#me voice ''eh its rushed its not great but its good enough to post im okay with it!!!''

[definitelynotshouting]

sir you have fully broken me

w- the-

your bit that you wrote for scar's victory has mortally wounded me and i don't know how to explain it in words

-🍁

YKNOW IM NGL I DIDNT WRITE IT WITH THE INTENT TO HARM PER SE BUT MY GODS IF IM NOT LAPPING UP THIS COLLECTIVE PSYCHIC DAMAGE RN....... tysm omg im so glad you liked it!!! :DDD

[kvmes]

Another Love TKO

I just read your text post about the dude you liked and it made me think of a situation that happened with me and this girl i had a huge crush on at my college.

I'm pretty sure it was fall semester 2017, i had walked to my building for class like i always did, i had my headphones in like always and was early to my class like always.

(quick side note) idk about you but im introverted, the reason i mention that is because me being as introverted as i am, im very observant.  I notice everything around me, i notice peoples faces, the clothes they wear, im just a very observant person. I dont talk that much, and i never walk around with my face in my phone like everyone seems to do these days, im always, always in deep thought, and deep observation.  

Anyways, i get to class hella early and i have my headphones in and im just chilling, when all of a sudden i see the most beautiful girl i have ever seen at my college, i mean, she was stunning. her hair was curly, and it was in a bun, her skin was golden and she had a bandana that was a mixture of red, black, and green. she had those gold and black suede pumas that was popular around that time.

Her arms were criss crossed across her chest and she was carrying her books. in the 5 seconds it took for her to pass me i picked up her whole vibe. she walked past me and didnt even know i existed. but i didnt give a shit, i was absolutely blown away by how gorgeous this girl was. when i say she was the most THE most beautiful girl i had ever seen at my college... i mean it. 

She walked past and it was like slow motion, i stopped my music and said to myself, "damn who is that"?! and that slow motion shit stopped and time was regular again, i was like "aigh i have to get to know her". so i literally looked at the time to make sure that every tuesday/ thursday i was at that exact spot just so i could get a glimpse of her. and sure enough every tuesday/ thursday i saw what i thought would be my future wife. 

But the thing is, here i am picturing all this lovey dovey shit like walking down the beach, me surprising her with flowers, me taking picture of her (im a photographer) all that gushy shit, and i know deep down im too shy to even approach her lol... one thing about men that most of us wont admit is that, when we see "the one" or that girl that makes time stop and makes you reevaluate life for a second.... we be gettin scared... or shit maybe its just me. but the fear of fuckin up can really stop you from doing somethin great. in this instance it was my fear that got the best of me. but when we men see that girl that you just know you have to have, we just dont know how to act idk why.

but idk im speaking for all dudes like i know, shit so maybe its me. anyways... i would see this girl basically every tuesday/ thursday and never speak.. i would always chicken out, because it would be hella people in the hallways, then on top of that she always looked like she didnt wanna be bothered, so i was like fuck lol im never gon get this girl. 

so i said fuck it. ima just wait till i see her on the campus walking and try and speak to her then. i figured shit if i talk to her when its only her, if i get rejected, only me and her will know lol... so idk what picture i had in my head but the shit was nothing close to what actually happened. i thought i would see her on campus... and i literally saw her like 3 times on campus, and she was either to far for me to get to her or going in a building i wasnt going into... its like she was a ghost. i started questioning did i even see her in the first place, or was i just so in need of real love that i made her up...

So i basically just gave up... and then one day at work i saw her again. at this point it had been like weeks since i last saw her on campus. i had dropped the class i had in the spot where i saw her in the first place, so i basically didnt see her at all. 

if im being honest the shit was like a movie, i had got on the elevator to go check the trash in one of the buildings like i had did every single day of that semester, and as soon as i got off i saw her walking in one of the entrances. that same rush of adrenaline came over me like it was my first time seeing her all over again. we looked at each other but walked past one another. she walked to the staircase entrance and was gone in 5 seconds again.

i had never had a girl make my heart beat like this before. i was in a daze. i was so nervous but i now knew that she lived in one of the dorms i worked in, which made me happy. so i planned on talking to her the next day. my confidence level shot up, i was ready to finally talk to this girl. 

the next day at work i tried to spend as much time as i could in her dorm, and of course... i didnt see her. I saw her the one time and that was it. 

It wouldnt be until the end of the next semester which was spring 2017 that i saw her again. i was working in the dorms. she was packing her stuff up to leave, and i said oh well no use now. so i was with my coworker and we were laughing and joking, and i said alright man ima go and make myself busy. 

no sooner do i leave him to go check on trash in the dorm "my future wife" lived in, i was cleaning something in the lobby, and through the blinds i saw my coworker talking to the girl of my dreams!! she was smiling and laughing and i saw them get in the elevator together... so i rushed over to that building and of course the elevators we busy. so i took the stairs down and went to the basement and i didnt see them... i rushed to catch the elevator back up and as i was getting off the elevator i heard her laugh and say "have a good day" and the door shut, and my coworker walked around the corner and said "oh shits whats up"! from the time i saw them talking in the first place to me getting up there when she was walking out the door, it was about 2-3 minutes. 

my heart was beating 1000 times a minute, my coworker came around the corner and saw me, i said "yo bro, who was that girl you were just with"? he said oh her, idk... i was like bro that girl is the girl of my universe lol... the next time you see her give her my number or just text me so i can talk to her... he said alright bro i got you.

And of course because life is life, i didnt see her until spring 2018. J. cole's KOD album had just came out a few weeks prior and i was blasting it in my headphones. i was in dream girl's dorm, and i saw her again... she was loading up her car and getting ready to leave... today was the day. i was goin to speak to her... and i know i said this shit 5 thousand times, but this time i had a feeling it would be my last chance.

i saw her a few times loading her car and was nervous. so i turned on one of my favorite cole songs... 03 adolescence. it gave me the confidence i needed. i saw her walking with her R.A and i knew that meant she was checking out and leaving for good, so i waited in the lobby because i knew she would have to walk through there to get to her car...

i was nervous as fuck, and even more because she had her R.A with her and if i got rejected he would see, but i said fuck it. she walked in and i said excuse me, she turned to me and her smile was beautiful, her voice was soft and kind of high pitched. "i said im sorry to bother you but you are beautiful to me and i have had a crush on you for a long time"

she started blushing, smiling and giggling. she said "oh my god do u? where have you see me at?" I said "eh you know, just around". i knew time was fading for me to ask for her number, so i said hey listen i have to get back to work and i know you have to leave, so how about i give you my number and you just text me. she said ok cool.. she pulled out her iphone. the screen was cracked, so i was extra careful to type my number in correctly. i handed it back to her and she said "cool i'll text you when later"

i said ok. on the outside i looked hella regular, but on the inside i was on the moon somewere... i walked into one of the other dorms and jumped up with excitement, i couldnt believe after all this time we had finally spoke. i finally got to talk to her. i was on fire. but then i quickly came back down to earth because the real test was waiting to see would she hit me up. 

I waited all day and all night, and came up with every excuse in the book. "maybe she just got tired from driving" lol... maybe she dropped her phone and it cracked and broke... maybe she accidently deleted the number. i came up with every excuse in the book. 

and after all that, she never texted me. and i have to say my feelings were hurt for a few days. i was more embarrassed than anything, because i put myself out there only to strike out. it was also the fact that i pictured us walking down the beach, all that lovey dovey shit i had thought about was basically never gonna happen. i had feelings for this girl, and she didnt even know the half. what hurt the most was that she never got to know how i really felt. i pictured her asking me "so how long have you liked me"? and i wouldve told her how i knew i liked her from the first time i laid eyes on her

how i knew exactly what she wore on the first day i saw her, how furiously my heart beat from just getting a glimpse of her. i wouldve told her that every time i saw her it was like the first time i saw her.... but it never happened sadly... and after that encounter it was truly the last time i had saw her. she either transferred,  moved off campus, or graduated. so i wrote this out because your story reminded me of this, but also just to say, we're all kind of awkward in our own little way, and i think that no matter how awkward we are and how odd we might be, theres someone out there waiting in the universe that will love us unconditionally. ( sorry this was so long) have a great night. 

