#I can hardly believe how long this ended up being OTL | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dulcesiabits · 1 year

Text

lunar sigh.

summary: your best friend convinces you to move in with a stranger, but both you and xiao are running from your past.

notes: 9.3k words, fic, modern + roommates au, mentions of violence + death, bad parents + bad friends (ie scaramouche)

If you were honest with yourself, you would admit that moving in with a stranger was one of the worst ideas you’ve had in a while.

But to be fair, it technically wasn’t your idea in the first place. It was Ganyu’s, and when you first texted her that you needed a place to stay, she responded that she knew a friend who was looking for a roommate, coincidentally enough.

It’s not like you had a lot of options, so you agreed before you could lose your nerve. And besides, anyone who was friends with Ganyu couldn’t be that bad, right?

That’s how you found yourself standing outside a dingy little apartment, lugging cardboard boxes up and down the stairs with Ganyu and your new roommate.

“Xiao is actually a really sweet guy,” she whispered to you as you passed her on the way back down. “I promise. He’s just… a little awkward.”

You glanced at the man in question. It was nice enough that he was helping you move your boxes, you supposed, but he’d barely said more than six words to you when Ganyu had introduced you in the morning.

“I’m Xiao,” he had grunted. “These are your keys.”

Ganyu had shoved him out the door when it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything more after that, saying that he should help you move all your belongings.

“I can tell,” you mumbled back to her. “Great conversationalist, that one.”

Ganyu smacked you lightly on the shoulder. “Give him a chance!”

“Ow! Fine, I will.”

A few minutes later, all your boxes were shoved haphazardly into your new room, and all you needed to do was unpack them. Ganyu left, saying she had a lunch meeting with some coworkers to discuss their latest business project, giving you another meaningful stare before she left.

“We should make some house rules,” you said, leaning against your doorframe, surveying the apartment: two bedrooms, one kitchen, one bathroom, and a laundry machine stuck inside a refurbished closet. You’d already agreed to split the rent. “For example, how do you feel about chores?”

“We can split them.”

“Sure. We should alternate weekends when it comes to sweeping the floor and stuff like that. I’ll do my own laundry, and wash the dishes after I cook, and you should do the same.”

“Okay.”

“If you have friends you want to invite over–” you began.

“I don’t invite people over,” Xiao said, cutting you off. “If you’re bringing someone over, give me advance notice.”

“I don’t plan on bringing anyone over, either,” you said, looking away. “Other than Ganyu, but…”

“That’s fine. You don’t need to tell me about her.”

“No using the other person’s stuff without permission, and we should communicate in case of a disagreement or to discuss other rules we should add,” you said, holding up a finger for each rule you listed. “Sounds good?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s shake.”

You held out your hand to Xiao, who looked at it with hesitation before slowly taking it. His hand was dry and calloused, his grip looser than you expected, as if he was afraid to touch you with any force.

“Here’s to our mutual cohabitation!” you cheered. You shook, once, and Xiao let go as soon as you were done.

Hopefully you wouldn’t regret this, you thought, your eyes lingering on the tattoos trailing down Xiao’s left arm as he walked into his room and quietly closed the door.

—

For most of the week, you and Xiao mostly kept to yourselves. He got up early in the morning to go and run, coming back just as you woke up to change and head out for the day. You spent most of the week unpacking and settling into the apartment, heading out to walk around the neighborhood and familiarize yourself with the area, noting several restaurants you wanted to try as soon as your paycheck came in.

Xiao would come home sometime in the evening, only nodding his head at you in greeting. The two of you would cook for yourselves, an invisible line drawn in the refrigerator: you put your food on the left, and Xiao put his on the right.

“He’s not that bad,” you confessed to Ganyu one day, nursing a mug of tea in your hands, a blanket pulled over your shoulders. The weather was getting colder as summer ended and autumn approached, the trees outside your apartment blazing with bright reds and yellows in the cooling sunlight.

“I told you!” Ganyu had a knit scarf wrapped around her neck, her coat still buttoned snugly. You didn’t want to turn the heater on without asking Xiao, and since he seemed to enjoy the cold weather, you didn’t have the heart to. Besides, heating was expensive.

“Where do you even know him from, anyways?” you asked.

“His uncle was my tutor in high school.”

“Your tutor– he’s Zhongli’s nephew?” you said, eyes widening. “Really?”

Ganyu shrugged. “Xiao lived with Professor Zhongli for most of his life.”

Why would Xiao leave, then? You’d only met the professor several times, mostly waiting for Ganyu to finish her lessons so the two of you could hang out in a cafe or wander around town afterwards. He was a nice man, from what you recalled, and he gave you milk candies whenever you came over. Sometimes he’d even have your favorite snacks on hand, and you were certain Ganyu had told him what you liked. Certainly, he didn’t seem like the sort to kick his nephew out on the streets to fend for himself.

Well. It was none of your business what happened to Xiao. The two of you were barely better than strangers, and you were glad he didn’t pry into your life. You would try to extend the same courtesy to him.

Your phone buzzed to life on the table, and you picked it up. It was a call from your dad. You silenced it before laying it face down. Ganyu didn’t say anything, though she probably knew who was calling you.

Before either of you could say anything else, though, Xiao walked through the front door, bringing in a gust of autumn air.

“You’re here,” he said to Ganyu, who waved. “Why are both of you dressed like that?”

“It’s cold,” you said. “And heating is expensive.”

Without another word, Xiao walked over and turned on the heater. “Just turn it on if it’s cold. I can pay for the bill.”

He went into his room before you could thank him. Maybe he wanted to give you some time alone to talk to Ganyu, or you were reading too much into his behavior.

Despite your earlier promise not to interfere in his life, your curiosity in Xiao was piqued.

—

The next morning, you waited by the kitchen counter, a fresh pot of black tea brewing on the stove. After a few minutes, Xiao came in from his morning run, right on cue.

“Hey there,” you said casually. “I made some tea. Do you want any?”

Xiao glanced at you, and then at the tea pot, finally closing the door quietly behind him. “Sure.”

You poured the steaming hot liquid into two cups, one for you, and one for him. You cradled your cup gently in your hands as Xiao took a sip from his.

The kitchen was small, too small for the two of you to be crowding it together. Xiao was only a few inches from you, but you simply drank tea in silence. It had been your bright idea to corner Xiao after his morning run and start a conversation, but you knew nothing about him. What were you supposed to say?

“How was your run today?” you asked.

“Good.”

Silence again. You weren’t normally this terrible at making conversation, but it was hard to gauge how Xiao felt. You could usually play off of other people’s reactions, adjusting the way you acted to ensure you didn’t step on any toes, but Xiao’s poker face was impossible to see through. Was he annoyed? Shy? You peeked at his face, but he looked impassive as ever.

“Do you like black tea?” you offered. “I also have some other kinds if you prefer those. I didn’t know what you like, so…”

“It’s fine.” Xiao set his empty cup on the counter. Your heart sank, before he added, “I wouldn’t mind drinking it again if you made some.”

You smiled, watching as Xiao made his way into the bathroom for a quick shower. Really, you had only done this as thanks for turning on the heat when you were cold, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to do this every once in a while.

—

Your relationship with Xiao started to improve the day after you brewed him tea. You started greeting him in the mornings, and if he bought an extra bag of chips in your favorite flavor, he would give it to you. The two of you never talked more than necessary, and you wouldn’t call him a friend, but it was still better than what you had before.

Being on amicable terms with your roommate was more important than ever once college started, because you weren’t getting a minute of peace with your friends back on campus.

“Hey,” Childe said, slapping your neck before you could react. He had caught you unaware, leaving you no time to react as you were walking to class.

“Jerk,” you groaned. “That’s going to leave a bruise.”

“If that's enough to hurt, then you should consider going to the gym with me.” Childe shrugged. “What were you even doing this summer?”

“This and that. You know how busy it gets,” you said lightly, knowing Childe wouldn’t press for details. And he didn’t.

“No kidding! My family and I went camping this summer. You wouldn’t believe how excited Teucer was to catch his own fish for the first time. Of course…” Childe’s voice trailed off to static as the two of you walked. It didn’t really matter what you said to him, as long as you paid enough attention to react with the appropriate amount of surprise at the right parts.

You liked him well enough, but it’s not like he was really interested in what you thought, or how you were doing. That was fine, because you didn’t particularly invest a lot of time in Childe, either. You were friends, but only in the most casual sense. You hung out during the semester, and forgot about each other once it was over.

“Hey!” Childe yanked on one of the straps of your backpack, causing you to stumble to a halt. “Look at who it is.”

You turned to where he was gesturing, and could make out Scaramouche lounging at a table nearby, legs crossed as he scrolled through his phone with a scowl.

Without another word, Childe ran over to him, hooking his arms under Scaramouche’s shoulders to tug him upright. You headed over more slowly, just in time to catch Scaramouche cursing Childe out.

“You immature moron,” he hissed. “I almost dropped my phone!”

“It’s nice to see you again too!”

“Guys, people are staring,” you said.

Scaramouche rolled his eyes. “Oh, great. I can’t believe both of you are back on campus. Just my luck.”

“Tough luck, eh, Moochie?” Childe said.

“I told you not to call me that.” Scaramouche turned to you. “You. I’m thirsty after dealing with all of his shit. Get me coffee.”

“Oh, I want something too!” Childe said, slinging an arm around Scaramouche.

Scaramouche shuddered, opening his wallet to hand you a stack of bills. “The line’s going to get crowded soon. Hurry up.”

You took the money without comment. “Welcome back to campus, Scaramouche.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

You ambled off, the sound of Scaramouche’s and Childe’s bickering rising up behind you. The local coffee shop on campus wasn’t too far, but you relished in the peace and quiet and walked as slowly as you could. Just as Scaramouche predicted, customers were crowding the store and spilling out of the entrance, bored students with scarves around their necks and backpacks slung over their shoulders.

As you stood in line, you considered getting a drink of your own. Scaramouche had given you way too much money (classic trust fund kid behavior), and it’s not like he said you couldn’t. He always treated you like his personal gofer anyways, an annoying little attachment he had to put up with when he hung out with Childe. You saw how he looked at you, but you knew how to deal with his type, so you just grinned and bore it. There was no point in starting an argument if you could avoid it.

By the time it was your turn to order, you had decided against buying something for yourself. Scaramouche would be sure to comment on it, and you weren’t that thirsty anyways. You paid with his cash, took his and Childe’s drinks in both of your hands, and you were wondering if you could deliver their drinks in time before your next class when someone held the door of the shop open for you.

“Xiao?” you inquired, and he tilted his head curtly at you. You walked through the door and stepped to the side. “Thanks.”

Xiao waited until a few more people scurried out until he let go of the door to join you. “You’re drinking both of those?”

You shook your head. “No, these are for my friends.”

“You didn’t get one?”

You shrugged. “Hey, our rent is pricey. It wasn’t my money, anyways.”

Xiao glanced at the door of the coffee shop. “If you’re holding back for a reason like that, don’t. I can—”

“No! It’s okay!” You stepped in front of him, the coffee sloshing. “I wasn’t in the mood for it.”

Xiao let out a breath. “If the rent is troublesome, I could cover more of it.”

“I can’t let you do that. We have an agreement, remember? I’m picking up more hours at the library today, anyways, so that should help a bit more.”

“Today? What time are you getting home?”

“Er… 9, maybe?”

“Got it. I’ll walk you home, then,” Xiao said matter of factly.

“You don’t have to! I would feel bad, seriously. And I might get off late, and I don’t want to make you wait.”

Xiao shook his head. “No. It gets dangerous at night. I can study until you’re done. Text me when you are.”

Without another word, he left without giving you another chance to protest. It was nice how sweet he was. You felt a smile break across your face; neither Childe or Scaramouche would have offered to walk you home.

When you finally brought Scaramouche and Childe their drinks, Scaramouche took one look at you and said your smile was more obnoxious than usual.

—

You’d had your library job since your first year of college. It was just one of many different job applications you sent out into the world, desperate for a way to make your own cash so you didn’t have to owe your parents. Many places ghosted you, but the library was one of the few that replied. You had come to like being your job (as much as someone could, anyways). The hours were flexible, it was right on campus, and most of your duties consisted of helping students check out their textbooks. Sometimes your boss made you file information in the library’s systems or sort through the archives, but mostly, you threw yourself into mindless work and received a nice paycheck in return.

The first week of school was always busy, so you were stuck running around shelving lost books and answering confused students, completely forgetting about Xiao’s promise to pick you up until your phone buzzed at 9:15.

Are you done?

Shit. You fished your phone out of your pocket to type a quick reply.

sorry!!!! running late >_< u can head home first!!

Five seconds later, another text.

I’ll wait by the bike racks.

Your heart leaped.

ok!!

With a renewed burst of energy, you started swiftly shelving the rest of your books. You didn’t want to keep Xiao waiting for longer than he had to.

Fifteen minutes later, you said goodbye to your coworkers and ran out the door, hastily zipping your coat against the chill.

“Hey,” Xiao said. He was leaning against the bike rack, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket.

“I’m sorry I made you wait! I know it’s cold, and—”

“I chose to do this. It’s fine.”

You rubbed your hands together. “Right. Of course. Thanks again.”

Xiao ducked his head. “I offered.”

Silence again. Nothing but your breaths clouding the air, the stars winking in the sky above you. At least you didn’t feel the need to fill it with small talk.

“How were classes today?” you asked.

“Good. Yours?”

“Mine, too. What’re you studying?”

“Biology.”

You weren’t sure what you expected, but it certainly wasn’t that. “Can I ask why?”

“I want to get into veterinary school.”

“I didn’t know you liked animals,” you said, imagining Xiao surrounded by a group of excited puppies. It was surprisingly cute.

“It just… happened to work out like that,” he said slowly. “I wasn’t even sure if I could go to college at first.”

Could, he said. Not would. Did something happen to Xiao? But it wasn’t any of your business. You smiled instead. “It’s nice to have a dream.”

“What about you? Do you have any dreams?”

“I’m the same as most people,” you said lightly. “I’m just trying to get through the year first.”

“I know you’ll do well.”

“You say that so confidently,” you joked. “That’s a lot of trust you hold in me.”

“It’s because…” Xiao paused, as if choosing his words with great care. “…Ganyu told me a lot about you.”

“Oh, yeah. She said you guys had the same tutor.”

Xiao nodded. “We used to run into each other a lot. We grew up together.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t see you, then. Ganyu and I became friends in high school, and we hung out a lot.”

“I wasn’t home a lot in high school. Maybe that’s why,” he said, voice tense. You had stepped into sensitive territory, and you needed to retreat.

“Maybe. So, do you have a favorite animal?”

“I like birds.”

Time passed like that, with simple questions, an easy back and forth. You learned that Xiao liked the color green, and almond tofu, and rarely dreamed. Before you knew it, you reached the entrance of your apartment.

As the two of you tumbled into the warmth of your apartment, Xiao spoke again.

“I’m going to make tea. Do you want any?”

“That sounds great! I’ll set out the cups.”

For some reason, it felt like the stars shone twice as bright tonight.

—

It seemed Ganyu had a knack for roping you into situations you weren’t eager to get into. Maybe that’s why she was so successful at her office job; she probably had an easy time convincing clients to sign away their life savings with her gentle smile.

“You’re nervous,” she noted, as the two of you huddled in front of Zhongli’s door. “Don’t be. They already think you’re great.”

You stomped your feet, trying to regain a semblance of warmth. “We barely spoke, though. The longest sentence I’ve ever said to him was ‘hi, how are you today?’”

“It’ll be fine! It’s just a casual dinner. He just wanted to get to know you a bit better.”

“Because I’m rooming with Xiao, right?”

“I mean, yes. That is part of it. But…” The door swung open and Ganyu faltered. You knew that mischievous grin. Hu Tao appraised both of you, and then clapped her hands together.

“Esteemed guests, welcome, welcome to Hu Tao’s humble abode! We’ve been awaiting your presence with great eagerness!”

Zhongli’s daughter, you thought. She hadn’t changed much since you last saw her.

“Hello, Hu Tao,” Ganyu said. “I brought over my friend for dinner.”��

Hu Tao took your hands in hers without warning. “Hello, hello! I haven’t seen you since Ganyu graduated! Dad’s basically done, so you guys can wait in the dining room.”

The two of you took off your shoes at the entrance of the house, setting them on a shoe rack nearby. Walking down the hall in your socks, you could hear the distant sounds of Hu Tao’s voice. The walls were covered in framed photos, pictures of academic men and women you didn’t know, and a few family photos of what you assumed was Zhongli’s family. A baby Hu Tao. A smiling woman holding hands with Zhongli. And Xiao.

