#but yeah. the questions about guardians and classes and the light are really interesting

[thefirstknife]

Was looking through some older posts of yours and you had answered in an ask about Guardians changing classes and Rezzyl Azir/Dredgen Yor that:

“So while they may be naturally attune more towards some aspect of Light wielding, they still have to train to actually become their class in full.”

Can you elaborate a little more on that. Like how long would that take and how extensive of the training? Has there been any lore going more into detail about that?

Sorry if that’s a lot. Thank you for everything you do for this community it’s Greatly appreciated!!

It's okay!

Unfortunately, we don't really know how that took place. With Rezyl Azzir/Dredgen Yor it's super hard to say because he's very much a mythologised figure. His transformation into Yor was so mysterious and complete that most people never knew it used to be Rezyl and that was by his own design.

So how long it took him to get into the persona of Dredgen Yor and start behaving more like a Hunter? We have no clue. It might have been a gradual transformation as the Thorn corruption was spreading. Also, since we have no information on Dredgen Yor ever using any Light abilities, we don't even know if he only dressed as Hunter or if he started using what we would typically associate with Hunter abilities. So ultimately we don't even know if he actually trained in any Hunter disciplines.

This is especially a problem for Dredgen Yor in particular because he was such a reviled figure that I don't think he would've had the option to actually have a Hunter or Hunters teaching him. He might've learned through observation only and learned what he could. It was also fairly imperfect for him, as you can see on his cloak that the Hunter symbol isn't quite made properly. This maybe hints that without a proper teacher and enough time, one can't really learn these things easily. But that's purely speculative.

Felwinter also doesn't specify how long it took him to learn cross-class abilities (he learned shoulder charge from Titans). He of course didn't switch his class entirely, but learning other abilities surely takes time. However, we don't know how much time.

Outside of simply gameplay reasons, that's a really interesting question. Perhaps Ghosts have something to do with, as well as maybe some intrinsic attunement to the Light. Maybe the way the Light manifests in someone newly rezed is innately more geared towards a specific type of ability. But then in order to truly perfect this ability, one has to train for it. It's very unclear how it works and we have no idea what are all the elements that affect someone becoming a class or choosing a subclass.

There's some information on newly rezed Guardians in lore. For example, this one from Ghost Stories which is a Ghost recounting his experience with rezing his Guardian for the first time and that Guardian being forced to fight the moment she was rezed:

Problem was… my Guardian—the one I'd spent a very long time looking for—was lying dormant in their path: a lifeless husk in need of a wake-up call before her remains were atomized and I was left, for eternity, without my chosen. That I'd found her seconds before the Red Legion's survey team arrived was… unfortunate. But I had to do what I had to do. Some risks, after all, are worth taking. It was now or never. And besides, there's no timing like bad timing. I opened myself up to the Traveler's gift and enveloped her in Light just as the mining rig settled. My new Guardian gasped and sat up, crying out as if waking from a nightmare.

Basically, the Ghost had to rez her before the remain would be permanently destroyed, becoming unrecoverable. After the initial shock, the Guardian immediately started fighting. With her bare hands. No Light was used and there's no real indication of her class or subclass. There's a mention of her charging, but it's not clear if this is a Titan-type charge. Dodging is also mentioned. Nothing about Light is shown. I'm thinking that it's far more likely that new Guardians don't pick any specific class/subclass until a bit later and that us being rezed with a class is just a gameplay feature. Basically, all Guardians have the potential to use Light and to attune to certain abilities, but at the end of the day they still have to be taught and learned.

Osiris also recounts his experience of seeing Aunor being rezed for the first time.

"I remember the day you were raised," Osiris says with hushed strength. "Curled up beneath a ruined bus, screaming for help. Too terrified to listen to your Ghost, too frightened to hold the gun it had nudged under the wreck for you."

It seems getting to a weapon was more important than Light, possibly because newly rezed Guardians aren't really capable of doing anything specific with it. Which means they have to learn it later, possibly through exploring it on their own or with a teacher (or both). There has to be something innate about it, I think; that everyone's spark is inherenty leaning more into some specific way to use the Light, which then turns into a class through training and learning. Osiris himself is shown, very early in the Dark Age, as wielding Dawnblade. We don't know how long it's been since he was rezed here, but Dawnblade is very much defined almost exactly as we know it even that early in the Dark Age. Very curious.

Already mentioned Felwinter, but if you look at his lore book, he is never shown using the Light here. When he's rezed, he's just confused and in danger, mostly shown running away and using weapons. When he fights a Warlord over what would later become Felwinter's Peak, it is only said that Felwinter shot the Warlord's Ghost. On page 4 of the lore book, Felwinter meets another Exo Guardian and they get into a fight against the frames and only the other Exo is shown using the Light, much to his own surprise:

It was Gryphon who saved them in the end, with three bolts of Arc Light that erupted out of his hands. As the frames closest to them disintegrated in a shower of blue light, Gryphon whooped and said, breathlessly, "I've never done that before."

This is super vague as far as Light abilities go. No clue what class Gryphon-11 would be here. He was capable of using the Light, though clearly has not done so before, and his Light isn't defined into any specific class or ability.

Felwinter later became known for being a void user, but it seems that only came to prominence after he joined with the Iron Lords. He probably ended up favouring the Warlock class for a variety of reasons, but he wasn't really rezed as one in the same sense that it happens to us in the game.

This has also been shown with Zavala in his story trailer. He is never shown using his Light in his early fights; the first time we see him wielding it in the trailer is later in the City.

It's a really interesting thing to think about and so far, we've seen a lot of different things, both in lore and gameplay itself. Lore seems to imply that when a Guardian is rezed, they don't immediately know their class and they don't use their Light right away. But then again, in gameplay we get the Light really quickly. Could also be to indicate that the Young Wolf is special! But either way, there's still a lot that's not super well defined and now with Lucent Hive, the'es even more questions. Seems like the reason they mimic our classes and subclasses is probably because that's what Savathun learned while exploring the Light, as well as possibly something tied to Ghosts and how they've learned that Guardians work. I'm hoping for more on the Lucent Hive over this topic, as their experience would be unique and allow us to study the process in a way that we couldn't do back in the Dark Age.

[midnightstar-90]

Live Laugh Love~ Rockets, Communists, and the Dewey Decimal System

Masterlist | Taglist | Request

Georgie Cooper x Reader

Summary: To appease his worried mother, Sheldon employs the techniques of a self-help book to try and make a friend.

Warnings: None

AN: I plan to write a new chapter once a week. It may change at the end of the school year. On the other hand, I tried to add more to the story. I hope you guys like it.

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Y/N's Pov

I am walking to lunch, and when I round the corner, I see Mary and George looking through the lunchroom window and talking to each other. I make a confused face while listening in on their conversation. "Look at him. It breaks my heart," Mary says sadly. "Poor little guy. Sitting all alone", George says sadly while responding to Mary's comment. "I don't know why his brother or even Y/N can't sit with him. Actually, Where is Y/N. I don't see her anywhere."

"I'm right here," I say, spooking Mary and George before continuing with, "Also, I tried to sit with Sheldon on his first day, and he said it would be best for me to sit with people who have the same intellect as me. I found that rude because he meant Georgie, and I am so much smarter than Georgie. Anyways, Georgie doesn't sit with him because he says In school, they don't know each other". I look between Georgie and Sheldon, then look at my godparents. "Yeah, come on Mary, when you were in high school would you have lunch with a nine-year-old," George asked Mary. "Yes, I would have," Mary responded.  "Well, there is something wrong with you." I took George's words as a sign to leave.

"Well, I'm... gonna... go," I told the married couple before heading into the lunchroom to sit with Georgie and our friends. I sat down to Georgie, trying to fit as many grapes as he can into his mouth. "Fourteen," he yelled out while all of Georgie's friends cheered him on. Georgie spits them all out before turning to me. "What did you think," Georgie asked me, trying to get my opinion on his 'cool' trick. "Georgie, if I wanted to see you stuff your mouth, I would just wait till dinner. In other words, not that interesting," I told my best friend. Georgie replied with a sad "oh" before going back to talking with his friends. I went back to finishing my newest sketch of a finch.

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Georgie and I walked into the house. "Georgie, would you do me a tiny little favor," Mary asked Georgie while he was getting a drink out of the fridge. I sat with the girl I thought of as a little sister before saying hi. Georgie responded back with a "like what" before Mary asked Georgie to sit with Sheldon. I already told Mary why I don't sit with Sheldon. Missy with her smart remarks told Georgie, "Don't do it. I ate with him in second grade, it really hurt my social life." Georgie walked off while replying to Mary with a "No thanks". I kicked Missy under the table, then gave her a 'seriously' look. I shook my head and followed Georgie to 'help' him with his homework, which was more like do his work.

I don't follow Georgie because I'm his lost puppy. I follow Georgie to help him. Without me, Georgie would grow up to be a homeless man with great hair. I am basically Georgie's Guardian angel.

"Georgie, why do I always end up doing your homework? At this point, I don't even think you know how to read. Those magazines are just for show, and you know it. You probably only look at the pictures," I said to Georgie while sitting on his bed doing our geometry homework. "Aw, come on Y/N, don't you know that you're the smartest out of both of us. Without you, I would probably still be in the 5th grade. You were right about something though, those books are for looking, but I can read you." I roll my eyes at Georgie's comment before looking down and smiling.

I admit I might have a bit of a crush on Georgie but we're best friends, and how could I ever compare those girls in his magazine. If I tell Georgie that I like him, that could ruin our friendship, and that would be weird because we live together. So, I just stick to being his best friend. That way our friendship isn't ruined and I can still be as close to him as I can.

"Well I finished your homework and it's 10 o'clock, so I guess this is it. Have a good night," I said before heading out.

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Georgie's POV

Y/N walked out of my room. I felt sad because she was gone. We talk all day, she does my homework, and we have practiced together, but I still miss her. "Maybe I like her," I mumble to myself while laying down staring at the ceiling. "Naw, that can't be," I said. I shut off my light and fell asleep.

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Y/N's POV

I was leaving my art class when I see Sheldon talking to one of the cheerleaders. It's weird to be seeing Sheldon interacting with people without them running off and crying. It interested me so much I decided to listen in.

"Go wolves," Sheldon said in a monotone voice. Jessica closed her locker confused. Sheldon responded back to Jessica with, "You're a cheerleader, and by saying "Go Wolves" I'm initiating a conversation about something that interests you." "Oh, are you one of those special ed kids," Jessica asked still trying to understand what was happening. The older sister part of me kinda felt angry that she said that, but on the other hand she was talking to Sheldon. "My mom says I'm special. Would you like to be friends" Sheldon asks. She tells him, no, but Sheldon keeps going, "Are you sure? What if I told you I admired your boldly-applied makeup?" Jessica walks off offended.

I walk up to Sheldon frantically and say, "Sheldon, you can't say mean things like that. I'm at the top of the pyramid today, and Jessica is right underneath me." "Oh, I didn't know what I said was offensive. I thought that I was complimenting her," Sheldon says. "Well, just try not to insult people. If you don't know what to say, don't say anything to them." Sheldon replies with an "alright" before walking away from me. I watch Sheldon go before heading to my next class.

I got to my next class and I sat down beside Georgie. "I just ran into Sheldon trying to make friends," I told Georgie while I get the stuff I need for class out of my backpack. "I feel bad for whoever had to put up with Sheldon. That boy is not one for making friends," Georgie responds to my comment. "Well, I think it's cute, but I feel bad because he didn't make one friend." "You sound like my mom," Georgie says. I glare at Georgie. The teacher walks in and starts the class.

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I hear Mary yelling about how Sheldon made a friend. I felt happy for him. I feel like Sheldon would really benefit from having a friend. I mean, I have Georgie, and we're inseparable.

I also heard Sheldon ask if he can start his rocketry hobby again with his new friend and I dipped. The last time he launched a rocket he killed a family of squirrels and my eyebrows. I wanted to bond with Sheldon so I helped him with his rocket.

I went downstairs to watch tv with Missy. She was watching DuckTales. "I'm surprised you're not with Georgie," Missy comments as I sit down with her. I roll my eyes and say, "Georgie isn't my whole life. I talked to Sheldon earlier, and now I just want to hang out with you. Sheldon has a new friend now, I have Georgie, but I feel like you don't have anyone to hang out with. So, what do you say tomorrow I take you to get your nails done." Missy's eyes go wide and she excitedly shouts, "Yes, I'm gonna go tell mom!"

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After school, Missy and I went to get our nails done.

(Missy's Nails)

(Y/N's Nails)

When Missy and I got home Mary told us that Sheldon's friend was coming over. Missy and I sat down to talk and watch tv. There was a knock at the door, and that set Mary off. "He's here," she yelled. "Everybody, stay calm! Just a normal day, just a normal dinner," she continued. Missy asks if she and I can eat in front of the TV, which obviously didn't end well.

We're all sitting at the dinner table, except for Mary, when George starts asking Tam, questions. George makes it weird when he asked Tam if his mom was named Kim-lee. Me and Georgie look at each other with a cringed look.

Georgie releases us from the weird vibes when he asks Tam, "So, Vietnam, like in Rambo." Tam responds with a "yes" and then Georgie continues with, "That's a cool movie." Georgie asks Tam if he's in Rambo and I look at him and elbow him in the ribs. Georgie says, "oww, what was that for" before Tam tells him "no". Sheldon brings the conversation back to George's comment, but it is cut off by Mary serving dinner.

We learned a lot about Tam's family and life. It was very interesting. Georgie said a couple more stupid things, which earned him a few more elbows to the ribs.

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I was in my room, getting ready for bed. Georgie walks in and sits on my bed.

(Y/N's Room)

(Y/N's PJ's)

"How was the day with my sister," Georgie asks me. I sign for Georgie to get off the bed and say, "We had fun. After our nails, we went to Dairy Queen and got a blizzard. I think Missy and I really needed today, you know." Georgie helps me make my bed and continues the conversation, "I missed you today." "Is Georgie Cooper jealous? Georgie Cooper didn't have someone to do his homework and now he's sad," I said mocking Georgie. Georgie grows a sad look on his face and says, "No, I missed my best friend. Not the girl that does my homework, or the girl that helps me clean my room. I miss the girl I talk to for hours. The girl that makes me feel special compared to the rest of my family. I miss that girl and that girl is you."

"Wow, that was deep for a kid that went a couple of hours without seeing me, but I know how you feel. Missy and Sheldon don't know how to do the things we do. I almost made Missy cry by insulting her earlier. I think I hang around boys too much," I say getting ready to lay down. Georgie climbs into the bed with me and we silently talk for the rest of the night.

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Belonging

Mammon x gn!MC

Words - 4606

Content warnings - lots of angst, insecure MC, Mammon is an ass at first ‘cause he’s a tsundere

Prompt/inspiration - self indulgent comfort piece

Summary - That one time when Mammon’s tsundere tendencies broke your heart.

AO3

You had been so stupid. So foolish. So naive.

When you first met Mammon, he took your breath away. You had never seen someone just so...beautiful. It was an honest to goodness love at first sight moment, something that you didn’t even believe possible until then. Yeah he seemed a little harsh, but you convinced yourself it was just because he was shy and easily embarrassed. As soon as he got to know you better, you were sure he’d calm down a bit and open up to you.

It was slow going though. Just when you had started thinking you had finally managed to become friends with him, something would happen that would send you back to square one again. For every step forward you took, you would inevitably take 3 steps back.

But after a while, things did eventually seem to be going your way. He’d come over for movie nights. You were allowed to hang out in his room. He no longer stuttered out excuses when he would walk you to and from RAD. You had started to feel comfortable. Like maybe everything in your shitty life up until now might have actually been worth it because finally, FINALLY you had someone who genuinely enjoyed being around you.

Until today, that is, when you were not-so-gently reminded of your place.

The night began like any other Friday evening - a movie night with Mammon, Beel, and Levi. Everyone had gathered in Mammon’s room, snacks were plentiful, and you were getting to sit next to Mammon. As the movie progressed, you casually adjusted your position so that you could hold his hand. But as soon as your palm touched his and he realized what you were doing, he pulled back and yelled at you.

“What the hell are ya doing?!”

If it wasn’t for the look on his face, you would have sworn he was embarrassed. Instead, there was no doubt in your mind just how disgusted he was at the idea of you touching him. You didn’t notice when the movie was paused. Or when the lights were turned on. All you could see were his eyes boring into yours. Looking like he wanted to vomit on the spot at the very idea of having ever been close to you.

“Umm...I...just…” you stumbled over your words, unsure what to say. What could you even say? He knew you had tried to hold his hand. And that’s all there was to it. You made a move, the wrong one, and he rejected you.

“Sorry...I’ll umm...just go…” was all you managed to finally get out, as you made a mad dash to your room. Your cheeks were burning with shame, and tears pricking at your eyes.

How could you have been so arrogant? Thinking someone could actually be interested in a person like you. This wasn’t your home. These weren’t your friends. They weren’t your family. You didn’t belong here. You didn’t belong anywhere. You had let yourself get comfortable, indulging your delusions and fantasies and ignoring all the many warning signs that you weren’t actually wanted here.

Even though Mammon was your official Guardian, the rest of the brothers still did their part to make sure you survived your year in one piece. And you had mistaken this courtesy as actual kindness. If anyone had been nice to you, it was out of obligation or pity. You were so desperate to believe you had finally found a place of your own that you let yourself be tricked into thinking demons would actually care about you.

You should have known better. It’s not like you hadn’t had this experience before. People who tolerated you and then at the first available opportunity cut you from their lives. You knew there was something wrong with you, there had to be, for as many times as this had happened. But since no one stuck around very long at all, you honestly had no idea what that might be. If someone would have just told you, you would have fixed it.

By the time you had made it to the safety of your room, your tears had already started to fall in large, heavy drops. You didn’t make a sound. You were too numb to even sob. You just laid down on your bed, facing the wall, and cried. If you could even call it crying. It was more like tears just poured from your eyes. You didn’t even know it was possible to cry that many tears, yet here you were - soaking your pillow, unable to stop the flow.

At some point, you had managed to get your breathing under control. And then, even your tears dried up. You turned to lay on your back, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out where you should go from here. You still had to make it through the rest of the year, and you had to find some way of doing that peacefully. Maybe if you talked to Lucifer he would assign you a different Guardian? You didn’t really want a different Guardian though, but you doubted you would be able to emotionally handle spending any more time with Mammon. Especially since every time you closed your eyes you could still see that look on his face.

After weighing your options you decided the only thing for you to do really was to put on a happy face. You’d be polite to anyone that talked to you, but you were going to be smart this time. You were going to keep your distance. Not just from Mammon, but from everyone else too.

There was no point in giving yourself the chance to believe you actually could make any friends here. Doubtless it would end up the same way. So you were going to do the minimum - go to RAD, come back to your room, and stay in your room until it was time to leave for RAD again, only leaving with the exception of meal times. No more movie nights, or gaming tournaments, or shopping trips, or restaurant tours. You were just going to keep to yourself and...survive.

————

Breakfast the following morning was oddly quiet. Beel, Mammon, and Levi kept exchanging looks, but you pretended you didn’t notice and just focused on your meal. You had found a comfortable sense of numbness since the previous night, and had now more or less come to terms with the fact you weren’t wanted here and had gotten carried away.

Lucifer had needed to head out a bit earlier to attend a before school meeting with Lord Diavolo, so you asked if you could walk with him instead. He raised an eyebrow at your unexpected request, but thankfully didn’t ask any additional questions. Of all the brothers he was actually the one you were most comfortable with at the moment. Probably because you never had any doubts about the fact he wasn’t overly fond of you.

When classes had ended for the day, you realized that you would need to walk home with Mammon. But after a full day of perfecting your “nice” smile, and mastering how to behave “politely” without taking things personally, you felt better prepared to handle it than you had that morning. Mammon seemed nervous, blushing and fidgeting most of the way. Any other day, you would have asked him what was wrong, but now you were committed to keeping your distance so you ignored him.

Once you arrived back at the House of Lamentation, however, he finally started talking to you before you had a chance to hide away in your room again.

“Uhh...about last night...I…”

“It’s fine, Mammon,” you said, smiling your best, bright smile, “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

“That’s...I was jus’ surprised is all…”

“Then I’m sorry for surprising you.”

“So umm...do you wanna...try again...maybe…?”

For the briefest moment, your smile faltered. You were quick to correct it, but of course Mammon noticed that split second of hesitation before you answered.

“No thank you. It was nice of you to offer though. But I don’t think I’ll be going to movie night anymore, so you really don’t have to worry about me.”

“Huh? That’s not what I was...this wasn’t about the movie…!”

You gave Mammon another perfect, reassuring smile before leaving him in the entryway, flustered beyond belief at what just happened. He could understand that you might not have known what he was asking right away, but to say you didn’t want to go to movie night at all? That seemed like a bit of an overreaction. Not to mention the fact that the entire conversation just seemed...weird. You were smiling too much for one thing, and he really didn’t like it. He enjoyed making you smile, but this just wasn’t right.

And he couldn’t just let that go.

No sooner had you sat down at the table in your room to begin on your assignments, than the door was flung open as Mammon barged in. You stared at him, stunned, unable to grasp why he had followed you to your room. When he saw you looking at him, he once again got flustered, but was quick to recover this time - he was on a mission.

“Look I know I yelled at ya and all, but that ain’t a reason to skip movie night. Who's gonna feed Beel? Or make sure Levi doesn’t put on those weird anime movies with the tentacles and shit?”

“I’m sure you’ll manage. You had to have worked things out somehow before I arrived. You don’t need to try to include me,” you replied, turning your back to Mammon so you could focus on your work.

“Movie night was your idea! Ya can’t just quit!”

“I said it’s fine,” you could feel your frustration building in your chest. You had wanted to do this peacefully, but Mammon was so stubborn, more stubborn than you had anticipated given his reaction to you yesterday.

“It ain’t fine!”

“Leave it alone, Mammon,” you snapped, stopping what you were doing as you tried to calm yourself down again. You weren’t going to let him get to you. He’d wear himself out and lose interest eventually. You just needed to be patient until he realized he didn’t have to entertain you anymore.

“How can I leave it alone? I’ve said worse stuff to ya before and you haven’t acted like this.”

“I know when I’m not wanted. It’s fine.”

You weren’t about to open up and confide in him all your worries and fears. Even if he was asking out of politeness, you knew he wouldn’t really want to hear about that stuff anyways. He barely tolerated your physical presence, there wasn’t any way he’d want to be burdened with your emotional baggage too.

Mammon was silent for a while after that. He didn’t know what to say, or how to explain. He knew he had fucked up. Badly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want you next to him. He did. More than he’d care to admit. Which was actually part of the problem. He didn’t want to admit he cared. Because admitting he cared would mean you could reject him. If you weren’t aware of his feelings, then you would just be stuck with him, and that was good enough for him. It had to be.

At least it had been up until now. Now, Mammon feared if he didn’t say something, anything, he’d lose any chance at ever talking to you again.

“...I wanted ya there…” he finally whispered, so quietly you almost didn’t hear it.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yeah I do!” he said, much louder than he had spoken before. Couldn’t you tell he was trying to say that he liked you? That he enjoyed your company? Did you really have to argue with him about it?

“...whatever,” you said with a sigh as you began to open your school books.

“Hey! Listen to me will ya!? I’m trying to say I like you!”

You flinched at Mammon’s sudden declaration.

“And you expect me to believe that?” you replied, your tone laced with venom. You knew what was coming next - his inevitable backpedaling that he always did. Where he made excuses and belittled you and made sure to crush any hope you may have had that he actually liked you in any capacity because the idea of anyone thinking he actually had a soft spot for you was apparently absolutely appalling.

“Why wouldn’t you?! You should feel honored and…!”

“Why wouldn’t I?? Seriously?? You’re asking me that?”

You turned in your seat to glare at Mammon, angry tears gathering at the corners of your eyes. Did he seriously think so little of you that he just expected you to believe whatever you told him?

“I dunno Mammon, maybe it’s because ever since I got here you made a point to remind me what a burden I am and how much trouble I cause. Maybe it’s because you constantly dump me on your brothers to avoid your responsibilities. Maybe it’s because every time I try to be nice to you, you push me away and make me feel stupid for even trying. But hey, what do I know? I’m just the dumb human, right?”

