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doodlegirl12345 · 2 years

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A Friendship Tested {One Shot}

That moment when you actually get nostalgia from your much older projects. Hello everyone, I’m posting one of my older stories that I had quite a while back. I originally written this during the hiatus between season 3 & season 4 of Miraculous Ladybug. So it’s been a while and series have significantly progressed since then. But I decided to still post it as the story might entertain someone.

So without much farer ado here is one of my throwback stories “A Friendship Tested”.

Also available on Wattpad

A Friendship Tested

Friendship.

A bond between friends is sometimes the best bond that a person could make. In some cases they are stronger and healthier than blood within families. Due to the fact that you can choose your friends and not your family. It's one of the bonds that you can control and easily leave if necessary. Friends are the people that you confide in when secrets need to be told and to share coffee with. But of course like the best things it's not perfect as friends fight, make mistakes, and trust can be broken. That's the funny thing about friendship: some friends are here for a reason while others are for a season.

It was a late spring Saturday in the city of Paris as Alya Cèsaire sat on the wooden bench in front of the Nouvelle Jolie nail salon and spa. The aspiring reporter crossed her legs while her hazel eyes studied the video on her phone screen for a few seconds before making a deliberate video cut. Instead of wearing her usual attire, today she was wearing a short sleeve light gray top, boyfriend denim capris with a long sleeved orange flannel shirt tied around her hips, black converse sneakers, and a black quilted purse with various custom superhero buttons pinned to the purse. She adjusted the white earbuds in her ears, continuing editing the video on her phone as she waited. It was a video of the Duke Gloop akuma attack from yesterday at the Louvre. She had edited a few seconds of people running away before the action really began with Ladybug and Chat Noir's arrival.

Luckily, she was able to film this week, not one but two videos. An ability that she had taken for granted was now a rarity these days.

In the past few months some priorities ran thin compared to others as work has been shoveled onto her shoulders. The Ladyblog's popularity skyrocketed in the past couple months, family duties, her relationship with her boyfriend Nino had gotten more serious, and her duty to Paris as the fox themed superhero Rena Rouge. Lately Alya has been doing damage control to keep from all this spilling over like a boiling pot. One was opening the blog for followers' submissions for videos. Another was Nino knowing about her superhero life and understanding when she had to cancel plans at the last minute. Or better yet he was able to join as Carapace. But there was still one more important factor of her life she needed to get a hold on.

Suddenly Alya felt the weight of the wooden bench underneath her had shifted as she felt a familiar presence beside her. The auburn haired girl looked up from her phone towards her right to see who it was.

To only see her best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Hey, you're here," Alya smiled, pulling the earbuds from her ears.

"Well hey, you finally looked," Marinette smiled back. "What were you watching? I was calling your name for a solid minute."

"I was just doing some light editing for the Ladyblog," Alya explained, then looked at the time on her phone. "Wait, it's 11:55 am."

"Yep," Marinette smiled.

"This means that you are not only technically on time but you're early?" Alya had an impressed smile. "Congrats girl! You're not late for once since you were supposed to be here at noon. But wait that might mean the world is going to end now."

"Hilarious," her friend folded her arms. "Seriously, when have I been late?"

Alya raised a brow about to remind her every time she had been late in recent memory. Marinette's bluebell eyes widened as if she knew what Alya was going to say because she then said.

"Wait! Wait! Never mind, I know that look! Forget that I asked!"

Alya laughed, putting her arm around Marinette's shoulders. "It's okay I'm not going to hold it against you. Especially since you dressed up for our girls day."

The raven haired girl smiled, instead of her usual attire Marinette was wearing a short sleeved pink lace peplum top, rose embroidered blue jeans, her trademark pink purse, and black ballet flats.

"You like it?" Marinette asked.

"Definitely," Alya nodded. "Did you put that together last night?"

"Actually I have been working on this top for about two weeks as it was my first time working with lace. The fabric for the top cost about a month's worth of babysitting money so I didn't want to rush it. While the jeans were just an old pair that I just embroidered. If you give me a pair I can do it for your jeans if you want."

"I might take you up on that. I'm sure Luka is going to like it too when we meet with him and the others at the movies later."

"You think?"

"I'm sure I mean you two are dating after all," Alya stood up from the bench putting her phone in her purse. "But we should go inside now or we are going to miss our appointment. The man on the phone said there is a fifteen minute grace period before they cancel your appointment as a no show."

"Alright," Marinette stood up. "I just want to thank you again for inviting me to get our nails done, Alya."

"No problem, but I think you should thank my Grandma Shayera. She's the one that sent me the gift certificate for my birthday months ago," Alya led Marinette to the salon's front door. "The card suggests to use it with a friend. Who else could I think besides you?"

Technically there was more than what Alya was letting on. Marinette was her first choice but the reasoning was a little less obvious. One factor of her life she noticed she was losing a grasp on was her friendship with Marinette. It seems that the two have been drifting apart as they haven't spent much time alone together lately. Alya's responsibilities have increased and Marinette has been hanging out more with Kitty Section since she and Luka started dating two months ago.

So when Alya cleaned her desk last week and found the birthday card with the certificate to the Nouvelle Jolie Nail Salon & Spa, she decided to put it to good use. She planned for them to get their nails done in the afternoon, then later meet up with Nino, Luka, and a few of their other classmates to go to the movie theater downtown to see the newest fantasy movie The Halcyon Court.

They were planning to make a day of this.

The two girls walked in and checked in the reception area. The receptionist told them to go through the open doorway a few feet from the desk as that was where the nail salon was. They thanked him and walked through the doorway of the salon. Lacquer smell of nail polish and lavender hit their noses as they entered. The nail salon's white walls were covered with mauve drapes and the floor was black stone tile. There were a few manicure tables with chairs set up and ten black pedicure spa chairs against a wall. The adjacent wall had several attached black shelves with hundreds of bottles of nail polish from platinum white to absolute black. At one of the manicure tables there was a pair of young women chatting. A blonde and a brunette both were wearing uniforms of a light blue collar shirts with Nouvelle Jolie on the back, and white slip ons. The brunette looked up then smiled at the girls.

"Hi," the brunette waved as she stood up from the table. "Are you two the Cèsaire appointment? The two manicures?"

"Yes," Alya answered.

The brunette approached them shaking their hands, showing her electric blue nails with a dragonfly design. "I'm Monica and the blonde is Phoebe. We are your manicurists for today."

"Hi," Phoebe waved, picking up a pink thick binder from the table as she approached.

"Nice to meet you," Marinette said.

"Likewise," Phoebe handed Alya the binder. Then gave Marinette a sample chain with color swatches. "Here's our design look book. It has all the designs offered and the chain has the colors that aren't in the book."

"I should mention that you will be sharing the space today. The other appointment should be arriving soon," said Monica. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah," Alya turned to Marinette. "Is that okay with you?"

"Totally," Marinette said.

"Great, thank you for being so understanding. You don't know how many newbies complain about the usual setup while it's the best option," Phoebe let out a sigh of relief. "So get comfortable, and choose your colors so we make your nails a work of art. We are going to wait for the other appointment at the reception desk."

The girls sat in the salon chairs at the end and started to browse through the look book. There were photos of various nail designs like dragons, color blocking, glitter, dragonflies, flowers, and so on.

"So are you going natural or acrylic?" Alya asked her friend.

"Natural. How about you?" Marinette looked through the sample chain.

"Natural, I'm afraid that I will lose them when the glue wears off," the auburn haired girl flipped through the pages, then stopped. "Ooo, I think you might like this one."

Alya held up the binder showing a photograph of a pair of hands with pale pink nails on all fingers except for the ring finger which was chalk white with pink rose decals. "It's number thirty five."

"So we are picking each other’s nails?"

"Depends, if you like it."

"I like it...now let me pick," she took the binder and flipped a few pages. "How about this number forty five?"

Alya looked at the photo that Marinette showed her, a pair of hands wearing deep peach nail polish with small white flowers and tiny green leaves.

"I mean it is your color, so what do you think?" her friend asked.

"It's cute," Alya said. "I like it."

"I figured anything here would be better than what Nail Guru would give somebody. Remember when he attacked the city a couple weeks ago and gave everybody twenty inch nails?"

"I remember that I don't get what his plan was besides everybody poking their eyes out when they scratch their nose."

"I just pity anybody who needed to go to the bathroom during that."

The girls started to laugh when a familiar voice interrupted the hysterics.

"I see you two are having a good time."

Alya looked up half expecting to be Monica so they could tell her their decisions. But when she looked up it wasn't Monica. But instead another familiar face.

It was their classmate Lila Rossi standing right before them while Monica trailed behind her.

"Lila?" Alya asked, completely shocked.

She looked beside her towards Marinette, the raven haired girl's smile faded into a scowl and her blue eyes were shooting icy daggers. If looks could kill Lila would've just faced a full blown execution just by Marinette's glare.

"Hey girls," Lila smiled.

"You three know each other?" Monica asked.

"Yes," Lila answered. "We are in the same class."

"That's great getting your nails done is so much better when you have friends with you," Monica walked to a table picking up another look book then handed it to Lila. "Here's a look book so you can pick out a color or design. I'll be back with the other manicurists Phoebe, Janis, and Emily so we can get started soon."

"Okay, thank you so much," Lila took the book. "By the way I love your nails."

"Aww thank you, you're so sweet," Monica cooed. "I did them myself."

"Well that shows how talented you are," Lila told her.

"Thanks, I'll get the others so we can get started," the manicurist said, walking out of the room.

"Um Lila...it's nice to see you," Alya started.

"Debatable. What are you doing here, Lila?" Marinette crossed her arms.

"My mom and I are having a girls day out and we decided to get our nails done," Lila innocently answered. "But it's crazy to see you girls here. I didn't expect to see anyone I knew."

"So where's your mom?" Marinette asked.

"She needed to go to the bathroom but she should be out soon. So what are you two getting?" Lila asked.

"Just manicures," Alya answered.

"Oh you are going to love it. I came here before for a manicure and they did an amazing job," Lila said.

"That's nice," Marinette said flatly.

At that moment a woman in their late thirties entered the room. She had fair skin, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and light brown eyes. She was wearing a long sleeve blue jacket, a white top, black pants, a black shoulder bag, and black high heels. She had bags underneath her eyes, a forlorn look on her face, and a smartphone in her hand.

"Hey mom, there you are," Lila smiled as the woman approached then it faded. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Bad news Lila, after I finished up in the bathroom I got a call from Lee at the embassy," said Ms. Rossi "I need to go there as soon as possible."

"What? They can't do that to you. This is your first real day off in a while," Lila told her.

"I know but they wouldn't be calling me in like this if it wasn’t serious."

"But we’re supposed to spend the whole day together."

"It's okay, I'll make it up to you like usual. You can stay here. Get a manicure and a pedicure, my treat. I'll also order those high heel boots you've been asking for lately. Okay?"

"Alright," Lila said, disappointment was in her eyes. "If you say so."

"Great," Lila's mother took her by the hand. "So let's go to the front desk to explain the situation and I can pay in advance so you don't have to worry about the bill."

Ms. Rossi walked Lila out of the room, presumably going to the front desk.

"Wow, did you see that?" Alya turned to Marinette, her heart was beating with empathy.

"Huh, what?" the raven haired girl looked up from the pages of the look book. "Oh. Very sad. But did you see number forty eight? They look like wolf claws!"

"Seriously Marinette? Lila's day just got ruined and that's all you got to say?"

"Um yes, considering that she is my worst enemy that's all I got."

"Come on, I thought Chloe was your worst enemy."

"She was but now she's under her and right above people who don't pick up after their dogs in public. I lost a good pair of flats that way."

"You could be nicer considering she hasn't really done anything to you."

"She hasn't done anything!? Excuse me, did you forget that she planted that answer key and her necklace to get me expelled!? Also she lied about me pushing her down the stairs."

"We still don't know about the answer sheet and necklace. We didn't find proof who exactly that was. As for the stairs thing Lila explained to everyone her condition that confused her to think you pushed her when instead she actually fell. When she realized her mistake she told Mr. Damocles and he let you back in."

"Okay don't you think it seems a little weird that Lila has so many conditions? You would think she would always be in the hospital."

"Her medical history isn't our business plus not every medical condition is visible. I have anemia and need to take iron tablets everyday so I don't feel faint. But you wouldn't know by just looking at me. Just because you don't carry an oxygen tank around doesn't mean you don't have a medical condition."

"True. But Lila is not one of those people; she just does it for attention. She's a super liar."

"But you got no proof. Besides, she did a solid for me and Nino a while back watching Ella, Etta, and Chris when you were unable to watch them like you promised."

Suddenly Marinette's face became flushed. "Well you know...something just came up."

"Well, Lila was there when we needed her. Is the reason that you have a grudge against her because she seemed into Adrien when you had a thing for him?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that when she comes back, maybe be friendly. Her day just got ruined so we should try to be kind to her. You don't know you two might become friends."

"I would rather be attacked by an akuma," Marinette sighed. "But I'll do it for you as you shouldn't be paying for animosity."

"That's the spirit," Alya wrapped her arm around Marinette's shoulder. "If Ladybug could give Chloe a second chance after what happened during Fashion Week. You can tolerate Lila while getting your nails done."

A few short moments later Lila returned with Monica and Phoebe. In addition, two other women, presumably Janis and Emily. The manicurists got to work setting up their situations as Alya and Marinette told Monica and Phoebe their design choices. While Lila picked out hers. In less than ten minutes the polish was picked, the mini storage tables was placed, stools set up, and the girls hands (in Lila's case hands and feet) was all submerged in bowls of a foamy lavender scent nail treatment to make trimming and filing much easier later down the line.

"Okay," Alya felt the warm treatment and foam attached to her skin. "Would it be a bad time to say I want to scratch my nose?"

While Marinette laughed at the joke. Alya looked at Lila who had been quiet since she came back. She gestured her head towards Lila mouthing to her friend.

"Say something."

Marinette sighed. "Hey Lila, I think that lavender color you picked out for your polish is really pretty."

Lila turned to Marinette shocked. "Wait, are you talking to me?"

"Yes," the raven haired girl forced a smile. "That color is going to look really nice with your complexion."

"Oh...thank you, I just wanted to try something new," Lila looked over to the polish that Phoebe had laid out for Marinette. "I see you picked out pink going with your standby, huh?"

"Actually I picked it out for her," Alya interjected. "I figured it suited her outfit."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you," Lila told her. "By the way Alya, where did you get your purse? I noticed it when I came in. I love all those colorful superhero pins."

"Actually Marinette made it for me," Alya said.

"Yeah, it was a birthday gift," Marinette grinned. "By the way Alya I should add more pins to your bag as there's now more heroes like Viperion and Pegasus."

"You might not know this but Marinette is a designer," Alya told Lila. "The top that she's wearing right now she made herself from scratch."

"Actually, I didn't," Lila's green eyes studied intensely on Marinette's top. "It reminds me of something Elena Angela would do considering the lace. Next time I call her I'll tell her I had met someone with a similar design style."

"Wait, are you saying that you know Elena Angela personally?" Marinette narrowed her eyes.

"Who's Elena Angela?" Alya asked.

"She's a very famous Italian designer. She is on the same level of Adrien's dad but for Italy," Marinette explained. "The reason why I know about her is because I have been looking into a lot of modern designers' work lately. She was one of the first names that popped up."

"Yes, we are actually very close," the brunette girl beamed. "I was the one who gave her inspiration when she was going through a block. We met at a charity event and have been close ever since. She actually modeled her line Ragazza Di Lusso after me."

"The one that made millions of dollars?" Marinette asked.

"Yep, I even did some modeling for her too," Lila said nonchalantly.

"Wow," Alya said, impressed.

"Really?" Marinette asked. "The Ragazza Di Lusso line came out last year and I never saw you in any of its promos or the runway videos during fashion week, Lila."

"That's because you didn't look far enough back. I modeled her other line, the Giglio Bianco collection," Lila explained. "She pushed the Ragazza Di Lusso line back so she could have more time and did the Giglio Bianco instead. After the Giglio Bianco collection I took a little time off from modeling. But I started up again with that photo shoot with Adrien a while ago. Did you see that one, Marinette?"

"Yes, I have," Marinette glared at her.

"Did ask her to keep a low profile on me for the sake of privacy," Lila smiled. "But she did mention me once or twice in some magazine interviews. But they are all in Italian. Do you even know Italian?"

"Sadly, I don't," the raven haired girl admitted.

"I'm actually starting to learn some," Alya said.

"Wait? What?" Marinette turned to her. "Since when?"

"Last week, I found this really cool Italian show on YouTube. The only videos I have found have Italian dub with French subs. The show was very interesting so I started learning to follow the show better. It's not much but I know how to count to ten."

"What show is it?" Lila asked.

"It's called All'alba," Alya replied.

"All'aba! That's one of my favorite shows!" the brunette girl exclaimed. "How far are you? Who's your favorite character?"

"I just finished season one. I still need to watch the first couple episodes of season two. Also Mia is my favorite. She is hilarious."

"My favorite is Jasmine, I love her style and she's so confident. You seem pretty caught up with season one so can you believe what Vera did to Allegra in episode nineteen?"

"No way," Alya shook her head. "I mean how can you do that to your own cousin?"

Alya and Lila continued to chat about All'albra characters and plot lines while the manicurists dried their nails then started trimming and filing their nails. Eventually they shifted into painting as the two girls continued to talk. Marinette remained quiet, not having much to contribute to the conversation.

"Personally, I think that Marco was the one that stole the money," Alya told Lila as Monica applied another coat on her nails. "He wasn't at Jasmine's party now Mia's money is gone."

"Mmm," Lila shifted her eyes to Janis doing her nails. "You need to catch up on the two new episodes."

"Wait it isn't Macro, is it Vincent? But it can't be because he was with Gabriella."

"No spoilers," Lila laughed. "You have to find out for yourself."

"Wow this sounds like a really interesting show," Marinette said as Phoebe applied more pink polish to her nails. "Maybe I should check it out."

"Definitely," Alya agreed. "The show is very dramatic but in a good way. It's awesome to have someone to talk about it with. I tried with Nino but he wasn't into it."

"Hey Alya, I just had a great idea. If you are able to catch up in time then maybe we can watch the next episode together at my place," Lila said. "Like a mini viewing party the next episode should be online this upcoming Friday. We can make it a weekly thing and I can help with your Italian too. I understand how hard it is to learn another language. It took me a while to get a hang of French. So are you interested?"

"Definitely, thanks Lila," Alya turned to Marinette. "Hey, maybe you should come. I mean if that's okay with Lila."

"Um...I don't know," said Lila. "It's a pretty plot-heavy series. Maybe she should watch the series to see if she likes it before jumping in."

"You got a point," the auburn girl agreed then looked at Marinette. "I'll send you a link to the YouTube channel tonight when I get home. I'm probably going to stay up late anyway finishing editing and updating the Ladyblog."

"Oh by the way Alya I wanted to mention that I checked out your latest video on the Ladyblog," Lila said. "You got great coverage of The Pixie akuma. But gotta ask about the angle that you filmed from the video. It looked like you were floating in the air."

"It's because I was, originally I was filming behind a car but I ended up getting hit by a ray from Pixie's wand that was meant for Ladybug and Chat Noir," Alya said casually. "I ended up floating towards the sky but I was still able to film the whole fight. So still a win."

