#that would be. catastrophically embarrassing. augh.

[plinkcat-gif]

good morning. starting off with a downward spiral because the door that i was told would be open isn't open. and also i feel sick but that's unrelated

[pjsk-writin]

The grumpy s/o ask made me think of an outright tsundere s/o, and I was having a fun fluffy romcom time... but one of the characters in that ask was Rui. And that made me realize just how catastrophic a tsundere s/o could potentially be for his already shattered reputation.

Just, Rui is known for being over the top and doing concerning things (I believe Nene directly mentioned waterboarding at one point). People at school think he's outright crazy. Knowing him, if he had a stereotypical tsundere s/o, he'd absolutely mess with them and tease them. That, his s/o's reaction, his reputation, and the fact that people just assume the worst would probably result in his classmates thinking he was straight up harassing someone. I can't stop thinking about this now, so I'd like to request Rui with a tsundere s/o where people start spreading rumors about him after getting the wrong idea from seeing the two interact, and his s/o starts feeling guilty about the whole thing. If that's too much of a setup then just a tsundere s/o.

AUGH NONNY you're breaking my heart......../lh this was fun to write tho, I hope you like this!! <3

☆ RUMORS - Rui Kamishiro x Reader

You had always had problems outwardly stating your affections, simply deciding that pushing the other party would always work better for you

As it turns out, Rui is the wrong person to do this with. He will constantly stick by your side, teasing you until either of you have to leave-

He'll always have that smug little grin, and you'll just push him away with a red face

...Who knew that would cause problems?

You didn't even realize rumors were being spread until you were getting ready to walk home one day

"God, he really just needs to leave them alone..." "I know right? Honestly, he went from a total weirdo to a total creep."

You paused, eyes going wide. Why would they think that?...

You turned, stomping up to the gossipers with a glare, "Don't you dare call him that! He's neither of those things, and I love being with him!"

Before you could stay for too long to get embarrassed, you turned, running away from them with a frown

You had to find Rui soon. You had to apologize, you had to-

"Dearest?" You froze, turning to the familiar voice. You clenched your fists before running to him, embracing him in a hug. "What?..."

"I'm sorry." Your voice was small, the opposite of the usual bravado you always had. "I'm...I'm so sorry-"

"What are you sorry for?" You pulled away enough to look into his eyes, "I- People are...People are spreading rumors about you, and it- It's all my fault-"

"Hey." He cups your face, leaning forward to kiss your forehead. "It's not your fault, those people would spread rumors about me anyway."

"But if- But if I was just normal and accepted your affection-" "You don't have to be anything other than who you are now, okay?" He smiled, staring at you with adoration in his eyes, "I love everything about you, even if that includes you being unable to say it back." "Hey-"

The reassurance had worked, and you felt better. Rui also proceeded to announce at school that the two of you were dating, much to your embarrassment-

[iknowicanbutwhy]

Same anon from before, and I'm gonna kick things up a notch, now I'm going in the opposite direction where Wukong (who does have a history of an incredible temper and a catastrophic history of violence) who's so distraught and upset about Mac using his stufent against him and about MK training with Mac that after the fight Wukong lashes out and gives MK that wound before stopping to realize what he's done, but it's too late and MK has screaming and Mac *heard* it happen, and looking at Wukong with total disbelief and broken trust that a shadow portal opens up under and brings him to Mac, who's let down his glamor and has a scar from a similar wound.

AaaaaaAAAAAAAA NOOOOOOOOO and by no i mean YES YES but also AUGH WUKONG NO

Okay this goes for a while so i need a readmore

*head in hands* Wukong.. how would his and MK's relationship ever recover from that. I dunno if it would tbh. I feel like after that though, he'd either 1) hide away and wait for MK to come back, 2) do whatever he can to figure out what magical stuff and things he can get to fix MK's eye, or 3) seek out MK to take back his powers and staff before Macaque convinces him to enact some sort of vengeance and misuse those powers (which Wukong thinks he can understand why MK would do that and feels guilty and deserving enough to think it possible).

Or all three, not necessarily at the same time. Because this monkey may have a temper but DAMN was that Too Far For No Good Reason. He's supposed to be better and look what he did >:( but if his mistake leads to MK doing terrible things, he cant let that happen, and as sweet as Wukong knows the kid to be, its not like MK would go back to being trained under Wukong after losing an EYE. Probably. Definitely.

