#vs living on your own right away then having to move back home after you’ve already experienced having your own space

[steviescrystals]

i seriously need to get a new job and start making money again asap bc i cannot keep living at home much longer it’s driving me insane

(wrote an entire essay in the tags without meaning to oops)

[bordysbae]

Can you do #8 with quinn please?

“drunk actions are sober thoughts.”

quinn hughes x reader

8. “you cheated on me.”

this is partially inspired by a story i read months ago on wattpad about mat barzal, i don’t rememer the name of the author but this is slightly inspired by that story!

warning: cussing. also, this story does NOT have a happy ending so if you don’t want a sad ending don’t read this, or imagine your own ending lol

word count: 1.4k

the canucks were going on a quick roadie for the next week traveling through california. you hate when quinn leaves for away games because staying alone in the apartment you guys share is never fun. you guys moved in together 2 months ago, so you began to grow attached to living with him, but roadies always take that happy feeling away from you.

quinn left a couple days ago, he first played a game vs the sharks, last night he played the kings, and tonight he’s playing the ducks. as you clear your plate from dinner you glance at the time on the microwave, and realize the game starts in a few minutes. you scurry over to the tv and turn on the game, waiting patiently for it to start. after a close game, the canucks won and you know quinn is ecstatic. sometimes the guys go out after they win, but it’s usually after home games. but since they’re leaving tomorrow, you assume they’re going out somewhere in los angeles. you decide to text quinn asking if he’s going out and to congratulate him.

you; you played so well quinn!! congrats on the win tonight! are you guys going out?

quinn; thanks love! and yes we are going out. i miss you so much, i wish you could come with me

you; i wish i could come too, but i’ll see you tomorrow! anyways go have fun on your last night in california, i love you and be safe <3

quinn; i love you more.

you set your phone down and decide to get ready for bed since you have nothing better to do. you aren’t expecting to hear from quinn until tomorrow, so you shut off your phone and get into the cold, empty bed. you stretch out your body to where quinn usually lays, yet there was no one else in it but you. you listen to the noise of cars driving down the street and people talking outside, wondering what quinn’s doing as of right now.

the next morning you get up on your own time, and decide to cook quinn a nice dinner since he’s coming home tonight. you search for some of his favorites recipes and decide on chicken parmesan. you write down the ingredients and walk to the grocery store only 2 blocks away. you’re wearing sweats and one of quinn’s hoodies, with your hair pulled up in a messy bun. you couldn’t care less about how you look right now, it’s not like you have anyone to impress, quinn is on the road. that reminds you of the fact quinn hasn’t texted you yet, so you whip out your phone on the walk back to your apartment, checking your notifications. you open instagram to see a shit ton of people tagging you in a post of girl with quinn’s arm wrapped around her. your heart skips a beat, and you bravely click on her instagram story. that’s when your heart drops. an image of quinn’s hand entangled with hers and her head resting on his shoulder appears, and you almost drop your phone at the sight. you quickly tap through all of her stories and at the end of the photo dump of her and her friends, another photo of quinn appears. this one is the worst one you’ve seen. him kissing her on her cheek, incredibly close to her lips. she captioned the story with ‘who knew candians were such good kissers?’ that’s when you’d had enough.

you run into the elevator and drop everything as you enter your apartment. you sit on the couch in disbelief, tears pouring out of your eyes. no wonder quinn hadn’t texted. you didn’t even get to cook quinn a nice dinner nor congratulate him on winning 2/3 of his games. when you told him to have fun going out, you didn’t mean that much fun. you know quinn won’t be home for at least another couple hours so you grab your clothes and important items, putting them into two large suitcases. you decide to not text quinn and to just leave. you guys share the same friends, so he’ll find you if he really cares, he knows exactly where you’ll be.

you call one of your friends explaining the situation, and she immediately lets you stay with her. you begin the drive to her house when you receive an incoming call from quinn. your heart skips a beat, and you press decline. tears pool at your eyes, and one blink too hard will lead to an immediate breakdown. quinn calls you again, and the with the blurriness from the tears you accidentally press accept.

“y/n, where are you?” “fuck, i didn’t mean to accept the call! it doesn’t matter quinn, why would you even care where i am!” “can we just talk about this please?” “talk about what? you cheated on me. that’s that.” “i was drunk y/n! please just come home. wait, where’s all your shit? did you fucking move out? y/n come home please.” “no quinn! drunk actions are sober thoughts. don’t pull that i was drunk bullshit. it doesn’t even matter anymore. i left, and we’re over.” “i promise she meant absolutely nothing, she put herself on me.” “i don’t care quinn! you clearly didn’t care enough to tell her you have a girlfriend waiting at home for you. fuck you quinn. there’s fresh food in the fridge for you, make yourself something nice. i left the recipe for chicken parmesan on the counter. goodbye quinn.” you say ending the call, the tears now pouring down your cheeks.

you arrive at your friends house, and she helps you move your things into her guest room. you explain the entire situation to her, showing her the pictures, and she comforts you through it all. her and quinn were friends before you came into the picture, but she instantly became one of your best friends. you look down at your lap and realize you’re still in quinn’s favorite hoodie. so much for never seeing him again. “oh my god, i’m in quinn’s favorite hoodie. ellen gave him this like 5 years ago, i have to give it back to him” “yeah i guess you do, but not anytime soon, he barely even apologized to you. give it back in a few days, you guys both need space.” she says. “you’re right. i’m gonna sleep, thank you for letting me stay with you.” you smile, rising off of the couch. you grab your phone from the kitchen counter and see 3 missed calls and 7 texts from elias.

you hesitantly call elias back, and he picks up on the third ring. “hello?” you say. “y/n. i tried to stop him, i’m so sorry. he’s a fucking mess, but i thought you should know he’s on his way to you right now” “he’s what?” you exclaim. “he should be at her house in like 5 minutes, he just left my place like 10 minutes ago. he’s been a crying mess.” “i don’t really care elias. anyways, goodnight.” “night.” you hang up, more confused than ever. you spin on your heel and walk back over to the couch. “um, quinn is on his way here i guess..” you say. “he’s what?!” your friend exclaims. “he’s..” the doorbell rings interrupting you, “here, i guess.”

you and sigh and walk over to the door, opening it to see quinn with bloodshot eyes. “y/n, i’m so-“ “save it quinn, here’s your hoodie. please just leave me alone.” “i’m sorry. you left your childhood teddy bear at the house, so here it is. i thought you would want it. i know it means a lot to you” “oh, thanks quinn.” you say, taken back. a small smile forming on your lips. “i uh, have a question actually.” he says shakily, his hand scratching the back of his neck. “hm?” “can i get one last kiss? i know it’s weird but i just-“ you shut him up by softly lifting yourself up on your tiptoes, and pressing you lips to his very gently, and then you quickly pull back. you both look at each other with eyes full of love, as you shut the door. as you lock it, your body begins to collapse, and tears fall down again. your best friend quickly scooping you in her arms, holding you the same exact way quinn used to.

[andromeda-sapphire]

Are you ready for Pluto in Aquarius for the next 20 years? 🙃

I am a Capricorn rising, so Pluto has been haunting my 1st house since 2008. And man, I have some thoughts…

I won’t get too into my Pluto 1st house experience, because it deals with some very triggering things. I will briefly go over the timeline of the transit for me though… and some things I’ve noticed about Pluto in this long-term experience.

My Pluto in Capricorn Transit Experience

(TW: s*xual a$s@ult)

In November of 2008, around Thanksgiving here in the US, Pluto had just entered Capricorn.

At the time, I was 13 years old, and right as Pluto entered Capricorn, an older man began grooming me. By February of 2009, the physical abuse began.

This continued, and had severely damaging effects on me. During the 16-year span of Pluto’s transit through my 1st house, between November of 2008 and this November (2024), I had been s*xually abu$ed by 24 different men, some of them several times.

I have 3 planets (Sun, Mercury and Venus) in the first two-thirds of Libra, so Pluto was forming some pretty intense squares for me for a long time.

But something particularly interesting happened in 2018, when Pluto was beginning to transit very closely over the degree of my Ascendant in Capricorn. That is when I met my first long-term boyfriend. On our very first date, he bought me this ring in the photo above, which has little planets on it and says “I miss Pluto” (in reference to Pluto being demoted from planet status previously). He knew I was very interested in astrology (we had talked about it briefly when we met) but he didn’t know about the Pluto/Ascendant transit I was having at the time.

I didn’t think too much of all this at first. I loved the ring and wore it often. As the relationship progressed though, he became more and more abu$ive. Emotionally, physically, financially, all of it. After dating for 4 months, I moved in with him after my previous living situation became more difficult to manage. He slowly isolated me from my friends, my family, and any support network I had. After dating for a little over a year, we moved away from the town I had been living in for the last 6 years, to a small and somewhat remote place, where I knew nobody.

Almost immediately after we moved, I began to feel in my gut like I needed to get away from him. I tried to break up with him and leave several times. But every time, he would love bomb me and lure me back. Eventually, after the pandemic began in early 2020, I called my dad crying and asked him to come get me. (I did not have a car back then) My dad drove 8 hours the following day to come pack my stuff into his car and brought me home with him.

And even though I was “free,” I wasn’t quite rid of him yet… my ex and I continued an on-and-off long-distance relationship for a little over a year after I left. Later on, after Pluto had moved away from my Ascendant, I was able to cut ties to him completely.

I have heard many times from different astrologers that major transits like this often appear as people symbolizing that planet entering your life.

Pluto is a planet related to power — power struggles or reclaiming your power — and control. For me, with Capricorn in my 1st house, ruling the physical self, it manifested as a series of power struggles over control of my own body. The 1st and 7th houses (the Ascendant/Descendant axis) relate to the self vs others. Me vs them. I was seemingly at war with men constantly, fighting for control over my body.

Pluto Transits Generally

Pluto transits through a sign are incredibly difficult. Pluto forces you to transform, whether you want to or not, and even though after the transit is over, you may be truly thankful for the lessons you’ve learned and hardships you’ve overcome — when you’re in the middle of it, it is extremely hard. And it takes a LONG time for Pluto to pass through a sign, so a lot of the time you won’t even really know what is happening or how it will turn out until it’s in the past.

One thing I have noticed with Pluto transits though, is that Pluto makes itself known pretty clearly almost immediately, as soon as the ingress into the new sign. With my Pluto in Capricorn timeline, the abu$e I endured as a kid began almost immediately as Pluto entered Capricorn.

Thoughts on Pluto in Aquarius (Globally and Personally)

I honestly don’t know how this transit will manifest for the collective over the next 20 years… I can feel some sort of revolutionary shift coming, but I am also aware that revolutions don’t happen overnight, nor are they easy. Pluto is intense. It destroys what exists to make room for new things. You have to face that destruction before you can build anything new.

For me personally, I had a bit of an interesting “first day of Pluto in my 2nd house” yesterday, and it gave me some immediate hints at my next Pluto journey. For a little while now, I’ve been dealing with a financially abu$ive situation, but I didn’t recognize that’s what it was just yet. After a major mental health crisis in 2016, I added my mom as a signer on my bank account. Recently, she has been abusing that privilege… so I had a massive panic attack in the break room at work yesterday, after getting a text from her regarding my finances. I didn’t realize until later yesterday evening that Pluto was in the process of moving into Aquarius at the same time I made the decision to go to my bank after work and close my old account and start a new one. I just kept thinking, “I need to take control of my finances, like NOW.” (What a transiting Pluto in 2nd house thing to say!!)

I think for me, I can already see a theme emerging for the next 20 years — it will be a theme of becoming more financially literate and stable. I’m sure there will be other issues that come up too, but this is the first theme that seemed to make itself known to me yesterday as Pluto ingressed into Capricorn.

Anyway, for those of you with Aquarius/Leo/Scorpio/Taurus placements… good luck!! 😭 my heart goes out to you all.

Pluto transits like this are a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and not everyone will ever even experience them.

With that in mind, I hope you can see the light at the end of this dark tunnel. 🫂💕 You will make it through, and you will emerge stronger than before.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment or message me! I love talking astrology with folks!

[tendouluvr]

not telling them you’re pregnant - f!reader

- fluff, sliiiight angst maybe

- characters: suna, sakusa, semi

- warnings: pregnancy (i don’t go into detail of giving birth or anything), cravings, morning sickness aka throwing up, two mention of the act of sex in semi’s, some cursing

- wc: 1.4k, 888, 946

a/n: it’s f!reader cuz pregnancy but there’s no specific pronouns/gendered terms used

also idk how suna got so long, he was the last one i wrote for bc i couldnt think of anything lmao

[2. iwaizumi, atsumu, kageyama]

SUNA

#! suna has been practicing late into the night the past few weeks

#! there’s a big game coming up and the entire team is feeling the pressure and adrenaline from the crunch time

#! you haven’t been feeling too good lately, a lot heavier and more tired than usual

#! thinking it was just stress from work and the missing presence of your boyfriend, you pushed through it and thought it would go away in the next few days

#! unfortunately, luck wasn’t on your side and you started to get sudden needs to throw up

#! it didn’t take you long to realize why your physical and mental drive have been down lately

#! you’re pregnant

#! or you believe you are

#! you bought a few tests, some of different brands so you can have a variety, and headed home to confirm your suspicion

#! a few minutes later, staring back at you was multiple positive symbols and the bolded ‘PREGNANT’s

#! taking a few deep breaths, you decided to tell suna tonight once he comes home

#! you thought it was better to let him know as soon as possible

#! it wouldn’t hurt anyone plus the faster you rip the bandaid off, the easier it’ll be to deal with it

#! so you waited

#! and waited

#! until 11pm that night, when suna finally came through the front door

#! “tarō! how was practice? can we talk?” you hurriedly greeted him

#! he was taken aback, not expecting you to be right beside him and in his ear as soon as he came in

#! of course you weren’t, you made sure to put some space in between you and him

#! but suna was stressed and tired, so everything is intensified to him at the moment

#! “can you back up?” he mumbled, pushing his way from in front of you to walk to the kitchen

#! “oh, sorry. can we talk?” you sheepishly smiled, hoping he would say yes

#! you’re not blind, you can tell that suna was tired but you really didn’t wanna put this off

#! you were just gonna tell him, he gets surprised, you both talk it out, and then go to bed and continue figuring things out tomorrow morning

#! but before any of that can happen, suna bluntly told you, “no. i’m tired. i’m sure whatever it is isn’t a big deal. can it be tomorrow? i wanna sleep.”

#! you didn’t get to answer before he was already walking away to the bedroom

#! understanding where he was coming from, you mentally agreed to talk to him tomorrow. one day wouldn’t change anything and you’ve seen plenty of people not tell their partners until a few weeks in

#! he was right, it wasn’t a big deal (yet)

#! so you waited until tomorrow

#! and waited

#! and once again, he came home late

#! “hey! can we quickly talk, babe?”

#! “i’m tired. tomorrow, okay?”

#! “oh, okay. night, rin!”

#! “g’night.”

#! night came and there was still no talk

#! this continued on for about 2 weeks, you finally choosing to not care anymore and just let him find out whenever he finds out

#! technically, you could’ve just blurted out a simple, “i’m pregnant.” any point during your nightly five seconds conversations

#! but seeing that he really was tired, springing it onto him would either put him in a full body shock for three days or he just doesn’t fully process your words until three days after

#! a month has passed, your stomach was still barely showing like most women at their one month mark

#! you decided to book an appointment for a checkup, it’ll be while suna’s at practice

#! and that doctor appointment was the exact reason suna found out

#! he was at practice when komori entered the gym

#! he had a doctor’s appointment for his annual checkup, and that’s where he saw you

#! you didn’t see komori, busy reading the directory to find your way to the right office

#! but he saw you on the way out. seeing that you looked a bit busy, he chose not to greet you and just quickly walk to his car lmao why is this funny to me

#! entering the gym, he greeted everyone and apologized for his tardiness even though it was excused

#! walking up to suna, he tapped him on the shoulder and quietly told him, “i saw yn at the hospital earlier. it’s been awhile since we all got together huh, they looked a bit different.”

#! ok so komori, being the smart person he is, deducted that you were pregnant when he saw your finger pointing at the ob/gyn office

#! and he genuinely thought suna knew so his comment was suppose to be a small joke that was meant to tease suna and his sex life

#! suna, however, was confused

#! look different? did you get surgery?

#! “what do you mean?”

#! komori rolled his eyes and gave a sweet smile at suna, “congrats you two! when were you gonna tell the rest of us?”

#! suna: 👨‍🦲 huh

#! “are you guys not pregnant?” he blinked at suna’s frozen reaction

#! suna became unresponsive so komori just walked away mumbling to himself about being sure he read the sign right

#! a loud whistle blew and it shook suna out of his daze, everyone got ready to play a practice game of 3 vs 3 while suna ran over to the coach

#! “hey coach, um i think there’s an emergency at home. can i go? ok thanks.”

#! his coach just stares after him as he sprints off, you think? is there an emergency or not?

#! suna quickly drove home, he may or may not have speed a little, and entered the apartment

#! “yn? baby?” he called out only to be greeted back with silence

#! probably still at the hospital....what were you doing there? he thought to himself while rummaging around the house to find anything that could give him somewhat of an idea

#! he was digging around in the bedroom when you came home, his head so frenzied he didn’t hear the front door open

#! but you heard the ruckus from the bedroom and immediately went into fight or flight

#! panicking, you took out your phone to call suna while quietly opening the front door to make your way back out before the intruder catches you

#! the phone rang and rang until it was picked up. “suna?” you whisper-yelled into the speaker. you had a habit of calling him by his last name when you were freaking out. he noticed and was equally alarmed

#! “what’s wrong?” he whispered back just as panicked

#! “there’s someone in our apartment. can you come home?”

#! “huh? oh, are you home?” he cackles into the phone speaker making you move the phone away from your ear, “it’s me, sweets, c’mere.”

#! you warily walked on your tiptoes over to your bedroom, peeking your head in and what a surprise, it is suna

#! “jackass! why are you home?!”

#! “why didn’t you tell me?” he cut straight to the point

#! “huh?”

#! “you’re pregnant. when were you gonna tell me?” his voice sounding stern, but the quiet smile dancing on his face tells a different story

#! “i tried.”

#! “huh? what do you mean?”

#! “all those times i asked if we could talk. i was trying to tell you.”

#! his heart dropped, eyebrows furrowing, while he stared you down

#! suna became unresponsive once again, standing there trying to think back to the first time you asked him

#! two weeks ago

#! “i’m sorry,” he quietly whispers

#! “hm? i..it’s fine....i was a bit sad, but i’m over it. at least you know now,” you casually shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal

#! “no. i shouldn’t have pushed you aside like that. even if you weren’t pregnant, even if you had just wanted to tell me about some stupid video you saw that day, i shouldn’t have told you off. i’m sorry, i love you a lot and you deserve so much better.”

#! “tarō, shut up. i accept your apology and i forgive you, now make it up to me by giving me a back massage while i show you the ultrasound pictures!”

#! he kisses you before lifting you up bridal style making his way to the bed

SAKUSA

#! contrary to popular beliefs, sakusa is not an obsessive germaphobe who finds everything disgusting but you

#! he wouldn’t be playing volleyball if he was that afraid of germs,,,,,

#! yes, he cringes if random little kids grab onto him after games because 1) he’s drenched in sweat and that feeling is not fun

#! 2) he doesn’t even know themmm

#! and 3) he wanna go home

#! but sakusa loves you and if you happened to get pregnant, he would love your kid(s) just the same

#! however, he never told you this. he never really had a reason to voice this out loud

#! so when you actually did get pregnant, you were confused

#! the only interactions between sakusa and kids you’ve seen multiple times were the moments between him and his fans

#! you guys have been to family parties and his nieces, nephews, and cousins looooves him

#! maybe it’s the fact that he’s a tall looming giant and they just want to climb

#! but besides those moments, you don’t recall him ever telling you upfront that he wants children of his own

#! and the constant stress and pressure he always seem to be working around also doesn’t help reassure you in any way

#! being an athlete for a living means always watching your body, health, and looks for the cameras (but omi could care less about the last thing)

#! he also has to make sure whether or not he’s working well with his teammates, practice and improve on anything he’s having problems with, and deal with atsumu’s dramatic ass

#! you’re an overthinker and because of that, all of these reasons were just reasons for you to postpone the pregnancy news to your long term boyfriend

#! it wasn’t too hard anyway, considering practice runs late sometimes and he’s busy majority of the time doing other stuff

#! when you guys do have alone time together, you both are so focused on one another that you actually forget that you’re pregnant and you never told him

#! you’re about to hit the three months mark now — time goes by fast — and sakusa has noticed you and your body changing

#! at first he just thought you were going through a phase of cravings and a bit of bloating, so he didn’t mention it and just let you be

#! he never got to witness you getting morning sickness because he goes on early runs or he was just out doing morning errands so he wouldn’t have to deal with it later that day

#! so when he caught you in the kitchen cutting up a lemon, the last thing he was expecting you to do was bring the lemon directly up to your mouth

#! “uh, what are you doing?” his deep voice caught you off guard, effectively stopping the hand that was holding the lemon

#! you just stare at him, not wide-eyed, not surprised, just stare

#! “eating a lemon.”

#! “i can see that.... why exactly?”

#! “dunno, the baby i guess.” you casually shrugged it off before popping the lemon slice into your mouth

#! “ah-,” he opened his mouth to stop you from eating the lemon, your words not fully processing in his mind, but cut off midway and froze when he finally realized

#! hearing him pause like that made you suddenly remembered that you never told him you were pregnant

#! you slowly turned back to look at him, mouth still slowly chewing the lemon slices

#! a moment of silence later, he unfreezes and just starts stiffly walking towards you

#! he grabbed you by the shoulders, made you look him in the eyes, before whispering, “you’re pregnant?!”

#! “y-yes..”

#! his eyes were wide, black pupils expanding as he stared you down, his lips slowly curving into a small smile

#! “you’re pregnant....,” he whispers, mainly to himself, hugging your head into his chest

#! “mhm, get off me i’m trying to eat,” you gently pushed him off but he wouldn’t budge

#! “omiiii please, if you get off i’ll give you a slice,” you tried bribing him. he couldn’t tell if you were being serious or just teasing

#! “no.”

#! “um ok, two slices?”

#! “no.”

#! “omi!”

#! he giggles before opening his arms to let you go

#! “why didn’t you tell me?”

#! you didn’t reply right away, making him start to overthink

#! did you not want the baby? or did you not want a kid with him? did you not want to be with him anymore? or was it not his?!

#! he childishly shakes his head side to side at the last question. he knew you wouldn’t do that

#! but you were still silent, making him nervously glance at you from the side

#! “sorry, piece of lemon stuck in my teeth. i just forgot to tell you,” the words easily flowing out of your mouth nonchalantly

#! sakusa’s fingers were literally about to start twitching from anxiousness beside you

#! a sigh of relief was heard from him and you turned to look at him

#! “you okay?”

