#*or mostly just excuse for me to post stuff I planned to post last year kek*

[nyaawn]

Since this is FFVII Rebirth's anniversary, I have confession to make. Sorry Cloti, sorry Clerith, sorry Cloack, sorry Clephiroth.

Cloud x Nanaki is my OTP now

[smartkookiee]

Wounds We Never Show // Ch.8 — jjk.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・ ❥pairing: Jungkook x Reader (she/her, afab) ❥genre/rating: 18+ explicit content, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, enemies with benefits ❥chapter warnings/tags: flashback stuff, cute college JK, he's very charming, college y/n (she's chilled out), y/n gets a little hurt in this chapter (nothing major I swear, bothering Yoongi (my favorite thing to do in this fic), Vic has some legitimate advice, some more classic y/n and Jk back and forth, tae being a menace and meddling, swearing, fighting, angst, misunderstandings, y/n jumping to conclusions (again) heavy sigh, we are back in the god damn house (face palm), you will understand this once you finish the chapter but - JUST TRUST THE PROCESS I PROMISE I WILL FIX THIS ❥word-count: 7.3k ❥Series Masterlist Previous Chapter ||❥|| Next chapter ❥Playlist fic is cross posted to ao3 send an ask or comment on post to be added to the taglist! a/n: this chapter is mostly edited, if there are any mistakes pretend you didn't see them .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・

Five Years Ago

"Okay, how did that sound?"

You let out a breath, setting your notecards down on the table. Your brain was fried from running through your section of the presentation for what felt like the hundredth time. Across from you, Jungkook leaned back in his chair, absently spinning a pen between his fingers. His eyes, slightly glazed over, snapped back to you when he realized you were waiting for an answer.

"It was good," He said with a nod.

You narrowed your eyes at him. "I don’t believe you."

Jungkook cracked a sheepish grin and ran a hand through his already-messy hair, "Okay, fine. I barely listened," He admitted, letting out an exaggerated groan as he slumped forward, resting his forehead against the table for dramatic effect. "But! It wasn’t because it was bad. My brain just isn’t functioning anymore."

You sighed in relief, sinking back into your chair. "Thank god. I felt like I was just spewing out random words."

“Maybe we need a break. I need food or something.” Jungkook ran his hand through his hair. Standing up front he looked around the room like the answer was written on the wall or something.

"I have a power bar." You reached into your bag, rummaging through the mess of notes and pens until you pulled out. Tossing it on the table in Jungkook's direction.

Jungkook barely hesitated before tearing it open. He took a bite, chewing thoughtfully, "Or we could just call it a night. No offense, but I think we’re both way too dead to get anything productive done."

"None taken," You said immediately, already shoving your things into your bag. You didn’t need to be told twice. This project had drained the last bit of life out of you, and if Jungkook was giving you an excuse to stop, you were taking it.

Jungkook also begins to pack his things up, “You have any plans?” 

You paused mid-zip, looking up briefly before going back to shoving things into your bag. “Other than crawling into my bed and dying? No.”

“Wanna hang out?”

You froze. “Uh… really?”

Jungkook shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Yeah. Why not?” He grinned. “We’re sort of friends now, right?”

“Well, me telling you about my shitty ex who happens to be your shitty friend doesn’t really count as  friendship.” You fiddle with the end of your sleeves on your jacket.

“Ex-friend and we should hang out and we can become actual friends. We can go to the student union and just get some food or whatever,” He offered so casually it actually threw you off. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever hung out in the student union other than to get some books or a new ID card.” 

Before you can get in another word, Jungkook threw his backpack over his shoulder. Then without a second thought scooped up yours as well. Leaving the meeting room, you following close in toe trying to grab your backpack back. 

“Hey!” You rushed after him, reaching to claw your bag back. “Give that back!”

“Just follow my lead. It’ll be fun.”

“I was told to never go places with strangers.”

“Well, good thing I won’t be a stranger by the end of the night.” He looked back at you, grinning cheekily.

You narrowed your eyes. “I don’t trust that.”

“Just trust me,” He corrected, his tone teasing.

You exhaled, eyeing your poor backpack that he held hostage. You had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t going to give it back without a fight. “…Fine.” 

The student union wasn’t far, and the walk there was surprisingly nice. The tension of schoolwork melted away as you made casual conversation, Jungkook making dumb jokes that you tried very hard not to laugh at. You were slowly starting to get a real sense of his personality; the one you’d spent the last month and a half trying not to care about.

Unfortunately, what you learned was that he was kind of an idiot.

A nice idiot. But still an idiot.

When you arrived, you assumed he’d take you to one of the food places.  Instead, he walked you straight past them, leading you toward a small bowling alley tucked into the corner of the building.

You immediately stopped in your tracks. “Oh no.” Shaking your head taking a few instinctual steps back. 

Jungkook turned back, amused. “Oh yes.” 

“No, Jungkook you don’t understand,” You embarrassingly laugh at the thought, “I’m really really bad.”

“Oh come on. It’ll be fun.” He set down both of your backpacks on the closest available seats. “Plus I can promise you, no one is as bad as my friend Tae.”

Taehyung, who you had no choice in meeting and had a feeling he would be around more often if you explored any friendship with Jungkook. 

“You seriously don’t know what you’re signing up for,” You sigh. 

“Come on.” Jungkook meanders away to find a bowling ball. “Let’s get a ball first and we’ll go from there.” 

“Is there some trick to it?” 

“Sort of, you want one that is decently heavy but not too heavy that you can’t hold it comfortably.” Jungkook picks up a ball and gives it to you, it’s marked with a six. “Try this. Hold it with one hand and see how it feels.” 

You slot your fingers into the holes. Holding the ball in your hand and letting your arm go slack to feel the weight. “Seems a little light.” 

“Alright so now we go up a weight.” Jungkook hands you a ball with a seven marked on it. You trade him for the new one. Testing this one out the same way. “Okay that feels good. Eight might be too heavy.”

“Look, you're already learning!”

“Just get yours.” 

Jungook picks himself a ball and you both go back and he sets up the lane for the two of you. Once it is all good to go, Jungkook goes first. Effortlessly sending his bowling ball down the center of the lane, getting a strike on the first try. 

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” You say with an exaggerated groan. Jungkook seems fully amused by your reaction. “I can’t follow that up.”

“Oh come on. I just know how to bowl! I’m not expecting anything from your first throw.” Jungkook comes over pulling you out of your seat by your wrist. You try to resist but it doesn’t work.

“You promised me a fun time.” You drag your feet under you.

“It will be once you give it a shot!” Jungkook held his arms like he was presenting the bowling lane to you. 

You grab your bowling ball, having absolutely zero clue as to what you were supposed to be doing. “Don’t laugh.” 

“I won’t laugh.”

“Swear.” You look back at him, daggers flying from your eyes. 

“I won’t! Just go!” Jungkook Just stands back waiting for you to go. 

You suddenly felt like the pressure was really on now. With a swift swing you throw your ball, it goes straight for about one second before veering hard to the right. Wobbling and then falling into the gutter. 

Jungook doesn’t say anything, just steps up behind you as you both watch the ball roll down the gutter. 

“You missed.” 

“I told you I was bad.” 

“You’re not without promise, you just lack technique.” He clapped a hand on your back in what was probably supposed to be encouragement, but it felt more like a pity pat. “And guess what? You get to go again! Get your ball, and I’ll show you.”

Dragging your feet, you retrieved your ball again, sighing dramatically as you returned to the lane. Jungkook, apparently unfazed by your theatrics, stepped behind you and placed his hands firmly on your shoulders, nudging you slightly to the right.

“I don’t think I’m teachable,” You muttered.

“Stop whining. You can do this.”

Jungkook extended his arm straight out in front of both of you. “Okay, listen. You want your throwing hand lined up with where you want the ball to go. Keep your wrist straight all the way through the throw.”

As he stepped away to grab his own ball, you huffed, still unconvinced. “You have a weird way of making friends.”

He shrugged, casually inspecting the weight of his ball. “Feel free to leave whenever you want.”

You scowled, but he ignored it, holding his wrist up for you to see. “Now, like this.” He demonstrated the proper grip, keeping his wrist completely flat and facing toward the lane.

You attempted to mimic him, gripping your ball and focusing on keeping your wrist straight. But the movement felt unnatural, your instincts screaming at you to rotate your wrist at the last second.

“This feels wrong,” You complained, shifting uncomfortably.

Jungkook smirked. “That’s because you’ve been doing it wrong your whole life.”

You shot him a glare, but he only nodded toward the lane, “Try it again. And don’t overthink it.”

You line yourself up like he said. Just keep your wrist straight, it seemed simple enough. So you went again, throwing the ball trying to keep your arm lined up with the center. You knew instantly your wrist twisted a little. This time you were pleasantly surprised to see the ball stay mostly on course, knocking down a single pin. 

Jungkook begins clapping next to you. 

Your mouth falls open and you point down the lane, “Hey! I got one!” 

“You got one!” Jungkook just had an enthusiastic smile at sudden triumph. “Now we can really start competing. Maybe you’ll actually get better than me.” 

“Maybe in like ten years, but I think that’s like the first time I’ve every successfully hit a pin!” 

“By the end of the night you’ll be my star prodigy I swear.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・

Present Day

 You were missing your wallet. 

You had actually been driving yourself crazy not having it. You thought maybe you had to have it at the bowling place the night before. You called them when they opened this morning. Praying that you had left it there. To no avail they said they couldn’t find anything. 

You were pretty disappointed. Not that there was anything special in there but you were going to have to replace your cards and your ID. Which was a whole hassle of its own. 

“I bet you just left it at home.” Vic assured you as you wallowed in self pity, moping around your whole shift. You really were just throwing the biggest pity party even though it wasn’t that serious. 

“I tore the place apart this morning. It’s gone forever,” You moan. Pity radiating from you.

“Y/N all of that shit is replaceable you know?” 

“I know! It’s just annoying because I have to get my ID redone and cancel my cards. It’s a hassle.” 

“Well where did you go last night?” 

“I hung out with some of the girls in the ER. We went bowling, but I already called and they don’t have it.” 

“You hung out… with other nurses. That weren’t me!” Vic starts to sniffle and cover her mouth like she is about to cry. 

“Oh please, you hang out with other coworkers all the time without me.” You shove her chair but she just just ends up spinning in a circle with a laugh. 

“It’s fine. I’m not your favorite anymore… I get it. I can pick a new favorite too.” She scoots her chair, bumping it against yours. “Like Yoongi.” 

On cue Yoongi, rounded the corner hearing his name, his head perked up. “What about me?” 

“I can’t believe you would pick this limp noodle over me,” You say pointing at him like he did something wrong. Yoongi stopped dead in his tracks.

“Limp noodle?” He mutters under his breath. Looking down at his body, suddenly wondering if he did in fact look like a noodle. 

“You’re not a limp noodle, I’m making a point. Run away while you still can.” You say waving for him to escape in some direction, he nods. 

“Gladly.” Yoongi heads down another direction away from the nurse station. 

“No! Yoongi you’re my new work best friend.” Vic calls after him as he leaves a little too quickly. 

“No thanks.” The both of you hear him call back, making you laugh. 

“If anyone's your work best friend it’s Jin.” You spin around in your chair looking to see the reaction you’ll get from Vic. 

“He’s my work nightmare. I’ve never met another man who drives me more insane.” She says as she scrolls through documents. She takes a quick a quick glance at some notes left from the nightmare himself and you can visibly see her rage bubbling under the surface. 

“I should also run away before you explode.” You try to make your escape but she forces your back into your chair. 

“Not so fast. You know we have more work to do.” 

You knew she was right too. It was medication paperwork, usually this kind of thing was pawned off to others but it’s backed up and so now it’s made its way back to the nurses to fill out. Mostly had to do with filling the correct paperwork for medications to be ordered and paid for. It was just tedious but not at all difficult. 

“Fine.” You groan, continuing to work through some of the files on the tablet in front of you. Pouting still thinking about the hassle of having to replace all of your crap. 

“Are you stilling pouting? Come on, it’s going to be fine.” Vic rolling her eyes, her patience wearing thin for you now. “Could maybe one of the girls have picked it up by mistake?” 

You hadn’t really considered it, but it was possible. Except it was more likely that Taehyung or maybe Jimin had accidentally grabbed it. “I haven’t asked, I guess I could see.”

You go to reach for your phone, but Vic stops you again, “Nuh uh! Not till we get more of this done.” 

You let out a defeated sigh, dragging yourself through the remainder of the paperwork alongside her. Only after making a considerable dent in the workload did she relent, waving you off so you could make your call.

Stepping away, you pressed Taehyung’s contact and put the phone to your ear. It rang twice before his familiar, overly dramatic voice burst through the receiver.

“Well, if it isn’t the most beautiful person I know—besides me, of course.”

You couldn’t help the amused smile tugging at your lips. “I’m prettier, and we both know it.”

