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chaosduckies · 4 months

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Rising Tides (Chapter 1)

So basically this is just a piece for Mermay. A very late piece, but if you guys like it, I’ll continue it! Honestly, this is very fast paced, and I’m very sorry, but it is STRESSFUL out here.

Word Count: 2.8k

CW: Mentions of Death, A little bit of violence (just getting chased my a shark), that’s pretty much it I think!

1-Nico

The ocean was a dangerous place. Even for someone who has lived here their entire life.

Living in the ocean meant knowing how to survive on your own. It meant knowing just how desperate other creatures were to survive. I knew that. I knew just how much of a light snack I was. I knew that I was small. Incapable of being strong or even giving one glare at someone and making them swim away with their tail fins behind their backs.

Such is the life of a very, very insignificant, mer like myself.

The little reef I lived in was small, but quaint. My parents love it. I don’t live very far from them. Occasionally I would go over and have dinner with them. Even if I wasn’t hungry. They would ask how my day was, and I would say: “It was good.” we would catch up since the last time we ate, and then they’d ask me if I finally made any friends. I would tell them no.

Today, really wasn’t a good day.

My job for the community was to gather kelp. Weird, right? Only some mers eat kelp, like myself. I’m weird. But that’s besides the point! I gather some at least once a week and give it to another person who just delivers it somewhere I don’t even know. I feel like I should probably figure that out, but I’m pretty sure that didn’t really matter-

Everyone had their own designated job to do for the community. We didn’t have any currency, but the people who lead us told us to do our part, and usually mers are very reluctant to listen so, no one complained. It’s not like I didn’t like my job. Every time I eat I think to myself “Maybe this is the same patch I picked myself-“ Stupid, right? But, everyone has their jobs so they can keep on peacefully living in this community. Though, sometimes it’s not all that great.

Some mers don’t like each other. When a fight happens, they like solving it civilly so it doesn’t encourage anymore to happen. That’s not it for my case. A lot of people don’t like me. Not because I did something wrong to them. Nonono. I could never hurt a person. Even if I tried. It’s mainly because people outcast people with brightly colored tails. Like mine maybe? They say it’s a liability. That it’ll only get me killed if I’m ever on my own. They’re probably not wrong either.

Despite my parents having a dark purple colored tail, mine was a bright purple. It’s not good at all for camouflage, it reflects some sunlight when I’m closer to the surface, and it’s just basically like a sign to other mers saying “Hey! I can very easily be killed from a large predator!” And no one wants to be with someone like that. As for the soulmate thing? Despite humans having to find their one true love, mers just have to make a few friends, and if the universe decides that you were meant to be with someone, then there would be a matching tattoo on your wrists after a single contact. Again, weird, right?

——————

I was swimming off to my small, but humble house hidden inside a huge piece of coral. I don’t even know how I found this place, but I remember loving it because it had a perfect view of the sun above the ocean, and it was far away from most people except for the occasional kid who was just exploring. It was a nice place. I just carried up some sand here made it look nice and decorated with some shells I find while gathering kelp. Turns out you can make a decent home if you really try hard enough.

There were two shells I had today, a nice light blue one that was probably just a piece of an old clam shell, and a mixture of an orange and yellow one that came from a hermit crab that abandoned its home. I was going to give these to my parents later since they also love seeing the bright colored shells, but they were too scared to travel far from the little village we live in. There are predators out there that would love to snack on a helpless mer, and no one was going out unless they knew they could live on their own or they were hunters getting fish for the others. My parents were none of the above. They preferred the village life. They practically new everyone here and they were both soulmates. And here I am the entire opposite. What a great son I am, right?

I grabbed a little satchel from my home and started to slowly swim off to my parents. The sun was setting, the water above reflecting a bright orange hue. It was a nice evening. Hasn’t been like this in forever because of all the storms happening above. It’s a wonder how those fishing boats humans have stay afloat when all the waves are just trying to rock them over. Well, maybe it’s because they have some help from other mers or something like that. It wasn’t unheard of.

The path to my parents’ humble abode was lined with clumped up seaweed and some colorful rocks. Their house was dimly lit, but I knew that they were still awake. My mom was probably making some kind of bag while dad was eating happily in his chair. I swam in.

“Hey mom.” I mumbled.

“Nico! Your plate is on the table!” She cheered back at me. She was always happy to see me. Even if I came at least two times a week to visit. I was old enough to take care of myself. Or… at least in the community we live in.

I looked at the plate on the table, shook my head and swam into the main room where they were doing just as I had imagined. Mom was almost done making a very small bag that she would probably give to one of her friends. I looked through my own bag, grabbing the two small shells I found and placed them on one of the side tables near my dad.

He inspected them before smiling to himself. I knew he liked them more than my mom did. He said he used to bring buckets back home to his parents and just have a collection to himself. I see why he did. It was fun to find some. Better than sitting around the house all day and not having anything to do.

I stared at the matching tattoos on both of my parent's wrists, slightly rubbing my own. I knew I wouldn’t find someone who would actually like me. I can’t even picture myself with anyone else. It was the sad, but indisputable truth. And I’ve accepted that fact.

——————

The next morning, I woke up with my dark hair in my face and streaks of light I shining through some cracks in the little coral cave I lived in. I forced myself up, lazily rubbing my eyes. What should I do today? The question practically begged for an answer. I could just go swim around, but that does’t really sound all that fun if I were being honest. I mean, people would just sit and stare at me all day or do the exact opposite and whisper hurtful comments and rumors about me. Not that I really cared about that though. I said to myself that once I was able to, I would move away from here and just live on my own.

Today I felt adventurous though.

I grabbed my little satchel, and headed out, the morning sun still rising above the waters surface. The ocean felt great today. Today just felt like a good day. Something that’s rare to come by when you’re all on your own.

Where was I swimming out to you may ask? Well, for your information, I was currently heading outside of the community I live in. It’s not like it’s prohibited, but most mers don’t find a need to venture out further when they already knew what was out there. Predators, other mers, food, fish, water. There really wasn’t anything new to find out here when you’re in this ocean. I guess what they really feared were the sharks that were found near the area though. But most don’t even bother with us. Mostly because no small mer like myself is crazy enough to venture out here alone. Yeah, I’m crazy enough.

To a large shark, I’d probably be like, half it’s size. Most likely shorter. A purple tail is a sign that you’ll be a small mer, but big enough to be on your own. I was the exception though, given that I had a brighter color and was actually the size of like a small human basically. Yes, I was made fun of by some old classmates and sometimes my parents when I was still a pup, yes I know I’m small, and yes I can reach the top shelf on the counter (I mean I can swim so-)

Swimming along the ocean floor along with the many overgrown plants and small anemones where I saw several clownfish leave to go get whatever is was that they needed. I had found a huge coral reef far into the ocean, there were tons of colorful fish everywhere I had looked.

I want to say it was maybe an hour long of just roaming and admiring the many colors of the reef I had just found before my eyes drifted off to something big and dark in the distance. I squinted, slightly swimming closer where, for some reason, none of the fish dared to do.

Filled by my curiosity, I swam towards the large object, wondering what it was. It was a long ways from the reef. It was dark, only seaweed and some kelp patches were the only plants. There were some starfish and snails, some crabs, but that was all the life I could find. It seemed like this part of the deep ocean was pretty much deserted. Strange.

I kept going, seeing that the object I was looking at looked like those metal ships humans make, except it was wooden and had a bunch of holes. I swam cautiously in, minding that this was a place far away from home and there would basically be no hope in escaping a shark or something if I encountered one. I took a look at my tail, still bright when the waters here were dark and the sun was covered by a layer of seaweed. This would be fine. Nothing was going to find me here… Hopefully.

The shipwreck didn’t leave much behind. Just some broken pieces of old wood and some old pictures. I doubt there would be anything of worth in here honestly, but I kept on looking, fueling my curiosity. What else was I supposed to do? If I do end up finding something maybe I can show it off to the mers back at home and maybe then they’ll stop ridiculing me and making fun of me for having a bright tail. There is no way I was the only mer in the entire ocean like this!

There was a room that looked much like an office. Broken pieces of a desk, a little container that once held ink. What I was really intrigued about was the little open chest that revealed a round pice of flattened gold. I grabbed it, studying the rust colored piece of metal. Humans used this as currency once before, right? I’m sure they don’t use whatever these were anymore. Or if whatever I was holding was even a kind of currency. It just seemed like something a human would use.

I stuffed the gold piece in my bag and continued looking. At least until I saw a large shadow swim fast in the corner of my eye. I kept my arms close to my chest, keeping my breathing controlled before I overreacted. It was probably just a big fish… yeah. Just a really, really big fish that can swim amazingly fast.

I saw the same shadow swim by again, but this time it bumped into something, making me let out a little surprise yelp. I immediately clasped my hands over my mouth, hearing another thunk! Before I saw the full shadow of whatever the hell was outside. It was a shark. A huge shark. And it looked hungry.

My hands were shaky, I couldn’t move. I wasn’t going to die, right? I didn’t actually think something like this would happen! I thought those were just rare occurrences that people were making rumors about. Was I actually going to die? No. There has to be some way out of this.

Looking around, I found a small little crack I could probably fit in if I really tried. I swam slowly closer to it, noting that the thunks outside were getting closer. Please let me get out of here alive… I kept telling myself as I hurried to fit myself in the tiny crack. As soon as I was out, something fast was coming my way, and I was swimming just as fast to get away.

It was hard to swim when you were in a life or death situation. I never realized that until now. I stole a glance behind me, letting out a weak yelp when I saw the sharks mouth open wide. Great. It seemed like I could fit perfectly in that thing. Imagine being killed by those sharp teeth- No don’t think about that. Not right now at least.

The water around me only grew darker as we headed deeper into the ocean. There were some small caves, but I didn’t want to really trap myself in there. I had no idea why this shark was so desperate in the first place. It was so much bigger than a regular shark, couldn’t it find something else to eat other than a mer? Like a big fish or something?

Eventually I realized why the shark seemed so interested in me. They like bright colors. I remember being told something like that when I was younger. It’s just great that my tail is just sooo bright, right? Wow I am so unlucky. My only hope to lose the shark (Who was gaining on me really fast, ohmygoshwhatdoIdo?) is to somehow lose it in a cave or something. Hopefully there was a small space I could get into that the shark couldn’t. And of course hope I don’t run into anything else that was hungry.

There was a huge cave in front of me, and I took my chances. I felt the sharks jaws snap behind me, just mere inches from snapping on top of my tail. I shuddered, but kept swimming fast, trying to find some kind of small cave to fit myself into. Please oh my gosh I’m getting so tired I don’t want to die- Stop thinking like that. I’m not going to die. At least not today.

Just a couple feet ahead of me, I spotted a tiny hole that looked like it could fit me if I squeezed in fast enough. I stole another glance, seeing the shark right there behind me. I let out a scream, grabbing the bag around my neck and throwing it back at it. It slowed it down just a tiny bit, but it kept after me. Maybe just enough time to get myself safe.

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease.” I muttered to myself, not noticing that something big moved in the dark.

Right before I could fit myself through the crack hopefully leading to a small cave, I felt a sharp pain in my tail, The part I actually needed to be able to swim. I was forced out, seeing that it was caught in between the sharks sharp teeth. It let go for just a split second, before a loud growl was heard, making the shark almost instantly swim off. Tears stung my eyes (Weird because we’re underwater right?), but I blinked them away and stared at my tail fin, seeing all too many rips and tears. It hurt so, so much.

