#the horrors are endless but so is the list of games i need to play and replay

[goldensunset]

the more time goes on the more i relate to nagi's 'but i have so much to live for! so many games to play...'

[danggirlronpa]

Hey mind telling me what the story behind Kiyo’s sister is? I’m kind of clueless and only heard one story of the whole thing😅

This got decently long, so I've put it under a cut. I'll add it to the FAQ tomorrow as well, since it's come up a few times!

I will also request that this post not be reblogged to hate blogs or blogs specifically dedicated to "bad" or "disliked" content. As someone who has been harassed as a result of content being circulated in those circles, it makes me very panicked and anxious to see my work on similar blogs. If you do so, I will need to block you for my own mental stability.

In V3 chapter three, Korekiyo admits to mass murder and takes on the guise of his sister to do so. As a result of being nearly beaten to death at one point, Korekiyo created a tulpa of his dead sister (who we'll call by her popular fan name, Miyadera, from here on). He believed Miyadera wanted him to murder 100 girls, and claimed that they were once lovers.

In general, fans seem to take Korekiyo's claims at face value. Which is...weird, considering how obviously the whole thing is a "mentally ill delusional sexually deviant serial killer" trope played completely straight. And that his worldview includes things like "I should kill people so my dead sister has friends." But let's set that aside, and say that, for the sake of explaining the popular fandom viewpoint, Korekiyo is a reliable narrator.

So in chapter 3, when he is on the brink of being cornered, Korekiyo begins to switch between his own identity and the identity of his sister's tulpa. These are the only potential looks we have into Miyadera's personality. To give you the gist, here are all of the quotes while Korekiyo takes on his sister's guise that are listed on the Wiki.

(Please note that the "Apologize" is directed at another student who challenges Korekiyo.)

I'm going to be honest. I have reread this a LOT trying to figure out what everyone else is apparently seeing here that I am not. At worst, this reads to me as a slightly stern etiquette teacher. But the popular fandom perception is that this dialogue implies that Miyadera was manipulating and abusing Korekiyo. I could not honestly tell you WHY people believe this, but they do.

And people ran with that. They ran with that so hard. Every sin Korekiyo commits is pinned down as being Miyadera's fault, and Korekiyo is absolved of his crimes as a result of being an abuse victim. It's similar to the effect you often see in the way people discuss Junko and Mukuro, except that Mukuro does not invoke nearly as much sympathy on a larger level, even though Junko's mockery and subsequent murder of her sister are explicit canon.

Now, to be clear: I don't buy into this. I think this is an extremely generous reading of Korekiyo's character, and that it removed his agency and the horror of his crimes to make him more sympathetic (particularly for shipping purposes - if you glance through the Miyadera tag, you see a LOT of Korekiyo/Rantaro fics with Miyadera as the evil abuser Rantaro must rescue Korekiyo from). I also think that people give too much credit to the canonicity of Miyadera's "possession" when it isn't clear, even in the universe of the game itself, whether Miyadera is actually a tulpa or if it's an identity that resulted from Korekiyo's trauma, like Syo/Jack.

But on its own, I don't care about it THAT much. People have headcanons I disagree with all the time. I don't really like a lot of people's thoughts about Nagito's backstory, either, but I don't think about it very often, and I certainly don't care enough to get mad about it. The problem is...

People are very, VERY violent about Miyadera.

I'm going to ask you to reread the quotes from Miyadera as a reminder of literally everything we know about her personality. And then I'll ask you to read this post.

This...is, in fact, despite all odds, the predominate opinion on Miyadera. If you go into her character tags, there are an endless number of posts like these, daydreaming about doing violence on her person, murdering her, torturing her, etc.

As a Grandparent (25, the age of spinsterhood), this sets off some alarm bells. This is how people used to treat female characters who got in the way of their favorite ships, like Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Now, that is popularly understood to have been a result of misogyny. It is horrifying to see that it has survived.

Fantasizing about committing excessive violence against a woman...is misogyny. Making up crimes a woman did not canonically commit as an excuse to justify fantasizing about violence against her is misogyny. It is one thing to dislike a character based on headcanons. It is a totally separate matter to participate in and encourage this level of vitrol solely to make a male character more sympathetic.

To clarify: I do not think that misogyny is the sole reason for this interpretation. By nature, Danganronpa appeals to teenagers, who tend to fall into this type of fandom-wide trap more easily. But it is, in fact, more concerning to normalize this sort of thought process among teens and young people. And so I am very defensive of Miyadera's actual character as a result.

[dreadhead88]

Plz Read Before Interacting!

This is a sanctuary for dark fantasies.

This is a safe space dedicated to obedience, devotion, and the fulfilment of deep desires.

Please be honest and intricate in your responses. Vague and shallow responses will be ignored.

This is all in good fun, a way to explore fantasies. I firmly believe that consent is at the heart of the d0m/sub dynamic. Consent is what it's all about! The sub hands the d0m their power. It's that choice that makes it so exciting. I'll say it again: CONSENT and RESPECT!

Rules

This Tumblr is strictly MDNI Adults only! Please respect this!

If you follow and you don't have your age in your bio you will be blocked.

This is 100% consensual & fantasy.

If the above is not for you, don't bother.

DMs are open for questions.

First, please I can't say this enough, DO NOT address me as Daddy. EVER. May it be in comments, messages, or even ask. Yes, I am a Daddy, but I am not YOUR Daddy. Only if you prove your worth to me then you get that privilege!

K!nk list

The main kinks you will find here, and in my writing, are:

CNC (heavy on the consent)

• Soft kinks

• Hard kinks

• Sweet sex

• Rough bdsm dd/lg

• Dom/sub

• Rope play

• Wax play

• Breath play

• Overstimulation

• Pain

• Impact

• Bladder control

• CNC

• Foot worship

• Spanking

• Free use

• Hypnosis

• Male supremacy

• Objectification

• Body writing

• Pet play

• Br33ding

• Tease, denial and edging

• Praise + worship + degradation + humiliation

• Manipulation + corruption + dumbification + dollification

I’m not built nor do I have time for any nonchalant bs. I was made for a soul crushing, borderline obsessive, endless devotional doll

Limits:

• Minors

• Actual sexual violence

Vanilla interests:

• Hunting

• Martial art

• Classical music

• Travelling

• Surfing

• Hiking

• A little bit of gaming

• Swimming

• Horses

• Guns

• Gym

• Books

• A wide variety of film and TV (horror)

I very much love interacting with my mutuals and following you can also interact with my ask. Feel free to come chat! The best way to reach me is through an ask which is open to all.🫶🏼 I am more likely to reply to asks & anons, all I ask is you be respectful and I promise to do the same. I’d love to have genuine conversations and hear about your interests also.

This blog will not tolerate any type of negative behavior. Be kind or leave. If you're going to be negative on my blog in any way, may it be comments, ask or messages you’ll be immediately blocked with no questions asked.

Please don’t get angry at me if I don’t respond to your messages immediately. We all have things to worry about outside of Tumblr and sometimes mental breaks are very much needed. So I apologize and hope you understand, but will do my best to get to you as soon as I can.

If this blog is not for you well, there's the door.

Tell me your darkest fantasies😈. Strictly MDNI and 18+ only!

[thesporkidentity]

this was originally a discussion on another platform, but i decided i wanted it (edited for coherency lol) actually on my blog so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯. it is quite long because i was apparently more excited than i'd realized to talk about what a good villain drac is

-

i have to disagree in terms of assigning anyone but dracula himself the "fault" for what happened on october 3. without a doubt, there are certainly things that could have been done better, but nothing that i think could be attributed to any one person are any one action as the one avoidable thing responsible for mina's suffering.

like, was it the wrong choice to cut mina out of their plans after the big infodump and make her feel like she couldn't share her worries with the menfolk for fear of being labelled a hysterical woman and cut out even more? yuuuuup, stop doing that. but we also know from lucy and renfield that dracula can force silence on people. she'd still have been unable to tell them what happened on october 1 even if she'd tried. (frankly, i'm surprised she even managed to write it in her diary at all.) so were they in the wrong to keep her in the dark? yeah absolutely, communication is one of The Themes of the book and it's not subtle about it lol. but i don't think her knowing their plans about the dirt boxes would have changed those events except to give them a different flavor of horror.

could they have let her come with them to the carfax estate on october 1st rather than staying home alone? she might have managed to avoid that first bite by not being in the house. but the Big One where she was forced to drink drac's blood and bound to him was on october 3, when everyone else was still in the house. she hadn't been left behind; jonathan was in bed with her. because while it's easier for dracula to prey on people when they're alone, safety in numbers is not guaranteed. maybe he'll just throw a wolf through your fucking window and drug the entire household, maybe he'll hypnotize everyone because knowing about his trance powers does not stop one from succumbing to them. subtlety may be a preference, but it's not a necessity.

but maybe they could have stopped him from getting in at all by transferring renfield somewhere else like he'd requested even if they didn't actually free him. except dracula only needs an invitation from any resident. he could have worked his way through all the patients/inmates until he got one. heck, he could have waited until the crew were all out and then just gotten someone who works there to let him under the pretense of looking into facilities for a family member, who knows! renfield was just the one he already had a connection with who had shown a previous inclination to help him, but dracula has shown himself perfectly capable of rules-lawyering his way into places.

and one can run through a whole list of what if's, but just as easily as i can think of a scenario i can come up with a way around it, just an endless series of moves and counter-moves. so while we as a fandom can (and do) talk in circles about how someone was wrong and should have made a better/different decision (and boy, there were some Choices being made, i'm not even trying to defend some of them), i don't actually think they could have averted, at this stage, the horror of the october 3 events simply by making the Good And Proper decisions (as designated by each personal opinion). i think we'd have ended up in the same destination, or somewhere equally as bad, it's just that the road there would have looked a little different. (and while i haven't looked at the events leading up to lucy's death as closely, i think it's likely one could draw the same conclusion where Questionable Decisions were made, and yet none of them were actually the final cause of the disaster.)

and that's part of what makes dracula as an adversary so scary. it's human nature to want to play the blame game because if this could have been easily prevented by one action or by one character, then his victories would be by mere chance, something you could avoid by just being smart enough. but dracula is a strategist, and all these backups and failsafes and counters make him feel unavoidable, inevitable. not one path to victory but all paths.

[sweethoneyrose83]

Vintage dialogue prompts

1940s Noir Detective:

Detective: "Listen, sweetheart, the city’s got a thousand stories, but yours? It don’t sit right. Start from the beginning, and this time, leave out the fairy tales."

Mysterious Woman: "You think you can handle the truth, detective? Most men crumble just from the weight of it."

Victorian Gothic Romance:

Lady Victoria: "Do you not feel it, Alexander? The air is thick with secrets, and this house… it whispers at night."

Lord Alexander: "I hear no whispers, only the ticking of the clock and your endless doubts, Victoria."

1920s Prohibition Era:

Flapper Girl: "Honey, the only thing flowing faster than the gin around here is trouble. You best keep your wits if you’re planning to stick around."

Bootlegger: "I’m not here for the gin, darling. I’m here to see how deep the rabbit hole goes."

1950s Small Town Mystery:

Local Sheriff: "Folks say it was the wind that knocked down the barn. But I’ve lived here too long to believe in coincidences."

Outsider: "Maybe it's not the wind you should be worried about, sheriff."

1930s Great Depression:

Drifter: "I don’t stay long anywhere, but this town… it feels like it's holding its breath, waiting for something to happen."

Local Shopkeeper: "A lot has happened already, stranger. We’re just hoping it don’t happen again."

Edwardian High Society:

Countess: "Scandal is merely gossip's older, uglier sister. And I daresay, the two are waltzing through our parlor as we speak."

Lord Henry: "I suppose you’d be the belle of that particular ball, wouldn't you?"

1960s Mod London:

Photographer: "You're a vision, love, a walking dream. Let me capture this moment—it's a revolution, and you're right in the middle of it."

Model: "A moment is all it is. Tomorrow, someone else will be the face of the revolution."

1930s Silent Film Star:

Silent Starlet: "They loved me once, when I was the face on every screen. Now? I'm just a flicker in their memories."

Cynical Producer: "Fame’s a funny thing. One day you’re a star, the next, you’re just another name on a marquee."

1920s Speakeasy Drama "Sweetheart, in this town, your name is either on the guest list or the hit list. You better hope you're on the right one tonight."

Victorian Era Mystery "It's no coincidence the fog rolled in just as Lady Pembroke vanished. I dare say there's something far darker at play here."

1940s Noir Detective "She walked in like trouble wearing heels too high for an honest woman. I knew right then the case was going to get dirty."

Edwardian Romance "You must understand, my dear. A single misstep in this dance, and our entire reputation crumbles. We simply cannot afford scandal."

1950s Americana "You know, doll, when a guy hands you the keys to a Cadillac, he's either in love with you or running from something. In my case, it's both."

Wild West Showdown "The sun ain't even set yet, and already you got your hand on your gun. You sure you want this dance, partner?"

Gothic Horror Mansion "I’ve seen ghosts in this house before, but none so cold as the spirit that haunts your eyes."

Prohibition Era Crime Boss "Kid, in this game, you either keep your mouth shut or you learn how to talk your way out of cement shoes. There ain't no in-between."

World War II Spy Thriller "One more whisper of your name on the wrong side of this war, and they won't need a bullet to silence you. The shadows will do the job."

