#have to apologize for the either very orange or blue scenes

[iloveinej]

𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐠𝐞

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Xavier Thorpe x reader

Category: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: none, heartbreak, maybe violence

Summary: (Name) is in love with Xavier, but can't be sure about his feelings and therefore does nothing. Until the Poe cup, where Xavier desires to make her mind a mess.

Words: I have no fucking idè

A/N: this was supposed to be a super long fan fiction that went in-depth and had a great story. But I only had the energy to write the first scene. I hope you'll enjoy it either way. Thank to @eunoiathewriter for the help;)

Yeah

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The sun's autumn beams were stronger today than they had been in a long time and it was refreshing to see the blue sky instead of the grey clouds that were filled with cold rain.

(Name) wished that she could feel more delight in the orange globe, but her skin had been itching ever since she stepped out in the sun.

Yoko did recommend a very good sunscreen a while ago, but (Name) lost her bottle, and didn't think about getting a new one since it was autumn and she thought that the sun wouldn't be as irritating as it was right now.

(Name) adjusted herself in the black-painted canoe, already feeling uncomfortable in the wooden seat. It created a small ripple in the water, and she couldn't help but transfix it since the sun made it look like a thousand shining tears. She loved the water and adored taking a swim in the lake when she used to be young, it was calming and brought her joy which was something that she was always searching for in her life. Joy and content, so she was sure that she was living her best life. But of course, it wasn't easy. It was like, so it wasn't supposed to be.

Someone cleared their throat above her, and her attention away from the beautiful water, to see that Enid we're looking at her with a teasing grin.

"What?" (Name) asked with a perplexed furrow in her eyebrow as a giggle left the blond girl's lips.

Enid looked away from her, and instead fixed her eyes on something to their left, and (Name) slowly followed her gaze to where it was pointing.

When she spotted what Enid was implying (Name) to look at, she snapped her head back towards Enid and gave her a malicious glare, to which Enid returned with a cutesy wink. A habit that had become a costume.

What Enid had been looking at -or rather who- was a boy from one of the opposite teams. A boy with long, light golden hair, that was sadly covered by a mildly atrocious jingling hat.

Her grip on the oar tightened as Xavier playfully smiled at his teammates, for it felt like she was going to throw up butterflies. Not many knew that she had a romantic interest in Xavier, and she intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. If it was something she despised, it was when people she barely knew were up and rummaging through her personal life.

Then, absolutely out of nowhere, a shot tore her eardrums, jubilees from other students echoed over the lake, and her teammates yelled at each other to row faster. She hadn't even realized that Weems had been speaking in the first place.

The autumn wind blew coldly against her face as they accelerated, and water splashed against her hands, perfect droplets landing on her black nail polish. A shiver ran down her spine when the tip of her sleeves got wet, and for only a second she lost her attention to the race and tried to roll up her sleeves.

"Duck!" Someone shouted, and (Name) felt a hand press down her head from behind, making her barely miss the axe that came swinging towards her.

"Pay attention." Wednesday chastised her. (Name) pursed her lips, she was about to apologize, but it got caught in her throat as one of the four canoes was split in half as it crashed into a big red object in the middle of the river. The people in the boat flew off it on the impact, and with screams landed in the murky water.

Something, like a shadow, swished under the canoe, and she bit the inside of her cheek in both nerves and expectation.

But nothing happened, and they were seeing the end of the tunnel as their water road got smaller and the small dock was able to be spotted. The clowns got to port first, which left a taste of disdain in her mouth along with with a pinch of annoyance. She watched as one of them left the boat to run into the forest, right for the flag hidden amongst the leaves. But she didn't see who it was.

Barely a minute after, their canoe made contact with the sore, jerking slightly at the impact.

"Who will get the flag?" (Name) hastily questioned while tying the boat.

"I think that-" Enid began but was interrupted by Wednesday.

"(Name) should get it, she is the quickest on her feet. And the canoe needs to be guarded." (Name)'s eyes shot up to meet Wednesday's in absolute shock. But Wednesday we're visibly stuck in a stare-off with Enid.

"Fine." She settled and proceeded back to sit in the boat, seeming to have a few phrases exchanged with Thing. (Name) looked on Wednesday again, wanting to complain that she was an awful choice. But she didn't leave any room for (Name) to kvetch and gave her persistent nod before turning away.

And they were short on time, so she clenched her jaw and began to jog into the autumn.

Finding the flags wasn't hard, but pulling her team flag out of the pile of stone was proven to be harder than she assumed. It was shoved in between three big stones, and they were squeezing the end of the flag into a position that was difficult to manipulate.

Even though she did consider herself to be a moderately strong person, excluding the perks of being an undead, bloodsucking creature, this was getting ridiculous.

She braised one of her legs against the stone and gave it a last wag before she yanked at it with all of her strength, and finally, it came out.

But the backlash was that she lost her balance and fell straight down on her back, dropping the flag in the process.

A hiss of beating pain that bloomed in her back escaped her, and the air left her lungs. So she had no choice but to lay on the ground just so that she could get her breath back.

"What are you doing?" The question startled her, and her eyes shot open to be met with the clown-painted face of Xavier.

Her body tensed and she quickly swallowed the embarrassment and nerves down her tight throat.

"I fell." She voiced, almost like a robot. Xavier scoffed as his feet shuffled around by her head, where he was standing.

"You don't say." She didn't answer, mostly because she felt like there wasn't an answer, otherwise because she felt close to speechless.

There was a quiet second as Xavier waited for an answer that wouldn't come before he realized that he was waiting for nothing, and instead, he walked over to her feet where the flag had rolled away.

She began to slowly push herself off the ground, grunting as her back stretched from the comfortless position. And at the same time, she didn't dare to look away from Xavier, for he now stood his full height, with her flag in his right hand, and his flag in his left. Clenching her fists, she stood up and looked at Xavier, stretching out her hand.

"The flag, Xavier." He looked at her with devious eyes and she pursed her lips in dread as he didn't seem to budge.

"Please, there's no time for this." She didn't want to turn towards desperation to get what she wanted, but neither did she want to see Enid disappointed for another year because her team didn't get the Poe Cup. And especially if she could have done something about it.

He seemed to be contemplating but she knew that he just wanted to tease.

"Alright, since you said please."

He sauntered closer with the black flag extended toward her, and she took a strong grip around the hilt so that he wouldn't be able to pull it away. But she was about to take it completely in her hands, Xavier, pulled quite hard at his end of the flag, sending (Name) straight into his chest with a yelp.

"On one condition."He declared, and she wrinkled her eyebrows in both puzzlements, and to hide her flustered face.

She jerked in surprise as one of his hands came up to her cheek. It warmed against her autumn skin, and the contrast felt like a sunrise. Where night meets day, and the moon gets a glimpse of the sun before she disappeared behind the edge of the earth.

His smooth thumb caressed her skin, and her world ended as the sun in her heart rose.

"You can stop me whenever you want." He whispered.

She would never stop him.

Fingers came under her jaw, and Xavier angled her face towards his. A breath, containing her uncertainty left her cold lips, and something resembling a tidal wave raised inside of her.

Xavier's big, brown eyes met hers, crammed with fierceness and perseverance. (Name) had never seen him look at anyone with the same fire, and she almost questioned if the eyes she was gazing into were Xaviers.

But what disclosed his true self, were the underlying innocence and softness in his eyes. That kind of innocence and softness made him look like the boyish teenager that he truly was. It comforted her, he comforted her in the most unexpected ways.

His breath fanned upon her nose, and she sweetly realized that he'd brought his face closer.

A precious pair of lips were placed upon hers, fitting in between hers like a puzzle, and (Name) found herself wanting to bask in that feeling forever- to never let anything sad, heartbreaking, angry, or frustrating get to her mind again. Only ever live in this silent peace that finally had settled in her heart.

Nature interrupted them, interrupted the moment that she had yearned for, interrupting the fleeting feelings of longing inside Xavier's ribcage.

He broke apart from her as the dry leaves were crushed against the earthy soil, and his panicked eyes passed swiftly over the area, trying to locate the source of the sound.

A glance was thrown toward (Name), and when their eyes came together, like lightning clashing against each other, Xavier's hand swiftly pulled away from her now warm skin, and (Name) could decipher the change of emotions in his face and she realized that she had dragged herself into something painful.

The resting comfort of his face was pulled into regret and anxiety.

Then he swallowed while shaking his head before he ran.

He flew away from her, from her cracking heart and her conflicted mind.

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That's it folks, part 2 maybe?

[thepaintedlady00]

Burden Chapter 12 Sneak Peek!

It was a close one, but our wings won! Now, I'd like to point out I posted the vote choices before I read through what I had written, and as many of you know there is a particularly intense scene that I do not remember adding to this chapter which just so happened to be linked with our wing pick. Y'all have some kind of sixth sense for angst and spice! 😂 SO here you go! Enjoy! 🤭 (note this is still largely unedited so if ya see mistakes no you don't! 🤣)

As he entered the misty outer wall of the dream he felt his form shift. His clothes and hair resembled that of the attire he'd worn hundreds of years ago during one of his meetings with Hob Gadling. Leather lined his body, tight and chilled with his skin and the familiar weight of his ruby hung around his neck as he ventured deeper into the meadow of soft grass and a sky, half of starlight and deep blue night and of golden sunrise and soft white clouds. It was peaceful here, the wind light and gentle as the sound of rippling water echoed in his ears. It reminded him of Fiddler’s Green, though this was different.

There rising up from the sparkling water Munin appeared like the first glimpse of sunlight peeking over the horizon of a long night. Two wings of blinding white spread on either side of her, dripping with water as it ran off the silken exterior of the feathers. The simple nightgown she wore glistened with hues of gold and pink and orange as she quietly rose from the water, but Dream had a difficult time focusing on anything but the sight of her body beneath the now sheer fabric.

The Dream King’s eyes slowly traveled down the length of your admiring every curve of your body accentuated by the sheer, wet fabric that clung to you. He sucked in a deep breath, forcing his eyes to tear away from the peaks of your breasts before the sight of the soft, ample flesh plainly visible beneath your slip, made the urge to touch you grow too great for even him to contain. You were practically bare before him.

White feathers ruffled, bringing a spray of water to hang around you like frozen jewels. Your eyes, bright and shimmering like the sun over water metal his and for a moment he felt like you'd stolen the very breath from his lungs. "Lord Morpheus," you said quietly. "I did not think one such as yourself would care to greet me in my first dream."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, swallowed the heated words it contained. "Apologies. I did not intend to intrude, Lady Munin."

You smiled with a gentle tilt of your head. "Can you intrude if it is a dream? I thought such was your domain."

"It is," he answered, casting his eyes away from you as you venture closer to him. "But individual dreams are intimate things. I do not venture within them lightly."

"Then why venture into mine?"

Starlit eyes met yours as he answered, sweet and gentle. "Because I heard your voice call to me. I thought…"

The crown of stars shifted, consumed for a quick moment by memories of Daunt's demise… Of all her calls to him left unanswered. "Forgive me," you said. "I did not mean to worry you."

Dream pushed the memory's away, once again casting his beautiful eyes elsewhere. "Did you need something, my Lady?"

“Do you find me ugly, Lord Morpheus?” You asked, examining his tight face, great white wings curling toward him as though they'd wished to embrace him as you did.

“No,” he answered, eyes boring down into yours, the stars within them quaking.

With a simple tilt of your head you inquired further, “Then why are you so adamant about looking anywhere else but me?”

"I look elsewhere for fear that if my gaze lingers too long I shall want for more than just the sight of you.”

You hummed quietly, a thoughtful sound that shouldn’t have made him burn with want but did. “Do you wish to touch me?”

“That is hardly-”

“Because I want to touch you,” your soft admittance nearly brought him to his knees. It was why your thoughts, your being, had called out to him in this lovely dream. Ever since he'd departed from your realm all you could think of was him. Was the accidental touches and the way each of them made the longing in your heart ache more.

Dream forced himself to refrain as he quietly said, “This is your dream, Lady Munin. You may do as you wish.”

You wasted no time lifting a hand to run along the shining dark leather of his fine attire, the feeling of longing within your chest stilling as you touched him, replaced with a powerful thrum of want. He was soft, softer now that you’d actually meant to touch him. You moved your hand up, watching the great Endless being practically shake with restraint beneath your palm. “You say I may do as I wish, but does this plain not belong to you?” You asked as your fingertips brushed against the skin of his neck, lightly tracing up his throat until you reached his lips. “Is this not a dream conjured into being by your power?”

“I could change it,” he admitted against your fingertips. “But this is your dream. Brought to life within your mind, and would not steal away your control over your own unconsciousness, not ever.”

“A relief,” You said. “For I do not wish this dream to end. It is far easier to touch you here, where you're not like to pull away from me as though my touch burns you… Where it’s not entirely real.”

Something in his eyes shifted as a slight shadow darkened over his form. He took a step forward, placing himself right up against you. The chill that swept over you, peaked your nipples beneath your gown even more as you stared up at him with a gasp. “Does this not feel real?” He inquired, voice echoing… a thing of dreams and nightmares and something so entirely other you could hardly understand it. 

He slowly lifted a hand to touch you, lithe fingers brushing against one of your wings, gliding along the silken feathers and bringing a rush of pleasure down your spine. “Do you not feel my touch?" His hand continued, moving down your neck to brush against one of your nipples. "Does my voice not echo through your soul as your voice did mine to call me here?”

With a soft breath against him as your hands found purchase against the thick chilled leather of his chest you replied, “It does… I do.”

“Was this your wish this night, fair Lady Munin?” he asked, fingers mirroring yours as they ran up the valley between your breasts and the length of your throat, his fingers brushing against your jaw. “To feel me.”

You nodded, looking up into his eyes. “I have wanted to feel you for longer than even I can remember.” With a gentleness that made Dream want to weep, you lifted your hands to cup his cheeks. “Mighty King of Nightmares,” you whispered, soft warm breath fanning across his lips. “Prince of Stories,” you leaned in closer, drawing him into you with nothing but your sweet voice. “I would feel you, mind, body, and soul if you would only let me.”

[pelagic-crimson]

Apologies for the War and Peace and long delay, I do like my flowers and also rereading like five different books to see if there's any random plant symbolism I missed

1 - While not mentioned in The Wings, a reoccurring motif in Yi Sang's other short stories which also feature him as the main character like Deathly Child and Spider&Spider&Pig are tangerines, so perhaps satsuma/orange blossoms? Forsythias are also briefly mentioned in The Wings when Yi Sang escapes after discovering the adalin. He also goes on about aspirin, which is from willow trees which in Korean literature has symbolism relating to never leaving your lover ("a willow to your bedside" to be precise), which imo would be very fitting given its used to trap Yi Sang to his bed

2 - Full disclosure, I haven't read Faust, and I kinda feel her character is too shrouded in mystery to make any accurate judgements. If you follow the 'Faust is a homunculus' theory, then perhaps something impossible/possible only through human intervention like the blue rose/carnation or lemon blossoms. Or something alchemical, like mandrake or belladona, as Faust's an alchemist and our version has a witch thing going on.

3 - I don't think Don Quixote has a lot of flower motifs going on, but aside from generally sticking to like really obvious ones (I feel like the character who adores cheesy mediaeval romances deserves the like really cheesy flower symbolism), I feel you do something with Don and wormwood - it's often claimed to be a hallucinogenic and is often portrayed as this magical green fairy leading you into a world of delusion, except in reality wormwood doesn't do anything like that and has that reputation because it's associated with absinthe, a very deceptively alcoholic drink. You could use it as either Don being more aware of the world than people assume, or a parallel to how Don's behaviour is blamed on something benign (books) rather than the actual underlying problem (mental health and/or the state of the system). It also has connections to the apocalypse in the Bible and has yellow flowers, which I think also suits Miss Oblivion Yellow.

Or you could do something like wheat or grapes or some other crop to reflect Don's pastoral origin as they're the backdrop for a lot of Don Quixote, and how she's not really anything special. Also wheat's connected to horses and Don likes horses.

(also you gotta put Don in a suit and let her have her bishie Utena prince moment, if you don't straight up make her a knight in shining armour)

4 - I think Spider lilies are already associated with Ryoshu in-game, and you could continue that with the more western white lily as another funerary flower. You could then be literal and stretch the definition of lily to include the corpse lily, as Ryoshu's masterpiece is described as being so realistic it reeks of rotting flesh, or go more ironic and use "water lilies"/lotuses, to reflect Ryoshu and her author's utter distain for Buddhism, which the lotus represents the purity of.

5 - Christ allegory guy gets the Christ allegory flower - blood red roses. By the virtue of heavily drawing from the same event and figure they share a lot of symbolism - five petals for the five wounds inflicted on Christ/by gunshot, thorns representing the pain of sacrificing yourself to the benign indifference of your execution's audience, that sort of thing. The text itself mentions Asphodels - they're heavily connected to the dead and funerary rites and Elysium (and are rather notably described as he sets the scene for the chapter where he shoots the Arab) which is obviously a constant theme regarding his mother, but more importantly they're found by the beach and Meursault likes the beach so he likes asphodels. I also think you could use white funeral lilies - not mentioned in text, but they're traditionally given to the family of the deceased at funerals and they stink to high heaven, and I'm pretty sure the guy prone to overstimulation would want to get rid of them as quickly as possible, just like how Meursault just wants to be done with and move on from his mother's death and all these condolences are just kinda making him uncomfortable. Also lilies are connected to the Virgin Mary, linking back to the Christ allegory thing. If you're feeling more conceptual, I propose eucalyptus. Not a flower, but still seen in flower arrangements. It's a plant from a fellow colony of a hot and sandy place, and can just spontaneously explode if it gets too hot. Or be just mean and give him dead/white carnations.

6 - The doozy - if you want an example of what I mean, check out chapter 17 of DotRC (it's available on Google books for free I think). The garden Hong Lu/Baoyu spends a lot of time in and considers his safe haven is utterly covered in flowers meaning different things and could easily be an entire post in of itself. Most important is probably his little house "The Garden of Green Delights" which is covered in green plantains (the banana sort) and red double-blossom crab-apples (double blossoms are usually more seen in plum flowers if you need a reference). Moving away a little from Baoyu, his girlfriend Daiyu is associated with red flowers (I think it's a red lotus?) in contrast to his green jade, and also peach/apricot/cherry blossoms, as she has an entire thing about sweeping up and burying something as ephemeral as cherry blossoms like they're a person because she feels it's cruel to let such a beautiful thing rot, (foreshadowing her own fate), and it ties back into the red and green theming of his house and their relationship. Baochai (the girl he's forced to marry; on the fancy dress front, Baoyu actually wears woman's clothing if there's any guy who'd tragically wear a wedding dress it would absolutely be him) is more associated with gold and more subtle things, but she lives in the allspice courtyard and I think is also compared to an orchid.

7 - I had a quick flick through and realised I think most of the book's other flower symbolism applies to the second generation, like with Cathy 2 wanting to tear up Joseph's prized thorny and rambling blackberry bushes to fill the bed with primroses (meaning eternal love) with Hareton to make the manor more pleasant. There's some that I think can carry over, like the aforementioned primrose but most of it is happy which I don't think quite fits. Will say though - while they're normally blue, forget-me-nots can actually come in a wide variety of purples (and pinks!) too. Also trivia: The specific 'yellow flower' Linton gives Catherine is a crocus, as they're the first thing to bloom on the moors (in contrast, heather is usually the last thing left blooming).

8 - Ishmael rants about the bible and god a lot and is named after a biblical character so I feel biblical plants would work. I think hyssop has connections to purification, but of the bloody old testament sort, which also ties into Ahab's involvement. Idk I'm not the best at biblical references there's probably a plant that directly references Ishmael somewhere.

9 - I don't remember any flowers in Crime and Punishment, but given Rodion's entire thing about weathering the cold and how the book is basically Rodion's descent into Hell and then rebirth as a better person, I feel something with bulbs would work well. She's also an ordinary person who wants to be more special, so something that's a mundane wildflower like wild garlic (which also has the connection of being related to those big pom-pom alliums, which are much more special, mirroring her and Sonya)

You could also so like Daffodils/Narcissi which have the obvious self obsessed connection, dahlias are associated with murder and are rather ostentatious plants (and can come in black and red, like a poker chip), and lilies are connected to Napoleon who Rodion was a big fan of.

Or be meta and give her roses dyed red, representing her desire to be a martyr like Christ or at the very least, like Meursault. Roses also have connections to secrets and confessions, which is a reoccurring thing in C&P with Rodion and his crime and eventual change of faith.

10 - Dante just has the sterotypical Heaven and Hell related flowers going on in their text: asphodels and roses and ngl it's kinda a weak link for our Dante that I'd more chose something based on their ingame incarnation, given how distant they are from Dante the poet right now and how many other sinners could use those flowers. I think you could do something fun with plastic/artificial flowers, given their prosthesis and how they render all the sinners immortal.

Alternatively, do a three-for-one and use the golden bough. It's relevant to the game, is from a poem that Vergilus wrote, and is presented to Charon to gain admission to Hell.

