#i wanted to give her an outfit that just represents her … normally i guess

[jellykinss]

forgot to post this yesterday !,, but !!!!! jelly has a new outfit again !!!!! yay !!!!!!!!

[moth--mallow]

Hay long time no see Rwby fans

As of yesterday it seems some concept art for Ruby's design for volume four was released and I have to say we were beyond robbed

As we all know volume fours outfit is one of the most disliked it seemed outfits for Ruby and I kind of understand it for many reasons one thing I do think that is smart though on a design is the belt across the chest is someone who is top heavy myself I have had it where I've had to clip my tops especially spaghetti string straps tops closed at the front with a clip to keep certain my chest from popping out my shirts but in Ruby's case she's not that top heavy like yang ,winter,or emerald

so I don't really see a need for her having a belt across the chest and best I think she's like a a cup

Her sleeves were cute I think they were always supposed to be a representation of penny and she also Incorporated white into her look which was her partner Weiss's color showing how she's disconnected from her partner and one of her teammates I wish they had found a way to add other colors to her outfit maybe giving Ruby a bit of a sense kid look or something that add all her team colors

But that's not what we got

But then you look at the concept art of what we could have got and I think the best combination for her look would have been this

Dark brown top,the heart like corset with sharp ends brown leggings (?) ,red skirt with crosses on it, not sure but a bow sash would be a cut way to show her link to Penny and phyrra and then sone normal booths,not 12 belts

This look would seem like a good between look that's still kind of mirrors her original look but also foreshadows her next look that we get and the 7-9

But it's the same issue many have talked about is that she always has these gray and white sleeves I guess that they're trying to have it where her arms don't bleed into the rest of her outfit but they could just give her Brown mesh kind of like the brown top instead of these gray sleeves and Ruby's V4 look it didn't even look like she had a shirt on a lot of the time in the volume since the concept art and the way it was modeled in the show and colored made it look skin tone the only reason you could tell Ruby had on the top is when you get to her sleeves but there are times it's just not noticeable and when it comes to this gray top due to every character being it seems gray washed in the show where they all look pale and gray and pasty throughout the seven-8 and Atlas for some reason the gray on Ruby's top also kind of blends with her skin at times they really need to stop giving Ruby these gray tops just have her be sleeveless from now on since they're back on remnant and they're in vacuo I'm hoping maybe down the line by the final volume if we see one more big outfit change before the final fight with Salem we get an outfit similar to what we got from this concept art or maybe some other concept art that could maybe try Ruby to Elva character she's known or lost but I'm thinking Ruby maybe needs to stop being tied to character she's lost like her mother, penny and phyrra I start more dressing for herself even though I didn't like it and I don't want to acknowledge them in the Justice League crossover movies part 2 Ruby had on a leotard outfit that looks really sporty that went with her semblance that felt like it represented herself a speedster looking for enjoyment quickness and fun Ruby should possibly maybe incorporate more leotards into her look or sports like outfits those would suit her more I believe the outfits we've been seeing her the end although it's what we've been used to it feels like Ruby in a way it's been mimicking her mother's summer for the longest time and now that Ruby is starting to come to the realization that her mom isn't who she always thought she was it'd be nice if we start to see Ruby become more of herself and go into a different outfit change that still mirrored her past outfit but show more of herself and I'm hoping that's what we get in volume 10 whenever we get it

[phoenixcatch7]

Ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage my newest hero forge model!

Good grief this colour scheme fought me.

This is an au (?), a crossover between ff7 and Belle/The Dragon and the Freckled Princess, which takes place half in reality, and half in a futuristic virtual world simply called U, where the main character (Belle) debuts as a singer as a way to process the trauma of her songwriter mother's death. The technology of U enables it to create virtual avatars that 'draw out the user's hidden strengths', whether they like it or not.

As you might have guessed, this is what a young sephiroth stumbles upon, finding an escape from the labs and something captivating he's never heard before - music.

The vr world is always something that's absolutely fascinated me, and the expressive, vibrant, community based world in belle is really different to the normal scifi dystopian armpit of society that it often gets presented as, so of course I loved it immediately. Much closer to the real world comparison of vr chat than what the scifi novels present it as XD.

But the themes of escape and being thus able to process trauma is something else, that I really wanted to explore with sephiroth. I've made a couple of aus already, but this is the first one I've knuckled down and designed.

It's a pretty young sephiroth, starting just before/at the start of ever crisis and the wutai war, but in U he's aged up just enough for people to let him roam unsupervised, as it seemed to do for belle. I'm thinking late teens/vaguely androgenous first year at uni kid.

I made the build a lot slimmer and a bit shorter than his adult self, and all round a much less intimidating figure, less passively scary and off putting. Give this kid a chance to not stand out so immediately. And with the themes of finding yourself, processing trauma, I thought it'd be very interesting to think about how that might present, as reclaiming bodily ownership and autonomy. To this end, I added the tattoos, the sleeve on the arm (I was thinking a wing or animal? But I like the vague patterns, the tattoos most meaningful part is its existence as decoration), and the face markings as a nod to the original belle, who becomes an aunt/mentor figure during the story. And a piercing or two and a couple rings 🤭

The black and white hair, because I couldn't bear to get rid of the white entirely (and he should own it) and as an idea of what his hair might have been without jenova cells - both hojo and Vincent have black hair. Tied back a li'l fancy so he can have some pride and effort in his appearance, expose his face a little more without hiding it behind those awful bangs. I imagine it longer than the model goes, but eh. The eyes... I dithered over slits, or blue eyes, but in the end green is just his colour, you know? But a way to escape those unique pupils, the inhuman, the strange ones, I imagine it's something young him would jump at the chance for. Just to be normal.

The wings, they represent the wings of his safer/seraph true form, with that purple stripe rather than the fade but hero forge doesn't do wing patterns (yet) :(. Coming out of his lower back rather than his ribs like his black wing does, I'd put more but his hair needs some presence XD.

The outfit was a TRIAL but we got there. I wanted something modern and sorta k-pop young idol, but practical to fit his standards. I eventually managed something that struck that balance, I'm a lot happier with it than I thought I'd be! It's something you could see simultaneously on a strobing stage and on a final fantasy battlefield lol. Please imagine as many belts as you want! The headpiece thing is supposed to be one of those head mics, but it didn't convey the vibes so I gave him a proper mic as a prop ^^.

If you look at the gloves (white to og sephiroths black) - and the pendant - you'll see tubes of mako coming in and out of his arms. This is a nod to the fact that he (is heavily traumatised and objectified) was, as far as he knows, made up of mako, a weapon, a tool, made to find the promised land of infinite mako for shinra, charged up with it like a battery, woven into his dna, more cyborg robot than human all his life in the sterile labs. Again, it's ✨self expression through acknowledging and processing trauma✨

I'm also sooooo delighted with the face, the expression, I really am!! I wanted to try and capture a muted wonder and triumph, a brightness in the eyes. He's just performed his first proper song to the roaring applause of the crowds, proving his worth on his own without the labs, without slaying hundreds for a war other people believe in. He's built an identity outside of shinra, and it's good.

I tried to make it look like young sephiroth kinda sorta, but I'm face blind so if you've read this far, tell me how I did XD?

[balanceater]

Archie Dirkorte's In-Game Dialogue

*In the opening of his story* I just want to make my art... Why do Dad and all the other adults hate me for it?

*In his ending* My head... Was all that just a weird dream? * Archie hears someone knock on his door and open. He glances up and see his father Mr. Dirkorte. He looks back down as his father goes into his pocket and pulls out a folded-up piece of paper. His father places it in front of him and Archie picks it up. His father apologizes for the argument they had the night before as Archie unfolds the paper. His eyes widen as he reads over the flyer that is advertising for applicants to join a graffiti art studio* Dad... Where did you get this? *His father explains that he was going to tell him the night before but that was when Archie had gone to his bedroom and cried himself to sleep. Archie gives his father a quick hug and gets out of bed to go change into the outfit he had on during the events of Balan Wonderworld. Once he finishes changing, he folds the flyer back up and put it into his backpack that has his black respirator mask. He zips his backpack up, puts it on, looks into the mirror, and gasps. Balan waves, gives a thumbs up, and says good luck to Archie. He smiles as he leaves the bathroom. His father asks if he's ready to go and Archie nods as his father walks away while saying they would get breakfast along the way*

*In his secret ending* That was amazing!

*His father says that he is glad and asks what he wants for dinner* Can we go to that place with the best chili dogs in town?

*His father agrees. While they walk, Archie hears a familiar voice and looks in front of him. It's Arabella Markeli who was with her grandfather* Schoolgirl? Is that you?

*Arabella looks up and sees Archie. She says his Stage Name and the two run up to one another* It really wasn't one of my fever dreams after all... How'd the test go?

*Arabella says she still got an A+ despite studying a little less than she normally did* That's great! Also, guess what? I just joined an art studio that actually supports my graffiti skills!

*Suddenly, Arabella's grandfather walks up and asks how his granddaughter and Archie know one another and why they called each other those "odd nicknames"* O-Oh uh... She and I know each other from school. I called her Schoolgirl because she was always studying every time I saw her, and she called me Wall Tagger because... I happen to do wall art.

*Arabella's grandfather seems satisfied with his answer and introduces himself. Archie's father also walks up and introduces himself as Archie's father to Arabella and her grandfather* By the way... My Dad and I were going to that chili dog place for dinner. Do you guys want to come along?

*Arabella asks her grandfather if it is alright, and he says yes. Arabella's grandfather and Archie's father walk ahead while Archie and Arabella hang back for a moment* Wonder how Balan and Lance are doing...

*Arabella replies that maybe they could help them again someday. Mr. Dirkorte calls for the kids as the screen fades to white*

*In the bad ending* Dad... Sorry I couldn't say goodbye...

*If the player chooses to play as him* Let's get moving!

*If he sees Leo/Emma wear his default outfit* (whistles) Not bad. You could be my tagger partner if you had a respirator mask like mine.

*Upon having his outfit changed* My other outfit was getting dirty anyway.

*If Negati appear in front of him* I wonder how these things react to spray paint...

*To the Tims* They're like little dogs...

*Upon wearing his representative costume* I just got a huge creativity boost!

*Upon being defeated* Mom... I'm coming to see you...

*Collecting items* Just like paint cans. You can never have enough.

*If the player goes near his illusion* Hey.

*If the player is near his illusion and Negati appear* Watch it!

*If the player gets lost* Need a hand? *Points in said direction*

*If the player puts on his Representative Costume* Nice outfit.

*After being saved* Am I still dreaming?

*Balan tells him that technically he is not dreaming but he is currently not in the real world* So... I'm basically astral projecting right now? Wow... Thanks for helping me, I guess.

*Balan asks him about his mask* You mean my respirator mask? It's so I don't accidentally inhale my spray paint whenever I do wall art.

*Balan asks if Archie would take it off* Why? What would be the point? You're just going to yell at me like all the other adults do.

*Balan is shocked and says he would never do such a thing*Well... Okay, fine.

*Archie takes off his respirator mask and runs his free hand through his hair for a moment. Balan compliments his face* I'm not that good looking.

*Balan then asks why Archie thought he was going to yell at him* You saw my memories, right? None of the adults understand my passion. Not even my own Dad... I just didn't want to get yelled at again, so I just shut him out and went to bed. Next thing I know, I became that... "Nega Boss".

*If the player gives a positive response* You loved my art? Well, at least some people enjoy what I do. (He goes silent for a moment) You know, I always wanted my own skateboard. But the problem was I literally garbage when it came to riding those things. Maybe once all this is over, I'll finally get one of my own and give skateboarding another shot.

*If the player gives a negative response* Yeah, yeah. Don't harp at me like that, alright?

*If the player gives a neutral response* You're saying I should've listened to my dad? Since when does constantly listening to everyone get anything done?

[cornfields-td-nonsense]

POINTS AT THIS POINTS AT THIS POINTS AT THIS!!! EXACTLY!!!

like okay. Zoey was definitely bullied as a kid, we can all agree on this, right. it would explain her general insecurity and people-pleasing, how she feels isolated and has a hard time standing up to people until she literally mentally snaps from the pressure, her animosity towards people like Dakota and Anne Maria - I will bet my entire life savings that AM reminds Zoey of her bullies. The people who thought she was weird or stupid and made this very apparent, the people she always felt inferior too (hence why she's so reluctant to be friends with Dakota and so insecure about AM "stealing" "Mike" from her).

(more character analysis under the cut, tl;dr at the bottom)

People like Dawn or Sam are the exact opposite. They are too weird, just like Zoey used to be. And it makes her uncomfortable. When Sam goes on and on about his games, or Staci about her family, or Dawn does pretty much anything, it hits too close to home, reminds her of everything she's learned to hate about herself and tried to get rid of. I'd imagine this goes double for Dawn because of her ability to read auras, and identify things about people. She probably has Zoey all figured out, and this concept terrifies her.

And what of Mike and Cameron? Well, they both have something in common with Zoey - they're masquerading as a more socially palatable version of themselves. Cam less so, I guess, but he reads like just a textbook scholarly nerdbrain, very simple, what you see is what you get. Absolutely no psychological issues from childhood isolation and overprotective parenting to be found here. And Mike is obvious. He covers up his heavily stigmatised and generally misunderstood disorder by pretending his alters are just characters he's making up. He just makes up characters sometimes! It's not that weird! He's an actor!

And obviously Zoey is neck-deep in a horrible mixture of jealousy, judgement, insecurity, desperation for positive social connection, and probably to some degree a "not like other girls" complex. She's just really good at pretending she's not.

This is why I think her dynamics with Dawn and Anne Maria are so potentially interesting because both of them embody the kind of person Zoey can never be, in opposite ways. AM represents the people who tried to bully Zoey into accumulating, making herself like everyone around her, and part of Zoey still wants that, but she can't because it's never who she's been. And Dawn represents who she was before, unabashedly weird, seemingly unafraid of what people think, before she repressed all of that and locked it so far away that it's almost out of reach.

Both Anne Maria and Dawn are fully confident and happy with who they are as people, at least to Zoey. And she is burningly jealous as that. Too weird and awkward to be normal and too normal and judgemental to be weird, Zoey is caught in this sort of limbo between the two extremes and is not happy about it. She doesn't seem to like who she is - she doesn't even seem to know who she is.

Her trope is the Indie Chick but her outfit barely gives indie fashion, she never discusses it or indie music or anything about indie culture. Before I read the character bios I straight up didn't know what her character was supposed to be, I thought it was the Nice Girl or something. The reason - at least to me - why Zoey seems like a boring character is because all her personality traits are things she's painstakingly modified to be more normal, but not quite managed it.

I feel like people misread (or at least discuss it in language that reads like such) Zoey’s judgement of others as her just doing like because she’s shitty and like, a mean person in disguise and not a deeply isolated feeling teenager who’s negative reading of others lie in either her trying to not be hurt again by people she thinks are the same as people from her hometown who mistreated her or because she’s so hyperaware of how people might find her weird or targetable that she recognizes those traits in others

[kingwuko]

Wuko in the Comics: Ruins of the Empire, Book 1 part 2

Welcome to my series of posts discussing Wuko in the Comics. In this post I'll continue to discuss RotE Book 1. There are some... interesting moments in the second half of this comic, including a very famous line that all but confirms canon Wuko.

Plot Summary

Fearing that Guan will use violence to stop the election, the Krew decides to bring Kuvira along with them to Gaoling, hoping that she can talk him down. When they come face-to-face with Guan, however, they discover he does not intend to use violence, but will run in Gaoling’s election. The Krew decides the best solution is to find another candidate with enough public support to defeat Guan fair and square; and they decide to ask Toph to run. It is revealed, however, that Guan does not intend to win fair and square. He’s planning to brainwash Gaoling’s citizens to vote for him.

Major Plot points in the second half of Book 1

We start off right away with the Sauna Scene. Everyone looks excellent. The ladies' sauna wear is lovely. Mako and Bolin have their classic swim suits seen in season 1. Wu is literally just wearing a towel. I found myself googling saunas and steam baths to see if it’s normal to wear swimsuits or just a towel, and everything I read said pretty much anything goes as long as you are comfortable, but I do find it interesting that everyone wears swimsuits except Wu. Maybe because he does steam baths more often and he’s just more comfortable in that setting? He seems pretty confident and not at all shy. I don’t have anything analytical to say about it, I just think it’s an interesting detail, that he doesn’t seem to have any hang-ups about being nearly naked around Mako his friends.

They are discussing Guan’s militaristic movement toward Gaoling, and tossing ideas around to handle the situation. Mako not-so-helpfully suggests using force with the united forces which Zhu Li shoots down right away, not wanting to escalate the situation. Wu agrees and wants to find a peaceful resolution. Korra, remembering her conversation with Kuvira, thinks she has the answer. She proposes bringing Kuvira along to Gaoling, which NOBODY is happy about. Asami is upset because she made it clear earlier she does not want to be in the same room as Kuvira, Bolin is distressed because Kuvira nearly had him killed when he defected from her inner circle, Mako points out that he nearly lost his arm taking down the mech, Zhu Li says she invaded republic city, Asami reminds everyone that Kuvira killed her father, and Wu boldly declares that we can’t forget she ruined his coronation… He quickly reads the room and apologises (character growth?).

Korra acknowledges everyone’s concerns and points out that she truly believes Kuvira can be an ally- she was their ally when Zaheer was trying to kill her and the airbenders; and when her spirit vine weapon ripped open a new portal to the spirit world, Kuvira thought she had died and Korra believes that changed her. Bolin points out that Kuvira is very persuasive and may have a good shot at convincing Guan to stand down. Everyone is convinced and declares their support for the plan.

Zhu Li orders Kuvira’s release and Korra brings her onto the airship taking them all to Gaoling. And, I’m sorry, this frame is like, the bitchiest collective look from Mako, Wu, Bolin and Pabu. I just love it.

They initially plan to restrain her, but decide it’s pointless when Kuvira points out if she wanted to escape that she would have already. They arrive at Gaoling and there’s no sign of Guan and his army. Kuvira is certain he’ll be there, and points out that she needs to change so she doesn’t meet with him looking like a prisoner.

