#unless you think I should switch to third person?

[hannahbarberra162]

Heat Transfer, Chapter 4 (Platonic Yandere WBP x Sea Naga)

On Ao3

<3 Thank you to @gouraminnow for Beta-ing this and all my thoughts <3

All the other chapters

Baby's first swear :3

Your POV

You watched Ace’s fire hand wide eyed and curious. He was made of fire , that’s why he was so warm, that’s why he could heat rooms so easily, that’s why you were drawn to him. Your sisters had told you some humans were special but not that they could be made of fire. You watched as Ace heated the food and popped the eye in his mouth, crunching it between his embarrassingly flat teeth. You weren’t sure when he became fire and he became flesh, but you were interested.

“ ‘S good,” he said in a happy tone, extinguishing the fire and curling his fingers into his palm and extending only his thumb upwards. You hesitantly brought your forefinger to touch his thumb, trying to determine the trigger for when he turned into fire. When his thumb didn’t ignite, you took his hand and uncurled his fingers gently, rubbing his hand with the pads of your finger. Ace watched you calmly, letting you take his larger hand in your own webbed one. Scraping at his palm gently with a claw so as not to harm him, he seemed to be made of normal human flesh once again. 

“H-hey, that tickles,” he said, yanking his hand away from you. Did you make him annoyed? You wished you could communicate with him easily but you appreciated that he was speaking to you so much, you were hoping to learn human quickly. You clawed another eye out of the fish, extending it to him. You wanted him to make the fire again, maybe he could only summon it for food? He looked at you with his brows drawn slightly and his head tilted, but shrugged and turned his hand to fire once more. You watched intently, looking above and below his wrist for the billowing flames to engulf him. Reaching out, you grasped his forearm below the flame - it was perfectly fine, uncharred and surprisingly not overly warm. Curious. How much of his body could he make into flame?

“Oh, that’s what you want? Heh. Watch this,” Ace said to you as he chewed the second eye. You hoped he appreciated it, those were your favorite parts of the fish. You were taken aback as Ace’s lower half turned to flames, propelling the small boat towards the larger one at a rapid pace. It felt like when your sisters let you hold on to their hair when they swam - freedom coming as fast as you could take it. You laughed out loud with your mouth wide open, something your sisters told you was entirely from your human half, winding your tail around the pole in the middle of the boat. You threw your arms in the air, feeling your hair whip around your face. Pushing yourself higher on your tail, you closed your eyes and enjoyed the rush that came with moving so quickly as Ace maneuvered the boat towards the larger ship. Looking at it, you realized the front looked like a happy whale, which you found charming. Maybe the Captain could turn into a whale like Ace could turn into fire? It would explain his larger size and maybe he could swim with you in the sea.

It was already night when Ace brought you back to the ship, the smell of food wafting through the air. You wanted to show that you were capable and a worthy fighter so you quickly dove into the water to retrieve a fish for Meatman to cook. Maybe he’d be impressed with your kill - or better yet - cook it for you to eat. Biting a rather large Bananafish that was lingering near the side of the ship, you hauled it up the rope ladder, looped in your tail as Ace moored his boat to the larger one. As your toxin spread the fish stopped wiggling though you knew it was still alive, keeping it perfectly fresh, how humans liked. 

Reaching the top deck, you slithered towards the food that was being laid on the large tables. The Meatman would likely be near if he was the one preparing the food. You stabbed the fish through with your talons in order to slither better. Finding the unique head adornment of Meatman, you came closer to him. He was clearly in the middle of preparing the great feast but you wanted to give him your present while it was alive. You scrunched your face trying to remember what greeting the humans usually gave one another besides ‘hi,’ you’d heard it before….

“Oi!” you settled on, throwing the fish at his feet. Though surprised at your presence, Meatman quickly bared his teeth at you in happiness. Almost too happily, you thought with suspicion. You’d keep your distance, this one was more devious than he let on. But..you had bitten him twice and he didn’t even seem upset about it, so maybe he was just…like that.

“Baby! Oh my seas, you brought me a fish! Thank you, oh - it’s…still alive….but not moving…how very thoughtful! ” the cook said to you, taking the fish in hand. He bowed his head, showing his appreciation. It was a universal gesture, your sisters bowing their heads slightly when you’d help them in some kind of way, like removing debris from their hair.

It was a pleasant night though a bit chilly, you thought as you glanced around for some warmth. Spotting Fossa, you headed over to him, winding your body around his torso underneath his vest since Ace still wasn’t on the deck. He had a smoke stick lit in his mouth, the putrid smoke billowing as he spoke to another human.

“ Oi, Baby. Warn me next time, yer fuckin’ freezin’,” Fossa grumbled as he adjusted you closer to his body. You inspected the pocket that had held the biscuits but the two of you had drained it earlier, there were no sweets there. Grumbling, you flicked your tail as Fossa continued to talk to another human while everyone waited for dinner. This one dressed differently, his robes as smooth as his long black hair. He had paint on his face, something novel for you. Apparently your sisters had glossed over a lot in your discussions about humans. He was glancing at you curiously, like you were a puzzle to be solved. 

“Bring her here,” the painted man said, taking a small comb out of his hair. Fossa grunted and moved you around so you were facing the new man. 

“ “S like moving a wet noodle,” Fossa growled, supporting your tail carefully on his forearm.

 “Izou,” the painted man said, pointing at himself. 

“Baby,” you said, pointing at your own chest. The painted man took the comb and ran it through his hair, the black strands parting with ease. He handed it to you, obviously expecting you to do the same. Maela had given you a mother-of-pearl comb when you were a child that you used to comb your hair but it had broken many years prior. Since then you’d just used your fingers when you felt that your hair was getting too matted, but it had always been low on your priority list. You tried to run the comb through your blonde hair like Izou had, but it got stuck quickly. You shrugged and tried to hand it back to him. He didn’t accept the comb, instead curling your fingers around it to show you it was yours now. You weren’t sure if he was insulting you and telling you how unkempt you were or if he was being kind and gifting you with something. You stuck it into your hair, where it was held in place by your mats, like an adornment.

“One day I’ll work those out for you,” Izou said, reaching for your head. If he patted your head like Ace did all the time, you were going to…well, not bite. You’d learned your lesson and you’d do nearly anything to avoid the muzzle again. Speaking of Ace, he was approaching you with a wistful glance at the nearly ready food on the table. 

“Baby, are you bothering Fossa?” Ace asked you, noting the comb in your hair as Izou picked up pieces of your hair for his inspection. 

“ ‘S not bothering,” Fossa said dismissively as you unwound from his body. Fossa was warm, sure, but nothing like Ace. You quickly wound yourself around his much smaller but much hotter body, pressing your face into the warmth of his shoulder and looping your arms around his neck. Sighing contentedly, you waited for Ace to walk towards the food now that other humans were sitting down at the table. 

“Should get you some clothes, huh?” Ace asked in a tone that suggested a question. You weren’t sure what he was asking but he’d show you soon enough. Ace found a chair large enough for the two of you to sit together and sat down to begin the meal.

Ace POV

Well, it turned out Sea Naga couldn’t hold their alcohol. Or maybe just Baby couldn’t. Either way, Baby was largely out of commission. The night had started innocently enough, with Pops giving a short speech welcoming Baby to the ship. Someone had put a large mug of ale in her hand which she’d sniffed apprehensively then drank as she saw the rest of the crew tipping their cups back when Pops finished speaking. Smacking her lips, Baby evidently enjoyed the taste and greedily gulped down the rest of the brew. She pushed her empty cup into Ace’s side repeatedly as he ate.

“Ace,” Baby said, ramming his ribs with the mug.

“ Ow, No,” Ace said with his mouth full of food. He wasn’t sure but it probably wasn’t a good idea to give Baby too much to drink.  Baby hissed her displeasure, crossing her arms. She’d eaten a few plates of meat but between that and the fish she’d eaten on Strike she seemed more interested in drinking.

“Aw, c’mon, let her live a little,” argued Thatch, who set another metal platter of meat in front of Ace. Ace picked his teeth with his fingernail as Baby bashed him again with her cup.

“Fine, she can have a little more. That’s it, I don’t -” Ace began as Thatch picked up a pitcher to fill Baby’s cup. She beamed at him in a wide toothy grin and snatched the pitcher from the chef, letting the cup topple to the floor. Ace watched her unhinge her jaw to drink more efficiently, allowing the pitcher to drop like the cup had previously once the container was drained. Ace was still jamming meat into his mouth but about to reprimand Baby for her foolishness when  Ace felt himself falling asleep. He set his arms on the table like Marco had shown him to do and laid his head down. The last thing he remembered seeing was Baby poking his cheek, a soft hiss escaping her worried face.

Ace awoke some time later with a wool blanket draped over his shoulders, as he always did after a fit of narcolepsy on the ship. Blinking his eyes open, he shoved the food from his plate into his mouth reflexively, almost unaware he was eating. No one else was still dining, most were either drinking and talking in small groups or had moved to the main deck for the same activity. He heard a commotion from over on the main deck and meandered over to see what was happening. There was a ring of crew encircling some fight - Ace could tell it was friendly from the lack of jeers and blood spatters on the floor. As one of the shortest members on board, Ace had to push his way to the front to see who was fighting. He often participated himself, enjoying the challenge of wrestling without his Devil Fruit abilities.

“GIT ‘ER BORS!” yelled out Curiel as Ace saw Baby in the middle of the ring, wrestling with the aforementioned Bors. She had a loop of her tail around Bors' ankle as he loomed over her with a bow staff. Ace was infuriated and was about to intervene when Baby’s tail wrapped all the way around the significantly larger man's torso in one fluid movement, trapping his arms under her tail. She grabbed the staff from the man’s hand like she was taking it from a child and threw it skittering across the deck.

“Fuckin’ can’t! She’s godfuckingdamnit so slippery and…tails stronger than ow whatthefuck it looks,” yelled back the crewman from the 10th division as he started turning red in the face. Baby smiled as she wound her tail tighter and tighter, constricting his breathing until the man was turning blue. 

“I’m not healing you if she cracks your ribs!” Marco yelled from his perch near Pops. Marco often didn't heal those who willingly fought each other using his Devil Fruit, saying it was their due for engaging in foolishness. 

Baby had her torso on the ground and was tapping her claws against the deck in a show of boredom as Bors tapped his hand against her to tap out. As soon as he conceded, Baby immediately unwound herself and Bors landed hard on hands and knees, heaving in rough breaths. Baby whooped and cheered for her victory along with the assembled crew.

“Winner! Unbeaten so far, who can take on the mighty Baby? Tenth division is out, eleventh division now! Kingdew, who're you sending?” boomed out Fossa, collecting money from grumbling crew members who'd lost their bets against Baby.

“No one, she’s done,” yelled Ace, pushing himself into the circle, taking large strides towards Baby. He was loudly booed by the assembled crowd which was quickly mimicked by Baby.

“Yeah, yeah. Tell it to the Captain. And stop swearing around her!” Ace yelled at the crowd as he approached the still booing Baby. 

“She was doin’ fuckin’ great,” Fossa said, handing Ace the Berri he’d collected from her bets. Ace put the massive amounts of paper in his pockets as Fossa pushed Ace's chest with a giant finger. “Those are her winnings , Runt. Let ‘er buy what she wants with ‘em,” he said, reaching to pat Baby on the head. She pretended to snap her fangs at him but was clearly playing. “All right ye bums, fight’s over with Baby, but plenty more to come! Over yonder!” Fossa boomed towards the assembled crew. “Good job, kid,” Fossa said to Baby, tugging her long ear gently, earning him a lick of her tongue against his hand. Ace felt a twinge of jealousy curl in his gut as the familiarity between his Sea Naga and the crew grew. Shaking it off, Ace focused on the teetering Baby, who was looking for more beer amongst the empty barrels. As Ace approached Baby, she swayed slightly on her tail as she smiled at him and thumped the tip of her tail loudly against the deck.

“Fight,” she said happily, throwing her arms in the air. 

“Yeah, fight,” Ace replied, picking her up at the thickest part of her tail and torso. She let herself fall into his arms, almost like she was boneless. She was cold and smelled like ale and spirits, Ace wondered how much she’d drank while he was passed out. Quite a bit if he based it on her floppy limbs and current hurried speech. She was speaking rapidly in Naga, Ace wished he could understand what she was saying. Based on her hand motions, she was recounting her fights against the crew mixed with a few mentions of his own name. He’d never heard her say so much in one go before and found the sibilant sounds of her serpent language to be quite pleasant. He wanted to encourage her to speak in her own language more often; it was beautiful in a haunting way, like the sounds of the wind whipping through a sea grotto.

“Winner,” she said proudly, her fingers clenched into a fist. Ace’s heart swelled with pride as if he'd taught her to fight himself. 

“Good job, Baby,” he said, kissing the top of her head as he walked to take her to bed. He didn’t want her fighting the crew but he was glad she was able to hold her own in case of a skirmish. He should give her some lessons, he mused, to make her an even stronger fighter. He couldn't imagine she'd often fought opponents at her level, probably just killed for food. Ace had taught Sabo and Luffy, surely he could handle teaching Baby. He’d work with her on ground fighting and ask Namur for help teaching her more down below the sea. It was a good idea, but not for tonight. Right now Baby was in the woozy part of drinking too much, still babbling happily to him. Entering the ship, Baby thumped the paddled end of her tail against the wall as he walked towards his cabin, the staccato beats matching the falls of his footsteps on the wood floors. 

Baby was almost completely reclined in Ace’s arms when he opened his door with his foot. She picked up her head and swiveled it slowly towards Ace, her furrowed brow and flicking tongue indicating her unfamiliarity with her surroundings. Ace wished his room was tidier but between the construction and the...general disarray his room was always in, it was pretty messy. There wasn't much in the room besides Ace's bed and his completely paper-covered desk and now Baby's crate. Baby flicked her tongue with increasing speed, wiggling out of Ace’s arms and plopping without grace onto the floor. Baby slithered hesitantly towards the crate, tongue lashing out every few seconds. She touched the bars of the crate, turning towards Ace with wide eyes. It was larger than Stefan's crate but the idea behind it was the same. It was constructed of wood with metal bars on the sides and it was large enough for Baby to curl up in. Ace had placed the furs and bones he'd taken from her cave inside as a surprise to acclimate her to the cage. 

“Assse, no,” she whispered, pulling on the bars of the crate, her drunkenness extending the consonants of his name. Ace looked at her face as her smile faded, looking more like the Naga he’d found earlier that day in the brig. She reached inside with the tip of her tail, pulling out one of the furs that Ace had brought for her. Putting it around her shoulders and fastening it with a bone clip he’d brought as well, Baby turned towards Ace.

“No, Assse,” she asked again, her ears pointing down in defeat and lip wobbling in stark contrast to her winning attitude just moments before.  Ace sighed, and closed his eyes. He was so tired, he’d worked hard all day long, he didn’t have energy for another confrontation with Baby. 

“Fine, you don’t have to sleep there tonight. You’re wasted anyway, I kinda wanna keep an eye on you,” Ace said with a yawn. He kicked off his boots into the corner of his messy room, he didn’t have much more gas in his tank. Crawling into his bed, he patted the spare space next to him and said “Baby, come here.” Baby immediately brightened up and slithered to Ace’s bed. She took off her fur and wound her body all around Ace’s much like the first time they slept next to one another. She pressed her chest to Ace’s side and placed her head on his chest. Ace inhaled a deep breath and held it in exhaling into Baby’s tangled hair. Hopefully Marco didn’t find out Baby wasn’t in the crate - but how would he? Ace’s thoughts drifted as he felt Baby’s breath even out, her little tongue accidentally flicking his nipple. 

Your POV

What. the. Fuck.

But really, what the fuck was wrong with humans? They invented a great beverage that tasted delightful and made you feel wonderful but the next morning it felt like an animal was living inside your head and died in your mouth. Your head was pounding with the worst headache you’d ever felt, your mouth was dry and you felt like regurgitating like when you’d eaten something too big whole. Thrashing around, you found Ace wasn’t there but had covered you with one of your old furs and some of his blankets. You did like his scent but you missed the warmth his body provided. 

Rolling yourself onto the floor, you slowly slithered away from the bed and to the bathroom. After relieving yourself, you gulped down some water with your hands. Leaving the bathroom, you twisted the knob to the main hallway, you found it open thankfully. You slithered so low to the ground you might as well have been a real snake but you didn’t have the energy to pick yourself any further off the floor. Everything was too loud, too bright, and too fragrant for you to attempt to be upright.

You smelled cooking food and headed that way. Either someone would feed you, you’d find Ace, or the Harpy would put you out of your misery - anything was fine by you right now. Entering the room with the food, you scanned for Ace. He was rapidly shoveling yellow and white blobs into his mouth but waved when he saw you. They smelled great and he started preparing you a plate of blobs from a platter while you were approaching.

“Hi Baby!” he chirped as you sat next to him. You thought about stabbing him with the knife but decided against it. He hadn’t invented the beverage, it wasn’t his fault you drank so much.

“Fuck,” you replied, leaning your head on your hand. The table went silent as Ace narrowed his eyes.

“What did you say?” he asked quietly.

“FUCK,” you repeated loudly, rubbing your face with your hand in annoyance. You were in no mood for silly communication games. 

“GOD DAMMIT GUYS! WHO TAUGHT HER TO SAY FUCK!?” Ace yelled at the laughing humans sitting nearby. Ace was about to yell again but you took your hand and put it over his mouth. You couldn’t listen to another loud sound or you were going to explode. 

“Fuck,” you said, pointing to him. “Fuck,” you said, pointing to Fossa and Namur. Fossa gave a pleased grunt while Namur extended his thumb upwards. “Fuck,” you said, pointing to Curiel, who laughed as he ate. You repeated the phrase and pointed to everyone at the table except for Izou, all decidedly happy at your use of the word. “Fuck,” you said with finality, eating the blobs off your plate while Ace pouted with his arms crossed.

Oh, they were warm, cooked eggs! The chef was a complete genius, you’d had eggs you’d taken from bird’s nests before but never thought to cook them. You’d have to give him another fish for this incredible creation. Like Ace, you started shoveling them into your mouth as fast as you could as he poured you a hot beverage in a ceramic mug adorned with the Leader’s symbol. 

“Try this. It’s coffee. Might help your hangover,” Ace grumbled at you, displeased by your new favorite word. You tasted the bitter liquid, unsure if it would cause you harm or not. It wasn’t as good as the one from the night before but you drank it anyway. It tasted earthy and gave your belly a pleasant feeling of warmth as you continued to eat with your hands. Ace handed you a piece of pronged metal like the one he held in his own hand. Confused, you took it but set it down on the table. You didn’t need it - couldn’t he see you had claws?  You kept eating and Ace didn’t bother you again about it though he watched you curiously. 

When you’d finished eating and drinking the coffee and a few cups of water, you felt a little better. Ace waited for you while you finished and you followed him up to the top deck of the ship. Everyone was bustling around, doing whatever it was that humans did for work. Flicking your tongue out, you detected the smell of the Harpy. He was nearby but not close enough for you to see. Ace was talking to a group of humans, exchanging papers with them. Watching the humans like you would observe wild animals in their natural habitat, Ace looked up and caught your eye, speaking to you while holding a bunch of papers in his hands.

“Ok, Baby. I gotta go. You can hang out here or go find Namur? I’m not sure where he is right now  -”

“Ace, you need to look at this before we -” other humans cut off Ace, garnering his attention once more. You figured he was busy doing whatever it was that he did, and slithered off to go rest in the sun. It was warmer than it had been previous days and you felt like complete shit so you felt entitled to sit and do nothing. Though, now that you thought about it, there wasn’t really much for you to do on the ship. On your island you’d been preoccupied with your survival, spending most of your time hunting, tanning hides, gathering wood, things like that. When you did have time, you liked to swim for fun or look for shells and interesting objects on the beach. Here, all of those things were done for you. You dind’t have to hunt or gather fuel and there was no beach to comb through. Sure, you could swim and hunt for fish but you weren’t sure what the parameters around that were. You'd figure out a way to ask Ace later about swimming and catching fish.

Deciding that was a problem for you in the future, you slithered to the large Captain of the ship, who was drowsing in his chair. For someone as large as the Captain, he didn’t seem to move too much. He had strings going to his nose and arm as he rested in the morning sun. Smaller humans wearing pink were attending to him. Looking them over, you supposed they were female humans, since they contrasted so heavily with the hairier humans you’d already seen. They looked similar to you in some ways, though their mammary glands were far more pronounced than yours were currently. They had long hair in various colors, though none as light as your own. They chattered between them, giving you cursory glances but not bothering you as you greeted the Captain with a hiss.

Climbing up his arms, he opened an eye as you crawled up his large body but didn't object outright. Settling down across his shoulders like you had before, you listened to the sounds of his breathing as the ship sailed along in the good weather. You closed your eyes, stretched out in a vulnerable position, content to let the Captain’s presence deter any potential danger while you slept. Slumber was upon you when you heard an unpleasant voice.

“Oh, she’s already here. Good, I was hoping to extract her venom today yoi. Let me -” you didn’t hear the rest of the sentence as you snapped like a rubber band into a defensive position and slithered down the far side of the Captain’s chair. You wanted to avoid conflict with the Harpy if at all possible rather than confront him directly. The Captain rumbled some kind of response but you were already on the railing of the ship, preparing to jump off. If you had to swim behind the ship for hours, so be it, you’d take that over being near the Harpy any day.

“Not so fast,” you heard the Harpy say as you lept, already in the air. The Harpy caught you in his talons mid-jump to your shock. It reminded you of the flight he’d taken you on when he’d kidnapped you from your island. You curled around his legs, trying to crack his bones but for some reason the Harpy was immune to your attacks. “Stop that,” he admonished you, as he dropped you back on the deck. You were panicked, you didn’t know what to do but felt the need to escape. You didn’t want to bite him - that was a sure way to get the muzzle back on - but he clearly wanted you for something and you didn’t want to find out what that was.

The Harpy brought out a covered jar from his pocket, showing it to you. You eyed it suspiciously, unsure what its purpose was. He then fished out a dried hank of meat from his sash and held it in front of himself, as if to give it to you.

“Come, you can have this. Yes, this is for you yoi. Come,” the Harpy repeated the command, wanting you to move towards him. Wary of his intentions, you ignored what he said and tried to make another escape. You weren't going to be fooled by his bait and switch trap like a simple minded animal.

“This can be done easily if you cooperate. Or not, if you prefer it that way,” the Harpy said, sighing. You were already turning back to the railing as he cornered you against the wall of the boat. Faster than you were able to detect with your eyes, he had you in a headlock with one arm, the other pushing on the underside of your mandible, a large taloned leg pinning a portion of your tail to the deck. The pressure he was putting on your jaw forced you to open your mouth and extend your fangs against your will. Once your fangs were extended, he pushed one through the cap of the jar and continued pressing against the soft underside of your jaw, causing your bite reflex to activate. You tried hissing your anger but the positioning of your mouth made it impossible. He exerted so much pressure in such an exact spot, his course of action must have been premeditated.

