#happy enough but you can definitely tell where i gave up in several places

[aztarion]

getting vitae on your valentino dress #justkindredthings

[leighbaylee]

— BEN’S BUNKER

written by mina leigh 𝜗᭪ , losers club 𝔁 f! reader | wc 2300

summary. spending time the your bestest friends in the world, in ben’s surprise hideout for the losers club. a stronger bond flourishing inside!

labels. feminine reader, happy go lucky girl, shy cute girly girl reader, no definite description of reader, she/her pronouns used, reader is closer to richie toizer & eddie kaspbrak.

‧₊˚ ୨୧ mina speaks. hey everyone! i was rewatching it 2019 and me being the self indulgent person i am, i started fantasizing about us (readers) being with the losers! lots of love.

summer days in derry had a special kind of magic, one that was even stronger when you spent them with the losers club. today, ben had promised a surprise, and you couldn’t wait to see what he had in store. the air was thick with excitement as you all made your way through the woods, your heart fluttering with anticipation.

❝ are we there yet? ❞ richie’s voice rang out, filled with mock impatience. you were walking beside him, as usual, and his playful energy was contagious. you couldn’t help but smile.

❝ yeah, ben, how much further? ❞ eddie added, swatting away a mosquito with a grimace. you could tell eddie was getting antsy, but his curiosity kept him moving forward. you gave him a reassuring smile, hoping to ease his nerves. richie noticed and nudged you with his elbow, his grin wide.

❝ you know, eds, (y/n) here could probably carry you if you get too tired, ❞ richie teased, earning a light smack on the arm from eddie.

❝ shut up, richie, ❞ eddie muttered, but you could see the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to hide a smile. you laughed softly, loving the way they always managed to make you feel at ease, even when they were bickering.

finally, ben stopped in front of a large thicket, and your curiosity peaked. he pushed aside some branches, revealing a hidden entrance. ❝ here it is, ❞ your eyes widened as you stepped through the opening. inside was a large, cozy space, bigger than you’d expected. there were shelves full of books, soft blankets, and a huge hammock strung up in one corner, large enough for several people. the place felt like a secret clubhouse, one that was just for you and your friends.

❝ ben, this is amazing! ❞ you exclaimed, your voice filled with awe. you turned to look at him, and he blushed slightly, clearly pleased with your reaction.

❝ yeah, ben, this is awesome, ❞ mike added, already exploring the different corners of the hideout. ❝ you really outdid yourself. ❞

❝ i thought it would be nice to have a place just for us, ❞ ben said, his voice warm with affection. ❝ a place where we can hang out and just be ourselves. ❞

richie immediately made a beeline for the hammock, his eyes lighting up with excitement. ❝ dibs on the hammock! ❞ he shouted, flopping down onto it with a dramatic sigh of contentment. you laughed and followed him over, sitting down on the edge of the hammock.

❝ you’re such an ass, ❞ eddie grumbled, but he couldn’t resist joining you both. he climbed onto the hammock, settling in beside you with a huff. you found yourself sandwiched between richie and eddie, feeling the gentle sway of the hammock as they playfully jostled each other.

❝ careful, you’re gonna tip us over, ❞ you warned, your voice filled with laughter. richie just grinned at you, his arm draping casually around your shoulders.

❝ don’t worry, (y/n), i’ve got you, ❞ he said, his tone teasing but affectionate. you leaned into him, feeling the warmth of his body against yours. on your other side, eddie was muttering under his breath about how richie was being annoying, but you could tell he was just as happy to be there.

as you lay there, the three of you fell into a comfortable rhythm. richie and eddie kept up their usual banter, tossing playful insults back and forth while you relaxed between them. their voices became a soothing background noise, and you found your eyelids growing heavy as the hammock rocked gently beneath you.

❝ hey, richie, do you ever shut up? ❞ eddie grumbled, though there was no real bite to his words. he was more focused on making sure you were comfortable, adjusting a blanket around you with a careful hand.

❝ only when i’m asleep, eds, ❞ richie shot back, his grin widening as he caught your eye. ❝ and even then, i’m sure i’m the most entertaining sleeper around. ❞

❝ if you say so, ❞ eddie muttered, but you could see the fondness in his eyes as he looked at you. ❝ (y/n), how do you put up with him? ❞ with an exaggerated sigh.

you just smiled, feeling the warmth of their friendship surrounding you like a protective shield. ❝ i guess i’m just lucky, ❞ you replied softly, your voice filled with contentment.

eventually, the steady rhythm of their voices and the gentle sway of the hammock lulled you into a peaceful nap. richie’s arm was still draped over your shoulders, and eddie’s presence beside you was a comforting anchor. as you drifted off to sleep, you felt completely safe, knowing that your best friends were right there with you.

when you woke up, the sun had shifted, casting a warm, golden light through the small windows of the hideout. you blinked sleepily, realizing that richie and eddie had fallen asleep too, their heads resting against yours. the hammock was still gently swaying, and for a moment, you just enjoyed the quiet peace of the moment.

after a while, you carefully extricated yourself from the hammock, trying not to wake richie and eddie. they both stirred slightly but didn’t wake up, so you quietly tiptoed away, leaving them to their nap. as you looked around the hideout, you noticed bill, stan, and mike sitting together on a pile of blankets, engrossed in their books.

❝ h-hey, (y/n), want to j-j-join us? ❞ bill asked, glancing up from his book with a welcoming smile. you nodded, making your way over to them. you sat down beside stan, who gave you a small, shy smile as he handed you one of the books from the shelf.

❝ thank you, stan, ❞ you said softly, returning his smile. he nodded, his eyes already back on his book.

you opened the book and quickly became absorbed in the story, losing yourself in the world of words. the four of you read in companionable silence, the only sounds being the rustle of pages turning and the occasional soft murmur as one of you reacted to something in the story.

after a while, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder. looking up, you saw beverly smiling down at you. ❝ hey, (y/n), can i steal you for a bit? ❞ she asked, her voice warm.

❝ okay, ❞ you replied, closing your book and setting it aside. you stood up and followed bev over to where ben was working on some project with a hammer and nails.

❝ we could use some extra hands, ❞ bev said, handing you a hammer. ❝ ben’s been teaching me how to build stuff, and i thought you might want to join in. ❞

you smiled, feeling a surge of gratitude for beverly’s thoughtfulness. ❝ i’d love to help, ❞ you said, taking the hammer and kneeling down beside ben.

❝ thanks, (y/n), ❞ ben said, giving you a grateful smile. ❝ we’re just reinforcing some of the shelves and adding a few more. it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it. ❞

❝ definitely, ❞ you agreed, already feeling a sense of accomplishment as you began hammering nails into place. as you worked, bev chatted with you about all sorts of things—clothes, movies, and boys. it was nice to have some girl time, and you found yourself opening up to her in a way you hadn’t before.

❝ you know, (y/n), ❞ bev said, her voice turning a bit more serious, ❝ i’m really glad you’re part of the losers club. you bring something special to the group, and i just want you to know that you’re really important to all of us. ❞

you felt your cheeks flush with warmth at her words, and you looked down at the hammer in your hands, suddenly feeling a bit shy. ❝ thanks, beverly, you said softly. ❝ that means a lot. ❞

she smiled at you, her eyes filled with kindness. ❝ it’s true. don’t ever doubt it, okay? ❞

you nodded, feeling a swell of affection for your friend. as the two of you continued working, you couldn’t help but feel grateful for the bond you shared with the losers club. they were more than just friends—they were family, and you knew that no matter what, you’d always have each other’s backs.

after finishing up with the shelves, you and bev stepped back to admire your work. ❝ not bad, ❞ ben said, clearly pleased with the results. ❝ this place is really coming together. ❞

❝ it really is, ❞ you agreed, feeling a sense of pride in what you’d accomplished. ❝ i’m glad i could help. ❞

❝ you did great, ❞ bev said, giving you a friendly nudge. ❝ now, how about we take a break? i think we’ve earned it. ❞

you nodded, feeling a bit tired but happy. as you made your way back to the main area of the hideout, you noticed that richie and eddie had finally woken up and were now bickering playfully as usual.

❝ hey, sleepyheads, ❞ you called out, giggling as you approached them. ❝ have a nice nap? ❞

❝ the best, ❞ richie replied with a wink, stretching his arms above his head. ❝ but we missed you, (y/n). it’s not the same without our favorite girl around. ❞

❝ yeah, we woke up and you were gone, ❞ eddie added, his voice mock-petulant. ❝ don’t do that again. ❞

you laughed, feeling the warmth of their affection wrap around you like a cozy blanket. ❝ don’t worry, i’m not going anywhere. ❞

the rest of the day passed in a blur of laughter, stories, and moments that you knew you’d treasure forever. by the time the sun began to set, casting a warm golden light over the hideout, you felt completely at peace.

as you all gathered together in the hideout, huddled close on the blankets and bean bags, you couldn’t help but marvel at how lucky you were. the losers club wasn’t just a group of friends—they were your home, your family, your safe haven in a world that could be so full of darkness.

and as you sat there, surrounded by the people who meant the most to you, you knew that no matter what the future held, you’d always stick by their side as much as they stuck to yours.

© MINA LEIGH 2023 - 2024

[sparkles-rule-4eva]

Alrighty! @number-one-shadisper-shipper and I binged the Knuckles series today, so time for thoughts! SPOILER ALERT.

I'll admit the show wasn't perfect. I've seen the negative reviews, and I kinda get where they come from. BUT! I did enjoy this show greatly! And I'm not here to complain. Time for some happy thoughts, y'all! 💙🤩

I think you need to have a love, not just tolerance, for the SCU in order to properly enjoy this show. I do have such, so I had a lot of fun with it.

There were definitely scenes from every episode that had me either squealing, laughing, crying, or flipping out. But my favorite was likely the first episode, because come on, we saw the Wachowski family! Most of them, anyway! While I missed Tom's presence, I was grateful for that comment from Maddie about him being "out of town," so he wasn't just gone for no reason.

The SECOND it showed our three space babies hanging out together in their room?! I SCREAMED. THE BOYS!!!!

Tails sitting on his bed tinkering with one of his gizmos, Sonic rocking out to music with an air guitar, and Knuckles exercising from one of the ceiling planks. IT'S THEM!!! They're just hanging out, doing their thing, looking oh so much like brothers. And Sonic's narration at the beginning was GOLD. 🤣💙

Even though we didn't get enough of Maddie being a parent, we definitely got a nice chunk for it only lasting part of an episode. Maddie called Knuckles "one of our kids" (that had me SCREECHING). The angry mama vibes were GOLDEN. 🤣 The way she made breakfast for them, the "Boys, breakfast is ready!" I love the normalcy of it! Can't wait to see more in the future! (Her calling to them with "boys" is somehow just the sweetest thing and I'm melting.)

The poor mailman being like "I just wanna go home, man" 🤣

We were right, fellas, Knuckles had no idea what being grounded meant. 🤣 Although the way Sonic piped up with "Oh, I definitely know what it means," has me suspecting that Sonic himself has gotten grounded a decent amount before. 😂

Knuckles trying to talk back, and Maddie going, "ExCUSE ME?!" then just making those tiny, terrifying noises and Sonic being like "Bro don't mess with Mom when she's mad" (okay, he didn't say "mom" and that made me sad, but the mom vibes were 110% there so I'm here for it). 😂 And since Knuckles snuck out and later Wade said, several times, "Aren't you grounded?" seems to confirm that this entire show is basically what Knuckles does when he's grounded. 🤣 Although ... his comment about not being able to be grounded because he had no home made me very sad. 😭

I did not have an issue with so much Wade screentime! Sure, he isn't my favorite SCU character, but I love what this show did with him! I'd already seen his moments in the movies (like nearly shooting Robotnik in the face with an actual handgun). I like how they gave him actual family issues; a dad who abandoned him and his family, a realistic sister, a mom. Bad family memories. Awkward reunions. They could've made it a joke, but they didn't, and I greatly appreciate that. Especially since I've witnessed firsthand how painful family separations can be. 😔

All the emotional talks Wade and Knuckles had caught me off guard in the best way! The way they talked about their different family issues, the way they talked of betrayal from friends, and being left alone, hit way harder than I was prepared for. Especially that talk they had at the burger place in the middle of the night? Oof. Good talk right there.

Also, even though they took a "show don't tell" take with it, I loved how Knuckles relaxed more and more throughout the show. In the beginning, he couldn't rest, he couldn't sit back and have a genuine good time. But the more he hung out with Wade and his family, the more he learned. He learned about music and found "his jam" (that was literally amazing btw). He watched movies with Mrs. Whipple and ate snacks in the hotel room in Reno and watched more movies. He had his teenager moments of rolling his eyes and rebelling, but he was so well portrayed here, I loved it. I felt for him.

Despite the bizarre nature of the episode "Flames of Disaster," (we were cracking up so hard) I'm trying to glean bits of the truth of Knuckles's story from the crazy musical play that Pachacamac put on in Wade's dream. I mean, "Longclaw" and her tribe were there, and ... what the heck was that giant demon thing?! Iblis?! Does our Knuckles Wachowski have an actual history with freaking Iblis?!?! 😱🔥

I was deeply intrigued by the two main antagonists, especially at the implication that G.U.N. did seem to exist before the events of the first movie?! Did it exist, get disbanded after the Maria incident, then get reformed?! My brain is exploding. 🤯 I was even more shocked that they apparently died? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the Wachowski kids don't seem to have much qualms about getting rid of the baddies for good as the game versions do. That was a terrifying phenomenon, what happened with the two rings. 🫣

And then the Buyer getting crushed by the giant glass ball 👀

Although in those last two episodes, I admit I was freaking out and legitimately near tears at Wade's seemingly having to "betray" Knuckles. Before the reveal that all was in good communication, all I could think was how relaxed Knuckles finally seemed, chilling in the hotel room, being excited about whatever Wade wanted to "show" him, questioning whether it was a song, him declaring that he was going to bring his favorite hat, 🥹 all I could think was of their previous discussions about betrayal from friends and family, and when Knuckles called Wade "my friend" right before the elevator doors closed, I just about sobbed. I was like "please, don't let him be betrayed, don't let him have come all this way and relaxed so much only to get 'betrayed' once again by someone he's come to consider a friend." 😭 We heaved a HUGE sigh of relief when it revealed he was aware of the trap the whole time. 😪

Maternal instincts went nuts when he got so badly hurt in that final battle 😭 I literally reached for the screen several times and was right back to almost weeping 🥲 And someone tell me I wasn't the only one noticing the parallel in that scene with Wade standing in front of his unconscious body the way Tom did with Sonic in the first movie. That, PLUS Knuckles's epic comeback, and his retrieval of his own power?!?! EPIC!!!!

The ending was abrupt, sure, but the pure joy on Knuckles's face after everything as he jumped up to high five Wade was just too sweet. 🥹

So yes, even though I would have loved just a little more, a return to Green Hills, a reunion with Maddie, Sonic, and Tails, I adored this show. It was a wild ride, full of laughs, tears, excited screeching, etc. 💙💛❤️ I don't care what anyone says, nothing will make me hate it.

[ghost-bxrd]

🦉

How would Talon!Dick have reacted if he hadn't been fast enough in the last part of Owl Song and Jason for frozen instead?