1920s Flapper Rebellion "The only rule around here is that there are no rules, darling. Except, maybe, don't get caught."

[zerodaryls]

For the ask game! 16, 37 and 43

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?

yeah usually like cussing out my toxic family members but then i didn't because i realized it was healthier and more effective to just cut them off entirely <3 i could have verbally destroyed my stepdad with a single sentence but i am actually better than he is so instead i just don't talk to him at all lmao

37. favourite actor/actress

idk if i have one, because usually my favorite actors are just whoever play the blorbos of whatever series i'm currently fixated on, so it varies from time to time. and even then i wouldn't say they're favorites because i just like their characters, not necessarily them as a person (side-eyes d*rk and dw*ght) lmao.

hmm, in honor of the origin of my url i'm gonna say Bill Pullman.

he's just so iconic and i'm always happy to see him on screen and he gives me a whole heckin' lot of gender envy lol i have literally taken photos of him to a salon and been like GIMME THE HAIR (he has had the same goddamn hair style his entire career, i dare you to find a photo of him where his hair isn't this same basic style lol like it varies in length but it's always the same cut and i LOVE it)

he's in like. so many of my favorite movies. Zero Effect (blog url inspo), While You Were Sleeping (fave romcom), Brain Dead (fave psychological/existential horror movie), Independence Day (...one of my fave sci-fi/alien movies), Spaceballs (...I wouldn't actually call this a favorite movie of mine tbh but like it's so fucking iconic I can't not mention it), AND there's this super cringe scene in Mr. Wrong (terrifying movie, it's billed as a comedy but it's legit a horror film to me lmao, do not recommend) where he sings Hold The Line by Toto (my favorite band) really badly and it's just. So iconic. almost ruined the song for me. almost. (no one can ruin Toto for me. 'tis not possible.)

43. favourite song ever

oh come on you can't do that to me, i can't pick a fave song ever, that's not a thing, i don't know how to do that :')

but as i mentioned Toto... it's gonna be one of theirs, lol. i can't even choose one goddammit i'll do a top three (stRUGGLING EVEN TO DO THAT... THE 'TISM CANNOT CHOOSE)

gonna put Rosanna first because it's the first song I remember rocking out to when i was like 3 years old in my car seat and telling my dad to turn up the car radio

next up Can't Stand It Any Longer because EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS PERFECTION, from Joe Williams' vocals to the melody to the beat to the ALL THE MUSIC TERMS I'M NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH TO COMMENT ON IN DETAIL hskjdfhkjsdhfdjksf

aaand as much as it pains me to only choose one more i'll go with one from the Isolation album so you can hear another vocalist (the amount of vocalists this band has had... and they're all so talented in their own ways and GAWWWWWWD I LOVE THIS FUCKIN BAND SO MUCH I'M GONNA SCREAM),, anyway here's Endless:

i could literally talk about Toto all day so i'm gonna have to cut myself off here before this becomes an infodump lmao

............actually i'm gonna put one last song because it came up in the recommended sidebar and Joe is fucking adorable in this video and gives me a lot of gender envy and YES THAT'S PAULA ABDUL DANCING,, WHY WASN'T THIS ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST HITS I DON'T UNDERSTAND

....a..and... um... listen i hate listing 4 things because that doesn't feel rounded out so here's one more to make it a nice rounded 5,, featuring Steve Lukather as a BABY (okay he's like 21 but he looks like a baby) and because I can't list a bunch of Toto songs and not feature any from their 70s era:

i need those rainbow suspenders.

...okay sorry sorry i was entirely possessed by my autism for a minute there 😅 thus concludes the post. thanks for the asks and for opening up my big chaotic box of obsession lol.

[bite-sized-devil]

Hello! Congrats on 500 followers (I've only just found your blog aha, but congrats either way ^^)

If possible I'd like to request a matchup hehe~ I'm average height I think (5'3), I have a real gothic style (black and dark colours are my thing. Rather casual but I'll sometimes go with makeup if I'm going out, tho that's usually more reserved for when I'm cosplaying). My hobbies would be writing, listening to music and playing games mainly (unless sleeping is considered a hobby too? I do that a lot. Low energy levels especially as of recently for some reason). My favourite writing genres are usually very dark and horror themes along with angst (though I do sometimes write fluff too), my music taste is mainly obey me and enstars songs with some other stuff mixed in like alternative or dance pop. I mainly play gacha games and rhythm games too aha. As mentioned before another of my hobbies would be cosplay, though I don't really now do it unless I'm going to a con with my friend. My star sign if relevant is Sagittarius btw. My most prominent sin is Envy (tho Gluttony and Sloth do represent me well, Envy is the best). I'm very quiet and shy/awkward but I do tend to talk for hours the second I'm able to talk abt my hyperfixations aha. Also got a terrible habit of staying up late playing games or whatever and then wondering why I'm always so tired lol

My Obey Me f/os are Belphie, Levi, Asmo & Beel btw ^^

(not sure if most of that info was necessary but hopefully that's enough, I can't really think of anything else to describe myself aha)

As for the hcs/short fic, I'm not into nsfw so sfw for that please.

Thank you in advance! :)

🌻 500 followers Bite Sized Event 🌻

No warning needed just sfw fluffy fluff 💕

Match Up: Leviathan, Third Born, Avatar of Envy

I'm matching you with Levi! I feel like he'd either be your perfect other half or the bane of your existence. Heaven forbid you have opposing views on games or anime. You'll be fighting for days! You like a gothic style? Cool ya boys got purple hair, he can dig that! Your low energy levels won't be a problem, you guys can game in his bath tub. 💕

Head canons for the two of you:

Levi asked you out pretty much the week after you received his pact mark. The two of you had being hanging out every chance you got. After RAD, before RAD, over the weekends. You were inseparable! It was sickening to watch or be near. You were getting so close you were finishing each others sentences, and even in public.. LIKE A BUNCH OF NORMIES! Naturally that freaked Levi out when Asmo was teasing him about it but then he realised he didn't care. He wanted to be more than just a friend.

You often fall asleep in his bathtub with your head on his chest and one of his arms wrapped around you.

All nighters are very common! Gaming is on, if you were only a filthy casual before you aren't anymore.

The arguments the two of you have over which anime or game is better are massive but hilarious. It's petty bullshit and you both know it so it's never to serious.

He talks about you to his streamers so often. Like the boy is obsessed! His followers never complain though, they think you're super cute.

Your both quite jealous by nature, which came be catastrophic. Look out anyone who flirts with you, lotan is being summoned. Same goes for anyone that flirts with him, consider them cursed, hexed, d.e.a.d.

Can we just talk about how cute you'd both look doing couples cosplay? Can you imagine the possibilities!? Natsu and Lucy, Sakura and Sasuke (personally I'm more Naruto and Sasuke but whatever), Edward & Winry, Kirito and Asuna, Sophie and Howl, peanut & butter. Really the list is endless.

Pillow forts that take up Levi's entire room. Belphie helped you set them up and then promptly left when you guys started making out underneath it. STOP BEING GROSSLY CUTE YOU TOO! The brothers have started a chat without the both of you so they can complain whenever they see you guys kissing or being all lovey dovey in front of them.

Hope you liked this match up lovely! 💕 I'll work on your sfw Levi fic now that I've finished this match up! If you prefer a different brother for the fic just let me know, or if you've changed your mind and you want to give me an idea that's cool too, I'm easy, breezy, beautiful 😂☺️😘

[breadknight-likes-things]

Bread's Game Of The Year Honorable Mention #5: Diablo 4 And Spider-Man 2

I couldn't decide on which of these two games crack the very end of my top ten of the year list, because both games are very good, but also very safe. Diablo 4 doesn't take many risks in its design, despite its much vaunted transformation of Diablo into a fully fledged modern live service game. Spider-Man 2, meanwhile, is bombast and honed design, but it's a lot of the same stuff we've already seen in the other two games from this franchise. To be clear, I'm lambasting neither of these games, nor would I ever call either of them bad. Quite the opposite, both of these games do the thing they set out to very well. Spider-Man may be the exact open world action adventure game we thought it would be, but it's the ideal version of such a thing. Diablo 4 may take almost no risks in it's basic design and understanding of what the Diablo franchise is, but what the Diablo franchise is, is rock solid ARPG gameplay and endless new ways to make bad guys explode into multi-colored loot. Spider-Man 2's only real issue, at least in my eyes, is its very predictable story. I'm a comic book fan, and a big fan of Spider-Man in general, so the Black Suit/Venom storyline is so old hat at this point, that adding in the ability to play it in video game form...doesn't really add all that much. Still, that storyline does bring with it a lot of gameplay fun. the symbiotic powers you gain open up a lot of fun new avenues to feel powerful in the games many combat scenarios. Even if the story is predictable, it doesn't make the performances bad, or the characters any less endearing. Miles' half of the story, in particular is a shining bright spot. Not to mention, Spider-Man 2 puts a wise focus on some very good side content, to really round out the experience.

Diablo 4 is a great entry in the franchise, to be clear, but I still find it to be a bit of a regression. While the gameplay in general is rock solid, there are bits of it that bother me. Chief among them, an extremely obvious driving desire to return to the dark, dour and horror influenced tone of the first two Diablo games. Say what you will about Diablo 3, I never had any problem with its brighter color palette, more adventurous tone, and better sense of fun. I don't need everything in Diablo to be about how miserable life is in Sanctuary. Thankfully, as I said prior, the gameplay itself mostly maintains Diablo 3's power trip gameplay that makes up for so many fun moments. A much wider net is cast in terms of skills and specialization, allowing a far more free form character creation than could be had in Diablo 3. That brings with it flaws, but it also brings a lot of good player choice, so it's hard to really complain all that much. Both Spider-Man 2 and Diablo 4 are flawed games in my eyes, but when I say "Flawed" I mostly just mean that they don't quite stand up to the absurd flow of high quality releases we otherwise got this year. I really enjoyed my time with both of these games, even if they don't leave a long lasting impression on me for the years to come. That's worth something, recognition at the very least.

[elliethesuperfruitlover]

Ellie’s Blorbo List of 2022

Not gon’ cap, I had a very shitty first 6 months of 2022 and kinda uh….isolated myself (and had no choice but to do so at one point). But I’m here right now. And I’m alive and breathing. And that’s enough for me.

We’re gonna go through some of the characters I chose to be a part of my clan this year as a fun little thing to celebrate being here. And as something to observe me by, this is PALPABLE.

Tag List: (bc i hope y’all want to hear these things) @joz-stankovich​, @super-unpredictable98​, @badsext​, @bisexualnathanyoung​, @maerenee930​, @seancekitsch​, @candyclaw, @magic-multicolored-miracle​​

Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)

part of the reason I kinda uh….went far under was related to him. But I’m able to enjoy him and keep the nasty stuff at bay now so that’s fun :).

Peter Parker/Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home)

I made an entire playlist about Prior Walter. And watched Tick Tick Boom. And part of under the silver lake……I was balls deep in this man’s cinematography, and it was all thanks to No Way Home.

Dr. Otto Octavius/Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home)

Part 2 of my no way home brainrot. This man…..yeah……mhm. I love him so much. Big boy. That’s all.

Cloud Strife (specifically Final Fantasy 7, but he’s a part of the whole franchise)

I’ve had moments with Cloud every now and then, and I’ve decided to include him, solely on the fact that I have over 20 edits of him saved on a google doc. I’ve also never played a single Final Fantasy game.

Eddie Munson/Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things)

I watched season 4 of stranger things as a distraction from the horrors and I never looked back. He is my baby boy and baby girl and Erica and Lucas are my younger siblings. He’s made me feel unlike any other character, especially in the way he makes me want to punch people on tiktok who call cosplay “cringe”, or bully outcasts.

Steve Harrington/Joe Keery (Stranger Things)

babygirl. I want to fix him a nice large meal. And hose him down in the front yard because I know for a fact he needs a bath. I’m cleaning him like a duckling covered in oil. I also watched Spree, and listened to DJO for the first time around September-ish. I’m unstoppable now. Joe Keery’s music is SOLID.

Maxine (Max) Mayfield (Stranger Things)

She’s my bestie. I’m protecting her from all harm in Season 5. Thank you very much.

Morpheus/Dream of the Endless (The Sandman)

He’s my skrunkly little man. I almost put desire too....imagine i put a gif of them on here wow omg.

Prince Sidon (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

This one was mildly short lived, but it happened. I love him so much....shark prince. (fun fact, sharks have not one, but 2 penises) I have not played a single second of any Zelda game.....yet here we are.

Hamlet (Hamlet)

Ok so we read and watched Hamlet in AP English Lit (Branagh’s version with clips from the other) and I was like “this man right here needs therapy”. This is a joke but it’s also not.

Principal Larissa Weems (Wednesday)

I recognized Gwendoline Christie from The Sandman when I saw the trailers for Wednesday and went “oh bet I’m definitely watching this” and I finished this show in less than 24 hours.......yeah I like it. She cares about her students, she’s tall, she’s definitely a lesbian. I love her.

Wednesday Addams (Wednesday)

She’s my bestie, I’m her bestie. She was my first cosplay. That’s all.

Tangerine (Bullet Train)

I watched this movie a whopping almost 48 hours ago. I love him. I want to fix him a large meal. Treat him. That is all.