[annctzen]

NCT Appreciation post

Ok so today is my Birthdy (15!!) so I wanted to make an appreciation post of NCT because I love them very much and they were the first group to get me to Kpop!!

Ok lets start!

Taeyong - A great leader of NCT, Just imagine how hard it was for him to deal with all those bad rumors that were going on when they debuted, but he kept it in and even APOLOGIZED about it even though it was a fake rumor. He is really strong and great mom for dreamies. I wish I could meet him and hug him and tell him all of this ❤️ I Love you stay tack❤️

Taeil - Ummmm can he get please get appreciate more because I feel like he is very underrated and not love enough! I mean DID U HEAR HIM SINGING? Huh? huh?? Because his voice could literally melt someone ears, people who recorded NCT’s songs are blessed ok? And he is so beautiful yet not really expressing much, I hope he will be more open and comfortable, ❤️I LOVE YOU MOON TAEIL❤️

Johnny - Firts of all let’s all take a moment and think that this guy trained for 9 years where Jisung was ONLY 6 at that time BISH! He is so tall and attractive I need a moment to process this all in my brain because he is a package full of talent and visual. I WILL SWIM TO KOREA ANF FIGHT SM HE NEED MORE LINE STHANK YOU! ❤️And Johnny please don’t imitate parrot ever again I love you❤️

Yuta - Ok but his voice is so beautiful in Back 2 U have u listened to it? His love for Winwin is so adorable and OMG HE IS SO HANDSOME when I showed my non-Kpop friend his picture she literally fell off from bed and started screaming and saying he is so beautiful! No joke! His dancing is a thing that need more attention bc in Good thing MV have you seen it? That like my favorite part ok?! ❤️I love you Yuta arigato man for your talent❤️

Doyoung - Ok but his purple hair was blessing alrigt? And omg him releasing the Star Blossom (ft. Sejeong) on my birthdays is so cute I can’t ;-; I find his voice very special and so smooth idk its hard to describe his voice but it’s so smooth and high idk I just LOVE WHEN HI SING! ❤️My little bunny that I love so much❤️

Ten - Omg Tennieee 😭 I missed you very much I hope you are feeling better and your knee is good now. We have not seen you in for a long time but we have been blessed when you released Dream in A Dream with that magical choreo that you slayed. NCTzens will be waiting for you! Don’t rush your health comes first we really miss you and can’t wait to see you❤️10/10 that’s how much I love him❤️

Jaehyun - He lived in America for 5 years already! WHAAAT?! Ikr, anyways, can I just say that how handsome he is? Everytime I see him I get this weird feeling that I really want to kiss him (but I’m too young ;-;) OK BUT HIM RAPPING IS A CONCEPT OK? He literally killed that part in fire truck!! And I dare you to watch his fancam right now and just admire how good he dances❤️Jaehyun!!! Always stay handsome as ever❤️

Winwin - Winwin has Wonwon parts in 0mile which everyone is blessed. I just really want to talk about how brave it was for him to move to South Korea from China (KNOWING NO HANGUL) and joining SM, top 3 biggest companies. Just imagine, I’m waiting. His flip in fire truck still make me shook and can watch that part nonstop tbh, but I really do want him to get even more lines!! ❤️Winwin please keep on learning Hangul! You shevdivar improved so much over the year even your group mates are amazed as well!!❤️

Mark - Ok but how hard working he is do you know? Welp time to learn if you don’t; He is in 3 sub units, and he basically has been practicing this whole (2016/17) year. I mean he just turned 18 2 months ago and started rapping “Long ass ride” at 16, I am..speechless. I don’t have to mention this he is loved by everyone I mean come on how can you not like this any lion of sunshine? Right? And his rapping is just SO GOOD IM GONNA FLIP RN! ❤️MARK I LOVE YOU PLEASE CONTINUE TO BLESS US AND DO WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY DEAR❤️

Renjun - A very innocent boy righ? :] nope (innocent ones are not to be trusted) considering that you are choking half of the dreamies playfully DOES NOT STOP ME FROM LOVING YOU! Nah ah bish you thought! His voice is just like Doyoungs it’s undescribebly beautiful and hard to express how he sound it’s like...uGhh I love him! Just like Taeil Renjun is not really open, he seems like he is lost in his own world sometimes (like me) but we want to learn more from you Renjun! Be open to your members ❤️RENJUN! There is no word in a dictionary to describe

Jeno - LEE JENO IS FUN OK? He became so open in this comeback and has changed so much!! His blonde hair suits him so well and he is so handsome and talented and a good dancer that OMG He deserves to be called main dancer along with Jisung tbh. His rap is my fave part in We Young I am not even kidding! ❤️Jeno Plead continue to bless us with your talent and visuals And remember I am voting for you in #100MostHansomeFaces along with Taeyong❤️

Haechan - My Shinshine😍 Do you know how much I love and support you? You are so strong just like Taeyong, dealing with those awful rumors but still holding it in at such a young age. Your voice makes me feel like I am in heaven and and literally makes me very soft and makes me want to kiss your forehead❤️ Please Remember NCTzens love you no matter what❤️

Jaemin - Eh, since I’ve joined late in the fandom I did not get to know you very well ;-; I ‘be watched videos but it did not help since they are old. But considering that I’ve never got a chance to know you better, I still have a special place for you in my heart! I will be a big hype girl when you will comeback! I hope you are feeling better and smiling everyday my little bean ❤️Please eta and take care we will be waiting for your comeback whether it is with Dreamies or a new unit! I am excited to get to know you better❤️

Chenle - U little bean full of happiness and energy😁Just Like Winwin Hyung came to Korea knowing no Hangul, is you but younger version of him! You’ve learned so much Hangul that you are almost fluent now can you imagine? AND HIS VOICE IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND CLAMING IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN HIM SINGING DURING HIS PREDEBUT THEN PLEASE WATCH IT! ❤️ Lele please continue to smile and be happy everyday! You are a predebut kind along with Ten and Johnny😎❤️

Jisung - MAKNAEEEE! You are so tall and handsome you should really know that! YOU CUTE LITTLE RAP IN WE YOUNG IS SO CTACHY IT GETA STUCK IN MY HEAD AND HIS DANCING IS JUST SO AMAZING AND SHARP THAG THERE ARE NO WORS TO DESCRIBE IT! Jisung you are very talented kid, but SM seems to not realize because they don’t give you enough lines ;-; ❤️I LOVE YOU JISUNGIEE❤️

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

what the... fuck?

yet again we start off with a cutscene that looks like its from a completely different game... or low quality anime

-

...why are we starting off in court

-

“who brings a defendant to his own trial late”

why... is this sentence not processing 

for the life of me i have no idea what that means;

-

simon: you can just SCARE the judge into not giving a fuck about shit like being late, or threatening people under the guise of clever psychological manipulation!

also hi again simon

are you ready to be fun and likeable and not awful ?? I'm excited!

-

“i wish he'd stop treating me like a child all the time”

hey, old habits die hard.

-

simons already doing well by being an overprotective dork... so far so good. dont disappoint me, samurai.

-

our defendant is drunk

we’re off to an excellent start!

-

what... accent is this...

oh its drunkinese ok 

-

“three sheets to the wind”

ive never heard that one

maybe they can get away with having a drunk guy but they cant actually say drunk?