"You need to be more careful while filming one of these days you're going to get seriously hurt being reckless," Marinette told her.

"But I wasn't as I was hiding besides I heard it all before from my parents, Nino, even Ladybug and Chat Noir," Alya rolled her eyes.

"It's just because we don't want you to get hurt."

"But shouldn't a journalist not be afraid to be in the middle of the action?" Lila asked Marinette. "You know, to get the story that they need."

"Yeah, that's what I've been saying," Alya grinned. "Thank you Lila."

"No problem, I always support people who go for what they want," Lila winked. "Just like Mia did when she applied for that internship."

"Exactly, that's one of my favorite episodes; too bad Bianca had to kiss Lando in that episode," Alya nodded.

"Right! I was literally screaming at the screen 'stop it! That's your sister's boyfriend!’” Lila said. "I mean, what kind of what person does that?"

"I just know if one of my sisters kissed Nino like that then it would be World War III. But Ella and Etta still think boys have cooties and Nora is older. Even if we were around the same age he isn't her type."

"Well you two are a cute couple I have been meaning to ask how you two get together?"

"It's actually a funny story," Alya said.

She told Lila the basic details of how her and Nino got trapped in a cage at the zoo while she was doing a favor for Marinette. In addition, Nino actually had a little crush on Marinette beforehand.

"But technically if it wasn't for Marinette then I would realize how cool that Nino is if I wasn't at the zoo that day," Alya finished. “So in a way Marinette I have to thank you. You and Ladybug of course."

"That's what friends are for," the raven haired girl smiled.

"Wait. So Nino had a crush on Marinette before you started dating? Don't you think that's a little weird?" Lila asked.

"No," Marinette answered. "Why would it be? Anyway, why would you care if it was?"

"Don't be offended, I wasn't trying to imply anything," Lila reassured her. "It's just my cousin Camila who was in a similar situation with her friend Tamara and her boyfriend Nick. He ended up cheating on Camilla with Tamara."

"That would never happen with us!" Marinette yelled, nearly standing out of her seat almost causing Phoebe to mess up the coat she was working on.

"Lila, I'm not worried I trust both Nino and Marinette," Alya said. "Besides, Marinette has a boyfriend so it's not like she's jealous."

"It's just something similar happened to my cousin. But Nino is an upstanding guy so I doubt anything would happen," Lila told her. "By the way how long have you and Marinette been friends anyway?"

"We met on the first day of school so for a couple months," the auburn haired girl answered.

"Funny as Camila and Tamara knew each other since they were five and they were sixteen when it happened," Lila said. "But again what do I know you guys are different."

The room was quiet for a minute when Alya suddenly asked if anyone saw the latest Jagged Stone music video to change the subject. However even though the conversation topic changed there was still an awkward and unsettling feeling in the atmosphere. Alya and Lila continued to talk about All'alba bonding even more while the manicurists finished up. After a round of hands and a pair of feet in the nail dryers the girls' nails were done. They looked exactly like the photos in the look book with the vibrant colors, flower designs, and decals. The three girls thanked the manicurists for their work. Alya and Marinette left the salon area to the reception desk to pay with Lila trailing behind them.

"It was nice spending time with you girls," Lila said.

"Likewise Lila," Alya told her. "Isn't that right Marinette?"

"Yeah it was great," the raven haired girl folded her arms. "Alya, we should get going."

"Right, what time is it?" she asked her.

Marinette pulled out her phone from her purse and checked. "It's two twenty and we are supposed to meet everybody at three."

"Awesome, we should have enough time to meet everybody at the theater," Alya said.

"Theater? Are you two seeing a movie?" Lila asked.

"Yes," Marinette replied, panic seemed to cross her blue eyes. "It's kinda like a small date-like thing."

"More like a group thing," Alya said.

Her friend shot her a look. "It's more like a small group date thing."

"What movie are you going to see?" Lila asked.

"The Halcyon Court," Alya told her.

"I have heard good things about that movie," Lila sighed. "You two are lucky to be able to do something after this. My mom and I were going to get something to eat but obviously our plans were canceled. So I'm going to go home and watch some reruns of All'alba."

"That sounds like a plan," Marinette smiled while taking Alya's hand. "So let's go to the desk to pay Alya."

"That's terrible Lila," Alya stayed still, refusing to move by her friend's yanking.

"Yeah but that's just my normal," Lila shrugged. "I'll be alone for a couple hours as my mom said she doesn't know when she will come back tonight. But I'll see you girls on Monday."

Lila started to leave, walking past them as Marinette cheerfully waved goodbye. While Alya started to think about the situation.

It's just one movie. Alya thought. We're just meeting up with Nino, Luka, Alix, Max, Nathaniel, Marc, Julkea, Rose, Kim, Odiene, Ivan, and Mylene. Adrien won't be there since his father scheduled a photo shoot around the same time. One more wouldn't make a difference, right?

"Lila, wait!" the auburn haired girl called out. "Do you have any money on you?"

"Yeah my mom gave me money for some takeout, why?" the brunette girl turned around.

"Well, if you are able to pay for yourself then do you want to go to the movies with us?"

"Really?"

"Yeah sure it's just a few people from class so you know nearly everybody already."

"If that's the case then I would love to!" Lila walked over to her, giving her a hug. "Thank you so much Alya, you're so nice!"

"It's no big deal, really," she insisted.

Alya looked over to her best friend with a bright smile while Marinette looked back, returning the smile with a scowl.

After Alya paid with the gift certificate the three girls left the salon then took a ride on the metro. Lila and Alya sat together, chatting and even pulled out their phones to follow each other on Instagram. While Marinette sat a few seats behind them, but she didn't say a word to them. She just sat looking into her purse mumbling something that Alya couldn't make out. They got off at their destination then went above ground to walk to the theater about two blocks away.

"I can't wait for this movie!" Lila exclaimed, linking arms with Alya as they walked down the street. "The trailer looked awesome."

"Me either, I read The Halcyon Court book series when I was little," Alya said. "Plus my favorite actress Yara Jace is playing my favorite character Princess Windsor."

"You like Yara Jace?"

"Yeah, she's so cool and is an animal rights activist which I totally support."

"That's great to hear I should tell Yara the next time I call her."

"Wait? Next time you call her? Are you telling me that you know Yara Jace too?"

"I know all the major celebrities, maybe I can try to get you an interview with her. It might be a while since she's promoting the movie. I know it's not superhero related either but-"

"I would love that," Alya turned to Marinette who was trailing behind them. "Hey girl, did you hear that? Lila knows Yara Jace."

"I heard," Marinette said softly, avoiding her eyes.

Alya raised a brow letting go of Lila. She approached Marinette seeing that she was looking very somber in her face.

"Hey, what's wrong, you've been very quiet lately," Alya said.

"Oh what?" Marinette's voice rang out with a little edge. "Did my own back hurt your knife?"

The auburn haired girl's hazel eyes narrowed. She turned back to Lila. "Excuse us for a second."

Alya grabbed Marinette by the wrist and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. "Okay, what was that?"

"I don't know how about you ask your new best friend?" Marinette yanked her hand from Alya's grip.

"New best friend, do you mean Lila?"

"You had no right inviting her without talking to me first!"

"Excuse me? Since when did I have to run things by you?"

"You should've considered it since you weren't going alone."

"She didn't have anything to do after the salon. What was I supposed to do?"

"Leave her there! That's what you could've done! She's not some lost puppy that followed you home."

"I didn't see you complaining when you was getting the manicure I paid for-"

"That's because I kept my promise of no fighting at the salon. But you didn't keep your promise of keeping it at the salon. Even though you know that I don't like her."

"I don't see what your problem is, she has been nothing but nice all day."

"To you, you didn't see all the nasty faces she was giving me back at the salon."

"What faces? I didn't see anything and I was with you the whole time. You're just making stuff up now. She hasn't done anything to you."

"Haven't done anything, have you not been listening?! But again why I'm surprised you never listened to me when it came to Lila. Even though she has been after me since day one! Every time I try to tell you something you brush me off!"

"It's because you never have proof Marinette! You could say that she's Ladybug or Batman but without seeing proof I can't accept anything!"

"It's because she's made out of solid Teflon, nothing sticks to her!"

"A real reporter doesn't accept stories without proof."

"Well, are you a real reporter or my friend?"

"Can't I be both?"

"I don't know as a real friend would've been considerate with my feelings and would've not invited that girl to the movies."

"But how can I be when I know that you are wrong?! Just admit it, Marinette you don't like Lila because she committed the worst crime possible by liking Adrien the same time that you did. That's why you've been holding this grudge for months. You have done it with Chloe, you did it with Kagami, and you're doing it with Lila! I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me too if I had a crush on Adrien. I don't, but I wouldn't put it past you. That's why I'm taking what you said with a grain of salt. It all stems from jealousy which is getting old! Especially since you literally have a boyfriend waiting for you right now, but you decided to have this fight with me! So, I'm so sorry that I don't hate Lila like you do!"

"You're just so blind you can't even tell she's using you to hurt me! The only reason you like her is because she blows smoke up your butt! 'Oh Alya I love your bag, you're so brave for almost getting killed filming stuff for your blog, you have great taste for watching an Italian drama that no one cares about, you and Nino are such a cute couple.' But newsflash Miss Reporter she does that to everybody! YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL!"

Soon as that last word left Marinette's mouth her eyes widened, showing instant regret while Alya reeled back in shock.

"Alya I didn't..." Marinette started.

"Don't," Alya shook her head, keeping tears from welding in her eyes. "I think that we both meant what we said. Let's go. I'm sure the guys are waiting for us."

Alya stepped out of the alleyway to Lila leaning against the wall of the building, standing very awkwardly. Color drained from Alya's face realizing what Lila probably heard.

Did she hear us? she thought. Of course she did. We were practically having a screaming match.

"Lila..." Alya said.

"Alya if me being here is causing a problem maybe I should just go," Lila told her. "I don't want to be a burden."

"No Lila," Alya watched Marinette come out of the alleyway. She put her arm around Lila's shoulder. "You are right where you're supposed to be."

The three girls continued their walk; both Alya and Marinette were silent. While Lila was bubbly as ever talking about the movie. They eventually reached their destination as they saw Nino and Luka standing outside the theater.

"Hey girls," Nino greeted them. "You're finally here, Luka and I were starting to get worried about you."

"Hey babe," Alya spoke softly as she approached her boyfriend.

She turned to Luka to greet him when Marinette approached him wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. The rocker was shocked but he wrapped his arms around her, whispering something in her ear.

"Hi Nino," Lila waved at the Dj.

"Hi...Lila?" Nino asked, confusion crossed his face. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't expect to be here but your amazing girlfriend invited me," Lila gushed. "Isn't she so sweet?"

"Yep she's the greatest," Nino looked at Alya. "Um, let's go inside, the rest of the group is already in line to buy tickets."

The teens entered the movie theater that smelled like freshly popped popcorn and was filled with people and chatter. The rest of the group, similar to Nino, was surprised to see Lila but welcomed her with open arms. The group all brought their tickets then dispersed around the theater going to the snack stand to buy overpriced popcorn and candy or go to the bathroom before the show started. Alya and Nino walked toward the snack bar when she saw Marinette and Luka. Both of the girls turned away from each other. Alya still felt horrible, she couldn't look at her without thinking about the hurtful things that Marinette had said.

The things that she had said.

"Okay," Alya said to Nino. "You paid for the tickets this time so I'll pay for the snacks. So what do you want mixed with the popcorn? Peanut M&M's or raisinets?"

Nino took her hand. "We need to talk."

"About what?" she asked him as he pulled her to a nearby bench.

"What's going on with you and Marinette? You two looked really upset when you came here," Nino said.

"Nino, we are going to be late for the movie if we don't get in line soon," Alya said.

"We are just going to miss about twenty minutes of trailers," he said. "Come on Aly, talk to me. What's going on?"

Alya sighed and sat down on the bench. She spilled everything that happened from Lila appearing at the salon, their discussion, her inviting Lila to the movies to her and Marinette's fight.

"Wow, all that happened in a few hours?" Nino asked. "You know that you need to talk to Marinette."

"What? Why?" Alya asked. "Are you saying that it's my fault?"

"I didn't say that, don't put words in my mouth. But you know that Marinette doesn't like Lila."

"I know that but...after seeing what happened with Lila and her mom. I just wanted to be nice and figured this would be a great way that Marinette could put the whole Lila grudge behind her. It would make it easier for her and us too."

"You have a big heart trying to help people, Alya. But inviting Lila when you promised Marinette wasn't the right thing to do. You can't force people to be friends. Sometimes the best thing for two people to do is coexist. Long as they aren't hurting anybody."

"But it would be easier for them to be friends."

"Easier for them or easier for you?" Nino folded his arms. "It sounds like you were thinking about yourself, not Marinette. There's nothing wrong with being friends with Lila, she's cool. But doing the right thing won't always be the easiest."

"But what about the things Marinette had said?" Alya asked.

"What she said wasn't great but I'm sure that mostly came from anger. That's why you two should talk as both of you hopefully cooled down. You can't let one fight between you girls end your friendship."

"Why won't you ever let me stay mad?" Alya groaned as Nino wrapped his arm around her.

"It's because I hate seeing you upset," Nino kissed her on the cheek. "Now talk to her, I'm sure you two can sort this stuff out."

Alya nodded, reaching for her bag to give Nino the money for snacks while she tried to find Marinette when she heard someone yell.

"LILA, YOU WITCH!"

Alya and Nino looked up to see Marinette with Luka standing in the middle of the theater. Lila was in front of them, her hands covering her mouth. The front of Marinette's new shirt was covered with cola, gooey movie theater nacho cheese and tortilla chips.

"LOOK WHAT DID YOU!" Marinette yelled looking disgusted with her shirt.

Lila started to openly sob, strangers around them started to chuckle to themselves while their classmates started to look at Marinette with disdain. Tears started to run down Marinette's face as she ran to the ladies' room. Luka followed, calling out to her.

"What happened?" Alya ran over to the scene, Nino following.

"It was an accident," Lila sobbed. "I just got nachos for the movie and was walking to the theater. My ankle started to hurt and I stumbled a bit forward with my food. It fell out of my hands onto Marinette. I didn't see her but now she's going to hate me even more!"

"Lila, it's okay, it was an accident. Marinette will have to understand," Alya consoled her. "But I should check up on her."

"No I should do it," Lila insisted. "I should help her clean up. It was my fault."

The brunette girl then ran to the ladies room before Alya could say another word.

"I should check on her anyway," Alya dug her purse and handed Nino some money. "You go and buy the snacks."

"I think that's a good idea," Nino took the money. "You want a Sprite to drink, right?"

Alya nodded then walked to the ladies room. Luka was standing outside of the bathroom.

"Lila is in there with Marinette trying to clean her shirt," Luka said as Alya approached.

"Okay thanks Luka," Alya started to go in when Luka stopped her.

"Hey Alya is something going on with Marinette and Lila? She was pretty upset when you guys came here. Also...look I don't really know Lila well so I'm probably not the one to judge. But that nacho spill looked pretty intentional."

"Intentional? It's pretty complicated between them, Luka. But I'm going to check on them right now."

Alya walked in the bathroom passing empty stalls and sinks as the theater's bathroom was large and divided in two sections.

"Leave me alone Lila!" Marinette yelled.

Alya walked to the other section of the bathroom against the white and red tiled wall that divided the space in half. She walked to the end and peered her head out to see Marinette's back against the row of sinks while Lila stood in front of her. The brunette girl's features were much more hard looking and sinister.

"Oh Marinette," Lila chuckled to herself. "Why would you ask that when you know I can't? Especially since you still don't realize who really runs the show around here."

Her voice sounded much more sinister and intimidating. This scene just felt so wrong, a tiny voice in Alya's head piped up telling her one thing.

Record it. For proof.

Alya quickly pulled out her phone and switched it on to video mode pointing at the girls.

"Why not?" Marinette asked. "You already ruined my day out with Alya. Can't you give this a rest?"

"No, I can't as it seems that you never learn Marinette. You don't know where your place is supposed to be," Lila explained. "It's the bottom. I told you my first day back you are either with me or against me. You chose against and the bottom is where people like you belong."

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? This is one of the few times I'm actually telling the truth. Isn't that what you wanted the truth? Despite what you probably thought our war wasn't over. The whole letting you back in school thing after planting the answer sheets in your bag and the necklace in your locker. That wasn't a truce that was being merciful; even a few enemy soldiers during war are merciful once in a while."

Alya suddenly felt her stomach lurch. Guilt started to wrap around her like a damp wool blanket.

Marinette was right? she thought.

"But it gotta be something else as I've been staying out of your way. What is it, Adrien?”Marinette asked. "He's dating Kagami and I'm with someone else."

"Ah yes that blue haired boy. Luka is his name isn't it? I saw how you were hanging onto him. He's pretty cute but I'm sure he would look better with me."

Marinette's eyes widened and she lunged forward. "NO HE WOULDN'T!"

"Hey, don't yell at me," Lila said calmly. "I'm not the bad guy here. I'm not the one who told her supposed best friend she wasn't special."

"You heard that?" Marinette shrank, reeling back into her place.

"Of course I did. You two were practically having a screaming match."

"I-I-I didn't mean it I was just angry," the raven haired girl confessed then her eyes hardened. "It was because you were with us."

"I guess I bring the worst out of you, go figure," Lila shrugged. "Alya will be my friend now, especially since we hit it off at the salon. I'm sure she hates your guts, but do you want to know a secret? I don't even like Alya that much. She's just as annoying and grating just like the rest of the class. But when I saw you girls at the salon, how could I pass up this gift wrapped opportunity to take her away from you?"

"Alya is one of the most amazing people that I know, you don't deserve her. So is the rest of our class."

"Oh really the class that was so easy to manipulate against you with a few lies. Besides with Alya it's not your decision, all it took was a few compliments and ego strokes, now she's practically eating out of my hand. Luka will too. I saw his t-shirt. I'm sure he would be interested to know that Jagged Stone wrote a song about me when I rode on his private jet."

"He won't."

"Alya did, so I'm sure you will be talking to Hawkmoth soon. I mean losing your best friend and boyfriend in one day. Not even you can handle that. Hopefully you will make yourself useful and finally take Ladybug's miraculous. That's another girl that needs to be taken down a peg."

Alya's mouth hung agape almost unsure what she had witnessed. She pressed the record button again, ending the video and saving it. She quickly sent it to the group chat she had made with the class at the beginning of the school year to save it just in case. Probably everybody's phone was on silent because the movie was starting soon but it would be best to have saved several places. Just in case, a tip she learned from her favorite book Journalism 101.

Alya looked back up to see Marinette with tears in her eyes. It was clear she was unraveling but was still trying to prevent an akuma from coming. She tried to move away when Lila grabbed her by the stained shirt.

"I'm not finished with you!" she yelled.

"Yes you are!" Alya yelled, stepping from the tile wall.

"ALYA!" Lila suddenly released Marinette, her features softened as if her wickedness reverted back in its shell. "I-I didn't know that you were here. I was helping Marinette with her shirt. She's such a squirmer. Tell her Marinette."

Marinette remained silent in a daze as if she was wondering if this was real life or fantasy.

"Cut the act, I heard everything," Alya growled. "The truth and the threats, Marinette has been right all along."

"B-but Alya you clearly misheard, Marinette was the one attacking me!" Lila sobbed. "She has been saying nasty things to me. Anything I said was in self defense. I mean I can explain my mom is always working and is never home. That's why any of this happened."