You thrashed your tail as hard as you could, attacking his arms with your claws, even trying to go limp to wriggle away but nothing worked. You found he was also made of flames, but not like Ace whose flames were made of fire. The Harpy’s flames protected him from anything you did, making your actions futile. Though it couldn’t have been more than a minute, your acute humiliation felt like it went on for eternity. You didn’t know why he had to do this now , in front of the Captain, in order to humiliate you. You guessed that he was being prevented from eating you and wanted to take his revenge but you didn’t have a clear understanding. Last night as you’d wrestled the other humans it almost made you feel like you belonged with them but the Harpy was quick to remind you that you were a captive, a nothing. 

Finally, the Harpy finished collecting your venom and pulled the jar off your fang, tilting the jar to inspect the contents. He didn’t release you though, he kept you in place as he put the jar back in his pocket.

“I don’t see Ace and you can’t roam around by yourself on the deck, it’s not safe. Maybe one day, but not today. Come,” he said to you, giving you the same hand motion as Stefan. You had no choice but to follow him as he lead you back towards Ace’s room. He was stronger, faster, and in a position of power on the ship over you. There was no point in trying to argue with him like you did Ace since the Harpy was undeterred in his actions no matter how you reacted. 

You kept your head down as you followed to Ace’s room, the scent of Ace combined with your furs and bones increasing with every slither you made towards the room. Once inside, the Harpy opened the door to the cage and motioned for you to enter. You slithered inside, curling up so all of you could fit within. He shut the locked door to the cage and crouched down to observe you inside. You turned your head away, not wanting to see the victory likely present in his eyes. He placed the hank of meat between the bars near your tail and stood up to leave. He closed the door to the room as he left, your freedom no closer than it had been the day before.

taglist: @mfreedomstuff

[supersoakerfullofblood]

Point of View: the Biggest Thing You're Missing!

Point of view is one of the most important elements of narrative fiction, especially in our modern writing climate, but you rarely hear it seriously discussed unless you go to school for writing; rarely do help blogs or channels hit on it, and when they do, it's never as in-depth as it should be. This is my intro to POV: what you're probably missing out on right now and why it matters. There are three essential parts of POV that we'll discuss.

Person: This is the easiest part to understand and the part you probably know already. You can write in first person (I/me), second (You), and third person (He/she/they). You might hear people talk about how first person brings the reader closer to the central character, and third person keeps them further away, but this isn't true (and will be talked about in the third part of this post!) You can keep the reader at an intimate or alien distance to a character regardless of which person you write in. The only difference--and this is arguable--is that first person necessitates this intimacy where third person doesn't, but you still can create this intimacy in third person just as easily. In general, third person was the dominant (and really the only) tense until the late 19th century, and first person grew in popularity with the advent of modernism, and nowadays, many children's/YA/NA books are written in first person (though this of course doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't write those genres in the third person). Second person is the bastard child. Don't touch it, even if you think you're clever, for anything the length of a novel. Shorter experimental pieces can use it well, but for anything long, its sounds more like a gimmick than a genuine stylistic choice.

Viewpoint Character: This is a simple idea that's difficult in practice. Ask yourself who is telling your story. This is typically the main character, but it needn't be. Books like The Book Thief, The Great Gatsby, Rebecca, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Sherlock series are told from the perspective of a side character who isn't of chief importance to the narrative. Your viewpoint character is this side character, the character the reader is seeing the world through, so the main character has to be described through them. This isn't a super popular narrative choice because authors usually like to write from the perspective of their most interesting character, but if you think this choice could fit your story, go for it! You can also swap viewpoint characters throughout a story! A word of warning on that: only change your viewpoint character during a scene/chapter break. Switching mid-scene without alerting the reader (and even when you do alert the reader) will cause confusion. I guarantee it.

Means of Perception; or, the Camera: This part ties the first two together. If you've ever heard people talk about an omniscient, limited, etc. narrator, this is what they mean. This part also includes the level of intimacy the reader has with the viewpoint character: are we in their heads, reading their thoughts, or are we so far away that we can only see their actions? If your story is in a limited means of perception, you only have access to your character's head, eyes, and interpretations, where an omniscient narrator sees through all characters' heads at once. (This doesn't eliminate the viewpoint character--most of your writing will still be in that character's head, but you're allowed to reach into other characters' thoughts when needed. You could also be Virginia Woolf, who does fluidly move through everyone's perspectives without a solid viewpoint character, but I would advise against this unless you really are a master of the craft.) Older novels skew towards third person omniscient narration, where contemporary novels skew towards first person limited. You also have a spectrum of "distant" and "close." If omniscient and limited are a spectrum of where the camera can swivel to, distant and close is a spectrum of how much the camera can zoom in and out. Distant only has access to the physical realities of the world and can come off as cold, and close accesses your character's (or characters', if omniscient) thoughts. Notice how I said narration. Your means of perception dramatically effects how your story can be told! Here's a scene from one of my stories rewritten in third-person distant omniscient. The scene is a high school football game:

“Sometimes,” he said. “Not much anymore.” “It’s not better, then?” She shivered; the wind blew in. “A little.” His tone lifted. “I don’t know if it’ll ever be better, though.” She placed a hand on his arm, stuttered there, and slipped her arm around his waist. “Did it help to be on your own?” He raised an eyebrow. “You were there.” “Yes and no.” “And the guys, the leaders.” “Come on,” she heckled. “Okay, okay.” Carmen sighed. “Yeah, it helped. I don’t think—I don’t know—I’d be me if they’d fixed it all.” She grinned. “And who might you be?” “Oh, you know. Scared, lonely.” He fired them haphazardly, and a bout of laughter possessed him which Piper mirrored. “Impatient.” “And that’s a good thing?” “No.” He sat straight. “Gosh, no. But I don’t want to be like him, either.” He pointed to the field; Devon recovered a fumbled ball. “He’s never been hurt in his life.” She met his eyes, which he pulled away. “You don’t mean that," Piper said. “Maybe not. He’s too confident, though.” The cloth of Carmen's uniform caved and expanded under Piper's fingers.

With distant-omniscient, we only get the bare actions of the scene: the wind blows in, Piper shivers, the cloth rises and falls, Carmen points, etc. But you can tell there's some emotional and romantic tension in the scene, so let's highlight that with a first person limited close POV:

“Sometimes,” he said. “Not much anymore.” “It’s not better, then?” Frost spread up from her legs and filled her as if she were perforated rock, froze and expanded against herself so that any motion would disturb a world far greater than her, would drop needles through the mind’s fabric. A misplaced word would shatter her, shatter him. “A little.” His tone lifted. “I don’t know if it’ll ever be better, though.” She placed a hand on his arm, thought better, and slipped her arm around his waist. “Did it help to be on your own?” He raised an eyebrow. “You were there.” “Yes and no.” “And the guys, the leaders.” “Come on,” she heckled. “Okay, okay.” Carmen sighed. “Yeah, it helped. I don’t think—I don’t know—I’d be me if they’d fixed it all.” She grinned. “And who might you be?” “Oh, you know. Scared, lonely.” He fired them haphazardly, and a bout of laughter possessed him which Piper mirrored. “Impatient.” “And that’s a good thing?” “No.” He sat straight. “Gosh, no. But I don’t want to be like him, either.” He pointed to the field; Devon recovered a fumbled ball. “He’s never been hurt in his life.” “You don’t mean that.” She spoke like a jaded mother, spoke with some level of implied authority, and reminded herself again to stop. “Maybe not. He’s too confident, though.” Piper felt the cloth of his waist cave and expand under her fingers and thought: is this not confidence?

Here, we get into Piper's thoughts and physical sensations: how the frost rises up her, and how this sensation of cold is really her body expressing her nervous fears; how she "thought better" and put her arm around his waist; her thought "is this not confidence?"; and how she reminds herself not to talk like a mother. Since I was writing from the close, limited perspective of a nervous high schooler, I wrote like one. If I was writing from the same perspective but with a child or an older person, I would write like them. If you're writing from those perspectives in distant narration, however, you don't need to write with those tones but with the authorial tone of "the narrator."

This is a lot of info, so let's synthesize this into easy bullet points to remember.

Limited vs. Omniscient. Are you stuck to one character's perspective per scene or many?

Close vs. Distant. Can you read your characters' thoughts or only their external worlds? Remember: if you can read your character's thoughts, you also need to write like you are that character experiencing the story. If child, write like child; if teen, write like teen; etc.

Here's another way to look at it!

This is a confusing and complex topics, so if you have any questions, hit up my ask box, and I'll answer as best I can. The long and short of it is to understand which POV you're writing from and to ruthlessly stick to it. If you're writing in limited close, under no circumstances should you describe how a character other than your viewpoint character is feeling. Maintaining a solid POV is necessary to keeping the dream in the reader's head. Don't make them stumble by tripping up on POV!

[hotchfiles]

third. damn your love.

pairing: james x fem!reader.

content warnings: james being kind of an ass, cheating on lily, lily will be probably shit talked (i luv her i'm very sorry !), mistress!reader, uhhh cursing, not totally AU but like... canon divergent i would say. probably hurt/no comfort unless i switch the ending but--

worth mentioning: reader insert with no use of names or “y/n”. paragraphs completely in italic are flashbacks. pro quidditch player!james. muggle born!reader.

word count: 1,2k

chapter 3

      Days had passed since the last time you spoke to James, and if it was up to you, things would stay as they were. But it had never been that way. Everything would always depend on James' desire. You rarely tried to communicate with him, afraid his girlfriend would catch you both. That was also why you didn't seek for him. You remained quiet, waiting for him or, on days like these, waiting and hoping he wouldn't show up.

      You were still very much upset about what happened last time, but unfortunately, you were more disappointed in yourself than actually angry at James. You simply hated the power you let him have over you, hated how much you wanted to do or say something and still giving in to his whims. It was as if everything changed when he got too close, as if it were just the two of you in the vastness of the universe, no one to interfere.

      Even so, you were getting tired of it, just as you had grown tired of trying to discuss what you were and what future you had continuing such a relationship. You were beginning to realize that the person who might be messing things up was you; after all, you were the mistress, not Lily. They were the happy couple and you were the one meddling where you shouldn't.

      You shook your head quickly, trying to forget such thoughts, you were taking advantage of the solitude of the night, surrounded by photos and documents from work, you had decided about a month ago to change the way your department was dealing with its archive, but still hadn't had the time to do it, mostly because of work itself but also... Because of James. You rolled your eyes at the realization that you were thinking about him again and turned back to the photos.

      Your department mostly archived the obliviations revolving everything around what happened and not who it happened to. It was a good way to actually find the files you might need, but when it got to the file what really matters is the people. Who were the muggles, where do they live, how do they live, why were they exposed. And those details were too scattered around. Some of your colleagues said you just cared too much about the muggles you wiped the memories from, which you did, but it was also a matter of organization.

      Before you had a chance to lie down after all the work you've been doing, you heard a frantic knocking at the door, and given it was 2 A.M, you knew who it was. You take a long, deep breath and debate whether you should open it or not, but seeing that the lights were still on and he would notice them, you felt like you had no choice, even if that wasn't entirely true.

      You mentally cursed yourself and opened the door, his hands were quick to push you against the wall, slamming the door close with his foot as his lips worked your neck.

      "James..." Putting both hands on his chest, you prepared yourself to push him away, trying to find the strength to get him out of there. "Stop," it came out weakly, much more than you intended to, almost letting yourself be carried away by his touches.

      But then, a flash of awareness came back to you as you heard him groan, everything you thought about earlier and everything you wanted to say to him with it, you felt your strength return and pushed him away, looking at him showing as much seriousness and firmness as you could master, your breath still uneven.

      "Come on, honey, we've moved past this little game of you pretending you don't want me and denying me, come here," he said, approaching you again. You watched him come closer once more and moved aside, walking towards the kitchen. You needed to drink something if you were really intending to continue with this.

      Sure, your first option had been to avoid him for at least a couple of weeks so you could organize your thoughts, but it was simply impossible to avoid James.

      "We need to talk," you said coldly after filling one of your largest wine glasses. You heard him sigh, took a sip of the drink, and felt a knot in your stomach when you saw him sit at the small kitchen table. You were definitely not expecting that. You were absolutely sure he would deflect and try to take you to bed, as he had done the last time you said those words. Seeing him willing to talk hit you hard, and you lost the words you wanted to say, resorting to the first ones that came to your mind.

      "You disappeared," you shrugged.

      "As if you weren't used to it," James raised an eyebrow in your direction and looked at your glass. He knew your didn't drink casually, only if you were nervous. "If you must know, I wanted to come earlier, but Lily wouldn't leave my side after I turned down Wimbourne's offer. So we're like, totally wasting time."

      "You seemed so sure. What changed your mind?"

      "Just decided not to keep rubbing her the wrong way. Know her well enough, don't feel like dealing with her making my life hell over a stupid transfer."

      You felt an unfamiliar anger take over you. You absolutely hated the way he talked about her, as if she was the worst person to be with, such an annoying, bad girlfriend. If she was so bad, why was he with her and not with you?

      You drank the remaining contents of your glass in one go, sighed loudly, and looked at him, taking in every detail of him—the curls, the lips, the glasses you liked so much, the tired eyes but never without that sparkle you knew so well. Watching him always calmed you down in some way, but it didn't work as you thought it would. You were too tired.

      "You're a bloody bastard," you were firm but he shrugged, smiling slightly. "Not a joke. You're a dickhead. And I've let myself be made a fool by you. I've let you into my house, complaining about your girlfriend, and I've let you use me for almost an year now, hoping that you would change."

      You shouted what had been stuck in your throat for so long, and he got up, realizing how serious you actually were.

      "You agreed to this," he said coldly, crossing his arms and biting his lower lip. "We haven't been a couple for years, and we agreed on that."

      "Bollocks! You came to my apartment and intoxicated me with your stupid scent, with your touches, your voice. You know I've never been able to get over you, and you take advantage of that when you're fed up with her."

      You ran your hands over your face in agony, trying to control the tears that were already inevitably trying to escape your eyes. You passed by him awkwardly and went to the living room, sitting on the sofa.

      "Where are you trying to go with this?" He asked from the kitchen.

      "Where are we trying to go with this?" You replied back, looking at the floor, and silence was your only answer. "What am I to you? We spent almost four years not being friends, talking to each other once in a while and meeting at some parties because of Sirius and Rem. Then last year, you show up at my door drunk, saying you need me. What am I to you? Come on, tell me."

      "You're my best friend, and apparently, you're in a bad mood, on your period or something," he said, leaving the kitchen, and you watched him leave, frustration building up in your stomach. "I'll call you later when you're back to yourself."

      "Yeah, go away! You never talk when you know you're wrong anyway, bloody coward," he slammed the door behind him after he left and you got up, even angrier, grabbing one of the vases from your shelf and screaming in frustration as you threw it at the door, breaking it in tiny pieces that now covered the floor.

      You looked at him with tears in your eyes and you knew surely that James could feel how hurt you were by his actions, and that was your intention, you were silent, not having said a word to him since he had arrived to your house, despite his countless attempts to talk to you and apologise, your stubbornness was lasting almost an hour now and you knew he was about to lose his temper, so you decided it was time to speak before you weren't in the right anymore.

      "Where were you?" Your voice was low, tired, frustrated, and you had all reason for that, leaving you alone in the hospital's waiting room while your mum was freaking out all over the place seemed like a reasonable reason to be upset.

      "Quidditch practice, c'mon, try looking into this from my perspective." James tries to get close to you again and you move away, wiping away the tears that were stubborn enough to keep rolling down your cheeks, you cross your arms and he scoffs at your denial.

      "And what's that, really? Using that bloody mirror so I could tell you my father had a heart attack and I needed you, and then proceeding to continue to play? Is that it?"

      "What? No… I'm new to the team, I can't tarnish my name by running out of training." You roll your eyes and it's your turn to scoff, throwing your arms up in the air, not believing what you're hearing. "Don't do that, listen to me, take me seriously. My grandfather's heart went through worse countless times, and he was always fine. I knew your dad would be fine."

      "Yes, I remember, because I was by your side during all those times." You don't even mention how different it was just by the fact your dad was a muggle, in a muggle hospital, no healing magic to help. You glanced at the clock, it was late and you were both alone, your mom forcing you to stay there and rest; you feel your eyes wet and don't bother trying to stop them from falling, "James, as a friend, you're my best friend, if you're not going to be with me when I need you, who will? Will quidditch always be above me, above us?"

      "Please don't talk like that, honey." He runs a hand through his hair in frustration and sits down next to you, lowering his head and covering his face with his hands. "I'm sorry, you're right."

      "Because if it's always like this, maybe we should break up," you say at once, feeling your heart clench and holding back the sobs that join the tears.

      "You're tired, go to bed, I'll make you some tea, I'll stay here in case you need me in the middle of the night." He ignored what you said completely, getting up and going into the kitchen. Part of you felt relieved that he hadn't accepted the suggestion, but a large part was annoyed that he'd simply run away from confrontation, that he'd been such a coward.

      It had always been quite rare for you and James to actually fight, maybe that wasn't a good thing, considering you kept everything inside until you exploded, but while you were dating it was quite pleasant, when you disagreed on something, one of you would always give in; but when you did fight, it was unbearable, James had always been cold during fights, always the type to leave before finishing the conversation, while you were the explosive and impulsive one, talking way too much without thinking, yelling more than you probably should, and then you wouldn't speak to each other for days because of it.

      From past experience, you imagined he would disappear for a while, so you sighed and switched off the lights, heading to your room, more than ever you just wanted to sleep, sleep for a few good hours and put your mind at rest, but you knew yourself too well to know that after what happened, you would definitely end up dreaming about James, but you hoped it would be something good, something that would relax you at least during your sleep.

      Just before falling asleep, you remembered to reply the e-mail your mother had sent you during the day, saying how much your dad and her were loving their visit to France and were thinking about staying to help your aunt with her restaurant. Your heart ached when you realized it wasn't a joke, your mom saying at the very end that she knew you had your own exciting life but that they would love to have you with them there.

      A chance to run away.

tag: @xcinnamonmalfoyx @dreamsygirl

[leupagus]

All of my GOT ships are some variation of "It's rotten work. Especially to me, especially if it's you. I'll fucking do it but christ alive." The fun thing is that each member of each pairing gets to switch it up periodically

"'All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes.'" 

Tyrion needed a few moments to understand what was happening — or rather, how much of various things were happening all at once. Queen Daenerys was standing in his quarters. She was scowling at him impatiently while wearing her flying boots and leather coat. It was halfway through the hour of the owl. He was naked in bed.

"What?" he managed, wrapping the bedsheet about his waist and trying not to think of the dozens (hundreds?) of times Jaime had marched into his chambers in just this fashion. He'd never bothered to cover himself — Jaime had changed his smallclothes when he'd been an infant — but a queen was a different matter.

"'All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes,'" Daenerys repeated. She had, in addition to the boots and the coat, a scroll in her hand; she waved it at him now.

Tyrion was still lost. "Please refer to my previous question, Your Grace." He scooted to the edge of the bed and slid off, keeping the sheets firmly bunched about him as he rummaged through a chest of drawers for a pair of trousers.

"A message from Volantis has just arrived," Daenerys said, stomping over to his wardrobe to take out a shirt. "You'll need this, too," she added, tossing it on the bed.

"Will I, indeed?" he asked, pulling out his trousers and flapping them at her. "Turn round, please, Your Grace."

Daenerys rolled her eyes, but turned obligingly. "It's from Kinvara, the high priest of the Red Temple in Volantis. She claims someone from Westeros has come with a warning."

"She wants you to go to Volantis?" Tyrion demanded as he hopped on first one foot, then the other, to get his trousers on. Fortunately the shoes were easy in Meereen: nearly everyone (including Daenerys, unless she was flying) favored the practical sandals that could be easily slipped on and off. "The same place that tried to foment rebellion in every city on the Bay these past two years?"

"It's a risk," Daenerys agreed, "but Kinvara was the one to first inform us of Volantis's betrayal; she could have had me overthrown a year ago, but she sided with us instead."

"That's due in large part to our agreement to let one of her priestesses sit on the Congressional Council," Tyrion countered, "but pray go on, Your Grace."

She huffed. "Second, I've informed Grey Worm that in the event I am captured or killed, he is to bring the entire force of the Unsullied, the Second Sons, and the Free Fleet of Meereen down on Volantis's head. Not only that, but I'm leaving Viserion and Rhaegal here; if anthing happens to me they'll burn the entire city to ashes and molten rock."

"A proportional response, to be sure," Tyrion agreed. Personally he'd rather have Daenerys alive; no doubt he was growing sentimental in his old age. "What's the third reason? You always have at least three reasons to do anything."

"The third is — can I turn around now?"

"Your Grace is free to do as she likes," he said as he wrestled the tunic on. He emerged to find her regarding him thoughtfully. "It's clean," he said defensively.

"I know, I picked it out," she said absently. "No, I was just thinking I should've made you visit the barber earlier."

"Ealier than when?" he asked, but she simply turned on her heel, obliging him to scurry after. "And what's the third reason?"

Daenerys handed him the scroll. "I've had a jacket made up for you, which should help with the cold, but you'll need some sort of boots. Meereenese have no idea how to dress warmly."

"Dress warmly for what? Earlier than when? And what's the third reason?" Tyrion must be dreaming; that explained it.

Daenerys snatched the scroll back and read it out loud. "'To the most revered—' et cetera— 'I am bid to tell you that two of your countrymen have arrived, with information that cannot wait for our slow ships to make their way to you. I beseech you to come at once to Volantis, as you are capable of arriving far more swiftly, and what information I have cannot wait. If you doubt the veracity of this message, or the sincerity of its messengers, one of these messengers asks that Tyrion Lannister be remembered to him, for all dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes.'"

"Jon Snow," Tyrion said, remembering that summer eve in Winterfell, so many (was it really so many?) years ago. "It's something I told him once. He's a member of—"

"Of the Night's Watch, I know," said Daenerys. "That's the third reason. Though I'm a bit puzzled as to how it could be him — Lady Stark believes him dead, doesn't she?" She continued onto the Nursery, calling over her shoulder, "There's no time for a barber now, but really, Tyrion, a whole flock of hummingbirds could nest in your hair."

"We don't all have attendants to braid our hair to within an inch of its life each morning. Unless it's the hummingbirds doing it for you."

"I braid my own hair, thank you very much." They came to the Nursery door and met with Missandei, who was holding a leather jherkin and an apprehensive expression. "Thank you," she added to Missandei, far more sincerely.

Boots, Tyrion thought stupidly, just as Daario came strolling up wearing a brown-and-red leather coat and stout riding boots. He held a smaller pair in his hands. "Boots. Jackets. Wait."

"First flight on dragonback?" Daario asked, sketching a bow to Daenerys as he handed the boots to Tyrion. "Mine, too — though I've been angling to get a ride for months." 

"And I'd advise against doing anything that makes me reconsider," the queen replied, and went through the door to the Nursery. Daario followed her with a broad wink to Tyrion, leaving him alone with Missandei and a jacket.

"She can't mean for me to go with her," Tyrion said even as he numbly accepted her help getting his boots on, along with the new jacket. It had large brass rings affixed by stout leather strips, so that one might be strapped into the saddle of a— 

"The first time is the most frightening," Missandei said solemnly, taking his sandals. "I hardly ever vomit from terror anymore."

