#saved. ♥ shut up ! shut up . we are keeping this

[viciousvortexx]

My headcanons about Vergil's bad traits

♥ because life is not a bed of roses

just my silly hc about the bad side of his personality or things i think he can't do, anyways, we love him the way he is <3

★ He used to shut out people a lot and avoided talking properly about problems, Vergil wanted to show his superiority and power trying to make the others think about the situation without properly solving it, and also, it's damn hard for him to say out loud when he's wrong.

★ Hides his emotions a lot, Vergil won't admit what he's feeling because he's afraid of getting vulnerable and weak, sometimes this also goes for good emotions, these are probably the ones he consider to show more vulnerability.

★ Professional in the art of the awkward silence, it's really complicated for him to pull up conversations or keep them going, Vergil will start to look around, avoid eye contact and clean his throat constantly in a casual conversation.

★ If Vergil is too deep into something that's he's doing and failing, he won't stop till he get it right, even if it drains all his patience, he won't give a break, this also makes him a overworker, trying to finish things all at once.

★ He's insecure, Vergil can be a master at fighting demons, but all the time he spent isolated made any kind of relationship with other people a challenge, after all, he'll secretly think he's ruining all the fun by not being so active like the others.

★ BAD AT COOKING, my man spent years trapped in hell, never touched a pan this whole time, you really think he knows what he's doing inside a kitchen?

★ Overprotective, Vergil will always be afraid of loosing the things or the people he cherish, this can lead him to think he's the only one that can protect something.

★ (DMC3 Vergil specifically) Thinks he's better and superior to anyone, but doesn't realize how naive this is.

★ His awareness can be a bit dangerous sometimes, since he can pull the Yamato really quickly and end up hurting someone he thought it was a threat.

★ Won't ask for help to do something he knows won't be able to finish or learn by himself, he'll wait for someone to offer support. “Alright, I suppose I'll allow you to join me this time...”

★ Vergil is a jealousy person, and like most of his emotions, he'll reprehend it and won't talk about it, getting afraid of loosing something will lead him to get jealous very quickly.

★ If you get yourself in trouble, he's going to save you and then scold you, talking about how you shouldn't have done this, listened to him and how dangerous that was, maybe that's just his way to show he's concerned and cares.

★ Extremely hard headed, this makes him kind of a stiffy person, he won't see a second option for certain situations even if there's another, though, this also means he'll always fight for his his ideals and defend his opinions, it's not easy to change his mind.

★ Struggle to rely on others, this leads Vergil to push people away or refuse new connections, things are going to be fine if he stays in his social comfort zone.

★ Difficulty to react to certain things people say, I feel like at a specific point in his life, Vergil would get full of himself when receiving compliments because he thought that was a good reaction, while he got older, realized that being overconfident it's annoying and actually push people away, so now he doesn't know how to react to compliments and can act all awkward that doesn't express his genuine feelings.

[sunshinebingo]

Detained in the Day Court

Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn have been imprisoned in the Day Court. What could they have done to end up there?

This is about my favourite Valkyries being silly and fun!! Also includes some Gwynriel because they own my heart ♥

Word count: 1.7k

Read on Ao3

���What the fuck is this?” Azriel’s shadows writhed around him as he tried to make sense of the letter Rhysand has just received from Helion stating that three of his Valkyries were currently being detained in the Day Court.

“Did you send them on a mission there without telling us Rhys?,” Cassian asked the High Lord, failing to keep his rising anger at bay.

Cassian wasn’t the only one loosing his temper. As soon as he had read the letter, Azriel’s shadows had been incessantly whispering all sorts of things to him. The Valkyries are in danger. We need to save Gwyn. She needs us. Azriel wanted to tell them that Emerie and Nesta were also in potential danger, but like his shadows, he couldn’t help but think about Gwyn only. Not that she could not defend herself. But Azriel would not forgive himself if anything happened to her while he could have prevented it. Helion might be one of their allies, a friend to them also, but that didn’t mean that any punishment he would inflict upon those who try to harm his court would be clement.

“No I did not,” Rhysand firmly stated. “I was hoping one of you would know what they are doing there. And more importantly what could they have done to justify being detained.”

Azriel abruptly stood up from his seat across the desk. “The only way to find out is to go there now and get them out.” He would not stand there and keep talking while gods knew what was happening to the Valkyries in the Day Court. As they walked out of the High Lord’s office, Azriel mentally prepared to unleash himself on anyone who has dared harm his Gwyn. No just Gwyn. Not his.

As they reached the outside of the River House, Cassian turned to face Rhysand. “I don’t care if Helion is one us Rhys. If any of those Day Court fuckers has laid a hand on them I swear to the Mother I will make them regret it.”

“Let’s not make any rash decision Cass,” Rhysand said calmly. “I care about them too but we need to assess the situation first.”

Before Cassian could mumble a protest, Rhysand placed his hands in his brothers’ shoulders and they winnowed to the Day Court.

.....

As soon as they stepped foot in the Day Court, the three males were greeted by one of Helion’s guards. One look at them and the guard was fumbling for words. The male was slightly trembling as he apologised for the absence of the High Lord and told them what happened to the three females.

When they reached their cell, they saw Nesta, Emerie and Gwyneth sitting on the floor and chatting as if they were not being imprisoned in the Day Court. Azriel restrained himself from giving them each a slap in face for having been so reckless. Don’t slap our Valkyrie. You should kiss her instead. We missed her. Azriel rolled his eyes at his besotted shadows before Rhysand spoke. “Can one of you give us an explanation for all this?”

All three females looked surprised of their presence as they stood up and adjusted their clothes. Azriel immediately noted their white and gold dresses, similar to the ones worn in the court they were currently in. Their outfits looked like they had been carefully draped on them while leaving their cleavage on display. Azriel noticed that Gwyn started to blush when she saw him staring at her. He quickly looked away to avoid making her uncomfortable. She is not uncomfortable. She likes it, his shadows almost sang.

The guard opened the metal doors to let them in and Cassian immediately rushed to hold his mate. You should do the same with our Gwyn.

Shut up, Azriel mentally scolded his shadows. They did shut up, but they also went straight to Gwyn and started twirling around her. It was as if they wanted to make him jealous by being the one able to touch her instead of him. It worked since, like a damned idiot, Azriel was jealous of his own shadows. It was made worse when she started giggling at their antics.

“We just wanted to see the pegasus,” Nesta answered when she let go of Cassian.

“We didn’t want to steal them,” Emerie continued. “Just look at them. Maybe come close enough to touch them.”

Cassian, who seemed more curious now that they knew the three females were safe, asked them, “How did you get caught?”

Emerie, Nesta and Gwyn all looked at each other before the third one explained nonchalantly, “Someone saw us and grew suspicious. I knocked him out before he could report but the horses in the stable started making noises while we were trying to hide him and that attracted the other guards.”

Knowing in which state the guard told them they left the other male, Azriel felt a bit of pride for being the one who taught her that. But he was still mad at them for sneaking around Helion’s palace without permission.

“You didn’t just knock him out Gwyn, you almost shattered his skull. You could have killed him.” Rhys was clearly still mad at them too.

“Well I didn’t,” Gwyn retorted and her sisters snickered.

Rhysand released a sigh before he added, “You are putting my court at risk with your stupidity.”

Emerie rolled his eyes at the High Lord. “It's just the three of us not the entire Night Court.”

Rhys pointed at the three females, “You are part of the Night Court so you represent it. And you are also at the head of one of my armies, which makes it worse.”

“Not to mention that you’ve also put yourselves at risk,” Azriel told them as he crossed his arms.

Nesta also crossed her arms in an attempt to mimick him. “The only thing we risked was sleeping on the floor for the night,” she said while narrowing her eyes at Azriel.

“You think that would have been the only thing to happen to you?” Azriel raised his dark eyebrows at her.

Gwyn sighed in exasperation. “Oh come on, we already explained everything to Helion himself when he interrogated us. They wouldn’t have killed us for that.”

“Besides why do you think we are wearing these,” Emerie said while showing off their outfits.

Azriel tried to understand what Emerie said and suddenly the flowy dresses and plunging necklines made more sense. Both Azriel and Rhysand opened their mouth to make a comment but Cassian beat them to it. “So you intended to flash your tits so they would let you go?”

“Don’t be disgusting we wouldn’t go that far.” Nesta protested. “Be we knew that most people working in these stables were stupid males who wouldn’t resist our charms. Especially if we are wearing these.”

Azriel’s eyes instantly traveled to Gwyn. He felt the heat creep up his face when he noticed her already looking at him. One of his shadows which was still swirling around her arm made its way towards her neck.

Rhysand’s voice stopped Azriel from getting lost in Gwyneth’s eyes. “So what, you intended to ‘charm’ them before knocking them out?”

Gwyn shrugged her shoulders and added, “We thought we could pretend to be some random ladies lost near the stables. The knock out bit was a Plan B. ”

Azriel snorted. “Random lost ladies who were wearing weapons.” He started to wonder where exactly under that dress did Gwyn hide those weapons. He would have to ask. Just in case they have to be sent on a real mission in the Day Court in the future. Yeah that’s the reason why, his shadows snickered.

“The weapons were in case the Plan B went wrong,” Emerie shrugged in turn. None of the three Valkyries seemed to care that they had attacked and almost killed a member of the Day Court. Azriel incredulously wondered how far they would go just to approach a pegasus.

Rhysand released a long sigh. “I’m tempted to leave you here just to teach you three a lesson.”

“Hey we didn’t ask you to come get us anyway,” Emerie said. “We would have been fine on our own.”

“Maybe we could convince High Lord Helion to give us a more comfortable cell for the night,” Gwyn added with an innocent but sly smile.

Azriel straightened and his shadows went slightly frantic, “absolutely fucking not. We’re getting you out of here.” There was no way in hell he would let Gwyn close to Helion. It was bad enough that the horny High Lord of Day has interrogated them before Azriel and his brothers got here.

Nesta watched Azriel with a mischievous grin. “Something wrong Az? You don’t like that idea?” No we don’t, the shadows agreed.

“He isn’t the only one.” Cassian also agreed with him. “We’re getting you out of here.”

Emerie gently elbowed Nesta. “I think your mate is getting a bit jealous Nes,” she added with a wink to her sister.

Cassian puffed out his chest as if he wasn’t imposing enough in the small cell. “I don’t need to be jealous of Helion.”

Nesta snorted but Gwyn didn’t hide her laughter. Azriel couldn’t help but smile, both at his brother’s confidence and at the laughter filling the space around them.

Emerie’s smirk widened, “hmm that’s debatable.”

Cassian rolled his eyes, “shut up Em!”

.....

Three days later, Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn were summoned to the High Lord of the Night Court’s office at the River House. Rhysand has received word from Helion concerning the Valkyries. Azriel was worried that Helion has decided to go back on his decision to not place any charges against them.

All doubts left Azriel the moment the three females let out very loud squeals of delight after reading the letter from the High Lord of Day. Cassian had to cover his ears to protect himself form the unexpected assault.

Helion was inviting the Valkyries to his court so he could show them his pegasi. Apparently, the Valkyries were already forgiven for everything. We must go with them, the shadows repeated ceaselessly. One look at Cassian and Azriel knew they would not let them set foot in the Day Court on their own again. They would not take the risk that Helion introduced them to more than his pegasi.

“Looks like our plan didn’t fail after all,” Nesta told her partners in crime.

“Oh it worked out better than we thought it would,” Emerie added.

Azriel and his brothers looked at the females incredulously.

“You three are impossible,” Azriel sighed.

Gwyn winked at him before adding, “if you mean impossibly amazing, then yes we are!”

Thanks for reading!! ♥

[limetimo]

RAB FICS I READ (JUNE pt2)

The Mystery of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place by altaiswrites time travel, harry hops to the 70s, Harry/Regulus

Just Different, Apparently by risetherivermoon (moonriverrise) super cute jegulus meet cute!!!!!!

i fell hard (in your arms tonight) by grimstars touched starved regulus in jegulus

by the milk-light of moon by dalula for just_a_whorecrux sirius/regulus PWP

The Left Right Game by grimstars a horror story, I read the first chapter and realised that I'm not in a good place for psycho stuff but the writing is really good so if you're into horror, go for it

The Day Bleeds Into Nightfall by acari regulus revenge-fucks james before going to the cave

Butterflies by xpandorasbox texting au jegulus

Running Away From The House of Black the Slytherin Way by Melancholy_Pug what it says on the tin, future jegulus

carpe diem by els31 modern au doctor regulus jegulus

Paper Rings by apricusapollo jegulus love is for poets by arainai (alarainai) for aureusprongs lowkey angsty jegulus with good ending

paint it black by damagecontrol MAFIA AU very nice

Lead The Way by thissucks Sirius suddenly finds himself Regulus' guardian. Everybody agrees that regulus will eat sirius alive. loving the bartylus

Rich Kid, Asshole (Paint Me as a Villain) by Loki_Demon this is so good, regulus is such an entitled little asshat who goes down with his hubris i would fistfight him in a tesco parking lot

The Long Game by lackadaisical_lizard artist reg jock james jegulus

the deadly seven by remusjlupin1981 regulus had a son, dropped him off on narcissa's doorstep and fucked off to hunt horcruxes. things are not fun

Home is not a place by regulusarchieblack (AlRiddle) for coincidences accidental choild adoption

on behalf of the good dark regulus reborn as draco, a series

Drugs and surgical scrubs by anauro doctor regulus ends up with a stabbed drug addict james on his couch. he's not happy about it but at least the guy is hot

After Everything, Always by Reggie4dayzz jegulus

Empire by Saphireraven13 regulus is alive and married and has 4 kids and it's a crossover and i dont know the other fandom, so.

grievance and dirt. by anonymoussqaure black bros

Basic Instinct by ilios28 bartylus! also reg murdered his parents, love that for him

could we pretend (this won't end?) by a_sentimental_man for queerofthedagger harry/regulus, regulus accidentally travels forward in time

Auror Academy - the class of 1979 by Regulus_Potter ♥♥♥ jegulus slowburn, reguls lily friendship

Grimmauld's Home for Unsafe Learners by averea ♥♥♥♥♥ Regulus is potion master instead of snape and by god he will offer a sanctuary to all students with bad homes dumbledore can shut his whore mouth

love sticks, sweat drips by riomariyn fight club? jegulus

do you have a best friend? by coincidences for regulusarchieblack (AlRiddle) regulus and his daughter move to hogsmeade and become astronomy professors, v cute

this is me trying by witchhunts regulus dies and travels back to his younger body

Regulus Black vs Dish Washing by writer_of_sorts recovering after war fic v neato

Fall, Drown, Reborn by melanie_bxx jegulus and smut and uuuh regulus almost dying

The Strange Serendipity of Regulus Arcturus Black by shy_attention_whore reg dies wakes up eleven

if you think you can save me by dxncingquxxr regulus survives, is astronomy professor

The Paths We Take by nagemeikenu  detective lily goes searching for missing regulus (1940s au)

What It Cost by Anonymous regulus keeps surviving for harry

The Gringotts Job by TheWomanInGreen heist time, baby, or reg sirius marlene james and lily stealing the cup

Prawns by wandering_thought "my animagus will be better than your animagus"

Bonding In Different Directions by nagemeikenu regulus trains horses, sirus is an actor, they meet on a job

enough contrition to spare by xslytherclawx for quandrix_quizard regulus goes to dumbledore, it sucks, but he's alive, so.

orn of Blood by Moe64 percy jackson au jeglus wolfstar ect ect

I Will Not be Brave by TheWomanInGreen regulus fucks up and is captured by DEs and shares a cell with Marlene and later, JAmes

No Love for the Wicked by VigilanteVampire4311 harry gets yot to a version of past where tom riddle is a dada prof. this version of regulus is so funny to me