MK's most likely response would probably be shock, some disbelief, and then resentment, but not vengeance. He might feel guilty for a while, because it was him who went behind his mentor's back, but he'd also realize (and Mac would tell him) that he didnt deserve to be half blind because of it. He'd want to avoid Wukong more than anything, but if Wukong did try to take his powers, he'd fight back - because he still has to protect the city and his friends - and that would only exacerbate things further.

I like to think Macaque would certainly be empathetic, and a bit sympathetic, but im pretty sure the sympathy would be buried under the frustrating righteousness of MK not even trying to get back at Wukong. But hey, if MK begged him to train again (with less trust than before, but he doesnt have Monkey King anymore...) and Macaque actually agreed (probably trying to take the opportunity to convince the kid to share his power with Macaque or have MK fight Wukong with him) then... thats an opportunity for hesitant bonding time :)

For example: living with One Eye!! eh.... it's disorienting, your depth perception is suddenly gone (but kind of there through context clues), if your eye isnt healed yet you get headaches from moving around too much and sometimes from your other eye straining to pick up the pace (i cant remember the stuff i know about this), you may or may not have to sleep upright for a while - stuff i havent researched because if i click off my tumblr app my phone lacks the RAM to keep it open in the background. Fighting is harder, walking is harder, driving is harder. You have a literal blind spot and it's a little terrifying, especially when you dont notice someone is there. You ever do that embarrassing thing where you lift a utensil to your mouth and miss for no good reason (i do that with two eyes)? Macaque may have some tips to help adjust and a greater understanding than everyone else around MK, and thats always nice. Im pretty sure Macaque would encourage MK to use his ears more, especially on the blind side, even if it's easier for the Six Eared Macaque to do that than the two-eared MK.

But man.. the fight between Wukong and MK would be such a hit to MK's already bruised ego. Wukong would admit to his own terrible mistake, but he probably wouldnt even give MK a chance to (maybe not forgive but) move on from what was done because he'd probably shamefully assume he didnt, and then IMMEDIATELY proceed to demand MK renounce his staff and powers and MK is like >:O "NO!!! I- I need these to protect the city!" And Wukong is like "well sure, yeah, but I'll be taking care of that. We cant have you misusing your powers." And MK is all "But I havent been misusing them?? I've literally been kicking demon butt while you were hiding all the way at your mountain or disappearing wherever you want in the world or doing absolutely nothing to help the city." And Wukong is like "You've been watching the island??" When it's more like Macaque was and just telling MK about it because MK wanted to know whenever Wukong was in town so he could hide and Wukong gets all defensive before MK can talk like "Of course you were. Scheming with your new mentor, right?" And MK is like "No??? I didn't- I wouldnt DO that-" and Wukong interrupts with "just like you didnt do it before?" When he KNOWS that MK didnt purposefully work with Macaque the first time but he's getting defensive okay??

Id love to end the ensuing fight with Wukong getting genuinely angry again and that trips up and scares MK BUT. Wukong manages to hold back. He's not there to hurt the kid again, he's there to stop him from hurting himself and anyone else. Which is a bit ironic, because MK's friends most definitely joined in on the fight and got DEMOLISHED, but they're not missing any eyes (or limbs for that matter) and that makes MK SO relieved yet guilty that they'd been put in that kind of danger to begin with. But Wukong definitely made use of MK's blind spot and that definitely hurts, actually, but is also infuriating.

Oh wait how do i end this where the hell is Macaque.

Macaque kept out for the most part, feeling it was necessary to have this play out. Not that it was exactly easy... but he does yoink the kid out of there when Wukong corners him and very nearly takes his powers. And if any little MKs were in denial of just how far Wukong would go to do what he thinks is right (no matter how wrong he is), the good news is that Wukong had to remove the limiting seal on MK's powers that made him less than immortal first, and that achieved two things: 1) MK saw for himself Wukong reaching inside of him to rip out the best defense he has for the city and his friends, and 2) MK's powers remain unlocked when Macaque yoinks him out of there. And so commences the comfort portion of the hurt/comfort that this entire thing seems to be. I always like to think that Macaque is rather awkward when it comes to reassurances. He seems like a guy better at throwing out the harsh, twisted truth and a guy good at giving out platitudes, but he tries.

After that fight, MK and Macaque both realize that the King isn't going to let this go. Before Wukong showed up, MK had a choice between fighting with Macaque and hiding for a little longer, but now he doesn't even have a choice. It's fight or lose.

[veliseraptor]

Hi, lise...If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your favorite yunmeng shuangjie scenes/moments? And why? Sorry if you've answered this question before....

hoo boy okay I hope you’re ready for long because I’m constitutionally incapable of answering these kinds of questions without going hard. which is why it takes me so long and that’s why I have a backlog of 5 million inbox messages but what e v e r

I limited myself to five here because if I didn’t I’d just start listing every scene they interact in, and nobody wants that. or, well, I don’t want that, I’d lose a lot of time that way.

putting this under a cut because...yeah. long.