"'Enemies in each direction,'" Tyrion muttered as he trod off obediently to his doom.

There was a saddle for Drogon now, but it couldn't accomodate three people. "It's fine," Daenerys said as they climbed the steep steps to the balcony. Drogon was already there, staring down into the darkness of the city at rest. "We'll ride bareback."

"We absolutely will not," Tyrion objected. He may not still be entirely awake, but he'd be damned if he climbed aboard a dragon in the middle of the night like some lunatic Targaryens he might mention.

Daenerys rolled her eyes. "It's perfectly safe!"

""For you, Your Grace. What if Drogon doesn't like us riding on him?" Tyrion asked. At that, Drogon's great head curved around to poke him in the stomach. "It's a fair question!"

"Drogon won't let me fall," Daenerys said breezily, and Tyrion found himself sharing a rare moment of fellow feeling with Daario as they caught one another's eye. 

[yamanehaize01]

Miracle laid in Serendipity: Unveiling the Voyage of Miraculous Bearers

The Unknowing Tale between Y/n L/n & Adrien Agreste

Chapter 03: Floral Sequence

Previous & Subsequent Chapters | 01 | 02 | 04 | Loading...

Third — Point of View.

Perspective of Adrien Agreste.

“Plagg, where did you hide my other pair of socks? I can't find it anywhere..” He continued to look around his room, eyeing his Kwami from time to time to see if the little troublemaker did hide it. Although the sly Kwami only lets out a yawn, holding the stinky cheese with both of his tiny hands. “I don't know what you're talking about, kid! I'm trying to enjoy some delicious camembert over here..! Hmph-” Plagg replied, softly rubbing the top of the cheese with heart eyes, while Adrien voiced a slight groan, still looking over any corner to see if it somehow landed there.

Few minutes have passed and he still hasn't found it, a sigh leaving his throat as he takes a seat on his bed. This makes the Kwami peer over his wonderful camembert and look at his owner. He knows that he should probably just tell him where it is right now, but he's getting a bit lazy and besides no one gets to touch his secret stash unless he says so. The little Kwami switches his gaze towards the blonde’s computer, suddenly getting an idea. He smoothly flew over infront of his owner, with cheese still in his hands.

“Stop frowning about it, look! Maybe some Sekkibug photos will cheer you up, eh Lover boy?” The Kwami teased, taking a large bite of his camembert. Adrien looks over his monitor from a slight distance, his face flushing red despite not wanting to admit that his Kwami might be right. He sighed, trying to ignore Plagg’s comment as he stood up from his bed, walking over his window. He gently moved the curtain aside, just enough to get a view of outside.

He does wonder what Sekkibug’s doing right now, are you still awake..? Or you're getting some rest, it is pretty dark outside.. Perhaps you're doing some nightly patrols right now..? That he could only wish for, it wouldn't hurt to spend a bit of personal time with his Cuddlebug.. outside of battle. He doesn't know what exactly he wants.. he probably sounds desperate for attention at this point. It's just that.. it's difficult to lure you away from your duties. Don't get him wrong, it's not that he doesn't want you to look over and watch out for any civilians and make sure they're safe.

He just.. thinks that you're prioritizing the citizens of Paris a bit too much.. You look like you don't have time for any of your partners, and he's aware of how he's picturing you a bit selfish even though you did converse with each of them during nightly patrols. But.. it somehow feels too little for him, like it isn't enough. And eventually you get back into fulfilling your duties and right after that, you end up saying goodbye for the night. It feels sort of suffocating trying to get close to you without the limit you set for yourself unknowingly.

You're only one person.. he knows that, but individuals wouldn't mind if you let your pupils wander off of them for a moment… Maybe he is the selfish one, huh..? That's a statement that he couldn't deny, because deep down he knows he is just that. But – nobody needs to know.. that's a quality that he only knows himself. It's not that bad, he could be selfish every once in a while, right..? He doesn't act like that all the time, just at times when he thinks it's a bit unfair.

What you don't know, wouldn't hurt you.

He draws his green emerald eyes across the city, he wants to say that he only went over to look at the view and nothing else. But, there's no point in lying to himself. He went over to his window for one reason, and one reason only. And that is to catch a glimpse of you.. Chat Noir is not one to give up on his lady so easily, for a moment of respite — it has been approximately one month since his heart started beating in a quickened pace. One month of fighting alongside you.. surely there will come a time where the opportunity is there. Soon enough.

His pupils widened once that familiar figure swung by from rooftops to rooftops, is that really..? There it is again.. he feels his heart wanting to beat right out of his chest. His breathing slowly becomes uneven, he needs to calm down for a second — you're not going anywhere, so he just needs to take a breather. Hold on – you definitely will if he doesn't get his things together and catch up to you..! In a slight panic, he looks over his shoulder and towards his Kwami.

“Plagg.. sorry but it's time for a bit of nightly patrols.” The tiny feline almost cracked his small neck with how fast he turned his head around and towards the blonde boy. “Are you serious, I'm still enjoying my—!” He didn't get enough time to finish his protest when his owner rudely interrupt. “Plagg, claws out.” Adrien says calmly, lifting his hand where his ring is as he momentarily closes his eyes, letting the transformation take place swiftly. Leading to the poor Kwami dropping his camembert in the process and getting sucked into the ring.

He won't be long, well.. he hopes he won't lose track of time, he still has to sleep and get up very early in the morning after all. Who is he kidding..? He's sure you’ll remind him anyway, it's unlikely for you to get lost in the moment when you're with him. Like he will be when he is with you. Duty always calls for your name, not much to say in between that. Who knows.. maybe it’ll be different this time, it wouldn't be him if he doesn't try.

Using his staff to traverse further into the living space of Paris, inkling green eyes looking at your nearing figure. A huff of breath leaving his lips when he finally drops down to the rooftop you're standing from, your back facing him. He stays silent for a moment, just observing you. The atmosphere feels calming for some reason, his gaze dripping onto your moving form. The way you walk close to the chimney from your slight right, before crouching down and taking a seat, your head facing the Eiffel Tower from afar.

You lean against the wall of the chimney beside you, softly breathing.. you look at peace, making his heart swell delicately. And for a minute that he couldn't wait for much longer, he walks towards you. Surprisingly, his footsteps didn't catch your attention, so he took the opportunity to drop down beside you. Were you expecting him..? Why haven't you noticed him yet— he turns his head to look at your face, only for him to answer his own question. Your eyelids flutter close.. And despite the mask covering your upper face, he could tell that there's a hint of fatigue around it.

Your hair flows gently against the merciful wind, plush lips that's stirring up the temptations within him. In his eyes, you look so delicate, meant to be protected, even if you can handle yourself fine on your own. He’ll still be there in times like this when you're vulnerable.. when your body forces you to take a moment of rest. He feels like one day, you'll probably grow accustomed to it.. would be harder to catch you again like this, with your guard down.

Taking the liberty, he gently lifted his hand towards your face, moving your cheek away from the concrete wall and shifting your head softly onto his shoulder. Careful not to accidentally wake you up from your occuring rest. He took a minute to look at your peaceful expression, a warm smile curling up on the corners of his lips. This part of you might be another reason to continue lending you his heart. How heartwarming it would be to wake up in the morning and be greeted with a blessing…

Finally having it in himself to look away from your facial features, he turned his head upright — the sight of the Eiffel Tower welcoming him in view. He tilted his head a bit, gently resting his head on top of yours. His aching fingers crawling beneath your hand that's on your lap, furtively intertwining his fingers with your fragile ones. Before deliberately lifting it up to his awaiting lips, planting a soft kiss on the back of it.

He hopes there’ll be plenty of opportunity for the both of you to spend time like this again as time proceeds. He's looking forward to seeing you everyday, every night.. even in dire times when there's an akuma encounter. Whilst it's not very heroic of him to wish there will be an akuma attack, that is what he truly wants in order to see you every hour of the day, and not just on patrols around the city.

Even as he's now having the time of his life with the one who recklessly holds his heart, he cannot deny the fact that he squeezed his way in to create this moment between the two of you. In a short sense, this wouldn't have happened if you are very much aware and conscious at this second. Maybe fate pitied him for a little while and granted him some interlude between him and his lady. He won't take offense to that if that was really the case.. It makes sense in a way.

All that he could do at this point, is savor the given solace. He’ll just have to try and improve his advances towards you next time, perhaps he’ll get lucky and press some of the pins in your heart. It's never over until you say so yourself, right? If it ever comes to that extent, you better give him a clear reason that’ll set it apart.. if you don't have one, he won't be sure if he’ll take it to heart. And if you do have a justified reason, he still won't be sure in the end.

Because this journey that fate set infront both you and him, it's only has begun.. and he's not planning to let such chances slip by his fingertips.. with every breath you take, he will be there to remind you just how you both are meant to be together. No argument laying around it, he’s sure to do his best to make it a reality you cannot turn a blind eye to.

After all.. he has all the time in the world.

He still has plenty of chances…

And he must say..

You're in for quite a promising adventure…

🂱   🂱   🂱   🂱   🂱   🂱   🂱

Second — Point of View.

Perspective of Y/n L/n.

You stir a bit from your position, one of your fingers twitching as you clasp it close.. expecting to feel the soft covers of your bedsheets, although with your eyebrows scrunching slightly — the way your fingers wrapped around it, the feeling of the cozy fabric is nowhere to be found. Attempting to grip the strange sensation in between your fingers to test it once more. However.. you felt your hand tightened as it's being squeezed gently. It slowly results with your eyes fluttering open, vision a bit blurry before it faintly clears up.

The first thing that came to mind was to look down at your hand to identify what's causing such movement.. only to blink rapidly and stare at it once more, feeling baffled at what you're comprehending. Then the sudden realization is what brought you back to earth, eyes gazing at your heroine's suit. Did.. did you really fall asleep in the middle of your patrol..? That can't be.. you know how heavy of a consequence you will receive if it took a wrong turn..!

“Milady..?” Your body stiffened, hearing that familiar voice. You felt another squeeze transferring against your hand, a gesture of reassurance. Jolting a bit from your place, you quickly turned your face towards the masked feline. Eyes making contact with those intense emerald ones. “Chat.. I–” He briskly cut you off, his sharp claw pressing against your lips. “Shh.. relax, Cuddlebug.” He coos, with a hint of chuckle towards your puzzled gaze.

“I didn't know Milady is such a heavy sleeper~” Hearing his sly voice come back to life, your face falls a bit into an unamused expression. A tint of embarrassment painting your cheeks at his statement. You really need to work on and control your sleeping habits, can't really bash yourself into that realm no longer. Or else it’ll cost you difficulties along the way.

You blinked twice, your lips twitching into an awkward smile. “I.. I was only resting my eyes…” You reason, turning your head away a bit as you cleared your throat. The masked feline however.. couldn't control his impending laughter, as it soon leaped up into the cold but calming atmosphere. You feel the embarrassment displayed on your face leveled up, unaware of how a small pout sneaks its way up to your lips. A pair of eyes yet was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it, his amiable laugh dying down.

Every little thing you do.. Why is it always hard to maintain his heart from the cause of it..? Even now he feels the blood pumping through his veins nonstop.. his lips drawing into a warm smile, and he couldn't help but give your hand another squeeze. This time.. for his reassurance. He risked it all the moment he triggered your attention back towards the sensation between your fingers.

And as he expected, you gently attempt to pull away, hesitation fills his thoughts but he lets his morals guide him into action. So.. with a twitchy smile, he lets you pull away. “Sorry, Cuddlebug.. my hand was cold.” Lying would be the least he will do when it comes to you, but if it'll light up the spirits, then he’ll have no problem doing so. “Oh.. do you have a cold..?” His hand needing your warmth was sort of strange, doesn't his suit provide some type of heat at least..? Lifting up your other hand, you brush his fluffy blonde hair upwards before placing the back of your hand against his forehead to check for his temperature. His mouth slightly falling agape and he could feel his face heating up, the multiple emotions he's feeling at once being lifted up from his shoulders.

Now he's not sure if you didn't quite catch his words clearly enough, or you fully misunderstood what he said. Either way, his chest feels a bit light at your simple but soothing question, not to mention your gesture makes him feel at ease. “Chat, don't keep me in suspense..” You muttered quietly, but his hearing heard it loud and clear. You soon remove your hand from his forehead, his temperature seems pretty normal but you are still quite uncertain. The evident worry in your eyes tugging at his heartstrings, hinting at something.

Ah.. you must've felt bad, did you?

“Chat..?” You call for him again, pulling him from his thoughts as he performs a small chuckle, he’s biting his own tongue with the way he points out your habit of ending in a trance most of the time. Now look where his mind is currently into.. “Hm.. what if I do have a cold, Milady~?” He coos, quickly hiding any hints of his state of mind. Observing the expression on your face, every detail it presents gives away what you're feeling inside. A trait that he's sure he gained from getting lost looking at you consistently.

After a second of averting your eyes from contacting with his own, you return back. A soft sigh elevating from your plush lips, before you unexpectedly drag your hand back to his. A bit hesitant, but you continue until you're intertwining your fingers with him once again. A ragged breath flows out from his nostrils, the relentless banging inside his ribcage is starting to feel like a real threat. He shouldn't let himself be delirious in a time like this.. repenting your guilt is different from the vision he's losing himself into when you did that.

“I can spare another minute.. before I have to go.” You smiled, facing back towards the view upfront. It feels oddly soothing to spend some time sight-seeing with your feline companion, maybe because there isn't any akumanization to worry about in the time being. Still, staying alert should always have a place in the back of your mind. You could never be too sure after all, you shouldn't jinx it. You close your eyes momentarily in a sense of tranquility, slit pupils grasping the image in his mind.

He feels a gentle clutch against his hand, only difference now, you offered to give his hand a soft squeeze of your own. And with your eyes still locked into the view from afar, his cat ear twitched at the sound of your calm voice.

“I hope you get well soon, Chat..”

☘︎   ☘︎   ☘︎   ☘︎   ☘︎   ☘︎   ☘︎

Taking a look on the screen of your phone, you're indeed seven minutes late from the exact time of the meet-up. You did every possible way to hurry and arrive just in time, but the odds still weren't in your favor. If you hadn't lost yourself to sleep the moment you went back home, maybe you could've made it in time.. but it could've messed you over even more if you somehow did not sleep. It doesn't matter now though, what matters is that you’ll still make it.

You took a moment of rest, placing both of your hands on top of your knees, trying to restore your uneven breathing. You finally did arrive in front of Marinette’s home, or should you say – her family’s bakery. Lifting your sight a bit to grasp the main door, you suddenly see someone from the other side, walking forward to the door. With her small build and gentle laid eyes, you immediately recognize Marinette’s mother. She opened the clear door before you could have a chance to react.

“Aw Y/n, how are you..? Come, Marinette and the others are waiting for you.” Sabine says with a sweet tone, gesturing for you to come inside. You did try to at least respond back, but your throat feels almost dried out of its function. So you quickly responded with a small nod, before fixing your posture and following after her. You were greeted by the nice aroma of the room, earning a flinch from you, hearing your own stomach growls – you awkwardly pressed your forearm against it, silently hoping Marinette’s mom didn't catch wind of it.

It seems like she didn't, which only drew a reliving sigh from your lips. When getting ready earlier, every little thing was last minute.. showering, brushing your teeth, getting dressed and making yourself look decent enough when going out in public. Getting a quick snack was out of the question, the meet-up wasn't scheduled that early into the day either, so you should've had plenty of time for yourself. Although, that loses the thread since your body really just needed some type of contact with sleep the minute you saw your bed.

Feeling the small drench from your soaked hair that's beginning to form onto your shoulders, you shrink a bit when the water makes contact with your skin. You hear the voice of Marinette's mom call out for her daughter, announcing you’ve arrived. She took a look back towards you, softly gesturing for you to go ahead. You simply nodded your head once more, taking the stairs up to Marinette’s room. Gazing up, you see someone opening the trapdoor – realizing that it was Alya. “Girl, you're late to the party, come quick..!” She lightly chuckled, and you proceeded to climb up until you were finally inside the room.

“Hi, Y/n..! Over here!” A familiar high pitched tone called, as she waves her hand up to catch your attention. You sent Rose a smile, before heading towards the group, you sat down next to Alix on the white stairs, clasping both of your hands and placing it down on your lap. “Y/n, what took you so long? We thought you might've ditched us, haha!” Alix says, raising her eyebrow with a teasing smile, tapping your arm lightly. You struggled for a minute to reply, as you cleared your throat and came up with a small lie. “My mom wanted me to clean the house before leaving.. so uh- it took a while.” You reason, wishing she’ll somehow buy it.

She gave you a shrug of her shoulders, as she chuckled. “That must've sucked, but hey you made it!” She responded, as you only nodded your head with a small smile. You look towards Mylene and the other two, she is showing what looks like a lovely necklace. As you turn slightly you gaze at the bluenette girl, she seems to be getting something from her drawer before walking infront of where Juleka, Rose, and Mylene are seated. With Alya following along beside Marinette.

“Okay! Are we ready? I’ll fix my room quite a bit, and then I’ll see what kind of video games we could play!” Marinette chirped happily, pulling up two controllers and walking over to her desk to place in there for now. “Oh trust me, I'm not going easy on every single one of you!” Alix says proudly as she puts both of her hands on either side of her waist. The rest of you chuckle, then Alya perks an eyebrow with a playful smile. “I’m not going easy on you either.” She giggled, welp- hopefully she will go easy on you, it's still unknown what kind of video game you all will play. You only wish it's something you're familiar with, but being introduced into a new game is nice too!

You have played a few video games still on your laptop or phone, but even if you have quite a number of games that you played with since your childhood or new things that you have grown to like recently. There are still plenty of games that you haven't seen or known before, especially some that have prices on them therefore you could only play the game when it's bought. Now, you’re pretty curious as to what game it is that Marinette will choose. She has controller's so maybe something that will need a lot of fast taps or reaction in order to beat the opponent. Maybe it's something much calming, or strategic based games?

You’ll just have to wait and see, oh- might as well offer Marinette some help if she needs. “Marinette, I could help if you’d like? I don't mind..!” You say with a smile, standing up from your place and walking towards Marinette. The bluenette’s eyes widened slightly as she turned around to face you, smiling a bit. “If you want? Thank you, I appreciate it, Y/n..!” Marinette brushes off the small dust on her cheek, as she tells you some of the stuff that is out of place, you nod your head before getting to it. Another voice chimed in, as she too was overhype and excited. “Eek-! I can’t wait! Ooo-! Can I help as well..! I wanna help!” Rose stood up from where she's sitting as she too is very inclined to help Marinette with fixing things up.

“Girl's, why don't we all help? The sooner we get it done, the sooner we'll be able to play what Marinette has in mind.” Alya points out, as the bluenette girl squaked when she heard it, chuckling awkwardly. “Um..!  I don't think–” She didn't get to finish her sentence when the rest of the others stood up and agreed to what her best friend said. She lets out a sigh before slowly a smile forming on her lips again. “We got you, girl!” Alya says, as Marinette gives a thump’s up, almost dropping the items on her hands.

“Then what are we waiting for..! Let's get to cleaning!” Rose chirped excitedly, seemingly hyper about the plan. And the black and purple haired girl beside her tug on the blonde short haired girl’s hand, trying to calm her energetic friend. You smile at Juleka’s actions, thinking their friendship is quite adorable. Although, you jolted a bit as you felt someone nudge your shoulder with a pointy object.

Turning your head, you see Alix holding a small notepad and a pencil, as she sent you an amused gaze. “I'm certain you’re gonna need this, Y/n! There’ll be a lot of techniques that you won't wanna miss out on!” She pointed out, as she handed you the notepad and pencil, in the process you felt a tiny bit embarrassed but you shrugged it off. “Thanks, Alix..” You replied, and she drew out a small – ‘psshh’ brushing it off as if telling you it's fine, before she goes over to Marinette to ask which and where needs some rearranging.

And as time goes by and all of you did your part on helping out Marinette with her room. It was time for the game, and you won't lie- it was pretty intense. It really was a strategic game as Alix said earlier, she really was not giving no mercy! You and Rose had trouble beating Alix in one single round, how does she do it? That- you will have to pay attention if you really wanna know, and it isn't easy with the way the game goes on so fast! You have to manage getting used to the controls and what button does what in order to get somewhat of a hit to damage the opponent.

Not to mention, Alya is skilled at the game too! It was a close call between her and Alix when it's their turn to fight against one another. Alya won in the end of it, which made Alix surprised and offered for a rematch to try and turn things around. And might you add, all of you were pretty much glued to their fight the whole time. Rematch after rematch, until Alya finally hands Alix the win– so all of you could go on and have a turn as well. There was in the middle of the game where Marinette’s mother called out and brought all of you some food, in case any of you were hungry. And– Mrs Sabine basically saved all of you, mostly you– since the moment you arrived, your stomach has been growling..!

So the rest of you thanked Marinette’s mother for offering up food to fill the hunger. While the next two are up for a match, the ones watching are munching on some delicious pastries, including you. And upon focusing on Marinette and Alix’s match, you could not count how many times Marinette beat Alix in a one vs one match. She’s pretty great at the game, earning a handshake as Alix admits it was a good win. The next round, Rose and Juleka wanted to have a go with one another. And you and the rest could not content the adorableness of the match, no one wants to land a hit. And when Rose does, she chuckles and says sorry, Juleka wasn't even trying and just wanted Rose to have a win. You still couldn't forget the warm smile that sneaks up on your lips as you can't help but give the two a hug, the room filling up with wholesome laughter.

Opening the door to your small spacious room, you close the door behind you, drawing a breath. The loose long sleeves that’s been like that cause you didn't get the time to button the end of the flowy sleeves, but it seems fortunate for your little Kwami, as she smoothed her way out of the loose sleeves. And floating up to face you with a soft smile – you return the smile with one of your own. Your eyes are falling lidded for a second, though Tikki seems to have noticed it. As she flew down to your hand, which still has the small piece of the notepad, however earlier, after you wrote down some of the things you knew you needed to remember – you ripped the first page and took it with you, just in case your friend's decided to play the game again, you will come prepared!

Tikki gently held one of your fingers, you blinked a couple of times as you looked down at your red Kwami. You see her lifting your hand, causing you to move forward when she guides you towards your bedroom small pinboard – filled with any other of your sticky notes, a lot of them are completed but you keep forgetting to take it out after that specific day is over. There's hardly any space but Tikki still guided your hand up against the narrow board, until you placed the sticky note onto the small empty spot. Itching a tiny smile from your lips, you can't appreciate Tikki enough.

“Sleepy, Y/n..?” The red Kwami questions, tilting her head a bit in a cute manner. As if to confirm her statement, a yawn was forced out of your throat, indicating you are indeed feeling a bit drowsy. There's no saying how much time you spent with your friends, especially when Rose happily suggested for all of you to go out and get some ice cream. You had fun though, the hangout was nice! Alya even took pictures as all of you posed with the ice cream in your hands. She also talked about her Sekkiblog, turning her phone into landscape as she lets you all watch the vlogs she took.