[an-aussie-button-masher]

Who Needs PvP? Five of the Latest and Greatest Singleplayer Adventures

   What’s the most annoying aspect of modern gaming? Is it all the greedy battle passes and microtransactions? The incessant toxicity of online playerbases? Games demanding your endless interaction with constant daily or weekly challenges that guilt you for deciding to play anything else? It’s probably a combination of all of the above, really. Well, if you’re looking for a break from all that games-as-a-service online nonsense, seeking something a bit more casual, why not try these singleplayer adventures?   These are a handful of the latest and greatest solo games, all enjoyable offline with no toxicity or microtransactions in sight. Of course, while they’re increasingly outnumbered by online titles, there’s still far too many of these types of games to list here - so, I decided to gather a small yet diverse variety to show off here: a sprawling fantasy RPG with endless possibilities, an action-packed rhythm platformer, a creepy eldritch fishing game, a pantheon-slaying titan of storytelling, and a game where you play as a cat. Take a look for yourself!

Baldur’s Gate 3    Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve definitely at least heard of this game - especially after it won 2023’s Game of the Year. Baldur’s Gate 3 is about as close as it gets to a full Dungeons & Dragons campaign on your PC or console - no need to organise all your friends to show up for a campaign session! In this massive RPG, you can play as a handful of pre-set characters, all with their own expansive stories and countless unique interactions, or make your own from a dozen different races and classes. Want to be a Fighter? A Wizard? Barbarian? Cleric? Bard? Some unholy mashup of everything? Perhaps you’ll play as a human, or an elf, or a gnome, half-orc, or dragonborn - there’s a practically endless list of possibilities, and that’s just in the character select screen!   Everything you do has some kind of impact on the hours of storytelling: who will you help, and who will you fight? Where will you go? What sides will you take in this absolute narrative feat? There’s an overarching plot, but the path you take through it is entirely yours to decide - for better or worse.

Hi-Fi Rush    Bethesda sneakily released this bumping rhythmic platformer early in 2023, and it quickly became a number-one hit. Play as Chai, a bit of a loser with ambitious dreams of becoming a rockstar - and when he accidentally gets his music player implanted into his heart and the whole world around him starts moving to the beat, those dreams start to literally become reality. Suddenly, Chai’s fighting off a dark corporate conspiracy with the power of music, friendship, and blunt force trauma with a sick guitar made of magnetised garbage. In this game, everything - everything - moves, jumps, flashes and swings to the rhythm of the music playing from Chai’s heart, and moving yourself and your attacks in time makes you stronger and earn higher scores.   Hi-Fi Rush is truly an earnest throwback to old-fashioned straightforward action platforming, with a linear level-after-level structure and no side quests or unnecessary padding to get in the way of the story or the rapid-tempo gameplay. It’s got a beautifully colourful and chaotic artstyle, genuinely entertaining characters and hilarious writing, and of course, a banging soundtrack to top it all off.

Dredge    Let’s take things down a notch for those looking for something a little more casual and slower-paced - assuming you can keep your anxiety in check, that is. Dredge is a chilling eldritch cosmic horror story, disguised as a simple little fishing game. Sail out in your little tugboat, pull up any fish you find (don’t worry about the increasingly-creepy and disfigured catches, it’s probably just your imagination) and make absolutely sure you return to port before dark - you’re not alone out there. You might catch glimpses of things much older and much bigger shifting just beneath the waves; how much of it is really there, and how much is just your paranoia getting the better of you? Are you willing to take the risk that there’s nothing really there…or that it didn’t see you?   Once you start collecting some decidedly-unnerving artefacts in the waters, a puzzling storyline begins to take shape, capped off with a stunning twist and a dangerous choice to make…or, you can just mind your own business and keep busy catching and selling all the fish from day to day, upgrading your boat and relaxing on the mostly-calm ocean. Just mind those lights in the fog - pretty sure that isn’t a town in the distance…

God of War: Ragnarök    Now, back to something a bit more blood-pumping with a true linear action titan - God of War: Ragnarök. Kratos, the former god-butchering Ghost of Sparta, is back, and (reluctantly) doing what he does best as he faces off the might of the Norse gods including Thor, Heimdall, and Odin himself, alongside his growing son Atreus. Between all the enemy-slaughtering and gallivanting across the Nine Realms, Ragnarök tells an emotional and engaging narrative of a father not wanting to lose his son, fighting against fate itself to protect his boy just a little longer. The game features graphics and visuals as gorgeous as its’ writing and acting is brilliant - it’s little wonder why Christopher Judge won 2022’s Best Performance as Kratos.   Besides the story is the fast-paced complex combat system God of War fans know and love, with Atreus joining his father as a playable character with his own array of skills and attacks; time to get that hand-eye coordination up! For returning players looking for a good reason to jump back into action, a recent DLC expansion adds a brand-new challenging mode if you’re after a true test of skill in the hallowed battlegrounds of Valhalla.

Stray    This is a game where you play as a cat. Need I say more? Well, if the feline gimmick isn’t enough to interest you, how about a surprisingly fascinating world and endearing characters? Stray pits the cutest protagonist in gaming against a dark, treacherous world that’s much, much bigger from the perspective of our tiny fuzzy hero. In this game, you’ll climb, jump and sneak across a neon-lit city populated entirely by robots, all carrying on with their jobs long after humanity is gone in a tale that explores questions of sentience and societal growth - and collapse.   Come for the adorable little kitty, but stay for the interesting story, beautifully haunting visual style, quirky robotic characters and some thought-provoking puzzles. How far can this cat go to reunite with its lost family? Will this unlikely hero be the key to helping its new mechanical friends find freedom from the massive locked-down city? What happened to humanity in the first place? There’s a lot of questions to answer, and yet you’re just a cat. Additionally, the game also features the best button prompt ever: Press O to Meow!

   Like I said, there’s plenty more solo adventure games to be found beyond these standout examples - which one is your favourite? Are there any more worthy additions to this list you know? Let’s hear it! Feedback, reblogs and likes are all much appreciated!   Thanks for reading!

An Aussie Button-Masher

[therealbrainlessshow]

What if There Was a Vaccine for Jerks

In an era of Sci-Fi movies peeking into the future, wouldn't it be off the charts incredible if medical science mixed up the perfect potion to tackle the world's most abundant problem? Jerks.

Imagine a world where dirtbag behavior, the endless parade of entitled individuals and Mr and Mrs Me-Gimme-Mine, plus their four kids, could be cured with a simple shot. 

The mere thought of a vaccine that could curb snarky comments, temper tantrums, and egotistical monologues might seem too good to be true. But hey, we've put a man on the moon, so why not cure jerkiness?

Since we’re going to shoot for the moon and turn this whole thing into a new streaming channel called Utopian Vision, let’s see who would be eligible for the ultimate personality makeover?

Would it be based on a jerkometer scale?

A special selection committee analyzing butthead behavior?

We could make it into a game show where contestants debate “Who's Jerk Enough” to warrant the vaccine.

Better yet, let's just play it safe and go with the obvious choices.

Politicians, influencers, the idiot writing this article, the designer of the 737 Max or just that one person who cuts in line at the coffee shop every morning.

Now remember like any Big Pharma commercial this magical brew will come with a laundry list of side effects. 

Contact your physician immediately if you experience more than four hours of any of the following.

Increased kindness, excessive niceness or an unexpected urge to hold doors open for everyone.

There's also the risk of extreme empathy causing people to actually listen to each other. The horror.

We should also consider the potential evolution of jerk behavior. Could this vaccine trigger a mutation in the jerk genome? Suddenly we have a new strain called dipstick varmint!

Could it be we have doomed us all and the jerks will inherit the earth?

Actually they wouldn't survive alone. They need someone to unleash the jerkiness onto.

Damn and I thought we were really on to something here!

I was almost looking forward to family get-togethers, running into that buffoon from accounting in the break room and only looking at one picture of other people's kids.

But the truth is, life would be boring without a few challenging characters to spice things up.

I could possibly go through withdrawal without having somebody singing along with the song on their headphones, wearing too much cologne, talking at the movies, not letting people off an elevator before they get on, or refusing to walk single file on a crowded sidewalk.

In the meantime, keep those fingers crossed. Who knows, maybe one day, a vaccine for difficult personalities will emerge from the misty depths of scientific discovery and make the world a much more harmonious place.

But until that day dawns, keep those witty comebacks and coping mechanisms at the ready, you're going to need them.

And of course, please remember to unleash civility responsibly.

[mrsluggsthesentientsledgehammer]

On the one hand, DnD is a cultural icon, a much loved piece of gaming history and in recent years responsible for the slow movement of RPGs into the mainstream and out of grandma's basement.

On the other, if WOTC want to try and kill off a reason for DnD's continued success purely for the sake of monetisation then that can only be bad for DnD players, which might actually be good for ttrpgs as a whole. Let's be honest, few people use canon settings, learning the game feels more like work than pleasure and this sort of corporate nonsense has no place in the ttrpg market.

If only there was a sprawling community of enthusiastic games designers churning out absolute bangers on a regular basis so that people had other options....

So let's make a list of them. The easier good alternatives are for people to find, the more likely it is that WOTC and Hasbro get the message.

Like how many rules DnD has? - As above, try pathfinder! The SRD (system reference document) is free on the web, but the core rulebook is a bit pricey at $60.

"Less rules please!" - Have a look at the white hack, you can get the 3rd edition for just under $10. Explicitly marketed as "runs dnd encounters with little to no conversion" and is more or less setting agnostic. 160 pages.

"Still too many rules!" - Fine, try the black hack, its $6 and all the rules fit in 30 pages. You can get all the open licensed bits (i.e. not the art) for free to try before you buy via the online SRD.

Apocalypse vibes? - Mork Borg, the art is... striking, as is the rest of the game. Pretty version costs $15, but the barebones edition is free. It's also drowning in third party content if you want more.

"Dude, I have literally no money" - Have a look at the endless ream of 1 page rpgs from gshowitt on twitter, or hosted at Rowan, Rook and Decard. All free and literally fit on a page.

All about party dynamics and collaberative storytelling? - Try dungeon world, its $10 for the pdf but is based on apocalypse world rules. It has the same generic fantasy flavor as DnD but mechanics which put the players and the GM on the same side to tell a story.

"I really like the grand adventure feeling that comes with DnD" - Try mouseguard, reskin it if you don't fancy playing as a mouse. It includes pacing mechanics to produce that perfect flow that an adventure really needs. Alternatively, if you like Tolkeinesque fantasy then the One Ring RPG might be a good bet. Haven't played it but its well spoken of.

"Done with classic fantasy, I like more horror in my dungeons" - Try Heart from Rowan, Rook and Decard ($15, or free quickstart). Mechanics explicitly designed to drive interesting stories.

"What about doing a revolution?" - Spire, same people, same price, almost the same rules.

"My campaign is kinda crime centric tho" - Blades in the dark, $20. Fiction first mechanics for crime focused industrial fantasy.

"Currently playing a homebrew DnD derivative as a spacefaring octopus with a railgun, its just too niche"- Someone has beaten you to it pal. Eclipse phase, free on the internet courtsy of Rob Boyle.

"I haven't slept in weeks, leave me alone" - Don't Rest Your Head, $5 from Evil Hat. Surrealist horror about how you really need to get your sleeping pattern in order.

"Ah, but can you do a comedic piece of anticapitalist satire, in a fastasy setting with just two people?" - Yarp. Pitcrawler, made by people from the Magnus Archives. Free quickstart available from Macguffin and Co and honestly ideal for new players and GMs alike.

"Mechs?" - Mechs. Lancer, $25 from Massif Press. Similar grid-style gameplay to DnD but with giant robots and better rest mechanics.

"What about cyberpunk?" - You can play the literal cyberpunk rpg (now Cyberpunk RED), but personally I'm a fan of cy borg ($25, Free League Publishing). Its like mork borg but cyber, and frankly just that much more punk than all the others.

If you can think of any other games that might be useful and deserve to be played then start telling people about them. This could actually be a really good opportunity for new players.

So, what is the OGL and why are DnD creators thoroughly screwed?

Tumblr has not been doing a great job at talking about this, but:

With OneDnD, Wizards of the Coast has decided to update the Open Game License (OGL). Said license is what allowed people to create homebrew DnD content and sell it, and even larger companies to use certain sorts of content. Pathfinder, for example, is built on said OGL. This also allows streamers and artists to exist and benefit from said content.

With OneDnD (sometimes called “dnd 6e”), WOTC wants to create a much more restrictive OGL, which will, amongst other things:

Make WOTC take a cut for any DnD-related work (according to Kickstarter, a whole 25% of the benefits)

Let WOTC cancel any project related to DnD up to their discretion

Let WOTC take ANY content made based on their system, and re-sell it without crediting you, or giving you a single cent

And most importantly, revoke the old OGL, which will harm any company or game system that used it as a base, such as Pathfinder. And it means they GET ownership over any homebrew content you may have done for 5e in the past!

It’s important to note that OGLs are supposedly irrevocable. They were planning to use it for OneDnD initially, but they want to apply it retroactively to 5e, somehow. Which is illegal, but lawyers have mentioned there’s a chance they may get away with it given the wording.

This means that anything you make based on DnD (A homebrew item? A character drawing? Even music, according to them?), can get taken and used as they deem appropiate.

