#but lets face it it would end up being a bit more 'great mouse detective'

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC: No Time for Monkey Business

Danny’s family is gone. His parents, Jazz... 

Danny had come home to Fenton works only to find the place tossed and ransacked, the portal broken, and his family missing. Danny doesn’t know who to trust, but he needs to find his family and whoever took them. He can’t do it on his own though, He needs help. He needs a detective, and who better to help then the greatest detective in the world...

Bobo T. Chimpanzee aka Detective Chimp

For those of you unfamiliar with Detective Chimp, he is canonically the best detective in the world, better than Batman who is merely the best human detective. His skills include being able to speak to any living creature, eternal youth, hyperintelligence, incredible deductive skills, occult knowledge, and alcoholism

okay, the alcoholism isn’t a skill bit it’s wild he’s an alcoholic in canon. His entire lore is frankly wild, including Rex the Wonder Dog and the fountain of youth plus a court case that examined the implications of him being an animal owning his own business and making contracts. The ape has been in a surprising amount of team ups, from Batman, to the Shadowpact, and is in the regular rotation of Justice League Dark

He owns a magic sword called the Sword of Night, and is sassy with a sort of dry humor. Honestly kind of similar to constantine in some ways.

And Danny should play the Watson to his Sherlock. 

[nad-zeta]

Mitsuhide- The Blind Date

Fandom: Ikesen

Pairings: Mitsuhide x Reader

Genre: Modern Au

Warning: Alcohol

Words: 1800+

Comments: Eeeeep, guess what time it is???? Whooop Whooop! //dances around ❤❤❤😳🥺🥺😳❤🌈 This week gonna be funnnnn!

.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ: ｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ

How in the high heavens did Mitsuhide allow this to happen. Had he truly lost his mind—gone entirely insane— or perhaps he had been drugged, yes, for there was no other logical explanation as to why on earth he would humour his friends so.

Sitting on the high stool at the bar, he checked his phone, 8:53— he would give her seven more minutes and then he was going to yeet out— that way, at least he could tell the other that he ‘tried’. After all, that was all he promised his friends— that he would show up—nothing more, nothing less.

Tracing his finger along the rim of the whiskey glass, Mitsuhide contemplated the events that transpired leading to this rather unfortunate present day.

All his friends were either dating or married—tragic really—and for some or other reason, they felt the need to pry into his personal life. “Don’t you want to share your life with someone,” the mother of the group started, which inevitably only caused the rest of the group to latch onto the idea and turn the once serious board meeting into a game of matchmaking. It certainly didn’t help that he agreed to a blind date willingly— well semi willingly, anything to get them off his back— adding a condition of his own, that the mouse would have to agree to it from her side without intervention from theirs.

He was confident she would refuse, from the words of friends, she certainly sounded like someone of likewise thinking— a fellow workaholic with no time for dating. But she — to his great surprise— accepted.

It made no sense to him. What made even less sense was why his friends thought the two would click, as personalities and hobbies certainly didn't seem to gell well— at least not in his mind.

Not that any of that mattered as time was ticking away, and she had one more minute to show up before he would call it a night.

A myriad of texts illuminated his phone, and Mitsuhide could only release a dejected sigh from the latest of messages plaguing the group chat. “Be nice and behave yourself,” the mother hen had said.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” came the instigation from Masamune, followed by an array of winking faces and smirk emojis. Now you can only imagine the chaos that unleashed upon the group chat with each member laying their own little egg and nugget of wisdom.

“M-Mitsu?” a soft unsure voice spoke up from beside him, tapping him gently on the shoulder.

Switching his phone off, he plastered a snek-like smile across his features before turning his sharp eyes onto the unfortunate little victim of his company.

“My, you must be the little mouse I’ve heard so much about," came the sly words from his mouth as he gestured for you to take a seat beside him.

With a slight smile shot his way, you took up residence on the tall barstool, “In the flesh,” came your cheeky voice as you shrugged off your jacket and placed both elbows on the table to rest your chin upon your hands.

“And you must be the detective?” you quipped back.

Mitsuhide smiled at that, eyes taking on a mischievous glint as he leaned in closer to drop his voice to a dangerous whisper, “of sorts,” he quickly looked behind him — to add to the suspicion— before returning his attention to you, “and you, my dear, have unfortunately been set up and caught in the foxes trap.”

He kept your gaze in all seriousness.

He was sure you had heard the rumours of his interrogation methods, being no secret at all in the little town you occupied, people, unfortunately, liked to gossip — and whether the rumours of his wicked ways of getting information out of suspects had been spread intentionally or not, people tend to move with caution around him. It was, unfortunately, the nature of his job, and as such, led him down this long lonely road.

You narrowed your eyes at the man, silence befalling the pair of you as you held his gaze before responding in an equally intimidating voice, “have you now, or is it you who has been caught in my trap.”

After another pause, you threw your head back in a burst of laughter without a care in the world. 'He seems fun,' you thought, shooting a wink in the direction of the bartender in thanks for the whiskey on the rocks. You picked up the crystal glass and swirled the liquid around before taking a long sip. It had been a long day, so much so that you almost wanted to stand the poor man up, yet you came anyway, if only for a stiff drink to ease the tension of the day.

“So, Mr fox detective, sir, what’s wrong with you that your friends felt the need to set you up on a blind date, and with me of all people! Do they hate you or something?" you asked, tilting your head to the side in curiosity.

In the dimly lit bar, you gave Mitsuhide a quick once over— he was handsome, in a dangerous, mysterious kind of way. He reminded you of a creature of myths— a kitsune— with his white hair and golden eyes accompanied by that razor-sharp smile. Perhaps that is why the rumours surrounding him were all so believable to the simpletons of the town who had nothing better to do than gossip— cause heaven forbid they do actual work for a change. Relatively speaking, you had not paid the gossip much mind. Instead, you were in the business of judging a book for yourself and not by what others rated it as.

“I could ask the same of you, little one?” he returned the question back to you, resting his chin on his hands.

“Well, to put it simply, my friends don’t know the difference between being alone and being lonely,” you said with a sigh, taking another sip of the drink in front of you.

Mitsuhide nodded in response, long fingers tracing over his glass thoughtfully with a hum of acknowledgement as you continued. “I knew if I refused to come tonight, they would just pester me until I agreed, so, in the name of some peace and quiet, here I am,” you ended off with a laugh and shake of the head.

Perhaps that was not entirely true; sometimes, you wondered what it would be like to find love— to have company to attend the various friend’s weddings with— after all, you were forever the bridesmaid and never the bride.

On the other hand, he knew the struggles of meddling friends all too well, and of course, the endless headache that accompanied the refusal of their ‘help’. He lifted his glass towards you, features softening as eyes crinkled at the seams in a semi genuine smile, “to meddlesome friends.”

You smiled brightly at that, clinking your glass with his as a comfortable silence befell the two of you—it looks like you had more in common than just your workaholic ways.

After a couple of minutes had passed, both your phones lit up at the same time, with an array of nosy friends asking about the ongoing date. And the two of you couldn’t help but burst into laughter and shake your heads in unison, “Unbelievable,” you spoke, taking another sip, an idea forming in your head to get them off your case for a little while longer.

Mitsuhide raised a curious brow at you as you silently lifted your phone, scrolling between the apps before landing on the camera. You shot him a mischievous smile before throwing your arm around his shoulder to pull him closer to you, “What do you think they would say if we sent a selfie,” you said, looking into the camera smiling brightly as finger spammed the little circle capturing a dozen or so photos before Mitsuhide even had time to rebuff. You never did mind creating a bit of chaos, and what better way to do so than, god forbid, you actually hit it off with the man.

“I wonder,” was all he said with a sly smile, and to your surprise, Mitsuhide actually smiled in a handful of the ones captured.

You quickly edited the picture, posting it onto the group with a cheeky caption; however, before locking your phone once more, something in the image caught your attention—a little sticker on Mitsuhide’s trench coat lapel. Your brows furrowed as you zoomed in to inspect it before they lifted to the man beside you, to see it in person. With a curious smile and finger pointed out to the little fox sticker, you couldn’t help but ask, “What’s with the little fox?”

“It’s a long story, my dear,” he said with an air of mystery, but you persisted, leaning closer to get a better look.

“Well, I have time,” the words fell from your mouth, followed by another round of drinks ordered.

“You truly wish to know, little one?” he replied with glowing eyes. And that was the beginning of the end.

The origin story of the fox sticker led to another, that, then led to another and then another. Until a fun game started between the two of you— a story for a story— each new tale accompanied by a new round of drinks ordered.

It was now your turn to tell yet another exciting story, this time about your childhood of all things, however, time had quickly slipped away, and before you knew it, your eyelids started to grow heavy with sleep, words coming out slower and slower until finally your head fell and landed on Mistuhised shoulder.

“My, my little one, you should not let your guard down so easily with a man like me,” the tender words were spoken; it was one of those rare occasions Mitsihide dropped his foxlike mask and wore a genuine smile.

He looked over to see you sound asleep, and it seemed that his fingers moved to their own accord, reaching up to twirl a strand of your hair between his fingertips. After a moment or two, he shrugged off his trench coat and draped it over your shoulders to keep you warm and protected from the cold night’s chill.

“Come along, little mouse; I believe it is time for sleepy mice to go to bed.”

He then proceeded to gently hook his arm around your legs and waist, picking you up bridal style and cradling you to his chest.

“You truly are a troublesome little one, whatever shall I do with you,” he spoke fondly as he carefully loaded you into the passenger seat of his car before securing the seatbelt around you, while you, completely unstirred, remained fast asleep.

You awoke the next day in your own bed, splitting headache nagging at your temples as unfocused gaze locked onto a glass of water and aspirin left by your bedside. Sitting up, you wasted no time taking the hangover cure, memories of the previous night flooding your head.

“Shit shit shit shit,” you curse under your breath, throwing yourself back and covering your head with a pillow— how very uncool of you to just pass out in front of a stranger like that, never mind how unsafe.

Your phone buzzed on the bedside table beside you, cutting your groans of embarrassment and cringe short, replacing it instead with a broad smile upon reading the text from your mysterious date.

[jadedxrealityw]

-Amortentia- Blaise Zabini x Female Reader

   ☼-☪-☼

   Kody: BLAISEEEEEEE DADDY- im sorry. yeah yeah i’m changing the canonical storyline- cry about it. I’m also fully aware  Amortentia does not work like this lmao. 

   Request: you can make the summary short and less revealing for more fun hehe. Also it's totally up to you, dear! Only if you feel comfortable with it and no pressure! I hope you had a great weekend and drink more water ily <3 - 💐

   House: Hufflepuff

   Possible Triggers / Warnings: Slight slut shaming in the beginning, Draco being a little shit, 

   ☼-☪-☼

   you had been alone most of your life with your parents being on constant business trips from the ministry that would last for months on end. You were practically raised by your nanny, but she couldn’t teach you everything. You became socially awkward.

   you never had any friends back at home which meant you had no experience  communicating with people your age. You were walking awkwardness basically. It came at no surprise when you were sorted into Hufflepuff, even though both your parents were Slytherins- they weren’t disappointed in you though.

   you had just managed to scramble by through your first four years of school. Four long years without any friends, but you didn’t mind. You could get by just by yourself. You were a strong independent woman and knew how to get yourself out of sticky situations. 

   unless it was stuck up Hufflepuff’s- then you were screwed 

   one fine day in your fourth year you were heading to the quidditch field so you could go watch the game. Slytherin against Hufflepuff. They were both tied at two wins against each other so you were eager to see who would win. You wore a brown buttoned sweater with a nice pear of tan overalls. 

   the fallen leaves under your foot made a satisfying crack noise as you walked along the field. The cheers and other various sounds of students were definitely drawing nearer. You popped another flavour bean into your mouth when a harsh push came to your shoulder, causing the box of flavour beans to fall.

   you watched as they spilled out onto the grass with a look of solemn in your eyes “Dang- that was my last box” you mumble before a couple of snickers were heard in front of you. You look up to see three students wearing their regular Hufflepuff robes with there own casual clothes underneath.

   “Drop something?” one asked. A girl with light brown bobbed hair and green eyes spoke. You nod once “Uh yeah, just my flavour beans. I- uh i can just buy new ones” you spoke, already starting to clam up “Your a hufflepuff aren’t you? Why aren’t you wearing yellow?” the girl asked somewhat accusingly. 

   alert alert. Confrontation detected. Activate escape protocol 17B

   you didn’t answer and went to walk past them when another one of the three, a blond boy with blue eyes pushed you back to where you were standing. Shit. You fold your arms over your chest, looking at the ground “Your one of those Slytherin groupies are you, a house traitor?” the brown haired girl accused. 

   you opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. This made the two Hufflepuffs more annoyed “What? Cant speak? Let me guess, your like those Draco fangirls. Sweetie. Your def not pretty enough for him” she adds, making the boy aside her laugh. 

   did she just say def? Have you ever even talked to Draco Malfoy? Not the time to be thinking about that. “I uh-” before you could speak anymore the girl held up her hand “Don’t even try to defend yourself, Slut” you went wide eyed. No one has ever been so nasty to you.

   “I’ve never seen two Hufflepuffs go at one of their own, before” a girls laugh came from behind you. She had black shoulder length hair and bangs with brown eyes. Pansy Parkinson. In front of her was two boys dressed in Slytherin Quidditch uniforms. 

   You quickly identify the platinum blond boy with pale skin as Draco Malfoy. The hair was always a dead give away and the other boy was slightly taller then him with dark skin. He was very handsome for a boy your age. What was his name again? Oh! Blaise- Blaise Zabini. 

   “For Hufflepuff’s you two are quite nasty” Draco spoke, a grin playing on his lips. The boy Hufflepuff rolled his eyes “Yeah whatever Malfoy, what’re you going to do. Tell your father?” that struck a nerve in the young Malfoy as he went to lunge at them until Blaise put a arm out, blocking Draco.

   “Now, Now. Let’s not get physical. You see, me and my fellow housemates overheard your very deplorable conversation with this what seems like sweet girl. Honestly, how can you bully someone who can’t even get a word in?” Blaise spoke in such a proper way that you almost couldn’t tell he was insulting them.

   the girl and boy were silent as he spoke for a while until the girl spoke up once more “Oh so she’s one of your play things, Zabini?” she questions with a smug look. Blaise’s neutral expression switched into a disgusted one “I don’t have play things. I actually have respect for other woman”

   Blaise didn’t let them get another word in before he stepped in front of you “Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you did they?” he asked, using his hand to lift your chin and inspect your face. Touching- “No” you say in a meek voice. He nods once with a small smile “Good, now let’s go”

   you tilt your head sto side. Go? “Um- go where?” you ask. Blaise gestures towards the quidditch field “The game of course. Me and Malfoy here have to get ready and you and Pansy will meet Theo in the Slytherin bleachers to watch the game of course.” as he spoke, Pansy skipped to your side, linking arms.

   “Yeah! We can watch them make fools of themselves. Now lets go new friend!” Pansy said excitedly before practically dragged you towards the bleachers, leaving Draco and Blaise alone. The young Malfoy turned towards Blaise with a puzzled look “Since when did you involve yourself with Hufflepuffs?”

   Blaise rolled his eyes before walking off, not answering his housemate

    ☼-☪-☼

   7th year

   after that day you became part of Blaise’s friend group. He’d talk to you as much as he talked to Theo, Pans, or Draco. Ask you how your day was, invite you to sit with him at lunch and even sneak you into the Slytherin house at times. 

   some people found it strange. A slytherin spending so much time with a Hufflepuff, but as stated Blaise didn’t care much of opinions hat didn’t come from his friends, but all his friends adored you. Case closed. It was around the end of sixth year is when your feelings changed from platonic to romantic.

   you no longer saw him as your best friend that saved you from a bunch of nasty Hufflepuff’s all those years ago. You now saw him as someone you wanted to be with, all the time. To hold his hand, have him hold you, for him to just call you his. You fell hard. 

   but there was this fear, this fear that it would ruin everything you had with him. It was too great a risk, so like any normal person. You kept quiet as mouse and refused to let anyone know your feelings. Except for Pansy of course, but she found out on her own. Then told Draco, who told Theo.

   everyone knew except Blaise actually

   it was lunch and the Slytherins were waiting for you to arrive, Draco cleared his throat, getting the attention of the rest of them “I have a terribly good idea” he says, making Blaise look at him curiously “And that is?” he asked, leaning in to here what his housemate had to say. 

   Draco reaches into robe and pulls out a pink heart shaped bottle. “What in the hell? Why do you have a love potion?” Pansy asked with a amused chuckle. “Well- Y/n confessed to me that she had a crush on someone, but was too afraid to tell them. So i’m going to slip this into her drink to move her along”

   Pansy and Theo both look at each other knowingly. They know full well that little ferret was lying. Y/n told Pansy first. What was he playing at? “That is so wrong on so many levels, Malfoy” Blaise spoke up first, looking at him in distaste. 

   “Hey! She told me that she wished she was more confident so she could tell this person there feelings. I’m being a good friend!” Draco retorted, another lie. Blaise face drops a little “Who even is this person she’s confessing to. It better not be some low life Gryffindor” Blaise grumbles.

   Pansy’s eyebrow wiggles “Is that jealousy i here, Zabini?” she teases. Blaise rolls his eyes before looking back at his plate “Y/n can like whoever she want’s” he grumbles. “Really? ‘Cause your stabbing your steak” Pansy asked, leaning over across the table. 

   Blaise was indeed repeating jabbing at his food with his fork “I will use the slug-vomiting charm on you” he spoke, gritting his teeth. Pansy just smiled innocently “Cursing Pan’s i see” a voice came from behind him. Blaise turned his head around to see you, holding a textbook “Sorry i was late, got caught up”

   you take a seat next to Blaise, seeing a full plate and water put out for you “Thanks for saving me some food?” you say with a small smile. “I did actually, because i’m your favorite” Draco gives you a sweet smile, one that you laugh nervously at “Uh- sure?” you reply. 

       ☼-☪-☼

   once finished your food, you reached for the cup of water and took a sip. As you go and place it down you notice that they were all staring at you? “What?” you ask and Theo gives you a smile “Feel any different?” he asked. You purse your lips together and slowly shake your head “No, i feel alright”

   Draco huffs and places his head in his hand. You look over at Blaise who had went back to eating his food. You notice something on the corner of his mouth and grab the napkin on your table. Reaching up you wipe away the food on the corner of his mouth. 

   Blaise flinches and grabs your hand “What’re you doing?” he asked, gazing down at you. You snicker a bit at his reaction and gently tug your arm out of his grip “You had something on your mouth, didn’t want it to mess up your handsome face” you reply.

   Pansy chokes on her water, which turns into a coughing fit. Blaise stared at you blankly, just blinking mindlessly while Draco punched the air. 

    ☼-☪-☼

   now, mind you. A typical love potion last up to 24 hours, but Draco being the idiot he was accidently poured half the bottle into your drink. So it was safe to say it was going to last more than a day. “Your a bloody fool, Malfoy!” Blaise exclaims. 

   “I didn’t mean to pour half of it! Someone bumped into me!” Draco retorts while both Theo and Pansy eat a box of flavour beans they were sharing, just casually watching the chaos unfold. “That my be true, but you still served it to her! You took advantage of her vulnerability!” Blaise shouts back.

   Draco’s face fell, yeah could be a little prick sometimes, but he also cared about you deeply. He couldn’t tell Blaise he was your crush, but he could try to make it right. “I’ll make the antidote, but it will be a couple days” Blaise nods “Sorry for shouting” he says. Draco nods once before leaving the hallway.

   “Hey guys” jeez- you just snuck up on people. Blaise steps towards you “Shouldn’t you be heading to charms class?” he asked, crossing his arms “What? Do you have her schedule memorized?” Pansy questions with a small laugh. 

   Blaise exhales deeply “I have a copy of it actually. Anyway-” he says and turns his attention back to you. “What do you need?” he asks, his tone changing to a more calm one. “Can you walk me to class?” you ask. Blaise raises a brow “Why?” he asked, not that he would have a problem.

   “I want to spend more time with you” you spoke very nonchalantly. You almost wondered how you even spoke those words yourself. Blaise looks stunned for a moment, before a smile made a way to his face. This was just the potion talking, you were spewing nonsense he thought   “As do i? Let’s get going shall we”

   you smile brightly and grab his a=hand, interlocking your fingers. Blaise gives you a small nod before covering his mouth with his hands. Both Pansy and Theo watch them walk away “5 galleons Blaise confesses to Y/n by the end of this whole ordeal” Pansy points, chewing on a flavour bean. 

   Theo watched along her and nods “Your on, 10 galleons they both end up being friends again”

    ☼-☪-☼

   it has been TWO days and Draco still hasn’t made the antidote. He claimed it was because he had to gather all the supplies without Snape around, which was probably true. Blaise had started to kind of- sort of- maybe- like the attention you were giving him. 

   oh yeah- surprise! Blaise had had a crush on you even longer then you did, he just knew how to keep his composure around you. It was easy for him, but it didn’t make him any less terrified of what would happen if those feelings were revealed. 

   currently, you were both sitting in the courtyard, studying on a bench, your choice. “I think that’s enough for the day. I’m surprised you asked me for my help. You usually never ask me for any academic advice” Blaise spoke, knowing full well why she asked him. The love potion. 

   you look up at him, closing the textbook in your hands “Well, you and Draco are the smartest people i know, but i prefer your company more” you smile lightly as you begin to cram the textbook into your bag. Blaise feels his heartbeat pick up once again. 

   It’s just the love potion. It’s just the love potion. It’s just the love potion. Think rationally Zabini! “I’m glad to hear that” he nods once. You both stand up from the bench and the curiosity gets the better of him. “So, what people have you’ve been talking too the past couple days?”

   he wanted to know if you had actually been talking to your crush. So he could murder them talk to them man to man/woman. You shrug your shoulders “Just you guys, who else would i be talking to?” you spoke “Oh! i have an exam to take in potions! i’ll see you at dinner!”

   you spoke with haste before leaning up to kiss his cheek “Bye Blaise!” and with that you ran off towards the entrance. Blaise held up his hand for a moment before exhaling “She’s- been only- talking to us? Who the hell is her crush then?” he thought aloud before picking up his things and walking away.

   both Pansy and Theo pop up from behind the bushes “For a genius student, he sure is a idiot” Pansy spoke, eating the last bit of her cauldron cake. Theo nods “I thought Draco would be done with the antidote already?” he says. Pansy grinned evilly.

    “Yeah...he should, but i keep hiding the ingredients. Blaise needs more time to realize she’s into him” she spoke, wiping her mouth off. Theo gasps and wacks her shoulder “That’s cheating! and you ate my last cauldron cake!” he sighs, crossing his arms. 

    “Yeah? Cry about it Nott”  

    ☼-☪-☼

   “It’s done!” a loud shout came from the dorm hallways of the Slytherin house towards the common room. Draco came running towards them, panting like a dog. “What’s done?” Pansy asked, sitting next to Theo eating a bowl of popcorn. No- they don’t know where she got it either. 

   “The antidote for Y/n’s love potion. It took so long because i kept misplacing everything. All we need to do is sneak it into her drink at dinner tonight” he explains. Blaise shot up from the loveseat he was sat on reading a book and snatched the vile from Draco. “Hey! What the hell?!”

   “I’m not lying to Y/n anymore then i have to. I’ll catch up with you guys later” Blaise said before walking out the portrait door. “Alright that’s our cue!” Pansy and Theo stood up “What’re you guys doing?” Draco asked with a confused expression on his face. 

   “Spying on Blaise and Y/n to make sure they confess to each other” Theo explains, walking away with Pansy. Draco blinked a couple times before shaking his head “Guys that is such an invasion of there privacy and trust, they are our friends and we should be respectful......i’m coming with you”

   bestie things i guess

    ☼-☪-☼

   Blaise had just made it out the dungeons when he bumped into someone “Watch where your- oh Y/n. Why are you down here?” he asked. You chuckle and push away from him “I was going to see if Pansy wanted to have another sleepover, why are you out here? Dinner hasn’t started yet”

   Blaise thinks of his next words before holding up the vile “I need you to drink this Y/n”

   “What why?”

   “Just do it”

   “But-”

   “If you trust me you will. I would never harm you”

   “...Okay”

   you grab the vile from his hand and pop the cork off. You look at the vile then Blaise who nods once. Exhaling, you pour the strange liquid down your throat, twinging at the unfamiliar taste. You feel almost a swirl around your chest before you look at Blaise again “What was that?”

   Blaise places his hands on your shoulders, your face heating up slightly. Once again you were back being unnerved by this guy, but you didn’t notice “How do you feel about me Y/n?” he asked, making your E/c eyes widen a bit. “I’m sorry- come again?”

   he sighs deeply and looks you in the eye. Ooo eye contact, scary. “the same i did yesterday?” you say vaguely. because who the hell asks that kind of question. Blaise lets go of your shoulders and rubs his face with his his hands. He was frustrated. “Y/n, how do you feel about me?”

   you shrink at his gaze. The first thought that ran through your mind was that Pansy had snitched to him that you were in love with him “I’m so sorry- i didn’t want to tell you because i thought you would think i was weird!” you spurt out, confusing Blaise just a tad more. 

   “What are you talking about!?”

   “Pansy told you about my crush on you didn’t she!?”

   “Your what!?”

   oh if the world could swallow you whole now “Oh merlin- i thought that’s what she told you!” you shout before trying to activate escape protocol 17B again and walk away. Blaise almost thought about letting you leave but you liked him! he was terrified you didn’t! but you do! So, why would he let you leave!?

   he reaches back and grabs your arm, stopping you from walking any further “I get it. You don’t want to be friends anymore” you spoke sadly. Blaise stepped towards you, but you looked down at your feet instead of him “Your right, i don’t want to be friends anymore Y/n”

   you felt your heart shatter. That was until one of his long arms wrapped around your waist and other pointed your chin up to look at him “I want you to be mine and i, yours” he spoke, a slight grin on his lips. Say what now? did Blaise Zabini just confess to you?

   “Oh...”

   “Is that all you have to say to that? I just spilled my heart out to you”

   “What- what should i say?”

   “Yes?...No?”

   “Oh! yes- yes. Definitely yes! ”

   “That’s a relief. I thought i had just made a full of myself”

   “You are no fool Blaise Zabini”

   Blaise gave you a small smile before leaning down. Oh shit. He stops midway, lips centimeters from yours “It is okay if i kiss you, correct?” he asks. We love a consent king. You nod slowly, making his smile grow wide before he presses his lips to yours. 

   “5 galleons you little shit, hand it over!” you both pull apart as three idiots come falling out a nearby broom closet. Pansy spilled her popcorn all over the hallway floor in the process. “Screw you Pansy, you cheated you pig!” Theo snaps back, Pansy hitting the back of his head “I am no pig!” 

   Draco was just lying face first on the floor, hoping no one would notice his presence. “Oh right pug-face!” Theo smirks. Pansy gasps before pulling out her wand “You are dead you queer!” she shouts. Theo pulled out his wand as well “You have a girlfriend, homo!” he shouts. 

   Pansy sputters for a moment “That’s besides the point!” they both circle each other as Draco picks himself off the floor “I shouldn’t have come” he mumbles, dusting off his robes. Both you and Blaise look at each other before bursting into laughter. 

    ☼-☪-☼

   Taglist: @the--queen-of-hell @sonbelleame @dracosathenaeum @pxroxide-prinxcesss 

    ☼-☪-☼

   Kody- I have no words for this other then- what the fuck did i just write? Anyways, peace!

[lady-divine-writes]

Good Omens - A Corpse, Cake, and a Cuppa (Rated NC17)

Summary: Aziraphale is Death and Crowley is the serial killer who keeps murdering to catch a glimpse of the ethereal being he fell in love with. (1714 words)

Notes: Written for the above Halloween prompt from @new-endings/M.A.D.#8943. Human Crowley au. It’s kind of gory, I’m not going to lie.

Read on AO3.

“Jesus Christmas!" Aziraphale yelps, tiptoeing through the thick pool of red coagulating on the concrete. Threads of it cling to the soles of his shoes when he lifts his feet as if trying to drag him down. Aziraphale has seen a great deal of blood in his time. None of it has been pretty. But this is especially gruesome.

He wonders if that’s for his benefit.

