responded with another anon expressing my disappointment and pointing out that they had done more to prevent having too many celebrity characters than too few muses of colour, as at the time they had a ban on celebrity muses. i wouldn’t usually suggest a ban on certain fcs, but as it was something they had done for celebrity characters, then i supposed it was a reasonable option.

they didn’t even respond to this message and instead posted on the main asking me to come off anon to discuss it. so i did, and i sent them the following dm:

i didn’t want to come off anon because i honestly feel really ostracised in this group and didn’t want to make it worse, but i don’t want to drop this issue and you aren’t comfortable addressing it publicly so here we are i guess. like i said in my previous message, i really don’t see how a “poc acceptance day” is going to make anywhere near enough of a difference. people will just wait for the opportunity to play their white characters. there are only 18 characters of colour in a roleplay with over 60 characters. that’s less than a third, which is obviously concerning. what’s even more concerning for me is that these characters are more often than not overlooked. i am often ghosted when plotting, or people don’t even reach out at all when i like plotting calls or intro posts. and then i have to watch characters like leo almost exclusively interact with white women (i’m sure that’s not the only example, but it is the first that comes to mind as he is one of the more active characters).

so this issue goes so much deeper than there just not being adequate representation in the rp. i really tried to help, i suggested making it a rule that 2/3 characters need to be poc in my original ask and you mentioned upping the character limit in response. i was worried that my concerns were being brushed aside, but i waited a while to give you the benefit of the doubt and the space to discuss the issue. so you can understand why it was really upsetting today to learn that the one thing you suggested was dropped and instead replaced with something that is barely scratching the surface of the problem. and i don’t know if it was your intention, but by saying that you were waiting for the waitlist to clear, it comes across as not wanting to receive any backlash from people who would want to join with only white characters. and even if people did want to join with faceclaims of colour, they can’t because the waitlist is cleared. like i suggested, you could change the rules so that 2 out of 3 characters must be people of colour. or, as was your proposed idea, up the character limit to four. you could also put a temporary ban on white faceclaims until the ratio evens out. as i mentioned, it’s really distressing that this was something you were willing to do for celebrity characters, but not to aid diversity.

i also just want to make it clear that these have been the only anons i’ve sent, i know you’ve been getting other ones, but those weren’t from me!!

( for context, they were receiving anons from someone else claiming that they felt left out in the rp ).

i had hoped that coming off anon would show them that this was a very real issue which was affecting their members, as well as giving them a space to discuss it privately instead of on the main. they responded with:

Hi Em, thank you for coming forward. We really, really appreciate it and we understand it’s not an easy thing to do. We also appreciate you flying the flag for diversity so strongly. We can always strive to be better, we are on the same page with you here.

Let us just explain our decision making. Firstly, just to address the waitlist, that was certainly not at all our intention when we brought it up. It was a logistical decision with 5+ applicants having already waited a week for acceptance and aware of their position on a waitlist.

When we decided against upping the character limit (and therefore the 2/4 POC character rule), we thought a POC acceptance day could be a good alternative course of action. In our eyes, this was something that would probably bring more POC characters to the group than the 2/4 rule because we knew there weren’t going to be many muns taking up an additional fourth character. This was a rule we’ve seen other groups enjoy success from so we wanted to try it out here. Plus, we think a day that explicitly highlights diversity every week would bring the message to the forefront of everyone’s minds. As we said, we’re going to monitor this over the next couple of weeks to see if it brings any improvement because we’d really like to have it as an ongoing rule.

The non-POC ban is actually a measure we’ve spoken about too and we are considering putting one in place should this fail. Thank you for raising your concerns, know that we’ve taken them very seriously and we hope that you’ll trust our judgement in trying this rule out first to see where it leads.

first of all, i don’t think i even have to mention the wording of “flying the flag for diversity.” but the real crux of the issue here is that they supposedly wanted me to come off anon to discuss the issue, but instead just explained their idea further and didn’t take anything i said on board. they didn’t even say a single word about how i told them i felt ostracised and regularly got ignored. i knew from speaking to other muns in the rp who played muses of colour (and just from looking at the dash) that they felt the same way too, but of course was only speaking from my own experience.

i thought long and hard about how to respond to this, as i was so disheartened by their unwillingness to listen to their members and the fact that they didn’t care that i felt left out. it felt like they had asked me to come off anon just so they knew who was messaging them and therefore put a target on my back, so honestly the thought of being on the dash or talking to the admins made me incredibly anxious. before i had a chance, however, they responded again with:

Hi hun, we’ve continued discussing this issue over the last couple of days and we wanted to let you know that we’ve decided to put in place a non-POC ban instead. Thank you again for holding a mirror up to the group. We do hope that this will recorrect the balance.

so i waited to see how things would play out. they posted about this new ban here and pinned the post to the top of the main:

[ IMAGE ID: a screenshot from thevillagehq of an admin update, which reads: in the interest of keeping the village a diverse space, we are currently only accepting applications for POCs. please note that any apps or reserves submitted to us for faceclaims that are not POCs will be deleted. we will lift this rule once we see fit.

thank you for your understanding and your efforts in making this group a brighter, more inclusive and diverse place for all. /END ID ]

this rule remained in place for around two weeks, during which time they made almost no effort to promote it. the above post was pinned to the main page, but that was the only mention of the ban anywhere on their page, they didn’t update the rules page or even put a note on the application page about it. during this two week period, the admins posted 10 promo posts, none of which suggested fcs or even mentioned the ban or diversity at all. the ban was then lifted suddenly when the pinned post was removed and the admins just went back to accepting apps with white fcs. the ratio had only evened out in those two weeks (from 18 out of 65 to 24/50) because of people going inactive or leaving, and there was nothing put into place to continue to promote diversity after the lift of the ban. in the three days after the ban was lifted, the admins posted over 10 promo posts, the same amount they had posted during the entirety of the ban. it was clear that they had no intention of actually making changes in their rp and had only done so because i refused to drop the issue.

again, i thought a lot about what i wanted to message them. i knew at this point that they didn’t want to make any real changes, but i still felt like i had to make it clear to them how disappointing their actions were. once again, i was messaged before i even had a chance, this time for bubbling.

as you can see in the above correspondence, i had told the admins point blank that i felt left out and ignored in the rp because of the characters i played (aubrey plaza, mj rodriguez and keiynan lonsdale fcs. all of my characters were queer and used either she/they or they/them pronouns). as a general rule, the only people who wanted to write with me and have interesting plots with me were people who played other muses of colour. the rp had a rule that you must reply to 3+ muns on every character, which i had been doing. i had only been back from my hiatus for a few days at this point and had responded to 6 different open starters the day prior. their message to me read:

Hi hun. There’s something we wanted to address to you directly. It’s been expressed to us by multiple members during these last few weeks that they have felt excluded by your character within the group, especially when it comes to the friend bubble that has formed between Mars, Bowie, Luvena, Asher and others. 

While we encourage the development of friendships and trust that this isn’t intentional, we have a zero tolerance for bubble roleplaying at The Village. We are aware that our three mun activity rules have been met by all parties involved, however, bubbling is usually a little more nuanced than that and it seems it has unfortunately begun to create a bit of a divide within the group. 

We have already issued individual warnings to a few people within the bubble, however with multiple members still expressing their concerns to us, we decided it would be better to address the group as a whole. We hope that by pointing this out to you, you will try and branch out to your fellow members a little more from now on - and try and be a little more inclusive when it comes to everyone else in the group. 

We take such matters very seriously as admins, and while we hope it won’t have to come to this, there will be consequential steps taken should we not see any changes in your interactions in the weeks to come.

as you can imagine, i was incredibly upset to receive this message after already telling them i didn’t get plots from many of their members and they had done nothing. even people who i had previously messaged continued to only write with the same few white characters. i don’t deny that we definitely had a friendship group between our characters, but there were multiple people in that roleplay, including the admins, who only cared about ship plots or plots with the same few muns. me and other people who received the same message had all previously told the admins that people aren’t plotting with us and gotten ignored, so receiving this message made it clear that they neither cared about us nor wanted us in their rp. and so i responded as below:

yeah i literally told you i felt left out because there are multiple people only writing with white characters and you never addressed it, so this message is honestly insulting. i have reached out to almost every new member, responded to multiple open starters and have tried to plot with as many people as possible. like i told you, i am often left on read or people don’t even message me at all. if people do message me, i am usually expected to put in all of the effort and if people aren’t interested in actually developing plots with me then i am obviously not going to force my characters on them. all of my characters are queer, non binary people of colour and the harsh truth of this roleplay is that people don’t care about them. i even wrote out a whole list of 20 detailed suggested connections in an attempt to get more plots and nothing came from that either. i’ve even gotten anonymous hate saying that offering to explain my characters’ pronouns was “patronising,” which i didn’t feel like i could approach you about because, when i told you about how i’m feeling excluded, you didn’t care.

so if i only have actual plots with the people who actually care about my characters, i make no apologies. i also don’t even have threads with half of the characters you named, asher being the only one, and have literally only just come off hiatus. so please explain how i am bubbling, because this really just feels targeted at this point.

you’ve made it endlessly clear that this rp isn’t a safe space for people who want to play diverse characters. the main was practically silent while you had a ban on white faceclaims, which you never actively promoted, and then you dropped that suddenly without putting anything else in place. you also deleted my initial anonymous messages asking about diversity as if you were trying to hide that there was ever an issue. you turned anonymous messages off, so that no one can safely criticise you. because i did that off anon and ever since it has felt like there is a massive target on my back. my characters have been “accidentally” on the activity checks multiple times despite me being on hiatus (people get a notification that they were tagged even if you remove their name from the list btw). plus when i asked for an extension on my hiatus, you said that you would allow it “just this once” which now makes me feel like i can’t come to you if i’m busy. right now, for example, i am in the middle of moving house, but i’m also stressed about trying to stay active because you have made yourselves completely unapproachable.

the ratio only evened out slightly because members left. then suddenly after the ban you’re posting multiple promo posts a day??? you couldn’t get more obvious. i came to you about diversity in good faith, hoping that it was something you were unaware of, but you have made it abundantly clear that you actively do not want to promote diversity in your roleplay, we are just here to be witnesses to your ship. there are multiple members who are actually bubbling who have been brought to your attention, but nothing has been done. leo continues to only write with the same three white and white passing characters. charlotte pretty much only appears to write with leo and post a vague “message me for plots” post that wasn’t even tagged. both of you only put effort into your ship threads with each other and the occasional text threads. even with something like group events: while i’ve been here, there’s been a pride event that neither of your characters were even in new york for (an event where i was the only one reaching out and posting multiple starters, by the way); there was no event last month, and this month all you’re talking about is this housewarming party.

i’m really disheartened that it’s come to this, but i can’t be here anymore. please post unfollows for all my characters. you’ve said multiple times that we should trust you as admins, but this message shows again that i simply can’t do that. from the disregard of trigger warnings, to the way you treated being held accountable for the lack of diversity, to how you respond to people asking for hiatuses, this isn’t a safe space. even if i stayed, the target you have placed on me is making it insufferable to just write my characters in peace.

the other muns who received the same bubbling message (copy pasted btw, we all got the same one word for word) all responded with their own concerns and criticisms in responses of a similar length to mine. none of us received a reply, our unfollows were just posted the next day without any further responses from the admins. a few of the other members who had written and plotted with us chose to leave as well, which the admins wrote off as us just dragging them with us as opposed to them being able to make their own decisions and being aware of the situation (which was incredibly obvious. no promotion of a white fc ban, suddenly being active on the main once they try to stealthily drop the ban, then the majority of their muses of colour leaving???)

i haven’t paid the rp much attention since i left, as i mentioned above i blocked the main and the majority of the members just for my own mental health. but from a quick scroll through today i can see that the only change in diversity rules is that now instead of your third character having to be a poc, it is now your second. however, you still only have to have 1 character out of 3 have a fc of colour. so very little has been done, but of course i’m not surprised in the slightist.

these admins don’t want diversity in their roleplay. if you play any character who isn’t a rich, white, cishet neurotypical, please avoid it at all costs. it’s not in any way a safe environment.

[barkkletshunt]

Those Worth Fighting For Part eight

I feel like I’m really pushing out these parts right now lol It’s been so long since I’ve had a few days off to work on this. I hope you like it! 

Part one             Part two

Part three           Part four

Part five             Part six

Part seven         Bonus scene 1

Part eight (You’re here)

Taglist: 

@ladybug-182 @fruit-snacc-ace @miraculous-simmer7 @lavenderjunes @use-flamethrower @fan-written @all-mights-asscheeks @birdie-posts

Marinette looked over her pajamas, wondering why she thought having a pajama date as one of their first dates was a good idea. It was her idea and she wasn’t going to go back on it, but oh God why didn’t she own any cute pajamas? 

“Marinette, I thought you wanted to have a laid back date? Why are you stressing out about your outfit?” Tikki knew Marinette better than anyone else, but even she had a hard time understanding her current holders mind sometimes. “Why not wear your comfiest pajamas?”

The blue haired girl looked over to the pajamas she had worn the night before, the comfiest pajamas she owned, and sized up the hot chocolate stains and the tear on the left leg from when she got it caught on the balcony bar. She meant to fix it, but with school and her other projects as MDC the PJ’s were put on the backburner. “Yeah, no, that’s not happening. I’m still trying to impress him.”

“Then what about the set your Grandfather bought you for christmas?” Tikki asked, floating above Marinette’s shoulder to look at the silk pin striped PJ’s. “Those are impressive!”

“But they’re too impressive. It won’t look natural and it will come across as I’m trying too hard.” The woman began biting at her lip, looking over the other pairs of pajamas she owned. “What if I wore the pair Chat Noir bought me? They are comfortable, kinda cute, and they come with slippers to match.”

“The Ladybug ones?” Tikki thought it over for a moment. “They are nice without being too nice, and comfortable without being overworn. I think they’re a good bet!”

Marinette changed into the pajamas her former hero partner had given her, and tucked her feet into the boot slippers that matched. Although they were too big for her as a teen they now fit her perfectly now that her body looked more like her body as a heroine. She was taller now, and from constant training with her mother and Kagami her muscles had grown strong and resilient. She still couldn’t leap from building to building as a civilian, but she could certainly hold her own when it came to freerunning and parkour. 

“I wonder what he’s going to wear,” she said absentmindedly to her kwami as she changed, stripping off her school clothes and hopping into the pajama pants successfully without falling over. “Something flashy, I’m sure.”

“Maybe he has normal pajamas and is worried you’ll think he isn’t as fancy?

“Ha, I wish. He’s fancy through and through.” Marinette laughed, pulling the shirt over her head. “Maybe I can convince him to dress like a normal person like the rest of us mere mortals. He’d look really good in a turtleneck.”

She looked herself over in the mirror and sighed. She looked too much like Ladybug for her own comfort. While they were the perfect level of baggy, and the colour was slightly off from her actual suit, having red pants with black polka dots made her take a second look at herself. 

The shirt was white, with a pun on it, with red sleeves that matched the pants, and even the booties matched the ladybug pattern to tie everything together. She either looked like someone who absolutely loved Ladybug, or Ladybug herself trying to throw off someone's scent by pretending to be a die hard fan. Either way, she needed to change.

Knock, knock, knock.

Or she would change if Felix wasn’t so damned punctual.

Marinette grabbed her coat and the baked goods she got from her parents earlier and headed towards the door. On the other side was Felix, looking as handsome as ever. She could see baggy track pants underneath his black trench coat, but none of that mattered the second he leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on the top of her head.

“I brought you coffee.” His voice was soft, as if worried saying anything would stop the butterflies that began to flutter in her stomach. “Are you alright with pizza tonight? I was running errands all day and I didn’t have a chance to pick anything up to cook.”

Marinette wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, feeling him stiffen for just a moment before returning the affectionate gesture. It wasn’t the first time she had hugged him since reuniting with the blond, but it was the first hug she had given him that she allowed herself to savour. 

She could feel his back muscles through his thin coat, and wondered briefly what he did to make them so defined. In his suits it was hard to tell how muscular he was, but from the hold he had on her she figured he was a lot stronger than he looked.

It was just a simple hug, but he held her like he was afraid to let her go. Maybe it was just her mind going haywire from how good the man before her smelt, like fresh soap and coffee. It was warm and clean and she loved it. 

The hug was over too soon and both parties let go with mild embarrassment at how much they enjoyed it. They looked at the walls and the floors, anything not to meet each other's gaze until they finally did. Neither could help the laughter that bubbled from their lips at seeing how the other felt the same way. It was easy and light being with him, and she wondered if that was how the starting of love was supposed to be. 

“So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are you ready to go back to my temporary Parisian home with my cousin and his fiancee and look over the seating placements?” Felix asked, trying to regain his air of formality but failing as his smile kept returning. He offered his arm to her, finally giving up on hiding his giddiness at their first official date. “And start preparing the invitations to what I assume is half of France itself?”

“Why, Felix!” She giggled, taking his arm and walking down the hallway of her apartment building with him. “I thought you’d never ask!”

Felix was a gentleman. This was an irrefutable fact. He took the bag of baked goods from her to carry it himself, he opened the car door for her and waited until she was in and buckled before closing the door and getting in on his side. He made sure to get out of the car first to hold her door open for her again, and did the same at the front door of the house. It didn’t even seem like he was trying to impress her, it was just his natural habits. 

“Fel! Mari! Good timing!” Adrien’s voice called to them the second they were in the house, before Felix had a chance to take her coat and hang it up. “We’re in the living room.”

The two looked at each other, their confusion etched upon their faces. 

“Well, better get this over with.” Felix sighed, slowly unbuttoning his coat and taking it off. Revealing the black t-shirt underneath with the design of a suit printed on the chest. She wanted to laugh. Of course, how did she not think of it? This way he could still wear a suit to bed! “Oh, it gets better. I have a matching pair of slippers to yours.” 