-

somebody get this guy some raw eggs and hotsauce??

wow hes drunk enough to be close to vomiting? he’s not acting hungover so I'm assuming that he’s been drinking up till now. and simon was last with him, so...

yeah I'm blaming simon for this

-

“ive known athena longer than ive known bucky”

“ive frequented his soba restaurant”

contradiction! simon was in jail up until very recently, and knew Athena for a very short period of time during her childhood. unless he met Bucky right after taking care of athena, it’s not possible that he’s known her longer. that or i guess he could just walk right out of jail to get noodles.

-

“meat slapped between slabs of bread...”

oh no ya dont, translation team. you made your burger bed, now you have to lie in it. no mocking the joke now.

-

quit being so tsundere simon. and yes I'm giving you the luxury of being tsundere and not just an asshole who’d prefer the company of men he once tried to cut to ribbons just because Athena’s a girl. because I'm in a good mood today!

-

a) scariest ringtone to date

b) he runs that place alone?? sucks to be buck

-

please stop doing the vomit animation its making me uncomfortable 

-

“this is no time for idle chatter”

oh simon, you obviously dont know what a chekov’s... um, conversation is.

-

wow so not only are we starting in the court room, but Sadmad said his prayers already. This is shaping up to be a rushed case.

...because obviously this is just filler before we get back to the Oh-So Delightful Adventures in Lawyer Land

-

edgeworth called him back for this case?? ...why???

-

Sadmad: I could be less horrible now that I owe the WAA a favourOR I could threaten to send a young lady to hell for just doing her job!!!! GO SADMAD, GO SADMAD

-

...dont call her a spring chick.

-

wait wait MAY 12TH?!

They just finished Maya’s trial and Edgeworth hauls Sadmad back to America over night?? How the fuck does Sadmad think he’s more prepared than us?? He had about the same amount of time to prepare!

-

I’ve got a good feeling about this case

-

Sadmad just let that poor butterfly rest jfc the aesthetic isn't that important 

-

“this guy stole the deed to this other guys shop, so other guy KILLED HIM to get it back”

yes, brilliant deduction, not an overreaction at all

-

Sadmad, you literally got back here at like 1 am last night. Go fuck yourself and leave Athena alone.

-

So Apollo’s a  red pepper, Athena’s an egg yolk... But there aren’t any blue foods, so Phoenix is just stuck being called ‘putrid’ in general.

Anyway cut Athena some slack. She’s already progressed far beyond having a breakdown in court because someone talked over her. 

-

SEXY PAN UP SHOT FOR SIMON BLACKQUILL,

-

“Simon!! You didnt tell me you were taking the stand!!!”

“There wasn’t time...”

no time at all during that 5 minutes you spent in the lobby. But I'm laughin’ so I’m not judging. Also I missed that theme...

-

AW  YIS

THROW DOWN SIMON

he’s the lesser of two evils this time; I'm ready to back him up! Simon in the blue corner, ding ding!!!!

-

half-awake sadmad looks up “rakugo” on wikipedia at 3 am

“yeah that should do it”

...and memorizes the whole article apparently

(coughmartystucough)

-

Sadmad: No wasting time!! This soul must get to the afterlife post-haste! You’re all putrid lumps of fecal matter for putting off the last ri–– wait, an opportunity to gloat?! Hold onto your hats, baby! The next twenty minutes are mine!!!

-

(weeps) thank you Athena

-

simon will remember this (you blackguard)

-

sexy pan up shot for–– oh, it really is a “sexy” pan up shot this time

except for those... soulless eyes...

-

aw nuts she has that drone-y X people theme. 

-

OH GOD 

OH GOD YOUR BOOBS

THAT WOULD HURT SO FUCKING MUCH

IM CLUTCHING MY CHEST JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

but I'm also chortling at the booby jokes teehee

-

“Never show sadness! Smile, smile, smile! With a twisty-twist-twist!”

Hey, it’s the new motto of ace attorney! Your self worth is based solely on how well you can cover up your less palatable feelings! Yaaaay!!

...also I’m calling it now, she did it.

-

i think her balloons are pretty impressive, athena

-

420 WE GOT ONE FOLKS

-

“Sad Monk Sadmahdi”

simon, youre gaining brownie points fast

-

Lang Zi says... Oh, uh I mean, the Kooraheenist Bible says......

-

“I’m checking in with the big tough old man prosecutor because i underestimate this small, young, female defence attorney”

I'm getting flashbacks to Turnabout Beginnings. and not good ones. 

You kick it, girl. tell them off.

-

nice! the judge is on our side!

-

why did she mention the dog barking a lot if it was only because he was hungry?

-

that is one hongry dog

something about the dog just burying the rest of the food is making me laugh

-

oh so that was important eh

hmm

-

has athena always done this double-slam thing, or is this new?

-

Athena: Witness, I think you might’ve been lying a little bit 

Sadmad: Vile hitler-satan, I cast you down to hell for your debauchery, how dare you insinuate that this case has more to it than what is readily viewable on the surface? Tsk tsk, so inexperienced, so putrid, 

-

“What? The gallery doesn’t get a say in this!”

They’re not a jury, you know!!!

-

“Why is the whole gallery siding with prosecutor sadmadhi?”

it’s because he’s hot, athena. thats the only reason anybody likes him.

-

tbh I'm actually pretty proud of Athena

same time last year Sadmad would have put her in a panic-stupor. but not today. Kudos on working that out, kiddo. You’re moving up!

-

...wait a minute

“with a little push, you could succumb to despair”

>despair

does Sadmad know? Does he know about her PTSD? If so... He’s deliberately TRYING TO TRIGGER HER SO THAT HE CAN WIN THE CASE?!

WHAT THE FUCK

-

oh boy!! OH BOY!! a dying message!!! THOSE ARE FOOL PROOF, AS PROVED BY EVERY SINGLE CASE IN THIS SERIES TO CONTAIN ONE!!

-

“That makes perfect sense, doesn't it!”

Yes... the man who suffocated to death somehow had time to leave a clue to his killer...

...you do realize that to be suffocated, the killer has to be there the whole time, right? if there’s nothing in his lungs and no trace of poison in his stomach, then it has to have been manual suffocation, either by strangulation (though we have yet to hear about any marks on his neck) or by covering his mouth and nose. 

so youre implying that rather than fighting back, the old coot rearranged a bunch of playing cards... in plain view of his aggressor

yet again, Sadmad makes a brilliant fool proof deduction.

-

ohhh my god he’s still trying to do it. HE’S STILL TRYING TO TRIGGER HER. I SWEAR TO FUCK, he’s been tolerable–– very thinly tolerable up until now. But this is just disgusting. This is brazen, malicious cheating. I don’t care if he turns out to be jesus himself when the inevitable “urhurhur he was good all along!!” twist shows up; I’m not forgetting this.

-

Damnit , Athena, don’t fucking listen to him. Don’t listen to a word he fuckin says.

Man I’ve never been so happy to see Simon. Little bit of the pot-calling-the-kettle-black here since Simon’s MO is to threaten and manipulate–– err, ah, use psychology!! to influence people, but I hate Sadmad so much that I don’t care.

-

“To think, you were so easily manipulated by his parlour tricks...”

Watch it, Simon. You’re the lesser of two evils this time, but that doesn’t exempt you from criticism. As a psychologist, you should know WHY it worked so well on Athena and you should be SENSITIVE about it. 

You’re cleared of all charges, remember?? You don’t have to pretend to be a douchebag to keep up your ill-thought-out plan anymore.

-

“I’m not girding up anything in this skirt!”

well i just don't know what to say to that

-

Oh boy here comes Uendo.

