#there’s a homeyness to it that very little else makes me feel

[arcticmist0324]

I almost never listen to country music nowadays except for when I’ve been around my family. It’s kind of like greeting an old friend who you haven’t seen in many years.

[lvrdream]

in wonder: nervous | mendes

based on in wonder where shawn talks about camila. shawn x assistant!reader where nervous is written about her. very much pre-relationship.

let me know if we maybe want this as a series  with more songs??

-

“for as long as i can remember y/n has had my back. she was one of my best friends in elementary and ever since… i don’t think i could do any of this without her by my side…” shawn explains, thinking about his assistant and best friend. the two had spent most of their lives being best friends; he decided to bring her on as an assistant when he started to get big and couldn’t do everything for himself. it was really just an excuse for him to bring her everywhere with him, but he couldn’t exactly just do that considering they weren’t together yet, but eventually the two started dating after years of pining. “when we first started dating, we were in new york, and one of my songs comes on the radio and she asks who it’s about. i told her that it was about her and she was like ‘what?’ and i’m like ‘yeah it’s about you, everything is about you,’ all of my songs are about her. they always have been. every song i have ever wrote. she had no idea. the whole time, i thought she had known and just didn’t feel the same”

i saw you on a sunday in a café, and all you did was look my way, and my heart started to race, and my hands started to shake, yeah

shawn had just gotten back from his first tour, he’d only been gone for about a month, but it had seemed like forever for both himself and y/n. as soon as he got back, he went to meet her at a cafe in pickering.

as soon as she looked up from where she sat in the corner, his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest and his hands began to sweat and he noticed a certain shake to them. of course, the feeling wasn’t new, he had felt like this when he was around y/n for a while and it wasn’t special to only him, but the time spent away from her made it seem a thousand times worse than before.

i heard you asked about me through a friend, my adrenaline kicked in, 'cause i've been askin' 'bout you too

brian had made a comment about y/n asking about shawn, and while it seemed totally normal for him to, it had thrown shawn off. he thought that maybe she was feeling the exact same way shawn was, but he quickly shook the thought away, they were friends after all. it was normal for friends to ask about each other.

and now we're out here in this room, i get a little bit nervous around you, get a little bit stressed out when i think about you, get a little excited, baby, when i think about you, yeah

now, y/n had just started working for shawn. they had just graduated and shawn no longer had any excuse to not bring her with. so, he asked her if she’d be down to come aboard the team as his assistant.

she of course agreed, wanting to spend time with him as much as he wanted to spend time with her. but what shawn hadn’t thought about was how much time they were going to be spending together, and alone at that.

shawn got butterflies in his stomach just thinking about her, how was he supposed to function with her by his side almost one hundred percent of the time?

talk a little too much around you, get a little self-conscious, when i think about you, get a little excited, baby, when i think about you, yeah, when i think about you, babe

shawn had noticed that when it was just him and y/n around he talked way too much. no one else was around to cut off his nervous rambling. so, more times than not, he found himself talking her ear off about a simple melody he was perfecting (for a song he was writing about her) or what he had for breakfast (that she had made for him).

y/n never cut him off either, she thought it was endearing, so why would she?

we walked in the rain, a couple blocks to your apartment, you told me to come inside, caught me staring in your eyes, and i'm not usually like this, but i like what you're doing to me, ah, what you're doing to me

the two had planned to go to a cafe that was in the middle of the two’s apartments, but neither had checked the weather, which resulted in them halfway through the walk to y/n’s apartment getting drenched by a sudden down pour.

y/n laughs looking at the sky before grabbing shawn’s hand and running in the direction of her place. when they made it to the building, she didn’t hesitate in pulling him in with her.

when she disappeared to find something drier and potentially something for shawn to wear as well, shawn looked around her apartment. being on tour so often, he could tell that she hadn’t spent much of her time there, with minimal decorations and only a small couch in the living room, he felt bad for pulling her away from her home and family for his own selfish reasons. shawn was so caught up in his own thoughts, he didn’t hear her come back in with a sweatshirt (that was his) and the biggest pair of sweatpants she had.

“shawn?” she asked, making him turn around and staring into her eyes, wondering if she was happy; happy working for him. “why are you looking at me like that?” she chuckled, pulling her damp hair away from her face, suddenly self-conscious under his gaze.

“you’re happy, right?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“of course i am…” her brows furrow, then looking away from him, wondering where the question was coming from, and immediately noticed the lack of homeyness in her apartment, “i have the best friend who pays me to travel the world with him, of course i’m happy.”

[temptation-narnia-chronicles]

Since it's starting to become pretty controversial for fans of the series, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the Netflix Narnia reboot

Thanks so much for asking! 

My heart kind of hurts for the history of adapting this series to the screen, honestly. The Walden Media trilogy has a very special place in my heart as that was a big contributing factor for my love of the series, and Andrew Adamson’s vision for LWW in particular is just so breathtaking and perfect to me. I wish we as fans had been given a complete adaptation of the series with this rendition, but I know it’s too late now for that to ever really happen. I feel, in a way, that the fandom got kind of screwed over in this regard, though. While the entire Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series got their own complete film adaptations, Narnia hasn’t been so lucky and the mainstream adaptation from page to screen has been so messy. 

I feel like I can’t speak for my opinion of the Netflix adaptation, however, without also addressing The Silver Chair since I’m honestly very uncertain of how both are going to coexist and pan out, and what this means for Narnia as a whole. When it was revealed we would finally be getting a theatrical adaption of The Silver Chair, I was overjoyed, but then with every news update about it I became a little more disenchanted. I trust Joe Johnston and his vision. I trust that he can make this film the best it can be. I trust David Magee with the script, especially considering Douglas Gresham’s very positive opinion on it. I feel like this rendition will bring back something that, admittedly, the Walden films sorely began lacking and that is the sense of faith that so deeply permeates this entire series. However, the way the word “reboot” has been tossed around has always made me wary. I find it extremely difficult to “reboot” the series from the middle, and make it it’s own separate thing without building upon what the previous stories had already established. To me, it’s like a domino effect. The Silver Chair follows Jill and Eustace, who was introduced in VotDT through the Pevensies and had a massive character development arc. Regardless of whether or not The Silver Chair is going to allude to the previous stories or not is a moot point. Without taking the time to actually go through everything that comes before it, I find it extremely hard to successfully reboot The Chronicles of Narnia from The Silver Chair. I’m unsure of the status of all of this as of August 2019, but with news of Netflix adapting the series itself, I’m completely at a loss for how all of this might coincide and coexist with one another. 

Which brings us to the matter of Netflix’s adaptation in and of itself. From what I’ve read, I think Netflix taking over could potentially be a very good thing. Potentially. It all comes down to execution. My prediction is that Netflix will do it’s entirely own thing, and start fresh from the very beginning. The Walden media films will completely fall to the wayside and make room for a brand new rendition that will hopefully finally see all seven films adapted. The way this was spoken of, with the repetitive use of the word “universe” in regards to the world of Narnia, has me wondering if we will see original content, as well, such as spin-offs and adaptations based on Narnia. I quite honestly wouldn’t be surprised--after all, CS Lewis himself said that he’s left lots of gaps in Narnia’s timeline in a letter which he addressed to a young girl encouraging her to write her own Narnia stories (which I would link but at the moment I’m feeling kind of lazy). The thought of more Narnia content, something original and inspired, admittedly excites me but maybe that’s just because my own fanfiction endeavors fit that scheme (with From Upon the Golden Thrones detailing the fifteen year reign of the Pevensies that was never touched upon much in the books other than in The Horse and His Boy, but even then the Pevensies are not the main focus). But all of this depends entirely on execution. I really hope that Netflix’s adaptation does not push the prevalence of faith and religious undertones out of the Narnia series. The Walden Media films, I think, failed in that regard or at least in terms of the sequels. Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader certainly don’t retain the same sense of magic and belief that The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe did (and this is coming from someone who isn’t particularly religious myself). I appreciate them for what they are and they will always hold a very special place in my heart, but in terms of their faith to the source material, they definitely could’ve done better (though I will admit that I do think the way Adamson interpreted and altered the Telmarines was brilliant and that he brought a lot of interesting aspects of Telmarine culture to the fore that was otherwise not very much touched upon). 