As Felix reached into the closet to put his coat away, he pulled out a pair of familiar looking slippers. She hadn’t seen them before, but she had seen up close where the design came from. The slippers Felix put on resembled Chat Noir’s boots. Without planning it out ahead of time the two of them matched. No wonder they liked each other so much.

When they made their way to the living room, with a slight detour to the kitchen to set down the pizza and the baked goods, they saw Kagami and Adrien sitting on one of the sofa’s dressed like they came right out of a 90’s parent teacher conference. Kagami wore a blouse Marinette was sure she had never seen on her friend before, and Adrien wore a dress shirt with a sweater vest over it. They both had glasses on, and she knew for a fact neither of them needed glasses. 

Adrien looked at Marinette and seemed to freeze for a moment before returning to his disappointed face. 

“What’s going on?” She began to ask, but the two crossed their arms and nodded towards the couch across from them. 

Marinette and Felix sat down, looking confused as ever. 

“Marinette, darling, we need to talk.” Kagami started, her monotone voice not matching her words. “We were informed today about something that shocked us to our core.”

“We’re not mad that you didn’t tell us,” Adrien continued, nodding along. Marinette noticed the model was wearing a fake mustache. “Just disappointed.”

“And what, prey tell, was I supposed to tell you?” She wanted to laugh. She knew their game, she knew exactly what they were playing at. It didn’t make it any less hilarious to her. 

“And Felix, I expected better from you than withholding secrets from me.” Adrien fake cried onto Kagami’s shoulder, who only patted his back in an attempt to soothe him.

“It’s okay dear, as her father I will handle this.” Kagami whispered.

“I thought I was the father, that’s why I’m wearing the mustache.” Adrien lifted his head.

“You’re the emotional mother who doesn’t know how to handle her daughter's secret life, and I’m the father who will be stern but also loves his wife despite the facial hair because you have a beautiful spirit.” Kagami stated. 

“You’d be a great dad.”

“I already am.” Kagami adjusted herself. “Marinette, how could you not tell us you were dating Felix?”

Felix stared at his cousin and his fiancee. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Had Adrien always been this goofy? Had Kagami?

“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry, it’s still new. This is our first date.” Marinette leaned forward and grabbed Kagami’s hand. Felix groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. If he wasn’t already smitten with the blue haired woman, he was sure he’d fall for her again right then and there. His cousin and his soon to be wife, correction, his family loved Marinette so much that they had these silly little jokes and the woman had no problem playing along. She was every bit of the family already and if they were that protective of her then he knew he was falling for the right girl. 

“First date so far, but thankfully you two have given us enough excuses to spend time together that we’re bound to have more dates in the future.” Felix nudged Marinette lightly with his elbow. “Maybe we’ll even, gasp, become a serious relationship and rival your fame.”

“You will if Alya has anything to say about it.” Kagami mumbled. 

“What?” Marinette squinted at her friend, but Kagami shook her head and refused to answer. 

“Well, do I need to grab my sword and threaten you not to hurt my daughter?” Kagami asked Felix, all joking leaving her. 

“No worries, Ma’am, er, sir? I will treat Marinette with the utmost respect.” Felix gave a salute to the Japanese woman. “Now can we go and finish our mission of preparing the invitations to your wedding? While we may be dressed for night time, we aren’t planning on working all night.”

“Speaking of how you’re dressed,” Adrien’s voice wavered for a second. “Marinette, where did you get those pajamas?”

She looked down at herself. How was she supposed to say that the former black cat of Paris gave them to her alter ego self for Christmas? She wasn’t. “A friend got them for me, I’m not sure where he bought them from. Why? Are you jealous?”

Adrien laughed, but it almost sounded forced. “You got me. I wanted them, but oh well.”

Kagami looked at her fiance who just waved her off.

“Well, those pajamas look good on you, M’lady.” Adrien stood up and offered his hand to Kagami who took it and followed his lead. “We’re going to go spar for a bit. Let me know if you two want to join us!”

M’Lady? When had Adrien ever called her that? 

“Well Miss. Bug, shall we be off?” Felix’s voice snapped her out of her train of thought, and then immediately threw her down another hole of questioning. Did he just call her Miss. Bug? The same way that Alley Cat did? Was it just her pajamas making the two blonds act this way, or was there more to the story? God, she was beginning to sound like Alya. 

“Pizza first, invitations second, and third movie time! Sounds good?”

“Anything sounds good if you say it.”

Marinette’s cheeks burned. With all thoughts of Chat Noir and Alley Cat forgotten, the two of them left to the kitchen.

[disastermages]

[read it on ao3]

1 2 3 4 5 6

“A-Yao, do you know how to drive?” Jiang Yanli’s question is quiet and gentle, even as the tires leave a spray of mud behind them as the gates close, the keyfob still swaying and jingling where it hangs from the ignition.

“I’ve never had a reason to learn.” Meng Yao confesses, his hand already reaching for the inner handle of the car as Jiang Yanli’s hands tighten while they go down a hill that seems much steeper now than it had when he’d gone up it. The way Jiang Yanli had called his name hadn’t gone unnoticed, but Meng Yao won’t call her out for it, not while she’s driving them both to town, not while the rain is making the windshield wipers squeal.

She smiles at him then, leaning forward in her seat to peer out the windshield, “I could teach you. I taught A-Xian, and I’m teaching A-Cheng, it’ll be fun.” The road in front of them evens out, but Meng Yao knows it’s only temporary, soon enough they would run into a mud filled pothole, or find another hill Jiang Yanli would have to guide them up one hill and down another, dense trees lining them the whole way.

“Who taught you?” Meng Yao asks, so he neither has to accept nor decline Jiang Yanli’s offer, it’s the polite way of not answering, but the smile still falls from Jiang Yanli’s face for just a moment, one hand leaving the wheel to brush her own hair out of her face.

“Miss Mo did.” She answers finally, swerving hard to avoid a particularly deep pothole and sending Meng Yao’s shoulder and arm against the window. “She used to take me with her to run the errands, sometimes she even let me do the shopping myself so she could go visit with her son for a little while.” The smile hasn’t made it back onto Jiang Yanli’s face, but she’s more careful about the next rut filled with mud, even as her eyes cloud over with something Meng Yao thinks he knows.

“Your mother mentioned that she had a child.” Meng Yao says it softly, a chill wrapping around his arms like a lover and making him shiver. Yu Ziyuan had told him that Miss Mo’s child was like him, one of his father’s children who hadn’t been claimed, or who had been refused.

“Mo Xuanyu.” Jiang Yanli says, giving a name to someone who Meng Yao isn’t sure if he wants to know. They might be similar, they might be completely, irreparably different, he doesn’t know. “Sometimes, when Mother was away, she’d bring him with her to the house. He’d spend all day following A-Xian around and asking him questions, he was such a sweet boy.”

The car bounces over a rock, and Meng Yao bounces in his seat, the handlebar doing nothing to keep him steady now that he’s allowed himself to become limp. His younger brother was sweet, and he followed Wei Wuxian around like some lost puppy. He asked Wei Wuxian questions, and undoubtedly, Wei Wuxian had answered him.

“Mo Xuanyu, do you know…” Meng Yao doesn’t need to finish the question, Jiang Yanli is already shaking her head, her grip on the steering wheel tight enough to turn her knuckles bone white.

“Mother said that after Miss Mo did what she did, A-Yu was sent to live with his mother’s family. They tried to find his father, but when they did…” It’s now Jiang Yanli’s turn to avoid finishing what she was saying, thunder rolls above them, holding all the answers to questions that had sat on either of their lips.

When Meng Yao dares to glance at Jiang Yanli again, she offers him her worried smile, but says nothing else before she speeds up to pass another, slower car. The yellow of it fades quickly in the gray of the storm.

The grocery store and the post office aren’t far from the marina where Meng Yao had arrived, and Jiang Yanli points it out to him as they turn in, though the water looks far, far rougher than it had on the day he’d arrived. When he’d come, the water had been slate gray, now it’s got a green tinged black to it that nearly makes Meng Yao reach for his throat.

The ferry wouldn’t be running today.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could you pick up the mail for the rest of the house, A-Yao? You’ll only have to tell them who you are, A-Die’s already made it clear that you’re allowed to take our mail out.” For a moment, Meng Yao wonders if Jiang Fengmian had done it himself, or if he’d sent Jiang Yanli to do it, but Meng Yao still agrees, and Jiang Yanli’s smile becomes real as she turns over the keys to two P.O. boxes. One for her mother’s business, she says, and the other for her father’s business, any other mail he’d have to ask the teller for.

Jiang Yanli tells him to meet her at the car once she’s done shopping, a smile on her face as she climbs out of the car, heedless and uncaring of the mud.

Meng Yao watches her go before he ducks into the post office, the letters in his hand feeling just a little damp, either from the humidity or from his own, sweating palms. The boxes are the easiest parts, he only needs the keys for them and a single finger to keep them separated, a voice inside him demanding that Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan’s mail not touch one another, it’s the rest of the mail that makes him feel as though something is climbing up his throat like a vine that wraps around his tongue and makes it too heavy to use.

He recognizes the teller at the mail counter, but he isn’t sure if she recognizes him, her eyes are dull and blank, but that means nothing. “I’ve come to pick up the mail for the Jiang family.” Meng Yao had rehearsed that phrase, but now he hopes it doesn’t sound as though he had, he hopes it sounds easy, but if it doesn’t, the teller betrays nothing.

“Your name?” The teller asks, and Meng Yao feels himself pale.

“Meng Yao, I’m the bookkeeper for the Jiangs.”

The teller only squints at him for a moment, trying and hopefully failing to place him in her memory, all while Meng Yao wants nothing more than to bolt back out into the humidity, “You’re shorter than I thought you’d be, wait here.” The teller disappears into a back room and Meng Yao nearly melts onto the counter, his spine and knees feeling like jelly until they reappear, a stack of white envelopes resting on top of a box, bound with tape, and then bound again, the stickers proclaiming it international mail. “You’ll have to sign for the package, is there anything else?”

Meng Yao busies himself with the slip for the package one moment, and holds Jiang Fengmian’s outgoing mail the next, “I’d like these sent out.”

It had been as simple as that, no moment had come when he’d been dressed down and made to feel small, but his shoulders are still tight as he backs out of the post office, envelopes held between his arm and the package. He wouldn’t drop anything, he wouldn’t make anything get wet or illegible in the rain.

Or at least he’d tried.

Meng Yao had tried to keep everything dry and safe, but someone had bumped into him from behind, and two others were closing in on him from either side, grins that he recognizes all too well on their faces.

“I heard you were back, but I didn’t believe it.” Meng Yao doesn’t look up as he gathers the mail he’d been forced to drop, his hands are too quick for the muddy shoe that tries to come down on them, he’d forgotten about this, but his body had remembered. His hands and his arms remember how to dodge shoes that would step on them or kick them.

“Daddy didn’t want you, so you came back home, and now you’re working for the spooky Jiangs?” It’s the faux friendly tone that makes Meng Yao’s stomach lurch, bile rising up as if he’d already been kicked in the stomach. Meng Yao stands up straight and looks away defiantly, even as one of them comes closer, pinning him against the wall, though they never touch.

“What’s YaoYao gonna do when we tell the Jiangs that-” Whatever threat that was about to be spoken, is cut off by a grunt of pain and a flash of red as Meng Yao finally looks up. Before anyone can speak again, another rock is being thrown, smaller this time, but no less sharp and rough at the edges.

“Leave him alone!” Jiang Yanli’s voice is sharp and clear from where she stands, her eyes dark and her hair gone frizzy with the rain and humidity. Her groceries sit on the sidewalk, but she’s got another handful of rocks held tight in her fists, ready to throw them.

She doesn’t have to throw any more rocks though, once the former bullies who’d surrounded him realize who’d been the one throwing the rocks, they turn tail and run, spewing curses at the both of them, even as Jiang Yanli lets her handful clatter back onto the gravel drive of the post office. Jiang Yanli had muddied her slacks for him, it’s all Meng Yao can notice as she comes closer, her hands gentle on his arms.

“Miss Jiang, you’re forgetting your groceries.” Meng Yao tries to say, but his voice comes out small, “The bags will rip if they get too wet.”

“Are you alright? You’re shivering.” Jiang Yanli’s voice is too gentle, too familiar, Meng Yao closes his eyes against it and forces himself to nod. He is fine, he would be fine, he would swallow down the lump forming in his throat, but for now, he allows himself to be led back to the car and sat down in it by Jiang Yanli, her mouth pressed into a fine line now. He buckles himself in as she runs back to get the groceries and put them in the back of the car.

They say nothing to each other as Jiang Yanli reverses out of the parking lot too quickly, her eyes are still angry, but Meng Yao knows that they aren’t angry at him.

“A-Yao, you know that you don’t deserve to hear what they were saying to you, don’t you?” Jiang Yanli is still driving too fast, but Meng Yao only rests his head against the window. He’s pleasantly surprised that the mail and the package haven’t fallen to the floor by now.

When he goes too long without answering, Jiang Yanli looks away from the road and at him, anger settling into something else. “The last time my family went to see your father’s family, A-Xian got into an argument with your cousin.” Jiang Yanli’s words are firm, but Meng Yao can only glance at her. “I wanted to break his nose for what he said to A-Xian, but instead, I made him feel just as low as he’d tried to make A-Xian feel. I can’t remember if he cried or not, but I hope he did, I hated him then and I hate him now.”

Coldness is creeping into Jiang Yanli’s words and her eyes now, making her look more and more like her mother until she slows enough to look at him without running the risk of crashing the car. “You’re my friend now, A-Yao, I’ll look after you just like I look after A-Xian.”

“Miss Jiang-”

“You should only call me Miss Jiang in front of my mother now, A-Yao, I won’t settle for anything else.” Jiang Yanli tries to sound stern, but there’s amusement in her voice. Meng Yao wants to curl into a ball.

“You’re being too nice to me.” Meng Yao doesn’t mean to say it aloud, but it still comes out, and he can’t take it back, even as Jiang Yanli shakes her head. He couldn’t allow Jiang Yanli to be as kind to him as she was trying to be, eventually the kindness would run out. It always did. It always would. That was how it worked, that was how it always worked with him.

“I’m not.” Jiang Yanli says, her hair is smoother now, though Meng Yao had never seen her reach up and pat it down.

The rain had only gotten heavier while they’d been driving, and Jiang Yanli had been forced into a crawl, the car loping up muddy hills and over water filled tire tracks. They wouldn’t be able to leave the manor again until it dried, Jiang Yanli tells him this, but then assures him that she’d bought extra because of it. Her mother had pressed one of her credit cards into her hand before they’d left.

Jiang Yanli had used it to buy treats for the lot of them, Meng Yao included.

“Miss-” Meng Yao stops himself, his grip on the mail in his lap tightening as Jiang Yanli argues with the last steep hill, his eyes falling onto an unfamiliar name, though the package is addressed to Wei Wuxian. It uses his birth name, “Yanli, who is Xiao Xingchen?”

Jiang Yanli turns to look at him, and perhaps for the first time, her eyes light upon the box in Meng Yao’s lap, a sweeter smile warming her face, “A-Xian’s uncle on his mother’s side. He’s traveling the world with his partner, and they’ve been sending A-Xian presents from most of the major cities, where’s the package from this time?”

Meng Yao can barely make it out without his glasses, but as the car crests the hill, he catches it, “Amsterdam.”

“A-Xian will be pleased, the last one came from London a few months ago.”

Another question burns on Meng Yao’s tongue, but he swallows it down, they’ve almost reached the manor now.

Just like they had been when he’d first arrived, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin are waiting to help Jiang Yanli carry in the groceries. Meng Yao is allowed to help this time.

Yu Ziyuan does not touch her husband’s mail, but she does lay claim to the gossip magazine that had been in one of the grocery bags, her eyes meeting Meng Yao’s for just a moment before she shrugs and walks away.

Meng Yao doesn’t know why he feels the need to tuck the information away for later.

It isn’t until after dinner that Wen Qing goes into the kitchen and walks right back out, her coat over her arm and her face white. “Mrs. Yu,” she calls, her voice sounding too normal to be normal, her nails digging into the doorway where she stands, “There’s a man walking around outside the house, trying all the doors and windows.”

“Who is it?” Yu Ziyuan asks, rising slowly and calmly from her place at the head of the table, all three Jiang children rising with her, but Wen Qing shakes her head.

“I don’t know, Ma’am, it was too dark to see.” Jiang Yanli is the one who breaks away from the table first, her hands reaching and grabbing onto Wen Qing to guide her back to the table, though she doesn’t come away, she drops down onto her knees and sets both of her hands onto Wen Qing’s thighs.

Meng Yao looks at Lan Xichen as he rounds the table, protective, but not touching him yet.

“A-Cheng, Wei Ying, stay with A-Li.” Yu Ziyuan gives her orders clearly, tossing her napkin down onto the table, ignoring the way Jiang Yanli calls for her to stay with them, where they can see her. Meng Yao feels Lan Xichen’s hand on the small of his back, he doesn’t take it away as Yu Ziyuan comes back into the room, a poker from the fireplace held in her hand. “A-Li, where did you hide your father’s hunting rifle? It wasn’t in the study.”

The fireplace poker may as well be a sword in Yu Ziyuan’s hand with the way she holds it, her shoulders squared and back, but it isn’t the fireplace poker that she wants.

“Mother! You can’t use that rifle!” Jiang Yanli’s voice is low, but the objection in it is clear as she rises from where she’d been kneeling next to Wen Qing.

“I can use it better than your father ever could, A-Li, now where is it?”

As if to emphasize Yu Ziyuan’s words, a pounding comes from the front door, and echoes all the way into the dining room, though the shouts that come with it get lost.

“I asked A-Xian to put it away at the end of the last season,” Jiang Yanli admits finally, her hand finding Wen Qing’s as she stumbles backwards and Wen Qing rises up to catch her. Another round of pounding comes, and Lan Xichen’s hand slips around to Meng Yao’s thigh, they’d be caught soon, but Meng Yao doesn’t have it in him to care now.