These news come from a leak of the OGL, which have been confirmed by multiple reputable sources (including Kickstarter, which has confirmed that WOTC already talked with them about this), and was planned to be released next week.

So, what can we do?

Speak against it. Share the word. Reblog this post. Let people know. Tumblr hasn’t been talking much about this matter, but it’s VERY important to let people know about what is WOTC bringing. 

Boycott them. Do not buy their products. Do not buy games with their IP. Do not watch their movie. CANCEL your DnD Beyond subscription. (Btw, they ARE planning to release more subscription services too!). They do not care about the community, but they care about the money. Make sure to speak through it. 

And maybe consider other TTRPG systems for the time being, Pathfinder’s Paizo has been much nicer to the community, their workers are unionized and are far more healthy overall

[vioyume]

A List of Videos on Various RPG Maker Games:

Last Updated: April 25, 2023

Like others I am a fan of the wonderful world on RPG Maker Games, some are more popular than others but at the end of the day, the community for this genre is very small. So once in a while you'll find someone talking about these games.

This list is like a master post of sorts holding a bunch of links to many videos on these games that were made in RPG Maker (Oneshot, Ib, Yume NIkki, Omori, OFF, etc). There are no "Lets Plays" in this list.

Suggestions to this list (Videos or a Game) is welcome since finding these videos in the first place are always a hidden gem!

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

Mix:

RPG Maker Horror Games, Surrealism, and Trauma - Sagan Hawkes (Overall overview of the RPG Horror Genre)

The Lost Art of RPG Maker Games - Thafnine (Yume Nikki, Ao Oni, Ib, The Crooked Man, The Witch's House, Mad Father)

Omori and Yume Nikki: Journey of dreams - Boy Afraid

Earthbound and Inspiration - Nitro Rad

Cult Classic RPG Maker Games - Takune (Yume Nikki, Ao Oni, OFF)

RPG Maker Horror Games Mattered - graymads (Yume NIkki, Ib, Ao Oni, Misao, OFF)

A brief retrospective of some RPGMaker games - Davey Gunface (OFF, Lisa the Painful & Joyful, Hylics, Oneshot, Grimm's Hollow, To the Moon)

Let's dive into The Indie RPG Maker Iceberg [Part One] - Smol Birb (Almost any RPG Maker Game you can think of)

Let's dive into The Indie RPG Maker Iceberg [Part Two] - Smol Birb (Almost any RPG Maker Game you can think of)

Reviewing a Bunch of RPG Maker Games - Majuular (Yume Nikki, Hylics, Toilet in Wonderland, To the Moon, Oneshot, Lawmage Academy, Suits, Fear and Hunger, The Witch's House, Space Funeral)

🪟 Yume Nikki (Original, 2018 ver, and Fangames):

How Yume Nikki Changed Everything... | A Retrospective - Sagan Hawkes

Yume Nikki - Nitro Rad

Yume 2kki - Nitro Rad

.Flow - Nitro Rad

LCDDEM | Yume Nisshi | Answered Prayers - Nitro Rad

Yume Graffiti | ME | Fleshchild - Nitro Rad

YUME NIKKI DREAM DIARY - Nitro Rad (2018 ver)

Yume Nikki - An Unforgettable Memory - Maraganger

The Yume Nikki Iceberg: Facts, Theories, and Absolutely Zero Apparitions! - Post Cards from the White Dessert

Understanding Yume Nikki - SpaceySoundy

Remembering .Flow - SpaceySoundy

UnRequited, Expiate, Usagi | Yume Nikki Fangame Reviews - Frogge

Yume Nikki's Biggest Secret - LOVEWEB - Shadok

¿Qué me he perdido? Episodio 11: Yume Nikki (Spoilers) - ¿Qué me he perdido? (Spanish with captions)

Roblox Yume Nikki Fangames - Flatface

Yume Nikki: An Endless Rabbit Hole | A Deep Dive - SonoSara

Yume Nikki: Ambiguity is Terrifying - NixasHearts

Yume Nikki and the Death Acceptance Theory - mimiyori

Explaining Yume Nikki - What Did That All Mean? Theories And Analysis - Panopticon Theatre

The Yume Nikki Novel You've Probably Never Read - Cicada Wave

What Happened to Yume Nikki Merch? | LOST MEDIA - Zereph

Yume Nikki: Interpretation VS Adaptation - NezumiVA

Why Yume Nikki Still Matters - NezumiVa

Yume Nikki: The Terror Of Isolation - graymads

Explaining .flow - A Rusted Nightmare - Theories And Analysis - Panopticon Theatre

NOMOIDA Reviews YUME NIKKI - NOMOIDA

Interview with Diana June [Yume Nikki: Dream Diary OST] - NOMOIDA (2018 ver)

🪦 Space Funeral:

Space Funeral - Nitro Rad

Space Funeral - A Twisted Reflection of the Platonic Ideal of the JRPG - Ben Saint

SPACE FUNERAL | Videogaming's Answer to David Lynch? - Weather Dependent

🌹 Ib:

The Haunting of Ib - Honey Bat

Ib - Nitro Rad

Exploring Ib and it's Remake - SpaceySoundy

Ib - With Art and Soul - Louicide

Why I Adore Ib and Garry's Friendship - AmorManx

🧍‍♂️Strange Man Anthology

The Crooked Man - Nitro Rad

You NEED to Play The Crooked Man - Ben Again

The Sandman is WEIRD - Ben Again

⚾ OFF:

OFF - Nitro Rad

Just what was OFF all about? - SpaceySoundy

Let's Review: OFF - NekoSuave93

Explaining OFF - A Dying Utopia - Theories And Analysis - Panopticon Theatre

OFF is a Terrible Game (With an Interesting World) - Boss Door

OFF: A Retrospective (Feat. @/NezumiVA) - Sagan Hawkes (Nazumi's YT channel)

Mortis Ghost's OFF: A 10th Anniversary Retrospective - NezumiVA

OFF - Tackling Morality in Video Games - Ben Again

🪚 Sen's Games (Mad Father, Misao)

Mad Father - NitroRad

Misao - NitroRad

О чём была Mad Father - ikorka (Russian)

💡 Oneshot:

Oneshot - NitroRad

Another Shot at Oneshot - NitroRad

Why Oneshot Is The Most Underrated Game Ever - Paracosm

Review: OneShot - A Fox on the Internet

OneShot's Perfect Finale - NixasHearts

Coffee Talk: Behind the Scenes Commentary on "OneShot's Perfect Finale" - NixasHearts

OneShot 2 - Boss Door

My Oneshot at Oneshot | OneShot Review - galxie

🎻 Omori:

Omori - Nitro Rad

Omori Is Beautiful - A Critique on the Modern Horror RPG - SpaceySoundy

Omori Critique: A Narrative Marvel - Engel

The ULTIMATE Omori Analysis - Munt Chunk

OMORI: The Long Awaited Masterpiece - The RPG Monger

OMORI: The Horror RPG that will 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 You. | A Complete Analysis - AssukaTV

How OMORI Breaks You: A Character Analysis | Video Essay - ButWhyLevin

OMORI Black Space II Explained - Sleepy Crest

What is Omori? - Takune

An Analysis of Omori, A True Masterpiece. (Re-Upload) - XaberVI

Review: OMORI - A Fox on the Internet

(OMORI) Why Sunny/Omori is a Fascinating Character | (A Scattershot Analysis) - Serial Introvert

BlackSpace: How to Make a Character hated. (OMORI) - jELeeoo

OMORI and Dissociative Amnesia - Daryl Talks Games (Age Restricted)

Why OMORI has SAVED RPG Maker - ToastyTime

Who is Omori? - GhostsOnVacation

How OMORI Controls You - PoorDesign

How OMORI SCARES You | Analysis of Psychological Horror - Serial Introvert

How OMORI Was Made and Why People Assumed it Was a Scam - ThatGuyGlen

Omori Changes You as a Person - kota

Not Another Earthbound-Inspired Indie Game About Depression - i am error

OMORI Explained Terribly - CrabApples

The Meaning of Omori - WillNgLee

This Is The Darkest Secret In OMORI... | Video Essay - ButWhyLevin

How Impactful Audio is in OMORI - hysteria

Analyzing OMORI's Underrated Final Boss Theme ("Whale Whale Whale") - Grey-Spark

Omori Sunny Analysis | Escaping The Dreamlike Nightmare - JJCGames

Oyasumi Sunny | Omori review - Re-2D (Russian with captions)

Miscellaneous:

These are games where they don't have enough videos to be it's own category. If a game gains more videos then it'll get a category. (3+)

The Greatest Forgotten Horror RPG - Hazel (Re:Kinder)

Grimm's Hollow: The Free Indie RPG That Stands Out - The RPG Monger (Grimm's Hollow)

Escaped Chasm - Nitro Rad

What is Hello Charlotte And Why You Should Play It - starrybunnieboy (Hello Charlotte)

[theacevampire]

Lucky Woman

Pairing: Kuroo x fem!Reader

Genre: romance, fluff

Wordcount: ~1.3k

Warnings: none

A/N:

Ridiculous. It’s utterly ridiculous, Kuroo tells himself. There’s no way he has a crush on two people. Absolutely not. And two people he doesn’t know well, at that. This has to be some sick prank his body is playing on him. But pranks are supposed to be funny, and not bothersome, right?

So why are there these butterflies in his stomach, this bubbly feeling in his chest and the yearning to see her again? ‘Her’ being the pretty, new roommate Kenma has. Well, technically, she’s not his new roommate. She moved in with him about two months ago, so it’s been a few weeks, but since then he only got to catch a glimpse of her here and there when he was – yet again – hanging out at Kenma’s. She hasn’t even said a word to him yet and he’s somewhat glad because if she did, he’d be done for, surely. All he knows is Kenma offered her his spare bedroom without hesitation when she needed a place to stay. Therefore, the intensity with which his body reacts to her, is astonishing considering how little he has seen of her. But he won’t pressure her, so he continues to cherish the moments when she comes into the kitchen to grab a snack or drink, before scurrying back to her room.

And then there’s you. Kuroo smiles like an idiot every time he hears you say something over the mic when Kenma and the two of you are playing another round of Call of Duty. When you’re laughing, there’s this pang in his heart as if you were shooting him, despite the game mode making friendly fire impossible. Like Kenma, you’re a streamer, playing a variety of games in vastly different genres: a little Ori here, Mario Kart there, sometimes you’re taking care of your island in Animal Crossing – the list is endless. And even if he has no interest in the game you’re currently playing, he turns on your stream anyway because he likes to watch you. Or rather: he likes to listen to you. Because your face is a mystery. You don’t show yourself on stream, on social media or anywhere ever. But he doesn’t mind. At all. He likes to put on your stream, lay down and just listen to your voice clouding his thoughts. It’s so calming and–

The deep rumbling of his controller rips him from his daydream, and he can only watch as his aragami dissolves into thin air. Your laugh comes through his headphones, right to his ears, and he swears his heart is melting on the spot.

“Kuroo, what was that? Why would you walk out of the shadows right when a guard is coming at you?”

“Oh, shut up. You’re not even playing. I was just trying to lure him over,” he argues.

The excuse is lame and utter bullshit and he’s seething as Kenma calls him out on it, “Do you remember how I told you he has a crush?”

“Damn...” you taunt him. “Are you gonna tell me, who the lucky woman is?”

You, he thinks.

“No,” he answers the second Kenma says, “How many subs are you offering?”

Kuroo knows, his best friend is kidding, but he still throws him a warning glare across the screens between them, almost followed by a controller.

The both of them are sitting in Kenma’s streaming room with two remarkable gaming systems, so they could game together regularly.

“You’re practically living here already, so it makes no difference,” Kenma had said when he had shown him the new furnishing after a complete overhaul of his studio.

The only thing keeping Kuroo from ripping Kenma a new one – physically or virtually – is the fact that neither you nor Kenma’s are streaming. Oh, the horror had this been streamed live on the internet, for tens of thousands of people to hear, captured forever.

“It’s my roommate.”

His eyebrows furrow in confusion. He expected Kenma to rat him out, to tell you about both of his crushes.

“Although he has barely seen her,” his best friend adds instead.

You chuckle.

“I know it’s stupid,” he grumbles, “How can one have a crush on someone they have only seen so far? Like, I haven’t even talked to her. She only ever greeted me with a nod or something.”

“She’s a lucky woman,” you say to his surprise.

Again, Kuroo’s confused. He wholeheartedly expected you to tease him. Instead, your tone is soft, serious, genuine. No sarcastic undertone, no snarky remark.

“Love is unfathomable, Kuroo,” you add, the tenderness in your voice sending a shiver down his spine.

At the same time a certain guilt gnaws on him. He feels like he’s betraying you and himself with his crush on Kenma’s roommate – or is it the other way around? Which of these feelings are the true ones? The genuine ones? Are the things he experiences for you real and the ones for Kenma’s roommate his mind playing tricks on him? Or does he actually like the roommate and only imagines he has a crush on you?

Then again, does he know either of you good enough to have serious romantic feelings for you? Or is he so desperate for romance or female attention that his heart jumps on the first woman to notice him? But Kuroo was never one who had problems with girls’ attention. Women would ask regularly for his number or give him theirs when he went out for drinks and sometimes even when he was doing trivial things like getting grocer–

A siren going off outside rips him from his thoughts. It’s so loud he swears he hears it coming from Kenma’s and your mic too.

