#it's magic yo i don't have to explain nothing

[pomefioredove]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ad perpetuam memoriam II

I II III IV

summary: you enroll at night raven college one year after the original yuu. a heartslabyul event and a mysterious letter type of post: series includes: ace, deuce, riddle, silver, sebek additional info: platonic, reader is gender neutral, reader is not yuu, this is all AU, not making predictions for how twst will end

"Leave me be,"

The hollow sound of knocking and the rasps of weary sighs end. Finally. You pull your blanket back over your head, content to sleep through the rest of the morning.

BANG!

The door splits itself apart, sparks of magic and smoke flying through the cool air.

Sebek Zigvolt, vice housewarden of Diasomnia, pushes his magic pen into the slim opening of his pocket before he comes inside.

"Up,"

He demands, curtly but not coldly, a hand on his hip. "I have no patience for your disrespect. Silver has been far too lenient with you."

Lenient. If lenient meant sending birds and squirrels through your window, then yes. If lenient meant trying to talk to you in your sleep, then certainly. If lenient meant sending his vicewarden to split your door in two, then Silver was the most lenient housewarden this dorm ever had!

...Not that you'd know.

"Lord Malleus would have torn this room apart, stone by stone, days ago," Sebek says. "You cannot shut yourself away as though you are some... sleeping princess in a tower! UP!"

Cold air touches your sweaty, crumpled body, and your blanket falls at Sebek's feet as he pulls it from you.

"You're ill," he asks, though it's more of a statement than a question.

You say nothing, and he scoffs.

Sebek leers over you, the soft gray light of morning casting his shadow over your body. "You should consider yourself fortunate, that Silver has not thrown you out of this room yet. You are making a mockery of the Housewarden,"

With some difficulty, and, surely, some disgust, he lifts your sweaty, cold body from the bed.

Fwump.

Sebek sits you in the lounge, forcing you to keep upright with a hand on the nape of your neck. With the other, he holds a cracker to your lips. His hand doesn't move until you've eaten the entire thing.

"Sebek... What are you doing?"

Both of your eyes, sharp and wide, crusty and tired, turn to Silver.

"What does it look like?" the vicewarden scoffs. "Feeding your pet."

Silver looks taken aback, crystalline eyes reflecting your sordid state, and he hurries to your side.

"Gentle," he instructs his vicewarden, taking your hand in his. You can't seem to understand why he's so kind to you. You don't ask.

"Are you ill?" he asks (genuinely, this time). "You must be hungry..."

Sebek rolls his eyes, though even he looks a little uncomfortable at the thought, shifting where he stands.

"I'll prepare something," he mutters.

"Thank you, Sebek. That would be good,"

Silver's thumb draws lines and letters over the back of your hand, soothing you. He must have learnt that somewhere. You wonder what his parents are like.

"You've missed several days of classes. I've had some of your classmates collect your work for you. But don't worry about that now,"

You look away, eyes tired and barely open. Sick, yes, that's what you are. It's not that you'd been avoiding everyone... you're just... sick.

"Riddle wanted me to give this to you," Silver says, taking a delicate, elegant paper from his pocket. Had he been carrying that all weekend?

"It's an invitation for an unbirthday party, which-"

"I don't want to go," you don't even let him explain. Though you're not sure of what you want, now. Except for this headache to go away...

Silver frowns. "You should. You should make friends, or at least... talk... to someone. Deuce has been asking Sebek about you,"

For some strange reason, that makes your headache worse. Is it obligation? Guilt? Pity? Do these people think that if they care enough, one day they'll look at you and finally see someone else?

Is it so hard to believe that you're cared for?

Yes. It is.

"You should tell him I'm fine," you snap, though without meaning to. "I don't have to be friends with him, you know."

Silver winces, and you overflow with guilt. Something about him, the only person to, so far, treat you as a human and not a shadow, makes your stomach twist and turn.

"You're right. But he's trying. Really,"

"That's what they say," you relent.

"Yes. It's not easy for everyone," Silver dabs at some of the sweat and grease on your forehead with a handkerchief. "Especially those who were close to... never mind. Don't worry yourself about it. You have nothing to feel bad for, you belong here just as much as anyone does."

His gaze becomes hazy, unfocused, as he speaks. He may as well have been talking to himself.

"Soup!" Sebek announces, as if it were some kind of culinary battle cry.

He sits at your side in the comfortable darkness of the lounge and sets the warm bowl in your lap. It smells good.

"You cook?" you ask, absent-mindedly stirring the broth.

Sebek smirks. "Certainly. We both do,"

"We learned because Lil- er, my father is a terrible cook," Silver explains with a smile. "You're lucky he isn't here. He'd insist on making you his "specialty" and you'd end up worse than before."

You snort at that. "It can't possibly be that bad,"

"It is," the two say in unison. Sebek shudders at some memory, or another.

"He'd love you," Silver says. "So would... well... Malleus would understand."

Malleus. Your stay in Diasomnia has been haunted by that name, spoken into every conversation and implied between each breath.

Something about the way they spoke of him told you he wouldn't like you. You're not sure why.

"I guess that's good enough," you relent. Silver smiles, and Sebek pats your head, not knowing how else to show his approval.

"I'm unsure if this is entirely necessary-"

You catch yourself talking in that voice and just as soon shut your mouth. Have you always mirrored the others, or is it only a symptom of mania?

Perhaps you've been locked in that room for too long, after all.

Riddle doesn't seem to notice that you were mimicking his voice, or he doesn't say anything of it, at least, instead fixing the white and red sash of your scratchy uniform over your shoulder.

"It is. It's custom to be dressed in the Heartslabyul dorm uniform for an unbirthday party,"

"But I don't think that-"

"Hush," he pins the sash in place.

Riddle takes a step back, his chin comfortably cradled in his gloved palm. "Perfect. Now, let's make haste. It'd be uncouth for the Housewarden to be tardy,"

Great. Is that what you sound like??

You follow after him, the heels of your tight, pinchy boots click click clicking on the tile in rhythm with his.

"I would have had Deuce tend to you, as the former vice housewarden would have, but..." Riddle sighs. "He's doing his best, he's doing his best..."

You glance at him as he mutters the mantra to himself, fingers twitching around the magic pen in his pocket.

He withdraws them. "Of course, Ace has been of no help, either,"

Ace. A thought of a figure in red and white comes to mind, faceless and apprehensive. He was the one who had hugged you at the orientation ceremony.

You hadn't seen him since.

"Has he fallen ill?" you ask, still sounding all too like the housewarden.

"No," Riddle says. "Yes. It's... an affliction of the mind. Ahem. Never mind that."

"Oh,"

"Yes. Well, Deuce will have you. It was he who wanted to extend the invite... ever charitable,"

Yuck. The apprehension in Riddle's voice makes your skin crawl, even if it's not entirely aggressive.

"...Right,"

Riddle leads you through a door with a mockingly smiling face engraved on the knob, and into the gardens.

In another world, you might have liked it here. The tall, handsome hedges, the perfectly kept grass, the painted roses which seemed to sing in the golden sunlight... and, of course, the tables, one set after the other, in pinks and whites and greens and gold, a spread of teapots, tarts, jams, sugar, butter, on each one.

"Hey!" a merry, little-too-loud voice beckons from behind. You would have jumped, but a sudden hand on your shoulder keeps you tethered to the earth.

"There you are! I'm so glad you could come!" Deuce Spade smiles. "You look great... the uniform really suits you!"

"You think so?" you ask, feeling more like a circus clown than a student of the strictest dorm in school.

Deuce nods enthusiastically (a little too much so) and his hand slides to your wrist. "Oh, man, I have so many people to introduce you to,"

Dread. As much as you would have liked to run back to your room, or mingle on your own terms, or simply say no, you don't.

"...Great,"

"Great!" Deuce echoes, dragging you over the manicured lawn.

There is, at least, some comfort in the confusion, apathy, and meager care of Deuce's Heartslabyul dormmates. The disinterested greetings, the humble waves, the looks of pity, as if you were anyone but yourself. Then, at least, you can pretend as if you belong here.

"And one more person!"

You glance towards Riddle, scolding a first-year for spreading his jam "offensively" (whatever that means). You haven't had any food, yet. Or water. You haven't even sat down.

The taste of Sebek's soup is still stuck to your tongue. That was last night.

"Ace, over here!"

Dread. If there was anything in your stomach, it surely would have introduced itself to the front of your shirt.

Deuce drags you through the grass, caking your pointy shoes in mud and debris. Why, you? Why? He pushes and pries himself (and you, attached at the wrist) through a crowd of ooh-ing and ah-ing first-years. "Ace, look who it is!"

A boy with spiky, red hair, not unlike the hedgehogs Riddle had introduced you to earlier, bristles. The lively cards between his fingers die on his palms, and the table falls silent.

"Yeah?" Ace asks.

He doesn't seem too excited to see you.

"Look who it is!" Deuce repeats, as if Ace hadn't heard him the first time. He definitely had. "Finally decided to come!"

Ace shuffles the deck, slotting each card together, and then separating them again.

His eyes, narrowed, dark but fiery, like molten iron, never stray from Deuce. He doesn't even look at you.

"So?"

"So?" Deuce says. "Wouldn't you like to say hi?"

You tug, trying to break your wrist free of the binding of his hand, your body making some futile effort to escape.

Deuce doesn't budge.

Ace's eyes finally lower to his cards. "Nah, I'm good,"

The table seems to let out a collective sigh of relief, but the tension isn't done with. Ace's casual response had only thrown a blanket over the corpse of this conversation.

"...Oh. Okay," Deuce says, withdrawing from the first-years. "Sorry." he says to you.

You shake your head. "I should get back to Diasomnia, anyway. Silver needs me,"

He doesn't. No one really needs you.

Deuce doesn't have to know that.

"Oh, well..." he looks at his feet. "Um... if you... need anything, Riddle and I would be glad to help, 'kay?"

"...Sure,"

His grip is gone, and cold, afternoon air embraces your wrist. His palms had been sweaty, you grimace.

You leave the dorm uniform where Riddle had given it, dressing yourself in the familiarly unfamiliar clothes that Crowley had dumped on your doorstep days ago.

Though they're not really yours, they're still something you can call your own.

"Mind yourself," the strict sound of Riddle comes from the kitchen. "I can't recall having excused you."

Your mouth dries. "Did I... need to be excused?"

He comes into the light. At least his expression is softer than his voice.

"Well, you could have at least said good-bye,"

"...I didn't think anyone would notice-"

"Nonsense," his face goes red. "I would have. Are there no manners, where you come from?"

You open your mouth, but only breath comes out. Riddle coughs, taking out an embroidered handkerchief (you swear you've seen like, eight of those so far. This school is weird) and breathes into it. His face returns to its proper color.

"...And... breathe," he sighs. "Now... as for you. You mustn't think so lowly of yourself. You were invited to this event, were you not?"

You nod.

"Then you are wanted. I have heard from Silver that you haven't adjusted?"

"No one would," you mutter. Which seems logical to you. Who would "adjust" to being magicked into another world?

Riddle looks away for a moment. "...To some, it comes easier than others. Forgive Deuce for not knowing how to behave. He's... trying,"

You raise an eyebrow. Riddle sighs and waves off your look with his handkerchief.

"Trey would have known exactly what to do with you..." he says. "He would have had you bake something with him. Explained the rules, given you that... ugh, what was it? Some kind of sauce? As a practical joke... all very immature, yes, but it worked on the first-years.

And Cater, of course. He would have treated it like a holiday. Sevens, my head hurts just imagining the hashtags..."

You snort, if only at Riddle's memories, names and faces you didn't know.

He smiles. "I suppose Deuce sympathizes with you, in that way. You both have certain expectations to meet. The difference is that you didn't ask for yours... ahem. Take care,"

You walk back to school feeling unlike yourself. Your chest is light, your feet don't seem to meet the earth, and your mind is elsewhere. Not here, but not at home, either.

Riddle's awkward words of comfort were gauze to your bleeding heart, though it bled on nonetheless.

But they gave you something to imagine. Something to soothe your mind.

What was this place like before?

Most days, the school felt more like a museum. Dates and titles, portraits without faces in golden frames, hung above your head and hands, unreachable, untouchable.

Everything, every conversation, every question, every word of solace, every smile, was a test you hadn't studied for. A funeral for a person you hadn't known.

No one has lifted the lid of the coffin. Maybe that person has been mangled beyond recognition. Maybe that person is you.

You stop.

There is the dilapidated dorm called Ramshackle, and the one light in its foggy window. The lingering smell of mildew feels like a lullaby. It sings, come in, come in and enjoy the quiet, this is your grave.

Your foot turns, the toe of your shoe dragging across the beaten cobblestone, toward the lullaby, the singing, and the quiet.

Then, there's a hand on your shoulder.

"Lost?"

You would have screamed, but you're suddenly bound by another hand, this one larger and colder than Deuce Spade's, and you're beckoned back into the school.

"Oh, don't fret," the Headmage chirps. "It's an absolutely labyrinthine campus! I've had to collect twenty-six lost students this week alone. I've considered maps, but think of the cost... print is not free, you know!"

You steady yourself, finding your breath and balance again.

It feels more as if the Headmage is talking to himself than to you, and so you don't speak, following him (not of your own will, of course) through the dark, abandoned halls of the school.

"...And I resolved to doing it myself, but it really is such a hassle... I am a busy man, you know," he says. "Though, never too busy for you! Housewarden Vanrouge has come to me with some concerns about your socializing... or, rather, lack of it. Oh- now, don't give me that pout! I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I told him to forget it. I said, not all magicless students from another world will be spry, sociable sixteen-year-olds! And it gives you more time to focus on me- ah, your studies. But now that you've mentioned it, I do have a few cabinets that could use sorting..."

Crowley stops before a door, as tall and dark as he, but without any ability to speak, which makes it slightly more tolerable.

"Here we are," he smiles.

"Here... where?"

"The mail room," he takes a key from his ensemble and slots it in the imposing door. "Now, wait here."

You raise an eyebrow. Mail room? It's getting dark- the shadows on the walls are slanted, and the sun had given its last breath while he was monologuing. Surely, he's not asking you to sort anything now...

"You know, I thought letter-writing had fallen out of fashion," Crowley says, returning from the depths of the dark. "What, with the emails, and the text messages, and the... ah, that reminds me, I'll have to procure you a phone for emergencies... er, but later. Here, for you."

He hands you an envelope, cream-colored and smooth. There is no name, nor return address on the back. It is simply addressed to the "Residing Second Magicless Student of Night Raven College."

You feel the rich, creamy paper under your thumbs. It smells like smoke.

"Now, don't look at me," Crowley says. "I haven't the slightest clue of who might write you from outside the college. In fact, it makes me worry about our campus security... ah, I'll have someone look at that tomorrow. Good night, dear."

He leaves you there in the hall, envelope in hand, a frown on your lips.

It's dark now. The light has vanished beyond the imposing walls of the school, the shadows have become long-limbed and monstrous, and the sky is blue and red in the blood of the setting sun.

You turn the envelope over. There is still no name. A single wax seal, imprinted in the shape of a bell, is the only sign of life.

Weird. All of this is weird.

You walk home in the dark and cold.

[mehiwilldoitlater]

Hear me out ..yandere Macaque hcs …seriously love the way you write him ; maybe this reader lost her destiny one or maybe Macaque found reader first before the other monkeys did 👀 love to see what you come up with please 💗 if your not doing requests no worries you can ignore this :)

(Me: People here love this dude...

Destined One: I've noticed that...)

1) When he first met you, he knew what you were and why you were sent there. Of course he knew, because he met so many before you. The only difference was that you were fresh out of the change, unaware of everything that was around and so utterly alone.

It was just so good to be true; the new Bián huá was completely at his mercy, and of course he was ready to take advantage of that.

You were just so adorable, alone, and so afraid, ready to be eaten by the First Yaoguai lucky enough to catch you. And he was, of course, your sworn protector, a monkey that wanted nothing but help you! You just needed to do something for him, helping him find some magical staff that would help you send you back!

He had May lie—just a little.

He just needed to find the relics, take back his full power, get rid of you, and then boom, he was ready to be free...but you changed everything.

The more time he had stayed by your side, the more he became attached. He started to care; he started to crave your attention and your kindness, and soon he carved for more.

He started to make a few changes to his plan, like finding a way to let you live forever, to let him love you like you deserved, to be yours like he wanted you to be his. 

If it wasn't for that damn destined one...

Not only had he been searching for you, following that connection you two were supposed to have, but he needed to tell you the truth!

He was able to get the both of you away from that other one, but now he wasn't your beloved friend; now he was on the list that had played all this time.

"YOU TRICKED ME! ALL THIS TIME IT WAS JUST A LIE?!"

"Darling, please...calm down. Let me explain." You smacked away his hand. Your eyes are full of rage and tears.

"DON'T YOU DARLING ME! You said you wanted to help me! You were just playing all along!"

You started to walk away, trying to get more distance from him and yourself...only to feel then his sharp claws clutching your head and crashing you on the ground.

"I am helping you... by doing what I must."

2) He'll take you to your new home...with the right adjustment.

Oh, you can run free as much as you like! Just be careful not to fall from the cliff that surrounded the small mountain that you were on! The air there is amazing, and no one can brother you there! The only bridge that could have helped you cross the precipice has been cut off!

You can't go anywhere, and he's aware of that.

He'll give you time and space; he's not that delusional to believe that you won't scream and try to do some crazy stunt when he's around. He'll bring food! He'll make sure you're okay until he'll be sure that you won't act crazy with him!

But you really needed to give him that cold shoulder after all that time?

You'll ignore him for days. No matter what he does, you just kept your mouth shut and your attention on a wall...

You really know how to push his buttons, uh?

"Came on... I know you can't stay silent forever."

"..."

"Listen, I know this is not your plan of life, but believe me! It's still something! You were complaining about how full and boring your life was before, right? Now you're-"

"Trap ... It was boring, but I was free... and i REALLY don't want to be here with you now."

He gritted his teeth, feeling so many emotions in his chest. Before storming out the door of the house, he takes one time to look at you.

