#i hate that new rarity so damn much

[stargazeraldroth]

Hot Take: If Black Pearl Cookie Shouldn’t Be A Legendary Because She’s Not An Elemental, Then Neither Should Timekeeper Cookie

So idk if this opinion is very popular still or anything like that, but I genuinely don’t understand why people have such an issue with Frost Queen Cookie and Black Pearl Cookie being Legendaries? Like I get the whole thing about the Elementals and all, but if being an Elemental Guardian or whatever they’re called is the criteria for being a Legendary, then how do you explain characters like the Dragons, Dark Enchantress Cookie, and Timekeeper Cookie?

Btw this is just a ranting post, it’s not meant to be taken too seriously!!! I’m not trying to offend anyone with this, I’m just tired of people harshly criticizing the new Legendaries in Kingdom and calling them “fillers” when that same logic applies to Ovenbreak’s Legendaries. I feel like Tumblr’s a relatively chill and safe place when it comes to sharing opinions, at least safer and more open-minded than TikTok seems to be, so I thought I’d voice my input here. There’s a TLDR at the end.

At the very least, Frost Queen Cookie has known relevancy to the Elemental Guardians as she’s one herself, she’s just Kingdom-exclusive (and with how many Ovenbreak-exclusive characters there are right now, I feel there’s zero reason to complain about this or use it as an argument). You can argue that the Dragons are something of Elementals themselves, but they’re really just like Beasts of Old or something. I don’t know how applicable this is to Ovenbreak Legendaries, but according to the CRK wiki (and yes I’m aware it’s fandom-run and therefore not 100% reliable in interpretations), Legendaries are defined by their god-like statuses and immense influence over Earthbread. Now, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the Legendaries who aren’t Elementals.

1. The Dragons. The Dragons are listed as Legendaries in Ovenbreak, but they’re given the unique rarity of ‘Dragon’ in Kingdom (which I think is complete bs but that’s not the point). The Dragons themselves aren’t Elementals, at least to my knowledge, they DO however have god-like statuses (just look at Longan. Literally just look at Longan Dragon), immense amounts of power, and have a lot of influence over Earthbread’s history. Therefore, they’re deserving of a Legendary status.

2. Dark Enchantress Cookie. The main antagonist of Kingdom (and possibly Ovenbreak? I haven’t seen much Cookies of Darkness content for that game yet, so I’ll mostly be focusing on CRK). You could potentially argue that her status comes from being the reborn version of White Lily Cookie, but the Ancient Heroes are directly connected to the Elements or anything just because they have Soul Jam. Let’s look at some of Dark Enchantress Cookie’s accomplishments throughout CRK’s storyline so far;

- Unleashed havoc on the Night of the Witches and presumably killed at least some Witches, beings who were known to be incredibly powerful and were worshipped as gods by Cookiekind. This is essentially the Cookie Run equivalent of slaughtering gods.

- Waged a war against just about all of Earthbread, or at least the kingdom run by the Ancients, single-handedly causing one of the biggest tragedies in Earthbread’s history. The Dark Flour War not only brought an entire era to an end, but it completely changed the course of Earthbread. Like, the only reason the Crème Republic exists in the way it does is because of Dark Enchantress Cookie declaring war against everyone. And from the looks of it, we’re going to be getting a Dark Flour War 2 (Electric Boogaloo: The Sequel No One In Earthbread Wanted) in future updates of Kingdom.

- Defeated all five of the Ancient Heroes in a battle. You can argue that she had the Cake Witch with her, but these are the five Ancients who were presumably at their peak state during this battle. Still, you could probably argue that there’s a weird situation with White Lily Cookie in this scene, but even then, that’s four Ancient Heroes who are presumably at their peak state.

I was also gonna bring up how the Soul Jam got shattered/scattered at the climax of the Dark Flour War, but I honestly don’t know if Dark Enchantress Cookie did that or if Pure Vanilla Cookie did that when he sealed her away, so I’m not gonna use that as a point. But regardless, literally the whole Night of the Witches situation and the Dark Flour War makes her one of the most important figures in Earthbread’s history. Dark Enchantress Cookie is a TOP example of a Cookie who deserves the Legendary rarity without being connected to the Elements.

3. Timekeeper Cookie. I don’t know Timekeeper’s canon pronouns off the top of my head, so I’ll be using they/them. Feel free to inform me on those. But anyway, Timekeeper Cookie literally has no connection to the Elements. There isn’t even anything you can argue about this. Their control and mastery over time comes from their Sonic Embroider, which is an invention. It’s not an inherent power or anything. Because in order for Timekeeper Cookie to have a connection to the Elements, Croissant Cookie needs a connection to the Elements. I feel like their status as a Legendary also comes from their role as the Director of the Time Balance Department, and the way Timekeeper SEEMS like a God of Time or something. But they’re not. However, we can’t turn a blind eye to the god-like status and power they do have.

4. Black Pearl Cookie. My god, the amount of times I’ve seen people call Black Pearl a “filler” or “false” Legendary is insane. And the arguments I’ve always seen, or the ones I remember anyway, all boil down to her not being an Elemental. Again, that’s a flimsy argument considering Timekeeper Cookie’s a Legendary without being an Elemental. Black Pearl Cookie at least has some association with an actual element, which is water, being a mermaid and all. Besides, Black Pearl Cookie is literally the subject of a legend in the CRK world, which is what her and Captain Caviar Cookie’s whole update was about. The Black Pearl Islands and Duskgloom Sea, which are like her “kingdom”, can be considered the Bermuda Triangle of the CRK world. We see in the event itself that she’s capable of growing to a gargantuan size and is responsible for sinking countless ships that entered her territory. Something I’ve noticed about the Elementals is that they all have some kind of myth or legend surrounding them, like the City of Wizards being one of the Seven Mysteries of Earthbread (or whatever Wizard Cookie said), the Millennial Tree itself being viewed as a sacred tree of Earthbread, and Frost Queen Cookie being known as the Frost Witch in the myth at Cotton Cookie’s village. Black Pearl Cookie is incredibly powerful and is the legit subject of an existing legend in the CRK world, so why wouldn’t she have the Legendary status?

Idk, it just feels hypocritical when people bash Kingdom’s Legendaries when their arguments can apply to Ovenbreak’s Legendaries as well. But for some reason, Ovenbreak’s Legendaries get passes because they’re the OGs or whatever? You can’t bash Black Pearl Cookie for not being an Elemental Cookie when Timekeeper is right there. And I absolutely love Timekeeper, they’re on of my favorites, but if being an Elemental is the criteria for being a Legendary, then they shouldn’t be a Legendary.

TLDR: Legendary Cookies aren’t solely Elemental Guardians. There are Legendaries who aren’t Elementals. And if Black Pearl Cookie’s a “filler” Legendary for not being an Elemental, then some of Ovenbreak’s are “filler” Legendaries by those standards as well and don’t deserve the rarity.

[roxannarambles]

Finally finished playing Legends: Arceus-- the main storyline, at least, I have not completed the full Dex, but I did everything else. Some thoughts below.

So, there's a lot this game has going for it. There are lots of lovely natural environments to run around in and explore, and the pokemon really do feel integrated into a complete world, full of personality and ways of interacting with them you just don't get in other games. The controls feel good, the mounts are very fun to use, the aesthetic is on point, and the story's pretty fun. Crafting is a neat addition to the game, there's plenty of side-quests, and there's some interesting new battle mechanics. Overall, they switch things up from the mainline games and try a lot of new things, which I do commend them for.

But, um. Here's the thing. I really hate the gameplay, for the most part. Which is why I bought the game and really, really wanted to enjoy it, and I tried several times to play through, but each time I got so intensely bored I just couldn't go through with it. Don't get me wrong, catching pokemon and using berries and stun items and other stuff feels good, and it feels fun. For like, the first hour. But you have to keep doing it.

Over and over and over.

I just don't enjoy catching a billion pokemon and grinding out other research tasks, like beating up on wild pokemon in various ways, using a specific move a certain number of times, etc. It's so mindless and dull and grindy and boring. You know how PokemonGo is mostly just . . . catching pokemon? Yeah. That gets old, I hate that. I can see how it's just chill and relaxing for some people, but it just isn't for me. I did my damned best to get into it, I promise, but I never did. It was a slog the whole way.

I tried to make it more interesting to me by doing a "bug only challenge." I was only allowed to catch and use bug types, the whole game. (The exceptions are plot-required catches: namely, the Tutorial pokemon and a Dusknoir at some point in the main storyline) And it . . . was sorta nice, I guess? But it didn't do much to make it more fun to me. In some ways it made it even more of a slog since it's harder to earn Star Ranks when you're severely limiting the species you catch. Still, I'm kinda proud I was able to do it, I guess?

Trainer battles in the game are frustrating, too, due to their rarity. You do have battles in the game, and new battle mechanics to try out, too, which gives you a desire to have battles-- especially since it can break up the monotonous research tasks. However, battles are so incredibly rare, and typically incredibly, incredibly easy and are over in almost an instant. You never get to really use the pokemon you've trained. And I get it, the emphasis of the game is research, not battling, since battling is still in its infancy in this era. It still feels frustrating though. I craved battles.

I didn't get to ever feel attached to my team, either. Since most of the game involves research tasks, a lot of those tasks involve battling against wild pokemon. If I used my main team for all that, they'd get way overlevelled in a hurry. So I was always using different individuals. I hardly ever saw my main team, so I did not get the chance to bond with them emotionally-- especially since we rarely had trainer battles anyway.

I didn't feel attached to most of the characters in the game either, to be frank. This isn't any fault of the writing, I actually think the writing was very strong in this game, this is more of just a personal preference. The Pokemon Professor is fine enough, but I never got over the disgusting pube-hair look he has going on his face (I am allowed to dislike characters for shallow reasons, okay). Rei was okay, but I certainly didn't feel fond over him. The leaders of the Pearl and Diamond clans were okay I guess, but the 'arguments' about time and space were so fucking stupid and took up most their screen time, so it kind of ruins them. I just, I dunno, I didn't feel strongly about any of them.

Except for Volo. I always liked him. (The moment I saw him I hoped he was a butch lesbian and got all excited. When I found out he was a dude I was a bit disappointed but oh well, he's still pretty) He was friendly and charismatic and I appreciated his curiosity and his wanderer's spirit.

It's a shame I didn't play and finish the game when I first bought it, because then I might not have been spoiled to Volo's little twist at the end. But, finding out Volo's heavy involvement in the game and the twist at the end was what motivated me to bother finishing the game, so. There's that. I really don't think anything else would have motivated me, because the gameplay was just such a slog for me.

I am glad I bothered to finish the main story, though. It was interesting. I do love the premise of people being very wary and frightened of pokemon and exploring that kind of world. Portraying pokemon in a scarier role was a bold move for the franchise and I love them exploring that side. I LOVE pokemon chasing after you and attacking you directly and the 'alpha' pokemon mechanic and the spookiness of it all. And the story is honestly a neat one. The idea of MC being displaced in time and space and having to work for their room and board has a cozy-survival feel to it, and the deep mistrust of everyone and slowly earning their respect was interesting. Although I did feel actively annoyed that no matter how much work I did, and how many requests I fulfilled, people still often treated me with mistrust. But I think that was the point, to be honest!

When you quell the final Noble and the sky goes boom, that's when things get truly fun, though. I love that Kamado turns on you, which was not too surprising since he'd been one of the ones who really banged on and on about mistrusting you the most. I LOVE the short scene of showing you being walked out of the village as you're banned. I LOVED the feeling of being suddenly on your own, and I LOVE that both Pearl and Diamond clans turned their backs on you so that they wouldn't risk war with Galaxy. And who is there when you have no one else to turn to, alone in the wilderness, when you need a friend the most?

Volo.

He brings you to Cogita, where she fulfills the heavy burden of Exposition Lady. The years of bearing that burden of Exposition have turned her tired and a little snippy, apparently (in truth she's only snippy with Volo, and I think it's because she senses a bad aura, but from an innocent standpoint it seems needlessly snippy, since Volo's Mask is a genuinely nice guy and he's given a nearly flawless performance). I don't know if Cogita was even needed for the story, since Volo's specialty is myth research and he could have easily given us that exposition and also given us a neutral ground to shelter at while the other clans turned their backs on us. But whatever, they wanted a Cynthia ancestor, I can understand that. Dang her house was pretty to look at, and the music there was great. They really put effort into that part.

And then you go and forge the red chain and climb the mountain and . . . potato guy? Why are you here? Oh, he's randomly a ninja. Actually, that part was hilarious and I loved it, I had a grudge against Beni the ENTIRE game because he didn't want to serve me his stupid mochi, so I was so excited to kick his ass. And the extra lore was nice, not to mention the extremely rare chance to have a battle. Anyway, after that, you battle the boss and then take care of the scary Legendary pokemon and all that jazz, and the story . . . ends. Rather abruptly, to be honest. It felt a bit sudden, as if Act 2 was cut a little short. I think it's because the post-game is still what you'd call the main story. Post-game content normally is extra, bonus stuff, but man, if you skip the post-game plot in Arceus, you'll be missing a whole chunk of actual story. Tbh I think they shouldn't have rolled credits 'til the end of the Volo battle, but that's nitpicking. Besides, it amuses me to think some people stopped after the credits and never learned the truth about Volo, which is just a hilarious thought.

Act 3 takes place after a festival celebrating the fact MC saved the world and the Diamond and Pearl clans no longer need to fight (sadly, we don't get to see the festival though!! other than a tiny photo in the credits!) It's pretty short and mostly running around doing errands involving facing off against legendaries and mythicals; the most satisfying errand was a rematch with Kamado because it was a trainer battle aaaaaa!! So few of those. And then we climb the mountain again because Volo, um, really wants to meet the creator's 'unwanted child' for some reason . . . sounds like a good idea right??

The battle with him was fun. Having Cynthia's banger theme was hype, didn't expect it. I was doing the bug challenge run, my team was levels ~60-65, and I beat him on my first go, down to my last pokemon, Heracross on full health.

And then he brings out Giratina without letting me heal. Ahaha, uhhm.

Thankfully I had a lot of Max Revives stuffed in my bag which I FINALLY had a use for. The second phase for Giratina was not expected, so that was a fun surprise, but I scraped by on a few more max revives and careful juggling, and we won. (I dunno what happens once you meet Arceus itself, because I think I need to 100% the Dex for that to happen, but presumably our character can finally return home.)

Was it a good game? Yes, objectively speaking, definitely. I think Legends: Arceus was a very strong game. The writing was very good, and that's a precious rarity in Pokemon games. The world itself was carefully designed, polished, pretty, and felt like truly exploring nature and encountering pokemon, in a unique and refreshing way. The gameplay tried something very new and it generally implemented its intentions very well-- it felt fun to control the character, to throw pokeballs, to craft and collect items, to use mounts, and go up against the Nobles. The story and the universe cast pokemon in an exciting new perspective.

It's just a shame that a million grindy research tasks are so utterly boring to carry out, because the main thrust of the game and what you spend the most time on just plain sucked for me to do. So much so, that I did not enjoy most of my experience playing this game. But oh well, what can you do?

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

@sohereswhatyoumissedlastweek replied to your post “remember when in idk 2008 you could just go to the...”:

Crazy right? That's also why I was so surprised Santa Monica Studio released a FREE dlc for God of War Ragnarok. And it's a damn good dlc too. It's surprising not to see greed for once

​I have so much to say about gamers and capitalism. As in, I find it kind of baffling how everyone not only seems to accept the new practices (which, to be fair, I get, because what can consumers do against big companies?), but also that people seem to be excited about these new shitty ass business models.

Ine, buckle up. I have a lot to say.

For example, I am beyond pleased that Tears of the Kingdom has no DLC, and people find that weird. How can I be pleased? Don't I want more Tears of the Kingdom??? I mean, yeah, kinda, but I am a huge fan of having things be finished and the devs say it's finished. I only have one thing I really, really miss, but I am content with the game. And in a world where DLCs are nowadays announced even before the game is released, it's a fresh breath of fucking air (of the wild, badum tsssssss-). It's honestly sad that Tears of the Kingdom not having pre-determined DLC is a rarity. Back when the first triple A games started pulling this shit, people were angry and understandably so. The devs basically say "Hey, we're going to release an unfinished product and you gotta pay more to get the full deal!" and people used to hate that, but now it's a common practise.

So yeah, Nintendo gets an A+ for NOT announcing Tears of the Kingdom DLC.

Because I like DLC. I think DLC can be good. Splatoon 2 DLC is amazing. Mario Kart 8 DLC is amazing, but that's because they give a lot of new stuff years after the initial release, so it actually feels like it adds something! The devs didn't have to do it, but they did. But Splatoon 3 also has pre-determined DLC now and not only that, it comes in waves, which is also a new common thing. And interestly enough, there also seems to be a trend where the first wave of DLC is bad (Pokémon, Splatoon 3, Fae Farm...) (Heck, I initally was even excited about the idea of standard Pokémon DLC, since it beats the previous 3rd game model, but this is also not going well.)

This is why I wouldn't mind if, for example, two years later the Tears of the Kingdom devs change their mind and announce DLC anyway. The problem nowadays is just the pre-determined DLC.

And as you said, DLC can just be free. I, for example, respect ConcernedApe so much for making all Stardew Valley updates entirely free, and he added A LOT. All of 1.4 had the multiplayer stuff and 1.5 had basically a whole new post-game that took hours. And 1.6 is also shaping up to add cool stuff. FOR FREE.

I don't mind paying for DLC as long as it is good and doesn't feel greedy af. But also, it feels like you cannot get around it, because I am genuinely interested in Splatoon 3 DLC wave 2, especially since I know the devs can deliver (see Splatoon 2 DLC). I just wish they had approached it differently. But DLC has become greedy, from pre-determined DLC, to bad DLC, to whatever the fuck the Sims 4 is doing.

But this is just DLC. It feels like DLC is a hit or miss: it CAN be good, it CAN be amazing, even. But then we get shit like pay-to-win and whales and microtransactions. I saw in a video from BeatEmUps that even full price games now have additional microtransactions, which is wild. Woods BeatEmUps rightfully calls it out, but I am afraid this is the next step in the industry. The idea of microtransactions is that they are part of the "free-to-play" model, which is unfortunately also a thing studios are prioritising. I paid €4 for Good Pizza, Great Pizza without microtransactions. I could've played it for free on mobile, but then I have microtransactions. I have seen people online say they spent over $50 on it, and that's little. I once asked my friend who plays Genshin whether she spent more than €60 (which is the sale price these days) on that game, and she said "Yeah, definitely" and got a wake-up call. But this is also why Good Pizza, Great Pizza hasn't been updated on the Switch since 2021. I am missing the majority of the game and obv the devs aren't going to prioritise Switch players, since we don't pay them more additional money.

Oh, and the idea that you need an account for everything to even start a game. I was excited to try Fall Guys until I realised it was literally unplayable without an account. There's even a move to being constantly online to even launch a game, which... what the FUCK? Especially with cloudstreaming games etc. If I own a game, I want to be able to play it when I want. That shouldn't be a big thing to ask. Cause... what does it add? With Palia, it allows cross-play, so there it might be a good trade-off and I am actually considering getting an account. But with Palia, you can also play it without it! Here, an account is purely optional and it actually has a function.

"But doesn't Nintendo have an account?" yes, same thing. I have my games linked to my Nintendo account for cloud saving, but it isn't a must to play the games. Although, surprise surprise, I do pay an annual subscription for it, BECAUSE THAT'S ALSO PART OF IT. Sigh. Really. Splatoon 3. Really. I love you. But come on. On paper, it's €60 + €25 + annual €20 (or higher*) to even properly play that game! You don't even pay for a server. You pay for your own wifi. 3DS and Wii U and DS had its own Nintendo servers for FREE. And sure, they are gone now since Nintendo stopped support, so that might be the new trade-off, but still, if I am in a place without great wifi, I cannot play the game I paid €85 for and where I pay €10(*) a year for to play.

(* because you can also get NSO+ for €50, BUT you can also be part of a family plan, which is why I only pay €10 for NSO+, but not everyone can do that.)

Cause I know someone who has over 100 hours on Super Mario Maker, but as he said, the fun is in the online mode and he no longer has NSO, so he stopped playing entirely, and that was his only game on Switch. Luckily, there are still plenty of games that don't need online features, BUT AGAIN, I won't be surprised if the industry starts prioritising them since they will make them more money.

UUUUUUUUGH. I JUST HATE THE PAY-WALLING OF PREVIOUSLY FREE STUFF. I LOVE VIDDY GAMES, BUT VIDDY GAMES DO NOT LOVE ME.

[hotgirlshart]

u could never convince me to like bugs so sorry dni if ur spreading ur bug loving agenda to me like don’t shove it in my face becuase i have been traumatized and miraculously tortured by bugs. everytime i pee after dark i run the risk of encountering a giant roach. my apartment is roach infested by normally its small tolerable ones and i just scream and stare. recently these roachs have been GIANT. and they only come out while i am trying my best to wash my face and brush my teeth. today i will be sleeping without washing my face and brushing my teeth (a rarity because i am in fact mentally ill and violently anti germs) because there is a roach that is genuinely biggest than the palm of my hand. my dad was scared of it as it loomed over us on the ceiling of the bathroom dwarfing the light under it. this monster was incapable of dying. my dads natural response to this eldritch horror was to grab ever windex bottle he could find and spray the shit out of the roach. the roach turned white and it still moved. after multiple rounds of windex, the damn thing started moving and it fell. i watched it fall and i screamed and ran and i refuse to enter the bathroom until its carcass has been recovered. i will never support the reproduction and existence of roaches regardless of how many people love to try and liken my adorable cats to these heinous stalkers and how "all creature deserve love". i choose what i want to love and i cannot bring myself to choose to love trespassing criminals who violate my personal space and make me sob.

i hate pretentious people (my middle school best friend) who go to new york once and now spend the rest of their life telling everyone that they are so chill about roaches because “you just have to be in new york” and “it’s so much worst in new york”. have you considered shutting up? have you considered that maybe u don’t say this to someone who has actively had to deal with a roach infested apartment since birth who has clearly “never gotten over roaches” or does not give a single fuck about how bad it is in new york? maybe consider that no one fucking cares that you have a stupid superiority complex because you lived in a nice none roach infested duplex that had a fucking dining room and has such a minimal roach experience that was limited to your short time in new york. hope this helps!

i really really really hate bugs. and i carry a lot of resentment in my heart. it’s also 2:18 and im really sad about my poor nonbrushed teeth and my poor unwashed hair and i keep feeling roachs crawl on me.