Somebody to Love by Graceless_Lady for KaiSkitty Regulus/Lily

a red 'happy birthday papa!' lego cake by sunburnt (orphan_account) cute

okay, who brought back the damned legos? by sunburnt cute jegulus raising harry

hope is the thing with antlers by stardiver jegulus

all i want for christmas is you by lemndrps toxic bartylus MCD

[fizzingwizard]

in a writing rut. but here's something i scribbled to try to get the creative juices flowing. it amused me. i might do something with it

totally unfinished, random ideas. moomins at (american) college, but this is fantasy so it's not america, it's troll land or whatever haha

~~~

"Moomintroll, why don't you try something new for a change?" Snorkmaiden asked.

"Something new? Like what?"

"I don't know. How about rugby?"

"Rugby?"

“Well, you have the right build for it. And wouldn't it be fun to win?”

“More fun than losing, anyhow.”

"Oh, pooh! The risk is what makes competition so exhilarating!”

Moomintroll pulled a face. With a huff, his girlfriend folded her arms. Today her fur was tinted a whimsical fuchsia hue. She used to keep it white, because "white goes with everything." Lately, though, it seemed she'd entered an experimental phase. Which was fitting. Why else did people go to college, except to try on a hundred shiny new personalities out of sight of those who knew them in high school? They certainly didn’t come for the academics.

"It's up to you, of course. But if you ask me, your life could use a shake-up. You practically live in your dorm. You don't come to campus events. Class is the only place we ever see you."

Moomintroll bit back the urge to retort that this was college, you were supposed to live in a dorm and go to class. Snorkmaiden liked sarcasm, but not when she was lecturing. (She also didn’t like to be described as lecturing.)

"You're seeing me right now," he pointed out instead.

"But in twenty minutes I'm going to the Midnight Breakfast, and you won't even join me for that! There will be pancakes, Moomintroll!"

"I don't like pancakes."

"Yes you do!"

Shuffling his feet, Moomintroll turned his back to her and pretended to search for something on his desk. He opened the drawer. Inside there was a little tin box, where he kept shells and sea glass worn smooth by the waves.

In a small voice, he muttered, "I like the way Mamma makes them."

Snorkmaiden heaved a long-suffering sigh. He felt a pang of guilt, and wished he'd kept his thoughts to himself.

"I know you miss home, my Moomintroll." Her paw came to rest on his arm. With the other, she nudged the drawer with the tin box shut. "But this is your chance to live your own life, however you want it. Remember how we used to stay up late planning adventures for when we grew up? You wanted to be a pirate!”

"Trolleton College doesn't offer a major in piracy."

"Comp sci!" Snorkmaiden chirped.

"Wrong sort of pirate."

At last she let the subject drop. But he could sense her disappointment, even though she talked and giggled the same as always. It rankled. He knew he should feel grateful that she cared. And she had waited over a year to start gently prodding him to put more effort into collegiate life. Now, half-way through their sophomore year, Snorkmaiden was in every club her packed schedule would allow for and had friends in every department. She never lacked for something to do or someone to do it with. Compared to her, his daily routine of go to class, eat lunch, go to class, eat dinner, study, then sleep, looked pretty sad indeed.

It hit him suddenly, as Snorkmaiden’s twenty minutes ran out and she took one last swing at persuading him to come to the midnight breakfast (“There won’t only be pancakes - last year they had scrambled eggs, fried ham, sausage, fruit, not to mention donuts!”), that Snorkmaiden was popular. In the small valley where the two of them met, grew up, and fell in love, he’d never noticed. People liked her, of course. But back home people were rather scarce.

She nuzzled his cheek, waving as she exited his room, the buttons from various campus events that covered her backpack twinkling in the light. They sported slogans like “Go Green,” “Save The Arctic: Polar Bears Menacing But Too Cute To Die,” and “I ♥ Ethical Environmental Policies.” He wondered how she could enjoy living in Trolleton, surrounded by brick and cement, not a tree to be seen that hadn’t been planted last year by boy scouts. At night, instead of the hushed parley of frogs and crickets, their lullaby was police sirens and motorcycles ripping down the street.

His stomach growled. Moomintroll looked at the clock. Just after eleven. He opened his mini fridge and took out a frozen pizza.

The first time he ate pizza, he was around fifteen. His family never traveled much farther than the mountains, although they loved to talk about it. But a winning sweepstakes ticket took them out of the valley to the Riviera, where they found the cozy pizza restaurant. It was real pizza, with fresh basil and tomatoes, baked in a massive wood-fire oven. The cook slid it out on a huge wooden slab, the cheese still bubbling. Even the memory made his mouth water.

The frozen pizza was rock-hard. Heating it in the microwave always left the crust soggy. Moomintroll clutched the box, wrestling with indecision. It might not be too late to catch up with Snorkmaiden. Honestly, the scrambled eggs at the caf were like rubber and only marginally edible. But donuts never let you down.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he threw on a scarf, grabbed his lanyard with his student ID, and hurried out of his dorm. Outside was dark, the lights streaming from the cafeteria beckoning. Over the archway hung a banner:

MIDNIGHT BREAKFAST! At the caf, 10:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 10th. We know you all want to cram in a few more precious hours of study, but you’ve still got to eat! Power up with good food and good friends! Food is free with your student ID. 5 silver coins for students without a meal plan. Best of luck! Show those finals who’s boss! Sponsored by the student union.

At the door, Moomintroll hesitated. There were a lot of people inside. A lot of people. It wasn’t like he was shy. But how was he to find Snorkmaiden? He didn’t want to be that awkward guy eating a stack of donuts by himself in the corner. He’d probably wind up with a horrid nickname that would stick with him for the two and half years - longer if he went to grad school - something like “Corner Donut Boy.”

Grabbing a tray, he made his way around the buffet table. He snagged two jelly donuts, one custard donut, and a cinnamon-dusted stick thing with a placard that read CHURRO. Then he scooped up some sausages, since they were there, and a few hash browns for the salt.

With his tray loaded, he took it and wandered around dismally. Every table was occupied. Should have thought to bring a doggy bag.

A gasp. “Ooh! Moomintroll!”

Snorkmaiden shot up so fast that her table rattled. “Over here!” she cried. “Move over, Sniff, move, move!”

“Why do I have to move?” Sniff cried. “It’s just Moomintroll. I was here first. Let him sit on the floor!”

“But he’s my boyfriend and I want to sit next to him.”

“So?”

“So, girlfriend privilege. Scoot over!”

Sniff’s whiskers twitched, but he made room on the bench. Moomintroll squeezed in between them with a sheepish grin.

“Thanks, Sniff.”

“Don’t thank me! She twisted my arm!”

“Well, thanks to your arm, then.”

“Come on, Sniff. We’re happy Moomintroll’s here!” Snorkmaiden said, raising her eyebrows with meaning. “We’re so happy our friend made it down here to hang out with us before finals after all.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Moomintroll, what is she doing?”

“Being subtle.”

Sniff stared at him, mouth open. “... Huh?”

Moomintroll picked up a jelly donut. “Want a donut, Sniff?”

Donuts were the one thing Sniff loved more than not having to share his seat.

“So is this boyfriend?” someone asked. Moomintroll squinted, but no one appeared to have spoken. Across the table sat a rather gaunt hemulen, quivering as he pored over an entomology textbook (whether the quivering was the result of lack of sleep, nerves, or too much caffeine wasn’t immediately clear). To his left was a pretty girl with enormous blue eyes, her red hair bundled in a tidy knot. Next to her, a round, sturdy blonde in a striped shirt gazed dreamily into a mug of cocoa.

Moomintroll was gobsmacked to realize he didn’t know a single one of Snorkmaiden’s friends (apart from Sniff, who he couldn’t help knowing - Sniff was his brother, of sorts). Apparently she flitted like a butterfly through the different circles of friends on campus.

“Um.” He bit into a hash brown. “... Did someone say something?”

“I did,” answered the same voice. Once again, no one’s mouth appeared to move.

Moomintroll blinked twice, then rubbed his eyes.

“Down here, idiot.”

Someone jabbed his leg. Hard. In shock, Moomintroll bent and tried to fit his snout under the table. There, on the floor, stood a very small girl in a red dress, sneering. She also had vibrant red hair in a knot like the pretty girl, but her demeanor couldn’t have been more different.

“Well, didn’t your mama teach you it’s impolite to stare?” the tiny… student? … shouted at him.

“Oh - sorry - I didn’t realize you were down there is all. Er. I didn’t step on you, did I?”

The girl cocked one brow at Snorkmaiden. “He’s quite the catch, your lover boy.”

“Moomintroll.” Snaking an arm through his, Snorkmaiden snuggled in close. “Let me introduce you. This is Little My. She doesn’t always eat under the table. Sometimes she sits on top. But she said Hemulen’s moaning gave her indigestion.”

“Nice - nice to meet you,” he stammered, suddenly feeling quite anxious.

“And this is her sister, Mymble,” Snorkmaiden added.

The pretty redhead smiled.

“You don’t… mind that your sister eats under the table?” Moomintroll asked.

“Oh no,” Mymble replied. “She’s always stirring up trouble, you see, and makes me run after her. If she’s not trying to go for a ride on a frisbee, she’s photocopying her face in the library, or leaving toy roaches in RA’s shoes. I’ve had so many discussions with the dean on her account. If she’s under the table I don’t have to worry at all, except if she starts biting ankles.”

That explained this strange anxiety. Little My did give the impression she was likely to take a bite of his ankle instead of the pancakes.

“I hate it when she bites,” Sniff grumbled.

“It’s all right,” the blonde girl said. Her voice was as airy and dream-like as her eyes. “Keep your ankles out of reach and you’ll be perfectly fine.”

Sniff quickly tucked his knees in. “That’s easy for you to say!”

“Expect the best and prepare for the worst,” grinned Little My.

 The girl in the striped shirt suddenly drained her cocoa and stood, plopping a funny blue hat with a red pom on her shaggy crop.

“Are you leaving, Too-ticky?” Snorkmaiden asked.

“Yes. My first exam is at eight-thirty, and I like to get a full eight hours’ sleep. Good-bye, everyone.”

She even walked away dreamily.

“Sleep well, Tooti,” Mymble sang.

“She’s very nice,” Snorkmaiden told Moomintroll. “A bit - odd - but who isn’t?”

“And she’s a philosophy major,” piped in Little My. “They’re all a little whiz-bang-watchamacallit, if you get my meaning."

“What’s your major then?” Moomintroll asked, to be polite.

Still under the table, Little My appeared to turn her head a full 180 degrees, fixing him with her piercing green eyes. She bared her teeth. “Toxic mycology.”

Moomintroll gulped. “I didn’t know the majors here were so… specific.”

“I customized my own,” she answered. “And what’s yours? Let me guess. Undeclared?”

It sounded like an insult, the way she said it. Which was ridiculous. Lots of students went undeclared in freshman year. And sometimes their sophomore year too. Nothing wrong with that. Still, he found he was once again stammering. “No - well, yes - but I have - an intention to declare a major soon…”

“Oh, you do?” Snorkmaiden perked up, turning to him with interest. “What did you finally decide? Tell me, I’m all ears!”

“Ehm… agricultural… something…”

“Agriculture?” Little My scowled. “Aren’t you afraid that if you start a farm, you’ll be mistaken for one of your cows?”

That ruffled Moomintroll’s fur. “People usually say Moomins look like hippos, not cows,” he shot back haughtily.

Snorkmaiden patted his shoulder, in warning, perhaps. “My sweet. That’s… not the flex you think it is.”

Little My shrugged. “I’m just saying. But I guess you know all about farming, growing up in that lovely, open valley Snorkmaiden goes on about.”

“Moomintroll doesn’t have a farm,” Sniff interjected, helping himself to Moomintroll’s questionable "churro." “His papa doesn’t work. Moominmamma has a garden, with big tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer, and squash in the fall. But she doesn’t sell them. I told her she ought to, but she said if he sold her vegetables, what would she have to cook my birthday dinner? So I said maybe she could sell only some of the vegetables, and leave enough for my birthday dinner. But she worried that then she wouldn’t have enough to make sandwiches for Mrs Fillyjonk’s tea.”

Sniff, naturally, was a business major.

“Pappa works,” Moomintroll objected. “He writes books.”

“Anything good?” Little My asked.

“Yes. Lots.”

“Anything I’ve read?”

Moomintroll thought for a while. Snorkmaiden drummed her fingers on her cheek with a look of deep boredom.

At last he settled for: “Well, when he publishes his memoirs, I’ll send you a copy, and you can judge for yourself.”

Little My set her jaw and nodded. “You do that.”

“Snorkmaiden dear,” interjected Mymble. “Do you want more cocoa?”

“Gosh, yes!” Snorkmaiden exclaimed, seizing her mug. “I meant to go earlier but - oh, looks like they’ve run out…”

“No problem,” Mymble said. “I can get us some from the back. Wait a little.”

She sashayed off. Moomintroll watched her go, perplexed. “What ‘back’ does she mean?”

“She means she’s going to flirt with Marco the cafeteria worker, and get him to dip into the cocoa bins in the supply room.” Little My made a noise of frustration. “I thought grad school would teach her to cool off some, but the minute she spies anything shiny with washboard abs and a few chin whiskers, off she goes…”

Managing Marco didn’t take long. Mymble returned after a while with cocoa packets for each of them. When she offered one to the Hemulen, he pinned it to the table lightning quick, muttering about bluebottle butterflies.

“Now let’s talk about something else,” said Mymble.

“Like what?” Little My pulled herself onto the table in Too-ticky’s spot.

“I don’t know. Pick something.”

“Fine. Piranhas.”

“Nothing that bites,” Sniff cut in, shivering.

“Moomintroll, you pick,” said Snorkmaiden.

He was taken aback. “Why me?” he cried, but she only looked at him expectantly. Frantically shifting through his mind, he tried to summon a topic that everyone would like, something interesting, something current.

“How about finals?”

“Finals?” For someone of her stature, Little My had quite the thunderous voice. “Groke take me. We came here to get a break from the endless facts going round and round in our heads, and all you can think of talking about is exams?”

“... Or something else,” he squeaked.

(to be continued.... ????)

[chloerivs-blog]

A force to be reckoned with

Here’s a (minimally edited) excerpt from one of my morning pages, dated June 16th, 2023. Enjoy ♥

--------

I had so much planned for today. Not too much; just the right amount. Unable to focus or conjure up the energy to function like a real person, the day easily slipped away from my sweaty fingertips.

In a world engulfed by flames & greed, it is crystal clear that every second is beyond precious. Every decision you make has consequences, but it feels as if nowadays the stakes are the highest they have ever been.

The younger generations no longer have “their whole life ahead of them.” The Earth has had enough and Time will no longer slow down to save my wary soul.

Everything could disappear in an instant if the unstable blood-thirsty devils of humanity so decided. In a split-second we could be wiped out and not even know it.

The other path, the one looking more and more likely each day according to the news, is the Sun roasting us & the Earth swallowing us as the Moon watches in terror.

These scenarios are terrifying and too likely to give our collective mind a break. Yet, here I am, continuing to waste time while I have some left.

[…]

Creating is probably the only soothing thing in this world. It is a bit of a struggle at times, but always feels great nonetheless. It’s a conversation with myself but also with the Universe, the Divine.

The Arts have always called my name for as far as I remember. I’ve always known what I want & who I am, yet always felt pressured or compelled to hide it in pretty lies.

I always felt on the outside and hated the idea of adding more reasons why I couldn’t belong anywhere to the already never-ending list.

What do you really expect a child to say when asked what they want to be when they grow up? Happy! I want to live and have fun. I want to sing, I want to paint, I want to love. But when all the other kids are saying things like “nurse”, “teacher” or “firefighter”…

I have to say “veterinary”. I love animals and that’s a real job, which won’t make the class burst out in laughter like “singer” & “artist” would.

I lied, I lied & lied. So much that, for years, I didn’t even know the truth anymore. I bottled up my true self and dreams when I was three years old and painted my face in colours that would keep me out of trouble.

Oh, how I craved the attention–but the people pleasing values that I was taught made sure that I would never take up too much space; even in my own head.

[…]

It’s funny how over the years they shaped me into the same person that they didn’t like. Tell me I am: annoying when I am having fun; too loud when I am happy; too messy; moving too much; embarrassing; in the way; stupid; or even a nuisance, a pest.

Over so many years, tell me that I’m too much whenever I am just being me and then spend the rest of the time complaining that I’m not enough. Then I am too quiet, too still, too little…

[…]

There is a lot of shame, anger, sadness and power burried deep within me. I’ve always felt like the answers might be at the bottom of a bottle. Except I have been looking in the wrong bottles.

The one that I need is the dusty one at the back of my mind, on the darkest, dusty shelf, covered in webs and mould. Through all the storms that came & went & stayed, that shelf broke like my child heart everytime I would be shut down by the ones I love.

The bottle is broken and its content has been silently contaminating my entire being since January 2021. It’s a long process but it speeds up everytime I heed the calls of my inner child.