There were so many close calls, you could not even imagine your heart stopping in the middle. And the small blush crossing your cheeks whenever you see your figure being seen in the video. Those times where you took Alya in a more safe place and when you managed to save her in time as you ask out a quick question to make sure if she’s okay or hurt anywhere. You didn't even notice at the time how close you were to the camera, but now you definitely know–! It feels odd to watch yourself on a video, maybe because the huge type of recognition is something you’re not exactly used to. It was interesting to know what your friends thought about you when it comes to the other part of you that remains sealed in a glass secret.

Then there was Alix, who’s showing some tricks that she learned with her rollerblades. It was amazing to see her pull it off, that does take a lot of practice to be able to do, and a lot of courage as well! Along the hangout, Marinette wanted to stop by a nearby gift shop. Since she mentioned she wanted to come and look for a small box that she thinks would be suitable for the keychain that she recently handmade and designed. Marinette was a little embarrassed to say it at first, but she admitted that she wanted to give Adrien a small gift that the bluenette hoped he would like. Oh- she was trying to make friends with Adrien, you almost slipped that off your mind– Marinette is very thoughtful..! And aren't you the one supposed to be helping her? Sigh- Y/n..

“I think so..” You answered drowsily, putting a hand over your mouth. You haven't been thankful enough for your mother whenever she consistently reminds you to take off your outdoor footwear and set it aside near the doorstep when you were still very young. One of many house manners that stuck with you till you are now in your teen age. A long happy sigh flew out of your lips, as you plopped down onto your comfort bed, while Tikki floated around your collection of books on your two layer bookshelf that's attached near your bedroom window.

Her crystal eyes light up as she catches sight of the book she has been engrossed into since the night before. She quickly grabbed it with her two tiny hands, and flew back down to your form – halting a bit as she saw you rummaging, trying to get under the covers impatiently. And once you do, a relaxing expression plastered on your face, she can't help but squeeze out a small giggle from her lips. Continuing to fly down towards you and set herself beside your face, sparing you a tiny glance before opening the book, and try to get to the page she bookmarked.

Tikki took another glance at her holder, perceiving that you haven't bothered to switch into your pajama clothes, thinking that your body might overheat with the layer of fabric still clinging to your frame. Especially since your blanket is almost covering your full body from top to bottom. It isn't that much to worry about since the material of your upper clothing is a light-thin but blousy fabric. Only problem is it sticks to your frame very easily, putting additional heat.

Part of her wants to wake you up and remind you to change into your sleepwear, since you’ll most likely feel uncomfortable when you wake up early in the morning, remaining with sweats. But she's afraid you won't be able to get back to sleep afterwards, there's just this thing that happens frequently that she couldn't grasp sometimes. She does understand that human minds are very difficult to comprehend the majority of the time, and she saw similar qualities in her past ancient holders.

It's very obvious that you are tired and want to sleep, and you did, but when you are disturbed or forgetting something that you needed to do, and you remember it half way getting to bed. You somehow don't feel sleepy anymore right after you finish turning off the lights – stuff like that, or going to the bathroom and also things like preparing your bookbag. The rest happens as you are turning your head back towards your comfort bed, and just standing infront of it with a confused look, then patting the side of your cheek two or three times. Before saying you don't feel sleepy or tired all of a sudden, although the impending consequences don't end up too well for you the next morning.

She could only guess that your body has been through those same encounters in the past, that's why it often happens. And that's also why your mind and body treats it like a normal habit when the leeway is there. Tikki is hoping you’ll be able to fix your sleep schedule in due time. It isn't particularly healthy for your body to dismiss the importance of sleep even when the mind is currently distracted. The red Kwami lets out a soft sigh, it's technically more primal for you to continue sleeping and regain your energy, so she swiftly pushes the first thought aside and then goes back into reading the huge book in her tiny hands.

—

As Tikki dragged her gaze across the many letterings on the pages of the book, there was suddenly a lunatic laugh emerging from the outskirts of Paris. Her crystal blue eyes widening, before dropping the book on the bed and flying towards the bedroom window. Seeing a burst of some kind of flowers..? Plaguing the area not so far from your house, concerns covering her expression as she looks back at your sleeping form. Snuggling peacefully under the blankets.. Akuma attacks have such terrible timing, it's almost unbelievable.

She’ll hate to disturb you in your sleep, but the city needs you more than anything right now..! Tikki quickly flew over towards you, her tiny hands trying to shake you awake. “Y/n–! Y/n! You need to wake up..!” Tikki says with a worried tone, as you remain unresponsive for a second. The red Kwami tries again — “Y/n..! Please wake up, Paris is in danger!” You start to stir from your sleep, eyes fluttering as it slowly opens. Seeing this, Tikki continues to gently move your shoulder back and forth, until you fully open your eyelids.

“Huh..? Tikki…” You mumble under your breath, as you look at your Kwami with confusion on your face. She flew infront of your vision, as you blink a couple of times, still trying to get a grip of reality. “There's an akuma attack occurring as of now! We need to get into the bottom of it..!” Tikki says, waving her hands and pointing towards your bedroom window. After hearing her explanation, you hurriedly grab your blanket and slip out of it, standing up from your bed. “Akuma..!? That's right– an attack, Tikki! Uhm..” The red Kwami nodded her head, as you walked around your room, a bit lost.

You rubbed the corners of your eyes, as you turned towards the window. What are you doing pacing around, there's an akuma attack–! Don't tell yourself that you still need a sticky note for these kinds of things, Y/n..! You shake your head, dismissing the filling thoughts. With hasty steps, you unlock the window and swiftly lift it up before hovering your knee over the windowsill — but a high pitched tone makes you stiffened from your place, as you look back at your red Kwami.

“Stop! Don't do that..! You're not transformed still, Y/n–!” Tikki almost shouted from the top of her vocal cords, a deep concern presenting on her face. Your lips fall agape, switching your gaze back down to your body and hands. “I-I am not..! Tikki– what's wrong with me..?!” Your voice nervously asked, as you retrieve yourself back to your bedroom space, taking a deep breath. “Y/n, you're tired, that's the thing.. you just need to take a moment and get your mind intact, I'm sure you're stuck up between sleep and reality. You can spare a second..” Tikki says softly, trying to reassure you and answer your question calmly.

You gaze into your Kwami’s eyes for a minute, as you nodded your head lightly. She's correct, you might've been quickly pulled away from your sleep that it's a bit hard to set up a proper way of knowing if you're still asleep or not when you're in the middle of being drawn to the depths of sleep from earlier. “Okay.. I think it's fine.. now?” You question, as you blink a couple of times and pinching yourself slightly to make sure. “Alright, then it's time..” Tikki sent you another reassuring smile, as you slowly feel the need to return it back with your own.

You hummed in confirmation, as you momentarily closed your eyes, softly muttering the words – “Tikki, spots on..” There was a swift moment of glowing white and pink light shining from up to down of your form, transforming you into your signature heroine suit. You could feel the wind that came in from your window gently brushing against your hair and the smooth hair tail that grew from the transformation. Lightly moving back and forth, as you flutter your eyes open, turning around towards the window once again.

That multiple dull colored flowers growing around the city not so far away catches the attention of your pupils. With furrowed eyebrows and a wary expression on your face, you unclipped your yoyo from your waist. Slipping the small opening of the string through your ring finger, as you grip the base of your yoyo tight. Walking forward and looking up, scanning for where you're about to latch your yoyo around to, and when you found the perfect source. You immediately shoot your yoyo towards it, as it successfully wrapped around it.

With that familiar determination, you tug the string of your yoyo, letting it propel you into greater heights and towards your pointed destination. Landing smoothly on one of the house rooftops, you continue to jump over rooftops to rooftops, progressing your way further towards the path of dull flowers and vines. Though on your way there, you sense your yoyo buzzing, signaling there's an incoming call.

Taking a split second to open the screen of your yoyo, you quickly press the green button, answering the call and lifting it up to your ear. “Cuddlebug..! Phew– you answered! I thought you were in trouble..!” Chat Noir says on the other end of the line, a few puffs of breath coming from the screen microphone, he's either in a current fight or also making his way through the city. “I got caught up with something, although I'm fine..!” You replied, as you received a glimpse of the scene upfront, making you stop in your tracks.

“Chat, got any clue on–” An unusual smell meeting your nostrils triggered you to cough all of a sudden, as you place a hand over your mouth, eyes squeezing shut. “Milady..?! Milady! Are you okay–?!” Said by a worried voice over the screen of your yoyo, but unable to respond back because of the undying need of air. You hurriedly move away from the specific area, until you're able to find fresh air so you could regain your oxygen. You breathe in and out, slowly having your normal pace of breathing.

Your yoyo continues to vibrate, faintly hearing your teammate’s voice on the call. In realization, you bring the screen of your yoyo next to your ear, about to answer Chat Noir but you noticed he hung up. Sensing something went wrong, you close the screen of your yoyo and put it back to its original placement. You could only guess that he must've been caught up with the scent of the flowers as well, you need to get into the bottom of this.

With further observation, there's different types of flowers that swarm the city, one of them is hard to get through since it possesses an effect that goes against oxygen, which is why that type of flower is meant to be avoided. The other types however.. is more tamed to come by, the effects it has is still unknown to you, but you didn't pay it any mind as you traverse more into the known trails in search of the akumatized victim. And you might've just hit your target, as you see a woman dressed in a dull purple based dress, vines clinging to her leg and some on her other arm. A white flower covering one of her eyes, as a black line connected to her eyelid down to her chin, which reminds you of tears.

“Oh.. Sekkibug~ it's so good to see you! I am Floral Sequence, the one and only best florist in town!” She greeted with a smile forming on her lips, presenting you the odd looking flower pot in her hands. Consisting of all different dulled flowers that you come across, only planted in a singular pot. “Would you like me to pick a flower best suited for a fluttering bug..?” With furrowed eyebrows, you swing your yoyo in a circular motion, noticing how she closes her eyes and purses her lips together before gently blowing against the mixed flowers.

Soon enough the flower she picked started to bloom around you, but you dodge in time before it could make contact with your suit. Floral Sequence frowned, about to throw in another blow against the flower pot but a certain feline hero interrupted her. Making her turn around to face him and dodge his attacks, she quickly tears a cyan colored flower and crushes it into her palm. Causing her to disappear with a burst of flower petals, the feline blinked in split second confusion, before suddenly she reappeared behind him.

With widened pupils, you act on instinct as you wrap your yoyo around Chat Noir before pulling him to your side. “Cuddlebug..!” The moment you undo your yoyo around him, the masked feline gives you a hug out of nowhere. “You worried me over the call, you know..” He sighed, tightening his grip around you. He really was worried sick that something horrible might've happened to you, it wasn't helping how you are coughing nonstop on the other side of the line.

“Chat, this is not the–” 

“I know.. just relieved you're okay.” He hesitantly pulls away, giving you a sincere smile, it wasn't long before a burst of collision occurred between the both of you, launching you two away from each other. A small groan slips by your lips, as you caught yourself before you hit the ground. “What awful customers, roses are out of order..!” She hissed, crushing another flower in her palm, the familiar effect lingers in the air. “Hold your breath!” You warned towards your feline companion, as he sent you a swift nod.

You try retreating away from the scent, although it followed along the path and into the house walls. Lights opened one by one, as civilians looked out their window – seeing some of the flowers trying to grow their way inside the abode. Panic starts to show, confused as to what's happening in the heat of the moment. “What's wrong..? Don't you all like it!?” A fit of laughter could be heard, drawing the attention of many people. A lot of them couldn't handle the lack of oxygen that they're getting inside the apartment, as they soon ran away from their homes, in desperate need of fresh air.

You store concerned glances in their way before returning back towards Floral Sequence, throwing your yoyo in her direction and cutting her off mid laugh. The string wrapped around her thigh, as you tugged on it, making her fall to the ground with a thud. “Ugh! You–!” Chat Noir quickly rotates his baton repeatedly, his slit pupils focusing on the female villain, as she rid her way out of your strings and in the process of standing back up. Although before she could, he pointed the end of his staff towards her, then pressed the middle button of his weapon, causing it to advance in length. Hitting Floral Sequence in the stomach, sending her flying as she gritted her teeth and clasped one of her hands on the metal.

But he immediately undo the extension, making the female villain more irritated as she gets launched across a great distance away. Dying out of breath, Chat noir unlocked his baton and promptly placed it against his mouth, able to breathe again. He turned to the side, spotting you holding your hands out and looking upwards onto the little toddler from the three story building. “P-Please jump..!” The hesitation on the boy’s face didn't suffice, as you started coughing before swinging your yoyo up into a small edge, as you made your way into the window.

Grabbing him in your arms, feeling pity as you saw how stunned he was but cooperated nonetheless. The feline hero blinked, stopping himself from being captivated in his place once again, and started helping out people evacuate from their homes as well. The knowing masked bluenette arrived at the scene in hurried breaths, goodness, it was troubling to get the vines off of her frame, scolding herself internally for being clumsy.

The air pollutants seem to be ineffective to her, granting her resistance to it, while she evacuated people with no problem. As you carried down another toddler from the building, you couldn't ignore the dizziness occurring inside your mind. You could hear the toddler muttering her gratitude, but your vision is feeling hazy at the moment. Pointing where she’ll evacuate, and she gave you a quick nod before dashing off. Realizing you're almost out of breath, you try to draw back in search of air. But you felt a hand grab onto your shoulder, bringing you back. You didn't get enough time to react, when your feline companion gently set his unlocked staff against your lips, causing you to make eye contact.

“Sekkibug.. breathe.” He says calmly, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze. You were dazed for a second, before listening to him and breathing through your mouth. Eyes closing in relief, as his own never left your facial features. A small tinted blush forming on the surface of his face, he assumes you haven't acknowledged it yet, or you didn't notice at all, he doesn't mind.. he could savor the 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 in his own mind.

You eventually open your eyes, feeling a lot better now that your lack of oxygen has been fixed, well- temporary. You still need to defeat Floral Sequence after all, and capture her akuma, before you're certain that the healthy source of oxygen has been brought back. “Thanks, Chat.. I owe you one.” You softly smile, as you take another breath from the oxygen his metal staff provides. Then returning his weapon back to him, the metal staff pressing against his chest. “Anytime, Cuddlebug.” His lips twisting into a warm smile, yet since the moment is in borrowed time – a burst of petals dart opposed to his line of direction.

“Watch out–!” Multimouse yelled, however the feline reacted too late, and towards the bright side – 𝘺𝘰𝘶 didn't. Releasing a grunt from the impact, as you shove him back just in time. “Ngh- Milady..!” He holds your forearm, his slit pupils grasping the vines slowly clinging around your ankle, the speed increasing as the flower blooms onto your frame. “I didn't know I'll have the known bug in Paris trapped beneath my wonderful vines.” Floral Sequence giggled evilly, using her ability and snatching you out of the hold of the masked feline.

She took her time observing your trapped form, tightening the grip of the vines. You struggled in your place, causing a grit of your teeth at the rigid vines that refused to release you. She merely laughs in sight of your desperate attempt, then her eyes perk up when the markings of Hawkmoth’s control appears on her face. And she hears his demanding voice, saying it's the perfect opportunity to steal your miraculous. “Floral Sequence, Sekkibug’s in your reach – take her Miraculous now!” As the markings on her face fades away, she grins dangerously.

“Ah yes.. this will be a benefi—”

“Cataclysm!” Her mouth fell agape as she turned her face aside, seeing the feline hero sprinting towards her. Sensing immediate danger at the ability he currently activated, and to save her own skin – she manipulated her vines as it dragged you infront of her view, resulting in your pupils widening as you saw Chat noir only a second away from making contact with your frame. The heartbeat inside your chest stopped in the middle of it, but you suddenly feel the vines bandaging your body shattering in ashes, setting you free.

The blonde feline immediately grabs hold of your arm and pulls you towards him — leading you behind his back. “Stupid cat! Ugh- I almost had it..!” Floral Sequence complained, though only earning an unusual piercing glare from the feline hero. She was about to question if she's seeing things with how she spare a second to blink, and then seeing his cocky expression plastering back onto his face. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.. that isn't a way to treat a certified customer!” He comments, as the female villain scoffed in annoyance.

Chat noir quickly spun his staff continuously, blocking Floral Sequence’s attacks. In the process, you squint your eyelids – from earlier inconvenience when Floral Sequence caught you in her suffocating vines, it gave you a chance to observe her outfit and see what stands out and what doesn't. Gaining some valuable information, while the situation you were glued to was risky, you're glad that atleast it wasn't for nothing. And you might have a concrete theory on where the akuma is hiding.

With a determined expression, you stare down on your yoyo, gripping the given chance to be able to use your – “Lucky charm!” throwing your yoyo upwards, as it bursts in magical particles creating an item. And it appears to be a.. yarn? You catch the object, looking at it for a second before spinning your yoyo repeatedly – taking Chat’s turn in blocking Floral Sequence’s attacks. Multimouse came in after evacuating the remaining individuals to safety.

“Annoying brats..! Hm, let's see.” The female villain twirls some of the vines in thought, coming up with an idea as she grins – noticing you charging towards her in an attempt to tangle her up in your yoyo’s strings. However, she disappears once again with the explosion of petals, as you and your partners turned around upon hearing another from behind. “Let's put your skills to the test, shall we?” Multiple people yell in panic, as they were being forcefully tied up with vines. And the worst part of it all, Floral Sequence once more activated the specific flower toxins.

Causing the whole ordeal into a ticking bomb for all of you. “Aw c’mon– I didn't know you were that desperate!” The masked feline chimed in before readying his weapon in hand and sprinting towards the flower villain. “Multitude..!” Multimouse calls in her ability, adjusting the said power into making her clone remaining only one, that way she doesn't shrink as much and she and her clone will be able to help without any limitations that is only beneficial to tiny purposes.

Scanning around the surroundings, one hint leading up to the vines and another as you dragged your gaze onto the street lights that's barely even visible and eventually the next step is the yarn that's on your hand. Smelling the familiar toxins, you hold your breath, then quickly get into action. You ran towards the plaguing vines onto the front buildings, hooking a part of the yarn onto the minimum thorn it has. Then doing the same in other areas as to make sure it doesn't come loose with just a bit of force. After that, you swung your way across the opposite building, adjusting the remaining yarn that you still have. Then finishing the last bit — and that is to get rid of the source of lights illuminating from the street light, making the trap a bit more difficult to notice, especially in the night.

A beep from the masked feline’s ring grasps the attention of the owner, a worried glance sent its way as he dodges the blooming flowers from having contact with his body. Seems like there is even a limit for when Floral Sequence uses her power, overdriving it could make the effects of it useless. Setting the person in his arms down, he gave her a signal to leave the scene as he spun his metal staff, cutting the attempts of Floral Sequence’s vines from catching the blonde feline.

“You know- I was thinking about buying some flowers for Milady bug~ then you lost me on the ‘roses are out of order’ line!” Said the masked feline, earning an irritated grunt from the flower villain. “Keep that in your petty dreams!” She remarked, throwing in another attack although Multimouse’s duplicate interrupted to her displeasure. Spotting the current commotion from afar, your face lights up when you see the possibility. With you placing yourself behind the set trap you assembled, backing away a few steps.

You let out a breath, before dragging your hand far behind and shooting your yoyo forward with incredible force, as it went through the narrow opening. “You're ruining my beautiful plants! Ugh, you mouse–!” A gasp left Floral Sequence’s lips, as she felt a certain yoyo wrapping around her torso. Both Multimouse’s duplicate and the female villain stare in the direction of where it came from, bewilderment covering their expression — before suddenly Floral Sequence didn't get to react in time as she's being pulled from her place, dropping her flower pot in the process. It shattered when it hit the ground- although it didn't reveal the hidden akuma.

A harsh groan escapes the female villain’s throat when she finds herself bound against the net-build yarn. Facing you from the other side of the trap, you tugged on the strings tight, a slight chuckle emerging from your lips. “Sekkibug..?! You sneaky parasite, I should've known–!” She struggled against the yarn, while you lifted your hand up, cutting her off. “Seems like your luck ran out, Floral Sequence.” You stated with a smile, as she gasped at the audacity. But before she could retort back, you pluck the flower eye patch attached to her left eye, ripping it in half. As a certain dark and purple butterfly has been revealed, flying out.

You undo your yoyo from Floral Sequence, as she falls back to the ground in defeat. “We had seen through your tricky disguise, evil Akuma.” You glide your finger across the middle of your yoyo, opening it evenly and uncovering the dimension. Smoothly latching the strings onto your pointer and middle finger, sliding it across the line as your yoyo revert backwards and wrapping around your other wrist. Before quickly retracting the movements, as you spin your yoyo simultaneously.

“Don't fret now, and face Justice..!” With that your eyesight targets the evil butterfly, and in due time you shoot your yoyo in the direction of the escaping akuma. Landing a swift capture of it as the yoyo immediately closes back – prisoning the akuma temporarily as you return the yoyo back to your hand. “Trapped ya’!” A soft smile plastered on your face, before looking down on the yoyo in hand, then pressing the front of it. Resulting in the yoyo to open once more, letting the white butterfly float out of the dimension. “Fly high, purified butterfly.” You bid farewell, gesturing your palm under the butterfly as it proceeded to fly into the sky.

The vines slowly went limp, unable to identify to possess its purpose without the control of its owner. Causing it to lose power and collapse down from the many buildings it clung around. Your lucky charm’s yarn ended up following after the collapse, as you crouched down to retrieve it back. A certain feline hero went up towards you, popping a comment as he helped you get the cluttered yarn.

“Milady, this seems tempting for a cat – I can't make promises with these~” He chuckles, as you spare him a small giggle directing his comment. “Keep a look out for your kitty mail, I might deliver one as a gift.” You replied back with a shrug of your shoulders, raising one of your eyebrows. The masked feline hummed, sending you a charming look, that smirk returning back. “I’ll keep that in mind, Cuddlebug~” You brush off his sly tone, continue gathering the scattered yarn, while Multimouse comes in to help as well.

It took a minute, but you can finally fit the yarn into your hand, some of it laying around your forearm. It doesn't seem to be that troubling though, as you hold the main portion of it tight before gesturing it down and then throwing the red and black polka dots designed item into the air. Able to let the city come back into its peaceful night, as you firmly yelled —

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

With that, the item bursts into multiple tiny ladybugs – splitting into different directions in terms of cleaning the city in its current mess that Floral Sequence has caused. Turning everything back to normal, and eventually the female that got akumatized, her natural appearance switching back. As she opens her eyes and turns her head back and forth around her surroundings. Seemingly confused. “Wha.. where am I?” She mumbled, scratching the back of her head, looking at the three masked heroes in front of her.

“Pound it!” You, Multimouse and Chatnoir say in sync, before looking back at the woman – who’s wearing a uniform of some kind with an apron, seemingly connected to her passion as a florist. Your expression softened as you saw Multimouse making her way towards the confused victim. Lending her hand and bringing her back to her feet, asking if she's okay, and she answered back with slight hesitation before saying she is.

The bluenette turned back towards both you and Chat, a calming expression on her face. “I’ll escort her back home, I have some time before I change back.” She says, and her point stands when your earring starts to beep once more, as you put a finger on top of it. Indicating two spots left, while the masked feline beside you – look over his ring and his face goes completely pale when he sees the second bar disappearing, leaving him with only one bar left before he de-transform back.