“Wei Ying? Where is it?”

Wei Wuxian licks his lips and shakes his head as he tries to think, but whoever it is at the door is rattling them now, and finally, “I don’t remember!”

Meng Yao watches as Yu Ziyuan’s grip tightens on the fireplace poker, her knuckles turning white. “Must I do everything in this house myself?” Yu Ziyuan asks finally, the words grinding out as she pushes past all of them, out into the hall, her heels clicking all the while.

They only look at each other for a second before the rush to follow her comes, though the door is already swinging wide in the wind. Lan Xichen takes the lead, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin following behind him, leaving Meng Yao, Jiang Yanli, and Wen Qing to trail behind.

Lightning flashes outside, but Jiang Fengmian stands before all of them, a puddle gathering at his feet while his coat and hat drip. Yu Ziyuan still holds the fireplace poker in her hands, though she now looks like a wet cat. “You’re early.” She states, frowning and looking at her husband.

“My flight left early to beat the rain.” Jiang Fengmian nods to all of them as they stand just behind Yu Ziyuan, their hands tragically empty of pokers, “The cab caught the worst of it on the drive home.”

Breathing in deep enough that her shoulders rise, Yu Ziyuan doesn’t turn to them as she speaks, “A-Cheng, put this away, A-Li, make sure your father eats something. I’m going to bed.”

Yu Ziyuan does not wait for any of them to wish her goodnight as she turns and stomps towards the stairs, her heels still clicking loudly.

They all watch her until they can see her no more, Jiang Wanyin holds the poker to his chest just the way his mother had shoved it at him.

“Mr. Meng,” Jiang Fengmian calls, and Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing step aside, “I hope you’ve made yourself at home.”

“Of course, sir.” Meng Yao says, ducking his head.

He has, hasn’t he?

[oldguy56-world]

Pin

I liked this title because it did not take long to type in. What is a pin? It depends on what decade you asked this question. Is it something you knocked down in bowling? Something a woman holds her hair in place with? Something you use to post bulletins on a corkboard with? Best friend of a needle? All are valid answers, or at least they were in days gone by. Now, a pin is that thing you need to get access to all of your important information. (In case you were wondering it stands for Personal Identification Number not Perpetually Irritating Nuisance)

When they first came out it was simple. You had a four digit number for banking. Easy, although not as easy as going into a bank, handing the teller your bank book and saying 'give me some money please.' (the please told them it wasn't a robbery)

Like all things new and shiny, everyone jumped on board. All of your accounts for paying bills. Getting into your phone, your wife's phone, your computer, iPod, iPad, Tablet, TV and all things electronic. Then the rules started.

You must make it 8 characters.

There must be some numbers

You need one capital

It can't be the same as other PINs you have

Don't write it down anywhere.

Change each of them every 46.5 days.

Forget one of them, try it three times and get locked out. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Go online (if you remember your PIN for that, and reset. They will send you an email with a new temporary code where you have 11 minutes to input it or you will be timed out. Rinse and repeat. (speaking of the internet, here is a side issue. Have you ever had your internet out so you call the 1-800 number but the instruction is to better assist you go on-line? AArrgghh!)

I believe this method of security was developed by a major pharmaceutical company just so they can sell more headache medicine.

So what is the next step in PIN heaven? Here are a few glimpses.

You will need a PIN to have sex with your wife. Can horny men think straight? Or drunk men? Maybe for the second scenario it is all for the best

You will need one to go bowling. It will be the PINs for pins game.

To save the environment you will need a PIN to flush or turn on the lights. If you forget both, just walk away. No one wants to see that mess when the lights come on.

You will need a PIN to get into the fridge. (Actually if you have kids I like this one. Change it after every time you use it and there will always be ice cream left for you.)

Create A PIN for a place you can store all your other PINs safely. Then you only have to remember one. Unless you forget it, then you are really screwed.

All these hacking problems would go away if we went back to walking into places with a wallet and say "I want to pay for this" going to a library to look things up, or calling from your phone at home. It may be retro backward but there was no chance you could lose everything you have saved just because it was easier to have all your PINs set at 1234.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: Progress is good if it truly is progress.

[im-moreofa-dogperson]

A Fearful Encounter - Part 4

Featuring: Dr. Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow x Female Reader

Warning: gun violence

Summary: After John’s promise to free you from the wretched Gotham city, he teaches you how to defend yourself so you can make it on your own. However, when pushed far enough, you may just be more than he’d made you out to be.

Words: 1890

Previous parts: part 1 part 2 part 3

**Sorry it took so long to post this new part!

____________________________________________

As if on cue, as soon as John had professed his intents to help you escape from the vileness of this city, you were startled by a knock at the door.

You both looked at each other, as if questioning whether the other knew who was there. After it was clear neither of you were expecting company, John grabbed hold of your hand and pulled you quickly to your room where there was a fire escape.

Just as you unlatched the window, you heard the door swing open and crash against the wall. You hurried along raising the window, scattering the dust that had collected on the frame, and quickly climbed out with John right behind you.

He jumped down to the ground first and caught you by the waist after you landed right next to him. It wasn’t until you’d made it into his car and drove 3 blocks away when you finally felt it was safe to breathe again.

You rolled your head over against the head rest to stare at him. “Who was that?”

He glanced over at you and quickly back to the road before responding, “not sure.”

You sat with this uneasiness for a few blocks before he finally pulled up to what must have been his apartment building. It was far more casual than you had expected although you weren’t quite sure what it was you were expecting.

A young girl and her mother were exiting the building as you were walking in and they barely gave you or John a single glance. You wondered if any of the residents were aware of who they were more or less bunking with. Maybe John paid them off to keep quiet.

Upon entry to his apartment, you slowed down in the door frame to take it in. Although you hadn’t been picturing a dungeons-like cavern with spikes on the windows and knives fanned out on the coffee table, you also hadn’t expected such a pleasantly pleasing atmosphere.

The living room was well furnished with a not so well-lived-in couch pushed up against the wall of which an antique, baroque style painting hung from. The dark, morose hues of the depicted scene fit well with the borderline demented passions of the man who hung it.

Otherwise, the room was casual and almost homey. John had been studying you while you took in his apartment before finally speaking up; “you need to learn how to defend yourself.”

Taken aback, you glance at him and respond, “what”?

“Well, this is only a temporary residency,” he goes to say, plopping his keys into a turquoise bowl on the coffee table. “Eventually you’ll be on your own where I won’t be able to jump in and rescue you.”

You snort at that and reply, “Yeah, and you won’t be able to put me in a situation where I need rescuing either.”

“Either way, you need to learn.” He smiles slightly, and it’s a smile that used to suspend you in uncertainty, but now you’re able to get enough of a read on him that you know he’s simply trying to assure you of his sincerity.

You agree to his proposition nonetheless as he leads you to the building’s basement to practice self-defense.

******

For the next few days, you painstakingly practiced fending off attackers through physical altercations as well as how to shoot a gun. John didn’t make things easy for you, constantly pushing you to do better.

You were reminded of the disappointed expression he’d wore on his face when he’d found you’d overwhelmed a security guard through force during the Fear Aversion Therapy.

Ironically, the very thing he’d once punished you for doing, was now the very thing he was teaching you to be better at.

During your lessons, you noticed there was an abundance of physical contact between the two of you. You suddenly recalled the first night you ever spent together when you’d kissed him in a lapse of judgement.

You tried not to dwell on these thoughts too much as John held your trigger finger under his in an attempt to better your aim. You could feel his breath against your exposed neck and once again fought the urge to turn around just then and kiss him.

To take your mind off these intrusive thoughts, you considered how you were in need of fresh clothes. Afterall, you’d been living at John’s place for three days and still hadn’t revisited your old apartment for your stuff.

After badgering John to drive you after your lesson, he finally agrees, and you head out back to your old home.

******

Walking up the concrete stairs that you’d once found so familiar felt alien to you now. Though it hadn’t been long since you’d resided in this home, you still felt as though you’d changed so much.

It was almost as if it wasn’t you that had once climbed and descended these stairs for years, but rather a stranger you’d left behind in the past. For good reason.

When you reached the door, you extended an arm out to the handle, but as soon you did, John gripped your wrist and held you still. You give him an inquisitive look before realizing what he must have been thinking.

The intruder that you’d barely escaped from three days prior most likely wouldn’t have cared enough to shut and repair the door they’d just busted through. Meaning someone else has been here. And that someone could still be here.

John clearly was thinking the same thing as he took out his gun and cautiously opened the door handle.

When he pushed the door open, what you saw made you drop your gun. You barely even registered John mumbling ‘shit’ under his breath.

“Dad?”

******

“Thought I was dead, huh?”. Your father simply asks. He was lounging on the couch as if he’d never left. “That why you look like you’re seeing a ghost?”

The state of shock you’re in prevents you from even answering him. John, however, recovers much quicker than you.

“Thought I told you what would happen if you ever came back here,” he says. You immediately sober up at this threat of John’s. The implication of it being he knew your father was alive and never actually killed him like he’d told you. It was simply another tactic to instill more fear in you. Fear of him.

You know you should feel betrayed. You should hate him for tricking you yet again. All that was behind you now, however. Now all you felt was pure disdain for the man sitting in front of you, the throw blanket you’d once lent to John lying at his feet.

“What are you doing here?” You ask as apathetically as you could.

“Straight to the point, huh? Not gonna ask how I’ve been, what I’ve been up to, if I wanna catch up-“

“Like you ever gave enough of a shit to ask me any of that,” You scoff.

Abruptly jumping to his feet, your father points an accusatory finger at you and replies, “I did give a shit about you! Everything I did was for you! You don’t even know the half of what I’ve had to give up. For you.”

His statement was so foreign and ridiculous to your ears that you feel like laughing. How could someone be so delusional?

“Everything you did was for yourself. The best thing that ever happened to me was hearing about your death.”

At that, John whips his head to you. He’d been watching your argument back and forth like a tennis match, in an almost amused way. He knew some sort of violence would ensue upon seeing your father, but this he didn’t expect.

“Fine,” your father says sighing, and sitting back down. “I’m here because I need your help. Well, I need your connections. I’ve come into some trouble… something that I can’t run away from.”

You squint your eyes trying to decide what he meant by all this when John suddenly laughed mockingly and said, “Sir, I thought I made it clear that if I were ever to see your face again, mine would be the last you see. What makes you think I’d submit to any request of yours?”

Having put everything together given your advanced knowledge in the deceiving ways of your father, you answer for him, “because he thinks I’ll convince you on his behalf.”

“Look, I just need you to use your little home-brewed concoction on some guys who think I owe them money.” You shake your head at the all the unearned confidence your father must have in order to talk to Jonathan Crane like that.

“Or maybe I’ll use it on you,” John simply threatens.

“Enough!” You finally say. “No one’s doing anything to anyone. Dad, we’re leaving. You’re on your own. Your favorite game of scaring me into doing your bidding is over.”

John puts his hand on your waist to push you out in front of him towards the door. As you leave, however, your father begins to laugh. It’s a guttural laugh that stirs your darkest memories of him.

Without thinking about it, you slip your hand into John’s jacket pulling out his gun and train it at your father’s head.

John eyes you curiously, and in the strangest of moments you finally realize what draws him to you. You’re unpredictable. You act in ways in even you can’t anticipate.

Your father’s laughter stops when you pull the trigger.

******

The walk back to the car was a blur. You remember vomiting in the stairwell and then John eventually scooping you up after your legs had given out.

When he set you back in the passenger’s seat and began driving, you knew you needed to pin down how you really felt before you drove yourself insane. One of the many lessons you once learned as John’s patient.

You knew it wasn’t regret you felt. Although the information of your father’s murder had once been used to threaten you against escaping Arkham Asylum, you had still sighed a breath of relief at the mention of it.

Now, to see him again was like a waking nightmare; unsure whether his presence was real or imaginary, but positive that it was unwelcome.

You definitely felt shock. You’d been imagining this scene unfolding for quite some time, but even you were surprised to have found yourself reaching for the gun and pulling the trigger in such an unyielding manner.

Though, what it really boiled down to was exhilaration. You felt as though a weight had been lifted off your shoulders and for once, it was by your own hand. You were no longer the scared girl you once were standing with her back to the sea and a total dependency on the hand extended out before you.

You giggle as you almost compared yourself to the Great Loch Ness Monster in all her green finned glory that you once thought you’d be swallowed whole by. Your giggle soon turns rampant and you fail to stop the uproarious laughter that then pursues from you.

Even with Scarecrow in the driver’s seat, you felt as though you’d finally taken control. Of your mind, and your trigger finger. You laugh like that all the way back to the apartment.

______________________________________________

[sunakith]

hi! sorry in advance for this long ask 😥 i read metamorphosis in your old blog and reread it here again. i remember the asks you got in your old blog with all of the possible theories about WHO the snitch could possibly be: from yn’s friends to suna’s and the wildest one, suna himself. so i’d like to share my theory up to ch20.

THE SNAKE:

* is someone who has been telling yn’s mom about her whereabouts for a while (even before she officially met suna and his friends)

* the only people who yn is close to AND trust are 3: kuroo, akaashi and sora

* the task at the begging was easy: yn didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, was always cautious around people. so it was easy money without getting yn in trouble(?)

* something interesting: the meeting between them and yn’s mom. they had to choose a cafe that was not only suitable for mrs LN standards BUT also a place away from prying eyes (i see it as if someone saw them it would be hard to explain why they were together 👀)

so the snitch CANNOT be any of suna’s friends bc not only they never met yn in person before she went to suna’s tattoo shop but there was no way they could know yn’s whereabouts and mrs LN didn’t know about their existence till after the family brunch at the fancy restaurant (yn told her parents she didn’t know them)

the snitch could be one (you said it was only one) between kuroo akaashi and sora

1. KUROO - probably yn longtime friend among the three. they come form the same family background: rich kids plus their parents are friends. contrary to yn’s parents, kuroo’s seem to be less strict and support his (side/temporary) career as a youtuber but it doesn’t mean they don’t have expectations on their son. he’s studying law school and one if not both of his parents are lawyers (him saying he would use his parents old books bc he didn’t have some at the begging of the smau) - he has to follow his parents steps either bc he wants to or has been forced/induced on wanting to be a lawyer.

even tho he said multiple times he was broke, we should think on HIS meaning of being broke. he has a certain life stile so when he says he needs money it doesn’t mean he cannot afford to pay for rent (does he even have to pay? does he own the place he lives in? and even if he was broke and needed money for food he could easily go to his family’s home.

is he the snake? for me, no he isn’t (and it was confirmed in ch21)

* as he said - (ch21) excluding the easy money - there was nothing for him to risk his friendship with yn. even if yn’s mom doesn’t stand him it didn’t stop her from being friends with his parents

* he’s the one who could really understand yn’s situation with her parents. what it means coming from a wealthy family and your parents put a certain pressure on you and your future wether intentionally (the LNs) or not (the Kuroos)

2. AKAASHI - the perfect guy according to yn’s mom.

* he doesn’t come from a wealthy family, his tuition is paid by yn’s parents (no one knows this info) so he really does need extra money bc he has to cover for his other expenses and support his own family

* he’s close to yn but not enough to know her feelings/doubts (sora)

* the way mrs LN talk/message the snake like she genuinely cares about them

* when yn ditched the dinner with the sakusa’s and her parents, yn’s mom with sakusa went to her apartment (they found sora with atsumu). yn was with suna and he decided to drive her back home, that’s when yn’s mom and sakusa met suna and yn panicked bc of sakusa’s presence. mrs LN asked info about suna to the snake and they didn’t know who she was talking about (sora was there and knew suna was with yn). only kuroo and akaashi weren’t there/didn’t know suna met mrs LN

* akaashi went back home for a month and during that period he missed certain things about yn x suna relationship also he didn’t check that often the gc.

* the brunch (ch20) - akaashi wasn’t there: we don’t know yet how yns mom and sakusa knew where to find yn. did the snake told any of them the address OR did yn ratted herself out by posting the place on her ig (it is public if im not mistaken)? the snake could easily forward the picture to any of them if her profile was private and they didn’t know the address (akaashi)

3. SORA - yn’s only female friend

* like akaashi she doesn’t come from a wealthy family (as far as we know) and she doesn’t go to college but works.

* yn’s mom dislikes her (at least on the surface)

* she doesn’t understand why yn is/was so obedient to her parents, it’s hard to understand from an outside pov (kuroo in a certain way can even if his parents aren’t that controlling)

* the cafe meeting with mrs LN. the way the place should be secluded 👀

* as i said before telling yn’s mom about yn’s life was easy money and there was nothing «interesting» in her life to be hidden from her parents

the snake (for me) is one between sora and akaashi.

AFTER CH21 im thinking more on akaashi bc of the convo between the snake and sakusa where sakusa tells the snake that what they are doing all of this for yn’s sake. akaashi doesn’t know how yn truly feels about suna nor her doubts/worries before they became official (only sora knows) BUT if the snake ends up being sora…(i guess that would be the biggest betrayal yn could get) she deserves an oscars as best actress in a bc not only she played matchmaker with yn x suna but she’s basically yn’s (only) confidant

last but not least let’s talk about my man (sorry yn) suna. not to be a suna apologist (im the first to call his ass out when he’s bitch) but could you really blame him for not wanting to listen to yn? he opened up about his past with her and in one of the first chapters - don’t remember if it was the gc with the twins or he told to yn - was mentioned how his last relationship or the most important one he ended up being emotionally hurt by his partner and he decided to stay away from relationship for a while. so imagine what/how he felt when sakusa told him he was yn’s boyfriend when she not only told him sakusa was just a family friends but they are (suna x yn) supposed to be in a relationship.

yn postponing to tell suna the truth about sakusa (them being together in a arranged relationship bc of their parents business) ended up hurting him. there was never a right moment (the sooner the better) but she should have explained

or at least vaguely mention it to him either when she told him about her parents (when they opened up about each other) or after the apartment incident BUT definitely before they started dating bc she basically lied to suna.

i think that’s all 😵‍💫

The fucking thought & detail that went into this ask!!!! I love it!!!!

