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patt-writes-stuff · 3 years

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Violetgrass (Xiao x f!reader)

Pairing: Yan!Xiao x f!reader

Word count: 6.7K+

Warnings: not the most canon complaint cuz the timeline for the archon War is a little blurry? Angst with no happy ending, major and repeated character death, semi-detailed descriptions of blood, injuries, and violence. Unhealthy and toxic relationships, yandere themes, mentions of stalking, controlling behavior, mentions of kid-napping, forced captivity. Unhealthy mindsets and generally xiao’s kinda slowly losing his sanity. Some delusions. Allusions of starvation/dehydration (it’s like one sentence). Pleas do not read this if any of the previously mentioned topics trigger you in any way.

Genre: Angst and Yandere

Tags/Aus: Mythology Au, Reincarnation Au

Summary: You and Xiao were lovers during the Archon War. You were his paradise, his bliss, and, unfortunately, a fragile mortal who was taken away far too soon. However Celestina was kind enough, or perhaps cruel enough, to bring you back to Xiao, only to rip you out of his loving embrace once more. This happens again and again, each time far more painfully than the last. Even an Adeptus such as Xiao can only take so much before he snaps though. This time, he’s gonna make sure that no one, not even you, can take his bliss away.

A/N: This is my piece for the Attack on Academia Mythology Au Collab!! Be sure to check the rest of them, they’re all super awesome and made by amazing writers!

You’ve heard the myth about the Vigilant Yaksha and the violetgrass maiden, haven’t you?

It’s said that the two are eternally intertwined, destined to love each other, only to be ripped apart by both her mortality and the cruelty of the gods. The tale itself goes like this…

The first time the Adeptus and his mortal lover met was back when the Archon War was still roaring. The smell of blood and misery filled the air and Rex Lapis had yet to claim his title as the Geo Archon. Despite this, some managed to find joy and serenity in these troubling periods.

The maiden was one of those people. She found joy in frolicking through the fields and climbing the highest mountains to collect qingxin flowers and, her personal favorite, violetgrass, whenever she had the time. Though climbing up the steep mountains and jagged peaks of Liyue was indeed dangerous, the damsel had become quite skilled at climbing, her hold rarely ever slipping, no falls or cuts of any sort.

Until one day, the maiden was climbing up a particular mountain. It was a troublesome one, for there were no proper footholds or protruding stones to grab on to. Still, the pretty violetgrass that was just a foot or two away from her, swaying gently with the wind, was far too tempting to not collect. It would look so lovely in a flower crown, or maybe a vase, perhaps she could flatten it out to make a bookmark or-

A piercing shriek escaped the mortal. Whilst her thoughts had been elsewhere, she’d stopped on a small ledge that was far too fragile to support her weight, the rock beneath the maiden gave away to nothing before she could react.

She shut their eyes tightly, bracing herself for an impact that would surely leave her battered and bruised, if not dead.

However, it never came.

Instead, she was caught mid-air by a pair of strong arms that secured their hold under the mortal woman’s knees and neck. She didn’t open her eyes right away, for fear that she would still fall, choosing instead to catch their breath. Once her savior landed safely on the ground, something she was able to detect due to the thud of shoes against the earth, she slowly opened her eyes.

Upon opening them, her eyes met with the piercing amber eyes of a young man with dark hair (the color of the ocean at night, she thought dreamily) with pretty teal bangs framing his even prettier face. His brows were furrowed slightly, thin lips twisted into what seemed to be a permanent frown. In her still dazed state, she couldn’t help but think that he was far too handsome to look so dreadfully serious.

After an intense moment of eye contact, perhaps too intense for two strangers that had met only seconds prior, he let her go in a rather unceremonious manner, causing her to squawk in surprise, knees buckling under the unexpected weight. She had not yet had a chance to gather her bearings after such a terrifying event.

Instead of asking if she was alright, the young man simply said, in a rather crude and callous manner, “You should be more careful, mortal. If I hadn’t been there to catch you, you would’ve surely broken your neck.”

She gawked at him. Mortal? Why would he refer to her in such an… odd way?

The maiden looked at him up and down, as if trying to understand just what was wrong with this poor man. Suddenly, it struck her. She’d been an absolute idiot to not have noticed sooner. From the tattoo that adorned his right arm to the way he held himself, it had been so obvious.

Her savior was an Adeptus.

He wasn’t just an Adeptus, no. He was much more than that. He was one of the Adepti who served under Rex Lapis. He was one of the five Yakshas who kept her and the people of Liyue safe if the mask tied to his belt was any indication. And instead of killing demons or evil gods, he’d taken the time to save her.

Before she could muster an adequate thank you, he, who she’d now realized was Adeptus Xiao, was already leaving, uttering a quick “Please be careful,” on his way.

Quickly, and without really thinking, she grabbed onto his wrist, blabbering out the words, “Wait, don’t go! You must allow me to repay you for your generous actions!”

The amber-eyed Adeptus opened his mouth, ready to declare that it was unnecessary, but before he could, the damsel spoke up, “I could cook you something in return. How about almond tofu?” with a small giggle she added, “I assure you it’s sweeter than those dreams you eat.”

To both of their surprises, Xiao uttered a quiet, almost shy, “Yes.”

The Adeptus didn’t know what had come over him. All he knew is that there was something about the way her eyes sparkled and her lips moved, her soothing, melodious voice. It made his heart pound in a way it never had before.

And so, she cooked him some almond tofu, and they- well, she- talked as he ate the mouthwatering sweet.

He came back the day after that one and the one after that, followed on by the one after that, and so on. Xiao hadn’t meant to, really he hadn’t. But there was something about the maiden that just brought him a peace he had never experienced before. Her warm embrace and soft, gentle words were all he needed to keep fighting, to keep living, even. She was his paradise, his bliss. It wasn’t long until they were mutually infatuated with one another, deeply in love.

Every time he would visit her home, he would always bring her the flowers she so adored. Glaze lilies, silk flowers, and of course, violetgrass. Xiao had even gifted her a small broach, one made of the finest noctilucous jade, shaped like the downturned purple flower.

Unfortunately, everything is temporary for those punished with immortality.

The first time Xiao lost his maiden was, as he remembers, a rainy day. Despite the dreary weather, she had decided to go violetgrass picking since they’re always best picked after the rain.

But, dear Archons, what a dreadful idea that had been.

While the purple flower is indeed best picked after it rains, it is also the time when rocks are most… slippery.

So, as the maiden was climbing up the steep mountains of Juyen Karst, her right hand’s hold on the rock slipped, causing her palm to be cut open by a particularly jagged piece of stone. She hissed in, watching as blood began to ooze out. Panic started to seep in, there was no ledge for her to tend to her wound, and the cut was far too big for her to continue to climb up or down.

Dread began to fill her to her very core, she felt burning hot with unchecked anxiety, fear begging to settle into her gut in the most uncomfortable of manners. She should have waited for Xiao as he had asked of her. Ever since they had first met, a year ago to the day, he’d been so adamant on wanting to go with her to ensure her safety. She’d only wanted to surprise him with some when he returned home. The maiden was so sure it would’ve been a romantic anniversary gift, seeing as they were the cause of their meeting…

She’d been such a fool.

The violetgrass maiden attempted to climb down but Celestia seemed to laugh at her feeble attempts. She stretched her leg, trying to find the foothold she had used previously. However, her foot slipped and before she knew it, she was falling, just as she had been a year ago.

Horror filled her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe, her life flashed before her eyes, and then suddenly she remembered some words her lover had uttered to her one night under the glow of the moonlight when it was but the two of them in each other’s arms:

“If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name, Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.”

And so she called, at the top of her lungs, as loud as she could muster. The seconds seemed to turn to hours as she shut her eyes and waited to feel the strong arms of her lover, to hear the safety of his heartbeat.

But it never came.

Or rather, it came too late.

By the time Xiao had finished up the demonic creatures that threatening Liyue, by the time he’d answered her call, he was already too late.

Upon manifesting in the air out of nothing, he was greeted by the side of his love’s pitiful, mortal body. Her garments were bloody, the basket she carried her flowers in laid a few feet away from her body,her neck bent in a painfully awkward way.

Xiao felt so helpless. He was so helpless.

He could do no more than hold back the tears stinging his eyes and attempting to shake her awake.

The second time Xiao met the maiden was no more than a century after the first time. The Archon War was not yet over and sickness plagued every nook and cranny, taking the lives of hundreds upon thousands.

The two star-crossed lovers were reunited one clear summer night when the maiden was wandering aimlessly through the fields of Lingju Pass. She knew it was dangerous during these times, especially with how ill she had been feeling as of late. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She’d already spent hours tossing and turning in her bed. Sleep, however, refused to come. Instead, she felt the overwhelming urge to leave the safety of her bed and go there. It was as if someone had tied a rope around her waist and was tugging at it persistently, insisting she follows.

And so she followed.

Upon reaching a clearing, she froze. In front of her very eyes was a sitting Stonehide Lawachurl, the type even the fiercest warriors in your village struggled with. The maiden quickly started backing away, praying to the Lord of Geo that it wouldn’t sense her presence. Her prayers were in vain, however, for as soon as the thought escaped her, she stepped on a twig, making it snap and effectively alerting the fearsome monster of her presence.

She shook in terror as parts of the Lawachurl’s rocky exterior began to glow with geo elemental energy. She hadn’t expected anything of the sort to happen so she hadn’t brought her sword, meaning she couldn’t exactly fight it, definitely not without a vision at least. Running wasn’t much of an option considering her body’s weak and ill state. She could try to outrun it, sure, but it wouldn’t be long before she was driven to a coughing fit because of it.

Before life had a chance to flash before her eyes, a masked young man appeared. Distantly, she recognized him as one of the adepti and watched him easily defeat the Stonehide Lawachurl with a series of short, consecutive plunges. She couldn’t help but watch him, mouth agape in an expression of pure, unadulterated awe. The Adeptus didn’t even need a claymore to break through the creature’s thick, hard exterior. As bad as she felt for not assisting him, she knew she weren’t exactly in any position to lend a hand. Not that she needed to, though, for soon enough the monster crumbled into nothing but red and black smoke.

After a second of panting over the remains of what was left of the creature, polearm in hand, Xiao turned to her and felt his blood run cold.

It was her.

How could it be her? She had died long ago. He knew she had, he’d cradled her cold body as tears streamed down his face. He’d taken her lifeless body back to her family. He’d left flowers at her grave.

This had to be some sort of sick joke, he thought, perhaps the karmic debt was finally getting to him, just like it had his fellow Yakshas.

Suddenly, his amber eyes zeroed in on a broach she had pinned to her dress. A Violetgrass broach, to be exact. Made of noctilucous jade, just like the one he had given her. The one he’d made for her with his own hands. There was no denying it was the very one. Only, how could that be? He had ensured it had been buried with you…

But it was an indisputable fact. That broach was the one he had made for his love and the woman before him was her. It was her from her wide eyes, fixated on him with the same wonder they had always had when they looked at him. Her hair was the same color and texture, and it framed her face in the same way. It was her.

The beginnings of tears stung at his eyes. Perhaps Celestia had brought you back? Perhaps they’d finally realized, just as he had always known, that her death was cruel and unfair. That it wasn’t meant to be. That she was meant to be in his arms, happy and safe.

“Uhm- excuse me, Adeptus Xiao, are you alright?” She inquired worriedly, eyes solely on him, filled to the brim with concern.

‘Oh Archons’, he couldn’t help but think distantly, ‘I’ve missed her voice.’

Instead of running up to her and crushing him in his loving embrace, he stayed where he was, took off his mask, nodded briskly, swallowing as if to avoid the tightness in his throat. She didn’t seem to remember him yet, so there was no use in frightening her.

Before he could muster up the courage to speak to her, his love began to cough furiously, though she attempted to cover it up. She didn’t want to be rude to her savior, after all.

“Ha, pardon me, sir, I’ve just been feeling a bit under the weather is all,” she told him feebly.

He nodded brusquely, before uttering, “I shall return you home safely.”

“Oh no, I assure you, you’ve done more than enough for me. I can’t ask that of you,” she fumbled hurriedly, though his words were more of a statement than a question.

Xiao had never been one for unnecessary- or at least what he thought were unnecessary- words, so instead of saying anything, the Adeptus simply grabbed her by the waist and teleported you home, after asking where home was, of course.

The next day, the Yaksha visited the maiden’s home, a bushel of violetgrass flowers in hand. She’d been understandably surprised, yet thrilled that the dark-haired man was visiting her. She hadn’t expected someone as busy as him to make time for a regular person such as herself, especially not during these times.

“These are my favorite flowers, y’know? They’re just so beautiful,” the maiden exclaimed gleefully.

He did know. That had been one of the reasons he had brought them to her. The second reason was because of what happened last time, in her previous life, he supposed. Celestia had been kind enough to gift him a second chance with his love, and he was going to ensure that it did not go to waste.

And so, every day he would visit her. Some days he would bring silk flowers, or glaze lilies, while other days he would bring her loach pearls and core lapis. Not a day went by where he would not appear in front of the damsel’s house, a gift in hand, ready to hear her ramble about whatever that beautiful brain of hers desired to prattle on about.

“You’re simply too generous Xiao,” she’d told him playfully while she laid in her bed, as she was still unwell, the Adeptus seated in a plush chair next to it. “There has to be something I can give you in return for everything. I won’t take no for an answer.”

He thought for a moment, before asking, tentatively, “Do you know how to make almond tofu?”

He’d never forget her dazzling smile that day, as she shakily got out of her bed, latching onto the support he offered while she gathered her bearings, and marched to her kitchen, enthusiastically preparing the sweet treat as she talked about a book she’d been reading, one that’d been gifted to her by a friend, titled Moonlit Bamboo Forest.

The lovers did this every day for months. Xiao brought her some medicinal tea that Rex Lapis himself said could cure her ailments. They did indeed begin to see improvement in her health and Xiao couldn’t help but feel immense relief. This time, he wouldn’t lose her for certain.

Until the plagues reached her village.

She’d been one of the first to catch it since the village doctor came to check on her so often, he’d spread it to her. The plague, coupled with her previous illness, weakened her body in a manner of days. One day, Xiao went to get some medicine his fellow adepti had guaranteed would help the maiden feel better.

When he returned later that day, however, he found her body in the bed, cold and without a pulse, the stench of death and sickness thick in the air.

That was the second time he had lost her.

The third time the star-crossed lovers met was long after the archon war. Liyue was now its own nation with its own name, the great center of wealth and commerce. The Yakshas were now a thing of the past, having succumbed to their karmic debt. Eventually, they all fell in one way or another.

All but Xiao, who remained a constant throughout it all.

Over the past decade or so, Xiao had taken to staying at the Wangshu Inn when he wasn’t slaying monsters. The people were nice enough, though he had long given up on attempting to form emotional connections with others. It would only lead to grief, just like it had when he’d lost his love or his fellow Yakshas, and there was only so much grief anyone, mortal or not, could take before their thread of sanity snapped in half. And with his Karmic Debt being as bad as it was…

As Xiao sat at the edge of the balcony of the Wangshu Inn, legs dangling below, he couldn’t help but think of her, his maiden. He wondered if, perhaps, Celestia would give him a third chance and bring her back to him. Honestly, the Adeptus wasn’t sure he wanted a third chance with her. While he did miss the sound of her heartbeat and the sweet words she’d utter to him and only him, he doubted he could bear the pain of having her ripped away from him once again.

It’s as if Celestia was taunting Xiao. As if the Archons above were bored and found some sick amusement in his pain as if his emotions were nothing but a game to them. What other explanations were there for what happened next?

“Um- excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” An angelic voice he knew far too well, missed far too much, spoke.

Xiao looked up and lo and behold, it was her. Same hair, same eyes, same violetgrass broach.

She stood behind him clutching a plate of something, though the angle wouldn’t allow him to make up what it was. Her face adorned that same anxious smile of hers and he could feel himself falling in love with the maiden all over again. He knew he should say no. He shouldn’t allow her back in, not when he’s already lost her so many times before, not when they’d both suffered so much just by being together.

He nodded before looking away.

He shouldn’t but he would.

“I hope you don’t mind me intruding on your quiet time,” she said softly once she had settled beside him. When he made no indication of answering, she continued, “To be honest, you just seemed so… sad, melancholic even. Something about it, even if I don’t really know you, doesn’t sit right with me. It makes my heart feel heavy.”

The violetgrass maiden received no response, except for a soft grunt of acknowledgment, so small she wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined it. Still, it was all she needed to perk up and stretch her arms out, offering him the plate she’d been holding.

“Here, I got this for you,” she told him, “word around the streets is you’ve got quite an appetite for it! Though this is my first time staying at the Inn, so I’m not sure if it’s any good here.”

Xiao looked at her, amber eyes filled with love. He was glad to know that, despite living through many lives now, she was still the girl he’d met back then, as sweet as he’d remembered her, just as caring.

He shouldn’t have but he took the plate from her hands and began to eat.

Instead of saying anything, she simply watched him as he ate, a silly little smile making its way to her face. The look on his lady’s face had him growing hot and turning beet red

“So,” he coughed out, embarrassed, “where’d you get a broach like that?”

“Oh, this one?” She inquired, pointing at the shiny violetgrass broach, “I found it lying on the ground one day when I was out picking lotus heads for dinner. I asked just about everyone in Liyue Harbor if it was theirs, but no luck. I eventually decided to just keep it for myself. It is a shame though, whoever lost it must truly be upset over losing such a beautiful piece of jewelry. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

He nodded along, thinking that, well, the broach actually was with its owner.

“It’s as if it were fate though,” she prattled on happily, watching the stars as she talked, “Violeygrass is my very favorite, always has been really. Though, I’ve always been too scared to climb up for them myself. You see, ever since I was little, I’ve had this recurring nightmare where I fell to my death while collecting some.”

The Adeptus stilled for a second, tense. She hadn’t ever brought up dreams about her past life. Maybe this time was different, maybe she’d remember what he did!

“Oh my Archons,” she exclaimed, face warm with embarrassment, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, “I’ve been going on and on! I’m so sorry, something about you feels so familiar. It makes me feel like I can tell you just about everything. Is that weird?”

His heart was racing like it hadn’t in years, decades even.

“You can tell me whatever you want,” he answered shortly, “I don’t mind listening. You have a nice voice.”

The maiden covered her hands with her face, flustered, and Xiao let out a rare smile, soft and gentle. This time would be different. He’d make sure of it.

After that day, the maiden began to visit the Wangshu Inn often, whenever she could spare time away from her job. Unbeknownst to her, however, Xiao followed at a distance when she wasn’t visiting him, to ensure her safety. He knew it wasn’t right, truly, but he had no other choice. He had to, or else he’d risk losing her to an accident such as last time, fall ill again, attacked by monsters or, Celestia forbid, be kidnapped by a group of treasure hoarders.

He’d have to get rid of any and all threats.

So, Xiao continued to follow his maiden from a distance, he made sure she was in tip-top shape, and ruthlessly slaughtering all enemies that he deemed a threat to her, until he was certain nothing would take her away from him again.

Except for one threat. Himself.

The third time he’d lost her was on a beautiful night, not that Xiao could remember it well. His love had insisted on the two of them taking a walk. She’d reasoned that the cool night air would help him regain control. His karmic debt had been weighing on him an awful lot recently and she simply couldn’t bear to see him in such excruciating pain.

The walk had started off rather pleasantly, as far as Xiao could remember. He could remember nudging his hand against hers, wanting to hold it but being far too shy to do so. With a laugh and a teasing remark, the maiden interlaced their fingers, bringing up their hands to place a gentle kiss on his, making the tips of his ears redden in bashfulness. They’d walked a little further until they encountered a group of hilichurls accompanied by a pyro abyss mage. Without skipping a beat, Xiao stepped in front of his lover, polearm appearing in his hand.

And then…

Everything went dark. Xiao’s mind was nothing but a void, pain exploded in every inch of his body as his karmic debt returned in full force to punish him for the slaughtering he’d committed.

When he came to, his mind was hazy, unsure of what had occurred. The Yaksha sat up, ignoring the way his muscles protested against it, and looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened and where he was.

Xiao froze when his eyes locked onto her pitiful body laying a few feet ahead of him in the grass surrounded by arrowheads and broken hilichurl masks, blood turning ice-cold. If he ignored the gashes across her body, the ones that were unmistakably made by the bloody spear he was clutching and not some hilichurl club or bow and arrow, and the blood that stained her pretty garments, he could almost fool himself into thinking she was asleep.

This had been his doing.

After a few beats of stunned silence, the dark-haired Adeptus lurched forward grabbing onto her cold body and shaking ruthlessly, calling out her name frantically, as if it would make his love wake up, make her cradle his face lovingly and ask why he’d been crying.

Xiao looked up onto the sky scornfully, looking up at Celestia with nothing short of pure, unadulterated loathing. He was willing to bet they were all mocking him right now, laughing at how weak and pathetic he was, at how time after time, he’d failed to love her enough, to keep her alive. They did this on purpose he was sure of it, those bastards. Well, if they could play dirty like this, so could he. He’d get her back, he’d keep her alive by his side.

And just like that, Xiao’s thread of sanity snapped.

“You can’t take her away from me anymore,” he spoke to the sky nonsensically, “I won’t let you. I don’t care what I have to do, who I have to kill, you won’t take my bliss away from me again.”

“That story was quite depressing,” Chongyun stated, ceasing his footsteps to look to his friend, Xingqiu.

“Ah yes, it is indeed, my liege,” the navy blue-haired gentleman agreed, “However, I’m glad this book included the whole myth, instead of making me wait for the next volume like the last one.”

The light blue-haired boy rolled his eyes before saying, “As much as I appreciated you reading the book aloud, I don’t see how this aids us in our search for (Y/N).”

The reason the boys had been searching across all of Liyue, was because their aforementioned friend had mysteriously gone missing. Everything had been as it normally was until one day, (Y/N) didn’t show up at her job in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, something that was incredibly unusual of her, especially without a warning to her boss or coworkers. This led Hu Tao, with the insistence of Zhongli, to ask Chongyun and Xingqiu, two of (Y/N)’s friends, for help in the search for her. They had also contacted the milelith, but they had told them that she’d not been missing for long enough to warrant a search party. The two had, of course, been quick to help, though Xingqiu had been rather enraptured in a book of Liyue Myths, simply insisting he’d have to take it with him so he could read while he searched for her.

“But my liege,” Xingqiu exclaimed playfully, golden eyes shining with mirth, “this story is of utmost importance in our search for our beloved friend. Why, for all we know, (Y/N) might’ve been kidnapped by the Vigilant Yaksha himself! She has always had a habit of climbing mountains to pick violetgrass like the maiden in the book”

“Do not be so ridiculous,” Chongyun said, rolling his eyes, “I doubt an Adeptus such as himself would ever commit such an atrocity of that degree against a citizen of Liyue. Besides, that myth is incredibly old and there’s very little evidence that proves its validity. It’s more likely that (Y/N) was taken by a demon. That is why I asked you to accompany me to Wuwang Hill.”

“I was simply joking Chongyun,” he said with a laugh before turning solemn, “However, regretfully I feel as though it is time for the two of us to return to Liyue Harbor for the day. You’ve just about run out of popsicles and with this heat, I have no doubt you’ll overheat if we keep going.”

“I’m afraid you’re right,” The blue-eyed boy admitted. “I hope (Y/N) is alright wherever she is.”

“I do as well,” Xingqiu agreed, “Perhaps Hu Tao and Zhongli have had more luck.”

Chongyun nodded, “Xiangling also said she’d ask her customers if they’d seen her.”

With that, the two boys made their way back to Lihue Harbor, oblivious to just how true Xingqiu’s joke had been.

Xiao sighed as he climbed up the stairs of Wangshu Inn up to his room. Of course, he did not need sleep, it was a mortal need in and of itself, or a room for that matter but Verr Goldet had insisted that he should have his own space, somewhere he could rest after long days of slaughtering demons such as this one.

The Adeptus turned the door handle, opening the door of an empty, pristine room. While the room had all of the furniture the other Inn rooms had, it still felt unnervingly empty, without any clothes or trinkets laying around. The only personal object of Xiao’s in the room was an orange teapot that rested on the nightstand.

Quickly, Xiao opened the tea pot’s lid, and within seconds he was standing in front of a Liyue style mansion, surrounded by mountains that he crafted to look like the ones from when the two of you had met all those centuries ago. Eager to see you, Xiao ignored Tubby’s greetings and opened the front door, making quick work of taking off his shoes before climbing the stairs to the second floor, where your room was.