Your eyes lingered on Xiao’s pictures. The youngest had him in elementary school, a pout on his face as he hugged his backpack close to him. There was one where he was holding the skirts of Zhongli’s wife. A few pictures of him in middle school, bandages covering his knees as he stared grimly at the camera. There were no photos of him after that. Had your roommate really been so little once? At least his scowl hadn’t changed much.

“He was cute as a kid, wasn’t he?” Ganyu said.

You started; she was already at the end of the hall, leaning against the frame of the dining room. You had been so engrossed in Xiao’s pictures that you didn’t even notice.

“He’s not that different from how he is now,” you said lightly. You hadn’t done anything wrong, but you tore your eyes away and hurried to meet her.

The dining table was already set by the time you arrived. A bubbling pot sat in the middle, a divider separating the spicy and mild broth. Plates of ingredients sat around it, little bowls of fish cakes and sausages, mushrooms and fried tofu. Sauce bottles stood guard at the end of the table, where napkins, chopsticks and bowls had been set out in front of four different chairs.

Zhongli and Hu Tao already sat at two. You took the next next to Ganyu, clicking your chopsticks together absently.

“I brought you something, Professor Zhongli,” Ganyu said, pulling out a little box of pineapple cakes from her purse. “Thank you for having us over.”

Zhongli took the package, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at her. “It’s my pleasure. Sit down and fill your plate. Have you been eating since you started your job? There’s no excuse to skimp on a good meal.”

“I have. Don’t worry,” Ganyu said.

“Come on, dad. She’s going to starve to death if you keep talking,” Hu Tao said cheerily, throwing several of the ingredients into the pot before her.

“Of course. Come on now, don’t hold back.” Zhongli turned to you. You tried not to avoid his gaze. “You should eat a lot as well.”

“I will,” you said.

And so dinner began. Ganyu only ate vegetables, and Hu Tao dumped most of the meat in the spicy side of the pot. Zhongli took a little bit of everything, but kept discreetly placing vegetables on Hu Tao’s plate. It was mostly Zhongli who did the talking, asking Ganyu questions about her job, Hu Tao chiming in with a joke once in a while. You tried to keep the attention off of yourself, speaking as little as you could get away without seeming impolite.

Hu Tao was cute, and Zhongli was nice. But Zhongli, intentionally or not, intimidated you. He always seemed to pick up on the undertones of what Ganyu and Hu Tao said; even if Ganyu said her job was going well, he would simply raise an eyebrow and remind her not to overwork herself. You wondered what he saw when he looked at you. Nothing got by him, and that was why he was the sort of person you didn’t know how to interact with.

“I heard you were rooming with Xiao?” Zhongli spoke up suddenly, and everyone’s eyes were on you. You picked at the food on your plate, brought it to your mouth and swallowed as you tried to think of what to say.

“Yeah. He’s been a great roommate.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I was worried at first when he said he would live on his own, but if he has someone to support him, then that’s all the better.”

“You know, I’m sure Xiao was happy when you moved in,” Hu Tao said, a grin growing on her face. She pointed with her chopsticks, a piece of fish caught between them.

“I’m sure he would have been happy if anyone moved in,” you said, shrugging. “It’s not like we knew each other beforehand.”

The piece of fish slipped between her chopsticks, and Hu Tao hurried to pick it up, still speaking rapidly. “Huh? He hasn’t made a move or anything like that?”

“You know how he is. Xiao keeps to himself, and I do the same. I mean, we do get along, but why would he?”

“Well— that’s because—”

“Professor!” Ganyu clapped her hands together, cutting Hu Tao off. “Do you have any dessert? I’m sure Hu Tao would love to eat something sweet right now. What about you?” She turned to you, and you could see her leg bouncing up and down the table, so you nodded. Ganyu beamed. “Great. Hu Tao and I will go get some!”

Without allowing the girl a word of protest, Ganyu got up, grabbing her by the arm, leaving you and Zhongli sitting at the table alone.

Zhongli only chuckled. “Forgive Hu Tao. She’s still young, and she likes to poke fun at people where she can.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind at all.” Think, think. Was there anything the two of you had in common? “Do you remember the times when Ganyu used to get tutoring from you and I would wait for her here? You used to give me my favorite snacks. I never properly thanked you for that.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but it’s not me you should be thanking. The recipient of your gratitude… well, they mostly likely prefer to remain anonymous.” He grinned, and it reminded you a little of Hu Tao in how sly it looked.

“I see,” you said slowly. The three of them knew something you did not, but since Ganyu and Zhongli were clearly reluctant to share, you wouldn’t pry, at least.

Your phone rang in your pocket, and you pulled it out of your pocket to glance at the caller ID. It was your dad.

“Do you need a minute?” Zhongli asked.

You ended the call. “No. It’s not important.”

“I hope you and Xiao can look out for each other,” Zhongli continued. “He’s been through a lot. I think he would appreciate having a friend by his side.”

Look out for each other, huh? Why couldn’t Zhongli tell Xiao any of this himself? What had happened between the two of them?

“We’re back!” Hu Tao said, bursting in with a plate of cut fruit while Ganyu carried a plate of pastries. “Everyone ready for round two?”

You picked a cut of plum from Hu Tao’s plate with a toothpick, and the tart sweetness momentarily chased away your questions about Xiao.

—

There wasn’t a lot of time to ponder Zhongli’s words with college back in full swing. You had a job to worry about on top of classes, and between your shifts and your assignments, it didn’t leave a lot of room for much else.

Xiao always insisted on walking you home every time you had a late shift. You had told him he didn’t need to, that you had done this a million times before, but he would still wait for you in the same spot every night.

The two of you had grown more comfortable together, and you would make the effort to spend your free time together. You still made him tea after his morning runs, and there was no longer such a strict divide between your food in the fridge; you regularly borrowed ingredients from each other, and you even started sharing an egg carton. It was cheaper that way, you reasoned, but it also made the apartment feel like home.

One night, as you often did lately, you and Xiao browsed through channels on the television and settled on a cheesy comedy show, sitting side by side on the couch. Well, you watched, and he would scroll through his phone when he got bored.

“It’s snowing,” Xiao said unexpectedly, staring at the living room window.

You paused the show. “No way.” As if on cue, the two of you headed to the window, pulling back the curtains to press your noses against the frosted glass. You were greeted with soft, fluffy flakes which dusted the windowsill, the stars making soft halos in the distance.

Impulsively, you headed for the door. “Let’s go out and see.”

“Right now?”

“Right now!”

You and Xiao clumsily tugged on your sneakers and pulled on your coats. In another breath, you tumbled down the stairs, skidding across the slick pavement.

“Snow!” you said, waving your arms wildly. “It’s real snow, Xiao!”

The stars shone in his eyes as he watched you. “Don’t fall.”

You laughed, sticking out your tongue to catch snowflakes. “We could build a snowman.”

“There’s not enough snow.”

“That’s quitter talk,” you said, crouching down to drag a finger through the film of snow that covered the ground. “But when it snows enough… you have to. Promise?”

“... Promise.”

“Let’s go! I’ve never made a snowman before, did you know that? This will be my first one!”

“I haven’t either.”

“Ah, look at us. Two peas in a pod,” you said, grinning. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know how to ride a bike, either. Ganyu tried to teach me once, but I ended up crashing on the side of the road, and…” Your voice trailed off as you turned to look at Xiao.

Xiao was smiling. He was smiling at you. You jumped to your feet, and despite the cold, your cheeks were warm.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize I was talking so much,” you said.

“I like listening to you talk.”

You exhaled, looking at the sky above you. Some of those stars were already dead, you thought. Only their light reached you now, a ghost traveling lightyears across the universe. “I don’t normally like to talk so much about myself. But… I guess… you’re easy to talk to. I’m glad I moved in with you. I’m glad you’re my roommate and my friend.”

“To me, you–” A sudden ring cut through Xiao’s words. You fumbled for your phone in your pocket, internally cursing at the interruption.

“Sorry, let me take this real quick,” you said apologetically. Xiao nodded, and you pressed answer without looking at the screen.

“So you finally picked up our calls?” A voice, colder than the night around you, echoed in your ear.

It was your dad. Oh, god. You were so stupid. You should have checked to see who was calling. You should have been more careful. You should have blocked him, but you—

“Not going to respond? Your mom and I are tired of your games. Don’t think we’re going to let you do whatever you like–”

You hung up, dropping your phone in your haste. “Sorry!” you said, bending down to pick it up. Your hands were shaking too much for you to grip it properly. “I’m sorry. That… That, um, I…” Xiao picked up your phone. You stood slowly, avoiding his gaze as you took it from him, slipping it back into your pocket. “Thanks.”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize. Let’s go back inside.” Xiao put an arm around your shoulders, before withdrawing it just as quickly.

“Hey,” you said, reaching for his arm to slip it back around you. “I didn’t say you had to stop.”

Xiao didn’t look at you as the two of you stumbled back up the stairs, but he held you reassuringly tight. At the entrance of your apartment, he paused. “I’ll make us tea.”

You leaned against him, squeezing your arms around him for a quick hug. “Thanks, Xiao.”

“I’ll always be here for you. Just call my name.”

You chuckled softly. When he said it like that, it made you want to stay in his arms forever.

—

“We’re skipping class.”

You looked up from your textbook, your pencil hovering over an unfinished sentence in your notes. Scaramouche and Childe stood in front of you. From the way Scaramouche talked, it seemed less like a statement and more like a command.

“Have fun,” you said.

“You’re coming with us.”

You waved your pencil in the air. “Me? No thanks. I have to study. Some of us can’t afford to slack off.”

“Take a break!” Childe urged, slinging his arm around your shoulder. “The books will still be here when you get back.”

“I can’t.”

“Not even if I pay for food?” Childe said slyly.

On most days, that offer would have worked. But you simply shook your head. “Can’t. My roommate is making dinner.”

“Roommate?” Scaramouche tilted his head. “I thought you lived at home.”

“Well— things have changed,” you said curtly. Damn it. Scaramouche was the last person you wanted to know about your personal life.

“Maybe your parents kicked you out,” Scaramouche mused. “Or did you run away from home?”

You slammed your hands down on the table, but he only crossed his arms, daring you to try something. Childe’s eyes sparkled with interest, but made no move to interfere. You were on your own.

“It doesn’t really matter why,” you said through gritted teeth. “Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“Sorry? I bet you wouldn’t have told us at all,” Scaramouche said, scoffing. “Whatever. If you ever feel like doing something fun, ask Childe for the details.”

Scaramouche stalked off, and Childe only gave you a smile before following. You sank down into your seat, but your eyes couldn’t focus on your textbook. You reread the same paragraph three times before you finally flipped it shut. You couldn’t focus, so you might as well go home. Xiao was still at work, but he would be home soon, and you could crowd the kitchen together, shoulders bumping as you cooked, before sinking onto the couch to laugh and eat.

The walk home was a blur as you sped along the sidewalks. At the bottom floor of your apartment, your phone rang. It was an unknown number. You answered, putting your phone between your shoulder and ear as you searched for your keys in your bag.

“Hello?” you asked.

“So you’ll only pick up the number of a stranger, but not your own dad? I’m disappointed.”

Your keys fell out of your hands. You leaned against the wall, trying to steady your breathing. “What do you want?”

“That’s no way to talk to your own father. I wanted to check in on you, but I see you haven’t changed at all.”

“Well, Dad. It’s nice to talk to you, but I really should be going—”

“It’s time for you to come home. When are you going to stop these childish games?”

“It’s not childish.” Your voice cracked, and you hated yourself for not keeping your composure.

“It is. What was it you said? That you would show us that you could make it on your own? I thought you would be too old for temper tantrums, but it appears I was wrong. Just come back. You’re never going to end up anywhere at this rate. What are you even studying in college?”

“I’m still… undecided,” you said, the words sticking in your throat.

“Undecided? Even though you’re in your third year?” Your dad sighed, loudly. “Enough. I see you still can’t listen to reason. Fine. You’ll come back on your own, soon enough. But don’t expect me to open the door until you learn some humility, do you hear me?”

Silence. He wanted something from you; an outburst, probably. For you to beg to go home. But… the place you called home… you had already found it.

“That’s fine, then,” you whispered, mouth dry. “Because I’m never going to come back. Don’t contact me again.”

You ended the call before your dad could respond, falling to the ground, trying to control your trembling. This time, you made sure to block your parents’ numbers and the number your dad just called you from. You wouldn’t answer any strange numbers for a while; had he called you from a phone booth? Borrowed a friend’s phone? Either way, it didn’t matter.

It was laughable how weak you were. A few cold words and you were on the verge of tears. No wonder you were a disappointment to them. An average child, with mediocre grades, with few friends. You had no particular talents, no real hobbies, and the best you could do was run away from home.

But you hadn’t blocked their numbers or erased them as your emergency contacts at your college. Because the fact you were their child meant something, didn’t it? If you got into trouble, surely they would come running.

Even if you weren’t what they wanted. Even if they were never home. Even if you learned to smile and keep your head down, just like they told you to.

If you proved you were independent– if you proved you could do something, at least one thing right– maybe they would acknowledge you.

Your dad was right. You were a child. You didn’t feel like an adult at all. For the longest time, you thought that if you made it to eighteen, you would finally feel like a grown-up. There would be some switch, and you would finally get it together. Adulthood was your only goal, but it was just a number. When you turned eighteen, it wasn’t all that different from being seventeen, or thirteen, or eight.

What did it mean to be an adult? You learned how to lie like one, but it still wasn’t enough. When would you know? When would you be worth something? Maybe you’d have to carry that child around inside you forever.

Hands trembling, you dialed Ganyu’s number only to get her voicemail. You tried again, but paused, remembering that it was still early in the afternoon. She was at work. She made it into a prestigious company, and look at you. You couldn’t even choose your own major. No, it’d be better to just leave a voicemail telling her what had happened today.

Your finger hovered over Xiao’s number, but you couldn’t bring him into your problems. That left only one person to call.

“Childe. Where did you say you and Scaramouche were going?”

—

Music pounded in your ears, loud and heavy, neon lights flickering across the ceiling. A throng of people you only vaguely recognized crowded Scaramouche’s penthouse, but it was too late to regret your decision. As soon as you showed up, you had been pushed inside, handed a cup of alcohol, and thrown around the sea of bodies, back and forth, back and forth.

Someone waved at you through the crowd. You waved back weakly, grip tight on the drink you didn’t want. They pushed their way through. “There you are! I thought you changed your mind and wouldn’t show,” Childe said cheerily.

“Well, surprise. I thought Scaramouche hated parties.”

“Oh, he does. But he got into another argument with his mom this morning, so he’s trying to trash his apartment in revenge.”

“That’s stupid,” you said sourly. “And immature.”

Childe leaned closer to you. “So, why did you change your mind? Hate your roommate’s food?”

“No. Xiao is a decent cook.”

“Xiao… Your roommate is Xiao?” Childe said slowly.

“Do you know him?”

“Sort of. But… no way… hold on, I have to call Scaramouche over. He’ll love this.” Before you could stop him, Childe barreled through the crowd, returning a few minutes with Scaramouche.

“What’s the big deal?” Scaramouche snarled.

“Tell him who your roommate is,” Childe said, turning to you.

Unease pooled in your stomach. “His name… his name is Xiao.”

“Shit. Are you serious?” Scaramouche’s foul expression dropped, replaced by something you didn’t want to name. “No wonder you didn’t want to tell us you moved out.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t know?” Childe whistled. “It’s a long story, but years ago, I transferred to a different high school in the middle of the year, right? The one Xiao went to. And the dude was infamous there. Apparently he was so wild even the security guards were scared of him. He kept getting into fights, and winning all of them. Of course, I tried to see if he would have a go with me, but he kept avoiding me.”

“Fights?” Your heart was racing. That seemed nothing like the Xiao you knew. “But why?”

Childe shrugged. “Who knows? But the point is he was so notorious the nearby stores refused to let him in. I heard the cops were called at several points, and…” Childe lowered his voice. “Someone died. He was bad news. I doubt he’s changed.”

Stop, you wanted to tell him. Stop. You didn’t want to hear anymore. You couldn’t. It felt like you were betraying Xiao. But why hadn’t anyone told you? Ganyu, Zhongli, Hu Tao… they just kept quiet.

Scaramouche slapped you on the back, hard. Your drink sloshed. “Wow. Poor you. Rooming with a monster all this time, and you didn’t even know! Want to move out?” His voice was loud, louder than it had to be.

Scaramouche gripped your shoulders painfully. He was looking somewhere to the side, so you followed his gaze slowly… and your eyes met Xiao’s.