“Kenma, what is up today? That’s like the third one, no?”

“Third or fourth,” Kenma agrees with you. “And every time they’re loud enough to get picked up by my mic, no matter how much I lower the sensitivity.”

Kuroo tries to get back into the game but you’re too distracting, always taking his mind off the objective of crossing through the derelict graveyard, always getting him caught by a guard.

Something hits his head. Kenma threw a crumpled piece of paper at him. “You suck. Get a drink or something.”

Grudgingly, he listens and leaves for the kitchen where he stands in front of the fridge, the handle in his hand, staring into the void.

The door to Kenma’s roommate’s room opens and she comes out, but he refuses to look at her. If he did, his body would act up again: he would blush, his hands would get sweaty, and his mind wouldn’t be able to form a coherent sentence.

She takes a deep breath. “Hey, Kuroo.”

He freezes. Her voice is one he would recognize under thousands – no, millions – despite never having it heard in reality. It’s slightly different than over the mic, but still recognizable. His brain short-circuits. He sees lips moving, but he doesn’t register the words coming out because all he can think about is you. It’s you. You’re her and she’s you. You are one and the same person.

“H-Hey,” he stammers.

There’s a moment of heavy silence between the two of you. His brain is still trying to grasp what is happening, trying to process the new information he just got, but it’s too much. His brain is overwhelmed, and he doesn’t know what to do, what to say, how to react. What you say next, certainly doesn’t help either.

“So... you have a crush on Kenma’s roommate, huh?”

She’s a lucky woman.

Network: @hanayanetwork

[nobodyfamousposts]

Miracle Queen Aftermath

Because there is a disappointing lack of focus or depth for the aftermath of Miracle Queen in canon, I have made my own.

Be warned of: Chloe salt. A lot of it. Chloe faces consequences for things.

Some Bustier salt. Some Adrien being called out on things (but he gets better).

Enjoy!

In the weeks following the Miracle Queen incident, a lot had happened.

Hawk Moth had increased his power, and was now able to summon akumas and amoks at the same time.

Master Fu was gone and now Ladybug found herself the official Guardian of the Miraculous—along with the Miracle Box, kwamis, and duties that entails.

Marinette had resolved to let go of her crush on Adrien, and to support him and Kagami in their new relationship together.

And Chloe had been arrested and would now be going on trial for assisting a terrorist.

It was that last bit of news that had caused the most commotion in Paris and the world at large. What people would have dismissed as simply another akuma attack turned into a much greater matter when accusations started to be made about Chloe helping the super villain intentionally. This was soon backed by multiple eyewitness accounts and further proven by leaked video evidence showing Chloe not only attempting to grab a butterfly for herself after she was de-akumatized but even negotiating with the terrorist before the incident in which she betrayed the heroes of Paris and revealed the identities of most of the team.

To say that the people of Paris were outraged was putting it mildly. People were akumatized over it. Chloe was in a secured facility where she had armed guards around to watch her just as much as they were there to protect her. New legislation was being considered to specifically address willingly aiding supervillains. The backlash was so severe that many were calling the mayor’s own position into question.

After all, if his daughter could do all of that, who was to say that he wasn’t also in Hawk Moth’s pocket?

For Mayor Andre, his hands were tied. While he had covered for his daughter and her selfishness in the past, this was one thing he couldn’t overlook. Not when it brought his position as mayor under scrutiny. And certainly not when it opened a probe into his own dealings.

None of this was helped either by the multitude of witnesses of Chloe‘s past behavior. In particular, her many victims over the years.

And there were a lot.

Now that Chloe was actually being held accountable for something, it seemed to have opened a floodgate of outcries as the many people she tormented finally felt able to air their grievances. They came out on TV, on social media, on radio. Stories littered the air and internet of the horrors of dealing with this single teenage girl.

“She tried to cheat during this designing competition. She apparently stole some other girl’s hat design and tried to pass it off as her own.”

“She was the reason the mayor tried to shut down my ice skating rink! To build another gym! Paris has enough gyms! Why couldn’t she just go to one of those?”

“She had her dad shut down Clara Nightingale’s music video and got her akumatized just because she didn’t get to play Ladybug. We waited in that line for HOURS and didn’t get chosen either, but no one else threw a fit over it.”

“She shoved a giant signed poster of Adrien Agreste professing his love to her in my friend’s face just to make her cry! I found out after the fact that he didn’t even know about it!”

“Our entire school was punished for someone pulling the fire alarm except for her because she threatened our principal. So while the rest of us were having to clean up the school, she spent the entire time insulting and making fun of us.“

“Knowing her, she probably pulled the fire alarm in the first place.”

“She tried to crash a train! I don’t think I can emphasize that enough: she tried to crash a train!“

“Chloe Bourgeois joined up with Hawk Moth? Can’t say it’s a shock.”

“Yeah, given how many akumas she caused, I’d been wondering if she hadn’t been working with him all along.”

It wasn’t that unbelievable to the populous. Nor did anyone feel particularly sympathetic towards her for her current situation. Some might have for lack of knowing her, but Chloe had carved herself a special place in the memories and hearts of nearly every Parisian. There was nobody who didn’t know of her or have some experience with her by this point. So when it came out that she was arrested and facing criminal charges, the response was…rather telling.

Practically everyone was calling loved ones as soon as they heard, resulting in high phone and internet traffic. The Ladyblog crashed after making the announcement. Several people threw parties. People over the internet started coming up with a list of “Things We Will Be Allowed To Do Once Chloe Is In Prison”, with a count that currently rested at 139 and was rising quickly. One guy bought 500 cupcakes and just started passing them out to people on the street singing a jaunty little tune from some late 1930’s cult classic American movie. The school had closed down for a couple of days due to several teachers calling out sick—possibly with hangovers from celebrating a bit too hard. Various Queen-related hashtags and memes were trending with each seeming to fight for the top spot of most used. #let her eat cake was currently in the lead. And Mr. Ramier somehow orchestrated a 21 pigeon salute. On Chloe’s rooftop.

As it was, nobody expressed surprise when it came out that she worked with a supervillain. Many were disappointed, shaking their heads and saying “if only something had been done sooner” or blaming the parents and teachers and other adults in her life. Most were angry, mainly that things had been allowed to get this far and that they hadn’t been acted on earlier—particularly after the train incident.

But no. Nobody was surprised.

Except, perhaps, Marinette herself.

Still reeling from the events of Miracle Queen and the aftermath of…well…everything involved, Marinette had been questioning herself. Constantly. Incessantly. Going over and over in her mind all the things she could have done differently. Blaming herself for all the major blows to their team.

She lost her mentor. Her allies have been compromised. Chloe, one of her former allies, chose to betray them all. Hawk Moth had the grimoire now. Marinette didn’t have a grimoire. Fu had no memories.

And it was all because of her mistakes.

Last time, the prospect of never having to deal with Chloe again had been a relief.

Now…it was background static to her.

She could barely hear the announcements and cheers over the endless cycle of her own thoughts.

I should have tried harder. I should have been more aware. I failed them all. This is because of me.

So while everyone else in Paris was celebrating, de-stressing, or just outright reveling in the news, Marinette was grieving. With the help of the kwamis and Chat Noir, she had been trying to come to terms with what happened and figure out the next plan of action.

Hawk Moth had changed the game, so she needed to step up hers.

The days seemed to have passed in a blur. Between working with the kwamis, trying to recreate and retranslate the grimoire, and simply trying to deal with the remnants of Fu’s life that he had left to her, Marinette had barely even kept up with the current state of things in Paris. Or in particular, Chloe.

Not until the day came when Bustier made an announcement.

Chloe‘s trial date was finally decided. And though she didn’t say as such, it was clear that the case against her was pretty solid. There was video evidence. Eye witness accounts. And Chloe’s own words and actions working against her.

The odds were not in her favor on this. Even if her parents did try to help her, she wasn’t going to get off this time. Aside from getting the best lawyers money by, there really wasn’t much they could do.

Maybe that was why Bustier had tried to step in?

“Now class, I have received word that they are moving to the next step with Chloe’s hearing. Right now, they are looking for character witnesses for Chloe’s defense.” The kind teacher explained, causing Marinette to snap to awareness and realize just what was going on. Partly because of the mention of Chloe and her court case.

But mostly because of the sudden dead silence in the class…

To be fair, she wasn’t sure she could say anything either. Marinette felt her throat go dry and her muscles tense. There was a sudden tightness in her lungs that while she could breathe, it felt like she was suffocating. Why was Bustier bringing this up now?

The teacher smiled, seemingly unaware of the sudden tension and Marinette’s slow drowning. “I know this has been a difficult experience knowing that one of your classmates is facing such a trial. And Chloe will certainly need support. So I thought it would be kind if everyone wrote a letter supporting her for the hearing coming up, so the courts can hear about Chloe and understand more about who she is.”

Silence. Dead silence.

Maybe Bustier herself picked up on the growing tension, as she proceeded to move to passing out papers to the class. “I thought it would make for a nice project, so I will give you all the forms explaining the requirements. Take some time to think over what positive things you want to say about Chloe. If you have any questions, please feel free to come talk to me.”

After that, she quickly left the room, citing the desire to let them have this free time to work on the letters.

The class remained silent for a good minute after she left. Almost as if they were questioning if she would return. Or perhaps if she was listening.

Then—

“‘Think about what positive things we want to say about Chloe?’ Well that’s easy!” Alix spoke blithely, curling the paper she received into a ball. “Nothing!” She shouted and tossed it over her shoulder. “Assignment done!”

Murmurs filled the classroom. Some sounded uncertain, but most seemed to be in agreement. Or at least expressing distaste for the assignment.

“Is she serious?”

“Does she really expect us to?”

“Of all the worst ideas...”

Marinette could hear them, but couldn’t seem to acknowledge anything around her. And furthermore, she couldn’t make herself respond.

Chloe‘s trial was set for a point in the next few weeks, and at this point there was no denying just what type of person she was. If anything, this was probably the first time that anyone was allowed to actually speak their mind about the girl, and they were all reveling in it. Her classmates in particular.

Marinette couldn’t quite bring herself to.

Sure, Chloe has tried to blackmail her more than once.

And damaged her gift to their teacher.

And attempted to frame her a few times.

And stolen her hat design.

And her diary.

And a Miraculous.

And all of the other Miraculous.

But...she had been doing better for a while there, hadn’t she?

Didn’t she only betray them all in the end because Marinette had chosen Kagami over her for her own selfish reasons? Didn’t Hawk Moth only capture Fu because of her own mistake? Hadn’t Chloe only revealed everyone else because she felt betrayed? Couldn’t Marinette have done more to prevent Chloe turning?

Wasn’t a simple letter on Chloe’s virtues the least she could do?

So why...

Why couldn’t she seem to bring herself to?

Kim frowned, looking at his paper in worry. “We’re not going to get graded on this, are we?”

Nathaniel huffed. “I’ll willingly take the failing grade any day.”

“Hear hear!”

“But if it’s a grade…” Max murmured to himself. Out of everyone in the class, he took his grades the most seriously, so this was no doubt a difficult choice for him. He looked at his paper with a rather conflicted expression for a minute before sighing and turning it face-down on the desk. “No. It’s an impossible task in the first place.”

Kim rested a hand on Max’s shoulder in sympathy. It wasn’t that he cared as much about grades as Max did, but it was clear that the fallout of refusing could be more troubling for the genius who took his academic performance so seriously. If Bustier did make it a mandatory assignment with a grade, it’d be horribly unfair of her.

“What was it Chloe said before?” Ivan asked, looking over his page with a glare. “Once a monster, always a monster? I guess she’d know more than anyone.”

Mylene hugged him. “You’re not a monster. You never chose to be.”

“None of us did.” Nino agreed.

“Nobody did except her.” Alix bit out.

Mumbles of agreement came from the rest of the class. It was clear that none of them were on board with having anything to do with Chloe, much less try to help her with her current legal woes.

There was a large part of Marinette that agreed with them. But even so, there was also a large part of her that insisted she had to do the right thing and help.

She knew she should say something. She was supposed to say something here. Because it was her fault, after all. She was Ladybug. She had to be the better person. Shouldn’t she?

“Marinette? Girl, are you okay?” Alya asked, drawing her attention. “You look a bit pale.”

It was too much. It was suffocating.

“I think I need some air. Excuse me.”

She didn’t know if anyone watched her leave the classroom. She hadn’t even noticed if anyone had chosen to follow her.

Not until…

“Marinette, are you all right?”

She spun around in surprise.

“Oh! Adrien! Hey! Hi! Hello!” She blabbered. Why was he here? Did he come out after her? Why? She didn’t need this right now! She struggled enough with him under normal circumstances, she wasn’t sure she could handle being alone with him now. Her stress over everything was bad enough, but having him approach her set her anxiety skyrocketing.

“Hey,” he replied, smiling at her—and oh, what a beautiful smile. On any other day, it would ease her worries and make her want to swoon, but right now, it just made her more nervous.

“Are you all right?” He asked again. “You didn’t look so well in class.”

“Y-yeah. Just…” she sighed. “I just have a lot on my mind. With…you know…everything.”

He nodded in understanding. “I know what you mean.”