He opened the door to find you sat atop your bed, alert and glaring at him fiercely. The Adeptus rolled his amber eyes, it seemed you were still trying to act out and be defiant. Looking around your room, mostly to make sure you hadn’t tried to smash the windows with the desk chair like last time (you seemed to not comprehend the fact that there was no escaping the serenetea pot, since it was a world Xiao himself had created), his eyes settled on the plate of bamboo shoot soup he’d left for you this morning, along with a still filled to the brim cup of water. He narrowed his eyes at that. It simply wouldn’t do. You’d been here for about a week now and you still refused to eat or drink anything he brought you, except for a few nibbles and sips he’d managed to threaten coax out of you. Xiao, admittedly, didn’t know very much about humans, but he did know they needed to eat and drink to stay alive. He’d learned that the hard way on his last few tries.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Xiao inquired before adding, “If you don’t like this food you should come out and say it. I can ask Smiley Yanxiao for something that suits your taste more.”

You let out a poorly suppressed scoff. This nut-job didn’t seem to get that out of all the things wrong in this situation, the last thing you were concerned about was the food. Dear Archons, just what is wrong with this man? First, he had the gall of taking you captive one evening when you were going home from work and now he had the audacity to expect you to act like a complacent little toy and go along with this insanity?

And to think that when you’d first met him whilst accompanying the Traveler and Paimon, who had been commissioned by Director Hu Tao to gather some cor lapis for a client’s ceremony, you’d been absolutely smitten with the awkward and stoic Adeptus. Everything from his pretty black hair to his captivating bright eyes had your knees weak. So much so that you’d ignored all of the red flags, like how he’d stare at you in such an intense manner, with eyes fixated on you and only you, how he seemed to distrust Aether, a trusted friend of his, when it came to him accompanying you, or how as soon as you’d met you had the horrible sensation of being watched at all times of the day. Just thinking back to all the warning signs you’d missed made your skin crawl. Perhaps if you hadn’t been such a lovesick idiot you’d be at home right now or eating dinner with Chongyun and Xingqiu, trying out one of Xianglings crazy concoctions containing slime condensate or whopper flower nectar.

Instead, you were trapped in an artificial world, in a room that looked horrifyingly similar to your own back home.

You were snapped out of your reverie by Xiao moving closer to your bed.

“Let me go home,” you said, hating how your voice cracked at the end. You felt so pathetic, you always prided yourself on being a headstrong independent person, and here you were, cowering at his closeness and avoiding all eye contact, as if looking at his pain filled eyes would ruin you.

“You are home,” he retorted, his voice bordering on delusion, “This is your home. This is where you're safe. Where you stay alive and I get to keep you forever.”

Xiao stretched out his arm, as if to cradle your cheek in his hand but before he got to you flinched away, backing away from him as far as you could, back hitting the headboard. You looked away, trying to ignore how guilty the pain that flashed through his eyes made you feel. You shouldn’t be the one feeling guilty. He should be. He’s the one that stole you away from your home. He’s the one that ruined your life.

You look down at the violetgrass broach clasped onto your blouse in nothing short of complete and utter loathing. You’d been so captivated by it when you’d first found it at the antique shop while window shopping with Mr. Zhongli.

It had been exactly six months since you’d moved away from your home in the sleepy Qingce Village in exchange for a job at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and a quaint apparently in the bustling city of Liyue Harbor. To celebrate, your coworker (and the person you had been shadowing in order to learn the ropes of the funeral business) Mr. Zhongli had insisted on going to Third-Round Knockout for some dinner. You’d been a bit hesitant at first, mostly because you knew well of the elegant gentleman’s habit of forgetting his wallet, but you enjoyed hearing his stories far too much to say no. Something about his retellings of stories about the Adepti just enraptured you.

Afterward, the two of you had decided to walk around the city and look at the displays in shops, since you had decided that your hard work warranted splurging a little as a reward of sorts. You had of course asked Mr. Zhongli to join you since he had such exquisite taste and an eye for the authentic, you valued his opinion greatly.

That’s how the two of you ended up at Xigu Antiques, browsing the display case. All of a sudden, your eyes zeroed in on a broach that resembles a little violetgrass plant, its downturned leaves made up of what you could only guess was noctilucous jade. It was, for lack of a better word, stunning.

“Mr. Zhongli,” you exclaimed, tugging at his sleeve to call his attention away from a porcelain teapot with gold little geo symbols as decoration, “what do you think of this one? It’s quite beautiful isn’t it?”

The dark-haired man looked at the broach you were pointing at before going tense, a small gasp escaping him as his beautiful amber eyes widened slightly. You looked at him in concern, you’d never seen the man come this close to losing his composure.

“Oh,” he said, clearing his throat, “is this the one you’re thinking of purchasing? I’d advise against it. Even by just a mere glance, I can tell it is not made of real noctilucous jade.”

Strangely, you felt as though he wasn’t being truthful with you.

“Well, that’s alright. I don’t really care about the authenticity and it’s pretty cheap. If it is a fake, I don’t really have much to lose. Plus, I’ve always loved violetgrass. This broach could be like a little homage to that!” You answered, letting out a little giggle.

“You’ve heard of the Vigilant Yaksha and the violetgrass maiden, am I correct?” He asked.

“Oh, yes I have! My Gran used to tell it to me and the rest of the village children back when I was young. It always made me so sad, how they can never be together. It was pretty silly now that I think about it, but I would bawl my eyes out every time. The rest of the kids would tease me a bit but I just couldn’t control it,” you reminisced.

“I- well, yes in any case, they say that anyone who possesses that broach will be cursed to meet the same fate,” Zhongli added, trying his best to dissuade you from buying the old broach, dread creeping into his stomach as he thought of what might happen to you- to the both of you.

“Of course you’d believe old supersticiones, Mr. Zhongli,” you said, letting out a lighthearted laugh that could make any heart, even one of stone, melt, “it’s very on brand! However, I’m sure there’s no need to be worried, after all, it’s nothing but an old myth! And even if it is real, you yourself said that it’s not made of the real stuff.”

Before Zhongli could figure a way to change the unchangeable, you had already purchased the broach. As you kept on leading the funeral consultant around the streets of Liyue Harbor, bag in hand, prattling on about anything and everything, he couldn’t help but feel his heart sink. A single thought, the same one you would later have, crossed his mind.

If only you hadn’t bought that goddamned broach.

In a fit of anger and desperation, you ripped the detested broach off of your shirt, throwing it at Xiao. You hoped it would somehow break into millions of tiny pieces.

After a beat of silence, Xiao spoke, “Eat.”

“No,” you yelled, before breaking down into a fit of angry sob, “I hate you!”

As soon as the words left your mouth, Xiao lurched forward so close your noses were almost touching, and for a second you think he’s gonna hit you but instead, he simply rests his forehead on yours and closes his eyes. When he pulls away, your sobs have waned into hiccups. Without saying so much as a word Xiao clasps the violetgrass broach onto your shirt, where it belongs.

“Eat,” is all he says, placing the now lukewarm soup into your hands.

Scared, tired, and sad, you do as he said, taking small sips of the admittedly tasty dish. He does nothing more than stare at her with those intense amber eyes of his for a few minutes before turning around and heading towards the door.

Before he leaves he turns his head back to look at her and says, “I don’t care if you don’t like me. Hate me for all I care. As long as you stay alive I don’t care.”

#Xiao x reader #xiao x you #xiao x y/n #genshin impact Xiao x reader #yan! Xiao x reader #genshin impact fanfic #genshin impact fanfiction #Xiao #genshin impact #tw: yandere #flavor: xiao #patt’s creations

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givemethatgold · 3 years

Text

Fix’er Upper Pt. 5

Pairing: Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of past abusive relationship, swearing, past drug use, alcohol

Word Count: 1.8k

Notes:

Parts ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR

Your injury, and consequential recovery time, couldn’t have come at a better time. The harvest was done and the apples had to rest before being pressed, which meant Frankie was now free to start working on your home. The work didn’t often require more than two hands so the days found you doing menial tasks being his gopher.

“You know,” Frankie had had to explain to you, “Go’fer this, go’fer that.”

This mainly consisted of you passing him tools while he was swearing under his breath in the attic, or groaning after rapping his knuckles under the sink, or white-faced and clinging to the weathervane on the roof.

You had discovered Frankie’s sweet tooth on the first day of renovations, not noticing until after he’d left for the day that more than half the cookies you’d baked that morning were already gone. Making sure he was kept happy, you had a new treat ready for when he walked in the door.

He was a coffee drinker though, and while you owned a coffee press you had never actually used it yourself, preferring tea leaves for your dose of caffeine. You’d tried, the first morning, to make a cup for him. You even googled How to Make a Cup of Coffee? to make sure you didn’t fuck it up.

You could laugh about it now, but the look on Frankie’s face after he’d taken his first sip made you worry you had poisoned him. He had spat the black sludge out and handed you back the mug with a look of bewildered disgust. Apparently, you needed to grind the beans first, who knew?

An efficient, if not quite comfortable, rhythm had been forged between the two of you over the past week and a half. Frankie would arrive at nine in the morning, scarf down half a dozen treats while discussing the day’s projects. You would run to town in his truck (yours was still at the autobody shop awaiting parts) and buy any supplies that would be needed while he set up the worksites and organized the tools that would be required.

You had added popping into the local café for a large coffee for Frankie and a red rooibos latte with almond milk for yourself. The first couple of days you had bought him a brownie too but stopped after he’d only half-finished the first one and mumbled through the crumbs in his mouth that yours were better. It only took you three days before the owner had your order ready for you before you even walked in the door, five days before you noticed the sidelong glances the little old ladies were giving each other as you walked out.

Small towns, you thought to yourself, rolling your eyes, had the unique benefit and downfall of everyone knowing everyone else’s business. They’d quit with the hardly-concealed smirks if they knew how awkward working with Frankie was becoming.

You had been sure, in the immediate aftermath of waking up in Frankie’s arms while his truck sat in your driveway, that he was never going to speak to you again. The two of you and hopped out and began explaining away whatever conclusions Jacquie and Mark had made. Then Frankie, without even looking in your general direction, told Jacquie to get you inside and have your wrist looked at.

To his credit, he had taken care of everything regarding your truck for you. The tow truck came and hauled it to the yard, Frankie had commandeered the inspection report and, after calling them out on trying to swindle you into buying unnecessary parts, had ordered what was needed and paid.

You had, naturally, argued against this but you both knew you weren’t in a position to afford it. Frankie shut down your arguments gracefully, and broke his apparent vow of silence, with a gruff “I’m just doing it so I can drive my damn truck without you changing the radio station.” The absolute charmer.

It was your damn house, though, so you decided you'd talk as much as you wanted and it would be up to him to interact. Either that or you had music blaring from the radio, never playing his favourite country station purely out of spite.

Never quite sure if he was listening or not, you rambled on about anything and everything. You explained your vision for the house and the plans you had for a greenhouse in the yard. Memories from your childhood were described in great detail, as were embarrassing stories from your year in college. Baking tips, waxing poetic about your love for sunflowers, interesting animal facts, you'd even downloaded a Word of the Day App and made a game of fitting the words into your daily uninterrupted monologues.

It took three days for Frankie to break.

You had been reminiscing about your trip to Disneyland as a child when he abruptly cut in, voice muffled due to the nails being held between his lips.

"You never talk about it."

You assumed he was referring to the little all-day nap you’d shared in his truck, as it had yet to be spoken of, but were taken aback by the slight accusatory tone.

"Talk about what?"

He took so long to reply, you started to think that he had interrupted purely to shut you up. The silence demanded an explanation though, so you kept your mouth shut and waited.

Clambering down from the attic, where he had been strengthening the trusses throughout the sagging section of roof, Frankie pinned you with his gaze and softly repeated himself.

"You never talk about it. The time in your life when you were married." He must have seen your hackles rise because he quickly set down the hammer and held his hands up in a placating wave.

"You still haven't answered my question about being in the army," was your quick response, finished with an ever-so-mature, "so there."

With a resigned sigh, Frankie twisted his hat around backward and scrubbed his hands across his face. "Come on" -waving you towards the patio doors- "these kinds of conversations require fresh air and a drink."

Reluctantly you followed him outside but rather than sinking down onto the porch swing you opted to lean against the post facing it. Opening two ciders, which you now had free access to, you handed one to Frankie and watched him over the top of the bottle.

Half of your drink was gone and your mind had wandered to greenhouse and flower garden placement before Frankie spoke again. His voice low and quiet catching you by surprise.

"Yeah," he broke the silence with another ragged sigh, "I, uh, I served. Started in the Air Force, worked my way up to Special Tactics Squadron. Made enough noise there to get recruited to Delta Force."

"Oh, fuck," your exclamation was soft with shock "you've seen some shit then." Blast your runaway mouth and its inability to wait for your brain to catch up before blurting out your inner thoughts. "I'm sorry!-"

"No, it's okay" Frankie interrupted, trying to reassure you and remove the horrified look that had come across your face.

"No, no, that was totally uncalled for. Brad, my um, my husband, he was a Marine. He hated talking about it, said no one liked talking about it. I should have known."

"It's not that," Frankie reassured you again, "You were the first person to ever ask me about it, in all the time I've lived here. Just took me by surprise."

Leaning over in the swing, Frankie pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and handed you a photo from inside it. Five men beamed up at you. You could recognize them from a few of the photos that had rested on Frankie's mantle, they looked older in this one.

"Tell me about them?" you asked, knowing that most of the request was due to curiosity but a small part of you hoped that if you kept him talking you could avoid the subject of your marriage.

The sun was beginning to set and you'd long moved inside to eat dinner by the time Frankie was done sharing. It must have been cathartic, you mused, for him to bare this much about himself. He had never looked more relaxed in all the time you'd known him, which wasn't saying much and it could just as easily been due to the amount of alcohol thrumming through his system.

The room fell into a companionable silence, each of you digesting the information that had been revealed. You were in awe of the fact that, despite the life of violence he had witnessed, Frankie still maintained his humanity. Even after a messy divorce and lost custody battle, Frankie continued to choose the path of healing. He was clean, was fighting for shared custody of his daughter again, running his own business, and still had found time to endear himself into the town's hearts.

Frankie was, for all his sharp edges and gruff words, a sweetheart.

It put into stark comparison how Brad had reacted to the lemons life had served him. Born into an upper-middle-class home, the only son, doted on by his parents, Brad had been raised into a life where every door was open to him. Despite this, or maybe because of it, he had grown hateful of those weaker than him. He was controlling but had just the right amount of charm to pass it off as caring.

"I've met men like that,"

You nearly jumped out of your skin from surprise. Looking at Frankie with wide-eyed shock you wondered again what the hell was in the cider. This was the second time you'd poured your heart out to a virtual stranger, but this time you hadn't even realized you'd started speaking your thoughts aloud.

Squaring your shoulders and holding Frankie's gaze you continued, almost challenging him to find someone worse than Brad had been.

"He made me quit college because he said he wanted to start a family. Then berated me and acted like it was all my fault every time the pregnancy test came back negative. You know what that asshole did?" Tears were threatening to fall but you held on to Frankie's gaze, "He had gotten a vasectomy months earlier. I didn't find out about it until after he died; going through paperwork that had been stored in his desk."

Frankie was up on his feet now, pacing around the kitchen island, too distraught to keep still. How could anyone be so cruel? Let alone be so cruel to someone as sweet and pure as you. He hated seeing you cry but knowing you weren't receptive to people being in your personal space, wasn't sure how to comfort you.

Acting on pure instinct he grabbed the kettle and started preparing you some tea, not allowing himself to ruminate how he knew which flavour you preferred. Setting your favourite pottery mug in front of you, along with the little honey pot, he also decided to grab the fluffy throw blanket off your couch.

"I get it now," he thought to himself offhandedly, "why women have so many fuckin' blankets and pillows in every room."

Placing the throw around your shoulders he was preparing to say goodnight and let you have some peace but was stilled by your hand reaching up and covering his.

"Please. Stay."

Part SIX

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#Fix'er Upper #Frankie Morales x you #Frankie Morales x F!reader #Frankie Catfish Morales x you #Frankie Catfish Morales x reader #Frankie x reader #Frankie x you #Catfish x reader #Catfish x you #Triple Frontier fanfiction #Frankie Morales Fanfiction

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writing-in-april · 3 years

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Woodland Adventures

Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia x Female Reader

Summary: Santiago and Reader go on a camping trip to relax after everything that happened in South America.

A/N: Hey! This is my thirteenth fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April!!!!!!! This is my first fic I’ve ever written for Santiago so I’m kinda excited 😆 he’s one of my favorites and it’s taken me a while to figure out what I wanted to write for him. I actually had this finished for a while and then there was a convo I had that made me change it because of that video of Oscar licking a knife- so I changed it lol 😂@writefightandflightclub I just couldn’t help myself 🙈 Feel free to drop me an ask about anything here!! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Warnings: 18+, Mentions of Santi struggling with PTSD, Smut, Dom!Santiago, Size kink, Knife kink, Masturbation, Unprotected sex, Outdoor sex

Main Masterlist Word Count: 2.4k

Everyone had their own ways of finding an outlet to escape to whenever times were tough, and even when they were good. Some would rather stay at home to curl up to watch television or read a book. Santiago had other ways of escaping, ones that were a bit more taxing and long.

He had dragged you out into the middle of nowhere to go camping in the woods. He had told you many times before that this was his favorite way to relax, saying that the fresh air breathed life back into his lungs. You weren’t going to complain though, after what had happened in South America you knew he needed it. You couldn’t deny that the scenery was gorgeous and he was right, the fresh air did make you feel like you could finally breathe again.

Santiago however, had been trying to test your ability to breathe this entire trip. Every morning he’d choose a different area of path in these woods to hike through, which would inevitably exhaust you. You weren’t necessarily surprised that your boyfriend, a veteran, was in much better shape than you. He still had to keep himself in somewhat great shape because of his current job working in private security.

Despite knowing all of that, you couldn’t help but bellyache and moan after a certain point each day, when your knees ache too much to go any further. You also preferred basking in the sweeping scenery that encompassed everywhere around you rather than walking right through it. It sounded like heaven to just stop and stare at the world around you, but this trip was for Santiago so you tried to not get him to stop unless you were exhausted. You’d ask on the next trip to sightsee more, you at least got to watch the sunrise and the morning dew get to form before you went out each day. And, you wanted to help Santiago in any possible way that you could, even if it did test your physical limits.

Today in particular was testing those limits, your forehead glistening with sweat that had begun to drip down the rest of your face. You kept trying to wipe the beads of sweat with a rag and force your knees to go just a touch further. When your knees began to buckle under the weight of the backpack, even with the light load, you knew you couldn’t go any further without potentially dropping to the ground.

It pained you to ask, as you had done this everyday you had gone out, but you absolutely could not go any further. Your energy was completely shot, not even your consideration for Santiago’s penchant for hiking could force you to take another step, “Santiago? C-can we go back? I’m not feeling good…”

Your words must have made him even more concerned than any time before as he had shot to your side immediately to help prop you up. You opened your mouth to say something else, but he quickly cut you off, “You don’t need to say anything else cariño, I’m taking you back to our tent.”

Somehow even though you both had taken the same exhausting path to get to this spot in the woods, Santiago still had enough energy to pick you up. He tapped your thigh twice, like he did whenever he asked you to jump to wrap your legs around his waist, which on a normal day happens when you want him to exhaust you. Almost immediately after you had jumped and he had you in his arms your eyes began to droop close out of sheer exhaustion.

——

When your eyes blinked open you groaned, then you moved a hand over your eyes to block out the sun that had peeked through the tent. Confusion was your next thought, wondering how you had gotten back to your tent and onto the cot to sleep. Santiago must have carried you all the way back to your tent and tucked you in so you could sleep. You slowly sat up with a groan, you were sore but now much more energetic as you must have gotten a few good hours of sleep.

Traipsing out of the tent you looked around the small camp you had both set up to find Santiago. When you turned your head to the right you found him, sitting on the ground sharpening small sticks with a hunting knife, most likely out of boredom. He must have felt his eyes on you as his head snapped up quickly, searching for whoever had been looking at him. He flashed you a small smile when he realized that it was only you, his hypervigilance had gotten worse again after coming back, along with his nightmares. But, seeing you and being with you made it all seem better.

You went over to sit next to him, your own back now to the same tree. He went back to work on the sticks he had been mindlessly sharpening, though this time he wasn’t silent as he now had company, “You had me worried for a while cariño, thought I had worn you out too much.”

“Nah- I was fine.” You joked to try to help lighten the mood and the unnecessary guilt he was feeling. He didn’t have an answer to your joke, just continuing to peel the bark of the sticks with the sharp metal. Turning to face him more you leaned forward to press a small kiss on his cheeks that were scratchy from his light stubble. You frowned a little when you still got no answer and decided to cup his face in your hands so he’d have to stop what he was doing to listen to you, “I’m fine, I promise. I was just tired- you did nothing wrong baby.”

He nodded his head in confirmation, his eyes slightly glistening because of the unnecessary guilt he was trying to let go. You then leaned forward to press another soft kiss on his forehead, mutual understanding now flowing in between you both without having to say it out loud. You didn’t know exactly what he was going through, some of the details were kept from you, but you’d be here with him through it all.

After you had both let yourselves be silent for a while, you spoke up and changed the course of the conversation, “What are you doing with those sticks?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Just passing the time.”

“You could’ve hiked some more while I slept you know.”

What he said next made your heart swell and almost break, “I know, I wanted to make sure you were safe.” You knew he was trying his best after a horrible situation that had left him in pieces.

“Thank you, Santi. You always take good care of me, just remember I’m not fragile.” You did appreciate the gesture, only adding the last part at the end as a reminder. You pressed one last chaste kiss to his face in thanks, this time to his nose, before going back to your original position against the tree. He looked like he wanted to perhaps argue with you, but decided to accept your gratitude.

Santiago was soon testing your breathing in a different way than before, arousal creeping up inside of you as you watched him go back to destroying the sticks with his knife. Sometimes the way he did things reminded you of how strong he was, how easily it could be for him to break you. He cared about you so much to not want to break you, but you wanted to put your trust in him so he could hurt you in a way that felt good.

You wriggled a bit, causing Santi to look over at you for a second before going back to what he was doing. This was going to be the death of you, you were already soaking through your panties and soon it would be your shorts too. Deciding to test the waters once you were too turned on to ignore you snuck one of your hands down your shorts, discreetly unbuttoning them so you could continue to watch.

At first you just rubbed small circles into your clit to try to satiate some of the arousal coursing through your veins. It made some pleasure spark through you, biting your lip to make sure you didn’t make any noise. When you slipped your fingers to curl inside you was when it started to feel really good, pushing you close to an orgasm while you curled them upwards.

Your eyes slipped closed after a while of you staring at his hands while you played with yourself. You started to fantasize what Santiago might do to you with those hands, maybe he’d wrap them around your neck while he fucked you. An orgasm was fast approaching you, that was until you were cut off by Santiago speaking, “What are you doing?”

When you froze because of being caught your release that you had been close to achieving then abated. You answered in the most innocent voice you could muster up, “Nothing.”

“Get up and strip.” His tone told you that there was no room for you to argue, not that you really wanted him to anyway. Quickly you shucked off all your clothes, while Santiago stood up as well. All Santiago did was free his now hard cock from his cargo pants, not bothering to strip off any of his own clothes.

When you turned around to face him he instead grabbed hold of your shoulders, making you face the tree. Another order was then barked at you, “Bend over.”

You scrambled to bend over, only getting a few seconds to get comfortable in the position before he notched his cock at your entrance and began to sink inside you. Your walls stretched around his thick length as they always did because of how girth he was, but you were wet enough already that it was easier than usual.

His pace was rougher than usual once he worked himself all the way inside you. You weren’t going to question or complain though. It was exactly what you wanted, what you needed, and again you bit your lip hard to try to contain your moans.

“Don’t you dare hold back those pretty noises, Princesa, no one’s around to hear them.” Almost immediately you let out a moan that was so loud it might have bounced off the trees and echoed. He was right, if no one was around to hear it, the only people that would know how unrestrained you were letting your loud noises be, were you and Santi.

The bark bit into my hands harder as you gripped my fingers harder into the tree to try to keep yourself propped up. Everytime he thrusted into you, your eyes were tempted to roll back into your head. You tried to fight that urge because you couldn’t help but want to keep them fixed right on the hand that Santi was using as leverage for each of his deep thrusts inside you. In his hand he still held tight the hunting knife that he had been using.

You felt filthy being turned on by how he could do anything to you with that knife while you were small underneath him. Each time the front of his thighs hit the back of yours, his grip on your hip, and the one on the knife would get stronger. The veins in his hands became more prominent each time he strengthened his grip, making you think about what else he could do with his hands, and the knife. Your knees started to buckle when his cock brushed up against your sweet spot inside of you, but you kept your gaze strong.