11 - Sinclair is pretty heavily associated with apples: the book version of the basement key scene is him stealing some apples for Kromer from a shop and then Kromer making Sinclair eat them in a pretty obvious reference to Adam and Eve with the first sin, and the apple as a symbol of forbidden knowledge which Sinclair is indulging in by questioning Christianity pops up again with Pistorius and keeps with the gnostic themes.

The book's final scene has Sinclair repeatedly take note of the poplars around him while he's bleeding out, and the idea of blood permanently staining the earth is repeated several times, which in the context of WW1 usually refers to red poppies. He's also a Christ allegory of sorts, but less the crucifixion and more the dual nature thing, so something like daffodils might work (associated with Persperone and her walking the line between living and dead, but are also heavily associated with Easter, like with birds and eggs) or still roses, but this time with more emphasis on the flower/thorn contrast. Or go meta and give him something hallucinogenic, given Demian is one of the things that helped kick off the hippie movement of the 60s (another point for poppies?). Demian is assosiated with hyacinths the last time Sinclair sees him alive, which I think is intentionally referencing the Hyacinthus myth.

12 - Outis/Odysseus is pretty heavily associated with Athena, whose symbol is the olive tree. Outis also seems to be pretty affected by war and loss and Odysseus goes to Hades, so I think antiquity funerary rite plants like mint and rosemary would also be fitting, or asphodels, as Homer is where the literary association is from. Myrtle is also associated with funerary rites, but it's also associated with victory when paired with laurel, which could represent how pyrrhic Odysseus' journey is.

13 - Gregor's kinda more associated with mould in his story so like mushrooms could be fun (and would single him out as the only one without a plant), but given his reliance and nigh invulnerable nature in game, I'd assosiate him more with a weed. Something with a parasitic root structure that strangles other plants, like Japanese honeysuckle or broomrape. Or be a little nicer and give him a plant that's both a weed but also serves a purpose/appreciated in some ways, like mint or dandelions. If you want to be a bit more grand, a grafted apple tree, with Gregor as the rootstock and the grafted part as his arm. Or perhaps the other way around, if we consider how his mother sees him (and you could also get some great imagery of a rootstock taking over, like the arm taking him over). For bonus tree symbolism, honeysuckle attacks trees!

Sooooo fun little thing I wanna do for myself:

What are some flowers that you believe would fit the sinners? A friend gave me Indian Blanket and Iris for post Canto 5 ishy and Butterfly weed for Pre Canto Ishy, but I wanna know flower suggestions for other characters now! I just like flowers haha

(I’m making more hypothetical Limbus Company flower themed keychain designs btw that’s why I’m asking)

Other idea: Formal attire or wedding attire. Yeah. That’s the second part of this post cause I’m a sucker for pretty outfits and women in suits (totally an invite to send me outfit suggestions for the sinners I will not mind at all)

[vinlind]

Frame Analysis from The Invisible Man (2020)

Throughout The Invisible Man, we as an audience are taught a few things through the color and framing of shots. Scenes are often either very dark and hard to read, or bright and primarily blue, a-la the hospital scenes or the daytime scenes in Adrain’s house. The camera gradually gives empty space next to the protagonist to imply that “the invisible man”, a.k.a. Adrian, may be lurking anywhere, even right next to her. These rules are broken in the film a number of times, but never without reason. The frame I chose to analyze occurs outside the hospital during the big fight scene, as Cecelia chases down Adrian with a gun she stole from a security guard, while simultaneously being hunted by the mental hospital’s security staff. The scene takes place outside in the rain, in a parking lot lit by amber street lamps. The dark, slight orange ambiance reminds me of the beginning of the movie, as Cecelia tries to escape Adrian’s home as he’s asleep, highlighting important elements with orange pools of light. Cecelia is framed on the left side, between a civilian vehicle and a worker truck, aiming the gun slightly to the right of the camera. She is trying to find and shoot Adrian, and the space left to her right implies that he could be anywhere, even directly next to her. The two cars on either side of the shot frame it very claustrophobic-ly, even though naturally we can assume that there exists more cars and parking lot beyond the frame. The entire scene feels very tense and close, with no music in the background; just the sound of falling rain, footsteps, and ham-radio chatter from the security guards tailing Cecelia.

Her facial expression perfectly displays how she feels during this scene, and how we as a viewer are meant to feel with her. She is uneasy and paranoid, as she has been throughout the film, but she is also very fired up. She knows that this is the closest she has ever been to exposing Adrian for the perverted stalking he has been doing over the past multitude of weeks. She’s seen him, as the suit glitches throughout the previous scene inside the hospital, and other people have seen him as well (though they’ve all been killed by him, logically we can assume security cameras caught his actions on tape). She has her way out of the mess that he has gotten her into, and she knows it. Frantically running from car to car looking for cover and disturbed footprints on the wet pavement, the only thing running through her head at this moment is revenge and retribution.

This shot specifically, as well as those throughout this entire chase scene, feature the large, foreboding mental hospital she had been trapped in behind her. It almost feels like a prison escape scene, though we know for her it doesn’t quite feel that way. I think showcasing the hospital in the background of this shot was very intentional, showing how far she’s come in her journey through this torment yet how close she still is to being deemed a crazy person by society.

I apologize for the poor quality of this image, Prime Video doesn’t let you directly screenshot the video player so I had to take an image from my phone.

[womenrph]

↳ JESSICA SUTTON GIF PACK

▶ by clicking on the source link you will find #180 ( 268x180 ) gifs of the lovely jessica sutton as tally craven in motherland: fort salem (2020- ) season 1 episode 1. all these gifs were made and coloured by me from scratch so i’d really appreciate it if you wouldn’t post them as your own or make them into gif icons without credit. please like and/or reblog if this helped you in any way and last but not least enjoy !

[lilahisntsadanymore]

Hi how are you? I was wondering if you could do one based on the song mine by Taylor swift with JJ? Please

Hello! I've been very good, hoping you are good as well and I apologize for taking so long to write this. Thank you for introducing me to this song though, I love it, I can't believe I haven't heard it before!!

Y/n's parents made her believe love doesn't last long, so she never wished for it. She focused on traveling and ended up in Outer Banks where she met JJ, who managed to change Y/n's mind about falling in love.

I haven't been to neither North nor South Carolina, let's just pretend there's a college near Outer Banks where JJ could go to (this fanfic is happening when both Y/n and JJ graduated from high school)

Words count: 1.8k

Warnings: two people falling in love very quickly, light mentions of bad childhood

♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪

Mine

Why bother with love if it never lasts? Y/n didn't feel like she needed a partner, so she left her hometown right after graduating from high school. There was no one to stop her. She traveled from state after state, getting easy part-time jobs. When she had enough money, she even went to a few abroad places. With many memories made and tons of pictures taken, she decided it was time to go back to the States for a while. Y/n decided to catch a breath in Outer Banks.

Life there was good and calm. Y/n had a small room in a motel, just enough for her. The girl didn't even spend that much time in the motel anyways. While her old friends would be doing college, she chilled at the beach.

Y/n didn't let herself fall in love people, but she let herself fall in love with places. Outer Banks was beautiful and peaceful, she considered staying there for good.

On the first weekend Y/n spent in Outer Banks, she decided to eat dinner at a restaurant near the beach. Y/n's hair was still wet from swimming, she was wearing shorts and a crop top and didn't have shoes on, but the place didn't seem to have any clothing rules.

A waiter approached Y/n's table. "Good evening, are you ready to order?"

Y/n moved her eyes from the menù to the boy in front of her. He didn't look much older than her. What Y/n spent maybe too much time looking at were his eyes, they made the girl feel something she didn't feel before. They were blue, yet she felt warm looking into them.

"Um, excuse me, are you ready to order?" He repeated, blushing. It was obvious he was trying hard to not let a smile appear on his face.

"Oh, uh, I-" internally panicking, Y/n took another quick glance at the menu, "I would like pancakes." It was the first thing her eyes saw.

The boy smiled, writing it down. "Anything else?"

"A glass of orange juice, please."

As Y/n waited for the food, she looked around the restaurant. She was sitting alone while other tables were taken either by couples or groups of friends. Sometimes Y/n missed her friends, sometimes she thought about relationships she missed out on. Maybe a few months ago she wasn't ready for love, but now she wouldn't complain. If she ignored the fear of making her parents' mistakes.

"Enjoy your meal," the boy said, putting the plate and the glass on the table, "by the way, my name is JJ."

"Thank you. And nice to meet you, my name is Y/n."

JJ sat down on a chair by the table, as if he forgot he was working. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?"

"I kind of moved there a few days ago."

"Kind of?"

Someone who Y/n guessed was the owner of the restaurant walked out of the door of some room labeled as 'staff only'.

"JJ! You're supposed to be working!" He shouted, causing all the customers to pay attention to the scene. "I don't pay you to bother our customers!"

"I would work properly if he payed me enough." The boy whispered so that only Y/n could hear it and she tried to suppress the urge to giggle. Then JJ shouted back to his boss. "Yes sir, back to work!"

When JJ stood up, he sneakily gave Y/n a small note with his phone number. The girl hid it in a pocket of her shorts, making sure she won't lose it.

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It was a stunning, warm evening. The sky was bathed in beautiful colors of pink, red and orange due to the sunset. Y/n couldn't believe how quick things were happening between her and JJ. They met barely a week earlier and now they were on one of their daily walks on the beach.

"You know," JJ spoke, "you didn't really tell me what you're doing here. Outer Banks isn't a place lots of people would willingly move to."

"I like it. It's calm, I think I need some peace in my life."

The explanation was short and easy, but it was truthful. Y/n put so much pressure on herself to do well in school, but now all her good grades didn't matter. Y/n came to the realization that she was focusing on studying to forget about her parents' constant argues.

"Only if you were there a few years ago." JJ chuckled, remembering the adventures he went through with his friends. "Back then this place was far from calm."

"Why?"

"Searching for the Royal Merchant, chasing after gold so that psycho Kooks didn't get it first, breaking into a ship, getting lost in Bahamas."

"This sounds like an interesting piece of journey, I'd love to hear more about this. What is the Royal Merchant?"

"An old ship that sinked with about 400 million dollars in gold. This is a really long story, I could tell you about it another time."

"It's not like we don't have time. I enjoy your company." Y/n smiled at JJ, causing him to smile at her.

JJ felt maybe a bit too confident, but he decided to put his arm around Y/n. If she had a problem with that, he could explain her words encouraged him, which wasn't a lie, but Y/n didn't mind JJ's arm around her.

"But I would love to hear more about you!" JJ insisted. "What did you do before coming here?"

The couple sat down on the hot sand. JJ's arm was on Y/n's shoulder, his fingers drawing invisible circles on her warm skin.

"Well, I lived and went to school in a town in Pennsylvania. When I graduated I said fuck it and left the city, I had nothing to lose."

"That's quite a distance. And quite a decision. What made you leave?"

"I never was happy in my hometown, I felt trapped in my own house. My parents' argues were too much, I wanted to leave as soon as possible."

"Oh, that's very understandable. I hope you'll be happier here. With me."

Y/n didn't speak, words were useless in this moment. She thought she could have gone crazy, but something made her kiss JJ. Normal people don't do that do people they met a few days earlier. But Y/n couldn't stop herself. Despite meeting not a long time ago, both Y/n and JJ felt like they had known each other for way longer.

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Two weeks later, Y/n proved to herself that she, indeed, had gone crazy. She didn't hesitate nor think about it a second when JJ asked if she wanted to move in. They were crazy, but that's how love works, love makes people crazy.

And so everything was good, nearly perfect. JJ was doing college on normal days and work on weekends while Y/n took up a job she could as well do online from home.

Until one night changed their situation. People say that if something is too perfect, it'll get ruined soon and it's not a lie.

It was half past two in the morning and Y/n haven't slept yet. She sat in the kitchen, worrying about JJ. He should have came back from work already and yet he was nowhere to be seen.

Y/n tried calling him, but he didn't pick up. It was the first time it happened, so she was scared something bad happened to him.

Just as Y/n was about to call JJ's phone once again, the door of the house opened and he walked in. He didn't look beaten up or anything like that, but the tie around his neck was loose.

"Where the hell have you been?" The girl asked. "I was gonna call the police, you should have been home a few hours ago!"

Y/n felt relieved her boyfriend was safe, but she was also furious. He could have told her he will be home later.

"Sorry, I went for a beer with John B and my phone died." JJ mumbled.

"Why didn't you call me from John B's phone? Hell, even just a text would be enough!"

"I didn't think you'd be so angry, okay? How could I know?"

"Yeah, completely unexpected! If we live together, we have to tell each other things like that, I was fucking worried!"

JJ took a deep breath and slowly blew the air out of his mouth, running his hands through his blonde hair. A disgusted grimace appeared on Y/n's face when the smell of alcohol reached her nose.

"Damn it, JJ, you're drunk." The girl sighed. "I didn't sign up for dealing with this."

"Not drunk, just bit tipsy," JJ pointed out, "besides, it's the first time this happens."

"We've known each other for about two weeks, I was such a fool to agree to move in, oh my god." Y/n nervously scratched her neck when she realized what she just said.

It was a lot, maybe too much. JJ was drunk and while he was drunk, he didn't control what he said. Sometimes words would come out of his mouth without permission.

"Well, I'm not forcing you to stay here." He hissed. "You can leave whenever you want to."

These words angered Y/n so much, she didn't know what to reply. It sounded like JJ was breaking up with her. With teary eyes, Y/n ran outside, believing the relationship is done.

She was in her pajamas, didn't even bother with putting any shoes on. Tons of emotions ran through her body, it was too much, it overwhelmed her so bad she started crying.

Y/n promised herself to not make her parents' mistakes and yet she did it. She broke the promise, ruining her relationship. When her hands reached her face to wipe off all the tears, she felt someone hugging her from behind. Based on what had just happened and the smell of alcohol, she knew it was JJ.

"Hey there, stop, don't cry." He said.

When JJ let Y/n out of his embrace, he turned her around and gently cupped her face with both his hands. He looked into her puffy eyes and placed a quick kiss on her nose.

"When people argue, they talk dumb shit sometimes, but they don't mean it. I don't want you to leave," his own eyes started to tear up, "everytime I look at you it's like the first time except I fall in love more and more each day. You're the best thing that's ever been mine."

What he said made sense to Y/n. He could have been drunk, but how she suddenly left the house must have sobered JJ up.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered, "I love you."

"Don't apologize, it's my fault. I love you too, even if it sounds pretty crazy for people who know each other for not even a month-"

JJ was interrupted by Y/n, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she kissed him and he didn't hesitate to kiss her back.

Y/n had wrong role models growing up, there were a lot things she needed to learn and even more things from the past that she needed to forget. But she knew she could do it. With JJ by her side, Y/n wasn't scared of fighting the demons of her past.

[another-tmnt-writer]

Truth or Dare?

Raphael x Reader

Author: Admin Mo

Summary: When Mikey needs another actor for his film project, Raph gets roped into it. He didn’t, however, expect for his costar to be so cool.

Note: There are not NEARLY enough college au fics for the bayverse boys, so have this as my first contribution. <3

Warnings: Swears, mentions of drinking, plenty of fluff

Word Count: 3.9k

“Raph, PLEEEEEAAAASE!!!” Mikey folded his hands together, pleading. “We need actors for our project and our group members can’t be in it.”

Mikey, as part of his endeavor to explore every creative program at the university the turtles were currently attending, was taking a filmmaking class. And, as a part of that class, he and his fellow classmates were required to make short projects in order to learn the basics of filmmaking, from writing to directing to using the equipment to editing. As an added bonus because his professor was so especially cruel, none of the people in his group could appear in his project, and while they had managed to recruit some of their classmates to fill in the smaller roles, one of the main roles was still unclaimed.

Raph scoffed. “Mikey, you know I can’t act for shit.”

“You don’t have to actually be good at it!” He pleaded. “You should see some of the other projects. No one in the program is good at acting.”

Raph was quiet for a second, his large arms crossed in front of him, thinking. “How long is it gonna take?”

“Few hours.” Mikey shrugged. He raised an eyebrow. “And your costar is really, really hot.”

Raph sighed, disgruntled. “When?”

“YES! DUDE THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU WON’T REGRET IT!” Mikey ran and returned with a script and a schedule, shoving it into his older brother’s hands. “We film tomorrow!”

Raph’s eyes widened. “TOMORROW?!”

***

Raph went with Mikey to where the rest of his group was meeting to film their project. He hadn’t really had time to look at the script and Mikey assured him that they’d be filming in small enough chunks that he wouldn’t need to have very much memorized at a time. He also didn’t really know what kind of movie it was and he didn’t care; he just couldn’t wait until it was over.

A few minutes after they arrived, so did his costar. And god, he couldn’t stop staring. Mikey was right. God, why was Mikey always right?

“I am so sorry I’m late. The bus almost hit a pedestrian and it was a whole thing.” You apologized.

“Don’t worry about it!” Mikey waved off your concern. “This is my brother, Raph.”

“Nice to meet you, Raph. I’m (Y/N).” You introduced, a warm smile on your face.

Raph didn’t miss the way your eyes lingered on him, but instead of the looks disdain he usually got, instead it seemed to be curiosity. Awe, even? Weird, he decided, but not unwelcome.

It was a long, awkward moment before he realized he’d better respond. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you too.”

“Um, you guys can get to know each other a little better. We’ve gotta get the equipment set up.” Mikey said, leaving the two of you on your own.

The filming location was a place you were very familiar with: the library. Particularly, in front of the cozy little coffee shop in the library.

“I didn’t really, uh, look at the script, but I’m guessing they needed a monster for a horror movie or something…” Raph flipped through the pages, skimming.

“It’s a rom com.” You corrected quietly. “I’m the main character. You’re the love interest.”

If Raph could physically blush, he was sure his cheeks would rival the color of his mask. “…Oh.”

“Is that alright?” You asked.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah it’s fine, I just…” He chuckled to himself. “I ain’t ever acted in anything before, let alone anything romantic.”

“It’s not too much, I don’t think.” You reassured him. “I’m pretty sure the most they’ll have us do is awkwardly brush hands. It’s a coffee shop meet-cute.”

“Gotcha.” And while he was relieved, he was also a little…disappointed? Huh. Weird. “So, uh, what’s yer major?”

“I’m a film major. I’m in Mikey’s class and they needed actors, so I’m paying it forward in case I need someone in my project. What’s yours?”

“I’m undecided. Just, uh, taking some time to figure things out, you know. I never really had any…school experience before this.”

“That’s a lot to adjust to.”

“Yeah, it is. I’m getting used to it, though.”

“That’s good! If you need any help with anything, let me know. I’ve picked up a bunch of good tips and tricks.”

He chuckled. “I will, thanks.”

“Do you have snapchat?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“One second.” You fished your phone out of your bag and unlocked it, opening the app to your snapcode, which he scanned and added you. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Raph took some more time reading over the script to get the gist of the scene and you were right. Indeed, it was a rom com. Not his preferred genre, by any means, but maybe he’d warm up to it a bit over the course of the day.

“Hey (Y/N)?” Mikey called from over where they had the camera set up on the tripod. “Do you know how to white-balance this thing? Everything is orange for some reason. Which is a great color, but I’m sure Smith will dock us points for it.”

“Oh, I’ve got you.” You nodded. You looked up at Raph, your purse in hand. “Will you hold this for a second?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” He nodded, holding out a giant three-fingered hand to take the bag from you. He watched you walk over to where the rest of the group was standing, crowded around the camera. You worked your magic, shuffling through the menu and helping adjust the camera correctly. Raph couldn’t stop staring. You looked so focused. So passionate. He could tell you really liked film and everything it entailed and he wished he could just find something he cared about as much as you cared about your major.

“Awesome.” He heard Mikey say, his eyes fixed on the camera’s screen. “Thanks!”

“Of course!” You walked back over to where Raph was and he handed you your bag back. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but Mikey walked over to the two of you.

“You guys ready? I think we’re good to start now.”

“All set.” You confirmed, giving him a thumbs-up, and Raph nodded.

***

Raph might have to reconsider his stance on this acting thing. Did he think he was all that good at it? No. But so long as he had you as a costar, he’d act willingly in any project Mikey (or you) needed him for. And at the end of the shoot, he ended up having a really good time. So much so that when you guys were all done, he was…sad. Like, really sad about it.

You parted ways. You weren’t in any of his classes, so Raph wasn’t really sure if he’d see you around that much. And he didn’t see you around…until a few weeks later.

He was at the library studying with his brothers at their favorite table when suddenly, his phone buzzed, a message from snapchat coming in. He looked at the notification, doing a double-take when he read your name there. And when he reached to answer it, he moved too fast and knocked his shell-shaped cell phone off of the table.

Shit.

He bent down to pick it up and when he opened the snapchat, he was surprised to see…the back of his shell? It was captioned: “I spy with my little eye…Something red and green 😉”

Immediately, he whipped around, and sure enough, nestled in a table by the windows was you, looking at him over the top of your laptop screen. You giggled when he spotted you, waving.

Raph nudged Mikey, who was sitting across from him and Mikey traced Raph’s eyeline to where you were, his face immediately lighting up.