1. the original Yunmeng Shuangjie conversation in episode 14.

like! augh.  I’m not sure that this was the place where I was officially painfully ridiculously sold on their relationship as my favorite part of the show so far but it was a major contributing factor. There’s just so much going on here! In the way that it speaks to their history together, and in their family, and the roles they play.

I love, too, that Wei Wuxian specifically goes “twin jades? pfff. we’ve got our own thing going on that’s just as cool” because it’s doing double duty of making them a special thing in their own right and also, maybe even more importantly, reaffirming their bond as primary where Jiang Cheng at this point has been...well, a little uneasy about the space Lan Wangji has started to occupy in Wei Wuxian’s life. To say the least.

But maybe even most of all why this is such a gut punch for me personally: the promise Wei Wuxian is making to Jiang Cheng is one that you, the viewer, know isn’t going to work out. Thanks to the opening of episode one, and their interaction in episode two, it’s abundantly clear that something is going to go horribly wrong, and this close relationship is going to break, catastrophically.

And me being me I love the piquant taste of dramatic irony in the morning.

2. the argument in episode 27-28.

This is one of those moments where I never fail to get extremely emotional about it every time I watch this scene because it is so very ouch. The way that Jiang Cheng approaches Wei Wuxian with this guarded wariness, this prickliness and doubt, and how that breaks by the end into his desperate plea: “if you continue to protect them, then I can’t protect you!”

(different subtitles, so sue me.)

and I cry.

I’ve written before about how there’s...so much going on here. To break it down a little bit how about a bulleted list:

Jiang Cheng has been personal witness to - and personal target off - the current political winds, in a way that Wei Wuxian is not. He’s seeing and hearing how the cultivation world is talking about Wei Wuxian. He can see the way the wind is blowing very, very clearly, and what he sees is that Wei Wuxian is doomed if he stays the course - something Wei Wuxian either doesn’t or doesn’t want to see.

Jiang Cheng desperately wants Wei Wuxian to come home. Wei Wuxian can’t without abandoning the people relying on him, which would be both an ethical and emotional violation for him. His conflicting loyalties are coming to a head here but he still wants to have it both ways.

What Wei Wuxian sees as a mercy or releasing of obligation, a way of keeping Yunmeng Jiang and specifically Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli safe, Jiang Cheng sees as an abandonment/rejection - an affirmation that he, once again, just doesn’t matter enough.

It’s just...I cannot get over how clear-eyed Jiang Cheng’s assessment is. Whether or not you agree with his choices, he’s right, on a factual level. And I think Wei Wuxian knows that. But he’s on this road and he’s going to see it through, and he refuses to accept that he might not be able to. 

and I just. I cry.

3. the conversation post resurrection.

Jiang Cheng cornering Wei Wuxian with the very animal he swore to always protect him from! party foul, yes, but also oh boy psychologically crunchy in every way. This confrontation, their first after Wei Wuxian’s resurrection where they both know and know they know the truth of who Wei Wuxian is, is so full of pain and hurt and anger.

it’s just! so much. Jiang Cheng’s see-sawing back and forth between “why didn’t you come back home!!!” (the question he’s always had) and “why aren’t you still dead!!!” Wei Wuxian murmuring about wanting to go back to Lotus Pier, calling for Jiang Yanli (Jiang Yanli, the biggest wound between them, her absence so very palpable in that moment).

There’s so much both of them want here, and so much that’s not being said, and can’t be said. The overwhelming pressure of their history - Jiang Cheng’s sixteen years of grief and anger raw all over again, and Wei Wuxian's exhaustion and misery.

it’s excruciatingly painful and I love it.

4. the conversation in Guanyin Temple.

so I spent, like, most of the latter half of the show waiting for a moment between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng where things would break and I’d get the emotional sibling catharsis feelings that I needed and boy did this deliver. like! other people have written far more coherent meta about this scene than I probably ever could because when I think about it I’m just sort of reduced to dragging my hands down my face and making distressed noises punctuated with wild gestures and cries of “THEM!!!”

the crying! the ugly crying, the ugly emotions, the big secret between them that set off the beginning of the rift in their relationship laid bare. it’s this moment of naked emotional vulnerability for both of them, and while it doesn’t resolve things, while it leaves them both in a place, I think, where they’re prone to go ‘well, he’s done with me now’ - it also opens a door where that doesn’t have to be the case. Wei Wuxian’s tenderness. The gesture he makes here, too, touching Jiang Cheng’s face, echoes the gesture Jiang Yanli makes touching Wei Wuxian’s just before she dies.