Everyone seems to love him so I’m hoping he’ll be a reprieve from Sadmad’s......... everything 

-

Sexy pan up shot of... a guy on a bunch of flower bags. With his own theme song!

-

so far I'm loving his animations and I'm always a slut for shitty puns!!

let’s see... blush stickers for the goofy one, hair forwards and eyeshadow for the lady. Clever little things that make each one of his characters different. He's definitely a fun character so far!

-

ah I'm really enjoying his dialogue 

ill bet the translators had a ball with this

-

won't you PLEASE laugh at my PUN!!!

its ok uendy, i thought it was good.

-

“Silence is more precious than diamonds”, eh?

I can definitely see which Sadmad values more...

-

ooh a spit take! not since godot have we been blessed... also i notice they've dialled up the rock guitar in Athena’s theme. Personally don’t see it as an improvement but eh

-

“yes, making it look like the man drowned was obviously because the culprit hated him and wanted to desecrate his corpse instead of getting the fuck out of there quicker like any killer would”

not to make it look like 

he’d drowned in the bowl

to throw off the police.

of course not; that’d be too obvious.

another win for the great Sadlock Madholmes.

-

wait did Sadmad just say Objection?? I thought he didnt do that

also; duel of the growly voices

-

prosecutor sad monk. simon’s still a dick but at least his dickishness spreads to  people i dont like :3

-

ooh i love it when i can rearrange physical pictures

-

“you can put the cards back in their right place but if you cant explain them then youre fucked”

ever thought that maybe theyre irrelevant to the case and theyre just... cards?? sadmad??

i mean i know theyre not but they could easily have just been on the table when the murder happened. they could stand for absolutely nothing.

-

ahh... the sweet refreshing scent of common sense. you redeem yourself step by step, simon. i mean, when youre not being a dick about it.

-

“don’t testify.”

franziska tried this once. it was for an evil scheme. i dont want to have to threaten another witness with revealing a dark secret; that was depressing.

but at least we know meanwhile that Sadmad isn’t above dirty shit like shutting up a witness. .......not that we didnt know that before.......

-

“Are you trying to taunt him into talking? Such a petty trick will never work”

POT.

CALLING.

THE KETTLE.

JET BLACK, SADFUCK.

-

simon’s lucky he’s surrounded by idiots and people with poor impulse control, otherwise his “mind tricks” wouldn’t do shit

“to be turned by such an obvious ploy... what a man of weak spirit.”

for once, Sadmad, I gotta agree.

-

its time for 

Artistic!

License!

Psychologyyyyyyyyy!!!!

-

sadmad doesn't get his way: my god will smite you later :(((((

-

now that we’ve worn this non-joke out...

-

“seeing my master asleep just made me so fuckin sad...”

-

i love that anger has such a distinctive ping sound

-

please do not call your toe that

-

“You gotta fuss over every tiny detail like this?” yes, Uendo. That’s why I’m writing these !!

-

that box of buns keeps drawing my attention. i love buns

-

Simon, you could try using some positive reinforcement. Mia wasn’t soft on Phoenix, but she encouraged him to think and puzzle things out for himself; she didn’t just call him an idiot. All the time.

-

“as sharp as a trout”

what the fuck

-

“so thats how it works ! fascinating!”

its not like i spent a lot of time working under the woman who invented said matrix!

-

its kinda sad that Athena’s never seen multiple emotions in high dudgeon 

she must hang out with a lot of mild mannered people 

-

athena: ive just proved these words mean something detrimental to the witness

sadmad: erm but they mean nothing to me therefor they warrant no further investigation.

???

i stg most of Nahyuta’s “”””counter argumnets”””” are legitimately just him trying to disparage the obvious contradiction away.

-

again athena seems unable to believe that people can only feel one intense emotion at a time

should i be worried

-

silly AA, that’s not how DID works!

oh well, at least Uendo is the fun kind of DID, unlike other... side-splittingly shameful characters I could mention...

-

Pohlfuckya indeed sadmad

-

ROLE CALL

-

“You seem proud of yourself, but all youve done is infringe on the privacy of the witness”

(sweats) i hate it when Sadmad makes good points

-

its not really dissociative if you dont... um... dissociate.

-

Sadmad: let it go and––

Athena: Shut up!!

Sadmad: Let it g––

Athena: Sssh!!!

Sadmad: le––

Athena: SJSJSJSJ

-

“if words will not sway you, perhaps pain will”

eject

him

-

i dont... like that... the beads are around her torso.......

-

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HE FUCKIN CUT THEM IN MID AIR

that deserves a fucking cutscene all on its own. its like the time Lang caught Franziska’s whip only cool and not bulshitty

...also you coulda maybe done that a lil earlier simon lol

-

“I dont give two flips”

all his flips have flown the coop

-

“but if Cykes dono were to submit to you here...”

DO NOT 

USE THE WORD SUBMIT

WHEN PRAYER BEAD BONDAGE IS INVOLVED

-

fuck you sadmad, not everyone has magic gary-stu powers that let them memorize everything about a single subject in one night.

-

once again sadmad wastes precious time and diamonds showing off

-

after this lengthy, lengthy, leeeeeengthy detour............ wouldyouliketoaddthisstatementtothetestimony?

-

“you look like a hen with a dozen eggs to say”

you can just say “constipated” and it'll be less creepy, simon

-

how could they... not tell... oh who cares

-

“we’ve got you by the stones now, Uendo!”

DAMN the TESTICLE references in this game!!!

-

“heres a big plot twist that i just convenientlyforgottomention urhurhurhr..”

spoken like a true prosecutor 

-

there was such a long pause there i thought he was building up to a pun

but of course he wasnt. sadmad isn't cool at all

-

heheh i just noticed that Bucky has hair noodles, just like Mr. Eldoon (tho Bucky’s dont appear to be a wig)

also its... very distressing to have a drunk client.

-

y’know i just realized

Sadmad is always talking about sending souls to the twilight realm in the proper way. but he's an international prosecutor. he’s probably prosecuted victims of all religious alignments.

isn't it kind of disrespectful to perform your religion’s funeral rites on someone who doesn’t practice it???

-

again, BK is only successful because Uendo is a moron

to be fair though, that was one of his better ones.

-

“You were leading the witness!”

I...

Just, fuckin’. Please stop making good points, sadmad. I don’t want to be enraged with you, I want to be enraged AT You!!

...well i mean I don’t want to but i hate it when you bring up excellent points.

-

anyway why doesn't sadmad want them to find Owen anyway. if it comes to nothing, who cares? can you just not stand having people who aren’t you waste time??

-

again... DID doesn’t work like that........

-

macbeth, starring athena cykes and simon blackquill

-

hey i jusT REALIZED WHERE’S TAKA

-

thats,,, reallllllyy not how DID works,,,,,,,,,,,,,

-

highfalutin’

-

“if you see one, there are likely thirty in your home’

thirty what

WTHIRTY WHAT

-

look if you knew how DID is supposed to work you'd probably have a good hypothesis by now. not an... ethical one to implement, but a working one.

-

i guess Uendo just never sleeps then, because apparently falling unconscious calls out another personality.

...brilliant.

-

Simon: STOP BEING SO NERVOUS. IS MY NAGGING AND DISAPPOINTMENT SOOTHING YOU???? IS IT?????!!!!

-

the time honoured tradition of turning a slip of paper over... truly, this is an Ace Attorney game 

-

dude.... if you conk out from the trace amounts of alcohol in a bun, you should maybe visit a doctor possibly 

-

“hmm, yes, i will allow you to render this man unconscious from alcohol.”

classic judge!!