[descentintosiblingcon]

Chapter 1: Prologue

(Underage cheesecake as a spread...yup, we're in for it.)

To start with, there are these players/things known as [.hackers] and hackers, being a mythical concept, are believed by Shugo, our dual sword wielding co-protagonists, to be a legend. But his sister Rena, our heavy swordswoman other co-protagonist, has to explain that they are a legendary team of great warriors. Shugo, having an actual goddamn legend confirmed before his ears, couldn't care less. Then again, it's not so much confirmed as it is "his sister said they're totes for real, yo" and even she said she's never seen them in person. His sister calls him out for hating because he ain't and Shugo helpfully reveals that the two are twins. Anyway, that's the set-up, those are the ones we're stuck with, let's move on.

Oh, the two are being stalked by a White Hair and a White Mage. The White Mage somehow thinks the two casually discussing rumors means that they have valuable information and the White Hair basically says, "I heard a rumor that monsters are coming back!". They'll group up in the future. You don't say...

Now Shugo is in the Ink Place. He is facing a girl with long white hair who goes by Aura and...oh, they wake up in the real world and take off their headsets. Shugo and Rena I mean, not Shugo and Aura. Yeah, for those new to the franchise, .hack is a VR RPG game so you can only access the world with VR. This series predates Sword Art Online so get all the related jokes out of your system before the otakus descend upon you.

(Character page says White Hair's name is Balmung and White Mage's name is Mireille so that's what I'll be calling them from now on.)

Apparently, fucking noob Shugo has never played a game before secondary school. Kind of jumping into the deep end with trying an immersive VR RPG but hey, it's your life man. Rena introduces him to .hack and, while understandably wary, Shugo bites the bullet and puts on the damn helmet.

Once inside, Shugo gasps at the graphics...and experiences one of the world's most awkward boners over his sister's avatar. He has to outright holler at her to change her damn outfit before he winds up on a site owned by MindGeek but Rena insists on keeping it, thinking it's cute (Cute apparently meaning "jailbait" in her province). Turns out Shugo and Rena have been assigned the avatars of two of the members of the last team of [.hackers], Kite and Black Rose.

Shugo and Rena are approached by two cute girls (Shugo proceeds to jizz from the sheer concept of a woman approaching him without needing a photo for the cops to identify him by) due to the rarity of their type of characters. Soon, the twins are swarmed by others when they find out they're [.hackers]' types, forcing the two to escape.

Next, they're at the interdimensional portal, the Murky Door. Players are teleported to different areas based on their level. Going through, they encounter one of the most terrifying beasts known to man...

Human-faced Dog is gonna human face you down, bitch.

Yes, to the surprise of none, the Human-faced Dog fucks Shugo's shit up. He attacked him without equipping and got deservedly wrecked for it. He also has to use a healing potion after encountering the first enemy. Way to win our hearts, Shugo. Rena has to roast his ass for him to learn anything, calling him out on not reading the manual (Devil's Advocate: she kinda sprung the game on him), not talking to villagers, doesn't buy healing items, doesn't save his progress, rushes to bash the boss without leveling up and goes online to give the game a 2/10 for being "too hard" (the extra point was for the tits.).

Shugo proves her point by shouting RPGs suck because he has to actually prepare and remember stuff. Tantruming off, he whines that he has to team up with his sister who is already glued to him at the hip in real life already. Rena manages to lure him back with the Wounded Gazelle act, softly saying she just wanted to have an adventure with her bro (Devil Advocate: as a younger sibling in the past, I can sympathize with being shunned by other siblings for having more esoteric hobbies.). Shugo stumbles back, apologizes and asks how to equip his stuff. Turns out he needs to know how to equip some feet because a new enemy shows up.

Demon Glaymore. Level 40.

Shugo is more impressed than scared but Rena has to tell her noob brother that a fucking boss just showed up out of nowhere and they need to book it like John Wick 3. Shugo is understandably confused because they're supposed to be in a training ground for novices. The Demon Glaymore expresses their sympathy for the twin's unfair predicament by trying to stomp them into paste, forcing them to flee. The Glaymore catches up however and, with a fatal blow heading for Rena's direction, Shugo pushes her out of the way, dying in her place as is expected of every twin.

Wait no, he's in the Ink Place from earlier. Aura shows up and glides over him, ending the chapter with telling him that he is the chosen one, the hacker...

You don't say...

THOUGHTS:

Not gonna lie, not as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, they charge right out of the gate with the incest subtext but I can actually believe these two are siblings rather than blood related roommates. I'm not actually suffering yet and Shugo makes a great punching bag without actually losing too much sympathy. Will this manga get actively worst or will I be forced to find a manga less hard to find? Only time will tell.

[libertarian-druid-ny-separatist]

I'd love to go into detail about it, but I'm keeping those to myself.

The basis of it is combining a lot of systems that exist in other, sometimes much older, games. Systems that made the games profitable and fun for players, systems that would enhance the roles played by non-combatant players, systems that would make it so you could always be getting some currency even when you're offline (given maintenance to a particular in game system by players), and systems that would just be fuckin cool.

I hate that it's been suggested I only get into detail when actually making the pitch, but I genuinely feel my idea could be a great one. But I know the AAA studios would ruin it, price gouge, and just kinda not give a fuck about it. An indie studio I can at least trust to give a fuck.

Realistically, it'd need to be a fuckhuge map, like absolutely massive. One system that's not exactly uncommon and I don't feel weird getting into, is land ownership, but for the entire map.

Let cities grow organically by where players want to put up shops and buildings. The first few days, there would be flat out no cities, and only a few villages with marketplaces. If we get 1k players from the get go, in theory after the first month, there ought to be at least one. I like what Entropia did with land ownership, but they didn't go far enough with it.

After the first couple months, set up city bubbles, where no new NPCs spawn, but outside of them, have little feeders for all the enemy types, with spawn rate being determined by monster rarity and payout, with some limitations (no dragon level monsters just able to be spawned unless it was a once per feeding rate) and then also allow players to own mining or resource farming areas without any enemies.

Like, I've been almost obsessing over this. I'd really like to revitalize the MMO market, because damn has it gotten bland lately. It needs one that combines a whole lot of older shit with the new shit. Bring back the systems we lost due to time.

A big and unique one is real currency exchange. Not to buy currency, but to be paid for selling currency. Yeah, there's already outside currency markets for a lot of mmos, same goes for items, but not very many that let all players do it.

Since it's not employment or even gig work, and instead a voluntary exchange between two parties, there's no minimum payout, because it's a game. However that does lead to the consideration of inflation.

And now I'm just ranting because I've been fixated on it so heavily.

So, in order to get away from controversy for a day, anyone know any indie studios capable of running an MMORPG that also accepts unsolicited pitches?

I've got an idea for an MMO that might just breathe some new life into the genre, and it's been growing regularly.

I figure if I can pitch it to one company, I can at least organize it better for a pitch.

[storiesforallfandoms]

unnecessary comments ~ swaggersouls

word count: 1574

request?: yes!

“Hello can you do post about how Swaggersouls is protective over reader in nice and loving way. I wanna fell loved😅😔🤣 have a nice day”

@konansbaby​ “Do you think you could write some protective swaggersouls stuff?? Like him being protective of his s/o at a party or on a stream”

description: in which he defends his girlfriend against a twitch troll that keeps sending awful messages about her

pairing: swaggersouls x female!reader

warnings: swearing, harassing messages

masterlist (one, two)

Being a female streamer came with its fair share of hateful and harassing comments, but being a female streamer who was dating a fellow YouTuber/streamer who was known for his “edgy” humor? That was a whole other ball park.

Most of Swagger’s fabs were very respectful of you and of your relationship. But of course there was always a select few that liked to be in your chat and send you harassing messages. You eventually decided to turn on “Subscribers Only” chat whenever you streamed. It didn’t completely stop the trolls, but at least now they were paying you to harass you.

Swagger knew about the comments. He always watched your streams so of course he saw the messages. He hated that anyone who called themselves “fans” of his would treat you this way. He constantly wanted to make a public statement about it, basically to tell his fans to fuck off, but you knew that wasn’t going to work. The best way to combat internet trolls was to ignore them.

You were streaming CSGO with Swagger on the day that everything finally came to a head for him.

It was just the two of you, a rarity as the other Misfits usually joined whenever you streamed. Just the two of you gave you plenty of leeway to make as many jokes as you wanted without any of your friends making comments about how “disgusting” you two were.

“If you kill me I refuse to have sex with you for a week,” you were saying as the round started.

“A week means nothing to me, we used to go months without sex when I was in Melbourne and you were in America,” Swagger retorted.

“Yeah but I sent you nudes then. I won’t even sext you for a week.”

“I have previous nudes on my phone, I’ll live.”

You screwed up your face. “That’s comforting. I’m glad you said that on stream.”

Swagger chuckled, but it was cut off by his own voice; “Yo! We pimp chimpin’!”

You laughed. “Damn babe, your donations sound is so loud!”

“You can hear that? I’ll have to turn it - ”

He cut off suddenly. You turned to face his character, who had suddenly stopped. Your eyebrows furrowed together. “Swagger?”

“Sorry, I was turning  down the donation volume,” he responded, but you could still hear the distraction in his voice.

“Yo! We pimp chimpin’!”

“You didn’t turn it down very much.”

Swagger muttered something as his character went still again.

For the rest of the game Swagger seemed very on edge and frustrated. He wasn’t very joking as you continued to play, and every now and then he’d disappear and his character would freeze again. You glanced at your chat to see if anyone knew what was happening, but they were all as confused as you were.

Suddenly, Discord chimed to announce that Swagger had disconnected. You went to the app to see if he had left on purpose to see he was suddenly gone offline.

“What the fuck?” you questioned. “Anyone in my chat know if Swagger is still streaming? Maybe his internet is gone down or something.”

Your chat started flooding with messages. They were coming in so quickly you could barley read what was being said. You picked out a few words, such as “donations”, “insulting”, and “angry”.

A donation came into your stream. The robotic voice read it out, “Someone was sending very disgusting messages about you to Swagger’s donations. He got angry and went on a rant then ended stream.”

“Those messages are nothing new. I’ve told Swagger to just ignore them,” you said. “How bad was it that he snapped that bad?”

Through the messages that flooded your chat again, you could see everyone urging you to go to Twitter. Your mentions were full of screenshots from Swagger’s stream of the harassing messages. You decided to click on a thread that included the screenshots as well as the clip from the end of Swagger’s stream.

The messages started off tame enough: “Your girlfriend is a whore”. You chuckled to yourself at that one.

“How clever, I’ve never heard that one before.”

The next message was something along the lines of calling you a “titty streamer” and saying you were only popular because of your boobs. Another message about how you were only dating Swagger to use him for fame.

It wasn’t anything you hadn’t heard before. You still couldn’t understand what had set Swagger off.

The last message before the video read, “How often does (Y/N) fuck the other Misfits?”

The video of Swagger started just as that last message was sent. You could hear him disconnecting from Discord off screen. The screen went black as he exited out of CSGO and didn’t even put his screensaver for streams up. You jumped as you heard him violently hit his desk.

“Listen up you fucking piece of shit,” came his very angry voice. It was the most angry you had ever heard him. It was almost intimidating. “I don’t know what your fucking goal is here. You keep donating to my stream to insult my girlfriend. I’m assuming you’re trying to get a rise out of me, or you think (Y/N) is going to see the messages or something. But you see, you’re actually just giving me money, money that I will likely spend on lovely dates and kind gifts for the same girlfriend that you are insulting.”

Another donation came in, but you didn’t get to read the message before Swagger turned off donations completely. You found yourself sat on the edge of your seat, waiting for whatever your boyfriend was going to say next.

“(Y/N) always tells me to ignore the harassing comments, and I usually try, but these comments...I’m not ignoring this. Don’t ever, ever say some shit like that about my girlfriend. Don’t ever make any sort of comment that equates to calling her a whore, and don’t ever say anything about her fucking around with my friends. (Y/N) is an amazing person who has worked hard on her own to get to where she is today. She is a loving and faithful girlfriend, she would never fuck around with my friends. If you can’t respect my relationship or if you’re only here to say insulting things about the woman I love, get the fuck off of my channel. To my true fans, thank you for being actual decent human beings and I’m sorry you had to be a part of this rant. I’m gonna go offline for a while until the stupid cunts fuck off from my channel.”

The video ended there. You found yourself stunned into silence. You had never heard Swagger so angry before. You just starred at your screen for a long time, taking in the rant you had just witnessed.

“I...should probably check on him,” you finally decided out loud. “I’ll keep you guys updated. Sorry for the cut short stream, see you guys later.”

You ended the stream and immediately grabbed for your phone. You went to Swagger’s name and sent him a quick text.

“you okay?”

Mere seconds later, your phone rang. Your favorite picture of Swagger popped up on the screen underneath his name.

“Hello?”

“Did you see?”

He no longer sounded angry. Now he sounded...concerned? Definitely concerned.

“I did,” you confirmed. “Everyone was tweeting me about the incident so I went to look at the pictures and...I saw a video. Those messages really got to you, huh?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “They were just so consistent. It was like one message after another for basically the entire time we were playing. It was getting frustrating. That last one about you fucking the Misfits was just the final straw. I couldn’t let it go on any longer. I’m sorry that I just ended the call and didn’t tell you what had happened.”

“Don’t apologize. I mean, I was concerned, but I do appreciate the things you said to your fans. Thank you for standing up for me.”

“You shouldn’t have to thank me for that. That’s just basic human decency.”

“Well I did anyways. Learn how to take a compliment dickhead.”

Swagger chuckled. “Fine. You’re welcome.”

You finally got up from your streaming set up, your joints cracking as you stretched yourself out. You let out an involuntary moan as you reached your arms up over your head, a warm rush from your stretching washing over you.

“Did my act of chivalry turn you on that much?” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

You smiled to yourself. “Actually it was pretty hot to hear how angry you had gotten.”

“You know, I did refrain from killing you while we played, which means there’s no reason for you to take sex away from me for a week.”

You had made your way to your bed and threw yourself onto it. You put Swagger on speaker as you decided to pull up your hoodie, revealing the fact that you weren’t wearing a bra underneath. You snapped a quick picture and sent it to Swagger.

“Check Snapchat,” you told him.

You listened to the shuffling on the other end as he switched apps to check the picture you had just sent him. There was a moment of silence before he said, “I’m on my way over.”

You giggled to yourself as the line went dead.

[sergeantbuckybarnes]

serendipity // bucky barnes

PART ONE

Summary: You end up stuck in 1942 without a way to come back, but when you meet the young and charming version of Bucky Barnes, do you really want to go back to the present?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: lack of ‘40s knowledge

A/N: As always, remember English is not my first language. Thanks to @punxgal​ for proofreading this. You’re amazing!

divider by @firefly-graphics​

next part | series masterlist | main masterlist

“Are you sure we should be here? You know how Tony is about people in his lab,” Wanda pointed out for like the seventh time but you kept on ignoring her. Maybe you should have listened to her and you wouldn’t be stuck in this situation. 

Tony didn’t allow anyone in his lab, he had his reasons, but the majority of it was because he didn’t like it when other people touched his stuff. You had the stupid idea of breaking this rule to go to see what he was working on, and of course, you bring Wanda with you, because if you are going to get in trouble you may as well involve your best friend.

You were a restless person and had the bad habit of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. It was something most people hated about you, you did nothing to change it, but this time took the cake.

You had messed with one of Tony’s new gadgets, the lights went off, an alarm ringing so loud you had to cover your ears. Then out of nowhere, a gust of wind swirled the room.

Wanda screamed at you asking what was going on, sparks lighting up the darkroom. You could feel what felt like someone pulling you and then your body hit the ground and seconds later Wanda was laying next to you.

Pulling yourself back up onto your feet, you looked around taking in your surroundings. You weren’t in Tony’s lab anymore. You were outside, in a dark alley. 

“Did Tony build a teleportation machine?” you asked confused 

“Not exactly,” you turned around to see Wanda, she was holding a newspaper in her hands with a frightened look on her face. You take a look at the paper to see what got her so shaken, and you saw it, the date. 

 “We’re in 1942?”

Was it really possible that you had traveled back in time? Had he really figured it out? You knew Tony was a genius but a time machine it’s too much, even for him.

“What do we do now?” Wanda was looking at you as if she was waiting for you to come with a solution, after all, you were responsible for this situation. If you haven’t sniffed around Tony’s lab you wouldn’t be here right now, you would be back at the compound, safe and eating ice cream while you watch some shitty show on Netflix.

You sighed, “I don’t know”

“They’re going to come for us, right?”

“I guess. The alarms went off in the lab, so they must know that something has happened, it’s just a matter of time until they put two and two together and come to our rescue.” But you didn’t know when that’s gonna happen. “We’ll just have to wait”

“Okay,” Wanda accepted, “What do we do until then?”

You decided the best thing, for now, was to look for a place to stay. You walked out of the alley and into the streets of Brooklyn. As you walked through the crowd you could see the strange looks people were giving you, trying to get out of your way or trying not to walk close to you at all.

“Why are they looking at us like that?” you inquired.

Wanda stopped walking and grabbed your hand, pulling you to a side of the street “I think it’s the clothes” she pointed out. 

“What’s wrong with our- “ you stopped your sentence when you took a look at what you were wearing. Jeans, t-shirts, boots, and leather jackets aren't the most go-to look in the ’40s.

You couldn’t walk through the streets like that. It was drawing attention and that’s the last thing you two needed right now. Wanda paused for a moment, you standing next to her, she was doubting if she should do what she had in mind or not, it was a good option, the only option you guys had. Wanda wasn’t a fan of her powers, especially with people often being scared and disgusted by her. Not that she didn’t blame them though. But it hurt you that some people didn’t see farther than her powers. She is not only your best friend, but an amazing person and who only deserves the best.

Wanda sighed. She didn’t have a choice. You looked at her and instantly knew what she wanted to do. It was one of the many reasons The Scarlet Witch was your best friend. There was no need for words to know what the other was thinking, even without her powers, there was a connection between you two.

Only a snap of her fingers and a few seconds later, you looked down to see your clothes. Your twenty-first century outfit had been replaced with a knee-length, A-line dress and a pair of peep-toe heels and your hair was now lying in loose waves. “Wow.” You looked at her with fascination that you’d always held when seeing Wanda use her powers. You didn’t understand why people could be afraid of her when she could do such wonderful things.

It was the next day when you were laying in the bed of the hostel you were staying at and the ceiling had never been more interesting. It had been more than 24 hours and still, you had no news from your friends. 

You hadn’t left the room, and you were starting to feel suffocated. 

“Let’s get out,” you proposed as you got up from the bed. Wanda tore her gaze from the book she was reading and looked at you like had grown a second head.

“Are you crazy? We can’t just go walking around the city like that!”

“Why not?” you pouted and sat in her bed next to her “What is the harm?”

Your careless demeanor was something that drove Wanda crazy sometimes. You never thought about the consequences your actions could have and you two being stuck more than seventy years in the past was the perfect example of that. And now you wanted to go out and have fun as if this were a normal Friday for you.

The witch sighed and closed the book in her hands. “We’re not home, (Y/N). We cannot go and parade around the city like we belong here.”

“I just want to have some fun!” 

“You wanting to have fun is what had brought us here in the first place.” Wanda muttered under her breath, you weren’t supposed to hear it, but you did. You got up abruptly from the bed and made your way to the door.

“Where are you going?”

You didn’t reply to her as you left the room, closing the door behind you as you made your way out of the building and into the streets of New York. You knew you were acting childish and you knew Wanda was right but you were too proud to let her know that. 

You walked through the streets with no particular destination in mind, you just needed the air hitting on your face. You had walked for at least twenty minutes when you spotted a building that caught your eye. A dance hall.

You crossed the street and made your way into the building. Jazz music flooded your ears as soon as you entered even though the club wasn't that large. It had enough room for various couples to be able to dance and that’s all that seemed to be needed. This scene was so different from what you were used to. It felt different but in a good way. You couldn't help but feel struck by the feeling that you were born in the wrong decade. You’d have loved to live like this. 

As your eyes explored the room, you spotted a short man aside from the crowd that you couldn’t help but recognize. You narrowed your eyes, trying to get a better glimpse of him. Oh my god... He was so much different now, but you would recognize the face of Steve Rogers anywhere. 

 You turned to leave as soon as you recognised him. Steve couldn’t see you. Yes, he had no idea who you were yet, but he’ll meet you in the future and this could affect all manners of things. What if you do something that changes the past and affects the future and- Now you were panicking, your mind running a mile per hour, trying to get out there when you turned and slammed straight into someone. 

“Careful, doll.” That voice, why did it sound so familiar to you? You looked up into the eyes of the man in front of you and there he was. A young Bucky Barnes. With those steel-blue eyes,  full of joy and that charming smile that never left his face. This version of him, at least. The Bucky you knew was nothing like the man that currently stood in front of you. 

“You okay?” he asked worriedly, and it was then you realized that you had been staring at him for too long.

You looked away quickly, muttering a quick, “Y-Yeah, sorry.”

You tried to walk past him and keep your original plan of leaving the club. If talking to Steve was a bad idea, talking to Bucky wasn’t a better one. As soon as you made to leave, Bucky grabbed your upper arm gently, turning your heels so you were facing him again.