"Look at... look at this! Look at all the… !” Aziraphale takes a pause and breathes in deep, pressing the thumb and forefinger of his right hand to his forehead. Tension causes a vein to distend and throb - quite the feat since, as a non-human entity, he shouldn't be able to experience this kind of pain. Or so he thought. In the thousands of years he's roamed earth reaping souls, he's finally found the one mortal who can give him what humans call a migraine. And he doesn't like it. Not one bit. “Could you please just… stop already?"

Crowley grins, thrilled giddy by the arrival of his intended audience. “No,” he replies, shoving the slicked head of his filthy ax deeper into the severed spine of the fresh corpse at his feet.

Aziraphale grimaces as the blade lands with a resounding slap. 

That ax of Crowley's gets on every one of Aziraphale's nerves. It's effective for its purpose but positively unsanitary. It makes his skin crawl every time he sees it.

Crowley lifts it slowly, eyes Aziraphale menacingly.

Eyes his nice, clean coat, Aziraphale realizes.

“Crowley!” he warns, putting both hands up in defense. “Don't you dare... !”

But Crowley doesn't let him finish, hoisting his ax higher with part of the dead man's torso attached. He doesn't need to do anything after that. The torso falls from the blade and splashes down in the pool, accomplishing what Crowley set out to do.

“Holy... GAH!” Aziraphale leaps back to avoid the spray. He frowns at his clothes when he sees he wasn't quick enough. "Look what you've done! You’ve made a mess of my coat!”

“Improved it, I’d say,” Crowley snarks. “Given it a pop of color.”

“I've had this coat for ages and hadn't collected a single stain! Not one! And look at your shoes! Ruined!" He gazes down at Crowley's feet in despair. "I actually liked that pair.”

“Really?" Crowley tilts his head, batting his eyes innocently. "You didn't tell me that.”

“Yes, well... " Aziraphale busies himself fishing a handkerchief out of his pocket. Praying he’s swift enough to save the fabric, he pats at the specks on his sleeve "... it’s not my place to tell a homicidal maniac that he looks fetching in snakeskin, is it?”

Crowley pouts, his lower lip jutting out, making him look comically childish despite the streaks of blood running down his cheeks. 

Aziraphale’s brows pull together. He glances around, trying to work out what's wrong. "What? What is it?"

"You're being mean."

"How am I being mean?"

"You're calling me names."

"Accurate ones, yes."

"You sound disappointed."

"You think so!?"

“B-but... but why? I took your advice!" Crowley argues. "I changed me m.o.!”

“I didn’t give you advice! I said you should stop killing innocent people!”

“I did! This guy?" Crowley plants the heel of his sopping shoe into the dead man's crooked neck for emphasis. "He weren’t innocent! He was a serial killer, too! He just happened to be shite at it!”

"I can see that." Aziraphale peers into the vacant eyes of the man on the ground, spirit buzzing beneath his skin, waiting to be reaped. But Aziraphale is in no rush. In the choice between filling out paperwork and shooting the shite with Crowley, surprisingly, he chooses Crowley. 

Or maybe not so surprising, Aziraphale muses, biting his lower lip and indulging in a private chuckle. He rolls his eyes in disgust at himself right after. What are you doing? Stop that!

"Besides, I'm doin' you a solid!" 

Aziraphale scoffs, snapping back to his senses. "How do you figure?"

"You're Death, ain't ya? I'm keeping you in business!"

"I don't know if you've read the papers lately, dear boy, but humans are dropping like flies thanks to their own stubbornness and stupidity. You're slap in the middle of one of the worst pandemics in history, but instead of doing what you can to stay safe, you lot spend your time arguing over petty b.s.! I won't wear a mask! It's against my rights! I'm not taking the vaccine! It'll make me sterile! There is no disease! It's all a big conspiracy! Meanwhile, in the states, some orange lunatic has everyone drinking bleach! Believe me, I hardly need your help doing my job!" 

“Oi! Don’t lump me in with those prats!”

“Why not? You’re not wearing a mask, I see.”

“Don’t have to. I got my shot. And I keep me distance.”

“But you’re covered in blood! Did that man you dismembered have the virus!? You don’t know!” Aziraphale cringes at words that sound far more like concern than scolding. Which he should be doing. Scolding and ridiculing, and possibly calling the police.

But he won’t.

If Crowley were thrown in prison, it would be harder for Aziraphale to find an excuse to see him. Aziraphale has yet to decide if that’s something he wants, but either way, he’d prefer it not be at the expense of another life.

"Fine. Whatever. If that's the way you feel about it... " Crowley grumbles, letting what remains of that statement die as embarrassment rises to his cheeks, settling beneath the red already there. He crosses his arms over his chest and turns his face away. 

Just like a child, Aziraphale thinks. 

And as with a child, Aziraphale should have nipped this in the bud much, much earlier - like when Crowley realized that he could summon Aziraphale whenever he wanted by upping the frequency of his murderous antics. 

This, to date, is his twenty-seventh kill.

Aziraphale doesn't know how Crowley spotted him. He's pretty adept at avoiding human detection. But after victim number eight, Aziraphale turned around, scythe in hand, and there he stood: tall, gangly, bizarrely besotted, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses at one in the morning. Aziraphale thought Crowley was a run-of-the-mill psychopath looking for attention, seeing Aziraphale as a hapless dolt to play cat-and-mouse with, not knowing for one second who he was dealing with.

Not only did Crowley know exactly who Aziraphale was, but he had taken a considerable shine to him.

Aziraphale humored the man when their paths crossed so he could get on with his work, never for one minute considering the consequences. Thinking back on their past interactions, Aziraphale can pick out the hints Crowley had been dropping.

Aziraphale played right into them, and he could kick himself over it.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Aziraphale quipped dryly after Crowley had beheaded some poor, down-on-his-luck fool. "I'm going to start thinking that you have a thing for me."

"Finally!" Crowley tossed his arms in the air. "At this rate, I was going to have to murder half of London and spell out the words ’Will you go out with me?’ with their bodies. Do you know how time-consuming that would have been?"

Aziraphale had written that comment off as a morbid attempt at humor. 

Now he feels like an imbecile.

He’s going to get an earful from Gabriel if he ever gets wind of this. Aziraphale has been able to cover up the increase in London deaths by blaming the pandemic. But once people get their acts together and things calm down, he’ll have to come clean.

There’s a serial killer roaming the streets that has a serious crush on him.

Aziraphale lets out a heavy sigh as he comes to a decision.

A bad decision.

He's going to regret this. He knows he's going to regret this. 

But will he really though?

Aziraphale looks Crowley over, still moping with his nose in the air. He examines him at depth - his sharp features, his debonair style (hiding beneath a litre of blood), his devil-may-care attitude, his rowdy sense of humor. If he were another angel, or even a demon, Aziraphale would have asked him out already, body count or no. 

So what is he waiting for?

It’s not entirely unheard of, an angel dating outside their dominion. And as for the moral issues of dating a murderer, well, Aziraphale is an angel. He has a responsibility to bring sinners to the light, help them see the truth. That can be done anywhere, not just in church - on a street corner, in a diner…

Back at his flat.

Besides, he and Crowley have a lot more in common than Aziraphale did with his last paramour, an angel he had dallied with solely for the fact that he was guardian of comestibles.

It seemed like a match made in Heaven, so to speak.

Far from it.

“Look - if I let you take me out for coffee, will you stop the gratuitous bloodshed?”

Crowley all but gasps when that question leaves Aziraphale’s mouth, the grin growing on his face transforming, becoming less maniacal and more… normal if that makes any sense. "One cup of coffee. That's all I ask."

"Then come along. Here… “ Aziraphale snaps his fingers, cleaning Crowley thoroughly before he takes his arm. “If you're good, I'll let you buy me a slice of cake.”

“That’s very generous of you.”

“I’m glad you think so. I’m a very slow eater. And I figure the longer I stay with you, the more I can keep an eye on you."

“Deal. But, you know," Crowley starts, his tone so filled with teasing he’s on the verge of giggles, "if you, say, spent the night at my flat, you could keep an eye on me for hours. Think of all the people I wouldn’t be able to kill.”

Aziraphale smirks, amused that they both had a semblance of the same idea. “You don’t say?”

“I do.”

“That’s blackmail.”

“More so than you bartering human lives against a cuppa and cake?”

Aziraphale shrugs, but he doesn't relinquish Crowley's arm. He does, however, relieve him of his ax so he doesn’t get any ideas along the way. “Fair point.”

[itstittycitybaby]

Naivety is Enduring (Lin Beifong x reader)

a/n: can’t figure out a better title lmao but this fic is based on one of the asks i’ve gotten. reader is a shy, oblivious officer at the station who’s accidentally been flirting with Lin. 

You kept your head up as you sifted through the streets of Republic City. The streets were almost completely bare with little to no traffic. However, about an hour later that’s when chaos errupted. Your shift started in thirty minutes, but you always took pride on being early. 

Your job wasn’t too important. Compared to the detectives, the actual officers that made rounds, and chief Beifong, it was insignificant. The front desk needed somebody to help keep things under control and dealt with the people coming in and out. It didn’t matter to you. In fact you preferred it. Working the front desk made it easier for you to be more discreet. The quiet and the calm helped ground you unlike going into the streets of the city everyday. Talking to some of the people coming in and out still made you anxious, but it wasn’t so bad.

Letting out a soft sigh, you unlocked the doors. It was dark in the station, which was expected, but in the hall a light was on. It was the last door on the left. Chief Beifong’s office. You couldn’t help but frown. It was four thirty am. Everyone was either asleep or making their way to the station. You weren’t surprised; Chief Beifong was known to work late into the night and the early morning. There was no stopping her. 

Setting down your stuff, you started opening up. You winced at the bright lights as they flickered on. Everything seemed to be there where you left it. You groaned at the never ending filing you had to do. Along with the petty reports you had to sign and date.

Time passed for ten minutes. Then fifteen. You thought Chief Beifong would have left her office. She usually did whenever the first person came into the station but she stayed locked up.

Shaking it off, you made your way to the break room. A pot of coffee would freshen the two of you up. Though, you couldn’t help but feel anxious. Talking to people had never been your strong suit. Especially Chief Beifong. The officers did their best to tread around her carefully and only speak to her when they had to. “Everyone deserves someone to talk to,” you reassured yourself as you poured water into the pot. “Even if they’re fucking terrifying.”

When the coffee was finished you grabbed two mugs. You put sugar and cream in yours. You had a feeling Chief Beifong didn’t like anything in her coffee. If she didn’t like it so be it. At least you tried. Pushing the door open with your hips, you clutched the mugs in your hand tightly. You cursed softly as some of the hot coffee spilled onto your hand. Your hand became a bit red and it hurt like a mother fucker. You made your way past a couple of officers and nodded and smiled at them. They murmured a good morning but continued to chat. No matter, you weren’t as important as they were, you mused.

You swallowed thickly as you stood in front of the imposing door. Chief Beifong never failed to make you nervous. She was scary as hell but before you could chicken out, you knocked on her door twice. Good number. Not too hard and not too soft, you thought. “Come in,” a gruff, but muffled voice replied from the other side of the door. 

Pushing aside your nerves, you opened the door quietly. The head of gray hair that you loved lifted up from the papers in front of her. A brow raised in your direction with a tiny frown on her face. “Yes?”

You fought the urge to fidget and gave the chief an uneasy smile. Focus. “I saw you were still awake,” you said softly, trying not to make her more irritated, “so I brought you a mug of coffee.” Chief Beifong’s eyes narrowed a bit. From suspicion or irritation, you couldn’t tell. God, you wanted the floor to swallow you. You hated it when she dissected you with cold stares. It was just a cup of coffee for fucks sake!

You shuffled your feet nervously as you waited her to say something. Either a sharp “Get out” or a gruff “thanks”, you didn’t care. At this point you just wanted to get out. Chief Beifong’s green eyes lightened a bit. A wave of relief washed over you. Success. “Thank you,” she quipped, looking back down at her paper work. “You really shouldn’t have.” “It’s no problem,” you replied, a shy smile on your face. You set the mug carefully with a gentle thud, and made your leave. 

But you felt like it wasn’t enough. You wanted to be different from the other officers. They were all intimidated and terrified of her. Not that you could blame them, but they didn’t even try to be friendly. You had gotten this far, what else could go wrong? So, with all the courage you had left you said, “Have a good day Chief.” With that, you left her office with a surprised Chief behind her desk.

“Ready for training?” You looked up from the files you were sifting through to put away. The stack was never ending but you had made good progress. It had only been one third of it wiped out, but it was still progress. You could barely contain your surprise. “Y-yes Chief Beifong,” you sputtered holding the manilla file tightly. Her brow twitched and her eyes stared into your soul. Were they always that pretty?

“Good. You’re up in ten.” You nodded, “Yes m’am.” You swore you saw a smirk before she turned around and left you there standing like an idiot. “Get yourself together,” you whispered harshly, cheeks burning.

You sighed as the hot water hit your back. The aching joints and your sore muscles started to soothe under the shower’s water. You’ve always hated training especially whenever the Chief observed you. It was her job but still, did she have to stare? She wasn’t afraid to correct you every five seconds, but how could you concentrate whenever you had a HUGE crush on her? “Fuckin…Chief having to be her hot…self whenever she’s around,” you grumbled to yourself in the empty locker room.

Shivering, you hurried to your satchel to change back into your uniform. The towel around you did little to warm your body. “Didn’t think I’d still see you here.” You jumped. “Oh my god,” you squeaked, pulling your towel closer to you. “C-Chief,” you greeted, cheeks flaming. “P-pleasant surprise.” 

She didn’t say anything as she grabbed her bag. She still had her white tank top on which showed off her toned arms. The cargo pants she wore hugged her ass perfectly. The chief’s normally gray hair was pulled up into a bun. Fuck, did she look good.

Suddenly, Chief Beifong turned to you. You jumped, startled, eyes snapping up to hers. She looked surprised and you swear to the spirits her cheeks turned slightly pink. “U-uh uhhh uhhh,” you sputtered, trying to explain yourself. Grabbing your bag with incredible speed, you spilled out, “I-I gotta go C-Chief! Nice uhhhh talking to you!” With that you dashed out of the locker rooms and left a dumfounded Lin Beifong.

“I fucking hate myself,” you spat in the mirror as you flung your uniform back on. Chief Beifong caught you checking her out. You were fucked. Screwed. Hell, you wouldn’t be surprised if she handed you resignation letters once you got back to the front desk. You could’t blame her. Maybe you could find a nice little job? Out in the surrounding cities? Far away from Republic City? That sounded like a great idea. You could see it now. Sure the pay wouldn’t probably be the greatest, but it’s better than having the embarassment of being fired in front of your colleagues. They already thought your rank was a disgrace. Imagine the gossip once they figured out the reason for getting fired.

Sighing, you begrudgingly trudged out of the bathroom. Anxiety bubbled in your chest as you left the safe haven behind you and returned to your desk. Maybe she’d just forget about it? “She wont,” you sighed, shaking your head.

“Get yourself together,” you scolded yourself. “We can go home and sulk later. We’ve got a job to do.”

“See you!” You waved, a fake grin plastered on your face. Your coworker didn’t seem to notice though. You hated talking to the officers; they were usually lovely people, but talking to people made you feel smaller claw and insignificant. It was tiring and made you feel stupid that you had trouble talking to people.

Five thirty rolled around on the clock. You still had some filing to finish, sign some mediocre documents, and take care of the citizens coming in and out. Almost everyone had left except for a few people in the station. You were surprised you didn’t find any resignation papers on your desk, or god forbid Chief Beifong waiting at your desk to chew you out. It would be well deserved at least. But now, you didn’t know how to go from here.

Just pretend everything is normal, you told yourself. Oh, if only the spirits were on your side. “Chief Beifong wants to see you.” You sighed, turning to the officer. You hated the pity they held for you. Their face held a grimace as they watched you get up from the floor. “Alright, thanks.” They nodded, but left you to wallow in the anxiety of facing your boss and loosing your job. “Better make the most of it, was great while it lasted.”

Your feet trudged to her door. You felt your heart quicken and the lump in your throat was like a heavy tone. The beating of your heart felt like a sharp dagger piercing into is. You rubbed your clammy hands on your trousers and swallowed. “Enter,” the gruff voice answered once you gathered the courage to knock. Taking one last breath, you gently opened the door. You dreaded the moment the door closed with a soft click.

“I-I’m really sorry,” you stuttered as soon as you went inside. Chief Beifong followed the movement of your twiddling fingers before looking you in the eye. “It was very unprofessional of me to.. d-do that and I understand if you want to fire me.” Chief Beifong didn’t say anything. She looked surprised. Her hands were folded underneath her chin as she studied you. Her green eyes focused in on you. You felt more like a mouse now than you usually did.

“You’re not getting fired.” Confused, you tilted your head. Your brows furrowed deeply. You nibbled your lips as you asked, “What?” Chief Beifong chuckled, “No, in fact, I wanted to ask if you were busy tonight. Maybe get a couple drinks.”

“O-oh,” you said softly, hands dropping by your sides. “Yea sure. I-I can ask some of the other officers if they’d like to come to!” Chief Beifong stared at you. She was trying to process the situation. “No,” she started, “I’m..asking you out..on a date.”

Your eyes widened. Oh. OH. The tips of your ears burned red along with your cheeks. The chief’s eyes glittered with amusement. You nodded, averting her eyes. “Y-yes. I’d like that.” “Good,” she replied, a barely there smirk on her face. “Give me fifteen minutes and I should be finished with this.” Nodding, you made your way to the door. “You got it Chief.” “Lin.” “Huh?” “Call me Lin.” Smiling you said, “Alright, Lin.” It felt foreign on your tongue but you liked it. Leaving her office, you gave her one last timid wave. And no you did not skip all the way back to your desk.

[tallstars-rewrite]

Chapter 12

chapter list / previous / next

As the moon hung low in the sky, most of the clan was peacefully lounging around camp or grooming, full from the abundance of prey brought back during the afternoon. Meadowbreeze chattered excitedly with her mate Hazelnose, and Aspenfall was practice wrestling both Fallowpaw and Fawnpaw at once while Cloudrunner observed. It was agreed they’d be made warriors before the next quarter moon and the news had renewed energy in all three of them. Briarpaw sat with his mother and father, speaking quietly with the elders as Whitetooth regaled them with the story of his first newleaf celebration. Aside from the small group chosen for the dusk patrol, the clan was at peace.

Tallpaw however, paced restlessly in a circle around the camp, fluffing his thin fur up as much as he was able against the chilly night air. He earned a couple funny looks from the warriors returning from dusk patrol as he trotted back and forth. At the end of the patrol line he spotted Dawnstripe, padding alongside Appledawn. Tallpaw turned his course abruptly and bounded up to his mentor.

“So, do you think we could go out for battle training after sunrise?” He mewed. 

She turned to him and cocked her head slightly. “You actually want to? I thought you’d want to relax today, you’ve earned a break, remember?”

“Yes I know, but I don’t want to fall behind.”

Appledawn laughed, “Oh Tallpaw, surely you're not going to lose all your skills by not training for one day?” 

Tallpaw shuffled the soil beneath his paws awkwardly, “No--I know that, I just...I don’t want to take a break while every other cat in the clan is busy serving.”

Dawnstripe glanced at her friend and then back at her apprentice. “Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that. It is your day to do what you want, and if that’s what you want to do, we can go more in depth into battle training. But I’ve only just got back from a long patrol, so I’ll tell you what, meet me at the base of the dead tree once the sun has risen above the distant hills and we’ll start then.”

“Should I warm up before then? I could do laps in the gorse meadow.” Tallpaw asked anxiously.

“If you like, but don’t tire yourself out too much before we start.”

Briarpaw called a greeting to him as he bounded past out of the camp entrance. Tallpaw waved his tail in response as he passed. Sorry I don’t have time to chat right now…

The wind was particularly strong that morning with none of the sun's warmth to offset the chill. He flattened his ears against it as he wound his way around the hill to the gorse meadow. Start with three laps, break, do another set. As he raced, his mind emptied and he could for a moment only think of the grass brushing the tips of his paws, the wind rushing against his ears and whiskers, which brought some small relief. It was more than he usually did before training, but his paws were itching so much he wanted to run until he couldn’t feel the nagging guilt poking at the back of his head. The more it poked, the faster he moved his legs. I just feel like it’s not enough. I’ve got to push myself harder, I haven’t earned a rest yet!

After his first set he paused, his breath coming heavy. For a moment he was frustrated his body wouldn’t let him do another. As he caught his breath, he looked up to see in the distance a group of cats coming towards him. He tasted the air and scented Fennelpelt accompanied by Plumclaw, Crowfur and Woollycloud. He ducked into the grass. Woollycloud always wanted to have a conversation with him when he passed, asking him what he was up to, how his mother was, how his training was going, and Tallpaw didn’t feel like it right now. He didn’t feel like his training was coming along well enough to share.

“The tunnel was still in use when you were a warrior Fennelpelt, don’t you think it could be again?” Crowfur’s gruff voice asked.

“Perhaps it could,” Fennelpelt replied, “but it’s been left alone so long, I'm afraid the heavy snow and rain from the past seasons has weakened the walls. My advice would be to hold off on using it regularly until it’s had careful fixing and testing. Maybe make some new escape routes before trying to make it longer.” “I agree” Woollycloud said, “Sandstone’s plan is ambitious, but it’s not worth it to rush and risk accidents.”

“We must think of some way to repair it faster!” Plumclaw pressed. “Mistmouse told me she scented ShadowClan across the Thunderpath on the north side of our territory as well as the east side, and their normal patrols never go out that far! And there were strange scents of outsiders on the outskirts facing Mothermouth yesterday. They were too faint for us to be sure if they were ShadowClan, but they certainly weren’t WindClan.”

Crowfur growled “Great StarClan, if it’s rogues that’s just another thing to worry about on top of everything else! ShadowClan spies could be watching from anywhere, and we still don’t know where their hiding spots are. We need to explore all our options to keep up with them, if we don’t catch them in the act, Cedarstar will just deny it! If you ask me--”

Tallpaw couldn’t make out what they were saying anymore as they started down the hill towards camp. He poked his head out of the grass and looked north towards the edge of their land. There was the thin strip of woodland surrounding the north and east side of the moor, and passed that was where cats traveled to see Mothermouth, but there shouldn’t be any other clan cats on that northern border. Others had been scented there just yesterday...? Tallpaw remembered with a start of the shape and flash of ginger fur he thought he saw in the woods before getting distracted by the festivities and the hunt. Was it a trespasser after all? He cursed himself for not paying closer attention at the time. 

Now that the idea had entered his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He needed to find out if there was any scent around the spot he had seen the shape. I should get Dawnstripe first...or I could just tell Woollycloud.

But what if it was nothing? What if he had imagined it? He didn’t want to get everyone worked up over nothing when they were already on edge. Well...it really wasn’t too far to that border. If he just looked quickly, he would know, and it wouldn’t have to eat at him anymore. And even if there is someone there, I'm not a weakling! I can take care of myself!

Telling himself that didn’t get rid of the nervous energy crackling up the fur along his spine, but right now, Tallpaw would rather drop dead than admit to himself he’d been stopped by his stupid cowardice. Warriors don’t show fear, when things look dangerous they charge onward and take risks. He repeated Sandstone’s words to himself, and he continued to repeat it the whole way there, hoping if he did it enough, he would believe it a bit more. It wasn’t working very well.

The pale birch trees loomed above him. Tallpaw hadn’t been so near this woodland stretch before, since there was little need to patrol it. He racked his brain trying to remember where he had been looking when he saw the blur of fur vanish into the bushes. The closed off spaces in the thick undergrowth surrounded by the trees suddenly seemed very daunting, as if some creature could leap out of them at any moment, and Tallpaw’s feet would be too tangled in brambles to get out of the way.

 “Stop thinking like that mouse-heart.” He growled to himself. At last he recognized two oddly leaning trees he swore he recalled seeing before. It was somewhere just off to the right of here… He opened his jaws to taste the air. Damp heather. A mouse had scurried by here some time ago. Deer droppings. Nothing out of the--

He froze. There was something different. An unexpected unfamiliar tang and it hit the roof of his mouth. It was certainly cat, but not a cat he knew at all. He froze in place, the fur on his spine bristling even more. Was it ShadowClan after all? No...no, there was none of the musty stench he’d scented under the Thunderpath. It was an incredibly strange scent. Sweet in a way. And recent. Very recent.

Go back! A voice in the back of his head cried out. But wasn’t he a warrior? Why should he be made afraid in his own territory? “I’m not afraid of loners. I’ve been trained to fight! Well...not very much but...more than any mangy rogue!” he argued quietly to himself. 

Perhaps...he should just look? Just a little closer. To have a better idea of what to report. More so than his fear, there was a fierce feeling of curiosity. He’d never even seen a cat outside of the clans before. And just think of the story I could bring back if I chased away an intruder all by myself! Surely that’s more impressive than being a fast runner. Firmly ignoring the part of himself insisting what a very bad idea this was, he pressed on. One paw at a time. The scent couldn’t even be a full day old. There was only one, so whoever it was was all alone.

Something shifted in the bushes. Tallpaw whipped around, his ears pinned up, his eyes wide, one unsheathed paw raised defensively. Was that movement he saw? Legs shaking slightly, he crept forward, cautious and silent. Just beyond the next tree, he heard something rustling the leaves. A stray twig was flung to the side. Go back! Go back and get a warrior! The little voice screeched. But he refused to run away, this was his territory and he was not weak.

Another leaf was tossed aside, followed by a frustrated grunt. Were they digging? What in StarClan’s name...? Tallpaw was crouched behind the tree, trying to figure out what exactly he should do. If he was lucky, they’d just run away as soon as they knew they were caught. Suddenly the noises stopped. Had he been detected? His heart began hammering, but it was now or never.

Tallpaw sprang from behind the tree with a furious screech. He’d meant to say something commanding, or intimidating, something that would let the mange ball know they were talking to a real warrior cat and they should be very afraid. Unfortunately, he’d been spurred to leaping so suddenly that his prepared phrases had gotten all mixed up and left his mind entirely. 

What he’d wanted to say was “You're trespassing! These moors belong to WindClan alone! Remove yourself at once, or else!”, but instead what came out of his mouth was a terribly loud and panic-tinged “trrRRAAAAAA-AHHHH!” 

He was met with an almost equally loud scream in return. There was a furry orange tom halfway concealed in the undergrowth with puffed up fur and eyes huge with alarm. Tallpaw faced him with his back arched, every fur standing on end, and the two cats stared at each other like that for an uncomfortably silent few seconds while Tallpaw desperately wracked his brain for what he was supposed to say next. At last the other cat broke the silence. “Why are you screaming at me!?” he cried in a very bewildered, but annoyingly not intimidated, voice. 

Tallpaw was still trying to collect his scattered thoughts. “I’m! I-I’m, uhmm. You--you are--upon WindClan land, and...Your...Your paws are on the grass--t-this grass is forbidden because it’s ours! Remove them! Your paws, I mean. Remove all of them! At once!”

“My...my paws are...wait, could you start over?”

“No!” Tallpaw yowled in frustration “Just be gone! Or else!”

“Well,” mewed the tom innocently, “see, I would be happy to of course, I really would, but I seem to um. I seem to be a little stuck.”

“What do you mean stuck?” Tallpaw hissed.

The tom strained his neck and Tallpaw noticed that he was crouched in the undergrowth because a thick mass of brambles was snared through his thick orange fur and caught at his neck. 

Tallpaw was at a loss again. He needed to get rid of the intruder. He was supposed to attack intruders. But the intruder couldn’t go away if he couldn’t move. The tom clawed uselessly at the ground trying to pull himself out of the thicket.

“Every time I pull I get poked by thorns!” he whined.

This is embarrassing... Tallpaw thought. Then with a defeated sigh, he padded cautiously towards the “invader.” 

“Alright stop moving, I can’t chase you away if you can’t even run.”

“That’s true. My name’s Jake by the way, what’s yours?”

“I don’t care, and none of your business.”

“That’s a funny name.”

Tallpaw ignored him and sniffed at where the thickest bramble was stuck fast on something soft and sturdy around Jake’s neck. It was green like plants but it smelled incredibly odd, a scent he couldn’t describe with anything he knew. 

After a lot of awkward tugging and gnawing and exasperated “will you please stop fidgeting” as Tallpaw tore the mass of brambles away. Part of the soft green thing tugged free from Jake and hung ensnared in the thorns. Jake wiggled and grunted and pulled himself out of the undergrowth, leaving a couple tufts of fur behind as well. A long bramble tendril still tangled in his thick neck ruff stuck up in a ridiculous way.