“Yeah–! Paw charges are litter-ally about to back-fire on me..!” The blonde feline quipped, obtaining a little shake of the bluenette’s head, receiving a small chuckle from her. As you blinked a couple of times at his last minute pun, your eyelids felt sort of heavy and drowsiness returning back. A snap of a finger bought you back, causing you to make eye contact with your feline companion. “Not a good place to dream about me, Cuddlebug~” He teased, lifting your chin up, and you instinctively pushed his hand to the side.

“The clock is ticking, Chat. I'm gonna head out as well..” You sent him a soft smile, nudging his suit’s bell with your finger. “If you say so, Milady.” He replied, then turning back with his metal staff in hand. He gave you and the other two a quick salute as a farewell. “Stay safe, Chat..” You say, earning a sly shrug of his shoulders then nodding his head.

“Don't worry, Cuddlebug~! This cat is capable..!” He responded back, before pressing the middle of his weapon, launching him up into the sky, until he landed on top of a building and started to hurriedly traverse further to be able to catch up to his ring’s sinking seconds.

“Au revoir, Multimouse. Take care–!” You gave them another wave, then threw your yoyo far out upwards around a concrete source. “Mhm, I’ll make sure she's safe!” Multimouse replied back, as you gently nod your head with a small smile. And eventually pulling onto the strings, as it propelled you beyond heights and into your designated point of direction. Tonight's akuma attack was a bit of a rocky road as you expected, mainly because of the toxins that were life-threatening to the city. You're just relieved it's over now, and you could go back home..

A huff of breath escapes your throat, finally arriving back to your room. You gently close the bedroom window, then hopping off the windowsill, your feet meeting the floorboards of your room. You approach your comfort bed, letting the swift de-transformation to take place as it changes you back into your civilian form. You halt in the middle of plopping down onto your bed, immediately laying your palms in front to catch your Kwami. While she softly landed onto it, hearing a faint sound emerging from her lips.

Seeing Tikki drained out of her energy stung something inside your heart, you pull your palms up – likely enough as you place a gentle kiss on top of Tikki’s forehead. “Let’s grab you something to eat, Tikki.. we can rest afterwards, hm..?” You whisper with a delicate tone, the red Kwami weakly nods her head, looking up at you with bleary eyes. You sent her a reassuring smile, before walking away from your bed and towards the exit door of your room.

You carefully twist the doorknob, peeking through the opening gap. Making sure if your parents are awake – the akuma attack might have caused them to go alert. Maybe they're watching the news downstairs..? You don't know, but they're seemingly not in the small hall leading to your bedroom. You set Tikki into the collar of your upper clothing, as the fabric covers her tiny body, leaving only her head visible. But with the dark lighting of the house, surely not even anyone would be able to see Tikki without the lights on. And even if it is on, your hair will be able to cover your Kwami from view just fine.

You carefully made your way downstairs, heavy-lidded eyes scanning around for any presence of your parents. The creaking sound of the wooden stairs caused you to stiffened in your place. Followed by your heart nearly jumping out of your chest when you heard a loud snore bouncing off the walls from your parent's bedroom. Letting out a phew upon hearing your father's snore continuing. And with that, you eventually arrived in the kitchen, in front of the fridge.

Grabbing the handle and opening it, you and Tikki were greeted by the fridge’s bright light. Your pupils falling onto the cold differently designed bread bun that is wrapped into plastic and laced with those similar neat strings, styled into a small ribbon to keep it together. You always keep these in store, considering the fact it's a favorite snack that stuck with you even as of now. You couldn't help yourself from buying a few when you can afford it, well- it was worth being broke for. Although a voice in the back of your mind is saying otherwise, you always end up brushing it off. You know how to save up some cash, okay.. sometimes is an exception!

You take one of the three stored bread buns onto the fridge’s mid shelf. The cold temperature almost makes you shiver as you close the fridge right after. And then cautiously heading your way back upstairs, turning the sort of cramped corner and into the small corridor leading to your room. Since you left your door slightly ajar, you didn't have to worry about it making a sound when you lightly pushed it open. Enough for you to slip through the space and gently twist the doorknob before fully closing the door to its limit– then that's when you let go of the doorknob. Not even a sound that will likely alert your parents, well- except for the creaking noise that happened earlier on the wooden stairs.

Sitting down on your bed, you softly took Tikki from your upper clothing’s collar. Meeting her drained form again, you undo the laces and unwrapping the plastic from the bread bun as quickly as you could. Before finally offering it to Tikki, her tiny hands tried to hold onto it, as she went in for a bite. You didn't remove your pointer and thumb from keeping the food in place – just in case so it doesn't accidentally slip or fall from Tikki’s clutch. You patiently wait for her to finish consuming the snack, looking over the view from your window for the meantime.

“Y/n..” The red Kwami calls your name, gaining your attention as you turn back to Tikki. She forms a small smile, before continuing her words. “You should change back into your sleepwear before you forget.. that fabric sticks to your frame very easily, it might cause you to be uncomfortable when sleeping.” Tikki pointed out as she fully held the half finished bread bun into her tiny hands. You look down onto your attire, pulling a part of the fabric from your skin, noticing your Kwami is right.

“Yeah, I should change..” You giggled, standing up from your bed and walking over to your bedroom cabinets where you keep your clothes. Pullling the handle to make it open and start looking for your pair of pajamas, and once you found one of the same pairs. You began removing the current clothes you have on, before changing into the pajamas. Feeling the soft and light fabric making contact with your skin, drawing a relaxing sigh from you. And without any second thoughts, you collapse down onto your comfort bed.

Sliding yourself under the covers once more, with Tikki flying down close beside you after she finished eating the food. You gave her a little scratch against her soft cheek, resulting in a small giggle to emerge from the red Kwami. You really grew attached with your tiny companion, internally thanking the heavens for giving you such a gift you cannot pay even if you offer everything you have. Although one thing is for sure.. you’ll entitle every bit of yourself into the heavy responsibility it came along with such a gift… No matter what happens, if it gets dragged down without no return.. you’ll let yourself be dragged along with it. Without question.

“Goodnight, Y/n..” Says Tikki, snuggling up against your face.

“Goodnight, Tikki.” You softly replied back, allowing your eyelids to finally rest..

Previous & Subsequent Chapters | 01 | 02 | 04 | Loading...

[hareofhrair]

Would it still be useful voting if I choose/write in Claudia/Karina or any other independent candidate? I just want someone better than both of them…

I completely understand this impulse and I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately the answer is no. Unless sometime before November someone manages to amass a genuinely huge grassroots movement behind a third candidate which unifies a block of people large enough to compete with both democrats and republicans (which is, I should clarify, EXTREMELY unlikely if not totally impossible at this point), voting third party/write in is essentially useless. It’s an empty gesture, because no third candidate can compete with the sheer numbers of the primary two parties.

Even if you managed to mobilize an entire state for a third party candidate, the electoral college means your state’s votes can still end up going towards one of the main party candidates (which is just one of the reasons the electoral college should be abolished)

Either Trump or Biden will be president and there’s no avoiding that. Voting for anyone else is essentially the same as not voting.

However! Presidential elections aren’t everything! Local and state elections are a GREAT place to vote third party. Especially if you can mobilize your social circle to join you! For local elections (which tend to have very low turnout) that can make an ENORMOUS difference. And who gets elected locally affects who gets elected at a state level, which affects viable candidates for federal elections, which is the pool from which our presidential candidates are chosen! So when you vote third party locally, it can really make a difference down the line! Even if there’s no third party candidate running, voting as far left as possible helps prove the viability of running on a far left platform, which means more people will do it. Even if there’s no democrats running at all (which happens a lot where I’m from) you can still vote for harm reduction. For candidates who won’t make things better but probably won’t make them worse.

What people forget is that voting is not about you or your personal beliefs. It’s about unified political action. It’s you and people who are aligned with politically, working together to compromise on and support a candidate that furthers all your goals as much as possible.

It’s a union.

You may not agree with everything your coworkers want out of a union negotiation. Maybe some of them want higher pay, but you think that’s unrealistic and you’d rather focus your efforts on getting better health benefits, and somebody else thinks healthcare is great but less important than demanding set schedules instead of week to week unreliable shifts. And then there’s this one asshole who thinks you hire too many immigrants and wants to get rid of affirmative action policies and also he’s sick of contributing part of his paycheck to the pension fund and we should just get rid of that.

If that asshole is the only one who shows up to the union meetings? He’s the one who’s going to get what he wants.

But if you and the other three guys who all want to actually make things better get together and agree, fine, more stable work hours is a good first step, we’ll all support that for now. Then asshole over there gets drowned out.

Voting is not a statement of your personal political beliefs. Voting is not an endorsement of everything that politician has ever done. Voting is you and everyone you know who wants the world to be better agreeing “this guy isn’t my first choice, but he wants SOME of the things all of us want. And he’s better than that trumpeting asshole over there who thinks lighting his farts on fire is a natural gas policy.”

At least until we can convince them to switch to goddamn ranked voting anyway.

[yourlocalartsonist]

ROTTMNT Moths Fly In Packs - Chapter Eight

A/N: I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG OH MY GOD. I genuinely didn’t expect it to, chapter 8 was supposed to be way shorter but uh yk my brain didn’t like that apparatnly. So now it’s uh 10K words. I think it’s genuinely worth the wait and read tho so hey, alls well that ends well or something. I’m gonna try to be faster with updates now. I’m FAIRLY CERTAIN chapter nine will be much shorter or at least nothing crazy like 8 or 10k. But what I can guarantee is chapters 10-13 will most definitely be short and lead up to the grand arc finale of chapter 14. We’re getting pretty close to it and I’m literally vibrating from excitement but no spoilers. Anyway enjoy the chapter! :D

Credit to: @sweaterrat and @yosajaeofficial for being my beloved beta readers! This story wouldn’t be able to have the quality it does without them so please give them some love and check out their ROTTMNT stories too!

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Chapter One

Disclaimer: Chapter involves depressive thoughts, mentions of bullying, depressed behavior, mentions of Kr*ng, PTSD behavior, violence, very lightly graphic description of injuries, blood, and curse words. If you’re sensitive to that stuff, scroll past and stay safe!

Outside the window, you can make out a bird’s nest sat in one of the trees. It’s been here for a week now, perfectly timed with when I got back to a consistent school life. But lately, the mother’s been staying at the nest more often. I’m guessing they’ve got babies on the way, she’s probably incubating her eggs right now. I think I’ve gotten attached to them, that small family of robins. The parents are so dedicated, aren’t they? The mother especially, never leaving the nest unless absolutely necessary. 

On the contrary to my peaceful view, the classroom is noisy, hectic, and cluttered. No real science work for today so everyone’s just doing their own thing. Very loudly. Jaiden and Zane are chatting and laughing with each other next to me. I think things are better between us, I still don’t really know where Jaiden and I stand right now but at least Zane seems fine with me. Though I won’t lie, I’ve been feeling more and more like a third wheel around them. 

“Dude! I’m telling you, we have to play this game together! We’d have so much fun!” 

“I already said I would, Jaiden! Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh like this. Shame you’re letting such a pretty smile go to waste.”

“Yeah? Let’s hang out more often then and maybe I won’t do that.”  

Like right now.

Lowkey, I’ve been feeling invisible around those two. Jaiden barely pays any attention to me, it’s as if Zane was their best friend instead of me! I mean, I know friends can drift apart, I definitely know. But still, I never imagined it would happen to us. I still don’t wanna believe that’s what’s happening. I wanna keep hope.

“And ironically, you’re being pretty quiet today, Salena. Did you two switch personalities or something?” 

“You are weirdly quiet, actually. What’s up?”

Oh lookie, I’ve been acknowledged. “Nah, you guys don’t have to worry about me. Just lower on energy than usual.” 

I went back to my routine of staring out the window like the main character in a music video. In the reflection, Zane was still watching me. With the way his eyes lingered, I had a feeling he’s not falling for my excuse. 

Seems like Jaiden’s not too worried, though. “Oh, Zane! You wanna hear about this new skate park I found?” Just went right back at it with Zane. Who’s weirdly still staring at me.

“…Actually, I’m kinda hungry. Jaiden, you mind getting me a snack from the vending machine?”

“Huh? But I wouldn’t know what to get you. N-not that I don’t pay attention to what you like! But, you know… Salena has better taste in these things! She should go-”

“She always goes.”

“‘Cause she knows what she’s doing.”

“Jaiden.”

“Guys, it’s fine! It’s fine. I’ve got this.” I didn’t want them to fight again so I got up from my seat. “Be back soon.”

Jaiden gave me their most gleeful smile I’ve seen them make in a while. I think seeing them smile makes this gesture worthwhile. Even if it’s just for a little bit.

The walk to the vending machine shouldn’t have been long, it’s not super far away. But my legs dragged on forcing each step to be slower than the last. I feel guilty thinking like this but a part of me wants this dumb walk to go on forever. I can’t stand being near them and I don’t know why! It’s not like we’ve got bad blood, they’ve both been normal towards me since I came back. So why am I acting like this? I’m seriously starting to doubt Splinter’s theory of me not being the problem here…

I approached the machine, stopping as I heard a struggling voice in front of me. 

“Argh! How’d she say these things worked again?” 

His finger pressed against the glass, tracing the code for the snack he wanted. He tapped the buttons on the screen. Nothing happened. Scratching his head, he leaned forward to read the next instructions. Finally, he pulled out a dollar bill.

…Before proceeding to insert it in the wrong way. And taking it out. And inserting it back in. And repeating the process. I can feel my soul exiting my body from second-hand embarrassment. 

I recognized the fluffy black hair. With a crooked smile, I pulled out my own wallet.

“You’re supposed to put it in this way.” I slid my bill into the slot, the granola bar he selected successfully being pushed down soon after. “Good to see you again.”

“Woah, cool!” He stared at the giant food box almost with a childlike wonder, pausing for a few minutes before turning to me. “And hey! Yeah, it’s really nice seeing you again, too.” His eyes remained locked for a while before he scrambled to hand me the bill he had. “Here! Let me pay you back-“

“No, no, no, don’t worry about it! Really! Consider it my apology for, um, last time.” 

“Apology? I mean, you weren’t the one doing anything weird so I don’t think you’ve gotta apologize.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Casey Jones Jr. I was gonna introduce myself the first time we met but, you know.”

“Salena Moni! So, how’s everything holding up? You joined pretty late in the year so if you need any help reviewing stuff I’m more than happy to.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry! It’s actually going alright. Still technically my first time going to a real school, so it’s a little bit of a challenge but I already knew most of the material anyways. I didn’t have to catch up on much.”  

“Wow, that is… remarkably impressive.” If only I handled transferring as well as this guy. “Wait, hold up, real school? Were you homeschooled?”

“You could… say that. My uncle taught me everything, he was the smartest person I knew! Just turns out it was literally everything.”

“Cool! I guess we can check grades off the box, then! So, is everyone being nice? Made any friends?”

I bit my lip as I received my answer in the form of his face freezing mid-speech. “W-well uh…”

Oh, you poor thing…

I guess he could read my face since he immediately tried reassuring me, as if he wasn’t the victim in this scenario. “I-I mean it’s not awful! A couple people were nice to me, including you! Sure, some are a little… hostile. But it’ll get better eventually.” 

“Y-yeah! It definitely… definitely will.”

And cue the classic awkward silence that stars in any first conversation. A little overdue for this one now that I’m thinking about it. 

I’m so conflicted. I know damn well he’s not gonna have the high school dream he’s probably imagining right now. No one does. I may not have been at this school for long, but I’ve been here long enough to know how the people are. April told me it gets even worse every year as cliques start getting established and people grow past the initial politeness. I’m glad she did, she never kept anything about high school from me no matter how bad it was. Nothing was in my control but at least I knew it was coming.

And here I am playing the exact opposite role for Casey. I hate giving people false hope, I hate it with a passion! But I’m supposed to, I think. In a situation like this I’m supposed to hype him up. Ignorance is bliss! Wouldn’t it just ruin his spirits if I broke the glass? 

“Anyway, it was nice to meet you! I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Y-yep! Hope things get better for you soon!” 

“Me too.”

Ugh, the guilt is eating me up! I’m acting like I’ve never told a lie in my life but it’s not that. It’s his pure mindset that’s completely fucking with my morality! 

I know to keep my mouth shut, I do. I don’t want him to hate me like everyone else does. I haven’t met someone who’s been so nice to me in this stupid ass school before, I don’t want to ruin this chance now that I finally got it. Plus, he might not even believe me…

I watched him turn to walk away. 

Fuck it, social norms are for losers!

“W-wait! Casey?” He turned back around and I nearly shit myself from fear. “So, don’t be mad but I may have um… lied about something?” 

“Uh, sorry?”

I took a deep breath, bracing myself. “Well, here’s the deal. Things aren’t really gonna get better, sorry. Or, actually! I don’t mean that extremely literally, I guess...” 

Focus on your hands, it’ll be okay. “Just… People here are mean. Really, really mean. You’re homeschooled, you’re new, and you’re nice. It’s a recipe for disaster here whether it’s today or even a year after you’ve settled in!”

I can’t even read his expression and get an idea of his reaction. He’s got a scary good poker face, I’m curious which relative taught him that one.

“Casey, please don’t take this the wrong way. I-I’m not saying any of it is your fault! Or that you need to change or do anything. I’m only saying this so you don’t have any… unrealistic expectations so to speak.” 

God, his silence is more terrifying than anticipated.

So much so I couldn’t help letting out a quiet breath of relief when he finally did speak. “You know, you’re the first person here who’s told me that.”

“…Is that bad?”

“Not at all. All my family, they never got the chance to go to school. Hell, I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity. But here I am! First time in a new building with weird people and absolutely no clue what to expect. I’m usually good with surprises but this one is just so… different. Different is scary, you know?” 

I nodded. I most definitely did know.

“Anyway, you’re right that people are just mean here. I don’t even know why, I mean, I’ve met my fair share of dicks before but at least they had good reasons! We were under so much stress… But that’s not what I hate. It’s the fact that any time I tell an adult, they say the same thing over and over again!” 

“Let me guess.” I cleared my throat and enhanced the performance with my intoxicated Mrs. Doubtfire voice. “Just ignore them and give it time and it’ll magically fix itself ‘cause boredom beats bullies or some shit, right?”

“Yeah, exactly!” His laugh is like holding your parent’s hand when you’re getting the flu shot, it’s magical! “They say that to everyone, don’t they? God, what’s up with that? I’m so not used to adults lying to me.”

“Dude, what? You’re kidding, your whole community’s gotta be amazing if you’ve never been lied to by an adult.” 

“Eh, more or less… Anyway, um, thank you. For telling me the truth. And the granola bar. I seriously owe you for this.”

…I take it back, Splinter might’ve actually been onto something.

I mean, he’s a little strange, I won’t lie about that. This is the first time I’ve heard someone actually be grateful for me telling the truth. In the past it either got me isolated or in huge trouble, depending on who I was honest with. Maybe this is why I’m so used to lying. I hate it but I’ve had to do it so much. I’ve never met someone who finally lets me relax about it, not until Casey Jr it seems.

Maybe he deserves me being a little braver for a change. 

“Well, here’s a way you can repay me. By us being friends!”

…

This was a lot more epic in my head without his speechless pause. Maybe I got the vibe wrong-

“REALLY!? OMIGOSH! That would be so cool! I’ve literally been thinking about asking you the same thing ‘cause I keep wanting to talk to you but never run into you but now we can talk whenever we want, IT’LL BE GREAT!!!” Spoke too soon, he is literally shaking me by the shoulders. It feels unnatural not being on the other side of this scenario. 

“Casey, my stomach doesn’t approve of this-“

“Sorry, sorry!” He finally stopped and allowed me to remember the pleasant feeling of absolute stillness. “I just can’t believe you actually wanna be friends with me!” 

Still, his surprising enthusiasm gave me a good laugh. “Dude, it’s alright! It’s kinda more surprising you wanna be friends with me.”  

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met in my entire life, anyone who’s friends with you is lucky to have you!” 

Lucky to have me?

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, unexpected compliments go burn in a fire but also don’t leave, it actually feels really nice. 

“Salena, are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

“N-no, I mean, all I did was buy you a snack and tell you people are jerks. I’m not too sure I should be receiving the title of the ‘kindest person you’ve ever met’ and stuff.”

“O-oh yeah, you have a point.” He got a little flustered at that, despite it really being my fault for not being able to take compliments. “I don’t know, I mean, I still think you’re really cool. I’m just so happy you wanna be friends with me!” 

He looked like a child on Christmas morning as I tippy-tapped my number into his phone. Come to think of it, I know I’ve definitely reacted excitedly towards certain people - or turtles, I should say - but having someone do it to me? Feels kinda nice.

I looked up at the clock. “Shit. We should probably head back to class before we get in trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. But hey,” his eyes closed as the corners delightfully wrinkled “it was great running into you again! Fate really wants us to be friends.”

He has a really nice smile. 

“Funny how life works, ay?”

I skipped my way back to class, mind too deep in thought to realize how fast I went.

This guy, Casey Jones, he’s giving me certain vibes. I don’t mean the creepy, stalkerish, "I need to get the hell outta here” vibes. More like deja-vu. I can’t pin what exactly, but something about him feels so… foreign yet familiar. Homey, if you may. Like a nice, warm fire in mid-winter night. It’s really soothing. 

And immediately I’m thrown into emotional whiplash as I went back inside the annoying ass classroom of teenage chaos. So much for soothing vibes. I plopped back in my desk as Zane slowly scanned me.

“You took a while. Did you get my snack?…”

…Fuck. “Sorry! I completely forgot!”

“How did you forget when it’s the literal reason you even left?” Jaiden doesn’t seem as chipper as before.

“I know, I’m so sorry. I got a bit distracted. Gimmie a sec, I’ll be right back-”

“No, wait! It’s fine, I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Really? Okay, suit yourself.” I shrugged, getting settled in again. He leaned closer to me, both confused and concerned.

“You seem happier right now. Did something good happen?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess! Just ran into a new friend.”

His face scrunched up, going back to chatting with Jaiden. I have no clue why he glared when I said that, I don’t think I said anything wrong or alarming. Honestly, bro has worse mood swings than I do. It's seriously annoying sometimes but whatever, they’ve gone back to their little bubble now so I shall go back to mine.

I pulled out my phone, greeted with Casey’s excited text already.

CJ: Hey! Not really doing anything in class so if you’re free too, text me back :D

Smiling, I let myself get engrossed in my phone, happily typing away. He’s a fun guy to talk to. His enthusiasm and bubbliness is a little surprising considering how borderline timid he seemed at first. Goes to show, never judge a book by its cover! I felt my mood lifting, less gloomier than before.

Until I remembered something he said.

“My uncle taught me everything, he was the smartest person I knew!”

Was?...

***

Ah, midnight. A time when the mentally sane and emotionally stable would be sleeping. Turns out I’m neither of those folks, I’ve got better things to do. I have weapons now but I’ve gotta actually practice using them if I don’t wanna render them useless. Besides, in bed or out here, I’m not falling asleep either way. At least this serves as a good distraction! And won’t give me a headache like my phone will.