"All right! Let's see how much you'll miss me in a week!"

In fact, for a week, food didn't come at all.

3) He loved your stubbornness and your strength, but now it was just so annoying. Why can't you just give up?!

Stop resisting! Isn't it painful to just suffer?! If you just loved him like he wanted your tò do, then it would be so easy! But nooo, you have to play hard to get it, right?!

And let's not mention the so many escape attempts that you had made! How many times did he have to catch you?! How many times did he have to prove to you how dangerous the world was?! How many times he had to brind you the next monkey head before you understood that no one is omg to save you?!

You kept on biting and scratching his hand while he was dragging you back to the house. It wasn't painful at all. It was just boring... It hurt his heart, on the other hand.

"I don't want to! Stop! LET me go!"

He had enough. 

He pushed you on the ground, his foot stomping over your arm. Just near the shoulder.

"What are you?"

"I guess that I was too soft on you." You started to feel pressure on your arm; the pain started to grow second by second. "I need to be harder from now on."

You started to scream, scratching his foot, and punched him, but he didn't bulge a little. He kept on pushing and pushing until

CRACK.

You felt the sound of your bones cracking between the flashes of your arm. Before you could scream in pain, he was already down, his hand on your mouth, and his razor teeth near your ear.

"Does it hurt? Don't worry, I'll make it go away."

The same teeth that were caressing your ear were now deep in your flesh.

A missed arm was a good reminder of what he could do.

4) Were you finally accepting him? 

Where have you finally given up?

He didn't want to hurt you, but you were so difficult.

He'll heal you; he'll take care of you like he had promised. Your arm can't come back; it's better this way, but he'll be there, as he had promised.

He'll kiss every scratch and every wound that he has inflicted. He'll make sure you're loved and cherished by him.

"I love you," he whispers, kissing your neck and savoring your scent. "I need more than you think. I'll never let you go..."

Never such sweet words were so full of poison.

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[winwintea]

Secure that Once Upon a Time! - Zhong Chenle

PAIRING ↬ rich socialite! zhong chenle x fem! reader

GENRES ↬ idk if this counts as a foot fetish, cinderella core!, chenle takes her to a ball, rich x poor trope, people bully y/n for being poor, but also very fluffy and romantic

WARNINGS ↬ slight suggestive, no smut written out but implied !??

SUMMARY ↬ inspired by one of your favorite fairytales, chenle makes you feel just like cinderella for the night. but can you live up to society's expectations as the girlfriend of one of shanghai's most elite? an enchanting night with your prince may answer all your questions.

WORD COUNT ↬ 4.3k

AUTHOR’S NOTE ↬ yo so funny story! for reasons explained here i decided to take down a smau of mine called secure that card! however i felt bad about how the smau abruptly ended, and i didn't really give chen/n a happy ending?? SO HERE'S A VERY FLUFFY(?) fic i wrote as like an apology and compensation. you don't have to have read stc to understand this fic, it can be just read on it's own! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT <33 i appreciate you all.

For a moment, Chenle’s brows lowered, his frown casting a shadow across his whole face. He stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth, staring down at the mille-feuille piled high on it. He looked like he was thinking really hard about something, but what was it?

"Hey, Chenle.-"

Chenle suddenly broke into laughter

"What the-- why are you suddenly laughing like that?"

"Oh, nothing. I remembered one of our earlier conversations about the story of Cinderella and I was just thinking Cinderella sounds a lot like you."

"How so?"

Chenle snickered, "I can totally imagine you carelessly losing a glass slipper, panicking, and running away right before the prince's eyes, one shoe off, one shoe on."

"I wouldn't do that! I mean... I probably wouldn't." Okay, you could kind of see yourself panicking and doing something rash, but did he really have to point it out?

Chenle and you were currently engaged in a small feast of afternoon tea in Shanghai. There was an upcoming party he needed to attend as the successor to Zhong Enterprises and you decided to accompany him.

His beautiful smile had a suggestive edge to it, and you pouted, dropping your gaze. You reached for your teacup to distract yourself, but before you could pick it up, his long, elegant fingers wrapped around yours. "Well, if I was the prince, I wouldn't be stupid enough to let Cinderella get away from me like that.”

"Chenle." His smile was smug and sure as he squeezed your fingers, and you couldn't stop staring at him. He was just so sure of himself in everything. Although knowing him, you bet he’d probably succeed, too.

You started giggling, and Chenle’s smile instantly dissolved into a dissatisfied pout. "Hey. What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. I was just imagining what you'd be like if you really were the prince.”

"Me?"

"If a prince as amazing as you were to appear at the ball.. I bet even Cinderella wouldn't care if the magic wore off at midnight, so long as she could stay with you." To be honest, if you were Cinderella you know you’d feel that way. Even if the magic wore off and you went back to your cinder-covered self, so long as you could stay with your prince–

The fingers holding tightly to yours let go, all of a sudden. You looked up in surprise, and found yourself staring at cheeks as red as fresh strawberries. As soon as your eyes met, he looked away quickly, refusing to meet your gaze again. Is he blushing? Geez, so adorable.

"Did you like being referred to as a prince?"

"Like-- would I- as if l'd-- not a chance! Although if you mean that I have all the fine qualities of a prince, then I can understand where you're coming from. But the only other person suited to being a prince besides me would be Renjun, you know." You couldn’t disagree with that. Renjun definitely had a princely aura that surrounded him.

You couldn't help but grin as you watched the conflicting expressions flitting across Chenle’s face. Being with him makes it so easy for you to forget all about being nervous.

You’re going to be just fine at the party, because Chenle will be there with you. Time seemed to fly by as the two of you relaxed and enjoyed your afternoon tea together. We were both smiling and happy as we stepped out of the cafe again.

"Ahh, those delicious cakes always give me back my energy! But I guess..." You turned to Chenle with a smile, about to suggest we head home, but you stopped mid-sentence as you saw how strained his

expression was.

"I just remembered something I need to do. You wait here."

"What? Right here?"

"Yes. Got it? Don't move so much as a single step until I come back." Chenle turned and began to stride away, casting one last dubious look over his shoulder as he walked off into the distance.

He worries too much. Where would you go, anyway? And what's so important that he suddenly has to rush off like that? You smiled to yourself, shaking your head as you turned to look in the windows of the nearby shops while you waited.

"Hey, did you hear? Chenle’s going to be attending the next formal party!"

You glanced in the direction of the voice, and saw several stylish young women sitting at one of the cafe's outdoor tables, chatting over tea. I couldn't help being curious, and You sidled a little closer, pretending to stare in another shop window as you listened.

"He sometimes attends parties in his position as ‘Zhong Chenle’, but--"

"It's rare for him to attend as the Zhong Enterprises heir, isn't it?"

"It is. Which means this is our chance to audition for the role of the future Mrs. Zhong!"

You're after Chenle? All of you?! From the little mandarin Chenle had taught you, you could kind of put together what they were saying. You pressed your lips together, your heart pounding uneasily in your chest.

"But I heard that Chenle’s got a girlfriend, and she came here from Stanford just for him."

"Who cares? The magic of love doesn't last forever, you know."

"That's right. She'll get bored soon enough and go back to America. She was never good enough for him to begin with."

Your whole body went cold as they all burst out laughing, and you barely heard their next words as the conversation moved on to clothes shopping. You’ll never get bored of Chenle, not in a million years, and you know he feels the same way. You can hold your head high and say that with pride. But... Right now you’re already so nervous just from the idea of wearing a pretty dress and attending a formal party. You and Chenle are from different worlds, and… you don't have the confidence yet to say that they're wrong, and that you ARE good enough for him.

The women's words filled your heart with an aching doubt that stayed with you over the next few days.

— 

At last the day of the party arrived.

You were wearing the most beautiful dress you’d ever owned, and yet you couldn't bring yourself to smile at your reflection in the mirror. You bet half the young noblewomen in Shanghai are vying for the spot of Mrs. Zhong. They all want to push you aside so they can stand at his side.

You know you love Chenle more than all of them combined, but--

"Y/N? I'm coming in.” There was a knock at the door, and you turned quickly as Chenle stepped into the room carrying a small box. "It looks like you're read...y." Chenle set the box down as he spoke, but as soon as he looked at you, he froze.

He just stood there, staring at you, and you couldn't make sense of his expression, but the longer the silence dragged out, the more nervous you felt. "Do I look weird, or."

"Did I say that?! No! No, I didn't! Really! Are you trying to cast doubt on all my careful efforts to choose the right dress for you? It really, really suits you! You're better dressed than anyone else in the whole world!" Chenle’s smile was proud and pleased as he looked you up and down, and the blush that crept up his cheeks made his words more real somehow.

Okay, phew. From the way he was staring– "Thanks, Chenle." not sure you really have it in you to smile right now. But if you stand here looking worried and nervous, you’re just going to make him worried, too. You managed to school your features into what you hoped was a believable smile.

"Really, Y/N. We're about to go to a party, so why are you looking so glum again?”

Well, that smile was a dismal failure, then."I'm not...?"

"Yes, you are.” Chenle strode over to where you stood, stopping right in front of you, and you blinked at him in surprise. He cupped your cheek with his hand, staring so intently into your eyes that you felt as if he were seeing straight into your soul. "Is something worrying you?" His voice was suddenly soft with concern, his expression gentle, and you felt a bittersweet ache in my chest

He really does care so much about me, and he wants to be sure you’re okay… But what can you say? ‘There's a bunch of noblewomen who want to marry you and they make me feel like an ungainly clod’? I mean, seriously? "I'm okay, Chenle. I'm just nervous, that's all." you reached up and placed your hand over his where it rested against your cheek, and this time you managed to smile properly.

His brow furrowed a little at your words, his eyes dropping to one side, and his long lashes fluttered against his cheeks. "Well, I suppose it's not really a surprise. You're not used to parties like this yet. But I bet this will chase all your nervousness away." Chenle turned slightly, pointing to the box he'd set down as he entered the room.

"What is it?"

Chenle smiled at your question, looking oddly triumphant. "I think you already look sufficiently charming, but… The look isn't quite perfect yet, is it? Now stop fussing and sit over there."

"Okay…” Chenle took you by the hand and led you over to the sofa, and you sat down, still wondering what was going on. A moment later he went down on one knee before you, the whole movement elegant and graceful. "Chenle? What are you doing?!"

"I'm casting the finest magic spell on you, Y/N." you were still staring at Chenle in surprise as he opened the box. Nestled inside the box were the most beautiful shoes you’d ever seen, decorated all over with tiny, elegant gemstones. "Once you put these on, you'll be perfect.”

Chenle lifted your right foot onto his knee, and slipped off the shoe you were wearing. You watched in quiet awe as he put one of the new shoes on your foot in its place. 

It's beautiful! You loved the way it sparkled! It almost looks like a glass slipper, just like Cinderella had! "They're gorgeous, Chenle! But what brought this on?"

"I came up with the idea when we were talking about the story of Cinderella.” Chenle carefully slipped your shoe off your left foot, and put on your new shoe, before moving to sit on the sofa next to you. "I thought the prince ought to give Cinderella the gift of shoes that were perfect for her. I couldn't get my hands on actual glass slippers, so I chose the shoes I thought would suit you best."

"Oh, Chenle…” This is why he suddenly went running off right after we left the cafe that day, isn't it? He was finding the perfect shoes for you! You felt warmed right through by his kindness, and for a moment you felt the pinprick of grateful tears in the corners of your eyes. 

"Now you've transformed into the perfect princess. So from here on, I'm not going to let you wear that gloomy expression when you stand at my side. Are you ready to be escorted by your prince?" 

"I definitely am! Thanks, Chenle!" You squeezed his hand gently, so happy that there was no need to fake your beaming smile, not anymore. He wasn’t kidding about casting a magic spell on you-- You almost feel like you dreamed all that worry and doubt from before! Suddenly you’re actually excited about going to this party! We're going to have a great time!

You walked proudly at your prince's side as he escorted you to the party in your Cinderella shoes.

— 

Everything seemed so perfect you found yourself wondering if you were dreaming the whole thing.

"You're not too bad at this dancing thing, you know." There was admiration in Chenle’s voice as we moved across the dancefloor in time to the elegant music. As soon as we'd finished greeting all the other guests, Chenle had led you straight out onto the dancefloor, and you were surprised by how much fun you were having.

"Only because you're leading me so well. I should've known you'd be a great dancer.”

"Well, naturally. I mean, just who do you think I am?" Chenle tightened his grip on you, pulling you closer until you were almost touching. "You weren't half bad when we went around greeting the other guests, either."

"Really?"

"Do you really think I'd lie to you?" 

You arched a brow at him, “Yes. Chenle. I do.” 

“Apart from the green card thing I mean…” He quickly added. 

He was greeting people as the heir to the Zhong family Enterprises, and you felt so nervous standing at his side, but– If he thinks you did a good job, then that's all that matters.

"You were elegant and dignified. I was proud to call you my partner. If you're going to stand at my side, then you certainly have to show at least that level of impudence."

"Impudence? Is that meant to be praise?"

"Of course it is."

It doesn't sound like praise, but– He look so happy about it that you’re just going to accept it as if it is. “Hehe! Thanks, Chenle.”

"You're welcome.”

You felt warm and giddy inside as we grinned at each other.

Hmm? You had the sudden sense that someone was watching you, and you glanced around surreptitiously. Wait, I know you… Several young women were standing off to the side of the dancefloor, staring very pointedly in your direction. There was no mistaking them-- they were the same young women you’d been eavesdropping on in the City a few days earlier. Even from a distance, you could clearly see the displeasure and annoyance on their faces.

"Y/N? Why are you looking away from me?"

"No reason! Sorry!" You quickly turned my gaze back to Chenle and gave him a bright smile, but you could still feel the women's glares. Ugh, it's like they were all throwing daggers at you with their eyes. You get that they all want to take your place, but-- ahh, you hoped none of them tried anything underhanded.

You were trying to focus on the dance again, but it was hard to lose yourself in the pleasure of it like you had before, not with those piercing stares.

At last the music ended, and the sound of chatting voices soon filled the room again. "Chenle, why don't I go get us something to drink? Do you want champagne?"

"Okay, but i'll come with-“

“Chenle!” The second you took a step away from Chenle, the young women came rushing in to surround him.

"Please, dance with me next!"

"No, with me!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa! The women pushed you somewhat forcefully out of the way as they crowded around him, and you stumbled, still not used to wearing such high heels. As you tried to regain your balance, you bumped into a waiter carrying a tray of glasses, and there was a sudden crash as they all hit the floor and shattered. You lost my balance for real this time and plonked down straight onto your butt, one shoe slipping off your foot and tumbling to the side. Could you have been any more dramatically clumsy?! Why can't you fall over quietly, just for once in your life?!

"Isn't that Chenle’s partner? How disgraceful, sitting on the floor like that."

Your cheeks were burning, you could feel them all staring, and all you wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow you whole. But as you stared down at the floor, frozen in confusion, an elegant hand suddenly appeared in front of you. 

"Give me your hand, Princess."

"Chenle..”

Your heart throbbed and ached at the tenderness in his eyes, and for a moment you forgot your shame. You gazed at that elegant, graceful hand, and reached out to place yours in it.

"Really, she's so disgraceful.”

"I can't believe she'd cause so much trouble for Chenle." 

Their voices intruded, bringing you back to reality, and you froze. You promised yourself you’d do everything right, so that you could be worthy of being Chenle’s partner. But here you were, causing him trouble--bringing shame to his good name, and– Your hand hovered just shy of Chenle’s, but you drew it back again

“Y/N”

Before you could pull my hand away completely, Chenle caught it firmly in his. "Chenle... I can stand up on my own. Let go.”

"No, I won't let go.” Chenle pulled you to your feet, and almost without thinking, you buried your face in his chest. You could feel his breath tickling your ear, and your heart began to pound again. "I can't believe you're making that face."

"What? Hey-I" Chenle scooped up your shoe from the floor, and a moment later he slid one arm around your back and the other under your knees. Before you could react, he lifted you into his arms, cradling you against his chest, and the buzz of whispers around you two rose to a roar. 

Chenle, were you seriously going to carry me in your arms across the dancefloor?! "Chenle! Everyone's staring.”

"Be quiet and stop wriggling, will you? We've done this dozens of times before. Why are you suddenly fussing about it now?"

He might be fine with this, but you’ve never been so embarrassed in your whole life.The young women who'd knocked you over were all staring at us as well, looking aghast and dismayed.

"You there, waiter. Are you all right?"

"Yes, sir! I'm perfectly fine! Please, don't worry about it. We'll get everything cleaned up right away."

"Then we'll leave you to it. My partner seems to be feeling unwell, so if you'll all excuse us." Ugh, is this ever going to end?! you just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever…

You  wrapped your arms around Chenle’s neck and buried your face in his chest so you wouldn't have to see all the people staring at you as you two walked past them. But Chenle seemed completely calm and unbothered as he sauntered out of the room, letting the mutterings of the crowd fade away behind us. A cool breeze ruffled your hair, and when you lifted your head, you found that he'd carried you out to the balcony, which was blissfully empty of other people. Chenle set you down in one of the chairs, and sat down next to you.

"Chenle, why are we out here?”

"I'm the one who should be asking you that."

"What do you mean?" you blinked at him as he leaned closer, his beautiful porcelain skin glowing in the moonlight. 

"Have you forgotten what I said before we came? I told you I wouldn't let you wear that gloomy expression at my side."

"Oh…. well..” you remembered him saying that, but-

"Are those women the reason you looked so unhappy? You weren’t sure if you should just open up and tell him why you’ve been feeling so down. If you did, it was just going to worry him more, and after all he’s done for you, that doesn't feel right. You gazed uncertainly up at him, trying to make up your mind about what to do. Something flickered in his eyes, and to your surprise, you saw a hint of doubt lurking there. "You were looking depressed even before we came here, weren't you? If there's something worrying you, stop hiding it and just tell me."