“Come on, doll. You can’t leave me like that,” the smile never left his face and you thought how strange it was to see him smile so much. Nowadays, it was a rarity to see Bucky smile, not that you could blame him for his broody demeanor after everything that he has been through. But now you couldn’t shake how damn beautiful he looked with a smile adorning his features. “You own me at least one dance.”

He held his hand to you, and you knew you should have refused, it was the worst idea and it could affect the future but you weren’t known for making the right choices. So, you took his hand and danced through your second mistake of the night.

It was late when you walked into the room, but Wanda was still up, waiting for you on her bed. She was doing her typical ‘scolding a child’ pose and she could be intimidating when she wanted to.

“Where have you been?” she demanded.

You bit your bottom lip, a habit you had when you were nervous. “I fucked up….again”

His hands were on your back with yours wrapped around his shoulders. You swayed to the slow melody the band was playing. 

“So… I don’t think I got your name,”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N),”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” His shameless flirting made you chuckle as you’d heard the stories from Steve about Bucky’s amazing luck with the ladies. But now that you had that same man in front of you, his hand wrapped around your middle and dancing so close to you, you could see why so many women fell for him. He really had a game.

“What about you, Romeo? Can I get your name?”

“Bucky Barnes” he smirked. As you kept dancing to the sound of the music, his eyes never left yours, not for even a second, and you wished in that moment that you had the power to read his mind.

He tightened his hands on your back as he leaned a little to be closer to you. “How is it that I have never seen you around before?”

“I’m just passing by” You simply state, not technically lying to him. You still held hope that your friends were working on a way to bring you home.

“Does that mean I’m not gonna see you again?” His voice sounded disappointed, almost sad. 

He brought one of the hands that were resting on your back to your face, caressing your cheek gently. Cupping your jaw, he looked into your eyes, asking for permission. When you didn’t do anything to stop him, he closed the gap between you, pressing his lips to yours. His lips were soft as they brushed gently against your own and you couldn’t remember the last time someone had kissed you with so much tenderness. Bucky has only known you for a few hours and his kiss had more meaning than any of the kisses you had received from any of your previous relationships. It was something you didn’t know you craved until now, so you let yourself get lost in the kiss, melting into the third mistake of the night.

“What the hell, (Y/N)!” Wanda raised her voice at you. “Do you have any idea of what you have done?”

“I just- I couldn’t help myself,” you defended yourself, “You should have seen him… I couldn’t tell him no.” 

“Since when do you have feelings for Bucky?”

“I don’t!”

“It doesn’t sound like it…. and it definitely doesn’t look like it. You practically light up every time you mention his name!” pointing accusingly at you.

You weren’t lying when you said you don’t have feelings for Bucky. You had barely talked to the man since Steve brought him to the compound. You didn’t know anything about him other than what basic information everyone already knew. 

He was quiet and shy, spending most of his time locked in his room. The times he did come out, he only spoke with Steve and Sam. He tried to stay out of the way of everyone, not wanting to be a burden.  

“What did you do after the kiss?” Wanda asked, drawing you out of your thoughts.

“I ran away...”

[murasakina-plays]

So the BSD crossover is delayed, what do we do now? I doubt the devs will tells any new info on dates nor what was their issues. There was a lot of people speculating it might be Yosano being the problem but that isn’t a full confirmation as when she got leaked by the devs in doc’s role reveal no one complained in China. Another rumor I heard before the delay was announced was that Dazai’s price package was ridiculous and everyone was complaining about it yet devs didn’t care either so what’s really happening anyway? Like the Junji Ito one for what I remember it wasn’t that horribly delayed and the devs acted before releasing Part 2 or am I mistaken? I just know it wasn’t that long for a single skin since I remember seeing both Picture Woman and Tomie coming together already.

If any IDV player or BSD fan sees this please let’s start a discussion on this as a way to pass time for the crossover! Whether about the series or the game BSD is trying to collab with can be both interesting to discuss. Besides I’m a little bored…

Just nothing like false information as the ppl who said the Yosano situation was confirmed isn’t really 100% confirmed yet as the devs would announce this to the whole community as to why it was delayed, not to a single server or region.

I really hope with the time they take, they should reconsider on some things on the crossover other than Yosano, like their Dazai package being too expensive for other regions who had the price go higher due to apple’s policies and I believe the discount they added for the pack is too expensive still in my opinion. In my country, the package is literally 60+ dollars and the skin itself is 58 so it’s not much of a change…

The rng for the essences is also bad and I say this by own experience on crossover essences, they said you won’t get repeats after getting one said A skin for the first time but I got double Chiakis and Nagitos but never got Mikan on the second DR essence. It’s a god damn scam, the same happened when I got L, before him I got Light twice in the same essence. For P5, I guess it’s fair to unfair because I got 3 makotos and 2 Harus before getting Futaba but I never got Akechi which I really wanted. They should make crossovers more player friendly for both new players and veterans :/

Would be cool if they made Dazai frags too like the Junji Ito skins and Edward Scissorhands, just keep the pack echoes only for the whales or people who can’t save frags, they would still receive a ton of money from their essences anyways, mainly crossover ones where people have to spend 500 dollars or more for 1 S skin and if the player wants, upgrade the Atsushi accessory into S rarity with Echoes which it’s the only way to get it S tier anyway, it’s 760 echoes which is around 10-25 dollars which in my opinion it’s still dumb how a small acc costs to upgrade. And don’t give me excuses about they also need to earn money and the author too but the BSD author has a game itself that is big on Japan and is winning tons specially with S4 out there plus IDV already earns tons with other crossovers and in the past 3 years, releasing echo only skins which costs real money and worst part is limited to certain period while some are unknown of its return. Some people I have seen struggled to get 1 S skin for 2000 or so because they know the player is a whale based on previous purchases or their YouTube status, I’m just amazed how no one decides to fight against this whole scam as for me a echo pack of 29.99 with taxes is only with 20 pulls while other games with the same pricing would give you better pulls around 40-80 pulls specially with first purchase bonuses resets, idv never had bonus reset because they will always give the bonus but you will barely get 20 pulls and even less an A skin in shop if you aren’t a NGP member.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one complaining about these things with reason. Then people throw hate at me for trying to help this game get better, no wonder this game is aimed to kids at some things. Because it’s very tame compared with a mature audience who fight against this abuse. But then again adults I meet in this game are just as childish for even having an opinion or point out a truth about the game that’s in their face. This is why I often get so off mood when I log into the game that I used to enjoy back in 2018.

[keanureevesisbae]

sugar sugar - the planning 3.0

Summary: Someone the engaged couple both didn’t expect, is coming back into their lives

Sugar Daddy!Henry Cavill x Becky Kim (asian OFC)

Warnings: Light mentions of an argument. Mentions of hospital, cock warming (it’s becoming their thing now) and some rough sex (spanking, anal play, vibrators - the whole deal)

Wordcount: 4.9k

Masterlist // Sugar Sugar Masterlist // Sugar Sugar the wedding Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

March 1st 7 p.m.

Work has been killing Henry lately. He grows more and more tired and to my own surprise, he is even in a bad mood every now and then, a rarity when it comes to Henry. He hates talking about what is bothering him and I hate having to pry.

But it has been enough. I don’t like the fact he continues to lock himself in his office at work and I decide to surprise him. He always likes surprises, especially these ones I arranged myself.

I barge into his office and I see… He is actually taking a nap? That’s new. He only takes naps at home, with his hands slipped underneath my shirt, his head resting on my chest. His eyes flutter open, ready to scold anyone who came in, until he realizes it’s just me.  ‘Thought I locked the elevator,’ he says, ‘made it unavailable.’

‘I have a surprise for you,’ I say, as I walk up to him and ignoring the fact that he might’ve made it unavailable for me as well to come up here. He probably didn’t mean it like that.

‘Okay, what is it?’

I hop on an empty corner of his desk. ‘I made reservations for us at the Plaza and afterwards, you and I can do all sorts of things in all sorts of compromising positions, if you know what I mean.’

Henry frowns, the complete opposite reaction I was expecting. ‘I can’t, baby.’

‘Why not?’ I ask him. ‘I checked your schedule and it’s all free. You have time and you should take time. You’ve been working really hard.’

‘I know, but I can’t. I have too much to do here.’

I don’t understand. He has been working non stop this week and he still doesn’t have time? He always makes time for me, for us. ‘It’s just one night, Henry,’ I try again.

‘I already told you that I can’t.’

Oh, he is in a mood? Never did he sound so… Flat and borderline annoyed when he is talking to me.

‘Oh,’ I say, not really sure how to handle this type of disappointment. ‘Sure?’

‘Damn it, Becky. Yes, I’m sure. I have tons of work to do and I cannot afford to take a break now! Some people actually have tons of work to do.’

Okay, he is mad at me now, something I totally didn’t deserve. I think I didn’t deserve it, I’m not even sure right now. Maybe this was too much? Yeah, it was too much. I shouldn’t have done that. ‘Well, excuse me for trying to do something nice for you,’ I say, sliding off his desk. ‘Good luck with work.’

‘Are you mad?’ he asks me.

He has some guts. Yes, I’m mad. ‘No, why on earth would I be?’ I ask in a petty tone, as I walk backwards towards the elevator. ‘Bye Henry, hope you finish your work.’

‘Baby, wait,’ he says, but I don’t listen. With large strides I near the elevator and get in, not even looking at him anymore. As the doors slide shut, I grab my phone and send both Genevieve and Viola a text.

Becky: You girls want to spend the evening at the Plaza?

Genevieve: Is that even a question?

Viola: When?

Becky: Thirty minutes?

Genevieve: I’ll be there in ten.

✤ ✤ ✤

Genevieve, Viola and I are sitting in the Plaza, the three of us looking over the city, as we enjoy the view. Well, they are enjoying the view. I keep on thinking about Henry. He never snaps at me like that, just like he never calls me by my name. It’s always sweetheart, darling or my favorite: baby girl. For him to call me ‘Becky’ means I did something wrong, right? Was I out of line? Should I have checked with him? I mean, surprises are meant to surprise, so I shouldn’t have told him, right?

My brain is working overtime, unable to actually enjoy hanging out with my friends.

‘Earth to Becky,’ Viola says, nudging my side. I look up from my wine glass. ‘Honey, you’re still thinking about you and Henry? It’s just a little set back, nothing too bad.’

‘Oh my,’ Genevieve says, ‘are you that disgusting type of couple that never fight? I fight with Greg all the time.’

‘We know,’ Viola butts in. ‘Come on, Gen, you know that Becky doesn’t do well with fighting. Besides, Henry is the type of man that is above pointless fights with his fiancée. Becky, what can we do for you?’

‘I don’t know. Cancel the wedding?’

Genevieve chokes on her drink. ‘For heaven’s sake, Becky, please tell me that is a joke. I swear, if you are going to cancel, I will kill you.’

I glare at her. ‘It may have been a poorly misplaced joke and a total overreaction from my side. Sorry.’

She takes a breath out of utter belief. ‘Don’t do that. I can take jokes about a lot of things, but not our wedding day.’

‘My wedding day, Gen. I’m the one getting married.’

She snorts. ‘Okay,’ she chuckles, rolling her eyes as if she cannot possibly believe that I just called it my wedding, instead of ours. ‘Anyways, I actually got a call from the bridal shop. The bridesmaids dresses are gonna be done at the end of the month, so make sure you can join us for the final fitting.’ Genevieve lets out a squeal. ‘Ah, I’m so excited. You know what comes after the wedding?’

‘Honeymoon?’ Viola and I ask.

‘Yes, that too, but also kids. I think that we should get at least once get pregnant together, because that is such a cute friendship thing for us to do.’

I don’t know if I can handle being pregnant and dealing with Gen’s hormonal mood swings, but I keep those words to myself.

‘Since our little baby factory is probably gonna have a few, Viola and I will have time enough to get it right.’

‘Do you have to call me a baby factory?’ I ask Genevieve. ‘I say once that a large family is okay for me and all of the sudden I’m a baby factory.’

‘I mean, you’re having at least two and with the way you guys are at it, there is a chance his little soldiers will find their way multiple times. One way or another.’

‘Stop talking,’ I say to Genevieve, as blood rises to my cheeks.

Viola tries to contain her laughter, but fails miserably. ‘Are you finally gonna tell her?’

Now I’m confused. ‘Tell me what?’

‘A few months back I kinda walked in on the two of you.’

Genevieve could’ve literally told me that she was gonna be president of name a country and I wouldn’t be as surprised as I am now. ‘What?’

‘Yeah, you left your keys at my place, so I figured I would bring them to you. However when I walked in, I was met with loud moans and skin slapping.’

Oh, no, I want to die.

‘It was really hilarious,’ she continues, ‘because you were on the back rest of the couch and let’s just say that you have a respectable boob size, you two kiss hella sloppy and Henry’s ass naked is delicious.’

I look at my glass of wine and gulp it all down, hoping that drinking my embarrassment and humiliation away would make the situation less awful.

It’s not working.

‘I kinda wished you never told me this,’ I mumble.

Viola finally bursts out into the loud laughter I was expecting from her a few moments ago. ‘This is gold, I wished I had this reaction on video.’

Genevieve chuckles. ‘So yeah, when I say you two are at it like bunnies, I’m not lying.’

✤ ✤ ✤

When I arrive back at the apartment, I almost forgot about the little situation Henry and I got ourselves in. Genevieve and Viola always know the exact things to tell me that makes me forget about a lot. Seeing Henry sitting on the couch, clearly beating himself up, almost makes me feel sorry for him, however I decide to be a petty bitch.

He really did hurt my feelings.

I walk straight to the kitchen and despite me hearing him follow me, I disregard my instinct and don’t turn towards him.

‘Becky,’ he says, his tone soft and slightly unsure. Him calling out my name in a tone like this, is an indication he is aware of the thin ice he is skating on.

‘Mhm?’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘What for? You were busy and I was intruding.’ I let the tea bag soak for a few moments. ‘You know, Genevieve, Viola and I had a great time together,’ I continue. ‘I arranged amazing seats at the Plaza. It had a view over the Hudson and we saw a lot of fairies.’ I know those are his favorite spots and he always tells me that one day he’ll take me on a fairy. ‘Never been on a fairy before.’ That’s a jab I knew would hurt the most. Damn, I’m awful. With the mug in my hand, I turn around, to see that Henry is looking slightly uncomfortable. ‘How was work? Did you finish it?’

He shakes his head.

Don’t say it, Becky. ‘Oh, why not?’ Damn it, Becky.

‘You serious?’ he asks. ‘We had an argument.’

‘Oh, don’t be silly, Henry. It wasn’t an argument. You were working and I had some poor planning. A small misunderstanding. Happens to all the couples some day.’

He sighs. ‘I shouldn’t have spoken to you in that tone,’ he says. ‘You were right, I could’ve needed a break. Work has been killing these last few weeks and I… I keep convincing myself I can do it all…��� He leans against the kitchen island and folds his arms. ‘Truth is, we lost some investors and I’ve been trying to rectify the situation. It’s just that it’s not working.’

Oh, I didn’t know that. Now I feel sorry for being so bitchy to him. ‘I see,’ I mumble. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I didn’t want you to worry,’ he says.

‘You understand that I can read you like a book, right?’ I ask him. ‘Henry, I’m gonna be your wife, I know when something is bothering you.’

‘I know and to take it out on you, wasn’t fair to you. I’m sorry.’

I nod, placing the mug on the counter. ‘I’m sorry too.’

‘Sorry for what?’

‘For being petty and inconsiderate of your time. I shouldn’t have just surprised you like that. I know you’re busy.’

‘But never too busy for you. You did everything right. Checked my schedules, arranged it at a time where I barely have anything to do. It was the perfect surprise. Having dinner with you at the Plaza is one of my favorite places to have dinner with you. Staring at those fairies is what we do.’ He carefully approaches, still unsure whether or not we’re on the same page. ‘You have nothing to apologize for. The only one who was at fault was me.’

I grab him by his tie and pull him in a hug, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He nuzzles his face in my neck, whispering soft apologies.

‘It’s all good,’ I say. ‘I’m sorry for being petty.’

‘No, no, no, don’t be. I deserved that one. Especially after the tone I used on you.’ He pulls back a little and presses a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. ‘How about I take you to dinner tomorrow night?’

‘Sounds good. But you have to call this time,’ I say.

Henry raises his eyebrows in surprise. ‘You made the reservations yourself?’

I nod. ‘Hence the reason I might got a little bit extra defensive.’

He smiles at me, before giving me a kiss. ‘I’m so proud of you, baby. Practice makes perfect.’

‘I know,’ I say with a soft smile on my lips. ‘We’re good again?’

‘More than good,’ he chuckles. He lifts me on the counter and stands in between my legs. ‘How was it with Genevieve and Viola?’

‘Good,’ I say, ‘just discovered that Genevieve once walked in on us having sex.’

His eyes enlarge. ‘Really?’

‘Yes, really,’ I say. ‘She told me I have a respectable boob size, we kiss sloppy and that your naked ass looks really good.’

He lets out a nervous chuckle. ‘Your boobs are perfect,’ he says and I slap him across his chest. ‘You know I can never look at her again?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ I laugh. ‘It’s nothing. She’ll just pester us with it for a while and then she finds something else to humiliate me with. Really, it’s no big deal.’

March 20th 2 p.m.

I place the groceries in the fridge, after I got back home. I actually want to plan cooking Henry some dinner so I bought all the ingredients I think I need. He always does so much for me, so it’s only fair that I’m doing it too every once in a while.

Let’s just hope I don’t fail miserably.

My phone starts to ring and I quickly pick up. ‘Hello.’

‘Good afternoon, is this Becky Kim?’ a female voice asks.

I frown. ‘Yes, this is her. Is everything alright?’

‘My name is Alicia, a nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian. I’m calling in regards of Sehun Kim.’

Dad? That Sehun Kim? Too say I’m absolutely flabbergasted is an understatement. ‘Excuse me if I come off extremely rude, but I’m sure I’m not registered as his next of kin. Isn’t there someone else to call?’

‘Well miss Kim, you are his next of kin. Your father had a ruptured appendix. Thankfully he got to the hospital in time, but his health is severely declined. We are keeping him here for a few days, to see if everything is alright.’

I lean against the sink, thinking about my next move. ‘Is there anyone with him right now?’ I ask.

‘No, miss.’

I sigh deeply. What to do, what to do? ‘I’ll be there shortly.’ When I hang up the phone, I arrange the chauffeur to drive me to the hospital and I grab some stuff I need. As I step into the elevator, I text Henry to tell him what’s going on.

Becky: My dad is in the hospital, I’m going there right now

Daddy 🥰: Darling, are you okay? Do you need anything?

Becky: I’m taking the driver. Just be there when I get home?

Daddy 🥰: Of course, baby girl. Just tell me when you need something, okay?

Becky: Will do

✤ ✤ ✤

I have been looking at my father for a few minutes now from behind the glass. He looks a lot older than I remember him. I wonder why I’m next of kin and not my mom or my siblings.  I mean, he hasn’t seen me in so long, I literally told my family I never wanted to see them anymore and that included him.

With my arms crossed in front of my chest, I hesitate whether or not I’m gonna open that door and walk into his room.

I mean, I kinda want to.

I always felt like my father and I were pretty much the same, however he never showed me how much he loved me. It always seemed easier to love my siblings than me, but maybe there were certain things that held him back.

I never asked him and now I finally have a chance.

Finally I mustered up the confidence to just do it. I open the door and walk in. He is awake and looks at me, but like usual he isn’t saying anything. It could be hurtful, but it doesn’t feel like that. I walk towards the side of the bed. ‘Are you okay?’ I ask him.

Still he is unable to talk, but I see it. I see his eyes filling with tears and for the first time in forever, I see the hurt he probably had to endure all this time.

‘Dad, please say something to me.’

‘I’m sorry, Becky,’ he then says, his voice breaking in the process. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘What for?’

‘For not standing up to you. For not being the dad you deserved, you needed.’ He rubs his eyes with his fingers and adds: ‘What kind of father allows this type of crap?’

I honestly don’t know, so all I can do is simply shrug. ‘I’m guessing mom wasn’t too kind on you either.’

He shakes his head. ‘She wasn’t.’

‘Then why didn’t you divorce her?’ I ask, in a harsher tone then I originally intended to. ‘Took me with you? We could’ve been happy, dad, just the two of us.’

‘I know, I know.’

‘Then why didn’t you do it? Why didn’t you stand up for me?’

‘Because I was scared.’ It must be so painful for him to admit it, but I rather want him being honest with me, then him dancing around the subject. He was scared and I can’t blame him for it. Mom was (and I presume still is) pretty scary and if she was mean to me, I don’t think I can even fathom what happened between her and dad.

‘But why am I next of kin?’ I ask. ‘You have Liam and Celine.’

‘They are not you,’ he says and that hits something deep in my heart. ‘I was too scared to call you and tell you how sorry I am, so I changed you to my next of kin a few months back. I know, it was weak and I’m a coward, but it was the only way I felt like I could do ever talk to you again.’

It happens before I can even stop it. I place my hand on his and at first, dad doesn’t move, but then he holds my hand tightly in his.

‘I’m sorry, Becky. I’m so sorry.’

‘I know,’ I say. ‘I know.’

‘I can’t imagine what you went through. I should’ve been there for you, I should’ve protected you.’

I don’t know what to say, so I simply grab a chair and drag it next to his bed, before taking place on it. ‘Then tell me everything you went through,’ I whisper, ‘maybe we can understand each other.’

✤ ✤ ✤

The afternoon turned into the night and it’s already seven p.m. when I arrive back the penthouse. It was both draining and very insightful. Everything I went through, my dad went through as well, for being a more shy personality, more serious and less out there. While I knew he would draw the short end of the stick when we were all together, he got it real bad when he was alone with my mom. The thing was: it didn’t stop when I moved out, when I told them I never wanted to see them again.

