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fellowstrangetownappreciator · 3 years

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The Strange Case of The Strangetown Metamorphosis

There is a mysterious Sim that appears in Strangetown.

That's like saying "there is a fish that appears in the ocean", I know, so I'll be a little more specific.

They are an adult whose memories show inconsistencies with those of their family members. Something is missing!

Alright. That's also not saying much, that's like half of the premades in vanilla, non-clean hoods.

They are immediately recognizable by their appearance and, dare I say it, have distinguishing features unique to them.

Well, that also kinda fits everyone...

They feature in more than one installment of the series.

Again, not that helpful. I mean, almost everybody from the base game hoods is (for better or worse) represented in TS3 or TS4.

They appear in TS2 for PSP!

Hmm...

They are a member of a wealthy family connected to science and paranormal.

And...

They are somehow connected to (possible) cloning.

I imagine that now you’re probably rolling your eyes and asking: Why didn’t I just simply say I was going to talk about Bella Goth?

Because... I’m not!

It’s Loki Beaker. In this mini-essay I’m going to speak about Loki, what is the mystery around him, what hints are there and what are some of the theories and which one do I fancy.

It’s basically a routine round of the popular game “connect EAxis’ oversights and glue them together into a headcanon”.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to:

The Mystery of Loki Beaker!

0: Preface: Loki who?

“As soon as he perfects his latest invention, Loki is sure to get the recognition he knows he deserves. In the meantime, he keeps himself busy by trying to assemble a nuclear reactor out of common household items.”

On the first glance, Loki as a Sim seems quite straightforward. He is a Knowledge Sim with a very eccentric personality. All his trait points are in the extremes, as you can see:

He is a scientist, a competent one at that, as proven by his high career level and the fun fact that some of the game’s horrible machinery you can buy for Aspiration points is attributed to his creation.

(It explains why are the Beakers the only ones who have the stuff lying around by default. It is normal for a Strangetown family to own a non-buyable reward object or two but those are career rewards, the Beakers are the only one who canonically own Aspiration points rewards.)

Even though he knows his stuff when it comes to his profession, he is very corrupt and tests his questionable projects on his captive, Nervous Subject.

To say that Loki is unpopular would be an understatement. No one but his wife Circe likes Loki, even his own sister is indifferent towards him. Yes, he has a sister. Her name is Erin and she also lives in Strangetown with a colorful collection of roommates.

Nothing mysterious about him so far. (apart from his eyebrows)

1: Characterization fallen apart

And then The Sims 3 happened. It was actually quite late into the game’s life cycle, the early 2013, when a beautiful nordic-themed world was released on TS3 Store. Its name was Aurora Skies and it featured Loki, Erin and their parents.

TS3 Loki is a child and Erin is a toddler.

Now I haven’t actually played Aurora Skies. I own (and love) TS3 but the price range for the Store worlds is too high for me, content-to-money wise. So there might be some hidden clues about the Beakers in their house or relationship panels that I haven’t been able to inspect but... not to sound cynical but I doubt it. I doubt such attention was given to detail of this family in Aurora Skies, as they don’t even have individual bios.

But... that is... fine? I mean, we have Loki’s TS2 bio...

Nope. Sure we do. And it would be fine if hair color and ambitions weren’t the only thing Loki and his younger self (from now on referred to as smol Loki) had in common.

Let’s take a look on smol Loki’s personality.

The first noticeable thing is that there is not a trace of Loki’s trademark villainy. He’s not Mean Spirited, he’s not Evil, he’s not even a No Sense of Humor Sim. His extreme neatness and hyperactivity are nowhere to be seen either. While it is true that TS3′s capabilities of defining personality are very limited as it picks “outstanding points” rather than a position of each trait on a scale, and it only has 5 slots (and tiny teeny 3 for children), it doesn’t make any sense still for the devs not to pick some more loki-esque traits for the precious slots they had.

Unless...

They didn’t care about Loki’s personality and there were no deeper intentions.

Unless the devs were trying to purposefully show us new angles of his character that either got suppressed while he was growing up, or manifest in ways that TS2′s scale system wasn’t able to show.

Could the Lucky trait in particular have had something to do with the change?

(Also, those traits of smol Loki are reason why I usually go for a Family Secondary Loki in TS2 and thus make Strangetown the purgatory of two unstable blonde Knowledge/Family sciency guys.)

We also must not omit that even though smol Loki didn’t display any of them, he still had all of Loki’s signature traits in him, as Loki in TS2 has his actual personality synced with the genetic one, meaning that there was something in there that caused him not to act so mean that got lost as he grew up. In other words, something brought up the worst in him.

And that’s not all. Smol Loki is not a regular TS3 child. You see, in TS3, premade children aren’t particularly known for being highly skilled experts. Neither are in TS2, for that matter, and it’s okay. It’s realistic.

Smol Loki has a skill maxed.

It is very rare for a premade regardless of age to already start with a maxed skill and I personally don’t know of any other premade children that do.

And it’s writing.

What does writing have to do with Loki? Does Loki write? Probably he has to, those academic papers aren’t gonna spawn out of thin air, but that’s not what the writing skill in TS3 (or the hidden writing skill in TS2) are about. They’re about creative writing only.

Ok, ok. How high is Loki’s Creativity skill, then? In TS2, skills are much broader, they more resemble skillsets than individual skills, and writing categorizes under Creativity. Bring out the skill panel!

Two. He has 2 points in Creativity. That is... low. That is actually very low, especially for a Sim that has supposedly been writing for fun since childhood. (and was a prodigy, while we’re at it) It is safe to say, I think, that if the player doesn’t make him do it, Loki doesn’t write anymore and he hasn’t been doing that for a long, long time.

While I would cynically admit that the dissonance in personalities might be just the lack of damns given from EAxis’ side, this seems to me too on the nose to be unintentional.

They would have no reason to bring the Beakers back without the “evil scientists” thing in mind. I mean, that’s what they’re iconic for. That’s what they’re recognizable by. (apart from their eyebrows)

So the person who was in charge of creating smol Loki probably knew they were recreating “Loki the mad scientist”.

So when they were picking the skill they use to demonstrate that this kid is gonna go far, they thought... “evil scientist = writing”...?

I would understand going for Creativity in general. I mean, Loki’s an inventor. That comes with the territory. But creativity as such isn’t really a skill in TS3. It’s divided to different activities.

Wouldn’t it make more sense just in general to pick logic, then? I mean, Loki isn’t that extremely logical by default but it is his second strongest skill and a feature unmistakably connected to being a scientist.

That’s what leads me to believe that writing plays a role in the story and it was chosen on purpose.

So how did a sweet little family-oriented boy talented with words transform into the ruthless catboy inventor we know and love?

And that, my friends, is the mystery of Loki Beaker.

2: A closer look at our environmentalist friends, the Beakers

If we want to get the full picture and come to a satisfying conclusion of some sorts, we need to inspect smol Loki’s surroundings. Maybe there is a clue to the continuous force or a traumatic event that shifted smol Loki’s direction in life?

Loki’s and Erin’s parents are named Gundrun and Bjorn. Even though their age would still allow it, they’re not present at the start of TS2′s Strangetown play, they’re long dead. Bjorn died before Erin became an adult and Gundrun died shortly before her son’s engagement to Circe. Because they died by the time Loki had (presumably) already long enrolled in his current life-path, we can safely rule out any tragic early death of parental figures scenario as a possible answer.

Gundrun is the only Beaker that canonically also writes. She has 5 points in the writing skill. She also shares some traits with Loki, namely the smarts and ambition.

But she has little to do with science and is way more business-oriented which is a trait she shares with Circe’s ancestors, for example her father. Maybe the families knew each other from business ventures even before they moved to Strangetown? It is stated in their memories that Loki and Circe first met when they were children. But I digress!

Anyway, I don’t see anything in Gundrun that would suggest any abusive behavior towards her son that might have triggered his drastic change. Possibly but not necessarily she might’ve been a bit absent but nothing out of ordinary.

And now the father, Bjorn.

Bjorn is the sciency half of the couple and works as an Aquatic Ecosystem Tweaker. Again, he has zero traits that would raise any red flags and he shares 4 out of 5 traits with either smol Loki or Loki. (I don’t know if Loki is a “natural cook” but he cooks quite well, so I think that counts.)

What’s interesting about Bjorn, though, is his speech that serves as a flavor text for the Aurora Skies store page.

(Image transcript: “Do it for science! Science is everywhere around us, but at Aurora Skies it’s not just something you learn; it’s something you do! We need bright young minds to make the dreams of the future a reality. Even now we’re finding more uses for garbage to help the planet. Charging batteries, powering machines - the sky is the limit. Just this last year we created a modified Hot Air Baloon using garbage as fuel and turning it into pure air with a pine breeze scent. Now you can have efficient travel and an amazing romantic adventure with no cost to the ozone (or your nose)! Every year we’re creating more and more exciting things in the world of science. Garbage-powered hearts, heart-powered cars, solar-powered cats; what will you think of next! It’s all up to you. Do it for Science! Did you know? Hot Air Balloons are an epic form of travel based around the simple principle that hot air is lighter than cold air. They lift in the air based on the heat system in the balloon. Increasing the temperature of the air inside the balloon makes it lighter than the air outside and the balloon begins to float. More air is required to lift heavier things; that’s why the balloons have to be so huge! How cool (or hot!) is that?”)

From this piece of text we can see Bjorn’s passion and dedication to “green” science. Nothing in his traits suggests he fakes it, so I think it’s safe to believe that this peppy idealist is a glimpse into Loki’s father’s genuine self.

He might have encouraged his children to follow in his footsteps (”We need bright young minds to make the dreams of the future a reality.“) and smol Loki, who later in life seemed to have similar levels of enthusiasm (science is his One True Hobby), might have been receptive to that.

Now just close your eyes for a second and imagine an alternate reality in which Loki picked up where Bjorn left and instead of a energy-refilling machine that electrocutes you if you’re not happy enough, he invented “solar-powered cats”.

Still no hints on what could’ve messed Loki up, though.

Let’s take a look at the parents in TS2. Even though they’re not present and aren’t even resurrectable, they’re still coded in the game for purposes of genetics, memories and family trees, so some of their characteristics are salvageable.

And by the Watcher, they were both Romance Sims.

They were workaholic Romance Sims who cared about the environment and liked recycling (and Hot Baloons).

And they were both extremely Nice and very Sloppy, if their personalities on wiki are something to go by. Which they unfortunately aren’t, at least not completely because most ancestors don’t simply have “their own” personalities and use presets instead, so they tend to be quite similar.

The same goes for most of the Beaker clan, unfortunately. Fun fact is that there is no Knowledge Sim in sight (before Loki, of course). Maybe they weren’t a scientist family, but a bunch of Romance Sims who used to spend their free time in between woohoos saving the planet with eco-science. (3 out of 6 of Loki’s and Erin’s ancestors were Romance Sims, 2 were Fortune and 1 was Family)

But! There is one outlier. Her name is Gertrude Beaker. She is Loki’s paternal grandmother.

And similarly to her grandson, she certainly has a personality to remember.

She doesn’t use a preset, this is a personality that someone went and manually assigned (...or generated) for her. And she is Neat, Outgoing and doesn’t have a nice bone in her body. But unlike Loki, she has a sense of humor (which makes her even more dangerous, in my opinion) and is extremely Lazy.

She is a Fortune Sim and the only Beaker who shares the darker sides of Loki’s personality. (to be clear, I don’t mean their taste for cleaning but the round 0 of Nice points)

Because she doesn’t feature in TS3 at all, it is safe to say that she wasn’t in her grandchildren’s lives until the family moved to Strangetown. Could she be the corrupting influence on smol Loki?

As far as personality comparison goes, she seems to be the only possible culprit, the only one who’s personality shares the same unpleasant qualities he became infamous for. But! That’s not saying much. There is no evidence she actually did anything.

There’s not even any evidence that she ever met her grandson, given he has no memory of her dying which means she might have died before he was even born. That would be a solid evidence on the contrary and would rule her out. But I’m leaving some maneuvering space for theories here because she is the only Beaker ancestor with custom personality, after all, and that is suspicious.

That’s all the Beakers we know of if not counting Atom and Ceres, who came after Loki, so they’re not relevant to the question of his childhood. Or... are they?

3: And that’s when the trouble began

Another part of this question that might help us discern what happened to Loki is the when. All we know so far is that there is a big void of unknown between smol Loki and regular Loki and the point of transformation happened in there somewhere.

Thankfully, we have something to give us an idea. It’s this snapshot in storytelling pictures for the Beakers:

It shows smol Loki destroying a dollhouse. It seems to be in an impersonal environment of some sorts. The cheapest bed in the game is against a bare white wall, the window is hid behind blue curtains and there doesn’t really seem to be anything else but the dollhouse, a teddy bear in the background and that... very unpleasant bed.

It clearly tells us that Loki’s shift started in his pre-teen years.

And seeing that room which is definitely not in the Beaker Castle at 1 Tesla Court, it makes me think of a hotel or a cheap apartment the family was staying in while moving from Aurora Skies to Strangetown. Maybe the castle-like something the household inhabits at the start of the game wasn’t a property of the Beakers at all, maybe that was where the Salamises used to live and now it belongs to Circe?

Anyway, could it had been leaving Aurora Skies that sent smol Loki down an existential crisis and settling in the not exactly welcoming environment of Strangetown, enrolling in a local school, that sealed it?

But why all the stuff with writing? This would work with any other hobby but somehow it had to be writing and it’s our task to find out why.

4: Not your average tragedy

Now in our search we already have some ideas but it wouldn’t be thorough if we didn’t take into account smol Loki’s actual personality. I mean, we went into what traits he doesn’t have but what about those he has?

Namely Lucky and Family-Oriented.

I think Lucky is a very interesting choice. There’s nothing inherent about Loki Beaker that would make you go “that’s one lucky guy!” (if you don’t count his relationship with Circe as a stroke of luck, that is) and the same goes for smol Loki.

But... it could be a clue. His metamorphosis either couldn’t be triggered by trauma because he’s lucky and it would avoid him, or it must’ve been something tremendously horrid so he’s lucky he’s still alive.

Now we know we are searching for something that happened in his late childhood, verging on the start of his teenage years. His family was going through the turmoil of moving to a desert and he has already known his future partner Circe. Meanwhile Erin-

Oh, wait. Erin.

Smol Loki was Family-Oriented which implies he would probably have a good relationship with his little sister, as he would’ve naturally inclined to protect her and help his parents take care of her. But!

Not only do they have an amicable but distant relationship as adults but Erin seems to forget that Loki even existed in her childhood.

He has the usual set of memories of a sibling growing up well but she doesn’t, she has no Loki-related memories at all, not even of his marriage, which was a quite recent event.

Could the reason for Loki’s “downfall” be somehow related to his sister? Was there a dramatic event in which she lost a part of her memory?

5: Theories!

Ok, we’re finally here! Now I try to present some theories about what might’ve happened.

1. Burdens of the golden child

In Aurora Skies, Loki used to be the little wonder every relative was gushing about. With his father as an acclaimed scientist and a very liked person in general, there was little to no adversity his son had to face. He followed his passion and having nobody to really compare himself to, nor anybody who would terrorize him, he prospered.

But then the Beakers moved. Strangetown was... different. It was way smaller than Aurora Skies, so everybody inherently knew everybody and everybody had to interact with everybody... because the small space of a desert community didn’t leave them with any choice. And it was bleak and unfriendly. No one except for the Salamises knew the Beakers, so they found themselves under scrutiny from their new neighbors.

So Loki, who used to live thinking he was unique, was now sitting everyday in a much smaller classroom with Pascal and Vidcund Curious, whom he was immediately being compared to. But he wasn’t like the Curiouses. He was a kid of a scientist but wasn’t a science kid. He didn’t have much in common with Pascal who approached him and tried to befriend him at first but he wanted to. In Strangetown, nothing seemed to be cooler than being really, really into science. Pascal’s and Loki’s communication attempts were rather poor, though, and in the end, they never made friends. Loki slowly began to disdain the oldest Curious boy and it culminated a few years later in high school when Pascal made an attempt to woo Circe. It was even worse with Vidcund. Ever since Loki’s first day at the new school, Vidcund had been eyeing him with a disgusted look and Loki became quick to reciprocate.

In Strangetown, nothing seemed to be cooler than being really, really into science. Even Circe was on it! She was the only person his age he has know in Strangetown before his family moved in and he liked her. Not “like” liked her, yuck! But he thought she was cool. Her family used to visit the Beakers in Aurora Skies and they played together. She was a friend! Or so Loki thought. She seemed to like hanging out with the Curiouses much more.

In Strangetown, nothing seemed to be cooler than being really, really into science, yes. But not in the eyes of Buzz Grunt, the son of a general who lived in Strangetown. Their family were the self-proclaimed protectors of the hood but at the same time they weren’t shy to show a strong distaste for all that made Strangetown an important desert settlement in the first place. And little Buzz, although Loki doubted he understood the nuances, was very fond of asserting his dominance over his less sporty and hyper-masculine classmates.

Suddenly jealous of the Curious brothers, under pressure from both the adults and his peers comparing him to them and bullied by Buzz, Loki’s social life fell apart. He started having problems... and he came up with solutions. He has always liked science but from back then on he hyperfixated on it to prove everybody who picked on him for being a worthless parody of a science kid wrong.

Not only his social life and self-confidence were busted, though. Moving away from Aurora Skies to Strangetown that had much higher prices for housing because of the limited space, the living standards for the Beakers lowered. It was chaotic and uncomfortable. Plus, almost everybody in Strangetown was loaded. Why, Circe and her parents lived in a small castle! Loki felt like they’re the only “poor” family around and it played into his new-found insecurities.

And then there was Erin’s accident. She suffered a severe head injury and even though she fortunately survived, she was never... the same. She had issues with her memory. Loki tried to convince himself that he’s big enough not to cry but when they were visiting Erin in the hospital and she didn’t recognize him, he cried. It was his little sister! And... it was all his fault anyway! If he was quicker and pushed her to safety, she would’ve been fine! Or even better, he wished the car would’ve hit him instead.

Loki was becoming more and more snappy, focused on his grades and projects, unavailable. The siblings never mended their relationship, Erin, even though she recovered, never got to make new memories with her brother. Not remembering them growing up together, he was like a stranger to her. A scary mean teenage boy she didn’t know and, even though she was a very friendly child, she was too intimidated to willingly spend time with him. And Loki was always busy and moreover, he felt guilty and inexplicably angry, so he postponed approaching her, until it was too late, he was in college, she was in high school and it was too awkward.

And... there was no time to write anymore.

2. Gertrude the Neat and Mean (and Lazy)

Ok, Loki doesn’t have any memories of his grandma. But hear me out! Erin does not have any of him either and yet they met. This theory doesn't require any additional write up – he simply got under the influence of his 0 Nice points granny and she cultivated him to be just like her.

My personal take: This is maybe my least favorite theory of them all, even though it is quite straightforward. It doesn't take much into consideration and demonizes Gertrude, who as far as we know, might not done anything wrong.

3. The accident

This theory takes advantage of TS3's canon sciency machinery, namely Cerebralizing Brain Enhancing Machine 2.0.

It can, among other things, change a Sim's personality. There is (quite unfortunately, in my opinion) no chance of consequential failure in the actual game, the most it can do is to (non-fatally) electrocute your Sim. But...

Imagine smol Loki sneaking into his dad's laboratory, most probably at his workplace.

He was curious. Ever since his father showed him all the equipment in there, all he could think of was the machine that made people smarter.

Maybe it could make him smarter?

I mean, Loki knew he was already quite smart. At least, he's been told he was and he had no reason not to believe it.

But he could be even smarter.

He could be like his dad. Or his mom. Or Erin. Everyone was talking about how clever young Erin seemed. Loki was proud of her but part of him just wanted that, too.

So what if... he went to dad's laboratory, just for a little while, and made himself smarter?

He made all the necessary preparations. It meant to memorize dad’s schedule, so he knew just the time when he could sneak into the laboratory. It also meant to get a good costume so he won’t be recognizable on the security footage!

And then finally, he was ready. To infiltrate the laboratory was easy enough but it only made Loki more nervous. He was on the edge but determined. He wanted to make it big in the world. He needed to seize the opportunity. And fear... fear was there to be ignored! Hands, stop trembling!

His confidence grew a bit once he got to the machine itself. He knew how to run it thanks to his dad and it made him feel competent and ready.

Little did he know that there was a huge oversight. Although Loki could operate the technology on a very basic level, his knowledge went nowhere near deep enough for him to detect that the machine has yet another set of settings and those currently expect an adult user. It wasn’t configured for a child patient.

But unaware of that, the boy in his patchy dinosaur costume climbed on top of the machine and with his eyes wide open and his heart racing he connected the Brain Enhancer to his system. Then, with his hand sweating, he pushed a button on a remote he was clutching to.

When Bjorn, alerted by Loki’s screams, rushed into the laboratory, it was way too late.

As his terrified father was calling the ambulance, the child was alive and even still awake. He was too weak to cry. He just watched Bjorn, wishing for death and looking for signs of wrath in father’s eyes.

There were none. Only fear.

Physically, Loki Beaker managed to recover just fine. With the power of advanced medicine and plastic surgery, the burns he suffered were reduced to nothing but almost invisible scars.

But inside, he was never the same. Literally. Even though the procedure backfired horribly, it still worked to some extend - but even that extend was warped. Loki succeeded in giving himself the Genius trait but several of his traits were replaced also, including the Lucky trait that probably saved his life.

6: Conclusion!

I like Loki very much. (no sh*t, who would’ve guessed) He’s a very controversial and over-the-top character who tends to be rather unpredictable in the actual gameplay. I started writing this giant thing to find an answer to his backstory that would satisfy me and hopefully also some of you.

With a heavy heart I conclude I’m not successful.

First I have to admit I originally planned to present 5 theories instead of 3 but I scrapped 2 of them.

First was about Atom time traveling and replacing Loki, creating himself again and again in a time loop (would explain the huge personality difference between smol Loki and Loki-Atom) and it was very far-fetched but fun, alas I realized it was out of character for Atom, since he seems to love his sister and his Plumbot so much he would hardly leave them behind to pull that off.

The second was about Nervous and the corrupting power of Death he has inside that would slowly drive Loki and Circe “evil” even though it’s unclear whether they first adopted him with being a lab-rat in mind. But it would not make sense since a change like that would be visible on their personality panels. That’s not that important, though. What made me not include this theory is that it feels uncomfortably victim blame-y. It’s not directly since it wouldn’t be Nervous’ fault anyway but any attempt to shift the blame from Loki and Circe in this situation feels uncomfortable.

(To be clear, I don’t think the Beakers deserve demonization. In my opinion, the best way to treat them narrative-wise is like eccentric people capable of feeling love and doing good things sometimes, yet irredeemably self-centered, morally bankrupt and deserving a lifetime in jail for child abuse they have done on Nervous. Not one-dimensional but still villains and still objectively bad people.)

And those 3 theories above? They could’ve been better.

I think I like the first the most, even though I still feel like something is missing. I just tend to like relatively grounded explanations and this one doesn’t feature the supernatural nor any deus ex machina gadget.

What about you? And do you have any other theories? Sky’s the limit! It’ll make my day to hear them!

Whatever your takes are, they’re all valid.

#loki beaker #strangetown #premades #the sims 2 #the sims #simbrl #headcanon #ts2

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vampcubus · 4 years

Text

Quiet (Midoriya/Reader | Angst)

| A/n: You know there are some days I question how psychotic I have to be to find pleasure in the suffering that comes when writing angst. *le sad* |

| See part 2 ... here |

✧❀ Warnings: Angst, unresolved feelings, big sad mood. ❀✧

✧❀ Words: 2800+ ❀✧

| Summary: As Izuku continues to chase his dreams you find yourself being pushed to the side until it seems you’ve been forgotten, and yet you keep quiet. But it seems today that the very person who forgot about you wants nothing more than to talk to you. |

. . .

You bit your lip. Buried your teeth into your tongue. Puffed out your cheeks and bit the insides of them. You kept your mouth shut for a long time, perhaps too long you supposed as you watched a familiar head of wild green hair walk past you along with Iida and Ochako.

You held your breath, closed your eyes, clenched your teeth. You wondered if things would have been different had you swallowed your damn fears and said something. Your eyes followed him as far as they could before he was just too far away.

You took in a deep breath and started walking. You had no real idea where; you kept moving until you were stepping inside of a cafe just off-campus. Your ears perked up at the sound of Midoriya’s voice and Ochako’s laughter, followed by a brief lecture from Iida. You turned to see the trio seated in one of the booths.

Midoriya’s face turns to the entrance of the cafe, but you’re already gone.

You close your eyes, knaw at your nails, and roll your tongue against the roof of your mouth. You wait for the pedestrian walk light to show before crossing the street, walking away from the cafe. As you walk, you don’t notice Midoriya looking out the entrance of the cafe. He deflates when he spots you walking away.

Iida and Ochako come up behind Deku to ask him why he’d gotten up so fast.

“I don’t get it, I was certain she went here every day.” Midoriya sighs and Uraraka places a hand on his shoulder. “I even asked Ashido to be sure.”

“Maybe we’ll see her later, don’t give up yet, Deku.” She reassures him, and he puts on a determined face, nodding in agreement.

. . .

You strolled into a familiar shop, smiling at the clerk who recognized you straight away, corralling you into an aisle of books with their newest releases. You skim the covers with your eyes, reaching out to pull a book out and flip through the pages every now and then. A book with skeletal cats and a red and black color scheme caught your eye and you picked it up, opening it up to look through it.

In your distracted state, smiling down at the pictures of cats above each page of text, you almost don’t catch three familiar voices as they wander into the shop. Midoriya approaches the front desk and the clerk greets all three of the students, asking what they were looking for. As they are distracted, you shut the book and place it back on the shelf, holding your breath as you discreetly slipped out of the shop, making eye contact with the clerk on your way out who seems to realize what’s going on.

“Actually we’re looking for a friend, we were told she comes through here often,” Midoriya admits sheepishly, hands wringing anxiously as the woman places a hand to her chin as if to think. “Y-you wouldn’t happen to have seen her today have you?”

“Is she the quiet one? Er… L/N, I think it was?” She wonders, and Midoriya perks up at the sound of your name.

“Yes, that’s her!” Deku smiles, eyes bright and hopeful, and the clerk can’t help but smile.

“Well, I’m afraid you just missed her, sorry kid.” She sighs.

“Oh…” Midoriya shrinks a little, clearly dejected by the news. And once again, Ochako comforts him, a hand on his back as he wracks his brain for another solution. “Well, she couldn’t have gone far, right?”

The three exit the store in search of the ghost of you.

. . .

You arrive at your final routinely spot of the day, smiling at the blissfully unoccupied picnic table tucked away at the edge of the park just by the forest, separated by a leaning chain-link fence. You look up at the dimming sky, the slight smell of rain and wood calming your nerves. You slide onto the rotting-wooden bench of the picnic table, pulling your knees to your chest in a comfortable balled-up position.

You pull down your hood and pull out your phone, putting in your earbuds and looking up at the sky, watching the sun draw ever closer to setting; waiting for the stars to come out.

Just as the green-haired boy starts to worry that he’s already missed you, he spots your small form at a picnic table at the edge of the park. He lets out a sigh of relief at the sight of you sitting still and not walking away. He gets Iida and Ochako’s attention and points to you, and they look equally relieved to have finally caught up to you after a whole day of hunting.

“Well, I’m afraid this is where we part, Midoriya I hope all goes well with L/N.” Iida salutes and the other two chuckle at their friend’s eccentric behavior.