Taehyung scoffed. “Yeah, right. With my jawline? People literally fall to their knees.” His unwavering confidence was truly something to behold.

“Hmm, last I checked, it never worked on me.”

“That’s because you’re way too good for me,” He conceded, without missing a beat. “So, what can I do for you?”

You chewed your lip, hesitant. “You didn’t happen to take my wallet last night by accident, did you?”

He hummed in thought, dragging out the suspense just to mess with you. “Sorry, no. You lost it?”

“I guess so. I was so sure I had it when we left last night.” You frowned, thinking back. “Maybe Jimin grabbed it?”

“No, he wouldn’t have taken it. I’m also pretty sure I saw you grab it. Have you asked Jungkook?”

Your stomach twisted at the mention of his name. “Uh… no.”

“Didn’t he drive you home?”

You hesitated, suddenly regretting this entire conversation. “I mean… yeah.”

“You should check if maybe you left it in his car.”

You sighed, “I don’t really have a way to do that. Can you ask him?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have Jungkook’s number.”

A pause. “Really?”

You huffed. “Yeah? We haven’t exactly been on great terms for several years if you haven’t noticed.”

“Ah, right.” He dragged the word. “Well, I can give it to you if you want.”

You shook your head, even though he couldn’t see you. “I think it’s better if you ask. No need to add another avenue for us to kill each other.”

Taehyung chuckled. “Alright, if you say so. But what do I get in return?”

“My love and devotion,” You offered dryly.

“Ugh, you say that, but I know you’re messing with me.” You could hear the pout through the phone.

You grinned. “Goodbye, Taehyung. Let me know.”

The moment you hung up, Taehyung wasted zero time before ringing Jungkook. He knew Jungkook would pick up. And Jungkook, confused by the unexpected call, answered cautiously.

“What?” Jungkook said, his tone lace with suspicion.

“Good morning!” Taehyung sang through the phone.

Jungkook frowned, glancing at the time. “It’s 1 PM.”

“Fine, if we’re being technical, good afternoon.”

Jungkook sighed. “What’s up, dude?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have Y/N’s wallet, would you?”

Jungkook blinked. “Uh… no? Why? Did Y/N say I took it or something?”

“Not at all,” Taehyung assured him. “Just lost it and asked me to check with you since, you know, you drove her home.”

Jungkook frowned, leaning back in his chair. “I guess it could have fallen out in the seat.”

“Oh, imagine this,” Taehyung started, voice brimming with amusement. “You find Y/N’s wallet. You take it back to her. She looks at you with big, adoring eyes and says, ‘Oh my goodness, Jungkook, you saved the day!’ And then you say, ‘I know, baby.’ Then she says, ‘Let’s make out!’ And then—”

Jungkook cut him off with a deadpan, “You’re gross.”

“It’s romantic.”

“It’s never gonna happen.”

“Yeah…” Taehyung dragged the word out knowingly. “Never gonna happen… again.”

Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

“No.” Taehyung’s grin was audible through the phone.

Jungkook exhaled sharply. “I’ll check in a bit. I have to go to my office later anyway.”

“Oh, perfect.” Taehyung sounded entirely too pleased. “I’ll text you Y/N’s number so you can let her know you have it. Or don’t. Your call.”

Jungkook’s brow furrowed. “Wait, how did you know I didn’t have Y/N’s number?”

“Call it a hunch.” Taehyung’s voice was smug. “You two don’t exactly get along these days, so I figured you wouldn’t have it.”

“…True.”

“Just let her know soon, she seemed pretty stressed about it.”

With that Taehyung hung up. Jungkook was left  dumbfounded by the exchange. He wondered for a moment, maybe it had fallen out? So he slipped out of his apartment and headed on down to the garage. Once making it to his car, it was right there. You must have dropped it and didn’t realize. 

Jungkook picked it up, there was nothing particular about it. He made his way back up to his place. Pulling out his phone, Taehyung had already sent your number. 

Meanwhile, you were slumped on a bench during your lunch break, barely noticing the sound of your coworkers chatting in the background. Your mind kept drifting back to your wallet; the one that had slipped from your pocket, the one you hadn’t even realized was gone until you reached into your bag to grab your phone. It wasn’t like it was the end of the world, but still, you felt this nagging irritation.

Right at that moment, you phone buzzed next to you. Checking to see you had a message from an unknown number.

unknown: I have your wallet

The text was followed by a photo of your  wallet on a countertop. You could only assume this was Jungkook, and Taehyung had given him your number. 

unknown: I’m holding it hostage

: Keep it, it has your boy cooties on it now. 

unknown: You’re tell me

unknown: It has your demonic energy attached to it. I need it out of my life immediately before it give me bad luck

:Uh huh, can you just bring it back to me Jungkook?

In the moment you were waiting for him to respond, you decided on a fitting contact name.

TheWorstEver: I have to go to my office today to grab something. I can bring it by later.

:I’ll be home at 6 so anytime after that

You also sent your apartment details so he knew where he was going. Jungkook didn’t respond from there, thank god. It must have slipped from your pocket when you got in the car or something and you hadn’t even noticed. 

Unfortunately this means you have to thank Jungkook. Ew. 

You were still chewing over the situation when Vic walked over, her presence a sudden shift in your mood. She sat down next to you, her eyes narrowing as she took in the look on your face, “What’s with that face? Any luck?” 

You blinked, realizing you had been making a face. You quickly wiped it off and gave her a half-hearted smile. “Uh, yes… actually.”

“That’s great! Where was it?” she asked, her voice a little too cheerful for your liking.

You hesitated for a moment, your mind working overtime, trying to figure out how to explain this. After a beat, you mumbled, “Jungkook had it…”

“What?” She raises an eyebrow, she did not understand you. 

You had intentionally omitted the information about Jungkook being there last night because you really didn’t want to hear Vic’s teasing today. “...Jungkook had it.” 

She blinks at you like she was trying to register what you said, “What? How?” 

You sighed and rubbed your temples, annoyed at how complicated this felt for no reason. “I may have forgotten to mention that we ran into him and some other guys I know… we hung out.”

Her eyebrow arched. “Hung out? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” you muttered, looking at the table, hoping she wouldn’t press for more details. “It wasn’t planned. We just happened to be at the same bowling alley, in lanes right next to each other. Then I didn’t have a ride home, so... because I crushingly defeated him, he drove me home. It fell out in his car.”

Vic stared at you, unblinking, and you could practically hear the gears turning in her head. Finally, she broke the silence with a loud laugh. “Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me nothing happened? After all the tension between the two of you recently? Are you seriously telling me you didn’t go home with him again?”

“No, Vic,” you said firmly, but there was a certain tightness in your chest that betrayed your words. “We just hung out.”

“Armageddon didn’t fall upon the world?” She teased. You bump her shoulder rolling your eyes. 

You shot her a dry look, but couldn’t stop yourself from smiling a little. “No. Everything’s fine.”

She hummed, clearly not buying it. “Damn, that’s boring. What happened to the fiery clash of titans you two used to have?”

You shrugged, feeling something strange twist in your stomach. “I don’t know, he’s… easy to be around lately. We just talk, I guess.”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Really?”

“Yeah?”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, just seems strange.”

“I mean… it is, but what do you mean?”

She tilted her head, like she was carefully choosing her words. “Look, I don’t want to sound like I’m overstepping here. I know I tease you about the hooking up but… you’ve told me stories. This guy has seriously hurt you before, and now, suddenly, he’s easy to be around?”

“But what?” 

She lowers her voice to a whisper now, “He’s being nice… after you slept together? I don’t know, that sets some red flags off for me.” 

You froze, the weight of her words sinking in. You hadn’t let yourself think about it like that, hadn’t considered how easily things could go sideways again. But Vic wasn’t wrong.

“I hadn’t thought about it like that I guess.” 

“I’m just saying be cautious. Make sure he’s not doing this just because the door is open for that to happen again.”

“Okay…. I know…” You pause trying to form your thoughts, “As much as I don’t like Jungkook… he’s not really like that…” 

“I just would hate to see you make nice with him and then he turns into a dick all over again,” Her expression was serious but sympathetic. “He’s still a guy after all.” 

“Right. Well considering it’s never going to happen again, and I have dealt with Jungkook’s bullshit for years. I think it’ll all be okay.” You settle back into your chair and sigh.

“I guess. Just be careful, he’s caused you enough emotional pain… And I know your other friends love him too so they might not see it the same way as me.”  

Not that they knew about what was going on between the two of you, “Yeah that’s true.” 

And you thought that would be the end of it. Vic’s words ate at you a little as the day passed you by. As much as you liked to say you didn’t know Jungkook, you did know him enough. He wouldn’t just be being nice to you to sleep with you again. 

At least, you thought, but maybe he wasn’t the same.

He was the one to suggest sleeping together at the wedding… even if it spawned from something stupid Taehyung said. Jungkook was still the one to offer…

 Maybe he was like that. Maybe you had him all wrong.

You were still mulling it over when you got home later, tossing your bag onto the couch with a sigh. The thoughts lingered, tugging at the edges of your mind as you toed off your shoes, wiggling your sore feet against the hardwood. Before you could get too lost in your head, your phone buzzed in your pocket. A quick glance at the screen told you it was your mom.

With a small smile, you swiped to answer. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi! I haven’t heard from you in a while. Wanted to check in.”

You wandered into the kitchen as you spoke, pulling open the fridge with one hand and balancing your phone between your shoulder and ear. “Just been working, Mom. Nothing crazy these days.” You grabbed a bottle of water and cracked it open, taking a quick sip.

“I know. I just miss you. When are you coming to visit?”

“Hopefully soon. I just need to sit down and plan it out. I have all this time since the wedding now.” You leaned against the counter, absentmindedly peeling at the label on your water bottle.

“Well, pick the days, and I’ll make them work.”

“I’ll have to see. I’ve been learning all this new stuff at work, and I hate to step away while I’m still getting my feet under me.”

“Oh, that’s right, you moved onto a new floor.”

“Yeah, oncology.” You rubbed at the back of your neck, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. It had been a lot to adjust to, but you were getting there.

“How are the doctors? Everyone being nice?”

“So far, I actually really like the doctors I’m working with right now. Dr. Kim is incredibly talented. I’ve been learning a lot.”

“Is he cute?”

You nearly choked on your water, coughing as you straightened up. “Mom.”

“What? You never tell me what’s going on in your love life, so I have to get something out of you.”

“He’s fine. I don’t think I could ever date him,” you said, rolling your eyes and picking at a speck on the counter. “Nor do I want to. I don’t like dating coworkers.”

“Yeah, but you spend all your time in that hospital or with your friends.”

“Hey, I just went out last night with some of the girls I work with. We even ran into some other guys I know.” You wandered back toward the living room, plopping onto the couch and tucking your legs under you.

“Like who?”

“Like Taehyung. You met him last time you were here.”

“Ah yes, the one who flirted with me the whole time.”

You groaned, flopping back against the cushions. “Yeah, that one. And some others.”

“Like who?”

“Do I have to spell out every detail?”

“Yes! I haven’t seen you in months. I want to hear everything.”

You exhaled a laugh, shaking your head. “Well, he has this friend Jimin. And Jungkook.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Jungkook? Like the boy who terrorizes you? That Jungkook?”

“Yes, the very same.” You stretched your legs out, letting your head rest against the armrest.

“He didn’t give you a hard time?” You could hear the defensiveness in her voice. Jungkook has been a topic between you two many times before. He is not in your moms favor by any means.

“Actually, it was okay. Tense, but we didn’t fight or anything.”

“That’s good. I never liked him.”

“You’ve never met him.”

“Yeah, but he’s been awful to you, and I’m your mom, so I have to hate him.”

You snorted. “We’ve actually been getting along lately. Trying to turn over a new leaf or whatever.”

“Interesting.”

You frowned, sitting up. “What? Jungkook and I can get along perfectly fine! I told you about the wedding.”

“Yeah, but you still fought and almost killed each other then.”

“Well, since then, we’ve just been hanging out more. It’s… weird, but we’ve been getting along better.”

“Hmm, I don’t know.” Your mom sounded unconvinced.

“I promise, if he steps one toe out of line, I’ll go back to hating his guts.”

“I just worry. You know that.” You could hear the worry in her tone. It wasn’t unwarranted. 

“I know, but I really think this is okay.” You tried to reassure her.

Before she could say anything else, there was a sharp knock at the door. Speak of the devil. You pushed yourself up, stretching lazily as you made your way toward the entrance. But as you turned the corner, your foot caught on the edge of the coffee table—hard.

Pain exploded up your leg like a bolt of lightning.

“Shit—” You gasped, immediately crumpling onto the floor. The phone was still clutched in your hand as you groaned, one hand gripping your ankle.

“What happened?” your mom’s voice rose with concern.

You squeezed your eyes shut, hissing through your teeth. “I just kicked my leg into my coffee table. Like, really hard. Shit this hurts.”