Korra and Wu go to meet with the election candidates. Their portraits are on the wall and it’s revealed that the candidates are both elderly magistrates who have been working in the local government for a long time. They are practically indistinguishable from each other, which causes Korra concern. Wu isn’t happy about it either, he was hoping the elections would bring in new leaders to take the earth kingdom in a new direction. Instead, it looks like nothing will change in Gaoling or the rest of the earth kingdom if things play out the same way. They are both disappointed but Korra is optimistic that this is the first election and over things will improve as they iron out the political kinks

Back in the flying machine, they give Kuvira an outfit of Asami’s that is…. Like I can’t put it into words. I’ve never seen asami wear it and that is a shame. The word that comes to mind is “Dapper”. Like is we saw Asami wearing it when they first introduced her character literally everyone would have predicted Cannon Korrasami and immeadiately said ��yup Asami’s gay straight women don’t dress like that”. Slacks, a collared long sleeve shirt, with a grey vest over top. Just like, amazing. I am so disappointed we never saw Asami wear this. Someone point me to a fanart of Asami in this outfit that canonically belongs to her please.

Guan arrives and Kuvira tries to talk to him, which goes about as well as you’d expect. So she tries to appeal directly to his troops and urges them to surrender, and they all say in unison “Hail Commander Guan!”. So Kuvira decides to challenge Guan and beats the crap out of him in a punch that looks like something directly out of a WWII propaganda poster or something.

Kuvira is literally about to kill him by bending the metal collar around his neck when suddenly Asami electrocutes her with some device she had hidden in the belt she gave Kuvira.

Once Mako and Bolin drag Kuvira away, Korra attempts to reason with Guan and tells him she won’t let him interfere with the election. Guan then reveals he has no intention of interfering- he plans on running in the election! He immediately turns in all the necessary paperwork to be on the ballot. He informs the Krew that soon, all the upcoming elections will have Earth Empire representatives running and once they have power in every territory, no one will question the Earth Empire's right to rule.

They reconvene back on the airship, where Kuvira is detained in the platinum box. They explain to Kuvira that she was wrong to provoke him, but right that he is an excellent strategist. Mako then tells Wu that he should just call off the election. Wu replies “Mako, you know I love you, but I’m trying to encourage democracy. I can’t just go around canceling elections because I don’t like one of the candidates. We need to see how this plays out”

…

Yes. “Mako, you know I love you”

…

We’ll discuss that at length in a bit.

They decide the best path forward is to find a new candidate who is popular enough to beat Guan. Korra excitedly suggests Toph. Which, like, wouldn’t have been the first person to come to mind for me, but I guess she’s the only person they know who is originally from Goaling? But everyone seems on board, except presumably Toph because she doesn't like to get involved in worldly affairs… So Korra announces they will just have to convince her!!

We then cut to Guan's encampment, where he is discussing Kuvira’s actions with a Doctor Sheng, observing that Kuvira just isn’t the same, and that the Avatar has corrupted her mind. The doctor suggests they “recalibrate” Kuvira’s mind and leads him into a structure where she shows him their latest “recruits'. We then see Goaling citizens tied up in chairs with devices on their heads. They are being brainwashed to vote for Guan! Yikes!

Mako and Wu Scenes

The Sauna scene

The meeting that took place in the sauna was at the behest of Wu. He said he was very stressed out so he couldn’t miss his steam bath. I know there are lots of jokes about Wu being high maintenance because he needs his spa days or whatever, but he is in a highly stressful situation right now and we know that self care is essential to maintain one’s mental health and in order to perform one’s job well. I think this was an interesting way to weave together his seemingly superficial hobbies with his new maturity and responsibility. I really loved this scene for that (though seeing all the hot people in sauna-wear is a bonus).

Also there is a recurring thing where Mako is just offering the worst advice to Korra. He wants the United Republic, a completely separate Nation from the Earth Kingdom, to just.. March into another country and ‘enforce’ their democratic process??? Like…. If you know anything about world history and current events we know that is awful and wouldn’t be received well and would be a recipe for political instability and long term conflict. Thank goodness everyone is like Mako no. I’m pointing this out because, as much as we think of Wu as being immature, irresponsible, whatever, the reality is that he has a level head while Mako is actually giving the irresponsible solutions here. It’s a really interesting evolution from the infamous Wu meltdown scene where Mako was the voice of reason, but here things have reversed.

Also, I want to point out the moment where Wu backs down after he adds his grievance to the list everyone is giving (She ruined my coordination!), it’s kind of played for laughs but like… Wu has a totally valid reason to be upset on par with everyone else, considering Kuvira had him drugged and kidnapped…. Why wouldn’t he have said that? Well, the simple and obvious answer is- the writers wanted to make a “Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking” joke. But since us fans like to give depths to the characters that they deserve, maybe Wu is genuinely traumatized and just doesn’t want to bring it up. And maybe everyone knows he’s traumatized and doesn't want to bring it up, because no one else is like “Wu, did you forget she had you drugged and kidnapped???” They just give him a look and he’s like “LOL oops sorry should have said my thing first!!” maybe Team Avatar understands that it was a really scary moment for him and they just let him shield himself with humor.

I know it isn’t isn’t exactly a strong Wuko moment, but the bitchy look that Moko, Bolin, Wu and Pabu give to Kuvira in the airship breathed life into me for some reason. I’m loving how they look like a group of mean girls who were just badmouthing Kuvira before she walked in. I think they were having a nice bonding moment before this.

Mako, you know I love you

Ok. So after Mako casually mentions just calling off the election, Wu flat out says “I love you” to Mako. This is a line us Wuko shippers just DIE for. The full line is as follows:

Mako: I say you call off the vote, at least for now. Make it impossible for Guan to win

Wu: Mako, you know I love you, but I’m trying to encourage democracy. I can’t just go around cancelling elections because I don’t like one of the candidates. We need to let this play out.

So. Like, what the heck are we supposed to make of this?

I’m not going to dig too deep and force my own interpretations and headcanons onto you. This I love you could mean a number of different things. I just want to pose some rhetorical questions about it and the context to give us all some things to think about.

Is Wu flirting? Does Mako actually know that Wu loves him? Is this an extension of Wu’s many other instances of flirting with complimenting Mako (on par with ‘my big tough guy” while staring at his ass)? Has Wu said “I love you” to Mako before? How many times has Wu said “Mako I love you” before? Is this evidence of them actually being in a romantic relationship during this comic? Or is it evidence of romantic tension building? Is Mako just totally oblivious to the fact that Wu said I love you? Or did he hear it and his brain blue-screened from the shock of being blatantly told I love you? Has Wu just gotten fed up that Mako seems oblivious to all his previous flirtations and he just decided to up the ante? Does Mako love Wu back?!

Lots of questions. Lots of interpretations. But (as far as I remember) Mako has only said I love you to two people- his brother and Korra (I don’t think he said I love you to Asami but I could be wrong). And if you’ve read this you know that Mako’s relationship with Wu is not brotherly. We’ve never heard “I love you” from Wu toward anyone else that I can recall so I don’t think he makes a habit of throwing the phrase around lightly. Also, worth noting: Literally no one reacts to the casual “I love you”. Everyone just goes on with the conversation at hand. The next frame that we see of Wu and Mako’s faces together, Mako is SMILING at Wu.

So like, he’s clearly not uncomfortable with being told that Wu loves him. And no one else is uncomfortable with it either. So what gives? Are they together? Are they flirting? Is everyone else just like “yup Wu said I love you Mako nothing out of the ordinary here because it’s painfully obvious Wu is into Mako, let's move on, nothing to see here”?

Wu and Korra

One thing I LOVE about these comics is the friendship between Korra and Wu. During the series, Korra tolerated Wu, warming up to him a bit at the very end when he told her his plan to abdicate. But through these comics there seems to be a comfortable familiarity between them. A bit of teasing, loads of moral support, and not a hint of her (or anyone) being super annoyed by him. He also doesn’t hit on her or anyone else except Mako, which is a very refreshing character growth because it was very tiresome to watch him objectify women in the animated series.

Korra and Wu spend a good amount of time together as she accompanies him to Gaoling’s city hall. They seem very comfortable with each other, comfortable enough that the writers included a fart joke.

Korra reassures Wu when he expresses worry about the election being pointless, she steps forward somewhat protectively when Guan shows up- the entire scene with Guan, Korra is standing between him and Wu.

Basically I bring this up because I genuinely love the idea that Korra and Wu are close and friendly, that they have moved on from his cringy behavior from the series (I like to think he apologized to both her and Asami?)

What this means for Wuko

If you are writing fic or just coming up with headcanon, there are two ways to look at the scenes. Either they are in a relationship, or they aren’t. You could easily just say they are in a relationship and are being quiet about it, because they aren’t ready to be fully public, or maybe because they are still figuring things out, or they are waiting for Wu to abdicate and move back to Republic City, etc. “You know I love you” is such an easy piece of canon content to make this your headcanon.

Likewise, one could say they are Not Together right now. Pre-relationship, if you will. Maybe they’ve danced around the idea, discussed feelings without actually getting together. Or maybe they are still clueless that there is a potential for a relationship. Wu might be putting out feelers to see how Mako responds to his flirtations. Mako might be wondering if he’s misinterpreting Wu’s affectionate touches and words. Lots of romantic tension, pining, each wondering if the other one has any feelings.

I also love the idea that Wu and Korra are friends and have discussed or will discuss Mako and Wu’s feelings for him.

So, in summary, Wu loves Mako. It’s canon. It’s right there in black and white. Make of it what you will!

Next post I will discuss Wuko in the first half of RotE Book 2. Wu goes on a life-changing field trip with Korra to meet Toph and confront a swamp-vision of his Late Great Aunt, while Mako gets captured and brainwashed by Guan. Wu and Mako are not together during these scenes but there will be lots of wonderful Wu backstory along with plenty of angst potential from the brainwashing storyline.

Wuko in Turf Wars

Wuko in RotE part 1

[lexacoolfox]

(I was about to ask you if you can do Nagito with an S/O who’s like Leviathan from obey me but since you don’t know the game, I will just describe his personality for you.)

So basically S/O is an otaku who usually spends most of their time on the internet and doesn’t usually talk to people unless if they really have to. They usually rant about whatever anime or game they’re interested in to their closest friends and they tend to use internet slang even if they’re speaking to someone (ex: “Someone go grab the popcorn lolol”) Despite them revolving their reputation around being an otaku, they don’t think very highly of themselves and is very insecure. Since Leviathan represents Envy in the game, S/O is also easily jealous and often talks about how “unfair” or “lucky” others are. They also like to invite their closest friends to events in video games. They are also a mix of shy and energetic since they have a lack of social skills but they also gets angry when they get jealous or ecstatic when they see something rlly cool happening.

I feel like that sums it all up, I hope the request isn’t too hard.

Thank you for describing the personality in such good detail! I can definitely work with this!

Nagito with a S/O like Leviathan.

You were known as the ultimate otaku! You spent most of your time on the internet. Had very pricey anime merch and manga. Your room look liked an anime paradise. You also played video games.

When you got accepted into hopes peak you weren’t the most excited. You were homeschooled mostly, you hated going out in public and being ‘social’. You were pretty awkward in public.

You knew you didn’t have to go to the school. It wasn’t necessary to attend. But your parents practically forced you to go. They threatened to take away your privilege to buy anime merch and manga for 4 months if you didn’t go. You couldn’t live that long without being able to buy the things you like. So you reluctantly went to hopes peak.

You arrived the first day and you felt extreme social anxiety. You sat in a chair and noticed a girl with a game in her hand. You saw she was playing (insert random game.) you actually really like that game.

“You play (game name)?”

“Yes. I do, I like the story and design of this game.”

“I must agree the story and design are pretty great. I personally like to play games with a story like Kingdom of hearts it’s one of my personal favorites, the first one was good and I like the second one. I can’t wait for the third.”

“I really like that game too. It’s such a fun story and the mystery behind it is so much fun. What’s your name? I’m chiaki nanami the ultimate gamer.”

“Oh I’m f/n l/n the ultimate otaku.”

“So you like anime and manga I’m guessing.”

“Yeah I do. I also don’t do to well with social interactions, unless I’m online. I honestly didn’t want to come but my parents would cutoff my ability to buy merch and manga. So I really didn’t have a choice.”

“You don’t seem to be too bad at interactions. I mean your talking to me just fine.”

“Well that’s because we’re talking about something I’m really into. Normally I have nothing to say that isn’t consider to most people as nerdy or geeky. Sorry for uh wasting your time, I going back to my desk.”

You sat back in your desk and pulled out your phone talking to your internet friends. When somebody walked next to you. You noticed but that’s all.

“Hello.”

You looked to see a boy with very white hair and a smile on his face.

“Uh hello…”

“I’m Nagito Komeada the ultimate lucky student! If I may can I know your name and ultimate?”

“Um I’m f/n l/n the ultimate otaku…”

“Oh wow! That’s mean you probably have a lot of anime merch and manga right?”

“Yes I do…Um…not to be rude…but is there something you need?”

“Oh no. I just wanted to know introduce myself even though you will probably forget trash like me.”

“Hehehehe well there’s something we have in common. I doubt you’ll remember a loser like me lol, Ugh it’s so unfair, I can’t believe I’m an ultimate for something so lame. There so many people with such better Ultimates.”

“What! If anybodies ultimate is lame it’s mine!”

“Yeah…totally… being super lucky is so much worse than a loser who just watches ‘cartoons’ and collects figures that super expensive all day.”

Before he can respond you pull out your headphones put them on and started listening to your favorite anime openings. You just wanted to go back home and play video games.

Throughout the day you overhead everyone’s amazing Ultimates, you couldn’t help but think you didn’t belong there. These people had all these amazing skills and what are you an otaku. After a while you walked out of the class and went to a hallway and looked out a window.

“Hey.”

You looked over to see Nagito.

“Oh hey.”

“What aren’t you in class with everyone else?”

“Cause I don’t belong in that class.”

“But your an ultimate!”

“So what. My ultimate is so boring compared to the others. I just want to go home and play video games.”

“What kind of games do you play?”

“Oh I play games with a story and good graphics. But I also like games that don’t have a plot like, Minecraft. It extends my creativity. I’ll also watch a random anime while playing. Normally if I’m playing the anime I put on is death note. It’s one my favorites no cap.”

“No cap?”

“Sorry I tend to use internet slang even in real life conversation.”

For the next hour or two, you mentioned the type of games you play, anime you watch, and some merch/figures you have. Nagito was mentioning a game you played very often, you told him that a event of the game was coming up. You invited him to join you and he agreed.

When joined in one the event, you sounded so much more happy and very enthusiastic. He got to see a new side of you, the both you had a quite a bit of fun. He even learned a bunch of new internet slang. (Even thought he probably not going to use it.)

You guys were now really good friends. You two just got along very well. You two would play video games, watch anime, read manga together.

When you two played games with each other online. Sometimes he glad he can’t see your face. Cause you get jealous and angry when somebody beats you. In public if your jealous which makes you mad. You silent rant on the inside of your head. But online, it’s like a explosion of yells. Nagito tries his best to calm you down when you get like that, he’s learned not to say ‘it’s just a game.’ Cause that just makes it worse.

You kinda developed on a crush overtime. You realized you liked him when he gifted you a manga, that you couldn’t get cause you got in trouble with your parents.

You didn’t know how to tell him. There was no way you could do it in person.

You thought how something cute and something he might like. He really enjoyed the game Minecraft. So on Valentine’s Day you texted him to join you in a game. You spent about maybe a week making the little Valentine’s Day confession.

“I know it’s not the most romantic thing in the world. I was also to scared to tell you in person…I really like you Nagito.”

“Aww s/o…this is so thoughtful of you. I really love it! It so you! I would be delighted to be your valentine.”

“Really! Wow! I’m just so…!! How about we meet up at our favorite cafe?!”

“Yeah that’s sounds great!”

You two went on Valentine’s date. It was great. You guys went on more dates after that, and soon became each other’s significant other.

A few relationship headcanons

He is the only one allowed to touch any of your expensive manga’s or merchandise.

You get so easily jealous of other people when they flirt with Nagito.

You and Nagito have anime marathons. Like a movie night but anime.

He loves to see your excited face when new merch for you favorite animes or a new/sequel to one your games comes out.

You and Nagito get matching anime outfits

Nagito also helps with your insecurities by showering you with compliments while also degrading himself. For example while you were saying how uninteresting you were. You told he could probably do better. he responded with ‘don’t say that, it’s amazes me that someone as worthless as me. Is given the privilege of calling someone as amazing as you my significant other!’

You also give him compliments and shower him with affection. You also do anime classics like a kabedon.

When you did do a kabedon he almost passed out by how flustered he got.

I really hope I got the character right! So komeada-simp37 if I got it wrong or wasn’t really what you were looking! Sorry! Anyway hope you have a nice day!

[bao3bei4]

girlbosses, male wives, and other lesbian genders

a post about jing wei qing shang. but also mostly about another unrelated movie. spoiler-free.

for a lot of people, mulan 1998 is their definitive “ohhh i’m a chinese woman dressing as a man for contrived reasons and i get absolutely nooo erotic pleasure from this” movie. 

however, because i am very special and unique, for me it’s the love eterne 1963. it’s the shaw brothers adaptation of butterfly lovers, the classic chinese folktale. here’s how i’d summarize the movie: 

zhu yingtai, an aspiring scholar, convinces her parents to let her dress as a man to attend school. on the way there, she meets liang shanbo, another prospective student, and they become sworn brothers. they study together for three years, growing closer, until zhu yingtai returns home. liang shangbo accompanies her for the eighteen-li journey home while she hints she’s a woman, but he remains oblivious. by the time he learns her gender, her parents have engaged her to another man. he dies of grief, and while she mourns at his grave, it splits open, and she buries herself inside with him. two scraps of her torn outfit turn into butterflies and fly away.

it’s worth noting here that like. this movie is made in the huangmei opera style. so both zhu yingtai and liang shanbo are played by women (betty loh ti and ivy ling po respectively). because of this, basically every level of the film is preoccupied with gender: if we take zhu yingtai’s male performance as credible (as the characters in the movie do) the leads bond through male homoeroticism; the text is ultimately about a heterosexual romance; it is acted out by two women, in a performance that is difficult to mistake as heterosexual or even feminine; and the dialogue of the movie can’t help but remark on this.

basically it asks: what if lesbians could be gay both ways? wouldn’t that be based? 

like opera was traditionally made by single gender casts, so roles tended to be genderless, in that the gender of the actor doesn’t determine the gender of the role they play. roles are instead typed into four categories: dan (fem), sheng (masc), chou (clown), and jing (painted face). it’s a sick gender quadinary. each of these roles has further subtypes that are represented through stylized patterns of singing, makeup, costuming, movement etc.

so in butterfly lovers, betty loh ti plays a dan, and ivy ling po plays a sheng. but because of the textual cross-gender play, you end up with a woman playing a woman playing a man who falls in love with a woman playing a man.

i’m going to make a brief digression here into talking about like.. acting theory. in the european tradition, you see it evolving out of early concerns (from stanislavski, brecht) about the fourth wall, and its permeability or lack thereof. in chinese opera tradition, the fourth wall didn’t ever really exist. and mei lanfang, the legendary fanchuan performer, claimed that his success wasn’t just due to his appearance, but rather, his mastery of some nonliteral feminine subjectivity. 