She smiled. She could always count on Adrien to be a calming supportive friend. He was always so sweet and reliable. If anyone could understand or relate to the chaotic mix of emotions she was feeling, he could.

He sighed in sympathy. “Poor Chloe.”

She froze.

“Chloe?”

“Well, yeah.” He replied, like it was obvious. “I mean, she did a bad thing, but now she’s going through the worst experience of her life. One that could ruin her future. And people are glad about it!” He shook his head. “It’s just too cruel.”

Marinette just stared.

He wasn’t wrong. But…that was what he was worried about?

She couldn’t fault him of course, because Adrien was always so kind and considerate and of course he’d feel for Chloe but…something about this just…pulled at something inside of her and was choking it.

“Chloe is already suffering enough and it feels like no one wants to help her. You heard them.” He gestured back to the classroom. “We’re being given an opportunity to make a difference for her and they’re all just saying she deserves it. Chloe is alone and hurting and they want her to hurt more.”

She felt a denial on her lips but couldn’t give voice to it.

“Everyone is so great with each other. It’s always just Chloe who is kind of on the outside. I know you’ve seen it.”

She hadn’t, actually. Because it was never Chloe on the outside looking in, it was Chloe looking down on them. Whether it was because she genuinely thought she was better or because it made her feel better to do so.

He hesitated for a moment before looking at her. And there was something in his expression that told her he was about to ask something. A gut feeling told her that it was going to be something she wouldn’t like.

“Do you think you could talk to them?” He asked her, looking so sad and despondent that she just wanted to hug him and agree to anything to make that look go away.

“M-me?”

He wanted her to convince her classmates to help Chloe?

“I know you and Chloe have had your differences, but you’ve been able to see past her front. And you’ve done a lot to help her before.” He smiled. “Like the party you threw for her after she became Queen Bee.”

A traitorous voice asked if giving her a second chance with the Miraculous she had previously stolen wasn’t enough? Why did she have to feel bad for her leaving and throw her a party to make her feel special?

“Chloe really needs the help right now. And you’re always so good about that sort of thing.” He looked to her imploringly. “Do you think you could try to get them to at least give Chloe a hand? I don’t know what impact it’ll have in her hearing, but any little bit helps, right?”

Go back in there? With the tension and the suffocation to try and convince her classmates to help when she was questioning whether to herself?

But she had to, right? After all, couldn’t she have prevented this if she had acted sooner? Couldn’t she have helped sooner instead of being focused on her own petty problems? Isn’t that what Ladybug should do?

“Please, Marinette? They listen to you. If you asked them to, I’m sure they’d be willing to at least try.”

Her vision started to dim, seeming to tunnel in on Adrien and his sad and hopeful expression. Her thoughts crying about CHLOE and poor CHLOE and how hurt CHLOE was and how it was her fault for CHLOE—

“I—”

“Oh no! No, you do NOT.”

Marinette suddenly found herself torn away from Adrien by a sudden grab of her arm and pulling sensation. She felt as if she was pushed out of the way by a fierce gale. Like a raging whirlwind had spun her around and behind it.

That whirlwind’s name was Alya.

“How dare you? How dare you try to make my girl be responsible for this!”

Marinette floundered because she had not expected this and oh no now her best friend looked ready to tear her crush’s head off!

“Alya, we don’t have to do this!” She pleaded, trying to calm the other girl down.

“Oh, we most certainly do.” Came another voice. And sure enough, the rest of the class had stepped out as well. All of them looked in varying ranges of frustrated and that frustration was clearly directed at her and Adrien.

Or rather just Adrien, as Marinette discovered when Rose and Juleka pulled her aside and out of their direct line of sight. They were all looking at Adrien, and those were not nice or understanding expressions.

Oh no! This was a disaster! Now everyone was upset and she should have just agreed or said something sooner!

Completely unaware of Marinette’s inner turmoil, Alya stepped forward and jabbed at Adrien in the chest. “You are not going to make my girl feel bad and try to help someone who has never done a single nice thing for her or anyone.” She spat out, forcing him to back away.

Adrien held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Come on, Chloe is not that bad.“

“Not that bad?” Nino exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief at his friend’s words. “Adrien, Chloe betrayed us!“

“She took over Paris!”

“She turned us into her servants!“

“Not to mention the other things…”

“Do we really have to name each time?” Alya started to count on her fingers. “Chloe CHOSE to take the Miraculous for herself instead of returning it. She CHOSE to transform in front of everyone and reveal her identity to the world. She CHOSE to try and crash a train, risking the lives of EVERYONE on board just to show off. She CHOSE to run off with it when Ladybug tried to take it back.”

“She also chose to continue being horrible to everyone even after Ladybug gave her a second chance.” Nathaniel added, bitterly. “She didn’t get better after becoming Queen Bee. It just became another thing for her to lord over people.”

Alya nodded. “And when Ladybug made it clear to her that she wasn’t going to be Queen Bee again, she felt ENTITLED to something that was never hers in the first place. And because of that, she made the active, knowing, and willful choice to work with Hawk Moth.”

“And out all of us while she was at it.” Kim added. “Turning us into her personal ‘guard’. Making us fight our heroes against our will.” He shuddered. “I don’t know if you were hit by those things, Adrien, but it was NOT a pleasant experience having your body turned into a puppet.”

Adrien wanted to argue that he understood full well, but that was only as Chat. He couldn’t say that here.

Unaware of his inner turmoil, Alya continued. “So no, we are not going to forgive Chloe. We are not going to try and ‘get along’ with her because her own poor choices have led her to have a ‘rough time’.”

Adrien grew nervous at the way the others drew closer to Alya as she spoke, clearly backing her statements as she continued.

“We are not going to defend her or speak up on her behalf to the entirety of Paris she ALSO betrayed. Whatever consequences Chloe has to face—quite possibly the first ones she will EVER have faced in her LIFE—are nothing less than what she deserves.”

“Yeah!” Came the exclamations from the rest of the crowd.

“She didn’t know what she was doing!” Adrien argued.

“Not know what she was doing?! Adrien, she willingly accepted an akuma! She used it to take control of us and revealed us to Hawk Moth!” Alya exclaimed. “That’s just—how can you even justify that?”

With as angry as Alya was, any lesser or wiser man would have backed off.

Adrien…well, she certainly would never call him unwise, so it had to be because he was more strong-willed than that to be willing to stand his ground here.

“Hawk Moth was the one who manipulated Chloe!” He insisted. “And he’s the one who got away scott free and left Chloe to take the fall.”

“And whose fault was that?” Alya countered. “Chloe HELPED him. He only got as far as he did because of her and he only got away because she helped him!”

“Don’t you think this is cruel?” He argued back. “Yes, Chloe was wrong, but she was already called out for what she did by Ladybug and Chat Noir. The entire city hates her. Isn’t that enough?”

“NO!” Alya shouted. “No, it isn’t! Because Chloe has always gotten away with her antics in the past but you’re actually trying to get us to let Chloe off for a legitimate crime here! If Chloe is going to prison, it’s only because she deserves it!”

Around them, several of the others in the class nodded in agreement.

“How can you say that?” Adrien demanded. “Chloe made a mistake and she’s suffering for it! All this time, she’s felt left out and cut off and this only further emphasizes that for her! She’s been alone all this time and now she’s alone and miserable!”

“Then why should that be OUR problem?” Alya questioned, raising her hands in exasperation. “Why are you trying to MAKE it our problem?!”

Adrien drew back, looking genuinely hurt.

"But treating someone badly never made them become a good person."

"Yeah, because letting Chloe have her way all this time has totally made strides in her path to becoming a good person." Alix called out sarcastically.

"If anything, it's made her worse." Max added. "She's gone from simply causing akumas to intentionally becoming one."

“But—”

Alya cut him off. “But nothing, Adrien! You have to have some gall to be trying to get us to make nice with Chloe after she betrayed us all! And here I thought your little lecture to Marinette to make her feel bad for being relieved that Chloe was leaving Paris was pretty hard to beat.”

Nino blanched at that. “You did what?” He turned on Adrien. “Dude! You know that happened after Chloe tried to crash that train!”

“She was just trying to prove herself.” Adrien weakly argued.

“PEOPLE were on there!” Nino bit out. “They could have DIED because Chloe was showing off! And you got on to MARINETTE? Where was this attitude with Chloe?”

“I’ve called her out!”

“Yeah, one time.” Alya groused. “AFTER the rest of us had spent the better part of the day cleaning up after HER mess. Which she never apologized for or admitted to doing, by the way.”

“And in response, she threw a party.” Juleka muttered.

“It was a nice party, sure.” Rose added quickly.

Alya though shook her head. “But being a good hostess is nowhere near the same thing as being a good person. And before the night was over, you rolled over for her and she went RIGHT back to acting as she always had.”

“She made Mylene cry.” Ivan glared. “She made Mylene cry and you just laughed.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“You said it yourself: ‘she’ll never change’. Except you said that like it was a good thing.”

Marinette looked back and forth between the two, everything inside her screaming at her to help. But she was completely lost on which one she was supposed to help. Because Adrien had a point about what Chloe’s going through but Alya was right about what Chloe did and she needed to do the “right thing” and help Chloe but why did everything Alya say resonate so strongly with her and bring such a feeling of vindication—

No. She was getting distracted. She needed to help. And right now, it was Adrien against the rest of the class.

But Alya was worked up. And Adrien was looking past her to Marinette, eyes begging for help and still so hopeful that she would step in. And Chloe was still in prison and Marinette could fix everything if she just tried so why can’t she try?

“Alya,” Marinette tried. “You told me to give Chloe a chance before after the fire alarm incident, remember? You said we were a lot alike.”

“That was to get you to go to a party!” Alya shouted, making Marinette step back in surprise. “I never meant it like this!”

She stepped forward and took Marinette by the shoulders, holding her sternly.

“Marinette, you are nothing like Chloe! Not where it counts! Yeah, you both can be short sighted when it comes to trying for what you want, but you at least notice and CARE how other people feel! And when you make a mistake, you at least TRY to make it right!”

She shook her head.

“Chloe…doesn’t.”

“She doesn’t try to.” Alix cut in. “If Chloe was feeling sad and lonely, that was pretty much her own fault.”

Adrien looked like he wanted to argue, but Alix didn’t even give him a chance.

“It wasn’t like we left her out. We went well out of our way to try and befriend her. We invited her to things. We tried to help her. Hell, you said it yourself—Marinette has tried to help her more than anybody! And each and every time, Chloe only took what we offered like it was something we owed her but that she was also too good for. I mean, I certainly can’t recall a time she ever thanked me. Can you?” She asked, turning to the other classmates.

All around them, there were murmurs of agreement. Maybe a couple hesitated as they tried to recall a time—one single moment of kindness on Chloe’s part only to come up empty.

“Chloe’s had a hard time.” Adrien insisted. “You know how her parents are—”

“Oh yes, her ‘Daddy the Mayor’.” Alix rolled her eyes. “Like we don’t hear enough about him every time it comes to something Chloe wants. She only threatens us or anyone with him every other day.”

Adrien shook his head and tried to explain. “It’s only because her parents aren’t there for her emotionally.”

“Again, not seeing how this is our problem? Or justification for anything she’s done to us? Or how this excuses her willingly helping a supervillain?”

“Because we’re her classmates!” He argued back, gesturing to all of them. “Out of everyone, we’ve all had the most interactions with her.”

“All of which were negative.” Came a cutting remark, followed by grumbling.

“There were good times, too!” Adrien insisted with a frown. His eyes spanned over the assembled classmates before they came to rest on one in particular. “Kim, you have to have seen Chloe’s good side. You liked her before.”

“Before.” Kim replied, emphasizing the word and the timeframe it referred to. “But being humiliated and her sending out that pic to everyone in school kind of crushed that crush.”

“How did she even have our numbers?” Ivan asked.

“But there had to be something that made you like her in the first place.” Adrien encouraged.

The taller boy shrugged, uncertain and uncaring. “Maybe so, but was it something that was really there? Or something I just wanted to see? Because I’m looking back and quite frankly, I don’t know what past me was thinking.”

“Wow, that’s deep, man.” Nathaniel whispered.

“Thanks!”

Seeing Nathaniel gave Adrien an idea. “Wait, Nathaniel! Didn’t Chloe let you put her in your comic?”

“Forced us to, more like.” The artist bit back. “And even when we tried to fit her, we got nothing but complaints from her. It was no wonder we never got past the initial concept art for her character.”

Adrien winced. “It was an attempt, at least?”

Nathaniel wasn’t buying it. “A poor one.”

“She’s been trying to be better.” Adrien was getting increasingly frustrated. This was not how he was expecting this argument to go. “Rose? What about you? You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

After all, Rose was sweet and caring, always willing to see the good in anyone. Surely she would have something nice about Chloe!

Juleka frowned at him over his focus on her girlfriend and moved to stand beside her. “Don’t push her.”

Still he tried.

“Rose?”

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Rose said, hugging herself. “But Chloe has done nothing but hurt people. And going out of our way to protect her has only ended up biting us.”

That wasn’t true. Not...all the time at least. There had to have been at least one instance where she did the right thing!

Adrien brightened in realization. “Didn’t she catch you when you fell after being deakumatized during Heroes Day?”

The blonde girl frowned. “Well, yes…but she wasn’t very nice about it. Even though I did the same for her before.”