He knew all along, didn't he? He knew this was more than just you feeling nervous. And He’s already been worrying about you, all this time. "I can't help worrying that maybe I'm not really worthy of being your partner." If you’re not honest with him, if you keep hiding it-- that's only going to make him worry more. You need to tell him everything that's been bothering you. "I'm not used to parties like this. I'm not used to high society. To the way you socialites interact with each other. I've lived my whole life in another world, and I started to doubt if people would ever accept me as your partner. And right when I was worrying about that, I accidentally overheard some people talking about me. They said that the magic of love doesn't last forever, and that I was never good enough for you to begin with. And those words stayed with me. I couldn't stop thinking about them."

"I see.” To be honest, you don’t really believe that. you know the magic of your love isn't going to end. You know that he’s the only one for you, forever and always. But– 

"I love you so much, and I want to be worthy of standing at your side." 

Chenle’s eyes widened a little at your words, his expression startled. But a moment later you sighed softly, sounding almost exasperated somehow. "I can't believe you were really worrying about something so trivial."

"What do you mean, trivial?!"

"Worries like that are about as meaningful to me as a single grain of sugar." Chenle stood up from his chair, and before you could react, he knelt gracefully in front of you. He lifted your bare foot, and you shivered at the feel of his fingers against your skin. Without warning he pressed a gentle kiss against your ankle.

"Chenle--I" The warmth of his lips sent a shiver of delight running through you. If he kept doing things like that-

"I told you, didn't I? I'm never letting go of the impertinent woman who ran into my heart. And even if the magic spell I cast on you breaks, I'll always be here to cast another spell on you." He sounded so regal and dignified you could almost believe he really was a prince, and you watched in wonder as he gently slipped your shoe back on your foot.

He really means that, doesn’t he? And it doesn't bother him in the slightest that his spell was broken. His love for you was so pure and earnest, and it lit a gentle flame in your heart, a flickering glow that filled you with warmth. Ahh, I love that you're like this.

"Really. You're normally so brash and shameless, and yet you get hung up on the strangest little details." 

"Brash and shameless? Seriously?!"

"Well, it's the truth." There had to have been a way to say it that sounded less insulting! You pouted at Chenle, and he laughed suddenly, his expression brightening. "When we went to look at dresses, I told you to hurry up and get used to this. But it's fine if you take your time getting used to things-- to dresses, to parties, to everything.”

"Oh-- okay." For a moment you didn't know what to think or say, and you simply gazed at his sweet smile as he smoothed your hair back from your face and sat down beside you again. He’s more stubborn and frank than anyone you’ve ever met, and sometimes he’s a real tease and a bully, but-- he is so incredibly kind at heart. And that's why--

Everything you were feeling was flooding through you, and the only way you could express it was to reach out and wrap your arms around Chenlein a fierce hug. "Y/N?!"

"I love you, Chenle. I love you so much." You clung to him, letting his warmth seep into you and wishing you never had to let go. He’s the only one for you-- the only one who'll ever matter. You can't imagine being anywhere but right here at his side. You buried your face in his chest and whispered the words there, as if you could deliver them directly to his heart.

A moment later he spoke, his voice sugary-sweet, yet with a husky edge that set your heart racing. "It's very clear to me just how much you adore me.” He caressed your cheek gently, and you lifted your head, looking up at him. The stars in the sky seemed to dance in his eyes, captivating you with their ethereal glow.

You weren’t even sure which of you moved first, but suddenly we were kissing. His lips were warm, and he tasted so sweet that you wanted more. One kiss wasn't enough to tell him how you felt, and you kissed him a 2nd time, and a 3rd, desperate to share all my love and desire with him. 

"That's enough." Our lips parted suddenly as Chenle caught you by the shoulders and pushed you back. You were still trying to make sense of what was happening when he took you by the hand and stood up. "We're going home. Right now."

"What? Are you sure?" I mean… you could still hear music, so the party's not over yet.

"I've already greeted everyone in my position as the Zhong heir. The rest is the same old same old, and it will be over soon enough. And more importantly, right now I want you."

"Chenle--"

His voice had a sultry edge to it that promised you a lot more than just kisses, and a thrill of anticipation ran through you. "And I'm not planning on letting you go, not even when the clock strikes midnight. So I hope you're ready." He gave you a smile, and then turned and began to walk away, and you practically tripped over your own feet again in your eagerness to catch up with him.

You don't want him to let you go, not at midnight, not ever. This is no simple spell cast by some fairy godmother. He cast his spell on you the moment we first met, and you know it's going to last forever.

The air around us seemed to sizzle with passion and the promise of what was to come, and the trip home felt more like torture. But you knew that when we got there, he'd more than make up for it, as he cast his magic spell on you again and made you love him even more...

SUMMARY ↬ @marvelahsobx @lyvhie @odxrilove @jkslvsnella @aquaphoenixz @wonnieluv @acidwon @syatchy @sleepyvic @grassbutneo @chcnlcs @taeeflwrr @hibernatinghamster @jaeimjaemin @gukuwii @slayhaechan @yyangj3lly @onlyhyunjin @clean-soap @bath1lda @lostinneocity @defzcl @ckline35 @multifandomania @meltinghershey @foxy-kitsune @jising-jisang-jisung @minkyuncutie @zuzu-the-simp @dojaejunging @leehanascent @nosungluv @sunflowerbebe07 @h-aecat @layuhsblog @fae-renjun @w3bqrl @hyuckies18 @wonbin-truther @bugcattie @wony1e @lazysmushi @binniebunii @nctrawberries @galacticnct (tagged y’all cause i just wanted to say thank you for the support <33 IT REALLY MEANT SO MUCH TO ME 😭😭)

[banana-fish-ask-blog]

★»INTRO POST«★

Yo, it's the mod of the blog here! Name's Clover, you can call me Clo or Clove. You can find me on my main blog @insert-interestingg-name if you wanna get to know me, or maybe send asks in here, though I'd prefer if you wanna talk to me in my inbox, send it to my main, unless it's related to this blog!

This is my first RP/ask blog, so if you have any tips, please do share! 😁 🙏

Anyways, enough about me, I should probably explain this blog and the AU!

So, it is obviously a Banana Fish fan blog with an AU! And I know the AU I chose is probably boring and basic, but I thought it could be cute. It's a school AU!

I want to say that the main characters I will be focussing on/thinking the most about relating to this blog and it's AU are Shorter, Ash, and Eiji. (I am okay with the ship of the three of them, but I dunno yet if I wanna make the ship actually be canon in my AU or not).

DNI list:

Bigots, neo-n*zis, racists, homophobes, creeps, etc. (Basic DNI list).

Other info:

It will probably take me a bit to answer asks as I am a busy man and also, artblock affects me a bit (⁠-⁠_⁠-⁠;⁠)

I might let Magic!Anons happen, idk

No explicit asks please, the characters I am mainly focussing on are minors (at least in my AU). I guess *slightly* suggestive jokes are allowed. But nothing too bad please.

Nothing political.

No racism, homophobia/transphobia, etc. (duh)

Please don't spam my inbox.

Reminder:

I do not own BANANA FISH, this is purely a fanwork I decided to make. All the characters belong to Akimi Yoshida.

This will obviously not be (fully) accurate to any of the canon source material. (Though I may borrow a few aspects from canon, it's literally just the BFish characters in a school AU).

And:

This blog has school AU versions of the canon characters. I don't want to think about canon Banana Fish. Please. (You can ask the schoolAU!chars for their opinions on stuff that happens in canon BFish, or ask for them to talk/intermingle, if you really want....)

Thanks to @tief-the-silly for letting me yap to him about this and letting me get my ideas out about it, and he kinda was the reason I ended up making the blog!

[fushigurokogane]

~ JJK chats ~ (1)

Yuji: Yo, Gojo, why do you always wear those sunglasses? Are you trying to hide your face or your identity? Gojo: Face... identity... It’s all part of the mystery, Yuji. You wouldn’t get it. 😎 Nobara: No, it’s because he’s hiding the fact that he’s been wearing the same pair of sunglasses for 10 years and they definitely smell like Doritos. Yuji: No way, I bet they smell like vanilla body spray. Gojo: I don't need to explain myself to you guys. And for the record, my sunglasses are timeless. Megumi: I just want to know how you manage to look so ridiculous and still somehow get away with it. Gojo: You can’t comprehend this level of cool. Yuji: Wait, Gojo... do you have like, a backup pair? Or do you just keep that same dirty one for life? Gojo: Obviously, I have multiples. I have them in every room of my house, my car, and even in the bathroom. Nobara: Imagine Gojo in the bathroom, just wearing his sunglasses while brushing his teeth. That’s the energy I needed in my life. Yuji: 100% he’s the type to look in the mirror and say, “Yeah, I’m still hot.” 💁‍♂️ Gojo: Well, if the sunglasses fit... Megumi: You’ve all completely lost it. Nobara: Alright, alright. Anyone know where the last box of cookies went? I’m 99% sure Yuji’s the culprit. Yuji: WHAT? I didn’t touch them! Nobara: You’re literally the only one who would eat an entire box of cookies and then pretend nothing happened. Yuji: I... I might have eaten a couple. But it’s not my fault they were just...staring at me, you know? Gojo: Here we go again. The “cookies called to me” excuse. 🙄 Nobara: I think we need a snack intervention for Yuji. “Hi, I’m Yuji, and I have a problem with cookies.” Yuji:Maybe I do have a problem. But they were so good, I couldn’t stop myself. 😫 Megumi: This is why we can’t have nice things. Gojo: Honestly, I’m more concerned about the fact that no one saved any for me. Yuji: Wait, you wanted some too?! Gojo: Of course I wanted some! You think I’m just here for the vibes? Nobara: No, I thought you were here to give life advice no one asked for, and to teach us all how to look like you. Gojo: Nailed it. Yuji: I swear, Gojo’s the only one who eats snacks, throws them in the air, and then just disappears. It’s like a magic trick. Gojo: It’s a talent. You’re welcome. Megumi: You all are unbelievable. I can’t even handle this. Nobara: Wait, does anyone else think Megumi secretly has a candy stash that he hides from everyone? Yuji: Oh he definitely has a secret stash! He’s probably eating chocolate in the corner right now, like some mysterious snack ghost. Gojo: You have chocolate, don’t you, Megumi? Megumi: No, I don’t. Nobara: There’s no way. He’s probably got dark chocolate and then some random, deeply mysterious snack. Maybe like... dried seaweed and sadness. Gojo: WAIT. What if... he only eats vegan snacks? Yuji:Oh, no. That’s worse than tofu. Megumi: I swear to god, if you don’t stop, I’ll actually leave the chat. Nobara: You cant leave. This chat is your destiny. Gojo:Yeah, you’re stuck with us, Megumi. Whether you like it or not. Yuji: But if you have a secret stash, Megumi, just know I won’t judge. I’ll even trade you a pack of gummies. Megumi: I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see any of this. Gojo: Look, we’re a family. And in this family, we share everything. Except snacks.

OMGGG these are SOOO fun to makeee!! I would loveee to do more of these. If you guys have any suggestions of what type of convo i could do next i would be SO HAPPPYY!! I hope you enjoyed reading~ BAI BAI MY LOVESSS~!!

love, ✭ Nika ✭

[sjsmith56]

Letting Go

Summary: Bucky is critically injured, trapped in a building destroyed by a bomb. He orders his team to leave him behind but they refuse and Peter calls for help. It comes from several sources.

Length: 5.4 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Peter Parker, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, Wanda Maximoff, with cameos by other Avengers, named OFC (seen in flashbacks).

Warnings: Bucky injured, feeling unworthy, accepting death, good and bad memories, medical emergency.

Author notes: Believe it or not I dreamed the first part of this and wrote down a summary as soon as I woke up so I wouldn’t forget it. This one shot imagines a post-FATWS Avengers that brings in several of the newer characters as well as some older ones. Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World have not happened.

⏳ ⌛️

If he had to do it all over again, Bucky would have made the same decision. Leading a mission with the newest Avengers under his supervision, meant that he felt responsible for their safety. It was his choice to enter the building first, assessing the risk before they came in with him. Just as it was his choice to tell them to leave him behind after the bomb went off, an event that sent tons of debris raining down on him. Now, as he laid injured in the dark, with his metal arm twisted and lodged behind him and both his legs broken he knew he wasn't getting out alive. Those who had worked with him before, specifically Peter and Yelena, begged him not to make them leave but he made it clear.

"There is nothing you can do for me," he said, with what he hoped was finality. "It's too risky for even a sorcerer and with Dr. Strange off somewhere in the multiverse I don't think he can activate the time stone and reverse this."

He stopped for a moment to cough, feeling the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, likely from bleeding internally.

"Bucky?" asked Peter over the comms. "What about Cara?"

Cara ... his girlfriend of 8 months that he planned to propose to. This would devastate her, but she knew the risks, being a SHIELD employee herself.

"Tell her I love her and that I'm sorry," he replied, then he refused to answer his comms after that.

Outside the team sat, despondent. Shaun, Joaquin, Kate, Yelena, and Peter looked at each other, feeling sick inside. Then Peter strode into the quinjet and asked Friday to patch him through to the Avengers compound.

"Sam? We need help." He filled him in on what happened and what Bucky ordered them to do, explaining none of them wanted to leave. "We don't leave a team member behind. I don't care if he made it an order. It's not right."

As Sam listened to Peter, he got Carol Danvers' attention. After listening to the gist of the conversation between him and Peter, she asked Friday to alert the remaining Avengers to suit up. She also asked Friday to contact Wong, thinking they were going to need some magic to rescue Bucky.

"Peter, stay there," he said. "We're on our way and you're right, no matter what, we don't leave a team member behind."

⏳ ⌛️

It's strange where your mind takes you when it's the only thing still working. Practically immobilized in the dark, close confines of what Bucky accepted was his tomb, he thought back over his life. The first twenty years went by fast, not surprising considering it was so long ago and he wasn't even sure he had regained all those memories back. He thought of his mother's hands. Not an unusual thing because they were always busy. Housewives in the 1920s and 1930s were always on the go and his mother was no different; washing clothes by hand, ironing everything, including the sheets, cooking, baking, darning, soothing a fevered brow when he was sick, tying his necktie the first time he wore one. He sighed at how much he missed her, wished he had been able to see her just once before .... If he had just been man enough to tell her he loved her before he left for England, the last time he saw her, or Dad, or Rebecca when she was still young. At least he saw his sister again before she died. That meant something.

Then he thought of Cara, a bright moment in his life when he met her, although he didn't think so at the time. He had returned from a mission and forgot about the comms pieces that were still in the front chest pocket of his tactical suit, given to the staff responsible for cleaning them, and repairing any damage done to them. Taking his time in the locker room by having a long, hot shower, then getting dressed at his own pace, he was surprised to see a strange woman waiting for him outside the door.

"Sergeant Barnes?" she asked, looking him in the eye, even though she was a good six inches shorter than him. "I'm Comm Tech Laskey. You were supposed to return your comms pieces on your return."

"I thought I did," he answered.

"No, Sergeant." She checked the small tablet in her hand. "You returned your weapons to the armoury, and your tactical suit to Uniform Maintenance for cleaning and repair but the person taking in communications equipment didn't check them off and there is no sign of them. Until they are returned, you're financially responsible."

"You're kidding, right?" She stared at him. "I guess I left them in my tactical suit. Why don't you go there?"

"Not my responsibility."

"Listen, Laskey, is it? I'm tired and hungry and really need a beer. Can't you just go check for me this one time and see if they're in my uniform? I promise I'll make it up to you and that it will never happen again."

"This one time?" She looked at her tablet again. "You used that excuse four times on my predecessor. She left me notes on not taking you at your word. I don't want to know how you made it up to her, but I'm not her and think that you asking me to do your job is taking advantage of your position. Now, I can either declare them missing and have you invoiced, or you can go right now to find them and bring them to me in Communications. Those are your options, Sergeant. I'll give you 10 minutes."

She turned around and walked away, not looking back even once. He watched her, wondering why the previous tech left. He had made it up to Marin, taking her for drinks at least once. Laskey had to be wrong that he didn't turn in his comms equipment four times. It wasn't that many times, was it? With a sigh, he headed towards Uniform Maintenance, explained his problem, and was given his suit to examine. The earpieces were still in his front chest pocket.

"Good thing you came now, Sarge," said the cleaner. "Was just going to process your suit. It would have wrecked those. Someone told me those are worth 5 grand a pair."

He looked at the two small earpieces in his hand, not believing they cost that much. Returning to the communications department, he entered, looking for Laskey but he didn't see her. Seeing a guy sitting in front of several computer monitors in a secure room he knocked on the window. The guy flipped a switch to speak with him.

"Yes, Sergeant, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to return my comms pieces to Comm Tech Laskey," he said, holding up the two comms pieces.

"She's gone for the evening," said the guy, Martino. "She waited for you then said your 10 minutes was up. Sorry, you'll have to give them to her tomorrow. I'm not authorized to unlock the door so I can't receive them."

A rumble above him interrupted his train of thought and he strained to see what was happening in the darkness. Then a large piece of debris shifted, landing on his right arm. He could hear the snap as the pain of his arm being broken shot up from his forearm, making him scream in agony. Fuck, he was completely trapped now, every part of him broken or pinned in place.

"Bucky?" Peter's voice was in his comms piece. "Was that you?"

"I ordered you to go," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "Why are you still here?"

"We're not leaving you behind," said Yelena. "Help is coming."

"What did you do?"

"We called for help and it's coming," replied Peter. "Now, what's your status?"

"Damn it," muttered Bucky. "I gave you an order."

"Yeah, and I ignored it," answered the younger man. "You can discipline me later. Now, what's your status, Bucky?"

Angrily, he breathed several times then calmed himself. "Both legs broken, my metal arm is pinned behind my back, and I can't move it, and that scream was my right arm being broken by a piece of debris landing on it. I can taste blood coming up into my throat, so I likely have internal bleeding. The building is unstable, Peter. They won't be able to do anything."

"You let them figure that out," said the younger man. "Don't give up yet, Bucky. Please."

