#i need to DESIGN all of these losers’ main outfits

[bancaishi]

more oc doodlings to cope with the wretched workload

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

I've thought about the contradictions between Abstinence Camp and NPMD a lot, specifically with Pete, and I think I kind of love them??? I don't know how intentional this was, and I honestly don't care, but think about it- Pete is confident in himself and his ability, but he struggles with the difference between how he sees himself vs how others see him. He's got some identity issues, that's normal, but they don't show up at all in Abstinence Camp, there's not even a hint of trepidation in his friendship with Steph. The only time he even mentions being a loser is when he thinks it might negatively affect Steph's reputation, but that's concern for her, not himself.

The main thing that got me was the motivation change with his outfit. In Abstinence Camp he says that he wears the classic nerd look on the advice of his cool older brother, committing to an aesthetic. In NPMD he says that the outfit is specifically designed to prevent as much harassment as possible. Those two things didn't really click in my head until the thought popped up- what if he's just lying? Camp Idontwannabang has a strict social hierarchy for sure, but it's one that Pete doesn't have any reason to care about. You show up for the summer, you do the dumb activities, you have a bad time for a few months, you go home. There isn't a Max at Camp Idontwannabang. Sure, there's the Axe-Man, but he's just a scary story, the Boogeyman to blame when kids go missing in the woods. All he does, hypothetically, is kill you. Very bad, but he doesn't follow you home, drag you through the dirt, humiliate you for years on end, frighten everyone else into leaving you behind. So when Steph asks about the bow tie, why would he say the truth? Why would he drag all that baggage into a place where he is finally separated from it? Yeah. I wear it because I like to wear it. I make the choice to wear these things this way. I want to stick with this look. I feel cool.

He's been beat down since the fourth grade, not just by direct attacks on him, but by the attacks on people around him. Every choice he makes is in direct response to how Max has reacted to a similar choice in the past. The whole reason he wears a bow tie is to avoid what happened to Travis Colson. His most iconic fashion choice isn't really his own. It's a defensive reaction. All the nerds at Hatchetfield High are basically living in survival mode. The threat isn't just not being accepted, or being challenged by mean kids, the threat is getting the shit kicked out of you. The threat is being harassed and humiliated so badly and so constantly that you have to literally change your home address.

One of my favorite NPMD scenes is the scene at Pasquale's parking lot, because this might be the first piece of media I've ever seen that actually understands why people don't "stand up" to bullies. Sometimes when someone wants to hurt you, they will just do it. Max doesn't need a reason to hurt people. He just wants to, and he doesn't see any reason not to. Pete tries to establish himself, hoping that Max is putting up a front, hiding behind a tough façade. And he might be. But that doesn't stop him from beating Pete until his fists bruise over.

Pete isn't just hyping himself up or trying to act confident in front of a cool girl. Pete is reclaiming his autonomy. Because he doesn't get to make decisions for himself at school, it's all a futile effort to keep out of Max's line of sight. But anywhere else he gets to decide why he does things. And I just think that's neat.

[radroller]

HANK PYM COSTUME RATINGS

At long last, here are my thoughts on the many looks and identities of Marvel’s own Hank Pym!!! Being a fan of this guy is a real rollercoaster, but his costumes are always so great and interesting, ive wanted to talk about them for ages!!! As some of his looks kinda blend together Ive tried to stick with the bare essentials (barring ones i especially like) but you can generally assume that i rate most of the suits of a given identity the same unless i specifically state otherwise. So here we go!!!!!

Ant-Man 10/10

What can i say? You can’t make an ant themed character much cooler than this. The irresistible 60s scifi charm of his big chrome helmet, the red, black, and blue color scheme with patterns that say “i am a super scientist” but gloves that say “im attemptint to look visually interesting.” Naturally Hank forgets he’s wearing some of the coolest headgear in comics. Ant-Man has had some good looks and updates but the charm of this one is pretty undeniable.

Giant Man 8/10

I think we can all agree that Giant Man kinda sucks, but damn if he didnt look cool! I guess he kept the antennae to keep some Ant-Man functionality, but you rarely see him using it. That’s fine though, it gives him a cool and distinct silhouette. It’s strange, if this were a new look for him as Ant Man, id call it a more considerable downgrade, yet Hank becoming Giant Man is a downgrade in just about every sense of the word. And even so, i LOVE Giant Man! It’s a conundrum!

Giant Man Redux: 6/10

I think they were trying to recapture the scifi tech charm of Ant-Man with this one, and it does kinda work! I think my main issue with this one is that it doesnt stick around long enough to really win me over. There are far more minor and insignificant variations of Hank’s suits that stick around way longer than this one. And id say this suit’s pretty damn significant, he left the Avengers for the the first time wearing this shit! I wish they’d played around with it some more.

Goliath: 8/10

Goliath is extremely solid. I have to wonder if Marvel was conscious of Giant Man being a loser that they felt the need to rebrand him like this, there’s little significant changeover from his previous identity other than color scheme and name besides him being stuck at 10 ft tall for a bit. I LOVE the addition of the goggles btw, one of my earliest exposures to that design trope i love so much.

The weird thing with Goliath is that they make him look more and more like Giant Man while refusing to change his name. Like again i know the guy got his ass best plenty of times but when you add antennae and red to his costume….that’s just Giant Man! But whatever the case, i give Goliath and all of his iterations a solid thumbs up.

Yellowjacket: 10/10

The PINNACLE as far as im concerned. What if you took Ant-Man and refined his charming but clunky scifi elements into something sleek, aerodynamic, and downright badass, while still having bright colors? You get Yellowjacket! I can’t stress how much i loved this suit as a kid. Do you know how rare it is to have a primarily yellow superhero who looks cool? It’s mostly just Wolverine, and he didn’t even exist at this point! I also like how it sorta resembles Wasp’s original outfit, though you probably wouldn’t get a chance to compare given Jan’s ever shifting wardrobe. It’s really a shame how maligned the Yellowjacket identity is because id love to see this design again, but its lasting association with the worst shit ever done with Hank pretty much made sure that’ll never happen.

West Coast Avengers: -/10

It’s funny that what is arguably the height of Hank’s superhero career comes from when he’s vehemently not a superhero anymore. Thus, in terms of costumes…well this isnt a costume! But for what it is, it’s great. A nice practical super science getup. But i have trouble rating it on the same scale as the rest. Just know that I love it!

90s Hank: 5/10

I was ready to rip this thing a new one, but tbh it isnt bad. The only thing that keeps it from being truly good is the stupid pouches, but i cant outright call it bad when it’s basically a worse version of Atlas from Thunderbolts’ costume without them. It’s passable.

Giant Man???: 10/10

Yeah, I know. Confusing, isnt it? Well listen, regardless of names and costumes and what have you, this is by far my favorite variation on the original Goliath look. The red goggles just do it for me! I love primary color schemes and i prefer a touch of red to a touch of yellow, yknow?

Goliath??????: 8/10

So NOW he can be Goliath. That makes perfect sense. Yeesh. This suit is cool though i like it. It’s based on a Goliath suit Jan designed for Hank, but by then he’d had become Yellowjacket, so Hawkeye became Goliath for a while instead. It’s a nice callback, and while I don’t actually care for that Goliath look, there’s no way a redesign by George Perez at the height of his career and abilities is gonna be anything less than great.

Wasp: 7/10

Was Mighty Avengers good? I read a couple of issues and remembered enjoying it, but that was when i hated every other Avengers book do idk if that means it was actually good, yknow? Anyway while losing Jan as the Wasp and gaining Hank is about as big a net loss as i can think of, this is NOT a bad look. There are only a few gripes i feel: I get what they were going for with the design on his chest but it makes him look like he’s The Stickbug and not The Wasp. Secondly, i think the goggles are kinda lame compared to some of his other eye/headwear he’s sported throughout the years. That’s about it! Not bad for the worst Wasp in the main continuity!

[summercreolefanfictioner]

maya sakamaki fashion headcanons

So here's the thing, I thought this headcanon thing is talking abt Maya's freaking closet (turns out I am wrong 😭). But I still wanna add the wardrobe thingy 'cause I just don't want my writing to go to waste.

As I've mentioned in Maya's random facts post, her main outfits are her long-sleeved maid outfit and the Ryoutei Academy school uniform. However, during summer, she switches to her short-sleeved maid uniform to cater to the season

The reason behind this is that, her other outfits are solely dependent on who her master is.

So yeah, during her time at the Feinze mansion, she was always wearing kimono/yukata and pairs them with dark boots. She also ensures it has a blade underneath so ppl who decide to mess with her won't stand a chance.

But now that she's a Sakamaki doll, Maya has more freedom to express her personality with her clothing.

In fact, she actually likes her clothes now better than the kimono lolita dresses bcos it makes her look more like a teenager instead of a priestess child at a temple

She actually leans on modern pastel grunge + soft girl + dark academia aesthetic outfits with a spring/winter-cool color range to match her pale skin, red eyes, and long dark hair.

So yeah, it's no secret that all her clothes are given by Kanato. In fact, some of them were handmade by him (especially the dresses) and Kanato even takes his time to style her before going out.

And since they were all handmade or given by him, you would notice attention to detail factors like ruffles, ribbons, etc.

Kanato actually has a hard time styling Maya because she has a soft classic body style and slightly large breasts. This forces Kanato to make dresses of larger sizes and accommodate her bust.

And yes, Kanato knows if Maya doesn't like the outfit he makes her wear by observing her for a good minute and if she doesn't stand in front of the mirror for too long, that's when he knows

He'll just make up an excuse that her frowning face made the dress ugly so he would think he styles her really well this sore loser

And yes, Maya never wears a pencil or body-hugging skirts. Not because Kanato doesn't like her emphasizing her womanly assets, but because it will be hard for her to fight in them

In the fake human AU series, Maya's wardrobe definitely got a drastic change. Since she was hired by Shuu to work as his secretary, Maya donned office-friendly outfits to match her work position and make her look more like an adult.

Kanato even commented Maya looked like a different person in the secretary get-up

Most of them are dresses or outfits with skirts. Square pants are a big no since it only makes her look smaller, so she opted for skinny dress pants or jeans.

When it comes to shoes, most of Maya's shoes are Mary Jane's, platforms, black boots, sneakers, doll shoes, and sandals. (all of them have blades hidden underneath)

And she loves wearing socks and stockings; it's like she loves covering her legs most of the time hence why she still uses black stockings despite her maid outfit

Kanato always gives her socks with cute patterns to give her edgy outfits a soft hint

Fun fact: Maya has never worn heels (as per the fake human series fic) because Karlheinz and Gilbert Feinze thought she has no need for them. Plus you can't insert a blade in heels.

That's why most of Maya's shoes don't have heels in them. And if they do, they're still a bit flat with mininalist design, just like this:

So yeah, she had to practice walking in heels thanks to Shuu and Kanato's meddling since she was disguised in the fake human AU series as Shuu's secretary.

Maya is actually not big on accessories.

After all, she's a maid and she can end up ruining them while doing household chores, especially laundry

However, being Kanato's exclusive doll wife has made her wear them since Kanato believes that her outfit is incomplete without them.

But she's still on the minimalist side of things, like a good pair with earrings will do and a necklace or choker. Sometimes she'll add a bracelet.

And yes, she never forgets her wedding ring.

Should a situation arise where she has to remove her ring for protection (cooking, laundry, washing hands), she turns the ring into a pendant on her necklace.

Maya is also a fan of cute beaded necklaces and bracelets. Kanato even made her so many of them so she can pair them all with her outfits

Other accessories she dons are the ones for her hair. Maya is fascinated by cute hair clips and ties and she thinks putting them on her elevates her look. Of course, aside from anything with cherry designs, she likes those ones with cute animals and girly patterns.

A/N: I kind of enjoyed writing this content. Maybe I should do others like this in the future

[arcadejohn127-9]

How would the demon boys react to some random demon saying that they "went soft" while they were with MC? love your page btw x

Oh ho ho I see! This is going to be fun! And thank you, I love seeing everyone's support!

Lucifer:

Him? Soft? Impossible

The audacity that lesser demon had was almost respectable

But he wasn't going to let it slide

"Perhaps I've been too kind to beings like you, if you truly believe I've grown soft you won't mind me practising my new equipment on you-"

"Luci? What cha doing? I've been looking for you."

As soon as he saw you he didn't even realize the love sick expression on his face

The lesser demon snickered

He realized he didn't keep his mask up

They believed they were going to go free due to his embarassment

But they only made him grip the demons face tighter, his sharp nails digging into their flesh

"not right now, I'm currently putting a demon in their place-"

"oh okay! Don't take too long, you promised you'd help me go shopping, there was a really cute outfit and I don't want to miss it."

"yes, of course, now run along."

You kissed his cheek, thanking him for taking you out

He happily sighed

Quickly placing a kiss on your lips before you left

His head snapped back to the demon with a blood thirsty smirk

"where were we?"

Mammon:

Him?! Soft?! He's got a reputation to uphold!

Like his rep isn't already destroyed by being a bunch of witches servant

Whilst he is feared for his status as a demon, in general his rep is more 'famous guy who Everyone respects but will laugh at him at any given chance'

But Don't tell mammon that

So when a leaser demon says he's gone soft due to you he's insulted

He grabs the lesser demon by the collar, yanking them towards him, pulling down his shades just enough to show off his furious glare

"You're real bold for speaking up against me like that, I'm the avatar of greed! I can destroy your well being with just a slight influence-"

You came marching towards him, brows knitted

"Mammon!!!! Stop picking fights, you promised we'd go to cafe today, I even made sure we'd get matching couples items."

You shoved your phone in his face, showing off the link he sent you

He wanted to go to the cafe due to the couple's coupon and the fact you were allowed matching gifts you can buy

"You Damn human-! Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?! The great mammon needs to defend his rep!"

"you're wasting your time, the cafe is going to get packed if we don't go now."

He didn't budge, trying to counter you but you just raised a brow

You let have a few moments before Rollin your eyes

"I'm going without you."

"BABY NO!!! DON'T LEAVE ME-! I'M COMING I SWEAR!"

He immediately hugged you and was pouting, complaining you embarassed him

But he quickly forgave you when you kissed the corner of his mouth, reminding him he couldn't jump into trouble or else his grades will be effected

Lucifers orders of course

Levithan:

"I will summon Loton on you for even perceiving me!"

It was a bold move on the lesser demons part

And today the ocean demon didn't feel like being talked to by anyone so hearing this made it even worse

He raised his hand in the air, magic glowing at his finger tips

The lesser demon gulped, regretting thinking Levi would be easy to mess with

"Levi, don't summon Loton, we'll get in trouble."

He didn't even realize you were there nor did he notice you arrive

He pouted, lowering his arm and started quickly moving his arms as he spoke

"But they're saying I've grown soft! That's insulting to demons! Especially high ranking ones! It's basically saying I'm a loser!"

"As a high ranking demon, just ignore them~ you're just fine~!"

You didn't want to deal with getting levi out of trouble because he flooded one part of R.A.D so you went to save the confident lesser demon

You grabbed his shoulders, nuzzling your cheek on his

He wanted to push you away due to embarassment and the fact it was in public

But he couldn't help but do the same, squishing his face next to yours with a massive blush on his face

"You're not helping-"

"You're great, let's go back home and finish the game we were playing."

The lesser demon was spared.....for now

Satan:

Does he look like the type to go soft?

Sure he was normally a pleasant guy to be around but soft???!

Despite his charming smile and gentle peaceful presence, he was known for being the most aggressive out of his brother's

So some lesser demon saying he's soft? He wanted to just scoff and ignore it but it chewed at him

"Soft...? Hm, you won't be saying anything when I'm done with you, you'll be too busy crying and gurgling on your own-"

"There you are! I wanted to give the book you let me borrow back- am I interrupting?"

You looked between the cowering demon in Satan's grasp

His horns flickering in out and out, his expression immediately going soft when he looked at you

"yes but what did you think of the book? I thought the characterization of the main lead was the selling point of the whole thing."

"oh definitely but chapter 104 had the best arc."

Satan opened his mouth, removing one his hands off the other demons throat to point at the book but his finger curled

Deciding to not argue with you

"I'll have to debate you on that one - excuse me I need to finish it here before I can debate you on arcs, I won't be long."

You nodded, kissing Satan's cheek and gave the lesser demon a sympathetic look

The lesser demon couldn't enjoy their freedom for long as Satan turned back to them, snarling

Let's just hope he decides it isn't worth his time for that demons sake

Asmodeus:

"me? Soft? Honey, I'm never soft~ I'm always hard~!"

The lesser demon cringed

Asmo crossed his arms, deflating slightly as his joke didn't land

Sure he was offended Someone would call him soft

But it's not like really based his reputation as being some intimidating thing, he wanted to be loved and admired!

But being soft can get you disrespected

So something has to be done and asmo is known definitely by his brothers for getting physical when needed

"Don't look so disgusted, you do understand who you're talking to, right? The avatar of lust - I'm able to bring out all your desires, I know you like things rough so let me show just how violent i can get-"

"hey, are you done threatening-flirting? Whatever you're doing, I need help with some design choices."

You definitely didn't know what you walked in but the lustful demon was your best bet to go to

He was currently caging a lesser demon to a wall and harshly gripping their chin

You just wanted a second opinion on your clothing designs!

"I'll be right there! Can you hold on for a moment please?"

You nodded, sensing the angry aura coming off him

"sure, I got wipes in my bag incase you need them."

"you're wonderful, I love you~!"

He sent you a few air kisses as he smiled at you, you shook your head at his affection

You were thankful you didn't look back because as soon as you walked away you heard a scream

And you were pretty sure it wasn't a good one

Beezlebub:

The lesser demon sure had balls to approach this walking mountain

Was no one intimidated by jocks anymore?

They snarled and teased that he was going soft, expecting a reaction

But Beel just glared at them, his resting bitch face coming in handy

"don't talk to me."

It wasn't long before you found him, he was walking through the halls heading to the main door

"heyy Beel-y, What's up?"

"a demon said I've grown soft....have I?"

You blinked a few times, not expecting the question

You definitely didn't expect the Insecure look on his face

The closer you got to him he was definitely a softie, he was always gentle with you and is super kind

To you, he hasn't changed at all

"I think you have from what I've heard but I don't think that's a bad thing, you can still hold your ground and it just means you're letting yourself not be on guard."

"that makes me feel better, you always know what to say - I'm hungry, let's go eat."

You linked your arms with him, both of you smiling

"sure! I heard there's a nice dessert place opening up!"

Belphegor:

"I think you're talking to the wrong demon, I haven't grown soft."

Again, lesser demons are getting too gutsy towards these demon brother's

Belphegor has never woken up and not chose violence

Sure he was a big cuddle bug and sleeping most of the time

But he could be absolutely ruthless -In words and actions!

"Belphie, I'm heading to the study room, wanna join?"

You didn't really care he was about to go toe to toe with another demon

Knowing he was going to win anyway but you did want to give him a chance to get away

He was on thin ice and could be put on house arrest if he kept acting up and pranking people

"I'm in the middle of threatening Someone right now."

"Alright, don't go too crazy or else you'll get in trouble but I'll be waiting, I bought a pillow for you to sleep on~"

You tugged the pillow out of your bag, wiggling abit as you showed it off

You were already walking away before the sleepy demon could say anything else

He glared at the lesser demon

"I'll prove them wrong another time, too much energy wasted if I did it now."