Santi must have noticed at some point where you were looking, seeing what you couldn’t take your eyes off of. You figured out that he had noticed when he suddenly pulled out of you, turning you around roughly before speaking gruffly, “Did you like watching me with the knife? Hmm?”

You whimpered and nodded your head, admitting wordlessly your filthy desires. You already had felt small underneath him earlier while he took you from behind, but when he tapped your hip twice to signal you to jump you felt minuscule with his body crushing yours against the tree. The bark was now biting into all the skin on your back, though the slight stinging pain you felt was ignored when he sunk back inside you. This time he wasted no time in building up his pace, slamming his hips into yours with brutal efficiency.

You had almost forgotten about the knife that was still being held in one of his hands, until he brought it up back into your line of sight. Again, it was hard to keep your eyes focused on him as his cock railed into you, building your orgasm behind the scenes. Though, when he slowed his pace for a second so he could drag his tongue across the blade your drooping eyes snapped open, wide with astonishment. He then threw it to the side, landing somewhere in the pile of sticks he had cut apart and picked up his pace again.

“Can’t believe you trust me enough to have that knife so close to you.” He breathlessly spoke in disbelief, making you let out a moan which he again had no intentions of stifling, “Yeah, that’s right, moan while I use, Princesa.”

It wasn’t long before both of your releases hit hard. You tried to writhe and wriggle underneath him, but he had you trapped underneath him as he filled you. His broad shoulders did most of the work to pin you down as he finished letting you both ride out your highs.

When he began whispering sweet words into your neck laced with some obvious sadness, you were worried he might feel guilty for using the knife. He often treated you like glass, afraid to handle it roughly in case it shattered because of him. So, just to banish those thoughts swiftly you cupped his cheeks again after he had let you down, then giving him a similar reassurance as before, “I’m fine, I promise. I wanted you to do that. I promise I had a good time Santi.”

He ducked his head a little at your words, probably out of embarrassment that you had caught his guilty feelings swirling again. Mirroring his previous actions he nodded his head in confirmation, then wrapping his arms around you in an all encompassing hug. You whispered your own sweet words into his neck for a bit, without sadness, until you pulled him back in the direction of your tent, “Come on, let me clean up and then we can try to sleep. I’m tired, you wore me out again.”

Ask Me Anything

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kiranatrix · 3 years

Text

INDULGENCE—

a MikaLight fanfic by @kiranatrix and @my-one-true-l for @mikalightweek [Day 4- Devotion]

Summary: When Mikami realizes he’s being followed by an FBI agent, he informs Kiyomi right away. Light meets Mikami alone in the confessional of a decrepit church to hear the details for himself and requests a test of the man’s loyalty.

Rating: T for mild gore and innuendo

Teaser under the cut or read the whole fic here!

The young woman sat alone, quietly avoiding the eyes of the other passengers, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the unwanted attention from the man who had set his sights on her. There was no escaping the unwanted advances in the confines of the train. It would take nothing more than a few swiftly written strokes to bring the perpetrator to his rightful death, but Teru Mikami couldn’t do that under the circumstances. Instead, the Death Note remained in the safety of his briefcase as he exited the train and vanished into the crowd, a casual glance over his shoulder confirmed what he had suspected for days…

He was being followed. He was good with faces, and when the same one recurred in the most unlikely of places, this time sitting across him on the train, he decided it was time to pay attention to the name hovering just above the man’s head.

Stephen Loud. That would be easy enough to remember until he was home and could find the answers he already knew. Coincidences happen, but the more likely scenario was he was suspected to have connections to Kira and if that was the case…Kami was in danger.

As he approached his apartment, a nonchalant scan of his surrounding put him at ease. Mr. Loud was nowhere in the immediate vicinity, though Teru was not about to dismiss that which could be out of his sight.

He wasted no time using his good name and contacts to discover that he was being pursued by none other than an FBI agent. The blood drained from his face as it all sunk in. He had little concern for his own fate. It was Kami he worried for. There was no way of knowing how long he had been being tailed nor could he be certain of the extent he had been investigated.

Keeping this to himself would not do. He had to warn Kira, even if it meant falling out of his good graces.

Takada. I need to talk to her.

Looking up her number was unnecessary. He had memorized his only lifeline to Kira the day he was chosen. With trembling fingers, he dialed and waited impatiently for her to answer.

Kiyomi Takada was in the back of her limousine, heading to the television studio, when her phone rang in her purse. It’s HIS ringtone. She quickly leaned forward and pressed the button to bring up the dark-tinted glass (and soundproof) partition between her and the driver, then immediately answered the call. “Kiyomi here.” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice-- she’d specifically told Mikami not to call her during the day. It was difficult enough to secure complete privacy at night. However, she was in luck in this instance-- her driver was loyal to Kira. Still, she whispered, “This better be an emergency.”

“I wouldn’t call otherwise.” Teru had a million thoughts swarming his mind and only a split second to sift through them. “I’m being followed.”

Kiyomi’s breath caught, and she nearly broke her ladylike facade and swore. She shifted the cell phone to perch between her cheek and her shoulder as she rummaged in her purse for pen and paper. “Followed by who and for how long? I need their name and where you’ve been seen.” She clicked the pen and poised it above the paper. “I’ll have to tell him right away.”

Teru drew a deep breath before he spoke. “An FBI agent by the name of Stephen Loud. I noticed him a few days ago, mostly around my gym and a few times outside of court, but today he sat across from me on the train ride home, so I can only assume he knows where I live as well.”

“FBI!” Kiyomi’s pen trembled ink onto the paper until she pressed it down firmly, trying to ground herself. This was news of the worst kind-- the FBI was working with the SPK here in Japan, and if they had sussed out that Mikami was working with Kira, Light would be very unhappy with that exposure. Mikami’s value had been in his anonymity. And Mikami has Kira’s power! “This is...unexpected. Did you happen to get a picture of him? Or find one you can send to me? I can pass that information on and we’ll take care of it.” She took a deep breath and carefully wrote down the details that Mikami had relayed.

Teru could feel Kiyomi’s displeasure on every word she spoke, certain it would only worsen with what he was about to say. “No, I didn’t, nor was there a photograph of him accompanying his file. Careful measures have been taken to conceal his face. It would seem I’m the only one who knows what he looks like.”

“I see.” Kiyomi frowned and wrote ‘no picture’ on the notepad, underlining it angrily. “I suppose that’s what we should expect from the FBI, but it makes things difficult.” She glanced out the window, seeing that she was almost at the TV station. “I’ll speak to him and call you back. Stay by the phone, alright?” She didn’t wait for an answer before hanging up and immediately calling Light on his secure line. Shit shit shit… He picked up on the sixth ring, which meant he’d probably had to duck out of something with his team.

“Yes?” Light was on his guard-- it was very unusual that Kiyomi would call him rather than the reverse. He didn’t have long either, just the duration of a normal bathroom break. “You know how I feel about personal calls at work, love.”

“I know, but I just spoke with the caterer, dear.” Kiyomi knew better than to ever use any of their real names. Even if the phone lines were ‘secure,’ Light didn’t trust it when he was with the Task Force. “He’s run into a snag on our order.”

Light stayed quiet for a moment but understood her meaning perfectly fine. Mikami was in some kind of trouble, and it was bad enough for Kiyomi to call him right away instead of waiting for one of their usual meetings. “Oh? Surely it’s nothing that can’t be resolved. Send me the invoice tonight.” Send me their name and face.

Kiyomi sighed and said, “Seems like the invoice is missing some items. Only the caterer knows it.” She drummed her long red nails on the armrest nervously. “Secret recipe.”

Hmm. Light knew that meant that either the name or a picture of the person’s face was missing, and since Mikami had shinigami eyes, it was likely the face. “Remind me, dear, was this a rush order?” Is this an emergency?

“Yes. I’d really hate to call off this party.”

So, something that can’t be ignored. “I understand. Perhaps I should meet with the caterer myself and work out the details? I’ll text you the place. 11 o’clock?”

Kiyomi knew that wasn’t really a question, it was an order. Light wanted to meet Mikami and hear about this for himself. “Of course. I’ll set it up for 11.” A dial tone hung in the air as soon as she agreed. She stared down at her phone and waited for the text.

Send the caterer to Saint Joseph’s. He’ll need to confess the recipe.

Kiyomi deleted the text right away, then called Mikami back.

Teru paced his living room, eyes fixed on the phone he clutched in his hand. He wasn’t one to drink, but tonight it was harder to fight the lure of his liquor cabinet, sparse in contents as it may be. Kira had caused him more restless nights than he would ever admit, but this was an entirely new kind of torment. He had failed his god, inadvertent as it may have been. Intention didn’t matter and had no place in his shame.

Each second that passed equaled two until the phone rang, answering it with a simple rushed response. “Yes?”

“He wants to meet with you. Alone.” Kiyomi hoped Light knew what he was doing, but she certainly wasn’t going to question Kira’s decision. “There’s an old church in the warehouse district, down by the docks. Saint Joseph’s. It’s open all night and the priest is half-blind, drunk most nights. No one will see you.” She knew the place well and had met Light there a few times herself. “Go into the confessional and wait for him. 11 o’clock.” She paused for a moment and added softly, “Make absolutely sure you’re not followed. He’s trusting your discretion.”

He wants to meet with you alone.

The words sent a shiver down Teru’s spine. He swallowed hard at the thought. Meeting Kami. Never had he dared to dream of being fortunate enough to have such an honor, and though the circumstances weren’t ideal, Teru couldn’t deny that he was thrilled at the notion. Even if this meeting could mean the end of his life, everything up to now would have been worth it to be in Kami’s presence. “I can give you my assurances. I will not be followed.”

Disappointing Kami again was out of the question.

“Good luck.” Kiyomi hung up the phone and texted Light, ‘caterer booked.’ She’d be nervous for the rest of the day but there was also relief-- it was out of her hands. If Light needed something, he’d ask. I just hope I’m still as useful after he meets Mikami. Walking into the television studio to again act as Kira’s spokesperson, she knew she was, for now.

Read the rest on AO3 here.

#death note #light yagami #mikami teru #mikalight #mikalightweek #my writing #collaboration #my-one-true-l #my edit

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plutoswrath · 3 years

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i’m sorry to annoy you with this again. i just look up to your kpop mixed with astrology content. but lucas’s neptune contact with his mc is going to annoy the shit out of me until this is fixed. the cloudiness that neptune brings to his public image is something that i think possibly fuels these situations further. false accusations and mixed perceptions based off of them is exactly what makes these scandals to continue on and on. and i’m sick of it. both sides ignore what the other is saying and it gets nowhere. neptune, the malefic bastard.

Hello! I saw your recent asks and I appreciate your words regarding my content, thank you so much for the kind words! <3

I will touch on astrolgy under the cut, but before this happens, I want to leave a few words. There's a reason why I didn't answer the previous questions I received (not only yours op) regarding the Lucas situation so far. For several reasons I didn't want to feed into any sort of (perceived) sensationalism in regards to the Lucas situation, even though I'd really love to look at the situation from an astrological point of view. That people are divided on this topic is to be expected, but I think the way it has been handled by majority so far is very bad. I really want to elaborate on my reasoning why we should rethink the way we talk about/represent the Lucas situation right now, but as this topic is very kpop specific everything will be under the cut.

My reasoning for avoiding any questions about it until now:

1. People already don't take the situation seriously enough: Regardless of what your standpoint is, I'd like for people to consider looking at it from a more critical point of view for a second: The allegations are not about him being exposed as ‘just a f-boy’ as some people make it out to be, they are more serious than that. Lucas allegedly manipulated and used these women for his own emotional/sexual/financial needs and ego boost. The fact that he has money and allegedly still used other people to provide financially for him just demonstrates the power play underneath it all. He abused his position of power as an idol, the power dynamics between him and fans who idolize him are plain and simple just completely off. Please think about the fact, that he allegedly decided who to date on at fansigns. This alone gives no security to any fans that want to attend fansigns in the future. TW SV: he also talked one of these women into having sex with him + doing it unprotected, which is not only emotionally/sexually manipulative/coercive and can possibly be traumatic for them but also heightens the risk for transfering STD's as END TW he was supposedly seeing people at the same time/cheating. In general, the behavior he gets accused of leaves trauma and is abuse, to be more specific abuse of power on multiple levels and his social position makes it just easier to continue abusing that power. As you've mentioned yourself op, there is a huge back and forth about the allegations, and I know people like to take situations like the one of Taeyong as an example to justify that not every public apology is real and that allegations turn out to be false years later, but I believe it's different this time and that the allegations that came forward were real. Even his cbar closed, a fanbase that works closely with Label V (!), that alone shows that there is 'at least' some truth to the story, or else his hardcore fanbase wouldn't have decided to turn their back on him in matters of just days. Also, all the 'jokes' and the portrayal of 'juicy gossip' people make about the situation just downplays and ridicules the possible traumatic experiences of the people that were hurt by his actions. If anyone decides to not believe these allegations until SM gives a more specific statement, that's fine, but please do so without making fun of the people who were victims of his behavior, as there is already little to no sympathy for them online. It makes it just way harder for any survivors in the future to speak out on their experience. People say it's 'nothing illegal, just morally wrong' but given the fact that he is also a person in power, the line between 'just' morally wrong and illegal can be very thin in some cases. And please overthink arguments such as: 'this is typical boy behavior for someone in his 20's'/ 'he's just an f-boy' or 'boys will be boys' because they are deeply misogynistic and we shouldn't normalize behavior like that, thus making the root of the problem actually way deeper than most people think.

2. WayV's future: This mainly goes for people who are fans of WayV. I know not everyone probably likes to hear this, but another thing why wild speculations, sensationalism or even possible defence about this situation should be kept on the low is WayV's career. I want to be honest here, but I'm scared for their future, their comeback for october has been cancelled for now and they are put on a hiatus for several months as far as I know. They were on a good path of gaining more and more recognition and establishing themselves even better as a c-pop group, but now Luca's reputation in China (their target audience) is as good as gone and that pulls all of WayV down to rock bottom with him. People really need to try seeing the story out of the eyes of the korean and especially chinese fans as well, their perception of the allegations (especially after the Kris Wu situation!) are way different and more serious than the ones of i-fans and i-fans have to accept that. Also, we all know how companies (especially SM) handle these type of situations: keep the people on the low till the storm has calmed down. But will the storm ever calm down for Lucas when his public image is basically destroyed, and thus WayV as well? What I want people to understand is that this whole situation affects WayV and their career directly, actually on the biggest scale possible. All the work so far is at risk to be for good and I think a lot of fans tend to forget that, things look especially critical for HenXiaoYanKun if WayV would be to continue/redebute/fall apart. It doesn't matter if Lucas talking bad about the members/the companies/shows he works with/for was real or not in the end, because unfortunately damage is already done, WayV's image (WayV= family) is already tarnished and WayV as a group will suffer from this. You summed it up with malefic Neptune the best actually: We all don't know the full confirmed truth about the situation and will most likely never know it. (small astro insight here as well, but part of Neptune is to accept fantasy for what it is: fantasy, and thus turn to cold reality when you're in too deep)

3. What O'd advice the fandom to do right now: Regardless of your opinion on the situation, what we as a fandom can do best right now is staying on the low, wait things out, and stop adding more fire to the situation with our actions and wait how the situation actually developes, since a) we can not fasten the process and b) a lot of rumors, false information and unnecessary details get exposed to mudd the waters and to discredit the statement of the victims as well. I've seen some strong reactions from both sides, but as someone who's a big fan of nct in general I really just want to say that part of the fandom throwing a fit on the internet leads basically to nothing, it actually only reflects even worse on nctzens/weshennies and thus on WayV's (and also NCT as whole) image as well. Things right now are handled internal, not extern. Whatever gets through to the public will be half of the story anyway. A lot of people seem to forget, that we talk about SM and all they care for right now is saving themselves economically (think about the domino effect this situation has on the whole group/company), so we will have to see what their final decision is going to be, if anything will happen at all. For now, be patient, wait and see. Last words: It's okay to feel hurt/confused/angry/drained. Even though most of us are aware that we dont know any celebrity's character, it's still hard to swallow and to digest because you were a fan of that artist. Let it take time and vent. Take a break from it if it gets too much! Talking about it to process your emotions better is okay and very valid, but keep in mind that you should not worsen the situation by doing so - it's already absolute chaos.

Also: This statement is by no means a direct attack to anyone or me trying to push my opinion onto you, just my two cents in how to handle the situation best right now, because our hands are basically tied. Also: agree to disagree. If you don't like that I side with the victims (unless there is an official statement that Lucas is proven not guilty, which I doubt, unfortunately) then so be it, but don't start a war in my inbox for our opinions differing.

-------

Now, to astrology:

Disclaimer: This analysis will not be very light-hearted, but remember that it's just a theory and not me trying to confirm anything!

First of all op, sorry for just answering you know, but I neded some time to think through how to adress this without adding to the fire with my astrological analysis! Boy, does the birth time fit the shoe right now. To be fair as I did my short rising sign analysis about him recently, I cancelled out every other fire rising except for Leo, because I got stuck on the ego part a bit. Anything for me made sense, as long as it highlights his ego, which by itself doesn't have to be a bad thing automatically, but there's always two sides of the coin as we all know.

I looked into the transits the past week and added a few asteroids/mathematical points as well. An anon before pointed to the full moon happening in his tenth house, conjunct his sun, etc. (I deleted the ask because I didn't know what was going on at that time and thought it was just the 'usual' rumors that once in a while get spread around, but after looking more into it I decided this was not the right time to stirr the pot in any kind of way or treat it as funny, hot gos). But yeah a full Moon in Aquarius happening in his 10th house AND on top of that Saturn in Aquarius, conjuncting that Moon and his natal Uranus in the 10th! Talk about destrcution of any stable foundation and a change in a public image! Honestly, looking at astrologically the way his public image just got radically destroyed over night, with Saturn and the Moon having been in a conjunction (in his chart it was in the 10th house) is kinda eery even. Talk about collective consciousness - not only exposing quiet literally the feelings of the collective, but also doing so in the favor of others and gaining collective emotional consciousness. Take this with a grain of salt (!), because we're still in a tense situation, but I'm tapping into the darker, unfriendlier side of astrology now. Taking his confirmed birth time, he has Nessus in Sagittarius in his 8th house and as I saw that I could feel myself shifting into the surprised pikachu face. I am not saying that this prooves the allegations whatsoever, but as you seemed to be very interested in anaylzing the case in-depth as well, the allegations fit his Nessus - jumping from partner to partner, carelessness (regarding physical intimacy as well), making people share all their ressources with him/finacial gain, and basically the whole jist of gaining control/being in a power position in intimate connections. Keep in mind that this is only one interpretation of Nessus though, Nessus can also show the complete opposite to someone 'turning to their dark side'. On top of that, his Nessus was conjunct transit Phollus the past week, so if anything, we can see that a large event triggered him to 'open his eyes' and face anything of an 'obstacle' that hinders him from seeing the 'truth' to a larger picture and his own nature/destiny. Pholus can symbolize change that will alter your perception of the responsibility you have for yourself and others.

But my latest new interest with these two asteroids aside (asteroids just add a little more nuance to a situation after all), I want to touch on Lilith too, since you (op) have mentioned Lilith before in one of your asks!

He has his Lilith exactly conjunct his Descendant when we consider his confirmed birth time. What happened just now can be seen as 'backfiring' of his actions, either Lilith embodying the women who expose him now for his 'inappropriate' behavior, but also simply fans shaming him now for his alleged manipulative/imoral behavior, especially shaming him about who he chose to date and how. Next to that, you've mentioned Lilith opposite Moon and it just makes me think about him possibly feeling very indecisive and potentially in denial about what he actually needs to be fulfilled in order to be emotionally happy and thus leading to him appearing to have this 'second, dark side' to him now. BML is not necessarily opposite the Moon in my opinion, it's just the side of the subconscious we don't really like to deal with and all we're told not to express and desire because it can be conflicting in the eyes of others (thus BML also leading to a lot of recklessness on the negative side). I think if we take the allegations into consideration, regardless of how much of it is true of it, it can be a good example what happens, when an opposition gets out of balance, as it also manifests outwardly a lot! Lilith shows in his 'double life' aka what he allegedly did with fans. Lilith wanted an outlet and found one by working behind the scenes. If we take in his supposed Taurus rising, which his Lilith is in an exact opposition with, it's a good example of what can lurk underneath the surface.

And of course, last but not least, Neptune and Sun conjunct his MC. People are quiet literally blinded by him more than they would like to think. Also: Lucas was always known for his 'flirty & charismatic' nature, this is another reason why people think we shouldn't be surprised he 'turns out to be like that in real life'. I'm not analyzing this argument right now, but what I think is very interesting is how Sun conjunct MC literally ties a good amount of their personality to their career - they want to be accepted and shine for their personality/big part of their individuality. Idols play a role, no matter how transparent they appear to us, but it's really funny how this 'image' of him melts almost seemingly with parts of his personality (almost af if you were to quiet literally sell your self) and as you've mentioned: Neptune only adds to that, unfortunately.

#replies #anonymous #might delete later??#idk depends if the situations gets even worse

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monotonous-minutia · 3 years

Text

It’s here! The ridiculously long (about 9 pages on Word) and totally unnecessary literary analysis of the absolute gayness of one of my favorite operas!

you guessed it: Les contes d’Hoffmann. I spent way too many hours over the past months writing this thing.

I just think of all of this altogether too much so I decided to just write it all down in one place like the lit crit nerd I am.

As I’ve mentioned before, there is a LOT of evidence in Les contes d’Hoffmann that the two main characters (the titular Hoffmann and his friend Nicklausse, aka the Muse) are absolutely an item. To the point where I honestly can’t understand how a director can look at this opera and think “oh that’s not gay” and proceed to stage it as if it’s not. It is SO GAY. I can only imagine that directors who stage this differently are deliberately trying to specifically remove the gay content (e.g., taking out the Violin Aria, messing with edits, doing weird things with the productions that I won’t get into lest I fall into a rant and forget what I’m here to talk about).

For some, the only way to acknowledge that Nicklausse and Hoffmann are an item is it ignore the Nicklausse part and have the Muse be a girl for the entire opera. Because, well, we can maybe admit to the romance, but at least it’s not gay, right?

Well, no.

Often, we get a strange dynamic where productions can’t seem to decide how to mitigate the gayness. Is Nicklausse a girl so there’s no gay with Hoffmann? But what about when he’s flirting with Giulietta (and come on, it’s really hard to stage the Barcarolle, which is basically a love song, without Nicklausse at least vaguely flirting with Giulietta and vice versa, because they’re singing it together). How is that not gay if you insist Nicklausse is a girl? There’s no way to get around it.

No matter how you spin it, it’s gonna be gay. And like I said, if a production tries to insist otherwise, it’s specifically to push back against The Gay. That usually fails miserably for two reasons. One, those productions are garbage, I don’t care who the director is and how fabulous the rest of their work might be. And two, by trying their hardest to get rid of the gay, they are flat-out admitting that it is there. If it wasn’t so blatantly obviously gay, people wouldn’t try so hard to prove that it isn’t.

On another note, it’s pretty obvious that the character of Nicklausse/the Muse is genderfluid. The Muse introduces herself in feminine terms in the Prologue (and Muses are typically associated with femininity), but navigates the majority of the opera identifying as Nicklausse, who’s a man. Ironically productions that try to lessen The Gay get stuck on this because if Nicklausse is definitively a feminine Muse, she’s gonna be gay with Giulietta, in which case the only way to avoid that is to say that isn’t gay because Nicklausse is a man, and, well, whoops, you just admitted the character is genderfluid.

Like I said, there’s no way around it.

I feel like even this super-vague analysis should be enough to convince people. But, because it’s not lit crit if we don’t get all in-depth and nerdy, and because it’s really fun, I’m going to plumb the depths of my research and analysis and share with you this 4,000-word essay proving that yes, indeed, Nicklausse is genderfluid; and yes, indeed, he and Hoffmann are a couple, and a very gay one at that.

Let’s begin.

(Note: the following contains a lot of references to outside sources and I’m just too lazy to properly cite them especially because I just spent the last three years of my life doing that for all my research papers and it sucks. But if anyone is curious and wants to know where specific pieces of information come from, let me know.)

Nicklausse is genderfluid.

