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werezmastarbucks · 5 years ago

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Whitmore Guy - Martha

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four

Kai Parker x fem!Reader slowburn

whatever gifs I’m going to use on this one, I hope the creators are okay with that

word count: 3612

warnings: none

music: offspring - the kids aren’t alright, blink-182 - home is such a lonely place

Y/N was staring at him without realizing it. If only she knew how easy it was, she would be horrified. She would have goosebumps all the way from her pretty head to her little toes, and she would form a perfect line on her mouth as she clenched her teeth so hard it hurt her canines. The beauty of oblivion is that you’re… oblivious. He couldn’t really figure if the feeling of almost grasping, almost realizing, almost suffering, was good on her or not. He hoped he would find out soon enough to manage to fix her if anything. Just the way she’d fixed him.

Y/N’s been staring at Mal, whose last name, as she learnt from his file, which inevitable went through her, as she was the college filing dumpster, - Osbourne. How cool is that? his eyes said to her when she looked up to nod with amazement. Mal Osbourne, the IT guy at Whitmore. He joked that Hoppus was too rare, and Swayze made him feel sad, so he chose Osbourne. Turned out he changed his name when he got of age, because he hated his family or something like that. That was the only thing he was uneasy to talk about. Mal didn’t say what his family name was before, and she didn’t press. She was still torn between investigating and being painfully disinterested in other people’s drama.

Mal was biting his lower lip busily as he punched the vending machine again. The soda can got stuck in between the springs and the glass, and he turned, flustered, to give her a look. Y/N shook her head in empathy. They shared passion for Dr Pepper, and this one can has been stuck there for the whole morning. It being Wednesday, an official mid-day of the week when you’re already tired, but not tired enough to give up completely, they invented the watch. Every fifteen minutes one of them was visiting this very vending machine to see if the can has fallen through yet. She was replacing him now, and Mal welcomed her with a grunt.

“Can’t believe not a single person came and tried to get it out”.

“Maybe they know”, Y/N examined the lit insides of the machine. Dr Pepper was tightly propped against the glass, its dark red tin can dented a little.

“How the fuck did she even get in there…” Mal muttered under his breath. She could not believe this grown man’s dedication to a tin can. “I mean, what’s the story behind it? Why did you do this to me, Y/N? It’s almost two in the afternoon, and all I’ve been thinking about today is this goddamn Dr Pepper”.

She bumped her fist on the machine really hard, and somebody jumped while passing them. A couple of concerned glances shot at their backs.

“It moved!” he almost yelled. “Bang it, and I’m gonna shake it”.

So, they assaulted the vending machine, putting a stop to their patient watch that lasted for nearly five hours. Her hand was sore pretty soon, from the bumping, but as Mal leaned back and shook the monstrous machine, all the items came into movement. A couple of packs of crisps fell out of the slots.

“Bonus points!” Mal shrilled. Dr Pepper was almost out.

Y/N puffed.

“Now, you bang, and I’ll shake”.

“That’s what she said”, Mal replied knowingly, letting her swap places with him.

Their hard work paid off, and in couple of minutes they were running heads first into the basement, hands full of crisps and soda. And that was Wednesday.

Thursday was long and tedious, because a second year student has broken her leg AND lost the keys from her car all in the same evening, and she had a mental breakdown. The hospital seemed to have a problem finding her insurance, and the insurance company refused to pay for the services of the guys who came to open her car for her and accidentally took of one of the doors; Professor Atkins, teacher of chemistry which the girl was specializing in, refused to believe the whole story although t was blatantly true, in spite of being utterly stupid; Y/N was running like a remote control car with five wheels between the insurance office, hospital and college; at six in the evening she realized it was already the twenty-fifth of May, and she still didn’t have a plan for Caroline’s party. At six forty-five she was crying in her office, her head in her hands, but her tears were not tears of a defeated person. She was very angry and couldn’t scream so she just sobbed all the nonsense away. She really hated Thursdays in general, too.

At six fifty there was a knock on her door, and she moaned, sensing, rather like an animal, that her salvation and relief has come.

“Dude”, she howled. Mal’s head penetrated the space of her office.

“If I’d known you’re falling apart, I would’ve brought a gun, not a coffee”, he said in his ever joyful voice, full of undetectable mockery.

He slid into the armchair and watched Y/N as she grabbed the cup and started drinking.

“Don’t choke. You called me, m’fair lady? What’s up with the party I never heard of?”

She nodded.

“Exactly. I forgot about this party like four times. I need you to help me. You never seem to go home or have personal life, so”.

Mal pouted, as if admitting the heavy truth.

“IT sphere… you know, it’s a lot of work. All the buttons that don’t glow… and the websites that have been blocked… deleted reports”, he scowled, “are the worst. So much pain and suffering in this place, it’s unbearable. I crack every day, too”.

He looked at Y/N almost tenderly. These looks usually made her question her sanity. Sometimes it felt like he was Alex, the name, the tattoo on her right forearm in thick, black letters. She took two more big sips and decided solid that she’d tell Mal about him. Share that and see how he feels about that. Mal’s been nothing but great help these last weeks, and they bonded, and Y/N realized that part of her nervous strain was due to this new mysterious character, almost a time bomb, smirking at her kindly across the table they lunched at. But at least that was positive hysterical energy.

“I kind of accused you of lying about having a girl, Mal. Just now”.

He gasped. His ringed fingers interlocked together on his stomach. He put up his foot which indicated he was getting comfortable, as if to listen to a story.

“Ah. You meant that. That I can help you with the party you irresponsibly forgot about four times, because I don’t have anything better to do anyway, because I don’t have a girlfriend I’d claimed I had”.

She just nodded, sucking on her coffee like a thirst victim.

“That’s a… that’s a very sad story”, he scratched his right brow as his eyes shot somewhere above her ear, out of the window. He was daydreaming. His glance was calm, while his body started saying he was nervous.

“And you already seem pretty sad, so…”

“Go on. Distract me, please. And I’ll tell you a sad story, too. Let’s see who’s gonna kick ass in being sadder”.

Mal shuddered with a light burst of laughter. This, too. His sudden flashes of humor, when he laughed at things people usually don’t laugh at. And still, he was seemingly worth it.

“Okay. So, I dated this girl, Martha Hopps”.

“Martha Hoppus?”

He let out a clattering sound he made with his tongue that Y/N couldn’t understand the physics of.

“No, her last name is Hopps. She uh… moved to Mystic Falls. That’s kind of why I came here. I tried to land a job in the town, but nobody needed an IT specialist there, so I went for the closest place, which is”, he motioned towards Y/N as if suggesting her own office.

“You said, dated?”

“Yeah. But, I mean, I’m still in love with her. Obviously, otherwise, I wouldn’t be here”.

There was a change in Mal. Just as he started talking about the girl, his eyes went down, and Y/N couldn’t see the dark pupils anymore. His hands were rubbing each other, patting fingers, and he tilted his head. Y/N unintentionally felt her long-abandoned maternal instinct, kicking its way through her stomach like a crazed lion riding a tractor – for in front of her there sat a boy. His forehead was marked with three distinct, and somehow cute, sharp kisses of puberty; his skin was in need of sunlight, pale like milk, but soft; his boyish demeanor, the shirt with Van Halen logo, and a tacky bracelet on his left wrist – all that was a part of his pattern. He was suddenly fragile, like a petal.

“Her family… uh, they decided that I wasn’t worth her”, Mal looked up bravely, and Y/N withstood it.

“They separated us. Even before I could actually… you know, lay off my plans for the future, marrying and stuff maybe, you know?”

“What do you mean – separated?”

“Well, they brainwashed her big time. Her family together with friends, they are all kind of… religious fanatics”.

“Wait, Hopps, you say? Mystic Falls is a small town, I think I would remember a family of fanatics…”

She shuddered at the memory of that insane coven that was raging in the town five years ago. She couldn’t actually remember how they dealt with them; only that those were first class supernatural terrorists, witches bound on idea to kill all ‘abominations’ and release humans of Mystic Falls…

Mal shrugged indifferently.