-

au where blackqyil is a very angsty delivery boy

-

BABY

THERE HE IS

MY PRECIOUS BIRD

I WAS SO SCARED SOEMTHING HAD HAPPENED TO YOU

-

...that bird is going to fly into a shop, terrorize the workers, steal bean buns and (hopefully) drop a twenty on the counter as he flies the coop

awesome 

-

phew that was a long court... but wait if this is a half-episode (which it probably is) and it started on a court day...

no investigation?! RIP OFF

-

gonna cut this one off here. till next time...

[starsocsideblog]

did u want to hear pointlessly long rambling about ocs.....this is the post for u

okay so studying is killing me atm so i decided to use some chill time to chatter about my ocs…my kids….because lbr this blog is a mess of assorted information

stuff under read more

context? i suck at plotting and also gonna dodge some spoilers for now so all u need to know is that the story is set in a futuristic sci fi/urban fantasy sort of world (with some of those sweet dystopic elements thrown in because i love dystopias, even ya ones, especially ya ones) in which magic is a thing which a few people have (is it genetics? is it prophecy? this is why i don’t have a plot yet) but its sort of rather illegal to use and have because either a. magic users have put people in danger in the past and/or b. there is a prophecy that claims magic users will revive an old aristocracy based society in which those with magic had absolute rule and it sucked for every else so there was a revolution and honestly? no one wants that back. it sucked. mostly magic users have their magic removed and their memories wiped so they can start anew in society (although with a few restrictions for a while)

the main four kiddos are a bunch of late teens/young adults (i’m thinking about 19/20?) that have teamed up for various reasons to do some of that sweet illegal magic stuff and maybe jumpstart a prophecy that dooms the world but that last bit was an accident, and accidents happen.

first up is stella shields, who technically dates back to one of the first ocs i ever made??? (she has definitely changed a lot tho haha) stella is the self-proclaimed leader of the group given that she has good leadership qualities and is confident and brave and also very tol and swol, so there skylar

she has no memories of her childhood and is fixated on finding her birth mother, who she believes was andromeda sparks, famed/disgraced figure in prophecy. stella has no magic and believes it was removed as a child, and has been adopted by a lovely but kind of sneaky lady called tamara. tamara studies prophecy and such which is how stella even guessed that in the first place (also because they look super similar).

stella is a deconstruction of a heroic stereotype - she’s tall, strong, and despite having no magic she fights just as well as (if not better than) most of the cast. she even has the fancy heir-style backstory to boot. unfortunately, during the story…things…happen which deplete her strength and she has to take a backseat to the action, which tears her up inside but also prompts her looking at herself without a heroic lens and seeing her flaws/how much unnecessary importance she places on her status as a hero and her heritage

besides being obsessed with the idea of being a hero like her mother was, stella kind of has an ongoing identity crisis which she fills up with fantasies of finding her mother and dumping traits she thinks a hero should have in place of her almost “blank slate” personality (which she’s pretty in denial about). her character arc is about her finally recognising the way that she fills in others’ traits as her own and her growing as her own person and aaaaaaaa i love to see my baby mature

next is lina taylor, the problematic fave™ and stella’s best friend since high school. I’m not gonna lie i love lina a lot because she’s probably the first character i started applying actual flaws and consequences - as in, not 100% forgivable and pure intentioned flaws like being ‘too selfless’ and stuff.

lina is paranoid to the point where it hurts not only herself but others, and tends to lash out when feeling pretty much any negative emotion - sometimes her caution pays off, other times it does even more damage. she’s deathly scared of being betrayed and thus hates anyone knowing too much about her, lies about herself incredibly often, and will attack anyone who tries to get close to her if she feels threatened. however, she is a quick thinker and will immediately take a fall for her loved ones if she thinks one of them is in danger.

is lina a magic user? technically spoilers (eh…like its pretty early on? not a big one?) but someone dies and in her panic she brings them back to life. sort of. mostly. in that yeah, their heart beats, but they’re kind of (unknowingly) a walking corpse. her magic is of the healing variety, but explaining how magic works is kind of complicated in a character post rn….maybe later. just know that that sort of magic is a one-off and no, she can’t bring people back to life willy nilly (or even fully back to life at all)

honestly i love her character development as well because she learns that hey, she kind of is a pretty toxic person and has to work to undevelop these traits and make up for the times she screws up. it makes everyone around her happier, but it also makes her so much happier too (which i think she does deserve)

next is skylar ashe, technically good person? best known for doing his best, skylar is far and beyond the best magic user in the cast (main characters and probably even secondary characters too) probably because he’s one of the few characters that indulges in the slightly illegal hobby. skylar is well spoken and clever, and one of those people who has stupidly high aspirations at all times. he and stella have a rivalry thing going on, and they’re very jealous of each other (although skylar never notices because his self esteem is so low he can’t comprehend someone admiring him. he needs a hug)

skylar for the most part is a sweetheart (#teammum) and is a nice person to be around but can also be a bit scary given that a. he is very very manipulative when he wants to be and b. his moral code is a bit worn down in places. he tends to over-rationalise his own behaviour when guilt becomes too apparent, and can come off as cold. rip don’t piss him off mostly

skylar is sort of??? essie’s adopted brotherish person (essie’s up next!!). his magic appeared when he was a really little kiddo but his parents didn’t want to turn him because he was like 6. and thus a pair of lawful goods decided to buck the law for a while (like 10 years, which is a p good effort i guess) but that went about as well as expected and skylar eventually runs away from home, and comes under the care of essie’s mums. this is partially why skylar gets so much of his self worth from magic because despite the fact that it kind of screwed up his family it’s one of the few things he’s good at - he spent years and years practising so he could bottle it up (btw his magic is illusion and telekinetically based)

listen just give this kid some history books and a quiet room and he will be the most happy ever, and probably give you a hug and buy you lunch. his heart is in the right place most of the time and he does try to act in altruistic ways. that whole self-rationalising thing gets challenged a LOT throughout the story likethetimeheaccidentallykilledsomeonebutdontworryaboutthat and honestly? boy learns that no, you don’t need magic abilities/fun illegal hobbies 2 b kewl. u just need to love urself xx

fINALLY IS ESSIE IM LOVE HER TBH. vanessa mayford, known gay, and also part of the magic squad made up of skylar and a few other characters. a dancer by day and the voice of reason™ by night. except she’s not really that great of a voice of reason per se given that her response to “is that illegal” is “did u mean a challenge"

essie is very extroverted and a bit (a lot) of an attention seeker - if she’s there she’s mostly in it for the thrills. even if she’s not the best with reasonable advice (see above) she’s a bit of a bleeding heart and will always give someone a hug and a pep talk if they need it. on one hand she’s got her super overdramatic flair going on but also on the other she’s occasionally chill?? like she’ll do dumb stuff just for fun but is also pretty much unfazed by anything. a dragon or something could be staring her in the face and she’d just be like “can i jump high enough to kick it in the nose”

alas, as is the way with many loud people, she has pretty low self confidence and relies on the validation of others to feel like she’s accomplished anything in her life (which is one reason why she’s always trying to get people’s attention). she feels very unfulfilled with how her life is going despite still being very young, and thus is driven by the fatal american need to have a pretty good time to do reckless things just for the adrenaline rush - everything is a performance for her. she also hates conflict within her own group of friends, and sometimes brushes things under the rug if she thinks it’ll cause a problem, electing to try to deal with it herself.

essie’s magic has been a bit fiddly given that the rules change depending on the rules of magic (which tend to change from setting to setting). her magic is atm shapeshifting but the rules of it are getting a bit confusing so I’m thinking about changing it a little bit. whatever her magic is, she cares the least about magic and thus while she has a lot of raw power she can’t be bothered training to increase it (if she did, she’d probably outrank skylar power-wise).

in conclusion? essie is a babe and im love her a lot. she’s the charming, gay and flirty gal that we all need in our lives and one of my fave characters to write tbh. wins awards for best dressed, most likely to succeed, best dancer (she’s a cheerleader btw) and probably also prom queen. i would vote for her. she would probably cry but that’s okay

so those are my children i love them and now i have to go back to studying my ass off bye

[peachcitt]

an enlightening chap 29!!! @luvclick @megatraven @gigiree

its enlightening because for some reason there’s a lot of new info that’s dropped in this chapter and idk if its overwhelming but eh its there!! have fun with that

anyway i started this chapter last week but then i realized that i wouldn’t be finished in time so i decided to push back publishing it to this week where i procrastinated on continuing it until ysterday when i was dead tired from the for some reason crazy day i had and only ended up writing about a couple hundred more words. wake up this morning with stuff to do in the afternoon and i was like. im finishing this b. cue me writing around 3000 words within a couple of hours with no breaks. im amazing

Read from the beginning/where it’s originally posted here

Story description: They say curiosity killed the cat. But it cando a whole lot more than that. [In which Marinette falls into an unfamiliar place with strange inhabitants.]