“Thank you, Iida, I appreciate your help today.” Midoriya thanks him, bowing his head in gratitude and waving at him as he leaves the park to walk back on campus.

Ochako turns to face him and gestures for him to take a deep breath with her, knowing how nervous he must be.

“You’ve got this, Deku, I believe in you!” Uraraka whisper-shouts, raising her hand to offer a fist-pump which he gratefully accepts.

Once Uraraka is out of sight, Midoriya turns around and starts to make his way towards the relaxed shape of you.

“Okay, big breaths…” He mutters to himself as he approaches you, one big ball of anxiety. He stops a few feet away, just to admire you as you watched the sky without a care in the world, a small smile on your lips as your eyes traveled from star to star. “You can do this, Deku.” He tries to pep himself up, though the moment you shift he freezes and almost dashes off.

You uncurl from your ball and stretch your limbs out, turning your head away from the sky to change the song on your phone when you notice a shadow looming over you. You knit your brows together in confusion and turn around, heart leaping into your throat and forcing a gasp from it as you spot Deku a few feet away who stiffens as well when he meets your wide eyes.

You remove your earbuds and pull your knees back up to your chest, mouth opening several times to ask what he was doing here, but each time you clamped it back shut.

“U-Uh h-hey, Y/N-chan! fancy seeing you here I was just looking—p-passing through.” Midoriya babbles with a nervous smile, trying to formulate a proper sentence. Though finally talking to you face-to-face suddenly became more difficult than he remembered. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

You bite your tongue, hold your breath, clench your teeth. Anything to keep the words from spilling. Words you’ve kept down for months.

You can’t just say nothing though.

“Hey, Midoriya.” Is all you can manage before biting down on your tongue again, avoiding his eyes. You know it’s not enough to weasel out of the conversation so you add, “Don’t worry about me, I should be going now anyway.”

Deku’s eyes widened when you got up from the picnic table, shoving your phone in your pocket, ready to leave. He panics, wracking his brain for the right words to say to stop you. Instead, his hand shoots out before he can stop it and grabs your hand.

“No, please don’t go yet!” He blurts out, sounding desperate as you halt all movement and look back at him with wide eyes. Your gaze drifts between his face and his hands as it grasps yours, lips parted in surprise. “I… can we talk for a minute?”

Why? Why does he want to talk now? What could you possibly have that he wants to talk to you about after months of distance, almost a year of growing apart until you had no part in his life?

“Um.” You gesture at his grip on your fingers and he turns bright red, flushing from his neck to his ears. He jerks his hand away from yours and squeezes out a ‘sorry!’

Despite your conscience, the voice telling you to just leave, you sit back down on the rotting bench looking expectantly at him as he stands there.

“Are you going to sit down?” You ask flatly, and the boy jumps with a ‘right’, scrambling to sit down beside you.

It’s quiet.

“Y/N?” Midoriya starts out, and you grimace at the sound, not liking the way each syllable fell from his lips in that nervous voice of his.

“Don’t act like we’re familiar.” You hiss, letting the annoyance slip out into your tone.

He stares for a moment, and you don’t miss the hurt that flashes behind those big green eyes of his. He looks like he wants to say something but can’t quite find the words. Why did it make you feel bad that you had plenty of things to say and he had none?

“We’re… not?” Midoriya asks, the sound small in his throat.

What were you talking about? ‘don’t act like we’re familiar?’ The green-haired boy vividly remembers a time when you were very close, and he was the only one that was allowed to use your first name, the only one that could talk to you longer than five minutes without you closing off. You used to come over for playdates at his house and build blanket forts so you could read All Might comics and share dumb secrets. He can’t think of a time he wasn’t familiar with you, even if you had grown apart since you started high school.

You still kept in touch over text and he invited you over to study every now and then.

But now that he thinks of it, he can’t remember the last time he texted you. He can’t recall the last time you had a meaningful conversation outside or inside of school. But even if you didn’t see each other as much, he still considered you his friend. And he’s been crushing on you since middle school. Have you really become unfamiliar with one another?

You haven’t been close lately, sure, but hearing you say that hurt his feelings.

“Don’t act surprised.” You groan, looking up at the sky. Did he really expect things to just be okay between you after basically ghosting you for almost a year? “This is the first time you’ve talked to me in months.”

Your words hit him hard, and he can feel the guilt crawling on his skin. He feels sick. He realizes just how true your words are when he tries to remember a time you talked in the past few months but couldn’t. It really has been that long.

“I-I’m sorry about that, I guess I was just… busy trying to become the number one h-hero you know?” He chuckles nervously, offering you a smile, hoping that maybe it would lift your spirits, or at least make you look at him.

“You never seem too busy for Ochako or Iida.” You deadpanned, resting your chin on your hand as you leaned over the picnic table. Midoriya’s eyes widened, and he tried to think of what to say, though he should have picked his words a bit more carefully because the next sentence even makes him wince as soon as it comes out.

“B-But that’s different.” Midoriya stutters, squinting his eyes shut and mentally kicking himself. What kind of excuse was that?

“How is it different?” You asked.

“I…” He couldn’t even answer you. What was he supposed to say? It wasn’t different, you were all in the same class, he had countless opportunities to talk to you and he just didn’t. “I’m sorry, that’s no excuse...”

He hangs his head low, owning up to it.

“Sorry for what? Not talking to me for months or thinking that you could just walk up to me and be all buddy-buddy again?” You had to admit that it sounded harsh, and perhaps you were being petty, but could he really blame you? You spent most of your childhood only sharing his attention with Kacchan, and suddenly there was no room in his life for you.

“Well, you could’ve talked to me too… you haven’t necessarily been the most sociable either.” He mumbles, twiddling his thumbs together.

“Oh, so now it’s my fault.”

He sits up straight raising his hands defensively as you scowl at him from over your shoulder, the bitterness of your tone sending him into panic mode. He hadn’t meant it that way, he would never blame you for this.

“N-no! That’s not what I meant at all!” Midoriya sputtered. “Y/N please hear me out—”

“L/N.” You corrected and Midoriya felt himself choke on the lump in his throat and the tears start to well up in his eyes. He didn’t want to cry in front of you, he’d done that all the time when he was younger, and not once did you hesitate to comfort him no matter what he was crying about. Crying would solve nothing now.

“Y/N please, I-I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be. But please don’t do this, you-you’ve always been an amazing f-friend to me, please don’t shut me out now.” He whimpered, the tears starting to drip down his freckled cheeks.

“You’re the one who shut me out. Don’t twist things to fit into whatever narrative your imagination has written up.” You hissed.

“I didn’t! You keep saying that like I’m not trying to f-fix this, I care about you, and j-just because you stopped believing it doesn’t make it untrue.” Midoriya insisted.

“Fix what? Our friendship that you forgot about?” You scoffed, putting some distance between you on the bench. The resentment in your eyes as you say it shakes him to the core, terrifying him. The thought of you hating him makes him actually want to throw up, he feels nauseous just thinking about it.

“Please—” He chokes on a sob. “P-please don’t h-hate me, please don’t hate me.”

You stared down at the wooden patterns of the picnic table, trying to ignore the pathetic sobs and sniffles to your right. You hated seeing Izuku cry. You can remember a time you would’ve thrown hands for anyone who made him cry. It bugged you even now that you were the cause of his tears, but you were hurt too and no amount of tears can fix that. You didn’t hate him, you hated that this is what your long-term friendship had come to.

“I haven’t been a part of your life since we started high school, Izuku. Do you have any idea how I felt when we stopped talking? I thought that you were getting bored of me, that somehow I just wasn’t worth your time anymore.” You confessed, feeling the tears start to form in your own eyes. You hastily wiped them with the sleeve of your hoodie.

Midoriya sniffled, ears perking at the sound of his first name tumbling so unexpectedly from your lips. He missed being called Izuku, and he’d always admired the fact that you never stopped using it. He felt more and more terrible with every word that left your lips, letting him in on your perspective, how you had been feeling because of him.

Bored with you? Never! You were always so important, so unique to him. You were the only one who believed in him before he got a quirk.

“I figured that hey, maybe you were just busy and so I didn’t bother you. I thought that hey, once you’re not so busy you’d call me, or text me, or something. But… you didn’t and I… before I knew it, you had new friends, a new life,” You sniffled, unable to muffle the sound behind your sleeve this time and Izuku’s eyes widened in horror when he realized that you were crying. “Without me.”

Izuku sobbed into his hands, the tears rolling freely as he cried. You looked over at his trembling form, letting your own silent tears dampen your hoodie sleeve. One thing about Izuku that you had always admired was that he was never afraid to express himself. There wasn’t a moment in the world that he was insincere with his emotions, whenever he cried he cried for real. So unlike you and many others, bottling up their emotions and hiding their faces from others.

You couldn’t watch this anymore.

“I-I need to go.” You got up to leave again and Midoriya’s head shot up the moment you moved, teary eyes watching as you stood up. “Goodnight, Midoriya.”

And with that, you walked away. Izuku let his head fall into his hands, he pulled at his hair in frustration, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles started to bruise. He cried harder than he had in a long time, muttering a million sorries into the night in hopes that if he said it enough you’d hear him, and forgive him.

But just like he did when you waited for him to call, to text, to say something… you stayed quiet.

#izuku midoriya x reader #midoriya izuku x reader #midoriya x reader #midoriya izuku #izuku midoriya x reader angst #angst #unresolved angst #bnha x reader #izuku x reader #mha x reader #bnha #mha #mha x you #bnha x you #my hero academia #bnha fanfiction

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mypunkpansexualtwin · 3 years

Text

WIP Wednesday

I am, again, untagged but undeterred! Who wants more Wingman? No? Too bad, that’s what you’re getting!

I... haven’t slept yet. Consider yourself tagged if you want to do this and please please tag me in your WIPs, I really love seeing what my friends, mutuals, and followers are all working on. Part of this is under a cut, mostly for the sanity of Future Me.

About halfway down the block, they realized at about the same time that they had nothing to talk about.

“So…”

“So...”

So. Akira didn’t remember how to have a normal damn conversation. He wasn’t going to blame that on the fact that the only people who’d spoken to him on a regular basis in the past five months were all eccentric to say the least, but it definitely hadn’t helped. One of the top five current sanest people in his life was the drag queen proprietor of a bar in the red light district, for crying out loud. Not to mention he’d always been more of a listener to begin with because it was less stressful. So long as the person talking wasn’t a harried reporter who could only ever be found at the aforementioned drag bar. Or his homeroom teacher being blackmailed into dubious side work by a late student’s family. Or an ex member of the goddamn yakuza. Being “robbed of one’s place to belong” apparently also did a number on one’s sanity.

Akira was pulled from his thoughts by Ono awkwardly clearing his throat.

“I, uh, heard that one of the Japanese schools staying here is Shujin. That you?” Jason hazarded.

“Yup.”

“Phantom Thieves Shujin?”

“That’s the only one I’m aware of.” Akira responded blandly. Not the best topic for small talk considering the apparent state of his brain-to-mouth filter, but better than walking along and twiddling their thumbs until one of them decided to leave. Probably.

Jason cracked a smile and jokingly asked, “Do you know them?” Even half-expecting it, the question still caught him a little off guard. Although not as much as it would have a few months prior, considering he’d gotten it just as jokingly from several of Leblanc’s regulars since May. Meaning he’d had time to practice his answer.

“Oh yeah,” Akira responded, pouring every ounce of sarcasm he had into a completely truthful statement, “I found them on accident and they made me their leader.” Then he rolled his eyes for good measure. Who needed to be a good liar when you could just tell the truth in a way nobody would believe?

“Pff, why would they do that?” Jason snorted, indulging the “joke.” Akira shrugged in response.

“No idea,” he answered, again, completely honestly. “My unparalleled charisma? My superior adaptability?” He paused for his date to stop laughing before he continued, “My cool glasses?” That earned him a scoff.

“Clark Kent you ain’t, buddy.” Ono retorted dryly, but the effect was ruined by the smile trying to break out across his face. Topic successfully deflected.

“Definitely no Superman, either.” Akira stretched and laughed softly.“Too gangly.” He was finally starting to actually relax a little when an arm snaked around his waist and tugged him close, effectively shooting his progress in the face.

“I dunno if I’d say gangly. Lean, maybe?” Ono’s voice was close to his ear again and his hand was ridiculously warm where it rested on his hip. “Whatever you wanna call it, it definitely suits you.”

“Uh. Th-thanks.” A few moments passed, allowing Akira to attempt to scrape together something resembling a brain cell.

“Y’know, if you’re here to make memories, maybe we should get on that.”

Attempt failed, try again later. Something about the guy’s voice, especially with the way it ghosted across an apparently very sensitive spot just behind his ear, seemed to have a vendetta against Akira trying to think. Purely on impulse, with no input from his higher functions that had all abandoned him at that point, Akira turned his head and hummed his assent against the corner of Ono’s jaw. He felt a shiver run through the taller boy and a decidedly Arsene-shaped sense of smug satisfaction in the back of his mind. Akira wasn’t sure if he should offer his inner self thanks or wonder where the hell this kind of helpful nudge was earlier that afternoon with Ryuji. Or at literally any point with Ryuji. Maybe it was for the better, he really didn’t have the nerve to follow up on a move like that. And if he couldn’t with the guy who’d arranged the damn date, there was no way he’d have been able to after probably ambushing his unsuspecting best friend. There was no point in dwelling on that, though. Instead, he met the hooded gaze Jason levelled at him with a smirk meant to cover his rising nerves.

Anyone who knew Joker, Infamous Leader of the Phantom Thieves would have recognized that particular smirk as the prelude to him being a little shit, but Ono did not. He had no idea what to expect when Akira replied lowly, “I think you might be onto something there.” The blond leaned in a little, eyes fluttering shut as Akira reached up to settle one hand on the back of Jason’s neck--

--and shattered the moment with a quiet click from his phone’s camera. Ono blinked a few times, looking up to where Akira was holding his phone up for the selfie he’d just snapped, and back to Akira’s face. Double take. Triple take. And then he fixed him with the most unimpressed face Akira had ever seen in his life, which had to be some kind of world record.

“Uhhh, say ‘cheese?’” He cracked a smile and tried hard not to laugh as that look somehow turned even more unimpressed.

“Ha freaking ha.” Ono pouted up at the camera. “Seriously. I’m gonna crack a rib laughin’ here. You’re hilarious.”

“Are you saying you don’t want a picture of yourself when you look this good?” Akira replied innocently and lowered his arm a little. Maybe it was unfair to push the buttons of a guy so obviously and aggressively walking the fine line between confident and vain, but the way his pout deepened before twisting into a smile was too cute.

“Fine, twist my arm why don’t you?” Jason rolled his eyes good-naturedly and settled against Akira before looking up into the camera. Halfway through the burst of pictures Akira took, Jason exacted his revenge and pressed a kiss to that sensitive spot he’d ghosted his breath over a moment ago. Thankfully the camera didn’t pick up the deeply embarrassing yelp that particular move elicited from Akira, but there was no hiding the way the phone suddenly jerked in his hand halfway through the dozen or so pictures, or the way his face had gone completely scarlet in all of them from that point onward. It was his turn to pout as he swiped through his camera roll and deleted the blurriest ones. “Ooh, definitely send me that one. And those two.” Ono instructed with his chin hooked over Akira’s shoulder. Naturally the guy wanted the pictures with the worst of Akira’s tomato face, but at least the rest he requested were nice. Maybe Akira wouldn’t be spending the rest of the night too mortified.

The incoming text notification that dropped from the top of his screen said otherwise. Goddammit.

“Oh man, the timing on that’s almost spooky. Hell of a coincidence.” Jason laughed as the preview of Futaba’s ‘who the heck is that guy???’ disappeared into the notifications bar. Akira groaned.

“Not a coincidence.”

#my writing #persona 5 #misguided wingman #any and all bits of the persona peanut gallery in akira's head is less a separate entities thing #and more like 'romantic impulsivity and maxed courage stat is stored in the arsene'#I'm working on the final chapter of this and am really hype #like. REALLY hype.#like planning at least 2 spinoff fics that resolve the nonsense #plus possibly a third that's literally just a chatfic of the other thieves betting on pegoryu becoming canon #I've been doing this for how many weeks and only just thought to start putting it under a cut

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glitchedfoxx · 3 years

Text

LCU Info Dump

Here’s a quick briefing on what Lost Curse Universe is, since you guys have, no doubt noticed me posting about it

Relating back to this post that I made earlier today, I’m gonna actually share some stuff about Lost Curse Universe. I don’t know why it’s taken me like a year to get around to posting about what LCU even is, but you know what I may be a little stupid, ok?

(Long post ahead)

ANyways, I don’t have a whole lot about the AU fleshed out because I haven’t really had a chance to talk to people about it and build off of other people’s ideas and input to make it into something, but I have a little bit of an idea. It’s basically a canon divergent AU splitting off from the story of the FSA mangas, but Green never put the four sword back and they continued to live on as separate Links. Wow, real original, I know.

The actual setting of GU is a few years after the events of the manga, everyone’s around their late teens/early adulthood in age, and over time, since they split off at a young age, each boy kinda went through puberty a little differently, pretty similar to how twins start out looking the same but they can end up developing differently despite having the same DNA.

Over time, the individual Links ended up changing up their fashion a bit to tell each other apart better, outside just having different colored tunics. Although the base tunic is the same, they all have accessories added on that makes it unique to them. (If we’re being honest here Blue probably thought it was stupid that they all dressed the exact same and insisted that they change up their clothes so that he doesn’t have to dress the same as everyone else. The others played along.)

There isn’t a whole lot about the AU in terms of storyline, because in all honesty I just wanted to create a way of drawing the boys that was unique to me, so that people can see the designs and go “oh that’s glitchedfoxx’s design!” or something like that, so sorry for not having any sort of storyline or plot to share with you guys, but that will probably come in later once I start actually thinking about the AU more and building it together with you guys.

I can share a little bit about each boy individually though!

Green remained the leader of the group, and he often directs the team on missions they go on together. As they grew, Green ended up being around 5′7″, the second tallest of the group. The defining feature of his outfit that sets him apart from the others are his metal chest plate (that he very obviously either put together himself or stole from another armor set that he adamantly refuses to wear the entirety of because “it’s uncomfortable”), along with a decorative fabric draped over top of it to give his outfit a more “knightly” appearance. He also made the executive decision that he gets to have the Pegasus boots, probably because he’s the leader of the group or something so he gets the cool stuff (his wording, not mine). While the others over time honed different combat skills, Green decided to stick to swordsmanship.

Next up, Red. As the shortest of the group, he drew the short end of the stick when it came to his growth spurt as a teen, only being around 5′3″. His choice accessory was a yellow bandana, adorned with the symbol of the Gorons to accent the fiery theme in his outfit and choice of weapon. He also bears shorter sleeves, and fingerless gloves. Although he does have possession of the other elemental rods, Red has a soft spot in his heart for the fire rod, probably because he likes making things match and the fire rod matches his name and outfit. Although still a skilled swordsman himself, Red overtime chose to hone in his magic ability, and has officially-unofficially deemed himself a mage.

Now for Blue. In stark contrast to Red, Blue is the tallest of the group, although not much taller than Green at around 5′8″-5′9″. Over time, Blue has chosen to omit the sleeves on his undershirt, leaving it as a tank top, claiming “sleeves just get in the way”, although it was in poor taste given his recklessness and as a result has a big number of scars all over his arms. To make up for his lack of fabric on his arms, Blue has a decorative belt of fabric around his waist underneath his leather belt, accenting his blue tunic with a deep red. He also bears some very warrior-esque leather wraps around his forearms, so at least he has a little bit of protection. Just like Red, Blue knows his way around with a sword, but prefers to use his hammer because it doesn’t require thought to use and makes him feel powerful. He’s not very smart, but he has brute strength to make up for it.

Then, Vio. Vio is average height, coming up about an inch shorter than Green at around 5′6″. He’s arguable the most eccentric in his choices of accessories, hiding himself underneath an asymmetrical cloak with a cowl hood, and armoring himself with a golden shoulder spaulder and leather gauntlets. He’s also chosen to replace his sword sheath with a quiver, choosing to focus his energy towards archery, although he does still carry his sword around in case of close combat emergencies.

Lastly there’s Shadow. Shadow adorns the same look as Green, par the decorative draping. He’s near identical to Green in every aspect, from his clothes, to his height, even down to every single freckle and scar being the exact same. Eerier still, every time Green gets a new scar or blemish, the very same marking will appear on Shadow, constantly mimicking the green hero. Although, Shadow can’t do much, as he has some issues connecting to the light world given the uh... less than pristine condition of the dark mirror.

That’s pretty much all I have, I probably could’ve gone more in depth into their personalities, but I don’t want this post to get too long. Besides, I can’t just hand everything to you guys, you guys can get to know them on your own terms! If you took the time too read all of this, thank you for giving me the time of day, I really appreciate it.

#the legend of zelda #tloz #loz #four swords adventures #fsa #fsa manga #au #alternate universe #long post #not art #lost curse verse

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yandere-society · 5 years

Note

maybe a one shot with Taehyung getting jealous to the point of hurting another BTS member? Preferably x reader.

Devil’s Fair Share

By: @roses-ruby

Word Count: 14,423

Warnings: Cursing, Smut, Yandere, Unprotected sex, Oral (F receiving), Spanking, Possessiveness, Possessive talk, Violence

A/N: Guess who it is:D aha! I’m back at it again with this fuckery. I hope this is what you wanted anon, It’s my first time posting on this account so I hope I didn’t mess anything up! This is longer than I expected but well :) what can you expect from me. Edited but…I’m dumb so there might be mistakes. Okay, luvs. Enjoy!

Taehyung hated you for many reasons.

He hated that you were a busybody, always trying to get into everyone’s business with a help everyone mentality painted across your forehead. He hated how much time you took to tell a single story. Going on and on about God knows what. And he absolutely despised how much you hung out with them – or rather him on an average basis.

Which is why he was practically sneering at you from his table, as he watched you chatting in line while waiting to pay your bill.

Just because he was staring at you, didn’t mean he didn’t notice some of Jungkook’s sneaky fingers making their way for his fries.

“Cut it out, Jeon.” He scowled when the tip of the younger’s index touched a particularly long fry which was sticking out of the basket.

Jungkook retracted his hand like he was burned and let out a sigh, “There’s like a thousand in there! And you didn’t even eat them. Why’re you so mean?”

It’s not that he didn’t want to consume them, it’s just that he lost his appetite after seeing your face appear from behind him when he entered the Deli on the bottom floor of their BigHit. He didn’t even want the sack of frozen stale fried potatoes, deciding to quietly munch on his small sandwich throughout lunch instead. But whatever the case – they were still his fries. Taehyung ignored the pouting of the man child sitting next to him to zero in on you who was laughing at something he said while slightly touching his arm. Yuck, what an ugly laugh.

“Just leave it, when has he ever shared anything of his?” Yoongi soft voice scolded the younger who was ogling the basket with his lips caught between his bunny teeth, “Besides you ate two large Hawaiian burgers, how could you still be hungry?”

Jungkook squinted his eyes at the rapper, telling him to be quiet as he once again snuck his hand over the table. However, he doesn’t get very far before Taehyung smacks his hand away with more force than needed.

“Didn’t I tell you to cut it out?” He raises his voice, turning his head to face the oversized hooded menace. Everyone’s head turns their way, as Jungkook shifts – slightly taken aback at the fury in Taehyung’s eyes. Soon his own anger flares up and he glares at the older, “Fine, keep your stupid fries and choke, Hyung.”

Standing up, he marches away from the table and heads into the parking lot to blow off some steam. Yoongi groans, reluctantly getting up to follow and comfort the youngest while rolling his eyes. When Taehyung’s face lands back on you, he catches you – the whole place rather – gaping at him with a mix of confusion and concern. Namjoon was raising a brow at him, a sort ‘the hell did you do’ indication on his face. He mutters under his breath, no longer comfortable in the suddenly threatening atmosphere. Which leads him to straighten up and wander off behind the other two.

Leaving the basket of fries rotting on the table.

See, this is why Taehyung hated you. Because he didn’t understand why you had to make a beeline straight for Namjoon’s room when they reached the sanctity of their dorms. You were shy, Hoseok had told him, you didn’t know the others well. Unlike Namjoon, who you had grown up with. Taehyung would just growl at the redhead in return, firmly telling him that he wasn’t interested in knowing anything about you.

What gave Hoseok the right to think he knows you so well, anyway?

If he reflects about it, Taehyung’s not sure when it first was that he began detesting you. You appeared collectively in their life a few years ago, a nervous young girl who had just moved into the city after her enrollment in Seoul University. Namjoon introduced you to the group with a dimpled smile, as you hid shyly behind his length and peered off his shoulder. As far as he recalls, you are a fan of the band – even had Jimin’s photocard placed inside your phone case. Usually, all the members are protective of who they invite into their home, refusing to let anyone they found problematic into their small circle. It stemmed from company policy as well as a couple of dirty leaks in their entourage of managers and stylists – exchanging information with sasaengs for a few quick bucks.

Needless to say, they were wary of the public in general. Too much time and effort had gone into their dreams of becoming singers for them to let something as small as visiting a bar ruin it. They promised one another to stay far away from anything scandalous. Which ranged from clubs to casual hook-ups. He knows most of the guys have broken the latter rule though, including himself. But they never let any fling become too close, never let any promiscuous desire tarnish their image.

However, Namjoon swore up and down on your character. “She won’t bother you guys! She’ll just hang out with me sometimes.”

And back then, he could stand you. Thought of your innocent doe eyes and somber behavior as adorable even! Yet as time passed on, your caution to avoid everyone who wasn’t Namjoon and commitment on keeping the rest of the members at a surface-level basis infuriated him. Did you think of yourself that high and mighty, that no one but Namjoon was worthy of your time? Fuck off.

“Shit!”

He shouts in his deep baritone as he’s once again defeated by Jin in the lousy racing game they chose to pass the time by. The window-wiping laughter of the elder makes him slump further into the couch wanting to be swallowed whole.

“That’s the third win!” Jin cheers, chugging on his beer in victory. Taehyung just laughs at the childish antics of the elder, his face turning red the more shit-faced he became. Through his own puffy eyes, he watches the TV screen replay Jin’s victory and groans when his stomach growls, having been more than a few hours since he last ate. With all his previous adrenaline absent, he decides to get up, stretching his sleeping tendons and scratching the itch on his ass.

“I’m gonna get something to eat. You want something?” He asks Jin, who is swinging both his leg and controller of the end of the couch while acting dead.

“There’s still the extra Jajangmyeon Jungkook ordered in the fridge.” Jin replies nonchalantly, resting his sore body on the cushions. Practice was especially hard today.

Taehyung nods, more to himself and saunters his way over to the kitchen across the hall. This dorm of theirs was rather spacious compared to the one they started out with.

He remembers it quite well, the shared mess of a bedroom and cramped bathroom. The mildly yellow walls and unembellished closets. It was in those times where the members were the closest, a silent joint empathy amongst all of them. Him and Namjoon shared an unbreakable bond. Taehyung was a country boy, fresh off the farm when he first joined the dorm. He cringes as he thinks about how awkward he was, the village-like simplicity of his fashion and the heavy accent he endowed for the first few months. Everyone had trouble understanding him, thinking he was the strangest thing after ET. Everyone except Namjoon.

Maybe it was because the boy boasted such a high I.Q. or maybe kindness was just second nature to the much taller man, all Taehyung knew was that he was eternally grateful to him.