“They moved in recently. I followed them. We met in uh, Ohio, that’s where I come from. Her father was like, you’re toxic to her. We wish you were never born. Whoosh. Next thing I know, she doesn’t talk to me. At first it’s like, Mal, I question your beliefs. Then, Mal, I think you’re cheating on me. I’m like, who told you that? Stupid, you’re the woman of my whole century. She’s like, my family knows. She…” he sucked the air through his teeth, “I think she loved me less that I loved her, you know? Sometimes it happens. She had to choose, and she chose them. Plus, there was so much whispering along the way, Jesus. The things they were telling her about me”.

Y/N felt she was swaying while sitting in her chair.

“God, why would they do that? You’re so cute”.

“I know, right?!” he exclaimed, feeling the connection. “It’s a case of… I suppose… loathing out of principle. I did one…” he licked his lips, staring absently through her desk. His finger froze in the air indicating the number One. “Maybe two bad things, and they’re like, that’s it! You’re going down, we’re going away, you’ll never see her again”.

Caffeine started to kick in, and Y/N found herself fixing her hair in abrupt movements.

“Well? And then?”

“And then they cut us in two”.

They both paused for a moment.

“What two bad things did you do?”

Mal sighed.

“I mean, no one’s perfect, right?”

“Oh god”, Y/N slapped the surface of her desk as the poisonous realization started to crawl into her brain. “Oh god, please, no. Please, Mal, tell me you’re not an obsessive psycho who’s been stalking a girl and beating people and saw nothing wrong with it”.

“Oh my god”, his pretty face grimaced, “Jesus, Y/N, I meant I stole her dad’s car once, and then I lied about my age! What… what kind of people do you hang out with?”

She wondered if he was having fun inside. This man, this pretty picture, was ineffable. He seemed to be saying exactly the kinds of things she wanted to hear. People, a wise man once said, were way worse than monsters. Monsters, beasts of the night, have a purpose. They have a code. People, on the other hand, are completely crazy.

“But you do look like a… like there’s a little doorbell in your head that goes off constantly… like you kill pets for fun…”

Mal stood up, lifting himself with both hands.

“Screw you, Y/N”.

She jumped.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Mal”, she ran around her desk, trying to catch him as he walked out of her office. She clutched the hem of his shirt and scratched the skin on his shoulder with her nails by accident. Mal hissed in pain, but stopped. She had that weird sensation again, like a light zip coming through her body when she touched him. It wasn’t painful, didn’t bother her, but it was curious. That happened for the second time already, but they’ve been contacting hand to hand for weeks now. Passing each other things, patting on the shoulder, shaking hands in sealing the deals about cans of sodas…

He looked at Y/N like she was betraying all the laws in the world. His eyes were beaming warnings, but deep inside, there was also this frail shade of cold that unnerved her way more. She couldn’t tell if she believed even a single word he said. The guy often acted like a sociopath. His sudden outbursts of laughter, his trust in her that was childish if not alarming, and these stories. And yet, she wouldn’t let go of his shirt, until he shrugged her hand of, though, thankfully, pretty gently.

“You don’t believe me. You think I’m making this all up”.

“That’s exactly what a manipulator would say”, she blurted, and grabbed him by the fabric of his shirt again, just in case. The knuckles of her fingers perceived the warmth of his body. “Prove she exists, and I’ll get on board with you, and I’ll do anything to help you get Marta Hoppus back”.

“Hopps”.

“Right”.

“Bringing you coffee was a mistake. Your eyes a rolling”.

Mal stepped away and took out his phone from the back pocket of his jeans.

“I meant to delete all, but I kept one picture of us, just in case”.

He stalled for a second before giving her the phone, like he was afraid to entrust her a treasure he’s been keeping. Y/N looked at the screen and saw Mal, smiling like he was a normal, happy guy, with a young girlfriend in his arms. He held her tight, with both arms. They took a picture in a big mirror, somewhere at a mall. She was kissing his cheek while managing to look in the mirror, too, and Y/N could see her face.

No, she’s never met that person, but the photograph was it.

“It was taken last year”, Mal said, as if reading her mind, “in Seattle. We were travelling”.

“I’m from Seattle”, Y/N said, absently.

She’s just realized she hadn’t been afraid Martha Hopps was not real; she had hoped for that.

“Dude”, she gave his phone back to him. Mal was watching her carefully. “If you love her, you have to fight. But I still can’t grasp the whole idea of them moving her from Ohio to… here”.

He scratched his head and gave the empty corridor a wandering look.

“Well, I’ve… you said yourself I’m a sophisticated guy…”

“I never said you were sophisticated, I said you’re weird”.

“Same thing. I may have a thing”.

“What thing?” she narrowed her eyes.

“I may have been diagnosed with ASPD back in the day”.

“I knew it!” her triumphant shriek was so sudden, Y/N dumbfounded herself a little.

“To be honest, I’m impressed you detected me in, like, twenty days”, Mal nodded, “people usually only see what the want to see”.

“I have a thing for serial killers”, she brushed it off with her hand, ignoring Mal’s fainting smile.

“Oh, Y/N, why does it always have to be that extreme with you. This guy never killed anybody, ever, in his life”.

“What will you do with her family when you get to her?”

Mal shrugged.

“I already got to her. I found her. I guess now you can call me a stalker. I don’t do creepy stuff”, he added, before she could open her mouth, “but she still doesn’t know her ex-boyfriend is here. Wanting to get her back very much. I don’t know. What would you do to people who took away the love of your life from you? Deceiving you both in the process?”

Mal was the kind of person you could tell practically anything. The man could take a joke and keep a secret. Now, though, as she started seeing him as a person with pretence instead feelings, that was all presented in slightly different light. Him being friendly to everybody, charming people the second he saw them, was his mechanism of infiltrating the community. Him sticking with Y/N and befriending her at first sight may have been his method of imitating social life and learn to cope. Even use her, maybe. He’s been living here for some time, with virtually no interest for the place itself, with the sole reason to be close to Martha Hopps; and he treated the whole IT thing like a joke. He was indisputably good at what he was doing; Y/N could see him run across these halls all day long, without a tired sigh; but this perfection in his performance was what must make one suspicious. He always ate at the same time, every day, and understood every joke and said all the right things.

The look he was giving her said cold. His brain was derived of emotion, and to think that this person could be loving someone was close to fantasizing. Y/N recalled the boy in her armchair, minutes earlier, hurt by the memories.

“I would tear them apart”, Y/N said. “If somebody took away the thing I love the most, I would tear them apart, limb from limb. But they’re her family, Mal”.

“So?”

“So, there are, you know, types of people to kill…”

His eyes narrowed.

“Wait. You’re talking seriously now? About tearing them apart?”

“God, well, I’m telling you the one hundred percent. Of course, in reality, you do less. But anyway, there are different types of close people. You can get away with separating your loved one from one type, but not from another”.

“I don’t get it”.

They started walking slowly down the corridor. Y/N couldn’t really tell where they’re going until she saw a vending machine prepped against the wall, and noticed Mal slide his hand into his pocket. He was hungry again.

“Say, you come to their house where they live now, and you choke them all. Theoretically. You don’t really have a right to choke people”.

“I know that, Y/N. I’m a bit sociopathic, much better than I used to be, by the way. It’s far from spree killing”.

“Yes, well, and what then? Where do you go from there? She may still love you, say, you talk everything out, and she realized that they had tricked her into breaking up with you. But even if you move on, go to another state, buy a house and live there, get married. You’ll always be the guy who killed her family”.

He stood at the machine, looking at the rows of packs. His face was highlighted by the pale light from the inside of the glass. Outside, the sky took on an orange shade of the closing sunset. She won’t get to it once again.

“And you think that’s fair. That you should just let it slide, all the things they out of hatred. You know, I’ve had a lot of that when I was a kid. I was always the bad child in the family”.

He put the coin in and pushed a button. Y/N couldn’t even watch the string spinning slowly, she was focused on Mal and what he does next. The cold shiver of realization went through her body. If he’s violent; if he’s aggressive; if he’s pretending to be her friend, all this trauma right now may make him act out. And Damon just won’t manage to run in here on time. She didn’t even have a pencil with her in case she had to protect herself. Y/N looked at his hands, lean, strong and pale, fingers, long and dexterous. Mal always touched and held things sturdily, to make sure they won’t escape his grasp. He never dropped anything and never made mistakes.