The blades cut through the air as I twirled them, striking at an imaginary enemy soon after. 

I try not to think about life when I’m training, it distracts me too much. Sometimes I feel like Casey’s the only thing making school bearable anymore. We don’t share any classes so we text more than talk but I don’t have to do any mental gymnastics to figure out how he views me. I’m still confused as hell if Jaiden likes me or hates me and have no damn clue what Zane’s deal is anymore. He keeps staring at me. More than usual. Sure, I could always sit there and ponder for hours on end what the fuck is going on, but I doubt even that’d get any results.

The sickles, however, do show results. They feel lighter, smoother, easier to duel. I’m getting faster with them and my arms don’t feel as broken after training anymore! It’s something I can lose myself in, track the improvement. It’s so much simpler than everything else.

It keeps my mind occupied. If I focus on them, I don’t think about anyone from school or anything bad that’s happening! Or at least, I usually don't. I guess I’m thinking about it now, though…

“Someone’s training hard.”

“AHH!!!”

Immediately I jerked to turn and held up a blade in defense. However, it turned out to be a false alarm as instead of some midnight mugger I expected to see, I’m greeted with a smirking blue idiot standing in front of me.

“Woah, hey! I come in peace!” The stupid bitch held his hands up, mocking me with his fake fear. “Been a while, huh?” 

“Leo? Oh god, you scared me! Where did you even come from?” 

“The better question would be: Where did you disappear to? We haven’t gone out in like a week! You kept leaving me on read when I texted you but seemed fine in the group chat. What gives?” 

“…I forgor?”

“Really?” I could tell he wasn’t satisfied by my answer. “You just forgot to respond to me? Every single time?”

“W-well sorta. I mean, it’s nothing you did so please don’t take it personally! It’s with everyone. I’ve just been a little bad at responding to dms…” My social battery’s been so low lately I question if it’s even charged at all. “That’s entirely on me, though! I’m so sorry.”

He crossed his arms and looked me up and down. He’s doing that nonchalant poker face again, the one he does when he doesn’t wanna be read, otherwise he’s an open book. 

“You know you can tell me if something’s up, right?”

I guess he also does that face when he’s trying to read someone else. “Yeah, I know. I’m alright. It’s just… I dunno, things are a little weird but it’s fine. It’s really nothing to worry about.”

He hummed in response. I don’t really think he bought it but his eyes eventually drifted to my weapons, dropping the topic regardless. He must not wanna push it.

“Sooo, sick weapons! Where’d you get ‘em?”

“Oh, these? Draxum gave them to me!”

He gagged, interrupting me. “You met Draxum? The sheep guy? Oh, poor you! Was he awful to deal with? I bet he was! You know, like always.” 

“Oh come on, he wasn’t that bad! A little grouchy at first but in his defense, I caught him in the middle of his shift, so.”

“Please, sheep bitch doesn’t need a reason to be a jerk! He’s just an old cranky loser who spends his days yelling at kids and smuggling whatever mystic bullshit of the week he found from the Hidden City! It’s giving Oscar the Grouch, just missing the lemon. Oh wait, that’s ‘cause unlike Oscar, he doesn’t even have one single thing that makes him uncharacteristically happy!” 

“Wow, angry aren’t we?” It’s rude to laugh, but I can’t help myself around this dork. He looks like a kid who got denied an Xbox when he crosses his arms like that. “Leo, be real. This is because he threw you off a roof, isn’t it?”

“You know!? I mean-“ He laughed, trying to hide his poorly made lie. “What? Of course not… Maybe just a little but that’s not important.” 

Leo grumbled on with some incoherent noises for a minute, before cooling down and moving on from the “sheep bitch”. 

“Ugh, well anyway, if you got it from that moron, they’re definitely mystic or something, right?”

“Oh, absolutely! They’re actually super cool, I mean-“ For a good five minutes I kept blabbering on and on about the sickles and how they function and all my progress that I didn’t notice Leo - bless his heart - trying and horrifically failing to pay attention. He doesn’t really hide it well when he spaces out.

“And they- Uh, Leo, you good?” 

“…Would you be mad if I said I got like, none of that?” 

I sighed but gave a gentle smile. I knew he had a short attention span so I can’t really act like it’s his fault I forgot about that. 

“Actually, do you want me to just like… act it out instead? I think I’ve gotten pretty good at using these so I don’t mind showing instead of telling!”

He shrugged “Nothin’s stopping you. Go on, impress me!” 

Well, nothing except my nerves. But hey, it’s just Leo. If I mess up, he’ll laugh with me a bit and then I’ll just retry. No real pressure around him. I could use a progress check right now, anyway.

“Aight, so we only know two out of who knows how many powers for these things, they’re the only two I’ve been practicing. First up!”

 

I spun them around, careful to not mess up my handling. My goal is to form blades strong enough to crack a dent through the concrete edge of this building. So the sickles need to be made out of metal or steel. I usually go with metal but I do actually wanna impress him and steel’s stronger. I aimed at the edge and swung my arm forward, the sickle shot through the air and sliced through the concrete like a knife to a cake.

“OH SHIT!”

“I got it!” He teleported to catch the flying solo sickle and came right back within a matter of seconds. Oh, what I’d give to experience never having to walk again. 

“Sorry about that! They’ve never broken the edge like that before!”

“Sorry!? You’re not allowed to be sorry, that was so cool! It went clean through!” I’ve never seen him gush about something this way. I’ve gotta admit, it’s kind of adorable. “Okay, I’m hooked! What’s the other thing it can do?”

“Invisibility! But I can’t do it for long, at least not yet. I made progress, though! Went from only three seconds to five!”

“Wait, actually, back up a bit. I get that Baron Ass told you how the sickles work and blah blah blah, but how’d you learn how to fight with ‘em? Ya know, the non-mystic aspects.” 

“Oh, YouTube tutorials at first. But honestly, sickle fighting is mid so I did a lot of improv, really.”

He chuckled and eventually lost to his giggles as if me saying that wasn’t completely justified. “Did you just call an ancient form of martial arts mid?” 

“Stop judging me, I’m right! Sickles were improvised weapons. They’re good for the last resort, not the first choice!”

“I’m not judging, I’m not judging! Promise! I respect it, even!” He leaned against the roof’s edge, gradually collecting himself. “But if they’re that bad, why didn’t you ask for a different weapon? One that’s cooler and not ‘the last resort’?”

Oh boy, where to begin?

I then explained how I essentially found myself wrapped in some “chosen one” bullshit through the sickles. They still don’t work any time Barry touches them but are perfectly fine in my hands. It’d be pretty dumb to pass up these weapons for a different one, even if sickles aren’t the coolest thing to own. Although, he’s definitely acting like they are judging by how intensely his eyes are staring at them. They’re sparkling brighter than I thought eyes realistically could. 

“Well, now I’m offended! Mystic mystery sickles that do all kinds of glowy stuff for you specifically? How could you not tell me about these sooner!? They’re so amazing!”

“I know, I’m real sorry, Leon.” He’s joking around, his tone’s too light to be mad. But I do still feel bad for accidentally ignoring him like that. “Anything I can do for you as an apology?”

“Well…” His smirk revealed that thing was the main reason he came here in the first place. “We could make up for the lost time and go on a run together tonight. It is a weekend so you’d still have tomorrow and the day after to rest up. But hey, that’s just an idea…”

It's Friday again. Just like the first time we did this.

He held out his hand as an offer and I took it with a grin. “You make a convincing argument.”

And off we went, dashing through the night. It’s a bit humid today so the wind from sprinting so fast is greatly appreciated. Not to mention my speed is so much better than before! 

The daily restrictions of civil life can go suck my dick and feed my liver to their uncles ‘cause oh my god nothing beats this feeling! No one else is here, no one who could stop us! Sure, jumping off roofs isn’t the safest way to have fun, but everything else in my life is already so safe! I’m allowed to have this one thing, this one moment to be free.

I’m so distracted that I didn’t realize I’m actually giving Leo a run for his money this time! Hehe, run. God, I’m so funny.

“Looks like you can actually keep up with me now!”

“I know, right!? It feels fucking amazing!” 

Judging from his mischievous ass face, I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut. “I don’t mean to burst your bubble but…”

 A blue light appeared as a hole ripped in the sky and the lovely piece of shit went right through, appearing again somewhere way ahead of me. “I’m still faster!~”

“Hey! No portals allowed!”

“Uh, last time I checked, portalling is totally allowed.”

“Says who!?”

“Says me and I’m leader! Whatever leader says goes!”

To add insult to injury, he doesn’t just portal himself. As I’m trying to catch up to him mid-jump, the jackass opens a portal right under me, sending me back even further than I already was with no time to recover. 

“Leo, you cheat!”

Bro’s giggling his ass off as he blinked in and out of sight. I’m no different with how sore my face is, so I can’t even pretend to be mad. 

Instead, all I can do is try my best to speed up and catch up, plotting my revenge in the meantime. Easier said than done, that dude’s faster than the Flash right now since he’s, ya know, portalling. Doesn’t help that he keeps appearing right next to me every few minutes just to taunt me and disappear again.

A few minutes into our little cat and mouse game though, I lost track of him and he hadn’t shown up in a while to pester me. So, I started calling out his name, trying to look for him. You’d think it’d be easier to find a 5’5” giant, green turtle man but I guess they wouldn’t be ninjas if that were the case.

“Leo? Leo!? Le- Huh?”

I finally found him. But instead of the shit-eating grin he gave me earlier, he’s silent and still behind the edge of a roof, his back facing me. It’s starting to freak me out a little, he looks like he’s going fucking Blair Witch mode. No words, no witty remarks, nothing. Just ghostly staring at whatever the view is. Only thing I can see from here is a museum. 

“Hey, Leon, you okay?”

“Shh!”

With his eyes still fixed up ahead, Leo took my hand and guided me forward. He eventually looked at me and nodded towards the street below us. Gazing in that direction, I saw a large purple truck with the logo of that one weird shoe store I browsed a few years ago. From what I’ve gathered these past few weeks, big trucks mean bad news. 

But maybe that’s not what I should be focused on. Standing near the truck were two people, their skin an unnatural shade of purple. One’s large and brutish, the other tall and slender. They’ve got foot marks on their faces and flames on their bald heads. Exactly how Mikey described…

“The Foot Clan.”

He nodded. “I don’t understand, those guys were all turned into Krang during the invasion.”

Sorry, what? “You’re sure it was those two specifically? I haven’t heard about any cures or vaccines for the Krang victims on the news. It’d make headlines if there were.” I haven’t heard anything about them for a while now that I think about it.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He leaned closer to the edge, as close as he could get without getting caught. “They’re parked a street away from a museum, the hell are they up to now?” 

I mimicked his actions, trying to hear the Foot people better. The slender one’s on the phone, sounding frustrated. He’s doing that whisper-yelling thing people do when they wanna be mad quietly to avoid societal shame. 

“Yeesh, someone’s having a bad day.”

“You can hear them?” Why does he look so confused?

“Yeah, can’t you?”

Leo shook his head. “Whatever, what are they saying?” 

I cocked my head to the side, spying in on their conversation.

His voice is scratchy, a little sore on my ears. “What do you mean you can’t get it off? Just bring the whole thing and hurry! We can’t risk alerting anyone!” Neither of us can tell what he’s referring to, unfortunately. The Foot dude avoids naming it. 

I looked back at Leo scanning around for any clues. He stared at the back of the museum for a minute before his eyes widened. “I know where we are. It’s the Historical Society Museum. Donnie mentioned wanting to come here once.” 

“I think I’ve heard of it. Isn’t there a lot of ancient stuff in there? Like, from centuries back?”

Nodded again. He’s being unnervingly quiet, considering it’s Leo. He stared at the clan, then at the museum, then back at the clan. He looked… scared. Scared in a way I’ve never seen him before. I felt my hand being subconsciously squeezed. I didn’t even notice he hadn’t let go in the first place.

…I have to help him.

I readied myself for whatever his idea was, no matter how outlandish or risky it may seem. “Alrighty, what’s the plan?” 

“Right.” He hesitated, before gripping his katanas and turning back. “…The plan is for me to portal you home, kick some Foot ass, and pick you up so we can continue our run.” 

WHAT!?

“What do you mean ‘portal me home!? I’m not leaving!” I was prepared for anything, but this!? “We just stumbled across the Foot Clan who are for some reason not freaky alien zombies and messing with ancient artifacts that do who knows what!”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m sending you home before your adrenaline junkie ass can do something stupid.”

“And what makes you think I’d do that!?”

He held up my scarred left arm and stared at me unimpressed.  

“…Okay, that’s a low blow even for you.” 

Though as much as I hate to admit it, he kind of has a point. I sighed. “Alright, tell me. If I leave, will you at least call your brothers to help you out?”

“Yes!”

“Leo.”

“Fine, I lied.” The steel fucking balls of- “But still! I’ll be okay! I’ve gone against them plenty of times before.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re invincible!”

Before I could say anything more, I heard the sound of a truck starting up. I looked down and Leo followed my line of sight to see the Foot getting ready to drive. 

Shit, they’re getting away!

“Okay, okay! Listen, I promise, I promise I won’t run off on my own and do something dumb this time. Anything the leader says goes! Just please let me join!” I can’t leave him alone!

I could sense him debating on what to do. His eyes look so conflicted, there’s definitely more than what he’s telling me. Nevertheless, I’m not budging. I don’t wanna sit at home being useless and worry the entire time.

He took a deep breath in, and let out a loud sigh. He looked at me with a defeated smile. “I’m not getting rid of you, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Alright, fine, but you’re sticking close.”

Before I could celebrate too much, I felt the ground beneath me disappear into bright blue light. Not anything sudden, more gentle really. Even then, I felt disoriented with my feet going from firmly grounded to touching the air! Not to mention how light my whole body felt. Gravity did a complete 180 and I got flipped around, landing under the truck. 

I nearly lost my grip but a hand on my back kept me in place long enough for me to recollect myself. Leo portalled us here.Well, obviously he did, it just caught me off guard again. It’s not really too bad going through his portals but it sure is a fucking trip when it’s unexpected. Either way, it got the job done. 

They drove for quite a damn while. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience having to cling on to the bottom of a moving truck as the only scents to breathe in were that of oil and gasoline, but we probably looked super cool! My ears disagreed but oh well. They parked in front of a mall this time. Not just any mall, the fucking World Trade Center! We’re literally on the other side of the city, what on Earth could they need here?

I wanted to follow them in but Leo was against it. He said it’d be safer for us to spy from a distance for now so we went to the roof of a neighboring building, looking in at them. The Foot are on one of the higher floors, almost seeming like they’re scavenging for something. 

Leo’s trying to figure out another way in for us. I still don’t understand why we didn’t just follow them. I know Leo’s not a total reckless nutcase or anything, but being this cautious felt a little unlike him. 

“Hey, look, I don’t mean to shoot your own words back at you or anything. But you know you can tell me if something’s up, right?” 

For a split second, he looked different. His eyes were dead, his lips shut and neutral. He stared at me but he looked so… lost. Empty. 

And then his smile returned, face back to normal. Or at least what he convinced me was normal. I’m not so sure anymore. He flicked my forehead again. Even softer than the first time he did it. “Stop worrying so much! You’re gonna give yourself a chasm worse than Raph’s.”

I didn’t know how to take it from there. So I just watched him.

He eventually decided on portalling us into the building’s vent system. It’s a little cramped but was the only place we can eavesdrop without being immediately spotted. Though honestly, I don’t mind this one bit! I’m controlling the impulsive adrenaline ,however, he didn’t say shit about internal adrenaline! I can’t help it if stealth makes me giddy!

“Hehe! It’s like we’re in a movie!”

“Love your enthusiasm as always but remember to not get too caught up in it.”

I momentarily shoved my excitement to the side as we both tried listening in on the Foot Clan. The skinny dude, who I now know to be the Lieutenant, is barking orders at the rest of the soldiers scouting around while talking to the giant Brute. 

“You disabled the cameras, correct? You know we can’t make it any harder for them!”

“Of course I did, it’s a no-brainer! Why’d ya have to ask it like that?” Woah, villain or not, his New Yorker accent is one to admire! “You know, sometimes I feel like you think I’m just stupid and nothin’ more.”

“Oh, don’t start now. Focus on finding good metal. The sooner we finish this the better.”

Hearing his raspy voice makes my own throat itch a little. I lightly clawed at it, trying to not make too much noise as I moved. 

I leaned a little closer to Leo “What do you think they need metal for?” 

“Not sure. Could be to make more soldiers or something? It’d be a cool upgrade from their paper soldiers.”

Leo’s tone seems a little lighter than before, I’m glad to hear him joke around again. “They could make paper soldiers?”

“Yeah! And they’re completely sentient, one of them even became besties with Raph! Anyway,” he pointed down at a handful of soldiers collecting metal artifacts “they’re probably trying to make those origami soldiers again with something stronger.”

“But how would you fold metal?”

“Beats me, Mikey would know more on this. He’s figuring out how to recreate whatever spell they used so we could get some help with patrolling. Word of advice though, salami origami does not work as a substitute.”

“No shit. Who’s bright idea was that?”

“...You don’t know him.” His guilty face says it all.

We were giggling a little too loudly, I suppose. One of the Foot dudes stopped and started listening for our voices again. He shrugged and moved on soon enough. I didn’t realize I was covering my mouth till I let myself breathe again.

“We should probably be a little quieter and take this stealth thing more seriously.”

I nodded in agreement. He’s not upset, honestly he’s struggling just as much as I am to choke down more giggles. It’s like we’re hiding under a blanket during a sleepover pretending we’re not awake in front of the parents and not in a likely life or death situation spying on the black-magic cult. I’m trying my best but it’s already hard enough to keep my adrenaline addiction in check and Leo being here makes it worse in the best ways possible. 

Still, I don’t wanna know what happens if we get cau- What was that creaking sound?

CLANG! 

It would seem those were not really sturdy vents. 

You know that moment from the Ice Age sequel when the vultures surround the main cast with hungry, devilish eyes ready to feast on them at any given moment? Yeah, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if the Foot Clan randomly bursts into song about “glorious food” full on broadway musical style.

“Uh… Hey, fellas! Long time no see, am I right?” Despite his demeanor, I caught the real reason he raised his hands. I reached back for mine as well.

A sheath of metal filled the air as Leo took his katanas out their case, perfectly timed with the Lieutenant’s new orders.

“GET THEM!” 

“Run, hide first then get the stolen thingie if you can. I’ll keep ‘em busy!” Leo charged into the fight, holding them off to make sure they couldn’t get to me.

Unfortunately, there’s like a bajillion of them that can easily outnumber us. I’ve learned to be quite a slippery sprinter but even then two already managed to block my path.

Now would be a good time to turn invisible!

“Come on, come on!” I could barely get the sparks to even start spreading. Turns out stress is a huge fucking factor I neglected in my training. 

I wouldn’t have minded if it just took a few seconds to work but the real issue was I couldn’t keep it working. I didn’t even really go invisible, just sorta flashed in and out of transparency for a few seconds! The only reason I haven’t gotten caught yet is ‘cause these two morons are too busy laughing at me.

“Is that really the best you can do!? Whoever you are, little girl, you’ve got your work cut out for you!” 

“Oh no! She’s… she’s… blinking like an old flashlight!! We’re so scared!”

…BITC-

Resorted to traditional methods. I made the sickles the consistency of a metal pot and threw it at one of their heads, knocking them down. The other I kicked straight in the chest while they were distracted by their idiot teammate, also knocking them down. I’d love nothing more than to give some extra special attention to them but this old flashlight’s gotta run for the shadows while they’ve got an open chance. 

A blue portal opened in front of me. “Hey Salena, so this fight’s a little more intense than I expected and I wanted to quickly check if you’re really sure about-”

“Leo, I’m fine! I’m not leaving mid-battle!”

“No, no, that’s fine! That’s great! Just a reminder there’s no shame in calling it- DUCK!”

 

Without hesitance, I dropped to the ground right as his sword swung above me to block one of the soldier’s attacks. Maybe I should let Leo handle this guy since I can’t really do much while laying on the floor. Then again, doesn't mean I can’t do anything. And also I don’t have good impulse control.

“OW!!! WHAT THE FUCK!?”

I bit on to his ankle as hard as I desired despite his pleading cries. I didn’t let go until Leo broke out of his shock and finally punched him unconscious. Fighting might actually be a really good way to get out my urges.

“Why-“

“Don’t. If it works, it works.”

I flashed a grin, got back on my feet, and bounced away. I need a better vantage point if I wanna find the stolen item, especially with the chaos over here. I quickly made my way up to the indoor balcony thingie. Terrance? The second floor? Whatever the fuck it is. I’ll have to admit, despite how absolutely pumped I’m feeling right now, it kinda feels nice getting away from the clusterfuck for a bit. I heard Leo still spamming all his dialogue options to keep the main two creeps occupied. Actually, I’m pretty sure I can see them from up here, too. 

“So, you guys are looking great! Never thought I’d say this, but I am loving the old look making a return.” His hands did more tricks than usual, keeping his swords flowing like an intricate dance. There are multiple soldiers practically hounding him yet he’s fending them off almost gracefully.

“Can’t you stupid children stay out of our way for one night! There’s great evil being put on the hold right now for your antics!”

“Hey, speaking of evil, what’s with the normal amount of eyes? Not that I’m missing the other option but- GAH!”

And yet, even with Leo’s skilled moves, he’s struggling to keep up with the two leaders specifically. I deadass would’ve been slaughtered by now if I didn’t listen to him about hiding. 

“We got some outside help. Now, stop askin’ annoying questions and maybe we’ll go easier on ya!” He swung his axe again, thankfully missing Leo.

I gotta wonder, from Mikey’s stories, they’ve fought the Foot Clan with ease several times in the past. Leo was doing fine just now, too. So why does it look like this could be his first time facing off the Lieutenant and Brute? Nobody’s perfect but I don’t think either of us expected him to lose his grace and become borderline clumsy against them.

Wait, no! Distractions! Leo can handle himself, I need to focus on my own task. Stolen thingie! But where the hell is it?

Just as I was about to think they left it in the truck like common sense would dictate, a soft, reflective red glow caught my eye. The moon was on my side tonight.

“There she is!”

Or maybe I was being too optimistic. In fairness, I should’ve known I couldn’t stay here for long.

It would be really fucking nice to turn invisible now. Sickles? No? Oh, okay, fuck me then I guess.

I hopped off the edge before they could reach me and slinked to the other side of the room, following the red gleam. Despite the sickles betraying me with horrific timing twice tonight, I got them to cover me long enough to reach the ruby ring the glow came from. The light bled past the folds of the drape covering their stolen prize. I lifted it to find a… weird mannequin bust? With arms. Decorated with several ornaments and jewelry including the ring. What the fuck are they using this for, a fashion show? 

I flinched to the sound of a loud thud paired with Leo’s groan. Flipping my head behind me, I saw him cornered against a wall, swords shielding him from the Brute’s axes.

“Okay, either you two got a lot stronger or my body isn’t what it used to be.”

I gotta calm myself down, Leo’s a trained ninja and will likely be completely and totally fine! A tiny slip doesn’t mean inevitable doom!

 

…I hope.