It only got worse.

Somehow me ending up in juvie, was his fault.

I close the door of the apartment and Henry says: ‘There you are. Baby girl, how are you?’

‘I’m okay,’ I say, though that is not quite the truth. ‘It went well.’

Henry stands up and walks over to me. ‘Glad to hear.’ He gives me a kiss, as his hands find mine. ‘Your dad is gonna be okay?’

‘Yeah, he just has to stay to see if all goes well tonight.’ I let out a deep sigh. ‘I missed him.’

He nods, allowing me to find the words to describe how I’m feeling.

‘We talked for a long while,’ I continue. ‘But I’m going back tomorrow, because I feel like we have a lot to catch up on. Wanna join me?’

‘If you want me to, I’ll happily go, you know that.’

I don’t want to cry, I think I did that enough the last few hours, however a few tears escape. ‘Daddy, can you hold me?’

He doesn’t waste a single second, before he hoists me up in his arms, holding me closely to his body. ‘I’m right here, sweetheart.’

I close my eyes, as I cling onto him. I start to sniffle, but it’s enough for Henry to be alerted.

‘Baby girl. What is it? What do you need?’

‘A hug.’

He pulls back a little and cocks an eyebrow. ‘That kind of hug?’

I nod. ‘Please?’

‘Of course.’ He carries me to the sauna, where he undoes me from my clothing and quickly shreds himself from his. We step into the hot sauna and I sit on his lap, before he starts the preparations. His hands massage my entire body, as I place my forehead against his. ‘I love you,’ he whispers against my lips.

‘I love you too.’

‘You did well today.’ He squeezes my breasts in his large hands, flicking my nipples and it’s already doing its magic trick in between my legs. ‘I’m proud of you, because it mustn’t be easy.’ He gives me a kiss, before he brings his lips to my hardened nipple, wrapping them around the sensitive nub.

I kiss him on his hairline. ‘You are?’

‘Oh baby, you have no idea.’

I reach down, grabbing his semi hard cock and rub his tip against my clit. I whimper, causing Henry to look up. He kisses me, soft and slow. ‘When you’re ready,’ he says.

I line him up near my throbbing entrance and I sink onto him, biting away the slight pain as I stretch around him. Henry rubs my clit and the pain quickly subdues. He leans back against the wall, pulling me onto his chest, his fingers drawing soft circles on my back.

I don’t know how long we are in this position, but when I open my eyes again, I feel pretty drowsy, almost like I fell asleep.

Henry is already awake, still holding me close against him, not caring that we’re both drenched in sweat. ‘Hi, baby girl,’ he whispers.

‘Hi.’

‘You were gone for quite a while. We’ve been here for an hour, or so.’

I smile. ‘I feel better, thank you.’

‘That’s good, that’s good.’ He gives me a kiss and says: ‘You look better.’

‘Daddy,’ I whisper, ‘I love you.’

‘Oh, I love you too.’

I rock my hips on his and he hums in content. ‘Fuck me,’ I beg. ‘Please do. I need it.’

‘How do you need it?’ he asks. ‘Rough? Soft? I’ll give it to you, baby girl. Just tell me what you need.’

I bite my lip. ‘I need it rough, daddy. Please, I need it rough.’

✤ ✤ ✤

When I ask for rough, I’ll get it even rougher. Henry used his tie to restrain my hands above my head, so he has his hands free to press the vibrator against my clit while he pounds himself inside of me. He is ruthless, but that is exactly what I need.

My mind is blank, as the only things I feel is being overpowered, loved and taken care of. I don’t know how many times I already came, but my sobs are quite telling.

‘You gonna cum again, baby?’

I nod, before my eyes roll back and my juices squirt passed him. Telling from his grunts, he is close as well.

‘Shit, baby girl, you feel so fucking good around me.’ He throws the vibrator to the side, tightening his grip on my hips, as I ride out my high. I’m a crying mess, tears dripping over my cheeks and that’s about the same time his hips stutter against mine, his warm seed spilled deep inside of me. He unties my hands, before giving me a sloppy kiss. ‘You okay?’ he asks, still buried inside of me.

‘I’m fine, I’m fine.’

‘You feel better?’

I smile. ‘I do, thank you, daddy. I needed that.’

He gives me a kiss on my lips and wipes away the tears. ‘You want to talk about it or not?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just glad you helped me out here.’ I place my hands on his chest. ‘Could need a shower, though.’

‘I know,’ he chuckles. ‘How about you take a shower, I’ll clean up in here and then join you?’

‘Sounds good to me,’ I whisper. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too, baby girl.’

March 21st 11 a.m.

The next day I’m back at the hospital, only this time I took Henry with me. He holds my hand in his and gives me a reassuring kiss on my fingers. ‘You want me in there with you two immediately?’ he asks me.

I don’t need to think about that for very long, because I quickly nod. ‘Of course. I actually quite need you in there.’

We stop in front of his door and I take a deep breath before knocking three times and peaking around the corner. ‘Dad,’ I say, causing him to look up from his book, ‘I’m back and brought someone.’

Henry and I step into the room and my dad nods, taking in Henry. ‘Your fiancé,’ dad says, closing his book. Yesterday I told him a lot about Henry already, especially because my dad read my interview and actually figured out how to check my Instagram. It was his own way to keep track of me and for some odd reason, I’m glad he did. He holds out his hand and Henry is quick to take it. ‘I’m Sehun, nice to meet you.’

‘My name is Henry, sir. It’s great to meet you too.’ He pulls two chairs next to dad’s bed and we both take a seat.

I take his hand into mine and say: ‘Dad, how are you feeling?’

‘Better, better.’ Dad stares at Henry and says: ‘It doesn’t take a genius to see how happy you are with each other.’

I smile, my other hand blindly searching Henry’s.

‘I also don’t need to tell you, but you need to take good care of her.’

Henry nods. ‘Don’t you worry, sir, I take good care of her.’

My dad looks up at the ceiling, tears in his eyes.

‘Dad, please,’ I say, ‘it’s all okay. We spoke about this yesterday: I don’t blame you. Not at all, not in the slightest.’

He has never been the talkative type, I know that. It pains me to see how crushed he is, how much he is beating himself up. I understand that he feels like that, however I am not mad. After yesterday’s talk I understood and realized I never wanted to be mad at him at all.

‘I don’t know if you can make it and if you even want to, but you—and you alone—can come to the wedding if you want. It’s a little short notice, I know, but Henry and I would love it if you were there.’

Dad simply nods. ‘I would love that too,’ he says in a hoarse tone. ‘Just… You have to help me with something first.’

‘And what is that?’

‘Help me arrange a divorce.’

Don’t overreact, Becky. The rush of utter euphoria fills my body. He wants to divorce my mom? After all those years? Is there an opportunity I could still have that relationship with my dad I have always secretly wanted and wished for.

I look over my shoulder to Henry, who seems to read my eyes. ‘I can arrange something with my lawyer,’ Henry says, squeezing my fingers. ‘You know what, I’ll call him right now. Maybe we can arrange something very soon.’

Henry leaves the room, holding his phone in his hand and my dad nods. ‘You have a nice fiancé,’ he says. ‘Takes good care of you.’

I smile. ‘Yeah, he does. He is the love of my life.’

Dad tilts his head. ‘You sure you want me there?’

‘Yes, I’d love to. We have an entire month to get to know each other and that of course won’t change after the wedding. We could look for an apartment for you, make sure you can start a new life.’

‘It’s a father’s job to protect and take care of his kids, not the other way around.’ He sighs deeply and says: ‘I have never taken care of you. Protected you from those vile words spilled from your mom and siblings.’

‘But you will,’ I say. ‘Please, it’s all good. Know and accept that, okay? I want to work on our relationship and that can start with an apartment when you are released from this awful place.’

For the first time he widely smiles. ‘I’m a lucky man for having a daughter like you.’

Henry enters the room again and says: ‘Well, I spoke to my lawyer and he is ready to meet you in a few days. There is a possibility he can expedite the process.’

Dad nods again. ‘Thank you, Henry. Now please sit, so I can get to know you.’

✤ ✤ ✤

When Henry and I are back in the car after hours of getting to know my father, tears finally drip over my tears. ‘Baby girl,’ he says, ‘it’s okay. You did amazing.’

‘I just don’t know why I’m crying, especially because I’m happy. I’m happy with all of this, however it’s just that… I wish there was more I could do.’

‘You are doing all you can,’ he says. ‘And your dad knows that.’

I hide my face in my hands and I feel Henry’s hand in the back of my neck. He presses a kiss on the top of my head.

‘I love you, baby girl and we’ll get through this.’

[sleepylixie]

1.5k words, Lovers to Strangers, non-idol AU. Angst, but of fluff

Dancer! Yeosang X Fem! Reader​

A/N: WELCOME TO MY very first official Ateez fanfiction!! This is the first of many fics I have planned for Ateez, can’t wait to show em to y’all! Anyways- onto the fic!

The spotlight wasn’t for everybody; it was a fear for some, an intrigue for others. But for him, your swan… the spotlight was his home. It makes so much sense that he left you behind for it.

//WHAT WAS.\\

“Any reason you were missing from class today?” Kang Yeosang was always alluring, but the years of adolescence had worked its magic on him. The years of hard training and workout had melted the soft, childlike sparkle away to show high cheekbones, a sharp jaw and perfectly straight nose. But his eyes were still the same- soft, warm, always lighting up when he smiled. 

You were yet to grow up- you still looked like an ugly duckling next to a pure white swan, marring beauty with just your presence. Did you even deserve to call him your best friend? Just because you grew up next to him, witnessing his life as an extension of your own? Was that even barely enough to stake your claim as a friend- as anything, to him?

“My ankle was causing trouble again.” you mutter, toeing off the blanket covering your legs to reveal the bandages wrapped around your right ankle. You were no stranger to injury, your body having taken the brunt of consequences for your clumsiness- but when you set foot on the stage, all the world’s pain seemed to melt away. You and Yeosang thrived off the spotlight and so did your friendship- but over the past year, the intensive program you both belonged to had stepped up their training regime and your body was struggling to keep up. “You really need to take care of yourself.” Despite the years spent around each other, it still astounded you how expressive he was without much movement. All he had to do was settle himself on the couch next to you and raise an eyebrow at you, lips curled in disapproval. 

You looked away, the rapid beat of your heart the only betrayal your body gave away for the rush of emotions you were feeling. Damn him for making you feel this way, like summer and winter had descended upon your skin at the same time, like time would stop at your behest when he was around you. Damn him for being so painfully easy to fall in love with. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“You better be, best friend.”

//

“You’re always so good for me.” Kang Yeosang was always alluring, but moments of intimacy made him look otherworldly. He was a passionate lover, that beautiful body of his aiming for pleasure beyond measure. and pleasure you he did, within an inch of your senses.

 You remember not being able to fathom the disbelief you felt when he stood in front of you under a streetlight outside class, hands twisting together nervously as he mumbled out a confession.. a confession of love. It was the dead of night, but you could have sworn you  almost felt the sun’s warmth in that moment, spreading from your heart to your toes, until the second thoughts sunk in. The memory of that momentary terror still numbs your fingertips sometimes, the fear that had coursed through your veins in the aftermath of that sunshine. What if, 6 months down the line, he looked back at this moment and felt nothing but a sea of regret? That you were nothing like the person he’d fallen for, only a shadow that could trail his otherworldly radiance? That he was better off far away from you, that you were better off alone, away from him? But you hadn’t voiced your internal sense of dread, choosing to drown instead in the pure joy that had settled onto Yeosang’s face when you told him his feelings weren’t unrequited. The first drag of his lips against yours was a sensation you knew you’d never be able to forget, the recollection still tinged with midnight softness. That night had  marked the start of your tryst with Yeosang and romance. Shifting from friendship to lovers was smoother than you had anticipated- it was only a matter of your cafe runs now being categorized as dates, the two of you now able to stumble to one of your apartments hand-in-hand, giggling like high school sweethearts. Your belongings were already scattered around each other’s homes, your parents exchanging knowing glances and accepting the other into the family. As the days went by, slowly and then all too soon, you couldn’t help but look back and think, oh, what an enchantment the two of you were.

You were the king and queen of your dance major, the ones most likely to make it in the world, hand-in-hand. Your duets were the tear-jerkers, the seat-shifters, the reason for the wolf-whistles and the frat-boy whoops in the annual showcases. You were savored by the spotlight, adored by the souls in the seats, envied by your peers.. but your love was for no one but each other- until it all went to hell.

//

“You know I have to do this.” Kang Yeosang was always alluring, but the time he chose to walk away made him unattainable. The accident onstage rendered you  with a weak ankle for the rest of your life- imprisoned away from the spotlight. You would never be able to dance again, said the doctors. You were to consider yourself lucky you could still walk. Even trying to dance again would have you running the risk of never leaving a bed again.

And your love, your  swan, he couldn’t stomach the idea of being with a lover who could never live in the spotlight with him. He was young, your swan, and disillusioned by the stars that sparkled in front of him, reckless in his pursuit to reach them. So he took his first ticket out- away from you, away from the country, into a new world with a dance company and a dance scholarship.

You hadn’t even left bed rest when he had slipped into your hospital room, looking for all the world like he’d committed a crime he couldn’t bring himself to regret. “You’re okay with me leaving, right?” The undertone of the question felt clear enough that you didn’t say it aloud- looking back, it was possibly because you were too scared of having to hear the words out loud. What were the chances that he would want to keep a relationship with a broken dancer from an old chapter of his past? That’s right, none. It took everything in your body to subdue the response you yearned to give him- no, you weren’t okay. NO, You wanted him to stay. No, you didn’t want to be left behind. But even in the state of imminent despair, the only thing you registered was the hopeful glint in his tired eyes. The same eyes that had dreamt and fantasized of this day, to be worthy of the world’s best, be the world’s best- “Of course, my love. Congratulations, I’m so happy for you.” You reached out for Yeosang’s hand and let him clasp it, his uncertainty melting away as he pressed one last fleeting kiss to your knuckles before the seconds began to fly. All too soon, he was getting to his feet, squeezing your hand before turning away.

“I’ll miss you.” he breathed hesitantly, turning around at the door to meet your gaze for what felt like one last time. “I love you.” His whisper was as light as air, but the silence of the sunrise allowed the words to grace your ears before he slipped out of the room as quickly as he had come, leaving you all alone. Just as you’d feared. He didn’t even break your heart behind him-

So you steeled your nerves and broke your heart by yourself. “No you don’t.”

You remember feeling broken for a long time, like you’d lost an anchor that had held you to the ground where you were supposed to be. In one fell swoop, you lost the spotlight and you lost him. You had nowhere to go anymore- no safe haven, no safe human. And yet, you couldn’t bring myself to hate him, your swan.

Was this what unconditional love felt like?

//WHAT IS\\

“Miss!Miss ! What are your plans for this fine evening? I’m sure a beautiful young lady of your stature has many places to be?”

The lights shone in your eyes- not as one large blinding gleam, but as tens of tiny blinking ones. The cameras clicked at you, petite spotlights of their own. 

“Maybe attend a recital, maybe find a drink in your marvelous city.” A renowned romance author at your age was unheard of- and with the rarity came fame. You pieced yourself back together, all by yourself. You  grew up, from a broken ugly duckling into something beautiful. This time, you were your own anchor. 

//

Kang Yeosang was alluring, but the spotlight following his solitary movements across a worn wood floor made him look like a god. There was nothing hesitant about his movements, the song building up to the swan song, the final adieu, the farewell of a character who had lived too much, too young. The audience was alive, electric with the feeling he left them with.

He made the right choice, your beautiful black swan. Watching him there, onstage, at the zenith of his existence, glowing, burning, alive under the spotlight that was so beloved to him… the embers of what you felt for him stirred, but you know they’d never come to life again. 

The spotlight was your swan’s home, and your words would always be yours. 

Thank you for reading! Do let me know what you think! - xoxo, Elliana <3

Network Tag: @kpopscape​ 

[a-fluffer-nutter]

Stop Working

A/N - Here is a cute spiderman fic I wrote for the nice anon who requested it a while back. Hope you all enjoy.

Word Count: 840

           Ignoring the guests you invite over to your house is considered to be rude, though Peter either didn’t care or realize this. Both MJ and Ned sat on the couch, entertaining themselves with a few rounds of Mario Kart. Peter had abandoned them the second they arrived, giving little regard to the pizza Ned held, saying that he would eat later. He had survived a grueling week of exams and fighting villains and his web blasters were low on fluid.

           “Couldn’t you have done this before we got here?” MJ remarked, poorly hiding her frustration with her boyfriend.

           “I need to be ready, just in case,” Peter replied, much to his friend’s chagrin. He had been incredibly stressed lately, more than ever under the Stark Internship. Peter just wasn’t in the mental headspace he wanted to be in, but instead on working on it, he tended to ignore is mental anguish and throw himself into his hero work. Social relationships were basically void as of late, sans the occasional semi-normal conversation he would have with Mr. Stark and Happy, but that was a rarity in the last two or so weeks.

           While Spiderman was on the news every night, Ned and MJ knew their friend needed compassion and companionship. Along with all of his normal stressors, the media had been hounding him even more than normal, all thanks to a mid-city brawl he had with Hammerhead. While his true identity was still hidden, Peter still felt he had to set forth a good example in everything he did, in and out of the Spiderman suit. If this meant spending every waking moment preparing for his next outing, then Peter was covered.

           “Can you relax for one moment?” MJ let out a sigh, grabbing a bit of his hair and shaking his head. “What even is the point of inviting us over if you aren’t going to hang out with us?”

           Peter simply shrugged, having not looked away from his work. He knew if he reconfigured just a little something-something, then the right web blaster would be able to shoot about 2 milliseconds faster.

           “I think I’m going to head home,” Ned frowned, his face somber.

           “God dammit,” MJ growled, suddenly digging her fingers into Peter’s sides. “I’m going to make you hang out with us, like it or not.”

           Curling in on himself, Peter let out a strangled laugh, then covered his mouth. MJ had never done this before, Ned sure, he tickled Peter all the damn time, but MJ?

           “Adorable,” MJ cooed. This was foreign to Peter, her hands on his side. Sure, they were dating, but she wasn’t the most affectionate person. Cuddling wasn’t a common occurrence, with them only leaning their heads on one another as they sat or holding hands while walking along a quiet street. Peter had always liked these interactions, though never begged for more. He respected MJ and only wanted her to do what she wanted, not wanting to ever pressure her into anything she didn’t really want to do.

           This was different though, and Peter was in confused bliss. He loved being tickled, though hated admitting it. He liked the laughter and the bond he felt during it. After losing most of the people dearest to him throughout his childhood, he craved touch and a familial-esque bond to others. He had always wanted this from MJ, but he stood firm on never pressuring her on anything.

           “Aw, he likes it,” Ned said with a smile, piquing MJ’s interest. She looked back at him, not noticing the flame-like blush coating Peter’s face. “Wait, has Peter never told you?”

           “No, he hasn’t,” MJ dug her fingers into his underarms, happy to hear a little snort. “He’s never mentioned tickling before.”

           “Oh,” Ned had dug himself into a hole, but figured it was best to keep giving out Peter’s secrets than to attempt to backtrack. “Well, he loves it. Especially on his belly.”

           “Ned!” Peter choked out from behind his hand, wanting to be angrier than he actually was. Was Peter fortunate to have Ned reveal his love of being tickled to MJ? Of course. Was he unfortunate to have it happen while he was working? Of course.

           “I’m trying to help you,” Ned shrugged, happy to see his best friend laugh for the first time in weeks. This laughter turned loud and bubbly as MJ took Ned’s advice and went for the belly. “Let us help you.”

           “Fine,” Peter managed to whine through his laughter, having withdraw his hand from his mouth so they could hear him. “Please stop. I can’t take much more.”

           “Fine,” MJ mocked, though stopped instantly. She ruffled Peter’s hair as he hiccupped, a silly grin crossing his face. “You promise to stop working and hang out with us?”

           “Sure,” Peter stood and up pulled his two friends into a hug. “I guess I’ll have to kick your asses in Mario Kart.”

           “Oh, you’re on,” Both friends simultaneously, each taking a hand and dragging Peter to the couch to play.

[goji-pilled]

MK-S: Homubey and Klarissa Halloween chat in the multiverse bar. Though it actually ends up being a more Homubey and a Bar Homura story. Enjoy.

No.

“Oh come on, please?” Klarissa pleaded towards Homubey.

I said no. Homubey repeated with telepathy.

“Why not? What’s the harm in it?” The witch girl questioned the alternative version of her mother-turned-Incubator.

I’m not going to a Halloween party as your black cat, surrounded by magical girls and witches, while I’m still one of the damn things that put everyone into this mess! Homubey shot back, scowling as best as she could with her Incubator face. (The resulting look would have disappointed Homubey and would have made several of the other Homuras in the Akemi-Ya multiverse bar burst into laughter. Klarissa did her best to keep a straight face.)

“Hey, language!” Bar Homura shouted from further down the counter where she was serving another customer/Homura.

We’re all adults mentally here!

“Um, I’m still in my teens.” Klarissa stated.

Homubey growled, both in the minds of everyone within a few meters, and physically through her small mouth. Several Homuras turned to look towards the audible sound. Real Incubators never had an emotional drive to growl, nor desire to make physical noise, so the sound that was produced was a rarity; something they were all grateful for, as it sounded akin to glass both shattering and grinding at once.

I need some air. Homubey growled as she hopped off the bar counter. She hated how much other versions of her had to tilt their heads down to see her leave. It should have been eye level, the same eye level as her. But no, one version of Sayaka Miki just had to see what would happen if she dropped a soul gem in an Incubator. She finally crawled out the front door and went around to the back of Akemi-Ya. She hopped up a few of the nearby pipes and window ledges until she was perched on a small pipe.