“You? You’re the bad child?”

“Uh-huh, I had this sister, she wa- she’s my twin. I say ‘was’ usually, because I haven’t spoken to her in years. She was better at everything. Better at school, at doing the chores, at turning on the TV, talking to people, understanding things. Feeling things. She was the good one, and I was always the defective brother”.

“Don’t say that”, Y/N snapped. Mal looked at her, surprised, and then squatted a little to get his pack of chips out.

“You know they were wrong, right? You’re a big guy now, you’re an adult. You must understand why adults do all that. You’re spared of fear they must have experienced”.

“That’s a good point. But it doesn’t help to know that. I still have hard time dealing with… crazy families. We’re going to the basement?”

“Why?”

“I have my speakers there, and we can make a playlist”.

“Right”.

Walking past the windows, they looked outside, at the orange sky.

“Tomorrow’s gonna rain”, Mal said. He tore the pack open with a loud rustling. “You want some?”

Y/N looked inside.

“I’m gonna puke if I put anything else in my mouth today”.

“That’s what she said”, Mal commented gravely.

#kai parker #kai parker x reader #kai parker imagine #vampire diaries #imagine #legacies #whitmore guy

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mustafa-el-fats · 4 years ago

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Ancient Wisdom Revealed: 5 Hidden Magical Knowledge That Can Transform Your Life

We are usually amazed when we discover hidden knowledge related to mysticism, magic, and witchcraft. Not only does this ancient knowledge enlighten us but it can also help us understand the very essence of our being. However, most of the times valuable magical information and insight are hidden right before our very eyes. We simply need to know where to look.

“Secrets have a way of making themselves felt, even before you know there’s a secret.” – Jean Ferris

It’s true that this is World which has never actually cut off from the Old Ways. In fact, so many things we still do, reflect on the Old Religion and our Witchy Ways. Therefore, we decided to publish an article, on all weird things that actually got Pagan Origin or even Witchy! This is going to be really really fun!

Magical Knowledge Hidden in Plain Sight

“It is hidden but always present.” – Laozi

The list is endless. We could keep going on and on about it but we chose 5 facts which make more sense to almost anyone.

1. Why do we Wink to signal about secret knowledge?

A Winker actually signals the Winkee that they share or s/he is about to share some secret knowledge. It’s not obvious why or what it is, but this is a sign to immediately question reality. This is an awakening call. If you really think about it, it’s already pretty weird.

Wink & the one eye of Odin

Odin is the mighty and wise father of Norse Religion. God of Wisdom, Healing and Victory he is beloved in all germanic traditions. He is famous for his thirst for Wisdom and magical knowledge. According to one story, Odin was traveling again in his quest to expand his awareness. One day he ventured to Mimir’s Well, located beneath the world tree Yggdrasil. The Guardian spirit of this well, whose wisdom and magical knowledge for the Realms was unprecedented, greeted Odin. Odin asked for some water.

I know where Othin’s eye is hidden, Deep in the wide-famed well of Mimir; Mead from the pledge of Othin each morn Does Mimir drink: would you know yet more?

The mystical creature knew exactly what Odin was asking and he tried to make it as hard as possible. Thus he demanded his eye. Odin was asking for true and absolute wisdom and the price seemed fair for the Guardian. However, Odin gave it instantly and the Guardian gave the God of Wisdom what he was asking.

Hidden Magical Knowledge of Wink

In many ancient depictions, and due to the fact that Odin has one eye, he seems like he’s winking. This is where the ‘wink’ came from. As Odin lost his eye for hidden truth, we reenact his divine sacrifice by winking, to signal someone for secret knowledge.

“The only secrets are the secrets that keep themselves.” – George Bernard Shaw

2. Why do we give the ‘middle finger’ to insult someone?

Greeks understood the power of sex & sexuality, thus sexuality was part of each God’s powers. Thus, the ‘Phallus’ aka the erect penis, was a symbol of great potential, a power which could fight every demon, reverse bad luck to golden opportunities and create a new and successful beginning in everyone’s life.

Middle finger represents a phallus – a magical symbol

Indeed, the middle finger represents an erect penis. The middle finger also is known as “digitus impudicus” or “the impudent finger”. Saint Isidore of Seville explains in his Etymologies that the third finger is called impudent because it often expresses vexation, insult. But why?

“A graceful taunt is worth a thousand insults.” – Louis Nizer

This rude gesture actually dates back to ancient Greece. This was a sacred and magical gesture – something like a Mudra. Greeks used it to instantly counter any negative activity and dark arts that targeted them. Just like the statues of Phallus in crossroads and anywhere, they did it to repel dark magic.

Therefore, by ‘giving the middle finger and insulting’ the receiver we actually attempt to bind his/her power against us.

3. Why are Days Seven?

Have you wondered? Why aren’t the days of week 5 or 10 or 12? Why 7? Is there special power in it? Well YES!

Seven are the Days, Seven are the ‘Planets’ of ancient Witches

In the ancient World, astrologers and mages worked with the energy of the ‘7 Planets’. These 7 celestial bodies – which are not all planets – embody the diverse magical forces and energies from which everything is born into creation. Each ‘planet’ has a distinct vibration that can be directed and channeled in every magical work.

Each of the seven Days of the Week represents each of the ‘Planet’ of Astrologers and Witches which of course correspond to one God.

Monday is the Moon’s Day, day of Artemis / Diana – Goddess of the Moon

Tuesday is Tyr’s / Ares / Mars’s Day – God of War

Wednesday is Woden’s / Hermes’s / Mercury’s Day – God of Communication and Knowledge

Thursday is Thor’s / Zeus’s / Jupiter’s Day – all God of Lightning although Zeus is also King of Gods

Friday is Freya’s / Aphrodite’s / Venus’s Day – Goddess of Beauty and Love

Saturday is Saturn’s / Krono’s Day – old God of Time

Sunday is Sun’s / Apollo’s Day – God of the Sun

4. Why do we make Tattoos?

A tattoo is an ancient form of art appearing in different ancient cultures throughout history. Our modern word ‘tattoo’ comes from the Tahitian word tatau which means “to mark something”. Does this remind you of something? Maybe the Witch Marks?

“Tattoos are like stories — they’re symbolic of the important moments in your life.” – Pamela Anderson

Tattoos are in fact Witch Marks

Tattoos are similar to the Marks of the Witches. It’s a sacrifice we make to our bodies in order to connect deeper with what the symbol we chose represents. An eternal mark on our mortal bodies which can also pass through our incarnations. So please, before you decide which tattoo to do on your body, choose wisely the meaning and symbolism!

5. Why do we wear our wedding ring on our ‘ring finger’?

Haven’t you always wondered? Why do we choose to put our Wedding Rings on the ‘Ring Finger’? Well, as you can understand, the name of the finger itself actually implies its participation in Wedding Rituals.

Why a Golden Ring on Ring Finger?

This part of Wedding Rituals actually dates back in ancient years. First of all, the Ring symbolizes the Wholeness and Unity. It’s the perfect shape of Alchemists and it’s linked with Ouroboros – the symbol of eternity.

Now, why on Ring Finger? This finger is associated with the Sun and Apollo, the god of all blessings. When we ‘activate’ this finger we actually activate the power of the Sun and Apollo in us. As every ‘Planet’ is associated with one Metal, the Sun and Apollo are associated with Gold. Thus, to properly activate the Ring Finger we need to wear a Golden Ring on it. Check more on how to wear Rings to pursue your purposes here!

Therefore, in Wedding Rings, we conjure the blessings of Apollo and the Sun, the bring timeless happiness.

“Secrets are made to be found out with time.” – Charles Sanford

Esoteric wisdom can help you transform your life and the lives of your loved ones. Once you know how to access and decode such ancient knowledge, you can get a better understanding of different religions, practices and spiritual self. Now that you have gained some valuable insight, use this hidden ancient magical wisdom to build a happier and more purposeful life.