All in all, I expect the Netflix adaptation to be different, but I really hope they tread lightly and do these books justice. I, like so many others, do not want them to try and make this the next Game of Thrones and add unnecessary sex and violence. I hope it will be a sweeping, stunning narrative that takes viewers breath away, but also retain a sense of comfort and attainability and faith and homeyness that I think the books capture extremely well. I feel at home in the Narnia books. I feel welcome and cozy and like there is an entire universe at my feet but that I am also allowed to take things slow and enjoy the little things and appreciate nature and life and love and faith. It’s a sense of trust and safety, like you put your faith in the great Lion and therefore no matter where you go or what happens and whatever fear you may feel, you keep going and don’t fret because he’s there and you always know he would never let anything happen to you that was not destined for you to face without good purpose. I feel like all of that can be an extremely difficult sentiment to capture, especially in film, but I hope that the Netflix adaptation can find a way regardless and bring that same mood to their Narnia rendition that the books have maintained and given their readers all these years. 

So basically, the bottom line is that I have hope but I’m also keeping some restraint because I don’t know how they’re planning to go about this and as much as I wish these adaptations will do the stories justice, I just like everyone else will never really know until we get there so until then, I’m going to wait with bated breath, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. 

[uber--duper]

Cinnamon, Cloves, and Citrus

“Wh-” Maki’s face grew red, and her eyes widened in mortification. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kirumi stiffen at the stove. “We’re not… we’re not flirting.” “No, certainly not.” Kirumi said, sounding uncertain and refusing to turn around.

or:

Maki spends her winter holiday back at the orphanage, and she's made the biggest mistake of her life in letting even one of her classmates know where it is. Also: Gonta is easy to trick and Kokichi likes to prank his friends.

heyo! this here fic is a secret santa fic for @the0takuness (hello, i’m your secret santa!), as part of the event run by the amazing crew at @wlw-danganronpa-secretsanta! i’m really glad i could be a part of this event, and i hope you enjoy the fic!

AO3 Link for those who prefer that format!

Maki Harukawa calmly stood amidst the chaos of the Burnt Oak Orphanage’s common room, a child mounted on her hip and another clutching at her free hand. There were shouts from children running amok, as well as the coos and awestruck gasps from the children posted at the windows, admiring the fat snowflakes that descended from the sky slowly, despite their size. It was winter, and things like this were commonplace around this time of year. However… there was something different this winter, and this time… this time, it was all Maki’s fault.

One of the children screeched happily, sprinting past Maki. He was quickly followed by a much larger child, one Kaito Momota. “Get back here, you little punk!” Kaito shouted, purposely moving slowly so that he didn’t catch up to the boy. At that, Maki’s frown only grew larger, her eyes tracking Kaito as he jogged after the kid, only to have another jump onto his back. After a few more kids, the Ultimate Astronaut was taken down, rendered prone as a bunch of children sat on his back and hit him with pillows and socks.

“Hey, careful with him.” Maki snapped. The kids piled onto Kaito stopped swinging briefly to listen to her before going back to whacking him, their swings slightly less intense.

Maki shook her head in annoyance. This was honestly the last thing she wanted. A glance over to the ratty couch revealed Himiko, sleepily performing card tricks while a handful of children, as well as Tenko and Angie, watched in awe. Rantaro had one child on his shoulders, two other clinging to his feet as he laughed and slowly plodded around the room. Maki blinked. It was… a while since she’d seen the orphanage this upbeat. Then again, it’d been a while since she’d last been here.

“Come on.” Maki said simply, addressing the child attached to her arm. She began moving, the kid on her hip tightening her grip on Maki’s shirt. There were a few of her ‘friends’ that were unaccounted for (one little brat in particular), which made Maki more nervous than anything else. She stalked through the orphanage’s halls, keeping an eye and ear out for any more of her classmates.

A five minute search revealed nothing, much to Maki’s chagrin. This wasn’t good. If she couldn’t find-

“Miss Harukawa?” The child attached to her arm asked, looking up at her. “I’m hungry.”

“...can it wait?” Maki asked, brow furrowing. The kid simply shook his head, and Maki sighed. “Fine. Let’s go to the kitchen.” He smiled at her, prompting Maki to purse her lips and nod. The three made their way towards the kitchen. Each step closer filled the hallway with the smell of spices and sweetness, a strange contrast of smells that nonetheless made a warmth well up in Maki’s chest.

Pushing the kitchen door open released a blast of warmth that gently swooshed over Maki, her nose suddenly filled with a variety of subtle scents. It gave the modest room a sense of warmth and homeyness that it didn’t normally have. Two figures stood in the small kitchen, one quickly yet elegantly darting around, tending to a multitude of pots, pans, bowls, and plates. The other sat quietly at the kitchen table, frosting cookies.

“Hi.” Maki said, announcing her presence. The two figures looked up, and Kirumi Tojo smiled at Maki from her place at the stove. Korekiyo nodded at her from the table, going back to his meticulous work. The boy on Maki’s arm detached himself, scampering over to watch Korekiyo do his thing.

“Hello Maki.” Kirumi greeted once Maki approached, smiling softly even as she spiced something she was mixing together. “I’m pleased to see you.” She glanced to the side, expression quickly dipping into a frown. “My apologies about the mess.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Maki replied just as quick. “’s not like this place is any cleaner half the time.”

Kirumi chuckled, turning back to her cooking. “Excuse my presumptuousness, but I can’t imagine it would be. Not if you’re taking care of things here.”

Maki pressed her lips together, feeling a bit of warmth rising to her cheeks. Her free hand went up, grabbing at one of her pigtails. “I don’t do that kinda stuff. I just take care of the kids. And I’ve been at school, so it isn’t even me cleaning up anything.”

“Perhaps.” Kirumi said, leaning over slightly to smell something in one of the pots on the stove. She nodded, then sprinkled something into it. “You’re rather adamant about not letting me talk you up.”

At that, Maki felt embarrassment welling up in her chest, and she looked away from the Ultimate Maid. “I’m not.” She stated simply, turning her body slightly so the kid on her hip was blocking Kirumi from direct line of sight. “I’m just saying that it isn’t me doing all the stuff you’re saying I am.”

“My apologies.” Kirumi laughed quietly under her breath, a smile sticking to her face.

“Don’t apologize.” Maki huffed. “I’m just being dumb.”

“Are you now?” Kirumi asked, “I hadn’t noticed.”

“You know,” Korekiyo chimed in from his position at the table. Maki glanced up, finding him gingerly placing his frosting caked plastic knife onto the table. The boy that had come with her was next to Korekyio, nibbling on a cookie. “I do feel a bit like a third wheel here. If the flirting is going to continue, I may take my leave shortly. Not that I encourage you to stop, mind you, courting rituals are fascinating, but I do not want to become something akin to an awkward presence or worse, an obstruction.”

“Wh-” Maki’s face grew red, and her eyes widened in mortification. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kirumi stiffen at the stove. Before she could watch much more, Maki felt the child on her hip reach up and place a hand against her cheek, giggling quietly at the heat. “We’re not… we’re not flirting.”

“No, certainly not.” Kirumi said, sounding uncertain and refusing to turn around.

“...If not, I was certainly fooled.” Korekiyo replied, and Maki could hear the smirk under his mask. “Either way, these cookies have been frosted with meticulous care, and I shall leave anyway, before I myself fall to temptation.” He stood up smoothly, towering over the child with the cookie. He looked down at the young boy, who stared up at him. “Might I ask your name, young man?”

“Taro.” The kid replied around a mouthful of cookie.

“Well, Taro, what do you say the two of us find something to do that is elsewhere?” Korekiyo asked.

“...” Taro thought it over, then nodded. “Okay.” He reached up and grabbed Korekiyo’s hand, and the Ultimate Anthropologist seemed surprised at the contact. “What’s ‘elsewhere’?”

“It is a place that is not here.” Korekiyo told him, and started moving them out of the kitchen.

“What’s ‘here’?”

“Kukuku… a very interesting question...” Korekiyo began talking about something that Maki tuned out, and his voice was soon cut off by the kitchen door swinging shut.