Homubey closed her purple eyes and breathed deeply. At least that was something she could still do that functioned just like her old body. She could feel some sort of interior sack filling with air when she breathed in, as well as said sack shrinking when she breathed out. She was still hesitant to call whatever it was “lungs” (or singular “lung”) though; some early experiments on Kyubey had taught her that Incubators had no biological need to breath oxygen, or any sort of gas in the air. They could survive indefinitely in a vacuum.

And I guess I can too… Homubey thought to herself. She didn’t know what to make of that fact: It could have its uses, but it was just one more thing to remind her of her new circumstances.

Her ears perked up (Ugh) as she heard footsteps approaching her. Bar Homura (the only Homura here who was actually starting to look her mental age,) was walking over to her.

What do you want? Homubey thought at her-what would have been her older self.

“I figured it’s about time we talked.” Bar Homura answered.

Talked about what? Homubey did her best to convey a feeling of annoyance with the message.

“You, obviously,” The older and still human woman stated. “But I have a feeling you already knew that.”

Yeah, what else is there to talk about? Homubey sarcastically responded, pointing an ear…feeler? Ringed tentacle appendage towards the non-sky. The freaking weather? Bar Homura chuckled.

“I think that’s the first time you’ve made a joke since you got here.”

Don’t get used to it.

“I don’t expect to.” Bar Homura leaned against a wall, head tilted upward to look at the black cat-like body resting on the pipework. “And that’s sort of the problem.”

Homubey raised an eyebrow…or she tried to, before she recalled she no longer had them anymore. She growled in frustration.

“You don’t really do much more than just sit around and sulk in my bar.” Bar Homura continued.

I’m stuck in the body of an Incubator. Homubey huffed inside the elder Homura’s head. There’s not much more I can do like this.

“You could go to that Halloween party.” Bar Homura countered and then waited for a response to her suggestion.

…No.

“…Made me wait quite a bit for a one word answer.” Bar Homura observed. “That makes me wonder…”

I wasn’t considering it. Bar Homura raised up her palms defensively.

“No, no, I wasn’t implying you were.” She stated, setting one hand down and raised the other to cup her chin. “But I can’t help but wonder if you were going over reasons why you don’t want to go.”

Aside from it being a pointless waste of time? Homubey asked sarcastically.

“Would it be any more wasteful than sitting around here?” Homubey was silent. Bar Homura sighed. “Take your time, I know it can be hard to put our emotions into words.”

They two stood together in silence for a few minutes before Homubey resumed the conversation.

I just…I don’t want them seeing me like this.

“Them?” Bar Homura inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Madoka naturally. Homubey answered. But also their version of me. I think we called her “The Victor” or something like that. And their version of Sayaka, I don’t know…The iteration who did this to me has come and gone. I can’t be mad at every version of her, but I…

“You know,” Bar Homura began after Homubey’s voice fell silent in her head. “Klarissa’s talked about that sort of thing before.”

I bet she would. Must be strange, seeing so many copies of her mother-

“That’s the thing though,” Bar Homura interrupted. “She doesn’t view us as copies of her Homura, her mother.”

Then are we what her Homura could-

“The closest comparison involving family would have us being her aunts,” Bar Homura explained. “Or many, many of her mother’s twin sisters. And that’s if she’s viewing as as family at all.”

…I could follow along with the notion of viewing us as aunts and siblings of her mother, but now you’ve lost me.

“Apparently…Phil,” Bar Homura said the name quickly, quietly, and with a shutter, as if she was violating some taboo by uttering the simple name. “enables her to explore other universes. A bit like alternative time flows, but with no limits of any kind.”

What limits? Homubey inquired.

“That there are Magical Girls at all.” Bar Homura explained. “Or that it’s Madoka that needs saving. Or even if there’s a Madoka to save. And sometimes a lack of a Homura as well.”

A world without Kyubey? It was a surprise to Bar Homura that could her the disbelief through telepathy. Must be paradise.

“She told me she doesn’t like to hang out at those worlds too much.”

That surprised Homubey. Why not?

“Because it’s the opposite of her very existence.” Bar Homura explained. “She told me she was born by means of familiars and magic.”

Well, that explains a lot.

“It’s also probably not the real reason she doesn’t like those places. She said that was her best guess as to why, but it could be that, while she finds those worlds quiet, she may also find them boring.”

…I feel that we’ve digressed from whatever point you were trying to make.

“True. But this is the most conversation you’ve had since you showed up in my bar. But with that said…what’s another reason you think you’re turning down the offer and just staying here?”

It may be… Homubey sighed, feeling like she giving a confession. Someone else seeing me…It would just make this too real. Here…I can at least pretend that I’m looking in a mirror.

“Klarissa’s seen you.” Homubey tilted her head to shoot Bar Homura an agitated glance, but instead looked down to the face of a woman in the middle of reconsidering her perspective. “Then again, you weren’t really expecting her to be here. I suppose that makes a difference.”

…It does. Homubey responds to what wasn’t actually a question. She heard Bar Homura let out a sigh.

“Look, I’m just going to start cutting to the chase. You’ve been here, on this plane, for months now. Without leaving it once.” At this, Homubey’s head jerked to look at Bar Homura directly. The older woman looked back up at her. “Don’t look so surprised. You don’t think I recognized that you’ve been headed off in the direction of my old restaurant? You haven’t claimed it, but you’ve been acting like you leave to try your loops again, when you’re still hanging around here. So, I feel I need to ask…why haven’t you gone back?”

Homubey was silent for a while. Given her expressionless Incubator face, Bar Homura assumed the younger, alternative version of herself was growing angry with her. The tone she heard in her head, however, was anything but mad.

I…I-I’m afraid. Bar Homura looked taken aback. That was not the response she expected. Homubey started to shiver slightly as the next batch of words left her mind. I-I’m still in this body in this…place. I don’t…I can’t…if I do go back, am I going to be waking up on my own corpse each time?

A-And how could I make Madoka believe me? It was different when she was there to see it happen, but to just take my word for it? Kyubey is a master at deception, he’d have every magical girl after my head the moment he finds out about me! Her feline-like body was now shaking so much the pipe she rested on began to rattle.

“Homu-“ Bar Homura tried to interject, but Homubey continued spilling her heart.

I’m not even remotely human anymore! Homubey all but cried out, frustration and fury seeping into the transmitted thought as she cursed her inability to cry. I crawl on the ground like an animal. I’m unable to hold or grab anything with these worthless paws. I can’t even hold a knife in my mouth, I got desperate enough to try, just so I could do something, anything! I just, just-

Homubey was interrupted as she felt a pair of hands wrap around her, removing her from her perch on the pipes. She felt herself be embraced in a warm hug.

“It’s okay to cry.” Bar Homura said, cradling the poor black body in her arms.

I can’t…th-this body c-can’t. Bar Homura felt her heart break.

“Then just let it all out any way you can.”

And so Homubey did, wailing wordless cries in Bar Homura’s head. Instead of saying anything, she simply held Homubey tighter, cradling her like one might a small child. After several minutes of the misplaced soul crying out in the only way she could, Bar Homura noticed that Homubey seemed to be calming down. After a moment, Homubey squirmed out of the adult’s arms, and landed gracefully on the ground.

Thank you…for just holding me. Not trying to pet me like a cat. Bar Homura nodded as she also sat down, legs outstretched, and back against the building wall.

“No problem. I have to ask though, are you feeling any better?”

…I think so. It felt good to put those thoughts into words, then get them off my chest. Thank you.

“Anytime, Homubey.”

Not sure how comfortable I am with the name Homubey.

“You’ll get used to it.”

What makes you so-

“We never exactly asked Tamura either. And remember, my name is Bar Homura.”

Homubey made some sort of high pitched vocalization, which Bar Homura could only confirm as a laugh by the chuckle that played in her head.

That is a fair point.

“So what are your thoughts now that we’ve had this heart to heart?”

You and I both know that Incubator bodies don’t have hearts. Homubey sent the lighthearted thought. I’m pretty sure we’ve all checked at one point or another.

“I thought you said not to get used to you making jokes.”

I also said I wasn’t considering the party. I seem to say a lot of things.

“So you plan on accepting Klarissa’s offer?”

I didn’t say that; just that I’m considering it. I still don’t think I’m ready to start another loop, let alone someone else’s loop. Bar Homura just gave her a confused stare. What? Homubey blinked.

“I think there’s been some sort of miscommunication regarding Klarissa’s means of transport.” Bar Homura explained. “Klarissa doesn’t enter here via time travel…I think. I’m shaky on the specifics. She uses…that thing as some sort of taxi, portal maker, I don’t know, I refuse to ask. The point is that you don’t need to find out what will happen to you, at least not yet.”

Well, I don’t know if I could take six weeks of-

“It’s more likely six hours at most.” Bar Homura could have sworn Homubey’s eyes widened. “What? When it comes to that girl, it’s not exactly starting a new loop.”

Then it’s basically tourism?

“Sort of. If I may offer a different perspective,” Bar Homura proposed. “Maybe think of it as a possible trial run of ‘The best case, in the worst case’. You don’t need to find out what a new loop will bring, but you can get an idea on what your best outcome would be if you don’t get your body back.”

The older Homura stood up and started walking towards the entrance.

“Besides,” Bar Homura said, with a sly smile growing on her face as she looked back over her shoulder. “You said you needed some fresh air? Well, I can’t think of anything fresher for a Homura than air from October.”

Homubey was alone now as Bar Homura turned the corner to head back into her restaurant. She looked up at the not-sky.

Yes, she thought, some fresh October air would do her some good.

——————————————————————

And a link back to that Homubey table of contents, because that’s how I roll…

I kinda rushed some parts of the ending a little, as I mainly want to finally publish this. Actually “post” this…technically “ask”; these have been: “the thoughts that went through my head.”

Fun fact, I was actually split on what to make for Homubey’s reason for staying in the bar. I had two possibilities: the one you’ve seen, in which Homubey’s loop failed, and she ended up in this time warp zone, still as an incubator. The other possibility I considered was that her loop was actually successful, but now she’s torn between living an inhuman life with Madoka (and maybe the others) and wondering if she could try a reset to restore her body, but risk that endless loop again. No idea since I don’t know what vicsep’s plan was, but if our two versions don’t match up, then it could be justified as “multiverse”.

While writing this story, I had an idea for a not 100% ideal outcome for Homubey, but one that I think could lead to interesting situations: Homubey wakes up and sees that she still has her Incubator body. She starts to panic, but then hears heavy breathing nearby, she looks and there’s her body staring back at her; then she’s in her human body, looking at her Incubator body. Her soul gem is now an Incubator, while also now being an extension of herself. One soul, manipulating two bodies. This leads to a constant image of Homura with a black incubator perched on her shoulder. Unable to transform or Dispel her magical uniform without direct contact with her incubator body. Homubey would likely think this is not the best, but at least she’s human; plus, now she gets to keep the telepathy as well.

Have a good day everyone! Hope this was enjoyable!

IM SORRY ABOUT HOW LATE IM SEEIG THIS BUT HECK YEAH!!!! SOMETHING THAT ISNT VIOLENCE!!!

[thepropertylovers]

The Most Perfect Fall Weekend

We spent the weekend at the tiny house on the farm, staying up way too late and waking up early and it was the best little getaway ever.

The packing began a few days before, and so did the cleaning. We cleaned the tiny house from top to bottom to get it ready for our family to call home for a few days. We haven’t stayed in the tiny house since the beginning of the year, as Dixie has been living in it. But PJ found a camper for her that he brought and parked at the farm that she now lives in full time (so she’s still on the property!), which means the tiny house is fair game. It felt good to be back in there again, and even though I can’t imagine staying in it longer than two days, it was so much fun to live small and experience a change of scenery for a bit.

Even after four years, I am still so surprised by how much I love being at the farm. The animals have become our family, the mountain in the background has become our friend, the land has become our home. Home: that’s how I feel when we’re out there. Which is crazy to think about because, growing up, I always hated the idea of “farm life” and everything it encompassed. Now, though, I think since it’s ours and PJ has talked about how magical farm life is for families and children, I am absolutely in love with it (though I’m not quite there with the messiness of farm life- I am still leaving that to PJ for the time being).

Friday night, Matt & Beau came over with pumpkins and hotdogs. The pumpkins were for the kids and carving (how sweet is that?) and the hotdogs were for roasting over the fire. They carved pumpkins with the kids for a while, which gave me and PJ a little time to sip some wine and sit back and relax, a rarity in our house.

After pumpkin carving, PJ made a bonfire and we roasted hotdogs and made s’mores. It was the perfect fall evening. We let the kids stay up way too late and just talked around the fire. Dixie came out for a while and relaxed with us, too. It was truly a family affair, and with the temps dropping fast, it became cold enough for turtlenecks and sweaters as extra layers of warmth. My favorite.

The next morning we picked Matt and Beau up at the foot of their driveway and made the hour long drive to a local apple orchard where we took an orchard tour and ate way too many apple fritters. We could have stayed there all day. I meant to bring home apple butter or some kind of jelly, but all I brought home was an extremely full belly.

The tour guide snuck some fallen apples and gave them to all the kids on the tour. I have a weird allergy to uncooked apples (I know, I know) so I didn’t dare eat any, but I hear they were yummy!

How stunning is the orchard? With rolling hills as far as the eye can see, I don’t think I would ever get tired of this view. Kind of reminds me of the farm a bit.

After the orchard, we drove down to Blue Ridge, GA, which looks like a postcard or a Hallmark Movie town. It’s so picturesque and pretty damn perfect, filled with little local shops and restaurant and the cutest gift stores you’ve ever seen. The fall colors were making this already charming town even more so.

We had lunch at this delicious cajun restaurant that Matt recommended and it was the perfect way to end the day. Well, we also stopped by the cupcake store and brought home a few of those, and really that was the perfect ending to the day.

That night, we did the same bonfire, let the kids stay up late running around, and we just enjoyed each other’s company. This is still a somewhat new concept to us- having friends this close by to hang out night after night and have perfect fall days with.

I think we could get used to this.

[iidiotkid]

Okay I kinda wanna talk about Tim because this is my account and I do what I want

On one hand, I understand why people hate him. He’s a Rich White Sad Boy, and we have plenty of those, but like,,,,,, I think Tim as a character is a pretty interesting move for the batman universe. At least in concept

He’s written to be a self-insert. It’s obvious. He’s a boy with a neglectful family life (which is far more common than the other batkids), who gets noticed by the heroes he adores and they think he’s smart, who has very little personality traits other than that, etc

But that’s exactly why I think he’s interesting. Because a lot of the things interrelate and if they had actually been explored it properly it would have been so cool.

To start off, the child neglect. This is a kid who has had limited social interaction his entire life. The two people who are supposed to love him the most didn’t care enough to even call most of the time, and most of the kids that talked to him would have been doing so because of his parents, how would that affect a person?

He, like many batfamily fans, fixates on a family situation he perceives as healthy. He follows them around, watches the Robins and their interactions with Batman, takes pictures of everything and keeps them in a scrapbook like someone would do their own family photos. He projects himself onto them, pretends like he’s a part of them, wishes that his own life could be like that...

But then something happens. Jason dies. The only true family he’s ever known, even if they never knew him, is fractured. Dick stops coming by as often, Bruce starts getting suicidal. Everything’s gone to shit and he’s desperate to fix it. He knows what’s wrong and, after a lot of convincing, he manages to get Bruce to let him correct it.

Which means he’s officially a part of the family he’s always wanted to be in! The childhood dream that he never fully dared to allow himself to wish for has come true! Sure, Bruce is still a little hesitant about him, but he’s officially Robin!

Now what?

Now he hits a problem. Everything he defines himself with are mostly just his status — he’s the heir to Drake Industries! — and that’s all. But now he isn’t really a Drake anymore, he’s spent more time with Bruce in the past few months than he has with his biological parents since he was a baby. So, who is he?

Robin, of course! He can’t call himself Bruce’s son, the man hadn’t adopted him and it felt a bit like he was betraying the Drakes by considering himself that, so he latched onto the only other thing present. He was Robin.

And this made him fear losing Robin even more. Because, if he wasn’t Robin, then who exactly was he? He knows he wasn’t chosen, that Dick and Jason were and he WASNT, he’s so painfully aware of it. Bruce didn’t want him, not really.

And that was fine, he was used to people he loved not wanting him around.

In fact, this situation was even better than the usual. At least Bruce was willing to deal with him! Of course, he doesn’t know how long that’ll last, so he tells himself he has to work hard. If he messes up too much then Bruce will realize he’s more trouble than he’s worth, just like every parental figure always realizes given enough time, and he can’t deal with that.

Obviously, he becomes a perfectionist. He had already been pretty obsessive, this was almost inevitable. Late nights poring over files, unfocused in his classes, but a he’s damn good Robin. And Bruce is noticing! He’s praising him for figuring things out so fast, he’s thanking him for his help!

But Tim is a growing boy, and growing boys need their sleep. Poor reflexes, stunted growth, gradually declining ability to think... all bad things when you’re Robin. And Bruce is noticing, because of course he is he’s BATMAN, but he hasn’t said anything yet so it’s fine and really Tim can just deal with it —.

Enter one Dick Grayson. He sees this kid take a pretty bad blow in a fight, sees this kid in the Robin suit nearly die while he’s unable to do anything, and all he can think about is Jason dying alone in that warehouse while he was unable to do anything in space. He couldn’t save Jason. He can save Tim.

Visits from Bludhaven become more common despite all the tensions between Bruce and him. Tim doesn’t know why Dick is suddenly so interested in him, hardly anyone ever is, but he is more than happy to accept it for now.

Dick takes him out to see Gotham, not as vigilantes but as civilians. Tim has never seen Gotham like this, not really. His parents had never been all that interested in showing him, and school field trips are always spent bitching and moaning about how boring they were or stressing out over worksheets, so he hadn’t had a chance to really enjoy Gotham for what it was. A gorgeous place despite the circumstances.

He starts spending more time out in Gotham simply for himself, even when Dick wasn’t around. He starts meeting new people. He learns that he’s a listener. Watching people talking about things they loved, seeing the way their faces light up and their hands move around wildly in their excitement, it becomes one of his favorite pastimes.

And, of course, they make life sound like so much fun. He starts doing even more. He visits the arboretum, the planetarium, the zoo, he loves them all. Nature was so gorgeous, and in Gotham it was such a rarity to see any of it that every time he visited he could feel the breath catch. He wants to make Gotham better. He knows not everyone can afford to go to these kinds of places all the time, so the only solution is to try and better the city.

He’s no longer Robin for the sake of being Batman’s Robin, he’s Robin to help Gotham.

He’s doing it purely to be helpful, because he genuinely likes helping people now. He’s seen their smiles, he’s heard their stories, and he wants to protect them.

But he can’t do that if he keeps working himself half to death (literally), so he starts allowing himself some proper rest. He is surprised to learn he’s actually doing BETTER as Robin now. He’s a better fighter and a better detective, sure, but he’s also more concerned about collateral damage in fights and he’s better with victims.

And Bruce notices. Of course he does, he’s Batman, but he doesn’t say anything again. Tim is doing well, and he was usually quiet about most things so he can leave him be.

Or, at least, that was the plan until a particularly adamant Dick drags him out of his brooding to talk to Tim. Bruce, however awkward and stilted, asks how his day went.

So Tim tells him that he doesn’t have to do that, that they don’t have to force a relationship. They were Batman and Robin, and that was enough for him, they didn’t need to be Bruce and Tim, too, if Bruce didn’t want it to be that way.

Bruce’s breath catches just like Tim’s does when he sees the stars and the plants and the animals as they truly are. And then Bruce slowly draws him into a hug, it’s painfully awkward and a little uncomfortable with all their armor, but then Bruce says that he does want it. That he wants Tim.

And Tim realizes then, with his face buried in Bruce’s cape and promises of a better relationship with Bruce, that he isn’t Robin. Because Robin was little more than an idea.

He was just Tim. And maybe Tim was enough.

[bugabash]

Hold me while we Fall - Chapter 3

WOW, I was late with this update, whoops! And the sole reason is that i am Lazy :D

Any hoo, this chapter was written and rewritten many damn times that I was ready to just give up, but I finally got it out! Now the amazing @sweetjupiterr and I are working on this project together, and some art work will be coming out in the future :D Please check out her Tumblr and her Instagram

Enjoy :)

First / Previous / Next

AO3

Chapter 3 - Training

“My name is Commandant Sadies! I am here for the sole purpose to make you feel fear! I am here to make you piss yourself at the sound of my voice! If I do my job right over the next 3 years you will become a shell of yourself and then become a soldier we can call competent! Right now, I am looking at you fucking sack of shits and I see no one who is good enough to be in the military!” The commandant screamed from the front, his arms behind his back, “Do not mistake anything I do for kindness! Because as far as you know I am the last face you see before you become a fucking SNACK for the titans!” He glared at them all, “now! I do not give a FUCK what is between your legs, you will be treated the same and no one has any excuse to fail at anything! You are cadets first and foremost! If I hear anyone complain you will be punished accordingly! Let’s have some fun!”

The commandant was a tall, bald man with deep sunken, black eyes and his face wore a look that spoke a thousand words. He used to be the commander for the scouts, his kill count for Titans was impressive and he was described as the best commandant that the military has had in years. The soldiers he brought into the military after the three years were the best in a long time. He walked with a sense of confidence that only looking death in the face could give you.

And now he was walking in their lines, drilling almost everyone, screaming in their faces and making them sweat. So far he had completed the first line and Marinette heard a few names, one girl’s name was Rose, she was from a small village in wall Rose (funnily enough, the commandant loved using that) and she was tiny, even smaller than Marinette, with short pixie cut blonde hair. She seemed like a little doll if Marinette were honest, her voice was high pitched and she everything about her seemed fragile. When the commandant was done with her she was trembling and her head was hung. Marinette wondered if she was crying.