Xiao turned and disappeared into the crowds. Your stomach dropped. How much had he heard? Why was he here? What face were you making? No. No, that wasn’t important. What was important was how hurt he looked and that you had been the one to place it there.

You shoved Scaramouche, your head swimming. “What the fuck?” you hissed. “Why did you say that?”

“I was just helping you out,” he said sympathetically.

“No, you weren’t. You prick. You knew he was listening! Why are you like this?”

Scaramouche’s face hardened, and he stepped so close that you almost tripped trying to back away. “Me? Me? You have a lot of nerve. Ask yourself the same question. You don’t even like me. Admit it. You think I can’t tell how fake you are? You always act like you’re soooo nice and polite, but the truth is, you don’t care about other people. That’s right,” he sneered, shoving his face closer to you. “You just don’t want to get involved. So drop the act.”

The music hurt your head. The lights were too bright. But you couldn’t give him the satisfaction of making you cry.

You threw your drink at Scaramouche’s face. Childe laughed. Scaramouche yelled, looking at you like he wanted to kill you, but you were already pushing through the crowd, running towards the door.

There was only one person on your mind.

—

You ran down the sidewalks without a care, scanning wildly to see where Xiao could have gone. Oh, god. He saw you. He heard you. How much? Why was he even there?

It was raining. When did it start raining? Water dripped down your face, but you couldn’t tell it apart from your tears as your feet pounded down the road in wild abandon. Xiao. Where did he go?

Wait. You had his number. You pulled out your phone, holding your breath as you called him. No response. Who else could you contact?

You tripped, a bright burst of pain flaring through your knee as you landed on it, hard. Panting, you crouched to assess the damage. Your pants had ripped, and blood ran down your leg, but none of it hurt more than losing Xiao.

First, your dad called. Then, you went to Scaramouche’s stupid party. And now, Xiao was gone, maybe forever, because you hurt him.

Wiping at your face was useless, but you did so anyway, despite your soggy sleeve.

Wait. There was someone who might know where he is.

You dialed Ganyu’s number, and this time, she picked up. “Hello!”

“Xiao…” You burst out crying again, tears trickling into your mouth. “Xiao, he…”

“Xiao? Did something happen to him?” Ganyu sounded frantic.

“No! No… Not like that… I… Ganyu, I messed up. I think I hurt him, and I don’t know where he is, and I…”

“Deep breaths! Take deep breaths. It’ll be okay,” Ganyu said soothingly. “Tell me what happened.” You related the story as best as you could through your sobs. When you stopped, Ganyu murmured in sympathy. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I… I was the one who told him where you would be.”

“Huh?”

“You left me that voicemail, right? When Xiao came home, he was worried about you, so he called me. And I told him you left me a message and you might have gone to your friend’s house, and…” She sighed. “No, this isn’t the time for this. Listen. I think… I think he might be at the professor’s house. So…”

“Thanks, Ganyu. I’ll head over right now.”

“Wait! Wait, wait. Don’t blame yourself, okay? Can you promise me that?”

“I’ll try,” you said. “But I have to go.”

“Okay. Okay, I understand. Call me when you find him.”

Ignoring the pain in your leg, you started down the road to Zhongli’s house. It was a thirty minute walk, but you couldn’t afford to wait another second.

Xiao. You couldn’t lose him. Because… because to you, he was…

You pounded on the door of Zhongli’s house as soon as you got there. Hu Tao opened with a cheerful “Hello, welcome to Hu Tao’s–” only to stop when she saw you.

“Is Xiao here?” you asked, trying to smile.

You looked like shit, but she nodded firmly, all humor gone from her face. “Yeah. Are you okay?”

“Never better.”

“Come in, come in. You look cold.”

You did as she said, remembering to take off your shoes as you entered. You hovered near the door, afraid to step farther into the house. There was already a puddle forming around your feet. Hu Tao disappeared around the corner, and just before you wondered if it would be better to leave, she came back with some towels, Xiao following closely on her heels.

“Xiao,” you gasped out, but before you could say anything else he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a hug.

“What happened? Did someone hurt you?”

You buried your head into his shoulder, gripping the fabric of his shirt like a lifeline.

“I’ll just leave these… here…” Hu Tao murmured, setting the towels on the floor, backing away.

You wanted to thank her, but neither you nor Xiao could let go of each other. “I’m fine. I… I was just looking for you. I don’t know what you heard at the party, but–”

“You’re wet,” Xiao said abruptly, pulling back. He picked up one of the towels Hu Tao left, wrapping it around your shoulders. “Clean up first before you get sick. Then we can talk.” He grabbed your hand gently, guiding you down the hallway. You stopped in front of the bathroom, where Xiao hesitated. “You should shower. I’ll get you clean clothes. And I can wash the one you’re wearing.”

“Wait.” You clung to Xiao’s hand, refusing to let him leave. “I’m sorry. I need you to know that first. I-I’ve never thought of you as a horrible person.”

He squeezed your hand. “Even if you did, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“But I don’t.”

“Then it’s fine,” he said simply. “Clean off, first.”

In the bathroom, you turned on the water as hot as it would go, until the mirror above the sink clouded over and your wounds stung. You washed yourself as best as you could, with someone’s unfamiliar lavender scented shampoo. When you turned the water off, you discovered that someone had left behind towels, slippers and a pair of worn pajamas on the sink. Your old clothes were gone; probably thrown into the wash, as Xiao had said. You dried yourself, pulled on the new clothes, and padded out into the hallway. Xiao was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

“Follow me.” He led you down the hall, around the corner, and up a creaky stairway. The door farthest from the stairs was ajar, and as you walked in, you realized it was Xiao’s old bedroom. There was only a bed, a desk, and a drawer; if not for his backpack and the computer on the desk, you would have doubted that someone lived there.

Xiao pointed at the bed, and you sat, sinking into the comforter. Once you did, Xiao went to one of the drawers and pulled out a first aid kit, kneeling in front of you to dab at your cuts with antiseptic.

“Thanks,” you said.

“Right.”

“So…” You tried not to fidget as Xiao carefully placed a bandage over your wound. “What happened?”

“You didn’t come home in time today.” When he was done, he sat next to you. He was short enough that his feet didn’t touch the ground. “You weren’t responding to my calls, so I asked Ganyu, and she told me you might be with your other friends. I asked around to see where they might have gone, and someone told me about the party, so I went.”

He had called you? “I didn’t see. Shit.”

“It doesn’t matter. I…” Silence. Xiao contemplated his next words as you chewed your lip. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” you asked in astonishment.

“For not telling you the truth. I didn’t want you to think of me like that, so I told Ganyu to hide it from you. But that was unfair of me.”

You shook your head. “No. I was a stranger, and it wasn’t my place to know. You should have been able to tell me about it on your own time, when you were ready.”

“Even if everything your friend said was true?” he said quietly. “I am dangerous, and you have the right to know. I got into fights a lot. Not because I wanted to, but to protect myself. It started when I fought off someone who was hurting my friend, but then he came back the next day with more people. And then, rumors spread. People started to seek me out, and I kept hitting back.”

“But it wasn’t your fault. You were just trying to protect yourself.”

He smiled bitterly. “Yes, but then my friends got involved. A few of them started to back me up in fights, and then one of them… died because of it. So I decided I had to leave. It was too dangerous, and I didn’t want to lose any of my other friends, or to get my family hurt.”

“Xiao…” There was nothing you could say to soothe the pain in his voice. So that was why he had been living on his own, and why there were only pictures of him when he was young at Zhongli’s house.

“My dad was Zhongli’s younger brother. He took me in when no one else would, but all I did was make him worry. I couldn’t repay him for what he did for me.”

“I don’t think Zhongli wants repayment,” you said quietly. “I think he just wants you to be happy.”

“For me to be happy…?” Xiao repeated.

“Hey. If we’re apologizing, I need to do so again,” you said.

“Don’t. You didn’t do anything wrong–”

“I did,” you interrupted. “I shouldn’t have let my friends talk about you like that. But I shouldn’t have been friends with them in the first place. And… I’m not that great of a person, either. I… I also ran away from home. I just wanted to prove I could, I guess. That I could survive on my own, make something of myself. But I haven’t. My parents were… are… disappointed in me. I just wasn’t what they wanted.”

“You’re not your parents’ trophy,” Xiao said slowly. “You don’t have anything to prove to them.”

“But–”

“You’re a good person, even if they can’t see that.”

“How can you know that?” you asked.

“Because you helped me.”

“Huh?”

“In high school,” he clarified. “I guess you don’t remember after all.”

“What did I do?” You searched through your memories, but came up blank. If you had met someone like Xiao, you would never have forgotten it.

“You gave me an umbrella,” he said. “When it was raining. You saw me without one, and ran up to me. You told me you liked the rain, so you were okay without one. I wanted to find you again, but Ganyu recognized the umbrella you gave me. Ever since then, I wanted to talk to you. But I had too many enemies, and it was too risky, so I couldn’t approach you.”

Something clicked in your head as Xiao talked. The night you went to Zhongli’s house for hot pot… his cryptic words, and Ganyu’s strange behavior… You clapped your hands together. “No way! Xiao, did you buy my favorite snacks and ask Zhongli to give them to me?”

He flushed. “Who told you?”

You grinned at his reaction. “No one! I just figured it out. Did Ganyu tell you what sort of snacks I like?”

“... I used to ask her about you. And that was the only way I could think of to show my gratitude. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize! It’s cute. I owe you, my snack knight,” you teased.

“... Snack knight?”

“The snack knight is the protector of savory treats across the realm.”

Xiao started fidgeting with his fingers. “So, now that you know…”

“Yes?”

“If you want to move out, I understand.”

“Huh? No way! I want to stay with you forever,” you said earnestly.

At your words, Xiao’s face reddened. You could also feel your cheeks heating up as you realized what you just said.

“Anyways!” you said hastily. “There’s a lot I need to do…oh, shit. I threw alcohol at Scaramouche’s face. I just remembered…”

“What?”

“He said horrible things about you. It’s the least he deserves.”

Xiao leaned forward, resting his forehead against yours. “If you talk to him, let me come with you. I’ll keep you safe.”

You smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck so you could pull him down onto the bed with you. “Okay. Sure. But I don’t want to deal with that right now. So…”

“So?”

“Let’s nap a bit. I’m tired.”

“I’ll get you some blankets–”

“Whoa! No moving.” Your arms moved down to his waist so you could pull him closer. You didn’t miss how Xiao stiffened at the movement, or how he tried to hide his face. “Stay with me.”

“...If that’s what you want.”

“Oh, I want it. You know, other than Ganyu, I don’t think I’ve ever told someone so much about myself. You’re special to me, Xiao.”

“You’re special to me, too,” he said quietly.

You closed your eyes, curling against Xiao’s comforting warmth. There was still so much you had to do. You still needed to sort things out with your family and your friends… ex-family and ex-friends, you supposed. And there was college, and your job, and the horribly unpredictable future. But all you wanted to do was hold Xiao close as raindrops drummed on the roof.

There would be a time for all of that later. Right here, right now, you were with Xiao, and that was all you needed.

#liya writes #genshin impact #xiao #xiao x reader #xiao genshin x reader #xiao genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #ITS DONE!!!!#I can hardly believe how long this ended up being OTL #anyways if you gave this a read. thank you! i hope you liked it <3

304 notes · View notes

kindan-no-kanojo · 9 months

Note

does Scarlett have an ideal type? Is Kino her ideal type?

"It's hard to pinpoint, but someone with whom I don't need to be alert at all times would be nice. I don't ask for much, do I?"

Mun: Hi anon, sorry for taking long to answer this OTL I copied a quote of an answer Scarlett gave to a similar question in her Character sheet interview! Which is vague, I know, so, having that answer in mind I will try to elaborate more since she won't 😩

Physically, I don't think she has an actual type. She cares little about looks because if she gets lured in by someone's appearance only she could be in great danger (which doesn't mean that she doesn't feel attraction at first sight, but first, it hardly has to do with looks, and second, she has self control lol). In the same interview, she suggests that whoever makes their way into her heart will be beautiful in her eyes, and that's pretty much all there is for the physical aspect.

Maybe people with cute hair will catch her eye more easily though. Common ground?? Or because she likes shiny things so people with shiny hair may do the trick

When it comes to personality and first impressions, that's where her interest can increase or decrease. If someone approaches her bluntly, shyly, flamboyantly (?), basically when someone stands out one way or another, that's one thing that catches her attention and picks at her curiosity instantly, instead of being scared, polite and correct.

Also, she's bisexual, and there are some preferences towards men and women specifically.

Scarlett feels more attracted to shy, quiet and feminine women in general. She likes to tease them, make them blush to tell them how cute they are. Women who are the opposite of her, basically(?) ...But, she is a little more careful around women than she is with men, due to her past with her abusive (female) owner. It might be harder to open up to women with a similar attitude than hers (dominant, demanding, etc.), but that doesn't mean she won't try if she's interested—

Since she doesn't have a similar past with men, she might be more openly attracted to them. Someone challenging, witty, outspoken even flirty like her can catch her attention, to which she will quickly respond with interest. Likewise, though, if their personality seems too overpowering like people from her past and she has no actual saying in their exchanges, she will withdraw in the end.

Naturally, preferences are not ultimate or exclusive. If she's safe enough with someone, she can give that a shot regardless.

Now, does Kino fit her ideal type?

Not completely, LMAO. He fits the challenging type that she likes, and she enjoys being part of the wild adventures he can come up with. But he's way too stubborn and impulsive for her to be at ease at all times. What happens when two violent control freaks try to make things work? Nothing peaceful but I like to see who gives up first so 🍿

In their relationship, however, he began to be more willing to let her deal with certain situations, instead of taking the lead 24/7. Seeing how he trusts her and relies on her at times is something Scarlett considers very valuable, and so, as long and she's not getting hurt or belittled, she is willing to overlook all the imperfections.

When I decided to ship Scarlett with Kino, I personally liked that their relationship was rather imperfect. I didn't want any of the two to fit the other's type (plus Scarlett was already created w/o a ship way prior and I wasn't about to change her fdkgd) they are more similar than complementary and that still works. But yeah, I don't believe people will 100% find and date the type they had in their heads and honestly I don't think anyone in DL matches her actual type anyway KJGHD

✨trust is the way to go✨

and AUs in RP exist for a reason so we can see what works and how and what is not supposed to work but works anyway and that's beautiful ??

but also i'm aroace so what do i know

#📭asklett #scarlett wakahisa #.the 4th wall whispers. . . | 𝒪𝒪𝒞 #this took so long to answer omg what are words #👻anon

11 notes · View notes

angstywishes · 2 years

Note

I would love to hammer nails into the joints of Beau's fingers :) see how he patches himself up afterwards

NEMII I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER (っ >Д <;)っ i hope this was worth the wait OTL

BUT considering your fingers have a lot of nerve endings since they're our main feelers, getting stabbed in your fingers hurts so very much. if you hammered the nails in, he'd probably injure himself as well, biting down on his lip so hard. i'll put a fic under the cut for them patching themself up for you, and since you had to wait so long i went ahead and made it special!!

(CW: fingore, excessive bleeding, implied brief captivity(? it's kind of a saw situation))

He can still hardly believe it. That someone would do something like this.

The worst part is, Beau doesn’t even know why. Normally, someone would tell him what he’s done. Some reason he deserves it. But there isn’t a reason.

His hand is just fucking mangled. Totally and irrevocably. He’s completely alone in the room, and he’s so fucking scared to even try to fix it.

His gut churns just looking at it, and he wants to scream all over again. He feels like he’s still screaming, his throat is so, so raw. His lip is chewed through and bleeding down his chin.

And they can’t figure out why.

The nails are driven in deep, pinning his hand to the table. The hammer is still sitting next to it, and he realizes. He knows.

The reason is suffering. For the sake of suffering. He looks around, warily, wondering if he’s being watched. He can’t think of another purpose, for this room, this table, this hammer being within reach. It’s the only explanation.

Someone out there wants to see him do this. And that terrifies him.

Shakily, they pick up the tool, drawing in a deep breath.

It’s not like he has much choice, after all. He has to escape.

He can hardly even line it up properly with the nail, fuck, god, he just can’t, he can’t do this — It hooks, and he bites down on his blistered lip and pulls.

His vision goes white for a moment, and all he can think about is how much it hurt going in. It hurts so much more coming out, somehow.

He waits for the throbbing, pulsing pain to subside, and looks down at his hand.

The nail has hardly budged.

Beau just wants to cry, and never stop crying.

He can’t do this. It’s impossible. It’s sick.