An awkward silence settled over the kitchen. The once comforting warm air in the kitchen now felt humid and stuffy. Maki let out a light sigh, picking at her shirt. She shifted the child to her other hip, and absentmindedly stared at the ceiling. Kirumi seemed suddenly intensely interested in cooking, making no sound as she fiddled with the various dishes she was making.

“I wasn’t trying to flirt.” Maki said flatly, breaking the silence.

“Nor was I.” Kirumi was quick to reply.

“Good.” Maki said. “That we cleared that up.” She quickly tacked on. “I wouldn’t try to flirt.”

“Indeed?” Was Kirumi’s curt reply, sounding… forlorn? Maki frowned.

“I mean. That’s not what I meant.” Is what she settled on. “I wouldn’t. Because of your… duty.”

“Yes.” Kirumi said. “I live to serve. It would be… silly, to find a romantic attachment.”

“Yeah. Same here.” Maki replied, a frown growing on her face. “I need to take care of the kids. I don’t want to… get distracted or anything.”

“Of course. I feel the same way about my own work.”

“Good.” Maki managed. Good. Right? Yeah. Neither of them had the time to be dating anybody. And Maki knew she didn’t have the… emotional capacity for it. Neither did Kirumi, it seemed. They had so much in common.

That thought suddenly sent Maki reeling. They had so much in common. They understood each other. They…

“I should go.” Maki said, cutting off her own train of thought. “Because-”

“You feel as though you should watch the children.” Kirumi finished.

“Yeah, of course. I don’t want to… interrupt your cooking. You’re busy.” Maki stated.

“Yes.” Kirumi nodded, then turned to look over her shoulder at the same time Maki hazarded a glance. The two made eye contact, and Maki felt herself relax. She saw Kirumi’s rigid posture become more natural, and the two were quiet before Kirumi spoke up again. “If you are not busy with the children, I certainly would not object to help here in the kitchen. I trust you are familiar with what the children like.”

“...yeah, I could help, I guess.” Maki shrugged, glancing away again.

“I would welcome it.” Kirumi told her.

Before Maki could make a movement to leave, however, the kitchen door swung open slightly, and two heads popped into view. Maki found her lips curling up into a sneer at the sight of Kokichi grinning at her, and Angie being there as well certainly wasn’t making her feel any better about the situation.

“Hey, mom.” Kokichi said.

“Yaha! Hello Maki!” Angie greeted.

“Please do not call me that.” Kirumi sighed, while Maki just snorted at Angie.

“Hey, can you come help me?” Kokichi asked innocently. “I spilled paint in the hallway.”

“Are you serious?” Maki snapped, glaring. “Why do you have paint in the first place?”

“Atua told Angie that she should bring paint, in case the children wanted to create something colorful!” Angie informed her. “But Atua did not account for Kokichi’s clumsiness!”

“Sorry! Just because I’m a supreme leader of evil doesn’t mean I don’t have my flaws!” Kokichi laughed. He turned his ‘innocent’ gaze back to Kirumi. “Mom, can you pretty please help me? You too, Maki Roll!”

“I thought I told you not to call me that.” “Don’t call me that.” Kirumi and Maki said at the same time. They glanced at each other, and Maki quickly looked away.

“Very well.” Kirumi sighed, placing a ladle down and smoothing out her apron. “But I must be quick. I do not want the soup to boil over.”

“This will only take a second.” Kokichi assured her, ducking out of the kitchen, Angie quickly following. The door clacked shut, and Maki could hear laughter on the other side.

“Eugh.” She groaned. “That little b...” Maki trailed off, glancing at the child on her hip out of the corner of her eye. “...oy… better hope that mess he made isn’t too big.”

“Indeed.” Kirumi nodded in agreement.

The two moved towards the door together, and Kirumi gently opened it up. Maki, lost in thought, barely processed the familiar voice of Gonta Gokuhara quietly saying ‘hold like this?’. By the time she had, the door was already open, and she walked face first into the Ultimate Entomologist’s broad chest. Kirumi had stopped in time, frowning at Gonta’s large frame blocking their exit from the kitchen.

Maki took a step back, standing next to Kirumi, and glanced around. To the side of Gonta, hiding behind him, were Kokichi and Angie, giggling at each other in such a way that Maki knew that she had walked right into whatever bullshit they were planning. To her side was Kirumi, staring straight up. And to her front was Gonta, who was looking down at her and grinning while holding something over her head.

Maki’s eyes instinctively followed his arm, following all the way up to the sprig of greenery held delicately between his index finger and thumb. She didn’t process what it was at first, staring blankly at the rounded green leaves. Gonta had a wide, innocent grin on his face as he proudly shouted something that filled Maki with dread.

“Happy Mistletoe!” Gonta proclaimed, looking oh so proud of himself. “Kokichi tell Gonta that he can help friends by holding special plant for them! All he have to do is stand here and hold up mistletoe from them to stand under!”

“You heard him!” Kokichi followed, “Happy Mistletoe! You two know what to do, yeah?”

“...the paint?” Kirumi half-asked, sounding (for the first time Maki had ever heard) distracted.

“Oh, that was a lie!” Kokichi grinned. “Sorry, but I had to tell a little while lie in order to help Gonta help you two! Now, go on!”

Maki stared up at the sprig of mistletoe blankly. Yeah, she knew what was to be done under mistletoe. She’d done it before, given half assed cheek kisses because it was just some silly tradition. But this… was completely different. Because she’d never… felt something when standing under the mistletoe with somebody. Gonta, Angie, and Kokichi looked on expectantly, while Maki felt her vision trained upwards, unbreaking. She couldn’t find it in herself to look at Kirumi.

And yet her head moved on its own volition, and her gaze adjusted to be pointing at the Ultimate Maid, who was still staring silently at the sprig of mistletoe held above them.

“Maybe...” Maki found herself saying. “Maybe we just get it over with. It’s… just a tradition thing. They won’t go away if we don’t.”

“Yes, of course...” Kirumi said, not moving her head.

“Remember!” Kokichi cut in. “No coward stuff! A big ol’ MWAH, right on the lips!”

“Yes, on lips!” Gonta repeated. “Wait, what on lips?”

“Just watch!” Kokichi told him.

Maki stared silently as Kirumi slowly adjusted, moving so her head was no longer staring straight up. Her movements seemed stiff, unsure, as she swiveled to face Maki. And Maki stared back, and found that a lump had formed in her throat and simply would not leave, even with a thick swallow. Kirumi looked just as composed as ever. Perhaps too composed.

Shuffling forward, Maki awkwardly shifted her position, bringing herself closer to Kirumi. The gentle smell of spice grew slightly stronger, and Maki found her jaw clenching in anticipation. She noticed Kirumi leaning forward (and slightly down) as well, and the two inched closer and closer together, and Maki’s eyes slipped shut.

The first thing Maki processed with that Kirumi’s lips were soft. They pressed gently against Maki’s own, and felt… right. Now that they were right up next to each other, Maki could smell a hint of citrus alongside the strong cinnamon and clove scents clinging to the Ultimate Maid, and there was a gentle warmth emanating from her that Maki chalked up to the warmth of the kitchen. After a second, a hand laid itself on her shoulder, and Maki leaned further into the kiss.

Maki had given and received many kisses on the lips before. All of them, however, were platonic, lasted for less than half a second, and none of them made her stomach flip, a strange warmth settling in her gut. This was strange, alien, weird… and it felt so right. Maki would never claim to be in touch with her emotions but this… this was something else entirely.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Maki drank in every aspect of the kiss she never thought she’d experience. An eternity ticked by, the only movements seeming to be the light movements of their lips and the gentle twitch of the hand on her shoulder.

“Um,” Gonta said.

With that single word spoken, Maki finally broke away, blinking in surprise. Just like always, her face was flat, though this time it was because the surprise and the feel of the kiss had knocked all of the emotion right out of her. She felt… warm. Like a soft glow had settled over her. Maki glanced to the side to see Gonta, Kokichi, and Angie staring at them, uncharacteristic looks of surprise on the latter two’s faces. Gonta had lowered his arm, and the three were standing stock still, not moving.