The next person who caught Marinette’s eye was a tall boy with black spiked hair and broad shoulders. She couldn’t see his face but she could tell he was noticeably confident. The commandant had a grin on his face as he screamed at the boy, calling him a moronic ape. The boy’s name was Kim Le Chiến, the name stood out to her because she knew it was an oriental name just like the Cheng part of her name. She knew there were other clans but they usually stayed hidden out of fear of seclusion. Like her father always used to say, people fear others who don’t look like themselves. Kim was from a hunting village that used to reside in wall Maria, he wanted to join the scouts, screaming it out proudly as he saluted with his right fist over his heart. The commandant seemed content and moved on.

Marinette spotted one girl who was tall, long dark black hair that was in a braid down her back, her fringe covering most of her eye, she seemed to be the commandant’s new favourite toy from the look he gave her. She trembled as he screamed in her face, grabbing her fringe and lifting it up much to her surprise, screaming in her face about how he wanted soldiers who could actually see the titans before they were eaten. But the worst part was when he asked her anything, her voice was so soft and she had no confidence, making the Commandant even more angry. He didn’t get much out of her, calling her a disappointment and told her to start running around the field until he told her to stop. Marinette watched her jog off awkwardly, her eyes wide and fear all over her face.

The first row turned and faced the others at the commandant’s orders and soon Marinette was watching him grab a small dark skinned boy by the head and lifted him up, glaring at him and asking him if he was dropped as a baby, he had said the wrong thing apparently when he said he wanted to join the military police. Marinette looked forward, hearing the boy be dropped. So far the others were just… normal. She watched as the commandant skipped people, eyeing one girl in particular, she had dark auburn hair that she wore down around her shoulders, the ends in a small ponytail. He eyed her with a frown before moving on. Soon the second row was facing them and the commandant was making his way down her row.

Marinette looked to the side at Alya briefly, seeing her anxiously shuffling in her place. Marinette knew she was nervous, they had gone over what they would say the night before, reciting it over and over. Marinette felt sure in herself, she felt pride in her uniform and she felt like she had found her place. She took a deep breath and kept her eyes staring ahead as the commandant stepping in front of her.

He looked her over, his eyes falling on her scar and he examined it before moving on to Alya. She sighed in relief and closed her eyes, her mind going numb as she felt her scar go cold. She hated that scar so much, but at least it got her off the hook. She felt beads of sweat drop down her back slowly, the cold water against her hot skin making her skin prickle up in goosebumps. It was such an odd feeling, but it triggered a memory of that day, those green eyes, the blonde hair, the sweat dripping down his face and on to her in the giant hand. Her eyes shot open and she controlled her breathing as she felt it start to get erratic, glancing to the side with her eyes and saw Alya trembling with wide eyes, staring at the ground.

Shit! Marinette had completely blanked and missed Alya’s turn. She would ask her about it later, now she just needed to keep her head clear and keep focused.

“Third row about face!”

Marinette stood there, staring at the tall, blonde haired, green eyed boy in front of her, her mind going blank. Time froze and she felt her heart drop into her stomach, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She looked him up and down, how was he here? Why was he here? They stared at each other, eyes wide, Marinette’s right eye twitching slightly.

Adrien…

He had grown a few inches, his shoulder’s broader and his jaw more defined. His face had lost his baby fat and he had the beginning of some facial hair barely visible on his chin. She realised she had her breath held as the commandant stepped in front of her, looking at Adrien. She blinked and shook her head, she needed to get her composure back. She was suddenly very aware that she was in the shirt she had thought he had left for her as well. She looked over at Alya who had wide eyes and her jaw was slack. She knew Alya had spoken to Adrien before when he visited her apparently. But Marinette never asked more, the pain of it all too overwhelming at the time. She took a deep breath and looked back, blinking.

She looked at Adrien who was frowning at her. Why was he frowning at her? So, in return, she frowned back in defiance, shaking her head a little and raising her eyebrow as if to say what. His eyes moved away from her eyes as he looked her over. She scrunched her lips up and looked him over too.

How had it been a year and a half already? How were they in the same cadet corps? How had he grown up so much since then? She had barely changed, only grown a little after hitting puberty, the only change to her was probably her hair and that she didn’t smile much anymore. She caught his eyes again but… he wasn’t frowning anymore. He was looking at her like… her frown dropped and she watched him, gulping softly. He was looking at her like he did that day when he thought they were safe. Like she was the only person in the world. What was he…?

“Fourth row, about face!” And like that he turned around, his back to her. She stared at the back of his head for a minute before blocking out her thoughts on him. Turning her attention back to the task at hand, she needed to stay focused. This didn’t change anything. Just a slight bump in the road. Major bump but that didn’t matter!

“What is your name, bean stalk!” She heard the commandant yell, thankful to take her mind off of Adrien, looking over. He was standing in front of a tall boy with dark shaggy hair that fell over his forehead and sparkling blue eyes.

He came to attention, his fist over his heart with his other arm behind his back still, “Luka Couffaine, sir!”

“Couffaine, huh? Is that your undisciplined sister running around the field like a fuck up?” He yelled back.

“Yes sir! She is my younger twin sister, sir!” Luka replied confidently, his cool and calm exterior intriguing her.

“Twins huh? That’s rarity these days!” The commandant said as he pulled on his small goatee as if in thought, “are you going to be as quiet and useless as her, Couffaine?”

“No sir! I am loud and I am ready to fight!” Luka clenched his fist tighter, his brows furrowed slightly.

“Is that so? Where are you and your creature of a sister from, Couffaine?” The commandant leant in closer.

“Shiganshina sir!” He replied, his eyes darkening. Marinette raised her brows and gulped, there were more people from Shiganshina here? It was a stupid question, but she grew up there and had never seen this boy before.

“Shiganshina hey?” The commandant examined him briefly before speaking up, stepping into Luka’s personal space. “And what do you plan on doing if I allow you to graduate, private? Are you going to fuck off to the inner walls like the rest of these pussies want to do or are you going to be a man?”

“I plan on joining the scouts sir!” Luka yelled in determination.

The commandant was quiet for a minute before he scoffed, “Well, we will see if you are worth it now won’t we.” And with that he moved on.

Marinette watched him walk to the next person before her eyes went back to the boy, Luka. He caught her eyes and looked over at her. She blinked and looked back, unable to look away like she was frozen, watching as he smiled small at her briefly before dropping it before the commandant could see. Marinette blinked and smiled slightly, looking away and staring back forward, noticing Adrien’s head was turned slightly. Was he looking at Luka?

Soon the commandant was back in the front, everyone facing him at attention. “The next three years will be the worse you have ever experienced in your pathetic lives! You will be pushed to the breaking point both mentally and physically! If you do not wake up in the future hating these days then you didn’t try hard enough and should be fucking ashamed!” He yelled, “I am not training you to run off to the fucking interior, I am training you to be scouts, or the level of the scouts! Do you understand me?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” They chanted.

“This does not mean that you have to join the scouts before you ask some stupid fucking questions, but you better fucking be as good as them or else you aren’t good enough for the military and you can go work the field with the other cowards!” He started walking down the line. “Any of you worthless shits ready to quit? The wagon leaves at sundown. Now, let the fun begin!”

---

Marinette grumbled under her breath as she finished pulling on her civilian clothes. She sighed and stood in front of her wooden locker, brushing her hair in frustration. She was in a pale pink knee length skirt, light brown lace up boots and a white button up top under her faded black cardigan, with a grey scarf around her neck in an effort to hide her scar. The clothes were slightly baggy on her as they were second hand from Alya’s sister and mom, but she didn’t care at this point. Her body ached from the hours of extreme physical activity and she was starving. She put her brush down and looked over at Alya who was lacing up her brown boots. She had chosen to wear a dark grey skirt and a white shirt with a dark brown vest buttoned up on her stomach. Her hair was in a pony still, her fluffy hair falling around her face with ease.

She stood up and checked everything was in place before smiling at Marinette, “you ready?” She asked, Marinette nodded took a deep breath, the bell for dinner chiming. Great… Just in time. The girls building was the furthest away from everything so the walk took a little more of a walk compared to the boys’. But from the ruckus coming from their courters, she was certain they would be late. She rolled her eyes, boys.

“Do you think Adrien is going to approach you?” Alya asked curiously, eyes on the dirt floor as they made their way to the mess hall.

“I don’t know… It’s been so long since I last saw him, I’ve only met him once and it’s like…it’s like I have known him longer, you know? We met once but what we went through was…” She frowned and sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. “Intense to say the least. I just wanted a fresh start, I wasn’t expecting him to be here.”

“And he saw you in his shirt.” Alya chimed in, causing Marinette’s head to snap towards her.

“You said you didn’t know if it was his or not?” Marinette questioned with a frown and a pouted lip.

“I uhm, well you see, you weren’t in the uh, greatest of states.” Alya stammered out nervously, her fingers fiddling with each other, a nervous smile on her face. “I didn’t know how you would react! But yeah… it’s uh, his. He asked me to give it to you, then you uh… headbutted a nurse and I thought it best not to tell you. I’m sorry, girl.”

Marinette glared at her playfully before sighing and looking forward, “at least I know now, ugh, I must have looked like such a loser today, Alya.”

“I don’t think so, I was watching him, he seemed pretty shocked to see you, but I saw how he looked at you.” Alya elbowed her playfully as they started up the steps, “it was quite the look.” Alya giggled, Marinette rolling her eyes at her friend.

“I am not here for that.” She chided back before she looked to the side, blinking and walking to the railing on the balcony outside the mess hall. Alya stood next to her, her smile gone. A few others joined them as they started at the cart going up the hill.

“They couldn’t make it, gave up.” A voice behind her spoke up, “Man, I know today sucked but enough to quit?”

“Some people just can’t handle it. Get over it, Kim.” A high pitch, annoyed voice piped up that made Marinette frown and roll her eyes instinctively. She watched the wagon leave, the people in the back huddled together, their hoods up. She didn’t recognise anyone special, maybe one girl from her room but that was it. Was it really that bad for them that they had to quit? It was the first day!

“Come on, let’s get something to eat.” Alya said, tugging on Marinette’s arm. Marinette let her pull her along, turning and heading inside to the big hall that was lined with wooden picnic tables and a station to be served. Marinette followed her along, passing a girl who was stood at the doorway as if she were waiting for someone, her arms crossed over her chest and such a sour expression that made Marinette curl her lip up, she just knew this girl was going to be a problem. She had that look. She was around Alya’s height, slim with long blonde hair that was in a high ponytail, her bangs framing her face. She had perfect skin, piercing blue eyes and a mouth that seemed to be permanently in a scowl. She glared at Marinette as she passed, Marinette raised a brow at her but didn’t give her much time. “Keep moving, Scarface.” She growled, making Marinette blink and pull her scarf up over her mouth for comfort.

Marinette glanced around as they entered the hall, her already bitter mood even worse. It was mainly the girls in there, a few of the boys were already sitting, boasting away and metaphorically measuring dick sizes. She knew the signs, she had seen so many boys do it in her lessons before. She saw a few people were looking at her, whispering to each other so she turned her eyes forward.

“Do you think she got her scar facing a titan?”

“He didn’t even speak to her.”

“I heard she’s from Shiganshina.”

“Do you think she was there?”

“How big do you think it is?”

“No way she escaped a titan, she barely looks like she can break a toothpick.”

Marinette looked away, fiddling with her scarf more making sure her scar was hidden. “Don’t listen to them.” Alya said, passing her a mug and bowl. “Let’s get some food, girl.”

Soon they were sitting at a table in the corner, as Alya knew Marinette liked to be out of view. The whispers carried on unfortunately, Marinette purposefully sitting so the candlelight hit her right side of her face, chewing on her lip.

“Girl, what have I said? Ignore them. They aren’t talking about your scar, they are talking about how you got it.” Alya said, reaching over and taking Marinette’s hand. Marinette blinked and frowned slightly, “no one knows the real story but I heard a few people making shit up,” she rolled her eyes and broke off a piece of her bread, dipping it into her stew. “I heard one story about how you fought off a titan with a butter knife, hmm, was interesting.”

Marinette snorted and looked down at her food, playing with it a bit before she pushed her scarf down and started eating. It was bland, mushy and didn’t really taste good, but Marinette didn’t care. This was amazing to her from the rationing the past year and a half, and she was starving. “A butterknife huh? That’s pretty dumb.”

“Yeah, I know.” Alya said with a smirk, “I started it.” Marinette raised her eyebrows before she snorted out a giggle, covering her mouth to stop the stew coming out, Alya giggling along with her.

“You did not!” Marinette hissed between her silent giggles.

“Of course, it was me! It’s too funny! They are going to find out soon anyway, may as well let them be dumb enough to believe shit like that. And if they do, then that’s on them.” She giggled in reply, biting into her bread with a wink.

Marinette shook her head and smiled small at her friend, eyes going back over the crowd of teenagers she would soon call her comrades, maybe even her friends. As she looked back down she heard someone clear their throat to her left. Both her and Alya looked up and saw Adrien standing there with a boy Marinette thought was Nino. He was a little taller than Adrien, dressed in dark brown trousers and a black V-neck shirt, he had golden, hazel eyes and dark skin, his hair spiked on top while faded underneath.

Shit! She chocked on her bread and ended up coughing, hiding her face as she did. Alya looked over at her with a raised brow as Adrien patted Marinette on the back worriedly.

“You good girl?” She asked, tilting her head and smirking small. Marinette nodded in reply and flashed a thumbs up before grabbing her mug of water, downing it as Adrien straightened back up. Shit, shit, shit.

Adrien looked at Marinette worriedly, “Are you okay?” He asked gently, his brows furrowed together.

“Y-ye” she cleared her throat, “yeah, I’m all goo-good, I’m fine.” She stammered, wiping her mouth and sitting up straight.

“Is it cool if we sit with you, dudettes?” Nino asked, Marinette blinking as how he spoke. It was very nonchalant and was how the boys who would get in trouble a lot at school would talk. But something about him made Marinette feel at ease, like he was someone she could trust.

“Yeah, of course.” Alya said, eyeing Marinette before she moved to the right so one of the boys could slip in. Nino slid next to her on her left, smiling lazily at her. Marinette gulped and moved over too, letting Adrien slide in. She pulled her scarf up as the candlelight on the table hit her left side, her scar on full show. She looked around anxiously and saw more people looking at her and whispering. Adrien placed his plate down and watched her worriedly.

“They aren’t just looking at you, Marinette.” He spoke up, causing her to look at him with a jump, “the guys in my room found out I was in Shiganshina and saw the titans thanks to someone’s” he frowned at Nino, “big mouth. So, they’ve been talking about me too.” Marinette was put at ease a little more at the thought that it wasn’t just her. Nodding and letting the scarf fall back down, looking down at her food, willing her appetite to come back. “I’m actually surprised they haven’t come over here questioning us on it if I’m honest. They aren’t shy.”

“Well, I mean they’re probably scared of her, Marinette was it?” Marinette nodded at Nino, “I mean, I heard you took down a Titan with a butterknife and that’s how you got your gnarly scar!” Alya snorted her into her mug next to him, Marinette biting her lips in an attempt not to laugh, and Adrien looked at Nino in bewilderment and confusion, his brows raise.

“Wait, what?” Adrien asked in confusion.

“Oh, didn’t you hear? Little miss badass here got her scar by fighting off a titan with a butterknife!” Alya joked with a hearty laugh, “that’s how she got her scar.” Marinette laughed softly, rolling her eyes.

“She isn’t serious, right?” Adrien asked Marinette nervously, looking down at her with wide eyes and a pained expression.

“No.” She replied and shook her head, “they have been talking about me all day, so Alya here,” Alya waved, “told them I got my scar fighting a titan with a butterknife, of all things.” Marinette chuckled softly, taking a bite of her bread as her nerves slowly faded, hunger replacing them.

“No way, that was you?” Nino asked Alya with a raised brow, “respect!” Alya laughed and high fived Nino, Marinette smiling small and focusing back on her meal. “So, Marinette, how did you get your scar?” Nino asked cheerfully with his mouth full.

Marinette froze as she broke apart her bread, eyes dashing to Adrien who was looking down at his own bowl, his Adams apple bobbing. She looked back down at her food and cleared her throat, she knew there would be questions. “I’m from Shiganshina. I got hit by some debris when a titan fell behind us. Nothing special, simply wrong place at the wrong time.” Marinette answered as casually as she could manage, pressing her lips together tightly as she smiled awkwardly and shrugging, feeling Adrien’s eyes on her.

“Wait, you have actually seen the titans? For real?” Nino exclaimed a little too loud for Marinette’s liking. She froze, looking up to see the room was almost silent now, and people were looking over at them. “Both of you two have?”

“Nino.” Adrien warned, “Shut up.” He looked around nervously too, Marinette didn’t think it was a day he would enjoy talking about either. Marinette rolled her shoulders nervously as if she were getting out knots in her muscles, pulling her scarf up.

Nino turned and looked around guiltily, “Shit, sorry dude.” He whispered before he turned around and hunched over, shovelling his food into his mouth. Marinette fiddled with her food between her fingers, pulling apart the last bit of bread and watching it fall into what was left of her stew.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other as the talking picked back up in the room, a frown on Marinette’s mouth and her brows furrowed. Adrien glanced around again, Marinette watching as his hair flowed on his forehead and around his ears as he looked around. She had to admit to herself, he did look incredible with shaggier hair. She blushed and looked away with wide eyes, what kind of thought was that? The thought making her very aware the last time she saw him she was only eleven and a half maybe, she was under 5”, a child still, and hadn’t even hit puberty, she should not be having those kinds of thoughts, especially because he probably still sees her as that little child.

“So, Adrien.” Alya spoke up, bringing Marinette back to Earth, “are you from Shiganshina too?”

Adrien looked back at her and smiled warmly, “no, uh, I’m actually from…” He hesitated, “uh, I’m from Stohess.” They all stared at him in shock, Marinette more than anyone.

Stohess? He was from Stohess? Why the hell was he in Shiganshina that day? That’s a district on the interior walls.

“You’re from the interior?” Nino asked in surprise, “dude…”

“I mean, I guess, it’s not exactly the interior, and plus I haven’t been there in over a year and a half.” Adrien pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck.

Alya was examining him, “you don’t seem like someone from the interior.” She leant over the table slightly. “They are usually so far up their asses that they like the smell of their own shit, you don’t seem like that.”

Adrien looked slightly amused, a small cocky grin appearing, “what? Not everyone is like that, trust me. And that could also be because I have been living with…” He was about to say something but he stopped, Marinette frowned, she was sure he was about to say his brother, but he didn’t. Why didn’t he? “I have relatives in the scouts, they took me in.” He glanced at Marinette briefly, he looked nervous. Relatives? That was one way of putting it. She knew his brother was in the scouts, and Tikki had said he had come back from the attempt to get Wall Maria back so she knew he was alive. Why wasn’t he saying anything about Plagg? She could reason that he didn’t want special treatment, but she doubted it would end up like that if anyone knew. But she wasn’t going to tell his story, it wasn’t her place, but she would question him later.

“The scouts? That’s lucky.” Nino replied, “so, you must be, like starving.” Nino laughed as Adrien raised a brow, “did they feed you as well as people say?”

“I mean, I never went hungry, but it wasn’t as great as everyone likes to say.” Adrien shrugged, “I spent most of the time alone and I always ate alone. I preferred the time I spent with the scouts if I’m honest.”

“Well, you are one of the few from the interior I think, I don’t know any of them yet, well, besides Chloe.” Nino pointed out, “everyone else is from the outers walls.”

“Who’s Chloe?” Marinette asked softly between bites, her hunger back in full force, Adrien snorting a laugh as she shovelled the last bit of her stew into her mouth.

“The bitchy one.” Alya said with a roll of her eyes, “the blonde one who looks like someone bitch slapped her expression onto her face.” Alya leant into her hand as she rested her elbow on the table, “she wanted to go to the cadet bases in the interior but got sent here instead. She’s dead set on military police, boasting about how she is going to live a life of luxury.” Alya rolled her eyes and curled her lip up in disgust. “But she is probably one of the most awful people I have ever met.”

“Wait, the girl from earlier?” Marinette asked with a raised brow, Adrien looking at her.

“Sadly, I told you, awful person!” Alya exclaimed, waving her hand in gesture.

“What happened earlier?” Adrien asked, looking between her and Alya.

Marinette frowned, pushing her bowl to the side, “after we saw the dropouts leave we passed her on the way in, she just gave me a filthy look and called me… Scarface.” She said, running her fingers over her marred cheek, feeling the jagged scar.

“What? That’s not okay, Marinette!” Adrien exclaimed, Nino looking horrified as he dropped his spoon into his bowl.

“Dude…”

“It’s fine, honestly, it doesn’t bug me.” Marinette reassured them, her eyes dancing between the boys, the light reflecting off her blue eyes.

“That’s so shit dude, you don’t say stuff like that.” Nino shook his head, “see, that’s what I would expect from a person from the interior, not… you.” Nino joked, Adrien laughing softly, but his brows were furrowed and he seemed lost in thought.

As they were chatting, a certain blonde had made her way over, slamming her hands onto the table, making all of them jump and look at her. Marinette stared at her with wide eyes, she had moved away from the noise, bumping into Adrien’s chest who placed a hand on her waist to steady her, a frown on his face as he glared at Chloe.

“How funny!” Chloe spoke up, a devilish grin on her face, “the little peasant made a joke!” She eyed Nino who just frowned at her. “Nothing to say now? How cute.” She straightened up and flicked her ponytail back with practiced ease, eyeing them all before her gaze stopped on Adrien, her brow raising. “Adrien Agreste?” She asked in genuine surprise, Adrien blinked, “last I heard you were a missing person.”

The three turned and looked at him, Marinette not moving but just turning her head to look up at him, the feeling of his chest against part of her back was comforting, “what?”

Adrien gulped and shifted slightly, “I uh, I ran away from home to join the military then… Shiganshina happened.”