#! he doesn’t answer, just gives you a smile and goes back to hugging you from behind

SEMI

#! you were currently sitting on the couch in your shared apartment waiting for semi to come home

#! he’s been on tour for a few months now, you both kept in touch by facetiming, texting, calling, and any other methods of virtual communication

#! you would tune into the live recording of all of his performances when you had time so you could watch him

#! a few weeks into tour, you suddenly felt different than usual but shook it off as nothing and probably just you missing your boyfriend

#! you believed that until one morning you were woken up by the sudden urge to throw up, dashing to the restroom as fast as your drowsy body can go

#! it was then that you realized you might be pregnant

#! the night before semi left, you both had sex to enjoy your last few hours together before he had to leave for a few months

#! with the new realization, you quickly dressed yourself to make a short trip to the store to pick up some tests

#! after half an hour of looking at yourself in the mirror, trying to wrap your head around this, you finally opened the first box

#! a few minutes later, all 5 tests were lined up on the bathroom counter showing positive

#! you stared at the tests, trying to make sure you weren’t reading it wrong

#! once you began to understand the responsibility of being pregnant a few hours later, you made a mental note to go out and buy some food for yourself the next day

#! you decided to sleep off the rest of that day

#! through all of the facetime calls with semi, you never once told him you were pregnant

#! you knew that if you told him he would freak out and either demand to go back home, or stay but all of his attention would be on you being pregnant alone at home for the rest of the tour

#! so here you are now, sitting with a 4 1/2 months baby bump waiting for your beloved to come home

#! it was around 6pm when the front door opened, sounds of shuffling bags and heavy steps could be heard from the musician

#! he cursed under his breath when he almost tripped over a duffle bag with some of his loungewear, calling out for you as he walks further into the apartment, “baby? i’m home!”

#! he was about to speak up again when he saw you asleep on the couch

#! bouncing his way over, he got onto his knees at the edge of the couch to observe your face. god i miss you, he thought to himself

#! he gently shakes you awake, you jolted in surprise not knowing you fell asleep in the first place

#! “hmm- what?,” soft murmurs falling from your lips as you adjusted your eyes at your surrounding

#! “eita!” he grinned at you, both of you pulling each other into a hug

#! “fuck, i miss you so much.” he whispered into your ears before placing his face into your neck

#! “i miss you more.” you tightened your grip around him making him move up on the couch to get more comfortable

#! you both moved around until he had you cradled in between him, your back against his chest

#! his hands going under your his shirt to caress you there when his movements stopped right on top of your stomach

#! it was silent as his warm hands rubbed your stomach in circles, the gears turning in his head

#! “are you- you feel- why’s your tum so round and hard?” he quizzically asked, still rubbing your stomach

#! “pregnant.” your voice a low whisper, he almost didn’t catch it

#! “what?”

#! “pregnant.” you repeated, a bit louder this time

#! “huh?”

#! “pregnant!” you sighed, moving his hand so you can get off of him

#! he grabs your wrist to stop you from walking away and turns you to look at him

#! “you’re pregnant?!”

#! “i just said that. yes.”

#! you knew you sounded blunt and a bit mean, it wasn’t his fault he doesn’t know at all, but your hormones have been making you crankier and it’s out of your control

#! “sorry. yes, i’m pregnant.”

#! his eyes continuously darts up and down from your eyes to your bump

#! “how long?”

#! “since you left.”

#! “was it the night before?” he was referring to your act of intimacy the night before he left

#! “yea.”

#! “wow. why didn’t you tell me?”

#! “because.”

#! “‘cuz what?”

#! “because i know you. you would either stop touring and come home, or stay but lose focus. i was just trying to not distract you because i know how important your career is to you. and because i thought that you’ll be having a six months break after this tour before your next comeback, i would tell you when you came home. i’m sorry if you’re ma-,”

#! “i’m not mad. oh don’t cry, babe, look at me.”he carefully cups your face, “it’s okay, it’s okay. i get why you kept it from me. and now that i have no schedule for the next six months, i can be there for you until the end of your pregnancy and the beginning of our baby’s life alright?”

#! you weakly nodded against his palms, and he brings you back down to lay your head on his chest as you both softly talk about the past months without each other

[sims4lizzyuk]

Vampiric tales: A vampire legacy challenge

VAMPIRIC TALES: A vampire legacy challenge

General rules: -All of your sims must be vampires -For each generation, you must complete three aspirations before moving onto the next one -After three aspirations, your elder vampire and their spouse will retire to a huge gothic mansion/castle in another world, relinquishing the title of coven leader. They will still be an ‘elder’ vampire and can be visited for advice, but they are no longer leaders of the coven – simply wise vampires. -Follow these rules from the ORIGINAL Vampire Coven Challenge (which I couldn’t find online), as building a coven is part of this: -You must have two main ‘elder’ vampires who are grand master vampires and the leaders of the coven. The title of elder can only be bestowed upon your family – more specifically, your current sim, their spouse, and the past generations and their spouse. -You must have four ‘elite’ vampires with level 8 logic skill -You must have six ‘guardian’ vampires with level 8 fitness skill -All other minor vampires and above are considered ‘family’ -All vampires ranking below minor vampire are considered ‘fledglings’ -Every time a new generation is born, turn two new fledglings -Keep records of every vampire through books and/or paintings about them -All generations must master the vampire lore skill -All generations must have the ‘vampire creation’ power -The heir to the coven is your eldest child and their spouse -All vampires, once a master vampire, must be immune to the sun -All the vampires in your coven must be random townies that you find. You must turn them and mould them to make them into who you need them to be (not by changing their traits, just by giving them skills and teaching them vampire lore) -Once your starter sim has moved into Forgotten Hollow and has the vampire creation power, you may start turning sims who will become your elite and guardian vampires. You may not create them in advance. -If any of your vampires die (no judgement), you must keep their grave on your home lot -The main members of your coven must live in Forgotten Hollow – Vlad’s house, your house, a house for the elites, one for the guardians and one for another household of family. Once Forgotten Hollow is full, you may expand into other worlds (you may want to turn Newcrest into a vampire world) but all homes must have the gothic, vampiric vibe of Forgotten Hollow -If you want your elites and guardians to retire, they may do this and you can choose new ones but they must have the necessary skills for the role. You may also keep the same ones throughout the generations. -This is designed for all the packs up to Dream Home Decorator – if you don’t have them, just adapt the challenge as you choose.

Gen One Aspirations: Master Vampire, Vampire Family, World-Famous Celebrity Traits: Genius, romantic, ambitious

To do: -Create a vampire sim with a very gothic vibe and move them into Fledermaus Bend – build them a gothic, vampiric home. You may use money cheats for this. -Marry one of the three original premade vampires in Forgotten Hollow – Vladislaus Straud IV, Caleb Vatore or Lilith Vatore. -Win a vampiric spar against Vlad -Have four or more children -Finish all three named aspirations -Retire to a huge gothic castle/mansion in Del Sol Valley

Story: You are new to Forgotten Hollow. You are a young vampire with a lot of dreams – primarily, you want to build your own vampire coven. Your past was difficult, and you decide to move away to Forgotten Hollow. You have your own house just the way you like it. There, you find three other vampires and you make it your goal to get into their good books. They help you to learn all about being a vampire, and they teach you ancient lore. One of them, you fall in love with along the way. The three of them didn’t get on well at first – but once you enter the picture, the four of you become very close. As you gain in power, you establish a small coven of which you are the leader. You start to turn more vampires and to tutor them as you were tutored. You marry your vampire love and start a family. Once you feel satisfied that you are the most powerful vampire in Forgotten Hollow, you start to focus more on relations within your coven. You want it to feel like an immortal family, and you make sure both your children and the vampires you have turned have a good relationship with you. After that… perhaps you can expand beyond Forgotten Hollow. Perhaps you can take over the world. Believing you can do anything, you start to pursue fame. You start to share tales of your coven around the world and eventually, you really do have it all – love, family, money and global recognition. You decide it’s time to pass on the title of coven leader to your eldest child, probably now grown-up and more than capable of handling everything. Assuring your family that you will always be there if they need you, you and your spouse move away to a huge gothic castle in Del Sol Valley to enjoy a much-deserved retirement. You’ve done very well.

Gen Two Aspirations: Soulmate, nerd brain, outdoor enthusiast Traits: Genius, dance machine, ambitious Career: Secret agent

To do: -Complete your three aspirations -Complete the secret agent career -Get married to another child from the coven -Master the dancing skill as well as all those you need for aspirations -Have two or more children

Story: You were raised in the coven as it grew in power, and you see the love and the power that your parents had and want that for yourself – admittedly, the love more than the power. You’re smart and ambitious like your parent, and you also love to dance… although you’re quite mild and modest, there are a lot of things you can do. As you grow up, you quickly find the soulmate you were looking for in one of the other members of the coven – you’re surprised to find that your dream had been right beside you all along. You get married and start a family, and you pursue a career as a secret agent which surprises a few people, but it’s what you really want to do. You’re incredibly smart and have never sought praise for your accomplishments, and a part of you enjoys the secrecy. You focus on your job as well as practical skills – both logic and handiness. Once you’ve mastered your career and even been to outer space, you feel there’s something missing – and, leaving the coven stuff more to your spouse, you find it in nature. You visit Granite Falls and fall in love. This is everything you’ve needed. Your spouse and family are important to you, but you find it equally important to just be with nature. After spending more and more time in Granite Falls, you eventually realise what it is that you want – to just step back from the coven. It’s your parents’ legacy and you’re proud to uphold it – but your eldest child is ready now. You move away to a small and cosy yet, of course, gothic house in a nice, wooded area with your spouse, and settle down into a quiet life with the one you love – although, of course, you’ll still visit your family.

Gen Three Aspirations: Friend of the animals, Freelance botanist, Traits: Perfectionist, good, hot-headed Career: Veterinarian

To do: -Marry another sim from the coven -Have two or more children -Complete the three aspirations -Master the wellness and gardening skills -Always have two or more pets

Story: You’ve always made it your goal to do everything you do to the best of your ability. You want a great life, a great spouse, great kids and pets… you just want it all. You love animals and you love helping people, so you open up your own (naturally, vampire-themed) vet clinic as soon as you are able. As much as you have positive intentions, though, you still have issues with anger – and that just won’t do. You throw yourself into wellness and try to centre yourself as much as you can – and, naturally, you succeed. Your anger still bubbles up to the surface, but you know how to deal with it. In order to aid this, you remember how your parent used nature to ground themself, so you start to focus more on your gardening and find that you enjoy it. Once you’re content that your garden is everything you want it to be, you find a new focus – writing. Initially, you were just writing books for your kids and the coven’s children, just novelty little books about vampires – but then you really got into it and before you know it, you’re writing full novels of all different genres, self-help books about wellness and gardening, records of your coven’s vampires… you become a bestselling author, and eventually decide that you want to focus more on being with your spouse as well as your writing and your career – and on top of running the coven, that’s a little much. You move away to somewhere nearer your vet clinic, and you leave the role of coven leader to your eldest child who you more than trust (perhaps wrongly) to handle it. They may have a lot going on, but you trust that they’ll find a way to work through it. Your other child/ren will be able to support them, at least.

Gen Four Aspirations: Hope vs. Order (Enforcer of order), Public Enemy, Galactic privateer Traits: Perfectionist, paranoid, evil Career: Criminal

To do: -Marry someone from Batuu (after turning them into a vampire) -Master the robotics skill and build a servo -Have one or more children -Complete your three aspirations

Story: You are… an interesting sim. You take care of the coven, sure, but you also believe that when it’s as advanced as this… it kind of runs itself. You’re a perfectionist as well, but in a very different sense than your parent. You don’t trust anyone, and you’re always afraid of people stealing the coven’s power. You’ve never really cared about mortals, and you find it fun to mess with them sometimes. As a young adult, you run away to Batuu and join the First Order – just to stir things up. You live out your life, marry someone from there and work your way slowly up to the top – although, of course, you go back to visit the coven sometimes and check everything’s okay. You trust your sibling/s to handle it – they’re someone you do trust. Once you’ve reached the very top of the First Order, you disappear back home. You’re there for the coven – but you also focus on the criminal career. Your family run the world – but you want to run the underworld as well. You make a lot of enemies and even kill one of them – it wasn’t fun any more, they were just annoying – and life becomes true chaos and you love it. You also start to get into robotics, which you enjoy a lot, and you build a robot to help you with your crime and mischief. Once you’re content that the criminal world is yours and you’re the king/queen of thieves and liars, you return to Batuu – you’ve missed it there – but this time, you join the scoundrels. You find that they’re a lot of fun, so you use your wit and your silver tongue to reach the very top before returning home to your eldest child who’s frowning. They tell you that they haven’t been taking adequate care of the coven and they think you should leave them in charge. You’re more than happy to relinquish the responsibility, so you move away to a villainous lair somewhere and leave your child in charge. Your spouse understands you, even if no one else does.

Gen Five Aspirations: Mansion Baron, Fabulously wealthy, Computer whiz Traits: Squeamish, materialistic, bro Career: Interior designer, Tech guru

To do: -Master the video gaming and fitness skills -Marry a famous athlete (after turning them into a vampire) -Master the interior decorator and tech guru careers -Have other coven members over to watch sports at least once a week -Have two or three children

Story: The coven isn’t as in pieces as one might imagine – you and your aunt/s and/or uncle/s did a pretty good job of doing it while your parent was off in Batuu or being a criminal, so you are more than prepared to run it yourself. You love the gothic style, and you love interior design. You’ll confess that may be a bit materialistic, and if you’re honest, the plasma does gross you out a bit so you prefer to drink from plasma fruit where possible. You stick to the rules with your interior decorating, although you like to put your own gothic twist on it where you can. You also do up your own house and make sure it’s definitely up to your standards. You also love sports, so you frequently work out in the home gym that you installed, and you love to have other members of the coven over to watch the games on telly. When you’re out one day, you can hardly believe it when you meet one of your favourite athletes. Not only that – they seem to like you! You start dating, turn them into a vampire, have a big fancy wedding and start a family together. Once you’re well and truly rolling in it, you discover another passion that you have – video gaming! You add a gaming room to your vampire mansion, and you leave interior design behind to become a gamer. When you eventually decide that it’s time for you to retire, you purchase a lavish house somewhere dramatic – with all the same amenities as your old place and more, of course – and you move away with your spouse, leaving the role of coven leader to your eldest child.

Gen Six Aspirations: Lord/Lady of the knits, Master maker, Party animal Traits: Dog lover, maker, childish Career: Civil designer, freelance crafter

To do: -Marry someone you met at your great-grandparent’s vet (again, turn them if they aren’t already a vampire) -Always have at least one dog from when you become a child -Complete your three aspirations -Have at least four children -Visit every household in the coven at least once

Story: You have a child-like innocence and care passionately about making the world a better place. You loved to visit your great-grandparent at their vet as a child, and you’ve always especially loved the dogs. You focus on innovation to help the environment once you’re old enough to work, and you always look on the bright side. You also support your work with selling some of your knitting on Plopsy – you’ve loved knitting since you were a child. As a young adult, you meet the love of your life at your great-grandparent’s vet and fall in love very quickly. You marry quite young and start a family – a big family. Your spouse is very outgoing and helps you to let loose a bit whenever work stresses you out. Once you feel you’ve done a substantial amount to help the environment with your work and your knitting is getting successful, you decide to cut back a bit and try freelance crafting alongside your knitting – and this goes very well. You’re very happy with your fabrication and your knitting, and you feel like life is good. The coven is still running smoothly as well – once you no longer work full-time, you have more time to spend with your family as well as the coven. As you get older, you find that you really enjoy the social aspect of running the coven, so you start to host frequent parties for the coven. You make sure nobody feels left out, and you’re a real nurturing presence for the coven. Some of the younger members are surprised that such a powerful vampire can be so sweet and caring. When you finally retire to a nice – yet still gothic, that part of your family is as immortal as all its members – home in Brindleton Bay, the coven are sad to see you go but hopeful for the future under the reign of your eldest child.

Gen Seven Aspirations: Jungle Explorer, Archaeological scholar, musical genius Traits: Clumsy, hot-headed, cat lover Career: Manual labourer, entertainer (musician)

To do: -Master Selvadoradian culture, piano and pipe organ skills -Own a piano, a pipe organ and a keyboard -Always have at least one cat -Have at least two children -Complete your three aspirations -Master the musician career

Story: While your parent loves dogs, you are all about the cats. You are not physically gifted and have quite a short temper, but you’re determined to be a good leader of your coven and you’re very protective – enemies of the coven are treated very harshly under your reign. As a young adult, just when your parent is thinking about retiring, you decide to take a trip to the jungle to mentally prepare yourself for stepping up as the leader. There, you discover a real fascination for the culture and the music, and you meet your Selvadoradian sweetheart. You turn them into a vampire so you can live together forever and have a beautiful jungle-themed wedding. Once you’re married, you visit Selvadorada with your spouse as often as you are able and discover new things about it every time. While your kids are growing up, you only ever work part-time so that you can be there for them as well as running the coven and visiting Selvadorada. You become more preoccupied with studying the ancient past – you’ll always be there for the future, but the past from before the coven was founded is something you know little about and are eager to learn more. You love archaeology, and you also love music – once your children are a little more grown-up, you start to pursue your passion for music as well. You learn the piano and the pipe organ, and your music is soon ready to take you all over the world – that’s when you make the decision to retire and leave the coven to your eldest child. You had a good run, and you can’t wait for what retirement will bring for you and your spouse.

Gen Eight Aspirations: Academic, Beach Life, Leader of the pack Traits: Jealous, outgoing, child of the islands Career: Fisherman

To do: -Master fishing and fitness skills -Marry someone you meet at uni -Complete all three aspirations -Have one or more children

Story: The coven is practically ancient by this point, and doesn’t need an active a leader. You’ve always loved to learn and you’re desperate to go to university, so you think… ‘why not? Why shouldn’t I?’ You move out for a short while and have a wonderful time at university while running the coven from afar. One of your siblings in Forgotten Hollow helps out with running it while you’re away, and you promise to come back as soon as you’re finished with your degree. You don’t quite stick to it, but your coven agree once you’ve graduated that you deserve a holiday. You go on a week-long holiday to Sulani and fall in love with the islands. You and your university boy/girlfriend have a wedding there, and you promise yourself it won’t be the last time you visit. Of course, once the holiday is over, you obediently return to Fledermaus Bend, and you spend some time with your coven. You never forget what you learnt in Sulani, though. You host a kava party for the coven, and you continue to fish. You also go frequently to the swimming pool so that you can swim. You’re a natural leader, and you’ve always been good at getting what you want. You can get a little jealous – especially seeing as you struggle with being a vampire and watching mortals come and go – but when that envy comes to relationships, you promise your partner that you’re working on it. You start a few clubs where you can do the things you’re passionate about, and you eventually grow to be comfortable in your vampiric skin. Your coven love you even though you’ve been absent a lot during your reign, and they’ll miss you once you retire to a home in Sulani – the place that has called to you since you first visited.

Gen Nine Aspirations: Serial romantic, Painter extraordinaire, Joke star Traits: Child of the islands, adventurous, cheerful Career: Social media, entertainer (comedian)

To do: -Master the singing skill -Go to the karaoke bar at least once a week -Visit Gen One at least once a season -Have three or more children -Complete all three aspirations -Master the social media and comedian careers

Story: Your parents took you to visit Sulani a lot as a child so you do feel connected to the islands and you love a good adventure – but you’re more comfortable in your own skin. You love being a vampire, and you take full advantage of the fact that you’re immortal and mortals… aren’t. You’re very charismatic and love to sing, and you’re always visiting the big city for karaoke nights, which you post about on social media. You get on very well with the coven’s founder, and they’ve taught you a lot about how to succeed on social media – being a global superstar, they know all about that. You have relationship after relationship… until, eventually, you fall hard. You meet another vampire, a kind and creative artist who takes your breath away. For them, it’s worth leaving your serial heartbreaker reputation behind and before long, you’re happily married. They get you into art as well, and before long, you’re well on your way to having a successful art career alongside them. They always look on the bright side just as you do, and you’re a perfect match. Once your painting career is everything you want it to be, you find a new passion – comedy! You’ve always had a way with words, and you enjoy nothing more than using them to make people laugh. You’re happy, and life is just how you want it to be. When you retire, you move to a house in Sulani near your parents, and you feel more than ready to pass on the mantle to your eldest child.

Gen Ten Aspirations: Extreme sports enthusiast, bodybuilder, friend of the world Traits: Bro, loves outdoors, gloomy Career: Stylist

To do: -Complete all three aspirations -Master fitness, skiing, snowboarding and rock-climbing skills -Marry someone you meet at a Snowy Escape festival -Have at least one child

Story: You love sports and hanging out with your friends, but immortal life… it’s hard. As a younger vampire, you have a great time. You have a successful career as a stylist, and life seems great. With your sunlight immunity, you’re able to spend time in the outdoors. You visit the snowy mountains, you fall in love with someone you meet at a Mt. Komorebi festival… and they’ll never leave you, at least. You love the mountains and you love being outside… but as the mortals you knew grow old and die, you start to withdraw. You don’t visit the mountains as much. You introduce yourself to all the members of the coven you don’t know – for it has many branches now, it’s everywhere and it’s impossible for you to have met everyone in person – and you try to focus on being friends with everyone in your coven. Your coven is what you’re destined for. You can’t help but wonder, though… is vampire life really it for you? OPTION ONE: Continue the story! Gen Ten finds a renewed passion for life in the coven, and their children continue to run it! Choose more stories and more aspirations – use your imagination! OPTION TWO: This is the final generation. Gen Ten seeks out the cure and cures their family of vampirism. They grow old and pass on in peace. The coven is too powerful to die out now, but the main story of the great leaders will end here.

[inkandpen22]

The Princess and The Pogue (pt. 4)

Pairing: JJ x Female!Reader / Topper x Female!Reader

Word Count: 5.5k

Warnings: swearing, angst

Part Summary: You wake up at the Chateau in JJ’s arms. When you receive a urgent call from Topper, you return to the Figure 8, much to JJ’s dismay. 

Masterlist

You wake up to the sound of a faint buzzing. A small groan leaves your throat as you attempt to stretch out your limbs, but are trapped beneath the weight of an arm. Your eyes flicker open and adjust to the golden rays pouring in from the window. JJ doesn't even shift, completely unaware of your moving. You recognize the sound of your phone buzzing and dig around the recliner. You two must've fallen asleep during the movie. Kiara and Pope remain on the floor, sprawled out like starfish. The couch is empty, John B and Sarah are probably in his room. You finally manage to find your phone beneath JJ's hip. You do your best to slide it out without waking him. Slowly, you climb out of the chair, placing JJ's arm down gently. 

“Hello?” You whisper, suppressing a yawn as you step out to the porch to not wake the others. 

“Hey, Princess," Topper's worried voice echoes through the device. "Did I wake you?”

 You settle down on the couch in a ball, shaking your head as if Topper can see you. “No, No, it’s okay," you lie for his sake. "Is everything alright?” 

“It’s Rafe..." he sighs. "He kinda got outta hand last night and he hasn’t been to bed yet. He keeps saying he’s going to go to your house. I don’t think your parents should see him like this.” 

“What?" Your brows scrunch together in confusion. Slowly, the events of last night are creeping back to you. You remember all of it, but some parts are only flashes like photographs. "I’m not even home.” 

“Wait, where are you then?” Topper questions, sounding just as confused as you. 

“I uh... I stayed at Sarah's," you conjure up on a whim. 

“Okay..." he replies, not sounding fully convinced. "well do you think you could stop by my place or something? Rafe won’t shut up until he sees you. Thank God my mom left for Atlanta this morning. I can pick you up if you need.” 

“No, it’s okay. I’ll uh... I’ll borrow Sarah’s car or something. I’ll text you when I’m on my way," you determine. 

“Okay, see you then," Topper agrees, hanging up the phone. 

You drop the device in your lap, resting your forehead against your knees. None of this feels real. What are you even doing here? One minute you and Topper are stumbling out of the locker room and the next you're making out with JJ in a hammock. Holy shit, you made out with JJ in a hammock! Topper is going to kill you! He can't know. No, he can never know. 

“Morning Baby," JJ greets as he steps out onto the porch. He rubs his eyes as he walks over to join you. 

“Morning, sorry that I woke you up,” you apologize. 