The voices grow stronger each day. They helped me start this new chapter and we’re going to be working together to shed some darkness, build Chloë again and fulfil each & every one of those dreams.

It’s on the way. I am happening. The pain is real and the process is frustrating, but I am digging within so I can save baby Chloë & all the versions of me that I’ve been grieving the past two years.

-------

Thank you for taking this short trip through my mind with me. I know this might not be particularly interesting, and your time is greatly appreciated. Feel free to share your thoughts below and let me know if you would be interested in reading more snippets from my morning pages!

[farfromharry]

Always had you | Steve Harrington fic

Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: You and Steve had terrible luck when it came to dating. It wasn’t until it was pointed out to you, that maybe that was because you were in love with your best friend.

Word count - 3140

Warnings - none?

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The door was flung open rather harshly under your hand, then slammed shut only a few seconds after. It was the slam of the door and your random yell of something that was forcing Steve awake. His head slipped out from under his pillow, usually perfect hair all messed up and eyes drooping heavy with sleep. He looked confused— he was understandably confused. He had just been rudely awakened in the middle of the night, but he couldn’t be mad, he would do anything for you any time.

“What’s wrong?” he grumbled, fighting to keep his eyes open long enough to help you. He was groggy, but he was awake enough to notice you. You were standing beside his bed, in a pretty dress, hair done, makeup done, the whole mile. He briefly remembered you were going on a date tonight, but he had been too tired from work to wait up like usual. He had still given you his regular reminder to call him if you needed anything though.

You sighed, pulling off your heels and tossing them on his floor. “Men are pigs,” you muttered. He hummed quietly, hoping he could be granted the pleasure of falling back to sleep. At least until you spoke up again. “Move over.”

He did as you asked, scooching over until there was enough room beside him for you to climb into his bed. This was a normal occurrence for the two of you. Whenever one of you had a bad date, it was natural for you to find yourself crawling into the other’s bed for comfort. It was never anything more than cuddles, but it was enough to make you feel better and forget about the shitty night you had. It always worked like a charm. It didn’t matter that his top half was bare, or you were still fully clothed, the two of you would happily fall asleep together like that.

“You want to talk about it?” Steve asked, his voice no louder than a murmur into his pillow.

Your head turned his direction, eyes raking over his face. It was clear how tired he was, so you didn’t want to force him to stay awake any longer than need be. He wouldn’t have minded, he would have made that clear, but you made the decision on your own. “No. No, we can talk about it tomorrow. Just want to sleep the night away right now.”

He smiled softly. All you could see was half of it, considering the other half of his face was smushed into his pillow. You noted he looked adorable like that. Even with his eyes closed he knew you were looking at him, he could practically feel your gaze burning into him. That was what pushed him to shuffle closer to you, throwing an arm over your torso.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he whispered, pressing a friendly— not actually so friendly— kiss to your temple.

Surely he could feel the heat radiating off of your entire body from those two simple gestures. But he was sweet enough not to comment on it to save you the embarrassment. “Goodnight, Stevie.”

That was arguably the best sleep you had had in months. You slept like a baby the entire night, having only pleasant dreams opposed to dreaming about the shitshow you called a date tonight. You would expect no less from being wrapped up in your lovely roommate’s embrace all night long.

»»——⍟——««

The following month was bad date after bad date for both you and Steve. You tried navigating your dating lives in between work and friends, but it was proving to be tiresome and utterly pointless. It was getting to the point where you both wanted to just give up, positive you weren’t going to find the right person.

“Are we the problem?” he asked, your pillow tucked firmly in his arms as the two of you lied there, eyes focused on nothing other than your ceiling. It was in times like these where you were grateful for the idea of sticking glow in the dark stars on your ceiling, providing you both with something to admire when you had a little too much to drink and ended up like this; miserable.

Your lips curled downwards into a frown, one that he couldn’t see in the darkness of the room. “I hope not. If we are then we must be awful— I’m still convinced one of the guys I went out with might be a serial killer. D’you know how bad that would make me, Steve?”

He found your words amusing, laughter rippling from his chest. Your eyes rolled, but it was impossible to deny how contagious his laughter was. “Stop laughing,” you whined, lightly hitting his chest in a scolding manner. But your own giggles were starting to join him. “‘S not funny.”

“Then why are you laughing?” he asked, still beaming at you in the dark. He wouldn’t have seen the speechless look on your face, but he knew the lack of response was due to you being caught red handed.

That was more or less the end of that conversation, the man guiding you into his side. You didn’t resist, happy to rest your head on his chest and keep your arms snug around his body. This also wasn’t out of the ordinary for the two of you— though unknowingly it might contribute to the reason your dates weren’t going so well. It should have been obvious, really, but it was going to take someone physically pointing it out for you to realize.

“I wish there were more guys like you,” you told him, honestly. He was the most perfect guy you had ever met. You were positive all your dating related issues would be solved if there were just more Steve Harringtons out there in the world. In your eyes it seemed wrong to consider your friend could be that man for you, it barely even crossed your mind when you spoke. But the more you were to think about it, especially considering the situations you had both found yourselves in, was it really that bad?

He scoffed, unable to accept the compliment. “I’m sure there’s plenty of good guys. You’re just not looking hard enough.”

It wasn’t quite the answer you were looking for. Though you appreciated the encouragement, you were already too deflated by the numerous men you’d already met who were the total opposite of him to believe a word he was saying. You weren’t sure how much of it was true, because truly there was no other man like Steve Harrington, and you thought he might have been a little too modest to admit that.

“Yeah. Maybe you’re right.” You pulled your covers higher up your body, practically hidden by them. You waited for a goodnight, hoped he would say it like he always did, but it seemed he had already fallen asleep before he got the chance. With a sigh you made yourself comfortable, muttering a dejected goodnight to no one but yourself, finally closing your eyes.

»»——⍟——««

Another day, another date.

For once, you could say you thought this one was going good. Nothing like those prior. The guy was nice, funny, and for the most part it seemed like he was having a good time. You made conversation, ate, and that was when it all came crashing down.

He was still a gentleman, thankfully, driving you home, walking you to your door and such. But it was as you asked about seeing him again sometime that he finally told you how the date had gone for him. “I’m sorry, I just— I don’t think we should do this again.”

He watched as your face fell. You tried to come up with something to say, some way to ask why he didn’t want to see you again, but nothing would come out. It meant all he could do was nod and take that as his goodnight. He would have ideally liked to have ended whatever you had on better terms, but not everything worked out the way you wanted it to. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

Your sudden voice and grip on him prevented him from leaving as he planned to. “I- Can I ask you something?” you questioned, catching his wrist before he could leave you standing by your door. His head turned back to you, his eyebrows drawn together before he relaxed. You presumed he decided on an answer in that second. The date was already a shamble, what more could go wrong from a question?

“Yeah. Sure.”

You took a deep breath, preparing yourself to hear what could potentially deeply wound your ego. “What went wrong tonight, with this date?”

He chuckled, a noise that had you taken back. His head cocked, his eyes studying your face for a few seconds. You didn’t like the state of unknowing that he was leaving you in. “You really don’t know?” All that told you was that it should have been painfully obvious, but to you, it wasn’t. If you already knew, you wouldn’t have asked.

“Was I not pretty enough? Funny enough? Did I say something?” In your eyes they were all genuine questions, but they just once again made him laugh.

“Oh, wow, you really don’t know,” he muttered. He sighed, running his hand over his face before your eyes locked. “The whole time, you were talking about Steve,” he said. “Steve this, Steve that. Oh, Steve likes that. Me and Steve did this. Y/N, you’re so clearly in love with him.”

It felt like life was hitting you right in the face all at once. “I’m not in love with Steve.”

He flashed you a tight lipped smile and gave you a single, simple nod. “Maybe if you keep telling yourself that, eventually you’ll believe it.” He dropped a polite kiss to your cheek. “Goodnight, Y/N.” He didn’t stick around any longer, taking off now that he had said all you asked of him.

You were left standing there, bewildered and feeling rather dumb. You stayed there for more than a few minutes before it occurred to you to head on inside. At a time like this you were eternally grateful Steve wasn’t home. He had plans with Robin that would probably result in him coming home late, so at least you had many hours to think over the news you’d heard today. You could really get your feelings (and head) in place.

The man’s words had made you re-examine every date you had been on in the past few months. And you quickly came to the conclusion that he was right. It seemed, especially for someone who claimed to be nothing but platonic, all you ever did was talk about him— gush about him even. You were in love with Steve and you didn’t even know when it started. When his hair started looking softer, or when his lips started to seem more enticing. When his laughter began to make your heart flutter, or exactly when his smile got so contagious it began to make you smile. But you supposed, maybe it was always. There had never really been a big pivotal moment for you, that’s just how you always saw him— how you thought best friends saw each other. The two of you just made sense, in every sense of the matter.

It was there, back resting against the front door of your shared apartment, that you decided you had to tell him how you felt. It didn’t matter that you had only just come to terms with your feelings, you couldn’t let him go on another date at risk of him finding a better girl than you. You needed to form a plan and you needed to do it quickly.

»»——⍟——««

Your plan had to go ahead now, like right now, before you ultimately chickened out and everything was ruined. This was possibly the only chance where you felt confident enough and had the opportunity to go through with it. You didn’t know what he was doing in his room, but the second he left it the plan was a go.

It didn’t take long, but as he stepped out of his room you noticed his fancy attire. All you could put it down to was that he had another date. You felt your heart sink a little at the idea of him going out with someone else, but you weren’t going to let that stop you from taking your shot. Now you were just facing a possible larger rejection than before.

“Hey,” he greeted, a little surprised to see you just standing right in the middle of the room. It wasn’t a normal thing for you to do, so he was a little concerned about you. “What are you doing? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Got a big date?”

There was a clear lack of enthusiasm in your words that he picked up on. Usually the two of you would joke about your dates, how you thought they would fail this time around or what could be wrong with the person you were meeting, but it was obvious to him that you weren’t in the mood for that this time. “Uh, yeah. One of Robin’s friends actually,” he told you. He made a mental note that you were still in your pajamas, obviously staying in for the night for the first time in a few days. He was actually rather surprised. “You free tonight?”

“Don’t go,” you said simply.

He blinked, like a deer caught in headlights. His face morphed into one of confusion, before he forced out a laugh. “What?”

“Don’t go on your date.”

He jumped to the worst conclusions, taking a step closer to you. “Did something happen? Are you okay?” Steve was prepared to drop everything to comfort you if you needed it. You didn’t, not this time. In fact this time, you had no idea if he would be willing to stay after what you were about to tell him.

“No, ‘M fine. I just…” you trailed off, wiping your clammy hands on your pants. “I need to tell you something.”

It was times like these where you truly despised how sweet he was. He was so prepared to drop everything, to hold you while you admitted your deepest darkest secret. That was just the kind of guy that he was, a selfless one. “You can tell me anything,” he told you, bringing his hands up to settle on your upper arms. You were barely an arms length away from him now, and seeing him this up close possibly only made your heart race more. You wouldn’t be surprised at this point if he could hear your heart beating.

“Steve,” you began, blinking back tears that were already threatening to spill. “I think I’m— No, I know, I’m in love with you.”

Your words rang out in the quiet air of your apartment, a painful silence otherwise settling over you. It was only growing worse the longer he didn’t say anything. Your bottom lip was being painfully gnawed as you waited for any sort of answer from him. “Say something,” you whispered.

It was hard for him to decide on one thing to say. His thoughts were jumbled right now. It wasn’t everyday that your best friend admitted they were in love with you. “Um, I-I have a date. I’m sorry.”

You could feel your heart sink. Never in your life had you felt so dumb or embarrassed, standing there so vulnerable to him. You had poured your heart out to the man that had been by your side your entire life, and you had fucked it up. He didn’t feel the same, and things between you would probably never be the same again. It was still uncertain, you would probably have to sit down and talk about how this was going to alter your friendship. But even so, you could have potentially just lost one of the only people who meant anything to you.

“Right,” you muttered, hoping he didn’t hear the way your voice broke. “You should probably head out then.”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He did one last sweep of the apartment to grab all the stuff he needed, and then he was out of the door without even a goodbye thrown your way.

The second you heard it close, the dam broke. Now that he was out of sight, there was no reason to push away your emotions. The evidence of your broken heart was written all over your face as your chest racked with cry after cry.

At first you were unsure if he had heard you, the door opening only seconds after it had been slammed shut, maybe that was why he came. Maybe he couldn’t in good conscience leave you here crying. But then he started talking, showing no signs of being aware of the emotions you were portraying.

“I can’t believe you would say that, right before my date,” he grumbled, closing the door behind him once again and tossing his keys into the pot beside the door. It looked like he was staying. He was storming right over to you, where you were still in the same position he’d left you in. Only this time you were more teary-eyed. “Do you know how hot she is?” His question was obviously rhetorical. You couldn’t believe he would want you to answer that. If it wasn’t, then he didn’t give you any time to answer before he was planting his lips over you. It shocked you at first, taking you a second to process it and actually kiss him back.

He was the first one to pull back. Those honey brown eyes peered down at you, your own pair still closed from the surprise. “Seriously. Do you know how hot she is?” he asked. You thought he was only trying to lighten the mood.

“Hotter than me?”

“Not even close. But she was as good as I was going to get if I couldn’t have you,” he admitted. That was what had you finally opened your eyes, finding his stare locked on you. You didn’t think he had ever looked at you the way he was now, with so much adoration sparkling in his eyes.

He was careful and sweet when wiping your tears. His thumbs ever so gently sweeped under your eyes, making sure there were no traces of water left on your face. Inside he was hating the fact he had made you cry, that wasn’t his intention by any means, but those few minutes he had taken outside the apartment did wonders for him. It was all he needes to decide that, yeah, he fucking loved you.

“You have me now.”

“I know. And you’ve always had me.”

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[madibug]

the finale

The 6th and final part of too little, too late

(Originally based on @sabertoothwalrus​ comic here ♥)

Also on Ao3!

A heartbeat.

Then Adrien comes alive. 

He shoots to his feet in a blur, Eagle’s liberation wiring through him like molten electricity. The sensation wracks down his frame in heavy sheets, washing away every ugly fear and shaky uncertainty that had been inside him only moments before. 

When he gasps, even the air tastes different. Sharper. Thrumming with energy. 

Everything, down to the storms in his mind, seem calm and comprehensible and he realizes with a jolt that he can hear it - tinkling in the folds of a place he hadn’t known existed until now…

The song of time.

He quiets himself, and listens. 

The thrum of it swells all around him, twisting on the back of the wind caressing his cheek, intense in its intricacies, pouring and pouring through the now open floodgates. And when the notes finally crest into an ending, nothing has ever been clearer.