"That might be the reason but not an excuse to treat people this way. I don't know who I'm more mad at, you for manipulating me or myself for taking your side over Marinette's!"

Lila's features harden. "Well, I guess show over then, so I'll give you the same treatment. You either with me or against me Cèsaire if I could drag Little Miss Perfect over there through the mud then imagine what I can do to you."

"I choose against that little scene with Marinette. I recorded it and sent it through our class' group chat already. They are probably watching it right now."

"You're buffing," Lila said.

"No she’s not," Marinette said, as if she found her voice again. "That's the difference between you and her Lila. When Alya says she did something then she most likely did. She's honest and true, not a fake."

Lila's face burned red, then shoved Alya out of her way. She left the bathroom yelling. "You're going to regret this Cèsaire!"

"Ahh quit you lying!" Alya yelled back.

She looked at Marinette taking a deep breath. The raven haired girl turned on the sink, pulled a paper towel from the dispenser, wet it and started to clean her shirt more.

"Marinette, I'm so sorry," Alya approached her. "This is all my fault. I...I let Lila take me for a ride. I forgot what really matters to my best friend. You were right, I'm not special, I'm just an idiot."

"Oh come you are one of the best people I know," Marinette continued to clean. Her shirt now had a huge faded yellow stain. "I just said that because I was upset."

"Don't say that not right now after how awful I've been. I should have listened to you all these months. I'm sorry that I lost sight of our girls' day that was supposed to be about us spending time together."

"And I'm sorry for what I said. I wasn't being exactly honest with you or myself. In a way you were right, one of the main reasons I didn't like Lila, because I saw her with Adrien. That's why I followed them but when I realized she was a liar it became justification to hate her. But today I was just worried about losing my best friend."

"You didn't," Alya hugged her.

Marinette smiled. "Too bad my shirt got messed up in the middle of this."

"I'll pay for the dry cleaning but..." Alya looked down to her hips remembering the flannel shirt that was tied around her. She untied it and offered it to Marinette. "It's not nice as yours but-"

"It's perfect," Marinette took the shirt, putting it over the nacho cheese stains.

"Good, it's the least that I could do," Alya wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"You finally exposed Lila," her friend smiled. "If that's not the biggest way to apologize then I don't know what is."

Alya just smiled. "Well as I said I just needed to see some proof."

A friendship tested but was able to remain strong. That's the thing about true friendship. It's like a good rubber band, it can get pulled and stretched but if it's really true then it's not easy to break.

The End.

Thanks for reading! 💕

I hoped you liked this story. One of the original reason I had wrote this story was in my opinion at the time the girls’ friendship had dipped a little. They wasn’t shown hanging out alone much at that time and the Lila situation in general. Now at this point much have changed as now Alya knows Marinette’s secret identity and had helped out as Rena Rouge/ Rena Furtive. But we also had her side with Lila in the episode “Risk” which was very disappointing in my opinion. I mean did the girls throughout the season had not discussed Lila and her whole story about being Ladybug’s best friend completely falls apart with this information.

Seriously we could had an episode of Alya distancing herself from Lila after learning the truth. Maybe have Alya wanting to expose Lila but Marinette tells her no. The main reason because she does not want Lila to go after her. But maybe have Lila sense the shift in Alya and tries to befriend her. But Alya keeps her distance which angers Lila. The episode could end with both Marinette and Alya exposing Lila once and for all.

But I guess that’s just wishful thinking. At least for now. Nevertheless, I hope you liked this story.

Normally I like to end a part/story with a song. So this time the song is “Count Me In” by Dove Cameron.

youtube

“A Friendship Tested” is also on Wattpad so feel free check it out there.

See you next time! 👋

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #alya cesaire #miraculous alya #lila salt #ml alya #miraculous marinette #miraculous lila #ml fanfic #ml characters #frienship #miraculous #my writing

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chasingpj · 3 years

Text

𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬

"I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 4,931

warnings: none

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here

a/n: hi hi! this is part one of a self-insert series I'm working on. in this story, y/n is a child of hecate, and this storyline follows the books. the current timeline here is post sea of monsters and will continue through the Heroes of Olympus books. though it follows the original plot, y/n has her own storyline and quests. i tried to make y/n gender-neutral but as I continued to work on the timeline for this project, i had decided that this fic is for a fem reader. guys, this is really just me projecting my fantasy into fanfiction lol. i feel like this is a slow start?? and there is a lot of info dumped in this so bear with me. it'll get better and I'll be working to improve my writing as the series continues. I was on a writing hiatus for a really long time and I'm out of practice so this is my way to get back and hopefully, exceed the skills I had when I was a consistent writer. anyways, if you have any feedback, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think. as i get deeper into the series, i might ask for some suggestions on what to do with the fic. anyways, i'll stop rambling and i hope you like it!

Part One Part Two

You ignore the aching in your neck as your focus is fixed on the herbology book in front of you. You’ve been seated at your desk for Zeus knows how long reading and taking notes in your Book of Shadows, determined to finish reading it as fast as possible. Your half-brother, Alabaster, insisted that you need to memorize all the herbs and their properties before he can properly teach you how to use them in potions. Even though you understand its importance, you hated introductory work. You are itching to get to the real stuff, resulting in you glued to your chair, studying through the night as your cabin mates were fast asleep in their beds. But as determined as you are, Ambrose, your familiar, wasn’t much help. Ambrose whines as he rubs his head against your legs like a needy kitten, making it difficult to ignore him.

“What is it, Ambrose?” You whisper, sitting back in your chair in defeat. You take a second to massage the back of your sore neck before turning to face the translucent hound sitting attentively at your side. His tail sweeps the floor as it wags excitedly, and a short huff leaves his snout as if he was proud to have finally gotten your attention.

Your eyes meet his, racking your mind to figure out what Ambrose needs to tell you. At first, you thought he wanted to play, but you didn’t have time for that, so you decided to ignore him. Usually, after being ignored for a while, Ambrose will give up, finding something else to occupy him. But tonight, he was particularly persistent, and he’s only like this when he needs to tell you something.

Before you can ask what he wanted again, Ambrose gets up from his seated position, running over to the small table that stands beside your bed. You furrow your eyebrows, the first thing you notice when you walk over are your crystals neatly placed in front of your spell books as usual. Seeing them made you suddenly remember what you had planned to do.

You had told Ambrose to remind you to charge your crystals and collect water from the lake since there is a full moon tonight and of course, Ambrose being your loyal companion, did exactly that. Before looking down at the hound, who now is breathing heavily, his tail somehow wagging faster than before, you smile to yourself.

“I told you to remind me earlier, didn’t I?” Ambrose snorts and runs around your feet enthusiastically. You couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement as you reached down to pat his head. “Good boy. What would I do without you?” You continue to praise him, grabbing a black pouch and carefully placing the crystals in it. You put your index finger to your lips, signaling Ambrose to be a little quieter despite his excitement. If he accidentally wakes anyone up, then you definitely weren’t going to be able to fulfill your plans.

You bite your bottom lip as you tiptoe out of the aisle between the bunks. You look around the notoriously cramped Hermes Cabin to make sure your assumption that everyone was asleep by now was correct. It wasn’t hard to make out the faces of your cabin mates since seeing clearly in the dark was one of your many gifts, so you carefully walked along the bunks, being as quiet as you could. You are especially cautious as you approach the front where your cabin leaders, the Stoll brothers, slept. You study them for a second, knowing for sure Travis was asleep since he was snoring and loudly at that. Before you can check if Connor is asleep, you hear him shifting in his bed. You stand frozen in your spot, hesitantly looking over and you were expecting to be met with the usual mischievous grin. Instead, his back was towards you now. You have a feeling in your gut that he wasn't asleep, the timing of his moving was much too convenient. You really didn't want to wait any longer though so you decide that you might as well leave before he could stop you.

You turn on your heels, walking over to the window before you push it open. You cringe softly as the hinges creak, and you look back at the cabin to double-check if anyone has woken up from the sound. You sigh in relief when you see no one has moved, and you turn back to the window, carefully crawling out of it. This wasn’t unusual for you. You’ve done this so many times that using windows as a mode of exiting and entering a room was as natural to you as walking in and out of a door, and soon you were hopping down onto the grass. Your back is pressed against the cabin as you walk the side of it. You look up at the trees and the sky, eyes scoping around for any harpies hanging around. After deeming that you were alone, you begin making your way to the lake, Ambrose walking by your side attentively and cautiously to make sure you are safe.

The night was clear; the stars and especially the moon shone brightly in the sky. You sigh softly, taking in the stillness of the night, admiring the glistening lake reflecting the full moon placed above it. You’ve always enjoyed how quiet and cool the nights were, preferring it more than the daytime.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t avoid it as much as you wish to. Most of your siblings can agree with you that they’d prefer to sleep in most days so that they can study and practice their magic at night. However, that wasn’t the schedule of the Hermes Cabin. It was pretty impossible to sleep in since the mornings were always hectic. In fact, the cabin was just hectic, period. There was always something going on, whether it was an elaborate prank or the guys arguing over who gets to shower first after coming back from training which usually resulted in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. You can’t say that you didn’t like it; at least you were entertained.

You also always had someone to talk to, and because there were often new campers coming in and out of there, you have easily familiarized yourself with a lot of the kids at camp. However, like your mother, you did enjoy and yearn for the occasional periods of solitude. As fun as living with the Hermes kids was, you and your siblings did find yourselves getting a little irritable at their shenanigans. It was at those times, you did wish that your mother, Hecate, had a designated cabin.

You and your siblings had always said if they ever got a cabin of their own, they would make sure everyone had separate rooms and would have designated spaces to socialize and practice their magic so that it was quiet for the most part. Alabaster, especially, was really passionate about this topic. He complained how it didn’t make sense that your mother wasn't recognized since you and your siblings were a powerful little bunch. You all needed a space to practice your magic and practice preferably at night since you were the most powerful at that time of day; you were also less prone to making mistakes in your spell casting at night. You agreed with him and would get upset about it sometimes, but the Hermes Cabin was a place you considered to be a second home. The communal feel of the space was something you enjoyed, it was one of the few places where you felt fully accepted which was rare to find being a demi-god with abilities like yours. In return to the Hermes Cabin welcoming you with open arms, you accept the inconveniently loud environment as an admirable quirk and went on with your days.

Then to compensate for the lack of silence and solitude, you would often stay up late, taking advantage of the quiet to focus on your studies. Even if you had to sacrifice the amount of sleep you got, you felt like it was worth it.

It doesn’t take you long to arrive at the dock, sitting down close to the end with your legs folded under you. You first collect lake water in a jar before carefully taking out the pouch's crystals. Assuming you had only a few left in the pouch after laying most of them on the dock, you tilt it with your hand under it, only for the crystals to come out all at once. You fumble, hands trying to bring them to your chest, but with your luck, one of your crystals falls right into the water with a plop.

“Dammit!” You peer over the edge and groan, Ambrose whining at your misfortune as he stands beside you. You look down at the water, noticing Ambrose’s and your dim reflection in it. There was no way you could get that crystal now because you didn't know how to swim, and you consider that maybe tomorrow you can convince your twin brother, Atticus, to look for it or Alabaster if Atticus refused, which you were expecting him to.

Your breath hitches at the back of your throat, jumping back as a head of dark hair abruptly pops up from right where you were staring. Ambrose barks loudly next to you, equally as startled, and your eyes widen. You stand up hastily at the realization that Ambrose's loud barks in the dead of night will catch the attention of the harpies, and right now, that was more important to you than the mysterious person that just sprouted up in the water like a zombie coming out of a grave.

“Shush! Ambrose, quiet!” Your frantic command was enough to make him stop with a whine, and you sigh shakily, turning towards the camp to check if there were any harpies.

“I think you dropped something.” Ambrose moves in front of you protectively, a low growl coming from his chest as he cautiously studies the person. You look back where the voice came from and to your surprise and your relief, you find that the mysterious person in the lake was no other than Percy Jackson. You never had a conversation with him before, but you definitely knew about him. It was kind of hard not to know who he is since he’s been the talk of the camp since he’s arrived. Your thoughts about him weren’t any different from most of the camp. You’ve seen him fight and use his powers during capture the flag, and you were just as impressed as everyone else. You did have to admit that you found him to be pretty cute too. His eyes were gorgeous, clear, and bright like a shallow, cyanic sea. You also found it adorable how his hair always looked a little disheveled.

Your (e/c) eyes met Percy’s green ones before looking at your rose quartz in his hand. You smile sheepishly, noticing the amused look on his face.

“Ah, yeah, that’s mine.” You walk over to him, but as you get closer, so does Ambrose, and his growls get louder. "Ambrose, heel. It's okay," you say softly, and he stops in his place, but his stance is still at alert, his eyes watching Percy cautiously. You pat Ambrose's head before walking past him and over to Percy. "Thanks," you smile, taking your rose quartz from his hand.

"No problem… I don't think your ghost dog likes me," Percy jokes, moving to look past your legs at Ambrose, who’s standing tall on your left side.

"Yeah, well, you kinda scared the crap out of us," you point out, amused. You take in Percy's goofy smile as he pulls himself up from the water, and you notice that he’s completely dry as he settles on the edge before turning his body to look at you.

“It’s y/n, right?” He asks, and you nod, figuring he’s probably heard about you in passing from Connor and Travis since he was friends with them too. “What are you doing out here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," you retort playfully, making him smile. You move to sit down where you were standing. You spread the crystals neatly on the wood, making a mental note to get them before you go to bed.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to hang out, but then a hippocampus swam up. One of its friends got stuck in a fisher's net not too far from here, so I went to help," he explains, and you nod. "I told you my excuse, so what's yours?"

You hum, "It's a full moon out tonight, so I thought I should take my crystals out. I also needed moon water for a potion, so I collected some for that," you point over at the big mason jar full of lake water. "It’s not as cool as your excuse,” you say playfully.

A short laugh comes from Percy, and when you look up from your crystals, you notice he was looking at Ambrose again, who was still in his tense stance. Ambrose was especially protective of you and Atticus, and it wasn’t unusual for him to be cautious of the new people you come across. You assumed that Ambrose was particularly tense with Percy since he had successfully caught you both by surprise.

"Ambrose, relax.” You pat the top of his head to soothe him. "Lay down." Ambrose whines, licking your hand affectionately for a little, and you can tell he was still uneasy about the other. He was hesitant, but he follows your command anyway, laying down with his head on your lap.

"You can touch him?" Percy asks, his eyes wide and curious as he watches you pet Ambrose.

"Yeah, I can touch ghosts in general. My mother is Hecate, goddess of necromancy, along with magic, the night and the moon," you tell him. "This is Ambrose. My mother gifted him to me to be my familiar, kinda like a guardian." You look down at the hound, smiling softly as you scratch behind his ear softly.

Ambrose is a burly Molossian Hound who lived in the time of Alexander The Great. From what your father told you, his breed was well valued in Ancient Greek and Roman times and was often used in war. It is easy to understand why the breed was used in war. Ambrose is huge and muscular, about 6 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs, and he weighs around 200 pounds. At first, Ambrose can come off as a little intimidating. You remember how your siblings had avoided him when you first arrived at camp before they realized that he was the clearest definition of a gentle giant. Even though he was trained to fight when he was alive, he was still as gentle as a well-trained house dog unless he was given a reason not to be.

"When did you get him?" Percy asks, his eyes focusing on Ambrose’s translucent body that looked like it is made up of this gray swirling vapor. He couldn’t exactly wrap his head around how Ambrose’s head was comfortably propped up on your thigh.

"We met on the night I was on my way to Camp so about 2 years ago. Without him, my brother and I probably would have never made it to the borders.” You look up at Percy, meeting his eyes again; you watch as his face softens as he shifts to lean back on his hand.

"Really?" You hum and nod, ready to drop the conversation there, thinking you shouldn’t bore him with the details. You didn’t really like talking about it much, but the way he was looking at you made you feel like he was inviting you to continue talking.

"We got separated from our father at the gas station a couple of miles away from here. He went inside the convenience store to get us snacks, and while he was in there, a cyclops had found us, tried to grab us out of his car. We jumped out and ran into the woods nearby," you explain as you look out at the dark horizon.

You remember the sound of your father yelling after you and Atticus and how it broke your heart hearing, for the first time, such despair in his voice. You knew your dad didn’t want to bring you guys to camp, but he knew it was in Atticus’s and your best interest to come here and be with other people like you guys.

When you and Atticus started developing your powers, your father had simply told you guys that you were special and to refrain from using your telekinesis anywhere else but home. He didn’t say anything more until one night, you and Atticus had gotten in a screaming match about a reason you don’t even remember. However, in your screaming match, the both of you were so angry that a green aura had formed around you both, and books, magazines, even cutlery were being flown across the room because of the sheer energy you were admitting as a unit. It was then your father had decided to take you and Atticus to the camp to control and learn about your powers before you guys destroyed the house over a dumb argument like who’s turn is it to have the TV remote.

"We were more concerned about the monster hurting our dad, so we decided on a whim to run in the forest. My brother and I have telekinesis powers, and I aimed well enough to send a rock right at the cyclops eye. We lost him a little after that, but we didn't know where we were. We made too many twists and turns; we had no idea what direction we came from. And then, this buddy appeared out of nowhere from a distance. I saw him glowing from far away and couldn’t make out what he was, but I felt that I had to follow him. So we did, and he got us to camp with no detours for any other monsters. He's been with me ever since," you say, and a low whine comes from Ambrose’s mouth as he nuzzles the side of his face on your thigh contentedly.

Percy nods, and he huffs softly, "You guys got lucky. How old were you and your brother when you got to camp?"

"12, we're twins. We actually got here a couple of weeks after you did,” you mention. You watch Percy’s mouth curve into a half-smirk.

“Wow," he says, amused, and shakes his head. “So you have a twin and a dead dog, no fair," he jokes. You giggle, rolling your eyes playfully,

"Oh please, and you have crazy water powers. You’re completely dry after swimming! I think that's pretty envy-worthy."

"Hey-,” he shrugs, taking a second as if to form a protest. “I guess you're right,” he admits and laughs. You laugh with him, opening your mouth to say something else but unfortunately, you were interrupted by a screech echoing in the distance.

Both you and Percy stand up quickly, trying to figure out which direction it came from. “The harpies,” you both mutter in unison. You bend down to grab your things, and you look at Ambrose.

"Go distract them, bud," you tell him, and Ambrose jumps up to his feet, and you watch as he runs away, barking to get their attention. Just then, you see the wings of the Harpies coming up from the trees of the forest. You turn to Percy, grabbing his hand quick,

“Incantare: Transpectus!" You exclaim confidently, closing your eyes to envision you and Percy becoming transparent on the dock. You've never tried doing this spell before, but you've gotten better at visualizing and setting intentions, so you had some hope in yourself. You open your eyes, not feeling any different, and you hoped that you just didn't make a fool of yourself in front of Percy. But when you look down at your hand hesitantly and notice it was hard to make out since you were see-through like glass, you sigh in relief. You smile to yourself, more than satisfied that you were able to pull that off.

"Woah, are we invisible?" You look over at Percy, able to see him just fine since he was under the spell with you. Percy looks down at himself, eyes widened as he processes he can’t see his body anymore. You observe him for a second, finding it cute how he looked surprised and obviously entertained at the fact that he was completely see-through. You feel yourself growing a little flustered, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you were holding hands with him.