By now your tears had started to fall, but you couldn’t even be bothered to dry them. You finally had the chance to get everything off your chest that had been building since you were dragged down to the Devildom and you didn’t feel like stopping anytime soon. Your rational thoughts had long since flown, and all that was left was your extremely hurt, angry, emotional self that was bound and determined to make sure Mammon knew just how much pain he had caused you.

Mammon, for his part, was completely dumbfounded. Personally, he thought he had been doing alright trying to get to know you. He wasn’t used to people actually being nice to him for one thing, so he was always so suspicious whenever you were.

But what he hadn’t realized though, was how genuine all your advances had been, and how much he had hurt you in trying to protect himself.

“I-I-I…”

“I’m not the sort of person anyone likes. I know that. So whatever joke it is you’re trying to pull, just stop it already!”

“I ain’t messin’ around!”

“What are you not understanding here??” you yelled, slamming your hands down on your desk as you stood up to face Mammon, “I don’t connect with people. I’m never the one that gets picked. So just stop it ok?! I don’t know what Lucifer threatened you with…”

“He didn’t threaten me with anything!”

“Oh please, like you actually want to spend any time with me.”

“Of course I do! That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to tell ya!”

“...you don’t mean that. No one ever means that.” You crossed your arms, hugging yourself tightly, averting your gaze. Your anger had started to fade and all that was left was an overwhelming sense of sadness.

“Why do ya keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true. It’s just what happens. Whatever it is that lets people make friends, I don’t have it. I always think I do, but it never works out. So why would this time be any different? I just...I can’t do this again.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I love you!” you shouted, having finally reached the end of your patience with Mammon’s endless questions. This wasn’t how you had wanted to tell him. But you didn’t know what else to say at this point because nothing else seemed to be getting through to him.

Cautiously, Mammon took a step forward. Then another. Until he was standing right in front of you. You kept your eyes trained on the ground, refusing to look up. You didn’t want to see the look on his face. Not after you had just confessed to him. It had been bad enough when he yelled at you for holding his hand, and you were sure seeing him now would kill you.

But, Mammon didn’t force the issue. Instead, he slowly reached out for your hands, carefully twining your fingers together as he lowered his head to rest it against yours.

“...do ya mean that?”

“Of course I do,” you mumbled, “But it doesn’t matter. It never matters. I’m not good at this stuff.” You rubbed your fingers over Mammon’s hands, playing with his rings as you tried to distract yourself from the conversation you were having. Your heart was hammering in your chest, and you were so nervous you couldn’t stand it. It almost didn’t seem real to you, to have him standing so close to you, willingly touching you. Perhaps that’s why you weren’t shying away from being honest about your feelings and why you were letting yourself touch him like you were. If it was all only a dream, it didn’t matter anyways.

“It matters to me...I like ya too. A whole lot. And...I’m sorry for makin’ ya feel anything different. It’s just…” Mammon hesitated. This was the most honest he had been with another being in centuries, and his instincts to pull away and run were still strong. But you had been honest with him, and after all the hurt he caused you, it was probably the absolute least he could do.

“It’s just...I know how it feels. Ta not be wanted. And I uh...didn’t trust ya at first. I thought...you would be like my brothers and were just mocking me…”

That last sentence made your heart ache and you lifted your head slowly to look at Mammon. His eyes were closed now, but you could see the tears gathering at the corners and the dampness of his lashes. It was clear to you then that these were his true feelings, and not something he was sharing easily. Without a word, you released his hands, slipping your arms around his waist to pull him into a hug. He flinched at the sudden contact, but didn’t waste any time returning the gesture, wrapping his arms around you and hiding his face in your shoulder.

“I’d never do that,” you replied.

“Well yeah, I know that now.”

“I think you’re amazing, you know? I always have fun with you. And I like spending time with you. When you’re not acting like I’m the plague,” you teased, turning your head slightly to catch a glimpse of Mammon’s face and the faintest hint of a smile that tugged at his lips.

“S’rry. I think yer pretty amazing too. You put up with me an’ my brothers for starters.”

You laughed softly at his reply, feeling his arms tighten around you as he hugged you closer.

“Do you umm...wanna watch a movie…?” Mammon asked, hopeful that you’d take him up on the offer so he’d have a good reason for staying with you a little longer.

“Yeah, we can do that. I didn’t get to finish the movie from the other night.”

You pulled away from Mammon to grab your laptop from beside your bed, before climbing into it and making yourself comfortable. When you looked up, Mammon was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor, blushing furiously.

“Oh. Do you not want to sit here? Sorry! We can…” you started to ramble, terrified you had made him uncomfortable again and already messed up everything that you had just seemed to fix.

“No! It’s uh...not that...umm…” Mammon said, moving to sit on the edge of your bed, “Do you umm...wanna try...ya know...holding hands…?”

You blinked a few times as you processed Mammon’s request, staring at his outstretched hand that he was offering to you. Was this what he had been trying to ask you about after school…?

“I mean! It’s fine if ya don’t want to!”

“Wait!” you grabbed his hand quickly, before he had the opportunity to pull it back, “I’d like that. A lot,” you said, your cheeks heating up in embarrassment, “Can I ask you something?” Mammon nodded as he scooted back onto the bed so that he could sit next to you, “Is this umm, what you were trying to ask me about earlier? When we first got back?”

“Yeah,” now sitting comfortably beside you, he adjusted his grip on your hand, lacing your fingers together and allowing you to snuggle up next to him and rest your head on his shoulder. He was nervous at having you so close, but at the same time, he didn’t think he had ever felt more relaxed. There was a certain comfort in knowing that you felt the same way towards him and weren’t going to chase him off for wanting to be near you. He still had a long way to go in the “open and honest” department, but at least with you he didn’t have to hide his feelings any longer.

As the movie played, Mammon found himself struggling to concentrate. You had said a lot of things earlier when you had been so upset that he hadn’t been sure what you meant, or how he was supposed to respond. One thought in particular kept echoing in his mind that he really felt like he needed to address - that you didn’t feel wanted.

“Hey, do you umm, think we could talk?” he finally asked. You paused the movie and closed your laptop, nervous to hear what he had to say.

“Sure,” you replied meekly and Mammon gave your hand what he hoped would be a reassuring squeeze.

“I guess I just want to make sure you know that I want ya around. I know I can be a bit of an idiot at times and don’t always think things through...but that’s how I feel. And I know my brothers feel the same too.”

“Thank you. For telling me.” You could feel your throat tightening and you knew you were probably close to tears again, as if you hadn’t already cried enough today.

“And I’m gonna prove it to ya, you know? The Great Mammon’s gonna show ya just how special you are.”

A small smile spread across your face as you snuggled closer to Mammon. He nudged you gently with his elbow, which only made your smile broaden, and you nudged him in return, causing him to laugh. It didn’t take long for a full on tickle fight to erupt, which only stopped when Mammon had managed to successfully pin you to the mattress. Realizing the position he was in made Mammon’s face flush, but he didn’t move, and you simply looped your arms around his neck holding him in place with a hug. He carefully lowered his body so he could wrap you up in a hug of his own, as you buried your face into the crook of his neck.

You had been so certain earlier that you’d never get a chance to have a moment like this with him. And part of you feared if you were to let him go, he’d leave for good. But no matter how tightly you held him, Mammon held you just as tight. He too had been waiting for this for a long time and wasn’t about to let you go any sooner than necessary.

—————

The following morning, Mammon was already gone by the time you woke up. The realization stung, but you tried to focus on the positives and pushed those thoughts aside, determined not to let yourself jump to the worst case scenario before you had even eaten your breakfast. You quickly got yourself ready, and made your way downstairs, taking your usual seat at the table. Mammon had yet to make an appearance, so you focused on your food, anxiously waiting for him to join you.

When you heard the dining room doors open, you quickly snapped your head up, smiling as Mammon made his way into the room. He locked eyes with you, grinning, but as soon as he noticed that his brothers were also watching him, he averted his gaze and your heart shattered.

Of course, you thought, how could you have forgotten? Just because he admitted to liking you in private didn’t actually mean he would treat you any differently. The thought made your stomach churn, and you had to fight the urge to dash from the room, choosing instead to return your attention to the food on your plate. This was going to be so much worse now that you knew he was aware of your feelings, you thought, blinking back tears.

Shit.

Mammon had reflexively looked away from you for the briefest of moments when he had become aware of his brothers staring. But almost immediately he had stopped himself and looked back at you to offer you a smile. It hadn’t been quick enough though, and he only caught sight of your face as it fell and you attempted to hide your disappointment. He really hadn’t meant to hurt you. Especially not so soon after the two of you had finally opened up to each other.

And now what was he supposed to do?

Well, there really was only one thing he could think of - Make ‘em jealous.

Taking a deep breath, Mammon walked to his seat, nudging his chair over until it was right next to yours, before finally sitting down. You looked up at him, stunned and confused, and he flashed you his usual cocky grin, which only made your heart leap in your throat. Just what was going on? you wondered.

“Ooo Mammon, you’re sitting awfully close today,” Asmodeus teased.

“What’s it to ya, Asmo? Ya jealous?” Mammon, quipped back as he started serving himself some breakfast. He could feel you staring as you struggled to wrap your head around what was happening, and he smirked, shooting you a sideways glance.

“It’s just not fair that you keep hogging them all to yourself. The rest of us should get a chance to sit next to them too.”

“Enough. It’s too early in the morning for this sort of nonsense,” said Lucifer, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You know, dear brother, you’re going to get horrible wrinkles if you don’t get more rest,” replied Asmo, shifting his attention to Lucifer.

Mammon turned to look at you, not at all surprised to see that you were still staring at him in shock. He looked down at your lap, and you followed his gaze as he opened his right hand, palm up, and offered it to you. You stared at it for a few moments, before finally sliding your hand into his. You looked up at him again, only to find that his cheeks were now a very deep shade of red, one that spread all the way to the tips of his ears. He was clearly not prepared for how...different...it was going to feel to hold your hand when surrounded by his brothers, and you couldn’t help but smile at him.

He was quick to turn his attention to his breakfast, and you did the same, occasionally sneaking glances at Mammon as you ate. Mammon could feel your eyes on him, and while mildly embarrassing, also made him ridiculously happy. Up until yesterday he had been so afraid of making a move in your direction, he hadn’t even stopped to think of the possibility of you actually accepting him. And now that he was holding your hand, he was determined to never let it go.

[klvbxlove]

lunch (yosuke x introverted! gn! reader)

a/n: damn, i’m really out here with ANOTHER yosuke fic, aren’t i? not that i hate it, i have some fun writing for him! but i still can’t get over that one anon calling me a “subconscious yosuke kin” (to whoever sent me that, thanks LMAO). now, a bit off topic, i really wanna try to write for the investigation team girls as well, but i’m having a bit difficulty. so please note that it’s not like i hate the girls (if anything, they’re cool! i especially love naoto. i may or may not have a crush on her). it might take awhile for me to put out another fanfic for one of them that i actually like. 

reader type: gender neutral

reader specification(s): reader is an introvert (**)

genre(s): fluff

trigger warning(s): none

summary: yosuke noticed that you haven’t made the effort to make friends, let alone talk to at least one person, since the day you transferred to his class. he decided he would change that and invite you to lunch.

word count: 1.6k words

(**) i know i could’ve written this in the a/n above, but i felt like i had to point it this right BEFORE the drabble starts. for some people, the reader might not sound like an introvert. i understand. however, being an introvert myself, i did base the reader a little bit off of me and how i act around new people talking to me. 

♡ ♡ ♡ (ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*) ♡ ♡ ♡

key:

(l/n) = last name

♡ ♡ ♡ (ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*) ♡ ♡ ♡

   Yosuke knew that sometimes it would be considered rude (and creepy) to stare at a person for an extended period. 

   But was that enough to stop him from staring at you, though? No.

   Whenever he got a chance during class, Yosuke would gaze his brown eyes upon you. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you would be sitting alone at your desk and not paying attention to anyone around you. And either you would be reading a book or going on your phone. You were always so focused, as well. Yosuke swore the whole class could be extremely high on drugs, and you would pay no mind to it whatsoever. 

   It had only been a few days since you had transferred to his class, but as far as he knew, you still had not made any friends. Although, it did look like you did not care about it. He had never seen you trying to talk to one person in class before, either. 

   Yosuke knew himself as a bit of an extravert who has no problem making friends most of the time. So if anything, he expected himself to have gone up to you and at least introduced himself. But no, instead, all he has been doing was staring at you. Yosuke was conflicted on whether to talk to you or leave you alone. For all he knew, you probably did not like socializing with anyone. 

   At the moment you looked up to make eye contact, Yosuke immediately turned around in his seat. Oh God, he could only hope he did not look awkward or creepy doing that. The last thing he wanted was for a new classmate to have a negative impression on him. 

   Okay, he thought to himself. Maybe I can talk to the new student during lunch later. Maybe I could even invite them to eat with me! Well, unless they don’t want to. I mean, I hope they accept my offer.

-

   Holy crap, I did it! Yosuke felt like he was going stiff for the billionth time. He was currently sitting next to you on the rooftop after you had (surprisingly) accepted his invitation. Although, there was a bit of awkwardness in the air during this time. Yosuke felt too awkward to start eating as he could not help but steal a few more glances at you. Meanwhile, you were eating your lunch in silence while you looked off in the distance. 

   You gotta say at least one thing to (L/N), you know.

   “So, um, what do you think about Yasogami High so far? Is it alright?” Well, it was a bit of an unusual question, but Yosuke figured that he would start with that. “Or, what about Inaba?” 

   You hummed, thinking of how to answer as you chewed your food. “It’s alright. I mean, I haven’t gotten the chance to explore Inaba yet after moving in, so I can’t say how I feel about it so far.”

   Yosuke nodded in understanding. As much as he enjoyed living in Inaba, it was not comparable to big cities in Japan like Tokyo and Osaka. 

   And now that he thought about it, today was also the first time he got to hear your voice again. The last time Yosuke heard you talk was when you had to introduce yourself in front of your new classmates. Since then, you remained quiet amongst the class. 

   But then again, it already sent strange beatings to his heart for no reason. 

   “Is there a reason why you moved here?”

   “Oh, one of my guardians just got a new job in Inaba, so we had to relocate so they could be closer,” you explained. “Well, actually, they also got another job offer in Kyoto, but they wanted to settle with the one here in Inaba. So I was just like, ‘Alright,’”

   For some reason, this intrigued Yosuke. “Interesting,” he commented as he took a bite of his food. “So I assume your family is the quiet type, right?” 

   “Not exactly,” you shrugged. “I mean, I got some extraverted family members. But for a few months, my family began thinking maybe moving somewhere quieter would be a nice change. Not that they hated the city or anything, you know?” 

   “No worries, I get it,” Yosuke smiled at you. “Inaba might not be a big and interesting place, but you learn to like it over time,” 

   But at this moment, Yosuke felt a weird feeling in him when you chuckled, “Yeah, hopefully, I will,” you noted.

   Yosuke had no idea why he suddenly felt a bold of confidence. Just a moment ago, he was hesitant to invite you up to the rooftop for lunch! But he figured he would go through with it. 

   “If you want, I could show you around Inaba during the weekend! I can even bring along my friends, who are all not at school at the moment.”

   You pondered for a bit before you smiled. “That would be nice. I’ll consider it.” Then you tilted your head “And your friends are absent? Like, all of them?” 

   Yosuke chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, literally all of them. All I know is that Yukiko is on vacation with her family, Chie got sick yesterday, and Yu lives in Tokyo. Not sure about Rise, Kanji, and Naoto. So I’m pretty much alone for the day.”

   Wait, he just caught himself. “Oh. Well, I guess ‘alone’ would be the wrong word now that I’m hanging out with you. Haha, oops!” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 

   The awkwardness was rubbing off on Yosuke, and he hated it. Why can he not ever be awesome? He was almost glad when you spoke up. Although, he was scared of your answer.

    “You’re all good,” you smiled as you closed your bento box and put it aside. “I mean, yeah. It honestly sucks when almost all your friends are absent from school. For me, I just sit in class and at lunch alone like, ‘This sucks. Why did you guys have to leave me?!’  

   “It’s kinda weird. Being an introvert, you would think I love lonely and having little to no friends. But no, I still need my small group of friends with me to make it through the school day, or else it will get boring as hell.” 

   Yosuke smiled. “Same here! My friends are great, even though sometimes they can be a pain in the ass. I can feel lonely when I’m not with them for long periods. It was why I wanted to invite you to eat lunch with me. And I also wanted to get a chance to get to know you after you arrived here a few days ago. 

   “Although, I gotta be honest. I was a bit worried that you would decline me. I dunno. I assumed you were the type of person who hated it when someone tries to talk to you. I-Is that a bit weird?” 

   Why are you asking if it's weird? OF COURSE, IT IS!

   Stop making this more awkward for yourself! For all you know, you’re probably making (L/N) uncomfortable!!

   OR HOW ABOUT YOU STOP OVERREACTING?!

   “Hanamura, it’s fine. Not weird at all!” you let out a light laugh. “Listen, it’s not necessarily a thing where I loathe people talking to me. But only if if they come up to me first. Other than that, I would much rather be quiet. If I’m with my close friends, then I can be a bit more talkative. 

   “But I mean, it’s so funny,” you continued, smiling. “My guardians say I’m such an extravert around my close friends and cousins. I talk so much around them, yet with strangers or people I barely know, I’m dead silent. I guess if I become more comfortable around a person, I won’t be as shy.” 

   God damn it, Yosuke knew this might be weird to ask. But he just had to know. “So…I assume you’re slowly becoming comfortable around me? I mean, you are talking a lot!”

   “I guess I am!” you said.

   Well, that was one hell of a quick answer. Eh, not that he minded! 

   Moments passed, but before Yosuke knew it, the both of you continued to talk more. It was not as if he had been around you for the longest time, but he felt like he knew more about you. He felt proud of himself for getting you to open up to him.

   And at this point, Yosuke looked up. He noticed how many of the students who were also on the rooftop were beginning to head inside.

   “Well, class is starting soon. We should probably get going before we’re late,” Yosuke suggested. You nodded in agreement, and both of you stood up. 

   “Hey, Hanamura,” you spoke up. In turn, Yosuke turned to face you and saw a soft smile on your lips (and a blush on his cheeks! Wait, no—).

    “Thanks for inviting me to lunch today, I enjoyed it a lot,” you thanked him, “And I appreciated you talking to me. You were the first person at school to have done that so far. Even though I like being alone, I still liked hanging out with someone after days of barely knowing anyone here.”

   Yosuke knew this for sure. He was proud of himself for offering you the invitation. If he had not, high chances were that you would have continued being quiet, and he would have no clue about who you were. So smiling back at you, Yosuke said, “It’s no problem at all, (L/N)! I enjoyed it, too. Wait, give me just a sec.”

   You tilted your head in confusion when Yosuke pulled out his phone and gave it to you. In a matter of seconds, you realized what the brown-haired boy wanted, judging by the screen showing. But still, you wanted to hear him say it. 

   “Put your phone number in here. And I can text you after school!” 

   With a soft chuckle, you did as Yosuke did. You especially loved seeing his eyes glisten with excitement after handing his phone back.

   And the both of you eventually went back to your classroom, feeling bliss in the air. 

[fear-before-valor]

AU Ficlet: Jim, who was raised by the Order from the age of five, attends Arcadia Oaks High, for his first day of human high school. Weird things happen in Arcadia, though, and his appearance seems to be one such weird thing to the residents in this small, strange town... 

Aka: How an Order-raised Jim met Toby and Claire

Words: 2939 II Warnings: none II ok to rb --

Jim dropped his backpack at the empty desk next to one Tobias Domzalski’s, one of the only people at school who’d been properly friendly to him so far. It was Jim’s first day of mortal high school, and he’d been vetted mercilessly by every student group but Tobias’s, though he was beginning to suspect that said group consisted of only Tobias.

Of course, Jim had been screening his peers right back, but it was still exhausting. He thought he’d been ready after the Order’s… extensive lessons on humanity, and how to fit in with the mortals like himself, but already, everything he’d done felt like it must have been a social faux pas of some kind.

Act quiet around the quiet kids? Then no one speaks, until the silence grows so long that it’s awkward, and starting up a conversation makes it feel painfully forced. So, okay, maybe find some louder kids and try to blend in with them. Except, they start to grow obnoxious, and at some point, the headache simply stops being worth it.

Jim wasn’t even going to dare try and bond with the overly studious; he wasn’t here to vie for valedictorian, nor was he all that interested in making grades that separated him from the pack. Not to mention, he much preferred whatever lessons the Order could teach him anyway. They were very practical things, going over philosophy, strategy, combat, computations. He was already conversational in Bellroc and Skrael’s original languages, and though he knew Spanish would be equally valuable, the Spanish teacher seemed… intense, in a way that Bellroc and Skrael, who could likewise be rigorous sometimes, were not.

In fact, the only class he was indeed eager to take was history—and, okay, perhaps physical education didn’t sound horrendous, so long as he was careful about holding back in certain areas—because while he could learn plenty of history from his very ancient guardians, to hear of human history from the mouths of humans, like himself… it sounded unique, in a way that he hoped was amenable, at the very least, if not genuinely interesting or entertaining.

As he sat down in the chair beside Tobias, the boy seemed to light up, beaming over at Jim, a reaction that he hadn’t expected from his peer. He’d thought he’d rather botched his first conversation with Tobias in homeroom that morning, as he hadn’t known anything about anything that Tobias had referenced (what on earth was Gun Robot?). But, evidently, he must have done something well—or at least, acceptably— because Tobias was leaning over and excitedly holding out his hand to show Jim something which clattered in his palm as he moved. Politely, Jim glanced over to see what it was, and—oh.

Oh no.

That was definitely the remains of a troll.

Tobias was holding out small, grey pebbles for him to see, on which Jim could just make out hints of tattoos that had been etched into the troll while they were alive.

Holding back his mild panic, he gave a tight smile and a nod, as his classmate diagnosed them incorrectly as gneiss—which, admittedly, Jim thought wasn’t a bad guess, really. It’s not like the other boy had any reason to think that the rocks he was holding were anything but an average metamorphic stone.

Tobias was looking to Jim for a response, though, so he opened his mouth to speak, breathing in—

—magic.

Jim froze once more. The distinct tingle of magic had just washed over his senses, keen and undeniable, unlike anything else he’d felt that day.

It was raw, underdeveloped, not yet bolstered by the right teacher, but it was there, and it spoke in tones of purple, pulsing with potential.

Jim was no wizard himself, much preferring combat to the arcane arts, having not a strong penchant for it or its intricacies and delicate, temperamental nature, but even still, he’d been raised with the three most powerful magic-users in the known world. They’d taught him from youth how to recognize when magic was present, how to glean as many clues as he possibly could about it, or who might have cast it, might be walking in it, based on its style and scent, its intensity, or its intentionality. He wasn’t quite the best at sensing the finer details, nor could he find it when it was masked, but when it was open, unhidden, he could feel it like a mild electric shock that one might get when touching a door handle in dry weather; he could sense it like the faint scent of ozone during a storm, or like a prickle on the hairs on the back of his neck, when lightning was about to strike.

What’s going on? He thought, as he turned his head in the direction of the epicenter of the magic. First, there’s troll remains in the hands of a classmate with the same schedule as him, and then there’s—the girl, there. The girl with the blue streak in her hair.

The witch.

She’d caught him staring, as she set her books down on a desk in the front row, a couple columns over from his. Beside her plopped down two more girls—her friends, Jim noted, as they chattered familiarly, cheerfully.

The girl gave him an awkward smile, then, and Jim realized that he must have been staring for a few moments too long, so he rapidly flicked his eyes back to the surface of his own desk, trying not to think about the flush he could feel splash across the back of his neck, or the tips of his ears.

Tobias did not grant him such grace.

“Ooh,” he grinned, smug as a cat in a sunbeam. “That’s Claire Nuñez. President of the drama club, valedictorian candidate, great actress. She’s tied with Seamus Johnson and Shannon Longhannon for top of the class right now, I heard. She’s wicked smart, and—Jim?” Tobias huffed, “Are you paying attention to me?”