That was when my mind had finally clicked and wondered why the shark had left in the first place. The growl. The two huge sets of dark blue eyes trained on me. The slight hue they gave off. Oh. It was just a really, really, really, huge mer. The ones that eat other mers? That destroy community’s for no reason? The one’s that were outcasted? That’s just wonderful.

I tried swimming away, but the tears in my fins didn’t let me, making me whimper like a lost puppy. My breathing was fast, as I stared back into the eyes that would soon be the death of me. Oh I am so going to die.

And suddenly I was encased in darkness again.

——————

Yayyyy new characters. No worries, the giant mer is good. But oh noooo I totally didn’t hurt Nico’s tail on purpose for future purposes… Okay but I feel bad for my little mer. I’m not that sadistic.

But anyways, thank you guys for reading this little Drabble, and of course I know it’s not my best writing, but I was rushing and it’s just these last few days of school that are KILLING me. I hope you guys liked this, and thank you for reading!

#g/t #g/t writing #g/t community #sfw g/t #my writing #Rising Tides #oc: Nico #Yayyy new characters #Honestly I think I focused more on the characters than the world building…#If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask!#I’m sure I left plenty of holes anyways lol #Anyways #big mers name will be revealed eventually #Yeahhhh #thanks for reading!#love you guys ❤️

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everythingendsbutcomicsr4ever · 1 year

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((This originally comes as my response to someone saying that ppl don’t like The Sun and The Star because it’s a middle school book and we were expecting the series to grow along with us.))

Valid point I keep finding BUT I recently read the PJO series again in preparation for TSATS and those books still slap!! They’re so good even tho I’m reading them as an adult even though they're meant for kids. (Also I recently read ToA because of course I’m gonna keep reading Rick’s middle school books until the day I die or they stop coming out lol. And that series while more goofy at points I still really liked) I also read one of Mark Oshiro's other books in prep for this book because I was excited for The Sun and Star to be released and I just COULD NOT get through it 😭 the writing was just giving me the ick and the characters where all kind of samie like that sassy talking wit. Which was a bummer because I liked the premise of the book “Anger is a Gift”, which was about underfunded schools mainly facing ppl of color and immigrants which leads to the school-to-prison pipeline because of the defunct way America funds public schools that keeps the poor poor and the rich getting richer & it was ACAB & had a lot of queer representation & etc. So I thought I’d really like it but I just couldn’t get through it because of the writing and I noticed this same writing style showing up in TSATS. Just because it’s for kids doesn’t excuse it from being bad. Like early Pixar and Studio Ghibli is still so good to watch back again and my 50+ yrs old parents like it. Book examples would be Harry Potter (screw JK Rowling tho fr) & the The Little Prince

Not to bash on ppl who say this is the main reason ppl don’t like the book but it feels like a straw man argument to say that the books not growing with us is the main reason ppl didnt like it. All tho I’m sure ppl have argued this but that is definitely their fault because Rick is staying in middle-grade fiction forever like that’s his thing! Why would ppl expect different 🤣 You think he wants to write a sex scene?! LMAO

(Here’s my review, it’s unhinged and not great because I should be doing productive stuff but am distracted until I can at least write down some of my thoughts on my disappointing experience)

Here are some things I didn’t like about it from a piece of art standpoint:

The pacing was bad

This book was filled with the first thing they teach you about writing which is: SHOW don’t TELL

It made me not ship Solangelo surprisingly like how??! I used to love Solangelo but I think this mainly is because of the collective consciousness of the fandom and because we wanted Nico to find happiness with someone. But if you really look back on their moments canonically from the books Will is a background character (who honestly kind of gaslights Nico by invalidating that ppl treated him differently as a son of Hades and that he didn't feel welcome at camp) and they kind of have a quick meet cute in the last book of The Last Olympian. They get together without us seeing their developing relationship and we now know they’re dating in The Trials of Apollo where we see them briefly in the first book and then more so in the last book. Honestly, this canonically alone doesn’t give me enough information or examples to really know or care about their relationship in comparison to Percy and Annabeth who we get to see develop. So TSATS just kind of felt hollow to me because I’m supposed to believe they’d die for each other but I DONT KNOW THE POWER OF THEIR LOVE?? This could just be a first love fling type thing like I was never shown the depth of their romance just told constantly in the book how much they love each other so it just felt kind of empty and emotionally unsatisfying to me.

Solangelo's relationship has always been in the background and the fans are what really made it cause we love Nico and want him to be happy. So when Will and Nico are fighting in this book all I can think is that this is just their relationship period.

So the reason it made me not like Solangelo was because Tarturus was supposed to bring out the worst in them and strain their relationship but, like, I haven’t really seen much of their relationship so I don’t have a “control group” to base this off of. So Will just seemed rude when he was so mean about Nico’s underworld home and about Nico's darkness which I also didn’t understand wtf he was talking about because Nico has killed just as many monsters as other campers and what else was his darknes based off of. cause he’s emo/goth?? Cause he can raise the dead?? Like guys we’ve discussed this just because a character wears black doesn't automatically make them the bad guy. I honestly thought Will just thought that was hot and they’d have that normie x alt relationship dynamic (that meme of: My hot witch wife. Me doing whatever she wants) I thought THAT was Solangelo not Will constantly trying to bring this light side to him and trying to change him. I agree that Nico needs help w his trauma and PTSD and things like that but this felt like if someone tried to “cure” a goth person, like actually screw you

I thought Will was supposed to look like a normie but be secretly a freak (in a good way lol) / goth interest. Cause this is meee I thought I was like Will as someone who looks like a normie and has a sunny disposition but I have a lot of alt/goth interests and I would let an alt girlie step all over me tbh lol. So does he like Nico for who he is or not?!

This is more in line w what I thought their relationship was like lol:

The flashbacks and forwards I thought were ok even if they took you out of the story a bit but this device is supposed to be used for an IMPORTANT event not just as a way to quickly give context to their relationship and when we got to the scene this was taking place in I was like that’s it?? He what? fell down and is suffering from sun withdrawals and this is the book's big moment to justify jarring flashback scenes?

Mark Oshiro is not a fantasy adventure or horror writer and it shows. Maybe it’s just me but their depiction of Tarturus and the nightmare and the journey were just not up to snuff with good horror and fantasy books I’ve read. (And if your gonna say something about how it’s for kids then I raise you the book series “Goosbumps”) So as a genre in itself, it was just disappointing. It was mainly a relationship guidebook book but I didn’t really like that or feel like it was done well, It felt lectury and also idk if that's the genre middle schoolers really like?? 😅

It had too many references which really dates a book, A lot of professional writers say not to use too much slang or modernreferences (unless you’re trying to make a book expressly about a time period) because it really dates a book and doesn’t make a story feel timeless for future generations if you use too many references (this doesn’t include political novels tho which are very much based in that time when the events happening) Anyways for future writers keep this in mind, you don't need to keep in touch with the youth through urban dictionary you can just write about the emotions of being young or whatever. If you’ve tried to read a comic book aimed at teens from the 50s like I have you’ll realise how funny that is.

(Also the carebear reference that I didn’t even understand and I watched carebear as a kid & Lil Nas video which if this was written for kids that music video feels a bit inappropriate for them 😂 it had a reference both too old and too young for middle schoolers AND how in the world would 1930s born, dropped out of elementary school, can’t use the internet or phones half blood, NICO DI ANGELO know these references???)

The writings giving:

Bad alt representation. (This is my most out-of-pocket opinionated bullet point rant so if you don't agree that’s a-okay :D ) This could be a whole post in itself but although I know ppl joke about Nico as the Emo kid I would really like to get into how Nico is actually, or it would be cool, as having some goth subculture inclinations. And ppl probably think of Trad Goths with the whole makeup and teased hair look but it’s mainly a music-based subculture and/or it just has a different idealogy around the ideas of death and what is deemed beautiful while most ppl see it as ugly. (Like listen to “Gallows Dance” or the Bauhaus's “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” & “The Passion of Lovers”, to name songs off the top of my head) This bullet point is definitely MY OPINION and doesn’t contribute exactly to the book being bad but aren’t those songs the vibe of an underworld kid like Nico?? Embracing the darkness and dancing in graveyard vibes fr!! Anyways most alt subcultures and especially emo are seen as a phase in life that you grow out of and then become normal. This book just really gives the energy of being written by a normie who would be confused by the choices of alt ppl and just doesn’t get it because it’s not their personal interest, which isn’t exactly bad even tho I want more philosophy from Nico on the chillness and acceptance of death (all tho greek mythologies view on the afterlife sucks fr and THAT is a whole other post haha) So this isn’t exactly a problem BUT what gives me the ick is WILL NOT ACCEPTING THESE THINGS LIKE SIR STOP BASHING YOUR BOYFRIENDS LIFE!! Will asking Persephonee, “How do you love someone from the underworld” SHUT UP!! 😤

Will was useless and I know what they were trying to go for but if I had a girlfriend (oh I’m a lesbian btw just in case ppl think I’m going harder on this book more than the other books because I’m homophobic bruh I swear I’m not I’m only disappointed in the art itself, NOT the representation which I actually liked) and if I was super good at fighting and they weren’t, I’m sorry but I wouldn’t take them BECAUSE of my love for them. If they were going to be useless on a mission of such life-threatening danger and importance I WOULD NOT TAKE THEM OUT OF KINDNESS. Like skills in medicine and art and music are great and there’s of course nothing wrong w not being a badass fighter (lmao this is me and most readers) but then DONT GO TO SUPER HELL!!! Especially if you have something that makes you more pathetic than being a normal human in Tarturus, his suffering from no sunlight is out of pocket and just makes the story draggg and makes him seem boring and the story more boring. I know they were trying to go for a fish out of water storyline and roll reversal but I think it wasn’t done well enough and overall hurt the story

Also, I’ve heard ppl talk about how it would have been nice to have a book focus on their relationship while at Camp Half-Blood. Like maybe it takes place pre Jason's death and we can just see them living at camp. It’d be chill and we can actually see them as a couple & It would give the energy of readers wanting to go to camp half-blood again like how everyone wanted to go to Hogwarts. Cause we haven’t seen the camp as a fun home since the very early PJO books ;-; (this is just a fun idea I like and I think would have been more manageable for an author but this is FR my opinion on a fun book idea i’d like to read) ALSO this would have been so nostalgic for the older readers who have been here since middle school gobbling up this universe 😌

I know ppl get mad at ppl making fun of Will for being pathetic in tarturous. As saying he’s a child and no one can be happy and sunny and doing well 24/7 which is valid but that’s not really my argument. I like watching characters put in situations where we watch them bend against what we thought they were when put in a hard situation (the masochist in me lol jkjjk). But this I think didn’t work for me because as I’ve said before he’s mainly a background character at the end of one book thrown together with Nico and we as a fandom have mainly made him up. Also, Tarturus was just not as scary or adventure-filled as like any of the other missions from previous PJO books, It didn’t feel as trauma-inducing as everyone in the series tried to explain it as. (again show not tell from the book) Also, I would have liked to have seen Will cool at least once or one reason for me to like him with Nico but I saw him as pretty bland as a character

The writing style felt bad to me because of the show don’t tell part for example telling as “it made him sad and traumatized” when showing would be, you know, actually showing the scenes and this book just felt like 80% telling what they were feeling instead of letting the reader feel the emotions of the scene for themselves

I think that’s another thing I really didn’t like related to the Show Don't Tell. And another hallmark of bad writing was this book was really telling the audience how to feel instead of allowing the story to be powerful enough to do that for itself. This book follows a trend I’ve seen a lot in TV shows where everything kind of feels like detached irony from being on Twitter where you hear everyone’s opinions so the story is written as a wink and a nod like we know what we’re doing and we know what your thinking and how twitter will react to it. Like it’s hard to describe this trend I’ve mainly seen in TV shows and movies recently which always gives me the ick cause it doesn’t feel funny it feels like I’m in a response piece that is breaking the fourth wall and reminds me that I’m in reality watching or reading something instead of actually feeling like I’m in the story. It’s like pseudo-wittiness or something. Tell me if you guys feel this way about some modern tv shows or books, I can't be alone please 😭!!