He immediately went jogging after you, looping an arm around your waist and nuzzled his cheek on your shoulder

[crispyartmoment]

DMC OC WEEK: Day 5

mori (again) because azrael doesn’t technically have any weapons of his own. who knows, might make a part 2 with him

Weapon(s)

Mori has 2 main weapons he uses. One being his tantōs he made himself and his revolver.

his revolver (named Raijin) is like. it’s not particularly special? it’s like… yknow, your standard Able-To-Kill-A-Demon gun. he doesn’t need bullets for it either. charge shots maybe? who knows. he does do the thing where you just manifest bullets in there because ammo is for losers

next up would be the two tantōs he has— they’re made from his old Durandal— he made them while being away from RedGrave after the whole “almost disemboweled” thing happened; he did it mostly by himself, getting help with the actual crafting from one of the many people he met during his travels. the tantōs have something similar to the combustion engine of his old sword, albeit smaller and made to work properly in a much smaller blade. its kind of like the high frequency blades from MGR:R (mgs in general but shhh)— instead of just combusting, the blades move at very high vibrating frequencies. they also have a small clip on the bottom of both the handles, which ill explain further with the next weapon

polearm — the pole arm is created by mori clipping the tantōs together at the bases and revving the handles, which makes the handles extend into the polearm. this spring-like mechanism comes in handy when he jams them into something’s mouth and extends the handle. its also just cool. it does the same things as the tantōs separately, but also the handle is surprisingly sturdy. he can also break it in half for two little spear things. its less effective then the pole arm or the tantōs so he doesn’t do it much though.

not ALL of his weapons have names, mostly because i couldn’t think of one. he does have 1 other weapon but he doesn’t have it yet — and that weapon is a tachi

i forgot his tachi LMAOOO

the tachi, which is named Watatsumi (after the dragon in Japanese mythology), is basically the devil-arm Mori inherited from his demonic parent (fun fact about that fella, literally did not give them a gender so refer to them however ); the Watatsumi is a watered down version of the Kuzuryū. it holds similar abilities to the Kuzuryū, mostly in the electricity/lightning bit. im not ENTIRELY sure on what the Kuzuryū can do ngl? 😭 like somethin… somethin weather related probably.

also it has a dragon in it. might name it Rōnin

it does give him tattoos and there is a specific design but i have barely conceptualized it yet

Abilities

aside from the standard self-healing thing, mori can’t actually do much. probably because he’s barely interacted with the demonic half of himself like. at all.

he’s able to sense other demons, hybrids, and humans — though he can only do it when they’re decently close to him (obviously he looks at a riot he’s gonna know it’s a riot but i mean with demons like Trish)

the gun thing. infinite bullet.

Job/Work

Mori works as a devil hunter, though he has dabbled in working as a mechanic from time to time. Before rejoining Dante at Devil May Cry, he just went around on his bike helping people out. He never stayed in one place too long and was essentially homeless.

DT Transformation

I’m gonna be real— have not designed this yet. I do have a vague idea of it though. Mori gets considerably taller (probably 6’6 or 6’7) and gains more draconic looking attributes similar to Rōnin. Horn’s, scales, talons, teeth, tail, it’s a whole thing. he also gets his cool sword when he does it for the first time.

Unusual Outfit

Mori owns a lot of weird clothes. He thrifts a lot. An “unusual” outfit would be him wearing anything that wasn’t his copious amount of leather clothing. So like… 70s-80s era fashion. Or a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts no in between you cannot win with this man.

Hobbies/Activities

Aside from aforementioned mechanical work, Mori can play both guitar and drums. He enjoys reading (like a nerd) and doesn’t have many hobbies aside from that. He’s able to occupy himself pretty easily.

[rattyoakenbitch]

youtubers: “don’t touch her” ₊˚ ⸝  corpse husband x reader

❝i don't wanna think about, think about you. drink up, drink up i'm so fucked up, all i want is you.❞

gif credit: n/a song: lykke li - sex money feelings die

��₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

pairings: corpse husband x reader

warnings: angst, cursing, drinking, smoking, violent language, and minor mentions of anxiety.

summary: i can’t make summaries rn hhh just read it (:

“Sean, there is no way in hell I’m going!”

“Oh, come on, Y/N. It’ll be fun!”

“That’s what you always say!”

“Ugh, you and Corpse are so stubborn. At least I was able to convince him to show up! You know what you need? To get out of the house more often and come hang with us.”

“Uh huh, yeah, y’all have fun, I got some stuff to finish.”

“Yeah? Like what? Your ten hour nap?”

“HEY! Excuse me -”

“7PM, [club address], you’re showing up.”

“Sean - !”

With that, Sean hung up. You let out an exasperated huff, crossing your arms and pouting like a toddler who was just denied a toy. You were invited, or more accurrately forced to celebrate whatever the hell Sean and his friends achieved. With lives like theirs, it seemed like there was always something to celebrate. 

You, on the other hand.. Well, you were just little old you. You met Sean by mere chance. It’s a very long story, but you shared some things in common, like your love for video games. However, that was about the only thing you could relate to with Sean and his little friend circle. You were more passionate about writing, as well as reading short horror stories. 

Now, that’s where you clicked with Corpse Husband. 

He was an underrated YouTuber, whose main uploads were narration videos on creepypastas and horror stories. That’s until he blew up with his Among Us gameplays, collaborating with big names like PewDiePie, Jacksepticeye, and CrankGamePlays (EEF!!!).

You met over an Among Us stream with said YouTubers and immediately hit it off. You shared a dark sense of humor, love for horror, and music. You knew of Corpse before, but only then did you discover that he produced music, which you absolutely enjoyed (and blasted in your house for days on end).

When you found out you lived not even twenty minutes away from each other, you’d occasionally meet up, mostly at his house considering he only went out once in a blue moon. You’d sometimes even spend the night at his place, staying up late, gazing up at the stars, getting deep into conversation and opening up about things you never blurted out to people. But when you were with Corpse, everything just came naturally. You felt safe with him, and hopefully, he felt the same. 

Night approached, the clock striking 5PM. You figured you’d get ready since Sean was dead set on you coming to the party. You showered, did a minimalist glossy makeup look, and chose an outfit, which consisted of a half neon green and black skirt that stopped mid thigh, and an oversized distressed band tee which you tucked into your belt. You slipped on a pair of ripped, striped thigh-highs with mismatched colors, (white stripes on one and neon blue on the other), and your platform boots that made you look like a Bratz Doll. You didn’t bother with your tangled hair. You teased it with a brush but didn’t put any effort into styling it, since it’d get messy anyways. To finish your look, you clipped on a choker and dangled a couple of layered chains around your neck.

Corpse would tease you, saying you had a “dog collar”, but you knew he secretly liked it.

All dolled up and ready to go, you hopped into your car and followed the GPS to the address Sean sent you. Drunk couples stumbled out of the club, dates headed inside, and old wasted guys were thrown out. Oh boy, you were not ready for this.

You were the anxious, anti social type. Not because it was edgy or cool, but you simply didn’t know how to handle social situations. However, it comforted you to know Corpse would be there by your side so you didn’t need to chat and flirt with strangers. 

It’s not like you wanted to meet anybody new, anyways. Though nobody was aware of it, you had feelings for Corpse. Cliche, right? You knew you shouldn’t have, but you developed feelings for him. It made you feel strange and weird, considering you haven’t caught feelings in a while.

You came up with the bright idea of slowly drifting away from Corpse to maybe help de-escalate these feelings, but you were going to run into him at the club, so what the heck.

You headed inside, your eyes scanning the crowd and pushing through, searching for your friend group. You spent a couple minutes cluelessly looking around the club, but to no avail. Then, it was as if a light bulb clicked on over your head; you never thought to phone Sean.

“Ugh, I’m so stupid.” You reached into your purse to get ahold of your phone when a pair of strong, manly hands and cold metal which you assumed to be rings wrapped around your shoulders, gripping you tightly. 

“Boo!” 

You felt your heart stop and ran out of the man’s grasp, spinning around to look at who it was.

“Oh, did I scare you?” 

The man’s deep, monotone voice rumbled above the sound of the music and shouts. Then you recognized that unique and distinctive voice. 

“Corpse!! What the hell?”

His nose and jaw was covered by a black mask, with a print that looked like Frank from Donnie Darko, which was also Corpse’s signature look, seen in his channel art. 

Despite Corpse being a faceless YouTuber, only very few people have seen his face, including you and Glam&Gore who he featured in his narration videos. You thought he was very handsome, his baritone voice matching his appearance. You had to admit, you were a little disappointed he chose to wear a mask. You loved seeing his facial expressions, especially his precious smile that would light up the room when he’d let out little fits of laughter. But you got over it and respected the fact that he wanted to remain anonymous.

“You dickhead,” you scoffed, smacking Corpse lightly on the shoulder. Corpse towered over you, looking admittedly both intimidating and seductive. If you were a stranger, you’d probably be running off, but you weren’t scared of Corpse. He was a big softie and a teddy bear.

Corpse chuckled lowly, slinging his arm over your shoulder and leading you to Sean’s group. He was protective like that, even if you were just friends. Now you could see why Sean, at one point, speculated that you and Corpse had a thing going on. 

“So, Sean forced you to tag along, too?”

“Pfft, yeah, that’s Sean for you.”

“Hey, there’s my favorite couple,” Sean joked, patting your shoulder. You rolled your eyes at his drunk antics.

“Shut up, don’t make me choke you like I hate you,” you mocked in return, eliciting a fit of laughter from the group. 

“Remind me to never hang out with you losers again,” Corpse mumbled sarcastically under his breath.

The night went by in a flash. Sean, Thomas, Felix, and everyone else was blackout drunk. Luckily, Mark was there to assist them. Since Mark couldn’t drink, he would be the designated driver that night. Corpse hung out by himself, sometimes getting approached by women who he politely turned down.

You, on the other hand, were downing alcohol like your life depended on it. For you, it would take more than the average number of drinks for you to get wasted.

“Y/N, don’t you think you should slow down?” Corpse questioned cautiously, resting a hand on the small of your back.

“Does it really look like I’m thinking right now?” you drunkenly slurred, following with a giggle. You waved to the bartender, calling for another shot, which he slid over to you, but not without hesitating after noticing your state. You pushed Corpse off of you, probably more harshly than you intended, and took the shot. 

“Okay, Y/N, fuck this, I’m taking you to my place. We can’t stay here and you certainly can’t drive back home when you’re drunk,” Corpse scowled, stepping closer to you. Again, you shoved him back.

“No.. No..” You sighed, holding your pounding head in your hand. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what? Y/N, you’re drunk -”

“I’m not letting you of all people take me.”

Corpse blinked. “What does that mean?” He knew you were drunk, of course, and you were probably just blurting nonsense.

All of a sudden, tears escaped your eyes, racing down your blushy cheeks.

“No.. I’m so sorry. It’s my fault.” You began to shake and tremble as tears started to uncontrollably spill down your face. Corpse didn’t waste another second to take you in his arms, hushing you. “Your hugs are so warm.. I hate it. I hate feeling this way. It’s all my fault.”

“What did you do, sweetheart? You can tell me.”

Your heart ached when you heard his pet name for you.

“I think I may like you more than you like me.. I-I didn’t mean to! Please don’t leave me. You’re all I have,” you sobbed into his white tee, clinging onto him. “I love you so fucking much, it hurts. I shouldn’t have!”

Corpse stopped for a moment, processing your words.

You.. felt the same?

Corpse had to tell you. You were drunk, but he needed you to know. 

“Y/N, I -”

Suddenly, you had a moment of clarity. Realizing how close you were to Corpse, you backed away, wiping away the mascara tears under your eyes.

“I - I think I had too much to drink.. I just need a smoke..” 

Without giving Corpse the chance to protest, you ran off into the crowd, struggling your way through. 

Corpse began to get worried when you didn’t come back. He waited impatiently on the barstool where you left him, anxiously playing with his rings.

He was just about to get up and look for you, when he caught a glimpse of you stumbling out the exit with another man who guided you, gripping your arm tightly.

Corpse fumed, his face going red and heartbeat speeding up. He went after you, knowing damn well you didn’t know this man. 

The man took you to his car, placing you atop the trunk, your legs dangling over the edge. He stepped in between your legs, caressing your face. Everything was a blur. If your mind was clear, you wouldn’t be stupid enough to trust this random guy, who was probably ten years older than you. 

“You’re too pretty to be crying,” he whispered, leaning in closer to your face, until a yell stopped him from proceeding any further.

“Hey, asshole, she’s drunk! Don’t you fucking touch her!”

“C-Corpse?” You hiccuped, hopping off the trunk to get a look at the approaching figure. It was indeed Corpse. His eyebrows were pressed together angrily at the sight.

“You know this dude?” the man said loudly and smugly, just to get a reaction from Corpse. “Relax, my man, I’m just tryna take this pretty girl home.”

“Well this pretty girl happens to be mine, and I won’t let you take advantage of her,” Corpse growled. 

You stood by the stranger, clinging to him as you watched Corpse’s face twist into an expression of heartbreak when you didn’t budge. He then noticed the bruises around your arms and wrist, supposedly from the man’s strong grip. He was unbelievably furious. 

“Ha, doesn’t look like she’s your girl anymore.” The man’s lips twisted upwards into a devilish smirk, only pissing Corpse off some more. Oh boy, was he ready to snap. He reached into his pocket, when..

“Wait,” you managed to slur out, breaking up the argument. You reached out towards Corpse like a child. His facial expression immediately softened. He gave you a loving smile and immediately took you into his arms, holding you protectively. 

“Now, I suggest you get in your car and never come back,” Corpse threatened.

“Oh, yeah? Or what? I’ll kill you and take your girl, you motherfucker!”

Without hesitation, Corpse took out his switchblade, looking the man in his eyes.

“Say that again?”

You watched as the stranger’s whole tough act fell apart. Without another word, he ran to the driver’s side of his car, fumbling with his keys. 

“Yeah, that’s right,” Corpse mumbled, not taking his eyes off the man until he reached his own car. You held his hand the whole way, processing what had just happened. Corpse noticed your distant expression. You got into his car, shutting the door and slumping back into your seat. He tore off his mask, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. Then he looked back to you. 

“Princess?”

You looked to Corpse, your eyes teary. “Hey, Corpse.” You didn’t seem to be as drunk, your mind a lot clearer after the incident. “D-Did you mean anything you said back there? About the..”

“About you being my girl?” 

Corpse took your hand in his, squeezing it comfortingly. He leaned forward and cupped your face with his free hand. “Absolutely.” 

With that, you leaned towards him, hesitantly pressing your lips to his. Your lips tasted of alcohol, but Corpse didn’t care. He was admittedly taken back, his breath hitching, but he released the tension from his body and kissed you back, pulling you over to the driver’s seat atop him. There wasn’t much space, forcing you to press closer to Corpse, deepening the kiss. 

Still being a bit drunk, you were clumsy and kind of ‘out of it’. 

“I’d hold onto something if I were you,” Corpse mumbled, breaking the kiss momentarily to guide your hands to grip his shoulders. But you were impatient and reconnected your lips with his, no doubt causing him to blush even more than he already was.

You couldn’t help yourself and giggled into the kiss, causing Corpse to chuckle along with you, departing from the kiss again and resting his forehead against yours.

“I’m sorry, you’re just so fucking adorable when you giggle.” 

You hummed in response, offering Corpse an innocent grin as you pecked all over his face. 

“I’m so glad you’re mine.”

[maxwell-grant]

May I please ask what your preferred dynamic between Holmes & Lupin would be? (From what I can tell, the term 'frenemies' might have been invented for these two - if any two characters in fiction WOULD spend all their time trying to one-up each other it's these two, if only their diverse other commitments, challenges & interests left them the free time to do so: I'm also morally certain a sadly-hypothetical Holmes/Lupin team is one of the few things that could bring down Fantomas for Good).

I think "frenemies" is what ultimately works best for these two specifically, because there's a certain untouchability to icons as big as these two that limits the potential stories you can tell with them (although yes, definitely on board with the two having what it takes to bring down Fantomas, although probably not as cleanly and easily as they might expect).

The original Leblanc stories involving this premise are very much centered around one-upmanship, even embracing a theme of national rivalry of England vs France. They acknowledge Holmes's talents but without the awe, with a somewhat aged Holmes with mundane imperfections easily exploited by the daring young thief, someone deserving of his legend but who doesn't quite live up to it. Obviously Lupin's gotta have the upperhand, not just because it's his author writing it, but because the whole point of Lupin's creation was to be the new hotness, the counterpart to both the stuffy old Great Detectives as well as the aristocratic master burglars, and really, what kind of rising superstar would he be if he couldn't put one over the other guy? If he's gonna live up to his claim of being the greatest criminal ever, he's gotta be able to humble the greatest detective at least a little.

The treatment of Watson (Wilson) is tasteless and it's frankly a bit saddening to see that even back then writers were still shitting on Watson far too much, but on the whole I think Leblanc was a lot fairer to Holmes than he could have been (certainly other writers from this time period who added Holmes to their stories were not as fair), he makes it very clear Holmes is not just another Ganimard out of his depth and is very much as close to an equal Lupin's ever had. I think the description used to cap off their final meeting is very much on point:

"You see, monsieur, whatever we may do, we will never be on the same side. You are on one side of the fence; I am on the other. We can exchange greetings, shake hands, converse a moment, but the fence is always there.

You will remain Herlock Sholmes, detective, and I, Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar. And Herlock Sholmes will ever obey, more or less spontaneously, with more or less propriety, his instinct as a detective, which is to pursue the burglar and run him down, if possible.

And Arsène Lupin, in obedience to his burglarious instinct, will always be occupied in avoiding the reach of the detective, and making sport of the detective, if he can do it. And, this time, he can do it" - Arsene Lupin vs Herlock Sholmes

The consistent outcome is that Holmes "wins" the material battle while Lupin gets away with the spiritual or karmic victory. The first story, Holmes has Lupin figured out from a glance, robbing him of his greatest asset, and Lupin even tells Holmes under a guise that he has no greater admirer than himself. Holmes choses not to arrest Lupin, and instead solves the mystery as quickly as Lupin would. But he is also, well, inferior. His "commonplace appearence" dissappoints the guests and detectives at the crime scene, he doesn't resemble their expectations, he is gruff, ungracious, arrogant and all-business, an Englishman all the way, and Lupin one-ups him by returning to him his stolen watch, and Holmes is not a good sport about it.

The whole "Herlock Sholmes" name change, although it was out of legal obligation, almost reads like a cheeky courtesy of Leblanc, like he's giving Holmes enough of a courtesy in sparing him the embarassment of being the loser. And the following adventures stay consistent: Sholmes is smart, as smart as Lupin, and he's a gentleman. But he isn't as smart as he thinks he is, and he isn't as much of a gentleman as Lupin. He resorts to unsporting tactics like intimidating Lupin's lover and involving the police in their conflict, and in the end, he's solved the crime, but "sown the seeds of discord" in a family Lupin was protecting, becoming the villain for a change, a role reversion Lupin openly laughs at. Holmes wins the "loot", he wins the material battle, but Lupin has the last laugh, and despite being a self-proclaimed villain, Lupin gets the moral victory.