"Don't be." He plops down next to you, bringing his arm to rest between your tucked legs. His hand is warm against your exposed knee. A part of you wants to cling to him like a koala, but your mind is also on Topper. "Who was that?” He yawns. 

“Topper," you answer truthfully, though it was hesitant. "Apparently, Rafe is acting out and keeps asking for me. I’m gonna head over there to calm him down a little." 

“Wait, what!" JJ's eyes widen, processing what you said. "By yourself?” 

“JJ, it’s okay! It’s just Topper and Rafe,” you snicker at his dramatic reaction. 

“Yeah! Rafe!" He repeats, turning his body toward you. His arm between your legs moves to your back and is replaced with his free one. "The guy who gave you laced weed, Babe!" 

Your lower lip pouts slightly as you're appreciative of his concern though it's not necessary. Impulsively, you bring your hand to his cheek and he leans into your touch subtly. “It’ll be fine, we’re not going to do anything. I’m just helping out Top. Once we get Rafe to chill I’ll be out of there.” 

“I’m driving,” he names his terms sternly. 

Your lips part as worry starts to build up inside you. “JJ, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I-“ 

“I wasn’t asking," he cuts you off sharply, his lips pressed together. “Either I go with you and wait in the car or you don’t go at all," he offers an ultimatum. 

'Okay, that's hot,' you think to yourself. 

You sit stunned for a second. As much as you hate the name, you're still the Princess of the OBX, no one talks to you like that or gives you ultimatums. Yet, you can't help but be utterly compliant when it comes to JJ Maybank. 

“Okay," you nod, trying your hardest to not blush, but ultimately fail. "As long as there’s no Pogue vs. Kook fistfights," you add to the rules. 

JJ notices your eyes wandering to his lips and leans forward with a smirk. “I can’t make any promises.” 

You grin as JJ brushes his lips against yours, bringing you in for a kiss. When he woke up JJ was nervous that he fucked up last night and that you'd regretted everything. It's just JJ always assuming the worst to avoid disappointment. His arm on you was him testing the waters. After a second, once learning that you're not going to pull away, he deepens the kiss. Your fingers comb through his luscious hair and grip the roots slightly. His hand on your knee steadily glides down your skin, moving between your legs. 

"Oh no!" You gasp against his lips, realizing something. 

JJ jumps, breaking his lips from yours and flying his hands off. “Woah, what! Sorry!” He thought maybe his hand may have set you off or something. He’s not sure what your boundaries are or anything, everything is still so new. 

“I don’t have a change of clothes!" You tell him. 

“Jesus," he rolls his eyes, finally able to breathe again. "Wear my shirt you’re wearing,” he gestures to the black AC/DC shirt hanging on you. 

You raise your eyebrows. “And have them start a fight? No way! They'll know it’s not mine," you explain stressfully. 

"You're right, tell them it's your boyfriend's and to mind their own damn business," JJ determines with a carefree shrug. Only after a couple seconds does he process that he called himself your boyfriend, having not discussed that yet. 

You raise your brows at his remark. A faint laugh escapes you, as if that would go over well with the boys. “As much as I would love to, I don’t think that would go well considering Rafe is already losing his mind.” 

A rush of relief consumes JJ when you don’t reject him. In fact, he’s over the moon when you don’t deny that he’s indeed your boyfriend. 

“So..." JJ drags out, gliding your fingers up and down your thigh. "Did you give Topper a specific time?” 

“No, just that I’d be over as soon as possible." You smirk, already knowing what he's thinking. "Why?” 

"Because if I remember correctly," he purrs into your ear with a smirk. "We were rudely interrupted last night..."

 As much as you'd love to do what JJ has in mind, you owe it to Topper to show up at a decent time. "We have the rest of the day for that," you move back a little, much to JJ's disappointment. He groans, making you giggle. "If Rafe acts up any more than he already has and goes to my house I'm royally screwed." 

"Okay, fine! Fine!" He rises up from the couch and offering you a hand. "But I'm holding you to your word! I expect full tomfoolery later!" 

"Deal." You lean in and plant a peck to his lips, making him blush. 

JJ grabs the keys to the Twinkie while you wait outside. You go over the plan multiple times on the way over, mainly to ease your nerves. JJ will park a few yards down the road, hidden behind the hedges that line Topper's yard. You will tell Topper that Sarah dropped you off and that you'll walk home because you live a few blocks away. Checking on Rafe will only take twenty minutes tops, but you're aiming for fifteen. You've done this before, taking care of Rafe. Get sick, chug Pedialyte, have Mcdonald's delivered, and put him to bed. 

You text Topper as soon as you're on your side of the island. 

Heading over now! 

A minute later, you receive a response. 

Awesome! See you soon! Thanks again Y/N/N. Owe you one! 

JJ does exactly as planned, making sure the Twinkie can't be seen from Topper's house. Reluctantly, he lets you out without him. He warns though that if you don't text him or give him some sign that you're okay within the ten-minute time slot he's given that he'll come in after you. You promise that you'll text him a smiley face as soon as you get the chance. 

You knock on Topper's front door a few times and wait for the tall boy to answer. After a few minutes you call for your friends. "Top! Rafe!" 

"I don't want you! I want Y/N!" You hear from the backyard and make your way back. 

"She's on her way!" Topper shouts. 

"Dude! Just sit down!" You hear Kelce add. 

"Guys?" You pop your head around the corner and find Rafe standing on the edge of Topper's pool, fully clothed in his suit from the night before. 

"Y/N! Finally!" Rafe gleams, gripping a bottle of champagne in his hand. 

"Thank God," Topper grumbles to himself as he approaches you. "Thanks again for coming," he greets with a kiss to your temple. 

"Of course," you smile as you move toward Kelce. You give him a quick side hug as you greet everyone. "When did you get here?" 

"About five minutes ago," he answers, breathless from trying to keep Rafe from jumping in. "Apparently I'm not good enough because he keeps asking for you." 

"Hey, Rafe, what's up?" You call over to the boy as stumbles over to you. 

"Geez, you are the most gorgeous girl in the OBX," he grins. 

"Oh am I now? What have you been up to?" You asking, knowing the answer. He smells of weed, sweat, and stale alcohol. His suit will no doubt need some serious dry cleaning. 

"Eh, nothing too exciting," he waves his hand and places an arm over your shoulder. "After you disappeared from the party the boys and I went back to do a few more lines. It wasn't as fun without you. Where did you go anyway? We looked all over for you." 

JJ crosses his arms over his chest. "Yeah, where'd you go?" He repeats as if you didn't explain it before on the phone. 

You frown at your best friend. Why is he acting like that? "Sarah convinced her parents to give her the car and she took me to her house while her parents were are the party," you repeat the story you rehearsed with JJ. 

"But Sarah was still at the party after we lost you. She told your parents that you left..." Topper replies slowly, almost as though he's accusing you of something. 

"Yeah, I was waiting in the car," you answer without hesitation. 

"Right..." Topper nods with narrowed eyes. 

You roll your eyes at Topper and bring your arm around Rafe. "Let's get you inside." 

"I wanted to go for a swim," Rafe whines. 

"That sounds so fun," you pretend, silently begging him to go inside without any retaliation. "Sadly, I didn't bring my suit." 

"Come on, Y/N, it's not like I haven't seen you in your underwear before," Rafe chuckles as you cross the threshold of the sliding door. 

"Nice, Rafe," Topper sarcastically remarks. 

"Oh no, I think I'm gonna be sick," Rafe coughs, hutching over next to you. 

 "I got this one," Kelce shouts, moving to get his friend toward the bathroom. 

Now that Rafe is inside and in the "get sick" stage, you move on to ordering him McDonald's. Knowing Topper's house like the back of your hand, you walk into the kitchen, leaving the boy in the living room. You hop onto the counter, your legs dangle over the edge. As you tap through your phone, Topper enters the room. 

"Are you feeling better?" He checks on you with a smile, a complete 180 from the attitude he was giving you minutes before. "I was out of it but I vaguely remember us stumbling out of the locker room," he chuckles. 

"Yeah we kinda went a little too far last night," you giggle, recalling the memory. "But I feel much better." 

Topper nods, offering you a faint smirk. He parts your legs, resting his palms on your thighs. "I'm surprised Ward let you and Sarah take his new Porsche considering he won't even let Rose drive it." 

Your heart races, shit. You didn't realize Ward took the Porsche to the party. When Sarah got to John B's she was in a BMW. 

"He must've had a lot of whiskey or something," you ramble out. 

The boy nods, bringing his hands to your hips. "Interesting... and-" Topper scrunches his brows together, glancing down at your body. "What are you wearing right now?" 

Shit. 

"It's uh... Sarah's," you blurt out what JJ said before you can think it through. 

"Sarah owns a ripped-up AC/DC shirt?" Topper snickers, not believing you for a second. 

"What? You don't?" You try to play it off. 

"Did you end up borrowing Sarah's car?" He changes the subject quickly, making your furrow your brows. 

"She dropped me off," you stick to your story. 

"That's nice of her," Topper comments, stepping closer to you. Usually, you'd like having him so close, but there's an underlying tension between you that makes you anxious. 

"For sure," you mutter, avoiding his gaze. 

"So you need a ride home?" He offers. 

"Nah, it's okay. I'll walk," you rush out. 

Topper brings his hand to the collar of your shirt, his fingertips gliding across your collar bone to rest on the side of your neck. "I kinda needed to see your brother anyway." 

You swallow hard, trying to remain calm. "For what?" 

"We're supposed to go out to the course later," he matches your quiet tone. 

"Cool," you nod faintly, starring down at your lap. 

"You and that Pogue seemed friendly last night before I came over... " Topper insinuates. 

Your head snaps up, meeting Topper's burning gaze. "Pogue? What Pogue?" 

"The one bartending," he snickers mockingly. 

"The blonde kid? Oh, not really," your brows scrunch together, nervously fidgeting with your phone case. "I only met him last night, didn't even catch his name," you lie. 

Topper tilts his head to the side. "Isn't he friends with John B? He's been around the Cameron's place a few times." 

"I haven't noticed," you shrug.

You can't tell whether he believes you or not. His stern expression never wavering. You feel trapped with his hands gripping your hips. 

"He's certainly noticed you, hasn't he?" The boy remarks with a wicked smirk as he stares at your lips. 

You shift your head back, taken aback by his words. "What does that mean?" 

"Oh come on, Y/N," Topper mutters your name, not one of his usual nicknames. "You're telling me you didn't notice him looking you up and down? It's why I came over to the bar after your dance with Rafe. I already had a full whiskey on the table." 

You snicker at the information, utterly amazed by the lengths Topper will go. "You ordered a drink just because you thought JJ was "too friendly" with me?" 

Topper narrows his eyes at you curiously. "I thought you didn't know his name?" 

Chills course over your skin as your breath hitches in your throat. Now, you remember that you haven't texted JJ and you're not sure how long it's been. 

"You want to tell me what's really going on, Y/N?" Topper presses. 

"Nothing's happening! I've gotta go," you snap, pressing a hand to his chest to urge him off of you. 

Topper grabs your wrist, removing your hand from him. Abruptly, he slams his lips to yours. Desprately, he brings his free hand to the back of your neck, pulling you closer to him. 

"Get-" you mutter against his lips as you try to fight him off. Instinctively you punch him in the chest, causing him to break from you. "Get off of me!" You gasp, hopping down from the counter as Topper stumbles back. "What the hell Topper!" 

His eyes grow wide, comprehending what he's done. He reches for you, but you cower away. "Y/N, I-" 

"No!" Your voice cracks as tears threaten to fall from your eyes. "You don't just get to do that whenever you feel like it! I'm not at your disposal when you want me!" 

He nods frantically. "I know that! I didn't-" 

"Ugh, whatever Top. I'm tired of this interrogation! You and Kelce can babysit Rafe without me!" You wave your hands as your march out of the room toward the front door. 

"Y/N! Y/N, wait!" Topper calls after you. "Y/N!" 

He follows you out the front door to the driveway in a panic. He can't believe he just kissed you, the one thing he swore he'd never do without your permission. He was just so desperate. He could feel you moving away from him and was panicking that maybe you were keeping something from him. 

"Y/N!" Topper wraps his fingers around your wrist. 

You yank your arm free as you spin on your heels to face him. "Don't grab me!" 

"Don't walk out on me!" He barks, instantly regretting it. 

Topper knows this isn't the way to get to you, but he's just so worried that you're slipping away. This wouldn't be the first time you two have fought this way, having it out in front of one of your houses. Similar to an old married couple, you two fight as passionately as you love each other. 

"You don't own me, Topper!" You remind the boy. 

"I'm just looking out for you!" He reasons in a shot. 

"You're the one who's acting like my dad right now!" You scoff. 

"Oh!" He laughs mockingly. "Is that what being an overbearing friend is called now?" 

You huff, turning over your shoulder to continue down the driveway. 

Topper stays where he is, yelling at you as your march away. "You know what, fine! Don't tell me what's going on! I just thought we were closer than that! I must've misunderstood all of last year, all of those late-night conversations and that weekend in Bermuda or all of winter break!" 

"Oh, my lord!" You groan, tossing your head back as you stop in your tracks. "Stop being so dramatic!" 

"What's he doing here?" Topper questions, his volume at a normal level. 

You frown, following his eyes as they linger behind you. Turning over your shoulder, you spot JJ standing at the end of the driveway. 

You hide your face in your hands. "Oh, Jesus-" 

"You have to be kidding me!" Topper shouts with a chuckle of frustration. 

"JJ, can you give us a minute?" You request calmly, giving the blonde a weak smile. 

"You brought him! You bring a Pogue!" Topper can't help but laugh, shocked by how this day has gone to complete shit in a span of fifteen minutes. 

Nervously, you rush over to Topper, pressing your hands to his chest. "Top, just go inside, okay!" You try your best to keep the situation civil. "I'll be inside in a minute-" 

"You're on the wrong side of the island, Pogue!" He points to JJ over his shoulder. 

"Just stick a cork in it, Prince Charming," JJ bites back from his spot. 

You huff, using all your strength to push a stubborn Topper toward the front door. He towers over you and is much stronger than you, so it's a tall task. 

"Prince Charming? Really!" Topper laughs. "Wow, got a real smartass here, Princess," he tells you. 

"Just for the love of all that good and holy go inside!" You beg of him with a grunt as you continue to guide him inch by inch. 

"Not until you get this trailer park trash off my driveway!" Topper bitterly remarks, loud enough for JJ to hear. 

"JJ and I will go as soon as we're done here," you tell him calmly with a huff, giving up on moving him. 

You step back, preparing to leave, but Topper grips your forearms. "No way you're leaving with him! No, you're staying here with us!" 

When Topper grabs you, JJ loses all cool and storms toward your friend. "Touch her again and I'll kick your ass, Kook!" JJ likes to think he's been rather rational and on his best behavior up until this point considering Topper is treating you as his property. 

"JJ! Don't!" You intercept the boy and though he could easily move you aside, he remains in your arms. 

"As if I'd leave her with your tripped-out friend and cluster of misogynistic asshole!" He points at Topper aggressively. 

"You don't know a thing about us, Pogue!" Topper pushes. 

"Topper! Enough! JJ back off!" You instruct sharply. 

With a growl, JJ walks back down the driveway, refusing to turn his back on the Kook. Cooling down slowly, he takes your hand, squeezing it tightly as he leads you toward the sidewalk. 

"You leave with him now and we're done!" Topper declares, making you stop in your tracks. "I mean it! You leave now and you're a Pogue!" 

"You don't mean that," you shake your head in disbelief. 

He laughs wickedly, "I promise you I do! It's them or us! You can't have both, Y/N!" 

It feels as though Topper has sucked all life from you. The light that he's kept going inside of you for so long has burned out. He's been your reason to be happy since you were kids and now he's threatening to desert you forever. All because you're falling for a Pogue. 

Kelce and Rafe appear in the archway of the front door. Kelce frowns, "what's going on out here?" 

"What's that Pogue doing here?"  Rafe questions. He sees your grieving expression and his wild antics become a distant memory. "Y/N?" 

You swallow hard, clenching your jaw in disgust at the Kook you once called your best friend. "Ask Topper!" 

You yank your hand free of JJ's and run down the driveway in the direction of the Twinkie. JJ jogs after you worriedly. He unlocks the car and you rush to get in. As soon as you sit down, you hunch over in your seat, your head cradled in your hands. JJ climbs in next to you and starts the car. He glances over at you and a wave of guilt consumes. He can't help but think this is all his fault. If he hadn't gone to check on you, maybe Topper wouldn't have said what he did. You wouldn't be devastated and you'd acknowledge his presence. 

JJ places a hand on your back. "Baby-" 

Before JJ can finish you cower away from him, moving your body toward the window. His heart drops as a million worst-case scenarios start to play in his mind. You hate him. You hate him now because he cost you, Topper. Of course, he already thought about what it would mean if you had to choose between him or Topper. He just had a naive inkling of hope that maybe you'd choose him and be okay, be happier with him. Now, he realizes by your disgust of him that you would've chosen Topper if Topper didn't push you toward JJ. 

_________________________________

The ride back to John B's is painfully silent. JJ had to turn on the radio five minutes in to drown out the overwhelming self-deprecating thoughts ringing in his mind. As soon as JJ rolls up to the end of the gravel driveway, you see the Pogues and Sarah gathered around the old bonfire eating breakfast. Not wanting to see them, you hop out, the car not even in park yet. 

"Hey guys! Where have-" Sarah stops as she sees you run into the house. JJ climbs out of the van and slams the door shut, grumbling various cuss words to himself. "What's wrong with Y/N?" Sarah asks him once he's closer to the group. 

"Topper called her this morning," the boy answers, pressing his lips together as he sits on an empty log. "Your brother was acting up and wouldn't chill out until he saw her. Long story short, I fucked up and intervened when things got tense with her and Topper," JJ hisses, clasping his hands together. "Topper told her that if she left with me that they wouldn't talk to her again so we left..." 

The group is silent, exchanging worried glances. Sarah's jaw is nearly in the dirt. She never thought in a million years that Topper would ever say those words to you. JJ's knee shakes up and down as he hides his head above his knees.  He rises to his feet, picking up an empty can from last night, and chucks it into the words with all his strength. "Y/N won't even fucking look at me!"

"That's not your fault, JJ," Kiara assures her friend, breaking the silence. "You did the right thing! Topper is a jerk!" 

"She'll come around. It's probably for the best that she's cut off from them. Those guys aren't good for her," Sarah adds. 

JJ exhales deeply, facing Sarah. "Do you know what happened last year or in Bermuda and Topper said something about winter break?" 

"Oh..." the girl's face falls. 

"What is it? Is it bad?" John B asks from beside her. 

"Not exactly. Topper and Y/N... Well..." she struggles to come up with the right words. 

You and Topper struggle to navigate your way through the pitch-black bungalow. You two have just gotten dropped off from the cantina in town. Half an hour before, Topper was doing body shots off of you. The boy leads you through the house, his hand wrapped tightly around yours. Through the moonlight, you notice a pillar right in Topper's path. 

“Watch out!” You gasp, tugging Topper back. 

“Oh shit!” He stumbles into you, pinning you against the wall. 

“I told you to watch out!” You giggle and peek around the corner into the living room. “Oh my god!” Your hand flies up to your mouth. 

“What! What is it?” Topper rushes out. 

“Rafe and that girl from Brazil,” you whisper, suppressing your laughter. 

“No way! You’re kidding!” Through the darkness, you can see Topper's eye grow wide as he steps to the side to see around the corner. 

“On the couch!” You instruct drunkenly. 

“Did they?” He wonders. 

“I have no idea!” You giggle. 

“Holy shit!” Topper laughs as he returns to stand in front of you. 

“He was blasted tonight,” you remember. “Poor Kelce went to bed as soon as we got back." 

“I didn’t mind it,” Topper mutters, gliding his fingertips up and down your arm. “Kinda liked it being just us...” 

“Topper,” you whisper his name warningly, a smile on your lips. 

“What?” He chuckles lightly, leaning in closer to you. 

You shake your head, finding it hard not to blush. “We broke up almost a year ago. You and Sarah-“ 

“Are broken up," he finishes. 

“Yeah, and remember how devastated you were no more than two weeks ago?" You try to reason with him. "You still need to heel and figure out what you want.” 

“I want you," he whispers, brushing lips against yours. 

“Top, I don’t think-“ 

Before you can finish, he kisses you softly. It's not the first time and you know in the back of your mind it likely won't be the last. 

“You’re all I think about, Y/N,” he confesses against your lips. “I need to feel you again. I miss the way you taste.” 

“Top...” You mutter breathlessly. 

You shake your head, despite not stopping him. “We shouldn’t...” 

“We deserve to, don’t we? After everything?" He reasons, tucking his fingers over the band of your panties. "You like me and I like you, we’re both single, there’s history, why can’t we?” 

A million reasons cross your mind, the most important one, your friendship. You and Topper have always been complicated. Things get worse when you add sex to the mix, which is exactly why you two formed boundaries a while back. Then again, you two toss those boundaries out the window every time you drink too much. 

One hand remains on your waist as the other slips down to the hem of your dress. His warm fingertips glide under the fabric, against your thigh. “Don’t you miss it? How we used to be? When we couldn’t get enough of each other," he smirks as a memory pops into his head that he's certain will get to you. “Our ski trip over Christmas.” 

“Okay yeah, you win," you rush out, instantly pressing your lips to his desperately. 

Topper snickers against your lips as he tucks his hands behind your legs and picks you up. Your legs wrap around his waist he just so happens to know effortlessly the direction to his room now. Though he was completely lost minutes before. 

"They dated!" Pope's jaw nearly hits the gravel. 

"No way!" John B wears a similar expression. 

"Yes and no. It's more complicated than that," Sarah tries to explain 

Kiara struggles to piece together the picture. "But I thought you two-" 

"They were friends with benefits before we were dating. Then, when Topper and I started dating, they stopped. Topper and I took a break in the winter and they started up again but stopped after Y/N decided that she couldn't do it anymore. Finally, they all went to Bermuda for a week after Midsummers. They didn't plan on anything happening, according to Y/N, but it kinda just did. They've always had "a thing" for each other. It's only ever been a fling though," Sarah finally manages to lay out the hectic story. 

"And you're okay with that?" Kiara frowns, wondering how Sarah fits into all of that. 

"Nothing happened while we were together," she shrugs but is certain of her words. "I know without a doubt that Y/N would never do that to me. Plus, it was never dating-like... it was more hook-up-ish if that makes sense?" 

"This is insane!" JJ finally voices his perspective, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. 

"I need a diagram," Pope adds. 

"Wait, so Topper and Y/N are on-and-off again. Meanwhile, Rafe has a thing for Y/N. Does Kelce play a role in any of this?" John B brings up a good point. 

Sarah shakes her head. "Not that I know of." 

"That's one fucked up love triangle," Pope releases a pent-up sigh. 

"This is why we have the "no Pogue-on-Pogue macking" rule. That friend group is a mess!" Kiara reasons. 

"Topper and Y/N have always been super close," Sarah describes solemnly considering the recent turn of events. "She must be devastated! Even if he is an ass. He's only ever been good to Y/N. I was low-key jealous of her when I first started seeing Topper. He holds her up on this pedestal," she admits. 

Suddenly, the screendoor creaks, making everyone turn their attention toward the house. Y/N marches out, back in her dress from last night. 

John B breaks the silence. "Hey Y/N! Where are you-" 

"Sarah, can you drive me home?" You ignore the boy on your way to Sarah's car, unlocking it. 

Sarah stands slowly from her position. "Sure, but don't you-" 

"Thanks!" You cut her off, already climbing into the passenger seat and putting the keys into the ignition. 