“M… my apologies.” Kirumi cut in, moving her hand away from Maki’s shoudler to smooth out her dress and adjust a lock of her hair. Her cheeks were tinged pink, and she looked even more distracted than before. “How unprofessional. That is my bad, I didn’t… realize.” Kirumi picked a piece of lint off of her shoulder and clasped her hands in front of her, her fingers drumming. “I believe I should take my leave. I need to finish preparing all of the food.” And just like that, she was gone, the kitchen door slamming shut behind her.

“...what are you guys looking at?” Maki asked, voice flat, glancing at the three students still there.

“G-Gonta… uh...” Gonta’s eyes frantically darted around, like a deer caught in headlights. “Gonta gonna go!”

“Yes… yes!” Angie chimed in. “Bye-onara!” The two of them scampered down the hall, turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

“...hmm.” Kokichi finally said.

“Was this stupid mistletoe thing your idea?” Maki snapped at him.

“...yeah. It was!” Kokichi replied, seeming to gain some of his composure. He clasped his hands behind his head and grinned. “I didn’t think I was gonna get something this exciting out of this, though. I guess you win this round, Maki Roll.” Before she could bite his head off, Kokichi was gone as well, dashing after Gonta and Angie.

“...” Maki watched him go. She stared down the hall, mind blank, until a small hand placed itself against her cheek. Maki glanced to the side, seeing the kid’s hand on her cheek. She pursed her lip and bounced the kid, eliciting a giggle. Maki couldn’t help the slight smile that rose onto her face as she straightened her back. “Happy Mistletoe.” She said to the kitchen door before walking off.

“...Happy Mistletoe, Maki.” The kitchen replied back, once Maki was gone.

[starboyjxmin]

Woman (Taehyung AU)

Synopsis:  “I hope you can see the shape that I'm in While he's touching your skin He's right where I should, where I should be But you're making me bleed,”// Harry Styles

Warnings: Smut, Voyeurism, Mention of Murder, Kidnapping, Vulgar Language, Mentions of Murder, Ounce of Fluff

Genre: Horror?, Suspense, bit of Romance, Drabble 

Project: (BTS x Harry Styles’ self-titled album)   

Word Count: 3,987

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Taehyung from a rather young age had developed a sense for what many would call disturbing.

But was it? He would sometimes question this.

Humanity as its own was itself quite a disturbing thing as well but then again, no one really went to purge the pneumonic species that was harming its own home.

The desire in him to murder was stronger than the urge to fuck, stronger than the urge to break to the surface and breathe when fully submerged into water while having weights strapped onto one's ankles and when sex was in for the night, the beast within him that would yearn for blood, would come out to play, resulting in the murders of many prostitutes, many who were daughters, sisters, mothers, friends, protectors. But that didn't matter. It just never did.

However, it wasn't until Taehyung met her.

(Y/N) was an overall nod to the human specimen, he decided. Even if she was quite the stubborn child who never knew how to keep her nose clean and always got so emotional over his doings.

They had a great life together, it was always good from the beginning from the second he decided to instead stalk his newly found prey instead of just going for the kill. Slowly, and all at once he had realized there deep inside him, buried in his utmost interior, was a bit of humanity and it was glowing for the girl. 

“You need to stop hanging out with Namjoon, all this is creating is more trouble for you.” Taehyung ignored you as you kept your hands on the edge of the table, standing in front of him as he blatantly watched how the blue painted over roses in the vase seem to catch the sunlight emitting from the partially covered window and land near the inanimate cup of milk which was by his hand, instead of looking up at you. Had he told you to fully cover the window? He was sure he did when you had gotten up from bed this morning. It was noon. Why hadn’t you done so? “Taehyung, I’m talking to you.” 

“Whiskey.” A loud bang caught his attention from the milk which he had vocally expressed in a longing voice for it to be a liquor, along with the jolt from the table. 

Taehyung finally looked up to see your face that was surprisingly calm despite the prominent blush in your palm that was slightly hidden from your grip on the table. 

You had struck the table with an open hand rather strongly which was surprising to him nevertheless since humans were weak and not at that great with hand to eye coordination 

“This is getting out of hand. I agreed to move in with you, I turn a blind eye to your murders, I keep my legs open for you at the end of the bed when you’re covered in your nightly filth, I have kept my location unknown to my parents as well as friends. Do you this think is fair?” You felt how his eyes were boring into yours with an air of “Who the fuck cares?” 

He leaned back into the chair, giving you a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I love it when you get so worked up, kitten.”

“This isn’t a fucking game.” You snapped at the vampire who suppressed a chuckle. “Namjoon isn’t good for you. You’re not good for me either as a matter of fact! What this is-” You pointed to him and then at you as to show an invisible bond between the two. “-is fucking toxic.” 

“So, from what I’m understanding so far is that you think that I shouldn’t be around my best friend anymore and that you shouldn’t be around me because this is all toxic? As in, you want to leave.” He knew you were being difficult, there was no way you could actually leave him. Taehyung knew lots of things including how much power he possessed over you, which meant that you were bounded to him for the rest of your life, like a slave. 

“By the day of tomorrow, something is going to happen and I won’t be there to save your dumb ass. Namjoon is bad news. You are too but the two of you together is utter chaos.” Crazy woman, he thought as you left. The sounds of your naked feet against the carpet floor of the little apartment you had begged him to get, softly bounced off the decorated walls of the kitchen and decrescendo. 

It wasn’t that Taehyung couldn’t get out of here whenever he wanted, it was just that he was sure that if he stayed and behaved like a good boy, you were going to forgive him for not listening to you. A punishment of 3 years for killing his father, adoptive father, with Namjoon egging it on in some way, was surely a guarantee that you would welcome him back.

Why wouldn’t you? You had come almost every day to visit and even came for conjugal visits during the first year. Not that they were legal but being a vampire had its perks.

“I just hope that when you do get out, you rethink things over and realize that you need to change, Tae.” He sat across from you on the plastic park looking lunch bench that was painted a very faded and dull blue. The flower in your hair, a white daisy, reminded him of the time he had taken you out of that small apartment one night and instead of going for his usual hunting, he took you to a sunflower field he had come across the night before. The smile on your face and how your eyes lit up as Sirius was that night, was one of the fondest and beautiful memories he had in all of his 300 years of existence. 

“I know, kitten.” Taehyung reached out to touch your hands that were nervously gripping your purse that was set on the table but as soon as he felt the soft, warm contact from your skin, a prison guard barked at him to not touch one another. Tae was about to turn to the guard when you suddenly let go of your purse and gripped his hand instead with your shaking small one.

“Please don’t..” You whispered with terrified eyes. 

“I said, ‘DO-” Taehyung pulled his hand away from yours, feeling barren and held up his hands, not looking at the guard. 

“Got it, sir.” He kept his eyes on you, watching how anxiously you looked at the guard and down at your purse, practically chewing off your lower lip. Tae put his hands down onto the table, resting them. “Hey,” He spoke to you in a soft voice. “don’t bite your lip, baby. It’s okay.” 

“I miss you so much, Tae.” Your eyes began to water and your small frame shook with overwhelming emotion, causing a strangled sound of pain to emit from your swollen, red lips. 

He didn’t care if he was going to be sent to isolation for this. He didn’t care if the other inmates around him were going to tease him for months. 

Taehyung reached over and engulfed you into a tight hug that made you feel a sense of homeyness and warmth along with the colour beige that made you feel in that small moment, safe. There was no one else there, just the two of you as he held your head to his chest, promising you to be better for you, to change, to never leave you unprotected and to fend for yourself like this ever again when you felt him being ripped off of you. 

Another shot of pain coursed through you and a mangled sob shot through your soul as he was fully off of you and grabbed by his arms that were forcefully crossed behind his back, pulling him out of the room with loud scary noises that sounded like they were scowling him. 

You knew Taehyung could have fought them all off with little to no effort but the chilling look in his eyes and how his head hung as he watched you from afar while they dragged him behind the glass doors of the visitation room, told you he was going to get out soon and claim you back even if it meant that he had to endure this ridiculing moment in his life where humans treated him inferior. But anything for you, he was willing to do. 

“I don’t want to see you with him. I don’t give a shit if I’m being selfish, you’re still mine. You think that ignoring me will solve anything? Can’t you fucking see how you’re leaving me to pieces every time I see him slightly touching you? You need to stop this shit now and come home.”