“Oh! Hey (Y/N)!” Mikey waved. “You wanna sit with us?”

“Is that alright?”

“Hell yeah!” Mikey motioned you over. “The more the merrier! We can pull up a chair over here on the end.”

So, you gathered your stuff while the guys rearranged some things, putting you on the end of the table, right between Mikey and Raph. When you got over there, you noticed they were sitting with the other two giant mutated turtles on campus, who you had heard of, but hadn’t met yet.

“(Y/N), these are our brothers. Leo’s over there in the blue, our fearless leader. And this is Donatello, the one we go to for homework help.”

“Not tonight you aren’t. This paper is due at midnight and it is…” Donnie glanced down at the clock on his laptop and as soon as he did, he started typing impossibly faster. “Eleven thirty-seven. Do not look at me or breathe in my direction.”

“Noted.” Mikey nodded, a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N). You’re in one of Mikey’s classes, right?”

“Yep! I’m in his film class.” You smiled, taking a sip of your iced coffee. “I got the pleasure of costarring with this one.” You nudged Raph lightly, causing him to smile the most genuine smile Mikey had ever seen on his older brother’s face.

Huh. Mikey took note, something devious stirring in the back of his mind. Interesting…

“What did you get on that, by the way?” You asked.

“We got an A! Well, Minus. But you know how Smith is.”

“Dude that’s awesome!” You bumped your fist against his. “Good job. I’m pretty sure my group got a B, but we’re not mad about it. C’s get degrees, as they say.”

“Cheers to that.” Leo chuckled.

“What are you working on today, Raph?” You asked, tilting your head in a way that sent his heart racing in a way he could not explain.

“I have a paper for my Writing 150 class.”

“Oof that sucks. Who do you have?”

“Trainor.”

“Ouch. She hated me.” You grimaced, shaking your head. “She found out I was bi and it was all over for me.”

“Did you report her? I’m pretty sure you can report her for that sort of thing.” Raph asked, trying not to get heated over it. He was pretty sure she didn’t like him very much either, but it was probably due to the fact that he was a giant green turtle. “That’s bullshit.”

“I’m in the process of that right now.” You nodded. “She’s a bitch. I don’t know if they’ll actually do anything about it though.”

“Keep me posted. I might file something too if she doesn’t stop glaring at me during class.” Raph grumbled. “It’s annoying.”

“That would be annoying. Her beady little eyes glaring at you for two agonizing hours of ‘This is how to correctly use a comma’.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. It is.”

You glanced at your phone, which buzzed with a text from one of your roommates. “Oh! Uh, do you guys have any plans this weekend?”

“Nope. Why?” Mikey asked, curiosity seeping into his voice.

“My roommate is throwing a party, if you guys wanna come. It’ll be pretty chill. Drinks, pizza, some music.”

“Oh hell yes.” Mikey nodded. He looked at Leo. “Leo, can we?”

“I don’t see why not.” Leo shrugged. “Sounds like a good time.”

“Is there a dress code?” Mikey asked. Now that he was finally allowed to socialize, he didn’t want to fuck it up.

“Nope. Just casual. Come as you are.”

“Do you need us to bring anything?”

“If you guys have a drink of choice, bring that, I guess, but otherwise, my roommate’s boyfriend works at a pizza place, so we get a pretty good discount and we have literally so much wine.”

“That’s amazing.” Mikey nodded, making a mental note to look into jobs at a pizza place later.

“We’ll bring a veggie tray.” Donnie said, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop until finally, he stopped. “I finished, by the way.”

“Good job, dude!” Mikey gave him a thumbs up. “You wanna write mine next?”

“Ha.” Donnie stared at him. “Funny.”

“What’s your paper on, Raph? Maybe I can help.”

Raph turned his laptop towards you. “We have to write it about like growing up. You can, uh, read it if you want. I don’t mind. I’m kinda stuck right now anyway.”

“Okay.” You agreed, switching his laptop for yours. You winked. “Trade ya.”

“What are you writing about?” He asked, scrolling to the top of your document.

“Women in Film.” You shot finger guns at him. “I’m about to make some Film Bois REALLLL mad.”

“Roast ‘em, (Y/N).” Mikey laughed, knowing all too well exactly which film boys you were talking about. He was not a fan.

“That’s the plan.” You chuckled and then started reading over Raph’s paper. You had known before meeting them that they hadn’t exactly had the best childhood, but…wow was it eye-opening reading the experience from his eyes. “Holy shit.”

“That bad?” He joked, trying to read your expression.

“No, it’s…Raph, this is really good, but wow. You guys went through a lot, huh?”

“Yeah…” He shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad, but it sure wasn’t normal by any means.”

“Mmm…” You nodded, looking up at him. “I mean, normal is kinda overrated.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad ya think so. Not many people do.”

You shrugged, smiling softly. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not like many people.”

***

“(Y/N), this place is as clean as it’s gonna get. It’s a party. It’ll be messed up in,” your roommate, Haley, glanced down at her watch, “like twenty minutes.”

“I know, I just…I’m nervous. These guys are basically superheroes. I want to make a good impression.”

“Fair point.”

You swept the kitchen floor and got out the cutest paper plates you had in the cupboard as well as some solo cups and plastic wine glasses. If you could avoid broken glass today, that was probably the move.

The doorbell buzzed and your heart raced, but it was just your other roommate’s boyfriend with the pizza.

“Is Darcy here?” He asked.

“She’s upstairs getting ready, you explained, helping him get the pizza and breadsticks and everything set up on the counter. He’d also brought a few two-liters of Pepsi, which was good. You put it next to the giant jug of fruit punch you’d bought at the grocery store. It was important to make sure your non-drinking friends had something to drink, too.

A few minutes after, guests started arriving. Darcy came downstairs and started up her iconic party playlist. Your neighbors popped in. It was easier to invite them and let them have a good time with you than have them call security on you guys for throwing a party, even if it was the weekend and it was only nine.

You turned off the lamps in the living room and instead set your strip lights to party mode, causing them to cycle through a bunch of colors in time with the music. It was then that the doorbell rang again and you rushed to the mirror to check yourself once more. You adjusted your hair, straightened out your top, and checked your teeth for food. Nope, you were good.

So, with the rest of the hosts distracted, you opened the door. On the other side of it were four tall, green gentlemen, one of them carrying a veggie tray.

“Hey guys, come on in!”

You moved out of the way so they could step inside.

Mikey’s eyes widened, looking into the living room full of dancing college kids. “Woahhhhh this is awesome!”

“Glad you think so.” You laughed. “There’s food and drinks in here, the bathroom is in the hallway, and everyone else seems to be either in the living room or the back yard.”

“Where do you want this veggie tray?” Donnie asked.

“Thank you so much for bringing this, by the way! You can set it over by the pizza boxes. I can get a spoon for the dip.” You said, walking towards the silverware drawer and producing a spoon while Donnie popped the lid off of the plastic serving tray and opened up the dip. You handed him the spoon.

The guys were each sporting their signature color, but they were wearing clothes you hadn’t seen them in before. Usually, Raph liked to wear a large gray hoodie, but today, he was sporting a black t-shirt and an impossibly large red flannel with some jeans. It looked good on him. Like, really good.

Apparently, he was thinking the same thing, because as soon as you were free, he walked up to you and nudged you gently. “You look really good.”

Your cheeks flushed with warmth and you wished you could blame it on wine, but you hadn’t even had a sip yet. “Thanks. You clean up pretty nice yourself.”

Had you worn a red top on purpose? Yes, absolutely. Would you admit to it, though? No, definitely not.

But Mikey noticed. Oh, Mikey noticed everything. And he couldn’t help but think that you and his older brother would make quite the couple. Maybe there was something he could do to just…give it a little push.

***

The time came later, when the party was finally starting to wind down. Some people had left. Your neighbors had gone home, and you’d switched the strip lights to a light, warm color. You’d also switched the upbeat party playlist for something chill to play in the background. The remaining partygoers were all settled in a circle in the living room, eating whatever pizza was left, sipping on box wine, and playing a game of truth or dare.

“Haley, truth or dare?” Darcy challenged.

“Truth.”

“Okay…Fuck, Marry, Kill: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and…..Chris Pine.”

“DAMN.” She cursed. “You can’t do that to me. Shit. Uh…Fuck Chris…Hemsworth. Marry Chris…Pine? And—”

“Don’t you do it!” You warned.

“Kill Chris Evans.”

“Noooooooooo!” You whined, taking a sip of your drink. The rest of the group laughed. “Poor Captain America.”

“Rest in pieces, Cap.” She agreed, shaking her head. “Okay…Mikey, truth or dare.”

“Dare.” Mikey answered quickly. He always picked dare, so in the fifth round of the game, it wasn’t much of a surprise.

“I dare you…to take a shot of straight lemon juice.”

“Easy peasy.” Mikey scoffed, pouring himself a shot and downing it.

You watched as his face contorted at the sour, sour taste. You couldn’t help but giggle a little at that.

“Good job, Mikey.” Donnie laughed, dipping a piece of broccoli in dip before popping it into his mouth.

“Taking it like a champ.” Leo added, nodding.

“Alright, my turn?” Mikey asked, looking around the circle for his victim, pretending he hadn’t been planning this since round one. “(Y/N). Truth or dare?”

You thought about it for a second. How easy it would be to just choose truth again, but for some reason, you were feeling a little brave, so instead, you picked, “Dare.”

“Oooooooh,” the circle said, all of them a little surprised by that choice.

“Okay. Alright.” Mikey rubbed his hands together mischievously. All according to plan. “I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room.”

“OOOOOOOHHHH!” The circle all stared at you and you thought for a second, a smirk settling on your features.

“Oh that’s easy.” You got up and crossed the circle until you were standing in front of Raph. Even sitting down, he was almost your height. “Think I could get a kiss?”

Raph stared up at you, shocked, waiting for you to say Sike! HAHA! Did you actually think I thought you were hot?! Loser!

But you never did, instead looking down at him with sincerity, patience. Were you a little…nervous, even?

“Why me?” He whispered, his eyes fixed on you. There were plenty of good-looking human guys still there, and yet you were certain. Unwavering. Then, louder, he asked, his heart absolutely fighting to get out of his chest, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” You nodded, starting to lean closer. Once you were most of the way in, you let him meet you in the middle, your soft human lips meeting his, which were, you had to admit, way softer than you thought they would be.

Raphael kissed you like you were made of glass, like if he moved too fast, you would shatter. It was his first kiss, after all, and he didn’t want to fuck it up.

When it finally ended, you walked back to your seat in the circle, your cheeks rosy, heart racing. Haley gave you a nudge and you giggled, your stomach filled with butterflies. The rest of the game went along with little fanfare, and once everyone was tired enough, the apartment cleared out even more, leaving just your roommates, Darcy’s boyfriend, and the turtles, who insisted on helping clean everything up. Well, it had been Leo’s idea, but the rest had agreed to stick around to help.

You volunteered to go out into the backyard to pick up all of the stray solo cups and White Claw cans. You hated litter. You worked out there alone for a bit. As you bent down to pick up the last can you heard the signature screech of the sliding door opening.

Raph squeezed through the narrow doorway, cursing his shell for making him so damn wide.

“Hey,” you said softly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Your voice was almost swallowed up by the sounds of the choir of crickets outside.

“Hey.” He closed the sliding door. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course.” You nodded, tying off the trash bag you were using to collect garbage. “How was your first college party?”

“It was great. Really, really great.” He said, taking slow steps through the grass towards you. “Um…I…did you mean what you said? Earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you…was I really…” he laughed at the absurdity of it. “You think I’m hot?”

“I do.” You nodded. “Of course I do.”

“I’m sorry if I find that a little hard to believe.” He shook his head, stopping right in front of you. When he was standing in front of you like this, he was remined of just how big he was compared to you, just how much he towered over you. Just how different you were. “I’m just used to the opposite reaction.”

“Believe it.” You reached forward and took his hand in yours, gripping one of his giant green fingers.

“I’m trying to.” He chuckled and fiddled with your little hand, nervous. “You know, uh…that was my first kiss in there. I wasn’t too awful, was I?”

“I didn’t mean to steal your first one.” You laughed softly. “Sorry. But to answer your question, I thought it was perfect.”

“That’s a relief.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Uh…If it’s alright with ya…I’d like to give you my second kiss, too.”

Instead of answering, you took another step closer, looking up, up, up into his piercing green eyes. “You’re gonna have to come down here; I can’t reach.”

He laughed. “Right.” Raph craned his neck down, one of his large hands tilting your face up towards his so he could meet you in the middle for another perfect kiss.

***

“What are you doing?” Leo asked Mikey, who was peering through the blinds into the back yard of the apartment.

Mikey only grinned proudly, nodding to himself. “Works every time…”

[sevlgi]

oh, for you

requested: yes

group: dreamcatcher

pairing: handong x fem!reader

genre: ANGST HA

contents: established relationship, handong has a terminal disease, reader has mind manipulation powers, i’m crying in the club

warnings: terminal disease, also just like... angst

synopsis: You and Handong don’t have much time left. Even if it kills you, you’ll make what you have the best time of your lives.

a/n: THIS IS SO SAD HUH

word count: 1.2k

The air smelled deeply of roses.

The sky was an impossibly bright blue, the pure color of sapphires, only broken by the pale clouds that floated peacefully about the warm golden sun.

The ground was absolutely covered in roses of every color, every size, every type-- and yet, none of it could compare to the girl standing in the center of it all.

“Do you like it?”

Beaming, Han Dong spun to you. She was dressed in the finest, softest silk possible, and jewels glittered all over her like fat beads of rain. “I love it, Y/N.”

You smiled, and reached down to pluck a rose off of the ground. The pink bud looked beautiful tucked just above the girl’s ear, and her blush matched it in a way that could only make you smile. “I’m glad.”

“I think this is the most real one yet,” your girlfriend continued. She bent down and stuck her hands into the pool of flowers, laughing in amazement when not a single one glitched or disappeared. “Really. You’re getting so much better at this,” she gasped.

“Do you want anything else? Some animals, something to eat?”

Han Dong shrugged. “I don’t know. This is... it’s beautiful already. I don’t think I need anything else, but... here. Come sit with me.”

You obeyed. Flower petals crunched under your weight, releasing even heavier of the sweet smell into the air; as soon as you turned your face to Han Dong, she smiled mischievously and cast a handful of petals into your face.

Sputtering, you reached for her, and pushed her down into the flowers by her shoulders. Han Dong giggled when she found your nose brushing up against hers; your hands sunk into the soft bed beneath you gradually, until your lips met and your eyes fluttered closer.

It was blissful. Just the two of you, the feeling of her hands scrunching into the back of your shirt and the taste of her smile against yours; you couldn’t imagine any moment that had felt better.

But when you pulled apart, Han Dong let out a sigh, disappointment creasing her brow as she reached up for your face. “It’s happening again.”

Reaching your hand up, you sighed out in exasperation as you felt the sticky warmth to your nose. You scrunched your face up in concentration, putting all of your energy into sustaining the blissful world that you wanted nothing more than to remain in-- but to no avail.

You opened your eyes again to find your girlfriend in the hospital bed, her hand on your arm just like in your dream world. Only here, she was hooked up to a machine that beeped steadily, and her silken gown was replaced with the cotton one from the hospital.

“It’s okay,” she said immediately, sensing your apologies. Han Dong handed you a tissue to hold to your nose, offering you as sweet of a smile as she could. “It was beautiful.”

“It wasn’t enough,” you muttered, springing up from your chair. It had been morning when you started to conjure up the world, to imagine every little detail of it as Han Dong watched-- it was already nearly night, stars twinkling between the window’s blinds.

“It is, Y/N. You only started using your gift these two months, you can’t expect yourself to hold it for weeks,” Han Dong assured you, reaching out for your hands. You allowed yourself to be pulled closer to the bed, to the love of your life.

“We don’t have that much time left, Dongie.” You bit down on your lip, hard, and said again, “We don’t have much time. I need to make it perfect before you before you...”

“Before I go?”

You shook your head immediately, reaching up to wipe yet another droplet of blood from your face. “Before I can’t anymore,” you clarified.

As if simply talking about it had brought it on, you scrunched up your face at the pain that jolted through your head, like a lightning bolt contained inside your skull. The pains were getting worse, and according to your doctor, if you kept using your powers for hours on end each day, they would create something catastrophic.

Han Dong brushed a kiss across your knuckles and squeezed your hand. She promised, “You’ve made me so happy already. I don’t want you to do this to yourself, I might still have a few months left.”

“Don’t say that,” you interrupted, sinking into your chair. The pain that wracked your heart was honestly worse than the aches in your head; you couldn’t bear the thought of only having a few months left with the only person you’d ever loved. “Please.”

“You said it yourself, Y/N. We don’t have much time.” Han Dong smiled weakly; she was wan in the weak light of her hospital room, despite all the rich blankets you had piled onto her bed. The disease was sucking the very life out of her, even though the brightness in her eyes had never dulled.

“I didn’t... I didn’t mean it.” You shook your head rapidly, squeezing tightly onto her hands. “I swear. Look, you should... you should go to sleep. The doctor said that rest might make it better, right?”

“I’m not in pain. You are. Because of me.”

You only came to a stop when she grabbed onto your face, one hand on either side of your neck, and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll be okay,” she whispered. “You’ll be okay too, as long as you stop.”

Exhaling, you kissed her again, as hard as you could without making it painful. “One more time,” you promised fiercely. “But you’ll make it. I know you will.”

It wasn’t the answer Han Dong wanted, but she must have sensed that you wouldn’t let it go. She nodded, and gathered her knees up to her chest as you closed your eyes again. “Okay. This time... how about a mountain top? High enough that we’re above the clouds.”

The clouds formed first, bubbly round forms of white that started to dapple pink and gold when you commanded them to. 

“And... it’s sunset.”

The sky brightened to a deep orange.

“There are comets everywhere.”

“That’s not realistic,” you muttered even as you saw the blue and pink lights streak across your dream world.

Han Dong laughed, but continued with her descriptions. “We can see the city below us, getting ready for the night time. Busy, but we’re peaceful.”

And that was enough. When you felt a squeeze on your hand, you woke to find the exact scene your girlfriend had pictured, and the girl herself with a sad smile beside you.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered before you even asked, bending over to brush the softest of kisses to your lips.

You accepted it, even as you could feel the tears starting to sting at your eyes. The comets blurred in your vision, but you could see that Han Dong was crying too, crystal-like tears slipping down her face onto your shirt.

“It won’t be the last time,” you promised her, sucking in a shaky breath. “I promise.”

“I love you so much, Y/N,” she answered, her body wracked with her sobs. “I always will.”

[zartophski]

"Mariokart LU"!!!!!!!!! 👀❤️

Also, you've got a Sky sick fic hidden in there? I see you have excellent taste, Zee. 😉 May I request both of these?

hehe of course you can Wolf!! I haven't worked on either of these in a few months, but I'd love to be able to get them finished at some point. I'll put the blurbs and snippets under the cut <3

The Mariokart LU wip was mostly just built off the idea of sky and wild knowing each other from mariokart, and the whole gang ending up back in that world during the lu quest. At one point the boys are gonna pick out their own karts and learn how to race. Here's a little snippet of it:

Wild cackled, watching the fading forms of whatever had just zipped past. He turned to Sky with a manic grin. “Did you see that?” he demanded.

“I never thought we’d end up back here,” the Chosen Hero said with a smile. Time looked between the two, feeling very out of the loop for once.

Wild ran back out to the path, unhooking his Sheikah Slate from his belt. “You guys stay here,” he said, pressing a few buttons before holding his Slate out in front of him. The machine beeped and with a show of blue tendrils of magic, an object appeared on the path in front of him.

Time had no idea what it was, but he could only describe it as a Sheikah Horse. The shape was that of a horse, if a bit smaller, but it was clearly mechanical and not alive. It seemed to be made of similar materials as Wild’s Slate, glowing the same blue and orange as he’d seen the device glow. 

Wild swung a leg over the side of the Sheikah Horse, and Time flinched at the loud roar it made. “I’ll be back in just a bit,” Wild said, ignoring the angry noises coming from his mount. Without waiting for a reply, Wild guided his mount into a turn, the machine roaring as it skidded in the dirt for a moment before shooting off at an incredible speed in the direction the others had gone.

And the sickfic is a classic sickfic. The setting is Ordon Village, because Sky deserves to get pumpkin soup when he's sick, and so far I just have the frustrated build up of him not feeling well throughout the day. One thing I really like about this one is the constant background of "the boys all know somethings wrong but if Sky says he's fine we won't push it". Here's a little snip of that one too:

Sky grimaced, suddenly aware that he was causing a scene, and despite the dizziness still buzzing in his head, he forced himself to step away from Twilight’s hold, opening his eyes. He winced at the concerned expressions of the group, trying for an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

“Sorry?” Twilight repeated. “What are you apologizing for? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I just got a bit dizzy for a second there. I think I just need something to drink,” Sky said, trying to wave off their concern. He wasn’t doing a very good job though, as no one seemed particularly convinced, if their expressions were anything to go by.

“You… what?”

