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#*read in Nadja voice**
whyeverr · 1 year
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FRIGHT CLUB | NIGHTCLUB
The first rule about FRIGHT CLUB is, of course, you don't talk about FRIGHT CLUB. The second rule about FRIGHT CLUB is vampire only nightclub, Guillermo.
Okay, okay, misguided humans and supernatural creatures of all demonkind are permitted here, so long as they’re paying customers. But listen up donkeys, just because it’s in Moonwood Mill doesn’t mean filthy stinking werewolves get free run of the place, alright? In fact, we’d prefer it if they stay outside. That wet dog smell really settles into the upholstery... 
Vampire, ghost, human, witch... Whatever you are, don your gothiest club attire, grab a drink at the bar—a plasma jane or just a regular human alcohol beer—and dance until the sun comes up. Our converted industrial warehouse nightclub boasts two dance floors and a vampire lounge, complete with blood sprinklers!!!—if we could just get the damn things unclogged. And we saved the best for last... On the fourth floor there’s a cage for, well, cage fights, obviously: familiar fights, supernatural smackdowns... Whatever you want, baby. I mean, it is a FRIGHT CLUB after all.
Lot details:
Lot Type: Nightclub
Price: §195,565
Size: 30x30
Location: Prowler’s Patch, Moonwood Mill
I’ve used from all packs freely here, with Get Together, Vampires, Werewolves, and the Industrial Loft kit featured heavily
Created in celebration of Simblreen 2022! @simblreenofficial​
Download via the Sims 4 Gallery or tray files via Sim File Share. Please don’t re-upload or share without credit. Thank you!
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troubled-dork · 10 months
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nick offerman with long hair. yumyumyumyumyumyumyum.
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sylviawasright · 1 year
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just finished Kafka's Metamorphosis, and let's just say the question will they love me if I turn into a bug is as real as ever
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whatever-dude · 1 year
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can't believe im gonna miss the new bob's burgers episode for this
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your-mums-nuts · 7 months
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Okay but the new episode really makes a point to show us that Guillermo isn’t ‘not you Guillermo’ anymore, he’s a part of the gang. And there’s no big drama about it either, he’s sitting next to Nandor (closer to the podium than Colin Robinson is) If this were some other season, his ass would be on the side bodyguarding or down next to Sean in one of the pews. No one stops him when he goes to roast Laszlo on the podium because of course he’s allowed to, he’s a member of the household and more importantly he’s Laszlos friend. When they go to rescue Guillermo, no one but the Baron says ‘he’s just a familiar who cares’ and even that statement is withdrawn once he sees how distraught Nandor is. Not to mention, they have full confidence in Guillermo- they’re just trying to stop the Baron from provoking him. Laszlo even snaps out of his bloody trance twice, to help Gizmo out.
This episode really speaks to everyone’s relationship with Guillermo this season. He’s not weak but he’s not a danger to them either, he’s their friend, he’s their little guy, he’s whatever the fuck he is to Nandor (to be read in Nadja voice) he could kill the Baron without mercy but he would also help the Baron out if he felt bad enough. Despite the title he holds, he’s just expected to be around, assisting or causing shenanigans with them. Nothing he does is met with more ridicule than usual because he’s not ‘other’ anymore- he’s just in their vampire pod now and no one’s complaining.
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flightfoot · 1 month
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Adrien Angst Fics and Series that finished in 2023
So I love some good Adrien angst and hurt/comfort, and I figure a bunch of other people do as well! Hopefully these fics scratch that itch! They're all from the collection I set up earlier for the fics from 2023 that I recommend! I've got 31 fics in here. It's a popular genre that I like a lot, there are a lot of fics for it!
home is where the fight is by @rosie-b
Nadja Chamack’s voice greeted Adrien as he sat up straight, wiping his clammy hands on his pants and ignoring the black kwami floating by his shoulder. “—shocked to see our heroine fall in battle today, taking a direct hit from the akuma just as she detransformed. Parisians are torn between blaming Hawk Moth and Cat Walker for their roles in this tragedy, which ultimately revealed the civilian identity of Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Adrien turned off the TV and lowered his head as his vision blurred. Written for Ladrien June Day 7: Injured
I adore this fic! Which shouldn’t be a a surprise, it’s no secret that I love Sentiadrien Enemies AU. Adrien’s so worried about Marinette getting hurt, and wishes that he could help keep her safer, could tell her what’s really going on or get rid of the ring or something, but he can’t. Still, he IS able to find clever ways around some of his father’s more problematic orders. Loopholes for the win!
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Guilty by Association by @rosie-b
Marinette respected Adrien’s strength and courage more and more every day. No matter how many times people threw nasty words or literal tomatoes at him; no matter how many companies refused to work with him anymore; no matter how clear it was becoming that he would never be forgiven for his father’s crimes, he chose to greet new people with a smile and hope that this time, someone would recognize the kind heart hidden behind his hated name. She wished she’d had the chance to meet him before she’d accidentally ruined his life. Written for the Ml Writers Guild September event ‘back to school’
I love how Marinette keeps reaching out to Adrien, trying to protect him, even if it doesn’t always work. To let him know that she’s in his corner at least. Hawk Moth had to be taken down, but the consequences for Adrien… she never wanted anyone to get hurt in the process. 
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oh, look now, there you go with hope again by @ladyofthenoodle
After the defeat of Hawkmoth and his accomplice, Chat Noir, Marinette is ready to return to her normal life, but she can’t escape Adrien Agreste, who was sentenced to a fate many consider worse than prison: public school. Specifically, her public school. Still, that doesn’t mean she has to interact with him, does it? Except, if she doesn’t… who will?
I love a good enemies au, and seeing the aftermath of an enemies au… that’s rare. She’s wary of Adrien, but with how he’s being bullied, and how he’s just taking it in the hopes of being accepted, she can’t help but reach out to him.
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Disintegrated Pancakes by @scribeofrhapsody
Adrien had started expecting the family breakfasts. He had NOT been expecting his father to collapse in the middle of one.
I’m shocked I haven’t seen more of this sort of thing, with Adrien finding out his father’s Monarch via seeing the Cataclysm wound. I love that Alya gets involved in this, being the person Adrien runs into after fleeing the room, and then Adrien getting to talk things out with Gabriel and Nathalie. Thankfully Gabriel is at least not completely incapable of being reasoned with here, or things could have gone worse than they did. It’s a nice little read, though with an ambiguous ending (at least at the time when I write this).
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with this ring by @thelibraryloser
She thought “you and me against the world” had sounded like lopsided odds before, when she hadn’t even dreamed “you against me” was a possibility. Or maybe she had dreamed it, but at least in those dreams he’d had cold blue eyes and a stark white mask. The villain she’d fought today had looked at her through her partner’s own bright green eyes. It wasn’t meant to be this way.
Short and sweet Sentiadrien enemies canon divergence fic here! I adored Marinette finding out why her kitty seemed to have “betrayed” her, and the righteous anger on his behalf once she figured out that it wasn’t of his own free will. Her comforting Adrien about it was just… really good. It’s a Hawkmoth Defeat fic too, so the immediate aftermath gets covered as well. Adrien needs a hug.
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Nothing Else Matters by LiquefiedStars
Marinette couldn’t figure out Chat Noir. He was supposed to be her partner, but instead ended up working for Hawk Moth. Still, her heart betrayed her and when a strong connection forms between them, Ladybug goes to Chat looking for answers, finding out more than she bargained for.
Sentiadrien enemies AU fic! He never wanted to fight against her, but Gabriel caught him before he could transform for the first time, and with his father using his Amoks against him, he had no choice. 
I like that there’s a solid explanation for why Fu let Adrien keep his Miraculous even though he’s been working against Ladybug, I don’t often see explanations for that that I’m satisfied with.
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Slowly Fading (from my misery) by @wehadabondingmoment
“You’re looking awfully deep in thought today, minou.” Ladybug’s gloved hand stroked over his hair and Chat Noir closed his eyes with an unstable breath. He got like this sometimes. Lately, it had been getting worse. Or: Gabriel likes using the rings to order his son around. After a while, it starts having effects on Chat Noir as well. (The more often Gabriel commands Adrien to act a certain way, the more it gets ingrained in his mentality. He suffers because of it.)
This is a gorgeous fic. Adrien’s been puppeted around, forced to obey orders for reasons he doesn’t understand, for so long, so often that a lot of times his own body doesn’t even feel like his. A lot of residual orders keep on bubbling up and stopping him from doing what he wants to do, and he just… doesn’t understand why. Considering how Adrien looked in Pretension when Gabriel forced him to go to his room so he could talk to Marinette alone, and how desperately Adrien tried to head back there but couldn’t make himself open the door, how terrified and confused he’d seemed, I think his feelings here, his mindset, is pretty close to canon.
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all of your flaws and all of my flaws (are laid out one-by-one) by @coffeebanana
Ladybug and Marinette have both been acting strangely since Monarch’s defeat, and Chat Noir would give anything to know why—to be able to help them. He just…didn’t expect his answers to come when Ladybug drags him to his father’s statue in the middle of the night along with a bag full of spray paint.
If you felt unsatisfied with Adrien being left in the dark about Monarch, with Ladybug lying about Gabriel being a hero, this is a great fic to read. Marinette’s breaking down keeping this secret, seeing people treat Gabriel as the hero she told people he was, until she finally snaps and has to do SOMETHING, has to tell SOMEONE the truth. 
Which Chat takes pretty well! He knows how persuasive his father could be, and he’s mostly just relieved at finally hearing someone say that Gabriel wasn’t a hero. It’s still a lot to cope with though.
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Falling (sick) with you by @chocoluckchipz
Nothing would be easier than taking a pair of earrings off an unconscious Ladybug. Doing so would bring his mother back and end their decade-long strife. He shouldn’t be hesitating when a chance of a life time presented itself to him. He should not be looking for excuses and reasonings as to why spending another twenty or so years fighting this woman rather than pleasing his father and giving his mother another chance at life was not such a bad idea after all.
Ah, I love a good enemies au! Even when they’re enemies, Chat is unwilling to hurt Ladybug. Though honestly, he makes himself out to be more of a villain than he actually is, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that he’s not trying as hard as he could to get her earrings. There’s very good reason for that.
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adrien agreste and the consequences of tweets making fun of yourself by Anonymous
Well, Adrien thinks, what’s the worst that could come from a few poorly thought-out tweets lightly ribbing his own civilian identity?
I love the focus here on how people just assume what Adrien’s thinking and feeling and act on his behalf, without actually waiting to see what HE wants, and Adrien’s growing frustration. How they create a version of him in their heads, but don’t care to check with reality to see whether he actually wants their “defense”. 
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what makes a human (am I?) by GraceM_TheStoriedLife
Adrien comes to Marinette’s out of nowhere. Usually Chat is her rock. Tonight, it’s her turn. (Or, in which Adrien discovers some secrets he’s not prepared for and Marinette is as Marinette-y as always.
So Adrien discovers he’s a sentimonster and immediately runs to Marinette for support. It’s as cute and angsty as you’d expect. She is, of course, very supportive of him. Also some discussion of Gabriel being abusive, since both she and Nino had been trying to get Adrien to see that. Especially with how, exactly, Adrien found out he’s a sentimonster. He can relate a little better to Felix’s experiences now than is healthy, I’ll just say.
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Vengeance Noire by @phiellydinyia
After a horrific argument with his father, Adrien escaped from the mansion with his heart in pieces. In hindsight, it made sense why an akuma was sent his way. He shouldn’t have let his emotions get the better of him. But he never expected Plagg to be even more upset than he was. He never expected his own kwami to be akumatized. To become the threat of a city he swore to protect. And what’s worse is the fact that Chat Noir can’t jump in to save this one. But Ladybug can. And that’s why he has to find her as quickly as possible, suit or no suit.
I love some good Adrien angst, especially with a delicious side order of Plagg and Adrien’s bond with each other. Even as Adrien’s barely functional, though, he’ll do everything in his power to save Plagg, even if Plagg wishes he wouldn’t go quite that far. 
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This Distance Between Us by @coffeebanana
After defeating Monarch, the search for the Peacock Miraculous brings Ladybug and Chat Noir to a hotel room in London. But it’s hard to enjoy the victory when Ladybug can’t figure out why Chat’s been so quiet, why he seems so sad. How’s she supposed to help if she has no idea what’s wrong?
This is a great Sentiadrien fic, with Chat freaking out about it and feeling like he’s not worthy of Ladybug’s affections, but not telling her what’s actually wrong because he thinks she won’t want him anymore if she knows. Of course, he’s wrong about that.
Also there’s a pretty intense confrontation with Felix, pissing Chat Noir off is a bad idea.
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Rocking the Cat-Eyes by @buggachat
“I like being a girl.” “That’s the alcohol talking,” Marinette snorted. “I’ve always been a li’l jealous,” Adrien admitted. “… Of what?” “That you get to be a girl,” Adrien murmured, “and I don’t.” — When Marinette and Adrien host Girls’ Night at their apartment, Adrien is easily welcomed to attend as “one of the girls”… but has a bit too much to drink. Some drunken confessions are spilt, some assumptions are made, and most of all… Adrien is confused.
This is a great Genderfluid!Adrien fic. Marinette actually figures out that Adrien’s not entirely cis before he does, and tries to let him know she’s supportive… but unfortunately Adrien comes to some incorrect conclusions…
Anyway it’s a lot of fun, and Adrien rocks a dress and makeup!
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Family by @unecoccinellenoire
“You know,” Nino grins, “if you need advice on being a big brother in a year or two I’m sure I could help.” The bottom of Adrien’s stomach dropped out. — Adrien struggles with the concept of his father and Nathalie having children.
So this is a world where Adrien and Marinette managed to defeat Gabriel, taking his Miraculous, with them giving him an ultimatum: they won’t out him as being Hawk Moth so long as he doesn’t cause any more trouble and does right by Adrien. Gabriel does, in fact, move on finally to Nathalie, giving Adrien a lot of mixed feelings to deal with. He still loves them both despite everything, but he’s also angry at them and he definitely does NOT want them to have children, both because he thinks they’d like any biological child they had more (he’s also harboring guilt from indirectly being the cause of his mom’s death), and because frankly, they screwed up too much with Adrien for him to want them to inflict that on another child.