He closed his eyes, unnecessary in the dark but it was the only thing he could still do in the circumstances. He felt as helpless as he did when he came to after falling from the train. Everything was broken then, except for his left arm, which was gone. It was true he survived that, and the hypothermia that should have killed him, if he didn't already have the serum flowing through his veins. But something told him that this time the serum wouldn't be enough to keep him alive.

The sad thing was that he was okay with it. He really was. He was older than he had a right to be, had done terrible things that had sent other men to death row for less. His defence of involuntary mind control and torture was accepted for his pardon, but that was little comfort to the families of those he killed. Even though he made his amends a big part of him always felt that he got away with murder. That was the same part of him that was telling him to let go, to accept that this time, he had to pay the piper. Why couldn't Peter just obey orders?

You know why.

Great, now he was hearing a voice in his head, and it wasn't coming from the comms.

"Why?" he whispered, not wanting the others to hear him.

He had to watch Tony Stark die, then his Aunt May. Don't you think if he left you behind to die that it would hurt him as much as those deaths did?

"I don't mean that much to him. I barely talk to him."

You mean more to him than you know, Bucky, and he means more to you than you realize.

He had nothing to say to that because he couldn't see it. Peter was still a kid, living in Queens, trying to get the marks to be accepted into engineering at college, while still patrolling the streets at night and being an Avenger.

You don't see it, do you?

"See what?" asked Bucky, out loud.

"What did you say, Bucky? Are you okay?"

"Sorry, just thinking out loud," he replied to Peter. "Has your help arrived yet?"

"No, but they'll be here in a couple of minutes. They're just getting some things sorted out first."

Bucky closed his eyes again and tried to calm his mind.

You're a survivor, Bucky. Peter looks up to you, because you went through hell, and you survived it. You're a good leader who treats everyone with respect like the sergeant you are. You're fair, firm, and you make sure that everyone knows their job before you take them on a mission. If anyone gets hurt, you're the first one there, the first one to assure them that they'll be okay. He admires you for that. So do the others.

A scoff erupted from Bucky's lips, causing him to cough and he tasted blood again. Personally, he didn't want to believe what that inner voice was telling him. He barely said anything to the younger ones. They were always on their phones, or playing video games; silly pastimes in his mind. Still, Peter helped him set up his smartphone without making him feel stupid or out of touch. It still impressed him that the kid was stronger than him, even though he was a lot shorter and lighter than Bucky.

He often reminds you of Steve, doesn't he? Except without the anger. Orphan, living on his own on a shoestring budget, until you and Sam convinced him to live at the tower. He helps people who have been pushed around, and you admire his mind, because it reminds you of you, when you were younger and still had hopes of college.

Well, maybe there was some truth in all of that but as far as Bucky was concerned, it wasn't enough to warrant Peter disobeying a direct order and bringing in help. He probably called Sam, first. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

"Bucky? How you doing, man?"

Well, shit, speak of the devil.

"Sam. I assume Peter gave you a status report, so I won't repeat myself. I don't think I'm getting out of this one."

"You let us assess the situation before we make that decision. I've got Carol, Thor, Wong, Hope, and Scott here. Bruce, Dr. Cho, and a couple of paramedics are on standby to treat your injuries. We've set up a little trauma centre just to stabilize you before we transport you to the tower."

"The building is really unstable, Sam. Whatever you do can make it worse for me."

"Buck, we know." Sam's voice was more serious. "We've got a couple of structural engineers here to determine the best way to get that debris pile off of you. Hope and Scott are going to fly in and try to get into your space to make a scan of your situation. Then we'll make a plan of action. We're not leaving you behind, you hear?"

Despite his stoic acceptance of his fate, Bucky couldn't help the little sob that erupted from his throat. It took a lot to get his single word answer out.

"Okay."

He didn't know how long it was before he was aware he wasn't alone. A small light approached him in the darkness, revealing Hope carrying Scott. She had a light on one arm with a small scanner on the other, while Scott carried the same sort of scanner. She hovered over Bucky's face and flipped her face shield up, making her face visible to him.

"Hey, Buck," she said. "Scott is going to stand on your chest. If it hurts, you let us know. While he scans this pocket, I'm going to your sides and underneath to scan there. Just relax. Sorry, I know you can't really do that."

He nodded his head slightly, but didn't say anything. As she left, Scott activated the light on his arm.

"I'm not too heavy for you, am I?" he asked as he began to laser scan the space Bucky was trapped in.

"No, it's not too heavy," replied Bucky. "I'm sorry to bring you in here. I don't think much can be done for me."

"Well, it's easy to feel that way when you're the one who's trapped." Scott looked back at him. "Understandably so but it always amazes me that even in the most backward areas, when there's a landslide or an earthquake and people get trapped that they are still able to rescue people with just their bare hands. We have a full team out there and a couple of cranes setting up to lift debris off from above you. It's kind of like a 3D jigsaw puzzle or more likely a house of cards that we're taking apart, without destabilizing it. It's challenging but with the right moves and respect for the task, it can be done. I have faith in us, Bucky. You just have to trust us to do our jobs. Your only job is to hang on."

"I don't know how much longer I can do that." Scott turned so he could see Bucky's face. "I'm bleeding internally. If it's bad enough I don't know if the serum can heal it before I bleed out."

"Do your best."

There was no answer from the former assassin for a while as Scott continued scanning. He kept checking on Bucky's face, making sure he was still conscious. Turning towards Bucky's face after a few moments, Scott noticed that he had relaxed completely, and his eyes were closed. Putting the scanner down he moved closer and tapped Bucky's cheek.

"Hey, Buck, you still with me?"

A small groan followed by his eyes trying to open was his answer. He was slipping away.

"Sam! He's losing consciousness. What do I do?"

He could hear Bruce and Helen discussing what could be done to bring him back. They all involved Hope flying back, getting a stimulant in an injector, then bringing it back and jamming it into Bucky's neck but it might not be in time and the effect wouldn't be enough if they didn't enlarge the injector. Then Scott thought that perhaps a pain stimulus would work.

"Hope! Get up here, I need you," called Scott. She appeared from the side moments later. "Sting him. He's losing consciousness and I figured a pain stimulus would bring him back. I don't have anything on me, but you do with your stingers. It won't hurt him, but he should feel it."

"Do it," said Bruce, who had been listening in. "It's the only thing we've got to offer and it's better than nothing."

Aiming at Bucky's cheek, Hope fired on him. The response was minimal, so she did it again and this time Bucky opened his eyes.

"That hurt," he mumbled. "What did you do?"

"Sorry, Buck," she answered. "You were passing out and we need to keep you conscious. I stung you."

"Cut it out." Then he grinned lightly. "It's okay. You did what you had to."

She returned to scanning underneath while Scott continued his scan. He looked at Bucky frequently, not wanting to miss the signs of him passing out again. Then he cleared his throat.

"Buck?" He could feel the super soldier's eyes on him. "I've heard you wanted to get into engineering when you were young. You know I'm an electrical engineer by training. What field were you interested in?"

"Mechanical," answered Bucky. "I was always interested in how things work and worked a lot on engines. But the Depression pretty much wiped out any chance of going to college. I quit school to work on the docks. It didn't require a lot of thought, but it paid the bills."

"What about Steve? What was he into?"

"Art. He could draw anything. He spent a year in art school then ran out of money to continue." Bucky was silent for a moment. "So, you left engineering to become Ant Man?"

"Not exactly," replied Scott. "I worked for a corporation that was robbing its customers and kind of stole from them to give back to the people they were stealing from. One thing led to another, I got caught and I spent a few years in prison. Couldn't get a job when I got out, then I got involved with Hank Pym, became Ant Man and here I am."

"You did prison time." The disbelief was strong in Bucky's voice as he always thought Lang was a bit of a softy.

"Yeah, I managed. I kept my head down, didn't rat anyone out, tried to stay pleasant. It seemed to work. It's where I met Luis ... you've met Luis, haven't you?"

"The guy that can't shut up? Yeah, he's hilarious."

"Hey, he's been a good friend and has had my back whenever I've needed him. That's worth a lot in this world."

Bucky felt bad about being dismissive. By everything he had heard about Luis, he had been a good friend to Scott, helping him bring in some dangerous people.

"I guess he's kind of your Steve in that you watch out for each other." He watched as Scott continued scanning. "It's good to have someone like that in your life."

"Like Sam. I know on the surface that you two are always bugging each other, but he'd drop everything to help you and so would you." Bucky grunted. "Don't deny it. It's why you're partners."

"Co-workers."

Scott laughed. "Okay, have it your way." He finished his scan and came close so that Bucky could see him. "Right now, that co-worker is looking over the results of my scan and figuring out with the others where to start saving your life. Hope, are you done?"

"Yes, I've already transmitted the data." She was quiet for a moment. "You know, Scott, I think with a little nudge we can help Bucky free his left arm. I just need to size up slightly and raise him enough so that he can pull it free. Bucky, do you want to give it a try?"

They cleared it with Sam, who, along with the others, was looking at the scans. There was concern that they could destabilize the debris pile, but Bruce was also concerned that Bucky had already lost consciousness briefly. Scott pointed out that with both of them there, they could enlarge themselves quickly enough to push the debris aside and open up access to Bucky. It wouldn't be pretty, but it could get him out sooner.

"Remember, I did it at the compound after Thanos blew us up and we were buried underground," he said. "We won't let him get hurt any further."

"Alright," said Sam. "Do it, but be prepared for both of you to go giant sized."

Hope returned to an open spot below Bucky, while Scott remained on his chest, although he changed his footing somewhat so that if he went large, he wouldn't step on the super soldier. She counted down from three, then Bucky could feel his body lift slightly, and then a slight tug on his left arm. It moved a little, then he felt more pressure on his back as Hope pushed him further up. Suddenly, his arm was free and by his side. He flexed his hand, then the pressure beneath him eased as Hope shrank down.

"It's free," he said. "Thanks."

Then everything went black and silent.

"Guys, what's going on?" asked Bucky. "Where are you?"

"It's okay, Bucky," said a familiar female voice.

A red glow appeared near him, and he saw Wanda, sitting cross-legged in the dark with him.

"Wanda? What are you doing here? It's dangerous."

"You're not trapped, Bucky," she answered, in her soft melodious voice. "At least, the inner you isn't. Your body is and right now, Scott and Hope are trying to revive you while the others are ready to have them go giant size just to get you out of there. I just wanted a chance to talk to you face to face before they wake you up. I've been with you since you first were trapped."

"That was your voice in my head, wasn't it?" he asked. "You know how I feel about that."

"I know, and I'm sorry for invading your privacy but I hated that you seemed to have given up. The younger Avengers were so upset when you told them to leave you behind. I felt their distress. Shame on you for not thinking that you're worth it."

"You know what I was and what I did."

"I know because I did things that were just as bad or worse; things that I'm truly sorry for." She was right beside him now, red tendrils of light snaking off her body and dissipating into the dark. "You've done a lot of good since HYDRA and have more than paid back your dues. You're respected, people care about you, and someone loves you very much."

"Cara will move on," he replied. "She deserves better."

"Hmmm," she voiced. Then she brought up an image of Cara in the air. "She doesn't think so. In her eyes, you're someone who makes her feel like she's the most beautiful woman in the world. Let's continue with the memory of when you first met her. I was enjoying that until the building fell on your right arm."

The morning after he tried to return the comms pieces, Bucky got up early and waited outside the office, until the first staff member came in, Cara Laskey herself.

"I have the comms pieces," said Bucky. "I tried to return them last night, but you had already gone."

She unlocked the door without comment, then went to the counter and pulled out a form. Putting her hand out to Bucky, she examined the two earpieces, then wrote a note on the form before turning it towards him and handing him a pen.

"Sign here. You're accepting any penalties that might have accrued for the late return of classified equipment. I'll submit this to the supervisor, and you'll be hearing what the penalty is."

He looked at her, dumbfounded. "You're kidding, right? I just handed them to you. It wasn't my fault that it took me longer than 10 minutes to get to Uniform Maintenance, explain why I needed my suit and then go through the pockets before returning here to find you already gone. This is bullshit."

"Sergeant Barnes, may I remind you that there is a code of conduct in place governing interactions between frontline and support staff. I don't have to take this kind of verbal abuse from you."

He ran his hand over his face, breathing heavily, then he looked down at her, noticing for the first time, she had flecks of gold in her hazel irises.

"You're right, I apologize," he said. "I would just like to ask respectfully, that you verify that I was here to return the items last night, then was here first thing in the morning to return them. Considering that I made every effort to get here on time, I just object to a penalty being assessed arbitrarily. Surely, there must be some leeway, in the spirit of inter-departmental cooperation."

A small smile graced Laskey's face, then she looked down at the form, picked it up and put it through the paper shredder.

"Since you put it that way and asked so nicely, I'll make an exception this time," she said. "Just don't forget them again."

"That was smooth," said Wanda. "So how did you get from inter-departmental cooperation to wanting to ask her to marry you?"

"I wish I knew," said Bucky. "It just seemed that I saw her more around the compound. It was formal between us at first; she called me Sergeant Barnes and I called her Comm Tech Laskey. Then I stepped outside one night and she was changing her tire. It went flat during the day, and she was having a hard time getting it done in the dark as the light above where she parked had burnt out. I offered to help if she lit up the scene with her phone flashlight. We talked and found we liked some things in common. I told her to call me Bucky and she said to call her Cara." He smiled. "We began having coffee together, worked out together, and then I'd wait for her to finish work to see if she wanted to join us for drinks."

His voice trailed off as he thought about them meeting as a group for drinks. She wasn't the only support staff that came out, but she was the one he always tried to sit beside. Then one Friday night, the place they went to had dancing and one of the weapons techs asked her to dance. As he watched her dance with the guy, he couldn't stop feeling angry. Why was she dancing with him? He wasn't good enough for her. The guy bragged about his body count all the time in the locker room.

"Sam saw it, didn't he?" Wanda asked him gently. "He told you to stop wasting time and ask her to dance yourself. So, you did. What was the song again?"

"Holding Back the Years," replied Bucky. "Not a romantic song at all but that voice and the feeling behind it just got to me. I held back from opening myself up to others for so long, afraid of hurting them but with her, it was suddenly clear that I wanted her in my life. I kissed her, right on the dance floor and she kissed me back. That was eight months ago."

"So why were you so ready to leave her behind?"

He didn't answer for the longest time. "I was angry at myself for not telling her how much I love her. I've had the ring for a month working up the courage to ask her to marry me. She keeps me honest. Doesn't take my bullshit. She makes me laugh and when we're together, making love, it's like the first time every time. I learn something new about her every day. I guess, I figured if I gave her up then it wouldn't hurt so much if I didn't make it. It doesn't make sense, I know. I don't want to die, and I don't want to lose her."

"So, you do think you're good enough for her?"

"I'll spend every day of our lives together being worthy of her." He looked at the young woman who had her own HYDRA story. "Can you send me back?"

"Of course," she smiled. "I just wanted to make sure that you don't want to let go of life, that you really wanted to go back, and not just to Cara but all of them. They're all fond of you, Bucky, and even love you. It's because you're worth loving. It's why Steve risked so much to find you and make sure you were free."

"But he left."

"Yeah." Her face softened. "Sometimes, the people who love us have to make a hard decision. He chose to leave you for reasons only he really knows. You're choosing to stay because you love these people, and they love you. That's a good thing, Bucky. Love is always a good thing."

🩺

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the tears flooding them. When he opened them, he was inside a tent, with Bruce and Helen hovering over him, while a paramedic was holding paddles in the air, and another had a mask over his mouth squeezing air into his lungs.

"Normal sinus rhythm," said someone. "He's conscious."

Bruce came closer. "Bucky?"

He nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Over a minute. Scott and Hope went giant and cleared the debris pile, while Wong levitated you out of there and directly into the tent. Your heart stopped and we had to shock you three times. You gave us quite the scare." He nodded to someone out of Bucky's view. "We're going to transport you directly to the compound via a portal. You need surgery to repair a bleeding artery. Plus, we have to set the breaks in your legs and right arm."

They transferred him to a gurney, strapping him on, and putting his IV bag on a stand. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth, then the two paramedics began wheeling him towards the portal, while Bruce and Helen followed. The other Avengers were lined up before the portal. He heard murmurs of good luck from them, plus received numerous smiles. Putting his hand up when it got to Peter, he grasped the younger man's hand.

"Thanks," he said softly. "You're still in trouble but we'll talk later about it."

Peter smiled. "Sure, Bucky."

With another wave to Scott and Hope, Bucky nodded, and the gurney went through the portal, coming out to the medical centre surgical suite. They cut his gear off and he had the thought that the uniform tech wouldn't be happy with him. It made him smile. Then he thought of another thing.

"Make sure Cara gets my comms earpieces," he said out loud. "Don't want to get in trouble with the woman I love."

There were chuckles at that, and he relaxed. As soon as he woke up from this surgery, he was going to tell Cara he loved her and wanted to marry her. It was then he remembered something Wanda said. How did she know he wanted to ask Cara to marry him? No one knew, not even Sam.  It really didn't matter because Wanda was right. Love was a good thing. It was everything.

One Shots Masterlist

Please support the author by reblogging.

[dialalagirl]

SO CONTEXT ABOUT THE " Lobotomize Laito "

Laito's whole Lost Eden route is him not being able to cope with him gaining KarlHeinz powers and in Laito fashion, he chooses to pretend that he doesn't have them. But he has to step up and use them so he tries to get rid of everything by killing all his brothers, but then Ayato jumps in like

" HEY WE ALL CARE ABOUT YOU! " and Laito's like " wait really? Shit now I feel bad, im just gonna "

* fires out his powers in a mental. breakdown*

And then he struggles the rest route of trying to accept his family and to fully trust Yui because he loves her. BUT LONG STORY SHORT he eventually decides it's simply impossible for him to change unless he is " reborn "

TW this plot is so stupid

So Kino attacks the Sakamakis so he can take Laitos powers and Laito basically waits at the World tree in Eden so Kino can kill him because he wants to die Yada Yada Yada. Kino takes Yui with him and Laito asks her to kill him, so she does. But instead of Kino inheriting the powers, they are absorbed by the world tree and Kino Dies.