Where areas some of the other members would write off his behavior as a passive eccentric trait, Namjoon carefully listened to him. He would try to see his point of view and never made Taehyung feel like he was weird for his thoughts and efforts. Taehyung in return respected Namjoon and his vision – which is why he was fine with distributing a room with him and only him.

Even if he was a bit clumsy sometimes.

Nonetheless, the days where they were inseparable roommates have long gone, now each member held their own room and their own hefty possessions. Sometimes he misses the simpler days, but he mostly liked this scenario as well. He was never a man who enjoyed sharing.

When Taehyung steps into the kitchen, he heads straight for the fridge. Immediately he spots the Jajangmyeon Jin mentioned and takes out the large bowl covered with a thin film of plastic wrap. Taking off the plastic, he slides his way to the microwave and stuffs the dish in there to warm up. He begins whistling the tune of the newest song they were recording, taking out a pair of black chopsticks from their cutlery drawer. Soon the microwave beeps, and he takes the Jajangmyeon out, smelling the heated pieces of pork ready to be devoured. His mouth waters as he began to sift the noodles and sauce together.

As he’s stretching the noodles apart, the sound of soft steps on the foyer make their way to his ear. He turns his head, to find your slightly startled figure staring at him in surprise.

“Hi.” He says with his eyebrows raised

“Hey.” You reply awkwardly, shifting on your feet and playing with your sweater paws

“Are you hungry?”

“Um, no I just wanted some water-” You stop that sentence when a ‘way too loud for the otherwise silent kitchen’ rumble rips its way from your stomach.

Taehyung lets out a snort, chuckling afterward as your cheeks dust themselves red and you wrap your arms around your abdominal in scrutiny. He looks at the steaming bowl in front of him, his right hand in midair of stretching the noodles, then looks back at you.

“This bowl is too large for just me. Wanna share?”

“O-Oh no!” You put up your arms in front of you, “I don’t want to both-“

“Get over here.”

“Yes, okay.” Dropping your hands, you meekly make your way over to Taehyung who gets a second pair of chopsticks from the drawer and hands it to you with a wink.

You watch as he immediately digs into the noodles with a big bite as you hesitate to touch the dish at all. He glances at you in confusion when he notices you’re not eating, and you accidentally let out a laugh. His cheeks were stuffed squishy with Jajangmyeon and there were stains of black bean sauce all over his mouth.

He looked like a tiny baby bear.

“Y-you ha-have,” You stutter between giggles and point at his face. But when he continues to cluelessly munch on his food you gently move your thumb to the corner of his lips, wiping off some of the sauce.

He doesn’t move an inch, just feeling the sensation of your finger and immediacy giving him goosebumps. Once you’re done wiping, you retract your hand to stare at your thumb. It hits you then of what you just did, and you look back up at him in shock.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to um…didn’t…”

You lose you train of thought as Taehyung grabs your hand, bringing your thumb to his lips. He gently puckers them over your thumb and sucks off the sauce as you let out a small gasp. His eyes never leave yours and the heat from his soft mouth shoots right up your spine. For a while you just stare at each other, Taehyung’s sharp pupils examining your features. Your pink mouth is slightly parted, and your glazed eyes resemble a doll. He thought he heard you let out an almost inaudible whine as he kisses your thumb. It stirs something inside him that he himself doesn’t understand.

“___?”

You both jump far back when a deep voice calls out your name. With wide eyes and fast heartbeats, you stare at one another in a tremor. What were you doing just now? Namjoon soon appears into the kitchen with his hands in his short’s pocket and stops a few feet from you. He raises a brow as he looks between you and Taehyung and the obvious uncomfortable atmosphere dressing the place.

“You were taking a long time so…I came to check if you were okay?” He tells you, pausing a bit to catch Taehyung’s eyes, “We have to finish your assignment, so we should head back…”

“Y-yeah,” You suddenly remember how you were originally working on your trig quiz with your best friend and wandered off to quickly grab something to eat from the kitchen. “I’m fine.”

Turning back around, you smile at Taehyung before you notice something in his presence is off. You move your hand to set down the chopsticks on the countertop, accidentally brushing your fingers next to the bowl. Taehyung snatches the bowl out of your reach, and you become alarmed at the abrupt movement and his harsh glare.

“Don’t touch it.” He snarls in a low but clear voice. You observe him in shock as he steps his way around you and Namjoon and leaves the kitchen with heavy stomps.

Namjoon sighs as he watches him leave, “Don’t mind him. That jerk hates sharing anything.”

He looks back at you, who’s just gazing at where Taehyung once stood with an unreadable expression.

“___?” He calls again in a concerned tone, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“Huh, what?”

“You good?” Namjoon seems worried, studying your face with furrowed brows.

Namjoon’s been your friend for the longest time. You both met at the time when you stood 2 feet from the ground and still secretly wet the bed. Namjoon was a year older than you and had the gentlest soul. Other boys couldn’t compare, they had cooties. When you live in the same neighborhood and your parents are great friends, it’s not hard to see one another every day. So you did – and you both became very close, very quickly. If there was a test coming up, you’d rush to his house even in the middle of the night. When your mother was nagging at you for something stupid, you’d ask him to come over and bring his bike to ride around town. And when those cootie-filled boys broke your heart in middle school, his arms were the first ones you’d run into.

It was because of those days that you felt like you had taken a lot from him, and you desperately needed to return the favor. After he moved to Seoul, he called you often. Talking about things far from your general knowledge such as dance practices and the flow of rhythm and poetry. You would just sit back and let him rant, a content smile on your face at how much he was growing. But soon his words became alarming, especially after they debuted. At first, he would talk about how excited he was and ask what everyone thought about him or his group. That quickly changed into him complaining about the hate comments, about the relentless hours they worked, about rude staff or seniors they encountered. He told you how much he missed his parents, the quarry on the east end of town him and his friends hung out at, and how lonely he became at night when everyone but him was asleep. Your heart ached at his words and you knew it was time to repay your debt.

You were as shocked as everyone else when you actually got into Seoul University. Not Namjoon though, he was over the moon at your arrival. Your visits to the dorm began shortly and you transformed into a major stress-reliever for Namjoon. It was a recuperated feeling, he was also your ball of vitality after a long day. So were the other members of BTS you had become fond of through stories Namjoon told you or Bangtan Bombs you spent hours watching. They were awkward around you, and you were awkward with them. Some members were closer to you than others.

Taehyung was one of them…in the beginning at least. He was fun and charming, and he always knew how to make you laugh. It’s not like you used up eras talking to him. They were all fully grown adult men with a demanding job and barely any moments for themselves. Not wanting to bother their already busy schedule, you mostly hung around Namjoon. But from the few times you did run into him in the dorm, he was kind and easy-going. You were embarrassed to admit it, but you had the fattest crush on him even though Jimin was your bias. Everything about him was attractive – from his piercing facial features to his boxy smile and fluffy hair. That all changed one day though, as he rarely directed a smile at you. Instead he started to scowl whenever you stepped foot into the dorm.

You thought maybe you were interrupting the time between the seven members too much and he needed you to back off a bit. So you spoke to Namjoon about it who vigorously denied your allegations. Even though you felt bad about the whole situation, you knew how much your friend needed you to be his rock. The more popular they became, the more he felt like he was losing himself. Being a celebrity is harder than it seems – you try to dissociate your reality from the perception of others and it still becomes a tangled mess in the form of a persona. And so, you stayed with Namjoon, even through Taehyung’s frowns and glares. It hurt for a while because of your feelings towards the blonde, but soon you just concentrated on being a good friend.

When he spoke to you today, you were surprised. You didn’t find any disdain in his orbs or hidden layers underneath his words. A part of you thought he was finally fine with you again, just for him to do what he usually does when Namjoon appeared.

You notice the worried features set upon your older friend and smile up at him though your eyes don’t,

“I’m good. Let’s go.”

“Baby, can we pleaaassse order another shot?”

The girl demands into his ear, snuggling herself up further on his velvet clad shoulder. He internally rolled his eyeballs feeling suffocated by her skin ship, playing with the lime wedge on the edge of his untouched gin and tonic. The club’s music was pounding in his brain and he had spent the majority of yesterday vomiting out his nerves for their recent comeback. Their senior manager told him to take the day off and clear his head. Specifically warning him to not go to the club in Hongdae again, so obviously that’s where he went.

It’s not that he’s stupid, he knows why his company forbade such behavior. But it didn’t matter who it was, he didn’t like to be told what to do. Many celebrities visited and hooked-up with random rich kids here anyway, so security was pretty tight. No one who even resembled a reporter would be allowed to wander an inch of this place. Everyone dressed in Gucci shirts, and LV shoes so it wasn’t hard to weed out the peasants. A few undercover Dispatch employees have probably slipped in here though, but his company had already made a very generous donation to them so he knew even they wouldn’t bother him.

Taehyung frowns, he was always so damn stubborn and held probably the biggest ego in BTS. What did he even want to do at a club? There was nothing interesting for him here, especially not the half-drunk girl he’s been texting with for a few weeks. She seemed mysterious and chic on Instagram, but Taehyung should’ve known better than to trust that lying devil of a site. Now he was practically stuck with her thin arms wrapped around his waist.

As soon as he met her, she suggested a threesome between her, him and Jimin. It made him angry, but he played it cool for the sake of getting laid. Taehyung was never a man who shared. Especially if that something was his. His father instilled this part of his identity into him; a real man never takes for granted what’s rightfully his property. And with that value set as an important part of his core is how he lived his everyday life. From food, to clothes and even lovers…what was his, was his.

As she leaned into him, he takes a peek at her cleavage. Her red spaghetti-strapped dress was extremely low cut and the silicon in her breasts felt like the real deal.

Well maybe this wasn’t so bad.

He leans back into the cushions of his booth, eyeing the hordes of people dancing. There were a couple of faces he recognized, some good memories some bad. The girl begins to suck on his ear, and he sighs. In a second, he was just about to get up – bring this girl back to the dorm and fuck her brains out when he spots something that immediately catches his attention.

You.

This was the last place he expected you to be.

He hadn’t seen you for a while after the incident in the kitchen. You made it your mission to avoid bumping into him and for some reason that upset him. Taehyung keeps thinking about your small interaction over and over again.Just laying in his bed and wishing to hold onto your delicate hand once again. There was something pulling him to you and it really confused him. Wasn’t he supposed to hate you?

It was as if all the world’s noises and distractions had faded into nothing as he zeroed in on you.

You were sitting at the bar slowly sipping a light pink concoction in a short and wide glass. His gaze lingers on your figure, perfectly embraced by the dark green body con dress you were wearing. A velour cotton he analyzed; he was the expert in fashion in BTS after all. It seemed to reach down just below your ass, but he could’ve been wrong since it was riding up the more you shifted in your stool. The sleeves covered your arms and the neckline was wide, exposing your collarbones and ending just a centimeter above your chest area. Just then a thought of undressing you crossed his mind, leaving him shivering in his seat. He licks his lips as his heart starts beating faster from your lazy movements.

“Tae?” A sudden voice interrupts his thoughts “When are going to go somewhere a little more…”

Moving up on him she breaths into his face, observing him with cat eyes, “Quiet?”

There’s no expression on him as he answers her, “Never.”

She looks taken aback, moving off of his body and furrowing her eyebrows in question.

“What?”

She seemed offended

“Jimin just texted me. He says you look boring. Bye.” Is the last thing he says before picking up his drink and standing. He doesn’t look back to see her reaction as he focuses on walking towards you.

You were finishing the last of your light alcoholic drink before you suddenly smell Tom Ford from a warm presence next to you. Turning your face, you see Taehyung leaning into the bar table with his left arm and smiling at you. He was wearing a navy-blue velvet jacket with gold embellishments lining the edges of his arm. His black button up shirt was tucked into his tight leather pants and his neck exhibited a thin choker with a golden fox charm in the center. It matched with the blonde hair that fell over his sharp eyes.

Why was he here? Well…it makes more sense for him to be at this club than you. But Namjoon had told you of Taehyung’s strange behavior recently. It worried you, was he in the correct state of mind in this moment? He didn’t seem drunk to you as you survey his posture closely. The second he showed you his boxy smile, was when suddenly everything became brighter in the dark club.

“Hi.” He says in that familiar profound tenor

“Hey.” You reply back a little too quietly

“What brings you here?” He asks with a smirk, freezing your movements when he tucks a stray hair behind you ear.

“I c-came with a celebrity friend of mine…She kinda disappeared into the crowd.”

“Oh?” He says, bringing up his drink to his lips and taking a sip, “Do I know them?”

“The actress…Yujin. Namjoon introduced me to her a while back.”

At the mention of Namjoon he glances up from his glass. The eyes that were once focused on studying your features now held a heavy threatening aura, his lips pulled into a straight line.

When you notice the change in the atmosphere, you try your best to change the subject.

“W-what are you drinking by the way?”

When he registers your words, his pupils lighten again like he was some fairytale creature. His mouth forms back into a lighthearted smirk and he raises his drink up to your lips this time.

“Wanna find out?”

You back away from the cool touch of his tall glass just for him to bring it closer to your mouth again. His posture is playful and his smile boxy. Where was this Taehyung when you were at the dorms? With a purse of your lips, you open them somewhat to allow the glass into your mouth.

Carefully you angle your head up, allowing Taehyung to slightly pour the alcohol into your mouth. Your tongue retracts at first by the intrusion of the bitter liquid, but it soon flattens smoothly and let’s the drink slide down your throat. When you are finished with the first gulp, Taehyung’s hand settles onto the back of your head, his elongated fingers tangled in your strands. He uses that to push your head back further and let you drink more of his gin and tonic, controlling your movements with his warm limbs. Your lids flutter at his dominance, you felt yourself getting wet.

“Good girl,” He says in a deep velvety voice, making you clench your thighs, “Just like that.”

The action no longer seems innocent as he observes you like a hawk, his proximity heating your torso. You gawk hard into his bottomless eyes and found an unrecognizable desire dancing around his irises. Your core was on fire causing your cheeks to inflame. The liquid continued to slide down your throat, making you feel dizzy at the cool flavor. It felt like everything in the club had come to a halt in favor of watching Taehyung shove his drink down your throat.

As you down the whole drink, he removes the glass from your lips and sets it down while his other hand stays in his hair. It feels like you’ve run a marathon, your chest moving up and down and your eyes teary with lust. You struggle to speak – your brain was fuzzy as the alcohol settled in your system.

“Shh.” He hushed you, your mouth automatically shutting at his command. It made him smile and he cupped your jaw, moving his thumb along your lips. You tremble in his hands, your panties soaked with your juices.

“Wanna come home with me?”

Taehyung’s keys jingle as he slides it into the lock.

With a click he pushes the door open and enters into the pitch-black room with you following close behind. He flicks on the light switch and indifferently starts removing his derby’s. You on the other hand stare in shock and awe at the larger than life luxury apartment he brought you to. Your eyes wander all over the place – at the expensive adornments and odd-looking décor to the huge windows that gave you a clear view of the Han river.

“Wow.” You whisper

You hear Taehyung snort behind you, “You like it?”

“It’s quite something.” You utter as he comes into your view and places his shoes by his house slippers and proceeds to walk barefoot into the foyer casually. Snapping out of your reverie, you bring up your leg to pull off your heels one at a time, awkwardly setting them down next to the other two pairs.

When you’re done with that you enter the floorboard and look around to see where the blonde-haired man went.

“Taehyung?” You call out

“In here.” He shouts back from a room with the door slightly ajar and a small sunset light shining into the bright living room.

You walk across most of his apartment to reach the door, standing stagnant in front of it hesitantly. With a gulp you slide the door open and stepped inside.

Taehyung turns his face when he sees you. He’s taken off his coat and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his silk shirt. Smiling, he ruffles his hair while walking towards you who stood in the doorway.

“Hi.” He says cheekily, backing you into a corner

Causing you break out into a giggle, “Hello.”

His hand comes into contact with yours, his fingertips touching yours lightly before traveling up your arm. The warmth causes goosebumps in his trail and he places his fingers underneath your jaw, tilting your head up. His eyes roam around your face before settling into yours intensely, and you swear he looks unreal – like he just stepped out of a Ghibli animation.

“I always thought you so beautiful.” He mutters, his breath fanning your face

“Tae…” Is what you barely manage to say before his lips are on yours

The kiss is so slow, so sweet – you feel like you’re imagining it. When his tongue comes in contact with your lower lip you open your mouth to allow him entry. His large hand caresses your cheek, as his tongue dances with yours softly. Tilting his head to the side, he deepens the kiss pushing you up against the wall. In a second the kiss becomes faster, harder with him licking the insides of your mouth in a frenzy.

He himself didn’t know how long he’s wanted to kiss you. All he does know is that you taste delicious. A mix of bitter and sweet, like Rose spritzer and Gin. It was addictive and now that he’s had a taste, he can’t get enough.

“Mm- Tae-,” You try to muffle through a kiss, putting a hand up to his chest

He doesn’t seem to hear you as he pushes his tall, sturdy body onto you – his hot chest colliding with yours and his arms on either side of your head with his hands planted on the wall.

“T-Tae,” You say a bit louder this time, using a little more force to get him off you

He comes off in a breath, hands still on that wall and his eyes wide and pupils blown. His chest was moving up and down and his lips were wet with spit.

“You alright?”

“I…I just can’t do this.” You say with sadness in your voice. “I like you too much to be just another hook-up…so I can’t.”

Taehyung narrows his eyes and you flush, looking away. What was going to happen now? He didn’t seem to like you…was he going to tell you to leave?

“What gave you that idea?”

You look back up in surprise and meet his hardened stare

“I..I just thought-“

“I’ve never brought anyone here.” Taehyung interjects, “Did you know that?”

“What?” You say in disbelief “Really?”

Sighing, he drops his head giving you a clear view of his blonde locks, “Yes, really.”

“I know that you’ve probably heard from the members that I don’t share anything of mine…but…”

He looks back up at you, “That’s never been a problem with you.”

As you register what he was stating, you become apprehensive. If he was saying he likes you too…then why did he treat you like that before? All the scowls and harsh stares, what were those for?

“I thought you hated me.”

“I’m sorry. I-I thought I did too.” He grimaces, “But instead, I think I was just…that…”

It seems like he doesn’t want to finish his sentence, but you weren’t going to settle on a vague answer.

“You were what?” You drill him with a new-found confidence

“I was jealous!” He shouts, startling you a bit.

“You and…Namjoon,” He grits out your best friends name with his teeth clenched, “are together all the damn time! You don’t acknowledge me when he’s close by and you go straight into his room without even looking at me! I don’t know…how can I not be jealous when I want you to be mine?”

“…would you be mine?”

Your jaw drops open at his confession, all the new information starting to irritate your brain. The only reason you avoid him is because of how he acts…and he’s saying he acts this way because you avoid him? What a strange cycle. As your gaze lingers at the fury in his orbs, you can’t help but break into a laugh, which shocks him.

“Oh my god, you are so cute,” You say in between hearty giggles and watch him twist his face in embarrassment.

“It’s really not that funny,” He pouts “Hey, stop laughing!”

You hear him grumble underneath his breath as his facial expressions continue to amuse. Honestly, you didn’t know how to reply to his accusation. I mean, you and Namjoon? That would never happen in a million years. It was cliché, but he was literally like an older brother to you. So, this declaration sort of disgusted you. There was just no way you could ever discern Namjoon in that way, and you were sure it was the same for him.

Although, there was one time a few years ago where you both were extra lonely and helped the other masturbate. Obviously, nothing came out of it, and you don’t think Taehyung needs to know that. Not with the way his face lights on fire at the mention of you with Namjoon.

So, with nothing to say to him – you hook a finger up his choker and pull his face close to yours.

“I’m ready to be yours.” You whisper before kissing the frown away.

He reciprocates immediately, his hand being placed on your hips and drawing you into him. The kiss is electric, lasting for a few seconds before he moves his mouth into your neck. His hands trace over your dress, from your curves down to your ass before he grabs it gently.

“I really like this dress,” He mutters into the skin of your neck “Green is my favorite color.”

“I can’t afford s-something like this- ah. It’s- mm- Yujin’s.” You sigh

“Hmm,” He looks back up at your face making you blush, “Looks like I’ll have to buy you a whole new wardrobe then.”

Trailing his hand up your back, he finds the peak of the dress’ zipper. He pinches the zip, dragging it down your torso until it ended just above your bottom. Then he takes a step back, placing both of his palms on the edge of your shoulder. Without breaking eye contact, he slips the dress down your arms until it falls to the ground, pooling around your ankles.

Your breath is steady as you stare at him, watching in slight nervousness as he takes you all in.

That was the thing about Taehyung. You were always so worried about he thought, especially about you. Even though you visited the dorms often, he was always the member the most out of reach. He was like an expensive bottle of cognac, like the brightest star on top of the tree. Compared to the members, he was the most celebrity-like. Whenever Namjoon mentioned him ‘talking’ to someone, you always imagined some sexy, gorgeous model-like person. Someone similar to him.

And so you felt quite insecure about yourself as he leers at your almost naked form with an unreadable appearance. It makes you tuck a hair behind your ear as you wrap an arm around your abdominal.

Your breath gets caught in your throat as he closes in on you, placing your hands back on his clothed chest. He grips your waist, a bit harder this time as his fingers dig into the delicate skin. Taehyung picks you up abruptly and throws you into the large bed in the center of the room, knocking the wind out of you. You barely have time to think before he’s on top you, biting down your jaw and into your neck.

“All of this,” He growls in a deeply furious resonance, “is mine.”

Bending his index finger underneath your bra strap, he gives it a pull, just to let it go in the next second. It lands on your skin with a snap. You flinch, your face twisting in pain as he grins, and arch your back off the bed. Was he always this playful with his lovers? There’s not much time for you to dwell on that as his fingers trace up your exposed back. Working quickly, he unhooks your bra, practically ripping it from your chest as your lids shoot open. He discards the fabric to the side, not caring where it landed with his attention focused solely on you. Your nipples bounce faintly in the cools air while he licks his lips, bending down and taking a bud in his mouth.

As your jaw drops open, you entangle your fingers into blonde locks, pulling slightly as he swirls his tongue around the nipple before sucking your areola. The action has your spine tingling. Your other hand grabs onto his shirt, the silky fabric of the cloth letting you easily slide the edge of your nails throughout the expanse of his back, making him shiver on top of you. He moves his mouth onto the other nipple, using his thumb and index finger to pinch the wet, swollen bud.

“Mmm- Ahhhh…Tae.”

The room was getting blurry, the smoke of yearning in your lungs kept your sentient heavy. Taehyung removes himself with a pop and uses his large, supple hands to mold your breasts. His emission was low and stable as he was in buried in concentration at every curve of your figure – every inch being his to sculpt. You were entranced by his dedication, so delicate and agile. He didn’t look like he was in any rush and you were caught off guard. Expecting him to be uncaring and have you in the way he wanted.

But what you didn’t understand is that Taehyung could play both sides equally well. The man is a master at manipulation – always knows how to get what he wants.

“So perfect.” He mumbles.

There was not an ounce of alcohol in his veins, yet as he continued to stare at you, he felt himself getting lost. Taking the tips of his fingers, he glides them down the middle of your chest, loving the way you sighed at his contact. Your body was a work of art, a Gustav Klimt in the midst of so many Wassily Kandinskys. He stops his digits on top of your clothed core, his breath hitching in his throat when he feels how wet you are.

In embarrassment you recoil, closing your legs together. In return he easily props them open with tender vigor shooting his eyes up to meet yours.

“Don’t ever act that way with me.” He warns, placing two fingers above your cunt over your panties, leisurely dragging them up and down, “Not with me, do you understand?”

All that leaves your mouth are whines of his names, the motion of his long digits making you want to close your thighs again for some friction. But you knew better than that now.

“Do you understand?” He says again in the same lazy tone and you almost cry out of frustration. It was torture how slow he was moving yet just as he wants you to, you don’t move an inch.

Forcing yourself to clear your tangled thoughts, you spill out a pathetic plead, “Ye-Ye- ahhh. Yes! Yes! I understand. Pleasssse.”

The way your voice sounded was frightening to you. You’ve been sexually intimate a handful of times, but this was a whole new world. Never in your life did you ever think you were capable of sounding like such a whore. Nonetheless, when Taehyung smiles at you. Oh, when he smiles like you’ve done such a good job.

You would happily become a whore.

He retracts his hand from your center, gazing down at the large wet patch on your underwear. Slowly, he crouches down, sticking out the tip of his tongue in the direction of your crotch. You anticipate, holding your breath as your pussy clenches around nothing. Thinking about Tae tasting you down there had you leaking like a waterfall.

He finally makes contact with your core and you cry out as you feel his muscle move around your folds, the fabric stimulating the bundle of nerves. It was heaven and hell, half of you wanting him to remove the cloth the other half not giving a fuck. Just wanting to cum.

“Tae, Tae, Tae, Tae.” He had you slurring at the bare minimum. If a sober – less excited you was watching you, she’d close her eyes in humiliation. Which is exactly what you do, but instead for a completely different reason as Tae flattens his tongue on you.

He groans at your taste. “So- mmf- sweet. So good.”

Your fingers pull on his hair, as he moves his nose and mouth around your folds, sucking your slit through the fabric.

“Oooh,” You sob “N-no more teasss- inng.”

Exhaling into your crotch, he sits up with a gratified look on his face, orbs glossy and chest heaving like he was high. In the next second, he was hooking his finger in the waistband of your underwear, dragging it down your legs in a slow yet steady motion. Fuck, you wanted to scream at how long he took at doing everything, but you opt to just squirm around in its place. Annoyance covers your lids as he just laughs, throwing his head back with your underwear reaching just below your knees.

After this was over you were going to kill him.

Finally, to your great pleasure, he removes the garment off your body, staring deep into your soul. Making sure you were paying attention, he bites his lip – winking at you with his ethereal features. God made sure to pay special courtesy to Taehyung when shaping him, you were sure of it. How refined the lines of his eyes were, the high structure of his gorgeous cheekbones and arch of his luscious lips. You just knew he took extra care in making this human beyond divine.

When he has you hypnotized under him like he wanted, he brings your panties up to his face, deeply inhaling your scent.

You gasp at the action. Noting taking your eyes off of him as he groans into your underwear and grabs his bulge.

At this point your pussy was spasming around nothing. And the worst part was that he hadn’t even touched you properly.

“Shhh,” He pats your inner thigh as you shake in the bed, rubbing it up and down. “It’s okay.”

“Taehyung, FUCK…please just fuck me Taehyung ple- AHH”

Your voice wandered off as he abruptly shoved his tongue into you once again, this time going inside of you. Taehyung holds down your quivering thighs as he sucks your juices in. His nails dig into the sensitive skin, leaving angry red marks in their wake. Growling at your essence, he moves his tongue to lick along your clit using two fingers to push into your pussy, making you cry out. He expertly scissors your insides, moving his digits apart before curling them and licking harder each time you clamped around them. On the other hand, you were a mess. Your eyeballs rolled into the back of your head and you were sputtering nonsense as Taehyung continued to taste you.

“Yes, Oh my God, yes Tae!”

When you were about to cum, he removes himself, emitting the loudest whine from your throat. Hot tears spill down your cheeks and he wipes them away with his hand.

Putting your leg over his shoulder, he coos, kissing your ankles down to your calves. That’s when he finally unbuckled his pants, dragging them down to his mid-thighs. He takes out his dick, the head red and angry with a bead of precum leaking from the slit. With a grunt, he spits into his hand, stroking himself while eyeing your pretty cunt. With a weak conscious, you observe how his fingers glide through his shaft. Sliding over every vein and artery that has you drooling in delight.