Jim’s eyes darted back to his new friend, from where they’d been briefly studying Claire Nuñez’s back, trying to get a more in-depth read on her arcana. He nodded distractedly. “Yeah, yeah, smart, a president; I heard you.”

Tobias sighed, shaking his head. “Jim.”

Jim raised an eyebrow, indicating that he was listening.

“She’s out of your league.” He deadpanned. “She’s super popular, and you’re, no offense, definitely not.”

Jim shot Tobias a confused look, brow furrowing. “What do you mean?”

The boy stared openly at Jim. “What do you mean, ‘what do you mean’? Do you really not— Oh my god.”

Jim blinked. “What?”

Tobias shook his head. “Jim, you’ve kinda… scared a lot of the people in our class today. They don’t know what to think about you. You’re like a giant question mark! No one even knows where you came from—”

“Ohio.” Jim recited his cover story, which Skrael had helped him pick the night previous. They’d chosen a city that started with a c… right. “Columbus, Ohio.”

Tobias shot him a deadpan look. “Okay, fine, Jim Lake from Columbus, Ohio. Why’d you suddenly move to Arcadia, then? Why not L.A.? Why not Burbank?”

Jim frowned. “Do you interrogate every newcomer like this? My parents got a good job opportunity here.” He held up one hand, “And before you ask—real estate.”

“Oh yeah? How come I haven’t seen them put up ads, then?” Tobias crossed his arms. “I’m just saying, dude; I think you’re cool, but you freak a lot of people out with that brooding, silent thing you do.”

Jim snorted. “I do what?”

“Y’know—”

“No, I don’t know—”

“You act, like, all silent and mysterious when people try to talk to you.” Tobias shrugged. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but some people don’t seem as ready to brush it off as me. I’m only telling you so that you can make more friends here.”

“Well, I have you, don’t I?” Jim’s head canted.

Tobias blinked, floundering at that. “Well—y…yeah, I guess so, but—”

“I mean, we are friends, aren’t we?”

It was Tobias’s turn to go a bit pink, shaking his head in bewilderment. “If you want, yeah, but—”

“Then there we go. I have a friend.” Jim smiled.

Tobias tried to protest, “But—” only to find himself cut off as Mr. Strickler strode into the classroom at that moment, placing a leather briefcase on his desk with a decisive thump. Cacophonous voices incrementally petered out, as attentive heads turned to the front of the classroom, where Mr. Strickler had pulled out a stack of syllabi, handing them to the student nearest the door, with the instructions to “take one and pass them,” spoken precisely to the class.

Tobias looked like he wanted to say something when Strickler turned his back to write his name on the chalkboard, but Jim shushed him from the corner of his mouth, opening a fresh, blank notebook as he did so. This was the only class he’d bothered to buy a separate notebook for, and, to be frank, was the only class he’d even intended to take notes in at all.

Tobias looked chagrined, but not angry, as he rolled his eyes and went to fetch a pencil from his own bag. Might as well have something to do with his idle hands for the next hour.

—

As his first day was winding to close, Jim had to admit, having a friend at school did end up making it a little easier.

The rest of his time there had passed largely unremarkably, since a rather thrilling start to the history curriculum. Jim’s hand had shot up just as much as the apparent reigning top of the sophomore class, one Miss Claire Nuñez’s, had— a fact which had, according to Tobias, already begun to percolate across campus.

The lesson had only briefly covered the basics of ancient Rome, going over a bit of easy, more widely known trivia, to see what the class already knew about their oncoming first unit, but, nonetheless, Jim had been eager to jump in, to talk almost directly to Mr. Strickler, going back and forth in the form of a discussion. He’d spoken quietly, quickly, and he’d felt the eyes of his peers glued to his desk, but had ignored the sensation altogether, in favor of listening to what his teacher had to say about aqueducts, instead.

When the hour had finally come to an end, in fact, he’d packed up slowly, most of his classmates abandoning the room as quickly as they could—the lunch period was about to begin—though Tobias was kind enough to wait for him. As such, Tobias was the only other person present to hear Mr. Strickler stop Jim after class, paying a brief compliment to his performance that day, and accompanying his words with a poster for the history club. Jim didn’t think his furtive smile had gone entirely missed by the teacher, but as they’d exited into the now mostly empty hallway, he forgot to worry about it further, as Tobias wasted no time in asking him how the heck his new friend knew so much about history already?

Jim had shrugged it off, saying that it was his favorite subject; and besides, didn’t Tobias— “Seriously, dude, it’s Toby, by the way”— know more about geology than anyone else in their class? The compliment had made Tobias—Toby— preen, and he’d promptly dropped the topic, instead launching into an enthusiastic lecture meant to coach Jim through the cafeteria process. Jim, who had tried to jump in to say that he’d heard this at orientation the week prior, but Toby had shot him an appalled look at that, swiftly informing him that orientation did nothing to help the social side of things. Sure, he knew the motions, but did he know how to do them without standing out in the crowd? Absolutely not—in fact, the thought was almost laughable, according to Toby.

So, Jim had grinned, followed Toby’s lead, and had just barely survived the ever-important lunch line waltz.

The rest of the day had passed mostly the same way, in the end. Toby, having warmed up to Jim, took him through the whole rest of the day, guiding him through the intricacies of Arcadia Oaks High, and by the time the final bell was ringing, Jim almost felt like a normal student. Some of his peers had even started waving to him in the hallways; he’d broken the ice, after all.

Well. He’d thought so, until Toby had said goodbye, peddling away on his bike toward home, leaving Jim alone in the courtyard by the bustling lockers, surrounded by students eager to either go home, as Toby had, or to dive into after-school clubs and sports.

Jim opted to take his time, though, to enjoy the Southern California sun, as he strolled casually across the campus, toward the front of the school grounds.

As he rounded the corner, though, intending to head toward the Arcadia Oaks sign, where he’d stop and shoot off a text to the Order that his first day had gone well, and that he’d be home soon, he felt a tap on his shoulder, instead, and heard a throat being cleared behind him.

He knew who it was before he even turned to face her; her magic had given her away as soon as she’d reached a hand for him.

Despite this, Jim whirled as if she’d caught him by surprise, schooling his features into something startled but friendly, relaxing his shoulders as a polite smile crossed his face, upon seeing her. “Oh, hey. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting—” he rethought his words, shaking his head. “Never mind. …It’s, ‘Claire,’ right?”

She nodded, returning his smile. “Yeah! And you’re ‘Jim Lake’, hm?”

Something about the way she asked that question sent up a warning bell in the back of Jim’s mind, but he tried not to look unsettled; it was probably just nerves.

“Yup; just Jim is fine, though.” He added with a casual laugh.

Claire tilted her head, continuing. “So, you’re quite the history buff, huh?”

Jim’s hands dropped to his pockets, as he glanced at his shoes, then back up to her. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“You guess?” She teased. “You were on fire in class today.” She lifted her chin, to look at him head on. “Do I need to worry about you unseating me, Jim Lake from Columbus, Ohio?”

Jim snorted, shaking his head. “No, no; it’s not like that. History’s just a hobby.”

“Pretty intense hobby, if you know half as much as you seem like you do.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

Jim grinned. “Intense? Like being the president of drama club, the vice president of debate, and the supposed shoe-in for the lead in the play this fall?” he recited, much to Claire’s surprise, who shot him an impressed look.

“Huh. You sure do pay attention, don’t you?”

He glanced around, making it a leisurely movement, concealing the way he was searching for anyone who could overhear, before his eyes met hers again, as he said, “Only to certain people.”

Claire blinked, cheeks reddening, mistaking his meaning. “Oh, yeah? What kinds of people?”

Jim rolled the dice. “Well, people who seem nice, or kind, who I could make friends with. People who do things I wanna do, too, so I can have an ‘in’. Like clubs, and things.” he clarified.

“And, uh…” his voice grew hushed, “Magic-users in the human world.”

Claire’s face fell. “What was that last one?” Her nose scrunched with the skeptical look that overtook her features.

Jim’s eyes darted to look for an exit, realizing coldly—fearfully— that he had grossly miscalculated.

“Uh…” Stupid. He chided himself. Think of a lie before you go backing yourself into a corner. Skrael would be disappointed in him if he were here.

“Did you just say ‘the human world’ like you… aren’t human?” She stared at him suspiciously.

Jim blinked. “What? No. I’m human. Of course I’m human.” He gave a strained laugh. “What else would I be?”

“…Someone who thinks they aren’t?” Claire’s brow furrowed.

“It was a rhetor- well. I mean, I guess that’s true. But I’m not!” He smiled weakly, and then froze for a split-second, rapidly adding, “Someone who thinks they aren’t human! I know I’m human!”

Claire’s eyes shot to the street, where, to her poorly hidden relief, her dad had just pulled up to the curb, there to pick her up. “…Right. Well, Jim Lake from Cleveland, Ohio, my dad’s here, so I need to go, but this has been… interesting.”

Jim nodded rapidly, shooting her one more smile— a sheepish, apologetic one— as he gave her a shy wave. “…Yeah.”

Claire hoisted her backpack onto one shoulder, giving him a half-hearted wave back. “…Bye, Jim.”

“Bye, Claire.”

As she turned to leave, Jim frowned to himself. He wasn’t sure why, but something felt wrong. He supposed it could have been the awkward manner in which he’d acted, but in a flash, he decided that wanted to see her again, just in case that wasn’t it. He couldn’t be too careful.

So, before he missed his chance, he called after her retreating back, “See you around?”

Claire stopped, hand poised on the handle of the passenger side door, freezing there for a heart-pounding pause.

Then, she shot him a look over her shoulder, one of interest, meeting his eyes deliberately. Jim got the sense that he should heed it carefully.

“Yeah. See you around, Jim.”

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Lies

You guys ready for almost twenty straight minutes of Angstdrien Depreste? Neither am I.

Let's get into the third (chronologically the second) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Lies (Oh, I get what they did there).

We open with Marinette struggling to decipher the grimoire she inherited from Fu, before two of the Kwamis screw around and play a video about Adrien.

Jesus Christ... it hasn't even been an episode since she broke up with Luka, and the writers are already back to making her simp over Adrien again. And this part of the episode takes place during “Truth”, where she's still dating Luka. This is supposedly meant to show her conflicting feelings regarding both Adrien and Luka, but it just comes across as yet another joke about Marinette simping over Adrien because the writers have forgotten she has other interests outside of her hero life.

And here we go. The writers are going to go out of their way to make the audience feel bad for Adrien in this episode by showing how tough his life is. What do we see him do that is allegedly so exhausting? He models for another statue, goes to a photoshoot, and then goes to some drama class where he repeats some phrase (I think it's supposed to be a warmup, but it's never explained why he's there in the first place). That's it. This is his definition of an “endless day”? Oh yeah, his life must be soooooooo hard.

Adrien is a rich white boy who is the son of one of the biggest names in fashion across the world, has legions of fans, an honest education, and is also one of the most beloved superheroes in the city while not having to struggle with the same responsibility his partner has. But no, Adrien's life is much harder than anyone else who has suffered this past year. It's yet another trick the writers are pulling to make people feel bad for Adrien instead of criticizing his behavior. I'm sorry, but I find it a little hard to relate to someone whose biggest problems amount his diamond shoes being too tight.

Good lord, I'm not even a minute in...

So Adrien transforms into Cat Noir and heads off to patrol. Keep in mind that the first part of this episode takes place during the events of “Truth”, so we see how he reacts to Ladybug not showing up for patrol. He waits for a while before he starts, but not before leaving a message for his partner.

Now, this moment honestly could have worked. What doesn't make it work is the air quotes Cat Noir starts off with. If he had said something like that honestly and kept his feelings a secret, it could have shown he understands the burden Ladybug has to bear now that she's the Guardian, but doesn't want to worry her. The problem is that the way he phrased the first sentence coupled with the air quotes make it seem like he doesn't care about what Ladybug has to deal with now, and only wants her to spend time with him.

You think I'm being overdramatic or I'm just jumping to conclusions? In the very next scene, Cat Noir actually tries to see if Mr. Ramier is emotional enough to get akumatized into Mr. Pigeon again just so he can see Ladybug.

This is just... why? Why would any of the writers expect the audience to feel bad for Cat Noir here? It's one thing for him to miss Ladybug's company, which is natural considering how much time they spend together, but wanting to start a life-threatening situation just to see Ladybug just isn't cool. What makes this any different from Chloe causing a subway to go out of control so she can save it herself, or Lila intentionally akumatizing herself and working with Hawkmoth just because she hates Ladybug? If you can find a reason other than “because the plot says so”, I'll want to hear an explanation.

So Cat Noir goes to Le Grand Paris to drown his sorrows in alcohol with his favorite drink, a White Russian without the vodka and coffee liqueur. Also, instead of cream, it's skim milk. And speaking of Chloe, we see her get into a brief squabble with Sabrina over missing a bag she has underneath her shoulder, and Cat Noir gets excited again at the prospect of getting to fight an Akuma, but thankfully, the situation is resolved fairly quickly.

Ignoring how unheroic this makes this supposed “superhero” look, I have a quick question. SHOULDN'T CHLOE BE IN PRISON RIGHT NOW? She essentially committed treason against her country by willingly conspiring with a terrorist. I get that everyone in Paris was paralyzed at the time, but did Ladybug not tell anyone what happened? How is she not in trouble? Did her father pardon her or something? Is she not even going to do any community service? You would think given how much Astruc hates her, Chloe would be forced to face more consequences for her actions other than losing her Miraculous permanently. Hopefully, “Queen Banana” will shed some light on Chloe's situation, but I'm not exactly holding my breath on that.

But yeah, Cat Noir actually gets excited at the prospect at fighting an akumatized Sabrina, while ignoring how cruel Chloe's being to her, because I guess it's a day that ends with a “Y”. Remember when Adrien actually called out  Lila and compromised with her in order to get Marinette back into school? Good times.

Cat Noir keeps calling and leaving messages for Ladybug, but changes his mind as soon as he sees Kagami, because he has the attention span of a puppy looking for someone to play with. Adrien stares at his phone's wallpaper of Ladybug, implying he still has feelings for her, and is then informed by Nathalie that his fencing class with Kagami was moved back by an hour. In reality, it was a trick by Kagami to get the two to spend some quality time together.

They choose to hang out in the art room because, get this, Kagami has always had a passion for drawing. Of course! That explains why it's never been mentioned in any earlier episodes, not even the one where she attended the premiere of an animated movie, which is a similar form of art. It's almost like the writers wanted to have Kagami do something that doesn't involve swinging a sword around. It's a good reason, mind you, but maybe if it was foreshadowed more, I would be more open to it.

Kagami says that she loves drawing because “art never lies”. Because it's not like someone can draw something completely inaccurate to what's actually being depicted, much like a certain character who likes to make up stories of people she knows to get others to like her, right? Kagami also says that her mother doesn't let her draw because she doesn't think her art isn't good, even though she's blind. Because when it comes to parents in Miraculous Ladybug, they're either amazing people who love their children, or they're emotionally abusive pieces of garbage who make you wonder why they even had kids in the first place. There is literally no middle ground. Maybe some of the writers have daddy issues?

So Kagami decides to draw a picture of Adrien, but wants him to give her a more “natural” pose instead of the standard model poses he usually gives.

Okay, this scene is raising so many red flags, the dialogue might as well be in semaphore. Where the hell did this side of Kagami come from? Why is she so controlling and forceful all of a sudden? In fact, why is she so obsessed with Adrien being “perfect”? The two made jokes before in the past (Desperada), and even spent half of the Season 3 finale playing around with Marinette? Why is she now Little Miss Serious?

Also, Kagami is really overstepping boundaries with Adrien here. Like, to a seriously uncomfortable degree. I get she isn't good with social cues, but how can she not see how anxious Adrien looks while she forces him into a pose, all while saying how wrong he is for doing what he sees as “natural”? This is not what a healthy relationship looks like, and spoiler alert, this isn't exactly why they even break up at the end of the episode.

Before the two can kiss while they're actually at fencing practice, Adrien is forced to leave Kagami to help Ladybug fight Mr. Pigeon (which means the narrative basically gave him what he wanted for no reason), leading to the same scene where Ladybug almost kills him, while he jokes about how he likes how angry she gets, and she apologizes for something that wasn't her fault. Just remember, he flirts with Ladybug right after he left his girlfriend to join her for an Akuma battle. The same montage from “Truth” happens, only it's Adrien missing opportunities to be close with Kagami, culminating with the little Kitty Section concert that happened right before Luka got akumatized.

While the two wait for their rides, Adrien accidentally drops the charm Marinette gave him all the way back in “Gamer”, which Kagami picks up. When he sees an Akuma flying, Adrien soon heads off to fight him, saving Ladybug from blowing her cover. After the events of “Truth”, Adrien apparently heads to Prince Ali's birthday party (yet Rose isn't there for some reason), meaning the second half of this episode takes place immediately after the previous one, even though it's been established that Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth needs time to recharge.

After Cat Noir flirts a little with Ladybug again, he heads off to the party to meet up with Kagami. When he had to leave to fight Truth, Adrien claimed that he left something on the Liberty, which Adrien later claims was the charm Marinette gave him. Kagami soon realizes he's lying about something, and doesn't take it well.

There's a good performance from Kagami's voice actress here, and it's a nice parallel to Luka, who also feels a sense of betrayal when Marinette can't be honest with him. But this scene does tie into the problem with Adrien and Kagami in this episode, and I'll get into it towards the end.

Kagami storms off, and is immediately akumatized by Shadowmoth, turning her into Lies.

Like Truth, the design here is really forgettable. The design is all white and gives Kagami a haircut that looks like it belongs in The Jetsons, but that's it. The one thing I like about her is the way her powers work. Instead of going from victim to victim, Lies creates an energy dome that slowly grows and paralyzes anyone has lied before in the past, which is basically everyone who comes into contact with it. It's a pretty interesting idea, and it means that Ladybug and Cat Noir have to rely more on strategy while avoiding any contact with the dome.

Adrien transforms into Cat Noir and charges into action, with Jagged Stone offering to help out.

I don't think you can say the same for your family, can you, Jagged?

Cat Noir tells Jagged to get to a safe place, but much like his one night stand with Anarka, he refuses to pull out, so he gets paralyzed by the dome, along with everyone in the building.

Ladybug meets up with Cat Noir and immediately summons her Lucky Charm, a remote control drone. Since it hasn't lied, it can go into the dome and be used as surveillance while Cat Noir distracts Lies. While it seems like nobody inside the dome can touch Lies, Ladybug realizes that Fang, Jagged Stone's pet crocodile, hasn't lied either, so she uses the drone to lure him out of the building.

Cat Noir thinks of a way to distract Lies by doing what he always does to increase the tension.

You know, I thought of a little game we could play. Why don't we count how many times Cat Noir sacrifices himself this season? So far, the Cat Noir Self-Kill Counter is at 1, but I'm guessing it will be higher the longer this season goes on.

So while Lies is distracted by Cat Noir's unconscious body, Fang runs over and breaks her corrupted object, Marinette's charm. So after using Miraculous Ladybug, Ladybug runs over and, for good reason, I may add, scolds Cat Noir for recklessly sacrificing himself yet again.

You know if this plan failed, not only would Shadowmoth get your Miraculous, but Ladybug would be all alone, you idiot! And we're supposed to find this reckless endangerment funny!? Seriously, Ladybug smiles at Cat Noir's stupid little quip as he still flirts with her right after he got into a fight with his girlfriend.

The next day, Adrien apologizes to Kagami, but she says she can't trust him, not as a boyfriend, and not as a friend either. And here is the problem with the Adrigami breakup. Like with the Lukanette breakup, it chooses to focus on one detail instead of the other, and glaringly obvious detail. The episode is trying to say that the whole reason Kagami and Adrien can't work as a couple is because of Adrien keeping his life as Cat Noir a secret. In reality, both of them have problems that they need to work on before they consider dating. Kagami has shown herself to be a massive control freak in this episode because of her own vision of what Adrien is like, showing she doesn't respect his boundaries or beliefs.

And Adrien? Where do I begin?

Adrien clearly shows several signs that he hasn't moved on from Ladybug with how much he flirts with her, even before he and Kagami got together, and there's the fact that unlike Marinette who realizes how she can't have a love life, it doesn't feel like Adrien actually learned that lesson.

We are supposed to see Adrien focusing on his secret life as Cat Noir as the responsible thing to do, and that like Ladybug, he needs to prioritize being Cat Noir over dating. The thing is that this episode has only showed how he doesn't take any of the hero stuff seriously. Throughout the episode, he treats being Cat Noir as a fun pasttime, when it comes to craving Ladybug's attention to the point where he's just short of causing an Akuma attack out of desperation until he sees someone else to spend time with, constantly flirts with Ladybug despite how annoyed she can come across, doesn't understand any of the stuff she has to deal with now that she's Guardian, and will sacrifice himself all so Ladybug can do all the work for him. He doesn't care about anything unless he gains something in return. It doesn't matter if lives are in danger, he thinks his personal feelings are more important because his civilian life is sO hAaArRd.

At one point when we were all kids, we all wanted to be superheroes because we all thought the idea of having superpowers and the freedom to do whatever we wanted sounded awesome. But that's not what being a hero is. We never thought about the responsibility that comes with being a superhero. One of the main themes of superhero media that we all watched growing up was that they would help us to learn right from wrong, and that sometimes, personal sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, and our feelings just aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. Whether we learned this lesson from Superman, Spider-Man, Sailor Moon, the Power Rangers, or even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, what matters is that by the time we reached the age of these heroes, we would have a similar moral compass so we would understand why these heroes would make some of the choices they did, and we would be able to make similar choices if we encountered situations like the ones they went through.

Part of growing up is realizing that being a superhero isn't all fun and games. Sometimes, you need to put your own personal desires aside to make sure nobody gets hurt because of something you did or didn't do. We are currently in the fourth season of this show, and after 82 episodes, Cat Noir has still failed to learn that lesson. He doesn't understand that even if his “true self” is clowning around, that's not how a hero acts. You don't see Batman or Captain America acting this way, and you don't see real life soldiers or emergency workers acting this way either.

And that's not even getting into the fact that this is the same problem the Lukanette breakup had. Even though Marinette had a valid reason to break things off with Luka because she realized being Guardian was more important, the narrative framed it like she was still into Adrien, no matter if she was making an effort to get over him. Likewise, even though both Adrien and Kagami have issues the narrative refuses to actually acknowledge, they frame it as Adrien's hero life was ruining their relationship, when in reality, the reasons for both the Adrigami breakup and the Lukanette breakup should have been flipped. “Truth” should have been about Marinette coming to terms with her new responsibilities as the Guardian, and “Lies” should have been about Adrien realizing he needs to work on his own personal issues before he considers his feelings for Kagami or Ladybug.

So the episode just ends with Ladybug and Cat Noir saying that even if they have to keep secrets about their identities, they can still trust each other. Also, before Kagami dumped him, Adrien reaffirmed his feelings for Ladybug (the only time they were actually referenced outside of flirting and his phone's wallpaper), which implies that Adrien is going to continue to pursue Ladybug, having learned nothing from this whole episode.

You know, after watching both this episode and “Truth”,  and seeing how it undid two of the major changes from the Season 3 finale, does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all? Does it almost feel like you've been here before? How am I gonna be a optimist about this? Hell if I know, this episode's honestly worse than “Truth” was.

Put aside your feelings on the Adrigami breakup, the pacing here was awful. Because the writers thought it would be interesting to have some continuity for once by having it take place right after “Truth”, the timeline is incredibly confusing. Can Shadowmoth just create more Akumas at once without having to recharge? And shouldn't Ladybug and Cat Noir be exhausted from having to fight two Akumas and a Sentimonster in one day?

Even then, about half of the episode was spent following Adrien as he whined about how hard he supposedly has it, proving despite what Astruc continues to state, he is far from perfect, and like what he loves to say about Chloe, refuses to change. Wow, that's so interesting. And we're supposed to feel bad for Cat Noir and be mad at Ladybug for missing their patrol, forgetting everything she's been going through in the last week, considering how Gabriel just fixed the Peacock Miraculous, suggesting that the events of “Truth” and “Lies” happened not too long after “Miracle Queen”. Even the Akuma fight wasn't that interesting because it was crammed into about five minutes thanks to everything else going on in this episode.