"Something like that. C'mon, it won’t last too long," you whisper, and your grip around his hand tightens as you guys begin running to his cabin. You hear the harpies screeching in frustration as they swoop down to try and grab Ambrose, only for their claws to go right through him. While the harpies were growing more annoyed, Ambrose, on the other hand, was having way too much fun, running in circles and barking at them as if he’s teasing.

"Man, I wish I had a ghost dog," you hear Percy mutter behind you as you arrive at the steps of his cabin.

"Yeah, Ambrose is pretty great," you admit, watching him play with the harpies before shifting your gaze over to Percy. "Thanks for getting the crystal for me." As much as you wanted to stay talking to him, you knew you couldn't stay too long. You were still eager to finish studying, and Ambrose can only hold off the harpies for so long.

"It was no problem. It was on my way up anyways," he shrugs, and you smile, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in your stomach. You look down, the two of you still holding hands even though the spell wore off already. You awkwardly let go of his hand, shifting on your feet.

"Well, I'll see you around," you say sheepishly, fiddling with your fingers.

"Yeah, I'll see you.” His hand comes up in an awkward wave. You nod, returning the wave. Your eyes meet Percy’s green ones one more time before turning on your heels and walking down the steps of his cabin. You notice that Ambrose is now long gone into the forest, taking the harpies with him to give you time to rush to the other side where your cabin is.

As you hurry back to your cabin, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you replayed the interaction you just had with Percy, and you couldn't help but wonder when would be the next time you could talk to him.

You carefully hoist yourself up, climb back into the cabin through the window, sighing softly once you get in. You slowly close the window, your face scrunching at the creaking sound, but you successfully get it closed before turning around, only to be faced with Connor Stoll standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. You gasp loudly, almost dropping the mason jar in your hand, being startled for the second time tonight.

“Oh, look who’s back,” he says, his lips pulled in his usual mischievous smirk, his right eyebrow raised as if he's suspicious of you. You shift, giggling nervously under his graze,

"Hey, Con.” Shit. You knew he wasn’t asleep, and a part of you wasn’t surprised that he had caught you sneaking out again. You weren’t too worried since Connor wasn’t one to be strict or easily angered, neither was Travis, but you can understand if he did get a little upset with you since the cabin could also get in trouble, and he worried about you getting hurt.

"You leave so often, I'm starting to think you're seeing someone," he teases, and you furrow your eyebrows, not really sure what he was trying to get at.

"I'm not seeing anyone. You know what I do when I sneak out," you tell him, putting your hand out to show him the jar full of water. After being caught the first couple of times, you had explained to Connor why you occasionally needed to head out at night. He was understanding of your reasons, telling you to try and not sneak out as often. When he did catch you, he always kept your outings secret. It came with a price, though. You were sometimes stuck doing extra chores, especially anything that had to do with cleaning, since he hated doing anything that had to do with mopping or sweeping.

"So that wasn't you and Percy on the dock?" Your eyes widen, and you feel your face get hot again. You shake your head, stumbling over your words for a second.

"Uh… n- that was a coincidence!" You hear him snort, laughing quietly as if he didn't believe you. Even though he couldn't see your facial expression very well in this lighting, he can still tell how flustered you were at his sudden question.

"Yeah, sure," he says sarcastically, and he hums, "Anyways, what are you going to do for me so that I don't tell on you?" He asks, and your mouth drops open. Usually, he wasn't so forward, and he never threatened to tell on you. "I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

You gasp, "Connor, are you blackmailing me right now?" You narrow your eyes at him, and he shrugs,

"I guess you can say I am." You shake your head, walking over to your desk to put down your moon water before turning toward him and crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"... what do you want?" You ask, expecting him to make you take up one of his chores. But from the way he was smiling at you, you can tell that there was something more he wanted, and you were beginning to worry.

"Help me turn the Ares Cabin into bunnies," he says, and you shake your head frantically,

"No way! Clarisse will kill me," you whisper. Connor smiles,

"No, she won't. She can't kill you if she's a bunny," he points out, and your face falls flat,

"They're not gonna stay bunnies forever," you say, and you fiddle with your fingers nervously at the idea of the outrage you'd get from the Ares Cabin after shifting back from being bunnies. "I don't know, Con. I don't even know if I can turn all of them into bunnies at once."

Connor waves his hand at you, dismissing your concern. "I don't care for the logistics now. We can work on that later, but you have to agree to at least help me," he says. "Or I'm telling everyone I saw you smooching Percy on the dock."

"What!? We didn't even kiss. We talked for like 5 minutes!" You whisper-yell, your reactions much too entertaining for him, and he was having a hard time holding in his laugh.

"Your decision, y/n."

You sigh, throwing your head back. You look at the ceiling for a second as you consider your two choices. And you decide that getting your head potentially put on a stick by Clarisse was better than the burning embarrassment of Percy thinking you're spreading rumors about kissing him. "Fine, whatever. I'll help you do the bunny thing," you mumble, your shoulders slouched.

Connor nods with a proud smile on his face for trapping you into helping him. "Good choice. I will be going back to sleep now. Good night… again," he announces, turning on his heels and walking over to his bed. You frown a little as you walk back to your desk to study. Plopping down onto your chair, you decide that you’ll worry about Connor’s little plan later so you can focus on your studying. After a while, Ambrose comes trotting in, joining you by the desk as usual. You smile at him, praising the other for distracting the harpies for you before he lays down, his head laying on your foot.

As you study, you find that you couldn’t help your mind drifting back to Percy once and a while. You deem that there was no way that you could have a crush on him since you guys have only spoken once. In the midst of your internal debate to decide what you felt for him, you suddenly remember the crystal that was retrieved for you. You remember how Percy presented it to you, holding it out for you with his fingertips. It was your rose quartz. What a coincidence. You smile, rolling your eyes as you tell yourself that you’re thinking too much into it. You look over, noticing the dim illuminating light of the beginning sunrise shining through the curtains. You sigh, deciding that you should probably get to sleep and take advantage of the maybe, four hours of sleep you’ll get tonight. You close your herbology book before making your way to your bed, and with a soft sigh, you retreat under the covers, and finally, you surrender to your drowsiness.

masterlist

#percy jackson x reader #percy x reader #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #connor stoll #pjo x reader #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson fic #slow burn #friends to lovers #connor stoll x reader #percy jackson oneshot #pjo #my writing

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shadowdianne · 3 years

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Fic writer review [Or a fic writer tag game if you prefer]

I was tagged by @naralanis and I can already see her grin all the way from where I am xd Thank you, dear, for the tag, let’s see what are my answers, shall we.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

*bursts out laughing* Adding both pseuds I have… 535 according to the account info but by counting them all I’m reaching 541 so I’m guessing it’s counting some drafts I need to re-find.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

I seriously hated you for this one xd I was going to do it by hand by I decided one-third there that I value my mental stability a little bit more xd according to the stats page back at a03 that number would be 1257884. It may be wrong. I think there should be a few more numbers up there but the majority of my works are one-shots so *shrugs* There’s also the fact that counting my ao3 things only is shaving off like half of it Xd Anyway, can we laugh at the fact that I’m a pain in the ass and that I’ve written a lot? More than I should have, that’s for sure

3. How many fandoms have you written for?

Trick question because I haven’t crossposted everything I wrote back in ffnet and I actually erased some fics from my account back there so the numbers are a little blurry there.

When I had the entirety of my work posted both in ffnet and a03 I had written for: Twilight (Bella/Alice) Glee (Faberry and there were a couple Pezberry and I don’t fucking remember the pairing name for Santana and Quinn), Harry Potter (Hermione/Ginny, Hermione/Narcissa, Hermione/Bellatrix) OUAT (SwanQueen and several oneshots focusing on the mad hatter and the blue fairy solely back at ffnet that were written in Spanish and never translated), I actually had a veeeery old au prompt of Frozen (Elsanna in where I wrote them as non sibilings), Rizzoli and Isles (Rizzles), Dishonored 2 (Emily Kaldwin/Alexi Mayhew), Lara Croft and Wonder Woman, Supergirl (SuperCorp/Supercat) I had a 100 one -or maybe two??- (Clexa), The Shannara Chronicles (Amberle/Eretreia [Or Princess Rover], Rwby [Blake Belladona/Yang], The Worst Witch (Hecate Hardbroom and Pippa Pentangle), The Half of it, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Madam Satan/Zelda Spellman) and… I think that’s it(?) I may be forgetting some but probably nothing important if I’m not remembering it lol.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos?

Ah, we are going to go there, uh? Xd My works are not the kudos and comment getting type Xd So I was quite surprised when I went to check this.

1: Cracked it I wrote this one back in 2017, it was a prompt done by an anon: Lena is nerding with one of her projects at home, mumbling mostly to herself because she’s stuck and Kara casually mentions how to solve the problem like it’s nothing. I really had some fun with this. It was back when some us, SQeeners were fully doing the jump between OUAT and SuperGirl (I mean, there had already been some crossover as for fandom is related but this when the girls were actually getting their conjoined voice within the fandom)

2: Dateless I honestly needed to check what this one was about but I think I can see why this one shot has the amount of kudos it has. It’s a short and sweet idea and responds to the Teachers Au that went SO well with SQ. Everyone thinks they hate each other and try to set them up with other people whilst they, in truth, are dating. I don’t remember if I wrote them as married rather than dating but despite being from 2017 as well is one cheeky enough to be cool Xd I probably would edit some lines now *shudders*

3: After you I truly didn’t expect this one to be top 3. Makes me think of a lot of things, if I’m being honest Xd. After you was a one shot written almost feverishly as an answer to the fabulous drawings that Sejic did of both Lara Croft and Wonder Woman back at 2018 or something. It’s just Lara and Diana being himbos but not at all with each other.

4: How about… How about is one I remember perfectly, it was my answer to the ending of the Half of it film. I had SOME thoughts about it, let’s just stop there Xd I really liked the film itself but I think and I thought at the time that my response to wishing for a final scene at the very end of the credits responds to me being in a different personal moment than the characters. I really wanted to explore my feelings about it and so I wrote about them finding each other again after some time passes. It was also something I wrote after quite the hiatus so I took it as something I could write about without focusing too much on the why.

5: Come to me

Ahh, SuperCorp Xd I remember this one actually. A friend of mine and I were talking about descriptions, and she mentioned quite off-handedly how she wanted a fic in where Kara’s back was described. I complied… more or less.

Fun tidbit, despite the big volume of my work is obviously set in ouat there’s only 1 SQ fic there as you can see, the others are either SuperCorp or the random one shots I created for Wonderwoman/Lara Croft and The half of it. *sighs in deep thought* I’m also not going to look too much into how almost all of the fics were posted and written back in 2017. Nope, not at all.

*Small voice screaming you peaked in 2017 and everything else is garbage jumps back and forth*

5. Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

I tend to always respond, yup. I truly value comments. I might have gone for spells of time in where I didn’t have the mental capacity to check in old fics because I truly didn’t know what to answer but I treasure every single comment and you all who comment know that I can start to ramble in the answers xd -sorry about that- I really really REALLY love interaction.

6. A fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending:

Ok, Nara, come on, this one is a catch for me. I’ve written angst in far too many fics to remember the angstiest one :P I have the most recent one, though, that is the easy one to think about: Goodbye.Written for @delirious-comfort. I’m just going to say “Kisses with their last dying breath” as an idea of what awaits inside but I’ve written about death and loss and angst quite a lot. There were some I wrote back to SQ with Regina needing to kill Emma during the Dark Swan arc that, to this day, I still love and some others in where Regina is the one that dies, again and again, trapped by magic while Emma watches. I have the loss in mental destruction form and… I REALLY like my angst y’know xd

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not counting Lara and Wonder Woman not really! I think it comes from the fact that I loooove worldbuilding as a whole and some pairings would require all my focus into making the world perfect which in turn would make me self conscious on the OOCness of it all.

8. Ever received hate on a fic?

*snorts* I’ve received hate due to the pairing I’ve written about, how I’ve written about it, the amount I’ve written, how slow or quick I can be, the usage of some tropes, the lack of usage of those same tropes… Let’s just go with: yuuuup.

9. Do you write smut?

I’ve written smut, yeah! But I can already see the pointed looks of some so let’s elaborate Xd I write smut when asked and sometimes when not asked but there’s a part of me I like to call a terrible tease that prefers writing the beginning of a scene, taunt it, focus on what happens before the sex scene per se as I find it more enjoyable to write. The process of escalation is always the best for me to see what can I do it by using both dialogue and descriptors tbh, so I tend to tease more than show.

9. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A few weeks ago I’d have said: Maybe(?) But trying to follow the trail of some other fics that had been stolen from some friends -I think it was me trying to find more about the page that stole something from your Nara!- I found some pages in where my fics had been reposted. In some it was stated that the person posting the fic wasn’t the author but I had never been contacted in order to see if I’d say yes to such a thing and in some others the page was locked up but I could still see someone was pretending to be the author. I did the thing and got some of those down.

Pointed note: Ask me if you want to post or translate or anything. I will look into you and answer you if you seem honest about the thing. But despite every joke and self-deprecating comment those 500 and then some fics represent MY time so very kindly I say fuck off to those who wish to steal from me and if I catch you… you don’t really want to see me angry, trust me.

10. Ever had a fic translated?

I’ve given permission to some, yeah, but never heard it back from them so I’m guessing it didn’t stick.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic?

I’ve written series alongside other authors as @stregaomega for example. And some others that are unpublished -looking at you @carsonnieve - I’ve also done collabs… but fics co-written in the sense of two authors same chapters I don’t have anything posted I’m afraid :P

13. All-time favourite ship?

*snorts*, I guess the obvious answer is SQ uh? And I do think they were the ones that allowed me to read and write SO much. The one I feel more strongly about, however, is Bering and Wells from Warehouse 13.

14. WIP you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

All of them counts as a valid answer? But if I only could finish one that would be Arcadia. With A forgotten Promise second and the one I did as an Assassins Creed AU third. (I don’t remember the name so there’s no link, sorry xd)

15. Writing strengths?

Uhhhh, you REALLY want me to say that? I don’t fucking know!! To me everything I write is garbage. I always try to go for the feelings so I guess. Dunno xd I’ve been told I’m good at worldbuilding and to be honest is what I enjoy the most.

16. Writing weaknesses?

Everything Xd Pacing? What I hate the most sometimes is dialogue, I would count it as a weakness but I’m always far too focused on description rather than dialogue. I don’t think it’s a bad thing per se but it’s something that I don’t do as much.

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I’m conflicted. Always. Majorly because I think that having bilingual characters in fanfiction is portrayed and expected in a way that I don’t feel it’s honest with how bilingual people -us- talk. So if I go by what I know I do I think it’s not what readers hope to see when it comes to that and if I go for how canonically is hoped to be found I don’t think it’s logical. But that’s me and my overthinking Xd If I have the option I like to do it.

18. First fandom you ever wrote for?

Belice! Or Bella/Alice. Worst first fic ever but oh, well, I’m always saying that :P

19. What’s your fav fic you’ve written so far?

Uhh… Don’t make me do this XD Agh, I don’t know. I’ve always been very vocal about Metallic Ink because I let myself enjoy the process of creating a magic system almost out of zero and that was fun. Despite hating some of the writing process and that I’d do it differently now I think I’m going to stick with that answer. Or anything that had any steampunk-based undertone. To be honest I like more thinking of concepts, I had one in where Emma was a thief and it involved the robbery of a ring that was Regina’s one way ticket to freedom I then later repurposed that I adored thinking about so let’s go with…. Yeah, I love having the option of changing things up a little and focus on how characters would fit in different aesthetics for this one Xd

Annnd… these are four pages, gods. I’m just going to tag @waknatious @carsonnieve @stregaomega here and see what they do- Enjoy the questionnaire ladies :P

#taggie thingie #this was a monster

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southsidestory · 4 years

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I generally try to stay out of discourse, but I have to chime in on this one.

@birkastan2018 is getting dragged for suggesting the most preposterous thing: that more readers should comment instead of being silent consumers. The fact that this is actually controversial is blowing my mind.

I’ve been writing fic for many years, but only posting regularly since about 2014. I jumped into Naruto fandom just a few months before the manga ended with a (then) canon-compliant longfic. In Times of Peace got WAY more feedback than I ever expected it to, and I was absolutely thrilled.

Because you see, in 2011 I posted a SasuSaku drabble, my first ever fic posted to fanfiction.net! I was so excited to share it… and it got one review. ONE. Now, I realize a 600 word drabble isn’t exactly gonna attract a lot of traffic, and I knew that then too, but it was still horribly discouraging. I figured my writing style must not be a very good fit for the fandom, that no one wanted to read it. I gave up, and went back to working on original projects. I want to be clear, I didn’t stop writing because of my one-review story. I kept writing, both on fanfic and original work, but I stopped posting.

Eventually I came back, obviously, and the success of ITOP bolstered my confidence. Not everyone was leaving me novel-length, glowing reviews. Many were very short, just a simple “thanks!” or “this was good” and let me tell you, that was so, so much better than nothing. Some were also negative or even cruel, which sucked, but the good comments made up for those. If the first few chapters of ITOP hadn’t gotten at least some response, I might not have finished the story. And if I hadn’t finished ITOP, I probably wouldn’t have continued writing Naruto fic. Well, I would have written it, because when I have a story to tell there’s no stopping me, but I wouldn’t have shared it. (The number of WIPs sitting on my Google Drive gathering dust, unposted, even today, is ridiculous.)

Now, on to the point.

I used to think that asking for feedback made me look desperate. That wanting it made me weak. Because there’s this narrative surrounding writing that says, “You should write for yourself. Writing for others is disingenuous, and it means you’re not dedicated to your craft for the sake of your craft, which is the only reason you should write.” I used to believe that, and to some degree there’s value in that sentiment. If you write purely for feedback, then you might stop when you don’t get it, and that’s horrible, because anyone who wants to write should write.

But mostly, that narrative is bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. Writing and reading don’t exist in separate spheres. They’re part of a conversation, and when no one gives you feedback, it’s like the author is talking to a wall. Storytelling by its very nature is a communal activity. My strong, sincere belief in this is also why I’m a huge proponent of Death of the Author. What I think my story means isn’t any more important than what my readers think it means. Neither is the One True Meaning. Because stories are multi-faceted, and part of what gives them value is the conversations we have around them.

This is something I especially love about fanfiction. Transformative works build on one another, and fanfic writers learn together, write together, give each other prompts, beta for each other, comment on each other’s work, etc. There are so many stories I never would have told without engaging in fandom, especially with other writers. And isn’t that the whole point of fanfiction? To take a known story and create something new, to jump into the middle of a fictional conversation and say what comes next?

Stories are communicative. We share them, and we talk about them, and the things writers hear from our readers help shape the stories we tell next.

Something a lot of writers feel but don’t often talk about is how lonely a process this is. Yes, I love writing for its own sake. Putting together words and taking them apart, losing myself in my stories. It’s fun, it’s difficult, it’s challenging, it’s thrilling. But it’s also very, very isolating when you have no one to share your stories with. Or worse, you share them only to be met with silence.