“Tell me who you belong to.” He says in a chillingly sunken voice, pupils no longer well-lit.

“Ummh Taeeee.” You weren’t able to comprehend anything except the fact you wanted to be the one touching his dick.

“Say it.” He says again in the same tone, “Say it or you’re never getting this cock.”

Your eyes widen as you hear him. Before today, you ‘ve never been the one to be into such dirty talk. Possessive talk in it’s owned creeped you out. But the last thing you gave a shit about at the moment were your morals, practically throbbing for him to be inside you. So, with your womanhood screaming at you to answer him, you do.

“YES! Taehyung, I belong to you, only you. Please, please, please just fuck me.”

With a dark smirk and a peck on your lips, he lines the head of his dick with your entrance. Entering you calmly. His mouth hangs open as he inches inside you, observing every ounce of your face. The pleasure, the grimace, the lust. All of this belonged to him.

What you felt first was the contrast of your naked – vulnerable torso, to his fully clothed exterior. Unbeknownst to you, he was making a clear statement by keeping his clothes on. Even though the tight pants attached onto his thigh were uncomfortable, it’s still worth it if you know who’s in charge around here. It didn’t seem like you cared about the power dynamic though as Taehyung filled you to the brim. Definitely not as much as he did.

Moaning, you grab onto his arms, your sweaty palms helping his shirt stick onto you and holding your breath as he settles inside. He gives you a minute to adjust, peppering light kisses on your forehead and cheeks. Some part of him believed that he was just dreaming – maybe this one another one of those hallucinations he had about you since you first entered his life. That was another reason he hated you.

Because at night, when he was completely alone after another day of you being over, he would jerk himself off to thoughts about fucking your tight cunt in front of everyone. Letting all the members know, especially the tallest, that you were his as he thrusted into you from behind on the dorm’s dinner table. What he wouldn’t do to see the look on their faces. You were way tighter than he could ever imagine.

And well, at least one part of his wish came true. As you mumble his name and your muscles relax around him, he gradually takes his dick out, his brows furrowing in ecstasy. Then he slams into you again balls deep, making you scream. He repeats that action, over and over until the bed his practically flying in rhythm with his thrusts.

“Ahh Fuuu- Tae, I’m gonna-” You moan out loud, feeling lightheaded from him moving above you and the mattress moving beneath you.

“Not yet,” He commands, “Hold it for me.”

You sob as he continues to push into you at a rapid pace, his thick girth hollowing out your insides. Every time he would hit your cervix, you let out a small scream wrapping your legs firmer around him. There was no way you were going to last, but you had to. So, you clench your abdominal muscles uncomfortably and just cry your heart out. But it wasn’t working, you could still feel that knot inside your gut. With nothing to focus on you look up at his face, feeling surprised to have his hardened stare on you.

“Tae…” You whine, trailing your eyes down his jaw up to his neck. His choker was trembling around at the force of the movements, the fox charm dangling up and down.

Suddenly it leaves your sight, his tan skin, the choker, his misty orbs and his dick. You barely have time to think as you were turned around in one swift motion, eyes now facing the headboard. Taehyung’s muscular arms hold you up by the waist as he shoves into you once again.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck,” He repeats with every thrust while you have our jaw hanging open and spit dripping down your chin.

“Tell me who you belong to,” He snarls almost inhumanely, “Say- fuck- who’s bitch you are! Whose whore are you? Who mmh- owns your pretty pussy, huh? Say IT!”

“Oh my God, oh my God, I belong to you, Ahh- I’m yours, your whore…ughhh it’s yours.”

“You’re mine.” He growls before hitting your ass so hard it has you lurching forward and cumming.

Your face lands into the mattress, your cries muffled by the sheets as your body convulses. White spots paint your vision as you feel yourself blackout for a second, air being knocked out of you.

“FUCK!” He roars, still thrusting into you a few more times before he settles all the way inside your tight walls and shoots his cum deep within you.

Taehyung falls down next you, staring at the white ceiling of his apartment. It takes him a while to get himself together, his chest heaving and mind hazy. With a curse, he removes his leather pants off his legs completely and throws them to the side, sighing in relief.

Then he glances at you, who’s heavily breathing in the same position. Face planted on the bed with your ass in the air. He moves his arms around you, gently shifting you over until your back collided with his chest. Running a hand through your hair, he pats your stomach that’s aching from how hard he was gripping it. Kissing over the bite marks at the conjecture between your neck and your shoulder. You whine lowly in thanks at the comfort he was providing your sore muscles.

“You alright?” He asks softly, sounding like a human once again

“I’m great.” You say with a smile as a bit of your energy comes back. Turning on the bed until your face to face with him, you give him a peck on his lips. “That was…”

“Something.” He finishes for you

You laugh, “Yes, something.”

He just stares at you with a grin. An unreadable emotion in his eyes.

“What is it?” You whisper

“Nothing…just your laugh is the most beautiful thing on earth.”

“Oh my God.” You blush as he gives you a boxy smile. So, this is Kim Taehyung of BTS, huh?

“Only laugh for me,” He suddenly says, “You’re mine, after all.”

A strange, uncomfortable feeling washes over you. The words you thought were just bedroom talk making an appearance in the moment after made you mildly lose your smile. It was really weird how he kept making an emphasis on that while fucking you anyway, until you lost yourself and agreed. But those kind of things happen with sex right? It’s normal. However, how are you supposed to deal with them after sex?

Maybe you were making a big deal out of nothing. His face was spirited, so he was just joking around. He’s not serious, you tell yourself…hoping you were correct.

“Sure.” You reply casually, wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing him to stop him from saying another odd thing. It was going to ruin the mood plus the start of whatever this new thing was between you both.

It works, as he quickly holds onto you securely and licks into your mouth. You focus on how good it feels to caress his tongue with yours, ignoring the part of him repeatedly uttering ‘mine’ into your mouth.

You gasp as you feel his erection on your thigh, moving back to see the smirk on his face as he grabs your sore ass with his palm.

It was going to be a long night.

You woke in a sunny room to hear the shower running.

It took you a minute to figure out where you were since you did have a bit to drink last night. That’s why there was a small headache forming behind your eyes. A strumming passing through you the more conscious you become.

You smile.

That’s right, this was Kim Taehyung’s bedroom. The man you just fucked last night. The guy you’ve had a crush on for 4 years now. What a champ you are! With an inhale you sit up, hissing instantly at your sore hips. Boy, did you two fuck last night.

What were you both now? Friends? Lovers? You could never be sure with that Gucci loving kid, but you weren’t too concerned seeing as how you had the rest of the morning to talk about it.

You whine as you rub your bottom, cringing as you think about how awkwardly you’d be strutting for the rest of the day. As you check the time on his digital clock, you thank god today was your day off or else your company would’ve had your head. No class today either, how perfect.

Leisurely exhaling, you decide to get up and maybe join Taehyung in his shower. A smirk rests on your lips. He’d like that, right?

Before you can think any further about getting frisky with the blonde man, you notice your green dress still on the floor.

You gasp.

Yujin!

Looking around the floor you spot your handbag by the corner of the doorway. How did it get there and when did you drop it? In a flash, you rush to pick it up, walking back towards the bed butt-naked as you dig through it. You fish out your phone as you get by the bed. Facing the large window by the nightstand.

Pursing your lips, you open the screen recoiling at how many missed calls there were. Yujin tried calling you two to three times and texted you once. Then you’re guessing she reached out to Namjoon who was blowing up your phone the entire night! With his last call being at 5:17 in the morning.

You wince. Great. Last night you had put your phone on silent because recently a spam call had been terrorizing you. Though, after you stepped out of your front door, you should have made sure to turn the sound back on – for safety reasons, but you completely forgot.

What if you got stuck inside a house with a creep? The thought alone makes you shudder.

Whatever, it’s not that bad. You’ll just let Namjoon know you’re ok. There weren’t any reasons for you to tell him where you were – or who you were with so you’ll just leave that part out. For now.

Unlocking your phone, you click your messages app to send Namjoon a quick ‘I’m good. Had a fun night😉’ You’re concentrated on typing, hearing the little ticks every time you click the screen, which is why you don’t notice the bathroom door opening and steam charging out of it, warming up the room. Taehyung, with a towel hanging around his waist, softly steps close to your figure facing away from him – before he tackles you into a back hug.

It was a sight he could get used to. Your beautiful naked form, lounging around his house covered with his marks. He groaned into your skin. Fuck breakfast, he was ready for the fifth round.

“Oh!” You let out in surprise.

“Good morning.” He says, peppering kissing into your neck and tracing over his lovebites with the tip of his tongue. You shift your head to the side to allow him a better angle.

“Good morning.” You reply back in giggles as you continue typing.

For a moment he just stands there, rocking you back and forth with his large arms wrapped around your waist. When he detects that you’re not paying him any attention, he pouts. Putting his chin on your shoulder to see what was keeping you from him.

“What’re you doing?” He whines in your ear in annoyance

“Oh, Namjoon texted me a few times last night but my phone was on silent,” You should’ve noticed how dark his eyes got, how quickly his smile left him for something else – something more sinister. But you were too distracted typing out a reply to your freaked-out friend.

“I’m just letting him know I’m-”

Suddenly he removes his arms off you and your phone gets snatched away from and you watch it be thrown across the room. Crashing into the wall and making an awful cracking sound. In shock you stare at the place it was thrown at, processing what just happened.

“I’m really sick and tired of Namjoon’s name coming out of your mouth.” Taehyung sneers, getting into your personal space.

There was still nothing registering in your mind as you heard the anger in Taehyung’s voice. You turn around with your brain in a muddled mess. It felt like the alcohol was finally hitting you.

Taehyung stood there in pure, unadulterated rage. He’s been this way with you many times…but this time it’s different. There was something off about the way he towered over you. It rattled your bones, your defense mechanisms kicking in, making you shift your feet towards the exit.

“Wha-”

“You wish it was him, don’t you? You wish he was the one fucking you in the bed for hours! You wanted him to mark you up – make you his pretty little cumslut! You wanted to scream his name as you came for the fourth time! DIDN’T YOU?!”

Spitting into your face, he grabs your cheeks with his oversized hand and let’s his nails dig into your soft skin in a fury. There’s nothing but madness swirling inside his pupils. You set your hands on his wrist, trying to pull him off. It was fruitless as he didn’t budge, just continued to fan your face with hot, weighty breaths. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as your heartbeat accelerated. In that moment all you could think about was getting away from the blonde.

With the last exert of your strength, you somehow you manage to push him away from you. As soon as you do, your palm makes contact with the taller man’s cheek. The sound echoes throughout the room, making you back away from him even further. Slowly his skin becomes rosy, an ugly handprint forming across his cheek as he raises his head back up to look at you. You emit a gasp, the tears from before pouring out your sockets.

There was absolutely nothing in his eyes – in his face. No pain, no anger…there was absolutely no emotion. You were frightened by his sudden cold exterior. It was as if he was a hollow shell. An empty soul. He seemed…insane.

“You’re crazy.” You mumble, but you knew he heard it.

For a second it feels like there was something that flashed across his eyes. Something akin to pain, but you didn’t care. You needed to get the hell out of here, so you looked away from him and searched the bedroom. Grabbing your purse, you pick up your dress from the floor and ran to where he threw your phone. Picking it up, you open it to see that’s still working with just a small fracture on the bottom edge of the screen. You’ve never been more thankful for having a phone case. With that you quickly run out of the room, not caring about your undergarments.

In the hallway, you haphazardly throw on your dress while sniffling. The apartment no longer entranced you, instead you felt suffocated and frightened. He…wouldn’t run after you would he. God, please no. Grabbing your phone, you hesitate whether to call Namjoon…but somehow decide against it. The one thought in your mind was to get away from this place – get away from him. You flinch as you think you hear Taehyung call out your name and rush towards and out the door, not waiting for what he had to say.

Not looking back.

Taehyung was a mess.

It had been a few weeks since your abrupt departure and he couldn’t get you out of his head.

Actually, he hasn’t gotten you out of his head since he first saw you, but this time it was worse. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could see your teary face and the absolute disgust for him swimming in your irises. It hurt him so much. He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was the day he finally held you in his arms just for you to run off.

Because of his terrible health habits, he had been looking extremely tired for the past few days. His face was molded into permanent indifference, a pathetically downcast expression on his lips. He knew the fans had noticed, a couple of them made fanclub posts about it. But he honestly couldn’t find it within him to give a fuck. His manager and the members had all been worried for him – asked him if something’s wrong multiple times but he continued to brush them off. For some reason he found it difficult to communicate with anyone that wasn’t you at the moment.

And you definitely weren’t around. So where does that leave him?

Taehyung wondered if you’ve been doing well, compared to him. Since you wouldn’t want to see him, he hasn’t tried to go visit you. Even though he was dying to see you – basically killing himself – he just couldn’t do that to you. Instead he texted you a bunch of times, tried to call you in numerous ways and even asked Namjoon of your whereabouts daily. All he wanted to tell you was that he was willing to change for you, only if that’d get you to come back to him. There was a lot he would do if it meant you would look at him again. Yet nothing came of it, not even Namjoon could get ahold of you.

He resorted to desperate measures to remove you from his mind. Tried to hook-up with other girls, tried to drink the loneliness away, tried hanging out with A-list celebrities – people way more important than a mere college student could ever be. None of that came close to filling the void left in his heart, no drink or famous person could touch his soul. The other girls didn’t compare to you, hell – he couldn’t even get it up with them! Soon there’d be an article in some C-grade gossip column about how Kim Taehyung of BTS was sexually impotent, he just knew it.

All of his methods didn’t do anything but get him into trouble from his company.

With nothing to take out his frustration on, Taehyung began to utilize what secular part of you you left behind. Your panties. Every night, drunk and alone in his bedroom – he would stuff your delicates into his mouth, stroke himself in harsh paces and imagine fucking the daylights out of you while crying out into his dark apartment. Other times he would wrap the fabric around his shaft, gently stroking his dick until he came by thinking about making sweet love to you. Your soft hair, the glow of your plump lips, your wet folds. He really missed you. It made him a mess.

This is all your fault! See, this is exactly why he hated you. Because you found a way to entrap him into your little game and now he was obsessed with you. You! Who didn’t even care! That one night meant everything to him and you had just disappeared like it was nothing. A simple bump in the road. Taehyung was mentally exhausted.

That’s why as he was performing their newest song – some EDM track that had a difficult dance attached to it, he was making so many mistakes that he wasn’t able to count them anymore. Because of him, the course of the movements had fallen apart and none of the members seemed to be doing as well as they practiced. He just didn’t have the ability to concentrate; the bright stage lights and the overwhelming atmosphere couldn’t bring him back to reality. Instead made him dizzy the more he moved around. The members were trying hard to make up for most of his errors, especially Jungkook who was performing some of his parts for him. Even in front of millions of fangirls all he could think about was you.

Namjoon was glaring at him through the whole performance. The older man only smiling once it was his solo part in front of the camera. He ignored most of it, but it still made him a tad furious. After all, Namjoon was the reason he was in this predicament.

As soon as the performance ends, Taehyung rushes off the stage while the others chat with their fans for a bit. Everyone behind him makes a fuss, angry and sad chants from both the crowd and his members annoy him. Backstage he continues pushing past the staff and the managers coming scold him. All he wanted to do was get a drink of water.

When he gets in the waiting room, he sighs in relief to find it empty. The senior stylists must’ve head up stage to retouch the member’s makeup in case of another retake. He walks to the table filled with refreshments, grabbing the nearest water bottle and twisting the cap open carelessly.

The cap falls to the ground but he just proceeds to drink the cool liquid and drown out his tension. As he’s halfway through, he hears another presence’s shoes stepped into the room.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

It’s Namjoon.

Well, maybe Taehyung should’ve expected this. He was the leader and all. Namjoon had no choice but to make sure the members performed without trouble. Or he’d be the one to get it.

“What do you mean?” Taehyung replies nonchalantly. Going back to drinking his water as Namjoon steps up close to him, the man’s musk filling up the room.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

“Listen, if you’re talking about the performance- I’ve just been having a hard time lately an-”

“That’s not what I mean,” Namjoon growls making Taehyung glance at him for the first time since he came in. “I’m not stupid Tae, you’re acting up around the same time ___ refuses to answer any of my calls. Something she’s never done before.”

He looks towards the floor for a second before looking back up at the blonde with wide, angry eyes.

“Did…Did you do something to her?”

Taehyung tries to keep his cool. It was hard to do that with your name coming out of the elder’s mouth. Even though he tries to be level-headed, he can’t help the mocking sneer that breaks past his lips.

“I slept with her.” Taehyung says, subtly trying to mark his territory

In an instant, Namjoon is upon him. Grabbing his collar and pushing him against the wall, where his head collided hard with the off-white cement. Making him wince.

“YOU BASTARD. I swear to God if you’re just taking advantage of her-”

“STOP TALKING LIKE THAT. LIKE YOU OWN HER.” Taehyung spits back, “She belongs to me, she’s mine.”

For a second, he thinks he’s won as Namjoon loosens his grip on his collar and stares into his orbs in bewilderment. A small smirk presents itself on his face at his victory, before the irritation in Namjoon’s face comes back, as he grits his teeth.

“You think you’re special just because you made her cum?” Namjoon says in a low, steady tone of voice

Taehyung’s smile falls

“You’re late but…welcome to the club.” Namjoon lets out his own cocky smile directed at the younger, watching the way his eyes widen almost dramatically.

Namjoon lets go of his collar, scoffing before walking away from the man. He knew he was being a bit childish and you’d probably kill him if you ever found out about this but he was too pumped up to care at the moment.

As he gets to the end of the room, he stops and places his hand on the wall by the entryway.

“By the way,” He peeks over his shoulder “Get it together out there. We’re doing another take in 5.”

With that he leaves the room.

Taehyung stands there, staring at the spot where Namjoon once stood with inexplicable emotions.

Even though Namjoon has supposedly won this conversation, what he failed to acknowledge was the absolute fury in Taehyung’s eyes.

Pure rage flowed through his veins as Namjoon’s words replayed over and over in his head. Did he just imply that he…slept with you? That he got to taste your sweet cunt? That he ran his fingers over the expanse of your silky skin? He got to fill you to the brim – got to mark you up with his pretty littles stars?

That he touched what belonged to Taehyung?

He roars in agony, throwing his water and flipping over a table of refreshments. Everything clatters and bangs until he’s left observing the mess littering the floor. His breathing is uneven as his pupils become unfocused. The whole room was suddenly spinning and he stumbles in place for a bit as he feels like the walls are closing in on him. Grabbing his forehead, he blocks his vision with his clothed arms.

He touched something of his, he sullied his property and Taehyung couldn’t stand it. In the middle of his havoc, it hits him like a ton of bricks. What kind of a man had he become in the present years? Is this the values his father instilled in him? Is this how he’ll waste his blood, sweat and tears? In the large waiting room, it felt as if the temperature dropped below freezing as Taehyung straightened himself out - holding onto his dignity with a new-found cause.

He wasn��t going to let the elder get away with this. He couldn’t. His face was vacant, his throat dry and his orbs deadpan. A horrid idea formulating behind his cold facade.

No…he has to pay. Namjoon’s going to regret ever breathing in your direction when he’s done dealing with Taehyung’s wrath.

Everyone needed to know that Taehyung doesn’t share what’s rightfully his.

Namjoon sighed and stretched his sore tendons as he gazed into the deep blue night.

Everything was a clutter in his life. You wouldn’t pick up his phone or answer his texts. He knew how much he relied on you over the past few years and you always delivered, but this time you went off the grid. Telling him you need some time alone for now. Taehyung, on the other hand was acting like a complete fool. They hadn’t talked since their little ‘run in’ a few days ago with Taehyung missing from the dorms all night. And for the first time since their debut, the members all seemed on guard with one another.

It was silent chaos.

He was just tired, honestly. Sometimes he wishes he could rest his aching muscles, hibernate like a bear and not wake up for a month or two. The leader always has it the worst. Some sunbaes and colleagues have mentioned that to him multiple times and he agrees. Having to keep the group together and remind these fucks that it was literally their job to act professional. If thousands of construction workers can work almost 50 hours a week and still manage to earn less than thirty grand a year, he really didn’t see how a bunch of rich idols on stage could have this much trouble performing properly.

It’s literally the least they could do.

Taehyung had always been sort of a brat. His parents favored him the most, so he’s been spoiled since birth. Once he decides something was his, there was no turning back. Maybe Namjoon would sympathize with him more if he calmly spoke about his possessive issues rather than shout the head off anyone who touched anything of his.

And now he had slept with you.

Shit. This was the worst part. Namjoon knew how Taehyung got around lovers. Rather than humans, they became solely his property – for his own pleasure and needs. He dreaded to think that would become your fate as well, so out of slight childishness he might’ve revealed to Taehyung about that one mutual masturbation memory. Although vaguely.

It honestly meant nothing, he was just trying to protect his oldest friend. He thought if maybe Taehyung found out you were ‘tainted’ by him, he would back off. There would be no interest in him for you any longer, so he wouldn’t dare treat you like an object.

At least that’s what he was shooting for.

With a heavy breath, he stands up off the bench pressed into the grassy roots of the lake’s shore. He peered off into the distance, the serene blue water and faint frog croaks made him break out into a dimpled smile. This was his favorite place. Like Taehyung, everyone has something they dislike sharing right?

For him it was this lake. It was his secret spot. Whenever his mind got too crowded and even breathing gave him a headache, he would come here and watch his worries disappear down into the clear water for a while. The lake always reminded him that he was small, that his tensions and problems were all too small compared to the big wide universe.

It made him think. Perhaps he overreacted and lost his cool there for a second. If Taehyung wanted to date you, it’s not his business to meddle in. You were a grown woman – no matter how young you’d stay in his heart – you could take care of yourself. He’s watched you grow from a tiny snot-nosed girl into a bright young lady with a sharp mind and tender soul. He should trust you.

And Taehyung. Wide-eyed, boxy smiled Taehyung was his brother. A man he’s shared much laughter and tears with, a man he’s shared a room with. These years were never easy, but the blonde always knew how to make Namjoon’s day a tad brighter. He should trust Taehyung.

You were his family, after all.

With a new-found mindset, he smiles, turning away from the water to come home to both of you. He begins walking on the grassy path, which led into the trees. It was an especially dark night, there was only so much he could squint and see. The parking lot was located on the other side of the road, as the lake area was surrounded by large oak trees.

There weren’t many people that came here on a Sunday at midnight, which is why it was his favorite time to roam around the area. Some people would mistake it as abandoned with how there were no street lights or rest areas nearby.

As he treads by the trees, he thinks he hears someone stepping on a twig behind him. He stops, turning around into the black forest anxiously. It was too dark to see, so he quiets his breathing, trying to hear any sounds lurking in the branches. A soft wind blows in his face as he can feel himself turning pale.

Nothing. There was no sign of any life.

Even though he’s kind of frightened, he reasons with himself. Animals like squirrels or ducks surround the lake and any one of them could be roaming about. Right?

…But what kind of a squirrel wanders about at 12:34 AM?

Turning back around, he quickens his steps. Ready to get the hell out of here. Because he just watched a horror movie last night, his mind was racing with crazy scenarios.

What if a serial killer roams this lake at this time of night? And he just happens to stumble upon an idiot named Namjoon – or should he say his NEW VICTIM? Who knows what really is beneath that deep murky water? A monster who scours the premises for fresh meat?

Why didn’t he think of any of these issues that could occur with going into a basically deserted side of the city – with a great spot for hiding bodies, let’s point that out – in the middle of the night, beforehand?

When he makes it to the road clearing, he almost cries out of relief. He slows his pace, twisting his body back towards the forest to make sure no one was following him. As his shoes hit the gravel, he can hear himself starting to breathe again. It was still too dark to see, but at least there were no large pieces of bark obstructing his vision.

He was too focused. Too concentrated on the view in his rear to see where he was going.

Too preoccupied to notice how slow he was walking.

He couldn’t hear the lull of the engine. Instead his breath hitching when he catches the leaves of the shrubs ruffling. Halfway through the road, and still looking back. His throat constricting as he sees the fluffy white egret step out from beyond the horde of bushes behind him. Everything goes in slow motion as the bird’s chirp registers in his mind.

He was just too focused on the place he shouldn’t have been.

So, when he finally looked back on the road to spot the car without headlights, heading towards him with full speed-

It was too late.

You had gotten the call an hour ago, and you dropped everything to get to him.

Every single feeling in your leg had left long ago. The muscles in your arms were aching and your voice was hoarse from you wailing in the car. There was an overpowering agony moving throughout your body without consent and you found yourself hyperventilating. As you rush up the stairs – too impatient to wait for an elevator – you trip over a step and catch yourself on your hands, facing the grounds of the stairway.

This isn’t real. This can’t be happening.

You take a moment to catch your breath, getting up and running up the steep steps once again. Letting the sensation of being petrified fuel your adrenaline.

He had called your friend. How he got her number, you don’t know. Too distracted by the message the girl came into your dorm room to tell you.

“Taehyung called me! Namjoon’s hurt. It’s bad – they have him in the secret emergency room at Seoul Hospital-”

You didn’t even wait for her to finish her sentence before you bolted out the door. Through your hysterics and terrible traffic, you somehow managed to make it here in once piece. Thankfully, the media hadn’t been informed yet, everyone keeping the top star’s whereabouts strictly confidential. The nurses were rude when you questioned them about Namjoon’s situation, suspected you as a stalker fan and almost had you kicked out of the hospital until Manager Sejin vouched for you. Sejin was in the lobby, holding half full water bottle and had the biggest bags underneath his eyes.

You pleaded with him, begged him to tell you what was going on, but he just stood there facing the floor. With no time to waste on his futility, you barged into the staircase to find your Namjoon.

This couldn’t happen. You couldn’t lose him. He was your tall and goofy best friend. A clumsy yet handsome older brother. He was your family. Guilt dances across your brain at ignoring him this past week. The timing of this tragedy could not get any worse.

When you finally make it to the emergency surgery floor, you barge in – tripping over your own legs.

As you stand up on wobbly legs, Taehyung’s wide eyes make contact with yours. You run up to him like an insane patient, grabbing his arms.

“W-w-what did the doctor say? How is he? WHAT’S GOING ON.”

“Shh, shh,” Taehyung grabs your arms back, “Calm down, it was a hit and run. Driver got away and a local merchant driving by found him on the road. The surgeon’s in there right now. He’ll let us know how he is in a while. Shh.”

With his words you finally allow yourself to breath gain. Loud cries leave your lips as you clench your eyes shut. Taehyung pats your head, trying to calm your down.

Rubbing your teary eyes, you look around the empty waiting room in confusion.

“Where are the others?”

“I sent the members home, they’ve been up all day. They were reluctant but I told them I’d stay behind no matter how long it takes. His parents are catching the next available flight. They’ll be here by tomorrow morning.”

You steady your exhales as you listen to him speak, “Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

“I did. You didn’t pick up. I had to somehow find Yujin’s number and tell her to tell you.” He states calmly

His maturity in this whole situation embarrasses you. Why had you been acting like such a brat to everyone in the past couple of days? Ignoring texts and phone calls. Cutting off contact with your best friend. Just because of a small misunderstanding between you and Taehyung. What was wrong with you?

“Taehyung…I’m sorr-”

The door of the surgery room opens, making your words hang in midair. The doctor comes out looking tired, removing his face masks and gloves in the entranceway. Letting go of Taehyung, you rush up to him.

“Doctor, h-how is he?”