Okay, so let me try to answer this properly without skipping over anything, but also without giving away any key parts of the au lol.

So, I did mention this fact on my old blog, but I didn't mention it here, so the snake has been betraying Y/N way before she was introduced to Suna, & his friends. So that fact alone eliminates Atsumu & Osamu from being the snake. You are also correct about the snake having it easy at first. Because there wasn't anything to report seeing how she never did anything until Suna came into the picture. That's when the snake started gathering information. But even at first they were hesitant to say anything, hence why Y/N's mom had to reassure the snake that it was okay, & that all of this was only in Y/N's favor.

We know now that Kuroo is not the snake, because in chapter 21 Sakusa had a conversation with the real snake, & pinning Kuroo out to be the backstabber was all part of his plan to keep the real snake safe. So that means, Sora, & Akaashi are the only ones left.

Sora & Akaashi do not come from wealthy families. Sora makes a very comfortable living tho with her job as a bartender. Akaashi is being put through school by the financial support of Y/N's parents ( this was also a fact I mentioned in the introduction chapter back on my old blog. ) But Y/N does not know about her parents supporting Akaashi, the only one that knows that information is Bokuto.

With Akaashi being financially supported it would make sense for him to be the snake right? Because in return he's doing something for them. But Sora could also very well be the snake. Yes she hates how Y/N parents are treating her, & she wants Y/N to be happy. But there could be a chance that she's the snake because she just simply wants to be on Y/N's parents good side. & at the same time try to convince her parents that Suna is the best thing for her. Because the snake does tell Y/N's mom about how they think Y/N is happier when she's with Suna, & they try to get her mom to see that. Though her mom is a bit stubborn, but maybe that's also what the snake is trying to do. Hoping that the mom will back out of this plan Y/N's family has for her, & let her do what she wants.

You know get on their good side & then win their trust in order to save their friend. So that could be a possibility why the snake is Sora.

Sooo who is the real snake??? 👀👀

& lastly, I agree! Y/N definitely should've told Suna sooner. But in her defense, she was scared that he'd walk away after hearing how much of a complicated mess all of that is. Sure she told him about her parents & stuff like that, but in Y/N's mind that's nothing compared to being in an arranged engagement against your will. She was scared that Suna will leave before she figures out a way to get out of going public with the fake engagement. She was hoping she would figure out a plan that would get her out of it before Suna found out. But it all back fired :(

[a-n-conrad]

Thinking of You (Dabi x Reader)

[Summary: As a hero, you’ve been keeping an eye on all of the villains in your area for a while. Strangely, one of the worst villains you’ve ever seen seems to be going easy on you. Is he starting to give up on being a villain or does he just have a soft spot for you?

A/N: Did I post this on the wrong blog at first and not realize it right away? Yes, absolutely.

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of murder, lightly implied smut (kind of)]

As you sat on your perch, a small, darkened window, overshadowed by an overhang of the floor above, you took the opportunity to glance away from the jewelry store you were surveying to double-check the text you had gotten from Eraserhead giving you the intel you needed to know where and when to prepare your ambush of the villain you had been targeting for about a month.

Apparently, after his last run-in with the League of Villains, Aizawa had gotten enough intel that he was confident that one of the villains that he had run into would be attacking a store in your jurisdiction. Of course, he didn’t mention which of the villains it would be but seeing as a certain blue-eyed, fiery young man had been stirring up trouble in your area throughout the past few weeks you had figured it out pretty quickly.

You were a bit surprised that Aizawa had reached out to you, seeing as you weren’t exactly an extremely high ranking hero. You were decently new to the hero scene, having just finished up as a sidekick about a year and a half ago, but you supposed your old teacher from UA had to have at least a little bit of confidence in you. If he didn’t, he would have expelled you before you had a chance to become a hero.

The sound of shattering glass and frustrated cursing brought you out of your thoughts. Below you, you watched as a man, cloaked in the shadows of the alley, glanced to either side of him, before crawling through the window he had just punched in.

As he finished climbing through the window, you focused on your quirk, using your shadow powers to jump between the shadow you were already hiding in, to one of the shadows near the window, and then from there to one within the store, not too far from the man you had been waiting for the whole night.

“I can’t tell if you’re not even trying anymore or if your just the lousiest thief I’ve ever come across,” you say, leaning against a jewelry case, just behind the black-haired man, “I honestly expected better than you, Dabi.”

He chuckled as he turned around, the kind of chuckle that reminds you of an old friend that had just played a prank on you. His lightning blue eyes met yours and he flashed you a smug grin, “How’d I know that the cute shadow-bender would be the one to meet me here?”

“Well, I suppose we’ve run into each other enough that you just know that I’m going to catch you by now. Though that does raise a whole other question.”

“What’s that, doll?”

“Why do you keep coming back here?”

He raised his eyebrows a bit, showing that he hadn’t expected you to ask that question. Which, if you were entirely honest, was odd, considering it seemed like he was able to predict every other decision you had made since you first met him.

“And here I was thinking you knew a thing or two about solving mysteries,” He joked. It wasn’t until that point that you had even thought about how neither of you had even attempted to attack each other. And yet, even then you couldn’t think to do anything about that at the moment.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I’m sure you can put it together if you use that pretty little head of yours, honey,” he takes a few steps towards you, though somehow, even then you don’t feel like he’s threatening you at all.

“Let me see,” You trail off a little as you think, spacing out for a moment as you remember your past few run-ins with the infamous villain in front of, “Oh.”

“You got it?”

“I think so.”

“Present your case, doll,” He says, leaning against the jewelry case just in front of you, “You’re cute when you start to ramble.”

You ignore that last comment as you start to list off the clues he had given you in the past few interactions you had, “You’re going easy on me. You haven’t tried to kill me since we first met, and for you, that’s probably the weirdest thing you could do.”

He quirks one of his eyebrows up.

“You haven’t killed anyone else in my area either. You’ve been keeping it to smaller crimes around here. Robberies or vandalism. You’re still making a scene, but with fewer bodies.”

“You think I’m just demoting myself to the status of petty criminal?”

“Of course not. You’re still involved with the League of Villains. If you just wanted to focus on robberies, you’d leave them behind,” At think point, you really were presenting a case, you felt like you were back in school, having a debate, “I think the biggest clue is that you shattered the window today. You could have easily melted it and made less noise, but you didn’t. You were trying to get caught. And, as you said, you knew I’d be the one to catch you.”

“Oh? And what conclusion are you drawing from this?” At this point, you finally noticed how close the two of you were standing now. You were close enough to touch him, and as much as you refused to admit it, some part of you wanted to.

“You want my attention. But what I can’t quite figure out is why. Are you just trying to play with me? Do you have some bigger plan here? I just can’t figure it out.”

As you started to ramble even more, getting confused by your own question, he rolled his eyes at you, before quickly closing the gap between the two of you, pulling you into a surprising and slightly rough kiss.

Before you even realized it, you were kissing back. You closed your eyes and leaned into it. You finally had to admit it as you stood in the pitch-black jewelry store, being pressed up against a glass case as you and a wanted murderer made out, you were way more interested in this villain than you should be.

He finally pulled away. You had been moved to be pushed up against the case you were leaned against, so now he was nearly pinning you down to the glass, “Do you think that answered your question enough?”

You paused, staring into his eyes, that honestly look as though someone had trapped his own flames in diamonds to make them, “Not in the least.”

He sighed, and rolled his eyes again, “You are hopeless.”

“I’m well aware.”

“We have to get out of here,” He said, pulling you back towards the window.

“You’re not even going to steal anything?”

“God damn it, (y/n)! I’m not here to steal anything, I’m here for you!”

“Why?”

“Because I,” He cut himself off, “Look, we’ll talk about this later.”

With that, he dragged you the rest of the way over to the window, before letting go of your wrist and motioning for you to make your way out of the building. You nodded, and shadow-jumped just into the alleyway. He quickly climbed through the window after you. Eventually, the two of you made it through the alleyway to a building that as far as you knew, had been abandoned for a while.

“You know,” You said as he led you into the building, “You sure are breaking and entering a lot today.”

“Just,” He sounded a lot more frustrated than you had expected, though you had a suspicion that it wasn’t directly aimed at you, “Please be quiet until we get inside. Then we can talk, ok?”

You nod, and the two of you finally make your way inside, stopping a room that seems to have been decked out to function as a temporary studio apartment. He finally let go of your wrist. “Why do you keep coming back?”

He turned to face you finally and ran a scarred hand through his hair. He looked into your eyes and stood there for another couple moments, seeming like he was trying to think of a good way to word whatever he was thinking before finally blurting out, “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“What do you mean?” you ask cautiously, already pretty sure that you know the answer.

“God damn it, you are making this way harder than it has to be,” He mutters, “Everytime I see you, I can’t stop thinking about you until I see you again. Just go on one date with me so that at the least I can get you out of my head.”

You had to admit that you had been feeling a very similar way, though you never would have admitted it before. Every time you saw him, all you could think about in the next few days were his piercing blue eyes. Every night when you were falling asleep you couldn’t help but wonder what his scars would feel like under your fingertips.

“What do you say, hero? One date and I’ll leave this section of the city alone for good.”

You looked into his eyes again before pulling him into another rough kiss. This time he was the one surprised, pausing for a few seconds before kissing you back with just as much passion.

Eventually the two of you started moving. You weren’t entirely sure who initiated it, but soon enough you were pinned to the bed that was halfway across the room.

He pulled away, no longer looking frustrated and anxious, and instead looking entirely too proud of himself, “I’ll take that as a yes then, doll.”

[ebonydusk]

Things that were, things that are, and things that may be...

I’ll warn you right now this post might get rather long, so I’ll be sure to put most of it under the line. And also warn that this post contains very personal talk about severe depression, anxiety, PTSD, abortion and suicide.

I’ve made various posts over time on this hellsite. I call it that cause...it really can be at times. But it’s also a place I can vent and put my thoughts out into the world, even if I know no one will notice or will really pay attention to it. This one though, this one is probably the most personal.

I’ll start off by explaining I’ve suffered from depression the majority of my life. I can’t possibly tell you how or when it truly started, but I can recognize now that it was there since I was young. It went hand in hand with my growing anxiety that was born of being isolated and over protected and sheltered in a small town with small minds. It’s possible it all came from the fact I was molested as a child. Up till I was at least ten. Which is the last time I let him come near me. My grandfather was a ‘war hero’. A ‘pillar of the small community’. A ‘good man and a good father’. A ‘wonderful husband’. But he also didn’t keep his hands to himself. And I never told anyone. Not my mom. Not my dad. Not my sweet grandmother. No one. They still don’t know. But my therapists and my husband and closests friends now do. I’m not as ashamed of it anymore. I realized only recently I shouldn’t be, it wasn’t my fault. And I’m not the one who should have ever felt such shame and guilt.

But keeping that secret since I was so little and never dealing with it left it’s mark on my small mind. A mark that festered and grew into fear and anxiety and self hatred.

Then I realized I was into girls. I felt...out of place. I wasn’t really shamed of that per se. But it WAS a small town. I got picked on by those that knew. Those that guessed. And those that just didn’t like how quiet I was. I was the “girl to talk to if if you wanted to ‘experiment’” to most of the girls in school. I mostly went along with it cause...how exactly did you say no to some of the most popular girls in school and not end up the target of some serious Mean Girl shit? Right? So I started my experimenting early. My girlfriend at the time got jealous easy and she wasn’t happy about none of it...but she was also closeted and afraid of people finding out. There was a point she became a source of bullying just to throw people off.  I grew cautious of telling people. I didn’t want to be targeted anymore. I didn’t want to be used. I didn’t want to be looked at as a freak. Another secret I had to keep. Another thing I had to hide. I’m more open about it now. I still haven’t pin pointed what I am myself. And that’s ok. It really is. FOr everyone who’s unsure it’s ok. No matter your age or how long you’ve had to figure it out.

I met my husband in high school. He was a bright point in those times for me. (And a dark one too, it was high school after all. Drama.) We were on and off more than once. Him being a hormonal guy and me being the idiot that kept forgiving him when he’d come crying back to me when his attempt to move on was rejected harshly. (he’s a wonderful man but he can still act like a teenager sometimes.)

And yes, we did get married. Which leads me to another stressful point in my life. I was left on my own shortly after our marriage. My husband practically volunteered to go be sent overseas. He had to ‘prove himself’. He had to ‘get away’. And so he left. We weren’t prepared. I certainly wasn’t. For nearly a whole year I was left on my own. In a tiny apartment. At first I was ok...until both cars broke down. I had no ride and I was too scared and anxious to ask for help. Cause the one time I did I got guilt tripped about being a burden to my husband by someone he worked with giving me a ride. and the manager of the apartment was a ‘military hater’. So she wasn’t happy about us. So I felt trapped. Alone. Scared. Isolated. And I gained 100+ pounds from ordering out cause I had no way to leave. It was  dark time and I was a mess and the apartment went to shit cause of it too. It was my first mental break. I didn’t recognize it then. I do now though. When my husband returned it was to a barely kept together apartment and a wife that was suddenly overweight and mentally unsound. It was a stressful time. I tried to get help...but they did nothing but throw medication at me that didn’t work.

One of the many reasons I don’t fully trust doctors.

Fast forwarding by a lot, skipping over quite a few little things that went on that probably had some affect on me. But we’re gonna go with big things for now. We’re in alabama now. I need a job. Jody helps me get one at a bowling alley on base. It’s my first job after FIVE YEARS of me trying and searching with little luck. The place was ok at first. But things went downhill fast. The promised hours were not what I got. The manager ran two buildings and the one I was at was the one she hated the most. (She admitted this often.) She micromanged everything. Talked down to everyone. Expected more than was could be given.

I was doing the job of 10 other people at that place. And for not enough hours and during the BUSIEST times of the week. The weekends. Most people will scoff at that. “Only the weekends? Pffft! You wimp! You child! That’s nothing!” Yeah. Maybe it is. But those three days of work? They were awful. They were draining and it got to the point I would actually cry before having to go back cause it was so bad. I hated it. But I kept trying cause I felt guilty. I felt weak. And I didn’t want to disappoint my husband who HELPED me get the job. During all this stress I found out I was pregnant. (this part is very upsetting for me and might be for others too. I apologize to anyone who is still reading this.) I didn’t know how to feel when I looked at that stupid pee stick. I was dumbfounded. I told my husband and...his reaction broke my heart. He panicked. Badly. He had to be sure. We went to a doctor. They confirmed. Their ‘Congratulations’ hurt me. It cut too deep. Cause I knew what my husband wanted to do. He wasn’t ready and he was panicking with every day.

He had me convinced we couldn’t do it. I knew it was bull. I knew it wasn’t true. The military would have paid him MORE to have the baby. I knew it. THey increase pay for such things. But I didn’t know how to fight him on it. I didn’t want him to hate me. I didn’t want him to regret or resent me. So...I went along. I agreed.

I know I told some people that it was done cause it was affecting my health. I lied. I felt too ashamed to tell the truth. I didn’t want to say “we got rid of it cause we weren’t ready”. Cause that wasn’t all true. HE wasn’t ready. I was more than so. I always wanted kids. At least one. But he...

He once told me “If it happens then it happens and we’ll deal”...that was clearly not the case. The abortion broke me. Both mentally and emotionally and physically. I hurt. So much. I still have nightmares at times. Not as often anymore thankfully. But back then it was almost every night afterwards. I...I went back to work. I had to. What else could I do? But not long after returning I just couldn’t anymore. I saw a therapist and he was kind. Understanding. I wasn’t used to that from doctors in the military. He helped some. But it was a temporary thing. Not a full time therapist. But even with his help I could stick it. I had to get away from that job and I needed time.

So I quit...And I felt ashamed and guilty cause I was handed that job on a silver platter and I couldn’t stick to it. I did for 4 years but I still felt horrible.

I stopped seeing that doctor. I stopped taking my meds. I just...tried to move on on my own. I tried to find other things to do. I had my friends online and they helped a lot. I disappeared into my writing. I distracted myself for a long, long time. Then things started going downhill ‘last year’, of 2019. Money getting tighter. Friends getting busy. Some of my favorite places to hang out online, RP forums mostly, were slowing or dying and shutting down. Some of the people I called friends weren’t talking to me anymore. I knew some were just busy and dealing with their own lives but it still felt painful and I felt alone again. Even with a house of three dogs, a roommate, a husband...I felt unwanted. Unloved. Useless. worthless. Pitiful. Shameful. Painful. I couldn’t sleep right. I was staying up for DAYS straight cause of my nightmares and insomnia and my brain just not turning off. I barely ate. My husband had started doing new better work but also college classes and had NO TIME. No time to talk. No time to sit with me anymore. No time. And I knew he needed space to work. I understood that. I wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t that he didn’t care he was just too busy to focus on anything but. Yet it still hurt. I was alone. I felt hollow and full of nothing but darkness at the same time. As dramatic as that sounds. I just wanted it to end. I wanted to not be a burden. I didn’t want the people I knew to feel they had to bother with me anymore. They wouldn’t need to worry or care or bother checking on me anymore. No more emotional mess that is me. No more mother hen monster fussing. No more pestering to hang out. No more.

I had a plan. I had a method. I had a place. All I needed was to wait for my husband to leave in the morning. Make sure the roommate was still sleeping in like always. And I’d take care of it all. I’d stop being a pest, a burden, a mess, a black mark on the lives of those I knew. I’d stop being a disappointment, a failure, a weakling, a pathetic excuse of life.