But, somewhere in his mind, he knows that even if there’s no reason for this, it’s what he deserves. This blinding, agonizing pain, given to him for nothing, is what he’s earned.

Eyes watering, he hooks the hammer in again, and continues to pull.

—

It takes.. Hours. By the end of it all, they’re a wreck, cradling their hand and sobbing weakly. Their hair is plastered to their neck with sweat, and the table is just covered in blood. So much blood.

They could get up, but they’re so exhausted, and so afraid of moving. Afraid that their hand will just fall apart, somehow. But he has to stand eventually.

It’s only then he notices the box by his feet. Slowly, he pushes out the chair, careful to keep his hand still, and sets his eyes on the rudimentary first-aid kit laying there.

“F-fucking hell,” he wheezes hoarsely, looking around the room again. This is sick, it’s so sick.

Carefully, slowly, he picks up the box. It won’t be enough. He’ll have to go to the hospital. But there’s no way in hell he’s leaving the room like this.

The kit is mostly empty, only containing gauze, tape, and splint sticks. He’ll have to make do. Like always.

“I hate this,” he mumbles to himself, “God, I hate this.”

So carefully, he moves his hand, whimpering involuntarily. The joints are just fucked, and still seeping blood. It’s dizzying, but he knows how much hands bleed.

Gingerly, he wraps all the digits in gauze, watching the white fabric swiftly turn red and damp. He presses a splint stick onto one, wincing at the pressure.

Just a little more of this, and they can leave. Just a little more.

The splints placed, they wrap the whole thing in tape, trying not to think about how much it all hurts, trying not to think about how they’re ever going to heal.

“Are we done here?” He asks no one, voice breaking. “A-are you happy?”

From somewhere in the room, he hears a lock click open.

#asks #whump #wish writes things #oc tag; beau #hand gore tw #fingore #blood tw #this got long but it was so much fun to write #technically this is a reader insert fic (⊙_⊙;)#''y/n watches as beau struggles to use a hammer for three hours''#good god beau is gonna have such a complex about hammers this guy can't go into home depot

17 notes · View notes

secretwhumplair · 4 years

Text

Tern

2,105 words | Original work

Prompt | Cry into chest - @badthingshappenbingo

Content | Slavery, fear, conditioning, comfort but with lots of implied past torture

Notes | Tern getting his name. And generally out of his situation. Rejoice. This got long again oTL

Since Tern’s (and Gosling’s) view is a little skewed, I feel somewhat compelled to point out that yes slavery is wrong no matter how the slaves are treated. Seems obvious but I hear you never know on this site.

“Do you have a favourite bird?”

The slave stared down on his trembling hands, desperately trying to make sense of what his new master had said. He couldn’t, and he could feel the fear knotting in his throat. With his old master, at least he had known what was coming at him.

His brain still didn’t seem to function properly, the water his new master had passed him as soon as he owned him only slowly soaking into him after being left thirsty in the sun for so long.

He was so grateful for it. He wanted to do right, he wanted to do what the Master wanted, but he couldn’t figure it out-

“It’s that we call all our slaves by bird names,” the Master explained gently. “What should we call you?”

The slave’s breath caught in his throat. How could the Master ask that? How could he be asked that? Did this mean he no longer would be called an insult-

“I like terns,” he whispered. He had always liked to watch the deft little birds dance on the breeze when he was left on the coast while his old master was fishing. He sometimes wished he was one of them.

He didn’t dare look up, his hands still trembling, hoping, irrationally, that had been the right answer, or at least a right answer.

“Tern! That’ll work. Come on then, Tern. Let’s get you home. Can you walk? It’s just down the road.”

The slave - Tern, almost a real name, he wanted to cry - nodded eagerly. Every inch of his body was hurting -

“Do you think they can win you off of me? Do you think they can beat me?”

“No, Master.” He really didn’t. He couldn’t imagine ever escaping the Master anymore. His heart only ached for the slave they’d bet against him, clearly confident he would be safe.

The Master grinned. “Me neither. But still, it might be our last night together, we can’t let that go to waste, now can we?”

- but he could walk, he could do anything if it meant the Master would continue treating him like this, he would do anything at all.

The Master led him down the road. Tern kept his eyes cast to the dusty ground. He didn’t want to seem disrespectful, or ungrateful, or any horrid thing he didn’t even feel. The trembling had grown fainter, and heavy exhaustion crept up to him. He hadn’t slept, and it had been a long day full of fear. He was still scared.

The new master seemed kind, but he didn’t know what he expected from him, what he should do for him; he only hoped he could be useful, but didn’t really believe it. He had tried so hard all his life. It had never been good enough.

The home the Master led him to was a large building, but not standing alone like Northridge Castle; it was wedged between the other buildings on the street. He only ventured a few tentative glances as he was led down a hall and into what appeared to be a simple dining room.

Another slave, a woman getting on in years, stood in the door on the opposite side, which apparently led to the kitchen. Her hair was long, tied up in a neat bun, and her clothes were neat and tidy as well, much more than Tern’s. Only the mark on her neck betrayed her status.

Tern lowered his eyes, again, a stranger weight added to the fear in his heart. How would he possibly fit in here?

“Master? What about the young Mistress?”

“She won, but... she got injured.” The Master’s voice was strained, and if Tern could have shrunk further, he would. This was his fault. The young Mistress had fought to win him. The other slave gasped at the news. “And Shadow, too. But they’ll probably be fine... there’s nothing we can do right now, they’re being seen by the healers.” A small pause, then, “Anyway... this is Tern. Tern, this is Gale.”

Tern barely had time to look up before Gale had rushed to his side. “Oh, you poor thing! Come, come, sit.”

A sudden rush of panic ran through him, and he threw a desperate glance at the Master. There was a small, sad smile on his lips.

“It’s alright, go on. Gale will take care of you.”

Still hesitant, Tern moved over to the chair Gale had pulled out for him. Gale herself had rushed off and came back before long with a jug of water, a cup, some rags, and a small box. She set everything down on the table before him, and first poured a cup. “Here, drink, you don’t look like you’ve drunk enough.”

Tern stole another glance at the Master. He moved over to the table, sitting a few places away from Tern. His face was serious now. “It’s okay. It’s fine.”

Tern cowered down a little more, ignoring his aching back, and took what he planned to be a polite sip, but ended up half-emptying the cup. Gale was right, he was still thirsty.

He felt a hand at his shoulder, and instinctively flinched away.

“Shh, it’s alright, dear,” Gale said softly. “I’ll take off your shirt and see to your injuries, yes?”

It took a moment for Tern to realize she actually was waiting for his response. What was she asking him for, wasn’t that for the Master to decide?

Apparently not. He managed a tiny nod. He hoped he was doing right. He didn’t want to seem ungrateful, or greedy.

Gently, Gale lifted his shirt over his head. It still hurt - everything hurt - but it was very obvious that she was trying not to hurt him, and that was almost more than he could handle.

She gasped, again, when she saw his back. “Oh, you poor dear. You poor, poor thing.”

Tern could picture the lacerations and welts she was seeing, and suddenly felt ashamed for an unnamable reason. What was she thinking?

“I’ll clean those, yes? and put some salve on. It’ll probably hurt a little.”

He wasn’t sure whether he was expected to reply. He wasn’t sure of anything.

Gentle hands started brushing wet rags around his wounds, then dab on healing salve. He barely would have recognized the feeling sparking through the soft, soothing cool as pain, so careful was Gale’s touch. He had never been treated like this. He was having healing salve applied, like a real person.

He was fighting back tears, he didn’t want to look ungrateful, but it was a losing battle, and eventually he cried quietly, and it was all he could do to keep his chest steady against the silent sobs.

“Shh, it’s okay. Do you need a break?” Gale’s hand rested briefly on an uninjured spot near his shoulder.

He shook his head, ashamed to have worried her. She worried about him, and he only worried her more. “I’m fine,” he whispered, then held his breath and looked up at the Master. He shouldn’t have spoken without permission.

The Master’s eyes were on him, but he didn’t look angry. His face was still serious, but when Tern looked at him, he forced a small smile on his lips.

Tern didn’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t like the smirks of his old master, that much he could see. He stared down at the table again, hoping he wasn’t expected to react in some way, because he didn’t know how.

He was so tired.

The evening went on while Gale was busy with his back, and more slaves trickled in, apparently done with the day’s work. All of them expressed their shock and compassion at the state Tern was in, and Tern almost cried again. A pair introduced as Wren and Albatros (”Another seabird!” she smiled when Gale told her Tern’s new name) disappeared into the kitchen to “take care of dinner.”

Tern itched to help. There was work to do, and he needed, he wanted to make himself useful, he couldn’t just sit here and be spoiled like this. But at the same time, he didn’t dare move from the spot. His tears had dried, but he was not at ease, not by far.

The last of the new arrivals sat next to him quietly, not touching or speaking to him, just a calm presence.

Eventually, Gale finished treating his wounds, and poured the remaining water into the long emptied cup. “Drink,” she said with a soft smile. “I’ll fetch you a new shirt, this is-” She didn’t end the sentence, but much to Tern’s relief, she looked at the Master for confirmation, a quick nod, before she went off.

There was noise at the door, and when Gale returned, she was following the rest of the family - the Mistress, and her daughter, and the young slave they had bet against Tern.

Everyone cheered, and the Master jumped to his feet, quickly going to meet his wife and daughter. The young Mistress was moving stiffly, but quickly confirmed she was going to be alright as per the healer’s predictions, and Tern felt a surge of relief that brought him to the verge of tears again.

“I won’t be able to ride for a few weeks,” she added, frowning, and his relief dissolved into fear and guilt again.

He didn’t have much time to think about it, because the slave whose life had been bet against his rushed over to him, and sat down next to him, grinning. “Hey, I’m Gosling! I’m so glad you’re here.”

Tern could only stare at him, helplessly. So was he. And he was also glad the other was still here, instead of both of them suffering for his old master’s entertainment. But he couldn’t find it in himself to be cheerful. He wasn’t sure he even knew how. So much had happened, and was still happening, and it was so frightening.

They had dinner at the same table as the Masters. Tern could hardly believe it. He also couldn’t believe the plate full of food before him, the only restriction Gale’s gently noting, “Eat slowly, or you’ll be sick. You look starved.”

He ate slowly. He didn’t dare eat much, but it was still a better meal than he had had in years, maybe ever.

Probably ever.

After dinner, Gosling spoke up fearlessly. “Mistress? I’m tired, can I go to bed? I... haven’t slept much.”

“And whose fault is that?” the Mistress replied grumpily, and Tern felt a sting of fear for the younger man. But then her expression softened. “Alright, alright. Take Tern with you. I bet you haven’t slept much, either.”

“Thank you, Mistress. Come on, Tern.”

Tern managed a whispered “Thank you” before he followed Gosling out of the dining room, and up a flight of stairs.

“Are you okay?” Gosling asked quietly as he led him through a door. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine here. The Masters are good people.”

Tern couldn’t answer; he only managed a small nod.

They crossed some sort of antechamber, and went through another door into a room filled with several bunk beds and two large wardrobes.

“Ta-dah! Our bedroom.” Gosling pointed at one of the bunks. “The one under mine is free, if you’d like?”

Tern just stared at the bed, then back at Gosling, trying to process what he was being told.

He would be sleeping in a bed.

A real bed.

He didn’t feel himself falling to his knees, he only knew he was down on them and finally crying freely, tears streaming down his face, his entire body shaken by sobs. He tried to keep quiet, pressing his hands to his mouth, but he couldn’t stop any more than he could stop breathing.

“Hey. Hey. It’s alright. It’s alright. You’re safe now.” There was a note of alarm in Gosling’s concerned voice. He kneeled down before him, and very carefully put his arms around him.

Tern flinched at the touch, at first, and Gosling paused, clearly indecisive. But Tern didn’t want him to stop, not really, and without thinking he leaned into the touch, and suddenly Gosling was holding him, his face buried in the young man’s chest. He was still crying. He wanted to stop, he didn’t want to be a bother, but he didn’t feel he could, not now, maybe not ever.

Gosling’s arms around him were warm and gentle and he had never been held like this for as long as he could remember, and he cried while Gosling whispered to him, “It’s okay,” and “Shh, that’s alright,” and “You’re safe.”

#whump #comfort #slavery #cry into chest #badthingshappenbingo #my writing #tern #gale's full name is nightingale #shadow is a wyvern :)

61 notes · View notes

hidayasu · 5 years

Text

Revamped (ch. 4)

I... have been writing... for THIRTY YEARS! D: Lol jk it just feels that way. Hey guys! Sorry about the delay! I had like three different directions I could have this story go, so I had to play around with it and decide which one I wanted. SO I finally did, so now hopefully we can get back on track! Soooo if it's riddled with mistakes I missed, I rewrote this a lot, so I apologize. OTL. Now, onward! :D

Lol, snapped a pic of Ladybug carrying someone across the city!

Aw, that's our Ladybug! So sweet and helpful!

OMG is that ADRIEN AGRESTE?!

OMG NO WAY

I THINK IT IS

They look so cute! 3

No way, she and Cat Noir are in love, didn't you see the photo? THEY'RE so cute together 3

omg did they break up?

GASP! Is Ladybug cheating on Cat Noir!?

No way!

How could she!?

Poor Cat Noir!

Adrien deserves better!

"Adrien is it true?!"

"It can't be true!"

"No way, how'd you manage it?!"

"What?" Adrien jumped from one questioner to another, flabbergasted at the sudden swarm and barrage surrounding him. "Is 'what' true?"

"You and Ladybug are an item!"

"What?!"

Alix shoved her phone in his face, where there was an unmistakable picture of Ladybug swinging through the skies of Paris, a common and accepted sight. Save for the fact that she was carrying a lean, blond male with a very signature outfit, and blond hair.

"Oh no," he groaned before he could stop himself.

"So it is true!" she pestered.

"No! No, no, we were just, uh," He grimaced as he glanced between everyone trying to wrack his brain. "She was just giving me a ride home! I was right by where the Akuma attack was and-"

As Marinette came to school, she was surprised by the crowd near the front door. It wasn't the first time she'd seen Adrien in the middle of an overexcited group of teens, but their classmates had stopped being star-struck a long time ago.

"What's going on?" She asked a distressed Alya as she approached.

Just then, nearly all the girls in her class turned with a gasp and suddenly crowded around her. "Nothing!" "Nothing's wrong!" "Nothing's happening!" "Adrien was just telling us about his-"

"No way guys," Nino spoke up suddenly, coming over to put his arm protectively around his friend. "There's no way Adrien is secretly dating Ladybug! Cuz if he was, he would've told me about it, his best bud!"

"Right, of course!" Adrien said quickly, though the agreement seemed a little haphazard.

"ADRIKINS!" Came the distraught wail as Chloe jogged up to him. "Tell me it isn't true! Tell me you're not dating Ladybug!"

"It's not true!" Adrien finally said in exasperation. "I was late for dinner and Ladybug was just giving me a lift home, that was it!"

The girls winced and looked worriedly to Marinette. And somehow mistook her worried expression for disappointment.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Chloe sighed with relief, instantly cuddling his arm, ignoring his leaning away from her. "Not that Ladybug isn't great of course, but she's not the one for you."

His grimace came back, knowing where this was going, and quickly coming up with a distraction. "Right! Because, uh, sheeeee and Cat Noir are a thing, right? Didn't they just become an item?"

Of course, so focused on Chloe, no one noticed the way Marinette grimaced. Ugh, right, that photo! The one of her and Cat Noir kissing! He'd been so eager about it, and Alya had gotten so trigger-happy with it. All her hard work of "rejecting" Cat Noir, down the drain...

...well ok, that wasn't true. Every now and then she still wound up flirting with him back, so maybe her attempts hadn't been that successful anyway.

"Ugh, she can have him if she wants," Chloe waved him off in her typical fashion before clinging onto the reluctant boy's arm. "You're the perfect one for me!"

Marinette crossed her arms. "Oh please, he's hardly "perfect"."

She hadn't realized she'd said it aloud until the shocked eyes rounded on her. Her own eyes widened, especially when she saw Adrien's stunned confusion.

"What was that?" Chloe pressed.

"I mean, uh, no one's perfect, Chloe!" Marinette said, trying to be more confident than she really felt. "And, uh, you shouldn't expect that of people!"

"Ugh, what would you know? You wouldn't know perfection if it hit you in the face," She said airily, flipping her ponytail with a flourish.

Marinette leered.

And then she smiled mischievously. "Actually, Chloe, I always thought you and Cat Noir would make a great couple."

"What?!" She wrinkled her nose in his disgust, while everyone else looked confused. Adrien looked positively alarmed. "Me and that mangy cat? Why on earth would you think that?"