So Laito is basically reborn by the world tree, with his powers but without his trauma? Or with the ability to fully love now. I'm not actually sure if he looses his memories or if he still has them but either way the result is Laito 2.0 who BTW acts LITERALLY THE SAME WAY but he's " Better " ?? I guess? They just fixed him.

It is so DUMB like the solution was " uhhh just make him die and come back fully healed and for the better but with the EXACT same personality "

Lost Eden has some of the most WACK endings, don't get me started on Ayatos where they pull this same thing of " Oh let's just fix this easy by rewinding time so nothing changed but Ayato is all healed now "

they also pull this " reborn " with Shuu in Yumas Lost Eden. Like FULLY reborn, from fetus. He gets absorbed by the tree and so the tree is basically having him in a egg as a fetus connected to the tree until he's born and grows up again essentially. And so Yuma and Yui are just standing by the tree like " Oh I can't wait till it's born, I hope the child is happy and healthy " LIKE YO THATS SHUU 😭😭

Absolutely fever dream I can't believe I throughly read through these routes.

i have no words. what in the unbridled unholy wattpad-authored atrocity are these endings?????? like wtf, seriously. look rejet, if you were struggling for inspiration, all you had to do was ask me. trust me, I would have done it for free. no need to resort to magic shrooms for inspiration.

yezus in the form of kanye, i fear my soul can no longer be cleansed from what knowledge I have come to bear 

not the tree basically being a fucked-up form of disney magic. yikes on bikes. someone please explain how yui is supposed to get with shu now

or maybe don't. i don't want to know 🫠 i can't afford anymore therapy 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Ace Trappola - Beach Wear Voice Lines

Due to event restrictions, Groovy related lines are locked until the event has been cleared. I will update once these are unlocked. Login line has been captured.

Summon Line: There's white sandy beaches, and clear blue ocean! ...Wait, where are we? I'm sure we were just on campus, why are we suddenly stranded here?

Groooovy!!: We're kinda in a pinch, but… Meh, let's just try to think of this as an early summer holiday!

Home: Do these sunglasses look good on me?

Home Idle 1: Looks like I just got thrown into this outfit, but hey... It kinda gives off that vacation vibe. Feels like somethin' the Headmage'd like to wear～

Home Idle 2: Yo, the nectar at the base of these flower is crazy good! Just take my word for it and try some!

Home Idle 3: Didja see? Jack totally burned the bottoms of his feet walking on the beach barefoot. He acted like nothing was wrong when he was hanging with us, though.

Home Idle - Login: Stitch is pretty handy with tools, huh. He's pretty deft, so I bet if I teach him a thing or two, he might even be able to pull off some magic tricks.

Home Idle - Groovy: That Gantu guy looks just like a shark at first glance, but looks like he definitely understands us. What if we actually sit down and explain things to him?

Home Tap 1: I found something we can use. Well, you see... It's a huge iron plate! Think we could use this to do some barbequing?

Home Tap 2: I've always wanted to vacay on a beach someday. Eh, why do I still want to? Well duh, I wouldn't have to for food like this on a real vacation!

Home Tap 3: If you're looking for Azul-senpai, he's over there cheerfully making a list of all the debris that's fallen to the ground. ...Don't tell me he's gonna try to smuggle all that back with us, is he?

Home Tap 4: You know that strange, blue jellyfish that Floyd-senpai excitedly picked up? ...Is that one okay to touch, you think? It won't try to sting, right?

Home Tap 5: It's so hooot～ ...I'm sweatin' so hard, even though this fit's pretty light. Hey, wanna go swimming in the ocean while we're here?

Home Tap - Groovy: Ooh, that shell's got a weird design. You bringing that home? Guess I should find some kind of souvenir to show I was on this deserted island～

Requested by Anonymous.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Kindred: The Embraced, Episode 7 (I think?; some stations played them out of order.)

This is the penultimate episode of this stupid show (in most markets). And to its credit, it's one of the better ones? It's still bad, but it doesn't shit all over the lore of the game it's adapting AS MUCH as most of these, so, we take what we can get. And it doesn't feel like it was written by an illiterate child, a rarity on this show.

That said, OMG, the mid-90s sexism, here. It's only more hilarious to me than offensive because I'm not a woman. But even I was getting pretty mad by the end.

Watch the episode before you read the rest of this. I'm not explaining the context of any of this, and I WILL BE DOING SPOILERS, because this show is free, and I am already acutely aware of how much of my own time I'm wasting talking about this terrible stupid show.

Goth did nothing wrong. He's a Nosferatu who hates the fact that his vampire clan has to hide in basements and sewers, doing gopher work for the Ventrue, when they could use Blood Magic to rule the clans, and also the world. I realize the show thinks this makes him the bad guy. But in a world where vampires are real and can use magic to become powerful monster-people...why not do that? It's goofy to expect they wouldn't. I realize the Masquerade fundamentally underpins the entire World of Darkness universe, and the reason for that is that exposing gothic monsters to a humankind that has guns and bombs will lead to endless war. But also, vampires are cool immortal zombie monsters who don't seem to suffer from being that too much, and I'm a sad emo fat man, so I'm kinda down for them taking over. Especially in the shitty universe of this bad show. Goth's argument that convinces most of the Nosferatu to join him is that Luna sucks ass as Prince of San Francisco. And he DOES - we've had entire episodes specifically about that. Like, even in this hack off-lore WoD universe, Julian Luna is a shitty Prince and everyone hates him and is constantly trying to kill / overthrow him. Daedalus loves the guy, for zero rational reason, so his counter-arguement to what Goth says is literally "everyone is right to hate our clan for being ugly and doing actual vampire stuff, just shut up and agree and join me in helping the Pretty People treat us like dogshit." Understandably, it goes over like a lead balloon, even with him being Primogen. I mean, yeah. Goth is absolutely right. Why are you submitting to this, when you don't have to? And it's not like powerful Nosferatu couldn't still maintain the Masquerade, even if they were in charge and letting vampires have fun. You can totally still do that. You can also say "fuck it" and take over the world, if you're using magic to become super powerful, which is the plan. So either way, Vote Goth 2025.

Goth's plan revolves around him kidnapping a baby, in broad daylight, to use for his vampire Blood Magic ritual. The mother of this baby is supposed to be a 17 yo single mother. And before you ask, yes, the show is NOT okay with her being that. Like, to a fucking inappropriate degree. Also she is played by an actress who was 23 at the time, and absolutely looks like it:

Does it matter how this 17 yo got pregnant? Does it matter why the father isn't with her? Does it matter that she chose not to get an abortion? No. No, it absolutely does not. But this show from 1996 SUPER thinks it does, and makes Caitlin interrogate her about all the details of this. And then inappropriately share her own related sexual trauma with this woman who just got her baby kidnapped by a monster-man, while Frank the Cop is also angrily accusing her of killing her baby and making up a story about monsters. Nice work, everyone.

Oh, Frank very quickly decides he believes her, when he remembers he's supposed to know what vampires are. He has to be reminded every episode. Because this show sucks.

They decided with this episode of their shitty vampire show to get into how young women having babies out of wedlock is a thing. They really should not have. This is already a show that only has three regular women characters, and all of them spend every second of screen time being sad about how they don't get enough dick. It is revealed, kind of out of nowhere, that the reason Caitlin hasn't had sex with Julian yet is because she got pregnant herself at 17 and gave the baby up, and so is now afraid of doing sex. Which, fine, is a thing someone can be and do. But not here. Not like this. This show uses her celibacy as a fetish, because she's hot and blonde and it's the 90s, so getting this woman naked when she doesn't want to be is all every bit of character development about her is aiming at. And they can't hold it in anymore with this episode, because they have her finally give in to Julian. SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE she just had an adventure involving a baby, and I guess that automatically makes women so sad and horny they have to ignore their trauma and do sex with men? Like I said, this show is awful. It really, really is.

It gets worse. Goth's assistant is a lady Nosferatu named Camilla. She's totally down with murdering that baby to do a Blood Ritual, until Caitlin confronts her about it. Then Camilla says that being a Nosferatu sucks because vampires can't make babies, and that before she was a vampire she had 8 kids and misses being a "fertile" mother, because Jesus Fucking Christ, men who wrote this show. At which point she suddenly decides she CAN'T kill this baby, Caitlin can rescue it, whatever, the Nosferatu can get powerful another way. ...Even though they can't, that's WHY YOU WERE DOING THE BABY THING IN THE FIRST PLACE, STUPID.

The new plan is to do the Blood Magic ritual with Julian instead of the baby. Which won't work, and Goth freaks out about it and attacks him. And Julian kills him with an axe, because Daedalus let Julian drink some of his blood, which gives Julian temporary Nosferatu Katate Fighting action? Look. It doesn't matter. The show doesn't care, and neither should you. The episode ends with Julian fucking Caitlin because she's horny about babies. We've got bigger problems here than the bad WoD lore.

Sasha and Cash are in this for 5 minutes, and suck, as usual. Cash is tasked by Julian to rescue the baby, fails as usual, but tells Julian that Goth has errected a big ritual stone circle to sacrifice the baby, out in the open in a public park. Julian tells him he did a good job. He isn't being sarcastic, and I have no idea how. Cash then confronts Sasha in The Haven, where she's hanging out with Brujah. He tells her that unless she agrees to date him again, he will be forced, as a Gangrel, to hate her racially for being a Brujah. Which is shit enough, but let's remember here that she only got turned into a Brujah vampire in the first place after Cash failed to protect her from getting abducted and SA'd by them, VERY SPECIFICALLY because they were out to humiliate Cash by SA'ing and turning his human girlfriend. So goddamn class-act all around, Cash, you godforsaken pants' load. But that scene in The Haven ends with Cash telling Sasha Goth will probably kill him, so she admits that she still loves him. Which...the fuck? And also, no, Goth isn't going to kill Cash, because Cash doesn't do shit, fails at everything, and Julian uses Caitlin to crash the ritual and kill Goth himself. Oh my god.

Lillie hates Caitlin because Julian is in love with Caitlin and not Lillie. So Lillie befriends Caitlin, drugs her with "you have to follow my orders now" serum (a thing they suddenly have), and tells her exactly where to find Camilla and the baby, in the hope that Camilla and Goth will murder this human woman. And it fails, as Lillie's plans always do. But this means Lillie knew where Goth and Camilla were, with the baby, this whole time, while Julian and Cash are desperate to locate and stop them. Goth got exiled by Julian for being a jackass, and Camilla is well-known to hate Julian and be on Goth's side. So, ONCE AGAIN, Lillie, who supposedly loves Julian so much she will kill to keep him, is in a constant state of siding with people who are actively trying to kill or overthrow him. Because the Nosferatu totally would have become Super Vampires who hate Julian if they had done the baby ritual, and they only didn't pull it off because Lillie sent Caitlin to Camilla, based on her plan that failed. And I think Julian knew she was going to do this the whole time...? Somehow? Maybe? And let it happen? Without knowing how it would go...?

Oh, and Camilla explains vampires to Caitlin, who doesn't even seem shocked, even though she isn't supposed to know what vampires are, even though she keeps making out with one. So I have no idea what is happening here. Or why it matters. Sure, yet another Masquerade violation. But if the Nosferatu are kidnapping babies from parks in broad daylight, and also setting up ritual stone circles in those same parks that are visible to everyone in broad daylight, I guess none of this matters. Ever.

Daedalus waxes philosophic about how the NEW Nosferatu are classy and well-behaved and pro-Masquerade, that they've given up being aggressive and doing Blood Magic rituals. And his implication is that this is because they were superstitious and uncivilized monster-people before the other clans got them to settle down and play nice. ...Except the Blood Ritual Goth wants to do will 100% work - that's why they're all afraid of it. And the Nosferatu totally do have cool badass vampire fighting powers that are better than anyone else's, which is why Daedalus lets Julian drink his blood to gain them temporarily. So...why did the Nosferatu ever submit in the first place? They legitimately are more powerful than the other clans. Their magic is real. Why would they have ever given that up? Why did Daedalus? They weren't confused monsters - they were cool, powerful vampires, who could easily kill everyone and hold power forever! It makes no sense that they would ever give that up. All this show had to do was suggest that MAYBE the baby Blood Ritual wouldn't work as advertised. That would clear this up. But they wanted the stakes to be high, so they didn't do that. And made Daedalus and the Nosferatu look like idiots.

And they are. Everyone is. Anyone and everyone connected to any part of this show in any way is a big stupid dumb idiot. This show sucks.

[ggadtomarry]

Idea brought by me for me with target audience me.

Alias, GGAD & Tomarry in the afterlife

So Harry dies. He expects to take the train and find all his loved ones... But death, destiny, something has other programs.

Harry finds himself in his 17 yo body, in an island with a little house. An auburn-haired boy greets him, and yes, he recognizes the young Albus Dumbledore, even after decades. Another boy approaches, commenting that He will not be happy about this. 17-yo Gellert Grindelwald, of course.

Gellert kisses Albus and leaves them the living room. Albus explains that after he fulfilled his mission, offering him a choice between taking the train or returning to fight Tom, he expected to be offered to take the train as well.

But no, he found himself in this island, with Gellert awaiting for him. At first, he thought he was a test. Then a tentation. Then hell. But then... He didn't care anymore. He was dead, he fought his battles, he decided to take his punishment, his reward, his anything.

Not ever in his wildest dreams Albus dared to hope to be reunited with Gellert. Gellert, who fought so bravely and tried to protect his grave. Gellert, who honored his love until the very last moment.

But then, just like he started to think that this was the heaven he deserved, his family safe and away because he was unfit to reach them, Tom arrived.

In his young body, as well.

He was less than pleasing, as Harry can imagine, but in this island they can't use offensive magic. A fact that Tom didn't like much. He must have been desperate, because he tried to strangle Albus, like a muggle. And then Gellert discovered that protective magic works very well.

Since then, Tom has decided to largely stay clear from the house, preferring to live in the forest. Sometimes they hear or see him make desperate tentatives to escape. Everything is useless, of course, Albus already tried anything.

It's sincerely amusing to see Tom laboring everyday for an impossible task. A bit like Sisyphus. Maybe this is the hell that Tom deserves?

Harry asks him how many years they have been there, and Albus can't answer, because time flows in a different way there. As if it's eternal instead of linear.

Albus gently takes Harry's hand and tells him he's sorry that Harry is imprisoned there as well. Harry deserves his real heaven. Albus promises he will try anything to free Harry, but he fears it may be impossible.

Harry observes that neither him nor Gellert were terribly surprised to see him, and Albus explains he has a theory. They are in the island because they are the only people to have intimated known the Death's Hallows, at least in recent centuries.

It may be that Death rewards or punishes who dared to touch his Hallows in this way. Maybe forever.

It's dinner time.

Gellert and Albus cook, while Harry reflects on everything, still stunned. Then, while they're having dinner, the door slams open.

Black wavy hair, red eyed (the iris is human like, at least), handsome like a model.

"Tom, we didn't expect you. Would you like to join us? Gellert's goulash is excellent like always"

Voldemort stares at Harry incredulous, then he approaches. Harry stands up, but Gellert is quicker.

"you know you can't touch the boy. And in any case, we already used various and creative protective spells on him. Please don't embarrass yourself and leave"

"Tom, we all know that listening to reason was never your strong suit, but please, this is unbecoming "

But Tom tries an avada kedavra, and he gets propelled against the wall for his trouble.

Gellert sits down.

"you think he'd have learned, by now"

"Tom is still convinced he can bend this island to his whims. I guess he really had to try"

"how much will he be out?"

"last time he regained conscience after 5 days. What do you think Harry? What should we do with Tom?"

"you're asking me?"

"Tom attacked you, it's only right you gets to decide what to do with him."

"... Out. I want him out of there."

"nothing more creative?"

"Gellert, last time you got to decide and you had your fun. And if you remember, I congratulated you. Tom managed to escape the basement only in the fifth day. Well done with your captivating spells, my dear. Now it's Harry's turn"

Albus waves the wand and Tom disappears.

"Back in the forest, just like he likes it. Lemon cake, Harry?"

Highlights:

- Albus doesn't have the responsibility of protecting the world from dark lords neither the burden of managing a school. He isn't burdened by family secrets. He can do what he wants. And he wants to dress prettily, love his husband and be friendly with Harry. In short, he's a menace of a twink with 0 fucks to give. He can be as weird as he likes, his husband loves his quirkiness.

- Gellert is honestly in heaven. His husband returned to him and they live on a pretty island. Win/win.

- Harry would like to escape. After trying everything, he decides to approach Tom to see what he got.

- Tom is in hell. This island is just a glorified prison and Lord Voldemort wouldn't stand for it. He may take centuries, but he will defeat this infernal place.

- Tom is so desperate that he magnanimously decides to accept Harry's assistance in getting out.

- will they do it?

- in the end they discover that Death gifts this island to whoever touched its Hallows. They can live here with their soulmates, forever. Because Death knows that real happy endings don't exist, everyone is broken in a way or another. This island is a space to heal. They can live forever with their soulmate. Or... There is a way to reject this gift? And what will await whoever who manages to escape?

- Albus thinks that Tom's neurosis are hilarious, now that Tom is innocuous and can't hurt anything.

- Harry will discover a way to escape, but only if Tom (his soulmate, with whom he started a relationship) comes with him. They will return in the real world. Tom seems changed, but can Harry risk it? It's not better to stay in this dimension where Tom is harmless and he can love him without fear?

[starwarsmum]

Chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Tim

“Perhaps if you had earned my respect, Monsieur, I would give you it,” Ladybug said through gritted teeth. She was glaring up at Batman, eyes flashing and feet firmly planted. “You do not need to know my identity other than to satisfy your curiosity. I am no danger to you, I want nothing to do with you! Mon dieu, you are a- a control freak and the second you do not get your way, you throw a tantrum, like a child without his favourite toy!”

“You don't get to decide your own threat level,” Batman growled back at her. “You are a magic user that has no real authority to be held accountable to. You haven't even explained how your artifacts work, which you would have if you were genuinely working with us.”