"I'll... I'll be back later," Sarah stammers in confusion to her friends. 

Everyone watches as Sarah back out of the driveway then turns their focus to a devastated JJ. 

"I fucked it up. I fucked it up!" He screams, squeezes his hands into fists until his knuckles are white. 

"JJ, it's okay! She probably just needs a minute," Kiara rushes out. 

"I have her for two seconds!" He bursts, his face becoming red with frustration. "Two fucking seconds and I ruined it just like I ruin everything else!" 

"Just give it time!" Pope tries to reason with him calmly. 

"Goddammit!" JJ curses before bolting toward the driveway and out of sight. 

"JJ!" His friends all call for him. 

 "JJ come back!" John B shouts to receive no response. "Well this day is officially shit," the boy huffs as he settles back down onto his log. 

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Kiara worries. 

"Hope so," John B whispers. 

After Sarah drops you off, you hide away in your room for the rest of the day. All you do is cry. You already miss Topper more than anything. You need him. You'll always need him. Then, on top of that, you're torturing yourself for how you treated JJ. None of this is his fault, but you treated him like it was. You cowered from him to keep from crying. You didn't want to scare him away, but in the process, you pushed him away. While you're losing your mind, JJ is losing his outside his dad's house with a half-empty bottle of Jim Beam in his hand. He's looking to pick a fight. He figures that if he's in pain physically that the pain he's inflicting on himself mentally will go away. You started the day wrapped up in each other and in bliss. You're ending it both in pain and willing to do anything to make it go away. 

________________________________________________________

Masterlist

Tags: @starkeythinker @bethii1 @thegunnerkelly @cc13723things @hockeybabe87​ 

[a-marlene-s]

Commission: Actions and Consequences

Tags: (I’m going to do a reblog tomorrow with the tags.)

@miner249er commissioned me to write this fic.

If you like my work, please considering supporting me! https://ko-fi.com/a_marlene_s

Warning: SALT SALT SALT SALT. CLASS SALT! LILA SALT! ADRIEN SALT!

Oh, and there’s a bit of Lukanette in this~

----

You know what they say…

All actions have consequences.

Every choice has a consequence.

Be responsible and be…

You get the idea.

This has been on the mind of everyone in the school of Dupont for who knows how long. Oh wait, that really hit home when one Lila Rossi came to Paris and started her lies. It looks like the only ones that were clearly fooled by her lies is the Akuma Class. Including their own teacher!

Well… except for Marinette.

She is the only one that is not fooled into believing such things. Who in the right mind would believe any of that? Akuma class, that is whom. People began to pull away from them. One by one, not wanting to be connected to them. Not so much for the fact they are known as the Akuma class… it is for the lack of regard they have for Marinette.

How dare they treat Marientte in such a way! After what she has done for them! For all of them! They believe the words of that liar over a friend they have known far longer. Some have tried to reach out, but Rossi is always near or just sucks them back into her webs of lies. Whatever work they have to get their friends back to a world of reality, it is reversed back the moment they step back into that classroom filled with webs.

Many have tried and tried again to help them. To help them see the light of what has been going on, but they all refused to see the light. Many of them growing toxic to themselves that it is better to cut ties then to deal with them anymore.

Who could blame them?

They tried. Truly tried.

Did they want to lose their friends?

No. They did not. But for their own health and sanity… they cut their losses and moved on. At least, they are reassured, that the only ones in Rossi’s grasp is the Akuma class sans Marientte Dupain-Cheng. For which, they made a promise to get protect her from them. She does not deserve the mistreatment. No one does.

-.-

It started out small.

Too busy to hang out.

Leaving messages on read.

Avoiding having them around.

Cutting conversations short.

Many other things to get away.

Some others… are more up front with their dislike with Lila Rossi.

They do not bother to hide their disgust.

Some kept quiet to a degree…

Mireille gave Lila a worried smile as she started to tear up about Aurore’s mistreatment towards the latter. She simply patted Lila’s cheek, leaning close so that she could wrap her arms around Lila to give her a comforting hug… before whispering into her ear as everyone watched on. “Play along… after all… this is just a game for you. You don’t want to disappoint your audience.”

It wasn’t much of an issue to play along with Lila’s games when she tried to bring in the Akuma Class as backup. Long as you show sympathy, play along with Lila’s games against her… you should be good. Lila will never break in character in front of them. Long as you don’t call her out in front of them and act just as deluded to make her mess up, it’s all good.

Then there are the times one has to be more up front…

“Achoo! Ugh, sorry, allergies you see.” Aurore sneered out as she ‘accidentally’ stabbed her umbrella into Lila’s hair when she sneezed. “I’m allergic to bullshit.”

Lila’s jaw dropped as she tried to pull her hair but only wincing as her hair really got caught in the umbrella. She looked around, hoping to catch someone’s attention. But… no one is paying any mind. If anything, one of them even went as far to offer Aurore an allergy pill. “Why are you doing this? I never did anything to anyone!”

“Oh, shut up. We all know you’ve been mistreating Marinette since day one.” Aurore teased, there was a glint in her eyes as she easily untangled her umbrella out of Lila’s hair. “All of us were willing to stand back because Marinette asked us to. Then you got her expelled… Let’s make some truths…”

-.-

Slowly but surely, things began to change for Bustier’s Class. Or better known as, the Akuma Class began to see a change. Then again, things have been happening and have been so caught up in Lila’s lies to even take note of any of it at first.

Many have already put a distance between them and themselves.

It’s silly really. None of them really had taken note of the fact here is now a wall between them. Slowly growing as time goes by. It really came ahead when news spread around on Marinette’s expulsion and her return back to school without much of a say on what happened.

Except for the fact Lila claims Marinette had stolen an answer sheet, her necklace and pushed said girl down a staircase.

Why no one bothered to look deeper into those lies, is beyond anyone at this point. What really got to the rest of the school is how the Akuma Class, Bustier and Damocles’ are so far up Lila’s ass that they wonder if they could even see the sun at this point. It was at that point, the gloves were off and no more.

It was time to bring out the big guns when word got out that Lila supposedly has a lying disorder… only to Bustier and Damocles. Only them, no one else. Thus, only causing more tension for Marinette with the rest of her classmates as they still believe the original lies. All of them giving her a side eye, wondering what she should do next.

Marinette doing something against Lila?

Hah.

It’s going to be the entirety of Dupont against Lila now.

Dupont vs the Akuma Class, sans Marinette. They love their sleep deprived cinnamon roll that could possibly kill them once she finds out what they are up to.

It would be so worth it though…

-.-

“I’m sorry Rose, I’m going to be busy that weekend. Busy, busy at the studio!”  Mireille smiled sweetly at Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Alya and Lila. “Nadja is prepping me to do live interviews over the weekend. I’ve been told I might interview a rock star! Isn’t that great!”

“Wow! That’s amazing, Mireille!” Rosa said in awe. The others following along, amazed by the news.  They were gushing over the fact Mireille is possibly going to interview a pop star soon. Going on and on… Mireille simply smile, keeping her arms behind her back and her knuckles turning white as she kept a tight grip on the back of her blouse. She kept an eye on Lila, her smile only growing as Lila tried to steer the conversation back to herself.

Mireille did not care; this would be the perfect opportunity for her to walk away.

Expect when she saw Marinette walk down the hallway with Aurore.

“Hey Marinette, did you hear? Lila knows who Mireille is going to interview.” Alya mentioned, grinning at Lila’s direction. “

Marinette paused, nose scrunching up. She looked over at Mireille to see her eyes narrowing at the direction of Lila. Clearly, this is one of the many lies Lila has up her sleeves. Aurore smiled at Lila, almost warningly. “Yeah, she told us last week.”

Marinette looked around her classmates to smile at Mireille. “Nadja finally got in contact with them?”

“Thanks to you, Marinette. Nadja got in contact with all of them.” Mireille smiled widely at Marientte and Aurore. “We can’t thank you enough for that favor! Come on! I know the perfect tea shop!”

Mireille walked over to Marinette and looped an arm around one of Marinette’s own. Her smile only grew as Aurore looped her own arm around Marinette’s free arm. The two girls quickly pulled Marinette away from Lila’s sights all the while talking about the interview and the tea shop.

“Did… did they just ditch us?” Alya pulled a face as she watched Aurore, Marinette and Mireille walk away. Mireille had earlier mentioned she was going to be busy after classes which is why they asked her if she was going to be free this weekend. Apparently, she’s supposedly busy with other things than to thang out with them. Why?

“Hey, girls… is everything alright, Alya?”

Alya and the rest of the girls turned around to see Nino and Adrien walking up to them. Her smile grew when she saw Lila warp an arm around Adrien’s own. What she didn’t see is how stiff his smile became but continued on.

Adrien looked ahead to see Marinette with a Mireille and Aurore. The three chatting away without a care in the world. His brows furrowed at the sight. As of late, this has been becoming the norm…

-.-

“Mom said we could hire a DJ for the event, but…”

“Davis already have the day filled?”

“Yeah. Along with Diego, Mei and Lola.”

“What about Nino? He DJ’s, too right?”

“Hah! Dad, don’t joke! Like I want him to DJ the party! Marinette is going to be there and if I have him there, he’s going to wonder why no one else in his class was invited. I am not going to invite a bunch of people that have been mistreating my friend.” Claude grimaced at the thought. He was not going to have Nino DJ his party. If things were different, things would have been different. It is his party. His. He is not going to run the risk of Lila Rossi and her flying monkeys coming to his party and making it all about her.

Yeah… that is not happening.

Lila will find a way turn the party so that it’s geared towards her. She did that at Izzy’s 15 birthday bash and it took Izzy weeks to console her after she regretfully invited Rose, who in turn invited Lila after she overheard the blonde telling Juleka about it. Rose never asked or apologized to Izzy about inviting Lila, who in turn invited her flying monkeys.

Yeah… Claude was not going to let that happen. To make sure that does not happen no one from the Akuma Class, except for Marinette, is invited to his party.

“That’s a bit harsh. I’m sure there’s more to the story. You and Nino were good friends for some time now.” Claude’s father said, worry filled his tone.

“And I thought Nino was close friends with Marinette far longer but apparently that does not matter to him.” Claude deadpan. “I am not going to have Nino DJ the party. Plus his girlfriend is Lila’s main supporter. If I do have Nino DJ, he’ll tell Alya who will tell Lila and I am back to square one. The one I want to avoid! I don’t want Lila Rossi at my party!”

“I’m sure she’s just trying to make friends…”

“…that’s what you said about Clarice before mom divorced you.”

-.-

Adrien paused mid-bite, straining his ears to overhear what is being said on the booth several seats away. He overhead Claude saying Nino and Lila’s names several times but never a clear sentence. It took a while before it caught on what is being said.

Izzy’s party was amazing to say the least! He went along as the rest of his classmates invited him along and he finally got permission to go by his father. The party was amazing to say the least! The music! The food! Everything else!

Why wouldn’t Claude want to ask Nino to DJ his party? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to invite everyone. It would be horrible to note everyone. Wasn’t Claude friends with everyone in his class?

Right?

Sitting across of Adrien is Nino, concentrating on a calendar that he brought out along. Nino has been… struggling to get gigs for a while now. It was not so much he could not get someone to hire him, from what Nino has been telling Adrien, it’s actually doing his job. As of late, he hasn’t been asked to DJ for anyone else outside of his class. Sure, there are some here and there, but at times… he needed to cancel because Alya wanted to do something with Lila and wanted him there for it.

-.-

Luka resisted the urge to pull out his ears as the rest of Kitty Section, sans Adrien and Marientte, whisper to other. All the while sending him weird looks throughout. This is the first time they have met up for practice in well over a month since they keep bailing on practice. Why? They prefer to hang out with Alya… who is hanging out with this Lila Rossi. All. The. Time.

They all have been talking about Lila Rossi… nonstop. Going on and on about her. To the point, Luka suspects that Rose wrote a song about her for some damned reason. Why are they talking about her?

Lila Rossi knows Jagged Stone.

How Lila Rossi’s dance move got stolen from Clara Nightingale.

How close she is to Prince Ali.

Lila knows a lot of people that could, supposedly, get them famous. How Lila has connections to help Kitty Section become famous. Knows someone that would make them better costumes. Along with even knowing how to write better music.

Lila this…

Lila could do this.

Luka stood up from his spot from the makeshift stage with his guitar in hand. There tunes are different, no longer in tune to the music, let alone to their hearts. More so when he is supposedly out of ear shot and they started to whisper about how Lila mentioned that he, the founder of Kitty Section, should no longer be in the band. How Lila told them how he is hold them back and that she knows someone that is better than himself.

Him holding them back.

Really?

Rossi is the one that is holding them back.

If they want to repeat that broken tune, so be it. He needs to find his muse. Luka left them to whisper to themselves. If Lila believes that they do not need him, so be it. Leaving without much of a fight, he knew when it was a time to retreat until they got their bearings. Right now, he now needs to find out more about Lila Ros-

“Psst! Over here!”

“Hey! You! Luka!”

Luka paused, an eyebrow raised as he slowly turned around to see two individuals, some of his sister’s friends from a different class, are calling out to him. They were both holding umbrellas, which only made them stand out more in his opinion. “Hello?”

“Come here!” The blonde motioned for him to walk over to them.

“Hurry before they see you!” The other said, pointing down the hall. Luka looked down said hall to see Adrien and some unknown girl that is clinging onto his arm. Oh.

Luka hurried over to the girls and they promptly hid him under their umbrellas and behind the pillar with them. It was close enough to listen into whatever Adrien and the new girl’s conversation.

-.-

Adrien stood by as Kitty Section walked out to meet him and Lila, and they started to talk about Lila’s advice. What’s this advice? That it would better for Luka to leave Kitty Section as it would be too weird for him to be in the band with them. It is concerning to say the least. Are the really going to kick out Luka from the band?

“It is better this way. Luka is only holding all of you back.” Lila smiled at her classmates as she tightened her grasp around Adrien’s arm. “All of you are better off without him. I’ve talked to that producer friend of mine and Jagged Stone, and they both agree. Luka is no good for your image.”

“I suppose you are right…” Juleka said, twiddling around with her gloves. Rose reached over to hold onto her hands and gave her an encouraging smile. Juleka chewed on her bottom lip as she thought it over.

“I am positive that Luka will understand.” Lila smiled once more and this seemed to put Juleka in a better place.

“We have been practicing without him for the last month.” Rose mentioned, tugging onto Juleka’s hands. “We could do it.”

Lila smiled brightly, increasing her hold around Adrien. She looked at the blonde for support. “Right, Adrien?”

-.-

Who does she think she is???

They have been practicing without him.  For the past month? Without him? Well, that’s one thing he could easily take with a grain of salt. What his sister is saying has his song beating a new beat that hasn’t been played for so long. What really got Luka’s attention is the fact they were all eating up Lila’s lies.

Are they really that gullible?

“This is just the bare minimum of what Rossi has been doing to your sister’s class.” Aurore explained, motioning for Luka to follow her and Mireille.

Luka’s brows furrowed over the blonde’s words. “…Is something being down about it?”

“More or less, but that’s for later. Right now, we are planning a party later for Marinette and we need you to distract her for a bit.” Aurore said, nudging Luka with her elbow and gave him a sly grin. “The party is for her. Did she tell you about her class situation?”

“Marinette has mentioned she wanted to tell me something but everytime she tried to say it, one of her classmates popped up and she would go quiet…” Luka trailed off as he took that in. Oh, that would explain some things. Shaking his head, he would ask her later about it. “I’ll talk to her later about it. Tell me more about this Lila…? I don’t like her song.”

-.-

Mendeleiev was never one that cared so much to know about the personal lives of her students. In terms that, she does not care who is dating (long as it is a healthy and very much legal relationship), knowing what her students are doing after classes (long as it is nothing illegal or against the rules), and well… whatever she had just witnessed from down the hall.

Ondine just broke up with Kim.  

Which is a big surprise considering how googly eyed they are… were for each other. A big shock, that’s for sure. However… considering what has been going on, it’s no surprise to anyone. Well…

To Bustier’s class that is. Those poor, poor, souls do not know what is coming to them. It was just a matter of time and patience before someone loses said patience. There is only so much someone could stand idly by or do their best to help others, before washing their hands of them. Look at herself? Mendeleiev did so to Bustier due to the fact the younger woman refuses to listen to reason.

Mendeleiev shook her head as she headed to her room. She needed to create some paperwork in hopes that will push some people to see things her way.

-.-

Adrien gulped when he heard the news that Ondine broke up with Kim. That came out from nowhere! Completely out of nowhere. Why did she break up with them? They were so happy together it does not make any sense.

A lot of things have not been making sense for a while now. Many of those things were small at first, but Adrien could no longer shake off that creeping feeling there is more t-

“Adrien… a word?”

-.-

Marinette stared down at her phone, her shoulders shaking as she read the text messages her fri… her classmates are sending her. Varies of texts that has her wondering what the heck is going on to her class, are they finally seeing the rest of the school just does not tolerate Lila?

“Block them, Mari.” Luka murmured into her ear while he played with her loose hair. He and Marinette were in her latter’s room on the sofa, with the bluenette snuggled up to Luka. He reached for the phone and took it from Marinette, ignoring the pout that was sent his way. Placing the phone in his pocket for safe keeping, Luka wrapped his arms around Marinette and reached down to give her a peck on her neck.

“I suppose I could forget about them for now…” Marinette giggled at Luka’s actions, she smiled when she felt Luka grin against her neck. She raised an eyebrow at Luka, despite the fact he could not see it. “Are you hiding something from me, Luka?”

“You could say that… Aurore and Mireille asked me to distract you as they set up a surprise.” Luka mumbled into her neck, his grin ever present. “How am I in distracting you?”

Marinette’s jaw drop when she felt Luka started to press kisses up and down her neck, her mind went blank just long enough to return the favor. This was so much better than dealing with her classmates demanding answers to something they should have known since day one.

-.-

“Ugh, again with Lila crap?”

“I know, right? Why does Alya keep posting those so-called interviews she has for Rossi?”

“I don’t know, but have you seen ClaudetteOneEye’s reaction and debunking of it? Hah! Her best yet!”

“She already did a reaction to it! I need to watch it!”

“We still have time before class, watch it now!”

Alya really wanted to storm out of the stall and yell at the individuals that were clearing mocking Lila, who in turn mocking her. What is there to debunk? There is nothing to debunk! Lila has been most telling about her history with Ladybug. They are best friends for Pete’s sake! Alya took out her phone and started her search to show those gir-

“You know how Alya always goes on and on about how she’s a reporter and always checks her facts…”

Snort.

“Hah. Her checking facts? Has she ever checked on any of the crap Lila has been spewing? Any of it?”

“I know, right? Plus, has she ever asked Ladybug about it before posting any of their interviews?”

“Like the little good reporter that she is? Unlikely. No wonder Ladybug has been ignoring her.”

Has… has she ever asked Ladybug about Lila? Alya ran a hand through her hair as she tried to think of an answer to her question. Of course, there were times when she has recently tried to get an interview, but Ladybug just… started to avoid her.

-.-

“Saving Jagged Stone’s cat? If they looked it up, they would have checked that him and his fiancé are allergic to animal fur.”

“Doesn’t he have a pet crocodile?”

“Yeah. He does.”

“That’s just as pathetic as her knowing Prince Ali and being friends with him.”

“Uggghhhh. That doesn’t even make sense, she’s been here in Paris for months before she started coming to Dupont.”

“That’s what I thought! Among the other bull she’s spewed out, the ones that grinds my gears are all the ones she lied about Marinette…”

“Yeah. They all known her for years and this new girl comes along and what? All that goes out the window?”

“Marinette does so much for them, and this is the thanks she gets? That they’ll believe Lila’s lies that she supposedly pushed her down the stairs, steal her necklace and some other bullshit?”

“Still heated about it?”

“Of course, I’m heating about it! They still think she did those things! From what Marinette told Aurore and Mireille, they didn’t even let her talk or defend herself. They took Lila’s side and expelled her.”

“Tell me again, how Marinette got un-expelled?”

“From what Marinette told them… Lila said she had a lying disease.”

“That is bull. I am so over the moon over the fact she’ll be leaving that class. Come on, Aurore said she’s going to need help setting things up.”

Juleka, Mylene and Nathaniel pushed themselves against the wall as they watched several students run past them towards the courtyard. Their expressions betrayed how they felt over what they just overheard. Did they just hear right? Lila has been lying this whole time… and none of them… No, just their class never caught it.

Except for Marinette.

Mylene shakily took out her phone to look up all of Lila’s stories, the others followed in doing so.

-.-

Adrien sat on a stone bench as he watched Kagami paced in front of him. Every time he tried to say something, she would shoot in a glare. He looked down on his lap as he tried to think of what he should say when he’s finally able to speak. Somehow, Kagami found out about Lila’s lies. All of them. From whom, he does not know. Maybe Marientte told her, he’ll have to ask her about it. She shouldn’t have told Kagami about Lila. “Kagami, did Marientte tell you about Lila? I-”

“Agreste, everyone at school and whoever has met Rossi, knows she is a liar. Everything that has ever come out of her mouth is a lie. Everything.” Kagami said in a tight voice. She stopped pacing to stare down at Adrien. “Marientte told me nothing. I was the one that had to go around to figure out exactly what type of person she is.”

“Why didn’t you ask me about Lila before you asked others?” Adrien asked, head shooting up to stare at Kagami with confusion. “I would ha-”

“You would have attempted to pressure me to not do anything against Rossi once I found out exactly what kind of person she is. However, considering you never told her off about that picture she took of the two of you…” Kagami looked up and down at Adrien, her mouth twisted into a scowl. “You would have attempted to have me stay quiet about Rossi’s nature. Just like you are doing to, Marinette… correct?”

“I-I just don’t want to cause problems!” Adrien exclaimed, pushing himself off the bench. “I don’t want any problems in class, and with Marinette trying to out Lila it was impossible. I don’t want Lila to get akumatized anymore.”

Kagami stood her ground, crossing her arms over her chest. “And what of your classmates? Your friends? Marinette or myself? I was akumatized because of her, remember? Don’t we all matter too?”

“It’s more complicated than that, Kagami.”  

“Complicated? Complicated! How is that complicated! Explain yourself!”

“…”

“…What did you tell Marinette about Lila’s lies? Adrien, what did you tell her?”

“Could we drop this?”

“Tell. Me.”

“I told her, as long as me and her know the truth, does it really matter?”

“Adrien, it does matter! Everything matters! You are allowing Rossi to walk all over Marinette and make her out to be the bad guy for trying to stand up for herself.” Kagami snarled out, causing Adrien to jump. “You are forcing her to stay quiet about someone’s lies. You do realize once your friends find out, they will be the ones that are going to get akumatized. Not Rossi. What then? Who are you going to protect then?”

“I’m doing my best, Kagami.” Adrien pleaded.

“Your best is not good enough. Rossi is escalating and you are doing nothing. What will happen if she says you two are dating? What then? Far as I supposed know, are dating but this is extremely one sided considering you keep putting Rossi’s feelings above everyone.”

“I… I don’t know…”

“…you are pathetic. Your best is not good enough and it will never be.” Kagami sniffed, she pulled out her phone to look at the time and grinned a bit. She put it away before starting back at an obviously hurt Adrien. “What? Like I would allow someone who I am supposedly seeing, to put some other girl’s feelings above my own.”

Adrien opened and closed his mouth, unable to say anything as he was unable to respond to Kagami’s words. How was he supposed to respond that, there was no answer to that for him. “Please understand th-”

Kagami shook her head before she pulled out phone before putting it away. She gave Adrien on last look before walking away. “You need to stop putting horrible people above those that have been nothing but supportive of you… It’s no wonder why Marinette has finally given up.”