You read over Tae’s text a millionth time that night, not knowing what to do. This was fucking absurd. He had to get over you. It had been 6 months since you had left him. You were like a loyal bitch to him for too long and stayed less than a year after he had gotten out of prison; he had not changed despite his promises. 

The truth was even harder for you to swallow; you were absolutely still in love with Kim Taehyung and there seemed to be no cure or antidote in this world to expel the feeling.

“What’s wrong?” Seokjin asked you as he handed you a cup of water you had mentioned you wanted from the bar instead of vodka. He appeared to be slightly worried but you smiled at him, putting your phone into your back pocket while taking the cup from him.

“Thank you, corazon. I just thought that it was 10 P.M. and was shocked to see it’s actually 1 A.M.” He nodded understandingly as he took a sip from his coke. 

“Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself.”

“It sure does.” You drank all of your water in one take, leaving him to raise an eyebrow as you set the cup down on a neighbouring table and pulled him into the dancing crowd of people. “Let’s dance.”

“I’m not the best dancer, (Y/N).” He was hesitant to even let you walk him into the crowd of sticky, sweating people but you were smiling. The raging lights of the club caught your rose shaped diamond earrings, bouncing its own lights towards his eyes, slightly blinding him. 

“It’s okay! You can just sway and I’ll do all the work.” Seokjin chuckled as you pulled him even further into the mass. 

You stood in front of him, back pressed into his chest as you began to move your hips to the sultry, heavy bassed music, rubbing yourself against his member. He carefully placed his hands on your hips that were now moving to a slower grind, purposely trying to tease him. Jin felt as if all eyes were on him but he soon realized it was because of the beautiful girl dancing on him. 

The way you began to roll your hips back into him, caused Seokjin to let out a deep groan that vibrated in his chest, urging you on as you felt how pleasant it felt on your back. Sinful rhythms and beats of the music were making you angle your ass so you were rubbing yourself all over the head of his semi-hard cock. 

One of Jin’s hands let go of your hip and quickly came from behind and gripped your neck from the front, his pointer finger under the soft skin of your jaw, moving your head to the side so he could lower his and growled in your ear.

“Keep this up and I might just fuck you here in front of everyone.” The promising threat caused you to tremble as goosebumps trailed all over your body but that didn't stop you from practically dry fucking him even more on the dance floor, no one noticed as they were all caught up in their own dancing and feelings.

He began to move his hips now, meeting yours forcefully, causing you to feel a blinding heat cover all of the insides of your stomach, leaving you panting as you could feel how thick and long he was, making you wish he could really bend you over right now and take you, not caring who was here. 

Your hand came to cover his large one on your hip, fingers were intertwined as he began to take lead as he moved you accordingly to his pleasure. His other hand let go of your neck, making you realize that you had been holding your breath this whole time, causing you to be lightheaded as the delicious oxygen finally hit you completely, leaving you an exasperated mess. 

“Come home with me.” You whimpered, scared that he hadn’t heard you over the blasting music of the club but Seokjin immediately gripped your wrist, turning away from the dancing crowd, dragging you out of it. 

In the corner of the club, however, you quickly looked as Jin was rapidly escorting you out, you caught what seemed to be a tall dark figure leaning against the corner, causing your heart to drop in fear. But as soon as you blinked, the figure was gone. You were imagining things, you were too caught up in your lust to think clearly.

Taehyung knew where you were going. He had seen this scene one too many times. Truthfully? He was deeply disappointed that you were going down this path, always rebelling. You had a wild spirit that couldn't be broken no matter how much he had tried to tame you. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” This sicking agony gushed through his veins as he heard the familiar tone of your voice that indicated that you were beyond aroused. He got out of your small closet, realizing that it was not convenient for him to be hidden in there when he was going to ambush the two of you so he opted for the bed. Taehyung got down on the floor and scoot himself under it, thanking the universe that you had gotten a large bed that was enough for him to move under and lay under without his feet poking out of it. The pastel blue bed skirt with the pearly white bed spread kept him out of any sort of visibility. 

The sounds of the bedroom being crashed open and the sloppy sounds of skin along with wetness indicated kissing.  

But a smell came to him. It was overbearing and saccharine. 

Taehyung could smell you.

“Jiiiiinnn,” You were practically whimpering when you suddenly gasped. The bed creaked heavily, meaning that you and this Jin person were now on the bed. 

“Shh, I’m going to make you forget your own name by the end of this, baby girl.” Tae could hear the annoying sound of kisses. Taehyung was lying if he didn’t admit to feeling incredibly aroused by the sounds that you were making. Your every moan was sent straight to his cock, causing it to twitch. Your heavy breathing and occasional yelps were making him close his eyes, remembering how it was to have you on top, being needy and so sensitive. Fuck, you were so beautiful in this state of mind. The way you would throw your head back, eyes closed, mouth slightly opened as you were lost in the feeling of riding him, goodness. The pinkness between your legs, how soft and warm you were and how you would clench over his dick, almost made him moan out loud. 

The bed began to rock, as he heard you scream out this man’s name, infuriating Taehyung who immediately snapped his eyes open. Without any thought, he quickly grabbed out of his pocket a box cutter and furiously began slashing the underside of the bed, screaming out in horrifying anger but the slashes and the sounds from him were masked by your own sounds of beautiful pleasure and the groaning of the bed from under you and Jin as well as how it moved along with you. 

Taehyung kept stabbing into the bed, now sobbing as he heard you getting closer to your climax.

“SEOKJIN!”

“Who’s making you feel this fucking good, hm, princess? Say it again.” The man’s voice was husky as he demanded (Y/N) to respond who choked out his name again. There was no holding back from the either of the two. 

“My God!” Taehyung felt as if he had slashed his own heart as soon as those two words left your lips, causing him to abruptly stop. The whole room got quiet, all that was heard was red noise from outside as the cars and highways went about as if the world had not just broken. 

It seemed to have been an hour when he finally heard the bed creak from over him. A soft sound of something hit the floor was accompanied by inaudible pitter patter sounds, reminding him of how you would sometimes walk around the apartment when you thought you were being quiet to not alert him. 

The sound of you walking away seemed to be going towards the direction of the bathroom, allowing him now to fully execute the thought process of the real reason as to why he had come here in the first place.

Murder wasn’t difficult to commit. It was as easy as speaking. You just do it. Being a vampire resulted in him to get away with many things and only be discovered if he wanted such thing to happen. Of course, sometimes he had to assimilate the killings as if done by humans and sometimes by beasts. 

Tonight, he was going to make it seem that someone had broken in and murdered your lover but mercifully spared you and to prove it, you would have the murderer’s DNA to which Tae was skilled at confusing his own to make others believe they had leads but found the DNA to belong to no one. A dead end. 

But now that he thought about it, you weren’t ever going to forgive him for killing your new partner, especially leaving his mangled, distorted body all over your pretty sheets for you to see. That would traumatize you, seeing how much blood a human body contained, spilled onto the floor like a lake as the flesh was every where even stuck on the walls from the evident anger the vampire had felt. How dare you have the audacity to publicly dry hump in the club, knowing damn well anyone could see, including Taehyung who had killed someone rather gruesomely from the rage he felt. 

It would be your fault that Jin had been murdered. You did date a vampire. They don’t do well with what’s theirs leaving. 

Taehyung finally decided to just sneak out and leave. There was no need to cause you suffering and the correct reasons to hate him. You were going to come back. That’s how it worked, it was a claiming. Property always belongs to their masters no matter what.

You had found yourself sitting on a park bench, late at night waiting for Taehyung to come. It wasn’t stupid of you to reach out to Tae after it being a week since you had realized the texts from him weren’t coming in anymore. Things had to be fixed, that’s just how you were as a person. No need to have a bad relationship with someone who used to mean the world to you even if it felt like you weren’t anything to him. 

“Hi.” The deep voice that once had caused you to fall in irrevocable love, at the same park and around this same time when he had first approached you. You almost wanted a standing ovation for yourself for thinking of ending things correctly at the same place where they had begun. 