“Thanks a bunch, I really owe you one!”

“I couldn’t bite through the rest of that soft...vine thing around your neck. That’s what everything was stuck on.” Tallpaw licked his muzzle, wincing a bit at where the thorns had pricked his tongue.

“Oh that’s just my collar. Looks like I lost my scarf to the thorns though...what rotten luck.”

“You’re what?” 

“My collar, the housefolk gave it to me--”

It clicked for Tallpaw then and he sprang back in alarm. “Y-you’re one of those kittypets aren’t you? Those twoleg captives!”

“Kitty-pet?” he laughed “That almost sounds cute. Well I'm not a stray if that’s what you mean, but I do get pet a lot? It feels nice.”

He remembered Dawnstripe telling him kittypets were worse than loners in a way, but in a pitiful way. Most of them didn’t even know they were prisoners. I could fight a soft house cat easily-- oh right. He was supposed to fight him away now.

As the kittypet gave his fur another shake and clammered fully out of the bramble filled undergrowth, Tallpaw got a better look at him. Jake was a lot younger than he’d initially thought, barely apprentice age, if even. He was sturdy and stout, and his plush fluffy fur was a startling bright ginger, brighter than he’d ever seen on a cat before. Vivid pine green eyes blinked at him amiably from a round face with a goofy grin that Tallpaw couldn’t help feeling was rather inappropriate considering the situation he was in.

Jake suddenly gasped, “I know you! I saw you running yesterday! You really are one of those wild clan cats aren’t you?”

Tallpaw was taken aback by the bubbly excitement in Jake’s voice. “Well...yes I am. Were you spying on us?”

“Not on purpose, I was just wandering, and I heard a lot of cats talking and then I saw you all running around faster than I’d ever seen anything run, and you did this amazing leap and bounced right over this other cat and I thought you couldn’t even be real, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life!”

Tallpaw felt his fur grow a bit hot as he blushed at Jake’s gushing. Surely it wasn’t all that amazing, but Jake was still babbling.

“I’ve heard so many incredible things about you clan cats! My siblings used to say you’re not even real but I knew better, I heard you have magic powers! Is it true you can fight foxes? Can you really control the weather? My mother heard you could cut down trees with a swipe of your claws and catch eagles out of the sky in a leap and--”

“Slow down, I have no idea what you're saying!” Tallpaw wanted to sound stern but he couldn’t help but be a bit flattered Jake thought so highly of him. 

Jake came right up to him and sniffed him excitedly and Tallpaw was too stunned to back off. “I’m just so thrilled to meet an actual wild cat! I’ve wanted to my whole life, wow you smell just like heather flowers--”

“Jake, do twolegs teach you about personal space?”

“No, why?”

“Never mind. Look, I only said I would get you out of the brambles, and I’ve done that so…”

Jake cocked his head “So?”

Tallpaw looked down at his claws, suddenly feeling a little awkward ‘Well I...I’m supposed to fight you and chase you off now.”

“You have to fight me?”

“It’s my duty, warriors are supposed to fend off all trespassers.”

Jake nodded solemnly. “Ah...That makes sense. It is your duty after all. It’s ok, I understand. Here, hit me.” He turned his cheek to Tallpaw.

“You’re...going to let me hit you?”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble! You have to at least try. Besides, if I had a scar from a battle with a wild cat, that would actually make a pretty cool story.”

“Um...alright. Here goes.” Tallpaw raised his unsheathed claws hesitantly.

“Wait!” Jake cried.

“What?”

“Is it going to hurt?”

Tallpaw blinked “is it going to hurt if I claw your face? Yes, I would think so!”

“Oh… Well could you maybe not do it so hard?”

“That’s not...I’m sure this isn’t how it’s supposed to be done.”

“No no, you're right, I’m tough, I can handle it. Then you can tell your clan mates you did your job.”

Tallpaw sighed in defeat and dropped back onto four paws. “This isn’t right at all. I can’t just hit you if you’re not going to hit me back!”

“But wouldn’t that hurt you?”

“Yes but--ugh! What sort of cat are you?”

“I guess the sort that doesn’t fight very much. I don’t really know how fights are supposed to go.”

“I... don’t really know either…” Tallpaw admitted.  He shook his head and sat down. This couldn’t be right. Jake was hardly more than a kitten. Maybe not exactly a kitten, but close to one...and the Warrior Code does say to have mercy for the helpless...Does he count as helpless? He looked Jake over with the brambles still sticking out of his fur and big green eyes still bright with excited curiosity. Er...probably? Tallpaw sighed in defeat. He wouldn’t be chasing off his first intruder today.

“What are you doing out here anyway?” Tallpaw asked, “There’s no twolegs around here.”

“Twolegs?”

“Those terrible tall hairless creatures that keep you prisoner!”

“Oh! You’re talking about the other housefolk.”

Tallpaw curled his lip, “I don’t care what you call them. All our elders say they’ve given up the right to be treated with respect by us. They tell stories about horrible things they’ve done, they are barely like animals at all. They hurt others, but can’t be killed themselves, they control monsters that don’t even smell alive. Everywhere they go becomes inhospitable to free animals!”

“But you aren’t like other wild animals you know. You’re a cat! They like cats. They wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I don’t care what they like! They want to control us, and we won’t let them.”

Jake stared at him blankly. “I’ve never heard of anything like that, and I’ve lived with the housefolk on the farm all my life. Maybe you’ve just met bad ones? I’m sure some are bad, but some cats are probably bad too. These ones at the farm are nice, I haven’t even lived with other cats in a long time since my family went separate ways.”

“They’ve got you tied up in a collar that’s made you stuck here! You could have died!” Tallpaw argued. How could Jake not see how he’d been brainwashed?

“I never minded the collar, I forget it’s even there. I just ran off and got tangled.” Jake replied simply

“But how long have you been stuck here?”

“Since um… a day ago?” Jake looked down and absent mindedly batted at a leaf, suddenly looking a little sad. “Since my mother and littermates left the barn, I get bored when there’s no one around and so I started wandering. I wondered if I could follow the car that one of my brothers left in to go visit him, so I started down the road, but then I got distracted because I saw this really neat bird and before I knew it, I was completely lost. And then I got stuck in this bush yesterday and I thought I would starve to death until you came along! Speaking of which...how do you get food out here?”

Tallpaw had no idea what to say. This absolutely absurd cat just shows up out of nowhere, and what was he supposed to do with them now? He didn’t know where this barn was, and it was forbidden to go so far anyway. Jake couldn’t stay so near their territory, but if he went without food for too long before he could find his way back, he’d starve. If the warrior code says to have mercy…

“I’m afraid I might regret this but...wait here for a moment.” Tallpaw said.

He ducked away and padded off into the treeline. He would catch something for Jake, just one small thing. And then he’d catch another small thing to take back to make up for it. It’s not clan prey if it comes from past the border, right? There must be some mice or voles around here. 

Luckily StarClan seemed to be on his side as it took very little time for him to scent a vole. Stalking in thick woodland was very awkward for Tallpaw, but the plump little creature looked like it didn’t have to do very much running in its day to day life. It almost spotted him but before it could turn, Tallpaw sprang and killed it quickly with a sharp bite. He shook the kicked up leaves from his pelt and pulled himself out of the prickly undergrowth. It was a wonder ShadowClan and ThunderClan could enjoy hunting like that, the forest felt so cramped and bracken kept whapping him in the face. He returned with the vole as quickly as he could to where he had left Jake, and found the kittypet staring up a tree at a perched robin. 

His eyes widened when he saw Tallpaw. “Did you just catch that? That was so fast! I’ve chased birds and mice before but I never managed to catch them, you’re really something, uh...Mr. Warrior.”

Tallpaw rolled his eyes as he dropped the vole “I’m not actually a warrior yet. But... I suppose I didn’t tell you my name did I?”

“You didn’t!” Jake grinned “But I thought it would be rude to ask again.”

“It’s Tallpaw”

“Tall-Paw?” Jake looked down at Tallpaw’s feet doubtfully. “That’s somehow an even funnier name.”

“It will be Talltail one day, when I get my full title. My father chose the name for me with that in mind.”

 And he intended it to be a name for a tunneler… No, now was not the time to be agonizing over that. He rushed to change the subject before Jake could inquire about what was wrong. “Nevermind that. This is for you so you don’t starve to death.”

“I’ve always wanted to know what furry creatures tasted like--but...are you sure you won’t get in trouble? I am trespassing, even though it was an accident.”

“I think it’s alright...It technically was just off WindClan territory. And the warrior code teaches us to be merciful. Even to silly kittypets. The clan will probably be glad to hear the strange scent in these woods isn’t a dangerous cat. You haven’t seen any other cats, right?” Tallpaw asked.

Jake hummed in thought, “I saw all you yesterday...and another little group walking around the moor not long before you showed up. They were too far away to hear me.”

Tallpaw narrowed his eyes. The dawn patrol shouldn’t have gotten to this part of the territory yet, “Did those cats look like they belonged here?”

“I...don’t know how a cat looks like they belong here. I couldn’t see them very well. One was a fluffy white cat with big dark spots, and I couldn’t tell the rest of them.”

Tallpaw’s fur prickled. The only white cat with dark patches other than himself in the clan was Palebird, and Tallpaw knew for a fact she was neither fluffy nor going out on dawn patrols right now. He looked suspiciously over his shoulder at the moor as if expecting to see someone there, watching. It was possible Jake was mistaken...Maybe it was just Woollycloud? 

“Well...if you see any other cats, just don’t talk to any of them. They could be dangerous.” Tallpaw said.

Jake shrugged and began to eat Tallpaw’s catch gratefully, and a bit awkwardly as he chewed around the fur. Tallpaw reminded him that you don’t actually have to swallow the fur. Light began to filter down through the tree branches and Tallpaw realized that the sun had very nearly risen over the hills. He was supposed to be meeting Dawnstripe now.

“Oh no...I’ve been here too long! I have to get going!”

Jake looked up, and Tallpaw was surprised to see his eyes glimmer with sadness 

“You’re leaving? Already? But I wanted to ask you so many more questions! And I still don’t really know where I am...”

“I must meet my mentor. Listen...You just make sure you don’t go farther past this treeline. The patrols probably won’t notice you, but they might not be as nice as me. And don’t talk to any strange cats, especially those others you saw. If they were other outsiders, they could be more dangerous to you than my clanmates.”

“Will I see you again?” Jake asked.

“Well...maybe. I’ll try. But you should just try to retrace your steps to your own territory. Other predators don’t often come near clan land so there shouldn’t be too much danger in these woods.” Tallpaw dipped his head awkwardly out of habit, then remembered he shouldn’t do that when parting with a kittypet, but it was too late now. He turned and leaped over the bushes back onto the moor. Stars, I hope I'm not late after bothering Dawnstripe for such early training…

He wasn’t sure why he had told Jake that he’d try to see him again. That was the last thing he should be doing. But he couldn’t help feeling sorry for the lost kittypet. Even though Tallpaw didn’t look back, the funny orange tom was still on his mind. What a strange morning…what a strange cat! Who likes twolegs? And didn’t he know he shouldn't be so friendly to threatening strangers? Jake hadn’t looked worried or scared even once.

 And he asked way too many questions!  But still...he was nice. And the admiration in his eyes had been flattering, even if he was clearly easily impressed. Maybe I should go back later. Make sure he found his way home. Just to be sure. Can’t have trespassers hanging around forever after all.

But something still weighed on his mind. So Jake wasn’t one of the dangerous trespassers they had to be on alert for. But Mistmouse had supposedly scented more than one outsider on this border. And what if it hadn’t been Woollycloud that Jake saw? A tunneler patrol didn’t have much need to be on the northern border after all. Were there more cats out here after all that he had missed?

chapter list / previous / next

[demonictales]

I have a oneshot idea with Run yu. How about: when Run yu was a child, he met this demon child, reader (maybe a dog or wolf demon) who is a wild child and a prankster, and they became good friends for a while, until the empress took him away from his home. When Run yu grew up, he meets reader again who is a demon lord/lady now. Reader is a charmer and like to cause trouble to the empress. Reader is a troublemaker but always been honest to Run yu even in his hardest time.

that’s such a cute idea, i love it! here we go. let me know if you liked it. 

TW: DROWNING

As a kid, you had it pretty easy. You were an illegitimate child of the demon king and could do whatever you wanted. So naturally you'd steal out of the demon realm and sneak around the heavenly realm and often could be found around Dongtin lake. You'd snuck around it it ever so often, not in your human form but in your small little wolf form. Where most would expect a black wolf with dark eyes, your fur was the brightes white someone had ever seen, it could rival the snow, your eyes were a dark purple, matching your little horns. A monster some would say, but your attitude would come of as adorable next to mischievious.

You met Runyu for the first time when you fell into the lake, of course you were running to fast chasing a stupid bird as you realized you landed in the lake barely able to keep your head over the surface when you felt someone pushing you up. That someone must've heard your desperate yelps. Admittingly, you were a terrible swimmer. Only then when you had ground underneath your feet and looked back into the water you spotted a face and turned back into your human form. A small grin spread on your face as you waved to the boy underneath the surface.

Your father only knew you for causing trouble whereever you went and today was no different, just had just shown someone your true form. The little wolf demon that you were turned into the bastard princess/prince of the demon realm right in front of someone from the heavenly realm. Of course whereever you followed, trouble was near.

The second time you met him, you were in your human form, black robes with white and pruple ornaments were drabbed over your tiny figure, looking much more presentable than last time. You sat on the shore and threw some stones into the lake, hoping that the boy you saw would show up again. After all, you still owed him a thank you for day that he had saved you from drowning. As a wolf it was in your nature to support people who had done something good for you, even now in your younger years. It was the loyalty of a wolf that made you friends in the end. Quickly, your thoughts ended when you saw a movement in the water and became curious. It was him. The little fish that had saved you, but he didn't seem happy.

"Please don't throw stones into the lake. You could hurt someone." His voice was calm but soft as he spoke, but you just stared at him. " I'm sorry. " You admitted a bit meekly, you never apologize, at least only when you were forced to. " But actually it's not my fault. You didn't tell me your name last time. How else was I supposed to find you. ----- " The said apology was still worth nothing. " I am Y/N. I'm from the demon realm. " Before he could ask, you already gave him the answer. " Do you want to play with me? --- "

That day was the day you both became friends for eternity so it seeemed. Nearly everyday for the next 200 years you would sneak into the heavenly real to meet Runyu. You'd play hide and seek around the lake, you taught him how to play fetch and how you could jump as high as you wanted without much effort and he eventually taught you how to swim. Even though you had 200 years together, one day when you came to the heavenly realm, you noticed something was off. There was a strange woman at the lake talking to your friend as you did hide behind some shilf bushes and she took Runyu with her. The next few days you always patiently waited for Runyu to appear but he never did, so you eventually went your own way as a lone wolf again, roaming the heavenly realm quietly and without a friend by your side.

Another 5000 years should have passed for you to meet Runyu again. This time you had to snuck into the heavenly realm again for spying purposes, forced by King Gucheng to do so. He saw no big purpose for you so in case something would be off, you could lose your head. He wouldn't mind. You on the other hand enjoyed drama, chaos and mischief. Not that you enjoyed the bad side of it. You'd never get blood on your hands, but the demon realm knew of your bravery and slight concerning love for daredevil actions, so of course you offered and they'd send you willingly. Of course it couldn't go unnoticed that someone had snuck into the heavenly realm on the empress birthday.

Of course you glamoured yourself, a small broquet doing the trick. Your hair long and openly falling over your back in a black waterfall, your attire s colors were swapped, the fabric purple with black and white ornaments as you seated yourself with the lower class deitys, spotting a very familiar face in the crowd. It was Yanyou.

You had met him several years ago after you roamed the mortal realm. Both of you enjoyed the same things and became friends, you were surprised to see him here and luckily he had not noticed you yet. However, you noticed another glamour spell in the room, right next to him. It wasn't particularly strong but not easy to decipher as well. Natrually you saw a chance for mischief, causing distraction could buy you some time and less eyes on you. Only when everything went quiet your eyes darted to the entrance where the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress entered, your purple colored eyes landed on someone beside the emperor. He looked oddly familiar but you could not place a name to his face. He walked so lightly and gracefully as no one you had ever seen before. Quietly from your seat you watched him curiously.

The feast went on smoothly, yet you got bored quite easily as you finally decided to let action break loose. You let a small mouse ran loose and enjoyed the chaos that emerged from your spot, a mischievous smile hard to suppress. The scene unfolded itself, the person who had a galmour spell over her was indeed a young woman of the flower realm. Impressive you thought, but the fact that the empress seemed bothered and angry after hearing these things was enough for you to move on, sneaking out of the banquet walking quietly around the palace and ending up in the night immortals wing.

Runyu had left the banquet after Jinmi was exposed and quietly took care of whatever happened, he ordered Yanyou to take her out of heavenly real and back to the flower real for now. As he had excused himself, he wandered off to where he was needed, to let the night fall in on his way, however, he was delayed as she saw you sneaking around his quarters.

" How may I help you? --- " The night immortal spoke up as he eyes you, his voice smooth and calming, no sense of threat detected. You spun arround, caught in the act of breaking in as a smirk formed on your lips. " I believe I got lost wandering around. --- " You lied, simple as that. Runyu chuckled, knowing you did so but seemingly you did not care. It reminded him of a childhood friend of his.

Not quite sure what it was, you decided to reveal yourself. What could possibly go wrong. If anything, you were fast and could flee within the blink of an eye. Revealing yourself by letting your glamour vanish, your robes were back to their usual black color, decorated with white and purple ornaments, a black iron pin with purple stones keeping your hair up. Your identity now revealed to him, the ever so known smirk never leaving your face.

It dawned on him as to who you where and yet there you stood, still not recognizing him. You had quite matured over the years and grown quite well, yet your character seemed to be still the same. Runyu enjoyed the fact you hadn't changed much. "Y/N -- How long has it been? --- " The night immortal asked you, clearly remembering the childhood friend who was always by his side.

Puzzled as you seemed, you were confused that he knew your name. " Do we know each other? " You spoke frankly, wondering why he asked you of your well being when you were caught red handed in the act of breaking into this royals chamber. He chuckled stepping closer to you as he bowed. " I believe we had spent many years together at the Dongting lake before I was brought to the heavenly palace."

It took you a moment to pin one and one together but eventually your features gave you away, eyes big as you did not dare believe it. "Runyu..?!" It came more out as a question, but the more you thought about it, the more you looked at him, it was him. He was your childhood best friend. A very honest smile formed on your features. He returned the soft smile, nodding. " I can't believe it. Out of every place I snuck in I met you at the heavenly palace.. ----- It has been so long. " The words left your mouth, remembering the days you spent alone without him by your side.

"I have waited for you so many days at the lake for you to come back, but you never came. ----- I was so lonely. " Even though you were grown up, you were still whining, pulling on his sleeve. " You could have at least tell me good bye. It was the empress that took you away from me, wasn't she. " You huffed angrily as you crossed your arms. " She deserved that chaos at her banquett today. That's for taking my only great companion away from me leaving me to wander alone all these years. " Oh, how great it was to be with your friend again. " So it was you that stirred up the chaos at the hall earlier today. " Runyu concluded, not really surprised at your words, even now.

Taking a few steps back you grinned, scratching the back of your neck. " Maybe..---- "

"But I had my reasons. " You continued. " Did I get you in trouble though? If you did, I'm willing to take the punishment. After all I'm your loyal everlasting friend. " Words that you once told him when you were a child, that you'd be friends forever and that your loyalty would never go away until the day you died and you did it today as well, a grown up woman who would now occasionally meet up with him at the dongting lake, the flower real or easily would snuck into heavenly real again at night to meet him.

Finally you had your friend back and would no longer have to wander the world alone.

[topsytervy]

Rafe with an Asexual Reader

Because it’s Ace Awareness Week (hello, by the way, I’m not dead), I decided to do a kind of canon Rafe (minus the murder) little thing with an Asexual reader.

Word Count: that’s a good question

Warnings: like one mention of cocaine, swearing, talks about sex, mentions an ex trying to out the ace reader (WHICH ISNT COOL! DONT EVER OUT SOMEONE! IT’S THEIR DECISION OF WHEN AND WHO TO COME OUT TO!), i think thats it

Everyone knows Rafe as the kook prince

has issues with his dad, has a coke addiction 

Has definitely had some adventures in the bedroom if you're picking up what I'm putting down (lets face it, there’s a good chance Rafe is kinky)

Has had his fair share of casual hookups

And let’s be honest, Rafe’s attractive

I mean, have you seen his eyes?

And while many girls saw him at a party and thought 'cant wait to get him out of those khakis'

You thought about how amazing his hugs probably were because, holy shit, his arms

No one even thought Rafe knew what asexuality was (and they were right)

It started when you accidentally bumped into him at a kegger at the boneyard, causing him to spill his beer

"Oh shit, Rafe! I'm so sorry! It's all over your shirt!"

 Rafe was pissed but when you apologized and genuinely looked upset about the damage you had done, he was a bit less pissed

After all, you were trying to fix your mistake and he was touched by that fact, considering your friend group despised him

You told him you had a Tide to go stick in your backpack that was over by Kie at the campfire and he followed you

You grabbed your backpack from Kie, not wanting JJ to start shit with the kook and you and Rafe walked away from the noise of the kegger.

Rafe noticed the pins on your backpack and was interested by them, taking in each one of them as you dug through your bag

You had some pins of cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Scooby Doo, PowerPuff Girls, The Simpsons, South Park, etc. But also some random ass pins JJ pocketed from stores that he thought you’d like

But there was one pin that stood out from the rest.

A pin that was black, grey, white and purple striped

"What's that one?" He asked, pointing at it.

"Oh...uh...its the asexual flag…"

You were out but you weren’t out, if you know what I mean

The only people you came out to were JJ, John B, Pope, Kie, your parents, your ex, and Sarah after she joined the group but that's a whole different story

Your ex threatened to tell everyone on the Island after you broke up with them but after a quite successful threat from John B, Pope, JJ, and Kiara that ended with Pope (or Kie if your ex is a girl) decking them, they kept it quiet

Rafe raised an eyebrow to the new term presented to him 

"If you don't mind me asking, could you explain what that means?"

"Uhh...its the flag for asexuality…"

"I get the flag part. Just the asexual part is what I need explained to me."

You explained it to him as best as you could, but in the end you just said “I don’t desire the sexual parts of a relationship”

Rafe leaned back, completely intrigued by the fact that you had no sexual attraction 

"So asexuals just...dont really do sex."

"I mean...there's a lot more to it. There’s an entire ace spectrum and it’s a lot to break down.”

"Okay. Break it down for me."

You guys talked about the ace spectrum for 2 and a half hours before noticing that the party was dying down

You two stood up, deciding that both of you needed to find your friends before they found you and thought that Rafe assaulted you or something

"I kind of like the idea of that." "Of what?" "Being with someone who just doesn't really care about the sex part of the relationship but the other aspects of it." 

When Rafe got home that night, he watched Anthony Padilla interview asexuals and googled it as if he had an essay due the next day

He knew he wasn't ace but he found it interesting to learn about, maybe it was the thought that someone could love and care about him and not just want him for sex

When Sarah got up at 2 am for a glass of water, she saw him still up and on his phone

"Texting a booty call?" "No." "Telling a girl that last night was fun and all but if anything, you want to keep it casual?" "No, Sarah."

She walked in to look at what he was doing, only to see that he was reading an asexual article

"Either you've discovered something about yourself, which I find kind of hard to believe no offense, or you met Y/N." "I did, in fact, meet Y/N." 

He slowly started making his way up the ladder from acquaintance to friend and eventually, months later, he asked you out on a little casual at home date

JJ practically launched himself off the couch the first time Rafe walked into the chateau behind you

You quickly managed to somehow stop the blonde from getting close enough to throw a punch at the older boy

"Why is he here?" JJ asked, practically shooting daggers at the boy with his eyes. "Its fine. We're just here for my charger and then we'll be on our way, J" JJs gaze went from Rafe to you. "I'm sorry. Run that back." You grabbed JJs hand and pulled him into the kitchen as Rafe stood awkwardly in the doorway. "I promise you, he has no bad intentions. He made that clear from the start.." "You don't know his motives, Y/N, and people lie. Especially people like Rafe." JJ glanced at Rafe from where he stood. "JJ please. He's different from what you think." You begged. JJ looked at you and you gave him a little pout and the classic puppy dog eyes. JJ rubbed his hands over his face before holding them up in surrender. "Fine. Fine. But if it goes south, you better text me-" "Pecan Pie. I know. Thank you, JJ." You said before grabbing your charger from the counter and scurrying off.

The date was literally just you two in his living room with you curled up into his side as you guys watched childhood movies together

"Okay, you're up. What's a movie you watched when you were younger?" "The Great Mouse Detective." "Alright."

You two ended up falling asleep at some point during the second Mulan and Sarah came home

She had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop her herself from squealing at the fact that her horny ass brother was getting into a relationship who just didn't have the horniness

She snapped a picture and sent it to John B, who showed the rest of the Pogues and JJ felt himself smile a bit cause you looked so peaceful and content

She also sent it to Rafe 

When he woke up to see that his sister sent him a text he was annoyed at first but opened it nonetheless

He smiled when he saw the picture and immediately saved it to his camera roll

Rafe, reluctantly, woke you up to take you back to the Chateau

As the two of you talked on the porch of John B’s house, discussing details of your next date, the pogues, minus Kie, watched out the window before John B slowly opened it so he could listen

“Really? You three on going to eavesdrop on a whole conversation that doesn’t involve you?” “Kie, don’t act like your surprised by this fact.”

The night ended with Rafe kissing you cheek before getting back into his truck and pulling out of the driveway

You watched him leave as you addressed your audience

“I know you three are at the window. Stop acting like you’re discreet about it. You guys would be the worst fucking spies ever because you opened a window that hasn’t been greased in eternity so it squeaks when you open it and a spy would know better than to do that.”

[calliecat93]

Callie’s Disney Princess Retrospective: Beauty and the Beast

(Snow White) (Cinderella) (Sleeping Beauty) (The Little Mermaid)

The Little Mermaid was a huge success for Disney. It was such a big success that it began the Renaissance Era of Disney Animation and returned Disney to the top animation studio. While many people such as John Musker, Ron Clements, and Glen Keane can be credited for the film's success, the biggest player by far was lyricist Howard Ashman. He put his heart and soul into the film, and not just with song lyrics. He wanted the characters to connect to the audience. He wanted to play a part in the story. He wanted this film to be something special, and he succeeded. But he was also frustrated, could be argumentative when others didn't like his vision, and unknown to everyone, he was dying. After winning two Oscars for The Little Mermaid's music, Howard revealed to composer Alan Menken that he had AIDS, and he didn't have much longer to live.

However, Ashman wasn't going down before completing one more film. Though he had been writing music for Aladdin, he ultimately ended up as the lyricist of another film. A film that had been through many different iterations and was handed off to newbie directors. Little did anyone know just how impactful this film would be for Disney, and for the industry as a whole. Well, except for Ashman himself. The film that we are discussing today is the first animated film to ever, ever be nominated for Best Feature. That film is 1991''s Beauty and the Beast.

Overview

Belle is a beautiful young woman, but is seen as an oddity in her village due to her love of books and her utter disinterest in local heartthrob Gaston. When her father, an inventor named Maurice, leaves for a science fair, he ends up taking refuge in an old, abandoned castle. But the castle is actually enchanted and acts as the home to dozens of talking inanimate objects... and a fearsome beast. When Belle goes looking for her father, she offers to take his place as the Beast’s prisoner. But during her time in the castle, Belle discovers that this Beast may not be as much of a monster as he appears, and this may lead to both discovering true love...

Review

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this is by far one of Disney’s most beloved films. It got praise form both critics and movie-goers when it came out, and it’s only become more beloved in the nearly 20 years since. Belle is praised as a feminist's icon and the film for it’s themes of toxic masculinity, judging a book by it’s cover, and some of the darker aspects of society like those we blindly praise. I... like the film, but I never loved it to the extent as others. Not because it’s bad, that is a ridiculous notion. I just liked other films more and Belle just didn’t interest me as others like Cinderella or Mulan or Ariel. But seeing it again as an adult who has seen the darker aspects of society since I was a kid, it REALLY rings more deeply than it did back then.