And then there’s also Adrien dealing with the realization that he’s a Senti on top of that and wondering why he and Felix look the way they do, what Emilie’s reasons were.
It’s mostly just Adrien getting to talk things out, navigating this emotionally fraught situation he finds himself in now that the dust is settled.
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When Secrets Come Undone by SortaArtsy
Ladybug promised not to tell Adrien… but she never promised not to confide in Cat Noir. What happens when Ladybug unintentionally vents to the one person who wasn’t meant to know any of it? ****MAJOR SEASON 5 SPOILERS WARNING! **** May not be season 6 compliant when it comes out.
This is a “Adrien finds out what everyone’s been keeping from him post-S5″ fic, and I think it’s handled really well! He feels very hurt, betrayed, and disbelieving initially about being a Senti and his father being Monarch (…mostly being a Senti, it ain’t that hard to believe that Gabriel was a supervillain), and is angry at everyone who kept it secret from him, but he still handles it well, going and talking to the people involved, getting their reasoning and perspective. 
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Wanted: Catnap by SortaArtsy
Adrien Agreste has barely been sleeping, trying to be everything expected of him. What happens when he spreads himself too thin? Sick!Adrien/ Cat Noir
Adrien’s just pushing himself so hard, trying to do his regular duties, until his illness forces him to rest. I love how concerned everyone is over him - even GABRIEL eventually relents and wants him to rest. It’s just cute and nice and fluffy.
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a winter so warm by @rosekasa
winters were hard for even the best of vampires, but at least adrien had marinette to keep him warm with her cuddles. december was going to suck without her. so it was only to be expected to get extra cuddles in before she left, right? (well, not really, considering those heating supplements he was taking, but she didn’t need to know about that).
This one’s mostly just cute cuddly adorableness! It’s basically like all those “Marinette gets the Ladybug trait of needing to cuddle up to someone for warmth”, but with Adrien instead. And of course featuring Marinette being a very talented witch who just wants to help Adrien stay warm when she isn’t there XD.
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and I thought I heard you sing by @into-september
When Hawkmoth has been defeated and unmasked, Marinette is left with two problems and no solutions. First, that Adrien is further out of her reach than ever before, and no-one can tell her how to get to him. Second, that Cat Noir is far more troubled than she knew, and the only thing she can do is wait for him at the place they agreed to meet.
It’s your classic “Hawkmoth’s defeated and taken into custody but that means Adrien’s in for a rough time” sort of fic. Everyone’s worried about Adrien and wants to give him what comfort and support that they can, but he’s being hidden away from everyone (which I mean, honestly that’s a good move), so that’s not really possible. Plus, Ladybug’s noticed that Chat’s having a tough time in his civilian life, which worries her.
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Betrayal by @jennagrinsoverml
MAJOR EPHEMERAL SPOILERS!! Ladybug planned to use Viperion’s power of Second Chance to get Chat’s identity to Su-han without Chat knowing or agreeing. Of course, then the world went crazy, and she didn’t go through with it. But when an akuma exposes Ladybug’s plan to Chat, he doesn’t know that. He just knows that his Lady betrayed him. He deals with his feelings in the best, most mature way he can think of. He disappears.
So I, like a lot of others, wanted more follow-up on Ephemeral, and particularly on the betrayal of trust it was for Marinette to try to trick Chat Noir into giving up his identity to a third party without his knowledge or consent (I wrote my own take on that at the time, called Transcient, that I’m proud of). This fic did a good job of exploring that, with Adrien reacting in a manner that made sense to me (repressing his negative feelings about the situation as much as possible and trying to justify it to himself, but still feeling terrible despite his own best efforts), and how Marinette realized that she messed up, since Luka keeping it secret that he knows hers and Chat’s secret identities caused her to be upset as well. It did a great job of exploring those negative feelings and letting everyone talk things out, explain their viewpoints, and rebuild their relationships afterwards, which is something I really value.
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I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious) by @bbutterflies
Nino looked at the number and didn’t recognize it. Usually he wouldn’t answer, but he had nothing better to do – and could still really use a distraction – so he did. “Hello?”
“Hey, Nino.”
Nino stood up quickly, chest tightening. He knew that voice. He’d been waiting to hear it again for over two years. “Adrien?” he whispered.
“Yeah. It’s me."
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When Monarch is defeated (and revealed to be Gabriel Agreste), Chat Noir immediately goes missing. Adrien disappears not long after. When Adrien finally shows up in Paris again, Nino would do anything to make sure he doesn't disappear again.
Ah this is lovely, Adrien’s been in a lot of emotional turmoil since Monarch’s defeat, convinced that everyone would hate him, SHOULD hate him, for not realizing that his father was the villain, and should hate him even more for disappearing like he does. But slowly Marinette and Nino get through to him, convince him that they just want him back. 
And also Adrien and Nino smooch. Multiple times. So that’s a bonus XD.
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Two Steps Back (One Step Forward) by @buggachat
Sure, Adrien hadn't been texting her as often as he used to. And sure, Nino noticed it too. But just because Adrien had struggled with depression in the past, didn't mean he was struggling now. Surely, he'd tell her if something was wrong. Right?
Marinette just missed him, and she had a tendency to catastrophize. Surely, he was fine.
But if he wasn't... well, she wasn't above hopping on a flight back to Paris to make sure.
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Marinette's at an internship in New York, and Adrien has a depression relapse.
Once again buggachat comes out swinging with a fic centered around Adrien being super depressed and his friends charging in to help him, despite him not wanting them to because he feels like a burden. It’s not easy and Marinette goes through a lot of emotional turmoil, especially since his apartment is in bad enough shape that it can’t be changed to something that a human should be living in without also going shopping, but gradually she helps drag Adrien out of the hole he’s gotten himself stuck in. The emotions are on point and just... if you want to read a hurt/comfort fic with Found Family helping one of their own who’s struggling and doesn’t think they deserve it, this is a great fic to read.
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If only I could break free by megetstoread
It started with Adrien being upset about going away, but led to a lot of revelations.  
Another Sentiadrien fic here! After telling Adrien that he’s being sent to London, Gabriel takes advantage of Adrien being distraught to akumatize him. Luckily Ladybug’s right there and deakumatizes him before he can even do anything, but it shakes both her and Chat, leading to her allowing him to tell her a lot more about his home life than usual, and for her and Adrien to investigate to see whether there might be more to Adrien’s inability to stand against his father than just psychological abuse.
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Dr. Walker & Kitty Hyde series by @pearl484-blog
Summary of the first fic, Rain Falls, Everybody Lies:
Chat Noir loves the rain. He loves the danger. He loves the excitement, and he especially loves how much Catwalker hates it. 
Jekyll and Hyde AU
Adrien AUGreste Entry 3: Rain
So like the summary says, and the title indicates, this series is inspired by the popular conception of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - not how the book actually goes, but how it’s portrayed in popular media, with Jekyll splitting himself in two, with a “good” side and a “bad” side. 
During Kuro Neko, instead of just changing his appearance through changing his mindset, Adrien took more extreme measures, sealing off his “undesirable” characteristics, his anger and sadness and all his sharp edges, into the ring so he could assume a more placid, genial persona that’d be more accepted - Cat Walker. 
But Chat Noir’s still there, taking over whenever Adrien gets too testy, and desperately trying not to be pressed out of existence entirely. With embodying Adrien’s sealed anger and snappishness and rebelliousness, he’s not too kind to the other heroes - he already felt looked down upon and ignored before this, and seeing them accept Cat Walker while he’s fighting for his life doesn’t endear them to him either.
The series isn’t unfair to them - this isn’t a case where one party is entirely in the wrong and another’s entirely in the right. Marinette, Zoe, Nino, and all the others - they did wonder about what was going on with Chat, but he wasn’t in a position where he could see it, and he did have legitimate questions about how much Ladybug would budge on things, if he’d told her what he was going through. It’s a series that emphasizes characters hurting and lashing out in some terrible ways, but that hurt still being respected, and working things out, trying to get everything to a better place.
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The Parable of the Caller by @nemaliwrites
A week after Hawk Moth’s identity has been revealed, Adrien finds himself with nowhere to go, nothing he can do, and worst of all, strange gaps in his memory he can’t explain. In a stroke of luck, he stumbles upon a burner phone filled with voicemails from one of the Saviors of Paris: Chat Noir himself, who disappeared following Hawk Moth’s arrest.
But with each new voicemail Adrien listens to, he’s forced to confront the fact that there might be some kind of connection between himself and Chat Noir — and discovering it might leave him more broken than before.
I absolutely adore this fic, it’s a fantastic character study for Adrien! Basically in this universe, Ladybug and Chat Noir talked about who should be Guardian, with Chat eventually convincing her that he should be the one to take it on, primarily due to the whole “the Guardian gets amnesia about Miraculous-related matters” situation, and wanting to protect Ladybug from that. Then he finds out Gabriel is Hawk Moth, they take him down, and he relinquishes the Miracle Box and his guardianship to Su Han - all without having a Reveal with Ladybug, since well, he’s not in the greatest shape mentally at the time.
It’s a real treat to see Adrien’s thoughts and feelings about one of the Heroes of Paris leaving him all these voicemails, treating him like this close friend for reasons he doesn’t understand, and just seeing Chat Noir as this outside person. He’s got a very different viewpoint on Chat when looking from the outside than he would from the inside, with being able to see his heroic and good qualities far more easily when he doesn’t know that he is Chat.
Also Marinette’s struggling in the background of the fic with the loss of her partner and guilt over sending Adrien’s father to prison. It gets touched on at various points, and you can tell that she’s having her own story off to the side that we’re just not entirely privy to, what with this tale being told entirely from Adrien’s perspective.
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call it even by @anna-scribbles and @sha-nwa
After a year of dating, there is one thing Marinette knows for certain: it's her and Adrien against the world. Through it all, Adrien is kind, patient, and endlessly understanding—even as she tries her best to keep her secret superhero identity hidden from him along with the rest of the world.
Nothing could ruin it, not even the supervillains of Paris: Hawkmoth and Chat Noir.
(adrinette dating // ladynoir enemies au)
This is one of those fics where Adrien and Marinette are REALLY going through it emotionally, with them starting off with wildly different perceptions of each other when untransformed, and then reckoning with the person they love the most being someone they think of as a villain, with all the betrayal and doubt that involves. Especially with Adrien having been lied to extensively by his father, and not knowing who or what to believe.
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drowning (in plain sight) by @buggachat
Everybody had expected Monarch's defeat to be a moment of triumph. Nobody had expected Gabriel Agreste, unmasked and mind frayed from continual abuse of the miraculous, crying out to all who would listen and making Paris certain of one thing:
His son, Adrien Agreste, is one of his sentimonsters.
And now he's missing.
Nobody can find him— not even the superheroes, and not even his closest friends. But Marinette, Nino, and Alya aren't ones to give up so easily. They'll find him, no matter what it takes.
(But, geez, would it kill Chat Noir to lend a hand?)
I’m sure everyone saw this one coming. If there’s one thing buggachat’s good at, storywise, it’s capturing raw, tumultuous emotions, frantic breakdowns as the characters desperately try to navigate bad situations. This was a real treat to read, as I’m betting most people reading this will agree, given just how popular the fic has been. It also has a ton of fanart, both by buggachat and by random fans, if you go looking for it (there’s a drowning in plain sight tag which I’d advise perusing). 
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Eventually by @lucid-ao3
Adrien’s life has been dictated by rules, monitored, and controlled for years. He has learned to compartmentalize. It’s not that bad. It always gets better, eventually. Doesn’t it?
Recovery can be an unexpected obstacle when you didn’t realize you were being hurt in the first place.
OR: How Adrien lives and copes with the emotional abuse inflicted on him over the years, and how he ultimately could overcome it.
If you want a good “Adrien doesn’t realize how abusive his father is but slowly buckles more and more under his tyranny, until things come to a head, and he actually gets the HELP HE NEEDS” fic, this is a good one!
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Not a Monster at All by @book-sandwich
Adrien Agreste overhears a conversation he shouldn't, and a revelation sends him falling onto the terrace of the only person he can trust: his good friend (?) Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Takes place sometime after the first two episodes of season 5!
As you can probably guess from the title, this is a Sentimonster Adrien, Monarch takedown fic. Adrien’s going through a tough time, and Marinette’s just trying to be there for him as his whole world’s collapsing around him. Unfrotunately, they still don’t know what the object is, or how likely Gabriel would be to control Adrien if he hinted that he knew the truth, which leaves Adrien in a precarious position - still not having done an identity reveal doesn’t help matters.
It’s a really solid fic for the genre, though since it started up before the later parts of season 5, there are a few things that don’t match up with the canon information we obtained later on. 
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Awaken by InkyIbis
The previously white butterfly, now oozing black and purple as a conduit of the butterfly miraculous powers, flutters softly within the silvered-gloved hand.
It sits there for a long time.
"Go, my akuma," The soft sigh pushes the butterfly, the akuma, out towards the despair of a love not returned. The same ache within his chest. On a level so great that he's willing to sacrifice the city to mend it.
It's okay if he's the villain for now. He'll force the miraculous of creation and destruction to be revealed, and once he gets his hands on them, none of this pain, none of his loss, will ever happen.
This is essentially a canon rewrite for Miraculous (specifically seasons 1 and 2, with a bunch of the events mixed around) that focuses primarily on Adrien, with his relationship with Nino being the main driving relationship of the fic. (Don’t worry, Marinette’s still treated fine, she’s just not the focus). This is the best “rewrite Miraculous with more of a focus on Adrien” type fic I’ve seen, with it reworking the plots of the episodes so that they’re different enough to be their own distinct thing - it’s not trying to just rewrite the canon episodes but from Adrien’s POV, there’s a lot of lore changes going on as well, and things occur in different orders.