This honestly seems like a no-brainer. The dictionary definition of genderfluid is “of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity is not fixed,” so the fact that the character spends part of the opera in a feminine form (the Muse) and part of the opera in a masculine form (Nicklausse) is pretty much the definition of gender-fluid since the character’s gender identity is not fixed. Yeah, maybe the Muse is just in drag for the night, but either way, they’re obviously extremely comfortable in the masculine form so it seems more than likely it’s something they’ve done many times before and are not only okay with but very used to. There’s debate as to how much time, exactly, the Muse spends with Hoffmann as Nicklausse, or even whether Nicklausse is a real person or has been the Muse all along. The solution to this could affect the way the character is or is not defined as genderfluid, but the fact that there is no way to tell what the answer is—because the authors deliberately left that ambiguous—renders it a moot point. We could argue back and forth about that all day and never come to a conclusion because there isn’t one. At the end of the day all we can agree on is that the Muse is acting as Nicklausse the night Hoffmann tells the stories, and likely has done so before.

There is other, non-textual evidence that backs up the concept of Nicklausse as genderfluid. The biggest one is that Barbier and Carré were not strangers to the idea of gender fluidity in their work. About 14 years before Hoffmann premiered, another work from these two hit the stage: Ambroise Thomas’s opera Mignon. The titular character is, for all intents and purposes, genderfluid, presenting as both male and female throughout the course of the opera and seeming comfortable in both roles. Even earlier than that, the two of them translated da Ponte’s libretto for Le nozze di Figaro into French for the Paris Théâtre Lyrique. Anyone who knows this opera knows the multiple levels of gender-bending that occur here and the extremely meta exploration of gender primarily through the portrayal of Cherubino, a boy, who is played by a woman and frequently dresses up as a girl. You can hardly talk about Nozze without acknowledging the genderfluidity it contains. So, before writing the libretto for Hoffmann, Barbier and Carré had worked with at least two other stories dealing with canonical genderfluidity. It’s not much of a stretch, then, to say that they were deliberate in their portrayal of the Muse/Nicklausse as a genderfluid being.

That being settled, on to the next point:

Hoffmann and Nicklausse are a couple.

You wouldn’t think so watching the way most Hoffmanns treat Nicklausse onstage, but there’s a lot of textual evidence that supports this claim. There are multiple facets of Hoffmann and Nicklausse’s relationship that indicate they are, at least in some sense, an item, even if Hoffmann doesn’t always acknowledge it.

We still don’t know if the Nicklausse we see in the tavern has been Nicklausse all along, or if he’s taking on the position of someone who’s actually been hanging out with Hoffmann all this time. That doesn’t necessarily mess up the analysis, though, because: if the Muse has been Nicklausse all along, then all of the evidence in Hoffmann’s stories is true (as “true” as they can be, being a result of Hoffmann’s drunken storytelling) of the person who is sitting next to him in the tavern right now. If, however, the real Nicklausse is absent, Hoffmann is still admitting the extent of the relationship to the Muse/Nicklausse who’s in the tavern tonight. We know this because Hoffmann is presumably making these stories up since it’s revealed at the end all these “loves” are manifestations of the real-life Stella. In which case, it is Hoffmann who is describing all of these things about Nicklausse that indicate they are in a relationship, consciously or unconsciously admitting that they are an item. Since the Nicklausse who is sitting with him during the storytelling is also the Muse, it’s not really a stretch to assume Hoffmann is talking about them during the telling, even if there is a “real” Nicklausse who’s absent tonight, because Hoffmann is taking details from things in the immediate vicinity to tell these stories tonight.

Now on to some more specific details:

They are a packaged deal. Before Hoffmann enters the tavern, Luther announces his arrival, adding that Nicklausse is with him (“Messieurs, il ouvre la porte,/Et Niklausse est avec lui!”). No one questions this or asks who Nicklausse is. They are all used to the idea of Nicklausse coming along with Hoffmann, so it clearly happens on a regular basis.

It’s also clear that Hoffmann is much closer to Nicklausse than he is to anyone else in the tavern. And that’s probably saying something, as it’s clear the friends at the tavern know a lot about him: they are familiar with his many different stories; they look forward to seeing him and hearing his tales; they know he enjoys singing, and convince him to do so to cheer him up; they tease him; they ask him personal questions; and they know his schedule well enough to notice when he’s late coming to the tavern. So, Hoffmann clearly has a lot of people here who know and care about him—but none nearly to the extent that Nicklausse does, as we will see. That indicates his relationship with Nicklausse is much more intimate.

Here are some examples:

When Hoffmann and Lindorf are facing off in their insult duet, before they can get too far, Nicklausse intervenes with a metaphor about shepherds and their girlfriends, distracting them before they come to blows. The others in the tavern join in, but no one else was motivated to stop the fight. Nicklausse was the only one who cared enough to break it up.

When describing his role in the stories that are to come, Hoffmann says Nicklausse takes the prize for common sense; he thinks highly of Nicklausse’s perceptions and opinions, even if he doesn’t always show it.

HOFFMANN Tu m'auras sans doute compris, O toi qui dans ce drame où mon cœur se consume Du bon sens emportas le prix!

At the beginning of Act I (Olympia), Nicklausse makes several statements that indicate he knows Hoffmann extremely well. Upon his entry, he exclaims “J'étais bien sûr de te trouver ici!” (“I knew I would find you here!”) He is familiar with Hoffmann’s usual haunts and knows exactly where to look for him. Further, he already knows about Olympia; when Hoffmann shushes him after his entrance, Nicklausse asks, “C'est là que respire la belle Olympia?” (“Is there where the beautiful Olympia is?”) He teases Hoffmann about being in love with her, so Hoffmann has obviously told Nicklausse all about her. Given no one else in the tavern knew anything about Hoffmann’s love life, we can assume he only talks about things like this to people he’s particularly close to.

Further, when Nicklausse is trying to get Hoffmann to reach out to Olympia before proclaiming his undying love, we have this exchange:

NICKLAUSSE Alors, chante, morbleu! pour sortir d'un tel pas! (Then sing to her, for heaven’s sake, if there is no alternative!) HOFFMANN Monsieur Spalanzani n'aime pas la musique. (Mr. Spalanzani doesn’t like music.) NICKLAUSSE Oui, je sais! Tout pour la physique! ... (Yes, I know! Science is everything!)

So not only had Hoffmann told Nicklausse about Olympia, he has also told him about Spalanzani’s obsession with science and aversion to music. Which means Hoffmann very likely talks to Nicklausse a lot about his studies and his intention to pursue a science education.

Out of all the names and titles Hoffmann is given in the tavern—poet, writer, artist, drunk—no one mentions the fact that he is a student. It might be because the group consists almost entirely of students, so it’s a given; but it might also be that, in addition to not discussing his love life with his friends, he also does not talk to them about his studies. Once again, this indicates that he is much closer to Nicklausse than anyone else in the tavern.

Nicklausse also knows the best ways to interact with Hoffmann. After Nicklausse sings his song and Hoffmann brushes him off, Coppélius enters and tries to get Hoffmann’s attention. However, Hoffmann does not respond, to which Nicklausse replies “Voilà le seul moyen d'être entendu!” (“There is only one way to be heard/get his attention”). Then we get the stage direction “il frappe doucement, puis plus fort sur l'épaule d'Hoffmann” (“he hits softly, then harder on Hoffmann's shoulder”). It works; Hoffmann turns and asks him what he needs. This is a very particular way to get someone’s attention. The fact that Nicklausse knows it means he gets Hoffmann’s attention a lot, and knows him well enough to understand the ways in which Hoffmann needs people to interact with him. This once again indicates a more intimate relationship, as no one else in the opera expresses having this kind of knowledge.

In less specific examples, Nicklausse spends a great deal of this act teasing Hoffmann about his love for Olympia. However, Hoffmann doesn’t seem annoyed or put off by his behavior. He goes to Nicklausse repeatedly to make sure he stays involved in the action. He’s used to Nicklausse’s banter, but it doesn’t annoy him enough to keep him away. He’s too attached to him to let the teasing get to his head.

Though Nicklausse does leave with the other guests so Hoffmann can be alone with Olympia, he returns much sooner than any of the others, looking for Hoffmann and asking “Veux-tu qu'on se grise sans toi?” (“Do you want us to get drunk without you?”) Apparently the party isn’t nearly as fun as it would be if Hoffmann were there with him. He misses Hoffmann and wants him to come join him. Then, he tries to warn Hoffmann that Olympia isn’t what she seems, and that he should be careful. When Hoffmann doesn’t respond to that, Nicklausse suggests he come to the ball and dance with Olympia—anything to get him to come to the party.

When Hoffmann does begin to dance with Olympia, she goes out of control. Nicklausse intervenes, afraid for Hoffmann’s life; in the process he gets knocked over himself, but continues to focus on Hoffmann’s well-being (while no one bothers to check in with Nicklausse). (This is rarely staged but it’s in every version of the libretto I’ve read.)

Finally, when everyone else is laughing at Hoffmann for falling in love with a robot, Nicklausse goes to him and tries to comfort him among the madness.

In Act II (Antonia), we obviously get the Violin Aria, which I wrote a really long thing about earlier. In short, it is clearly a love song, and since he’s singing it to Hoffmann, what’s really left to be said? That alone should be enough to convince folks that there are romantic implications (to say the least) between Nicklausse and Hoffmann. I’m at a loss as to how anyone could come up with any other reason Nicklausse would sing that song. “Love victorious”? “Poet, give your heart”? What else could he possibly be talking about?

Unlike almost every other number in the opera, the Violin Aria has no precedent in the play. It’s only here now because we have the Muse doubling as Nicklausse, singing a love song to Hoffmann. Though he spends a great deal of the opera discouraging Hoffmann from pursuing the objects of his affections, he’s not against the idea of Hoffmann being in love. He’s against the idea of Hoffmann being in love with anyone who isn’t him.

Of course, this song is sometimes (often) cut. There’s more evidence that it’s supposed to be there than evidence against, though (according to a bunch of people’s research), so edits that exclude it are probably trying to lessen The Gay as much as they can. I don’t see any other reason for taking it out.

In addition to that, though, in the dialogue version of the libretto, Nicklausse gets a paragraph or so describing just how long (six months) and hard they have been looking for Antonia. You’d have to be pretty devoted to someone to follow them around for six months helping them look for the supposed love of their life. And on Hoffmann’s end, you’d have to like someone quite a bit to have them around you nonstop for six months, and feel extremely close to them to be able to expect that kind of devotion from them.

In addition, Nicklausse once again risks his own safety in order to save Hoffmann (though this is also rarely staged). When Crespel goes after Hoffmann with a knife at the end of this act, Nicklausse literally throws himself between Hoffmann and the knife. Y’all, if that’s not devotion, I don’t know what is.

Act III (Giulietta) is much more complicated because there are just so many versions of it. Of course there’s Kaye’s edit which is heralded by many is definitive and I’ll admit his research seems pretty sound so I’ll allow that to stand (because obviously I have the authority to have any kind of say in the matter). However there are several things from previous edits that Kaye takes out that also contribute to this discussion, so I’ll be referring to them as well.

First off, we get this line here which I’ve seen exactly once out of (n) productions:

GIULIETTA (se tournant vers Nicklausse) Et son ami! Pardon, Pylade or Pollux?

Giulietta is introducing Hoffmann to her company, and of course wherever Hoffmann goes, Nicklausse is as well, and since they’re a packaged deal, Giulietta introduces him as well, immediately after. And not only that, it’s precisely what she calls him that really drives the point home.

“Forgive me, was it Pylades or Pollux?”

I wrote a thing about this too. Here I’ll say:

Pollux refers to Castor and Pollux, who are typically used as a symbol of platonic affection between men, since they’re half-brothers. However, Pylades and Orestes are a different story. As I mentioned in the other post, if you’re familiar with Greek mythology discourse, you’ll know that most people agree there’s more to the relationship between Orestes and Pylades than a little bromance. So Giulietta is clearly suggesting something here when she refers to Nicklausse in these terms. It’s almost like she’s asking the question: “Are you two bros or are you romantically involved?” The fact that neither Hoffmann nor Nicklausse attempt to address that point seems significant to me. Nicklausse simply introduces himself, neither confirming nor denying the implications Giulietta is making about his relationship with Hoffmann. Nor does Hoffmann make a comment. If they didn’t want people thinking of them as a couple, one of them would have probably spoken up, but neither do.

In some Oeser-based edits we get an extended gambling scene, during which Giulietta serenades the guests, Hoffmann is distracted by her, Dapertutto gets some side dialogue, Schlémil acts shady, Pitichinaccio has some fun, the chorus gets philosophical, and Nicklausse tries to convince Hoffmann not to gamble away all their money. (Even if the extended scene isn’t included, Nicklausse gets a line to this effect in many versions of the libretto.)

Their money. Throughout, Nicklausse isn’t just worried about Hoffmann throwing away his own life savings. He’s worried because, despite the fact that he himself is not involved in the game (until Hoffmann makes him take his cards so he can go be with Giulietta), Nicklausse’s funds are at stake here too. I don’t know all the historical intricacies of finance at the time, but it sounds to me like the equivalent of these two having a joint bank account. You don’t share a joint bank account with just anyone. If Nicklausse and Hoffmann’s funds are collective to the point that Hoffmann losing money means Nicklausse is losing money too, the two of them are clearly financially dependent on each other, and if that doesn’t scream domesticity, I don’t know what does. I almost feel like the entire argument could ride on this alone.

The rest of the act is all over the place in terms of the order of events and even if some or others happen at all. The one most of us are probably used to honestly doesn’t have much Nicklausse material after the Barcarolle and his spat with Hoffmann, but others have more—like the conversation with Giulietta and the gambling scene described above. One of the most significant, which is based on a similar scene from the original play, concerns Nicklausse trying to get Hoffmann to leave with him, begging him to leave Giulietta behind, telling him this place is sketchy AF and they should leave before someone tries to steal their souls (which, incidentally, is pretty much exactly what happens). Eventually he gives up and goes to find a means of transportation (usually horses) and someone to help him physically remove Hoffmann so they can finally get out of there. After that, we only see him when he returns after Hoffmann gets his reflection taken; sometimes he doesn’t say much, sometimes he laments their fate, sometimes he finally does get around to dragging Hoffmann away once Hoffmann finally gives up, rescuing him yet again as they escape just before the police come looking for Schlémil’s murderer.

An interesting side note: In one performance I saw, Nicklausse tries to go after Hoffmann when Hoffmann goes with Giulietta, but is held back by Pitichinaccio (who then attempts to give him a poisoned drink, similar to an event in the original play). I also found a libretto and an album where a similar event occurs, except it’s Dapertutto who pulls Nicklausse away and makes him go back to the room where everyone else is still playing cards. In both cases he was able to return to Hoffmann right after Giulietta steals Hoffmann’s reflection. This bit isn’t included in any of the critical editions as far as I can tell, but it’s an interesting event, Nicklausse trying to go after Hoffmann to protect him (yet again) but being prevented by one of the villains. And, because Nicklausse isn’t there to help him, Hoffmann does get hurt this time (Giulietta steals his reflection). The one time Nicklausse is prevented from helping Hoffmann, Hoffmann winds up in a whole lot of trouble.

The epilogue is pretty self-explanatory, I feel. Nicklausse doesn’t get too many lines, but his altercation with Hoffmann is pretty significant. Nicklausse makes the connection between the three ladies in his stories and the real-life Stella, joking that they should make a toast to the lady. Hoffmann yells at him, basically telling him “shut up or I’ll slap you” (and in some productions I’ve seen, he actually does get slapped). Nicklausse is definitely offended by this.

NICKLAUSSE se levant Ah! je comprends! trois drames dans un drame Olympia ... Antonia ... Giulietta ... Ne sont qu'une même femme: La Stella! LE CHŒUR La Stella! NICKLAUSSE Buvons à cette honnête dame! HOFFMANN furieux, brisant son verre Un mot de plus et sur mon âme Je te brise comme ceci! ...

NICKLAUSSE Moi, ton mentor? Merci! ...

This isn’t the kind of fight you have with an acquaintance. Banter like this, that borders on threats and insults, typically happen between people who are very close and have a lot of history. Nicklausse is trying to draw attention to Hoffmann’s failed loves, comparing them to Stella, to point out how futile it is for him to continue to pursue this siren. It’s about time Hoffmann notices him. Hoffmann, on the other hand, is furious at Nicklausse for revealing the fallacy in his tales. Saying “I’ll break you” is a pretty savage way to respond; Hoffmann feels betrayed by Nicklausse. He’s also pretty drunk. Either way, it’s clear his reaction stems from the closeness he feels with Nicklausse; upset that his “mentor” and confidante would reveal him like that.

After this, Nicklausse usually ducks away, though some edits give him the line “Il faut se décider!” (“You need to decide!”) as Stella enters. He’s giving Hoffmann the final choice, the one he delineated in the Prologue:

Il faut en cette heure fatale qu'il choisisse entre nos amours, qu'il appartienne à ma rivale ou qu'il soit à moi pour toujours!

(In this fatal hour he must choose between our loves; he will belong to my rival or be mine forever!)

Hoffmann is too drunk to recognize Stella, and she leaves him to go with Lindorf. The students leave as well, and Hoffmann is alone—until Nicklausse returns (or maybe he never left, depending on how it’s staged), revealing their identity as the Muse. Again, it’s unclear if they were Nicklausse all along, or just borrowing the identity for the night. Either way, the character that we’ve spent the last two and a half hours with (or longer depending on the edit)—the one who, as the last six pages will attest, is almost definitely Hoffmann’s boyfriend—is here declaring their love for Hoffmann. In some versions they literally say “I love you!”

Je t'aime, Hoffmann: confie-toi à moi! fie-toi à moi!

(Interestingly, when this line is included, it is spoken under the name “Nicklausse,” before their transformation back into the Muse. To me, that’s a decent indicator that Nicklausse has been the Muse all along, even before the events of tonight.)

We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen next, and what precisely we assume will happen once again depends on the Muse’s status as the actual Nicklausse in Hoffmann’s life or imagining. I haven’t seen any two productions (save revivals of the same production) that stage the ending in the exact same way. There’s a lot of ways to interpret it.

But after all this, I’d venture it’s pretty safe to say the ones where Hoffmann and the Muse get together at the end are accurate.

#aaaaaan there you have it #have i reached peak nerd level yet?#Les contes d'Hoffmann #The Tales of Hoffmann #literary criticism #literature analyisis #character analysis #opera #opera analysis #opera tag #also none of these translations are mine i got them all from libretti and subtitles #i may have this opera memorized but that doesn't mean i can translate haha

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ndb-123 · 2 years

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I posted 493 times in 2021

19 posts created (4%)

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For every post I created, I reblogged 24.9 posts.

I added 61 tags in 2021

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Longest Tag: 57 characters

#i hate crab pots because i always forget where i set them

My Top Posts in 2021

True ADHD friendship is letting your friend ramble about their hyperfixation, and giving them your complete attention even though you have absolutely no idea what they're talking about and you know you'll forget most of the conversation as a soon as it ends. 😂

10 notes • Posted 2021-01-19 13:01:17 GMT

Trying to write with ADHD is an absolute fucking nightmare and I hate it

I wish I could just get words on paper, but I can't.

I wish I could get out of my own head and just try things out and edit later if I need to, but I can't.

I can't get past the fear of failure. The fear of wasted time and wasted words.

I've spent 2 years trying to rework the story I tried writing when I was twelve because I love the concept but I can't get anything more than a scene or two down without giving up because I'm afraid it'll be an incoherent mess like the first time.

I hate trying to write because I don't understand how it works. I know I need a character arc, a plot, and a theme, and I understand all those concepts individually but I can't put them together.

Character arc especially because I've never been able to notice it in books I've read. It's subtext and it's interpreted.

I can't interpret anything beyond the literal words on the page because that's all my brain can handle. I'm not thinking about how the characters are changing, I'm trying to keep my eyes from darting around the page so I won't have to reread sentences a million times to understand them. A chapter that takes most people half an hour to read might take me almost an hour because I can't focus on the words or grasp their meaning, and I keep having to read and reread.

These struggles made me hate reading, especially when I had to read and memorize a lot for tests at school. Nothing about the reading was enjoyable because I was so afraid of failing the tests because I might forget details or remember the wrong ones. (I tend to remember unnecessary information really easily. Great for answering trivia, horrible for literally anything else.)

So, long story short, I've ended up hating reading. Dreading reading. I refuse to try to learn from published authors because I'm afraid to waste time and energy trying to learn from and emulate something that my brain just doesn't understand.

I've tried using structures to help. Save the Cat! seemed to be a saving grace at one point because it felt like a paint-by-numbers approach. Rigid structure, exactly what I need. But even that feels too lax at times.

There's one scene in my original draft from when I was 12 that I absolutely love. A scene that I've tried to form a new story around because I feel like it has a lot of potential. The problem is that none of the characters in that scene have a clear goal. There isn't a clear goal for anyone in the majority of the draft. It's part of the reason why it's so rambling and pointless. But I don't know how to give the characters in the scene goals that make sense without feeling like they're forced.

I've tried starting with characters, which I've read time and time again is the "right way" to write, but then I worry that the characters' arcs won't lead to the scene.

I can't start the story with the scene because there's so much that needs to happen before it, and I'm not interested in writing a nonlinear narrative. At least not for this story.

I keep trying to put this story on the back burner and write something else, but every other idea I've had is an offshoot of this one. My brain won't let this story, and especially that scene concept go. I either write that or write nothing, but I have no idea how to make that scene a story of its own.

So, I'm stuck. I've been stuck for years.

I don't know if I want advice or if I just needed to rant.

I hope that if any other writers with ADHD struggle with issues like mine, you see that you're not alone. 💛

11 notes • Posted 2021-09-27 12:35:00 GMT

12 notes • Posted 2021-04-21 14:15:01 GMT

It's almost 3:30 in the morning. I need to sleep but I can't. Is this just insomnia or is this "I just saw media pertaining to my hyperfixation after a year (I think?) of no content and now I have so much serotonin that I can't sleep"?

22 notes • Posted 2021-08-01 07:25:37 GMT

I'm a girl in the same way a platypus is a mammal. I mean if you wanna get really nitpicky, you're right, but there's a lot of other stuff going on here that doesn't fit that, and neither of us has the time or energy to explain it.

55 notes • Posted 2021-06-14 15:58:46 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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daily-dose-of-imagines · 4 years

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ʙᴀʀɢᴀɪɴꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴇᴀʟꜱ | 𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘬𝘺𝘶𝘶!! Hitmen AU! 19+ [Daichi x F!Reader] One-Shot | NSFW

Dedicating this one-shot to @heartbeat-art for drawing my rendition of Daichi in this AU ;; This be for you bb!

I literally feel like I gotta write Daichi to bring it full circle now man, I hope you all enjoy this and literally thank you precious bean, for inspiring me to write for my AU again man ;; I’ve never had anyone want to make art for anything I’ve written for and I jsut ahng;aoehgow;h I’m wallowing in feels --- ಥωಥ

TW; Manhandling ; Slight choking ; Dirty talking ; Just Daichi being a whole daddy--- I mean what Σ(´・ω・｀) ; idk ahsoigaheroig I’m just plain old sinning

» » Admin Ko

»»————-　♔　————-««

A ping echoed throughout the empty foyer room. A lone figure sat glimpsing over the information provided as she couldn’t help but let a small chuckle escape her lips. Her form was seated rather comfortably in the large chair as her legs were pulled in tight to allow her chin to settle atop her knees as she finished the transaction and bargaining details on her end.

It was a corrupt. Something she should’ve never considered, but after the blatant jab to her company and the clear hit on her COO and CFO there was nothing else she could really revert to that wasn’t morally corrupt.

“Besides...they were the one’s who started this game, and now it’s time to remind them who owns what.”

Dark (e/c) eyes narrowed at the mere thought of how her co-workers had been exterminated. Perhaps her enemies had hired the same hitmen, perhaps they didn’t. All she knew was that the planned meeting for details was within the next 24 hours, and she wasn’t going to miss a single thing.

Her choice to step into the corrupt field was forced, though she thought it was unnecessary, the desire to rightfully bring vengeance for her subordinates reigned supreme.

“They’re just a bunch of lecherous perverts anyways...”

Though at this point, she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince herself that her choices were right; yet no matter what she thought now, the nail on the coffin had been slammed down with no remorse.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Simple and clean cut, he sat calmly within the well lit diner. Though for the price and bargain he was given, he had to admit he was rather surprised at the quaint meeting place that was set. He was used to the extravagant restaurants, the loud highly populated clubs, the dark sinister bars with their own shares of secrets, but a small diner? It was a first, and immediately his interests in the client had piqued.

“Sawamura, correct?”