One aspect that no one can argue about is the animation. The film is beautiful. It has some of Disney’s best animators at the time such as Glen Keene, Mark Henn, Andreas Deja, and so much more. There was so much life put into the film and it is a true visual spectacle.I meant hey managed to take inaminate objects, and bring them to life. Sure they have faces to help humanize them, but to make us believe that these are talking, moving objects that were once human is still a VERY difficult task. But they have so much personality like the suave, passionate candlesick Lumiere or the stuffy, orderly Cogsworth. The backgrounds andf settings are also great fromt he Sleepy Hollow-esque village to the gothic castle of The Beast, to the creedy woods that look even more terrifying when it snows. There’s so much color and lighting that is used so well, especially with the castle eminating so much mystery and intrigue compared tot he plain village that Belle is from.

But the setting we all remember most of all is the ballroom. While Disney has been using CGI some before, such as Big Ben in The Great Mouse Detective (yes,t hat WHOLE setting was computer graphics), this is probably the biggest use to date. The ballroom is a gorgeous golden color and looks so big and vast. It takes you’re breath away. There’s a reason why this is the most well-remembered part of the film. The animaiton for this film was very straining, especially due to conditios to accomodate Ashman that we’ll get to later. It was stressful, but they absoluteley put their all into it. When you watcht he ballroom sequence, added to the dance and Angela Lansbury’s lovely vocals, you forget that you’re even watching a movie. It feels like... well, love. It’s by far one of Disney’s best looking features.

As I said in the intro, the film ultimately fell into the laps of two relatively rookie animators; Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. This was after several various attempts to adapt the film, with none successful. Wise and Trousdale’s biggest claim to fame at the time was doing animaiton for EPCOT’s now defunct Cranium Command attraction (look up Who Stole Buzzy, boy is THAT a story) and while they had worked on other features, they had never been in the director seats. To make it more difficult, due to Ashman’s health continuing to gradually decline, Katzenburg decided to move produciton over to New York to spare him from having to travel. Which is a VERY noble effort and it’s sweet that they were willing to do so to keep working with Ashman, but as you can imagine this was quite a strain on the production team and as before, they would sometimes clash with Ashman and his vision. Still, they along with Menken returning as composer and writer Linda Woolverton, they reworked the then-script into something that they were happy with.

The setting is very reminiscent of another Disney work, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. One of two segments from the Package Film Era feature The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. We all know the story of Ichabod and his infamous ride where he encountered the Headless Horseman. Here we have a similar quaint village where people seem rather simple-minded. Like in Sleepy Hollow where everyone took notice tot he rather strange looking Ichabod Crane, we see a similar notice of Belle who is an anomaly to them. Though unlike Ichabod, who had pretty much everyone under his thumb and is kind of a gold diging jerk, Belle is ostracized and is a FAR better person. Gaston bears a striking resemblance to Brom Bones in both looks and social status (tough Brom isn’t as bad in comparison or even compared to Ichabod, though still a Jerk Jock) and the Bimbettes bear a bit of similarity to Katrina. I wouldn’t be surprised if the crew used Sleepy Hollow as inspiration for setting and character design. Only thing missing is the Headless Horseman, which that would have been interesting XD

The film deals with several topics. There’s the standard ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ and ‘true love conquers all’ messages. Both of which are handled very well. But there are also some that IDT Disney had ever really tackled to this point. There’s encouraging women to make their own choices, which Disney HAS tackled but this one does it differently with Belle rejecting the standard good-looking man and falling for the monstrous looking one. In fact there is really a strong theme tearing down toxic masculinity and male entitlement. It says that no, men are not obligated to a woman and that women have the freedom to reject them no matter the societal pressure. Especially if they act as despicable as Gaston. With how much more aware we’ve become of how horrible some men in power can be and how they use that power on vulnerable women, this remains a relevant message to todays audience. It let’s women be empowered, confident, and enjoy things like reading as well as have the hope of finding those who will be accepting. These are all important things, and the film does an excellent job in showing it and what actual love should be like. The Beast especially starts as a jerk, but once he decides to become better and wants to be better for no ulterior reasons, he proves worthy of Belle’s love. That’s how love should be and how a person should change themselves. Again, very well done.

Despite his health and being downcast about not completing Aladdin, Ashman still put his all into the film. As I said, they outright shifted production to another state at a time when social media and things like Skype and Zoom were a distant dream. Still, Ashman along with Menken put their all into the soundtrack, and it paid off big time. This film, along with The Little Mermaid, really set up the precedent for Broadway-style animaed films and considering that they continue to be successful, I’d say that that says a lot. There are a lot of memorable songs int his fimlm, and there’s even some that didn’t make it in. One in particular, Human Again, actualy got animated and added back for the film’s IMAX release and various home media releases (sadly it’s not in the Disney+ version). The score is also very well done, especially at the end. Just listen to the music when the Beast finally turns human again. It added to the outright magical animation will leave you in awe as much as Belle was.

But what about the vocal tracks? Good question. Let’s go over them:

Belle/Belle Reprise: Our first song which as the name suggests, is about our leading lady. It does a lovely job establishing her character as a book-loving, intelligent young woman feeling that there was be more than this life ans village that she remains stuck in. It also establishes the village’s rather simple-mindedness and socital expectatons, finding Belle a beautiful but very strange girl because of her loving reading more than getting married. It also establishes Gaston’s smugness, entitlement, and holding the entire village’s admiration, The music is optimistic, but there’s a lot here that’s gonna take a dark turn a the film goes on. The reprise is short and more somber, but let’s Belle express her unwillignness to marry a man like Gaston, wanting to find love on her own terms. Little does she know what’s awating her right after.

Gaston: No one can have a song named after Gaston like Gaston! Yeah, this inspired plenty of meme’s, didn’t it? Even Disney itself has gotten in on the fun haha! But seriously, this is a fun villain song. I gotta give Gaston this, he’s a smug, horrible person but he shows that he can back up many of his boasts. I don’t doubt that he can eat dozens of eggs a day or is as strong as an ox. The song also further shows the town’s utter blind devotion to this brute, not being concerned about his entitlement to a girl who clearly isnt interest and more because of how handsome and grand he is. Isn’t society fun kids?! But then at the end, after Maurice is kicked out, it takes a darker turn as Gaston makes his plans to essentially blackmail Belle with her father’s safety... and right back to blind praise! I feel zero sympathy for any of the villagers in this film. But yeah, a song with a lot of dark implications, but still a very enjoyable villain song.

Be Our Guest: This is a true show-stopper, and I’m not just saying that. Lumiere wanted to create a show, and BOY did he succeed. The song is the most like a Broadway number in it’s composition and grand feeling. The fact that we have a huge number full fo singing, dancing, stuntwork, etc is being done by a bunch of dishes and pretty freakin’ impressive. Yet the animators gave it all so much life and Jerry Orback sings with so much passion and energy and it is just SO much fun to watch! Especially with poor Cogsworth at first trying to get everyone to calm down, but by the end he gets real into it... well until Lumiere knocks him to the side. The only negative is that for being a song about serving Belle dinner, aside form a bit of The Grey Stuff she didn’t even eat dinner. For shame! So 1 out fo 10 of food servive, but the show was worthy of two thumbs up!

Something More: This was the song that replaced Human Again. It’s a sweet song about Belle and Beast beginning to realize their feelings the more that they spend aroudn each other. Belle sees that Beast may not be very well-mannered or much of a looker, but he does have a good heart and the more they interact, the more it begins to show. Belle’s kindness, intellience, and willingness to look beyond the surface has Beast falling in love with her, yet his fear of being a monster is still holding him back. Still as we see the two do things like have dinner, play in the snow, or even Beast letting Belle read to him, the more we see that spark of love slowly grow, even if they haven’t fully grasped it. It helps advance the romance, and it’s just really sweet.

Beauty and the Beast: The song that won Menken and Ashman another Oscar. It’s not hard to see why either. The song is beautiful. It’s performed by Angela Lansbury, and her gentle vocals accompanies by the gentle orchestra is just lovely. The woman outright did the song in one take. One take. That is insane, yet it happened. And I can see why because the song is just beautiful. It adds to much to the already majestic ballroom scene, being about two unlikely individuals finding love and ultimately making the other a better person. It’s just a work of beauty. There’s also the pop version by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson, which I also really love. It’s more commerical, but still very pretty especially with Celine’s gorgeous singing voice. Both versions are beautiful, and the first thing I think of when I think of this film... and no, not just beause of the name.

The Mob Song: This is exactly as you would expect with a song with that title. It’s dark, angry, and scary. Gaston rallies the troops to kill The Beast, convincing them that he is a danger to them all. They grab their torches, weapons, and there’s just this tense atmosphere throughout. This is the culminaiton of al the socital expectations and blind devotion to a person who doesn’t at all deserve it. It’s also a very accurate protrayal of the mob mentality, where you become a part of this hivemind following the rest of the crowd no matter how wrong it may be and despite your own senebilities. The only ones who don’t fall into it, Belle and Maurice, get tossed into a basement for their trouble. What makes this song sad though? In Disney+’s documentary Howard, produced by Don Hahn who also produced this film, it was explained how in the eyes of several of his colleagues, it seemed like Ashman was venting about the AIDS epidemic. That was a VERY dark time where the gay community was especially under fire, persecuted, hated, and so many other horrible things because the world chose to blame them for it. Ashman was a gay man. He had an ex partner die of AIDS, and had another partner at the time who talked about him in the documentary. Imagine being scapegoated just because of your sexuality, even though you never caused any harm, and society hated on you and others fell into he mob mentality, and they went as far as to either demand you to die or do the job themselves. All because you were different. Really adds a new perspecive to the song, doesn’t it? This can be applied to so many groups too, which makes the song even scarier, but also emphasize even more how dangerous the mob mentality is. Very effective song.

Sadly, Howard wouldn’t live to see all of his numbers to completion. With his health declining rapidly, Menken and various others went back and forth between Burbank and New York in order to work with him. Ashman worked until he psycially couldn’t anymore. He was even giving notes to performers like Paige O’Hara despite barely being able to talk. He managed to complete his work, at least to my knowledge, before his passing on March 14th, 1991, just a few months before the film’s release. After a screentest, which proved very successful, Don Hahn and some other colleagues went to see Ashman in the hospital to say their goodbyes. Hahn told him of the reception, and jokingly asked who would ahve expected that the film would have turned out so great? Ashman’s response? “I did.” The work he managed to do for Aladdin would be included in the film, which we’ll discuss when we get to that one. The soundtrack won the Oscar which was awarded to Ashman (as well as Menken) posthumously and a dedication to him was including at the end of the film. It’s always sad to see such a talented individual leave us far too soon, but his work truly brought new life to Disney and is beloved even all these years later. That is a legacy that will never fade.

Now we get to characters, and we have quite a good number of them. We have of course the village that Belle is from. On the surface, they seem like pretty plain people, satisfied with their way of life. But this also causes them to at least not think highly of those who break from that way of life. The men work, the women care for the children. If men don’t work, they’re jerk slobs. They all especially fall into blind admiration for the strong, handsome Gaston who is hailed as a local hero. So much so that no one gives ANY of his terrible actions an ounce of consideraiton. Selling Maurcie tot he looney bin? Well he’s alreafy viewed as crazy, so ah well. Belle trying to tell them that The Beast isn’t a monster? While their first imprression of him is defeniteley a bad one, the fact that they listen to Gaston and not the woman who actually interacted with The Beast says a lot about how simple minded they all are. I hope they learned their lesson after all was said and done, but even if not Belle doesn’t have to pay them any mind anyways.

The only person who is accepting of Belle is her father, Maurice. He’s viewed as a crackpot, but Maurice is a good-hearted, smart, and perfectly sensible man. He’s a bit of a goof with how his inventions can go haywire, but otherwise is no diferent from any other person. But like his daughter, his interests have him judged instead of what he’s like as a person. It’s especially sad when he tries to get help to save Belle, and he is merely laughed at and thrown out because of his status. Maurice is a loving father, accepting of Belle and of her interests and choices. She isn’t interested in Gaston? Fine with him. People view her as odd? That’s utterly ridiculous. It’s really nice to have a parent who is supportive and involved int heir kids life, especally compared to Triton last time who may be caring, but is utterly against everything that matters to Ariel. In fact it’s the firs ttime we’ve had this since Snow White and Cinderlla’s parents are dead and their stepmothers are horrible, Aurora grew up away from her otherwise caring parents, and Ariel... it’s complicated. Maurice is a good guy and it is good that Belle has someone who accepts her unconditionaly. She loves him so much that she sacrificed her happiness for him twice to protect him, which really shows how strong their bond is.

That brings us to our villain, Gaston. He is a hunter who is muscular, handsome, and has physical skills that he can back up. However he is also entitled, egotistical, sefish, and just a horrible person. He wants to marry Belle only because of her beauty and instead of trying to get to know her or shifitng atteniton to any of the girls who would gladly grovel before him, he pursues her despite her not liking him. It’s especially bad when he goes to her house, sets up a huge engagement party, and gets into her personal space in his attempts to charm her. She not only rejects him, but promptly humiliates him. Yet instead of thinking that he had tried far too hard and jumped the gun, he blames Belle for daring to reject him. He reflects exactly how society can view someone like him. No one thinks about the woman, they only see a good-looking man get rejected despite us not knowing anything about ther perosn or their relaitonship. Especially if that man is essentially a celebrity, which makes people look past anyhing.

But none of these things are indicitive of an evil perosn. An arrogant jerk yes, but not evil. That all changes when, after Maurice tries to get help, Gaston comes up with a new plan. He decides to have Maurice admitted to an asylum for being crazy, and to use this to force Belle to marry him. This is what shifts Gaston from a jerk to a true villain. This is how far his entitlement and selfishness goes. He is willing to take Belle’s own elderly father and use him and his freedom as blackmail to force her to marry him. Even compared to the four villainesses before him who committed horrible acts such as attempted murder, mental/emotional abuse, and even attempting world domination, this is utterly despicable. Then there's him deciding to kill The Beast. Despite what he says, it's not because of the potential risk to the town, it's solely because he sees that Belle loves him and can't stand it. He outright calls her crazy AND locks her and Maurice up out of pure entitlement and selfishness. He doesn't give a damn about Belle or her though and well-being. Only about his own.

Gaston is entertaining, but very much evil. As I said above he bears a lot of similarity to Brom Bones from Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. A muscular jock-like figure often the most beautifiul girl in town. Only while Brom was a jerk, he was arguably less bad than Ichabod Crane depending how you looked at it. Gaston essentially has Brom's muscles an Ichabod's selfishness. He cares only for himself and his own pride. Admittedly he put up a decent fight against The Beast, but that's only because Beast wasn’t fighting back until he saw Belle. When he did, Gaston whimpered and begged like the pathetic man that he is. Then he stabbed him despite being spared out of pure spite. An act that cost him his life. Fun fact, originally he survived the fall and was truly killed via the wolves. They ended up saving that for Scar's death in The Lion King. But yeah, Gaston died in the undignifiedmanner that he deserved. A despicable but memorable villain who was perfect for this film.

Then we have the castle characters. You’d think that it would be difficult to give life to a bunch of furniture and appliances... and it probably was. But this movie makes it look easy. They do give most of them humanoid features, like eyes and a mouth, but not all of them and even then it would be so easy to make it look creepy. But the castle staff is just os much fun and beaming with personality. We’re gonna discuss the main four: Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip.

Lumiere is a candlestick, which matches his passionate characterization. He’s a showman. A romantic. A more daring, out-going character compared to his frequent frenemy Cogsworth. Cogsworth is a clock and I think he’s implied to be the Beast’s butler or some other kind of advisor. He’s stuffy, nervous, and the most lawful of the characters. Though he CAN get into the fun of things with a little provoking as demonstrated in Be Our Guest and the big battle during the climax. Hoenstly, Be Our Guest is a great number to demonstrate the two’s contrasitng perosnalities. Belle has been banned from eating and Cogsworth doens’t want to both break the Beast’s orders nor cause a bunch of noise that would anger him. Lumiere however? He’s dead set on getting Belle to fall for the Beast, so she should be treated as their guest, not a prisoner. Plus he and the other staff are tired after ten years of being stuck as they are and all alone, so cue the extravagant show number. Lumiere is having the time of his life while Cogsworth tries to convince everyone to stop... but by the end gets caught up in it and joins in ont he fun. Too bad that Lumiere knocks him off the center stage at the end haha. But yeah, their constant banter is amusing but they are clealry friends, especially in the fight where Cogsworth saves Lumiere. They’re both also performed wonderfully by their VA’s, Jerry Orbach and David Odgen Stiers, the latter of whom would appear in several more Disney films, including one for this series that we’ll get to fairly soon.

Mrs. Potts is a teapot and her son Chip is a tea cup. I guess that Chip ended up that way to match his mother, which her being a teapot matches her mothelry persona. She’s very kind and consoling towards Belle and seems the most understanding about The Beast and why he acts ike he does. Which since I think that she was essentially the house caretaker, makes sense since she’d have likely been the one looking out for him. Plus she herself is a mother, and since Beast has the emotion coping skills of a child, she’d know how to deal with it. Chip is the token child character, though not a bad one. He’s a nice kid with a huge curiosity. It’s really cute how hen allt he adults are seeing the bloomign romance between Belle and Beast, he’s uttelry confused like any kid would be haha! He takes a liking to Belle quickly, though more like he sees her as if she were an older sister than any kind fo crush or the like. He’s also smart, figuring out how to use Maurice’s inveniton to free Belle and Maurice quickly...and him wanitng to do it again got a good laugh out of me haha! Mrs. Potts is a nurturing mother and her with Chip is so sweet,e specially when they’re truly human again. Plus her advice of how things will turn out alright in the end is advice that I look back on sometimes. it’s really comforitng.

So... as I’ve mentioned in these reviews, a big issue is how underdeveloped that the prince has been. The first two were plot devices only. Phillip and Eric were better int hat they were active int he plot and Eric had some more perosnality and motivation than the other three did. But it just didn’t feel like the male elads were... quite at their full potential yet. They generally didn’t recieve any character development and were mainly there for the sake of being a lov einterest to the heroine. That all changed in this film with our hero, The Beast.

Beast is one of the most well-developed male leads in a Disney Princess film. A few like Aladdin, Naveen, and Eugene rival him for overall best (though tbf the former IS the lead of his movie so that may not count) but Beast helped make the princes more equal to their princess without overshadowing her. Beast is the co-protagonist to Belle and the character that recieves the bulk of the character development. The opening tells us all that we need to know: Beast was once Prince Adam, a spoiled brat. When he turned away an elderly begger, it turned out that she was an Enchantress and she cursed him into his monsturous form. Since he looks like a monster, he subsequently acts like a monster... or more accurately, like the child that he never truly grew out of emotionally. He’s angry, lashes out constantly, and roars at the top of his lungs when at his limit. Like how a child screams and throws a tantrum when things don’t go their way because they lack the social and emotional coping skills to handle their feelings properly. Becoming a beast left Beast isolated and ashamed to face reality, and thus he didn’t learnt he proper coping skills. He accepted that he would forever be a monster, and succumb to acting like one.

That is, until the day that Belle arrived. When she offers herself to free her father, it’s the opportunity that Beast never beleived that he would get. If he can win her love before the rose petals all fall, he’ll be human again. He’ll be free. While he begins still acitng agressive and even bordeirng on emotionally abusive, e isn’t heartless. When Belle is crying about not getting to say goodbye to her father, Beast seems to legit feel bad for hurting her. It doens’t change his behavior, but it’s still a small moment that shows some humanization. It’s important to add moments like this and his despair when using the mirror to hear Belle talk about him. She’s justified in disliking him at that point, but it’s his reactions that matter. It shows his insecurity, his fear, his utter despair that he’ll be cursed for the rest of eternity. He’s already succumbed to acting the part of a monster and is already struggling to act more polite. As amusing as the scene of him yelling at Belle through the door is, it demonstrates just how hard this is for him but if he can’t improve his behavior, then he has no chance. He knows it, and views it as hopeless. It helps humanize The Beast, showing that despite his appearance there IS a human soul in there somewhere. Someone who on some level does want to be better, but he doesn’t know how. If not for these moments, Beast would have been utterly unsympathetic, but they pulled it off.

The turning point comes after Beast rescues Belle from the wolves. Remember, he’d already pretty much given up on winning Belle over and being human again and the confrontation on the third floor certainly didn’t help matters. He could have just let Belle to her own devices... but instead he went to save her. I sincerely do not believe it was because she was a prisoner or because he needed her. He had given up. He had succumbed. But he did it anyways, showing that he isn’t a bad person. It’s something that Belle sees and she gets him back to the castle to treat him. She called him out on his temper, but is sincerely grateful and Beast is stunned by this genuine act of kindness. She didn’t fear him. She wasn’t disgusted by him. She didn’t even leave him to die despite having pretty good reason to leave him and go. Belle still chose to save his life as he did her’s, showing Beast probably the first true act of love that he ever experienced in his life. We know nothing of his family and while I’m sure that staff members like Ms. Potts certainly cared for him, clearly they didn’t do much to quell his spoiled behavior. Belle was kind because she’s a kind person, and Beast finds that he wants to be kind to her in return.

From that point, we see Beast in a new light. He calms down significantly. He’s happier. He carries himself less like a wild animal and more like a person. He’s outright excited when he prepares the library to surprise Belle with. He’s still awkward as shown with his table manners and interacting with birds durign Something There, but he is trying. He’s trying for Belle. He activly enjoys her company. He sees how beautiful she is physically, but that’s not why he likes her. She’s kind, intelligent, independant, and she makes him feel in a way that he never has. He still feels that she can’t love him because of what he is, but the change that she has caused is so evident. He’s fallen in love and the ballroom scene only strengthens that with himt he happiest that he’s been all film. But the crowner that truly demonstrates htis? When Belle expresses missing her father, he lets her use the mirror. Not only does he seem legit concerned when they see Maurice freezing to death but when he sees Belle’s clear distress, he decides to let her go. He’s sad when he does so, knowing that she may very well never return. But Belle’s father needs her. he can’t force her to say and be miserable. He loves her so much that he decided to let her go. But it does mean that he gav up his final chance at being human after feeling more human than he had in ten years, and he is left in despair.

His despair is so strong that when Gaston and the mob arrives, he doesn’t even try to fight back. He just waits and is prepared to let whatever happens to him happen. Fortunately Belle coming back restores his will to live and he fights back. When Gaston grovels for his life, what does Beast do? He grants it, simply growling at him to leave. It is that moment hat shows how much of a better person that Beast is compared to Gaston. He was an angry man bordering on abusive, but he changed. He met someone who wasn’t willing to take his behavior, but was also willing to see the good that was in him. He changed for her, and it made him a kinder, more selfless person. The only thing that remains is his self-loathing, even saying that maybe him dying is for the best after Gaston has stabbed him. Fortunately Belle confesses her love, and it not only saves his life, but breaks the curse just in time. Beast is restored to Adam, having earned the right to having his humanity back. It was a lovely way to cap off his development, and allowed him to earn his happily ever after.

Beast was very much Belle’s equal. Even nowadays they’re both promoted and marketed pretty equally. One’s story would have been incomplete without the other. They gave each other what they each wanted and needed. I’ll go into specifics for Belle when I get to her below, but in the Beast’s case he needed someone kind, but also independent. Someone who wouldn’t tolerate his behavior and push him to change himself, but still kind-hearted enough to see that there is something there and be willing to help. Belle treated him in a way that no one else had. She was defiant, but also caring. She pushed him to rediscover his humanity. She got him to want to be kind. She got him to want to be a better person, and he not only treated her better but he was kinder to his staff as well. He finally grew up from the spoiled brat that he was before. He had found a reason to, and his love was so genuine that he let Belle go to be with her father again. It’s a beautiful story of growth and did enough to make Beast’s issues clear and not excusable, but sympathetic enough that we wanted him to be better and feel happy when he does so. He’s the best developed male lead in a Disney Princess film up to this point and helped pave the way for equally well done male leads. Ones not there just to fill out a plot beat and be the princesses’ reward, but to stand at her side as her equal.

Boy did THAT one get long. there’s other minor characters. Le Fou, The Bimbettes, the psyche ward keeper voiced by the late, great Tony Jay, various other castle characters, etc. all of them are entertaining, I just don’t have much to say about them. So then... we have one more to go.

Belle Analysis

https://youtu.be/M4ne1A1aNrI

Belle is one of the most praised and beloved Disney Princesses of all time. She is smart, playful, independent, and kind-hearted. I feel like she gets overly praised at times, mainly because some like to use her to bash her four predecessors since she didn’t have the goal of falling in love. I won’t repeat what I said about the four, you can read the reviews, but it’s a VERY unfair argument not just to them, but to Belle as well. She’s used as a tool to bash other female characters instead of being loved for herself. Then agains he also gets bashed for the Stolkholm Syndrome argument, which we’ll get to that aspect here soon. But for now, let’s just discuss Belle piece by piece and see where the path leads us.

Belle’s intro establishes everything right off the bat. So much so that the intro sing is literally titled Belle. She’s bookish and cheerful, but it’s clear from her interactions witht he villagers and their own gossip that she’s seen as weird. The only people who seem to like her as she is is the bookshop owner and her own father. The women are jealous of her beauty, the men only see her for her beauty, and both sides are confused at her lack of conformity. Belle lives in a town that clearly has very old-fashioned views regarding gender roles. The men work, the women get married and have babies. They all seem content with this... except for Belle. She enjoys books and adventure, musing about wanting more than the provincial life that she has. She strolls through the village with her nose stuck in a book, but has no trouble navigating at all depsite the distraction. Books provide her a source of adventure and thrill that her limited life does not. She breaks those old-fashioned norms and he village is uttelry baffled at to how she can be this way. But what truly makes her a bafflement to everyone? Her utter rejection of Gaston. While just about every other women swoons at his feet, Belle couldn’t be less impressed if she tried. She’s familiar with how he is and if she had’t recieved his advances before their first scene, she’s probably seen it enough times to know that she doesn’t like him. Him dismisisng her passion for books and insulting her father did him no favors.

On the surface, Belle does’t seem bothered by these things. But when home, she does express some hurt about ti to her father, the one perosn who loves her for her unconditionally. She knows that she doesn’t fit in. She knows that she’s not happy with her life. She wants someone to understand her besides her father. She wants more to life where she can be herself. She wants to find love on her own terms and not have to deal with the advances of men like Gaston. None of this stops her form being able to handle herself, as demonstrated when Gaston goes to her house to force a proposal. She handles kicking him out with utter grace and her “I don’t deserve you” line is icing on the cake. But none of that changes how she feels. If anything, it enforces it. The village is all on Gaston’s side and at that point, her father has left for the science fair. He won’t be there forever, hence why she wants to find someone who will love her for her. To control her own destiny. To those who feel forced into their gender roles or being forced into a relationship that they don’t want whether by an agressive person or by peer pressure, Belle’s struggle is very relatable. Her independant spirit is also admirable as while she is dismayed with where she’s at, she still is able to smile and live her life as she wants. She’ defiant. She makes do with what she has and is able to handle what’s thrown at her with pure wit and ingenuity. Gaston nor anyone else can bring her down... at least, not until her wish for adventure ends up unexpectedly granted.

Before we progress forward, let’s pause to discuss Belle’s VA, Paige O’Hara. When Beauty and the Beast was beginning casting, O’Hara was already a rising Broadway actress and Disney happened to be seeking Broadway talent specifically. After several call-backs, she finally earned the part. She’s credited Howard Ashman as a huge help in guiding her to finding her voice as Belle, and she performs the role beautifully. She captures Belle’s independence yet playfulness very well, as well as her defiance and heartbreak in certain scenes. And her singing? Beautiful. Maybe not on par with Jodi Benson, but you can tell why she was a rising Broadway star. Today, O’Hara works mainly as a painter with Belle very much being one of her main muses. Sadly due to how much her voice has aged, she rarely plays Belle herself anymore, the role nowadays being primarialy done by VA Julie Nathanson. While she also does a lovely job at the part, O’Hara will always be the first to bring the character to life. Fortunteley she still shows a lot of love for the role and has attended multiple events and even got to reprise Belle at least one more time during Ralph Breaks the Internet. She had reprised Belle multiple times between various DTV films, TV appearances, and other events. So even if she is limited nowadays, her large body of work will live on forever.