(I love all of your works sm you are so so amazing and talented and creative)

Oh boy, it would have been bad bad for sure. For everyone involved. Freeze? Dead man walking. Or severely paralyzed man walking. Depends on how badly Jason got hurt and how much damage control Bruce can do.

But essentially Dick would have lost it. He knows humans can’t endure the cold like talons can, that low enough temperatures are capable of killing them instantly. So there’s a very short time frame where Dick definitely thinks he just witnessed his owlet getting killed in front of him, and it drives him mad.

Thankfully the weapon wasn’t working at full capacity and unlike Dick, Jason didn’t have severe trauma and flashbacks to sort through before complaining and snarking about being made into a Rob-sicle, (“Get it? Like a popsicle! But Robin edition!” “…” “C’mon it’s a little funny” “…”) shivering like crazy and with a dangerously low body temp but blessedly alive.

And, okay, at that point Dick’s entire world reboots and regains color again and he’s too busy frantically trying to warm Jason back up to care much about Freeze… but Bruce knows that look the Talon gave the rogue before they left. And he needs to keep a veeery close eye on both him and Freeze in the near future. And also tell Gordon to have increased security in place lol. 🦉✨

And thank you so much I’m happy you enjoy my content 💚💚💚

[euphoricpixiee]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ soap | ruhn danaan x fembff!reader

a/n: So. I originally wasn't going to post this but it just kept staring at me and begging me to release it to the world. So, here we are. Idk if it's any good but please give feedback so I can improve lol thank you <3

warning(s): swearing, violence, injuries, blood, fluff etc.

wc: 1.9k+

It was torture seeing Ruhn with another female. Kissing, hugging, and her making him smile as you could have. Bile rose in your throat at the thought of confronting your feelings for him but your feelings were all but forcing you to. Your chest was tight and your heart was racing, beating against your ribcage. 

You wanted to be the one to make him smile but he was happy and ruining that would only make you feel worse about the situation. So, you shoved the feelings down and sat on the invisible box that held them, not letting them break the surface. You knew your friends, which are his best friends, knew about your feelings but they had never said a word about them. They probably didn’t want to hurt your feelings which was okay. 

You hurt your own feelings every day regarding this issue. It was hopeless and you knew it. 

As you waited for Ruhn, and hoped that he didn’t bring her on this same mission that was supposed to be just you two. You wanted this time with him since you hardly get time with him as it is.

Flynn bumped your shoulder with his bicep and frowned at you, “Still waiting huh?” You look up at him and match his expression. “You know if you would tell him your feelings then maybe–” 

“No. He’s happy and I don’t want to be the one to ruin that. I know he doesn’t share the same feelings.” You sigh and turn toward the vehicle you were taking for the mission, “Besides, he has something better with her.” Something like disappointment flickered across the male’s face as he walked beside you. 

“You’re his mate though. You felt the bond snap into place, did you not?” he said as he lowered his voice to where you could were the only one to hear him. You give him the look and with that, you got into ATV and strapped yourself in. 

This was supposed to be a simple mission. Get into the Asteri’s “palace”, grab the documents, and get out. Simple enough. The only hard part would be getting in and out but luckily Declan had hacked into their systems. 

“We ready?” Ruhn said as he climbed into the vehicle and looked at you. He could sense something was up and you knew it by the face he gave you. Great. He’s going to bug you now about it during the ride to the palace. 

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s get this done so we can come home and eat pizza while the four of you play video games.” You put a smile on your face because that’s exactly what you all will do. It’s like nature to the five of you now with Tharion included in the mix. 

The prince chuckled and shook his head, “You’re right, we definitely need pizza and beer tonight. We’ll even get your favorite pizza.” You look at him and narrowed your eyes. 

“Why are you sucking up to me? You never get my favorite since you all think it’s disgusting.” 

“Listen, why the fuck would they put Pineapple on pizza, I don’t get it.” 

The two of you were already halfway there by the time the argument had ended. You looked at the trees as they passed by. There were so many things that you wanted to say to Ruhn but they were a lump in your throat. Maybe you should say something, just to let him know that you're his mate. That, again, would only make things complicated for him and you. So, you kept quiet. 

“We will need to stop several blocks away from the palace so they don’t pick up on us on the radars. Want to use your transportation skills so we can get in there without someone seeing us?” He said. 

You showed him a grin and drawled, “Good thing I’ve been practicing like your sister has or else we’d be screwed.” A snort left the prince's mouth as he came to a stop in between the mountains that surround the palace. That was the only way the both of you could keep yourselves hidden in case guards wanted to pop in and scope the area. With your luck, it was very much a possibility. 

You and Ruhn jumped out of the ATV, and cleared the area just as a precaution. When both of you are done, you grabbed Ruhn’s hand, not thinking of the spark that passed through your veins as you touched him, and transported him out. With a pop, you two landed just outside of the Archives doors. You smiled to yourself and felt pretty proud as well. 

Ruhn placed his hand on the doors and turned the knob with a gloved hand but before you could look inside, boots began to echo outside of the hall you were in so, naturally, you shoved Ruhn inside along with yourself and hid behind a shelf next to him. At least you two had gotten into the archive. 

“Why is it that I can hear your heartbeat so loudly in my head?” He whispered to you with worry that filled his eyes. You closed your eyes and took a breath. Nope. You weren’t going to tell him. 

“Could be your heartbeat because mine is fine,” You quipped. He rolled his eyes and blew out a breath. The doors banged open, and guards poured into the room but Ruhn was already in motion. Light from the Star sword slashed through the air followed by a scream from one of the guards. You had gotten your dagger out as you joined in the fighting. Your blade struck true in one guard then another and another. 

After the guards had been taken down and you two had caught your breath, you felt a sharp pain in your side. When you pulled your hand away from it, panic began to flood your senses. You turn to Ruhn but he was already taking off his shirt to give it to you for a bandage. Heat blossomed over your cheeks and chest as he tied his shirt around your middle to stanch the blood. 

His hands moved with precision and he was quiet. Too focused on you to see that more guards had filed into the small space you were in. You tapped his arm and nudged your chin toward the desk in the very back with books strewn across it. The guard's boots had gotten closer to both of you but you focused your eyes on the desk and laid your hand on Ruhn’s shoulder. “Get ready.” You whispered to him and in seconds you were in front of the wooden desk. 

“We need to get the book and get out,” Ruhn said, but his eyes were trained on your wound. “Your wound is bad.” You could care less if the wound was bad, as long as you got the information that you needed about the different worlds. You shook your head, and scanned over the books, collecting what you could before the guards reached you. His demeanor had changed though which frightened you. If he was on edge, then that meant something was truly wrong. You handed him two books and made quick work of visualizing where to teleport. 

Before you could, though, guards swarmed around you and the prince. You sent up a prayer to whatever gods there were and with one swift movement, you grabbed your dagger once more and rammed the blade in between two pieces of metal on the side of the guard. As you pushed up the blade, ribs cracked but once you got to his heart, he fell to the floor with a pool of blood around him. The other guards hesitated when they saw the star sword and your handiwork with a blade. 

You wanted to be smug but your vision began to tunnel and your stomach turned over in itself. The world spun around you and the next thing you knew your vision had gone black. 

A faint voice pulled you from your sleep, but when you opened your eyes, there was no one. You probably hallucinated the voice, but it was clearer this time when it spoke. You sat up from the couch you were lying on and looked behind you. Ruhn walked into the room, his eyes not leaving yours. “What happened?” You said. 

“Why didn’t you tell me, Y/N?” His voice was steady but you could tell he was doing everything he could to keep himself that way. He found out that you’re his mate, you felt it in your bones. Your mind thrust itself into a panic. He was happy without you, and now, somehow, you had fucked it up. Just as you did everything you touched. Tears brimmed in your eyes even though he hadn’t yelled or screamed at you. Your body was gearing up for a fight but you were too tired to. 

“I’m sorry, Ruhn. You were happy,” you were quiet as you said the last part. Your heart slammed against your ribcage and you desperately wanted to be out of the room and in your bed. You wanted to hide. Ruhn narrowed his eyes at you but then as he took a step toward you, you felt the tug in your chest. Heat flooded your cheeks and your heart moved up into your throat, a lump that made you unable to say anything else. 

“I want my mate.” He said as he took another step and then another. Tears spilled down your cheeks as you watched him. Did he actually choose you or was it a figment of your imagination? You had been really stressed but the way he took your hands and pressed them to his lips sent shivers down your spine. Then, he pulled you into him, your face buried into his chest. You took in his scent and immediately comforted. You gripped the back of his shirt and held him closer if that was even possible. 

That had to have been a dream but you held on to it, to him. His hands smoothed down your hair as he kissed your forehead. You closed your eyes and waited for the moment to pass, for you to wake but it never came. The two of you stayed like that for a while, and it seemed like he didn’t mind it but you pulled away to look up at him. 

“You’re in love with her though, princey.”

“Not as much as I am with you, baby. Why didn’t you tell me?” He took your chin between his thumb and index finger which kept your eyes glued onto his. “How come I never saw it before today? Y/N, when you passed out in the archive, I felt your life force. I felt your pain. Before then, I didn’t feel anything. But now, I feel it.” He paused for a beat then added, “I told Seraphine that you were my mate and that I should be with you.” 

Your knees threatened to buckle underneath you but he held you up and pressed small kisses to the tears that fell from your eyes. The heavens had blessed you with a mate and now you have him. He chose you and only you. You took his face in your palms and stood on your tiptoes to kiss him. His lips were soft and fitted perfectly to yours. The cold bite of his lip ring made you pull him even closer and kiss him harder. His arms snaked around your waist and you finally understood the meaning of two halves being reunited once more. He was your other half. He is yours.

[gayofthefae]

Here's the thing about season 3. Nothing was a secret. There was no lining or buildup. They cleared up the miscommunication in episode 4 and she stood by breaking up with him anyways.

From there, just like I say about Will's feelings being unreciprocated, the problem is unactionable, so there's no lesson and nothing for us to root for.

Mike wants to get back together with El. She knows that. Nothing happens.

The L bomb was dropped as a false sense of momentum, because there actually wasn't any because him not saying it wasn't the problem so it shouldn't be the solution. Usually you have pining. Think the full season breakup story they did the following season:

There was pining. There was investment from US. Because there was setup for confession. Because something was withheld to be revealed. "You know I really like you but you don't know I love you" does not count. Lucas didn't know Max wanted to get back together. They had been broken up long enough and Lucas was respectful enough that Max couldn't be sure either. That setup investment for the notes passing scene. That set up his NERVES in it. That set up me being excited when I saw their first kiss in her 4x04 happy memories sequence. And satisfied to have predicted the Snow Ball as her happiest memory. If Max had known he definitely wanted to get back together as soon as she was ready again and wasn't going to move on at all, there would be no stakes.

Mike wanted to be with El. Then she didn't want to be with him. She can't have the nerves of confessing to him she wants to get back together because she already knows he does. He can't have the nerves of confessing he wants to because he already has. And they didn't establish them as friends solidly or for long enough like they did by establishing that Lucas and Max had ALREADY broken up as opposed to a 6 day breakup arc to make it so that they became unsure of what they once knew to me true of getting back together. Severity of wording changed and El loves romantic tropes in movies so it had influence but really:

Mike had no information to add that El didn't already have. El had nothing stopping her giving Mike information as soon as she had it. There were no stakes. So I didn't care. Whatever happened, cute. That was my thought process. But I had no real investment anymore, unlike when they were building to confession or fighting to get back to each other, because I knew as soon as she wanted to get back together they just automatically would be. So if you, like you were meant to, believed that Mike loved El and knew that she knew that, that scene where she said it back was cute. But not satisfying.

There is nothing to be resolved. We're watching events take place sequentially. Because when there are no stakes, there's no real goal either. Mike invented one for himself because he was uncomfortable with the idea of how comfortable he was broken up.

Tldr: Mike and El's relationship had no secrets and therefore no stakes or opportunity for confession in season 3. El telling Mike she loved him was cute, but not a "confession". Because, just like Mike telling her he loves her in 4x09, if we (think we) know how the other person is feeling and will react, we can't at all invest in the feelings of nervousness or satisfaction that the confessor is feeling.

Season 3 and 4 uninvested us by feigning plots in which they gave us no new information. And bored us. If you know exactly how a scene will play out all but exact wording, you will space out because you can. A writer never wants you to be able to space out and miss nothing. (Until they don't want you to miss what's happening when they take it away)

[otomefoxystar]

Duty of a Princess - Chapter 3

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Pairing : Aruthur X MC

Genre : Angst/ Fluff

TW: None

It was mid-morning when hooves and men chattering outside woke you up. Opening your heavy eyes, you went to the balcony to see men unloading a carriage when a tall man stepped out. You took a deep breath and turned to go back inside, feeling as though sleep had all but abandoned you since ending things with Arthur. You walked swiftly through the castle halls until you reached the training room where all your father's knights trained. Luckily, it was still early enough that no one was there. You had changed into pants and a loose-fitted shirt. An outfit for a man, but you couldn't very well swing a wooden sword in a dress. 

You had begun training since the split with Arthur. Nothing was more painful than seeing the man you love in the halls of your home and being unable to embrace him, so instead, both of you would cast your eyes away from the other or turn to walk in a different direction. You were definitely avoiding each other. Training helped clear your head of him and helped you focus on something else. It was something even Arthur himself noticed you started doing. It was either training or riding that consumed your days. When you rode, you often slowed by your old meeting spot, hoping Arthur would be there and you could feel his arms wrapping you again. You always came to your senses, though, and you would race past it with tears in your eyes. You knew you had to put him behind you, but the heart wants what the heart wants. You swung at the dummies in the training room, striking them and twirling around as you did so.

Sebastian walked into the training room with a somber look on his face. It was almost as if he knew what you were going through. Maybe everyone knew. It seemed that way, at least. "Your parents are asking for you. Your Highness." He said with a bow. You struck the dummy again, harder this time. You put the sword away, huffing from the exertion of training. "You may want to get cleaned up; your betrothed is with them, along with all the necessary people to discuss the matter of your marriage.

" He took a breath and gave you a severe look, "In other words, the scribe will be there." Your eyes widened, "you knew it was him. You knew all along, didn't you?" You clenched her teeth, "It is my job to know." You were frustrated with your feelings and lashed out before you could control your temper. "And yet you didn't tell anyone. You didn't stop me you didn't stop him. You allowed it, and because of that, we fell in love; now look at my situation! In love with one man and being forced to marry another, and Arthur. Arthur has to watch me marry someone else, write wedding invitations, and do whatever else my dear parents order him to do. He can't stop it, he can't voice his opinion, he has to go along with it."

"You're hurting, and Arthur is hurting. I can see that plain as day. I allowed it to happen because I have always been on your side, Princess. I know you don't know that, but I am, and Arthur is my friend. I wanted you both to be happy, and you both were. I didn't anticipate this to happen, so you have my apologies. As second in line, I thought you wouldn't be required to marry into nobility, but I was wrong. I am sorry, Princess." Sebastion bowed again profoundly.

Tears fell, and you sniffled. "I can't, Sebastian. I can't walk into a room where my heart is so divided. I haven't seen Arthur since we split, and I don't think I can walk into a place where the man I want to be with and the man who will marry me are in the same room." Sebastian lifted her chin.