“I’ve just been a bit lightheaded since I woke up,” he explained. “I’ll be fine.” He pushed away Twilight’s hands, taking a breath as he took a step back, proving he could stand on his own.

[nagisa-shiota-worthy-shit]

Colours of Summer

Karmagisa Week 2021 day 7 prompt: colours wordcount: 2418

basically: a collection of short scenes occuring on one hot summer day with Karmagisa, based on colours and summer objects. (might be extended some time after Karmagisa week, on AO3)

---------------------------------------- --Pink Swimming Trunks--

“What. is. that?” Karma uttered. 

Nagisa sighed in response, turning a little red in the face, but hiding most of his embarrassment by avoiding eye contact. The object of embarrassment? the soft pink swimming trunks he was now wearing. Karma had never seen his boyfriend wearing them, and he didn’t think Nagisa ever would. Nagisa had a bad relationship with the colour pink. 

“T-they’re supposed to be white,” Nagisa explained, “My mom washed them but accidentally mixed some laundry and-” 

“You’re kidding me,” Karma started laughing, “What kind of cliched tv trope shit is this?” 

Nagisa didn’t respond to that, instead walked past his boyfriend to put on the white shirt he’d brought for himself. Karma did the same, not wishing to travel all the way to the beach shirtless, but he was still laughing as he did so. At least he tried to do it quietly. 

Eventually, he had enough of their silence. He turned to his boyfriend again, who was now putting food into their bag, and walked up to him. He threw his arms around him, hugging him from the back, and rested his chin on his head. The height difference made this a very simple gesture for him. Although, he was sure Nagisa wasn’t that big of a fan of the reminder that he was small. 

“Pink still looks good on you,” Karma said, as a form of apology. 

At first, Nagisa didn’t say anything. He just stood there accepting the embrace. Eventually there was a sigh, a shuffling of shoulders, and a soft humm. Karma knew that pretty much meant forgiveness. Still, he kept the other boy in his embrace. Well, with Karma’s superior power it was also a bit like a form of restraining the smaller boy. 

“Come on,” Karma finally said, “We have a hot summer’s day to waste.” 

--Blue Water--

Nagisa had been standing on the edge of the water for a while now, hesitating going in. Every once in a while, he stuck his leg out when the high tide came close enough to him, carefully trying out the water’s temperature. Every single time, he shrunk together slightly, and moved back a few small steps. Karma was getting a little sick of waiting. 

“Can you come in already?” He complained, “the water is really nice once you actually get used to it.” 

A difficult look appeared on Nagisa’s face. It appeared he was considering his options. Really, there wasn’t much to consider. They’d traveled all this way to have a fun beach day, at some point Nagisa would have to get in the water. Stalling it would only make it worse. For someone who complained so much about the hot weather, Nagisa sure was being petty about a little cold water. He should just get in and feel refreshed. 

Karma looked over his shoulder, taking in the view of the sea stretching all the way to the horizon. The blue sea was shimmering, reflecting the sun’s light, and shining in Karma’s eyes. When he turned around there was no sun irritatingly blinding him. Instead, he saw Nagisa once again jumping away from the water. 

“If you don’t get in now, I’m going to drag you in here myself,” Karma threatened. 

Nagisa pursed his lips, looked down at the water, and took a moment to consider the threat. Of course, Karma knew he was serious, but he figured Nagisa knew it too. This was the kind of action Karma was very prone to: annoying and physical. Still, Nagisa was one of the few people capable of escaping these situations. Basically, he could ‘cute’ his way out of it. Karma was always a little weak to his boyfriend’s charms. So, Nagisa just stood there. He didn’t make any move indicating he was going to get in the water. 

Karma looked him in the eye, trying to send him a warning glare. Nagisa, in response, just put a slight smile on his face. There was no denying for Karma that Nagisa looked pretty and soft right there, however, there was also no denying Nagisa just had to get in the damn water. 

“Do I need to count down?” Karma asked, as if he was talking to a toddler. 

Nagisa rolled his eyes. “I’m not eight.” 

For a second, Karma considered his next comment. He decided to not go for the comeback, trying to somewhat stay on his boyfriend’s good side. Then again, if he did really drag Nagisa into the water, that would be ruined anyways. To be fair, that would be laughed off. A comment about Nagisa perhaps looking like an eight year old was something Nagisa was a little more sensitive about. 

“3” Karma started counting. 

Nagisa squinted for a second, but then crossed his arms, standing by his decision to annoy Karma, apparently. That wasn’t going to stop Karma just yet. 

“2” 

Nagisa looked away for less than a second, before looking back at Karma. Most likely, he was considering whether Karma was being serious. 

“1” 

Nagisa still stood there. It appeared he was not getting into the water of his own accord. 

“zero, okay here we go.” 

Karma moved forwards, quickly running towards his boyfriend with water splashing at his side. Nagisa barely had any time to react, making an attempt to turn around and run away, but he was just a little too slow to escape Karma. Karma held his arms open wide and embraced his boyfriend, entangling his arms in there as well, but instead of making it some kind of hug, just picked him up. 

At first Nagisa just yelped, confused about what had just happened. Then, he started kicking, trying to wiggle himself free from his boyfriend’s grip. There were some noises of complaint, but Karma ignored those. The grip he had was tight and just a tad too powerful for Nagisa to escape. 

He walked back into the water until it came up to his knees. With the struggling Nagisa still in his grip, he took a ready stance. His lips were curled into a mischievous smirk. He was excited for this part. 

All of a sudden, he dropped Nagisa. Well.. dropped… It was more like he threw the other boy into the water. Nagisa yelled and, with a big splash, landed in the water. After struggling for just a short moment, he sat up, shoulders and up above the water. The look on his face spoke of dissatisfaction. 

Karma, on the other hand, just laughed. 

“And now you’re in!” He announced. 

Before he knew it, Nagisa had gotten up. With inhuman speed, he moved around Karma, hooking his leg around his, and used his hands to push him over. Karma was being tackled. He made an attempt to save himself but, sadly, Nagisa’s tackle was pretty waterproof. Karma, on the other hand, wasn’t waterproof, and landed in the water with a splash. 

When he came up again, he had a challenging smile on his face. One look at Nagisa confirmed he was feeling the same. His boyfriend looked proud, but not entirely done with their insignificant battle. It also, to Karma at least, looked a little hot. 

“That's how we’re going to play this, huh?” He raised an eyebrow. 

“Depends,” Nagisa shrugged, “Are you ready to fight a battle you can’t win.” 

There was no malicious intent in either of their words. Both of them had meant it in a playful manner, and both thrived on the friendly competition between the two of them. So, yes, Karma was more than intrigued by Nagisa’s sudden cockiness. He had to make sure he got rid of that arrogant smile on Nagisa’s face. 

“Game on.” 

--Red Burnt Skin--

When they’d gotten back to Karma’s place late in the afternoon, nothing but complaints left Karma’s mouth. His skin was burning red, slight patches of white skin visible on places that had been covered during the day. The contrast was great, and so was the pain. 

“My skin is going to burn off,” Karma grumbled. 

“No it’s not,” Nagisa spoke matter of factly, “and I feel like this is the perfect time for an ‘I told you so.’” 

Karma just grumbled, really not up for that discussion. As he fell down on his couch, his skin rubbed slightly against a pillow with a more rough fabric, and he felt himself cringe all throughout. He pouted, trying to gain pity attention from his boyfriend. 

That attention didn’t appear to be happening. Nagisa was just unpacking some empty food containers from their bag, focused as he stacked them up in an attempt to bring all of them to the kitchen in one go. From the look on his face, one would say he wasn’t too bothered about his boyfriend’s pain. Karma, being said pained boyfriend, wasn’t a fan of that. 

“Nagisa~” His voice came out in a singsong manner, “Don’t be mean, I’m suffering.” 

When Nagisa turned around to look at him, the look in his eyes spoke of book volumes. On a surface level, he looked unimpressed, eyebrows raised as he looked down at Karma laid down on the couch. In his eyes was also a hint of disappointment. Karma had grown rather familiar with that particular look, so he was one of the few people who could read past the bigger emotions Nagisa portrayed on his face. Yes, he knew Nagisa very well, and he knew Nagisa thought that Karma was overreacting. 

“I got a little burnt too,” Nagisa argued. 

“You didn’t get sunburned,” Karma complained, “You got sun kissed.” 

Karma couldn’t help but be a little grumpy about it all. Although there was some truth to Nagisa’s words, a little sunscreen like his boyfriend had used would have been wise, it still felt unfair how easily Karma burnt in the sun compared to Nagisa. Even without the sunscreen, Nagisa barely tanned. Meanwhile Karma had to live like a lobster. 

“I have some aloe vera,” Nagisa offered with an annoyingly caring tone, “Do you want me to put some on your shoulders?” 

“... yes please.” 

--Orange Sunset--

Nagisa poked Karma’s bright red arm, earning a groaned response from him. He was still a little grumpy over the whole sunburn ordeal, but at the very least he had now somewhat cooled down due to the aloe vera Nagisa had been so gracious to share with him. So, the complaining had stopped, and Nagisa suggested going on a walk to end their long day. To Karma, ending a long day with another physical activity was a little weird, considering it just made the day longer, but Nagisa seemed really eager to go outside again, so he opted to not complain about it. 

It was a rather enjoyable walk. Nagisa talked throughout most of it, Karma only interjecting a few times with a funny side comment or fact Nagisa wasn’t aware of yet, and that was just fine. Karma liked hearing Nagisa’s rambling. The enthusiasm in Nagisa’s voice as he described a particularly spectacular scene in an action movie he’d recently seen was cute. Why would Karma ever complain about seeing Nagisa happy? 

“Oh woah,” Nagisa suddenly interrupted himself mid-story, “The sky looks so cool right now.” 

The sky they were looking at was in fact very pretty, Karma had to agree. Above them, an orange colour had started to spread out, becoming a deeper version of its own colour as their eyes were directed towards the horizon. The sun, another shade of orange, was about halfway down by now, yet still illuminated the world very well. Just like the rest of the day, there were no clouds to interrupt the bright colours of the sky. 

When Karma looked back at Nagisa, he noted that the orange lighting of the sunset was more than a little flattering on the boy. His skin was touched by the light, changing its tone and making him appear like he was gold. If Karma didn’t know better, he would say Nagisa looked like a god. 

Except, he knew better, and Nagisa would respond awkwardly to that statement. He wouldn’t know what to say and just stammer his way through. On any other occasion, Karma would have made the comment, considering he enjoyed teasing his boyfriend. At that moment, however, he didn’t feel like ruining the moment. 

“It’s pretty,” was all Karma said. 

Nagisa seemed a little taken back by the comment. “That’s all? Just pretty?” 

“Well, it is.”

“Not even a ‘like you’ comment?” 

“Are we fishing for compliments now, Nagisa?” 

Nagisa turned red, although his cheeks had already been the crimson colour because of the day’s worth of sun. He looked away from Karma, a slight pout on his face and a loss for words. It was a common, yet still amusing, sight. So, Karma just laughed at him. That was his usual response. 

“I didn’t mean it that way!” Nagisa defended himself, “I-I meant it like-” 

Karma just held up his hand, interrupting the other boy’s explanation. He didn’t need a stuttering explanation of something Karma fully understood. He’d been joking, obviously. There had been so many occasions where Karma had made the exact joke Nagisa had been referring to, so he couldn’t exactly blame Nagisa for almost expecting it. It had been the perfect set up, actually. 

Instead, he turned to look at the sunset again, admiring its beauty and the moment it was creating for him. As cheesy as it all was, he really did feel the need to share that moment with Nagisa. Sunsets were, perhaps, a little overdone as a romantic setting, however, it still worked so well. Why fix what wasn’t broken? Why not use this moment for his own cheesy gains? 

Nagisa seemed to share that sentiment, because the moment Karma held his hand closer to his boyfriend, he immediately grabbed hold of it. They swung their entangled hands about for a bit in silence, watching the sun slowly disappear down into something unknown. Behind them, the sky had already started turning a darker shade of blue, but that didn’t matter to them. The approaching darkness wasn’t the thing they were focused on in that moment. 

With the last rays of sunshine still hitting their face, Karma turned to Nagisa, pulling his boyfriend closer to him. One hand went to hold Nagisa’s cheek as he moved forwards and connected their lips. Their kiss went on until the sun was completely down, darkness slowly falling over the world, and the summer’s day had finally ended. 

[miraculouscontent]

I just checked the ML tag, and apparently, there's a new episode called "Gang of Secrets." Have you seen it? If yes, what happens in it?

Summary below:

- Episode opens with Ladybug having just used Miraculous Ladybug. After landing on a rooftop with her, Chat Noir compliments her strength and states that they’ve never fought a villain that fast before. He then goes to fist-bump her but she ignores him, seemingly distracted as she looks around. Chat Noir calls her, snapping her out of her trance, and asks her what’s wrong. She pretends to be okay and fist-bumps him, then yoyos higher up the rooftop and asks if they should do a patrol since they need to recheck if everything fine in Paris. Chat interjects and asks if she wants to tell him what’s wrong instead, noting that she didn’t even react when he called her “Bugaboo.” Ladybug still insists that everything is fine, saying that she has time left but she also doesn’t want to talk. Chat jumps up to her level and assures her that he knows the ideal place to “not talk,” to which Ladybug happily states that she’ll follow him there.

- Cut to Ladybug and Chat Noir in a movie theater with a romantic movie currently playing. Ladybug calls Chat Noir out for leading her into a “trap,” to which Chat shushes her and reminds her that she didn’t want to talk. Two movie-goers nearby glance at them for talking, Chat waving and then making a “shh” movement in response, to which they smile. Chat then fakes the stereotypical stretching motion to try and land his arm on Ladybug’s shoulder, but she stands up abruptly, shouting at the movie for the female lead to not tell her male love interest anything else.

- Chat Noir tries to tell Ladybug to keep her voice down, but she starts ranting about how romantic movies are lame and unrealistic. She goes to to say that, in real life, the girl takes a crazily long time to tell the boy that she loves him without stuttering, and it’s impossible to know if he loves her too, so she decides that she’s never going to be with him, and “boom,” she falls in love with someone else. Chat is getting progressively more uncomfortable at Ladybug’s outbursts and Ladybug goes onto say that everything is simple, “almost too easy,” no stammering, they hold and kiss, then--surprise, she has secrets and the boy hates secrets, which is normal, but then they have to breakup and everything’s miserable, the end. She criticizes romantic comedies for being “whatever” and Chat notices the the two moviegoers from earlier glaring at them, so he apologizes to them and leads Ladybug out of the theater.

- On the way out, Ladybug is offering the people in line for the theater advice by telling them not to see romantic comedies, suggesting that they see superhero movies instead: special effects, no feelings, no questions, and no one talks to each other because there’s nothing to say. She adds that at least they will have a good time, then finally leaves the theater in a huff, Chat Noir looking awkward and unable to do anything but wave and apologize at everyone before following Ladybug out.

- Chat walks behind Ladybug, who has gone from angry to sad/distressed. He comments that he didn’t understand everything she said and he knows nothing of her personal life, but he knows what a broken heart is like and that’s what she seems to be going through for him. Ladybug turns to face him and denies it, insisting that everything is going perfectly. She then diverts the conversation, suggesting that they go to the swimming pool and she wants to go. Chat tells her that he’s here for her if she needs to talk, but Ladybug swings off and heads for the pool. Chat Noir sighs.

- Cut to AquaBug descending from her balcony and onto her bed, complete in goggles and a towel around her neck. She collapses onto the bed Barkk and Ziggy start flying over. AquaBug looks at her corkboard of Adrien and Luka pictures, then turns away, clearly depressed. Ziggy comments on how sad this all is, to which Barkk said that she told Ziggy previously that they should remove the pictures. They go to do so now but AquaBug turns and tells them to stop, insisting that she’s not sad and the pictures don’t bother her. She insists that they’re just pictures of her friends and that she loves fashion and her friends, telling them to leave them where they are, sulking back onto her bed while insisting there’s no problem. Ziggy and Barkk leave.

- Cut to Alya and JARM (Juleka, Alix, Rose, and Mylene, for those uninitiated) in Alya’s room, where Alya states that Marinette has a problem and it’s lovesickness. She pulls up some pictures on her tablet of Marinette and Adrien (all where Marinette is either anxious or clumsy/screwing up), explains that she was in love with Adrien in the beginning, but never managed to tell him because “it’s Marinette they’re talking about and he’s Adrien.” Alya then shows pictures of Marinette and Luka, adding that then Luka enters the scene and Marinette gets to talk to him because “it’s Luka” and they get together. Rose comments that they’re both cute, but Alya adds that they broke up, to which Juleka nods and mumbles something unintelligible, pulling out her phone to show the girls a picture of Luka looking notably depressed. The girls sigh.

- Alya states that the bottom line is that Marinette never told them about it, and the only reason they knew about the break-up was that Luka told Juleka, who told Rose, who told Mylene, who told Alix, who told Alya herself. Alya laments that she’s Marinette’s best friend and didn’t know, then the scene cuts to a flashback where Alya narrates that she heard Marinette crying in the bathroom. When Alya went to check on her, Marinette opened the door with a diguise (glasses, nose, and a mustache) to cover her face, insisting that she wasn’t crying and she’s never been so happy before in her life, adding that they should throw a party.

- Cut back to the girls in Alya’s room. Rose asks why Marinette would hide things from them and Alix notes that it must be a problem if Marinette didn’t even tell Alya. Mylene asks what they should do an Alya suggests that what Marinette needs is a discussion between friends, proposing that they all call her to talk about it. The girls do some sort of five-way fist-bump completely with making a rabbit ears sign at the end.

- Marinette, still AquaBug, is sulking on her bed when her phone starts ringing, but she ignores it. Back with Alya and JARM, Alya notes that it’ll probably go to the answering machine, which it does. Cut back to AquaBug, who hears that she now has a message and taps her phone without looking to listen to it. Her friends’ voices greet her and tell her that she should know that they’re there to talk, when or where she wants. They request that she call them back, they tell her they love her and add “kisses,” then the message ends. AquaBug simply slumps back onto her bed.

- Some of the kwami hover nearby, with Barkk saying that they must intervene and will need Tikki. Trixx offers to take care of it and flies down, suggesting to AquaBug to communicate with her friends on her “talking device.” AquaBug asks what she’d say because “everything is fine.” Trixx then suggests at least de-transforming, to which AquaBug insists that she’s better off as Ladybug because she’ll be ready if Shadow Moth attacks. Trixx points out Tikki and states that she might want to rest of have a bite to eat, which finally gets AquaBug up in a panic. She de-transforms and Tikki lands in her hands. She asks Tikki if she’s already and Tikki chimes that she’s definitely better than how Marinette is doing, suggesting that they talk. Marinette, already teary-eyed, lowers her head in defeat.

- Back with Alya and JARM, Alya suggests that they all go to Marinette’s house. Mylene then gets an idea of an “eternal friendship bracelet,” pulling out a bracelet of yellow threads along with some beads. She adds that it’s so Marinette doesn’t forget that friends can tell each other everything and that they’re always there for her. She starts passing out beads to each girl (Alya - orange, Juleka - purple, Alix - green, Rose - pink), explaining that she read in an old magazine about an ancient tribe in America who did that, going onto say that they mentally confide a secret to the pearl, adding the pearl to the bracelet, and once Marinette confides her own secret, the bracelet will unite all six of them. She adds hers - the blue one - to the bracelet and asks if the others are ready, to which Alix asks if it’d be easier to just take her out for orange juice to talk. The rest of the girls give her blank expressions in response and Alix relents.

- Meanwhile, Marinette is staring at her corkboard, Tikki besides her eating a macaron, and Marinette laments that she can’t have a love story so long as she’s Ladybug. Tikki, shocked, asks her why she’d think that and Marinette says that Tikki knows very well, explaining that she had to leave Luka because she couldn’t tell him the truth and it’d just be the same for Adrien. She adds that she can’t share her secret with anyone, unable to be honest with her best friend, her parents, or anyone, and condemned to lie, all the time, to everyone. Marinette asks what she can do and Tikki admits that she wishes she could help but kwami don’t fall in love. Marinette laments that no one can help her and her life as Marinette is too complicated. She adds that it might be better to just be Ladybug all the time, then calls upon Tikki to transform her. She then leaves for the balcony and the kwami look upon her, sad, when they hear voices from below.

- Alya and JARM enter Marinette’s room and the kwami quickly flee into the dollhouse concealing the Miracle Box. Rose notices the dollhouse right away and coos over how cute it is, urges the girls to come look as well. Mylene comments that it’s another super creation from Marinette and Alya says that Marinette must be on the roof, saying that she’ll go get her as she heads for the staricase.

- Up on the balcony, Ladybug is shouting at nothing, asking Hawk Moth (not Shadow Moth?) what he’s waiting for and that she’s ready for him. When there’s no response, she sighs and walks back, dropping onto her bed. She hears Alya calling for her as she comes up the steps and Ladybug hurriedly whispers her de-transformation phrase just in time.