If I kept my male feelings, even just a trace, it will betray my true self; then how can I compete for the audience’s affection for feminine beauty and guile?

i’m not going to argue that there’s like, an essence to being a woman because i’m not a fucking idiot. but there’s something to be said for the idea that the gendered interplay between the audience’s perception of the actor, the actor’s perception of themself, and the character they play is a massive part of the appeal of fanchuan performance.

this is echoed by david hwang’s m. butterfly, in which gallimard memorably says, “i’m a man who loved a woman created by a man. everything else—simply falls short.” btw sorry for having the type of brain disease where i constantly reference chinese crossdressing related media. you already know why i have it. 

anyway. parallel to that (but far less morally detestably), jin jiang argues “young male impersonators in yue opera embody women’s ideal men—elegant, graceful, capable, caring, gentle, and loyal.” so, trivially, 1) the eroticism embodied by fanchuan performers is distinctly different from their “straight” counterparts, and perhaps less trivially 2) it’s way better. 

back to the love eterne for a bit. one of the many reasons it’s lodged itself into my psyche is because there’s something more interesting at play than just all that. normally in opera, to compensate for any perceived residual femininity in the sheng, the dan camps it up even further. so this is how zhu yingtai first appears, this bratty femme pastiche of womanhood. yet within a couple minutes she’s dressed as a man, which she’ll stay as for the bulk of the movie. they do however make compromises with the makeup--more gently lifted eyebrows than the steep angles of the sheng opera beat, and an improbably masculine smoky eye. 

that’s right. they performed girlbossification on her. 

i don’t want to suggest that she’s straightforwardly feminine. i could write an entire other thing on her relationship to masculinity. instead i want to highlight the erotic interplay not just between the “girl” and the “boss” but also between her and her counterpart: the male wife. 

liang shanbo is ostensibly straightforwardly male, but his relationship with zhu yingtai isn’t gay in the ahaha what if i was into my bro way-- it’s a what if i was into my bro and i was his wife way.

that’s right. they performed force fem on a cis woman-man. like when zhu yingtai tells him he can’t watch over her as she recovers from an illness because “boys and girls can’t sleep together,” liang shanbo asks “are you implying that I’m a girl?”

there’s a lot of shit like this that builds up over the course of the movie. it all culminates in that final 18 mile journey. along the way, zhu yingtai compares them to a pair of mandarin ducks, one male & one female. liang shanbo sputters “i am a man inside out-- you shouldn’t--” before graciously conceding, “you may compare me to a woman.” 

this is like. a simple punchline. but it’s incredible. it’s true! liang shanbo isn’t a man inside out in that he’s a man and only a man, but rather that he’s a man seen inside first, built for desiring, by a woman & for a woman. as a perpetual object, he becomes a more believable woman than zhu yingtai. and at least in his view, it seems more likely that he could be a woman than her. but beyond that, his permissive tone reads as a kind of wanting in itself--recast, if she wants, “for you, i’ll be a woman.” 

obviously this is a classic lesbian mood. who among us has not seen “no gender only lesbian” posts. and speaking of classic lesbians, you might ask. did you just tiresomely reinvent butches and femmes but with a more annoying name? yes. no. okay. well. 

first, like butch/femme dynamics have both historical specificity and a classed character such that it’s not rlly that appropriate to impose them on the love eterne. and i guess more importantly, i wanna talk about stuff that isn’t real.

we fight all day about people who confuse performance with performativity, (i use we lightly here. for instance, i go outside every day so i don’t care about discourse) but what if we actually wanted to talk about the former for once? something specifically, whether we choose or are forced into it, that we pretend to be? 

anyway. what the hell does all that have to do with jing wei qing shang. i’m going to start by first making the argument that there’s no such thing as a naturally occurring girlboss. i think, honestly, she’s a product of capitalism (“boss” should be the tipoff here) but because both of these stories are set in ambiguously historical china, i’m going to say, instead that she’s a product of uhhh primitive accumulation.

semantics so that i can be canon compliant with marxism aside, if girlbosses are made not born, can you choose to be a girlboss? sheryl sandberg says yes. i don’t disagree, i guess, but i will say: stop glamorizing it! humans only become girlbosses when they’re greatly distressed. 

you become a girlboss when you have no other choice not to be one. when your wants are too great to be a woman, when the things you want are not things that women should want-- whether that’s something that really no one should want, like being a ceo, or whether that’s just something like loving a woman (or, as it is quite often, both) -- you have to become something else. 

another important part of being a girlboss is that other people are not. your excesses mean that not only do you lose something in the process, but your bosshood comes at the expense of others. the girlboss necessitates a girlworker, or so to speak. 

now we’re getting to jwqs. i’m assuming that you haven’t read jwqs, because most people haven’t. that was me until like four days ago. in broad strokes, the novel is about a woman, qiyan agula, who was raised as a prince, and her quest for revenge against the kingdom who slaughtered her people. of course, this involves marrying one of the princesses of that kingdom. it’s all very exciting (lesbian). 

what’s striking about jwqs is that both of them seem to fit the girlboss paradigm, in vaguely similar ways. qi yan (agula’s assumed name) seems to follow the lineage of zhu yingtai, who pretends to be a man to achieve her goals. she’s forced to give up much in the process, and also sacrifices a, uh, lot of innocent people. similarly, nangong jingnu, the princess, is inherently a girlboss because royalty sucks. but also, qi yan girlbossifies her over the course of their relationship. 

but i wouldn’t say jwqs is girlboss4girlboss. there’s something a little more complicated happening. qi yan isn’t zhu yingtai in that she’s a dan pretending to be a sheng. it seems more like that she was a sheng all along. it’s something that the women of the novel return to often: qi yan seems to be better than a man.

for instance, nangong sunu, jingnu’s older sister, reflects on this. 

Nangong Sunu had seen many foolishly loving women who sacrificed everything for the sake of their husbands, but there were rarely any men who would do the same for them. 

(...) 

Thinking it through, Nangong Sunu felt that Qi Yan was truly becoming more interesting. She intended to observe discreetly for a while, to verify if such a man truly existed in this world. (ch 221) 

and i forgot to write down the citation for this, but nangong jingnu also seems to argue that not only is qi yan prettier than a man, but she also seems to be prettier than a woman. (it’s the bit where she’s watching qi yan sleep. help me out here.)

moreover, the way qi yan relates to nangong jingnu is suggestive. jingnu brings out the elements of wanting to be a woman in her. it’s jingnu’s body that makes her wonder what she would look like if she was more feminine. it’s jingnu’s happiness that she resents, wishing that her people could have that as well. it’s her desire for jingnu that makes her a woman. 

(another important distinction i suppose--while one person can’t be both a butch and a femme, because the girlboss and the male wife are things we pretend to be until we embody them / them us -- there’s greater slippage between the two.)

anyway, the girlboss/male wife dynamic is reversed wrt who’s actually dressing as a different gender. that suggests an inversion in the implications we see from the love eterne, if we are to take the love eterne as the paradigmatic girlboss text. which i do, for no reason in particular. 

so then, is qi yan pretending to be a man? under the opera framework, we’re forced to say no. she’s not pretending to be a man any more so than liang shanbo (as acted by ivy ling po) was. but that, of course, feels incorrect, just looking at the text. is she, then, pretending to be a sheng? i’d strongly say no. the things that others see in her, they authentically see; and she does authentically feel the same things as liang shanbo wrt femininity.

so it has to be the opera framework that jwqs is subverting then. if qi yan kept some trace of her once-womanhood, if qi yan reveals her true self, and yet she still can compete for the audience’s affection-- jwqs’s inversion of the opera framework seems to argue instead that it’s that true self that allows you to compete. it’s being masc that lets you be a desirable woman; it’s being feminine that lets you be a desirable man.

there’s an increased gender ambivalence to jwqs, which make sense, i guess, seeing as it’s not meant to be a het story the way that the love eterne was. for instance, nangong jingnu crossdresses to go out in public, and qi yan remarks that jingnu’s disguise fooled her on their first meeting. when qi yan and jingnu go out in public, both disguised as men, they’re repeatedly perceived as a gay male couple. there’s freedom in that: they could be gay women only privately, they could be straight officially, but they could be anonymously gay publicly. 

so it’s through the gay male pretense that they can be gay women; it’s through the qi yan pretense that agula can love women; it’s the qi yan caring husband persona that coaxes jingnu in caring for qi yan in return-- jwqs, more precisely, argues that you can’t be a woman if you’re going to love them, and even less so if you’re going to be loved by one. 

this is perhaps well-trodden ground for anyone who has read wittig & certainly many people who haven’t. but it’s the layer of pretense that for me complicates these two narratives. 

i think it’s a relatable feeling: wanting something anticipating getting something, or wanting something for yourself anticipating knowing that you already had it. that is, desire in itself being constitutive of that reality. 

or less abstractly, knowing that you’d want to be a lesbian if you could, knowing that you’d want not to be a woman if you could-- anticipating any realization of either. 

the dramatic excesses & wants of the girlboss, i think, are a decent literary stand in for being a lesbian. 

i wanna note here that this is rlly just based on my experience being a transmisogyny exempt nonbinary diaspora lesbian lol. it’s fun & cathartic to overread this history & place myself in the accidental implications.

i don’t think most of the things i say are literally true. and i don’t want to overstep & say any of this can be generalized. please lmk if something here doesn’t read right! ok kisses bye

[mammonshuman92]

- Watched -

Mammon & GN!MC

** TW: Stalking, cussing, religion (ish? I guess?)

| part two | | part three |

It’s been nearly 6 months since you left the Devildom. You picked up where you had left off in the human world: college, work, home, repeat. Sure, you missed your family while you were away, but now your heart aches almost constantly for the new family you loved so much, that you had to leave behind. (Not that you really had a choice in the matter.)

 As much as it hurt to leave the brothers, Diavolo was right. Establishing harmony and unity with the three realms won’t go over too well if one of the human representatives doesn’t go back to the human world, now will it? Still, it sucks. Life is so boring without all of them.

And quiet.

It’s not like you don’t talk though. Yeah, Diavolo has that rule in place where they have to take turns talking to you because “human’s lives are short” and they were “taking up too much of your time”, but that’s not really going to stop them, is it?

Well kinda, actually.

You can’t really argue with a direct order from the demon lord, after all.

-

Is it Asmo's day to call? You thought to yourself, trying to remember (not that you ever could) the schedule Lucifer came up with. Your own schedule was hard enough to remember.

You had been picking up extra shifts at work and staying late to study at school when you could. Finding any reason to stay busy or get out of the house. The deafening silence was too much to bear.

"I wonder when I can go visit? I should call Diavolo.." you said to yourself quietly.

You were walking home from your shift at the coffee shop near campus. The sun was just starting to set and the air was slightly crisp, causing you to pull your jacket a little tighter.

If it weren't for the brilliant pinks and warm oranges cast on the sky by the setting sun, it would've felt like a regular night in the Devildom. Memories of your last few days spent there came flooding back, bringing the sadness along with them.

In just one year, you had gotten so close to everyone, but you had gotten especially close to Mammon. He was responsible for you in the beginning of course, but the connection was undeniable (no matter how much he did deny it). He was a total simp for you, and you for him. It was rather cringey to everyone else. He could be a handful at times, but that tsundere really is a great boyfriend. Leaving him behind was... well, there's no words for it.

Rounding the corner, you could see your house perfectly. Now that the sun had gone down a bit more, it was getting darker and you were suddenly thankful that you remembered to turn on the porch light before you left.

You pulled your keys from your jacket pocket while climbing the few steps to your front door, and something caught your eye. Your stomach dropped.

Not again..

You plucked the folded piece of paper that was stuck in the screen door and quickly made your way inside, locking the door behind you.With a heavy sigh, you tossed your keys on the table by the door and dropped your bag on the floor beside you. You immediately went to shower and change not giving the paper a second thought.

Not everyone in the human world agreed with the Devildom exchange student program. After you and Solomon had arrived in the Devildom, there were numerous protests by a group much like the Westboro lunatics. They were without a doubt against the program and called for it’s immediate termination. Thankfully, their personal hatred was no match for the opportunity for the realms to find peace.

 When you had returned, you noticed people whispering about you, calling you names and giving you dirty looks. You've even received quite a few pieces of hate mail. Granted, the people opposed to the program were very small in numbers, even if it didn’t seem that way. It didn't bother you though. Demons ended up being some of the most important people to you. Not to mention you were kinda in love with one of them. People could say what they wanted about the Devildom and about you, their words didn't bother you.

You were still towel drying your hair when your phone rang. Tossing the towel, you rushed to the living room to fish it out of your bag, Asmo's face popping up on the caller ID. You were right, it was Asmo’s night. You were secretly hoping it was a certain greedy demon’s turn to call (not that he doesn’t text you almost constantly.)

Asmo was the same as usual. Talking animatedly about this and that, gushing over new beauty products and outfits, filling you in on all the gossip you were missing. While he was rambling, your eyes fell onto the paper that was in your door. Might as well look at the newest piece of hate mail, right? 

You began unfolding the paper, quickly giving Asmo an “omg!” about the gossip he was dishing (even though you hadn’t been paying attention.)

Upon seeing the contents, all the color drained from your face. You were sure your heart sank into your stomach, but you could hear the rapid beating in your ears. You suddenly felt hot, and the air around you seemed thick.

Then the adrenaline kicked in.

With shaky hands, you quickly checked the front door making sure it was locked, and headed to the back door to do the same. You rushed around checking the windows and pulling all the curtains closed. Everything seemed fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, that didn’t settle your nerves any.

“MC, dear? Did you hear me?” The sound of Asmo’s voice brought you out of your frantic state.

“Huh? S-sorry Asmo. I guess I s-spaced out.” You tried your best to keep your tone normal and steady your breathing, as to not alert him to anything. You really should give him more credit, though.

“MC? Is everything alright?” His tone was different, no longer playful and flirty. You could hear the concern.

Shit.

“Yeah, I’m fine. More hate mail is all. No biggie.” You lied. Maybe he would believe it..

There was a pause on his end, “You’re STILL getting it? Don’t they have anything better to do?” Good, he bought it. For now, anyway.

After about 10 more minutes Asmo said his goodbyes, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

This piece hate mail turned out to be something much worse than the run of the mill stuff you usually received. Inside there were pictures. Of you. At work, at school, the grocery store, ...outside your house. There was also a newspaper clipping that had a picture of you and your family, from when your parents first opened their bakery a few years back. There were red ‘Xs’ marked through everyone’s faces...

The only words scrawled inside read, “I’ve been watching you. You will pay for what you’ve done, whore. And don’t even think about telling your demon fuck buddies. I know everything about you and your family. It’d be a shame if anything happened to poor old Mom and Dad because their child is an unholy slut.”

You read it over and over, tears streaking your cheeks. Hate mail was nothing new, but now this? A stalker? 

Maybe I’m just over thinking it. The other hate mail was spicy too. But these pictures... There is NO way I’m over thinking this..

“Regardless, I can’t tell the brothers.” You shuddered at what their reaction would be like. It would definitely make all of Diavolo’s hard work on the exchange program obsolete. It wouldn’t be good for any of the three realms. There was still a long way to go, but the program was a giant step in the right direction to obtaining peace and understanding. If dealing with some backlash and hate mail could help get closer to that goal, then for the sake of the greater could, you could handle it.

“For now, I will bear this burden myself.”

- {3 weeks later} -

“Are you okay?”

The simple question nearly made you squeak and nearly jump out of your skin. You turn and meet the worried gaze of your lab partner. You weren’t super close with her, so you knew your current state had to be bad if she was picking up on it.

God, do I really look that bad? You got a good look at yourself this morning, and yeah, you absolutely look that bad. But then again, you haven’t really slept in a few weeks. You had gigantic purple eye bags, your hair looked like a family of birds took up residence in it. Your skin was pale and lifeless, and you began skin picking at your nails due to the anxiety. You’d even lost about twenty pounds.

“Sorry, I guess I was spacing out.”

“It’s alright. It’s just- no offense, but you look awful. Have you been sleeping?” She asked, eyes scanning your face.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Promise.” You lied. She nodded and gave you a weak smile, dropping the subject for now.

You hadn’t really been paying attention to class today. Well, for the last several days, really. You’ve been putting in less effort for a lot of things lately. You’ve been slacking off bad at school and barely keeping up at work. Not to mention you never sleep anymore. How can you though?

You left class early and although it was still early in the day, you decided to skip the rest of your lectures for the day. You’ve always been a fantastic student, so taking a day off wouldn’t really hurt anything. And seeing as today was Thursday, you didn’t even have work today. Same as every week.

 Upon arriving home, you were relieved to see that there weren’t any notes left for you. Yet, anyway.

Ever since the first letter a few weeks ago, they’ve been showing up constantly. Only a few times the first week or so, but now you get at least one every single day. They’re also increasing in severity. The sender seems to be becoming more and more unhinged with every passing day.

“Dirty demon whore!!”

“You’re a HUMAN!! How dare you taint your body with demons!”

“I will cleanse you and make you pure again.”

There was so, so much more. All of it growing more and more explicit with each letter.

The whole thing was taking a huge tool on you, but what could you do? Your family’s safety was on the line. You so badly wanted to tell Mammon of even the cops, but you couldn’t live with yourself if anything bad were to happen. Whatever this psycho had planned, you would gladly put yourself in the line of fire to save those closest to you.

The whole situation has also affected your relationship with Mammon and the rest of the brothers as well. At first, you tried to hide what was happening, but they started getting suspicious and asking questions. Always wondering why you sounded so tired and why you kept cutting their phone calls super short. You always rejected their face time requests, knowing that your drastic change in appearance would be alarming and alert them that something was wrong. Lately, you’ve barely talked to any of them. Especially Mammon. He’d be the first to figure out something was wrong with you and come here ready to fight.

That honestly didn’t sound too bad. You wanted nothing more than for him to hold you while you ugly cried. Breathing in his scent while he rubbed soothing circles on your back.

Your heart started to ache.

-

When you got home you decided to take a nice, hot shower to hopefully help ease some of your tension and possibly begin to get a handle on your quickly deteriorating self care status.

Once you felt somewhat normal again, you put on your comfiest pj’s (which included one of Mammon’s shirts) and plopped yourself on your bed in the fetal position. It was the only thing that kinda helped ease a tiny bit of the feeling that everything was spiraling out of control. The warm scent of your most favorite demon helped calm you.

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

Damn. I almost fell asleep..