Taehyung tsks under his breath as you leave his side immediately for news on Namjoon. A dark cloud gathers around his head as his eyes pierce the place you once stood with hate. He turns around carefully, masking his malevolent expression with that of worry.

Years of idol training had paid off well.

“He’s fine for now,” The doctor states in exhaustion, “He was hurt pretty badly, the back of his cranium had fractured slightly, and he broke his left arm and four ribs. We’ve managed to stitch up most of his open wounds but there was a lot of internal bleeding. We’ll have to wait through the night for signs of his progress.”

The doctor pats your shoulder, before walking around you towards the end of the hall. You stand there in shock for a couple of seconds before turning around to face Taehyung. All it takes is for you to see the pain in his pupils before you run into his arms, holding him in a tight grasp.

You cry into his chest as Taehyung wraps himself around you and continues to pat your head.

“Shhh, he’ll be okay. It’ll be alright.” Taehyung coos into your hair, as your tears soaked through his shirt.

What you don’t know is about the wicked smirk gracing his features as he stares a hole through the door of the room that contained Namjoon. His plan had gone way better than he had hoped, and you were finally here beside him once again.

He has to admit, he was scared of getting caught. Who else would have known about his location except his previous roommate who’s he’s shared drunken secrets with. But he knew there was no way Namjoon had seen anything in that dark road and he knows no one would suspect him, his own brother, for trying to kill Namjoon. He was restless all morning, even skipped breakfast and for what? Everything went perfect.

Taehyung smothers your trembling form, running his hands up and down your back for comfort.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do now. Should he wait for Namjoon to die? Maybe help him along the way? Or should he let him live and let this be a lesson to him?

Backing up, he cups your face in his hands. You were broken, continuing to weep as you settled into his fingers. Kissing your forehead, he rubs his thumbs across your cheeks, wiping away all the tears.

Well, whatever he decides to do can wait. Right now, your being nearby was all that mattered. In the end Taehyung wonders if he’s ever hated you. I mean, how was he supposed to know the one he hated was the man he shared a table with? The man who he shared a bed with out of scarcity? Maybe, subconsciously Taehyung hated sharing with the taller man at all. So much so, that all the distribution piled up in his mind until he could no longer stand it.

Maybe he hated how Namjoon took advantage of your generosity, knowing you were a busybody with a help everyone mentality painted across your forehead. He hated how many hours you spent talking to him. Going on and on about God knows what. And he absolutely despised how much time he got to spend with you on an average basis.

Maybe sleeping with you was just the last straw. He was done giving Namjoon anymore chances.

“Taehyung…stay with me tonight.” You whimper to him and he can’t tell those doll eyes no.

They’re his doll’s eyes, aren’t they?

“Of course, baby.” He replies in a low voice, smiling as you hug him once again.

It was all starting to make sense now. Namjoon was fighting for his life while you were holding onto Taehyung for dear life. This is karma for trying to take what belongs to him. Because at the end of the day, everyone knows Taehyung doesn’t give away his possessions. That he protects his property in his own twisted way.

He can’t help but think this is what the older man deserves – this that Taehyung shall refer to as Namjoon’s fair share.

After all, Taehyung hated him for many reasons.

#BTS #Taehyung #Yandere BTS #Yandere Taehyung #BTS Smut #Taehyung Smut #Taehyung x Reader

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scribble-scrabbles · 3 years

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{WP} Elements of a History Professor

Based on a reddit writing prompt. Part of a larger universe I am working on.

[WP] You are a powerful ancient wizard, masquerading as an unassuming, friendly and senile history teacher. But when a supervillain threatens your school, they learn to never underestimate senior citizens.

The wizened old woman had to sit in the front of the classroom nowadays, her bones were too sore to stand for the full day any longer. But she still loved teaching and would gladly do this for years to come, just to see the spark come into another student’s eye as they learned about Alexander the Great or Hannibal and his elephants. She patted her silver white hair, making sure every strand was secure in her bun, while her high school students strolled in, laughing and talking among themselves. They regarded her as a kind old eccentric, and often tried to get her onto tangents talking about the “forgotten stories” of history, that her students believed she concocted on the spot. She smiled to herself, thinking “If they only knew.”

The bell rang and the students continued to chat among themselves, as they often did in the period directly before lunch time. Ms. Green shifted herself, spine cracking dryly, to casually look out the window and into the beautiful spring day. She felt the light playing along her skin and smiled, and as she did the students began to quiet down. She took a deep breath, as though breathing in the warmth of the city below, and turned to smile at her class. They quieted to silence.

“Now, who can tell me where we were after last class?” she said, her old voice cracking with age and use.

One of her favorite students, a boy a bit too small for his age with shining blond hair raised his hand and was beginning to speak when there was a loud pop pop pop noise from outside, followed by a deafening roar. Ms. Green, or Theresa to her friends, snapped to attention, standing from her chair faster than any of her students would have considered possible, if they had been paying her any attention. The students closest to the windows were already exclaiming in fright and awe, as plumes of fire rose into the beautiful blue sky. Theresa hurried to the window, cursing the arthritis in her hips, and stared, dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding below.

This particular high school was situated just across the street from a bank, which now stood unrecognizable in a pillar of smoke and flames. Theresa’s eyes were drawn to a small figure robed in black, backing away from the building, a large backpack slung over one shoulder and flames shooting out of his hands, feeding the fire as he fled. She felt the power rolling off of him, and it felt wrong somehow. Not just angry but tinged around the edges with something that felt black and corrupted. She felt a shiver run up her spine as she explored that corruption and realized that it almost felt like something was helping him, or controlling him. This was no ordinary fire mage, and something was very, very wrong.

“Get away from the windows.” Ms. Green said, her voice firm. The class obeyed, but she stood her ground, watching the figure as two police cars already appeared on scene. He turned to the cars, bringing his hands together before throwing a large, molten ball of fire into the car closest to him. It exploded just as he was bringing his hands around to form another for the other car. You’re much too old for this, Theresa, let it be. Her fingers popped as she curled them into fists at her sides. Unless he threatens the students you can just let it be. She felt her power there, just on the edge of her senses, and willed it away. It had been centuries since she had touched it, just so she could feel herself grow old as the mortals did and experience history the way the mortals always would. All she had to do was ignore it and these centuries would not have been wasted. All the figure below had to do was turn and run the other way. But she knew, deep down in her ancient bones, that was not the way it would happen today. She was not meant to ignore her calling forever. And she could not let these students, her students, suffer the wrath of this wild little fire mage.

The fire mage turned and ran towards the school building as more police cars began pouring into the street. Theresa turned and ran to the door.

“Out! Down the back stairway. Run, and don’t stop. He may set this whole building ablaze.” She waited until her students were all safely out the door, and then she hurried to the front steps to meet this little vagabond who had disturbed her centuries of rest. She twisted and cracked her neck as she reached for the power she had kept locked away for far too long, feeling it rush into her veins and restoring her strength. The earth began to tremble beneath her, as she took the stairs two at a time, redirecting anyone as she went to the back stairs of the building and telling them to run. One student, a clever girl from her first period World History class, stopped to gape at her and she pushed her back towards the crowd, ushering her to go. She smiled, knowing that the tendrils of power she drew on were already reversing her wrinkles and returning color to her hair.

She saw him then, wearing a plain black cloak that anyone could get from a party store. Underneath he wore jeans and worn out sneakers, and she thought she spied a flame of red hair underneath the hood. Fire crackled between his hands as he sent small wisps of flame out to lick and scare the children closest to him. Rage boiled through Theresa and the ground rumbled.

“ENOUGH!” she bellowed, and thick green vines shot from the floor and grasped the villain’s hands, anchoring him to the spot. “You will leave this school and my students alone, child, or you will regret the day you were born.” Her voice growled and echoed around the hall, despite the noise and confusion of the running students. Everyone halted to look at her in bewilderment. The robed man laughed and shook the hood free from his tangled red hair, a sneer across his sharp, pointed face. “Cute trick, grandma.” He sneered, fire leaping from him to burn her vines to ash. “But I’m not going anywhere. And I don’t think an old lady like you can do much to stop me, despite your cute parlor tricks.” Flames encircled him, popping and cracking, as he drew a ball of fire into his hands and hurled it towards her face. A pillar of stone rose in front of her and the fireball struck, sizzling to nothing. “Oh, my dear.” She said, waving her hand and turning the pillar to dust that began to orbit around her slowly. The ground beneath them shifted and moved, pushing the students out of the line of fire and building a barrier between them and the coming fight. “You have no idea who you’ve crossed.”

“I think I can handle an old earth mage.”

She waved her hands and the earth moved beneath her, cracking the floor of the school into long shards that she brought up to orbit around her. Crystals coalesced out of the ground, and she took one into her hand, letting the others float beside her. He closed her eyes and breathed, loving the feel of power coursing through her and wondering how she had gone without it for so long. Her young opponent took that moment to strike, but her dust cloud merged into a shield, easily deflecting the flames that seemed to be growing deeper red. He snarled at her, stepping closer, and she shot a dart of flooring towards him, a warning shot more than an outright attack. He dodged and continued towards her, hands outstretched and she felt the heat trying to melt her shield of rock into lava.

“Clever.” she smiled, pulling the particles apart and dissipating the heat. He growled and pushed his flames forwards, surprising her. She formed a shield of crystal, but not before the flames licked at her skirts and burned her ankles. She cursed in surprise and rocked the ground beneath him, making him fall and causing all of the fire to die. Before he could rise, she formed a cage around him, bars of stone and bits of concrete, hewn in haste. He shot a bolt of darkening flame between the bars, and she dodged. She was beginning to get a better feel of his power now, but also the corruption, playing at the edges of his spells. Probing it gave her a sick feeling in her stomach.

He shot more fire towards her, a deep burgundy red and she began to turn the bars of his cage into walls. All she had to do was keep him contained long enough for the children to get to safety and the police to come into the building. She didn’t have to fight him. Fighting was not much in her nature, after all. Earth was an element of peace and healing, and she hated the idea of killing a child, especially one who may not be acting of just his own influence.

The cage exploded and the mage stood, bellowing, darkening fire licking every inch of his body. He snarled at her and threw flames towards her in a wild, barely controlled wave. She cursed again and threw a whirling gale of rock and debris towards him, striking him and hurling him to the ground. The corruption at the edges of his power had grown rapidly, turning his flames from orange to red to nearly black. Her mind whirled, thinking of what could possibly be exerting that much control in such a small span of time, and she didn't like her options.

She threw out a hand and raised an earth elemental, the size of a large human, and sent it lumbering towards him. Vines sprouted from the ground, entangling his feet and grasping for his arms as he raised his hand and black fire appeared at her feet. She growled and pushed the earth beneath her to hurl her away from the flames, turning her hands and willing poison into her vines. A paralytic and a mild sedative, she thought, nothing too potent now. He gasped and writhed, setting black flame to the vines and struggling free. The elemental pounded on his arms, destroying the fire and breaking his hands as he gave an agonized scream. Theresa felt the last of his fire magic give way to the corruption beneath. Darkness flowed from his fingers, thick and swirling, moving towards her like snakes. She sucked in a breath and shot herself into the sky on a pillar of rubble and vines. This was very, very bad.

The mage rose, dark flames pouring out of him, turning her elemental into molten sludge. He roared in rage, ignoring his broken fingers and sending flames and darkness hurtling towards her, his eyes as black as night. She dropped the pillar, cushioning her fall, then throwing her hands up to form a crystal shell around herself as the dark amalgam poured over her. She stared at the boy, knowing that whatever corruption he had played with had now consumed him entirely. He wasn't a mage anymore, but a monster, fire and dark, slithering tendrils pouring off of him like water and inundating her bubble of protection.

Her mind raced, thinking of various ways of disabling him without killing him, when she saw a tendril of darkness slip around the barrier and grap a student around the middle and lift her into the air. More tendrils shot towards the barriers, and Theresa stopped thinking.

In a rush of rage, she rose two enormous stone giants beside the mage and raised their fists to smash him. He dropped the students and redirected his attacks to the two elementals, darkness and flames swirling around them. She pushed the ground beneath him, launching him into the air, then drew it away suddenly, watching him plummet to the ground. Vines and thorns burst through the earth, ensnaring him and pushing poison into his veins. They pulled and tore at him, as the elementals raised their fists again and brought them down, hurling him to the ground. The vines held him fast as the fists came down again and again, dust billowing out around them. Theresa held up her hands and they stopped, as she slowly approached the writhing mass of vines, now coated with dark and spreading blood.

Sightless, black eyes stared up as she withdrew the vines and they slithered back into the earth. Theresa shuddered, kneeling beside the corpse and feeling for a pulse, then for breath. She surveyed his broken body and felt a wave of sorrow wash over her, pricking tears into her eyes.

A flash of movement caught her eye, and she watched with growing dread as the last few tendrils of darkness dripped from his broken fingers, scattering amongst the smoke and ashes. A black substance oozed like blood out of one ear, and was coagulating on the ground, stretching towards her where she knelt. She leapt up, face twisted in revulsion as it also began to smoke and dissipate.

With a final shudder, she turned and began walking towards the side entrance of the school. She wasn't sure what exactly she had witnessed, but she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she must find her sisters. Without meeting anyone's eyes, she strode out into the chaos of the street and let herself disappear.

#reddit writing prompts #reddit #wizard #earth magic #earth mage #dark mage #fire mage #old becomes young #writing #creative writing #fiction #original fiction #original fantasy

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bananaofswifts · 4 years

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Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’: Album Review

It’s hard to remember any contemporary pop superstar that has indulged in a more serious, or successful, act of sonic palette cleansing than Swift has with her eighth album, a highly subdued but rich affair written and recorded in quarantine conditions.

While most of us spent the last four months putting on some variation of “the quarantine 15,” Taylor Swift has been secretly working on the “Folklore” 16. Sprung Thursday night with less than a day’s notice, her eighth album is a fully rounded collection of songs that sounds like it was years in the interactive making, not the product of a quarter-year’s worth of file-sharing from splendid isolation. Mind you, the words “pandemic hero” should probably be reserved for actual frontline workers and not topline artistes. But there’s a bit of Rosie the Riveter spirit in how Swift has become the first major pop artist to deliver a first-rank album that went from germination to being completely locked down in the midst of a national lockdown.

The themes and tone of “Folklore,” though, are a little less “We can do it!” and a little more “Can we do it?” Because this new collection is Swift’s most overtly contemplative — as opposed to covertly reflective — album since the fan favorite “Red.” Actually, that’s an understatement. “Red” seems like a Chainsmokers album compared to the wholly banger-free “Folklore,” which lives up to the first half of its title by divesting itself of any lingering traces of Max Martin-ized dance-pop and presenting Swift, afresh, as your favorite new indie-electro-folk/chamber-pop balladeer. For fans that relished these undertones of Swift’s in the past, it will come as a side of her they know and love all too well. For anyone who still has last year’s “You Need to Calm Down” primarily in mind, it will come as a jolting act of manual downshifting into actually calming down. At least this one won’t require an album-length Ryan Adams remake to convince anyone that there’s songwriting there. The best comparison might be to take “Clean,” the unrepresentative denouement of “1989,” and… imagine a whole album of that. Really, it’s hard to remember any pop star in our lifetimes that has indulged in a more serious act of sonic palette cleansing.

The tone of this release won’t come as a midnight shock to anyone who took spoilers from the announcement earlier in the day that a majority of the tracks were co-written with and produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner, or that the man replacing Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie as this album’s lone duet partner is Bon Iver. No matter how much credit you may have given Swift in the past for thinking and working outside of her box, a startled laugh may have been in order for just how unexpected these names felt on the bingo card of musical dignitaries you expected to find the woman who just put out “Me!” working with next. But her creative intuition hasn’t led her into an oil-and-water collaboration yet. Dessner turns out to be an ideal partner, with as much virtuosic, multi-instrumental know-how (particularly useful in a pandemic) as the most favored writer-producer on last year’s “Lover” album, Jack Antonoff.

He, too, is present and accounted for on “Folklore,” to a slightly lesser extent, and together Antonoff and Dessner make for a surprisingly well-matched support-staff tag team. Swift’s collabs with the National’s MVP clearly set the tone for the project, with a lot of fingerpicking, real strings, mellow drum programming and Mellotrons. You can sense Antonoff, in the songs he did with Swift, working to meet the mood and style of what Dessner had done or would be doing with her, and bringing out his own lesser-known acoustic and lightly orchestrated side. As good of a mesh as the album is, though, it’s usually not too hard to figure out who worked on which song — Dessner’s contributions often feel like nearly neo-classical piano or guitar riffs that Swift toplined over, while Antonoff works a little more toward buttressing slightly more familiar sounding pop melodies of Swift’s, dressed up or down to meet the more somber-sounding occasion.

For some fans, it might take a couple of spins around the block with this very different model to become re-accustomed to how there’s still the same power under the hood here. And that’s really all Swift, whose genius for conversational melodies and knack for giving every chorus a telling new twist every time around remain unmistakable trademarks. Thematically, it’s a bit more of a hodgepodge than more clearly autobiographical albums like “Lover” and “Reputation” before it have been. Swift has always described her albums as being like diaries of a certain period of time, and a few songs here obviously fit that bill, as continuations of the newfound contentment she explored in the last album and a half. But there’s also a higher degree of fictionalization than perhaps she’s gone for in the past, including what she’s described as a trilogy of songs revolving around a high school love triangle. The fact that she refers to herself, by name, as “James” in the song “Betty” is a good indicator that not everything here is ripped from today’s headlines or diary entries.

But, hell, some of it sure is. Anyone looking for lyrical Easter eggs to confirm that Swift still draws from her own life will be particularly pleased by the song “Invisible String,” a sort of “bless the broken roads that led me to you” type song that finds fulfillment in a current partner who once wore a teal shirt while working as a young man in a yogurt shop, even as Swift was dreaming of the perfect romance hanging out in Nashville’s Centennial Park. (A quick Google search reveals that, yes, Joe Alwyn was once an essential worker in London’s fro-yo industry.) There’s also a sly bit of self-referencing as Swift follows this golden thread that fatefully linked them: “Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to L.A.,” she sings. The “dive bar” that was first established as the scene of a meet-cute two albums ago makes a reappearance in this song, too.

As for actual bad blood? It barely features into “Folklore,” in any substantial, true-life-details way, counter to her reputation for writing lyrics that are better than revenge. But when it does, woe unto he who has crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s on a contract that Swift feels was a double-cross. At least, we can strongly suspect what or who the actual subject is of “Mad Woman,” this album’s one real moment of vituperation. “What did you think I’d say to that?” Swift sings in the opening lines. “Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? / They strike to kill / And you know I will.” Soon, she’s adding gas to the fire: “Now I breathe flames each time I talk / My cannons all firing at your yacht / They say ‘move on’ / But you know I won’t / … women like hunting witches, too.” A coup de gras is delivered: “It’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together.” It’s a message song, and the message is: Swift still really wants her masters back, in 2020. And is really still going to want them back in 2021, 2022 and 2023, too. Whether or not the neighbors of the exec or execs she is imagining really mouth the words “f— you” when these nemeses pull up in their respective driveways may be a matter of projection, but if Swift has a good time imagining it, many of her fans will too.

(A second such reference may be found in the bonus track, “The Lakes,” which will only be found on deluxe CD and vinyl editions not set to arrive for several weeks. There, she sings, “What should be over burrowed under my skin / In heart-stopping waves of hurt / I’ve come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze / Tell me what are my words worth.” The rest of “The Lakes” is a fantasy of a halcyon semi-retirement in the mountains — in which “I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet / Because I haven’t moved in years” — “and not without my muse.” She even imagines red roses growing out of a tundra, “with no one around to tweet it”; fantasies of a social media-free utopia are really pandemic-rampant.)

The other most overtly “confessional” song here is also the most third-person one, up to a telling point. In “The Last Great American Dynasty,” Swift explores the rich history of her seaside manse in Rhode Island, once famous for being home to the heir to the Standard Oil fortune and, after he died, his eccentric widow. Swift has a grand old time identifying with the women who decades before her made fellow coast-dwellers go “there goes the neighborhood”: “There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen / She had a marvelous time ruining everything,” she sings of the long-gone widow, Rebekah. “Fifty years is a long time / Holiday House sat quietly on that beach / Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / Then it was bought by me… the loudest woman this town has ever seen.” (A fine madness among proud women is another recurring theme.)

But, these examples aside, the album is ultimately less obviously self-referential than most of Swift’s. The single “Cardigan,” which has a bit of a Lana Del Rey feel (even though it’s produced by Dessner, not Del Rey’s partner Antonoff) is part of Swift’s fictional high school trilogy, along with “August” and “Betty.” That sweater shows up again in the latter song, in which Swift takes on the role of a 17-year boy publicly apologizing for doing a girl wrong — and which kicks into a triumphant key change at the end that’s right out of “Love Story,” in case anyone imagines Swift has completely moved on from the spirit of early triumphs.

“Exile,” the duet with Bon Iver, recalls another early Swift song, “The Last Time,” which had her trading verses with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. Then, as now, she gives the guy the first word, and verse, if not the last; it has her agreeing with her partner on some aspects of their dissolution (“I couldn’t turn things around”/”You never turned things around”) and not completely on others (“Cause you never gave a warning sign,” he sings; “I gave so many signs,” she protests).

Picking two standouts — one from the contented pile, one from the tormented — leads to two choices: “Illicit Affairs” is the best cheating song since, well, “Reputation’s” hard-to-top “Getaway Car.” There’s less catharsis in this one, but just as much pungent wisdom, as Swift describes the more mundane details of maintaining an affair (“Tell your friends you’re out for a run / You’ll be flushed when you return”) with the soul-destroying ones of how “what started in beautiful rooms ends with meetings in parking lots,” as “a drug that only worked the first few hundred times” wears off in clandestine bitterness.

But does Swift have a corker of a love song to tip the scales of the album back toward sweetness. It’s not “Invisible String,” though that’s a contender. The champion romance song here is “Peace,” the title of which is slightly deceptive, as Swift promises her beau, or life partner, that that quality of tranquility is the only thing she can’t promise him. If you like your love ballads realistic, it’s a bit of candor that renders all the compensatory vows of fidelity and courage all the more credible and deeply lovely. “All these people think love’s for show / But I would die for you in secret.”

That promise of privacy to her intended is a reminder that Swift is actually quite good at keeping things close to the vest, when she’s not spilling all — qualities that she seems to value and uphold in about ironically equal measure. Perhaps it’s in deference to the sanctity of whatever she’s holding dear right now that there are more outside narratives than before in this album — including a song referring to her grandfather storming the beaches in World War II — even as she goes outside for fresh collaborators and sounds, too. But what keeps you locked in, as always, is the notion of Swift as truth-teller, barred or unbarred, in a world of pop spin. She’s celebrating the masked era by taking hers off again.

Taylor Swift “Folklore” Republic Records

#taylor swift #folklore #review

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words-in-the-wind · 3 years

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Chapter 5 - The one where Tommy and Tubbo get run away, find a dad, and the Captain is worried (but realizes they’re okay)

Previous: Chapter 4

“We don’t want your kind here!”

“Get out!”

“No one here to protect you two anymore!” “Scram!”

The leaders of the newest merchant caravan the Mianitians had been hired to protect were far less tolerant of non-humans than the Captain had expected. And so, while the four adult adventurers were away getting supplies for the journey, Tubbo and Tommy found themselves getting thrown out of the group.

“C’mon Tubbo, we don’t need to deal with these dickheads anymore.” Tommy griped, tugging Tubbo, who’s hood had been practically shredded by the hostile humans, away from the carts. His vocabulary had been significantly expanded by a trip guarding a sea merchant, who’s sailors had no qualms about swearing in front of the children.

“But, but the Captain, and the rest of the Mianitians, they’ll be worried.”

“Its fine, big man, we’ll wait for them near the general store or something.” Tommy kept tugging, before walking into a strangely soft wall with an oomf.

The wall laughed.

Wait.

“Tommy!” Tubbo cried out, looking up at the Aarakocra. “I’m sorry about that, sir. He didn’t mean it.”

The bird-man let out a soft trill of laughter, “It’s fine, no harm done to me. Your friend’s alright?” 

“Only hurt his ego, don’t worry.” Tubbo tugged Tommy to his feet, the other boy rubbing his head in irritation.

“Where’s your parents? You two seem a little young to be wandering.” 

“Don’t got no parents.” Tommy huffed, making to walk away from the taller bird-dude.

“Woah woah woah, who the hell’s looking after you two then?” 

“We’re adventurers!” 

“Sure you are.”

 “Seriously, we are!” Tubbo looked up at the man, a charming smile making its way across his face.

“Adventurers that need a bit of food, methinks?”  As if on cue, Tommy’s stomach let out a rumble, and the boy flushed red.  “C’mon, Wilbur, my son, is waiting at a place, you two can have some food, and as payment, tell me what you’re doing here.”

Tubbo elbowed Tommy in the side as the younger of the two opened his mouth to protest. Tommy shot him a faux-hurt glare, but shut his mouth anyway.

They followed the Aarakocra (Phil, he’d introduced himself) to a little hole-in-the-wall, where a half-elf had already ordered some food, and was digging in.

“Wilbur! I thought I told you to wait!”  Phil scolded, going towards the half-elf.

“Was hungry,” the elf muttered out around a mouthful, “Who’re those.”

“Tommy and Tubbo, I’m waiting for them to tell me what they’re doing here.”

-x-

At the same time, Jordan was running around frantically, attempting to find the two before something else happened. He’d left Syndicate and Jericho to threaten the merchants, though he really wished nothing more than to kick one in the face. Hearing familiar laughter trickle out from a restaurant, he peeked in, finding Tubbo and Tommy laughing with two others, a very familiar Aarakocra, and some other non-human. Good, they were safe. Far safer than they had been with the Mianitians. They should stay that way, no matter how heartbroken he was to leave them behind.

Besides, the Angel of Death was known to protect children.

Slowly, quietly, he backed away, turning back the way he came to find the rest of his group.

When he explained what was going on, they all nodded seriously. It was better for the two young boys to have a stable home, not traveling around being in danger. They could live with that.

-x-

By the time Tommy or Tubbo remembered about that they had to go back to their group, it was dark out.

Kindly, Phil escorted them back to the place where the carts had sat before, but the caravan had clearly left already

Tubbo sat down hard in the packed dirt, staring at the empty space.

“What are we gonna do now, Tommy?”

Tommy clutched his bag to his chest, glad he’d thought to take it along for the day.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Boys!” Phil called from a few feet away, waving a piece of parchment, “I think your group left you two a note?” Tubbo darted over, hands plucking the parchment delicately from Phil’s hands.

“Dear Tubbo and Tommy,” He read out loud, for Tommy’s benefit. “I think we all know it was time to part. The Mianitians’ were contract bound to protect this caravan, even after what they did. I’d like you two to stay with the Aarakocra, he’ll protect you better than we ever could. We’ll come visit, I swear. From, Jordan.”

Tommy felt tears well up in his eyes. He’d liked the Captain, Jericho, Syndicate and Fire-Fox, even if they were a little eccentric at times. It felt like a home, traveling with them.

At least he still had Tubbo, his best friend, with him.

-x-

Phil had failed to mention a second letter, addressed to him. Well, not Phil exactly, but to the “Angel of Death,” a moniker that he’d during the same war he’d met Techno in.

The note was fairly straightforward, Captain Sparklez, the leader of the Mianitians, wanted him to look after the two boys. Which, honestly, wasn’t too much of a chore. Tommy and Tubbo already integrated themselves well with Wilbur, who was showing more positive emotion towards the kids than pretty much anything else in his life.