But one night...I realized those thoughts were wrong. just a moment. Just a spark of a thought. Through the dark fog that dominated my mind. And I sat down and talked to my husband. I told him what was wrong. I told him what I had planned to do. And he took me to someone as soon as possible. They sent me to a hospital (by the way 16 hours waiting in a hospital room is AWFUL and hospitals should be ashamed). And THEY sent me to a Behavioral Health Facility. A nut house. Yeah. BHF is just the nice way to name it. I was there for three days. It seemed to help. I calmed down. I discovered I had diabetes while there too.  I continued to seek treatment. I got my therapist. I got my psychiatrist. I have help now. Continuous help. Consistent help. And I’ve stayed on my meds this time. All this started in May 2019. I went into the BHF on May 10, 2019 and I’ve done my best to stick with everything. I’ve realized a lot about myself and I’m working on a lot of things. I’m hoping to keep getting better. There are a lot of people that helped along the way. People that kept me from doing something I’d regret sooner. Some that helped me more than they could ever realize and I wish I still talked to them. But I know they’ve had life keep them down. I want to thank them right now for being there for me. Misty, Tahki, Jessi, Tana, Fishy, Oobi, Verg, Aru, Naan, that one person who kept answering my depressing blogs and cheering me up ( I’m so sorry I can’t remember your name at this time I feel horrid), There are so many others...I want to thank you all. I’d @ you but I don’t want to disturb you with this long ass mess. I love you guys. Always will. I’m sorry for not talking to any of you more. But know I’m still here. And I’m still thinking of you. Always.

[electricbluebutterflies]

new history

She could get used to the hidden gentleness of him.

@restrainedubiquity wanted post-s2-grayspace Kabby hair-braiding fic so here we are. In which Abby is a mess (and trying to convince herself otherwise) and Marcus is probably having a midlife crisis. Title and slight inspo from “New Histories” by Brooke Fraser. PG-ish and also on ao3.

The first full day after, she sleeps like she hasn't since… honestly, Abby has never allowed herself this kind of rest, but her body crashes even harder than she expects and she has no control over any of it. The second and third days, she rests on and off. The fourth, she starts to get frustrated.

She is not a solitary creature by nature, but right now she has no choice. Her body has decided it is time to suffer all the consequences of her habitual neglect, and that combined with the recent violation - she has to call it something and that will do nicely, she decides - means she's sidelined for a while. Standing up without help is currently not happening, and any form of productive activity is even less likely.

She knows it's temporary. A week or two at worst. She'll be fine, in the grand scheme of things. But for now, she is miserable.

She was just starting to get used to the concept of a wider world, fresh air in her lungs and rain on her skin. She will have those things again, she knows, but their absence feels damning as she is stuck once more in a metal box, this time without even the ability to pace across the small room. She shouldn't even have this space. Someone else, someone in worse condition, should be on this mattress. Not her. Not-

The door opens, and another feature of her current hell asserts itself.

A week ago, this would've felt strange; a month ago, completely unthinkable. But the man in her doorway is not who he was then, and she feels a strange warmth as he approaches. Her, feeling something about Marcus Kane that isn't near-homicidal anger. Not as new a sensation as she wishes it was, but still foreign enough to throw her off.

He checks on her every few hours, in between whatever else he's doing. She suspects he's slipped back into a natural leadership role, to whatever extent that's even possible amidst current chaos, and that doesn't bother her as much as she feels like it ought to. He's not what he was - she trusts him now, started trusting him at some point shortly before she crawled through a ruined city for him, and she's conflicted, and-

"Did I wake you?"

This caution, too, is new and conflicting. The softness of his voice as he stops just out of reach, the heavy emotions in his eyes, the general presence of him as someone who has finally learned to act like a human being. All new, all probably her fault somehow, all terrifying.

"No," she replies, beckoning him closer. "Unfortunately."

He sits down in a chair that appeared at some point close to her bed - she has no idea where it came from, but she's not complaining. "Still…"

"Yeah."

Last time he checked on her, a few hours ago, they tried out her physical abilities. Which is to say that she took three steps on her own and then collapsed against him. The pain in her thigh isn't quite as bad as she was, and she suspects the problem right now is mostly just exhaustion. Another day or two, she'll be capable of normal activity. But today she is not, and she's angry, and-

"Anything I can do?"

The offer is genuine, another reflection of what he is becoming. Whatever she asks, she knows he'll at least try. This balance won't last long-term, but until she's functional again and until anyone's brave enough to explain where the hell her kid is…

Whatever happened, Abby reassures herself, it will be okay. Her daughter will be okay. The issue right now is her. She can… she can't…

She won't cry in front of another human being. She hasn't in years and she won't now. But she is tired on a level that sleep won't fix, and currently useless, and unable to do anything about anything, and-

Focus. Back in her body, to the extent that she can be, to the extent that she is realizing everything sucks and she's not as resilient as she used to be. She's not twenty-six anymore, using stimulants to stay awake for four days at a stretch because a high-stress job and a small child weren't an ideal mix. Hell, right now staying awake for one full day would be a nice change of pace. As soon as she can, she'll throw herself back in, she has to, she-

"Abby. Look at me."

She doesn't even have the energy to pick a fight with him. This is how bad she's getting.

"I'm fine, Marcus. You can go back to whatever you're actually supposed to be doing."

"I have time. We're figuring out better logistics, but I've done what I can today."

"And now you're here because I'm the only person you haven't annoyed enough today," she mutters, because if he keeps this up she is going to-

"I'm trying to take care of you," he counters.

And oh, that should not make her feel as good as it does.

She's not in any medical danger, she's figured out that much. In her current state, Marcus is a capable caretaker. It doesn't take a lot of skill to change bandages, and he's brought her food as needed and found an extra blanket for her from god-knows-where, and it's working out. She needs some form of connection with the outside world; he needs something to affirm his humanity. Not a worst-case scenario for either of them. Not at all.

She needs to give him something, she figures. Some little project to distract the both of them. And now that she thinks about it, there's a pretty obvious idea…

"Could you braid my hair?" she asks, voice shaking a little. She's had it loose since before the Bad Thing, but she wants something familiar. She could do it herself, she always has, but it would be nice to have someone else help. It's been too long since she's been touched with any kind of affection.

(No. It's been four days. This thing between them counts, and she needs to stop being so damned stubborn about it.)

"I don't know how," he replies. "Never done that before."

"It's as easy as it sounds, and I trust you. I need… there's a hairbrush somewhere in that dresser, I think. Should be a band around it."

He walks over and starts opening drawers. She feels like she ought to be more bothered by how comfortable he is exploring her space - she ought to be more bothered by almost everything this man does - but it feels right, him digging through her few personal possessions in an effort to help her. Him here feels right, and she's scared of how their dynamic will change when she's functional again, and-

"This one?"

"Yes."

It takes a little maneuvering to get her body in an accessible position. It would be much easier if she could stand up, but as that is very sharply Not Happening, moving to the chair is the next best option. She does this on her own, still unstable but not as bad as a few hours ago, and this feels like confirmation of her expected timeline. Two or three more days at worst. She'll be okay. She'll-

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I trust you."

Marcus seems to have discovered a wide range of new emotions recently, and Abby thinks his current nervousness might be her favorite. She hasn't tried to deal with her hair in over a week and it's a mess, but she keeps calm as he works through the knots. He has definitely never done this before, but it's not bad as a trust fall and it'll be okay. She has never been particularly vain, and if she looks human, well… that'd be a vast improvement over how she feels.

"Three strands, right?"

"Yes."

He pulls a little tighter than she'd like, but she feels the transformation taking place. It'll be good enough, keep her hair out of her way if that should happen to matter at any point soon, and-

"I could… I could try to find a mirror for you. If you wanted."

Again, warmth. Again, she is unsure how she became so important. Again, she doesn't mind as much as she ought to.

"I don't care," she murmurs, reaching back and taking one of his hands in hers. She could learn these calluses, she thinks, get used to the hidden gentleness of him. She wants to. "I trust your judgment."

"I'm not sure if I do," he replies, almost laughing.

"Still a few more days before anyone else is going to see me, unless something goes wildly wrong. As long as you can stand to look at it…"

She turns her head and tries to make eye contact at the same moment he blushes. It's a good look on him, half-hidden by scruff - he is becoming wild, and there is a certain kind of beauty in that. One of these days, she decides, she's going to crash into all of that. Not now, not at any point she can pin down, but someday. When the timing is right for her to risk herself again.

"I… you look… it works."

She suspects she's the only person who's ever made him speechless, and the frequency with which she's doing it… yeah, that plan of jumping up and kissing him will probably break the poor man. But she's a little less worried about that being undesired.

"Thank you."

"Do you need anything else, Abby?"

"Can you… can you stay for a little while? I've been alone too long."

He sits down on the edge of the bed and reaches for her hand again, and they are both too young and too old for all of this, and she wonders if maybe this is what love feels like. Chaos and uncertainty and warmth despite it all, as he starts tracing patterns on her skin like she's pretty sure he does when he's nervous. Something complicated and terrifying and wonderful.

"Do you want to talk?" he asks, hesitant again.

"Tell me what you did today. What's happening outside of this box. Please."

"So one of the kids thought they saw a squirrel…"

[my-love-peterp]

Mistaken Chapter Three

Word Count: 2807 THERE ARE NO ENDGAME SPOILERS, THIS IS A DELAYED UPLOAD FROM AO3

Fic Summary: Peter Parker has been given the responsibility of bringing in a new recruit. Now, as an adult, he realizes that none of the trashy YA novels he read in high school could have prepared him for this. There was a storm on the horizon, and all they could do from the Tower is watch.

Chapter Summary: So we’ve got a little of Peter’s point of view to start the chapter off, might be a little OOC but I figure he’s probably changed a lot, post-Infinity War. Also more smut, but not the healthy or fluffy kind, just two broken people being broken. ALSO after this chapter, it’s going to start diverging from my AO3 fic because now I can introduce Carol Danvers. 

Warnings: language, underage (barely) drinking, smutty smut, mentions of the snappening, again NO ENDGAME SPOILERS

Chapter One  Chapter Two

Peter had never seen anything like her.

Over the past week, he’d been in the room for every moment of Kaida’s introduction to the team and her new life.

On that first day, after seeing her all but naked and needing to quickly run for a quick shower before training started, he’d gotten to see her in action.

There was no taking it easy or soft starts for new Avengers. They started with a brisk 10k, after which it didn’t even look like she had broken a sweat.

Then she’d been pushed in his direction. This was a routine Peter had become accustomed to by now, with a few new recruits filling up the roster, primarily temporary placements by SHIELD as they recruited enhanced individuals. Peter was the first line of hand to hand combat examination because while he wasn’t overly skilled, he was obviously extremely agile and very strong.

Kaida cocked her head at him and cracked her knuckles. “Give it all you’ve got Bug Boy, I’m not holding back.”

She and Peter had circled each other for a few seconds before she lunged, aiming a blow at his face that, unfortunately for him, was a ruse to get him to block upward, leaving his sides unprotected. With a quick jab to his kidneys, he grunted and instinctively bent over, nearly face planting with a strangled screech as Kaida then swept his legs out from under him.

He rolled over and she was immediately on top of him, pinning him down. “Easy as pie,” she crowed in his face, taunting him with a wink. Angry that he’d been made a fool of so easily by this girl, he channeled all his strength into flipping over her over and pinning her down on the mat. She grunted and struggled, but Peter’s hands were like iron, easily encircling both wrists and caging her hips in with his knees. His grasp was inescapable. But Peter, it seemed, could only make mistakes around this girl.

Fire flaring in his eyes, he bent his head to whisper in her ear, “It doesn’t pay to be cocky Kai, now who’s big and bad?”

Her breath caught for a second as she tensed below him, and a moment later Peter was tossed into the air, screaming as Kai had managed to open her palm and blast him up and away from her.

“Not cool, Kai. You know that powers are off limits,” Peter croaked indignantly. The other, observing Avengers cackled at Pete’s distress, even Natasha looked slightly impressed.

“Still me, it would seem,” she said, answering his goaded remarks and popping right to her feet and turning on her heel and walking towards the rest of the team that had decided to come in and spectate that morning.

Perhaps not so strangely, Peter noted, only Mr. Stark was missing.

It was then unanimously decided that her next test would be facing Natasha in hand to hand combat. He thought he couldn’t be more impressed or dumbfounded by this woman, but as the day progressed, Peter almost had to pinch himself. She matched Natasha jab for jab, move for move like it was as easy as breathing to her. “Holy shit,” he heard Clint mutter next to him.

“Wait, you mean we didn’t know she could… well, do that?” Peter gestured helplessly towards the Master Assassin and the twenty-year-old runaway who was proving to be her match in every way.

“No kid, we had no idea. We don’t know shit about her. Not even Fury does, despite our digging and searching. She’s essentially a ghost. But we figured… Well, after she stopped that school building from collapsing a few weeks ago until all the kids got out, we figured she couldn’t really be a threat. After all, it put her on our radar in a big way. An enemy operative would have known better, acted differently…”

Clint’s explanation petered off into silent awe as he saw Natasha, the Black Widow tap out, calling a cease-fire, if not surrender. No one had ever seen that. No one had ever done that without extensive training over the years. But this spitfire who ran away with a suitcase full of books and apparently sleeps with billionaires… She could.

“If you all are done staring,” Nat snapped them all out of their shocked stupor, “I believe we all have the training to do. Kaida, Banner wants you in the lab next. F.R.I.D.A.Y. will show you the way.

“Actually, Nat, I’m supposed to head up to the lab anyway, we’re working on testing the exact trigger to my Spidey senses, so I can just show her the way.” Natasha just inclined her head in an obvious dismissal so he took off jogging after the rapidly disappearing figure.

He skidded to a halt next to her. “Who are you?” He asked without hesitation.

“That seems to be the question of the day, isn’t it Peter. But I came here under the agreement that my past didn’t matter and I don’t intend to hash that out with anyone, least of all you,” she huffed and just kept walking.

“But, how did you get your abilities? Like, I was bitten by a radioactive spider. Wanda was experimented on with the Mind Stone and well… everyone knows Captain’s story…” Peter again trailed off after he realized, belatedly, that she had frozen and begun panting and trembling like a leaf.

Peter recognized this, understood what the clenched jaw and wildly roaming eyes meant. Something he said had triggered a panic attack, but he just wasn’t sure what. But then, as though it wasn’t a big deal, her mask of calm indifference slipped back over her features and she resumed walking.

“Just shut up Buggy. And if you mentioned what just happened to anyone, I will not hesitate to relentlessly humiliate you with all the weird shit you keep in your room and write in your diaries.”

“Ex-excuse me?!” Peter cried out. “Who the fuck let you into my rooms?”

“No one, Peter. Unless you count me. Good luck getting your friend Ned laid though, it sounds like it’s been an exhaustive search so far. You’re a good friend. When you’re not being a huge idiot.”

Peter didn’t know what to say to that so he just kept leading her to the lab.

A few hours later in the lab with Bruce and Tony. 

“How did you say you came to have powers again?” Dr. Bruce Banner spluttered as he reread the data from his most recent blood and DNA tests.

“Uh… I didn’t but, I’ve always had them, at least for as long as I can remember. My parents never mentioned anything. My sister wasn’t gifted either. Which would make one think we weren’t really sisters, but we’re identical twins so it’s hard to miss the relation, but you know how it is these days-.”

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” I jerked in surprise as I heard none other than Tony Stark speak from the doorway which was directly behind me.

“Uh, I was just going to comment on the state of truth and relevance in modern-day America… something tells me that’s not what you’re talking about though. My twin sister, Nadia, she never had any gifts. At least, none that were overtly obvious. But we did have this strange connection, mentally. We could feel each other.

Thoughts and emotions, even pain sometimes.”

“And where is she now, your sister,” Bruce asked after a moment of stunned silence. My expression must have told them everything they needed to know because no one pressed it further.

“Let me see the charts, Banner. What do you see in there?” Wordlessly Banner handed Tony the papers he held in his hand, which Tony grudgingly accepted, despite his disgust at being handed literally anything.

“Well kid,” he said after a moment, “It doesn’t appear that you’re entirely… human. I’m not sure what you are but it’s absolutely not solely human.

Instead of the spluttering and probably generally overexcited reactions that he had anticipated from me, I just looked up and into his eyes before smirking and remarking that “you certainly weren’t calling me ‘kid’ last night.”

Bruce choked on his coffee, again, receiving what I could only imagine to be a terrifying death glare from Tony. He then shortly excused himself.

“So Stark, how’s it feel to know you’ve fucked an alien?” My eyes raked up and down his form, decidedly provocative.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you it’s not a good idea to poke the bear in the room,” he asked, hardly looking up from her chart. He was treating her flippantly, almost distantly. And that simply wouldn’t stand.

“You know, Mr. Stark, I could think of some other… ‘endurance tests’, if you will, that we could perform right here. In the name of science, of course,” I purred as I slipped down on to my knees in front of him.

He certainly didn’t stop me as I peeled down the waistband of his sweatpants and boxers, half-hard cock coming back to life.

I could tell when he was getting close, but instead of letting me finish him off and cumming down my throat, he pulled me up and bent me over the cold, metal work table and set to work taking off my leggings before slipping up and inside of me without any resistance.

“God Kaida, so tight and wet. And all for me.” It wasn’t but I wasn’t about to correct him as he pounded into me from behind, grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head back so he could lean forward and kiss along my neck. The tiny sensation of pain sent bolts of pleasure through my core and seconds later I was coming undone. But Tony, it seemed, was far from finished with me. He picked me up and pressed my back into one of the support pillars in the lab.

Unfortunately for him, the lab door was still open, which we both had been too oblivious to rectify. A slight shriek and a clatter had Tony looking up and over my shoulder as I twisted around to see the commotion. Rhodey, Steve and Peter were standing in the doorway, holding five coffees between the three of them. Six if you counted the one now spilled all over the floor.

Rhodey looked exasperated but not surprised, Peter looked like a nun who had mistakenly found herself in an adult toy store. Steve, well, Steve was unreadable to me. The stoic faced super soldier never dropped his gaze and gave nothing away.

Instead of pulling away or, I don’t know, stopping anything that he was doing, Tony continued to shallowly thrust into me and circle my clit with his thumb as he winked before glancing back towards the doorway.