The stupid toast scene at the end lol The book is like: Do you get it? Did you get it?? They’re opposites! And they attract!! We did the trope you guys!! Also, the stupid Darth Vader scene to start off the book 💀

This whole book made me cringe where I had to constantly get up walk around and lie on the floor before I could continue, only to constantly repeat the cycle 😅

Anyway, idk how to end this review/rant I just had such strong emotions I had to get out probably because I was so excited for this book to come out for like over a year and got back into PJO for a bit and read some of Mark Oshiro’s books and greek mythology and stuff, so I think it wasn’t just me reading any random bad book it disappointed me more that it was poor quality because I wanted to love it so much.

It did have some actually good parts, the troglodytes were cute … I can’t remember the other stuff but it was there I swear lol! If you enjoyed it I’m happy for you! Don’t let me ruin a book you like, you deserve to feel joy 😘💐

#the sun and the star spoilers #the sun and the star #tsats spoilers #tsats #anti tsats #pjo hoo toa tsats #pjoverse #pjo #tsats rant #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo #solangelo book #percy jackson

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taybatwo2 · 1 year

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I bought Magic Mixies Pixlings’ Unia the other day and wanted to do a mini review/compare her to some of my other dolls and her Moose Toys brethren.

First off, she’s adorable! A bit pricy because of the potion gimmick, but younger me would have loved that aspect. I love her very soft hair fiber (it feels very similar to the kiwi hair that Rainbow/Shadow high uses). I like that she has arm movement and an elbow joint (it is a bit limited and she can’t even bend her arms 90 degrees), I would have loved a knee joint but she sits well without one. She has pretty good neck range of motion and can look up and down really well. Her face sculpt and screening is kinda giving me Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph. She does have sculpted on clothes, but I don’t necessarily mind on her. Her skirt is kinda cute, but unhemmed and really wants to stay in place due to the tight elastic.

If she would have had a little horse tail she would have been perfect.

Other Moose Toys that I own (even some unicorn themed ones to compare her to). More under the cut.

Here is Unia and FailFix 2Dreami. Both ladies have a sky theme going on. Both girls look to have very similar printing methods. They’re both really shiny and lightly pixilated but way better than the pixilated mess Mattel has been using on its accessories and Barbies.

Unia has way better hair quality than 2Dreami (which has either Saran or nylon - it’s soft, but really rough on the bottom). But she has less articulation.

The torso looks pretty similar (ignoring all the other sculpted detail on Unia’s -which I was happily surprised continued under her skirt) to 2Dreami. And while I thought they’d have similar looking legs, they differ just enough (Unia’s look softer and rounded). My Capsule Chix has more articulation than both dolls, despite their minuscule size.

Unia found out just how articulated they were…. “Bzzzt…catch my legs before they wander behind the cupboards again…bzzzzt.”

Again, it looks like the same sort of screening method that 2Dreami also has. But what I was surprised to see, were how similar their feet were (despite Capsule Chix’s sculpted circuitry), they looked nearly identical. And while their hand shapes are similar, they are way different, with Unia having really deep fingernails imprinted on her hand and her palm being less round.

Now the smallest member of my Moose Toys, Rainbow Sparkle the Shopkins Wild Style Shoppet. She’s so short, Unia can’t even bend her head down low enough to see him.

There we go, that’s better. They’re pretty dissimilar from one another and are two fun takes on a winged unicorn…err…pegacorn…alicorn…pegacornaunisusicorniune. Rainbow Sparle is very limited on his movement, and can only move his arms up and down and swivel his head around. He’s also flocked and has really cheap poly-feeling hair. He still had those blushed cheeks that Unia and 2Dreami have.

Their wings are completely different too. …sigh…I’m going to have to give Unia a tail…she really needs a little yarn weff tail.

Now, what I was most excited to compare her to. Some of my Zelfs!! They were a bit shy at first, but warmed up pretty quickly.

We have Moonicorn, Hightail, and Lullaby as my unicorn (and winged unicorn for Hightail, he also has way different wings) inspired Zelfs (they all have tails too).

Moonicorn and Lullaby (Hightail had to be somewhere, and is absent from the other pictures because of that reason and not the fact I forgot I owned him 90 percent through the review) introduce her to Teeny Genie. He’s not a unicorn, but his body color scheme and pointed ears had to be compared to Unia.

Maybe they had shared a cousin in the evolutionary tree?

Honestly, the Pixlings and Zelfs work very well size wise for each other and I could imagine younger me thinking they were two kinds of fae living in the same world.

Oh, I also wanted to show the horns on Moonicorn, Unia, and Lullaby (Hightail basically has the same horn as Lullaby). Moonicorn is the most similar to Unia’s and even has glitter embedded inside. The horn shapes are also very similar and might be the same basic sculpt (just longer on Moonicorn to fit his face better). Moonicorn in general has a lot of similar swirly cloud motifs, glittery horn, and gemstones that Unia has.

Okay, how about outside of Moose Toys?

Unia is smaller than Aubrey from MGA’s NaNaNa (I don’t own the unicorn one to compare her to). They have a similar hair fiber.

When the designs first leaked, I thought she was going to be the size of a Cave Club doll, but it turns out she is even smaller, but she has large flat feet like Tella here. Tella has more articulation, but cannot bend her head up or down and has poly hair.

I would have liked to compare Unia with my one Enchantimal: Lorna Lamb (or if I had ever managed to my hands on her, Queen Unity on the right). I assume the regular Enchantimals like their unicorn Ambrose (on the left) are about the same height as Unia, but I know they have smaller feet and heads than Unia. They also have less articulation and have the creepy character design of having TWO SETS OF EARS (my pet peeve when it comes to designing animal/humans). Unia also has better hair fiber and her skirt/molded top is also better done than any of the Enchantimals that I have seen.

She is the same height as MH G2’s surprise siblings: Pharrah (she could have been a little cousin and it would have been so much better).She can even share shoes. Pharrah would show more emotion here, but she has such bad articulation, she basically has NO ARTICULATION. Sigh, anyways….

Two big eared pink ladies Unia and Kjersti. I was actually surprised at how similar their profiles were. Again, Unia has better hair quality (especially over glue seepage Saran…I promise I’ll get to cleaning you Kjersti).

Unia had to meet the most popular of pink Monster High dolls: Draculaura!! Draculaura thinks she is absolutely adorable, and kinda reminds her of someone…Fan-Fang-Fangelica…no, she’s just a dream (she actually would have been a much better comparison to Unia than Pharrah now that I’m looking back at these -whoops).

And a final shot of my unicorn dolls all together! Neighthan Rot even joined in the family photo (I love my little crayola zombie unicorn boy so much…he even got a tail too….yup that’s it, I’m picking up some yarn and going to make her a tail).

Anyways: Magic Mixies Pixling Unia. She’s really cute guys. I am really excited to pick up the rest of the line and am looking forward to where the line goes, even if it is another one of those doll lines that only stay for one wave. I know my Walmart is already having issues stocking them (they only had three of Unia and Merena when I first saw them, and were completely sold out the next day -besides this Unia that had been rat-holed in another aisle).

And she’s got a tail! Perfect! I also painted some details on her top in a silver and pearly color.

#Doll collecting #doll collector #toy review #toy collection #aleta’s toys #magic mixies pixlings #unia #Unia the unicorn #unia pixlings #magic mixies #dollbr #doll collection #moose toys

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darcyfangirlsfrequently · 7 months

Text

I Met You at the End of the World - chapter 5: Love is Beginning

Work summary: Luke Alvez and Derek Morgan have been friends for years. When a group of hitmen targets Penelope, Morgan calls Luke and asks him to temporarily join the BAU to help them. Luke obliges, of course, and when he meets the famous Penelope Garcia, he gets more than he bargained for in the best way. (Going to span from season 11-15)

Chapter summary: A phone call, a question, a kiss. The beginngings of a beautiful relationship.

Total word count: 32,425

Chapter word count: 5413

Can also be read here on Ao3

Luke was pacing his apartment, phone in hand. Was he really about to do it? It had been a few weeks since the Dirty Dozen case was closed, and he couldn’t get Penelope off his mind.

The two of them had spoken a bit in the time that they hadn’t seen each other. They’d exchange occasional texts, or Luke would send her cute videos of animals that he’d seen, or a picture of Roxy he thought she would appreciate. He thought the distance and the lack of constant communication would make the budding feelings he had for her fade, but, if anything, they only got stronger. He missed her. He wanted to see her again.

So, what was stopping him? Honestly, nothing other than a little button on his cellphone that would make him call her.

He stared at his phone. “Well, the worst thing she can say is no,” he said out loud.

Roxy barked in agreement.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

He pressed the button.

***

It was just a normal Sunday afternoon for Penelope. She and Sergio were about to relax on the couch and start their hundredth re-watch of The Great British Bake-Off when her phone started ringing. She sighed, thinking it was probably Hotch, but was very pleasantly surprised to see the name Luke flashing on her screen, and a pearly white smile and deep brown eyes looking up at her from his contact photo.

She couldn’t even try to contain her smile as she answered the call. “Luke! Hello! What a pleasant surprise! How are you?”

“Hey, Penelope,” came the smooth honey-and-gravel of his voice. “I’m doing really well, how about you? How are you re-adjusting to being home?”

“It’s great I missed my house, I missed the color, I missed Sergio, I missed my bed.”

“Yeah, I bet. Your office couch seems comfy, but nothing beats falling asleep in your own bed.”

“With all your experience being on the road for work, I bet you’re the expert in that.”

“I’m honestly not sure I remember what my own bed feels like half the time,” he joked.

Penelope giggled. “It was really sweet of you to call and check in on me, Luke. I’ve missed you coming to my office every day to hang out.”

“I’ve missed it too,” he reassured her, voice soft. “On that topic, though, I was wondering if maybe you’d let me buy you dinner?”

She laughed him off. “Oh Luke, you really don’t need to. I’ll gladly get dinner with you, but if we’re just hanging out you don’t need to pay for me, I can buy my own dinner. I appreciate the offer and I know you want to check in on me, but you don’t need to, I swear.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what—”

“Luke, seriously, you’re so sweet, but you don’t have any obligation to me or anything. You calling me is enough. I really don’t need—”

He started laughing a bit, cutting her off. “That’s not what’s happening! I’m trying to ask you on a date, Penelope.”

Her jaw hit the floor, and her heart started hammering in her chest. “Wait, what?”

All of a sudden, he sounded nervous. “Yeah. I like you, I think you’re beautiful, and interesting, and incredible, and I’d really like to take you to dinner. If that’s something that you’d be interested in.”

Her smile was so wide it would have hurt if she could find it within herself to care. “Um, yeah. Yes, I would like that very much.”

“Yeah?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

She started nodding emphatically, even though he couldn’t see her. “Yeah.”

She could picture the adorable, soft smile on his face. “Wow.” He sounded breathless. “Um, great!”

“When were you thinking?” Penelope asked, trying not to absolutely freak out while she was still on the phone with him.

He let out a sigh. “Honestly, I hadn’t gotten that far. I just wanted you to say yes first.”