Techno wasn’t due for a visit any time soon either, so the attic room was empty for the foreseeable future. Yes, having children around might even be good for Wilbur, make him a good role model something.

Doubtful, but Phil had hopes.

-x-

Having no other real option, Tubbo dragged a more reluctant Tommy back to Phil, their guardian for the foreseeable future.

“Right, you two ready to head to my home?”

Tubbo planted an elbow into Tommy’s ribs as the stubborn expression on the other boy’s face deepened.

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s just Phil, sir makes me feel old.” Phil started walking to the outskirts of the town, towards his house.

“That’s cause you are, old man.” Tommy muttered under his breath.

Tubbo tensed, there was no way Phil hadn’t heard the snark. Thankfully, the other man just trilled in laughter.

“Compared to a child like you, even Wilbur could be considered old.”

Tubbo stifled a snort at the offended look on Tommy’s face.

“Excuse you! I’m a big man now! Right Tubbo?” Tubbo could only nod in response, to busy fighting off the giggles.

“Whatever you say, Tommy.” Phil said brightly, in the way people do when they’re humoring a child.

Tommy clearly didn’t pick up on that, and Tubbo cared too much for his peace of mind to inform Tommy of that development.

Next: Coming Soon (i hope)

#philza #tommy #tubbo #wilbur #captain sparklez #dream smp #dsmp #fanfiction #dnd au chapter 5

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askmyboys · 3 years

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Circus Mafia

Here’s my latest characters that I am EXTREMELY proud of, god tho it was h e l l trying to finish making them bc i forgot like,, two of them in the process and had to go back- Uhh I guess bc it’s a mafia there’s mentions of death/violence but that’s about it!

I’ll put a keep reading on it just bc its kinda a lengthy post so yeye

| Names: Wallace Gallagher, Chester York, Dewey Bullock, Eric Fletcher, Grant Davenport, and Henry Barton

| Nicknames/Titles: Wally/Gear (The Ringmaster), He hates it but Yorky is a nickname (The Magician), Dew/Dewdrop (The Juggler), Eri/Fletch (The Acrobat), Dave (The Tightrope Walker/The Trapeze Artist), and finally Hen/Bart (The Clown/The Strongman)

| Genders: Wallace goes by He/It, Chester goes by He/Him, Dewey goes by all pronouns, Eric goes by He/They, Grant goes by He/They/It, and Henry also just goes by He/Him

| Ages: Unknown (I am NOT doing all the math that’d probs be involved with these dudes fuck that)

| Heights: Wallace is 6’7”, Chester is 5’9”, Dewey is 5’6”, Eric is 5’3”. Grant is 6ft, and finally Henry is 5’8”

| Hair Colors: Wallace has long stringy hair he usually keeps in a ponytail (his hair is a bubblegum pink color), Chester’s hair is a Cobalt Blue color (his hair is usually in a man bun), Dewey’s hair is a Tiger Orange color (his hair is a curly undercut), Eric’s hair is Black and it’s a short quiff, Grant’s hair is a Dark Brown and slicked back, and finally Henry’s hair is a Tortilla Brown color (His hairstyle is a Pushed Back Long one)

| Eye Colors: Wallace’s eyes are a light pastel pink color (he’s got a slash over his right eye but he seems to still be able to see out of it), Chester’s eyes are a Gunmetal Blue color, Dewey’s eyes are a light pastel green, Eric’s eyes are a hazel color, Grant’s eyes are Dark Brown, and Henry’s eyes are a dull gray color.

| Skin Colors/Body Types: Wallace is tall and lanky as hell p much and he’s pretty pale, Chester’s kinda average p much and he’s more so tan, same goes for Grant actually except he looks a bit more muscular than Chester does, Dewey and Eric are kinda pale as well (Eric being a bit more paler than Dewey) and both of them are chubby, and finally Henry who looks a bit stronger than even Grant (nothing TOO weird ofc) is also pale.

| Appearances: Oh god here we go… Wallace is first up- He’s got the typical Ringmaster outfit EXCEPT his is Pink and White instead of the typical red/black/white you see, even down to his boots are pink (his boots btw kinda go up his legs and they have a heeled part on em), he wears pink leather gloves and has a pink top hat as well! He also has a handlebar mustache (he dyed it to match his hair, got a bit of Wilford Energy dont he? Lmao) he also has a lot of scars on his body (Their most prominent scars are: Wallace’s is over his eye and a bullet wound that got WAY too close to his heart, Chester’s scarring is around his neck, his chest and ESPECIALLY his back area, the neck looks like a few cuts but nothing deep enough to be fatal, the chest has some deeper scarring and longer ones, and his back looked like it was caused by a whip

Dewey’s scars are a bit all over the place nothing prominent there, Eric’s scars are the same just sporadic and all over the place but he has a few similar markings to Chester’s on his back (not AS many tho), Grant doesn’t have as many scars surprisingly just a few here and there but they don’t look too serious, and finally Henry has prominent scars over his belly, his back, and his legs they look like a mixture of potentially fatal had they not been looked at and non-fatal)

Chester’s outfit is a white suit vest that has dark blue stripes going down it, he wears a dark blue collared shirt underneath the suit vest and he also has a long black cloak (it has a hood on it but he only puts it on in certain situations), he has dark blue pants that match and he seems to wear combat boots that match said outfit, he also has some silk gloves that match as well, he wears a blue quartz crystal around his neck and he has a circle beard, he also has dark blue claw nails that also has little star designs over them. (he also has a dark blue bow tie!)

Dewey’s outfit is a mint green suit vest with a white collared shirt underneath it, he also has a mint green bow tie and he wears white pants as well and some sneakers with mint green stripes going across them, he wears mint green rose earrings (it was a gift that Chester gave to Eric so the boy could give it to Dewey) and he’s cherished them ever since, he also wears gloves to match (it helps him out when juggling bc ouchie hard items hurt when they smack directly onto his bare hands) he doesn’t have a beard at all he babyfaced.

Eric’s outfit is white collared shirt with dark brown suspenders that are attached to the same colored pants, he also wears a dark brown flat cap (when he’s not performing or doing his job n such) he also has a dark brown bow tie he wears as well and his he wears dark brown sneakers as well he’s also babyfaced like Dewey is, he has a dark brown necklace with the same colored pendant on the end, it isn’t heart shaped but its round and definitely looks like a locket of some kind (he never wears it during performances in fear it’d get lost but he keeps it locked up in a secret box in his room, it was a gift from Dewey)

Grant’s outfit is a black suit jacket with a red collared shirt underneath it, he also has black pants to match said outfit and he has black and red oxford shoes and he also wears a black fedora (he looks more like the leader than Wally does tbh, then again him, Chester, and Henry ALWAYS get mistaken for the boss) he also has a long black tie he wears with the outfit btw! He has a Van Dyke type beard he also wears some rings on his fingers too hence why he looks SO much like the boss.

And finally… Henry’s outfit is well, it took a LOT of convincing but he actually wears a rainbow themed clown outfit, it's MUCH softer lighter colors (p much pastels) At first he 100% hated it but then every time an enemy came around… They laughed at him and ALWAYS underestimated him, it was always hilarious to kick their ass in said outfit, Wallace also told him just imagine his enemies having to explain to someone/their boss that they got their ass kicked by the clown! The CLOWN of all people! And Henry won’t deny, that idea grew on him so he eventually accepted it (the only thing he refused to wear really was the wig that was t o o much) and finally he has a short boxed beard!

| Personalities: Wallace is… EXTREMELY eccentric and unpredictable, there’s no true way to tell how he’s feeling or what mood he’s going to be in, he seems to bounce from mood to mood, feeling to feeling, emotion to emotion! Although it’s VERY rare to see him actually upset or angry (...Keep in mind, I said very rare, but it’s not… an IMPOSSIBLE scenario) he’s usually pretty cheerful, friendly, kind, and caring as can be! He’s a friend to those who won’t backstab him or betray him but a terrifying force to be reckoned with if you double cross him… He’s in a silly goofy mood a lot, but really, if I’m being honest, there definitely seems like there’s something… Unhinged there… Like something is not all together with him, but oh well! No time to unpack anything! If you need a helping hand he’s there to help! Just don’t double cross him and you won’t die! Don’t let his friendly and cute demeanor fool you, if he doesn’t send one of the others after you, then he’ll deal with you himself and honestly? He’s the WORST one to come after you… MUCH worse than the others.

Chester is cocky, confident, and arrogant at times- He’s EXTREMELY prideful in himself and k n o w s he’s all that and MUCH more~ He seems like he only cares for himself and thinks he’s the star and center of everything but oh no… He holds great admiration and respect for Wallace, he adores Dewey and Eric and helps them out a lot, he’s even overprotective of them actually- you mess with them you evoke papa bear and he WILL stomp you to death with his boots- He constantly pesters Grant and Henry, teasing them a LOT here and there, he makes it a game to mess with them as much as he can, heck he loves messing with his actual victims too, he loves to play the mind games and he’s much more sadistic and cruel than you see him with the other members of the circus, if it’s like someone who’s made friends with the others? ...Well he’ll be more tolerable but oh that won’t stop him from scaring them a little here and there but he won’t actually hurt them, it’s more so just him having fun.

Dewey is a sweet, kind, and loving soul- he looks like he couldn’t hurt a fly! But looks can always be deceiving you know… If he ABSOLUTELY needs to he will hurt or kill someone, if he’s ordered too he will do so- He’s actually mostly shy and anxious even around the other members of the circus but he trusts them a LOT more than anyone else, and he looks up to Wallace and Eric, speaking of Eric, he likes Eric a HELLA lot- he trusts them the MOST out of everyone here and you’ll find Dewey spends a lot more time with Eric than anyone else and he seems so much more open with the other, seems like he lets loose a lot more… And another thing to note, toward enemies he doesn’t torment or anything he just injures or kills them as quickly as possible so he’s a LOT more merciful than someone like Wallace or Chester or some of the others would be.

Eric is another sweet, kind, and loving soul- Also looks like he couldn’t hurt a fly but he can and would if he was told too- He doesn’t LIKE hurting or killing folks though at all, he considers himself much more cowardly than Dewey since Dewey seems like he can do it without any issues beforehand… Eric looks up to Dew a LOT just like the other looks up to him, Eric also looks up to Grant a lot as well even though he can be pretty intimidating to approach, he’s got a LOT more anxiety than Dewey seems to have and he doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in himself, he thinks he’s cowardly and sometimes it feels like he legit doesn’t even fit in here, why is such a coward like him in with a literal mafia?

He can barely kill/hurt anyone without almost breaking down p much (Wallace kinda knows this so he REALLY tries not to call upon Eric too much, not until they can sort out those issues, or well t r y too anyways)

Grant is hella cold, snarky, and honestly hot headed easily the MOST intimidating looking and speaking one outta the bunch, he hardly ever has a smile on his face and he’s mostly grumpy- hims a n g y lmao, he’s WAY more respectful when around Wallace however seeing as he’s the boss ...Grant is a bit jealous honestly and sometimes he maybe even wishes he could be leader but 1: He k n o w s better and 2: That’d make him extremely ungrateful for all Wally’s done for the others, Grant is surprisingly MUCH more warmer n kinder toward Eric, or well he tries to be but gosh that poor boy just seems so intimidated by him… He feels bad for Eric honestly, wishes the boy had a bit more confidence in himself, Grant tries to help him out but any time he approaches Eric the other seems to get pretty afraid, so he tries to be patient and wait for Eric to come to him, he respects Dewey for helping Eric out and he sees how happy the two are when together, it's a good thing… If anyone could help that boy out, it’s gotta be Dewey.

And finally… Henry, he’s pretty sarcastic, a bit cold and a bit hot headed, not, AS MUCH as Grant but still it does lead them into a lot of physical and verbal altercations with each other even then (They try not to do it around Dewey/Eric solely bc they dont wanna scare em, but also not around Wallace bc they really don’t wanna get in trouble or on his bad side…) Henry along with Grant do share solidarity with one thing! And that is their p u r e hatred for Chester! That’s one thing they have in common at least… He’s WAY more hot headed toward Chester but dear god who isn’t at this point? Toward enemies n such it’s like he’s a completely different man, he takes his jobs/tasks VERY seriously and he’s WAY more calm and collected- more so than Grant could ever be (I’ll just go ahead ALL the boys respect and or look up to Wallace in some way, he practically saved them tbh) I suppose another thing Henry shares in common with Grant and probs everyone at this point is he wishes Eric had more confidence in himself…

| Side Facts: Usually, whether it be by an injured one or even the dead bodies, an item is usually left behind as a warning- For Wallace it’s a bunch of lashings from his bullwhip (I wanna clarify, the ones with lash looking scars, Wallace would NEVER EVER hit them, he’d NEVER fucking hurt any of them which is why if one of the ones with similar scars are around, before he even d a r e s pull out the whip, he tells them to go on back to the tent, he doesn’t want them to see or hear that sound)

Chester MOSTLY leaves red roses behind (since that’s what people throw onto his stage when he’s finished performing), but he’ll leave VARIOUS other kinds of flowers as well (you’ll notice he’s very particular with each flower he leaves behind)

Dewey leaves behind whatever item he had been juggling (for example: a bowling pin, orange, balls, etc)

Even tho Eric isn’t called upon too often for his sake, he actually doesn’t leave anything behind.

Grant leaves nothing behind whatsoever, what he did to the victim alone is WARNING enough.

Henry leaves behind clown noses (he literally puts clown noses on the victims) and if he’s feeling generous enough he leaves some sarcastic little messages behind or just straight up taunting ones.

While they ARE a mafia, like I’ve said the circus part also plays a big role! They DO perform! Their circus moves from place to place, it never does stay in one spot and a BIG thing Wallace wants noted- they don’t include animals in their acts, they’d never put any kind of animal through that sorta stress and are HIGHKEY against Circuses that do use animals bc most times the animals are whipped and abused, so Wallace says none of that here!

They have had some rowdy rude customers like all businesses or events do ...But you know… They aren’t like most either, those customers were mm… I’d say when Wallace offered to have their complaint taken up, let’s just say those so called customers were never seen or heard from again (keep in mind, those weren’t valid complaints, it was basically karen type people so oofy)

Chester has once lured a victim backstage and he has a house of mirrors type situation, he once lured them back and slowly watched them struggle to try and get out of there, sometimes appearing on the mirrors to give them a fright, he’s probably driven some people to insanity with this tbh also, Chester made Wallace a necklace with an Obsidian pendant, Wallace cherishes this and thanks to Chester he knows the crystal symbolizes protection n stuff so that made him cherish it even more.

Their Circus, the tent, etc- I’ll be 100% honest with you, the fucking tent itself is pretty inhuman and fuckin unrealistic, like- SO many fucking things fit under that tent- its almost cartoonish how it works! The tent itself holds literally all their respective areas, from Chester’s stage right down to the area where the trapeze and tightrope acts are performed!

One thing I didn’t mention- Wallace seems to have two sets of fangs (I will say, he’s- he’s not a toon btw I mean, I won’t say if Wally is fully human or not but still) both top and bottom, Chester has cat-like fangs, Dewey/Eric don’t have fangs at all, Grant has some razor sharp teeth, and Henry just has normal lookin’ teeth.

One more thing! I already covered their pronouns up there so here’s their sexualities! Wallace is Pansexual, Chester is Bisexual, Dewey is Panromantic and Asexual, Eric is Gay and Asexual, Grant is more so Questioning rn as is Henry.

#original characters #my ocs #ocs #Circus Mafia #Wallace Gallagher #Chester York #Dewey Bullock #Eric Fletcher #Grant Davenport #Henry Barton #tw violence mentions #tw death mentions

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nitholites · 4 years

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Assuming someone in the BatFam is the end game:

It's been only a week or so since Tony figured out who Ladybug is

She's captured everyone's hearts, but has to go to Gotham soon

For help, but also because of her internship

The Stark Gala becomes a 'you better live and come back one day, Mari or I STG' party, hosted by Tony Stark, of course

She makes all the outfits of the Starks, her parents, herself, Jagged, Penny, Luka, and Kagami (the last two friends minus Chloe from Paris) and she makes extra in case someone has a wardrobe malfunction

Meanwhile, the Waynes have heard a lot about the newest Stark: MDC

Tim is a fanboy. He's found everything related to his favorite rock star's designer/niece there is to find ("I'm not obsessed! They're just super talented, and I'd like something from them! Stop laughing at me, Dick!")

Dick has no room to tease him, as both him and Jason are pretty much in the same boat

Kor'i and Mar'i love MDC, as well

Every one of the Bats are huge Jagged Stone fans

Like... Nearly rabid

(Damian, Bruce, and Alfred redact that statement)

They're invited to Tony's gala thing (he only started it to surpass the Wayne Gala, like the Lil Shite he is)

The night of the party, only Bruce and Jason go, since the rest of the bats are busy

Bruce, Jagged (who brought Fang), and Tony are all chatting in the middle of the floor, 2/3rds of the group are just talking up Marinette

Jason, meanwhile, accidentally runs into this small, adorable child who proceeds to spill her punch all over his suit

He insists it's fine, but she won't take 'no' for an answer ("I am so sorry, please let me make it up to you" "Kid, it's fine, accidents happen" "No, seriously, let me help")

There's a look in her eyes that insists she do something, and he eventually agrees

Cue to Marinette having a suit jacket that matches and fits Jason because "You look like you're the same build as Mr. Stark (she's all for joining Peter in calling Tony 'Mr. Stark' to get under his skin)"

"you know Tony?"

She shrugs, and doesn't comment anymore on it

"give me your address, and I'll bring this back when it's clean again. I'm moving to Gotham for a while soon, anyway"

He does, she doesn't realize he's a Wayne, and they part when the party ends

Cue the entire BatFam sprinting into Jason's room, chasing after a full on scream

Like, they didn't know Jason's voice could get "so high and squeaky, what the hecc?"

They pause as they see Jason litterally jumping up and down

"What the hell, Todd."

Instead of answering, he shoves the jacket in Tim's face with a shite-eating grin

It takes a moment, but Tim scowls and pulls out his wallet

When the rest of the family only look confused, Tim sighs and explains

"He got an MDC original first."

"...you had a bet on that?"

Jason freezes, eyes widening

"HOLY SH*T, I MET THE MDC! SHE WAS SO TINY, OH MY GOD, BATS, WE HAVE TO ADOPT HER!"

They're confused for a solid minute

"YOU DONT UNDERSTAND SHES AN ANGEL AND HAS BLACK HAIR AND BLUE EYES!! SHE'S OBVIOUSLY A WAYNE!"

It takes all of Bruce's willpower not to adopt her on the spot when she visits them

Like, he almost brings up adoption papers

But he knows Stark would fight tooth and nail to keep this baby

So he restrains himself

(for now)

(he swears if one of his children doesn't marry her, he's bringing the adoption papers to court)

She doesn't stay long, only meeting all the Waynes at the house and going back to her hotel

The next day, a villain goes after Mar'i, near the park/mall/something Marinette is by

Instead of becoming Ladybug, she heccin kicks arse

As Marinette

She gets both her and Mar'i out of danger without a scratch using a yo-yo of all things and meets Batman and Robin as they clean up the rest

She's all like "no, it's alright, I'm sure anyone would do the same please stop thanking me, my family's gonna kick my ass to next year for scaring them like this"

Bats comes up and takes her statement, and she happens to mention the situation in Paris

"oh, this was nothing compared to some of the Akuma I've faced" "What's an akuma?" She paled, eyes widening in shock. "You don't know? About Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ryuuko, Viperion, Queen Bee, Red Wasp, Multimouse, Hawkmoth, Mayura, Carapace, Rena Rouge, and all them?"

She explains a little, giving basic information everyone knew, then shows him the app she made a while ago

The Akuma Alert app that held much more than just akuma-related things

She leaves soon after, and Batman has a goal in mind

Within the day, Diana is furious at the lack of response towards the Paris situation

"This Ladybug was left alone for all this time?! Shame on you all, leaving my mother's successor alone!"

When Ladybug is later spotted (hehe, get it?) in Gotham, the entire BatFam finds her and gets her in touch with the League

She explains how she asked both the League and the Avengers for help, all those years ago, and was pushed aside with warnings not to send in prank calls anymore

Of course, Iron Man has already looked into it, but he's not exactly a detective and the more brains on this, the better

Meanwhile, as civilians...

The normal shipping stuff happens

With the exception that nearly every criminal in Gotham low-key adopts Marinette

They may think she's the next Wayne, but the Angel of Gotham is off limits

And not because the little Wayne chases after anyone who even looks at her wrong with a katana

Not just as Robin. As Damian

Marinette actually meets a few villains on the street

She was going to a commission, carrying some hero, vigilante, and villain themed macaroons when she got lost

(before meeting the Waynes officially, actually)

She was in a park, looking lost when Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn came up

She offered treats, and ever since she's the Angel of Gotham

Once, when on a date with her romantic interest, Killer Croc tried taking the restaurant hostage after robbing a bank

Key word: tried

Marinette calmly slipped behind him, grabbed his tail, and dragged his butt outta there

(he blames the fast French girl and the tile on the floor, which didn't let him get a good grip)

By the time Bats and the police got there, Croc was in tears as this tiny French girl lectured him about manners and interrupting dates

(the BatFam can't think of a funnier time)

When the Joker actually kidnaps her as a way to get to Batman, literally everyone rages a rescue mission

Harley, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze (Marinette reminds him of the daughter he's always wanted, with his frozen wife), Two-Face (Marinette talked philosophy with him, showing him he still had choices beyond the black and white), Killer Crock (who was impressed by the tiny French girl who threw him out of a restaurant by his tail that one time), Batman, Robin, the Teen Titans, Red Hood, Red Robin, Wonder Woman (she could feel Tikki's influence on Marinette and guessed her identity), Nightwing, all the Avengers, Red Wasp (Chloe, with the Bee Miraculous because she earned it back ages ago), Sabine (no one messed with her baby. No one), a teenage boy wielding a potato gun (who let this kid here?), Pepper, Penny (the two women were fast friends, bonding over their husbands' eccentric ways), Jagged with Fang, Audrey Bourgeois, and the entire police force storm the Joker's hideout

He didn't have a chance

Later, they admit it was kinda funny watching the small Sabine beating the crap out of the deranged clown

Fang, who was usually a puppy with scales, didn't hesitate to bite off the Joker's hand, reminiscent of Captain Hook and the Croc

Marinette's fine (or not, depending on how much angst you want in the story. It's easy to have her tourtured and nearly killed in the Joker's clutches {or actually killed and focused on angst from everyone who knew her [possible heavy Lila/class salt]} and see her move past her PTSD) and she gets home eventually

Around this time, she's made the Guardian of the Miraculous

She eventually goes back to Paris with her huge family (or everyone she thinks could keep their emotions in check)

They kick Gabriel's arse, but Adrien gets away with his mother (who was healed by Ladybug)

Possible second book

Marinette's ship becomes the Black Cat

Time skip, fiveish years later, some of Marinette's classmates see her for the first time since she left

They insult and sass her, not changed since school

Her S/O scowls and debunks them easily, defending Marinette

When they don't stop, Marinette's S/O calls Bruce, Tony, Jagged, and the rest of the League and the Avengers to destroy the morons in the class because they know how long they've waited for this moment

Mari puts her head in her hands, but doesn't stop them because she knows how long they've waited for this moment

Three hours later, the speeches and lectures aren't done yet

Lila eventually goes to Gotham or wherever Marinette is, and tries to warn the person on her arm about Marinette's 'bulling tendencies'

That gets another lecture

Or, her class gets a tour at either SI or WE, depending on when in the story you write it (could be both, and the class just doesn't learn or Tony, Pepper, and their kids were visiting WE to talk about Mari Protection Measures when they overhear it)

Lila goes off on how Mari's S/O is actually Lila's, or how she's BFFS with Batman/Iron Man/ Bruce Wayne and his kids/ Tony Stark and his kids/ the Avengers/ the Justice League

Cue the class seeing Mari

Instant bullying

The resident children and billionaire steps up, insulting and embarrassing the class while defending Mari

Lila tries to turn it around, but they're having none of that

First the kids jump at the chance to defend their little sister and/or girlfriend, then the big guns show up

At WE, it's Bruce, a highly protective Jason, and Tim, who has every single sin/mean thing/lie pulled up in a folder

It's thicker than his hand, and hard to hold

It's both in digital and physical form and sent to every single member of Mari's family- blood related or not

At SI, it's Tony and Pepper

FRIDAY steps up, too

Harley shoots Lila with the potato gun mk 3 until she leaves

The class don't know what they did wrong, but they swear to make it up just to get the scary CEOs and relatives

Also, if anyone knows the AU where Marinette was a street kid with Jason and his little sister (I can't remember who made it or what it was called, but I fell in l o v e), that could work with this one too. Jason would be so proud of his Lil sister being so famous and awesome and "how dare you let me think you were dead!! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" "I made you worried?! You up and nearly got killed last I checked!"

Jason swore not to tell her he actually died once. He prays she never finds out.

@tired-butterfly @evil-elf16 @doggiediva13 @krispydefendorpolice @mochegato @legallyspawned @kryptored

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typinggently · 4 years

Note

So what do you think Feral™ Bruce’s relationship with his kids would be like? Somewhere in my bones I feel that he’d have a better relationship with all of them than in canon, but I wonder what you think! Love your blog, btw!!!

Hello Love!!! Thank you so much for your message! 🥰🧡🧡

I took some time to reflect on this and really think it through, since there are two problems: 1) I only really know about the “fandom favourites”, as in Dick (who I know most about since I used to read the 50s comics as a kid), Jason, Tim, Damian. And thus I felt a little unqualified since I know so little about the girls etc.

2) Rob is 33, which means the Robins would all have to be VERY young. Realistically, I guess, we could assume timeline-wise Jason would’ve died not too long ago? But I’m just going to ignore realism. So, without further ado

Feral Bruce and his Robins

Dick: Bruce adopting Dick makes sense to me, since the grief over his own lost family is so fresh in his mind. He’d lay eyes on this heartbroken child and immediately jump into action. However, due to his age and personality, this wouldn’t have a TRACE of a father/son relationship. Not even close. They’re chaos siblings, with Bruce as the messy rat and Dick as the adoring golden boy. He’s super proud of his older bro and tells others about how cool he is, which everyone 100% buys because it’s Bruce Wayne, of course he’s super cool. They don’t know that Dick’s definition of cool is “he slipped on his own 3 hour old puddle of sprite and did a funny backflip”. Now - as they grow older: I say they’re rather close due to their shared history(&shared grief), and they’re in a way rather similar. Similar fighting styles (both acrobats and very graceful, while Dick is more of a show-off while Bruce is more erratic), similar sense of humour and taste in films etc. I also think they don’t have a dramatic falling out, Dick just fucks off. Bruce is definitely sad about it, but I think he respects Dick’s need for personal growth since he himself isn’t exactly an overbearing cuddly person and most likely shut himself away for a few days at a time in the past. Idk. I think they get each other really well. So yeah, their relationship is def better!!