“Adrien?”

Adrien blinks his eyes open. Uncanny and Eagle are standing a few paces away, watching him with twinned, held-breath expressions.

Slowly, Eagle asks, “How do you feel?”

But that doesn’t matter anymore. Those parts of Adrien’s brain have been shut off, and the only thing remaining is his determination to save Marinette.

“I’m fine,” he answers, “Everything is a lot clearer to me now.” 

His eyes flick down to his father’s ring, still gripped in his palm. He tucks it over his thumb. The only finger big enough that it fits snugly. He waits for the swoop of despair and hurt and dread - but they never come. Whatever pain and loss awaits him on the other end of this liberation isn’t reachable now. 

Adrien looks up to address Uncanny. “We’ll continue as planned. May I have the butterfly miraculous, please?”

Her expression twists with guilt. It’s all Adrien needs to see to know something has gone horribly wrong. 

“Yeah,” she says, “About that…” then turns to share a harrowing look with Eagle. 

Adrien says, “What happened?”

Uncanny ducks her eyes to the floor, looking like she might be sick.

“We thought you weren’t going to be able to fight with the state you were in,” she begins, voice wavering unsteadily, “We thought someone else was going to need to wear the butterfly miraculous to deakumatize Gaiabug. And since Jessica already has Liiri we thought, I don’t know, maybe I could give it a try but -” her cupped hands come up, shaking, to reveal the butterfly miraculous. She says, “We didn’t know they can’t be worn by androids.”

Adrien’s eyes fall to the brooch. Directly down its center is a large, damning crack.

Instantly he feels the effects of the liberation flare up inside him, rushing in to meet and counteract the dread that the sight invokes in him, neutralizing it instead into a reaction of numb indifference. 

Bunnyx’s voice passes through his mind:

Be adaptive, be flexible. Don’t let the disruption of one path or course of action derail you from your goal. Shit happens, you understand? The point is to keep moving forward.

Adrien takes a slow, deep breath and says, “Call the others. I need Luka here, now.”

-

“I won’t be able to puppet my illusion very easily from this distance,” says Rena. When Uncanny and Eagle had returned with her and the others, she had been the first to swallow and process the bad news of the damaged butterfly miraculous. “So if we’re going to make a new plan, we need to do it fast.”

“I already have a new plan.” Adrien turns to Viperion. “We need your second chance, now.”

“Now?” Viperion asks, eyebrows furrowing. 

“Yes, now. Without the butterfly miraculous we’ll have to change three important aspects of our plan,” Adrien explains, “First, we’ll now need to secure the second ladybug earring in order for me to don the ladybug powers. Second, I’ll need to conjure and use a lucky charm to secure a magical ladybug reset. Third, we’ll have to now locate and destroy whatever object is holding the akuma to de-evilize it and free Marinette.” 

“Piece of cake,” Carapace croaks hoarsely. 

“I know it's more dangerous this way,” Adrien says slowly, “But the plan should still work. The most precarious element is identifying the akuma without Gaiabug retaliating by lashing out or hiding it.” His eyes flick to Luka. “Should be easy if she doesn't remember our previous attempts to find it, right?”

Understanding dawns in Luka’s eyes. “You want me to use my second chance so we can identify the object holding Gaiabug’s akuma?”

Adrien says, “Yes. Then you’ll reset to this moment and tell us what the object is, so that she won’t know that we’ve identified it.”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” says Eagle.

Viperion nods in agreement. “Let’s do it.”

Adrien says, “Rena, use your illusion to start drawing Gaiabug this way. Viperion only has five minutes once he’s used his second chance, and I don’t want him to have to waste half of that time crossing the jungle to reach her.”

“On it,” Rena says, pulling her flute around to play a quick, flighty tune. “She’s on her way.”

“Uncanny,” says Adrien, “Can you tell me how close Gaiabug is now?”

“Yes,” Uncanny says, turning intently to the left. “She’s approaching from the east. One thousand meters away, now. Nine hundred fifty. Nine hundred.”

The ground begins to rumble beneath them.

Adrien turns to Viperion, “Go, now.”

Viperion pulls his wrist up and twists the snake. “Second chance!”

An instant later Viperion’s body is thrown backwards, tossed off kilter as if he has been thrown back into this moment instead of beginning in it. His back hits the ground of the jungle, hard, loose rocks vibrating on the ground around him as Gaiabug draws closer. 

His chest is heaving, and his eyes are wide. 

“What happened?” Adrien falls to his knees at Viperion’s side. “What did you see?”

“The akuma“ - Viperion swallows, voice raspy - “The akuma it’s - it’s her earring. The Akuma is inside the ladybug earring Gaiabug is still wearing.”

No.

Adrien’s eyes fall closed

Voice shaking with horror, Rena says, “But that means -”

It means they can’t destroy the ladybug earring to release the akuma, because then there will be no way to conjure a lucky charm. It means Adrien will have to don an akuma-ridden pair of ladybug earrings and gamble the probability that he’ll be able to still transform and accomplish the task. He has never heard of such a thing, transforming with an akumatized miraculous, and can’t know if it’s even possible. 

But impossibility doesn’t frighten Adrien right now. 

Right now, in the liberated state he’s in, the only thing that is actually managing to get through the steel-laden bunker entrapping his fears, is the idea of losing Marinette. 

He opens his eyes. 

The wind is fluttering through the low-hung tree branches around them, rustling the leaves into a song.

Keep moving forward.

Adrien turns his attention back to the others. They’re in a fit of panic around him, verging on the edge of hysteria. 

“Everyone calm down,” he says, spreading his hands in a placating gesture. “This doesn’t affect the plan. Not really.”

Rena gives him a look like he’s lost his mind. “In what way does this not affect the plan?!”

Adrien squats to reach for a stick on the ground, and begins to draw a visual representation of his plan and strategy.

He says, “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

-

It happens like this. 

The others scatter into their various assigned places around the clearing, and Adrien remains standing at the edge where he can be visible as live bait. 

It had taken a bit of convincing to get the others to agree to this - Rena especially - but there wasn’t time to deliberate with Gaiabug already headed their way. They had to trust that Adrien could handle this. 

The last gamble they have to play.

The jungle floor rumbles underneath Adrien’s feet as Gaiabug approaches, up the pads of his feet and vertebrae of his spine to rattle his teeth.

The sound of Gaiabug’s approach is thunderous, a cacophony of crunching wood and rip-roaring shrieks echoing around him, caging him in. He can just make out her form through the still drowsy morning light fogging the treeline, a jagged silhouette moving towards him with frightening, inhuman agility. 

Come to me, he thinks as the adrenaline in him spikes, let me save you.

Her silhouette grows closer. 

And closer.

Adrien adjusts his stance and speaks clearly into his com, “Now, Rena.”

Rena’s mirage hits Adrien at the same moment that Gaiabug crashes through the treeline into the clearing in front of him. Adrien sees the moment that she sees him. She goes from monster to mouse in an instant, the sight of him making her lurch to a wrenching, stupefied stop. And it’s like in doing so she draws the rest of the world to a pause - the air between them hanging in rigid suspension. 

Adrien doesn’t dare even breathe.

The sight of Gaiabug in the flesh is nothing like seeing her on the screen of Bunnyx’s burrow. She is so much more harrowing in person than he had anticipated. He can feel the efforts of the liberation warring inside him, straining to smother the dread and heartbreak that the sight of her invokes. 

She’s nearly unrecognizable, more tree now than girl.

The wood in her eyes has spread. It overtakes the complete upper half of her face now, leaving just her delicate mouth and jaw still pink and human. Her hair is another story. Fallen loose from its ties, once silk-soft strands have hardened to individual branches, clacking faintly as they resettle into stillness after her speedy arrival. They are the only part of her moving. The rest of her has clenched into dangerous stillness, watching Adrien with those unseeable eyes. Unsettling more is her stance: more beast than biped. She’s crouched low to the floor, arms and legs showing hints of her escape from the banyan tree; she must’ve torn herself from it, because she is still half entrapped in it now, gnarled, reedy forearms tangled into a mess of torn roots where her hands and feet should be. 

An eldritch creature left to the forest to be forgotten.

All Adrien can see is Marinette. 

And all Gaiabug can see is the illusion Rena wants her to see; that Adrien is in possession of the butterfly miraculous, and has donned and activated its power. Even in this state, some part of Gaiabug knows that this means she should obey - even fear - him, but he can also see the gears of calculation whirring in her mind. If he gives her enough time, she’ll figure it out.

Adrien says, “Hello.”

Gaiabug’s entire demeanor rustles like the rising shackles of a wary dog, a snake cornered and ready to strike. 

Adrien dares moving forward. He steps out into the dappled dawn light, letting her see him, and reaches for his jacket flap, slowly revealing the butterfly miraculous pinned just inside - which has also been hit by Rena to appear intact and uncracked. 

The moment Gaiabug lays eyes on it she jerks forward, a terrible, chilling sound grating up her throat like a warning.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he’s quick to say, not wanting her to take it as a threat, “I want to offer you a trade.”

She stops making that grinding noise, head slowly tilting in consideration.

“Trrraaade?” 

Gooseflesh raise in waves over his skin as he hears her speak for the first time. Her voice - it’s different. Disturbing. Just this side of not-human. Although, he has the strange feeling he has heard this kind of tone before… 

Then it hits him. Years ago, on his way to the dentist, Adrien had passed by a cat perched atop a hedge engulfing an old, wrought iron fence. It had been making this sound - this terrible, unsettling sound almost like it had been trying to imitate human speech, a sort of ‘wubububub’ that at some points he could have sworn formed actual words. But it still sounded wrong. Alien. Like those kinds of sounds weren’t meant to come out of a cat. 

That is how Gaiabug sounds now. 

“Yes,” says Adrien, holding himself perfectly still as Gaiabug starts to slowly stalk forward. “A trade. The butterfly miraculous, for one of your many miraculous’.”

She hisses, “Caaan’t havvve earrrrring.”

“I don’t want the earring.” Adrien says, “I want the rooster talon.”

This, it seems, is not what Gaiabug was expecting. Her head tilts again, almost curiously. 

“Wwhhyy?”

“I have my reasons. And besides, the butterfly miraculous would fare far better with you in your… current state, don’t you think? Call it an investment in insurance.” 

Gaiabug creeps forward another step, wooden eyes never leaving Adrien’s face. Never blinking. Adrien forces himself to do the same. To remain just as unwaveringly sturdy under her gaze. 

“Do we have a deal?”

She moves another step closer, into the light of the canopy. “Yesss,” she hisses, “Dealll.”

They are an arm span away from each other now. 

“On three,” Adrien says, reaching into his jacket flap. “One.” Gaiabug slips the rooster talon off of her thumb, the strike of Orikko’s light leaving her and returning to the jewelry in a flash. “Two.” Adrien grips the butterfly miraculous, beginning to tug. “Three.”

Everything happens at once. 

Adrien rips the miraculous from his jacket - effectively ruining the mirage - and deposits it onto Gaiabug’s palm at the exact moment his other hand snatches up the rooster miraculous she’d placed there. He yanks it and himself out of Gaiabug’s reach at the same moment Carapace falls from the canopy directly above her.

“SHELTER!” He booms, and slams the shelled dome snugly over Gaiabug. 

Adrien shoves the rooster miraculous onto his thumb before anyone can take their next breath, Orikko appearing in a flash before he’s shouting, 

“Sunrise!” 

The transformation crashes through Adrien, and he doesn’t waste any time once it has fully settled in his bones. He calls on the power of immobilization as Gaiabug - from underneath Carapace’s shelter - lets out an enraged roar, hand coming up blazing with her cataclysm. 

His voice cracks the air like a whip, “Now, Carapace!” 

Carapace is gone in an instant, leaping up as the cataclysm makes contact with his shelter and incinerates it to dust, clearing the path between them. 

Lifting his quill, he points it directly at Gaiabug, her arm still outstretched from the cataclysm.

“IMMOBILIZE!” 

Gaiabug freezes instantly.

But her eyes are still locked on Adrien. Whom of which quickly renounces Orikko to give her a few crackers, leaving him for the first time in full, maskless, Adrien Agreste glory in front of her. 

He thinks he’s probably imagining the fissure of shock crackling across her face, those still human lips frozen on a parted gasp. 

“Shit,” Carapace hisses as he comes up to stand at Adrien’s side. They take in the sight of their mutated friend in front of them with a somber air of reverence. “How long will that hold her?”

“I’m not sure,” Adrien says, voice sounding faint and far away even to his own ears. He can’t looked away from Gaiabug. He can’t even blink. “But I don’t think we should waste time finding out.” 

He takes a tentative step forward. Gaiabug doesn’t move. Of course she doesn’t. She can’t. 

Another step. 

“I’m going to help you, Marinette,” Adrien says as he closes the space between them. Her eyes are still fixed on his, like a painting whose eyes follow you as you move. He lifts a hand to brush the backs of his fingers down her cool, wooden cheek. “I’m going to save you,” he whispers, “I promise.”

Then he lifts gentle fingers to unclasp the single ladybug earring still pierced through her ear, blackened by the akuma, and steps back. 

It feels like falling out of his own gravity, and for a moment he has to steady himself. Resolidify the steel in his bones. 

Then he raises his hands and slips the earring into his ear.

Carapace’s voice carries over to him, softly somber. “Are you sure about this, Adrien?”

Adrien turns to meet his gaze. “It’s okay,” he says, as much for him as the others listening in, “This will work.”

Carapace lets out a shaky exhale. “Just be careful, okay?”

Adrien gives his friend a small, but fierce, smile. Into the com he says, “Be ready with your second chance, Viperion. If something goes wrong, that’s our only insurance.”

Viperion responds dutifully, “Ready when you are, boss.”

Adrien’s eyes flick back to Gaiabug, then fall closed. 

“Tikki, spots on.”

It’s like being struck by lightning. 

The ferocity of it crashes through the crown of his head down into the rest of his body in debilitating droves, and the moment the power of creation tries to latch itself to his nerves he knows. 

Something is deeply wrong with Tikki. 

Instead of coming back into himself in a transformed state, he is instead launched deep into the depths of his subconscious. A foggy place only darkening as the ground beneath him shifts and crumbles and shakes, a hole fastly opening to swallow him into nothingness. 

Then - a spark of pink light, flittering across the edge of his vision. 

Adrien lunges for it before it can skip away, and he feels his fingertips just barely brush the ends - 

His touch ignites an explosion of sunlight.

He’s deposited into the warm hold of a memory - but no, Adrien thinks as his eyes span his new surroundings, that’s not right. This is no memory of his if a memory is what it truly is. 

He is sitting in front of a golden landscape, the tail of the burning sun tucked behind the black horizon, its bleeding brilliance saturating the entire world into a concerto of sweltering colors. He’s on a hillside, above a tidy valley cupped around a lulling lake. 

And walking along its edge are Adrien and Marinette.  

He watches with astonishment as this version of himself - for it clearly isn’t the real him - cajoles Marinette with gentle prodding, coaxing her into an easy, weightless dance. They float around the lake edge with all the effortlessness of two lungs breathing in harmony, pulled into each other as if chasing the other’s gravity - desperate for it; Unable to survive without it. 

They twirl and twirl and twirl across the ground until they’re spinning out onto that glittering lake surface, melting into the colors of the landscape as it begins to undulate and melt together, so that they are just another swipe of oil in the hundreds making up the painted landscape.

Then, that spark of pink light again. 

There and gone it goes in a flash, and this time when Adrien leaps for it, he knows what it is. 

Or rather, who.

“Tikki!”  Adrien calls, but his voice sounds like it’s bubbling up from underwater. “Please! We need your help!”

“I’m sorry, Adrien,” Tikki says, but her voice is all wrong. Distorted in a drooping way that reminds him of melting plastic. “I can’t seem to - “ and her light flickers, glitching between purple-black and pink-white, like she’s infected with an illness quickly spreading.

The golden landscape melts into that endless void of blackness all around him. His ears begin to ring.

“Tell me what to do,” Adrien pleads, before she can blink away entirely, but he can hardly hear his voice now. “Marinette needs us, Tikki! Please!”

Tikki’s voice comes broken up like static. “Cr - eee - ate. Creeee - ate. Crrrreate.” 

“Create?” Adrien echoes, eyebrows furrowing;  “Create what?”

But Tikki doesn’t respond. Her light has gone out, blackness enveloping even sound from existence. He squeezes his eyes shut - or at least he thinks he is. It’s hard to tell even where his body is in space while surrounded by so much darkness… He didn’t know anything could be so black.

If only he had something to lighten the dark, a candle or a match or a - 

Memory. 

In an instant Adrien tries again to squeeze his eyes shut, calling upon all of his composure and clarity of mind so that he can visualize in perfect detail the warmth of Marinette’s brightness, the exhilaration of knowing he is the object of her affections - him, Adrien Agreste, when she could have her pick of anyone, when she could choose the man in the moon and it still not be a bright enough fit for her golden soul. 