You sat up, rubbing your eyes and reached for your D.D.D. on your nightstand. The called ID made your heart rate accelerate and your palms sweaty.

It’s him.

“Mammon..? I thought it was Beel’s turn to call?”

“I don’t care about Lucifer’s stupid schedule. I need to talk to ya.” His tone made him sound like he was on edge.

“Oh, ok. What’s up?”

He scoffed, “Really? You’ve barely messaged me back in three days. The last time I called, ya hung up after five minutes.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.” Every lie helps break your heart just a little more. 

“You’ve never been too busy before. Besides, shouldn’t ya be in a class right now or somethin’? It ain’t even noon.”

“I left class early and I’m skipping the rest of the day.” You explained.

“..Hmm.” He replied, you could detect suspicion in his response.

It was quiet on his end for a moment.

“MC?”

“Yeah?”

“..Do ya got another boyfriend? Cause The Great Mammon is definitely better! And-and, I’ll kick their ass!”

“What? Mammon, no. One boyfriend is almost more than I can handle.”

“Wha- hey!”

For the first time in who knows when, you actually giggled. It felt so good.

“So, you swear nothin’ is wrong? You’ve been actin’ so weird.” His voice was heavy with concern.

“Yeah, I swear.” Lie.

As good as it felt to talk to him, you needed to end the call before he ended up dragging the truth out of you. If any one could figure out what was wrong with you, it’d be him. The two of you had spent so much time together, that you can practically read each other like a book.

“I gotta go, ok? I have work later and I need to get ready.” Lie. But, you needed to get off the phone with him before he suspects anything.

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded so defeated. You could almost hear him pouting.

After a quicker goodbye than you usually have when getting off the phone with Mammon, you fell back onto your bed with a heavy sigh.

That was a little rough, but he seemed to believe it. I hope this will all be over soon.

With that, you quickly fell asleep, lulled by the memory of your demon’s voice. Although you wouldn’t sleep long, at least you got to fall asleep to the thought of him.

-

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

Geez, are ya gonna answer or not? Ya always pick up on the second ring when I call ya.., Mammon thought.

Finally, on the sixth ring, “Mammon..? I thought it was Beel’s turn to call?”

Man, hearing your voice is like music.

“I don’t care about Lucifer’s stupid schedule. I need to talk to ya.” His tone made him sound a little rougher than intended, but it was all the same. He needed to hear you voice.

“Oh, ok. What’s up?”

He scoffed, “Really? You’ve barely messaged me back in three days. The last time I called, ya hung up after five minutes.”

I miss ya like crazy. Ya keep avoiding me..

“Oh. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.” 

Huh? But, MC is always busy doing somethin’ and it never stopped em’ before..

He started getting an uneasy feeling deep in his stomach. He could tell something was off, but he just didn’t know what it was.

Is it ...someone else? Nah, MC wouldn’t do that. ...Right??

“You’ve never been too busy before. Besides, shouldn’t ya be in a class right now or somethin’? It ain’t even noon.” He didn’t try to hide the pout, that he knew you could hear, in his voice. His own thoughts were beginning to hurt his feelings.

“I left class early and I’m skipping the rest of the day.” MC explained.

“..Hmm.” He hummed. Thoughts started swirling around in his head.

MC never skips school, not even at RAD. Somethin’ is definitely going on. And what’s with the short answers? MC always talks like crazy. Maybe they’re mad at me?

It was quiet for a moment while he tried to sort through his thoughts.

“MC?” He asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“..D-do ya got another boyfriend? Cause The Great Mammon is definitely better! And-and, I’ll kick their ass!”

“What? Mammon, no. One boyfriend is almost more than I can handle.”

“Wha- hey!” You giggled at his response. It was small, but he heard it. It made his heart swim.

All joking aside, he did believe you. Something was definitely not right with you though.

“So, you swear nothin’ is wrong? You’ve been actin’ so weird.” His voice was heavy with concern.

“Yeah, I swear.” Those three words caused his heart to sink.

That was a lie.. MC only says ‘I swear’ while tryin’ to act like somethin’ ain’t wrong..

He pushed his thoughts aside for the time being and continued the conversation. It only lasted a few more minutes before you started saying your goodbyes. Again, cutting the call short.

“I gotta go, ok? I have work later and I need to get ready.” 

Hmm. Why does that seem weird?

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded so defeated.

There was, without a doubt in his mind, something going on. Something that would make you lie to him..

One way or another, he was going to find out.

-

“Mammon? Are you alright?”

Mammon was sprawled out on the couch in the common room. After talking to you, he was lost in his thoughts and feeling rather down. Beel passed by the common room on his was back from the kitchen when he saw his older brother. Noticing that he looked sad, Beel went to investigate.

Mammon looked up to meet Bee’s concerned gaze and with a sigh, he sat up.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Mammon said, as he stood up to leave. Beel could tell he was obviously lying, but decided not to press the issue.

Mammon stopped a few paces away from Beel, and turned back around to face him.

“Hey, Beel. Was MC actin’, I don’t know, “off”, the last time ya talked to em’?” He asked the sixth born, thinking maybe you had accidentally let something slip.

Beel’s face seemed to twist up a little bit, and he nodded.

“Yeah, kind of. MC used to sound excited when I called, but now they hardly talk at all. And they used to send me pictures of the food they were eating and new recipes, at least twice a day, but it’s been about two weeks since the last one they sent.” He explained, sadness in his voice. While in the Devildom, you were his favorite person to eat with.

Mammon nodded at his brother, getting lost in his thoughts again.

So, it’s not just me. MC is actin’ strange with Beel too..

Neither of them had paid been paying enough attention to see Asmo enter the room.

“Mammon, there you are. I’m going out, and I need my new bag from Majolish. The one I let you borrow. And i swear, if you sold it-” Asmo stopped mid sentence when he noticed the sad state two of his brothers.

“Is it about MC?” He asked, nonchalaunt.

Mammon’s head snapped toward his brother.

“What do you mean? Did they say somethin’ to ya?” Mammon asked quickly, taking a few steps closer to his brother.

MC and Asmo always gossip with each other, so maybe they’d tell him somethin’..

“Calm down. MC really hasn’t talked to me much in the last month. I’m so hurt! Who else am I going to talk beauty products with? Lucifer? Goodness, no.”

“Asmo!” Mammon said loudly, trying to get the fifth born back on track.

“Oh, right. Let’s see.” He put a finger to his chin and thought about it. “Hmm. The only thing I can think of was during the last normal conversation I had with them. They said something about receiving a piece of hate mail. They said it was no big deal, but I distinctly remember MC seemed flustered by it. Which I thought was weird, considering it’s definitely not the first one they’d received..” Asmo explained.

Hate mail? MC has only mentioned it to me a couple times. Do they really get it that often..?

“How long ago was that?” Mammon asked. He felt like he was on the brink of something. Just a few more puzzle pieces..

“Hmm, it was right before MC started acting distant toward me. So, about three or four weeks, maybe.” Asmo explained. That’s around the time you had started acting weird with Mammon too.

“So, maybe something happened to MC.” Beel suggested.

“No, MC would tell us. ..Right?” Asmo questioned.

Mammon was so confused.

What is goin’ on with you, MC?

-

After talking with his brothers, Mammon holed himself up in his room. He didn’t really want to be around anyone at the moment. His thoughts were driving him crazy and giving him a headache. What was he not seeing? What piece of the puzzle was he missing?

He started going over your last conversation again, for the millionth time, looking for any kind of clue. But, you seemed normal. Well, your new normal, anyway. Distant, short answers, not giving too much to the conversation. What were you hiding?

It was something about the end of your conversation, but what was it?

He remembered your small giggle. The memory caused a smile to break out across his face. It gave him a tiny bit of hope that you were still there. That you still loved him. That whatever was troubling you, wasn’t making you forget them completely.

It was after that though. You had said “I swear”, which was a red flag, considering you only say it when you’re trying to convince him you’re ok when you’re really not.

He sighed, and rolled over on his bed. He looked at the alarm clock on his night stand, numbers glowing an angry red.

MC is probably at work right now..

Something caught his eye.

Today is Thursday... MC never works on Thursday. I guess the schedule coulda changed. No, cause MC specifically requested to always have that day off for some reason. Delivery day at their family’s bakery, I think. ...MC lied, again..

Then it hit him.

The small little lies. Avoiding all of them, even him for weeks now. Barely talking when you do answer the phone. The way you always sounded so tired and out of it.

It had something to do with what Asmo said about the hate mail.

“Hmm. The only thing I can think of was during the last normal conversation I had with them. They said something about receiving a piece of hate mail. They said it was no big deal, but I distinctly remember MC seemed flustered by it. Which I thought was weird, considering it’s definitely not the first one they’d received..”

Mammon didn’t even know that you’d been receiving that much hate mail. Sure, you’d told him about it a couple times, but he didn’t think it was that bad. Maybe it was actually pretty serious. Is that why you’d been so distant.

Mammon got up from his bed, and began pacing around the room. He almost had it figured out, he could feel it.

Asmo said MC seemed flustered, so it had to have somethin’ to do with the hate mail they received that day, since after that is when MC started actin’ weird.What if it’s somethin’ bad. Like, bad bad. 

He stopped pacing.

The thought of MC being in danger was...

Mammon grabbed his jacket, where it was thrown onto the pool table and left his room in a hurry. He was on his way to Lucifer’s study, mentally preparing himself on the way. He was sure he knew what his brother’s answer would be, but he wasn’t going to just sit here. He needed to know that you were, in fact alright, with his own eyes.

I’m going to the human world. Whether Lucifer allows it or not.

| part two | | part three |

[chilly-me-softly]

One with DCL where you're a football player for Man U womens team and you've never met Dom but there's a few fan pages of you two and there's a new event called idk the Prem Get Together or something which is basically like the met gala where all the premier league footballers (men/women) dress up and go and they do something like prom king and queen type of thing and call it Prem King and Queen where they have a vote for best dressed and you're chosen Prem Queen while he's chosen Prem King and the footballers that know of the fan accounts that ship you two, all call it fate and what not and he asks you out at the end of the event.

This is a really odd one that I just came up with and I love it, I might just write something like this myself but I'd actually like to see how you go about it as well. But if you don't want to because I'm planning to write something along the lines too, then trust me I totally get it, no hard feelings :)))) Xx

I absolutely loved the idea, I am not that good with descriptions and this request perhaps needed it more than anything else. But absolutely can't wait to read yours too, tag me in it if you haven't already written it x

-

Prem Get Together is the most anticipated event of the year, perhaps even more so than the weekly games. The excitement is in the air from the start of the week, everyone starts talking about it, wondering if the level of the year before will ever be topped or how the various players will perform. There are a lot of people within the football world who want to express themselves without being judged, and that event is the best opportunity. You personally can't wait, to see the reaction to your outfit or to hear the ideas behind other people's outfits or to laugh at some people's choices.

The red carpet is there for you, you walk proudly with your gaze high until you turn to the photographers and let them take as many pictures as they want. It's also their time not to hide behind bushes to get pictures of the footballer of the moment. You smile at everyone, stopping for a short interview, before entering the hall and starting to wander around to look at the competition. There were people who were certainly more excited than others, others who simply enjoyed having a different evening. And then there would be the proclamation of the king and queen of the event, whoever had thought of that event had made sure that everyone put a little effort into the competition.

"Oh my god you look fabulous!" you turn around smiling finding yourself in front of Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the former has an excited look on his face and can't keep his eyes still studying every little detail of your outfit. It's a well-known fact that the two are passionate about fashion and this is reflected in their choice of clothes, which you can see they've put a lot of work into. Dom in particular strikes you, it may be simple but the simplicity strikes in an unexpected and unique way. You seem to have found who to vote for in the male audience.

"You guys are great too. It's almost a shame I can only vote for one of you two."

"Oh no vote Dom please, I just came for the art part"

"I can see that" you giggle bringing the glass in your hands to your lips. Tom sees one of their friends and drags Dom away unceremoniously, the boy turning quickly to give you a nod before disappearing into the crowd.

You approach a few of your teammates and together you gossip a bit about the boys, some of them not really applying themselves and some just wearing heavy makeup or dressing up like it was a simple Halloween party. But at least they tried.

Together you go to the voting booths and wait for the line to proceed so you can cast your vote. You never vote for yourself and you found a female costume that you liked, even if it belongs to a city player you make the cross next to her name. For the men's outfit you didn't have so many problems. Satisfied you go back to the common room where you enjoy the rest of the evening chatting and waiting for the proclamation.

The hosts of the evening are the king and queen of the previous year, who can change clothes for the award ceremony and in fact as they come on stage you notice that they have changed into their classic ceremonial clothes.

"Are you ready to find out the king and queen of Prem night?" the boy shouts and a round of applause and booing is heard loudly soon after.

"The wait is almost over, in this envelope we have the names of the winners"

"C'mooon!" shouts someone in the crowd raising a few laughs, you're nervous and you don't even know why. It's not like you're aiming for victory, you're already quite satisfied with the criticism you received for your outfit.

"Okay ladies first" the girl opens the envelope and nods finding herself clearly in agreement, "The Queen of the Prem is..." it feels like the last day of competitions where the games are all played at the same time and no one knows until the end. It's a strong, exciting feeling but you don't want to feel it on a daily basis.

Then you hear your name and a spotlight shines on you and the applause and whistles start up as you make your way incredulously towards the stage, with all those eyes on you and the crown and everything you feel a bit uncomfortable and you don't know what to say honestly but you try to act normal, thanking and waiting for the king to be proclaimed.

Shortly after you are joined on stage by Dominic and you find yourself agreeing with the popular choice, a wide smile greets him on stage from you. Even on his face there is some slight embarrassment as he tries to hold the crown balanced on the curly hair he has decided to keep natural for the evening and thanks his friend for representing the idea they had one night in the best possible way.

"Well our work here is done. We leave you with tonight's winners and next year's hosts, ladies and gentlemen the king and queen of the Prem!" you are immediately blinded by the flashes of reporters wanting as many pictures as possible of the two of you together and then alone and then together again.

"I voted for you" you murmur as they continue to take pictures, turning slightly towards Dom to see he's smiling at you.

"Me too" he murmurs, "I was so happy to see that you had won"

"Me too in sharing this with you" your friends don't miss a chance to congratulate you on your win and take a closer look at that crown, curious to see if it's cheap jewelry or what. Inevitably you walk away with your groups, but all it takes is for your gaze to briefly fall towards him to apologize to the girls to bring you closer to him again.

"Hey king, it's been a pleasure. I guess we'll see you again next year"

"Or we could start preparing as early as tonight" he says boldly, "maybe over coffee?" and you find yourself nodding accepting his offer, starting your journey that will take your complicity through the roof at the next edition of Prem Get Together.

[misstrashchan]

Top 3 RWBY ships & your favorite moments for each!!!

AH IT'S YOU!

And... Just three? Really? Uh, well, I guess I'll start with my first OTP I had watching the show when I was 13 that I still have a soft spot for...

1. Ladybug (Ruby/Blake)

Blame Madoka Magica, but I'm drawn to the dark haired, aloof and cool mysterious girl having a soft spot and looking out for the clumsy, optimistic and maybe a little naive girl trying to prove herself who happens to be the MC, and finding their own hope renewed in themself because of that relationship.

I mean there's just a lot of little moments when Blake is just so wholeheartedly the member who believes and trusts Ruby the most as a leader, like I know it's easy to overlook over the series but between "She's only two years younger, we're all just kids" in defence of Ruby when Weiss calls her just a kid, "She's our leader, she can take care of herself" in response to Yang worrying over Ruby, and "We'll follow your lead Ruby" to her before meeting Ironwood, and their initial meeting being Blake coming over and helping Ruby out when Weiss is giving her a hard time but then aprubtly leaving, it's just... I really love them, okay?

My favorite Ladybug moment is probably their talk in v8, because it's kind of a culmination of those little actions and words over the series that conveyed the nature of their relationship actually communicated, when Blake just lets Ruby know how much she looks up to and believes in her as a leader, and how greatful and moved you can see Ruby is to hear that when she's at a low point of doubting herself the most. (Even though that kind of faith is a double edged sword for her, but that's a Ruby meta analysis for another day)

And of course Ruby's soft chuckle and little "I could hear you" after getting up when Blake was pleading for Ruby to get up after getting knocked out, because they needed her, just melts my heart everytime I hear it.

2. Bumbleby (Yang/Blake)

I mean. It's Bumbleby! Ladybug may have been my first OTP but Bumbleby reigns supreme in my little heart since falling into it during v2 and fully committing to it after v3 and during v4. The slowburn, the pining, the angst, the comfort, the finding their way back to each other no matter how many times they seperate, the complimentary colour schemes, Beauty and the Beast, Ying and Yang, the way their narratives are intrinsically interwined with one another, THE SOFT FOREHEAD TOUCHES. God the list of reasons of Why Bumbleby is just neverending.

I mean, when I think good slowburn romance, I just immediately think Bumbleby.

Favourite moment? Geez. Idk. There's so many iconic bees moments it's hard to pick. Burning the Candle? I love it when you're feisty? Your bow goes great with your pajamas? Bees vs Adam? The Reunion? The Reunion 2.0 with forehead touches? (which are, in my humble opinion, far softer and more romantic than any kisses could be but that's just me)

But for all the angsty and dramatic moments, I really really like this series of small moments when Yang and Blake are getting ready to go dancing with FNKI in v7 the most. Yang trying to teach Blake how to dance and Weiss finding them to be an insufferable couple, Blake putting on mascara while Yang watches her lying on her bed with just the gayest little grin, Yang coming over and just so casually putting her hand on Blake's shoulders. It's just. It's my favorite just because of how casual it is. The two of them getting to relax and doing normal couple stuff. After everything these two have gone through they deserve that with each other, to enjoy those first highs of venturing into a romantic relationship. It's just the little moments, y'know?

3. Rosegarden (Ruby/Oscar)

So much about this ship just screams perfect slowburn material. How Ruby has consistently been the person who believes in Oscar as his own person, how Oscar is the first person we see get Ruby to open up to about her own fears,(and like, Ruby's really the only person Oscar has confided in like that over the series too) how throughout v7 Ruby worries over her decision to lie to Ironwood mainly because she knows it's something Oscar doesn't agree with and she doesn't want him to think less of her. The very circumstances that allowed them to meet; the war with Salem, Oscar merging with Oz, their shared burden that allows them to bond, is also exactly what would prevent them from ever having an actual relationship. It's just so... tragic when you really think about it and I LOVE that kind of shit.