I don’t expect all readers to comment on every single fic they click on. I read a lot of fanfic, and I certainly don’t do that. But when something truly moves me, I tell the writer why. When something is just a lot of fun and it brightened my day, I usually tell the writer that too. Some days I don’t have the energy for it, but I try. And let me tell you, the hits to comments ratio on my fics paints a very obvious picture: the vast majority of people are not trying. Hell, even the hits to kudos ratio on Ao3 shows that, and kudos take one second and zero effort to leave.

Fanfiction writers aren’t getting paid for this. We put our blood, sweat, tears, and time into writing for a mostly silent audience. Those of you who do speak up matter more than I can possibly express.

The main reason I’ve returned to writing The Valley of the End after such a long hiatus, apart from just wanting to finish it, is because of the outflow of support it has received over the years. Even without new chapters being posted, people kept leaving me encouraging reviews. It made me feel like TVOTE was a story worth telling, worth hanging onto. When I finally felt the urge to dive back into Naruto fandom, that fic was the first thing I revisited, in part because I knew it was the one people were waiting for.

And you know whose kind, thoughtful feedback on my Naruto fics made me really miss writing SasuSaku? You guessed it: birkastan2018. I likely wouldn’t be back if not for her.

So if you read a fic, and you enjoyed it, and you have thirty seconds to type “Thanks for sharing this story, I really liked it!” please do so. It means more to most writers than we can say. And who knows, your little comment might be the thing that makes a difference in an author leaving and staying in a fandom.

#fanfiction #transformative works #fandom #sasusaku #sasusaku fandom #naruto fandom #fandom discourse

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fayewonglibrary · 3 years

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Wong’s Way (2011)

An anomaly in the cookie-cutter world of Cantopop, FAYE WONG has paradoxically found success by playing against the rules. Prestige Hong Kong follows her down the road less travelled

FIVE YEARS MAY not seem like that long, but it can be a lifetime in an entertainment industry that feeds off the right-here and the right-now. So it came as a surprise when, half a decade ago, Faye Wong decided to step back from the limelight and resume as much of a normal life as might ever be possible for a woman whose music has sold in the millions and who has combined that side of her existence with an acclaimed acting career.

From an existence playing before tens of thousands, what the Beijing-born Wong longed for at that point in time was a life tucked away in the peace and tranquillity of home – and after almost 20 years in the spotlight, and with her every move followed by a fan base that can be tallied in the millions, who could really blame her?

But as an artist who in an age of corporate conformity flatly refuses to play to any predetermined stereotype, Wong has always preferred to play by her own rules. It may come as a surprise, then, to find out that Faye Wong was not always “Faye” – diehard fans will remember a period in which the artist was known as Shirley Wong Ching-man, an affectation suggested by her record company early in her career, because of the stigma associated with the hip factor (or lack thereof) of mainland Chinese artists and names.

Even Wong’s early hits weren’t what you would call “original” – her first few albums were filled with formulaic Cantopop: collections of saccharine, predictable tunes that failed to properly utilise her delicate, lilting soprano. When she broke out of that shell in 1992, after a short travel hiatus, she finally found success, initially with a cover of a Japanese chart-topper in Cantonese, “Fragile Woman.”

Despite her disinclination to be impacted by her local contemporaries, Wong was not without her influences. She covered songs by The Cranberries, took quirky style cues from Björk and collaborated with the Cocteau Twins. The further she strayed from Cantopop, the more fame she found, penning her own songs and admittedly self-indulgent lyrics. She rapped on “No Exit,” yodelled through “Di-Dar” and even won the hearts of nerds by wailing the English-language title track to the hit video-game Final Fantasy VIII, “Eyes On Me.”

Even when her albums weren’t critical or commercial successes, her fame continued to grow, exponentially and uncontrollably. Her handful of acting roles, including in Chungking Express and 2046, showcased a curious, simultaneous aloofness and magnetism, an infectious, ravishing oddness.

In 2005, two months before she married actor Li Yapeng, she announced that she would take a break from show business. And so for five years there have been sightings, the occasional public appearance and the work for her own charity, but otherwise it’s pretty much been silence from Wong, as her fans – and the world at large – waited.

With that in mind, we should not have been surprised at the reaction to the news that Wong would finally be reemerging, to stage comeback concerts that started in Beijing last October, then took in Shanghai and Taipei before coming to Hong Kong, the place where Wong’s career was launched, for a series of shows in March. Tickets – for all nights, at all venues – sold out in a matter of days and the critical response has been overwhelming.

The headlines said it all: “The Diva is Back.”

What the Wong faithful have found is that their idol has lost none of the passion for the music that forms, as she puts it herself, part of her fate. They’ve been treated to nights filled with the songs that have formed the soundtrack for the lives of a generation here in Hong Kong – and beyond.

When Prestige Hong Kong found the interview-shy 40-year-old, she was in between shows and letting that fate take its course. What Wong wants the world to know is that throughout her storied career there has, she says, never been any real plan. She’s simply a woman who lets the cards fall as they may.

Can you talk a little about your return to the stage and playing live? What brought about the decision to play your recent concerts? I consider this a natural move for me. I’ve been doing several commercials as well as releasing some new singles over the past few years. So this was a natural progression back to live performances. It’s all part of my career.

How did you go about deciding what form the concerts would take and the songs you played? There’s no special form or arrangement that’s deliberately conceived for my concert. I believe my singing is the main source of interaction between the audience and me. Every show is unique and my mood is different, depending on the atmosphere. It’s not my practice to talk much with people or have any planned speech in my concert, because I don’t want the conversation to ruin the whole integrity and mood of the arrangement of the concert. I hope my audiences can indulge themselves with my music, while also digesting the message my show is delivering.

After the recent concerts in Shanghai and Beijing, what’s your feeling about coming back on stage? It feels so good to see all my fans again.

Do you have any plans to work on a new album? If so, will you be writing songs yourself? There’s no plan to work on a whole new album. But there is a possibility to release singles, and maybe I’ll write some songs myself.

How different to you is the experience of playing live now as compared to when your career began? What have you learned and how much has the experience for you changed over the years? I’ve been working with different sets of crews, composers, producers etc since the beginning of my career. Each of these collaborations has opened up a whole new experience and been an amazing inspiration for me. Call it a fireworks feeling.

What was it that initially drew you to the music business? What was it that you found most exciting? I believe singing is my destiny, and it’s fate that this became my career. I find it gratifying that I’m able to touch people’s lives with my songs. It’s a form of good karma.

Have your musical tastes changed or evolved as you matured as a person and as an actress? I admire different types of music and things depending on the different stages of my life.

Did becoming a mother change how you approached both your singing and your career? There was no change. I still sing with the same commitment and feeling, and it’s the same with my career.

And how much, do you think, did this change you as a person? The process of raising a child is part of my evolution as a human being. If you’re not a parent or don’t fully involve yourself as a parent, you’ll never realise this traditional, fulfilling role of parenthood. As a parent, it’s natural to want to show your best side and provide the best example to your child. However, sometimes it’s hard to break habits that may surface from time to time. It’s a painful cycle, because even though you realise your own faults, to change yourself completely requires a lot of courage and determination.

We’re curious about a typical day for Faye Wong. What’s your routine when you’re not performing? What time do you go to bed, what’s your favourite meal and what activities do you share with your kids? Basically, I go to bed and wake up the same time as my kids do. I got used to enjoying the regular pattern of a healthy lifestyle, but that won’t happen coming back to work.

Frankly, there’s so much to do when you take charge of a whole household. My life in the past few years was completely occupied by family and there was no time for me ever to feel bored. Sometimes I feel that I was even busier than when I was working as a singer.

Do you think your children share the same character as you? When I look at my kids, it’s like looking into a mirror and seeing the deepest side of myself.

What are the things that make you most happy now, compared with when you were younger? What do you now cherish most? I cherish everyone and everything. I’m fortunate to appreciate what I have and the people I know.

How do you see your image now? Are you an artist who is careful to control her image, or is it more a case of come what may? The most effortless style suits me best. I aim to be the most natural, honest in my approach. I want it to be pure, not something that seems too contrived or created just to fit the latest trend.

What are you most passionate about? To find the real meaning of life, and share it with lots of people.

What about acting? Is this something you’re keen to pick up again as well? If so, what kinds of films and roles might interest you? Right now, I have no plans on filming.

What are the challenges you see ahead in the next few years? What can your audience expect? My life has no planning, and I’m not a person who conceives everything in advance. It always depends on what’s being offered and what I feel like doing at that moment. There’s no pressure on myself – I leave everything to chance and fate.

The Smile Angel Foundation was founded in Beijing in 2006 by you and your husband, Li Yapeng, after your own child was afflicted with a cleft lip. It’s helped a lot of other children suffering from cleft lips and palates. Has the foundation changed your life or your character in any way? My contribution to Smile Angel Foundation is not as much as my husband’s involvement. He’s very busy working on plans to support the foundation. For me, basically, I’ll attend annual charity events and activities to lend my support.

On this project, we started everything from scratch and are very gratified to see how much it has accomplished. My husband is definitely the driving force behind the foundation, and I really admire his passion, courage and capability.

At your current stage, do you think you have evolved in your perspective of things compared with when you were younger? Can you share your road of growth a little bit? I was a bit stubborn, objective and capricious when I was younger. I’m now more willing to be open-minded and flexible, and always try to remind myself about this. It’s quite difficult to stop old habits surfacing from time to time. But I’m trying hard to accomplish it.

Do you have any advice on how to maintain a woman’s beauty and charm after the age of 30? First of all, you have to accept your age. I believe everyone has their own unique way to create their own charm and maintain their beauty, which is sometimes a very personal approach. One should find one’s own best way; there really is no standard formula for everyone to maintain their beauty. I believe the most natural side of a person is the most beautiful.

You’re acclaimed as a pioneer of alternative music. Does that mean you won’t compromise with the commercial market? I never define my music as “mainstream” or “edgy” or “alternative.” I just do what I like.

Photography / Shameless Eye Production AG Styling / Titi Kwan Hair / Alain Pichon Make-up / Zing Wardrobe / Céline Spring 2011 collection

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SOURCE: PRESTIGE HONG KONG

#2011

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lokiondisneyplus · 4 years

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Over five popular seasons, the story lines of “Better Call Saul” have unfolded across nail salons, fried-chicken joints and other strip-mall staples of American life.

When new episodes begin premiering next year, though, the locations that give the “Breaking Bad” spinoff its texture could be reined in or done away with altogether. The culprit? The novel coronavirus, which is limiting where the New Mexico-set AMC show can film, potentially altering both its style and substance.

“Like a lot of other people, we’re going to have to be very creative in where and how we shoot,” said Mark Johnson, the veteran producer who oversees the Vince Gilligan hit, whose writers just began collaborating on the series’s sixth season. “A lot of places just won’t let you in.”

Across the entertainment industry, casts and crew are beginning to return to work after a five-month hiatus. In states with loosened restrictions, such as Georgia and New York, production is starting to crank up under tight controls that alter how sets operate. Instead of crew members freely mingling, they’re being divided into “pods" that limit how production departments such as wardrobe or lighting can associate. Covid-19 officers monitor the health of the cast and crew to determine who is allowed on set. “Zones” dictate where those cast and crew can go.

These changes might seem technical, but they hint at the far-reaching effects the virus will have on final screen products. Interviews with 12 executives, writers, agents and producers across the Hollywood spectrum suggest a dramatically transformed world of entertainment. Until a vaccine comes along, they say, covid-19 will change what Americans watch as dramatically as it has where they work, shop and learn. Forget the new normal — movies and TV are about to encounter the new austerity.

Crowd scenes are a no-go. Real-world locations will be limited. On-screen romance will be less common, sometimes restricted to actors who have off-screen relationships. And independent films — that tantalizing side dish in the U.S. entertainment meal — could be heavily scaled back.

“A lot of people believe this is just about getting back to work,” said Mark Gill, a producer and former head of Warner Independent Pictures, the studio unit responsible for independent hits such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” “They don’t realize the massive cultural impact we’re about to face.”

For most of its history, Hollywood created entertainment based on a simple premise: Shuttle in large numbers of people and move them around at will. That’s certainly true of crews. But it especially applies to extras, the low-paid day laborers who pack sets and off-camera holding areas in order to create dense crowd scenes — and, in turn, lend the work real-world atmosphere.

Such scenes have of course been part of some of the most memorable moments in Hollywood history. From “Ben-Hur” to “Braveheart,” on-screen entertainment has become indelible thanks to hundreds of people you’ve never heard of packing tiny spaces, then moving as one when the cameras roll.

Yet the virus has essentially made these hires impossible. Many don’t want to risk their health for a $100 paycheck and remote shot at background glory, and producers don’t want to take on the liability even if they did. “Braveheart" used about 1,600 extras, many from the Irish Army reserves. Experts say the movie couldn’t come close to being shot today.

“Those of us in the entertainment business are not used to being told ‘no’‚” said Lucas Foster, a longtime Hollywood producer who counts the 2005 romantic-action hit “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and last year’s Oscar-decorated blockbuster “Ford v Ferrari” among his credits. “And when it comes to things like crowds, there’s going to be a lot of no.”

Foster understands the challenges personally — he’s one of the first producers to have made a movie in the age of covid-19.

In March, the Los Angeles resident was in Australia, several weeks into preproduction on a new version of “Children of the Corn” when the pandemic began to spread. Millions of dollars had already been committed to the movie, adapted from the same Stephen King story that yielded the 1984 cult hit. So rather than shut down, he decided to proceed — cautiously. Foster created a production bubble, consulted doctors regularly, procured large amounts of tests, and engaged in elaborate workarounds in realms like crowd scenes.

He said it worked, but with major accommodations.

“I had to figure out how to do a crowd with no more than a few people at the same time. And with very specific camera angles. And by taking actors who would normally be close together and making them not close together,” Foster said. “In the end, I’d get the scene I needed but it looked different than it would have before the pandemic.” (Computer-generated crowds, he and other producers say, only work for more distant shots; anything requiring close-ups needs the real thing.)

It helped, he noted, that many of his actors were children, who are believed less susceptible to the effects of the virus, and that much of the movie was shot in cornfields and other vast outdoor spaces, a luxury not all films have.

Producers say the added cost required to implement all the safeguards could also result in a lower-end finished product. Films and TV shows achieve their level of shine through an endless period of refinement, with actors and directors often attempt 10 or more takes of a scene. With everything now going longer — and thus costing more — they may not have the luxury.

One producer of multiple studio hits said he expects the number of takes to drop significantly as the virus balloons budgets. He also expected a diminution in night scenes, which tend to be more involved and expensive than day scenes. He said some productions will be able to make the switch, but not all will be as lucky.

Also unlucky, say Hollywood veterans: movies where characters seek to get lucky. Many insiders say romantic scenes will be a major challenge in movies. Two agents separately reported they had high-profile clients who told them they wouldn’t shoot love scenes during the pandemic.

“I think every agency right now is looking down their client list to see which actors have spouses who are also actors, because then we could try to get them cast, too,” said one of the agents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by their company to speak to the news media. “I’m joking. Sort of.”

The added wrinkle is even if the actors trust each other in real life, many of their characters would still have to take precautions on screen.

“How do you send two characters on a first dinner date when people aren’t really going on first dinner dates?” said a creator of romantic comedies who asked not to be identified because they did not want to be seen as criticizing colleagues who are attempting new projects. “You can send them on a socially distant walk, I guess.”

Writers say that leads to a broader dilemma: how much to incorporate the pandemic into their stories. On one hand, they say they don’t want to pretend the virus doesn’t exist. But acknowledging it poses its own challenges.

“Do you really want your stars wearing masks because that’s what characters would do? Do you want to have people engaging with each other in groups no larger than six? Do you want to write stories where everyone is at a safe distance?” said Mark Heyman, the co-writer of “Black Swan” and “The Skeleton Twins” and creator of the CBS All-Access historical drama “Strange Angel.” “Because a lot of those things won’t be very much fun to watch.”

Yet if creators aren’t willing to do that, he said, it could lead to those shows or movies getting shelved out of a fear that audiences will judge them inauthentic.

Heyman was working on a series set in a high school for Netflix when the lockdowns began. That project has now been put on pause. “It’s not easy to make a show about high school,” he said, “when there is no high school.”

To avoid reminding viewers of the pandemic, creators may take an approach that will lead to an unusual trend.

“I think over the next few years you’re going to see a lot more movies set in the past,” Foster said. “Even movies written for the present will be changed. They’ll make it the ’90s because then you don’t have to deal with these questions. And then you can just put in some cool ’90s music, so everybody wins.”

A few creators have gone the other way, leaning in to the pandemic.

Writers on Apple TV Plus’s “The Morning Show,” set at a news program, have torn up existing scripts to make the pandemic a part of the story line, according to a person familiar with the show who was not authorized to speak about it publicly. But with a lag time of months between shooting and airing, experts say that creators also risk looking out of date by the time episodes release to the public.

Sensing an opportunity, horror filmmakers have also tried to embrace current events.

“The horror genre is very suited to the pandemic and lockdowns — we’re always trying to create a feeling of being trapped anyway,” said the horror filmmaker Nathan Crooker.

When quarantines hit this spring, Crooker gathered nine noted horror filmmakers and had them shoot an anthology film — short fictional movies connected by the larger virus theme — and titled it “Isolation.” He required filmmakers to use only the materials and people they were in lockdown with, even prohibiting Zoom and other technologies.

“I think we’re going to get a very cool effect that mirrors what people are going through,” Crooker said of his work. “But I don’t know that every movie that gets made would want to look like that.”

One consequence of the virus could turn out to be the movies that don’t get made at all.

Some of the most beloved films of the past two decades, from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” to “Whiplash,” “Little Miss Sunshine” to “Fruitvale Station,” were independently financed. But before rolling cameras, independent productions require insurance policies to protect them from workplace lawsuits, along with completion bonds, in which a guarantor assures they will step in with funds to finish the movie if production is halted.

Experts say no company will cover covid-19 with either policy, effectively preventing production.

“Covid is an absolute disaster for the independent-film industry,” said Sky Moore, a partner in the corporate entertainment department of the Los Angeles law firm Greenberg Glusker who has spent several decades putting together film financing deals. “The lifeblood of independent-film financing is loans, and loans need insurance. Now you have this massive hole in the middle of all of it.”

Moore believes the toll will be vast.

“I think 50 percent of the independent industry goes away,” he said.

(Movies financed by large studios do not buy these policies; Netflix or Disney would just absorb a shutdown or lawsuit as the cost of doing business.)

Even if they can work around the insurance issues, many independent films won’t get made because they simply won’t have the money. “It’s already hard to get funding for a lot of these movies,” said Shaun MacGillivray, a producer who makes large-scale independent documentaries. “And now you’re telling investors the budget is going to be 30 percent higher?”

The independent-film world is trying to push ahead, slowly. The Sundance Film Festival, the epicenter of the indie-film business, where companies like Hulu and Netflix sometimes pay more than $10 million for an independently financed movie, will hold a partially physical, partially virtual edition in January, albeit at just about half the length.

“We are reminded daily of the power of what is made newly visible to us, the importance of what we look at,” Tabitha Jackson, the director of the festival, said in a letter to staff this summer explaining why the festival needed to go on. “My hope for this edition of the Sundance Film Festival is that through a multiplicity of perspectives held by artists and audiences in their various communities we will also come to feel the power of where we look from.” Left unspoken: What happens in 2022, when the well runs dry because new movies can’t be insured and produced?