“Boys, if you could give us a moment, we have a bit of an… well a test of endurance of sorts and we’d hate for the evidence to be skewed by outside forces,” he jested before commanding F.R.I.D.A.Y. to close the door to the lab and tint all windows to shutter us in privacy again.

“I can’t believe Steve-fucking-Rogers just saw me getting fucked,” I muttered as Tony repositioned himself and began to languidly stroke in and out of me.

“I can’t believe he looked like he wanted to join.”

My heart stuttered and was heard on the monitor. Tony simply took that as a cue to blow my back out.

As I came around him for the third time in the lab, he simply leaned down and whispered something along the lines of him being the only one who could fuck me like I needed to be fucked.

I was too tired and limp from pleasure to argue with him.

“So, uh, not to sound ungrateful but what exactly am I even doing here?” I asked Tony as he fastened his belt buckle as I reclined on the hospital-esque bed the doctor had used when drawing my blood and taking tissue samples.

“Recalibrating after being worked over by an expert, I’d imagine,” came Stark’s snarky reply. I, honestly, don’t know why I expected a serious answer.

“You sure like to stroke your own ego, old man,” I fired right back, bringing my arms behind my head to lounge while he typed away and entered various data points onto his monitor. “No, seriously, why am I here doing all this,” I gestured to the room and testing sites but really meaning my entire presence amongst internationally-known superheroes. “How’d you even find me in the first place? It’s not like I was stopping buses or crashing planes like Bug Boy. I just…”

“You and me both, kid. But as for finding you, social media is a terrible curse and a blessing in disguise. You’ve gained quite a reputation just from your small deeds, but really what set it off was the sch-.“

“The school,” I finished with a groan, letting my head bounce back as I covered my face with my hands, massaging my temple. “You try to do one good thing and then all of a sudden, you’re expected to continually prevent everyday tragedies. All I wanted to do was go home after my shift at work.”

“Yeah explain that one to me, bucko. You’re just heading to fuck off when you hear sirens and kids screaming and decide for the first time, to actually really use your powers. Why?”

The answer was simple, actually. The kids I could hear were the same age as my nephew would be wherever he was now. So I’d tossed up my hood and prevented a burning building from collapsing on top of a bunch of innocent kids. And of course, the press had a field day with that.

But I wasn’t about to tell Tony any of that. Ever.

“Fine, don’t say anything. But that’s why. You showed you had the capacity for good in a big way. And to be honest, we wanted to snatch you up before SHIELD or worse could come creeping in and saddle you up with them.”

More silence. Then, a timid knock on the door. F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced that it was Captain Rogers who waited on the other side of the door and Tony muttered his command to open the doors up.

He didn’t even lower his gaze or blush as he took both Tony and I in. Instead, he stared me down, eyes boring into mine until I was forced to look down and examine his thin, gray cotton tee that hugged his pecs so tight it left nothing to the imagination. I felt blood rush to my face and the tips of my ears burn.

So much for the prim, proper and prude Captain the media marketed him as. I suppose recent events forced everyone to change. There was no such thing as innocence anymore. Not really.

Cap’s burning gaze finally left mine, turning on Tony instead. Walking to my side, he handed me a cup full of the richest Americano I’d ever smelled. It was exactly what I needed at that moment.

Without turning to glance back at me as he handed Tony his own cup, he murmured, “mind giving us some time alone, Kaida? There are a few things we’ve been needing to discuss.

I just nodded and slid off the bed, sweatpants bunching up around my waist. I had no intention of actually leaving though.

As I walked through the door and a few steps down the hall, I waited two seconds before becoming a shadowy puddle and gliding along the side of the hallway that held the still open door to the lab. Moments later, Steve poked his head out and around, checking to make sure the floor was clear before pulling the door closed behind him. Like doors had ever stopped me before.

“So Cap, what’s got your Star Spangled panties in a twist this time?” Tony jabbed without hesitation.

Steve tensed his shoulders, letting out a rough, almost anxious sigh. “When are you going to own up to your grief and stop being such a slut, Tony? It’s been almost a year now since Pepper died. You’re compromising yourself, you know this. You know, it is so like you to start banging the first new female recruit we’ve had in years. Is that why you pushed so hard to bring her in? Just to chase some new tail?!”

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the answer was ‘yes’. Seemed like a Stark thing to do. And in a weird, twisted way, I got it. Sort of.

“You know what, this conversation is over. Just because you haven’t been laid in over 70 years doesn’t mean you get to pull the morality card. No, Capsicle, I think we’re done here. F.R.I.D.A.Y. lock up the lab after Rogers and I. I’m going out.”

[arkus-rhapsode]

Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest Chapter 12 Review

Oh my god... What the heck is even going on?

So our cover page is Natsu and Lucy, and Natsu I hope you enjoy that brain freeze.

So we open on Jellal confronting Touka. We learn like how Avatar was devoted to black magic there was a group devoted to white magic. Now this is cool, but literally if you watch the anime recently, that arc was done in 5 episodes. So this feels really odd on how much effort is being put into it.

Like if there was like something tying into Tenrou or hell edolas, that make more sense, given all thee time on it.

So Jellal describes White magic as a philosophy of nothingness, which that doesn’t make sense. Fans of yugioh gx might compare this the darkness and light in that series and how darkness led to creation while light was subjugation. But Black magic is clearly about ending life or manipulating life. I guess you could dumb it down to all life, but literal Ankherseram black magic is portrayed as nothing but death. So wouldn’t white be about life? I guess nothingness as life without personality isn’t wrong,  but this feels like a stretch.

Also, Mashima said anyone could learn any type of magic. So why is that an abnormality? Like if this was Black Clover where you are assigned a single affinity that be one thing.

Suddenly Laxus steps in, and want to make this clear. I don’t exactly hate the idea behind this. That Laxus wants to defend someonew ho is a part of his family, given his new found view on FT, and its using the family aspect of FT on its head. Someone bad could be using FT’s family mentality for personal benefit. Which is interesting.

Okay, well Jellal has a reason, she is  suspect and as a guild master he has authority to take her in. However, Laxus you of all people know that people in your guild will still harm it.

On the one hand im torn, the shounen loving half of my brain wants to see this fight. But the logical half says that these two are mature adults with enough common sense to take this to the run knights. And confrontation is over after this page.

Yeah for a chapter named after the two, its got very little to do with theem. Instead.... The worst thing in the chapter happens. We cut to Diablos’ ship and we see this.

Yes you are seeing this right. For people who were saying I was to harsh, calling this a submissive Erza fetish that Mashima is putting out, I ask you read this chapter.

You know I can’t tell if Skullion means this is temporary as in terms of magic, or temporary as Kyria will grow bored, but I do know that this is nothing but sick and tastess. Also props to Madmorel for having some class to be disgusted by the perv in the group. Like that is becoming a rarity these days.

We are guided down to the lower deck where natsu and wendy are being held, the motion sickness keeping them in check.

I’ve been putting this off long enough, its time to rant. This is bull shit. People told me, i was too harsh on mashima, but at the least I thought this was some sort of temporary thing that was meant so Kyria could get a win in a fight, but this might be some permanent magic effect feels disgusting.

Now, people say that this happened cause people would rag on Erza, called Erza fights awful, and that now Mashima is going in the complete opposite dirction. You didn’t like strong erza, fine! Here’s weak Erza, you happy cynics?

But that’s not the case. People didn’t like Erza because she was “too strong” she was someoone who went from this amazing badass female character, to this static friendship speech spewing tool that never truly got any development. Its painful for people to see a character like Erza not grow after she had developed so much in ToH, but it just was never followed through. All the times she won just felt like a poor spectacle without any character behind it.

Now you could say an erza who needs to get her strength back could be character development. No. Cutting away a person’s strength with “magic” is not character development, its forced regression. Its the author literally creating an unrealistic situation bcause he has no idea what to do with her  after ToH, hell he can’t even fully commit to a love story between her and jellal.

When Erza came onto the scene, she was cool, in control, yet could over react at times. To see her be pushed to her lowest by ToH and then recover and face midnight in OS, is peak Erza character shining through. That this is how erza’s development deserved to be treated. But Watching Erza crawl on the ground, be spanked, and cry for mercy like a hentai doll, all because of plot convince magic is so gross to me. Its ejecting the Erza that we all love and stripping her of all that personality just for this.

So if you blame this development on people who were too hard on Mashima about how he was writing Erza, I, a critic and very judgemental person, find this worse than any of the nakama power or skimpy armors.

Erza being trapped in Kyoka’s sex dungeon was bad, but you know what, EErza actievly resisted it. She didn’t want to be there aand tried to fight back. It wasn’t handled well, but that t least felt like whatt her character would do in this situation. But this was forced upon her and this is nothing more than an Erza made for this arc.

Also, lets step out of this and look at this from the meta perspective that this is also extremely lazy. In Eden’s zero there’s a villain who is all about subjugating women right now, and Mashima couldn’t be bothered to not let that bleeed into his other work. If that doesn’t scream creately lazy, than I don’t know what will. Also that frog thing in Eden’s zero is actuaally better giveen the fact he’s not mind bending away personality, he’s forcibly turning them in statues to do with what he pleases against their will.

Im not saying this cause im anti ecchi or that im anti  mashima, im anti such a hack story writting device that weather you stuck it out as a fan of erza’s till the end of FT or liked her at first but than soured on her, I ask, would you tolerate this? I’m not claiming ownership of the character of Erza, but I am asking do you think that this is worth a character arc because our author couldn’t think of anything better to do with her. You know if you knew Erza was so strong,Ad that in actuality she would sweep away most threats, why did you bring her? I honestly would’ve preferred Jellal and Erza being out of the action cause they had a kid or something. Erza having to pick between biological family and her guild family seems like a better direction to take her character in than this.

To see Erza cry because someone’s magic made her into a slave is so lacking in power than say the sheer emotional weight of watching simon die. Like this is shit is just awful.

We cut to Luccy and here is where I get to credit thee art. Sure Lucy is in a bikini, but what matters in frame is the wounds on her legs. Which is a nice us of having aa skimpy dress and not sexualizing it.

We get a flashback of Lucy realizing Kyriaa took her friends and this is where I give Caramille a big fuck you. Oh sure, this did happen after they showed up, but Diabolos clearly was going to find the place eventually and more importantly, you did fuck all. Like, go screw cause you have contributed literally nothing.

We find out that there is another ship in the area and that Gray is okay because he was saved by you can guess who...

Okay on the one hand, this definitely seems like Brandish’s kind of entrance, but on the other. Fuck you, Hiro. Like she just passed by and saved Gray? Hw? The entire ocean was either freezing or evaporating, what is your range? Also, who is in charge of Alverez? Yajeel? Oi...

Post Chapter Follow up: Its easy to say why I don’t like this chapter. I feel so sick by the sheer amount of laziness and disgust in the slave Erza plot. Like, my god this is so wrong. Not because of the subject, human slavery makes sense in a series aimed at teenagers, but the sheer disrespect that Hiro treated this character, made my blood boil. At the very least in Alvarez, Erza still seemed like she was the same character from beginning of the series.

People who follow me weekly on this review series are probably going to ask when I will stop harping on this Erza thing. Well each week, it  somehow get worse and more gross.  First time it felt like a cheap win, second it was bad use of domination, now this is full blown fetish material.

As for the brandish thing, I know why she is here, Lucy is literally not strong enough to handle 3 DE’s by herself with a few exceeds, and I’d accept that Brandish reentering the series. But maybe leave out Gray? I guess you could say that this is a subversion of the Musica captured by Doryu, but this feels lazier. You could’ve just made this a big “step up Lucy plot,” but no, had to save Gray, even though Skullion should’ve notice when his magic didn’t actually ash up Gray. Plus think about, if they save save Natsu and Wendy this arc and beat these three dragon eaters, wouldn’t some added bit of tension to the quest be finding diablos’s hideout and saving Gray from the “dinner table?”And I was cool with the kidnapped gray thing, but no, we had to have kidnapped everyone else.Also if he was made small how did he survive the water? Like he’s the size of a pin, he’d drown.

Now the stuff with Laxus and Jellal is actually fairly good Its an interesting take on FTs standards vs the consequences of their past when we are suppose to be rooting for Touka to be extracted. And involving two characters that really have been in the moral gray spectrum make them the most qualified for this subject matter. While i definitely didn’t like the Touka plot at first from how disconnected it was from everything (and it really is kinda shoed in on this point) it still is the more interesting plot. It has more intresting ideas than, “more dragons” and is involving the characters that come off as the most interesting.

Final Verdict: 3/10

There is clearly some interesting idea at work here

However, the way the plotline for the dragon portion of this arc has become a mess

I don’t use this phrase lightly, “Erza literally deserves better than this”

Plot convince playhouse at its finest

[autobot-scout-riella]

Bite Marks

(I wrote something extremely not safe for Tumblr’s TOS. Enjoy. (Also, it’s super long, so if it’s a pain to read on my blog, let me know--I’ll share the word document or cross-post it to Dreamwidth.))

In the past, Riella has been reluctant to push her limits in berth. Some paint transfer is inevitable, of course, and she's warmed up to the dents that are part and parcel of a really good night with Blackout—but she knows the tyton likes to play a little more creatively sometimes, and she hasn't quite worked up the courage yet to join him.

But if there's anyone she would ever trust with it, it's him, and though she'd never admit it out loud, she doesn't entirely like the idea that there's something they can't do. She wants the option, even if they never try anything but regular ordinary interfacing again.

Besides, the daydreams are hot, and she's pretty sure the reality will live up to it. At least, she's never been disappointed before.

She drops onto the berth with a happy sigh and twines herself around Blackout's frame, hooking one thigh over the tyton's and appreciating the new, temporary size-difference. Magic is dangerous to play with, but it's always worked out so well for her. She's missed being tall enough to reach most of Blackout, instead of just the body part that happens to be closest.

"You want something, baby?" Blackout hums against her neck. His frame shifts and curls around her, massive claws drawing her up tight against him before sliding down to grope her aft and the inside of one thigh. "Hm?"

"You know I do," Riella purrs, pressing a kiss to his jaw. "I like sparkmerging, you know that, but I've missed your spike. Daydreams just aren't the same."

The tyton chuckles and nuzzles her cheek, kissing first her jaw and then turning to plant a quick kiss on her mouth. "Oh, I think we can fix that. Any particular daydreams you have in mind?" The hand on her aft slips boldly between her thighs, putting just enough pressure on her panel to make her squirm against his searching fingers.

"You know how I told you no dents, no bite marks?" she breathes against his audial. "I'm retracting that, as of now."

She can feel Blackout's purr rumbling through her entire frame, and his teeth lightly scrape her jaw and neck. "Oh?" he murmurs, petting her inner thigh with gently stroking clawtips. "Any particular reason?"

The hand between her legs is making it a challenge to concentrate on anything else, sending little pleasurable thrills through her entire system. "Oh, kind of." It comes out breathy, almost a gasp. "I know...mmm...I've seen some of what you like to do with your other partners. Rougher play, little bit of d/s stuff, yeah? I wanna try it."

Blackout's fondling slows for a moment, as if he's processing that statement; then his free hand gently turns Riella's face so that he can capture her mouth in a hard, deep, possessive kiss. When it finally ends, though, he withdraws his hand from between her legs and wraps her up in a hug. "You sure? I got no objections, but you know you don't gotta do anything you don't wanna." He trails a kiss down to her jaw before returning to her mouth. "Just 'cause I like it doesn't mean you gotta."

"I know." Riella rests her helm on his shoulder and leans into the kisses, humming softly. "Let's just say watching you be a little dominant? Hot as fuck. Maybe I'm not up for you chaining me up or anything, but you wanna hold me down and fuck me...yeah, I'd be down for that."

"Oh?" Blackout's hand slips back down between her legs and squeezes in a gentle rhythm that has her gasping against his mouth and arching against him, even with her panels still closed. "I think that can be arranged." His tone drops into a soft, throaty growl. "Open up for me, baby."

He taps lightly on her panel, and it's open in an instant, before she even has time to think about it. Blackout purrs, tracing his way down her throat with light nibbles and licks, sharp teeth just grazing her metal. He lingers over the spot where her primary energon lines meet her collar armor, biting down just firmly enough to keep her still without breaking the mesh as he rolls them both over so she's on her back under him.

"There you go," he purrs against her throat. "There we go." Between her thighs, his thumb finds her anterior node and rubs teasingly until she moans and bucks up against his hand. Immediately, the touches soften, until she's left with the barest brush of fingertips against mesh, and she lets out a small disappointed trill. Blackout chuckles. "Easy, baby girl." He sucks on her collar armor, soothing the little dent left from the bite with a few gentle licks. "Gonna take this nice and slow today."

And when he says slow, he means tortuously slow. She's always known he loves to tease her, and this is no exception. Riella lets her helm fall back against the berth, moaning and writhing helplessly as Blackout trails kisses along her chest and belly and ever so lightly strokes the soft mesh of her valve. Pinned firmly by the tyton's weight, there's nothing she can do to coax him to move faster as he painstakingly explores every inch of her armor with lips and glossa, and she loves every second of it, charge climbing every time she arches against him only to have the movement gently denied.

Blackout draws it out until she is dripping and desperate, trembling at every touch and kiss and  bite. When he licks teasingly along the very edge of her fauld, just above her thigh, and she cries out and arches up against the servos holding her still, he finally, finally bends down to kiss her anterior node and flick his glossa piercing against it before delving into her valve.

His claws prick through her thigh armor, drawing tiny traces of energon, but she barely feels the slight sting, lost in the pleasure of Blackout's attentions. His weight holds her down, keeping her still as the tyton sets his own still-agonizingly slow pace. He's just as thorough as he was with her armor, alternating between exploring the mesh of her valve and lightly kissing and sucking on her anterior node. When she reaches out blindly for his helm, trying to coax him to move just a little faster, the tyton catches her hand and holds it tight against the berth, letting her brace herself against him as she writhes in pleasure.

"Come for me," he rumbles, purring so deep it sends delicious vibrations through her valve. The words are barely a request, more of an order. "Come on, baby. Come for me. Now."