RG to start with was more of an "enjoying how adorable Oscar's crush on Ruby was but believing it would ultimately be one sided" than actual "I Think This is Going to Be A Thing". And then the Dojo scene happened, which was this really revealing character moment for both of them in a way we hadn't seen either of them with anyone else, where they share their fears, and Oscar pushes Ruby to be more introspective and honest with her feelings at the start and at the end Ruby pushes Oscar to be braver and more confident in himself, which hits the core struggles of both their characters and I was like. Hm. Okay. Maybe there's more going on here. And the ship has kind of had my attention since then. (not my favorite RG moment though)

And then like, in v6 when Oscar gets his first huntsman outfit, and you can see that 1) His main colour is green, complimentary to Ruby's red, 2) His secondary colour is also Ruby's red 3) His accessories are the same as the ones Ruby has in her Mistral outfit, meaning he took direct inspiration from her and 4) As the cherry on top his whole outfit is a Very Obvious nod to him alluding to the Little Prince. And I was like Ah. This is A Thing Now. And then the series went on to have the subtle-as-a-brick-parallels with the Bees and visually pairing them with the Bees and I was like Ah. Yeah. We're definitely in it now.

Enough about that though. Favourite moment? Ruby handing Oscar back his cane. Not just the "You're your own person" Ruby says to reassure Oscar of his own individual identity, but what she does when she says it. Before that, when Oscar reaches to take the cane from Ruby who holds it out to him, he lingers there, asking "I'm just going to be another one of his lives, aren't I?" And right then and there Ruby and Oscar would be holding onto one another, except the cane is in between their hands. It's what connects them, but it's also what separates them. Because the cane represents Oscar's connection to Oz and his merging with him. And it's only because of Oz that Oscar met Ruby at all. But then when Ruby tells Oscar he's his own person, she puts her other hand on top of his. Asserting her own, unique connection to him. That still gets me.

[miraculous786]

Note: Thank you so much @silvia7272​ for the idea of what would happen in this!

Masterlist

The Bad Get Outed In Bad Ways

"Lila, are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay!" said girl snapped. "Did you not just see the akuma that zapped me?"

Chat Noir grimaced, muttering, "So much for trying to be nice."

There was the zipping of a yo-yo as a figure in spotted armour landed beside them. She paused to give an unreadable glance at Lila, then asked, "Chat, where'd he go?"

"He disappeared into a puff of smoke," the blond answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn't chase him down, sorry."

Ladybug let out a sigh. "It's okay. I just don't understand what this fire extinguisher was for," she started. "Anyway, I advise you to get to safety, Lila."

The brunette scoffed. "You could've told me that five minut-"

"Lila!"

They all turned to the source of the shout, only to see a bespectacled teenager approach them. "Lila, oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm doing great!" she enthused, smiling bright without any trace of hate on her expression anymore. "I just got caught up in an akuma attack and my bestie Ladybug saved me!"

Marinette shared a wary glance with her partner. He simply sent her a lopsided grin and gestured for her to watch the scene, much to her confusion.

Alya breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Thank you, Ladybug. We better get going to class now."

"It was no problem, and yes, you should be."

"Oh, this means that I can give you your interview!" Lila exclaimed. "You know, the one where I share the job offer that I was given to by Jagged Stone."

Ladybug rose a brow. "Job offer?"

"Yeah! After I created his Eiffel Tower glasses, you know, the ones he wore last week at that press performance, he offered me a job as his personal designer," the Italian explained. "It was such a shame that I had to decline it because of all my charity work."

Alya tilted her head. "B-But you didn't make those..."

"Guys, be quiet!" Chat Noir suddenly hushed. He pursed his lips, and began sniffing at the air. "...Is there a barbecue going on, or is it just me?"

Marinette's nose crinkled. "No, I smell that too."

The reporter there scanned about, before blinking and suddenly taking a step back. "Uhh, Lila. You- you might wanna look down for a second."

She did that exact thing, and what she witnessed made her shriek. Her hands pat down her leggings in a panic, as the heroine nearby yelped in shock and unclipped an item from the side of her waist.

Pssssshhh!

There was silence for a few moments, which was soon followed by a gag. Lila gazed upon her soaked outfit, that was covered in a fluffy white foam. Her eyes made contact with Marinette's, and a flash of rage shone in them.

"Hahaha! Would you look at that? Our timers are running out!" Ladybug fumbled. "I-I guess we better get going!"

They turned to leave. Chat Noir leaned in close to her and said quietly, "Liar, liar, pants on fire~"

She snorted, but managed to cover the action up with a cough. "B-Bug Out, guys!"

With that parting statement, he latched his arms around her waist, and was promptly whisked off into the sunset by her yo-yo. What both of them didn't notice was the contemplating look on Alya's face as they made their leave.

~*~*~

"I'm so sorry for thinking you were jealous, girl."

"I already told you, Alya, I forgive you," Marinette spoke softly. "I don't blame you for believing Lila. Neither does Adrien, for that matter."

"Yeah, I don't!" he piped up.

"Still...I could have easily realised she was lying if I just researched her claims! Then the whole class wouldn't be as enthralled as they are with her."

Nino gave the rest of the students a pitiful look. "If only we could expose her without them believing any excuse she makes."

They all nodded in agreement, and it was quiet for a quite a while.

"...Adrien, why are you smiling like that?"

"Smiling? Moi? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Princess."

She pinched the skin between her brows. "My Prince, please, for the love of god, tell me that you didn't do something to her."

"I...didn't do something to her...?"

Alya snickered. "Sure, Sunshine."

He pouted. "I'm telling the truth! It was the akuma that got to her, not me." At their questioning faces he elaborated, "I overheard the akuma telling Chat Noir what that blast would do, and long story short...it'll expose her."

Marinette glared at him. He only shrugged his shoulders back, causing her to mumble a curse and throw herself into his chest. Adrien laughed, encircling his arms around her waist and hugging her close.

Alya snapped a picture from her seat.

"Good afternoon, Lila!"

The bluenette huffed, closing her eyes tight in an attempt to block out the girl's response to the question. Her boyfriend smirked, cuddling tighter - much to her approval as she let out a tired hum.

"Thank you so much for asking, but I'm fine. My bestie Ladybug took down that akuma, and now I'm back to normal again!" Marinette heard Lila say. "I think that they were jealous. They must have heard me talking to Alya about my newest job offer."

Most of the teens whipped their heads to the ombre-haired student.

Rose - the ever-excited one - squealed. "Oooh, what was her offer about?"

Alya grinned, a glint of smugness in her eyes. She peeked at something above Lila's head, but no one seemed to notice.

Except for Adrien and Nino.

Marinette was too busy dozing off in her partner's cozy embrace.

"She made Jagged Stone's Eiffel Tower glasses, the ones that have the French flag plastered over them. He gave her a deal to be his personal designer but she said no."

Alix and many others blinked. In unison, they faced Lila, much to her utter glee as she preened at the attention. "He really wanted me to work with him, especially because of how I'd saved his cat from the airplane runway, but I just couldn't. I have all of those charities and fundraisers to work on with Prince Ali, and it would all be too much."

Her hand was placed against her chest to represent pathos, and her eyes were shut with slight tears leaking out of them. When realising that no one was speaking, she looked up and processed their varying expressions.

Lila sucked in a breath. She snapped her head to her leggings, only to sigh when they weren't aflame.

"Uh, Lila...?" Mylene spoke up. "You might wanna look up for a second..."

She bit her lip, and slowly did so with wide eyes. There, above and floating in the air, were several bright red arrows pointing to her head, along with the words: 'Liar, liar, pants on fire!' in speech bubbles resembling those in comic books.

"...Umm, did Lila just faint?"

~*~*~

I would have a hard time seeing through those glasses.

@northernbluetongue​ @moonystars14​ @soupfilledboots​ @vixen-uchiha​ @starsshineandgivehope​ @professionalfangirl1738​​ 

[shelby-love]

KELLY SEVERIDE

Chicago's IT Lawyer And Girlfriend

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warnings: none

Authors note: /

"I hate this." You whisper sleepily while fighting the urge to yawn. With your head against the window you scan the area in front of you.

So much press.

"I have to go there and give them a 5 minute long statement at 6 in the morning."

Kelly Severide doesn't fear the press and easily manoeuvres his car onto the free parking space, reserved for Chicago's finest law fighters only.

The muscled arms of your boyfriend easily turn off the car and wrap around you.

Bathing in your boyfriend's cologne is just the right thing you needed to be able to fight through the day.

"You got this. You're Y/N Y/LN." You snort at his words. They have a drop of mock in them but you know what he really means.

Ever since this case got out in the public, where you're representing an Interpol agent in a case gone wrong, you've been the news' favourite plaything.

Chicago's IT lawyer, they call you. Y/N Y/LN now holds serious weight. Luckily for you, you managed to snatch the heart of this hardworking lieutenant before you became so badass at fighting the law.

"I wish we can go eat after your shift is over," You admit. "But the press has been on my tail since this thing blew up."

Kelly isn't a stranger to the news outlets, he had his own share of being in the centre of their attention.

The kiss he gives you melts you in a puddle. It makes you weak in the knees like always and suddenly your stoney facade crashes and you become Y/N. Just Y/N.

"Crush them babe." Kelly encourages. "I'll be watching the news."

"Channel 9?"

"The firehouse watches you on Channel 6?" He tells you. Kelly just found out that his girlfriend is more in the spotlight then he ever thought possible for a hotshot lawyer.

"No, no, no... Channel  6 is rubbish. They make things up." You're quick to explain. "And what's even worse... They edit me to make it seem like I'm a heartless monster. I don't wanna be a heartless monster Kelly!"

"Okay... So channel 9 then?"

"Yes! That way when I meet your friends they don't think I'm heartless."

"You're not heartless baby." He says, his long fingers tucking a strand of stray hair behind your ear.

You check your watch and realise that it's time to go. "I'll see you after shift?"

"Of course. Break a leg Y/N!" He yells once you're out of the car.

"Don't say that Kelly you know I'm clumsy!"

***

The 24 hour long shift is killing him. He spends more time in the common room than at the squad table because that's where the TV is.

After a lot of attempts he finnaly managed to get Mouch to switch the news to channel 9. Just how you told him to.

"Andy Holland. Never liked the guy." Mouch comments on the news reporter.

"Yeah like Miranda is any better. She just spreads lies." Kelly shoots back. The two channels are reporting things very differently and he's looking out for you.

"But it's kind of true." Brian agrees with Kelly. "Channel 6 makes it seem like Y/N's a monster. Andy gives her some credit at least."

"Thank you!" Kelly yells out to him.

"And why do you care Severide?" Cruz joins the discussion. "Sure she's hot and smart but there's no way you can get into her pants. Not hers."

This sparked Kelly's interest. They have no idea. "Oh really?"

Joe let's out a "mhmm" before retreating to the comfort of his bed.

At that moment, Kelly's phone dings, indicating a new message.

From Y/N [4:55 P.M]

Hey you left your wallet at my place. Want me to drop it off?

I'm meeting the client and my team at 7 and I'll be gone until the morning.

Night shift suckssss!

A smile sneaks up on his face without him even noticing. He types a reply quickly, full-heartedly inviting you to the firehouse with the simple message.

***

Just 15 minutes after the small exchange, you're outside the firehouse leaning against your sleek womanly car. You patiently wait for Kelly with sunglasses over your eyes.

You notice him jogging towards you and soon you're in his arms. "I missed you."

"We saw each other this morning Y/N."

You give him an offended look once you take your sunglasses off. "Can't a girl miss her boyfriend?"

"Yeah," He leans in for a tortured kiss, showing you just how much he missed you too. "She can."

You pull away blushing and move to grab your bag. Finally, you fish out his wallet and hand it to him. "Well. Here you go."

"Do you wanna come in?"

"Who? Me?" You're not really dressed to impress. You wanted your first encounter with them be normal. Normal as in you will dress up like a normal woman your age and act like it.

But in the outfit that consisted of a black pencil skirt, white blouse, black blazer and pointy heels you were meant for formality and formality only.

"I want them to meet you." He admits. "I realised how hard it will be to not talk about you. Everyone thinks that I'm way out of your league."

"Oh so your plan is to get me to meet them so you can brag about sleeping with me." For a second that thought hurt your heart.

"No, no, no, no... I just want to be able to brag about how amazing you are as a person. And how much I love you." He leans in until you're inches apart. "I want them to know that we're serious about each other."

He stays quiet for a moment before whispering "And also... They're fans of you."

"Well in that case." You loop your arm through his. "Let's go meet them."

***

"Hey Severide! Come see what they're saying about your imaginary girlf-" Mouch' words die right on his tounge when he sees who's on Kelly's arm. "Girlf-f-friend. Y/N Y/LN is that you?!" He points between the TV and your living body aggressively with his glasses.

"In the flesh... Mouch?" You remember his name because of the detailed description your boyfriend gave you.

"She knows my name! Oh my Trudy is going to be so happy." He puts his glasses back on and starts to work his way around his cellphone, eventually succeeding and calling Trudy Platt. "Stay right there." He tells you and dissapears. You can still hear him even though he isn't in your line of vision.

"How much did he pay you to play his fake girlfriend?" A dark haired man with an impressive mustache comes up to you. Absolutely chirping with joy, almost as if he isn't surprised at all. Mustache.

"Oh! You're Brian right? Or Otis? I don't know which one you prefer." You tell him shyly, embarrassed for not knowing what to call him.

"You can call me whatever." He wraps his hands around yours and places a kiss to the back of it. It brings slight blush to your cheeks and he sees that as the day's biggest victory.

"Okay Otis that's enough." Kelly steps in.

"Y/N Y/LN. I've heard so much about you." An older man comes up to you with glitter in his eyes. He enthusiastically takes your hand and instead of pressing a kiss to it like Otis did, he shakes it with such honor that surprises you.

"He's a fan." Otis fake coughs.

"Of course I am. Y/N I've been watching the news ever since it became public." He slowly pulls you away from your boyfriend and sits you at the long table. "I gotta say. You're great! Calm, cool, collected... A little bit cold but that's alright. My wife Cindy, let me tell ya. She loves you. Emphasis on loves."

You're lulled into his conversation that not even Kelly can get you away from him. Once you're done you realised one simple thing about the older gentleman - he loves to talk.

"Oh my my." Another voice appears by the door. "Y/N?"

"Um...hi. I'm here with Kelly nice to meet-"

The man pulls you into a bone-crashing hug. "You're with Severide?!"

The surprise in his voice and the knowing look on your boyfriend's face caught you off guard. "Yeah? He's my boyfriend."

You easily connect the name to the face. Joe Curz in the flesh.

"Hey, hey what's going on in here?" Another voice joins you and you recognise it. Truck's lieutenant and alderman, Matt Casey, joins you in the common room and stops when he sees you.

"Alderman Casey." You greet your old friend.

"Y/N Y/LN. Haven't seen you in a while." He gives your hand a firm shake for formality sake before you both drop the facade and pull each other in for a hug.

"Wait you two know each other?" Your boyfriend asks in shock. He did not expect this.

"Yeah. Matt and I met at a few events." You explain. "A few glasses of burbon and we were pronounced as friends. Didn't I tell you that?"

A pitch of guilt shoots through your body at the untold information but when you see Kelly smile you immediately relax. "Sorry I didn't tell you. Guess I forgot."

"Don't worry. How long until you have to go?" He asks you before sneaking his arm around your waist.

You check your watch. "An hour."

"Good. Let's have some fun." Kelly kisses your forehead and you join the rest of the buzzing firefighters.

When you leave the firehouse to go to work, you not only leave with the weight off your shoulders but a lot of new friends.

MASTERLIST

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Gavin’s Reflection of Beauty Date (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: Detailed spoilers for a date yet to be released in EN! 🍒

Phone call between Gavin and Mr Keller before the date: here

Candlelit Night Collection: Kiro // Lucien // Victor

Trivia regarding the name of the date: 

This date is called 惊鸿照影来, which is part of a couplet from “Shenyuan”, a poem by Lu You written in the Song Dynasty

Rough translation of the full couplet: Alas, the green water under the forlorn bridge / Once reflected the charming face of my beloved one!

It was inspired by the poet’s own love story, where he was forced to leave his wife because his mother didn’t like her. Even so, their love never ceased. Ten years later, they met again in Shenyuan Garden (which was also the place he first fell in love with her). Lu You inscribed a poem on a stone wall, conveying his anger and sorrow towards their separation. A few days after seeing the poem, she died from depression :’<

“Shenyuan” was written later on as a memorialisation of his undying love. It conveys how revisiting old places makes one remember past lovers and sentiments

-

[ CHAPTER ONE ]

The date begins with MC and Gavin having a rehearsal for the sequel of the “Three Lifetimes” play

The audience had a deep impression of them in “Three Lifetimes”, so Mr Keller wrote them into the sequel as second leads

In the play, the town looks forward to the marriage between Lady Su (the female lead) and Swordsman Bai (Gavin)

But Lady Su is in love with Swordsman Bai’s friend, a scholar (the male lead)

Meanwhile, Swordsman Bai is in love with the character MC is playing (a high-ranking palace maid and a close friend of Lady Su)

After the rehearsal, Mr Keller gives them suggestions on how to improve, and tells Gavin to gaze at MC and hold her hand during a particular scene:

Gavin: ...all right. 

-

[ CHAPTER TWO ]

Once the rehearsal is over, Gavin is a sweetheart as always, bringing water and a few bananas over to MC with this face:

Gavin: If it isn’t enough, I can get a few more? 

MC: There’s enough, there’s enough. 

Su Xuan, the actress playing Lady Su, tells them to change outfits for the photoshoot:

Su Xuan: I’ll help you put on some make-up first, then marry you off beautifully to your Mr Gavin. Come, close your eyes.

Without giving me a chance to explain or argue, she skilfully helps me with my make-up, as though she’s really helping a sister prepare for her wedding. 

Su Xuan: Mm, that’s more like it. 

She pulls me to my feet. After looking me over carefully, she tilts her head and smiles at something behind me.

Su Xuan: What does the groom think? 

Before I have time to react, Su Xuan pushes me lightly, and I fall into familiar arms.

Gavin: Pretty. 

Gavin, who has walked out of the changing room, is also wearing a matching set of red wedding attire.

The colour, which isn’t typically found on him, suits him unexpectedly well.

His easy-going independence has been toned down, replaced with fiery passion.

Gavin: What are you looking at? 

MC: This outfit really suits you.

MC: ...very handsome!

Gavin: [coughs] ...you look very pretty in red too. 

Gavin’s ears have a tinge of redness. He rubs the back of his neck, his eyes containing insuppressible surprise and warmth as he looks at me. 

Su Xuan: All right, you two “newlyweds” can appreciate each other after the shoot! The photographer this time is quite picky.