And she chose him. 

Flares go off in bursts all around him at the thought, dazzling displays of light twisting and morphing through the vast void as he holds tight to that feeling. 

He can sense an unsteadiness in his tether to Tikki - unsettled like the crumbling edge of a cliff, moments from fully collapsing if too much pressure is applied. 

So he leans as far away from that edge as he can. 

Vaulting himself instead into the place in his subconscious that he has carved out for Marinette, clusters of memories spiraling into view like twinkling stars sewn into the canvas of a night sky. He leaps out towards the brightest, warmest star within reach, fleeing the vast void of Tikki’s fastly deteriorating mindspace.

“Crrrrreeeate” - Tikki’s garbled voice beckons from behind him - “Chhaaarrrmm.”

And then he is falling full bodily into the memory he’d leapt towards, the opening to Tikki’s void swallowing back closed behind him. 

He’s deposited onto the scene of Marinette’s birthday party, the two of them standing close under a sparkle of fairy lights in the middle of the floor. Her eyes are full and bright and burning, looking up at Adrien as if her next breath depended on their continued close-proximity. He watches himself hold the small gift box out to Marinette, pasted into his old selves place in the memory and thus only able to watch as it unfolds. 

It’s different watching her open the lucky charm he’d made for her now, after everything that tonight has revealed. Now, Watching the pure delight that sparks in Marinette’s eyes makes him ache with regret. 

How could he have been so, so blind.

He hears himself say, “I always carry the lucky charm you gave me wherever I go, and I think it works pretty well!” as he pulls out the matching lucky charm that Marinette had gifted him first. He still has it now, tucked away in the pocket of his suitcase back on the private jet.

“You’re so wonderful!” Marinette is saying. “Oh, ah - it’s wonderful! Uh - oh, what a charm! The charm - I mean, I’ll wear the charm. With luck! Basically, um, thank you?”

The ache in him worsens. He feels his longing for Marinette only growing here, so close to this too-real feeling. It would be so easy for him to continue to hide here.Would be so easy for him to let the memory whisk him away from the real life nightmare awaiting him. 

But not easy enough. 

Because this Marinette, here in the safe folds of his memory, doesn’t need him. This Marinette doesn’t have a heartbeat, doesn’t have a clock counting down above her head, doesn’t know that Adrien is Chat Noir or that a - literal - apocalyptic heartbreak awaits her only months down the line.

This Marinette doesn’t need rescuing. The one waiting for him on the outside of his mind, imprisoned in a shell of her own making, does. 

Adrien feels himself - this version in the memory - wrap a hand around Marinette’s lucky charm, and he focuses all of his attention into the sensation of its weight on his palm. He can still feel the ladybug powers coursing in the background of his mind - like the soundtrack of crashing waves in his ears - but like Tikki, they are unstable. Crumbling the longer they’re handled.

And so Adrien treads very, very carefully. 

He squeezes phantom fingers around that phantom lucky charm, entire body locking up from jaw to heel as he forces the memory - the ladybug powers - to bend to his will. It doesn’t matter how unsettled the ground becomes as he wades into Tikki’s domain. Right now, he has enough fortitude and presence of mind to stabilize the both of them. 

Create, calls Tikki’s voice in his mind. 

And then the not-so physical lucky charm in his hand becomes very tangible indeed. He gasps, fingers clenching white-knuckled on the wooden string of beads as the ground finally gives and he falls. 

Fast.

And awakes into chaos. 

The jungle is swirling in a cyclone around him, trees the size of skyscrapers and roots like furious pythons lashing through the air as Gaiabug - at the eye of the storm - manipulates it all as if a conductor of her own personal calamity. 

Her arms are thrown out wide in the air, even her mouth wooden now, open and shrieking. The sound rips through the air, so ferocious in strength that it causes the dome of Carapace’s shelter around them to quake. 

“Adrien!” comes Rena’s voice from behind him. 

He can barely hear her over the cacophony of sound he's been thrown into. 

Her hands are suddenly at his back, helping him sit up, and he can see the others scattered in various states of readiness around them, all poised for the moment Gaiabug breaks through the creaking shelter. 

“Carapace,” Adrien rasps, swallowing to wet his dry throat as he pushes himself the rest of the way up. Then, louder so that the person in question can hear, “Carapace!”

Carapace’s head snaps over, hands still outstretched to hold his shelter in place as he peers at Adrien over his shoulder.

“Adrien,” he says, a look of relief quickly cracking into panic when he sees that Adrien isn’t transformed. “It didn’t work?”

“It did,” Adrien assures, vaguely aware of Rena’s gaze snapping over to him, “But not in the way you might think.”

“Oh my god,” Rena says, “For the people without liberation brain, please?”

“Everything will soon make sense,” Adrien says.

“That isn’t an explanation, Adrien!”

Adrien turns to Carapace. “You need to retract your shelter, and detransform to recharge Wayzz’s strength.”

“Uhh, sure thing boss,” Carapace says, “Just as soon as we find a way to avoid getting pulverized by the all-powerful jungle guardian waiting on the other side.”

“No,” Adrien says. “Retract the shelter now.”

This time, it isn’t just Carapace and Rena looking at him like he’s lost it. Every single person under the dome turns to give him that look now.

“I’m going to break the ladybug earring and release the akuma,” Adrien continues, unruffled, “When I do that, I need you to create a shelter around the akuma so that it can’t get away until we can use this.” 

He unfurls his palm, and reveals to them the lucky charm he’d taken from the ladybug infused mindspace of his memories, now colored red with black spots. 

“Oh, thank god,” Eagle says, Rena nearly sagging to the floor in relief as Uncanny beams and Luka laughs victoriously. 

Carapace whoops, “Oh shit! It worked! You did it, dude! You actually did it! I mean - of course, I never doubted you for a second.”

Adrien rolls his eyes unheatedly as Eagle shoves at Carapace’s shoulder.

Rena starts, “But how did you - actually, you know what? Nevermind. You can tell me when all of this is over. It’ll make for great exclusive content when I write about this moment on the Ladyblog.”

Adrien smiles. A true, genuine smile - the feeling of warmth spreading and pooling low inside of him at the rejuvenated optimism in her voice. At the idea of all of this soon being over. 

He tells Rena, “I promise.”

Gaiabug unleashes another devastating blow of roots and bark against the dome, and it gives an answering, foreboding groan like the wails of a wounded animal. Any moment now, the shelter would give. 

“Alright.” Adrien reaches up to unclasp the akumatized ladybug earring, taking it off to hold it in his palm. He finds a flat stone and sets the earring on top of it, bringing his heel over it as he meets and locks eyes with Carapace. When he gives him an answering nod, Adrien says, “Now.”

His heel crunches the ladybug earring against the stone, feeling as well as hearing the metal snap at the exact moment the shelter flickers out of view above them. 

Wayzz swirls into existence at Nino’s shoulder, tiny arms already outstretched to accept the food being handed to him. 

Adrien’s eyes drop to the squirming, vibrant purple akuma under his foot, then flicker over to Gaiabug, who has frozen in wait as the deakumatization process begins. It drains out of her from her feet up, a billowing cloud of purple and black erasing the wooden girl and leaving behind Marinette, inch by blessed inch. 

Wayzz has finished his food now. 

Nino shouts, “Wayzz, shell on!” 

The transformation ignites his silhouette in blinding green-white light, and then Carapace is standing at the ready once more, eyes already poised on the fleeing akuma. 

“Shelter!” A soccer ball sized shell encloses the akuma in the air, and it drops like dead weight to the ground, successfully trapped inside. 

But Adrien isn’t watching the akuma anymore. He’s watching Marinette reamerge from her wretched stasis. 

Finally. 

His feet consume the distance between them before his mind can make the conscious decision to move, arriving at Marinette’s side like a communicant taking to worship. 

Her soft, beautiful features reappear as the wood is peeled back, until she has finally been restored to her former self, stumbling and all. She sways unsteadily - eyes squeezed closed - and Adrien catches her. Their forearms pressing flesh together as she falls against him, Adrien’s cupped under hers in his capture of her weight. Dark, sweet lashes fan wide over the delicate skin of her cheekbones. She slumps against Adrien, soft noises leaving her lips while she comes back into herself. 

The kwami’s hover above them where they’d reappeared alongside Marinette; Like the other members of the team- like the very air in the jungle - they hang in anticipatory silence.

Adrien can’t tear his eyes from Marinette’s wakening face. Her eyelashes begin to flutter. Her nose scrunching as she turns to press it against Adrien’s chest. 

“Mmph,” she grumbles.

Adrien whispers, “Marinette,” his breath rustling loose strands of hair by her ear. Gently, he lifts his fingers to tuck them behind her ear, the backs of his knuckles brushing her jaw.

Then her eyes snap open. 

She tosses herself away from him - not making it far, enclosed in his hold as she is, the pair of them folded around one another on the jungle floor - her eyes swiveling up to peer at him like a stupified owl.  

“Adrien!” She squawks. 

Her arms instinctively rise to push them apart, but Adrien doesn’t let her have an inch. He tightens his hold on her, sliding the flats of his palms around to cup her back, thrilling at the splash of red bursting across her cheeks. 

“Marinette.” Adrien lets out a breathless laugh. “You’re okay.”

It feels as if a new star is being born inside of him. Burning, burning, burning him from within. The rational part of his brain is telling him it’s the effects of the liberation in action, but a larger, more prominent part of him knows it has everything to do with seeing the light returning to Marinette’s eyes. Which are currently enormous, flitting all over Adrien’s face in a frantic scurry as she blinks sporadically - like doing so will clear up the situation she’s found herself in. 

“Y-Yes,” she says - and he decides in that moment that her voice is the sweetest sound he’s ever heard, “I’m okay.” Her eyes flick sidelong to lock with Rena. “But I’m beginning to think I may have missed something big.” 

Rena, teary eyed (and doing a remarkable job holding herself back so that the two of them can have their moment) says, “Huge, girl.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” comes Carapace's voice, sounding strained. “But we do still have the issue of what the hell we’re gonna do to de-evilize this akuma.” 

The two of them look over to where he’s poised above said akuma. Marinette’s eyes immediately drop to it, then fly to the crushed ladybug earring on the flat stone beside it. 

Adrien feels the noise Marinette makes as much as he hears it. A gutted, wounded sound reverberating up from her throat as the realization strikes. Her hands shoot up reflexively and when she feels her ladybug earrings gone, her fear erupts on her face.

“Oh god,” her voice wavers, a dew drop posed atop a shivering thread. “Did I -” she turns those breathtaking azure eyes back up at him - “Did I get akumatized?” 

“Yes,” Carapace says, before Adrien can so much as open his mouth. His arms are quivering with the effort to keep the shelter corporeal around the akuma, mere moments from transforming back. “And it’s a long, terrifying story that we can all tell around a campfire sometime, once this akuma has been de-eviled.”

Marinette’s eyebrows furrow in concentration. “It won’t matter without a -“

“Lucky charm?” Adrien says, holding up the one he’d pulled from his mindspace.

 Her face lights up instantly, a relieved gasp punching through her lips. 

“I-It’s the lucky charm I gave you,” she says, trying to school her tone even though Adrien can tell that the sight of it pleases her. Then in the span of a moment, that soft expression leads to confusion. “But the earrings,” she says, “How did you - ?”

In a conspiratorial tone, Viperion says, “We’re all still waiting to hear that ourselves.”

“Hello,” Carapace stresses, “The akuma!”

Marinette transitioned into her Ladybug demeanor with impressive ease, her back straightening, brow hardening.

“We can use the rooster to conjure the power of the yo-yo, which can be used to de-evilize the akuma.” Then, that steel-boned manner softening shyly as her eyes flick over to Adrien. They’re still tangled together on the floor, her smaller body practically cradled in his arms. “Then you can throw your lucky charm, and reset the world.”

Adrien just blinks at her as he processes her plan - such an obvious, but simple plan he can’t believe he didn’t think of it - before his face is bleeding into a helplessly smitten smile.

His hands fall to grip hers, and squeeze. “I am so glad that you’re back.”

“Oh!” Marinette’s cheeks erupt with that beautiful rouge splash, wide eyes blinking quickly. “Oh - uh, well, I -”

“Get a room!” Eagle calls from their left, hands cupped around her mouth to project the words.

If possible, Marinette grows even redder, her stammering revving into fifth gear- and Adrien wants to kiss her. 

He wants to kiss her so badly that he aches with it, the feeling enveloping him all the way to his toes. But not here. Not yet. There’s still one more thing he has to do. 

So, still grinning like a dopey fool, Adrien squeezes Marinette’s hands one last time before rising to cross the space to the trapped akuma. He tightens the talon on his thumb and says,

“Orikko, sunrise!” 

-

And so the world is reset, every trace of their battle erased. Everything but the memories, and the hours that have passed. 

The sun is still rising on the new day around them, now clear of the jungle debris and towering trees. The seven of them stand scattered in a tidy, cobble-stone lined courtyard, vibrant roses spilling buds and perfume all around them. Adrien hears, tucked somewhere out of view, a private fountain trickling. Now all completely transformed back, they make a rather stupefied picture, still waiting for the surreality to wear off. 

They had done it.

They had saved the world. 

They had saved Marinette. 

She is standing a few paces from Adrien, golden sunlight haloing over her shoulder. The liberation has long since worn off, but even still there isn’t a trace of reservation or fear in Adrien’s body as he covers the distance between them in three swift, decisive steps, a very faint part of his brain noticing Rena shepherding everyone else out of the courtyard so they can have privacy. 

“Adrien,” she says, barely above a whisper.

He feels like he might shake apart, the relief inside him is so fierce.

“Marinette.”

Neither one has so much as blinked since he stopped in front of her. Then, at the same time they’re both blurting,

“I’m sorry!”

And clamp their mouths shut at the unexpected synchronicity, which leads to them bubbling into laughter immediately after. 

Adrien says, “But we don’t have to talk about that right now. We’ll have plenty of time later. Right now I just -” and he takes a huge, filling breath, knowing that there’s still work to be done, there’s still the matter of Shadowmoth’s identity. But he refuses to give up this golden moment quite yet. 

An hour, yes, then he’ll be ready to get back to work.

“Let’s go to breakfast,” he says, “You pick the destination. Any place you want, we’ll go.”

Marinette lets out a flustered, ringing laugh. “Don’t think I’ll let you get off that easy,” she teases, “I want to know everything that I missed.”

“I love you,” Adrien says. He steps forward to capture her hands between them as he does, thrilling at the way the words make her eyes gleam, the way they take her breath away, “Anything else, I can tell you over breakfast.”

The emotion unfolds on her face in waves, her mouth working, bright eyes gleaming with brimming tears. 

“Oh, Adrien,” she gasps, “I -”

Another step forward, brilliant morning light spilling between them as Adrien drops his forehead to rest against hers. 

“I know,” he whispers, and with those words feels her finally let go of the last whisps of tension in her body. She surrenders against him and he supports her weight as if a gift bestowed upon him. 

The future is theirs to create, and Adrien can’t wait to get started.

♥️ F I N ♥️

Part 1 . Part 2 . Part 3 . Part 4 . Part 5

[storiesfromthefarm]

STORIES FROM THE FARM ✿ chapter 4

╰a Poly!SVT kpop au

╰ feat. SVT, original female character

╰ mentions of zombie apocalypse, implied character death, slice of life

╰ index:            - Haraboji: 할아버지, trans. grandfather            - Halbi: 할비, trans. nickname, short for 할아버지            - Gongjunim: 공주님, trans. princess            - Chuseok: 추석, a mid-autumn festival; major Korean holiday, equivalent to Thanksgiving

╰a/n: HAVE YOU ALL HEARD DARLING? THIS IS A DARLING STAN ACCOUNT NOW ! STREAM DARLING, DARLING ~ kiss me, baby ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Ari laid out the last mat, lining it up neatly with the others.

Six would stay in this room on the mats, the others would take the mini masters. Two to each bed and one additional mat on the floor of the room. They couldn’t have their own room or their own bed, but at least it’s better than the grass they might have been sleeping on before.

She paused as she laid a cover on top of the mat, twisting the fabric between her fingers. How long had it been, since they had really felt any sort of comfort? Living outside, sleeping on the ground, scavenging for scraps. She knew that the latter must have been particularly hard the closer they came to the farm; she’d gathered everything edible within a nearly five mile radius and brought it all back to the storeroom ages ago.

When did they lose Wonwoo? Was it right before they left the city? If it was, then they left in bad spirits, with no plan, nowhere to go. It must have been so hard, she thought. Still, as much as she felt for them, as strange and wonderful as it was to have the members of Seventeen around, they couldn’t stay. “A few days,” she muttered to herself. “They can only stay a few days. Finish helping Halbi and then they have to go.” And no matter what, she thought to herself, do not get attached.