It's a quite unflattering view of Holmes and one perhaps not suited for a crossover outside of the specific context of Holmes being the old and stuffy intruder in an Arsene Lupin story. Then again, every great hero needs a lesson in humility every now and then.

There's a particularly interesting variant of this dynamic to be found within China's own takes on Sherlock Holmes and Arsene Lupin.

Sherlock Holmes was quite the breakout hit for Chinese audiences at the time of his release, revered as an alternative to Judge Bao and the court-case novels. It's estimated that from 1903 to 1909, detective fiction constituted over almost 50% percent of all Western translated fiction, and with Holmes followed others like Nick Carter and Charlie Chan, and then Arsene Lupin, and soon their own local versions. The most famous and popular of which was Huo Sang, created by Cheng Xiaoqing, who was one of the main translators for Conan Doyle's stories. Cheng Xiaoqing even wrote his own take on Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin called "The Diamond Necklace", intending on correcting Leblanc's take, although interestingly, he unintentionally recreates the exact outcome by giving Holmes an unsporting attitude, where he "wins" only because Lupin lets him, and Lupin gets away again with the moral high ground. He would fare off much better in correcting Holmes with his own character, Huo Sang.

Huo Sang has a lot of similarities to Holmes, even with his own Watson counterpart, but was also designed to represent a few more traditional Chinese values. He is a science teacher with no addictions who belittles the wealthy class and fights for the poor, and he is praised for humility, one story even making a point to criticize Holmes for arrogance. He is a very Westernized character, with suits and guns and cigarettes galore, but the books were very dictatic and the author marketed them as "disguised textbooks for science", playing up on a newfound social reverence to scientific methods and self-improvement and national rejuvenation.

The stories deal heavily with corruption of the police force and institutions. In the earlier stories he outright calls police detectives useless rice buckets only good for solving petty thefts and preying on those that can't defend themselves, and while they become less sinister in later stories, Huo Sang's relation with law enforcement is much more frayed than Holmes's own. He uses dirty police tactics of his own and sometimes takes the law into his own hands, thinking the law cannot possibly achieve justice on it's own. His biggest loyalty is to his country and he values his reputation above all else. He values justice more than the law, like Holmes. But like Holmes, he still prefers to work inside the law and within Chinese traditions.

"Bao Lang, you scholar, you're too idealistic. Don't you realize how weak the law is in modern society? Privilege and power, favors and money - the law has all these deadly enemies

"We investigate half to slake our thirst for knowledge, half out of duty to serve and uphold justice. In the realm of justice, we are never constrained by the wooden and unfeeling law. For in this society, which is gradually tending to surrender its core to material things, the spirit of the rule of law cannot be put into general practice, and the weak and ordinary people are aggrieved, more often than not unable to enjoy the protection of the law.

Lu Ping, as you'd expect from a counterpart to Lupin, was much different. In fact, right in his very first story, he was already pitted against Huo Sang and outsmarting him, in a story called "Wooden Puppet Play". The character is inspired by an already existing tradition within Chinese literature of the "chivalrous thief", shapeshifting masters of deception and martial arts, and considered admirable and benevolent opposite to the corrupt government officials they outwit.

His stories are more whimsical, energized, more varied, less dedicated to strict science. He whistles while committing crimes, is identifiable by a red tie and wooden puppets he uses to signal his goons on what outfit he's gonna be wearing, and even cracks asides to the reader. In many aspects Lu Ping is influenced by hard-boiled Western detective stories, and naturally, he has a much more contemptious view of the law than Huo Sang

Well then, was he willing, in his capacity as thief, to represent the sanctity of the law and catch the murderer? Yes, he would be quite happy to round up that murderer. But he wasn't at all willing to boost the reputation of the law. He'd always felt that the law was only something like an amulet that certain smart guys had fabricated to get them out of embarassing situations.

Such an amulet migh be good for scaring away idiots, but it oculdn't threaten the violent, crafty and arrogant evil ones. Not only could it not scare them away, a lot of them hid right behind it to work their evil tricks!

Conflicts between these two are not just rooted in one-upsmanship or the patriotic conflict between the two, but instead in two differing approaches to justice, their influence on fellow Chinese writers to step outside tradition, and the respective ways they address issues in society. Additionally, it's not just a conflict between Great Detective vs Gentleman Villain, but the Holmesian Detective and the Hardboiled Detective. And, naturally, when the two met, a pattern reocurred again.

Writing a Lu Ping tale in his usual manner, Sun Liaohong deprives the detective of the advantage he typically enjoys at the hand of Cheng Xiaoqing or any other follower of Conan Doyle - narration by the detective's coadjutor.

It is Huo Sang who slinks around like a thief, alarming hotel service personnel. He becomes rattled, and even so is vain and arrogant. He is a bit too positivist about searching for clues, and he spends a remarkable amount of time just relaxing and waiting for something to happen.

The figure of "wooden puppets" turns wicked when the author uses the term to refer to Huo Sang, Bao Lang, and the police. Satirizing the genre as a play in which the author woodenly manipulates his character. But Lu Ping as puppet is a genius, moving from one identity to another, whereas Huo Sang is a dumbbell - wooden indeed, bourgeois, ridiculed.

A gentleman's agreement occurs only at the end. Huo Sang has the formal victory. He frees Lu Ping in order to get the paining, but the exhibition is held a day late and it now bears Lu Ping's seal.

In wartime, peace talks, diplomacy and gentlemen's agreements are just smoke screens, the stuff of puppetry. Both Huo Sang and Lu Ping surround themselves with lies to reach their final accomodation. Perhaps they are both puppets - Chinese Justice, the Fiction: Law and Literature in Modern China, by Jeffrey C. Kinkley

Both characters were canned in 1949 when the CCP banned detective fiction, and it was replaced with anti-spy literature about how the party police would expose counterrevolutionary conspiracies. They never got to have a rematch, and to my understanding there were a couple of films made afterwards about them, Huo Sang had a very recent one in 2019, but never another meeting.

I guess the takeaway here time and time again is that, credit to Holmes and all, but:

[diamaker-moon]

Moving Forward - Chapter 5

Chapter Five

First stake-out...

—————

She observes the young boy and hummed. She instructed Adrien to try and look around thinking that it might've been misplaced.

'I have a bad feeling about this. It's already bad that it's missing, but if my theory is right that it is in Ladybug's possession, we might be at a disadvantage.'

— previous chapter... —

Marinette was nervous. She doesn't know if she can pull it off.

She was currently crouching on a roof near the Agreste Mansion, waiting for any signal from the kwamis. She was already feeling a strain in her body due to wearing multiple miraculouses at once.

She was wearing the ladybug earrings, black cat ring, fox necklace, horse glasses, mouse pendant necklace. There was a slight change in the plan. She decided to do a stakeout in the middle of the night, that is why she also had a flashlight in hand.

If there are no open windows or any entrance to the atelier straight from the outside, she'll just create a portal. She was currently transformed as Multimouse. While the four kwamis searched around the mansion. After waiting a few minutes the four kwamis came back.

"Sorry bug, but all the windows are closed. And it can't be opened." Plagg said.

"But, the atelier is empty, Natalie is already sleeping and Gabriel as well. Their bedrooms are a bit far from the room." Tikki said.

Marinette thought about it. "Hey, Trixx. You think your illusions, can affect the security cameras inside the room if there is any?"

"Sure Kit. My powers are meant to be useful to you!" Trixx said.

Marinette nodded. She will need to divide into two, one to unify with Trixx for the illusion and another for Kaalki's teleportations.

"I hope this can work..." She mumbled before preparing to activate the mouse's special power.

"Multitude!" She activated the power and waited. She felt a slight change in her when she opened her eyes a copy of her is staring at her. She handed her the glasses.

"Mullo, Kaalki, unify!" 

The gray, pink and black bodysuit was changed. The pink accents of her bodysuit were changed into a dark brown colour, while her mask was removed and the glasses act as her mask. Her ribbons in her Odango-style twin buns were changed from pink to dark brown. A horseshoe attached to the back.

"Mullo, Trixx, unify!"

He bodysuit turned into Multifox's look, all the pink accents on Multimouse become orange, and she has a white section on her chest similar as a result of the Fox miraculous influence. The pink section of her mask also becomes orange.

Multifox looked in the direction of the mansion, before grabbing the flute from her back and playing a song to activate the power. As short 'Mirage' and the illusions are up. The cameras will only see an empty room, and if the doors are opened they will see a dark empty room.

Multifox nodded to Multimare to open a portal.

"Voyage!"

She activated the power then a portal opened. They went through it to appear in the middle of the dark empty room.

"Mullo, Kaalki, divide." Multimare mumbled, releasing the Horse kwami. Multifox handed a small pouch that has food for the kwamis.

Multimouse is on guard duty, she needs to be on alert, while Multifox, Plagg and Tikki walk up to Mme Agreste's painting. Multifox pulls the painting to reveal a safe behind. She looked at Tikki who nodded before phasing through. Multifox flicked her flashlight 'on' once the safe's door opened.

She saw a picture of Mme Agreste, a book about Tibet, a ticket to Tibet, rolled-up pieces of old paper, and a shiny brooch, that is shaped like a peacock. The brooch has five segments. Its main colour is pale, light grayish blue-violet, while the crystals on the top of each segment are pink. The lower part has a silhouette body of a peacock as a single teardrop.

She had her jaw opened. Hawkmoth just leaves it here?! Wow... What a great keeper. She grabbed the brooch and clutched it in her left hand. Before grabbing the book about Tibet which only has words about their trip and nothing important.

She placed the book back, closed the safe then returned the painting back to normal. She then nodded to Multimouse, who immediately transformed back to Multimare, and opened a portal straight to her bedroom inside the dorm.

Kaalki was divided and handed a sugar cube to eat, before Multimouse and Multifox fused, leaving only Multifox.

"Mullo, divide."

Leaving her in a fox suit. She removed the illusion in M. Agreste's atelier before finally detransforming.

"Trixx, let's rest."

Finally leaving her in her pink athletic leggings and a cropped black shirt. She was still clutching the peacock miraculous in her left hand. She made sure she didn't leave anything. She had the pouch and the flashlight on the floor after getting dropped when Multimouse and Multifox fused back together.

She sat down on her desk chair with the disguised miracle box opened on the side of the table. The other kwamis flew towards her, while She was inspecting the miraculous.

"Tikki, I thought the Peacock Miraculous was broken?" Marinette asked while still inspecting the miraculous.

"Maybe Hawkmoth fixed it? He did have the Master Fu's tablet for a while..." Tikki reasoned out.

Since she basically stole the miraculous from Hawkmoth. She couldn't believe what was happening. One moment, she was alone fighting a magical terrorist that has two miraculouses that transforms themselves as Shadowmoth. Then suddenly, here she was, it was supposedly a stake-out only! Not a stealing stake-out! But... finders keeper, losers weepers!

Marinette sighed before attaching the brooch to her shirt and hoped for the best. the brooch changed into its new camouflage design, it was now rose gold in colour, from the five feather segments when it is charged to eight with pale pink crystals on the top of each segment, there was no design in the middle, leaving the brooch in a simple yet elegant look.

A dark blue ball of light popped out and swirled around her, after the light vanished a peacock-looking kwami appeared.

"Oooh! Hello! Huh?! Why do you have the other kwamis?! Who are you?!"

Some of the kwamis laughed at the new kwami's energetic personality, while Tikki and especially Plagg grumbled about how to keep the kwami in one place.

"Hello, Duusu," Marinette said then smiled at the confused kwami.

"I'm your Guardian, I have retrieved you from Shadowmoth's possession. I am sorry that I didn't get to retrieve Nooroo as well..." Marinette continued.

The peacock kwami gasped before nuzzling on the Guardian's cheek.

"Thank you! Oh if you could've seen him, his outfit was hideous! Poor, Nooroo! Please Guardian, save him as well!" Duusu exclaimed.

Marinette smiled, she removed the brooch to put it back in the Miracle Box. Duusu didn't get sucked into it since she had no intention to relinquish him, after placing it inside the designated area of the peacock miraculously, she opened the middle circle for the kwami once they want to return in the parallel universe inside the miracle box. She let the other kwamis talk to him, while she handles civilian duties.

She opened her website on her computer and replied to a few emails before responding to requested commissions.

Clara Nightingale is commissioning her for a set of four dresses that will be used for her brand new music video, that had a theme of stars, constellations, space etc.

It was a weird concept for her but decided to accept it, thinking it could be a challenge for her. She wrote a reply email then sent it to Clara before closing her computer and climbing up to her bed.

"I'm going to sleep, be careful okay? There's food in the other mini fridge for everyone, since someone's food is influencing the other's food." She said while giving a pointed stare at Plagg who had the audacity to look innocently at the young guardian.

"Goodnight, guys!" Marinette said in between her yawns.

A series of 'goodnights' was heard before Marinette finally drifted to sleep.

—————

"Is she asleep?"

"Yes, it's quite rare for her to catch sleep lately, I'm glad that this new change is giving her quite a good impact." Tikki said.

It was currently hard for Tikki's chosen. A Ladybug Miraculous holders are usually the leaders. Those personalities are needed to become a ladybug since they are the only ones who can purify an Akuma, cast a purifying spell, and with Tikki's creations of Lucky Charms, they needed to be a tactician and are aware of responsibilities.

She was proud of Marinette. Such a young child has a strong devotion to protecting the city while risking her life, but now the stakes are high for her. Hawkmoth is aware that the Ladybug heroine is the current Guardian of the Chinese Miracle Box.

If he manages to overthrow Ladybug he can gain access to the box, and the fact that her bug needed to repress her negative emotions down into the deepest voids of her soul after being targeted by countless akumas.

Tikki knew it was taking a toll on the young aspiring designer.

Being a superheroine that needs to battle akumas whenever and wherever is already hard enough. She needed excuses for her various disappearance every time there's an Akuma.

Having an emotional battle of trust and faiths between her and her former classmates, ever since the Liar appeared. It took everything in Tikki to not pop out of the designer's purse and chew the vixen herself.

Her series of achievements through various commissions by famous peoples in society.

And finally, this Guardianship that was handed to her during an unfortunate event. She lost her temporary heroes since their identities were exposed to Hawkmoth, the loss of her Mentor— Master Fu, and now the loss of her partner.

Tikki and even the other kwamis are curious about how she was still standing straight even though she was carrying a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders. The fate of Paris, France, the fate of the world, and the fate of everyone's reality by preventing Hawkmoth from achieving his goal, that can have a massive impact on reality due to how powerful miraculouses are.

"I am proud of your chosen, Tikki."

Wayzz said in a calm voice. "She took in the responsibility of being a heroine exchange for her time in her civilian life, and now, she chose to carry the heavy responsibility of a Guardian even though she can refuse it and pass it to someone else, leaving everything behind."

The other kwamis nodded at the wise turtle kwami's words. Tikki looked at them and smiled.

"I'm proud of my bug. She's a worthy ladybug and had shown how worthy she is despite her flaws. She made mistakes, but she chose to fix them. And now she's healing from the toxicity she had received in that place. Sleep well, Marinette..."

Chapter 4 — Moving Forward: Masterlist — Chapter 6

[whitherliliesbloom]

You follow the scent trail of sweet flowers...until you bump into a mysterious bijou girl with starspun hair and lustrous lavender eyes. Mysterious girl far from home: “O-oh- I’m sorry... The way you’re looking at me as if you want to d-duel... W-well, i-if you in-insist..”

@windupnamazu​‘s Pokemon!AU Illya headcanons under the cut! It’s very long, so hang tight! Note the headcanons may be subject to change or updates in the future ;w; Drawings and designs of Illya’s outfits by @rosepinkwol​.

Illya’s personality is about similar with her ffxiv canon verse. Shy, reserved, very sweet and gentle. But she’s considerably more cheerful in her pokemon au form and less emotionally volatile / depressed. She still does have some lingering emotional and mental health issues though, which will be covered later. 

She became a pokemon trainer primarily to explore the world and meet more pokemon. Dueling and beating others isn’t a real priority for her, though she still does it to earn money. 

While Illya bets pokemon dollars in normal battles with trainers she is unfamiliar with or in official tournaments, she doesn’t like gambling real money when battling with friends. Instead, she’d often suggest that the loser has to treat the winner to a meal.

Extremely good cook. You’ll never go hungry or be unsatisfied in the tummy if you go camping with her. Just don’t mention that you like spicy foods or she’ll almost always assume that you’d be able to handle the same level of spice as she does (pro-tip: you probably can’t). 

She smells like the most gorgeous mix of flowers - no thanks to her Comfey often playing with her hair and wrapping flowers around her. 

She takes pokemon welfare very seriously due to her upbringing and background. She thus has a habit of releasing pokemon she captured that she feels would either be happier out in the wild or are showing signs of stress in her care. That seldom happens though, due to how loving and caring she is towards all her pokemon - most of them end up becoming very attached and even protective of her.

In the same way, she never forces a pokemon to battle, evolve or do anything they don’t want to, even if they are strong. 

Illya knows a lot about pokemon care and the likes / dislikes / proper way to take care of different types of pokemon. Thus, she makes friends with pokemon a lot easier than she does humans.

The very definition of ‘gotta catch em all!’..... but only if the pokemon wants to be with her. She loves all pokemon, regardless of her personal tastes and will treat any pokemon she comes across with respect and care as long as they mean no harm to her. 

Knows basic first aid for both humans and pokemon. And much like in canon, her pain tolerance is incredibly high.

She’s very particular about money. Short-change her, and she’ll be very very cross. After all, less money means less treats she can buy for her pokemon. 

In general, she’s dainty and graceful... however she is a tad more clumsy in her pokemon au form compared to canon. 

Illya is the definition of gap moe: her sweet, cute and angelic demeanor causes a lot of people to underestimate her. When they challenge her to a battle, they are later shocked by just how ferocious and skilled she is as a trainer. 

Illya has become quite famous everywhere she travels - owing to her infectiously sweet, genuine and kind nature contrasting her ferocity and skill in pokemon battles. 

She’s extremely intelligent, observant and intuitive. She often stays on the defensive for long periods of time before she works out a strategy or her opponent pokemon’s weak points before going in for the (metaphorical) kill. Reckless trainers who don’t plan accordingly are the quickest to lose to her. 

She WILL order her pokemon to use stun debuffs on your pokemon (sleep, charm etc). And she won’t apologize for it.... until the battle is over. 

As stated, since Illya doesn’t especially care about dueling or becoming known as the best pokemon trainer, she often doesn’t see the need to challenge gym leaders to duels unless her friends urge her to, or if beating a gym leader is required for her to be able to advance in her journey. 

Illya’s an extremely good sport. She’ll congratulate you wholeheartedly if you defeat her, and will also wish you ‘good fight!’ if she beats you.

Gives the best hugs - especially to her pokemon. It’s not uncommon for people to see her giving group hugs to her pokemon after a particularly tough or difficult duel.  

Illya actually has a lot of pokemon, many captured but also many that she befriended and didn’t officially ‘catch’ until they decided to follow her home. She carries a fair bunch around with her, but also left a good number of her pokemon at home to live peacefull with her father. Of course, she only enters battle with 6 pokemon at maximum, as per usual pokemon battle rules. Relationships with her main pokemon team and other notable pokemon detailed below!