"You are the Princess. You can do anything, so perk up. Hold your head up high and dry those tears. Show them what you are made of." You nodded your head and wiped your tears away. Your heart was pounding from nervousness, but Sebastian was right. You are the Princess and had to do this for the country. You had united with him to make allies, or so you were told. 

"Come, Your Highness, get cleaned up and accompany me to the throne room." Walking scared but determined, you took a deep breath and entered the throne room. You arrived before your suitor came. "Come here, my daughter." You spotted Arthur sitting not far away, his face sullen. Was he perhaps as miserable as you were? No matter, you had to go forward with this marriage. "We are waiting on your suitor, Prince Theodorus. We are going to discuss the terms of your marriage. "Yes, father" 

"Why so formal, my dear?" He asked, concerned, "You must still be angry." He shook his head. "It is irrelevant. You must do your duty to the family, to the country." Arthur looked at the King and wanted to run away. He had to be in the same room with the man who was taking his love away forever, and all he could do was sit there and watch. "I am glad you have accepted that you must do this." The King looked up and saw the Prince walking into the throne room. "here he comes." The King said as Theodorus walked majestically into the room. "Prince Theodorus, I am so happy that you've arrived. Please come forth and meet your betrothed. Arthur saw you flinch at the word, but he knew you were just as powerless as he was in the situation. 

Theodorus kneeled, bowing his head. "Your Majesty, I hope the Princess and I can have a long and happy marriage." Both of your parents were beaming, obviously pleased with this Prince. All while you were internally rolling your eyes, Sebastion whispered in your ear. "Behave yourself." You inhaled and stepped forward, avoiding eye contact with Arthur. It stung, but he knew that things couldn't be like before, with stolen glances and a blush rising to your cheeks. 

You had to focus on the man in front of you from now on. You were over, but seeing you allow this other man, this Prince, to kiss your hand made him boil with a kind of frustration and jealousy he'd never felt before. He wanted to run up to you and steal you away, kissing you like you've never been kissed before. "Arthur, are you alright?" Sebastian whispered, knowing that he, in fact, was not okay, but it didn't change the fact that he was concerned for his friend. 

Arthur sat up straight, "yeah," he cleared his throat, "yeah, I'm just hot." Sebastian looked at him with skepticism. The King put his hand out, summoning his daughter to come to him. With your family's scrutinizing eye burning into you, you had no choice but to take your father's hand. The King stood up with his daughter's hand in his. "I present to you my daughter Princess _ _ _. The Queen and I give her to you willing to unite our countries." You curtsied low, showing the Prince respect. "Prince Theodorus." As she rose, he smiled, "Please call me Theo." The King laughed. "The wedding shall take place five days from now." The King turned to Arthur, who was busy writing down the details of what the King was saying. "Arthur, please write out the invitations and get them to the guests." Arthur bowed his head. "Yes, your Majesty," He said, trying to keep to business, pushing his feelings down. 

Hearing Arthur's voice for the first time in days was like a vise grip on your heart. If only you could run to him and take him into your arms. "This meeting is adjourned, oh and Sebastian have a seamstress come by. The Queen has requested the Princess be fitted for her wedding gown." As everyone left, you bowed your head, trying to keep your weeping heart silent. You slowly exited the throne room, and Arthur watched as you ran outside, desperate for air. You felt like you were suffocating. He leaned against the window, watching you run to the stables and, moments later, dash out the castle gates on your horse.

He knew your relationship with that horse and how the outdoors brought you solace. "Damnit, why'd I have to fall for the bloody Princess?" He stormed off to start wedding invitations, how he wanted to refuse to do it at all, but. Like you, he had his part to play in this. At least he didn't have to marry someone he didn't know. As horrible as he felt, he knew you probably felt a hundred times worse. He had no idea what you were feeling, which was driving him mad.

When the sun had finally started to set, you made your way back to the castle grounds, and Illuminated in the light was the Prince walking with your sister. Trying not to be found out, you made your way to the stable as quietly as possible. Stealthily, you sneak back into the castle and into your bedroom. You plopped into the plush bedding, holding up a dove necklace Arthur had given you a while back. The purple gems it was made of twinkled in the moonlight. A tear you tried to push back escaped your eye. You were getting so sick of always crying. Your door suddenly burst open. Looking at who had entered, you grunted, "Go away, Emile." She raised her eyebrow.

"You can't tell me to go away. Look at you! You're a mess! Why won't you talk to Theo? He is charming and not to mention handsome." You rolled your eyes. "I know you were with someone else before. Just get over it." You put the necklace on your bedside table and sat up, glaring at your older sister. "If you like him so much, why don't you marry him?!" You growled with a bit more aggression than you meant to. "Why are you like this? Are you so spoiled that you can't do this one thing for our family? For the country?" You stood up from the bed 

"One thing? I have to spend the rest of my life with him, someone I don't know or love. Why can't anyone see my side of things? You know what? Screw duty, screw the country, and most of all, screw you!" You tried leaving the room angrily, but your sister grabbed your arm. "You little brat! I am the future Queen, and you will listen to me. If not as your sister, then I am forced to order you to stay. In. This. Room. If you even so much as think about leaving, I will have you thrown into the dungeons. So help me, God, you will do what you are told!" She left, slamming the door. 

"What could you possibly accomplish by keeping her locked away?" Her mother said, having heard the whole encounter, while passing by.

"She can't run away before she marries Prince Theo. I spoke with him earlier while she went on her escapade, and he says he'd like to at least talk with her. So I tried to intervene, but she's so stubborn." They continued to talk as they walked.

"She has to marry him regardless," her mother said as they walked away.

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

Fic writer asks: 31/32 as one question, 46, and 50 :D

Thank you for your service in sending me distractions 🙏🏻

31: What's your ideal fic length to write? | What's your ideal fic length to read?

Bestie, I literally cannot answer this. The length of my chapters is all over the goddam place, & I've only ever committed in a serious way to fic one (1) time & that's with my current project(s?). I think that, like, if I am pushed to think about it, just in terms of Longfic-Chapter-Length, I really hit a sweet spot with my early chapters in SOTF where I hovered around 8-12k, & everything after that has been...IDK me literally being insane & not knowing how to shut up because I committed to my formatting. I haven't finished any fic since...I wanna say high school (& even then it was all written out in longhand in spiral notebooks) & I only finished one or two of my innumerable projects. So I guess longfics get there when they get there, final word count be damned. Who TF knows with my shorter stuff, those all exist on vibes & vibes alone, & they're done when The Spirit Of Writing tells me they are. Shorter stuff does tend to top out at 2k (or thereabout), though.

In terms of reading, tbh I've never read a lot of fanfic. IDK, I just never really thought about it because I tend to be very isolated & "I can entertain myself" when it comes to fandom experience. I also sort of read fic like I read books (see: it takes me forever), so you could set me down with something of pretty much any length & I'll eventually get it done. There is no length determination, only if I fuck with the writing style & plot.

46: Do you prefer writing on your phone or on a computer (or something else)? Do you think where you write affects the way you write?

I definitely prefer writing on a computer, my mom was kinda militant about me learning how to type when I was young so I have a really high wpm now & it's just faster. That said, I'm not opposed to writing on my phone. I wrote the vast majority of the currently published chapters of my HOTD fic on my phone because I didn't have a laptop for 3 years, & I'm not going to write "cunt" on a work computer, even if it's during my lunch break. So I'm writing hybrid phone/computer even though I do have one now. I got good enough at writing several thousand word chapters in the app version of google docs with naught but my thumbs that I'll go with "whatever is convenient for the location I'm currently in." Computer is definitely where I'm thriving, though.

50: Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

There's only 2 that are currently in the fic, & then there's one planned one, but no one talked about the 2 that were there at all & so I have to just get them out there. Also my Patented Misa Foreshadowing That Makes Me Giggle And Kick My Feet But No One Picks Up On Because My Thought Pattern Cannot Be Reproduced.

Chapter 6 has a minor "right in front of my salad" reference

I named the brothers of Borros Baratheon's wife after Peter and Edmund Pevensie from the Narnia series & gave them the same age gap. I foreshadowed Yorick's dragon by having his personal arms be a black dragon & have him get assigned to play at having one that color when he played with his cousins. I foreshadowed Ella's betrothal/husband by having her wear a dress with roses on it at a tourney, & the favor she gave her dad was yellow roses (the real-world equivalent to the heraldry exclusive gold of House Tyrell). But no one mentions these things. They make me happy, but I want someone to point at it & be like "oh hey!"

I have an upcoming easter egg with Ella's son/first child. I'm naming him Griffith because, sure, actual Griffith from Berserk sucks, but his name fucks & I like Berserk so why shouldn't I co-opt his name? It's mine now. Yoink. Enjoy being a footnote in the list of "media Misa likes that can be referenced in something else"

[unforth]

Okay, so, during the holiday season (during which I celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, and my birthday... in 2022 all within the same 8 days... ) my mom gave me a "I don't know what you want so over the next year just tell me some things you want and I'll pay for them" gift, and I've already cashed that in twice - once for something I'll scream about excessively whenever it finally gets here (I have. no idea when that'll be. I just checked Amiami and it says "processing shipping," whatever the fuck that means.) The other time was to put in an order from @shandian-go's in-stock sale (which appears to be closed again?). The "must have" item that got me to make that purchase was 2ha Vol. 3 Chinese, which I wanted no matter what (and which I've already posted a little about the extras, but I'll gather them all some time and take pics, it came with SO MUCH STUFF ASFADFADG).

But if I'm already getting stuff, might as well get more, right? So I went through the rest and ordered a few things. The expensive parts were actually not for me - a book a friend wanted, and a birthday gift I'll also send to that same friend. But I treated myself to some lucky bags, because like... there's always a lot of merch that I like but don't love enough to pay the premium on "I MUST HAVE THAT SPECIFIC THING." I figured if I got a random assortment, odds were high I'd be entirely happy with everything in that random assortment, and it'd be cheaper than picking out specific individual items.

That order arrived nice and quick, since it was all things that were already with Mel in Canada, and yeah I was right, I'm happy with my lucky bags. I got three - one for TGCF, one for 2ha, and one for "all priest excelt TYK/SHL" (mine ended up containing two Guardian things, a SPL thing, and a Mo Du thing, which is about perfect since the fourth fandom option was Lie Huo Jiao Chou, which I'm least familiar with of the four).

Since they arrived (several weeks ago) I've been, uh. Savoring? Because I'm super busy and don't have time to really enjoy but just. poking at the box for a few minutes every few days has really helped keep my mood up.

Today I stole a few minutes to really start going through things, though. So, here's my TGCF lucky bag! A cute Hualian key chain of Hua Cheng comforting Xie Lian, a pretty pin, an adorable Xie Lian wedding chibi standee, and that gorgeous soldier Hua Cheng/God Please Crown Prince Xie Lian art.

As expected, I am utterly satisfied with this purchase. I'm gonna add the key chain to my keys today (where it'll join the Hualian chibi key chains I bought from ShanGo last year), and I really need to finish the quilt I've been working on specifically as a place to hang pins so I can hang the pin.

Whenever I next feel like I can ask mom for a little money, it'll be this - https://koonbooks.com/products/global-examination-chinese-comic?_pos=2&_sid=a2e0144e2&_ss=r. Which has been on my list for months and was what I wanted next no matter what, but has definitely gained a lot more urgency since I started reading the book, lmao. Now I want it like air. Probably over the summer...

(I also just today got a shipping due notice from ShanGo? I have. no idea what it's for, oops. I thought my only outstanding order was the Yanshen plushies but my memory is shot idek. God, this makes it sound like I buy So Much Stuff I swear I don't. With what money would I???)

[thefaeryscribe]

I'll be honest, it was the artwork that initially drew me to this book and others like it. It's difficult to tell in this picture because it's the ebook version, but the cover (and most of the other hygge books I've seen) all feature similar artwork with pleasing colors. That combined with the topic—cozy living—were enough for me to give this book a try.

It's difficult for me to rate nonfiction. Fiction is easy—it's all a matter of how well the author tells the story and how interesting the story is to begin with. With nonfiction, it's more a matter of if the author got their information across, and perhaps points for doing it in a creative or interesting manner.

With that in mind, I would say the author mostly hit their target. I did learn some things about hygge, as well as confirmed some things I already knew about how to make my living space cozier.

My biggest issue with the book had to do with the idea that what works for one will work for everyone. The author did acknowledge that everyone will have their own unique preferences for things, but that was mostly in the style area. For example, what you collect or maybe what colors you prefer. Apart from that, they seem to think everyone should do x, y, and z, such as being friendlier with their neighbors (and that they will be happier for it). I use that as an example because that one definitely doesn't work for me.

Not that I'm against having friends; I just believe my friendships are based on more important things than whether I live next to someone or not. In today's world, most of my best friends live hours away, and sometimes many states away. On top of that, I live along a highway where the houses are widely spaced apart, with several acres between them. That's intentional: none of us want to live next to each other, and we prefer not to interact if we can help it.

My point is that people are not a one-size-fits-all. You can do as many surveys as you like to see what makes people happiest, but at the end of the day, just because a hundred people in my small town say one specific thing makes them happy doesn't mean that same thing will make me happy, and I can guarantee the things that do make me happy won't show up on the lists of anyone else in this town.

My other small complaint had to do with what appeared to be a misunderstanding of what introverts are. I guess I can't complain too much about this one; a lot of people misunderstand what it means to be an introvert. The author gave an example of a kid interacting with other kids and said something along the lines of "a kid who would normally be considered an introvert..." They then went on to describe them interacting with the other kids.

Here's the thing: introversion does not equal shyness. What they described was someone who was shy. An extrovert can be shy when meeting new people and an introvert can be completely fine in the same situation. It's just more likely that the introvert will be shy. But the introvert is still an introvert and the extrovert is still an extrovert.

That's because those words have nothing to do with shyness. It's about where your mental energy comes from and how it's used/drained. Extroverts are energized when around other people and tend to get drained when they're alone. Introverts are the opposite: being around people drains them, while alone time energizes them.

That's it. Shyness can sometimes be a factor, but it's not an integral part of what it means to be one or the other. An introvert is still an introvert even if they make a couple friends when they're forced into a crowded situation. They'll still get drained after a while and need to be alone.

Anyway, those are my main nitpicks. They're important topics to me, which is probably why they stuck out while I was reading this book. Apart from those things getting under my skin, I did enjoy this book, and I would pick up other books about hygge.

If you're interested in the subject, give it a try. It's not a bad place to start as far as introductions to the topic go.

My Affiliate Link: Bookshop.org

[devildomdisaster]

Can you do the brothers reacting to S.O. MC always having an unidentifiably "familiar" scent and then finding a spray bottle with the brother's perfume in it, diluted so that it doesn't overpower MC's but still gives them a subtle trace of the brother's scent? Which brothers do you expect would take up the practice so that they always have MC's scent lingering on them?

So cute!

I think demons and angels would have a better sense of smell than humans so wearing one of the brother’s perfumes would be like Mc marking themself as the demon’s partner.

It’s not foolproof of course, after all, other demons can buy the same perfume. But between the brothers, Diavolo and Barbatos everyone wears different scents so it would be clear to all of them whos perfume you are wearing.

Lucifer:

Lucifer has been using the same cologne for several decades now. It’s honestly surprising that it hasn’t gone out of style, or become associated with old people(Like how certain human colognes or perfume is only used by your grandparents). It’s distinctive but elegant and simple enough to be timeless.