“No! Did you break it again?”

You forced yourself to take a shaky breath, blinking down at your rapidly reddening ankle. It was already swelling, a dull, pulsing ache spreading through the limb. You flexed your foot experimentally—painful, but still mobile. Not broken. Hopefully.

“No, but god, it hurts. Let me call you back, Mom.”

You didn’t wait for her response before ending the call, tossing your phone onto the floor beside you. Slowly, you tried shifting into a seated position, wincing as pain shot through your leg.

Another knock at the door. Louder this time.

Fuck. Jungkook was still waiting out there. And knowing him, he was about to make fun of you for this.

Biting down on a groan, you braced yourself against the couch and pushed up onto your good leg. You wobbled, testing your weight, but the moment you tried putting pressure on your injured foot, another sharp sting made you suck in a breath.

“Fuck.”

With no other choice, you resorted to hopping. Awkwardly, you maneuvered your way to the door, gripping the handle for support before pulling it open.

Jungkook stood there, hands in his pockets, brow raised. “Took you long enough,” He said, a teasing lilt in his voice.

You leaned casually against the doorframe, as if you weren’t seconds away from toppling over. “Wallet, please.”

Jungkook squinted at you. “No thank you? Taehyung said there’d be a reward upon it’s return.” He pulled your wallet from his pocket, but his eyes flickered down, watching the way you shifted your stance.

“The reward is I don’t tell anyone about your crushing defeat last night.” You snatched the wallet from his hands, flipping it open for dramatic effect.

Jungkook huffed a laugh. “What?”

“Gotta make sure everything is accounted for.”

“Okay.” Jungkook rolled his eyes. At that moment you lost your balance. Bumping awkwardly against your door and having to hop on your leg to catch your balance. Jungkook gives you a weird look. 

“You know your face will get stuck like that if you hold it for too long.” You point at him and he doesn't drop his expression. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Jungkook tilts his head, arching a brow.

“Nothing’s wrong with me.” 

“You’re hoping on one leg.” 

“And?” 

“...Why?” 

You sighed. “I, uh… might’ve destroyed my ankle on my coffee table.”

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” He seemed actually concerned, you were literally hoping on one foot. Anyone would be concerned. 

You shake your head, “Why do you care? I’m fine.” 

“Oh yeah? Try to walk,” Jungkook challenged, arms crossing over his chest. Jungkook was trying to call you on your bluff.

Your pride flared up. You open the door slightly so you can show you can in fact stand. “See?” As soon as you put weight onto your other leg the same pain shoots through your leg again. 

In reaction you hop away from the door sucking in a sharp breath. The door didn’t close behind you, Jungkook stepped inside hesitantly. You were leaning against the wall behind the door. Leg up like a limping dog. 

“Yeah you look fine.” Jungkook quips, sarcasm dripping from his tone. He actually got to see your ankle and you had bruised it good. 

“Go ahead, get your laughs in.”  You wave at him, expecting him to laugh.

“I would if your ankle wasn’t huge.” His voice was surprisingly serious, and when you finally looked down, you winced. It did look bad. The swelling had already started, spreading in an angry, blotchy pattern across the side of your foot.

You actually looked at it and yeah this really sucked. Definitely bruised but you were pretty sure it wasn’t broken. You begin to hop your way to your living room, Jungkook following slowly in toe. 

“Y/N are you sure you’re okay? Do you need to go to the hospital or something?” 

Still, you shook your head. “I’m a nurse, Jungkook. I know what I’m doing. It’s just a bad bruise, maybe a sprain.”

He scoffed. “Right, because medical professionals are always great at taking care of themselves.”

You ignored that. Pushing off the wall, you started hopping toward the living room, making your way to the couch. Jungkook followed at an easy pace, watching as you collapsed onto the cushions with a heavy sigh.

“Y/N, are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”

“No,” you said firmly. “It’s fine. I don’t need X-rays to tell me it’s not broken.”

Jungkook crouched in front of you, eyeing your ankle like it had personally offended him. Before you could protest, he reached out, fingers brushing against your skin. His touch was surprisingly gentle, but you still flinched when he pressed against the tender area.

He glanced up at you. “Hurts?”

“Obviously,” You muttered. Reaching and smacking his hand away. 

He let out an exasperated sigh. “Where’s your ice pack?”

You blinked. “What?”

“Ice.” He repeated, already standing. “Where is it?”

“You don’t have to—”

Jungkook shot you a look. “You really think I’m just gonna sit here while you let your ankle swell to the size of a grapefruit?”

You sighed, relenting. “Top shelf of the freezer.”

Jungkook stands and disappears into your kitchen. Returning a moment later with the ice pack. You sit long ways on your couch, the swelling wasn’t so bad now that you were looking at it and you could definitely still move it full. Jungkook handed you the ice pack.

“Thanks,” You say, not looking at him.

Jungkook, however, didn’t move. He stood there, arms crossed, watching you like you had just grown a second head.

“What?” You asked, meeting his gaze.

“It’s too weird when you thank me,” He said, shivering exaggeratedly. “Gives me chills.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”

His lips twitched, but he didn’t push it. Instead, his gaze flickered to your ankle. “You sure it’s not broken?”

“I broke my ankle a year ago,” you said, adjusting the ice pack. “Plus, I’ve seen a handful of them before. This definitely doesn’t feel or look like that, but it hurts.”

You rub the side of your head. The ice was helping even though you could still feel the throbbing pulse where you hit it.

“I see.” 

“Actually, one more thing,” you say, thinking about it for a moment but deciding you weren’t getting up to get it yourself any time now. “In the bathroom, cupboard under the sink I have an ankle brace if you can get it.” 

Jungkook nods. Then looking around for an obvious place for a bathroom. 

You nodded toward your bedroom door, now closed. “You have to go through my room.”

Jungkook stared at the door, then back at you. “Okay, see, I’ve seen horror movies. This is definitely a trap.”

You groaned. “Just go in there.”

“A swinging ax won’t come down and slice my head off?”

“Jungkook—”

“Your ultimate wish of seeing me dead would finally come true.”

“God, you’re insufferable. Just—please?”

Jungkook’s head snapped toward you so fast you thought he might get whiplash. He pointed at you. “Okay, now you saying please is the scariest part of all of this.”

You shot him a glare before he turned his back on you and went for your bedroom door. Jungkook took your room in for a moment before continuing to your bathroom. He didn’t really know what to expect to see. It was clean and the walls were decorated with pictures and mementos from friends. Small little things that you probably enjoyed here and there.

You watched as he disappeared inside, feeling something strange settle in your chest. It was weird, having him in your space. He had been around you a lot lately, but this was different. This was your home, your room—where things were personal.

He grabbed the brace from where you said it would be and came back out to you, “Here.” 

“I had a feeling I would need to keep this.” You set the brace next to you; it does you no good until you can actually walk on it. 

“You know, it’s kinda hilarious.”

You frowned. “What is?”

“That the mighty Y/N, got taken out by a coffee table.” He smirked, but you weren’t too amused. 

“I may have fallen but I still beat you yesterday.” 

“Barely!” he protested. “Anyways, do you need anything else?” 

That made you laugh under your breath, the tension in the air cut a little. Then a voice popped into your head. What Vic was saying earlier. 

You shake your head, Looking up at him where he was still standing, “No. I’ve got it from here.” 

“Okay… cause seriously if I need to take you to get it checked out I can.” 

“No… I’m good.” You stumble over your words. Jungkook nodded, and he seemed like he was going to leave but then your mouth was moving before your brain could catch up. “Jungkook.” 

He looked back at you, “Yeah?” 

“...Why are you… I mean why have you been so nice to me?” You say quietly. 

Jungkook blinked at you, his expression shifting from confusion to something unreadable. “What do you mean?”

You hesitated for a second, but you had already cracked open Pandora’s box, so there was no taking it back now. You swallowed hard, adjusting the ice pack on your ankle before looking up at him.

“I just mean… you and I… You don’t like me… and I don’t like you.” Your words were slow, deliberate. “And then suddenly, we hook up—twice—and now you’re all… nice. Talking to me and making jokes… it's I don't know…” You gestured vaguely at him. “Why?”

The air went still between you. Jungkook thought, “I–”

“Because if it’s… because we slept together… and if you’re expecting something–”

Jungkook cuts you off, “Excuse me?”

“What?”

“You think I’m only being nice to you now because I’m trying to sleep with you again?” He laughed, but there was no amusement in it.

You raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

Jungkook’s jaw clenched, and he scoffed, running a hand over his face. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“I’m sorry?” 

He let out a humorless laugh, running a hand through his hair. “It’s actually insane how fast you jump to conclusions about me.”

You opened your mouth, but he kept going.

“You really think I’m only nice to people when I want something from them?” His voice was rising now, frustration cutting into each syllable. “You really think I’d sit here, get you an ice pack, get you an ankle brace, and offer to take you to the hospital just because I think it’ll get me laid?”

You swallowed hard but forced yourself to keep your tone even. “I don’t know what to think.”

Jungkook let out a sharp breath, hands braced on his hips. Voice quiet almost sad, “You’re always gonna find a reason not to like me, aren’t you?”

His words hit like a slap, knocking the wind out of you. Your jaw tightened. “That’s not true.”

Jungkook let out a humorless laugh. “No? Then what do you call this?” He gestured between the two of you. “Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t matter what I do. I could be an asshole, and you’d hate me for it. I could be nice, and you’d still find some reason to be suspicious.”

“Jungkook that’s not–”

“Not what you meant?” He scoffed. “Not what you were gonna say? What?”

Your hands curled into fists. “Can you blame me? We fight constantly. And then suddenly, it’s ‘how’s it going?’ Like none of that ever happened. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that.”

“Did it ever cross your mind that I was just being nice because I’m generally a nice person?”

“How was I supposed to believe that when all you have done is be intolerant and rude to me for years!”

Jungkook exhaled sharply. “Because you were an asshole to me! You’d already made up your mind about me a long time ago.” He shook his head.

“That’s not true.”

“It is.” His voice was quieter now, but no less sharp. He took a step back, the tension between you almost suffocating. “I don’t know why I bothered.”

The words stung, more than they should have. You didn’t even know what you wanted him to say, only that you weren’t done fighting.

“You don’t get to act like this is all on me,” you shot back, frustration bleeding into your tone. “Like you haven’t spent the last however many years acting like I was the most annoying person on the planet.”

Jungkook’s brows furrowed. “You were.”

You blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You were annoying,” he repeated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “But so was I. And somehow, we ended up here anyway.”

Silence stretched. You hated how easily he could say things like that—like it was simple, like it wasn’t a tangled mess of emotions you weren’t ready to unravel.

Jungkook inhaled deeply, his voice quieter when he spoke again. “I don’t know what you want from me, Y/N. But I’m not gonna stand here and try to prove something to you when you’re dead set on believing the worst of me.”

You swallowed hard, but you had no response.

He steadied his voice, choosing his words deliberately. His tone, sad again, “I could be as nice as possible but you’re always going to see me one way. So I won’t do it anymore. Just in case you get the wrong idea. So have a nice life or whatever.”

Jungkook studied you for a second longer, something unreadable passing through his expression. Then, with a small shake of his head, he turned and walked out, the door clicking shut behind him.

You couldn’t say anything… You had nothing you could come back with. 

All you could think about was the insane pit of guilt in your stomach.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・

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[estrellex]

racing hearts - dr3

summary: a rekindle with daniel and y/n that started with a simple pre-season gathering by carlos, who happened to be a close friend of y/n. did carlos secretly become cupid for the night in hopes that they would find something in one another? maybe, but only time would tell how their journey went face claim: nailea devora (i love her sm)

em speaks: omg first post! I did have this storage in my google docs (before daniel left vcarb lols) that I loved so I thought this was the first post. this is a learning post so feel free to lmk how it goes 😭.

part 1 🌱 part 2 🌱 part 3 🌱

thrusday evening..

"come on, mi hermana, just this once," carlos’s voice was almost pleading over the phone. you sighed, pacing your room. "carlos, isn’t this gathering just for drivers? I’d feel out of place."

"por favor! one time, and I’ll never ask you to come to one of these things again," he promised dramatically.

you hesitated, weighing your options. carlos had been pestering you about this for weeks, and, truthfully, you didn’t have anything better planned. "fine," you relented, your tone teasing. "but if this turns into a disaster, I’m blaming you."

"blame me all you want!" carlos exclaimed, triumphing in his voice. "it’s my last year with Ferrari, y/n. you’ve been there since the beginning. it wouldn’t feel right without you."

that last part hit home. you had been by his side since his karting days, through every high and low, and it broke your heart to think about his uncertain future after Ferrari.

"alright," you said softly. "send me the details. I’ll see you then." "gracias, mi hermana. see you saturday," he said before ending the call.

saturday evening..

you pulled up to carlos’s place, nerves prickling. crowds weren’t your scene, even if they were made up of familiar faces. spotting lando among the guests, you made a beeline for him.