While Illya is generally not one to fuss too much about her appearance or fashion, she does care about making presentable. As such, she has a more colorful and varied self-made wardrobe in her pokemon au form than she does in canon. She does however, have a favorite outfit that has become trademark to her:

A loose cloak that is fastened either with a pin or buckle, and a long flowing scarf that sways freely in the wind as she walks. Underneath her cloak, she wears a knee-length dress with a sailor collar and elbow-length sleeves and black fingerless gloves. She often switches between various hair accessories such as flower corsages, ribbons and pins. However, her brightly colored hairbands are perhaps the most well remembered to those who meet her.

Some people speculate that her scarves were sewn from the fur that was shed from her Cinccino, hence how warm and fluffy that look. Her hip length pure white hair is wrapped against her neck when she wears her scarf. 

Illya’s trademark outfit in the pokemon au has two different versions: one that she wears in the spring and summer, while the other is worn in autumn and winter. 

Her spring / summer attire is lighter- both in color and fabric. Her baby pink cloak is fastened with a flower pin atop her pink and purple dress. Intricate flower patterns adorns her skirt, and she wears ankle-length socks and purple flats. She also wears flower earrings 

Her autumn / winter attire is made of thicker, warmer material - specifically her purple cloak which has a star print and is fastened with a buckle. Her dress is a darker blue in color, with constellation and star patterning around the edge of her skirt. There are rumors that the underside of her skirt shimmers like a starry night sky... but you’d have to be out of your mind to want to look up it to confirm said rumor. Instead of socks, she wears white tights and dark blue shoes. She also wears a star hairclip and earrings to go with her blue hairband. 

Illya does not like feeling cold, and thus usually travels around wearing her cloak and scarf... however, she will on occasion take them off indoors out of respect - such as when she’s eating a meal at somebody’s house as a guest. 

Illya was born to two loving parents - Cocona, a lalafellin woman who worked as a nurse at the nearest pokemon center to their home in a small, quaint town and Lachlan, an ex-pokemon trainer who retired shortly after having his name entered into the hall of fame, now settled down to live with his wife and daughter.

Cocona’s job as a nurse gave her a lot of knowledge on how to take care of pokemon, and together with her husband set up a daycare / nursery for both young and old pokemon alike, where they spent their days taking care of many different species of pokemom. 

Born under those circumstances, Illya was exposed to pokemon since a very young age, and began playing with and interacting with pokemon as a toddler. She also quickly learned to help around the daycare, learning more about each different type of pokemon and how to best take care of each of their needs. 

At age 9, her mother fell ill with a life-threatening disease, and in order to allow his wife to see the world before she passed on, Lachlan took Cocona away on a one year journey outside their hometown, leaving Illya alone with her aunt (Cocona’s younger sister) to take care of the pokemon daycare in their absence. Unfortunately, Illya’s aunt had a somewhat sour relationship with her sister, and was neglectful towards Illya, often leaving her unattended for extended periods of time.

Illya sought refuge and comfort from the pokemon she was tasked to take of, and for a long time, they were the only ones Illya talked to. She’d take the pokemon out flower picking, stargazing. She ate with them, slept with them and vowed to take care of them to the best of her abilities for the sake of her parents.

On a particularly terrible stormy night, the land surrounding her home became flooded with rainwater and seeped into her house. While Illya scrambled to keep the water out, her pokemon were thrown into a panic, and eventually one of the baby pidoves flew out and away from her home. Illya chased after the pidove into the woods despite the rain, the wind so strong that it caused her umbrella to be carried away into the wind. 

As she ran after the pidove, she slipped and tumbled down a hill, breaking her leg. Now injured, scared and alone in the middle of the forest, the young Illya cried for help, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of the pouring rain and thunder. With nothing but the darkness of the night staring back at her and fearing that a wild animal or hostile pokemon may be lurking about and attack her, Illya attempted to crawl her way back home, but the pain from attempting to stand up only causes her to collapse once more.

It felt like the entire world had abandoned her, and just as she heard a strange noise from the shadows and feared the worse, a mimikyu approaches her from the dark and sat by her, watching over her and shielding her with its appendages, as if to reassure her that it won’t let any harm come to her. 

She was found later in the morning by the people from the nearest town, who had gone over to her house to check on her only to find she wasn’t in, her pokemon panicking and gesturing towards the forest for the townspeople to look for her. The pidove was hold safely afterwards too, trembling as it took shelter in a tree. 

The incident left Illya well traumatized, and stemmed her own growing self-hatred and anxiety which would only grow worse as she grew to become a teenager. 

She doesn’t like talking much about what happened to her as a child, and she only ever mentions the incident to people she truly cares about and trusts. And if anybody were to ever upset her by being pushy and asking her about it when she doesn’t want to share, her Mimikyu would be the first to smack the offender in the head. 

Her main pokemon team underwent a few changes over the years, but for the most part now, it’s fixed and she rarely switches members of her party out for another pokemon unless she thinks it’s really necessary.

One of the first and oldest member of her current pokemon party. Illya and her Mimikyu are inseparable. 

Mimikyu had in truth been watching her since she was but a child, enviously admiring how happy her family and her pokemon in their daycare had been together. He had, on multiple occasions, attempted to show himself in order to be part of their family, but was always too cowardly to do so. He would always scurry away whenever Illya or her parents would approach, hiding in the shadows and only ever watching from a distance. He watched her even as she was left alone, and on the fateful night of that storm where Illya would find herself lost and injured in the forest, Mimikyu folllowed her.

Watching Illya cry alone in the rain, he felt a surge of protectiveness and compelled him to finally step out of the shadow to comfort and protect her through the night. Perhaps in that instance, he saw himself in Illya, someone who was scared, alone and just wanted to be loved. He could relate to Illya’s loneliness, and loved her for the way she would love and accept any pokemon, regardless of their appearance or strength.

Since that day, Mimikyu hasn’t left Illya’s side and is one of the most protective pokemon of her. 

Mimikyu can often be found sitting on Illya’s head when he’s out of his pokeball and traveling around with her. He will extend his appendage out to grab any food that she offers him, or even to swat away anyone who gets too close to Illya.

Compared to other Mimikyu, Illya’s Mimikyu isn’t at all aggressive towards Pikachu. It is however, very shy and embarrassed and will attempt to hide if it spots one. 

As Mimikyu only really cares about what Illya thinks, he won’t attack anyone who catches a glimpse of him under his disguise. But he will be very, very grouchy.

He gets along decently well with all her other pokemon, though it is sometimes jealous of how big and strong Corviknight is.

From a distance or as a shadow, Illya’s scarf often resembles the appendage Mimikyu extends out. Once, while the pair were out in the woods and Mimikyu was sitting on Illya’s head, it extended its appendage to grab hold of a treat Illya was offering it. A distant passerby who could not see clearly in the dark of the night mistook their silhouetted figure as being a monster - or a near and frightening mythical pokemon. The myth is still circulating to this day, and Illya has no idea that it had been caused by her and her Mimikyu.  

Mimikyu doesn’t like going inside his pokeball - not that Illya would force him to. He’d of course, prefer to spend time outside with Illya. He especially never leaves her sight while she sleeps, often snuggling up to her beneath the covers or otherwise making himself comfortable in her scarf that she set aside. 

He’s surprisingly, and scarily very physically strong - able to grab hold of other pokemon and even other people several hundred times larger than itself. He uses this to his advantage by grabbing people who get too close to Illya and shoving them away - and he’s not at all gentle about it. 

Comfey shares Illya’s love and passion for flowers and it’s not uncommon to see her Comfey drifting around her, weaving flowers into her hair as she walked. The scent of the flower crowns Comfey weaves makes people who wear them feel relaxed, so she often wraps Illya in flowers whenever the girl is feeling particularly stressed or uncomfortable. 

Comfey loves decorating hotel rooms and campsites with flowers she picks from the wild, and she seems to be particularly generous when it comes to giving out her flowers to others. Friendly, sweet and kind - it’s almost as if Comfey was an extension of Illya herself sometimes. 

Comfey is the resident healer of Illya’s pokemon roster, able to not only heal the ailments of humans but also the other pokemon. She is especially active when Illya is helping out at pokemon centers or giving first aid to others. When Illya is in pain, Comfey often goes into a tearful panic. 

Corviknight’s appearance almost always gives other people a heart attack. Nobody ever expects someone as small, cute and demure as Illya to have such an intimidating looking pokemon. But she does, and she is just as affectionate to him as she is with her other pokemon. Strangely, Corviknight seems to be very uncooperative to everyone except her.

Once lacking a flying type pokemon, Illya almost fell to her death after being pushed off a cliff. Corviknight caught her in midair and hid her under his wings after he landed, guarding her with a ferocious glare even as other humans attempted to check on her. Ever since, he’s ever a watchful guardian to her, glaring from behind her back even as she smiles sweetly at others. 

Corviknight also serves as Illya’s main mode of transportation when she isn’t able to walk herself. As Illya loves taking her time to explore on her own two feet, she tries to not overly rely on Corviknight... sometimes, it can’t be helped however - such as when she needs to cross large bodies of water.

Interestingly, Corviknight bears a striking resemblance in both his aesthetic and personality to a hyuran pokemon trainer of dark skin and black hair who has secret romantic feelings for Illya. 

Bellossom met Illya while the girl was traveling through a tropical area that has been haunted by rain clouds and dark skies for the past several days. Illya was first attracted to bellossom because of the flowers on her head, and had watched as the Bellossom danced and chanted, mesmerized when the rainclouds pulled apart and sunlight began to shine through.

The two quickly bonded, with Bellossom teaching Illya her sun summoning dance before finally, she decided to join Illya together on her journey.

She wasn’t exactly meant to be a part of Illya’s team, and for a while, she was but a mere travel companion. However, Illya noticed just how active and enthusiastic Bellossom was to battle - or perhaps she saw it as an opportunity to show off her dance to more people. Regardless, bellossom hence became a new member of Illya’s pokemon team replacing Cincinno. 

If it wasn’t obvious enough, Bellossom loves to dance. She is rarely ever seen not at least swaying to its own beat while she’s outside her pokeball, and she becomes very eager when other pokemon or humans show an interest in learning her dance. 

Evolved from an eevee that Illya had taken care of since she was a child, it alongside Mimikyu are the two most senior members of her current pokemon team and also the longest to have known her. 

Sylveon is a free spirit, much like he had been when he was still a baby eevee. He enjoys roaming about a fair bit, though he takes care to not stray too far from Illya. 

He’s very attached to Illya and much like other sylveons, understands his trainer’s emotional state well by wrapping his feelers around her hand while walking with her. Whenever Illya gets sad or upset, he often likes sitting in her lap, purring and nuzzling himself against her in an attempt to make her feel better. He also wraps his feelers around her in an attempt to soothe and calm her down whenever she cries.

Despite his adorable appearance, he’s actually very daring and fearless, never once backing down from a confrontation or fight with other pokemon even if they are multiple times his size or even if they are a type that holds an advantage against him. 

Illya’s Sylveon is also very attached to Alphinaud’s Espeon, nuzzling himself to espeon whenever Alphinaud has it out. 

Gardevoir was one of the latest pokemon to have joined Illya’s team. She is an extremely elegant, regal but also stoic member of the party. 

Like other Gardevoir, she is able to read the future - and it was through her prediction that she foresaw her meeting with Illya and prematurely approached her. She is also able to distort dimensions and create black holes, though she rarely ever does the latter. 

Much like Mimikyu and Corviknight, Gardevoir is extremely protective of Illya despite not having known her for as long as the others have and would not hesitate to expand her own psychic powers to her fullest if she feels like Illya may be in any sort of danger.

Though powerful, she doesn’t tend to like roaming about much and mostly stays within her pokeball unless Illya calls her out for food or battle. 

Gardevoir’s demeanor and headstrong personality reminds Illya a lot of her late mother, and perhaps there is some deeper reason for why Gardevoir herself feels such a strong need to protect Illya as if she were her own kin. 

Some of her pokemon are carried around with her as travel companions, only occasionally taking part in battles, while others are left at home to be cared for by her father.

TRAVEL COMPANIONS [to be updated as au is expanded on]

Vulpix: A male vulpix that Illya carries around and cuddles with during the winter or when she’s traveling through locations with colder climates. Out of all her pokemon who are not part of her main party of 6, vulpix is probably one of the most active and frequently called forth in battles that aren’t official tournament leagues or competitions. Illya also calls her vulpix out whenever fire is needed. He is brave and enthusiastic and hopes to one day evolve himself into Ninetales. 

Dragonair: A gentle male dragonair that Illya caught near a lake one day during clear skies. It had dragged her into the sky and allowed her to ride on his back, soaring high into the clouds before dipping back down towards the waters. However, Illya lost her balance and fell into the water. He still feels bad about it to this day. He likes to curl around her to sleep.

Cinccino: A playful female cinccino who evolved from one of Illya’s minccino that she has been caring for as a child. She was once an active member of Illya’s party, but now is more of a travel companion who rarely ever battles now. Some people believe that Illya used the fur shed from Cinccino’s scarf to sew her own trademark scarf that she’s seen traveling around with now. 

Rowlet: Though Illya gets along with many pokemon in general, birds in particular seem to be very fond of her. This male rowlet followed Illya as she was traveling through the woods and eventually became a part of travel party. He doesn’t see very many fights but he does love to cuddle and is very affectionate towards not just Illya but other pokemon and trainers.

Alcremie: A shy female Alcremie who offers sweets to new friends she meets. Illya often has reservations about eating the cream and berries secreted from her, but after being assured that it doesn’t at all hurt her Alcremie and that it’s offering of sweets is a sign of affection, Illya has started learning to indulge more in sweet foods more and more. Illya doesn’t have the heart to tell Alcremie she prefers spicy food, though. 

Trevenant: A female trevenant that attacked a woodcutter that Illya saved while traversing through the forest. Convinced at first that Illya intended on harming the forest, it proceeded to trap her in a cage of trees until she was finally convinced to release Illya after witnessing the way Illya refused to let her vulpix burn the trees down just to escape. She follows Illya around and holds a lot of respect for the way Illya cared for nature and the environment. 

Hatterene: A reclusive Hatterene Illya met during her travel. She once hated Illya, chasing her by emiting a strong psychic aura much like she does with other strangers. Upon sensing Illya’s lack of hostility and own gentle soul however, she eventually calmed down enough to allow Illya to approach. She is very moody and temperamental.

NOTABLE POKEMONS AT HOME [not including pokemon that belong to Lachlan or pokemon that belong to other people being taken care of]. List is NOT exhaustive!

Cleffa: A female cleffa born from Cocona’s retired Clefairy. As Cocona passed away shortly before cleffa was hatched, Illya became her owner / trainer instead. Though cleffa wishes to someday be a part of Illya’s team, grow stronger and evolve herself, Illya hasn’t quite allowed herself to let go of her mother’s death, and hence prefers to keep cleffa safe at home. It’s one of the rare instances where Illya has explicitly gone against a pokemon’s wishes, even if out of a genuine love and protectiveness of it.

Musharna: A female Musharna that eats the nightmares of Lachlan and any guests who come to stay over at their house. She sleeps a lot and frankly cannot care any less about battling. 

Chimecho: A male Chimecho that Illya caught and took along with her on her journey for a while, before leaving him at home with Lachlan. He likes hanging himself to the roof of the house and swinging in the breeze. Not hearing chimecho’s wind chimes tells Lachlan and Illya that something is wrong. 

Azurill: A male baby Azurill that Illya rescued. He is very timid and lacks a lot of confidence. He wants to get better at doing battle, but still has a lot of training to do before it can get to that point. 

Beedrill: A male beedrill that was evolved from a weedle - the very first pokemon Illya ever caught in the wild on her own. She’s trained him personally as she grew up, and he saw many of her clumsy behavior and less experienced days. He’s sort of retired now, spending his days keeping the more rowdy pokemon in the daycare in check. 

Theme songs

If pokemon au illya were to have a theme / ost track, it’d be this lovely re-orchestrated track of the Lacunosa Town Theme! It’s soft, peaceful and has a touch of melancholy which suits her perfectly. This, this and this remix also fits her and may double as her battle theme?

Illyanaud track mayyyybe? 

Legendaries / Mythicals??

I didn’t include any legendaries or mythical pokemons into her roster because lore regarding those are that they’re very very rare BUT if Illya were allowed to have a legendary and a mythical pokemon, she’d probably own a Cresselia and a Celebi! 

Cresselia, the Lunar Pokémon. Shiny particles are released from its wings like a veil. It is said to represent the crescent moon. On nights around the quarter moon, the aurora from its tail extends and undulates beautifully.

Celebi, the Time Travel Pokémon. This Pokémon wanders across time. Grass and trees flourish in the forests in which it has appeared. When Celebi disappears deep in a forest, it is said to leave behind an egg it brought from the future.

Shout out to Diancie, who is a close second choice solely based on the fact it’s design looks like what Illya would be if she herself were a pokemon. 

Relationships with other OCs / NPCs

To be added!

[prettywarriors]

Ok ill bite whats the worst mg series

alright, whats the worst magical girl series in your opinion?

Thanks you two for letting me do some yelling. The obvious guess would likely be one of the recent edgelord shows right? Magical Girl Site or something similar? But nay I say, for while MGS and Day Break Illusion and such and what not generally tell you what to expect right away. Don't like super violence and suffering? Watch something else is the clear message from the get go. One of the bait and switch series then like Madoka or maybe Yuki Yuna? For what faults they may or may not have, at least these series do something and are interesting, even if you're not huge on what goes down in the series. A parody then? They range from affectionate to banned in New Zealand but regardless of quality and their feelings for MGs, it's a parody. It's a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously (plus they're usually short so you can just forget about them forever).

So what makes a series terrible then, I am sure you are asking. IMO? Setting expectations for an interesting and enjoyable series, and then dashing them to hell.

Come with me below the cut, as I talk about Key Princess Story: Kagihime Eternal Alice Rondo!

Spoilers abound so if you care about those for a 15 year old series, click away.

Background: Kagihime was a 4 volume manga that ran from 2004-2006 that was picked up for a 13 episode anime adaptation near the end of its run. The manga is created by a pair (Kaishaku) who you may know for making Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto. Kannazuki no Miko, and Steel Angel Kurumi, and the anime had a script written by the same writer (Mamiko Ikeda) for Tenshi Ni Narumon who also did some script writing for Princess Tutu and Seven of Seven. The anime also had 6 character music videos which are fairly simple but a nice addition to the series for the main girls. Discotek has been publishing the anime in the states in recent years, and the manga was brought over by *squints at book spine* Dr Master Publications.

The Premise: Girls transform and enter weird outside of reality spaces to fight each other with giant keys to take each other’s stories to create a third Alice In Wonderland story.

Well, an off-brand Alice story written by Alternate L. Takion, rather than Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson, that while the series uses all the aesthetic hallmarks of the tradition Alice, the little we see of the in universe Alice story is clearly different. Which is fine, at the end of the day, it’s still about someone who loves the Alice stories and wishes there was more, and even makes his own fanfiction version. His? Oh yeah, while the girls do all the fighting, the main character is Aruto, a teen boy who loves Alice, and for reasons we don’t know till late game, can enter the liminal spaces that the ‘Alice Users’ fight in. He chases a girl who looks like the Alice he sees in his story, who is named Arisu, and gets roped into this fanfic battle royale. He is also the older brother of the very needy Kirihara, who also ends up being and Alice User. As does Kirihara’s bff Kisa. To round out the group of enemies-turned-friends-who-will-work-together-to-collect-the-Eternal-Alice-without-having-to-fight-eachother group is a young genius researcher Kirika who wants to know more about Aruto’s connection that allows him to enter the spaces where the girls fight.