Lucifer first notices how your scent is oddly familiar a few weeks after you return to the Devildom with Solomon.

Something about your new scent is immensely gratifying to his senses.

It makes his pride flare, and he finds himself far less worried about his brothers or Diavolo trying to steal you away.

Much to his embarrassment, Lucifer finds himself nuzzling into your neck as if to scent you while trying to identify the change.

It’s early yet and you’re still curled up asleep in his bed when he finds the simple-looking perfume bottle on your desk as he is fetching you a fresh set of clothes to change into.

He stops to examine the bottle, thinking that perhaps he should bring this to you as well. Although he loathes to let you cover up his scent.

He opens the bottle to ensure it won't completely overpower his scent on you, and for a moment he thinks he must have used a bit too much of his own perfume this morning. He sniffs it again and realizes that while it is similar to his own scent, it’s different. Muddled, diluted with something, water, and perhaps a bit of your own perfume/cologne.

His lips curl into a smirk as he realizes that he’s caught his cologne thief. He’d assumed that he’d simply misplaced a bottle of his cologne but now realizes that you must have taken it back to the human realm with you and made this.

Lucifer falls in love with you all over again. He is so enamored with the idea that you want to smell like him, essentially letting other demons and angels know that you are his.

When you wake, he is sitting next to you. Still smug. Pride radiating off him in self-satisfied waves. Toying with your perfume bottle. “Mc, my dear, if you would like to let others know you are taken I would be happy to mark you more clearly.”

You swear he likes to fluster you just for his own enjoyment.

“When this is gone,” he says holding up the perfume bottle “you are welcome to more of my cologne, you needn't resort to thievery, my love.”

He won’t take up the practice himself, but if you have to be away from each other for an extended time he’ll ask for a bottle of your perfume/cologne to keep your scent fresh and near.

Mammon:

Mammon is snooping in your room again. Not to steal this time, he swears! It was just to figure out what kind of gift you’d like.

The perfume bottle looks expensive, so he picks it up. Thinking that buying you a new bottle might be a good gift.

It doesn’t have any labels so he opens it to see if he recognizes the fragrance.

He is so, so embarrassed to find out that it is a diluted version of his scent! Poor Mammon, he is so flustered when he finds out that he drops the bottle, shattering it on your bedroom floor.

Suddenly it all clicks into place for him. The reason he had been so much more protective of you. Why he had found himself resisting the urge to mark you as his more than he usually had to.

You’d been making yourself smell like him, marking yourself for him. Mammon is over the moon. You want to be his. You’re already together of course, but you want other demons to know you’re together.

It takes everything Mammon has to stop himself from going to get you right now. From bringing you to his room and marking you himself.

But he’s got a bigger problem to handle first. Your room is a mess, floor covered in glass and perfume and he’s got to fix this before you get back.

When you open your door Mammon is still trying to clean everything up and air out your room, you recognize the scent of the spilled perfume and you feel the embarrassment overwhelm you.

Mammon is looking at you, face red and stuttering out an apology. “I swear I wasn't trying to steal nothin'. I just-” He flounders gesturing to your desk “it was an accident Mc! Picked you up a new bottle of mine so you can…” if possible his face gets even redder.

“Mammon if you don’t like it I can stop.”

“What? No! Of course, you’d wanna smell like the great Mammon! Besides, I don’t want anyone else thinkin they can make a move on ya. You should keep doin it.”

Mammon won’t ask for any of your perfume/cologne but he will borrow(steal) a little of it every once in a while. Mostly when he’s going somewhere he can’t take you. It makes him feel closer to you. And it has the added benefit of preventing any demons from making a move on him, letting them know he’s taken.

Levi:

Levi can’t quite put his finger on where he’s smelled your new perfume/cologne before.

It’s familiar, but he can’t place it no matter how hard he tries.

For some reason, it makes him less jealous when his brothers are around you. Like he doesn’t have to worry about you realizing they are better than him anymore.

Levi might not notice what your new scent is but his brothers sure do.

Asmo gives you knowing little winks and you could swear you’ve seen Mammon crinkle his nose in distaste at you.

Levi doesn’t figure out why your scent is so familiar until he finds you in his room pouring some of his perfume into a different bottle.

You’re startled when Levi takes the bottle from your hand and tilts your head to the side to smell your neck.

He takes a step back from you red to the tips of his ears “M-mc you-” He gapes at you for a moment “You can’t just do that without warning me!” he whines. “You know other demons can- my brothers can- it’s like you’re telling everyone you’re mine.”

“I know, Asmo gave me the idea. He said demons use their scent to mark their significant others. I’m sorry Levi, are you mad?”

“Mad? You want to smell like me, how could I be mad when I’ve wanted to-to mark you for months? I just didn’t want to...creep you out...with all that. Y-you can still use my cologne just ask. Thought you were Mammon stealing for a second.” He says covering his blushing face with his hands.

Levi is awake for a long time that night, even after you’ve long since drifted off curled up next to him in his bathtub bed. He’s caught up in the fact that you want to smell like him and he wonders if maybe he could do the same thing with your perfume/cologne.

Eventually, he’ll ask for some of your perfume/cologne but it’ll take him several weeks to finally blurt out the question.

Satan:

Somehow your scent is different, more familiar.

It sets him at ease, like seeing you in his jacket or finding you sleeping in one of his shirts.

It clicks that you are using his scent when he notices how fast he is going through the bottle of his cologne.

His face heats up and oh my, you’re using his scent. That's why it was so familiar.

Once the surprise has passed, his lips curl up in a wicked grin.

Oh Mc, Satan is so pleased. He is so in love with you.

He has you meet him in his room to confront you. His cologne in hand, lips curled up in a smirk. “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Mc?”

You tell him about how you dilute his perfume with yours so that you smell a little like him and meekly apologize for stealing from him.

Satan’s smirk grows as you explain, and when you fall silent he pulls you into his arms. “I like having my scent on you kitten. But you know there are other ways I can leave my scent on you if you’d like?” he murmurs, kissing across your cheekbone and down your jawline.

He sounds so confident but there is proof of his own emotions in the red dusting his cheeks.

Satan might dilute some of your perfume/cologne if there is a particular reason he wants other demons to know he’s taken. Maybe an event he can’t bring you to or if there has been a particularly stubborn demon not taking no for an answer.

To be honest Satan would rather have you leave your scent naturally. By sleeping on his pillows or wearing his jacket.

If you have to go to the human realm without him for any length of time, Satan will pick up your habit and start diluting some of your chosen scent with his while you're gone.

Asmo:

It doesn’t take long for Asmo to figure out why your scent is so familiar.

He knows exactly how long a bottle of perfume will last him and has a sixth sense for knowing when someone has moved any of his beauty products.

“Mc, darling, it’s sweet that you want my mark on you but if you keep stealing from me I’ll have to punish you,” he sings.

“Is that a promise Asmo?”

He brings you your very own bottle of his cologne.

The fact that you dilute his scent with yours brings Asmo to his knees. It’s so cute! But also such a tease! He’d love to leave his scent on you in other ways too.

But first, he just wants to curl up and cuddle with you. Knowing that you want to advertise your relationship so openly makes him feel truly loved.

The feeling overwhelms Asmo and he is so, so happy that his feelings for you are returned just as strongly.

Asmo will definitely take up the practice so your scent always lingers on him as well.

Asmo is not ashamed or shy about your relationship and any demon who insinuates he should be is playing a dangerous game.

There is no hesitation in his voice when he asks for a bottle of your perfume/cologne in exchange for his.

He likes knowing his scent lingers on you and flaunts the fact that yours lingers on him.

Expect to exchange bottles of perfume on holidays.

Beel:

Beel’s nose picks up the change in your scent immediately.

It’s familiar and yet hidden beneath your own scent just enough that he can’t place it.

This is frustrating for him because he’s never had so much trouble placing a scent before.

But he likes the addition as well.

In the end, it’s Belphie who rats you out to his twin. “You know I'm sure Beel would have more fun if he got to mark you himself, Mc.”

Beel puts down the muffin he’d had halfway to his mouth to look at you, realization flashing across his face.

He smiles happily at you, light blush dusting his face.

He’ll give you your own bottle of his cologne.

But he’ll also explain how having his scent linger on you is a way that demons mark their significant others. He wants to make sure you know that you are advertising your relationship to other demons.

When you assure him you’re ok with that he’ll ask if he can do the same with some of your perfume/cologne. That way other demons know he’s yours too.

Belphie:

Belphie notices right away.

It’s obvious that the new addition to your scent is his when you’re napping in his bed with him and the new portion of your scent blends seamlessly with the blankets and pillows around you.

Belphie gets a mischievous smirk on his face as he nuzzles his face in your hair. “There are better ways for you to wear my scent, Mc.”

He doesn’t stop you from using some of his perfume to dilute and mix with your own.

In fact, he encourages the practice.

He likes the fact that other demons will know who your heart belongs to.

With his scent lingering on you it’s very unlikely that other demons(his brothers) will make a move on you.

He won’t adopt the practice himself.

Not because he doesn’t want to, but because it’s a lot of work to dilute perfume so perfectly.

But if you were to make it for him, he would wear it everywhere.

He finds your scent calming, so having it linger on him would be very nice. Why else would blankets occasionally go missing from your bed?

[soulmate-game]

Hawkmoth was a bitch, and Marinette meant that with every fiber of her soul. Fu was also a bitch, and Marinette actually had good memories of the guy. Not many, but she had some. The fact that the guy got two ten-year-olds to become super heroes and fight a supervillain for him kinda soured those memories, though. But with Chat Noir not allowed to leave his house? Yeah, even as young as they were it only took about a year to find out who HawkMoth was and another year to take him down.

Except, that left Marinette alone. The final battle took her mom away, and Chat had to move out of Paris after his dad was arrested. Luckily Jagged allowed her and her papa to move into his house in Gotham, and everything was…

Well, it was okay. For about a month.

Then her dad was gone too, and she had no way to talk to Jagged, and the police were scaring her—

Yeah, that was the basic order of events that led to where she was now. Pushing fourteen years old, ex-superhero, protector of a magical box of gods, stealing the tires off of a very nice motorcycle.

Marinette was tempted to just take the whole thing, she loved bikes and knew she could drive it. But the thing had more security than she knew what to do with, and the fact that it belonged to Red Hood… she didn’t want to deal with trackers today, thanks. So the tires it was.

Should she maybe care more about the fact that she was stealing from a vigilante with a violent streak? Maybe. Did she? Hell no. For all she knew, maybe Red Hood was a bitch too. (Yes, she was still learning English slang. She was fluent by educational standards, but learning how to curse in a foreign language was fun and she still had a little bit to go. Her few street friends were very happy to help).

A shadow dropped down in front of her, and Marinette’s hero instincts kicked in. The tire iron she was using cut through the air, slamming right into the side of Red Hood’s knee.

—*—*—*—*—*

“Hood,” Batman’s voice grumbled over the comms, instantly grabbing the attention of everyone else who was on the comms. It wasn’t as gruff as he usually sounded, in fact it almost sounded like… he was trying not to laugh?

“Did you get gassed by Joker?” Dick asked before Jason got a chance to respond. “Need backup?”

“No,” Batman responded, sounding a little more composed. “Not a rogue. But Hood, I need you to join me at my location as soon as possible.”

Finally getting the chance to talk, Jason responded a little warily; “Sure, B. Wait,” he blinked at the location that was sent to him. “Isn’t that where my bike is parked?”

Batman didn’t respond at first, only the sound of labored breathing— again, as if he was trying not to laugh. “Just get here, Hood.”

Sighing, but not too mad since the night had been fairly quiet so far, Jason decided to humor the old man and head over. When he could see the cape-clad back of Batman, he easily leapt over the last roof and sauntered over.

“Okay, B,” he had his thumbs tucked in his pockets as he drawled. “What’s the issue?”

Batman was grinning. As in, actually showing amusement. And he just pointed down, straight at Hood’s bike.

Jason rolled his eyes under his helmet, turning to look. At first he didn’t see anything amiss, until he saw movement and looked harder. Oh. Oh, holy shit.

“Is that a kid?”

“Yep,” Batman’s grin grew.

“Is she… stealing my tires?” Hood was so, so glad he wore a helmet that hid his expression. Because… wow.

“Yep,” Batman finally lost his composure, chuckling. “This seems like Karma, don’t you think?”

“And you just watched her so you could rub it in,” Jason groaned, throwing his head back in exasperation. Of course he would. Nobody knew it (except the other heroes who knew him) but Batman was a petty little jerk when he wanted to be. He bought the whole Daily Planet just to spite Clark, for crying out loud.

“Don’t adopt her,” Batman said as he stood up, patting Red Hood’s shoulder. “It looks like she’s almost done.”

“Shit,” Jason hissed, looking down to see that she was, actually, very close to being done. She had already had one tire completely free by the time he had arrived, and now she was only seconds away from getting the other one completely free.

He took a quick assessment— she was tiny, and really thin. Definitely a street kid, he thought, though he didn’t recognize her. He knew most of the street kids that stole to get by, nowadays, which meant she must have been fairly new. But even though she seemed to know what she was doing, her small frame made her take longer unscrewing the tires than it normally would have taken. Sure that she wasn’t a threat by any stretch of the imagination, he jumped down. His plan had been to startle her a little by showing up out of nowhere, but he didn’t want to scare her too badly. Just make her jump a little.

But he had underestimated her, it seemed. Without wasting a second, she jumped up and swung her tire iron at his knee. He cursed, she was a lot faster than her had been expecting. He was able to move so that the weapon only clipped the side of his knee, his knee pad thankfully taking the worst of it. She still hit hard enough to make him stumble and hiss in pain though, which was an accomplishment.

That’s when she abandoned her weapon and her tires, darting to try and escape only for Batman to drop down and block her escape. Though really, it was the grin Batman had that scared the girl most of all, apparently, making her slowly back away from him.

“Please stop smiling,” she begged with a faint French accent to her words. “It is not natural.”

That made Red Hood laugh, already recovered and right behind her. He plopped a gloved hand on her head.

“I know, it’s creepy right?” He joked. “What’cha doin’ stealing my tires, kid? I kinda need them to drive anywhere,” he was careful to keep his voice light and devoid of any anger. He wasn’t really upset, all told. It would be hypocritical of him if he was.

She looked between the two vigilantes for a moment, clear intelligence behind those bright blue eyes as she seemed to consider something. Suddenly she pulled away from Red Hood and stepped away from his reach, straightening up and trying to look tall.

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said as firmly as she could. “My father was Tom Dupain, he was killed in a mugging three months ago. We were living in a house that our family friend leant to us after my mother’s death six months ago, and we moved here from Paris. I haven’t been able to contact him, and the police… I don’t trust them,” she admitted, clearly seeing this as the chance she had been waiting for. “I have been living on the streets since my father died. I am sorry for trying to steal your tires, Monsieur Red Hood. But it was a risk I had to take.”

“Did you expect us to catch you?” He asked, crossing his arms as he re-evaluated the girl. She was a lot stronger than he had assumed earlier, both physically and mentally. She seesawed her hand to indicate ‘kinda’.

“Even if you didn’t, I could make good money off your tires,” she justified with a shrug. “To me, I would win either way.”