-.-

Ladybug swung around Paris at night as she thought over today’s events. It’s safe to say, that today has been one of the best days of her life since becoming Ladybug to say the least. She felt free and no longer held up to an impossible standard. To think transferring to a different class has made her feel as such. It also may have helped she told everything to Luka what has been happening to her since Lila came to Paris. The memory of that conversation made her blush as at the end of it, they are now officially together. It made her happy, immensely so.

Their first date was at the welcoming party Aurore and Mireille threw for her transfer to their class. Best date and party ever. The cherry on top, was when her former classmates crashed the party(apparently that was planned) and Claudette of @ClaudetteOneEye did a live reaction to one of the newest interview of Lila. It was priceless to say the least. Her former classmates tried to approach her but that was shut down immediately. Many other things had happened at the party that made it so much better, but that’s a thought for another day.

Right now, there is someone sitting alone at the park.

Is that Adrien?

Ladybug let out a sigh before she swung down to the park.

Adrien blinked a couple of times when he heard steps walking towards him. He looked over to see Ladybug walking up to him. He smiled at the sight of her. “Hello, Ladybug? Having a good night?”

Ladybug raised an eyebrow at Adrien, she sensed something is up with Adrien but did not make any notion for him to open up. “A little late to be out, Adrien?”

Adrien shrugged before he looked down at the ground, his brows furled deep in thought. “Can I ask you something, Ladybug? I need your advice in something?”

Ladybug stared at him for a moment before motioning for him to speak. Might as well hear what Adrien wants to say and need advice in. This is new considering how his advice has never been exactly the greatest.

Adrien began to tell her about the advice he had given to Marinette, when it came to Lila.

Adrien Agreste is asking her opinion on the advice he had given Marinette, who by extension, is actually herself. The same advice that had weighed heavy in her mind so much so, that it nearly akumatized her. Ladybug had stopped listening to Adrien as she felt anger started to bubble within her. This is too much, far too much. It was one thing to ask her about his original advice. Oh no, now he’s going on about Marinette’s actions that contradicted mentioned advice.

For what? To make sure that Lila does not get akumatized. Again.

“And Marinette? What of Marinette? Were you not even worried if she got Akumatized because of Lila?” Ladybug cut Adrien off. “Have you even thought of the highly possible chance she could be the one getting Akumatized over your advice? Paris got very lucky tonight there were no akumas out tonight otherwise the city would have Akuma’s at every corner of it.”

Adrien looked shocked over Ladybug’s words. His silence, his answer, has Ladybug starting to pace around.

“No, you did not care. What you cared is to make sure Marinette kept quiet and did not stand up for herself. Not only to Lila, but also by extension to Chloe.” Ladybug grounded out, sending Adrien a glare as she continued to pace. “You expected Marientte that as long as the two of you knew the truth, that nothing else pretty matters? That as long as Lila continued lying to everyone and allowing her to walk over Marinette, who is supposed to be your friend, that it did not matter?”

“It’s not like that, Ladybug.” Adrien stood up and approached Ladybug. Ladybug raised a hand at Adrien’s direction to stop him from getting close to her.

“Then how is it, Adrien?” Ladybug questioned. “You are prioritizing Lila over everyone, even if it puts them all at risk at getting akumatized themselves. Is that what you wanted to hear? That your advice is horrible. Let me tell you something, Marinette, your supposed friend to nearly get akumatized. Twice. It’s all because of Lila and the second time, Hawkmoth got to her and for some reason the akumatization did not take place. Lila caused that. All because she wanted to keep your promise when it came to her. Truth is that Lila Rossi is a liar that should have been exposed a long time ago and I am happy that it happened tonight. I am happy!”

“What about Lila? It was horrible what happened to her, she got humiliated in front of nearly the entire school.” Adrien tried to ask but was cut off when he saw Ladybug pulling out her yo-yo.

“To be frank Adrien… when it comes to bad people… you need to knock them down several pegs to get them to understand how wrong they are.”

[fantastic-bby]

SKZ vs. their crush

Pairing: Gender neutral Reader x Member

Word count: 3.9k

Genre: Fluff

Summary: It’s just them crushing on you 

Warnings: -

Masterlist

A/n: I tried a different format this time and used bullet points rather than just making it like a full story since my brain was going crazy when I wrote this. Let me know which format you prefer and maybe I might incorporate both bullet points and the essay ones since I actually quite enjoy writing using both.

Chan

You guys only met because you knew Jeongin 

The tiny babie brought you to meet his friends 

Chan was smitten when he first met you 

He thought you were so pretty when he saw you following behind Jeongin 

“Innie,” 

“Yeah?”

“Who is that?” 

He wants Jeongin to introduce you two

Sensing the vibes, the maknae is more than happy to introduce you two 

if he was being honest, he already knew Chan would pretty much fall in love with you immediately

Chan’s flustered when he introduces himself to you 

He’s almost blubbering all over the place 

You find it kinda cute but he’s scared you found him really weird 

He tries to steal little moments to be with you 

Like ‘accidentally’ bumping into you in the hallway 

Or how he just so happens to walk into Jeongin’s room when you’re on a call with him

Or how he just so happens to be lingering around the flea market nearby your college campus 

Chan takes care of you without even realising it 

If you bump into each other he asks whether you’ve eaten or how your day is 

He loves the way you seem to parent his friends like he does 

“Jisung, put the knife down. You’re going to hurt somebody” 

“Hehe, make me” 

“PUT IT DOWN 〴⋋_⋌〵” 

Chan’s surprised he listens to you

He loves how everyone only seems to listen if you’re the one talking too

If you’re hanging out with them at the dorms and Chan can’t seem to control everyone, you just step in 

“Guys, please”

And suddenly the chaos has calmed down 

Chan finds it amazing 

Everyone just… stops when you ask them to

You find it amusing 

It’s like watching a single dad trying to control his seven wild sons

He chases after Felix around the dorm a lot because he’s usually done something weird with Minho and Jisung

He manages to get your number using an excuse of needing you to calm down the boys 

“Please… they don’t listen sometimes” 

Jeongin finds reasons to push you two together 

“Yay! You guys made—oH nO I ComPleTeLy foRgoT!!”

Leaves the two of you alone 

He honestly just thinks you two should get together and so does the rest of the group

So they find excuses to get you two alone together 

But your relationship takes f o r e v e r  

Only because Chan wants to be absolutely certain that he likes you

He doesn’t want to commit to someone he’s worried he’s not sure of yet

Slowly but surely, he starts to ease into the relationship

He sends you music he thinks you’ll like 

Eventually he’ll start sending you his own music 

He only confesses when he’s absolutely sure he’s pretty much falling in love with you 

The way he does it just wins your heart immediately if you weren’t already as whipped for him as he was 

He writes a song for you (´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ `)♡ 

Minho

Bumped into you at a dance studio he goes to often

He thinks your dancing is amazing 

At first he doesn’t want to bother you 

But then he’s all like “heyyyy I’m Minho” 

And you’re pretty much taken away by how gorgeous the man is 

Minho wouldn’t be too flustered 

He would keep his cool around you 

Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t try to impress you with his sexy dance moves 

Tries to win your heart the romantic way which doesn’t work because half the time you’re too busy dancing to actually realise he’s trying to flirt with you

“Hey, baby ;)” 

“Huh?”

“Nothing”

Wonders whether he should just make a dedicated advance towards you 

He likes your humour 

It’s similar to his 

You both just laugh at really weird stuff together 

When you share your numbers, he sends you weird videos that he thinks you’ll like 

Minho’s not much of a texter, but when you do get a message from him, it’s either something he’s really excited about or something really weird 

Only realises he’s actually crushing on you when Changbin points it out 

“Why are you so nice to them” 

“Who?” 

“(Y/n)” 

Then Minho realises that he really likes you

Starts slowly working harder to win your heart 

Helps you with your dancing

“Your body looks a bit stiff” 

Buys you lunch 

“I got you the lunch box from 7 11”

It’s always something you end up liking if you hadn’t tried it before

Buys you drinks from the vending machine 

“What is this???” 

It looks like a double shot coffee 

“Energy?”

Minho doesn’t know either but you both drink it anyway 

And end up being at the studio until 3 a.m. because you’re both so hyped with caffeine

Offers to walk you home if it’s getting late

“It’s not safe on your own”

“Minho, I’ll be fineeeee” 

Doesn’t take no for an answer and forces you to let him

His advances work

You’re pretty much whipped for him by the time he confesses 

Which Minho does by buying you flowers and bringing it to the studio 

Changbin

You work at the music shop that he goes to often 

When he’s browsing the CD’s and the vinyls, he spots you at the counter 

His heart almost explodes when he sees you 

The first thing that caught his eye was the way you were dressed 

:0 

Fits Changbin’s style 

He’s nervous to approach you with the vinyl in his hand 

Why was he so nervous? 

Oh right, he was pretty much completely smitten by you 

“Hi!” 

 He loves your voice even more

“H-Hey,”

Changbin’s so nervous 

He likes your bracelets too 

He thinks they’re really cool 

He ends up coming back a lot and you wonder why this man needs so many CD’s and vinyls 

Eventually, he builds up the courage to talk to you

Changbin comes by every once in a while just to say hi 

Sometimes he just comes in to talk to you during your break

You tell him you’ve always wanted to try making music

He tells you he makes music 

You’re all :0 

Changbin tells you about it 

And you get really interested in his music 

He starts coming after your shift or during your break to play you his songs 

He gets all uwu when he sees the way your eyes shine 

You have him wrapped around your finger without even knowing it 

Doesn’t admit that he’s pretty much whipped 

Even though he visits you almost every other day 

And how he buys you your favourite snacks 

Or how he stays way longer than he expected to just bcs he’s talking to you 

You’re just as whipped tbh 

You love talking to Changbin 

You like his music taste and he’s fun to be around 

Confesses to you by taking you out on a date 

He brings you to his studio 

Shows you how he makes music 

He finds it adorable how you’re so amazed by his equipment

So he teaches you whatever he can in the time you’re together 

You both spend the evening just messing around 

You make a short track that you’re sure sounds really off

Changbin reassures you that it’s nice 

He teaches you how to layer the different tracks 

And eventually teaches you how to edit them despite the few hours you have 

You’re so excited 

He smiles every time he looks at you 

Bcs you’re so adorable he feels like he might burst 

Confesses at the end of the night 

“I like you a lot” 

He blurts it out and it catches you slightly off guard 

But you like him back so it’s fine 

Ends up offering to take you to the studio anytime you’re both free

Hyunjin 

Met you through Felix 

Felix invited you to play a game with him and his friends 

Hyunjin hears your voice the first time and he’s already curious 

He thinks you’re really chill and he likes your vibe 

You end up playing more games with them 

He ends up wanting to get to know you more 

The thing that honestly gets to him the most is the way you take every loss so lightheartedly 

“There’s always another game” 

You don’t rage or stress out over it 

Over time, he starts spending one-on-one time with you 

Until you’re both just doing literally anything else but gaming together 

He denies them as dates whenever his friends ask, claiming that it’s just friend time

Until one night you’re both awake at four a.m. and talking about everything and anything 

He likes the way you think

“Hyunjin, did you know that sometimes in movies, they use trash cans to replicate tiger roars” 

“What???”

He likes how you’re joking talking about starting a revolution 

He knows you won’t

“So, yeah, fuck capitalism!” 

“Yeah!” 

He loves the fact that you’re so open about what you think even if it’s something small or weird

“Mercy’s ass is so thick… for what reason…” 

“She’s a video game character??” 

“Felix, her ass is so thick, she could kill someone with it” 

Hyunjin loves hearing you rant about your day 

“And?? It’s so stupid!!”

“Calm down, (Y/n)”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, you egg!” 

Hyunjin thinks you’re adorable when you’re all riled up

He finds it amusing because he likes hearing you talk 

“You live there too?” 

He didn’t expect to be so close to you

“Yeah, that’s how I met Felix” 

He never realised you and Felix knew each other in real life

You spend more time together 

Talking about whatever comes to mind until the dead of night 

Sometimes you watch movies together 

You stay away from horror movies because he doesn’t like it that much 

But you’re always talking about something with him

The two of you are always the last to leave the call because you end up talking after games 

Hyunjin asks you out without even realising it sounds like a date

“Is that a date??” 

“Sure” 

He didn’t even realise he asked you out until after he’s left the call

?!?!?!?!

Goes into panic mode 

He just asked you out!!!! 

Starts asking Felix about you

He laughs at Hyunjin but helps him anyway

Shows him what you look like on your Instagram 

Hyunjin thinks you’re so pretty on your posts

When he sees you in person for the first time 

He’s so taken away 

You’re gorgeous

Whatever feeling he didn’t realise he had for you comes rushing in 

Hyunjin loves your laugh 

You spend the whole day together just walking around town

It’s nice to hear his voice when it isn’t coming out of your headphones

By the time the date’s over, Hyunjin wants more of you 

So he tells you he wants to take you out again while he’s walking you home 

You accept 

He turns to you with a c: before asking if he can kiss you

Jisung 

You’re a barista at the cafe nearby the JYPe building 

Jisung was designated as the drink buyer that time by the rest of his group 

If he was having trouble remembering all their orders before 

He has even bigger trouble now when he sees you 

YOU LOOK SO CUTE IN YOUR APRON 

He freezes the moment he sees you at the cashier 

“Hi! What would you like?” 

Jisung’s eyes go ◑.◑

“Uhm… sir?” 

“Sorry!” 

He struggles to get his order out properly

But you’re patient with him and even though he barely knows you 

He likes that you are 

Jisung’s watching you the entire time you make his order 

He can’t take his eyes off of you 

You do notice it, but you find him adorable so you don’t say anything 

He seems to be easily flustered

When you hand him his order, he’s still a blubbering mess 

“T-Thank you…” 

Your name tag says (Y/n) 

So he thanks you using your name which you smile 

“Have a great day!” 

Jisung comes back the next day 

He doesn’t even need any drinks, he just wants to see you again 

When he does, he feels all fluttery on the inside 

“Welcome back” 

He orders a dark chocolate smoothie and an iced mocha for Minho

Minho would kill him if he found out Jisung went to the cafe without him 

Jisung sits at an empty table and watches you again 

The next day, the cycle repeats 

And the day after that 

And the day after that 

Minho follows him at some point, wondering why Jisung seems to obsessed with the place 

“Why do you like this place so much?” 

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT”

Something’s definitely up with him 

Minho only finds out when he sees the way Jisung’s face seems to light up when he sees you 

“You like the barista, don’t you” 

“WHAT BARISTA ಠoಠ” 

That’s all he needs to confirm it 

Minho lets Jisung order, seeing just how excited and giddy he is when he’s talking to you 

Jisung’s practically bouncing up and down while you talk to him 

When they leave, Minho’s all up in it 

“You really like them, huh” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about >:c” 

Knowing Jisung, he wouldn’t do anything about it 

So Minho takes it into his own hands to bring you two together 

The group is having a mini event and they need someone to serve drinks 

Who else to ask other than you? 

Jisung’s eyes almost bulge out of his skull when he sees you because 

What are you doing here???? 

He’s so nervous 

Minho practically shoves him your way 

Again, you find him so cute that you don’t even realise he’s practically dying to know you more 

“Hi Jisung!” 

You learned his name over the course of him constantly coming back and Jisung just loves hearing it from you 

“Hi (Y/n)” 

“I can’t make anything ice blended, but I can trade if for an iced dark chocolate” 

“Okay!” 

As long as you make it, he’ll take it 

The event comes to an end but Jisung’s pretty much spent more time with you rather than his group mates 

Even they’re amused by how into you he obviously is 

“Hey Jisung” 

You stop him before you leave and he’s immediately at your side 

“Since you keep coming over, here’s my number” 

◑.◑

“Give me a call before you come in so that I can have your drink ready for you to pick up” 

He’s so happy :D

He sends you pictures of cute animals and random snippets of his music 

Felix 

Met you through League of Legends

You have good synergy so you became friends through that 

At first, he only managed to play with you occasionally 

When he’s able to, he notices how you always sound so bright 

“Hi Felix!” 

He likes playing with you 

You’re laid-back 

You don’t stress over losses too much 

“Ah, what to do?” 

But when you’re irritated, Felix finds it funny

“Fucking asshole!” 

“You were in the way, (Y/n)”

“Shut the fuck up!” 

You’re so funny to him 

“Felix, don’t go into bush” 

“I can bait them” 

“DON’T”

His character dies

“Oops ( ͡° ͜V ͡°)”

“-`д´-” 

You’re easy to game with and that’s what he admires the most right off the bat 

You always seem to be up for games 

Even when he’s not able to play, whenever he logs into Discord he sees you’re online 

Wonders whether you sleep at all 

“I don’t need sleep. I am gamerrrr. Gamers don’t sleep” 

“Please sleep” 

“Lix, sleep is for the weak and I’m not weak” 

“You passed out last night in call” 

Honestly slightly concerned for you 

Overtime he realises that he really looks forward to games with you

Before Felix would just go to sleep after practice or shows 

But he’ll start waiting to see if you’re up for even one game 

Which you always are 

Slowly starts spending time with you just talking 

Eventually it leads to the both of you staying up until 5 a.m. laughing at really stupid memes 

During the day when Felix can’t join call 

He sends you funny tiktoks and memes 

You appreciate it because you like him 

But you don’t admit it because you’ve never met him in person before

Until you both find out that you live only a few hours away from him 

Invites you down to Seoul to spend time with him 

You’re nervous

Felix is nervous

He knows what you look like

You exchanged Snapchats and started streaking a while before 

He sends you funny pictures of his members 

You send him selfies with random filters

But nothing could prepare him for when you appear from around the corner 

He sees you appear and he’s all (゜ロ゜)

Your photos don’t do your natural beauty any justice

Is a bit of a mess when you’re walking around together 

Eventually loosens up around you 

Compliments you a lot and it makes you blush 

You spend the day just wandering around the place 

Felix takes you to his favourite places and favourite cafes 

He wants to share his favourite things with you 

You find it endearing 

Tries to make you laugh a lot because he’s just grown to really like the sound of your voice 

Since you’ve spent most of your time talking over call

Felix just loves hearing your voice 

When the day’s over 

He asks for more nights that aren’t just filled with games because owo he wants to do more with you 

Seungmin

Bumped into you at JYPe because you were visiting a friend 

Hears you singing with Yeji and he immediately falls in love with your voice 

He peeks into the dance studio to see the two of you just sitting on the floor together 

There’s no music 

It’s just the two of you singing together 

Your voice makes him :D 

Seungmin leaves the two of you bcs he doesn’t want to intrude 

But he ends up seeing you more often 

Turns out you’re in Seoul for a while so you’re spending quite some time with Yeji 

He sees you in the hallways a lot

When you walk past each other, it’s always just a polite bow 

You don’t really think much of Seungmin other than the fact that you think he’s pretty handsome 

Yeji teases you for that 

When you’re walking through the building to look for her 

You hear someone singing in one of the rooms 

You peek through the glass 

It’s Seungmin! 

ಠoಠ

And he’s so good

You listen from outside the door 

You knew he was good since he was an idol

But you didn’t think that he was that good

You don’t even realise he’s done when the door swings open and you’re standing there 

When Seungmin sees you, he realises you were most likely listening 

Now you’re just staring at each other like 

(ﾟωﾟ;)

Because now he knows you were listening 

And now you know he knows 

“Uhm…” 

You’re embarrassed 

You’re lucky Yeji pops from around the corner and your eyes plead for her to drag you away 

Which she doesn’t 

“Sunbaenim!”

“Hi Yeji” 

“Have you met (Y/n) before?” 

You actually want to tear her apart

“Not properly, no” 

“Well... “ 

“WELL WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME” 

You drag her away before she can say anything else 

The next time you see Seungmin 

You pass by him in the hallway once again while you’re looking for Yeji

“(Y/n)” 

ಠ_ಠ

“We keep passing each other but we’ve yet to actually meet each other properly” 

“Haha…” 

“I know you were listening the other day” 

“Haaahhhhhhaaaa…”

“I don’t mind that you did.”

“Huh” 

You’re actually bit surprised that he doesn’t mind

“I overheard you and Yeji singing the other day in the dance room” 

༼ : ౦ ‸ ౦ : ༽

“You sing really beautifully, (Y/n)” 

There’s an awkward wall that takes a while before you two actually break it down 

But when you do 

It’s almost like you visit the building to see Seungmin rather than Yeji 

She doesn’t mind since she saw it coming 

Doesn’t mean she can’t tease you about it 

Seungmin looks forward to having lunch with you in the cafeteria 

At this point, the staff don’t even question your now daily appearance 

You end up falling for Seungmin way faster than you thought possible 

The feeling’s mutual 

He just likes everything about you 

You’re so sweet 

You’re also really caring 

He notices that when you follow him to the practice room where Stray Kids are 

Changbin trips over Hyunjin’s legs 

You’re rushing over to help without any of them really realising it 

He loves how nice your voice is too 

“Can you sing for me?”

You’re shook 

You wonder why he wants to hear your voice specifically

“Your voice is just really nice 

He realises he really likes you when you briefly disturb their practice to give Seungmin lunch 

He briefly mentioned that he forgot his wallet and his lunch 

Since you aren’t an idol or staff

You had to use your own money in the cafeteria 

Seungmin’s heart flips at the realisation 

Ends up asking you out so that you don’t have to spend so much time inside the JYPe building all the time 

Jeongin 

Meets you through Changbin 

You went to the same high school as him and you kinda just stuck around

Changbin brings you to the dorm bcs he borrowed a hoodie 

The entire dorm greets you really brightly 

Jeongin’s the only one just watching in awe 

He’s so shy when you wave at him 

Seungmin notices and raises a brow 

“I-I’m Jeongin” 

“Hi Jeongin! Changbin talks about you guys a lot” 

He’s so nervous 

He wants to know you more, but he also doesn’t want to make it obvious that he’s taking interest in you 

The others don’t really notice because they’re too excited by the new person 

Seungmin, on the other hand, tells Changbin about it 

Changbin now makes it his mission to bring you two together 

He brings you over to the dorm more often 

Especially if Jeongin’s the only one home 

“(Y/n), you’ve met Innie before right?”

You nod

Jeongin’s adorable 

Changbin ends up bringing you over for movie nights 

Now you’re just an honorary member of the group 

Everyone else loves you 

Jeongin always tries to sit next to you during movie nights 

Especially if it’s a horror movie 

When you get scared, you hug his arm and he likes that 

Makes him feel like he’s able to protect you like a big strong man ᕙ(`▽´)ᕗ

You kinda like him too

So you test the waters around him 

You start talking to him more since Changbin told you he’s really shy 

Jeongin slowly eases into your company 

It takes a bit of time, but he’s started getting more confident around you 

You visit the dorm thinking Changbin’s there because he stole your favourite belt 

When Jeongin opens the door he’s all :D but when you ask where his hyung is he goes D: 

Tells you he’s not home but lets you in anyway 

No one else is home except for Jeongin and Chan 

So you sit in the living room with Innie 

You start talking about random things 

You end up talking about almost everything because it turns out that Changbin’s gone way longer than both of you thought 

Chan eventually emerges from his bedroom and waves at you 

He orders fried chicken for you guys 

You and Jeongin continue talking while eating 

Chan finds it super cute

Jeongin’s playful around you 

But he doesn’t want to make himself appear immature 

But you like when he’s being playful so you slowly ease him into being more comfortable 

He still just wants to impress you so you like him back 

Wait, when did he start liking you??? 