Post originally published on Magical Recipes Online

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Magical Recipes Online consists of a core team of 4 people who have dedicated their lives to bring Magic to a wider audience, to teach and to be taught, to help everyone in our World tap to the Great Source of All Things and bring happiness and love into their lives. We are everyday ordinary people who have lead extraordinary lives. We have heard our call to Magic from a young age but followed different directions.

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How to Decode Emotions In Text Messages: 6 Effective Ways To Get Started

“How do you decode emotions in text messages?”

Text messages can often be very confusing. It can be especially challenging to understand emotions when we communicate through text messages. With the lack of facial expressions and body language, we can often misinterpret the intended message and tone resulting in disastrous misunderstandings. So how can we read emotions in texts? Let’s find out.

“What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you’d like it to mean?” – Antonin Scalia

It’s easy when people say they are angry or sad or excited, or if they tack an emoji to the end of a text. But when they don’t? Given that even face-to-face communication can be confusing, it should not surprise us that truncated, dashed-off text messages can result in disastrous misunderstandings.

In the age of technology, we not only need to decode in-person interactions, but we also need to decode textual transmissions.

How do we know what a person is feeling when we can’t see their faces or body language?

Here are six tips to help you better decode emotions in text messages, or at least prevent yourself from jumping to conclusions based on scant evidence.

1. Assume good intentions

In general, text messages are short. We have very little information to work with. A smiley face or series of exclamation points can help assure us that the text is meant to express positive emotion, but texts do not always include these extra emotion indicators. Our friends’ busy schedules lead to abrupt messages, and our partner’s playful sarcasm isn’t always read as playful.

Keep in mind that texts are a difficult medium for communicating emotion. We have no facial expressions or tone of voice, or conversation to give us more information. If the text doesn’t say, “I’m angry,” then don’t assume that the texter is angry. We are better off reading texts with the assumption that the texter has good intentions. Otherwise, we may end up in lots of unnecessary arguments.

“Texting is a fundamentally sneaky form of communication, which we should despise, but it is such a boon we don’t care. We are all sneaks now.” – Lynne Truss

2. Cultivate awareness of unconscious biases

In my research, I have had to train numerous teams of emotion coders. But even trained coders who meet weekly to discuss discrepancies don’t agree on which emotion (or how much emotion) is being expressed. People just do not see emotions in the same way. We have unconscious biases that lead us to draw different conclusions based on the same information.

For example, every time I lead a coding team I am reminded that males and females often differ in how they interpret others’ emotions. If Bob writes: “My wife missed our 10-year anniversary,” men may think Bob is angry, while women may think Bob is sad.

I don’t presume to know exactly why this is, but I can say confidently that our emotion-detection skills are affected by characteristics about us. When it comes to detecting emotion in texts, try to remember that our unconscious biases affect our interpretations. The emotions we detect may be reflective of things about us just as much as they are reflective of the information in the text.

3. Explore the emotional undertones of the words themselves

The words people use often have emotional undertones. Think about some common words—words like love, hate, wonderful, hard, work, explore, or kitten.

If a text reads, “I love this wonderful kitten,” we can easily conclude that it is expressing positive emotions. If a text reads, “I hate this hard work,” that seems pretty negative. But, if a text reads, “This wonderful kitten is hard work,” what emotion do we think is being expressed?

One approach to detecting emotions when they appear to be mixed is to use the “bag-of-words” method. This just means that we look at each word separately. How positive are the words “kitten” and “wonderful”? And how negative are the words “hard” and “work”? By looking at how positive and negative each word is, we may be able to figure out the predominant emotion the texter is trying to express. Give this bag-of-words method a try when you are having a hard time figuring out the emotion in a text.

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5 Things That True Leaders Should NEVER Do

Ancient Wisdom Revealed: 5 Hidden Magical Knowledge That Can Transform Your Life

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Dr. Tchiki Davis

Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology. She has helped build happiness products, programs, and services that have reached more than a million people worldwide. To learn more about how Tchiki can help you grow your happiness & well-being, visit berkeleywellbeing.com

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authorellenmint · 1 year ago

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Thirsty Thursday — Mr. Teacher

Every Thursday I share a hot guy you can download & a review to thirst over You’ll pay attention with Mr. Teacher mr-augustDownload Mr Teacher Review from Claw Ink is a sex demon who is bound to Layla to help her with her newfound witch skills. Oh wow!! He is HOT!!” Beverly W

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#claw #coven of desire #thirsty thursday

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crazyfanatic97 · 5 years ago

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A Venomus Encounter

After a conversation with @radioactivepeasant this old plot bunny re-emerged and kept gnawing at my brain till I let it out.

So Radio, here’s to you. I hope you guys enjoy. No, I’m not returning to Transformers full time either. This is for rn a one time only deal.

The dim lights of the distant lights of the dorms drew Venom in like a moth to a flame. Which was accurate considering he was an Insecticon. A byproduct of Shockwave’s attempts at blending organic abilities and traits and grafting them onto Cybertronians.

Despite it having been so long ago, Venom could remember when he and his kind swarmed the skies and rained destruction upon their Autobot targets. Sweeping over them and blocking out any view and hope for rescue they might have had. But now Venom was among the last of the Insecticons.

Many had been picked off during the war, battles with the Wreckers, but perhaps the most damage was done by the witch Airachnid. The barren moon she and her undead horde resided on was still off-limits to all Cybertronian life until something could be done about her.

But that wasn’t any of Venom’s concern. His desires lay upon the planet Earth, where the last large scale conflict of the war had taken place. He’d been off-world during the whole conflict but even then news had spread of Hardhsell’s fall. The strongest of the Insecticons had been felled.

That was already insulting enough but what had proven the most irritating had been the rumors that his destruction had come from a human. A human femme, barely a fraction of their lifespan.

At first, Venom had been reluctant to believe the wild rumor. In fact, more than once he’d gone out of his way to dispel it by giving whomever he heard spreading it a, in his option, well-deserved thrashing.

It’d only been when things had settled down and more reports came from some other survivors that the rumors were confirmed.Hardshell’s destruction was brought on by a lowly organic.

Such an insult burned Venom up, especially since he’d had it confirmed. The other Insecticons had been content to abandon the war but Venom could not allow this insult to stand. The girl had to be slain and Hardshell properly avenged.

After many years of searching though, he’d finally found her. The Autobots had left the planet and now was the proper time to strike. As he approached the dorms, Venom twitched with excitement. The thirst for revenge on this killer of his brethren blinding him to everything else.

Perhaps then he might have seen the white Autobot leaping at him from the nearby treeline, or heard the sound of swords being unsheathed. But by the time had, it was too late and they were already buried inside the Insecticons armor.

His quest for revenge was silenced alongside his screams and it wasn’t long before Venom joined Hardshell within the Allspark…

“Gah, what did Shockwave put in these things?” Wheeljack grunted as he dragged Venom’s corpse away from Black River Tech. His armor covered in various fluids that had come from the Insecticons body and he winced as it trickled out onto the grass. ‘Sure hope no one comes out this way for a while’

As he dragged the corpse out towards the river, he spared a glance back towards the dorms with a sigh. Another Con after Bulk’s little Wrecker. One of these days he’d start charging him with how many he’d taken care of. He’d been surprised at how many had wanted a piece of the Autobots former human charges.

Of course, that was expected though, Jack had been given the key to Vector Sigma itself, Raf had managed to out hack Soundwave, and Miko’s slaying of Hardshell had no doubt been the reason for Venom’s little excursion to Black River.

It was also another list of reasons why he refused to answer any of Bumblebee’s attempts to hail him after they both discovered the other’s presence on Earth. It was insulting that he’d not sought out the kids. At least to Raf and Miko, it was, Jack hadn’t really said much on the whole matter.

While a bit sparkless of him, Wheeljack didn’t care about whatever Bee’s mission was. He knew it was arresting Decepticon escapees from a prison ship and Wheeljack had met some of the escapees but once they met up, they tended to end up just like Venom.