Jason: Bruce sees a kid trying to hotwire the batmobile and recognises a kindred spirit. Jason pros - he has a lot of that chaotic energy Bruce has. Jason cons - he lacks the grace and self-control. In general, I feel like pre-Joker Jason and Bruce had a rather good relationship as well. Once again not really that father figure thing, though. But Bruce moved up from”chaotic older brother” to “cool older brother” - since he now has a bit of a grip on how to treat teenagers, even though Jason doesn’t take to his rules as well as Dick did (I see many a person interpret Bruce as kind of lenient and clueless, letting the kids run wild and free, and while I agree with the base levels of that, I’m p sure that Bruce in any version is so built on self-control, that he’d impose that on others as well. Strict meal plans, exercises, etc). Jason’s death is a thing I really don’t know how to handle, because Bruce has such a thin skin. Frankly, I don’t know how he’d survive something like that. Grief is terrible and heart-breaking, and I’m not sure how well-equipped Bruce would be. It’s a very, very dark time. Red Hood is another thing. Bruce can barely fight Harvey, so I don’t see how he’d manage to interact with Jason. I honestly think he’d completely pull back from him. I don’t know how they’d heal from that and I’m not sure how Bruce would deal with the core of Jason’s anger. Fighting him is one thing (which he absolutely cannot do), but understanding him and trying to mend what’s broken is another. Very difficult. Very heartbreaking.

Tim: that would just be a mess. There aren’t any real descriptions of Batman, because his contact with civilians/the GPD is minimal and can you trust villains? They say his fighting style is erratic, but can you trust them? Can you believe Riddler, madly gnawing on his hat, when he tells you Batman threw a comically large plush bat at him and then bonked him over the head with a “bat-knocker”?! What I’m saying: Tim figures the “I love the Ritz. I just wish they had soda-fountains. They have the room and people would love it. A fountain of sparkling-cool orange soda in the hall, catching the light and making those nice ambient sounds. That would be glam. What was the question?” - act is an act, but he’s not at all prepared for the actual Feral Bruce Experience™️. He drops himself off on Bruce’s doorstep and holds his whole “I know who you are” speech until Bruce opens the door and the guy is wearing a kilt and a “world’s #1 Bat” shirt, drinking hot beetroot juice and greets him by saying “how the fuck did you get past the sprinklers?” In short - Tim didn’t expect to be the responsible one here. In general, I feel like they’d get along well, still, considering Bruce is so enthusiastic about learning and bettering himself. However, I do feel like his erratic rat-nature would clash with Tim now and then.

Damian: Bruce’s first instinct after hearing he’s a father is to learn how to raise a baby, so he panically throws together a huge pile of Infant Care books from the library, Damian (10+) standing right next to him. That said, he’s very concerned about being a good father figure and raising Damian right. He loves the other boys, of course, but he never really saw himself as their father. This is a new situation for him and he doesn’t feel like he’s up for it. So now he tries to be a good influence, which results in him knocking on their doors at 1:30am all “remember not to drink coffee past midnight!” while holding a pitcher with Earl Grey.

Which brings me to the end note: Bruce is actually a great influence, he’s just not aware of it. He enforces healthy eating habits and a strict exercise routine. He’s got great posture and reminds his boys to sit/walk straight and stretch. He’s very cultured and studious in a very un-pretentious way, setting a great example for the boys.

But most importantly - he’s so true to himself in such an unapologetic way that everyone else feels free and encouraged to be themselves, too. While his eccentric behaviour could be interpreted as self-centred narcissism, he makes it extremely clear that he cares greatly about each and every one of them. He’s incredibly compassionate and they all know that he loves them dearly.

They all learn a lot from him when he’s not looking, and whenever he notices some little piece of evidence for just how much he’s influencing them, he turns into a mess, eating carrot sticks in the kitchen at 2am with big teary eyes while Alfred makes him tea. (Alfred is the real father figure, of course, but he’s insanely proud of Bruce for handling his responsibilities so well and doing so good with his flock of Robins)

I’m very, very soft. Bruce deserves the world. He loves his family a lot, even though he seems to take them for granted or forget about them at times. And they love him, too, although he’s a bit strange.

(So, to make it short: they DO have a great relationship. Just a tiny bit rocky at times, but I feel like this Bruce is less emotionally repressed and thus a lot of issues would fall flat? They know he cares)

#feral bruce hours #DC #im soft soft SOFT

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itawonka-creates · 5 years

Text

Seabourne Burnouts: Chapter 13 - Plunging Waves

A Maribat! on Deck AU

Thank you @dickisabanana for beta reading and helping with the title. There are more notes at the end of the chapter.

Start [Here] [Part 12] [Part 14]-OR- [AO3]

“So sweetheart-”

“Ladybug!”

“Whatever! Akumas are your territory! What do we do?”

“Now is not the time to fight with the magical girl who can fix everything, Hood!”

“Oh yeah, real nice Nig- On your left!” Nightwing snapped his head over and dodged the fiery Akuma’s fist with a flip and glared at the girl.

“Aren’t you a little old to be throwing a tantrum?” The girl growled and red reached her ears as she grew angrier. Nightwing whistled, “Oh, hit a nerve?”

“Nightwing, we don’t want to make her even worse!” Batman kept his focus on the neutral one. She seemed to be hanging back and choosing to watch the fights. It worried him. She seemed to have her head on straight while the other was just going based off of emotions and impulse. He didn’t like how closely she tried to examine everything. He was lucky enough that he not only had three out of the four most annoying boys in the history of Gotham, but he also had the most eccentric cat boy in Paris fighting alongside him.

“I don’t know! The colors are really CAT-ching my interest!” A chorus of groans echoed, making Cat Noir grin as he easily caught up to the neutral Akuma. He laughed as he ran circles around her. She might be too fast for the Gotham vigilantes, but he had the magic of the Black Cat miraculous. Even if she was theoretically faster, his instincts and honed-in reflexes more than made up for it when she tried to get away. “Hey, guys! I don’t know if this is a heart and mind split. She’s glaring at me like she really hates me!”

“With those puns, so will I if you keep going!” Red Robin came up from behind Cat Noir after Cat Noir blocked an attack with his baton. Red Robin tried to counter the Akuma and she stumbled, just what he wanted. He smirked and tried to land a blow that would normally knock his opponents out. Instead, he was surprised to find that in the blink of an eye she was gone and his staff broke the deck’s wooden floor. “That can’t be good.”

Cat Noir gulped, “Probably not.” Cat Noir was suddenly kicked into Red Robin and the Akuma went back to watching the fights. Batman shook his head, annoyed at his son and the Parisian hero. He threw some batarangs at the girl. She didn’t even flinch as they exploded in front of her. She fell back and he took that time to run in and focus on her. If either girl was the leader, Batman figured it’d be her calling the shots.

Ladybug hung back and watched the boys fight, much like the Akuma did. However, it was because she didn’t know how much she could handle. She didn’t feel like Ladybug, she feels like Marinette with a magic yo-yo. She hated when Akuma’s did this to her. She usually counted on Cat Noir to make up the difference, but they’ve all got their hands full with this pair of Akumas. Ladybug watched the two closely. They were opposites, it was hard to believe they were halves of the same person. She wondered what exactly set Tess off. She didn’t get the chance to ask before she was suddenly faced with the Akumatized women and was split herself. She knows she should be helping, but was still hesitant to get involved.

Red Robin growled as he picked himself and Cat Noir off the ground and lunged towards the stone-faced Akuma. Cat Noir chose to stalk the girl and try to flank her on the left. If he was honest, the more he watched this one the more he was unnerved by her. The annoyance towards him came and went in a flash, and he’s sure he saw it, but something happened and she’s back to being emotionless.

“Ladybug, use your Lucky Charm!”

“Not yet!” She knew hanging back wasn’t going to do anything. She needed to get intimate. She decided to go for the impulsive one. She might’ve been angry and more aggressive, but she could use her impulsivity to her advantage. She wrapped her yo-yo around Nightwing’s torso, surprising him for a moment, until she pulled and swung it around. He caught on quickly. Nightwing used the momentum to launch himself and land a solid kick to the face. The poor girl didn’t stand a chance. Akuma or not, anyone would be knocked out by that. Ladybug mentally thanked Tikki for giving her enough strength for that to work, but she was left panting.

Cat Noir failed to make contact with his baton again as the Akuma he fought was recognizing his patterns. He growled and almost went in for another attack, but his ear twitched as he picked up on his partner’s panting. He grit his teeth and dove to the side, disorienting the Akuma as she was expecting another frontal attack and giving Red Robin and Batman another opening to do some damage. He scurried over to Ladybug’s side and looked her over, “Ladybug-”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“Cat Noir, where is the akumatized object?” He frowned and narrowed his eyes at her before sighing. She was being stubborn and going into a “strictly business” persona. He figured it had to do with Damian, but this wasn’t the time or place to continue down that path. Right now, she was right. He needed to focus.

He looked over and watched as Nightwing ran over to help Red Robin and Batman while Red Hood walked over and examined the girl slumped over against the wall. Her colors faded slightly, but something told him it wouldn’t last. Cat Noir licked his lips, “We think it’s in the clipboard. At least that’s the only lead we have based off what some of the girls said, but she doesn’t even have it on her. Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“Hey guys, there’s something else on Little Miss Tantrum over here!” Suddenly, the colors came back with a vengeance and Red Hood was thrown back into the two teen heroes. When they looked up, the girl was picking herself off the ground and scowling. She glared and seemed to be almost on fire the way the sun was hitting her.

“Okay, that hurt. Now I’m mad.”

“That’s never good to hear. That’s usually when they level up-” The Akuma’s colors seemed to spin inside her chaotically. All of a sudden they were face to face with an incoming fireball. The three ducked and Red Hood sounded done, “There it is.”

“I was wondering when we’d face a fire-based Akuma again.”

“Cat Noir, please.”

Nightwing ducked, missing the Akuma’s kick by inches. He watched as Red Hood and Batman took the opportunity to lunge at her while she regained her balance. He called out to the red and black heroine, “Hey Ladybug, can you summon the Lucky Charm now?” Nightwing didn’t like fighting this girl either. However, he realized that he recognized the face she wore. The doll-like eyes and the lack of expression were too familiar. It was at that point that he knew they were going about this all wrong. “Lady-”

“Lucky Charm!” A pair of wire cutters is what the Miraculous decided to give her. She looked around, looking for things to use, but instead noticed movement around the border of the arena. She recognized them as her classmates. They were all sneaking around the hallways leading to the deck and the upper deck’s balcony overlooking their battlefield. She didn’t know if they distracted her or if she was off her game, but she didn’t see anything to work with.

“Ladybug-”

“I’m thinking!” She grit her teeth and threw herself to the right after another fireball was sent her way. “Cat Noir, Red Hood, keep her off me while I look for things to use!”

“On it!”

“I’m bringing out my guns!”

“RED HOOD-”

“SHUT UP! It’s knock out gas! The bullets let some out on impact and should at least disorient them!”

Red Robin groaned as he blocked another attack with his staff. The girl didn’t seem to even register any pain after his left hook landed. It was starting to irritate him. He yelled over his shoulder, “If it hits me again, I swear to God-”

“It’s your own damn fault if you get hit, dumbass!” Red Hood took out some gun that glimmered as the sun’s rays hit them just right. It gave Red Hood a feeling of pride and euphoria looking at them. He wished there was time to admire his babies, but then again there’s another fireball incoming. Cat Noir quickly came between him and the attack and spun his baton quickly, creating a barrier and making the fireball dissipate before it made contact. “Thanks, tomcat.”

The blond rolled his eyes, but still held a playful grin. “Cat Noir and anytime.”

“You can bond on your own time, look alive!” Batman, at any given time, would’ve been able to incapacitate her. She had no fighting skills, this should’ve been easy. So why was he still fighting? “Red Robin!”

Red Robin growled, hitting the wooden deck for the third time, “I don’t know what you want me to say! I don’t know what’s happening!” She did a sweep kick from behind, knocking him down onto the floor and quickly scrambled on top of him.

“No you don’t, Ice Queen!” Nightwing threw one of his batons at her. It hit its target and knocked her back, giving Red Robin enough wiggle room to push her completely off. She held her cheek and glared at Nightwing. He felt a bit of relief seeing something, anything, other than a blank slate. She was still a person in there, at least he hoped.

Red Hood dove to the side as Cat Noir continued to try to shield him, “Ice Queen?”

Nightwing shrugged as he swiped at the Akuma glaring at him, “If they’re supposed to be two sides of the same coin, then a nice contrast from the human torch over there would be ice.”

“You just had to bring up Frozen somehow, didn’t you?” Red Hood took a few more shots, all of them failing to reach the Akuma as she intercepted with her own burning projectiles. He grew frustrated but called back over his shoulder, “One, I hate that name and I swear if you call her something stupid I will shoot you. Two, I’m calling this one ‘Fume’.”

Cat Noir dove in front of the man to intercept another ball of fire thrown at him. Red Hood reloaded and Cat Noir looked back at the gunman, “Fume?”

“’Fume’ could be talking about fire or someone getting really upset about something. Either way, that’s the only thing I can think of that fits.” Red Hood and Cat Noir jumped apart from each other. Cat Noir decided to take an aggressive approach, drawing fire, as Red Hood continued to shoot. His ears wiggled as he picked up on some beeping. Four minutes left.

Red Robin threw the baton back at Nightwing and he grabbed his own staff. Batman took the opportunity to shoot his grappling gun at the girl stalking towards Nightwing. The hook caught onto her and he yanked the rope towards him before she could react. Red Robin flinched when she got a good taste of Batman’s punches. He knew what they felt like from working alongside and through sparring with the Gotham’s finest. He shook his head, “Wouldn’t it be better to name her ‘Blaze’? That’s fire-related too and WAY better than ‘Fume’! That’s a stupid name!”

Ladybug gulped as she helped out Cat Noir in keeping Red Hood safe from the fire being thrown. She grunted and scolded the boys, “Is this really what we need to be talking about right now? I’m running out of time!” She looked around, trying to piece together in her head possible solutions.

She called out to the boys, sensing an oncoming migraine, “I’m not calling her Ice Queen! Just call her Tess at this point!” She knew something was off. Frustration and worry were slowly growing inside her. It confused her. If this wasn’t a clean separation of logic and emotion, then what’s the power supposed to represent?

Nightwing didn’t even get the chance to respond when he noticed something about the woman in front of him. She blinked and suddenly all the emotion, the anger, was gone. He saw nothing but emptiness as she sprang forward. Tess stopped in her tracks as she was intercepted by a rogue fireball.

This hiccup allowed Red Robin and Batman to throw their batarangs at the Akuma. While they hit the mark and made her falter, Batman didn’t even try to go after her. Red Robin tried to with this new opening, so did Nightwing, but Batman watched carefully as she just disappeared. He looked around and found her behind Blaze, roughly grabbing her arm. Batman watched as the dubbed ‘Ice Queen’ spun Blaze around and stare her down. The Akuma’s fire started to die down and her colors became duller.

Tess held a stern tone, “What did I tell you about flying off the handle?”

“Let go.” The urgent beeping coming from Ladybug’s earrings was drowned out by the sudden tension that held the group captive as they watched the two interact. This was an opportunity, they all knew it was, but something in their guts told them to watch. They could tell this was going to be bad, but they became an audience to whatever was about to unfold.

The heroes and vigilantes all watched as Blaze tried to pull away unsuccessfully and the other girl’s grip grew tighter. “How many times do we go through this? Do that again and you might as well break another glass in your hand like a dumbass.” Tess finally let go and Ladybug noticed both rubbed the area of their arms that the girl clutched. She continued to stare down Blaze and sarcastically belittled her. “Oh, now you’re upset? What a poor little crature.” The fiery girl’s embers flickered and she hesitantly turned back to her opponents.

Seeing all eyes on her made her colors come back and her fire return, “What are you looking at?” The Akuma stepped back and simply watched her flaming counterpart direct her anger towards the ship’s protectors. However, her expression suggested she’s seen this happen before. Blaze threw a few fireballs in their direction as warning shots.

She drew a shaky breath as none of the masked heroes flinched. They just kept watching her, some with pity, some with understanding, and then there was Ladybug. Ladybug simply watched, her expression buried deep inside. It was suffocating. “Stop that.” The girl could feel herself losing control, “I SAID STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!”

The six dodged the flurry of fireballs that erupted from the girl. Her outburst triggered something. The other half watched with a rare expression, a mix of disappointment and disgust. Ladybug really couldn’t wrap her mind around it as they all continued the fight. The neutral one disappeared, but she didn’t pop up behind one of her challengers. Nightwing’s Ice Queen simply popped back up beside the railings and leaned against it. She watched with the same expression on her face as the other Akuma rampaged.

Red Robin finally murmured to himself, “Oh my god, she teleports.” He felt like an idiot, “Guys, she teleports!”

Red Hood grunted as he threw himself to the right to avoid a direct hit, “Wow! What gave it away? The fact that she kept disappearing in front of you or the fact that she just showed up across the deck?”

“Boys!”

Another round of beeping distracted Ladybug and she was knocked back by one of Blaze’s projectiles. Two minutes.

She was thankful for the magic, but still felt frustrated that she couldn’t figure out what to do with her Lucky Charm. She picked herself up and figured she’d be best as the shield. Ladybug and Cat Noir were the only two with magical weapons to use against the Akuma’s attacks. In her state, she knew this was her best bet. Especially when she still couldn’t figure out how to use her Lucky Charm. She jumped in front of Batman and Nightwing and spun her yo-yo around.

The human shield act worked in a sense. They blocked, the others attacked, the offenders retreated behind the defense, rinse and repeat. All it did was tire all parties out. All parties expect for the Akuma watching by the railings. Red Hood has fired more than a few rounds throughout the fight. All have been intercepted by Blaze’s fireballs. Tess continued to teleport around the border, making her an even harder target to hit. Still, she didn’t get involved. It was frustrating and only ended with them most of them panting.

Ladybug heard her last round of beeping from her earrings. Time was running out. Her team was getting tired and running out of ammo. She didn’t have a plan. Ladybug finally felt something intense for the first time since being split. She felt overwhelmed and unsure. She felt her heart rate increase dramatically. Another push back, another attack, and another moment to shield. “We aren’t getting anywhere with this!”

56 seconds.

Red Hood growled as another round was wasted on the Akumas. He looked in his reserves and realized he had one clip left. The rest were normal bullets, tempting but unethical. He wouldn’t hear the end of it. “Well, miss fire crotch over there won’t let us leave and she’s not stopping anytime soon!” Batman glared at Red Hood and Jason knew he was going to get his ear talked off later.

50 seconds.

She was about to head back into the fight when she was suddenly blinded by something. Ladybug looked up and saw Marinette and Damian motioning her to come up and over the upper deck’s railing. She looked back and saw that Cat Noir noticed the signal. He simply nodded and she nodded back before using her yo-yo to launch herself to the two teens.

43 seconds.

The two stumbled back as Ladybug landed in front of them, “What is it? What are you doing here? What is everyone-”

“Yes, yes, lots of questions. Blah blah, what’s the Lucky Charm?” Ladybug blinked at Marinette and simply handed her the wire cutters. Marinette turned to Damian, “Will this-”

“It’s perfect. I’ll be working with Max on the sound.” The two nodded and Ladybug watched Damian ran away with her Lucky Charm.

She was clueless. “What just-”

“Switch with me.”

“What?”

32 seconds.

“Switch with me.” Marinette grabbed Ladybug’s arm and started pulling her into the ship. They passed a few of her classmates as they all ran around, doing different tasks and carrying around a variety of items. Most nodded at her and sent her thumbs up, but it only made Ladybug more confused. Marinette soon threw her into an empty lounge and closed the door behind her. “De-transform.”

4 seconds.

“Tell me what’s going on first.” She knew it was pointless to ask since time’s already up.

Ladybug felt stripped from her power and Tikki appeared in front of the two girls. Marinette pulled out a macaroon and tossed it to Tikki as she pulled out her phone. “What’s going on?”

“I had an idea. A crazy, dumb, awesome idea.”

“Will you please-”

“Marinette, I just fed Kaalki and-” Marinette analyzed the person in front of her and just stared bewildered. This person was using the horse miraculous, that much as obvious, but she didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t Max.

The uniform was different, rather than a fitted bodysuit this one a more dignified look to it. The top looked almost like a blazer if it wasn’t for the protective padding and the pants were loose and dressy rather than fitted. Still, it wasn’t a tux or full suit like Hawkmoth’s costume was. It was definitely made to fight in, she could tell right away. It just simply looked better and had darker colors. The boy’s hair was still tied back in a ponytail but it was long and dark. The glasses were a slightly different shape, but instead of cool like they were for Max they gave off an intimidating feel.

Marinette watched as her other half walked up to the new wielder, completely unfazed, and motioned for him to continue. “Okay, okay, yes. He’s new. Oh my god, shiny. You got any updates for me?”

The boy blinked and shook his head, “Updates, right. Everything is set up and everyone is in position. Damian managed to work quickly and get that wire cut for the speakers.”

“Speakers?”

“Speakers.” The girl grinned and bounced in place, “This is going to be so much fun!”

Her other half just narrowed her eyes at her, “What exactly is going on and who is this?”

She stopped bouncing and the two shared a look before groaning. She took a deep breath before starting to ramble, “Okay so after I got knocked out they brought me to the room right?”

“Yes.”

She jabbed at the new wielder, “So I woke up to this guy standing over me and I punched him.”

“Completely uncalled for, by the way. I got mad and we ended up in a screaming match.”

“And then Damian came in and asked what was going on and I got really upset because come on, it’s hard enough to handle one of him.”

“Wow, thanks.”

Marinette blinked and motioned at the boy in front of her, “So this is Damian?”

“Yes. So Damian calmed me down while the other Damian sulked in a corner.”

“I did not sulk!”

“Yes, you absolutely did. Anyway, he told me about the Akuma and I made them go get my phone and Kaalki while they filled me in.”

“After getting her phone we looked at Alya’s livestream. One, that girl has no regard for personal safety. Two, we saw that the numb one was teleporting and the other one was fire-based.”

“Numb?”

The excited Marinette nodded, “Numb.” She pulled out her phone and rewinded the video a bit, focusing in on Tess’s face. “She looks just like we did after being thrown off the ship.”

Watching the video over made it undeniable, “So she’s numb.”

“Something must’ve happened because she keeps pushing her emotions down.”

“How does that explain Blaze then?”

The two blinked, “Blaze?”

Marinette rolled her eyes at the two in front of her, “The fire one.”

“Oh!” She watched her other half’s face become somber, “Do you remember how hard it was for Dick to get me out of that? Do you remember how conflicted I was? Everything in my head told me to stop and that I don’t know this guy and to just push it down. Just like I always do.”

The calmer Marinette nodded and hummed, “So this isn’t a smart and a dumb split. She’s at war with herself and doesn’t know how to handle it.”

The more excitable one left Damian’s side and grabbed her other half’s shoulders, “She doesn’t want to do it, but she needs release. Just like I did. That’s what this is about.”

Marinette thought about how Tess scolded Blaze and nodded. “Okay, so what’s the plan and why does Damian have Kaalki? And if Blaze is rampaging, doesn’t that count as a release?”

The girl smiled so wide it probably hurt, “I thought you’d never ask! But first-” She pointed at the new hero, “you need to go find the others and get them into position.” He nodded and ran out of the room, closing the door behind him. “Okay, so for the second part of that question I think it has something to do with this!” She held up a chain with half of a heart on it.

“What am I looking at?”

“I think this is where the Akuma is hiding. I pulled it off on Tess before she threw me.” She twirled around on her finger, “There’s no way the Akuma is in the clipboard. The clipboard doesn’t have any meaning to it, plus she’s not really using it in any way. But this?” She handed it over and let the girl examine it, “This has meaning.”

“There’s something etched onto this.”

“Not only that, but it looks like it’s missing its other half. It also looks like it probably opens. I think it’s a locket.”

“No wonder we haven’t been making any progress. If you took Tess’s half of the object the other is still on Blaze. We’ve been focusing on the wrong girl this whole time!” She scowled before turning to her other half, “Wait. How did you know she had a necklace? I didn’t see it earlier when we were at the bar.”

Marinette laughed nervously, “I just kind of grabbed at her and got lucky I guess. She must’ve been hiding it under her clothes? I honestly don’t know.” She coughed and looked over at Tikki, “You ready?”

Tikki gulped up the last of the sweet pastry, “Yes.”

“Wait-”

“Spots on!” Marinette suddenly found herself face to face with Ladybug and she wondered if this is how she always looked.

She shook her head remembering that now was not the time to critique herself, “Okay. You figured out how the Akuma works. What’s the plan?”

Ladybug sent out a message to Cat Noir that just said, “Be ready for anything and follow my lead.” He closed her yo-yo and looked up at Marinette, “I just need you to be the center of attention. We’re going to disorient then and we want them both so upset that they both just let it all out.”

“Why do that if we just need to get the locket from Blaze?”

Ladybug turned herself to fully face Marinette, expression becoming unnaturally grim, “Because Ladybug and Cat Noir help people. They don’t just leave people by themselves, they make sure the Akuma victim is okay before leaving. We’ve always done that.”

Marinette thought about for a moment and agreed, they left quickly if they were running out of time but they always tried to talk to the victim. Even if they’re okay right after the fight, they want to just make sure. They don’t just leave if they can help it. If they do, they make sure the victim is somewhere safe or with someone safe. Just like with Lucas.

“How am I supposed to be the center of attention?” Ladybug smiled at her and grabbed her arm before pulling her through the hallways. “Where are we-”

“Ladybug!” The two skidded to a stop and looked back and saw Lila running up to them. Ladybug’s heart skipped a beat in the worst way while Marinette tensed. “Ladybug, thank goodness! We’re all in place but-” She stopped when she made eye contact with Marinette, “Where are you going?”

“She’s helping me with my plan.”

“But Ladybug-”

“Lila, we don’t have time to argue this right now I just need you to be in position and help me pull this off okay? I know you don’t like me-”

Lila quickly interjected, “Of course I do!”

“Lila, I know you don’t. You don’t have to like me. That’s fine, but right now I need you to help me. Not for me, but to make sure everyone else on this ship stays safe. Don’t you want to be a hero?” Lila looked for any signs of Ladybug joking or exaggerating and she didn’t find any.

Lila took a deep breath before sighing and glaring at the two, “Actually, I don’t like either of you.” She looked between the two and shook her head, “Whatever. I was going to say we’re in position but we wanted to know what the signal was.”

“Marinette will be on the phone with Kim while you guys sit on standby. She’ll tell you when.”

Lila looked between the two and hummed, “You two look alike. Interesting.” The two tried their best not to show any outward expressions and Lila just smirked, “That’s terrible, but I guess that Ladybug luck isn’t going to help you out with that.”

Ladybug clenched her fist and stepped towards Lila, getting in her face but keeping her voice low. “Lila, if you keep acting like a little brat no one is going to like you. No one is going to believe you. No one is going to want to stay around you. Grow up.” Ladybug spun on her heel and grabbed Marinette’s arm again and continued on their way down the halls. She didn’t look back, she knew she’d regret it if she did.

But Marinette did. Marinette watched the girl send daggers at them until they turned a corner. Her expression unusually dark, even for Lila, as she just played with her bracelet. Marinette noticed more charms on it, but before she could make any of them out Lila was out of sight.

Even as they got to their destination at the far end of the deck, Marinette was still extremely confused. Even more so as she saw the people hustling around her. They carried instruments and pushed around speakers, larger than the ones Nino had. She recognized the cat-themed costume she made for the band members. She recognized the blue mop of hair from the lead guitarist. Weirdest of all, she saw Damian talking to the new horse miraculous wielder and a very familiar face. “Ryuko?”

The hero turned around and smiled, “Hello. Marinette, right?”

Ryuko didn’t know Marinette well. Ladybug was right next to her. She had to play along. “Right.”

Ryuko sensed her tension because she quickly added, “Not to worry, we’ll protect you and your friends while they’re out on deck.”