"thank god you’re here already," you blurted, startling him. "you scared me, you muppet!" lando shot back, making you chuckle. "sorry," you said, still grinning. "so, how’s the gathering so far?"

"eh, boring as usual," he shrugged. "are you coming to any races this season?" "maybe, if carlos ever bothers to invite me," you teased, just as carlos appeared.

"what’s this about me?" carlos asked, his eyebrow raised. "that you never invite me to races," you retorted. carlos pointed accusingly at you. "what do you mean? I always invite you, but you’re always ‘too busy.’"

"photography stuff," you defended, crossing your arms. as Lando tactfully excused himself, carlos sighed. "hermana, I get that you���re busy, but you need to take a break. explore. have some fun."

"is this your way of setting me up with someone?" you asked, suspicious. carlos laughed. "well, the last time I tried, you didn’t exactly make it easy." "to be fair," you countered, "the guy was nothing like me."

"fair point," he conceded, laughing. "whatever. i’m going to find rebecca. she actually understands me," you said, walking off as carlos’s laughter echoed behind you.

yourinstagram posted a story

later that night, you stood by the balcony, admiring the view. you couldn’t help but think you should’ve brought your camera to capture the moment. meanwhile, carlos nudged daniel. "mate, remember my best friend y/n?"

daniel raised an eyebrow. "barely. just glimpses at races." carlos grinned. "she’s one of the most creative people I know. trust me, you’ll like her." "where is she?" daniel asked, intrigued.

carlos pointed toward the balcony. "go say hi." daniel approached, his voice breaking your thoughts. "pretty night, isn’t it?" startled, you turned. "yeah. only if I had my camera." 

"you know phones exist, right?" he teased, his signature smile disarming you. you laughed, shaking your head. "it’s not the same. it’s instinctual for me to want my real camera."

"figured as much. carlos’s been talking about you all night," he admitted. "all good things, I hope," you replied, studying him. "mostly," daniel joked. "but maybe you should take a picture of me. It’d last longer."

you rolled your eyes, chuckling. "very funny, ricciardo." "I was starting to think you didn’t recognize me," he feigned offense. "oh, please," you shot back. "who doesn’t recognize the ‘honey badger?’"

the conversation flowed effortlessly. daniel’s humor was infectious, and for the first time in a while, you felt at ease in someone’s presence. "you really love photography, don’t you?" daniel asked, his tone soft.

"yeah," you said, looking at the stars. "it’s how I see the world. a way to freeze moments." "maybe you’ll freeze one of me sometime," he teased, but there was sincerity in his eyes.

"maybe I will," you replied, smiling. carlos watched from afar, a knowing smile on his face. he didn’t say it, but this was exactly what he’d hoped for—a spark between two of the people he cared about most.

em speaks (again): while editing this, didn't realize that this needs more than one part. so I hope you enjoyed this first part. again feel free to msg me with your opinions it would benefit me with my writing journey here. 🙏

[reidslovely]

That's Just When You Happened

Chapter One: Red in the Face, Shy All of the Sudden

Summary: After the death of his life partner and mother of his child Tobias finds himself lingering through life with just the intent of taking care of their daughter, and teaching her everything he knows. However, one shockingly sunny teacher, will change the course he has planned for himself.

Pairing: Tobias Durand x OC/Reader

Content Warnings: Reader has a name but is given a nickname at the end of the chapter that she'll be known as for the rest of the fic mostly. There are mentions of grief and parental loss. Other than that it is pretty digestible.

Only posting this because I cannot wait for the wide release, and it'll inspire me to write chapter three.

We Live in Time spoilers ahead

Please as always reblog and comment.

Parent teacher meetings were never easy. 

He was very much used to doing this with his other half…his better half if you asked him. In the last year and a half this was not a thought that crossed his mind, what was he going to do with meetings that used to involve the both of them? 

He never considered having to do this part alone. 

Yes, he considered the implications of being a widow and a father. He discussed it in therapy as soon as he could fathom it, he even brought it up to the others in his grief group. No one had a right answer to his questions. 

‘When do I stop buying food at the market for three and start focusing on just two?’

‘When do I stop laying out her clothes in the morning? Or bring myself to put up her toothbrush?’

This parent teacher stuff though? That was not a topic he thought about till the school year started. 

Eleanor clung to Tobias as they walked down the tiled floors of the primary school. He’d put on his nicest white shirt and jeans, having been working from home in his sweats most of the day, he liked the occasional excuse to dress up. He’d dawned Ellie in her panda sweater that matched the bear she’d been so lovingly clinging to for the last year and a half. It was the last thing Almuthad bought her, and Tobias would never ask her why suddenly panda’s became her favorite animal. 

“You aren’t in trouble are you Ella?” He taunted playfully, swinging his hand that was still enclosed in his daughters as they neared the end of the hall. 

The little pigtailed girl shook her head with a laugh, whispering a small ‘no’ dragging out the last syllable. Tobias laughed nodding his head, he never knew with her, she was so much like her mother.

“I’m good in Ms. Poole’s class. She’s nice, and has a very nice story time voice.”

“Better than mine?” 

There was no response as they neared the brightly decorated door. Tobias took the smile and silence from his daughter as a quiet yes. His face feigned fake offense as he knocked on the open door. “Hello?” He asked, pushing it open slightly, revealing a younger woman sitting on the floor organizing a bookshelf. She looked over her shoulder smiling at the two of them, the brightness of her smile contrasted the dark clothing she was wearing. 

His eyes raked over her appearance against his own will. She was wearing a gray sweater tucked into a long black skirt and boots that complimented the weather outside. 

“Hi Ella! How are you hun?” 

“Goood.” Ellie smiled hugging the teacher, the panda hanging loose in her hand. It was the first time Tobias hadn’t seen her death grip on the plush, he thinks. 

“That’s awesome.” Ms. Poole smiles, patting Ellie’s back. Her eyes find Tobias’ as she stands up, Ella still hanging on her skirt. “Hey honey, why don’t you help yourself to the toy box while your daddy and I talk, yeah?” 

Ellie smiled and ran over the corner of the room, practically dumping out the box of toys. Tobias stood awkwardly at the door taking in the classroom, he could understand why his daughter loved this teacher so much. 

The room was decorated in a mix of soft greens, with dusty blue accents. It was colorful and the stars hanging from the ceiling gave a sense of whimsy to the room. “You must be Mr. Durand, it’s nice to finally meet you.” The voice pulled him out of his admiration for the room. He smiled reaching his hand out, shaking her freshly manicured hand. 

“You’re american.” 

A brief silence fell between them, before he laughed it off awkwardly. 

“Sorry, sorry. I just heard it and couldn’t..” 

“You’re fine. I am yes.” 

They were talking over each other, their voices merging together. Ms. Poole dropped his hand, standing back. “Have a seat.” She grinned, motioning around them. Tobias looked around, squatting his six-foot frame down onto the chairs mean for the year one students. Matching his movements, the dark haired teacher sat across from him in the bright white chair crossing her legs. Tobias looked over her shoulder, making sure Ella was still good and content. She smiled at him, as she curled up on a bean bag chair reading a picture book. 

“Your daughter is quite brilliant for her age.” 

Tobias slowly pulls his eyes to her face again, she’s younger than him. Somewhere between twenty-five and thirty, but he doesn’t ask. It’s rude. Besides, why should he care? 

“Thank you my..partner and I, we worked hard teaching her young. She lives to read, and art. She loves art.” 

“I know.” Ms. Poole smiles, flipping through the stack of papers. “It’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you.” She slides a picture over to Tobias, the blank white of the back could have never prepared him for what he saw. 

“Eleanor drew this after, what I’m guessing was maybe a particularly bad day. We had a couple moms come into the class to help out with the art for the day. It seems she, maybe, felt sort of left out.”

The teacher's voice shook slightly as she talked, like she was nervous for a reaction. “I didn’t..I wasn’t aware of the situation, and had I been.” She was fighting for words, and Tobias’ hand shook as he held the paper in his. A small girl crying in what appeared to be a field of sorts. Nothing above average for what a small child of seven could do. But it broke his heart all together. 

“She’s in therapy twice a week.” It came out blunt and forceful, almost that he was pushing it off. 

“It’s good, art is a good vessel for grief. I just wanted to make you aware of that first.” 

“Why do you care? Did you like, give her a failing grade for expressing how she fel-”

“No sir.” Ms. Poole “In fact I passed her, the assignment was to draw something about your mother, and she followed the assignment.” Her calm tone eased his passive aggressive one, he’d been to quick to jump to anger when the topic was brought up lately. One of those silly stages of grief he guessed. He let his shoulders fall, almost feeling Almunt’s hand on his shoulder easing him into the conversation telling him to hear her out. 

“I lost both of my parents young, to an extent I know what Ella is going through, Mr. Durand.” She tapped her brown manicured nails on the table top. “If you guys need anything, I’m more than happy to help out. Ella is a brilliant girl, I’m sure not unlike her mother, you should be proud.”

A shaky breath left Tobias, he hadn’t been aware he was holding it. “I am.” His eye casted down to the folder that held what he could assume was more drawings. 

“Oh yes, so the reason I wanted to bring you here is outside of making you aware of..” Her eyes casted down to the picture in his hand. “We are having a art showcase and I need to pick a student from my class to submit and I wanted to put some of Ella’s art in there.” 

Tobias flipped through the drawings, some more well done than others but noticeably better than that of most kids her age. Tobias smiled, nodding his head. “Did you hear that Ellie!?” 

Eleanor ran over, her stuffed animal in one arm and book tucked in the other. She stood on her tip-toes as she listened. Tobias smiled as his daughter stared at Ms. Poole in fascination as the teacher explained what the showcase would be, and how many pieces Ella could put into it. Ella picked out what he assumed were her top three favorites. One was of their dog, the little wolf-hound mutt he and Almuthad picked out towards the end of her last treatment. Birdie, as Ella had affectionately called him.  Second was a drawing of Ella and him, at the ice skating rink, with writing above it that read “Saying hi to mommy.”. Tobias smiled as she proudly showed them to her, patting her back. Something in him told him to look up, catching Ms. Poole stared at him, seemingly admiration in her eyes. Tobias smiled back, nodding at her. 

“Oh!” Ella “This one is when Ms. Lucy was pushing me on the swings!” Ella says, handing her last pick to the dark haired teacher. 

“Whose Ms. Lucy?” Tobias laughed looking at his daughter. Ella pointed at Ms. Poole, who was laughing with a raised hand. 

“That would be me.” She laughs “I go by either, sometimes the first name is easier to pronounce than the last.” 

Lucy..everything about her was so bright and inviting, except her clothes and color pattern, he could see why kids loved her. Ella ran off back to the storytime rug. “You know for such dark clothes, you are an awfully bright person.” 

She blinked at him, almost in shock before laughing. “Well I work with little kids, I’m not that morbid, these are just the colors I feel most comfortable in Mr. Durand.” 

Tobias nodded his head, all these years later he still couldn’t talk to people. He followed her over to her desk, he looked around noticing framed pictures of her and seemingly her friends. A gold framed wedding photo of who he could only assume was her parents. Tobias watched as she picked up one of those squishy fidget balls, turning it over in her hand as she printed off some consent forums. 

“How’d you..get into teaching?” He asked, sitting in a more comfortable cushioned chair in front of her desk. “If you wa..want to tell me that is.”

She smiled at him, flashing her teeth giving him a real laugh. “I got my undergrad in psychology, I worked in child psych in my very early twenties and decided I didn’t want to experience anymore compassion burnout. But I loved working with kids, so I went back and got my masters in primary education. Moved out here with my friends about two years ago, and…” She shrugged, like that was the end of the story. She pulled the papers out of the printer, they were still hot. She signed her name verifying that she asked and gained consent before handing the warm paper over to Tobias. 

“I’m sorry for your loss.” 

He wasn’t sure why he was trying to make such small talk, he should just sign these papers, get Ella and go home. 

“It’s okay it was a long time ago, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for it.” 

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

She nodded her head in agreement, smiling sweetly at him pressing her cherry colored lips together. He had to stop noticing these things. 

“It does, sometimes it still feels fresh. I’m sure you understand that.” She hums, looking at Ella trading out books again. “Listen, I know what it’s like to be a little girl with no mom, if you ever need someone to talk to her..I’m fine doing that.” 

Tobias looked at her, he was sure his big brown eyes were not hiding the tears well. He nodded his head quickly and pushed the paper back towards her after he had finished signing. “I appreciate that.” 

“Ms. L!” Ella yells running over holding two books to her chest. “Can I have these this weekend” 

“Ella those are he-”

“Of course you can honey!” Tobias looked over at Ms. L, who was smiling, made a note of it, putting it on the top of her planner. She passed a smile over at him, shaking her head letting him know it was okay. Tobias took Ella into his lap, holding her close as he slid the books into the bag. “Can Ms. L, go get ice cream with us?” 