(echoes what jiang fengmian does before he goes off to die. how’s that for pain?)

it’s just. wild gestures. them. oh, boys. so much hurt, so much pain, and at the root of it so much goddamn love.

I’m going to go on and slide in here additionally the moment where Jiang Cheng tosses Wei Wuxian Chenqing because boy does that say a lot in a relatively simple gesture.

5. meeting in Yiling with Jiang Yanli.

This scene is...I described it from Jiang Cheng’s POV remembering in a fic as "like looking at children in the path of a rockslide, unaware of what was bearing down on them, such a short time away. Oblivious.” and that’s how I feel watching it. It’s so cute, and sweet, and Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian love Jiang Yanli so much, and Jiang Cheng has suggested Jiang Yanli ask Wei Wuxian to give his unborn nephew his courtesy name and then gets embarrassed when she outs him about it, he and Wei Wuxian tease each other.

I love it. There’s just this sweetness and happiness that they’re having, in this moment, in this tiny courtyard,  because this little separate hidden place is the only place, now, where they can be together, where they can be family as they once were.

And it’s not going to last. And the viewer, once again, can feel the gathering storm bearing down on them, and know it’s only going to end in tragedy.

This is the last time they see each other before it all goes wrong.

BONUS:

[lady-charinette]

Bursting Bubbler's Bubble - ML Fic

A/N: A little underwhelming for my normally angst riddled, ever complicating brain, but @naresar suggestion in discord prompted this to life. (I can't believe "bubble" produced all of this, curse you my friend. :3)

Tags: Canon divergent, puns (its Chat Noir), mild fluff, reimagining of the Bubbler episode, Flustered!LB

Rated: K+

Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir got trapped in a bubble and while thinking of ways to escape, Ladybug got creative in defeating Bubbler.

___________________________________________

Great.

This was great.

"You know, maybe this isn't so bad." Ladybug whipped her head around to glare pointedly at her partner, whose feet were on either side of her head due to the cramped space they were trapped in.

Trapped.

By an akuma.

Ladybug groaned. "Ugh, Chat Noir, how could let this happen? I thought I told you to watch my back!"

Chat Noir pressed a hand to his chest, feigning offense. "And I did m'lady! Um...maybe too closely..."

Ladybug rolled her eyes, before her gaze scanned the sky. "Oh no," Chat Noir turned and followed her gaze to rest on the other bubbles in the air, all the parents of Paris trapped in them.

Perhaps even his father was trapped somewhere, unable to get out. He was in danger, Paris was in danger. They had to think of something fast.

Chat Noir growled, lifting his foot away from his partner to slam it on top of the bubble keeping them imprisoned. "This is catastrophic!"

Ladybug rose an eyebrow, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. "You're telling me.'" Her maman and papa were also trapped in a bubble somewhere, they had to get out of here now.

"Hya!" Ladybug drove her elbow against the pink bubble, but the gum held remarkably well against their attacks.

"Maybe we should eat through it?" the look she shot Chat Noir silenced any other ideas the boy might even had. "Okay, new plan."

The spotted heroine stuck out her tongue in thought, eyeing the almost glowing layer coating the outside of the bubble. It was magic, maybe not even actual gum. It resisted their attacks, but maybe it was still vulnerable against something sharp like a real bubble?

"Chat Noir, use your claws to burst our bubble!"

Given the cramped space they were in allowing for little to not mobility, Ladybug was still impressed when Chat Noir striked a pose and hit the surface of the bubble with his claws.

No effect.

"...Sorry to burst your bubble m'lady..." his ears flattened to the back of his scalp, genuinely upset he couldn't help.

Ladybug released another sigh, but offered her partner a reassuring smile to ease his worries. "Its alright kitty, you did all you could." She drew in her knees to rest her chin atop them, brain still working for ways to get them out of their predicament. She eyed the item her lucky charm produced, a yoyo just like hers without the same powers of course. She was at a loss for what to do with a yoyo in this situation.

A hand settled on her shoulder, squeezing it in encouragement. "Don't worry bug, we'll figure something out. We always do." Ladybug could only offer him a half-hearted smile, but she tried showing him the genuine appreciation she felt at his attempts to cheer her up.

It wasn't long before Chat Noir mirrored her stance, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his chin on top of them in equal despair. "If only we could somehow destroy it..."