“That’s okay,” she assured him. “We can figure something out.” A new worry suddenly made itself known. They both had unpredictable schedules, what if they planned something only for it to keep getting postponed, and then they lost their chance at whatever special thing they were on the precipice of? “Do you have any plans tonight?”

“T-tonight?”

“Well, you know, our work schedules aren’t exactly the easiest to plan around, and if we both have nothing going on…”

“Yeah, that makes complete sense. Yes, tonight works. It’s four o’clock now, can I pick you up at six? Is two hours enough time?”

She found herself nodding again. “Yeah, six works. I’ll see you then. I’m really excited.”

“So am I. I’ll see you then, Penelope. Text me your address?”

“I will. Bye, Luke.”

As soon as the call was disconnected, Penelope picked Sergio up and squeezed him. “Bake-off’s gonna have to wait, Sergi-baby. Mama’s got a date.”

***

In an hour and forty-five minutes, Penelope was ready, which gave her exactly fifteen minutes to let the fact that she was about to go on a date with Luke Alvez sink in. She had found him attractive from the very first day she met him, but she really started developing feelings for him somewhere in all the visits he made to her office to check in. His consistency, his friendship, his comfort were all things that kept her sane during that terrifying time. And clearly she had done something right, because he liked her too. And they were going on a date. A real, romantic date.

At six o’clock on the dot, there was a knock at her door. Appreciating his punctuality, she smiled, opening the door for him. She was immediately rendered breathless. If she thought Normal Luke was attractive, nothing could have prepared her for Dressed Up Luke. For one thing, the man knew how to dress. No matter the occasion, he always looked perfect. And his smile… it was blinding and bright, but contagious and genuine. And he’d brought flowers.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi.” He handed her the bouquet of pink roses. “These are for you.”

She accepted them with a smile and sniffed them. “Thank you, they’re beautiful.”

“And cat-safe. I looked it up.”

“Wonderful. I’ll just put these in some water, and we’ll be good to go.”

“Do you need a hand?”

“I should be good, but thank you so much.”

“No problem.” His voice got softer. “You look… really beautiful, by the way.”

Since she was facing away from him looking for a vase, he couldn’t see her initial reaction, which was an open-mouthed grin of incredulous joy. However he certainly did not miss the way she was beaming when she turned back to face him, vase in hand. “Thank you. You look amazing too. Not that that’s any surprise.” She had never really flirted with him, at least not so blatantly, but it didn’t feel forced or awkward. It felt natural and easy. If the whole night kept that pace, she was sure she’d be seeing a lot more of Luke in her future.

Once she had put the roses in some water she walked back over to him, and he extended his arm for her to loop her own through. “Can I open the doors for you tonight?”

God, she couldn’t stop smiling. “Yes, you absolutely can.”

***

Penelope was astounded when they arrived at the restaurant. “Luke, this is a vegan restaurant.” She’d heard about it, it was fancy, and gourmet, and pricey. She’d wanted to go, but hated going out to dinner alone, and couldn’t find anyone to go with her.

“Yeah, is that okay? You’re vegetarian, right?”

“Well, yeah, but you aren’t.” She was flabbergasted. He had done that on purpose?

“No, I know, but I called nice restaurants in the area to see if they could guarantee there was no cross-contamination between the vegetarian food and the meat, and they couldn’t, so I figured a vegan restaurant was the safest bet.”

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “You called the restaurants?”

“Well, yeah,” Luke said, like it was nothing. “I wanted to make sure you could eat whatever you wanted and not have to worry about anything.”

She wanted to kiss him. “You are the sweetest person alive oh my goodness. That was such a kind gesture but also so unnecessary. I don’t even do that for myself! I just go wherever and order what I can!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t overstep.”

“No, don’t be sorry, you didn’t. You are just…” she was going to kiss him at the end of the date. She was absolutely going to kiss him. “You are so incredible, and I’ve never been here but I’ve always wanted to, and I’m so excited, and I’m really glad I’m here with you.”

He smiled softly and gently took her hand in his. “I’m really glad I’m here with you too.”

The two of them walked into the restaurant arm in arm and were led to a table for two near a plant wall. There was an eruption of butterflies in Penelope’s stomach as Luke pulled her chair out and helped her in, completely unprompted.

“Wow, this place is so cute,” Penelope marveled aloud.

Luke smiled, clearly pleased his choice of restaurant was a hit. “Yeah, the pictures online looked great, but it’s better in person.”

After their drinks and appetizers were ordered, they started chatting, catching up, talking about everything and nothing. And flirting. The only silences were when their food arrived and they took breaks to eat.

“Okay,” Luke said after a minute, still kind of laughing at a joke Penelope made. “I have an actual question for you that I’ve been dying to know the answer to.”

“Sure, shoot.”

“How did you end up working at the BAU? Don’t get me wrong, you’re great at your job and they’d be lost without you, but…”

“I seem like the last person alive who would have that kind of job?” Penelope guessed with a smile.

“Yeah, exactly.”

She pressed her lips together. “Is it bad form to talk about getting arrested on a first date?”

Luke choked on his drink. “You were what?”

Penelope tried to suppress her laugh. “Yeah, Morgan was actually the one to do it, and he and Hotch interrogated me.”

Poor Luke was sputtering. “Wait wait wait, you were arrested by the BAU?”

“I am not the first person to be employed by the FBI unit that was chasing them.”

“No, you’re not,” he conceded. “But what did you do?”

“To be fair, I wasn’t arrested because I was hurting people. The BAU would not normally have been after me, but Hotch was trying to find me so he could give me the job. Normally I would have been Cyber Crimes’ problem. Have you ever heard of the hacker called the Black Queen?”

“You’re kidding. You were legendary!”

“Were?” Penelope asked, pretending to be offended.

“Are,” he corrected with a smile.

“I was hacking big corporations that were testing on animals and contributing to animal cruelty. It was legal, but I didn’t like it.”

Luke laughed. “I should have known it was something like that. You literally have to power to bring governments to theirs knees at your fingertips, and you stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. Your methods may have been questionable, but I think it’s very admirable.”

She blushed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you miss the BAU at all? Or are you kind of glad it’s over?”

“You mean, do I miss the chance to work with my friend, hunt down a ring of hitmen, and getting to work with the most beautiful woman I’d ever met?”

Damn, he was good at making her blush. “Yes, other than that.”

“Well, I do miss getting work with a team. I’m all by myself now.”

Penelope cocked her head to the side. “Wait, I thought Morgan said you had a partner? What happened?”

Luke chuckled dryly and didn’t meet her eyes. “Is it bad form to talk about my partner getting maimed by an unsub on a first date?”

She let out a sharp gasp and grabbed one of his hands. “Oh Luke, I’m so sorry, that’s awful. You can tell me about it if you want, but you don’t have to.”

“His name’s Phil. He lived, thank god, but it was close. We had our suspects and Phil went deep cover… and the unsub found out. Phil’s paralyzed from the waist down.”

Penelope stroked soothing circles into Luke’s hand with her thumb. “I am so sorry, that’s so awful.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thank you. Well, this conversation got a lot darker than anticipated. Can we change the subject?”

“Of course! Hm, what should we talk about? How I have never been happier to have my life be put in danger because it means I got to meet you and now we’re here?”

He smiled softly at her. “As glad I am that I got to meet you, I am sorry that you had to be in danger for it to happen.”

She waved him off. “Not the first time people have tried to kill me in this job.”

Luke stared at her warily. “It’s not? When was the first time?”

Penelope bit her lip. “Is it bad form to talk about getting shot on a first date?”

The concern on Luke’s face was clear. “You were shot?”

“On a first date. Just over eight years ago. It was a dirty cop I was unintentionally close to figuring out. He stalked me, asked me out, and then shot me at the end of dinner.”

The fury that briefly flashed across Luke’s face was very flattering. “Okay, full disclosure, I am carrying, but because I have to for work, not because I plan on shooting you.”

She smiled at him. “Oh, I know. Don’t worry. I trust you. Now lets change the subject for real. So. When do I get to meet that adorable puppy of yours?”

The rest of the date was much lighter, and they were both grinning so wide that their cheeks hurt by the end of it. Once they had eaten their fill, Luke paid—and left a generous tip, Penelope was pleased to notice—and they left. It had rained while they were in the restaurant, which made Penelope smile. There was something about the way the street looked when it had just rained that she loved. The glow off the pavement under the streetlights as he walked her to the car. It made her feel like she was in a movie.

Their conversation didn’t stop the entire way back to Penelope’s apartment.

Luke, ever the gentleman, helped Penelope out of the car and walked her to her front door, their hands intertwined. Neither one of them made any move to leave once they’d reached her door.

“Thank you for tonight, Luke,” she said genuinely. “I had a really amazing time.”

He gazed down at her with that winning smile she adored. “So did I, really.” He looked like he wanted to say more but was unsure if he should.

Penelope smiled coyly at him, looking up at him him through her lashes. “So… are you going to kiss me goodnight or not?”

His eyes widened marginally. “A-am I allowed to?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if you weren’t.”

He gave her that smile, that one that was full of affection and kindness and admirtation, the one she was sure was reserved just for her. He cradled the side of her neck in one of his hands, his fingers brushing her cheek and hair, as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, and sweet, and tender, and everything she could have wanted or expected from a first kiss with Luke Alvez. His other hand went to her waist, and one of hers rested against his chest while the other tangled in his tie, holding him to her. They broke apart after a minute, foreheads resting against each other, both of them lightly panting.

“So, I guess we’re kind of good at that,” Penelope said, somewhat breathless from the tenderness of it all.

“I’ll say,” he breathed into the space between them.

“So… we’re gonna do this again, right?”

“Like, another date? Or this?”

“Yes.”

He smirked. “Yes either way.” He leaned down and kissed her again. “Goodnight, Penelope.”

“Goodnight, Luke.”

She felt like she was drifting through a daze as she got herself ready for bed that night. That was the best first date she had ever been on.

***

When Penelope woke up the next morning and checked her phone, she was very pleased to see a text from Luke waiting for her.

Luke: Good morning :))

Penelope: Good morning 😊

Luke: At the risk of sounding desperate to see you again (because I am, I am desperate,) when can I take you on a second date?

Penelope had to take a moment scream into her pillow before responding, because he was sweet and was trying so hard to show he liked her and she could not believe that it was real.

Penelope: Well, I was thinking, maybe tonight you could come over for dinner? I’ll cook? Serial killer willing, of course.

Luke: Of course. Should I bring anything?

Penelope: Yourself, obviously, some wine, ooh and maybe your dog. If you’d like. I’d love to meet her.

Luke: Sounds like a plan. Roxy and I are both very excited (I’d be willing to bet me more than her, though)

As Penelope got ready for her day, she made a small grocery list of things she would need to pick up on her way home from work.

She must have still been smiling by the time she arrived, because the second Morgan saw her, he gently took her by the elbow and started walking quickly, half-guiding her to her own office.

The second they were inside and the door was shut behind him, he whirled on her. “Guy, girl, or other?”

Penelope stared at him, confused. “Huh?”

“The person who put that smile on your face. Guy, girl, or other?”

She blushed. “Guy.”

“Oh please tell me it was Luke,” Morgan begged.

She stared at him, stunned.

“Oh it totally was! Tell me everything!”

“How did you know that?” Penelope asked.

“Because he’s been into you for weeks and I have been waiting for this, now spill.”

“Okay okay okay, so: he called me out of the blue yesterday asking if I wanted to get dinner with him, and at first I just thought he was being nice and asking because he felt obligated, so I told him he didn’t need to. He said that wasn’t what was happening, but I didn’t believe him, and then he said ‘I’m trying to ask you on a date, Penelope. I like you, I think you’re great, and I’d like to take you to dinner if that’s something you’d be interested in.’”