“We’re going on deck?”

The three looked at Ladybug and she just groaned, “I didn’t have time. I have to get out there now. Whenever you guys are ready just go for it. I’m heading back out there.”

Marinette grabbed Ladybug’s arm and spun her around, “Wait! How did you come up with this? What is going on? Why-”

Ladybug held up her hand and winked, “You might be smart, but that doesn’t mean much if you can’t get creative. If you don’t see something to use, make something. You’ll figure it out, I’m sure.” Ladybug just waved and left back to the fight while Marinette stayed behind with the band and the heroes. She called out over her shoulder, “We’ll be fine! You’ll see!”

Marinette realized that’s what she was missing: Passion, Confidence, Creativity, and everything it meant to be Ladybug. Ladybug right now looked like a true hero. Deep down, she wondered how far focusing solely on logic would’ve taken her. She scolded herself, she might’ve been less impulsive but she was naïve. She thought she could do this, but had tunnel vision. She was looking for anything that looked like it would work and only that. Ladybug doesn’t just look for solutions, she makes them. Marinette took a deep breath before turning back to the group, “What do you need me to do?”

At this point, Ladybug was running on a high. She wasn’t thinking things through like she normally would, she just wanted to get in on the action. She was nervous. She was excited. Ladybug watched as Cat Noir had his hands full with Blaze. The knucklehead decided to go one-on-one and she just rolled her eyes. She was not surprised. It felt odd to be Ladybug. She felt heavy and her energy wasn’t up to par, but she was too excited to see her plan in action to care.

She threw her yo-yo and wrapped it around Cat Noirs torso, yanking him back and confusing the Akuma. Ladybug snorted watching Cat Noir slide over to her on his butt and he just blinked, “Ladybug?”

“Hey, kitty.” She helped him up and smiled at him. It gave Cat Noir whiplash, “This is going to get fun! Do you remember Balloon-mageddon?”

Cat Noir stood up and nodded, “You mean that time Kim bought up all those water balloons and practically drowned everyone in school?”

Ladybug nodded back excitedly, “Guess what Kim has been buying at every city since he’s gotten on this ship?” Cat Noir’s eyes widened before one of his famous grins formed on his face.

“When-”

“Just follow my lead!” She ran headfirst into a fight and Cat Noir quickly caught on. He loved how impromptu this felt. As tired as he was, her energy kept him going. The two quickly ran in and went for a frontal attack. Batman jumped away from Tess’s swipe and watched, ready for this to fail, only to watch something weird happen. He noticed Ladybug was different. She was more energized and youthful. Earlier she seemed so serious and held back, now she looked alive and in her element.

Cat Noir threw himself to the ground and slid once he got close to the Akuma. He used his baton to trip Blaze and Ladybug took the opportunity to wrap the yo-yo around her torso before letting the girl fall face first. Ladybug smirked and called over the rest of the boys, “Heads up!” She yelled as she threw the girl over her shoulder into Tess after the boys all jumped away. The girls tumbled and became a tangle of limbs.

Blaze growled and pushed herself up and got fired up. Tess brushed herself off and glared at Ladybug who sent a smug look back. Tess analyzed Ladybug, utterly confused before something clicked. Tess’s eyes opened wide and she muttered to herself, “When did I split you?” Tess suddenly appeared right in front of Ladybug, making her stumble back out of surprise. Tess looked her over and raised her voice, “When did I split you?” Cat Noir extended his baton and thrusted it in between the two.

“Too close.” Ladybug took this chance to put some space in between them.

Nightwing evaded another projectile, “You look like a spring chicken, what happened?”

Red Hood cocked his gun and sent Nightwing a look, “’Spring chicken’? Are you on Social Security or something?”

Tess grabbed Cat Noir’s baton and yanked, pulling him forward and putting two fingers on his forehead, “Separate.”

“Cat Noir!” Cat Noir closed his eyes and flinched, waiting for something to happen. He cracked his eyes open a few seconds later to find that nothing happened. Ladybug blinked and her eyebrows furrowed, “Nothing happened.”

Tess seemed just as confused and Cat Noir looked himself over just to make sure he was intact. “I’m okay.” He sighed in relief before grabbed Tess’s collar, “Now that that’s established, why are you doing this? Just to start a fight?”

Tess frowned, “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Then tell me.” Cat Noir lost his balance once Tess pushed back. Ladybug evened the odds when she struggled against the baton. Cat Noir and Ladybug pushed against this one Akuma hold didn’t even budge.

Tess growled, “I’m having a bad day. Now, I’m not going to waste this opportunity to raise a bit of hell.”

Some static echoed through the air and everyone covered their ears as the volume of the feedback made them think that their heads would split open. The deck vibrated as the words rang through the air, “1! 2! 3! Let’s go!” A large ‘BOOM’ resonated throughout the ship and suddenly the deck was full of smoke.

Music started blasting through the air and the bass was strong enough to extinguish Blaze’s flames. They all looked over and watched the smoke cleared. A group of kids playing loud music with Marinette standing at the very front holding a phone came into view. Marinette stood in between two heroes unfamiliar to the Gotham vigilantes.

Cat Noir blinked and wondered if he took too many hits to the head, “What just happened?”

“Looks like we raised a bit of hell.” Cat Noir just stared wide-eyed at a grinning Ladybug before mirroring her expression and pushing Tess off.

“This’ll be great.”

The music was deafening and while the boys didn’t really know what was going on, Batman saw Tess’s target change. She was glaring directly at the group of kids and Batman briefly wondered who in their right mind would use school kids as bait. He was furious, but not as furious as the Akuma. Tess disappeared and reappeared near the front of the stage, only to be intercepted by the dragon girl’s blade.

Ryuko used her sword to knock Tess back a few feet before declaring herself superior. “I’m probably the fastest one on this deck and the most skilled. You won’t ever get past me.”

Tess mutter a few curses under her breath. Cat Noir was annoying, but at least she could anticipate him and get away. This girl? This girl was going to be an issue. She looked past Ryuko at Marinette. Marinette had her eyes solely on Blaze. Her phone in one hand and the other clenched at her side. Ryuko stepped into Tess’s field of vision and pointed her sword at the girl. “Either you get up and fight honorably or you sit and admit defeat.”

Tess felt frustration bubbling inside her and she hated it. She told herself to keep her cool as she slowly stood up and brushed herself off, never ceasing eye contact with the heroine. “I don’t care if you are the best fighter here, I’m not here for you.”

“Then what are you here for?”

Tess bit her lip before lunging at the girl, unable to really answer her. A few yards back, Blaze was slowly but surely closing the distance between herself and the band playing. Nightwing would frequently look back at the kids and wondered why they didn’t even seem scared. None of them had training or any powers. Did they really have that much faith in Ladybug? He yelled over to the heroine and hoped she’d hear her over the music, “What are you planning?”

She just smiled sweetly before making her way over to Nightwing’s side and leaning in close enough for him to hear her. “The akumatized object is on this one. Trust me.” Ladybug pushed Nightwing back and jumped back as a fireball flew past them Nightwing watched its trajectory and knew it was on a straight path for Marinette. “MARINETTE!” Everyone turned to look, including the Akuma, panicked.

The fireball was soon met with an air bound horseshoe and it dissipated on impact. The horseshoe made its way back to the new horse miraculous wielder. Ladybug smirked and turned back to Blaze, noticing how the closer she got to the speakers the harder it was to keep herself on fire. Both Cat Noir and Ladybug brought themselves front and center to block more attacks. Cat Noir grinned, “Who the new stallion?”

Ladybug’s eyes went wide and she smiled as blocked another attack aimed at Red Robin, “Stallion! That’s a perfect name!”

Red Robin threw his last ranged weapon, “I’m out!”

Nightwing reached for another weapon to throw only to find himself without anything. “I’m out too!”

Any rouge fireballs were confronted with Stallion’s horseshoe. Whenever Ryuko and Tess came too close to Marinette, he made sure to show off his fighting skills in this new, powered-up form until they inevitably continued moving. Marinette didn’t even pay them any mind, focusing solely on Blaze and waiting for her to get into just the right spot. As soon as he heard Damian say Kim and water balloons, she knew exactly where this plan was headed. “Just a few more steps.”

Blaze jumped forward, trying to swipe at Ladybug. Marinette brought the phone up to her ear and screamed into it, “KIM NOW!”

Ladybug looked back at the group, “INCOMING!” The five heroes all looked up to see dozens of water balloons raining down from the upper deck. They realized they were standing right in the middle of the splash zone and Blaze screeched. Steam radiated off of her form and she started panting. “Cat Noir!”

“On it!” Cat Noir ran forward and pinned the girl down onto the deck, Ladybug ran right after him. He pulled her up to a sitting position, “So you going to tell me where the Akuma is?”

Ladybug crouched down in front of the girl and looked around her neck. Sure enough, there was a chain tucked into her undershirt and she reached for it. “Time to end this.” She took a firm grip on the necklace, but before she could yank it off a hand jerked her arm back. Ladybug looked back, only to be punched in the face and thrown off the girl. Cat Noir pulled Blaze up and jumped away from Tess’s next attack while Ladybug got onto her knees. “Ryuko!”

Ryuko quickly put herself in between Cat Noir and Tess, “Wind Dragon!” The air around them became clouded and frenzied as a storm originated from Ryuko’s body. Everyone on the ship struggled to keep themselves upright while Cat Noir took this opportunity to put some distance between himself and the conscious Akuma. The band faltered as they struggled not to fall off the deck and Stallion grabbed a hold of Marinette and crouched down, jamming him horseshoe into the deck and keeping them anchored. The other heroes tried to do the same either with their own weapons or by hanging onto objects bolted to the ground.

As Ryuko’s wind died down, Tess regained her footing. Ryuko took this opportunity to slam her into the ground, “That was for my friends!” Tess groaned as she picked herself up. “It’s over.”

“What-”

“Cat Noir!” Tess looked back to see two things. The first was Blaze beginning to gather her bearings. The second was Cat Noir running to Marinette who held up a locket. Tess touched the area around her neck and gasped when she realized it was bare.

She screamed over to her disoriented other half, “GET UP YOU IDIOT!”

Ryuko pinned Tess down, “That’s enough!”

Red Hood cocked his gun and shot at Blaze. Finally, for the first time during this entire fight, it made contact. Blaze stumbled and her eyes rolled back as she collapsed onto the ground. Red Hood threw his fist into the air, “HELL YEAH! STILL GOT IT!”

Tess watched as Cat Noir reached for the second locket, “CATCA-”

“NO!” Tess pushed Ryuko off her and she felt something. She felt something she hoped she’d never have to feel ever again: panic. Using her powers she found herself in front of the three before any of them could react she lunged for Marinette. All Tess could see was red. She didn’t even notice she tackled the wrong person.

Everyone stopped as they watched Tess beat and bruise the person under her. Stallion was in shock. He didn’t even realize his split form was near the fight. The last thing he thought a rational version of himself would do is push Marinette out of the way when there were two already capable heroes nearby. Yet, here he was, watching himself getting beaten. Blood started to splatter at the third punch. He was ready to react when Marinette forced the locket into Cat Noir’s hands before she threw herself onto the Akuma arm. Tess tried to throw Marinette off, but she latched on. “Let go!”

Marinette looked up and Tess met the eyes of someone she remembered. Someone she was trying to help. Marinette took a shaky breath as she held eye contact as she yelled at the Akuma, “What’s the point of this? What’s the point of any of this? Look at what you’re doing to everyone around you! To yourself, Tess! Is this really what you want?”

Tess blinked, suddenly recognizing her surroundings and taking into account the situation. She looked at the hand Marinette was holding back and noticed a red, slimy substance. She looked down to find a half-dead boy, another friend, panting heavily and bleeding profusely. Tess jumped off of the body and Marinette scrambled to look Damian over. “I didn’t- I didn’t want-”

“Hey!” Everyone looked back to see Blaze slowly making her way over. Batman growled and knocked the girl back, “Get back!”

“Stop!” Tess ran over to her other form and spread her arms wide as she shielded Blaze. “Stop. Please, stop! I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what came over me-”

“I’m pathetic.” Tess looked back at a Blaze getting onto her hands and knees as she struggled against the knock out gas’s effects. “You remember what dad used to call me?” Tess didn’t want to react. She held her composure until Blaze looked up and she was forced to stare herself right in the eyes. “He used to tell me all the time, ‘What a poor crature’.” Blaze looked up at Marinette fusing over Damian as she struggled to help him sit up, “Mom never said anything. She just let him drink and yell and bully us. She used to say the same thing when I came to her all beaten and bruised too.” She laughed bitterly, “Now look at me. I date men who hurt or cheat on me. My drinking is just as bad as his at this point, too.”

Tess bit her lip and her voice cracked, “That wasn’t my fault.”

“No it wasn’t, but look around. This! This is my fault!” Tess took in the damage and for the first time actually registered how bad it was. She saw frightened and bruised kids, holes all around the deck, and men glaring at her just like her father used to. Tess felt sick. Blaze watched as Cat Noir and Ladybug moved towards them, “So what’ll happen now? Am I going to jail?”

Ladybug crouched down and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “No. I’m going to fix this.”

“How?” Tess gulped, “How the hell are you going to fix this? Everything here is broken! I am broken!” She took a few more shaky breaths and squeezed herself, “I’m better than this! I’m supposed to keep it together! I can’t- I’m not-”

“Did you really think you could hold it in forever without consequences?” Tess looked over at Cat Noir as he put himself directly in front of her. Being under his watch was becoming intense, “Did you really think telling yourself that and pushing everything down was going to make everything better?” He motioned behind him, “Look around! All you did ended up doing was worsening the fallout.” Tess opened and closed her mouth while Cat Noir sighed, “You have to let yourself deal with these things. If you don’t it becomes too much and you’ll just end up hurting yourself, pushing other people away, or both.” Cat Noir pursed his lips together and closed the gap between them, squeezing her form and making Tess freeze in his arms, “Feeling bad emotions doesn’t make you a bad person, Tess. You’re allowed to be mad and sad just as much as you allowed to be happy. You just need to let it out and deal with it.”

Blaze watched the interaction between them unfold and instead of getting angry, she felt some tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t help it, she started purging herself of everything. Hearing Blaze give in opened the flood gates for Tess. She ended up collapsing in Cat Noir’s arms and started bawling. Ladybug and Cat Noir simply looked at each other as they rubbed circles into the girls’ backs and Cat Noir mumbled, “Cataclysm.” He watched as both lockets disintegrated in his hand and a black butterfly flew out. The two girls reformed into one crying woman and Ladybug stood up.

Ladybug didn’t feel like taking pride in this as she captured and purified the Akuma. Everyone watched as it flew away and she called on a new lucky charm. She could’ve laughed at how fitting the damn thing was. It was a photo of a family; two little girls and a man playing. She threw it up into the air and watched as the ladybugs started to fix and move everything back into place. Marinette and Damian disappeared, as did many of the props for the band and all the damage to the deck. She felt energized again, but now she felt even more conflicted as Cat Noir’s words echoed in the back of her head. When did he get so good with emotions anyway? Then again, he always was the more empathetic type.

“What’s going on?” She looked back to see a confused Tess being helped up by Cat Noir. She was using her American accent, “Who are you? I mean, I know Batman and his group but I don’t really recognize you two. Are you with him?”

That’s right, she wouldn’t remember. She ignored the first warning signs from Cat Noir’s ring and plastered a reassuring smile on her face. “This time we were. You put up quite the fight, ma’am.”

Tess’s eyes went wide and her Irish roots really shined, “The hell are you talking about, lady? What fight?” She groaned and smacked her forehead, “Please tell me I didn’t get drunk just to pick a fight with some superheroes.” She rubbed her temples, “That is the last thing I need right now.”

Cat Noir laughed, “No! No! You just… weren’t yourself. By the way, is this yours?” He held up a fully intact locket with her name etched on it. She gasped and quickly took hold of the thing, opening it up to reveal a picture inside. Cat Noir leaned over to get a better look, “Who are those people?”

“My dad and me. He gave this to me when I was 13.” She smiled sadly at the locket before putting it back around her neck, “Thank you.”

Before Ladybug could respond, Batman stepped forward and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Tess, I think it’s time you get help.”

“Huh? What are you-”

“You have demons. We all do, but yours are eating you up inside.” Tess paled and Batman gently squeezed her shoulder, “Whatever happened today will be water under the bridge, but you need help. You need counseling. I’m sure your boss is more than willing to pay for it.”

Tess tried to laugh it off, “No I don’t! I-”

“What a poor crature.” Tess froze and looked back at Nightwing who looked at her with sympathy, “That’s what he used to call you, right? After hurting you.”

Tess felt her mouth go dry and her stomach dropped, “How do you know that?”

Red Robin was the one to speak up next, “Tess. Please, promise us you’ll get some help.”

Tess felt exposed and her heart ached. She felt some tears streaming down her face and she started to frantically wipe them away, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t know what’s happening!” She continued to wipe her checks on her sleeves, but found the gesture futile. “It won’t- I can’t stop it!” She wanted to scold herself, but something inside her told her not to. So she didn’t. She just stood there and let it out. Another round of beeping, Ryuko has two minutes left. Cat Noir has three. Ladybug has four.

“I have to go, will you-”

Red Robin nodded, “We got this. Go.”

Before Ladybug could turn away she heard a very stern voice, “Ladybug!” She looked over at Batman and didn’t like the look he was sending her. He didn’t raise his voice, but the anger in his words felt just as bad, “We’ll have to talk about your tactics at another time. Soon.”

She nodded. She had a feeling she knew what was going through his head, but to be sure she decided she’d ask Damian later. Ladybug motioned for Ryuko, Cat Noir, Luka, and Stallion to follow her as she raced through the hallways and upstairs.

“Where are we going, Ladybug?”

“Somewhere I know for a fact is private.” Stallion recognized and knew this path well. He ran in front of them to open the doors to the den and slam them shut as Ryuko’s transformation wore off. She sighed and Luka gave her some support. “You both did well.” Kagami side-eyed Stallion, unsure of what to make of him and unsure of how to feel now that he knew her identity. Still, if Ladybug trusted him, she guessed it was okay.

Luka was still on edge, “Will Marinette and that boy be okay? Where are they-”

Ladybug held her hand up and smiled, “They are both fine, Luka. I’ll ask her to contact you later, okay?” The couple looked at each other and decided the answer was acceptable. “Stallion, will you do the honors and send them home?”

Stallion nodded, “Voyage.” His powers caused a portal to appear and the two ran through as if nothing happened. Cat Noir was about to as well when Ladybug held him back and shook her head.

Cat Noir looked confused and concerned as Stallion de-transformed and the portal disappeared behind them, “Damian?”

Ladybug sighed and looked at Damian, “I think you need to go. Find your brothers and the others. Help with the fallout. I need to make sure the miraculous gets back to Marinette safely.” She held out her hand and Damian handed over the glasses.

Damian looked Cat Noir over and the cat’s presence irked him. He didn’t like the idea of leaving without knowing more about the cat-themed hero, so he crossed his arms and stood his ground. “I think I have every right to be here, circumstances considering. After all, this is my ship you two just trashed.” He’d hear about it later, he knew, but he was Robin. He put trackers on everyone he’s ever worked with within the first few hours of meeting them. He needed to know more about Cat Noir.

Ladybug glared at him and Cat Noir looked between the two a few times before putting the pieces together. Cat Noir really wished it wasn’t true. “He knows.” He laughed in complete disbelief as his miraculous beeped its final warning. “He knows!”

58 seconds.

Ladybug was not amused, “Cat Noir-”

Cat Noir shook his head, “No, no, no! Please, Damian, enlighten me! Tell me why you know only after a week of knowing her when I only found out right before this trip!”

50 seconds.

Damian suddenly felt out of place and on edge, “I guessed and I was right.”

Cat Noir’s eyes widened and he smacked his forehead, “Oh, he guessed! Should’ve known that world’s finest junior over here would’ve figured it out!” Cat Noir turned to his partner with a crazed look on his face, “So what? Did you transform in front of him or something or-”

Ladybug scowled and firmly stated, “Cat Noir, I don’t think this is the time for this conversation.”

“It never is with you!”

42 seconds.

Damian got into a position where he could easily get in between the two should this fly off the rails. Seeing Cat Noir’s negative reaction, it was possible. “I think we all need to calm down-”

“Shut it, Wayne! This is between me and the Lady.”

“Don’t talk to him like that!”

“Oh! Wow! You two are dating and suddenly he’s untouchable! I’ve been your partner for literal years, Ladybug!”

There were a few beats of silence between the three before Cat Noir slammed his fist onto the bar’s counter. It rattled all the glasses around it and made the other two flinch, “When were you going to tell me? Were you ever going to tell me? What happened to keeping secrets? What happened to keeping our identities secret at all costs?” Ladybug bit her lip and Cat Noir barked when she didn’t answer him, “Ladybug!”

“I don’t know, okay! I don’t know!”

14 seconds.

“You don’t know? That’s a first!” Cat Noir ran his fingers through his hair, “Years! Actual years! That is how long I’ve risked my life for you! That is how long I’ve asked to know! I’ve wanted to know since day one and suddenly your new boyfriend gets to know all of your secrets! It’s only been a week!”

“Cat Noir, you’re going to transform back!”

“So what? He seems to know everything else about you! He should also know who your partner is, seeing as how there are no secrets between you two!”

“Cat Noir!”

A green light suddenly filled the room and Damian covered his eyes. Once the flash was gone he saw Adrien standing in Cat Noir’s place with a black cat kwami floating around him. Ladybug soon followed suit and the two just stared at each other. Marinette spoke first, “Adrien-”

“Save it.” Adrien scoffed and his nose started to turn pink as his eyes watered, “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do trust you!”

“Clearly not as much as him.” Adrien motioned to Damian and wiped his eyes, “You know a part of me still loves you.” The room went silent after that and he just nodded, “You broke my heart so many times. I lost count how many times, but I still continued to trust you because I thought you trusted me too. I could live with being your friend and partner because I knew you still trusted me as much as I trusted you. We were a team. Now?” Adrien scoffed, “Now, you did it. You broke it for good.”

Marinette felt her eyes starting to water too, “Adrien, please don’t say that.”

“I’ll still help with Akuma fights, but right now I can’t-” His voice hitched and a few tears streamed down his cheeks, “Right now I can’t look at you.” Adrien turned on his heel and stopped at the door before turning his head slightly to look at Damian, “I hope you two make up.” He opened the door and quickly made his exit, Plagg solemnly trailing behind him as the door closed.

Marinette hugged herself and looked at her feet. She wanted to throw up. Damian gulped, “Marinette-”

“Why didn’t you leave?” Damian didn’t really have an answer and she looked up at him. He’s never seen her this angry, “Why didn’t you just leave, Damian?”

Damian bit his lip, “I-”

“You what?”

“I don’t know!” Clearly that was the wrong answer based on her intense glare, “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I am Batman’s son. I need to know everything about everyone and you wouldn’t tell me anything about Cat Noir!”

“So you were just going to stick around until the miraculous forced him to transform back?” Marinette ran her fingers through her hair, “Oh my god.”

Damian felt bile in the back of his throat, “Marinette-”

“What goes off in your brain that makes you think you can just do or say whatever you want?” Marinette wiped her nose and laughed bitterly, “You really think you’re entitled to all that information when you know very well that we needed to keep it secret?” She didn’t get an answer back and she shook her head, “This was a mistake.”

Damian’s heart dropped, “What?”

“This. This trip. Us. Everything was a mistake.” She looked up, tears in her eyes and nodded, “And to think I wanted to stick with you. Can you believe it?”

Damian blinked, “You were going to stay?”

“Not anymore!” She wiped her eyes and started heading towards the doors.

Damian quickly put himself in front of the exit and felt his heart racing, “Marinette, please-”

“Damian-”

“No, just listen.”

“Will you stop doing that?” Damian stepped back and she sniffed, “Just stop interrupting me. Stop trying to push me or push me away. Just stop.” She walked around him and put her hand on the doorknob before sighing, “I think I love you.”

Damian froze. He’s only ever been told that by family and friends. This was different, new, sentimental, and he didn’t know how to react. He was too tense and caught up in his own shock to turn around, “Marinette?”

“At least I thought I did.”

Something went off in his head demanding that he turn around, but she already slammed the door behind her. He looked back at this new barrier between them and put his forehead against the wooden frame. The more he thought about it, the worse it looked in his head. He was invasive, nosy, demanding; everything that usually gave him the right information to save his own ass now came back to bite him. He hated it and he hated knowing that he really couldn’t help it. It’s how he was raised, both by Talia and by Bruce. He wanted to punch both at this point. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

*******************************************************************************************

A few things: 1) I was super sick. I got better then got swamped with work and school. I’m so sorry for the wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. Thank you for continuing to stick with me despite the tiny hiatus. 2) Yes, it says crature instead of creature and I’ll tell you why. I asked my friend from Ireland what’s a word for someone pitful and she said, “We’ll usually look at the person and say ‘You poor crature’”. She spelled it like that on paper so that’s how it’s spelled in the chapter. 3) Yes you can put out a fire with the sound of a low bass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPbHpVbcbrQ&t=5s 4) When I wrote the second fight scene I listened to “Break, Beat, Bark” from the SAO movie and it’s a fun read with that song in the background.

Thank you for being patient and enjoying the lastest chapter of Seabourne Burnouts!

Tag List (Bitch I have a tag list whAT!?!?!):

@maribat-archive @ozmav @thornangelic727@imfreakingmagical@constancetruggle @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay@someone-ev @zazzlejazzle @tinybrie @mewwitch @rhub4rb@saphiraazure2708 @never-neverland @unholykrow @slytherinhquinn @literallytryingmybestbutok @redscarlet95 @grimmhallow31 @fandomkitten9653 @myriad-of-passionate-pettiness @fanboy7794 @mystifiedgal @shizukiryuu @ vixen-uchiha @resignedcatservant @mystery-5-5 @miraculousl4dybug @blackcanary13 @origamieater @moonlitarchangels @mochinek0 @imfreakingmagical @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @derpingrainbow @unabashedbookworm @skyel0ve @northernbluetongue @cadencehood @sizzling-fairy-oil @crazylittlemunchkin @saphiraazure2708 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @ginamarie1512 @kae690 @ivette0712 @zalladane @ellerahs @auradonfairy @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @scribblinggraveyard @nyctamaximoff @snow-swordswoman @maude-zarella @thebookwormfairy @melicmusicmagic @zalladane @ivette0712 @ginamarie1512 @bookreader20003 @silvergold-swirl @celestiacq @themcclan @amethyst-starr5 @tamoni112 @lunar-wolf-warrior @alexzandria-747 @nataladriana9 @moonlitarchangels @iglowinggemma28 @hunter-shyreen @mermaidofthelost @jessigurl-design @vgirl-10123 @lunar-wolf-warrior @casual-darkness @xxmadamjinxx @normal-piece-of-shit @tinyterror333 @romanoff-queen @schrodingers25 @alessialeone6997 @mindfulmagics @slytherin-heartthrob @da-tasuky @asianfrustration13 @eliza-bich @kuhakuanon @my-name-is-michell @theatreandcomicfreak @interobanginyourmom @starry-bi-sky @etheralentity @creator-josie @kurogaya913 @st0rmy-w1th1n @casual-darkness @vgirl-10123 @poshplumcot @thebookish3lf

Let me know if I missed anyone and message me! I’ll be sure to see it then!

#maribat #idea: maribat! on deck #damianette #damian x marinette #daminette #maridami #damien x marinette #fanfiction #au #dc x mlb #miraculous x dc

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