Like lorewise, Chat’s given a more important role in cleaning up the mess the akumas leave, with his power helping to cleanse akuma victims and he and Ladybug needing to use their powers in tandem in order to cast Miraculous Ladybug. There’s also no Miracle Box holding the kwamis. Instead, Chat sometimes surpasses his limits and ends up summoning kwamis, which is dangerous to him, but very useful.
What really makes this fic great though, is its focus on Adrien’s emotions. You really get a feel for Adrien’s insecurities, especially when it comes to not feeling like he’s good enough for Nino, with not wanting to bother him when he absolutely should, with feeling like he’s not a good enough friend to him, and then there’s dealing with all of Gabriel’s usual abuse on top of that.
Speaking of Nino, this is an Adrino fic (though several characters get crushes on Adrien, Nino’s the one who matters most for this), though a slowburn one. Nino’s clearly head-over-heels for Adrien, but Adrien has like, no context for what a romantic crush feels like and is basically viewing Nino the way he viewed Marinette in canon prior to season 5. He clearly cares for him a lot, including romantically, he just... doesn’t get it.
Anyway, if you want an interesting canon rewrite fic from Adrien’s perspective with Adrino as the main pairing, this is a good story to pick up!
---
one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus
All of Paris watched as Hawkmoth murdered Chat Noir, taking the Black Cat Miraculous for himself. Ladybug swears revenge, but her enemy—and every miraculous in his possession—disappear without a trace.
Six years later, a new team of villains launches an attack for the last remaining Miraculous: Volpina, armed with new powers; Queen Bee, with questionable loyalty; Argos, the new holder of the Peacock Miraculous; and Cat Walker, who Ladybug hates the most.
Takes place after S4 - Strike Back.
This is a simply phenomenal fic. You get to explore a lot of different perspectives, like Felix, Kagami, Marinette, and Adrien’s, just to name a few, and see their different thought processes and plans and priorities, and how it can cause their plans to collide with each other, even when they all ultimately are aiming for a good outcome for everyone. The characters are pretty complex and can mess up at times, even when they’re doing things (or not doing things, looking at you Luka) with the best of intentions. It was a joy to read and a real nail-biter the whole time, I actually wrote a fic for it halfway through just to resolve some of the tension for myself, One Does Not Love Shadows.
It also features the version of Luka I’ve connected best with to date, as he feels like Luka, but also is a lot more fleshed out, and can make some major errors while simply trying to avoid missteps. It’s helped me get a better handle on a character who I’ve generally had a lot of problems with really understanding.
It is an M-rated fic, though I think Wackus is being overly cautious on that front. There’s no sexual content and I wouldn’t put the violence or gore above a T-rating, so I wouldn’t let the rating scare you off.
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beansprean · 1 year
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What makes a marriage work is understanding your spouse’s needs
(ID in alt and under cut)
ID: 1a. Close up on Laszlo from behind where he sits on a couch reading some sheets of music. He turns around to face the viewer as a voice calls out, “Oh, my sweet, plump, pumpkin baby! 1b. Reverse shot to see Nadja standing there with a big grin, hands holding something behind her back. She says, “I know you have been very down-in-the-dumps since the baby Colin grew up, so I got you a sexy little present!” A pleased little grin shows up on Laszlo’s face as he replies, “Oh?” with interest.
2a. Nadja dramatically pulls the Cloak of Duplication out from behind her back, grinning. 2b. She tosses the cloak around her shoulders with a flourish and magical smoke begins to form around her.
3a. As the smoke clears, Sean is now standing there, arms out with a happy smile. Nadja does her best impression with a “Yo, Lasz!” 3b. Nadja-Sean strikes a pose, one arm behind her head, one foot kicked up, and says in her normal voice, “What do you think, my darling husband? Would a nice reaming by the boy next door cheer you up?” 3c. Tiny reaction shot of Laszlo, staring blankly.
4. Wide shot, Laszlo sobs suddenly and reaches out to his wife with both hands, crying, “I love you so much!” Nadja-Sean smiles fondly and walks towards him, arms out, replying, “Oh, my soft silly potato man…” /end ID
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mothguillotine · 4 months
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Is It Still Family Dinner If You Can't Eat?
When you wake up, the sun has just about gone down. Nandor is still sleeping, and during the night, you had moved to lay on top of his chest. You just lay there for a bit, enjoying the feeling of being pressed into Nandor. A few minutes later, you feel him starting to move. 
"Good evening," you tell Nandor, looking up at him resting your chin on your hands, "I didn't realize that you are a cuddler."
"Why would I not?" he asks you, furrowing his eyebrows.
"I don't know," you say, "not that I mind it."
You both lay on the bed for a while, talking, until you hear a commotion down the hall. At first, you think that luckily, it doesn't involve you until your door is thrown open. Standing on the other side is Guillermo, who looks shocked. 
"GUILLERMO!" You and Nandor yell at the same time. 
"AHHH!" Guillermo shouts and covers his eyes.
"Shut the door!" You yell at him, which he does quickly.
On the other side of the door, Guillermo is looking directly into the camera, and he looks traumatized.
_________________________________________
Downstairs Nadja and Laszlo are sitting down in front of the camera, and they look pleased. 
"Our plan, it finally worked." Nadja says smiling, "Our dear friends have finally fucked. After so many days of managing them they haven't been able to get their hands off each other."
They both stop for a moment and the sounds of moaning can be heard echoing from upstairs. 
"Unfortunately an unforeseen consequence of this has been the noise." Laszlo says, "It has been making my dear wife and I very horny." 
"I honestly don't know how much more I can take," she says, "you know what. I am done."
Nadja stands up and rips off her microphone. She leaves the room and Laszlo quickly takes off his own microphone as well. They both move up the stairs at a fast rate while the crew closely follows behind. 
When they approach the door the sounds of moaning become louder and louder. The crew, still filming, watch as Laszlo knocks on the door and the moaning suddenly stops. A few moments later Nandor is peeking out of the door. 
The crew is unable to hear anything said by the vampires but they continue to watch them. Nandor turns back into the room, presumably to tell you something, and then Nandor opens the door. Nadja and Laszlo move quickly into the room and the crew runs down the hall. When they get there they hear the moaning start back up with new voices.
_________________________________________
Later in the evening you and Nandor are sitting together on the sofa in front of the fireplace. You are both reading books that you found in the library. His arm is wrapped securely around you and is pulling you into him. The last few days have been spent together and honestly you are at the happiest you've ever been, the only thing that could make it better is having your best friend with you.
Over the last few days with Nandor you have been surprised with how much he's told you about his past. The stories range from twenty to six hundred years ago. He tells you about Al Qolnidar and his time as a general during the Ottoman Empire. 
You tell him about how you moved from the Midwest when you were nine and moved to Staten Island. The entire time you are talking he is fully invested in what you are saying. It's nice to actually be listened to by someone and you never expected that person to be Nandor. 
The one thing it felt like you didn't really talk about was what the thing between you was. It felt silly to call him your boyfriend, the man is over 600 years old and the term ‘boyfriend’ doesn't really fit him. You guys have fucked quite a few times and not once have you had a conversation about how you both feel. 
“Master,” Guillermo says standing in the doorway, “Laszlo wishes to see you in the front yard.”
“Coming, Guillermo.” he says back and stands up, “I will be right back, my dove.”
You stay sitting at the sofa and check your phone. Still nothing from Oscar, you honestly expected for him to understand what had happened but you were wrong. Over the past few days you have realized that if Oscar doesn’t want to be in your life anymore you should let him go, as much as you want him in your life. 
_________________________________________
Guillermo had been observing you over the last few days. He had noticed that while you were happy it was obvious something was bothering you. He knew what it was, given the amount you were checking your phone to see if Oscar had texted you back yet and honestly it was starting to concern him. Guillermo knew that the last thing you wanted to do was hurt Oscar and you did that, unfortunately. 
Guillermo felt as though if Oscar could see how much you were hurting over what happened, your relationship may be repaired. What he also knew is that if you found out what he was planning you would stop him and so would any of the vampires, given how negatively he reacted the other day. So he would have to do this in secret. Guillermo puts his plan into action. He knows he needs a reason to get out of the house covertly. He quickly asks around to see if anyone needs anything from the store. 
When he has his list of items that people need he exits the house. Outside Guillermo sees Nandor and Laszlo speaking with Sean on the front lawn. He just knows that this is gonna be tricky to get out of here without drawing attention to himself. He tries his hardest to sneak by unnoticed and stays in the shadows as much as possible while moving slowly. Unfortunately when Guillermo is nearly at the edge of the lawn he is seen by Sean.
“G-money,” Sean yells, “get over here. We were just talking about Nandors new girl, over here”
“Yes, we were just talking about my girlfriend.” Nandor tells him proudly when gets close to the fence.
“Your girlfriend?” Guillermo asks.
“Yes, Gizmo.” Laszlo says, “Keep up.”
“Okay, well anyways, Master, do you need anything from the store?” Guillermo asks, “Nadja asked me to-”
“Guillermo I am busy, please leave.” Nandor dismisses him.
“Okay master.” Guillermo says and turns to leave.
“Wait, Guillermo.” Nandor says and Guillermo is worried he is caught, “Can you get more candles? They make a very romantic atmosphere.”
“Of course, Master.” he tells him realizing that nobody actually cares if he leaves or not and this whole plan was a waste.
_________________________________________
After amusing Sean for a while and agreeing to go with him on a ‘guys trip’ the next weekend, Nandor was finally allowed to go back inside. Even though he longed to spend time with you he was forced to sit down in front of the camera.
“Over the past few weeks I have realized something. I think I have finally found the vampire I wish to spend the rest of my life with.” Nandor tells the camera, “After centuries of searching I am finally done.”
“I know that we have only been together for a short amount of time,” Nandor says, “but after being around for centuries I know when someone is right for me.” 
_________________________________________
When Guillermo arrives at Oscar's apartment he takes a few moments before going to knock. He gathers himself and thinks about what he will tell Oscar, but when he goes to the door and knocks it's like all of his brain cells leave. Then Oscar opens the door and Guillermo really can't think of anyone to say.
“Guillermo, right?” Oscar asks, “What are you doing here? Are you going to kidnap me again? Because if you are, I really would prefer it if you didn't.”
“No!” Guillermo says suddenly, “I just want to know if you want to see her?”
“Listen, I know that she is upset but I don't know if I can be around her anymore. I can barely wrap my mind around the whole ‘vampires are real’ thing and on top of that my best friend is one.” he tells Guillermo, “I love her so much but it's just too much for me right now.”
“Okay.” Guillermo says.
“Really?” he asks, “That simple? You aren't trying to trick me or anything, right?” 
“No, I just-” Guillermo starts, “I can get how it is a lot. I just wanted to tell you how bad she's been since you came over. She didn't tell me to come or anything. Honestly if she found out that I was here she might eviscerate me.”
“Well that would be a shame.” Oscar tells him, “You are too cute for disembowelment.” 
“I- um… what?” Guillermo asks but Oscar just smiles.
“Do you want to come in and have some tea or coffee? or maybe something stronger?” Oscar asks him.
“uhh- yeah. That would be nice.” Guillermo says.
_________________________________________
At home you are cleaning up a bit, while Guillermo is using the one picking up, whenever the mood strikes you get into the zone. You decided to clean up the foyer and turn on some tunes. 
Living with the vampires you do unfortunately the are absolutely fucking horrible at using techniques which means many things are out of date in the house. Such as instead of having a tv with spotify on it they had a historical record player. 
This just did not work for you, mostly because the only music they had is original recordings. So when you moved in you brought your record player, with a variety of albums. For this particular job you knew that you needed a fun record so you decided on ABBA.
“YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN. YOUNG AND SWEET. ONLY SEVENTEEN!!!” you sing.
“Are you singing a song from Mamma Mia?!” Nadja asks you excitedly.
“uh, yeah. I guess.” you tell her, “I mean this particular recording is the one from the band.”
“The band?” she asks.
“Well, yeah. The songs that they use in the movie are by the band ABBA.” You tell her.
“I want to hear more.” she tells you when the record comes to an end.
“Okay.” you tell her picking up your ABBA albums, “Pick out which one.”
You and Nadja spend time listening to your albums when you give up on cleaning, until Nandor and Laszlo return from outside. As soon as they get back in the house Lazslo and Nadja retire to their room. Which leaves you and Nandor by yourselves in the library.
“What took you so long?” you ask him when he sits on the couch.
“Sean, our neighbor, was very chatty tonight,” he tells you as you get pulled into his lap.
“Oh yeah? What did you talk about?” you ask, sinking into him while bringing your hand up to play with the ends of his hair.
“He wanted to talk about going up to his cabin next weekend for a ‘guys trip’.” he tells you, “he was also asking about you.”
“Oh, me?” You ask confused, “What did he say?”
“Well, he was just wondering who you were,” he tells you, “I just told him that you are my girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend?” You ask him, “I'm your girlfriend?”
You were right when you had thought it to be weird to refer to Nandor as your ‘boyfriend’ but the look on his face when he called you his girlfriend was unrivaled. Over the last few days, you had wondered what exactly your relationship was, and the idea that he decided to say that you were boyfriend-girlfriend was kinda funny.
“Is that not what humans call the people they are courting?” he asks you confused.
“No. I mean, yeah, it is, but I mean, you just never asked me to be your girlfriend.” You tell him.
“Oh, I just thought that the ‘stuff’ that we were doing meant you wanted to be with me.” he tells you and he looks sad.
“No, I do.” you tell him, “I just want you to ask me.”
“Okay. Will you be my girlfriend?” Nandor asks you.
“Yes, of course I will.” you tell him and go to kiss him. Both of you stay on the sofa for a while, chatting and kissing. 
“Master!” Guillermo announces, “I'm back!”
“Oh, hey Guillermo,” you greet him when he enters the library, “Where did you go?”
“Oh, uh, just to the store.” he tells you, “Nadja needed some things.”