Morgan made a face, looking impressed at his other friend’s directness.

“And then he took me to a fancy vegan restaurant. A vegan restaurant, Derek! Because he called other restaurants with vegetarian options to see if they could guarantee no cross-contamination between dishes, but they couldn’t, so he thought vegan was safest. He called restaurants! I don’t even do that for myself!”

“Oh my god!” Morgan exclaimed. “And I’m guessing that it went well.”

“It was literally the best first date of my life. And then he kissed me when he walked me to my door and he was shy? I didn’t even know he could be shy!”

“Neither did I.”

“But it was amazing. So amazing and I can’t stop smiling and, oh, this.” She shoved her phone in his face, showing him that morning’s earlier text conversation.

“Wow, you two don’t waste a second, do you?”

“With our jobs and schedules being what they are, how can we?”

“Fair enough.” Morgan remembered the early days of his and Savannah’s relationship and how hard scheduling was. He couldn’t fault his friends for taking every opportunity they could to see each other. “So… you’re happy?”

Penelope’s wide smile threatened to split her face in two. “So happy. He’s amazing. And maybe I’m crazy but I swear I’ve never felt this connection with anyone before.”

“No, I don’t think that’s crazy. I always knew you two would get along, but I didn’t know how well, but you two clicked from the second you met. I’d thought about introducing you two before, maybe I should have done it years ago.”

Penelope shrugged. “Maybe. But this is the way things happened, and, honestly, you won’t catch me complaining.”

“Wow, you are happy. I’m happy for you. You deserve this. Both of you do. So, what’s for dinner?”

“Do you know an easy way to make a steak?”

***

Just as she was getting ready to leave for the evening, Penelope got a text from Luke.

Luke: Were the serial killers considerate of our dinner plans for once?

Penelope: They were! I need to pick up a few things and then cook, come over in two and a half hours?

Luke: I’ll be counting down the minutes.

She bit her lip as she grinned. God, he was cute. She liked him so much.

She got home, changed and fixed up her makeup, threw on an apron, and started cooking. Tofu steaks for her, real steak for him—with Morgan on the phone to talk her through it—with roasted balsamic carrots and buttery mashed potatoes. It smelled great, and she hoped he’d like it.

Just like the night before, Luke arrived exactly on time, not a minute sooner or later. He gave her enough time to do what she needed without being inconsiderate of their plans.

Smiling, she opened her door to see a beautiful dog and an even more beautiful man. “Hi.”

He smiled right back. “Hi.”

The dog at his feet barked.

Luke laughed. “Roxy says hi too.”

Penelope dropped to her knees to pet the dog. “Hello, you beauty! I’m so glad to meet you!”

Roxy responded by nuzzling and licking her.

Penelope kisses her on the head then stood back up greet Luke. “Hi. Again.” She wondered if he’d kiss her hello.

“Hi. Again.” He reached his hands out to her but faltered. “Can… can I?”

She rolled her eyes with a smirk, grabbing the collars of his shirt and pulling him down to kiss her. He made a surprised noise against her lips, but then melted into her and the kiss, hands immediately going to her waist, thumbs stroking soft circles over the material of her dress.

“For the record,” she said as she pulled away. “The answer is always going to be yes.”

She was so pleased to see a tinge of pink on his cheeks. “Noted.”

She let go of him then, letting him into her apartment.

Luke saw Sergio on the couch and went over to scratch under his chin. “This must be the famous Sergio. How’s it going, buddy?”

Sergio nuzzled into his hand a bit, and sneezed slightly, the motion releasing a small puff of fur from his face.

Luke sneezed immediately and backed away like he’d been burned by the cat. “Oh no.”

“Is everything okay?”

He turned to her, looking horrified. “I forgot to take my allergy pills before coming over.”

Her jaw dropped. “Luke. Are you allergic to cats?”

“Um. Yes. And normally I have my allergy meds and it’s fine and there’s no issues, but I forgot this time.”

“How allergic are you?”

“I will definitely be sneezing uncontrollably and covered in hives and half-breathing by the end of the night.”

“Luke!” Penelope scolded. “You should have told me!” She scooped up her cat and put him in her room and closed the door. “Okay, I am going to wash my hands, then I am going to get you some medicine so you don’t die. Okay?”

“Sounds great,” he replied, slightly mortified.

She made quick work of acquiring the medicine for him.

“It smells great in here, by the way,” Luke told her as he took the pills, grateful his nose hadn’t plugged up yet.

“Oh well that would be me,” she replied without skipping a beat.

“Oh, yes, of course.”

They both smiled at each other. His embarrassment was fading, and Roxy was circling Penelope as if to say, “I like this human.”

“She likes you,” Luke commented.

“Of course she does, who wouldn’t.”

Luke couldn’t stop staring at her. “A very good question.”

She blushed, but maintained eye contact with him. “Luke Alvez, are you flirting with me?”

“What? Me? Flirting with you? On our second date? Never.” As he spoke we was slowly stepping towards her and as he finished talking, he lowered his lips to hers to kiss her gently.

She kissed him back for a minute before lightly pushing away. “Luke, as much as I’m enjoying this, I don’t want our food to get cold.”

“Right, right, of course. Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

Penelope grinned widely. “I do hope the steak I made you is edible,” she said as she led him to the dining table, “for obvious reasons I am unfamiliar with cooking meet, but Morgan was on the phone helping me.”

Luke faltered. “You. You made me a whole separate meal? I would have been fine with whatever you’re having.”

“You ate vegan for me last night, Luke. I can handle cooking some meat.”

Dinner was wonderful. Under the table, Luke extended his foot out and knocked it gently against Penelope’s, who smiled at him in return. She was so amazed and happy that he wanted to always be touching her in some way, shape, or form. He was ecstatic that she had gone out of her comfort zone to cook something for him. She’d done a great job, but even if the steak was awful he would have been happy, because she’d done it for him. There was no pressure, no tension, just two people who really liked each other talking, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company.

After they had finished their meals, Penelope brought out a Japanese cheesecake with cherry sauce that she had made. Luke couldn’t tell if her had bigger heart eyes for her or for the food. (It was her. It was definitely her.)

“You are really incredible, you know that?” Luke said after they’d finished desert and moved over to the couch to continue hanging out.

She blushed fiercely. “You’re pretty incredible too.” She noticed then that he had some crumbs in the corner of his mouth. She reached over to brush them away. “You have a little…” the moment her thumb came into contact with his lips, her breath froze. She stared at his lips. Then stared into his eyes. Then she kissed him.

She kissed him and she kissed him and she kissed him. He melted against her and kissed her back. It was gentle, and soft, and full of passion. It was a good thing that he had brought Roxy along with him, because they would have stayed that way, exchanigng sweet kisses until the wee hours of the morning if Roxy hadn’t started whining, needing to be taken home.

Luke groaned as he pulled away. “Rox, you are the worst wingman ever.”

Penelope giggled. “Don’t say that, she’s adorable.” She got up and walked him to the front door, kneeling down to pet Roxy and say goodbye to her. “Goodbye, you sweet girl, it was so nice to meet you!”

Roxy licked her hand in response.

She smiled as she stood, facing Luke again. “Is Roxy the only one I’m getting a goodnight kiss from?” As if her lips weren’t already slightly swollen and kiss-bruised.

“Definitely not,” he replied, tilting her chin up with his tumb and forefinger, kissing her tenderly, rendering her breathless. “Goodnight, Penelope.”

“Goodnight, Luke. Text me when you’re home safe?”

“I will.” He kissed her one last time and with that, he and his dog were gone.

***

Penelope was the one to text first the next morning.

Penelope: Good morning 😊 I had a great night last night, thank you for coming over. I can’t wait to do it again.

Luke: Morning! I had a great time too. Maybe you can come over here for dinner and I’ll cook you some cauliflower steaks :)

Penelope: Oh you sure know your way to a woman’s heart.

Luke: Only yours, hopefully…

Penelope screenshotted the conversation and sent it to Morgan with the caption “OH MY GOD???”

Morgan: So when are you going to see him again?

Penelope: Well obviously soon but I don’t really know. This almost seems too good to be true…

Morgan: noooooo don’t do that, don’t try and sabotage this.

Penelope: I won’t I won’t I won’t. I just… he’s really cute, and I really like him, and I’m just worried.

Morgan: about?

Penelope: that he won’t like me to the same extent

Morgan: baby girl, that screenshot SCREAMS affection

Penelope: You’re right, you’re right. And I know he likes me, he’s told me as much, and he’s made it perfectly clear. I’m just not used to it.

Morgan: Well, get used to it. Something tells me he’s not going anywhere.

When Penelope showed up at Luke’s that night, he greeted her with a gentle kiss and a “Hey, You.”

They kept up the way they were for a month. Any time they had a coinciding night off, even if it was just running errands together or having dinner at one of their places. They just… dated. Any night that he was at work or unavailable, Penelope would hang out with the team or Morgan and Savannah and gush about her budding relationship. She liked him so. Damn. Much. And her friends were so happy for her. Her ranting and rambling and raving was adorable, and her happiness was contagious.

One weekend, a month after they’d started dating, Luke and Penelope were spending their Saturday off together at his place.

Once the movie they were watching was over, he gave her hands a gentle tug, urging her to look at him. “Hey, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Her brows furrowed together in concern. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“I was just wondering… what is this to you? You and me, I mean.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is this exclusive? Are you also seeing other people?” He didn’t think she was, but he needed to be completely sure before he asked his next question.

She stiffened, and pulled marginally away from his arms. “No. I’m not. Are you?”

He shook his head. “No, no, I’m not.”

“Do you… want to be?” Her voice sounded sad, and Luke deeply regretted roundabout way he’d approached the discussion.

“No! Not at all! I’m just asking because, well, you remember I told you about my old partner Phil, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I was visiting him yesterday, and he asked me what’s new, and he asked me what’s new. Obviously, I told him about you, and I almost referred to you as my girlfriend, but I didn’t know if you’d be okay with that.”

Penelope’s face softened. “So. So you’re not asking because you want to be dating other people, you’re asking because you want to be exclusively dating me? Like… and actual relationship? With me?”

Luke smiled softly at her. “Yes, if that’s something that you would want.”

She started nodding rapidly. “Yes. Yes, I want that.”

His soft smile morphed into a beam. “Okay, good. Penelope, will you be my girlfriend? Officially?”

She kept nodding rapidly, almost to the point of her glasses falling off her face. “Yes, yes I would. Can I kiss you now?”

“Yes, you can.”

She grabbed his face and crashed their faces together, the kiss more teeth than lips because they were smiling so widely.

After finally calming down a bit, they had a serious conversation about the dynamic of their relationship in their friend group. Barring Morgan and Savannah, no one knew about them. They decided that the next time the whole group, including Luke, obviously, they were all together. Penelope just figured she’d invite Luke to join them out for drinks or dinner at Rossi’s.

They couldn’t have expected what would actually be the cause of the next time they all saw each other.

#Garvez #Garvez fanfiction #Luke Alvez #Penelope Garcia #Derek Morgan #Platonic Morvez #Platonic Morvez fanfiction #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds fanfiction

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house-afire · 6 months

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Old Chums (Stede/Nigel)

Prompt: 100 words of "we're not gay, we're sailors"

Nigel had seldom been so pleased to see someone. The long journey to the Caribbean had looked to be intolerably boring—this downright crawl across the ocean was not how he’d hoped to celebrate leaving school. But Father had insisted on seeing what England had made of him before he wrapped himself in its colors for good, so here he was, in the middle of blasted nowhere. Milling about at sea in his private life before he’d be strongarmed into doing it all his life. And there was very little chance of fun on this stodgy ship—

Or so he’d thought, until he’d seen Stede.