Back to the film, Belle discovers that her father is in danger and ends up at the castle. We all know what happens at this point. Belle offers to take her dad’s place, Beast agrees, and Maurice is kicked out before Belle can so much as say goodbye. She’s distraught at this, and who can blame her? In a matter of hours, her life as she knew it was ripped away from her. Now instead of her old provincial life, she’s a prisoner in an enchanted castle ruled by an angry beast. Even when given the nicer room, she doesn’t feel that much better. She’s never going to get to see her father again or even know if he’s safely back home. She has no reason to believe that a rescue is coming. Some may say that she should try and get out, but isn’t she allowed this? To be upset and at a loss of what to do? It’s not like she just cries the whole time, she calms down enough to refuse to go to dinner despite the others insisting that she does. Even when Beast yells at her to do so, she refuses. She may be a prisoner, but she’s not going to play the victim. She’s going to be as she normally is; however she wants to be.

Soon, Belle’s able to calm down enough that she decides to go explore the castle. She is ultimateley a curious, adventurous spirit. Regardless of the circumstances, she can’t help but want to learn more about this new, strange place and these new figures that she’s encountered. You can tellt hat she’s warming up reatly during Be Our Guest where despite not actually getitng to eat anything, she is just havng far too much fun to care. It gets her spirits back up and now she can’t resist exploring more. Even if it risks The Beast’s wrath, one her curiosity has peaked, she can’t resist it. It’s a great strength, but also probably her biggest flaw. Despite having been told not to and knowing by now how Beast will react, she slips away from Cogsworth and Lumiere to go explore the West Wing. This ends with her seeing the trashed area, finding the Enchanted Rose, and getting yelled at by an enraged Beast. That is the last push needed to make Belle decide to escape.

So now that we’re at this point, we have to talk about one of the big topics that comes up when discussing this film: Stockholm Syndrome. To put it simply, Stockholm Syndrome is when the victim becomes emotionally attached to their aggressor and doesn’t want to leave them and tries to justify their actions. So when the vicitm is rescued, they may react negativly or even aggressively towards the rescuers in favor of the agressor. it’s a psychological response. This is actually a case where I was able to go to a professional to ask about it,: my own mother. My mom is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and currently works as a therapist. I’m fairly sure that she’s never treated anyone with Stockholm, but it is something that she knows of. I did ask her about if the film did glorify Stockholm Syndrome as some accuse it of. The gist of what she told me is... well, there’s enough in-film that either side can use it to prove their case. After all she DOES develop positive feelings towards Beast while a prisoner, so one can take the context and use it as an example, and same for the side who don’t agree. Ultimately Belle is a ficitonal character. We can’t sit her down and give her a psychoanalysis because she’s not real, and most of us doing these analysis’ aren’t therapists, psyologists, or mental health experts anyways. I’ll leave some sources below if you’d like further reading on the topic, but doing research isn’t the same as being a professional trained to go over these kinds of things. My mom said at most, Beast can be viewed as emotionally abusive, though it is because of his own trauma and he did ultimately improve to be a better person.

I fully agree that yes, if someone wants to make the arguent that the film promotes Stockholm Syndrome, they can. It’s their opinion, this came out in a diferent time than now where we take things like emotional abuse in cinema far more seriously, and in the end it’s a piece of fiction and people are free to view it however they wish. But the same also applies to me and in my opinion, no. Belle does NOT suffer from Stockholm Syndrome nor does the film glorify it. Now I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. This is strictly my opinion going off my understanding of it. I may be wrong and if that’s the case, I apologize. But from what I know and understand, the case in the film is not a straight forward situation like the various case studies in the real world. Plus I think we see enough of Belle being defiant and not feeling positivly towards Beast to see that she certainly hasn’t developed any psychological attachment towards him to cope with her situation. We’ll be seeing her feelings towards him change, but I’ll explain why I don’t feel that it counts down below. But again, I’m not an expert. This is just my understanding of it.

So... why the long tangent there? Well we’re now at the wolf attack scene. The turning point in the relationship. Belle’s effort to escape ends with her cornered by a pack of vicious wolves. Fortunateley, The Beast rescues her and drives the wolves away... but he is inured in the process and passes out. As I said in Beast’s character breakdown, he didn’t have to do it at that point since he’d given up, but he did so anyways. It showed that he isn’t a bad person. Something that Belle also saw. The Beast had been aggressive and rude to her throughout, and she had every good reason to continue on her way now that the path was clear. But Belle didn’t. She got Beast onto her horse and took him back to the castle, the closest shelter, to treat his wounds. Is this because she feels compelled to do so after forming a psychological dependency or attachment to him? No. We see as she treats his wounds that she still isn’t going to tolerate his temper and rudeness towards her. She stands up for herself and talks back at him until he calms down. She very much retains her independence. So then... why did she save him? Because Belle is a good-hearted person who just saw this seemingly hateful beast save her life when he didn’t have to. She isn’t the kind of person to leave an injured person to die. She did it out of kindness and gratitude as we see when she genuinely thanks Beast for saving her life. She’s seen a new side to him now, and it’s made her reconsider her earlier stance. Thus Belle remains at the castle.

The characteristics of Stockholm Syndrome include positive feelings towards the captor and belief of goodness in the captor, no real effort in escaping, learned helplessness, and feelings of pity to the captor. You can read the list and learn more here, and the link will also be with the sources. So you’re probably looking at that and going ‘...uuuggghhhh’ at the movie right now. Which fair enough. However let’s also look at where we are now. This is the part of the film where Beast makes an honest effort to improve himself. He’s nicer, trying to be more polite, and treats Belle as a person. She’s really not a prisoner anymore at this point and while mybe theposisbility of being human again is motivating Beast, for the most part I think it’s because he genuinely grows to like Belle. As for Belle, I think that she likes the castle. It’s enchanted and full of intrigue and mystery, just like in her books. It’s the escape form that provincial life in the village that she’s been longing for. It’s a temptation that she just can’t resist. The staff all like her and treat her kindly and no one tries to force her to be something that she isn’t. Beast especially loves Belle’s love of books, even giving her the huge library to repay her earlier kindness. Belle is able to be who she is and be around those who are accepting of her. Even fi for the staff it’s for ulterior motives, IDT that they’re faking liking having her around and Beast certainly isn’t. This isn’t really a straight-forward captive or abuse situaiton that Stockholm Syndrome would apply to in my opinion, especially since Belle never once succumbs to the Beast’s terms. She only respects and acts friendly with him when he does so towards her, and they are both clearly benefiting positivly from it. We know that Beast has no malicious intenitons regarding Belle and it’s Lumiere and co. insisting on the relaitonship happening moreso, and that’s because they want their humanity back so it adds a bit of complexity. It’s just not a straight forward case where we can easily apply Stockholm Syndrome to and get an accurate reading, at least in my opinion. She certainly is FAR from helpless.

So then let’s discuss Belle’s feelings for The Beast. We know how much Belle’s influence changed The Beast. But what about Belle? She really doens’t change during the movie, nor did she realy need to. She’s already confident about herself, likes herself, and she knows what she wants with her life. Sure her curiosity can get her into trouble, but otherwise she didn’t realy need a character arc like Beast did. What Belle needed was acceptance. To find someone who would like her for who she is and not see her as weird for it. Beast doesn’t at all view her that way. He enjoys being around her because she’s smart and independant and even gets her to read to him. It’s that kind of acceptance that Belle hasn’t recieved from anyone outside her father. The more that she sees Beast try to be better, the more that she sees how sweet and endeairng that he really is and she’s more than happy to help him. I think that seeing this kinder side bloom and that acceptance and even enjoyment of her is what makes Belle fall in love with him. It’s what helps make the ballroom scene so magical. Two people considered outsiders coming together and dancing the night way happily together. It’s beautiful, magical, and the perfect culminaiton in everything prior. They brought out the best in each other. Made each other happier in a way that no one else had ever done. They’re better now because of the other, and it’s just lovely to see.

But of course, we know what comes next. While happy with Beast and being at the castle, Belle still misses her father. When she sees him in the snow and horirbly sick, she’s distressed. Seing this, Beast allows he to go. Honestly I think that Belle could have left whenever she wanted at that point and Beast wouldn’thave fought it, but she was staying willingly at that point because she was happy. But her father needed her now. If she truly had Stockholm Syndorme, I don’t think that she would have done so. But she doesn’t really give it any kind of thought here. While sad to leave The Beast, she has alreayd mad eup her mind when told that she could go. She leaves to save her father, The Beast giving her the mirror and unbeknownst to her Chip tagging along. Belle fortunateley gets Maurice home safely... and just in time for Gaston to initiate his plan to have Maurice locked away. Belle is of course shocked and outraged and in a panic, uses the mirror to confirm The Beast’s existence. Despite her insistence that he isn’t a bad person, it’s too late. Gaston realizes that she’s in love with the ‘monster’ and we get the iconic line: “He’s no monster Gaston, you are.” Beast treated her like a person and improved himself from his more toxic behavior. Gaston treated her like the prey that he seeks during his hunts, refusing to let up until he’s won. Beast had even kept his word about letting Maurcie go and returned him to the village safely, and of course let Belle go to help him and even seemed to feel guilty for what he had done previously. Gaston though? He shows no guilt over trying to use Maurice to blackmail Belle. He continues his horrible behavior not only by forming the mob, but locking Belle and Maurice in their own cellar for simply speaking against it. Belle didn’t call Gaston a monster because she’s been conditioned or due to a coping reflex. It’s because Gaston is a genuinely despicable person while Beast grew to become a good person. She saw this and stood her ground as she always has, but this time at the point where she won’t tolerate it anymore. Which if it was your parent being shipped off to the insane asylum by some jerk just because they want to marry you, woudln’t you call them a monster in comparison?

So we reach the climax. Belle and Maurice arrive after Chip frees them with Belle rushing to get to Beast. She makes it and seeing her reignites Beast’s will to live... but he’s stabbed by Gaston. Belle saves Beast from falling over the roof, but there’s nothing that she can do to stop him from dying. She’s devestated, blaming herself for it. Beast’s final words to her are that at least he got to see Belle one last time, and if she hadn’t figured it out before, I think that this was when Belle realized that Beast loved her... and that she loved him. We knew that Beast certianly loved her but we needed it confirmed from Belle as the curse was still intact. As Beast lay motionless, Belle cries and at last confesses that yes, she does love him... just as the last rose petal falls. With that confession, the curse breaks and Beast is ressurected/becomes human again. Belle is shocked as she sees not The Beast standing before her, but Prince Adam. You can tell how confused she is. is this reallyt he same person that she loved? Adam confirms it and Belle looks into his eyes... and that’s all it takes for her to finally smile. yes, it is the same man that she had fallen in love with. They kiss,a nd the curse is truly broken. Everyone becomes human again,t he castle is restored to it’s original state, and Belle and Adam dance happily, free to live happily ever after.

Belle is a role model character. She’s there for girls to look up to, and I think that the amount of fans that she has proves that she succeeded. She encourages girls to be themselves. To be independant and not bend to social norms or pressure. To find love for themselves and not succumb tot he pressure of unwanted admirers or the pressure to marry them. Something that happens far too much in reality. She doesn’t change, but there was no reason for her to. As I said, Belle’s not one of my favorites. Not because I dislike her by any means. if anythign I like her much more now as an adult now that I have a stronger understanding of the film. I just have princesses that I like more, and that’s really it. I also don’t like how some insist that she’s the best Dsney Princess compared to her predecessors because as I hope I made clear in those reviews, the previous four pricnesses are NOT badly done. If anything, I think it’s more anti-femenist to use a woman to bash other women without just cause. Saying that belle is better because she didn’t fall in love witht he guy at first sight or didn’t sell her soul for a guy without caring to analyze those characters isn’t empowering, it’s saying that if you don’t act a certain way as a woman, you’re anti-feminist. Which is a terrible stance. No woman is the same and women shouldn’t be used against women in this kind of way. Regardless, that’s an issue with certain ‘critics’, not Belle herself. She’s a great character and someone that I can admire. Maybe not as much as others, but I can certainly see why she’s left such an impact on so many and not even just little girls. To many people of all kinds. Who could be upset about that?

Final Thoughts

Beauty and the Beast is a lovely film. Is it my favorite? No. I didn’t watch it all that much as a kid. As an adult I have a greater appreciation for it. It’s beautfully animated, it’s themes are well-protrayed and still relevant, the characters are memorable and fun, and it’s music is phenomenal. I can absoluteley see why this as the first animated film to ever be niminated for Best Picture. It’s a tragedy that it lost, but it still proved that animation very much had staying power as Walt proved all those years ago. And of course the film is the final testament of Howard Ashman. He may not have been part of the Disney Renaissance for long, but his contributions single-handedly changed the company and their films for the better. Even today this style of musical films is very much going strong even over 30 years since it began with The Little Mermaid. We lost Ashman far too soon, and who knows what amaizng things he could have one if he were still alive. We can never know the what ifs, but we can always appreciate what came during his lifetime. He, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, Alan Menken, Don Hahn, various animators, and so many more did so much to bring this film to life, and it will forever stand as a true Disney Masterpiece.

The film was a giant success, and Disney wasn’t slowing down one bit. The very next year, another animated feature would come out. A film about a dashing street rat who found a magic lamp and unleashed a magical genie who would make all his dreams come true. But wait you may ask, isn’t this a Disney Princess retrospective? Yep. So why am I talking about a dashing hero? Well there is a princess in it, but she occupies a bit of a unique place in the line-up. She is the first and so far only Princess to not be the main charater in her film. But she still left a huge impact and i included in the main lineup so we are NOT leaving her out. So next time, come along as we enter a whole new world to discuss 1992’s Aladdin, and in particular Princess Jasmine.

Image Source: Animation Screencaps

Further Reading on Stockholm Syndrome: Healthline, Medical News Today, GoodTherapy, WebMD,

[give-her-hell-from-us-pevees]

Oorah G.”M”.G

Greg "Mouse" Gerwitz is underappreciated and needs more attention. Also I love the gif (not mine), look how cute and happy he is!!

Summary: You, an ex marine, meet up with your friend Kelly Severide at Molly's the night before you start your new job at the 21st District. Little do you know, Kelly invited two of his friends from the district to meet you.

When Kelly invited you out to a bar, you didn't realize it was a t-shirt and jeans kind of bar, not a black mini skirt and skinny little red tank top kind. You walked into Molly's and immediately felt overdressed. You contemplated walking out, but then you found Kelly sitting at the bar with two of other guys. Kelly turned and looked at you when he heard the door close. He yelled your name and backend you to come over.

Kelly met you half way from his seat and the door and engulfed you into a hug "You came" he said

"Of course I did. But it would have been nice to know that a t shirt and jeans would have sufficed." You said pulling away from him.

"Nah you look great, besides I have some friends I want you too meet."

He guided you back to where he was sitting. When the two men saw you walking over they got up from their chairs. "Y/N I want you to meet my friends Detective Jay Halstead and Mouse. Guys this is my friend Y/N Y/L/N she's starting at the 21st tomorrow."

You shook the boys hands, "It's nice to meet you two"

The taller of the two men, Jay, smiled "Same here. Kelly was telling us you just got home. Where from?" He asked.

"Iran actually. Before that, Pakistan. I was a marine gunnery sergeant, 107th " you tell them with a smile.

The boys were clearly impressed with you, "I will take that as you are not meant to be fucked with." Mouse said. "We were 75th Ranger Regiment, Afghanistan," he said pointed to him and Jay.

"Well thank you for your Service Mouse." You said.

Mouse clearly wasn't his real name, but you had to admit, he was a good looking guy. Tallish, with beautiful blue eyes and brown hair. He clearly wasn't ba twig but he was nowhere near the size of Kelly or Jay either. And damn that smile you thought.

"And you too Jay" you said, honestly forgetting he was there with Kelly. Jay and Kelly clearly noticed you were checking out Mouse, and he wasn't hiding looking at you either.

"Thanks you too. Kelly how about a game a darts.' Jay said dragging him away from you and Mouse. You sat down in Jay's old seat and Mouse sat next you. Mouse got Otis' attention and asked for two beers.

"You didn't have to" you tell him.

"No but, I wanted to," Mouse said.

You took a swing of your beer, "So, I'm assuming Mouse isn't your real name?" Mouse laughed as he put down his bottle.

"No, no it is not. My name is actually Greg Gerwitz. Jay calls me Mouse cause I'm good with computers" He said.

"Is that code for hacking then?" You ask laughing. Greg looked down, smiling "Yea, yea it is. I’m a Civilian Technical Analyst for the Intelligence Unit. Jay is the fancy detective."

"Your job is just as important as Jay's. You go and make sure your boys are safe. Not to mention you can probably scare some people with the things you can do on a computer."

Mouse is kind of sat there and shocked version of your moments. He always felt in superior to Jane the rest of the intelligence unit because he wasn't the copper detective. It wasn't that he didn't want to be one just he doubted his skills to get through the academy. He never thought he was as good as the rest of the team. And here you are, a woman he literally just meet is saying otherwise.

“I- ah. well,’ Mouse was truly at a lost for words. “Thank you. Um what unit are you working in?”

Code for, “How far away are you going to be from me?”

“I’m in Sex Crimes”

Only one floor above me  he thought.

“Oh really? Well I expect you come visit me then.” 

He looked at you, confusion evident on his face till Mouse realized he said that out loud. 

You bit your lip trying not to laugh at the poor boy in front of you. “So how does a pretty boy like you end up in the army?”  

Mouse’s neck turned red from the compliment, and he ran a hand through his hair to calm him down. “Well I tried the whole college thing and to be honest I wasn’t that great at it. Well besides the whole computers thing. So I ended up enlisting. I met Jay when we got deployed together.” 

Mouse nodded to you, “What about you? How did a sweet, pretty girl join the Marines? I couldn’t imagine how hard that was.”

The second after he said that he realized how that sounded. “Not that girls can’t be Marines! It’s just that you know it’s a lot more training, and heavy lift- not that you can’t do it! It’s just- oh god” 

Mouse just gave up and put his head in his hand. You couldn’t contain your laughter any longer. You placed a hand on his leg “Greg, I get what you were trying to say. No need to to feel bad” You said in between giggles.

Mouse turned his head towards you, resting on his hand. His whole face was red now. So many things were going through his head right now. He can’t believe how hard he embarrassed himself in front of you. Not to mention the fact that not many people call him Greg anymore, and yet when you say his real name it sounded so pleasing.

“I actually went to college. Finished undergrad with a degree with criminal justice and minor in psych. But then my younger brother got sick and passed. All he talked about was being a Marine. He never got to do it. And honestly the thought of joining the military was always in my head. So I thought what better way to help people and memorialize my brother than joining the best branch in the U.S Military?”

While you were telling your story to Mouse you moved your hand off his leg. He tried his hardest to hide his disappointment. 

“Well, I don’t know if the Marines are the best, but that’s amazing and I’m sure he would be really proud of you.” 

The two of you ended up talking for a few hours about anything and everything. But once it hit 11:00 you figured you should probably leave for the night. “I’d hate to do this to you, but I should head home and get some sleep. Don’t want to be late on first day.” you tell him

Mouse understood and nodded. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “Have a good night, stay safe. Hopefully I will see you down at the district.” 

You hopped off the stool, “You too. If not, then you should come upstairs and say Hello.”

You walked away and went over to Kelly and Jay. “I just wanted to say bye to you guys. I’m heading home. Jay it was really nice to meet you.” You tell him.”Yea same here I’ll see you around Y/N” Jay says

You went to Kelly and hugged him goodbye, “I’ll call you tomorrow after I get off” you tell him. 

------

After saying your goodbyes to Jay and Kelly you walked passed the bar and saw Mouse still sitting there.  “Night Greg” you said in passing. 

As you walked towards the door, Mouse watched you walk away, paying close attention to the way hips swayed as you walked.  His eyes started to drift down more when he felt Kelly and Jay slap him on the back. “Here, i got you something” Kelly said.

He handed Mouse a napkin and saw that there was a lip stick stain along with a small message.

Marines are the best branch, Pretty Boy. 

     - Y/N

Underneath was your phone number.

Mouse let a small laugh and  under his breath said, “Oorah”

Part two anyone???

Request OPEN

[haileyyanneupton]

close my eyes - part two

CHICAGO P.D - JAY HALSTEAD X HAILEY UPTON 

WARNINGS: MENTION OF ABUSE

READ PART ONE HERE

“It’s you, Hailey. It’s been you since the day I first met you.”

The second the words left his mouth that night, it was as if time froze in place. Hailey couldn’t help but stare into Jay’s eyes as he did the same, her heart squeezing in her chest with a million different emotions that were trying to rush through her body all at the same time. Everything was silent — but the good kind of silent, the peaceful kind — everything motionless except for Jay and Hailey. She didn’t know what to say, neither did he. But what they did know was that they didn’t want their romance to be born out of the sadness that still lingered in the room. After verbalising her feelings to Jay, who agreed wholeheartedly, Hailey already had a good feeling about what was to come — none of her ex-partners had ever made her feel so safe, so comfortable that she could communicate as freely as she could with Jay. It was a good sign, leaving the two optimistic when Jay left later that night though it was made very clear the the conversation wasn’t over, nor were they on bad terms.  For the first time in far too long, Hailey felt a glimmer of hope within her heart.

They took it slow at first, not wanting to rush into things in case it wasn’t what they wanted after all. Monday nights became designated movie nights for the new couple, and despite the fact that Hailey always insisted that she would be able to make it though the entirety of whatever film they had chosen that night, she would always fall asleep with her head against Jay’s chest and the bowl of popcorn they had been sharing in her arms every single time. Jay didn’t mind though — not one bit. She was a surprisingly heavy sleeper, meaning he could finish the movie before he too fell asleep on the couch, nothing but a blanket draped over the two of them as they slept through until the early hours of the morning. Jay took the time to admire the woman, running a hand through her hair absentmindedly as he studied every inch of her face, her lips and even her long eyelashes that would tickle him when they pressed their foreheads together and kissed each other goodbye in the morning. He was infatuated with her, with every part of her — this was what he wanted.

Hailey found herself staring at Jay from afar while he went about daily tasks. He was intoxicating, like a drug, making her feel euphoric whenever she was near him. She’d watch him pour a cup of coffee, watch him pin clues up at work. Everything he did was just so captivating — she could watch him forever and never get bored. And when he would catch her staring at him, he’d shoot her this lopsided smirk that make her heart go crazy, squeezing and pulling with the upmost force as she forgot how to breathe momentarily. Hailey had always been one to appreciate the grace and beauty in others — Jay was no exception.

Vanessa and Trudy had a great time when it came to discussing Jay and Hailey. Both of them knew what was going on despite the fact that Jay and Hailey hadn’t said a word about it to any other living soul, but both Officer Rojas and Sergeant Platt were just too good. They saw the looks. The smiles. Vanessa even caught the two of them just holding each other one time in the locker room after Jay had been shot at for the millionth time while working a case — it had really freaked Hailey out to know that the man she had fallen for could be taken away from her at any moment.

“Look at them.” Trudy rolled her eyes playfully as she turned to Vanessa who was standing beside her behind the desk as the pair of them looked over at Jay and Hailey. “Unbelievable.”

“If I catch them kissing, then I’m going to be simultaneously grossed out and very happy for them.”

“Why’s that, Rojas?”

“Because Jay and Hailey are my unofficial parents and I’m an unofficial child. Therefore kissing passes on cooties, and that makes kissing gross.”

“Right, because you and Kevin totally aren’t —“

“Oh crap! I think I left the oven on at Hailey and I’s place, and if it burns the house down then I’m in big trouble. Gotta go, Sarge.”

Slowly, more people ended up finding out. First it was Kim, then Adam, then Kevin after Vanessa had accidentally blabbed to him. Before they could do anything, practically everybody knew except Voight — well, that was until Voight silently slid a set of HR forms onto their desk one morning with a smirk before going on about his daily business. Jay in particular knew that was their boss’s way of giving them his blessing, the gesture one that made them all let out a breath they hadn’t known they were holding. Kim had said something at Molly’s about Voight kicking all of their asses when he found out that the rest of the unit and half of the patrolmen knew, but both Hailey and Jay had a theory that he was simply turning a blind eye to it for as long as he could to save himself the paperwork. Voight wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who enjoyed that side of the police work.

Still taking it slow, Jay and Hailey started spending more and more time outside of work together. Some days, he would stay at her house while other’s would be spent with the two of them at Jay’s. Hailey knew that on days that she was at her partner’s house, Vanessa loved it because she could invite Kevin over and they’d have the place to themselves. Jay loved it too — being able to wake up in the mornings after sleeping the entire night peacefully with Hailey by his side, her hair skew across her face and onto the pillow messily was perfect. Everything about her was perfect. Hailey knew that the sleep she was getting beside Jay was the best sleep she had ever gotten — being  in his arms made her feel safer than she ever had before. She had always been a light sleeper — growing up in a house where you had to watch your back all the time to avoid being hit would do that do you — but when she was with Jay, she could let her guard down. She didn’t have to worry about anything while she was with Jay — if she could have it her way, she’d never leave his side.

One night, the Intelligence unit had gone out for drinks in celebration of closing a case they had been working for over a month. Adam had bought a round of tequila shots to start off the night, a decision that only ended in chaos for anybody who wanted to stay at least a little bit in control of the words coming out of their mouth that night. An hour in and Hailey was already three shots and a bourbon down, Jay coming in close behind with two shots and a beer. While Kim was definitely the most drunk out of everybody at Molly’s, the woman dancing with her arms wrapped around Adam’s neck while Kevin and Vanessa laughed at the two from the pool table. Hailey and Jay sat up at the bar for hours, long after everybody else had left as the couple got lost in conversation. Though they had started off talking about their opinions on different drinks, soon enough they had migrated to the topic of them, together.  

“What — what even are we?” Jay asked, his words slurring into each other ever so slightly as he took another sip from his beer bottle. “Are we friends with benefits? Boyfriend and girlfriend? I never know what to say because we’ve never talked about it.”

“I don’t know. I don’t care. I like what we are. Who says we need a label? We’re Jailey and — Hay — Hailey and Jay.”

Jay let out a small chuckle at Hailey’s drunken name-mix-up, his eyes twinkling in admiration. “I know, but. . . I wouldn’t be opposed to being your boyfriend if — if that’s what you wanted.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad to be your girlfriend, either.” Hailey’s cheeks flushed red. “It’s about time, hey? We’ve only been seeing each other for six months.”

Jay and Hailey shared in a laugh as they caught each other’s eyes, staring for a while as they each took in the moment. Things had gotten so much better since they had stopped fighting their feelings and instead embraced them — a heavy weight had been lifted off of both of their chests.

“Hey Herrmann,” Hailey called out to the man behind the bar as she broke her gaze away from Jay’s eyes. “You still have that gumball machine thing that gives you a plastic ring with a cartoon character on it that Otis bought?”

“'Course I do,” Herrmann nodded over at the blonde. “I still don’t know why he bought that thing. Nobody ever used it except for him — I’m just glad I didn’t pay for it. It’s in the back. . . I couldn’t get rid of it.”

Hailey shot a sympathetic look over at the man. “Do you mind if I use it real quick?”

“Be my guest, Detective,” Herrmann picked up the towel he was using to wipe down the bar as he threw it over his shoulder and gestured for the woman to follow him.

Hailey smirked at the bewildered look on Jay’s face as the followed the firefighter into the storeroom, the man pointing at the red machine with a knowing expression. As Hailey fed in a dollar, out came a round ball with a Mickey Mouse ring inside of it, taking it into her hand as she thanked Herrmann and came back out to Jay, who was waiting patiently.

“What are you planning?” Jay teased lightly, his head tilted to the side curiously as Hailey pulled the ring from the plastic ball. “Wait a minute — isn’t this meant to be my job? Why are you proposing to me with a Mickey Mouse ring?”

“Okay firstly, I’m not proposing. We just established the fact that we’re girlfriend and boyfriend, so don’t get ahead of yourself. Secondly? Shut up and let me be romantic for once, you idiot.”

Jay pretended to zip his lips with a laugh as Hailey began.

“I never thought I would meet someone who makes me feel as amazing as you do. Every time you’re around me I feel safe and warm and I can never stop smiling, even if most of the time it’s because I’m laughing at the dumb things you do. Right before I fall asleep at night, just as my eyes close, I see you and your smile and your eyes and I wouldn’t have it any other way. With this Mickey Mouse ring, I promise to be yours and only yours, forever. Even if we’re taking it slow right now, I’m still just as in love with you as I was yesterday and as I’ll be tomorrow, Jay Halstead.”