- Marinette asks what she’s doing there and Alya says that they’re here to see how she’s doing. Marinette then hears Rose cooing over the house and Marinette panics, hurrying down just as Rose says that she’ll remove the roof to see what’s inside. Marinette avoids the stairs entirely, dropping from the bed to forcefully pull Rose out of the way, standing protectively in front of the dollhouse. Rose drops the roof from the motion and it breaks on the ground, all girls looking on in shock as Rose apologizes for it. She reaches down to pick up the roof and Marinette requests that they get out of her room. Alya insists that it’s nothing and they’ll help her fix it, but Marinette raises her voice and demands that they leave.

- Alya, now annoyed, states that there’s obviously something going on and they won’t leave until she tells them what it is. Mylene holds up the bracelet and says that each one of them has given their secrets to it, so now it’s her turn. Marinette responds that she’ll tell them what’s wrong, then points out that they all walked into her room without her permission. The girls look briefly surprised, then Alya takes the bracelet and holds it out, insisting that they’re friends and Marinette must tell them everything. Rose adds that real friends never let each other down, and the camera cuts to Marinette with her hand behind her, desperately trying to hold the dollhouse behind her together.

- Panicking, Marinette angrily says that she doesn’t want them as friends then, snapping at them and ordering them to leave. The girls are stunned, then begin to file out of the room sadly. Marinette sadly watches them go, but averts her gaze when Alya - the last one out - makes eye contact with her. Now that everyone’s gone, Marinette collapses onto the floor, the dollhouse falling to piece behind her. Tikki flies over and Marinette tells her that she had no other choice. Tikki assures her that she knows, and Marinette says that she doesn’t have to lie anymore since she doesn’t have any friends to lie to. Tikki sighs sadly.

- At the bakery, Sabine watches with concern as Alya and JARM walk past them to leave. Sabine tries to call after them to ask what’s wrong, but they ignore her. Shadow Moth sees his opportunity and sends his akuma.

- At the park next to the bakery, the girls are sitting in a circle. Alya, holding the bracelet, laments that she lost her best friend, then passes the bracelet to Mylene. Mylene says that she’d hoped it would work, then passes it to Rose. Rose sobs about how sad it all is, then passes the bracelet to Juleka. Juleka mumbles something unintelligible, then passes the bracelet to Alix. Alix states that it can’t end like this, at which point the akuma hits the bracelet, all five girls being hit by Shadow Moth’s symbol. Shadow Moth introduces himself and states that their friend didn’t want to tell them her secrets, so he’ll grant them the powers to get them out by force in return for Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculouses. Alya states that Marinette must remain their friend, Alix chimes in that it’ll be whether she wants to or not, Mylene adds that she won’t keep secrets from her friends anymore, and Juleka mumbles something unintelligible again. They all proceed to get akumatized into their most notable forms: Lady Wifi (who says she’ll take care of catching her), Princess Fragrance (who states that Marinette under her scent will have to put up her secrets), Timebreaker (who adds that they’ll turn back time to make everything like it used to be), and Reflekta (who says that they’ll comfort her and she’ll be their friend again). Lady Wifi adds that Horrificator will keep Ladybug and Chat Noir at bay if they try to intervene.

- Back with Marinette, the pieces of the dollhouse have been thrown away and Marinette places the Miracle Box in a brand new contraption of hers, where she has to press switches in a specific order to open and close it. She sighs in relief, at which point her phone goes off and Lady Wifi emerges from it. The kwami hide inside the box and Lady Wifi tells Marinette that she’s here for her and she’s her best friend, adding that she better tell them all of her secrets and she’ll feel much better afterwards. The kwami look on with concern and Trixx starts charging his powers. Wayzz tells to be careful and he shouldn’t do that, with Barkk asking Trixx if he remembers “last time” he used his power without a holder. Trixx points out that Marinette can’t reveal her secret, then uses Mirage.

- “Marinette” runs for the staircase, leaping up and hurrying to the balcony. Lady Wifi gives chase and sees “Marinette” now down from the balcony heading for the school, so she pursues, idly wondering how she did that. She fires at “Marinette,” telling her not to run and reminding her that they’re friends. The rest of the akumatized girls join up with Lady Wifi and they hurry inside the school. “Marinette,” who is not hiding, vanishes, as she was only an illusion.

- The illusion in Marinette’s room drops and Marinette thanks Trixx for it. Marinette then transforms into Ladybug and heads for the stairscase, stopping halfway to ask Trixx about using his powers without a holder since it’s supposed to cause a disaster. Trixx shrugs and states that his power only causes illusions, so any damage will also be illusory. Ladybug leaves and Trixx gets glared at by Wayzz and Barkk, to which he tells them not to be annoyed since Miraculous Ladybug will be everything... he hopes.

- Ladybug leaves her balcony and notices that the Eiffel Tower seems to be gyrating. She groans Trixx’s name, then yoyos away. The scene then cuts to Adrien in his room watching TV, where the news is talking about the Eiffel Tower’s odd behavior. Plagg says that he bet it was Trixx who did it, then explains that it’s the kwami of illusion when Adrien asks who Trixx is. Adrien states that it’s not an illusion and Ladybug needs help, Plagg groaning about needing to help whether it’s him who makes a mistake or not. Adrien transforms.

- In the school’s library, Lady Wifi and Timebreaker enter, the people in the library freaking as as the two go off and uses their powers, Lady Wifi firing randomly and Timebreaker touching people to get more energy to go back in time. Horrificator also scares people in the bathroom in order to power up, while Reflekta and Princess Fragrance enter the art room and asks if anyone’s seen Marinette. When they shake their heads at them, Princess Fragrance adds that they’ll help them find her, both her and Reflekta firing at all of them. The Reflekta copies leave the school and go to search for Marinette. The akumatized girl squad then exit the school, with Lady Wifi saying that Marinette is hidden somewhere and suggesting they separate.

- While the akumatized girl squad goes on a rampage, Chat Noir is running across the rooftops and quckly hides somewhere, calling Ladybug on his baton. Ladybug answers and Chat comments that the supervillains are “having a party and they haven’t been invited.” Ladybug explains that they’re searching for their classmate, Marinette, to which Chat comments that they’ve saved her multiple times yet everyone seems to like her. Ladybug adds that it seems like Marinette got into a fight with her friends all at once, looking down sadly. Chat Noir asks if she’s still there (I legitimately don’t know what else he was expecting her to say considering she answered his question) due to the silence of the call, to which Ladybug tells him that she was thinking. She points out that they’ll have a hard time finding the object since there are five akumatized villains, and Chat infers that she already has an idea. Ladybug does, saying that she wants to isolate one of them so she can tell her where the akuma is, but Chat needs to stop Timebreaker specifically from going back in time or else the plan might fail. Chat agrees and wishes her good luck, Ladybug doing the same in kind before hanging up.

- Timebreaker, who is rollerblading around and touching people, is stopped by Chat Noir, who tries to banter with her. Timebreaker states that she can’t be wasting time with him and attacks, Chat Noir blocking with his baton.

- Meanwhile, Lady Wifi is leaping across rooftops when she’s suddenly entangled and brought down by Ladybug’s yoyo, dropping her phone in the process. Ladybug steps on it, but there’s no akuma inside. Ladybug is surprised and Lady Wifi mocks her, stating that it’s “too bad” and that she’s not the one with the akuma. Ladybug says that it’s no big deal and she just wanted to talk. Lady Wifi responds by saying that she won’t tell Ladybug anything.

- Cut back to Timebreaker and Chat Noir fighting. Shadow Moth contacts the akumatized JARM and tells them that Lady Wifi is struggling against Ladybug, to which they agree to take care of it. Timebreaker leaves even as Chat Noir tries to get her to come back.

- Back with Ladybug and Lady Wifi, Ladybug asks if she’s having problems with her best friend. Lady Wifi isn’t talking, averting her gaze, while the akumatized JARM is shown to be on their way. Ladybug pretends not to know what happened between Alya and Marinette, but says that she’d like to talk to Lady Wifi about a friend of hers; a superhero, Rena Rouge. This catches Lady Wifi’s attention and Ladybug adds that they obviously have secrets between each other, even just because of her secret identity, but that they trust one another anyway even if they can’t tell each other everything, which allows them to fight alongside each other. Lady Wifi looks downwards in thought and Ladybug tells her that she can reject Shadow Moth’s power.

- Lady Wifi shuts her eyes tight, focusing. Shadow Moth’s symbol appears over her face, with Shadow Moth telling her not to listen because she’ll never know Marinette’s secret if she doesn’t, nor Ladybug’s. Lady Wifi falters and Ladybug tells her that she has absolute trust in her and that she needs her; she needs Rena Rouge. Lady Wifi clenches her fists and clutches her head, Ladybug watching tensely as Lady Wifi break freak of Shadow Moth’s mind, Shadow Moth himself shown to be holding his head from the mental impact, stating that such a thing is impossible.

- Lady Wifi de-transforms and Alya collapses. Ladybug goes to her and helps her up, calling her incredible and stating that no one’s ever done that before. Alya says that it’s because Ladybug is an incredible friend and they fist bump. Ladybug then gets a call from Chat that the Gang of Secrets is looking for her, adding that he’s trying to stop them - currently in the middle of fighting all but Horrificator - but doesn’t know how long he can hold them back. Shadow Moth contacts the remaining four akuamtized girls and tells them that Lady Wifi betrayed them and preferred Ladybug’s team, ordering them to hurry up and deal with Chat so they can take care of Ladybug.

- Ladybug asks Alya which object the akuma is in. Alya explains that it’s in a bracelet that Timebreaker should have, but that Ladybug and Chat Noir won’t be able to defeat four villains at the same time (meanwhile, me having flashbacks to “Mayura”). Ladybug says that it’s time to call the mistress of illusions and pulls out her yoyo. She opens it, reaching inside a ladybug-patterned portal to pull out the fox miraculous. Alya is in awe and asks how she did that, Ladybug explaining that it’s something new that happened since she became the guardian of the miraculouses (before anyone asks; no, there was no pre-established moment of her realizing that she could do this). Alya is about to loudly repeating “the guardian of the miraculouses,” but stops halfway and slaps her hands over her mouth. Ladybug tells her to keep the scoop to herself and especially not to post it on the LadyBlog. Alya promises and adds that she knows how to keep a secret, promptly putting on the necklace and transforming.

- Meanwhile, Reflekta has Chat down on the ground, sitting on his back with his arm (the one with his ring) twisted behind him, and . Ladybug and Rena Rouge watch from a distance and Ladybug uses Lucky Charm, getting an inner tube in response. Her lucky visions spots Timebreaker, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, then the building with the swimming poll. Ladybug tells Rena that she has a plan.

- Back with Chat and the akumatized JARM, Chat threatens Timebreaker that he’ll activate his power if she tries to take the ring, and who knows what’ll happen to her then. Princess Fragrance approaches and asks why they should bother taking it by force when she can just make him her slave and make him give it to her. Ladybug then tells Rena Rouge that it’s time to use her power, Rena hopping up to higher on the rooftop and using Mirage.

- An illusion of Marinette appears, crying out for Chat Noir in concern. The akumatized JARM notice her and all four run off to chase her, even as Hawk Moth protests and orders them to take Chat’s miraculous first. Ladybug and Rena Rouge descend to help Chat Noir up, who thanks them for the help. Ladybug tells him that’s what friends are for, then tells both Chat and Rena to go to the pool. Chat asks what she’s going to do and Ladybug says that she’ll distract the akumatized JARM, adding that Rena will explain the rest of plan.

- The illusion of Marinette runs into the building with the swimming pool, Ladybug descending just as the remaining members of the Gang of Secrets try to pursue her. Shadow Moth orders his group to take Ladybug’s miraculous and Timebreaker tells the other three to deal with Ladybug while she takes care of Marinette. Ladybug lets Timebreaker jump over her to head inside, then tries to defend herself against the remaining three. However, Horrificator (very large from all the people she’s scared) snatches up Ladybug within a few seconds, holding her in one hand while Princess Fragrance holds up to Horrificator’s shoulder and walks along her arm to head for Ladybug.

- Back with Mirage’d Marinette, she looks behind her to see Timebreaker there. Timebreaker says that it’s time to reveal her secrets, and the scene briefly cuts back to Princess Fragrance telling Ladybug not to resist, adding that she’ll soon do everything they’ll tell her to, ordering her to give them her miraculous first. Shadow Moth is in his lair, saying that it’s his time (i.e: that he’s about to win). Timebreaker tells Marinette that she can’t escape her and Marinette runs onto a plank at the center of the pool. Time breaker makes a giant leap up and starts descending on Marinette, reaching out to touch her, but Rena Rouge drops her illusion, both Marinette and the plank underneath her fading. Timebreaker gasps in shock and plummets upside-down into the water, at which point AquaChat slips the inner tube on her, trapping her arms at her sides. He pulls her down, then lets go, forcing Timebreaker up out of the water, flipping and landing right-side-up. Chat then uses Cataclysm and breaks the object, freeing the akuma. Timebreaker de-akumatizes into Alix, who looks around in confusion and watches the akuma fly off.

- Meanwhile, Princess Fragrance is about to take Ladybug’s earrings when she starts de-akumatizing too, as well as Horrificator and Reflekta. Ladybug and Rose fall due to no longer being supported by Horrificator’s body, and Ladybug safely catches Rose, who thanks her. Ladybug lets her go with a smile, then notices the akuma leaving the swimming pool building, pulling out her yoyo and de-akumatizing it. That done, she casts Miraculous Ladybug, returning everything - including the still-gyrating Eiffel Tower - back to normal.

- JARM are hugging Ladybug looks down sadly. Rena holds out her fist for a pound and Ladybug looks over to see that Chat Noir is also ready for one. The three pound it and the scene cuts to Shadow Moth’s lair where he’s seen monologing about how Ladybug’s made mistakes in the past and she will make more (goes without saying, my dude, considering it’s literally a rule of the show and objectively the dumbest one, you ain’t cool for predicting what’s already confirmed), adding that he’ll end up finding out her secret on day.

- Rena Rouge and Ladybug land in an alley and Rena de-transformed, Alya high-fiving Trixx afterwards. Alya returns the miraculous to Ladybug and thanks her, Ladybug adding that - without her and Char Noir’s help - she wouldn’t have been able to succeed. She tells Alya that she’s lucky to have friends like her, thanking her, and Alya hugs her. Ladybug returns the embrace and the scene cuts to Marinette, now holding the “eternal friendship bracelet” in both hands.

- Marinette admits to the girls that her break-up with Luka broke her heart and not being able to tell Adrien how she felt also made her feel terrible. She slumps onto her chaise lounge and laments over how difficult love is, saying that she thinks she’ll focus on friendship from now on because it’s already complicated enough keeping her friends. Rose tells her to take her time and Mylene assures her that everything will work out, Alya approaches and taking Marinette’s hands to say that - whatever happens - they’re always there for her. Alya then pulls Marinette off the chaise and all the girls hug her, Alix chiming into say that - whenever Marinette feels ready - she can say so and they’ll come up with an “awesome plan” to tell Adiren, Luka, or whoever that she loves them. Everyone laughs and Marinette comments that she loves the girls, leading them to hug again.

- Alya and JARM are on their way out, Alix saying good-bye and Rose saying that they’ll see Marinette tomorrow. Marinette waves, then glances at the friendship bracelet now on her wrist, looking down at it sadly. Alya - again, the last one out - notices and tells the other girls that she’ll join them later because she has one last thing to say to Marinette. Alya then shuts the trap door and goes over to Marinette, taking her by the shoulder and leading her back towards the chaise.

- Alya tells Marinette that she didn’t tell them everything, and she can tell because she’s a reporter and her best friend and she feels those kinds of things. Marinette slumps back onto the chaise and Alya assures her that she’s not going to investigate or force Marinette to tell her what it is. She settles down on the chaise and puts a hand on Marinette’s back, saying that it’s in Marinette’s right if she doesn’t want to talk about what’s happening. Marinette asks if they’ll always be friends and Alya says that she’s her best friend and always will be, which is why it hurts her to not be able to help Marinette feel less alone. Marinette averts her gaze sadly and Alya sighs, getting back up and starting to leave.

- Marinette then catches Alya’s hand, telling her to stay. Alya looks back and Marinette admits that Alya’s right and she’s very lonely; more alone than ever before, and she’s finding it harder and hard to resist it. She points out that she didn’t break up with Luka because she didn’t like him - he’s amazing - and the break-up was because there’s something she can’t tell him, adding that she’s drawing a line with Adrien because it’ll be the same with him. She admits that she has secrets and lies all the time - to her friends, to her parents, to everyone - and how the worst part is that she can’t do a thing about it. Alya says that there’s always a choice and Marinette argues that there’s not one for her; that it’s beyond just them and it’s too heavy of a burden to carry. Alya suggests that they’d at least be two to carry it if it’s too heavy, and Marinette laments that things will never be the same if she tells her; that it’ll destroy everything and change it all. Alya assures Marinette that, whatever she says, she’s her friend, and Marinette starts to say something before she cuts herself of, pausing, then turns to Alya and tells her that she’s Ladybug.

- Alya’s brows raises in surprise, the two doing nothing but stare at each other before Alya looks pained and leans in to hug Marinette, who hugs her in return. The kwami are seen hovering above them and the episode ends.

[carelesscreativity]

Short Scene: EclipseTale Clothing Tampering(??) for Spazz: Commission for Ko-Fi

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

(SFW)

Sun’s wings twitched as he stared at the empty closet. Faintly, he could feel wicked amusement. Inside, he was enraged, but he wouldn’t let it show in more than a twitch of his wings. He was supposed to give a speech to his kingdom today. He had no suits. Instead, all of his clothes had been taken, presumably hidden, and he’d been left with a single item. His open eye drifted to the evening gown in the center of the room, left on a mannequin.

He went over, still in his sleepwear. He circled the mannequin curiously, studying the dress, which had a halter neckline and a cloak. He reached out and traced one blackened finger along the fabric. It was two shades of orange, one light and one dark. The cloak was red with orange lining. Despite the prank, he couldn’t help but feel surprised that Bunny would’ve taken his measurements and ensure that the dress would fit.

Furthermore, the dress didn’t look awful. It even had slots for his wings. If this was Bunny’s idea of a prank, he must have truly been some kind of idiot. Sun scoffed to himself, murmuring that this wasn’t how pranks worked. His nimble fingers worked the dress off the mannequin. He undressed himself, studying his blackened bones in the mirror on the wall. He sighed, his wings twitching again. His rage had calmed.

He would’ve thought Bunny would’ve left him nothing at all. Or, at best, an ugly or ill-fitting dress. This? He hummed, moving over to the fabric. “I can wear this.” He murmured with a cocky scoff. He slipped himself into it, taking a bit of time and magic to work his wings into it. He studied himself in the mirror with a sigh, straightening his perpetually floating halo. The dress went down to the floor. He didn’t need shoes.

He slipped on the cloak and headed out of his room. For one of Bunny’s constant poor attempts to make him reschedule his speech, it was exceptionally pathetic. Sun wasn’t backing out now. He arrived on his speaking terrace in an orderly fashion, his piercing gaze daring anyone to say anything.

The servants that were running around simply avoided his gaze while Bunny stood slightly behind Linum. Sun didn’t care, having already decided on dealing with Bunny later. Right now, he had something else to do. Linum’s gaze was locked on Sun, watching him.

Sun had never seen Linum that focused on anything except his experiments and tablet. He shook it off and turned, making his way outside to greet the masses. He relayed his speech perfectly. Throughout it, he could hear whispers of uncertainty and as he spoke, his wings rose up on either side of him with an otherworldly glow. Everyone below seemed in awe, most of the whispers coming to a halt.

Sun went on and on about how he would protect them and his eternal mission to capture his brother, who was running around and spreading negativity. Linum had heard this speech millions of times, since Sun had practiced it around the castle. He was fascinated a little with the way Sun used his wings to keep his audience engaged.

He was ALSO interested in why Sun was wearing a formal evening gown, though from Bunny’s silence, he assumed it to be one of his not-so-good pranks. If anything, Bunny seemed dejected and disappointed. Linum nudged him with a raised brow and Bunny growled. If he’d had his rabbit ears formed, Linum could practically imagine that they would be flattened. “He wasn’t supposed to look good in it!” He fumed, stomping one of his feet. “He was SUPPOSED to be too embarrassed to wear it!!”

Bunny glared out onto the terrace, hidden from crowd’s view as Sun continued to entice and engage his audience with his speech. Linum blinked quietly. “He doesn’t seem too embarrassed to be wearing it.” He noted quietly. Bunny flared up, snapping that he knew. He glared at Linum, demanding to know what he would’ve done. “One, I wouldn’t have left him anything.”

Bunny blinked and puffed out his cheeks, only to blink as Linum continued. “Two, I wouldn’t have stylized the dress to match his aura and wouldn’t have fitted it to his size, nor would I have given it openings for his wings.” Blue muttered that he got it and Linum could stop rubbing it in. “Three, I would have bought a dollar-store dress. The really cheap ones. It wouldn’t have a been a color he looks good in.” Bunny snapped at him that he understood and for him to shut up.