Soft, yet clearly pronounced, his attention fell onto the woman who approached the booth he was situated at. He offered a nod before gesturing to the seat before him. His deep bronze eyes focusing on her entire being as she settled in the booth across from him.

“Before we begin, I have to ask. Why here? It’s rather...”

“Different?”

A knowing smile formed on her lips as she waved a hand up for the waitress to swing over to take their orders. Her (e/c) never leaving his as a hint of mischief twinkled at him.

“Let’s just say I’ve been to many functions similar to this, and since it is my own I wanted a...change of pace, if you’d like to put it that way.”

The smile never left her features as she finally allowed her gaze to move from his own strong one as she looked up at the waitress, her order falling flawlessly from her lips before the woman turned to him.

Simply ordering a black coffee, the waitress left with the common phrase that their orders would be out shortly. Once out of earshot, he shifted to lean back, his eyes never leaving hers as he took in her calm stature as she met his gaze head-on.

“I will say it is out of the norm, though not unwelcome. But let’s get to business, Shall we?”

“Ah yes, the order I have is simple. I understand that in your line of work you don’t necessarily care for the personal details so I won’t bore you with that, but I’m sure besides that you’re also wanting to discuss the payment methods, yes?”

“Eloquently said. You’re right on the dot Ms. (y/n). I have no qualms in your personal business, however I am rather curious over your bargaining chip you added. I will say, when that specific order came in my men were...more than shocked.”

A soft groan escaped his lips as he finally closed his eyes as he remembered how utterly chaotic that day had been.

“And? Are you opposed to it Sawamura?”

Her tone was sharp, quick witted as she tilted her head at him, the look of mischief never leaving her jovial (e/c) eyes as she watched him release a breath.

“No, not at all. Rather, I’m curious as to why you’d offer yourself. It strikes me as odd, and I can’t help but feel as though you’re aiming for something more than what is to be anticipated.”

With that, he leaned forward his gaze stormy and heated as he rested his elbows on the table, fingers intertwined with one another as he quirked a brow at her, almost as if teasing her to continue with her explanation.

Meeting him halfway, she leaned forward, her body mimicking his own as she had a coy smile on her face as she gently rested her chin atop her intertwined hands.

“Simple things really, after all I’m a woman who has desires, and I would’ve either changed the bargain if the person I was meeting wasn’t what I was expecting. As for that last statement...I’ll share that upon your completion of our deal.”

“Oh? And what was your expectations, Ms (y/n)?”

“A handsome, strong man who looks as though he could fuck me the way I want him to.”

The tension between the pair was high, amusement dancing in her eyes as his gaze practically darkened with heat and curiosity as he smirked. Though, with the sudden appearance of the waitress, the tension eased albeit slightly as the orders had been set down before them.

Yet neither broke eye contact, even as the waitress had asked if they needed anything else.

“I believe we’ll be fine for the time being, right Ms. (y/n)?”

“Correct, I’ll wave you down if there’s anything we may need.”

Their voices overlapped one another smoothly, as if planned as she briefly broke their little staring contest to ensure that the waitress was completely out of earshot. Once she was, the young CEO relaxed and leaned back into the booth as she began to dig into her food, a little hum of joy escaping her lips at the first bite before she spoke once more.

“Well, do we have ourselves a deal Sawamura?”

Taking another bite, she took her time to chew the morsel before finally bringing her fiery gaze up to meet his own as she set one elbow on the table, and resting her chin against the palm of her hand as she waited patiently for his answer.

His response wasn’t immediate. Though he kept his gaze with hers, he only broke it momentarily as he grabbed the cup of coffee before taking a calm sip. A low sigh escaping him at the comforting cup before he raised his eyes to her own waiting ones.

“As long as you uphold your end of the deal and explain your ulterior motive after, then we have ourselves a deal. I’ll send you the results once it’s over.”

“Excellent. Your reward will be worth it. I guarantee it.”

»»————-　➴　————-««

It had been a hectic week. With working through the two deaths in the company and dealing with the publicity, she was ready for a nice glass of wine and a long night’s rest of the unnecessary stress that was given to her by the opposing corporation.

At the last meeting she had met eyes with the CEO. His grimy eyes raking over her form, and the unnerving smug smirk on his face when the deaths in her company was mentioned in private. It had her utterly pissed off and hoping for the damn bastard’s execution even more.

And, to her surprise it came as a beautiful text message. Despite the unknown number, she knew exactly who it was.

xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx

Neutralized.

Grinning from ear to ear, she felt the copious amounts of stress wash away. Though even to her, she wasn’t sure if she should’ve even felt this way. It was immoral, wrong. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to be upset. The amount of corruption and perverse things the CEO of her rival corporation had gotten away with was absolutely sickening, and finally he was gone.

xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx

8 p.m. xx/xx

375-1250, Sodeyachi, Ogawara-machi Shibata-gun, Miyagi

The response was simple, her eyes now hooded as she sent the message before getting herself up from her place on the couch.

“I suppose I should give him a treat.”

With that, she set her phone on the table before heading out to prepare for her visitor.

»»————-　➴　————-««

The light knock at the door brought a sense of joy through her veins as she slowly got up from her seat on the couch. The room had been dimly lit, a glass of wine already downed and settling into the fiery pit of her stomach as she answered the door. The long transparent lacy robe she wore only added to her appearance as she gave her visitor a coy grin.

“Welcome, please. Make yourself at home.”

With that she shifted to allow the built man into the rented space as she closed the door behind him, locking the door. Though before she could turn to address him she was slammed up against the door, her thighs resting on either side of his waist as one of his arms coiled around her waist as he nipped at her ear.

A light gasp escaped her parted lips as her fingers found purchase against the deep royal blue dress shirt he wore as her thighs clenched around his sturdy waist.

“Impatient, aren’t we?”

Though her words were light and wispy, the low growl in his throat had her shiver in anticipation as he planted a firm kiss to her jaw.

“You leave yourself looking like an entire treat for someone like me, and of course I’m going to take what’s due.”

“Then take it big boy...show me how badly you want it...”

There was no hesitation as his lips surged forth to claim her own. Passionate yet clearly skilled, his tongue dove forth as he swallowed every gasp and moan that escaped her lips. Her fingers tightening around the soft fabric of his shirt as his hands had slipped down to her thighs, caressing them lightly-- almost tauntingly before his fingers slipped past the thin fabric of the robe, and roughly grasped her ass as she was hefted up into his arms.

Another moan escaped her as his lips began to attack her neck. Unrelenting as each kiss left a mark on her skin. Each earning a groan of pleasure from her as her fingers moved from his shirt to his hair as her fingers roughly ran through his hair, nails trailing down as a low moan was coaxed out of the large man, and the next thing she knew, she was thrown onto the bed.

Though the sight gifted to her next was something she was sure she would desperately be wanting to see again in the near future. The grin that graced his features had her tauntingly spread her legs as she licked her lips. Though as he practically ripped his shirt off to reveal the mass expanse of muscle and unmarked territory to her, she couldn’t help but let out a sudden whimper as her fingers clutched tightly around the sheets beneath her. Practically ready to pounce onto the male before she was suddenly lying flat on her back, the robe doing well in restricting her movements as he seemed to pin down just the right areas to keep her in place.

“That desperate huh?”

The rasp and growl that coated his words as her softly groan before she tauntingly brought her head up to peck his jaw, though the action brought a large hand down to her throat, lightly squeezing as a spike of adrenaline surged through her. The dark hungry look in his eyes and the dominating aura he possessed had her practically sopping wet as she gyrated her hips against the heat that was pressed against her.

“Trying to ride my thigh now? Well aren’t you an impatient little girl...”

His taunting had her let out a raspy moan as he squeezed lightly once more, allowing his thigh to rub up against her throbbing cunt as she struggled to get air into her while alleviating the throbbing in her cunt.

“M-More...”

Desperate for more, she struggled to grasp his wrist as she felt her eyes roll into the back of her head at the immense sensations she was feeling, though had to bite back a cry as he pulled back. Vanquishing the rush she was feeling as he relented his hold on her. Confusion was written all over her face before he spoke once more. Heat flooding her cheeks as she couldn’t help but immediately do as he asked.

“Finger yourself for me, pretty girl. Let me see you prep yourself for when I fuck that wet cunt of yours.”

Leaning back, she did as she was told, her fingers daintily removing the thin piece of fabric that covered her as she began to slowly spread her legs side, her fingers slowly working their way around the juices that flooded out of her throbbing pussy before she began working and stretching herself for him.

As she did so, he slowly unbuckled his belt and began removing the last bits of clothes he had on. The look on his face practically having her forgo her assignment to just crawl over and take the hit man’s rock hard erection into her lips.

“Stay and do as you’re told, pretty girl...”

The sheer amount of lust that coated his words had her gulping as she continued to stretch and fuck herself open for him, pushing as deep as she could as his gaze stayed strong on her.

“That’s it...stretch yourself good for me....gonna fill you and fuck that cute sopping cunt of yours...”

Another whine came from her as the thought of being filled flooded her mind, her ministrations slowing slightly before she was jerked back into the present as her hands were halted by a larger pair. Strong copper eyes bore deeply into her own before she was suddenly lifted up and set over his lap as he nipped at her neck.

“Work yourself on my baby girl...and before you even ask I’ve got protection on. No time to be a dad...”

Despite the comment, she couldn’t help but not care much as the comment really slipped by her thoughts before she slowly worked herself down onto him. His girth and size stretching her much more than what she had expected as she let out a sharp gasp as her fingers dug into his shoulders, marking up his skin as he eased her onto his cock.

“That’s right, good girl...you’re doing so well princess~.”

Gravelly and slightly slurred, his words began to jumble at the heat that was wrapped around him as he forced himself to wait until she had completely eased herself down onto his cock. Once settled, he gave an experimental jerk of his hips and she let out a shaky gasp and mewl as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder as she tightly clung onto him.

“Go on baby girl, let’s see you bounce.”

The teasing tone in his voice left no room for arguments as she shakily nodded before slowly moving herself up and down. The feel practically euphoric as she continued to quicken her pace, though when she thought she was about to tire out, the position had suddenly shifted and she was staring down at him, her body suddenly upright as he grinned cheekily at her before he jerked his hips up, helping her along before his fingers dug into her hips, steadying her only slightly as he began to meet her pace.

The coil of heat that formed between the pair grew even more as she felt her body begin to tense up. A string of curses left her lips as she tightened herself around him, before she came. Exhaustion hitting her soon after she felt him come straight after her. The bruising grip on her loosening as she felt herself lay on top of him in exhaustion.

At one point she had remembered laying on his chest, the next she was by his back was facing her as he seemed to be skimming down his phone.

“Mmmm...lay with me Sawamura...”

Broken and raspy, her voice was soft as she carefully got up to wrap her arms around him from behind.

“I believe I’m due for my explanation (y/n).”

“I suppose, you did fuck me rather well...I want a sort of business deal Sawarmura...finding other hit men can be so....annoying. Plus, I’ll be able to pay you in any way you want. Not a bad deal isn’t it?”

The silence that came after had her pouting slightly as she pressed her lips against his neck as he finally stopped scrolling through his phone to set it aside before turning to lay her down on the bed before laying next to her on his side.

“...I’ll discuss this with my team first--”

“I only want you.”

A light laugh came from him as he lightly flicked her forehead.

“Idiot, you think I’m going to share my client like this with those idiots? No. If it happens to work in your favor...then you can expect a message.”

“Oh? Then let’s hope that it works out in everyone’s favor~.”

»»————-　➴　————-««

Least to say, the next week she went in to work a brand new phone sat awaiting on her desk with a new message waiting for her.

xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx

What’s the next assignment?

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!!#hitmen au #au #haikyuu hitmen au #daichi sawamura x reader #daichi x reader #sawamura x reader #hitmen!daichi #to the precious baby who helped me get motivation to write for this au again #thank you again so much for drawing Daichi #I can't put into words how utterly shocked and emotional I am /still/ over how good it looks #you deserve all the support and love bb #also idk if this be up ur alley but uh yEAh this happened at 2am so uH

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p-artsypants · 4 years

Text

Perfect, No Matter What

In which Gabriel sets the bar even lower for himself, a reveal happens because of pain medication, and the new guardian actually goes to Chloé for advice.

At least Adrien gets some kisses out of it.

I’ve been watching ‘Botched’ while I work remotely and it took me to dangerous places.

Ao3 | FF.net

—

You know the phrase, ‘beauty is pain’? Well, some people knew that better than others.

Especially Adrien Agreste.

Diets, rigorous exercise, intense skin care routine including microdermabrasion, UV treatment, and teeth whitening.

Perfection.

And he hated it.

At this point in his life, he feared that his slew of doctors thought he was horribly vain.

Really, he was just the victim of a highly critical father.

On a Friday, Adrien prepared for school as usual. He dressed casually, lightly styled his hair, and ate breakfast.

As he came back down the stairs after grabbing his bag, his father was waiting for him.

“Father?”

“Just here to see you off to school.”

That was new, and concerning, to say the least. “Oh…thanks?”

“Hmm,” Gabriel hummed, stepping into his personal space. Without another word, he hooked his thumb around Adrien’s chin, manipulating his head in different directions.

“What?”

“Hush.”

Adrien just waited in fear as his father examined him, turning his face this way and that, and a look of displeasure was growing on his face, stronger and stronger.

Finally, blessedly, he pulled away. “That will be all. Get off to school.”

“Uh…okay.”

With confusion and paranoia, Adrien went to school.

—

The day continued on as normal. No akumas, no unnecessary drama, easy homework, nothing to stress about.

And nothing to bring Adrien’s attention away from his father’s strange behavior this morning.

The class before lunch, his paranoia picked up when Nathalie interrupted the lesson.

“Pardon the intrusion, Adrien has a doctor’s appointment, and will be out for the rest of the day.”

This was news to him, and he could only gape.

“Come on Adrien, get your stuff. Is one of your friends willing to take notes?”

“Marinette will!” Alya volunteered.

“Y-yeah! Of course I will!”

“See to it that you drop it off at the mansion after school.”

“I have fencing after school, we have a tournament tomorrow.” Adrien pointed out, while still shoveling his books into his bag.

“I’m afraid you won’t be participating in the tournament, or any other weekend activities.”

“What? Why?”

“I’ll explain in the car, please now, hurry.”

Adrien did as told, not before casting a fearful look to his friends.

—

Marinette couldn’t stop thinking about Adrien.

Not that it was any different than usual, but that look on his face…

It was haunting.

The look of complete horror and loss. To be fair, if she had received the same news he had, she probably would have been blindsided as well.

The reaction at the house when she brought his homework wasn’t insightful either. Just like every time she brought something for him, the camera came out, the drawer opened, and that was it. No communication, no nothing.

“I don’t know Tikki, should I text him? Or would that be weird? Does he know I have his number?”

“Marinette, I’m sure he’d love to get a text from you. Just ask him if he got the notes.”

“Great idea! Simple! I can’t butcher it!” She took out her phone and read aloud as she typed. “Hey Adrien…it’s Marinette. Alya gave me your number…did you get the homework? Let me know if anything is unclear, or if you need anything else.”

“Good!”

“Would a heart be too much?”

“It might be a comfort for him? Sending him love in his isolation.”

“Okay. Heart. And send!” She hit the button and nearly threw her phone in anxiety.

Then she waited.

And waited.

An hour or so passed as she tapped her foot with tense energy.

“Whatever he was pulled for is probably still going on. I wouldn’t worry about it, Marinette. Adrien isn't the type to leave someone on read.”

Taking a calming breath, Marinette nodded in agreement. “You’re right, I’ll just suck it up! I might hear from him tonight.”

So she spent the day doing homework, and a bit of various projects to stay busy.

Nearing patrol time, Plagg showed up on her desk, spooking her. “Hey pigtails.”

“Ah! Plagg! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Chat? It’s almost time for patrol.”

“Nah, not for him!”

“This is joint patrol. It’s Friday night.”

“Yeah, well I’m here to let you know that he won’t be joining you tonight, and I left him because I knew he was going to try to transform, and he’s in no shape to!”

“Is he sick? Injured?”

“Injured.” Plagg confirmed. “Not dire, and he’s already been treated…though there was no reason to be hurt in the first place.” He muttered that last part to himself.

“Is he okay?”

The little cat shrugged. “Eh, probably. Little trauma never hurt anyone. It’s over now.”

“What happened?”

“That, I can’t tell you. Though I’m sure you’ll see it eventually. I’d just prefer to let this play out naturally and see what happens.”

“You really are chaotic, aren’t you?”

He beamed. “Only the most chaotic. Well, I’m here to join you, so you aren’t patrolling alone. That way he’ll be happy, and you’ll be happy that he’s not out with an injury.”

“That’s bizarrely considerate of you.” She snorted.

“I know, aren’t I the best?”

She scratched him between the ears. “The best. Now let’s go!”

—

Monday morning finally came. Marinette had finally received a response from Adrien on Saturday, which was just ‘yes I did, thank you!’ with a little heart as well.

It melted her a little.

But Adrien didn’t elaborate any more. It was complete radio silence from him, both to her, and to Nino, who had also tried to reach out.

But now it was Monday, and hopefully he would be here.

“Chloe,” Nino asked. “Did you hear anything from Adrien this weekend?”

“No!” She exasperated. “I called him like nine times, and not once did he answer! Nathalie said he was sleeping when I called her. And Gabriel didn’t answer either. It was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

“He confirmed that he got my notes, but didn’t say anything else to me.” Marinette added. “I’m kinda worried.”

“Me too. He should be here by now.”

Luckily, the tension didn’t last long, as Adrien’s extremely tired voice spoke from the doorway. “Hi guys…”

Record scratch.

He looked hideous.

Both eyes were black, with huge purple swollen bags on each cheek. It was swollen so bad, his eyes were half shut. A thick bandage rested on the top of his nose, and over the nostrils, leaving just the little pink tip poking out.

“Dude!”

“Hey…” He couldn’t even smile, and looked to be in a lot of pain. He shuffled to his seat and sat down.

“What happened bro? You look like you got hit by a bus!”

“You really shouldn’t even be here.” Alya added. “That looks really bad.”

“My dad didn’t want me to come, but I begged him. I already missed half of Friday. I didn’t want to fall behind.”

“Yeah, but like, what happened?”

Adrien hesitated a moment, and then admitted, “I ran into a wall.”

Chloe scoffed, glaring at him with an absolutely disgusted look on her face. “Sure, right.”

“You broke your nose?”

“Yeah, really badly. Doctor got me all fixed up though. I’ll be fine!”

Marinette wasn’t convinced, however. It was weird that he had been pulled out of school for some sudden weekend event, only to show up on Monday with a broken nose.

Unless Adrien, in a desperate move to get out of the weekend plans, ran headfirst into a wall, which was admittedly kind of funny.

Or something more sinister was going on instead.

Nino and Alya continued to badger him about it, but Adrien just reassured them that he was fine.

But Marinette took notice of the bandage on the inside of his right ear too. How does one damage an ear when running headlong into a wall?

Marinette’s phone buzzed, a message from Chloe, of all people.

Chloe: I can see that look on your face. Adrien is lying. I want you to get the truth out of him.

That was surprising!

Marinette: What? Why me?

Chloe: Because if this is what I think it is, he’ll never admit it to me. And I need to know if I need to be disappointed in him or Gabriel.

Marinette: What are you talking about? And why me?

Chloe: It’s not my place to say, okay? You’re the class rep, and his friend. You’re good at coaxing people to open up. Do this for me and I’ll buy you some fabric or something. Don’t make me beg.

Marinette considered it. Seeing Adrien look like this quieted that part in her brain that just shouted ‘Adrien Adrien Adrien!’ And brought out ‘He’s hurt, he’s vulnerable, protect him!’

Marinette: You don’t need to buy me anything. I’ll try to talk to him, for his sake. I won’t mention you at all.

Chloe: Good. Let me know the details, alright? I’m very concerned.

Marinette: Obviously, if you’re asking for my help.

Chloe: Don’t get used to it.

Marinette: I won’t. :)

Turns out, Marinette didn’t even need to plan out how she was going to approach Adrien. He made it easy for her. At lunch, he approached her.

“Hey Marinette, can I talk to you for a sec?” His voice was nasally and groggy.

“Sure thing!” She chirped, leading him to a quiet corner. Her blood pressure spiked. Did he find out that Chloe had talked to her? Was he about to tell her to mind her own business??

“I have a really big favor to ask, and you can say no, but I just thought...”

“Whatever you need,” she laid a hand on his arm. “Just say the word.” Okay, maybe she was coming on too strong, but that nose…

He kind of smiled, though it looked painful. “Sorry, I’m not supposed to smile.”

“Gotcha. We’re serious here.” She steeled her mouth into a neutral grimace.

“I begged my dad to let me come back to school, but I didn’t realize how tired the...pain meds were making me. Do you think your parents would mind if I crashed on your couch until the end of the day? You’re just so close to school and—“

“I understand completely!” She smiled at him, only to make that neutral face a minute later. “I mean, yes. I’m sure it’ll be okay with them. You okay to come now?”

“Yeah, my chef sent me with some soup in a thermos.”

“Alright, then let’s go.”

Over at the bakery, which was blessedly not busy for lunchtime, Sabine noticed Adrien and gasped.

“Oh honey! What happened?!”

He winced. “I Uh...I ran into a wall.”

“He’s already been to the doctor.” Marinette clarified. “He was just wondering if he could nap on the couch for a few hours. The painkillers are making him groggy.”

Tom came into the room at his wife’s exclamation. “I bet it’s hard to sleep with that too.”

“Yes, exactly.” Adrien breathed.

“Of course you can nap upstairs. You’re always welcome whenever!”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“You might be better off in Marinette’s room so we don’t disturb you.”

“Is that okay with you, Marinette?” He asked.

“Oh! Yes! Of course! Wherever you want! Umm I’ll show you upstairs!” And she gestured him onward.

In her room, Adrien looked around as he sat his bag down. “You still have the pictures of me.” He said fondly.

She had forgotten about them in her worry. “Oh! Yep! I like to look at them for inspiration, and to support you, you know?”

He walked over to her wall and stopped to look at one. “And...if I didn’t look like this anymore? Would you still like them? Like me?”

What an odd thing to wonder. “Of course. Are you worried that you’re going to look different now because you broke your nose?”

He was quiet for a moment, then admitted. “Yeah.”

“Don’t worry, Adrien. I’m sure it’ll heal just fine.”

“Yeah, I trust you.”

She awkwardly patted her hands against her thighs. “So...you can use my bed, or you can just use the chaise...”

“Can I steal that big cat pillow? I’m supposed to sleep sitting up.”

“Oh yes! Of course!” She scrambled up to grab it for him. “Anything else I can get you? Where’s your soup? I’ll warm it up for you.”

He gave her that warm and tender smile that made her heart swell. “You’re the best, Marinette.” He took out the thermos from his bag. “Could I also have some water? I’m going to take some more drugs.”

She giggled, “sure thing. I’ll be back in a sec.”

She took the soup downstairs and poured it into a bowl, then popped it in the microwave. Then she got a glass of water and a bag of frozen peas and went back upstairs.

Adrien was reclining on the chaise with his head back, resting.

“Here’s your water,” she announced, sitting by his side.

“Ugh, thank you. My face is killing me.”

She snickered at him. “There’s a mean joke here, but I won’t say it.”

“You’re not supposed to make me laugh, remember?”

“Oh right, sorry.”

He took the water and popped a few pills. “Fair warning, this medicine makes me a wee loopy, so...”

“Well, I’ll be going back after lunch, so you probably won’t embarrass yourself too badly.”

“Mmm, I trust you won’t tell anyone if I confess my undying love for fried chicken.”

“Your secrets are safe with me.”

The microwave dinged and she excused herself to get it. The bowl was too hot to take out, or even hold to eat out of. So she took the time to make a sandwich for her own lunch, and grabbed an extra slice of fresh bread for Adrien.

Returning upstairs, Adrien was reclined again, with the frozen peas on his face.

“Soups on.”

“Feed me...” he begged weakly.

She almost dropped the tray she was carrying. “What? I mean, are you sure? I uh...”

He made a grabby hand toward her. “Soup soup...”

“Oh,” she breathed out. “The medicine kicked in fast.”

“Me want soooooup.” He moaned, absolutely miserable.

Seeing him so vulnerable and slightly childish was so sad.

And kinda cute.

“Okay, I’ve got it, but you have to sit up first. I don’t want you to spill on yourself.”

He moaned and groaned as he shimmied up. “Otay?”

Marinette giggled, “Otay.” She set the tray on his lap. “I’m not used to high Adrien.”

“Hi Marinette.”

She giggled again, “no, I meant you’re being goofy.”