“Who is your family friend? Can he help you now, take you in?” Batman asked, moving forward and kneeling down to be closer to Marinette’s height. Neither he nor Jason had missed the part where she was an orphan, but they had expected that considering what they had caught her doing. And they both knew that she wasn’t likely to take any apologies they tried to offer very well. It was best not to show pity, or she might get angry.

Marinette frowned. “... Our family friend is Jagged Stone. He lets me call him Uncle Jagged,” she told them, clearly expecting the disbelieving grunts they gave. “I mean it! You can call him, he might even be looking for me! I—“

“We know,” Hood assured her, now kneeling down as well. Man, she was short. “Calm down, we know you’re telling the truth. Jagged has made several public announcements about his missing honorary niece, we just didn’t recognize your name right away. And Jagged doesn’t have access to very many pictures of you, those he does have the Mayor isn’t allowing him to show because that spineless jackass—“

“Language, Hood.”

“—Cares more about keeping bad press off the air than finding a kid, even if it’s a world famous rockstar who’s asking. That’s probably why you haven’t heard anything, the mayor’s keeping it off the radio and not many reporters are brave enough to take the story and get on his bad side.”

“Oh…” Marinette took a deep breath, fighting the tears that were threatening to rise up. “He has been looking…” she sniffled, curling in on herself a little. “Can you take me to him?”

“I think we can do that,” Batman agreed, standing up. “I’ll contact him. Red Hood, can you handle everything here until I give you a place to meet up with Jagged Stone?”

Jason nodded. “No problem, B. Come on, little rabid pixie. Step one of gettin’ you back to your uncle is to help me fix my bike back up.”

Marinette sighed, shoulders dropping. “All my hard work, undone…” she playfully complained. But in the end she didn’t argue or fight against it, she just sat down and helped him reattach his tires.

All the while, Jason’s family kept teasing him over the comms. Clearly they were also thoroughly amused by the cosmic display of karma.

“...Monsieur Hood,” Marinette asked once they were done repairing the motorcycle and he had given her his too-big extra helmet. He tilted his head a bit to show he was listening. She squirmed. “Can… can we stop by my hideout? I have something really important I have to get.”

Jason smiles gently under his mask. She might not have been a street kid for very long, but she really did bring back some memories for him. He got on his bike and held a hand out to her.

“Sure thing kid. Wanna grab something to eat after? Can’t have a reunion on an empty stomach.”

She gave him a lopsided smile— not quite overjoyed, but definitely hopeful and thankful. Maybe this was the end of her streak of bad luck, she could only hope.

“Only if you don’t mind, Monsieur Hood,” she agreed before taking his hand and letting him help her onto the bike.

“No skin off my back, pixie,” he assured her. Then they were off. He followed her directions until they got to an abandoned building about three miles away, not in a good part of town at all but at least not in crime alley. Marinette easily led him through the building, skirting around other piles of ratty blankets and up broken stairs until they got to the badly-maintained top floor. She led him over to an almost invisible door in the concrete wall that pulled out to reveal what was probably a broom closet once upon a time. It was crowded with what looked like junk and empty boxes, along with a few blankets and two or three changes of clothes that were clearly her’s. A few belongings scattered around— a book, a small pink purse, and… Marinette came out of the pile of mess holding what had clearly been a very carefully hidden box. She also grabbed the purse and slung it over her shoulder, but didn’t seem worried about anything else.

Jason frowned at the box. It wasn’t that big, but it was clearly made of old wood. There were intricate carvings that were painted pink, in a symbol that was itching at the back of his mind. He recognized that symbol, but from where?

“Ready to go, kid?” He asked as he thought about it, getting a nod from Marinette. Twenty minutes later they were at a Batburger, sitting in a shaded booth that couldn’t be seen from the street.

She never let the box out of her sight. She kept it on the seat next to her, and Jason noticed that she tried to keep one hand on it at all times. But when she spoke, now her French accent stood out to him even more than before. But why—?

And then it clicked. Paris. Hawkmoth. Ladybug, Chat Noir, magic artifacts called Miraculous. Wonder Woman had raised a fuss when the heroes disappeared, declaring that something was wrong but she couldn’t put her finger on what. Then the magic users they trusted were called in, and returned from Paris with the grim news that the former Guardian of those artifacts had activated a failsafe and passed the guardianship on to someone else while erasing his own memories at the same time. But nobody knew who he could have passed it on to, so Batman had been given the green light to do all the research he and his team could into the Miraculous box to try and help track it down.

And here it was. The carvings were in pink now, which might have been the “cosmetic change” that Constantine had mentioned might happen when the box changed guardians. He had found the box full of super powerful magical artifacts… in the hands of a newly orphaned street kid who couldn’t have been older than fourteen at best.

What the hell?

“...” Red hood reached into his pocket and pulled out an old receipt and a sharpie. He scrawled on the back of the receipt and handed to Marinette. The girl was halfway into a bite of her burger when he did, and blinked at him owlishly before swallowing and cautiously reaching out to grab it. She frowned at the numbers scrawled there.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“My contact info,” he explained. “I won’t ask questions about why you have that box,” he watched her instantly stiffen but continued as casually as he could; “but it doesn’t matter. You can call me if you ever need help with anything, kid. Help with that box, help if you get in trouble in Gotham again, or even if you’re having a bad day. You can call me for whatever, got it? I don’t care if you think it’s stupid, if you can’t talk to anyone else in your life you can always call or text me and I’ll do whatever I can. Got it?”

“...” Marinette sniffled for a second and looked down at the table in silence for a second. “... what if I want your motorcycle?” she joked, but the watery tone of her voice gave her away.

Jason laughed, patting her head. “I need my bike, but we can talk about getting you your own once you are old enough to get a license. You almost done? Bats says that Jagged is ready to meet you, I can take you to him right now.”

“Yeah, lets go!” she was newly energized and shoved the last bite of burger into her mouth greedily. “And Red Hood?” She asked as they headed out to where he had parked.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Thanks.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Permanent tag list (I remembered it this time!)

@rosalineandrosemary @neakco @justanotherfanficlovinbitch @trippingovermyfeet @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @bigpicklebananatree @fantasylover-92 @prongs-flowers @jumpingjoy82 @prettylittlebutterflie @queenz-z @literaryhiraeth @waffelyunsure @deathssilentapproach-blog @waiting247 @theirlmikan @unoriginalmess

[sepublic]

It’s obviously in Luz’s good nature to automatically feel happy for Vee first and foremost, upon seeing her do well in a social situation that Luz would be terrified in… But at the same time, you can’t tell me it didn’t hurt a lot to see a literal demon excel better at human stuff in the human world than Luz, an actual native human herself; It must’ve been a little bit humiliating. Luz is glad on Vee’s behalf, but also takes this purely as a bad reflection on Luz’s part, and Luz’s part alone. 

And it makes Luz wonder if she simply didn’t try hard enough back home, because if Vee can do it, why can’t she? And Luz just won’t register that Vee IS a different person with different needs because she places too much burden and expectation on herself to do well, to make up for the stress she causes others. When Luz tells Camila that her mother was never the problem, I wonder if Luz meant the issue was with the human world and/or herself.

Getting rejected by the Palismen definitely added to Luz wondering if it’s really just a lack of conviction on her part that’s the problem here; If only she’d had more conviction, more determination and effort, in going to camp! She’s basically victim-blaming herself at this point. And not getting chosen by Palismen would additionally hurt because Luz LOVES found family, so seeing no Palisman choose to be with her sucks; Even Boscha got a Palisman!

Luz loves Camila but of course her mom loves her back, she’s her mom. Whereas it continuously amazes Luz to see her found family keep choosing her at all to begin with. Conversely, Luz didn’t get chosen by a Palisman, and has to just make one from scratch, and I can see her wondering if her palisman will only like her out of obligation, because she gave it life; And if the reverse applies between Luz and Camila’s relationship.

Luz isn’t ALWAYS doubtful and insecure; A lot of her character IS bold and unapologetic for who she is. It’s just that after several years of loneliness, even that will begin to take its toll and make Luz doubt herself in the furthest recesses of her mind. Her natural self is unabashed, and it helps that the isles has been more receptive and positive to Luz than the human world… But when Luz is afraid of repeating the same mistakes and rejection in the Boiling Isles, she basically flashes back to her time in the human world, and then dread takes over as she doubts her ability to move on from the past, if she’s still the same, weird girl as always. Not only that, how can Luz fail at being Luz, while this stranger does a better job at being her?!

And Luz begins to ask herself, if maybe all these people back home really DID have a point; If there’s still a problem and the constant is Luz between both of these worlds, then maybe the issue really IS her. And something like that can’t help but make Luz question if she’s truly taken like a fish to water in the Boiling Isles either (especially with recent difficulties in mind), or if she really belongs nowhere… Or even if she belongs just as much in the isles as the human world, that leaving home wasn’t necessary and thus a mistake and that caused her mother unnecessary grief; Never mind that what’s done is done and Luz IS happy here, so this place is no mistake and still a home too.

(But Luz wonders if she still can’t find a place to fit in, not even after exploring another dimension; So maybe Belos can create a new world where freaks like herself and Philip can belong. If she can create a place where everyone belongs, is that so bad? It’s like a bigger Owl House! Or maybe these weirdos should just resign themselves to that in-between realm, which is the only place that can make room for them; Philip might’ve been trapped/banished there after all, it’s only a fitting and deserved fate for existing like they have! Separated from everyone else, only able to watch and dream but never truly participate nor belong. It’s like a bigger Conformatorium!)

[manekicatwriter]

hellooo! i was wondering if i could make a request for an modern au sbi x gn sibling reader where they’re around 17-19, and they’ve got depression. they’ve had to go away for a few weeks after a bad episode ended in an attempt and they were hospitalized and sent somewhere for rehabilitation and now they’re coming home and they’re all anxious and quiet and stuff- so the boys do their best to like comfort them and reassure them that they’re loved and they belong there? i’m sorry if that’s an awkward request, i was just recently discharged after a similar situation and honestly the comfort would be great. it’s totally your call if you chose to write it tho, i understand that this is a difficult and triggering subject and not everyone is comfortable with writing things like it. if you aren’t comfy please feel free to just ignore my ask! <3

you’re here, and that’s what matters.

TW: mentions of attempted suicide. please proceed with caution.

hey! i just wanted to let you know that i’ve been through a similar situation and understand how you feel (though my case was not as severe). i wish you a safe road to recovery.

note, i think you asked for their characters but it leant itself towards their rl versions. i have a feeling the dsmp versions would be too chaotic for this sensitive subject.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!! please do not be afraid to send in an ask. ANON IS ON!!

Phil:

- phil was very scared about you being so gravely hurt, it kept him up for some nights. thankfully, you pulled through.

- he visited whenever he could. if he couldn’t, he was busy making sure coming home felt as comfortable for you as possible while also educating himself on how to take care of you.

- phil would listen to how you felt, and be understanding of your feelings.

- “You don’t have to tell me why you did it, I’m just glad you’re here,” pulling you in for a warm hug.

- when you got back home, he made sure he and the boys had prepared your favorite dinner and desserts.

It was the day you had just got home from rehabilitation, and you two were sitting on the couch. You hadn’t said much, you felt like you had nothing to say. Phil had asked for you to sit down so you two could talk, one on one.

You couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m sorry,” your voice started to crack. “For making you guys worry about me.” Tears started to form from your eyes and you wept into your hands.

Phil immediately reached over to you to hug you, letting you cry on his shoulder. “We don’t blame you. We don’t blame anybody. I just want you to be here safe with us. Let it all out.” He pat and rubbed your back soothingly as you kept crying. But it was a good cry. He was just glad you came home.

Tommy:

- even though many see tommy as a loud and obnoxious boy with a general disregard for others, we all know deep down that’s a persona. he will go out of his way to make other comfortable in his presence if he truly cares for them. which he does, for you of course.

- he wants to make you happy! when the time is right, he’ll crack jokes and offer to play minecraft with you.

- would tone down the yelling. not because you asked, but he’s afraid of triggering you. treats you like glass. if you notice he’s being quieter than usual and you don’t care, you tell him you don’t.

- if you’re feeling it, he’ll take you out to fun places and to eat. nothing that’s too outlandish like a theme park, but just enough to have a reason to get out of bed that day instead of sleeping in.

It had been a week since you had gotten home and Phil had instructed you to maintain somewhat of a schedule to upkeep yourself. Right now was your nightly routine, washing yourself, brushing your teeth, and finally sliding under the covers. It felt nice. The blanket of sleep consumes you easily…

…

Until you bedroom door opens you’re being aggressively shaken awake. You groan, shying away, but they’re persistent.

“Ey, wake up, it’s morning!” Tommy shakes you again.

You realize you didn’t dream, but think nothing of it. “Tommy please, what do you want.”

Finally, Tommy pulled your warm sheets from over you, making you flinch. “I wanted to go out to the park today! Feed the ducks! Yeesss!”

You sighed. If you didn’t comply now, Tommy will refuse to stop nagging you for the rest of the day. You rolled out of bed and into the bathroom. You could very clearly hear Tommy’s cheers.

You two had gotten ready, eaten breakfast, and said goodbye to the rest of your family so you could head over to the park. It was close enough that it wasn’t unbearable to walk to. Even if you weren’t completely yourself yet, you were glad Tommy was.

After the short walk you two finally reached the park. Tommy immediately bolted toward the pond and you jogged behind. He had already started throwing the ducks some seeds, and even threw it on a duck. It didn’t seem too pleased.

You two sat at the edge of the pond as you watched the ducks eat. “Hey.” You hear Tommy call to you, and you turn your head to him.

“Can we talk about what happened? With you? Is it okay?” You could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“Go ahead, what is it?”

“When Techno found out what happened to you, and told us the news, I was scared shitless.” He let out a sad huff. “I thought we were going to lose you.” Tommy kept his eyes fixed at the pond in front of him. “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have brought this up. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He sighed.

You put a hand on his shoulder. “Oh Tommy…” You started, “I’m sorry for making you worry. You shouldn’t have to feel like that because of my actions.”

Tommy was lost in thought for a moment, before finally speaking up, “No, please don’t apologize. It’s not anybody’s fault this happened, right?” You nodded.

Tommy stood up, dusting his pants off from the grass. “Come on now, let’s go get some ice cream!” He pulled you up from the ground.

“Last one to get to the shop has to pay!”

Immediately, Tommy bolts in the direction to the ice cream shop, and you catch up to him. No matter the circumstance is, he never seems to fail at putting a smile on your face.

Wilbur:

- i HC wilbur being the oldest, being older than techno by 3 years and older than tommy by 8, like IRL. :]

- i think out of all of your siblings, wilbur exudes the most “protective older brother” energy, yeah?

- remember when tommy lied about his mother being in trouble and how worried and anxious wilbur got? turn that up to 11 with what happened with you.

- with wilbur being the oldest, he of course had the responsibility of taking care of everyone. but somehow you and him didn’t spend as much 1 on 1 time as much as wilbur did with his other siblings

- wilbur definitely was going to change that, realizing that and not wanting to make that mistake again.

- he decided that finding a new hobby with you wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

You were sitting at the dinner table, being the last one there. You were poking at your food for the most part, and Wilbur got home late from… whatever Wilbur thing he was doing. Phil cooked pasta for dinner tonight. Wilbur put down his bags at the door connected to the garage. “I’m home! What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta.”