“Hi.” Taehyung had a black hoodie on with the word Yeezus imprinted on the front. The memories of how you use to wear the hoodie around the adored, tiny apartment with absolutely nothing on, made you smile with sadness. Tae use to love seeing you being about in the kitchen, trying to close the refrigerator door without the hem of the hoodie riding up which was something he didn’t think could happen but you never failed to surprise the vampire.

“How are you?” He shrugged as he sat opposite to you and flashed his signature boxy smile, revealing his keen canine teeth. “You’re probably wondering why I wanted us to meet up.”

“More or less, I suppose.” Tae cocked his head to the side, feeling that egotistical aura surge through him. He was always right. You were to come back. It was a no-brainer.

“Well, I admit that despite us not being together in the past months, I still love you, Taehyung. A lot actually. I always will love you like the first day since you became a very important part of my life. But now, you are just but a chapter in it, and one day I’ll look back fondly at it even if we had our moments.” Wait. “I’m moving back to America.” He felt his head become dizzy. “I never really fitted in here, especially with all the racial backlash I have received since moving. It’s only good that I go back and I just hope that we can still be friends. If I ever do come back, I hope I’ll be able to have a friend here.” You gave him a small smile.

Fucking impossible.

“No.” His menacing tone caught you very off guard. “You aren’t leaving me.”

“Tae, this isn’t up for discussion.” The strong willed soul in you was unafraid of the vampire whose fangs began to show. 

“(Y/N), you think that you have a say in this?”

“It’s my fucking life. I was only being considerate but you know what, go to hell.” You quickly got up only to be tackled backwards into the soft moist grass by a beast. 

“You really made the devil come out, kitten.” His graveled voice was in your ear as Tae’s body pinned you down. “You flower.” He hungrily began to lick from your jaw down your shoulder, breathing in the mouth watering scent of your blood. “You feast.” A terrifying scream was heard all throughout the block of the park but was quickly overcome with a thundering snarl. 

The park and the night went silent. 

The story of a missing girl had rapidly gone through the whole country like a fire, suspects were found here and there but always led to nowhere. 

Years had passed and the family of the girl was still looking for her even if they were seas away. No one could find anything. 

The only thing they found was a rose shaped diamond earring near Daegu, South Korea. When they tested it for DNA, it turned out to have belonged to (Y/N), the missing girl. But there was blood on it too, also hers, leading the media and public to believe she was possibly killed if the earring could have been ripped from her ear. But why? Many theorized that she had been attacked by the beast that had been killing around the city where her earring was found as they found lots of human remains all over Daegu that seemed to be from some sort of lost bear or tiger mauling of the missing people.  

But her body had never been found.

[ladyserendipitous]

Bundle of Positive Emotions Ch 6

After forever and a day I have posted the newest chapter!  I wrote so much that wasn’t this over the holiday season but now I have a new chapter and I’m so glad.  (AO3)

Marinette had gone to use the bathroom which gave Adrien a moment to just be. Not that he stayed on the couch. The two of them had discussed, slowly, in layers, their feelings about both their upcoming future as parents, oh god I'm going to be a father, but also knowing their superhero secret identities.

Adrien went into the kitchen to get refreshments and snacks as he let things sink in for him. They'd skipped out on lunch and Adrien felt like he was a bad host not getting Marinette anything to drink sooner. The thing was, Marinette being Ladybug made all the sense in the world. So why was it that he still couldn't believe it?

He sat the tray on the coffee table wondering if he ought to have made tea instead of just bringing out water for both of them. He should have thought about that when he first went into the kitchen. Looking at what he brought out, Adrien was surprised Plagg hadn't popped out as soon as he pulled out the cheese. He hoped Marinette didn't mind the lack of anything better to eat, but crackers, an apple cut up, and some cured meat was really all he had besides the cheese. He still hadn't shopped for real food yet.

"Sorry about that," Marinette said coming back over to sit next to him. At least that was something. They were no longer keeping each other at arms distance. Instead they were sitting together, shoulder to shoulder almost, arms touching. Adrien was tempted to put his arm around her shoulder once she returned, but he wasn't completely sure if she would be uncomfortable or not with that. For now it was good enough.

Marinette took a sip of water but didn't go for the food right away. Instead she picked up his scarf once more. He wasn't sure why she was fascinated with it. When he'd gone to hang up both their coats earlier, once they'd realized they were sitting in his nicely heated place with their winter gear still on, she had held onto the scarf. It'd seemed odd, but it was such a minor thing to everything else going on he didn't bring it up.

"I think," she said looking up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. "Maybe we should start figuring out what we want to do."

"I don't want to, but I need to tell my father."  Adrien sighed. Despite dreading it Adrien couldn't help but smile slightly as Marinette had moved to rub his arm.

"How badly do you think he'll take it?" Marinette asked with a frown. Shouldn't he have been comforting her?

"Honestly I don't know. He'll be more concerned about reputation and appearances I think. On the other hand," Adrien paused not sure how to express the idea in his head. Gabriel was a horrible father. However much of what he did had been with the intention of protecting his family. Adrien made a grumbling sound. "I don't think I have a very good role model for fatherhood."

Adrien hadn't meant to admit that out loud and so the impulsive hug Marinette gave him before he could think of a way to take back the words was startling. "I haven't doubted for a moment that you'd be a good father," she said to him, the words slightly muffled by the thick fabric of his shirt. She must have realized this as she tilted her head up to look at him. "Your father isn't your only role model besides, right?"

How could he deny her words when she looked up at him like that?  He smiled and shook his head.  “No, I just, I don’t want to screw up!”

Marinette giggled as she moved back, Adrien wished she hadn’t.  “We’ll both make mistakes.  No parent is perfect, but we make a pretty good team, right?  If we can save Paris from…” Marinette didn’t finish her words as the blood drained from her face.

“You already knew he was my father,” Adrien said, knowing what she was thinking.  Not because he was a mind reader, but rather it was something that was bound to come up.

“Yes, but I didn’t know he was your father.  Sorry, that’s just, why didn’t you say anything?” Her question held a touch of hurt in it.  Adrien understood why, but it had been years and the emotions that had raged on at the time were for the most part in the past.

He shrugged.  “By the time I knew, everything had changed.  It didn’t seem, right, to make a bigger deal of it.” The look Marinette gave him suggested just how stupid the idea of his had been. “Back then I thought I was doing the right thing.”

Marinette finally sighed, but nodded her head reluctantly. “I understand, but I wish I had known.  I would have liked to have been there for you.”

“Thank you,” he told her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head.  They were silent for a few moments, not for the first time in their long conversation. Eventually Adrien moved, pressing some food at Marinette.  “Anyways, his reaction I’ll deal with, don’t worry.”

“Pfff.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “I’ve been worrying about it before, so too late.  Do you, well, do you think he’d want a paternity test?”

Adrien didn’t like it, not one bit. Marinette looked uncomfortable bringing it up, like it undermined everything.  In a way her bringing it up sprung doubt he’d never considered in his mind, but he squashed it as soon as it came up. He didn’t need her to prove anything, Adrien didn’t doubt Marinette’s honesty with him.  His father was something else though. “It probably would make him pause in any sort of interrogation.”

“Then I’ll do it,” Marinette said with a frown of determination. “Before you do that though, do you want to see my parents?”

Entering the bakery that Tom & Sabine ran was always a treat in his younger years.  Adrien always felt a warm homeyness there that he never experienced in his own home. He’d never been nervous going there.  Awkward, sure, but never nervous.  That was until today.  The bakery was being closed up for the day when he walked in with Marinette.  Sabine was cleaning out one of the glass cases, but looked up when the door jingled.

“Marinette, you brought Adrien,” Sabine said with a warm smile.  “Welcome home.”

“Um, thank you Mrs. Cheng,” Adrien said rubbing his neck with his free hand.  The other hand was in Marinette’s grip.  Had she reached out for his hand when they entered, or had he unconsciously reached for hers?

“Of course dear.  I want to hear all about… your… trip…” Sabine trailed off looking at the two young people in front of her.  She pressed her lips together.  “Marinette, should I get your father?”

Marinette nodded her head.  As Ladybug she’d told him multiple times how she worried about how telling her parents would go.  Since their first reaction they’d been wonderful, but she was still worried since she’d kept things from them.