Tobias was taken back for a moment before looking at the teacher who sat in front of them. “You’re more than welcome to..come. If you’d like.” 

The dark haired girl in front of them smiled and checked the computer in front of her. She took a minute and Tobias sat still, almost feeling any movement he’d take would change the outcome of her answer. 

“As much as I would love to Ellie, I’m afraid I have to get some work done. But I’ll see you on Sunday at the showcase, and you can tell me how yummy it was.” She laughs patting her leg. Tobias felt his shoulders slump again, as he stood holding Ella on his hip. 

“It was so nice to meet you, Ms. Poole.” 

“Please call me Lucy.” She smiled, shaking his hand. 

He nodded, but he’d already given her a nickname in his head. ‘Sunny.’ he just thought it fit her better. “Sure, Ms. L..” He laughs letting go of her head waving an awkward bye as he walks out, his daughter on his hip. 

“You think Ms. L is pretty.” Ella said as Tobias wiped the ice cream off her face. He furrowed his brows, staring at his daughter. 

“That is none of your business, little miss.” 

He laughed, why was his six year old reading him like this. He took a bite of his ice cream sundae looking at the time on his watch. Ella was truly, too much like Almut for their own good. “But you stare at her..you only ever stared at mommy.” 

“Well, yes she seems very nice. I was just shocked is all.”

Ella giggles and fists more ice cream into her mouth watching the kids in the play place play. “Ready to go?” He asks, starting to pack up their stuff as Ella finishes her last couple bites.  She nods her head reaching her hand out, wrapping it in Tobias’ as they walk towards the car. He let out a soft sigh, loading her up into the car seat and walking towards the driver seat. A head of dark hair catching his eye, for a minute he looks up hoping to catch a glimpse of the sun.

[meowuff]

This is my first actual post on Tumblr ever so pls bear with me. Also, English is not my first language so pls excuse any mistakes I make :)

So, this whole thing here started just as a joke bc I was curious if anyone else was feeling constantly tired all day no matter how long I sleep. But it all somehow escalated a bit and I may have started hyperfixating on it so well, now it actually became a little survey.

I also wanted to mention that I only asked the artist in my little Tumblr bubble, which is mostly tmnt content, so my results are mostly referring to tmnt artists.

In total, I asked 143 people if they could remember the last time they woke up and just felt actually rested for more than half of the day.

I probably could have been more specific with my question but again, I did not actually planned to let it become so big. Personally, for me being rested means, having a clear head, no headache or foggy mind without consuming any caffeine.

So out of 143 people, 100 answered me and I tried my best to sort all of the answers after the criteria “good-sleep-schedule” and “bad-sleep-schedule” and also noted when exactly they last felt actually rested into either the last days, weeks, months, years or “???” when they couldn’t remember or didn’t mention anything specific.

And let’s just say… it does not really look good. Out of 100 people, only 18 have an actual good sleep schedule. Out of these 18 people, 13 felt really rested in the last days, 2 in the last weeks, only one person in the last months and 2 in the last years.

Out of the 82 of people who have a bad sleep schedule, 10% lastly felt rested in the last days, 11% in the last weeks, 11% in the last months, 30% in the last years, and 38% couldn’t remember or didn’t specify it.

While reading all your answers I came to realize being sleep deprived is not just bc any of them thought “Oh it would be really neat to stay up till 4 am!” or smth like that.

A lot of the artists who answered me mentioned that they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep due to stuff like insomnia, chronic pain, other issues, or children (yeah, ok, there was just one who had a child but still).

While analyzing I mostly referred the situations to my own experience with going to sleep or rather not going to sleep...

I usually don’t have problems falling asleep but trouble actually putting my stuff away and going to bed bc I don’t want to end the day or just don’t want to go to sleep (don’t ask why, I have no idea why I am like this). While having these “episodes” I often doodle smth, binge reading some fanfics, or watch whatever I can find on the internet until I’m just falling asleep or can convince myself that it is 3 am and I really should go to bed now.

So, my personal theory about why sleep deprivation is so common among Tumblr artists is not bc they do art all night. My theory is that a lot of people who have trouble falling asleep due to insomnia, pain, or other issues are filling the time until they hopefully fall asleep with their art, doodles, writings, or whatever their creative minds can bring up, to help the time pass.

In total that would mean that not all artists are sleep deprived but more that a lot of people who have trouble falling asleep do a lot of art or creative stuff in general.

Something I could also imagine is, that if they start doing art while waiting for sleep, they start to concentrate a lot on creating more and start procrastinating sleep even if they actually get tired bc they wanna do art and fuck up their non-existing sleep schedule even more but that could also just be me projecting here.

I know that is probably no kind of big revelation but for me it was kind of surprising to see how many people here are as sleep deprived as me and due to what reasons.

I’m not going to preach to any of you to get that problem solved or smth, I have no right to tell you what to do and would be a major hypocrite so instead I really which everyone to get some kind of good sleep schedule one day and the joy of waking up and feeling completely rested at least thrice per week.

I absolutely love all your art and thank you a thousand times for helping me with this spontaneous survey!

I would love to hear your opinions on my theory and conclusion so pls don’t be shy and feel free to point out any mistakes I may have made or tell me your own theories :D

Also, if my question is still sitting in your inbox, feel free to answer! I’m gonna keep ma big ass excel table so I can edit all the results anytime. And maybe, one day, I'm gonna continue this survey and go into more detail but for now I need to leave it like this.

Ok, that's all I got

BYE!

Edit: If you are interested in a second survey going in about caffein, feel free to check it out~

Thanks to all participants

@abbeyofcyn @angelpuns @beannary @bulbabutt @camilieroart @cementgeek @cheesyescapade @cokowiii @easterartist @frosteaart @gemini-forest @happyfoxx-art @heckitall @hellishgayliath @holy-sweetsour-milk @icepopcider @idiot-mushroom @iscreamkitty @kovalitics @laseralligator @lieutenantbiscute @matchstique @mightyanxiety @miiukkaa @mr-doodles @pezhead @probably-not-a-rutabaga @pumpkster @sad-leon @sassatello @sewercrocodileart @sheep-turtles-and-pizza @signanothername @spectra-bear @stephuart @tangledinink @tapakah0 @tasenwiththerobots @tblsomedoodles @thegunnsara @triona-tribblescore @turrondeluxe @valen-timez @vangh17a @wraenata @zinovi768 @debb987 @dianagj-art @goatedgreen @indieyuugure

[saphira-artandoc]

Behold… a project that began back in October 5th 2022…

C3 Swap AU

•

•

•

I am nothing if not predictable

What is the swap AU?

The swap AU was created due to my love of that genre (If you followed me in my Persona phase, you know what I mean)

It was a way for me to practice my craft as time goes on and to this day, I’m still learning. It’s also an excuse for me to draw pretty outfits

It was also inspired by Eren Angiolini’s CR swapped classes (mainly VM and MN back then) before their own rendition of Bell’s Hells, done in 2023

The difference between my version and Eren’s is that instead of swapping DnD classes (Fighter -> Paladin) , we changed their subclasses (Fighter : Battle master -> Fighter : Eldritch knight). Some of these were taken from completely made up thanks to a homebrew list of subclasses

The entire creation of this AU is a group effort from various members of the Dorym Nation discord server. We did not plan for it to work as well as it did as episode rolled by. We did it mostly on vibes and somehow made everyone’s backstory sadder (oops)

Why making this post now?

With campaign 3 coming close to an end, I felt like it was finally time for me to face my fears and show the people what 2 years of creation do to someone, without any remorse for showing enjoyment in a piece of media.

I also struggle with showcasing my work in the last couple of years to a wider audience, especially with the rise in A/I art and N/F/T that just destroyed me mentally. This is why you don’t see much art posting from me

Also every time I thought I had a breather with art, shit just kept happening in the canon game and it really just spiralled to what we have today… Mind you this was created around episode e20 so we didn’t know everything about the characters back then… We were so close but had to change some stuff and add something else… I love the creative process <3

What did you mean by “you made everyone’s backstory sadder?”

When you go into a project made on vibes, you kiiiiind of mix-match a couple of ideas together. With the Swap AU, not only did we swap their subclasses, but we also swapped elements of their backstories with another member of their group. You will see it with everyone’s post.

Wait so you’re not sharing the art yet? Why not?

My goal with this post is to give you guys a small introduction to the AU. I know this will be at the very least 10 post in total minus this one since I’m hoping to give each Hellions their very own Tumblr posts

I am also a perfectionist and I want to give the best quality possible when posting the artworks. I am in the making of creating front facing reference sheets of each member of BH with max 6 different clothes ( EXU or start of the campaign, ball, outfit 2, current one, and for those with specific body transformations get that illustrated also)

There is already existing art of the AU that was created by @czpeterp that you can see here! (Their art is amazing, go check them out!!)

I have Fearne and Chetney’s that are complete, and Imogen is the next one in line. Expect for a post about them coming really soon (hopefully tomorrow)

That’s all for now! Sorry for all the rambling lmao, I do hope I piqued your curiosity and I’ll see you (hopefully) tomorrow morning for our first Swapped character: Fearne Calloway!

[gonzo-rella]

hey so the plan is to start writing more actively for this blog. i have some stuff that i'm working on, but i'd also like to see what fandoms/characters you'd like me to try writing for. i'm too scared to look for inspiration on my several years old to-do list of requests that i never ended up writing so it'd be nice to see what you've liked from me recently, and what sort of stuff you'd like to see more of. check out my fandom list for better reference but i haven't included certain fandoms on there just yet. i'm drunk writing this so excuse any repetition/errors.

i'll list some of the stuff i've been working on (that i haven't yet posted) and the fandoms i'm currently interested in writing for.

the stuff i've actively worked on in the past week:

arnold rimmer x nonbinary/transmasc!reader; ambiguous but implied romantic (red dwarf)

the reader is dealing with dysphoria and lister-enduced gender envy, and they find an unlikely confidante in rimmer. i'm most of the way done with this one, about 3/5 i'd say. i've written about 2.3k words.

stevie budd x gender neutral!reader; romantic (schitt's creek)

the reader is roland and jocelyn's kid and they are dating stevie. they've tried to keep their relationship a secret because they know roland will be well-intentioned but annoying, but eventually the truth comes out. i've barely started this one. i've done part of the first scene but that's about it.

sonic, tails and knuckles x gender neutral!reader; platonic (sonic movies)

some short scenes with the reader vibing with sonic, tails and knuckles. the premise is that the reader is the wachowski's neighbour who is 'babysitting' the trio while tom and maddie are on vacation. so far, i have a scene where tom and maddie break the news that the reader will be watching them, and a scene where they're breaking the ice at dinner. i'm mostly stumped so it'd be really cool if people could send in ideas/prompts for short little scenes with sonic, tails, knuckles and the reader.

ray stantz x gender neutral!reader; romantic, with some platonic!venkman stuff because i love writing for him (ghostbusters)

the reader is a cashier at a store that venkman frequents. occasionally, ray tags along with him and he develops a crush on you. so, venkman invites you to go out to a bar to try to set the two of you up. i've almost finished one scene, so it's pretty much nowhere near done.

fandoms/specific characters i'm interested in writing for:

red dwarf (i just finished series iv so it's not on my fandom list yet)

arnold rimmer (i have a lot of ideas, from ace!rimmer x ace!reader, to one based on dimension jump where the reader prefers pathetic rimmer over ace to the bewilderment of the rest of the crew and rimmer himself) dave lister (would love to write some poly rimster x reader fics)

the walking dead (i got to like season 9 when i watched it last year but i gave up; i plan to watch it from the start)

i'm happy to write for most of the characters, but my favourites to write for platonically would be daryl, carol, carl, rick, glenn, maggie and negan, and my favourites to write for romantically would be daryl, carol and negan.

ghostbusters (1, 2, afterlife and frozen empire)

ray stantz (romantically or platonically) peter venkman (platonically) phoebe spengler (platonically)

dead poets society

charlie dalton (please let me write fics where this boy wants to kiss me) todd anderson (please let me write fics where this boy wants to kiss me) neil perry (please let me write fics where this boy wants to kiss me)

schitt's creek

stevie budd (romantically or platonically) alexis rose (romantically or platonically)

malcolm in the middle

my preference would be writing (adult) reese romantically, or writing platonically for any of the characters at any age. i like writing fics where the reader is one of the wilkerson kids, too.

so, yeah, feel free to comment or send me an ask if there's anything you want to see me write for. since i'm currently watching red dwarf i can see myself focusing on that because i am in love with rimmer. seeing as i have such a limited range of ideas it'd make things a lot easier to get input from people so i'm not just putting a lot of effort into writing stuff that no one wants to read.

what i will say is that i might finally try to watch all of boy meets world, a show i've only seen a few seasons of but i've read way too much reader-insert fics about shawn and eric, so i may well watch the show to start writing for them. let me know if you'd be interested in that.