In an attempt to make the audience sympathize with him, this episode only made me loathe the way Adrien is portrayed even more. Seriously, he reaches “Frozer” levels of unlikability in this episode. Maybe he'll get some much needed character development, but given how much Astruc will put him on a pedestal and ignore his flaws, I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon.

But I still don't see the point of spending so much time building up this relationship for two seasons just to end it as soon as they hook up. At the end of the day, all Lukanette and Adrigami amounted to was filler. It was a way to get in some romantic scenes for the fans while the writers continue to drag out the Love Square drama like a taffy puller. And now that Luka and Kagami have served their purpose, watch as Astruc and the other writers start to slowly remove them from the narrative until they appear about as often as Nino does now.

After all, why care about anything in this show that isn’t related to the Love Square? It’s clear none of the writers do.

[hogarthwrites]

just friends

pairing: young samuel drake/reader (m/f) 

genre: fluff

warnings: none

words: 3,155

summary:

Sam's your best friend, and you're hopelessly in love with him. It's cliche and it's stupid, but you can't help it. Is it really okay to be in love with your best friend even though you know it might ruin things between you two?

note:

Hi! This is a two-part story. The first part takes place in the past, in 1989, while the second part will take place in the present day.

tags: unrequited love, best friends

1989

You stared at your notebook covered in doodles as your history teacher, Mr. Phelps, talked on and on. A 90 minute class felt like three hours and you couldn't wait to just get out to see Sam.

Your vision kept blacking out as you tried to stay awake, something Mr. Phelps noticed right away.

“It was ironic that the British Empire condemned pirates when they pillaged and stole more than those buccaneers ever have, isn't that right?” The old man was looking directly at you and you blinked yourself awake and nodded.

“Yup, I agree,” you tried to act like you were interested.

“Welcome back,” he laughed.

You sighed and slumped further into your chair. 3 o’clock couldn't come any sooner.

As soon as class ended, Mr. Phelps asked to talk to you and you gulped as you picked your backpack up and walked to his desk where he was looking through papers.

“I'm worried about you,” he slid a paper across to you and y ou picked it up and frowned at the F in red taunting you.

“I'm gonna have to ask for a guardian or parent’s signature on this.”

“Really?” You sighed.

“I'm sorry, but it's just school policy,” Mr. Phelps shrugged. “Look, don't be afraid to ask questions, alright? I'm here to help.”

“Sure,” you pursed your lips and shoved your test paper into your bag.

Sam was lying on the grass in the park and reading a book when you found him, and you tilted your head to see what the book was. Treasure Island . Again.

“You know grass stains your jeans?” You nudged him with your Nike Cortez sneakers.

“Well look who the cat dragged in,” Sam gave you a lopsided grin as his brown eyes met yours.

You felt your cheeks burn and you quickly sat down next to him so you wouldn't have to face him. It was something you didn't want to admit, but you had a budding crush on Samuel Morgan, your cocky, way too ambitious best friend who was probably deranged.

“Fuck my life,” you groaned as you plopped down on the grass.

“I thought grass stains your jeans,” Sam tugged at your denim skirt.

“Fuck you,” you stuck your tongue out.

“Oof, cranky.”

“Sorry, it's just been such a shit day.”

“What happened?”

You pulled your test and put it on his chest. “That happened. Uncle Arthur’s going to skin me alive.”

Sam looked at the paper, and you almost thought he was going to laugh because he looked so amused, but instead he sat up.

“Let me help you,” he simply said.

“Help me?”

“Yeah! Like those tutor people.”

“What makes you the history expert?”

“My mom taught me, and pirates are kind of my thing. You know that,” this time it was Sam who nudged you with his worn out Chuck Taylors. “Come on, let me help you.”

“Fine, but can you do me a favour?” You propped yourself up on your elbows.

“Yeah, what is it?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Can you wait for me outside if Arthur decides to kick me out?”

It was a joke of course. Arthur wouldn't dare kick out his favourite -- and only -- niece. He did, however, lecture you about your priorities and banned TV for a month. As soon as you got to your room, you looked out your window and saw Sam smoking next to his red motorcycle.

You waved out a handkerchief to signify that things were good, and you could've sworn you heard Sam laugh before he drove away.

Sam’s apartment was actually a room he'd rented out in an older woman’s ( she’s just a friend , Sam had said) home near the city. It had a bed in the corner with an Indiana Jones poster above it and books piled on the wardrobe.

You sat on the floor, your back against the bed while you wrote the essay Mr. Phelps asked you to do while Sam read on his bed. Soft music played from somewhere outside and it was softly raining outside and all you wanted to do was lie down on the cool floor and take a nap.

“Done,” you announced as you finished your last sentence.

“Alright,” Sam plopped down in front of you, your knees touching. “Show me what you’ve done.”

Saying nothing, you held it out for him and buried your face between your knees.

“Hmm,” Sam grunted. “I mean, you’ve certainly memorised what you needed, but…”

“But?” You peeked up at him and saw that he was sucking in his cheek.

“But why was it important that pirates like Thomas Tew and Henry Avery pillaged the East India company?”

“For treasure?” You cocked your head to the side.

“Close, but you see, India’s economy dwarfed Europe’s at that time, and there weren’t any powerful navies in the Indian Ocean, which made a lot of the vessels there an easy target,” Sam explained, his hands flailing around as he talked. He did that a lot, and you thought it was kind of cute.

“Oh, alright,” you wrote what he was saying down on a piece of paper. “You make it a lot easier to understand than my stupid textbook.”

“Good to know,” Sam grinned. “If you get a good grade, I’ll take you out. My treat.”

Your face lit up. “Promise?”

“I promise. We’ll go anywhere… As long as I can afford it.”

“I’m holding you to that promise,” you stuck your tongue out.

It was quarter past nine when you were done rewriting your essay and Sam had fallen asleep. He was your ride home, but you figured if you walked fast enough you’d get home before 10 PM. You put your books away and looked at Sam who was gently snoring, his brown hair messy on his pillow.

He stirred when you covered him with a blanket, muttering something under his breath that you couldn’t really make out.

“Good night, Sam,” you whispered as you turned off the light and stepped out.

Sam was waiting outside after school with a smug look on his face. You held up the paper as you approached him, doing a little victory dance before giving it to him.

“What can I say?” He shrugged. “I’m a wonderful tutor.”

“Oh please, you were asleep for most of it,” you jokingly punched him in the shoulder.

“I think the A on this piece of paper makes your point moot.”

“Fine,” you giggled as you took your paper back and stuffed it back into your bag. “Where are you taking me then?”

Sam hopped onto his motorcycle and patted the seat behind him. “I dunno, it’s your choice.”

“Hmm,” you tapped your chin. “I’ve always wanted to go on a picnic.”

“Really?” Sam raised an eyebrow. “Alright. But what about food? It’s not a picnic without food.”

You ended up buying burgers and a small cake at a local diner and without a picnic blanket, you laid out a little lace handkerchief on the grass where Sam meticulously set the food. It looked a little ridiculous, but it was the best you both could have done with what little budget Sam had and at short notice too.

It was a cool evening and you happily ate your burgers while Sam blabbered on about Henry Avery. When he leaned back, his pinky touched yours and you froze, unsure if you wanted to move away or not. It was funny how just the tip of his finger touching yours made you feel hot and all you wanted to do was take his hand in yours.

Sam kept talking, but you wondered if he noticed that you probably just stopped breathing. You read plenty of romance books, hell, you even ready Forever by Judy Blume, but you never knew what it felt like to actually be in love. No, you shook away the thoughts. I can’t be in love with Sam… This is just infatuation. Nothing else.

You practically memorised him, the way he’d run his fingers through his unkempt hair, how he’d talk with his hands, how he’d bite his lip when he was upset. You saw him fall in and out of love with a variety of people, and you were always there for him. It was almost pathetic how much you knew about Sam Morgan, and you wondered if he memorised you the same way you did with him.

Something cold dripped on your cheek and you looked up as rain started pattering down.

“Oh shit,” you frantically picked the mostly eaten cake up while Sam picked up whatever was left of the burgers and the handkerchief and followed you to a gazebo nearby.

“Well, that ruined a perfectly good picnic,” Sam had his hands on his hips. “Is the cake alright?”

You looked down at the soggy cake. “It had better days.”

Sam laughed before he stuck his paper cup into the cake to get another slice.

“Really?” You looked up at him.

“What?” He shrugged between bites. “It’s still a cake. It’s not like the rain is dirty or anything.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“It’s fine,” Sam shrugged again. “Thanks for the picnic, by the way.”

“Nah, you paid for it.”

“But it was your idea. I haven’t been on a picnic since…”

Since his mom passed away. He suddenly looked forlorn.

“I know, Sam,” you reached out and touched his arm.

“Do you mind if I steal this picnic idea? Nathan might like this too,” he forced himself to smile.

“Not at all. Tell him I say hi, alright?”

“Sure thing.”

The rain lasted long enough for Sam to mostly finish what was left of the cake and once the sky cleared up, he drove you home.

“Thanks for helping me, by the way,” you smiled as you stood by his motorcycle. You could hear the sound of a TV blaring inside and you knew Arthur was probably waiting up.

“That’s just what friends do, right?” Sam grinned. Right. We’re just friends .  “I’ll see you on Monday?”

You nodded and watched him drive away. Arthur was fast asleep on the sofa while an old western played. You were always grateful he took you in when your mother ran off to Europe and your dad felt you were too much responsibility, but it made you sad Sam and Nathan didn’t have the same privilege.

You turned the TV off and placed your somewhat damp essay on the coffee table before going to your room.

I don’t love him . It was a lie you constantly told yourself. Believing it was getting harder every time you were with Sam and you could barely look him in the eyes without butterflies fluttering in your stomach. You tried to make yourself stop, but you just ended up thinking about him more.

Your grades improved, much to Arthur’s delight and you hoped you could keep it up until after graduation at least. You applied to some colleges, but you were nervous with your mediocre grades and lack of extracurricular activities.

“And I can’t escape / I’m a slave to love…” Sam sang as he tossed a baseball up and down. He didn’t seem like it, but he was a pretty good singer. You were on the floor again doing your homework while he sang along to the song that was playing outside.

“Is there a bar here or something?” You asked.

“Nah,” his brown eyes followed the baseball. “There’s this old man who plays music on his roof. The lady says it’s because he misses his wife or something.” He shrugged. “It’s not too bothersome. He has good taste.”

“I guess it’s better than Arthur’s loud westerns at home,” you muttered. “That’s sad though. He must have really loved his wife.”

“Yeah,” Sam simply shrugged.

“What? You don’t think you’ll be an old man yearning for his spouse someday?”

“I don’t even think I’ll fall in love, to be honest,” he ran his fingers through his hair.

You laughed. God, I hope you’re wrong .

“What about you?” He nudged you with a socked foot.

“Gross, get your nasty socks away from me!” You shrieked, which made him push his foot against your back more. “Sam, stop, I swear you’re disgusting.”

“Come on,” he teased. “I bet you have a little crush. Was it Vicky? Whatever her name was? The one with the…” He gestured at his chest.

“No!” You grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. “Don’t be rude. Vix is just a good friend, and she’s dating some guy anyway.”

Sam gave you a smug grin. “Alright. Keep your secrets.”

It was quiet again while you went back to your homework, your heart pounding from the interaction. What a bastard, you thought. If he knew… If he knew I had a crush on him, this would all be over. You didn’t want to think about what it would be like without Sam.

“I got this fancy letter for you from the University of Texas at San Antonio,” Arthur strolled into your room and handed you a letter. “You really wanna move that far away from your ol’ Uncle Arthur?”

“It’s a good university,” you stuck your tongue out as you tore open the envelope. “Please, please, please,” you whispered.

You barely read past the “Congratulations!” when you squealed and jumped out of bed. “I made it!”

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” Arthur embraced you. He looked at the letter then frowned. “Biology?”

“Yeah, I think I kinda wanna be a doctor someday,” you bit your nail.

“And someday you will be,” he ruffled your hair. “Promise you’ll phone as much as you can, alright?”

“I’m still here, Uncle Arthur.”

“You’ve just grown up so fast,” he sighed. “What am I gonna do when you’ve gone off to be a doctor?”

“You could get a dog?”

“Huh,” he grunted. “Maybe.”

A week later, he came home with a puppy named John.

As graduation loomed closer, you felt excited, but you were left with a melancholy feeling of having to leave Sam behind. He was his usual, oblivious self, but you wanted to do it. You wanted to tell him before you left.

It was getting warmer again, so it was different to see Sam without a jacket on as he squatted on the pier, skipping rocks in the river. It seemed like there was something on his mind and he didn’t even notice you coming up to squat next to him. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a rock skipping far.

“Nice,” you said and he looked at you in surprise.

“Oh, hey,” he gave a weak grin. “Didn’t know you were here already.”

“Yeah, you seem busy.”

“Nah, just got a new job out of state.”

“You're leaving?” You felt your heart drop.

“In the fall, yeah, but not for long I hope.”

Sam fell silent, and you felt your heart beat quickly in your chest. Was this the right time? You were graduating in a few weeks, then you were off to San Antonio, unsure when you were ever going to see Sam again.

“Sam,” your voice was weak and he hummed in response. “I–I have something to tell you.”

“Yeah? What's that?” He looked worried when he turned to you.

“I could tell you anything, right? Promise you won't laugh?” Your cheeks flushed and you felt like your heart was gonna leap out of your chest. What am I doing?

“I won't laugh.”

At three, you took a deep breath. One... two…

“Sam, I like you,” you blurted out. “No, I think I'm in love with you.”

His expression softened at your words.

“I'm sorry, I tried my best not to let it get to me, but we're parting soon and I just thought–”

“I've always known,” Sam interrupted.

“What?”

“That you have a crush on me.”

“Oh.”

“I didn't wanna say anything because this is the best friendship I've ever had, and I don't wanna ruin what we have. We're great like this.”

Oh .

Best friendship.

The butterflies in your stomach turned into moths and you wanted to vomit. A lump in your throat grew and you held your breath. The last thing you wanted to do was to cry in front of Sam.

“I'm sorry,” you looked down at your feet.

“Hey,” he lightly nudged you. “We'll always be close. I'll write to wherever you are in the world. I promise.”

“Alright,” you nodded weakly. “Thanks, Sam.”

“Bring it in,” he held out his arms and you leaned into his embrace, trying not to sob into his shoulder.

You spent the night crying while you packed your bags, deciding not to bring anything that reminded you of Sam to college with you. You had to get over him.

Your chest felt heavy as you felt your heart break with every stupid lovesong that came on the radio. Why did you even bother confessing, of course Sam wouldn't be into you. Why would you even want to ruin your friendship like that?

The day you had to leave for the airport, Sam was at your window early in the morning.

“Mornin’, college student,” he smiled as he climbed into your room.

“I thought you were going to see me off at the airport,” you yawned.

“Just thought we could spend a bit more time together,” he looked around your now empty room. “Wow. You're really leaving.”

“Yeah,” you sighed. “San Antonio, here I come.”

Sam didn't react, instead he turned back to look at you, his brown eyes scanning your face. “Hey listen, uh, a few weeks ago… I'm sorry about that.”

“Oh,” you sat on your bed. “No, it's fine. You're right, we're great friends.”

“I didn't mean to break your heart or anything.”

“I completely understand, Sam.”

He reached into his pocket and asked for your hand. There he placed a little medallion with a star engraved on it. It looked more like a little coin with a chain pierced through it.

“Here, it's a late graduation gift. I couldn't get out of work to buy it early enough, but I made it just in time last night.”

“Sam, this is beautiful,” you gasped. You made your way to the vanity and put the necklace on.

“It's just so you won't forget me, the most amazing friend you could ever ask for,” he looked smug.

“And it was such a sweet moment too,” you shook your head. “Thanks, Sam. I don't think I can ever forget you.”

You hugged him, feeling his arms around you tightly. At the moment, you felt your heart break, suddenly missing someone who was right in front of you. Your tears flowed, and you buried your face into his shirt as he soothed you.

“Promise we'll see each other next summer?”

“Promise.”

“Promise you'll write and call?”

“I promise.”

But Samuel Morgan was gone by the next summer.

[appanako]

Hanako and Tsukasa (separately) with a restless, hyperactive s/o who can't stay still for long. They struggle to hold conversations because they can't stay focused on the other person's words, but they appreciate anyone who talks to them despite this. Whenever the lads hug/cuddle/kiss the s/o, they start fidgeting and trying to slip away after a few seconds because they constantly feel the need to move but will try to restrain these impulses if the lads seem like they need the affection.

I was nervous about writing for Tsukasa but ended up enjoying it a lot… too much, even. Anyways! Your comments when you reblog my posts might as well breathe life into me andjdn 💖 I’ll have you know that I see you, and I love you. Hope you enjoy these!

hanako & tsukasa | with a hyperactive s/o

word count: 1395 words

warnings: tsukasa none

Hanako:

This lovely boy ALWAYS has his s/o’s best interest in mind. He knows they struggle sometimes, and he understands!

His s/o would be bouncing from wall to wall one minute, and he’d be right next to them, laughing with them about whatever they’re ranting one minute—

Or he’ll be floating at a distance when his s/o is feeling down.

Because, however endearing he may find them when they lose focus for a second but snap back to attention, or when they are fiddling with Hakujoudai in a moment of absent-mindedness, he sees how sullen his s/o can get when people make bad comments about them! :(

Luckily for his s/o, he knows exactly how to make their mood skyrocket in a second flat!

Perks of dating a hyperactive s/o like that is that he can get them outta the dumps real easy.

He’s… not great at heart-to-hearts.

But he is great at f u n!

Boundaries are one snap of his fingers away!

Fair in a boundary? Park? He’s got it covered.

Let’s not even go that far— they can do just about anything IN the school! Play cards with the Mokke if they can sit still long enough to finish the game, mess around in the kitchen, you name it!

So he basically just distracts them lmfao.

But the method’s worked thus far so??? No moping, no problem, right?

It’s all smiles when they’re together!

Hanako, the wholesome apparition, adjusts to his s/o’s pace perfectly.

“And then I bought my doll at—”

Oh, his s/o twitched a little. Of course he’d notice— is he talking too slow? Is that what’s giving them trouble engaging?

“—ThisOneBoundaryFullOfSexyItemsAnd—!”

Yeah, talking faster won’t help, Hanako. Bonus points for effort, though! They did not comprehend a single word lol— got distracted, oops!

He tries 😫👊

Given that his s/o is somehow able to touch him he’d be all over them.

He loves his s/o and giving them affection! When he sees them, his first instinct is to cheer and glomp them with a “Yay!”

He’d cuddle the rest of his ghostly life if he could. But his s/o just. Won’t. Sit. Still.

When they start whining that they want to be let go, he will— reluctantly.

He lets them go with a slight pout and watches as they give in to the urge to just move.

He gets it, but also he just wants some cuddles you know? :(

His s/o notices how Hanako is the actual embodiment of (｡í _ ì｡) and they feel bad cuz!! They also wanna show him some love! It’s just not easy!

It’s not like they can just be a statue and kiss him forever… so maybe a quick, small peck will do?

Hanako is ALL about that! He loves those!

One teeny tiny peck and after a moment of processing it he lights up and gets a blush and it’s cute af.

You know the big, close-eyed smile? That’s the one he makes.

After the first time, it’s over for his s/o.

He doesn’t mean to embarrass them, but every time he sees them in the hallways? Peck. When they’re on lunch break? Peck. Trying to focus in class? Peck.

They quickly react and to the folks that don’t see supernaturals it looks like they’re just laughing and talking to themselves.

“What’s up with them this time? Geez”

Hanako may or may not give them quite the fright because no one talks of his s/o like that.

But that’s another thing! If they can’t focus on the lesson, Hanako might just swoop in and have them play hang-man or tic-tac-toe with him instead of taking notes. Perhaps it doesn’t help them in the long run, but it certainly provides the relief they need at the time when they’re feeling jittery and restless in class!

He totally gets Tsuchigomori to tutor them later anyway.

On particularly good days, or when his s/o is just super tired, he gets to cuddle the daylights out of them!

While he adores to see them jumping around and laughing and talking of their most recent hyper fixation…

Sometimes he just wants to hold them, man.

He feels so lucky and incredibly thankful to have the bundle of joy that is his s/o.

And he doesn’t have it in him to see how his s/o is just as thankful and whipped for him for giving them a chance :”)

Tsukasa:

With any other partner, the matter of concern would be whether or not they can keep up with his s/o.

But, guys, this is Tsukasa.

It’s his s/o that has to match pace with him asdfg.

Like, not just physically. Emotionally he is ALL over the place. One moment he’d be much too clingy and all to sweet—

And then? He’d be acting upon his sociopathic tendencies and about to cut open a helpless Mokke and “(N/N)-Chan! Don’t you want to know what they look like from the inside, too?”

Yeah. Kid’s a lot to handle, alright.

It’s awfully convenient, he guesses, that his s/o gets distracted to easily.

They wouldn’t be particularly fond of watching how the human skull would look like if the others limbs solidified in the orifices where eyeballs and nostrils would be otherwise.

Or something.

So if they were to run off, attempting to catch a rapidly drifting paper crane while he has his fun, then he didn’t have anything to do with it.

How opportune, though!

When his switch is flipped, on the other hand:

Indeed, all too sweet. As in, so sweet it gives you cavities. And diabetes. And like, chronic pain or anything along those lines.

May not seem like it but I love Tsukasa I swear.

He’ll squish his s/o since they’re so cute and if they squirm around, wanting to be let go, he’ll tighten his hold on them and flash them a dangerous smile because they’re wrong if they think they can rid themselves of him.

They just want to move around. It’s not that deep, rat.

But when they do manage to escape his grip then he’ll whine and whine like a child wanting his guardian’s attention.

Way to make his s/o feel guilty.

The smug bastard will love it when his s/o kisses him, but he’s more of the boa-constrictor-hugger than the kissing type, really.

He pulls at their heartstrings when he starts with the puppy dog eyes. How can they say no when he looks at them like that?

He’s too cute, it’s unbearable.

So he makes them make an effort to sit still while he plays with their fingers or hair despite how much they may struggle with it.

If someone so much as scoffs in the direction of his s/o, they’re g o n e.

Because of his work in the shadows, no one will bother his s/o (and they’ll be none the wiser the entire time!).

His love may be twisted and it might be wrong, but love is love and he’s not afraid to literally cut open anyone that dares hurt the object of his corrupt affections.

Were his s/o to feel down any day for whatever reason, he’d ask and pester them and the moment he’s given a clue on who the one responsible is, anyone that vaguely matches the given description is gone— no questions asked.

But he makes sure his s/o doesn’t know. He’d hate for them to look sad because of him!

When they look so pleasantly broken, he’s the one to pick them up and show them all sorts of wonders to take their mind off the things that made them sad.

He’s their hero, and he intends to uphold that image.

When they’re having trouble expressing themselves, Tsukasa will gladly throw random guesses of what they mean to say that often have nothing to do with the topic at hand but it’ll make them laugh so what does it matter?

When they’re getting a far away look to them in the middle of a conversation, he’ll just switch to something else— easy peasy.

They’re a bit of handful, but it takes one to know one, so he knows just what to do to engage with his s/o.

Mans is nothing if not devoted. If he loves his s/o, then they’ll get all of his attention. Always.

[tanakavox]

A look into the multiverse chapter 5

Soooo. Due to post limit im gonna have to reblog this post with the rest. Just tell y'all when you wonder where the rest is lol. Anyways intro for Winter is done by ExiledDarkness. Everything else is all meeee! On with the post.

A flash of light blinds everyone in the room. As it dies down, Winter Schnee is shown to be standing in the middle of the room.

"Winter?!" Weiss exclaims in shock. The rest of the cast, except for Qrow who groans in annoyance, keeps silent as Weiss explains to Winter about the situation they're in.

Winter nods. "I see. How interesting. I usually wouldn't do something like this but it appears that I have been given no other choice."

"Yeah, that seems to be the case with everything going on in my life." Jaune says while scratching his head.

The screen's light flickers on again and shows a boy setting up his computer and putting a helmet on his head. The sound of the computer starting up is heard.

"Link start!" With those words a flash of light appears with lines of color streaking across the screen.

"That voice sounded familiar …" Winter muttered to herself

"What was that Winter? Weiss asked, turning to her sister.