“Little Baby Bonnet, all grown up!” Nigel said, clasping him by the shoulders. “I honestly never thought about you existing outside of our dear old school.”

“Was it dear?” Stede said, squirming under his hands, soft and shaky as a pudding, bless him. “Can’t say I’ve given it any thought either, since I left. I finished up—”

“Oh, were you in England too? I’m surprised we didn’t run into each other before now.” Nigel patted himself on the chest. “I was at Eton.”

“Harrow,” Stede said, with another of those appealing wriggles. This time it slipped him out from under Nigel’s hand—clever little fish.

Nigel decided to be magnanimous. “Well, that’s nearly as good. You’re headed home, then?”

Stede nodded. He looked a bit miserable about it, poor fellow. But then Stede just tended to look like that, didn’t he? Like a little stomped-on rose, all crumpled and red-faced and dew-damped, their dear Baby Bonnet. Nigel had decided early on that he couldn’t possibly be as unhappy as he looked, because only an absolute spoilsport would properly sulk through all their romps and fun.

Actually, aside from the rather pathetic cast of his features, Stede looked … good. He had quite unexpectedly acquired some definition about his jaw and shoulders, and his mouth had shed some of its poutiness. The wind ruffled that Goldilocks hair of his.

Nigel was vaguely aware that one didn’t technically consider such things, not when it came to a friendly handy—it was obviously very far afield from, say, choosing a wife. You just wanted a chum. Had nothing to do with proper intercourse. More like how you couldn’t tickle yourself. It was just useful to have somebody else involved.

He was probably only thinking of Stede that way because Baby Bonnet had always been a bit of a girl. They’d forced him into one of the matron’s dresses once and told him he looked almost pretty. So there you were, Nigel thought, relieved. They had all said that much.

“Let’s go see the stores,” Nigel said, putting an arm around Stede’s shoulders and steering him belowdecks.

Stede stumbled as he followed along. “And, ah, why should we want to do that?”

“Like the games shed, you know. Lots of clutter to duck behind.”

“Duck behind for what?”

Oh, playing hard to get, was he? If he thought Nigel was going to turn foolish over him, like one of those soppy, soft-handed boys who used to turn half their tuck over to the cricket captain and moon all about him, he would be sorely disappointed.

Then again, it was a long voyage. If he absolutely had to give Stede a fruit tart and a silly compliment about his lovely hair to make him behave like a proper pal, he could probably be talked into it. It would be entirely understandable if Nigel chose to indulge him like that, just to make it all go over without any fuss.

Only a real problem if you did it on land, when there were plenty of women to be had. Then you were just a deviant. At sea, one simply made compromises because one was healthy and red-blooded.

“Ah, here we are,” Nigel announced. He swung the door open and had a look around for any sailors already making use of the place. None at all. What a lucky day it was turning out to be.

Stede let Nigel drag him in and close the door behind them, but he still had an endearingly baffled look on his face. Maybe he truly didn’t know. God, he really was a babe in the woods, wasn’t he? Nigel decided to clarify things by pushing Stede back against the door and doing his best to get Stede’s breeches off him.

“Mmf!” Stede protested against Nigel’s mouth, which had wound up overlapping a bit with his.

“Oh, come on, Stede,” Nigel said, pulling back because one didn’t kiss during this sort of thing. They were both gentlemen. “There’s nothing else to do on this unbelievably dull boat. And anything goes when one’s at sea, you know that.”

“I do?” Stede’s voice trembled like a maiden’s, but—in a move that made something inside Nigel flash bright, like the sun had hit upon it—he tugged his own breeches and drawers down and thrust forward into Nigel’s hand.

His cock was rosy and far more sizable than Nigel would ever have guessed. He wondered what it would be like—

No, he didn’t. He put that aside firmly. He was going to be an officer in His Majesty’s Navy, yes, but he was not going to be a sailor in that sense. He would get accustomed to whatever was convenient, but he was still going to have some decorum.

“Obviously,” Nigel said, stroking Stede’s prick and feeling it twitch in his hand. “We wouldn’t be doing this on land. Not unless you wanted to dress up like a girl again and pass yourself off as my wife.” He mashed their bodies close together, his burning cheek against Stede’s temple.

“I didn’t even—” Stede’s breath hitched. “I didn’t even want to dress up as a girl the first time!”

“Oh, it was all good fun. I did it for that panto, remember?”

It was foolish of Stede to pretend that the stage, or lack thereof, made that much of a difference. So what if he’d been shoved into that frock in the dark, by more than one set of hands? They’d all been high-spirited, and Stede had squeaked so marvelously back then that he’d made for wonderful entertainment. And Nigel remembered perfectly how Stede had blushed when they’d all told him he was pretty, and how well he’d curtseyed when they’d finally talked him into it.

He had thought of it a lot over the last few years, really.

“Be a good chap,” Nigel said into Stede’s ear, “and shoot off in a hurry. I’m more than ready for my turn.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t surprise people if you want them to be ready,” Stede said, with a very Stede-ish blend of querulousness and heat, as if Nigel could possibly be cowed by him. He honestly was very fond of Stede. Always had been. He suspected Stede was fond of him as well—Stede had always watched him, back at school, as if Nigel’s every move had needed to be charted.

Then again, he had watched all their circle of school chums that way. Little harlot.

But all those fellows were far away, and even if they’d been aboard, Nigel wouldn’t have minded sharing Stede with them. An Eton man was generous. Anyway, he was sure they’d understand that Stede would always prefer him.

“I think this trip is going to turn out to be quite bearable in the end,” Nigel said, pleased.

Stede threw his head back until his skull cracked against the door, sinking his teeth into his lower lip as his hips juddered in helpless little spasms.

Not on land, Nigel reminded himself, even as he further reminded himself that obviously he needed no reminding. Pretty as Baby Bonnet is, there will be prettier women, of course.

But would any of them be wrung out like this, shaking, their spend slicking Nigel’s hand? Would any of them ever be so gloriously flushed, so sweet and so petulant? Would they tug at his cock with this look of utmost concentration, like they were trying to understand some sophisticated machinery? Yes, of course they would. Of course they would have to be all those things and better, and whatever they were not, he wouldn’t want. This was a matter of opportunity. He was clear on that.

And if he closed his eyes and imagined Stede in a turquoise silk gown, approved as Mrs. Badminton by popular delusion, well—it was only because he had no proper girl in mind. And might not for some time.

Very abruptly, he felt a sudden, awful gratitude at being pushed into the Navy. What a lot of long voyages there would be, so unavoidably.

“It’s so good,” Nigel said afterwards, panting into Stede’s almond-scented hair, “to have friends. Old friends. Isn’t it?”

“I suppose it must be,” Stede said.

#nigel badminton #stede bonnet #stede/nigel #tw: dubcon #tw: bullying #(past)#tw: internalized homophobia

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randomsebs · 9 days

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yeah it’s definitely strange to see the cult-like behavior towards who he “dates.” suddenly posting her, adding her to their bio, complimenting her looks and projects, defending her as if she’s now a member of their family. these women do not know you! even seb would find it a bit offputting.

it’s extreme to constantly parasocially insist “he’s so happy” “she’s amazing” “they’re going to get married” when plenty of people (in real relationships) can choose the wrong person and present themselves smiling to the world, while not actually thriving — aka like half the couples on social media and the serial dater friends we all worry about.

what i find particularly annoying is using any hate against her as ammunition against the belief of PR existing. it’s really strange how they refuse to acknowledge that every celeb does PR, and that we’re only seeing what he wants us to see. in the year 2024 you’d think they’d open their eyes to how everything isn’t fairytales and honesty. he’s an actor who acts even when the camera isn’t rolling, are we so shocked? they don’t want to believe that he would ever need that, but only a decade ago he almost went bankrupt and his career has survived two recessions. he barely got his recent low budget movies made! he’ll do almost whatever it takes to stay in this industry, they underestimate that. tbh we’re on the better side of it here bc we can actually appreciate that he made this sacrifice in the first place. to ignore how he isn’t himself around her or when he looks sad is just irresponsible as a fan, if you treated him as a human you’d see the reality and have spare some sympathy instead of blind applause.

I know. People assume I just don’t like her because she’s with Sebastian? I am a big fan of sebs do not get me wrong, but I have also done MY research.

People just ignore the things she’s done for NO reason. How come they didn’t ignore ale? Didn’t ignore Ellie? And not to mention they hated Margo for NO reason too. They hated his good exes, they hated his bad exes. I do not support ale or Ellie because of the things they’ve done too, don’t get me wrong, but to ignore Annabelle’s problematic issues it’s disgusting and wrong. Not to mention - sending me death threats, doxxing threats (only threats, no actual leaks but I’m still weary), body shaming me, insulting me, calling me “ugly” when you don’t even know what I look like, etc… all because I do not like her?

They also claim: “You’re just mad he won’t fuck you”. NO SHIT HE WONT?! Im in a HEALTHY, HAPPY relationship, I have my OWN life behind my comfort celebrity? Yeah, hear that? He’s my COMFORT celebrity. I like him for being himself.

When he’s with Annabelle, he isn’t. People post “happy” pictures of them to spite others with a different opinion than they have. 1. In Rome it was a very clear pap walk, when she found out he was spotted she had to release more photos of them in Rome just so people wouldn’t forget about her. When Seb is spotted in LA, it’s not because he “lives” there for her (I’m sure he has a place in LA and NYC for work and stuff) but to move there for her? I don’t think so. They’re not close enough to even live with each other, which is very clear. When he is seen with her dogs, it’s baiting. Anytime they’re “accidentally papped” is not accidental, it’s so she can get recognition from HIM and his fan base.

This worshipping shit needs to stop, honestly. If another celebrity did this (stalking, lying about what she supports for a good view, posting perverted stuff in the past, posting random plus-sized people and making fun of them in the caption, and making fun of a plus-sized man of a different color), they’d get bashed (as they should), or if any of his exes did this, the whole fandom would raid their comments. Why are we being hypocritical here? You’d all find any dirt on any of his exes except NOW this “girlfriend” is “humble”… no she isn’t. If she was humble she wouldn’t have to try so hard to get recognized from her own boyfriend’s fame instead. If she was humble, don’t you think she wouldn’t waste all her money on expensive designer, lots of fillers, tons of surgeries, Botox, etc?? I’m not saying she can’t use her money like that, but to be called humble when she literally baits her co-worker/PR boyfriend whenever she gets the chance? I mean she also stalks her “boyfriend”’s fans just to make sure she’s also receiving attention. Isn’t that creepy? No. Everyone takes it as: “Annabelle supports us, she knows we exist!” Yeah, she knows you’re buying into the PR so much, she knows that you’re all connecting her to every little movement or outfit Seb wears, she KNOWS she’s getting attention from his fandom. It’s way too out of hand.

Wonder why Seb is different? All the hate and Annabelle. Annabelle isn’t the type of person I’d hang around, speaking that I’m friends with someone like her in the first place, it’s very toxic and it’s the polar opposite from Seb. Haven’t you ever noticed that she changes her entire personality with every single relationship she gets into?? What’s next? It’s saddening. She looked more in love with Chris pine then Seb, but she was well aware that she wasn’t receiving a good amount of attention from Pine’s fans, she knew about Seb way before they even gotten together. She followed him before they began this contract too, when they “started dating” she literally unfollowed him. She follows some of his fan accounts, stalks them, what not, just so she can also be making sure she’s the center of attention as always. She knew if Seb got bigger than how he was when she aimed to him, that she’d be receiving the best amount of attention.