It's all the encouragement she needs. Her overload hits like a thunderbolt, lighting up her neural net with sheer overwhelming pleasure, and she clings to Blackout's hand in desperate, shaking bliss as the world seems to crumble away around her.

When she comes back to herself, Blackout is beside her, still holding her hand, watching her face for any sign of strain or upset. She wants to tell him that he doesn't need to worry, that so far this is  barely anything new and she's not that fragile, but she can't find her voice, so all she offers is a purr.

"You good?" he murmurs, and Riella has to laugh a little, even though it comes out shaky with a bit of static laced through it.

"I'm not—I won't break, love." She sits up just enough to lay her helm on his shoulder and squeezes his hand, humming. "You'll know if I'm not okay. Trust me, yeah?"

"I do. You know I do. Just gotta be sure, 's all." Blackout leans in for a kiss, gently nipping her lower lip. "I was thinkin'," he continues against her mouth. "You know that kink we've had a conversation or two about? The one about, uh, coming outside?"

The haze of pleasure has begun to fade, leaving Riella coherent enough to consider that for a moment. "You saying you wanna come on me?" She can feel the grin spreading across her face even as she says it. It's an odd thought, but even odder is that all the mental images it conjures up are hot enough to send a shiver of arousal through her frame, setting every overstimulated node alight with interest. "Yeah, I'd be okay with that."

Blackout purrs, sliding his free hand down her back to casually stroke her hip and thigh. "You ready for round two?"

Riella hums and releases his hand so that she can reach up and wrap both arms loosely around his neck. "Bring it."

The tyton smirks and leans down to plant another kiss on her mouth before very deliberately looking her over, studying her frame as if deciding exactly where and how he wants her. In one swift movement, he lifts her off his shoulder and lays her flat on her back, sliding one hand between her thighs and nudging them apart so he can continue playfully groping her valve while positioning the rest of her frame to his liking. "Gimme your hands, baby," he coaxes, reaching out to take both hands in one of his when she offers them. "That's it, both of them."

Before she can ask what he's doing, she finds both her wrists lifted over her head and pinned against the berth, Blackout's claws wrapping around both her wrists. For a moment, he goes still and simply holds her, one hand pinning her arms and the other lightly cupping her valve. "Gonna hold you just like this," he purrs, bending down for a slow, distracting kiss. "You decide you're done, it's not working for you—just say the word or pull away, that's all you gotta do, and I'll let go. Good?"

Riella squirms experimentally against the teasing, groping fingers barely brushing her valve, testing her range of motion. Blackout's weight on her hands is more than enough to limit her movement, but his claws flex with every shift in place, keeping the position well out of dangerously frightening territory. It's the closest she'll ever want to be to being completely at someone else's mercy, and it feels good, thrilling enough to make her shiver. She wants more.

"Good," she hums, rolling her hips against Blackout's hand again in the hopes of coaxing him to do something more with it. "So where's that spike you promised me, huh?"

The tyton's chuckle vibrates through her frame, and she can't help a shudder of delight, even though the only concession he makes to her movement is to start lightly rubbing his thumb across soft slick mesh again. "Be patient, babe. Want you nice and wet for this."

She has a retort for that, something about how she's already dripping and he's already been very thorough with his mouth, but then he works his thumb gently over her anterior node, pressing just so, and the words come out as a moan of pleasure instead. Blackout smirks, and suddenly she feels his pressurized spike nudge against her thigh, though she doesn't remember hearing his panels open.

He bends over her and nips her neck, sharp teeth scraping ever so carefully along a primary energon line, and fondles her valve one more time, a clawtip lightly stroking from posterior seam to anterior node. Distracted by the teeth and glossa exploring her neck, and helpless to move against him with her hands pinned above her, all Riella can do is gasp and moan when Blackout shifts his position, rubs the tip of his spike against her valve, and sheaths himself to the root inside her.

The tyton's mouth keeps working at her neck, biting down and immediately soothing with kisses, but he stays still for a moment, giving her a chance to adjust to the almost-painful stretch. When she shows no sign of pain or discomfort, he rolls his hips in little movements, giving her slow shallow strokes that only serve to ramp her charge higher while his free hand takes a firmer grip on her hip and thigh. She can do nothing to speed it up—Blackout holds her where she is and sets his own pace, no matter how much she tries to shift against him.

It's not enough, and Riella is desperate for more. "Please, Blackout," she all but begs, her frame arching against him seemingly of its own accord in an effort to drive him deeper. She doesn't know how he can bear to draw this out so long—she's already come once and all she wants is more. "C'mon, please."

He holds her tight, wrists and hips, and rocks against her, strokes going just a little deeper with each little thrust. His mouth presses against her audial in a throaty, breathless growl, vents hot against her plating, and she realizes he's struggling to hold himself back too. "What'cha want? Tell me, baby. Tell me what you want."

If her hands were free, she would be clinging to her lover, trying to pull him into her or herself onto him, but all she can do is press her face against his cheek, gasping with every movement. "Harder," she pants, wrists tugging slightly against the claws holding them still with every movement. It's all she can do to get the words out. "Please. Please. Harder."

Blackout's purr is almost subsonic—she feels it deep in her chest, a jolt straight to her spark and from there to the desperate nodes in her valve. His grip on her hips tightens, adjusting her so she is exactly where he wants her, and he puts his weight behind the next thrust, filling every inch of her valve with his spike in a single powerful stroke. Suddenly he's rutting against her, taking her hard and fast and deep and holding her so tight she's sure there will be dents in her plating, and all she can do is wail in pleasure as he fucks her into the berth exactly the way she's been dreaming of.

As keyed up as she is, she doesn't last long under the almost brutal pace. When the tyton lightly bites down on her collar armor, just hard enough to sting, stars explode behind her optics, her valve clenches around her lover, and she comes so hard she loses track of time and space. Blackout only lasts another thrust or two before suddenly he's pulling out of her, and her valve clenches on nothing, aftershocks rippling through her frame, as liquid heat spills across her thighs and belly.

She barely feels the tyton slump down beside her, and doesn't realize that he's let go of her hands until she tries to pull against his grip and meets no resistance. Everything is blissfully soft and hazy, and somehow her processor doesn't seem to be working, but she realizes dimly that her frame is trembling and she wants nothing more than to curl up and cling to her lover. Before she even has time to wonder if she'll be able to speak to ask, Blackout is cuddling her, holding her close to his chest and rubbing her back.

"Hey, hey. You all right, babe?" Maybe he's asked her once already. She's not quite sure.

"Yeah," she murmurs dreamily, resting her helm on his shoulder and letting her optics flicker. She's still shaking, and will be for a while, her neural net still humming with the aftereffects of the intense overload, but Blackout's warm frame soothes any anxiety the trembling might have caused.

"You okay?" His thumb strokes her cheek, coaxing, keeping her awake and looking up at him. "How you feeling?"

"Mm." Riella tries to take stock of her frame through a fog of contentment. Nothing truly hurts, but there's a low undercurrent of ache through her arms and pelvic joints, and here and there hints of burning where his claws must have pierced her armor. "Like maybe 'm not gonna feel like walking tomorrow." His expression changes, and she adds reassuringly, "'S exactly what I wanted."

Blackout nuzzles her cheek, purring softly against her neck. Riella curls around his frame, focusing on the hand rubbing her back, and finds herself drifting off into sleepy bliss again, only to be pulled awake by Blackout's murmur. "Hey, don't sleep yet, huh? We still gotta clean up." His light chuckle hums through her armor. "Well, clean you up, mostly."

Riella blinks and tilts her helm to look down at herself, realizing that she's a bit of a  mess—covered in Blackout's fluids and her own, paint transfers, and condensation from the heat generated between their frames. "Mmh. It's a long way to the washracks," she teases, nestling back against him. It's only a few steps across the aerie, but in her current state, when she doesn't want to move at all, it seems like miles.

Blackout smirks, and suddenly she's scooped up in his arms, lifted as easily as if she was still her normal tiny size. "I got you, babe."

Cleaning up is a quick, not particularly thorough affair, though when Riella finds her knees still trembling too much to facilitate easy balance, Blackout takes the washcloth and deals with some of the paint traces and fluid stains himself, lingering just slightly longer than he needs to over her hips and thighs even after she's steadied herself. Riella leans against him, arms draped loosely around his shoulders, basking in the attention and the warm water and solvent pouring over both of them.

When they're nestled back in berth, Blackout sprawled on his stomach with Riella tucked in close to his side, she takes stock of the results with sleepy satisfaction. There are dents in her wrists and hip where Blackout's claws held her tight enough to bend metal, and little bite marks along her collar armor and tiny punctures in her thighs from clawtips piercing the metal. She's going to ache all over in the morning, she's sure, but it feels so good.

"Love you," she murmurs drowsily into Blackout's neck. "Gotta do this again sometime."

The tyton doesn't respond with words, but the deep thrumming purr and the arm reaching out to pull her closer tell her that he agrees.

@thesoundlessvoid -- tagging for posterity, enjoy. 

[artisticflutter]

Enemy is my Friend - Part One

Hey hey, looks like it’s time to post Secret Santa gifts... and hey there @red-rose-draws, I’m your Secret Santa via @mlsecretsanta. You wanted a very square Enemies!AU and I hope you enjoy~

Also if you have an AO3, I’d love to get that so I can post over there too.

Rating: G Genre: Fluff, Angst, Romance, AU, Friendship Pairing(s): Love Square Summary: According to Tikki, Chat Noir was supposed to be Ladybug’s partner, but it’s just Marinette’s luck when that turned out to be wrong, wasn’t it? Warning: Enemies!AU. Also, there’s a second part to be posted from another POV.

According to Tikki, Chat Noir was supposed to be Ladybug’s partner, but it’s just Marinette’s luck when that turned out to be wrong, wasn’t it?

Her first outing as a superheroine all those months ago definitely could’ve been better, but Chat Noir’s declaration of being her enemy was just the cherry on top. She asked Tikki over and over just how this could have happened, but the kwami couldn’t go into details. Rules and all, she had said, much like the rule that required Marinette keep her identity secret from her friends and loved ones. Any one of them could be Chat Noir, too.

It didn’t take long for the reality of this fact to change how she handled situations with extra caution.

Still, looking down at him now, him pinned to the ground, her hand twisting his right wrist to pull his ring off, she didn’t expect their confrontation to come to an end like this.

Akumatized victims by themselves were only nuisance, but add Chat Noir to the mix, and they became competition. While he never had any new powers in battle, he was the destruction to her creation - the counterforce meant to be equal in strength with small differences that covered her battle disadvantages. But although he matched her in nimbleness and just barely surpassed her in sturdiness, her cleverness won out in many of their encounters and she came out on top, leaving the feline villain to slip away to fight another day.

However, she didn’t only chalk it up to just her wit.

As determined as she was to stop Chat Noir and Hawkmoth, Chat Noir didn’t seem to take their battles seriously either. Dare she say he even seemed to be anticipating every bout? Maybe she was reading too much into it, but he did have the powers of destruction.

“Why doesn’t he just use Cataclysm on me?” she asked aloud one evening, her pencil tapping her lip. Her sketchbook sat open before her, the supervillain’s face almost drawn to completion.

Tikki halted her cookie consumption and raised her wide azure eyes, a smile playing on her face.

“I know it’s odd considering he’s your enemy, but he has a good heart. I can tell – and I know he wouldn’t have received the Cat Miraculous if he might use it for the wrong purpose.”

“I would say fighting against us is the wrong purpose…” Marinette sighed, leaning backwards in her chair. “Maybe he thinks he’s fighting for something righteous. Do you think if I asked him, he'd tell me?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Tikki resumed devouring her cookie and Marinette continued etching mindlessly along the marks she made already: wild hair that gave him an untamed appearance, bright eyes with oval pupils (part of his transformation she assumed), and round cheeks rarely ever down because he always seemed to be grinning or smirking. His features were still sharpening, though, so he had to be around her age.

The more she drew, the more she considered.

Aside from people being affected by the akumatized victim’s power, Chat Noir didn’t seem to like civilians getting hurt. When Stormy Weather appeared, he had had an argument with Aurore because she’d shot lightning directly at park patrons. He also hadn’t approved of her sweeping people away with gusts of wind outside of the TVi studio tower.

And when she had gone on that ‘date’ with Nathaniel while he was Evillustrator, he seemed to have been watching more intently than needed. Yeah, he’d been on the lookout for Ladybug, but when she – just as Marinette – tried to get Nathaniel’s akumatized pen, he’d jumped in before she could get hurt. He even bothered coming to find her a few evenings later to sincerely apologize. And he’d meant it.

“… Weird cat,” she mumbled, staring back at the beaming image of Chat Noir.

Who was the boy beneath that mask?

She found herself coming back to that question with each subsequent encounter.

Though she should be asking him why they were fighting, it just slipped her mind again and again because there were always new questions. Who was this boy fine with people being akumatized, but not letting civilians be hurt during the rampage? Controlled was fine, but injuries were off the table. Rather contradictory; and then, why keep this chase going? She knew he had better combat skills to bring, but he seemed lax using them. Was he going easy on her? Did he find it fun? What was with all the puns and jokes and – dare she say – flirting on his part? Why did she find herself playing into it too? Was that an effect of the Miraculous?

What did Chat Noir want?

When she finally did recall, Simon Says didn’t give her the time to ask. After Tikki had her break into Gabriel Agreste’s safe (why was there a safe behind that painting?) to take some book and a peacock pin, she had formed a temporary alliance with Chat Noir to save Mr. Agreste’s life.

In that instance, things felt right – as if she’d never fought the black cat and it was scary how well they worked. It had been a whirlwind of events ending off with her meeting Master Fu,so she missed the opportunity to ask Chat Noir yet again. Sure, she did ask Master Fu, but his answer was she was better off asking Chat Noir himself.

Maybe she needed to ask herself why she even cared. He was the enemy and she needed to get the Butterfly and Cat Miraculous.

But why did it feel like taking the ring would make her the bad guy?

The holidays came and went, but something was wrong with Chat Noir.

Ever the perpetual smiler in their encounters, his expressions started becoming strained and there was a new, more aggressive approach in his fighting style. If a battle dragged on long enough, his movements would grow sluggish and predictable. That wasn’t all; paling skin, dimming eyes, and he became thinner and thinner. Despite his worsening condition, he was still the most civil villain. Heck, he got her a birthday present after finding out it was her birthday while her Nonna was akumatized.

Was he sick? Would Hawkmoth push him to keep fighting in that condition?

She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it when he bowed out of a fight or didn’t participate at all, watching with a hand pressed against his stomach from a distance. It was such a distraction that she wasn’t even paying attention to Luka while André served her ice cream. She was so startled she accidentally swatted it, sending the peach and mint green scoops flying. Marinette apologized profusely, but André didn’t seem too perturbed.

“There is conflict in your heart right now.”

“Huh?”

This time, she paid attention as he made the cone.

“Peach pink like his lips and mint green like his eyes! Eat this, my dear, and your love will materialize!”

“My love…”

Accepting the cone, Marinette stared at it unblinking for a few seconds, focused on mint melting onto the peach. Even as the dregs began to run over her fingers, she stood there, feeling her face flare up.

“Is that it? But I shouldn’t…”

“Uh, Marinette?” Luka’s voice cut through her thoughts and she turned her head. Not only was he staring at her, but so were Alya, Nino, Ivan, and Mylène. Normally, that would embarrass her, but she calmly took a few Euros from her pocket to pay André.

“Thank you for the ice cream. Sorry guys, I have to do something.”

She didn’t wait for her change before sprinting off, scarfing down her ice cream and powering through the brain freeze to make it home.

It just had to be a coincidence - she was thinking too much about that stupid cat, the ice cream meant nothing. Her Miraculous wasn’t helping either. Yeah, she was sure. That dumb boy becoming thin as a rail was not her concern – she didn’t have to do anything about it!

It was just the right chance to take his Miraculous and then go after Hawkmoth!

The akuma had been paltry this evening, but it had assisted her immensely by dealing with Chat Noir on their own, though it didn’t have to throw him away like he was rubbish. He was just tired – yeah, that had to be it; that had to be why he hadn’t bothered trying to get up during the fight.

… Had his arm always been this thin?

He struggled beneath her knee – oh god, she could feel his ribs shifting beneath her leg. Before people arrived, she just needed to take his ring – grab it and be done with one nuisance. Pinching his ring and pulling slowly, her leering eyes darted to his sunken face, taking in wide, pleading eyes watering slightly in the corner, the faux ears on his even messier hair folded flat. No longer was he trying to push her off, but he was trembling, gradually appearing much like a kicked cat he embodied. Teeth gritted, his jaws shifted as though to open, but he refused – why did he refuse to speak?

If this was victory, it felt terrible.

He wasn’t anywhere near his peak physical form; and with him, this wasn’t how she wanted to win.

Beneath her leg, she both felt and heard his stomach rumble loudly.

“… You stupid cat.” He wasn’t eating? Was that really the problem? “You owe me one, got it? And don’t you dare try to take my earrings right now.”

“… W-What?”

Once boisterous voice was soft and very shockingly subdued, and picking him up suddenly had him yelping, but she didn’t comment. Yo-yo out, she allowed it to fly, catching a nearby roof and sending them both soaring across Paris.

Was she really doing this? Was she really going out of her way to help her enemy? Well, she supposed she still felt some responsibility because they were supposed to be partners, but watch her luck – she was going to regret this.

Gosh she’d really like him to say something right now. Maybe she wouldn’t be thinking too hard on it, but he hadn’t said a word.

Landing firmly on the patisserie’s rooftop, she placed him in her lawn chair – alright, she might’ve dropped him in a bit more harshly than she meant - hands going to her hips as he gazed upon her in confusion.

“Listen here, Chat Noir. I know you helped the girl who lives here before and she’s pretty grateful. So stay here and maybe – just maybe – I can convince her to give you something to eat. If I’m going to claim your Miraculous, it’s going to be in a fair fight, understand?”