"Ah. It's nothing"

"Ah. Sword art online." The boy thinks to himself, sighing wistfully. "It's been a while since the beta. Wonder if they change anything?

A man in his early 20s with white hair looks and sees that ads plague the area around him.

"Oh c'mon guys, really? That's just disgusting." The man said to no one, his disgust at the ads was apparent.

"Yeah, seriously. That's just annoying. Qrow said with a grimace.

"Active Adblocker" A screen appeared in front of the young saying it was 29.99 for the Adblocker DLC. The man chuckled darkly. "I'm gonna burn this F***r to the ground.

"Please do!" Nora said a manic grin on her face.

The scene cuts to Blond man with long hair being tackled by a pig, the man blonde groaning in pain.

"That's Sun." Blake said almost immediately.

"How can you tell? Yang asked.

"I just know."

"Well he just got his ass kicked by a pig." Jaune said, laughing a bit

"Wow, Congrats. You were defeated by a pig." The white hair man was there looking down at Blonde unimpressed.

"F**k you man, that's like a pig from hell! The blonde cried, looking at the boar in terror.

"Really?" The white hair man smirked, and picked up a rock and threw it at the boar's ass killing it. It exploded into shards and a screen showed the exp he had got from killing it.

"Wow. This either that blonde guy sucks that bad or the other guy just that good." Mercury said with a grin.

"My god." He gasped with a shit eating grin on his face. "I've stumbled across the most powerful weapon in the game"

"Stop" The blonde whimper.

"The Mithril Pebble of pig smithing!"

"Please stop."

The white hair man takes a deep breath of air as the Blonde groans.

"My god, this sounds like something Whitely would do." Weiss said with an annoyed look.

"For you see, long ago, this pebble was forged in the fiery pits of tartarus,by the grand blacksmith of Lucifer himself. In a time before the world began…

The blonde facepalm as his party member continued. The sun had started to fall when the white haired man was finishing up.

"And thus, Mardoza, Guardian of the pebble, fell to his knees, and passed from this world, leaving behind the mighty weapon. For he knew... that one day, it's power would be required once more.

"Are you done?" The blonde asked.

"Yes." But then he whispered: The legacy of the pebble lives on.

"I have a feeling you get beat up a lot in real life." The blonde snarked.

"And he's using it as some kinda power fantasy cause he can't be that cool in real life." Yang added.

"Shut up! Here I have power!"

"Right, anyways, I've got a pizza coming, and I'm gonna meet up with some friends later.

So thanks for the quick tutorial on pig slaying and the not so quick tutorials on…. rocks…Shirou Yuki?" The blonde slowly wording out the other's username.

"Hey,no problem. I had fun taunting you." Shirou said with a grin. "Ballsdeep69"

"Yeah that's Sun." Blake said, shaking her head. "Only he would come up with such a dumb name."

Meanwhile Winter had a good idea who Shirou Yuuki was, but didn't want to say anything until she was 100% sure.

Ballsdeep69 laughs a bit. "Yeah it's uh, it's just a joke name. Just a character to dick around with while I get a hang of the game. I'm gonna make my real character later."

"Yeah yeah. No, I get it."

Shirou and balls look at each other awkwardly for a while when Shirou breaks the silence. "So uh...your pizza?"

"Right,right logging out." Balls swipes the air with his right hand and goes to log out but notices something odd.

"Hey,Shirou?" Balls called out. "Um, Totally noob question, but how do I log out?

"Are you serious, man?" Shirou asked exasperated.

"Yeah, Really dude? How hard is it to logout?" Jaune asked just as exasperated.

"Hey this Nervegear man. I can't Alt-F4 this sh*t.

Shirou sighs. "Alright fine. It's right…" He looked at his menu screen in confusion. "Here?"

"Oh thanks, player's guide." Balls deadpan.

"No it's here. But it's just blank."

Balls turns back to his menu and something catches his eye. "Oh wait, something scrolling Across mine. HahahahahahahaHAHAha"

"I get it." Shirou said with a frown.

"Wait, Wait, there's more. Ha."

"Riveting."

"Wait so they can't log out? What happened?" Ruby asked the rest of the confused viewers

"Eh no worries I'll just take the nervegear off like SO!" Balls reaches around his head and tries to take it off to no effect.

"Hey, dumbass, It doesn't work like that." Shirou sheerned. "The Nervegear disables your motor function so you don't move around in the game. Don't you remember all those videos of the beta testers?

The clip on Dustube plays, A man walking around in nerve gear is marlouving at the tech is shown. Someone, a friend of his walks up and offers a greeting to the man and he mistakes his friend for a troll and goes to pummel his friend into the ground.

It goes back to Shirou and Balls.

"So many lawsuits." Shirou muttered.

A few of the viewers had a good laugh at that.

"Uh, Do you feel tingly?" Balls asked before the two were transferred from mellow they were in a city square.

"No. Why?" Shirou asked casually. The two looked around and it seemed that other players were being teleported into the city square.

"What the hell is that?" Balls asked, looking at the sky going red.

"Well, I believe some people call it a Hexagon? Ain't 100% on that, gonna have to check my sources." Shirou snarked.

"Man f*ck off."

"I like this guy." Mercury said with a grin

The sky started to seem like it was starting to bleed.

"And The sky's bleeding" Shirou observed, not seeming to really care."

"Yeah, they are really pushing for that M rating." Balls repsoned on caring as much as Shirou.

"Wow the sky bleeds and they don't even care." Winter said.

"Probably because they know it's a video game, Ice Queen." Qrow reposned

A hooded figure appears flooding in the air. A wave of dangers fills most of the players in the area.

"Oh it's a person." Expect for one player.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Jaune Arc, Head programmer!"The figure greeted."

"Jaune made this game?" Ruby asked, looking towards the blond.

"Nice Vomit boy." Yang said slapping Jaune on the back. Jaune grunted a bit but smiled towards Yang.

"Welcome to the unparalleled online Sword art onli-" Jaune was interrupted by the player being to talk frantically among themselves. Jaune tried to get them to focus their attention on him by muting them, but ended up muting himself.

"He knows he muted himself right?" Balls asked.

"Give him a minute." Shirou mutters. Jaune unmuted himself.

A few laugh at Jaune's mistake as the Blonde himself facepalms at his mistake.

"Alright. Just realized what happened there. It's very funny. But right now, serious time. How many of you have seen Tron?" He was met with complete and utter silence. Jaune looked over the crowd and was met with blank stares, not counting Shirou. "W-what seriously?! None of you have seen Tron?! " Jaune asked, completely baffled. "I was really banking on that."

"Seriously?! No one had seen Tron?" Jaune all but screamed.

A few viewers didn't want to admit to not seeing Tron either.

Jaune cleared his throat, and proceeded to wing the entire thing. "Much like the world of warcraft, none of you are here by choice anymore. Unlike WoW, however, your being held here by me, not by a need to escape your empty f*cking lives. There is no longer any way to log out of Sword art online. If someone on the outside attempts to log you by removing your Nerve gear, well… Has anyone seen scanners?

Jaune once again looked and was once again met with silence.

"Uh Scanners. It's a movie…. Seriously?! He grumbles to himself about how the people here had no class and pulled up a clip of a man's head exploding. "Okay. That was from Scanners… and basically that.

"First Tron, now Scanners?!" Jaune facepalm.

"You just trapped god knows how many people in a video game, and you're worried about what movie they haven't seen?! Weiss retorted. Jaune flinched and wisely kept quiet.

The crowd gasped in shock.

"Finally seeing some gears turning, making progress."

"Why would you do such a thing?!" One player cried out.

"Stephen? Stephen is that you?" Jaune asked happily "How are you enjoying that advance copy?"

"I'm playing it with my family!" Stephen repiled.

"Oh, that's right!" The hooded figure laughed. "Happy birthday Timmy!"

Little Timmy began to cry.

"Aw, They grow up so fast." He said, sighing. " Cherish these moments Stephen. Cherish these moments. So as I was saying, the only way to keep the nervegear from going Gallager on your grey matter, is to make your way through castle Aincrad and beat Sword Art Online!"

"So you want us to beat a MMO?" A random player asked.

"Essentially."

"F*CK YOU!"

"That is the correct response when someone says to beat a MMO" Ren said.

"Is it really that bad?" Oscar asked and he receive a loud

"YES!"

"WOAH! Getting a lot of hostility here. Do not appreciate it."

"Well honestly!" The same player began,"When was the last time you heard of someone beating Everquest?"

"When was the last time you heard of someone playing Everquest?" Jaune fired back. There was a slight pause.

"That's fair."

"Everquest…. That's a deep cut." Qrow said, sighing thinking back.

"Anywho, for all you guys that wanted to play as girls, and you know who you are," Despite not seeing his face they could tell Jaune had a huge grin. "I've got a surprise for you!"

A mirror appeared in everyone's hands and a light filled the city.

A young boy, no older than 14 was where Shirou was. He still had the white hair and was wearing the same clothes but was more lankey and shorter than the man who was once there.

"Shirou Yuuki?" The boy turned and a familiar face was shown.

"Whitely?!" Weiss cried out at the sight of her brother.

"I knew it was him." Winter said. The username gave him away, Not only is it the username for when he goes on forums, Shirou Yuuki has the same meaning as his real name.

"How do you know what username he uses when he's online? Weiss asked her sister, a question that went unanswered.

"You're not a girl!" A fat player cried out.

"And you're not 17!" Another skinner one also cried out."

"I'm okay with this!"

"Me too!"

"LOVE KNOWS NO GENDER!" Someone shouted out.

"A wise seminent. Ozpin said sipping his coffee."

[lexpressobean]

Parent/Teacher Night

In which Shikamaru steps in as Mirai's guardian to help her complete her unofficial assignment of the night and subsequently suffers from nostalgia induced shock from unforeseen circumstances.

**Modern AU, Mild Swearing, late 20-something adults who simply care about the same 10-year-old kid lol

Edit: Now available on AO3 too!

•••

Shikamaru had gladly accepted Kurenai's request for him to attend Parent-Teacher night with Mirai in her absence. It had been his day off after all, and he hadn't planned anything anyway. Plus, it'd only take, what, half an hour at most back and forth? Maybe he could even treat Mirai to dinner, just 'cause it had been a while. Normally, Kurenai would have skipped it all together due to her schedule, just this one time, but apparently Mirai's teacher was offering extra credit to the students as an incentive for them to have their parents come. And Mirai was very adamant that she shouldn't waste such an opportunity. Not for this teacher.

Shikamaru wondered what seemed to make this teacher so special to Mirai anyway. When he asked, Mirai seemed confused.

"You don't know, Shikamaru?"

"... Well, it's not like I've met the teacher either Mirai. But this teacher must be really good at their job if you like them that much already."

Mirai gave him a gleeful grin, "Watch, you'll see!"

And see he did.

Shikamaru wasn't expecting to run into such a classicaly "tall, dark, and handsome" form in the classroom. He certainly wasn't expecting that man to BE the teacher.

"Shino-sensei!" Mirai called, running over to greet him.

And at that, something froze Shikamaru in place. Something almost urgent... Wait... Shino? Shino... Why did that name sound familiar...?

The teacher turned just in time to take her glomp's impact with a deep, "OOF!" into his abdomen, and Shikamaru got distracted by the sound of his voice. Wow, deep... but then Shikamaru noticed his glasses misaligned in the process, and Shikamaru then realized they were... sunglasses? Indoors? Ha, this guy... Shikamaru wasn't necessarily gonna dock him points for that. But the only other person Shikamaru remembers doing that unironically was-

...

... Oh wait...

Oh... Wait.

OH. OH, HOLY SHIT!?

WAIT, THAT'S SHINO!? AS IN "SHINO ABURAME" SHINO!?!?!?

...

W H A T ! ?

"Ah... Mirai, hello. I thought you and your mother weren't coming. I told you it's okay, sometimes people can't come."

"Shikamaru came with me! I didn't want to miss the extra credit!"

"Shikamaru?"

"He's technically my godfather, so it counts, right?"

Shino stayed quiet for a moment and looked over towards the doorway where Shikamaru was still standing. As he recognized Shikamaru, Shino straightened up, gave a brief wave and... a smile?

Shikamaru was dumbfounded. Just a minute ago, he would've simply held up an open hand in response as he subtley and respectfully checked him out. Seriously, how could he not? But, now the movement of Shino's wave snapped him out of his thoughts and Shikamaru probably waved more than really needed to acknowledge the teacher. And he cursed at himself inwardly as soon as Shino looked back to Mirai. Was he blushing? It was feeling kinda hot in the classroom all of a sudden...!

"Alright Mirai, thank-you for coming, but for now please wait your turn, okay?"

"Alright!" Mirai walked back to Shikamaru, smiling widely proud of herself.

From far away, he could hear Shino's voice, "Sorry for the interruption. You see-"

"Surprise, Shikamaru!"

Mirai knew. This whole time. And the more he thought about it, Shikamaru at one point knew too. He just... simply forgot... Wow, what a thing to forget. Damn it, why didn't Shikamaru ask more questions earlier? Why didn't she just tell Shikamaru? Hell, why didn't KURENAI tell Shikamaru!?

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

As Mirai led Shikamaru around the classroom, he started to try and recall more about Shino. It was all coming to him, slowly but surely. And if what he recalled was correct, this neat and organized classroom definitely would scream Shino. It was decorated with the typical posters meant to be both fun and helpful, and colorful and eye catching. Shikamaru even recognized many of the books in the shelves, though most he never actually read any of them. But there were traces of decorations here and there that were definitely conscious choices. Namely pictures of worms in apples, ladybugs, ants and bees symbolizing teamwork, things like that. Shino was a fan of bugs afterall.

Then Shikamaru found some board games and noted shogi was among them. He was tempted for a split second to pull it out and challenge Mirai to a game, but thought better of it. But what Mirai was most eager to show Shikamaru was her seat. Or rather, what was nearly right next to her seat.

In a terrarium, no doubt from Shino's collection if Kiba told him the truth, held a black and white worm. Except the worm had these orange like eye markings all along either side if it, and black dots in each eye shape... Shikamaru thought it looked kinda goth for a bug.

"We all decided to name it Daidai! Shino-sensei says this one will turn into a moth. Before Daidai, we had a catepillar we all named Marugao, because it's head was so big! But when he became a butterfly, he was so pretty, he almost shimmered!"

As Mirai gushed about how she got to sit next to Daidai, Shikamaru stole a glance at Shino once more. He was still making rounds, and it looked like no one else had come into the classroom either. Hm, looks like they were gonna be last.

Sunglasses had always hid Shino's eyes, ever since they were kids. Shikamaru couldn't quite recall if they were actually prescription or not, but up to this point, they had always been a constant. Otherwise... his former classmate really was virtually unrecognizable. And now that he thought about it, Shikamaru recalled that Shino had graduated from university with a teaching degree some years back, but this information had only been secondhand from Kiba on social media. Shikamaru wasn't even sure if Shino had social media...

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had barely been back in town for still less than a year. It wasn't his fault if he didn't know Shino's business. Medical school was gruelling, and anesthesia was no joke.

But still... Shikamaru had been expecting something similar from Shino. Maybe not a medical doctor, but a doctorate? Hadn't he been in the Environmental Club in high school? He seemed like he would've been very interested in the natural sciences, and definitely had the means... It was just kind if odd. He was an academic star that was always competing with both Ino and Sakura for top of the class as far as he could remember. And those ladies had gone to school to become a Pediatric Psychiatrist and Pediatric Surgeon respectively too. They were all a smart bunch, no doubt about that.

Yet, Shino had always been... different too. He had looked like a troublemaker with the beanies he wore, and his messy, nearly kinky curls always managed to find a way to stick out in the back. And he always had baggy looking clothing on in layers during any kind of weather. Plus he had a bad case of RBF Syndrome too, which would alarm a few others because he was always so good at blending into the background, yet when noticed, he looked like the kind of guy that would mess you up for just breathing funny. He had always been taller than most too, that probably didn't help.

But he wasn't a bad kid at all. Not like Naruto and Kiba anyway. Acording to Kiba, Shino's loner tendencies were due to simple shyness. And he would know, as Kiba and Shino seemed to grow close after they opted to join the Environmental Club separately in high school, which happened to be run by Kurenai-sensei. And that's all Shikamaru really knew, because when Kiba would come out and about Shino hardly ever came. Kiba could be pushy, which is how Shikamaru suspected the pair became friends in the first place, but apparently not enough to enjoy a party or things like that together outside of school... Maybe once or twice? Not even at Naruto's insistence could make him a regular, as Naruto was... an "unofficial" member of the Environment Club. Meaning he'd just crash the club's outings when they did plant specific activities. Naruto had a green thumb after all.

Actually, it always seemed like Kiba and Naruto were those extroverts that had the habit of adopting introvert friends so to speak. Funnily enough, their respective adoptees had already known each other too. But Sasuke was even LESS friendlier than Shino, and even Shino seemed annoyed with him, one of those rare times he let his thoughts show in his expression...

But today, in the yellowish glow of the classroom lights... something was definitely different. From his smoothed out hair tied up into modern bun on his hatless head and his open, light duty trenchcoat that really... accentuated his very... broad, adult figure... It was most definitely different... but the most dynamic change of all had to be that Shikamaru had never seen Shino so soft in the face before. Behind those shades, he looked... relaxed, and when he spoke, it sounded so... nice? Definitely not a bad thing at all...

And suddenly there was a hand in front of Shikamaru's face.

"-kamru...Shikamaru?"

"HUH!? What?"

... Oh... Hell, he spaced out.

"... Shikamaru, are you okay? Busy day at work at the hospital maybe?"

HUH!? How did Shino know that? "Uh! Yeah, kinda..." he shook his head, "Well no, that's not it, today was actually my day off. I worked yesterday. Still a little out of it looks like," he added with a casual chuckle. At least he hoped he sounded casual.

Shino frowned, eyebrows knit into concern. Ah man, how embarrassing! Had Shikamaru been caught starting with a dopey look on his face?

"... I'm sorry, maybe extra credit was a bad idea this time around. Mirai is so dutiful, I didn't mean for anyone to be dragged here."

"What? No way, I wasn't dragged here. Mirai is my Goddaughter, Shino, so I'm perfectly ready to be informed about her progress. I agreed to come, it's no big deal."

The now teacher looked at Shikamaru with a slight head tilt to the right... And then another small smile. Wow, he really had to stop doing that!

"Well, all in all, Mirai is actually doing very well. She already excels in her studies and is easily one of our most engaged and top students at this time. She's still young, but she shows a lot of scholarly promise."

"Ah, I see. Do... do you see any areas in need of improvement?"

"Well, there's always room for improvement of course. But in Mirai's case..."

Shino looked over at Mirai who was at the snack table. She had walked over to get a couple of cookies and was seemingly cornered by a classmate into a chat.

"... I think, she could benefit from some encouragement to be more social."

"More social?"

Shikamaru followed Shino's gaze and saw Mirai talking to her classmate, her expression showing patience more than anything... It looked like the other little girl was chatting up a storm.

"Don't misunderstand, she's definitely a team player and is very respectful. However, her maturity level is above many of her classmates. As a result, she tends to prefer to study on her own..."

Well, that rang a bell. Shikamaru could've sworn that Shino was the same way back then. But Mirai didn't resemble Shino at all.

"Is she quiet?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, no, thankfully she's still quite engaged. If anything, sometimes she may overthink things. I've noted she's a bit of a perfectionist, and so is actually a little slower on average during tests, but she's an avid question asker too. If she just had some more confidence in her self and would... relax a little more, I think it'd be good for her. She's still a kid after all, she should feel allowed to act like one."

That was a strange thing to say... Did Mirai... not feel okay?

"... She's Kurenai-sensei's daughter, so I try not to favor her. It's kind of hard when she used to ride on my shoulders during reunions and things like that though."

Shino gives a small, warm smile in Mirai's direction. And Shikamaru is kind of touched. Despite the shades, his fondness for Mirai is so obvious. It makes Shikamaru glad to know she has Shino to come to during school time. At least that was something....

Then, Shino turned back to Shikamaru, who was TOTALLY not staring just now.

"But it's necessary. She's... too comfortable with me... If earlier didn't make that obvious."

Shikamaru did have it in his mind to scold Mirai about that, but that was a talk for later. More private.

"I had meant to bring this up with Kurenai, but Mirai also... has had a habit of staying in the classroom during lunch and recess. I've had to move to the teacher's lounge during just to get her outside..."

"What? Really?"

Shino nodded, eyebrows knitted and a smile that showed a regretful sympathy.

"... I wonder what that could be about..."

"I suppose some kids find it hard to socialize, but she needs a more... balanced perception of boundries. In no time, she'll have her own mother for a teacher too. Otherwise, she's generally doing pretty well."

Shit. Shino was thinking way ahead, Kurenai was a high school teacher. But... he was right, this couldn't be allowed to go on.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Did you have any more questions?"

"Uh... No, I... don't think so. But, even though I'm sure you don't have to be asked, please, continue to take care of her."

Shino perked up a little at that before smiling at Shikamaru again! It made it hard to stare him in the face, "Of course."

... Damn... Was Shino's smile... always this cute?

"Shikamaru! I brought you a cookie."

"Oh, thank-you."

"Did you want one too Buggy... I mean... Shino... sensei?"

"... Buggy?" Shikamaru repeated.

"... Ah, Sensei I'm sorry, I did it again...!"

Shino pat Mirai's head, and gave a small chuckle even. Shikamaru was all ears, "It's okay Mirai, I'm know you're trying. No offense taken."

"I really am, I promise!" she assured, "So did you want one?"

"No thank-you Mirai, it's for the guests. You go ahead."

"Okay, sensei."

Shikamaru couldn't help it. He just had to say something.

"Hey Shino."

"Yes?"

"You must be pretty suited to teaching."

"Oh? What makes you sat that?"

"I mean... It's been a while. Actually it's been a long time, but... well, I don't think I've ever seen you quite like this before..."

"Pardon?"

"I dunno, you just seem... Very much in your element here. I'm glad the whole instructor thing really worked out. You've been here for a few years already, haven't you?

"Oh... Thank-you, Shikamaru... And yes, I have. I appreciate that."

This time Shino GRINNED. And Shikamaru suddenly was very aware of his... jawline... uh...

"Y-Yeah, of course! Well, I'm sure there's other parents you need to talk to..."

"Right, that is true." A couple more stragglers had come in.

"But here, hold on a sec," Shikamaru pulled out his phone, "I don't think we've ever traded information before. Wanna trade now? I'll send you a text back."

"Oh," Shino was a bit surprised, "Um. Okay, sure."

After getting his number, Shikamaru sent a text and could hear one of Shino's pockets vibrate.

"There, all set! Thanks for talking with me, Shino."

"Thank-you for coming. And if you're not terribly busy, I trust you will be the one to come when Kurenai-sensei is unavailable?"

"Yes. Yes, that'll be the plan," Shikamaru decided right then and there.

"Alright, thank-you Shikamaru."

"No, thank-you. C'mon Mirai, let's go. Goodbye, Shino.

"Bye Shino-sensei!"

"Goodbye."

-

"Shikamaru! Can we go eat something? I'm starving!"

"What do you want?"

"Yakisoba!!"

"Haha, alright, sure."

Mirai gave Shikamaru a sudden and huge hug.

"Whoa, what's up?"

"I'm just so happy you came, Shikamaru! So thank-you!" she beamed.

It tugged on Shikamaru's heartstrings a bit. She really had missed him, huh? "You don't have to thank me, Mirai, but your welcome anyway. C'mon, let's go."

"It was nice that you and Shino-sensei got to see each other again too, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, it was quite the surprise. But a welcomed one."

Hmmm... It looks like Kurenai was gonna have to be unavailable for the next few parent-teacher nights....

••

I kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I decided to simply stop. So sorry for any grammar or syntax errors, but I just needed to get this out of my system haha

[aspenflower17]

Finding You (Part Nine of ??)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (even if you don’t live in the US)! Here is the update for this week :) This chapter was a little self indulgent. I do talk a tiny bit about music theory and Jane Austen in this chapter. If you have questions about either, just ask and I can try to explain/direct you to some good sources on what I’m talking about 😅 

Edit: Totally forgot to mention! The whole Pride and Prejudice HC about Lucifer is not originally mine. I believe I read it on one of the Beel blogs. I think it was @taco-beel :)

For anyone new, here is the link for Part One. I hope you enjoy 😁 

Tags for the Lovelies:  @simpingforsatan @naimena @hachimochi @wrathandgreed @magi-minminxiii @rensphilia @a-dream-at-night @chloelikesobeyme @getbehindme-satan (If you’d like to be added to the tags list, just message me or comment below!)