- - -

“We got sesame and soybeans, rice, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, green onion, garlic, peppers. Over there’s cabbage and lettuce; we got wheat and a bit of squash and cucumber, corn, carrots. Didn’t use to grow quite so much but after everything happened and we weren’t selling harvest anymore, didn’t make much sense for us to have pounds of soybeans go to waste when we could grow us something else to eat.”

“Haraboji, you take care of all these fields yourself?” Jun asked in awe. “That’s amazing.”

“Well, it ain’t easy, but I been farming my whole life. I do enough to get us by.” Halbi sighed. “Truth is, I’d like to do more. We do what we can, but crops still go to rot if I can’t get to ‘em in time. Even after that, with just the two of us here, we save more’n we can eat fresh. More’n half of it’s frozen down in the basement. It’s damn waste and a shame.”

The members all exchanged quiet looks amongst themselves.

“Well, anyway! Here are the girls!” They approached a chicken coop, several dark and tawny chickens plucking away at the ground lazily.

“That’s how you have eggs,” Soonyoung commented to himself.

“Exactly so. Important to stay healthy at times like this, so we keep good eggs, got the soybeans to make some tofu. Gongjunim keeps the beef locked down with an iron fist unless it’s for special occasions, so we get us our protein in other ways.”

“Sorry?”

“Beef?”

“The what?”

“You have meat?”

Halbi laughed at their eyes, wide with awe. “Don’t tell her I told ‘ya or she’ll throw herself into a fit. Truth is, this ain’t the only farm Gongjunim took care of. Old bastard I knew from way back had a cattle farm, not but the other side the mountains over there.” He pointed off to the edge of the farm where a small crest of mountains surrounded the property line. “Well, ‘bout a year after she got here, he had some trouble with equipment, woulda shut him down for a while without replacing it, but he didn’t have the money. Everyone fell on hard times ‘round then. Gongjunim offered quick as a flash to fix it up for him. I introduced them right after she moved here. Girl loves beef more than anything; think it’s cause it’s one of the only things she can eat.” He laughed. “Well, anyway. She bought his farm from him, too. When things started happening, he killed just as many cows as he could, processed ‘em right, packed ‘em up, and brought it all here. Stayed with us till he passed on, too. Not all that long ago, actually. Just about a few months, when it was still snowin’ hard.”

“And, and you still have the meat?” Jihoon asked.

“Too much,” Halbi said, shaking his head. “She’s determined to make it last as long as possible. Says she wants to have some in case of an emergency, but she always lets us have some on our birthdays, and we still make a point to cook a good meal for Chuseok.”

The members swallowed thickly at the thought of meat. Whatever they had left in their freezers had run out quickly after the outbreak, and it’s a meal they haven’t had since.

Halbi laughed. “Well you just help an old man finish his chores later. We’ll get you some meat before you get on your way!”

“Really?!”

“Thank you, Haraboji!”

“But…will Ari-ssi be okay with it?”

“Ack, don’t worry about her! You do right by the farm, she’ll do right by you. She might not be too happy about it at first, but I told ‘ya, she’ll want it, too. She won’t say no.”

- - -

“What else is there? Dishes are done,” Ari counted on her fingers, “laundry’s been rerun, showers wiped down, beds are set up. I can’t clean their shoes right now since they’re wearing them.”

As she wandered down the hallway, she lingered by the door. The one that stayed closed, locked behind a passcode. It was the only room in the house to have a separate smart lock. She was surprised none of the boys had asked about it yet, but then again, they had other things on their mind. She glanced toward the front door. It didn’t sound like they were coming back from their tour any time soon, so she quickly entered the passcode and slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

The sight that greeted her was the same as it always was: the plush, oversized couch, her favorite iridescent coffee table, the multiple, oversized stuffed dolls, and the shelves, filled to the brink with her favorite albums.

Her eyes landed on one shelf in particular, and she smiled softly, moving toward it easily. The Caratbong which she’d decorate herself shined in the light, and she pulled a random album off the shelf. She flipped through the photobook slowly. “They all look so different now.”

They were still the same boys she saw in the photos, but aged, more tired, slightly thinner from lack of food, and if she were being honest, they could all use a decent haircut. She laughed to herself, flipping another page before pursing her lips tight.

Wonwoo stared back at her, leaning casually against an old counter. His all black leather suit matched his sleek black hair. Gently, Ari settled a shaking hand on top of the page. Did it hurt? Did he suffer? She hoped not. She hoped it was quick. Hoped there was no lengthy infection, hoped he’d gotten a bullet through the brain before he could become one of those things.

“Sorry,” she choked out in a whisper. “So sorry, Wonwoo. If I had known you all were still alive,” Ari sniffed, “if I had known, I would have saved you all.”

She took a deep breath, throwing her head back to stop the tears from falling. She slammed the album shut and shoved it back into the shelf. She turned sharply and left the room, wiping at her face angrily.

- - -

“A week?” Ari yelped. “You want them to stay a whole week?”

“Keep your voice down, now. Those boys are trying to sleep.”

“Halbi, a week, are you insane?! That’s longer than we’ve let anyone stay!”

“That’s long enough for ‘em to help me with the fence and the fields.”

“And long enough for them to get comfortable!” Ari hissed in return. “What if they just expect to stay longer after everything is finished?”

“How can they expect to stay any longer,” Halbi groused, gesturing toward her, “when you keep reminding ‘em they ain’t welcome?”

Ari huffed. “They have to know they aren’t.”

“And why not?” Halbi asked in return. “If those boys turn out to be good with the work, why not let ‘em stay?”

“Why not?” Ari repeated disbelievingly. “Because we don’t know them? Because that’s too many people? Because,” she continued meaningfully, “you know they’d never…no one can…understand. They can’t know.” She hung her head momentarily, pain beginning to tingle behind her eyes. She smacked the rag down onto the counter suddenly. “Besides, you think they’re nice now - what about when it comes time for them to leave? You think they won’t show their true colors? Try and force us to let them stay? And the house can’t handle all of us, anyway. We’d be packed.”

“Not a single person in this world able to threaten this farm and you know that,” Halbi gave her a stern look. “We’ll do what we have to if it comes to having to do it, like we always have. And if they stay, you can get to know ‘em. Handsomest group of boys I’ve seen come across our farm since the start. I’m surprised you’re not fallin’ all over yourself, them being some of those idol singers and all.” He reprimanded her with a shaking finger. “And what’s all this ‘bout the house? House’ll last longer than any of us will, them solar powers and our well is more’n enough.”

When she didn’t respond, Halbi sighed. “Come sit, brat.”

Ari sniffed, frowning as she shuffled over and plopped down beside him on the sofa. “More’n anything,” he started, placing a hand on her head, “an old man ain’t gonna be around forever. You’re stubborn as a damn mule, but even you can’t handle the whole farm and the house on your own. Now that it’s just us two, I need someone here that’s gonna look after ya’ once I’m gone.”

“Don’t,” Ari whispered softly through tight teeth. “Don’t even talk about that.”

“You may not like it, Gongjunim, but death is a part of this life, too. I’ll be damned if I leave you alone to fend for ya’self. Now, those boys seem like good, decent kids. If I can teach ‘em the farm, once I’m gone, they can take care of ya’. You might even get yourself a lover if you’d be a little nicer.”

“What?!” she squawked.

Halbi laughed. “Ah, all you youngsters these days are so sensitive about sex. You’re a pretty young lady, and they’re a bunch of handsome men. Now I’ve told ‘em to mind their manners around ya’, but they’re still men, after all. Probably not seen a girl pretty as you in a while. At least one of em’s gotta have eyes on ya’. You just make sure they don’t go puttin’ hands on ya’ without your say so.”

“Halbi, I’m very uncomfortable right now,” Ari said stoically, shaking her head.

The old man laughed, throwing his head back. “You just think about it.” He gave her head another pat. “Bound to happen sooner or later, finding someone we want to stay with us. I’m just sayin’. They might be the best we’ll get.” He groaned as he stood, pushing himself up from his knees. “I’m turnin’ in. You don’t stay up too late.”

“Night night, Halbi,” she said as she stood, too, offering a small bow.

“How many times I gotta tell you to quit bowin’ to an old man?”

Ari smiled in return as he made his way up the stairs. “I’ll always bow to my Halbi.”

“Ack!” He waved her off again before disappearing out of sight, and Ari stared after him, trying to push everything he had just said from her mind.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ taglist: @hyuckscult13​ | @woozarts​ | @imnotreadytolove

[erenscumprincess]

Attack on Pu$$y Ch.3

♡ Pairing: Eren x Y/N reader

♡ Summary: A family trip to visit your boyfriend’s home country goes terribly wrong when unwanted guests show up at your parent’s hotel. With Eren already being on your dad’s bad side, it’s up to you two and to save your parents, your vacation, and your relationship.

♡ Genre: Comedy and lots of smut

♡ Warnings: Kind NSFW, contains mentions of sex

  Read the previous chapter here 

━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━

                                                       『3』

“Jeager!” Your dad shouted, hopping out of his car, and stumbled toward Eren’s car, obviously shaken by the minor collision. “I’m gonna beat your ass!” He declared, his entire being jiggling, face red as a tomato as he sauntered right before tripping over his way-too-long for him pants sending him into a second minor collision with the asphalt. 

“Shit,” You scurried from underneath the steering wheel, attempting to wipe off the white goo that Eren shot onto your face as best as you could. “Why would you cum all over my face Eren!? You have the worst aim I’ve ever seen!”

“My fault..” Eren trailed off, eyes wandering down to your now cum stained top, “Yoo, we’re fucked.”

No no no, the thought of your dad seeing his daughter drenched in the baby batter of the man he loathed? There’s no way this could be happening. “Eren, take off your shirt, now,” you demanded. He fumbled, quickly removing his shirt and tossing in your direction to hide your face. You frantically pulled his shirt over your tank top, hiding your face in the opening. 

The both of you flinched upon hearing a loud banging on the window. “Open this motherfuckin’ door, nyow!” Your dad cried, his chunky palms repeatedly slapping the window. Normally, you and Connie would giggle at the sight of your dad’s planet-like head tilted back revealing way too much nostril, beady eyes squeezed shut, and his already largemouth filling your entire field of vision, revealing a swinging uvula, but this time, this was no laughing matter. For you, anyway.

Your mom and Connie had also appeared beside him.You suddenly were filled to the top with anger seeing Connie’s obnoxious ass hiding his face behind his hands, obviously trying, and failing, to suppress a giggle.

Eren glanced at you before slowly lowering his window, just enough to expose half his face to your angry father who was still sputtering fumes like a shaken pop can oozing fizz. Eren cleared his throat before breaking his silence.“Sir,” he calmly said, as if nothing just happened. 

“What the hell do you mean ‘Sir’? I’ve had it up to here with you. First, you disrespect me in my own house and now you risk the life of my precious only daughter by driving like a reckless maniac, almost killing me in the process!”

“Hey! What about us? We almost died too, Dad!” Connie interjected, half joking, “No but seriously, y’all good?”

You couldn’t help your body’s natural reaction to start rocking back and forth as you prayed to go unnoticed. Connie please don’t look this way, or fuckin’ comment. Even though it would keep the attention on Eren, you were fine with throwing him under the bus, so long as no one realized that you could be a total freak when no one was looking.

“We’re fine, just saw something run across the road,” Eren coolly said, gently placing his palm on your knee.

Connie squinted, and leaned forward, of course unable to keep his mouth shut and irrelevant thoughts to himself. “Ay, sis, you alright?” He looked over in Eren’s direction, his eyes trailing down to Eren’s naked torso. Instantly, the punk put two and two together, causing his face to light up with delight. “Ooohhh, y’all are nasty.”

The gears in your dad’s head clicked, as he realized what caused the accident, no thanks to Connie. You dared a peek at your dad and froze. You could see the glint in his eyes extinguish, as a part of his soul died. “Congratulations, you just earned yourself the ultimate ass-whoopin’.”

Your mother’s hand flew to cover her mouth as she caught on herself. “Oh my God,” she whispered. You were now officially caught in the worst-case scenario. 

Eren raised his hands in surrender. “Sir, I don’t want to do that, we both know how that’ll end.”

You watched in panic as your dad’s face twisted as if he’d been possessed by a demonic force. “Let me tell you something,” his voice dropped by about eight octaves, and without warning, your dad extended his arm into the half-opened window, his hand forming the perfect “C” shape as he reached for Eren’s neck. “Get-”

Eren moved with the quickness, rolling up his window trapping your dad’s pudgy fingers in the process. 

“AAAHH!” your dad screamed in pain, as he struggled to free his hand, “Unhand me you creatin!”

“It’s pronounced cretin, if you’re going to insult me, you should do it properly. Eren seemed to have lost his sense of urgency after being exposed and chuckled. “I had prepared for a battle of wits, but I see you came unarmed.”

“Eren,” you sighed, rolling your eyes in annoyance, “Please, just give my dad his hand back.” This was a whole new level of hell, you guys haven't even reached the airport yet, and it was as if WW3 had erupted.

 This is gonna make me pick up a cigarette addiction. You glanced at your mom with pleading eyes, hoping she would calm down the situation, the same way she always did.

“Really guys, is this who we are?” the sound of your mother’s voice was like music to your ears, she really came through. “This is supposed to be a family vacation, and right now we’re not acting like a family.” Even she couldn’t hide her disapproving expression when she turned to face you. “I really expected better from you.” Ouch. You never liked when your mother showed her disappointment in you. You’d even prefer your dad’s petty raging over her calm storm.  

“I better not see any more fighting for the remainder of this trip,” she continued, eyes newly fixated on your Dad’s busted fingers. “Carl, Connie, I’m only gonna say this one last time. Get in the car.”

You watched with weary eyes as your family loaded themselves back into your mom’s, now scraped up, vehicle. This whole ordeal had left you feeling like the main character off of a Tyler Perry movie,  traumatized, ashamed and defeated.  

Your mom was right, if this trip- no if this relationship was going to work,  Eren and your dad would have to force themselves to get along. 

You just wondered if that was even possible.

“Hey big head,” Eren’s deep voice pulled you away from your thoughts, his hands reached over to clasp yours before bringing them to his lips for a kiss. ‘You okay?” His big green eyes met yours, a look of concern on his face. 

“Yeah,” You chuckled lightly, your eyes flickering down to your hand, still wrapped around Eren’s, “This was just a lot you know?”

He hums, nodding in agreement as he watches you trace circles into his skin. His man bun had long gone undone, messy brown tresses splayed across his face. A tranquil silence fell in the car, a nice contrast to all the screaming and yelling from earlier. It's moments like this that reminded you that as long as you had Eren by your side, no matter the circumstances, everything, eventually, would be alright. 

“So,” Eren starts, breaking the silence, a cheesy grin grows on his lips, “I guess no more road head huh?”

[cousinslavellan-archive]

Regan & Teegan Pt 5

Also on AO3 ♥

“Mechs.” Regan says, not bothering to hide the disgust dripping from her tone.

Miranda pauses in her tour, eyebrows raised. “Yes, mechs. Is there a problem?”

If you have to ask, then you wouldn’t understand.

Regan keeps that thought to herself, because Miranda is not only her current superior, she is in fact very smart, and insulting her on her first true day of work is not a good idea.

“Mechs are too easy to hack into.” she says instead, dialing a quick code on her omni to pull up Terra - the little drone giving a quiet beep of recognition as it pops into existence, circling around her feet before settling obediently at her side. “Drones would be much more efficient, and easier to keep encrypted.”

“Are you worried that we are the target of hackers, Ms. Kelly?”

Regan just gives her a flat look, “I’m a tech specialist and expert hacker - I’m always concerned someone else is trying to hack into my work, ma’am.”

Miranda considers her for a moment, lips twitching. “Understood. I’m sure that paranoia will be quite valuable - you and I will get along fine, I believe.” The brunette turns, motioning for her to continue following her, “Unfortunately, we’ve been instructed to use Mechs for security purposes - very few people are stationed here, and those that are have neither the training nor the time to learn how to operate Drones.”

Regan wants to argue that -  I could easily program a simple VI to run them, the same as the mechs - but keeps her mouth shut, a hand motion sending Terra back to it’s sleep status in her omni.

She’d arrived with Jacob the day before, led to a small room with a bed and told to get some sleep, we’ll get to work tomorrow.

Miranda Lawson had come knocking first thing in the morning - the head of the Lazarus Project and her boss, for the time being, a smart woman that she can just feel the biotics pulsing off of.