[incorrectfbaaquotes]

heyy!

this might seem stupid lol but i do not use instagram so i always miss book annoucements, so i wanted to ask you because youre like the one person who post stuff about fbaa

i wanted to ask if you knew when the next fbaa books were coming and which series theyre a part of? i mean like, after asoab, when is the next book coming? i searched on google but cant get a proper result

(for context i have read fbaa till asoab, and the nyktos series till the second book, tho i know the next book has been published in that series)

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE AND SORRY FOR BOTHERING YOU ILYYY ❣️❣️❣️

Not ever a bother and you are sweet. And I will use any excuse to talk about this universe. 😁

The short answer to your question is Primal of Blood and Bone comes out June 10, 2025. I don't know if that varies a bit by country, almost certainly by most non-English translated versions, but that's the release date for most of us.

And because I just have to be overly verbose, to expand on that topic a bit...

Here is the current order for only the Blood and Ash series (Poppy x Casteel), without the Flesh and Fire series (Sera x Ash/Nyktos) :

1. From Blood and Ash

2. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

3. The Crown of Gilded Bones

4. The War of Two Queens

5. A Soul of Ash and Blood

6. Primal of Blood and Bone (To be released June 10, 2025)

This is the end of Poppy and Casteel's story. However, there will be at least one more Blood and Ash book, Millie and Malik's book. There is no expected release date for this one yet. This is mostly because she won't write this one right after finishing POBAB. She will instead finish the Awakening series, which I believe is intended to be a duology, (book 1: Fall of Ruin and Wrath). It does loosely tie into the Blood and Ash series by acting as a super duper prequel to both Blood and Ash and Flesh and Fire by telling the story of the Ancients. At least one of the players in that book is confirmed to be in POBAB.

To sum it up, these are the only books confirmed to still be coming:

1. Awakening / FORAW #2

2. Millie and Malik's book

There has also been brief chats and asides to potential other stories, but nothing concrete. She has mentioned being asked to write (I think by the publisher but I'm boycotting FB so I can't check 😢) a novella of, like, some of the in between F&F and B&A. The one story she had stated multiple times she has no plans of writing is Malec and Isbeth's story. Because she writes HEA guaranteed and their story is absurdly tragic.

Also including for any other new initiates, the Flesh and Fire series, Seraphena and Nyktos' story, is finished with the fourth and final book, Born of Blood and Ash, releasing last year. Their order is as follows:

1. A Shadow in the Ember

2. A Light in the Flame

3. A Fire in the Flesh

4. Born of Blood and Ash

Originally it was suggested by JLA to read these series in publication order. Now, that stance has changed a little. If you haven't started either series yet, she says to start with the Flesh and Fire series and then move on to Blood and Ash. That way it isn't necessary to split the Blood and Ash series with all of these other books. If you have started Blood and Ash, I would suggest at least stopping between TCOGB and TWOTQ to read Flesh and Fire before continuing to get the best experience. Absolutely read everything published before it before getting to POBAB. FORAW is the odd one out that can read whenever. I read it after BOBAA and kind of wish I had read it before, but that's a me thing.

[Reading order cheat sheet based on publication order by VeryTiredWoman on Reddit. All credit to her. I thought it was a nice visual to use here.]

[arissavion]

I'm alive.

Hi everyone. It’s been nearly seven years.

In the time since my last post, I’ve graduated college, gotten a job, and haven’t written much of anything. I wish I could say that I lived a fulfilling life after abandoning my fanfic, but that would be a lie. I’ve mostly just been stewing in my own misery and going through the motions. Writing and even reading became extremely difficult for me. I don’t think I read a single book for five years… it was so, so bad. I don’t even know if I was actually alive for those years. Lol.

Note that my mental health does not excuse my actions. They are, in fact, inexcusable. I had no reason to go silent on my amazing, gracious readers and abandon a series that meant so much to me. I’m deeply ashamed that I did this to you guys, and I’m so, so sorry to everyone who wanted to read the conclusion of AU Harry and Draco’s story, or to those of you who were just worried about my wellbeing.

I’m sorry. I'm sorry. I was ashamed. I wanted it all to end, for various reasons, but mostly because I couldn’t read and write anymore. There wasn’t any point in living. If you're alarmed, don't be. I'm better now. A few months ago, I started medication for depression—should’ve done this WAYYYY earlier—and it’s helped a lot. I’m reading and writing again. Heck, I’m able to get up in the morning without feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck, and I’ve even been regularly cleaning my room. Baby steps, people! 

But I’m not sure what will happen with Shadow of Mars. I’m rereading it now, and I want to finish writing it. I do. I had so much planned!!! However, if I were to continue Shadow of Mars where I left off, there’d be an obvious dip in writing quality. My writing skill has regressed. It’s atrophied, like a muscle. 

That’s not a problem, since I don’t care about quality anymore lol. I don’t give a shit about my stories being “good.” All I give a shit about is ENJOYING MYSELF. And will I enjoy myself writing Shadow of Mars?

I don’t know.

I no longer have the same passion for bringing my outline to life. I’ve always felt extremely constrained by the HP universe, characters, and magic system. Though I do want to finish it, my motivation isn’t there, not yet. I know it will come.

I do have another story planned, one I’ve been writing and plotting and rewriting and replotting. I’m so excited about it. It takes place in a grimdark post-apocalyptic world and will be M/M (obviously). The character dynamics will be very different, but also very familiar. ;) The main character is a fusion between Sebastian and Theo, and he’s been a delight to write. 

So my update is… there is no update. Lol. But I’m alive, happier than usual, and writing stuff again. One day, I know I will finish Shadow of Mars.

Here’s to a better 2025.

[myovergrowngarden]

Introduction

(I'm just gonna put at the top that my writing will probably include mentions of sex, gore/weird body stuff, and other heavy topics at some point or another so I would like to establish this as an adults only space as early as possible. Anyway, on with the intro!)

When I originally downloaded Tumblr at the beginning of this year, one of the things I really wanted to do was post poetry. I thought it would be a great opportunity to get less nervous sharing my work, and that this would be a great place to upload writing that had either already been published in journals or that I wasn't planning to publish but was really proud of. Since February, I have shared I think two pieces of poetry, which I then immediately burried with reblogs and fandom posts. I love reblogging awesome stuff other people made and I love posting about the books/movies/shows/games I love, but I just don't think it's super compatible with trying to have a dedicated space to uploaded poetry.

BUT THEN I REALIZED THERE WAS AN OBVIOUS SOLUTION TO THIS AND I MADE A SIDEBLOG!

So this is going to be my dedicated space to uploading poetry, fragments of writing, and anything specifically related to my life as a writer as opposed to my life as a fan of other people's writing. My Overgrown Garden is just kind of my little haven where I'll post anything I'm feeling bold enough to share on a writing level and really try to get used to the idea of existing in a semi-public space as a poet. That is something I find really intimidating, but also I think is really valuable so I'm going to push myself to do it.

I guess a little bit about me: I mostly write prose poetry and narrative poems, but I have started getting back into verse a little bit in the last few months. I am an aspiring author as well as a poet and am working on a few big prose projects at the moment. I am really inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson (shocker), but also modern poets like Elizabeth Acevedo and Amal El-Mohtar, though they are also some of my faves in the world of prose along with Tamsyn Muir. I write a lot of poems about my relationship with my body/physicality, the way that my identity and queerness has shaped my perceptions, and personifying things as monsters whenever I have an excuse to.

All this to say, I'm very excited to share some writing and really create a space where I can just quietly cultivate my work and try not to tear myself apart with anxiety over other people seeing it. Thank you for reading all of this, and for coming along with me on this journey! I look forward to uploading some pieces.

(also this is a sideblog for @beholdarose, so if you're my friend and you see this account uploading her poetry, that's because I am her! I'm gonna say something about that on my main account soon.)

[christophimer]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

~excuses mostly to myself~

I've been wanting to do more character stuff etc etc but i have been busy - and maybe will be for a while as well. I've finished uni (ugrghughugh) as of last week so i've been busy doing final projects and all that jazz. i now have a bit of free time before the next exhibition which i want to use to finish the book project i started for uni (although i already kinda hate every illustration i've done for it) and then maybe collapse in a heap.

Then there's artfight which i am very very very excited for - and i hope i am not as tired as i was last year (as i could only manage doodles... i would like to do something more final this year, even if only portraits... i'll probably do a mixture.) I'd also plan then to put everyone on my toyhouse :,) which i just haven't mustered up the energy to do yet.

then i would like to write a massive chunk of my jaski/iolnus/bewarice story/stories as i haven't written them for what feels like a year and urgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. i want to return to whatever that is.

and while writing them i want to finalise plans/plot for stag,armed (and give it a better name) and sort out my thought/ideas for my daltin stories as i've changed my mind on the lore.

I say all this stuff about writing haha - like i'm going to post any of it and not just hide it all on my laptop. when they're a bit more finished i'll maybe make a website for it so nobody can read them on there :)

Then start work on daltin/stag armed and plan out some of the other stories i have... a big thing i want to do is a collection of random stories/folk tales from fin-es-mal about spirits and such - like the time morrowmin almost died as a child,,, good times, good times.

Speaking of morrowmin, here's an exert from aforementioned book project

(to be read in that gently affable manner expected of the gentleman)

MORROWMIN: hahahhah! If you please! Do whatever you like. Ha! (To Station Master) But yes, ignoring Thomas’s moral fits, yes I do rather see your point. But the question is what are we to do about the matter eh? I suppose the eternal question is if I was going to snap my fingers or something other gristly notion what could you do about it eh? Ah! To be so innocent and helpless! Like babes in the woods. Thawck! and you're gone! (Passengers start at the notion and Morrowmin moves to reassure them at the joke) No, no! That was by way of exaggeration. Don’t worry yourselves on the matter. I couldn’t do anything of the kind.… At least I don’t think I could. Who knows. Never having tried I suppose I could have talents for it, but I think the more likely answer is a flat no. I know those who might be able to if they gave it muster but I fear I am not amongst their heady number. It’s not my kind of fun dear boy. I’m just here for the sights and the thrill of steam! It is a great age isn’t it just! Marvellous!

I SHALL NOT HARM THEE! FEAR NOT! A WORRYING REASSURANCE

MORROWMIN: You call me sir! And lo You fawn, my favour so to gain. Sit you down my goodly sir, and I simply shall explain. For you needn’t do so, I say you need not t-r-y~. I say do not have fear of me! And here’s the reasons w-h-y~

Although us spirits on the whole are most arro-gent~ Slating man and woman so and those of mortal bent. But most of us aren’t quite as strong, As they have a habit of letting on-n~ Now of course this being said, do not misunder-s-tand~ For rightly there are spirits that are feared throughout the la~nd. But there are those of us, if ‘those of us’ there be, Who couldn’t part snail and shell, let alone land and sea. In fact the only thing they hold above you noble humans fine, Is that their noble brow does not know the ruinages of time. Now then this explained, I turn to my own sit-u-a~tion. But bear in mind such matters are not my inclination

THE NATURE OF MY BIRTH

My mother, she is a mighty spirit queen - to that I must confess. But you’ll find that this princely blood doesn’t help me much, in making due du~ress. For though my mother, might be able this station to des-troy~ My own father would find it much harder being of our own mortal cloy. My father now, he’s dead and gone, But still his mortal blood lingers on. For although I am my mother son, I wasn’t made from only one. And as my father’s child as well, I’m hardly entirely fiend nor fell. Now, how could I, I ask, be e’er a monster of dread When half of my blue blood is in fact of a mortal red? My magic proves a fickle thing - And not much of an agent of suffering. And of violence I’m familiar I’ve seen it before, And I must confess I found it a bore. So, while there’s something probably could do. I haven’t the slightest interest in the harming of you. So rest yourselves and be at ease! I have no monstrous pride to appease, I’m simply come to spend the day, In an idle sort of train-y way. Yes I’ve simply come to spend the day, In an idle sort of train-y way~

[differentnighttale]

Part 2: An essay on Taylor Swift and Her Toxic Fandom and How it Influences People to Flee.

Talk about the racism that Beyoncé got after being 1 on the billboards and how it pushes potential swiftie fans away.

I realized part 1 was too long and I originally planned it to be well, one complete essay but I was worried it was too long. Don't get me wrong don't hate Taylor, I am very neutral about her even though her fans put me off, like way off.

But anyway, this essay is about toxic swifties and Taylor swift and how it affects whether people would come to view her or leave her.

I have friends who listen to her and others who avoid her music like the plague or just have very little interest used to listen to her when I was younger, Bad Blood was my favourite, and Katy Perry but it was mostly a one-time thing, but Taylors Swift lived on and then I stepped listening to the rest. That song from her 1989 album. As a West African girl, I am sure their tons of POC fans who enjoy her music.