Speaking of, Wheeljack let go of the corpse as they reached the riverbank and he scrambled for his box of grenades. Looking over the Insecticon and mentally calculating how many he’d need. Once he’d figured that out, he plucked about three grenades and attached them across the body’s weak points.

After they were all armed and timers set, Wheeljack unceremoniously shoved the Insecticon into the river. Watching as it sunk into the dark waters and then he waited.

Before long a geyser of water sprayed into the air, showering Wheeljack a few fragments of metal. He chuckled to himself at another job well done before turning and heading back towards the nearest roadway.

The morning was a long way off, but he knew it’d take forever to get the Insecticon gunk off himself and Miko’s classes started at 8:30 on Thursdays. At that Primus forsaken hour, at least in her words, she wouldn’t be thrilled to ride in a car covered with gunk.

He just hoped that the Wash N Roll was still open at this hour otherwise it’d take even longer.

#short fic #Transformers Prime #rid15 #Wheeljack #insecticons #miko nakadai

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ashtheshortstack · 5 years ago

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Garlic in the Cauldron - Ch 2

Garlic in the Cauldron

Adrien Agreste learned from a young age that witches were the enemies to vampires. He was taught to kill on sight, drink them dry, and never look back… however, meeting a witch named Marinette threw his entire world off balance.

Ch 2 - Some Call it Magic

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<-Previous Chapter/Next Chapter –>

Hi, my dumb ass forgot to post this on tumblr last Thursday.

Sleeping was often a difficult task for Adrien, mostly because nightmares often plagued him. He’d often relive situations with his father, but his dreams would make them much more sinister and eerie. He felt a pain in his chest every time he’d awake from one of those intense night terrors. Sometimes he’d dream of witches capturing him and tormenting him, sometimes it was his father scolding him and leaving him to rot. There was no telling what type of torment his brain could concoct for him while he slept.

However, it had been a few nights since he’d met Marinette, and his brain had been oddly calm and kind to him. No vicious terrors or relived trauma for a few nights was a blessing for sure. He hadn’t expected to have a sweet dream of a giggling witch holding his hands with a faint blush on her freckled nose, that was for sure. But when he awoke with a smile on his face for the first time he could remember, he was thankful to have met her. He simply longed to find her again.

“Well, Romeo, that’s a love struct look if I’ve ever seen one,” Plagg teased as he hopped onto the bed beside the young vampire.

Adrien couldn’t stop the embarrassed flush that kissed his cheeks and the small smile that twitched its way to his lips. “Maybe,” he glanced out into the dark room. “It’s not fair. She shouldn’t be allowed to be so pretty.”

Plagg made a gagged sound. “Gross.”

Ignoring his familiar’s distaste, Adrien gaze a dream-dazed sigh. “You think I can see her again soon?”

The cat gave a hunched shrug. “Possibly. Your pops is going hunting again tonight, right?”

With an eager nod, Adrien beamed and checked the clock. He had about an hour before his father would leave. He hoped Marinette would be awake like she was the other night when they met. Maybe she’d be out flying again if he was lucky. He did worry about their sleep schedules being different effecting if he could visit her often. Witches may not need to be active at night like vampires did.

It was part of the life of being a “mythical” being. There was always a catch to their existence. For vampires, it was being allergic to many things, including sunlight. The one time Adrien even attempted to go out during the afternoon, he’d developed the worst rash of his life. Full of blistering hives and burnt skin. He remembered the pain and sobbing as his mother rubbed cream on the raw skin.

In retrospect, he really hadn’t realized how little he knew about witches until he started wondering how to maintain a friendship with one.

To his surprise, Adrien’s door creaked open and there stood Nathalie. Her arms were folded behind her back as usual, posture straight, and nose in the air. “Adrien, your father would like to see you.”

He tensed, sucking in a nervous breath. “May I ask what about?”

“I’m afraid I’m unaware of the nature of his request. I was only told to come fetch you,” she said with a shake of her head.

He slipped out of bed and paused, glancing down at his attire. “Should I get dressed?”

Nathalie gave him a pity smile. “I don’t think this is a proper matter, but he did sound urgent. Let’s go,” she said with a motion of her hand.

Adrien nodded, giving Plagg a quick concerned glance before following Nathalie out the door and down the halls. When she approached his father’s den, the crushing iron smell of blood hit Adrien’s nostrils. The scent was overwhelming to his senses, so much it almost gave him a headache. Adrien blinked away the watering in his eyes as Nathalie opened the door.

“I retrieved Adrien as you requested, sir.”

Gabriel spun in his chair, sitting straight with a whine glass full of bright red liquid that Adrien was positive wasn’t actually whine. His father’s elongated fangs protruded from his upper lip. Technically, as vampires got older, they could adjust the length of their fangs depending on the prey. Adrien just thought it was gaudy and something his father did just to appear more intimidating. Plus, he was still on the younger side, so Adrien wasn’t quite able to control his fangs yet.

“Ah, I see that Nathalie just woke you,” his father sounded a bit amused, however, his face didn’t show the same. His brows stayed straight; eyes still as cold as ever.

Gulping, Adrien gave a polite nod. “Yes, Father. She said it was urgent that you speak to me.”

“Yes,” Gabriel took a sip of his glass before setting it down on his desk. His father properly folded his hands on the table, keeping sharp eyes on his son. Adrien felt the stare ripple through him. “Nathalie tells me you haven’t been leaving your room much lately. I’m concerned that you’re not getting enough substance in your diet. Blood is an important part of your consumption, and I fear you’ll fall into a frenzy if you don’t maintain it.”

“Oh, I’ve been drinking blood, Father, I promise. I just prefer eating solid foods. If there’s anyway we can make the blood more tolerable, then I’m sure I’d… consume enough,” Adrien explained. He decided to ignore the tidbit about staying in his room. Of course, he was staying in his room more. Plagg was much better company than the servant members of their clan. Nathalie didn’t like to humor him often, and the Gorilla didn’t speak at all.

“Son, we’re not humans. Eating human foods is not what sustains us. I know you’ve always been hesitant about drinking blood, but it’s what we must do. If you’re so insistent on cutting down on blood, then maybe I should start reserving some witch blood for yo—”

“No!”

Gabriel looked aghast at his son’s sudden outburst. Adrien froze, eyes wide and shoulders stiff. He was surprised himself. He hadn’t meant to burst out like that, but the thought of drinking witches’ blood was a hard no for him. Especially since he had just met one who he wanted to befriend. That sounded… immoral.

“S-Sorry,” he muttered, voice hoarse. “I’m just not interested in witch blood, Father.”

His father let out a hum, leaning over the desk. “I understand that new things tend to make you nervous. However, you will be carrying on my legacy one day, you realize. I suggest you get used to the scent and taste of it soon. Witch blood satisfies our thirst much longer than human blood does. It’s something to consider.”

Adrien swallowed thickly but bobbed his head in understanding. “Father, I don’t mean to disrespect you, but I’m still uncomfortable with the thought of hurting others in order to get their blood. I’m fine with getting blood already packaged instead of feeding.”

A chill went down his spine as his father snickered. “Adrien, don’t forget what you are. We are vampires. We are at the top of the food chain. Humans, witches, and all creatures fear us.” Gabriel tapped the table as he spoke. “That is a reputation I intend on upholding.”

“Yes, Father,” Adrien replied robotically. Licking his lips, he gained a breath. “I will make sure that I’m taking care of myself as well.”

His father smirked, fangs gleaming with pride. It made Adrien uneasy to see his father in this predatory state. He just wanted to leave. Wanted to run away as fast as he could.

“Good, son. I’m glad we understand each other,” Gabriel stood, grabbing his cup and gulping down it’s contents. The smell was so potent. That wasn’t human blood, Adrien knew that for sure. His father harshly plopped the glass back onto the desk. “I will be leaving to hunt. We found a new coven recently, and I intend to make the most of it.”

Adrien’s heart fell, but he hoped his face didn’t show it. He felt his throat tighten. Please, not Marinette’s coven. That’s all he wished. Not hers.

“I expect that you’ll drink plenty of blood this evening, correct?”

His body felt heavy. “Yes, sir,” he murmured.