Then there’s all the other girls, some of whom still have real importance to the story and some who have a few panels or 2 scenes total. But with a whole bunch of girls to design, the creators reached out to a whole lot of other people to have them create designs! Eventually the battle gets down to the last few girls, there’s a confrontation with the guy running the whole thing, and while the anime and manga vary quite a bit the whole time, in both version Aruto ends up with Kirihara. Oh and Arisu was created by Aruto’s super imagination powers.  

The Promise: Here on is subjective, particularly with what I personally saw as potential from this series. because I need you to understand how much I want to like this series. 

~Alice in Wonderland themed: I know some people aren’t alice fans and that’s fine you do you but as a big alice fan this is great. We have a few alice episodes and themed characters amongst series like CCS and MGRP, and even Alice themes in other series like Tweeny Witches and Alice 19th. But damn it I am down for Alice series.

~Giant Keyyyyyyyys: Yeah yeah Kingdom Hearts but these keys are much more staff like for a lot of the characters which ads and air of elegance rather than the KH ones that for me at least feel well designed for big ol props rather than actual weapons. We also get...

~Weapon variety: It counts as a key if it’s a thorn whip that can be shaped like a key right? How about a giant pocket knife? Crossbows can also be keys. Hush. And we have this variety because

~Guest Artists: For magical girl series where we have a variety of outfits designed by different people, we have Kagihime, Uta~Kata, and uhh I guess Magia Record? But that’s a mobile game with a hella number of characters and with how mobile game works I wouldn’t count it just because it’s less the intent of the series to have variety and more the nature of having lots of girls. (Precure doesn’t count because unless I missed a memo each season’s set is still by one designer). If a series isn’t about a team and therefore doesn’t need cohesion, bringing in other artists is a great way for variety and new looks. 

~The long term goal: Fighting with other people who love the same piece of media you do in hopes of creating new material that will be viewed as official? That’s just fandom nowadays. But it’s a legitimate interesting concept, and opens up so many doors for a message for the series, be it ‘what you create is no less valuable than the canon work’ or ‘it’s hard to let go when something you love doesn’t have more to it but you can still love it for what it is’ or ‘bond with the people who like the thing you like ya idiot instead of fighting about it’. The concept is interesting and there are so many narrative ways you can take this.

~Gays: Between the anime and manga, we have at least 5 wlw. Is it a magical girl series without some gays? (side note- the manga had a short thing where the MC wears a girl’s uniform and is pretty comfortable in it and while there is no way this was the intent, between that and the emphasis on the stories that live in girls and how the fight zones have no men, I’m just saying, Trans girl Aruto.)

~Greater Fairy Tale Premise: We meet a Little Match Girl based MG who is obsessed with Andersen rather than the Alice books, and touch on a Sleeping Beauty character in the manga. The manga at least implies that classic stories and fairy tale authors uh. Live on in a liminal space as immortals with world warping powers within that world and there could be opportunities for other girls in the real world to fight for Little Mermaid 2: Electric Boogaloo.

The Good: Everything has positive points, no matter how bad it is.

~Character Designs: Some of those looks slap. As do most of their weapons. 

~Backgrounds: I have a strong opinion on backgrounds in anime that can be easily boiled down to old watercolor backgrounds good, modern filtered photos as background bad, and as a 2006 series, this might not be Memole nice but they’re quite attractive. 

~Splash Pages: Easily my favorite thing after the designs, each chapter’s title page for the manga just has a character standing in a setting. Which is not everyone’s thing I’m sure but it’s a nice simplistic way to let the characters breathe imo. Even if at least some of the settings were deffo traced. But that’s how backgrounds work to some extent? If I ever get to the Met again, I am tracking down this exact photo, but here is a likely candidate for an example.

~Different Versions: I do not understand the need to make an adaptation that tries to be a 1:1. Kagihime had the same ideas and characters and did some of the same beats but very much had a different finale story and a lot of changes in the middle (like the Alice cops in the manga). Again, not something everyone probably wants I’m sure, but I very appreciate this, especially since the Anime kept good pace with the number of Manga chapters (reading the manga again while watching the anime at 3.8x speed just now was very interesting to see the different interpretations of events in a different medium.)

The ‘Fine’: Yeah.

~Anime Visuals: Look 2006 was still early enough into digipaint that I will give it a total pass on these. The colors are too bright but in a very bland way, the lineart is nothing interesting, and the faces are. Iffy. But it’s not total garbage to look at (probably helped by backgrounds and character designs...) it just came out in an era where not enough people knew how to stylize things to account for the weakness of the tools of the time. (It was 4 years earlier but I feel Kagihime is the polar opposite of Chobits with its painfully bland color palette while still being just. Flat. Sorry for the drive by Chii.) 

~Music?: There sure were songs. Obviously, they are nothing to me.

The Bad: CW for.... somehow all the big things to an extent. 

~Fanservice: Look, I am fine with fanservice, especially for a series that’s, ya know, not targeted at kids, big Mai Hime fan here even if I would recommend skipping the panty thief episode. And honestly the series generally isn’t fanservicey, at least by the modern standards of having the camera choosing under the skirt rather than an over the shoulder shot like I’ve seen plenty in other shows. Even the sexier outfits like the rose whip dominatrix aren’t bad BUT. When the girls fight. One takes her phallic key and drives it into another girls chest between the boobs while the loser cries in pain and then her book comes out and when the victor rips out pages, the loser’s clothes also rip. It is very SuperS Amazon Trio assault metaphor-y. There’s also a bit of fanservice with the sister becauseeeee....

~Incest: If you read the premise up there, first wow good job because I’m sure not re-reading that, you might have noticed I said MC ends up with his sister. As someone who is a big mythology fan and watches plenty of anime, I have a decent tolerance for your obligatory ‘oh we’re siblings but actually cousins so our feelings are okay’ or whatever the fuck Citrus has going on I don’t know that series and I don’t vibe BUT. I have limits and boy did this series go beyond that because multiple episodes are dedicated to the sister being in love with the brother? And the brother returns her feelings but knows that they are wrong so he put everything he likes in his sister into his version of Alice who, of course, physically manifests as Arisu who he creates accidentally with his uh. Magic imagination powers. But again in both versions MC still ends up with his sister. Hey, at least the manga eventually said the boy was adopted when the sister was like, 3, so if nothing else no blood relations? The anime did not ad this. -_-

~Under Utilized Characters: Arisu’s gradual revelation that she has no childhood memories because she isn’t a real person is so interesting and they don’t do nothing with it but also? That’s the kind of thing I personally would love to dig into and Kagihime, while touching on this world shattering revelation, easily loops back to So Anyway She Should Fight For The Man and to hell with developing a life or personality outside of what has been written for her. The rest of the main 5 were 2 note characters which. Could be worse? The most interesting character ends up being the child genius who accidentally murdered her childhood bestie (and/or lover? depending on version) and her coming to terms with that (the friend is alive but the version changes how and why she thinks she’s dead). Then the villain has the motivation of ‘i lost my creativity and now have become an immortal living outside of normal space and am getting girls to fight each other because that’s like a story so I’m still relevant right?’. But shoutout to the anime for then taking death of the author literally. The numerous other girls are canon fodder outside of like. The manga version of the dead gf and the little match girl.

~Battle Royale: This is not a thing I have an issue with generally. Again, but Mai Hime fan, I need to read MGRP 11, BUT by not developing the non-main girls there is no emotional connection which makes them just canon fodder and that’s boring as sin for a royale system. The initial main character fights revolve so much around the MC guy being there that they fall flat, and the 2 or 3 final battles in both versions still feel without any stakes. Also for a royale thing most of the characters don’t actually die, which cool! Neat! Except when they do? Some nobodies and a somebody are murdered (at least in the manga) and the tone never feels like it’s supposed to be upping the stakes, it’s just. Some people are dead now. And do you want to guess which of the main characters died?

~Gays: Oh boy the best friend of the brother-complex sister is in love with her and (in the manga) dies. She does apparently get better for the last chapter but the death itself is only felt by the rest of the cast for a page or two before we go back to feeling sad big brother wants to kiss his mentally generated sister clone rather than his actual sister u_u. Bury your gays is nothing new, but I wonder if it was also intended to be justified because Guess Who Is Creepy and a bit Perverted? Oh look the lesbian keeps the used swimsuit of her beloved and manipulates events to get an indirect kiss and when she sees the sister trying to strange Arisu for a moment she decides to do it for the sister? It’s not good. You want bad gay rep in a magical girl series, well here ya go. We also had a nobody in the first(second?) episode whose story pages reveal her having a kiss with a girl, and then we also have the prodigy again and- in the manga- her. Uh. childhood lover who she thought she killed but the girl has been wiping her mind over and over so prodigy remembers ‘killing’ the friend and not the she’s alive so she can keep? fucking with her? Toxic!

~Sexual Content: But wait you say, you already covered fanservice! Ah but that is sexual content for titilation. This is sexual content for dramatic backstory! The red riding hood character was sexually assaulted, another character was manipulated into sex first as a teen and then more often to ‘get into the publishing industry’, and the same writer forces some aggressive kisses on the MC. None of it is gratuitous which is nice, but also, was it necessary? Not making a new point for this but read riding hood’s dog was also murdered so unnecessary animal death gets tossed on in there. 

~Male Lead: You can have a male, non magical character as the main character surrounded by magical girls. This is not how to do it. If I can make a vicious and hopefully not understood reference, Aruto is basically Tate from the Mai Hime Manga. If you understood that, I am so sorry. If you didn’t, congrats! Don’t read the manga. Or do and send me asks about the iconic final page of the first volume (18+). Anyway, this dude is boring, everything revolves around him, BUT I’ll be generous and say at least this isn’t a harem series? It looks like it out of context but it’s just a triangle with a fun attached scientist and token lesbian.

~Premise: They didn’t make good use of it. The initial goals of ‘take other girls pages from their soul books because if we get enough we unlock a third alice book’ is good! And then we add the twist that that was never going to happen and either if we get all the pages we can grant a wish, or these fights are just happening for the amusement of and asshole. Either way, yeah okay I guess. But at no point do we ever achieve this forbidden wish granting book and the asshole just. Lives. Nothing happens to him. His peers don’t even dunk on him. The only real changes from the beginning and the end of the series are: the siblings are now chill with dating, and the scientist lady won’t turn into a child in magical spaces. Oh. Yeah.

~Why did we make this adult a child sometimes?: I think we know why. Stop trying to get those types of folks to watch your already meh series. I also could have sworn at points in the past looking up images for this series I’ve seen extra art for Yuuri the Thumbelina-y Alice User that seemed like it would fit alongside anything by POP. You know, the Moetan guy. If you don’t know, god I wish that were me. 

Wrap Up: I have definitely forgotten some points and am well within my rights to ad to this whenever I remember more points but uh. Yeah.  

Listen you want an alice themed battle royale with nice outfits? Rozen maiden is right there. Battle Royale magical girl series that’s good with fanservice? Mai Hime. Series with different outfits while being based on a classic story? Pretear.

Hope anyone who read all of this at least got what I was saying, even if they don’t agree with it. And thanks for reading because whoops. 

[babyspiderling]

Under the Lights  Daveed Diggs x reader

Before I even paste this into Tumblr, I want you all to know that this took me two days of constant writing, and FOUR pages on google docs. I know that the second I hit paste, it’s going to be like one page. Anyways, here’s Daveed x reader.

2010

“Hey, Y/N, I brought you muffins!” A woman with a mouth full of pins, her hair up in a messy bun, measuring tape sloppily tied around her neck, and a pincushion on her wrist, exited a space separated from the rest of the apartment by a thin curtain. Seeing her best friend and roommate enter with goodies, a bright grin fluttered onto her face. “Wanna see what I did while you were gone?” He nodded and followed her to her half of the work room. On a mannequin, a beautiful dress was fleshed out much more than it had been when Lin had left this morning. It had been nothing more than a sketch on paper for the Newsies show. As a major in history with a minor in design, Y/N was accepted by Disney to create the costumes. It didn’t hurt that The Lin Manuel Miranda of In the Heights fame was on her list of references. She had decided to start with Medda’s dress first. Medda was a personal favorite of hers and was excited to do her own spin on it. A deep purple sash had been half pinned under the bodice and sadly hung from its haphazard placement. “The sash would look better if you hadn’t distracted me with food dork.” He smiled and pressed the folded paper bag into her hand. “Alright. I’m going to finish this for Alan. It’s a miracle I have this job. I’m not screwing it up. I also meant to tell you that one of my guys are going to be here tomorrow for a measure and design session. Sweet kid. Amazing dancer.” Lin grinned teasingly as he set his laptop down on his desk. “Am I getting replaced? Is he going to be your new roommate and best friend?” Y/N stuck out her tongue at her best friend and continued her work. The sounds of humming and a machine whirring mixed in with the excited clacking of keys to make a strangely beautiful symphony. 

2013

“Y/N! I need your help!” In the tiny apartment in the upper east side, an over-caffeinated Wesleyan Alumni burst through the front door, a paper bag of bagels clutched tightly. At the yells, another Alumni ran from her section of the apartment.  “Lin! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He thrusts the bag into her searching hands, and lets out another shriek. “Y/N! I’m fine! They want to put The Hamilton Mixtape through a workshop! And if we get this right, they’ll move us to a real show!” Shoving his shoulders, she muffled her screams behind pinched lips. “Lin, you can not go scaring me like that! I’m going to get gray hairs before we even get to the off Broadway! What do you need my help with?” He pulled her onto the ratty couch they had in the little space. “I need a costumer. You’re the best in the business. Not to mention I’ll be with you all the time, so there’s no chance of miscommunications!” Standing from her forced seat, she cradled Lin’s head in her hands. She saw the excitement glimmer in his eyes and softened. “Lin, of course I’ll help you, I am a history major after all. Who else could make it historically accurate while still being functional? Thank you for even considering me, and for the bagels.” She pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. Giving a crooked smile, she pointed a finger in his face. “If you ever scare me like that, I swear I will never cook or bake for you again.” He smiled sheepishly and shrugged in apology. “Sorry, but hey, you’re my costumer now!” She smiled and bumped her hip with his. She dug through her pads of paper and snatched her laptop off the charger. “Alright. Give me your tracks and I’ll get started.” 

July 27th, 2013

“Alright, I’m here. Sorry I’m late, I got halfway down the block before I figured out I left my notes on the desk. Who do we have here?” Three men held my attention, understandable since they were the main cast. I recognized Brian D’arcy James from other productions, there was another man with big hair and bright eyes, and finally my eyes fell on Christopher. I smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. “Oh my God! What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in so long! How’ve you been.” He chuckled and pulled me in again. “I’m good. I was missing our Vanessa for a while, but you’re working with us now so I won’t have to miss you anymore! Lin told me about the project and I couldn’t turn it down.” He turned me to the stranger at the clearing of a throat. “Oh, this is Daveed. He’s playing Thomas Jefferson and Lafayette. He raps.” I looked at him up and down, remembering the songs Lin had written for him. I cocked my head, and he looked at me with nervous eyes. “This will work. This is going to work great actually.” I saw his shoulders relax and sag with relief as I walked back to the table set up for the behind the scenes people. I gripped my pen in my hand, ready to jot down every little thought that passed through my mind for the time of the workshop. 

After hours and hours of rehearsals and run throughs, I’d filled up a notebook and a half for costumes for the characters. This time around Lin wanted his cast flexible. Those whose characters were not in the second act were recast as another role, so I had to figure out how to do quick changes not only for the nine main cast members, but for the entire ensemble. As Lin and I packed up our things to head home, the man with the beautiful eyes stopped me. “Hey, Vanessa, right?” I heard Lin and Christopher snicker somewhere behind me and I shot them a look. “Actually, it’s Y/N.” His eyes widened in embarrassment and his hand lifted to rub the back of his neck. “Sorry, I just thought it was Vanessa since that’s what Christopher called you.” I shook my head and smiled. “Oh, no. That’s just a little joke between us. I was the demo Vanessa when Lin was trying to sell In the Heights. I’m the reason why Vanessa never speaks Spanish. I took French all through high school and college.” He nodded and rocked back and forth on his heels. “I’ve got some questions about costumes and everything you do. Could I have your number to keep in contact?” I nodded and pulled out my phone, switching it with his and I plugged in my contact information. “Alright. I’m headed home, but I’ll make a schedule for measuring and design sessions. I’ll see you tomorrow?” He nodded enthusiastically, making his hair bob with his movements. I waved goodnight and followed Lin out of the building. 

“So, Daveed.” I looked up from my buzzing phone to Lin out of the corner of my eye, giving him an eyebrow. “What about Daveed?” He shrugged and wore a small smile. “You texting him?” I put my phone down to look at him headlong. “And if I am?” Once again he shrugged and got up to grab a snack. “Nothing, just remember your worth.” I shake my head good naturally. “Alright Dad. Now, I’ve got to sketch out what my brain was screaming during the workshop. And how to create every outfit as a quick change. Thanks loser.” 

July 15th, 2015

“Alright everyone! We’ve practiced these changes for weeks! Remember your number, remember your cue. You all have been a wonder to work with and to create for. I love you all and break a leg!” Everyone is dressed in white for the opening number, and I am proud of my work. “Oh, and Daveed;” Daveed looks up at me, a strange look in his eyes. “Yes, Y/N?” I looked him in the eyes, stoic and serious. “If you rip your pants during Guns and Ships again, you will repay me by organizing the scrap bin.” He swallowed visibly and nodded his head. I smiled once again and put my hand out for a group theatre circle. “Break a leg!” Everyone scurried to their cue spot in their costumes and Lin hugged me from behind. “Thank you for doing this for me. I never would be able to have costumes this good if it weren’t for you.” I turned in his arms and smiled. “I’m glad I did too Lin. Now go, they’re calling your name.” I listened from my side of the stage, getting everything in order for the main cast. I pulled Daveeds coat off quickly and held out his blue one for him to slide on. “Hey, Y/N, maybe after the show we can-“ “Diggs! Get to your cue!” I smiled and nudged him. “Go. Talk to me after the show.” He gave a quick kiss to my cheek and went to do his thing on stage. As I pinned the rose to Renée’s dress, her sweet voice teased at me. “You do know that he loves you too, right?” I know what she’s talking about, but I pretend to play dumb. “Who loves me? Nevermind, neither of us have the time for this. Go kick ass out there.” She scrunched her eyebrows at me and pointed her finger to say “This isn’t over.” 