Though the ring didn’t even fit halfway down his finger, neither Jay or Hailey minded too much. Jay pulled Hailey up onto his lap as he kissed her, Hailey wrapping her arms around his neck loosely before her head found the crook of his neck with a goofy, slightly inebriated grin. The alcohol had washed away all of her anxieties and inhibitions, leaving her to be able to say what she wanted to say to the man without restraint.

“Hailey Anne Upton,” Jay started, his voice only loud enough for her to hear as he whispered by her ear. “Every single day that I spend with you, you teach me something new. Today, you taught me that no matter what happens, no matter how crazy things get — I’ll be fine as long as I stick by your side.”

Hailey scrunched up her nose as she tilted her head back slightly to look up at Jay, his arm still cupping her hip to stop her from sliding off of his leg. Jay bent down just a little bit as the couple pecked each other’s lips lovingly.

“I love you.”

“I love you."

hahaaa okay so this one wasn’t very good but i tried i’m sorry eeee

@bluecrush129

@snowwhite013

[iggy-of-fans]

Of Being Ladybug 9

Previous          Master List

The cons of not believing

(- - )

Tim looked at his phone in surprise. He’d been in Paris for only a week to help train the Miracles, and already Bruce was calling him? Was hell freezing over? Did someone die?!

“B?” Tim whispers, not wanting to wake up Stephanie. There is silence on the other line. Tim frowns and moves to the other room so he can turn on the video.

“Bruce?” he asks again, now looking at the brooding older man. He looked like Joker just shat in his coffee.

“Tim… I… when you were younger… how… what could I have done to support you more?” Bruce finally bit out. His pauses long and his eyes drawn together. Bruce was looking to the side and was speaking quietly. Tim recognized the room as Steph’s before she moved into his room. A new sibling? AH! Bruce had been petitioning to have the previous Ladybug brought under his custody. He’d been blocked and turned away every time. It seemed Diana was extremely excited to be teaching a new Ladybug, had in fact claimed her as her sister. Bruce had been told that he had enough children and that he didn’t need to “corrupt” another one.

“Is the new sister having a hard time adjusting? Shouldn’t you be asking Dick?” Tim asked, relieved no one died…again.

“… Marinette is fourteen and about to graduate high school this Christmas. She was tossed to the side by her family for some unknown reason. She was torn from her friends and responsibilities. Since receiving the Miraculous at thirteen, she has hardly had a minute to breath, let alone figure herself out. And when, by all rights, she should have had the time, Diana takes her, shaves all her hair off and tells her “[W]ith every hair that falls, a part of Marinette must die. As your new hair grows, Maria will grow as well.” She wasn’t allowed to sew or draw or bake or cook. She wasn’t allowed to do anything that had any connection to her previous life,” Bruce’s hands and jaw were clenched.

Tim frowned again. What?!

“Marinette trained from dawn to dusk, but was never allowed out of the house, nor to shadow her on missions. She was to study, to train, and to sit quietly and behave herself.”

“You’re kidding?! No wonder her friends here are so worried! They’ve been trying to contact her!” Tim growled. He felt ready to go hunt an Amazonian.

“What would you suggest I do? She thinks further ahead than anyone I know, has strategies and back-up strategies and back-ups for the back-ups. She has social anxiety, with a history of being bullied. She skipped grades and then stopped for some reason. She had the same teacher for years, despite having been bullied by classmates. I just… I need to hear from someone who is closer to her age and had similar problems. What can I do?” Bruce wiped his hand down his face. He looked so tired.

Tim sighed and thought back to when he was fourteen. He’d been Robin for three years by then already. What could he have used? More time together? More friends? More sleep? Did any of this help his new sister?

Tim shook his head, “I don’t know, B. I was more interested in being Robin than being a teenager. Time with you was always good. Sibling time with as well. Maybe call Dick. He’s always been the best adjusted out of all of us.”

Bruce just nodded, gave his half smile and was about to sign off when a light went off over his head.

“Tim, one last thing. Please look into the school and classmates for me. Something tells me Marinette was being held back against her will.”

Tim frowned more. He nodded before signing off and sending a message to the Miracle Team that Marinette would be able to speak in the next week and would video chat with them soon. He was about to text Jason when Stephanie called for him. He put his phone down and walked back to bed.

( # , # )

Richard Grayson was used to getting calls at weird times. But two in the morning and from Bruce’s civilian phone? He sent a quick prayer up that no one died and answered.

“What’s up, B? Miss me already?” He asked cheerfully.

Bruce looked tiredly at the camera, “Dick. I need some advice to help your newest sister adjust.”

Dick’s eyes widened. Bruce finally got custody! That’s good. But he looked so exhausted. He wondered what happened.

“Adjust to what, specifically? The fighting? School? Is she moody? What’s going on?” Dick asked. When did he become the one to give PARENTING advice to his father?

As Bruce talked about what he’d learned from Marinette’s journal, Dick became more and more angry. He was a guy, but even her knew that you never cut a girl’s hair without permission!

“Sounds to me like she just needs to believe that this is real and permanent. Just be there when you can. Talk to her about decisions and let her work the way she is used to on missions. Thing’s will fall into place after that” Dick said pragmatically. There really wasn’t much to do but be there. He wished he could be there to help in person, but India had recently fallen prey to the mouse Miraculous. He and Starfire were there to capture the thief that was misusing the Miraculous.

Bruce sighed and nodded, before hanging up. Poor Bruce. Dick would do his best to get done here and head home. He was excited to meet his new sister! He sent a message to Jason and Tim, warning them of the new sister and to be nice if they caught her on the video chats.

< ( ^ ^ ) >

Bruce sighed, exhausted. He hadn’t meant to call the boys yet, but this was not something he wanted to go in blind to. Diana had made a lot of mistakes with Marinette, and she deserved better than that. Bruce had only glanced through the journal to get some insight, but it seemed Marinette suffered from Imposter Syndrome, social anxiety, abandonment issues… And Diana, who only exasperated the problems. Keeping her locked away, training her to exhaustion, taking her hobbies and passions, killing any and all aspects of her personality. Bruce had thought Marinette was just shy. This though. He frowned. Had he known about this he would have treated Marinette very differently. Maybe an hour of sleep would help him clear his head. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

< ( >< ) >

Alfred stared blankly at the ceiling. Something wasn’t adding up. For all that her parents were busy people, they seemed to love their daughter a great deal. He couldn’t imagine they had just randomly abandoned her for being a hero. Not when they hosted Chat Noir for dinner one night. Not when they seemed so proud of their daughter with every award she received. Something was off. Alfred wasn’t a detective, but he would find out what had truly happened if it killed him.

{ J }

Jason stared at his phone, re-reading the message from Dick. A new sister, huh?

‘Che, poor kid. Dealing with B all on her own. I’ll have to make this quick,’ he thought as he lifted the binoculars.

He was currently in Germany, following a suspected Miraculous user. The information about the Horse Miraculous stated that they could open portals anywhere. And recently a string of missing women from Cologne was becoming very concerning. Especially when companions and eyewitnesses all claim the same thing: a glowing yellow circle opening in the air and the woman vanishing through it. Jason watched silently as Cass walked down the street below. The tracker and her own training would hopefully keep her alive long enough for Jason to find her and the rest of the women. Nothing below. Maybe check the other side? Just as he was getting up, he felt a fist to his head. And then black.

*!!*

Luka looked at his phone. Marinette was finally in contact again? The day Black Canary had landed, they had bothered her from dawn to dusk to talk to their old leader, but were stonewalled, as her new guardian didn’t think it was a good idea to be constantly reminded of her failure. The team had shouted that it wasn’t Marinette’s failure alone, but the whole teams. And more over, the League’s, as they never took their calls for help seriously. Canary was pretty quickly chased away by them, and another trainer was sent. Green Lantern 1 and 2 were a great help for Kaefer, but the rest of the team didn’t see any real benefit from them. And they didn’t care in the least about Marinette. They didn’t last very long either. It went on like this for a year. Trainers came and went, all of them parroting the same thing. Luka had a new reputation now, as the trainer wrecker, on the team. And as a civilian? He became completely cold and closed off. Only his teammates saw any warmth from him. But even Juleka was being steadily pushed to arms length. Paris did this to Marinette. And none of them, not her friends or her family, even cared.

<(**)>

When Marinette woke up the next morning, she knew immediately that she wasn’t alone. Looking out through blurry eyes, she saw the figure of a man standing by her window. He was turned away, looking outside with the sun streaming in. She tried to remember how she got to her room.

A knock at her door had her quickly closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep. Bruce went to the door.

“Master Bruce. I thought you and Miss Marinette might enjoy some breakfast.”

“Thank you, Alfred. Will you be joining us for breakfast?”

“I’m afraid I have an errand to run in town this morning. But I will be sure to return for lunch. Do try not to burn the kitchen down.”

“You can sit up now, Marinette. I heard the change in your breathing earlier.”

Marinette cracked an eye open. Why? She sat up on her bed and looked up at her current guardian.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Bruce gestured at the end of the bed, carrying a large tray filled with waffles, fruits, yogurt and coffee. Marinette shook her head mutely.

After Bruce set the tray on the middle of the bed, he sat down and looked her in they eye.

“Marinette, what I said last night still stands. I want you to feel at home here. This isn’t temporary. Two of the oldest boys are already calling you their newest sister. Marinette, most of my children are adopted. In fact, only one of my kids is related to me by blood. I wanted to bring you here from the beginning, but lost the custody battle to… Anyways, you’re here now. I want you to feel at home and remember yourself. To have a safe place to just be.”

Marinette felt her eyes watering again. Was this… was this real? But her parents had promised to always be there too, hadn’t they? Marinette nodded. Eventually everything would come to an end. But for now, for just this moment, she would allow herself to be comfortable.

“Okay? Okay. So, I wanted to talk to you about school and extra curriculars. Your work schedule… “ Bruce pulled a notebook out of his breast pocket. Her eyes widened. He… He wanted HER opinion?

“No school” her voice was barely above a whisper, her hands clenched in the blankets and her head bowed. She missed his nod of understanding.

“No school. Just distance education with tests and exams taken in the principle’s office. But I am more interested in what you might be interested in taking in University. Are there any particular courses that interest you? Is there a career path you’d like to follow? We will have to start the applications right away if you want to get in for the Spring term.  And what about extra curriculars? Dance? Ice dancing? Gymnastics? Parkour? Sewing? Singing? Music? Most of the kids all learned piano from me at some point…” He was looking in his notebook and tapping his pen against his pants.

Wah…? Marinette felt her jaw drop.

“Am I overwhelming you? It’s okay to take a few days to think things over and let me know…” Bruce looked at her face, jaw slack and eyes wide. Marinette just nodded.

“Breakfast?”

 Tag List

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[funesgoal]

Undercover | Will Halstead (part 2)

Pairing: Will Halstead x Ruzek!reader

Word count: 1,777

Summary: Y/N is Adam Ruzek's sister but she is also very good at being undercover. Her aptitudes are very good for a cop, except she isn't one. One night she chooses the erroneous target and everything starts to go wrong.

Warnings: none.

Part 1

The Chicago police intelligence unit used to catch every criminal that it set out to catch. The other officers thought it was easy, but they never saw the work before the arrest. Searching for information, gathering facts, talking to informants. None of the superiors took into consideration their hard work, which was not done alone. Each and every one of the detectives in charge of Sergeant Voight put in their greatest effort to make the teamwork pay off.

But on this particular day, Detective Jay Halstead could not concentrate. His phone kept vibrating in his pants pocket, and that was something everyone had noticed.

"Halstead, are you with us?" Voight's gaze settled on him.

"Of course, sergeant."

"Well, tell that to your cell phone."

The boy's face turned red instantly because of the embarrassment he felt about being exposed by the boss, in front of all his buddies. He took out his smartphone and hid it under his desk, ready to kill the one who kept calling.

He was surprised to see that it was his brother Will.

«Stop bothering» He wrote the text as fast as he could and sent it. He immediately got a response.

«We need to talk. NOW. »

Millions of ideas crossed his mind about what might be happening and none of them was good. It could be his father. Will wouldn't bother him if it wasn't something important. He knew very well that he was at his workplace.

His thoughts must have been transferred to his face because when he raised his head, everyone, in the room was looking at him.

"Jay, do you need to go outside?" This time Voight wasn't being ironic, he was being supportive. The ex-soldier nodded to go somewhere away from the rest. "Thank you, sergeant" he said.

Once alone, he started calling.

"Will" his voice came out like a sigh as soon as his brother answered the call, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I don't know" he answered. Jay didn't know how to interpret his tone of voice. "I'm so angry, how could I be so stupid!"

"Wait, wait" he tried to calm him down. "What are you talking about?"

The man on the other end of the line kept yelling things the detective couldn't understand. He asked him to calm down, one more time. "I have to tell you everything."

"It's all right."

"I've been robbed" there was a deep silence on the call. "Not on the street, not in the hospital. In my house. By a girl I met in a club."

Jay rolled his eyes. "I really can't believe you called me to talk about this. Report the lost property and get over it. It'll give you experience."

"You don't get it. It wasn't just a robbery. It was all planned, Jay. She injected me with some kind of substance to put me to sleep. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. She's turned the whole department upside down."

The detective didn't even let him finish. "It's okay. We're working on a case now but when you finish your shift at the hospital come down to the station so we can try to reconstruct his face and get an arrest warrant. Are you happy with that?"

"I don't know" Will finished the call and of course he wasn't happy with his brother's response. Meanwhile, he went back to Voight and the rest of the team.

Erin Lindsey was standing in front of the board. The images that were on it had been taped there a few minutes ago. "Julio Mamani. He belongs to the Latin Gods. We've seen him and his people before, but they had always gone unnoticed. They've cooperated with the police a few times." She said, pointing to the man in the first photo.

She stepped forward and pointed to the next photo. "Andrés Rivera. He has worked with the Latin Gods, but he separated from them in 2016. Our informants say Mamani and Rivera had fought and Mamani forced him out of Chicago. But one of Antonio's informants claims she's seen him come back."

"Do you trust her, Antonio?" Hank asked the dark-haired detective.

He nodded. "She's never lied to me. Her information has always been true."

"The question is, why is Rivera back right now?" continued Erin, trying to develop the information as clearly as possible. "If he left almost without a fight before, what's so important that he came back to face Mamani?"

Adam Ruzek stepped forward so that he could ask. "And why do we think Rivera came back for Mamani? I mean, maybe he forgot something the last time he was in Chicago."

"We know from this" She pointed to a picture with very low quality. The first thing you saw at first glance was the pixels. You could see that it was a cargo truck. The second thing you could see was the kilos of cocaine that the members of Latin Gods were taking out of the truck. "This image was obtained by Mouse from the security camera of a nearby pharmacy. All this cocaine, we could count at least 20 kilos, belonged to Rivera. He's been smuggling it into Chicago's Mamani areas for at least three years."

"We think Rivera's back to take down Mamani" Antonio stood up and joined Erin. "We're not sure, as I said, it's a theory."

Olinsky, from his hidden desk, made an important point. "And if Rivera ends up with Mamani, a gang fight will break out."

"Exactly" Erin finished. "And we can't let that happen."

Hank Voight nodded. He stood up, ready to give the orders.

"Halstead and Lindsay, find out everything you can about Rivera. I want to know every step he's taken in the last four years" the sergeant pointed them out. Then he turned to Ruzek and Atwater. "You two concentrate on Mamani. Find out about the places he usually hangs out. If Rivera goes looking for him, he'll probably do the same. Al, come with me."

Sergeant Platt appeared in the room accompanied by a red-haired man. He was wearing medical clothing and his face was unsettled.

"Halstead, your brother is here," said the woman, then she turned and walked out.

"Yes, thank you, sergeant."

Will Halstead joined his brother. He welcomed him with a smile, mocking him. "So... How are you?"

"Stop mocking me, Jay. I'm telling you, I'm serious. "

They weren't alone in the room. Erin Lindsey and Kevin Atwater were with the brothers. They both said hello, curious to know what was going on. It was the woman who asked first. Jay went ahead and answered.

"My brother had a problem with a girl."

"It wasn't my problem!"

"Atwater, how many girls you meet in bars do you take home?"

He didn't want to answer, but he didn't have time because Will beat him to it.

"I met this girl at a club, we had a couple of drinks and went to my apartment. I woke up today with the whole place a mess and no credit cards. I took a blood test" he pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. "She injected me with midazolam."

"That's what you get for wanting to take every woman you see to the bed" he went back to bother him. "Kevin, could you help us make a portrait of her?"

Atwater nodded and got on with it. Erin took her notebook. "Tell us everything you remember about her."

"She was blonde, long hair, brown eyes. She must have been in her twenties, twenty-two. She was British. She said she arrived in Chicago just yesterday."

The woman was writing while the man was drawing on the tablet. Jay looked at him to ask him a question. "Did she tell you her name? Anything about where she was staying?"

Will snorted. He put his hands to his head, slowly denying. "She told me to call her «Agatha Christie» "

Then Jay and Kevin broke up in a fit of laughter. So much that Atwater had to put the tablet down to keep it from slipping out of his hands. Lindsey didn't copy them, though. "Come on, Erin. Don't pretend you're not amused."

"I am not really," she said, rereading her notes over and over again. "She just got to Chicago and the first thing she does is go to a club and make out with a guy?"

"That may not be your type, Erin, but hers is."

The woman bit her lower lip. She shook her head. "No, all of this is odd to me."

Atwater got in the way. "What do you think? Looked like her?" He showed him what the picture looked like. Will pointed out a couple of details and after the corrections, the man was sure of the picture.

"Yes, it looks like her" he suddenly seemed to remember something. He put his hand in one pocket and tried to find something, but without success, and then he went back to the other one.

Ruzek entered the room. He had a folder full of papers and looked ecstatic. "Hey, you won't believe what Mouse and I... Oh, hi, Will!" He walked over to the others and handed out different papers to the three detectives. "Well, what Mouse and I discovered. Every Friday night Mamani and a good number of the Latin Gods go to the West Meigs Casino. Apparently, they frequent certain prostitutes, one of whom is an informant for Antonio, which would serve as a starting point for us to go undercover."

"Great job, Ruzek" Kevin congratulated him.

"Wait, I haven't said the hard part yet. Mamani will be in a special room at the casino. The police could ask for a warrant, but, obviously, the Latin Gods wouldn't go if we did that. So, Mouse is trying to get away in and-What... How...Where did you get that, Will?"

Ruzek pointed to his right hand. The surgeon raised it in the air, showing what was in it.

"The girl left it at my house. She probably dropped it while she was putting away the money she stole from me."

"What are you talking about?" He said, but then he left his question behind. "You know what, never mind. That's a ticket to Room 11! Where Mamani will be!" the excitement was in the man's voice. "I have no idea how you got it, but now we just have to make enough copies. I'll go tell Mouse to do it. You're a genius, Will!"

Erin took one look at Jay. "You still think she had nothing to do with it?"

[itawonka-creates]

Seabourne Burnouts: Part 11 - Scuttlebutt

A Maribat! On Deck AU

Thank you @particularlygeeky for beta reading and for the chapter name idea!

Start [Here] [Part 10] [Part 12]

“I’m telling you, this is where he’s been this whole time.” Adrien looked back at Max and Markov and sent them a shrug. Alya just rolled her eyes as she peered around the corner. She relaxed and waved her hand, “Come on, coast clear.”

Max quietly followed his two friends and asked, “Alya, where exactly are we going?”

“Alya thinks Bruce Wayne is Batman and is trying to figure out why he was gone for such a long time.” Adrien looked back, a rare serious expression on his face, “I don’t think she’s wrong either. Something’s up with them.”

Markov flew up to Adrien and examined him, “Aren’t you friends? According to my data over the last 12 days, you all seemed close.”

Adrien smiled, “Oh, they’re the best. Dick, Jason, and Tim are awesome to hang out with and Damian is treating Marinette really well!”

Max blinked, surprised, “Are they together?”

“If they aren’t by the end of this trip, I’m going to have Ladybug lock them up together like she did with me and Nino.” Alya sent back a coy smirk before peering around the next corner and pointing, “That room should be the one.”

“And how do we know Bruce isn’t in there right now?”

Alya held up her phone, “I got Nino sending me updates while he hangs with the bros.”

Adrien grinned, “Hanging with ‘the bros’? Alya, we’re finally rubbing off on you.”

Alya blinked a few times before glaring at the model. Max and Markov just laughed quietly as they made their way to the door. Alya jiggled it a few times, “Locked.”

“Now what, oh great detective?”

“May I?” Alya motioned for Markov to proceed with whatever plan he has cooked up in his digital brain and Max was just surprised to see his little friend take the lead. Markov brought out something similar to a Swiss Army knife, different tools all on display as he analyzed the lock. He put all but two tools away and began working on the lock. Alya looked back at Max and smiled, “So he can pick locks now?”

Max shrugged, “He likes learning new things. Comes in handy when I forget my house keys.” Adrien chuckled and shook his head as he watched the little robot work. Suddenly there was a click and the door cracked open. Markov pulled back and looked pleased with himself.

Adrien held out a fist, “Nice job!” The little robot was happy to bump fists as the four walked inside the room. Alya closed the door behind them and turned on the light. “Oh, this isn’t suspicious.” Adrien looked around the room and noted a few things, there were some office chairs and a large circular table. All pretty standard until you took into account the large supercomputer taking up the farthest wall away from the door.

Max immediately ran over to the computer and whistled, “This is incredible. How do you even get this on a boat?”

“More importantly, why does he need this on a boat?” Alya took a few pictures before pressing the space key. The monitor lit up and everyone stared at the line requiring a password. Alya scowled, “Markov, Max, you think you could help?”

Max and Markov looked at each other before Markov plugged himself into the computer and Max pulled up a chair. “Give us a few minutes.” Alya smiled and gave them both a quick hug and pecks on the cheek and display monitor, surprising the two for a second before they returned to work.

“You guys are the best.”

“Hey, Alya?” Alya turned back to Adrien who held up a stuffed folder from a nearby drawer. Alya walked over and Adrien opened the file. The two looked through the photos of Paris’s resident heroes as well as very detailed reports of different Akuma attacks.

“Hey, that’s Rena Rouge. Carapace and Queen Bee too.” Adrien set the file on the table and Alya began looking through the photos. “Queen Bee and-“ her breath hitched and Adrien peered over her shoulder to look at the photo. He was shocked to see the photo of the core five fighting against Hawkmoth on the Eifel Tower.

“This is from Heroes Day.”

“Look there.” Alya point behind Hawkmoth, “Isn’t that the first Amok?”

“Yeah, it is.” Adrien looked through the reports and found details such as first sightings, hair color, eye color, appeared race and ethnicity, appeared age range, and much more. He found details on their powers and fighting styles. On almost all of them, he found the same line of text. “Appears to be a novice in both fighting styles and control of power. May be children.” 

Adrien looked over his and Ladybug’s reports, “Two most seasoned out of the heroes. Always active. Patrol frequently. Appear to be close, but no romantic relationship noted besides light banter from Cat Noir. Most likely in early adolescence when beginning hero work. Do not appear to know each other’s identities.” He bit his lip at the different photos of him and his teammates.

Alya furrowed her eyebrows, “How did they get these? Some of these aren’t even on the Ladyblog.” Adrien licked his lips and ran his fingers through his hair. The two felt their anxiety spike the more information they uncovered in the documents. “Who are they?”

Adrien turned his attention to some pictures of Pegasus, Viperion, and King Monkey along with a few other rare heroes. “These are heroes Ladybug rarely uses. I mean, they have to be if you don’t recognize them.” Alya took some photos of the files on her phone and Adrien felt his heart racing, “How did-“

“We’re in.” The two quickly turned to Max and Markov and watched the monitor blew up in different windows, all displaying different videos and reports. “What is all of this?”

Adrien gathered all the files together and held them under his arm as he walked over to the computer. He looked at all the windows before pointing at one of them, “Expand that one.” Max clicked on the window and it showed the image of a hallway, “Press play.”

They were shocked to watch footage of the raid, men storming the halls and causing mayhem. Alya paused it and minimized the window before clicking on a different one. She pressed the play button and watched as Damian and Marinette narrowly escaped some of the raiders passing through a hallway. Adrien gulped audibly, not realizing how close of a call it was for his two friends. Alya minimized the window and clicked on one more window. She found herself looking at her own blog.

Adrien shook his head and licked his lips, “Alya-“

“This is it.” Alya let out a nervous laugh, “This is it. This is the evidence I’ve been looking for.”

Markov shook his head, “We’ll need something more substantial than this if you are going to accuse a man of being a famous vigilante.”

Adrien grabbed the mouse, “What’s this one?” He expanded the window and they all found themselves looking at an image of the raiders in cells. He hesitantly pushed play and they watched as the raiders disappeared in a black and purple haze, leaving behind two boys. One was injured in his leg and police suddenly stormed the cell.

“Adrien, that’s-”

“What’s going on here?” The four all turned to the doorway and found a very stern looking Bruce standing in the doorway, arms crossed. While he didn’t yell, nor did he make a move towards them, the four flinched.

Alya looked at her phone, realizing it was on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and completely missing all of Nino’s messages. She gulped and stepped up first, “Why didn’t you tell us the raiders were Akumas?”

Bruce blinked and uncrossed his arms, “What?”

“The raiders.” Alya turned back to the computer to rewind the video and played back the moment they disappeared. She paused it when the black and purple haze covered the screen and then brought back up her Ladyblog. She pulled up a video of a former Akuma and forwarded the video to the part where Ladybug captured the Akuma. The monster was covered in a purple and black haze before being turned back to normal. She pulled up the two videos side by side and pressed play on both windows. The room fell silent as they realized the haze was the exact same in both videos. Bruce walked up to the monitor and replayed both clips a few times as if to make sure what he was seeing was real.

Bruce turned to the kids, “One, you are all in big trouble. You are not allowed in this area and you clearly broke in as this door is always locked.” The kids all looked at each other nervously before turning their attention back to Bruce. He sighed, “Two, you are all going to help me in my investigation.”

The group blinked before Adrien shook his head, “What?”

“I thought this was a computer glitch, but clearly this is out of my depth of knowledge. I don’t know much about what’s going on in Paris, but you three clearly do.” He pointed at Alya, “Especially you.”

Alya gulped and nodded. She bit her lip before finally asking meekly, “So it’s true?” Bruce didn’t say anything, instead turning his attention back to the monitor. Alya smiled and laughed quietly, “Oh, Tim owes me so much.”

Bruce sighed, “Yes. Yes, he does.” He turned to the four and then locked his attention to Alya, “No one can know. I know you are a reporter and this is asking to go against everything you stand for, but no one can know.”

Alya held up her hands in surrender and shook her head, “No way. Gotham is crazy dangerous. This evidence is to prove to Tim and to myself that I am a good reporter and investigator. None of this information is leaving this ship.” She smiled and giggled, “Besides, when Marinette and Damian get married, I don’t want to have you glaring at me from across the room during the wedding.”

Bruce cracked a smile before he returned to a stoic expression, “That goes for you two boys as well.”

Adrien placed a hand on Max’s shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, “Bruce, we would never.” He sighed and his expression was grim, “Over the past few years, we’ve all accumulated secrets. One’s we’ll take to the grave.”

Bruce blinked, this boy has done nothing but smile and look at the bright side of things whenever they’ve interacted. To see him so serious and so tired made him feel an even greater sense of urgency to figure out what was going on in Paris. Bruce moved to log off of the computer before Alya grabbed his arm, “Wait!” She moved one of the windows up to the center of the screen and they realized it was a live feed of one of the security cameras. She narrowed her eyes, “Is that-”

Bruce watched in disbelief along with the other kids in the room as his youngest and the girl of honor walked together down the halls, unusually close and attention solely on each other. “You know when Dick told me they were close, I didn’t think they were that close.”

“They’re close, but something’s different.” She hesitated turning on the sound, but ultimately rose the volume.

“-e’s not picking up.” Marinette groaned, “I just want to get this over with.”

“Considering we can’t find my brothers either, they’re probably all hanging out together.” He rubbed his neck and flinched.

Marinette looked him over and frowned, “I’m sorry, we should’ve-”

“Don’t apologize.” Damian rolled his head and smiled at her, “It was nice.” She returned the smile and the two leaned into each other.

A quick kiss between the two and Alya screeched, “SHE DIDN’T TELL ME!”

All the males in the room flinched and Markov just flittered around happily, “How sweet!”

Bruce turned to Adrien who just shrugged and stepped slowly away from the panting reporter, “Alya, she just said she was looking for us. She’s probably looking for us to tell us.”