He realised it when you were over for a regular movie night 

You fell asleep in his lap 

Jeongin thought you were so cute 

When you wake up he asks you out 

You accept 

He cuddles you for the rest of the night and asks you to spend the night at the dorm

[shepard-ram]

An Outside Perspective [Xisuma & Dsmp!Reader]

(P!Fluff? Hurt/comfort? Not really sure lol Request: Could I request a reader insert were the reader is causally talking about the wars and bloodshed they have seen on the dream smp to Grian or Xisuma?)

(After the Grian headcanons I'm so happy to be getting more hermitcraft requests! Tw. Talk of past war, violence, death etc. Also thank you dodo anon for some ideas.)

----------

Somehow you had managed to slip away from the Dream smp and found yourself in a much more peaceful server, Hermitcraft. Most of them knew vaguely of the wars that constantly held your home, but no one seemed to fully grasp what you had became so accustomed to. Not that you were trying to hide anything, it just never came up. Until you found yourself talking to a masked admin much kinder than your own.

You were helping Xisuma as he worked on a new tower in his base. You had been staying in the server for awhile now, and had hung around X since the start. At first it was because you thought getting on an admins good side would be a good strategic move, but now it was because you genuinely enjoyed his company.

At first it was unnerving how... not violent the hermits were. Even though you had grown used to how kind every one was, you still couldn't deny how intimidating some of the hermits looked. Including Xisuma's heavy armor and helmet that he never seemed to take off. You've been curious about it since the start, so you finally decided to ask.

"Hey X, can I ask you something?" Watching as he perked up at his name.

"Uh... sure!"

"Why do you never take off that helmet? I get if it's personal- I'm just curious."

"Oh- well at first it was a medical thing. Now I just wear it for comfort, especially since I have some scars I'd rather keep hidden." He added the last part in a slightly weaker voice.

"Oh I get that! I've got quite a few myself!" You rolled up your sleeve to show off the burn like scar that marred the skin running all up your left arm, ending just above your wrist. The mark was much darker than a normal burn would be, it was from a wither effect.

Even through his purple visor you could see Xisuma's eyes grow wide with what you assumed was concern.

"How in the world did you get that?" His tone confirmed that you were right about his expression.

"It's a long story, but back in the Dream smp I lived in this country called L'Manberg. After an election the first president and vice president were forced to leave. Eventually they and a few other of their allies tried to take it back- or destroy it I'm not entirely sure-" you told the war story in such a causal way it felt like you were reciting the plot of a show you had watched the other day. Not even paying attention as X's face worsened.

"Anyways, during that take over one of the old presidents allies spawned two withers as a show of strength. I got caught up in the blast zone, and... here we are!" You jestered to the blackened scar in pride.

"Really? How badly messed up were you?" The wither scar looked like the entire left side of your body was almost blown off, yet you seemed as bright and strong as anyone else.

"Oh I was knocked off my feet, but I just got up and ran! It takes a lot more than one missed blast to keep me down. After the day was out though I could barely move my arm, I still try to keep too much strain off it." You added casually rolling your sleeve back down.

"Was that the only battle you've been through?" He asked with what could only be described as worried hope.

"Oh not by a long shot!" If you had been looking you would have gotten a laugh at his face. "There was L'Manbergs war of Independence, died quite a few times there, Pogtopia vs. Manberg, that's where I got that scar- and Doomsday, god I thought two withers was excessive ha! If I could've known."

"What! You went through all that! You're only like, twenty, why would someone that young be put through all that" You realized just how horrified he was. Switching to a more somber tone.

"Oh I am not that young compared to some of the others." Watching as his face dropped you continued. "The vice president? That got exiled, Tommy. He's sixteen." You thought you might have broke the admin at that point. "Seemed Dream always had it out for the poor kid. I tried to help him as much as I could, but there's not much you can do against a tyrant god."

"I- I just-" you could see him trying to process everything you'd just spilled. He settled on resting his hand on your shoulder, "you know you can stay here as long as you want. Maybe even bring some of your friends for a little visit?" You weren't entirely sure if that was a question or a statement, but you answered with a sincere nod.

"Thank you."

"Of course, don't think about it." You both turned back to the half finished tower. Xisuma had some things to discuss with the others later, but that could wait for now.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: INFP with social anxiety here. I have a therapist but we're focusing on some other issues right now. In the meantime, I was wondering if you had some advice for me. I know you're not a professional (you say that multiple times in your posts) and of course I'm not asking you for a fix for my social anxiety with this - I'm just asking your help to understand what part my cognition could be playing in all of this cause I'm really curious.

Basically, my problem is the time frame right BEFORE I meet someone and, sometimes, immediately after. I don't really have problems socializing in the "middle", if you get what I mean; I'm easily adaptable and once I'm relaxed, once I realize no one is there to attack me, my mind starts getting ideas and I kind of know what to say, even though I'm a bit out of practice and I still have problems convincing other people of my emotions (like, mirroring their emotions so that they know I agree with them and stuff like that; for some reason they never ---believe me when I say it with words).

When I make plans, anyway, and I still haven't met the person, I get this anxiety: like I would rather stay home than go there because it's going to be "boring" and I'm probably going to feel like an idiot or make some sort of social gaffe. I mean, I do kinda get bored after a while anyway, but I also know I tend to overestimate that level of "future boredom" to the point it hurts me to even think about showing up and forcing myself to think of stuff I can-- say.

I get anxious because I start thinking about the way people used to treat me in the past (I've always been the black sheep of my family and/or my social circles and I vividly remember some bad things they used to say to me) and I start worrying that, deep down, they still think of me like that and they're never going to forget that "preconception of my identity" and open their eyes to who I am now, or I guess to who I've always been.

I do realize it doesn't make much sense, this "who I ----really am" part - but I've always had the impression that I was a bit different than the "me" they percieved, maybe because after many, many years of being accused of "selfishness" and "inability to tune in with the emotional atmosphere" I learned that in order not to ruin the "social mood" I should've adapted myself to the group - but the problems is that I suppressed "myself" in the meantime (and with myself I mean, like, my real interests, the things I'd like to talk about for ages without-- having to be interrupted or looked down on because, quote unquote, "ok, cool, but we don't really care").

I understand now that if they don't give me hints of actually caring about the subject I should stop rambling like a fool, but this is making me feel like I have nothing "useful" to offer them and therefore bringing the anxiety I'm struggling with. It makes me scared that I'll never be able to be myself around them because of the "social rules" I want to respect to be accepted, & to make----it worse I'm out of practice like I said before and sometimes it just gets too awkward and I want to get out of there.

I bet I'm doing something wrong because friendships and relationships in general are not supposed to be "boring", am I right? And yet until I don't get distracted by the actual conversation, I feel like it's going to be really boring and uncomfortable and sometimes going through it is SO horrible... most of the time I end up making up some excuse to go home earlier and talk----my internet friends instead (thank God for the internet!!!!). Anyway, thank you if you'll answer! And have a good summer vacation c:

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

The first thing I notice is that your thought process bears a very striking resemblance to many INFJs who struggle with social anxiety due to poor Fe development (see past posts). As a general rule, if I have good reason to suspect that someone might be mistyped, I won't provide info about function development until they undergo a proper type assessment. Otherwise, they might adopt the wrong method of improvement.

You say you want to understand what part your cognition plays in the social anxiety you experience, so I will mention the aspects of your cognition that seem most significant:

1) No Chill: You overthink things to an extreme, to the point of self-sabotage, perhaps even creating a self-fulfilling prophecy (i.e. when expecting the negative actually makes the negative happen). Overthinking means that you're not confronting the real obstacle getting in the way of your socializing. You're constantly trying to envision, imagine, or predict what will happen in a social interaction? WHY? What's the point of that overthinking? It's how you avoid confronting your fear head on.

2) Insecure: Your "predictions" are too often faulty because of being tainted by your underlying insecurities. You're insecure about being attacked, being accused, being misjudged, doing something wrong, being deemed of no value or unworthy of care, not being accepted or acceptable, dying of awkwardness, feeling bored, feeling uncomfortable, and on and on. You've described your thought process in detail. But nowhere do I see you confronting your insecurities, digging deeper into them, in order to understand the root of them. Insecurities are a manifestation of fear.

3) Control: Irrational anxiety is oftentimes about trying to control things that you shouldn't be trying to control or cannot have any control over - it wastes mental energy and leads to futile behavior. As long as you're trying to control social situations and their outcome, you are either trying too hard to make reality match up with your expectations or you're fumbling whenever reality unfolds outside of your expectations - you become rigid and frail. You claim to be "adaptable" but everything you say after that only proves you don't know the meaning of the word. You can't handle unpredictability, hence, the attempt to be in control by trying to "predict" everything. Do your attempts to control actually work? Do they help or hinder you? If they mostly hinder you, then isn't it time to change your strategy? Anxious people often believe that having more knowledge or control is the answer to their fear. But, in your case, the huge cost of being controlling is being incompetent. What's worse, the fear is still right there running the show.

4) Unresolved Trauma: You attribute your troubles to your past. Fair enough. Growing up in a social environment that did not respect and appreciate you is painful, even extremely traumatic for certain personality types. It also makes people too hungry for validation. It's natural that you wouldn't want to feel the pain of it again. However, if that pain remains unexamined and unresolved, you will unconsciously keep seeking to resolve it, which means re-enacting the trauma over and over again throughout life. The proof? Every time you meet someone, your first stance is defensive, because the first thing that comes into your mind is that you don't want to be attacked or invalidated. That old pain is running the whole show because you are deeply afraid of experiencing it again, yet you don't realize that YOU are the one calling it back up and rehashing it. What are you doing to resolve the pain rather than indulge the fear?

5) Self-absorbed: Social anxiety makes people too absorbed in their own thoughts, feelings, hopes, and expectations. They are too preoccupied with what they want, what will happen, how they will be perceived, how they might make a mistake, how they might be attacked, etc. This means they're not truly present with people, so the relationship can't really go far. Driven by fear and insecurity, they are always behind a wall, too difficult to reach.

Even if you happen to meet the right people, do you make it easy for them to befriend you? It seems that you can't open up with ease, you can't go with the flow of the other person when they don't live up to your expectations, you can't keep your emotions in check and misjudge situations, you get bored when it's not about you, you run away instead of making things better. Looking at yourself objectively from the outside, would you want to be friends with someone like that?

If you want to have good friends, you first have to BE a good friend. You want care, love, and validation? We all do. The best way to receive it is to be the first to give it. By being more aware of other people's needs and doing more to show that you care about them, you put them in a better position to care about you and meet your needs in return. This is the difference between actively trying to "make" a friend vs passively wishing for a friend to drop into your lap.

Being a friend isn't about what "value" you have, as though you're some kind of object being appraised and sold. Being a good friend is quite a simple matter of putting out the energy to care and show that you care. When you meet someone who's moved by your care, they will care for you in return. When you meet someone who's unmoved by your care, figure out the real reason why, in order to determine whether you should keep trying or put your energy elsewhere.

You never really know who you'll hit it off with. One of my favorite experiences in life is making a friend in the unlikeliest of places. As an adult, meeting new people is a numbers game. All you can do is keep pushing yourself to meet new people. The more people you meet, the greater the odds of clicking with someone. If you're looking to meet like-minded people, go to places that are likely to have people who share your interests. If you don't hit it off with someone, simply move along. You don't have to be friends with everyone, do you?

Yet, you take every little social interaction so seriously that each step is like life or death - that's what makes socializing tiring, laborious, and unfun. Why not enter into every social interaction with an open mind and an open heart? Why not truly go with the flow, without having to undergo the repetitive ritual of predicting what will happen or fussing over what did happen?

6) Poor Emotional Intelligence: This point is the common thread that runs through the previous points, which is why I keep repeating the word "fear". You have extremely low tolerance for negative feelings and emotions, which means you really need to work on learning how to deal with your emotional life better. Any little sign that things won't turn out the way you want and you start to panic, overthink, blame, or flee. Why do you recoil from yourself and your own feelings and emotions? Why are you so easily shaken by boredom, awkwardness, invalidation, failing, other people's negativity, etc? Why do you react so badly to these things (when others just brush it off and keep going)?

7) Low Self-Awareness: It's not enough to just name the fear ("I'm afraid of____"). Does the label explain why you have this particular fear and not some other fear? It's not enough to blame the past ("It's because of ____"). Why did someone else with a similar past as yours not develop this fear? To get to the root of fear, you have to identify, in exact terms:

what aspect of you has to change to overcome the fear

what aspect of your identity has to "die" (i.e. be let go of) in order to evaporate the fear

Until you answer the fear properly, it won't go away.

[itsclydebitches]

one of the previous anons here (again)! :0

not to be an "UM ACTUALLY" kinda person, but I think the tinfoil anon was referring to the scene in the training room (where crosshair got stunned by hunter) insteada the scene at sea (rescuing omega and azi).

I'm.... *also* really curious about what he was thinking there, honestly? Like, all that setup to ask his brothers to join the empire with him -- but what did he expect them to say? And it even seemed like he was about to draw his rifle on Hunter, before Hunter stunned him, but the others also had their guns pointed at him? He couldn't have possibly thought he was going to walk away from that in one piece lmao, regardless of whether he outdrew Hunter or not

Anyway, yeah, apologies for cluttering your inbox with the digital equivalent of snail mail these past 48ish hours XD.... I just think these meta posts are neato

OH SHIT if that's the case so sorry other anon, that's my bad 😅

And omg, literally don't worry my inbox is already beyond saving. I've got hundreds of asks spanning back years at this point, stuff I just straight up don't have time to answer and, sadly, probably never will. Cluttered doesn't begin to cover it. If my ask box could embody physical space, it would probably smell like TBB's barracks lol

But YEAH okay, let's talk the stunning scene instead because I love being sad on a Sunday night. What's important for me is that building up to this it's Hunter who is gunning for Crosshair (pun not intended lol). Crosshair has already shown that he's not planning to hurt them by murdering his other team and he's only just started to think over Hunter's "We never were" — in response to his "don't become my enemy" accusation — when all the droids pop up. Yet instead of focusing on them, Hunter immediately jumps on Crosshair. I mean yeah, we as the audience (to a certain, complicated extent) understand why they're so wary of him, but also think about how bad that looks from Crosshair's perspective. You've just proven you're not out to hurt your team, Hunter claims you were never enemies... but the second a fight starts he attacks you. Like you're the enemy. So does Hunter believe what he's saying? So many of the problems here come down to claims vs. action. TBB is really good at saying things to Crosshair, but aren't very good at backing them up with action. Like claiming they wouldn't leave him behind vs. actually not coming back for him during this whole stretch, here we've got "We're not your enemy" vs. Hunter choosing to attack him instead of the droids.

So they tussle a bit and it's only when the droids become overwhelming that Hunter is forced to turn his attention towards them instead. When he does, we see Crosshair thinking for a moment and then we get a preview of that "Oh no, Crosshair is going to shoot Hunter!" scare out on the water: he lifts his rifle, aims in a way that appears to be at Hunter's back, but then shoots over his shoulder to hit the droids instead. We even get two reaction shots to this, Hunter's brief look of surprise and a more overt "Omg, Crosshair is helping" reaction from Tech and Wrecker.

When Wrecker pulls his helmet back down it's with a sense of new determination. The whole squad is back in action! This is (again) proof that Crosshair is not out to be their enemy. He just fought alongside them, protecting them rather than taking advantage of the situation to take them out.

... except that as soon as the battle is finished Hunter immediately has his weapon on Crosshair.

And everyone else follows his lead.

Crosshair had complete trust in them. He had his back turned right before this moment, head in his hand, not at all worried about what his allies were doing. Why would he? They're meant to be allies and the threat (the droids) is gone. Except then he turns around to find that Hunter has his weapon on him after Crosshair just killed for him, after Hunter attacked first, after Crosshair didn't attack when given the chance, and you can see him looking down at his weapon with this sense of resignation.

What was he thinking in this moment? Probably that fighting is inevitable. I don't think Crosshair believes he can make it out of this without being stunned (or shot. I mean, does he know their blasters are set to stun?), but rather that he's just going along with what the others insist is going to happen. Every time he does something to say "We're not enemies" they do something back that says, "We are."

Crosshair doesn't want to fight his team, but Omega releases droids to help them battle him.

Crosshair wants to fight the droids, but Hunter attacks him instead.

Crosshair does fight the droids when given the chance and thinks that's it, he's proven his trustworthiness, but Hunter has him at gunpoint the second it's over, as do the others.

Every time he tries to do something to show he's not their enemy — "Don't make me your enemy" he says. That's what he's trying not to be — they turn around and frame him as the enemy anyway, whether it's attacking him instead of a droid, Tech telling Wrecker he's beyond talking to, or all of them assuming he's out to shoot Hunter instead of save Omega. This is an ongoing trend that just snowballs the longer things go on. Have you watched Grisha? You know the Darkling's line, "Fine, make me your villain"? To my mind it's sorta like that only with Crosshair having better grounds to make that claim than the Darkling did lol. Raising his gun isn't about thinking he can win this fight. It's also not about wanting to fight — he's made it very clear that he doesn't want that at all. It's much more of a resigned, "Fine, if this is the road you insist on going down, I'll oblige you."

"This is who I am," Crosshair says and Hunter has made it clear, several times over, that "this" is TBB's enemy. Crosshair didn't want that, but it's what they're insisting on, so an enemy is going to defend themselves by shooting back. Which is when he's knocked out, wakes up drowning, is saved by Omega, learns the Empire tried to kill him, and is back to his half angry/half desperate, "Can you please not think of me as the enemy for two seconds and hear what I have to offer?"

As for what he thought his brothers would say in regards to joining the Empire, that offer he has... I think he thought they'd say yes. Whether that belief is born of his own, twisted reasoning, or if there is still something going on with the chip, Crosshair prioritizes their safety and their purpose over the ethics of working for the Empire. When Hunter goes, "We're loyal to each other, not some Empire" that's something Crosshair agrees with. When not forced to try and kill them via the chip, he is loyal to the squad, absolutely, even over what the Empire wants. That's why he kills the Empire's soldiers and disobeys orders to get rid of TBB, instead trying to orchestrate their move into the organization instead. That's not what the Empire wants, it's what Crosshair wants.

So they're both loyal to the team over who they work for, the only problem is a) Crosshair is struggling to believe that they ever considered him a true part of the team — "You weren't loyal to me" — and b) Hunter's loyalty, unlike Crosshair's, actually has a limit. For him, he's not willing to kill civilians to give his brothers a sense of purpose in the world. He's not willing to follow an evil Empire to ensure that they have food and aren't always on the run. For Hunter, his desire to keep the rest of the team safe and happy does not outweigh basic morality (which is a good thing!) They'll figure out a way to survive while also doing the morally correct thing. Crosshair, however, places nothing above his teammates. He'll betray the Empire's orders for them. He'll kill his new team for them. He'll murder whatever innocents it takes to give them a safe, fulfilling life in this new galaxy. The Empire wants him to kill other people's kids? What does he care if the tradeoff is getting a good home for Omega? Something, something, Jedi fear attachments. All of which makes this whole mess all the more tragic. He will do anything — literally, ethically anything — for his squad... and they didn't even come back for him. He'll do anything for them, but they're insisting on being enemies instead. The underlying problem is that Crosshair's way of expressing devotion and care — let me help you join the Empire that's definitely going to take over the galaxy so that you'll be under their all-powerful protection and can live save, happy lives — is something that TBB finds to be repugnant (with, you know, excellent reason). So Crosshair is just standing there, continually offering his heart to them, not understanding why these ethical questions are more important than the only thing he cares about: them. And, again, we don't currently know how much of that warped thinking stems from Crosshair himself, or something that was/is still up with the chip.

Plus, toss in everything else we've discussed about Crosshair's abandonment. He doesn't understand why they care about the Empire's crimes over the protection of their family and he's continually hurt by the knowledge that they won't go as far for him as he's willing to go for them, not realizing that going that far is morally reprehensible. If TBB had tried to rescue him and had approached him as a brother in need of rescue, rather than an enemy, he might be more receptive to their arguments about what's best for the team. Simply because he would have felt like he was still a part of that team. Right now, everything Hunter argues about the evils of the Empire, while 100% true, are filtered through this knowledge that Crosshair isn't a "real" brother anymore. Chip or not, he believes what he's saying and has no reason to think that he's wrong, just that others aren't listening to him. From Crosshair's POV, they wrote him off the second this all started and haven't made a single move to fix things. That's the easiest way to entrench the idea that his way of doing things is right, the only problem here are his brothers who refuse to see it, insisting on opposing him instead, just as they had from the get-go when they left and never came back. To Crosshair, he's reaching out despite (again, from his perspective) the others not deserving it, yet that extended hand is continually slapped away. Nothing in the situation is helping him realize that what he's offering is what's wrong because it's all framed to look like he himself is the problem (see: Tech's little speech to Wrecker). But that's also why Omega's reminder that he's still their brother is so important. He gets a reminder, but Crosshair needs to see that again too. He needs a reason to turn away from the Empire because, whether it's due to the chip or not, the simple argument "This is wrong" isn't doing it for him. I honestly think he'd have left with them if he felt like he could rejoin the squad because, as established, his squad means everything to him. That's the top priority. But so much happened to make Crosshair believe that his brothers don't want him, that they'll only accept him as an enemy, that any offers to join them are made only out of obligation... that all he has left is the Empire. He needs to believe that they accept him as his brother so he can toss the Empire to the curb for what he wanted this whole time: to go home.

tl;dr IT'S SUCH A HORRIBLE MESS lol and this is why I oh so hope season two tackles all this with something resembling respect and nuance. This is one hell of a tangled problem, with lots of justified and inaccurate anger on both sides, so to try and simplify it all into a, "Crosshair is just a bad guy who thinks bad things ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" would be... less than satisfying imo.

[thatasianstereotype]

Shit. I Got To Deal With This Bitch (Again). 

The third installment of my Adrien x Damian AU. 

First: Fuck. I’m Gay. 

Second: Damn, You’re Looking Fine. 

Well, would you look at that? I’m not dead after all. And this took a while to put together understatement of the fucking century. The reason is because life is a busy little shit the English language will not cooperate. I’m thinking of a scene I want to write and somehow words are lost in translating that into the computer and I end up with a white blank screen in the end. 

But moving on to the fic. At first, I was going to have the whole Gabriel-being-put-in-jail and former-friends-thing put as an aftermath because I really wanted to write Marinette and Adrien meeting the Waynes. But I decided to make the aftermath a full-blown fic from @michaelshadow7779′s ideas and extend the trilogy into a four-part series. 

This part will be focused on what happened to Liar-la, Ms. Bustier’s class trying to gain back their friendship with Marinette and Adrien, and Gabriel getting a special visit from both Robin and Ladybug. 

Again, this is a crack writing where creative liberties were definitely taken. 

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.

.

Lila Rossi is a fucking bitch and everyone —Like everyone this time— knew it. 

Her reputation was now in shambles (she’s now known as that pathological liar or that lying bitch) and Ms. Bustier’s class could only stare at her with hatred and anger —feelings that were once directed at Marinette. 

No one entertained her lies anymore. No one really hung out with her anymore. She sat at the back of the class, staring daggers at both Adrien and Marinette all day (just wishing for an akuma that will never appear).

Unfortunately for her, Lila couldn’t transfer out of class and with only 2 more months of the school year left, she couldn’t transfer out of school so she was stuck dealing with the consequences of her actions: being a fucking social outcast.

Because the class was not at all happy with their supposed friend. Tensions ran high during school. Things took a turn for the worse when Ms. Bustier tried to “fix” things in her own way, mentioning how the only reason Lila lied was because of her “disease” and the girl simply wanted to make friends. 