“Where is Wonder Woman?” Ladybug demanded, swiveling around to glare at anyone else in the room. “I will not be treated like a child when I have more potential in my pinky toe than you have in your entire body! Merde, you are such a-” Ladybug let out a string of French curses that made Red Robin blush and Kon’s eyes to widen. “-and if you think that I am going to-”

“What is going on here?” Wonder Woman's voice cut through the air and Ladybug's mouth snapped shut. “Madame Ladybug, what is going on? Green Lantern sent for me and said that there was an issue-”

“The issue is that she refuses to be a team player, Wonder Woman,” Bruce interjected, glaring back at Ladybug. Red Robin winced but didn't say anything. He hated when Batman got stuck on one idea, it made it impossible to dissuade him. “She hides behind some sort of magic and does not share critical information with her superiors.”

“Superiors?!” Ladybug shrieked, her hands balling into fists. “Fils de putain, you are not my superior, nobody here is my superior because nobody here can force me to do anything! I came here as a favour to someone close to me but I will not be treated like this. Kindly take your questions and stick them-”

“Okay, I think it would be best if we took a breather. Batman, a word?” Wonder Woman gripped his arm and strode out of the room with him, already speaking in low tones. Red Robin looked back at Ladybug to see her counting her breaths and looking murderous.

“Um, are- are you okay?” He asked, feeling jittery. He hadn't slept well in a few days and had consumed enough coffee that he wasn't sure if his heart was still beating or if the thrumming was the sound of his brain shutting down. “Uh, I mean, obviously you're pretty pissed, and I don't blame you, but is there anything I can do to help?”

“Non, I am sorry for losing my temper. I am not fond of the Batman, I am aware that he does not treat other heroes with respect and that impacts how I treat him. I am also anticipating some trouble in my personal life shortly and it is making me…more sensitive than I would normally be. So the fact that he would ignore my privacy and- and root around for my personal information, j’en ai marre.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Red Robin said ruefully. “He doesn't get along with most people, and when he doesn't have all the information he tends to get…over zealous. I'm sorry that you got the short end of the stick this time though.”

“C’est rien, I do not blame you for your mentor’s issues. It is very kind of you to comfort me after I said some very unkind things about-”

“Yo, LB, heard you ripped the old man a new one,” Red Hood jumped into the conversation, throwing an arm around Red Robin’s shoulders. Ladybug grimaced at him which made him laugh. “Nice one, he needs to be reminded that he doesn't run the world, every now and again.”

“Yes, well, I think I could have handled it with a little more grace,” she replied, batting his hand away as he tried to tweak her nose. “Mon amour will be disappointed in me, he always wishes me to be stealthier in my anger.”

“Yeah, of course he would,” Red Hood snorted. Red Robin raised an eyebrow at this - had Hood met Ladybug’s partner? That would be news, he didn't think anyone knew much about Ladybug, even Wonder Woman. “Anyway, you still taking your lucky Penny stateside soon? I've got a couple of places I wanna show you all.”

“Oui, I have made the commitment to visit your side of the ocean,” she answered, eyes flickering to Red Robin again. She smiled at him politely, before beginning to walk away, Red Hood still hanging off of her. The sound of their footsteps faded as Red Robin settled himself back into his chair by the computer. He was back into the thick of his work when Batman showed back up, growling and muttering under his breath.

“Did you get any information out of her after I left?” Red Robin bristled at the commanding tone but fought his temper back. Batman growled again when Red Robin shook his head and stomped to his own office, continuing to mutter darkly. He came back a few minutes later with a stack of paper and his tablet. “There has to be something here that will help us find her identity, she's not experienced enough to keep it secret for much longer.”

“Well, I mean, do we really need to know?” Red Robin knew the words were a mistake as soon as they were out but, in his defense, he was exhausted and planned to pass out as soon as he went home. He was supposed to be meeting with MDC the following day and he wanted to be awake enough to actually make a good impression. He bristled at Batman's next growl. “Look, there's some sort of magic at play here, she's apparently kept her identity secret since she was 14 and she's 22 or 23 now.”

“If she's wielding magic, it's all the more important that we get her identity! She's a risk to the entire League, regardless of what Wonder Woman believes. And I know she has made friends with Red Hood and Nightwing - probably by hoodwinking them - and we have to protect our family from her powers!"

At that, Batman stormed off again, leaving the paperwork for Red Robin to sift through and organise. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose through his cowl. Just once, he would like to have the freedom to tell Batman not to lump all the work on him - to have the freedom to join Hood and Nightwing in boycotting the man who had chased away his youngest brother - but he couldn't, because they ran a company together. He rolled his shoulders and got to work, planning to be out of the Watchtower with enough time to get at least 4 hours of solid sleep before his consultation.

As Tim walked up to the building, he spotted Jason's motorbike tucked into a side alley. He frowned but moved forward, still too tired to care much. He had only managed 2.5 hours of sleep in the end and it was dragging him down. His eyes felt heavy and slightly sandy. He swung the door open and nodded at the receptionist for the building.

_ _ _

As Tim walked up to the building, he spotted Jason's motorbike tucked into a side alley. He frowned but moved forward, still too tired to care much. He had only managed 2.5 hours of sleep in the end and it was dragging him down. His eyes felt heavy and slightly sandy. He swung the door open and nodded at the receptionist for the building.

“Ah, bonjour Monsieur Drake,” came a tinkling French woman's voice. He felt the anticipation and excitement start to mount, adrenaline making him more alert. “Thank you for meeting me here, I am sorry that I could not come to your home, but I am planning to do several consultations today and it is simpler if I remain in one place. Please, step up here so I may take your measurements myself.”

Tim did as she requested, listening to her chatter in a mix of English and French about her process and plans for the day. She noted down his measurements and asked for his input on what he wanted from this session, and potentially any future ones if she was available to do any more in-person. 

“Well, I mean, I would like to commission a formal suit, and maybe some casual wear? I'm a huge Jagged Stone fan but I don't think I could pull off his style,” he grinned as MDC snorted and agreed that very few people could. “And, I mean, I have family members that would love to meet you too. A couple of older brothers, a sister and some family friends…”

“Ah, yes, that would be Jason, Dick, Cassandra, Stephanie, Barbara and Duke, non?” When he nodded, dumbfounded, she continued, “Well, I have already spoken with Jason and Dick about their own commissions, but Cass, Barbara and Duke are to join us in une heure, give or take.”

“I- what?” He blinked down at her, confused. She was poring over some sketches she had made, making occasional notes and adjustments. He was baffled, he wasn't aware that she had already arranged to meet with his family. As far as he knew, he was the only one with a steady contract with the woman. “How did you get in touch with them all? And you've already spoken with Dick and Jason?”

“Well, that is a story best told with them present, I believe,” she said, standing up and gesturing for him to step down. He obliged, allowing her to usher him to a different door to the one he had entered through. “Jason, Dick, are you ready for us yet?”

“Sure thing, Mari,” came Dick's voice, followed by a gurgle and childlike shriek.

“Mon dieu, you had better be trying to get Penélope to calm down for a nap,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. She turned back to Tim and grimaced. “She has been struggling with the time zone change, and mon mari, he has been, comment dire, jet lagged. So, ses oncles, they have been minding her whilst I do your consultation.”

She ushered him into the next room, giving Jason a look as he guiltily stood up from where he was crouching at the end of the chaise longue, assumedly playing peek-a-boo with a very sweet looking girl who was sitting in Dick’s lap. Marinette rolled her eyes and reached to take the girl up into her own arms. 

“Desolée, Monsieur Drake, I must see if my husband is awake, are you alright to wait here before we discuss anything further?” When he nodded, she swept out of the room through a door on the other side. Jason and Dick grinned at him, ushering him onto a chair and bombarding him with questions about his consultation.

“No, hold up, what're you two even doing here? I thought I was the only one in contact with MDC! And how on earth do you know her kid? And- wait, did she say uncles?!”

“Tt, yes Drake, she said uncles.” Tim leapt to his feet, eyes wild as Damian stepped into the room. He wondered whether he had fallen asleep during the consultation: that would be embarrassing. It was cruel of his brain to torment him with his greatest failure. He had never been unable to track someone before, and it had never mattered more.

“You can't possibly be real,” Tim muttered, eyes flying around the room. He slumped down into his seat again, sighing and running a hand down his face. He drank in the sight of Damian - or at least, what he assumed his brain thought Damian should look like at this point. His little brother, all grown up. Tim wondered if, wherever his brother was, he had a family of his own. If he had managed to outrun the curse that seemed to run through the family, like Dick had.

“He's gone loopy,” dream Jason snickered, dropping next to Dick. “How long did he stay on the Watchtower for last night? Do you think he got any sleep?”

And that was the last thing Tim heard before he actually fell asleep. The next thing he knew, he awoke in a dark room, laying down on a cot bed. He stretched, feeling better rested than he had in weeks. He wondered when he had passed out in the consultation - had she even managed to take his measurements? Had he even made it out of the manor, or was all of it a sleep deprived fever dream? 

He groaned as he sat up, hearing voices coming from an adjacent room. Time to face the music for falling asleep at the consultation he had been begging for - he hoped MDC was the forgiving sort. He knew she was busy, that he was incredibly lucky she had taken the time to come all the way from France to take his measurements.

The lights felt blinding as he stepped out of the temporary nap-room and he blinked owlishly for a moment before getting his bearings. He was suddenly more dumbfounded as he took in most of his family, chatting and eating snacks, whilst his boyfriend was chatting to MDC, excitedly gesturing at his arms and chest, clearly talking about potential designs. 

“Uh, hey, sorry about that,” Tim said as he approached the duo. They both smiled at him, the woman looking slightly concerned still, but Kon just rolled his eyes. “How long was I out for?”

“At least 3 hours,” Kon smirked, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Your sister-in-law was just telling me that she can make me a new jacket!”

“Sister-in-law?” Tim looked at her, confused. She smiled at him, slightly bemused, before holding out a hand.

“Oui, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said, turning to call over to someone. “How tired were you this morning, Monsieur Drake?”

“Didn't I fall asleep during the consultation? I must apologise, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I was up far too late doing- research.”

“Oh, I am sure,” Marinette replied darkly. “Well, I hope your father stops working you so hard! And please, call me Marinette, all of my family do.”

“I see you're finally awake again, Drake.” Tim whirled around at the deep voice, throat closing slightly as he once again took in the sight of his youngest brother. He was tall, taller than Tim now, maybe even taller than Bruce. He had a child balanced on his hip and was moving to stand next to Marinette, who kissed his cheek. “I would have thought that you had found a decent sleep schedule since I left.”

“I- you- when-” Tim was stuttering, unable to form a sentence, his vision going blurry and his hands hot. The room had gone quiet, everyone watching him carefully. He took a deep breath, practically gulping as his hands shook. “How? Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you.”

“Tt, well if Todd could find me, maybe you really should consider a new sleep schedule,” Damian retorted, rolling his eyes. Tim whipped around to stare at Jason, who looked embarrassed. “Regardless, it is good to see you again. Marinette has felt unnecessarily guilty for not coming to do a consultation for you before now.”

“Jason found you?!” Tim was offended - how had the screw-up brother found someone before him? “How? Where? Wait, forget that, France obviously, but how?”

“Hey, I can do research too!” Came Jason's indignant squawk. Barbara and Steph, who were standing next to him laughed and he pouted at them, grumbling about how mean and unfair they were. “Besides, you forgot to search for his name, genius.”

“You're joking, right? What runaway uses their own name for anything? Please tell me you weren't using your own name to run away,” Tim pleaded, gripping his hair in both hands. 

“Tt, I was not ‘running away’, Drake. I no longer felt welcome in my father's home and so I left. I will admit that I was rash in my decision, though I cannot find it in myself to regret it,” he said, gazing softly at his wife and daughter. And hell if that didn't throw Tim for a loop - Damian was soft for someone. 

It was a few hours later when Marinette finally shooed everyone out of the building, explaining that she needed to get Penélope home. Damian was hovering next to her, refusing to relinquish hold on his daughter, even as he bid goodbye to his family members. It was an emotional farewell for those who had only reunited with him that day, Stephanie clinging tightly to him as she hugged him, Cass choosing to speak instead of sign, wanting to be sure he didn't misunderstand her after he had been out of practice for so long. Even Barbara looked tearful as she grasped his hand before wheeling herself away next to Dick. 

Tim stood and watched as Damian and his new family walked away. The two parents weren't touching but Penélope was held between them and he could almost see an aura of love between them. Kon stood patiently to the side, waiting for him to process his feelings, but Tim wasn't sure that would happen.

“He looks happy, doesn't he?” Kon said gently, making Tim snap his head towards him before nodding mutely. “Apparently that's what he's been like, ever since Jason found him just before Christmas. He isn't the same angry teen anymore, he really grew up. Hell, from what Jon told me while you were asleep, he's basically a different person. And Marinette…she makes him happy. Like, really, really happy.”

“I just can't believe I could have found him, if I wasn't the dumbest person in the world. How is it I didn't think to search for his name? Clearly Jason thought to do it, Babs probably assumed I'd already done it, Bruce would never have let-”

“Hey, none of that,” Kon said sternly. He took hold of Tim's face, intending to pick him on the lips. But the kiss lingered and Tim felt a flush work its way up his neck. He pulled Kon towards him and deepened the kiss, relishing in the way Kon responded, the little sigh across his mouth. When was the last time he and Kon had had a date? Tim couldn't remember, could barely think past the fog of constant work and research. They broke apart, both out of breath. “Wow, what did I do to deserve that?”

“I just- I love you, you know? I know I've been busy, and you've been patient with my crazy schedule but- I want to spend more time with you. Like go on dates, cuddle at home, whatever, as long as I can do it with you.”

“I love you too,” Kon smiled, running his fingers through Tim's hair. “But we should probably get moving, Gotham isn't exactly the safest place to stand around.”

Notes:

And that's it for this week! Tune in next week for Marinette to meet Alfred.

French translations:

Fils de putain = son of a bitch

J'en ai marre = I'm fed up

C'est rien = it's nothing

Une heure = one hour

Comment dire = how do you say

Ses oncles = her uncles

Chapter 5

[lucius-morningstar]

Magic Happens? (Part 2)

Awkward conversations and Panic. ------- Lucius: Okay so what did you want to talk about? Charlie: I'm about to ask a question that's going to be very uncomfortable for us, so I need you to answer me honestly and quickly so it doesn't get anymore awkward then it needs to be. Lucius: Okay. Charlie: Who of you in this hotel had sex in the past couple weeks. Lucius: Charlie the fuck. Angel: I don't kiss n' tell dollface. Husk: The fuck you talking about, that's all you do. Angel: Well way to make it less fun. Cherri: Yeah I fucked, I can't recall when or with who. Mostly out of it Charlie: Okay thank you Cherri for being the only one to give me a straight answer. Angel: I mean you know me babe, I'm always fucking with someone. So yeah more then likely. Husk: Probably but I don't have the best record of it so apart from last night, no. Charlie: Lucius please don't make me ask again. Lucius: I am not answering that because I love you too much to admit I've had sex. Angel: I can answer that. He snuck off the Carmine place last night. Vaggie: How the fuck do you know? Angel: He texted me, let's see he said "If Charlie asks, tell her I am fucking Compound Pussy." Then it autocorrected to which he kept trying to write Clara's name but it came weird before he said "Fuck it, you know what I mean, just say I'm smashing ass n' that my phone will be off until tomorrow." Lucius: Ugh.. Bees fuckin honey, stuff makes me share too much Angel: Husk fucked me last night. Husk: Angel the fuck?! Angel: She wanted honesty, don't have a lot of details but I have the claw marks on my back to prove it. Charlie: I don't need visuals, just a confirmation. Husk: *Sighs* Can I ask why? Charlie: Uh.. Well so I was letting dad know the baby news, he asked how? Husk: Please don't give us a play by play. Charlie: No, just anyway I explained that I tried the creation spell and it overloaded and kinda blew all sorts of fuses in the hotel. He asked me if anyone was in the hotel aside from ya know me and Vaggie. Lucius: Weird question to ask. Charlie: I thought so too, so I asked him why and he said and I quote "Nephilim magic is new, stronger and unstable in new hands so the effects could be far bigger and far more.. Uh. Wild in the hands of someone whose still learning." Lucius: What'd he mean by that. Charlie: That I have to keep an eye on everyone for the next couple weeks. Lucius: Why. Charlie: Nothing serious- Lucius: Charlie please just spit it out! Charlie: There's a risk the creation spell might have worked on everyone in the hotel.. Whose been intimate in the past couple weeks. Lucius: What the fuck does that mean! Vaggie: It means that there's a risk that if you've had sex, unprotected especially, that there is a huge chance your fertility odds have doubled.. and tripled in some cases. Cherri: I thought we couldn't have kids in hell. Charlie: In normal standards yes but.. my magic may have reversed it on accident. Cherri: Please tell me this is some kinda sick joke. Angel: Yes please tell us it's a sick joke. Husk: Why are you panicking, you're a guy. Angel: No-No reason. Charlie: Gender is irrelevant, the chances are high regardless. Lucius: Fuck! Charlie: It might not work on you Lucius. You're a Nephilim too, it's possible the spell didn't even effect you. Lucius: Well I fucking hope so Charlie. I just got with Clara and Carmilla will kill me if in the first two weeks one of her daughters ends up knocked up. There's only one place and person she'll be looking for and that's me! Vaggie: Well it's too late to complain now. Charlie: Lucius it might not even mean anything. It could be completely false and nothing could happen. Lucius: R-Right.. Charlie: But.. Yo-You still gotta tell Clara. Just in case. Lucius: I-I can't. I can't fuck this up more when we're actually in a good place. Vaggie: You think she'll like you if she finds out on her own and finds out you knew and said nothing. Lucius: ..I fucking hate you so much.

[nikibogwater]

I watched The Last Unicorn (1982) with very, very little prior knowledge of the film. And I wasn't planning to, but I ended up taking notes because wow. This movie. It's something.

The very little prior knowledge I had was as follows: it's an old animated film about a unicorn and I've occasionally heard people talk about it fondly. That's it, that's literally all I had going into this thing. It was not nearly enough to prepare me.