“Mmm, I love some good ol’ pasta.” He said, already taking a plate out to serve himself. “Also, hey, I bought something I wanted to build with you. Do you mind?”

You finally looked up from your very interesting pasta. “Build..?” You had no idea where this was going.

Wilbur placed his plate on the table and approached the bags of groceries, going through them to find the bag he was looking for. He pulled out a LEGO set. More specifically, a LEGO City set from the looks of the box? “Wilbur, how much was that?”

He blinked at you innocently. “It was only, like, £25. And look! It’s got a little submarine we can make with a rock and ugly sea monster—“

“But why?”

“Why not? It wouldn’t hurt for you to do something new, yeah?” He smiled at you, shaking the LEGO box in front of him to show it off. You sighed, but smiled. “Alright. But maybe you and I should eat this pasta first before we start building.” Wilbur nodded.

“Speaking of water, don’t you think I could teach you how to swim or something?”

“Oh, fuck off with that!”

Technoblade:

- i think out of everyone in the family, he understands you the most in terms of how you feel.

- not suicidal, but just generally having depressive episodes due to his ADHD.

- techno’s generally closed off, but started to really open up to you because he wanted to show he cares, even if it meant going out of his comfort zone.

- techno suggested journaling. once a day or once per week, it didn’t really matter. just as long as you could write down your feelings somewhere.

- he didn’t explicitly say it, but he also bought a book for himself so he could do it along with you. although, he more often than not just forgets to write in it until you mention your own journal.

- if you want to be sad and quiet, you can be sad and quiet with him. his room is a safe space for you if you ever need it and you’re always welcome to come in, just as long as you knock first.

With one hand on your mouse scrolling through the internet, and another resting your head on it, you were safe to admit you were utterly and completely bored. Honestly, you thought about taking another nap after your last one, but a knock on your door stopped you right before you pulled the covers over yourself. “Can I come in?”

You rose from your bed. “Come in. Oh hey Techno.”

He gave a simple wave and his signature “Halloo.” He walked right over to you and handed a journal and a ballpoint pen. “I got this. For you.” His stare was sharp but you could sort of tell he was nervous.

“What for?”

“I dunno. Writin’ your feelings down or drawin’ or somethin’. Whatever helps you vent.” He scratched the back of his neck.

“Oh Techno, thank you. That’s very sweet of you.” You gave a slight smile, but saw that he still had another journal in his hand. “You have two journals?”

Techno raised his eyebrow in confusion before looking down at his hand. “Oh this? It’s for me. So we could do it together, I guess.”

You let out a happy hum. “That’s nice. Say, why don’t we go to your room? I want to see your new lava lamp and stuff.”

Techno shrugged. “Sure. I’ve got more stationary too if you want.” He waved his hand before letting himself out the door, with you following not far behind.

hi hope u enjoyed reading as much as i did writing it. this format was new for me but very fun!

[nobodyfamousposts]

Chloe's Lament Part 2

Next part of Chloe's Lament. Chloe begins to learn of the changes to reality from her Wish.

She will not be happy about this.

____________________

When Chloe woke up, the first thing that struck her was the loud banging sounds from somewhere below her.

The second thing was pain.

“I have a headache!” She called out, laying an arm over her sleep mask-covered eyes. Her butler would hear her and respond accordingly, of course. He always did.

“And get them to stop that racket down there!” She flopped on her bed with a huff, waiting for the help to return with aid.

Really, the things she dealt with!

Normally, her butler would arrive immediately, with painkillers and fruit-infused water being presented to her within a minute.

But to her growing frustration, that minute came and passed.

Then two.

Three…

Not that Chloe was counting.

Eventually, it had been five minutes and there was still no word from the man. And to make matters worse, that damn banging from below was only getting louder and increasing her suffering.

“Ugh! Do I have to do everything myself?!”

She ripped off the sleep mask, only to wince at the level of brightness in the room. She was on the top floor with the best visibility but the windows were supposed to be tinted and covered to prevent this very thing!

Once her vision cleared, several things should have stood out as odd.

But the first thing to attract her notice was the sleep mask she had just removed—some cheapo dime-store brand. She tossed the rag away with a shriek.

“Is this a prank?!” She demanded. “That is not my personalized diamond-studded satin custom made facial mask! Jean? Jean!”

There was a ruckus from below. The sound of something being dropped. Footsteps—loud and fast and getting closer. Then the opening of a door.

“Precious! Is everything okay?”

She sneered at the sound of her father’s voice.

“No! My sleep mask was stolen, it’s too bright, my head is KILLING me and no one is getting me anything to help!”

He looked confused at that. “Are you out of Efferalgan in your bathroom cabinet?”

She gave him a look. Why would she have to get up and go to the bathroom for some painkillers when there should be someone to hand them to her?

He gave her a strange look in response. Like he was confused his daughter would expect someone to do something as simple as bringing her painkillers and water.

And water.

Preferably cherry-infused.

Was that really so much to ask? Or even require asking?

“Just…hang on a moment.” He said and left her her bathroom.

Finally.

With nothing to do but wait, she glanced around, noting that…this was not her room.

Not the one she knew, anyway.

The light that had blinded her before was from a central window overlooking the room that so obtrusively settled on her bed. In addition, there was a skylight placed above a nook set behind her bed, which brought more light into the room.

She vaguely recognized the room. Well, by its floor plan, at least. The layout and decor threw her off though. The furniture and items were clearly cheaper than her usual high end designer brands. But she saw aspects that were suited to her tastes. Minute indications of her own touch in the assortment of objects around her. Yellow and white as the themes. Black cushions and aesthetic.

It was…decent. But so beneath her it was embarrassing! These were cheap models! Practically plastic! The bedsheets were…ugh…cotton of all things! The lamps were dim! She was missing her boudoir! And her shoes! And her jewelry! She didn’t even want to imagine the nightmare that was her closet—it was practically a hole in the wall! There was no way it would fit everything!

“Here you are, dear!” Her father said, returning from her bathroom with a glass of water and a pill in hand.

She fought the grimace.

Was this tap water?

Gross!

By his expectant look, he clearly meant for her to drink it.

With her continuing headache and no better option for fast relief, Chloe reluctantly took the proffered items. She was unable to help the slightest grimace before she downed them both.

“Well, if that’s all, I’ll be getting back to setting up for the morning rush. Come downstairs to the bakery when you’re ready.” He looked almost relieved to be leaving.

Chloe barely took notice now that she had what she needed. Instead, she took to contemplating her situation and her new surroundings.

All the furniture aside, this room looked familiar. Not really well known, because Chloe was sure she had never been in such a place before. But…like she had seen it somewhere…TV maybe?

And her Daddykins was here. That meant…wherever she was, it was apparently expected for her to be here.

But where was here?

The last thing she remembered was…

She closed her eyes, straining to think past the pain.

That’s right! Hawk Moth’s offer! The Bee! She was Miracle Queen! And she had just won! She had Ladybug beaten…

Her fists clenched.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng…

It hit her.

This was just like her room!

She had only seen it a couple of times. Once for sure when Sabrina had snuck into her room per Chloe‘s instructions for blackmail material. She happened to glimpse a picture of the room here or there from other people’s phones of times that they had spent in this room—that she had really cared. It was a small and dingy room that had nothing on her glamorous abode at the hotel, which of course, was superior in every way.

She was vaguely reminded of that one show that Marinette hadn’t stopped talking about which had also apparently shown Marinette‘s room, but Chloe honestly hadn’t been bothered enough to watch it, so she didn’t have that to go on. But with what she did know, it was a safe bet to assume that this was some knockoff of Marinette‘s room.

So why was Chloe here? Why was her dad downstairs?

She… she had made the Wish, hadn’t she?

…

…

…

What…is this it?

She turned up her nose at the environment around her, completely unimpressed.

Was this dinky little room with its weird setup and tacky decor what the Wish gave her? Why would she be in any copy of Dupain-Cheng’s room layout anyway?

The Wish should have changed reality, that much was clear. There was no way she would be caught dead in Dupain-Cheng’s room otherwise—much less sleeping there like it was her own room!

…unless…it was her room?

Was it?

She had found some aspects of the room to her taste, but did that mean this was hers?

It would explain why she was there. And why her Daddy had come up. He had mentioned her bathroom earlier, then had gone through the nearby door to get a tablet and water from what she could only assume was the bathroom he had spoken of.

…he had mentioned a bakery.

Eyes wide, she stumbled out of bed and to the window. Sure enough, the school was just across the way. And there was a sign out front.

“Bourgeois Bakery”

Chloe stared.

Suddenly, it clicked. The banging from downstairs. Her Daddy talking about a ‘morning rush’. And to come down to the…

…no way!

This place was a bakery! Her Daddy was operating a bakery!

And given her location, it was the same bakery that Marinette’s parents owned originally!

This…

…wait…

…did this mean she was supposed to be Marinette?

She threw her pillow in a fury.

Stupid Wish! This wasn’t at all what she wanted!

You would think all-powerful Wish-granting artifacts would do it right!

“Where are those kwamis?!” She demanded, jumping out of the bed and looking around for anywhere she would keep such important jewels. “I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!”

She had a boudoir along with the various jewelry pieces kept there ranging among a variety of gold and diamonds—all fakes, much to her disappointment. And not a single Miraculous among them.

She slammed the final drawer in with a curse.

Nothing!

If she had the Miraculous, shouldn’t they still be with her? Do they just disappear after being used?

Ugh! Those things really were useless! Utterly useless!

It was when she stood back to full height that she noticed the monthly calendar. There were the standard holidays, but also a weekly appointment every Friday evening with some ‘Bridgette’. What was that? A spa day?

She shot a glance to her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. She definitely needed one. She could just feel all the oils on her skin!

But more to the point, there was one day circled on the calendar.

‘Start of School’

She grabbed her phone—an older, obsolete model with a glittery but fake casing—and checked the date.

That…

That was today.

It was the first day of school. A…

She checked the date again, and sure enough, it was a year ago!

Had the Wish taken her back in time?

She froze, realization hitting her.

This was the first day of school. The same day as the first akuma attack.

And when Ladybug first appeared.

That meant…she was sent back in time to the day Marinette would become Ladybug.

It was a year in the past. She wasn’t at the hotel. Her room was in a bakery. Her father was working as a baker. She was Marinette now.

That meant…

She giggled, feeling a giddiness rise within her.

Today was the day she becomes Ladybug!

It looks like the Wish did something right, after all!

Chloe grinned, spinning away from the mirror and to her closet.

She had to get ready! She had to prepare the perfect outfit! Something for the day she becomes a hero!

No. THE hero!

She knew how the Ladybug worked. Hell, she knew the akumas to come. With her prior knowledge and skills, she would know how to use the yoyo and how to use the Lucky Charm better than the old Ladybug ever did! She’d have every akuma in the bag!

Hell, maybe she could force the Ladybug kwami to tell her where the Guardian is so she can get the other Miraculous, too! That way, she could have both the Ladybug AND the Bee again.

And her Adrikens would be her partner! To support her! To stay by her side! Just as it should be!

She paused, something niggling at the back of her brain. There was something she was forgetting.

A glance around the room as she wondered

Of course, the full extent of the change and just what that meant didn’t really hit her until she went downstairs and actually saw her father.

The poor man was in the middle of retrieving a pan lined with croissants from the unbearably hot oven, his hair contained in…fishnet? Latex? Whatever the cafeteria cooks wore when she had no choice but to eat from the school’s lunchroom.

Gross! He looked like a lunch lady!

He didn’t seem to notice her, too busy dancing around the kitchen and checking over the…whatever pastries those were and just looking proud of himself.

Daddykins, no. You’re better than this! How could you be reduced to such a state?

He seemed to notice her staring. “Are you feeling better?” He asked, looking concerned.

“Er…yeah.” She replied. She wasn’t, really, but she couldn’t tell him that. He could try to have her stay home and how would she get to see the fruits of her labors from there?

“Ah good!” He said cheerfully. “It is the first day of the new school year, and you certainly want to…” He hesitated, “…start off on the right foot.”

A pause. He looked at her expectantly, but she had no idea what he was getting at.

He shook his head and turned away for a moment to grab a box before coming back and presenting it to her.

Clearly he wanted her to take it, so she sighed and took hold of the box. A peek inside revealed a number of macarons.

For her? Now this was what she was talking about!

“Oh, Daddykins! You shouldn’t have!”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “I figured it would be a great way to start off the new year by sharing them with your classmates.”

Ugh. Seriously? All happy feelings vanished in an instant and she shot him a petulant look.

“Why should I have to share?” She demanded.

He hesitated.

She glared, tapping her foot in a clear indication of wanting an answer. Or preferably for him to just say they were all hers.

“It’s a new year and a new start.” Andre said, smiling nervously. “Maybe it’s time to just let bygones be bygones?“

It was a stupid question and she sure let him know it. She stared at him flatly, causing him to wilt.

Andre sighed.

“I know you don’t like her, but…” he hesitated. “Please, just try to get along?”

She blinked.

“Her?”

Wait.

Wait…

It suddenly struck her.

If she was Dupain-Cheng now…

That meant Marinette was in her shoes!

She grinned.

Marinette would be her bully! She’d be the rich bitch daughter of the Mayor and loathed by Paris while Chloe would be—

The one everyone rallied around.

The one Adrikens adored.

The one chosen as Ladybug!

She would have it all!

Part of her hoped the other girl would know about the previous reality…just so she could shove it in her face!

“Just take it slow,” he continued, unaware of her true thoughts. “And then you can report about it to Bridgette at your counseling session on Friday.”

Wait—counseling?

Seeing her expression, he held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

“I know you don’t like it, but it was part of the agreement. You need to make a better impression this year, sweetie.”

“What?”

“She’s the daughter of the Mayor. I’m not sure we can take another…” He trailed off before shaking his head and looking at her imploringly. “You understand, right?”

Oh.

Oh.

She got it!

“Of course, Daddykins!”

Clearly Dupain-Cheng was abusing her influence, just as she thought!

She had to hand it to the girl…a part of her hadn’t been quite convinced that she would go quite that far. But that just proof that Marinette Dupain-Cheng wasn’t so perfect and that even she would be the same as Chloe once in her position!

Chloe knew she would have to bear with the mistreatment for now. No matter how much it would grate her. It would suck to have to have to accept it for any period of time.

Still, it would be worth it! It just meant even more ammunition to use against her once Chloe was Ladybug!

She didn’t even notice the look of concern he gave her or his weak goodbye as she left the bakery with the box in hand. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. Particularly her plans.

And what plans they were!

So what if Maribrat had Chloe’s wealth? It wasn’t like she knew the first thing about status or being a symbol. No, Ladybug did that for her and she didn’t even use it right! Not like Chloe would.

She smirked to herself, imagining the future.

Well, as soon as she got the Miraculous, taking the pigtailed down a peg would be the first thing on her list. Maybe a dip in the Seine? Or ‘accidentally’ getting her hit by an akuma or two?

Why limit it to her personally? If Ladybug spoke out against the mayor, who would vote for him? From what she remembered of Marinette’s dad, that oaf had no business being in politics anyway! Then there was the hotel, which would no doubt be a mess with him in charge anyway.

And best of all, she thought with glee, with a word from Paris’s favorite hero, Dupain-Cheng could be implicated as an ally of Hawk Moth.

Who wouldn’t believe it? If Marinette was in Chloe’s place, that meant she had to be a brat despised by Paris. Everyone would likely jump at the excuse to run her out of the city!