Chapter description: Marinette meets one of Chat’s most precious friends, and Chat gets roasted more than once.

Rated: T (because there’s some violence that may not be suited for some audiences.. this chapter is really tame save for a panic attack that character has at the end)

Chat was silent for a while after they left Nathaneal’s, not even commenting when Marinette broke away from his side to touch a save point, though he did seem to stiffen a little. Marinette wasn’t uncomfortable with the silence. It wasn’t something heavy, and when she looked over at him, the little crease between his eyebrows told her he was only thinking hard about something.

Just as they were nearing a shop, Chat stopped them, his hand tightening his hand on hers. “I know that you intend to stick to your crazy plans of saving the Underground,” he started, looking her in the eyes. The tone and sound of his voice was careful, as if he had carefully chosen each word before speaking them. “Before I say anything else, I want you to tell me how you plan to do that.”

Marinette thought for a second, biting her lip. In her dream, the woman had said to just continue her path of forward, and considering she had said that their goals were now the same, she might as well mean that Marinette’s supposed to be doing that to save the Underground. Which is sort of what she wanted to do anyway. Go forward, find a way for everyone to be satisfied. She didn’t think Chat would accept such a vague answer, though, so she decided to call upon the advice Tikki had given her what seemed like so long ago.

“A friend I once knew told me the best way to solve conflicts was to talk it out.”

A smile twitched on Chat’s face before disappearing completely, and Marinette wondered if she had imagined it. “So you plan to walk into the palace, go straight to King Plagg, and give him a stern talking to?”

“I imagine it’ll be more of a two-way conversation than a talking to, but sure. That’s the plan.”

He let out a sigh that almost sounded like a laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Bringing her scarred hand up to his lips, he gave her knuckles a light kiss before looking back up at her. “I’ll help you, Marinette, and I’ll protect you so that you can talk your way out of everything.”

“But you still think it’s crazy.”

“Oh, I know it’s crazy.”

She pushed his face away from her hand, giving his hair a light ruffle. “Thanks, Chat.”

His throat made a small noise that sounded like purring as her fingers ran through his hair, and Marinette pulled her hand away, giving Chat a surprised look. Chat’s eyes widened, and he cleared his throat, looking away from her.

“Anyway,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “This shop is run by an old friend. We should go in to pay him a little visit so I can introduce you, and also stock you up on some food.”

When they walked into the shop, Marinette was so surprised by the most human-looking akuma she had ever seen, that she stopped walking.

Behind the front counter stood an old man, totally normal in appearance except for a bright red and very tacky Hawaiian style tourist shirt and a large turtle shell on his back. As for the aura he gave off…

Marinette had never really felt an aura around akumas, and she had no idea if what she was feeling truly was an aura, but it felt so unbelievably powerful that it took her breath away. The power seemed to roll off the serenely smiling old man, and the combination of unfamiliar sights and feelings made her stop by the door, completely motionless.

“Hey, Fu,” Chat said, immediately walking up to the counter to lean on it. “How’s it going? This is my friend – what’s wrong?” he asked, finally noticing Marinette’s frozen figure still by the door.

Finally, she shook off her alarm enough to walk closer. Though she was still wary of the man that Chat had called ‘Fu.’ “Nothing,” she said, eyeing Fu to try and figure out why he felt so different from other akumas. There was of course the flow of energy practically suffocating Marinette, but she found that if she tried to not to think about it, it wouldn’t be so bad. But his appearance also seemed off. Normally, akumas resembled humans to an extent, but there was always something big that differentiated the two.

The only thing about Fu was his turtle shell.

Fu seemed to notice Marinette’s careful scrutiny, though he didn’t seem bothered by it. “Hello. You’re a new face, aren’t you?”

“I’m new here,” Marinette said, feeling the magical power of Fu roll off him in waves as she stepped closer to him.

“Well, I’m sure that by now you’ve already seen a lot of the Underground, but welcome to the Underground,” he said, smiling at her. “I trust Chat has not been too much of a nuisance?”

Chat scowled at him. “Why are you always like this with my friends?”

“No, he’s been a nuisance,” Marinette said, and Fu laughed. Chat looked at her in betrayal.

“I’m not sure I expected anything else, to be quite honest.” He paused, looking over Marinette with a gleam in his eye that she wasn’t sure if she was comfortable with. “But I definitely didn’t expect to see a human so far deep in the Underground in this sort of age. You deserve a hearty congratulations.”

Marinette blinked. So far, the other akumas she’d actually had a conversation with hadn’t seemed to notice that she was human. Fu knew right off the bat.

“Who are you?” she asked, unable to stop herself from taking a step back.

“A friend,” Fu promised. “I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

“Well, you did, and I’m very alarmed.”

Chat stepped in between her and Fu, his hands held out to her like he was trying to calm a panicked animal. Marinette glared at him. “Bug, there’s nothing to be suspicious about. Fu’s one of my closest friends” – he casted a pointed look back at Fu – “though sometimes he’s too upfront with what he knows or figures out.”

“Excuse me for being suspicious,” Marinette said, still not convinced enough to stop being angry and sounding more than a little sarcastic and rude, “but most of the time when people know I’m human, they try to kill me.”

“Fu’s not like that,” Chat soothed. “He’s too old to fight anything.” Marinette heard Fu laugh a little. She still wasn’t convinced.

“If it makes you feel a little better,” Fu interjected, peeking out from behind Chat, “I’ve been here for a very long time. Before the king decided to implement the ‘hating humans’ plans, an idea I was and still am much opposed to.”

Marinette stepped out to see Fu better, still giving him a wary glare. “How’d you know I was human?”

“I’m a smart man,” Fu said with a shrug. “And I’ve heard some news that the palace has found and is trying to locate a human wearing spots.” He tapped an ear as he said this, and Marinette wondered if he was referring more to her earrings than her sweater. “It also makes sense that Chat would bring you here, since he always introduces new friends to me.”

“How’d you know I’d be his friend?”

“Chat likes to get into trouble, and making friends with a human is a great way to get in trouble.”

“You make me sound so bad,” Chat interrupted. Marinette noticed that he didn’t deny it.

“Okay,” Marinette said, finally relaxing, if only a small amount. “Sure. I trust you. A little.”

Fu observed her still tightly wrung posture, the way her fists clenched and unclenched, the way her feet shifted back and forth, as if ready at that very second to run. “Perhaps,” he said, watching as her eyes bored into him, “it would help to converse over a cup of tea.”

“It’s really great tea,” Chat offered, his eyes pleading with Marinette to relax, for goodness’ sake. “Calms you down.”