The first act went by in a flash, costume changes and character changes took up all of my time. After I had hung up every dress, every coat, every pair of trousers and corset, Daveed had changed and packed up all of his things. I had just finished mending the lace cuff on his magenta sleeve when he had walked in. He wore a sleeveless Oakland jersey with a matching hat pressed onto his freed hair. “Oh! Daveed! Perfect timing! I was just finishing up here. What was it that you were wanting to tell me?” At my question, it was like a switch had been flipped in him. He went from the cool and collected suave man who the fans fantasized over to a shy and awkward man who had run out of words. Self-doubt and insecurity filled my inner dialogue as I watched him shut down and clam up. I was filled with the fear and anxiety that he had come to ask me to stop staring, to stop caring. I let the silence carry on for a while longer until Anthony called for us to leave. “I, I should probably go, then. You were amazing tonight, not a single trip or stutter. I am so proud of you.” I swallowed down the tears making their way up my throat and gave him a watery smile. I grabbed my bag, and started to make a hurried exit until my wrist was caught by a large and calloused hand. “Wait, no. Y/N, I wanted to know if you wanted to grab something to eat, go do something when we don’t have a show. You know, like maybe a date? Unless you don’t want to, then it’ll just be us as friends. I’d actually really appreciate it if you just forgot this whole ordeal and-” I smiled and blushed at his sweet ramblings. I stepped up onto my workbench and gripped his face in my hands. Taking a deep breath I leaned in and connected our lips, praying to every spiritual being in the heavens that they would allow him to kiss me back. I guess praying did me good because after getting over the shock of being interrupted, he kissed me back with the same fervour. Once more, we are called to leave the theater and we break apart, panting lightly with swollen lips and pink cheeks. He helped me down from my step and I lifted myself onto my toes to give a peck to his cheek. “Alright big guy, let’s go home. Lin’s either knowing of what we were doing, or he’s pacing in our living room, police on speed dial. And I would love to go on a date with you.”

[teenwolffanclub-me]

Season 1, Episode 8: Lunatic

Hey there beautiful reader! If you’re new here, this is a series I’m writing where each chapter is an episode from the first season of Teen Wolf. If you’ve been here before, hey! I missed you! Previous and future chapters are linked at the end of each part if you want to catch up.

Pairing: Stiles x Psychic! Reader (eventually)

Warnings: a nonconsensual kiss (very brief), angst ☹️

Notes: Boys suck. All of them. That’s it. 

                                                      ————————

“This is so pathetic.”

I sent Lydia a glare over Allison’s shoulder as I pulled her tighter against me. Her body trembled with another sob and I winced, rubbing her back comfortingly. I widened my eyes expectantly, and Lydia just shook her head.

“It’s your turn.” I mouthed the words silently.

With a grimace, she gripped Allison’s shoulders and peeled her away from me. She shook her slightly as she turned her around with a pointed look.

“You have got to get it together, honey.” Allison sniffled as Lydia pushed big clumps of dark hair away from her eyes. “You’re going to see him tomorrow—”

She dissolved into another fit of crying and sagged forward, until we both pulled her back upright.

“And,” Lydia continued. “You’re going to look hot while you ignore him. Okay? That’s why we’re here.”

We’d come all the way to Lydia’s house this morning to put together a pick-me-up outfit for Allison. After the whole alpha incident, the school administration was forced to close the building for a week so the Sheriff’s department could collect any leftover evidence.

There was still no sign of Derek, the janitor’s body, or the alpha.

It’d been nearly ten days since Allison last saw Scott. She’d followed through with her plan to break up with him that night, but somehow seemed more upset despite being the one to end things.

I hadn’t seen him or Stiles since then either—not that I was keeping track—but I’d gotten more than enough dramatic texts in our group chat to know that he was hurting too.

Lydia and I had spent almost every day with Allison. We were slowly trying to piece her back together, but she was a complete mess. Her and Scott had that kind of relationship where they’re just way too obsessed with each other. They like each other too much, so when they’re apart, they can’t handle it.

“You guys don’t understand.” Her voice trembled as she sniffled again and wiped at her eyes.

Lydia scoffed and flicked her strawberry blonde bangs away from her face. “Scott locked us in a classroom and left us for dead. He’s lucky we aren’t pressing charges, or making him pay for therapy bills.”

A frown pulled at my lips. They’d talked endlessly about how wrong it was for him to leave that night, but I didn’t agree. He’d risked his life to get us out safely. In my eyes, we should be thanking him, but Allison was stuck on the fact that he could’ve died and kind of abandoned us.

“It felt so right with him...and then, he just started acting so strange and—and now I don’t know what to believe.”

I let out a dejected sigh. I’d been close to telling her the truth countless times this week. It would give her so much clarity. She would understand why he made the choices he did. But Scott insisted that we keep everyone in the dark, and I had to respect his wishes.

I just hoped keeping these secrets wouldn’t make everything worse.

                                                   —————————

I walked through the high school, my bag slung over one shoulder. I’d gotten an insane amount of homework during the first half of the day because apparently, our teachers weren’t happy about the little break we got. I wanted to stop at my locker before lunch to lighten my load.

As I passed the main office, I saw Stiles and his dad. There was another officer and a man wearing a suit talking to the principal a few feet away from them. Stiles’ eyes found mine across the hallway and I felt a blush creep up my neck. It was the first time I’d seen him in person since that night.

We’d texted almost everyday during our time off, and even had a handful of video calls, but I still had no idea what we were doing. We hadn’t talked about us at all. I didn’t want to bring it up because, if it was too soon, I could ruin the whole thing before it even started.

“This is really important. Okay? You have to be careful tonight. Especially tonight.” Stiles’ attention was firmly planted on his dad as I walked by. 

I stole a glance at him over my shoulder, frowning at the worried glint in his eyes. He was doing the thing he always did where he was freaking out on the inside but trying not to show it. My eyes lingered on the officers as I turned the corner. It was a little unsettling that they were hanging around the school. If it was back open, shouldn’t that mean the investigation was over?

And what the hell was tonight?

I’d only just gotten my locker open when Stiles materialized at my side. I jumped at his sudden presence, but relaxed when I realized it was only him.

He smiled sheepishly and hugged his bag closely to his chest. “Wanna help me with something after school?”

I let my eyes trail over his face. There was nothing new about the way he was looking at me. His honey eyes were warm, as usual, and his lips twitched upward at the corners. I searched for any indication that he may like me, that we were more than friends who kissed once, but found none.

“Will it get me in trouble?” I finally tore my eyes away from him and started putting the mountain of assignments I’d gotten into my locker.

He pulled one shoulder up into a shrug. “Not likely.”

“Is it dangerous?” I shoved my last few stray papers into the small space, grimacing at the thought of doing all that work later.

“There might be a chance of maiming. No serious injury or death, though. Probably.” I glanced at him skeptically, but instantly melted at the look he was giving me. He raised his eyebrows with a small, hopeful smile, his honey eyes rounding at the edges. 

“Okay.” I sighed, and he pumped a fist in the air excitedly.

He jerked toward me so fast I couldn’t even fully process what he was doing before he planted a kiss on my cheek. I stood perfectly still and blinked a few times as I watched him turn and hurry down the hall. My lips pulled into a slow smile. Maybe there was something starting between us.  

Without skipping a beat, Lydia appeared at my side. “So, you and...him?”

My eyes widened and my head whipped in her direction at the judgement in her voice. Her eyebrows were raised and she stood with one hand on her hip, the other balancing a designer bag up against her chest.

“What? No.” I said quickly, my skin warming under her scrutiny.

“Then what was that?” She pursed her glossed lips knowingly.

“A...friend kiss?” I cringed as the words came out of my mouth. That was so not the right thing to say.

“Oh, honey.” She shook her head, and was probably about to tell me what a loser he was in her eyes, when Scott walked up.

“Hey, can we talk for a second?” His brown eyes were swimming with anxiety as they locked onto mine.

I noticed immediately that something was wrong with him. He was wearing his lacrosse uniform, most likely just coming back from their midday practice. That wasn’t weird by itself, except for the fact that he always showered before coming out of the locker room. His skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and his hair was all disheveled.

“Sure.” I nodded encouragingly and Lydia walked away with a roll of her eyes.

He led me into a nearby classroom that was currently empty and shut the door gently behind us.

“What’s up?” I crossed my arms and leaned my hip against the teacher’s desk at the front of the room.

He slowly turned toward me and stopped at the other end of the desk. He drummed his fingers against the hard plastic, avoiding my eyes.

“I need to ask you something.” He mumbled, seemingly nervous.

I was a little confused by his sudden change in demeanor. He’d never been awkward or timid with me before. His eyes finally met mine and I raised my eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

“Do...do you think Allison still likes me?” His voice was quiet as he stuttered out the question.

Ah, that makes sense. They still hadn’t spoken. She’d been trying her hardest to stay away from him all day, despite his attempts at cornering her. It was probably driving him crazy by now.

“Of course she does.” I tried to sound reassuring, even though I didn’t know if she would ever forgive him, regardless of how dramatic that was. “Look, the whole thing just freaked her out. She was really worried about you. You risked your life for us. I’m sure she’s grateful.”

He was still watching his fingers when his shoulders suddenly tensed. He took a slow step forward, his eyes gradually making their way up to mine. I stiffened at the intense look he was giving me. His jaw ticked a few times as he continued moving closer. 

“Are you grateful?” His voice was lower than normal and honestly, kind of menacing.

I took a small step back, confused by his sudden change in behavior. “Of course I am. Scott, are you okay?”

“I’m more than okay.”

He practically lunged forward to close the distance between us, one of his hands grabbing the back of my head. He yanked me toward him harshly, and before I even had time to react, his lips were on mine. My eyes widened in shock and I instantly flattened my hands against his chest.

I shoved against him as hard as I could. He staggered back a step, shaking his head as if to clear it. I stood completely frozen for a moment, staring at him in stunned silence. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand to remove any traces of him from me, my stomach twisting uncomfortably.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, McCall?” I all but shrieked.

That was wrong on so many levels. Allison—my best friend—had literally just broken up with him. We had never been even remotely intimate or flirtatious with each other. We were friends. Just friends. And I kinda, maybe, have something with Stiles.

Oh, crap. Stiles.

He stood in place, brows furrowing as he continued blinking in confusion. His hands tightened into fists at his sides before relaxing slowly.

“Scott!” I snapped, trying to break him out of whatever trance he was in.

His eyes flickered up to mine and I stumbled back a step, fear shooting up my spine. They were glowing bright yellow. He was struggling not to shift. He snarled at me, his face falling into a pained grimace as he fought for control.

“Go.” His voice was thick and guttural as his canines began elongating.

I scrambled out the classroom door, my heart racing. I was instantly swept up into the crowd of students moving through the hall, people shoving against me as I tried to get my bearings. I stumbled a few steps before finally remembering how to walk and ran a hand through my hair before glancing back toward the room. 

My thoughts were a jumbled mess. What the hell just happened? Did he shift in there? That whole thing had been wildly out of character. I’d never seen him anywhere near that out of the control. He would never do something like that to me, Allison, or Stiles unless something was seriously wrong. 

Right?

                                                 —————————

Stiles invited himself into Scott’s house, duffle bag in hand, and I followed closely behind. He’d barely told me what we were doing on the way, just that it was to help Scott. 

I’d been on edge ever since our weird encounter this afternoon. I still hadn’t told Stiles what happened. What would I even say? I needed to talk to Scott first to see what the hell was wrong with him. It was obvious that he’d been under the influence of something, and I wanted to figure that out first. 

“Scott?” Ms. McCall yelled from the family room as I closed the front door behind us.

She emerged from around the corner, wearing her scrubs. It looked like she was about to head out for an overnight shift at the hospital.

“Stiles.” He corrected from beside me, smiling sheepishly.

We weren’t exactly supposed to be here, seeing as Scott wasn’t even home yet.

“Key.” She gestured down toward the hand that held a copy he’d made awhile back—which I couldn’t even pretend to be surprised about—before moving her attention to me. “And you must be the Y/N I’ve heard so much about.”

My eyes widened in surprise. Scott had talked about me? Did that mean there was more to the kiss? Upon seeing my discomfort, she put a hand up dismissively and chuckled.

“From your mom, honey. We work together a lot.”

“Right. Obviously.” I huffed out a breath of relief.

It wasn’t her fault I was so jumpy. I hadn’t seen Scott since this afternoon, and I wasn’t looking forward to it at all. We wouldn’t be able to talk about what happened in front of Stiles, and I wanted answers sooner rather than later. Seeing him tonight was going to be awkward as hell. 

“Stiles,” Ms. McCall looked at him with concern in her eyes. “He’s okay, right?”

“Who? Scott? Yeah. Totally.” He shrugged, his head bobbing as he put a little too much emphasis on that last word. 

“He just doesn't talk to me that much anymore...not like he used to.” She glanced away and played with the strap of her lunch bag. I did feel bad for her, and Allison, and everyone else he was keeping this secret from. Knowing just made everything so much easier. 

“Well, he’s had a bit of a rough week.” Stiles tried to reason, understanding shining in his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, I get it. Okay. You guys be careful tonight.” 

“You too.” He pointed at her with both hands before letting them slap against his thighs. I think it was safe to say that we were both ready for this conversation to be over. 

She made sure she had everything before stepping around us, and raising her eyebrows teasingly. “Full moon.”

“Uh—what?” Stiles’ eyes widened and his lips parted, panic evident in his voice.

I subtly smacked his arm and gave him a pointed glare when he glanced down at me. That had been beyond obvious. 

“It’s a full moon tonight.” She looked confused by his harsh reaction. “You should see how the ER gets. It brings out all the nut jobs.” 

“Oh. Right.” He sighed before smiling tensely. 

She popped the front door open and turned back to us one last time. “You know, that’s actually where they came up with the term lunatic.” 

With that, she was gone. The second she was out of sight, Stiles grabbed his bag and we made our way up the stairs. 

“Could you have been any more suspicious?” I hissed, our footsteps against the hardwood floor the only sound in the otherwise silent house.

“Probably, if I—” He started giving me a snarky response as he opened the door to Scott’s bedroom and flicked on the light, but suddenly stopped and jumped back. “Oh my God. Dude, you scared the hell out of me.”

I peered around his shoulder and saw Scott siting in a chair in the corner of the room, staring blankly ahead. Had he seriously just been waiting there in the dark?

“Your mom said you weren't home yet.” I added, following Stiles as he walked into the room and threw his duffle bag onto the floor. 

I let my eyes trail over the space quickly. His bedroom had a lot more going on than Stiles’ did. There was a dresser against the wall to my right, with a small circular rug and a beanbag beside it.

The space directly across from that was taken up by a large desk with shelves above it and another rug. His bed was in front of us, next to the chair he still sat in. Most of the walls were covered in posters and pictures.

“Came in through the window.” He drawled slowly, his voice devoid of all emotion. 

“Okay...” Stiles trailed off, glancing quickly toward the window beside us before kneeling down to unzip his bag. “Uh. Let’s get this set up. Wait till you see what I bought.”

“I’m fine. I’m just gonna lock the door and go to bed early tonight.” Scott muttered almost robotically, still staring straight ahead with that faraway emptiness in his eyes.

“Are you sure about that? You’ve got this kinda serial killer look going on and I’m hoping it’s just the full moon taking effect because it’s really starting to freak me out.” Stiles looked up from his bag to narrow his eyes skeptically. 

With a wave of realization, I finally put the pieces together. Oh, my God. How could I be so dense? It was a full moon. And Scott is a werewolf. I seriously wanted to smack myself in the face for not thinking about this earlier. 

It explains everything. 

“No, I’m fine. You should go now.” Scott sat completely still, his gaze still unfocused on the wall behind us. 

“Alright. We’ll leave.” Stiles made a move to get up before seemingly thinking better of it. “Will you at least just look in the bag and see what I bought? Maybe you use it, maybe you don't.”

He studied Scott apprehensively when he didn't move, still crouched beside the bag. “Sound good?”

Scott considered his words for a long moment before rising to his feet slowly. I found myself taking a step back, anxiety tightening in my chest. He looked genuinely demented right now. If the full moon had made him kiss me earlier, there was no telling what he would do now. He squatted down and reached into the bag, grabbing a fistful of metal chains. He studied them before glancing up at Stiles with a scoff. 

“You think I’m going to let you put these on? Chain me up like a dog?” 

“Actually...no.” Stiles suddenly lunged forward, pulling a pair of handcuffs out of his jacket and latching them onto Scott’s right wrist. He shoved him back and they wrestled for a few seconds until Stiles successfully locked the other cuff onto his radiator. 

He immediately pulled against it with a frustrated groan. Stiles stumbled back a step as Scott continued struggling. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Protecting you from yourself.” He huffed, running his hands down his shirt to straighten it out. 

A few tense moments passed between the three of us as he tried to get free. He growled and yelled as he pulled at his wrist until it was raw. 

“Stiles, please let me out.” He suddenly sagged onto the floor, his face softening. “Please, it hurts. It’s not like the first time. It’s the full moon, it’s Allison breaking up with me...”

“I can’t.” He mumbled, his eyes twitching as if the thought pained him. 

I hadn't been around during Scott’s first full moon, but it must’ve been bad if they were going to these lengths now. Clearly, things could go sideways at any moment with the way he’d been acting today. I wasn't even sure what effects the full moon had on werewolves. All I knew at this point was that it almost made Scott lose control several times today. 

“Come on.” Stiles glanced as me before putting a gentle hand on my back to guide me out of the room. 

I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I assumed he had a plan and went along with it. Just before we stepped through the doorway, though, Scott spoke up from his crouched position again. 

“Wait. There’s something you should know first.” His voice dropped back down to that gravely, menacing tone he’d used this afternoon just before he kissed me. 

We both turned to look at him expectantly. A frown pulled at my lips as I noticed all traces of his usual warmth had vanished just as quickly as they’d reappeared a minute ago. 

His narrowed eyes found mine and he smirked slowly. “You wanna tell him, or should I?” 

My heart instantly dropped into my stomach. No. This was not the time. There was no telling how he’d spin the situation in his current state. I wanted a chance to talk it over with him first, so I knew how to approach letting Stiles know what happened.

“Scott.” I warned through clenched teeth, my anger spiking at the fact that he brought it up at all. There was no way this was going to end well for either of us. 

“What?” Stiles glanced at Scott, then me, brows pinching in confusion. “Tell me what?” 

“We kissed today.” He was all too happy to drop that bomb, his lips widening into a big satisfied grin. 

Stiles’ head whipped in his direction so fast I worried he might've actually hurt himself. Seriously? That’s how he’s going to phrase it? I felt my nostrils flare as my hands clenched into fists at my sides.

“You mean you kissed me?” I could barely get the words out through my tightly pursed lips. 

Stiles’ attention jerked back to me, eyebrows raised and mouth hanging open in shock. His wide eyes flickered around my face quizzically. “Wha—so it’s true? You did?”

My heart squeezed uncomfortably at the intense look of betrayal taking over his face. I hadn’t meant to say it like that. Before I could explain, Scott chuckled darkly from the corner. “She would’ve done a lot more, too.” 

My jaw nearly hit the floor. I took a step forward, the skin of my neck growing hot with my rising anger. He was making this so much worse than it needed to be. I had no idea what my plan was as I stalked toward him. He just needed to stop. 

“You should’ve seen the way her hands were all over me.” His eyes, twinkling with mischief, followed me as I staggered to a stop in front of him. 

My breath caught in my throat. I was so livid at this point that my vision had gone blurry. What the hell did he think he was doing? What was his goal? To make me look bad? To piss Stiles off?

“Yeah, to push you away, you raging dickwad!” I snapped out of my dumbfounded stupor and felt my right arm swing back on it’s own accord, preparing to slap him. 

A firm hand on my wrist stopped me, and I whipped around to look at Stiles, who had been watching the scene unfold with a frightening lack of reaction. “Y/N, go wait outside.”

“What?” I breathed, my anger immediately dissipating at the hard look in his eyes.