It was slightly disappointing that the former Ladybug wouldn’t know why the new Ladybug was so against her or that she had even been replaced, but she didn’t deserve answers anyway.

For once, Chloe was getting everything she wanted. It was like the Universe itself was on her side! Chloe would be the hero with all the Miraculous and status just as she’d always deserved. And everyone would automatically see it and love her while they would already recognize Marinette as the selfish bitch Chloe always knew she was!

It was a win/win for Chloe and all her fans—which was the best kind of win for Chloe.

Sure, it meant she would have to suffer the loss of her basic comforts like a butler, the latest in fashion and accessories, and easy immediate access to a luxury spa for now…but it would be worth it in the long run.

…maybe not the luxury spa. She would kill for the hotel’s oils and masseuse. But she would just have to deal with, ugh, scheduling with a four star locale in the meantime.

It’s for the greatest good, she reminded herself, looking mournfully at her chipped nails.

And besides, she didn’t have to suffer for long.

Today was the first day of school, which signified the first appearance of Ladybug! This was the day she achieved her destiny! Once she became Ladybug, she would be back on top!

So what if her dad was a baker instead of a hotel owner this go around? Who said it had to stay that way? Just as she could use her position to defame the Dupain-Chengs and ruin Marinette, she could endorse the bakery for free publicity. Do special promotions and deals for money. Or even better! She could make the city pay her for her work!

After all, how much was her Miracle Cure worth, really? How much would the city be willing to pay for her to fix the damage caused by akuma fights? It was only what she was owed; the least they could do is compensate her for her time.

Really, it was Marinette’s own fault for not taking advantage while she could. She could’ve been an idol or the city’s star. She could have used the Miraculous to create an army. Hell, Hawk Moth should have been nothing against her! And instead, she just…wasted her potential. On things like loose zoo animals or out of control helicopters, no less!

Chloe wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

And now that Chloe was set to be the city’s hero…

Even if Marinette was rich (for now), it would be nothing compared to what Chloe would have. She would be Paris’s hero! The BEST hero! And unlike that has-been, she at least would use Ladybug’s power and status right!

She didn’t need to be the daughter of the Mayor! Her Mother was still THE Style Queen, Audrey Bourgeois. Adrien Agreste was still her best friend. She was still Chloe Bourgeois, the best thing to happen to Paris! And now as Ladybug, she would still be back on top and ruling Paris in no time!

And it would all start once she got to school.

“Get out of my way!” She exclaimed, shoving some old fart taking his sweet time walking, sending him to the ground and out of her way.

Move aside, peons!

Her destiny awaits!

Back at the intersection, Chloe never noticed the way the elderly gentleman cast her a judging stare from his position on the ground. Or his muttering.

“No, definitely not.”

“Are you okay?” Came a voice.

“Ah, yes!” He replied, accepting the offered hand and taking stock of the girl it belonged to. She was young. In college, likely. “Thank you, young lady!”

“Of course!” She smiled, handing him back his cane. “Do you need help getting home from here? That looked like quite a fall.”

“But don’t you have somewhere to be?” He asked.

“Just school, but I can spare a few minutes if you need…?”

“There is no need for that.” He shook his head. “I will be fine, thank you for your concern.”

Yes, he decided with a smile as he watched her go, this one will do.

_________________

Ugh, walking. Who invented such a thing? She couldn’t wait until she had a personal limo again. This was so not good for her!

Chloe continued plotting as she walked, magnanimously choosing to consider this as part of the reason for revenge instead of its own thing.

And speaking of revenge! Let’s see…

She scrunched her face, trying to remember the events of the first day of school.

There had been that fight with Marinette over her seat. ‘My seat now’, she realized with glee. ‘Which means I’ll be back next to Adrikens!’

Where she should be.

And if she and Dupain-Cheng were now supposed to be switched, that meant ‘the horrible bully Marinette’ would be picking on ‘poor sweet little Chloe’.

She couldn’t wait!

‘Let’s see how you handle being in my shoes, Dupain-Cheng!’

She giggled to herself, ignoring the weirded out looks she was getting from some passing students.

Or the way the other students in general seemed to give her a wide berth.

As they should for the real Queen Bee of this school!

She was already imagining how this was going to go. And with the classroom only a few feet ahead, her vindication was already so close she could taste it!

Except when she finally arrived at the class, it was immediately clear that something wasn’t right.

Dupain-Cheng was there as expected. With her same kiddie pigtails and her pink and grey ensemble with polka-dots—what kind of designer was she anyway?

What wasn’t expected, however, was that Cesaire was already was there as well.

Originally, Cesaire defended Dupain-Cheng and they became friends. If things played out the same, shouldn’t Cesaire be coming in late? Or standing up to Dupain-Cheng here? If anything, they already seemed to be friends.

Unless Cesaire was Dupain-Cheng’s tool like Sabrina had been for her?

It made sense that this new reality would swap more around, she reasoned.

Except…

Chloe frowned. Now that she was actually close enough to the classroom, she could see the classmates gathered into a sort of half circle around Dupain-Cheng and her follower. And as she reached the doorway, she could more clearly hear what they were saying.

“—at the Le Grand Paris.” Marinette said, gesturing to Alya with a smile.

“Wow!”

“So cool!”

“That’s awesome! So you’ve just been staying at the hotel until you can get settled in?”

Alya nodded, smiling. “Yeah. At least for a little while until we could get our own apartment. Mr. Dupain-Cheng was really accommodating. Luckily, we didn’t need it for long before Mom found something. She didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity, but it’s just really amazing that he was willing to offer us room and board just to have Mom as part of his staff!”

Chloe raised a nose in disgust.

Who ever heard of such a thing?! What hotel made any profit letting people stay for free?

“We met when I was cleaning rooms and she offered to help!” Marinette explained brightly.

Chloe nearly gagged.

Cleaned?

Marinette…actually cleaned the hotel?

Why do something that gross?

That’s what the help was for! And Sabrina.

Speaking of, where was she?

Chloe glanced around, but Sabrina was nowhere to be seen amongst the classmates.

Maybe the Wish had done more than switch her with Dupain-Cheng? Maybe Cesaire and Sabrina had been switched as well? So that meant Sabrina should be the new transfer, right?

No wait, that didn’t add up. She had just walked in on Cesaire being introduced.

Sabrina was probably just her best friend, then.

She nodded.

That was good enough, she supposed. At least if she couldn’t have her necessities from the hotel, she still had Sabrina to take care of the more mundane tasks for her.

Unaware of her thoughts, Marinette had continued talking to the others unhindered.

“—said she would be coming to Francios Dupont, and I knew I had to introduce her. She’s new, so be nice.” She instructed, giving a stare to Kim in particular. “Kim.”

The taller boy raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. I’ll give her a week before any challenges.”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “Challenges? Dare I ask?”

Everyone groaned.

“No dares.” Nino begged, covering his face with his hat. “Please. Kim is bad enough every year. I still can’t look at the hotel without remembering what happened last time…”

“Yeah, your dumb dare got us banned from the hotel’s pool for a month!” Alix said, pointing at Kim, who shrugged helplessly.

“Speaking of the hotel!” Marinette cut in, pulling out her tablet. “I convinced my dad to let us do this year’s work study at the hotel.” She tapped her tablet. “I have a little bit of influence over what they’ll choose as assignments, so we can try to come up with roles everyone will like.”

“Hey yeah! That sounds awesome!”

The classmates crowded the desk, chatting excitedly.

“So where will everyone go?”

“Maybe Kim and Max in security? Or Alix and Max in security, so Kim could work the pool area.”

“As a lifeguard?” Kim asked cheerfully. “I’ve done some training, after all.”

Marinette sent him a wry look and pretended to be thinking it over. “Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe as a pool cleaner?”

Kim pouted. “No fair, Mari!”

“Hey, it would do you some good to learn the cleaning process for the pools you use so much.” Mylene said, half jokingly and half pointedly, making Kim lower his head and groan.

Marinette giggled a little. “Well at any rate, I’ve set up a list of all the different jobs at the hotel so people can mark their top preferences. Between all the options, everyone is bound to find something that’ll suit them best.”

She sent Adrien a knowing look. “And of course Adrien will be in the kitchen.”

Adrien beamed at that.

Not that Chloe noticed.

“Kitchen?!” Chloe squawked. “You’re going to make my Adrikens work in a dirty old kitchen?!”

She had known Marinette would be bad, but how dare she punish Adrikens like that? She could just see it now! Her poor Adrikens, forced to slave away in a room meant for servants like…like he was a servant! Where he could get covered in grime and burn his precious skin!

Everyone frowned at her, as if she was the one being ridiculous!

The boy in question raised his hand.

“But I want to—”

“That is a flagrant abuse of power!” Chloe shouted, slamming a hand on the desk. “She’s making Adrikens work like a maid! What if his father hears about this?!”

Adrien wilted in on himself.

“The kitchen isn’t dirty or old.” Marinette said, sounding annoyingly calm with a terseness in her tone that Chloe had heard some service workers use when dealing with particularly difficult customers—though why they used it with her was beyond her. It was as if Marinette was acting like she the reasonable one dealing with an unreasonable customer or something. “They just finished the remodeling three months ago, we clean it regularly, and all of our utensils and equipment are taken good care of.”

“That’s not the point!” Chloe shouted. “How could you use my Adrikens in such a way? Gabriel Agreste would never approve when he hears about this!”

Because he would be hearing about this! Chloe would make sure of it!

“I could just explain to Mr. Agreste that this would be for good publicity.” Marinette suggested. “I’m sure he would allow it.”

She knew it! There were really no lows she wouldn’t go to!

“You’re really pushing this! And you call yourself Adrikens’ friend!” Chloe pointed at Marinette accusingly. “Just because your Daddy’s the Mayor doesn’t mean you can treat people like they’re lesser than you!”

Marinette frowned, looking uncertain as her gaze flickered between the others.

Hah! Even in Chloe’s position, Marinette still wavered easily and she couldn’t hide her insecurities to save her life. It was why she always gave in in the end! Anyone would roll over someone showing such an obvious weakness!

Hell, she may not even need to wait to see her taken down. This was a perfect opportunity to lead everyone in rising up against her tyranny.

After a few seconds, she turned back to face Chloe, no doubt to attack her for challenging her and show her true colors—

“Chloe, are you okay?”

Huh?

“My Dad just runs the Hotel. He isn’t the Mayor.”

What?!

“My Mom is. You met her at your…” She hesitated, sending the others a glance before lowering her voice, “…meeting, remember?”

She had to bite her tongue regarding the ridiculousness of Dupain-Cheng’s mother being the Mayor. Was that woman even a French citizen?

But it was the other part of Marinette’s statement that concerned her. What meeting? What was she even getting at? Why was she trying to be quiet about it.

Nevermind! She’d worry about that later!

“It doesn’t matter!” Chloe shouted, forcing Marinette to back away. “The fact is that you can’t just throw your weight around to get your way and treat people however you like! And I’m not the only one who feels that way!” She exclaimed, turning to the classmates in expectation.

…only to get a number of blank or confused stares in response.

“Um, what are you even talking about?” Alya asked incredulously.

What?

“Yeah, dude! Marinette doesn’t treat anyone that way.” Nino added.

What?

“The only one who pulls that sort of thing is you.” Said Nathaniel bitingly.

Since when does that loser talk?

And also, what?!

“And aren’t you supposed to be leaving Marinette alone?” Alix asked, giving Chloe a pointed look.

What even was that about?

“I thought that was the agreement.” Mylene said quietly.

Seriously?! Was everyone on her side?

They were supposed to be silent! Or judging the Mayor’s brat! That’s what they did with Chloe! Instead, they were jumping to her defense!

“Are you serious?” She demanded. “Like she doesn’t abuse her power and authority to push people around!”

“Of course not!” Marinette insisted. And then to Chloe’s rage, seemed to draw herself up even more, actually looking confident and self assured in a way Chloe herself had never felt in her place. “As the daughter of the mayor, I have to set a good example.”

Ex…

Example?

What even was that?

Unaware of Chloe’s short-circuiting, she continued. “And Chloe, I wouldn’t force anyone to do a role that they don’t want. That’s why I brought the list here for the class to review first.” She gestured to her tablet. “That way everyone has a chance to pick what roles they want and we can avoid the ones no one wants to do. How is that a bad thing?”

It wasn’t, admittedly. But Marinette wasn’t supposed to be the one doing it! That was the problem!

“And who put you in charge?!” Chloe demanded of Marinette. “Why are you deciding where we’ll do the work study? What, are you using the Class Rep position to flaunt your family’s hotel?”

It would make sense. Chloe had been the Class Rep for years originally. If Marinette was her…

Marinette just gave her a strange look.

“No. I’m not Class Rep, remember?”

Chloe balked.

“What?”

“Chloe, did you hit your head?” Marinette asked, sounding worried. She held a hand out in offering. “Do you need to go to the Nurse’s Office?”

Chloe jerked away from the girl’s outreached hand. Why would Dupain-Cheng still be acting…nice?

Clearly she must still be pretending!

“Nevermind that! If you aren’t the Class Rep, then who is?”

“Your benevolent dictator is here!” Came a voice. A familiar voice. The last one Chloe expected.

“Hey, Class Rep.” Marinette said, giving Chloe a pointed look while waving to the person behind her.

Chloe turned slowly. She had to force herself to move. The strain made it feel like her bones were creaking.

Behind her, Sabrina stood tall with a tablet in hand and looking…surprisingly well for a new reality as a lackey of someone other than Chloe. She almost didn’t recognize her.

Chloe stood straight, expecting the standard greeting.

To her shock, Sabrina didn’t even look at her, instead moving past her to…

“Wow, Marinette! Nice jacket!” Sabrina said first thing in greeting as she moved over to the other girl in interest.

Marinette blushed at the praise. “Thanks! My dad got me some new fabric and I was inspired to try this style!” She gave a wink. “Now this is just a test run to see how it works out.”

“It certainly looks comfortable.” Sabrina said in awe.

Were…were they ignoring her?

“I have some of the material left.” Marinette said. “I could make you your own for your birthday if you want?”

Oh gag! Why would anyone want Marinette’s tacky creations instead of the latest in season creation?

And there was Sabrina looking like that was something to be excited about!

Oh no! Without Chloe to guide her, she had lost any sense of fashion! No matter how much fuller her hair was or how she no longer looked like a strong wind could blow her away!

Clearly, her life was a tragedy without Chloe!

“And I checked like you asked.” Marinette continued, unaware of Chloe’s glare. “My Dad said we could do the work study at his hotel.”

“Thank you!” Sabrina cheered. “That’ll be one less thing to worry about.”

“Yeah, we were talking about that when you came in.” Marinette explained.

Chloe glared pointedly at the girl over the way she was blatantly ignoring that they had been in the middle of Chloe calling her out! Seriously, what was the point of getting to tell people off for their flaws if they were going to ignore you and pretend it never happened! Really! You can’t just ignore the truth like that!

“We were discussing what positions everyone wanted.” Mylene said. “Even if we can’t get the exact ones we’d like, there’ll at least be options.”

“Juleka and I can clean the ball room!” Rose exclaimed. “It will give us a chance to check the acoustics of the room. We’ve been wondering about the effects and what to expect if our band ever plays in such an area.“

Nino looked intrigued at that. “Hey, that does sound like a good idea. Maybe sign me up for that as well?” He asked, turning to Marinette before mumbling to himself about the echo effect on his beats.