Had he made her coven a target by visiting? Did he leave her scent for his father to track? Adrien certainly prayed that was not the case. His father bid him farewell, telling him to go eat and be more aware of his blood intake. Adrien followed him from the office and watched him conjugate with the fellow clan members in the foyer.

All eyes were on him. The high clan members stared him down. Their gazes unwavering as he started down the stairs. He was stunned, though, to see his childhood friend standing among the members.

“Chloe?” he asked, mostly to himself.

His eyes were wide as she gave him a smirk and a tiny wave with her fingers. She wasn’t allowed to leave the group, so Adrien approached her instead. “Hey Adrikins,” she cooed.

“Chloe, what are you doing here?”

The blonde cocked a brow at him. She scoffed. “What do you mean? I’m hunting with the clan. What’s it look like?”

Blinking, Adrien definitely wore his confusion on his face. “You’re hunting? We’re too young to join the elders for the hunt.”

Her posture changed, body loosening and her snobby posture changing to that of concern. “What? That’s ridiculous. We’re allowed to start hunting at sixteen.”

“Oh,” was all he could manage. His voice cracked a bit, his head hung low and the view of his shoes became a much better sight to behold than Chloe.

“Speaking of which, are you not joining us again this evening?” she asked as if she hadn’t just dropped an atomic bomb on him.

“I…I guess I’m not.”

He certainly recalled his father telling him that it would be years until he was old enough to hunt. Not that Adrien really wanted to, yet the fact that his father clearly thought so lowly of his abilities made him feel shameful. Swallowing, he gathered what little was left of his shattered pride. “I-I’ll see you later. Good luck.”

He left. Adrien started slowly, but once he was out of eyesight, he sprinted to his room. Slamming the door behind him, he leaned back against it, sliding down it slowly He groaned the entire way down. Hurt. Betrayal. Confusion. All of it swarmed in his gut. Was he really that much of a wimp to his father? He could have started hunting two years prior and never was there even any mention of it. Was he a burden? A nuisance? His father didn’t want to deal with him on the hunt.

Gabriel lied to him. Constantly telling him he was too young. Too inexperienced. That couldn’t have been it at all. How was he to get experience if his father never let him leave the mansion!? How dare he!?

“Woah, Adrien, you okay?”

Adrien opened his eyes to see Plagg’s concerned gaze. At least someone in this place cared about him. In a way, he guessed he should be grateful for his father’s decision. He would’ve never met Marinette, and if he was just like any other vampire, then Plagg probably wouldn’t have stuck around.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay. Did you know that vampires start hunting at sixteen? And I’m eighteen and my father has just… conveniently forgotten to mention it for the last two years?” Adrien said, curling his knees to his chest.

Plagg trotted into the vampire’s lap. “I can’t say I know much about vampire traditions, but I can say that I don’t think you’d be the kid I know now if you were like the rest of your clan.”

He couldn’t help but smile and give Plagg a scratch under his chin. The familiar let out a brief purr, soothing Adrien’s heartache a little. “Thanks, Plagg.”

Opening his eyes, Plagg’s voice went flat. “What did he want?”

Rolling his eyes, Adrien sighed. “The usual scolding of me living my life. Father can’t seem to accept I’m not a blood-thirsty monster like he is. He yelled at me for not drinking enough. He even offered me witch blood, but I said no.”

Placing a paw on Adrien’s shoulder, the familiar smiled. “I’m proud of you.”

Adrien grinned. “I knew you liked me! You just pretend to be annoyed.”

“Ugh! Shut up,” Plagg pounced away and put a distance between the two of them. The familiar could pretend all he wanted, but Adrien knew he cared about him. “Anyway! Weren’t you wanting to visit a certain witch?”

Gasping, Adrien jumped to his feet. “Plagg! My father said he found a new coven! You don’t think I led him right to them, do you?”

Plagg hissed and started towards the window. “The likelihood is low. That’s the most protected coven in the area. We should check though. Your father should have left by now, so let’s go.”

Adrien watched the familiar shrink down small, taking his tiny form and floating towards the window. He followed suit by transforming into a bat, flapping his wings to catch up with the familiar. The two took off through the window. Adrien looked down and saw his clan marching off together in the opposite direction. He felt slight relief washing over him. If they were going a different way, then hopefully it wasn’t Marinette’s coven that they found.

________________________________________________________________

Adrien was thankful to see Marinette’s coven still intact when he and Plagg approached it. All of the witches still seemed carefree and happy with their families. There seemed to be a street market this that day. Witches were exchanging goods in carts. It was probably potion materials.

“They look fine,” he mused.

Plagg hummed in agreement. “Yeah. If you’re going to meet Marinette, you should probably find somewhere just outside of the coven.”

“You’re right, but I have to find her first.”

Plagg chuckled. “We already have.”

Adrien’s head shot up. The familiar was right. None other than Marinette was soaring on her broom again. Her familiar was perched on her shoulder as they flew. It appeared that they were conversing with one another. Adrien hated to interrupt… no. Actually. He didn’t. He was just too excited to see her.

Flapping his wings, he sped up to catch up to her. “Marinette!” he called.

She perked up at the sound of her name. The witch glanced around, trying to find the source of the voice.

“Marinette!” he repeated as he finally fluttered beside her. She turned, making eye contact with him. “Hey,” he said.

Marinette shrieked. Her broom wobbled as she lost concentration. She leaned forward, gripping the broom as it began to sputter and fly back and forth in the air. His heart pounded. He hadn’t meant to scare her!

Granted, maybe approaching her as a talking bat wasn’t the best of ideas.

Her broom began descending quickly. Marinette wound her legs around it and pulled back on the handle in an apparent attempt to slow down the falling broom. It didn’t help much. She was dropping quickly towards a bundle of trees just outside of the coven streets. He couldn’t just let her crash into a tree! She’d be a witch pancake if she hit a trunk too hard.

“Hang on! I got you!” Adrien called as Marinette continued her panicked maneuvers.

Her broom caught between two branches, the momentum sending the witch flying forward. Adrien moved quickly, changing out of his bat form in midair, and catching Marinette in his arms. He clutched her to his chest as his back slammed on the ground. He skidded across the dirt, shoulders digging into the surface as his legs wound around Marinette, keeping her still. They came to rapid halt when Adrien’s back rammed into a tree.

With a grunt, Adrien grabbed his head. He breathed heavily, huffing to catch his breath. Cracking an eye open, he looked down at a flustered Marinette. Her cheeks were red, eyes wide, mouth agape. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She jumped off him, scooching away with arms held up in front of her. “Oh, my God! Are you okay?”

Adrien sat up with a chuckle, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head from the blow. “I’m okay. Vampires are pretty sturdy.”

“I didn’t know you could turn into a bat!” she exclaimed, obviously still stunned by the whole ordeal.

With a nervous laugh, he looked down at his lap. “S-Sorry, it was an accident—”

“Well, you should be sorry!” her little bug familiar piped in. “She crashed her broom again and it was your fault! She could have been killed!”

Jeez. The little creature sure knew how to make him feel like shit. “I didn’t mean—”

Marinette sighed, snatched the red familiar away from him. “Tikki, lay off. It was my fault. I lost focus so my broom lost control. Leave Adrien alone.” She glanced at Plagg, who had returned to his cat form. “Why don’t you two go play nice?” Marinette smiled as she shooed her familiar over towards Plagg.

“Fine,” Tikki grumbled and began floating towards Plagg. “But I’m still watching you,” she finished giving Adrien one last glare.

Damn. That ice-cold look sent a shiver down his spine. He’d never felt so hated before. It wasn’t like Adrien didn’t understand. He did almost kill her owner twice now…

Marinette scooted closer, taking a seat beside him. He couldn’t help how his heart seemed to beat faster when she was around. Adrien glanced away anxiously. “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” she said and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I understand.”

Adrien looked up, smiling slightly. Why did she make him so nervous? He couldn’t understand it. “Do you make it a habit to crash your broom often?”

She let out a sweet laugh shaking her head in earnest. “No, I only seem to do that when a certain vampire is around”

He couldn’t help the laugh that spilled out. “Maybe, I should leave you alone then?”