“Rose, come on…”

She shook her head. “I put myself at risk to help Chloe when she was being chased by zombies, and only got turned into one for my efforts. Chloe never appreciated it. She never thanked me. She didn’t even do anything to help when we were trying to keep her safe!”

“We all ended up kissing zombies because of her.” Alix accused, crossing her arms and looking particularly annoyed. “And not just because she caused the akuma in the first place.”

“Why are you pushing this?” Mylene asked. “We’ve been asked. We said no. Isn’t that enough?”

“But—”

“Adrien, you’ve got a good heart.” Ivan started.

“Easy for him when he’s not the one who has to be on the receiving end of Chloe’s tantrums.” Alix cut in, clearly sounding bitter.

“You’ve got a good heart.” Ivan repeated, sending Alix a look that asked her to back off. “But Chloe…doesn’t.”

Adrien shook his head, remaining insistent. “That’s why she needs help.”

“If she needs help,” Mylene spoke, “It should come from her parents. Her teachers. Any of the adults in her life. She has plenty of adults who are fully capable of helping her. It should not be expected to come from the kids she’s spent years tormenting.”

She gestured to herself and the others around her. “And that’s what she’s been doing: tormenting us.”

“To great joy, might I add.” Max droned.

“She hasn’t been cruel to everyone.” Adrien muttered.

That brought out a backlash of outrage.

“She outted my crush!”

“She insulted Mylene’s cooking and made her cry!”

“She got Aurore akumatized and nearly caused Paris to be incinerated in a volcano!”

“She tried to push Mylene out of the lead role of our movie!”

“She locked Juleka in the restroom!”

Wait...

But that hadn’t been Chloe. She had stayed with the class at the time. The one who did do it was...

He glanced around until he saw her—a redhead in the background behind the rest of the class. She looked anxious and uncomfortable, and almost seemed to be trying to edge around the class to get to the stairs.

Adrien did seem aware. Or rather, he was focused on the fact she was there.

“Sabrina? What about you? Chloe was your friend!”

Of course she would help! Because who better than her own best friend to speak on her behalf?

The rest of the class broke into mutters as they realized the same.

But Sabrina...bit her lip and looked away. Refusing to even meet Adrien’s gaze.

“Sabrina?” Marinette tried, concerned about this reaction. Sabrina had been Chloe’s best friend—or at least the closest thing she could have to a friend. “Minion” or “Servant” would be more accurate. “Slave” would be more honest.

The girl had been Chloe’s only real fan and follower, and had assisted Chloe in some of her worst plots.

Marinette had briefly seen another side to her. A girl who was so desperate for friendship that she latched onto even the slightest bit of kindness and went to the greatest of extremes to appease the “friend” so they wouldn’t leave her. It was no wonder she had fallen in with Chloe—someone like that was perfect for the spoiled girl. Compared to her, Marinette’s anxieties and need to please were nothing.

And Chloe had pretty much been her world for years.

What must she be feeling now?

“Should we really be getting her opinion?” Ivan whispered. “You know how she and Chloe were…”

“Well, if anyone would have anything positive to tell the courts about Chloe, it would be her.” Mylene whispered back.

Sabrina took a breath and spoke quickly—almost shouting in her rush.

“I’m sorry but my therapist said I shouldn’t!”

That got a surprise. The rest of the classmates glanced to each other before looking back to the girl. Adrien in particular looked shell-shocked. Marinette couldn’t blame him. She felt the same.

Sabrina for her part seemed to tense up, as if ready to defend herself from the rest of the class.

Marinette stepped forward. “Sabrina? Are…you okay?”

The other girl shook her head, looking close to tears.

“After word got out what Chloe did, the police had to question me about Chloe. They were able to see that I wasn’t involved, but they…didn’t like what I told them about our relationship. Afterwards, my dad decided to have me see a counselor and she…has been telling me things that I hadn’t really considered.” She curled in on herself. “They all think I should stay away from Chloe and anything directly related to her…for my own health.”

Adrien frowned at that. “But don’t you want to help Chloe?”

Sabrina jumped. “Of course, I do!”

“Hold up, Adrien!” Nino stepped in. “She just said police took her in because of Chloe!”

“But they let her go…”

“It still happened!” Mylene argued. “It doesn’t matter how nice they are, how innocent you know you are, or if you’re released in the end, it’s still terrifying when it happens!”

"And it only happened to her because of Chloe." Alya added.

Rose, in her infinite sweetness, reached out to take Sabrina’s hand in support. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Sabrina sobbed and covered her face. Aside from Rose, no one else really attempted to comfort her. Most of them simply watched her, pitying her current state. But they also remembered how complicit she had been in Chloe’s schemes, so they were conflicted. While they did feel bad for her current situation, there was a part of most of them that noted how she had brought it upon herself by being Chloe‘s lackey for so long, so their sympathy was limited.

Perhaps it was out of awkwardness, or maybe an attempt to give some respect for Sabrina’s privacy that the classmates turned away from her and instead focused on the heart of the argument.

“Man...” Nino tried. “Maybe you should let it go?” Though it was clear from his tone that he knew it wasn’t likely.

Because Adrien had still not given up, it seemed.

He looked around between of the classmates, growing more desperate. But those that remained either looked at him straight on as if daring him to call on them or looked away. A few of them even closed ranks as if to block his view of certain others. It was clear none of them were willing to help him on this.

None of them except…

“Marinette.” He called out, drawing her gaze to him instantly. “You understand, don’t you?”

She bit her lip. “I…”

“Back off, Adrien.” Kim said, giving the other boy an angry frown as he stood in front of her to shield her from his gaze. “It’s not on Marinette to help Chloe.”

“Yeah! She suffered more than any of us!“ Ivan shouted.

“She has been Chloe’s main target for years.” Nathaniel agreed. “She is the last person who is obligated to help Chloe now.“

Adrien winced at the harshness of their words and in their tone. “I just thought that Marinette could help. Like before.”

“Just because she could doesn’t mean she should have had to.” Alya countered. “She’s a teenager. Dealing with Chloe should have been the job of adults. Her parents. Bustier. Damocles. Any one of them should have done something—and if they can’t, the courts will. It’s their job. Not ours.”

“And getting her to help you wouldn’t make a difference anyway even if you had convinced us.” Max said, shifting his glasses. “Chloe helped Hawk Moth. There is nothing we could say that could undo that. And even if we did try, we would either be guilty of committing perjury or aiding in a conspiracy.”

“What?” Adrien jerked in surprise.

“The best we can do is be character witnesses.” Mylene explained. “But this is a court and we can’t claim something that isn’t true! We can’t say anything nice about Chloe when she hasn’t done anything nice!”

Max nodded and shifted his glasses. “Furthermore, our testimonies—even if they were positive—would only serve to create a narrative about Chloe and the type of person she is. They can’t explain away the current evidence against her.”

He rubbed the back of his head. He knew there were issues, but he also knew Chloe. He knew what she could be like. He knew she was a good person deep down. “I know she’s made some mistakes—”

“No.” Alya stated sharply. “Calling them ‘Mistakes’ implies that her actions were unintentional. ‘Mistakes’ implies that people were harmed by accident. ‘Mistakes’ implies that she would have any point learned from them. They weren’t mistakes, Adrien. They were willful acts of cruelty every single time.”

Ivan shook his head, pityingly. “We can’t save Chloe from this. We have nothing to say in her defense. The kindest thing we can do for her is stay silent.”

“She’s better than you think she is. She threw that party once for everyone, remember? You all went.” Adrien reminded them.

“That only proved that she could throw a party and be a good host, not that she could be a good person. There is a difference.” Nathaniel pointed out.

“Not that Chloe could tell.“ Alix sniped.

Adrien ignored the barb. He had given up on getting any of them to listen and now only had eyes for her. His last hope.

“Marinette….come on…please.”

She hesitated.

Everything in her that was Ladybug and her crush on Adrien and her desire to make people happy and take the high road and give second-third-fourth chances wanted nothing more than to give it to him.

Except...

There was a long pause. No one spoke.

The other classmates have had their say. They were letting Marinette have hers. And she knew in that moment that if she spoke up…if she did as Adrien wished and tried to help Chloe…she knew they would go along with her. It may be more out of respect for Marinette than it would be out of any sort of forgiveness for anything Chloe had done, but it would still help Chloe and it would still make Adrien happy.

…and hadn’t Marinette already done that enough?

“Did you know?” Marinette started, not looking at anyone. “I would have been well within my rights to press charges against Chloe?”

Adrien balked at that.

“She’s stolen from me at least three times now.” She shrugged. “I mean, sure, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything about my diary since she had Sabrina steal it for her, but she did steal my hat design for a competition and I had proof. I could have pressed charges against Chloe and let her face some consequences…but I didn’t.”

She looked up at Adrien. “I also could have pressed charges for what she did to my gift for Madame Bustier. Since she did break into my locker and vandalize my property while it was still technically mine…but I didn’t.

“Adrien.” She spoke almost in monotone, the only sign of her emotions being how she clenched her fists. “Did you know that after the fashion show, my parents and I took a train to get home?”

He furrowed his brows in confusion. What did that have to do with anything?

“It was the same train Chloe took control of and nearly caused to crash.”

Several gasps resounded around them. Apparently this had not been common knowledge.

“Even if Chloe could have bought her way out of any consequence for the other things, we all could certainly have had her face some major trouble for that one…” Marinette took a shuddering breath. “But we didn’t.”

Adrien frowned. “I…I see that—”

“No, I don’t think you do.” She cut him off. “Because instead of any of that…rather than hold Chloe accountable at any point, I catered to her. I tried to understand Chloe. I tried to make things nicer for Chloe. I tried to excuse Chloe. Time and again. Just like everyone else. Just like you wanted me to. Just like you’re asking me to now. And what did that get us?”

The more she talked, the more words filled out and she was unable to stop the torrent.

“I defended her from Alya after Madame Bustier was akumatized, and Chloe stole a Miraculous and nearly got my family killed. I helped Chloe bond with her Mom—costing myself any chance at a once in a lifetime opportunity in the process—and Chloe tried to get me banished from Paris just for saying she wasn’t a superhero. I threw Chloe a party to show her some appreciation, and she willingly worked with a supervillain to take over Paris. Just to fuel her ego and because she felt she was owed something that wasn’t hers.”

She tilted her head, considering.

“What is that American saying? Three strikes and you’re out?” Her eyes narrowed. “I have given Chloe more than three chances. I have done nothing BUT give her chances. And clean up after her. And just…try to help her. At no point has she been grateful. At no point did she ever apologize. Or show the slightest bit of remorse for anyone she hurt. Or just…try to do better.”

She stepped forward. Past her classmates. Past Alya, who looked ready to tear into Adrien herself.

“So tell me, Adrien. How much more am I supposed to do? What miracle am I supposed to achieve to help Chloe to be a better person that I haven’t already done?”

“You can just try.” Adrien begged. “Chloe’s alone. She has no one in her corner. You’ve given her chances before! Can’t you find it in your heart to give her another chance this time?”

“Why haven’t you?” Alya demanded.

Adrien drew back in surprise at that.

But the girl wasn’t letting him off. “If you’re so certain Chloe is the victim in all this, then why aren’t you stepping up to help her? Why are you pushing Marinette and the rest of us to do it?”

Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette in support. “If you truly believe Chloe has some sort of inner goodness that only needs the right person to bring it out, then it’s pretty clear Marinette is just not that person. She’s tried enough.”

Alix nodded. “I’m pretty sure she could’ve demolished a brick wall with how many time she’s banged her head against it by this point trying to drag a decent person out of Chloe.”

Others in the class also nodded and gave sounds of agreement to that.

Adrien frowned, lowering his head despondently. “I’m just one person. There’s only so much weight my word will have. I just...I just want to give her the best chance.”

“That’s nice for Chloe, I guess.” Kim muttered. “But not much for us.”

Adrien looked up in surprise. “What do you mean?”

Alya stepped forward, releasing Marinette in the process. “Adrien, why should we as Chloe’s victims have to help protect her? That’s the thing we’re not getting here. WE are the ones she hurt. WE are the ones she betrayed to Hawk Moth. So why are WE supposed to try and save her from her own consequences? Why are you wanting us to?”

Adrien hesitated.

“Can you even imagine what it was like? Being frozen in time. Unable to move or speak? Only able to hear her voice in your head? Feeling your body respond as she’s calling you and being unable to stop?” She clutched her arms, as if trying to hug herself. “Do you have any idea how terrified I was knowing what she was doing to us but being completely unable to stop it? How humiliating it was when she had us bowing to her and calling her our Queen? And then…” She took a breath. “She made us fight our heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir trusted us to help them and we used the Miraculous they entrusted to us to try and kill them.”

“We were just lucky that they were able to turn the tables on us.” Kim muttered. “I don’t even want to know what would have happened if we had won.”

“Luka still has nightmares.” Juleka whispered. “He won’t talk about it, but he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks.”

Marinette winced. She hadn’t even considered that everyone else could be suffering ramifications of Miracle Queen as well.

“We could have killed them.” Max stated. “Given the nature of the Snake Miraculous’s power, we very well could have more than once for all we know.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t have killed them?” Rose suggested, trying to be positive. “I mean, Chloe wanted all of the Miraculous, right? She probably wanted them as her servants as well.”

Max glared. “I’m pretty sure I attempted to send Chat Noir into space. Even a Miraculous can’t protect someone from that.”