“Okay,” you say, “You found everything that you needed?”
“Oh yeah,” Guillermo says, “found it all.” 
“Okay?” you say, starting to get suspicious. Guillermo may be able to trick the rest of your housemates but you could tell something was up.
_________________________________________
Guillermo was starting to feel really bad about what he had done. At first he had focused on helping your and Oscar's relationship but after a few glasses of wine he had lost the point of the conversation. He wasn't quite sure at what point it had led to his bedroom but it did. 
Seeing you in the library had made him feel even more guilty than before. He wasn't supposed to be at Oscar's apartment much less fucking him. Guillermo honestly did know which one you would be more upset about. 
He knew that ‘that’ couldn't happen again. No matter how much he enjoyed spending time with Oscar or how he honestly didn't feel that bad, but he felt bad about not feeling bad. It was just very confusing.
So he went over again to tell Oscar face-to-face why the next morning. Which, in hindsight, was a bad idea, because it led Guillermo to not saying anything and instead being invited in yet again. 
This time though Guillermo loses track of time and when he finally looks at his phone he realizes it's nearly sunset. 
“Shit,” Guillermo says looking down at his phone and suddenly stands up, “I have to go. It's almost time for me to get them up.”
“Okay,” Oscar says to Guillermo, “here's my number, you know, to text or whatever.”
“Oh, yeah.” Guillermo says, smiling.
“Yeah.” Oscar says handing him a piece of paper, presumably with his number on it.
“Okay,” he says when he gets a notification from Uber that his ride is here, “I have to go but I'll text you, yeah?”
“Perfect,” Oscar says as they walk to the door, “I'll see you later, Guillermo.”
Guillermo gives him a thumbs up and Oscar closes the door.
“Why did I give him a thumbs up?” Guillermo asks himself, “That was so stupid.”
He gets back to the house just in time to wake you all up and start work for the day. His first order of business was to wake everyone up from their slumber. After that he collects the mail from outside. 
Recently Nadja has had a bit of an obsession with online shopping after you showed her and the state of the porch was proof of that. Many packages were stacked atop one another, most of them addressed to Nadja and some for you. The mail has a few things for Colin, a subscription called TopiaryMonthly for Laszlo, and a single letter addressed to you.
“Hey guys!” Guillermo calls, “The mail is here!”
“Coming!” Nadja vocalizes. 
Guillermo watches as Nadja runs down the hall excitedly with Dolly.
“I bought you so much, my lovely bitch.” Nadja tells herself.
“Oh!” Dolly shouts, “I am so excited!”
Nadja hurriedly rips open her packages leaving a massive mess of boxes, bubble wrap, and tissue paper, which he knows he has to clean up. You arrive to collect your packages soon after Nadja leaves the foyer. 
“Hey, which ones are mine?” You ask Guillermo.
“You have these three,” Guillermo tells you, handing the packages over, “and you have a letter.”
“Oh really?” You ask, “I haven't submitted my change of address form.”
You set your packages down, and Guillermo hands you the letter. When you take one glance at it, you know who it's from.
“Fuck.” you say exhaling. 
“What?” Guillermo asks you.
“It's from my family.” you tell him and he looks concerned.
_________________________________________
“I wouldn't say I have a bad relationship with my parents,” you tell the camera, “We just don't always get along. Like normal families, I mean they yell a lot. More than even around here.”
When Guillermo first handed you the letter, it took your breath away for a second. They shouldn't know where you are and how they found you. You have no idea. The letter basically said that if you didn't come home soon, they would come here, and that definitely would not be good.
“I don't know what to do.” You say, “I can't exactly say ‘hey, mom and dad. I'm a vampire now.’ I mean, that's crazy, but it's true.”
You still haven't told Nandor everything about you, especially not the fact that your parents are crazy. In this life, you wanted them to not be involved. After years and years of being controlled by them, you wouldn't do it anymore. Which is why you end up on the doorstep of the home you grew up in.
You hold up your hand to knock but can't bring yourself to do it. Before you can turn to leave, the door bursts open, and behind it is your mom.
“Hey, mom.” you say.
“Where the hell have you been?” your mom says.
“I was just, you know, around.” You cover.
“Around where?” she asks, “I haven't seen you in over a month and have gotten barely any texts. Nani thought you were dead.”
“Ma, I'm fine.” You tell her, “I was just busy.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, “You look skinny.”
“Mom, I'm fine.” You assure her.
“Okay,” she says, “Well come in. Are you waiting for an invitation?” 
When you walk into the house, it feels weird. A few months ago, when you had last seen the house, your life was so much different. Back then, you were more agreeable before you met Nadja, Laszlo, and Guillermo before Nador, when you were human still. 
But you aren't human anymore and this house feels almost claustrophobic. The smells and sounds are overwhelming to say the least. Living in the house you have grown accustomed to the noises and smells of the old home, but this is overwhelming.
“Just sit at the table sweetie,” your mom calls from the kitchen and you sit down in the dining room, “We will bring out dinner.”
The smell of the food in the kitchen is enough to make you nauseous and the sounds in the house that you had never noticed before, were starting to overwhelm you. And when your parents bring out the food to the table it gets significantly worse.
“So, how has my little girl been?” your dad asks you.
“Good,” you tell him simply, “How are you?”
“We are good.” he says.
“Good.” you tell him.
All of you stay silent for a while, which is very awkward. You push your food around with a fork and bring it up every so often to take faux-bites. 
“Do you want some to take home?” your mom asks.
“Uh, yeah,” you tell her, planning to give Guillermo them, “It will heat up good.”
Your mom stands up to get some tupperware for the food in the kitchen. 
“So, we need to talk to you about something,” your dad tells you, “It's very serious.”
“Okay?” you ask confused, “What is it?”
“Well this isn't going to be easy to hear,” your father starts, and you can't help but hope that your parents are finally getting a divorce, “We are moving back home.”
“Okay.” you tell him, “That's it? You and mom are moving back home?”
“Well, no.” he says, “You are coming too.”
“What do you mean I'm coming too?” you ask him, “My whole life is here. My friends are here.”
“Well we are a part of your life too.” your dad says, growing more frustrated, “You are coming with us.”
“No, I'm not,” you tell him standing up suddenly from the table, “I am a fucking adult! I can choose where I live and you can't do anything about it.”
You decided to forego the leftovers and just go back home to your family. Before your mom or dad can say anything else, you slam the front door. After traveling down the road a bit so you are out of your parents' sight, you transform into a bat.
_________________________________________
Back at home it's quiet, Guillermo is texting away with Oscar, Nadja and Laszlo are working on a new song, Nandor is reading a new book you ordered for him about Al Qolnidar, and Colin is doing whatever the hell Colin does. So when you come inside the foyer Guillermo sees you right away, looking upset.
“Are you okay?” Guillermo says when he stands up to help you with your coat and bag.
“Yeah, I just,” you start to say, “my parents are just annoying. They want me to move back to Michigan with them. Which I obviously can't do, not that I want to.”
“What are you gonna do?” Guillermo asks you softly.
“I don't know,” you say, as you fall back on one of the chairs in the entryway, “Just try to get them to leave without me and if that doesn't work then hypnotize them.”
“Hypnotize them to forget about you?” Guillermo asks you, “What if your family asks about you? Then what? They just don't know?”
“Well no that wouldn't work.” you tell him, “What if I hypnotized them into just leaving?”
“That could work.” he tells you.
“But that's like the last choice.” you tell him, “I don't want to hypnotize them.”
“Yeah, absolutely. Only if we have no other choice.” Guillermo promises.
<Previous Part/Next Part>
Masterlist
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Hey!! just started following you and I would absolutely love if you wrote some "what we do in the shadows" Nadja x reader, vampire smut :') Also if you haven't watched the show Oh My God, its my current obsession. gay vampires what more could you want.
The Halloween Snack
Vampire Nadja x humanfem!reader
Warning: smut, praise kink, slight degradation, choking kink, biting kink, slight draw of blood, cunniligus, fingering, slight overstiumlation, pet names, nipple play, feral play, not much dialog etc.
A/n: I've never really watched the show actually but I've definitely seen her in edits and I can remember watching season 1 I think, it was a pleasure to write this! Hope you enjoyed darling, also sorry this took so long.
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You groaned in frustration as you looked at your reflection through the mirror. This was the fifth dress that you tried on that you didn't like or you thought didn't suit your personality very much. It was a skin tight black dress that stopped right above your knees with strip back openings.
Nadja had asked you to be her plus one for a Halloween party last minute - well two weeks ago to be exact. You just didn't know what to wear. Not that Nadja would judge you but, you wanted to atleast impress her but luck just wasn't on your side tonight.
Nadja and you had been friends for quite some time. She was funny, kind..... sometimes, sassy, fashionable and excruciatingly evil. But to be fair she was the most kindness towards you. That might be hard for some people to believe because when you first became her roommate other students had told you that she hated the presence of humans, every semester they would place her in a dorm by herself.
They said, One slip up and she just might rip you to shreds making a fine dress for herself out of your flesh.
Or that you'd constantly be walking on egg shells, one day she'd like you being around then quickly get tired of you, and possibly rip your throat out. Everyone on campus had their fair share of horrific experience with the vampire. But on the first day of moving in, as dark as everyone claimed her to be she was actually your light, a sunshine. Now as cliché or ironic as that might sound it was the God given truth. You saw the way nadja talked to people, treated them, looked at them. Never once was she ever the same with you.
When it came to you she was like a puppy lover, soft and compassionate. Thoughtful even. For your birthday once she gaved you a gold bat pendant necklace with her initial on it. You started developing feelings for her, I mean everyone had feelings for nadja. She was insufferable, hot and a total vibe. She would call you specific pet names that she specially came up with such as, darling, babes, and love.
Whenever she called you by one of theses names you had to try your best not to fall falt on your face. Being with her made you weak to your knees. Her accent was so dreamy, the way your name rolled off her tongue had you squirming or blushing like a silly school girl in love, you especially loved the way she would read out loud her romance book that she writes at night whenever she thinks that you'd already fallen asleep.
Her eyes were also another factor that had you Turing as red as a tomato. Every time she glanced at you or gazed at you with her sultry eyes , you had to try your best not to scream your voice out. Soon Nadja would noticed the way you could clench your thighs whenever she spoke in a raspy voice towards you whenever she got upset with you at something. Or how you would whisper a little " oh god" whenever she winked at you or called you a" good little pet".
She used this to her advantage and teased you constantly non - stop , it's safe to say she knew what to do to have you on your knees in no time..... and we're not talking about vampire powers here.
You sighed once again in frustration as you sat on your bed with tears in your eyes. It's not like you didn't have enough time to plan for this party, you just didn't know what to wear. And everything you had looked either too girly or just not Halloween themed. You heard a soft knock before the door to your room opened as nadja peeked her head in.
" you ready or what babes?" she asked approaching you. When your didn't respond to her, she entered the room taking slow but carful strides towards you, tilting her head slightly to get a good look at your face, she noticed that you were crying. Upon seeing this she quickly knelt infront of you and gently grabbed hold of your chin to get you to look at you.
" aw darling what's wrong?" You sniffed and rolled your eyes as you moved to stand, nadja standing quickly with you. You felt small. You didn't want her to see you cry, she'd probably think your weak or cast you away for being a cry baby, but not answering her won't help the situation. It will only make it worse.
" Well, are you gonna fucking answer me or do I need to stand here all night and act as your therapist that you pay for extra tissues?" it was a rhetorical question but you heard the frustration in her voice. You sighed as you turned to look at her. God her eyes.... they would deadly poisoning when she was upset. her eyebrows were quirked in a worried expression and her lips stayed pinched as she studied your every move.
" i don't know what to wear" you spoke in annoyance as you turned to look into the mirror once more. Nadja bit her lip as her expression dropped. What started questioning if maybe what she was thinking was harsh or maybe what she was seeing was wrong. On your body was a perfectly well fitted dress, that matched the occasion you were going to attend and one that she didn't see a problem with.
" forgive me if I'm blind sweetheart but I really don't see anything wrong with this outfit, my love". you huffed, walking into your closet you began to toss out numerous pairs of clothes onto the floor. Nadja watched in awe as you looked through your closet, she smirked tilting her head to the side, admiring the way the dress was hooked on your body.
Your curves, the way your hips swayed. The thoughts got the best of her, she watched as you bent down to pick up a shirt and got back up. The dress you were wearing now showed off your curves plainly.
You turned to glance at her before continuing your hunt.
" and what are you supposed to be dresses as?" You heard as she sat on your bed and sighed, groaning as she cracked her back before proceeding to respond.
" myself duh" she spoke watching as you fought to unzip your zipper on the side of your dress. She got up and walked back over to help you. She gently gripped your hips and pulled the zipper down, you were too busy looking for a skirt to notice that she got lost in a trance as she stared at your red lace underwear like a pyscopath or perhaps - a total vampire pervert. She reached out her hand too touch your skin but pulled back. She was utterly desperate......
Your skin looked smooth, the density of the flesh twinkled in her eyes. Just one touch.... one bite.... even the smallest nibble will suit her well....
Her eyes flicked up towards your neck, the delicate flesh with a irritable beating pluse. When she bit into the sweet flesh, to hear your moan, taste your blood, Oh what she would give to taste you. Both your blood and your -
" nadja?" She flinched as her body forced her snapped out her corrupted trance. She realized that she was now face to face with your lips as you looked at her confused. Temptation was running high for nadja, her pupils delayed, her eyes darkening as she looked up at you.
" may I kiss your neck, darling please" you were a bit taken back by the suddeness and randomness that the question held but who were you to deny 'the nadja ' a taste of your skin, after all you'd be lying to yourself if you said you hadn't dreama about this moment. You gulped as nodded slowly, titling your neck to provide her with the required access. She smirked as her eyes beamed at your approval. Her super speed allowed her to push you up against the wall. Both her hands grapped your hips firmly as her body laid flush against yours. Before she could lean down to began what ever mission she had intended to do, you gently pushed against her biceps.