Satan/ F!Mc

Trigger Warnings: possibly for depression?

Word Count: 2,322

After Mc shut the door, she slid down the door to the floor, head in her hands. Well, that couldn’t have gone worse. I would’ve rather had him ignore me or not remember me at all. I could’ve figured out how to interact with him in those situations. But what was with him being sweet in the beginning, and then just seizing up? Then he grabbed my wrist and seemed super worried about me leaving and then didn’t even say anything the whole walk?! That goodbye too! What was that?! 

The more Mc thought about the whole thing, the more upset she got. She leaned her head back against the door, her brain replaying the beginning of the conversation trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Remembering the look in his eyes as he had fervently declared he remembered her. The warmth of his voice.

Then the progressive unease as she had continued talking until the abrupt emotional cutoff. He had obviously been uninterested in talking with her any longer, though she really couldn’t figure out why. He had been so dismissive. But when I tried to leave… She looked down to the wrist he had grabbed. He sounded so… desperate. Like he truly didn’t want to let me leave. So, why didn’t he talk to me?

“Mc? Are you alright?” Michael asked, stepping into the entrance hall with Diavolo.

“I’m… I’m fine. Diavolo, do you have a music room?” Mc asked, standing up as nonchalantly as she could.

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you have a piano, or similar instrument?”

“Yes…”

“May I use it for the rest of the day? I need to compose.”

“I… Sure. I’ll have Lil’ D No. 2 show you the way,” and as he said that, a small demon appeared and beckoned her forward, and she promptly followed.

“Oh dear,” Michael sighed, eyes following Mc.

“What’s wrong,” Diavolo asked, thoroughly confused by the whole encounter.

“She is definitely not alright. She can only compose when she’s really emotional about something.”

“I… Wait, is she going to let us hear it when she’s done?” Diavolo asked, eyes lighting up.

Mc sat down at the piano. It was an almost pure black grand, and the key colors were reversed, which was messing with her brain visually. The piano bench lid was made from a beautiful dark red wood, the rest the same black as the rest of the piano. The piano did not look worn, but it was obviously old. 

Mc started playing her normal warm up scales, but quickly stopped when she realized they didn’t sound right. She tried again with the same result. It’s in minor…

Trying out all the keys, she realized the whole piano was in minor. You could play major chords, but it was like making minor chords on a normal piano. Interesting.

Mc continued playing and getting warmed up, wanting to explore the amazing opportunity that had presented itself. She started playing some of her own creations, marveling at how different her songs sounded. As she was playing, she remembered a song she had abandoned a long time ago. Though it should have sounded correct, she had never been able to make it sound correct. I wonder…

She started playing the song, and was amazed to find just how perfect it sounded. It was the same song, but it now sounded perfect. Encouraged, Mc tried to continue composing, but she couldn’t get past where she had already composed, no matter how much she worked on it. Discouraged and a little frustrated, Mc look at her DDD and was surprised to see it was almost time for dinner.

Standing up, she promised herself she’d come back later, and work on it more.

“I’ve decided to throw a ball in Mc’s honor!”

Michael and Mc looked up from their dinner at the proclamation from Diavolo. Luke seemed unphased by the announcement.

“A ball? In my honor?”

“Yes! You’re my honored guest after all.”

“He also loves throwing balls,” Luke added.

“Also that,” Diavolo admitted.

“Well, I’d be honored. Thank you.”

“Perfect! It’ll be held a week from today. Barbados! Make sure invitations are sent and food is ready.”

“Yes sir,” Mc jumped, not realizing Barbados was in the room, turning around to see him exit. She was starting to notice the butler seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“Is a week too fast?” Mc asked worriedly.

“Nonsense! This is a lot more notice than I usually give if I’m going to be honest,” Diavolo laughed.

“For a whole ball to be planned?”

“Yes! Barbados is one hell of a butler,” Diavolo grinned over his teacup, before taking a sip.

Mc sat in her room and mused over the events of the day. Now that she had calmed down enough to think rationally, she started analyzing Satan’s behavior, and found she really couldn’t make sense of it. Unless he thought I was someone else… Wait. That makes a lot of sense actually. Like not a ton of sense, because he should have realized I wasn’t them before I started talking about meeting him before, but more than anything else I can think of. He may have also been a little… unhinged. He did look like he hadn’t slept in three days…

Satisfied enough that her brain could rest, she snuggled down into her blankets. Every time she closed her eyes however, all she saw was Satan’s face as he had grabbed her wrist. She brought her other hand up to her wrist and grabbed it. Now smiling, she drifted off to sleep.

Mc snorted, shifting a bit as she read. The bed was comfortable, the scent of its owner making her feel safe and comforted. Classes had been long and when the demon that sat behind her had gotten up, they had accidentally hit her in the head with their bag pretty hard, which had made Mammon nearly kill them. She had narrowly saved their life by assuring him it had been an accident and somehow calming her guardian demon down. This then had resulted in her being called into talk with Lucifer about what had happened, and so she had missed her Devildom History course.

She had come to Satan’s room to grab the notes he had thoughtfully taken for her, but when he saw how worn out she was, he had offered a quiet evening of reading and tea. She hadn’t been able to refuse, seeing as how she relished anytime she could get with him. The scent of old books and their caretaker was a surefire way to help her unwind from the day, the stacks of books throughout the room making her feel like they were in their own little world. The outside world glittered in the perpetual darkness through Satan’s large windows.

“What’s so amusing?” Satan asked from the armchair he had moved over by his bed once their reading sessions became a normal occurrence.

“‘We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man; but this would be nothing if you really liked him’” Mc quoted.

“Ah! ‘You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’” Satan said, a cheeky grin on his face.

Mc’s brain stopped functioning for a second, “Wai… Wha…?”

“Pride and Prejudice right?”

“Oh, hehe, right,” Mc laughed, trying to hide behind her book as best she could as all the blood rushed to her face, “It’s a good quote.”

“You know, when it came out, there was a rumor going around that Mr. Darcy was based off of Lucifer.”

“Wait… You’re joking.”

“No. He had been spending a lot of time in the human realm. Sometimes we wouldn’t see him for weeks at a time. Then, he just stopped going up as much. About a year later, Pride and Prejudice was released. After the rumor started, Lucifer would not allow it in the house for the longest time. He even went so far as to ask Diavolo not to allow it in the Devildom at all.”

Satan had Mc’s full attention at this point, “What was his excuse?”

“Something about a stupid romance novel ruining his reputation, and how we needed to be the voice of reason for the lower demons if they were going to allow themselves to be so easily swayed to believe the nonsense.”

“You had a copy though, right?”

“Oh, of course I did. I still do actually. First edition. I even went up to the human realm to get it.”

“Wow… That explains so much though. Lucifer is like the epitome of Mr. Darcy.”

Satan shifted in his chair, and looked down at his book, “You think so?”

“Yeah. Tall, dark, handsome,” Mc watched as Satan sunk a bit lower in his chair at each word, seeming to get fairly upset, “Standoffish. Rude. Conceitful. Overbearing.”

“Ah, so you’re not a fan of Mr. Darcy?”

“Hmmm… I wouldn’t say that. He is her most popular leading man for a reason. But…”

“But?” Satan was looking at her now, his eyes probably larger and more insistent than he meant them to be. 

“He’s far too prideful in the beginning for me. We probably wouldn’t have gotten anywhere,” Mc watched Satan relax visibly before continuing, “While I enjoy Pride and Prejudice, I’d rather read Sense and Sensibility or Northanger Abbey. I would rather have a Mr. Tilney or possibly even a Colonel Brandon. Someone who I could sit and make jokes with. Someone who would read to me. Someone I could go on adventures with and who could tell me all about this or that because they’re so well read,” Mc was looking down at the cover of the book now, and she could tell her face was heating up, “I’d much rather have someone like that.”

There was silence after Mc stopped talking, and she dared not look up. She’d basically just confessed to Satan, and she hadn’t even meant to. She kinda hoped her words went over his head, but also hoped they didn’t. The silence stretched longer than Mc would’ve liked before the bed shifted.

There was another few moments of silence before Satan spoke, a bit haltingly, “Mc, will you look at me? Please?”

Mc lifted her eyes shyly looking a little sheepish. She only had a moment of Satan’s shocked look before there was a flash of gold and his lips were on hers. She was so shocked she couldn’t respond for a second, but then she returned the kiss, melting as her body was on fire. Completely focused on the moment while soaring through the clouds. Perfect. It was perfect.

Mc came back to consciousness, her alarm playing soft piano music. She reached out her arms grasping. Searching. Coming up empty, she cracked an eye open, disappointment flooding her body when all she saw was her own arms. Her vision blurred as a strong wave of loneliness washed over her. She blinked a couple times to clear away her tears, feeling them slide down her face. She had had mornings like this in the Celestial Realm, though this was the first time she had remembered the dream that preceded it. She hadn’t really felt lonely since coming to the Devildom, and hadn’t registered it. Now though, it felt debilitating. She sent a text to Luke explaining she probably wouldn’t be down for breakfast and asking him to apologize to everyone for her. She then turned on some soft music, and dropped her DDD on the bed.

She lay quietly, the tears falling openly. This is what she had to do those terrible mornings in the Celestial Realm when she felt like she couldn’t face the day. Eventually her tears gave out, and she was left with an apathetic empty feeling. She continued laying in bed, not remembering a bout this bad in any recent history. After a while, she drifted off to sleep again.

“Hey. You awake?”

Mc groaned, sore from not moving in awhile, “Is that you Luke?”

“Yeah. I got a bit worried when you also missed lunch. You okay?”

“I think I’m okay now. I just got a bit too upset this morning.”

“Are you sure? I can tell Michael you’re caught up in an artistic frenzy or something.”

“Nah. Thanks though,” Mc smiled, still sleepy.

“Okay. As long as you're okay,” Luke was looking at her worriedly, but leaning down and kissing her forehead anyways, “I’ll make sure some lunch gets saved for you.”

“Thanks Luke,” Mc sighed, sitting up.

“Anything for my little sister.”

Over the next week, Mc continued trying to work on her song, though she didn’t get any further, along with her other art. She also read all about the Devildom’s history and visited some historically significant locations to put a name to a place. The whole time, her mind worked on the enigma that was her dream. She supposed it was a product of her brain trying to work through the disappointment of how her first meeting with Satan went, along with how active she had been since coming down to the Devildom. She tried to convince herself of this anyways. The truth was, it felt exactly like she was reliving a memory. It felt real, and nothing about it had been weird, all details clear, nothing out of place. It even felt familiar, she’d even go so far as to say worn, like some of her favorite memories did.

She blushed even thinking about the dream, clearly recalling the warmth and softness of his lips. The feeling of his hand on the back of her neck....

“Mc, are you almost ready,” Luke called from the other side of the door.

“Give me a couple more minutes. I’ll be down soon.”

“Okay. The guests are starting to arrive.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for letting me know,” Mc took one last look at herself in the mirror before nodding and getting up, “Let’s do this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Like, comments and reblogs are appreciated! I love discussing Obey Me so feel free to chat with me 😁

Part Ten

[hadtochangemyurlquick]

you have said that you know how s2 will end and i would like the spoilers please

okay so i wrote the post you're referring to awhile ago and i don't really stand by it entirely but i'm gonna give you some thoughts.

thought one: the wilds is saying something. it is making a statement. it is not just a show about teenage girls making out and being on a deserted island. there's more to it.

thought two: figuring out what the show is saying is key to understanding what will happen

thought three: the show is definitely saying more than one thing but there is an overall message we can use as a lens to predict where the show will go in general. no specifics, but at least to figure out the arcs of each character

my biggest question since starting the show, literally since the first episode has been: so. what?

like, what is the point of this show. why. what are they saying?

if they're trying to be an anti-feminist, "feminism is going too far, sjws suck" kinda thing, they're not doing very well. one of the top reviews is literally: "More Social injustice propaganda thrown in our faces."

so their theoretical target conservative audience doesn't seem to be biting. i'm not saying a liberal show Can't have a message that feminism has gone too far these days, but i Am saying a smart good liberal show can't have a message that feminism has gone too far these days.

And the wilds is probably some of the best writing i've come across in a long time, especially with the accuracy they depict teenagers.

so it's not anti-feminist. but maybe it's more specific than that. maybe it's anti-white feminist. after all, gretchen is white, she abuses children of color, and she's a feminist. doesn't that make for a perfect white feminist?

except that doesn't make a huge amount of sense either, huh? bc gretchen's staff, just running the numbers, is half white people and half poc.

Gretchen, Thom, Alex, Faber

Audrey, Susan, Lihn, Young

even looking at her supporters: alice and leonard, we have a white guy and a black woman.

and would it be less racist if gretchen didn't have any poc on her island? she would argue it'd be more racist. i'm sure in her mind she was trying to be diverse, not to abuse children. bc she doesn't think it's abuse bc she's got the lights on but no one's home.

so white feminism as the critique this show is making just doesn't. it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either.

so then it's like. what. terfism? maybe? and like, that tracks a little closer. but it'd be weird if a show's entire critique was terfism and there was literally not a single trans person on the entire cast. like maybe dot or nora will have an arc coming to terms with a sexy new gender but. idk bro. it just feels off to me, you know? it's still like, you made an entire show on a major platform criticizing a specific aspect of feminism that's not even that widely known? that's the point of the wilds?

maybe i have good place brain rot, or she ra brain rot, or some other type of brainrot and just expect my morals to be handed to me on a silver platter.

but it's still like. what was the fucking point. why make gretchen an evil feminist villain who abuses children?

this show is too smart and well written to just be that dumb. there's gotta be some justification, some deeper reason why they'd make a show just to point out that lord of the flies wasn't just about british rich boys, it is about all of society and feminism is wrong.

like take black panther for example. as much as i enjoyed it way more than any other marvel movie i've seen, it was still--essentially--dumb. this is an ice cold take but obviously killmonger was a good guy. the rich execs made him a bad guy like every rich person makes every radical revolutionary a bad guy so the good guy can create change but only in a way that encourages people to create change within the corrupt system we all live in.

but marvel is not particularly known for its writing. it's a superhero franchise, it hasn't taken itself very seriously since guardians of the galaxy. its goal is to get you to spend 15$ in a theater watching billionaires blow each other up while wise cracking with some of the prettiest visuals money can buy. it's not supposed to make you think and that's okay.

but the wilds feels like a show that wants you to think. with the careful way they handle eating disorders to the complexities of the sibling relationships, the characters are more than just wise cracking billionaires taking off their shirts the first chance they get.

so why. why. i'd understand evil feminist gretchen if it was the latter but why put so much energy into writing this complex well done show if their villain and thus their message was just gonna be: haha feminism too far these days.

here's the only thing i can come up with, my friend.

class.

yeah i fucking know, there's nothing in the show, but bear with me. all of the people working for gretch are rich, or present as rich. or at least of a higher class.

except for one.

lihn might be getting a fancy education but she works at a bar while she's doing it, and it doesn't seem like she's that close with her parents anymore. her trauma would likely cause some major health problem so i'm not having an issue with thinking that maybe, financially, our lihn wasn't doing excellently.

and to have lihn be straddling these two worlds, as she effectively straddles girlhood and adulthood working as the confederate, makes a large amount of sense.

gretchen doesn't want to upend the actual system, which is capitalism, she wants to upend the patriarchy--which is a product of capitalism. lord of the flies was, in a large part, about class. so looking at that we might see a boys island act similarly to a girls island, especially if they keep the class diversification the same for the boys.

what's also interesting is that young is not really of the same class as faber. gretchen talked about him being on that "gin soaked sofa" or something like that, and that could track if we continue to see him help the girls.

idk i'm just. i'm definitely grasping at straws here. but i have no idea what this show is saying and it drives me crazy.

why is gretchen their villain? why is she a feminist doing this for feminist reasons? it's so dumb, i can't believe they wrote it. so why did they write it. why. what am i missing here.

maybe it's something about parenthood? gretchen's a bad parent and it's a critique of the nuclear family? but couldn't they have done that without the evil feminist aspect?

like that's what gets me. what's the point of the evil feminist aspect. why include that when it was so unnecessary and honestly shoe horned in. i could've written something in ten minutes without the weird antifeminism aspect, and definitely they're better writers than me so what's the point of gretchen's motivations

what. is. the. point.

[isnt-that-wizardd]

Slow On The Uptake

A JATP FANFIC - read on AO3 here

So I made a post the other day about how my brain took the idea that Nick is bisexual and that I wanted to see more of Ryan McEwan’s character (Pretty Lacrosse Boy) and decided to ship the two of them. Since Pretty Lacrosse Boy doesn’t have a name, I named him Tyler Doyle. And I wrote a fanfiction about them:

SUMMARY: When Nick gets a concussion during lacrosse practice, he needs a ride to urgent care. Thankfully for him, his teammate Tyler offers to drive him. Cue awkward conversations, pretty smiles, flustered looks, and “oh crap this guy is really cute”.

Getting slammed into the ground and getting a lacrosse stick to the head to match was not what Nick had planned when he’d gone to practice today. He probably could have avoided it, in hindsight. But he’d been distracted staring at Tyl- the sidelines- to notice that Cameron was about to slam into him until too late. Next thing he knew, Nick was laying on the ground, the back of his head smacking into the hardened ground below him and his stick smacking into his forehead. Pain shot through his head so quickly he didn’t even register the weight of Cameron on top of him until it was gone. He vaguely registered that Cameron was saying something to him- sorry, maybe?- but he couldn’t hear it properly. He clenched his eyes shut, groaning loudly. All he could focus on was the pain. 

Nick felt someone shake his shoulder, jostling him. Involuntarily he cried out in pain, and the hand immediately left. He had no idea how long he’d laid there, in the middle of the practice field, before squinting his eyes open. Standing around him looked like about four of his teammates, Coach Barron directly above him. 

“-orth! Danforth! Look at me, son.”

It took everything he had to focus his eyes on his coach. 

“There we go, kid. How you feelin’?”

Nick sat up, looking around at the teammates gathered around him. Coach Barron repeated his question about how Nick felt. Nick could barely comprehend the question, let alone words to answer it, but opened his mouth to answer anyway. Unfortunately for him, instead of words coming out of his mouth, Nick felt himself doubling over, leaning to the side as he emptied the contents of his stomach. He heard his teammates exclaiming around him in disgust, backing up from the huddle around him. He gagged and heaved the last of it out, and Nick felt an arm come around his shoulder keeping him upright as he almost fell into the pile of his own vomit. 

“Woah! You okay, Nick?” came the voice of whoever was holding him. 

“Doing great,” he coughed out, trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth while the pain in his head seemingly doubled. He leaned back into the person holding him, feeling their chest vibrate as they laughed at his response. 

“Okay,” Coach said, “You’re probably concussed. I’ll call someone to get you to urgent care-”

“I can drive him, Coach,” the vibrations against Nick’s back were oddly comforting and he closed his eyes. “No, no- gotta keep your eyes open, Nick. Can’t fall asleep.”

Nick still couldn’t properly distinguish who was talking to him. The voice was familiar, soft. Nick forced his eyes back open, feeling dizzy. He zoned out as coach and his teammate debated taking him to urgent care. As they did, Nick forced himself into turning around to see who had caught him from falling. As he caught sight of who it was, Nick let out a groan. He’d already embarrassed himself by getting pounded into the ground and then throwing up in front of the entire team. Why not go ahead and make things worse?

Tyler glanced down at him as he groaned, eyes trailing over him to check if he was okay, it seemed. Nick grunted a little bit, attempting to pull himself away from Tyler’s chest and sit up on his own. Tyler let him go, keeping a hand on his shoulder. 

“Alright, Doyle,” Nick heard Coach say. “You’re both free to go.”

Tyler smiled up at Coach Barron, nodding. Not that Nick would ever willingly admit it, but he wasn’t entirely sure it was the concussion that made him dizzy in the moment. When the dizzy spell was over, Nick’s eyes refocused to find Tyler watching him carefully. 

“Huh?” Nick let out, sounding as out of it as he felt. Tyler’s lips twitched up in a smile.

“I asked if you were gonna puke on me if I helped you stand up.”

“Oh. Uh- No. No, I think I’m fine.”

Tyler nodded, then stood up. He was already taller than Nick, but he looked like a giant as Nick sat uselessly, dizzy on the ground. Tyler held a hand out to Nick, which the lacrosse player took hesitantly. He pulled Nick up gently, resting a hand on his back when Nick stumbled. Nick couldn’t register much more than how light headed he was. He stayed silent as Tyler guided him to the sidelines to grab their bags and then out to the parking lot. Tyler didn’t try to talk much either, just whispering quiet reassurances when Nick got hit with dizziness and keeping an arm around him in case Nick fell. The journey out to Tyler’s car passed in a bit of a blur, and Nick didn’t realize he was actually sitting down in the passenger seat until Tyler was taking a slow turn out of the parking lot. 

“Thanks for doing this,” Nick managed, and Tyler looked sideways at him with a small smile. 

“You probably should try not to talk. It’ll only make your headache worse,” Tyler spoke in almost a whisper, and Nick was grateful for the reprieve of noise on his headache. 

“Had a concussion before?”

Tyler shook his head, keeping his driving as slow as he could on the busy LA streets. “Nah, but you know my step-brother Dylan? The drumline kid? Turns out marching band is way more dangerous than it seems. I think he’s had like three concussions since he joined the band.”

Nick hummed in response, allowing his eyes to fall shut. 

“No, dude, gotta keep your eyes open.”

Nick groaned. 

“Nick, seriously- until the doctor checks you out and we know how bad your concussion is, you shouldn’t fall asleep. Here-” Tyler reached in front of Nick, pulling something out of the glovebox as gently as he could, “-wear these, it’ll block out the light.”

Nick took the sunglasses from Tyler’s hand, slipping them over his eyes. He sighed in relief as soon as he did; the sunlight gleaming off the other cars on the street had made him want to cry. Nick wasn’t entirely sure what happened on their way to the closest urgent care. He vaguely heard himself talking- rambling, more like- even though Tyler had told him to stay quiet. He didn’t stop rambling until they’d arrived and the car was parked. 

“As interesting as the history of the platypus was, let’s go get you a doctor, yeah?”

If Nick wasn’t already so out of it, he was sure he would have been embarrassed. Is that what he's been talking about all this time?

As they walked into the urgent care clinic, Tyler was once again guiding him with a hand on his back. If Nick felt the urge to lean into the touch, he blamed it on his lack of proper coordination. Nick leaned into the counter of the nurse, receptionist, whoever it was Tyler was talking to instead. He didn’t listen to much of what either one was saying, but tuned in just in time to hear the- nurse?- ask if Nick had a guardian with him. 

“No, we drove straight from our school,” Tyler responded, “But his dad’s on his way.”

“He is?” Nick asked, squinting at Tyler from behind the sunglasses still covering his eyes. Tyler looked at him, frowning a little bit. 

“Yeah. Coach called him before we left, remember?”

“Oh,” Nick let out, not remembering whatsoever. Tyler gave him a strange look, a hint of a smile on his lips. Nick found himself staring at his teammate as Tyler turned back to the nurse, who was being informed that if they took a seat in the waiting room, someone would be out to see them shortly.

“How you feeling, man?” Tyler asked as he pulled Nick down to sit. 

Nick let out a breath, “Floaty.”

Tyler let out a laugh next to him, which he tried to cover with a cough. “Jeez, Cam really hit you hard, didn’t he?”

Nick let out a hum in response, tilting sideways until his head came to rest on Tyler’s shoulder. Tyler seemed to tense under him, and Nick almost moved his head, but then the other relaxed, sliding down in his uncomfortable waiting room chair so that Nick’s head was positioned more comfortably. Like he’d done with the rest of the afternoon, Nick allowed himself to zone out as they waited. He mindlessly watched people walk in and out of the urgent care clinic, letting them all leave his head as soon as they were out of sight. The only person he did focus on was the tall, blond man who looked like he’d just gotten out of teaching a dance class. His eyes locked on Nick almost immediately, letting out a deep breath. 