Needless to say, the class did not appreciate their teacher making them out to be fools all this time. 

It was Alya who ripped her a new one. Césaire definitely has a set of lungs on her. And Adrien would be lying if he didn’t say how utterly satisfying it was to watch.

Karma was a bitch. 

Payback was a bitch. 

And Adrien was fucking living in the aftermath. He wondered if it was mean (probably but he didn’t care) that he wished he had popcorn right now. 

All in all, life returned back to normal. 

Well, kind of. 

.

Unfortunately, with the 2 months left in the school year, Ms. Bustier couldn’t exactly be let go because apparently Mr. Damocles didn’t want to deal with the whole paperwork, trying to find a new teacher to replace her, and dealing with the so-called Akuma class. 

That fucker. 

So essentially, he left her at the mercy of her unhappy class, saying she will be let go at the end of the school year. 

Ms. Bustier was unhappy with the arrangement. The class was unhappy with it too. Probably even more so. Since they still got to deal with Rossi’s bitch ass on a daily basis. 

The remaining 2 months of school were spent in a passive-aggressive war. Teacher vs. Students. Where technically the teacher should be respected and they should learn from her but the class was unleashing their collective pettiness. 

And Caline Bustier was fucking done with this job. She wanted to go back in time to when she thought being a teacher was a good idea and shake her past self silly. At this point, she was just counting the days until she can leave for good. 

“Kim. That’s the third time you slept in class this week. If you don’t pay attention, you won’t pass the test next week.” 

“Hold up. I got to ask the certified pathological liar where I put all the fucks I give.” 

“Ok. Don’t forget to ask Marinette if you can actually trust her answer.” 

It was glorious. 

Adrien and Marinette were definitely enjoying the show. 

.

Marinette put down her sketchbook and stared at Damian for a minute. “You’ve been here for a month and a half already. Are you still doing business for your dad?” 

Damian Wayne became a common sight around Françoise Dupont High School and can usually be seen around Adrien and Marinette. After a week of constantly seeing him hang around lunch or in after school activities/clubs, seeing a Wayne soon lost its novelty and people accepted it as the new norm.

“I’m already done with what I need to do at WE’s Paris branch.” He casually plucked flowers from the ground to make a crown for his mon amour who was happily chatting with Luka and Kagami.

“So why are you still here? Don’t you have your own education to finish?”

“My schooling is of no concern. I already earned my diploma a few months ago. It was not at all difficult when I’m already light years ahead of my peers in regards to the dismal educational system my Father forced me to attend."

She raised an unamused eyebrow. “Uh huh. And your family isn’t worried at all about you, a minor, being in a foreign country all by yourself?” 

“They know I’m here. I already informed Father that I will be extending my stay here.”

“And he just accepted it? Just like that?”

"I’m responsible enough to handle myself. I surely do not need Batman watching over me. And you don’t need to worry at all. I’ve been away from home for far longer.”

“You’re completely missing the point.”

“On the contrary, I thought I answered the question perfectly.”

.

When they weren’t playing a petty war with Bustier, the class was trying to get back into Marinette and Adrien’s good graces by inviting them to everything and trying to include the pair in their lives again. They wanted to be friends with their Everyday Ladybug and Sunshine Child again. 

“Want to do homework together?”

“How about a study session?” 

“We’re having a sleepover at Juleka’s place, Marinette. We can talk about each other’s love lives like the good old times.” 

“Wanna see the new movie that came out, Adrien? I’ll even pay for your favorite snacks.”

“Come on you two. Let’s hang out in the park. We can get Andre’s ice cream too. It’ll be fun.” 

Spoiler alert: It don’t work. At all. 

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“Hey Marinette, Adrien! Why don’t you sit with us today?” Alya eagerly waved at them from where she was sitting with Nino. 

It was a part of a long list of efforts that the class is trying to include the pair in. And it would be nice if it was just to be nice and friendly, you know. Adrien wasn’t going to be outright mean to them even though they fucking deserve it after how they treated the beautiful and kind goddess that was Marinette because Mari asked him to “Play nice, kitty”. 

But the class kept trying to slide the whole Liar-la thing under the rug as if it was nothing. As if they didn’t shit all over their good name for a two-faced bitch. As if they had no part in making them feel like outcasts just weeks before. As if they didn’t called them hateful names or gave them scornful glares. 

And that’s just fucking wrong. Because it wasn’t nothing. And they weren’t good pals anymore. So stop fucking acting like it. 

Adrien was so done with his former friends/classmates. Marinette even more so. 

Because apparently, saying “Yeah, We want nothing to do with you anymore.” is not fucking clear enough that the pair wanted nothing to do with their former friends. 

Like what the actual fuck. 

Luckily, Mari can sense her kitty’s bad mood and quickly laid a hand on his arm and led them to their seats in the middle row since Liar-la took the back and they will be damned if they sit next to her. 

Alya was utterly aghast. She and the others were trying their best to have things be back to where they were before. Doesn’t Marinette and Adrien want things to be like they were before? When everyone was friends and they were making happy memories together? 

Why won’t they accept their olive branch? They’ll be friends again and everything will be okay just like it was before Lila came. 

Let it be known that Alya Césaire was not a patient person. Like at all. 

She was fuming (like you could see the smoke coming out of her ears) as she walked up to Marinette’s desk, just bursting at the seams with frustration. “I don’t get it. Why are you so cosy with Adrien instead of us? Did you forget he supported Lila too? 

“That was—” Marinette spoke up in defense of her everything-that-actually-matters brother. 

But Alya ignored her and bulldozed right over, slamming her hands down on her desk. “Yeah. He changed his mind later on but the point still stands that he was on Lila’s side just like us so why are you willing to be friends with him but not me and Nino? We were best buds.” 

“Adrien was friends with Lila unwillingly, unlike you guys. His douchebag of a father wanted him to play nice with that harlot for some reason and he had to go along with it or risk being pulled out of school.” 

Alya rolled her eyes (She literally rolled her eyes at that) before crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Please. That’s probably a pretty little excuse he gave you be on your good side again. We all know Gabriel will never actually do it.”  

“Are you perhaps referring to the man who rejected the idea of a birthday part for his own son or makes Adrien attend constant photo shoots and a crazy schedule to follow that makes it hard for him to hang out with his friends regularly. That Gabriel?” 

At that, Alya faltered a bit as she uncrossed her arms. 

“Look, Alya. I’m fine with being friendly classmates but I’m not going to be your friend again.” 

And Alya —who wanted things to just be okay again and wanted to go back to being Marinette’s best friend, who was tired of days trying to put so much effort into being Marinette’s best gal again only to be rejected every single time— just let whatever came into her mind to slip out of her mouth. She didn’t watch what she said next and in doing so burnt the last bridge she ever had to Marinette. 

“Maybe Lila was actually right for once when she said the only reason you’re close to Adrien was to use him to get ahead in the fashion industry.” 

Oh shit. 

She really done did it now. 

It was at this point that Marinette’s infinite patience and kindness snapped. Adrien scooted his chair back a bit to get out of the crossfire. He’s a dumbass kitty but he still has self-preservation. 

The grip on her pencil tightened as her eyes narrowed and grew darker, her voice ice cold.  

“You were the one who decided we were done being friends, Césaire.” 

Alya was taken aback, frozen at the biting harshness Marinette directed at her. Whatever comeback she had died in her throat. 

Mari let out a deep breath and her voice was back to neutral. “Look. Maybe someday in the future we can be friends again. But not right now. Please respect my decision.”

And that was the end of that. 

Well kind of. 

Because the ice queen treatment didn’t deter her at all. Alya still persistently tried to get Marinette to be friends with her again until Nino pulled her away and forced her to stop it with her ridiculous antics which aren’t working. 

The rest of their former friends now classmates got the message and left the pair alone. They were friendly and cordial with each other as common courtesy dictate but they had no interaction beyond that. They were nowhere near as close as they once were before Liar-la happened. 

Anyway, school went back to normal. Well as normal as it could be with all the recent changes.

Nothing was as it was before. 

And Marinette and Adrien were fine with that. 

.

Mari was hanging out with Aurore and Mireille for the afternoon so Damian and Adrien had Mari’s room all to themselves. They were currently playing video games. 

And although the Wayne boy was the perfect gentleman who doesn’t let his hormones rule over common courtesy and a proper courtship, Plagg was there to supervise the lovebirds (with a boatload of cheese to keep him company of course). 

He likes to think of himself as laid back and chill who cares deeply about his kittens. And Adrien is a pure innocent little bean. 

Don’t get him wrong. He does like Wayne as a person. The kid’s attitude and personality is a fun riot to witness. But the major plus is how it is beyond obvious Wayne adores and cares greatly about Adrien. He is a good boyfriend to his chaotic gay sunshine baby. 

But after all the shit and drama that went down with his scumbag of a dad, Plagg was just feeling a tad protective of his kitty. 

Just a tad. 

.

They have been dating for close to a month now. He wonders if they are going to do a one-month anniversary. Is that excessive? Or was that normal? But Adrien still can’t get over how he landed such a hot and amazing guy as a beau. 

If only he could go back in time to visit his insecure and confused little self and reassure him that they had game all along. 

“Fuck. I lost.” 

Dami smirked. “That makes it 7 to 5 in my favor.” 

“I don’t care if you’re drop dead gorgeous. I’ll beat your pretty face in the next round.” 

Hot-And-Sexy had an amused grin on his face. “I love you too, babe.” 

.

Marinete and Damian are finally making a plan to get Hawk Moth to answer for his crimes. Needless to say, they have their differences on how to handle Gabriel Agreste.

“I vote to have Hawk Moth taste my blade.”

“We’re not killing Adrien’s dad no matter how much he deserves it.”

“I can get away with it.”

“So can I. But murder is still illegal.”

Naturally, discussing how to confront Gabriel and coming with a good solid plan that satisfies both teenagers took some time.

.

Adrien entered Mari’s room, humming a bit as he carried a tray filled with homemade snacks. He perked up seeing his two favorite people in the world getting along so well.

“Hey guys! What are you up to?”

Damian and Marinette glanced at each other for a split second. They didn’t want their Chaton to worry about Hawk Moth so they didn’t share any specifics.

It was Dami who spoke up. “We are discussing the legalities of assassination.”

Mari facepalmed.

Luckily, Adrien was a pure oblivious child. “That’s nice, babe.”

.

With all the strange things he’s seen (namely, the Miraculous and getting powers from tiny little talking animals), Gabriel will like to say he shouldn’t be surprised. 

But he was. 

Luckily, he had enough self-control to not show his surprise in an obvious way, just a raised eyebrow towards the two superheroes standing in the middle of his office. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mademoiselle Ladybug and Monsieur Robin?” Pleasant and neutral. 

Ladybug he can kind of understand her presence. He is a supervillain after all. Wait. Maybe ex-supervillain now. Because he hasn’t been doing villain things for a while now since he misplaced Nooroo’s brooch and couldn’t find it no matter how many boxes of unsold Miraculous replicas he went through. And he went through a lot (that is not an understatement). Amazing how much free time he has when he isn’t stalking on the watch for negative feelings. 

But what was Robin doing here? He wasn’t aware the Gotham sidekick was in Paris in the first place. 

“We are aware of your alter ego, Hawk Moth.” 

He sighed internally. This wasn’t going to end well. But he hasn’t gotten this far by bowing down easily. 

“Just because I am a genius recluse does not mean I have supervillain tendencies.” 

Ladybug was unimpressed as she crossed her arms and stare at him with a deadpan look. “But you do have supervillain tendencies. I have yours and Nathalie’s miraculous who told us all about your plans.” 

Huh, no wonder he couldn’t find them. 

But anyway, the gig was up. Nooroo and Duusu were very emotional blabbermouths. The main reason why he couldn’t let them out of his sight —besides needing them to transform into bad guys of course. 

“Then you know I had a good reason why I became Hawk Moth.” 

“To bring your wife back. Yes, I am aware of your ‘master’ plan.” 

Maybe he can appeal to their sympathy. After all, heroes got to have empathy, right? “It was for Adrien’s sake to have his family back together.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. 

Because next thing he knew he had a razor sharp sword against his neck. He didn’t even see Robin move. 

“Do not speak of his name, you traitor scum.” The Gotham hero growled. “How dare you preach about your son’s happiness when you are the one who have been neglecting him for the past years. Do not say you care for the boy when you never once showed an ounce of love towards him.” 

Why is Robin so protective towards Adrien? Do they know each other well? 

But Gabriel’s questions were immediately banished to the back of his mind. Because right now, he was righteously fearing for his life. Prison sounded better than death. He glanced towards Ladybug. He knew she, at least, wouldn’t let him die. She was the picture perfect hero after all. 

Who was facepalming at the situation. “For the last time, we are not killing Agreste.” 

Unfortunately, Robin did not remove the sword. “And as I keep saying, no one will have to know.” 

“I will. I am literally standing right here as a witness.” 

“You may look away if you are squeamish.”

“...That’s not the problem.” It was time for Ladybug to pull out the big guns. “And if you go through with this, you will make your boyfriend cry and he will no longer want to date you.” 

It took a few seconds but Robin eventually lowered the sword and addressed Gabriel. “Do not presume that because you have no received death today that you do not deserve it. The only reason why your guts have not decorated this room is because I do not wish to make my mon amour shed tears for such a despicable man.” 

Ladybug spoke up next. “We are going to report you to the authorities. Robin and I have enough evidence to put you away for life.” 

To live for another day, Gabriel makes the smart choice of quickly surrendering right then and there. 

.

“Mon amour, I come bearing both good and bad news.” 

Adrien looked at Dami confused. “Okay? What’s the bad news?”

“Your sister have unfortunately stopped my attempt to slay your wicked father.” 

Aww. 

Adrien’s squishy little heart filled with endearing fondness at how much Hot-And-Sexy cared about him. 

“Killing my father isn’t worth going to jail, Dami. I’m sure you can pull off orange but Mari will probably bar me from ever visiting you to teach you a lesson.”  

He considered that for a moment. “That is true. Marinette is a frightening terror.” 

“She’s the greatest thing to happen to me.”Adrien swooned at his goddess before remembering his boyfriend was with him. “You’re a very close second.” 

But Dami was smiling fondly. “I know. I knew what I was getting into when I asked you out. I will never get in the way between your sibling bond.” 

Aww. 

He could feel his squishy little heart almost explode from all this sugary cuteness from his vain and egotistical Adonis.  

“You’re adorable. So what’s the good news you have for me?” 

“Marinette and I have finally dealt with your father. He will answer for his crimes in front of the Parisian authorities and you will not deal with the repercussions of being related to someone as vile as he.” 

“Does this mean I don’t have to legally change my name to Dupain-Cheng after all?” 

“You’re already one. Not sharing their name does not make you any less of one.” 

Adrien beamed, smiling brighter than any sun. He loved being part of the Dupain-Cheng family and it was nice to be acknowledged as one of them. 

“Of course. Being a Wayne is an honor too.” Damian said casually as if he was simply talking about the weather. Only the twitch of his fingers belied his nervousness. 

Adrien interlocked their fingers together. “You have to buy me a pretty ring first, Mr. Hot-And-Sexy.” 

.

The next week was kind of crazy to say the least. 

Gabriel Agreste was outed as Hawk Moth and Natalie as Mayura to the public. They were promptly put in jail. 

For all their contingency plans, Marinette and Damian had nothing to worry about after all. Adrien being a literal sunshine and Paris’ darling model was what saved him from being a pariah and outcast. The public knew that Adrien was the victim here and not part of Hawk Moth’s plans at all (Be serious. Can you imagine Sunshine child actually having an evil streak in him? No? That’s right. Because it is impossible). People were more sympathetic about Adrien having such a douchebag as a father than the possibility that he was evil like said douchebag. 

After that whole drama mess, Ladybug and Chat Noir announced their retirement to Paris’ dismay. But eh. Without akumas running around, they can leave Paris’ future to the police (since it’s you know, their job to keep the peace and not teenagers who is still winging it as they kick ass). 

Marinette and Adrien just wanted to focus on their future without any other crazy shenanigans.

He already said it before. But it still bears repeating.

Lila Rossi is a bitch.

The only thing Gabriel did right was throw her under the bus when he was caught. He told the police and superheroes how Lila helped him cause akumas with her lies and manipulation. Who knew her destroyed reputation could plummet even further? Understandably, her mother was not at all pleased with her daughter’s antics.

For being a terrorist and an indecent person, Lila was immediately arrested and deported to Italy (and that’s the last they ever heard of her thank everything Mari thinks is holy). 

.

With the whole Hawkmoth thing out of the way and he didn’t have to worry about his shitty dad ever again, Adrien can now focus on his biggest challenge yet. 

School will be over in a few days and summer will be here. Which means: It’s time to finally meet the Waynes. 

Oh fuck. He was going to meet the Batfam. 

And even though Dami assured him that his family will like him, he was still nervous. 

Fuck that. He was absolutely 100% freaking out!

Thank goodness Mari was coming along for the ride. 

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Taglist:

@iglowinggemma28

[valkyrieofsmut]

In terms of my list I think Mutt Axe Classic Blue Red( if you ask) Stretch(if you ask) Black In terms of those who seem sexual and Black is only on the bottom because of what I saw from the Mutt one-shot you wrote it seems like he only likes to watch and is more ok with that or atleast in that one shot (I basically just admitted to reading almost everything you wrote if not once than twice )

This has been sitting in my inbox for quite a while (it came in with the soft vs rough answer!)- and I knew there was a reason I kept it! I was laughing about Black being at the bottom, and a bit ago this scene idea came to me, and after figuring I couldn't use it in anything I had planned, I figured I'd use it to straighten it out... Also, I’m flattered that you’ve read my stuff more than once!!

Warning- severely NSFW below! And! Important! (Y/n) is 100% fine with everything that happens in here... 

Sans shot a look at (Y/n), taking her hand from his femur where it had been slowly moving higher, massaging circles into it. 

It was the fifth time since they'd sat at the table for this stupid dinner with the royal guard,  It wasn't even anything special; even Mutt was there, and not because he'd driven them. 

He leaned close and murmured in her ear, "You're Going To Get It When We Get Home." 

She just gave him a grin. 

. 

As soon as (Y/n) was through the door Sans was right behind her, kicking the door shut and pushing her against the wall. 

"YOU THINK YOU CAN TEASE ME THROUGH A WORK FUNCTION AND HAVE NO CONSEQUENCES?" He demanded, his hands going to pull her against him, groping her ass through her bottoms, feeling nothing underneath them. He glared and pressed her closer to the wall. "And No Underwear? Such A Bad Little Toy I Have," he growled through clenched teeth. He furiously worked at her bottoms until he had access to her. "You're Already Almost Dripping," he commented as he unbuckled, buttoned, and zipped his pants, taking (Y/n)'s thighs in his hands and lifting her, lining up and thrusting in with a rough grunt. 

"Ungh- You're So Needy, Aren't You? Hnn! So Wet- I Bet Everyone At The Dinner- Could Smell How Hungry- This Tight Little- Pussy- Of Yours Was," he growled, his voice pausing with every thrust. 

(Y/n)'s head was thrown back, each breath coming in a pant, a cry of ecstatic relief as the exit. 

She brought her hands up dragging them over his chest, but his hand flew up, flicking and sending them to the wall behind her. 

"No. Toys Don't Play- With Their Owners- Owners Play With- Their Toys." 

(Y/n) was gasping for breath, each hard thrust making an amazing feeling deep inside her grow. There was a noise at the door as it started to open and she cried out in dismay. "Sans- the door- ahh! S-Sans! Someone's going to s- ahh- s- see!" 

"Isn't That What You Wanted?" He growled. "You Wanted The Sense Of Danger- The Possibility That Someone Might Walk In And See? Trying To Tease Me- Rile Me Up So I'd Shove You Against The Wall And Take You Right There." 

Mutt walked in from parkin the car and tossed the door closed, letting out a "nyeh" of laughter. 

He walked over to the furniture set up of the living room and moved a chair, turning it and positioning it so that it was in the perfect place to view the two, then dropped into it and kicked back with another chuckle. 

"There, Now- Isn't This What You Wanted?" Sans growled in her ear. "Someone To Watch As I Pinned You And Pounded You To Oblivion?" 

She let out a whine as her body tried to arch to him. 

"I Bet, That If I Had Used Your Body At The Dinner, You Would Have Just Left My Cum Dripping Down Your Thighs- That You Would Have Loved Sitting There At The Table Knowing That They Could All Smell That You Were Mine-" 

She whimpered, her mouth dropping open into a needy whine. "Please-!" 

"Please What, Toy? Please Give You My Dick?" 

"Yes," she gasped. 

"Please Let You Come?" 

"Yes..." 

"Please- Make You Lose Your Mind?" 

"Yes!" 

"Then Do, Little Toy, So We Can Play The Next Game." 

(Y/n) came with a cry, her hips bucking as she squeezed around him. 

Sans pulled out and put her feet on the ground, stepping back, his burgundy cock slick and glistening from their juices. “REMOVE YOUR CLOTHING.” 

(Y/n) could barely stand with how much her knees were shaking, but she managed to strip herself. 

Sans took her arm and pulled her over to the chair Mutt was sitting in, sitting her on the arm and pushing her to lay back over his lap. 

“NOW MY BROTHER’S GOING TO GET A REALLY GOOD SHOW OF ME FUCKING YOU,” he told her as he took her legs and hooked her ankles over his shoulders. “SAY THANK YOU,” he told her, but she could only squeak as he shoved his way back into her. “THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED, ISN’T IT?” He demanded. 

(Y/n) moaned as Mutt started tugging at her nipples, a bit of a chuckle in his throat. She tried to squirm away, but Sans could feel the way she was squeezing around him with each tug. 

“HOLD HER HANDS, MUTT,” he ordered, and his brother obeyed, one hand wrapping around both wrists and holding them over her head. 

“NOW, SAY THANK YOU,” he demanded again as his pelvis crashed against her ass. “I DON’T HAVE MUCH PATIENCE FOR DISOBEDIANT PETS, OR TOYS THAT DON’T DO WHAT THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO.” 

“Thhh-aank- yo-ooou- ahh!” 

Sans’ hands tightened on her hips, his eyelights focused on her face as it contorted in pleasure. “GOOD GIRL. NOW I’M GOING TO MAKE YOU SCREAM FOR ME.” 

He nodded to Mutt, who reached his free hand up to his teeth, his tongue stretching out to lick his phalanges, but Sans caught them first, bringing them to his own teeth and licking them, giving his brother a glare. 

As his hand moved lower and teased over her lower lips, (Y/n) could feel the bulge pressing against her side, and saw the glow coming from Mutt’s jeans. She twisted to rub against him, but stopped when Sans slapped her ass. 

“NO. NO TOUCHING. THIS IS AS MUCH AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION AS YOU’LL BE GETTING.” 

Mutt chuckled, smirking down at her. “’s too bad, too, darlin’, ‘cause ya look real tasty.” 

Mutt’s phalanges started rubbing over her clit as Sans started slamming into her, growling as her sounds got louder. 

Soon, she was crying out, whimpers and gasps spilling from her lips, tears starting to build in her eyes from all the pleasure. “Plea- Saa- gah- nnn! S- S- fu-uck-!” is all she could babble out before coming with a shriek of his name. 

Mutt sped up his hand, making her body arch up as another loud cry left her, a growl starting to slip from Sans as she gripped tight to him, her muscles tightening more from the intensified and continued touch to her clit. 

Sans slammed in one more time, as deep as he could, using his magic to keep her hips in the perfect place, leaning forward and taking her nipples between his phalanges and pinching, twisting and tugging roughly. 