“And you chose here?” Chloe asked in disgust, Adrien frowning at her in annoyance. “How ridiculous. Well, you seem to have made an…” she looked around in distain, “odd group of friends, especially this broken little doll here.” She said with a sly smirk, leaning towards Marinette who just glared at her, Adrien’s hand gripping onto Marinette’s shirt slightly.

“Can you just go away, Chloe.” Marinette spoke up, frowning at her, anger filling her body. She was no little doll, and she wasn’t broken. “And I am no doll.” She glared at her, her blue eyes darkening and narrowing as she felt her body fill with power.

“Oh no…” Alya whispered, her eyes wide as she gripped the edge of the table.

Chloe looked a little taken aback but brushed it off quickly, throwing her head back and laughing, “Ooh, someone is a brave one!” She leant over, her face inches from Marinette’s who didn’t even flinch, her face dark and her patience wearing thin.

“Marinette… don’t.” Alya warned in a hiss, Adrien looked at her, his brows furrowed in confusion. Marinette’s face changed suddenly, becoming completely emotionless as she stared up at Chloe from under her eyelashes. “Marinette…”

“So, tell me, how did you get your scar, little doll.” Chloe smirked, her eyes narrowing.

“From a titan.” She replied in a calm voice, whispers starting around them, she hadn’t even realised that everyone was watching them, the room uncomfortably quiet. “How did you get yours?” Marinette asked with a tilt of her head as Alya dropped her head into her hand with a groan, shaking her head. Nino and Adrien looking at her in confusion before looking back at the girls.

Chloe frowned and looked confused by the question, “What? I don’t have a-” before she could finish her sentence, at lightning speed Marinette headbutted Chloe who screamed and fell back, hands going to her face. Adrien held his hands up as it happened, moving back slightly to give Marinette room.

Marinette just stared at her, as she screamed and cried on the floor, blood dripping onto the dirty floors, expressionless and completely unphased. The boys stared at her in complete shock, Adrien’s eyes wide and their jaws slack. They stared at her like she had grown another head, they really weren’t expecting that to happen.

Marinette wiped whatever was on her forehead off on her sleeve as if nothing had happened and picked up her plate and mug. Alya lifted her head with a frown and did the same. The room was silent, Chloe’s crying on the floor as she cradled her broken, bleeding nose, whinging out a few words that sounded like “ridiculous” every now and then. Everyone watched Marinette as she stood up, stepped over Chloe and walked to put her plates down in the kitchen to be washed calmly, Alya following close behind with hunched shoulders and a bitter expression.

She exited the kitchen and looked around, everyone was looking at her in complete awe still, it made her feel extremely uncomfortable but she still showed nothing on her face. She waved to Nino and Adrien goodnight before the girls walked out, Adrien and Nino watching them go with heir mouths hanging open still, Adrien’s handheld up in a wave goodbye.

“Did you have to do that?” Alya asked with a small laugh, looking up at the stars above them as they walked back to the girls courters.

“No, but she pissed me off. So, I did.” Marinette said plainly, looking up as well as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Maybe now she won’t call me Scarface.”

“I think you just pissed her off more than anything.” Alya laughed, tucking her hands in her pockets. “Still, I’m impressed. Nora’s lessons seem to have paid off.”

Marinette smiled her crooked smile, looking over at Alya, “seems like it.” Alya smiled back at her before she grinned maliciously, hiking up her skirt.

“Race you!” Alya said before taking off running, Marinette gasped before grinning as well, the familiar tug on her mouth feeling good for once, hiking up her own skirt and taking off after Alya. Their laughter filled the air, Marinette letting her hands go up in the air as she got there first, laughing with all her heart. She stopped herself on the railing on the stairs, panting between laughs.

“Yes! And Dupain-Cheng has taken the win!” She cheered, punching a fist in the air mid jump, grinning fully. Alya was bent over, laughing as she panted, waving her hand at Marinette dismissingly.

Marinette laughed and looked back towards where they had come from and saw Adrien watching her, a smile on his face. She blinked as she tried to catch her breath, tucking her hair behind her ear again as she blushed, watching him for a moment, her smile dropping back to her normal small smile as she realised he had seen her crooked smile.

“He likes you.” Alya interrupted her thoughts, Marinette looking back at her.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.” Marinette said with a raised brow, turning and starting up the stairs, shaking her head.

“Ridiculous? Marinette, are you blind?” She asked with a snort, skipping up the steps two at a time and pushing the door open to their courters. There was one girl curled up in bed already, but other than that they were alone in their shared room. “That boy looks at you like you can do no wrong.” Alya flung back onto the bed below her hard bed, frowning and punching the mattress.

“You are looking too much into it, Alya.” Marinette sat on the bed below her own bunk next to Alya’s, bending down and undoing her boots. “The last time he saw me I was eleven, I was a kid.”

“And now you’re not a kid anymore, you’re thirteen now.” Alya joked, lifting her head and wiggling her eyebrows at Marinette who blushed and looked away. “Work those new hips, hell, you even grew a bit!” Marinette frowned at her, “I knew you at eleven, you have changed.” Alya smirked and rolled off the bed. “Oh, come on! How do you not see it?”

“Because there is nothing to see!” Marinette exclaimed, standing up and placing her boots in her wooden locker. “He probably just feels a bit protective of me because of what we went through together.” Marinette looked back at her best friend, letting a laugh out at Alya’s flabbergasted face.

“A little?” Alya sat straight up, pushing her boots off with the end toes. “I swear the look that boy had when she-witch started on you, I thought he was gonna headbutt her himself.” She started undoing her vest and snorted, “then you went and did it yourself.”

Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “it was kind of funny.” She said as she pulled her shirt off, standing in her plain cream bra. She put the shirt away and pulled out her night dress. Alya laughing away behind her as she got out of her own clothes. “She got in my face, it’s not my fault.” She said as she wriggled out of her skirt and bra, pulling the pink dress on.

“Exactly, but, I mean, you don’t exactly look like the kind of person who goes around headbutting people.” Alya pointed out as she pulled on her dark brown dress. Marinette shrugged at that, if people didn’t suspect she could headbutt them because of her size then that is their problem really.

“Well, if they underestimate me then it’s their problem,” She said, climbing up onto the top bunk, slipping into the hard bed, rolling over and watching Alya slip into the top bunk next to her. “Besides, I was only making a first impression.” She said with an evil grin.

Alya laughed and rolled her eyes, “girl, they have no idea what they are messing with when it comes to you.” She joked, looking over with golden eyes. “And they better watch out, I don’t need to protect you, you got that down.”

Marinette giggled and snuggled in, the girls’ chatter filling the air as they entered. “Goodnight Alya,” she said, “I can’t believe we are really here.”

“I know… Let’s hope it’s worth something. Night, girl.”

oOo

“What the fuck do you call that? Are you even fucking trying, cadet?” The commandant screamed at a boy named Ivan who hung upside down from his ODM gear, whining slightly and kicking his legs about.

Marinette watched from her own area as her nerves were getting the best of her. She was up soon. Adrien had passed with flying colours which wasn’t surprising, the past week he had excelled in almost everything, and so he was standing to help the others, smiling kindly to everyone. Alya stood in front of her, silent for once, her hands trembling slightly.

It had been a week already and all of their bodies ached from the harsh physical training the commandant put them through. Marinette was sure he got a kick out of making them throw up from physical exertion. Alya was suffering more than Marinette currently, she was sore and, to top it off, she was missing home. A double whammy for her. She had spent the night in Marinette’s bed, crying and clinging to her best friend. She knew what was coming today, the omni-mobility directional gear test. They were both nervous, they had heard stories from Adrien that if you didn’t pass it over the week then you get sent home, most likely to work in the fields.

They wore straps all over their body, starting from the soles of their feet, going up their legs connecting to their red sash around their waist which was attached to a belt, which then connected to the harness strapped over their lower back, connecting to the padded straps going over their shoulders with a strap across their chest. They were made to keep their bodies in the air with full body motion while using their gear. It was effective but needed extreme training to be used to its full potential. That was why the training was three years. The level of fitness they needed to use it effectively intimated Marinette, she was small and light which would be an advantage to her but the muscle strength she would need to build up would take a while, and she was scared she wasn’t strong enough.

She looked over at Adrien who was smiling happily, cheering on the girl who was currently strapped in, she knew he would be fine, he was incredibly strong and had a huge advantage from living with the scouts all this time. She wished she had done more training with Alya’s sister after she had recovered, it would have helped today.

“Césaire! I’m watching you today!” The commandant yelled as he stalked over, his sunken eyes staring her down with a scowl on his face, Alya jumped and trembled more under his gaze. Soon he was standing there watching, Adrien shuffling slightly, glancing at Marinette who shrugged. “Are you going to mess this up just like you did in the run yesterday?”

“No sir!” Alya stepped forward, gulping as she was being strapped to the stable build. It was a three wooden pole structure with the wires hanging in the middle connected to a crank, they were required to be able to stay stable easily off the ground, hanging there with control. Many had failed already, not being able to stable themselves and in turn got screamed at by the commandant and degraded in front of their peers. Alya was now strapped in, facing the commandant who was glaring. Adrien started on the crank, lifting her up, her feet leaving the ground slowly. She wobbled, squeaks leaving her mouth as she struggled to stay up, her mouth screwed up and her eyes wide.

“Go Alya! You got this!” Nino cheered behind Marinette, throwing a fist in the air.

Alya struggled but soon was hanging, her body eventually relaxing and a wide smile appeared on her face, looking at Marinette for confidence who gave her a thumbs up. They had to hang there for a few minutes before getting off. Nino cheered and slung an arm over Marinette’s shoulders, leaning down from next to her, “you got this too.” He whispered with a smile, he knew how nervous she was so she smiled small and nodded. Over the past week the four of them had become close, Marinette finding a level of trust in Nino like she did in an older sibling, it was calming.

“You think?” She asked softly, looking up at Nino.

“Oh yeah, dudette, you have this down! It’s just about getting used to it.” He smiled confidently, he had already passed, looking almost bored when he hung there, even when the commandant screamed at him to wake up.

Alya was soon unstrapped and skipped over to them, beaming from ear to ear. The Commandant nodded and looked to the side, eyes narrowing as he glared, “Priss! What the fuck is that form?” He said before storming off to the next victim.

Adrien watched the Commandant leave with a raised brow and a slight frown, then turned to Marinette and grinned as she walked towards him. “M’lady.” His confidence with her had grown over the past few days, coming up with a nickname for her and showing a side of him that was very playful and sarcastic. She chuckled softly whenever it showed up, smiling with a tilt of her head as he held out his hand. She eyed it but felt eyes on her so she kept her complexion again and low fived his hand instead. She stepped forward and was strapped to the device. “Good luck.” He whispered before he moved eyes, their eyes meeting before he started the crank.

Marinette took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. She felt her feet lift the floor and she clenched her body. Her muscles started working, muscles she never thought existed as she swayed and almost fell backwards, a squeak falling from her lips as her eyes flew open, her hands going out to the sides as she tried to stabilise.

“Mari!” Adrien called out. She felt more eyes watching her, causing the commandant to turn his death stare on her. Shit! Don’t come over here!

“I’m fine, Agreste!” She called out, determination all over her face, her muscles tightening and she caught herself at the last second. She felt the straps pull on her body, adjusting to the feel. She gasped softly, she felt strong up there, feeling power flow through all the limbs. She looked up, relaxing her limbs as she felt the tug against the soles of her feet at the change of the position. She closed her eyes and let her body hang, enjoying the wind blowing through her hair. She got used to the feel of it and suddenly it was easy. She took a deep breath, opening her eyes to meet the commandant. Her look of confidence falling as her eyes widened.

“Dupain-Cheng, feeling comfy up there?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her.

“Yes sir!” She cried out, gulping and straightening slightly.

“No surprises this time?” He stepped forward, raising a brow.

“No, sir!” She called out, sweat starting on the back of her neck.

“Good, now keep your fucking eyes open and focus!” He screamed, making her flinch and call out another yes sir. She expected him to walk away but he watched her, his dark, empty eyes watching every movement she made, she gulped and glanced at Adrien who was frowning. He gave her an encouraging thumbs up before looking back over at the commandant.

The commandant watched her for a few minutes before finally moving on, Marinette letting out a sigh in relief as she relaxed. She was slowly lowered, feeling the hard surface under her boots. Adrien ran to her side, “damn, what is his deal?” He whispered, frowning as he fiddled with the clips on Marinette’s waist. “I swear he gets angrier by the day.” Adrien looked over at the Commandant who had a recruit almost in tears, holding him upside down by the ankle, screaming in his face.

“Shush, he might hear you.” She warned, smacking his arm, frowning at him, looking anxiously back at the commandant in fear he had heard Adrien. The last person to say something like that ended up running until the sun set with a bag full of rocks, and they had found him passed out on the field the next morning. She didn’t want to be punished, especially with how her body was feeling.

“Ow! Alright!” He frowned and pouted a little at her, “it’s just he never lays off.” Adrien sighed, starting on the second clip.

“He’s our Commandant, he does it for a reason. You of all people know what the titans are like. They are going to be a lot worse when they are trying to eat us.” She whispered, frowning at how casual he was about it. “Watch how loud you say that stuff, we don’t need more punishments.” She hissed as she looked up at him, their eyes locking as his hand brushed her waist. She felt the clip fall away as they stood there in silence, frowning at each other, inches between them as Adrien looked down at her with furrowed brows.

Someone cleared their throat and they both blinked, stepping away from each other, Marinette powerwalking back to Alya who was smirking at her, her arms folded across her chest as she wiggled her eyebrows. “Don’t.” Marinette warned as she stood next to Alya, turning and looking away when Adrien glanced at them, a blush covering her cheeks.

“Wanna talk about what that was?” Alya nudged her. “Lovers quarrel?”

“We aren’t lovers, stop that.” She frowned, blushing brightly, “I don’t get how he can be so casual about stuff, we both went through hell, we know what is out there, yet he can complain about the commandant when he is right over there. Not everyone is as fit as he is.” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, hearing the commandant screaming at another person in the background. Marinette knew she could be a little serious a lot of the time but she didn’t want to get in trouble or get on the bad side of the commandant because of someone else.

“Girl, you are too serious at times!” Alya nudged her while laughing, “lighten up!”

“Alya’s right, dudette!” Nino piped up, walking over and resting his arm on Alya’s shoulder, smiling lazily down at them. “You are way too grown up for someone so small, you just gotta take it one step at a time!” He gave her a toothy grin, Marinette’s frown falling. “And with Adrien, I think he’s just a confident dude, he did spend the last year and a half with the scouts.” Nino shrugged, “he can do most of this stuff with his eyes closed.”

“Yeah… Lucky for some.” Marinette muttered looking back at Adrien who wasn’t smiling anymore, instead watching the other cadets closely as they hung. “He is very confident, isn’t he?”

“He seems to be more confident around you, to be honest” Nino said before he stretched his arms up, everything about him screamed relaxed and laid back, Marinette was jealous of it. “It’s like you’re his lucky charm.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and huffed, she knew they were right but she wasn’t in the wrong for taking this seriously, she looked away, her expression darkening. A flash of that big smile made her flinch, chewing her lip gently, her fringe falling over her eyes as she closed them. She knew what was out there, she knew the threat so she wouldn’t apologise for how serious she was. Another flash of a boulder crushing someone in front of her, blood everywhere. She opened her eyes and stared at the floor, her arms that were crossed over her chest were now hugging herself gently, her hand lifting and tracing her scar. She didn’t care if he could act so nonchalant, she wouldn’t act like that.

“I won’t apologise for being serious.” She said softly, Alya and Nino watching her, a worried look on Alya’s face. “I watched people die, I was almost eaten by a titan and I almost died running for my life. So, I won’t apologise for taking this seriously so I stay alive.” She looked over at them, “so if he gets us in trouble by opening that sarcastic mouth of his then I won’t be very ‘chill’.”

“It’s okay, girl, you don’t need to explain it to us. If he does, I’ll kick his ass for you.” Alya joked, Marinette smiling small and chuckling softly. “Now, come on, lets focus on the lesson.”

oOo

“Leave the horses! Release ODM gear! Now!” Plagg screamed, jumping onto the horses back, releasing his wire and flinging himself towards the wall, the rest of the soldiers following suit. Adrien growled as he hit the wall, running up it and sending his wires further up. He had to get up there, the bodies at the base of the wall had garrison uniform, a lot of them his former classmates. It was happening again, how was it happening again, it had been five years, how was this happening again!?

He flung himself up and skidded onto the top of the wall, Marinette landing next to him gracefully, her face thunder, her blades drawn. Soon all of the scouts were on top of the wall, looking over the titan infested town. Adrien gasped and widened his eyes. There were dead bodies everywhere, giant boulders littered throughout the town and so many buildings were destroyed. They had taken too long to get here. He looked over and saw soldiers littered on rooftops, they must mostly be the cadets.

“Shit!” He heard Marinette curse, gripping her blades tighter. “They’ve run out of gas!” She called out, “The supply building is overrun!” She pointed to the castle like building, at least 6 titans climbing on it or around it. “That must be why they are not moving from the rooftops! If they had gas the safest place for them would be on the walls!”

“You’re right, shit,” Plagg cursed, “okay, clear the area as best you can! And none of you fucking die! That’s an order! We didn’t mostly survive outside the wall to die in our city!” He called before he dived off the wall.

Marinette looked over and nodded at Adrien, he frowned as he noticed her face was blurry, what was wrong with his eyes? He blinked, watching as the 17 year old girl change between blinks, shrinking down to the small girl he knew 5 years ago. Her strong, developed body now a small skinny, frail body, her short pigtails now her long black curtains. “What…” He gasped, staggering back as she frowned at him, dropping her blades slightly.

“Adrien?” Her voice was higher pitched, softer, and she had no scar. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Adrien tripped and fell back, dropping his blades as they clattered on the stone, “M-Mari?” She blinked and walked over to him, kneeling down and placing a hand on his forehead, her soft, small hand feeling so foreign compared to her calloused hand he knew. She was so small, her long hair framing her face.

He cried out and scrambled back as suddenly her cheek started tearing open, a long wound opening where her scar is, but she wasn’t reacting, she just crouched there, watching him with empty eyes. Blood dripped to the floor, he watched it splatter in slow motion and suddenly he was falling. Marinette above him, he cried out and went to grab his gear but it was gone, he reached out for Marinette, he had to make sure she made it. “Marinette!” he cried out before something grabbed him, knocking the breath from his lungs.

He gasped and watched as Marinette fell straight into a Titans mouth, this titan was crouched on its haunches, blonde hair and an ugly face, bright blue eyes that looked evil and a mouth full of jagged, sharp teeth. The 17 year old Marinette now hanging half out of the jaw, staring at him with wide eyes, her ribbons falling from her hair. Adrien blinked before he screamed out, desperately reaching for her and fighting against the titan that had hold of him, tears streaming down his face.

He was pulled away and came face to face with the titan who had long black hair, no lips just teeth, a determined expression and piercing green eyes. He was glaring at Adrien, a first for him, seeing a titan with emotion besides hunger. The titan was at least 15 metres and had an extremely muscled body.

Why wasn’t he eating Adrien? What was going on?

“Wake up!” He heard a deep, rumbling voice from the titan, “wake up, Adrien! Remember what he did! Wake up!”

Adrien cried out and sat straight up in his sleeping bag, he was covered in sweat, his hair soaked and his shirt sticking to him. He was breathing heavily and shaking. What the hell was that?

“Adrien?” He gasped and looked to the side, meeting Marinette’s tired eyes. She was in her white long sleeve shirt and her white trousers, her messy hair down falling over her shoulders. It had grown over the few months since they had begun training, she constantly complained about it. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?” She asked, crawling over to him and sitting on his sleeping bag, avoiding the cold grass.

They were camped out on exercise in the Giant Forest deep within Wall Rose, it had been a long gruelling day training with their ODM gear and everyone was exhausted, their squad consisted of Nino, Alya, Marinette, Kim, Juleka, Luka, Alix and Rose. They were all asleep under the stars, spread out over their area, the embers still burning from their fire from hours before.

He gulped and tried to calm his breathing, nodding at her question. He pushed himself up to a more comfortable position and buried his face in his shaking hands, rubbing his face to wake himself up more. He felt a hand on his back, the feeling calming him.

“Y-yeah… It was… it was weird.” He whispered, moving his hands from his face and staring down at his calloused skin.

“Tell me about it.” She whispered, placing a hand over his, his eyes whipping up and meeting hers. He must have woken her up, “I find it helps when I talk about my nightmares, Alya says it helps take back control of a place that you had no control of.” She spoke softly, softer than her now more serious tone she had developed over the past few months. These moments were only for her close friends he had noticed.

He took a deep breath, examining her face. The dream flooding back with a gasp. “I saw… You.” She blinked, “but you were older, a little taller, you were… in a scouts uniform.” She frowned, “but that’s not the main thing, the titans had breached the wall and were in Trost. I got to the top of the wall and I saw you. And Plagg.” He looked away, “Everyone was dead, titans were everywhere.” He dropped his hands to the floor and clenched them, gripping the rough material of his sleeping bag, “you were staring at me and then… you changed… to 2 years ago.” She tilted her head, “you were so small, and… your scar just appeared but it was like you were being cut open and then…” He froze, his eyes widening as he remembered the titans. “There were titans…”

“You said they had infested Trost? So, I’m not surprised.” She whispered gently, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them.

“They were different.” His voice shook slightly, “I… you were… eaten by one that I had never heard of, it’s nothing they have told us about in lectures. I saw you, the older you, being eaten. The titan was like a wild animal, it seemed to watch me, it seemed like it was… excited to eat you.” He gulped, “And I was grabbed by one…” He remembered looking at the titan, it seemed so familiar. “It told me to wake up and-“ he gasped, looking at her, “he told me to remember something.” He hissed, rubbing a hand over his mouth. “It felt so real.”