Whatever entertainment can get made, experts say, will have a more hermetic look. Even television shows, once shot heavily on sets, now often rely on the authenticity of locations; a police procedural feels like it does because detectives are popping into pizza places and apartment buildings.

“We don’t want everything to be a chamber piece,” said Johnson, the “Better Call Saul” executive producer. “But if many shows look different, I think that’s okay, because the world looks different.”

Then, considering the challenge further, he added, “And if that doesn’t work, then at least our show has a lot of deserts and open roads.”

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msunoah · 4 years

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hello everyone ! the name's kay, and it's pretty good to be back in a krp again after an indefinite hiatus. my son, noah, is itching to have some connections so if y'all have any plots you can see him in, please feel free to like this post or throw them my way and we can work something out. he’s a curses major, astronomy minor and current president of the astrology club ! i'm currently working on writing plots of my own so bear with me while i try to get everything organized. beneath all this hogwash is a few quick facts about noah so it might be in your interest to give them a glance. tw drugs / drug abuse !

noah was raised in portland, oregon. he is the only biological son to a single mother who adopted three other children years after he was born, making him the oldest as well. growing up in his household was certainly not ideal - his mother is a drug addict and since noah was exposed to this lifestyle at a young age, it was rather inevitable that he would be tied into drugs as well. you can probably catch him buying weed and all other drugs in between on and off campus.

he's a halfblood: meaning the magic wizardry that runs through his veins was inherited by his father and that side of the family. even though he knows about this by listening to half-sober rants from his mother and discovering forgotten journals written by his father, it's still a mystery of how that came to be (and how his parents met in the first place). apart from his studies, he's hoping to find some answers. with that said, you can imagine he was both shocked and excited to receive a letter for ilvermorny when he was younger.

noah considers himself to be charming and naturally extroverted - whether that's the influence of the drugs he depends on is up to the eyes of the beholder. while he's not a troublemaker, per se, he does tend to live on his own terms and only 'behaves' for the sake of not getting kicked out of MSU. when he's not in class or maintaining the astrology club as a president should, noah is probably getting up to his own mischief with or without other people.

his major is curses - which you can imagine is "worst kind of dark magic." this doesn't necessarily make noah an evil person, though some may associate it as such along with his deceptive personality. long story short, he's fascinated with the aspects of dark charms; how it can inflict suffering on an individual and how it can change the tides of various situations in an instant if it's done right. most of that fascination was the result of his upbringing, and flourished even more after his encounter with a boggart.

noah is also minoring in astronomy because he holds a great love for celestial objects, especially after experiencing a majestic LSD trip and swears on his life that he astral projected to the andromeda galaxy. additionally, he believes that all living things were, and are, born from stars; so why not study where we originated more closely? because of this, he may have a strong connection with professor aurora song. above all else, he takes astrology very seriously which is most likely why he's the president of the club.

A few micro-facts includes:

apart from his major, minor and things for the astrology club, noah hardly studies and is often found asleep with his face in a book in the library.

he's a tattoo fiend. he currently has 28 tattoos in general, in various shapes and sizes. the number is only going to increase until his 'canvas has been filled.'

his eye sight is... actually pretty bad but he refuses to wear glasses or contacts.

yes, he has been to rehab. no, don't ask him about it. (his longest sober streak was 39 days.)

he used to have a tabby cat named leonardo but it ran away. if you see leo, please return him to his respectful owner, thanks.

finally, he's allergic to blueberries.

Possible connections could be:

childhood friends

friends with benefits

friends to enemies / enemies to friends

exes / crushes

possible family members (unknown half-siblings from his father's side)

fellow drug users

messy hook ups / one night stands

people who want to get their horoscopes read

#tw: drugs #msu:intro #ooc

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neeterloveschenford · 4 years

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Thoughts on RNM 2x13

Howdy partners! Well here we are at the end of the season. Even though I didn’t have to work today and was able to watch last night, I needed time to process what happened. I also was very interested in all the diverging opinions last night and today over everything that happened with Malex. I am still smiling when I think about all that went down. (And I know I keep harping on this, but I am NOT a positive person outside of this show. Every time I talk about how hopeful I am to my two friends at work who are are fandom junkies, they are like Damn Dawnita, when’d you get so positive! But I digress.) All in all I was very pleased with this episode. And it sure as heck was loads better than last year’s finale. So without further ado, let’s dive in shall we!

Things I Liked:

-Badass science goddess Liz saving the day! She’s amazing. I love her. And Isobel also being a badass containing the fire! That’s my girls!

-Glad Charlie was rescued! At least Helena did something right.

- Gregory Manes is bestest brother to ever brother and I would take a bullet for him. And even thought I really love Trevor St John and thought Jesse was a very compelling villain, I am glad Jesse’s dead. It was time for him to go. He was getting too comic book villain.

- Even though I have some issues with Max, I am glad he’s ok. I did not want to revisit the save Max at all costs storyline.

- Liz getting recognition for her brilliance is nice, But we know Diego shady, so.......

- “Witch serum” made me snort. Also, Maria knows what’s what. I still maintain she’s feeling Michael’s leftover emotions from Alex’s kidnapping now that she’s not wearing the bracelet.

- Well, it took several episodes, but Max finally was supportive of Isobel without making it all about himself. She is pretty amazing and it’s about time he told her.

- Isobel acts all hard and tough, but she wants to find real love so badly!

- They FINALLY faced their trauma from the tool shed! Michael handing Alex that hammer was so symbolic. Alex angry screams. God baby I wanna give you all the hugs!

- Of course there was a dead body! Poor Tripp!

- I am totally loving the brotp of Max and Cam. She gets so much joy dragging him. They make me laugh every time they are together.

- I think the M!luca I love you’s were handled well. I’m not upset that she got an I love you before Alex. I mean haven’t we gotten these epic declarations from Malex over the last two seasons? I’ll take and I never look away, not really over a simple I love you any day of the week. And what’s so wrong with them actually loving each other? Maria KNOWS she’s not Michael’s cosmic love. She realizes that, yes, Michael would have risked his life to save her. But I think he would have gone to the others first and not just dropped everything to save her. And it’s not a bad thing to love someone but know that in the long run they are not the one you’re supposed to spend your life with. I have an ex-boyfriend that I still think is one of the finest people I’ve ever met and I love him dearly. But we just weren’t meant for the long haul. I think this is what Michael and Maria will be to each other. (Ok, enough of that.)

- Tripp and Nora (sigh!) I just love their romance. The fact that Tripp used the word cosmic just melted my heart. And the Malex look when Alex read that. I just died a little. Such a beautiful parallel.

- Drunk acting Jenna is perfection. And she’s right! Women should tell other women when they’re beautiful!

- So what’s wrong with Max’s heart? I want to see that x-ray Kyle.

- I like that Isobel ships Tripp and Nora. Same girl. Tell me more boys.

-”Can we all cowboy up and focus please?” I love it when Isobel sasses. She’s the best. And can we have more bro moments between Max and Michael please? It’s some of the few times Max doesn’t get on my nerves.

-How many times are the Manes/Truman couples going to break my heart? Tripp had to leave her. (SOB) He doesn’t a family without her!

-I really want to know about the date June 14, 1997. Why will they be safer 50 years from then?

-Loved the Jenna/Charlie reunion. Glad Charlie decided to stick around.

- This Echo fight has been too long coming. They have held things back from each other every single time they had any kind of conflict. It was bound to boil over. And they are both right. Liz was taking things too far. Max makes decisions without consulting anyone else. They both needed to be called out on their behaviors.

- I adore the sisters Ortecho. I would watch a whole show just about Liz and Rosa. (With plenty of Arturo moments.)

- Finally some Kylex! It was flawless. It gave us hope for Flint’s redemption and acknowledged how Alex has forgiven Kyle. In Alex’s mind, if Kyle can change, then anyone can. Give me more of them in season 3 please and thank you.

- Alex’s song! It just gutted me. Tyler is so incredibly talented. And the look on Michael’s face when he realized it was Alex singing. Then when Alex saw Michael. These two goobers! Ugh! (Ok I’m going to delve into more of this at the end. I have a lot to say.)

- Rosa telling Helena loves her but she needs to leave them alone was beautiful. This is Rosa growing up. She’s not the angry teenager anymore.

- “We are sick of being pissed at you for being obnoxiously yourself.” Same Michael, same.

- I’m not sure if I like or don’t like Max 1.0. Although I will be obnoxiously saying Howdy partner from now on. And I want to know about him being the stowaway. (Hey, we got an answer to something!)

Things I Didn’t Like:

- Gotta say I didn’t enjoy Crash Con. Glad it was over and done with quick.

- So did anyone wonder what was actually wrong with Maria at the hospital? Michael said she had surgery, but for what? I’m assuming it was for internal bleeding, but most people don’t just spontaneously start bleeding internally.

- Of course Jesse gets to die a hero. But who covered it up? Was it Alex? Is there someone else involved int PS that we don’t know about yet?

- Diego, you are just shady and I don’t like you. I was rooting for you too. Shame.

- Is it bad that I really don’t care about Steph? It is? Guess I’m resigned to just being bad. Cause I just don’t care. Congratulations you didn’t die.

- Max! You couldn’t have just taken everything, or called Liz or even Alex? Wrong move dude. Seriously dude.

- That’s the building you blew up? I am not impressed. That was a waste of f/x.

- No romantic gesture from Max to try to get Liz to stay. Just goes to show how off the deep end Max really is at this point.

- The stowaway’s beard upsets me.

Malex:

Ok here’s where I’m going to dive into the deep end of my Malex feels. First of all, I did not take Alex performing as his big love declaration. He didn’t tell most people that he was going to sing. Even Kyle didn’t know. He had no idea that Michael was going to walk in at that moment. And since it’s been at least a week, maybe more, since Crash Con, I think Alex and Forrest were already seeing each other casually. Obviously, since Forrest at least knew he was singing, they have had some kind of contact. And Michael’s reaction was probably the most Michael thing he’s done all season. Michael sacrifices himself for other people’s happiness. When he looked over and saw the besotted look on Forrest’s face, he knew that Forrest could give Alex something in that moment that Michael couldn’t. Stability. Michael is just now realizing that he can’t blame all of their problems on Alex walking away or the despicable acts of the Manes family. He knows that if he’s going to good for the one person in this world that he wants to be good for, then he’s going to have to work to get there. He can’t hide in his relationship with Maria anymore. He has no choice but to face his problems head on and change for the better. I’ve seen so many people upset that they didn’t have a conversation after the song, but did they need to? They have hashed this out over and over again almost every episode this season. Despite talking in past tense, they know how much they love each other. Michael built a bomb that would kill himself and every alien on the planet just to save Alex. Alex wrote and performed a freaking love song about Michael. Michael knows that he has to deal with his traumas before he can be with Alex. But for the first time in forever he’s confident that they will find their way back to each other. And he would be a complete hypocrite if he asked Alex to wait for him and not get involved with Forrest. Michael wasn’t exactly celibate during the lost years. Also, I don’t think we’re going to get the big love triangle that we got this season. I don’t think Forrest and Alex are going to be a super heavy romance. As far as we know Forrest isn’t looking to lose himself in a relationship like Michael and frankly Maria were. So I’m not worried about them at all. And with a big time jump to deal with Covid-19, they can even have the relationship end organically. Alex could get deployed somewhere and they realize that they are better off as friend. Then Alex can come back and Michael will have worked on being a better person and they can start over again. And it will be glorious, because once those two work it out, that’s it. They are going straight into domestic bliss. They might even start a little dad band!

So that’s all I’ve got for now. I have many more thoughts, but this is probably the longest review yet, so I will be back with more theories and such at a later date. I am planning on a little project for the lengthy hiatus where I write my thoughts on each individual character. Some will be short because they are minor characters without much backstory. Some will be huge and no one will finish it because Dawnita says way too much about certain things! But until then, I hope you all stay safe and healthy. Till later my lovlies!

#roswell new mexico #long post #like really long post #season 2 episode 13 #spoilers #speculations #malex #as always #like seriously #sorry for the long post

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heamatic-a · 4 years

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I’m not sure why I’m writing this let alone posting thing. I mean – it basically only applies to me except for the third paragraph so feel free to skip down to that. The rest is basically me rambling about what I did to try and get out from that purple veil I’ve been living under so long. And this is the last I will ever mention it on this blog or any other blog for that matter.

So a few days ago I did something I needed to do for a long time: I went through this blog and removed anything not related to Mortal Kombat. Six months, give or take, of content gone, some of which absolutely needed to be off this blog and by proxy, my life. For those who followed me long after this blog transitioned from a random multimuse to a Mortal Kombat muse, well, now you know it wasn’t always an MK blog. I had made this blog under the url grimsouled as a joint project with a few close friends, one of those I considered my best friend at the time. Long story short, that person hurt me almost beyond repair, but I still clung to… something regardless. I still had threads we had on this blog. Ship tags. Etc. They needed to go. I made the url change and the complete changeover around summer I think? I’m not very good with dates. But that felt so liberating, although there was always a weight behind it, until a dear friend made me realize what it was that still held me by the ankle. Took me over two hours, post by post, deleting all traces of the past. It hurt. I’m not gonna lie. When you do so much for someone and the only thanks you get is a stab in the back, it’s… not pleasant. But I can safely say that I do feel a big weight has been lifted. I didn’t want to delete and remake. I felt like it would have been some form of win for this person and no – I’m not giving them any fucking satisfaction.

Unfortunately, it means that if you’re still here for Silent Hill? If you’re still here for Critical Role? I’m afraid this isn’t the blog for you. If you’re here because you wanted to follow me here and wish to stay, then cool <3 but I won’t hold it against you if you unfollow. I’m very much done with Silent Hill and Critical Role. I still have my Maria blog but it’s on hold and on indefinite hiatus. I’m also petty and wanna keep that url. lol Whether I touch it or not again remains to be seen. Maybe IF the rumors of the revival are true I’ll go back to it, but until then, I’m gone. It doesn’t really leave a bitter taste in my mouth anymore. More like, I’m indifferent about it. I just stopped caring or enjoying it whatsoever.

This morning I also went through my deviantart and hid all their comments from my art. Sucks I can’t just outright remove the comments but it is what it is. On there and other websites where I post my art, I removed all the pieces I’d done for them. And you know what? As frustrated as I am to think I wasted so much of my valuable time on them? I feel so much better.

I don’t have to go through Becky’s blog thankfully, as I archived in the middle of things and didn’t tag them in anything. I’m still debating if I should delete the archived blog however. But that remains to be seen. Maybe I’m just not ready for that yet, because I also have a lot of memories with other people on that blog. So we’ll see. The truth is, I don’t really feel angry or sad anymore either. Getting rid of all this stuff has been pivotal for me. The best thing I could’ve done.

I’m keeping the name Jester, because it’s a nice play on my real name. And I love that little tiefling it’s based on to bits anyway. I might change my banners though, but yeah, no name change for me. :)

Through this whole ordeal, I found out who my real friends are, and I made amazing new friends along the way too. I feel privileged to know you guys – thank you for being there for me through thick and thin. I’m finally, after much too long, ready to really turn the page now and it’s thanks to you guys who endured me this whole time. @suffocationpit @lotuskissed @traumary @dolores-agnelli @kathexismania Thank you.

And to the MK community, to all of you I have met through this journey, thank you, because you guys are amazing and have made me feel more than welcome when I felt like I couldn’t fit in anywhere anymore. I love you guys.

#╰ *:･ﾟ❤ ──❝ coffee keeps me going until it’s acceptable to drink wine ❞ ❪ jester speaks. ❫#negative tw #[ not really negative but still tagging it as is for now ]#[ just in case ]#[ i guess I just needed to write it down ]#[ i'm just glad to say that I think that for me it's finally over ]#[ feel free to skip over this nonsense XD ]#tbd

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chrisemrysfics · 4 years

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WIPs&Projects List

Hello!

I had two separate posts for that before, but I decide to make a whole new post and combine in one post, so that everything is in one place!

Do note that my inspiration did shift toward MDZS a bit more, however I still plan to actively progress on writing for my DGM fics.

Read more as it is a long post, will adjust when anything needs adjusting and reblog when I do!

Main focus for WIP

My top priority, so the ones I will most often look to write for.

Shadows Symphonies, No one else but you, I expect an equal level of inspiration for both. Note: right now, No one else but you only has its one-short version posted, what I mean is that the multi chapter version is one I am actively working on right now, and will be a main focus once posted!

Meet me Halfway to the End is also a main focus, it might not get updated as often as the MDZS ones, still I want to actively continue this one the most (out of DGM fics).

Secondary focus for WIP

Less priority than my main focus, yet I still intend to work on them whenever I can, and are likely easier to get inspired for (but less likely than my main focus).

Assassin’s Light, I can’t say it’s as main focus as before, so it’s more so a secondary focus now, still I want to continue it.

Rise of the Walker, there’s a good chance it’ll be slower to update than Assassin’s Light and main focus WIPs, however I want to write more for it, as it is Allen’s backstory for all canonverse fics.

Mid focus for WIP

Honestly I call mid focus because the following two fics are less priority than secondary focus, but easier to get inspired for than all other WIPs after, so mid focus felt about right for them.

Bring me to Life

Make it Right

Low focus for WIP

Here come the fics that have a low focus from me, however note it’s more precise to say it is a fickle focus. I could get super inspired one day, which can be in one week, one month, two months, etc. I could get super inspired for the next chapter, or super inspired for multiple chapters. I could get renewed inspiration in the form of regular updates for a short term period. I could get inspiration to finish if I know a fic to be getting close enough to final chapters.

In short, these place low as priority, not out of lack of inspiration, but out of utter randomness of it.

The future we choose, Freedom to love, Secret of Dark Red, The Joy of Time Travel, The Divine Battle, Out Past, Shadows of Rebirth, Tales of Black Wings.

Semi-hiatus WIP

The difference for these ones is that, while it is also fickle when I get inspired for them, it is also much harder for me to feel inspired, and so they are more of actual low level of inspiration, rather than just fickle.

Hellish Chronicles, Different Yet Alike, Fated Chain, Broken Chain.

Main Projects

Those are the non-WIP stuff I am actively working on as side things to my WIPs!

Story to come Bonus “chapter” for all my WIPs except the main focus ones, they are meant to be for anyone who wish to get an idea of what the story is going to be, whether it is to make it easier to wait or to know and close the figurative book for good, a choice for every readers I have and might have in the future, and more freedom for myself as it will be easier to write if I’m not feeling guilty people are waiting to know what happens next (either they wait willingly, or wait knowing what they are waiting for, a choice they didn’t have before).

MDZSxDGM crossover in the form of Noah!Wei Wuxian, for now I am not sure what form it will take, however my best guess is a series where each fic is a collection of scenes based in the same settings. Either I’ll write as much as I can (so it’ll be pretty much “complete” when I first start posting it) before posting, or I’ll start posting at one point I feel comfortable doing so and it becomes a main or secondary focus.

ABO settings, which are going to be general (rather than fandom based) and meant as more so of a fun project, replying to the question how would I write ABO settings.

A second part to The Path we took, I want to expand on the k/ink s/ex aspect more, as there are more stuff I didn’t really put or that I fully worded later, and I want to have Wangxian word it themselves.

Side Projects

Those are the non-WIP stuff I intend to work on, however I’m not actively doing so right now.

A sequel to Long Lost Reunion, meant to be multi-chapter.

Expansion to Window of the Heart, as I have left-over scenes in my idea notes.