Linum stared at him and Bunny blinked before looking away and apologizing. Linum murmured that it was okay. “You tried.” He said, giving a nonexistent attempt at some kind of comfort. Bunny huffed quietly. Yeah, he had tried, but he had failed once again. How did he alway mess it up every time? Sun’s speech went on for an hour and by then, Linum had taken Bunny back down to his lab.

He was sitting on a stool, Bunny sitting next to him in another. The blue-eyed skeleton’s head was in his lap and his blue ecto rabbit ears were formed, Linum absentmindedly rubbing between them as he used his other hand to put together chemical formulas on his tablet. Bunny was slumped, the soft touches always weakening him.

One of Bunny’s ears twitched and angled towards the door, him immediately sitting up with wide eyes. The door opened and Sun came in, having to fold his wings behind him to fit through the door. He was still in the dress, so Bunny could have some kind of satisfaction in knowing that Sun hadn’t found where he’d hid his clothes yet. He gave a grin and Bunny’s ears immediately flattened as he went to go hide behind Linum.

“I assume this was a prank. A very poor one, as well.” Sun said, shutting the door. Linum gave a nod, despite Bunny protesting. Linum turned to face Sun.

“I don’t think you were supposed to look as good in it as you do. You look nice.” Linum stated simply. For a moment, Sun seemed taken back, his wings twitching in surprise. He turned his head away after a few seconds, his cheeks becoming flushed with a gentle, rosy orange. He murmured that that was absurd and he didn’t think he looked that good.

“I could’ve looked better.” He said. Linum’s eyes traced him up and down before he shook his head, murmuring that he didn’t think so, causing Sun’s blush to only grow stronger. Bunny began to creep away, but Sun zoned in on him like a hawk, his wings raising. “Where do you think you’re going?” Bunny immediately took off and Sun shot after him.

As nice as the dress looked, he didn’t care about it. If it had been from Linum, maybe he would’ve. But he didn’t care if it was from Bunny. He chased him around the lab, his large wings barely stopping themselves a from crashing into delicate equipment. Linum didn’t flinch, only sitting back at his stool to continue his chemical formulas.

[biphantoms]

Juke Outfit Parallels

Ok I might be reading too much into this and some of these are definitely a stretch... but there are some scenes in which Julie and Luke’s outfits are similar either in color or style to complement each other and I kinda think it is on purpose (I apologize in advance for the terrible image quality, I don’t usually make posts like this).

The first time they meet is the most undeniable example: 

Image: Luke and Julie standing next to each other in Julie’s yard, Luke is wearing a white shirt with yellow-orange writing on it and his blue sleeveless hoodie. Julie is wearing an orange hoodie with a yellow smiley face on it with a white shirt with blue trim on underneath. 

The colors are like the closest you can get without matching perfectly and they definitely look like they go together standing next to each other. 

Their performance of Edge of Great is another good example. 

Image: Julie and Luke standing next to each other performing, Julie is singing and Luke is playing guitar. Julie is wearing a white shirt decorated with brightly colored butterflies and Luke is wearing a white shirt with a skull on it surrounded by bright splatters of color. 

Julie’s colors are blue, pink, and purple, and Luke’s colors are blue, purple, and yellow. I think they definitely complement each other without matching too obviously. 

The next one is definitely a stretch, but in the scene where Luke comes to Julie’s school their tops have the same collarline - turned down collars and buttons/zipper that only go partway down. They’re also both sort of shades of pink. 

Image: The hallway at Julie’s school when Julie is walking away from Luke and he is leaning against the lockers behind her. Luke is wearing a magenta shirt and Julie is wearing a pink, blue, and green fuzzy sweater. 

Julie never wears this sweater after this scene.

Finally, at the Wilson house, Julie and Luke are wearing red, white, and blue. 

Images: Top - Julie wearing a red sweatshirt with a blue and white bobcat on it. Lower - Luke wearing a blue denim jacket with a red liner and splotches of white and red paint on it. His t-shirt is white with a pale skull design. 

Their outfits don’t super go together here, and the reds are very different, but the skull and the bobcat are similar sizes as well, so that could be something. 

One reason why this stands out as purposeful to me is because Alex and Reggie wear basically simple variations of the same outfit through the whole show, and Luke is the only Sunset Curve member who mixes it up. It could be that these scenes are ones where they wanted to make more subconscious associations between Luke and Julie, but then I have to wonder why they didn’t do this for all of their performances. 

I don’t really have a conclusion to this post but the first scene really stood out to me so I thought I would see if other people noticed this too!

[notveryglittery]

absolutely smitten

summary: sometimes your coworkers are ridiculously in love but too dumb to make a move so obviously you've got to give them a push in the right direction. wc: 4,700 / ship: roman/patton (royality) content: human au, actor au. patton-centric. some crying, some kissing. mutual, oblivious pining. confessions of ~love~! background talyn, joan, remy, and thomas.  background brotherly moxiety, romantic analogical, and frenemies(?) moceit. janus is kind of an asshole (but that’s patton’s opinion dot vine).  author’s note: so, sometime in october 2019, i saw this post by @sirasanders  for the first time ever which was, frankly, a Crime. because it had been posted in february 2019 and the fact that i had gone that long without seeing/being tagged in a royality post? Illegal. anyway, i was struck with inspiration and began writing and sure it might have taken nine months but... here it is! i'm really proud of it! i hope you enjoy! 

many thanks to @rosesisupposes​ for beta reading!! <3 read on ao3!

— — —

Patton was not a morning person. Sure, he liked the idea of sunrises and consistent schedules and having time to make himself a big breakfast. All of that, however, required waking up. So to put it more accurately, Patton was not a waking up person.

Usually, all it took was a cup of coffee.

Thankfully, that part was never something Patton really had to worry about. The sweet, sweet bean elixir was delivered to him personally each morning sometime after arriving on set. Something he did worry about, though? Constantly? Nearly every hour of every day? Just what exactly he and the bringer-of-drinks were.

Like… yeah! He and Roman were… friends? They were coworkers for sure, without a doubt, and Patton liked that a lot! Working with Roman never failed to brighten even his darkest days. Patton could arrive on set in the lowest of moods and sometimes all it took was one warm smile from Roman to melt the icy feeling in his veins. Sometimes, it was the way Roman would slide up next to him at the catering table, moaning about how hungry he was, asking for Patton’s opinion on what he should treat himself to. Sometimes, Roman would take Patton’s hand and lead him to The Sanders Couch and Roman would sit and then he’d pull Patton down onto his lap and they’d just stay there for a bit, Roman combing his hand through Patton’s hair and singing quietly… If Patton was being honest, that was the easiest and quickest way Roman helped him to feel better.

Just friends, though! Right?

Roman remembering Patton’s usual go-to orders from Starbucks didn’t mean anything. He was just being courteous. Maybe it wasn’t even that; maybe it was just Roman wanting to make sure Patton would be at his peak during their scenes. Actors had such bad reputations after all and the last thing Patton wanted was to be a nightmare to deal with on set. He was grateful, really, of all Roman did to help him!

He just wished he wasn’t so confused.

“Patton! Good morning!”

Okay, time to put all those confusing feelings away.

Talyn’s bright grin and brighter hair never failed to impress Patton. Maybe one day he’d learn their secret to feeling this energetic so early in the morning but until then, he’d just have to keep wishing for the day coffee chains lowered their prices.

“Morning, Tal,” Patton responded, unable to help himself as he reached out and ruffled Talyn’s colorful locks.

They grumbled and swatted his hand away. “I’d be offended that you don’t seem to realize how much time this takes but I don’t think you even know what a hairbrush is.”

Patton pouted and reached up to tug on one of his curls. “I’m hurt.”

Talyn huffed, a sort-of laugh that reminded him of Virgil, and rolled their eyes. “I’ll be extra gentle with your makeup to make up for it, then.”

Before Patton could express appreciation for the play on words, Talyn was swept up and away in a blur of blue plaid and orange. He was pretty sure it’d been Joan, given how they were scarcely seen without their tell-tale flashy beanie.

While interacting with Talyn had helped Patton wake up a little bit, he was already feeling the heaviness of being up early weighing him down again. The reminder of the scene they were supposed to be filming today probably wasn’t doing him any good, either. Not only was it going to be a lot of crying, which was already exhausting on its own, he and Roman were supposed to kiss. Patton was supposed to kiss the possibly-maybe-wouldn’t-it-be-nice love of his life.

His cheeks went hot at the very idea and Patton all but slammed his face into his hands and screamed into his palms.

“Easy, buttercup, wouldn’t want you bruising, hm?”

Patton lowered his hands and glared at Janus over his fingertips.

“Oops,” Janus smirked and stepped back. “Didn’t realize you haven’t had your coffee yet.”

Patton frowned and folded his arms over his chest. “Is it that obvious?”

Somehow, in the time it took him to blink, Janus had moved, loping around Patton with a contemplative hum. One of these days, he’d learn how Janus managed to get around so fast.

“Look,” he said, draping an arm over Patton’s shoulders and pointing, “right there.”

One of these days, Patton would stop falling for Janus’s pranks.

Today was not that day and so when Patton directed his gaze towards where Janus was gesturing, he was provided the very startling sight of Roman coming in from outside. He was practically glowing in the sunlight, his hair was tousled from the wind as if he’d rolled out of bed but left it intentionally disheveled, and they’d just made eye contact and so Patton saw clear as crystal the way Roman’s smile curled up so easily and prettily.

Oh no, he was so pretty.

Patton ducked out of Janus’s hold and bolted away, towards his dressing room.

That… could have gone worse? Yeah, he could’ve tripped while running away and face planted and made work super difficult for Talyn and ruined the whole shoot today and everyone would be mad at him for wasting their time—

“Patton?”

By absolute sheer willpower, Patton didn’t scream.

“I’ve got your caramel macchiato.”

Patton was going to melt.

“Extra extra espresso.”

Scratch that, Patton was already melting.

“Thomas said it looked like you’d need it.”

Wait, what?

Patton opened the door to handsome Roman, considerate Roman, lovely Roman, and spoke before his brain could get any more mushy at the sight of handsome considerate lovely Roman. “Thomas hasn’t even seen me today?”

Roman held the reusable tumbler out for Patton to take. “Extra caramel, too.”

Patton took the offered drink and if it weren’t for the fact that this happened nearly every morning, he’d surely have dropped it the moment his and Roman’s fingertips brushed. Thankfully, he’d gotten used to it by now. Mostly, his heart reminded him when butterflies took flight in his stomach. Right, yeah, mostly. Anyway.

“I’ll see you in a bit, then,” Roman said and Patton was probably imagining the soft earnesty in his tone. He tried to dial down his high hopes.

“In a bit, then…” Patton managed, smiling sweetly, before stepping back and closing the door.

By some miracle, he didn’t sink immediately to the ground despite definitely feeling like a melted marshmallow. Instead, he drained half of his drink and then finally let himself scream.

In a bit turned out to be a couple of hours. It wasn’t anything Patton wasn’t familiar with but that didn’t make it any less agonizing. An indie film meant a smaller crew which meant Talyn could do the makeup on only one actor at a time. Fortunately, the scenes today weren’t very extensive which meant less folks to work on. Unfortunately, the scenes weren’t extensive because they were all plenty aware of how emotionally draining they’d be and had essentially planned for it. Crying came pretty easily to Patton so he wasn’t worried about that part. It was the after: the headache, the puffy red skin, the sore throat.

Talyn muttered as they worked, wondering why they were even bothering with makeup when it was all going to be ruined by the end of filming, anyway. In the reflection of the mirror Patton was sitting in front of, he could just barely see Roman getting his hair fixed. He was gesturing, no doubt telling a story of some sort; Remy had to keep pushing his hands back down anytime they got in the way. Patton was sure the hairdresser was scowling as he worked. If anyone was less a morning person than Patton, it was Remy.

“I love that smile as much as the next, Pat,” Talyn said, sighing, “but I don’t need it just yet. I can’t work when your eyes are all cute and crinkly.”

He murmured a quick apology and schooled his expression into one carefully blank. Talyn got back to applying his eye makeup. It didn’t take much longer before they were finished and Patton was sent on his way to get his hair done next. He and Roman passed by each other and Patton did his best to not swoon quite so obviously when Roman grinned at him. This part went by considerably quicker given that Patton could no longer see Roman in any reflections and that Remy had no patience for anything taking longer than absolutely necessary. He was finished before Talyn was with Roman which meant Patton could head off to see their director for any final adjustments or tips.

Thomas looked like he’d been through the wringer and the day had barely begun. Patton was frowning as he approached, wondering if anyone had told Thomas that his shirt was inside out.

“Morning, kiddo,” Patton greeted, coming to a stop beside him.

Thomas startled, nearly dropping the script he was holding. “Patton!”

“Oops,” Patton said sheepishly, “didn’t mean to spook you.”

Thomas waved the papers dismissively. “Nah, I oughta be better aware of my surroundings. Especially with someone like Janus around.”

Patton scowled. “Yeah, he got me this morning.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Thomas responded and Patton did not like how cheeky he looked all of a sudden. “That one seemed more like a treat than it did a trick.”

Patton really wished he didn’t blush so easily! He couldn’t even try and cover his face because then he’d risk messing up Talyn’s hard work. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh.”

“Anyway,” Patton interrupted loudly before Thomas could keep teasing him. “Has anything changed with filming today that I should worry about?”

Thomas shook his head. “Nah, we’re still all on the same page.” He hesitated. “Sorry that today’s gonna be so taxing on you guys.”

“I’m just hoping we can get it done in one take.”

“If you don’t, Talyn will have to fix you up again,” a new voice said, effortlessly joining their discussion.

“Speak of the Devil,” Thomas muttered.

“And he shall appear!” Patton finished for him before turning to Janus with a glare. “You know it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

Janus shrugged carelessly. “Joan’s looking for you,” he told Thomas, as if backstage and onstage weren’t small enough for Joan to find Thomas relatively easy on their own.

Still, Thomas shot Patton an apologetic look and went off to find his best friend.

In a near perfect match of their earlier interaction, Patton faced Janus with crossed arms and a frown. “Could you stop messing with me? I really don’t need it on top of everything else going on today.”

“I haven’t a clue what you’re referring to, dear Patton,” Janus said sweetly, all faux innocence.

Patton tried to not let it get to him. The two rarely got along, even on their good days, and Janus knew this, which meant he especially delighted in bothering Patton on his bad days. There really wasn’t any reason for them to be like this except that Janus had been why Patton nearly missed his audition for this film and he’d never apologized and Patton was still holding a grudge.

“Darling, is he bothering you?”

Before Patton could react to the question, an arm slid around his shoulders. The body he was pulled against was warm and firm and smelled of cinnamon and oh no.

Janus was smirking wickedly.

“Roman,” he all but purred. “I would never bother the object of your affections. I wouldn’t even dream of it.”

Patton.exe has stopped functioning.

The conversation continued, if Janus’s moving lips were anything to go by, but none of it processed for Patton. Roman’s what? Surely they weren’t talking about him? No, it was just Janus playing another one of his mean pranks. It had to be! Roman couldn’t like Patton back because if he did… well, if he did, that meant the kiss they were supposed to share on screen today wouldn’t be quite so one-sided and… and that would mean Patton’s feelings weren’t entirely unfounded… Roman did always bring him coffee. He was there for Patton’s low moods. His smile was sometimes so sincere and soft that Patton thought he might melt anytime he was on the receiving end of it.

Patton blinked and tilted his head up just a bit so he could get a better look at his knight in shining armor. Thinking back on it, Roman was often there to help save Patton from Janus’s crueler comments or jokes. He encouraged Patton through each scene, eyes bright and eager when the camera wasn’t pointed at him. He looked a little tense and Patton wondered if he was angry with what Janus had implied or… or if he was embarrassed to be called out on his feelings.

His gaze returned to Janus and he blinked again. Sound started to filter back in. Janus sneered at him.

“Back with us, then?”

“Alright, folks!” Thomas' voice rang out then, commanding attention. “Let’s get started! If we finish early today, I’m treating y’all to ice cream!”

A chorus of cheers followed as everyone moved to get where they needed to be.

Patton slipped out from Roman’s grasp and gave him a grin that he hoped wasn’t as shaky as it felt. In theory, Roman liking him back should have been a good thing. So why was Patton feeling so icky all of a sudden? Was it because, if it were true, Roman hadn’t been the one to confess? It was hardly fair of Janus to go around sharing other people’s secrets.

“Places!”

Patton snapped out of his daze to find Roman standing in front of him. He looked concerned.

“Hey, deep breaths, okay?” He took an exaggerated one to make a point and Patton found himself mirroring it. The slow exhale lightened the weight on his shoulders.

Patton nodded and Roman smiled at him. It was that sincere, soft smile that made Patton melt and, gosh darn it, hadn’t he already done enough of that this morning?

They hurried to their spots. The script was playing through Patton’s head, his lines and then Roman’s following lines, and Patton’s reactions to each line. He focused on the scene and the reason his character was upset and how it’d feel if he were experiencing it personally. One take. They’d get this finished in one take and then Patton could have ice cream and go back to his hotel room and take a nice long nap.

It was easy to forget everything that had happened earlier once he was onstage. Patton had no trouble getting into his roles most of the time; it certainly helped having someone like Roman opposite him. Roman was the best actor he’d ever had the pleasure of working with: self-assured and reliable and knowledgeable. The confidence he exuded was often contagious. The lights came on and out of the corner of his eye, Patton saw the red light flashing on the cameras. Roman winked at him and Patton only resisted giggling like a lovestruck teenager because Thomas had just called “action!”

It went as effortlessly as it usually did. Roman recited his lines with nary a mistake. Patton worked off of him easily, responses slipping from his tongue before the worries or fears of messing up could even try to take hold. The cast and the set around them faded away until it was just Patton and Roman - Patton’s character and Roman’s character - and this moment and this scene and these feelings. He could feel the tears spilling over, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed in his chest, his throat closing up with choked back sobs. Roman’s expression only aided in Patton’s despair; he never wanted to see Roman this miserable ever again.

It felt like a dream, the way Roman’s hand came up and cradled his cheek so gently and carefully. He wiped away a few of Patton’s tears with his thumb. He wasn’t sure which of them leaned in first, just that his eyes slid closed before Roman’s lips met his. Strangely, Patton’s first thought wasn’t incoherent screaming. It was that Roman tasted of peppermint. Then it was who knew kissing distracted so well from crying? Finally, eventually, it was incoherent screaming.

“And cut!”

They didn’t leap away from each other as if electrocuted, though Patton’s surprise at the reminder that they weren’t alone did shock him. Instead, they separated slowly, Roman’s hand drifting from Patton’s face to his shoulder.

“You’re… you’re a really good kisser, Roman.”

It wasn’t until Roman’s face went bright, bright red that Patton realized what he’d said.

“That was great, guys!” Thomas exclaimed, slinging his arms around them both and shattering the fragile space between them. “We’ll look over it real quick for any glaring mistakes but I think it went perfectly! We can fix the little things in post. I think you both deserve a break.”

“Thanks,” Patton squeaked, shooting up from where he sat. “Bye!”

For the second time that day, Patton bolted away and to his dressing room.

The door had barely slammed shut behind him before Patton was diving for the countertop he’d left his phone on. He was calling his second emergency contact and throwing himself into the pile of beanbags, cushions, and pillows in one corner of the room, all in one breath.

“Hey, Pat,” answered the low, rumbling voice of his brother.

Even if Patton had wanted to coherently explain what was going on, he couldn’t have. The words came tumbling out of his mouth without any sense and he kept cycling back to “kiss” and “Roman.” It didn’t help that he was half-sobbing, half-laughing, and all-panicking. At some point, he thought Virgil might have covered up his end of the receiver and spoke to someone else, but Patton was too flustered to be sure.

“Okay, bud, let’s take a minute to breathe.”

And so Virgil counted his younger sibling through several deep breaths, inhaling four and holding four and exhaling four. Once Patton had calmed down, Virgil asked him to repeat what he’d tried to say earlier.

“Oh. Ohh, right, that scene was today.”

“Virgil,” Patton said very seriously, pacing the room back and forth. “I… I think he likes me back.”

“Nooo,” Virgil responded and Patton frowned at his tone. “Really?”

“Why’d you say it like that!”

“Dude… Roman’s crush on you is as obvious as your crush on him.”

“His what?!”

“I’m sorry to say that you got all the gay disaster genes.”

“Tell that to your unsigned Valentine’s Day confession card to Logan.”

“Hey! We agreed to never mention that again!”

There was muffled speaking on Virgil’s end of the call and Virgil snorted. “Oh, that’ll be fun,” Patton heard him say in response. Before he could ask what would be fun, there was a knock at his door.

“Patton?”

By absolute sheer willpower, Patton didn’t scream.

“Answer it before I die of tension,” Virgil deadpanned.

Would it really be so bad if he did? After everything that had happened today, it really did seem like Roman might truly like him back… Sure, Patton wanted to bury himself into a hole and never leave out of embarrassment because of what he’d said after the kiss, but… It wasn’t like they were finished filming. Patton was going to see Roman again, whether he liked it or not.