He understood more than anyone what it was like to keep secrets, so he squeezed her hand in reassurance even as Sabine instructed them to head upstair and that her and her husband would be up in a moment.

“So far, so good,” he whispered to her as they reached the landing to the apartment.  Marinette gave him a tight smile but nodded in agreement.  They waited for her parents on the coach.  It was thankfully not a long wait.

Adrien wasn’t sure if Tom was just better at hiding his emotions than Sabine, but despite Adrien’s anxiety over this talk, looking at the large man didn’t add to it thankfully.  “Welcome back to Paris, Adrien,” her father said to him as Marinette’s parents sat down.

“Thank you sir,” Adrien said politely hoping his voice hadn’t cracked.

“It’s Tom,” Marinette’s father said with a wave of his hand.  Adrien started to wonder if he didn’t know what this was possibly about.  “So Marinette, your mother thinks you wanted to talk to us about something?”

Marinette gave a weak grin. “Yes, I… well… you need to understand I wanted to talk to Adrien first.  He had a right to know, and well, I wasn’t sure how that was going to go.” She glanced at him then looked away quickly.  “I had my hopes, but I couldn’t be sure.  I wasn’t sure how and so I waited and then when I thought I’d just email him… well…”

“I ruined things by announcing I was coming home early?” Adrien hazard the guess.  It was for Marinette, to break up the tension. And a little for himself too.

She looked at him again and smiled and he felt himself fill with content warmth from the look. “I suppose you could say that.”  She looked back at her parents.  “Anyways, we’ve talked and well, we still have more to talk about but.. Well.. that is to say…. Adrien’s the father of my baby.”

“Oh thank God!” Tom said.

That wasn’t the reaction Adrien had been expecting, nor Marinette from her reactions.  “Thomas!”

“Oh come on Sabine, you’re acting like you were not hoping it wasn’t Adrien.” Tom said smirking at his wife.  “Marinette being all mysterious about who the father was was definitely making us

worried, but I for one am relieved for the reason why!”

Sabine was still frowning and looked from her husband, and back to Adrien and Marinette.  “Marinette, are you telling me you didn’t tell him he was going to be a father until he returned to Paris?”  Marinette nodded and Sabine looked to Adrien. “And you’re okay with this?”

“Well,” Adrien fidgeted with his sleeve with one hand, the other had been recaptured by Marinette, though this time he had been more aware of it. “Like Marinette said, we still have a lot to talk about and yes this is a lot to take in at once, but… well… nothing about this is bad!”

Finally Sabine’s frown softened.  “No, I suppose nothing about this is bad.”

“I, I still want to wait on telling others,” Marinette said to the twin surprise on her parents faces. “At least until Adrien has a chance to talk to his father.  That’s part of the reason I was having a hard time telling him.”

“Because of his father?”

“No, no, I… because of who he is.”

And realization dawn upon her parents and while there was great concern still on the Dupain-Cheng’s on behalf of their daughter, things were much more comfortable now.  After all Tom was right, this was the best case scenario to Marinette’s surprise pregnancy.

Adrien tapped his finger on his leg nervously.  He had asked Nathalie to clear some time with his father as soon as she could.  She had agreed easily enough and then asked him point blank if he’d knocked up a girl while in China.

Even though it was over the phone, Adrien felt like Nathalie saw his every reaction. “Not in China!”

“So you did knock a girl up?”  Nathalie asked in her monotone work voice.

Adrien wanted to hit his head on a desk. “Please don’t say anything to Father!”

“Of course not, “ was her simplistic reply.

Adrien though was not fooled. “I’ll explain everything to you later.”

Adrien was decently sure when he walked into his father’s office that Nathalie took him on his word and had not mentioned anything she suspected to his father. Honestly after all these years he would have been surprised if she had. Gabriel seemed very unaware why his son scheduled a meeting with him.

So here he was sitting in front of his father's desk and realizing he had no idea how to start the conversation. Absently he wished Marinette was there and then realized how bad that would be. Adrien wasn't sure if this was one of the rare moments that his father was patient or if everything seemed to be going slow motion only in his mind. Finally, after a moment or an eternity, Adrien spoke.

“My friend Marinette's pregnant. I'm the father.”

While it was the truth, it seemed too mild. Even before he knew she was Ladybug, Marinette was one of his dearest friends. Now, knowing the truth, friend didn’t just seem like an understatement, but an insult. He didn’t even realize how much so until he uttered the statement. Worse, he didn’t know how to amend it. He didn’t know for sure how she felt about him.  He knew friend even for her would have been too mild, but her own feelings, his own feelings, they hadn’t discussed. It was sort of amazing considering how much they’d talked the previous day.

Gabriel Agreste was no an expressive man.  He wasn’t when Adrien was younger, and less so when his mother was gone. Since the time of his father’s less than sane decisions, their relationship had been bandaged, but by nature Gabriel Agreste was not an expressive man.  So it was startling to Adrien to see his father ball back into his chair and place a hand over his eyes.

“How far along,” his father asked.  Adrien wasn’t sure why, obviously it wasn’t in the last week!

“Six, almost seven months.  We… um…” and at this point Adrien rub the back of his neck, he wasn’t sure how much he really wanted to tell his father. “Before I left.”

“And you’re sure,” Gabriel asked, once more sitting up in his chair properly.  “I recall your friend Marinette, she has desires to be in the fashion industry…”

This was what Adrien had been worried about.  Hell, it was what Marinette had been worried about.  That it would be seen as some attempt to get in easily into Gabriel Fashion.  “Which she has been interested in for years, and has never used our friendship to further her career except in the occasions where I’ve pushed it. But she’s willing to have a paternity test taken to satisfy any questions.”

“And this was your idea?” Gabriel asked.

“No, hers.  She understood the delicacy of the situation.” Adrien said.  He wanted his father to understand without question how much Marinette was trying to make everything work.

Gabriel steepled his fingers together, obviously thinking. “You, trust Marinette… don’t you?”

“Of course!” Adrien said without hesitation.  He understood his father’s concern.  He even appreciated them, but right now he need to know, to understand, that Marinette was not an enemy.  Far from it.

“You could have gone about this better,” Gabriel said after a pause.  Suddenly he looked old and tired.  Adrien never thought of his father as either.  Not since the weeks after Hawk Moth had been defeated.

“I… we… we’re working on being better at communicating.  She wants me involved in the baby's life and I want to be. We’ll make this work Father.” Adrien hoped his assurance would appease his father.

“I’m sure you both will do fine as parents,” Gabriel said with a sigh, but Adrien couldn’t help but be overjoyed.  No his father wasn’t a good parent, far far from it, but Adrien still sought approval from his father. “The press though is going to have a field day.”

“Is it really that big of deal?  People have kids all the time,” Adrien said, trying to lessen his father’s concern.

“People that are in relationships have kids.  Not a celebrity that had a hook up with some girl that wants a start in the industry,” was Gabriel’s retort.

Adrien was on his feet before he knew it.  “Father, you know that’s not…!”

Gabriel held up a hand.  “That is going to be how it looks.  Unless… unless we change how people see the situation.”  Gabriel rubbed his chin and looked up at Adrien.  “Tell me Adrien, how much do you want to protect your new family from the hounds of the press?”

[kaliforniakanada-blog]

CALIFORNIA x 7

As most of you probably know, I’ve been to California several times over the past four years. In fact, If we’re keeping count, this past trip has marked my 7th visit - and while every visit is eventful in its own way, this one was different... This one felt less like a trip, and more like returning home. 

I’ve wanted to move to California since the first time I visited. My love for it only intensifies every time I step off the plane. But this time... This time, having gone alone, I was able to do things that are less touristy and more local. And I think it made me feel like I was experiencing what my everyday life will eventually become. 

There are two events in particular that I’d like to cover in this piece that I associate with my feelings of homeyness. The first is the night Kailen and I spent at The Viper Room, and the second is my experience getting a tattoo at Shamrock Social Club. 

I’ve been wanting to visit The Viper Room since the day I fell upon a picture of Johnny Depp wearing a beanie that bore the name. I spend a lot of time looking up useless information, so when I saw the picture, my curiosity led me to google. The Viper Room is a bar/venue that Johnny opened and co-owned in the early 90s. His goal was to have a place where he and his friends could hang out and play music without being bothered by anybody. And while he hasn’t owned it since 2004, the place has become a huge LA landmark. After all, it is located on the sunset strip and also happened to be the location of River Phoenix’s death following a drug overdose. 