“Please.” He hissed, his lips flattening into a straight line as his jaw clenched tightly. 

I blanched at his cold tone. He’d never spoken to me like that before, and it caused a painful tug in my chest. I studied his eyes for a moment, the slew of intense emotions inside them only making me feel worse. I pulled my arm free, sending Scott one last angry glance before stalking into the hallway. 

Stiles immediately closed the door after me. There was only a brief moment of silence before the yelling started. 

“You kissed her? You kissed her, Scott?” I could hear his voice clearly through the thin wood. I let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wall directly across from it. 

“You know, all day I’ve been thinking...it’s probably just the full moon, ya know? He probably doesn’t even know what he’s doing and tomorrow, he’ll be totally back to normal. He probably won’t even remember what a complete dumbass he’s been. A son of a bitch, a freakin’ unbelievable piece of crap friend!”

I winced as his voice got louder with each insult. I hated that he was so upset. Scott had gotten exactly what he wanted. I was sure he didn't mean it, that it was just the full moon talking, but I didn't give a shit about that right now. He’d just ruined any chance I had with Stiles in a matter of seconds. 

A moment later he shuffled into the hallway and slammed the door behind him. I jumped as the sound echoed through the house, and watched him practically throw himself against the wall before sliding down to the floor. He pulled his knees up toward his chest and rested his elbows on his thighs, not even glancing at me once. 

“Stiles,” I immediately took a step toward him. “It’s not what—” 

“Don’t.” He interrupted, playing with his fingers between his legs and avoiding my eyes. “Just...don't.”

“No.” I scoffed, my voice rising at his stubbornness. He was not getting out of this conversation right now. “You’re going to listen to me.” 

I deserved a chance to tell him what actually happened. He had the complete wrong idea about everything. 

“It’s whatever, Y/N. You can kiss whoever you want. We aren’t even—it doesn’t matter.” His voice was barely above a whisper as he screwed his eyes shut and let his head fall back against the wall with a huff. 

I deflated, my heart sinking into my stomach.

It’s whatever? It doesn’t matter?

All of my anger was quickly replaced with heavy sadness at his dismissal. It was all a stupid misunderstanding. I glared at the door beside him, my jaw clenching in frustration. I hadn’t even done a damn thing wrong. It was all Scott. He’d ruined everything.

“I’ve got it from here.” Stiles suddenly muttered as he dropped his head into his hands. 

I stared at his crumpled frame in shock. He was really asking me to leave?

“Fine.” I scoffed, anger masking the uncomfortable hollowness in my chest. “You don't wanna hear my side? That’s just fine.”

I turned on my heel and hastily stomped down the stairs. At this point, I just wanted to get as far away from here as possible. I made sure the front door was closed behind me and forced a hand through my hair once I made it to the sidewalk. I huffed out a breath against the chilly night air and watched as it condensed a few inches away.  

God, this night had taken such a bad turn. 

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket as I felt it vibrate, and instantly stopped when I saw the notifications I’d accidentally ignored. I had five missed calls and ten texts, all from Allison.

I dialed her number quickly without even looking at the messages. She picked up on the second ring.

“Oh my God, Y/N! What are you doing?” I had to pull the phone away from my ear as she yelled angrily.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” She’d never blown my phone up like that before, so something was obviously going on. 

“I just—I didn’t know who else to call. We were at the mall and...and my car died.” Her voice was trembling as she rushed the words out.

“Okay? What are you freaking out about?” I was beyond confused. There was no reason she should be having a panic attack over a dead battery.

“Because...” She trailed off, falling into a harsh whisper. “Something is on top of the car.”

My eyes widened, and I started speedwalking toward my house. No sane animal in Beacon Hills would jump onto a car like that. There was really only one thing—or person—it could be.

The alpha.

“Okay. Stay in the car. I’m coming.”

I hung up and shoved my front door open, instantly bolting to the dining room table where I knew moms purse would be. Luckily, it was an off night for her. I rustled through her bag hastily, easily finding the blue lanyard with her keys on it within seconds.

“Allison needs a ride! I’m taking the car!” I called over my shoulder, not wasting any time waiting for her response.

I rushed out the door, letting it slam behind me. I fumbled with the keys, my hands starting to shake slightly. I realized with a jolt that I was scared. Terrified, actually. If the alpha really was there, what would I even do? I’d already come face to face with the thing two times. I don’t think I’m lucky enough for a third. 

I had nothing to defend myself with, either. No supernatural strength or quick reflexes. No weapons. I didn’t even have a damn bat. 

My gaze swept over to Scott’s house as I heard his front door open harshly. I stopped walking again as I watched Stiles scramble out the door toward the driveway. His head turned in my direction, as if feeling my stare on his back, eyes twitching as they locked onto mine. 

They were always so expressive. Right now, their normal warm color had darkened and they were a little glassy, as if he’d been crying. I wished I couldn’t make out his sadness so clearly, the sight making my heart clench with a dull ache.

His lips rolled inward as he visibly deflated with a heavy sigh before turning away from me and climbing into the Jeep. I shook my head and jumped into moms car, almost forgetting that I was supposed to be in a rush. I shoved the key into the ignition and peeled out of the driveway. 

A few minutes later, I stopped beside Allison’s car in the mall parking lot. She and Jackson were leaning against the open hood and—wait, Jackson?

I quickly parked and jumped out, looking around for any signs of the alpha. Allison practically sprinted to meet me halfway, immediately engulfing me in a tight hug. I blinked, confused by the overly affectionate greeting, but eventually wrapped my arms around her.

I let my eyes wander to Jackson over her shoulder. He stood there with his arms crossed over his neatly ironed button-up, his face a perfected mask of boredom. 

I gripped Allison’s biceps and pulled her away to give her a hard look. “I said to stay in the car.”

“I know.” She nodded tearfully. “But we couldn't...I just had to see if it was still there.” 

“What were you guys doing, anyway?” I kept my gaze firmly planted on her face, silently asking the real question: what are you doing with him? 

She swallowed nervously and just stared back at me with big, guilty eyes. 

“Shopping, obviously. Can we go now?” Jackson pushed himself off the car and slammed the hood down. 

My eyes narrowed into a harsh glare. I was so not in the mood for him right now. I’d already dealt with two too many jerks for one night. He raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge and I just turned on my heel to climb back into the driver’s seat. I wasn’t feeling up to another fight yet.

They got in after me and I held onto the steering wheel tighter than necessary as I scanned the parking lot one last time. I glanced at Allison as she buckled her seatbelt beside me. 

“What about your car?”

“I’ll worry about it tomorrow.” She sighed and wiggled around, trying to get comfortable. 

Whatever. That was good enough for me. I started the car, but froze with my hand still on the keys as my stomach twisted uncomfortably. I glanced out the windshield, then my window, but saw nothing.

My skin prickled with the feeling that we were being watched. My eyes flickered around the parking lot once again. It just felt like something was...wrong. But I couldn’t place it.

“What is it—oh my God!” Allison shrieked as something landed on top of the car with a thud.

My head whipped in that direction, afraid it had left a dent from the force. There was a clunk clunk clunk as whatever it was walked around, the car shaking with each heavy stomp.

“Y/N. Drive the car.” Jackson ordered quickly from the back.

My eyes met his in the rearview mirror and I was surprised to see how scared he looked. He had each hand firmly planted on the seats beside him, his eyes wide and glistening. I’d nearly forgotten how shaken up he’d been after the video store incident. He was probably even more afraid of the alpha than I was. 

“I don’t think that's a good idea.” I breathed, fingers clutching the steering wheel so hard I was sure it would break off any minute. 

A dark mass fell onto the ground beside my window, the car jostling with its departure from the roof. I peered down and instantly recognized that it was Scott in full werewolf form. My eyes widened and I scrambled to throw the car into reverse.

“Yeah. Okay. We’re leaving.”

There was no way I could let either of them see him like that. I may still be furious with him, but I also didn’t want to deal with the consequences of them finding out right now. I’d barely gotten my foot off the break pedal when Scott roared loudly and ran off into the trees.

Allison’s hand slapped onto my wrist as I still held onto the gearshift, her manicured nails digging into my skin. “What was that?”

Jackson shuffled toward the passenger side window in the back, looking out into the darkness with furrowed brows.

“It looked like...like an animal.” He said slowly, as if putting together a puzzle in his mind.

“It was probably an animal, then.” I breathed, once again lifting my foot to finally get out of here.

“Wait! I saw something.” Jackson popped the door open and I slammed on the breaks for the second time.

He crawled out, and I instantly parked the car again. I huffed out an annoyed sigh and unbuckled my seatbelt. I couldn’t let him go over there.

“Stay here.” Allison froze beside me, just about to undo her seatbelt. “Please.”

I quickly caught up with Jackson, just as he neared the edge of the woods. Rustling sounded from within the foliage and I squinted to try and see what—or who— it was. Then, I noticed a pair of glowing yellow eyes only a few feet away. My heart leapt into my throat and I grabbed Jackson’s arm before pulling him back roughly.

“What?” He barked, clearly annoyed at my manhandling.

“We should split up.” I rushed the words out, glancing back into the woods to see the eyes moving closer. “I’ve got this. You go check over there.”

His green eyes narrowed skeptically before slowly sweeping toward where Scott was. They moved back to me, shining with distrust, but he nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally turned and walked away. I looked back to the car to make sure Allison was still inside before turning back toward the trees.

I took a few tentative steps, glancing around to make sure that no one else was near me.

“Scott?” My voice was a harsh whisper as I tried to see through the thick plants in front of me.

I focused on slowing my breathing as my heart raced in my chest. My hands started trembling and I clenched them into fists at my sides. I wasn’t exactly afraid of Scott, but he’d proven several times today that he didn’t have control. There was no telling what he was capable of right now.

I lost sight of his eyes and paused.

“There’s nothing.” Jackson called from my left, and I turned to see him walking toward me with a disappointed scoff.

A low growl directly in front of me had my breath catching in my throat. My eyes twitched to the side, the rest of my body paralyzed by fear. Almost too quickly to see, a clawed hand wrapped around my shoulder before shoving me forcefully.

I felt my feet leave the ground as I flew back, landing on the hard asphalt several yards away. My right hip took the brunt of the hit, and I groaned in pain as I slid across the ground for a few seconds. The uneven pavement bit into the skin of my palms as I tried to stop myself.

I turned them up toward my face as I finally skidded to a halt, wincing as fresh blood shimmered under the orangey parking lot lights. I frowned, brushing tiny rocks out of my skin before glancing back toward the trees.

He pushed me.

With fucking werewolf strength.

My eyes immediately found Scott at the edge of the woods, staring at me with a murderous glint in his glowing eyes. He took a step forward and I let out a shuddering breath, trying to scramble backward despite the pain radiating throughout my body.

Before he could make it far, a large shadowy figure emerged from the darkness. I realized with a start that it was Derek.

So he wasn’t dead after all.

He stalked toward Scott with clenched fists and a terrifying snarl. He gripped the sides of his jacket before hurling him back into a nearby tree.

“Holy shit. What the fuck.” Jackson was suddenly at my side, grabbing my arm to pull me up from the ground.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the two werewolves as they began fighting.

What the hell just happened? Was he going to kill me?

My hip throbbed harshly the second I put weight on my right leg. I winced, stumbling over slightly, and Jackson wrapped a supportive arm around my waist. He hauled me against his side and started dragging me back to the car.

“What the hell was that?” He yelled too loudly in my ear, panic clear in his voice.

I had no idea what to say. My mind was racing. I couldn’t expose Scott but, seriously, what the fuck? If Derek hadn’t shown up, I don’t know if I would be standing here right now. Was Scott really that out of control?

“Y/N! Are you brain dead or something? What was that?” Jackson demanded as we finally made it to the car.

He dropped me against the hood, Allison meeting us halfway. Her eyes were wide as they scanned me from head to toe.

“That was insane! Are you okay?”

“Not important.” Jackson practically shoved her out of the way to stand in front of me. “Did you see it? What did it look like?”

“I—” My mind went completely blank. “I don’t...”

“Lay off.” Allison sent him a glare and wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders before pulling me in close.

“No. You know what, you’ve been acting really weird lately.” He wagged an accusatory finger at me. “It’s—it’s like you know something and aren’t telling us.”

Was he serious right now? I was just thrown twenty feet in the air by a fucking werewolf and he wanted to confront me about keeping secrets?

“You’re one to talk.” I hissed with a glare, reaching my boiling point after everything I’d been through tonight. “Get that neck checked out yet?”

He squared his shoulders, face paling at my words. Yeah, I hadn’t forgotten about his weird reaction to the alpha at the school. He’d been more normal lately, but that didn’t mean something still wasn’t up with him.

“Look, can you guys just fight on the way home? Please? I really don’t want to be here anymore.” Allison pleaded from beside me.

Jackson’s jaw ticked as we continued glaring at each other. She was right. We shouldn’t stay here with two werewolves fighting in the woods nearby. I pushed myself off the car with a grimace and gave her a nod. Damn, my leg hurt. A stabbing pain radiated down from my hip with each step I took toward the driver’s seat.

I popped the door open, ready to climb in, but stopped when I heard a noise from the trees behind me. My head instantly turned in that direction, but I saw nothing unusual through the darkness.

With a tired sigh I slid inside the car and started the ignition, Jackson and Allison already buckled in and ready to go. I cast one final glance toward the woods, my stomach twisting with worry.

As I pulled out, a long howl echoed through the night. 

Episode 7, Part Two                               Episode 9

[billdenbrough]

when they’re nineteen and spread across the country, richie lands a proper gig. it’s not, like, Amazing, but after months of jumping at every slot at an open mic he can get, he’s finally been asked to do an actual set by a club owner. and everyone’s super fucking proud, but, as eddie says on a skype call with mike, ben and bill later, sounding more guilty and upset than ben’s heard him sound in years, “i can’t afford a flight to california,” and... yeah. ben knows eddie’s been saving to visit richie at spring break, to surprise him for a whole week, and he’s made half his bookings, and can’t throw all that away for one night next weekend. but ben thinks about how proud richie had sounded when he rang him about it, how fucking excited even when he was trying to downplay it, like “i mean, it’s just one set... but it’s what i’ve been waiting for, benny babes, you know? like he said they really liked me, holy fucking shit,” and ben just. can’t stand the idea of letting him down. so, he thinks to himself, face stiffening with resolve, we won’t.

four days later, ben’s twirling the keys to the toziers’ old van outside stan and eddie’s dorm, having been the only one with a day free to head back to maine, explain the situation, and borrow it from maggie and went. eddie’s laughing, like, holy shit, we’re doing this, and stan’s grinning. a few hours later, they pick up bev and mike from chicago, mike having flown in from florida. bev throws bundles of fabric at all of them as she hops in, and eddie unfurls it and bursts out laughing at the expression on stan’s face. it’s a shirt, and on it is a picture of richie in what stan calls his most appalling and richie calls his most iconic outfit: a tee with sexy yoda, overlaid with a pink and yellow hawaiian shirt. emblazoned beneath the picture (which is surrounded by a circle of yellow stars) in text the same shade of pink as richie’s shirt is RICHIE TOZIER’S ORIGINAL LOSERS CLUB. it’s completely fucking hideous, and ben has never been so proud of anything in his life. when he’d sent bev the design two days ago, she’d laughed over the phone for eight minutes straight before agreeing immediately to use the fabric printers in the fashion department to print them off.

it takes forty two hours, with tolls and absolute minimum bathroom breaks, to drive from nyc to l.a. via chicago. there’s no stopping to sleep, just ben, mike and eddie driving in shifts. it’s exhausting and stressful and uncomfortable. it’s the best time ben’s had in months. stan navigates most of it, bev chooses playlists, eddie backseat drives when he’s awake and not in the front, mike mutters plath quotes in his sleep, ben starts games like twenty questions, and it’s just so fucking nice, being together again, on their way to see the other two pieces of their heart, to see one of them perform like he was always meant to. when they arrive, they’re all tired but wired, sporting their ridiculous shirts. eddie cusses out at least three other drivers with a creativity richie and bill would envy and swears he’s never driving in los angeles again, but he finds them a park, and they all tumble out and head to the club. when they arrive, bill’s sitting at a huge table and richie’s tapping his foot beside him, asking, “denbrough, what the fuck, how big of a table do you need? you’re the only person in the city i like enough to invite—” but then bill’s standing up, mouth widening into a grin, and richie whips his head around and sees the five of them, exhausted and decked out in ridiculous shirts but beaming at him, and he just, like. bursts into tears. he’s over it in about five seconds, wiping them off as bev laughs at him, but they’ve all surged forward anyway, laughing and reuniting and hugging. bev presses one of the shirts to bill’s chest, and that’s when richie steps back from where his face has been buried in eddie’s shoulder to really look at what they’re wearing. “what the fuck, these are hideous,” he crows, completely delighted. ben grins at him. “were they your idea?” richie asks, barking out a laugh. “everything was his idea,” stan says, “including, yeah, the ugliest shirts known to man.” the expression on richie’s face is so surprised, so fiercely touched and affectionate, that ben can’t help it. he wraps richie in a hug.

“thanks, haystack,” he breathes into ben’s neck, and ben laughs. “any time—love you, trashmouth.” because he does, and he means it. anything, any time, anywhere, for any of them. he loves them.

(when richie takes the stage, all six of them are wearing their awful shirts, grinning at him from their table. and years from then, when richie has actual sold out shows across the nation, not only are there always six seats reserved for them, but richie starts selling the shirts as official merch, only swapping out ‘losers’ for ‘fan’—“you’re the only losers club i want,” he says, and stan scrunches up his nose. “that’s not remotely sweet. how did you make that sound like a compliment?”—and credits them as a ‘hanscom-marsh original’. bev threatens to sue, but ben chokes up. “sap,” they all tease, and, well, yeah. ben hanscom, sentimental and proud.)

[thecassadilla]

Thankful

Pairing: Kristanna

Word Count: 3,202/AO3

Summary: Anna and Kristoff have some special news to share with their family at Thanksgiving - though, the idea of sharing it brings forth some anxiety on Anna's behalf.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! This is my contribution for Kristanna Week Day 2 - Orange! Funny story about this one - it came to me in a dream. Literally. I was having a really difficult time coming up with an idea for this prompt and then two weeks ago, I had a really vivid dream that involved Anna and Kristoff talking in their kitchen and preparing for Thanksgiving. Long story short, I was really giddy when I woke up because my subconscious brain did all of the thinking for me (except actually write the fic - when I figure out how to do that I’ll let you know lol). Enjoy!!!

“Okay, okay, okay,” Anna started, running her fingers through her hair. “We have one hour before everyone gets here.”

“Please calm down,” Kristoff begged. 

“I can’t help being nervous. The real question is, how are you not nervous?”

“I’m more nervous about the possibility of you breaking your ankles in those heels - why are you wearing them in the house?”

“I want to look nice.”

“You look great,” he assured her. 

“But you can tell? It’s obvious?”

“No I can’t tell. Your outfit does a great job of hiding it.”

Wearing a billowy top tucked into low-waisted pants seemed to have done the trick, just like the Internet said it would. Her hand fluttered to her abdomen and she looked down. “I can tell.”

He chuckled. “Because it’s your body. Of course you can tell.”

“My boobs,” she said suddenly. “They’re going to notice that my boobs are huge.”