" please don't bite me nadja" she chuckled softly but nodded her head, silently agreeing. Her lips hovered over your skin debating whether or not to truly bite or to just enjoy the moment, who knows it might just be the last time she even gets to touch you. As soon as her lips made contact with your neck, it was a if a light switch went off for her. She immediately started nipping and sucking at the tender flesh.
You whimpered when you felt her finger tips grazing across your scalp, carefully pulling on your hair. you exclaimed when nadja's fangs scrape across your flesh.
" f- fuck nads no hickeys either" you manged to crack out slightly pulling away to look at her. She looked straight back at you with predatory eyes. It was evident that she was absolutely blood thirsty. But you couldn't let her bite you - you just couldn't..... fuck it, who cares about rules and morals.
Your lips met nadjas lips in a hasty passionate kiss as you used your body to push her back against your bed. She fell onto the soft mattress with a gentle thud and a small gasp. Biting her lips with lidded eyes she used her body strength to turn you over beneath her, straddling you instead.
" looks like someone's a little eager" she teased, her voice dripping with honey. You moaned as you felt her thigh slip in between your legs, parting them away from eachother. Nadja smirked she then moved to attacked your neck once more.
" oh God nadja p-please" you moaned as you titled your head providing her with more access to your neck. You could hear her chuckle softly before feeling a dull but sharp pain in your neck. You winced as your back arched as you felt her fangs dig into the skin of you flesh, drawing a slight blood flow.
You feel nadja body relax above you, as she whimpered quietly. She then slowly removed her fangs from the wound before placing a chaste kiss there. She removed the straps of your dress exposing your breasts to her. Her eyes lingered on them before they flicked up to yours.
You granted her the permission her eyes searched for. She took it upon herself to latch her mouth onto one of the already erected bud. Your eyes rolled back as your hands flew to her hair. A moan escaped from you causing nadja to look up at the sinful sight about her. As You arched your chest into her mouth your grip in her hair tightened even more.
Your body temperature began to increase and so did the heat in your core. Your breathing picked up when nadja slide her hand down your stomach, she toyed with the hemming of the dress before pushing it up around your hips then proceeding to pull your underwear to the side.
She realesed your nipple with a pop before moving to the other one. You whimpered as your eyes rolled back, pleasure started taking over your mind leaving you fuzzy and completely under nadja mercy.
She wasted no time bringing her fingers back to her mouth where she then spat on them before quickly sliding them in and out of you without warning. You gasped as you spread your thighs even wider hoping that she was go deeper.
She slowly sinks two fingers back into your cunt, curling them slowly, before pulling out completely, spreading your wetness to your clit. you let out quiet whimpers at the stimulation as your eyes flicked back, her fingers gently teased your pulsing clit. you call her name in a quiet whisper, in attempt for her to give you what you wanted.... what you needed most. its a plead you can’t help but let out. her actions send waves of heat surging throughout your body.
She then shoved her two digits back into your dripping cunt. You let out a silent sob at the sudden intrusion. Nadja curled her fingers at the right spot where she felt you clench down tightly. She grunted as she started sucking brutally on your nipple as if she's getting milk from doing so.
Your gummy walls hugged her two digits so good that she picked up the pace. You were a hot mess beneath her, gasping and moaning ever so slightly. Nadjas fingers curled deep within you which caused you to erupt in pleasure.
" That's it darling, God I wish I had taken it upon myself to fuck you sooner" she muttered while looking down at you. Your hair was completely ruined and sprawled out on the pillows, tears were evident in your eyes as your mascara started running down your cheek. You looked gorgeous.
You couldn't even think straight, you began muttering incorhent sentences. She could feel your walls already spasming around her fingers indicating your close to your first orgasm.
Nadja pulled her fingers from your cunt at the right moment just before you reached your high. Seeing the confusion mixed with frustration in your eyes boosted her ego to destroy you even more.
She crawled down to the end of the bed coming face to face with your aroused pussy. She smirked before putting both of your legs on her shoulder, kissing your ankle while doing so.
Again like some sort of feral animal that hadn't eaten for days she wasted no time, she enveloped her mouth around your clit, her tongue flicking and sucking on the tiny bud furiously in a attempt to make you cum quickly. After all you both had places to be right after this.... well... let's just say inconvenient...
You grabbed the bed sheets tightly, if you were hulk your sure that they sheets would be torn by now. You let out a pornographic moan as you felt nadja fingers slip into you once more, this time her pace was absolutely brutal and quick, making squelching noises as she hit your g- spot over and over again.
You felt coils after coils snap in you before feeling as a big one was building. You prompted yourself up on your elbows to look at nadja. Her eyes flicked up to yours for a split second before she started slurping your cunt eagerly and rapidly eating you out.
You fell back in a silent scream, feeling your legs as they began shaking dramatically. You felt as she realesed your clit with a pop but her fingers were absolutely driving you insane.
It felt so fucking good you started hyperventilating. Nadja then pushed her fingers knuckles deep into you before curling her finger and doing the barel movement.
" such a good fucking slut for mommy mhm" she cooed as her other hand wrapped around your neck tightly. its not long before you’re teetering on the edge of your orgasm, nadjas thumb rubbing tight circles around your clit, finger’s pumping in and out of your dripping cunt so deliciously.
You began seeing stars as the raven hair vampire pushed you further and further into oblivion. You shook your everything inside you as your orgasm hit you like a passing train going at a high speed.
You felt a completely drenched feeling of liquid slowly make its away from your throbbing hole to your thighs and further down. You knew exactly what just happened..... you squirted.
You blinked rapidly until you could no longer see the tiny white flying balls in your vision before sitting up straight and looking down at nadja.
She smiled softly at you before she kissed your forehead while caressing your arm.
" now that you feel like the princess that you are, you have five minutes to refreshing up so that we can hit the road my love" nadja winked before playfully smacking your biceps.
Before she left she brought her fingers to her mouth and gaved them kitten licks before smirking sheepishly at you.
She opened the door and left, leaving you in complete awe and limited time to get re- dressed. You knew that this was not the end of tonight and that after you both came back home, she's going to make you do that all over again until your screaming her name for the entire campus to hear...... and you honestly could not wait......
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foibles-fables · 10 months
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hi foibs, hoping you’re doing well. there’s something i’ve wanted to ask you since burning shores…can you say more about why you weren’t impressed by seyka/seyloy? i’ve valued your hzd opinions for a long time and am curious and interested to learn more about this one. but if you’d rather not answer that’s fine!
Hi nonny!! I told myself I wasn't going to answer any of these, but I really appreciate your kind tone and am happy to address this again for you!
I won't go into a list of specific reasons why here. I do enjoy a good bit of piece-by-piece analysis a LOT but--frankly, picking apart another ship in a public zone like this is not what I want to exemplify on my blog, at all. It's not the kind of environment I'd like to create or discourse I'd like to foster. If those conversations are to be had at all--which, let's face it, they're probably not--they're to be had one on one, with a promise of good faith and open-mindedness between participants.
So to answer your question, I'll give a little more info, but still in generalities.
First and foremost, it's the simple fact that their dynamic, as portrayed in HBS, didn't spark for me! If y'all know me, you know that there is a very specific ship dynamic that I tend to latch onto, and this repeats ad infinitum across fandoms. I just wasn't compelled by the material, which is fine! More power to you if you were, for sure.
That loops into the second reason I'll give: yes, I did find the writing of HBS to be lackluster in many aspects, including the relationship between Aloy and Seyka. The sloppy writing absolutely influenced the way I viewed/reacted to Aloy and Seyka as a ship. To me, it did feel rushed and very much removed from the character and pacing of the series we've known for years. And that was not a boon for connecting with the presented narrative, the same way I began to feel disconnected from HFW. Once again, though, totally subjective and valid if it did hit for you!
I wanted to like Seyka so much more than I did. (This is--as I've shared other posts before--commentary on the writer's room character work, not on Seyka.) I wanted her to oust Alva as my favorite Quen babygirl (A HARD CHALLENGE, I'll admit). I wanted to be compelled by her, and by her dynamic with Aloy. She didn't, and I wasn't. And that's not an attack on Seyka herself, or on folks who enjoyed her. That's my own peeve with the writing and the way she was presented both in the narrative and in the HBS marketing.
If I can also use your ask to be a little vulnerable, nonny? It's been a hard six weeks. I feel like the posts I've put up and the opinions I've offered with regards to this have been nothing less than respectful and pleasant and, in a lot of cases, that grace hasn't been returned. From being blocked/unfollowed/vagued by other Horizon wlw shippers with whom I've built a rapport over the years (which of COURSE it's anyone's right to curate their feeds--still stings on the other side, in this situation especially)--to being directly compared to the Actual Homophobes for supporting the idea of romance options in game three (the same Actual Homophobes sending death and other threats directly to my inboxes)--it's an unfortunate state. I'm doing my best to be positive for the whole fandom, but some days it's harder than others.
In any case--I'll say, contradictorily--there is a Seyloy idea I've been working on, in attempts to connect more with them and sublimate my quibbles with what was presented in canon. So I hope any Seyloy enjoyers who might read it eventually (and this!) will take it in good faith when it's finished, as it's being written in nothing but good faith!
And, FINALLY, because every single time this question comes up, I say "I DON'T DISLIKE SEYKA" out loud in Nadja's voice, and this is the perfect opportunity to finally make the joke in public:
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indashadows · 10 months
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Today I got autographs with the most wholesome and kind actors ever!
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Also met the coolest Baron and Guillermo cosplayers!
My experience with kayvan and Harvey under the cut
Harvey:
So, he saw me and said "oh hi nadja!" and I started to freak out completely inside, so I was kinda saying nonsense the whole time 😂 I told him that he is the reason I started drawing and I showed him the picture than then he signed, I took the time to look at it and said "oh I remember this, I have shared it! Thank you for giving me the jawline 😂" then he pointed out that I drwe him with the shirt open on the front and he said "that's slayer guillermo! You see? First season is all bottoned up and he starts opening more when he gains confidence" then I gave him the coaster and he looked genuinely amazed and pointed at it "look at all these details" I could only say thank you thank you over and over 😂😂
He the said "thank you for dressing up!" when I left!!
Kayvan:
He called me over in Nandor voice saying "yes yes hello Nadja" the said hi in his own voice and again I told him how the show made me creative and showed the pic I wanted signed and he was all "wow that's great! " then I gave him the coaster, he read the whole now I am a wizard thing (he's British and of course he and his cup of tea next to him) after he saw the coaster he said "oh look!" and he put the coaster under his cup. Then he looked at it and he removed the cup from it and he said "no I can't put the cup on top, I won't be able to see it!" and I was like Omggg!! Then he signed, he added the "be my familiar" thing and I was like thank you so much I love nandor byeee! And run away because I was freaking out and he screamed at my back "thank you for this!" 😭😭😭
I'm still shaking I might die
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himbopatrol · 1 year
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King With No Crown
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King With No Crown - Chapter One
Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x OC (Nadja Mormont - afab) 
Word Count: 3.1k
Warnings: eventual smut, sexual tension, flirting, slightly older oc (she’s 21, Aemond’s 19), typical HOD blood and violence 18+
I hardly proof read, sorry. 
Summary: Nadja Mormont has been forced to move to Kings Landing within the Red Keep at the hand of her father. Twenty-one and many suitors behind her she finds her eyes lingering on Prince Aemond.
Chapter One: 
Nadja Mormont stood in front of her bedroom mirror, staring back at her sorrow and hatred. Hatred for her father and house at this particular moment. Her long dark hair windswept from her enraged walk through the courtyard to her room. Sunken eyes deep. Laurel, her handmaiden, approached from behind, a soft brush in hand. She gently began detangling the ends. She said nothing, nothing until Nadja snapped.
“I can do it myself!” She barked. Laurel stopped, her small smile fading gently. Nadja sighed. “I’m sorry, forgive me Laurel,” Nadja turned to face her, tilting her head and cupping her soft jaw. Laurel stared up at Nadja with bright and watery eyes.
“They can’t make you go, can they my lady?” She whispered softly.
Nadja swiped her thumb across her plump lips. “I’m afraid they can, whether I go willingly or not.”
Lady Nadja Mormont scowled at the heat, scowled at the crowded city, scowled at the titan that was the Red Keep. Without lifting her head, her eyes peered up and out the carriage window to reach the tallest towers. Her father had sent her to King's Landing in hopes of learning a few lessons as a lady of the court, a lady in waiting, maybe to even get close to the royal family and the queen heir when she came into power. He thought the warm waters and thick air might do her Southern mothers blood that coursed through her veins some good. As much as she was not used to it, something inside her stirred as she exited the carriage and the heat hit her flushed cheeks. Her fingers clenched shut the bear skin wrapped around her shoulders, refusing to move it even as she felt the sweat building. Nadja knew her father sent her here for a reason, because now at 21, Nadja had turned down every suitor, maiming a few along the way. She remembered how her father found her last time. Drenched in the suitor's blood, standing over his lifeless body in her chambers, knife still warm in hand. I told him no… and he chose not to listen. She smiled at the memory, the prick deserved it.
Otto Hightower stood at the base of the stairs, awaiting Nadja Mormont. He bowed his head, “Lady Mormont, a pleasure.” Nadja waited a few beats before dropping her head and shoulders. “You’re not burning my lady?” He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, scratching the fur, as she walked towards him. She shook her head, he paused at her refusal to speak thus far. “I understand your hesitation Lady. Your father and I exchanged letters on your, situation, but you will be just fine here. Your father is a good friend, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” he explained, leading her up the stone steps. She glanced at him from the side of her eye. A few servant men close behind them, carrying her things behind them. They strained at a few of the bags as she had insisted on bringing her library, and her heavy winter cloaks. As the large doors greeted them he asked, “Now, would you like a tour now or do you wish to retire to your chambers for some rest after your long journey?” He paused. “My granddaughter, Princess Helaena, could show you around, she’s very…gentle.”