I’m not being “biased” because I like Seb? It’s just because I do not like her, that’s my opinion and it’s because I do not support what she does in general.

It’s clear they have no chemistry whatsoever, but fans ignore it. I honestly believe someone HAS to be hired at this point, there’s no way that they’ll all of a sudden switch up like this when there’s plenty of proof on her own profile if you scroll down.

The thing is, she never apologized for anything she done. She repeats it again because she knows no one will care about it, she does not care what type of attention she gets. She doesn’t care if she gets hate, love, she just likes to be talked about.

This situation is concerning. It’s almost as if they want him to see this drama, like: “Seb look at what we’re doing!! Defending your PR girlfriend”. I don’t think he’ll come back to posting because of what you guys are doing, you know that right? If you observed Seb with her, you’d see crystal clear that they’re both annoyed with each other or that he just looks miserable/uncomfortable.

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tsuki-chibi · 1 year

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Ladynoir July 2023 Day 7: My Boyfriend vs Your Girlfriend

Read all the entries on AO3

–

“Umm… what are they doing?”

The innocently phrased question made Rena Rouge heave a deep sigh. She propped her elbows on her knees and leaned her chin on her hands, wishing that she were anywhere else other than where she was. But since there was no miraculous that granted wishes (yet), her life did not change… and so she was forced to answer Paon’s question.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure,” Rena said honestly. “They’ve been yelling at each other for the past ten minutes.”

“Actually, it’s been eleven minutes,” Carapace said, looking as bored as Rena felt.

Paon looked somewhat baffled by this. “But… why?”

“You should know by now that Ladybug and Chat Noir are not nearly as cool as the rumors say they are,” Queen Bee said dryly. She was sitting on the low wall that Rena Rouge and Carapace were leaning against. Viperion was leaning against her legs and seemed completely amused by the whole situation.

“I mean, that was kind of obvious,” Paon said. He rubbed the back of his head. “But this is…”

“I’m telling you that my boyfriend better! He can jump higher than I ever could!” Ladybug’s voice rose into an indignant shriek.

“Well, my girlfriend is almost at the point where she can fly!” Chat yelled back.

“This is some peak ‘my boyfriend vs your girlfriend’ energy,” Rena murmured, wondering if she should snap a couple of pictures. But she didn’t think that the brimming sexual tension in the air would translate well to photographs, which meant she’d just end up with pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir looking mad and yelling at each other. Not exactly great material for the Ladyblog.

Besides, she wasn’t sure how to accurately communicate the fight – if it could be called that – in a post.

It had started off with Viperion innocently bringing a copy of the paper with him. There was a new article about Ladybug and Chat Noir in it that he’d thought they would want to see. It was immediately obvious that the writer had a thing for Ladybug, as they’d gone for several cringe-inducing paragraphs about how amazing she was and how talented she was and how beautiful she was, etc…

Chat had been a bit jealous, but openly agreed with the article.

Ladybug had made a joke about ‘her boyfriend’ being way better.

Chat had protested that ‘his girlfriend’ was the epitome of amazing.

Ladybug had defended ‘her boyfriend’ and stood behind her statement.

Chat hadn’t stood for that, and had protested even more.

And now, eleven – no, make that twelve minutes later…

“Are they really standing there arguing over which of them better? But they’re both saying the other is better?” Paon wondered, tilting his head adorably.

“Um… yeah. That’s pretty much what they’re doing,” Rena said resignedly.

“By my guess, we have about nine minutes of this before they start making out and I am not down for that,” Queen Bee said, rolling her eyes and getting up.

Rena couldn’t exactly blame her for that. Watching Ladybug and Chat Noir be super mushy had been exciting for about five minutes the first time it ever happened. Now it was usually a sign to vacate the premises before clothing came off.

“Wanna go back to the hotel and do some making out of our own?” Viperion asked, batting his eyelashes up at Queen Bee. She colored, her cheeks turning pink, but nodded. Viperion grinned and stood up too. They said their goodbyes and then left, leaving Rena, Carapace, and Paon alone.

“I thought we were going to do some training tonight,” Paon said uncertainly. “Should I ask Ladybug about it?”

“She wouldn’t hear you even if you did,” Carapace said, and he was right. Ladybug and Chat Noir were now standing about a foot apart, yelling in each other’s faces. Rena mentally recalculated Queen Bee’s overly generous estimation to be more like two minutes.

“Come on, Paon,” she said, making an executive decision. “Carapace and I will train with you for a little while. We’ll leave these two to… uh, to do whatever.”

Paon brightened a little. “Really? Cool!”

His obvious enthusiasm was a boost to Rena’s confidence. She grinned at him and stood, then pulled Carapace up as well. The three of them vacated the rooftop just as Ladybug threw herself at Chat.

#miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #rena rouge #queen bee #carapace #viperion #miraculous ficlet #my fic #ladynoirjuly2023

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aclosetfan · 29 days

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I’ve always liked mixing the colors for ppg/rrb shipping but in particular I love the idea of Buttercup and Boomer

On the surface, I do love the trope of a tough-nut to crack girl and golden retriever boy who doesn’t even realize how much he’s chipping away at that shell

But I also always loved playing with the idea of both of them and their relationships to their gender identity, especially in relation to how they compare to/are treated by their siblings

I know it’s a bit of a cliche and people can ruin Buttercup’s tomboy personality and crank it up to an internalized misogyny archetype, but I think it would be interesting to explore her frustrations she might have with conflicting feelings over how she sees herself vs how she’s perceived by others. Of course she likes and prefers her hobbies of sports and things of that nature, but it bothers her that people then make assumptions about her hating any and all forms of femininity and then seek to deny her her femininity as a whole

Boomer also sometimes gets slapped with the “pretty boy” or really sensitive guy personality in fics not to mention we see in canon that Butch and Brick gang up on him so I think it would also be cool to have Boomer reflect on those toxic masculinity ideals that have always been inflicted on him and deciding for himself that he refuses to be miserable and just wants to be himself (I’d also love if this extended into a catalyst for Butch and Brick to examine their own internalized biases and insecurities and start to really confront and deal with them)

So then together, I’d love if they become each other’s person to talk to about how they feel like they’re expected to perform certain aspects of their gender (with Buttercup, she’s expected to always subvert traditional gender roles while at the same time being criticized for doing so and Boomer being made to feel as if he has to conform or else risk always being socially punished and outcast) rather than being able to just exist as their most authentic selves without having to hear anyone commenting on it or trying to label their entire personality in one word

This could be platonic or romantic but I’ve always loved the idea of this being a huge aspect of why Boomer and Buttercup could potentially click and match each other so well

That's very interesting to read! I usually fuck around with Buttercup's and Brick's gender myself, so thinking about it in the context of Boomer is fun. Typically, I make him pretty secure in his looks/gender.

When it comes to Buttercup/Boomer's relationship, I lean more heavily on them being the "dumber" ones of the trio. (jock x dumbass 100% bros. (If they dated, it’d be one of those things where even they’d forget they were dating.)

Not that I don't see them having a deeper connection than "bros," but I don't like to make Boomer a "golden retriever" or sensitive kind of guy because I think he'd be too manipulatively charming, and Buttercup would be savvy enough to see through the facade. Regardless, in the "bros" scenario, Boomer could be someone Buttercup feels comfortable confiding in when she's feeling like she's walking the line of masc/fem. If Boomer is confident in himself, he'd likely just accept whatever Buttercup wants to be and move on with his life. No if, and, or buts.

Honestly, he'd probably be the personification of "Oh, you're ambidextrous? Congrats, dude, I didn't know you had come out, lol. love is love." and that would be the type of person Buttercup would feel safe around. She wouldn't have to feel the pressure of "performing/masking" when her best friend's a bit of a dumb fuck, which has its pros and cons.

Pro: Buttercup doesn't have to think about herself on any deeper level around Boomer.

Con: Buttercup can hide behind Boomer when she's forced to confront herself on any deeper level.

It could lead to a character conflict between them, as it centers around the concepts of "being known" and "authenticity." Some things have to break eventually—either Buttercup gets mad at Boomer for effortlessly being himself, or Boomer gets mad at Buttercup for using him as a crutch (or being slightly two-faced), forcing them into the cathartic heart-to-heart.

#sorry i kind of took what you were saying #and made it conform to how *I* view these characters #pamayapaya #also my creative brain is fried so if this doesn't make sense I'm sorry :( it's been a hot minute since I've sat with these characters

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quibbs126 · 2 years

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I wanted something to draw, so I decided to continue my Favorite Cookies thing, so here’s the 3rd batch, featuring animal based Cookies

Also I was planning on having them all say things, but I couldn’t think of anything for Mocha Ray and Scorpion to say, so only Lobster says things

Lobster Cookie: I really like Lobster Cookie. First off I just like his design. Honestly I didn’t think I’d like a lobster as much as I do. Second I just think he’s interesting as a character. Despite being part of the Cookies of Darkness he’s probably one of the least evil of the group, considering he’s being manipulated. And even in the Sugarteara storyline, he doesn’t seem a bad guy, just being manipulated into thinking darkness is the way to save Sugarteara. And it’s clear he still loves the city and still takes his duties seriously

To be honest, I really want to see him interact with Dark Choco Cookie, because they’re very similar, yet different in crucial ways. Lobster wasn’t the cause of Sugarteara’s fall, and he still believes that it can be saved, though he’s blinded by that drive and doesn’t see that what he’s doing is wrong. Meanwhile Dark Choco is the cause of his kingdom’s fall, and he’s given up all hope of making things right. He knows what they’re doing is wrong, but seems to be here more as a form of self punishment than anything else, thinking this is the path he deserves. It’s kind of funny, they sort of each have what the other lacks; Dark Choco has the awareness to know what they’re doing is wrong, and Lobster has the hope that things can go back to how they once were. There’s also the fact that they both lost a physical part of themselves, but there’s a clear difference in how they feel about those things. Lobster lost his claw defending the temple, but he sees it as a symbol of his loyalty to Sugarteara and says he would gladly lose his other claw for the sake of it. Meanwhile Dark Choco lost his eye during his duel with his father, and while I don’t think we know how he feels about it, it’s likely that he sees it as a constant reminder of his actions and wrongdoings. I wonder, if the two were to team up and actually talk about each other’s past and motivations (because I doubt they’d do that normally, they’d probably both just see any mission together as a job to do and not talk much to the other), could they maybe help the other see that they can abandon the path of darkness and find a better one?