Marinette didn’t take long to decide what she wanted to do, but that didn’t mean that she liked it all that much. Fu lead the two of them to a back door of his small shop which opened up to a small cave-like dwelling that was neat and orderly, if somewhat cramped.

It seemed like the entire home was all in one room, and everything looked to be sort of squished together, but it seemed very lived in. Despite the fact that Marinette was still on edge from the power emanating from Fu, she still found somewhere inside her to observe the surroundings with a fond feeling nudging at her gut.

There was a small wooden dining table pushed right up to the edge of the kitchen counter tops, and Marinette heard the scream of an overheating tea kettle. The scent of the house was something warm and herb-like. There were gemstones embedded into the uneven walls.

Fu rushed to the tea kettle, maneuvering easily around the furniture, and gestured for Chat and Marinette to sit. Chat sat down first, looking a lot more at ease than Marinette, who remained standing and watched as Fu gathered three mismatched cups and began pouring the hot water into them.

“Can I ask why you’re upset, Marinette?” Chat asked, his voice low and sincere as he tugged on Marinette’s hand to try and get her to sit. She conceded after a moment, still keeping her hand on Chat’s.

“I’m not upset,” Marinette said, her voice slow as she tried to place what exactly it was she was feeling. “I just feel very overwhelmed? On edge? There’s something about your friend that makes little alarms go off in my head,” she said, tearing her eyes away from Fu as he took out a box full of tea bags and carefully chose three different ones to put in the cups.

Chat thought for a moment. “I’ve been around Fu for as long as I remember, so I can’t exactly understand what you’re feeling.” His teeth worried at his bottom lip as he thought for a moment. “But I do know that Fu isn’t the average… akuma.”

Marinette didn’t fail to notice the pause before Chat called Fu an akuma. She didn’t comment on it.

“He’s very old, and he’s very powerful,” he continued. “I don’t think akumas tend to mind so much since they can feel magic all the time, but for a human inexperienced with such potent sort of power, I suppose it could be overwhelming. But he’s not going to hurt you. That much is a promise.”

Fu carefully held all three cups in arms, performing an almost impressive balancing act as he carried them to the table. He distributed the cups to Marinette and Chat, handing Chat a plain black mug with what looked like cat whiskers on it and Marinette a delicate looking tea cup with a pink cherry blossom design reminiscent of Chinese-style artistry.

“As always,” Fu said, regarding Chat with a crooked smile as he took a sip from his own mottled green cup, “you’re not as good at whispering as you think you are.” Marinette stiffened. “Take a page from Marinette’s book,” he said, giving her a wink.

“Leave me alone, old man. It’s just because you can recognize my voice.”

“It’s also because your voice still cracks like you’re a pubescent teenager.”

“Does not!” Chat exclaimed, his voice cracking as he said those words.

Marinette found herself snorting a little as she toyed with the handle of the tea cup, her eyes flicking over to Chat’s horrified and offended expression. “Apparently it does.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Chat pouted.

“I’ll be on whatever side I please.”

Fu’s eyes twinkled as he regarded Marinette once more, but there seemed to be an edge there as well. Marinette wondered what she had done to put it there. “As for what you two were so conspicuously whispering about, I must say that Chat is right on all accounts.”

“A rarity,” Marinette commented. Chat gaped at her.

“Indeed.” Chat sunk low in his seat, giving both Fu and Marinette looks. Neither of them paid attention to him. Fu continued without a hitch. “I am old. I am powerful, if I do say so myself. To people who have been around me for a long period of time or akumas with magic as an everyday experience, the extra magic energy inside me doesn’t bother anyone.”

“I fall under both of those categories,” Chat interjected. “You fall under neither.”

“But I’ve been around magic for a long period of time,” she said, taking a sip of the  tea and finding it to taste almost like chamomile, but with a hint of something sweeter. It seemed to calm her down a bit. “Granted, not as long as everyone else here, but still enough to be experienced with it, right?”

Chat brought his mug up to his mouth, taking a sip and making a face. He shot a glare at Fu before turning to Marinette. “Honestly, it isn’t so much about how long you’ve been around it. Humans who’ve been able to take on Fu’s stupid amount of power really have just been in the presence of magic for some of it to seep inside them. The magic’s a part of them, even if they don’t realize it.”

“But I have-” She stopped herself, tightening her grip on the tea cup in her hands and looking at Chat helplessly.

“I’m very much aware that you have SOUL inside you,” Fu said gently, reaching over the table to lay a light hand over hers. He and Chat shared a look that seemed to be filled with unspoken confirmations, and she glanced between them confusedly. “I was able to sense it the moment you walked in.”

Marinette looked down at Fu’s hand over hers, and she lowered the tea cup, not making moving her hand away from Fu’s grasp. “If you understand that much, then surely you must be as confused as me? I have a SOUL inside me, and that’s pure magic, right? It’s a part of me.”

Fu leaned back, taking his hand away from Marinette’s and stroking his beard thoughtfully. “To me, it’s seems as though it’s untapped power in you.” He paused, seeming to examine her a little more. “When Chat and I described the humans with magic in them, we were referring to magic that they use, no matter how small. Little magical actions caused from exposure to magic often don’t get noticed enough.”

“Magic is an emotional force,” Chat said, swirling the tea in his mug absently. “Humans who’ve had magic come into them without their knowledge can sometimes have their emotions lead their lives a little more than how they were previously. Sometimes they’ll perform little magics without realizing it. They’re not akumas, but one breakdown, and they will be.”

“And you’re saying… I’m not like that?”

Chat looked at her, the weight of his gaze taking her breath away for a split second. “Definitely not.”

“You’re aware of the fact that there’s magic inside you and how deeply connected to it you are,” Fu said, taking a sip from his own mug. “But it seems like you’ve never used this power in any way.” He paused, and Marinette got the feeling he knew more than he was saying. “You have it inside you, and that’s it.”

“Which is a good thing,” Chat muttered.

“So you’re saying that if I had used more magic, I wouldn’t be so affected by you?” she asked, and both Chat and Fu nodded. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” she admitted after a moment. “I don’t even know how to use magic.”

“Good,” Chat said with a very sure nod of his head. “If you don’t know how to use it, that means that you’ve never let it get to you. It takes years to learn how to properly wield it without getting too emotional or having it affect you in a negative way. Even then, it’s still extremely difficult to put a wall between your own emotions and the force that manifests your emotions into power.”

“You seem as though you’re speaking from experience,” Marinette said, eyeing Chat for his reaction.

He only shrugged. “Fu’s old enough to share a millennium’s worth of stories, and every akuma has to go through therapy, remember? It’s to teach them how to use magic in a way that doesn’t get to them.”

Fu looked between Chat and Marinette before setting a moment’s worth of a disappointed gaze at Chat. He turned back to Marinette, and she wondered if she had just imagined it. “I’m sure you came into my shop looking for something in particular, and now that the serious conversation is out of the way, I’d be more than happy to help.”

“I wasn’t looking for anything in particular,” Marinette said with a shrug. “Just maybe some food? I’m running a bit low.”

“Hm,” Fu hummed, tapping a finger to his chin. “I normally sell old junk, so I’m not sure how much I can help you with that sort of thing.”

“You could make something,” Chat suggested. “I would recommend your crab apple.” He turned to Marinette. “It looks like a crab.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Fu exclaimed, and he got up from the table to buzz excitedly around the kitchen, collecting ingredients Marinette would never have expected for just an apple.

Marinette turned to Chat. “Where do we go after this?” she asked, watching as Chat took a sip of his tea and once again made a face at it. “And what’s in that tea that’s making your face like that?”

Chat set down his mug, pushing it away from him. “Fu likes jokes. I made fun of his tea once and he never gave me actual tea ever again.” He glanced into the mug warily. “I think this is a blend of cat nip, dirt, and sprinkles.” He stuck out his tongue, rubbing it fiercely on his glove. “Maybe a bit of dog residue.”