While I was already set on visiting The Viper Room simply because of its affiliation to Johnny Depp, learning about River Phoenix’s death resulted in an even stronger interest in it. I somehow came across a book titled “Last Night at The Viper Room” which doubles as both a historical timeline of the venue itself and also a biography of River Phoenix. The book is great, and if you’re looking for something to read I highly recommend it. 

My addictive and borderline obsessive personality (see: my obsession with Ed Sheeran, Hamilton/Lin-Manuel Miranda as references) led me to develop an infatuation with the place, and every time Kailen and I go to LA I force her to drive by it so that I can stare at it longingly and/or take a picture standing in front of it. I was never able to actually go inside because Kailen only just recently turned 21. 

Funnily enough, I kind of forgot about how badly I wanted to visit it because I’d become so used to telling myself that I couldn’t. So when I remembered that I could due to Kailen mentioning it, my stomach turned over in excitement. We decided to go to LA on Sunday but didn’t really put much planning into actually visiting it because we were preoccupied with whatever else we did that day. When we came to a point where we were at a loss for what to do, The Viper Room popped back into our minds. We decided just to see what it was that was going on, and it turns out that it was an open mic / jam night type thing. We were pretty upset to find out that tickets weren’t available online anymore, but we decided to drive over and try our luck at the door. 

“Go ask that guy!!!” Kailen said when this punk-rock looking dude walked out of the all-black building. 

“He’s halfway down the street now, I’m not going to chase him” I said in response. 

That exact scenario played out for like, 10 other individuals until finally one guy lingered around a motorcycle parked on the sidewalk for a while. I finally got up the nerve to jump out of the car and casually walk over to him without seeming overly enthusiastic. 

“Hey, do you work here?” I asked, to which he replied “I do tonight!”

“Band member. SCORE” I thought. 

I followed up with “I was just wondering if tickets are going to be available at the door tonight seeing as they aren’t online anymore?” 

The guy’s eyes lit up as he replied “Oh yeah, I think so. How did you hear about the event?” 

I explained that I didn't actually hear about this event in particular but that I’ve been wanting to visit the venue for years. His friend walked up and introduced himself, so we all exchanged names and I said I’d see them later when the venue opened. 

I was about to get back into the car when Rob, the guy I’d been talking to shouted “KATELYN! Come here!” I turned around and walked back towards him as he pulled two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to me. 

I thanked him profusely and reiterated that I’d see him later. I skipped back to the car and explained the entire exchange to Kailen, who was just as ecstatic as I was at the fact that I’d just somehow scored free tickets to a place we’ve both grown an interest in over the years. 

We sat in the car for about a half an hour, deciding that we didn't want to be the first ones inside because we’re awkward and wouldn’t know how to handle that kind of hypothetical pressure. Eventually, when we realized literally NO ONE had gone inside and the show was supposed to have begun, we got over ourselves and walked over to the doorman. He told us that was the back door and to swing around the side to get in. 

“WHAT??? This is the BACK DOOR? How the HECK did we not know that?” We said. 

This entire time I’d been posing for pictures at ~the back door~.

To be fair, it makes no sense that the back door would be located on The Sunset Strip and that the front would be on some random street who’s name I didn’t even bother to learn, but what can you do. 

We headed over to the front and made our way inside. 

It doesn’t look like much. If you knew nothing about it, you might even dismiss it as boring. But there was some sort of electrical current of excitement surging through my body, and I couldn’t believe that I was actually standing in a place that is a staple in Hollywood’s history. I was ecstatic. The entertainment was weird as hell, but I remained ecstatic for the duration of the evening. I asked the bartender for something fruity (because I am a wimp) and he handed over some concoction that literally resulted in me coughing after the first sip. I was like NOPE, and slid it over towards Kailen. 

Having been the only females in the entire establishment, Kailen and I got some pretty intense looks from the men scattered around the room. Normally, I’d find that type of thing unsettling, but in this case it was just plain hilarious. We hoped somebody would come over and fund our evening, and as it turns out, somebody did. I don’t like alcohol so I skipped out on the drinks, but Kailen got a free flow of it all evening and I was so stoked. Secondhand excitement. It was great, and it turns out one of the guys we met happens to be a production coordinator for a film company in Beverly Hills. We exchanged instagram usernames and after chatting a bit, he even offered to get me a gig at his work if I ever wanted one. WHAT? Yeah. 

All in all, our night at The Viper Room was unbelievably memorable for the sole reason that we got to live it. I was so full of anticipation after all these years that nothing could ruin it for me. Nothing. I felt so alive in that moment, and I’m so glad that I got to experience it with my best friend. 

The second thing that I consider a bucket list item that has been crossed off during this trip is the fact that I was ((somehow)) able to get a tattoo at Shamrock Social Club. 

When we got to LA on the day that we went to The Viper Room, I asked Kailen if we could swing by SSC just to see if I could somehow make an appointment with Dr. Woo (after several failed attempts over the phone from across the continent). I figured worst case scenario I could take a picture with him and that would cushion the blow if I couldn’t make an appointment. 

The guy sitting out front who I spoke to explained that he doesn’t work there anymore, but that all of the artists are trained by Mark Mahoney and that they’re all capable of doing the half needle, detailed, tiny tats that I’d fallen in love with at first sight. He also mentioned that they accept walk-ins and said that there probably would be a few slots on Monday or Tuesday. 

Tuesday came around and Kailen and I were discussing getting little K’s tattooed on our fingers to symbolize our friendship (it is pretty remarkable, after all). We shopped around different tattoo parlours in Orange County but came to find that they were all fairly expensive and I figured that if I was going to spend that much money on the base fare alone, that I’d prefer to splurge a little more and get one at the place I’ve loved since I found Dr. Woo on instagram a few years prior. I called SSC and spoke to Jake again (the guy I’d met outside) who said we should call back later to see if they’d be free around 9-10pm. I called around 6:30, and Jake said that they were pretty backed up and that the following day might be a better option. I explained that I was flying home at 1pm the next day and a few minutes later he got back to me, on instagram, with the words “can you be here within the next 30 minutes?” My eyes lit up as I ran to explain to Kailen that they had room but only if we could get there before 9. We got into the car and the GPS said it would take an hour in a half. For that entire hour and a half, I legitimately felt like I was going to vomit out of the window. I was so unbelievably excited that I would finally be able to get a tattoo at the parlour of my dreams on such short notice. I was seriously hoping that they’d have time to fit in Kailen too and that we could get our K’s, but the place is a little intimidating and not really very fitting for that type of request.

I was tattooed by Max Hanson who’s instagram is a literal portfolio of fine art. He explained to me that he’d been tattooing for about 3 years and I was seriously shocked to find that half needles HARDLY hurt in comparison to standard ones. The whole process took about 40 minutes and my leg twitched the entire time because I was still in shock, disbelief and amazement. I couldn’t process what was going on whatsoever. I was SO stoked. I still am, to be completely honest. 

While these two events may seem like nothing out of the ordinary to an individual who has no interest in or just never heard of these places, both were life changing to me and it still feels so surreal that I got to experience them. 

There is something magical about Los Angeles, despite the fact that its kind of dirty and big and weird and loud. I think that there’s a reason that people are drawn to it. It’s full of rock and roll / pop culture history and home to so many greats both past and present. I am completely, head over heels in love with it and also Southern California as a whole. 

Eventually, I will call it home. As a matter of fact, I already do... But eventually, I won’t have to say goodbye to it anymore. And when that time comes I’ll be drowning in happiness, in part because I will finally live where I belong, and in part because I will no longer be across the continent from my best friend (unless she decides to live in New York permanently in which case I will handcuff her to the Hollywood Sign). 

So as I said, while I’ve been to California 7 times now, this time was inherently different. This time was a firm confirmation that it is my end goal. 

Coming back to Montreal has never hurt this much.

[hollowaymason1995]

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Cat Peeing Standing Up

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How Can I Tell If My Cat Is Spraying

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