“H-yuck.”

She shook her head. “Eat your soup, Adrien.”

“Yes mom.” He slowly spooned up his soup. He was quiet as he did so, looking like he was focusing hard on it. His eyes blinked slowly, like he was going to fall asleep at any second. Finally, he pulled away a half empty bowl and held it out to her.

“You done?”

He nodded.

“Okay.” She placed the bowl on the tray and stood. “Let’s get you a blanket.”

His eyes closed as he settled back down.

She grabbed a fuzzy blanket from her bed and draped it over him, which he immediately snuggled into.

“Alright, you rest as long as you need to. I’ll rush back here at the end of school to wake you up.”

He took her hand. “Mari?”

“Hmm?”

“I didn’t run into a wall.” He confessed in a whisper, tears gathering in his eyes.

Immediately, she sat by his side and grasped his hand. “What happened?”

“I got a nose job.”

Her jaw dropped. She never imagined Adrien as a vain person, so unless this was for his health, it kind of changed her entire perception of him.

“I didn’t want to.” A tear streaked down his cheek. “My dad made me. He pulled me out of school and took me to the doctor. They said my cartilage was shattered, probably from all the hits I take as Chat Noir…”

“They said that?” Her mouth was dry.

“They don’t know I’m Chat…no one does. You won’t tell, right Mari? Fried chicken?”

She nodded fervently. “Of course Adrien. My lips are sealed.”

He nodded slowly, starting to relax more. “They had to rebuild my nose. They took cartilage from my rib, and skin from my ear. It hurts all over.”

“Even with the medication?”

“I’ll never be good enough.” Another tear rolled down his cheek. “Not for him, not for her…no one.”

Marinette was torn between the fear of him remembering and forgetting what she was about to do. Nonetheless, she cupped his very bruised cheek. “Adrien. Even if your nose fell right off your face, I…I love you. I think you’re perfect.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Remember when we first met? When I yelled at you over the gum?”

“Dumb gum…”

“Yeah, I thought you were just like Chloe. Just a spoiled, pretty, rich kid.”

“But I am, I’m such a brat.” He nuzzled his face gently into her hand.

“No you’re not. It was never your looks that made me like you. It was your kindness. Okay?”

He slowly blinked at her. “My face hurts.”

Very gently, she leaned in and kissed the very tip of his nose. “All better.”

“Mari lucky kiss. Just like lucky charm.” His eyes fell closed. “Don’t tell anyone about nose job, ‘kay? Dad’s not bad, he’s just grieving…”

Marinette gave a long exhale. Being distant and withdrawn from society? Grieving. Forcing his son to get a nose job at 15? Insane.

There was just a lot in this conversation that was too much to unpack in the first place.

File the whole ‘Adrien is Chat Noir’ thing away to freak out about later.

“I promised, I won’t tell a soul.” Except Chloe, because it seemed like she had guessed it already.

“Night night…” He mumbled, letting the drugs pass him into the world of slumber.

She petted his head. “Night kitty.”

He didn’t say anything else after that, so she safely assumed he finally fell asleep.

With the calmness that only comes to someone in shock, Marinette collected the dishes and took them downstairs, placing them in the sink.

Plagg and Tikki quietly followed behind, watching her with concern.

When the dishes were safe, she slowly turned around, spotting them floating there, gazing at her.

“I…” She began. “Where to start?”

“Well, for one thing,” Plagg began. “He hasn’t been that talkative to anyone else all weekend, so he must really trust you.”

“A nose job! A freaking—plastic surgery! He’s 15! What the hell—who does that!? To their kid!”

“Oh good,” said Plagg. “She’s not freaking out about the other thing yet.”

“I mean, if it was a medical thing, like a deviated septum or something, I’d understand, but it didn’t seem like that all! Was it like that? Is he just delusional? Tell me he’s delusional, Plagg.”

“Well…he is delusional. But his dad said his nose was developing an ‘unsightly hump’ to it.”

“A hump! A HUMP!!? What if this surgery is botched!? What then, Gabriel!?” She gasped and grabbed Plagg. “PLAGG!”

“Yes?”

“YOU’RE HERE!”

“Yes?”

“HE REALLY IS CHAT NOIR!?”

“Shout a little louder, I don’t think they heard you in Los Angeles.”

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod—“

Tikki flew up in front of her face. “Marinette, you’re the guardian now. You had to find out eventually.”

“Yeah, but not while he’s high on painkillers! He’s already had his nose ripped away from him! He didn’t need to lose his identity too!”

Plagg phased out of her hands. “Why don’t you take a nice calming breath.”

“I AM CALM!”

“Yeah, I like to scream when I’m calm too.”

She sunk to the floor, hyperventilating.

“What’s the big deal anyway?” Plagg asked, lounging on her thigh.

“What’s the big deal? What’s the big deal!?”

“Repeating my question is not an answer.”

“The ‘big deal’ is that Chat Noir and Adrien are the same person! The love of my life, and my partner! The same!”

“So this is a happy freak out?”

“No! Yes! I don’t know!” She slapped her hands over her face. “I’m confused.”

“Obviously.”

“Okay Plagg, lay off. This is a lot of information to deal with.” Tikki pacified. “It’s a good thing, Marinette. You know, it might be a good idea if he knows who you are. Once he feels better though.”

“I think my brain is about to explode.”

“Join the club. Man, you got a set of pipes.”

Marinette took a shaky breath. “Okay, okay, I’m calm. I’m cool! Just…I’ll worry about Chat Noir later. What should I do about Adrien?”

“Stutter like a moron?”

“Plagg, seriously, stop.”

“Killjoy.”

“What about Adrien?” Tikki urged.

“Should I call the police or something? Is it legal for a 15 year old to get a nose job?”

Plagg got up and started to float around the kitchen. “It is for the right price.”

“Chloe wanted to know who she was supposed to be disappointed with. Should I tell her? Do you think she would know what to do?”

“You really want to ask Chloe for advice?”

“This is so out of the realm of what I know!” She threw her hands up. “I know superhero and Miraculous stuff, and designing and fashion, and you know, normal teenage stuff! I don’t know anything about the legal ramifications about illegal nose jobs on minors!”

Tikki patted her hand. “I think you should talk it over with Chloe. I know you’re pretty disappointed in her because of Miracle Queen, but Adrien is really her only friend. She might be respectful of him. Either way, someone needs to know about it. It’s not okay.”

Marinette nodded. “Yeah, I suppose she is the best to talk to right now.” She winced. “I can’t believe I’m going to Chloe.”

“I’ll stay behind with Adrien,” Plagg assured. “Not that I’d want to be anywhere else.”

“I wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else either. Thankfully my parents are home. I’m sure they’ll check on him periodically.”

“Then all that’s left to do is to go back to school and act like you only got one piece of life changing information instead of two.” Tikki grinned.

“And who’s better at fibbing than me?” Marinette put her hands on her hips.

“Ummm, everyone else in the world? Is that a trick question?”

Marinette groaned. “Just get in the bag.”

—

Back at school, as soon as she walked in the door, Marinette was grabbed by the wrist and yanked off into a solitary corner. She had expected to be shanghaied by Chloe, but not quite so violently.

“Soooo?” She asked, once they were alone. “Where’s Adrien? I saw you guys leaving together!”

“Relax,” Marinette hushed. “He needed a place to lie down for a while and didn’t want to go home. Also, he didn’t want to go far.”

Chloe pursed her lips. “I suppose that makes sense. So? Did you get it out of him?”

“Look Chloe, he did tell me what happened, but he asked me not to tell anyone. So I will not confirm that his father made him get a nose job.”

Chloe grunted, balling up her fists. “That piece of—“ a string of swears came out of her mouth that were completely unladylike. “Alright, what are we going to do?”

“I was hoping you had something in mind. I’m not sure what we even can do.”

“I know Gabriel will weasel his way out of it if we go to the authorities. And even if we did, Adrien would hate us for getting his father in trouble.”

“Yeah...” Marinette sighed. “Is it Stockholm syndrome?”

“What?”

“When you’re locked up for so long you start to care for your warden instead of waiting to leave? Or else Gabriel is secretly affectionate and we never see it.”

“He changed a lot. He used to be...at least a little warmer. Gentler. But I’d never call him a good dad.”

Marinette frowned. “I...have an idea. It’s not a good idea. In fact, it’s a really really bad idea.”

“Let me hear it.”

“What if...” she scrunched her lips. “We’d have to convince Adrien, but what if we botched the surgery?”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“Like...we fiddled with the recovery, and made it look like the surgeon did a bad job? Then the surgeon who operated on a minor would get in trouble, and Gabriel would be forced to recognize that his meddling ruined Adrien’s nose.”

Chloe grimaced. “That’s pretty devious, even for you Dupain-Cheng.”

“It’s all I got at this very second.”

“Isn’t that dangerous too?”

“Look, I said it was a bad idea.”

“But...”

“But...?”

“It would get Adrikins out of modeling for a little while. At least until it heals. Then Gabriel will be forced to shell out more to get it properly fixed...”

“Forget it, this is a bad idea.”

“No no,” Chloe insisted, a malicious smile in her face that only came with her dastardly ideas. “This could work. You mention it to Adrien. Caution all the dangers and what not, but if you plant that seed in his head...we can go from there.”

“Why don’t you do it?”

“Because I’m not supposed to know about the nose job, duh!”

She had a point.

“Now let’s get to class before anyone thinks we’re friends or something.”

—

After school, Marinette rushed out of the building to get to Adrien before his driver came.

But it was no use, the Gorilla was already waiting in front of the school.

Dare she even attempt to sneak Adrien back over? Or should she just let the man in on the secret?

Believing that honesty was the best policy, Marinette approached the sedan and knocked on the window.

The gorilla rolled it down, giving her a patient look.

“Hi! Um, Adrien is at my house.” She pointed to the bakery. “At lunch, he got drowsy from the painkillers and asked if he could nap on my couch. I don’t think he wanted to go home—“

But the bodyguard understood, and beckoned her on, then started the car.

Marinette hurried back to the bakery. Inside, she greeted her mother with a kiss.

“I checked on him an hour ago,” said Sabine. “He was still sleeping.”

“Thanks Maman!” She called as she was already halfway up the stairs.

In the apartment, a little voice in her head reminded her gently, “Adrien is Chat Noir,” as she started up the stairs to her room.

She did a u-turn and came back down. “Oh I’m not ready...” she lamented.

“You don’t have to be right now,” Tikki provided. “You just have to wake him up so he goes home.”

“Yeah, yeah okay. I can...how am I supposed to wake him up?”

“With a kiss?” Tikki batted her eyes, mocking her.

“What! No! No I can’t!” She covered her red face. “I’ll just—shake him!”

And she trudged up the stairs.

Seeing sleeping Adrien, however, melted her heart. He was propped up, though slightly leaning towards the trap door. At some point during his nap, he (or Plagg) had snagged the Ladybug plush from the box in the corner, and he was now cuddling it. His mouth was open to breathe and he snored ever so gently.

He was precious.

Pushing away all hesitation, Marinette stepped forward and swept the bangs from his forehead. His eyes twitched at the touch, though he continued to sleep.

Daintily, she pressed a kiss to his forehead, lingering for just a moment.

“Wakey wakey, my Prince.” She said fondly.

Adrien’s face screwed up, and then he moaned in pain from moving his nose. “Huh?”

“Adrien?”

“My Lady?”

“It’s Marinette.”

He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to focus them. “Oh…Marinette?”

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

“How long was I out?”

“Well, schools over. So about three hours.”

He shut his eyes. “It feels like it was only 15 minutes.”

“Well, I explained everything to your driver and he’s waiting outside. You can go home and go back to sleep.”

He opened his eyes again, and looked at her. “Not gonna lie, I really liked sleeping here. It was…warmer. Cozier.”

“Well, if you decide to try to go to school again tomorrow, you can nap here again…or anytime you’d like to. If you need to. You’re welcome whenever, that is.”

He sat up and stretched, his shirt riding up and revealing his tummy.

She did not look.

(Yes she did.)

“Hmm…I think I’ll try out your bed next.”

Her eyes blew wide. “Wh-what?”

“This was comfortable, don’t get me wrong. But the bed would probably be better.” Then his sleepy words finally clicked into place. “For a nap! By myself! But the chaise is fine! I should be lucky you let me over here at all! It’s the drugs!”

Seeing him flustered was new, but very fun. She smiled at him. “I know what you meant. I was just…not expecting it is all.”

“Right, so…”

“So…”

“I should probably get going…”

“Right. Don’t want to make your driver wait.”

“Right…” He rubbed his hands together, then fidgeted with his ring. “Listen, Marinette?”

“Yes Adrien?”

“Um…about earlier…when I told you I was Chat Noir?”

“You remember that? I thought you were completely strung out on meds.”

“I mean, I was, a little. It’s a little fuzzy, but still…can you keep that a secret?”

“What, that you said it in your pain med haze? Of course.”

“No I mean—“ He bit his lip, looking at her earnestly.

“Wait, are you really—?” She had given him an out, and he hadn’t taken it. He could still back track though!

“Marinette, I…” He closed his eyes, his brow furrowing in thought. Finally, he opened them again, tears gathering at the corners. He whispered, “Lying to you would just hurt worse. I can’t, not to you. I’m sick of lying. I’m sick of secrets. Please don’t tell…please don’t tell…”

“I won’t,” she assured. “I won’t.” Marinette rested a hand on his forehead, worried that he might be getting a fever by how vulnerable he was speaking.

He felt fine, but pressed his head into her hand, seeking out contact.

“I’m scared.” He whispered.

“Of what?”

“Of him…my father.” He drew a shaky breath. “I’ve been meaning to tell Ladybug…but I know how protective she is of our secret identities. She’s right, of course…but…”

“You should tell her anyway. Make her listen. If she cares about you, she will.” She hadn’t even noticed she was still touching his head until he leaned away. She lowered her hand, only for him to grasp both of hers.

“Thank you, everyday Ladybug. I owe you big time.”

She shrugged. “Just talk to Ladybug, and we’ll call it even.”

“Okay,” he smiled weakly and pulled her into a hug.

It was strong and firm, even a little painful with how tight he hugged her. A hug that drew strength, that was trying to savor a feeling.

That they both hoped would last.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” He asked when he finally pulled away.

“Sure. You know where I live. I’ll leave the trap door unlocked.”

He breathed a relieved sigh. “Just having the option is the best news I’ve gotten all day.” He stood. “I really do have to go now though. He’ll get suspicious. I’m not going to practice after all.”

“Go, I don’t want you to get in trouble. And make sure to talk to Ladybug at patrol tonight!”

“I will!” He assured, hooking his bag over his shoulder. “Thanks a ton, Marinette!”

It was only after he left that Marinette realized he had never told her he had patrol tonight.

Maybe he wouldn’t notice.

—

Marinette had the volume on her phone turned up all day. She didn’t want to miss anything from Adrien. Whether it was him noticing her slip up, or just needing someone to talk to.

She supposed, now that she knew how mischievous he could be, he might just drop in from the trap door.

But given the pain and exhaustion from his nose, he might not be so willing to transform.

After she had dinner, but still a few hours before patrol, her phone dinged.

She swiped it up.

Adrien: I was thinking about it all day. I’m really happy that you know my secret. Secrets are funner between two people. :3

Marinette: You mean three right? You’re going to tell Ladybug, right?

Adrien: Of course. I will tonight. But for right now, it’s just you and me. Adrienette secret.

Marinette: Are you high on meds again?

Adrien: No. I took some more after I came home, and then took another nap. Nathalie woke me for dinner. I think I’m going to stay awake and do some homework/look over your notes before patrol

Adrien: Why did you ask if I was high?

Marinette: I just thought you were being goofy

Adrien: That's my secret cap. I’m always goofy.

Marinette: XD

Marinette: hey does Kagami know?

Adrien: That I’m goofy?

Marinette: Lol no that you’re cat boy

She doubted it, since it had taken him getting high to admit it at all. But she did wonder where he drew the line. Chat was always more relaxed when it came to Identities. Did he want to tell Kagami? Should she tell him about Ryuko?

Adrien: no, why would she?

Marinette: she’s your girlfriend?

Adrien started and stopped typing a few times, the little bubbles popping up over and over.

Finally, he just called her.

Which was just great. She wanted to stutter like a moron today. She had missed not doing so earlier! “Adrien?”

“Hey, hi, sorry, umm...it's kinda complicated. So I didn’t want to text it out.”

“Oh, sure. I understand.”

“Are you busy?”

“No. Just sketching.”

“Do you mind if I rant a little?”

“My ears are yours.” What a weird thing to say. He was going to hang up now.

Or giggle, that was fine too. “So...Kagami and I never actually started dating. She thought we did, and when I said we weren’t she got really mad and we argued about semantics…She said I was leading her on, and I said I was just being nice, and she said I was being a people pleaser and fake…I said she was jumping to conclusions. She said it was implicit permission and I said I needed to give explicit permission…”

Marinette winced. “Yikes.”

“Yeah, um, don’t tell her I said this, but I’m pretty glad it didn’t work out.”

“Really?” She dared not to hope.

“Yeah. We both had expectations that the other couldn’t meet. I wanted someone who was willing to just listen to my problems and show me affection. Kagami grabs the bull by the horns and she’s not a hugger. She wanted me to solve her problems with her mom and to be an escape…but with my dad, it was the same exact problem.”

“Oh, I see what you mean. That is hard.”

“And also…being with her was…really boring.”

“Boring? Kagami?”

“We have the same life experiences. Allowed to watch the same movies, read the same books. There was nothing to add. We’re too alike.”

“Huh.”

“And truth be told…” he winced, hesitating, but then admitted, “I’m still desperately in love with Ladybug.”

Desperately. Desperately!

“I know she doesn’t feel the same way about me. So I tried to move on. I know it’s not healthy to date someone else to get over someone, but Kagami was just so…insistent. And I don’t know, it made me feel awkward.” He sighed. “I’m really tired of girls fighting for attention, when the one girl I want brushes me off.”

Marinette clenched her fists.

I have messed this all up.

Oblivious to her pain, he continued. “I wanted to give Kagami a chance because she’s my friend and she’s nice. Every other girl who’s wanted me has just wanted ‘Adrien, teen idol’ not ‘Adrien the boy with thoughts and feelings’. They just talk at me, and cling to me. Like Lila…and Chloe, unfortunately.”

“You deserve someone who listens to you.” She assured, swallowing her sorrows.

“That’s why I like hanging out with Ladybug. She’s so cool and kind! But we have some really deep conversations. As Chat Noir, I’m not ‘Adrien, teen idol.’ I’m just me. She sees me as an equal. She’s my best friend, Marinette. I can just talk to her, you know?”

“Yeah.” She whispered.

“I—I’m sorry.” He suddenly cut himself off. “It’s pretty unfair to you to hear my woes about my love life.”

“No, it’s okay. I promised to be a pair of ears to listen.”

“I know but…earlier today…” He paused. “Didn’t you say you loved me?”

Bad. Bad. Awkward. Oops oops. Abort!

“I—I did.”

“Did you mean it like…?”

“Like however hopes the most.”

“Uh huh. Please be honest with me, Marinette. Please.”

How to play this? He had just gotten over a rant about girls fawning over him. Wouldn’t it be awful to lump herself in with them?

Especially since she hadn’t revealed herself yet. What if she doomed herself now, and then later doomed Ladybug?

“I…I love you. Adrien. I enjoy spending time with you. I love your laugh, and my day is brighter with you in it. You’re my favorite person. It doesn’t have to be romantic. I just want you in my life.”

Marinette held her breath before a pleasant hum came from his side of the phone.

“Then I think…I love you too.”

She tried not to scream.

But she did mime the action to Tikki, who responded in kind.

“Would you still love me with my old janky nose?” The question was sad, but his tone was light.

“Your nose was perfect! I think your old man just needs new glasses!”

“No way, if he gets new glasses, he’ll just find something else to fix. ‘These cheekbones aren’t sharp enough! Nathalie, bring me the cheese grater!’”

“Nooo! Stay away from Adrien’s cherubic cheeks!”

“Cherubic?!”

“Like a newborn baby!”

His wonderful sunshine laughter burst from the speaker before it broke off in a moan. “Ughh you’re not supposed to make me laugh!”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot.”

“You just like to see me suffer.”

“Absolutely not, Adrien. You’re baby.”

“You heard it from her, folks. I’m baby.”

“And don’t forget it.”

They talked for a while longer before Adrien relented to do his homework.

“Are you going to try to come to school again tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I know I can crash at your place again, so I’ll try to make it through the morning classes.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Marinette, love you.”

“I love you too.”

And he hung up.

And Marinette fell off her chair with a scream. “Tikki! He loves me! He loves me! Both of me! He’s desperately in love with Ladybug! And he wants Marinette in his life! He loves me!!!”

“And you’re going to return the favor tonight during patrol?”

“Can I?”

“It’s up to you. There’s always the threat of secret identity mishaps, but personally, I think you’ll be stronger together if you reveal yourself. He obviously needs you. Especially if things like this nose job are going to become a recurring problem.”

“God, I hope not.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“Besides revealing myself? I don’t know. I still have that awful idea that Chloe and I had. I just worry about how deep that problem could become.”

“Well, you’ve got a little time before patrol starts.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll brainstorm.”

—

Despite her best efforts, the only other options included calling in an adult. And if Gabriel was deranged enough to force a nose job on Adrien, then he would surely blame him for getting busted.

Maybe talking with Adrien would prove fruitful.

And with that, she left to meet with him.

Chat Noir, that is.

She arrived first. The high rooftop offered a full view of nighttime in Paris in all its splendor, without being visible to civilians.

A perfect meeting place if she said so herself.

The minutes ticked on, and Adrien was still AWOL. Was he that nervous? Or maybe he fell asleep. Or maybe his nose was hurting too much?

Would Plagg know where to find her?

She took out her yo-yo and flipped open the screen, his paw print appearing on the grid. He was transformed and out and about. She watched as the paw print bounced around from block to block. He was not heading towards her. What was he doing?

It took a while, but eventually he started making his way towards her. This gave her a few minutes to get her story straight.

Then he arrived, holding onto the top of the staff and riding it to the roof like an elevator.

“Evening my lady,” he greeted, lacking any flirtatious tone and scarily neutral. “Sorry I’m late...I needed to clear my head.”

“Hey kitty. How are you feeling?”

“Um...I’ve been better...” the mask formed over the bandages, but did nothing to hide the shape or the bandages over his nostrils.

“Broke your nose?”

“...yeah, something like that.”

She waited. Normally Ladybug would jump right into patrol, but she knew they had to talk. She was just trying to give him the right moment. “Do you...want to talk about it?”

He gripped his arm and looked away from her. He was still out of arm's reach and only felt farther as the time stretched on.

“I...something happened. And I need to tell you but...I don’t want you to be disappointed with me.”

She sat, leaning her back against the lip of the roof. “I could never be disappointed in you kitty. Let’s talk.”

He didn’t look so sure, but sat next to her regardless. He pulled up his legs and rested his forearms on his knees.

She waited.

“I um...I messed up. I told someone my identity.”

She kept her face neutral, allowing him to continue.

“I was really scared and in pain...she let me nap at her house and she made me feel safe. I had some pain meds, but I let it slip that I was Chat Noir. Later, she gave me an out, saying she assumed I was just loopy from the meds but I couldn’t deny it. I had to tell her the truth. She’s one of my best friends, and she’s so trustworthy! I’m so sorry Ladybug...I just...it just came out...” He trembled as a tear rolled down his cheek. “I don’t regret it. But...I know I have to give up my ring. I’m...I’m so sorry.” He covered his face with his hand. “I wanted to be there for you while you were the guardian, but I already blew it. I’m such a mess...”

Ladybug wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into a side hug. “Chat, I’m not going to take your ring. You’re still my partner, and I want no one else.”

Chat shuddered and began to cry in earnest, letting out all that he was trying to conceal.

Ladybug tried not to cry too. After all, there was more talking to be had. She rubbed his back and across his shoulders.

“Marinette told me everything.” She whispered.

Chat’s eyes blew wide as he whipped his head to look at her. “No...no no she promised...she promised she wouldn’t tell!”

“Shh, hey hey, it’s okay.”

“No! She gave me her word she wouldn’t tell! I told her everything! I trusted her!” The absolute betrayal in his voice broke her, and she found her eyes stinging with tears.

“Chat...she told me it was an accident. She begged me not to take your Miraculous away. She said you needed me. You needed a friend. She was concerned, Chat. She loves you.”

He hiccuped and sobbed.

“She told me about your injury, and that you don’t feel safe at home. She told me that you’re still in love with me...and she said she couldn’t ask for a more perfect partner.”