Regan still doesn’t know what exactly the Lazarus Project is - she’s seen maybe ten people as they’ve toured the halls, which includes Miranda and Jacob themselves - but she’s here to work on the security, nothing else.

Running a bug would probably get me in a lot of shit…

Miranda is thorough in her tour, giving Regan time to form a memory map and to save routes into her visor, and the effort is appreciated - clearly, for all that the woman herself comes off as being perfect, she cares enough about her subordinates to give them the tools to function properly.

“Well then, I’ll let you get to work. It’s not a big station, but I imagine you’ll have plenty to keep you busy.” Miranda turns to walk away, shooting her a nod, “Unless there’s any questions?”

“One. But I might get in shit for asking it.”

Miranda pauses, eyebrows raised.

Well, what the hell.

“What, exactly, are we doing here?”

The brunette eyes her for a moment, a calculating look Regan recognizes well - she’s seen it from numerous adults, teachers, supervisors - whenever she’d asked a question they hadn’t expected.

It usually comes with a rebuttal, or a cold but polite explanation, as though they’re annoyed that she’s smart enough to understand.

So Miranda’s near grin surprises her.

“We’re saving the world.” is all she says, and then turns on her heel, “A word of caution going forwards, Ms Kelly: asking questions here can be hazardous.”

Noted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Something people don’t seem to realize about people with impairments - their other senses are usually much sharper, given the need to rely on them more.

So when a man enters the area she’s working in and stands just out of her visor’s range on her blind side, she knows it’s done to avoid detection.

Attempt to, anyways. She hears him - footfalls quiet, but telling of a man who’s not used to sleuthing - and smells him, the faintest whiff of omnigel that most of the doctors on the station seem to carry with them.

He could be lost, but Regan’s never been that naive. So he gets the same 60 second countdown that everyone else gets before turning to squint at him, scowling.

“Can I help you? Or were you just planning to stand there and watch me?”

The man jumps - predictable - and coughs into his fist, expression settling into what she’s sure is meant to be neutral. She can see the lingering discomfort at being caught, hidden in the barest twitch of his mouth, the way his eyes dart between herself and the mech she’d been programming.

He’s up to something.

“Pardon the interruption; I’m Dr. Wilson.” he introduces, as though she’s supposed to know the name, “Miranda told me we had a tech specialist on the station, looking after security. I was curious.”

Regan’s eyes narrow. “Okay. Now you’ve seen it. I need to get back to work.”

She hopes he’ll take the hint. When he continues to stand there, she tries not to growl.

“Unless you have authorization to access the security specs I’m installing on these mechs - which you don’t, by the way, because I know everyone that does, and I don’t know you - I need you to leave the area.” she pauses, lips pursed, “Please.”

There’s a twitch in his right eye, and his jaw jumps, just a smidge. Then he about faces and marches off, Regan tracking him with her visor until he disappears about a corner.

She has a weird feeling in her gut, after that. Something is fishy.

Better keep an eye out at all times. I don’t like this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Regan keeps Terra deployed every time she’s working on the systems after that first incident, the Drone chases Dr. Wilson off enough times that she feels confident in her suspicion.

Miranda is too busy to talk to, though. Something’s being delivered to the station - something important, and top secret, is all Jacob will tell her - so Regan takes initiative.

The Mechs get an extra code installed, one that’ll be undetectable by anyone except another expert hacker, and she stores the command line in her omni.

The day that she finishes her assignment with Lazarus is the day that the something is delivered, and she catches Jacob shaking his head and muttering Just meat and tubes as she’s escorted to her shuttle.

Miranda is there to see her off, wearing a genuine smile and typing something on her omni as Regan steps up. “You’ve done a marvelous job, Ms. Kelly. We were right to bring you onboard. Here, a bonus from the Illusive Man - your pay rate will remain as it has been here, as we promised prior to your arrival, as well. I do hope to see you in more projects, in the future.”

“Thank you. One thing, Miranda.” Regan pulls up the saved code on her omni and fires it off to the brunette, watching her.

Miranda looks confused for a moment before her expression shutters. “Regan. What is this?”

“A kill-code for the mechs. Installed as a precaution - only you and I have the code, and I’ll delete my copy, if you want.” Regan meets the older woman’s eyes squarely, “Dr. Wilson was snooping around while I worked on the security. I don’t trust him.”

Miranda stares at her for a moment, searching, and then nods, closing the window on her tool. “Keep your copy. I hope I don’t need it, but thank you regardless.”

Regan nods, stepping back to let the brunette pass, climbing into the shuttle with her escort once directed.

It’s only once they’re well on their way back to Cerberus HQ that she looks at the bonus Miranda sent her, visor bugging out in response to her surprise.

Damn, time to get some upgrades!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Regan had lost track of how long she’d been with Lazarus, but things are mostly the same when she returns to HQ.

Erika and Haley have made it out of training and are System Watchers, now, and even though Regan normally hates hugs, she allows herself to be grabbed by the girls once her escort has left.

For all that she’s always been alone… these two have somehow become her friends.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Time moves on.

Haley and Thomas start dating, which Regan accepts after several apologies and promises that he will treat her friend right. He is not, it turns out, a bad guy - he’s just not her type.

Regan moves into a higher category then her friends, thanks to her skills and time with Lazarus - she’s the one Cerberus calls when they have an important assignment, something that needs to be fixed asap.

Haley leaves for a few months about a year later to visit her mother, who’s health has suddenly taken a turn for the worse - Regan secretly sends her extra funds, something she never owns up to.

The news of colonists disappearing starts to trickle in, but it’s never anything substantial - just gossip and rumors, whole colonies vanishing.

Benning is fine, Haley and Erika keep themselves updated on that - and Regan checks in on New Canton once or twice, just to be sure.

She never contacts her parents, directly, but she knows they’re alive.

Two years after she’d left Lazarus Station, Regan wakes up to an urgent message flashing on her omnitool, squinting as her visor flips on and the text comes up.

Subject: Project Success

Kelly,

Thanks for the code; you were right. You’ve saved more than you can imagine.

Lawson.

There’s a picture attached to the message - taken hastily, and clearly snapped when the person captured wasn’t looking.

Cropped, curly hair. A vaguely familiar face. Strange scars. N7 armor.

Regan scowls, visor zooming in closer to the face.

Is that Commander Shepard?

[luverofsupernatural]

can i get a lil bitta angst wif my bois Marv and Anti?? P.S. luv yaaa!! ♥♥

Maze of Magic

Running. Marvin had to run as fast as he could. There wasn’t much time. Surely Anti would have sensed his lock-picking spell. He had to find the others — rescue all of them. But he couldn’t figure out this maze and fight Anti at the same time. One of the rules of fighting: if you’re losing a fight, change the rules so you have the advantage. Jackie’s rules worked better for Jackie though. Marvin, he needed more time, or to freeze time so he could search. But that kind of spell was dangerous at best… and reality-shattering at worst. Maybe if he had one of his brothers to help, they could gather the others while Marvin worked on holding back this demon; he was the only one that had any hope of blocking Anti’s mental attacks and intrusions.

Casting a quick locator, a ball of bright green appeared and went zooming down the corridor, leaving a small trail of sparkles that only Marvin could see. It would take him to the brother closest to him. Down the corridor, twisting and turning, until it stopped at a brick wall. Feeling around, Marvin was looking for a secret button, or a hidden compartment, something to move it, tell him that his brother was behind the wall and not inside of it. And then he felt it — the difference. Smooth and then suddenly rough. It was a wall alright, but a fake wall. One thought, aperiam, and a flick of a wrist, and the wall collapsed in on itself into a pile of dust. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

But Marvin had to work quickly. Using this much magic, Anti had to have noticed by now. Stepping into the dark room, he struggled to see anyone. His eyes adjusted quickly, slowly revealing a small crumple of a man in a hoodie cowering in the corner. “Jackie!” Marvin called, rushing over to him. The superhero looked up at his brother, but not with the same face he had. It was paler and had more cuts and scrapes on it. His eyes weren’t full of that spark that burned deep inside him, but more of a dam holding everything back. How long had he been here? “We have to get out of here,” Marvin implored, tugging at Jackie’s wrists to try and lift him up. They were ice cold, and didn’t have that same power coursing through them like before. What had Anti done to him?

“Please, no,” Jackie protested, pulling back with some remnants of his super strength; Marvin could feel slivers of it coursing through Jackie’s veins.

“What do you mean no?” Marvin was more forceful, borrowing some of that strength through a simple transfer. He got Jackie to his feet, then broke the connection — he never did like doing swaps. “He has us, ALL of us. Henrik, Chase, Jameson! I’m not leaving them here, but I need your help to get them out.” Fear crept along Marvin’s spine. It wasn’t a new feeling, but he’d never been afraid that Jackie couldn’t – wouldn’t do anything.

“I can’t,” Jackie replied weakly, throwing his arms down, out of Marvin’s grasp. “If I try to save any of you, he’ll–” But he quickly shut his mouth before he could finish, his whole body tensing up, keeping it locked away. Jackie blinked a couple of times and a single tear slipped out the corner of his eye and rolled down the side of his face. Marvin’s whole body grew softer as he made a couple of inferences. Jackie was saving them, or at least what he thought was saving them.

“I promise you, I won’t let that happen.” Jackie’s hand slowly came down and grabbed Marvin’s.

“You’d better.”  Jackie tried to smirk, but it fell quickly. He couldn’t joke about how easy it was this time. When it came to saving lives, some things weren’t so trivial to the hero, and nothing would be easy this time round.

Then Marvin felt himself being torn away, pulled back, fingers slipping past each other’s hand. Cold. Prickling and cold. And then metal. “Y͖͆ō̰u̢͆ ̝̍t̑ͅĥ͓̘̥̈́̄ọ̧̳̓͋͛ǔ̡̲̔̅g̹͠h̭̚t͎̊ ̊it́ͅ’̅d̛ ̨͘b͌e̺͛ ̣͊t͍̑ḩ̋a̱̒t̬̕ ͎͆é̖a̫͐s̮̳͚̈́̋̕y͎̦̝̌̿̒?” Antisepticeye taunted. That’s when he shifted, establishing more dominance. Wrapping an arm around Marvin’s abdomen, pinning his arms to his side and pressing the knife in further so that it was digging in as he breathed. There wasn’t blood, yet, but that wasn’t far behind. Jackie was… stepping back, hands up defensively. Head bent down, arms crumpled in towards his chest, knees bent. Everything making himself… smaller, non-threatening. This… wasn’t — couldn’t be Jackie. Not his superhero brother.

“P-please. I-I’m sorry. Just, don’t hurt him,” Jackie managed, his voice wobbling.

“F̻̕ő̠r͈̀ ̩̈w̧͊ȟ̫ạ̏ť̲.̖̃..͛” Anti pulled Marvin in closer and wiggled the tip of the knife, making a tiny prick so a drop of blood stained Marvin’s skin. 

“For trying to leave.” Jackie lowered himself so that he was kneeling. 

“Ą̠͐̔n̖̳͐́d̞͎̈́̓.͓̾͘ͅ.̔͗.͆” Anti taunted, dragging the knife ever so slowly across, making a small line of exposed red.

“I’ll be… a loyal puppet.” Jackie, a man that stood as a protector, bowed his head down to the floor. “Please,” he whimpered. “Just…” Marvin had never heard Jackie cry before. It was… wrong. Everything about this felt so wrong. This false Jackie, the knife being so sharp yet not causing any pain, the static blood in— wait.

Two words popped into his mind. “Debilito dolorem!” Marvin shouted before his conscious mind could translate them. Anti’s arms flew off Marvin, and he took the chance to escape towards his brother. “Come on!” Marvin had to drag Jackie up off the floor, fight whatever protests would come. Then his mind finally started processing what had happened. “Jackie, he can’t move. Can’t hurt us. Look!” Marvin looked over to where he had been. Anti was glitching out, moving around frantically, but always on the ground. Arms contracted, and gripping, like he was in pain. It looked like he was screaming, but there was only static, growing louder and louder. He didn’t know if his brother was looking or not, but it was obvious that their captor wasn’t in a state to hurt them. Jackie didn’t cause as much trouble getting out after that.

Outside the cell, Marvin sealed Anti in with one word, “Munio,” and the wall that had locked Jackie in was back up. “That should hold him.” Hopefully. Anti couldn’t teleport, not in the state that he was in. Not in that body. But if he had contingencies…

“Run.” Marvin took Jackie’s wrist, and started running, not letting them stop. “Who are we rescuing first?” Marvin called back.

“Chase!” Jackie yelled. There was a certain strength in his voice again. A command. There he was– there was that hero he knew. The locator took the feeling and ran with it, giving Marvin a path in this maze.

“Got him!” It was set to locate Chase, but the spell could sense any of his brothers. Hopefully this would go quickly.

“Marvin, what did you do to him back there?!”

“I’ll tell you later.” Their mission was to save their brothers, but Marvin’s mind came up with the answer anyway. Paralyzed. Paralyzed in pain. It was a spell he’d worked on a long time ago to try and help Jackie in his fights. But he decided that it was too dangerous to ever be used. So he…

Marvin came to a screeching halt, causing Jackie to run into him and have the pair tumble over onto the ground. He was aware of his surroundings, but not fully taking them in. “It was… locked away.” Marvin gripped the sides of his head, and started trying to think, hard. Real hard.

“Marvin, we have to go!” Jackie tried pulling up his brother, but the magician was like a one-ton rock.

“It was locked away.” Marvin turned to look up at Jackie, a sad truth now gripping him. Now he was the one that had lost the hope of escape. “I’m so sorry.”

He blinked, and was back in his cell. Tracing where the knife was, he didn’t feel any blood. At least that part wasn’t real. Staring down at his hand, he summoned his magic to the surface, making it expose itself. Little swirls and smoke lines made of mint green sparkles and emerald lines. Dropping his hand, he let himself rest back against the floor. Good. It was still good. But that was the only relief he was going to get now. Anti had made a dream state. And it took Marvin a while to realize it too. His only clue was that spell. Which meant that Anti had unravelled his protection seal. His mind wasn’t safe anymore. And if he was made to keep using those forbidden spells, his brothers wouldn’t be either.

___________________

taglist: @sayrvespen, @alvie-ashgrove, @shut-your-loomp, @sadcat5555, @randowaffle, @rammypaige, @friezzzboiii, @maybekatie

[frost-queen]

New Girl part 2 ( Reader x Gilbert)

Requested by: @i-am-wonder-woman-1, Read part 1 here.

A/N: I know I said, I couldn’t upload anymore for a few days but I simply wanted to upload this one. I’m actually leaving in an hour or two so I’m thrilled to upload this today before I go on my holiday  ♥

Gilbert had just saved you from the wrath of Billy. He was there just in time before things got more out of hand. Well besides your sleeve being ripped off by Billy.

Gilbert helped you to your seat and then returned to his own. He hoped you were alright, crying on your first day isn’t exactly attractive to find new friends.

Lucky for you, you met Anne in the woods and she introduced you to Diana. Both tried to help you out with Billy, so you knew you could count on them.

Billy was still angry for that punch Gilbert gave to him. His cheek still looked red and he rubbed it annoyed.

Mr. Phillips the teacher entered the classroom and seated himself in his chair as he pulled out some stuff from his bag.

He looked up and noticed Billy with a red cheek and a girl he had never seen before with one sleeve.

He scoffed and closed the book he had opened “Well, well” – he said as he got up and walked over to you. “What do we have here.”

You didn’t really like the tone he had in his voice, you sank a bit lower in your seat as he approached your desk.

“What is your name new girl?” – he had a weird look in his eyes, it was like he was going to enjoy whatever came next.

“Y/n… Y/n, Y/L/N …” – you stuttered, you hated that all eyes were on you.

“Well Miss Y/L/n, are you trying out a new fashion or are you that poor that you can’t afford another sleeve?”.

You immediately turned red and sank even further in your seat as several students laughed.

“I asked you a question?” – Mr. Phillips said, getting angrier and eager to humiliate you more.

“It’s from her granny” – Billy shouted out loud. “Shut up!” – Gilbert shouted back, turning around in his seat to look at Billy. Mr. Phillips turned his head towards the commotion and smiled devious.

You thought your humiliation was over, but it had just begun. “Miss Y/n” – Mr. Phillips said in a stern tone. You stopped breathing for a moment as you were surprised by his sudden outburst.

“Up!” – he said, moving his finger up. You swallowed and tried to avoid eye contact.

“I said get up Miss Y/L/N” – his stern tone more effective than before. Out of fear you stood up and held your body as still as it could be.

“In front of the class now!” – he pointed his finger to the chalkboard but didn’t keep his eyes from you.

You stepped from behind your desk and started to walk to the front, shaking and terrified while Billy made some dog noises “Woof … Woof”

“Mr. Phillips!” – Gilbert said, trying to get his attention. He held his finger up and didn’t even look at Gilbert.

You stood in front of the chalkboard with your face towards it. “Turn around!” – Mr. Phillips said still with the stern tone in his voice.