Adrien tried not to wince at the memory. How he managed to even move enough to activate the Miraculous, he still wasn’t sure.

“We fought against them. We never wanted to, but we did.” Alya bit out. “Not even because of Hawk Moth this time, but because of Chloe. And now you are wanting us to just…overlook the trauma of the whole thing to help Chloe after what she did. For something she hasn’t shown even the slightest remorse for.”

She shook her head.

“I know you’re nice, Adrien. But this level of kindness is a cruelty.”

He winced. And it looked like he wanted to argue. But he just…wilted.

“I just…it feels harsh. What’s happening to her. The amount of hate she’s getting. That her entire life could be over.”

That was true. While they felt her current status was well deserved, it was a harsh sentence for anyone. Especially a teenager.

Nathaniel sighed. “Adrien, it is harsh. Maybe cruel. But fact is that she still brought on herself.”

“Isn’t that just victim-blaming though?” Adrien countered, frustrated now. “I mean, Hawk Moth manipulated her! How was that her fault? He’s the one who did it. She was…” He clenched his fists in anger. “Chloe is a victim.”

“No, we are the victims.” Alya insisted, gesturing to herself and the other revealed former heroes. “We were the ones used to fight our heroes. We were the ones who had our identities revealed to the world against our will. And now we are the ones having to live with the results of Chloe‘s choices, just like we always are.“

Adrien looked ready to argue. And maybe he would have, except...

Nino rested a hand on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Adrien. Dude. Just stop. We have enough to deal with and this…this isn’t helping.”

Adrien frowned at that, concerned by his friend’s attitude. “Nino?”

Nino lowered his head. “I wasn’t going to say anything. Really, I was trying not to think about it. But my parents are currently talking with police about their options. Now that I’ve been exposed as one of the temporary heroes, they’re questioning if it’s not safe for us at home anymore. There is a chance of us having to go into protective custody.”

Alya winced at that, drawing attention to her. “My parents have been talking as well. My mom quit her job. She said she doesn’t want to work for someone who would let their daughter do such a thing and put me in danger. She’s looking at drawing me out of school since it was pretty much Chloe‘s base of operations. And since Chloe is the Mayor’s daughter…and Hawk Moth…and just…everything?” She looked away, clearly anxious.

“There’s a chance we may have to move out of Paris altogether.”

Marinette gasped.

Alya looked to the other girl, sad and guilty all in one. “I’m sorry, girl. I guess I’ve been hoping it wouldn’t be an issue. I’ve been trying to talk them out of it, but it’s hard given everything that happened. Currently, the only reason they’re willing to stay is to see through to the end of the trial. But after that…” She shrugged, shaking her head uncertainly. “Who can say?”

“No…” Adrien whispered in shock.

The others in class came closer around her, trying to offer some comfort and reassurances—what little they could give, at least. This was a situation that was clearly beyond them. Marinette herself hugged Alya tightly for all she was worth, and the other girl held her back just as much, neither wanting to be parted.

Adrien, however, remained on the outside looking in. Watching the people Chloe had tormented even before Miracle Queen and realizing just how badly they’ve been hurt by this. It hit him then—for what was perhaps the first time just how much pain Chloe had caused his friends. And how unfair he had been to expect them to simply deal with it.

He stayed the lone person outside of the circle. By this point, did he really deserve to join in the comfort? To try to be the one to give comfort? After what he had tried to push on them all?

After minutes passed, they were finally able to draw away from each other.

“I’m sorry for not saying anything sooner.” Alya told Marinette. “I guess I was just hoping…y’know…that it wasn’t real. Or that it would go away and things would work out on their own.”

Marinette smiled. “No, I understand.”

And she did. That’s exactly what she herself had been doing for the past few weeks as well. Trying to deal with things without really dealing with them. Working without acknowledging just what it all meant because she was scared she would break down and that would be just one more thing Hawk Moth would have won because of this whole mess.

“I was kind of the same way.” She admitted, and it felt like a slight relief to be able to say aloud to someone. “I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you about it.”

She still couldn’t, unfortunately. Not about Ladybug and the kwamis and the Miracle Box.

But…she could talk about Fu. How she lost him. How she feels. She could help support Alya and her classmates and be there for them in the meantime.

She…hadn’t lost everything.

Not yet.

And that was the scary thing…

Adrien gaped at the group. He had thought the trauma was bad enough, and that at least could be worked through. But this...

“I’m sorry. I...I didn’t even realize...”

“Adrien, what Chloe did put a major target on our backs.” Alya explained. “Nobody knows how we became heroes, or that Ladybug was the one to specifically choose us and give us the miraculous to use. Nobody knows WHY we were chosen. It’s not just Hawk Moth, any regular criminal can come after us now in an attempt to get a hold of that power. And we can’t exactly protect ourselves.”

She shrugged helplessly.

“We kind of have enough to worry about with the fallout of Chloe‘s actions. And now you want us to try and protect Chloe on top of that?“

Seeing it now, in this light...it was cruel. It was cruel and unfair and hurtful, and Marinette felt horrible for considering letting herself be talked into it.

Adrien himself felt horrible for even suggesting it.

“We all have to live with the consequences of Chloe’s choices.” Alya stated. “So why shouldn’t she?”

Silence followed. It practically echoed throughout the entire hallway.

He said nothing in response. What could he possibly say? He’d known that Chloe was…difficult with other people, to say the least. He’d known the type of person she was. But she was his friend and friends forgive and support each other, right?

But they were right as well. It wasn’t fair to expect them to help Chloe after what she did. Especially once he knew of the level of harm she’d caused them. He felt the horror trickle in. The trauma everyone felt. The knowledge of what they’d been forced to do. The fact that…

He suddenly found it harder to breathe.

Nino could leave.

Adrien could lose his best friend because of this.

And who knew how many of the others would be forced to leave as well. Aside from Nino; Kim, Max, Alya, and Luka were other heroes as well. Juleka was Luka’s sister. And how many of the other classmates might be pulled out of this class and school because it’s unsafe? And Kagami—oh god, she was outted as well. He hadn’t heard from her in a while. Her mother is probably furious. She could move back to Japan because of this. And Marinette…she had been lucky to not be caught up in that fight since she was a hero only the one time, but that could have been just one more thing Chloe ruined for her…

…what about himself?

He paled.

He was longtime friends with Chloe. Went to school with Chloe. Was in class with Chloe. Chloe, who was currently getting a lot of heat from all of Paris. How was his Father going to react to that? The man was always focused on the company and appearances…what would he do now that Chloe had fallen from grace in such a way? Would he forbid Adrien from talking to Chloe again? Would he pull Adrien from school?

…would he ban Adrien from leaving the house altogether?

How was he only just now considering the impact? For himself or anyone else? Of course people would be hurt. Of course they would be upset. Of course people would respond. Somehow, he knew that, and yet he had only been focused on Chloe that it hadn’t actually hit home until now…

And in that light…

It had been selfish to ask. Honestly, he’d known that when he first tried to approach Marinette. But he felt he had to try. Honestly, part of him had known better than to ask in the first place. But at the same time…there was a part of him that still believed things could just go back to “normal”.

…how foolish. That was a “normal” that nobody else wanted. And even more, it was one that was now impossible…all because of Chloe herself.

“I just wanted to help.”

He deflated, losing all remaining fight.

“I’m sorry.”

The classmates glanced between each other. There was much they could have said, but really, anything they could have said already had been. And with him seeming resigned, it appeared there was no longer a need to defend themselves.

Marinette—ever the mediator, stepped up and hugged Adrien.

“Adrien, this isn’t something you can help with. None of us can. What happens in the trial is up to the courts. And what happens to Chloe is up to her.”

Slowly, he reached up and hugged her as well. The warmth and comfort brought some limited solace in this situation. He felt lost. Out of control. Like the world was moving around him and he didn’t know where he was standing much less where he was supposed to be.

They weren’t ready to forgive Chloe. And he couldn’t force them to be. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t blame them. And it was really unfair of him to try. Especially…

“I’m sorry, Marinette.” He whispered to her.

He had tried to use her. Looking back, he had a bit of a tendency to rely on Marinette to fix things when she shouldn’t have had to. Especially when it was for Chloe’s sake. He knew plenty of times Chloe had done things…but he always seemed to overlook how hurt Marinette was because of it, simply due to how well she always appeared afterwards. She was strong and confident, but also a good listener and willing to forgive. It was like nothing really brought her down.

It was due to this that Marinette was often the one he turned to whenever things happened. Because she would listen. She would understand. And she would always try to help, regardless of her position.

In this light…he may have over relied on her too much.

“I wasn’t fair to you.” He admitted. “I just saw Chloe hurting and only thought about how to fix things for her. I didn’t consider your feelings.” He hugged her more strongly. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t speak. But she squeezed him back.

He felt another body press against him. A quick glance showed it to be Nino.

“I’m still super mad with her. And I don’t like how you tried to push us to defend her after what she did. But I get that she’s your friend and you care about her. I’d do the same if it were you in her place.” He gave a small laugh. “Not that I think you ever would, of course.”

Adrien smiled back. “Thanks.”

This…this felt much better.

Things weren’t okay right now. He still wanted to help Chloe. His classmates were still hurt. People were still angry. Hawk Moth was still out there.

But whatever happened...in this moment, he felt they could make it.

[dangertoozmanykids101]

Thanks for the love this morning. Kids are off to school and I'm sitting down to a second cup of coffee. Is anyone else sipping on some comfort food or drink while playing on Tumblr?

Three random facts about me? Let's see... Okay. I'm going to tell y'all a secret. As I tell you this secret, I will divulge three things about myself. So rather than listing them in an itemized format I'm going to have to count them out as I babble in paragraph format. We'll see how this goes.

I quit smoking cold turkey on February 23, 2008 at 8pm after 21 years. [Fact #1]. My secret is that I kinda live a double life. I'm a classic narcoleptic. [Fact #2] As a little side bonus to my super power that I can fall asleep on command within seconds, my narcolepsy provides insanely vivid dreams that involve all the senses — seriously ALL THE SENSES. Within my dream world (or alternate reality, which is a very fun way to see it) I still smoke. I am still a smoker in an alternate reality [Fact #3] who is VERY aware that I am cheating. Oh my god, it feels so real. Sometimes I even wake up needing a few minutes to sort on out what was part of the dream and what wasn't. PHEW! I didn't start smoking again! PHEW!

Now I really want to talk all about YOU my beloved @americasass81 ....

Which of course will be my side of the open conversation you initiated with all of us. I'll likely share more things that come to mind when fondly thinking about your three random facts about you. Will that get me in trouble since technically I'll be sharing more than the originally requested three facts?

(Just kidding!)

We've been watching Big Bang Theory a LOT lately and I have Sheldon's voice inside my head most of the day now, giving endless commentary on everything I do and say. So Sheldon nitpicking at the details and overly strict about the technicalities — that's why my brain decided to stop me and holler, "Wait. Now you've shared more than three random facts about yourself. And the three you did share weren't very random considering you incorporated all three into a little one paragraph story. —if we're going to be technical. Right?"

But like I said, Just Kidding!! bazinga

PLUS (here's another secret which I haven't even mentioned to my family yet.) Sheldon is reminding me soooooo much of one of my sons - it just hit me this past week. Now I can't unsee it! I might mention it to my husband, but I am hesitant to mention it to the other kids. BUT it may help the other kids understand their brother a bit more. Sheldon is a very popular character in our house. I wonder if broaching the topic would facilitate greater empathy and patience or just create a whole new avenue to tease him?

To first address your love for racing, yet don't drive. Well my dear, you know my immediate response is to ask why - not in judgment, but because I suspect that there is a story there. Am I correct? Do tell!!!

For a woman with such reverence for the finest of automobiles — I will always remember the horror TV you expressed about eating fast food in @caffiend-queen 's Bugatti — I am shocked that you are not out there on the road putting the pedal to the metal. Then again, it is so nice to be in the passenger seat and actually see what you're driving past.

And yet your love for racing games is perfect! Sooo perfect! I refuse to listen to my kids talk about their video games, BUT I soooo want to hear you talk about your favorite racing games!

As I mentioned earlier, we're watching Big Bang Theory with the kids currently. I keep imagining you doing the driving simulation that Sheldon used when trying to learn how to drive. (Link in blue.)

As a kid I sat and watched Formula One racing with my dad pretending I understood what was going on, so I do still feel a connection to it. Or rather I still pretend that I understand what's going on, especially when I watch the odd interview with Fassbender about his need for speed the past several years.

Ohhhh @americasass81 I LOVED Boston Legal!! I adored Alan Shore most of all.

And I think Denny Crane was Shatner's best role. I adored their friendship. Male friendships are so important and too often under valued.

I had forgotten all about this show!! Now I need to start watching it again!!!

As for books.....

I may have a bit of a hoarding problem.

🌸 If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not! Let's get to know the person behind the blog. 🌸

Aw thank you for this Missy. Hope you had a nice weekend. Now as for three random facts, here goes:-

I love racing games even though I don't drive.

Boston Legal is my comfort tv series.

I still buy physical copies of books I love even though I have no place to store them.

No pressure tags: @syntheticavenger @starynighty @boxofbonesfic @avintagekiss24 @lokislastlove @dangertoozmanykids101 @cockslutpadalecki