Nick smiled at him, picking his head off of Tyler’s shoulder. 

“One of these days, you or your dad is going to give me a heart attack, you know that?” he said in place of greeting, stopping in front of Nick. 

“Hey, pops.”

“Don’t call me that, it makes me feel old,” his father replied, kneeling down in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

Beside him, Tyler let out a huffed laugh. Both Nick and his father turned to look at him. 

“Sorry,” Tyler said, looking a little red. “It’s just- I asked him the same thing and he said he felt ‘floaty’.”

Nick’s father cracked a smile at that. “You must be Tyler? Coach Barron told me you drove Nick here?”

Tyler nodded. 

“Thanks for doing that, Tyler. I’m Ryan.”

“Oh, it’s, uh- It was no problem. My brother has gotten a concussion a couple times, so I’m, well- used to it? I guess?”

Before either of them could continue the conversation, a woman dressed in scrubs came into the waiting room, calling for Nick Danforth-Evans. Ryan stood back up, raising his hand so the doctor knew who she was calling. 

“Guess that’s my cue to leave,” Tyler said, and Nick had a strange feeling fill his chest at the thought. Even so, he nodded just barely, smiling at Tyler. 

“Thanks, man.”

Tyler just nodded. “Thanks for the lecture on platypuses. Learned a lot, actually.”

Nick ignored the laugh his father had let out, followed by “Really? You’re still telling people about freaking platypuses?” in favor of waving Tyler goodbye and watching his teammate leave the clinic. Eventually, his father gently pulled him to his feet, walking him slowly over to the waiting doctor. 

----------

Tyler wasn’t entirely sure what possessed him to do it. He and Nick weren’t not friends, but they didn’t know each other that well either. There was frankly no logical reason for him to be doing this. He told himself it was because he hadn’t been able to text Nick all day- he’d overheard Carrie saying that Nick had given a “no screen time” rule by his doctor- and wasn’t it only reasonable to follow up with the guy you’d taken to urgent care yesterday? Tyler ignored the part of his brain that told him the truth; he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his teammate since he’d left the hospital yesterday, and he just wanted an excuse to see Nick again. So Tyler had taken his lunch period interrogating the other lacrosse team members to figure out what classes Nick was taking and with which teachers he had them. 

The reasonable part of his brain told him this was kind of creepy, and entirely unnecessary for him to do. But even so, he told Kayla to let Mrs. Kelly know that he wouldn’t make it to dance practice after school today, and he went around to Nick’s teachers’ classrooms. About 20 minutes later, he pulled out of the Los Feliz parking lot with a folder full of class notes, homework, and messages from teachers for Nick. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove in the general direction he knew Nick’s house was. He’d only been there a few times, all for lacrosse purposes. Nick’s dad loved to host the team over- said he’d always done it in high school when he was on the basketball team and that it was a great bonding opportunity.

Really, the only reason he was doing this was because he just wanted to check on him. Make sure he was feeling alright. It had nothing to do with the way Nick had leaned into his chest on the field or rested his head on Tyler’s shoulder in the waiting room, and it definitely had nothing to do with how Nick had still managed to look cute when concussed and rambling about random things in the waiting room.

When he finally reached Nick's house, he parked his car in the driveway and just sat there. He bounced his leg, tapping his fingers against the wheel. Nick's house was slightly foreboding. Both of Nick's fathers made plenty of money, and it was one of the fancier houses in the area surrounding Los Feliz High School. He kind of felt like the house was judging him as he sat in the driveway, too nervous to actually go in. 

"This is stupid, Tyler," he mumbled to himself. "You're already here, just get out of the damn car."

It must have been another five minutes that he sat there, one hand ready to twist his key in the ignition and leave and the other on the door handle, ready to get out of the car. Eventually, he took his hand away from the ignition, pulling the key out. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he grumbled, grabbing the folder and finally leaving his car. “It’ll be fine. Just say hey, drop the homework off, and leave without looking like a complete idiot.”

He schooled his expression into something casual and normal looking by the time he reached the front door. With all the determination he had, he raised his hand, knocking on the door. He didn’t want to use the doorbell; last time Dylan had a concussion he’d physically witnessed his step-brother crying at the sound. 

The door opened so quickly after his knock that Tyler froze in shock for a moment. He found himself looking down at a little girl he’d never met before- Nick’s sister, he assumed. She was dressed in a blindingly yellow princess dress, and atop her mess of deep, black curls was a plastic tiara to match. 

She cocked her head at him curiously, asking with no shyness in her voice, “Who are you?” 

“Oh- um. . .” He always felt awkward around kids. The only ones he ever really interacted with were his cousins. “I’m looking for Nick?”

“He’s in the living room!” the girl in front of him announced happily, pointing off to her left. Tyler hesitated, but stumbled through the front door as the girl grabbed his hand, pulling him into the large house. Tyler didn’t even know what to say, just struggled to not drop the folder of papers for Nick as he was forcibly invited into the house.

“Arabella, please tell me you opened the door because dad’s back and not because you just let some stran-” Nick cut himself off as he caught sight of Tyler behind the little girl- Arabella. 

“Tyler. Hey.”

Tyler cleared his throat, trying his best to put on a casual smile. Nick was seated on a large, fluffy looking couch. He was leaning against the armrest, his legs stretched out in front of him. Nick looked practically buried in the large sweatshirt he was wearing, branded with a faded EHS on the chest, and the soft white blanket thrown over him. Tyler felt frozen to the spot as he looked at Nick, his mouth opening dumbly as no words came out. He looked anywhere but Nick’s eyes, not sure he’d be able to function at all if he did. He was saved from the awkwardness as Arabella let go of her iron grip on his hand, moving over to the couch. Tyler winced in sympathy as Nick groaned and clamped his eyes shut, Arabella jostling him as she climbed into her brother’s lap. Even though both of them were adopted, Tyler could see a resemblance between the siblings. They had the same smile: a toothy grin framed by dimples. He felt himself smile softly as Nick instinctively wrapped an arm around his sister to steady her before she fell right back off the couch. 

“Ari, we’ve talked about how you’re not supposed to open the door for strangers,” Nick spoke softly, and Tyler had to suck in a breath. 

Arabella pouted in his lap, “He’s not a stranger! You knew his name!” 

“That’s not the- Look, just remember you have to wait for me, daddy, or papa before you open the door, okay?”

The girl- only 7 years old if Tyler remembered correctly- let out a heavy breath, still looking sure she’d done nothing wrong, but she nodded to her brother. She leaned into Nick’s chest, who carefully shifted her in his arms so she was next to him rather than on top. Tyler wasn’t sure he could stop the smile on his face if he tried. Nick looked back at him once Arabella was situated, casting him a soft smile that had Tyler feeling weak. 

“Sorry about her-” Arabella elbowed him, “-my dad ran out to the store and she was expecting him back soon. So, uh. . . What’s up, man? Don’t you have dance team after school on Thursdays?”

The question knocked Tyler out of his reverie as he remembered why he was here. He ignored the heat in his cheeks- Nick remembered he had dance on Thursdays?

“Oh, right, yeah. Um, I- well. I brought you your homework?” Tyler inwardly cursed himself for stumbling over his words. You’d think he’d never talked to the guy before. 

Nick looked surprised at the words, his eyebrows raising a little bit. Tyler had to glance away. 

“I didn’t figure you’d be at school tomorrow either, so I, um, I brought you tomorrow’s, too.”

Nick was just kind of staring at him, and Tyler shifted his weight between his feet. Silence lapsed between the three of them until Arabella whispered something to her brother that had Nick glaring down at her for a second. 

“Thanks, Tyler,” Nick said quietly. “I really appreciate that.”

Tyler smiled at him, nodding. “Yeah, it’s no problem.”

He held up the folder, “Is there somewhere you. . ?”

“Oh, um. Just that table right next to you is fine.”

Tyler nodded again, setting the folder down. Without anything to hold, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands. He settled for stuffing them in his pocket. Tyler’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn back to Nick. He looked sleepy and comfortable the way he was wrapped up on the couch. His hair was slightly tousled like Nick had been running his hands through it. Tyler fought the urge to go over and fix it for him. 

In order to stop himself from doing something stupid like just that, Tyler took in a deep breath and asked, “So how are you feeling?”

Nick shrugged a little, “Better. I don’t remember all that much from yesterday, honestly. Still kind of feels like my skull is gonna split open, but pain meds have been helping. This one-” Arabella let out a quiet giggle as Nick tickled her side, “-not so much.”

Tyler let out a huffed laugh. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Dylan was ready to put my head through his snare drum last time he had a concussion.”

Nick laughed, but it cut off as he winced. Tyler grimaced at the sight. 

“Sorry.”

Nick just smiled as if to say “don’t worry about it”. 

Before either of them could say anymore, they heard the sounds of the door opening and footsteps coming into the room. 

“Hey, I’m home. Boo, I got you some Gatorade and these light blocking glasses that are great for concussions. And for the munchkin I got- Oh.”

Nick and Arabella’s father- Chad- looked up from the shopping bag he was holding, eyes immediately locking on Tyler. The lacrosse player wasn’t sure what else to do but awkwardly wave as Nick’s father regarded him. 

“I know you, don’t I?”

“Um, yes, sir. I’m on the lacrosse team with Nick.”

Chad nodded in recognition, “Right. Tim? Tyson?”

“Tyler,” Nick said for him, in what could almost be said to be a defensive tone. Chad looked over to Nick, raising an eyebrow at his son. “He was just bringing my homework over for me.”

Chad nodded at his son slowly. “Sure, kid. And thanks for doing that, Tyler. I was going to head over to the school tomorrow to do that.”

“It was no problem, Mr. Danforth-Evans,” Tyler mumbled, not sure what to do with himself. 

Chad snorted, shaking his head. “It’s just Chad, Tyler.”

Tyler nodded stiffly. He’d met Nick’s parents before, but something about this whole situation made it feel like he’d forgotten any and every way to properly interact with other human beings. 

“Well,” Chad said, holding his hand out towards his children, “Ari, why don’t we leave Boo and his friend to talk a little more and you can come help me put this stuff away.”

Arabella nodded, sliding off the couch and moving towards her dad. 

“Boo?” Tyler couldn’t stop himself from asking. Nick sighed, cringing. 

“I really liked Monsters Inc when I was a kid,” he explained, but Chad let out a snort. 

“Really liked? You insisted- and I mean insisted- on dressing up as Boo from that movie for three Halloweens in a row.” Chad’s face was lit up with the smirk of a parent who knew exactly what they were doing to torture their child. 

Nick ran a hand down his face, “Thanks for that, dad.”

Chad just smiled and picked Arabella up into his arms, walking past the couch into what looked like the kitchen from the angle Tyler was stood at. He dropped a kiss onto Nick’s head as he passed, laughing again as his son looked further embarrassed. Tyler couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped him, which had Nick’s eyes turning on him. Nick’s face was tinged a soft pink, and Tyler was captivated by the way it made the other look. 

After a moment’s or two silence, Nick said, “You know, the only other person who knows the Boo story is Carrie, and she’s sworn to secrecy, so if that suddenly gets around the school- I’m coming after you first.”

Tyler held his hands up in surrender, smiling at Nick. “The only other person who knows is Carrie? Well, now I just feel special.”

Nick looked down at his lap, a small smile on his face. His voice was quiet, barely audible for Tyler to hear as he said, “Yeah, I guess you are.”

Tyler wasn’t sure what to do with that. His chest felt a little tighter at the words, and he bit his tongue to keep from saying anything to embarrass himself.

“I should probably head out. Let you rest,” Tyler managed to get out. Nick looked back up at him, an expression on his face that Tyler couldn’t quite pick out. 

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Thanks for- For bringing me my school stuff. And. . . for yesterday. My dads said I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, so I’m sorry if I was annoying or anything.”

You look cute while rambling about how the platypus has been your favorite animal since you watched Phineas and Ferb, then practically gave me a heart attack when you put your head on my shoulder.

Tyler shook his head. “It’s no problem, man. You were out of it, but you weren’t annoying. I offered to drive you, remember? Anyway, I’m gonna go. I’ll let you know how that scrimmage game on Saturday goes?”

Nick nodded as much as he could without hurting his head and smiled at that- the toothy grin framed by dimples. Tyler sucked in a breath, forcing his eyes away from Nick. 

“See you later, Nick.”

“Bye, Tyler.”

Tyler forced himself not to look back as he left the house, moving swiftly back to his car. As soon as he was inside, he slumped forward, repeatedly thumping his forehead against his steering wheel. Maybe if he got lucky, Nick’s concussion would make him forget the entire interaction- every excruciatingly awkward moment that Tyler allowed himself to look like a complete fool. 

“Real smooth, idiot,” he said out loud as he started his car and pulled out of the Danforth-Evans driveway. 

It was going on a little under a year now that Tyler had had a crush on Nick. He’d caught the other lacrosse player doing a mini victory dance after a game last year and had quite literally fallen- he’d gotten so distracted looking at Nick’s hair and his smiles and the way the sweat made his arms glisten a little bit in the sunlight that he’d tripped over another team member’s bag, falling face first into the grass. 

He’d spent the last year both avoiding all and taking any opportunity to interact with Nick. He’d evidently gotten no better at stifling his pure embarrassing energy when it came to talking to him. He’d just add today onto the ever-growing list of Ways To Make Terrible Impressions On Your Crush. Fantastic.

----------

As soon as the front door shut behind Tyler, Nick buried his face in his hands. He could hear the footsteps of his father coming back into the living room, followed by quiet laughter. 

“I hate you,” Nick mumbled into his hands, but he knew his dad heard it anyway. “I have a concussion- shouldn’t you be nicer to me?”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who knocked you in the head. Besides, what kind of father would I be if I didn’t take every opportunity to embarrass you?”

“The kind whose kids don’t grow up to hate him.”

Nick knew his father wasn’t taking his words to heart, as usual. For all Nick joked that he wanted nothing to do with his dad, the two of them had always been close. 

“Sorry, Boo, but if you’re going to invite a boy over to the house-”

“I didn’t invite him! I don’t even have my phone to invite him. He was just bringing me my homework.” Nick felt his face going even redder than it already was, and he kept it covered by pulling the blanket over his face to avoid his dad’s further teasing. 

“Out of the kindness of his heart, huh?”

Nick peeked an eye out, squinting at his father. “What are you implying here?”

His dad just shrugged, a little too casually for Nick’s taste. Nick sighed loudly, shrinking down into the couch cushions. 

“My head hurts too much for this.”

At that, his dad moved over to the couch, the teasing smile dropped from his face as he took a seat next to Nick. “Has it gotten any worse?”

Chad had always been the parent that took care of the kids’ injuries. He’d gotten so many himself as a kid that he knew the remedy and care for each one Nick or Arabella could ever get. Nick and his father agreed that if Chad ever got bored of basketball- he was currently an assistant coach for the Lakers- he’d likely be amazing in medical school. 

“No, it actually felt better when-” Nick cut himself off. 

When Tyler was here, his brain supplied the rest of the sentence. Nick wasn’t sure what to do with that information. He shut his mouth, frowning a little. He stayed silent as his dad fussed around him a little bit, shifting pillows and pulling the living room curtains closed some more, trying to block out as much light as possible. Nick ran back through the conversation with Tyler in his head. He thought about his teammate dressed in a pair of light colored jeans and his letter jacket that seemed just a little too big for him- Nick was so used to seeing him dressed for lacrosse that he never really saw him dressed casually like that. He thought about Tyler holding Ari’s hand. He thought about Tyler’s thoughtfulness in bringing over his school work so that Nick didn’t have to stress about it later, and he thought about the image of Tyler smiling at him. 

“Well, shit,” Nick let out softly, staring at the wall. 

“Language,” his dad chastised, but Nick ignored him. 

“Shit,” he repeated, then turned as quickly as he could without hurting his head to face his father. “Dad, can I have my phone?”

His dad frowned at him. “Nick, the doctor said no screens, remember? You-”

“Yeah, I know what she said. But I really need my phone. Please?”

“Why?”

“Because I have a concussion and I’m slow on the uptake and I really need to talk to Carrie right now. Ten minutes. Please.”

His dad looked him over, eyes narrowed. “Fine. Ten minutes. But don’t tell your father.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Nick let out, holding his hand out to his dad. Chad grabbed Nick’s phone from where it was sitting next to the TV, then deposited it into his son’s hand. 

Nick scrambled with the device, wincing as he turned the brightness down all the way and pulling up Carrie’s contact. 

carrie

carrie

CARRIE

Carrie Wilson i swear if you don’t respond right now 

im gonna lose my damn mind

Okay okay I’m responding

What do you want

tyler was just at my house and he dropped off 

all my homework and talked to my dad and my sister 

and my head hurts i’m way too tired for this

Tyler??

Pretty lacrosse boy Tyler??

Nick I love you but I am not seeing the importance here

carrie he was at my HOUSE and he SMILED AT ME 

have you ever seen him smile???

because i know my brain isn’t like working right 

now or whatever but he SMILED AT ME and its 

all i can think about

Oh

Oh damn

Nick

My best friend and love of my life

Do you

Have a crush

ON TYLER DOYLE???

YEAH I THINK SO

CARRIE 

i always thought he was really pretty and cute

but hhnnngg i think it’s an actual crush and idk 

what to do about that

Oh my god

he smiled at me and i really wanted to kiss him

how did i not realize i wanted to kiss him

concussion make me dumb

Don’t know if the concussion is to blame for 

that but okay honey

fuck i have to go dad is taking my phone

WAIT WHAT

NICHOLAS

YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THAT

NICK

Nick was grateful he’d had time to lock his phone before his dad pulled it from his hands. He did not need the embarrassment of his dad catching sight of that conversation. He felt a little bad for leaving Carrie on that note, but he was too stressed about how did he not notice he had a crush on this guy to care at the moment. As his dad returned his phone to its original spot, Nick pulled the blanket back over his head, sinking down in an attempt to become one with the couch. As he shut his eyes, he felt his dad’s hand come to rest on his head, above the blanket. 

“I know having a concussion sucks, Boo,” his dad spoke softly. 

Sure. Yeah, let’s pretend the concussion is his biggest problem right now. 

“I’ll take the munchkin upstairs and keep her quiet, why don’t you try to get a little bit of sleep before your father gets home? I’ll wake you up in two hours.”

Nick sighed at the thought that his dad would have to wake him up. He’d had to do it all night as doctor’s orders. Every two hours, wake him up and make him answer a few memory questions to make sure his head injury wasn’t getting any worse. Nick was exhausted, and he knew his dad was as well. It was off season for basketball, so he wasn’t out of the house as often and had been the elected parent to stay up with Nick all night. 

“Love you, Nick,” his father whispered above him, and then the hand disappeared from his head. 

“Love you, too,” Nick mumbled. He knew at this point he wasn’t likely to get any sleep. Not when Tyler had been in his house and giving him that smile- Nick was pretty sure the image was now ingrained in his brain. 

Tyler had never been a teammate that Nick was close to, but he’d always been aware of him. Tyler was funny, and kind, and the two of them had had fun getting stuck in Mrs. Kelly’s fourth period dance class for those few weeks together. And there had never been any denying that Tyler was nice to look at. Really nice. Nice enough that Nick had allowed himself to get so distracted watching Tyler on the sidelines of the field that he’d gotten slammed into the ground and concussed. But he had been so sure that that’s all it was. Tyler was attractive, Nick knew it, and that was that. But then Tyler had driven him to urgent care without a hesitation, sat with him until his father showed up, and then brought him all his school work. Nick had been so struck by that that he’d sat on the couch, staring like an idiot until his 7 year old sister leaned up and whispered that he needed to say something. And damn, Nick might actually be grateful for the concussion because while it may have made him a little slow to realize that Tyler was right there and god, did he want to kiss him, it also saved him from becoming the blushing mess he knew he would have otherwise.  

“Well, shit,” Nick repeated once more, covering his face with his hands.

if you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!! if this gets a good response I’m planning on following it up with a part 2 in which they might go on a date or something like that.

tag list (let me know if you want added for future parts):

@sunsetcurve123

[olruggioofthetorch]

sorry you know me I like to ask a million questions so here it goes- Tinsel:5,18,20,27,31,39,40 / Nila:13,28/Roman:11,6,7/Benji:4,19/Saoirse: 20,25,27 /Fionn: 6,7,10,33/ Scone:21,23 - sorry can’t remember the other siblings off the top of my head and these are the major ones anyway right haha? and this is a lot of questions anyway soooo

Ooo we're getting into the selkies tonight

Tinsel

5. What was their childhood fear?

Being alone or left behind. It was definitely a threat when they were a kid like "if you aren't on the caravan before we leave at noon, we're leaving you behind". I don't think their parents would have actually left them behind when they were small but it was enough of a threat that they and their siblings listened for the most part. Its not so much a childhood fear as it is a regular adult fear now.

18. If they could live or visit anywhere, where would they go?

Tinsel really likes where they live but they do have dreams about living on a sunny coast with their partners when they all settle down. Idk if there's anywhere specific they want to visit? They just go where the adventure leads them. I think they would like to visit somewhere to meet up with their family, tho.

20. What did they dream of "growing up" to be?

Oh man, Tinsel wanted to be an A List celebrity actor. They wanted to be lead role in blockbusters. It was a big goal for them but they were sure they could do it.

27. Have they achieved any of their childhood dreams? Are they still trying? Have those dreams changed?

They've gotten some of their childhood dreams! They moved to Holly Bay and made tons of friends. They got to act in live theater. They were almost in a movie! They got some notoriety from adventuring and were on TV for it. They got to kiss their childhood crush. They didn't quite make it to the A List after getting blacklisted but they're def still trying.

In regards to how they changed: I don't think they changed too much but they did see how hard it was to achieve them. Plus, they started dreaming about having a family when they were with Bast so that's definitely something they want now.

31. Who are they when they aren't with the party?

When they're not with the party, Tinsel is way less open about themself. They're a master of either talking around a question or lying by omission and they use it when they don't feel comfortable sharing. Pre-adventure, they didn't really even tell their closest friends the entire truth about their backstory (which is honestly buckwild and hard to believe anyway) or their relationship with Bast or really anything about their love/sex life.

I think it's bc they don't think Kira and Zona will judge them.

39. If someone could tell them anything about the future they asked, would they want to know? Would they ask?

I think they have actually, they asked if they were going to get married. I don't think they would want to ask something super serious because they aren't going to listen to a no.

40. What sets them free?

A good support system. Tinsel's very talented and driven but they need the power of friendship to keep them from burning out.

Nila

13. How do they like to spend afternoons free?

Nila likes to paint. She dipped her toe into art forgery for a little bit but decided it was more fun to steal the real thing and do her own work on the side. She has one of those cute little travel watercolors she uses to paint landscapes when she gets some time alone. Absolutely no one knows she has this hobby.

28. If they could change their class(es), would they? To what?

I dont think she'd change her class from rogue but she would def take some wizard skills.

Roman

11. What were their teenage years like?

He was a horrible teenage boy, mostly bc he wanted attention. He started off with red hair but occasionally made it redder when he got teased about it. He activated the Cain instinct in a lot of his siblings but I think Tinsel tried to kicked his ass the most purely due to how close their ages are. He shot them with an arrow by accident once and never lived it down.

His mom taught him archery at around 14-15 and he got very good at it to try and impress her. He left home around 18/19, picked up some odd jobs/repaired archery equipment professionally for a few years until Nila called him up like "hey bro miss you let's do this heist together".

6. Did they grow up with siblings? What were those relationships like?

Yes lmao my boy has 9 siblings. I sort of talked about this in the last question but yeah he liked to stir the pot for attention. Even though they tried to kick his ass, his siblings still love him. Him and Saoirse always got along really well and I'm p sure she stopped him from actually getting murdered as a kid lol. He really doesn't have a bad relationship with any of them, though, besides still owing Scone a bunch of money. Rome's a lot of fun and he's the kind of guy who will give or share anything with you. He is just A Lot.