Taylor Swifts music is mostly associate with heartbreak, romance and teen stuff and she's not scared to sing music which is seen as Girly. Which a misogynist society, sees as "embarrassing "and "weird " for young girls, well acting as a young girl. But her fandom is still extremely controversary and for very right reasons, from doxxing, threats and insulting folks. On of the excuses, I hate is when people say when you hate her or dislike her, you are entitled to our opinion and saying "You wanna get picked "or she's not a freaking fan of her.

Last Year, Billboard did something a lot of people consider controversiality. They labeled Beyonce as the best artist of the generation, with number 1 and Taylor 2, I was very neutral since wasn't really into her music and awards. Same as Taylor herself, I could care less. But when I browsed through the internet and found out others where not happy and especially on X (Everyone knows how toxic and horrible X over there where toxic people is are) But I as a Black and African lost my mind when I saw their remarks. And I know it doesn't reflect non toc Swifties nut is still Controversial)

For some odd reason, this draft was posted without my knowledge.

I get that Swifties were pissed and annoyed that their favourite star wasn't number but in life, your star shouldn't be number one unless they deserve it and not BLOCK other artists. But as a young Back and African women, that not a freaking excuse to be racist to her. You don't need to be a fan of someone to like them and spew hateful things against other Black people. You're not a fan of Beyonce. Valid but spewing racist stuff, doesn't make you better instead it makes you seem very dumb. I am not a fa of Beyonce, but I enjoy some of her music same as Taylor Swift.

The comparisons they did was concerning to maids and to animals and insulting the way they looked and even SZA saying mean things. It was a very concerning time that day and when I went on Reddit, yes and I realized those Swifties never mentioned that situation and said that the Beyonce fans were being dramatic, I was livid. Dramatic over racism, Thats tone deaf and ignorant, and I wasn't a and a was grossed out and disgusted. They didn't even mention it and I as so mad, but I realized they were more concerned over what Kanye did, yes what Kanye did was disgusting and he should be shamed for what he did to female musicians with those wax doll's ad Billboard was foul was bringing that up. But I was still mad that they didn't talk about the racism.

Thanks for joining my TedTalk.

[byler-4-life]

I apologize in advance for this monstrosity of a post. But I have to get a point across here. Like...either Byler is endgame and is going to happen, or Will Byers is going to go down as one of the most tragic TV Show characters of all time.

Sounds a little like hyperbole, no? Well, let's just recap. This starts when Will is 12. Just 12 years old. This adorable, sweet, little, innocent bean here. Just keep in mind these pictures for future reference:

He's kidnapped by an interdimensional monster and forced into a dark, cold, lonely place all by himself. He's stuck in another dimension for a whole week, trying desperately to get out, wondering if anyone is going to save him, all while constantly fearing for his life. Alas, the demogorgon did get to him:

And, even after he was rescued, he was still puking up slugs:

All this is from S1. Enough trauma to last several lifetimes. But wait, there's more.

Apparently Will hadn't suffered enough, so they had the Mindflayer set its sights on him. And well, we all know S2 didn't turn out the best for this now 13 year old boy.

And if the mental pain and anguish and loss of innocence of having your body forcefully entered against your will isn't enough, they decided to heap on some intense physical suffering as well:

And to end the series, you have to have the monster literally burned out of you by your own mother while you're tied down to a bed.

Surely our boy has had enough right? Wrong. On to Season 3. 14 year old Will is mostly sidelined this Season, but he's present enough to get ignored by his friends and put down by his best friend for his "childish" interests, a fact that hurts Will so bad he breaks down and calls himself stupid before resorting to demolishing his childhood fortress. The same haven of safety that helped to save his life in the Upside Down. He's then forced to pack up and move from the only home he's ever known, severing all his friendship ties, such as they were.

Well at least they're gonna fix stuff in Season 4. So here we go, and...what? Excuse me....hmmm...okay. So I've just gotten word they in fact did NOT fix things in Season 4. We have Will, now 15 (or maybe actually still 14 since the Duffers apparently FORGOT HIS BIRTHDAY) so happy to see Mike at the airport for the first time since leaving town, get his hug physically rejected (when Mike has no problem hugging anyone else this series). He's then forced to third wheel and watch his best friend/love of his life have fun with his step-sister. He then LIES TO MIKE (something we have seasons of evidence that Will hates to do) in order to project his own feelings for Mike onto El because that's what he thinks Mike needs to hear. And he's then forced to help Mike "confess" his "love" for El as he stands there and hears Mike say that his life didn't really begin until the day Will disappeared?

Guys, even if you don't ship Byler, you have to admit....this is a pretty fucked up life in the span of 3-4 years. My point in posting all of this (and actually depressing the hell out of myself as I looked for all the screenshots) is if they really leave him like this, and Season 5 doesn't turn things around for Will...or maybe even somehow gets worse and they either kill him off, or force him to stand there and fake a smile while Mike and El live happily ever after....well then fuck this show.

They introduced us to this sweet innocent kid, made us all fall in love with his character, then treated him like their personal punching bag for four seasons. If they aren't planning on giving him a happy ending, that's just downright sadistic. After everything Will has gone through, they're going to make him a gay kid in the 80s living in smalltown Indiana in middle America, with an unrequited love for his childhood best friend? A fact that makes him feel "different" and like he's a "mistake"? Overkill for the sake of overkill. Trauma p*rn. And that's just the suffering they've shown us onscreen. Just think of how many nights laying in bed alone Will has had these thoughts about himself. Or desperately wishing that Mike felt the same way, even though he "knows" it's hopeless. Truly tragic.

Yes, other beloved characters in this show have been traumatized too, yes. But they've also all had sustained happy moments that the show has shown us on screen (for characters that were around for more than one season). Every time Will seemingly gets an ounce of happiness it's violently snatched away.

I refuse to believe that the show doesn't want to give Will a happy ending. There has to be a reason for his suffering. And yes, I think Byler is the only satisfactory happy ending. And that's not my choice, that was the choice of the showrunners. They made being in love with Mike his whole character in S4. Gay pining at its finest. Trying to intro a new love interest at the last minute isn't going to cut it. I'm not going full delusional like before. But I do believe that S5 Byler has a good chance of happening. Otherwise...it kind of taints the whole experience.

[unchained-hound-dog]

Jack and the reader get into an argument because their schedules haven’t lined up in a while.

Sorry I've been so slow in posting this, been a busy week! Hope you like it anon!

You were both busy people, Jack had been consumed with promo interviews for his upcoming album and you'd been hit with a huge deadline at work, meaning the only time you'd see each other was when you were both laying next to each other in bed, a tired 'i love you' shared between you both before you took the time to rest. There had been a couple of occasions where you'd both had an evening free, but any plans made were ruined by either you needing to be at your laptop or Jack needing to finalise some stuff for the album.

You'd both agreed to clear your schedules one Saturday, agreeing to put work to one side for a day and just focus on each other. You'd set up an out-of-office on your emails and Jack had told his team that his phone was off for the day.

Waking up that morning you couldn't wait to start the day with Jack, breakfast in bed followed by watching movies and just enjoying each others company. Reaching over, your hand was met with cold sheets, Jack's body being long gone. The clock on your phone said it was 10:30 and so you assumed he was downstairs making breakfast. You quickly took care of yourself in the bathroom before throwing on some slippers and heading downstairs. You found the kitchen empty, no signs of Jack or breakfast. You made your way through the house, scanning each room before heading back upstairs. Your ears picked up on Jack's voice in his office, your stomach dropping at the thought of work becoming a priority on the one day you'd both taken for yourselves. You pushed open the heavy door and found Jack sat at his desk, glasses resting on his nose, phone pressed to his ear in one hand and the other running through his hair. His nostrils were flared and his eyes shut as his head leant back against the chair he was sat on, the laptop in front of his lit up his face as he sat in the mostly darkened room.

Watching his for a moment, you could feel the anger building inside of you. He'd gone against his word of turning his phone off and ignoring work calls. Jack's eyes opened again as he went to speak, his head tilting down and catching your figure standing at the door, your pyjamas wrinkled from your sleep.

'I'm sorry' he mouthed to you, shooting you a sad expression and resumed his conversation.

You shut the door, standing alone in the hallway as you heard him rant at whoever was on the other line. A sign left your lips as you made yourway downstairs and into the kitchen, cooking yourself breakfast for one along with a coffee.

It had been 4 hours, lunch time had come and gone and you were sitting in front of the TV in your living room with a cup of hot tea, watching a series you'd wanted to start with Jack for a long time. As you sat, you heard the door to the office open, footsteps coming down the stairs before Jack's figure appeared in the doorway. You didn't look at him, you were so upset and you wanted him to know that.

'Babe I'm so sorry. Neelam kept calling my phone i forgot to turn it off last night. Someone tried leaking the album and-'

'As annoying as that is, I'm too upset to talk about it right now Jack'

'Excuse me?' his demeanor changed instantly, his posture straightening up.

'We had this day booked off all week, no work calls we promised each other. Clearly your work is more important than I am.'

You understood how annoying and frustrating it is for the album to be leaked so close to the release date, and you wanted nothing more than to know the ins and outs of what had happened, but you were also upset. You didn't have any time off for another month now and by then Jack would be going on tour.

'The thing I've spent the last year working my ass off on just almost got released before I wanted it to and your more concerned about a few hours of me being on a call trying to fix it?' Jack was offended, you could tell and you didn't blame him one bit.

'It's not the point, surely your team could have dealt with it without involving you. You told them about today, right? Couldn't they have dealt with it and then told you about it tomorrow?'

'I can't believe you're actually saying this. I thought you'd understand. It's only 3pm we have all evening to do something!'

'just forget about it Jack' you turned away from him, you knew it was petty but you didn't care in that moment.

'whatever' he turned and left the room, you heard him head upstairs and slam a door shut.

Another hour passed, Jack in your shared bedroom and you in the living room. You began feeling guilty, you felt for Jack but you'd let your upset and anger take over the situation when you realised now you should of been more understanding.

Walking upstairs you prayed Jack was in a forgiving mood. You shuffled your way into the bedroom, the room was everything you'd pictured it to be when you'd both bought the home. The bed sat in the middle of the room, bedside tables either side with everything you both needed in and on them. A large dresser sat across from it with doors either side, one to a large bathroom and the other to a walk-in closet. The wall on your side of the bed was floor to ceiling windows.

Jack was angry, more so at the hacker that had tried to leak his album, but also at the entire situation. He thought you'd understand but he also recognised that you'd both needed this day together more than anything. After some time checking everything was okay with his team, he got to running a hot bath, adding all your favourite soaps and salts and lighting candles.

That's how you found him, flicking the lighter on the last candle and placing it back on the bath. He turned to leave the room, finding you stood there and sent you a soft smile.

'I'm sorry' you both said at the same time, a short 'don't appologise' coming from both of you before you broke into laughter.

'I thought I'd make it up to you' he gestured to the bath behind him 'and ordered us some food, should be here in about an hour'

'Jack, I'm the one who should be doing this for you, I was so selfish to think the album being put out wasn't as important as a morning together. I'm sorry'

You both shared a soft kiss before getting into the bath together, Jack telling you all about the hacker before you both agreed no more work talk for the night.

[purple-herb]

RANT!!!

Naturally, I got distracted while writing my RE2R fanfic (again), so I'll use this as an excuse to procrastinate! I guess I'll start with some ships because that's one of the major things that has kept my brain rot for this franchise intact over the last year. Before I start, I wouldn't say there's any ship I'm aware of that I hate. Of course, there are ones I personally dislike and don't ship, but why waste energy hating on something when I can use it to enjoy something I like? Cleon is my favourite; I actively seek out content surrounding it and create some myself. (I forgot the names of these next two ships.) I like the pairing of Jill and Chris. And I like Sherry and Jake. I don't have much to say about them, but I think those characters work best together and have amazing chemistry. So I guess I should go into why I enjoy Cleon so much. I was plotting out a story for an entirely different gaming franchise, one that I've grown up with and even led a big online artist community within. Well, this was before I started playing Resident Evil, so this next part is a coincidence. Keep in mind that these are original characters that I designed, and they don't exist in the canon of the franchise I was going to write my story in. The main character is very similar to RE4R Leon, and the other main character has some similarities to Claire. They interact very similarly to how those two do in Resident Evil. And to top it all off, they rescued a child together. It's literally Cleon before I was even aware Cleon existed. So from the get-go, I was already kind of attached to these characters. Also, during the time I first discovered Leon and Claire, I wasn't doing too well. The community I mentioned before had crumbled, so I stepped down as owner and handed it to the worst person I could've chosen. It (unsurprisingly) didn't last much longer without me. My childhood friend, whom I had known for a decade, just started acting relentlessly ableist towards me one day. And, like, it went on for about a year before I decided to cut him off. The 2020s have kind of sucked for me, so that community and my friend really held me together through life. Suddenly having to move away from them because one day they switched to having the polar opposite effect was obviously difficult. So back to the point: Resident Evil was the thing I needed to get fixated on and distract myself from the, at the time, very recently and probably slightly traumatising events. And Leon and Claire helped me tremendously with that. I like their chemistry and the way they talk and look at each other. I like how they have similar morals, and I honestly think Claire really had an affect on Leon with the parallels I noticed between Claire and Sherry with Leon and Ashley. They seemed very protective of those characters in a similar way. Down to the things they say and the actions they perform. I think how little they interacted in the remake also drove me crazy because I found their scenes together to be so fixating. So that's when I planned my RE2R fanfic to have them interact more. And then I discovered AO3 (yes, I'm very new to all this stuff) and got to read some amazing Cleon fanfics. So to sum it up, Cleon was and still is very interesting to me, and it showed up when I really needed it. I think I'll make a few more of these posts, but this one is mostly dedicated to Cleon. I think I'll talk about Raccoon City next because I've (unfortunately) become very attached to that location. I'm going to go back to writing my Cleon fanfic now. 