“I’m hanging up now, okay?”

“Okay,” Patton whimpered. He was frozen a few moments longer, the phone still pressed to his ear.

“I can come back later,” Roman said, voice muffled. “Or not at all, if you’d prefer that. I don’t want to make you uncomf—”

Moving faster than he thought he was physically capable, Patton dropped his cell, and lurched across the room. He yanked the door open to handsome Roman, nervous Roman, sheepish Roman, and acted before his brain could get any more conflicted at the sight of handsome nervous sheepish Roman. “Please don’t leave.”

Roman went from worrying nervously at his lower lip to a small hopeful smile. He looked… strangely vulnerable. Patton wanted to protect him from everything bad, just as Roman had supported and kept him safe in the past.

“Hi.”

“Uhm… hi,” Patton replied. After a moment’s hesitation, he stepped back and gestured for Roman to enter.

For the time they’d been working together, neither had been inside the other’s dressing room. Actually, Patton hadn’t gone by Roman’s at all; maybe his was the one with the star-sticker-decorated door. Roman caught sight of Patton’s Comfort Corner and sent him a curious glance.

“It’s better than a chair?” Patton answered with a half-shrug.

“It’s like The Sanders Couch,” Roman said agreeably.

“Did Thomas ever tell you the story behind it?”

“Which one?” Roman asked, laughing. “There’s so many. He has it sent with him to every filming location, you know. Apparently, it’s magic.”

Patton’s apprehension was falling away slowly but surely and he thought it amazing how even being near Roman had that effect on him.

“May I?”

Patton blinked, confused. Roman gestured to the corner.

“Oh! Yeah! Yes, of course.” Patton hurriedly responded, stumbling a little over his words.

“May…” Roman rubbed the back of his neck and Patton didn’t understand what he could possibly have to be bashful about before remembering oh, right, he likes me back. “May we?”

It felt like Patton’s whole body was submerged in scalding hot water. “O— okay,” he squeaked. Before he could melt on the spot like his jelly-wobbly legs wanted him to, Patton joined Roman in settling cozily amongst the beanbags, cushions, and pillows.

It was like second nature to them. Without even meaning to, Patton gravitated towards Roman, curling against his side as if it was right where he belonged. Roman’s hand was carding through Patton’s hair before they’d even fully got their legs positioned just right. In the time that Patton had made this dressing room his own, he’d added frequently to this pile, and he knew for a fact that there was room enough for two people to lounge on it without having to sit too close. As if he weren’t already in a tizzy, realizing how easy it was for him and Roman to be like this… Well, it was a miracle he hadn’t fainted already.

“So…” Roman began at the same moment Patton exclaimed, “I’m sorry!”

Naturally, Roman looked bewildered.

“I should have told you sooner,” Patton barreled on. He pointedly avoided looking up, instead keeping his gaze trained on his hands folded in his lap. “I was just… scared, I guess? Mostly of rejection… uhm, duh… But also of ruining this movie for you? I didn’t want to make filming difficult for… well, for anyone! And I didn’t want to risk doing that just because of my silly feelings.”

“Silly?” Roman echoed.

“And I know it’s not something I need to apologize for,” Patton continued in a rush, “but I’m still so sorry that Janus said what he said. A… about me being the, uh… your… Well, you know. He didn’t have any right doing that.”

Roman laughed, sounding a little incredulous. Patton wasn’t sure what part Roman had trouble believing. It was true, after all! The very idea of someone spilling Patton’s crush without his say-so was absolutely horrifying.

“If I’m being completely honest?” Roman began, shifting just enough that he could cradle Patton’s cheek in his hand and tilt his face up. “I don’t think I’d have had the courage to do it myself, anyway.”

He… He was being genuine, Patton realized with a start.

“You’re the most courageous person I know!” Patton argued.

“I am also terrified of rejection,” Roman amended.

“Now hold on, if I’m scared of rejection and you’re scared of rejection, then who’s flying the plane?”

Roman laughed so hard, Patton was jostled by it in his embrace. It was a sensation he wouldn’t mind getting used to.

“Regrettably, I think that Janus is our pilot.”

Patton pouted. “Don’t like that.”

“We might owe him a thank you.”

“Don’t like that!” Patton repeated.

“Well, how about something that you do like?” Roman suggested, still holding him so carefully, still looking at him with such a sincere and soft smile. Still, there was just a hint of trepidation in his tone, the tiniest bit of unease in his eyes.

Patton realized awfully late that neither of them had actually, completely declared their feelings yet. He sat up in a hurry, placing a hand on Roman’s chest, and taking a deep breath. He thought it might give him at least a moment to sort his thoughts so that he could give Roman the confession he deserved. He thought wrong.

“You!” he practically shouted. “I like you! So much! It’s ridiculous! It’s exhilarating and scary and wonderful and well, I mean—” He stuttered to a halt, dissolving momentarily into breathless giggles. “You’re so considerate, do you know that? You care so much and you have so many little ways of showing it! And oh my god, you’re the best coworker I’ve ever had. You’re so full of passion and dedication, it’s an absolute joy to act alongside you and, and—” Again, Patton paused, but this time it was thanks to Roman’s slack-jawed awe. Raising both arms, Patton took Roman’s face in his hands and squished his cheeks a little. “And don’t even get me started on how handsome you are.”

In the time he’d known Roman, Patton had never seen him speechless. Patton was worried that he’d broken him. The seconds ticked by until, eventually, Roman made a sound akin to a tea kettle whistling. He slowly leaned in and down until Patton had to let go, instead opting to wrap his arms around Roman’s neck. With his face hidden now in Patton’s shoulder, it became clear how hard Roman was shaking.

“Was that too much?” Patton asked quietly.

Roman mumbled something but Patton couldn’t have understood it if he tried. Maybe he just needed a few minutes to collect himself. After some time, Roman did emerge, looking a bit more calm. Patton hardly had time to worry what this meant for him before Roman pulled Patton’s hands loose from where they’d been curled in the hair at the nape of his neck and held them gently in his own.

“I like you,” he started, oh-so-seriously. “I think I like you more than I like theatre?”

Patton gasped.

“Hush,” Roman teased, stifling a laugh. “I wake up some mornings and make it out of bed just because I know I’ll see you. It’s so easy to exist around you. I’ve never felt judged or hurt by you; you’re exceedingly kind and thoughtful. I cherish all of our moments, whether candid or staged. You’ve brought stability to my life in a way I never expected and I can’t tell you how important that is to me. Your grumpy pre-caffeine face cheers me up more than the sun in the sky does!”

“You hush,” Patton muttered, only able to fake offense for a few seconds.

“When Thomas takes us all out for ice cream, could we share a sundae?” Roman requested and he almost sounded shy about it. It made Patton’s heart flutter.

“There’s no one else I would want to banana split with,” Patton quipped.

Roman dropped Patton’s hands and groaned, planting his face into his palms. The last of the tension in the air vanished and Patton finally felt like he could breathe a little easier. He leaned back a little, trying to keep it together.

“Aw, come on, that was really just the cherry on top!”

Roman’s response might have been muffled but that didn’t hide the sound of his grin.

Patton shimmied and wiggled his way out of the Comfort Corner until he was back on his feet. “I hope you aren’t considering Taking Back Sun-dae,” Patton said, putting on his best pout.

“Oh my god,” Roman managed before he broke and fell into a fit of laughter.

Patton gave in too, though he was slightly distracted by the sight of Roman so carefree and happy. That was another thing he’d have to get used to, he supposed… Not that he minded. In fact, Patton decided as Roman eventually got up and pulled him into a tight, warm hug, he was really looking forward to it.

[patchwork-panda]

“I won’t tell a soul.” (BSD Nakahara Chuuya x Reader #1)

AO3 link: HERE

“Title: “I won’t tell anybody”/“誰にも言わない” Genre: Romance Rating: PG-13 for alcohol usage (eventual language/physical violence/kiss scene) Reader-insert is written as a civilian, femme and 20+ Plot: You meet Chuuya at a wine bar and over time, you become close. Your regular meetings become something you both enjoy so when Chuuya stops visiting for several weeks, you begin to worry... When you meet again, you learn the truth... But do you care? Mini Fic is written in 2nd person. title is reference to new Utada Hikaru single

“You have good taste.”

You lower your wineglass slightly and glance over the round rim, across the bar at the man who just spoke. You’ve never seen him before but he speaks as though he already knows you and something about that catches your interest.

You study him. 

He’s well-dressed. Better dressed than most of the other patrons, with his gray vest, half-jacket with the sleeves rolled up and fancy black hat worn low on his head. There’s an expensive-looking black coat lined in rose-colored satin draped on the chair behind him and a belt-buckle choker gleams at his throat.

Beneath the brim of his stylish, black hat, the man’s hair is bright orange and curls just so about his face, with a single lock, kept long, draped casually over one shoulder. And his eyes... his eyes are the deep blue of the ocean on a wintry day. His lips pull back into a confident smile as he sees you looking and he briefly tips his hat in greeting.

You smile. 

You know that even if you didn’t already have a glass and a half of your favorite cabernet flowing through your veins, you would still find him attractive.

The man across the bar raises his glass to you and as the dark garnet-red liquid inside catches the light, you see that he has selected the exact same wine as you.

“Thank you,” you reply, raising your glass as well. “Same to you.”

                                                    ----------------------

And that was how you’d met “Chuuya.”

He never gave his last name, so you chose not to either, but that didn’t stop the two of you from getting to know each other.

Like you, Chuuya had been coming to this particular wine bar for some time now, but he tended to come by very late, usually just before closing. The only reason you’d caught him on that first night was that you’d stopped by a little later than usual, having had a particularly long day at the office and that he’d come a little early. But you’d really hit it off that first night, and so, as if by some secret, unspoken agreement, you kept meeting here, at this nondescript wine bar a stone’s throw away from the five large black towers that dominated the Yokohama skyline.

Every Friday night at eleven, you would come here, sit at the bar, order a glass of wine (whatever the special was that night) and wait for Chuuya to come.

And he always did come, usually never arriving more than five minutes after you, and always greeting you with his usual lift of the hat and half-smirk of a smile. Then, you would gesture to the free seat beside you and he would take it.

Chuuya wouldn’t tell you what he did for a living, nor did he ever ask you much about your personal life, but other than that, it seemed like the two of you could talk about just about anything.

Tonight, you find out that he likes hats, fine wine (especially bold reds), and surprisingly, rock music. Specifically certain types of alternative rock.

“No way,” you sputter, nearly choking on your drink when he tells you, “You like Visual Kei? That doesn’t seem like you!”

“Oh, really?” Chuuya’s tone is challenging, albeit a little playful thanks to the glass of port he’d just downed.

He leans in a little, a subtle glint in his blue eyes.

“What do I seem like?” he whispers, just low enough for you and only you to hear.

You take a slow sip of your Cabernet and think carefully before you answer.

Chuuya is fascinating to you.

There was something about him, about the way he carries himself, that makes him seem taller than his one-hundred-sixty-centimeter frame. Sure, the hat might be a part of it, but Chuuya is suave. Unlike other men you’d met or dated who were around his height, Chuuya doesn’t seem to be insecure about it. Out of habit, you’d made sure not to bring it up but you secretly suspected that if you did, he’d just laugh and point out that you were still just a tiny bit shorter. 

“Well?” he asks again.

“You seem... sophisticated,” you decide at last, setting down your glass.

Slapping one black-gloved hand against the counter, Chuuya throws his head back and laughs.

“And Visual Kei is not sophisticated?”

You shrug.

“Honestly? With the hat and the whole...” you gesture to his outfit, “get-up, you seem more like a jazz kind of person. You know, something cool and refined--”

“Oi, Master,” Chuuya demands, his cheeks tinged with pink (he might’ve had a little too much today) as he addresses the bartender, a stately gentleman with a well-groomed mustache.

Chuuya points at you, looking very much amused and yet very flattered.

“Get a load of this! She thinks I’d be into jazz--!”

“I believe the young miss is calling you cool and refined, Chuuya-san,” the bartender states, with just a hint of a smile.

Chuuya stops laughing immediately. When he turns to look at you, you simply pick up your glass of wine and bring it back to your nose. You insist that you are only smiling because you are enjoying the aroma of the drink.

                                                     -----------------

Weeks pass and you continue to meet.

You start dressing up more for your outings to the bar and your friends and coworkers have taken notice.

“Oh?” another lady in your department comments brightly when she sees you strolling out in a pair of new, black heels. “Going on a date?”

“Not quite,” you say, but your chest warms at the idea of Chuuya seeing your weekly outings as “dates.”

“I’m just meeting a friend for drinks.”

“But you’ve been meeting this ‘friend’ for drinks for a while now, haven’t you?” your coworker presses, studying you closely. “What kind of person is he?”

She grins.

“Is he cute?”

You smile back, your expression giving nothing away.

“Since when did I say my friend was a ‘he?’“

“You didn’t have to,” your coworker responds, her grin widening.

                                                         ---------------

“Yeah?”

Chuuya laughs, the sound bright and clear, like music to your ears.

His voice is more pleasant than the actual music (something jazzy and old-timey sounding) softly playing throughout the bar.

You smile.

“And then what happened?” he asked, propping his head up on the counter with one hand. His vibrant blue eyes are fully focused on you and they seem to sparkle in the soft light around the bar.

As you finish telling him the rest of your story (about an unfortunate incident that happened at work), Chuuya smile grows wider and he lets out another peal of laughter.

“Was it that funny?” you ask but Chuuya is too busy laughing to hear you.

His laughter is infectious and soon, you find yourself laughing too.

And then Chuuya lets out an actual snort. A loud one.

At once, his eyes widen and he rushes to cover up his face with one hand. His cheeks flood with pink. He looks so uncharacteristically flustered (and adorable) that you can’t help but laugh even harder. 

"H-hey, stop that,” Chuuya snaps, but he’s still smiling.

You shake your head and try to apologize but it doesn’t come out quite the way you want it to because you’re still giggling a little.

“Well if you’re gonna keep going on like that...”

Chuuya leans in. His lips curl upwards in a devilish grin. There’s a glint of mischief in his deep blue eyes and your heartbeat quickens as his voice drops low.

“How ‘bout I give you something to really laugh about?”

You grin, take a small sip of your wine and lean in to mirror him.

“Yeah?” you challenge.

“Yeah.”

Chuuya’s grin widens. He looks into your eyes, at the way you refuse to back down and leans in even closer.

“What are you gonna do?” you ask, drawing closer to him.

“The sort of thing,” Chuuya says, “that gets cheeky girls like you to stop laughing.”

You’re only inches apart now.

“Then do it,” you whisper.

You’re staring into each others’ eyes. Neither of you seems willing to back down. The other patrons and even the bar itself seems to disappear...

And then, a slow and subtle flush creeps across Chuuya’s face. His blue eyes flick down towards your mouth and suddenly his grin falters. 

Quick as a flash, his fingers wrap around your wineglass and he steals your drink.

“Hey!”

You reach forward to stop him but he’s chugged down the last sip in your glass before you could get it back.

“Ha!”

He slams the glass down on the table, nearly shattering it and looks up at you, his grin triumphant but not quite as self-assured as it usually is. His face is still very red.

“That’s what you get for laughing at me!”

But your eyes are on the wineglass in his hand, at the place where your lipstick had left a mark on the glass. That lipstick mark was now smudged and you could even see traces of the rouge on Chuuya’s lips.

“Ch-Chuuya-san...”

“What?” Chuuya asks, completely unaware of what he did.

He wipes his mouth carelessly with the back of one hand, orders you both a second round and you decide to let it slide.

You can’t bring yourself to tell him that what he just did was known as “an indirect kiss.”

Click here for Part #2

Click here for Part #3

[meenah-chan]

Requested by: @zimelu-eloni-nova-lycan (hope you see this since I can't tag you ಥ‿ಥ)

My apologies in advance if Malleus is OOC. Other than wanting to play TW and doing a bit of research of him, I know nothing 😂 I never thought of taking requests coz I'm a slow writer but it was quite interesting so I did it anyways. (And took daaays to finish 😂)

To Thine Own Self Be True

An OM! Brothers x GN! Dark Fae MC (slight OM! X Twisted Wonderland crossover)

5.47k words

Genre: flangst

Trigger warnings: self harm, violence, self depreciation? (cringe jk) Read at your own discretion.

"You're an incomplete puzzle... I hope you find your missing pieces." And thus, they were sent to someplace they didn't know...

They... have always been alone. But Y/N is not lonely. They have Malleus, a powerful yet caring brother. They have their grandmother, that even as busy as she is, tries to show her love as much as possible.

They are the only one they need. As long as they have them, they needn't anything else. Or atleast they think so.

"As a part of royal family, you have to broaden your horizon." But they think otherwise.

Before Malleus' departure for Night Raven College, he left Y/N a word, "You're an incomplete puzzle, Y/N. I hope you find your missing pieces." and that was months ago, and they were still confused by it.

Incomplete puzzle... It doesn't feel like they are. They are content of what they have. They capable of doing most tasks perfectly. They fulfill their responsibilities impeccably. It's not like they can't live on their own either. Having no friends and acquaintances but they're two family members is also fine. They don't need any more. No one who could stand their presence anyways.

The intimidating dark energy far more destructive than a fae possessed, in which Y/N could never control. Those menacing, sharp green eyes. Their skin as pale as the dead corpse, and lips charred black. But most of all, those pair of disgustingly sharp, black horns that keeps on growing back no matter how hard they try to get rid of it.

Y/N is the epitome of fear. They knew it more than anyone. If they were to be reckoned that way, it is better to maintain distance from everyone.

But I should fulfill my duty, atleast. They thought, fortifying their resolve as they stood before the future King of Devildom and his butler. "Welcome to Devildom, Y/N Draconia."

"It's an honor to be of your acquaintance, Prince Diavolo." Placing a palm on their chest, Y/N bowed.

As per the two Kingdom's agreement, they were to live in a safe place different from a lavish lifestyle they have been used to inside their gold plated walls. And thus they were led by the Future king's shadow, Barbatos, to their new home. The House of Lamentation.

House of Lamentation. What a gloomy and dreadful place, befitting a sinister being like me. they scoff.

But the sight the dark fae witnessed within that walls was not within their expectations.

"Beel! Don't eat the my wallet! H–Hey, I said let go! My goldie'll snap! B–Belphie, help me!" A white-haired man is pulling a leather wallet from the teeth of a bulky orange-haired one.

"Smells chicken mushroom oil." While the orange head kept their teeth sunk into the wallet almost ripped into two. "It's just a drop, stop going crazy over it!"

"Belphie, wake up! You promised you'll help me with clearing dungeons today! The raid will start anytime now!!" A violet haired male violently shakes an asleep man in blue but the man is far from dazed at all.

"Hrmm... Five more minutes—" "We have no more time!! I can't play with a missing player!"

A feminine faced guy appeared right in front of them, instantly invading their comfort zone and kept locking eyes with them. "Ohh? Who is this with you Barbatos? Ahh, The one moving in! You're quite early, darling. Ignore those bunch in the back and play with me?"

"Behave, you fools!!" A booming voice reverberates and in an instant, the rowdy bunch is silenced. "Such a disgrace..."

Except for one, who didn't make any ruckus until that very moment.

A bucket came flitting up in the air and in the next second, all of its contents all poured on the man who controlled the ruckus a while ago.

"SAAAAATAN!!" It was an utter chaos. This place far from the gloomy place they have in their imagination. It is filled with rabid demons that could obliterate them were they to join forces, and now Y/N have to adjust in this new environment.

"I see it's not a great time to introduce myself." Said Y/N, yet the only one who probably heard them is the butler beside them. "If you'll excuse me, I would like to know where my room is."

"As you wish, your Excellency. Allow me to lead you the way." The butler responded to them. They left the common room, where the rowdy ones moments ago, were trying to suppress the supposedly-most decent of the seven, from destroying the mansion.

Y/N usually do not receive a normal greetings on the events they've been into or more like, forced to come by either their grandmother or by Malleus. It could be the fairies either— gives them space with no one dare shorten the distance; reluctantly greet them before leaving them as fast as they could or; flat out ignore them.

Yet so far, the experience I have today is by all odds, the most insulting way I have ever been greeted. Y/N clasps their trembling hands as they sat on the bed.

I wish this will end sooner. This will be a hell for me...

Almost everyday is a crazy, eventful day. Far different than their everyday life in the Valley of Thorns, their homeland. First impression doesn't really matter to Y/N, but for some reason, they couldn't stand them since day 1. Sure, they haven't done anymore distasteful things like the rude way of welcoming them. Still, the members of the family are crazily weird in their own ways. And they hate it.

Lucifer is the eldest of the brothers. The one who leads the brothers and manage everything in place.

"As your family have wished, you were to live differently than you have thus far. So I won't exempt you with the cooking and housework."

"As a part of Royal family, I expect great things from you. I won't tolerate screw ups."

"Remember to complete your tasks. I am assigned by Diavolo to take care of you, so I will check on your activities throughout your stay here." He is an ass. A bossy and dominating dictator who think he could order a royalty like them.

But one time, when they entered his study, they saw a scene they never thought they'll ever perceive.