As she speaks, she pulls our hands together. 

The both of us stop talking, perhaps due to the dry air around us, or the warmth surfacing in our eyes. 

Gavin holds onto my hand tightly.

-

[ CHAPTER TWO: A flashback ]

Location: Outside Lynn’s Kitchen

By the time Minor and Gavin leave the noodle shop, the sky is mostly dark.

Only traces of the sunset glow faintly from behind the tall buildings. 

Minor: It’s so difficult to get tickets this Chinese New Year... I’m always struggling during this part of the year, and spending the New Year’s alone here is too cheerless. Gavin, what are your plans? Eh... why am I even asking - you’re definitely spending it with Boss.

Gavin is the same as always, letting Minor ramble on at his ear. 

Only when he hears the final sentence does a corner of his heart feel a light tug.

Gavin: Mm. I promised to help Mr Keller with her. 

Gavin smiles faintly without even realising it himself.

Minor: Huh? ...even though I find this method a little off, it’s not bad I guess! Boss has been asking everyone in the office what dishes they usually make for New Year’s. It made me curious... so you two are spending New Year’s together!

Minor’s words cause Gavin to recall the few memories of “spending the New Year’s” he has.

New Year’s should be a festival of celebration. There was a time when he looked forward to it.

It’s just that afterwards, this day gradually became no different from a normal one. 

That is, until the girl reappeared in his life, drawing the link between this day and warmth. 

It made him start looking forward to it again.

Minor: Bro Gavin? What are you thinking about? It’s rare to see this look on your face... I got it!

Minor makes an exaggerated expression, predictably receiving Gavin’s neither hard nor soft punch. 

Gavin: Minor, are there places selling New Year goods near her home? 

Minor: Bro Gavin, you want to... buy New Year goods?!

Gavin: What’s wrong with that?

Minor: Nothing nothing nothing...

Gavin: ...your smile is a little nauseating. 

Minor: I’m just happy! Then again, as compared to preparing in advance, there will be more of an atmosphere if you pick them out together!

Gavin: Makes sense. 

Gavin nods, quickening his pace slightly. 

Minor: Bro Gavin, where are you headed to next?

Several images flash across his mind - a warm light in the living room left on for him, a table with the home-cooked dishes he mentioned liking, and the girl waiting for him on the sofa, hugging a pillow. 

Gavin: Home. 

-

[ CHAPTER THREE ]

The photoshoot turns out to be more difficult than MC expected

Photographer: You must imagine - you two are about to elope, so it has to be dynamic! And yet have a tinge of... hesitation and worry! You’ve got to feel it! Change your pose!

MC and Gavin struggle to understand the photographer’s abstract descriptions

MC suggests they pretend to chat while sitting on the grass

MC: ...the weather is getting cold. Does Sparky need to be sent for maintenance? 

Once the words leave my mouth, I’m filled with a sense of regret. This topic is too forced...

Gavin seems to be stunned for a moment, then the corners of his lips lift gently.

Gavin: Mm, I have plans to do so. We can find a day to go together.  

MC: Ah, okay!

Gavin smiles, lifting his hand to tuck stray tendrils of hair behind my ear. 

His amber eyes, which are filled to the brim with smiles, hold my blinking and grinning expression within them.

Photographer: Very good! That’s the right feeling! Could the both of you try lying down? Girl, close your eyes and lift your head slightly.

MC: ...all right. Like this? 

I follow the photographer’s instructions and lie down at Gavin’s side, closing my eyes. 

In the darkness, a familiar warmth encases me tightly, allowing me to have a peace of mind and lean into his arms. 

We are very close to each other. His unique scent entwines with the reed grass that has been dried by the sun, reminding me of the summer we spent together. A breeze brushes past us. 

It makes one want to draw even nearer. 

Photographer: Very good very good. Can the man include some movements to add on to the idea of newlyweds interacting?

Gavin: ...uhm.

I hear Gavin’s breath halt for a moment, as though he’s deep in thought. 

After a while, he seems to have thought of something, and he laughs softly. 

Gavin: MC, don’t move. 

Right after he finishes speaking, I feel a lock of hair near my ear being lifted gently. 

I don’t dare to move a single inch, nor dare to open my eyes. I leave myself entirely to Gavin. 

The frequency of my heartbeat increases, and a numbness travels from the roots of my hair to my spine. My hair seems to be gently held in his palm.

Gavin: ...let me know if it hurts. I’ve never tried this before. 

Even though he says this, his actions are cautious and tender. 

All I can feel are the slight vibrations from my hair, the lock of hair ascending and descending along with his fingers, and then falling by my ear again. 

I purse my lips tightly, frantically trying to control my rapid breathing. I’m afraid that I might accidentally ruin this ambience. 

The shutter continuously sounds. The photographer seems to be saying something again, but I can no longer hear him clearly. 

Next to me, Gavin’s breathing brushes against my forehead and the tips of my hair. The breath, which carries a certain warmth, feels like a light kiss. 

Even though this is just a photoshoot, I wish time would give us this moment for a little while longer.

The words he said during the Qixi Festival last year surge from the depths of my heart, and once again gather in the centre.

I can’t help but feel that even if our destinies entangle and cross, and fate only allows for fleeting meetings, we will ultimately accompany each other at the very end. 

In my ear, the sound of his heartbeat is akin to him giving me a definite answer. One after the other, regular and resolute. 

Photographer:

Gavin: MC, we can get up now. 

I open my eyes slowly. The past few minutes have felt like a small, beautiful dream. 

In Gavin’s hand are locks of our hair tied together with a red string. 

Noticing my gaze, Gavin clear his throat unnaturally. 

Gavin: ...when the idea of “newlyweds” was brought up, I could only think of this. 

[Trivia: In Chinese culture, one’s hair represents one’s self. During a traditional Chinese wedding, the couple would each cut a lock of their hair and tie them together. This is called 结发 (”joining of hair”). It symbolises the couple becoming one flesh and blood, and how they would be connected forever... T^T]

I nod, not daring to meet his eyes. 

His short sentence channels layers of emotions in my heart, converging into unstoppable ripples. 

In a most straightforward way, his unembellished words leave a long and sweet aftertaste in my heart. 

MC: Let’s go over there so the next group can use this place...

Gavin: Hold on...

Without waiting for Gavin to finish, I’ve already sat up. Only when I feel a light tugging sensation do I realise that my hair is still tied to Gavin’s. 

MC: Ah-

Gavin: ...does it hurt? Don’t worry, I’ll untie the knot.

Gavin’s voice, which carries within it concern, is very close to the top of my head. In the next second, the strands of hair that are pulled are immersed in a tender warmth. 

Gavin: ...I might have tied it a little too tightly.

MC: Let me try...

Gavin agrees with a sound, cooperating by bending down slightly to make it easier to untie the red string. 

I try pulling at the end of the string, but the knot refuses to budge.

Gavin: ... 

MC: It does seem a little tight... could it be a dead knot? 

Gavin seems to have leaned in a little closer. Perhaps it’s just my misperception, but he seems even closer than he was during the photoshoot. 

His temperature and breath make my face feel increasingly flushed. I focus on the knot in my hand, hoping he wouldn’t notice my flustered state.

MC: N-next time, don't tie it so tightly! Or else I’ll leave it to you to untie. 

I pretend to be angry, wanting to break the atmosphere that makes my heart go into a frenzy. 

Gavin: All right, I got it. 

When I hear his voice in my ear, I know fully well that my attempts are futile.

When the red string is finally released and falls to the ground, I release a huge sigh, yet feel an inexplicable emptiness in my heart. 

It’s as though my fate with Gavin has become untied. 

They get called back to the rehearsal

MC: We should go over then.

Gavin: ...hold on. 

Gavin pauses, then takes the red string from my hand.

In a slightly clumsy manner, he uses the string to tie a knot at the end of my plait.

Gavin: This is also considered joining of the hair.

Gavin looks at me, his eyes clear, as though he has seen through all my emotions. 

Gavin: Let’s go.

While he speaks, he takes my hand and we leave. 

I hold onto Gavin firmly, the red string on my hair swaying gently along with our footsteps.

We will never miss each other again. 

-

[ CHAPTER FOUR ]

At 8pm, the play finally begins

On stage, MC is supposed to read a letter to Gavin

But when she opens it up, she realises there’s nothing on the letter even though her script is supposed to be on it

Gavin notices that something is amiss, so he steps in to calm her down while pretending everything is normal

MC starts reciting her lines based on memory, but starts panicking in fear of ruining the play

Gavin then takes the letter from her and pretends to read from it, reciting her lines perfectly

The First Act of the play comes to an end, and there’s an intermission

MC decides to thank Gavin properly after the play is over, but Su Xuan suddenly looks for her:

Su Xuan: MC, are you free now? Pass the silk ball to Gavin! I don’t know why, but the prop hasn’t been brought over yet.

MC: Okay! I’ll go now!

Thinking of the little time left, I grab the silk ball and run towards the other end without much thought. 

In the next scene, Gavin and I are supposed to enter the stage from different sides, which is why I have to cross through the entire backstage to reach him.

The silk ball is an indispensable prop in the next scene. Also... I have a “thank you” to say to him in person.

With this in mind, I quicken my pace, and find a familiar figure afar off in the busy backstage.

MC: Gavin! I’m over here!

I stand on my tiptoes and wave at him, thinking of ways to reach him even faster. 

Hearing this, Gavin raises his head. After seeing me, he immediately weaves through the crowd and walks towards me. 

People are moving to and fro. Our eyes only have each other, and we go against the flow of people, walking towards our only focus. 

Staff: Prepare for the second half!

When I’m only a few steps away from him, the countdown for the second half of the play resounds. 

MC: Gavin, this is for you!

In my desperation, I lift my hand. The silk ball flies in a slightly shaky arc, landing steadily in Gavin’s arms. 

[Trivia: In Chinese culture, the silk ball (绣球 - ”xiu qiu”) is used to symbolize love. Giving it to someone reflects the giving of one’s heart. If a woman is in search of a fated life partner, she will toss the ball high into the air in a crowd. The person who catches the silk ball would become the person’s husband]

MC: Gavin, about earlier...

Staff: MC? What are you doing here? Go back, we’re about to start soon. The snatching scene is next, and it’s very important. 

MC: Please wait! I haven’t finished what I wanted to say...

The staff doesn’t give me a chance to continue, and pulls me to the other end. 

I turn my head towards Gavin, and I have no choice but to swallow the words of gratitude I couldn’t say to him in time. 

Gavin: [unintentionally sexy whisper] Wait for me.

Gavin stands in place and looks at me, mouthing those words to me. 

The bell from the venue rings, and the noise from the audience gradually dissipates.

Staff: The Second Act! Begins!

-

[ CHAPTER FOUR: A flashback ]

Location: Gavin’s home

MC: “It’s good, and I doubt the lady would refuse, but...”

Gavin: Are you still looking at your lines?

MC: ...Gavin? Why are you here!

[Note: I have no idea why MC asks this since the backdrop is of his own house LOL]

Gavin walks over with a blanket in his hand. 

MC: The rehearsal is the day after tomorrow, so I’m trying to make use of my time to familiarise myself with the script, especially the scene where I’m reading the letter. Even though I should be able to read straight from the letter on the actual day, I think it’s better to memorise it just in case... Gavin, why don’t you accompany me in going through the lines!

Gavin nods and sits beside me. After covering me with the blanket, he takes the script from my hands. 

Gavin: From here? 

MC: Okay!

Gavin and I go through the dialogue. Places I usually get stuck at become miraculously smooth.

Without realising it, we’ve gone through the entire script.

I flip through the script, marking out places requiring additional attention. 

MC: I feel like Mr Keller has taken reference from the personalities of the actors when writing the lines. I keep thinking that the lines sound like what you would say.

While speaking, I let out a yawn.

Gavin: If you’re tired, rest. We can continue tomorrow. 

As the year draws to a close, there are more things than usual to settle at work. And when I come home, I’d have to familiarise myself with the script. It’s natural that I’d feel fatigued. 

MC: You don’t have anything on tomorrow? 

Gavin: I don’t have work tomorrow, so we can practice our lines.

MC: That’s great!

A warmth gushes out of my heart. I shift closer to Gavin, sharing half the blanket with him. We look at the script together. 

MC: This is so much warmer!

Gavin: ...do you still want to look at it? 

MC: Mm, let’s look through the letter scene again. “If you lack medical knowledge... attach some... scattered silver... I hope to do my best...”

The words in front of me gradually become blurry and distorted. After a certain line, I lean on Gavin’s shoulder in a dazed state, giving up on my fight against sleep.

Gavin: MC? Are you asleep? 

The girl, who loftily said they would look at the script together just a few minutes ago, is now leaning softly against his shoulder, sleeping peacefully. 

Gavin doesn’t wake her up, and simply covers her with a jacket. He flips to the first page of the script, quietly reading the girl’s lines, and memorising them. 

The city is asleep, but the room filled with the breath of two people is still illuminated with a tender light. 

The all-knowing stars in the night sky are silent, and will guard the small world belonging to these two people.

-

[ CHAPTER FIVE ] The curtains are drawn slowly. I once again step onto the stage, following the script. 

In this scene, Gavin will snatch the silk ball, and I will hand it to the male lead so he can bring his beloved home.

For the scene to be more realistic, the actors are allowed to walk around spontaneously. 

As such, I have to run past various settings, weave through the crowd, and finally reach the stipulated spot. 

MC: Swordsman Bai? 

Panting slightly, I stand underneath the embroidery building, looking for Gavin. 

[Trivia: In ancient times, women who were more socially well-to-do would do embroidery in embroidery buildings.]

The sense of deja vu blurs my perception of the boundaries between the play and reality. 

A strong wind arrives as promised. Following the glint of a sword, a path forms in the crowd, interrupting my thoughts.

Gavin is dressed in red. One hand holds onto the silk ball, and the other sheathes his sword. He walks straight towards me. 

Gavin: Trivial matters held me back, and I seek forgiveness from the lady. 

The corners of his lips are curled into an open smile. His eyes are wilful and tender. 

The setting of the blue sky, the red silk in the surroundings, and the startled magpie birds surround Gavin, who is donned in wedding attire. It makes one unable to look away. 

At this moment, he finally stands before me again. 

The crowd and the noise of the world - they no longer have anything to do with me. 

Gavin places the silk ball into my hands steadily. 

Even though I know this is a script, and that it’s part of the plot, I can’t help but feel that the red silk ball in my hands is akin to a solemn promise. 

A greedy thought even flits across my mind - maybe it’d be good if the story ends like this. 

On stage, the silk ball is finally handed to the scholar. The lady takes the silk ball and holds it with her lover.  

Under the embroidery building, Gavin suddenly takes my hand. 

Gavin: Perhaps this may be abrupt. MC, are you willing to marry me and become my wife? 

MC: ?!

Was there such a line in the script? 

I look at Gavin with confusion.

Gavin doesn’t say a word. He stares straight at me without a hint of evasion.

There are so many emotions within that pair of eyes, leaving me unable to make sense of them. I have no idea what to say. 

Off-stage, the audience erupt in thunderous cheers.

I glance to the side. Mr Keller, who has been watching the entire play, nods in my direction, signalling that I should continue in my role. 

My confusion dissipates when I see Gavin’s amber eyes, which are filled with deep, tender emotions and lingering affection. There is even an undercurrent of questioning and anticipation. 

It’s as though the answer I give would be an entrustment of the rest of my life. 

My heart beats loudly in my chest, feeling like it would leap out from my throat in the next second. 

MC: I... I accept. 

I blush and respond, not even sure if my words are loud enough to be heard by the audience off-stage. 

However, every single word is heard by Gavin, who has received my feelings. 

With a gentle laugh, he wraps an arm around my waist and lifts me up. 

Gavin brings me up the embroidery building to stand alongside the male and female leads.

At the end of the play, there is thunderous applause from off-stage. There are even a few audience members who are fully immersed in the story, sending us their blessings. 

In the midst of the applause, I tilt my head and lean towards Gavin’s ear, speaking softly. 

MC: Gavin, just now... I don’t remember seeing such a scene in the script?

Gavin: Mm, it was impromptu. 

MC: Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? I even thought...

Gavin doesn’t respond further, only smiling at me. 

Facing the cheering audience, the four of us bow and thank them for watching, as though worshipping the vast sea of people. 

After the play, everyone involved in the show gathers together to celebrate over dinner

MC: Gavin, thank you so much for today! It’s a good thing you saved the show! Back then... I really didn’t know what to do.

While I speak, I raise the drink in my hand, clinking it lightly against Gavin’s.

Gavin: You were looking for me just now to say this? 

He raises his drink, making up for the delayed clink. 

MC: Yeah. I wanted to thank you properly, but time was so tight that I couldn’t find the chance. Come to think of it, how did you know my lines...

Gavin: When we were rehearsing lines together, I just memorised them as well.

Gavin lowers his head and takes a mouthful of food, maintaining his usual casual attitude. Noticing that I’ve been watching him, he rubs his neck in slight confusion.

Gavin: Um... is there something on my face?

I immediately shake my head. A warm wave of emotions overflow from my heart. Countless words of gratitude are lodged in my throat, but I feel that no matter what I say, it would not be enough.

In the end, I silently fill a bowl of soup for him.

At the table, everyone is eating and drinking merrily, and the atmosphere is warm.

MC: After spending so many days with the crew, thinking of how we might not have the chance to get together like this again makes me feel quite reluctant to part with them.

I lean against Gavin, looking at the lively crew around us. 

MC: Gavin, I suddenly thought about something from my childhood. My dad used to be busy producing programs, and would bring me to the recording site to spend the New Year’s. The site was always busy, but no matter how pressed they were for time, everyone would sit down together and have an especially sumptuous dinner. Once I grew up, I also started spending my New Year’s working. I still remember that the warm ambience back then was the same as right now. 

Gavin: Mm, I can imagine. I used to spend New Year’s with my teammates, and it was very lively. 

MC: Even though it’s not at home, it’s still a different kind of fun!

Gavin: Since we’re on this topic, [coughs]...

Gavin seems to have something very important to say, but he takes another sip of his drink and stops. 

I blink, waiting for him quietly. I can vaguely guess what he wants to say.

In the end, he seems to become determined. He clears his throat and turns his head to look at me with a serious expression. 

Gavin: Over the next few days, if you don’t have anything else planned....

Gavin: Spend the New Year’s with me at home.

His tone is light, but the look in his eyes tells me just how solemn this invitation is. Even the tips of his ears turn an unnatural shade of red. 

I am very certain that, to the both of us, these words are the most precious and serious treasures from the deepest parts of his heart. 