“That would be a strange thing to talk about over Thanksgiving dinner.”

“They don’t have to talk about it, they just have to notice. And they’re going to notice when I’m not drinking, either.”

“I thought we were going to tell them today.”

“We could,” she faltered. “Or we could wait until Christmas.”

“You want to wait another four weeks?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

His face softened. “If that’s what you want, then we can wait.”

“I want to tell them, but I’m nervous. There’s really no harm in waiting, right?”

“Well, you’re already thirteen weeks. Fourteen weeks on Sunday. And the doctor said everything looked great last week. But if you really want to wait another month…”

She shook her head and exhaled. “You’re right, we should tell them today.”

“If you want, I’ll be the one to tell them. You can sit there and smile and hold my hand and you won’t have to say a word until they start congratulating us and asking questions.”

“Do you think I should be the one to tell them? You know, because I’m the pregnant one.”

“Whatever you want, Anna. We can do this however you want to.”

“We should probably start by taking the ultrasound pictures off of the fridge,” she said, rushing over to the fridge and pulling the pictures off. “Why did we decide to host Thanksgiving, again?”

“It was your idea,” he reminded her with a chuckle. “You wanted to show off the house.”

“Oh. Right.” She looked down at the pictures of their baby and smiled before holding them out to him. “Here, hide these somewhere.”

He took them. “I’m not going to hide them. Your sister will want to see them.”

“You have to put them somewhere for now. Unless that’s how you want to tell them - by thrusting pictures into their hands and saying ‘surprise, here’s a picture of the baby that’s going to come catapulting out of my wife in six months.’”

“You,” he said, wagging his finger at her and standing up, “are a very funny lady. I will put these in the dining room, where no one can see them, so that way when the time comes I can pull them out and show everyone.”

“Okay, and while you’re doing that, I’ll check on the turkey.”

“The turkey won’t be ready for another couple of hours,” he called as he walked toward the dining room.

“Then I’ll check to make sure the table is set.”

“You set it this morning,” he reminded her.

“Well I need something to distract me.”

She walked into the dining room and observed the set table; a cream colored tablecloth rested on the table, and on top of it was an orange runner decorated with beaded leaves. The table was exactly as she’d left it; five plates, five sets of cutlery, five cloth napkins, and five glasses. This time next year, there’d be a high chair. It was surreal to think about.

“I think you came to see where I was putting the pictures,” he teased.

“I didn’t, but where did you put them?”

“In the hutch.”

“What if my sister goes in there?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head. “Your sister is not going to rummage through our hutch.”

“No, but if she wants another plate, she may go in there.”

���Fine,” he said, opening the door and retrieving the pictures. “I will put them on top of the hutch. No one can reach it other than me, and no one has any reason to be looking for something on top of our furniture.”

“Okay,” she agreed with a sigh.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed, gently prodding her back towards the kitchen.

“That feels so good,” she moaned, tilting her head back. “Will you rub my feet later?”

“As you wish,” he promised, giving her one last squeeze before kissing her cheek. He washed his hands before walking over to the stove and turning off one of the burners. “And with those shoes, you’re definitely going to need it.”

“You could say that again.”

He walked over to the sink and drained the water from the pot he was holding, sending a cloud of steam into the air. “I really don’t think you should wear them.”

“I’ll be fine.”

He sighed, placing the pot back on the stove. “I’m going to finish up with the mashed potatoes, do you want to put the rolls in the oven?”

“Sure.”

“I figured we could eat the salad and the rolls first. And then we’ll heat up all of the sides again before we eat the main course.”

“There’s going to be so much food,” she commented, retrieving the baking tray from one of the cabinets and the dough from the refrigerator. 

“At least we’ll have plenty of leftovers.”

She arranged the dough on the tray before sticking it into the over. “When do you think we should tell them? When they first get here?”

“I don’t think we should set a designated time. I think we should just let it happen how it happens.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

“And you have to try to act like yourself - they’re going to notice something’s up if you keep acting all...weird.”

“I know,” she said, burying her face in her hands. “I’m nervous and excited and overwhelmed.”

“It’s just Elsa, and Honeymaren, and Ryder. We know them. They’re going to be happy for us. Thrilled,” he assured her. “And frankly, I’m still kind of surprised that you didn’t tell your sister the moment the test came up positive.”

“I wanted to, but I also wanted to wait until we saw the doctor and confirmed that everything looked good. Maybe next time I’ll tell her right away.”

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself,” he warned with a chuckle. “How about we focus on the one who’s not even here yet instead of the next one?”

The doorbell rang before she could respond and she froze in place.

“Breathe,” he reminded her. “I’m going to get the door, you try to stay calm.”

“Okay,” she nodded. 

He held out two hands, instructing her to stay, before darting off to answer the door. The house was instantly flooded with voices and before she knew it, they were walking into the kitchen.

“Hi,” she smiled tensely. “I’m so glad you all came.”

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Honeymaren assured her.

“We brought a bunch of different desserts, and a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and green beans,” Elsa said excitedly, setting a bag down on the counter.

“We have just about everything else,” Kristoff chuckled. 

“And we brought wine,” Honeymaren added, patting the bag that was slung over her shoulder. “Lots and lots of wine.”

Anna and Kristoff exchanged a glance before Kristoff spoke up. “Actually we’re actually not drinking tonight, so there will be more for you guys.”

“What? Why?”

“Bet,” Anna answered quickly. “We’re trying to see who can go the longest without drinking alcohol and I am determined to win because the loser has to -”

“La, la la,” Ryder interrupted, placing his hands over his ears. “We don’t have to know what weird, kinky stuff the loser has to do.”

“I was going to say do all of the dishes for a month, but okay.”

“Sorry that my brother doesn’t have any manners,” Honeymaren said, glaring at the younger man. “I’m also sorry that he doesn’t know how to dress for special occasions.”

“I don’t understand why you’re all so dressed up for a holiday that’s about eating,” Ryder remarked. “You aren’t going to look so nice if you spill food on yourself and you’re going to wish that you wore stretchy pants by the end of the night.”

“I doubt any of us are going to spill food on ourselves,” Kristoff pointed out. “We’re all adults here.”

“I know...you’re really starting to look like a dad, man.”

Kristoff burst out laughing. “What on earth does that mean?”

Ryder motioned to his clothes. “I don’t know, you’re, like, wearing dad jeans and a sweater over a button-down. You look like your someone’s father. Or like your wife dressed you.”

“That’s enough,” Honey interrupted, placing a hand over Ryder’s mouth. 

“I’ll show you all to the dining room,” Anna said, changing the subject. “You can sit down and make yourselves comfortable, and we’ll bring in the salad and the rolls.”

She led them to the dining room, and they took their seats. Kristoff brought in as much as he could carry, setting it down on the table and then going back for more. 

“Help yourselves,” Anna insisted, returning to the kitchen for one last moment of solace. She placed a hand over her tiny belly, hoping that it would reassure the baby as much as it reassured herself. 

When she finally sat down a few minutes later, she was immediately overcome by an obnoxious odor, though she couldn’t place what the scent was. After a few more breaths, she realized that it was the vinaigrette that dressed the salad, which happened to be placed right in front of her on the table. Her nose was sensitive from the hormones and she knew that if she was forced to continue breathing the scent in, she would be very sick. She swallowed, attempting to breathe through her mouth so the smell of the vinaigrette wouldn’t upset her stomach any further. 

Elsa raised a concerned eyebrow. “Anna, are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“I’m fine,” she answered shakily before abruptly standing up. “I’m just going to go check on the turkey.”

Three pairs of eyes watched as she practically ran from the dining room, before diverting their attention to Kristoff. “I’ll, uh, go make sure she’s okay.”

He found Anna standing over the sink, her hand clamped firmly over her mouth. 

“What’s the matter?” he whispered, glancing back to make sure that no one else had followed them into the kitchen.

“You have to move that salad away from me. The smell is making me sick.”

“Okay,” he nodded. “When we go back in there, I’ll move it.”

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, the nausea slowly but surely fading away. “I really should check on the turkey while I’m in here.”

“Take your time, there’s no need to rush.”

After a few more moments of controlled breathing, the nausea passed. She opened the oven, a burst of warm air hitting her in the face as she peered inside. “Oh, the timer thing popped out. I should take it out.”

She grabbed two oven mitts and leaned down to remove the pan from the oven, but Kristoff stopped her. “You shouldn’t be lifting something that heavy.”

“It’s not heavy at all.”

“Let me do it, please.”

“Fine,” she groaned, sliding the mitts off of her hands and thrusting them at him. 

He slid the pan out and placed it on the trivet that was laying on the counter. “We have to let it rest for a while before we can start carving it. Do you feel well enough to go back inside?”

“Yes,” she answered, taking one last deep breath. 

“Turkey’s done,” Kristoff announced to their guests when they returned. Said guests were staring at the couple with anticipatory eyes. “Is everyone done with the salad?”

A chorus of yes’s rang out, and Kristoff removed the dish from the table completely, bringing it back to the kitchen. Anna breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down, grateful that the smell had dissipated from the room.

“Are you okay?” Elsa asked again.

“Me? I’m fantastic,” Anna answered, an unconvincing laugh escaping from her throat.

“It’s just that you looked a little...unwell.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “I swear, I’m fine.”

Elsa exchanged a sidelong glance with Honeymaren, but the conversation was dropped. The rest of the meal was spent discussing current events and shopping plans as opposed to Anna’s health. She mostly stood quiet, holding Kristoff’s hand under the table and allowing the gathering to happen around her as opposed to being a part of it.

“You’re being uncharacteristically quiet, Anna,” Honeymaren remarked with a smile.

“Hmm?” she hummed, her head snapping up. “Oh, sorry. I must’ve been daydreaming. What did I miss?”

“We were just talking about the trip Elsa and I went on to Alaska.”

“Oh right! How was that?”

“It was great,” Elsa piped up in a strained voice, and it became clear to Anna that she had missed the entire Alaska discussion. “We went to the Aurora Ice Museum, and the Running Reindeer Ranch, and we got to see the Aurora Borealis. It was a lovely trip.”

“That sounds really nice,” Anna smiled. 

Kristoff cleared his throat. “How about you all go relax in the living room? Anna and I will get things cleaned up in here and ready for dessert and then we’ll join you.”

“We can help,” Elsa offered. “It’ll be quicker.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he insisted. “You’re our guests.”

The trio hesitantly stood up, exchanging a few harrowing looks before heading towards the living room. In the meantime, Anna and Kristoff collected all of the dirty dishes and silverware and brought them into the kitchen.

“Just put all of the dishes in the sink,” she directed. “That’s tomorrow’s problem.”

“Have you decided what we’re going to do?”

“About what?”

“The baby,” he whispered. “We’re telling them tonight, right?”

“Oh. Yes?” she said, her voice laced with uncertainty.

He cocked his head. “Anna.”

“What?”

“We have to tell them.”

“You’re right,” she nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

“When the time is right, though. It has to come up naturally.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “But if it doesn’t come up naturally, I’m going to spill the beans.”

“Deal.”

They wrapped up their chores in the kitchen, prepared the dining room table for dessert and headed into the living room to join the rest of the group. Ryder had made himself at home in the reclining chair, and Honey and Elsa had claimed part of the sectional to themselves. Anna and Kristoff sat at the opposite end, relaxing into the soft cushions.

“Anna, you’re going to love the dessert we brought,” Honeymaren said. “Chocolate cream pie!”

“Oh, I can’t eat chocolate. It makes me sick,” she responded nonchalantly. She didn’t realize what she’d said until the words had already escaped her lips, instantly growing flustered.

Elsa’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “What? Since when?”

She looked to Kristoff for guidance, and he offered her a small nod of encouragement before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She exhaled deeply before blurting, “I’m pregnant.”

“You are?!” Elsa exclaimed, bringing a shaky hand to cover her mouth. “That’s so wonderful, oh my god.”

“Congratulations,” Honey gushed.

Ryder pointed an accusatory finger at Kristoff. “I knew you were dressing like a dad for a reason!” 

Honey reached over and gently smacked him upside the head. “Ryder, stop being rude.”

“Oh, right. Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Anna smiled, all of her anxiety finally melting away. She looked over at Kristoff, who was smiling just as brightly. “Would you mind getting the pictures?”

He nodded, and made his way to the dining room to retrieve the pictures. 

“Can I hug you?” Elsa sniffled, tears glistening in her eyes.

“Of course,” Anna said, standing up. She pulled her older sister into her arms and hugged her tightly.

“I was worrying about you all night. I was convinced that you were really sick and didn’t want to spoil the holiday,” Elsa explained. “But I’m so, so happy for you and Kristoff.”

“Who wants to see the pictures?” Kristoff asked.

“Elsa first,” Honey insisted.

Elsa pulled away from her younger sister and accepted the pictures from her brother-in-law. “Oh my goodness,” she breathed. “How precious. 

“When are you due?” Honeymaren asked.

“Late May,” Anna answered with a smile.

“Are you going to find out the sex?’

“We haven’t decided yet. I want it to be a surprise but she wants to know,” Kristoff said, nudging Anna with his elbow.

“I’m a little impatient,” she giggled. “I really want to know.”

Elsa passed the pictures to Honey, who curled her lip at the sight of them. “Awww.”

“Wow, it actually looks like a baby,” Ryder commented as he peeked over his sister's shoulder to get a glance at the pictures.

“You’re never going to be invited here again,” Honey warned.

“Most importantly, how have you been feeling, Anna?” Elsa asked, ignoring the minor sibling squabble.

“I’ve been really feeling good aside from the morning sickness,” she laughed. “More like all day sickness - I can’t even smell certain things or I get sick. But other than that, I’ve been feeling really good.”

“I’m so happy for both of you,” Elsa said jovially. “I want to know everything.”

“How about we tell you everything over dessert?” Anna suggested. “Chocolate may make me sick, but I still have quite the sweet tooth.”

Elsa nodded, and Anna exchanged a relieved look with Kristoff. His reassuring smile reminded her that he’d been right all along; their family was thrilled and excited, and there had been nothing to worry about.

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

“My feet are so sore,” Anna whined, as she collapsed on the bed that night. “I hope you’re ready to make good on your promise, mister.”

“I’m ready,” Kristoff said, sitting at the foot of the bed. He took one of her feet in his hands and began to massage it. “Tonight went really well.”

“I know, I’m so happy,” she said, sighing contentedly and relaxing against her pillow. “And I’m so relieved that everyone knows now.”

“See?” he remarked. “And to think that you wanted to wait until Christmas.”

“What was I thinking?” she giggled. 

“You were worried. It’s normal.”

“Now I have one less thing to worry about,” she pointed out. “We don’t even have to worry about doing the dishes tomorrow anymore because my sister and Honey did them.”

“And we have a lot to be thankful for.”

She nodded in agreement. “I’m thankful for you, and the baby, and our incredibly supportive family.”

He smiled warmly, giving the foot in his hand a tight squeeze. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

[thenewgrinchisabinch]

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical Review Part 1

As I can only stomach so much, I wish to do a thorough and fair review I will be reviewing this musical as the story progresses and within multiple parts. Please hold all and any questions for the end of the review. 

Rating of characters so far will be at the bottom. 

Now, let us start from the beginning.

It opens to an older Max and why he narrates it is beyond me because as well all know, Max is a dog and literally cannot talk. I understand it is a musical but it does not need a narration because the story of the grinch is well known to many if not all. 

Now the main issue I have is that the so called feature song is sung AT THE BEGINNING? Full offense but this is THE GRINCH MUSICAL NOT THE WHO’S. And also if your most popular song out of this ENTIRE 1:30 min musical is in the beginning AND THE WHO’S SINGING ABOUT WHO IS EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS AND THEN HONESTLY WHY STICK AROUND FOR THE REST? 

Moving onto the Whoville resident’s outfits and they are beyond atrocious. They are quite literally if a blind costume designer and an inflation fetishist designed their attire. I felt quite ill having to look at them for as long as I did. 

^^^ These outfits are honest to god the worst thing I have seen and I am so disappointed as a major television network funded this??? Did they not realize the 2000 Grinch movie outfits were still characteristically fine for the Who’s? The pink wig’s make them look like clowns and the pants situation is just.....so bad. They also sung their “Who’s excited for Christmas” song for what felt like half of the musical. 

These Who’s did sing the iconic song that is known across Grinch lore but overall the Who’s so far are rating a 3/10. 

Then after the headliner song, we get a song about Max??? And his stages of young max to teen, then to the one that is young adult max (AKA the main Max seen throughout the musical). Except Max does not talk in the other adaptations and this raises issue as he sings, talks, and stands at certain points? Boo Boo Stewart plays the main Max and his singing talent is less than stellar but I suppose this is making his career after Twilight. 

His outfit and demeanor unsettle me. This is the disgusting product of a theater kid turned furry. I absolutely hate that he is in the “dog position” of the dynamic with the Grinch but he speaks to him as if they were equals???? Overall this Max is a 0/10 for me compared to the others.

AT 10 MINUTES IN TO THE GRINCH MUSICAL the Grinch finally makes his appearance.  

I have some preliminary critiques for M&M and his....interpretation of the Grinch. His outfit (which I know M&M does not control) is insultingly based upon the vile Illumination studios Grinch. As it is shown with the scarf, vest, and socks. What shocks me is that they seem to have cheaped out on his center body with a vest, which would make sense as it is a musical, BUT IF A MAJOR TELEVISION NETWORK CAN AFFORD WHAT LOOKS LIKE CUSTOM GREEN DOC MARTENS THEN THEY CAN HAVE HIM BE NATURAL AS HE IS PORTRAYED IN LITERALLY ALL OTHER VERSIONS. 

Moving on, The Grinch himself has interesting facial features as is seen with his eyebrows and ripoff backstreet boy hair. What’s confusing is why they bother painting his nose rather than to just leave it alone? But no amount of makeup can hide M&M’s butt chin rofl. 

Glee bint Mattward is not giving a grinch-like impression but rather a mediocre imitation of Danny Elfman’s Jack Skellington singing voice. Although I do give the Glee defectee credit to try to get into the character of hating Christmas rather than being a sad, pathetic loser like Cumberbint’s Grinch. Rating 4/10. 

Goo Goo’s “I am the Angel of Music” moment was quite interesting but nonetheless irrelevant to the vital story of this musical. 

 Now we move onto a song about why the Grinch hates Christmas featuring the Who children, which I thought was a quite interesting and dynamic song as they use many props and dancing. In addition, they run around in chaos akin to the nightmares of childfree adults. HOWEVER, THIS MOMENT IN THE SONG WHERE FOR SOME REASON MATTWARD JUST......LOOKS LIKE HE PEES HIMSELF WAS UNNECESSARY. In all actuality I guess he was disgusted at children or something? But why make THIS FACE? 

As we wrap up this review I leave on the final note of I only got through 20 minutes of this but I am excited to review more of the Glee defectee, the Twilight furry, and the Whoville fetish come to life. 

Overall ranking thus far:

The Who’s: 3/10, for mainly the costumes and mediocre feature song.

Old Max: 1/10, probably shouldn’t be 100 feet near an elementary school, much less these children.

Main Max: 0/10, as he is a theater kid turned furry. 

Glee defectee turned Grinch: 4/10, as he is way better than Benedick Cucumberman’s Grinch, but far inferior to the man, the myth, the legend Jim Carrey’s Grinch.