“No,” she said immediately. Marinette gave him a kind pat on the shoulder. “I think I’ll survive.”

Sitting up straighter, Adrien puffed up his chest. “Well, I did save you.”

She let out a snort. “Yeah, uh huh. We’ll call it even since you tried to drink my blood a few days ago.”

With a grimace, Adrien clenched his jaw. She didn’t have to remind him. He’d been living with the guilt ever since he did it. “Sorry about that… again.”

“It’s okay. It meant something to you. I was an easy target. Besides, I think it worked out the end for us, right? I made a new friend out of the whole ordeal,” Marinette chimed with a smile.

He didn’t deserve to be in the presence of such a kind heart. Adrien wasn’t sure how he got so lucky so meet her. Nodding, he agreed. “Right.”

There was beat of silence. Adrien wasn’t quite sure what to say. He’d been so excited to see her again that he hadn’t considered that the whole interaction might be awkward. He didn’t know what to talk about. She kept calling him a friend, but he wasn’t sure what friends did. Or how to interact. The only girl he’d ever spoke to was Chloe, and that was more him telling her what to do rather than a mutual friendship.

“Sooooo, um. I wasn’t really prepared on what to say,” she started, sucking on her bottom lip.

Adrien ruffled his hair at the base of his neck. “Yeah, me neither. I didn’t mean to make this weird.”

“No, no! You’re okay. Let’s try to make it not weird. Why not just… talk about each other’s kind? Obviously, I don’t know much about vampires since you’re the first one I’ve ever seen. I know the general look, the ears, the fangs, but I didn’t know you could turn into a bat.”

Adrien hummed. “Well, vampires have three forms. Our natural form is the one I’m in right now.”

“Huh. I didn’t know vampires had so many special tricks. I thought you guys just… growled and drank blood.”

He snorted with a grin. “I only growl sometimes. Anddd, I have plenty of special tricks. Like we have very good sense of smell and we can control our teeth.”

She cocked a brow. “Control your teeth?”

He nodded lifting his lip with a finger to show his fangs. “We can control our fangs eventually. It’s like an adjustment for the size of the prey. I’m technically too young to be able to do that yet.” Or so he thought. Could just be another lie made up by his father.

She looked at him with disbelief. “Huh. That’s… cool, I guess. Have yours ever, I don’t know, just popped out before?”

“I guess? Mine have only gotten longer when I drink blood or go into a frenzy.”

Marinette let out a nervous laugh, glancing away from him and rubbing her arm slowly. “Yeah, I’ve heard about those.”

Adrien did his best to comfort her with a small smile. “Don’t worry. I have a decent control over mine. It’s been almost a year since I’ve done that. As long as I maintain a good diet, I’m fine.”

“Oh? And what’s a good vampire diet consist of? Maybe, I need tips,” she giggled.

Needed tips? For what? She was beautiful.

He chuckled. “Oh yeah? Well, you may have to take a liking to blood since that’s mostly what we consume. But with a bit of human food. Like…” he paused to think. “You know the stereotype that human models barely eat anything? It’s like that. I only eat a small portion a day then drink blood the rest of the time. If I eat too much normal food, I’ll get sick.”

She seemed so genuinely interested. Marinette nodded in agreement, tapping a finger on her chin. “Oohhh. Huh. That must suck. I love eating sweets until I can’t taste salt anymore,” she replied with a giggle. She looked him over and smirked before tilting her head. “Witches eat people food, if you were wondering.”

“Really? And here I thought you guys ate rats you stewed in a cauldron. Sometimes human children if they stumble upon your secluded homes in the woods,” he mused.

He was worried that he had overstepped with that joke when she stayed silent for a moment. She stared at him as he gave her a simple hint of a smirk. Marinette sputtered before snickering behind her hand. “Oh, you’re joking.”

Barking out a laugh, Adrien grinned. “I was. Unless…”

She gave him a playful push to the shoulder. “Shut up.”

Adrien couldn’t help the joy the teasing and laughing brought to him. He paused, smiling at her as Marinette caught his gaze. Those bluebells sent him into a daze. She was so pretty. No one should be allowed to be so gorgeous. Her skin was like porcelain, the faint freckles that dusted her nose were too cute. His heart fluttered as her eyes bore into his.

Marinette’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly turned away. “A-Anyway, you were saying? About vampires?” she asked with a sideways glance.

“R-Right, um, yeah. Where was I?”

“Hmm,” she tapped a finger to her bottom lip. Adrien was ashamed to admit he tracked the motion, enthralled with how pink and pouty those lips were. “You were saying that vampires have three forms, right?”

“Oh! Yeah. So, this form, the bat form, and then… uh… the one that’s both? I don’t think we have a name for it, necessarily. It’s not used very often. I’ve—I’ve never actually done it before,” Adrien confessed. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to tell her about the third form. It wasn’t known that vampires had the third form. Most people who witnessed it… didn’t live to tell.

“Wait, so… what is it? You’re vampire but a bat too?”

Adrien hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I’d look like this but with some added bat features.”

Marinette sat up, scooching to sit in front of him instead of to his side. She definitely seemed interested in his life. It was flattering to him. “Does that mean you sprout wings?”

“Yeah. We have wings and claws. I think fangs tend to get longer too. Plus, the red eyes,” he explained. He bit his lip to hide the chuckle from bubbling out. She looked so at awe at the information coming out of his mouth.

“Red eyes?” she asked.

“Yeah. Our eyes tend to turn red when we frenzy too… Or when—” he stopped, tongue heavy in his mouth.

“When…?”

“When vampires drink witches’ blood,” he finished reluctantly. The sorrowful look on her face didn’t help matters. He wished he hadn’t brought it up at all.

Marinette stayed silent, staring down at her lap. “Do you drink it too?”

“No!” he said quickly with a shake of his head. God, that was the last thing he wanted her to think. He’d never had it. Never wanted it. He saw how… eccentric it made the other vampires. It seemed like too much of a boost. He was afraid of it. The only reason he was going to drink from Marinette was to prove to his father he wasn’t useless. After the information he learned today, that effort may have been futile anyway.

“You don’t? You’ve never?”

“No, I’ve never drank it,” Adrien insisted. She still seemed wary of him, fiddling with her fingers in her lap and avoiding eye contact. With a quick glance over at the conversing familiars, Adrien gestured to Plagg. “Hey! Plagg can vouch for me. Have I ever had witches’ blood?”

Plagg shook his head. “Nope, never. His dad even yelled at him about it today. He came back to his room upset about it.”

Adrien gave the cat a flat glare. “All you had to say was ‘no.’ I didn’t ask for the details of my life to be shared, thank you.”

After giving the familiar a small smile, Marinette gave him a concerned gaze. “Does your father yell at you often?”

Giving a lopsided shrug, he glanced away. “It’s… just something he does,” he murmured. There was a beat of silence. He glanced up, meeting the troubled look that glowed in those beautiful blue irises of hers. He didn’t want this to become a pity party for him. He’d already dealt with him enough that evening. Sucking in a breath, Adrien popped up straight and forcing a cheerier tone. “A-Anyway! Is there anything I should know about witches?”

Marinette seemed to get the hint to drop the subject. She recollected herself, sitting up straighter. “U-Uh, well! We have lots of festivals. We tend to visit one another often. Covens are very close-knit communities that spend a lot of time together. We all have familiars, obviously,” she said gesturing to her grumpy familiar. Her arms flailed wildly as she spoke. Adrien couldn’t help but find all of her mannerisms to be super adorable. “We… don’t melt when you throw water on us.”

“Oh, good to know,” he snickered.

“Yeah, so if you were planning to off me by throwing me in a lake, you’re going to have to find another way.”

With a grin, he shook his head. “I would never,” he said softly. Her cheeks flushed a little as her mouth formed a small o shape. Maybe that was too sincere for a time while they were still getting to know each other. Clearing his throat, he fiddled with his hair. “I-If you were trying to get rid of me by shucking me out into the sun, I won’t turn to dust. I just get a rash. Like a bad sunburn. Makes me sneeze too.”