Ohhhh I love the scenery! Man, nothing hits quite like a traditional hand-drawn backgrou--OH MY WORD WHAT IS THAT WHY IS IT MOVING LIKE THAT STOP IT

Ohhh, this is a Rankin-Bass production? Well, that explains the animation.

Yeah that is not a unicorn, that's a llama with a table-knife glued to its head.

Ooh, the opening credits play over a lightly animated medieval tapestry! That's so coo--aaaaand they picked the most 80's sounding song I can imagine to go over it, okay.

Yo this butterfly is stoned out of his little buggy mind, maybe he should get some rehab.

Love that it's not immediately clear what the "red bull" actually is yet. Is it a literal bull? Is it a raging fire? Is it the inescapable march of industrial progress?? Gotta stay tuned to find out. (edit: it was literally just a bull and I need to stop reading symbolism into every little thing).

Ok ngl, the "Man's Road" sequence was actually fire, despite (or perhaps because of) the 80's cheese.

Angela Lansbury!!! Man, she just ate this role. Who'd've thought Mrs. Pots could sound so threatening?

I would die for Shmendrick.

Oh that is a very lore-accurate harpy right there. (⊙_⊙;)

Love how the witch's carnival arc touches on the idea of truth vs. wishful delusion. There's a beautiful irony in a movie about a literal unicorn talking about the importance of staying grounded in what is real and truly beautiful.

No, seriously, I would die for Shmendrick. Protect this precious man at all costs.

Can we pretty please stop calling the witch Mommy

"That's my immortality!" eyo this witch is actually a great villain. Really wish she could've stuck around for the whole movie.

Awww, the unicorn is taking care of Shmendrick! That's so sweet! God knows he needs it.

Shmendrick: Run! We'll find each other later! *immediately gets captured*

Have I mentioned that I would die for Shmendrick.

I feel like the entire bit with the outlaws had a lot of connecting shots cut out for time because I really couldn't follow any of what was happening.

Hehehe...That tree looks like a butt. I wonder if they did that on purpo--WHAT THE HELL

*nervously glancing over my shoulder to make sure my family doesn't see me watching this*

Unicorn to the rescue!! Thank heavens.

"That was true magic." Then please don't ever do true magic again.

"How dare you come to me now, when I am this?!" H-hey, nobody told me this movie was gonna go that hard...

Mom-friend acquired! Just in time, too. Unicorn looked like she was getting real tired of being the only one with two brain cells to rub together.

Our heroes: *bracing themselves for what may be the darkest, most dangerous part of their journey* Freakin' Gerry Beckley from "America:" 🎵MOON RISIN'! DISGUISIN'!! 🎵 Gotta love that tonal dissonance.

Oooh hey the animation on the Red Bull is actually kind of good!

Molly: DO SOME MAGIC! Shmendrick: I CAN'T! Molly: YES U CAN I BELIEVE IN U Shmendrick: *does some magic* Molly: NOOOOO WHAT HAVE U DONE Molly I love you, but make up your darn mind.

Love that being turned into a human being is like, the worst thing that could ever happen to the unicorn. Yeah, being human is a pretty awful experience.

Boy there is just empty static behind Prince Lir's eyes. Homeboy doesn't have a thought in his head and probably never will.

Lir: babe look I got u a severed dragon head pls love me

Oh yeah. Marry this one, Unicorn. He's a keeper.

Molly: Shmendrick will help! Unicorn: I hope for no help from him. He is no magician now, but the king's clown.

GURL SAY THAT AGAIN! U KEEP DISRESPECTING MY BOI SHMENDRICK AND U WILL GET THESE HANDS!

The pirate cat is now my second-favorite character. I've known him for all of 10 seconds, but I love him.

He doesn't actually purr. He just says, "Purr, purr." I love him even more now.

"No cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer." Most accurate line ever put to film.

Unicorn, please marry Prince Lir, you well never find a purer source of Himbo Energy than him. Look at him, he's even singing badly for you, you gotta take this one.

"I mean you can't really be that ridiculous magician's niece--" BETRAYAL. OUTRAGE. SCANDAL. I DISOWN YOU, LIR, YOU FOUL SERPENT WHO SPEAKS NOTHING BUT FILTH. I HOPE THE UNICORN BREAKS YOUR STUPID LITTLE HEART

Dang. This guy voicing the skeleton is putting his entire heart and soul into that laugh.

Prince "I love whom I love" Lir will not be stopped even by the threat of potential bestiality. I'd say Husband Goals, but first of all, ew, and second, he insulted Shmendrick so he is dead to me.

"I wish to God I didn't care about anything but my magic, but I do!" Oh Shmendrick, honey... 🥺

Yooo, that transformation back into her unicorn form was actually sick. For a Rankin-Bass made-for-tv movie, this thing pulls off some surprisingly good animation every once in a while.

Yeah, kick his magical red butt, little unicorn! Go save your boyfriend and your family!!!

What is it with Christopher Lee and playing creepy old guys who get thrown off of towers at the end

Wait, no, I only sort of meant it when I said the unicorn should break Lir's heart, I didn't think they'd actually do it!

Molly ditched her outlaw husband to travel the world with Shmendrick and honestly, I'd do the same if I was in her place.

Oh wow. She chose to save her own kind and return to her forest even though she loved Lir. This is actually very bittersweet and--GOTDANGIT GERRY BECKLEY, NOT NOW!!!

Closing thoughts: This movie was an absolute trip and I'm probably going to think it was a fever dream I once had after some time has passed. It's also the only movie I can think of that I would actually want a remake/remaster of. The story was great, though it jumped around from place to place so quickly that it was sometimes hard to follow what was happening. I like the characters a lot (mostly Shmendrick tbh but they're all good), and I wish there had been more time to let them interact with each other. You can see the potential for chemistry between the different personalities, but it's stifled by moments of awkward voice acting and the strange, jittery character animation. With more time to breathe and better animation, this story would really be something amazing. I'm actually very interested in reading the original novel it was based on now, I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a copy. All in all, The Last Unicorn (1982) is a mind-boggling experience with surprisingly deep themes combined with what I can only assume is what you see when you're on acid. If you have any interest, I would highly recommend seeing this thing for yourself.

Yes. Even the Boob Tree. Please. I don't want to be the only one who is cursed to have that scene in my brain.

[natedogx15]

Miraculous Descendent Chapter 76: Investigation

Previous Chapter

It has been a few days since the meeting with Fu Cheng, and the group has started to take the idea of finding Hawkmoth more seriously. Right now, Marinette is transformed into Ladybug and has a new outfit based on Fu Cheng's suggestion.

The Seamstress outfit in question is far more on the wild side than any of her previous ones. She has a long-sleeved black jacket with red dots running along the sleeves and down the back, replacing her poncho. But that's not the only change. She has a holster on her body with multiple yo-yos attached to it. Her belt pouch is also bigger. On her pants are black claw marks instead of stripes. Her hair isn't short and is similar to her usual length again but tied in a single braid, hidden within her jacket. She'd look like a tracker in the wild if not for the vibrancy of her outfit. Her eyes are even slitted, like a wild animal's.

With this new outfit, Ladybug can track magic signatures from other Miraculous. She's tested it on the other members of Team Miraculous. It let her track their footprints. It's also further enhanced her senses and has given her a few more powers for tracking. However, it's still not providing her with anything to find Hawkmoth. She's gone to the places where they've fought Akumas. However, there's nothing for her to track with.

"It seems like this is a dead end." Ladybug sighs as she looks over the park where Juleka was Akumatized.

Cat Noir is next to her and watches as the girl searches.

"That's too bad." Cat Noir says as he looks disappointed as well.

"I guess it makes sense. It's like how scents disappear after a while." Ladybug states, causing Cat Noir to nod.

"I guess we'll have to wait for the next Akuma and hope we can use this to find out where the butterfly came from." Cat Noir states before an idea pops up in his head.

"What if we let the butterfly 'escape' and it leads us to Hawkmoth?" Cat Noir asks while making air quotes at escape.

Ladybug quickly shakes her head, remembering Tikki's warning about letting the butterflies escape and return to Hawkmoth.

"That's a bad idea. Tikki warned me about what could happen if the butterflies get away." Ladybug tells him, causing Cat Noir to grow curious.

"What did she say?" He asks, causing Ladybug to shrug.

"She didn't say anything. She only warned me not to let them get away." She explains, causing Cat Noir's curiosity to grow along with his worry.

"So, don't let the butterflies go, got it." He nods before the two jump off to explore the city for possible magic signatures.

While doing this, Cat Noir looks at his teammate curiously.

"How do you think the others are doing with their investigations?" He asks, causing Ladybug to shrug.

"I'm not sure. We'll find out later." She tells him before the two return to their investigation.

Meanwhile, Canine is lying on a rooftop a few buildings away from the bakery while using binoculars to observe Chloe. While Ladybug focuses on using her new outfit to find Hawkmoth, she's been testing her theory about Chloe and André. So far, though. She hasn't learned anything remotely incriminating. Which she's both happy and angry about. She's glad to know her ex-friend, or her father, doesn't seem to be working with Hawkmoth and is mad that they still haven't found anything about the villain despite having theories and more options now.

With a heavy sigh, Canine puts the binoculars down before looking below at the bakery entrance. Since André took that picture with Cat Noir, more people have been showing up. She's not exactly sure if that's a good or bad thing.

"Even if he is Hawkmoth, when would he find time to create a villain when he's so busy?" Canine questions as she watches André rapidly move behind the counter to finish all the orders he's getting.

Her mind can't help but reminisce about the times she used to go there as a kid while she and Chloe were still friends.

A younger Sabrina and Chloe are in Chloe's room, giggling as they play with dolls. As they play, André suddenly enters the room with a plate of cookies and a bright smile.

"Here's something for you princesses to enjoy while stuck in your tower," André kindly says as he sets the cookies down for the two young girls.

"Thanks, Daddy." Chloe thanks her father with a bright smile as she takes one and munches on it.

"Thank you, Mr. Bourgeois," Sabrina says in a somewhat shy tone as she takes one of the cookies to enjoy.

"There's no need to be so formal, Sabrina. You're my daughter's friend and part of the family. Please, call me André." André pleads with the girl, causing her to smile at him before nodding.

"Alright." She says brightly.

That memory causes Canine to bite her lip slightly. She then decides it might be best to go with a different approach to her investigation. One that will let her talk to André while getting some of those treats she remembers from childhood.

She quickly jumps off the roof and looks around to see if anyone is watching her. When she realizes no one is around, she changes out of her superhero outfit and gets in line for the bakery.

"I wonder how the others are doing?" She thinks as she patiently waits for her turn to order.

At the Kubdel household, Alix is looking through her dad's home office while he's away. She wants to see if he has anything else involving the Miraculous that he may or may not know about. She's been rummaging through the different journals he keeps and looking through his notes. However, she doesn't see anything related to the Miraculous, making it seem more and more like her father doesn't know the panjas bracelet is one.

"Could he really have not known? But he said it was an heirloom." Alix mutters as she continues to read through one of the journals.

"What are you doing in here, Alix?" Jalil's voice suddenly asks, causing the girl to jump and throw the book up.

She quickly catches the book before placing it behind her back. She then looks toward her skeptical brother, who holds a hand to the doorknob.

"Didn't Dad tell you not to come back to the house early?" Alix asks her brother to try changing the topic.

"I asked you first. Why are you in Dad's office? You know he doesn't like you being in here after you almost destroyed something." He tells the girl, causing her mind to race as she tries to figure out what to say.

"I needed a pen for something and got sidetracked." That is all she can say after a moment of thinking.

Jalil seems to believe that. He knows his sister gets bored easily while doing things, and she'll sometimes look through things she's not supposed to.

"Fine. I won't say anything as long as you don't tell him I was here." Jalil says before closing the door to the office, causing Alix to release a sigh of relief.

"Jeez. Of course, he chooses not to listen to Dad today." She mutters as she takes the book from behind her back and re-opens it.

However, there's nothing helpful to her in it. The girl is growing more frustrated as she searches. Nothing is helping her find out anything about her father's past. Now that she thinks about it. Whenever someone asks her dad about his past, he always says he has trouble remembering. She never put much thought into it until now. The idea that Hawkmoth did something to him to cause this causes her to growl as she clenches the book in her hand harder.

If there's one thing everyone in the class knows about Alix, it's how she's protective of her friends and family. Which is why she's hoping Chloe is working with Hawkmoth. It'll give her a good reason to beat the girl up as payback for everything she's done, especially to Max and Kim. However, she puts those thoughts aside for a moment to keep investigating. Since there's nothing in her father's office, something might be in his room.

His room is relatively simple, but things like carpets from different cultures are attached to the walls. It does show his career as a historian.

Alix walks into the room without care and starts looking for something to shed more light on her father's situation. She looks through some old documents he keeps in desk drawers. Sadly, most of it is about work. She then checks under his bed for anything hidden. However, there's nothing too interesting under there. She then checks his closet. It takes her a while, but she finds an old box in the back left corner.

What she finds in the box are keepsakes her dad kept while growing up. There's even a yearbook from his graduating year of high school. To Alix's surprise, it's not a school in France.

"Dad grew up in England?" Alix questions as she stares at the photo of a younger version of Alim Kubdel.

The photo is in a dark blue book with an English name along with the name of a city in England. Alix snickers slightly as she stares at her father's photo because he looks like Jalil.

"I wonder if he was as obsessed as Jalil?" Alix muses before getting back on track. She looks through the rest of her father's stuff and finds something interesting.

It's a picture frame. Inside is a photo of a younger Alim Kubdel with his friends. However, Alix notices that he's wearing the Tiger Miraculous in the picture. Another thing to note is that they're in the exact poses of the heroes in Gabriel's picture, with other Miraculous wielders. Alim is in the same position as the Tiger wielder.

"Huh, I'll have to ask Dad about that." Alix thinks as she stares at the photo.

Alim looks happy with his friends. Possibly happier than Alix has ever seen him before. She guesses that's what happens when you get older. However, the photo itself is still important to her. It shows her father wearing the Miraculous in his past. He might have used it at some point. It's not the Miracle Box, which was impossible for people before Marinette and Nate to solve. So, she pockets the photo before putting the picture frame back and setting the box back in its place in the closet.

But before she can exit her father's room, though. The front door creaks open. Alix's eyes widen in terror as she quickly jumps behind the bed. Jalil's shoes appear for her to see while peaking toward the door from the under gap. She then hears him release a breath of relief.

"Good, she's not here, either. Looks like she went to see her friends. Now, where are my papyrus?" Jalil asks himself as he snoops around the room, causing Alix to growl.

"Of course, he tries to find his stupid papyrus when I'm looking for stuff. Why now?" She mutters to herself in a quiet enough voice that Jalil doesn't hear.

"I'll bet you wish you used the second power I gave you for this," Roaar states in a surprisingly quiet tone as she appears in front of Alix's face.

Alix rolls her eyes at the Kwami's jab before noting that Jalil's feet are getting closer to the bed. Knowing that her brother will look under it for his dumb scrolls, she quickly bolts for the desk across the room before he's looking under. Luckily, Alix manages to move in time. Seeing her brother distracted and that he left the door open, she doesn't waste any time escaping. When she feels she's gotten far enough from her snooping brother, she pumps her fist with a victorious grin.

"Ha, who's not sneaky now, Sabrina?" Alix proudly says.

She then walks out of the apartment to show the other heroes the photo she manages to snag. She's confident she's the first to get any evidence about one of their theories. The others probably haven't found anything interesting yet. Otherwise, she would have gotten a call or something.

Back with Sabrina, she makes it to the front of the line after waiting for a while. When André sees the glasses-wearing girl, he gains a far more real smile, happy to see his daughter's old friend.

"Sabrina, it's amazing to see you again after so long. You've grown so much, as well." André kindly compliments her, causing Sabrina to give him an awkward smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Bourgeois." Sabrina accepts the compliment.

"Please, call me André. So, how have you been?" André asks as he takes a moment to talk to the girl, wanting to catch up with the girl despite the problems she and Chloe have had.

"I've been alright. School is keeping me busy." Sabrina nods to the man with a less awkward smile as she gets used to talking to the man again.

"That's good. I'm glad you're getting a good education. Chloe has been getting perfect grades lately." André reveals with a proud smile, getting another nod from Sabrina.

"I know; she's probably one of the best in our class." Sabrina nods, unsure about whether Chloe or Max are on top.

"I'm so proud of her. She's doing great for herself. I know she'll go far in the future with how hard she works. Since she lost that fashion contest, she's been working harder to improve her skills." André reveals with a proud smile, not surprising Sabrina.

Chloe has always been competitive. So, her working harder to crush Marinette isn't unexpected. She is worried Chloe is neglecting her health because of that, though.

"Is she doing okay?" Sabrina voices her concerns for the girl, causing André to smile.

"Don't worry; I've been checking up on her to make sure she's getting sleep," André promises, causing the girl to sigh in relief.

Despite everything, she's glad her old friend is alright. She then looks back at André and inspects his person for anything that might be a Miraculous. However, she doesn't see any jewelry on him. But André isn't wearing any jewelry right now. Sabrina guesses that's because he's working. If he is Hawkmoth, he might have his Miraculous hidden somewhere.

"Has everything been okay with the bakery?" Sabrina asks as she steps to the side to continue their conversation while letting André continue to serve customers with his various pastries and sweets.

"Stupendous! Ever since Cat Noir came by, business has been booming. I'm thankful for him. Business was getting slow before then." André happily tells Sabrina as he hands another bag over to a customer.

The treats he's been giving people are Cat Noir face-shaped pastries. They're his most popular item now.

"I'm glad to hear that." Sabrina honestly says, despite her uncertainty about how moral what André is doing is.

"Thank you. Is there anything I can get you? Would you like to see Chloe?" André asks while motioning to the stairwell to Chloe's room.

"No, no, no. I was just taking a walk and saw your bakery. I thought I would visit since it's been so long." Sabrina explains while shaking her head, to André's disappointment.

"That's too bad. I would have loved to have you and Chloe talk again. Let me at least get you something to eat on your way out." André states before grabbing a couple of sweets for Sabrina and giving them to her in a bag.