Marinette watched him worriedly before she laid a hand on his cheek, making him look at her, “hey, it was just a dream. The titans won’t get into Trost, and I have no ambition to get eaten, so don’t worry.” She smiled small, her tired eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that always made his heart jump. “And with those titans, we have been going through a lot of training and learnt a lot about the titans that we never knew over the past six months.” She smiled wider, one of her now rare smiles, making his heart jump even more and his eyes widen, “it’s just a dream, it’s not reality, so don’t worry, okay?”

Adrien looked at her with parted lips, thinking over her words before he gulped, his Adams apple bobbing, “yeah… you’re right.” He said looking back down at his hands, “it just… felt so real. Plagg was there.”

“Your brother?” She asked softly.

“Yeah, no one knows though so don’t say anything.” He said in a panic, looking around.

“I know, I haven’t said anything.” She replied, “Tikki told me in a letter about it.” Adrien blinked at her, “your secret is safe with me.”

He smiled, “thank you.” He said before taking a deep breath, “also thank you… for helping calm me down, I’m okay now.” He said, meeting her eyes.

She smiled and nodded, “no worries,” she said before she started to get back up. Adrien panicked and grabbed her arm gently, causing her to gasp and look back at him.

“Could… I’m sorry, I just… could you lie with me for a bit.” He asked softly, his eyes begging her softly.

Marinette looked at him in surprise before gulping and nodding, “okay, just for a bit though, okay?” She said before she crawled over, he instinctively opened the sleeping bag, surprising her. She took a deep breath and slipped in, lying on her side and facing him as he lay down, their faces inches from each other. “I’m here.” She whispered with a small smile.

“Thank you,” he whispered, looking into her eyes before he looked down at her scar, remembering his dream. He knew not to try touch her scar, someone had tried to a month before and she broke their arm in return, shocking everyone but her three friends, they had seen how tough she was. It honestly impressed Adrien, she was so small but so strong. “Can you promise me something?” He asked softly, meeting her eyes again.

“Depends.” She replied, making him chuckle at her usual seriousness.

“Just, promise me, if things get bad in the future you will make sure you survive.” He whispered, feeling her hand brush against him.

“What?” She frowned, “you know I can’t promise that.”

“You can though, no matter the situation, just… just try to survive, no matter what.”

She stared at him with a frown before she chewed her lip, “I will promise to do my best to survive, okay?”

He sighed in relief, his eyelids heavy, “okay. Thank you.” He replied with a smile.

They spoke for the next half hour before they both fell asleep, Adrien resting his cheek on Marinette’s head as she rested it on his shoulder unknowingly.

oOo

“Agreste!” Marinette heard someone yell, turning her attention to the trees in the distance in front and Nino, what was going on now. They had been out in the forest now for a week and tensions were high, they had slept on the hard floor and had hunted their own food. As of today, their supplies were running low and they all could use a nice shower, all of them now used to the smell of sweat and BO from each other. It had been a long week but this was their training. It was meant to make them bond, and it was working… For some people that was. “What the hell was that?”

Their squad was split up currently throughout the forest in pairs, Marinette was paired with Nino, Alya with Rose, Alix with Kim and Adrien with Luka. So far the pairs were working for the most part. Well, two pairs were anyway. They had been awake for over twenty four hours now as their training mission had gone on longer as no one had completed it, so everyone was on edge, some taking it harder than others. Nino and she had been working brilliantly together, they had found three of the hidden Titan props just that day and were confident in their abilities when slicing the napes. The only thing stopping their progress was the constant bickering echoing through the forest. If it wasn’t Kim winding up Alix over a competition it was Adrien and Luka surprisingly butting heads.

“Oh no, what now?” Nino groaned, turning to Marinette who was so done with all of the fighting currently that she was ready to abandon them in the giant trees and go find Alya with Nino. She was at her wits ends with the boys in the squad, well besides Nino who had stayed his normal calm self. The boys had seemed to have some pissing competition on who can piss her off the most today. Too much testosterone probably. Fucking boys. “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.” He said before he flew into the air, Marinette sighing and releasing a wire, flying forward between the trees, her hair blowing backwards, and soon landing on a large branch, looking forward and seeing Adrien and Luka in each other’s faces. Again.

She sighed and curled her lip up in distain, she got that the titan props were really hard to find and you were being graded individually despite the pairings, but if you worked together you could even them out and each still earn good grades. So, this behaviour wasn’t accepted in her books. With clenched fists she looked at the pathetic show of masculinity in front of her.

“What? I took a shot, that’s what we are meant to do!” Adrien argued, frowning at the older boy. Luka was taller than Adrien, and bigger, but he was a gentle soul who rarely got angry or seemed threatening. So, seeing him like this, his face thunder, his blue eyes full of rage with black bags under them and his teeth gritting together was a weird sight. Even seeing Adrien so angry was odd, his hair was a mess, and his green eyes were narrowed, a scowl on his face, almost like when a child had a tantrum, but in this case the children had flesh slicing blades. Nino just rolled his eyes and let out a groan.

“You jumped in front of me! I could have hit you!” Luka replied through gritted teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped onto the handle of his blades tighter.

“Well, you should look around before jumping into action then.” Adrien frowned and sheathed his blades into the heavy metal carriers on his waist.

Marinette rolled her eyes and jumped over to the branch, stepping in the middle as Nino pulled Adrien aside. She turned and looked up at Luka with a hand on his chest, frowning at him, “Luka, come on, this is ridiculous now. We need to stay calm. We can’t be fighting over every single prop we find!” She said firmly, Luka’s expression softening as he looked down at her. “We are all tired, okay?” She turned and saw Adrien glaring at them, Nino talking to him in hushed tones while glancing back at Marinette. “Adrien, calm down!” She scolded, “if the commandant saw this you two would be stuck out here just the two of you for another week to hash it out like dogs!”

Adrien huffed and shook off Nino, “sorry.” He muttered, looking away with a frown. Marinette eyed him, he did look very out of it today. She wondered if he had those nightmares again.

“It’s fine, let’s just get today over with, dude.” Nino replied, rubbing his shoulder. “My body needs a bath, even if I have to jump in the river, I don’t care, my body is beaten.” He moaned with a sigh.

“You need to be more careful, Adrien. It isn’t safe jumping out like that, it’s reckless.” Luka reprimanded, his older, wiser voice back to its calm self.

Adrien looked over at him before he shrugged, “sorry, I just want this day to be over.” He said with a sigh, looking over at Marinette with apologetic eyes. She swore if he had comedic animal ears, they would be drooping.

“We all do, dude, but you guys need to be chill, like dudette and me!” Nino said cheerfully, looking over at Marinette who nodded.

“Are you two going to work together or do we need to switch partners?” Marinette asked, looking between the teen boys. “Because I will hit the next person who pisses me off!” She threatened before they all froze, all of their eyes turning to the south as they heard someone coming on ODM gear, she heard it before she felt the boot to her chest, kicking her off the branch at high speed, the impact sending her spinning as she fell. She screamed as she started falling, they were 35 feet up, a fall from that high and she would be dead. Shit! Get control!

She swivelled her body to face up and release a wire but couldn’t make out a target without accidentally hitting someone. She heard the boys screaming her name but it was getting further and further. She looked down and saw a branch approaching, bracing for a hard impact but instead a solid body hit her from the side, knocking the wind from her lungs. She wrapped her arms around their arm as she was suddenly going back up, the forest whizzing around her. Before she knew it she hit solid wood and rolled on the large branch, skidding to a halt when she hit the tree, coughing as she did. She looked up and saw Nino crouched in front of her, blades drawn and his face twisted in anger, his lazy side gone in an instant.

“Not fucking cool, Chloe! You can fuck off too, Lila!” He yelled, slamming his blades together as a threat.

Marinette pushed up, coughing again as two bodies joined them on the new branch, Adrien at her side in seconds, skidding on his knees to her side and allowing her to rest against his shoulder as she hunched over in pain.

“What the fuck was that?” Luka asked as he looked around, his own blades drawn, glancing at Marinette with wide eyes.

“Fucking Chloe and Lila. We bumped into them earlier and took their titans, they were not pleased.” Nino growled, his golden eyes scanning for any possible threats. “Those bitches, Marinette, you okay?” He called back.

She coughed, “yeah… Give me a minute.” She answered, her hands clasped over her right side of her chest, a muddy footprint outlined on her jacket and shirt. “Son of a bitch.” She growled, Adrien rubbing her back gently, not saying a word.

“Next time you make some enemies, can it not be the two crazy chicks in our regiment, Marinette?” Luka called out with a frown, lowering his blades.

“Sorry.” She wheezed out, leaning back against the trunk behind her, shimmying her arm out of her jacket with Adrien’s help.

“Shit, she got you good.” He whispered as he gently pulled it off her arm, frowning as he saw some blood on her shirt. “I’ve gotta clean wherever she’s cut you, she must have gone down to the ground and got mud on her shoes on purpose, who knows what else was on that shoe.” He said, looking at her face. She nodded, wincing at the pain.

“With my luck she managed to find some horse crap or something.” She said before she coughed again, damn, she really did get her good. Adrien frowned as he examined her face with his worried green eyes, rubbing her back again. “Who knew getting kicked in the chest would hurt so much.” She joked, the boys looking over at her and chuckling, all besides Adrien. He reached over and undid the strap across her chest, starting to undo her shirt, Nino looking away as usual, not phased anymore, but it was Luka who blinked and went red.

“What the hell are you doing?” He questioned, turning away as Marinette’s skin was starting to show. All three of them looked at him in surprise. Marinette blinked and looked down, was he… embarrassed? She would have expected it at the beginning of their training but they were halfway through their first year, most of them had showered in their underwear together during a mission or at least gone swimming in a river three months ago when they were out in the field. They had got used to patching people up as well, hell just two months ago while on a training mission a cadet slipped off a branch above Marinette and cut her back in some dumb luck, Adrien was at her side in seconds like usual. He had patched her up, chatting away like his usual cheerful self as she sat in a bra, letting him chat away like an excited kitten. The cut on her back wasn’t serious enough to stop her training, but it was enough to bug her for a month.

“I’m patching her up?” Adrien said in confusion, his finger stopping on the third button, staring at the dark haired boy. “Wait, you have… done first aid on someone before, right?” He questioned with a chiding laugh. “Because if you need the practice…”

“Yes I have!” He snapped, “But not… on…” Luka trailed off with a gulp.

“A girl?” Marinette finished with a raised brow. Luka nodding, “how is that possible?” She asked with a wince as Adrien went back to back on undoing her shirt carefully, glancing over at his green eyes that were focused on the task at hand.

“I didn’t have any girls get injured around me… in that area,” he replied calmly, his back to them all. “It’s not that big a deal, okay?”

Nino shrugged, “don’t worry, after a while you get used to it,” he reassured him, sheathing his blades and sitting on the edge of the branch, swinging his legs. “Besides, the girls don’t care anymore, so chillax.” He said before stretching his arms out above him with a yawn.

Luka huffed before sitting down with his back to them, his knees bent in front of him. “are you okay, Marinette?”

Marinette had her shirt open now, her grey sports bra showing, brown stains forming from the mud. She had a few punctured from maybe some stones stuck in Chloe’s boot, but nothing serious, Adrien was cleaning her off gently, his fingers brushing against her soft skin. “Yeah, I’m okay. I can breathe again thankfully. She’s in the other squad, so why the hell is she all the way out here? Surely they didn’t come looking for us?” She asked before lifting her arm at Adrien’s instruction.

Nino looked around before looking back at Marinette, “they are crazy, remember. Once you’re all patched up I think we just finish the mission so we can get back.” He said, “I don’t like how confident they are in the trees.” He frowned and looked around again.

“It was a very bold move on her part.” Adrien spoke up, pulling Marinette’s bra strap to the side to stick a plaster over the one puncture wound, “it could have ended a lot more badly, if Nino hadn’t caught you…” He trailed off, the other two boys staying silent too.

“Don’t worry, let’s just get this mission done. I want my bed.” She replied, dropping her head back against the tree.

Soon they were on their feet again, Marinette’s shirt buttoned up and she was rolling her shoulder, the pain in her chest now more muscular than anything. She looked around the forest and turned to Nino, “okay, Nino, get the map out.” She said walking over to him, Luka and Adrien were pouting at each other in defiance behind them, not saying a word to each other.

Nino pulled out the map they had been given and they started strategizing their next move, deciding on a route and Marinette looked back at the two boys and sighed.

“Okay, seriously, stop with the dick measuring!” She called over, placing a hand on her hip and frowning at them.

“We aren’t-” Adrien started to protest.

“She’s right, dude.” Nino interrupted, he rubbed his black bagged eyes and frowned, “Mari, I will take Luka, you go with Adrien, let’s just get this done.” He was getting frustrated, she could tell. Probably that they had to split up as partner more than the other boys causing problems.

“What? Why?” Luka protested with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m fine with that.” Adrien said with a cocky smile, looking over at Marinette who watched them all with annoyed eyes. Luka turned and glared at Adrien, pouting slightly.

“Whatever, come on Adrien.” Marinette said, placing a hand on Nino’s arm and smiling apologetically, who responded with the same look. Dammit! Her best partner to date and she had lost him. Well, she was yet to be partner’s with Adrien so let’s see how it goes.

“Okay, I will see you guys back at camp. Look out for crazy bitches.” Nino said before he called for Luka, flying off to the east together.

Marinette turned to Adrien who was looking sheepish now, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him.

“I can explain.” He said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I got carried away, and I’m sorry!” He squeaked as Marinette walked towards him, her eyes dark. “M-Mari?” He blinked. She stood in front of him for a few seconds before she smacked his arm, “ow!” He cried out in protest, rubbing his arm and frowning at her.

“What the hell, Adrien!” She exclaimed, “why are you acting like Kim today of all days?” She questioned with a frown. “Best not to threaten the guy bigger than you who has blades, ya know!”

“Hey, I had blades too.” He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“That isn’t the point, I know you are tired, but we all are, okay?” She said with a sigh, looking up at him. “I don’t want to have to save you constantly. You have a bad habit of getting in the way of danger.” Her face softened, thinking of him going the extra mile to help and save others the past six months during the ODM training.

He sighed and rubbed the back on his neck, “I’m sorry, M’lady.” He said before he chewed his lip, thinking for a moment before pulling out the map, “now, where to next?”

oOo

“Marinette!” Alya spotted her as her and Adrien landed a little way from the meeting point. They looked exhausted, a footprint standing out on the right side of her chest. Marinette had her usual annoyed expression on her face, dark black eyes as she started towards Alya and Nino, and Adrien was his usual excited puppy, a smile on his face as he waved at them happily, he had a bruise on his jaw and his hair was a shaggy mess.

Marinette lifted her eyes and spotted Alya, smiling an exhausted smile. Alya ran over to her and hugged her tight, Marinette yelping and curling her back slightly. “Ouch.” She winced.

“Oh, sorry, Nino told me what happened.” She said pulling away, walking with them as Nino and Adrien bumped fists.

“Calmed down now, dude?” He asked Adrien who laughed and nodded.

Alya turned and smacked Adrien on the arm, causing him to look at her flabbergasted, “Ow! Can you two stop hitting me today?” He exclaimed, rubbing his arm, looking at them in bewilderment.

“You were meant to protect her!” She growled, hugging her best friend close and glaring at Adrien.

“She was Nino’s partner!” He exclaimed, motioning to a laughing Nino. “Sorry I wasn’t on the watch for flying crazy girls!”

“I’m fine, Alya.” Marinette spoke up, poking the arm around her face. “Can you let go now?” She asked, Alya blinking and letting her go. “Doesn’t matter now, Nino had me. Now let’s go.” She said, rolling her shoulder again and walking to the others.

The commandant arrived minutes later, everyone jumping to their feet and coming to attention, their fists over their hearts.

“Well, look at you.” He started, “you all smell like shit.” He curled his lip in disgust, walking between them. “I have been watching you the past week, and I was not surprised by how disappointing you all are.” He glared at them all, eyes falling on Marinette, “some excelled, some were god damn awful, and some, well, some missed the point of the exercise all together! I will give you your grades tomorrow in lesson, understood?”

“Yes, sir!” They called out.

“Now, you all stink, you aren’t coming back to my base smelling like this. There is a lake east of here, wash up and then head back. I expect you all home by 2100hrs.” He said before he walked over to his horse, climbing on and looking back at them. “And, no more of your childish bickering! I saw enough to last me a lifetime this week!” He said before he galloped off.

They all relaxed and made their way to the horses grazing, this was only Marinette’s class which consisted of 2 squadrons. Marinette preferred it this way as she wasn’t used to the other class just yet. She made her way to her horse and climbed on, stroking his mane. Soon they were all heading to the lake, all excited to get clean. Marinette looked over the big green world around her, the orange sky making it all look so peaceful.

“Hey, Marinette!” Alya called, bringing her out of her daze, looking over at her friend. “Race you.” She grinned, Marinette grinning back before kicking the side of her horse, feeling the wind blow through her hair as they both charged forward, giggling in joy.

Not fifteen minutes later they arrived, hopping off their horses and tying them up. They both stood there with wide eyes, looking over the blue, sparkling lake.

“Wow…” Alya breathed before their serenity was interrupted by Adrien and Nino barrelling past them in their underwear, shoving each other and laughing before jumping into the lake, water splashing everywhere as the girls tried to avoid getting wet.

They both chuckled as others started jumping in, it was rare they had this kind of freedom to act like teenagers, so when it came, they took advantage. Marinette quickly discarded her ODM gear and started undoing her shirt, her body buzzing with excitement to relax in the water. She pulled it off and shoved it into the bag on her saddle, wriggling out of her white trouser until she was in just her grey sports bra and her black boy short underwear, unravelling the bandaged on her chest, leaving just the ones stuck to her on. Alya was next to her in the same but hers were black completely. Both of them took their hair down before they ran and jumped in, the boys splashing them as they came up.

Marinette laughed and went under again, enjoying the cold water on her aching body, her eyes closed as she felt her hair brushing against her skin as it floated about. This was bliss to her. She came back up and pushed her hair back, looking at her friends with a laugh. It was funny, just 6 months ago she was scared to show off her scar, now here she was, skin showing, and she didn’t care. It was amazing what confidence and trust in your comrades could do. She looked over and spotted Luka with his friends, Kim, Ivan and Alix. He seemed to be more relaxed which was good, he looked over and spotted her, smiling and waving at her. She waved back before she was splashed with water, her hair falling over her face.

She spun around and saw Alya grinning at her as she pushed her hair back again, laughing softly. It was like that for a while, but soon Marinette was floating on her back, staring up at the sky. The orange had started to turn pink, some stars shining through in defiance. It was beautiful. It was a place of peace.

“Hey.” She heard a voice say next to her, turning her head and spotting Adrien. He was standing next to her, his shoulders above the water. “How’s your chest?” He asked softly as she floated back to up right, she couldn’t stand so she had to tread water.

“A little sore but it feels a lot better now.” She replied, rubbing a hand over the now dark bruise over the right side of her chest, “I’ll live.” She joked, bobbing up and down.

“Good, just keep an eye on it, and be careful of Chloe and Lila, they really have it out for you.” He said worriedly before noticing she couldn’t stand, “here.” He said before holding his arm out for her to hold on to. She blinked before placing both her hands on his warm skin, using his arm to stay afloat better. “Better?”

“Yeah, thank you… And I’m not too worried about them, they will get theirs.” She said looking over at the girls who were whispering to each other, scowls on their faces. She knew they hated how close she was to Adrien, Lila countless times mentioning how she was a better friend for Adrien, Marinette knew they both had crushes on him too. Hell, most of the girls in the regiment did.

“Still, I don’t like having to keep patching you up,” he smiled sweetly at her, his brows creased slightly, “you have a habit of getting hurt, for someone who graceful in the air you sure are clumsy.”

She laughed softly at that, his cheeks going red when she did, “what can I say, I just have a clumsy side when I’m not in fight mode. Maybe I have two sides to me, like alter egos.” She joked, “I mean you have it, outside of training or when you aren’t with me you’re this sweet, can do no wrong guy, but put your uniform on and give you your weapons and this confident cocky side comes out.” She teased, poking his nose.

He blinked before he smirked and leant forward, “Is that so, M’lady? I haven’t heard you complain about it.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed, “see, there it is. You’re like… hmmm,” she thought, “you’re like a cat, one minute you’re nice, and the next you are ready to fight dirty.” She smirked as he raised a brow.

“Are you calling me a cat?” He asked in confusion.

“Hmm, yes, yes I am.” She said confidently, the water lapping at her neck. “I think I might just call you kitty from now on. Seeing as you have your nickname for me.” She smirked even more at her frown.

He frowned as he thought for a minute before he smiled brightly, “I love it! M’lady has a nickname and now so do I.” He leant in closer with a smirk, “quite the pair, aren’t we?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her while she frowned at him before she shoved his head under water playfully watching him come back up with his shaggy hair covering his eyes as he pouted, her laugh filling the air. “No fair!” She carried on laughing as he pushed his hair back into a mess, pouting at her before he tackled her, arms wrapping around her body as he pushed her under, pushing up on the ground and emerging with her over his shoulder on shallower ground, walking to Alya and Nino who were laughing at the scene in front of them.

Adrien grinning victoriously as Marinette smacked Adrien’s toned back to put her down, water from her hair over her eyes. He soon lifted her up again and placed her on his knee as he sat next to Nino, a smug look on his face. “I won.” He said, Marinette pouting at him with her arms across her chest, perching on his bent knee, blushing slightly at their bodies being so close. She looked over at her friends and felt peace, it had been a long six months, but… this made it all worth it. She was happy, and she belonged. She looked at Adrien who was watching her, she blinked and poked his nose again, smiling at him finally.

“Ease there, kitty.” She said softly, “don’t get too excited.” He blinked before smiling a sweet smile at her, making her heart skip a beat.