*Tak* A fountain pen falling from his gripless hand.

He was splayed on his desk filled with tall stacks of paper, out cold. Y/N didn't know they would witness such vulnerable side of such condescending demon.

So they chose to put off their business for tomorrow, placing his coat over him and letting him rest.

But the event didn't occur only once. Atleast twice a week of exact time before midnight, he's always been unconscious on his desk. That's when Y/N realized: he is not strict and short tempered for no reason.

As the eldest, he took it to himself to be the father figure to the brothers, all while perfectly doing his job as Diavolo's right-hand man. He fulfills his job with perfection. But perfection doesn't come without hardwork nor sacrifices. For the sake of his great responsibility he sacrifice himself, working so hard until he drop on his desk.

With thoughts of him made Y/N ponder over something.

Does having a father feels like having a Lucifer in my life? Maybe it is, they never knew since they never remember their's. He isn't as bad as they thought he were if they think it that way. That is praiseworthy, as they think so themself and deserve some respect.

No more stern expressions whenever speaking to him. Being more compliant if his instruction is reasonable. Thanking him even for a simple thing he does for them.

Soon, they noticed he doesn't nitpick them either and praise them for every job well done. The dark fae may still be annoyed with him but that's not a bad outcome at all.

And then there's Mammon, the second eldest, who is supposed to assist the eldest.

"Ye're a royalty right? So ye're loaded. I'm in a pinch right now so let me borrow from you." He leans on their shoulder, with his smug grin.

"Don't listen to that fool. It's past 200 years and he still haven't paid his debts to me yet."

"Shut up, you otaku!"

Behind violet-haired appears the black haired demon. "MAMMON..."

"EEK— W–Wait!! Lucifer, this is not wha–ACK—!!" Mammon is a scum. A rude demon who could care less of his words and language. Trouble is where he is. Even so, in his tough exterior, Y/N took note of a soft side.

Y/N saw him one time, poking at the mopping otaku demon outside his room. "Yo Levi. What you doin' there?"

"Just let me be... I lose my raid last time because I couldn't play... Now I can't even bear looking at my PC... No one would want to play to a no-show gamer like me..."

"Hmm... Then, it can't be helped. C'mon, your big brother Mammon will play with you!"

"R–Really..?"

"Yeah, Yeah. Let's play to your heart's content" He pulled him up and push him inside his room.

Consoling a sad brother, lending a helping hand when they need it. He may not look like it, but Mammon is also taking good care of his brothers. All the emotional support Lucifer fails to give his brothers, Mammon provides.

So before Mammon entered the room, the dark fae decided to tap his shoulder, earning his attention. "You really love your brothers."

"W–Wha... Where does... who loves—"

"That's really admirable." They promptly reach out a bottle of a jet-black faerie dust only they could concoct. Mammon gingerly took it from them and scanned the inside. "That may help you settle some of your debts. Then..." After giving the bottle, they went on their way.

"AAAAHHHH!! THIS IS ULTRA RARE!" As expected to a man who could appraise goods.

They remember Malleus from his caring side, they couldn't help but smile and commend the yellow demon. I miss my brother...

Leviathan on the other hand, has a different case. He is the third-born of that household. A timid person... At first glance, atleast.

They just can't understand him. He spoke in language they couldn't wrap their head around like, "LOL! ROFLMAO!", "Tss, normie..."

It is tolerable, at least. What they can't tolerate is the fact that,

"UUWAAH!! MY RURI-CHAN LIMITED EDITION COBALT PIN AND FIGURINE IS HERE!!" He is, by far, the loudest. His sudden and unexpected outbursts kept on triggering every jumpy cells in their system.

Leviathan is too hyped he seemed to enter his own dimension. He skipped through the corridor, he sung a Ruri-whatever song that is, until, "Ahh—" he made a misstep in the stairs, a few steps away from them.

Y/N dashed and caught them barely in time, with firm hold between his shoulder blades and another to his package, which should be flying right now but was pressed secured to his chest.

"You should be more careful or you'll hurt yourself. Your treasured package almost fell." They sighed.

"... An angel has descended." He stared at them in awe. As he move his hand to the box, he touched their hand. That's when their position fianally sinks in to him. His face flared beet red and in a few seconds blew a fuse, passing out right on the spot.

"... What a troublesome demon..." With no other choice but to bring him themself, he carried the unconscious Leviathan up to their room. After opening the door, what welcomed them is a messy room.

No, not messy. The room is filled with items and materials of all sorts. Tons of CDs, figurines and posters on shelves and walls. Stuff toys and pillows of all shapes and sizes. Hanged intricate costumes and clothes, which in just a glance, they knew is made with effort. Even pins, threads and needle atop a... Sewing machine? Did he made all of this?

Y/N took another glance on the other side of the room. There he saw three monitors with various programs registered. A game, video editor and a Photoshop... I wonder what else can this man do?

Is this what they call a hobby? Such passion and dedication in pursuit of doing what he loves... An unfamiliar feeling for this dark fae.

They... can't really understand this man. Not at all... But I can now see him in another light, I guess...

The one who sought Y/N first were Beelzebub, the sixth-born. A bulky, tall demon who loves to eat. They were having a snack on the balcony when the older twin sniffs his way in. Such action that freaked the dark fae out internally, considering the sight they witnessed when they first moved in. The fact that they saw a few times 'accidentally' eating inedible things doesn't helped at all either.

"I followed the smell from the kitchen. Your cake smells delicious!" The drooling giant stood by them, and they couldn't take another sip from their tea.

"Hmm... Help yourself." Or you may help yourself with my flesh if I didn't satisfy your hunger.

"Really?!" He sat oposite to them and within minutes, all the plates on the table were wiped clean. "That was delicious!... Ahh that's right. Y/N, why aren't you eating with us during meals?"

"I'm used to eating by myself."

"But why? Eating with someone make the food taste better." Y/N doubt that'll be the case if that someone is him, who could definitely eat them if his appetite cries its needs.

Beelzebub touched his chin, thinking. "Hmm... How about I eat with you during snacks time? I'll bring food you'll definitely like!"

"Ah—" And they lost their timing. His eyes sparkles like stars and the pure happiness in his voice made it impossible for them to refuse. They wouldn't know what he could do were they to decline what he desire.

Since then he would appear without fail during Y/N's snack time, sharing both of their food with each other.

They tried to slowly end such dangerous activity yet, the enthusiasm in his eyes whenever he eat held them back. In the end, Y/N conceded, increasing their baked goods everyday to sate the needs of the ball of sunshine before them– who could bring warmth or burn them. As a response he will also eat it all like it's his first time eating their goods.

He is a man of few words yet, also quite easy to read, especially when eating the sweets they made themself. A straight forward person who means just as he say.

He would even sometimes bring his other twin, who will eat a few bites before snoozing.

"Beel really likes you, you know..." They glanced from their teacup to the youngest, seating beside them as the gobbling twin is busy with his food.

Belphegor stares in an ever-drowsy eyes. He is the man they least interacted with. How can they? Whenever they see him, he is always asleep. And it's not like Y/N is interested in communicating with him or anyone at all. "He even does his research for everything he brings you here. I don't know if you knew, but he really want to convince you to eat meals with everyone."

"...Ehh? Why? We're not even..." Y/N raised an eyebrow.

"Because he loves everything you make. He wants to talk to you ever since the first time you cook, but you're too antisocial to even eat with us."

"Says the demon who is always sleeping whenever I see him." Y/N snorts before taking a bite from the cupcake Beel brought. Hmm... this is good...

"...You, are you getting enough sleep?" Belphegor peers at their face.

"...None of your business."

"Whatever..." He frowns before burrying his face on his pillow.

What a keen observant. Y/N thought.

They've also been observing him since the first day. They share a lot of classes together and the dark fae knew, he is someone who rarely attend his classes, and whenever he does, he is always asleep. They also never saw him hold a book, much more read it. Yet, when they have exams, he finishes halfway the alloted time, almost the same time as them and sleeps after. The worst thing is that he could pass them easily.

He... is a dormant monstrosity. They conclude as they unlock the door to their room the day after. But before they do so, they noticed something.

Beside the door is an unfamiliar paper bag and inside... is a pillow, a bit caved it to the top center—similar to the one they use back to their home to be able to sleep well. It also comes with a note:

'The caneles and the stew is passable. You can throw away the pillow if you don't want it. Just know that it took me a great deal of effort to buy that.'

Really, what a frightening observant.

And there is Satan, the fourth-born, a pretty decent guy who craves for nothing but knowledge. If Y/N may say, he is the one they spend the most time with, though it's not that much.

"What are you reading?" Voicing not a word, they faced him the book cover.

"L’intelletto e Il Cuore... Hmm, that's a good choice." With at least 3 meters away from him, and few to no words exchange between them inside the library, it's not really that much.

He is a rational and intelligent man who respects personal space. Though, from time to time he would snicker eerily between the silence they have, holding either a cursed or homicide book. Creepy.

"What did you say...? The books you borrowed from me... Fell in the river? And it was washed away...?" And when he is angry, all his rationality is thrown out of the window.

"I–I will replace it I promise–" Pleads the peach-haired demon, kneeling before him.

"Replace, you say...? Didn't you know they were a Century membership gift to me from the Bibliomagicus Guild? Do you think that's replaceable...? Ha... Haha...HAHAHAHA!! THEN WHY DON'T YOU REPLACE THEM WITH YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE, HUH?!"

His wrath makes Y/N tremble, like all the bookshelves and books present in the library. Right, the books, the bookshelves. He'll destroy everything if this continues.

"Somnus Enim a Dum." So in a snap they cast a spell, amplified by their own dark pixie dust, and render him unconscious.

"Y/N!" That night he showed up in the library, frantically and still disheveled clothes and hair.

"Thank you. I don't know what would've happen if you're not there. And I also apologize you get to see that side of me." It's the first time they ever saw him smile without looking at the book. A smile similar to their brother.

"You're weird. You got so angry because of books that you'll ruin all the other irreplaceable books here."

"..."

"Don't mind it. I'd feel bad if the books are ruined."

"...Right." He chuckled, brushing his hair with his fingers and fixing his clothes to place. He then picked up the book he's reading, pulling the other sofa to sit beside them.

Now that's annoying. Nevertheless they let him. For they're a mere guest.

The fifth-born, Asmodeus, is not a problem back then. Having only a few occasional invitations for salon and parties, they could decline politely. But after the book incident, everything about his approach changes.

Since then, there was Asmodeus, everywhere!

In the classroom, in the library, in the music room, in the planetarium, in the balcony, in the bed, even the bathroom! He won't give them a break!

"Y/N~ I noticed you're always with Satan in the library. Are you getting along well? Beel too, you always bake and eat with him. That's so unfair! And you invite Belphie without me? Don't tell me you already like one of them?"

"If you'll choose one of us, shouldn't you choose me, the most beautiful demon of them all? I swear I can love you thousandfold than any of them, but... of course you can only be my second~~"

"What's with you and Lucifer? You always went to him every night. Is it a nightly endeavor? Hey~? Y/N, don't ignore me~!" He is a complete chatterbox. A motormouthed demon who don't know when to shut up.

But being with him comes with a few merits. Despite not looking like it, Asmodeus is a real gentleman. He maybe not as keen as Belphegor's capability to observe, but Asmodeus is an attentive and thoughtful demon. He does his everything to provide every small help he could give to them.

Whilst not needing help, it's much better than him being a clingy, dead weight. Y/N tries to look at the bright side.

"But this is tiring..." Y/N sighed, closing the book they are holding.

"Are you tired of reading? C'mon, let's go out and breathe fresh air!" I'm tired of you, you idiot.

"If you want to go out, you can go." The dark fae massaged their temple. It's been throbbing from time to time after that incident with Satan and Asmodeus bugged them.

"No! You've always been cooping yourself here or your room since coming here. You have to go out from time to time or you'll wither away!"

"You're so noisy Asmo. Y/N said they don't want to go." Asmodeus pout at Satan sitting beside Y/N, before pulling the dark fae out of the library and House of Lamentation.

"I'm telling you, I don't need this." Asmodeus holds 5 hangers of clothes, pondering which one fit them best.

"But~ It's such a waste for a beautiful person like you if you don't try dolling yourself up..." They stare at Asmodeus as if he just said the most ridiculous thing he could ever say.

"Don't tell me..." Asmodeus stared at them in disbelief, gasping dramatically like he always does,t "Y/N, YOU'RE GORGEOUS! DON'T EVER THINK YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE A DROP DEAD BEAUTY AND—" They covered his lips before he could even shout louder in such a public place.

He then pulled their hands off after a few moments. "And look! A bit of blush suits you! And black lipstick—" Y/N let him dressed them up— in exchange of shutting up. He chose meticulously, accenting every parts that they consider an abomination. A dizzying position they were in.

But the real deal has yet to come. What's worse than being bothered by a bug? More bugs...

"Asmo, are you nuts! You're hogging them all to yourself!" Mammon barged in their room as Asmo is applying makeup to them who gave up on him for a while now.

"Y/N couldn't come to our snack time because of you." Beel and Belphegor followed close behind, clearly unamused of Asmo's action.

"I haven't even got a chance to introduce them to the wonders of anime and games!" So do is Leviathan.

"They prefer reading in the library more, right Y/N?" Satan rest his back on the door frame, crossed arms.

"Excuse me? If I may say, Satan, Beel and Belphie are the one who took their time more than I!"

"YOU—" And their greatest fear since living in Devildom occurs. All hell broke loose. An all out brawl of the short tempered demons before them with all the six brothers, a thread away from transforming and blasting everything they touch. No... That's not it. Without transforming, they're already smashing everything into pieces.

The dressers. The desk. The chairs and mirrors. Everything but the bed they are sitting on.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE!" The last and the strongest of the brothers made his appearance, yelling in his most intimidating voice.

And they...finally snapped.

"Each and everyone of you... GET. OUT!!!" Such horror reflected on their eyes, with their whole being trembling uncontrollably. Tears poured down one after another. All of the emotions the brothers have never seen them make all spilled before them. As if a predator threatened to the end of their life.

On their hands...

were horns severed from their own head. The seven demons were so taken aback their bodies moved on their own to comply to Y/N's order... or more like, plead.

And the doors were completely closed.

They never left their ransacked room. They wouldn't open their doors to anything. No food, gifts nor even apologies. All but the brothers' words received a single response: "Malleus... I want my brother."

Hence the brothers and future king have no choice but to call him as soon as possible, or they will perish inside such place, alone like they've always been.

"Thank you for taking good care of my sibling. I hope you will continue so in the future."

"We also hoped we could. Yet considering the circumstances, I doubt they would want to stay here a second longer."

"Let—" but before Malleus could even finished his sentence, Y/N came flying down on him.

The distressed fae buried their face in their safe haven's chest. He then proceed carrying them in his arms, assuring them they are safe.

Lucifer led them to the music room, giving them privacy in their conversation.

"You've become so light, Y/N. And what happened to your horns?"

"...I wanna go home."

"Why? Do you hate this place?"

"I'm scared of them since the first day."

"That's understandable... But is that all?" Y/N stare at him in disbelief, while Malleus smiling softly at them.

"...Then what else... should I feel? I know I'm a monster... But that doesn't mean I could live with such monstrous demons! I'm just a monster with a weak heart!"

"Then you can blame it all on me. I'm the one who chose this place for you after all." All words were blown off Y/N's mind. The furrow between their eyebrows disappears as their face relaxes.

"Brother... But why?"

"I want you to realize your own self."

"..."

"Now answer me. You said you're scared of them, but do you hate them? Do you want to leave this place so badly? Is that really everything you've felt in this place?"

"Of course! I... I..." Y/N already knew the answer to his question, way before he even asked.

"They were annoying, noisy and self-centered bunch who does things as they pleased. They keep dragging me on their antics, I never had a peace of mind... I hated it, I despise it. I..." They bit their lips.

"I felt so frustrated! Why do they look so lively and happy despite being so unruly? They're always on each others neck yet they were having fun? Why?! And hobbies? How can they have such thing? I have nothing of sort! I just wake up day after day, desperately searching for something and fill this empty void inside me!"

"I fulfill my responsibilities without fail, on what cause? I have no purpose! Seeing that demons made me feel so miserable with my existence!"

They looked on their lap, holding back the tears on verge of falling. "What do they have that I don't? They're also the strongest, incredibly so that even I shook when they unleash their power! So why aren't they isolated like I am? How can they live a normal life unlike me?!"

"I think you already know the answer."

"...Because... They rely on each other. I never relied on anyone nor let anyone rely on me..." Malleus' smile widens when they hit the nail on the head.

"You're a strong person, Y/N. You won't even depend on us, not until today. You're capable of anything. You're just afraid of any more rejection, of being left behind." He paused and lift their face to meet his eyes, "Diavolo and others explained to me what happened. They said the incident frightened you. Yet knowing you, I doubt it is fear. Will you tell me why you blew off?"

"...I was overwhelmed. They were fighting over me. It never happened to me before so don't know what to feel. The attention was too much that I hated it. And I don't know how to respond to them..."

"So you brushed them off and isolated yourself." They nod weakly.

"And you snapped your horns to show them you're not who they think you are; to scare them off."

"Something like that..." Malleus smiled at them as he pet their head. "See? It's not bad being honest to yourself. Do you still want to leave, now that you let it all off your chest?"

Y/N shooked their head. "I want to stay."

"My Y/N is amazing... To surpass all the beings who estranged them. You're all grown up now." He held them in his arms, Y/N nuzzling onto his chest.

"Come on, they've been waiting for you for the longest time. You know what to do, right?"

"Yes." They left the room, Y/N clinging to him like never before. As childish as it seems, Malleus knew they grew a lot in just a few months of living in Devildom. It is indeed a great decision to choose the brothers to take care of them. They were no longer the incomplete puzzle he saw before he left for his studies.

"Y–Y/N..." Waiting in the common room are the seven brothers with Diavolo and Barbatos.

"W–We understand if you really want to l–leave." Mammon looked down as he clenched his fist.

"It was our fault." Leviathan followed.

"We've been insensitive, pressuring you despite knowing you're not accustomed interacting with a lot of people." Satan said with a serious frown.

"We even destroyed your belongings." Asmodeus glanced away, holding onto Satan's jacket.

"We'll make it up to you in any form."

"Y/N, sorry." Belphegor and Beel voiced respectively.

"It was due to my negligence you have to experience such incident. I also want to apologize." Lucifer held his palm to his chest for a slight bow.

"N–No!" Y/N strongly shook their head, "I should be the one to apologize! I'm so sorry!!" before bowing deeply.

"Y/N!? No, please raise your head—" Diavolo held Lucifer's shoulder to stop him like Malleus cued to let his sibling continue.

"It was all my fault! I've been a coward all this time. I was wrong for trying to push you all away when you don't mean harm. It was all my fault for venting all my frustrations to you. Please, if you would still allow it, I want to stay a bit longer."

"Y/N you are more than welcome here so please raise your head now. We don't deserve your apologies." Satan was the first one who walked towards them to raise their head.

"Y/N?!!" But as he did so, a crying Y/N appears in the brothers' view.

"This is the first time I will ever ask someone but," they sob and sniff, "will you guys be my friends?"

"Y–Yes, so please stop crying!" As conflicted as the brothers are, being asked such question that could hinder their future plans with them, they were forced to agree to their wish instantly.

Let's leave it for another day... The same phrase runs in the thoughts of the brothers, a very rare occurence to happen once in a millenium.

With Asmodeus' lead—he, Mammon, Leviathan, and Beel wrapped their arms around them to console the crying faerie. Lucifer, Satan and Belphegor stood a feet away from them, watching the five in the middle.

As things calms down, they decided to sit on the same dinner table for the very first time. Food were served by Barbatos, who prepares who knows when. He could actually have predicted such outcome for all they know.

The place were so warm, and lively. "This tastes wonderful." That's an understatement. The food have the richest taste than everything Y/N ate in their entire life. "You're right, Beel. Food were best eaten with someone." Beel have them a toothy grin. "I'm glad you get me."

After the meal, Y/N fell asleep on the spot. "Hehe, they're so carefree now." Belphegor played with their fringe. They didn't woke them up and instead carry them in a new room, letting them have the deep sleep they couldn't have for days.

"Congratulations, for being Y/N's first friends. I'll leave them in your care." Malleus bid his farewell to everyone, not bothering of waiting for Y/N to wake up. "I also hope this incident will be the last one."

"Yes, we won't let such thing happen again, and ensure a comfortable life for Y/N throughout their stay here." Diavolo answers in stead of everyone. The brothers are not in the shape to reply as they absorb Malleus' first sentence.

First friend. Such a bitter-sweet word. Whether the word stings them or not, it doesn't matter. It won't stop the brothers from trying to achieve the same goal as subtle as possible.

And so, a not-so-obvious scramble goes on.

This took longer than I expect 🤣😂 In all honesty, it was quite challenging, making a blatant All Brothers x MC. I also don't have a plot and flow until I actually wrote it sksksk dunno if that's a good or bad thing 😂🤣 and this was the longest one I wrote for the past half a year.

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