Marinette laughed. “ So, that’s why you come here at night?”

He nodded.

She perked at that, tapping her chin with a hum. “You know, there’s a lot of legends and rumors about what hurts vampires. What if you just correct a lot of those for me… like… a question lightning round?”

He snorted but didn’t hesitate. “Sure.”

“Hmmm… okay. Is a stake to the heart the actual only way to kill a vampire?”

“Uh, that’d kill anybody, Marinette.”

“Are you actually dead?”

“No, we have blood and we’re living. It just pumps slower because our chemical make-up is different.”

“Does that mean you live forever?”

“No. Just longer than the average human.”

“What? Really? Us too!”

“How old?”

“About to two hundred or so?”

“Huh. Vampires too.”

“Nice!” she held a fist out, gazing at him expectantly.

Adrien blinked before slowly lifting his fist to bump his knuckle against hers. She beamed happily at him, and he couldn’t help but find her smile so infectious. He laughed. A laugh of pure joy and happiness. Something he hadn’t felt since his mother was around. He’d hardly known this girl, but jeez she made him so thrilled to exist.

“S-So, uh,” he seemed to find his voice again, beginning to speak. “Got anymore juicy secrets about witches?” God, he just needed the subject off of him for a moment. A breather would be nice.

“Well, obviously, we live high class lives full of high-quality food stewed in caldrons. We also have professional broom riding,” she boasted with a puff of her chest.

Adrien leaned back against the tree, crossing his arms. “I take it that’s not your hobby.”

Scoffing, she feigned a hurt expression and pressed a palm to her chest. “Honestly, how dare you assume that. You don’t think I’m good enough to be a professional?”

“Considering when I first met you, you crashed your broom on a clear night, yeah. I would assume that,” his voice oozed so much sarcasm.

Marinette cracked a smile. “Yeah, well, who needs professional broom riding anyway? I don’t see how they do it. Broom riding takes so much focus and energy. I can’t stay on one as long as they do.”

“It’s okay. I think that’s a special quality about you.”

Her cheeks dusted rose and she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “You think so?”

Adrien sat up, smiling as he did so. “Yeah, one of many.”

Gazing at him with those blue eyes, smile turned shy. “I have special qualities?”

“Yeah, of course you do. Obviously, you’re brave and a little crazy for even wanting to talk to me after the whole… uh, incident. You’re pretty, charming, and funny. I like being around you. And—uh—I wouldn’t mind meeting up with you more. And learning more about you. So that I can find more special qualities to tell you about.”

Marinette nodded, the sweet expression never leaving her face. “Okay. How about we meet again right here tomorrow?”

“You… really want to?”

Smiling, a hesitant hand hovered over his shoulder to shyly pat him. Adrien pretended the slight, gentle touch didn’t send tingles through his skin to his chest. Her voice was soft, the tender gaze never leaving her face. “Yeah, I do.”

Her grin was infectious as Adrien couldn’t help the twitching of his lips. “I’d like that.” Pausing, he turned away from her for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip. Leaning over towards her, he cupped his hand around his mouth in a mock whisper. “Between you and me… I don’t have any friends?”

Marinette let out an exaggerated gasp. “Really?” she asked, flopping her hands on her lap. “I really would have never known.”

Adrien laughed. “Yeah. What a surprise, right?”

“Well,” she said glancing away for a moment. “You do now.”

_______________________________________________________________

“See, Tikki, I told you,” Marinette boasted, puffing up her chest with confidence as she entered her room. “I knew I could learn about vampires by talking to him. And he didn’t suspect a thing about it. It was all just small talk.” She made her way over to her closet, opening the doors to pull out her pajamas for the evening.

Tikki crossed her arms giving her owner a flat look. “Are you trying to convince me you don’t like him or yourself?”

Pausing, Marinette turned to face her familiar. She tilted her head and cocked a brow. “What do you mean?”

“You like him. A lot.”

“Ha!” she let out a snort then snatched a t-shirt and polka-dot pjs out of the closet. “Yeah, right. This is research to defeat the Agrestes. Like learning vampires have three forms. That’s interesting, huh?”

Tikki squinted. “You told him he was your friend. Emotional manipulation of someone who is clearly lonely is cruel.”

“Stop it! I am his friend. He’s sweet, okay? If he needs me to be there for him then I will.”

“So, it’s not research?”

“It’s both!” she cried. Marinette groaned, stuffing her face into her change of clothes. “Tikki, stop hounding me about this. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

The familiar sighed, floating over to her owner with reluctance. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know… I do like him in a friendly way. He obviously has a bad life at home. I know vampires probably aren’t the most nurturing of creatures, but Adrien seems sweet enough. He’s been through a lot with his mother. I’m starting to think his dad isn’t the best parent from what Plagg hinted at today,” she explained.

“Speaking of Plagg, we did have a conversation about Adrien. He told me a little more about him.”

Marinette finally shucked off her shirt, tossing it into the hamper before pulling her large t-shirt over her head. “Really?” she asked as she popped her head through the shirt. “Like what?”

Tikki grimaced, rubbing a paw along her arm. “Well, you were right about his father. Apparently, he’s very harsh and cold towards Adrien.”

She felt her shoulders deflate. “He doesn’t deserve that…”

“No… he doesn’t. I know I’ve been difficult with him, but I’m just doing my job to protect you. Plagg said Adrien stays in his room most days to talk to him. And that his father keeps him sheltered away from the rest of the clan.”

Heaving a sigh, Marinette popped open the button of her jeans and slid them off her hips. Tikki’s words were heavy on her shoulders. No one deserved to be hidden away from the world. Not even a vampire. She stepped into her pajamas as tears bubbled in her eyes. Marinette quickly blinked them away with a sniffle. Adrien really did try. She knew he did.

It didn’t make any sense. Why was she doing this to herself? Marinette was starting to question her sanity. This was a vampire. The ones who hunted down her kind like turkeys for a Thanksgiving feast. The boy tried to drink her. And it had terrified her. But when she saw that guilt-ridden expression on his face when he pushed away from her, she couldn’t help but have sympathy for him. He was clearly a broken soul. His mom was killed by witches, which should have made him much more hate-filled than he was. Anyone raised to hate an entire race wouldn’t so easily give up those feelings. But he had.

She couldn’t help but wonder if this was really blessing of fate. Marinette knew her purpose was to defeat the Agreste clan. It was a prophecy assigned to her at birth. It was why she was gifted the earrings by Master Fu at her sixteenth birthday. And suddenly, two years later, a vampire practically falls in her lap. A vampire who has never killed a soul in his life? Could it have been destiny that brought Adrien to her? Who knew, really?

_______________________________________________________________

Adrien tip-toed into the kitchen. He knew he father and Nathalie were still out hunting with the rest of the clan, but the Gorilla was around guarding the house somewhere. He grabbed a ham and cheese sandwich with a glass of blood to go with it. The last thing he wanted was to accidently frenzy around Marinette, so he needed to keep up his strength. He noticed a block of camembert sitting on the counter. Plagg hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday, and there wasn’t any chicken or fish in the fridge… he’d already checked.

With a lopsided shrug to himself, he cut two slices from the wheel. He plopped the slices onto his plate, careful not to get the stinky cheese on his sandwich. Adrien quietly snuck back to his bedroom. He scooted onto his bed, careful not to spill anything.

Plagg hopped onto the comforter, eyeing him. Adrien held up a slice of camembert. “There was no chicken or fish, so you’ll just have to go with this tonight.”

“Is that cheese? I’m a cat, Adrien. Not a mouse,” Plagg hissed. Adrien didn’t hesitate, just continued to hold the cheese out for the cat to take. Plagg glowered at his kindness. Leaning forward, he took a tiny bite. Adrien chuckled when the familiar’s eyes lit up, taking larger bites.

Adrien took his sandwich from the plate and pushed the cheese towards Plagg. Sucking the blood from a straw, he watched the familiar munch down on the camembert. He gazed up at Adrien with wide eyes. “Kid, this is the best thing I ever tasted.”

Adrien had to keep himself from snorting the blood from his nose.

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