You turned around ready to face everyone. You saw Billy, some boys and girls laugh as hard as they could.

This was the worst day of your life. You had been called out and humiliated in one day.

You felt tears come up as you watched everyone laugh even Mr. Phillips.

Some teacher you thought, he was supposed to help his students but instead he joined the bullying.

“Everyone take a good look at this dreadful girl” – he said as he took your bare arm between his finger and looked at you like you were trash.

“That’s enough” – Gilbert shouted, slamming his chalkboard against his desk.

“Mr. Blythe!” – Mr. Phillips replied furious “I suggest you stick to the learning”.

“And I suggest you stick to the teaching!” – he replied as he gave him a stern look with a smirk.

Everyone started to laugh since Gilbert was the only one who had ever said something back to Mr. Phillips.

“Out!” – he shouted at Gilbert as he saw everyone laugh. He was determined to let no one see he could be humiliated.

“If you kick him out, you must kick me out too” – Anne said, standing up and crossing her arms.

Gilbert gave an approval look as she nodded. You weren’t the main attention now, but you still had a hard time controlling your tears.

“Hey Granny” – Billy shouted at you and you were the main event again. “looking good up there”.

Everyone started to laugh again but Mr. Phillips was still busy with Gilbert and now Anne who joined him.

“Out both of you!” – he shouted, pointing towards the door.

“If you do that, then … you’ll have to … kick me out as well” – Diana said standing up nervous, hoping she didn’t make a mistake.

She wanted to stand by your side, but she was also afraid of what her parents would do if they knew about her little rebellion.

Anne smiled happy and hugged Diana quick.

Mr. Phillips sighed and turned towards you. You gasped as you saw him walk over to you.

“I determine order at once.” – he said as he stomped a book hard against the chalkboard. Gilbert, Anne and Diana seated themselves again.

He seated himself down on his chair with his feet up the desk.

You were still standing in front of the class and you couldn’t control your tears anymore.

You started to cry soft. Mr. Phillips raised an eyebrow as he heard you cry soft.

“Looks like she’s a crier too” – everyone started to laugh.

“Should I rip off the other sleeve, not that it’s going to help but just in case” – Billy shouted at you, mocking you.

Gilbert slammed his fist against the desk and everyone stopped laughing immediately.

He got up and walked towards you. Mr. Phillips was surprised “Mr. Blythe back in your seat now!”

Gilbert ignored him and kept walking towards you.

“Mr. Blythe!” – he shouted angry “I said back at you seat, now!”.

“No!” – Gilbert shouted once he stood beside you “I’ve had enough of this”.

You wiped some tears away as Gilbert reached out to you and pinched you soft in your arm. He did it to show you, you are not alone.

You smiled at him and he looked at you like you were the most beautiful girl in the world.

Mr. Phillips stepped angry to Gilbert and stopped in front of him.

“Back in your seat, Blythe” – he spitted “only ripped sleeve over there stands here” – he then pointed at you without looking.

“Fine” – Gilbert said. He looked at you quickly and winked.

You smiled shy back as you had no idea what he was about to do.

Gilbert took one sleeve in his arm and ripped it off. Everyone gasped as Gilbert pulled of a sleeve of his own shirt.

Even you, you gasped with your hands in front of your mouth. Mr. Phillips couldn’t laugh with it and grabbed Gilbert by his arm.

“Listen to me, you troublemaker. You think this is funny?”

“No sir. I only stand by Y/n’s side. The one you won’t defend.”- he said with a smirk.

Mr. Phillips grabbed his arm tighter and raised his hand, ready to hit him “What will everyone think when they find out how you treat your students?” – Gilbert added as he kept eye contact.

The entire class was silent and shocked. He looked around quick and let go of his arm once he saw everyone whisper to each other.

Even Prissy looked at him with disgust. Anne and Diana clapped cheery when Gilbert had defeated the teacher.

Billy was now quiet and looked bored with his head resting in one hand as everyone around him cheered for Gilbert’s victory.

Mr. Phillips rushed to his private room and didn’t came out of it for the rest of the day.

Gilbert then walked over to you and held your arm. “You alright Y/n?”

You smiled as tears fell “Thank you”

Gilbert wiped some tears away with his thumb as he stared at you.

“I … I can’t believe you did that for me?” – you said, still surprised that Gilbert had ripped off his sleeve.

“Oh this” – he said looking at his bare arm “consider it as an act of heroism for the most beautiful princess” – he bowed short and placed a soft kiss on your hand.

“but still, thank you Gilbert” – you said wrapping your arms around him.

He hugged you back and whispered in your ear “No one will ever harm you again Y/n, I promise”.

You took a deep breath and pulled him tighter.

Anne and Diana rushed to your side. “Gilbert” – Diana said smiling “I can’t believe you did that?”.

Gilbert laughed shy as he kept his eyes on you.

“That was the most heroic thing I have ever seen” – Anne said overwhelming.

“Why did you do it?” – Diana asked curious.

Gilbert smiled and grabbed your hand “I thought it’s better to be different with two than alone.” – he pinched your hand soft “And of course I had to impress Y/n somehow.”

You started to blush and so did Gilbert.

“Kindred spirits” – Anne said soft, standing in front of you like she just witnessed the most beautiful act in her life.

You looked confused at Gilbert as you had no idea what Anne meant.

He laughed back at you “Soulmates” – he said, clearing things up for you.

“Oh…” – you said shy, you noticed you were still holding his hand. He noticed the same but decided to hold on to it.

Since Mr. Phillips had locked himself up in his little room, everyone was practically free. Everyone was already talking or playing outside.

“Come on Kindred spirit” – Gilbert said as he leaded you outside, still holding your hand.

You blushed again and squealed soft as Gilbert pulled you forth.

Anne watched you pass by her and couldn’t stop smiling.

She then tangled her arm around Diana’s “I hope I find my kindred spirit one day”.

“You will” – Diana replied as the two of them followed you and Gilbert.

Forever tag:  @hanbinwsrt

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out my Masterlists to find all my imagine’s for Anne with an E

[asimmingpunsquared]

ISLA BRISA // YEAR ONE, WEEK FOUR // LOTT HOUSEHOLD

Minor events: *  Power outage: Your sims are not allowed to use any electrical items for d4 days (stoves and fridges are exempt). Hope you know how to keep your sims happy.  *

Major events: *  Nothing major. Life goes on as normal.  *

*  1. Sudden change of life plans Sim must quit his current job (even if s/he owns a business) and choose a new career (or buy a new business) immediately.  *

Well, they don’t even have power yet since we just unlocked it, and I guess Caroline can shut the home business down.

First things first: I fixed their eyes in SimPE! I don’t know if I can edit the package so I don’t have to go in and fix the eyes every time--especially because I’m going to try running a Perfect Genetics save in another neighborhood with these eyes specifically--though. Can anybody help me out?

Caroline is still struggling.

Oooh, Heath Maplewood came home with one of the girls!

Since she shut down the home business and they have a little money, I figured now would be a good time to have Caroline purchase the first community lot store in Isla Brisa!

This is The Talking Bass, where Caroline sells the fish she has caught. Eventually it will grow to sell all things fishing-related, but not until we unlock the downtown connection. It is rather sparse on the inside since they ran out of money while decorating it, but I’m excited for Caroline to grow her little shop ♥

Having fun in the pleasant weather!

And birthday time for the twins!

Sam is the older twin, so she goes and gets her makeover first. I think she’s so pretty, I love her eye shape.

Fortune (Earn $100,000) + Good Cook, Neat / - Brown Hair Lesbian

And here’s Olivia!

Knowledge (Max Seven Skills) + Fat, Full Face Makeup / - Stink Straight

Good job bb

One of the girls brought home Ricky Cormier, which is only notable because I swear this motherfucker works his way into every save I play.

Red hands, the funnest game in the universe according to The Sims.

Hema does not strike me as the drum-playing type, though.

First day working at The Talking Bass!

Caroline: Yvette, I’m so happy you came by to check out the new store. I hope you find it to your liking.

Jannick: Caroline. Your stink is unprofessional.

Caroline: Maybe if both my roommates hadn’t left me alone as a single mother to raise three alien children, I’d have more time to shower.

Yvette finds The Talking Bass to her liking indeed!

The struggles of a single mother.

Oh, come on, Caroline. The sink isn’t even clean!

This family REALLY love swinging each other around.

The next day at The Talking Bass, Marjorie comes around to support the first proper business.

I LOVE the dazzle interaction.

Since the girls are friends with this kid, I figured I’d have Caroline hire him.

I immediately regretted this decision.

A lot.

Greeatt.

Hera goes for a swim, which I don’t have my sims do enough despite half of them living on beach lots.

After the fun, the girls sit down to work on their homework. Look at Hema’s pile alone!!!

Olivia: You know, you guys are my best friends.

A game of hackey sack proves that point.

Empty :(

Ooo, cute new townie!

THANKS ORLANDO

One of the girls bring Maggie Plum home from school, but she’s more interested in fishing with Caroline instead of bonding with them.

Not empty :)

The water is starting to freeze over, so Caroline has to dig up things to sell at The Talking Bass.

Jana: I’m only here to scope out the competition.

Caroline: You’re never going to bury the hatchet, huh?

Despite that, Jana did bring her daughter and even buys something from Caroline.

Caroline: I can’t see anything. This was dumb.

Three teens in the house now!

Hema Lott Romance (Become Hall of Famer) + Stink, Jewelry / - Black Hair Straight

Hmm...

Oh.

Or...not? She develops a crush anyway?

Maggie: You guys are wearing the same outerwear.

Hema: They were BOGO!

Man, Caroline’s luck is the worst.

And we end the update with the twins enjoying some roughhousing ♥

They pay $2,000 in taxes, and we move on to the Alvarado/Vega/Stormwind place.

[galedekarios]

also, why write creepy shit infantilizing connor when you could be writing utter competence porn with hank being impressed by his kick-ass android partner. (i’m thinking in particular of that scene in the eden club where connor reads the other androids’ memories and hank’s just like “okay your skin just did a weird thing but cool this is awesome let’s keep going!”)

I just laughed out loud, Anon. “Competence porn”. I’ve never seen it put so succinctly, but yes. That’s exactly it, and exactly what this fandom needs so much more of.

Let there be more capable crime-solving life partners content and more of what we’ve been teased with in the game: 

If you look back at their interactions, the first time Hank forgets to act like he hates androids, like he hates Connor specifically, is when Connor proves himself to be extremely capable at the Carlos Ortiz crime scene. He forgets to be the taciturn, cantankerous Hank for a second – the only side we’ve seen so far of Hank, the one who just ordered Connor to stay in the fucking car, or if he has to follow to shut up, don’t touch anything, don’t get in the way – and becomes intrigued, lost in the investigation, lost in the thrill of potentially cracking this case. And it’s thanks to Connor that we get to see that.

Then there’s The Nest, the chase scene and Hank’s holy shit moment, quite literally, and later the damsel-in-distress moment with Connor saving his life, the Eden Club and I don’t know what you’re doing and you’re costing me a shit ton of money but I trust you, the willingness to put his job on the line, one of the few things Hank has still left, and for what? To help Connor to crack their case. What a far cry from the start when Hank didn’t want neither Connor nor the case. 

And from Connor’s perspective, too: The almost proud, appreciative undertone of ‘I know you’ve graduated top of your class and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit.’, trusting Hank’s instincts and experience, rolling with them. ‘Stay behind me.’ and Connor never questions it, but follows Hank, despite being fully capable to take care of himself, despite being able to select priorities in his programming that might very well go against Hank’s orders if need be.

This got long and rambly again, but I just want to say that I truly do appreciate all of your messages.

♥

[ttslots991]

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Here's how to go about using recovery mode to fix iPhone that gets stuck in the spinning wheel. 1. Connect your device to computer. 2. Open iTunes or Finder (On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or above). If iTunes is already open, close it, then open it again. 3. Keep your device connected and force it to restart by following these steps. IPhone 8, iPhone SE (2nd Generation), and newer models: Press and release the volume up button, press and release the volume down button, then press and hold the side button until the display goes black and the Apple logo appears. A hard reset will fix this problem most of the time. If it did, immediately back up your iPhone to iTunes (PCs and.

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What do you think J&N's current kids will be like at school? I'm worried about Evra, already so anxious so young! :( I feel like Finnigan will own Hogwarts, though. xD

I actually feel like Evra will get better as she ages! She’ll still be anxious but she’ll be older and have more life experience to pull from...when kids are younger scary things always feel like the end of the world bc they don’t really have a great frame of reference for negative experiences...it takes experiencing the same sort of negative emotion many, many times before they can remember “okay, I’ve felt like this before when x, and everything was okay in the end and I survived and things got better afterwards” and then later still they’re able to think that and also remember ways to cope on their own with the negative feeling, which is a great achievement! She’s still at that age where her defenses against anxiety are far and few between...she still mostly only has the options of A) freak out (whether that’s shutting down or losing it) or B) go to a trusted adult for comfort, but by the time she’s 11 she’ll have figured out some ways to cope on her own! James and Nora are very much aware of her anxious personality and they spend a lot of time working on it with her, but they are careful not to cross that line into trying to ‘change her’. It’s all about making sure she’s happy and healthy and teaching her ways to cope, not about trying to force her not to be afraid or nervous about something (thereby belittling her feelings), or trying to force her into being more like, say, Finnigan, who could feel at home anywhere he went. It’ll also help that Remus will be there with her, and her Harry, too ♥ Her anxiety largely centers around wanting things to be reliable and constant-- she likes her routines and doesn’t like change-- but this will also improve as she gets older and is able to feel more ‘in control’ over her own life. Initially, Hogwarts will be a big change and she’ll probably be lowkey freaking out, but she’ll have her Harry and Remus to keep her focused more on the exciting aspects rather than the scary ones, and eventually she’ll fall right back into a reliable routine and she’ll be just fine!! I’m still not decided on where she’ll go-- I see her being either a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I think in the end, the Sorting Hat will let her choose because it’ll recognize that it’ll be crucial for her those first few weeks to feel as comfortable as possible. Which means she’ll almost certainly go wherever Remus does (which I also think could be either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff! I’m sure Teddy and Vic will have fun arguing over that one ;) Evra’s pretty introspective and artistic, I could see her taking to Divination most of all. I’m sure her Aunt Hermione will love that lmao. She’s Ginny’s Quidditch girl!!Finnigan is an aries just like his Auntie Lulu, he’ll DEFINITELY be just fine ;) that kid is def Gryffindor/Slytherin (sidenote, I also see Lily being like this, too. Her unnatural nerve is the only thing that saved her from Slytherin). He’s definitely wild, but he’s a bit crafty about his naughtiness-- very underhanded in some ways-- so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in Slytherin. His uncles would be very proud!! He’ll almost certainly end up being very popular, because despite his cheekiness, he’s still very kindhearted (all J/N kids are ♥). I’m thinking an edgier James but with a similar heart. Definite womanizer even if he doesn’t mean to be. I think he’ll be a DADA whiz...Quidditch, not so much ;) ALSO JAMES’S SUGAR ADDICTION that’s a thing even now, his parents need to watch out!Henry’s sorting is an open-and-shut case-- def Gryffindor! He’ll undoubtedly end up in loads of trouble with his brother. I think he’ll really be the ‘brother bear’ when it comes to his younger siblings (ESPECIALLY Delilah). Definite Quidditch natural! He’ll be big on Care of Magical Creatures...all those dragon stories and dragon toys from his aunt made an impact! A somewhat shy Gryffindor, sort of how Harry was. Not really unconfident with socializing but fairly low-maintenance and only requires a small, intimate circle of peersWe haven’t seen too much of Delilah’s personality yet since she’s still a lil one, but I think she’ll be the sweetest of all. She’ll either be the first Hufflepuff Potter (if Evra goes into Gryf) or she’ll continue on the tradition Evra started. Delilah is close enough in age to the cousins/siblings/family friends that haven’t been born yet for them to really play a strong role in her social circle (the ones who go to Hogwarts, anyway), so I imagine she’ll be very close with them. Not very gutsy, but VERY dedicated and clever, probably doesn’t have the word ‘no’ in her vocabulary (both when it comes to ppl asking her for help AND when it comes to being faced with obstacles). Obviously we won’t see any of the kids’ Hogwarts years, but they’ll have a great time and great lives :’)