Marinette gave him a nod before turning back to Rose. “I heard you guys just started, didn’t you?“

Rose nodded, beaming. “It’s so much fun!”

Marinette smiled and marked it down on her list. “Then I’ll suggest that for you.”

She paused for a moment, hesitating in clear unwillingness to continue before giving a strained smile.

“And Chloe...”

“How about trash cleanup?” Alix snarked, giving the girl a dark look.

“Excuse you?!” Chloe shouted in outrage. “Do you know who my daddy is?!”

The looks she was given were completely unimpressed.

“A baker?”

“And not even a good one.”

"Hey, his croissants are all right."

Chloe blanched, remembering that her father wasn’t the mayor in this world.

He wasn’t even rich.

He was just a baker now. A simple ordinary not even very good baker who was barely keeping his head above water trying to maintain his business and manage his teenage daughter.

And that made Chloe…

Nothing.

Her go to tactic now had no power.

But…but Sabrina! She realized in a flash that her minion was apparently the Class Rep! She could have her back her!

But when she spun around to look, the girl had actually just abandoned her and the gathering altogether to sit next to Mylene of all people! Mylene! And they were just…chatting! Since when did those two spend time together! And why wasn’t Sabrina there for her?!

“Chloe!” Came the only voice worth listening to.

Oh, Adrikens! Of course you would always be there for her!

She spun to him in expectation. Because of course her Adrikens would be on her side! Her savior! Her only ally against such cruel tyranny—

But he didn’t look happy. Or in any way amicable to her. “Don’t forget!” He whispered sharply to her. “You’re still on probation! You can’t start another commotion before the first class of the school year has even started!”

Chloe blinked.

Pro…

Probation?

…

…

…

Her?!

“How am I on—?!”

It was impossible! She had never had a criminal record! She’d never even committed a crime! Or anything that warranted getting in trouble over!

Regardless of what Ladybug said, since she clearly had it out for her.

“Just leave Marinette alone.” Adrien whispered, turning her away from the rest of the group and…her. “Please.”

She didn’t want to. There were so many questions and so many things she wanted to demand right now. She was very well inclined to make demands regardless, because she didn’t know what was going on and she needed answers.

But it was her Adrikens asking.

And she didn’t have much chance to say anything else as Bustier had chosen that time to arrive.

“Welcome back, everyone!” The woman greeted cheerfully. Her arrival cut off all other discussion as the students made their way to their desks. “I hope everyone had a good break and that we’re all ready to start the new year.”

A chorus of affirmations followed as everyone took their seats.

Everyone except Chloe, who was glancing around the room in confusion.

None of this was right.

She had expected to fight with Marinette over her seat to get to sit behind Adrien, but he was sitting at the back next to Nathaniel. And Marinette was sitting in the mid row on the other side from him, pulling Alya to sit next to her. But if she wasn’t sitting behind Adrien, what was even the point of challenging her for her seat?

…where even was Chloe’s seat?

She would have sad next to Sabrina, but that traitor hadn’t moved from her spot next to Mylene and left no room for Chloe! And nobody else was calling Chloe over—so if someone else had taken Sabrina’s place as her best friend, she had no way of even knowing who it was!

“Chloe,” Bustier called to her, ever so gently. “Your seat is up at the front, remember? As we discussed the last time we met.” She gestured to the bench at the front.

It was across the one Chloe had sat at previously, being the front desk closest to the door. And to her frustration, there was no one sitting with her! How else was she supposed to get her assignments copied? And wasn’t that the seat that loser, Nino, had been put in because he got in trouble? Chloe wasn’t in trouble though!

Adrien’s words about probation hit her, making her wince.

…was she?

She wanted to ask. She wanted to stomp her foot and demand the answers she deserved.

But Bustier was staring at her expectantly. And she could hear some giggles and snickering from behind her the longer she waited. She glanced back to Adrikens, but…he wasn’t even looking at her! He was conversing with Nathaniel over something on his sketchbook!

How could a sketchbook be more important than his best friend?!

With little other choice, Chloe slid into the front desk, blushing furiously in humiliation and trying to ignore everyone behind her.

It didn’t matter.

None of them mattered!

None of this would matter once she got the Miraculous and put Dupain-Cheng in her place! Then everyone would know SHE was the Queen Bee!

She was sure of it!

[tarosin]

the great adventures of y/n, tubbo and jack - we built a boat

requested: yes/no

this is part 10 to the great adventures series

you didn’t actually expect to be filming a vlog with tubbo and jack today, you were spending one of you last days away from home with lani at the beach, not knowing that tubbo and jack would make you join them. you ended up finding several rocks you liked and ran off to pick them up thinking tubbo would like them, so you put them in your pocket. whilst you were collecting rocks, lani was on the phone to tubbo letting him know you were actually at the beach if he wanted you to join him in the vlog.

“wait y/ns there? put them on the phone.”

“they’re in the water.”

“why?”

“ill ask, Y/N WHY ARE YOU IN THE WATER?!”

“I FOUND A ROCK THAT MATCHES RANBOOS BRAND BUT A WAVE TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME AND IM NOT LETTING POSEIDON WIN!”

“yeah they’re fighting Poseidon, where are you going to be? ill bring them to you.”

few minutes later you made your way to lani drenched in water.

“i fell…stop laughing!”

“im not!”

“you’re eyes are literally watering because you’re holding in your laughter, anyway look what i got you!”

you placed a clear quartz crystal and a piece of sea glass in lanis hand.

“thank you y/n!! wait this isn’t like your other rocks?”

“i know!! it’s clear quartz and sea glass. i felt like you should have it! i think it’s because i won the battle with Poseidon!”

“you fell.”

“shut up!”

“are you staying at ours again tonight?”

“think so… wanna turn the crystal into a necklace?”

“definitely!”

lani ended up taking you to where tubbo was, but didn’t tell you what was happening, you only found out when you looked up to see jack recording you and lani.

“hold up, guest appearance.”

“oh hi lani…y/n, guess what?”

you looked down to see the boat.

“oh fuck no!”

you walked away laughing, tubbo followed after you dragging you back to the others.

“they said they can’t wait to go on the boat with us jack!”

“how likely is he to be able to build this?? how likely are me and y/n going to drown??”

“uhm good chances!”

“of what?”

“lani, am i going to live or die?”

you laughed as lani walked away shrugging.

“tubbo how much money did you spend on this…”

“£50.”

“oh great i’m drowning today!”

you stood next to jack tilting your head as tubbo attached the sail to the pole.

“just remember if you two die, i’m in your will.”

“i didn’t write a will.”

“well that was your first mistake y/n did!”

“tubbo gets my rock collection, tommy gets whatever he wants just not the rock collection, ranboo gets whatever tommy doesn’t want, and you get what ranboo doesn’t want.”

a few minutes later you helped tubbo put the sail up whilst jack stood filming you both.

“this looks unsafe..”

“and muddy.”

“it’s unsafe and muddy but we’re trying our best.”

“jack didn’t do anything.”

“rude!”

you stood next to lani trying to convince her to go on the boat so you didn’t have to as tubbo tried to lasso jack. after being told no several times, you stood with jack whilst tubbo began to tie a figure of 8, you watched as tubbo began teaching you how to actually tie a figure of 8 using a really morbid story.

“…heh”

“why was that so morbid?”

“we like death on the tubbo channel!”

“i want to go home!”

“no!”

“okay!”

the three of you began to carry the boat out to the sea, however you crashed into something straight away.

“could be worse…could have hit a member of the public.”

“IM TRYING!”

“i can tell…it’s not good enough but i can tell.”

“…TO HIT SOMEONE!”

“NO!”

“my bad T bo!”

“what the fuck did you call me?”

as you were getting ready to go down the ramp, lani looked directly at you and tubbo who were now trying to push each other into the water.

“try not to hit little people in the water!”

“little people…”

“shall we waterproof up?”

you turned around a minute later only to have tubbo holding his phone up to your face after annoying jack with it .

“say hello.”

“hi there , please send help. i’m going to die!”

“ignore y/n, they’re just dramatic..i wouldn’t let them drown.”

you helped tubbo get the boat into the water as jack filmed the pair of you .

“it’s cold.”

“i’ve been in here before…i fell.”

“how cold was it?”

“very.”

“the weed of the sea is in my feet.”

“ew! what the fuck!”

lani noticed you had all let go of the boat and yelled at you all to grab the boat before it left you all behind, jack, and tubbo got in the boat, however you refused as lani kept yelling that the trailer was on.

“oh we’ve left the trailer on.”

“that’s what lani has been saying.”

tubbo got off to untie the trailer and you stood nervously laughing as the wheel fell off .

“i'm actually going to die!”

“it’s fineee!”

you helped jack get out the boat, so you could all fix the boat.

“he thinks we could be doing better.”

“i think everyone could think that.”

jack got on the boat first, then tubbo, who then helped you get onto the boat.

“off we go!”

for the first five minutes, the three of you sat yelling at each other what you all should be doing to make the boat go forwards.

“i quite like this.”

“we’re not moving!”

“exactly!”

soon enough you had figured it all out and waved goodbye to the others after they gave you a thumbs up.

“TO FRANCE!”

“so now what do we do?”

“pray.”

“heh?”

“to what?”

“god..say your final goodbyes we’re going to die!”

“hey that rhymed, you’re a genius!”

at this point the boat had completely stopped moving, however tubbo didn’t think this was the case, and began trying to turn the boat around as it was apparently going to shore, despite the fact you and jack were telling him you all hadn’t moved.

“so what’s the sail for?”

“i mean jack has a point you are paddling.”

“luck!”

“….HEH?”

“y/n you talk to technoblade too much.”

“i’ve been saying heh before i met tommy, what the fuck?”

“jack go up to the front, so y/n can sit next to me.”

jack moved and you sat next to tubbo.

“so how long does it take to go to france?”

“ahh you know, about 20 minutes.”

“how fast do you think we’re going bud?”

“on a, on a, on a train.”

“how would you get the train?”

“i don’t think the train can go across this..”

rather than answering that question tubbo decided he made a hit list.

“we’re going to just go through here.”

“…through where?”

“between the people.”

“NO!”

“you’re creating unnecessary danger.”

you and tubbo started bickering about why he suddenly decided that he was going to hit a bunch of people with the boat for no reason.

“fine you take control y/n!”

“tubbo you were going to kill them!”

“that’s just part of the sailing life!”

you just stared at tubbo shaking your head slightly, trying to process what just happened, then all of a sudden tubbo got up and put you in charge of controlling the boat. you were surprisingly good at it, which was lucky for tubbo and jack who were now leaning out of the boat claiming that they were hiking. they only stopped when the boat began to go faster and noticed you had no idea what you were doing.

“y/n is going to be the reason we crash!”

“yeah i will!”

“why do you sound happy about that?”

“eta france?”

“any second now.”

you decided to focus on making sure the boat was going where you wanted it to go, whilst the others yelled out to the sea occasionally yelling phrases in french as they claimed they could see the french. well you think tubbo was yelling phrases in french, however halfway through you were convinced he started just yelling things in a french accent as he revealed he didn’t actually know french, resulting in jack asking to go to russia as he knows russian.

“y/n, sail is to russia!”

“you know what i don’t wanna drive here you go jack it’s your turn.”

“I DONT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE!”

“we’re sick of this shit aren’t we y/n, jack take that…you’re on the wrong side switch sides with us.”

you all swapped sides and you and tubbo sat with your arms around each other instructing jack how to sail .

“yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“thats good now turn us and we’ll be in the wind.”

“we’re about to catch the wind.”

“JACK MANIFOLD GET READY!”

you all swapped sides again and tubbo whispered in your ear, as you sat next to him, about making the boat capsize so jack would go into the water, jack ended up doing a lot better than you and tubbo did, and you all actually started going pretty fast. however, there was absolutely no way you’d get to land any time soon. you sat laughing with tubbo whilst jack yelled about how he was a fisherman, and that’s why he was doing so well and how he studied their fins so he could find out how fish swim.

“for a £50 boat it’s done us well, look we’re sailing, the water cleaned the boat.”

“we havent died.”

“im a little wet, but not too bad.”

“must be nice.”

“oh yeah you fell earlier.”

“how?”

“they were fighting Poseidon.”

“huh?”

“they probably found a rock they liked and went to get it but it ended up in water.”

“…yeah.”

you all ended up catching the wind and tubbo decided to make you and jack do reaction images.

“help girl, i don’t know how to sail.”

“okay jack your turn, drive and film.”

“hey look i’m filming and driving!”

“no film me and y/n!”

jack filmed the pair of you, tubbo had his arm around you to prevent you from falling out of the boat as you had a habit of leaning out the boat to touch the water. you had no idea what to do so ended up copying tubbo, the pair of you took off your hats .

“tips fedora…what do you want to name our boat?”

“tubboat!”

“no way..”

“THE TUBBOATS REAL NOW!!”

it was around now you and tubbo claimed you were all drifting out to sea, and to just let the wind take you wherever it wants to, whereas jack claimed the boat wasn’t moving at all. you pointed at a boat which was moving a lot quicker than you were.

“HES GOT WIND!”

“WHERES OUR WIND?”

“he stole our wind.”

“we’re stranded jack,y/n.”

you noticed lani and waved out to her.

“LANI!”

“jacks sailing, hes getting sailing tips from my cousins!”

“great can he take us to land?”

“no.”

“YO WERE ZOOMING!”

“i hope we don’t capsize..”

“why would we?”

tubbo looked at you and you nodded back at him.

“hey jack we’re gonna tip this boat!”

and with that the pair of you stood up and began tipping the boat over whilst laughing.

“SUCKER WERE STILL DRY!”

“tubbo i’m about to fall!”

tubbo grabbed your hand keeping you up on the boat with him, you both even managed to get back in the boat without getting wet.

“no, if i’m in you have to be in too.”

jack pushed tubbo into the water tubbo then went on to pull you into the water with him.

“NO!”

“IM FREEZING!”

tubbo helped you onto the boat first as this was the second time you ended up in the water, and you were quite clearly cold, he got on after you. you sat on the boat as he filmed the outro and jumped back into the water. once jack ended the recording, you reached out your hand to tubbo helping him back onto the boat. the way back to shore was you and tubbo clinging onto each other trying to warm up, and the three of you making shit jokes, and enjoying each other’s company. you even made a few more plans for when ranboos in the uk. few hours later you had said goodbye to jack and went back to tubbos house, tubbo let you shower first while he stayed with lani as she streamed.

“chuck your clothes outside the door, i’ll put them in the dryer whilst you shower. you can change into these.”

tubbo gave you a hoodie from his merch collection that would be dropping soon, along with your pyjama pants, 30 minutes later you sat with lani whilst tubbo went off to shower, lani ended up finishing the stream after 15 minutes.

“wanna make the necklaces lani?”

“i’d love to!”

not long later tubbo joined the pair of you.

“oooh tubbo i got you some more rocks, they're over there with your phone.”

you ended up making a couple of them into necklaces for him, so the the three of you had something to help you remember the day.

“y/n, i hope you’re enjoying your stay, youll practically be living here for a few month soon.”

“wait their parents said yes?!”

“what are you all talking about?”

taglist:

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