“It’s only midday, a look around sounds lovely, Princess Helaena sounds lovely,” she finally spoke. Otto was slightly taken back by her words, and her voice. A dark, raspy voice for a lady, it reminded him of Princess Rhaenyra.
“Wonderful,” he said, taking his hand off her shoulder, “I’ll retrieve the princess, wait here.”
Nadja stood awkwardly as the servants walked by with her things, assuming they were bringing it to whatever millionth room in the castle she was staying in. Her fingers twiddled with one another, as her feet shuffled. It was eerily quiet, besides the occasional hand maiden, servant, or court member quickly making their way by, ignoring her. A sudden gasp to her right startled her. She turned on her heels to see who she could only assume was Princess Helaena, who was beaming at her.
“Gods, but you are gorgeous!” the princess squealed, hastily making her way towards her, her fingers immediately finding the ends of Nadja’s dark hair to twist and stroke.
“Hm, pretty,” Nadja spoke under her breath, watching the princess let go of her hair.
“What?” She smiled.
“Pleasure to meet you Princess, I am Nadja Mormont,” she bowed her head. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, she thought.
“The pleasure is all mine,” she smiled, she instinctively linked their arms together to walk together. “This is so exciting, you look like fun, some of these ladies here are so stuffy,” she wrinkled her nose.
“We’ve just met, though I can guarantee, I am fun,” Nadja smiled.
“Oh I can just tell, I knew as soon as I saw you. I knew when I first heard you were coming to live with us,” replied Helaena. “Now, come along, there are so many things to show you and so many people to meet and make friends with.”
Helaena led her around the throne room, the tower where council meetings took place, several courtyards, the kitchen, their apartments, Helaena had made it a point to show how close their rooms were, making Nadja smirk. And how exciting that her brother's room was just there too. “Oh! My brothers, come to the sparring courtyard, they’ll be there,” she led her down a tight staircase.
Standing over a muddy courtyard, Helaena and Nadja stood watching several men of the court, Kingsgaurd, and the Targaryen princes, the sun beaming down on them. “That one there, with the short hair, the one scowling. He’s my eldest brother, and father to my children, Aegon,” she said in some tone between sugary and sour. Nadja raised an eyebrow, finding him sitting to the sidelines, clearly bored and bothered. “That one there,” Helaena closed an eye and pointed into the ring of men, “he’s my other brother, with the long hair, Aemond,” she finished. Nadja found her grip on Helaena’s arm tightening when her eyes landed on the younger prince. She stiffened. “Come now,” Helaena pulled. They slowly made their way down the stone stairs, getting closer to the sound of clashing swords and grunts. “Aemond, Aegon!” She exclaimed over the noise as they reached the bottom. Aegon hardly looked up from where he was sitting, not until he noticed the girl on his wife's arm. A man charged at Aemond who took a graceful step to the side, placed a large hand on their armored chest and with ease shoved the man to the ground, letting the other man slip on the way down. His hair flipped around his face and he seemed out of breath. Nadja bit her cheek, unable to take her eyes off the prince.
“What is it Helaena?” Aemond spoke over the comradery, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
“There’s someone I like you to meet,” she answered, unbothered by his tone.
“Hello,” Aegon appeared in front of them, smiling only at Nadja.
“Hello Aegon,” Helaena said, “this is Nadja Mormont, she’s a new lady of the court,” she placed an arm on her back, trying to get her to step forward.
“Hello Nadja,” he smiled, taking her hand and giving it a kiss.
“Hello,” she attempted to hold back a grimace. Her eyes landed on the other, walking up behind Aegon, pushing a man out of the way in the process.
“Who could be so important that I am to be interrupted from my practice?” Aemond asked, not having looked up yet. He almost ran into Lady Mormont before he stopped, dead in his tracks, his eye trained on her. Nadja stared up at him. Her breath hitched. He was so close she could smell the mud and smoke on him. And he, her perfume. Aegon and Helaena watched their brother clench his jaw for a brief moment. “Forgive me, my lady,” he said, suddenly polite. He went for the opposite hand his brother had touched, placing a gentle kiss on it.
“Nadja,” she coughed, finding her voice. “Nadja Mormont.”
“Hm,” he hummed. “Aemond Targaryen,” he spoke with a power that made Nadja swallow her spit. His eye looked her up and down, clocking her bear skin, curious as to what she looked like underneath the bulky fur.
“She’ll be having dinner with us tonight,” Helaena announced.
“What?” Nadja turned to the princess.
“I won’t have any arguments, I insist,” she smiled. “Now, let us see the library,” she pulled Nadja away. Aemond instantly missed her scent lingering, chewing at his bottom lip, he turned back around.
“Compose yourself brother,” Aegon teased, earning him a hard shove from his baby brother as he walked away.
Helaena stayed silent until they were back inside the Red Keep. “Aemond, he’s much nicer than he appears,” she says quietly, as to not let anyone else hear. Nadja only nodded her head. “He isn’t betrothed,” she added simply.
“What?”
“He has no wife, no children. Many of the ladies here find him, well, scary, and he’s never much cared for things such as love,” Helaena explained. “But he seemed to like you,” she  smiled simply.
“Yes, he seemed… soft under the edge,” Nadja replied.
“Exactly,” Helaena responded softly. “He’d probably melt in your hand,” she added, making Nadja smile at her bluntness.
“You know,” Aegon began as the brothers walked through the halls to their separate chambers, getting ready for dinner. “I heard from Helaena that she has a Southern mother,” he smiles.
“And?” Aemond asked.
“A very Southern mother, from the Summer Isles.” Aegon explained, his brother stopping and staring at him.
“So?” Aemond sneered.
“So, they are known for their devotion to sex, and according to Helaena her mother practiced some sort of witchcraft, blood and such,” Aegon couldn’t hide his smile. “And with being a woman of Bear Island, I can only imagine she’s…a handful.”
“Why should I care?” Aemond snapped.
“Because I saw how you looked at her. I’m surprised you didn’t take her there, I almost did,” Aegon commented, quickly being shoved into the stone wall, groaning at the impact. His brother's arm against his throat.
“Keep your place brother,” he threatened, slowly letting him go.
Aegon coughed. “You’ve just met her and now you’re trying to kill me. Maybe she already cast a spell on you,” he laughed, watching his brother strut away to his room.
Dinner was entirely uneventful to anyone not paying enough attention.
Aemond sat on the end of the table, the King was bedridden, leaving the seat next to Alicent empty and cold. Across from Alicent sat Helaena, and to Helaena’s left, nearest Aemond was Nadja, with Aegon to her right. Helaena’s children sat at the other end of the table and next to Aegon, playing with their food.
Nadja liked Alicent, she reminded her of a woman of bear island, giving, yet sturdy. She had met her once when she was just a babe and Alicent a young woman, younger than her currently. She could just vaguely remember a sweet girl, seemingly sad though. That sadness still carried in her that night at dinner. Nadja’s father and mother often spoke of her sacrifice and loyalty to duty, something they admired of her.
Aegon watched his brother watch Nadja, catching glimpses of her for himself as well. About halfway through dinner he leaned over to Helaena, “Switch seats with me, will you?” he spoke close to her ear.
“Why should I do that?” She asked softly, tilting her head towards him.
“Because I wish to converse with Lady Mormont, and your babes need you,” Aegon replied, annoyed.
“Your babes too,” she hummed. “You had a great deal in making them Aegon,” she turned fully to him. “But I know you must get me confused with all your other girls,” she smirked, making her mother’s eyes widen and Aemond smile. Nadja slowly placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, catching Aemond’s attention. Helaena stood, pushing her food over, “There you are, my darling,” she spoke, making Aegon roll his eyes as he scooted over to her chair.
“Lady Mormont,” Aegon smiled, Nadja turned her head to the older brother, making the younger tilt his own, silently trying to follow her profile.
“Prince Aegon,” she smiled back, just trying to appease him.
“I see you have still yet to shed your northern skin,” he said referring to the fur still wrapped tightly around her shoulders, he ran a hand through it, Queen Alicent rolled her eyes at her son. “You’re in Kings Landing now Lady, wouldn’t want you to get sick from the heat.”
“Mm, how right you are,” she said as if it was just now occurring to her. Nadja pushed back slightly, undoing her cloak, letting it slip off her shoulders. Aegon and Aemond stared at the newly exposed skin, Aemond gripped his fork, turning his knuckles white. She wore a fairly simple black dress, long sleeves off the shoulders, pushing at her chest. Her shoulders and chest sprinkled with dark freckles. Only Aemond noticed the several small scars across the span of her skin, how he wanted to quietly trace them with his fingers. Nadja slipped the cloak to her left hand, letting it dangle, and without making any eye contact she held the fur out to Aemond, signally for him to take it. Alicent raised an eyebrow, imagining her son wouldn’t take it well. Helaena smiled to herself. Aemond sucked in his cheeks before quickly standing. He took the cloak and slowly draped it on the back of her chair. Slowly because it allowed more time to stare at her exposed skin and for another angle of her chest. As he made his way back to his seat he noticed dark lines emerging from her sleeves, some tracing along her fingers. Ink. Nadja Mormont had tattoos.
Aegon made a bold move of pushing her hair back, Nadja thought about how she might react back home. Knife through his hand? Sadly no, that’s not appropriate for a prince. “So your father is over Bear Island, but your mother is?”
“From the Summer Isles,” Nadja answered.
“Does she reside at Bear Island with your father?” He popped a grape into his mouth, Nadja forced away a natural eye roll.
“Yes, your highness. She quite likes it there. Though in recent years she had sailed back from visits,” Nadja said.
“How does such a Northerner even acquire a woman of the Summer Isles?” Aegon smiled.
“He had visited the Summer Isles as a young man, and caught the eye of my mother. She was so keen on him she agreed to move to the North, abandoning the sun and warm beaches. A part of me is thrilled to be so South. I think the sun will agree with me, and I would prefer to swim in not so freezing waters for once. A part of me misses the cold though, so brutal and honest I think, something I can agree with,” Nadja explained. Aegon had stopped listening, but not Aemond, he held onto every word she said, disappointed when she stopped talking.
“And is it true that your mother was? Is? Some sort of–”
“My mother never put a spell on my father, there was no need. But yes, she was a prostitute, something not looked down upon there as it is here, but she was also a seafarer, and a good one from my experience. I am proud to have the sand and sea running through my blood alongside snow and great bears,” Nadja answered the prince's question before he could ask it.
Nadja made her way towards her chambers, not quite alone as she would have liked. She could hear the echoing footsteps behind her. As she turned the corner of a tight hallway, she was shoved against the wall, a heavy breathing Aegon Targaryen pining her there. “Hello little cub,” he gave her a toothy grin.
“Get your hands off me,” she groaned, pushing him back. “You’re drunk, go attend to your wife, not me,” she snapped, knowing talking to the prince like that might not work in her favor. She turned her heel to walk away.
“Bitch,” he mumbled before grasping at her hair, followed by a harsh tug. She quickly wrapped her fingers around his wrist, twisting it, making him cry out. He bent over in pain, she wasn’t letting up.
“Call me that again,” she whispered. Before he could a firm hand yanked him back and out of her grasp. Aemond held his brother, letting him fight against it.
“My brother is an idiot and doesn’t know what’s good for him, forgive him,” Aemond struggled to get his words out as Aegon wiggled around.
“No,” Nadja replied simply before turning again to walk to her room. Aemond threw his brother to the side before falling on her tail.
“Lady Mormont,” he exclaimed. She ignored him. He continued after her. She quickly opened her door, going to slam it before Aemond slipped in behind her.
“Is there something I can help you with, my prince?” She asked, trying to gain composure.
“No,” he stepped back, realizing he was in her room, unwelcomed. “Are you okay?” He asked quietly.
“Fine,” she responded quickly.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“It didn’t seem as though you actually needed my help,” he couldn’t help but smile, smile that such a woman could bring his brother down to his knees like that. “It looked like you had it handled.”
“That I did,” she straightened up, “but thank you for helping me nonetheless,” she bowed her head.
“Hm, do you spar?” He crossed his arms behind his back and took a bit of a wider stance.
“I certainly can, do I enjoy it?” She asked like it was a task. “Yes, I do,” she smiled, making Aemond smile, and even a light chuckle escaping his lips.
“And would you like to, tomorrow?” He kept his smile. “If you’re not busy, that is, though this big castle can get a little cramped and I do know my way around it, we’re bound to run into each other eventually,” he smirked.
“Sure,” she smiled.
“Goodnight Lady Mormont, I’ll make sure a guard is posted outside your door in case my brother gets any more ideas” he bowed his head before backing up to leave.
“Goodnight and thank you Prince Aemond,” she curtsied in response.
“Aemond, Lady Mormont,” Aemond spoke softly.
“Nadja.” Aemond began to walk away. “Aemond?” He turned. “Do you really have the largest dragon in the realm?” She asked, with a smile tugging at her lips.
He hummed before leaving, “I do Nadja.”
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floatingcatacombs · 3 months
Text
Compile Hagiography Through Reading the Hyperdimension Neptunia Wiki
12 Days of Aniblogging 2023, Day 4
When I’m really bored on the computer, one of the things I'll occasionally do is explore the Hyperdimension Neptunia wiki. Neptunia is a role-playing series whose main distinction is being centered around moe anthropomorphizations of video game companies and consoles, which fascinates me. These are textbook trashy 6/10 anime RPGs, and release at a pace that suggests both a low budget and a pretty dedicated fanbase. I don’t mean to patronize, though. I’m not above this kind of stuff, I just can’t let a bunch of mid 30-hour JRPGs into my life at this moment in time. Rather, my angle of interest here is the origins of the Neptunia developer, Compile Heart.