But her cool, easy smile never faltered."You two brag about yourselves so much, you'll be able to keep each other entertained for hours."

Everyone burst out laughing, much to Chloe's anger, and Adrien's embarrassment. She scowled at the laughing faces, and Adrien flushed with a forced embarrassed smile. The warning bell rang, and the others dispersed, though Chloe of course couldn't leave without a threatening point to Marinette. "You'll regret this, Dupain-Cheng!"

"I seriously doubt that, Chloe."

"Hmph!" She turned up her nose before marching off to class.

"Shouldn't expect him to be perfect, huh?" Alya raised a brow as she smirked, crossing her arms. "Nice philosophy. Did you decide that in the last five minutes?"

She smiled bashfully with a helpless shrug.

"Marinette?" Came Adrien's voice, making her snap straight.

"Speaking of perfect," Alya muttered with a sly grin, before she stalked off. "See you in a bit, Marinette." She sang.

She looked after her friend longingly before turning with a nervous smile. "H-hey, Adrien!"

He seemed as nervous as she was. "Hey! So, uh," he rubbed at the back of his neck. "You like Cat Noir, huh?"

"No!" She panicked, making him blink. "I mean yes! I mean- I like him! As a hero! But it's not like I like him romantically or anything!"

"You don't?" He seemed genuinely surprised. "But I thought- er, that is, you were uuuh-"

"I did used to have a little crush on him," she said quickly, proud of herself for this brilliant turn around. "But he's in love with Ladybug, so now I'm just a fan!"

"Oh! Great! Glad to hear it." He nodded, half to himself, though he seemed mostly distracted as he fidgeted. "Soooo... do you really think he brags a lot? As bad as Chloe?"

Her lips twitched traitorously, but she managed to school her expression. "That depends. Do you really think Ladybug and Cat Noir are an item?"

He raised a brow, obviously confused as to how those two were connected. "Don't you?"

"Oh, I dunno, I mean it's just one photo," she excused quickly, turning around in pretend thought. If she faced him, she was pretty sure she'd lose her nerve. "Maybe they had another reason for kissing. Maybe Ladybug was saving him again, oooor maybe they thought they were trying to break a spell!"

Of course, not looking at him, she didn't see the sudden flash of worry. "You... think so?"

"Yeah, I mean, who can really say, right?"

He was quiet for a moment as he considered it. "Yeah, I... guess that's true. Ladybug's done it before."

"Exactly!" She agreed cheerfully, finally turning to face him. "I'm just saying, you can't believe everything you-"

She stopped. As she looked at his face, she was stunned by how... down he looked. He was clutching the strap of his bookbag, face to the ground as he hunched over.

"...though I guess they did look really happy together," she finally relented. "I mean, what do I know, I'm just a fan!"

He looked up at her in some surprise, like he had forgotten she was there, and then balked when he remembered himself. "Right, of course! We're just fans! I guess only Ladybug and Cat Noir know, right? We should head back to class."

"Oh, yeah," she smiled as she followed him quickly. "Don't wanna be late again!"

Of course, neither of them were aware of their eavesdropper. Lila watched from the shadows, her face turning into a scowl as she gripped the photograph of Ladybug in her fingers.

After that, everyone in school had forgotten about the incident, and took Adrien at his word. He thought that was the end of it.

"ADRIEN AGRESTE!" Cried the angry female akuma from the school rooftop. She was dressed in a garish mockery of a retail worker's uniform. "Where are you!?"

The students ran screaming for safety, trying to hide in some classes and rooms nearby. Adrien was trying to head for the locker room, but he was spotted, and the female akuma dropped down to block his path.

"I don't understand," he said. "What'd I do to you?"

"Nothing, I just know that you're my ticket to Ladybug, Loverboy," she sashayed toward him. "It's nothing personal."

"Uh," He grinned nervously as he tiptoed back. "I would just like it to be known that that photo was taken out of context, and we're not actually-"

"SILENCE!" She shouted, holding up her weapon- a rather formidable looking… coat hanger? Either way it started glowing and he had a feeling he wouldn't like getting hit with it. "I don't care what the rumors say- all I know is that you're enough to make her come running."

There was no where to run, and no where to hide, and as he braced himself for the attack, he silently cursed his need for haste yesterday.

"WATCH OUT!"

And then he was suddenly yanked away, Ladybug's yo-yo wrapping around his waist to pull him toward her.

"HA! I knew it." The akuma sneered. "Attacking your precious lad in distress was the perfect way to bring you straight to me!"

She scowled, holding him protectively close as she rebutted the claim. "Ugh, I'm going to rescue anyone in distress, not just him!"

And while normally Adrien would be thrilled at the close contact, the sight of the smug akuma, and the students peeking through the windows with their phones out, made him clear his throat. "Uh, Ladybug?" He smiled shyly with a blush, pointing to their touching waists.

She blinked at him, then her protective hold, and released him with a squeak, activating her yo-yo. "Sorry!"

"No problem! Uh, thanks Ladybug!" Adrien saluted obligatorily before dashing for cover to transform and join her.

Thankfully, the battle itself was not a difficult one. Cat Noir didn't even need his Cataclysm. The day passed by relatively quickly, leaving the students to finish up their classes and head home. And in Adrien's case, head to fencing.

"Hey, Kagami!" He greeted cheerfully.

"Hey," she nodded once in acknowledgment, then readied her stance. He hesitated a moment, curious.

"Sooooo you're not going to ask me about the picture?" He asked cautiously.

"Do I need to?" She asked sharply.

"No! No, no, it's nothing like people are saying," He assured quickly.

"Then there's nothing to worry about. I'm not going to worry about some suspicious pictures anymore. I already know where your affections lie."

He was grateful for the fencing helmet to hide his blush. Because it was true, he had been developing a crush on her lately. Granted he was still falling for Ladybug over and over, but... if Marinette's point was right, then maybe he really should give up on-

"En garde!"

Her warning snapped him out of it, and he readied his stance. He could think about it later, but for now, he had to try to beat her again.

"Would you care to explain this?"

Adrien had a feeling word of this would come back to his father. So this time, as the man held up his own phone with the incriminating picture, he was prepared.

"Father, that's not me! It's just an excited fan dressed up like me."

"Oh really?"

"My face isn't visible, is it?" He crossed his arms. "Besides, Nathalie saw me before I came down for dinner. I was in my room the whole time."

He glanced at his assistant for confirmation, and she nodded.

"It's true, sir. He was already in there, and there was no sign of Ladybug."

The man studied the boy hard, looked at the photo again, then relented. "Very well, you may go."

Adrien smiled, quite pleased with himself as he made his way back to his room. Today just had a quick battle, a quick evasion, so all was well and good.

But needless to say, things got a little… hectic after that. And not just from akumas.

It happened Tuesday, after the battle when the reporters had to get their 'scoop'…

"LADYBUG! How could you cheat on Cat Noir!"

"Uuugh, I'm not cheating on him! I'm not dating either of them!"

"Can confirm. On both ends."

Wednesday, when there were three akumas in the same day...

"Now that I have super powers, I can be good enough for Adrien!"

"Trust me, with your super powers, you can do so much better."

"Hey!"

Thursday, when they got a nice combo of one of her fanboys, and one of Cat Noir's fangirls…

"I'll take the Miraculouses, then we'll be together forever!"

"An eternity of corny pick up lines and bad jokes? Be my guest."

"For the record, I know you're teasing me, but I'll still stand by the fact that my jokes are hilarious."

And Friday, when it felt like everything was piling up bit by bit.

Lila stared at her phone, teeth clenching harder and harder as the newest news clips came out. Image after image of Ladybug valiantly protecting Adrien only fueled the fans of the assumption of their "secret relationship", giving her plenty of fodder for rumors, which she had been taking. To no avail.

"Why? Why can none of these idiots take out Ladybug?" She ranted. "What else do I have to say?"

She jumped onto her computer, looking up more articles and forums, trying to make as many comments about "secret dates" and "outings" and possible.

'Come on, come on, someone take care of her!'

Because no matter how Adrien tried to deny it, Lila knew the truth.

"Why?! Why isn't Hawkmoth akumatizing me?!" She chucked her phone across her room, and stomped about in rage. Picking up the photograph from her desk, she glowered at the smiling, swinging image of Ladybug, gripping so hard it crinkled in her fingers.

"Just as I planned, her anger is growing with each passing day I "ignore" her." Hawkmoth mused as he sensed her rage tumbling through. "But not yet. Her work in helping spread the rumors is giving me plenty of ammunition to wear them down. And then she'll be ready to be my perfect puppet."

He held out his hand, letting a butterfly land in his glove. He akumatized it, and let it flutter out the window. "Fly away my little akuma, and evilize him!"

Ladybug dropped between a couple buildings, trying to catch her breath against the wall after the latest battle. Cat Noir transformed back first, having to use his power a lot sooner than her. Plagg took the time to zip out and groan in annoyance. "Man, that's the 10th one this week! It's nice being popular with the ladies, but this is ridiculous!"

"If it wasn't for people taking all these pictures it wouldn't be happening so much!" Ladybug groaned in exasperation. "It's not like I'm saving you any different from normal."

"Normally, I might be disappointed, but this time I have to agree. I mean:" He had given Plagg a piece of cheese, then pulled out his phone to pull up the latest "craze". "This one isn't even remotely flattering!"

It had been a picture where Ladybug had just barely caught Adrien mid-fall by the ankle, leaving him swinging precariously in mid-air, and screaming bloody murder. Clearly, the affection was palpable.

"Honestly, I'm gonna need my PR people to get on the ball soon," He mused. "My nose looks way too big in this one."

"This is getting out of hand." Ladybug groaned with her head in her hand. "You've got to go on TV and tell people they're wrong."

"I've been trying! But the more I try to deny it, the more people think I'm trying to hide it!"

"Well there's gotta be some way to stop all these akumatizations." She murmured as she grasped her chin in thought.

He watched her a moment, brow furrowing in worry, before he quickly schooled it to be casual. "Well, what if we pretended we're dating? I mean as Cat Noir!" He said quickly. "Like we did before for the other akumas."

She looked at him sharply, but he searched her face to decipher her reaction, hand at his neck. She seemed less-than-thrilled at the idea, though turned her face away so he wouldn't see. "I-I don't know, wouldn't that be hard for you to-?"

Then the akuma found them, and burst in with a mighty roar, making Plagg have to hide.

"Another one?!" Ladybug complained. "It hasn't even been five minutes!"

"LADYBUG!" He cried angrily. He was a massive, muscular boy with a wrestler's yellow uniform blindingly bright against his purple skin. There were stripped braces on his wrists and calves, with an orange armored helmet, but besides that had nothing else to shield him. "Why, why do you love him? What does that weakling have that I don't?!"

"Oh, one of your fans again," Adrien realized brightly, hands on his hips. "I gotta say this is a nice change of pace."

"Silence, girly boy! You don't have what it takes to make Ladybug happy!"

Both Adrien and Ladybug glared.

And then Adrien sneered. "Well, better a "girly boy" than a toy store reject." He said easily, leaning to one side. "With a paint job like that I'd say a 2 year old could do better."

"Ca- Adrien!" Ladybug snapped, just before she had to dive to snatch him out of harm's way. "Are you insane? Don't antagonize him like this!"

The boy didn't even have the decency to look fazed, simply shrugging as she held him in her arms. "What? He asked," he defended. "Besides, you can't expect me not to feel a little jealous of anyone after you."

Of course, neither of them were aware of Hawkmoth on the other side of the psychic link. "What?!"

"Oh, go "hide" already," Ladybug spat as she dropped him, whirling her yo-yo to life.

"Oh no you don't!" the wrestler shouted. "Come fight me face to face!"

"No!" Hawkmoth interrupted. "Not until you've faced Cat Noir and Ladybug and given me their miraculouses!"

"Hmph, go ahead, girly boy!" the akuma yelled after Adrien as he darted around a building. "Go run an' hide! While I show Ladybug what a real man I am!"

"Real man, huh?" Adrien opened up his shirt to let Plagg out again. "Why don't we go show this guy what a real man can do. Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

Once fully powered up in his own armor, he came out into the fray, happily jumping in to take a few swipes at the technicolor wrestler.

"Nice moves, Cat Noir." Ladybug praised. "Think you can hold him back for a while?"

"No problem. You just go recharge yourself," he assured with a wink.

"Don't let her get away!" Hawkmoth demanded. "She's about to transform back!"

But of course, the akuma's attempt to go after her was thwarted by Cat Noir jumping between them.

"Ah, ah, ah," he wagged his finger, whirring his pole around himself dangerously before striking a defensive pose. "You'll have to go through me first."

Ladybug dashed around a building, letting herself detransform. "Hurry, Tikki," she whispered, pulling out the cookie. "There's not much time!"

"I don't know how much more I can do this, Marinette," Tikki admitted weakly as she got to eating the macaroon.

"Hang in there just a little longer!"

Cat Noir was quick and agile compared the big, hulking muscle man. His strikes were fast and fierce, and he kept his pole close to his body to keep his control. For once, he was focusing hard on the fight. So much so that he didn't even hear Ladybug when she finally jumped beside him, yo-yo at the ready.

"Alright, I'm ready to-"

He let out a battle-cry and charged at his enemy, going low to try to knock him flat. Ladybug blinked, before chasing after him and trying to join in.

"No, Ladybug, stay back!" Cat Noir grunted. He was on the ground, on top of the wrestler as they pushed against his pole to try to beat the other in brute strength. "I'll handle him!"

"Ha! You don't have what it takes! How'd a puny boy like you get to be the hero of Paris?"

"My charm and sense of humor, of course. You should try it some time- it might make you more tolerable!"

The wrestler managed to switch positions, rolling on top and trying to shove the pole into his throat. "I deserve the miraculous! Ladybug needs a real partner!"

"I'm her partner!"

Ladybug, for her part, let her yo-yo stop its spin. Narrowing her eyes and letting her scowl deepen, she straightened her stance and crossed her arms. She had a feeling of where this was going, and she didn't like it one bit.

"You know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall!"

Cat Noir finally kicked out the wrestler's leg, flipping him over and jumping back to his feet. He went on the attack again, the wrestler using his braces to block his moves, and of course throw a few punches, with Cat Noir leaping out of range. They advanced and retreated in an angered dance of showmanship, sparring verbally as well as physically.

"Not bad for a weakling, puny man!"

"You're delusional if you think a muscle-head like you has a chance with Ladybug. I'll take you out using brains as well as brawn."

"Hmph, I'll show you and that girly boy! A real warrior is full of strength and power, nothing like your skinny little-"

"Will you two knock it off!?" Ladybug finally snapped, and the pair paused in their fighting. "Did neither of you think that maybe I don't care who's stronger?"

The blinked, and they stared from her, to one another, back to her.

"What are you doing?!" Hawkmoth demanded. "Get his miraculous!"

"You… don't?" Cat Noir asked in confusion.

"No! I'm a superhero for crying out loud!" She said. "I can save myself just fine! I don't need a knight in shining armor to impress me!"

"Then…" the akuma victim lowered his hands in confusion. "What do you need to impress you?"

She glanced to Cat Noir, then sighed as she looked to her clasped hands. "The boy I love is… kind, and sweet. He's helpful to people, and always has a smile for everyone, and it's the most beautiful thing in the world. I don't love him because I think he can "save me", I love him because he's kind to me."

"I can be kind," the wrestler said instantly. "I'm a nice guy!"

"You've been fighting me and Cat Noir to take our Miraculouses and help Hawkmoth. How is that "kind"?"

"She's right," Cat Noir sighed in mock sympathy with a shrug. "Helping the supervillain doesn't usually give you points in the "nice guy" department."

"Don't think you're free from this either, Cat Noir," Ladybug frowned at him, jabbing at his chest. "If we'd been working together instead of you fighting over your ego, we could have gotten his akuma already!"

He flinched, then lowered his head, properly chastised.

Ladybug hadn't really been sure what to expect, but it wasn't the akuma victim willingly handing over his arm brace.

"What?! What're you doing?!" Hawkmoth yelled.

Ladybug smiled up at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're doing the right thing."

"I guess it's too late to ask you for a date, then."

"Sorry, but I'm in love with someone else," she said sympathetically, taking the brace and dropping it to the ground and stomping on it.

She captured and purified the butterfly, but since the akuma hadn't actually been doing anything but trying to fight Cat Noir, there wasn't any damage to fix.

"Uuuuuugh, ah..." the akumatized victim groaned as he looked around. He was obviously much smaller than his villainous form, though still tall and muscular. With his young face it was clear he was only a couple years older than the heroes. "Ladybug? Cat Noir?!"