I turned my attention back to the mannequin thing to mentally measure its size. I’m fairly certain it’ll fit inside my backpack, it’s not too big. Just gotta get it in now.

Another sound interrupted me. This time, it was loud metallic clanking off the floor. Leo’s katanas…

“On second thought, maybe it’s both.” His weapons were away from him, too far out of reach. His voice sounded weaker, arms wrapped around his torso.

Oh no.

Neither of them were holding back. As soon as he was down, they were practically hammering at him. His arms were up, defensively blocking his head. I’m supposed to stay away from this. I’m supposed to listen and focus on my task. But I can’t stop my body from turning when I see something like this happening. 

He’s in the air now. I need to move. He’s being swung. I need to be faster. 

“Let this be a lesson, turtle. Our battles have drastically changed.”

The window shattered from the force of his body.

“LEO!”

I don’t remember ever sprinting this fast, but I was out the window right after through the very hole he created. The height couldn’t scare me if it tried. My arm outstretched, I caught him with one hand and had my sickle in the other. Careful to not dare mess up my timing, it snatched onto a power line just as my blades turned to rubber, thick enough to not get us shocked from the voltage. 

“N-nice… nice catch.”

“Thanks.” It’s harder to talk when I’m panting like a dog and trying to limit my shaking limbs.

His weight felt like it would rip my arms apart. I didn’t expect a giant muscular turtle to be light but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Still, some-fucking-how, I’m able to keep us both hanging from the wire, comprehending the fact that we’re not dead. Thank fuck for Raph forcing me to work out sessions.

“You, uh, you doing good up there? You’re breathing kinda heavily. Hey, heavily! Didn’t even mean to make that one!”

“Leo I will drop you.”

He convinced me to suffer a little longer and try to swing him, giving enough momentum for him to catch onto the side of the neighboring building. Then, I swung myself, Leo catching me to soften the landing. We scampered up to the roof, coincidentally the same one we were on a while ago. 

“And literally back to square one. Fantastic.” He sighed, clearly annoyed by our failure. His attention quickly shifted once he noticed me rubbing my sore arms. “Hey, you okay? Want me to take a look at you?”

“Me? Take a look at yourself first, idiot!” 

I’m not gonna pretend I’m not in pain, but it’s nothing close to the tragedies on his body currently. His arms are bruised and cut from the fight. One was actively bleeding with bits of glass still stuck in some places. Luckily it was the only fleshy place he took damage on, everything else was protected, albeit a little cracked.

“It’s… It’s fine. My shell took most of the hit, anyway.” This bitch. “Besides, I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

Despite his condition, he started walking to the edge of the roof, heading back towards the WTC.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“To get my katanas back.”

“Oh, no, no, no, you are not going back in there! Can’t you just make new swords or something?”

“And help the foot by practically gifting them Hamato weapons?”

“You said they’re made from your magic! Shouldn’t that protect them from other people trying to use them?”

“I don’t know, we only learned about this ninpo stuff, like, last year! I don’t know enough to be sure nothing will happen if I leave them with the Foot. I’m not doing that.”

“Well, I can’t let you go back.” I stood in front of him to block his path. “We can figure something else out but you are not going back in there! Look at you, it’d be crazy!”

“I was crazy once-” My hand shut his stupid, smug mouth before he could complete the ritual. 

“Leo, you were thrown out a window! You’re hurt!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! I’ve been through worse! I’m just gonna get my swords back, that’s all.” He put a hand on my shoulder and threw on a fake smile to comfort me. The blood is literally dripping down his arm as he did, defeating the point. I looked back at his eyes, not bothering to hide how furiously concerned I am. If I’m reading him right, he’s not oblivious to reality. He’s a medic, he knows it better than I do.

He took a shaky breath in. “Fine, you’re right that I’m a little hurt. But we can’t waste time patching me up, I need to get my swords! Rule number one of basic survival is never let the Foot come into possession with highly mystic material ever.”

“Then I’ll go while you take care of yourself.” 

“NO!” His head perked up as his eyes grew wider. He tried saving his initial reaction. “No way, not happening. It’s a safer plan if I go in, I’m more used to them” Safer for us or for just me. 

“And yet, you got beaten to a pulp, isolated from your weapons, thrown out a window, and are now bleeding with shards of glass sticking out your body. Did I miss anything?” He’s neglected himself all night being overly cocky and confident nothing bad would happen to him. That’s what’s led to him turning out like this! “They didn’t exactly go easy on you, Leo-”

“Then imagine what they’d do to you!”

His brows knit together, staring at me, not blinking. I guess my wish was granted since he finally stopped disguising his true fear.

“Salena, please. Stay here, I’m going in.”

I almost let him go. Almost.

Too bad for him, I yanked him by the mask tails and pulled his stunned face back to face me. 

“Hey, wh-”

“Alright, listen. I know whoever these guys are, they’re dangerous as fuck. I know I’m nowhere near as skilled of a fighter as you and I probably never will be. And I know I am way in over my head about this. But none of that matters to me.” 

He kept quiet. So I continued. “What matters is that I’m your friend. Friends don’t let each other jump into losing battles, okay? You’re hurt, Leo. Please, just let me help you.”

I looked up at the sky. The clouds are covering the moon now and should stay that way for a little while. I could take advantage of the newfound darkness. 

I stood on the ledge, mentally preparing myself to reignite the flames. Sure, I talked big about being able to handle myself and whatnot but I’m just trying to fool myself into thinking I’m not scared. If I can keep myself level-headed and use my sickles, I’ll be able to stay invisible for a short bit. If I play my cards right, that should be all I need.

I felt a hand grab my wrist. Turning around, I readied myself to once again reassure Leo I’d be fine but stopped when he put something in my palm. I recognize them, they’re tanto knives.

“Hey.” His smile is forced but not disingenuous. 

“You’ve got this.”

So off I went with the last little push I needed. The cool night air feels fantastically refreshing on my skin. Every leap leaves me more confident I’ll succeed. I have to. He needs someone he knows he can depend on. 

I scouted around and found an open window to sneak back in through. Judging by how crazy strong these guys are, my best bet is the element of surprise and for these oversized lethal boomerangs to actually work in my favor. Which they hadn’t before. But nothing’s ever hopeless. The reflection off the moon was their main source of light, with the clouds hiding it now and my knowledge of the floor’s layout, I think I might have a working plan this time.

I rushed over to the balcony I was at previously, this time being more cautious of any look-outs. There were three of them up here so I’m glad I didn’t choose the reckless route. I took my sickles out my backpack, breathed in, and turned invisible. A little harder to do since my nerves haven’t completely disappeared but it’s going smoother than before. 

I snuck up to the soldier at the back of the trio, covering his mouth and dragging him to the dark, knocking him out shortly after. His two buddies were a piece of cake after that, hit one with a blunt-force sickle and take the other by hand at the same time. No one noticed a thing. 

With the balcony cleared, I reclaimed my little sighting spot and looked over the entire floor, making note of every nook and cranny I could hide in. The clan’s focus changed since last time, they’re trying to get out as fast as possible. Seems like they’re taking Leo’s katanas with them since Lieutenant Itchy McSore-Throat was holding onto them.

“All of you hurry up! We must get out of here!”

I spotted the stolen mannequin in the distance. It’s actually not too far and surprisingly not removed. The two leaders seem distracted by someone. Perfect timing. I crept down and started taking out some more soldiers, listening in to the conversation at the same time. 

“What about getting all the mystic metal we can?” That’s a new voice.

“Forget the metal, we’ve got enough for today. We need to leave or that turtle will bring reinforcements!” 

“Yeah, sure, whatever makes ya happy, boss.” 

“You better not be questioning my authority.”

“Our authority, he means. We’ve had your type before, and they grew to be traitors. I suggest you don’t test the patience of the Foot ‘cause it’s growin’ thin.”

“Nice phrasing! Even if you shouldn’t have interrupted me.” I can’t tell if these two have workplace tension or workplace bromance anymore. “But he’s right. You’d do well to remember your place, rookie.” 

“Hey, I wasn’t tryna question anything guys. Just sayin’ maybe we should’ve planned this better in case we got caught.”

“So you may be right. We’ll keep it in mind but work on your delivery when it comes to criticism. Now quickly, go join the others.”

“Can I at least hold the magic swords?”

“No.”

She grumbled and left through the door, likely exiting the building. Her attitude was a pleasant surprise. I’ll admit, I kinda assumed all the Foot soldiers had brain-numbing levels of obedience. 

The clouds were clearing up, though. The moonlight brightened the room back up, I can’t use the darkness for cover much longer. Alas, if only I knew how to use my literal invisibility powers for longer than a few seconds but you know what? This is genuinely perfectly okay. I’ve taken out enough of them to only leave a few left standing, not to mention the majority of them are already out the building. I gotta take these freaks head on if I wanna get Leo’s swords. No more hide and seek.

I let the light illuminate me. 

“Hey guys!~” I waved gleefully as the Foot idiots finally noticed my presence. “Remember me? Hope it hasn’t been too long.”

“You!” The Brute turned to me first. “You’re the Hamato ally from earlier!”

“What are you doing here! Why have you returned!”

“You sure have a way of asking questions that makes them feel like statements. Anyway, I’m here to collect something you stole from my friend.”

He gripped the swords as he scowled at me. I held my own sickles tighter.

“You foolish child! You leave us no choice but take you out permanently.”

“Oh, really now? You and what army.”

I scoffed when I caught his expression change. Everyone looked at each other, noting how very few of them are suddenly in the room. So distracted they barely noticed me going for my first blow. 

He quickly got ready to block me with Leo’s weapon, absolutely bewildered when I only zoomed past him and sliced at the leg of another soldier behind him. It wasn’t too deep but poor guy was still rendered useless. I dashed to my left at another soldier, dodging his attack and punching right up his chin. 

“What’s going on!? Those sickles were dull the last time she used ‘em!”

 

“They must be mystic…” 

“Right you are, Lieutenant! I kept them dull on purpose, my mistake.” 

I threw a tanto at a cultist’s shoulder. 

“You threw Leo out a window. I think you can bear to see some blood.”

One by one, I went around the room, sprinting past anyone chasing after me and immobilizing anyone with their guard down. I got in a groove good enough to keep myself progressing along while getting out my rage. I wasn’t kidding before, I would’ve kept my blades dull again. I’m still careful to not do anything fatal but I’m not gonna be exactly merciful, either. They deserve this.

Fighting felt like dancing, gliding across the room in an energetic fashion. I’m not crazy enough to go for the Lieutenant or Brute which ended up being a plus for me. They was more than ready to protect themselves, but not their team. At last, I got them all exactly where I needed them. 

Alright, stay calm. Turn invisible no matter what.

My sickles shone with a pink glow, allowing me to disappear from their sight. I scampered past them, reaching the bejeweled mannequin behind them. It feels a little different? But there isn’t any concrete proof for this so my brain’s just tricking me. Whatever, no time to lose. I shoved it in my bag, getting myself used to the weight, and aimed a sickle at his arm.

 

“Where’d she go!?”

“Stay alert! Don’t let her catch you off guard!” 

A bit late for that buddy. 

My blade sliced through, leaving a massive gash on his arm. He screamed and dropped Leo’s sword. I ran through, catching it just as I became visible again. I snatched the other one as quickly as possible and sprinted to create some distance.

I held my arm up to my face, making good use of the wraps’ built-in comms. “Leo! Heads up!”

I threw a katana out the window, smashing the glass as it flew outside. I stopped in my tracks with a smirk. I knew we won.

I dodged the last attacks of the night, accelerating faster than I realized I could go. “Well folks, this was quite a fun match! Hope to never see you again!” Blue light sparked across my body. I leapt in the air, gave a quick peace sign purely to piss ‘em off, and bid my farewell.

“Toodles~”

Teleportation isn’t actually too bad if you know it’s coming.

The cool night air returned on my skin. I was floating for a few seconds before crashing to the roof on my knees. I didn’t even care about the pain, I was too busy enjoying the hug I received for my success! 

“I DID IT! I FUCKING DID IT! WOOHOO!!!”

“Celebrations later, escaping now! Come on!” 

Leo dragged me up and pulled us through another portal.

***

“We are the champions!~

“Gone with the losers ‘cause we are the champions!” 

I handed another slice of pizza to Leo, half the box pepperoni for him and the other half plain cheese for me. We already dropped off the mannequin back to the museum and I gave an anonymous tip to 911 so now we’re simply chilling on the roof singing to celebrate our victorious night. I’m honestly still hyper as hell over it.

“I can’t believe we actually did it! I can’t believe I actually did it! Salena one, Foot Clan NONE BABY, FUCK YEA!”

“Man, I am so happy you came out okay. You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw you again.” He bit into the cheese, the least stressed I’ve seen him all night.

I couldn’t realize it earlier but that hug he gave wasn’t for my success. It’s clear to me now.

“Leo?”

“Hm?” He looked towards me as he bit into the cheese.

“Thanks for trusting me.”

He mirrored my smile. “Hey, we’re friends, right? That’s what I’m here for.”

The spring breeze feels so sweet. The view of the city is rewarding as always. A safe city, a safe night. I can see why they’re so into this whole hero gig. Everything about this moment feels absolutely perfect.

Buzz! Buzz!

I swear to god if my fucking phone’s gonna ruin it again. I quickly checked the notif to see if it was anything important. To my surprise, it’s Jaiden.

They sent me a text. The first one in weeks. It’s a dumb meme I saw earlier today.

We used to do this a lot in the past. Whenever we got into a fight, it’d be our way of ending it. We could never stay mad at each other for more than a day. In the past at least.

I guess this means they’re not mad at me anymore.

“Everything okay?” Leo stared at me, probably concerned by my change in demeanor. 

I double tapped to like Jaiden’s meme and put my phone away, going back to normal.

“It’s nothing important. Just, uh, highschool stuff. You wouldn’t get it.”

He laughed “Oh, okay, well. I know I’m too fabulous to be the average, uncool, normal teen guy doing normal teen things like going to highschool that you want right now but…”

“If you ever need someone to lend a shoulder, you know who to call.”

He’s an idiot, but a very sweet one when he wants to be. 

“Thanks, Leo, but I mean it this time. It’s nothing.” I raised up my slice to request a toast of some sorts. “Let’s go back to celebrating, shall we?”

He let out a satisfied chuckle, returning my toast. I didn’t wanna let anything ruin the way I felt tonight, even if their text tainted the vibe a bit. But hey, it’s technically a win, too! I got my confirmation that Jaiden and I are indeed still friends.

Though I gotta admit, I’m not as happy as I thought I’d be.

Next Chapter

[ae-azile]

About 15k into Chapter 29 of Progression, so I figured I would share another scene as an apology for my tardiness. Definitely going to be a long chapter, unless I split it. Trying not to do that though.

The Updated and Still Complicated Family Group Chat

Khun: Arm and I are embarking for our trip tomorrow night! You know what that means!!!!!! 🪨🍃😈🥬🟫

Nalin: Weed brownie night?!?

Arm: Please tell me you didn't add my younger sisters to this group chat.

Khun: Well, I didn't add Preeda! She went to rehab! 😱 Mustn’t tempt her. But of course I added Nalin! If Macau and Chay can be in the group chat, then she can be too!

Nalin: Don't be sexist, Hia. 🙂

Vegas: Someone needs to watch my baby.

Pete: Why is she only your baby when you talk about her?

Vegas: Because she's mine.

Malai: Someone needs to watch my babies too. I want to join.

Hansa: I don't mind watching the girls.

Vegas: Is my baby included with these girls?

Hansa: Sure. 🙂

Vegas: I want six references, your resume, and a background check.

Hansa: By tonight?

Macau: Hia, she owns a flower arrangement and gardening shop. Chill.

Vegas: I am chill. And reasonable.

Pol: I can sit out and help with the girls too. 🙂

Vegas: You can also give me six references, a resume, and a background check. 🙂

Pete: It's literally Pol.

Vegas: I don't know him like you do.

Pete: Consider me his and Hansa’s first reference.

Khun: Consider me their second! 2️⃣🥈🕑

Porsche: I'm their fourth!

Chay: Hia, you skipped a number.

Porsche: He wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't pointed it out, brat. 🙄

Chay: Sorry. I guess I will fill in the third spot, then.

Kim: I’ll fill the fifth.

Chay: Hia, switch spots with Kim so we can be next to each other.

Porsche: No. I went out of order and called fourth for a reason. It's mine. 😏

Macau: I’ll take the sixth spot so Chay can't grab it!

Porsche: Good thinking, Macau!

Kim: ?

Chay: 😤 🖕🏽

Vegas: Macau, just because you are close with Nalin doesn't mean you know her sister well enough to be her reference.

Arm: Define “close”.

0272781005: I’ll call second!

Kinn: Whose number is this?

Khun: I demand that you reveal yourself!!! Arm! Do a search and find out who this intruder is. 😡

Arm: It's a number provided from a text app.

Arm: The text came from the property.

Khun: PA?!?!?!?

0272781005: Nam. 🙂

Porsche: MA?!?!?!?

Chay: MA?!?!?!?

Khun: Everyone stop! It might be Pa playing a trick to test us! Play it cool!

Khun: Oh, silly Pa! You know Namphueng can't talk! She sits there and says and does nothing! Such a bore! 🥱

0272781005: If Korn enters chat, I will stab. 😌

Pol: 😳 That sounded like her.

0272781005: Hi, son!

Porsche: Ma?

Chay: Ma?

0272781005: I am adopting Pol soon. When I have answers. He's my future son. He already knows. I told him. Accept, thanks.

Porsche: Wow.

0272781005: He has no family! Sad for him! Sucky life. 😢

Pol: Wow.

Chay: Kim and I just got back from walking Koda and checked on Ma. Who gave her an ipad?

Arm: Not me.

Kinn: Not me.

Porsche: Not me.

Vegas: Not me.

Kim: Not me.

Chay: Kim, you told me you didn't in person. You didn't have to text it.

Kim: I just wanted to make sure Porsche knew.

Porsche: Aw, Kim. I feel so close to you recently. ❤️

Kinn: 🤨

Chay: 🤨

Pol: Not me!

Hansa: Not me.

Pete: Not me.

Malai: Not me, but Korn has infringed on her rights and she deserves communication with the outside world, despite the power he still holds over everyone.

0272781005: Friend. 🙂

Hansa: Malai, his sons are in this group.

Kim: We agree with her, it's fine.

Khun: I also agree that Namphueng should have all of the technology she wants! 😤

Khun: But I didn't give it to her either.

Arm: I am also in agreement that she should have a way to reach us, but also didn't give her the iPad.

Kinn: You sure? You have the most access to extra technology in the compound.

Khun: IF YOU ARE ACCUSING MY BOYFRIEND OF ANYTHING, I WILL RUIN YOU!!!!

Nalin: Fine. Preeda and I got it for her. She's our lesbian ma. 🥺

0272781005: Daughter!

Porsche: Ma, please. Nalin, while that was a nice gift, Chay and I should have been informed prior to her getting something like that. We have to be very careful around Korn.

Nalin: She promised to be careful with it! We downloaded some digital art apps! If Korn does happen to see her use it, Preeda plans on telling him that she downloaded the apps she uses for art so Nam can try new mediums!

Macau: They were being thoughtful. And they're right. Nam deserves to have a way to reach out to any of us, anytime she needs.

Nalin: 🥹 🩵

Macau: 🩵

Arm: 🤨

Chay: I think they're right, Hia. She deserves a way to reach out to us. She's gotten a lot better and she would be able to talk to Fern, Vegas, Pete, and Macau whenever she isn't at their house. It's time.

0272781005: I already made an email so I can make a YouTube account to subscribe to other lesbians. 🙂

Malai: As you should.

Porsche: Fine, Ma. You can keep the iPad. Just keep it hidden. And be RESPONSIBLE with it.

0272781005: I MADE AN EMAIL.

0272781005: BY MYSELF.

0272781005: 🖕🏻

Porsche: You found the middle finger emoji. Great.

0272781005:🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

0272781005: Glad it's settled. I will bring ipad to weed night. So I can watch YouTube while I'm high.

Porsche: Ma, I don't know if that's a good idea.

0272781005: That's because it's not just good. It's great. Bye. I will get ready now. Meet you in ArmKhun suite.

0272781005: 💃🏻

Khun: How did she add herself to the chat?

Nalin: Preeda probably snuck into your phone and added her. She is the one who programmed everyone’s numbers into the text app.

Hansa: Sounds like Preeda.

Preeda: Sure does. 🙂

Khun: PREEDA! I REMOVED YOU SO WE COULD TALK ABOUT WEED WITHOUT TEMPTING YOU!

Preeda: I never stopped weed.

Malai: Which we don't condone.

Arm: ⬆️ What she said.

Preeda: You hypocrites are literally all gathering at Vegas’s to get high tonight. 🖕🏻

Preeda: I'm joining.

Khun: But you're so young…

Preeda: If I am not invited, then I will go hang out with Korn. Willingly. All night. Just for fun.

Khun: Ew!

Preeda: Your choice. 🤷‍♀️ Bye. 💃

Vegas: Just invite her.

Macau: Yeah, I would prefer her giggling because of a weed brownie than having a self-inflicted all-nighter with Uncle Korn. 😳

[xaviermattthews]

something in the orange tells me you're never comin' home.

location: x and van's home, aurora bay drive.

when: july 13th 2024, early morning.

triggers warnings: death, parental death.

With sixteen track names scribbled across ever-shuffling flashcards, X pours over the running order he's settled on in his ninth attempt that morning to finalise Submergence's next album's tracklist. He plays a snippet of each song in his mind, listening to how he thinks it might flow before he actually puts them together in that order for a full listen.

By the time he gets to eight, he's already decided it's bloated, the sharpie in his hand drawing two large x's through what would have been nine and eleven so he could cull it down to a 14 track run.

The finish line was within reaching distance and he could feel the frustration and the apprehension that went with it right down to his bones which was why he found himself grateful for the solitude his girlfriend had granted him by taking their energetic border collie with her on her run. Nothing he decided on would be finalised without Van's input as well as their other bandmates, but if it was going to be an argument then he wanted to be certain he believed in what he wanted first.

There were few people who had been granted the digital permission to bypass his Do Not Disturb feature, one being Van herself and another being his drummer and friend. It's the third time in a fifteen minute that the name BOWIE SHORE flashes on his screen and the man knew him well enough to not ring more than twice unless it was vital because he ignored his phone for a good reason.

He picks up and answers on the fifth ring, greeting his friend in a clipped tone.

"You keep blowing up my fucking phone Bow and there won't be an album for this rollout, you get that, yeah? What?"

"Have you not been online at all?"

"No, whatever it is, I don't have the time." X informs him, assuming what must have been stressing him out was another old resurfaced interview or an article musing on whether or not they had lost their way after he had gotten sober. He's read it all in every font.

"X, can you just check your texts, please? I'm sending you a link. Look man, I don't know if it's real or not and I really hope it isn't but it's not the only place I'm seeing it."

There's a furrow in his eyebrows then as he switches the phone to loudspeaker, swiping up to his messages that were in the triple digits of unread -- nothing new there -- and clicked on the text thread under Bowie's name.

"Alright, hold on."