“What? You don’t need to--”

“You say that, but your stomach says otherwise.”

She noticed him flinch when she cut him off, but didn’t have time to ask what that was about. “Bug out, Kitty.”

She didn’t hear him scrambling to follow her as she leapt down and entered the building. Inside the bakery’s kitchen, she transformed back to Marinette, scowling because again, what was she doing? How ever troubled she was, Tikki was glowing.

“I’m proud of what you’re doing, Marinette.”

“Really? I think I might’ve done something wrong,” the girl replied with a groan. “I mean, I brought him back here to feed him. I’m sure if our positions were different…”

“He would likely do the same,” Tikki interrupted, hovering before Marinette’s face. “Even if he’s working with Hawkmoth, you know Chat Noir isn’t underhanded like him.  Maybe he lets the akuma do what they must to get your attention, but he never directly harms civilians.”

That could be debatable, but Tikki was right. It wasn’t like Chat Noir was the one akumatizing people or giving them targets. Nor did he ever purposely make anyone fall under the abilities of some past akuma – and when they did fight, he didn’t try involving anyone to make her give up her Miraculous; Hawkmoth did. In fact, with him being on the side lines for many of their recent skirmishes, he seemed to observe with a mild grimace.

“… Maybe I could get him to open up about why he’s doing this,” she started softly. “Maybe, but if he finds out who I am, I don’t want him to feel like I deceived him.”

“When the time comes, you’ll do the right thing. I’m sure!” Tikki bumped against her cheek and Marinette giggled. In the back of her mind, she could only hope no reveal occurred anytime soon. It was time to get to the bottom of who Chat Noir was really.

“So, what shall we feed a hungry cat?”

[svtmatokis]

Jihoon Office Au! P2

Annyeong~ So this has been the most highly requested fic comeback so far and I am so sorry that I never updated this. After the first chapter, I had a bit of part 2 written out but lost the direction of it midway so I put it on  the back burner and worked on it here and there but not enough to actually want to post it. A few weeks ago I started going back to old fics that I posted but never finished wayyyy back when I started this blog and bam this is how this chapter came to be. I hope you guys like it!!!

Plot: Jihoon is one of the toughest managers of SVT Corp. known to make all his juniors afraid of him. He’s such a grouch that he even caused his old assistant to take sick leave for a few weeks. On another note, you have been living abroad since first year university and after spending three years abroad after graduation, home sickness has caused you to return home to Korea. Due to a connection, you’re hired as Jihoons temporary assistant until his old one returns. Will Jihoon scare you off too? or will the tough exterior Jihoon holds soften for you

Pairing: You x Jihoon

Genre: Fluff and Angst

Word count: 3502

Jihoon and Wonwoo paced outside the hospital room as the doctors checked up on you. They had been told that you suffered a few cuts and scrapes to your arms and legs as well as a bruised cheek from the hit. The big thing was that when you fell, you had hit your head really hard so you were currently unconscious.

The suspect had been apprehended and  was now in police custody thanks to Wonwoo while Jihoon went with you in the ambulance.

“Jihoon” Wonwoo said as the younger one stopped pacing and looked at the older one.

“Hmm?”

“Did you...call Seungcheol yet?”

Jihoon facepalmed, “Shit,” he muttered before taking out his cellphone.

“Jihoon?” Seungcheol’s tired voice could be heard over the phone.

‘Double shit’ Jihoon thought to himself as he looked at the clock, no wonder...it was already 3am.

“Ah...Seungcheol…”  he started hesitantly, “It’s about Y/N….” he slowly explained what had happened in the last few hours and how you were currently in the hospital being checked over.

Seungcheol didn’t even respond, he just hung up the line and fifteen minutes later, he, Jeonghan and Joshua were running down the hall. As Seungcheol went to the front desk to see what he could find out what was wrong with you, Jeonghan and Joshua approached Jihoon and Wonwoo who were sitting in the waiting area.

“What happened?” was the first thing that left Jeonghans mouth.

“Seungcheol didn’t tell you guys?” Jihoon asked as the two shook their heads.

“He only called me to ask to drive him to the hospital and we got Jeonghan on the way, he only said it was about Y/N but that was it.” Joshua said looking between Wonwoo and Jihoon. “So as Jeonghan asked, what’s going on?”

Jihoon bowed his head, that meant that Seungcheol was that shaken up that he knew he wouldn’t be able to drive which wasn’t normal since it was rare to see Seungcheol without his car.

“Y/N was attacked.” Wonwoo started. “I was walking home when I heard a scream so I went to see what was going on, by the time I got there, Jihoon was beating someone up and Y/N was on the ground.”

Jeonghan and Joshua then turned to Jihoon who started explaining.

“I was near my apartment when I heard a scream in a different direction that sounded like Y/N’s so I started walking in that direction….then I heard her scream again and I started running and I got to an alleyway, Y/N was pinned against a wall..”

Jeonghan gasped as Joshua continued to listen.

“The guy said somethings to her, like” Jihoon started imitating the guys voice, “Seungcheol isn’t here to protect you now. Then he slapped her, the moment he hit her, I ran towards them with a stick and started hitting him. I didn’t realize Wonwoo hyung was there until we stopped hitting him” Jihoon looked down at his hands that were bruised.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually hit something or in this case, someone. He was a relatively calm person and was one to sort conflicts with his words but seeing that man touch and hit you had made his blood boil so much that he couldn’t control himself.

“What did the guy look like?” Seungcheol asked, joining the group, his body visibly shaking.

Jihoon described what he saw but that didn’t help Seungcheol. He would have to wait till you woke up to know for sure.

Soon, the doctor came out of your room and took his mask off.

“For Y/N?” he asked as the five men stood up.

Seungcheol stepped forward, “What’s going on with Y/N?”

The doctor sighed, “We’ve conducted a standard exam and found various bruises and lacerations to her body, she hit her head and was kicked in the abdomen as well. We found some scarring from a previous operation so there is a chance that the scar tissue could tear which could cause major internal bleeding-”

Everyone gasped as the doctor continued.

“In the meantime, we’ve taken her to run some tests and have some scans done to ensure that her head has no fractures and that the scar tissue wasn’t affected. Once she’s done, we’ll be moving her to a different room where we’ll be keeping her overnight for observation. A nurse will come get you once she’s all set.” he nodded as everyone thanked the doctor before he walked off.

Seungcheol’s legs gave way and collapsed in the closest chair, resting his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe this was happening. You had literally been back for two weeks and you had already gotten yourself into trouble.  He knew that he should’ve kept better tabs on you after you left but you didn’t know that they were going to find out once you got back to Korea.

“Cheol…” Wonwoo said worriedly. None of the managers had ever seen Seungcheol this emotional before. He was known to be strong willed and quick to think on his feet so it was unusual for them to see him in this state.

The group sat in silence, watching Seungcheol warily as they waited for the nurse to come get them. One by one, dozing off in their respectful chairs.

The nurse who came to get them thirty minutes later was surprised to see such good looking men waiting for the one trauma patient they had that night. Quietly clearing her throat, Jihoon was the first to awake.

“Sorry to wake you” the nurse said smiling apologetically, “Are you here for Y/N?”

Jihoon nodded his head, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes causing the nurse to inwardly squirm at how cute he was.

“Can we see her yet?” He asked, sleep evident in his voice.

The nurse nodded her head, “We’re in the process of moving her to an inpatient room. Why don’t you wake your friends up and head to room 1331? It’s going to be on the 3rd floor.”

Jihoon nodded his head thanking the nurse before proceeding to wake up the four other men.

They made their way to your room with heavy hearts. Though most of them had just met you earlier that week, they all recognized that you fit in just fine with the group and all had somewhat grown a slight attachment to you. Seungcheol, Joshua and Jihoon’s being the strongest.  

Since highschool, Seungcheol had always looked out for you, be it from bullies or any potential suitors he did not approve of. Both sets of your parents were close so in turn, he looked at you like the younger sister he never had.

You and Joshua had managed to catch up over coffee and lunch that week and found out that you two had associated in the same circles in college, with many of your friends being mutual which blew you away. You two had a lot in common and it was really easy being friends with him, which made you wonder why you never got to know him in the first place.

Jihoon on the other hand was taking it hard because he had been there and was so angry at himself when he didn’t listen to his mind and offer to walk you home. He knew that the two of you lived close to one another since you two often saw each other leaving your respective buildings in the morning. He didn’t want to admit it, but as the week wore on and you constantly making sure that he was eating, he had developed a slight attraction towards you.

You and Jeonghan bonded over gossip, not that you two were big ones, but the two of you would share what you had heard that day in the break room from the girls in marketing and HR. Wonwoo had grown fond of you as well since the two of you shared a love for books, you even telling Wonwoo that your book collection might be bigger than his which he didn’t believe.

The five now stood in front of your door, unsure who should open it. Everyone looked at Seungcheol who was looking extremely stressed out though he told the guys nothing. It was Joshua who had reached forward for the door knob but before he could open it, the door opened revealing the same nurse.

“Ah, great you guys are here.” She said opening the door wider so all five could enter.

“How is she?” Seungcheol asked getting straight to the point while looking at you.

You had a bandage wrapped around your head with various cuts and bruises noticeable around your cheek area which Jihoon noted was where you had been slapped earlier on. You had few bandages on your wrists and your legs were covered by a blanket so no one could see the damage down there.

“She’s strong.” The nurse said looking at the chart, “Her vitals are fine but we won’t know about the extensive damage until after her test results come back. We’re going to keep her here till she wakes up and then the doctor said if there are no further complications, she’ll be able to go home.’ She hesitated looking at the five of them, “However, she’ll have to be under supervision just in case. She’ll be in a lot of pain and we wouldn’t recommend her being alone for the time being. Does she have anyone that she can stay with? Parents perhaps?”

All eyes turned to Seungcheol who shook his head, “Her parents are currently living in the States right now so she’s here alone. She can always…” he was about to suggest that you stay with him when he realized that he, Wonwoo and Jeonghan would be out of town this week due to a conference.

Jihoon saw Seungcheol’s hesitation knowing that he would have wanted you  to stay with him, but he knew that he was going out of town. Not knowing what compelled him to do so, Jihoon spoke up.

“She can stay with me.”

All eyes turned to him as Jihoon nodded his head in confirmation.

“Are you sure? She can always stay with Joshua…” Seungcheol said not wanting to trouble one of the best managers he had.  “I know you’re busy with a lot of things right now…”

Joshua nodded his head in confirmation not minding at all.

“It’s okay. I have nothing planned this week anyways except the usual work load” Jihoon said, “I don’t mind at all.” He reassured. “She can work from home for the time being till she heals. It’s my one week that I’m clear of meetings and I can handle the paperwork without her..”

The group nodded in unison amazed at Jihoons change of attitude, “Okay then, take care of her. Call me if anything happens.” Seungcheol said as Jihoon nodded wondering why something would happen.

The nurse nodded her head, “If that’s the case, I’ll have you fill out her paperwork if you want to come out with me. Because she has the room to herself, we’ve left the second bed and a cot free should any of you decide to stay.”

The five boys thanked the nurse before Jihoon left with her to fill out the appropriate paperwork leaving Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua and Wonwoo to sit in your room.

Seungcheol let out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through your hair, “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this…” he muttered catching the other three’s attention.

“Seungcheol, why would someone attack Y/N?” Joshua asked. The whole group was curious though it seemed like Seungcheol was the only one with the answers.

Seungcheol let out a big sigh, “It’s….complicated..” he started, his mind deep in thought. “I’ll explain later okay?” he gave the group a tight smile in which they accepted. They could see that he was at his breaking point and didn’t want to drive that any further.

Soon, Jihoon returned and Seungcheol, Wonwoo and Jeonghan left in Wonwoo’s car despite Seungcheol wanting to stay till you woke up. They had meetings to attend to and they had a three hour drive ahead of them so they needed to rest.

To reassure Seungcheol even more, Joshua offered to stay with Jihoon till you woke up. Which actually did. Jihoon and Joshua, both too worried to fall asleep, sat in your hospital room, talking about things like work, life and things that people spoke about in the middle of the night when they were really tired. They were very much alike, with Joshua treating Jihoon like the younger brother he never had.

The next morning, you started waking up with a bunch of questions running through your head.. Where were you? Were you dead? No...everything hurt too much for you to be dead. Your eyes slowly opened but you shut them due to the brightness as you let out a moan in pain.

Jihoon, whose was in the chair closest to your bed shot up when he heard your moan, in the process waking Joshua up too.

“Y/N?” Jihoon asked quietly, getting a moan in response.

“Y/N?” Joshua tried this time, both watching you hesitantly as you slowly opened your eyes as they quickly adjusted to the light.

Both sighed in relief as your eyes fully opened.

“What happened?” you croaked because your throat was dry which had Joshua handing you a cup with a straw.

He and Jihoon helped you sit up as you sipped the water, the moisture making it easier to swallow.

After having the doctor check you over and explaining that outside of the bruise on your face and bump on your head that would be present for a while, there was no major damage, you were given the clear to leave that afternoon. He advised that you shouldn’t be alone since you may need assistance and explained to you that you would be staying at Jihoons for a few days until you healed completely.

Despite trying to argue with Jihoon that you were okay, Jihoon was adamant and used the excuse that since you were currently under him directly, he wanted to make sure that your well being was okay and knowing that you were injured and living alone didn’t sit well with him and Joshua explained that his place was currently undergoing renovations or else he would have offered for you to stay with him as well.

At that you reluctantly agreed making the two boys happy.

After the doctor left, you, Joshua and Jihoon decided to have the nurse help you change out of the gown. Joshua had run to your apartment with the key Seungcheol had given him to grab a change of clothes and your belongings.

Soon, you were sitting in Jihoon’s car on the way to his apartment.

The drive was quiet as you looked out the window deep in thought.

You were trying to process what happened in the last day. There was work, then you went out with the managers for dinner and drinks and you got to converse with Jihoon on a personal level and you got to know your boss more, after that you went home and then the attack…

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. ‘How did they find me and how am I still alive..?’  Thinking back to the hospital you recalled a conversation with the nurse who was looking you over before you got discharged.

“He seems to really care about you.” the nurse said humming as she looked over your charts and you looked at her with a confused expression.

“Sorry...who?” you asked, she was probably referring to Seungcheol. Joshua had said something about how Seungcheol was hesitant to attend a conference because of your state but the guys managed to convince him to go.

“The one who rode with you in the ambulance. He didn’t leave your side until the doctors started observing you  and when the police came to ask him questions about the attack but even after that he back at your side with the other gentleman.” she smiled at you, “The detective told me that he was really brave for what he did and that you probably meant alot to him if he was willing to protect you like that.”

You realized then and there that the nurse had been talking about Jihoon. You heard from Joshua that Jihoon rode with you in the ambulance and with a quick glance at his hands which were holding the steering wheel, you saw that a few of his knuckles were bandaged up and blood was starting to seep through them.

You glanced at Jihoon’s face from the corner of your eye and met his causing you to both look away at the same time.

As Jihoon unlocked the door to his apartment he took out his phone and called Joshua to let him know that the two of you were back at his apartment. Joshua soon responded saying that he’d be by with a few of your things Seungcheol packed for you before he left for the conference.

“This is my guest bedroom but I guess your room for now..” Jihoon said as he opened another door, “Please..make yourself at home and feel free to use anything. My room’s down the hall so if you need-”

“You’re already doing too much Jihoon.” you said softly with a smile and looked at him, “Thank you. For everything.”

Jihoon swore he felt a blush creep up his face but shook it off and cleared his throat. “I-I’ll let you get settled in then.” he said before turning around and leaving you with what you had from the hospital.

After you washed up in the adjoining bathroom, you opened the door and heard a curse from the kitchen. You followed the silent curses and peeked around the corner and saw Jihoon trying to change his bandages but kept ddropping the gauze that had to be wrapped around his hand.

Making your way over to him, you picked up the gauze when it fell again and gently placed it on the counter. No words were said as you took Jihoon’s injured hand and dabbed it with the ointment from the first aid kit. Jihoon tried not to react as you blew gently on the wound, instantly taking away the sting that he initially felt.

Taking the gauze, you placed it on the wound and held it gently as you wrapped it in place.

“Thank you.” Jihoon said touched by your kindness. He gave you a smile which you returned. “How are you feeling?”

You tilted your head to the side, “The doctor said I should be in more pain after the medication they gave me wears off but I’m fine right now. What do you want to do?”

“We could...watch a move till Joshua gets here,” Jihoon suggested and you nodded your head. Jihoon was surprised to see that you agreed to watch an action movie but was happy to know that you were a Marvel fan as well.

“You seriously haven’t watched Black Panther?” he asked casually while getting popcorn. Joshua had texted him earlier and had an emergency at the office so he would drop by later in the evening.

“I never had the time to watch movies or anything. I always worked.” you responded while making yourself comfortable on Jihoons couch with a blanket and many pillows.

Jihoon thought about your comment as he emptied the popcorn into a bowl. When was the last time he watched a movie? He turned to look at you from kitchen island and chuckled at how cozy you looked. He was happy you were comfortable around him and he could see why the other managers had taken to you so nicely, himself included.  You reminded him of someone but he couldn’t put a face to the name.

Turning around, he chuckled at the sight of you rolled up like a burrito with your phone in hand responding to a text. He put the popcorn between the two of you on the couch and started the movie.

Midway through, you took the medication the doctor prescribed to you while Jihoon went to get more popcorn and water. Just before the end, Jihoon felt a weight on his shoulder and turned his head slightly to see that you had fallen asleep. He remembered the doctor saying that the medication may make you drowsy so he wasn’t surprised.

He debated in his mind whether to move you or not and saw that the next movie was another movie he enjoyed.

‘It’s because I shouldn’t wake her’ he reasoned in his mind and ever so gently lifted his arm so that it wrapped around your shoulder and gently moved your head to the pillow on his chest and that was how Joshua found the two of you when he arrived shortly after..

- Anna~