"Hey there," Ladybug smiled kindly, ignoring the way Cat Noir wrinkled his nose in distaste. "You feeling alright?"

"Uh, yeah," He shot up to his feet, cheeks pink. "I-I'm great, but what am I…?"

"You were akumatized by Hawkmoth."

"What?! No, that's impossible! I'm not evil!"

"I know, it's Hawkmoth that's evil. He gets into your head and makes you do things you wouldn't normally do. Just be careful from now on."

"I will. I promise I'm stronger than that," he assured, flexing for her.

Cat Noir snorted, and Ladybug sighed. Right, since he was akumatized, he wouldn't remember her "speech".

"Do you need a lift?" She asked instead.

Taken aback by her lack of response, he glanced around the area to get his bearings back, and he smiled in embarrassment as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, actually."

"Sure thing," she threw her yo-yo to catch a perch, and held out her arm.

He looked at her, then balked. "You mean, you want to carry me?"

"Don't worry," she waved off his concern. "I'm much stronger than I look."

He still seemed uncertain, and Ladybug couldn't understand why he seemed hesitant, knowing that she was, well, a superhero.

"Ah, on second thought, I'll be fine walking after all."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind."

"It's not that far, actually."

Cat Noir, who knew instantly what was going on, was leaning on his cane with a slyly amused smirk, before he looked at his hand, and gasped.

"Oh no, I'm about to transform back!" He stole the opened spot, hopping into her arms and holding on with the arm not holding his staff. "Quick Ladybug, you've got to get me out of here!"

"Honestly, Cat Noir, again?" She chastised. "You've got to be more responsible. Sorry," She said to the former victim. "Maybe next time."

Of course, since she was looking at him, she didn't see the way Cat Noir leaned his head toward her to look like he was "cuddling" her, or the way he waved farewell with a smug grin before she pulled them away. She brought them to drop behind a building, and was about to let him down before she blinked, memories rushing back to her.

"Hey wait a second, you're not about to transform back. You didn't even use your Cataclysm."

"I know. I just had to show the guy what he was missing."

"Cat Noir!"

"Look, I already knew he wasn't going to do it. He can't be seen being carried by you, it would ruin his image."

"Oh, but not yours?"

"Of course not. Everyone knows I am still the greatest hero of Paris."

She let him drop with a yelp, dusting her hands off and planting them on her hips as she waited for him to stand. "Well, the greatest hero of Paris can go ahead and walk himself back, then."

"Aw, c'mon, bugaboo, I was only joking. You know I think you're the number one hero of Paris," he cooed, leaning sideways to look up at her from under his lashes. Blink blink blink.

"Hmph. Sweet words from someone who wanted to fight all by himself. And haven't I told you not to call me 'bugaboo' anymore?"

He straightened, rubbing at the back of his head worriedly. "Right, sorry, it slipped."

"Just keep it in mind," she said easily, throwing her yo-yo to catch a perch.

"W-wait, Ladybug!" He twisted his pole self-consciously. "Do you… think I brag a lot?"

She blinked.

He darted his eyes away, fidgeting nervously. "It's just a thought I had, lately, for no reason, I just wondered-"

"You mean you hadn't noticed?"

He stared.

"I thought it was just a part of your act as Cat Noir," she stated in incredulity, before pointing at him. "You mean you were serious all those times?"

He hedged and erred, forcing himself to laugh it off. "Act, right! It was! I-I was just worried it was a little too much, you know? I mean I don't want to come off as too annoying."

She facepalmed.

He looked at her worriedly.

She sighed. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to it with you."And then she was gone, flying off to her destination.

"W-Wait! What do you mean "used to it"?" He called after her. "Ladybug? Ladybug!"

He had enough time to leap back to the school, and hid between the buildings across the street before turning back. Plagg zipped around, groaning hungrily, but Adrien ignored it.

"Does she think I'm annoying? Is that why she doesn't like me?"

"She said she's used to it, what's the big deal?"

"The "big deal" is that I probably messed up my chance with Ladybug! What if all those times I was trying to impress her did just the opposite?!"

"Then just stop bragging around her, problem fixed."

"It's not that easy, Plagg. Even if I do, I don't know how to actually win her over after all this time."

"Dude, just be yourself. You're like, the nicest guy I know! She'll go nuts for that."

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that while we're busy saving Paris? Besides..." He almost looked as though he were going to continue, and then the wind whooshed out of him with a long, drawn out sigh. "You heard her. She's already found someone. They're probably already happy together."

His disappointed musings were cut short when a familiar car rolled up to the front of the school. "C'mon, Plagg. Let's go home." He opened his outer shirt up to let him in, and trudged across the street.

When Marinette got in her room, she was distraught. Tikki sighed, plopping down on her bed tiredly.

"Tikki, am I doing the right thing?"

"About what, Marinette?"

"About trying to get Adrien to fall for me! Tikki, what if I came out and confessed to him? Would people react the same way? Would there be akumas, this time coming after me?"

"That's hard to say," she admitted. "Some of these akumas are happening because of Ladybug and Cat Noir. They probably wouldn't care so much about "Marinette".

"But what if they do!?" She wailed. "What if I get hordes of crazy fans coming after me everywhere I go, and all our dates are hounded by the press and even more crazed fans destroy any chances we have at private time together and Adrien decides it's not worth the effort and dumps me and-"

"Marinette, calm down!" Tikki flew into her face to get her attention. "You're worrying too much! It's not going to be as bad as you think."

"...But if I am targeted, that means Chat Noir would have to face them on his own. And I'd have to keep switching between myself and "Ladybug" and I could mess up somehow. I mean, he almost discovered my identity already! If I have to keep changing, things could slip up for sure!"

"You're right, it is a risky plan," Tikki agreed sympathetically. "More than anything, I think other people would start to get suspicious too."

"Tikki, does this mean I… I can't be with him? Not until Hawkmoth's gone?"

"You could still accept his feelings as Ladybug."

"But I want real dates, Tikki! I want us to go to the movies together, go to concerts, and go out for ice cream, and be able to go on romantic outings! We can't do that as superheroes!"

"You're right, you have to do what's best for Paris. But even if you can't go out like you wanted, are you really ok with him never knowing how you really feel?" Tikki asked pointedly. "It's your choice, Marinette. But I think you'll be happier at least letting him know."

Marinette was silent as she looked at her phone, where the smiling face of her love stared brightly up at her. A hero listened to her head, not her heart. The question was, what was the right choice when even your head was a mess?

A few miles away, someone else was wondering the same thing. He was staring solemnly out his car window with a growing ache of disappointment.

I don't love him because I think he can "save me". I love him because he's kind to me.

It just didn't make sense to him. She was brave, and confident, practically a genius in her own creative way, and she just wanted someone "nice"?

Nah, this guy, whoever he was, had to be the most perfect guy on the planet. From the sounds of it he was friendly, kind, and ridiculously handsome, even moreso than him. Not in a "vain" way, but come on, he was a literal model, and she was saying some other guy's smile was the most beautiful thing in the world. And he was helpful and "sweet" on top of everything else. Honestly, how was he ever going to compete with that? He'd love to try to be "kind" and "helpful" to win her over, it wasn't like he didn't know how. The only way would be if they went out somewhere, just to hang out or something. But she never agreed to it every time he tried. More than anything, he really wanted to meet this guy for himself. Who the heck was perfect enough to catch the eye of Ladybug?

He bumped his head against the window, brows crinkling as his jealousy stirred again. This guy sounded too good to be true. Adrien hoped he was secretly a jerk or something.

But even if he was, there was… really no point, was there?

Sorry. But I'm in love with someone else.

Marinette was right. Ladybug hadn't fallen in love with him after all. Maybe it was time he finally switched targets. For good this time.

When they came through the door, he had prepared himself to trudge up the stairs to get started on his homework, but was surprised at Nathalie's voice speaking to him from the door.

"Adrien, your father wishes to see you."

He blinked, wondering why he was breaking his schedule. He knew for a fact that the man was normally finalizing his themes for the upcoming lines around this hour. Yet he followed her into the man's office, looking at his father's back. The man was staring up at the golden painting of his mother.

"Is it true?" He asked. "Are you in love with Ladybug?"

Adrien sighed. He'd gone through this all week already, and it was starting to wear on him. Plus, he thought the man was convinced by now. He let his head drop as he forced himself to speak. "No, father. She's just been protecting me from all the akuma attacks. There's nothing between us."

"I didn't ask if there was anything between you," He said suddenly, curtly as he turned to look at him over his shoulder. "I asked if you are in love with Ladybug."

Adrien flinched, both from the question, and the steely tone from the man. It was nothing like the excited barrages all through the week. Those eyes that bore down on him weren't like anything he'd ever seen before on him. And for a weird, strange moment, he felt scared. Not in his usual "respect" of his father's authority, but an honest to goodness fear of the consequences of his answer.

But the fear was pointless, worthless, and he dropped his gaze. "No, Father. Now can I please go?" He asked, voice cracking as he held himself together.

"...Very well. You may go," He said briskly.

The boy gratefully beat a hasty retreat, and the door shut with finality behind him. Nathalie looked up at Gabriel.

"What do you plan to do, sir?"

"Hard to say. I cannot have him admit to anything without revealing who I am."

"And if it's true?"

The silence was heavy, so much so that even Nathalie was worried.

"… This changes nothing. The plan is still the same. Tomorrow, we'll begin."

"We should break up."

Chat Noir, who had just told her that he didn't have much time since his father wanted him for some kind of appearance, stared at her. "...What?"

"With you as "Adrien"." Ladybug explained. "No one believes we aren't a thing. So go on TV, and say that we were secretly dating, but now all the akuma attacks have made you decide dating a superhero is too dangerous. We can't have people talking about us like this if it's causing this much commotion."

She expected his hesitation from her suggestion, and an argument, of course, and was already bracing herself for his rebuttal.

"Uuuum, isn't there something else we could try?"

"Look, Cat Noir, I know this will be hard with your feelings for me, but if we can just convince people that we're not involved, then-"

"It's not that!" He said quickly. "I know we have to do something. I just don't want to say that we've already been dating, since… Well..." He seemed oddly hesitant, nervous, and uncomfortable in a way Ladybug couldn't ever remember seeing him. "I may… want to ask someone out soon, and it would look pretty bad if I said I had just been dating someone."

Ladybug blinked, wide-eyed. "...What?"

"You remember Kagami, right?" He said, cheeks turning a little pink. "She's actually my fencing partner. We've been hanging out for a while. She's pretty cool, and… she told me recently she's fallen for me, so lately I've been thinking that maybe… we should… give it a try?"

He was looking at her, almost… Nervously? Or was it hopefully? Ladybug couldn't be sure, she was too busy trying and failing to make her mouth shut.

"Ladybug?"

"Oh, wow Cat Noir, I had no idea!" She managed to say instead, forcing herself to smile. "Congratulations! But wow I'm sure surprised, I mean… Kagami just seems so, you know, serious! I-I didn't think she was your type!"

"Yeah, but she can be pretty cool at times," He said, and there was an oddly… sad glint to his smile. "She's actually nice once you get to know her. And she's strong, too. She could probably even give you a run for your money," he joked.

But then he fell silent, looking down at his hands on top of his pole. Ladybug did the same, trying to filter through the emotions suddenly tumbling through her.

'He's… he's giving up on me. I mean on Ladybug, and going for...'

"Wasn't…. there someone else?" She asked in a small voice. And she wanted to kick herself, but the words just wouldn't stop, because she had to know, she had to hear for herself. "That- that girl who tried to have a date with you. Maribell or something? She- she said something when I rescued her, and..."

"Marinette? She told you about that?" He winced, rubbing at the back of his head. "Ah, yeah, that was tough. I'm glad she feels better about it now. But she's just a friend. I couldn't ever really see her like that."

She pressed her lips together, and her hands wouldn't stop shaking. "Oh..."

"Don't get me wrong, she's really nice!" Ever the nice guy, he was quick to praise and speak well of her. "She's super helpful, and talented! I'm glad to have her as a friend. But we've barely had a real conversation," he finally admitted with a half-shrug that said 'oh well, that's life'. "She's super shy, and so nervous all the time. I try to help when I can, but I think she just flusters so easy it's hard to really get to know her, you know? I kinda worry about her sometimes..."

And as she looked at him, her cheeks grew red until she finally buried her face in her hands. Ugh, she knew it! She knew he couldn't possibly fall in love with her stupid, clumsy self! Not only was her crush getting in the way, but her fear of him "realizing" who she really was just made her more nervous, which made their interactions… well, just as he described. No wonder he never fell for her.

"Ladybug? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine!" She assured, smiling up at him weakly. "I'm really glad! You finally have a chance to be happy!I'm sure you and Kagami will be great together!"

She could see his face falling, his expressions an open book, as always. But he was quick to smile back, and he reached for her hand. "I'm always happy whenever I'm with you, milady," he assured, bringing her hand to his lips. "You'll always have a special place in my heart."

His attention on her hand, he didn't see the pain on her face, or the longing in her eyes. Only the saddened smile. "...I know, Cat Noir." Then she pulled her hand back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course," he said. Then stepped back to bow low. "Until next time."

And then he was gone, already vanished into the night. She stood under the moonlight, gazing longingly up at the stars.

"This is what's best for Paris… isn't it?"

"Marinette! Why didn't you tell him?!"

"You heard him, Tikki. He's already going for Kagami."

"The only reason he's going for Kagami is because he thinks he doesn't know you! But he does!"

"But I can't tell him that! AAAAAAAGH, TIKKI THIS IS THE WORST!" She fell to her knees, grabbing at her head as she cried to the ceiling. "I know he's in love with me but I can't tell him why!"

"Listen to me, Marinette!" She zipped in front of her face, gesturing and flitting about wildly as she ranted. "Hawkmoth is still out there, and your number one priority is stopping him and all these akumas! But that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your happiness to do it! You can't tell Adrien who you are, but you can still tell him you love him! Even if he can only see a part of you right now, isn't it worth it to be with him, even if it's only to save Paris?"

Marinette looked up at the energetic and emotional kwami, smiling slowly as she started bringing the pieces into place. "You're right… you're right, Tikki! We can still be together!"

"Yes!" The kwami cheered. "Now you have to go to him, tonight, before he talks to Kagami!"

"Tikki, SPOTS-!"

"WAIT! … I'm still hungry."

"Oh, sorry."

A few minutes of eating, and then a transformation later, Marinette was bolting down the rooftops of Paris, sailing and leaping for her destination. Time and time again she had failed to tell Adrien the truth of how she felt, and her clumsy nature and terrible luck just spawned her at every turn. But would it be different as Ladybug? Would she have the confidence and the luck to finally get her feelings across to him?

She stopped outside his house, ducking down to peer over the edge of the roof. Outside his gate was a swarm of reporters and cameras hounding him, and his assistant holding up her tablet device.

"What's going on?" Ladybug wondered out loud, before memory served her, and she answered her own question. "Oh, that's right! Cat Noir said his dad had something planned."

Of course, this far away, she couldn't hear what was being said, so she pulled out her yo-yo and activated the screen.

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news. I'm Nadia Chamack, right outside Gabriel Agreste's mansion, where he's called a press conference in light of the recent events centering around his son, Adrien."

The camera zoomed in on the pair, Adrien of course appearing taller next to his father on the video call screen. Adrien smiled at the cameras obligatorily, though seemed just as in the dark as the rest.

"My son has been the center of many rumors lately, which I would appreciate to cease immediately, given the danger it keeps putting him in. I cannot bare to see him in such a position. That being said, I am eternally indebted to Ladybug and Cat Noir for protecting him from the onslaught of Akuma attacks recently. As a token of appreciation, I'd like to invite them both to dinner to the establishment of their choice."

Ladybug gasped, eyes honed in on both the older man, and his young son, who looked to with equal surprise. "A… dinner?"

Down below, in the center of the hubbub, Adrien's surprise made way for disappointment. "Father, you're wasting your time. Ladybug never accepts these invitations, you know that."

"I do," the man assured. "But so long as the sentiment is out there, I'm sure the message will get across."

He raised a brow, a little confused as to how that worked, until a surprised shout from the reporters got his attention. The sea of paparazzi parted before them, showing a familiar red-clad superheroine rising from her three-point landing, and making her way toward them.

Adrien gaped. "Ladybug?"

"Gabriel Agreste," she acknowledged, her lips curling into a smirk. "I accept your invitation."