His haggard breathing stuttered at that. “W-what?”

“She said your puns are hilarious, just ill timed. Your fighting skills are second to none. And that despite all that you go through everyday, Adrien, that you still continue to be an encouraging anchor to her. And most importantly, as the guardian, she says she can not pick a better Chat Noir.”

He swallowed harshly. “My...my lady?”

“Yes kitty.”

“Marinette?”

She nodded. “I didn’t break my promise. Mums the word.”

The next moment, Ladybug was on her back, as Chat had thrown himself at her, his arms tightly wound around her. “My lady!” He sobbed. “My beautiful lady!”

Ladybug just patted his head and pressed a warm kiss to his forehead. “Yes kitty. I’m here. I’m here and you’re safe. I’ll keep you safe.”

“I knew it was you.” He breathed. He leaned away to look down at her, affection pouring from his eyes. “I don’t know how, but my heart knew. You wonderful girl. I wouldn’t want anyone else.”

“Chat...”

“I love you, Marinette. You’re everything I ever wanted.”

Her face burned as a few happy tears leaked out. “I love you so much Adrien...but...”

“But?” He asked, voice small.

“Don’t put me on a pedestal. I’m not perfect.”

He scoffed. “No one is. But you’re perfect to me.”

She smiled sadly. “I meant, there’s something else we need to talk about.”

“What? I get to stay Chat Noir, you love me, you’re the most amazing, kindest, sweetest, trustworthy girl—“

“I kept my mouth shut about nearly all your secrets. All but one.”

He furrowed his eyes. “Wait what? To who? Tikki? She doesn’t count!”

“No, not Tikki.” Ladybug pushed off the ground so they could sit and talk again. “Listen. Chloe cornered me when I came back to school. She already had a hunch, but...I confirmed the truth about your nose.”

Chat didn’t respond, just stared at her.

“I’m sorry. I know that was the thing you specifically told me not to tell about, but...it’s just not right, Adrien. This is wrong. Like, really really wrong.”

He frowned at her slightly and turned away. “I kind of figured Chloe had me figured out. She’s seen her mom get enough rhinoplasties to know what it looks like.” He scratched the back of his head. “But like...just because you’re not used to it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. My dad is just a little more critical of me. That’s our normal.”

“No no no no no! Bad kitty!” She grabbed his hand tightly. “Never ever, for any reason, is it okay for an adult to force their child to have elective surgery. You said you were scared earlier! Don’t try to justify that behavior!”

“Well...it’s not great, but he’s my dad and he’s grieving...”

“Adrien Arthur Alphonso Andrew Absolon Athanese Agreste, you know better than that.”

Chat gawked at her.

She held his cheeks in her hands and forced him to look at her. “This stopped being a grieving process. It’s abuse.”

“...I just didn’t want to have an abusive father.”

“No one does, kitty cat.” She whispered, rubbing her thumb over his cheek, careful not to bump his nose. “But justifying his behavior isn’t going to help. It’s just going to make it worse.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Ladybug screwed up her lips. “Chloe and I...may have come up with a horrible idea. I wanted to talk to you about it to workshop it.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

She bit her lip and answered haltingly. “We could...purposefully...botch your nose.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Botch my nose...? Why would we do that?”

“If your bandages come off and your nose is ‘worse’ than it was before, your dad will take it out on a doctor that was willing to operate on a minor, and your dad will have to realize it was his fault this happened.”

“You don’t think he’d suspect me of tampering with it?”

“Would he? Knowing that it’s your nose on your face that you’d have to live with?”

“I don’t know...”

“Like I said, it’s a terrible, awful idea. A huge risk. But it’s all I got right now.”

Chat frowned, bringing his hand to his chin. As he considered this, his brows twitched and his lips screwed up. Then, his whole face relaxed and a smile slowly overtook it. “The surgeon said it would take a few weeks for it to heal on the surface, but a year or two to heal on the inside before it would be safe to operate on it again. If it’s botched…I could get out of modeling for at least a year.”

“Is that what you want?”

“To not have to miss class for photoshoots? To not wake up early, or have my free days taken? To have to say no to hangouts? To not have a rigid diet? To not have my flaws pointed out by my father, makeup artists, and photographers? Gee, how will I survive?”

She smiled a little at that. “I can’t emphasize how dangerous messing with this is. You could have breathing problems, headaches…”

“With my crippling anxiety and self-doubt, I already have breathing problems.”

It probably meant it as a joke, since he said it so casually. But there was just so much weight to it that he couldn’t be lying.

“Adrien, do you need to see a therapist?”

“Eh, probably.”

“Did you see any therapists after your mom disappeared?”

“No, father said it wasn’t anyone’s business what happened to our family.”

“Christ on a motorbike…okay, once your nose gets revealed, I want you to act as traumatized as you can and demand that you see a therapist. I really think it’d be good for you. Does that sound fair?”

“Yeah…I think you’re right. It might be weird though…”

“Sure. But I just want you to be happy, okay?” She rested a hand on his cheek. “I’m asking you to do this not because it’s what I want. I’m asking you to put your mental health first.”

He shimmied over so he could hold her, and rest his head on her chest. “I believe you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Adrien.” She whispered, her lips caressing his forehead. “Oh should I say, ‘other boy’?”

He looked up at her. “Really? Me?”

“Since the moment you gave me your umbrella.”

“Aw Bugaboo! That was the day I fell in love with you too!”

For a long time, they stayed just like that. Embraced, safe, content, and basking in the affection they’d been denying for so long. Broken hearts mending, battered souls finding reprieve.

“So,” Chat began. “How are we going to bust my nose?”

“Wait, you’re serious?”

“Unfortunately, it makes a lot of sense.” He pulled away from her, begrudgingly, and stood. “I’ll stand here, and you go to the other end, and then just chuck your yo-yo at my face as hard as you can.”

“I can’t do that!”

“It’ll be fine, my lady.”

“No it won’t! There’s no way to control it! What if I cave your nose in completely!?”

“You won’t. I have silicone braces in the nostrils. If you shatter the cartilage, it should stay in place. The doctor took cartilage from my rib and rebuilt my nose. We need to break that.”

“Or just dislodge it.” She suggested. “Wait, I’ll try for a clean snap in the middle.”

“You can try,” he chuckled.

Ladybug hopped to her feet and took her place a good twenty feet away.

“I’m going to close my eyes. Don’t tell me when you’re throwing it so I won’t flinch.”

“Okay!”

Then silence.

He waited with bated breath, flexing his fingers.

Then there was a whistle and he turned his face reflexively, taking the impact to the side of his nose.

CRUNCH

And he hit the ground.

“Chat!” Ladybug rushed over to him.

He gave her a weak thumbs up.

“I’m so sorry! That looked so painful!”

“You held back.” He teased.

“Because I didn’t want to kill you! I know it was my idea, but that was terrible!”

The bandages under his nose were nearly soaked with blood already. “It didn’t hurt that badly…”

“Let’s take you home and redress your nose. Okay kitty?”

“Only if you do it for me, My Lady.”

“What do I look like, a nurse?”

“No, but you are the one that broke my nose.”

“Oh great. Now you’re going to lord that over me?”

“Always, my darling bug.”

—

Back at Adrien’s room, he dropped his transformation and turned to look at Ladybug.

“What’s with that look?”

“I just…it’s one thing to hear it, and another to see it.” She also dropped her mask.

“Oh…I see what you mean. Despite the pain in my nose, I’m just…really happy to see it’s you.”

Smiling gently, Marinette took his hand and guided him into the bathroom. “I’d say we’re pretty lucky.”

“Well, I hit the jackpot.” He joked. “I think you just got the consolation prize.”

“Nonsense. You’re the perfect trophy husband.” She reached up and gently removed the tape holding the bandage in place, and then eased it off.

Adrien watched her reaction, his heartbeat quickening when her eyes widened in horror and her jaw dropped.

“Is it bad?”

She nodded. “Can you breathe okay?”

“It’s hard with the splints, but it doesn’t feel any different from before.”

“Okay. Well, that’s...good? Um..go ahead and look.”

Adrien turned to face the mirror, and tears sprang to his eyes. His face, his nose, what he was familiar with, was wrong. The bridge was broken, and very visibly bent like a parenthesis mark. No doubt about it, the surgery was botched.

But he wasn’t expecting to be so startled by it.

Marinette’s arms wrapped around him from behind. “It’s okay kitty. It’s alright.”

Adrien nodded, his nose throbbing. “I should probably redress it.”

“Do you want help?”

“It’s alright my lady, I’ve been doing this all weekend.”

Very gently, she turned his face toward her. Then she kissed the corner of his lips to avoid bumping his nose. “Roman statue, Pinocchio, Jimmy Durante, no matter what your nose looks like, it’s perfect to me, and to Nino and Chloe and all of your friends. Because it’s yours.”

He embraced her, leaning his cheek on top of her head. “Thank you, Marinette. That means a lot to me.”

“Of course kitty. Anything for you.”

There was no talk of what came next for them. Adrien redressed his wounds and took some pain medication. Then Marinette tucked him into bed before transforming and going home to sleep herself.

—

The bruising was even worse the next day. He looked like he got stung by a bee, he was so swollen.

“Dude...” Nino whistled lowly.

But Adrien ignored him in favor of Marinette’s shoulder. He snuck up from behind and dropped his chin on her, embracing her around the waist at the same time.

“Oh! Adrien!” She squeaked, unprepared for the hug. “How do you feel today?”

“Like Ladybug hit me with her yo-yo.”

Marinette chuckled despite herself. “I’m sure she’d never do a thing like that. She’s far too nice, and I think she has a crush on you.”

“That’s good,” stated Nino, eavesdropping. “Adrien’s got a mongo crush on her too.”

“Hugh Mongo?”

“Hugmongus Dungous.”

Alya was alert the second Adrien dropped his chin on Marinette. “Okay, well for someone crushing on Ladybug and dating Kagami, you’re certainly chummy with Marinette.”

“Kagami and I aren’t dating. We never did. And Ladybug is better off with Chat Noir.”

Marinette patted his hands in mock consolation.

“That still doesn’t explain why you’ve decided to use Marinette as a pillow.”

“She let me crash on her couch yesterday at lunch. After she left, I found her diary and read the whole thing. I found out all about her gigantic crush on me.”

Nino let out a violent sigh of relief. “You mean we don’t have to hide it anymore?! Finally!! Dude, it was getting so embarrassing!”

“Completely unbearable!” Agreed Alya. “Did you see the calendar?”

“Calendar?”

“Alya...” Marinette warned, her face turning red.

“Yeah! She has your whole schedule written out! It’s adorable!” Then she added under her breath, “and borderline creepy.”

Adrien hummed and hugged Marinette a little tighter. “That’s nice. You’ll have to share that with me. I’m so bad at time management.”

Chloe had been listening for a while as well, but decided that this was a good time to interrupt. “Adrikins? Can I borrow Marinette for a moment please?” Her voice was so sickeningly sweet, as if she were asking daddy for a pony.

Adrien sighed and released Marinette. “Be nice,” he warned.

“Of course!” She beamed, before grabbing Marinette’s wrist and hauling her off to a corner of the courtyard again. “You two are awfully close this morning! What gives?”

“Well...last night he called me and we had a good talk. Then I told him of the idea we had. He wasn’t thrilled initially, but the more he thought about it, the more he came around. He eventually agreed.”

“And then?”

“And then I went to sit on my balcony, and saw Ladybug and Chat Noir patrolling. So I flagged them down and told them the whole sad story. As Adrien told me, they showed up at his house and Ladybug broke his nose with her yo-yo.”

Chloe screwed up her face. “Ladybug, Huh?”

It was obvious she was still having some reservations of the hero ever since Miracle Queen. Maybe Marinette shouldn’t have mentioned Ladybug in the first place.

“Did she mention me at all?” Chloé asked.

“I said you and I came up with the idea to botch Adrien’s surgery. She kind of laughed and said we were crazy, but she respected how much we both cared for Adrien.”

“She didn’t say she was disappointed with me?”

“No, should she?” After all, Marinette wasn’t supposed to know about Miracle Queen.

Chloe was quiet then shrugged. “Maybe. Not your business though.”

“That’s fair.” Marinette amended.

“So she broke his nose?”

“Yeah. But she said we’re not allowed to tell people she’s responsible for it. Adrien doesn’t even want people to know it was a nose job.”

“Here’s a bit of inside information from the world of the rich and famous. No one ever wants people to know they’ve gotten a rhinoplasty. If they have surgery, they disappear until it’s healed. Then they emerge and all the rich and famous friends so “oh wow, did you get a haircut?” But never, never, is it talked about with men. You see?”

“Huh. So if anyone notices he has a crooked nose?”

“Gabriel will probably make up a story about him being in an accident, to drive up the tragedy.”

“He’s a real piece of work.”

“That is something we can agree on.”

—

Adrien stayed until lunch again, before going to crash on Marinette’s bed. The next day was much the same, and the day after that. By Friday, the swelling had gone down significantly.

“I’m not going to have to crash at your place today, My Lady.” Adrien said by way of greeting.

“Oh, do you feel better now?”

“No, I have an appointment at lunch. One week post op. Fingers crossed.”

“Let me know how it goes, okay?”

“Absolutely!”

And so at lunch, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and left with his driver.

It was less than an hour later when her phone buzzed with a message from Adrien.

Adrien: going in. I’m about to destroy this man’s whole career

She burst out laughing, startling Alya and Nino who were eating lunch with her at her house.

About 15 minutes after that, her phone dinged again.

Adrien: where are you?

Marinette: At my house. Lunch is almost over. Why?

Adrien: we’re going to a different doctor and I need an ‘emotional support friend’ with me. Can we pick you up?

Marinette: Absolutely! I’ll be right down!

Marinette explained the situation to her parents, Alya, and Nino, and prepared to meet the sedan outside the bakery.

The car pulled up and she wasted no time getting inside and sliding right in beside Adrien.

“I apologize for asking you along on such short notice, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” Said Gabriel from the passenger seat. “The reveal of Adrien’s nose was understandably quite upsetting to him. It appears the doctor who did the first corrective surgery did so poorly, and Adrien’s nose is ruined. We will be going to a new doctor to see what our options are. He’s requested someone come along to comfort him. I don’t blame him, I’m extremely upset myself.”

Marinette turned her attention to Adrien, seeing his eyes red from tears. He may have gotten actually emotional, or just from watching his father get angry.

“I understand, Mr. Agreste. It’s really no problem. I want the best for Adrien.”

“You’re an artist with a keen eye. His nose is clearly crooked, right? That foolish quack had the audacity to say that it was fine! Swelling he said!”

Marinette turned Adrien’s face toward her to get a better look.

His nose was even worse, if that was possible. It might have been swelling, but no doubt about it, the bridge was pointing left.

“It’s...it’s a little off...” she said sheepishly.

Boy, she did a number on him.

Adrien simply took her hand and squeezed.

Soon they arrived at the new doctor’s office. A plastic surgeon, specializing in rhinoplasty. The office was emasculate, marble flooring, chandeliers, it looked more like a hotel than a doctor's office.

Gabriel strode right up to the front desk. “Gabriel Agreste. I called a little bit ago about an emergency consultation with Dr. Nosestiff for my son.”

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other. Nosestiff? There’s no way that was a real person.

“Of course. He was able to squeeze you in. He’ll be with you in a moment. Please take a seat.”

They sat down in the empty waiting room, Gabriel tapping his foot impatiently.

“I hope that the other doctor loses his license.” Said Gabriel, to no one in particular. “It was supposed to be a simple surgery. That’s what he promised. I paid 100,000 euros for my son to look like a boxer. Unbelievable.”

Adrien had not yet let go of Marinette’s hand, and he trembled at his father’s anger.

Marinette rubbed a hand down his arm soothingly. “It’s going to be alright.” She whispered.

“Alright? Alright?!” Gabriel barked at her. “No it’s not alright! Adrien’s future as a model is ruined! That’s not alright! And all because—“ he stopped and hung his head.

All because of me. Is what he didn’t say.

“Agreste?” Called the nurse.

The group was led back to an examination room where two doctors were waiting. Adrien was urged into a chair.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Nosestiff, and yes, that is my real name.” He shook everyone’s hands. “This is my colleague Dr. Zasio.”

“Gabriel Agreste. This is my son Adrien, and his friend Marinette.”

“From what I heard on the phone, Adrien has had...an accident?”

“As you can see,” Gabriel gestured to his face. “The doctor was supposed to be performing a rhinoplasty, but instead decided to turn my son into a rhino!”

Adrien turned his face from side to side.

“Yes, that is a severe complication. He still has a lot of bruising and swelling, did you just come from the other doctor?”

“The one week follow up, yes.”

“What doctor did you go to? Was it a plastic surgeon?”

“Yes, a cosmetic surgeon.”

“Well, a cosmetic surgeon and plastic surgeon are not the same thing. Cosmetics can do lip fillers, Botox, and rhinoplasties, but they should not be doing septoplasties, which obviously happened to Adrien. Rhinoplasty is surface level. Nostrils and the tip. But a septoplasty deals with the septum and the bridge. That doctor shouldn’t have even touched Adrien’s bridge.”

“He said his cartilage had been shattered and that it needed to be rebuilt.”

“Again, not in his area of expertise. Adrien, did you have some sort of face trauma?”

“Uh—“ Adrien started, but Gabriel interrupted.

“No. It must have happened when he was born. Adrien hasn’t even been in any situations where he could get hit in the face.”

The doctor frowned at this.

Dr. Zasio spoke up. “What was the goal of the first surgery? Surely you didn’t know about the shattered cartilage?”

“Adrien developed a bump on his nose that was unsightly and uneven. Here’s a photo from his last photoshoot.” He handed over his phone.

The doctors both stared at it in shock. “Oh my god!” Exclaimed Dr. Nosestiff.

“See? It’s quite distracting—“

“That’s a perfect nose! Absolutely gorgeous! People would pay millions of euros for this nose! Why on Earth did you want to change it?”

“I uh…” Started Adrien, yet again, Gabriel interrupted.

“This bump, right here.” He pointed to the screen.

Dr. Nosestiff pinched his own nose and frowned at Gabriel. “Look Mr. Agreste. I’m going to have to ask you to sit in the waiting room.”

“Excuse me?”

“It's obvious that you’re upset about this, rightfully so. But I need to speak to Adrien, and you haven’t let him have a word edgewise. I think you might be a little hysterical right now.”

No, that’s just how he always is, Adrien thought.

Gabriel balled up his fists and jutted out his jaw, the impending explosion gaining pressure. But instead he huffed and raised his chin. “Fine. I will go wait out in the lobby.” He snapped, and walked out.

Dr. Nosestiff exhaled once he left. “Wow.”

Adrien and Marinette exhaled too.

“So what’s really going on?” asked Dr. Zasio. “I’ve seen your ads. They’re everywhere. I’ve had patients bring in your picture asking for your nose. What gives man?”

Adrien swallowed. “I didn’t want surgery. I liked my nose. I didn’t know there was anything wrong with it.”

The two doctors sighed dejectedly. “Disgusting. your father put you up to this?”

“Yes.” He confessed, sheepishly.

“What did the doctor say to you at your consultation? Did he ask what you thought?”

“I never talked to the doctor before the surgery. I was pulled out of class without warning, driven to the operating room, and put to sleep. When I woke up, my face was totally swollen, and the nurse said I was ‘all better.’”

“Yeah, all better,” scoffed Dr. Zasio. “Who was this doctor? Picasso? No one should operate on a minor unless it’s an emergency. You weren’t having any difficulty breathing, were you?”

“No.”

“Thought so. Well, he messed you up real good.”

“Um,” Marinette spoke up for the first time. “There’s something else you should know.”

They both looked at her, listening.

“Adrien confessed to me what happened, and we…well, I had…a really terrible idea.”

“Which was…?”

“I’m the one that screwed up his nose. I hit him. We purposefully botched the surgery to make Gabriel feel guilty.”

Dr. Zasio buried his face in his hands as Dr. Nosestiff just stared.

After a long beat of silence, Dr. Zasio finally just chuckled. “I mean…I guess you accomplished your goal? Waste his money, and make him live with the fact that his risk put Adrien in jeopardy. Honestly, it’s better that you did that this time instead of seven surgeries down the line when he starts to look like a ken doll.”

“What you did was extremely stupid and risky.” Scolded Dr. Nosestiff. “But, it was clever. This isn’t the first time a narcissistic parent has forced cosmetic surgery on a child. But I have a feeling it will be the last for Adrien.”

Adrien smiled a little at that.

“Now, let’s talk about fixing that nose. How’s your breathing?”

“It doesn’t feel any worse than before.”

Dr. Nosestiff tilted his chin up and shined a line in his nasal cavity. He poked and prodded with a long q-tip. Then he gently felt the bridge of his nose.

Adrien winced.

“That hurt?”

“Yeah.”

“Still broken, of course. I’m actually optimistic about this. The skin of your nose is thick, so breaking the cartilage and resetting it should solve most of the problems. If the other doctor had to reconstruct it, that probably means he took out all the old cartilage to begin with. Now, the golden question: Are you planning on continuing whatever activity it is that shattered the cartilage in the first place?”

Adrien and Marinette shared a look.

“I kind of have too.”

“Okay. Well, try to be a little more careful?”

“I’ve been telling him that for a while.” Teased Marinette.

Adrien just fondly rolled his eyes.

“Now for the news that’s going to make your dad really mad. I don’t operate on minors without due cause. Since you can breathe fine, I don’t see a need to get you in here as soon as possible. How old are you?”

“I just turned sixteen.”

“Perfect. In two years, come back, and we’ll fix this. I’ll tell your father too. You need to fully heal before any more surgery happens. If anyone goes digging in there, the risky for a horrible, life threatening complication goes up. Gabriel Agreste will just have to deal with having an attractive son with a slightly bent nose, over having a son with no nose.”

Gabriel was brought back into the examination room to hear all this himself while Marinette and Adrien waited in the lobby.

Adrien just sat with a fond smile on his face. “You know what? I’m also okay with a slightly crooked nose.”

“I think it’s cute.”

“I think you’re cute.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Hey, I was thinking…next weekend, if you’re feeling better, do you want to go on a date with me? Maybe get some ice cream?”

“Oh my lady, I’d love to…but I have to check my schedule. I might have a photoshoot—JUST KIDDING I’M FREE!”

#miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #ladynoir #chat noir #ladybug #gabriel agreste #identity reveal

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arcadianmoonshadowjedi · 4 years

Text

Cass Season 3 Analysis (And Criticism)

I’ve previously done an analysis post on what I thought about Cass’s S1 arc and ideally would’ve done a season 2 analysis post (my personal favorite Cass arc in the whole show) but since my thoughts on S3 are on my mind atm, thought I’d dump them here.

Note: If you would prefer not to see any criticism on season’s 3′s writing, I’d suggest you don’t further read.

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a hate post as Cass is one of my favorite characters (Discussion is welcome but would really appreciate that my criticism isn’t used as a fuel for hatred against the character). Thanks!

I’ll start with the Gothel reveal. Personally my feelings towards it initially were very mixed, perhaps because I was never to interested in it when it was still a theory and thought it was a coincidence that Cass physically resembled Gothel. A part of me felt that the Gothel twist was too cliche, generic and it failed to wow me. I was basically like “Oh! So... this is the direction they’re going with? Ok... lemme see where this is going...” Then another part of me was like Cass dealt with a lot of issues of feeling like she’s not good enough, not taken seriously, or that she was outshined by Rapunzel since S1, so maybe the Gothel reveal was just the last straw that pushed her into villainy but not necessarily her primary motive (Or at least I wanted to believe that).

Basically we didn’t see too much of Cass in the first half of S3 aka the fillers, except her being pushed more and more into villainy by Zhan Tiri in the last few minutes of the episodes. I personally thought that the manipulative aspect was really cool! (Reminded me a lot of Anakin and Palpatine vibes from Star Wars, which is also a franchise I dearly love).

Then of course we approach the Cassandra’s Revenge, also my personal favorite episode of the season, where now Cass is full-on villain, no question, no doubts. Honestly Eden nailed the VA and Cass was totally owning and rocking her villainy! I loved that continued to rock her villainy into Race to the Spire too!

And now the negativity starts. A Tale of Two Sisters.... In all honesty I was enjoying the episode until I got to the ending, and then I finished off the episode feeling so disgusted. I personally wasn’t fond of the whole Gothel loving Cass or not “mystery” because the answer was pretty obvious. It just felt so weird that Cass knew of Gothel’s abuse towards her and Rapunzel and saw with her own eyes that Gothel deliberately abandoned her as a child, but was still convinced that Gothel “loved” her, like seriously?! And I’m not even gonna go into how much I hated the ending because it’s way too obvious.