A squeal left (Y/n)’s throat, her head falling back limply and the tears that had been building escaping to roll down her cheeks as the resulting squeeze and pulsing pushed Sans over the edge, and he came with a veritable roar. 

He huffed for breath for a moment over her, then straightened and pulled out, smacking Mutt’s hand away from her with a glare, though he only received a chuckle back. 

He tucked himself back into his pants and zipped them, looking down at (Y/n)’s wrecked form laying across the chair and his brother’s lap, his cum oozing back out of her with each pulse or orgasm. 

“COME, PET. I THINK YOU’VE GOTTEN ENOUGH OF A LESSON FOR TONIGHT,” he told her as he picked her up and cradled her close as he started toward their room. “NEXT TIME I’M SURE YOU’LL BE GOOD ENOUGH TO GET A REWARD.” 

[bailey-reaper]

First thing: They way you write this lovely 'vampire' prosecutor is amazing and so interesting. Like some of the request you get I could have never imagined him in such situations but when I read yours I was like "That would totally be him". So thank you for blessing us with your content 🙏. Second: May I request him meeting his childhood friend [aka childhood] again after they have been away for some years. And they have grown into person he is proud of and makes him even fall more for them. Hope this isn't to weird.

But anyway. Thank your for everything!

Reunited

Notes: 🥺 wow, thank you very much. I’m really touched that you think the voice I give him / the way he reacts in what I write feels authentic. That’s high praise indeed! I’m also delighted that you’ve been enjoying the content on this blog – thank you for reading!

And, thank you for the request! It’s not weird at all. Hope you enjoy it!

S/O is gender neutral (they/them pronouns). Barok refers to them using petnames.

Content Warnings: none.

“It’s been a while, huh!”

An understatement, but Barok agreed with the sentiment. It had been a long time since he saw them, too long in fact. Once, the two of them had been inseparable childhood friends; exploring the wilderness of North Devon as intrepid adventurers or pirates or crusading knights or whatever other fanciful idea took their imaginations that day.

It had been splendid fun -- until the day their father decided the family needed to move to the continent to make the most of the opportunities there.

Barok was devastated by the news that his dear childhood friend would be leaving to live far away; of course they promised to write to one another regularly, but it wouldn’t be the same as having his friend there to talk to and play with.

True to their promise, they had written frequently and it came as a pleasant surprise when their last letter said ‘I shall be coming back to England soon!’ he looked forward to reconnecting with a precious friend...

Upon meeting them at Dover, he quickly felt as though he’d stepped back in time a few decades; they were as lovely as ever, if not more so for the charm that their features had taken, but the warmth and friendship was the same as ever. He instantly felt relaxed.

“... I’ll say,” he said in response, “But you look well, my friend. How have things been?” they talked about how the years had treated them as they took the train from Dover to London Victoria; they talked about life on the continent vs. life in London and Barok was keen to hear more about what had brought his friend back home.

“... In truth,” they said while looking out the window at scenery whizzing by, “I’m fleeing from my father...”

“Oh?” Barok frowned, “What has he done?”

“No, no, nothing like that... it’s what he would like to happen. He is trying to ... encourage,” ‘coerce’, Barok read into that, “Me to think about ‘settling down’ and things like that... but I cannot say I want to be forced into something like that by someone else. Shouldn’t it be my choice?”

“Of course it should,” he said, frowning, “You were always a free spirit and I doubt anything has changed... you’d lose your incandescence if you were forced to live someone else’s life.”

“Yes, yes!” they said, “That’s exactly right... I knew you’d understand, Roque!”

He did understand - partly because he knew them, but partly because he knew how much he had appreciated the freedom his brother afforded him. Klint had never foisted marriage candidates upon him, if anything he’d done everything in his power to protect his little brother from the viperous world that was aristocratic matchmaking.

‘Following your heart and your dreams, little brother,’ he could recall Klint saying, ‘Life is to be lived to the fullest, not to be tolerated in the name of appearances.’

Of course, being the head of the family, Klint did not give himself so much quarter but Barok knew he was lucky to have such a kind and supportive brother even if he was a terrible hypocrite who took his duties to both work and the family seriously and overburdened himself with obligation. At least the woman he’d married had been of his own choice and was someone he was deeply in love with.

“Truth be told,” they said as they alighted at Victoria Station and followed Barok to his Mayfair home, “I’m hoping that I might be able to start a new life here.”

“Is that so?” he said, while opening the door and holding it open for them, “It would be delightful to have your company again. What do you plan to do?”

“Well, thanks to my father, I have a fine amount of knowledge of commercial interests so I suspect I could make quite a successful commercial venture of here. Perhaps an auction house or a pawnbrokery or something of that nature.”

Barok smiled. Their courage of conviction and the way in which they carried themself was no less lovely and enchanting than it had been when the two of them were small. In fact, they seemed to be all the more alluring having acquired the worldly wisdom that came with growing up. He truly hoped they would stay, and that their venture succeeded; for he would very much like to spend more time with them and perhaps the growing feelings that were warming his core might flourish into something more and, ideally, something requited.

“Let’s have a toast, then,” he said as he filled two chalices with wine, “To new adventures!”

[aion-rsa]

Squid Game’s Scathing Critique of Capitalism

https://ift.tt/3kOEMpF

This Squid Game article contains MAJOR spoilers.

From the very first game of ddakji out in the real world with Train to Busan actor Gong Yoo, Squid Game poses the question: how far would you go for money? How much of your body, your life, would you trade to keep the wolves at bay and to get to live the life you’ve always dreamed? Once you start, could you stop, even if you wanted to? And in the end, would it even be worth it? While Squid Game depicts an attempt to answer these questions taken to the extreme, they are the same essential questions posed to everyone living under capitalism: What kind of job, what terrible hours, what back-breaking labor, what level of abuse, what work/life imbalance will we tolerate in exchange for what we need or want to live? Unlike many examples of this genre, Squid Game is set in our contemporary reality, which makes its scathing critique of capitalism less of a metaphor for the world we live in and more of a literal depiction of life under capitalism.

Squid Game’s Workers

At the most basic level, the entire competition within Squid Game would not exist without extreme financial distress creating a ready pool of players. It’s no coincidence that Gi-hun’s hard times started when he lost his job, followed by violence against the workers who went on strike. Strike-breakers and physical violence against striking workers may feel like an antiquated idea to an American audience. South Korea, however, has something of an anti-labor reputation, with only 10% of its workers in unions and laws limiting unions to negotiating pay, among other restrictions. In the US, the anti-labor fight is alive and well, though transformed, where it takes the shape of the deceptively named “Right to Work” laws, which benefit corporations and make it harder for unions to operate.

As noted in our review, (most of) the players choose to leave and then willingly return to the arena, which separates Squid Game from other entries in the genre like the Hunger Games series and Escape Room. This element of volition contributes to the series’ primary critical goal. As Mi-nyeo and others brought up early on, they’re getting killed in the real world too, but at least inside they might actually get something for their troubles. 

As an anti-capitalist parable, the only ways to fight back or upend the game in some small way are through acts of solidarity or by turning down the allure of the cash. The final clause in the game’s consent form states that the game can end if a majority of players agree to do so. After the brutal Red Light, Green Light massacre in the first, they do exactly that. The election might as well be a union vote. It’s shocking that the contract for the game included an escape clause at all, but it seems the host and his ilk enjoy at least allowing the illusion of free will if nothing else. The players who didn’t return after the first vote to leave the game, though unseen in this narrative, are perhaps the wisest of all. 

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Squid Game’s Most Heartbreaking Hour is Also Its Best

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Squid Game Ending Explained

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During tug of war, Gi-hun’s team surprises everyone by winning. Their teamwork, unity of purpose, and superior strategy help them defeat a stronger adversary, which is a basic principle of labor organizing, albeit usually not at the expense of the lives of other workers. Player 1 (Il-nam) and Player 240 (Ji-yeong) each find their own way to beat the game by essentially backing out of the competition during marbles. In exchange for friendship and choosing the circumstances of their own deaths, Ji-yeong and Il-nam each make their own, ethically sound choice under this miserable system. Il-nam gets an asterisk since he was never going to die, but he still found a choice beyond merely “kill” or “be killed” by teaching his Gganbu one “last” lesson and helping him continue on in the game. 

In the end, Gi-hun confounds the VIPs and the Front Man by coming to the precipice of victory and simply walking away. Under capitalism, this group of incredibly rich men simply could not understand how someone could come so close to claiming their prize, and choose not to. But for Gi-hun, human life always had greater value. Gi-hun followed (Player 67) Sae-byeok’s advice and stayed true to himself, refusing to actively take anyone’s life, especially not the life of his friend. 

Squid Game’s Ruling Class

Since the competition only exists because of the worst aspects of capitalism, it’s not surprising that in the end, it is itself a capitalist endeavor. Ultra-wealthy VIPs, who mostly seem to be white, Western men, spectate for a price and bet on the game. In their luxury accommodations, they lounge on silent human “furniture” and mistreat service staff. In one notable example, a VIP threatens to kill a server (who the audience knows to be undercover cop Hwang Jun-ho) if he doesn’t remove his mask, even though the VIP knows it would cost the server his life. 

Perhaps most enraging of all is what Player 1, who turns out to actually be the Host, has to say to Gi-hun a year after the game ends. It all circles back to the game’s existential connection to economics; on the one hand, there is the unshakeable link to a population in which a significant portion of people suffer from dire financial woes. On the other hand, there is the Host and his cronies, the ultra-rich who are so bored from their megarich lives that they decided to bet on deadly human bloodsport for fun just so they could feel something again, as though they were betting on horses. 

In spite of the enormous gulf between the two, the Host attempts to draw comparisons between the ultra-wealthy and the extreme poor, saying both are miserable. His little joke denies the reality of hunger, early death, trauma, and many other ways that being poor is actively harmful, both physically and mentally. It’s the kind of slow death that makes risking a quick one in the arena seem reasonable. He and his buddies were just kind of bored. Moreover, the Host denies the role of economic coercion in players taking part in the game, insisting that everyone was there of their own free will. But what free will can there be for people who owe millions, with families at home to care for and creditors at their back, when someone comes along and offers a solution, even a dangerous one? Anyone who has taken a dodgy job offer to get away from a worse one, or because they’re unemployed and the rent and college loans are due, knows that there is a limit to how truly free our choices can be when we need money, especially if there’s little to no safety net. 

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Why Are Squid Game’s English-Language Actors So Bad?

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Throughout the series, it is clear that someone had to be funding Squid Game at a high level. Unlike science fiction or fantasy takes, the show is grounded in our current reality, so the large-scale, high-tech obstacles and the island locale must have cost a pretty penny. Of course for any who see it as unrealistic, consider the example of Jeffrey Epstein, a man who bought an island from the US government and ran a sexual abuse and human trafficking ring not entirely disimilar (though far more pedestrian in its purpose) from this one. 

The Host is able to pay for everything because he works in – you guessed it – banking. It’s a profession where he gained wealth by moving capital around. Given the Korean debt crisis – South Korea has the highest household debt in the world, both in size and growth – his profession makes him a worthy villain, in the same way the Lehman Brothers were after the 2008 crash. The bank executive calls in Gi-hun to offer him investment products and services, because of course someone with 45 billion won can accrue significantly more money passively, and who wouldn’t want that? Gi-hun’s decision to walk away is a callback to his earlier attempt to walk away from Squid Game when millions of dollars was within his grasp.

Throughout the series, the people running the game actively pit the players against one another in much the same way capitalism pits workers against one another. Whether they’re giving the players less food to encourage a fight overnight, the daily influx of cash every time another player dies, or giving them knives for the evening, the mysterious people pulling the strings want the players to fight each other like crabs in a barrel so they can’t work together to figure out what’s going on or take on the guys in red jumpsuits. Though there are notable examples of the players working together to succeed, it is always within the rules of the system. It is never treated as a viable or likely option for the players to team up and take the blood money literally hanging over their heads or to prevent death, merely to redirect it or choose how they will die. No, to win that, they must play the Squid Game’s rules. 

In our society, this kind of worker-vs-worker rhetoric takes the form of employers telling workers their workload is harder or they can’t go on vacation or get a raise because of fellow employees who leave or go on maternity leave.. In reality, these are all normal aspects of managing a business that employers should plan for, and their failure to do so is not the fault of their workers. Much like in Squid Game, it benefits managers and owners if workers are too busy being mad at each other to have time or energy to fight the system and those who make unjust rules in the first place. 

Squid Game’s Managers

The Front Man insists the game is fair, gruesomely hanging the dead bodies of those involved in the organ harvesting scheme because they traded medical knowledge for advanced intel on the game. However, like capitalism, there are many ways that the system is clearly rigged, no matter what the people at the top insist. There’s the obvious corruption in the organ harvesting ring, but even at its “purest” form, the game is not equitable. Sometimes the managers and soldiers in red jumpsuits stand by when unfair things happen, like Deok-su and his cronies stealing food. At other times, the people in charge intervene in player squabbles, like enforcing nonviolence during marbles and elections but encouraging violence at other times. They especially set things up to their own advantage, such as cutting the lights so the players couldn’t see the glass in the penultimate game, or the way they set up the election. Everyone knew how everyone else voted, they shared the total amount of money immediately beforehand, in an attempt to sway votes, calling to mind Amazon’s scare tactics before the recent unionization vote.

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Ultimately, much like any manager/employer, the Front Man’s insistence on fairness has nothing to do with the actual value of equality, but rather the capitalist need to ensure betters are happy with the stakes and their chance at a favorable outcome. 

Even the workers, soldiers and managers in red jumpsuits, who seem to be in charge, are ultimately only in power (and alive) so long as they serve the needs of the system. Like so many low-level managers, many wield their tiny amount of power ruthlessly, shooting players with impunity or running their organ harvesting side gig. It soon becomes clear that they’re as expendable as players, if not moreso, and the Front Man shoots them without hesitating. A player asks (and it’s too bad we never learned) what “they” did to the people in red jumpsuits to get them to run this game, but it’s not too hard to guess. They seem to be very young men, who likely needed money and wouldn’t be missed if they never returned. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The biggest trick capitalism ever pulled was convincing workers it’s a zero-sum game, that anything we want but don’t have is the fault of someone else who “took it” from us. Within the game, that means every player was a living obstacle to the money, and that Gi-hun should kill his childhood friend to succeed and celebrate when he’s done. But as we see after he “wins,” even without taking Sang-woo’s life himself, the money isn’t worth it. The greater success would have been both men walking out of the arena alive.

The post Squid Game’s Scathing Critique of Capitalism appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3CUfVXz

[pixelated-pogues]

being a pogue that Rafe is just meeting that just completely takes his breath away and makes him want to stop the Pogue vs Kook rivalry so he stops getting into fights with everyone 🥴

Oof okay soo...this would be a wild ride. ------------------------------------------------------ Rafe never wanted to admit it, but he’s always had somewhat of an attraction to girls from the cut. 

He’s always ignored it, hooking up with girls from Figure Eight and making digs at girls from the cut whenever the boys were around. He’s always been good at hiding the fact that he found the carelessness of the Pogue girls enticing, that is until he met you. ------------------------------------ The first time Rafe saw you, you were walking across the golf course with a heap of groceries in your hands. You were clearly struggling to juggle everything as you sauntered across the grass, seemingly unaware of where you were going. He watched as one of the many bags you were holding slipped from your grasp; its contents spilling onto the grass. His lips curled into an amused smile when he saw the rest of the bags go tumbling down with it; followed by a string of curse words falling from your lips. 

“Hey, I’ll meet you guys at the next hole,” Rafe told the boys, unsure of what came over him as he hiked over to you. He’s never really been the type to go out of his way to help someone he didn’t know, so he wasn’t sure why you were different. “Let me help you with that.” He crouched down next to you, swiftly collecting discarded groceries and dropping them into the bags laying between you guys. 

“Thanks, I’m such a klutz,” you huffed, pushing your hair behind your ear with a sigh. That was the first time Rafe actually looked at you. His breath caught in his throat, the can of green beans in his hand falling back to the ground clumsily, when his eyes met yours. He felt his mouth go dry, cheeks flaring with a deep blush, as he stuttered to say something. 

“Oh, um, yeah. No problem,” he coughed, tearing his gaze away from yours to continue dropping groceries into the bags. You couldn’t help but stare at the boy in confusion, his current attitude highly contrasting to everything you’d heard about him since you arrived on the island a few weeks prior.

You shook your head, focusing on getting everything situated again before standing up, pulling a few bags back into your arms. 

“Thanks, again, for the help,” you smiled reaching down to pick up another bag; Rafe’s eyes following your every move. “I’m new to the job and am still getting used to carrying ten bags at once.”

“Of course! If it helps at all, you definitely look like a natural. The groceries fell pretty gracefully,” he was surprised at how easily the words rolled off of his tongue. What the hell am I doing? He thought to himself, trying not to cringe in embarrassment. 

“That makes me feel a lot better,” you laughed, sarcasm casually lacing your voice as you struggled to reach for another bag without dropping anything.

“I’ll help you carry these,” he blurted picking up the rest of the bags, taking you both by surprise. “I think you may get the job done faster if you don’t have to stop to pick up groceries every few minutes.” 

“You’re sure your friends won’t mind? They’ve been staring since you walked over here,” you told him, gesturing to Topper and Kelce who were, in fact, staring.

“They’ll get over it,” he insisted, a lazy smile forming on his face as you nodded, leading the way to the house the groceries were supposed to be delivered.  -------------------------------------- Rafe couldn’t stop thinking about you after that. 

In the short time that it took to deliver the groceries, he’d learned that you’d moved from the mainland a few weeks ago and live on the cut with your family. 

He also learned your name, and couldn’t stop it from running through his head at a constant rate.  -------------------------------------- The second time Rafe saw you was at a kegger on the beach. You were standing with Kiara and Pope, a wide smile etched on your face as the three of you chatted. He felt his heartrate quicken at the sight of you, the effortless confidence you held staning there only made his attraction to you grow. 

“Rafe,” Topper called, pulling the older boy away from his thoughts.

“Hm,” he responded, shifting his attention away from you. 

“We’re going to go grab drinks. You coming,” Topper questioned, gesturing toward the short line by the keg. Rafe only nodded in response, glancing back at you once more before following his friends. 

He could hardly stand being there, knowing that you were there as well. All he wanted to do was talk to you, but that didn’t seem like an option. Sure, everyone mingles with everyone at these parties, but the silent tension between the kooks and the pogues always loomed over his head, especially now. He didn’t feel like causing trouble with you so close by.

“Hey, it’s Rafe right,” a voice asked, pulling him from his thoughts. He tore his gaze from its trance on the fire, following the voice to your figure, moving to sit next to him on the tree stump. “The guy that helped me deliever groceries.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, ignoring the way his hands started sweating due to how close you were to him. “And you’re Y/n, right?” It felt silly asking you that when you’re all he could think about since he’d first met you. 

“Yeah,” you hummed, taking a swig from the cup in your hands. “I’m a little surprised to see you here. I heard that you’re too good to come to the poor side of the island.”

Rafe’s jaw tightened, kicking at the sand with his feet as he contemplated what to say. You weren’t exactly wrong; he usually steered clear of the cut unless it was absolutely necessary but he immediately agrred to come when Topper mentioned going to the kegger together that night. 

“While I do have a reputation to uphold, I thought I’d let it slide tonight,” he shrugged. “Besides, I thought that I may run into a friend, so it seemed worth it.” Rafe casually bumped his shoulder against yours, faltering when your lip curved into a bright grin.  ----------------------------------- The third time Rafe saw you was completely different than the lighthearted interactions you guys had had previously. 

JJ’s chest was pressed up against Rafe’s, nostrils flared and eyes blazing as he egged the kook on; practically begging Rafe to throw the first punch. Rafe tried controlling himself and kept his fists clenched at his sides.

“I already told you that I didn’t have anything to do with that JJ,” he growled, patience wearing thin as JJ shot him another glare.

“You really expect me to believe that? You’ve been screwing with us for years, you think I’d be dumb enough to believe that someone else did it,” JJ shot back, his finger pressing into Rafe’s chest threateningly. 

“I don’t care if you believe me or not. I wasn’t a part of it this time,” Rafe quipped, choosing to step away from JJ. You stood by John B, biting your lips in anticipation as you waited for the next move. You felt relieved when Rafe’s gaze met your own, softening, before he turned to walk away.

“You’ll never be anything more than a dirty kook, just like your father,” JJ spat, and, in an instant, Rafe’s calm demeanor completely dimished as he lunged for JJ; his fist colliding with the blond’s face forcefully taking both of them to the ground.

“Shit,” John B mumbled, upon seeing the situation grow out of hand quickly. He stepped forward, trying to pull the boys apart at the sight of Rafe’s fists colliding with JJ’s face harshly. 

“Rafe, stop,” you begged, getting his attention. You breathed a sigh of relief when he shifted to remove himself from JJ but flinched when JJ’s fist smacked against his face. Right as Rafe went to retaliate, John B pulled his body off of JJ’s; quickly moving to get in between the boys. 

“That’s enough,” he stated seriously, shooting both of the boys a glare. He turned to Rafe, who was breathing heavily and wiping a smear of blood from his busted lip. “Go home.” 

Rafe nodded, not giving any of you a second glance before retreating to his bike. Your eyes followed him as he sped off; wanting to follow him but knowing that you needed to stay.  ------------------------------------ The fourth time he saw you was a few hours after the third. You’d come knocking on the front door of the Cameron residence; asking if he was around. He’d nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard your voice echoing down the hall; heart thumping wilding in his chest at the sight of you with Rose, shooting her a soft “thank you” before making your way into his room; shooting him a shy smile.

“I’m really sorry about JJ,” you apologized, flopping into the chair by Rafe’s desk; sheepishly playing with your fingers. Rafe watches you, still in shock that you’d come to check on him after what had happened. 

“It’s fine, I’m sure that I had it coming,” he dismissed with a sigh, collapsing on his bed. “Normally I’d jump at the opportunity to pummel a pogue,” he pasued, glancing at you briefly before continuing, “but I’m kind of over the rivalry if I’m being honest.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed at his confession, unsure if you heard him right. “What changed? All anyone has talked about since I’ve been here is the Pogues being agains the kooks.” 

Rafe sat up abruptly, staring at you for a moment before focusing his attention on his hands. “I don’t know,” he shrugged, not meeting your eyes as he spoke. “I guess my priorities changed. Maybe the pogues aren’t so bad.” He tried to seem nonchalant as his gaze hesitantly met yours.

“Oh really,” you remarked, an amused smirk making its way onto your face. “And what makes you think that?” Rafe watched you carefully make your way over to him, a newfound confidence taking over as you sauntered over to him.

“There may have been a certain Pogue that swayed my opinion a little,” he admitted, trying not to smile at the cocky look on your face.

“Is that so,” you asked, taking a seat next to him. 

“Yeah, I mean, have you seen John B,” he emphasized John B’s name dramatically, giggling when you swatted his chest playfully.

“John B, are you kidding me?” you laughed incredulously, rolling your eyes. -------------------------------------- From that point on, things between Rafe and the rest of the Pogues slowly started calming down. They were, by no means, friends but the constant fighting died down considerably with your convincing. 

Your relationship with Rafe budded quickly once the bad blood between your friends started dying down. They definitely weren’t please in your choice of a boyfriend, but you couldn’t really care less what they thought; especially once they started warming up to the fact that they no longer had to worry about Rafe or the rest of the Kooks bothering them as regularly anymore. ------------------------------------- This ended up being A LOT longer than I originally anticipated. 

It’s also probably a bit of a mess because it’s 6:30 in the morning and I haven’t gone to bed yet, but that’s okay. 

I hope you like it nonetheless!