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #revamp #adrien #adrien agreste #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #ladrien #ladynoir #mlb #miraculous fanfic

9 notes · View notes

radiojamming · 6 years

Note

(hi this is dutchisland, but y’know, sideblog) so, i really like how you write jacobs and wanted to know how you think that jacob handles intimacy? like, as far as canon goes he avoids it entirely. he lacks a connection to anyone besides john and joseph, leaving us 0 ground to base intimacy in a non-platonic relationship on. i feel like it would be a very private thing for him.(1/2)

ooooh that’s a good question (ALSO HI

like i’ve actually found it kind of hard to write jacob being intimate with anyone in the canon he’s in, because the situation makes it feel like some kind of switch has been flipped on in his head and it would take eden’s gate legit leveling the resistance and ending the war for good to make it stop. the only clues you really get are in his monologues and broadcasts, and even then, he’s rambling. he sounds like he’s off somewhere else, giving his philosophy (i’m totally onboard with the ‘he was absolutely stoned’ theory about his one solo video broadcast where he’s coughing), but you get the idea that his actual concerns are on a different level.

(also i’m gonna put this under a cut because it got looooong)

i think if he does have an s/o in canon (with the war going on, because that’s important), it’s not guaranteed to be a happy relationship. intimacy and affection probably take the lowest rungs of his ladder. if i ever do write for that–and this sounds lame–i kind of consider the maslow’s hierarchy? partially because tons of jacob’s personal outlook is based in psychological theory. sooo we have:

now at the stone chalet in the whitetails, you hear his broadcast about why people are weak. he fucking quotes maslow’s hierarchy straight out of the triangle. i don’t have the direct quote, but he says early man was strong because they made fire, searched for water, and hunted their food. he goes on to say that culture and technology have softened us. when it comes down to it, he’s starting at the bottom and knocking the top right off, saying we’re better off without it. so to him, i think he’s focused on those bottom two rungs almost exclusively. he’s head of security for eden’s gate, and it’s his job to make sure that his paramilitary group runs smoothly.

now he gets into that third layer up a little, and only with his family. but tbh what do we see of that other than him bonking heads with joseph and accepting his praise? unfortunately we don’t even see him interact with john, and we get hints mainly from the book of joseph where joseph says jacob looked out for the two of them and took hits for them. and the prestige part? he doesn’t need it. he’s a herald and he knows what he’s good at, but all that does for him is allow him a position where he’s able to exercise his philosophies in real time, on real subjects. and he whittles all of them right back down to physiological needs.

i think in his mind, he doesn’t need intimacy. he has the basic needs that he believes make him strongest, because primal, instinctive, early man was the strongest thing there was in his opinion. nothing is stronger than someone who is reduced to their basics. the further you go up that triangle, the weaker you become.

but do i think he’d shake off any attempts at intimacy? probably not. he accepts joseph’s praise (i think you could call that prestige), and he returns his gesture of affection. and it might be a stretch, but i think he hits the ‘creative activities’ section, even if he doesn’t intend to. the man has got his aesthetics right in a row. he’s showing himself off as a soldier, and everywhere you look, the reminders are constant. the comment on the pack hunter plane is that it isn’t subtle, but neither is jacob. like it or not, he’s creative, and he’s capable of affection. it might be possible that if his s/o reminded him of this (carefully, very carefully) he might be more receptive to intimacy. or, if they wanted to go in the opposite direction and say that it’s kind of an instinctual need to seek affection (we were hunter-gatherer packs at one point, after all!), he might accept that, too.

now he’s not going to be flowery or even outward with his signs of affection at all. and when it comes down to it, intimacy, sexual or not, might be a lot more like a vent to his frustrations than anything purposefully pursued. and yeah, you’re right, he wouldn’t let anyone else see it. if his s/o is around, he probably puts a pretty firm moratorium on any affectionate gestures or even a single sign that they’re romantic with each other. i mean, this is a ‘no touching’ kind of prohibition. you save that shit for when the doors are closed and locked.

i can definitely see where people get the whole possessive jacob vibe, and it might be fun to show that in fanworks, but i’m kind of in the camp that he’s got some extreme self control measures. hell, he hardly budges in expression around his own family, aside from v level looks and inclines of the head. the most emotion you see is directed at the deputy, not at joseph. he smiles at you, he glares at you, and when he’s dying, at his most vulnerable, where those basic needs aren’t… well, needed anymore, he shows you a pretty good gauntlet of emotion that he hasn’t shown at any other point. you might see something similar directed at his s/o, but like with the deputy, it’s only in private.

ANYWAY I’M SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG HHHHH i hope this is like, semi-coherent. and again, obvs this is all my opinion. OTL

#far cry 5 #jacob seed #some kind of meta #i don't know what to call it #IDK IF IT EVEN MAKES SENSE

73 notes · View notes

nerdy-pixel-girl · 6 years

Text

Rant

*PLEASE READ IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO MY WATCHERS AND FRIENDS*

I have my reasons for posting here instead.

Guys..I am really, really sorry..

I absolutely hate the new "DA" and I will explain why.

But first, I really missed you guys. ;_;

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, I was falsely suspended for 2 weeks, no it is not at all drama related, no one reported me.

( I can prove it if need be, but not on DA )

You guys know how I'm always browsing around DA groups and such and I always come across Pedophilia, Porn and other content that I will report, either to be removed, or if it's unfiltered to get it tagged.

( The mods ask that in their rules, that we report ALL content like that, they will not remove it without reports )

I give the mods explanations and or proof of my claims so that they can understand it better if needed, I'm fairly polite to them.

Thankfully I got several accounts suspended or in trouble, that were posting illegal and disgusting content, and I never had a single issue in my near decade on DA like this, I have never been suspended nor banned.

So, as some of you guys know, my report tool randomly disappeared a while ago, for no reason with no explanation, only an automated ( lazy ) message about how it was suspended.

I emailed them, got no reply for a while, then I got sick of waiting..

I did use an alt to report some pedophilia and the like several days later on, I tried to avoid such content but I ended up seeing some anyways.

Yes, it may seem stupid to risk my account to report something, but I'm still glad I did it as long as it was removed, as seeing 10-14 year old characters having orgies and being raped, molested, and the like did not sit well with me at all, so I reported the many pieces, and went to bed.

I was out all day the next day, and I was feeling okay, several hrs later I got online, turned on YT and listened to some music, a few mins later I turned on DA and got physically sick..I was confused, hurt and very upset.

So I checked my email, I had a message regarding reporting, they literally treated me as a liar and a spammer, I NEVER lied in my reports about art, they never even told me 'how I lied' nor gave any examples..all of this is regarding art reporting, I am no spammer either, I don't report every single day and the staff is not obligated to remove every single thing at once, every person who talked to me about this has called them 'lazy' and I agree completely.

Most people don't even report, and I'm doing good for the community so you should be thankful like wth??

I have been reporting things for yrs, never had a single issue, so it's either a new rule or they're just full of it. :/ I did make a few minor mistakes in some of my reports which can be SEEN as lies but they weren't, like accidentally typing the wrong info on the wrong report from being so flustered and having several tabs open at once.

( I told them that after the fact, they ignored me )

BTW they never even asked if the alt was mine, just bc it was the same IP they banned it with NO confirmation or anything, my siblings, two of them have DA accounts though one left DA, and the other hardly uses it, and they never gave me any kind of warning and I have seen people do major things on this site and either nothing ever happened, OR they got WARNINGS.

( I don't even have my name on the alt, which shows you how dense they are to assume. )

I report art, pedophilia and porn that isn't allowed on DA, and magically I'M the bad guy???

( Both accounts were suspended for two weeks, I think my report tool was suspended for two weeks, then changed to a month..which is bs )

Oh, but it's TOTALLY okay for me to be stalked, harassed, have people block evade to harass me further, to be death/rape/hack threatened, sexually harassed, and more, and even have people send me virus links which counts as a major crime on DA but NOTHING happened EVER even with hundreds of pieces of proof, if not more!

O_o They're ass backwards and have no idea what they're doing, removing a report tool in it's self is beyond stupid, what if you see REAL pedophilia and no one else would/could report it?? like what is the point of removing the tool, so you don't have to do your job??

( A report tool does GOOD for the community, not bad! people falsely report art, but if they do just ignore them OR give them a warning, if they don't listen suspend THEM, not innocent people!! )

If they 'have a limit' which I do not believe as I've never seen it and there is no limit where it literally stops you from reporting, ENFORCE one instead of being dicks to people, oh yes others have been suspended because of this stupid shit, I don't know names I just talked to people..PS, there is a limit on how many helpdesk reports you can make a day, AKA reporting PEOPLE, but there is no such thing for the art.

I honestly feel they're 'too bothered' to just do their job, I can talk about it freely especially considering it's offsite so they can't do anything to me. :'D

I just feel completely awful that I had to be away from you guys for so long, I couldn't sleep at first, then it got easier..but I felt so dang awful bc I owed art, was chatting with you guys, and the like..only to have some jerks try to ruin things for me over opinions, not facts.

The only thing I 'did wrong' was use an alt, BUT I never did anything wrong in the first place to 'be wrong'?? they even sent me the same message THREE times for two different problems, and each time it was an automated one.... ._. THAT should prove right there how lazy they are.

( Twice on DA, once in an email )

Ever since they've been bought out this shit has happened, the majority of the staff is garbage, the only helpful ones I can think of do like COPPA reports, chat about art, do contests and other fun things for DA.

I hope this never happens again, if you have any questions or would like to add me else where note me!

I don't ever want to lose you guys..OTL the thought of it majorly depressed me..

At least I got a ton of new art done in the mean time..;_; but still..

Sorry this is so long, and sorry if I worried anyone, I'm okay..I'll post more normal updates later on DA, I love you guys so much. ;///;

Try to be careful with DA, they're banning innocent people for no reason and leaving the evil people around..

Please let me know any good news in your lives I'd love to hear it!!

( Comment on my Status not Tumblr please, this is just for you guys on DA )

God bless, I hope you'll all be okay.

#personal rant

1 note · View note

bunnyandbirb · 7 years

Text

Birb’s B-Movies #1 : Birdemic: Shock and Terror

IMDB : 1.8 / Rotten Tomatoes : 19%

Birdemic: Shock and Terror is a 2010 ““““romantic thriller”””” film written, directed, and produced by the same guy (which we all know is the hallmark of a good movie.) Unlike those masterpieces however, Birdemic doesn’t feature the writer/producer/director James Nguyen as its lead actor... though I’m not entirely sure that it would’ve impacted the quality of the movie much either way.

I stumbled upon Birdemic a few years back and instantly knew that it would be one of my favorite movies of all time. It features all the characteristics of a *quality* film: comically bad acting, dialogue so stilted it’s hard to believe it was written by a real person, truly “special” effects - all compiled by what I can only imagine were two monkeys at an editing desk. It’s almost impossible to understand this movie without just sitting down and watching it, so I encourage you wholeheartedly to witness it yourself.

As the movie starts we’re introduced to our lead, Rod, who is clearly an alien still getting used to his new human body. The movie provides plenty of exposition into his life right off the bat, with five minutes of mundane traffic shots intermingled with equally dull shots of Rod driving. The same 20-second music clip is played on loop for the duration of this entire sequence, sometimes with a few second pauses in between each repetition.

When he finally decides to get out of the damn car, Rod has a horribly audio-balanced interaction in a diner, where he creeps on some girl that he remembers from high school. The girl, Nathalie, is a model who has photoshoots exclusively at one-hour photo studios in strip malls. She diligently cuts her sandwich into pieces and leaves the diner without eating any of it. I originally assumed that Rod runs after her to ask what her problem is, but alas. Instead the two have a painfully awkward conversation and split ways after exchanging business cards (score!) Apparently, director Nguyen had told Nathalie’s actress not to socialize with Rod’s actor outside of filming. This is either because he wanted to keep Rod’s extraterrestrial identity a secret, or he wanted to ensure that the two main characters would have no chemistry whatsoever. He succeeded at one of those, at least.

Rod spends his time watching news broadcasts on global warming, driving through more traffic, and wearing long sleeves under a t-shirt to play basketball. Not only is he terrible at pretending to be human, Rod is also one of the worst salespeople I’ve ever seen.

But hey. Despite barely being able to string together a coherent sentence, Rod somehow manages to whip million dollar deals out of his ass without even breaking out of his monotone. So maybe I’m the dumb one.

The next 50 minutes of the movie pass by like this:

Some guy comes by to install solar panels.

Our favorite couple find a jpeg of a dead bird on the beach.

Nathalie’s mom forgets her lines but they keep the take anyway.

This scene happens.

Rod calls Nathalie his “Hot Ferrari.”

There is a performance of the most memorable song of this century.

Rod and Nathalie go on three (count it, 3!!) awkward dates.

One of these is a double date where they go to watch An Inconvenient Truth.

Another is a mostly silent outing to a pumpkin festival, where Rod looks like he is desperately trying to understand the world around him.

Finally, Nathalie and Rod end up in bed together. There are several agonizingly slow pan shots of seemingly random stock footage of landscapes before we are rewarded with this:

Yes. Those are birds dive-bombing a town, complete with plane sounds.

Rod and Nathalie wake up, and it is revealed that Rod likes to have sex with his pants and belt still on. (This is probably the biggest plot twist in the movie.) They look out the window and see an animated gif of a bird hovering right in front of the glass. After realizing that their phones all don’t work, they push the mattress against the window (which is supposed to help… how?) The birds eventually all leave for no reason and they meet another couple, Ramsey and Becky, that was staying in the room next to them.

The four of them run to Ramsey’s car in preparation for another bird attack, all wielding the most efficient weapon possible: clothes hangers. This swiftly leads up to the greatest fight sequence of all time.

They drive out of town, saving two zombies disguised as children on the way. Ramsey, an ex-marine, drops this line of wisdom: “I'm just tired of all the fucking killing in Iraq. Why can't we just give peace a chance?” before picking from his arsenal of assault rifles and opening fire on any birds in sight.

In between towns, they meet a scientist named Dr. Jones (who Rod eloquently points out by saying, “Hey, look! There’s an old guy on the bridge!”). Dr. Jones lectures to the group for what seems like forever, explaining the dangers of global warming and loosely using that as a reason for the sudden bird attacks. And no, it doesn’t make any sense.

Becky gets instakilled by a bird while innocently taking a shit in a field. The poor girl hardly even got to say any lines. Ramsey and Nathalie try their best to cry. Rod doesn’t even make an attempt.

As the rest of the group run away, they pass by a bus full of people who are being held hostage by birds.

Ramsey has apparently lost his will to live, and goes on a suicide mission to save the passengers. Of course this goes badly (how could it not?). Ramsey and the extras are all sprayed by some kind of bird acid, which looks suspiciously like orange juice with pulp. Pulp is pretty disgusting, so they all scream in prolonged agony and die on the spot.

Rod, Nathalie and the zombie children drive to a convenience store where Rod tries to buy gas from the very authentic Middle-Eastern owner. In fact, I have suspicions that the owner was not actually an actor at all, and Nguyen just asked him to say some lines for the movie. The guy looks like he does not give a single shit about what’s happening. It was also confirmed by the actors that the crew often just showed up to places to film without permits, so there’s that.

In any case, the makeshift family drives along until they get held up by a random cowboy who wants their newly-purchased gas.

He obviously dies via convenient bird, and Rod leaves the scene without even taking the gas with them.

At this point, Nguyen decides that he hasn’t shoved the moral of this movie in our faces enough. As our main characters enter a wooded area, we encounter Tom Hill, a “tree hugger.” Tom gives yet another hamfisted spiel about protecting the environment, only to end the conversation with “I hear a mountain lion! I gotta get back to my house and you better get to your car!”

A forest fire arbitrarily starts as they’re running back to the car, and they make their way to the final location of the movie: the beach.

Rod and Nathalie’s friends, the couple they went on a double date with earlier, are found dead in a car because why not. Rod catches a fish and Nathalie proves how useless she is by bringing back a tub of seaweed. The “kids” refuse to eat either of these things, presumably because they only consume human flesh. They all lock themselves in the car again as the birds attack one last time.

Then the birds leave. Why? Who knows.

We don’t get an explanation, but we do get this scene that doesn’t change until the end of the credits. As you can tell by the wing flaps-per-second, the group of birds on the right are in much better shape than the ones on the left.

Birdemic is a perfect example of a movie that has gone so far into the ‘wrong’ that it loops back into the ‘right.’ I already watch it at least once a month and if anything, it has completely changed my perspective on clothes hangers. The fact that a movie like this was made to be genuinely good gives it that b-movie charm that can’t be knowingly emulated.