MC: Okay. 

I nod heavily in response. Since a very long time ago, this answer has not changed.

The corners of Gavin’s lips turn up slightly. Those eyes, which always have an undercurrent of emotions, look like a glacier that has melted in spring, tenderly melting into a warm current. 

Gavin: I’ll pick you up then.

MC: Mm!!

The way his lips are curled upwards is as though all the uncertainties in his heart have found a most potent answer. 

I find myself smiling along with him.

MC: I recently learnt how to make a few New Year’s dishes, so we can try them. 

Gavin: All right, I can help. My skills... have improved. 

I freeze for a moment, making a sudden realisation. 

MC: Have you been practicing in secret? Looks like teaching you how to cook was a wise decision.

Gavin: ...I occasionally tried to.

MC: I’ll have to check the results of my teaching this year then!

Gavin: No problem. 

Gavin smiles, nodding his head with some measure of seriousness. He suddenly thinks of something.

Gavin: Oh yes, do we need to buy things like spring couplets?

MC: Mmhmm, we also have to buy the character “福”! It will only feel like New Year’s when we have these things pasted.

[Trivia: During the Chinese New Year, households paste an inverted red coloured square with the character 福 (“fu”, which means auspiciousness, blessing or happiness) on doors, walls, etc. to usher in such tidings]

I continue talking, listing on my fingers the items I want to purchase.

In my memory, my aunties’ fierce interrogations don’t seem that long ago. In just a blink of an eye, a new year has arrived. 

[Note: She’s making reference to the Spring Festival Date!]

This time, we can leave our time to each other. 

In a place belonging only to us, flipping open a new year’s calendar together.

The atmosphere at the dining table is just right. The sound of clinking glasses and celebration comes in waves. No one notices this small corner. 

We clasp each others’ fingers quietly. 

Our pulses, only separated by a layer of skin, call out to each other in the language of warmth.

I’m so lucky to have you by my side. 

[yandere-ac]

Hey buddy, do you know a channel named Etce? It's a guy that makes gameplays of Animal Crossing, and his favorite is Maple. It's so funny how he sounds low-key like a yandere for her, with made me imagine what it would be if we, the darlings were villagers, and maybe the yandere villagers played the role of humans trying desperately to cage us in their islands lol (like Audie being human and trying to take you with her) sorry, it's just so shitpost idea I hoped it made you laugh a bit tho :D

Yandere Human Audie x Villager Reader x Yandere Human Raymond

Rescue me

Another day in hell. That’s pretty much how life was for you nowadays. Each day you wished it would be your last and everyday just got worse and worse. Even if you wanted it all to end, you couldn’t. But let’s start from the beginning shall we? Your name is Y/N. You are a F/A villager who, unbeknownst to you, was a REALLY popular villager. People had online groups talking about just how badly they wanted you, people drew tons of art of you, some really cute, other a bit...questionable. Some people were even selling you for millions of bells. Of course, it all started small. So when a moderately big group of people on the internet started to talk about how cute you were and how they wanted you, you didn’t put much thought into it. You were very flattered at their compliments and left it at that.

However, once it came out that you would be signing up for the nook inc island getaway package, all hell broke loose. It was the day before the move when you decided that, why not check out the little fan group you had. As much as you hated to admit it, you did get a small boost in confidence from all the nice people who seemingly liked you. And right now you were pretty nervous about the whole move. So you quickly typed in your name into your phone and searched up. Your eyes widened at what you saw once you hit search.

947 619 results in 0,8921 seconds. What the hell?! Why did your name have so many results?! This...this had to be some weird coincidence, I mean, maybe you just shared a name with a popular actor who just blew up. Yeah that’s probably it. But all rational thought left you head once you saw that the little group was now the top result, and the little group wasn’t so little anymore. No, quite the opposite. It had gone from maybe about 5000 people to around 230 000 people. Each and every one of them, praising you, talking about how much they loved you. Some of them even wrote out detailed descriptions of what they would do with you if they found you, things that made your face flush scarlet red, why in the world would someone write that?! What reason did they have?! You felt disgust and discomfort flow throughout your body. Now feeling even worse than how you felt before! Should you even move?! What if you encountered one of these weirdos?!

Yet, you still went. You couldn’t exactly cancel your flight now could you? You’ve already sold your home and you couldn’t buy it back. You just hoped that you didn’t get paired up with a crazy person. And still, it would seem like luck wasn’t on your side.

Knock knock knock

Oh god.

“Y/N! Good morning my sweetheart!” And so, it began. You turned to look at the human in front of you, trying to push down your instincts to whimper and tremble. You had found it easier when she believed you weren’t horrified of her. Last time you shook in her presence she came very close to you and asked what was wrong. When you told her she was scaring you she simply picked you up and carried you to her house. There she spent the next 3 hours spooning and cuddling you, whispering various things in your ears all while you quivered in her arms, terrified of what she would do. Who was this woman? Why it was the island representative, Audie. The girl had long orange hair that went down to her waist and blonde bangs. On her head rested a pair of white sunglasses with purple glass, she never really used them for sun protection so you guessed it was for the aesthetic. She had yellow eyeshadow and winged eyeliner, bringing out her intense blue eyes. Eyes that would strike fear and dread throughout your entire body once they made contact with yours. She was wearing the same tropical muumuu that she always wore. Audie was looking at you with a big smile on her face. You would be lying if you didn’t say that she was a very beautiful girl. But all that beauty was overshadowed by a possessive and clingy nature. She was crazy, she saw you as hers and would make sure you belonged to her and her only. She seemed normal enough when you, her and a third islander moved to the island together. A little strange but still very bubbly and happy to be around you. You probably should’ve realised that she was one of your fans sooner than you did.

She would get annoyed when you hung out with the other resident, Kevin, a yellow bird. Soon you started to see her hitting him with a net, telling him to get out of the island along with other horrible things. And you realised that the more you tried to comfort and hang out with him the more Audie would hit him. You didn’t know what to do. You would report this behaviour to Isabelle but she told you that there was nothing she could do since Audie was the island rep. She was untouchable, and so, you could only helplessly stand back as Kevin was being harassed. You knew if you tried to intervene, Audie might do something more drastic. The whole situation was bad and apparently even Tom Nook has privately told Kevin that it might be for the best if he moved out.

All of the abuse led to Kevin finally moving out. You felt bad for the poor guy. But you were even more scared of Audie. What was truly scary was the fact that Audie had acted nothing but sweet around you. Giving you cute outfits and accessories and furniture. In a way it scared you more than if she would be hitting you as well. Because she was honestly terrifying when she acted nice around you. She would be unaware of how strongly she came off while near you. As a result she would usually be oblivious to your fear of her, which would result in very little personal space and a lot of touching. Not anything inappropriate, no, touching your shoulder, twiddling with your hair, stroking your arm, even giving big hugs that would shake you to your core. She was so much bigger than you, so to have her overpower you like that, you felt completely helpless in her strong grip. She could do anything and you would be powerless to stop it. And that’s why she was so much scarier when nice. She would practically drown you in affection that you did not want. Yet she either didn’t care or didn’t notice.

Going back to present day however. Audie was now walking towards you and you could feel yourself Yelp as she grabbed your hand and kissed you on the cheek. “H-Hello sweetheart...” you didn’t want to call her that, it’s literally that you couldn’t NOT say that. She changed your catchphrase to “Honey” and your nickname for her to “sweetheart”. So you had no choice but to call her that. You could feel your hands start to shake slightly and you tried to make it stop, but that only made you tense up in your whole body as trying to calm your nerves only made them worse. Audie was quick to notice this. “Oh? Why Y/N, your shaking. Is something wrong?” What do you say what do you say? “N-No I’m fine! I uh...I’m just a little cold that’s all...” you probably should have said something else as once she heard this, Audies eyes lit up and instantly you knew you weren’t gonna like this. “Awe you poor thing. Here let me help you!” And so, she lifted you up in her arms and carried you to your bed, where she proceeded to spoon you. At this point you figured you might as well not hold back, as long as she thought you were just cold and not afraid. And so, your whole body started to tremble. No matter how many times she did this, it would never be any less scary. “Oh my. Your shaking very bad. You must be absolutely freezing! Looks like we’ll be here for a while.” Shit.

But this sort of suffocating intimacy was not even the worst part of Audie. As island representative, she was the only one who could build and terraform the island. And she used that for bad things. The first thing she did when she found out she could move houses was to move yours next to her. After that, she completely surrounded both of your houses with a fence. Audie could exit the “yard” anytime, all she needed to do was pick up a part of the fence and put it down. But you, you were stuck. You could not get out and could only watch the island from inside your little “enclosure”. She also started to decide what you should wear. Sometimes she would give you cute clothing, things that you actually enjoyed wearing and felt comfortable with. Other times...other times she would give you skimpy outfits that barely covered you and made you feel very uncomfortable. At times like that you felt grateful no one else could see you. It was only you and Audie. But that didn’t exactly make you feel good. Anytime you wore them, Audie would squeal and blush and inspect you. She would walk circles around you, like a wolf circling a terrified bunny. Just waiting to pounce on it and sink it’s teeth into the poor critter. Luckily, Audie has never done anything...like that to you. She at least respected you enough to not force you to do anything. And that was at least a comfort for you. It was one of the very few comfort you had.

However, you weren’t ALWAYS trapped. Sometimes, Audie would hold a strange sort of...event? It’s very weird. She would open the fence and let you wonder around but shortly after you could see people arriving through the airport and drop off hundreds of Nook mile tickets. It would be insane to see how much they would give Audie. And at first you didn’t know why, you were aware of the fact that some people sold their villagers, but from what you knew, Audie didn’t do that. It was only later that you realised why they were here. They were here for you. They would pay up to 200 nmt just so they could get an hour of talking with you. You thought that was really weird, but to be honest, you didn’t mind it at all. It was the only time you could walk around the island and you could even talk to other people. Those other people being the paying humans of course. But it was nice, you enjoyed talking to some of them. You didn’t particularly like the humans that would only gush about you, telling you how much they loved you, and only asking you about stuff over and over again. It was just tiresome and very annoying. But every now and again there would be the humans that would talk to you like a normal person. Those were your favourites. Out of everyone, three humans stood out to you.

The first one was a girl. She was pretty short, maybe a few inches taller than you. She had light brown skin with freckles and blond hair. Her eyes were big and said hair was tied up in two pigtails. She was wearing a beige layered tank dress that looked very cute. Her name was Coco. She used to see you all the time. She was a frequent costumer, but then one day she just...stopped coming. Maybe she ran out of tickets, maybe she just lost interest, or maybe she found or bought her own Y/N. Yeah, that was a concept that made you really freaked out. The fact that there was apparently a bunch of copies of you out there. It happens to everyone who buys the nook inc getaway package. Either way, it didn’t matter. She stopped showing up, and you never saw her again.

The second one was a tall chubby man with yellow curly hair and a brown moustache. His skin tone was a bright shade of yellow. His eyes were kinda narrow but you could still see his very prominent blue eyes. He was always wearing a red ringmasters coat, always wearing it with such pride, you thought it was very cute. His name was Chops. Chops was always very nice to you. He would treat you well and act like a gentleman, sometimes it would come off as a bit weird but you knew his intentions were good. But after one visit where he asked if you would ever like to see his island, you never saw him again. And you were really excited as well...you thought that you could get away from this place but...apparently not. You didn’t believe that he just stopped going here like Audie said. By now you were smart enough to know that Audie wouldn’t let ANYTHING like that fly. You see, she kept a close eye anytime someone was there to visit. It was all part of the deal. They would get to come and hang out with you just as long as she was there with you. She would of course stand back a little, giving you and the customer some space. But never the less, she would be there, watching.

And the third person was a tall skinny guy named Raymond. Out of all three, Raymond was probably your favourite. He was around the same age as you, maybe a year or two older. He was very pale, you got the impression that he wasn’t exactly the type of person to tan. He would wear a grey waistcoat with a blue tie. His hair was blond and very neatly kept, he was very adamant about being precise. He wasn’t a neat freak per say. But he wanted things to stay orderly. But one of the most captivating things about him was his eyes. He had heterochromia, his right eye was brown and his left eye was green. On top of his eyes were a pair of glasses. And although he himself had said that he didn’t like his eyes, you thought they were beautiful. And anytime you would say that, you could see his face heat up as he muttered a thank you. You really liked Raymond, and you got the feeling he liked you as well. You liked him a lot more than Audie and you hoped she didn’t figure that out. Because once that happened, Raymond would probably get thrown out and not be allowed to see you.

Luckily, you don’t think she suspected anything. She seemed to trust Raymond since she left you two alone when he was over for no extra charge. It was amazing really, you don’t know how he did it but he apparently got her to trust him. And you were grateful for that. Because you and Raymonds conversations were usually the most genuine out of all your interactions.

“Hey Raymond? Could I ask you something?” You asked the guy sitting next to you. The two of you were sitting under a cherry tree near by the beach. He looked at you with a smirk. “Of course you can! You can tell me anything my dear Y/N.” As he said this, you could feel a smile form on your lips. He was always so sincere with you. “Okay so...how many tickets have you spent visiting me? A lot right? Why wouldn’t you just save up those tickets to buy or go for a villager hunt to find a copy of me? Wouldn’t that be easier than spending so much just to get an hour of speaking time with me?” This so something that had bugged you for a while. You didn’t understand this man. Why would he spend so much just to talk to you? Raymond let out a deep chuckle at this, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose slightly before looking at you.

“It’s because, my dear Y/N. I don’t want a “copy of you”. I want to hang out with the real you, you who are living on this island. You mean a lot to me, and to see you not remember me...well it wouldn’t feel right...” he said. You could feel tears prickle your eyes. Did he really mean that? Did he care so much about you? “Woah woah what’s wrong?! Was it something I sa-“ before he could finish that sentence, he could feel two small arms wrap around his waist. You were now crying into his chest, with him awkwardly trying to comfort you by patting your back. “Hey now, don’t cry. It’s okay-“ “No no it’s not! You don’t understand!” But as you said this, Raymond pulled you out from his chest, grabbing your shoulders as he stroked one of your cheeks with his hand. “But I wanna understand! Please Y/N! If there’s something going on, I want to know so I can help! Just...please...tell me what’s going on? I care about you Y/N...” as he said that you could feel your heart skip a beat. Should you....

And so, you told Raymond about the whole thing. You told him about Audie, about Kevin, about the strict rules. About everything. You tried to keep your breath steady but it was hard as all your emotions spilled out. Once you were done it was easy to see the disgust that lingered on Raymond’s face. You didn’t blame him. It wasn’t exactly the lightest thing to process. But after a few minutes of silence, Raymond grabbed your shoulder and looked at you with a serious yet sad look. “Y/N I-.....I’m so sorry....I didn’t know how bad Audie was and I-....I’ve been supporting her...I’ve been paying her nmt just so I could see you. I’ve been giving her the satisfaction and encouraged by directly contributing to-“ before he could continue you grabbed his hands. Raymond looked down at you and got the message. Right now there were more important things to dissolve rather than blaming someone. “Okay okay...you’re right. Well what can I do? Do you need anything?” He asked you. You didn’t know. Should you...yes. “Take me away from here.” You said short and simply. “What?” Raymond responded, making sure what he heard was real and not something he imagined. “Take me away from this hellhole! I don’t wanna live here! To Audie, I’m just some toy for her enjoyment. I don’t want to live here! I don’t want to live here! I don’t-“ Raymond quickly pulled you in for another hug. Both to comfort you, and to silence you. He didn’t want Audie to hear... “Okay okay. Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here Y/N....” Raymond got quiet for a few seconds, almost like he’s considering something. “Come to my island. You’ll be safe there and I’m sure my residents would love you.” He told you, gently stroking your cheek. “Thank you Raymond. Thank you so much!” “Of course Y/N. I promise you. I WILL get you out of here...”

And so, the two of you started planning. Planning on what to do, planning on how you’d do it. There was barely any time left for Raymond’s visits so he agreed to come back the next day. You and Audie waved goodbye to him as he entered the airplane and left the island. Audie grabbed your hand as she looked down at you. “Did you guys have fun? What did you guys talk about?” She was acting and talking very sweetly but you knew what that question meant. It wasn’t “I’m interested in what you discussed” it was “I’m paranoid and need to know what you were doing without me.” But by now you were used to these questions and knew how to get around them. “Oh you know, just life in general. He talked a little about how his island is going and I talked about my life. I told him about the delicious peach pie you made last week.” Any and all suspicion that Audie had melted away once you aged her a compliment. You knew that if you ever wanted to change the subject or get away with something, you needed to sprinkle in a compliment. And just like always, Audie let all of her guard down. “Aww! That’s so sweet of you! I love you so much!!!” And just like most times, she wrapped you up in a big hug. You tried to steady your breathing as you responded to her. “I love you to...” and you stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Audie released you. “Well I just wanted to say, this was the last visit! I’ve got so many Nook mile tickets now that I don’t even need any more! So you don’t have to interact with these weirdos anymore! And guess what? The first thing I’m gonna do is fix up our home. Maybe I can convince good old Tom Nook to give us that big Villa so we can live in the same house! Imagine it, we could hare the bed, I could hold you every night. We would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together! I could spend my mornings and nights with you! Oh just thinking about it is making me all giddy!”

As she said this, you could feel your whole body tense up. Your eyes went wide and you felt all the air escape your lungs. You wanted to cry, to scream, to yell out for help. But only meekly whimpers came out of your throat. “Oh darling, you’re so happy you can hardly breathe! Well don’t you worry dear. There’ll be plenty of celebration time later!” “N-N-NONONO! H-Hold up i-why...why can’t we celebrate a little tonight? W-why don’t I...sleep at your house tonight? I-I mean if we’re gonna sleep together, we might as well start getting more accustomed to it...” as you said this, you could see Audies face turn into a shade of dark red. It seemed the two of you had very different ideas of what you would be doing once you shared a bed. Of course, nothing happened later that night, just you asleep in Audies arms. Her grip on you was very strong. To get out, you had to slither your way away from her, it took about 30 minutes to do this as any time you made a slight movement, Audie started groaning and moving. You had to be careful, if she woke up it was game over. Once you were free of her grip, you carefully searched the whole room for her phone, making sure not to step on any creaking floor boards in the process. After about 3 minutes, you found it lying on the nightstand next to Audie. So carefully, you approached it and picked it up from the table. Now walking out of the room, preparing to rummage through it. You entered all messaging apps and looked through them all to find Raymond. Finally you found a conversation between Audie and Raymond on an app called “Discord”. You wasted no time, quickly typing in a message for him. You just hoped he would be awake at this time...