7. How were their relationships with their parents/guardians growing up?

He def knew he wasn't the favorite child lol. I think once Knox realized why his kid was acting up, he made sure to spend some extra time with him every once and a while. And once he showed promise in archery, his relationship with Fulki got better too. I think he has an okay relationship with his parents right now but he definitely would never live with them again.

Benji

4. Who was their childhood hero?

Their dad! They're very similar people and he looks up to him a lot.

19. How does the high noon sun make them feel?

Sleepy... It's too darn hot. He's 100% not interested in going out at high noon so he's either taking a nap or hanging out somewhere shady with Folsom.

Saoirse

20. What did they dream of "growing up" to be?

I don't know if Saoirse had one specific dream. What she did know is that she didn't want to get married and she didn't want to have kids. I think she went through a bunch of phases on what she wanted to be when she grew up until she landed on being a wizard. When that stuck, she just leaned hard into it.

25. What is their comfort item/habit?

She's definitely one of those "make a hot beverage when I'm stressed" kind of people. She's also a stress baker... Which used to be a "make potions and light stuff on fire" habit but she realized she gets muffins if she bakes instead.

She also has a bunch of stuffed animals in her room, purely because she's an adult wizard and no one can tell her not to have stuffies.

27. Have they achieved any of their childhood dreams? Are they still trying? Have those dreams changed?

Oh, she totally achieved the wizard thing and now she's a real Howl Pendragon figure. She got bored being by herself so she applied to get some apprentices, but due to a clerical error, she wound up with a couple of brothers (Max and Arseny) who were way too young to be apprentices. She's basically raising them as her kids (they call her mama and the Townes all consider them grandkids/nephews lol) but Saoirse insists they're still her apprentices in public.

Fionn

6. Did they grow up with siblings? What were those relationships like?

Fionn was the golden oldest brother! He and Saoirse were basically 3rd/4th parents so the rest of the siblings came to love/respect him. He was really good at keeping the peace. Dude would have made a fantastic diplomat. The siblings especially liked when he told them stories about life before their family left the Muirs or stories about knights/heroes. It was a rough day when he disappeared and the siblings that remember him really miss him.

7. How were their relationships with their parents/guardians growing up?

Very strained. Like, he was def the favorite child, but Fionn really had some childhood trauma from The Fall that they couldn't help him with bc they also had it. He sort of resents that he got put into the auxiliary parent role on top of it. I think ultimately they expected way too much out of him so it was only natural he'd disappear and be feral.

10. When did their childhood end?

I don't think it was a definite ending, more of a gradual thing around his early teens when he realized he had a lot of responsibilities.

Scone

21. How did they become an adventurer?

Scone's best friend Latte (a Yuke who's good with magic) sent her a letter that suggested they'd make a good caravanning team. She was itching to leave the family caravan (she was tired of bailing her siblings out and knew that adventuring was good money) so she agreed!

23. What is their role in the party? Not just their class on a meta level, but among the individuals who make up the party?

Imagine a buff accountant and you have Scone lol.

Like Tinsel, Scone is the tank in combat. However, unlike Tinsel, Scone is weirdly responsible. She makes sure all the supplies are stocked and in order, makes sure everyone takes care of themselves and she keeps track of their earnings. She can be outgoing but she prefers to let her team do the social leg work.

[fuzzyfestcat]

IcyHot Love

Description: What happens when All Might’s daughter and Endeavors’ son fall for each other. Will it be a match made in heaven or will her past come back and ruin everything.

Todoroki X reader, Deku x Reader

Chapter 5

( I was pretty tired and wrote this but I hope you all enjoy it)

It was a few days later, (y/n) was excited because it was the day that she was going to go out with Shoto. She went to her restroom, freshened up and got ready. She decided that because it was a hot day, she was going to wear a dress. As she finished getting ready, she headed downstairs where her father was getting ready to head out to Might Tower.

“Good morning, little kit. Where are you headed?” asked All Might as he looked over to his daughter while drinking tea.

“Don’t you remember that I was going to hang out with Todoroki? I called you about it.” She said as she was putting her shoes on.

After talking a bit more, she headed out and made her way to the train station to head over but then she saw Todoroki. Seems like he had just arrived and might be trying to contact her. She walked over to him and tried to catch his attention.

“Hello Shoto. Its nice to see you. I thought I was going to head over to you.” She said, while her ears were twitching with confusion.

“Oh yeah. Sorry about that. My father was getting annoying and decided to come here instead. So, are you ready? I thought we could just go to this café I heard about.” Said the dual haired boy as they started walking towards the café.

As they made their way over, they just talked about school and what they thought of a few pro heroes. That is when suddenly, a boy about Shoto’s age decided to cat call (y/N) and walks up to her.

“Hey sweetie. You are too cute to be seen with this boy. How about you ditch him and come with me. We can go have some real fun.” Said the guy as he tried taking (y/n)’s hand in his.

At that moment, Shoto pulled her close to him and hugged her protectively. The girl was a bit shocked but also a bit scared, thinking the stranger would hurt them if she did not listen.

“Excuse me but that is no way to treat a lady. Now if you do not mind, she is my responsibility. If you have a problem, then you will have to take it up with the staff of U.A. and her guardian.” Said Shoto in a calm but threatening tone.

The stranger, not liking how this was going, decided to walk away. Shoto stayed alert, just in case that guy came back to cause more problems.

“Thank you, Shoto. I really do not like it when that happens. How about we continue this little date of ours.” She said as they walked away towards the café.

--------------------------A few Hours later-----------------------

Shoto and her had gone their separate ways after he walked her home. He wanted to make sure that she made it home safely.

“Thank you, Shoto. I had a wonderful time. Maybe we can go out again sometime. Maybe the big festival that is coming up?” asked (y/n) shyly.

Shoto was partially caught off guard by her question. He then noticed the light blush on her face and right away knew his answer.

“Of course. That sounds great. Well, I should head home. Good Night (y/n)” he said bowing. He then turned and walked away.

That night, (y/n) was the happiest girl in the world, not knowing that the next day will be a nightmare.

-------------------------------- Next Day-----------------------------------

Today, at school, class 1-A was getting ready to head to the USJ. As they were walking over to the bus, her and Izuku were talking about her date with Shoto. She sat next to him in the bus and they were all talking about who had the strongest quirks. As they continued talking, Bakugo started yelling.

“Hey, loudmouth! Keep it down. Its bad enough that you yell in class.” Said (y/n), as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“What did you say, fox freak? I will destroy you!!!” he yelled back.

“That is enough. We have arrived.” Said Aizawa looking ever so tired, like always.

As they all walked in and listened to 13 and Aizawa explain, (y/n) couldn’t shake this feeling that something bad was going to happen. That is when she and the others noticed a smoke looking cloud appearing by the fountain.

“Stay back!! Those are real villains!! 13, get them out of here.” Yelled Aizawa as he headed to fight the villains.

In a span of a few minutes, everyone was separated. (y/n) was sent to the water fountain area where Aizawa was fighting the villains.

“(y/n), you need to get out of here...... on second thought, they won’t give you the chance. Use what we have all taught you and help me!” ordered Aizawa.

Both fought off the small-time villains, but at that moment, (y/n) and Aizawa did not notice the giant bird villain running towards them. (y/n) had no time to react as the creature grabs her and slams her on the floor, creating a small human sized crater and turns his attention to Aizawa. That is when the villain in charge, Tomura Shigaraki, walks over to the girl and crouches down.

“So, this is where you have been this whole time, huh? How about we show everyone what a monster you really are. I will have so much watching destroy your own friends.” He said in a twisted tone as he reached his hand and used his quirk to disintegrate her collar.

(y/n) was in so much pain that she could not stop him, and as soon as the collar became dust, she could all the anger take over. Aizawa tried making his way over to her but it was too late. Her eyes were completely blacked out and flames surrounded her as she let out a scream full of pain and sadness. All he could do is watch as his niece is surrounded in flames as she transforms into a 10 ft black and red fox. She snarled and lunged at the Nomu as the Nomu ran towards her. Aizawa was worried because he knew that in this form, she cannot tell between and foe. Aizawa pulled out the collar from his pocket and tried to make a strategy to get to her and put the collar on. Suddenly, another Nomu attacks him and destroys the collar. As the fight continues, Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta are watching in shock as they watch their classmate as a huge fox and their own teacher being tortured by the second Nomu.

After the second Nomu lost interest in Aizawa, he joins the first Nomu in the fight against the fox. The students decide to get Aizawa to safety while Izuku stayed behind. He was then joined by Bakugo, Kirishima, and Shoto.

“Midoriya, where is (y/n)? I haven’t seen her, and I am worried.” He said as he looked over to the green haired boy.

“Shoto, I don’t know to explain but that giant fox fighting the Nomu is (y/n). That is what she becomes when.......” Izuku was explaining when they were interrupted by Shigaraki as he charged at them ready to attack.

That is when a giant explosion came from the front of the facility. From the cloud of dust, All Might emerged, angry that his students were in danger. As he looked, he was in shock when he saw his daughter in her fox form fighting the second Nomu after defeating the first one. He headed towards the area where she was and flung the Nomu away from his daughter. At that moment, (y/n) lunged at her father, unable to control herself. All Might knew he had no choice but fight back. The four students watching and decided to try and help.

“Leave, all of you. She will attack you!!!” All Might yelled at the students, but they did not listen. Todoroki used his ice and froze of her body and the other three decided to try and hold her head still as All Might put the collar around her neck. Smoke surrounded them and All Might used his yellow blazer to cover his daughter. After a few more hours, the rest of the heroes arrived and handled the rest. They all had the sudden realization that their lives will not be the same again.

[currentfandomkick]

Miraculous Team and the Batboys- Bustier is now on Damian’s Shitlist

So, here’s the lastest in this. i’d feel bad, but Marinette’s response happened and she needs to respond how she’s gonna. 

SOME progress on daminette on Damian’s end (like miniscule) while Marinette is... you’ll see 

--

Marinette… was on edge. It was all clear the last two days, which meant either Hawkmoth was really busy as a civilian, for focusing a lot on the next akuma. Adrien was still upset that she contacted Felix to ensure he got away from Gabriel, despite the fact that Felix was more or less for it once she framed it as a revenge scheme.

Tikki was a bit worried about that, mumbling something about needing to get Marinette retested with the miraculous once Hawkmoth was defeated. Something about potential and compatibility? She was doing physics homework and that took a while.

Damian was being… nice? Not that he isn’t nice per say, just, he seems like the closed off type, and he was focusing on Marinette a lot today and asking her questions about what kinds of things she likes to do with design (personal is her preference, but she knows she can’t go full-on personal stylist for anyone. She needs to mix it up more than that). But also things like which clubs she was in—he did seem more interested in the art club when he found out she’d be there. Maybe he just didn’t like trying new things alone, and just, decided Marinette was a good choice as a temporary safety blanket, or something. (No going down the other options. Not after Adrien became the Just a Friend meme).

Somehow, don’t ask her how, Miss Bustier decided that since Damian was ‘opening up’ to Marinette the most, that she just had to skip her advanced acrobatics lessons for the week—even cancelled without consulting Marinette!

Damian was definitely picking up on her bad mood, and for some reason—she thinks he’s trying to help? Maybe?

“My friend said that pictures like this are amusing.” Became his side comment in every lesson, with some quick sketch of Lila digging a deeper hole each time with a few of her more infamous lies of the day—including one that just said “name drop. Oops!”

If she almost died during Literature on that one, Miss Bustier pretended not to notice.

Adiren and Nino were definitely shooting her looks, and she could feel the girls in class waiting fro a chance to grill her on what was going on.

Then PE came around, and Marinette made her way with the rest of the class.

“So…” Alix began. “I see the new kid can be funny.”

Marinette nodded absently at that. “Well, yeah, I guess.” He was mostly serious, it was hard to tell if this was opening up or him trying to calm her down. Maybe both?

“And he was definitely showing you things all class,” Alya added with a grin.

“Just a few sketches, his to share before any of you get any ideas.” Marinette knew with this group she had to put up rules and reminders pre-emptively. She hadn’t forgotten the traffic laws they broke in operation rose garden���

“No, none at all,” Alya was definitely hiding something.

“Just,” Rose was bouncing at her side. “Are you sure he doesn’t like you!”

Marinette paused, blinked slowly, then shook her head. “I doubt it. I’m just the person he has the most contact with in class, that’s all.”

“Oh…” Rose deflated.

Juleka patted Rose’s back while giving Marinette a Juleka classic of ‘I feel like you’re missing the obvious answer’ and Marinette was definitely not going to go down that road. (Not even think about it until that was an option he explicitly states he wants to pursue. Especially since he’ll only be here for a semester, and it took months to get over her crush on Adrien last year.)

“Its just…” Mylene spoke with her hands, moving one out, then the other before moving them closer together. "Maybe?"

Marinette felt ice in veins. “I, ha, good one girls, well, time for class bye!” Marinette sprinted out of there to see D’Argencourt talking to Damian and looking over the boys. Only Ivan and Nino took self-defense still on the boy’s end—Kim was exempt due to his various sports, Max was allowed out of it do to potential damage to his hands as a programmer, robotics engineer, and gamer. He and Nathaniel trained with Kim and some of their track team instead for PE. Adrien was in fencing so he took an online class practicing his business skills instead.

Ivan was slow to act but his hits met their mark and it took a lot for him to take damage. Nino was quicker and more defensive, so they were paired together to force Ivan to move faster and Nino to attack more.

That meant Damian, was the odd one out until D’Argencourt could figure out his style and level... unless—

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, good to see the Chardins have returned you at last.”

“Only for the week M. D’Argencourt,” Marinette reminded him. She knew he still wanted her to test out fencing but she also knew she was much better a yo-yo and hand-to-hand. And she had Maman and Papa to train her in a few forms of that if she ever wanted.

“Yes, yes. Now, I would like you to do a practice spar with M. Greyson, am I understood?”

“Yes D’Argencourt.”

“And if he can keep up, feel free to escalate. You are quite good at keeping your partners on their toes, it would be a disservice if you don’t now.”

Marinette took a deep breath and counted until she lost some of the tension in her shoulders. Once she was done stretching, she checked on Damian. He was almost done.

“Ready when you are Damian.”

--

Damian paused at his desk mate being his opponent. He may not know her history with this, but he knew he’d have to hold back substantially more than he did with Greyson or Drake. She didn’t even know how to block lethal moves, let alone how to read them.

Then they began.

He let her get the first shot, but she was slow. It was a very easy block. He made sure to keep his strikes light.

Then she a bit…quicker. A bit more force, and she was dodging in a way he thought only Greyson did? Apparently ducking forward and shifting into a kick position was more common than he thought.

He was still holding back—he wouldn’t cause serious damage over a simple spar. Especially to a civilian. But she was definitely well trained.

He might admit it was fun trying to guess where she’d strike, how she’s dodge, trying to figure out what was going on in her mind. Her patterns were a little like Drake’s—always short with force, but she gave herself plenty of room to move away and escape.

Her style was clearly to disorient, unlike his family.

It was all going well and good until something interrupted.

“Where is that slacker Marinette!”

Damian grabbed her hand while the thing—akuma—looked around. He managed to get her adecent way away before she shoved him in a closet. Him!

“Stay here, if I’m the target I can get him somewhere there are less people.”

“That’s dangerous!” Wreck less, she’d get herself killed. Even if one of the heroes reversed the damage, there was no way that reviving her wouldn’t come at some cost.

“Sorry Damian, but you’re staying here.Chat Noir and Ladybug will know what to do!” She threw the door closed and locked it.

“Ah, there’s my purrincess, causing trouble again I see?” Damian ground his teeth. The incompetent cat was here.

“Do you ever take a day off from causing toruble?” Queen Bee asked.

“Chat, Queen Bee—I can explain.”

“Later.” The cat’s voice didn’t sound right. “For now, we’ll just need to get you somewhere safe while we wait for Ladybug’s plan.”

Damian wanted to scream at that. Were they incapable of planning without their leader—risking citizens’ safety to wait for one hero!

He messaged this to his brothers while Marinette was taken away. This—this wasn’t how heroes are supposed to act.

--

Marinette decided she hated Bustier’s brand of ‘fix-it’ once more. The past three years it meant let Lila do whatever she wants, and before it was Chloe in her brat phase.

Marinette made sure to transform once Chat was gone and knew he’d be visiting her that night. Which meant tabling her end-Gabriel plot for now… unless she went to the group review. Adrien wouldn’t confront her over it in front of others, and she’d catch up on her assignments. And bonus Alix for design ideas and history tutor in one!

Marinette made her way back to the school, using a different route to make sure Adrien didn’t put it together quite yet. Soon—once he connected with kwami besides the ones he transformed with—then she could tell him. Guardian apprentices  were expected to know identities, wielders were not.

Once she made it to the school, she noted that the akuma just made you do complex acrobatic and gymnastic routines… similar to the ones she was given.

“Now, once I find that slacker Marinette, my show will be complete!”

She… she didn’t even know at this point. But she did know she was far from a slacker, and that once Chat put together her identity… there would be mother henning then on both sides of the mask from him… and possibly Chloe. She does follow his lead as a civilian, and she would trust his judgment of her health better than her own.

Marinette was ready to dive in—noting that Chat was keeping the man on his toes like they’d practiced—when her yo-yo went off.

It was Red Robin

“Not the time.”

“Does your team know how to plan without you?”

Marinette was thrown by that as… “Without the Lucky Charm, they don’t like going in unless we have more backup.”

Red Robin nodded at that, analyzing until…

“Would you mind if we helped them learn to strategize without your Lucky Charm as the crux? You’ve done so before but I don’t see a record of them doing so without you.”

Marinette didn’t know how to respond to that. It was always her job to do the thinking.

“Talk another time, I have to figure out this one’s attack patterns.”

“There is a live feed, he seems to have forty-second interval before he can send off a blast.”

Marinette glanced back at him for a moment.

“Thanks?”

“Where are you slacker Marinette!”

“I gotta go.” Marinette ended the call, watching him blast a chair. Which now balanced on two legs… What was Hawkmoth thinking with these akuma lately?

Marinette landed on the roof in sight of Chat. A quick gesture and he knew what she meant. Bee was quick to follow, falling back and luring the akuma away from the school into one of the now vacant streets.

Once the pair had the akuma out of the school, Marinette cast her Lucky Charm.

“A twirling ribbon?”

She looked around, noting that the akuma’s breast pocked was off. target: the item in his pocket.

Marinette could feel Tikki trying to tell her something as her Lucky Vision bled red on her target, herself the ribbon and her partners—oh. Oh.

--

She wanted a medal for managing to get Chloe and Adrien—Queen Bee and Chat Noir or not—to pretend they were hit. AND for passing off the ribbon to Chloe during the blast without being noticed in bright red spots in broad daylight.

Chat was a very, very useful akuma distraction.

Queen Bee managed to tie up the akuma with the ribbon while Chat Cataclysmed the jacket and tore what was in it—a picture of some old circus with a man and woman on trapeze with a boy flipping in the air between them.

Marinette managed to cast the cure and got Chat and Queen Bee to talk to the victim this time—she was too drained to hear about her failures as a civilian.

“Monsieur, are you alright?”

While Chardin recounted his tale, Marinette left before her transformation ended, giving Tikki a cookie and making it look like she was wandering back from where Chat dropped her off before.

“M. Chardin?”

The man huffed at her when she approached, the heroes long gone and her classmates peeking out.

“Mademoiselle Marinette, I see you are unharmed.” She could feel his judgement and wanted the world to swallow her up.

“I, yes. Sorry about the lesson change…” She wasn’t allowed to contradict Miss Bustier out in the open. Her akumatazation was one of the worst to fight. (Always alone on those.)

“I see.”

“Marinette!” She flinched at that, seeing Bustier head over.

Chardin apparently caught her movement. His was looking between them quickly.

“I told you to inform your instructor that you would not be attending for the rest of the week.”

Marinette tried to keep it together here. Remembering to ground herself like Master Fu and M. Chardin taught her the last two years.

“You only told me just before classes began.” She didn’t point out the lack of consultation. Or the whole, assume she’d be okay with it.

“Marinette.” There was that tone. The one that still made her want to sink into the floor. “We’ve been over this…”

Chardin moved in front of her. “Madame, my students know they have to give a three day notice, something you clearly did not give her.”

Marinette stayed where she was, trying to breathe right. (Count in hamsters to slow it down and relax your muscles.)

“Marinette knows she has to set a good example for the class as a leader, and she already stepped down from doing her role proper.”

Marinette did flinch at that. (She’s not doing things wrong, she’s doing what she can. Boundaries, Master Fu told her over and over again. She needed boundaries and to enforce them.)

She didn’t know when her classmates appeared, but Alya was in her face, telling her mirror her breathing. Shit. She was spiraling again.

Lila was saying something off to the side—probably insulting her or putting her down again.

Someone else was there, but she didn’t know who. Something about moving her somewhere safe?

She was in the bakery next, customers downstairs. Something about knowing how to pick locks from the not-Alya beside them.

“I don’t want to know, just get her in there.”

The second she was behind the counter things stopped moving as fast. The drink station was… grounding. Lavender, Chamomile, Lemon balm and green. She let the steep while working on Alya’s usual—mocha with extra foam and whip cream, sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

Alya took the drink without question, nodding as Marinette continued to move about, checking on her own drink (three more to steep before being drinkable) and looking over at the other person.

Somehow it was Damian. She wasn’t even going to question it. Turkish coffee.

“How much sugar?”

“Half a tea spoon.”

Marinette nodded, adding that and a bit of cardamom into the cezve and stirring it on heat for a minute. She let it brew while pouring her tea. She glanced over at the pastries before giving Damian a savory cheese croissant and Alya a piece of calfoutis. She took a small peach flaugnarde for herself. Once the Turkish coffee had sat long enough, Marinette gave it to him and joined them.

A few of her classmates had come in by then, while her parents and the customers shot them quick looks only to be waved off by Alya  or scared off by Damian… who was glaring for her now? She didn’t notice she took Zombie’s (now expected) seat until the man walked in and saw the trio there, and moved to another spot. She had a feeling he was listening in….

Alya was the one to break the silence while they ate. “Talk now or train-ride deal?”

Marinette bit her lip. “Train ride on Friday, I have plans for the weekend that I don’t want to change.”

“Okay, sure we can’t go sooner?”

Marinette did the calculations in her head. The session with Fu can be moved back until after she unloads, and dealing with Felix after that… she was hoping Sabrina or Chole would step up for her there. Maybe Nino—no wait. He probably was going to hear about her attack and convince the other two to handle it until Tuesday.

“Yeah, just, today is catchup on classwork.”

“No deadlines with your current commissions coming up?” Damian was the one to ask that.

Marinette shook her head. She cleared that for the next four weeks already.

“I’m good until next month.”

Alya nodded. “Good.”

Marinette fidgeted then.

“Say, Damian,” Alya turned to the boy. “Think you’ll make the study session tonight?”

He looked over at Marinette for a second. “I can check, one moment.”

--

Damian opened his phone only to see that drake sent him two texts: ‘How do you know Coffee Angel?’ and ‘Never mind, I heard something about studying. You’re going.’

Damian almost scowled. Almost. He had a feeling it wouldn’t help the biggest potential akuma threat… and he didn’t like the thought upsetting her witnessing the display a moment ago.

Little regard for her safety.  Some kind of anxiety disorder and likely low self-image or esteem. Extremely observant, not bad in a fight, highly competent, organized and somewhat attrac—

He flushed a bit.

“I will be there. If you wouldn’t mind, would you show me the way Miss Dupain Cheng?”

The girl nodded, still a bit fidgety.

He kept an eye on her during their classes, and scowled Bustier anytime she moved to corner Marinette in class or between. If a simple, “I believe she’s showing me to our next class.” was all it took to get the woman to back off, he’d say it.

Preventing a potential akuma was more important…

And if it meant her shoulders dropped and there was a small smile aimed at him well… he is not above caring for those in various types of situations that are not the best for their well-being.

And if that meant dealing with the blond raising an eyebrow at him constantly, so be it.

--

I will get to more Batbros and Marinette in the next chapter. Here, we have Damian refusing to acknowledge somethings while trying to protect.

Some comment idea were used, but not how i was expecting as hands did a thing, and Marinette responded to things and yeah.

Next time we'll get bonding moments, probably. Do we want to see the class study section in the next chapter at all, or focus on the batboys' take on all this?

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