Favorite line from the movie: “It's the human species that needs to quit playing cowboy with nature. We must act more like astronauts, spacemen taking care of Spaceship Earth.” - Dr. Jones

Thanks for reading this excessively long overview... OTL

~Stay tuned for more nonsense~

- birb

Extra:

#monday #birb #birdemic #thisisbunnyinthetags #there is a picture of me and birb photoshopped with the birds in #you will never see that photo #true art #moviemonday #bunnyandbirb #james nguyen #long post #text post #first real post #ramblings #blog #b movie #bmovieappreciation

4 notes · View notes

jungnoir · 6 years

Note

ah thank you!! i hope so too but it's the thought that counts~ okei i just put ur birthday in my calendar, we're even now 🤩 also jungwoo and his crab army is such a funny mental image i cOULD JUST IMAGINE yukhei pranking jungwoo one too many times and he's like "u know what, eat THIS" and well. r.i.p yukhei hfjdhs hmm take some allergy meds :(? have a nice cup of tea/coffee & just chill to get ur mind off it!! - (1/4) layout anon

infinity war spoilers below

oKAY YEAH SO SPOILER TIME, I AGREE!!! i felt like there were wayy to many things happening? it was a little confusing cause i’ve never watched a guardians of the galaxy movie oops.. and no it isnt!! i really like loki too :( i saw this thread thingy about how loki might not be dead and it seems pretty solid to me tbh!! bjdhdh thats what i wanna believe… i really hope thats the case bc all my favs faded into nothing and i was pretty much emotionless at the end of the film o

tbh the part that really frustrated me was when they were about to get the glove off thanos but stAR LORD PUNCHED HIM I WAS ABOUT TO THROW HANDS!!! i also kinda expected him to throw gamora off the cliff but still:( the amount of times this movie made me tear up i omg i feel like spidey’s death was the worse? i told myself i wouldn’t cry but when he started saying stuff like “i’m too young to die”… i died instead 😭😭 i ended up really liking groot at the end and then That happened so:/ (¾)

in short, the movie is a whole mess in my head hfjdh anyway tHATS CUTE!! peter parker will protect u from his lil buds :^) oh is flash any good? my friends talk about it but i hardly have the time or motivation to start a new series ;-; perhaps i may make an exception for a certain show tho 👀 yEs mother i will rest… Maybe… thank you! i really need the luck OTL have a good day today 💛💛 - layout anon (i’m sorry my incredibly long messages are making a comeback,, i couldn’t help it👉👈)(4/4)

heck yeah we are! EXACTLY SDUSHFIJ i had yukhei in my mind to be the one that’s running around the garden from a vicious army of crabs while jungwoo is furiously shouting “APOLOGIZE” from a balcony. I did!! it’s…. still here but it’s manageable LOL i’m just being a baby.

you’re so right! there was a lot happening at once and I kinda knew that it would most likely be like that going into it because it’s so many characters, quite a few who haven’t really interacted with each other yet, and so many pieces needing to be set in place for the next movie. ahhh I could see how confusing it’d be without watching gotg :/ I’m still pissed about gamora, I hope they bring her back! I told my brother “I don’t think Loki is dead” and he was like “when is Loki ever dead” LOL he’s coming back some way some how, trust me. if he doesn’t I will be CROSS @ marvel. lmao i know if i could have punched that zarkon wannabe in the face i would have

FUCKING RIGHT like i know you’re upset dude but why didn’t they explain to him AFTER they got the glove off that she was dead like we all knew he was going to blow a gasket over it!!!! just a few more seconds and it would have been fine!!! and now we’re all DEAD thanks chris pratt adijshh. peter’s was the worst for me :( the minute he fell into tony my heart was ripped out of my chest and now all I can think about is that ned and aunt may and company are at home in queens and no one knows where peter is except ned. just imagine how stressed aunt may must be, how bad ned might feel (like he could have stopped peter from going, told him to leave it to the avengers, reiterate that peter has a whole life ahead of him and he’s only been doing big stuff like this for so long). how they’re all probably watching the world crumble around them and the sheer confusion…… hng

thinking happy groot thoughts,,,, remember how invested he was in his video game,,, and the little condescending “i am groooot”. what a cutie. i love him. please mr. parker or i’m gonna have to punch a tarantula in the face one day and then cry about it because i hurt it. I really love the flash!!! I def recommend it. like most shows I haven’t finished it but I’m on season 2 and it’s really great. you’ll love the characters. also barry is like another peter almost so if u love peter u will love him. asjfhsidfj “mother” YES I AM UR MOM U BETTER HAVE RESTED. ily!!!! im so glad the long messages made a comeback ok fite me

#majanswers #layout anon

0 notes

todokori-kun · 7 years

Text

HEEEEYYYY I FINISHED FMA YESTERDAY

I’M NOT QUITE OVER GREED AND I DOUBT I EVER WILL BE

BUT EVERYBODY’S HAPPY

I’M SO GLAD

(and tiny Pride. It’s fun how he was like, almost the least sympathetic homunculus (I mean, most people can relate to just wanting to go back to sleep ok dad/mom, so even Sloth…lol), and yet he’s the only one who finds a ‘new life’.)

(only HOHENHEIM’S DEAD, my FMA twin is gone ;-; at least that moment with Trisha was beautiful)

I thought I’d cry with FMA’s ending because I did almost cry during the Ishvalan Civil War flashbacks, but…once again, my eyes were dry XD maybe because TG and AoT made me appreciate FMA’s happy ending more?

TYSM for recommending such a great series, Queen Luna <33333 I’m getting kinda emotional XD

UGH. Idek what book that is but I already hate it because of that line.

Hisoka, Hisoka. He’s like the unholy offspring of Furuta and Sebastian. I love it.

(nah, it’s fine,I don’t mind cursing ^^ thanks for asking though, that was sweet)

Yeah, Junior High is pretty cute :) well, it hasn’t been that long since she started learning cello so she’s still playing simple songs like 'mary had a little lamb’ ^^ she really wants to play more complex songs, though.

GAH SORRY I still haven’t started playing OTL I’ve just been a bit busy and had a lot to think about (because COLLEGE) so I kept forgetting…I’ll let you know when I finally start, sorry ;-;

If Urie/Saiko doesn’t become canon…ok, ok, I can deal with Touken, I can deal with that. HOWEVER. If Urie/Saiko doesn’t become canon and Urie/Mutsuki does, I don’t even know what I’ll do. ESPECIALLY IF ISHIDA MAKES URIE ABANDON SAIKO TO 'SAVE’ MUTSUKI OR SOMETHING OMG

I would never! I’m a nice, sweet cinnamon roll who doesn’t know the meaning of the word 'savage’!

If Kimblee actually took a liking to me I’d try to get him to stop blowing things up. Maybe find him a different hobby. But the sad truth is that there’s probably nothing and no one he likes enough to give up his explosions for XD

But you know how I have a cinnamon roll side and then a troll side? Troll!Evans and Kimblee might actually get along really well. Imagine the suffering…

0//////0 Queen Luna is also an amazing friend! Tysm for everything <333 (I say 'tysm’ a lot but then again, there’s no such thing as too many 'thank you’s? lol. Also, I love how 'Queen Luna’ was just a joke at first but now it’s like an actual nickname I use for you. I hardly ever call you just 'Luna’ anymore XD if we ever met irl I’d probably have a hard time calling you anything other than 'queen’)

Oh wow. Sebastian will fight you for the honor of his kitties

X-men is a seperate universe from MCU, though. (I don’t watch X-men so I’m not sure but I think they and MCU agreed to share the Pietro/Wanda twins?) X-men Pietro is a different character from MCU Pietro so our Pietro is still dead ;-;

Moblit and Evans would go on friendly coffee dates and rant about their crazy queens.

Luna/Armin would be so cute, seriously why do I ship you with so many characters…and idk what puberty will do to Armin(will he even survive to go through all of it? sorry) but the fanart of adult!Armin does look good :)

And wait, 15 cm taller than Levi? I’m maybe 3~5 cm taller than him (and I’m only 13 omg) so that makes you at least 10cm taller than me.

It’s really messed up, which means I’ve gotta draw it now XD

Congratulations with Kimblee might go something like this (warning: this is crack and I’m sorta abusing Kimblee's canon abilities, realistically it probably couldn’t go like this):

Shuu: “Mr. Kimblee?!”

Kimblee: “Tsukiyama…

Congratulations.”

*blows up the clock on Shuu’s desk*

“You have invented a new kind of stupid-”

*blows up a framed picture of Shuu and Naomi*

“A 'Damage You Can Never Undo’ kind of stupid-”

*sets fire to the carpet*

“An 'Open All the Cages in the Zoo’ kind of stupid-”

*destroys the entire hecking desk*

“A 'Clearly, You Didn’t Think This Through’ kind of stupid.”

*breaks the window nearest to Shuu*

And then, at the end-

Kimblee: “Every sacrifice you make is for my sister, give her the best life-

Congratulations. :)”

*entire house collapses around them*

So you’d contract Sebastian for chocolate?

(tbh I have a sweet tooth too. I’m sorta sensitive to taste so too many sweets at once makes me get sick of them quickly, but I really like them a little at a time (and I still almost never get sick of chocolate))

ty again for the beautiful edit <3

*hugs* thank you, that really means a lot to me.

But did you see the small Kaneki painting I sent you along with the other pics? Because I actually made that as a way to vent..splattering red blood paint all over the paper did help XD (drawing doesn’t always help, though. When I’m really angry I get the urge to raise my voice and say exactly what I’m thinking, only that’d be horrible so I try to keep it down..but that just makes me angrier LOL)

the left side feels more Kanae and the right side feels more Shuu, but either way, it looks really beautiful :D <3 (also that 'I miss you’ omg I’m getting Shuu/Kaneki feels NO)

(Also I hope the Uta edit I sent you was ok? It was like almost the first aesthetic thing I’ve ever done lol

About it, though: I don’t have a pinterest so I searched stuff like 'black and white aesthetic tumblr’ on google and used the pics that popped up…is that ok? Since I’m just downloading pictures I like and playing around with them on PhotoScape with no intention to post it on the internet or show it to anyone other than you? Idek how this works, I’m way too ignorant about the internet ;-;)

Oh, that sounds cool! I don’t listen to much Ed Sheeran but liked his song for the Hobbit ('I see Fire’? I think that’s what it’s called?) and because Shape of You just keeps playing in the manhwa cafe I go to to read manga, that song kinda got stuck in my head and I can’t stop listening to it XD I don’t listen to remixes a lot for no particular reason but some of them are really cool :)

I’m currently obsessed with Hurricane, Castle, Ghost and 100 Letters by Halsey, along with a bunch of Lana Del Rey songs (going to listen to her new album as soon as I can!), Melodrama (Lorde’s new album), and Young and Menace and Champions by Fall Out Boy…also songs from Steven Universe and Adventure Time, like Love Like You and Everything Stays. And all of FMA’s openings because WOW.

(And yeah, movie/anime soundtracks are always so cool <3)

Is... Is your heart okay? I know it’s a big emotional thing! Yeee, Greed’s death was a huge shock for me as well T^T WhY Did yOu HaVE tO saY GOodByE

The only thing that really shocked me was Ed giving up his alchemy. It honestly made for a bit of an unsatisfying end, like it’s trying to make way for a sequel (that never came)

Yep, I was expecting you to be not so happy with Hoenheim... Well, at least it’s a happy death? Not in battle, but with his beloved?

TG and AoT scar people for life. Kill of their emotions, so they’re unable to cry at sad things, bc nothing is sad in comparison to those two. Except for a few rare exceptions. Oh, did I ever tell you that I always, without a fail, cry when watching a specific Love Live episode? It’s about a character that I relate to a bit too much, and since it’s a sorta bittersweet character arc, I always end up crying. The music also gets to me. I could write in detail exactly what and why XD

No problem! If you ever want more recommendations, just say so! Even though I’ll probably recommend series without you asking :P

It’s called ‘Court of Thorns and Roses’. I mean, the writing style is more or less ok, and the premise is interesting at first glance, but then everything gets ruined by the author for not being able to create a flawed MC, cause they have to be perfect! I’ve read another one of the author’s books before, but dropped it halfway, again because on an annoying MC. The only reason why I finished this one is bc it was the only reading material available XD It’s also supposed to be a spin on Beauty and the Beast, but with fairies, but it was so badly done that I genuinely didn’t realize that until I read it somewhere on the internet. It’s also one of the rare series where I intentionally don’t read the sequels. The original book was that bad I’m getting way too emotional over the book XD

Hisoka is breaking my trash-o meter! It’s over 9000!

Ah, that’s a relief... I’ve definitely started cussing a lot lately, and I know it makes some people uncomfortable, so I wanted to ask ^^

Aw, that’s actually adorable! I hope she gets better at it soon ^^ I’ve always loved listening to string instruments...

Naaah, no worries! Take your time with it! It’s no rush, honestly! Do it at a time that’s convenient to you ^^ Seriously, please don’t feel pressured to play it >_<

Let’s be honest. The possibility of Urie sacrificing himself for Mutsuki is way bigger than Urie/Saiko becoming canon. I cry when I think about it, because we all know Urie would be so much happier with Saiko (*`д´*) Ishida, whyyyyy

Right, I totally believe that. Evans, a sweet, innocent cinnamon roll who doesn't get savage at moments. Sure. Because you totally didn’t set the Flame Alchemist on fire with a burn.

I’m afraid explosions are his one true love. Maybe you could get him to paint explosions instead of making them, though. Like, ‘Ok, Kimblee, here’s paper, some paint, go wild. Just don’t set the room on fire, please.’ He’d show his soft side around you only. If there was anyone else in the room, he’d be his usual self, but with you, in private, he’d probably be a tiny bit sweet. Sometimes. Troll!Evans and Kimblee would be the actual definition of ‘Prepare for trouble, make it double’. I’d probably run away screaming when you’d announce your relationship XD I’d congratulate you later, but still a bit weary when the two of you are together.

Fun fact: I almost blush every time I read the word Queen XD If I was someone who blushed easily, I’d be an actual tomato while reading your messages ^\\\^ I’d probably actually blush if we were walking around and you called me queen... And then bury myself into a hole forever XD

I’d be the person who’d just shrug her shoulders and be like ‘we all have our opinions’. Now that I think about it, I’d probably get on just fine with Ciel XD

Ah, I see. I just remember that there was a quicksilver in one of those movies, but I didn’t remember the details.

Hanji and I would simultaneously have the glimmering glasses moment XD The parallels between the duos are really similar :P

He! Will! Survive! He has too... We already had an almost death for him, and I don’t want an actual death to happen. The cinnamon roll doesn’t deserve it. The first time I saw the fan art, my reaction was. *stares at the screen* ‘well then’ I’d liked Armin from the beginning but this was the moment in which he was cemented as favorite character XD

Aw, Evans is smol for now! When I was 13, I was shortest in class, but now I’m among the tallest. Everyone is taller than Levi... That’s just sad XD But, hey, everyone in Cinderella Phenomenon (I will not shut up) is taller than you! In fact, you’re approx. the height of the MC! Cuuute

Well, my stomach totally doesn’t hurt from laughing too much XD That’s a very destructive version of Congratulations, that would probably end up with someone getting sued XD Shuu for emotional damage, Kimblee for blowing up a fucking house.

Unfortunately, not even chocolate can make me sign a contract with that trash can. Sorry Bassy, but you’re not getting my soul.

Aw, that’s a shame... There’s never enough sweets!

I’m glad you like it ^^

You could always yell into a pillow? Or punch the pillow if you’re feeling especially angry...

So, basically, I unintentionally made a Shuu/Kanae edit. I’m not even mad XD

Yeah, it was pretty good! If you want, I can pass you some advices my friend gave to me when I stared making the edits? The quote is very Uta, tho. I mean, he does revel in other’s tragedy...

Yes, of course it is! Find pics any way you want! I’m just using pinterest because it’s easier ^^;; A lot of really artsy pics are posted there, so I quickly find what I’m looking for ^^

Yep, I think it’s called that... Most of his songs on my playlist are from his new album, but some are older as well ^^ There’s this remix of Shape Of You. I listen to it waaay too much XD I found it in an AMV and was immediately like ‘I want this song’, so I downloaded it :P

FMA has some of the best openings and closings I’ve ever heard. My favorite is probably the first one, because it’s just so so amazing *^*

I live for the fantasy fight soundtracks. A few examples are from the anime Fate/Zero or Fate/Unlimited Blade Works, like This Day and Never Again, Unlimited Blade Works and You Are My King. Those would make a snail race look epic.

AAAALSO THE RAGNAROK TRAILER IS OOUT! I adored Loki’s moment XD ‘Surprise~ This is going to be so much fun’

#evans #submission

0 notes