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listening and learning
You see, back in the late 80s and early 90s, a company called Compile was one of the greats in Japanese home PC gaming. Most of their early output was shmups for the MSX, although they dabbled in a bit of everything, including running a disc magazine to distribute games. Compile’s first hit was Madou Monogatari in 1990, a numberless first-person dungeon crawler with a focus on voice samples. It features a lovable cast, starring young magician Arle Nadja as she attempts to graduate kindergarten, viscerally decapitate an evil sorcerer, and fend off Satan and the girl who’s down bad for Satan. Plenty of remakes and sequels followed, and eventually Compile struck gold with Puyo Puyo, the platonic ideal of competitive falling-block games. To set it apart from the more faceless puzzle games of the era, they reused the Madou Monogatari cast, resulting in a cutesy aesthetic with occasional lingering bits of fucked-up lore.
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After porting Puyo Puyo and its sequel to everything imaginable, Compile spent their mid-90s rapidly scaling the company, ultimately biting off more than they could chew. This was an era of serious change as developers moved towards 3D, and consumer preferences moved too fast for Compile to adapt. Some high-profile failures like Madou Monogatari Saturn and Puyo Puyo Dungeon sent the company into a fiscal downward spiral, leading frequent business partner Sega to bail them out by buying the rights to Puyo Puyo. Compile got to finish their in-progress work, including the gorgeous yet frustrating Puyo Puyo 4, but the writing was on the wall. Compile declared bankruptcy in 2003 after throwing all of their hopes and dreams into one last little game, Pochi and Nyaa. It’s a puzzle game with simple yet strategic mechanics that feels like something of a return to infancy for the developers. Also, it was released on the Neo-Geo in 2003! If you know anything about arcade hardware, that’s nuts.
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The late 90's pre-rendered backgrounds combined with Sunaho Tobe's character artwork give Puyo Puyo 4 such a special look. Shame it's unplayable unless you're very good at chaining.
So Compile scatters to the winds and a lot of the non-shmup devs regroup at the newly formed Compile Heart, where they eventually hit the jackpot with Hyperdimension Neptunia and crank one of those out per year ad infinitum.
That was a pretty tumultuous history! And Neptunia seems like a way to process this? After all, the protagonist is named after and personifies the Sega Neptune, a cancelled 90’s console. Compile and Sega have intertwined histories and faced a similar trajectory. Rapid success in the early 90s was followed up by bad business decisions later in the decade, leading to a tragic exit from the industry that nobody wanted to see. Hyperdimension Neptunia wants to convey these scars to an audience who weren't necessarily around for it.
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The first Neptunia game opens with the anime girl manifestations of Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox deciding that in order to break the sixth-generation console war stalemate, they need to team up against the one who poses the biggest threat. So, they get together and betray Neptunia, casting her out of the heavens. Obviously, this isn’t how it happened in the real world. The Dreamcast may have been awesome, but Sega was operating at a loss trying to support it, and the release of the all-consuming PS2 spelled doom. But this intro is closer to how it felt to Sega fans. It’s a mythical retelling of the fall, one that slots right in with the endless glowing retrospectives of Sega’s glorious but doomed last breath (My favorite is calling the console a “small, square, white plastic JFK”).
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I’m no industry expert or historian, but I was around to see the Japanese game industry flounder during the PS3 era, when high definition brought with it new expectations and inflated development cycles. Obviously juggernauts like Capcom and Square Enix got out fine, but a lot of smaller studios went under at some point in the past 15 years. Hudson, T&E Soft, ASCII, Clover Studio, Imageepoch. In another world, beloved FromSoft could have fallen to the wayside just as easily.
That’s why Neptunia is really important, I think. It serves as a way to self-mythologize, to keep fragments of these studios alive no matter what happens to them later. It’s a snapshot of all the B-tier Japanese game companies at any given point, written by one such company. When some of them inevitably fold, the Neptunia series will act as one more eulogy. As a huge fan of Compile-era Puyo Puyo, it’s a strange but relieving afterlife to witness. I may never play these games, but I’m grateful for what they do, and it’s a very entertaining series to rummage through the wiki of, especially as someone with a known appreciation of OS-tans.
The second Hyperdimension Neptunia game appears to introduce the Gamindustri Graveyard, a burial ground for defunct game companies. Resting there alongside all the other fallen studios is 1st-Gen Compa, the spirit of Compile. She’s wearing an outfit adorned with Puyos, with ears resembling those of beloved mascot Carbuncle. What is just a random horny anime girl for one person is a loving tribute for another. It’s a meaningful way to send off the old.
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…and so is raising the dead! In October, Compile Heart announced a new Madou Monogatari game, with Sega giving them the rights to use classic Puyo Puyo characters on the project. According to the press release, the development team includes many staff members who were part of the original incarnation of Compile. Hope springs eternal, somehow.
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rosie-b · 10 months
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home is where the fight is
(2778 words)
Written for @ladrienjune Day 7: Injured
Nadja Chamack’s voice greeted Adrien as he sat up straight, wiping his clammy hands on his pants and ignoring the black kwami floating by his shoulder.
“—shocked to see our heroine fall in battle today, taking a direct hit from the akuma just as she detransformed. Parisians are torn between blaming Hawk Moth and Cat Walker for their roles in this tragedy, which ultimately revealed the civilian identity of Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Adrien turned off the TV and lowered his head as his vision blurred.
Read the whole fic on AO3 or just below!
Please, not me. Anyone but me.
The words reverberated through Adrien’s head as he scrambled for the remote to his smart windows and clicked on the lowest setting.
Once he’d checked that the windows were completely dark, he dived onto the couch, grabbed a second remote control, and turned on the TV, which was set to the TVi channel. Nadja Chamack’s voice greeted Adrien as he sat up straight, wiping his clammy hands on his pants and ignoring the black kwami floating by his shoulder.
“—shocked to see our heroine fall in battle today, taking a direct hit from the akuma just as she detransformed. Parisians are torn between blaming Hawk Moth and Cat Walker for their roles in this tragedy, which ultimately revealed the civilian identity of Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Mme. Chamack bowed her head and paused, not-so-discreetly wiping a tear from her eye. 
Adrien knew the rest of this story. He knew the way Marinette had continued to fight, relying on the clues her disappeared Lucky Charm had given her, sending her kwami off to recharge. She’d been able to retransform and defeat the akuma as Ladybug.
Père had ordered him to follow her and head to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She’d gone to the sewers, instead. The news van had found the trail of blood she’d left behind. 
They were trying not to assume the worst, but he could see in Mme. Chamack’s face that she was already giving up hope. In her mind, Cat Walker — Adrien — was responsible for her death.
Adrien turned off the TV and lowered his head as his vision blurred. 
Ladybug needed a place to go, and he didn’t think she’d be foolish enough to return to her parents’ home. Hawk Moth knew where she lived now, after all. But it made sense that she’d go to her boyfriend’s house.
Please, not me. Anyone but me.
Feeling trapped by his own actions for once, Adrien set the remotes down and got up to check that his windows were dark on both sides. While he was up, Plagg turned the TV back on. Adrien whirled around in a panic.
“Turn that off! Someone could hear,” he hissed.
Plagg shot him a dubious glare. “Only inside the mansion. Your lady will still think you’re gone for as long as those windows are dark, and in the meantime, we should stay informed about what’s going on out there. Tikki’s chosen just had her identity revealed,” he said, gluing his eyes to the TV screen. “As her boyfriend, I would think you’d be more concerned about Ladybug.”
“Marinette,” Adrien murmured, trying to make the name sound at home on his lips. He shouldn’t have known who Ladybug’s civilian self was at all, but he’d met her once on one of his compulsory missions from Père. Apparently, she was one of his suspects for the girl behind Ladybug’s mask.
Adrien had really hoped his father wasn’t right, but it turned out that he was, in the end.
A small lift to his lips, hardly a smile, briefly appeared as he remembered their first meeting. Marinette had had the feeling someone was watching her, so she called out that she could see them. Adrien had believed her, so he slipped out of his hiding spot and jumped onto her balcony, thanking his luck that Père hadn’t given him any orders for this situation.
He’d startled Marinette so badly that she kicked him in the balls and shoved him off of her balcony. Well, he had deserved it, Adrien reflected. He’d never been more formally introduced to her, nor had he seen her again afterwards, but he remembered the name his father had given him before the ill-fated mission.
Now, Marinette, who was Ladybug (Adrien’s girlfriend!) was somewhere in Paris, alone, with an injury she’d gotten from kwamis only knew where. And there was nothing he could do to help her.
The TV was rambling again, a fuzzy, sticky, static in his brain. He took the remote back from Plagg and clicked the off button. Plagg didn’t complain.
There was a thump downstairs. Adrien’s heart clenched.
Not me. Please, anyone but me.
A bang, this time, followed by a crash. It was coming from the atelier, Adrien knew. He’d heard crashes exactly like that a thousand times before.
“Do you think—” Plagg began. Adrien cut him off.
“No. He would order me down there if there was a fight. Just like with his other orders—” which were keeping him from offering shelter to his secret girlfriend, for fear that he’d only be able to fight her when her silhouette appeared at the window— “We would know.”
Plagg lashed his tail and flattened his ears. 
“Some Père,” he spat. “I can’t wait to cataclysm his face off. You know he deserves it,” he said at Adrien’s conflicted expression.
Adrien wrapped his arms around himself as he dropped onto the couch. “I know,” he muttered. “But it’s still hard. All I want is for this nightmare to be over.”
From underneath him, the clicking of a remote control’s button sounded, and in response, the sun slowly began to pour through the tall, wide windows of his room. 
Adrien gaped at them in horror, feeling frozen as Plagg dove for the remote, pushing random buttons that only turned on the TV and then changed its channels.
The images on the TV flashed like the scenes in Adrien’s mind, the life of his relationship with Ladybug speeding through his head as he prepared for its end. For what else could a direct order to fight Ladybug bring to it?
So far, Cat Walker had fought in the shadows, staying on the sidelines until expressly ordered to fight, to throw a punch, to dodge hers, to call for a power too deadly to be given to a marionette like he was. It was what had allowed Marinette to win the fight today, and so Gabriel had put an unceremonious end to it with one single command.
The windows were opening.
Ladybug slipped through, a hesitant look on her face as she stood in front of Adrien, who’d just gotten back from an unusual akuma attack.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “I-I mean, I know I cast the cure, so physically, your body is fine— or no! Not like that! But what I mean is,” she said, stepping closer and reaching out to trace a freshly-dry tear track down his cheek, “How are you, really?”
It was the first time anyone had asked Adrien that and genuinely wanted to hear what he had to say. He’d cried, feeling ashamed and guilty and far less than human as she held him in her arms.
She’d made a habit out of visiting him. And slowly, Adrien started to look forward to her visits, and found that he didn’t mind being confined to his room as much anymore. Slowly, he remembered how it felt to smile because he was happy, not because he was told to.
They’d developed a signal; if Adrien’s windows were dark on the outside, he was busy, but otherwise, if he was in his room, Ladybug could drop by for a visit. And after time, as they got used to each other and the secrecy they had to maintain, Ladybug asked if those ‘visits’ of hers could become dates. 
Adrien was astonished at how little his father cared about his life outside of akuma attacks, that keeping his new relationship secret could be easy. But it was. He’d never even asked if Adrien was interested in dating anyone.
The windows were open. The sun was going down.
Ladybug could come soon.
Not me, Adrien begged her silently, willing his words to reach across Paris to wherever she was hiding. Please, don’t come to me. Go to anyone else, go anywhere else! 
It would be best if she left Paris. It would be best if he could renounce his ring.
Plagg finally turned off the TV. Picking up the other remote, he clicked the button that darkened the outside of the glass, still letting in the late afternoon sun but preventing anyone from seeing into the room. 
“Do you want me to get the other side, too?”
Adrien didn’t answer. He was busy staring into the future, at his gloved hand around Ladybug’s neck, an active cataclysm at the ready.
He took a shuddering breath. 
Père had said it was possible to break a Miraculous. Glancing down at his ring, he wondered how easy it was.
It didn’t matter. He’d been ordered not to damage the ring anyway.
Plagg clicked a couple more buttons, and the room darkened.
“Come on, kitten,” Plagg coaxed, setting the remote down and zipping over to tug on Adrien’s fingers. “Eat something. Or at least drink some water. This whole stiff as a board thing doesn’t look good on you.”
Letting Plagg lead him there, Adrien staggered into the seat at his desk, where an opened bottle of water sat beside a wedge of camembert. Usually, he hated the smell of the cheese, but today, its sharp stench woke up his brain and grounded him in the moment.
He took a deep breath, letting the fumes flood his mouth, and nearly gagged. It was a good feeling. His stomach rumbled, and Adrien wondered whether he should eat something.
Then a familiar knock sounded on his window, tying his intestines in knots and guaranteeing that he would not be eating anytime soon.
Plagg groaned as he quickly found a place to hide.
“I knew it was the wrong button,” he muttered. “Sorry, kid.”
But Adrien was already past that. He hadn’t planned on it; he’d tried to avoid it, but now Ladybug was here, and he had to fight her, fight her directly, as Père had said.
There had to be a way out, some way for Adrien to evade his father’s order. He’d done it before, found loopholes that allowed him little glimpses of autonomy.
With trembling fingers, he pulled open the window.
“The next time you see her,” Gabriel’s voice echoed in the deadly silence of Adrien’s mind, “Don’t run away, don’t stay in the shadows, don’t do anything that could let her get away. I am your father, and I am ordering you to fight her directly, not holding yourself back, and to try to win. I’m counting on you.”
Big mistake, Adrien thought with a grin as the perfect loophole presented itself.
“If you want to come in, you’ll have to fight me,” he informed Ladybug, who had a white bandage wrapped around her left hand, which was lacking the usual red-and-black spots it sported. She tilted her head in confusion. 
“What? Adrien, I don’t have time for this. Hawk Moth, he—”
“He can’t beat me in thumb war, either. I’m undefeated, my lady! I need a real challenge for once. Fight me,” he dared, holding his fist out. A dangerous thrill raced through his body as Ladybug stared at his fist, dumbstruck.
She squinted. “Is this one of your attempts to distract me from my troubles? Because I have seen better, Agreste,” she sniffed, a smirk playing about the corner of her mouth. “There’s no way you’re going to win this one. Bring it on!”