Venerated Triad might get expanded one day, and/or get a proper multi-chapter fic, as I can feel there’s a story I can make out of it, I just have too much on my plate right now to give time to it for now.

Field Adventure, Deity’s Royal and Protectors in Everytime, Everywhere might get expanded (all one-shots of this fic might, but these three are more likely), however for now it is just a project idea.

Requiem aeternam is a very tiny maybe about a possible expansion.

There were also some ideas I noted down about a Neallen two shot that would be lime if not lemon, Tykillen one-shots of the lime/lemony type, and a Joyd/Allen multi-chapter fic (not meant to be long, will move to secondary or mid focus if it goes get longer than expected).

Note that there are two fics I intend to write that goes with Meet me Halfway, one will be the origin of war and the other the life of Mana, Nea and Allen before everything went wrong (and how things went wrong). When I’ll work on them, is left to be decided based on my progress in Meet me Halfway.

Notes of projects for longer stories

I do have quite a few ideas noted down for multi-chapter fics, in various fandoms. This is a little overview, of all these things I hope to one day write.

White Devil is the nickname for another big canon au I once planned for, I’m likely to eventually work on it secondary to whichever WIPs I have when I finally work on White Devil, but also it won’t happen until I have less WIPs on my hands (though it is possible I work on it slowly here and there).

A DAIxDGM crossover is likely to be worked on one day, it was first born as a rp idea, to have my Lavellan character end up in DGM world and grow up there, what I really want to write is the DAI storyline when there’s this Lavellan who grew up with the Noah Clan, Allen as brother, and who already had a canon au background (half spirit). One of the scenes I really, really want to write and almost is the sole push behind everything is Allen’s arrival in DAI world and then Allen being a constant present that wlll f*ck you up if you mess with his little brother.

There is also a DAI&SKyrim crossover series I’ve once world build and wrote down notes about, it has in Skyrim a Thief Guild OC with secrets, my first Dovahkin, and my first Inquisitor with my second Inquisitor as Companion (and lover, meant to be a vee or triad with Dorian eventually). Yes, this first inquisitor is the same Lavellan as for the DGM crossover, in the way the backstory is the same up until what changes in the DGM crossover (but there is no crossover with Skyrim in the DAIxDGM crossover).

I’ve had another multi chapter fic planned for Natsume Yuujinchou, canon au with Ayakashi Natsume and Matoba/Natsume. I also have multiple Pokemon fics planned. The same goes to BBC Merlin, there were quite a few fics I had ideas for and noted down. All these fandoms however are where I intend to only have one WIP per fandom, so new fics won’t come until existing WIP in their fandom are finished or are close to finished.

And of course, there are the existing series that I have, who imply multiple fics and so fics to write in the future.

#progress #projects

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

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June 25: Thoughts on Writing

So I’ve decided I want to do a bit of thinking on writing. The truth is that I actually don’t think about it that often anymore, and haven’t for several weeks, not since I realized I needed a break and declared a hiatus. I really did think I’d get over that hiatus in a couple days but it’s seeping into me instead. I told myself I’d take as long as I needed but… at some point, because creating is difficult, you do need to make a choice to just do it even though it is hard and you don’t feel ready. I’ve been trying to balance that—knowing that writing is good for me and good for my mental health—with forgiveness for myself. Something is telling me that I need a break. I’m not always great at listening to myself, the unconscious urges and instincts, so I am trying to do that.

I suspect a big part of this is that I’m inching out of the fandom. I never plan to leave or enter a fandom, I just go where I feel I want to be. But nevertheless… I am torn. A part of me doesn’t want to leave. That part thinks of all the good ideas I had and all the unfinished ideas, and wants to complete things, and to continue to explore. But another part of me just doesn’t care, doesn’t feel inspired at all. I’m not really inspired to write in other fandoms either (though I am toying with non-T100 ideas in a way I haven’t in probably about 3 years), so it’s not just that T100 isn’t an interesting place for me rn, and may never be again, but that is part of it for sure.

I could go into the other reasons but I didn’t sit down with the intention of dwelling on that. This is more about… what do I want, and what should I do? How much do I just content myself with other things and how much do I force myself to write, and in what direction? I could certainly fill my hours with other things, even other productive things. But being able to leave myself and my apartment, mentally, through writing is so important to me, and especially so now. I know that when I don’t write for long periods of time, my brain becomes stagnant and I feel dull. I already feel this happening. I’m not sure if it’s a chicken or an egg but I need the escape. I just don’t know how. I don’t even know my own instincts. What do I WANT, what’s the IDEAL, what should I be striving FOR?

So. There are a couple of possibilities.

One possible goal certainly is to finish things, to check things off a list. I love my lists and this part of me, the just do it part, has always been and will always be in conflict with the more creative part, which just wants to follow whims. Of course actually creating completed things of any sort does require discipline and forcing yourself when you don’t feel like it so I know these aren’t really incompatible instincts, but they do feel like it often. I have a lot of half-finished fics. I have a lot of ideas that have been haunting me for a while in an annoying way. And I have outstanding requests. So one thing I could do is just focus on those things that I most want to say ‘well that’s done now, good’ regardless of inspiration, and then hope that the joy of writing naturally follows, once I give myself time, space, goals, etc. The advantages of this are that even if it’s not as satisfying as I hoped, something will at least get done. Plus, I don’t need to figure out what I “really” want, or put pressure on myself to find the ‘perfect’ inspiration. It’s going to be hard no matter what, anyway.

The downside of this is that having a plan to get back into a hobby by making it the most like work as possible seems… dumb.

Another possibility is that I continue just writing fragments, individual scenes, free writes, etc., instead of pursuing stories, multi-chapter fics, or other longer projects. This is basically all I’ve been doing since finishing the AWWNH Interlude a month ago. The most story-like thing I wrote since then was Fifteen Miles, which did require a couple false starts, but which is still under 2k and pretty simple. I actually do like the scenes I’ve written and it feels good but not stressful. I have found in the past though that when I do too much of this kind of writing, it starts to feel… difficult in itself because each story is short but it’s also something I have to start from scratch. Of course it’s not like I have to do a certain number of them, so I can keep my overall output small while still not losing the writing habit entirely.

Option three: it’s not about writing, it’s about planning. To be honest, this is all a part of me wants to do. Outlines. Brainstorms. Sit on my couch with a notebook and hand write vague ideas I may or may not ever write. I haven’t actually been doing this, or at least not precisely and not much, partially because I just haven’t had the time/energy for ANYTHING recently, and partially because… I guess in a way I feel like I don’t deserve it. Like planning new projects is for when you’re done with current projects. I realize this is unreasonable but it’s the truth.

And finally, I could try to really, really detach myself from any care about what I “should” be writing, and just write whichever of my ideas most speaks to me in any given moment or, otherwise, something chosen randomly, since often it’s hard to tell what I’m in the mood for (again, creating is hard, and it’s always hard—doing nothing is always easier than pursuing even the best, most interesting idea). I don’t necessarily ever have to finish anything, and I can work for as long as I want or don’t want. Realistically, I’m probably not going to have much of an audience for my fics again, at least not in this fandom, so I might as well really lean into writing things for me. I don’t owe anything to anyone! If it’s not enjoyable for me and I don’t like the finished project, it is not worth it, and I should cease to care.

This attitude is not in my nature but I could use more of it.

The truth is I do want to be able to post things again and have people actually want to read them, to have them look exciting etc., because I’m only human and I love validation. But that’s beyond my control. So I can’t get caught up in it, or let it distract me in any way.

Realistically, I’ll probably do a combination of these things. I’ve been collecting a large document of current projects and ideas for a little bit now; it’s one of the few creativity-adjacent things I have been able to do and have liked doing. I’m going to continue with that, and I’m going to try to make time to write on the weekend. I’m going to put a slight emphasis on requests since I feel the worst about those being unfinished. And otherwise I’m just going to work on random projects, and try to be as little concerned with quality as possible, at least for now. I’m also going to make time to just plan stuff for fun, since that’s something I actually do actively want to do (and I know that it’s a lot harder than it seems… it’s still ‘work’ in a sense, still ‘productive’).

I’ve been really topsy-turvy this week and now that it’s almost over… I’m not sure what to expect from the weekend. I hope to get enough rest today and tomorrow that I can actually accomplish stuff on the weekend itself. I might be going out on Saturday… depending on the weather, just to sit outside away from my apartment. Might do some notebook-writing then. It’s demoralizing to spend a long time on something and get little in return, in terms of word counts, etc., but I’m going to try to gear myself up for that likelihood, and focus on what I need the writing for: to get out of myself, to deeply imagine another time and place and other people who aren’t me, and be in their heads. I would like that. I am going to try.

#the year 2020 #2020: writing thoughts

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altscige · 4 years

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『MADELYN CLINE ❙ CIS FEMALE』 ⟿ looks like SAIGE BEAUMONT is here for HER JUNIOR year as a LINGUISTICS student. SHE is 21 years old & known to be BLITHE, ENERGETIC, EVASIVE & IRRATIONAL. They’re living in NOLAND, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ JAMES. 20. EST. SHE/THEY.

hi sorry this took so long i ws on hiatus bt turns out thts exactly how long i need to churn out these new blogs so BJKSADNKFJG also r i p babe bt i miss saige ... she’s an old muse of mine n she’s rly grand i think pls love her ok thank u pls LIKE this if u’d like to plot

TW CHILD ABUSE, DRUG USE, ALCOHOLISM, ADDICTION, DEATH, HIT & RUN CAR ACCIDENTS, GRIEF, GUILT

aesthetics.

stick n’ pokes at 2am – when your drunk and giggling too much in between purposeful stabs, avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk because they’re bad luck and they’ll break your mother’s back – even if your mother doesn’t love you, because you love her, the familiar riff in an old song – one that’s got you strumming along silently; there is no guitar, only empty air lit by the christmas lights you haven’t taken down. it’s may. swallowing down shots, and by default, swallowing down problems. laughing quick, easily, constantly. skinned knees from skateboarding, despite being rubbish at it. wishes on eyelashes stuck to your cheekbones, glitter sticking, running into the ocean at sunrise; feeling at home. excuses, and the many forms they come in. telling people you love them through hand squeezes and fresh muffins, sideways glances and soft, eager grins.

basic info.

full name: saige alouette beaumont

nickname(s): n/a :/ give her some

b.o.d. - july 7th, cancer

label(s): the hedonist, the icarcian, the reveler, etc.

height: 5′7″

hometown: thibodaux, louisiana

sexuality: bisexual w/ a very slight preference towards masc-presenting folks

stats

inspired by: serena van der woodsen (gossip girl), aimee gibbs (sex education), alexis rose (schitt’s creek), elle woods (legally blonde), rapunzel (tangled), clementine (eternal sunshine of a spotless mind), angela montenegro (bones), tinkerbell (peter pan), late 2000 / early 2010s kesha... i don’t know because she’s not actually inspired by anybody i made her when i was like 13 HDSJBKFNGHJLDS

biography.

the fallible daughter of two very infallible people: robert beaumont, US lieutenant general (soon to be US general), and manon lévesque, world renowned fashion designer on levels par with gucci and versace. both cold, calculating, and purposeful.

no matter how much she wants to believe otherwise, saige is sure that she was not created out of love. it was an action with a purpose, intentions to create the perfect child. the hybrid of both military genius and fashion extraordinaire. a proper socialite. a 1% citizen. molded to their will.

born in thibodaux, louisiana (surrounded by her father’s family - a long line of old money southern magnates & moguls with a history of beauty pageant winners in each woman) - it took them no more than six months after her birth for her parents to up and move, thus beginning a cycle of packing and unpacking, flying and driving, state-to-state and country-to-country. the longest saige had ever stayed in one place was two years, until radcliffe. even then - conditioned to never become truly attached to a place, she has the urge to up and run away at any given moment, onto the next adventure.

she was kept on a short leash, home-schooled, and learning skills she had no interest in (from cooking to sewing to ballroom dancing - to fencing and firearm safety and self defense) - more like a pet, a project, than a child. the world moved all around her, but she was bound to what her parents allowed her to see. a bird in a cage of thorns.

it was hard to keep and maintain friends - there one day, gone the next. a ghost you could see, clear as day, but never touch - never fully, at least. even if she tried with all her might.

would run from bodyguards (their version of nannies - robert beaumont is a paranoid man with too many enemies to count) into festival crowds and climb out of windows in the middle of the night to swim in lakes with the locals she’d met only hours earlier - as soon as she realized that there was something wrong with the way she lived.

even if it resulted in punishment, military exercises in the form of her own personal boot camp (she’d been forced to do chin-ups, once, when she ripped an expensive gown at the tender age of seven. not since, however, after she wound up sobbing on the floor - instead they moved on. delicate teacups stacked across her back as she did push-ups, the more she did the more that slipped & broke)

she absorbed as she could, as much as she could get; an intense, undying love for a world she always craved to see.

this was the start of something dangerous - a phase that never seemed to end, rebellion coursing through her veins. a wild child in the making, unknowing of limits. she landed herself in any crowd she could squeeze into - bad crowds, in particular and more often than not - they introduced her, the sheltered girl, into a world she hadn’t quite known existed until then.

ran away briefly at the age of fifteen with a man three years older than her & nearly ended up in a tabloid magazine because of it - if it hadn’t been for her parents’ money. though guilt from her parents’ disappointment weighed on her, the thrill fueled something much worse.

from there on, she’d been labeled as a ‘problem child’ - from public intoxication to vandalism, it was clear their daughter was unraveling and nothing could possibly contain her.

boarding school had been an attempt to stop it, enrolled her freshmen year in hopes that she’d come out a proper woman. but being located in new york with easy access to the upper east side of manhattan - it’d been futile.

there’d only been a few significant events during her time there - the death of a classmate (one of her closest friends’ boyfriends) and a ski trip that nearly resulted in her own death, skiing while drunk on a closed off course, in memory of him and the traditions they’d had. the first time she fell in love, and months of pining - running in circles, fights and hiccups and confessions in the dramatic manner all high school relationships seem to be like. they’d finally gotten together - officially, no more sneaking around or pretending - when her parents paid a surprise visit. a rare occasion, nerve-wracking. dangerous. to keep a story short - she’d accidentally exposed her own drug use in their presence, the simple act of pills falling from a purse - and that’d been it. she was gone the next day, with no word to anybody and hardly a word since.

they told family she needed a change of pace, and rumors in her old school said that she’d been expelled, that she’d been sent to the french countryside to live with her grandmother.

she’d only gone to washington, that was all. france was too good, and she was too undeserving. instead she was enrolled in public school, only a quarter through her junior year. her parents rarely spoke to her - rarely in town, the only eyes kept on her were security cameras and the occasional check-in by family friends (the new word for bodyguards, apparently)

but as always - when left alone, saige scrambled to find somewhere she fit, somewhere to tuck herself away in the comfort of other people. a small group, but a loyal group - harmless minus a few miscellaneous charges that they said every small town kid had, at some point. they were safe, they were family - as close as she could get. at least, she had thought so. had really believed it.

she hadn’t intended to go to university after graduating high school, not yet eighteen - not for another month or two, at least. she wanted to travel, meet new people and learn new languages (she’d learned four, already, but had always been a glutton. craved to know more, as if she unlocked secrets with every phrase she could speak) and just. exist.

maybe she should’ve. should’ve left as quick as possible, and never turn back.

saige mysteriously disappeared from the public eye for an entire year, the entirety of her 18th year on earth, before promptly showing up at radcliffe university, ready to learn.

it’d been a year of legal cases & lawsuits & avoiding prison with expensive lawyers and a lot of money.

the getaway driver for an armed robbery at a bank, an unknowing accomplice until her supposed friend ran out from the building and jumped in her car, screaming for her to drive, drive, drive. it had only supposed to have been a quick stop before a road trip to the coast. nobody was supposed to get hurt. but scared, and high, saige had obeyed - and by doing so, led a police chase and, of course, a hit & run that eventually led to saige crashing the car midst breakdown.

the sole victim survived, thankfully - and the beaumonts have been paying the medical bills since. her friend - the one who started it all - was charged & sentenced. but saige got off relatively scot-free. just a year of community service, a slap on the wrist (and the growing wallets of all involved in handling her case). it would’ve made national news if her parents hadn’t stepped in - favors called, resulting in only local headlines.

they hadn’t spoken to her since then. three years of radio silence. she’d think they were dead if it hadn’t been the steady flow of money in her bank account. their silence only feels like a threat of what’s to come if she fucks up again.

ever since - she’s avoided causing too much trouble, still very much the party girl she’d like to be, but staying out of headlines and tabloids. partially in fear of her parents finally cutting ties, permanently, and partially in fear that she’ll end up costing someone else their life with her own selfishness.

personality.

she is so ... bubbly. so fucking bubbly. she’s has so much energy in her. goes running every morning and every night and swims almost every afternoon and she’s never tired, even if she hasn’t slept the last night and even if she’s been dancing for five hours in a club in high heels and nothing but vodka in her system. the personification of a coke bottle shaken up, if the coke bottle in question could laugh and smile at you and make you feel, somehow, at home even though you’d only met her in the bathroom queue.

tries her hardest to be the happy fun friend, the cool friend, the one who can hook you up with whatever you need because she sleeps with her drug dealer and gets discounts, but like, it’s totally okay because they’re also friends.

generally comes off as very confident of herself, and fearless, and reckless but like - fun reckless. the kind of reckless you wouldn’t mind to be around because she takes your worries and acknowledges them and reassures you that it’s fine, that it’s grand, even when it may definitely not be.

takes a lot. so much. could ramble for days, hand gestures and all. never stops talking. never.

if she wants to do something, she’ll do it and there’s not very much you can do to stop her. stubborn, but at the same time easy going? very go go go. mischievous. even if she’s trying to do something stupid you kind of just like ... have to let her do it, or otherwise she’ll mope for three hours and pout at you and then you’ll feel questionably guilty, which is admittedly a little manipulative on her end and isn’t the best thing, but i never said she’s the best person ever because she’s most certainly ... not.

a vegetarian because meat makes her physically sick, like, she’s got a weird intolerance to it and it’s not quite an allergy because it’s really just red meats but she’ll get a tummy ache.

her vocabulary consists of a lot of ‘likes’ and ‘ums’ and ‘yknows’, y’know? her statements always sound like questions.