"Thank you." She thinks him with a smile as she takes the bag before preparing to leave.

"No problem. Come back any time." André tells her with a smile as he watches the girl go.

As Sabrina leaves, she thinks about André's attitude. It doesn't seem like he's Hawkmoth. It doesn't look like he has any time to create a supervillain and control them.

Later that day, the heroes meet in a cafe in their civilian identities. They're each enjoying the sweets André gave Sabrina.

"So, you couldn't find anything with the new costume?" Alix asks in disappointment as she rests her head in one of her hands while eating a pastry with the other.

"No. We didn't find anything." Marinette sighs before taking a sip of her drink.

"Did you guys find anything?" Adrien asks as he looks at the other two.

Sabrina shakes her head.

"I went into the bakery to get a better look, but André wasn't wearing any jewelry," Sabrina states, causing Marinette to nod.

"That makes sense. You shouldn't wear jewelry while in the kitchen. It might fall into the food while it's cooking. My mom doesn't wear any when she's working." She explains to Sabrina.

"So, we'll still have to keep an eye on him?" Adrien curiously asks, causing Marinette to nod.

"For now, yeah. At least until I can use the new suit to find something, or you two unlock a new ability." Marinette says while pointing to him and Alix.

"How do we even do that?" Alix questions with a raised eyebrow.

"You have to grow in some way or achieve something incredible," Marinette explains what Tikki told her about getting a new power.

"That doesn't help me much." Alix sighs before taking another bite of her food.

She then sets it down before reaching into her pocket to show the group the picture she found in her father's room.

"I found this in my dad's room. It was in the corner of his closet." Alix says while setting it in the middle of the table so everyone can see it.

"A picture of your dad in high school?" Adrien questions, causing Alix to sigh before pointing at the panjas bracelet.

"No, a picture of my dad in high school wearing the Miraculous," Alix states while tapping the photo.

"Oh, you're right." He says in surprise as he sees the bracelet.

"What does that prove? Roaar could have just not talked to him." Sabrina points out, remembering Fu Cheng's talk about the Miracle Box.

"It shows that he was wearing it for a long time. He might have used the Miraculous at some point. It shows that he might be under a spell that made him forget everything." Alix says while tapping on the photo again to emphasize her point.

Hearing this causes everyone to nod. Marinette mentally lists how their leads are going so far. Searching for Hawkmoth with her new costume and investigating André isn't helping much. But at least Alix's lead seems to be giving them something.

"I guess we'll start with your dad then. It doesn't seem like Hawkmoth will create any Akumas today." Marinette states as the group gets up before Alix stops them.

"Do you think we could do this at night? Dad is always busy during the day. I don't want to disturb his work." Alix tells the group, knowing how hard her father's job is.

Sabrina doesn't look like she likes this since she wants to find Hawkmoth as soon as possible, but Marinette gives Alix an understanding expression.

"I'm alright with it. What about you two?" Marinette asks as she turns to the other Miraculous wielders.

"I'm fine with that. What's a few more hours?" Adrien asks with a smile.

Seeing the other two agree with Alix's request, Sabrina sighs before reluctantly agreeing. She doesn't want to start any more fights within the group and does see Adrien's point about how a few more hours won't hurt them.

"Alright. We can wait a few hours. It's not like we don't stay up at night to have our meetings already." Sabrina sighs.

Hearing this causes Alix to sigh in relief.

Later that day, as the sun sets, Chloe sits in her room while working on one of her designs. Specifically, she's trying to improve the design of her failure bowler hat.

"This will surpass Cheng-Dupain's stupid design by a mile. When Mom sees this, she'll completely forget about that hat when she sees it at the fashion show." Chloe mutters as she works on the sketch for the new hat.

However, she immediately tosses her sketchbook aside when she hears her phone letting her know her mom is texting her. In less than a second, she opens her phone and looks at the messages between her and her mom with bated breath. To her surprise and joy, her mother actually sends a message this time. However, that joy changes into shock as she reads the message.

And you think these are worth notice

That's what the message states. Before Chloe can type anything, her mother is already typing more. Each message is like a gut punch to Chloe.

It doesn't matter if you have good grades! That's not thing exceptional! Anyone without a life can achieve that!

Seeing this causes Chloe to look at all the A+ test papers she keeps in a stack to remind her of her school achievements.

And why do you look so happy holding that pathetic trophy!?

All it shows is that you've done nothing but sit around with nothing better to do!

Hearing that causes Chloe to flinch. She's pretty proud of that achievement, even if she has to share it with Max. However, reading her mother's messages about it causes her to look at her video games uncertainly. Has she really been wasting her time on them? They've been something that's helped keep her going for so long.

And don't get me started on your designs!

You didn't even manage to win Gabriel's contest!

Pathetic, utterly pathetic!

Those last messages especially hit Chloe hard compared to the others. Hearing her mother insult her designs, things she's worked tirelessly on to impress the woman, makes Chloe heartbrokenly collapse to her knees. She has a broken expression as she stares at the ceiling. It's not despair. It's more confusion and tiredness. It's like she doesn't know how to react. She can't bring herself to think of anything.

She stays like this for a while, totally devoid of emotions. It takes a few minutes for her mind to reboot. When it finally does, she immediately feels the impact of her mother's words hit her like a truck. Heartbroken tears build in the corners of her eyes as she lets out a wail that would belong to a child.

Her life has focused on getting her mother to acknowledge her and return to Paris to meet her father again. But all of that seems to have been for nothing. As she cries, she looks at the pictures of Ladybug and other Team Miraculous members she has posted on her wall.

"I-if only I was like them!? Why can't I be exceptional enough to be admired by her?!" She cries as she bangs her fist on the floor.

Feeling these strong negative emotions and the underlying feelings of jealousy toward the heroes within her sadness, Gabriel can't resist escaping his office to Akumatize Chloe.

"A hard worker who's efforts have proven to be for naught. I feel for you, young one. I will give you the power to be like those you admire and to take them down so you're the only one seen as exceptional." Hawkmoth promises as he creates a butterfly and sends it after Chloe.

The butterfly soon arrives as Chloe cries into a ring she wishes is a Miraculous. The girl doesn't notice while in her turmoil. It's not until Hawkmoth's voice hits her.

"Antibug. It's good to hear from you again. I'm here to offer you my power once again. However, you'll be far more exceptional this time. Your previous powers won't hold a candle to what I'm willing to give you now. Prove you're better than your idols by getting me their Miraculous." Hawkmoth orders as his influence corrupts the unstable girl's mind.

"Yes, Hawkmoth." She states in a neutral, zombified tone as the black smoke envelops her.

When the smoke clears, Chloe appears dressed in Ladybug's Reverse Seams costume.

Next Chapter

[caroline238]

Let's talk about shifting 🌸🪞.

About me🩷🫧

Hello my name is Caroline i am 20 yo, I am a shifter from 2020, i successfully shifted over 8 times, i stoped counting, I shifted here from a totally different reality, i did permashift, and I'm planning on doing it again.

About my drs🌸🪞

My main dr for now is haikyuu(Successfully shifted).

I have other drs like a sam and colby dr(didn't shift yet), criminal minds dr (also didn't shift there yet).

About my original reality 🩶🪐

My original reality was a world where ppl has super powers, as fire, vanishing, reading minds, using magic, and lot others, we lived in the victory era, we had kingdoms other than countries, it was cool but in the same time dangerous.

Why did i shift here?🌸

Long story short i was getting executed for something i haven't done, so i shifted here to escape that, yes i am still alive in there, and no i don't regret shifting here.

About my haikyuu dr🏐🪔

The dr is animated, yes it is possible, all the characters are on collage none of them r minors, they're all still playing volleyball in college, I'm not shifting specifically for someone in there, I'm just shifting for the life, the teams are just like the anime, i didn't change much, just putting everyone on the same year (I'm not having them separate).

About my shift there🩷🪐

Two days ago I fully shifted to my haikyuu dr, i haven't done anything just thinking about it and actually giving it time this thing worked for me so well, taking things easy without rushing, and giving it time, so i slept in here nd when i woke up i was in a class in college, we were having a class i forgot the subject cuz it was the end of class, was i exited? Yes, at first i started looking around trying to identify the place i am in, grounding my self, trying to not freak out, then the teacher said that the class ended so everyone started packing to get out, i did too, i got out, and when i reached the door someone called me, so i turned and i found diachi and suga, i was starting to freak out but i was trying to keep it cool 😭, then they asked me something about that class that we were in, so i just answered the question, then suga asked me if i wanted to go and watch thuer practice (i am a retired player), it was kinda of to convince me to get back to the game kinda of things, so i said no problem, then they get me to meet kyoko ( she was so pretty😭😭😭), nd she tok me with her, while the others go to change, so we went to the place that they practiced on, nd i was just chatting with kyoko, and tanaka nd noya were giving me such weird looks😭😭, nd i was helping with collecting the balls ans things like that, i kept on calling diachi senpai, cuz he's older than me, and in my mind i was just like..omg I can't wait to meet other ppl just like in the script (here i was getting so exited kyoko kept asking if I'm okay cuz i looked weird), after that for some reason i got back here, once i woke up here i was felling weird and all my memories of my dr has been gone but i was felling weird, so i went on my day normally, nd at some point on the day i physically remembered what happened on my dr ( idk how to explain that sorry), i thought it was a memory but when i get memories i always see then on 3rd person like i see my self, same thing when I imagine things, but this time i remembered, nd it was on first person view, i asked a shifter that have gone through that, and she confirmed it was a full shift, as much as i am sad for being back here, I'm so happy that i finally shifted.

I Minishifted many times before, got memories back, but nothing is better than fully shifting.

If u had any questions feel free to ask, or dm me I'll answer 🏐🌸.

Love u all, take care🪐🪞.

(this is my oc in there🪞)

[silvertws]

PETRO WAS CRYING AND I WAS CRYING OMFG.

SABRE WHY.

WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO US.

Nah.

Nah.

Bro better pull a fucking 180 on that freaking little fairy-blue thing BECAUSE HELL NAH, HELL TO HELL TO THE NAH.

Leave the boys alone bish.

I'm too attached to them.

I cannot.

I CANNOT HANDLE ANOTHER APO-OWEN SITUATION OK?!!!

I think I would simply perish.

Gone.

Just like that.

Poof!

I hate how attached I am to the silly Minecraft guys.

BUT MY BRAIN... THE PARASITE... THE DEMON IN MY BRAIN WANTS TO LIKE THE SILLY MINECRAFT GUYS...

I need someone as unhinged as me to talk about the sillies, for my own sanity.

Which is, barely there honestly, but that's besides the point.

I believe in redemption arcs PETRO PLEASE, PLEASE YOU CAN STILL FIX THIS.

Please, I just want them to all be happy, I'm sobbing.

ncjekwlalls PLEASE.

Let the fellas be happy.

Like, I usually don't ship characters ok? After Origins I just don't.

But tbh platonically??? Hell yeah, let the fellas be wholesome, no kissing no nothing, just hugging, telling each other sweet things- I will literally be kicking my feet like a little kid.

Also, on a side note.

Ruined Reality rants and theories up ahead.

Heyyyyy guys how are we feeling about the Newest Ruined Reality episode??? Yeah all good? Just doing a check in on all of us.

I mean, yeah, as expected.

Also, alright, this is gonna become a slight theory moment.

Rainbow crystal + heart of the soulstice?

You know how the rainbow crystal is made with the energy of the chromatics?

Yeah well, if the rainbow crystal still works, which I'm led to believe , fusing that energy with the heart, could potentially... Either give life back to the chromatics... Or... Create new chromatics but using the older souls, kinda like reincarnation.

ALSO AH, MY THEORIES WERE KINDA CORRECT HELL YEAH.

Mf First Curse better not bother Light smh Balance, go punch him, you literally can, since you belong in the same omniverse-? So go and punch him thank you very much.

Anyway.

I seriously do not know if Light will be able to bring everyone back.

If he manages to bring Steves back, it's definitely not gonna be everyone.

Not only because a lot of bodies were destroyed, but also for a storytelling factor.

Which is why all of them staying dead is a bittersweet victory, sure, you did it Light, good job! Every Steve who's left is now safe from that! Except... Well, the last Steve kingdom kinda... Doesn't like you. So I don't know if you're going to be allowed there...

Oh, so living with the professor? Yeah sure, if you want to have another metal rod in your leg you can.

Living with Ellie and uh... Cassian....?(I am so bad with names omg) in their little magic thing?

Yeah sure.

Go on.

They already adopted you my good sir, come on, they saw you and were like "yes, this one, ours now, yoink"

Also NCIEKSKSLLSLK PROXIMA.

Proxima the GOAT.

The FUCKING GOAT.

Even in death, EVEN IN DEATH BRO WAS STILL THE GOAT.

Another possibility.

TFC: "yo Light, sup"

Light "gtfo"

TFC "No u"

And then Light gets sent to ANOTHER UNIVERSE Just to suffer AGAIN.

Because remember kids.... TFC cursed Light to suffer FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND- yeah you get the gist of it.

So what happens when there's nothing more to make him suffer with in one universe...?

That's right... You send him to another one so he has to start all over again... And again.. and again...

BUT BIT BUT

I find this very unlikely because the reset trope is kinda overused and annoying and I also believe it would take out from the whole experience.

Like on a long run, it makes sense that TFC would do that.

BUT THIS IS A MINECRAFT ROLEPLAY GUYS.

There's just some things you cannot do or play with enough depth.

So, going back on the main topic.

What happens now?

Well, Light, Seer, Galaxy and To- FUCK THAT MF KILLED SOREN AGAIN I CANNOT.

I CANNOT WITH THIS GUY.

Smh, letting Light go through the loss of Soren not once BUT TWICE.

smh.

Anyway.

Now.

I already tried to explain how I think the rainbow crystal might be tied to "fixing" this.

And I think that's honestly our best bet.

Like, before this episode, I honestly thought they were simply going to yoink it from Lewis and Light was gonna use it.

But apparently they didn't do that...

Also like I'm sorry.

WHY THE FUCK DID THE RAINBOW CRYSTAL, STAY FUSED WITH LEWIS EVEN IF HE WAS DEAD.

Nah cause like, I always found that, not particularly logical.

Without the energy from the host, the only thing left with energy IS the crystal.

It would have made sense, in that case, if the crystal, its energy, also caused Lewis body to "live" but without actually being Lewis. But pure energy.

How would the crystal stay fused with Lewis?

Does that mean bro still has some energy somehow?

Was it the soul energy that kept them forcibly united?

I'm probably looking too much into it ngl, it's probably another plot hole or simply something that will be explained later... Maybe.

If the rainbow crystal is not going to be used in any way with the heart, I'll be surprised.

It could be like, a rainbow heart or whatever.

It's seriously the only thing I have going on right now.

Because it's the only thing with enough chromatic energy left to actually do something.

Unless SOMEHOW Light goes back to the other Steve Kingdom and Genesis is fucking alive, just like that, randomly, because he can.

I have no idea if any other deities are actually canon in RR.

Is Origin Steve canon? Or any of the other things in Rainbow Quest? Because Seer, Colle, Genesis, are all things from there as we know.

So just how much from that universe also transpired into this one?

Are demon Steves a problem we're going to have to deal with after everything and Seer is finally put to rest?

Also, yes, Seer will die.

I mean, he literally asked to be killed guys, what do you want? I say let him die. Colle is gone, that's enough pain already, I'm not gonna watch Seer becoming Void again (which btw, I think it's already happening or has already happened during the fight and Void is simply playing with everyone as per usual).

Still hoping for a Light corruption/villain arc (more like corrupt) because bro deserves to let out some steam and I support Light in literally everything he will do at this point.

He needs a beach episode fr.

Actually, no.

WE need a beach episode.

... I'm drawing that shit, I'm putting that in my nonexistent list of things I need to draw for my own sanity.

Oh.

Wait.

I completely forgot about the redstone core guys.

I mean, I don't think that's gonna help..? Idk I feel like it's a different energy from the one in the crystal or the heart so... Idk...

But maybe it could still be used for other things???

Also, we could simply get a time skip, to like, months later or something.

It has happened before and I honestly wouldn't mind it.

There's like, the option of going to the last Steve kingdom and asking them for help, but they must have moved by now, sure we can locate them with the assistant I suppose, if it comes down to it.

Also, one thing.

(idk man, some of y'all might find this offensive or call me chronically online for this :/)

Me whenever gay is used mockingly in a Steve-verse story while literally everyone is the same fucking gender as the other and their reproduction is literally based on MAGIC.

Like I'm sorry but make it make sense.

It's probably one of the things that annoys me the most.

I'm not saying that now everyone is forced to accept ships between certain characters.

I'm saying that there are not many sexuality options in a world where there's usually one gender.

You're either, Aromantic or something on that spectrum, Asexual or in that spectrum, Gay because there's literally one gender there to be attracted to.

Unless we're talking about universes that use more.

Or we could bring in the possibility that since they're all Steves or Alexes, they're all canonically non-binary.

I don't give a single fuck about romance, I can live without it.

But it annoys me, when comments are made, that logically speaking, don't make sense.

One of the biggest plot holes in RR until Ellie was introduced, was Cliff talking about women.

Which was resolved when Ellie came through and was like "no yeah, we exist actually, well used to".

Which again creates another plot hole to how tf did Cliff even meet one of those if they went extinct.

Disclaimer

I wanna clarify that I love RR and the other Steve verse stories or I wouldn't be talking about them. And that my rants are not directed towards the creators in any way, I do not, nor cannot, dictate how they decide to write their stories.

It's their tale to tell, I'm just here to watch, and listen.

I have opinions just like everybody else and if anybody ever takes offense (for some reason) to what I say, suck it up , talk to me like a normal person.

There are opinions to which I'm not willing to change my mind on, but I will still listen to others, just like there's some of which I will probably change my mind on.

As long as you're respectful about it, so will I.

Anyhow, I'm shit at explaining my opinions, because I'm horrible at conversations and English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if I made it look like I was being rude or judgemental.