I've been pretty sick these past few months and this week has been particularly bad, so...

Tell me about your favorite Resident Evil things! Things from the games, movies, books and so on. And tell me what you love about your favorite character(s). Also tell me what you love about your favorite ship (Cleon is my fave so I would particularly like to hear about that one BUT I'd also love to hear what makes you love different ones. Just please keep it civil).

Leave comments, reblog, send me asks, tag me, whatever... Just gush about what RE things make you happy.

[huge-enthusiast]

Miraculous fic recomendations!!

This is just an excuse to show all my bookmarks? Yes. Yes, it is. I'm pretty sure most of this fics are really popular, but try see if you find something you didn't knew about!

All of the fics will be rated Teen and up audiences or lower. Also if I don't put the author's tumblr is because they didn't put it in the fic or/and I couldn't find it.

Pairing: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

knowing you by emsylcatac (they are not really the author of the fic but that's the account that says in the fic, the actual author doesn't have an account).

After dropping their transformations months ago, Marinette and Adrien see each other for the first time after being apart. They've both left too much unsaid and have to work to pick up the pieces of their confused hearts.

Chapters: 1/1

Post-reveal but mostly ladynoir, light angst with happy ending.

the last day on earth by Reiaji

The first time Marinette sees Chat Blanc, she's fourteen years old. The second time, fifteen—the third time, seventeen.

The closer she grows to Adrien, the harder it is to save him.

Chapters: 1/1

Post-reveal lovesquare, kinda heavy angst, hopeful ending.

tell me something i don't know by carpisuns (@carpisuns here on tumblr)

Do you think it still means something? To love someone, even if the universe said you had to?

The odds of having a soulmate are about negative one billion (or something like that). But somehow, like they always have, Marinette and Chat Noir find themselves together. They’re ready to finally tell each other everything, but it turns out that even soulmates have to keep secrets, and while their bond draws them together, duty forces them apart.

Chapters: currently 17/28 (WIPs can be exhausting but this one is 100% worth the wait!)

Mostly marichat but almost all of the lovesquare sides make an appearance, soulmates au, mostly fluff but it can get angsty if it wants to.

One Thing After Another by SKayLanphear

Marinette notices that, sometimes, Adrien acts a little out of the ordinary--like the time he stood in a cardboard box for no reason, or when he actually hissed at Nino. It's only when she starts to notice the similarities between Adrien and a certain feline that she begins to get suspicious.

Basically, Adrien acts like a cat when he probably shouldn't.

Chapters: 15/15

Mostly adrienette with one sided reveal by Marinette's side, miraculous side effects (by both sides wich is really cool!), it's fluff with a lil tiny angst for drama.

This would take some getting used to by Codango (@codango here on tumblr!)

Adrien peeked out from behind the chimney even as the magic of his own Chat Noir mask fell away.

She was still visible, her dark hair bobbing under the street lamps a couple blocks away.

“Marinette.”

Adrien blew out a confused breath. His fiery Ladybug… was the quiet little mouse who sat behind him in class?

“What. The.”

This… would take some getting used to.

Chapters: 8/8

Adrienette with one sided reveal by Adrien's part, awkward flirting, just fluff, nothing to worry about.

comfort food also by Reiaji!

In Marinette's house, cooking is a language of love, and Marinette loves Adrien more than most.

Chapters: 1/1

Adrienette with a little of ladynoir, super super fluff, a lot of insight into Marinette's chinese heritage.

The right side of his face by walkingonthestars (@hamsternamedmarinette here on tumblr!)

Marinette and Adrien are able to remain in their new seats in the back of the room at the end of Chameleon.

Chapters: 1/1

Adrienette, fluff with light angst.

it's a long way forward so trust in me by aloneintherain (@captainkirkk here on tumblr!)

“You’re not the only strong one around here, Chat,” Marinette said. She looked a little winded, but she wasn’t struggling to hold him up.

This close up, he could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose. He could see how that smug smile lit up her eyes. He could feel the strain of her arms—and wow, okay, he really wasn’t the only person around here with muscles.

Six times Marinette carried Adrien (plus one time he carried her).

Chapters: 1/1

All the sides of the lovesquare! Fluff with LOTS of mutual pining.

a fight that you were born to lose also by aloneintherain

When the prosecution starts throwing around the word victim in reference to Adrien, he has to stuff his hands under his thighs to keep himself from bolting out of the courtroom.

Adrien had felt unsafe during those last few weeks, but, until he had woken up and seen Father silhouetted in his bedroom doorway, that had only been paranoia. Father was controlling and cold, but he wasn’t hateful. Adrien was isolated. He was often hungry. And some weeks ago, when he had snuck out to visit Nino, sitting thigh-to-thigh on his bed while Adrien cried in that silent, crumbling way of his, he hadn’t argued when Nino put a hand on his shoulder and said, tentatively, That’s abuse.

But Adrien remembers being small and Father touching his hair after he’d aced another test; Father holding his scribbled drawings like they were something precious, and framing them around his office; Father, dressed as Hawkmoth, his eyes wild behind the mask, lashing his sword against Adrien’s baton; Father, collapsed against Mum, crying into her ashy hair.

Adrien finds out Gabriel is Hawkmoth, and Gabriel gets to bring his long-waited plan into action.

Chapters: 1/1

This one doesn't really focus in the ship that much as is an Adrien character study and an exploration of his relationship with his father, but they're still there so I put them here. Really heavy angst (this is one of this fics that haunt me in the middle of the night) with a happy ending. ❗TW: parental abuse, eating disorders❗

Supercut by LNC

Marinette loves her friends and Adrien can't deal.

Chapters: 1/1

Post-reveal lovesquare, again light angst, an exploration of Adrien's insecurities, Marinette Dupain-Cheng deserves the world, happy ending.

Madame Snare by jettiebettie

“Sounds like a lot of work for nothing. She should take this as a sign to have a relaxing weekend with no responsibilities.”

“It's a lot of work she put her whole heart into. It wouldn't be right for it to go to waste,” Adrien whispers to him. The look on Marinette's face is enough to cause Adrien's own heart to ache. If anyone deserves the satisfaction and pride from a job well done, it's her.

“Too bad there isn't anyone else who can walk in those death traps,” Plagg says. Adrien hums in thought, tapping his chin.

“I could.”

Chapters: 1/1

Marichat, episode-based, Chat Noir in a dress!!!, light angst but it's mostly just idiots being idiots and a lot of fun.

in the same sun by peachcitt (@peachcitt here on tumblr!)

"It’s hard to believe that I saw you last at the peak of summer, when the sun was close and warm - and so were you. It should go without saying that I miss you. I miss you something terrible."

//

"It’s been seven months to the day since I’ve seen you. I wish you were here more than anything else."

Two letters, signed with initials instead of names, found in Paris, France.

Chapters: 1/1

Ladynoir, just angst, that's it, written like letters. No ending, just pain.

an uncurtain discovery by Missnoodles (@ladyofthenoodle here on tumblr!)

When he returns from school on Wednesday afternoon, Adrien discovers the darkness in his own home. He struggles to come to terms with it. To his utter mortification and delight, Ladybug is nearby to rescue him.

(He does not discover that his father is supervillain. That will happen on a different Wednesday.)

Chapters: 1/1

Ladrien, it says it's crack, and don't get me wrong, is super funny, but I also found it sad as fuck?

An Open Secret by Kasienda

Adrien whirled around toward Marinette. She smiled at him.

He couldn’t smile back. He stared at her like the dumb blond model that he was often accused of being.

Something shifted in her expression. And her warm open Marinette smile transformed into Ladybug’s grin. He was looking at Ladybug right now.

He knew Ladybug’s name!

Her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

And he couldn’t say anything! Not to Marinette! Not even to Plagg, who had confided two weeks prior that Master Fu was growing increasingly paranoid since the location of his home and hideout had been compromised. Their master had apparently decided that Chat Noir and Ladybug would have to give up their miraculouses if they ever discovered each other’s identities.

It wasn’t fair!

...

A fic where they both know, but can't openly talk about it.

Chapters: 4/4

Post-reveal... but is it? Mostly adrienette and ladynoir, fluff with light angst and them being absolute idiots at hiding their secret identity.

golden (like daylight) by okayanna (@anna-scribbles here on tumblr!)

Friendship, Adrien decided, shaking off the mental image of Marinette’s hurricane eyes and hesitant mouth, parted in a small, careful “o.” He had a very strong friendship with Marinette. That was all.

or

Adrien thinks a lot about words, love, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Chapters: 1 + epilogue

Adrienette but has lots of ladynoir, another Adrien character study because I hate myself, it tries to not be angst but the writing will punch you in the guts and make you cry, it's so good.

Strangers in the Bright Lights by poodles (@ladybeug here on tumblr!)

Adrien is about two drinks in when he sees a girl at the end of the bar wearing black cat ears. It's kind of weird, so he watches her, and although it's crowded he can see her face when she turns around. She’s wearing a Chat Noir mask. He takes a quick look around- nobody else is wearing a mask. Just her.

Adrien finishes his gin martini and heads over to her. He could use some company tonight anyways, he hasn’t told anyone he’s back in Paris and Nathalie won’t arrive in town for another month. And it’s been a rough day, okay? A rough move! He’s not sure he wants to be back yet, and he spent most of the day in the Agreste mansion sorting through some photographs of his father he found in the study. Maybe he wants a drink and some stranger to tell him he’s pretty! That’s not a crime, is it?

Chapters: 1/1

Adrienette but it's also ladrien??? I think??? It's super super angsty but they're both drunk the entirety of the fic so it's also really funny.

Pick-Up and Chase by also SKayLanphear

After she accidentally trips into Adrien and apologizes about "falling for him," Marinette learns that he's no match for cheesy pick-up lines--whether they were unintended or not. And while she finds it flattering that he turns into a flustered mess with only a few words, Marinette comes to regret making him uncomfortable. That is, until she learns he's Chat Noir. At which point the phrase "just deserts" becomes a permanent fixture in her everyday plans.

A story in which Adrien is flustered, Marinette is smooth as glass at dropping lines, and Chat Noir gets the romance he was always asking for--even if he doesn't quite know how to handle it.

Chapters: 10/10

Adrienette with one sided reveal by Marinette's side, it doesn't say it in the tags but I'm pretty sure the characters are much older than they actually are in the show, so much fluff and so much flirting.

Pairing: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe

Nino Has Done Nothing To Deserve This by GuardianKarenTerrier (@guardiankarenterrier here in tumblr)

It's nothing, really- just an innocent comment, a joke. But when they hear it, Nino and Alya come to a realisation.

There were, in retrospect, dozens upon dozens of hints. Now that they're suddenly aware of all their friend's flimsy excuses and rushed explanations, they're not only sure how they've missed it, they're not sure how anyone else has either. They realise that it had to be magic protecting their friends- and that same magic has ceased to work on the two of them.

Well, this means they'll just have to start watching over their friends themselves.

Chapters: 7/7

This is more a found family fic than anything else, Alya and Nino are the mom friend, has light angst but it's mostly identity shenanigans in the most bizarre way. ❗TW: eating disorders❗

christmas lights by demistories

Nino checks up and down the street, checking to make sure there’s no raging akuma headed his way before he crosses quickly and ducks inside the small café. He closes the door quickly before the icy air can blow inside and tugs his beanie down over his ears. He spots Alya sitting alone in the corner.

Chapters: 1/1

Just fluff!! Really short but really sweet.

hold on, i still want you also by Missnoodles!

Written for the @thedjwifizine ! Wich I also recommend if you wanna binge a lot of djwifi fics while also looking at amazing art!!!

Five times Alya ran into her ex, and the one time he stopped being her ex.

Chapters: 1/1

Light angst with a happy ending! I don't really like the ex-lovers to lovers trope but this one is the only exception.

I will continue to expand the list in the future! But by now I hope I was helpful in the search of new fics!