Adrien grinned as his girlfriend took his hand in her right one, making one big fist with two thumbs ready to fight on their own private stage. Adrien made his thumb bow, and she began the song that announced the thumb war’s beginning.
“Un, deux, trois, bras de fer chinois. What a childish chant," Ladybug muttered as Adrien immediately began his attempt to pin her thumb down, not holding anything back. 
He stuck out his tongue as he concentrated, and Ladybug smiled bemusedly at his seriousness as she tugged her thumb out from under his and ducked it through her own fist before landing it on top of his. But even her super strength had nothing on Adrien’s dogged persistence. He had to win this, or at least try to.
Once free, his thumb lashed out at hers, landing a glancing blow and scaring it back to the far side of the fist-stage. After a moment, it darted out to the middle, but quickly hurried back to safety. 
“That’s cheating, milady,” Adrien muttered as he planned his own strike.
“How is it cheating? This whole thumb war doesn’t even make sense, you know. There should be a table under our elbows.”
“We can always try again after I win,” Adrien said, using the full length of his thumb to reach hers and force its tip to slowly come down.
But it seemed Adrien had overreached, and Ladybug quickly moved to pin his thumb down, instead, using more force to keep it there this time and counting the five seconds it took for her to win.
“Ha! Now who’s undefeated,” she gloated, and slipped in through the window, which was still dark on the inner panes of glass only. 
Adrien bowed as she stepped into the room, feeling an ocean of relief wash over him.
“I should have known I could never beat you,” he said with a smile. “Now, about that injury of yours. Where did it come from? I was sure you’d escaped the fight unscathed.”
Suddenly remembering the battle against the akuma, Ladybug frowned and wrapped her arms around herself.
“But I lost my secret identity,” she said sadly. “By now, I’m sure Hawk Moth knows who I am. Didn’t you see it on the news? This is the only place I could go; everyone else I know knows me as Marinette, even the other heroes!”
Adrien shook his head. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” he said as he turned on the lights in the room and adjusted the windows to be fully dark on both sides. “But, yes, I saw the news. You’re in a terrible position now, and the best thing that can happen is for you to figure out Hawk Moth’s and Cat Walker’s identities in turn. Don’t tell me how much progress you’ve made,” he said, debating whether he should call the kitchen and get Ladybug dinner or not. “But I know you’re already on it.”
Ladybug’s lips thinned as she sat on the couch. “I am,” she said slowly. “But it’s hard. There are millions of people in Paris, and it’s impossible for me to choose which one I think Hawk Moth is without some bias.” Her eyes darted over to Adrien and quickly returned to the hands on her lap as a flush covered her cheeks. She toyed with the ends of the white bandage on her hand, and Adrien frowned.
“You still haven’t told me what happened,” he said accusingly. “Do you need a new bandage? How deep is the cut?”
“It’s just a scrape,” she said wearily. “I fell when I was escaping as Marinette after the battle, while Cat Walker was mistakenly headed to my home. Just typical clumsy me,” she said with a laugh, unwrapping the cloth to show Adrien her injury, which really wasn’t that deep.
He blinked at it and crossed his arms. “But the news said you left a trail of blood that led to the sewers. Do you have another injury you’re hiding?”
Ladybug shook her head. “Nope,” she said, wrapping the bandage, which was not pure white, but had little black and pink flowers on it, around her hand. “I don’t know whose blood they found, but it wasn’t mine. I’m a little worried that it might have been from one of the wildebeests that escaped the zoo, though. Jagged Stone likes to let Fang off his leash sometimes, and it’s concerning to think of whose body they’ll find in the sewers.”
Adrien nodded as he tried to understand. So, he hadn’t needed to worry as much as he had?
Well, obviously he and Marinette still had to worry, since Ladybug’s identity was out in the open. But maybe they could relax just a little bit. Maybe he could hide her in his room, since Gabriel never came to visit anymore. Or failing that, in one of the guest rooms. He could order larger meals, and give half of them to her.
They could work together to unmask Hawk Moth. After all, how long could Ladybug, Hawk Moth, and Cat Walker live in the same house before Ladybug— before Marinette, the smartest person Adrien knew, figured it out?
Adrien wet his lips and sat down beside his girlfriend. “I have an offer,” he said, “And it might sound weird, but you have to hear me out, okay? Here it goes…”
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davidmariottecomics · 2 months
Text
New Job, Boom!
Hey friends, 
Going to be a short one this week, but I definitely didn't want to let it pass without saying a little something. If you haven't heard otherwise yet, I'm now working at BOOM! Studios! Once I can say more, I'm sure I will, but it's early, things aren't really announced beyond that, and there are other matters to turn your attention to. 
Announcements: It's the Global General Strike for Palestine! For the next week, people all over the world are striking from all sorts of regular activity to disrupt the economic systems supporting the destruction of Palestine and to put that time and energy into active protest movement. This is a pretty basic explainer of what you can do and know that doing anything is better than doing nothing, right? If you have to go to work, be visible. If you have to shop, be visible and thoughtful. If you have to rest, enjoy the things you already have. If you want to post, make it about what is happening. Current reports are estimating over 25,000 people have been murdered, with the death toll just going to keep rising between continued bombardments and the lack of resources. Over 60,000 people are wounded, 85% of the population has been displaced, and roughly 1 in 4 people is facing extreme hunger. No hospital is fully functional, for the ones that are still left standing. The IOF (Israeli Occupying Force) has admitted to exhuming graves, and have claimed it's to "find the hostages", but in the face of the other war crimes they've committed, it's hard to believe it wasn't vengeful malicious behavior to psychologically wound Palestinians as much as anything else. While we wait--possibly years--to find out if the International Court of Justice rules that Israel is in fact committing a genocide, people are going to continue dying from this. And so, hopefully, with a bit of concentrated disruption and pressure, this destruction that's already lasted 100+ days may finally find an end. 
In terms of using your power and time, I've mentioned it before, but you could call your representatives. Fax their offices. Email them. Contact the White House. Join actions from organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, American Muslims for Palestine, the Democratic Socialists of America, and be sure to focus your boycotts (during the strike and generally) on the businesses called out by BDS. You can take some time to read through Verso's Solidarity with Palestine reading list. Make signs for if you're going out protesting, to put in your windows, or coordinate outfits in Palestinian flag colors that show your solidarity. Make sure you're keeping an eye out for local events. If you see art installations, share them, and, yeah, that includes graffiti that bears the message. Let Palestinians take the lead in the global conversation on social media and if you see, say, your reps talking about other things, flood them with calls for a ceasefire in the replies. 
If spending money brings you any comfort and you feel a need to put something into good practice, the Cartoonist Cooperative's page still lists a ton of resources for E-Sim cards.Bisan mentioned today that E-Sims are helpful, but their use is becoming more limited as the overall infrastructure has been so damaged that you need to be in a high place to use them. 
Again, do what you can.  
What I enjoyed this week: Nancy (Comic), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Baldur's Gate III (Video Game), Blank Check (Podcast), Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), How to Read Nancy (Book), Ted Lasso (TV show), my new big Taschen Ads of the 80s book, Movie Flick Chick Vol. 1 by BonerBob (Adult Comic), The Traitors Season 2 (TV show), The Floor (TV show), having a new phone and slowly getting back up to speed with it, seeing some stuff I had been working on at the old job get announced.
Pic of the Week: As I've been wont to do recently, I've made a little promo image with my announcement, so that's here, but my real pic of the week is this amazing photo of Nadja. She was in the chair sleeping and I went to move the Hello Kitty and I put it on top of her and she didn't move at all! It was very cute. 
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laszlossweetcheese · 2 years
Text
Come As You Are - One Shot
Laszlo Cravensworth x Non-Binary!Reader
Summary: Y/N comes out to Laszlo as non-binary after serving as his and Nadja's familiar for a couple of years.
Warnings: Flirty Laszlo gets a ~little~ dirty
A/N: Ayyy, first ever publicly posted fic! Thank you very much for reading :) Also, I use Y/D/N to stand for Your Dead Name in this fic
It had been two years since you’d become the familiar of Laszlo and Nadjia, and though this job was wildly different from anything you’d ever imagined yourself doing, you absolutely loved it.
Sure, cleaning up the remains of a vampire couple’s dinner could be physically and emotionally draining, but you were a pro at this point. In fact, you rarely gag while cleaning now, which is something you pride yourself on. 
The last two years have provided you with ample time to adjust to your new lifestyle, which means you don’t tend to shy away from much. You’d never been super adventurous before taking on this role, but living in a house full of vampires had opened your eyes to….well….a lot of things. You had witnessed your vampires fight off a pack of werewolves, escaped execution by the Vampiric Council, and met several horrific beings you’d believed to be mythical before coming face to face with them. 
So, with all of this new-found bravery, why do you feel like your heart is going to jump right out of your throat right now? It’s a rather calm night in the house, which you’ve come to recognize as rare, with no immediate threats to your own life or your masters’. Yet, here you were, hyperventilating in the bathroom as if you were moments from death. “Fuck…Fuck,” you panted quietly, splashing a bit of cold water on your face in an attempt to get your shit together. It was just going to be a simple conversation, right? All you needed to do was tell Laszlo about your new identity. How hard could that be? 
About a year ago, you had ended up talking to your fellow familiar, Guillermo, about various gender identities and sexualities. It was too long ago to remember exactly how it came up, but it was probably around the time the vampires were planning an orgy and you had gotten a little confused in trying to understand what each of the vampires’ preferences were. Guillermo had mentioned that he had met a few vampires in his service to Nandor that he could best describe as non-binary. You had heard the term before, but you’d never learned much past a shallow definition, so you began asking Guillermo more about it. The more he explained, the more it struck a chord within you, and a few months ago you had come to accept that you were non-binary yourself. Last week, Guillermo had been the first person you told, and he was more than accepting of you. 
Since coming out to Guillermo, you had been working up the nerve to tell the others in the house. He had assured you that they wouldn’t be offended by your new identity and that he would be there to help you explain and to correct the vampires in how they referred to you if they were to slip up and use your deadname or wrong pronouns, which you were grateful for. Tonight was going to be the night you told Laszlo, goddamn it, even if you threw up from anxiety while doing so. Nadja was out for a midnight stroll with Nadja doll, and Nandor, Guillermo, and Collin Robinson were all preoccupied doing their own things, which meant now was the perfect time. You figured telling them one at a time would be less overwhelming than gathering everyone in the library to make an announcement. 
You forced yourself to take a deep breath and gave the sides of the sink a hard squeeze, letting go as you exhaled so that your body would relax. With one last glance at your flushed expression in the mirror, you shut off the light and forced yourself out into the hallway. 
“Hey Laszlo,” you say as you enter the music room, hoping the vampire was too consumed in his piano playing to notice the slight waver in your voice. 
“Hello, Y/D/N,” Laszlo replies, glancing over his shoulder at you as he continues to play a soft melody. 
‘He seems to be in a good mood,’ you think to yourself, but that doesn’t keep your hands from trembling. “H-hey, um…could I talk to you for a second?” 
The fear in your voice must’ve really come through that time, because Laszlo stops playing completely and turns himself around on the piano bench, his eyebrows knitted together in concern. “What is it? Did Gizmo fuck up my special sex robe?”
You couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh and shook your head. “No, no, I promise your…sex robe is totally fine. I made sure to wash it for you myself,” you assure him. “I…um,” you clear your throat and take a breath, trying to keep your throat from closing. “I wanted to talk to you about my…my name, and gender?” You hadn’t meant to sound so unsure, but you were struggling to find the right words. So much for your hour-long practice conversation you’d had with yourself earlier. 
Laszlo was relieved that his robe was safe, but utterly confused about what you were trying to say. “Your gender? What the hell are you on about?” Having been his familiar for this long, you knew Laszlo wasn’t being harsh or mean, he was just incredibly blunt.
“Shit, I’m sorry, I don’t know how to make this make sense to you…Ah, fuck it,” you sigh, shaking out your clammy hands. Perhaps word vomit was the best course of action. “I’m not a man or a woman. I don’t feel comfortable as either…So I’m non-binary, I guess. I know it sounds confusing, but basically I don’t like being called Y/D/N. I’d rather be called Y/N, and not referred to as a guy or a girl.” Your heart is beating double-time and you’re biting the inside of your cheek hard enough to draw blood as you await Laszlo’s response.
The vampire took a moment to try and process what you had said, his brows staying furrowed, but not in an angry way. “Right, okay then,” he finally said, giving a nod. “Didn’t know there was a term for that, but I’ve known plenty of people who aren’t men or women. Hell, I’ve fucked most of them. No need to worry about that, my darling,” he said, giving you a reassuring smile. “Y/N it is. Quite fitting for you, actually.”
Tears welled up in your eyes at the relief you felt, and you let out a deep sigh as you wiped your eyes. “Thanks Laszlo, I was really worried you’d be upset with me or something, or even fire me,” you admitted with a laugh. It seemed quite silly to have been so scared.
“Absolutely not, you’re the best familiar Nadja and I have ever had, and we have had a LOT of familiars,” Laszlo said, standing up to give your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “And, Y/N, I gotta say, man, woman, or neither…I’d do you just the way you are,” he added with a wink, smiling smugly. 
He’d always been a flirt with you, but recently he’d been laying it on even thicker and you couldn’t stop the dark blush that threatened to set your cheeks on fire. “Yeah, yeah,” you laugh sheepishly, rolling your eyes as you try to play it off. “Do you think you could help me tell Nadja when she gets home?”
“Of course. She won’t give a damn either, I assure you,” Laszlo promises, taking your hand to pull you over to the piano as he sits back down on the bench. “I was just writing a song for my good lady wife, would you tell me what you think of it so far?”
You’re more than happy to rest your elbows on the top of the piano as you watch him resume playing, your heart feeling much lighter than it had a mere ten minutes ago. “I’d love to! Oh, but before you sing it, I forgot to tell you about my pronouns.”
“Y/N, what the fuck is a pronoun?”
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