“Raymond? Is this you? It’s Y/N. I’ve taken Audies phone. She’s planning on stopping the visits and she’s gonna limit my freedom even further. Please I need your help.” As you sent this you felt even more panic rush over you. The reality of the situation hasn’t quite settled in yet but now? Now you truly realised what could happen if Raymond didn’t help you. Your hands started to shake and your eyes filled with tears, it was getting harder and harder to breathe quietly. You needed to get out of the house before Audie heard you! But just as you opened the door you could feel the phone vibrate. It was Raymond! Before you opened the text, you quickly went out of the house, making sure to carefully close the door. After that you ran towards the big fence, it was higher than your entire body. But you couldn’t stay here. Looking around you saw a tree stump with a sharp golden axe lodged into it. Should you? You have no other choice! So you ran towards the axe, picking it up with struggle. And then, with all your might, all the pent up fear and anger, you struck the fence with force. After maybe two swings you had broken up a small part that you could fit through. And so, you ran, you ran to the beach near dodo airlines. Picking up the phone to look at the new message.

“Y/N?”

“Okay calm down, we’ll figure this out...I made a promise to help you and I’ll be damned if I don’t keep that promise.”

“What if I double the amount of nmt to see you? Would that work?”

You thought about it. But no. Audie wouldn’t care. “No, that’s not gonna work, Audie probably has ten thousands of tickets by now...” And after about 20 seconds you got a reply. “I’ve got it! Why don’t you go to the dodo airport, open the gates and tell me the dodo code!” This....this could actually work! You wiped your tears away and quickly replied. “Yes! I’ll go do it right now!” And with that, you quickly ran into the dodo airlines. You asked Orville to open the gates and that you wanted visitors, and after a quick weird look he complied, telling you the dodo code. He was probably not used to villagers wanting to go but it wasn’t exactly any rules against it. You pulled out your phone to text Raymond, he had left a message to you. “Alright! Let me go to the airport!” You smiled to yourself as you read this. Is this it? Are you really gonna escape? You texted him back. “The dodo code is B2GT7.” And now you just had to wait. You sat down on one of the stools in the airport, twiddling your thumbs as you waited. But then. Something awful happened.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” You quickly turned around in shock to see the person you wanted to see the least. It was Audie, standing in the doorway. Her hair was disheveled and she looked this close to snapping. Your whole body started to shake more violently then it had ever done. “A-A-Audie?! I-I-I ca-an exp-plain!” You couldn’t keep your voice steady as you hastily backed up against Orvilles desk. Orville was looking at the both of you, very concerned but mostly scared. “YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OUT HERE!!! ESPECIALLY AT THE DODO AIRLINES! WERE YOU GONNA FLY AWAY AND LEAVE ME!!!!” Audie was now approaching you at a rapid pace. It didn’t take long before she was towering above you. “I really thought I could trust you Y/N! But it seems I’ve been giving you to much freedom. Until we get the shared house, you’re gonna be locked inside my house!” As she said this, she grabbed a hold of your arm and started dragging you

away, you were punching and trying to pry off her hand but it wouldn’t budge. Once you were outside of the airport Audie continued. “Maybe I’ll have to put the new basement to use. Yeah, until we get the shared house, you’ll be chained up in my basement. I can’t trust you on the main floors, they have windows and I wouldn’t want you to escape again!” Once you heard this, adrenaline kicked in to the max. You used all your strength to kick Audie in the shin. She instantly released you to grab her leg. Letting out strings of grunts and curse words. You tried to run back to the airport again but Audie tripped you and grabbed your legs. Now dragging you back to the house. You tried to grab onto anything, digging your nails into the ground. But nothing slowed her down, she was determined to take you with her. So you cried out for help. Hoping that someone, ANYONE would hear.

And just then you could hear footsteps approaching and Audie letting out a grunt. Suddenly, her grip on your feet released and you could hear a big thud. Turning around, looking back, you could see Raymond. He was leaning over Audie, two hands pressed against her throat. He was strangling her! You quickly ran up to him and tried to pry him off. “Raymond no! Stop! Please stop!” He looked at you, hate in his eyes, yet none of that hate directed at you. You gave him a pleading look. And so, Raymond stood up. Taking his hands off her throat. Audie immediately started to cough, desperately trying to get air back into her lungs after it being forced out. Raymond wasted no time however. Grabbing your hand and running off to the airport. He slammed his hands onto the desk that’s Orville say by. “TAKE US AWAY FROM HERE! NOW!!!”

The flight home was very quiet. Neither of you wanted to bring up what happened before you left. Raymond felt ashamed over himself. He decided to try to break the silence. “Listen I-“ “you tried to kill her...” He didn’t know how to respond in a way that wouldn’t make him sound like a psycho. “...yeah...I did...I’m...im sorry Y/N. I tried to stop myself, but right then, that moment. When I saw how horrified you looked...I guess the adrenaline took over...a-and I know that’s not a valuable excuse! I know that! What I did was inexcusable! But...I don’t know, I guess I just lost control...” as he said this, you leaned your head against his shoulder. “I don’t care what happens to Audie. I care about what COULD have happened to you. What if she got loose and attacked you?! What if someone saw it and called reinforcement!? Do you really think I’m worth going to jail for!?” You turned around to look at him as you said this. There were tears flowing through your eyes. Raymond cupped your cheeks with his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away your tears. He looked into your eyes and leaned closer, kissing your forehead. “You’re worth dying for Y/N...”

After maybe 2 minutes of flying you finally arrived at Raymonds island. Salamacis. You always liked that name and this would be the first time you ever visited Salamacis. The island was still very bright. It appeared to be around 5pm at the island when you arrived, and as the plane flew closer to the ground you could see the decor of Salamacis. It was beautiful, the entire island was decorated in a very classical manner. The ground was covered with stone paths except for the flower gardens full of white and black flowers. There were full of zen gardens everywhere, In fact the whole place screamed of “Zen”. It was very nice. You could also see the occasional islander running around. Some of them saw the plane and waived, some of them even ran after the plane. And sure enough, as you and Raymond walked out of the airplane, A small group of villagers had gathered around you. They all looked curiously at you. Your grip on Raymond’s hand tightened, but Raymond stroked it gently with his thumb, trying to calm you down. He let go as he walked toward them all, with you following behind him. “Everyone! This is my friend Y/N! She’s going to be living here from now on! I want you all to treat her with respect and kindness. As she is a new addition to the family.” Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before a small rabbit ran up to you. She was black with a few white spots here and there and had a black tuff of hair on her head right between her ears. She was wearing a black box skirt uniform and a black beret. “Hello! I’m Mari! Welcome to Salamacis! You’re Y/N huh? We’ve heard so much about you! If you want we can give you an island tour!” “Yeah! Let’s give them a tour!” “Follow us!” They all said as they ran away, you felt much easier as you ran after them. But you stopped midway and ran to Raymond. “Thank you Raymond. Thank you for everything.” And with that, you gave him a quick pick on the cheek and ran after the others. You got a feeling that you were gonna enjoy it here. Meanwhile, Raymond was standing by the airport wide eyed and blushing like crazy.

“So we don’t actually have an open plot for you to live in...so you’re gonna have to sleep in my house.” Raymond said as he led you up the stairs to the bedroom. “I know that it sucks that you just got out of the Audie situation and now still have to share house with someone, but don’t worry! I’m gonna sleep downstairs on the couch!” As he said this, you two arrived in the main bedroom. Just the mere sight of it made you let out a small “woah” to which Raymond laughed slightly. He thought your amazement was adorable. The room had a king sized bed in the middle, with a big fluffy rug under it. You went up to it and sat on the bed. The blanket was made with a soft material and the mattress was so comfortable that you practically fell into it once you sat down on it. You immediately laid down, basking in the comfortable material as you stretched. “So, again, if you need anything, and I mean ANYTHING, feel free to come down and ask. Alright? Goodnight Y/N.” And so, as you got down under the blanket, Raymond turned to walk down the stairs. “A-Actually Raymond? There is one thing I wanted to ask...” as you said this, Raymond made a total 180 and looked at you. “Yeah?” “Would you...would you sleep with me tonight?” Once you asked this, Raymond’s eyes went wide, it looked like there was about a thousand thoughts going through his head. “Y-yeah! Of course!” And so, he walked up to you. Lifting up the blanket and laid next to you. You crawled up to him, embracing him. And he did the same, he was wearing a silk rope with some imperial print. It felt very comfortable. You rubbed your face against him, feeling yourself drift off to sleep. “Goodnight Raymond....I love you...” and just like that. You were out like a candle. Raymond felt his heart beat faster. You...loved him?

“...hhhehheh....hehehe, oh Y/N...” Raymond laughed quietly to himself. He had you, he finally had you! After months of searching! After thousands of Nook mile tickets! At first, he just wanted one of you. But when he found out that you were the original you! That made him interested in you specifically. And that interest only grew and grew until it became a monster-like obsession. He wanted you, he needed you. He was gonna do everything it took to get you. When he attacked Audie, he went in full intention to murder her. Such a disgusting individual! How dare she treat you like nothing but a mere pet! Raymond felt ashamed for what he did, not because he regretted it, but because he did it in front of you. You should never have had to see that side of him. But not to worry, you would never ever HAVE to see him like that again! Now that you lived here with him there was nothing that could come between you and him! He was gonna treat you so much better than Audie did. You would be allowed to walk around freely! Talk to anyone you wanted! Dress in any way you wished! If he found you at the Ables sisters and you wanted the 1 000 000 bell crown? He would buy it! No questions asked! He would even let YOU decide where to place your house once you got it! ...but there’s no rush. If he could have you like this, next to him, for a few more weeks...maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing...he knew that he would eventually have to let you move out into your own home. After all, he just said that he wouldn’t be like Audie. But maybe a little bit more time with you wouldn’t hurt. You wouldn’t mind! The proof was right in his arms. He didn’t even suggest that he slept next to you, yet you still asked for it! And you said you loved him! Oh you were gonna be so happy here! He was gonna make sure of that. He’s your friend. Your saviour. The one who’ll always be there. The one who’ll always have time for you.

The one who rescued you.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Oh was this a shitpost idea? How about I turn it into a 6 0 0 0 W O R D F I C ? No but for real. This is probably one of my favorite ones. It was such an interesting idea and like...I got so much inspiration. Also sorry to the anon that wanted a wholesome happy ending. It’s more of a bittersweet ending. But if you feel bad for Y/N, I don’t think Raymond is gonna do anything since Y/N is pretty much in love with him. There. Happy ending! So yeah...more Raymond :D wooo! Hope y’all are hungry because I am serving some food! This time featuring friends as the villagers beck didn’t want to come up with villagers myself!

[blonde-toddy]

Random and Not So Random thoughts while watching Bridgerton: Season 1, Episode 4

Oh they're at court.

Also she's not a commoner. She's the daughter of a Viscount.

Another Daphne brag moment, but homegirl really got the juice. She's bagging mfs over hand holding and dancing.

Violet dgaf. She's hungry now, damn it!

Oh he's buying jewelry already.

Ooooooh the way she imagines the Duke behind her. Honey yes. That scene was hot.

Too bad she came back to reality.

Hyacinth is my spirit animal.

Lady Whistledown ain't ready to write Simon off yet. She's waiting on the Dukes Hail Mary.

Shit. So am I.

I have never seen someone look so depressed in such an exquisite piece of jewelry. It's like the necklace chokes her. Testament to the acting and script for that though. It truly represents a trap.

Awww Simon is wearing that heavy bag out. I would say poor Simon, but he made this damn bed.

I love Alice and Will. They are the kind of wholesome love I need to keep my heart steady watching this damn show. She's his rider and I love it.

Alice roasting Simon over Daphne. Get. Yo. Girl. Mane.

I always cringe when a man tells a woman to smile.

Poor Marina. Portia is determined to find her the oldest mf. She's playing smart though.

Those damn dingbat sisters.

Maybe Penelope does care.

Well at least the least mean sister got a caller. They're awkward/cute.

Eloise girl, I love feathers in hair. Your one dimensional preaching is wearing me out again.

A boxing match date? I'd be down.

The prince legit seems like a nice guy. And Daphne is trying....but she's CLEARLY hung up on Simon.

Oh look Simon's losing focus on his friend because he's too focused on Daphne and the prince.

Ok mf! Take that shit off and roll them sleeves up. It turns me on too sis!

Oh look at the sweet family talk with the prince. Girl he'd give you any and everything you wanted.

But you and the Duke are just ATE TF UP about each other!

Mondrich for the win!!!!

Oh Benny. You've got a new friend. But what kind of friend? Give me more of this.

Well Anthony is smug and pleased as punch. Simons courtship of Daphne has ended. She has her perfect suitor. And Simon is leaving England to go rake and fuckboy about.

Though Simons hard slammed shot when the prince approached says he's anything but happy.

Violet always worries about the wrong shit.

Hyacinth always wants to know the good shit.

Be Hyacinth.

Oh fuck the prince is ready to propose. That shit escalated quickly.

SIMON!!!!!! Now would be a good time for that Hail Mary.

Good job Anthony. Way to realize that the women in your life have agency over THEMSELVES.

Violet always beating around the damn bush.....but she is still 100% #teamduke

Aw Daphne you're gonna break down snitching on yourself.

If it wasn't real with Simon you wouldn't be so ate up about it, and you would be rocking tf out of that necklace from the prince instead of crying.

There's a reason for the black in her outfit. For Daphne, who is normally all pastel blues, that black is her mourning. It's her 'attempting' to put to death her feelings for the Duke. And also I think mourning the loss if the bond they shared. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But this seems like a very deliberate show with it's details.

Danbury ripping Simon open before she sends him off. Big energy.

She knows everything you thick headed mf. Why won't you just listen?! You letting your rank ass daddy live rent free in your soul.

He's so jaded it hurts.

Ayyyye this Trowbridge party looks like the real deal.

Oh gawd. Marina and the old man.

Mr. Finch and the cheese frock. Jesus who wrote this. I love it

Cressida you have been Daphnes biggest hater all season and now you're mad that she's with the prince. He was never gonna marry yo basket headed ass anyway.

Oooooh shit Simon sees the 'intimate painting' and has 2nd thoughts.

Go. Get. Yo. Girl.......Bitch.

Ooooh Benny's at the new homies spot and it's lit!

Naked models, easels, mingling between the classes. Yes indeed.

2nd sons having fun. Hell yes.

Damn Even Sienna at the ball...as a performer of course.

And Anthony looking tongue tied.

Violet....you need to chill. There take another sip.

Portia trying to shade Lady Trowbridges style is comical. Both of y'all bitches gaudy as hell.

Oh shit Phillipa lost her man.

Wtf is wrong with Lord Featherington?

And wtf are you doing Eloise?

Ayyye she just let her have it. You think servants have the time to be Lady Whistledown? I'm dead.

"Get out."

Ok Penelope with your saucy ass.

Well fuck! You just pushed him right to Marina. You played yourself boo.

Oooh the prince is about to shoot the big shot and Daphne keeps running away.

She done spotted Simon. Its over.

Fuck off Cressida.

Rip that mf necklace off girl.

Simon followed her ass outside.

"Miss Bridgerton." Motherfucker, call her Daphne.

"I came to say goodbye." Man. Go to hell.

Daphne serving those barbs. You not ready to keep playing with her.

Damn, Simon. If you're not gonna give her what she wants, get out the way.

Tell his ass sis.....even if you don't believe it yourself.

Really Simon? You stand there quiet as a mf church mouse whiles she's pleading with you to say something.....then you take off after her once she walks away from your shit

I swear.....men.....yall mfs really do shit like this. Speak up! Or...LET. ME. GO.

She's really cracking on his ass and I'm here for it....but wtf us up with his "I forbid you." Who tf are you to me? I'm glad she ain't playing with his ass.

Ooooh he called her Daphne and grabbed her.

Oh honey this is what fulfillment feels like, isn't it?

He's definitely fulFILLing her all the way up!

Oh shit Anthony caught them.

At least he finally landed some decent blows on Simon.

This RAKE ass mf still won't marry her.

Oh Simon.....for once.....Anthony is in the right and you the wrong. You are really about to die over your fucking daddy issues. Boy bye. Again.

Poor Daphne.

Wait, how did Cressida know she was in the garden?

That can't be good.

At least Benny is having a good time.

Dearest Portia, when you go looking for shit, it usually falls in your lap.

Marina keeps carrying on about Colin and Penelope is crushed.....or scheming....or both.

Aww Penelope let her hurt feelings cause a fight with her bestie. Her jealousy is seething.

Daphne still out here having to educate Anthony....though I get the need for the duel. And he still thinks he's running something.

Ooooh this is why they brought up 2nd sons.....Anthony is prepping Benny to take over. Well Benny, at least you had one good night out.

Colin caring for drunk Violet is parenting goals one day.

Oh great, now yall wanna bring Colin into the shit.

Simon raiding Wills spot for booze was so uneccesarily loud.

So Berbrooke alludes to her dishonor and Simon caves his fucking head in. Simon legit dishonors her and he's just like ,"Kay, guess I'll go get shot now." Someone get this man some therapy.

Oh great Anthony is back at Siennas door with more of his bullshit. Girl. Close that door.

No, not after you've let him in and climbed his torso. I guess y'all fuckin again.

He lost all the money and now he's fucked up.

Her face while he cried, is literally the face of every woman sick of a mediocre man's shit.

Oooh now they're all riding off into battle like the fucking idiots they are.

Colin is so pure.

I knew that Cressida shit would come back.

Well at least Anthony was willing to care for Sienna in his death....but damn mf, treat me right while WE'RE here.

Oh the dramatics of drawing a gun.

Nobody is here for Simon's weak ass apologies and I'm okay with that.

Hurry hurry Daphne.

Daphne down....but she's alright.

Call them idiots just like they are.

Simon still being a hoe about this shit. You really about let her be ostracized because you're a fuck boy.

Ultimate fuck boy line...I can't be with you because I love you too much. Fucking hell.

They do obviously love each other though.

Hold up.......you CAN NEVER, or WILL NEVER give her children. Don't play this like you have a reproductive issue.

So your reason for not marrying her is that you "can never" give her children and you know that's what her heart desires.

You playing with fire, Simon.

I wonder how much shit I let slide with his character just because he's portrayed so well by the phenomenal Regé-Jean Page.

No, I do love Simon's damaged ass. He just makes me so mad.

So the duel resumes......or not.

Daphne said, "Fuck them kids, give me my husband." Or something like that.

Well. This us an uncomfortable arrangement even though both of these idiots are in love.

Simon's evasion will most certainly come back to bite him in the ass.

But I'll be here with my popcorn and tissue, rooting for these cool kids to make it!