Wait...

"Chat Noir, your cataclysm!" she snapped her fingers but blanched at her partner's worried frown.

"Look how high up we are bug, how do we get down there safely?" both looked down in between them, spotting the city in chaos as the tiny figure of Bubbler continued trapping all the adults in bubbles.

"Don't worry, I'll have us covered!" she retrieved her yoyo and grinned confidently.

That made her kitty smile in return, before he called upon his power. "Cataclysm!"

His hand hovered over the surface of the bubble, before he tapped it with his claw.

The bubble burst and they were falling.

"Kitty, take my hand and take out your staff!" Ladybug withdrew the yoyo from her lucky charm, swinging it so fast it created a spinning wheel above their heads just like hers did.

Chat Noir complied, grabbing her hand tightly and clutching his staff with the other, "Now what m'lady?!" he shouted over the roar of the wind blowing in their ears.

His partner smiled. "Now you spin!"

Chat Noir smiled, elongation and spinning the baton as fast as he could with one hand. Their combined efforts still kept them in mid-air and slowed their descent and Chat Noir noticed why.

Ladybug hit one of the other bubbles adults were trapped in, her yoyo sticking to its surface just like it would to real bubble gum. Then, she instructed him to make a turn while still spinning his staff.

"Turn left Chat Noir!"

"Aye, aye, captain!"

Another bubble stuck to her yoyo, and another, and another.

Soon, it looked like Ladybug was holding a myriad of balloons on a single string, all the other bubbles sticking somehow to each-other.

"Now what do we do?" Chat Noir wasn't sure what his lady meant to accomplish, but he wanted to see how this would end.

Ladybug smiled a smile that told him they were in for a treat. "Now we'll visit the party crasher!"

Chat Noir used his staff to propel them in the direction of the akumatized Nino, who was about to hit another couple of adults with his bubble gun.

"Time to burst your bubble too, Bubbler!" Before the akuma could react, Ladybug threw all her weight in her arm holding the yoyo string tightly, all the adults still trapped in the bubbles coming towards Bubbler at high speed like a wrecking ball.

"What the- augh!" It hit him like a fright train and Bubbler slammed against a lamppost from the force of the hit.

Just as Ladybug predicted, all the bubbles were intact and the adults unharmed. Still, the heroine moved to adress the crowd. "I'm so sorry everyone! This was the only way I could think of to beat him."

It were her parents that spoke to her in a tone that made Ladybug almost anxious that they somehow knew her identity, a tone they used for when Marinette was feeling worried or scared. "That's alright Ladybug, you did what you had to do to save us. We're all grateful for you and Chat Noir's help." They smiled and the rest of the other parents nodded in agreement.

Ladybug smiled back earnestly, feeling pride at having such parents as were Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng.

"M'lady," she turned to greet Chat Noir holding up Bubbler's gun and throwing it to her.

Ladybug smirked and broke the item in half, the akuma flying out. "Time to de-evilize!"

Trapping the akuma in her yoyo, it flew out in its pure white form again. "Bye, bye little butterfly." Ladybug smiled at the small creature, so pure and white unlike its akumatized counterpart.

She threw her yoyo into the air, her voice clear as it called for her powers. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The magic washed over the entire city, freeing the adults from the bubbles, everyone safely on the ground without their bubble prisons.

Sabine and Tom immediately hugged each-other, rejoicing at their freedom. Ladybug smiled at the scene and held her fist out for her partner. "Pound it!"

But instead of bumping his fist against hers, Chat Noir held her hand gently in his.

Ladybug blinked in confusion at the sincere look in his eyes. "You were amazing m'lady." his green eyes twinkled in genuine awe, "I'm amazed everytime you save the day, because it means the girl I...admire behind the mask is even greater than I thought she would be and this cat is honored to be your partner." he bowed his head to lightly kiss the back of her hand, a gesture that normally didn't make Ladybug budge, but for some reason today, it made her oddly flustered.

At the speed of light and embarrassment, Ladybug quickly pulled her hand back, her face nearly blending into her suit. "T-Thank you Chat Noir, that was- that sweet..." she shook her head, her earrings reminding her of the time and she took her yoyo in hand, "Right! Um, save you-see you later kitty! Burn out! Um- bug out!" before she took off so fast she almost seemed to fly, just like a real ladybug.

Despite the warning beeps of his miraculous, Chat Noir took a moment to himself, his hand moving up to rest over his beating heart and a grin formed over his lips.

Yes, his lady was amazing, and the girl behind the mask, he found himself loving every day a bit more.