Alya snarled, “NO! We have a code! If she were to ever get a boyfriend she needs to text me ‘Code Pink’ and I was supposed to march over and interrogate the guy. That’s been our plan since she was still crushing on you!”

Max pointed at her phone, “Did you check your messages?”

“Of course I-” She stopped and then frantically looked through her phone. Sure enough, a message from Marinette reading ‘Code Pink. Please don’t freak out too bad!’ She took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay. Okay, I missed the message. I won’t kill them.” She turned to Bruce and wagged her finger in his face, “Me and you are discussing this later, Bats. Right now, I’ve got to have a few words with your son.” She ran out of the room and the remaining three uttered apologizes before chasing after her.

He paused before he felt his phone vibrate and he answered the call, “Yes.”

Dick chuckled, “Nino was following you because of Alya. Jason and Tim are distracting him with some rhythm games in the arcade now. What was Alya doing?”

Bruce sighed, “Tell Tim he owes her an apology and some praise.”

Dick went silent for a few moments before scoffing, “You’re kidding.”

“I wish. First Tim figures me out and now a bunch of French teenagers? This is getting ridiculous.”

“Not your fault she’s just as stubborn as Tim.” Dick sighed, “So what now?”

“Right now, you’ll want to go look for Damian. He was last seen on the floor above you roaming through the halls.”

Dick sounded confused, “Why?”

“Alya may kill him.”

“Do I want to know why?”

“Let’s just say we saw something very interesting on the camera feed.” Dick didn’t respond and Bruce rolled his eyes, “Trust me, you’ll want to see this.”

Dick groaned and nodded, “Okay. Okay. Sure. We’ll talk later.” Dick turned back to his brothers and Nino playing a few games. He walked over and motioned for them to come follow him, “Come on, we got to go save Damian.”

Tim’s eyebrows furrowed, “What? Why?”

“Apparently Alya’s going to kill him.”

Nino blinked and pulled away from the game, “Why?”

“Don’t know, but Bruce said we wouldn’t want to miss this.” Jason shrugged and the three followed Dick as he led them upstairs. As they walked through the halls they could hear Alya yelling.

Nino made a face before running in front of the group, following her voice until he found Adrien and Max standing in between Alya, Damian, and Marinette. Nino could tell she wasn’t really angry, but she was feeling something intense. “Alya?”

Alya turned to the four and then made a grand gesture to Damian and Marinette, “Can you believe these two? Unbelievable! You are so lucky Chloe wasn’t with me otherwise we’d kick your-”

“As much as I love seeing Damian being yelled at, what is going on?” Jason’s voice cut through the commotion and the two teens in question flinched. The three brothers were slightly unnerved, Damian rarely flinched. Marinette poked her head out from behind Damian and waved nervously, “Marinette?”

“Um, well-” She looked to Damian for help and then suddenly pushed him forward, “You tell them. They’re your brothers.”

Damian glared at her before turning to his brothers and rubbing the back of his neck. “It would seem that our relationship has evolved.” His cheeks seemed to get the slightest hint of pink and Tim was the first to break the silence.

“No way, you actually did it? You actually got yourself a girlfriend?” The three brothers looked at each other before grinning and lunging at their brother.

Jason got Damian in a headlock and started messing with his hair, “We’re so proud of you! Seriously, who knew you had a heart!”

Damian growled and pulled out the headlock only to be jumped by Dick, “You’re growing up! You finally found love!”

Before Damian could say anything back Tim grabbed his shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes, “You are Damian, right? Not some weird clone Talia made?”

“IF YOU DON’T LET GO I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!” Damian thrashed around in their grips and got nowhere as they continued to tease him until Dick felt a tap on his shoulder.

Dick turned to a very concerned looking Marinette, “I would prefer he’s in one piece, please.”

She lit up bright red when Dick picked her up with almost no effort, “You’re magic you know that!”

She sent Damian a look of uncertainty and laughed nervously, “Um, I also met Kory. She’s really nice!” The three brothers froze and Damian took the chance to get out of their grips. He walked over and helped Marinette down from Dick’s hold and pulled her closer to him. She gulped, “Did I say something wrong?”

Tim narrowed his eyes at Damian, “Who else did she meet?”

“She met the team.”

“So-”

“She knows.”

Before either Jason or Tim could say anything Dick spoke up, “Apparently she’s not the only one who knows.” Dick motioned to Alya and she stood, hands on her hips, proud and smirking at Tim.

Tim’s eyes widened, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Nino looked between the groups and smiled at Alya, “Dude! You were right!”

Marinette and Damian snapped their heads to Alya, “Right about Bruce?”

Alya nodded and high fived Nino as he ran over, “Heck yeah!” She nudged Max and Adrien, “These two helped me.”

“Max?” Marinette looked apologetic, “Oh, Max I’m sorry you got roped into this.”

“Honestly, this is going to be the highlight of this whole vacation. I mean, I’m helping the great big bat with an Akuma investigation!”

Damian narrowed his eyes at the boy, “What investigation?”

Alya and Adrien looked between each other before Adrien stepped up, “Marinette, the raiders that night were Akumas. We saw the police footage, they disappear exactly the same way Akumas do after Ladybug releases the butterfly.” He could tell gears were beginning to turn in her head, “Marinette-”

Marinette shook her head, “No. No way.” She began pacing, “No, no, no, no.” Damian knew the reason why but everyone else seemed concerned for the girl. She suddenly turned to Tim, “Hey, did you send the list of all French passengers on the ship?”

Tim blinked and looked at his phone, “I thought Damian asked me for that.”

“We both did. Did you do it or not, Drake?” Damian walked over and looked Marinette in the eyes, a conversation passing between them as she bit her thumb’s nail. He sighed and turned back to his brothers, “Drake?”

“Sent.” A notification went off on both of their phones and they began walking off. “Hey-”

“Tell Father, we’re doing a bit of our own investigation. For now, the rest of you inform Chloe and start looking through all the files.”

Adrien ran up and grabbed Marinette arm, “Marinette, later we’ll have to talk.”

“Adrien-”

His voice got low and he whispered, “Princess, we have to talk.”

Marinette froze for a second before finally nodding, “I’ll text you later tonight.” She turned back to Damian and the two continued walking down the hallway, leaving behind a very concerned and confused friend group.

Damian looked over at Marinette’s stern expression and sighed, “This doesn’t prove anything.”

“Damian, you and I both know we were out in the water when that happened. There’s no way that’s a rouge Akuma. He’s on the ship.” Damian’s lips pressed into a hard line as Marinette walked to the nearest dining area. She sat herself down at the nearly empty bar and began looking through the files.

Damian sat next to her, looked around the room for anyone who could possibly be listening in, then looked through his phone. “That doesn’t mean he knows.”

“Why else would he-”

“A very rich man and his sons are on a ship worth hundreds of millions of dollars. An attack here could prove valuable to anyone with the right motive.”

“But he’s has never wanted money. He’s looking for me, he has to be!”

“Will you two quiet down?” The two turned their attention to the redhead at the bar sitting on the other end. The redhead looked up at the couple and glared, “Have you no mercy for those suffering hangovers?”

“It’s Thursday. Why the hell were you drinking so much on a Wednesday?”

She frowned and turned to the two, heavy Irish accent dripping with every word, “Because I’m pretty sure my boyfriend is cheating on me!” She let her head drop back down onto the bar’s counter as she groaned. Marinette and Damian looked at each other and, despite Damian shaking his head and aggressively mouthing the word ‘No’, Marinette walked over and rubbed the woman’s back.

“I’m sorry. That must hurt so much.”

The lady sniffed and turned her head to face Marinette. She paused before raising her head, “I know you.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “I know. I’m the one that wrote the essay.”

“No, no. I know you.” The woman stared Marinette down as Marinette stepped back a few steps and Damian stood next to her. “I was the one who moved you into your room.”

Marinette blinked and tilted her head in confusion, “But I don’t remember your-”

“My accent? Yeah, the manager doesn’t like it. Told me to speak like a true American or I would be demoted.” She shook her head and scoffed, “Such an ass.”

Damian frowned, “Oh really, what manager is that?”

She snorted, “Manager of residential life. He looks over everything involving passengers who are staying on the boat for extended periods of time.” She shook her head, “He doesn’t even do his job either. I did most of the work for you and your class.”

Marinette frowned and gave her shoulder a small squeeze, “If it makes you feel better, I prefer this accent. Sounds real and it’s a lot more memorable.”

The woman smiled at Marinette and held out her hand, “Name’s Tess. From Limerick.”

Marinette shook her hand eagerly, “Marinette, from Paris.”

Damian sent a few texts and held out his hand, “Damian, Gotham.”

The lady shook it and laughed, “You know you look like Bruce’s runt.”

Damian glared at Tess and sternly said, “I’m not a runt.”

Tess waved her hand as she looked at the empty glass in her hand, “Yeah. Yeah. Do you know how to make drinks kid?” Marinette covered her mouth to keep from laughing while Damian begrudgingly took the glass and made his way behind the bar. Tess smiled, “Now that’s a good man!” She turned to Marinette wiggled her eyebrows, “Lucky lass, aren’t you?”

Marinette blushed and nodded, “I guess I am.” The two laughed and Damian set down the new drink in front of Tess.

Tess held up the glass and glared, “This is water.”

“I’m fifteen, lady. What did you expect?” He smirked, “Besides you need to sober up.”

Tess glared at the boy before reluctantly sipping her water, “Smart kid.” She turned back to Marinette, “So what were you two talking about? You got a stalker or something?”

Marinette sighed, “In a way.”

Tess held a look of pity, “Oh sweetheart, I’m sorry.” She turned to Damian and waved her hand, “And what the hell are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be fighting for her honor or something?”

Damian rolled his eyes, “We don’t even know if he’s on the boat.”

“He has to be!” Marinette stared at her lap as she played with the hem of her shirt, “I mean-”

Tess held her shoulders and turned Marinette to look her in the eye, “Women have great intuition when it comes to these things. If you feel unsafe, you probably are.” Tess smiled sadly at the girl in front of her and gave her cheek a few pats, “Oh you’re so pretty. That must be hard.”

Marinette smiled, “Not really! I mean, I’ve only ever been attacked a few times-”

Both Tess and Damian snapped their heads to look at her and asked, “Wait, what? By who?”

Marinette pursed her lips together in a line, “A few people. All because of-“ She gulped as she worded her next line carefully, “- all because of the guy. He wants something from me, but I won’t give it to him. I never will.”

Tess bit her lip and looked at her glass, “I’m sorry you’re going through this.” She stared at her glass for a moment before chugging it down and slamming the glass onto the counter, catching the attention of everyone in the room when it shattered. She just blinked a few times and then looked at her bleeding hand, “Aw, crap.”

Marinette jumped off her chair, her words coming out incoherent and panicked, and left to grab a cloth napkin while Damian took her hand. He looked for any large shards that may be making the bleeding worse. He cursed under his breath and scolded her, “What were thinking? I know you’re hungover, but are you really that far gone that you forgot glass breaks?” He shook his head, “There aren’t any big pieces or anything, but you cut yourself bad. Go to the nurse or something.” Marinette came running back with a clean cloth and started carefully wrapping Tess’s hand.

Marinette shook her head, “What on earth was going through your head? This is glass! You could’ve seriously hurt yourself!”

Tess looked between the two before beginning to laugh. Marinette finished wrapping her hand and looked over to Damian for answers. He shrugged and they waited for her to calm down. She waved her hand between the two of them, “You two!” She wiped a tear from her eyes, “Did you guys rehearse that?” She sniffed and sighed, “Oh, Lord, I haven’t laughed like that for weeks.”

The two teens frowned at that statement and Marinette placed a hand on Tess’s shoulder, “Anything we can do?”

“Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m worried about you.” She smiled, “If he’s on this ship, I’ll know. I’ve taken care of all the European passengers on this ship. If you have anyone you want to look into, call me.”

Damian looked surprised before leaning over the counter, careful to avoid the shattered glass, “Do you know if any older male passengers boarded the ship when Marinette and her class did?”

Tess thought for a second and snapped her fingers, “Yes, but he’s American. He was on a business trip.” Damian frowned and started to clean off the counter before Tess hummed, “Does it have to be right when you boarded?”

Marinette shook her head, “No, I guess not.”

“There was a couple who got onto the ship a few days before you did when we were at a different port.” She paused for a moment to think, “He looked very professional and I couldn’t tell if the woman was his lover or his secretary. Probably both.” She looked at Marinette concerned, “Wait, your stalker is an older fella? What kind of pedophile-“

“Marinette?” Damian watched as she pondered over the new information and her eyes darted around along with the thoughts in her head.

Marinette’s eyes widened and she mumbled, “Mayura.”

“Hm?”

Marinette shook her head, “Nothing. Where are they now?”

Tess thought before groaning, “I need my clipboard to tell you that.”

Damian looked at Tess, “You know you could get into serious trouble for this. This is a breach of privacy.”

Tess glared at Damian, “Are you really going to tell me you’re going to tell my manager for helping your girlfriend?”

Damian smirked, “No. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing.” Damian looked at his phone and looked back up at Tess, “As far as I’m concerned you are in need of a promotion and a raise for helping us out.”

Tess rolled her eyes, “Oh yeah, like that’s going to happen.” She looked at her wrapped hand and frowned, “I need to go to the nurse first.”

Marinette smiled, “You want us to come along?”

“No, Marinette, you stay with your man. I’ll come find you later tonight. You’ll be in your room around 6, right?”

“We can be.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Damian spoke up, “Can you tell us the names of the couple?”

Tess turned back to the boy and hummed, “I think the last name started with an A. I’ll have to check.”

Damian shook his head, “No need. We’ll see you tonight.” Tess nodded and headed out of the room, leaving the two teens at the bar. Damian scrolled through the list Tim sent him, “The only A names are Aaron, Azreth, and Agreste. Unless Adrien is Hawkmoth, I say we check out the other two.”

Marinette shook her head, “No, I know for a fact he isn’t.” She sat back down and let her head fall onto the counter, a small smack could be her from where her head made contact. Damian poked her and she turned her head, “What?”

“You okay there?”

“No.”

“At least you’re honest.” Damian handed Marinette a glass of water and she smiled. He leaned against the counter and scowled, “When you talked about Hawkmoth with Tess just now, the way you worded your situation-“

“What about it? I couldn’t exactly tell her I’m being chased by a supervillain.”

Damian shook his head, “No, it just didn’t sit well with me. Even worse than the actual situation sits with me. You make it sound like a creepy old man is trying to force you to sleep with him.”

She shuttered, “Oh god, no. If that ever happens, my mom would murder the man.”

“I’ll help her. I’m trained to do so anyway.” She glared at Damian, but he kept a serious expression. “I’m serious. He’s forcing people to do things they don’t want to do. They don’t remember any of what happened. And all of it is because he’s trying to take care of his own needs.”

Marinette scrunched up her nose and scowled, “When you put it that way, yes he sounds like a monster.”

“He is a monster.”

“But even worse.” She sighed and looked around the room, “You know when I got on this boat I took comfort in the fact that Hawkmoth’s Akumas wouldn’t get to me. Now I don’t even have that anymore.”

Damian grabbed Marinette’s hand and rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb. He leaned in close and whispered, “We’ll figure this out. You got Robin on your side, which means Batman and the rest are soon to follow.”

She smiled and poked him, “Ah yes, the son of the dark knight. How could I forget?” She giggled, “So I’m assuming your brothers are also-“

“Yes.”

“Of course.” She shook her head and giggled, “That makes total sense.”

“What about your friends? Are any of them miraculous holders? I know Chloe’s Queen Bee but-“

“I actually can’t answer that. At least not right now. Me telling you about Ladybug is one thing, but if anyone else on this boat is a miraculous holder I can’t say.”

“You know about my family.”

“Yeah, but I doubt you would’ve told me. Alya found you guys out.” Damian didn’t say anything to argue with the statement, only proving Marinette’s point. Marinette took a few sips of her water, “We should investigate tonight.”

“Okay. Tess at 6, leave by 6:30. We’ll have to research their routines first though to see if they leave their rooms at all. We can use the main computer downstairs to look at the security footage.”

“We should split up. It’s easier to sneak around on your own than it is with two people.”

Damian shook his head, “No way. I’m going with you.”

“No, we need to figure this out as soon as possible. It’d be easier to just look through both rooms tonight separately than searching through the rooms together over the course of two days.” Damian still looked hesitant and she smiled at him, “I’ll be-“

“DUPAIN-CHENG!” The two turned to see Chloe fuming at the entranceway and the couple tensed. She stomped over and wagged her finger in Marinette’s face, “How many times do I have to tell you, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TELL ME IN PERSON IF ANYTHING BIG HAPPENS!” She pointed at Damian behind the bar, “So why on earth do I have to hear from Alya that you started DATING DAMIAN WAYNE?” Marinette seemed to shrink the louder Chloe got and she smiled shamefully. Chloe looked between the two and groaned, fixing her ponytail and taking a few breaths. “I’m very happy for you, but I feel left out.”

Marinette sighed and hugged Chloe, “Sorry, we just had something urgent to take care of.”

Chloe lowered her voice and pointed at Damian, “You mean regarding the fact that your boyfriend’s dad dresses like nocturnal furry?”

Damian choked and glared at the blonde, “One, will you keep it down? I know there are only like four people in here but you catch people’s attention. Two, he does not!” Marinette giggled, earning a glare before he turned back to Chloe. “Alya told us the raid was caused by an Akuma.”

Chloe paused for a moment before biting her lip, “Well, that’s not good.” She thought for a moment and looked between the two, “So he may be on the ship?”

“It’s a theory.”

“If you need me for anything, I’ll do what I can. I’ll keep track of the gossip on the ship and see if any stories seem suspicious. I’ve gotten close with a few of the crew members since we got on the ship.”

Damian blinked, “You and the servants? Who knew?”

Chloe glared, “Just because you’re a Wayne doesn’t make you untouchable, Damian.” Damian rolled his eyes at the hollow threat and she turned back to Marinette, “Stay away from Lila.”

“Lila?”

“She gets under your skin. I don’t want to have to face you as an Akuma.” Marinette nodded and Chloe pulled away from the two, “I’ll let you know if I hear anything.” She waved and left the room, leaving the couple in silence as they imagined how bad an akumatized Marinette could be.

Damian shuttered, “You’d kick ass as an Akuma, but I’d rather not fight you.”

Marinette smiled and shook her head, “I almost was akumatized a few times. The closest call I had was when I was about to take off my earrings. I snapped out of it right before that happened. After that, I started to just push down everything. If what I felt could lead to loosing Ladybug, then I’d rather not feel at all.”

Damian left the bar and walked over to Marinette’s side, “You know that isn’t healthy.”

“Doesn’t matter, I can’t afford to lose.” He grabbed her hand and she looked up at him with a soft smile on her face, “We should go and look over the security footage. We need to prepare for tonight.” He nodded and started leading her through the hallways and stairwells to a room where Bruce stood over a large computer. Marinette knocked on the doorframe and Bruce turned to look at the couple. He smiled at the two and straightened himself out.

“Well, well, look at the two love-”

“Don’t.” Damian walked over to the computer, pushing past Bruce and clicking on various windows on the monitor.

Marinette shook her head and walked over to Bruce, “How are you? We haven’t seen you in a while.”

Bruce smiled, “I’m fine. Tired. I’ve been looking over the footage for over a week and Alya figured it out after watching it once.” He rubbed his eyes, “I’m losing my touch.”

“It would seem so, Father. Time to retire?” Bruce glared at Damian, who just smirked to himself as he pulled up a few pieces of footage and the Ladyblog. Marinette hit his shoulder lightly, trying not to laugh for Bruce’s sake, and turned her attention to the screen. “This seems to be the right video.”

He expanded the window and played back the footage of the raiders disappeared and Marinette pointed at the screen. “Wait, rewind it a few seconds and pause.” Damian did as instructed and Marinette pointed at one of the boys. “That one. That’s the one Captain Staller shot, isn’t it?”

Damian nodded, “Looks like it. It’s even his left leg too.”

Marinette looked around the boys’ cell, “Where’s the akumatized object?”

“The what?”

“The akumatized object.” She grabbed the mouse away from Damian and pulled up the Ladyblog. She pulled up some videos of previous Akuma’s and forwarded the fight videos to when they would capture the Akumas. “See? All Akumas need a catalyst. They usually enter an object of interest on the person to possess the person. Ladybug and Cat Noir have to figure out what it is to release and capture the Akuma.” She pulled back up the previous window and played back the kids returning to normal, “Now look. There’s no akumatized object on either of them. Nothing broke.”

“Do the akumatized objects have to break for the Akuma to leave?”

“Not always, but we should’ve been able to see an Akuma flying away from the boys. They aren’t that fast.”

“Meaning the object wasn’t on the kids.” Damian hummed, “What were the police able to confiscate?”

Bruce looked through some of his files and pulled out a picture of a plastic bag. “They wouldn’t give me the evidence, but they allowed me to take a photo.”

Marinette looked at the photo and shuttered. She examined the photo of the odd gun and licked her lips, “I didn’t notice this before.”

“Didn’t notice what?”

She pointed at the gun’s barrel, “Look, there are three different types of ‘bullets’. Red, green, and white.” She thought for a moment and gulped, “We know green had the laughing gas.”

Bruce went to go grab some more photos from the raid and pulled out ones documenting the rooms where there were explosions. He pointed at one of the photos, “So this red residue must be from the red chamber.”

“Then what does white do?” Damian looked up at Bruce and asked, “Do we have any photos of the boys after they turned back?”

Bruce thought for a second before pulling out two photos. Marinette didn’t like the idea of two boys taking mug shots, especially when one was injured, but it was evidence. She looked at the one with the injured leg and studied him carefully until she found a picture of him from behind, “There. White residue.” She pointed at a small dot of white on the back of the boy’s shirt and hummed, “Okay, so let’s say white turns people into raiders. Where did the others come from then?”

Bruce frowned, “More importantly, where are they now? If the boys are back to normal, then shouldn’t there be more people in that cell?”

Damian looked over the footage and zoomed in on the floor surrounding the boys. The footage was grainy, but there were clearly things surrounding them once they transformed back. “What if it’s not just people? What if the white bullets just make henchmen in general?”

Bruce pulled out his phone and walked over to the other side of the room, “Excuse me, I need to make some calls.”

Marinette started to get frustrated and mumbled to herself, “Where are you now?”

“Where’s who now?” She looked up and found herself looking up at Adrien, Alya, and the others. “Figured something out?”

Damian scoffed, “Yes, we did. What took you guys so long?”

“Alya and Tim were arguing about what her prize would be.”

Tim growled, “I’m not giving her a prize because I still can prove Marinette is Ladybug!”

“Give it a rest already!” Alya walked over to Marinette’s side, “I love my girl here, but she’s not Ladybug. I would know.” Damian bit his lip to keep from laughing and turned away from the group. Marinette just rolled her eyes and hugged Alya. Alya happily accepted, “Not to say you wouldn’t make a good Ladybug, though. You would totally rock at superhero business.”

Adrien looked over to Nino and pouted, “Why can’t we be like that?”

Nino rolled his eyes and pulled Adrien into a hug, “You’re so needy.” The two boys snickered as they pulled away and joined the girls as they gathered around the table.

Dick turned to his brothers, “Now, why can’t we be-”

A collective “No” resonated in the room, making Dick grumble as they listened to Marinette’s explanation on how they think the gun works. Jason hummed, “Given the weird style of the thing I’d say the akumatized object was some kind of dart gun. Look, the chambers are stupid wide and there’s a pump when this is supposed to be a pistol.”

Bruce walked back over and nodded, “Jason’s right. After the boys turned back the gun in the bag turned out to be a toy.”

“And the stuff on the floor?”

“Action figures.”

Alya hummed, “So kind of like a mix between Befena and Puppeteer. Interesting.”

“How so?”

Alya motioned for Tim and the others to gather around the computer as she pulled up more footage, “If you look at previous Akumas, they’ve all had one kind of power set. At least most of them have. Befena is one of the few that could do two different things, turn people to coal or transform them into her army of angels. Puppeteer, on the other hand, had the ability to control any sort of toy, statue, etc. It’s interesting that this Akuma is a bit of a mix with more complex powers.”

Chloe crossed her arms, “Okay, but that doesn’t really give us much to work on. So what if this one had one extra power? The other ones have been normal. Probably just a fluke.”

“Or his powers are evolving.” The group turned to Adrien as he thought, “No seriously, he’s been at this for years. Who’s to say he’s not getting stronger?”

Nino shuttered and shook his head, “Don’t even say that, dude. I don’t want to put that out there.”

Damian turned to Adrien, “Besides, Chloe’s right the others have been relatively normal. I agree it could’ve been a fluke.”

“What if it isn’t, though?” Marinette eyes darted between everyone in the group, fearful and tense, “Guys, when this Akuma attacked we were out on open waters.”

“So?”

Tim’s eyes widened, “That’s why you asked for the list. You think he’s on the ship.”

Marinette’s expression only hardened and she gripped onto the chair in front of her. Adrien looked her over and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, “Marinette-”

She stepped away and started pacing, “What if he is getting stronger? What if he’s the reason everyone on this ship is acting so weird?”

“What do you mean?”

Damian looked at the group and spoke as if this was common knowledge, “You guys haven’t noticed? Everyone’s on edge. Tim lashed out at us. People have been fighting with their good friends. Hell, even the captain says his depression’s getting worse.” He stared at the photo of Hawkmoth on top of the Eifel Tower and resisted the urge to crumple it up. “It would make sense he’s on this ship. Most of the cities we’ve gone to have been attacked, as well as the ship itself, while Paris has had a quiet streak.”

Jason shook his head, “Why the hell is he on the ship, though?” Adrien and Marinette locked eyes for a brief moment, panic passing between the two as they debated saying anything at all.

Adrien gulped, “Probably because-”

“It’s me.” Everyone turned to Marinette and she tensed up, clearly going off of impulse instead of logic. “It’s me, guys.” Damian narrowed his eyes at her as everyone waited with baited breath. She reached into her purse and made eye contact with Tikki. Tikki was about to fly out when she gently pushed her out of the way and pulled out a familiar red and black box. She opened it and a bright light flashed in the room before everyone came to notice a small horse-like creature flying around the room. “Kaalki-”

She floated around the room before landing on Damian’s head. Her British accent was present in every word, “Now these are holders I approve of. Clearly noble blood. Which one am I working with?”

Marinette shook her head and motioned for Kaalki to return to her. Kaalki rolled her eyes before floating back over to the girl and sitting on her shoulder. Marinette turned back to the group and figured she should’ve expected these reactions. Her friends were not necessarily impressed, rather they were simply taking in the appearance of the kwami. However, most of the Wayne family wore various expressions of shock on their faces. Damian didn’t outwardly react, but she could tell he still was intrigued by Kaalki’s appearance. “Ladybug gave me the horse miraculous because she knew our class has been an epicenter for Akumas since Hawkmoth first appeared. If she ever needed to come over for whatever reason, I was supposed to hide, transform, and make a portal for her and Cat Noir.”

“So every time you disappeared during an Akuma attack you-” Marinette nodded and Tim groaned, “Damn it!”

Alya ran over and bounced on the balls of her feet, “You’re a hero. You’re a hero! You’re a hero!” She squealed and spun Marinette around, nearly making her trip. “Yes! I knew it was only a matter of time!”

Marinette snorted as she rebalanced herself and Nino patted her back. Nino beamed, “Dude! You’ve been doing great!”

Chloe and Adrien shared a look before smiling softly at the girl. Adrien looked visibly relieved at her explanation and sent a thumbs up. However, the other men in the room looked disapprovingly at her. She pulled away from Alya and took back a serious demeanor. She coughed, “Um-”

“I mean I get it. Still, why the hell would she choose a kid?”

“I’m with Jason on this one. That’s not fair to put that on you while you’re on vacation. Precaution or not they should’ve given it to a teacher.” Dick’s expression was unusually grim, making Marinette shrink under his gaze.

Damian pushed forward and glared back at the oldest. It wasn’t unusual for Damian to challenge the others, but they were surprised that he wasn’t mad on Marinette’s behalf with them. Damian's voice was stern and unwavering, “Well, for whatever reason she has one of these things. If this Hawkmoth even had the slightest suspicion there was a miraculous on the boat, of course he would board.”

Bruce nodded, “That’s true. Your class winning the competition made headlines, so he would definitely know about you all being on the ship.”