She gave him a look. “There’s no way that’s true.”

“Do you want to taste it?” he asked, offering the mug to her. She caught a glimpse of small particles of something she couldn’t identify floating around in it.

Just as she was about to take the mug from Chat to prove a point, Fu spoke up from the kitchen. “Ah, Marinette, I think it would be best to drink only from your own mug. You wouldn’t want cat germs, now would you?”

Chat scowled in the general direction of Fu, still offering the mug to Marinette.

“Fu’s right,” Marinette said, grinning cheekily at him. “I think I’d rather not have cat germs.”

He once again set the mug down and pushed it away from him. “I’m always the butt of the joke here.”

“I just think you’re a butt in general.” Marinette heard Fu cackle, and she snorted a little at her own joke.

“What are you, a second grader?” Chat demanded, pouting more than a little.

“Maybe,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Anyway,” Chat said pointedly, trying to steer the conversation away from him. “After we leave here, I think the lantern area is next.” He thought for a moment. “There’s the ferry stop, but that guy is always way up in Hotland until someone hitches a ride back. Really there’s nothing interesting until we get through a couple more areas.”

“You’re supposed to be the overenthusiastic tour guide. Make it interesting.”

“Sweetheart, you expect too much from me.”

Fu walked back over to the dining table, holding a crab-shaped apple on a stick. The apple itself seemed to be covered in a lot of substances Marinette couldn’t recognize. “Oh,” Fu said, wrapping the apple in a sheet of plastic. “I didn’t know you two were involved that way,” he said, shooting a wink at an instantly red Marinette.

“Not yet, my friend,” Chat said, seemingly unaffected by the joke, rather relishing in it. “But in time.”

Marinette slapped his shoulder, fuming in her thoughts that maybe he was right and hating herself for it. “Not even in the next decade.”

“Then the one after that,” he said with a shrug, giving her an absurdly hot smile. “I’ll be counting down the minutes until then, bugaboo.”

“I hate you.”

“Young love sure is nice,” Fu said with a smile.

They chatted a bit longer before Fu finally led them to the front to where the shop was. Looking around, Marinette realized he had been telling the truth with what he had said earlier. There really was just a bunch of junk for sale on the shelves and counters.

She slipped her yo-yo back in her pocket from putting Fu’s crab apple inside, turning back to Fu. “I’m sorry with the way I acted earlier,” she apologized.

“No need for that,” Fu replied easily, waving away her apology. “I understand I can be a bit overwhelming to new people.”

Chat smiled before turned to Fu, his expression serious. “Has anyone come by to ask questions?” he asked, and Fu nodded grimly.

“Alya stopped by just before you two came along.” Marinette stiffened. “You must understand, though,” he said, turning to Marinette and giving her a pleading look, “Alya isn’t as bad as she seems.”

Marinette sighed. “So I’ve heard.”

“Why, I remember when she first arrived here, all filled with this childish wonder,” Fu continued, a fond look passing over his features. “Alya loves the Underground and the people in it. She’d do anything to protect it.” He paused, giving Marinette an apologetic glance. “I know that if the both of you were to talk, she’d come to care for you just as she does with everyone else here.”

“If only she’d take the time to talk.”

“I never said it would be easy. Alya’s extremely hot headed. It’ll take her a bit to cool down to finally realize how good of a person you truly are.”

“She’s got to cool down to warm up to you,” Chat said, almost to himself, and Marinette glanced over at him as he snorted a little at his own ‘joke.’ “But Fu’s right,” he said, clearing his throat. “I know Alya, and she’s really a nice person at heart.”

“I trust you both,” she said after a moment. “This isn’t something I’ve never heard before.”

“In the meantime, though,” Fu said, putting a hand on Marinette’s shoulder, “I would want to steer clear of her.” Marinette nodded. “Stay safe, Marinette. I know you’ll be able to accomplish what you want to.”

Surprisingly, Fu hugged her, and Marinette found herself hugging him back. “Keep your heart in the right place,” he whispered into her ear, and Marinette pulled away somewhat confused.

“I will,” she replied, although she wasn’t sure what he meant by it.

Fu turned to Chat, and they murmured a few things that Marinette couldn’t quite catch to each other before coming together in a tight and meaningful hug. Fu seemed to whisper something in Chat’s ear, and whatever it was seemed to mean a lot more than what he said to Marinette because Chat squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Fu’s shoulder.

The moment was something that Marinette felt like she was intruding on, and she turned away, somewhat uncomfortable.

After a moment, Fu and Chat pulled away from each other, and Chat came to stand by Marinette’s side. “See you soon, Fu,” Chat said, and Marinette saw there were tears glistening in his bright eyes.

“Be safe, you two,” Fu said, waving as they exited the shop.

Outside, Chat sniffed, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. Marinette stopped walking and made Chat stop, too, using one hand to push his hands away from his face and the other to cradle his cheek. “What’s wrong?” she asked, watching as Chat blinked fast and hard.

He took a deep breath and seemed to gather himself. He didn’t push Marinette away though, instead leaning into her hand. “Fu is… someone very precious to me. I always introduce him to people as my friend, but he really is more like a father to me.” He paused, and a said smile pulled at his lips. “He was there for me when I was going through a rough time, and he’s always known the right thing to say.”

Marinette traced her thumb over his cheekbone, smiling at him softly. “I’m glad I was able to meet someone who means so much to you.”

“Yeah,” Chat replied, his voice thick with emotion and meaning. He leaned down to bump his forehead with hers. “I’m glad, too.”

They stayed that way for a moment, and Marinette closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of Chat’s forehead against hers and her hand pressed against his cheek. She blinked her eyes open, and she saw that Chat had his eyes closed. He was almost unbearably close.

She pulled away. “We should keep moving,” she said, and Chat opened his eyes, regarding her with a look that made her breath catch in her throat.

“Right,” he said, his voice soft.

The next area was passed in a comfortable silence as Chat rubbed circles onto her hand with every step they took. The area was a beautiful one, shrouded mostly in darkness save for the soft glow of blue mushrooms and tall tree-looking structures that emitted the same glow that the mushrooms did.

The area itself seemed to be a maze, but Chat led her through it easily as if he had traversed it hundreds of times. Which, she thought, was an entirely real possibility.

As they reached the end of the area, they reached a sign saying something about Home and crystals. Marinette ignored it.

“Wait,” Chat said, pulling her to a stop. She looked back at him, and as she stared at his face, the light around her from the mushrooms and the jewels on the path started to fade. Chat looked around, seeming to wait for something, and the entire area fell into a darkness so deep, Marinette couldn’t even see her feet.

Her breath came quicker almost instantly, and she reached blindly for Chat, the hand still in his squeezing painfully. “Chat,” she whispered, her voice breaking, “Chat.”

“Marinette,” he whispered back, and something inside her calmed at the fact that he was still right beside her. “Breathe.”

She took in a shaking breath, still trying to find him with her other hand. He stepped closer to her, and she felt her free hand hit his arm. She gripped onto him like he was a lifeline, trying to look up and see his face, but finding she couldn’t. The gnawing fear inside her increased.

“It’s so dark,” she heaved, her grip on him tightening until it created an aching feeling in her knuckles. “So dark. Can’t see.”

A brilliant light blinded her for a moment, and she blinked fast, trying to regain her vision. She looked up at where the light was coming from, and her eyes met with Chat’s glowing green eyes.

The area around them was still shrouded in a darkness so thick it seemed as though it could be cut with a knife, but she could see Chat’s face, and she could see her own feet.

“I’m here, Marinette,” Chat whispered. “I’m here.”