99% sure she has adhd but she’s never been diagnosed because her parents simply would not allow her to go to therapy so if she does have any neurological disorders, mental illness, and the likes of those - she doesn’t know and doesn’t know where to even begin to find out. her parents? fucking suck.

like i said, she’s currently not on speaking terms with them. more of their decision than hers. she still loves them, a lot - and there’s a part of her that believes that they still love her, that they have to, because she’s not disowned yet. even though they haven’t said more than ten words to her since she was eighteen - as long as they keep sending her money, they still care - right?

owns four cars ... bad idea considering her past, but alas. spending her money is a coping mechanism and she likes to drive because it’s a form of freedom. anyways. all her cars are on campus and she’s probably not allowed to have them all on campus but she does. one’s a sleek sports car, the other is a jacked up pick-up truck that’s decked out in like ... LED lights and shit, the third one is the same exact fucking mustang from the princess diaries because she’s obsessed with the movie & usually gets what she wants. the fourth is a mini cooper.

she’s a photographer (for funsies) and the walls of her room in noland are covered in photographs and art and taped-down plants. her room in general is really cluttered. like, it’s super homey. super cozy. but it’s a mess. clothes everywhere, she’s got a pile of instruments and other miscellaneous hobbies that she wanted to do and then either never did, or did for a few days and got bored of and haven’t touched since.

i mentioned earlier that she was taught a bunch of skills when growing up - and like, she doesn’t really utilize any of them? knitting, sewing, cookie, three different forms of ballroom dancing - all gone to waste and she’s pretty rusty on most of it, but it’s there. in her mind. it’s kind of neat and i promise she’s not a mary sue it’s just her upbringing HBSJKDFNLG she’s really nuanced i swear. anyways she can also work a gun and a car engine but hates half of the things she knows how to do because she was forced to learn these things.

she plays bass guitar. loves it, loves her guitar. treasured item. she knows violin & piano too but she fucking hates piano & is mostly indifferent towards violin. she can hold a note in other instruments but it’s like. not great.

got really into languages at a young age due to her constant traveling and started learning them unprompted. her mother is like. literally french. a french citizen. so she grew up learning english & french but from there on she’s gotten fluent in spanish (similar 2 french) and latin (dead languages are fun) and then she’s working on a few others like mandarin and german and scottish gaelic specifically but she mostly just knows a few phrases here and there. like, enough to get her through a city if needed.

like she’s super smart and very talented but she’s also ditzy as hell. big dumbass energy to the point where maybe you don’t realize that she’s actually really good at a lot of things because it’s not like she really flaunts it either?

she’s just very reckless, and very much a party girl. has quite the collection of drugs & uses socially, but also alone and throughout the day. rarely sober.

high functioning alcoholic and at this point she doesn’t really know what she’s like when she’s completely sober? which is really bad but she’s convinced that if she goes sober she’ll just be miserable and horrible because at her very core she believes she’s like. the worst human being alive. like very deep issues of self loathing covered by baileys in her morning coffee and 23 crystal lite packets in her yeti cup that happens to be filled with vodka.

this has been a budding problem that was developed since she was a young teenager. the ehem. situation that happened when she was eighteen only amplified it.

is essentially wearing a mask of confidence and giddiness and flirtatiousness because she doesn’t want people to think she’s not doing well, because she isn’t.

loves so much. loves everything, so much. everything, everybody. falls in love like five times a day but nothing really sticks to her either, for the most part. i hate to say it but she does flock to shitty people / general assholes because that’s just ... how she is, that’s what she’s surrounded herself with her entire life. even her high school boyfriend was an asshole - just like, not to her, which made it Okay in her mind. she finds these kind of people like ... super interesting which is really questionable but y’know what? we’re fine. it’s fine. i’m fine.

she sleeps around often, to be frank. she hates being alone and she rarely sleeps in her own dorm unless someone is in there sleeping with her. otherwise she’s at different houses. could be a friend’s bed, could be a stranger’s. has slept with the entire baseball team, probably. she’s also the type of person who’ll try and maintain a positive, good friendship with whoever she sleeps with because she hates the idea of having a regrettable encounter and just. refuses.

this is kind of a problem because she blurs the lines between friendship and Something More too often, and with too many people. wants to be loved but it’s never enough. probably ends up hurting people without realizing it because they think they have something super special but she does this with a lot of people and it’s super :/

does stick and pokes a whole bunch. she can’t draw for shit so they’re not great but she thinks they’re fun and she’s been doing it for a while so like, who cares, right? let her give you one :)

gets sent dress prototypes and like. drafts of designs & articles of clothing from her fashion lines that aren’t out yet and won’t be for a while by her very own mother. saige absolutely gives them all away, for the most part. or it sits in her closet, and stays there. her go-to gift for birthday presents, or christmas gifts, or whenever she feels like it. like, feel free to raid her closet?

ok that’s all. love her.

wanted connections.

a best friend... someone who sticks by her side even though she is a certified Mess.

a ride or die... is it the same as a best friend? maybe. but it’s got a fancy name and i want both so :)

close friends... she’s really friendly and the kind of girl to have been really popular in high school but didn’t care for it and talks to everybody like she’s known them her entire life, so. she’d have a good amount of these!

grumpy friend... to balance her happy friend. she’ll fuck them up in a friendship way. with her cheerfulness.

party pals... they don’t talk much outside of parties but they’re practically glued to the hip when they’re at them. hold your hair back kind of close.

frenemies... or fake friends, toxic friends, people who use her for money or like ... sex, or whatever? anything? people who barely tolerate her because she gives them stuff sometimes.

bad influences... they just encourage her to do more, be worse, never get better.

good influences... like ... YOINK! stop being an idiot! do your homework! idot!

a tutor... because she’s like...smart...but she’s also stupid...super bad at math & science. help her.

hook ups... friends with benefits, a one night stand that is a little? awkward? since then. past & present tenses. :)

exes... she’s noncommittal so they likely wouldn’t have lasted very long but? yolo? she can be a heartbreaker, as marina said, as a treat? whether they dated or were fucking ... either works. but i do love angst :)

one-sided hatred... someone who just fucking ... despises her. but she doesn’t realize because she’s an idiot and thinks they’re just like. joking around! like they’re best buddies!

annoyance... but she’s the annoyance. she’s the thorn in their side.

ex-best friend... where something happened between them, like, anything, and it ruined their friendship forever. very sad. angst potential, though.

but like. i’ll take anything.

steals your mail... who knows why?

cat escape... he keeps running away and she keeps letting him inside her room even though she’s allergic...

married old couple... the kind of friendship where they always bicker like they’ve been together for fifty years, but it’s purely platonic (or is it? slowburn BAYBEY. DENIAL babyey.)

off and on again... i think that one that’s not good for them because they enable each other & only get like ... angry at each other, and it’s like, messy. but it’s super hard to stop. probably reminds her of high school so that’s why she tries so hard to stick around, but alas. it’s not good. it’s toxic. stop it.

the drug dealer... the one she sleeps with... even though she can just pay for it because she’s rich but like. it’s funner this way.

blurred status... like, it’s just really confusing of what they are? are they, aren’t they? the relationship status is just ... muddled. she’s a mess and gets involved with too many people without intending to. potential to hurt feelings. :)

please. take her. give me connections.

#radintro #child abuse tw #abuse tw #drug abuse tw #alcoholism tw #addiction tw #hit and run tw #grief tw #ok wow this is a lot. HBJDNFKGH

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momorabu · 5 years

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Code Realize Playthrough - Fran’s Route - Chapter 11: The Alchemist’s Secret

Warning: Spoilers. Image heavy post.

After two months of hiatus, I finally took out some time to write the next playthrough for Code Realize~ This chapter was played in September, so I ended up having some chapters on backlog which I’m trying to clear recently, since I really wished I could finish Fran’s route before this year ends TWT (I think we’re nearing the end soon hopefully?)

This chapter was quite a... how do I say... a reveal and abit of heartache as we get to know Fran’s backstory (Finally~!! I’ve been waiting for it since how many chapters ago TWT) I like Fran more and more after this chapter seriously >////<

Okay, enough of my fangirling now, onto the playthrough~!

Time count down to 9 hours left.

Cardia woke up from a dream from her past and found herself in an unfamiliar place. Realising how much time she had left, Cardia felt bad that she had wasted over 20 hours from fainting and in deep slumber, and that she’s going to become a true “monster” in 9 hours.

Suddenly, Fran appeared, all smiles on his face. He was worried and asked Cardia on how she was feeling, and Cardia felt apologetic for sleeping so much since she wanted to help more.

(Fran’s smile here is so precious~)

Fran smiled and told her that there’s nothing to be sorry about since she was feeling so unwell that she fainted, thus she doesn’t have to feel guilty about it. He explained that the group tried searching for Zicterium while she was sleeping, and managed to track down a person who was involved in the philosopher’s stone’s project in the past, which might be a lead to where Zicterium was located. The rest of the group were already on their way to visit the man, while Fran stayed behind to take care of Cardia. Fran vowed that they would definitely find the Zicterium before the government does, and get rid of it. He was apologetic that he had yet to find a cure for Cardia’s poison, but he knew he was getting close to getting a breakthrough.

Cardia looked at him and knew that he was telling the truth, though she realised that his expression looked pain when she thanked him.

(Though there are doubts about Fran, I do like what he said to Cardia T////T)

Cardia felt that Fran’s words were as if he’s telling himself to prepare to die for her sake, and asked him why was he sacrificing so much for her, since she knew she wasn’t human and viewed herself as a monster created to spread deadly poison around, thus felt that her life isn’t worthy for Fran. Cardia knew that her words must sound like rejection to Fran, but he simply smiled and assured her that she’s not a monster, and just a normal girl who deserves her happiness.

(Awww... Fran >////<)

But Cardia could only imagine herself causing Fran’s death by the time she had lost control of herself, and being terrified of the near future, she made a choice...

(I swear I’m just blindly choosing at this moment since both choices are hard D:)

Cardia told Fran not to be so kind towards her, saying that doing that will just create more painful memories for them since their relationship (be it friendship/romance) would be over once she turned into a monster. But Fran shook his head and insisted that he’s going to stay with her, and told her with a determination that while he’s afraid of death, he’s even more afraid of himself running away from her, and that he can’t bear the thought of him screaming and crying and leaving Cardia behind.

(Just when I thought there isn’t going to be any more close up, I get surprised again O////O)

But for Cardia, Fran’s kindness towards her was painful, as she thought back to Fran’s diary entry of blaming himself that she was being created. She wondered what was her to Fran, and whether she was the only one who had seen Fran as a friend or perhaps even more... (More, as in? O////O) She could derive from the conversation he had with the Queen earlier on that he was not her father, but still, she wondered what he had meant by that entry in his diary. Thinking about this and the thought that she might not even be herself a few hours later, Cardia started feeling more restless and anxiety, which caught Fran’s attention.

Cardia decided to come clean with Fran, apologising that she had seen his diary when she looked through his room and asked about his entry on blaming himself that she was being created. Fran fell silent after that, struggling whether he should tell the truth to Cardia, but after some urging from her, Fran decided to reveal the truth to her.

Turned out that his journal was initially used to just record the research of his subjects, but he soon added his own thoughts and emotions to it which he could not say out loud to it, and thus, that entry about Cardia, was something that he had can’t help but write down. Though Fran had wanted to rip out those pages about his thoughts, he ended up leaving them nevertheless.

Fran warned Cardia that she might end up despising him after listening to his story, but he knew that deep down that he perhaps deserved that and decided to reveal everything to her, and by that, it’s pretty much his entire life till this day.

(Long story short, Fran was selected to become a part of the researcher’s team in the Royal Society, where they were being tasked to create the philosopher’s stone. But he didn’t manage to recreate it but instead created a deadly toxic - Zicterium. Fran was being held responsible for the project being a failure and was asked to leave the Royal Society. However, Cardia’s father, Isaac, took him in and got him yet another job at the government, and this time his job was to research on Zicterium. Fran had believed that his research here would be helpful to the country in the future, being glad to have the affirmation from someone else when it seems like everyone had abandoned after he had failed to recreate the philosopher’s stone.

Fran had no idea what his research of Zicterium was used for until he heard that it was being used in the Vampire War that broke out. Realising finally that Zicterium was being used as a weapon, Fran felt angry and mad at the government and Victoria for making use of him, as well as thinking himself as being an ignorant fool.

He had run to where the war had taken place thinking that perhaps there was still a chance to stop it, but...

All he saw were faces of the agony of the corpses lying around him by the time he had reached there.

Fran wondered why had he been so proud of his research back then since this was nothing that he expected as it was definitely not a “research” to help mankind. He could only cry out that he’s sorry and for the dead to forgive him, as he ran away from everything of this incident... being too afraid to fight back and do anything at all.

In the end, Zicterium was used alot during the Vampire War, causing lots of deaths, and Fran knew that this was all because of his research was being abused. He later heard that the government had kept the remaining Zicterium, and knowing that they might be using it for murder again someday, he vowed to get rid of them.

Regarding Cardia, he had heard from rumours that Isaac was experimenting with Homunculi, which later turned out to be Holorogium, and he was able to make that connection soon after seeing it engraved onto Cardia. Knowing that Horologium would not have existed if Zicterium was not created, Fran blamed himself for Cardia being created, telling her that it was because of Zicterium that there’s deadly poison in her, thus all those pain that she had suffered in her life... Fran blamed it all onto himself.

Fran came clean that him trying to save Cardia was actually him trying to save himself since he had thought that he might be able to run away from the crimes of his past if he had managed to cure her.

(Really can’t help but feel sorry for him T////T He tried so hard to be a good guy but ended up being deceived and had to work even harder to get rid of his guilt... T////T)

Rather than questioning Fran any further though, Cardia hugged Fran and thanked him instead. Fran was shocked and told her that he had not done anything deserving of her thanks since his experiments had instead been used to create the poison in her. Cardia told him that it was because of him that she existed, and it’s a fact that because of Zicterium, she’s alive. She’s happy with the life she had lived until today, and was glad that she had the chance to meet him and spend time with him. Though Fran’s research had created a deadly weapon, Cardia was still thankful that she’s being created because of it.

Fran started trembling as Cardia continued to hug him, and he thanked her for telling all this to him. Cardia realised that Fran might have always hated himself this entire time, but though he had run away once, he had now decided to face his mistakes, even if he was the one who had also suffered and hurt because of it. Cardia wanted to stay by his side and was thankful that he had given her a chance at this life.

(I just love this closing sentence on what a great guy Fran is T/////T)

It was night time when Fran had calmed down, and he assured Cardia that he was going to save her, no matter what it takes, and he’s also not going to let the government gets away with terrorism.

(Perhaps this is a hint of Fran’s feelings towards Cardia? >/////<)

Cardia had felt that it was a very sad thing that Fran was being held captive by his guilt, as though he had wanted to be held captive by it and to suffer from it. (Hopefully, he would finally be able to relieve from it when this incident all came to an end T////T)

Time count down to 8 hours left.

The story took us to Lupin’s gang’s point of view, where they had arrived in front of a mansion, hoping to track down the man who might lead them to the location of Zicterium.

(Interestingly, Dora-chan had gone with them for this expedition as well, though he doesn’t respond well when he heard about the word “Zicterium”... I don’t blame him at all, poor kid D:)

However, Van had felt that something was off when he took a closer inspection at the door. It seems that it hasn’t been opened for a long time. Impey wondered whether the man had moved away, but Saint suspected that the man might be in a situation that he was not able to leave the house. The group decided to go into the house and check it out, and though Lupin offered to unlock the door, Van decided to just fire at the lock to unlock it violently instead. (That’s totally stealing the limelight from Lupin XD)

They soon realised that the man was dead for quite a while as soon as they stepped into the house. Van deduced that the man had committed suicide by shooting his own head, and Saint guessed that the man must have not been able to stand the pain of guilt anymore and thus decided to take his own life.

(It’s a sad ending to this man’s life...)

Though they could not question the man on regarding Zicterium, the group looked through the documents in the mansion, looking for any leads that might lead them to the Zicterium. Suddenly, Van found a parchment, which turned out to be a letter written by the man before he committed suicide. It detailed about the terrorism plans that Queen Victoria had planned to carry out, and the first part of the operation will be carried out at the area where Fran and Cardia were located. He ran out of the mansion, shouting to the others where Victoria’s next target is, which means Fran and Cardia would be in danger. The group ran to notify the two of them about it, but it seems like the terrorist plans were already happening, with explosions thundering from the other side of the city...

Back to Cardia’s point of view, she was deeply affected by the explosion, being thrown off the bed by the impact. Fran rushed into the room, and upon realising what the sweet scent in the air was, quickly covered Cardia’s mouth with his hand. Cardia panicked, thinking that his hand would be melt upon touching her face, but thank goodness Fran’s gloves were made of the same material as her clothes so he would be alright. He warned Cardia not to breathe in the smoke, as it contained Zicterium.

They decided to run away from where they’re residing and saw many people running away from the smoke, running in all sorts of direction. Some of the people stayed behind though, being concerned for their loved ones who were trapped (or maybe wanting to loot something in midst of all these commotions), and thus were running into the smoke instead. Cardia saw them writhe in agony and fell down after some time, and Fran quickly shouted out to them to run away from the smoke as it was poisonous gas. It was no use as it seems like no one had heard him, and thus, he decided to go into the smoke once again to warn the others, telling Cardia to leave first. Though Cardia was worried, Fran assured her that he had countermeasures against the smoke and won’t die that easily. (That sure doesn’t sound convincing...)

Even though Cardia grabbed hard onto Fran to prevent him from leaving, he was determined to stay and help the others and ran off to warn the others instead...

(And here we get yet another super close up of Fran’s face >/////<)

(I’m stubborn and end up staying and running back to Fran again ^^; Even though he scolded Cardia, I know he’s just worried about her~)

Cardia ran back to catch up to Fran and told him that he’s just in as much danger as she does, and helped a man who was about to collapse before Fran does. After helping the man, Cardia faced Fran and told him that she’s not going to leave and was going to help him instead. Fran agreed in the end and requested her to go around the buildings and give people directions on where to escape. Fran was determined to help as many people as he can since he doesn’t want to relieve the nightmare of the past ever again. Some people stayed and helped them out too, and surprisingly, Cardia actually felt even better after staying in the smoke.... (Hmmm?! OWO”)

However, Cardia noticed that Fran seems to be feeling worse and worse, and though Fran was an expert on Zicterium, there’s still a limit on how much Zicterium he could take, as much as he was trying not to inhale any of them.

The smoke finally dispersed in the end, and both of them quickly left the place just before the Scotland Yard arrived. Fran was coughing badly, though he urged Cardia that they need to go back and help anyone that might still need help, Cardia stopped him, telling him that he can’t help anyone when he’s in such a bad condition.

Fran was confused that Cardia doesn’t seem affected by the Zicterium at all, and instead, she remarked that she seems to have recovered a bit. It was impossible that Cardia had not inhaled any of the gas, and hearing that she had recovered, Fran wondered whether the transformation of Horologium had stopped for a while and suddenly he figured something out. He started scribbling furiously on the floor using a rock he had picked up nearby and started exclaiming that he made sense of "it” now.

(Well, I’ll just let Fran explain below on what he had figured out~ His shining expression was just so interesting and funny~ XD)

Since it would be too late to make Zicterium right now, their goal now was to locate the hidden Zicterium, and Cardia would finally be saved if she gets in contact with them~

(Awww~ This is a new expression of Fran, him smiling so happily like a child is just soooo adorable~ >/////<)

But... it was too early for them to be happy, as Twilight members appeared before them...

Time count down to 7 hours left.

The scene changed towards Queen Victoria’s point of view, as she smiled to herself, thinking about her terrorism plan that had been carried out, and that everything would be going smoothly just like how it had happened during the Vampire War last time. This would be considered the second terrorist attack, and she believed that fear must be deeply planted in the citizen’s hearts by now, wanting them to be cautious, expecting the next attack. Using that fear, she could propose a war which no one would be able to oppose.

Victoria shared what she had planned to carry out her terrorism plans next, making use of Zicterium to cause the entire Europe to fall in fear. If they launch a war at this time, Britain should be able to squash out all the other countries and they would all be under her rule after that.

She looked over at Leonhardt and gave him her next order - to obtain the Horologium and Zicterium so that they could proceed to the final stages of their plan...

#code realize #fran route #otome game #playthrough #cr:playthrough

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