“But does he know you have it specifically?” Jason stared between Kaalki and Marinette, “Does he know Marinette Dupain-Cheng has the horse miraculous?”

“I don’t know.”

Tim shook his head, “I doubt it. I mean, he may know it’s on the ship but I doubt he knows who has it. Otherwise he would’ve been targeting you from the beginning.”

Chloe waved her hand and scoffed, “You say that as if he’s going by his normal pattern. He hasn’t been talking to any of his Akumas lately. He’s clearly trying to smoke out Ladybug and Cat Noir.”

Bruce turned to the blonde and frowned, “Chloe has a point. He’s trying to make them run out of time outside of Paris. Get them away from their usual playing field, make them disoriented in a different country and use it against them.”

Chloe nodded and turned back to the computer screen. “So if that’s what he’s getting at, then he’s probably going to send out another Akuma tomorrow when we dock. It’s obvious what we should do.”

Nino raised an eyebrow, almost not believing he’s hearing this all from the mayor’s daughter, “And what do we do, Queenie?”

She turned to the Wayne family and pointed at them, “We send them out first. That’ll confuse the heck out of Hawkmoth. If we do what we did last time where some of us kept watch for possible akumatized objects while Alya films for Ladybug we won’t have to worry about them possibly running out of time. They can just swoop in and get the Akuma while they act as a distraction and buy time.”

“We can’t ask them to do that!” The room turned to Marinette and she shook her head, “You forget, they don’t have magic to keep them safe. You know how dangerous Akumas can be! They could get hurt!”

Dick’s face deadpanned and his voice was monotone, “You realize we’ve been at this since before you guys were born, right?”

Jason walked over to Marinette and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “Yeah! You don’t have to worry about us, we’ve faced threats way worse than some of these guys!”

Marinette’s eyes widened and Tim was quick to reassure, “What he means is that we’re seasoned heroes. Yes, we’ve fought a lot of bad guys, but we’re still here! We know what we’re doing!”

“Unlike you.” The group turned to Bruce who still looked disgruntled, “It frustrates me that you were just given this responsibility. You’re a child.”

Dick rolled his eyes, “Look who’s calling the kettle black.”

The three boys snickered and Bruce glared, “I gave you all choices and trained you. I gave you this opportunity because it was the best path to take for all of you to grow and heal from your pasts.” He then pointed at the third Robin, “Except Tim, Tim found me and asked for this.” Tim nodded smugly and Bruce motioned to Marinette, “What does she gain from this? She doesn’t have training, she doesn’t have trauma to heal from, and she doesn’t need this.” He turned to the kids and sighed, “None of you do. This mess should’ve been taken care of by people who were qualified. Not a bunch of kids!”

Adrien stepped up and raised his voice, “With all due respect, for what they’ve been handed they’ve been doing the best they can. All of the heroes have been doing the best they can. Paris is still standing, the world hasn’t seen disaster from Hawkmoth’s influence, and we’re still here too!”

Alya nodded, “Adrien’s right. Ladybug and Cat Noir may not have Batman to handpick and train them, but they stepped up! They are doing what you did, without all the assets or support! They’re great heroes and I refuse to stand here and let you bash them like that!”

“Besides, Marinette is the best choice out of all of us to be handed that miraculous, anyway.” Chloe flipped back her ponytail and crossed her arms, “She’s the only one who hasn’t been akumatized. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, she’s just as clever and resourceful as Ladybug. She made the right call!”

Marinette froze in the middle of a staredown between the Gotham heroes and the Paris ones. She backed away and looked between the two, feeling the tension rise, and she suddenly needed air. She felt someone grab her arm and pull her away towards the door. She looked up at Damian, wearing an unreadable expression on his face, and slammed the door behind him. As he turned a corner they bumped into someone and as soon as he recognized the person he scowled. “What do you want?”

Lila rubbed her nose, “Ow. If you must know, Ms. Bustier has been looking for Bruce to talk about the arrangements for tomorrow. Markov said I might find him down here, but I got lost in this maze of a floor!” She huffed and crossed her arms, “Seriously, not very hospitable.” She blinked, noticing the figure behind him, and leaned to the side to get a better look, “Marinette?”

Marinette tensed and started to walk past her, keeping her eyes trained on the ground in front of her. She didn’t look back when she heard Damian slap his hand around Lila’s wrist and warn her against following them. Marinette practically ran up the steps and ran to the middle of the main deck. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and mumbled to herself, “Four counts in, four counts hold, four counts out.”

She took a few more breaths before opening her eyes and taking in the scenery around them. She realized she was standing near the main lounging area and noticed a bunch of her other classmates playing around and swimming in the pool. Damian walked up next to her, but before he could say anything she thought out loud, “We’re never going to be like that are we?”

Damian looked around, “Like what?”

“Normal.” She grabbed his arm and leaned onto him, “They’re here just on normal vacation. Not sitting downstairs in a dark room arguing about heroes and villains and responsibilities.”

Damian shook his head, “No, we’re-”

“Heads up!” Suddenly they were wet. Soaking wet. The two turned around, startled and confused, only to be faced with Kim holding an empty bucket surrounded by Alix, Max, Markov, Ivan, and Mylène. Kim wore a smug look on his face while the others laughed.

It took a few moments before Marinette finally snapped, “Kim, what did you-”

“Max and Markov told us you guys finally decided to go out! We didn’t have any rice or anything so we improvised!”

Damian glared, “That’s for weddings, imbecile!”

Kim looked back and laughed, “You’re right, he does use big words.”

“I told you!” Alix stepped up, jumped, and wrapped her arms around the couple’s shoulders. “Seriously though, congratulations! We were wondering who our dear class president would finally end up with. We just didn’t think it’d be you!”

Mylène just rolled her eyes and patted Marinette’s shoulder, “We’re just excited for you.” Ivan nodded and then glared at Damian, “Oh, also we’re here to intimidate him. You know how these things go.”

Marinette stepped in between the group and Damian and spread out her arms, “No! No more interrogations! Alya practically yelled our ears off this morning!”

“Oh, that’s why she was yelling. We just thought she found out a new thing about Ladybug or something.” Alix snickered, “Good for her, but we’re not done yet.”

Marinette growled, “Nuh-uh. Nope. Not happening! I just got a boyfriend and I am NOT letting you all scare him off!”

Damian blinked, taken aback by her words, before smirking and putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine. Not like any of them are intimidating to me.”

Alix glared, “You take that back, Wayne!”

“No, but this is seriously so rud-” The sudden stop made Damian turn to Marinette, only to find her staring at him like he grew two heads. He raised an eyebrow at her, confused, and tried to move away slowly. He thought it may have been something behind him, but her eyes followed him wherever he moved.

“Marinette?”

She blinked, snapping out of whatever trance she was in, and a wave of red washed over her face and neck. She growled and started pointing at him, “THAT’S WHAT YOUR HAIR LOOKS LIKE WITHOUT HAIR GEL?” She snarled, “OH COME ON!”

Damian frowned, incredibly confused, “What did I do?”

“You- YOU-“ She lunged at him, “YOU CAN’T KEEP GETTING BETTER LOOKING! THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Damian dodged out of the way and then grabbed her arms when she reached for his hair. She huffed and glared at him, “What else are you hiding? You have cute glasses too, huh? I need to be mentally prepared for these things!” She got more and more red, if possible, the longer she yelled, “If this keeps happening and you keep getting better looking, I’m going to be a mess! It’ll be a complete DISASTER!”

Damian finally took note of the hair falling around his face. He was told it look similar to Dick’s hair when he was younger in the way it framed his face. Definitely takes away the professional appearance Damian was keen on keeping, but if he could get her this flustered by letting it be every once in a while might not be a bad thing. He turned back to the girl, “Marine-”

Marinette twisted her herself out of his grip and jumped on his back, “Let me mess with your hair!”

Damian stumbled around, “Marinette, get off!”

She ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to turn it back to what she was familiar with. “Not until you get back to a tolerable level of attractiveness!”

He struggled to keep balance and looked over at her friend group, who were practically crying in laughter at the whole thing. Her movements made him take one step too many to the right and the two lost complete balance and found themselves falling into the pool. Damian came up first, soon followed by Marinette who swam immediately to the edge and jumped out. He watched her, afraid she was going to try something else, but noticed that she was hugging herself and was shaking. He got out, grabbed a towel from the nearest towel rack, and wrapped it around her. “Marinette, you okay?”

She turned to him, fear clear in her eyes, and she flinched away from his touch before recognizing him. She gulped and shook her head, “I’m fine. Just,” She paused and took a shaky breath, “Brought up bad memories.” Suddenly taking an unexpected dive into the water brought her back to the night of the raid. The spot on her cheek that the raider kissed felt on fire and her heart raced as the next moments flashed before her eyes.

Damian sighed and moved hair away from her face, “Let’s get changed, otherwise we’re going to get sick.”

Mylène and Alix walked up, the group long since stopped laughing when they saw Marinette scramble to get out of the water, and looked over the girl. Mylène smiled at Damian, “We’ll take her back to her room and get her cleaned up. We’ll see you at dinner.”

Damian nodded and placed a small kiss on the top of her head, “Okay. See you around 4?”

She blinked, pink coming back to her cheeks, and nodded as she was led away by two of her friends. Damian watched as they walked past Lila, finally coming back after finding the others and talking to his father, and she smirked as soon as she knew they couldn’t see her. When she turned back, the two locked eyes and Damian felt his anger rising just looking at the girl. He was about to step towards her before Ivan put a hand on his arm. Kim grinned, “Woah! We still gotta talk!”

Damian sighed, “About?”

Ivan smiled, “Sorry about the mean look. The girls are adamant about us talking to you and playing bad cops.”

Max adjusted his glasses, “Which is odd because they’d more likely be bad cops in this situation.”

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose and suddenly felt exhausted. “Who else do I have to worry about? So far, Alya, Chloe, Alix, and Mylène have all yelled at me. Who else?”

Max shrugged, “I mean I doubt Rose or Juleka would yell at you, they’ll be super happy for you guys. Kagami though is a different story.”

“The fencer?”

“Oh yeah, but you don’t have to worry about her until you arrive in Paris.” Kim snickered, “Oh man and that’s not even counting her family! Her grandmother is great, but I’d hate to see her mad.”

Ivan nodded, “That’s not even counting Jagged Stone, Fang, or Penny.”

Damian groaned, “At least her parents like me.”

“WOAH!” Kim grabbed Damian’s shoulders, “You met the parents? Dude!”

Damian shrugged his hands off and stepped back, “I met them back when we first explored Spain and we’ve only talked a few times since.”

“So what’d they do when you told them you guys were dating? You know they’ve been just as eager to see her date someone as her friends, right?” Max watched as Damian paled slightly, “You haven’t told them yet.”

Damian glared and got defensive, “This happened last night, we haven’t exactly had the time!”

Ivan laughed and patted Damian’s back with more force than he was expecting. He made Damian lurch forward with every pat, “Don’t worry. They’re really nice.”

Markov fluttered around the boy, “You know Damian, you’ve become much more sociable since this trip started. When we first met you, you didn’t really talk to anyone outside of Marinette and her close friends.”

“Yeah, and you kept calling us by our last names for some reason.” Kim wore a stern demeanor and pointed at Damian, “Wayne.” He immediately broke character and laughed. “Seriously though, you’re like one of us now!”

Damian blinked at the statement, “What?”

“Yeah, Damian. We need to hang out more before the trip is over.” Ivan chuckled, “If you can get away from Marinette.”

Damian gulped, not really knowing how to feel about all of this. A part of him, deep down, was actually happy. This class just welcomed him and he felt a normalcy he couldn’t even get from Jon when they were in school together. Jon knew he was a hero and went with him to go crime-fighting. While Jon gave him a friend for life, it wasn’t a normal relationship due to their abilities and duties. These kids only knew him as Damian and couldn’t care less about who his family was. The name Wayne meant nothing to them, they just cared about Damian and it was both refreshing and thought-provoking for him. He spent his whole life looking down on these types of people. Those who didn’t have to worry like he did, fight like he did, or survive like he did. They just lived and he finally got a taste of what it meant to simply be 15 with other kids his age.

However, he felt like an imposter. There was a reason he didn’t get close to normal people, he wasn’t one of them. He could never be one of them. His breeding, his training, his past, his future, all of it ruled against anything normal. He couldn’t have this, but admitting that meant he couldn’t have Marinette either. Despite being Ladybug, this was her world. One she grew up in, one she helped shape and improve, and one he couldn’t ever corrupt.

Damian forced himself to give the boys a polite smile, “We’ll see. But for now, I have to go change. See you later.” They waved their goodbyes and went back to having their fun as Damian’s mind raced. While she walked the line between hero life and normal life, she would forever be tethered by that promise of things going back to the way they were before Hawkmoth and before Ladybug. He could never have that. He was forever bound by his demons and his bloodline. Bound to be a vigilante for as long as he could stay alive or until his darkness took over, something he didn’t ever wish for but knew was a possibility.

Marinette’s words rang in his head, “How is this going to work?”

He didn’t know and it made him sick.

*******************************************************************************************

So we begin Act 2 of Seabourne Burnouts! Congratulations on making it this far! We’re in for an interesting ride!

ALSO: There is a new thing about tags for this ship and Maribat au in general! Please read this [post]! I have added the new tags suggested here and will continue to not use the names of the characters and the shows/franchises! Please REBLOG and Thank You! 

To those who want more Seabourne Burnouts content, @itawonka-creates is specifically dedicated to my writing (which is just this story rn) so you can just follow the blog and set it up to be notified just in case the tags do not work!

Tag List (Bitch I have a tag list whAT!?!?!):

@maribat-archive @ozmav @thornangelic727@imfreakingmagical@constancetruggle @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay@someone-ev   @zazzlejazzle @tinybrie @mewwitch @rhub4rb@saphiraazure2708 @never-neverland @unholykrow @slytherinhquinn @literallytryingmybestbutok @redscarlet95 @grimmhallow31 @fandomkitten9653 @myriad-of-passionate-pettiness @fanboy7794 @mystifiedgal @shizukiryuu @ vixen-uchiha @resignedcatservant @mystery-5-5 @miraculousl4dybug @blackcanary13 @origamieater @moonlitarchangels @mochinek0 @imfreakingmagical @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @derpingrainbow @unabashedbookworm @skyel0ve @northernbluetongue @cadencehood @sizzling-fairy-oil @crazylittlemunchkin @saphiraazure2708 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @ginamarie1512 @kae690 @ivette0712 @zalladane @ellerahs @auradonfairy @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @scribblinggraveyard @nyctamaximoff @snow-swordswoman @maude-zarella @thebookwormfairy @melicmusicmagic @zalladane @ivette0712 @ginamarie1512  @bookreader20003 @silvergold-swirl @celestiacq @themcclan @amethyst-starr5 @tamoni112 @lunar-wolf-warrior @alexzandria-747 @nataladriana9 @moonlitarchangels @iglowinggemma28 @hunter-shyreen @mermaidofthelost @jessigurl-design @vgirl-10123 @lunar-wolf-warrior @casual-darkness @xxmadamjinxx @normal-piece-of-shit @tinyterror333 @romanoff-queen @schrodingers25 @alessialeone6997 @mindfulmagics @slytherin-heartthrob @da-tasuky @asianfrustration13 @eliza-bich @kuhakuanon @my-name-is-michell @theatreandcomicfreak @interobanginyourmom @starry-bi-sky

Let me know if I missed anyone and message me! I’ll be sure to see it then!

[excuseme-howdareyou]

Okay, so I know the bat family is a bit emotionally stunted but I am separate for bat family cuddles that is all (saw you were wondering about bat family requests and I need cuddles)

@asheryapal (There were a couple ideas rolling around in my head, but here is the first one to actually get written. Hope you enjoy!)

...............

Damian will deny it for as long as he lives, but this night will probably go down in history as one of his most cherished. Being the youngest of the Batman's children, Damian was no stranger to being the one usually being squished in between people. A fact he usually hated and only under threat of torture would he ever admit to actually liking the feeling of being secure between Grayson's and Father's large forms.

But this... this was a feeling he was quickly finding he liked too.

At fourteen, Damian was still small, but he was nothing like Javier's minuscule form. ("He's too tiny," he remembered saying upon first meeting the child," I think you are blind if you think he's actually 7." The look Todd had given him... well, it was a wry, twisted parody of a smile on the older man's face.

"Malnutrition has a funny way of stunting growth, Damian.")

Tiny as he was, there was no denying that Javier fit perfectly in Damian's arm as they cuddled on the couch, watching an asinine Disney movie. In Todd or even Grayson's arms, Javier looked far too small, dwarfed by their ridiculous sizes. But when Damian went and sat on the couch and not even fifteen minutes into The Great Mouse Detective Javier had burrowed his way under Damian's arm, he decided that maybe this whole uncle thing wasn't all too bad.

"Okay, I take back everything I ever said about you guys hiding them from me," Dick cooed when he poked his head out of the kitchen and saw the trio on the couch. While Javi had no compunction about using Damian for a pillow, Elijah still had reservations and curled up on the other end of the couch (Tim gave it about ten more minutes before he was cuddled up with his brother and uncle)

Tim smiled and rolled his eyes at his big brother, but didn't say anything as he dumped the popcorn into a bowl. As he started pouring the melted butter over the top with one hand while shaking the bowl with the other, he glanced back up to see Dick staring longingly at the couch. In the background he could hear Basil of Baker Street rant on about Ratigan, but Dick's gaze was not set on the TV screen.

As if he could tell Tim was looking at him, Dick spoke softly," I understand why you never told me."

'There's a lot of things I never told you,' Tim thought, but he didn't need him to elaborate which thing in particular he was referring to. The reasoning for such he was planning on never bringing up, or at least for another three years or ten. Old wounds didn't need to be dragged up.

Dick, it would appear, had another opinion on the matter. "I screwed up that night, Tim," Dick said quietly, so as the three boys in the living room couldn't hear," And I know I can probably never make up for what I did." His voice still had that soft, soothing big brother feel to it, but the way he bit his lip showed how close to tears Dick truly was.

"I wouldn't have trusted me with something as important as them, either."

Tim wanted to tell him it wasn't because they didn't trust him. That it was for some other, unrelated reason why Jason, Kinley, and Tim made the decision to keep the two boys a secret from the majority of the family. But that would be lying to Dick, and Tim's had enough of lying to him.

"Well, we trust you now," he said instead and shoved the bowl of popcorn into Dick's arms," So be a good uncle and bring your nephews some movie snacks."

He may have said it a little too gruffly for movie night, but Dick's smile was a million megawatts as saw the olive branch for what it was. He didn't need to be told twice and with as much fanfare as only a performer like Dick could, he marched out into the living room. Loudly announcing the arrival of popcorn, he promptly sat himself between Damian and Elijah. Javier giggled at the couch bouncing while Elijah yelped at the sudden change, drawing his knees up and away from Dick on instinct.

It didn't last long, as Tim soon followed and literally scooped Eli off the couch and into his arms. "Red!" Eli flailed and almost smacked Tim in the face. The nickname just sort of slipped out; Elijah was getting better at calling Tim by his real name, but after knowing him as Red Robin for so long it was difficult for the 12 year old to remember sometimes.

Neverminding the slip up, Tim sat down where he'd previously been huddled by the end of the couch, settling Eli into the crook of his arms. The boy scooched and wriggled a bit before finding a comfortable spot between the couch arm and Tim's side. "You made me miss them chasing Fidget," he grumbled like only a preteen could, but Tim knew he's seen this movie at least a dozen times already.

A weight settled on the top of Tim's head and a quick glance up told him Dick had leaned over so far he could rest his cheek on his head. 'Ridiculous,' Tim thought,' That's gotta hurt his neck.' Yet he didn't try and dislodge him, instead letting the warmth of from Dick and Eli's forms permeate his being.

And in the dark of the living room, Tim's heart swelled.

[vagrantblvrd]

I would love anything Turnfreewood!

Lol, I was sorting my music collection when I had the perfect idea for your prompt, friend!

Vaguely noir-ish AU inspired by some songs from the game Contrast?

Private detective Ryan who used to be a cop before he left the police force.

Something, something, something shady business going on with corrupt cops and the like and idealistic idiot that he was he tried to expose it? But the baddies found out what he was doing and went after his partner, got them killed.

And Ryan, he’s not overly idealistic or anything, but he’s young, right. Got a real good look at how high the corrutption he was trying to expose went. How far-reaching, and in case he hadn’t realized that for himself he gets some visitors not long afterward.

Nice. Friendly. Letting him know if he kept pushing things his family might meet with some trouble of their own. (Ryan can’t be everywhere, you know? Can’t be on guard 24/7 to look out for the people closest to him - RIP his partner, btw - and so on.

The usual.

So Ryan.

He hates it, but they have a point, don’t they.

He’s just this little idiot in over his head and tells his family and friends some story about being forced to face his mortality while he was bleeding out in that alley with his partner. Waiting for backup that got there too late to do his partner any good, almost too late to save him and he lost the taste for being a cop.

Quits the force and leaves town (runs away) and kicks around for a little bit, gets all bitter and cynical and such and has these ~adventures that land him in, idk. Achievement City or Los Santos or somewhere.

(This feeling in the back of his head that things aren’t over, and he’ll have to face up to it sooner or later but that’s a future problem and why not try to forget about it for now?)

The kind of adventures where someone jokes he should become a private investigator because he’s more or less been solving crimes/cases in those adventures of his?

Supposed to be a joke, but it’s not like Ryan’s got anything else going on in his life at the moment, so private investigator it is!

Leases a little office somewhere and somehow manages to pull in enough business to pay the bills and tuck some away towards his savings. (Has to dip into said savings every so often for repairs/medical bills/whatever caused by cases and all that.)

And then one day someone walks into his office with a case. Something to do with a dead relative and a missing will. Or maybe it’s someone being blakmailed and someone mentioned Ryan as being both reliable and discreet and all that good stuff. (That, Ryan suspects, or no one would miss him/be all that bothered/surprised he got in over his head on one of his cases.)

Whichever it is, he’s in enough trouble financial-wise the money he’s being offered is too good to pass up, or worse? The client mentions the name of someone Ryan owes big-time who sent the client his direction with the expectation Ryan would know better than to say no.

SO.

Ryan takes the case and does all this Private Investigating.

Goes to his usual contacts and snitches around the city. Trustworthy and reliable ones and ones he can trust to look out for their own best interests and bribe/threaten them for what information he can get out of them. (And then figure out what’s true and bold-faced lies and working from there.)

Gets followed by Suspicious Sorts. Offered money to drop the case and send his client looking elsewhere for help and all that.

Gets into a back alley scuffle where he doesn’t quite come out on top but doesn’t leave with his tail between his legs either.

Goes to ground for a bit while he puzzles over what he knows, maybe goes to see his buddy in the police department here, and boy is Geoff ever not thrilled to see him.

“Seems like the only time I see you around is when you need something, Haywood,”

And Ryan being all scruffy and charming at him until Geoff sighs and tells him to go find Jack who will be able to give him what they’re allowed to without crossing any lines with ethics and the whatnot.

Jack is just as not-thrilled to see Ryan - goes all “What’s with the black eye?” the same way Geoff did and sighs as he hands over the files Ryan asks for. Tells him he’s an idiot and that Geoff and Jack didn’t see him, haven’t seen him in weeks. (And for fuck’s sake, don’t get killed idiot. the paperwork’s a bitch.)

Ryan all lol as he takes the files home with him and goes over them there. Just as confused about what the hell he’s gotten himself into this time, but!

There’s this one clue that has him sighing because he knows someone who knows someone who might - might - help.

Just has to do a little begging first.

SO.

He goes down to this little bar Meg runs with live singers and performers and all that? Trevor at the piano who flirts outrageously with Alfredo who’s one of the bouncers along with Jeremy.

Lindsay’s there doing whatever it is Lindsay feels like most days as far as Ryan can figure out? Michael’s a bartender/bouncer/whatever along with Fiona, and every once in a while one or both of them end up on stage because reasons?

All that.

Meg performs a few times a week, sings and dances or whatever else and sometimes Ryan heads there when he’s not working on a case because it’s one of the few places in town he’s actually welcome with open arms and all that.

Mariel handles most of the business side of things and Tyler is in charge of security and the like? (Something???)

Anyway.

Odds are good there are more things going on there than what the public sees - Meg and the others know way too much about what goes on in the city to explain otherwise - but Ryan’s never asked, (Learned better than that a long time ago.)

The first time he goes there during his current case Meg’s rehearsing on stage.

Middle of the afternoon and the place is closed to customers, but Ryan’s got a standing invitation to come by anytime he feels like it and everything. Good friends with Meg and the main players there and on good terms with everyone else.

Ryan walks in just as Meg starts singing this song, smiles when she looks over and catches his eye because they’ve got this Complicated relationship going on, you know?

On and off again and no hurt feelings (well, anymore, but all the grief she gives him is definitely deserved, okay.)

When she finishes the song she shoos everyone else working to deal with bar business and whatnot and takes Ryan over to a corner booth to talk business because he’s got the look he gets when he’s on a case.

When he fills her in on what he’s been up to the last few days she just. Gives him this look because fucking Christ, Ryan’s an idiot?

Getting all tangled up in Serious Business and such and oh, honey. That black eye looks awful.

Some flirting and concern and Meg despairing of Ryan and his life choices before she gives in and tells him what she can, promises to ask around for him, and oh, hey.

Maybe go see Gavin and what he can dig up for Ryan?

Which.

Yikes, because Gavin is part of this Complicated relationship Ryan has with Meg?

Part of this on again off again relationship the three of them ever quite manage to make work - timing’s always off and all that - but the times it does work are pretty great?

Just.

He’s good with Meg at the moment, but Gavin’s still kind ticked at him?

Something, something, something Ryan on a case and getting Gavin involved and the kind of shenanigans that almost got Gavin killed? Unpleasant reminder Ryan’s not infallible, that he got his old partner killed and oh, God, because he clearly didn’t learn his lesson if he’s putting Gavin - ad Meg - in the line of fire?

So he does what he thinks he has to to drive Gavin away and leaves things between them on a bad note. Meg saw what he was doing and stopped Ryan before he could try it with her too, but she warned him he was making a mistake and that he better apologize to Gavin make it up to Gavin or Ryan would regret it?

So of course he doesn’t, and Meg is just. Not angry, just disappointed and while Gavin figured out why Ryan did what he did, he’s not forgiven him for it. (Yet.)

ANYWAY.

Complicated because Ryan’s an idiot and Meg and Gavin are definitely aware of that fact, yes, Waiting for Ryan to get his shit together and figure out what he wants.

(In the meantime they’re..not-quite in a relationship? Like. Showing up as one another’s plus one at functions and seeing movies or going out to dinner together and such but aren’t Officially Dating, because waiting on their idiot and all.)

Ryan goes off to see Gavin who’s like. Freelance photographer or hacker or something, and they argue and bicker. Are about to move on to bantering, like maybe they’re ready to start dealing with their idiot issues when the guys who have been trying to intimidate Ryan into dropping his case make a move.

The whole fight in a dark alley/street and running from the baddies to end up back at Meg’s bar after closing time.

She’s just.

SIGH at these idiots and sits them down at that back corner booth to path themselves up/talk and goes to give them privacy as she deals with…other stuff? IDK.

Ryan and Gavin are patching one another up and don’t realize Meg’s finished up in her office and is playing a song over at the piano as tjhey talk and Ryan apologizes to Gavin.

But when they do, they look over and Meg’s got this little grin on her face because ridiculous and then like.

Smooches, probably?

More shenanigans that involve at least one (1) gunfight and a kidnapping or two (Gavin, of course and he’s super not thrilled at always being the damsel in distress, but Meg thinks it’s hilarious.)

A car chase and/or cat and mouse scene in an abandoned warehouse and Ryan solving his case to the relief/delight of his client and Ryan being like Jesus Christ, why does he keep doing this to himself? because he’s all bruised and battered and his car is probably a complete loss as far as the insurance company is concerned.

In the end he breaks even financially, but he’s made up with Gavin and has a date that Friday night with him and Meg and hey, things could have gone worse???

(That whole bit about his Tragic Backstory RE his former career as a cop definitely comes back to bite him in the ass in a future adventure, too. Wacky, zany adventures with many life-threatening moments and close calls with Meg and Gavin and good guys putting the bad guys in their places and more smooches before the credits roll. Or…something, yes.)