He can see his name in the preview, his eyes rolling instantly at the source being TMZ. He clicks it, a pop-up version of the article opening for him. The last face he had expected to see was that of his father's, someone he hasn't seen in person in over a decade now.

The sight alone causes a twist in his stomach that only worsens as he reads the headline and the words in print that follow it.

Panic creeps through him as his eyes scan over the syllables, all that he could manage to combat it with was a stronger sense of denial that leaves his mouth in an overly-sure scoff.

"This is bullshit, Bowie. You know TMZ ran a story saying I died. Twice. My dad's not fucking dead, he lives by too strict a daily itinerary for that. Doesn't fit into the schedule. You really need to not believe everything you read online."

In the back of his mind, he knows one of those misprints made sense given it had hit the press immediately after his near-fatal overdose, but the one that had proceeded it was false intel taken as fact.

That's what this was -- he's certain.

( It had to be. )

"X, I think you should call your m--"

The beep of another incoming call distracts him from his bandmates voice, his band manager Dalton the contact that flashed up. He always found Van more levelheaded than X to deal with and she was his first port of call for band related business.

He declines the call and cuts off Bowie's in process, ignoring the way he can hear his heartbeat in his ears. He clicks through his contacts and scrolls to his sister's, holding the phone back against his ear as he listens to the dial tone.

It rings and rings and rings, each one inching him closer to what feels like an anxiety attack. His free hand is balled into a fist, the side of it tapping lightly against his own chest as he paces around the room.

When it goes to voicemail, he reminds himself she's twenty-six.

No twenty-six year old answered the phone this early on a Saturday, that was all.

There's only one other Matthews in his contact list who had made it through every phone and number change of his, carrying over the digits to each device despite the fact that he hasn't used them in years.

( Darren Matthews was the kind of man who never changed his number -- ever reliable in the way his son wasn't. )

He hadn't called it no matter how dark things had gotten because he knew he would answer despite their harsh parting words and he's never been ready for that conversation.

He's not ready for it then either, but no matter what he has to say to him, he knows hearing his voice was the only thing that would quell the swirl of emotions within him that are starting to make him sick.

There's the same dial tone as before, ringing and ringing, the floor beneath him feeling shakier and shakier as it did. He thinks he's actually about to be sick when the call clicks to signal it had been picked up, the relief that flooded him felt like a tsunami -- just like his new album's title.

"Hey, it's me. X. M'sorry for calling, this is going to sound so fucking weird but there was this dumb article that--"

He's cut off by a voice on the other end interrupting him, softer than the one he expected, shakier than he had ever heard her.

"Xavier, Xavier, darlin'."

He would know his mother's voice anywhere, the warmth of it having an opposing effect on him in that moment, turning the blood in his veins to what felt like ice.

"Why do you have my dad's phone, mom?" X asks, sounding and feeling like the thirteen year-old he had been the last time he had seen them in a room together as a couple, before the foundation of his life had shattered with a divorce and splintered into two houses, two families and one X who didn't know where he was supposed to fit into it all.

What Addie says next he can only pick up in disjointed snippets, the ringing in his ears louder than her sob-wracked words.

He hears his name again and an it's your daddy, he's gone, I'm so sorry. There's an apology that follows but it's too frantic for him to catch all of it -- she was going to call, someone was meant to call, she thought someone called.

He's not aware that he's crying until his hand reaches up to his face and he finds a steady stream of tears streaking his cheeks. It stings when he blinks and he can't find anything to say to comfort his mother, the silence on his end nothing new to his immediate family, it was the only thing he did consistently for them.

He can still hear her wails as another voice speaks down the line, one that sounded so close to what he could remember of his father's that he's almost fooled again into thinking TMZ had been wrong.

It's only when he registers the words does he realise that it couldn't be Darren, it had to be Ernest, his uncle and his father's brother who spoke in the same cadence as the late man but used words X knew he would never have said to him if he was alive.

"Y'need to come home, Xavier. You need to come home."

[knightofburgers]

Bad Mystery Writing in The Apothecary Diaries

I'm reading the third Light Novel and God the writing leaves so much to be desired.

The thing that infuriates me the most is that it commits the amateur mistake of using too many descriptors instead of names. So something like:

The tall girl hated the merchant's daughter. The green-eyed woman wasn't stupid either: she knew that she was at risk of a poisoning.

It's charming to a degree, but when every chapter has a new group of secondary characters... it's just a pain to read.

Additionally, it's so obvious that they are hiding stuff from the audience so as to have a fanatic reveal. And it's never done graciously. So something like:

Maomao grinned as she found the thing she was looking for and wrapped it in a bag. [...] Gaoshun looked at it and understood at once. She didn't have to say anything.

These sentences are really violently murdering my immersion in the story. I get that you want a big denouement, but what person thinks like that?

And they leave the reader to have the "Ah-ha!" moment on their own without spelling it out, which is all good, but that moment is hindered by the above two terrible choices. So unless I pull out a pen and paper and make a relationship diagram and collate all the facts (that change every two pages) I will never know the killer's motives or even the method of murder.

Like, I know fiction should be interesting, but switching from

B killed A

to

A hurt B, A killed herself, C pretended to be A

within the span of a single chapter is not engaging at all!

I'm reading the two Corpse Fungus chapters, by the way. And I still dunno if I've understood them. Who died and when and how?!

The writing in general is very good, and the mysteries are formulated very believably and uniquely. But it just drops the ball when it comes to the presentation of the mysteries.

[the-cryptographer]

I'm maybe 1/3rd of the way through Mass Effect and I guess I'm being normal about it because I'm not emotionally hyped to rip it apart even though it's not very good.

The combat is clunky, but I have a soft spot for third person shooters (though I guess technically this game switches between third and first person shooting). I started out as Vanguard, but then restarted the game as Infiltrator after deciding that fit my style better and absolutely zero regrets on that choice. It's all about pistols and sniper rifles and not having to rely on your companions for decryption and electronics.

The writing could be better, but the characters are likeable enough and the plot serviceable enough and the worldbuilding bad enough I'm not encouraged to take any of it too seriously. Idk, I just can't take any of these fake alien species and their fake politics seriously. Like, the Asari, c'mon? The weird incel breeding obsession they're exploring with the Krogan? Hanar and Elcor being funny speak foreigners? Quarians clearly spoofing China's old one child policy that we were all obsessed with in the aughts? Just the way that male is the default gender for all these aliens unless it's fuckable? Idk, I know that alien species in media are going to be reflections of humanity but... you could have reflected something less transparent than gender existentialism and orientalism, lmao. It's just so fourth wall breaking, it's funny instead of offensive. At least in my opinion.

My favourite part of the game so far is RPing military personnel tbh. I don't feel this fits well with the morality system, but I am absolutely loving playing sole survivor PTSD compassion fatigued Shep - trying her best to be professional and give a good face to humanity and the Alliance. Never failing to be polite to her superiors, but acting out violence and aggression on 'acceptable' targets. Strutting through a world of civilians who have to follow rules that she doesn't, walking into situations and making snap decisions about who are the sheep and who are the wolves - who she is or isn't justified in using force and threats to control. Idk, it's fucking great.

Yeah, but the morality system so far my worst gripe. I think in general the Lawful Good Paragon vs Chaotic Evil Renegade axis is really not in line with the story being told - friend of mine said really the conflict probably more in line with Lawful Evil vs Chaotic Good if you're going to reduce things to this single axis in the first place. And personally I think we need a separate axis for Shep's attitude towards alien races apart from any hastily adapted dnd & star wars morality systems. Ubb- But all of that aside I really don't like having my dialogue choices restricted. I don't mind a pass-fail mechanic where my attempt at intimidation doesn't work if I'm not practiced enough in it, but I feel I should at least be able to say what I want in the situation I want. So yeah, I took advantage of the bug at Noveria to max both scales bc fuck this.

Also annoying DA2 style dialogue wheel where I press an option and watch my character say something wildly different than I would have guessed based on the text I clicked. Doi!

Ashley and Garrus are my current favourites. I appreciate Ash's clear lower class POC military brat background and the way it's influenced her prejudices. (Idk, another thing I like about this game was the super HR approach to dealing with this shit. Like... yeah, rather than 'fixing' everyone involved into having the proper unbiased opinions on these issues, you sort of have to accept that everyone involved has their baggage and convince them its in their best interest to set that aside so we can work together effectively anyhow.) And I appreciate Garrus being a raging hypocrite. Brought him to Noveria and watched him complain about companies moving there to avoid legal and political oversight, like- Bitch. Isn't that what you did when you quit being a cop and decided to stowaway on my ship? So you could shoot people without having to file paperwork about it 🤔

[dbfandom]

hi! Sorry if this has been asked already! But I notice with some Japanese artists on twitter, they will retweet someone's art and then comment about it in a separate tweet rather than replying directly to the post. Do you know if this is an etiquette thing? Is it obnoxious if I'm the only person commenting directly on a post? When I see art I love with no comments it makes me sad so I try to leave a comment, but I'm not sure if I should sometimes. Sorry if you've already addressed this, or if this is more of a twitter-specific thing and you're not concerned with that! Thanks for what you do!!

Ayo!!

I actually asked a few of my JPN tweet moots about this practice like, two years ago and basically it's a "I don't want to be a burden on OP" situation.

The idea is that for many of them, "commenting directly" is like, coming directly to their table and fangirl "in front of them", which means they (as the commenters) embarrass themselves in front of the author/artist and "impose" themselves on their (the OP's) space (OP might feel obligated to respond, which is a burden)

By RTing and then doing a LRT (or LRP for those who switched to "repost" instead of "retweet" because musk made it all confusing <_<), they get to "fangirl" in their own space and not embarrass themselves all while still inviting their followers to check out the original work (which was RT'd just previously).

Note that this also happens even if the OP and commenter are friends / mutuals / collab / part of the same circle (aka they published together).

60% of them told me they actually like it when people directly comment. The rest said they "don't mind" (whatever that means lol).

I generally comment 90% of my japanese TL, either in English, with some basic Japanese, or with just emojis (think of it as keysmashing lol).

What's important is be positive and kind, not use any slang or acronyms if possible, and keep sentence structure super simple (no subordinates, no relative pronouns, no possessives) so there's no room for error in the translation (esp automatic twitter translation).

Something like "the colors are really beautiful!", or "amazing" or "pretty!" (simple adjectives), "the wind effects are powerful!" translates well, but "i love how you did the colors, they bang!" might not due to the subordinates and pronouns and other pronouns that the translator might not know what it refers to (that and homonyms haha).

Don't hesitate to use the names of the characters instead of the pronouns ("Gohan's hair is very pretty!") then replace Gohan with the rice emoji (unless the OP uses the character names, in general they tend to not use character names because they don't want to be indexed...).

When in doubt, drop your comment in DeepL or google translate, copy the result, and then run it again the other away around (or through a third language you know, like Spanish, German, etc...). And beware of homonyms that can mean many things (I've made mistakes haha)

Much love to you!

[thereisnolumos]

If I could change things about Harry Potter:

If I could have Harry end up with anyone it would be a female draco(following the story wise. I love draco as is but the world suck and that's how realistically I could see it happening) or Hermione.

If drarry happens I would make Hermione either get with Neville or Krum. Neville would be the third member of the golden trio.

There would be good slytherins and the four houses would untie like the fucking sorting hat said so.

Actually explain deeply what happened between the four founders and maybe some how have it were they made up or something. More detail about James and Lily cause what we got gives so many problems. Have Snape better written and not an asshole. I love snape, but I can be honest that he should have been written better as a double spy. I wouldn't have made him a teacher cause that just triggers all his trauma but make his like the guardian of hogwarts and the students. Basically make him a school security guard. He can still be an asshole but not personally one and it won't effect students grades. Also have him do this all call Lily was his best friend. I feel like romance was unnecessary unless you wanted to make snape actually secretly James still alive the whole time or something

I ship Harry with Pansy, I think they’d be really interesting together and would make a terrific couple

I like Drarry potentially, I can totally see it working and being really good couple.

Dramione is my first ever ship, so they’re unmatchable to me❤️ The whole potential for growth together and pre-together, the potential for both tragedy and happy ending… to me they’re it. But if we’re sticking strictly to canon, Hermione should’ve been with Krum no doubt.

This story overall needed a better author. She got interesting ideas, but she didn’t have it in her to actually flesh them out and make a good story out of.

I agree with your points as to what to change, except for Snape. I really dislike him and her trying to shove “he’s the best man” down our throats. He was a child abuser. He never loved Lily but was obsessed with her because he couldn’t have her. He never changed his anti muggles and muggleborns beliefs (at least it was never shown) and the only reason he switched sides was because Voldy took away the woman he wanted. He only protected Harry out of guilt and hatred towards Voldy personally. If anything I believe the whole “redemption” arc was soooo badly written and absolutely unnecessary. To me he’ll always remain an extremely terrible person/villain who went against a greater villain bcs he personally wronged him. And that should been better written

[the-jellicle-duelist]

this is one of those posts i am going to make that will absolutely go over most people's heads on this website but i recently learned about a networking thing and i feel for the sake of online privacy i need to post

How does the internet work?

every website is just a computer somewhere else. VERY broadly and basically, every computer has a phone number (this is called an IP Address.)

when you want to go to a website, (like tumblr dot com), your computer makes a phone call to tumblr dot com, who then picks up the phone, and connects you to tumblr dot com, which you can then use

now, computers use numbers in IP addresses. for example, tumblr's IP address is 192.0.77.40. this is the address the computer uses to make a call to tumblr. but as i'm sure you know, we don't type that IP address into the address bar to go to tumblr. this is where the DNS server comes in

What's a DNS server?

you can think of a DNS server like an old timey telephone switch board. back in the day to make a phone call, you called an Operator ((a human woman, most often)) who would complete the phone call for you by connection your phone line, to phone line of the person you were calling.

a DNS server does the same thing. when you want to go to tumblr dot com, your computer connects to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), who contacts the DNS Server. The ISP says '(your IP address) wants to connect to tumblr dot com please'. and the DNS server says 'tumblr dot com? one moment' and it has a list of websites, with their IP addresses, and it then connects you to tumblr dot com

this is all well and good, and how the internet works

So what's the problem?

most (probably all, but) most ISPs, unless you tell them not to, use their OWN DNS server to complete the connection. ISPs will then use this as a means to scrape more data from you. which is bad we never want to give our data to ISPs

this can be remedied by using a custom DNS server run by a third party. you can then use their server instead of the one from your ISP. now your ISP would have to work a lot harder to figure out you went to tumblr dot com than if you walked up to them and asked to borrow their phonebook, basically

this will require you to know how to change your network settings. it is slightly different depending on your home network setup. this is a setting you can change in your router.

Some of you may have one box in your basement that your ISP installed that does everything related to the internet.

Some of you may have went to like Best Buy or Target and gotten a combination router/wi-fi access point.

i don't think anyone who has a stand alone Router would need me to tell them that that is where they would access this setting but, that is where you would do that.

somewhere in the settings is going to be an option to change your DNS settings. and a menu will pop up. usually you can set up to 4 or more of these.

1.1.1.1 is one of the most widely used ones from a company called Cloudflare.

9.9.9.9 is another popular one from Quad9

both companies tout privacy and security as one of their tenants. (as in they will not sell your data of the websites you visit to data brokers or advertisers)

add those to your custom DNS list and restart your router, and you should be good to go!

to note there are loads of custom DNS servers out there that can help you do different things. for example, another from cloudflare is 1.1.1.3 which sets it up so that you can't access adult websites from your network. (could be useful for parents or small businesses without big IT departments, for instance.)

YOU SHOULD, WHENEVER POSSIBLE, utilize a custom DNS server in conjunction with a VPN provider like ExpressVPN or similar, to increase the amount of layers of abstraction between you and your ISP

anyways thank you for your time please be safe online

[nakedmonkey]

Can you elaborate on "Melissa Schemmenti is a bottom" for me.... for reasons....

oh my goodness, this is my chance to (be pelted by fandom cause I know this is a controversial opinion) shine!

So. Here's the thing. If we want to get technical, Melissa is a switch who tops A LOT (is this gonna get NSFW? Yah. A little bit, but first let's get real angsty--also this got long, I apologize), BUT once someone manages to crack the hard shell, she is emotionally, sexually, and inherently, a bottom.

Top in the streets, bottom in the sheets BECAUSE she needs to feel emotionally supported to grant someone the absolute gift of topping her (can you imagine? The Privilege).

People like Melissa aren't born tough, they're made that way because they have to be. She gives off very Eldest Daughter vibes to me (happy to be proven wrong by canon tho, would love it if she had an older brother but I doubt it), the third parent type. She's taken care of people her entire life, has taken on great responsibilities because that's just what you do when you're the eldest (took care of grandma during her last days etc.), and this can turn an Eldest Daughter into a Parent-Partner, especially if a certain ex-husband didn't mind being the one in the relationship whose needs were always met and wasn't really expected to reciprocate.

Melissa is resourceful and tough because she's had to be, and she's never asked anyone for help cause no one's ever offered!

This kind of habit of compartmentalizing and setting aside her own needs carries over to her sex life.

It's a comfort zone as much as it is a setback. Both with women and men, but more so with women.

Women have always been Melissa's downfall, more than men. And that's because it always starts out on pretty even ground.

Because old customs and a very Catholic upbringing normalize a level of subservience to men, it allows her a certain freedom when it comes to her relationships with women. Private as she may be, she's still less guarded around women by nature and she approaches these connections without the preset notion that she's expected to take care of them.

They're like her. They take care of their own shit.

If only she wasn't such a homo for them tho.

Melissa's found that she takes great pleasure in giving women pleasure, because she knows, from personal experience, that if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself, and why would sex be any different?

Doing this for another woman, making her feel good, is a high like no other.

If Melissa's sexual history had a Yelp page, she'd have only 5 star ratings.

There are rules tho. Or she used to have rules before Barbara.

Casual flings were fine, but no one fucked her unless she knew them.

And NO ONE ate her out unless she trusted them.

She may love women, but she has boundaries--and plenty of trust issues.

(those boundaries have never applied to Barbara Howard)

Being the one who leads, the one in charge, is a way for Melissa to keep herself safe.

But that's not say she doesn't enjoy being lead just the same--it just takes a certain kind of person.

Like Jen, the personal trainer she hooked up with on a semi-regular basis during one of her breakups with Barbara who liked to blindfold her and fuck her until she was absolutely spent.

It all ended when Jen suggested maybe they should spend more time together.

Barbara is a lot like Melissa in certain ways--she's got a thick shell of her own for one, except hers requires heavy machinery to cut through.

Melissa never got a chance to think about who would top who when they got together because she realized she was in love with Barbara before she ever really recognized she wanted to fuck her.

It was easy.

Barbara takes care of Melissa in ways no one else ever has--she anticipates her needs and Melissa never has to ask

She trusted Barbara with her life before they even acknowledged their mutual attraction.

And the first time they kissed, Melissa knew that she would a) spend hours between Barbara's legs given the chance, and b) she would let Barbara do whatever she wanted to her.

Now she's still selective, but the criteria changes depending on her mood, and on how things are going with Barb.

She may spend hours replaying the way Barbara moans her name when she fucks her, but she also likes being pinned to a flat surface as much as the next girl, you know?

[amphibifish]

should I read maloki because even though it's not the best adaptation I'm kind of curious. Is it worth reading

hmm it's really dependent on how much weird ship bait fan service (i think that's the term?) and general bad plot bullshit you're willing to put up with lmao. i go on a very long rant abt everything that sucks so umm yeah. everything i say is abt the manga unless stated otherwise

i'd def skip the chapter in the first season of the manga where loki gets cursed w a rune that makes him switch personalities cause it's really weird and bad and just weird. i'm not getting into specifics cause it's weird for me to describe but just like. skip it.

another thing thats weird for u to look out for is freyr's infatuation w mayura (who's a teen girl). in the anime its not as bad cause he's explicitly a teenager (he gets enrolled in her school with the purpose of saving her mystery club) but it's never said so in the manga so it kind of just looks like a grown man doting after this teen. actually on that, most of the gods are shown in some sort of shippy way with her at least once in the manga. narugami (thor) is probably the most normal occurrence since he's explicitly a high schooler in both the anime and manga. there's a scene where heimdall (who's also like a middle schooler like loki is) kisses mayura to make loki jealous or whatever. just to piss him off.

loki also gets ship bait with a lot of the female chars too like w mayura freyja and skuld. it's. yeah you know how it is

less weird things but just kind annoying plot things that happen are loki getting out of heimdalls assignation attempts with weak explanations and also the author doing the thing where you're assumed to dislike heimdall so the sometimes the plot just shits on him for no reason (there's a chapter where loki and heim get magically transported to a magic school and he spawns in already copying lokis homework and everyone yells at him for it. bro did NOTHING !!!)

i will say that after you get past that first season of the manga it's so much better on the weird bullshit tho ! ragnarok is much better abt it and doesn't have any so bad i recall immediately and shinsekai no kamigami doesn't either. that isn't to say the plots for those aren't kinda sucky too but they're better than whatever the first season put out.

the anime gets rid of sooo much of this weird bullshit and i think does some characters better (heim and freyr get more of a proper emotional bond with each other. as sad as it is i really like what they did with hel and i personally like loki and mayura's dynamic more in the anime) but unfortunately it's majority filler so the manga has a better plot so u kinda just have to decide what you're willing to put up with fsfsfs

actually on that freyja is better written in the manga i think than the anime once again we cannot win both versions just suck. she's still kind of portrayed as loki obsessed in the manga but not to the awful degree that the anime does.

there's the occasional homophobic remarks in the manga but that's few and far between and so i choose to just ignore it.

not fault of the author but also some scanlations have really weird translators notes on some of the chapters too.

as for what's good about it. it's really heimdall and lokis conflict. it's interesting i think because of lokis feelings towards heimdall out of guilt and drives a lot in the first and third season of the manga (it's a little bit forgotten in the middle of the anime lol). i think freyr and heimdall are funny characters and i like every chapter with them in it as do i like every scene in the anime with them in it. they sort of have that odd couple dynamic and it's nice to see heimdall warm up to freyr over the course of the show and become better friends. mayura without the ship bait is also a fun character i think ! she's a mystery obsessed highschooler who loves the supernatural and so she sticks around loki who's a detective a child and an exorcist! thor is also a fun char and he's lokis best friend and mayura's classmate who has a shit ton of jobs. yamino is jormungandr and he's there but to me he's not the most interesting char. i can't say much about the plot without spoilers but it's okay and gets interesting in ragnarok. overall the characters are what makes it fun for me and thus i ignore much of canon and think about them in the vacuum chamber of my mind lol.

but yeah that's my review ig of maloki. it's Not Good but i think if you're looking for something fun ragnarok is an okay read cause the characters are silly in that one and it's not so weird and also has the best plot probably. shinsekai no kamigami is also fun and i think that plot is super interesting BUT like i said its half unscanlated. and then if you're gonna start from the very beginning i would just skip any chapter that has the weird bullshit it's probably not plot relevant anyway. the anime is more lighthearted i think and has more character bonding time but it's also a lot a lot a lot of filler. so yeah.

i'm so sorry this got so so long but i had a fun time complaining because i have a lot to complain about and i hope this helps lmao