Once A Handmaiden, very unfortunately, is my very least episode of the season. Like it had some good moments in it but all in all I hate so many aspects of it. First we start with Cass walking out and smiling and then she finds the missing mirror shard. Mystery solved. Cass now realizes Gothel never loved her and then finds out that her “friend” is Zhan Tiri and she runs off. Now she’s good and needs to “make amends” Rapunzel. My biggest problem with this episode treated the problem as if Cass and Raps got into a small fight and need to make up. But this is waaaaay bigger than that. Cassandra had done awful things including murder attempts, kidnapping, and threatening war against Corona. She needed to do more than seek Rapunzel’s forgiveness, she needed to clean up the mess she’s made, especially ZT getting released and all. She needed to accept accountability for her actions, regardless of what the consequences were. She gets incased in the amber, boom! Now she’s full on villain again because she’s angry about a weapon made for self-defense purposes that she had led to. Of course the number one scene I hated in this episode was the Gothel quote (my least favorite movie reference of all time and my least favorite Cass scene in the entire series). She destroys all of Corona and forces everyone to flee.

Last but not least, her “redemption” in Plus Est En Vous. As someone who completely adores Cass, I wanted to see her being given the best possible redemption that she deserved to have written for her. But unfortunately, in this episode, we see her being full villain and was gladly stripping Rapunzel of the sundrop only for Zhan Tiri to overpower her. As @zhantiri mentioned (And completely read my mind lol), she didn’t redeem herself because she saw the wrong in her actions, but rather because she was overpowered by a bigger villain. Questions I’ve always had since the finale were “What if she got the power of the sundrop too and survived? Would she have been redeemable then? What would she have done with that power?” See the problem is that to me, her redemption didn’t feel sincere or as impactful as it should have been. Like sure I cried when she cried but primarily because Eden nailed the VA, but idk.

So my here are my overall criticisms of her villainy:

1) A lot of things in her villain arc felt so OOC, like the fact that she instantly trusted a random ghost child she met in the House of Yesterday’s and follows her around for months not questioning who she is, even after the midseason when she was in her corporeal form. Like since when was Cass so quick to trust anyone? In the past 2 seasons, we all saw how Cass took time to trust Eugene, Lance, and Adira, and how she was so skeptical of new places. I will just never understand how she instantly trusted a ghost child over her closest friends whom she’s known for about 2 years...

2) Building off of her being OOC, I absolutely despised how she was being turned into Gothel 2.0 rather than being her own character! She was so well set up the last two seasons and now is being forcefully turned into Gothel, because ya know “Like mother like daughter right”? My biggest problem with this is that Cass in the past 2 seasons is hardly anything like Gothel in character. Like sure she does have flaws and certain toxic traits, but she was way too hotheaded and insecure compared to Gothel. And the cloak in To2S, sure it looked cool but was so stupid and unnecessary. And I’m not gonna go into the other details to avoid being further infuriated. I know there’s controversies over the movie reference in Plus Est En Vous but here are my honest thoughts. The problem with Cass’s death scene was not only do we have absolutely no idea why she died but it was for the sake of tossing in a movie reference. It basically took Eugene’s iconic sacrifice scene from the movie and handed it to Cass, which I felt was incredibly unfair to both characters. It was Eugene’s special scene which should’ve been his and his alone. Cass deserved to be given her own special scenes instead of being given Gothel and Eugene’s scenes. I personally felt that she was being robbed and it was as if she couldn’t be great as her own character and needs to be handed other characters’ special scene in order to be so.

3) The motive, regardless of whether the Gothel twist was used or not, there needed to be strong and clear motive as to why she would make the complete change to villainy. And getting revenge against Rapunzel because she victim-blamed her for being left by Gothel is not a motive! There were several other aspects of her character that could’ve been focused on that would’ve worked waaay better and could’ve been more been more legitimate reasons for her to become a villain, otherwise it was just entirely forced.

4) Last but not least... the lack of consistency with her villain arc in the last few episodes was so irritating to watch! I personally think she needed a proper redemption arc during the last few episodes were she was seeing the wrong in her actions and worked to correct her mess rather than waffling back and forth between redemption and villainy only to become more evil than before! Her villain arc became waaaay too sloppy and it overstayed it welcome till the finale to the point where it was no longer enjoyable to watch.

All in all, Cass’s villain arc is not my only problem with season 3 nor is it my biggest one. But still, I really wanted to like it. Sure there were some great aspects about it but unfortunately it was mostly badly written and sloppily handled, showing that there was no solid or proper planning for it. As for the Gothel twist, my feelings about it became more negative because of how it was handled and I really wished they could’ve come up with something else to push her into villainy. For me, this was actually quite painful and sad because Cass grew to be my favorite series exclusive character and my favorite along with Rapunzel and Eugene because I loved how she was written in the first two seasons, but I feel like season 3 did her pretty dirty.

Update!: I added the link to my Cass S1 analysis at the top but didnt't know why it's not showing so Imma attach it here!

#tts #rta #tts season 3 #rta s3 #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tangled #tangled series character analysis #tangled analysis #character analysis #Cassandra analysis #tangled the series negativity #negativity #Tas's Thought Dump

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shipmistress9 · 3 years

Note

D E F G H I J K L M N O P, Q R S T U V, W X Y and Z 😇😉. I sung the alphabet while writing this as well 😂. You don’t have to answer all of them though, just pick which ones you want 😊.

🤣🤣🤣

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

My fandom life would be easier if I liked Heathstrid at least a little bit... But I can’t and I don’t really want to, either...

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

The oneshots Spin The Bottle and Pick Me Up.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Given that I only learned about the existence of fandom as a concept in late 2016, the longest I’ve ever been in a fandom is roughly 4,5 years.

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

Many! Currently it’s Hiccstrid and Hicretstrid. And maybe a little Zelink. But thinking back, I think my very first OTP was when I was around five years old. From the Captain Tsubasa anime series, Tsubasa and... I don’t even know her name... 🤣 There was this girl who always cheered him on and was his no.1 fan. ANd in hindsight, I think I also shipped Tsubasa... with nearly all other players, mainly, Taro Misaki, Jun Misugi, and Kojiro Hyuga. 🤣

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

TV-shows, mostly. I prefer the visuals over books and I prefer the slower development over those in movies.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Not caused me to stop liking them. But in some cases (ATLA and TDP, to name two) it raised my expectations so high that, when I finally got to dip into them, I was rather underwhelmed. It also didn’t help that I already knew the ending and some major plot points. If there’s one sure way to dampen my excitement it’s spoilers.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Supernatural. Pretty much all other fandoms I dip into occasionally, I knew at least a little before. But literally everything I know about Supernatural is from seeing posts here. 🤣

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

I can’t think of an individual character right now, but in general an arc I like is someone (re-)learning to trust.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

Snotlout has a great relationship with his dragon. Valka, too. Gobber and the twins are always fun, in their own ways.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Already answered before.

Hmm... First, I wanted to say Astrid. And I'd enjoy having her as a friend, as someone to challenges me to be more active, to work on my skills and someone to talk.

But I think, I'd enjoy being friends with Hiccup, too. I'd like to brainstorm ideas, ponder over inventions and exchange ideas. Geek out about dragons!

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Acceptance, respect, and some common sense. But that’s not just fandom...

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

My very long list of favoured songs randomly gave me 9 Crimes by Damien Rice. There once was an absolutly stunning AMV with this song about the TV-show The Legend Of The Seeker, The Sword Of Truth (based on the books by Terry Goodkind). I was deeply in love with Richard’s and Kahlan’s relationship, and with Cara on a general level. That AMV featured them all, and I loved it!

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

Oh, oh, oh, oh! I just thought about this modern meet-cute AU for Hiccstrid a few days back, might as well write it down here. (And will also copy it over into an individual post, I think...)

Hiccup is a single father of a three-years-old daughter. One day, he meets Astrid in a supermarket; she’s in front of him at the check-out and when he hears her voice, he’s stunned. Because he knows her voice, hears it every day. Because she lend her voice to one of these talking toys for toddlers.His daughter’s favourite toy.

Hiccup always liked that toy best, too, because it didn’t sound as annoying as most others. Pleasant even. When he sees and hears Astrid, he recognises her voice in an instant. He jokingly thanks her for making his days more bearable. She’s confused, who is this weirdo? So he tries to explain. “The toy. My daughter’s toy. It’s your voice. A pleasant voice. I listen to it every day.” He keeps getting weirder, stammers, turns red like a tomato, until he eventually just flees, wishing a hole would open up to swallow him, that was so embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Astrid is touched. Knowing that there is at least one little girl who likes the toy she helped create. And her father, apparently. Who had been cute. In how shy he’d been. And how excited. She’s sorry he left before she was able to talk to him and thank him.

Over the next days, Hiccup would think of her a lot. Every time he hears her voice again, he’d think of her. Her face. Her smile. Until they, eventually, meet again... ^^

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Answered before

None, really. There are several fandoms I grew out of, like Sailor Moon or Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. But I wouldn't say I abandoned them. I still enjoy seeing content about them.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

Those of the rider with their dragons. Hiccup&Toothless. Astrid&Stormfly.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Pretty much all of my headcanons are about Hiccstrid in one way or combination. One of my personal favourites is that Astrid has a tiny birthmark on the back of her neck. She doesn’t even know it’s there, she can’t see it and it’s almost always covered by her hair anyway. But Hiccup knows it’s there. And he loves to place a kiss on it. It tickles and would always make her giggle. And she smells so nice.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

*snorts* No. If there are people who don’t share my headcanons, then... they don’t have to? I can live and be friends with people regardless of whether we share the same headcanons or not. And if people keep attacking me for mine, I’ll just block them and walk away. Arguing about something like that is not worth my time.

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Astrid. HTTYD.

erm...

uh...

I really have difficulties thinking of favourites from any other fandoms here! xD

uhm...

Princess Zelda from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Kaladin Stormblessed from the Stormlight Archives.

I might have a type here. Brave, strong, not always easy to deal with. Fiercely loyal. Stubborn. Proud. Honourable. that’s all three of them. ^^

V - Which character do you relate to most?

Same answer as the above, mostly. I think I already wrote a long answer to a similar question once. 🤔 I relate to Astrid in many ways. Loyal and reliable, not always easy to approach, often prefers to deal with her problems on her own instead of asking for help.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

Anything jealously, especially it being portrayed as a sign of love or dedication. But also love triangles. Unnecessary.

Another thing I don’t like is when there’s a misunderstanding and they argue about it and get angry and yell and have a huge falling-out... when it all just boils down to them not listening.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Answered before.

Forbidden Romance. In any form. I just love the angsty tension it brings without the characters fighting or arguing about misunderstandings.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Supernatural, ATLA, TDP, MCU.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

With all the critical thinking that’s encouraged in fandom culture, I wish more people would remember Ratatouille and this quote by Anton Ego.

“In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”

-- Anton Ego (Ratatouille)

Or at least respect it. It’s called entertainment and not lecture about every little detail that is wrong with other people’s opinions. I get why it’s important to look deeper and question meanings and intentions, I really do. But sometimes, I’d prefer to at least occasionally just enjoy something without getting lectured by others for it.

_____

Thank you! 😘💜

#ask #drakaina-amore64 #ask game #long post

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kpophours · 4 years

Text

One Love || part VI

➵ SF9: Youngbin x fem. reader / series, werewolf AU / fluff

➵ warnings: none

➵ word count: 2.9k

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Driving home that night, Youngbin knew he would have to talk to Inseong - the time had finally come.

The first date with you had been absolutely perfect, everything was just so... easy when it came to you. You seemed to just accept him, with all his flaws and antics and sometimes probably strange behaviors. He was still in complete disbelief over the fact that he had actually told you about Mina - and on your first date, at that.

You were truly just perfect, at least in his eyes.

And your first kiss…

Youngbin couldn’t help but smile, his lips tingling with the mere memory. The wolf inside him was purring too, happy and content after spending an entire evening in your sole company.

The alpha sighed deeply, getting out of his car and walking towards the farmhouse. Some of the windows were still brightly illuminated, which wasn’t really surprising even though it was already long after midnight. Youngbin was sure that most of his brothers had stayed awake just to immediately ask him about his night. It wasn’t unusual for Youngbin to spend some nights away from home - mostly at his repair shop -, but all his pack members had somehow known that tonight was different. Even the most oblivious and indifferent member of his pack - aka Chani - had silently observed his alpha getting ready earlier this night, his expression questioning and almost suspicious. Youngbin couldn’t blame any of them as he himself wasn’t even sure when he had last worn such nice clothes - and perfume.

So, he had basically known from the very beginning that the others would ask him about his night as soon as he would return home. Which meant that right now, he readied himself to be interviewed - or more like, bombarded with questions - as soon as he would enter the house.

… And he was proven right. Immediately after opening the front door and stepping into the hallway, Dawon practically pounced on him, grabbing his arm and pretty much dragging his alpha into the living room where everyone else was already assembled, sprawled on the floor or sofas.

Youngbin sighed inwardly and looked at his pack members, who were all gazing back at him with round, curious eyes. Inseong was the only one not looking at him right now; he simply stared down at his lap where he was fiddling with his hands. His expression wasn’t giving anything away - which was a rather alarming sign as Inseong’s face was usually an open book.

“Where were you?”, Chani finally asked, and Youngbin’s lip twitched. Of course the others would make their youngest ask him about his night; everyone knew he had a very soft spot for Chani.

“I was out.”, Youngbin answered, crossing both arms in front of his chest and leaning against the wall, pressing his lips together in an attempt to keep himself from smiling. “The details! I’m stunned.”, Dawon immediately huffed in a rather annoyed voice, “Care to tell where exactly you were?”

“Or why you smell of Y/N?”, Jaeyoon added, a smirk on his lips.

Youngbin felt his jaw tick at the mention of your name. “I want to talk to Inseong first. Alone.”, he finally replied, curtly shaking his head when he saw Rowoon opening his mouth in protest, “And that’s not debatable.”

The pack just sat there, frozen for a few seconds, before everyone got up, muttering a few curses and glaring at their alpha until even the last one had finally filtered out of the room.

“And no eavesdropping!”, Youngbin yelled after them, making Hwiyoung roll his eyes at him before he finally closed the door.

The alpha sighed again and turned around to face Inseong who was still sitting on the couch, not having moved a single muscle. But now, his gaze was trained on his alpha, eyes dark and face unmoving. “I-”, Youngbin began, but the older man interrupted him immediately: “So, Y/N is your mate.”

Youngbin closed his mouth again, taking a deep breath before finally nodding slowly.

Inseong just sighed, tiredly rubbing his face before getting up and walking towards his alpha. “That’s what I thought. I… I wish you all the best, I truly do. This is the Universe’s will, after all.”, he then said, gently patting the smaller man’s shoulder, “But you could have told me about this from the very beginning, you know? I know that… well, what happened with Mina wasn’t your fault. And it was unfair of me to blame you for it and… and to treat you the way I did. I want you to know that we will always be a pack and that you will always be my - our alpha. But you’re also my friend, and that will never change. I’ll always have your back, I promise.” After finishing his little speech, Inseong began to smile, and Youngbin returned it immediately, relieved, giving him a slightly awkward yet tight hug. “Thank you, Inseong. This truly means a lot.”, Youngbin said when he pulled back again, and the other man just grinned and shrugged. “I had to get this off my chest. And now go and tell the rest that you’ve finally found your match - uh, I mean, mate, of course.” His dark eyes glinted mischievously, reminding Youngbin once more of a cunning fox rather than a wolf. He just nodded at his older brother. “Pray for me.”

But Inseong just laughed before he opened the door - making all his younger brother topple over themselves and into the room, obviously having pressed their ears against the door to listen in on their older brothers’ conversation.

Youngbin just sighed very deeply, raising one eyebrow. “Well, it seems like I don’t need to repeat myself after all.”, he said, half amused, half exasperated.

Dawon just gave him the thumbs up, while the others at least had the decency to look slightly apologetic - or, in Chani’s case, sleepy.

The next few weeks seemed to pass in a blur.

You and Inseong had begun to work tirelessly on your research project and were actually making good progress - you were even invited to present your results at a conference which would be held in a few months. On top of that, you were also finally able to focus on finding a research topic for your doctor’s thesis, reading piles of books and often staying up until midnight or even later.

Besides work, you also spent a lot of time with Youngbin - your relationship developed rather quickly, which was almost a bit scary to you. It truly felt like you had known him for months or years already, not just a few weeks. Everything was just so… easy with him, and he just understood you so well and on such a different and deep level - none of your past partners had ever managed this before.

Your favorite dates with Youngbin were your weekly movie nights, sometimes with, sometimes without the others. You also tried to visit him at the repair shop as often as you could, helping where you could (well, or distracting him). At least once a week, Youngbin stopped by your office and had lunch with you and Inseong; their relationship seemed to get better with every passing day as well, which made you very happy. The little restaurant where Youngbin had taken you on your first ever date had quickly become one of your favorites, and all the staff members knew both your names by now.

You also began to spend a lot of time with Dawon and Jaeyoon, who were slowly becoming your closest friends. A few weeks into getting to know everyone, you also finally met their girlfriends and both immediately invited you over at their place to spend some girl time with them. Ava and you instantly clicked as you shared the same taste in music and books, and Kate was also very sweet - and rather quiet, which seemed to balance Jaeyoon’s loud and slightly eccentric personality quite well.

All in all… life was pretty much perfect, and you hadn’t been that happy in a long time.

“You’ll be here at around 9pm, right?”, your boyfriend asked you once again, making you giggle and roll your eyes in a playful manner. “Yes, Youngbin. Don’t tell me you’re already getting forgetful, how old are you again?”, you replied teasingly, mindlessly doodling something on the notepad in front of you. Youngbin at the other end on the line huffed, and you laughed again. “I’m just teasing you, old man. And I have to hang up now, our meeting is going to start soon.”, you said, and he sighed sadly. “Okay, I should get back to the cars as well. I’ll see you later, my love.”

As always, your heart skipped a beat at his nickname for you, and you couldn’t help but smile. “See you later, Binnie.”, you answered softly and disconnected the call.

Inseong, sitting opposite you, cleared his throat, a small smile playing on his lips while he lifted one eyebrow in a teasing manner. “Don’t you dare say anything.”, you just mumbled, quickly hiding behind a book, and making him chuckle. “I wasn’t going to.”, he answered lightly, and you huffed. “Mhm, sure.” You could almost feel his smirk.

To be honest, it had been a bit… awkward and weird at first; to go out with your bosses’ roommate and friend - especially after you had walked in on Inseong showering once. Your ears were still ringing with the mere memory of his ear-splitting scream - you were actually quite impressed by the high note he was able to hit. After a few days of avoiding each other, you had finally established a few rules:

a) from now on, Inseong would always lock the door whenever he was in the bathroom,

b) relationship talk inside the office was strictly forbidden,

c) whatever happen between Youngbin and you was not allowed to impact your relationship with Inseong in any way,

d) no unnecessary office talk while you were at the farmhouse.

After agreeing on those four rules, life had definitely gotten easier and less awkward for you both.

“Come on, let’s go or we’ll be late for the meeting.”, Inseong finally said, interrupting your thoughts, and getting up from his desk. You just nodded and quickly followed him out of your shared office space. You really hoped the meeting wouldn’t take too long - because you could hardly wait to see Youngbin tonight.

Sadly, the meeting had been ridiculously long, unnecessarily so, some might say. On top of that, all the talk about calculations, numbers and new projects had given you a slight headache, so all in all, it had been a very long and tiring day. You wanted nothing more than to just sink into Youngbin’s warm embrace, eat something delicious and continue to watch your new murder mystery series - you and Youngbin were quite obsessed with it and you had practically threatened him with a slow and painful death should he ever dare and continue to watch it without you.

It was already pitch black outside when you finally parked in front of the giant farmhouse - now more of a second home to you -, its illuminated windows making it look very homey and inviting. You smiled at the sight and quickly got out of your car, hurrying towards the front door and letting yourself in; Youngbin had given you a key soon after you had become his “official” girlfriend. The memory of him handing you the key together with your favorite flowers always managed to cheer you up and make you smile. He truly was the perfect boyfriend, at least for you.

“Binnie?”, you asked upon stepping into the dimly lit hallway, and before you were able to kick off your shoes, your boyfriend was already skidding around the corner, quickly pulling you in his arms. He playfully nuzzled his face into your neck, leaving small kisses all over your sensitive skin. You giggled and squirmed under his gentle ministrations, until he finally lifted his head, pressing his lips to yours. You hummed appreciatively, wrapping both arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. When you finally broke apart again, your boyfriend smiled at you, dark eyes forming little crescents. “Hello, my love.”, he murmured and nudged your nose with his, making you break into a bright smile as well. “Hi.”, you whispered back, gently brushing some of his hair back and out of his face, making him almost purr at the sensation, both eyes closing.

He suddenly snapped out of it, startling you, and took a step back, burying both hands in the pockets of his dark jeans. You immediately missed the warmth of his embrace and actually shivered a bit, wrapping both arms around your body and tilting your head to one side, a questioning expression on your face. Youngbin was gnawing on his lower lip, rubbing his face in a slightly exasperated manner. “Uhm… We- I…”, he stuttered, sighing deeply, “I need to talk to you about something rather important.”

You took a small step back, worry washing over you. “O-okay?”, you replied in a small voice, ducking your head - dark, anxious thoughts immediately beginning to fill your head.

Was he alright? Was he sick? Or was he... was he maybe going to break up with you?

When Youngbin saw your worried expression, he quickly took a step towards you again, gently taking your clammy hands in his warm ones. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. No need to look like someone died.”, he reassured you playfully, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear and cupping your cheek, “Okay?”

You took a deep breath and gave him a weak smile, nodding once.

“Well, let’s go for a quick walk then.”, he finally said, grabbing his shoes and jacket and opening the front door. You quickly followed him into the night again.

It was bitterly cold outside and you were already beginning to shiver a bit. Youngbin walked a few steps ahead of you, strolling towards the line of dark trees surrounding the farmhouse. You bit your lip, gaze darting from left to right, Youngbin’s reassuring words not having done much to help calm your nerves.

Where was he going? What did he want in the forest - almost in the middle of the night?

There were only a few clouds obscuring the night sky tonight, so plenty of stars were twinkling down at you, and the full moon was bright enough to illuminate your path - well, that was until you stepped in between the first row of trees. You hurried to catch up with Youngbin, almost stumbling over some overgrown roots in the darkness. Still, Youngbin didn’t stop, not even looking over his shoulder to check on you. You saw the tightness in his shoulders and the way he was ducking his head; he was obviously completely lost in thought right now, making you even more anxious.

You finally seemed to have reached your destination - a clearing in the forest, parts of it illuminated by silvery moonlight while others were still hidden in the shadows of the trees. Youngbin stopped in the middle of it, finally turning around to face you again. He gently beckoned you towards him, and you carefully followed his demand, coming to a halt in front of him. He gently took your face between his hands and kissed you sweetly. When he pulled back again, his eyes seemed to glow gold for a second, and you startled, almost taking a step back.

“There is something important I have not told you so far.”, he finally began to explain, taking a few steps back without breaking eye contact with you, “And it’s… It’s a rather big part of myself - and well, my life in general.”

You opened your mouth to say something, but your boyfriend raised one hand, a silent request. “Please let me finish. I just... have to say this. All of it.”

You closed your mouth again and nodded. He gave you a small smile before taking in a deep breath. “There is more to this world than most people know - a secret, hidden world within the real one.”

You drew your eyebrows together, beginning to gnaw on your lip.

What… what was going on?

“I want you to keep an open mind, okay? What I’m going to show you now… Just know that you’re safe. Nothing will happen to you, I would never- nothing will ever hurt you, not with me around, okay?”

Goosebumps rose all over your body, and you wrapped both arms tightly around yourself - but you nodded, giving Youngbin the signal to continue.

He inhaled shakily and began to rid himself of his clothes, making you gape. “W-what are you doing?!”, you squealed, quickly closing your eyes and feeling a slight blush creep on your cheeks.

“It will only take a second, I promise.”, Youngbin answered, tone of voice slightly amused now. You pressed your lips into a tight line, keeping your eyes closed and resisting the urge to steal a glance at your boyfriend.

Suddenly, you felt rather than heard someone - or something - come to a halt directly in front of you.

Open your eyes, Y/N.

It was Youngbin’s voice but… it - it sounded differently... like it was - inside your head…?

Without knowing why, you suddenly began to tremble - but finally gathered enough courage to open your eyes again.

And then, you screamed.

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