…sorry I’m in my literature class and I think it’s influencing me. I kind of want to write an essay on these two now, but I think I condensed all my thoughts here

But in any case, honestly I really want Lobster and Mocha Ray to be in Kingdom, but I don’t know how Sugarteara could reasonably fit into the narrative. I mean I suppose it could be a side story, but then Lobster is part of the main villain group, and that’s kind of important. Ah well. It would be nice, but I’m not sure if it would happen

Mocha Ray Cookie: to be honest, I love her mostly for her design. She looks so soft and squishy, I just want to hold her in my hands and like, gently squeeze her. That sounds weird. But you get what I mean? And she makes adorable noises when she slides, she sounds like an owl. I just really like her from a design perspective

And I hope she and Lobster are able to meet again and make up. To be honest I don’t know much about her from a personality perspective, but she seems interesting. It’s more about the aesthetic for me

Scorpion Cookie: similar to Mocha Ray, I mainly like her for her design. It just looks really cool and I love the colors. I also just want to know more about her. I like how she seems nice, but also I know she’s an assassin and that niceness may just be a facade, but she still seems interesting. I would also like to know more about the history between her and Lilac, and if there’s ever gonna be a confrontation about them with that

I also want her to be in Kingdom, and have a whole Yogurca update of some kind. I suppose it’s not urgent, as from what I can tell, Yogurca has no significance to the overall plot, so you can save it for after the Dark Enchantress storyline ends or just as a side story, but I’d like them to at least have some sort of update with them

Yeah I had much more to say about Lobster than either of the other two, but that’s probably because he’s been a target of my hyperfixation before, whereas the other two are more just Cookies I like looking at

Though now I’m curious what a group comprised of these three would do. Though I also imagine Scorpion would end up as some sort of third wheel here, given the other two’s history

#cookie run #cookie run ovenbreak #favorite cookies #lobster cookie #mocha ray cookie #scorpion cookie #my art #I feel like Lobster looks a bit off but I can’t quite place it #also yeah I didn’t know what to put for their funny names #so you get that

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cheemken · 1 year

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HOLY FUCK CNXMCNZK

I knew that the Champions would be disappointed with Iris almost losing, that they’d definitely berate her for not being strong enough

BUT THEYRE LAYING THEIR HANDS ON MY GIRL IRIS. THEYRE LEGIT BEATING HER UP FOR ALMOST LOSING HER TITLE

Diantha really just told Cynthia to put Iris in Hell for timeout. But god even without Giratina in the distortion world it’s still pretty scary looking. Can’t imagine being stuck there for an hour and thinking you’ve been abandoned or something

But ough, this time the punishment will be even worse. Because Iris wasn’t just down to her last Pokémon, she was down to her last move. If she made the wrong call then she’d no longer be champion, but luckily (or unluckily) for her she won that battle

But yeah the Unova kids

With the next champion meet up in Unova and them spying on the meeting, it’s only a matter of time for one of the champions to ask Iris about the challengers she’s faced in the past while. And she answer truthfully for all except one, but Diantha had eyes watching Iris that report back to her. So the color drains from her face when Diantha asks about her last challenger, Hilbert. And the way Diantha is looking at her tells Iris that she knows. And there’s nothing she can do to get out of this

God all five of them watching in horror as Iris tries to get away from the champions and explain that she still had her title, she never lost. That she’ll train even more then she already is. But it gets even worse when a portal opens up and Iris starts panicking even more then she already is

They’re all smart enough to know that they could never take down 8 champions so they just have to watch Iris getting tormented by them. But Hilbert definitely feels like shit because this is all happening to her because of him. If he gave up sooner then Iris wouldn’t be in this situation

Im fucking vibing man bc this post is gon be on top of my post abt the Unova kids being wholesome like😭😭🤣

But yeah, things are heating up in the au huh ouo

But holy shit imagine tho, Cynthia already in the Distortion World, Gira's tendrils coming out from the portal, grabbing Iris' limbs, slowly pulling her down with them, and Iris is there, fighting back, trying to not be pulled down in Hell w Cynthia (bc Cynthia was terrifying and Cynthia was merciless and Cynthia wants her to scream until she loses her voice, Cynthia wraps those tendrils around her neck until she sees black, and Cynthia would just laugh at her and sneer and jeer and tell her how useless their training was if she's still this weak), begging Diantha to forgive her, that she'll be better, I promise! Diantha, please! I promise I'll be better! But Diantha just looked at her, glaring at her, disappointed, and with a snap of her fingers, Cynthia finally dragged Iris down to the Distortion World with her, her sinister laugh echoed within the room, and it sent a shiver down the Unova kids' spines.

God imagine how much that'd fuck then up, finding out whats happening behind closed doors, that they start to panic too, every bone in their body telling them to run, and it only took Bianca tugging on Hilda's shirt for them to run.

Imagine them trying to get away from the champions as quickly and quietly as they could. And god Hilbert was so fucking guilty, he was honestly crying as they ran, blaming himself that Iris had to go through that, and he just fucking hates himself god he hates himself so fucking much so so fucking much his friend is hurt because of him

The others try to calm him down before he spiralled even more to the point Cheren and N had to carry him out, as he actually passed out

And yo all five of them staying w each other that night, terrified that the champions might find them, that one or two of em has to stay up to be on guard, Reshiram and Zekrom's pokeballs at the ready, hoping that the champions also don't have another legendary Pokémon w them

The next day, they see Iris again, and she acted like nothing happened, she was still her usual (well, the usual now) self, and she's there w the champions as if they didn't just drag her to hell and back the day before

#yo the unova kids are like fucking vibing like crazy tho fr bcndbdnd #like imagine seeing one of your friend get tortured by people you all thought would protect you #and its so fucking grotesque and fucked up and they couldnt do anything #they just stood there as they watched knowing theyre also powerless to stop them #god but like cjcmcbdmbfmdndmd #imagine at one point they actually ask her abt it cbxnfbdn #OUGH JDNBCNCBCNCNFM #villain champions au #an ask and an answer #jerseyk112

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dawnslight-aegis · 1 year

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wolstinien week day 5: oath

Marz sat on the edge of the tub, wringing the water from her hair. It was the third bath she’d taken since returning from the moon – she had scrubbed her skin and scales raw, but still she felt the invisible layer of filth that had been there since she had retrieved her body from Zenos. The moondust, and the ichor of yet another dead god, at least, were well and truly gone.

She stared at the rapidly cooling water, debating getting back in, when a heavy knock thumped against the door of her private room at the Baldesion Annex.

She rose and took three steps towards the door, then stopped and thought better of it – Kaede would not have knocked, and anyone else would likely react poorly to her answering the door unclothed. With an internal eyeroll about prudish Eorzeans that was altogether more fond than it once had been, she snatched a towel and wrapped around herself, the large length of cloth more than preserving her modesty.

She opened the door, and whoever she’d expected, it hadn’t been Estinien. Especially not looking like that. Marz’s eyes skated up his body, taking in the tight leather pants, the half-unbuttoned shirt, the necklace, the loose hair, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She honestly hadn’t thought he owned clothes aside from armor and his ragged traveling coat. The sheer shock of it was enough to temporarily dislodge the thoughts that had been ceaselessly churning in the back of her mind.

He seemed equally shocked by her appearance, the tips of his ears reddening a bit. Why, she didn’t know – he’d seen her in far less clothing than this, over the years they’d known each other. Estinien cleared his throat awkwardly. “You’re alone, then, I take it?”

Marz stared at him, dumbfounded. After months of circling around their ever-present attraction for one another, was he really choosing now to make a move?

Words continued to spill from his lips, and Marz remembered too late his tendency to ramble and monologue when nervous. “The twins thought now would be a wonder time to pay a visit to my chambers. Rather than listen to them bicker over tonight’s snacks and tomorrow’s plans, I seized the opportunity to make my escape. I’m glad to see that they decided against intruding on your peace and quiet.”

Slumping against the doorframe, Marz sighed. No, he isn’t here for any grand purpose. He is simply an idiot. The thought was colored with far more affection than she really wanted to think about.

Aloud, she said, “Nhaama, I almost wish they had. It’s too quiet.”

With nothing to distract her, she kept thinking of how it felt being in that borrowed body – that corpse – watching herself trying to kill her brother and her best friend. Kaede’s left arm was still injured from Zenos using her own body like a weapon against those she loved most.

The soft scuff of leather against flagstone drew her attention outwards once again, to see that Estinien had taken a step towards her. “If you’d prefer company…”

“Estinien Varlineau, if you suggest going and fetching the twins instead of just coming inside, I’m going to deck you.” The threat was tired, toothless, but he heeded it anyway, stepping across the threshold.

She followed him, letting the door fall shut behind her.

Silence hung thick in the air for a moment, and then Estinien shook his head. “It can all be a bit… exhausting at times, can’t it?”

A humorless laugh slipped from between Marz’s lips, and she nodded. “You could say that, yeah.” As much as she tried to leave the whole hero thing to Kaede – the raen was better suited to it, after all – it still hung heavy on her shoulders.

Estinien seemed to turn something over in his mind as he stared at her, tone hesitant but growing more sure as he spoke. “I will not pretend to understand this talk of ancient primals and Final Days. But I trust in your judgment and choose to believe in your cause. You and Alphinaud have my lance. Now and always.”

Her cause, huh? She guessed it must seem like that. But honestly… she was no better than he was, most days.

Her cause had been to save her brother. With the liberation of Werlyt, she had done that. And now all that kept her with the Scions was… love. And as she looked at the earnestness in Estinien’s eyes, she saw reflected in them and in his words her own feelings.

“Alphinaud is the one with the cause, Estinien. I am here because the people I care about need my help.”

Estinien nodded, smiling faintly. “There’s no place I’d rather be than here.”

The way his eyes lingered on her made her breath catch for a moment, but then he continued. “Standing shoulder to shoulder with friends on the frontline. So do not hesitate to send me against your enemies. I’ll make them rue the day they met me.”

He was such a damned fool, standing in her room, swearing an oath to fight in her name when he could just speak plainly what he clearly meant. Dramatic Ishgardian.

Instead of responding, Marz walked over, grabbed the lapels of his shirt and pulled him down to kiss him.

#wolstinien week #we were slaves to any semblance of touch #eyyy it's the beginning of my rewrite of marz's inn room scene fic #tales from the dusk #wolstinien #ffxiv fanfiction

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m1ckeyb3rry · 2 months

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I laughed so hard you did Lorenzo so dirty (facts though LMAO) hideous dog LMAOOOO I get it for sure though like ugly cute (heavy on the ugly) I really only enjoy seeing him when he interacts with Barou I truly cannot appreciate that man’s features

So real someone come save chigiri and the fact that those three say that all in the same match is WILD like can the crowd hear them talking at all when they’re broadcasted?? I’d hope not LMAO

Barcha being a two man team will never fail to make me laugh but they clearly did not get a lot of plot armor AHDGJS

Speaking of legs that reminds me of epinagi Nagi’s thighs after Zantetsu first hits him in the face like??? I need me a Barou though I want those scary dog privileges

Miratoya for life guys >>> I remember some people hoping they’d have the same va too (or Aiku and Nanami lol) but the va they chose def gives me the same vibe as Toji like…

Ok that’s why im torn LOL like the Shidou lines are so iconic but on the other hand if some of my friends try to connect the dots I gotta be ready to defend myself like I swear it’s not that deep it’s just soccer pls ignore whatever comes out of this character’s mouth

LMAOO hypebro shidou always ready to cheer you on I have no idea how Loki manages them though HAHAHA

NAH FR!! I think the generally decide characters for LN based off popularity….approximately anyways because I’m pretty certain Karasu is generally more popular than Yuki on the JP side (mainly due to shipping but I digress) but according to that sort of trend I’m praying….I definitely would not be opposed to a Nanase one either though!! Tbh I think he’s so cute and I love him too it’s just we barely see him so I don’t have much to go off of (besides him being real estate to Rin) I’d like to know how Shidou spawned into the world though LOLL

MARRIAGE FR HAHAHA like give me your hand in marriage please I’ll give you kombucha!!!! Man lied straight to our faces like the way he managed to find a Yankee’s (I think that’s the term they use) house too??? Like the odds that he didn’t stumble upon some average household too but fr like the man definitely has his own savings account and stocks portfolio like there’s no way (STOPP NO NOT THE FINANCE BRO that lowk slipped my mind but that reminds me of that tiktok audio that’s like “im looking for a man in finance” LMAOO)

Bro that panel is in like my top 10 Karasu panels LMAOAOA when he’s surveying the field and Isagi’s like lol you’re leaving yourself open dumbass and then Karasu whips out his arms shshshshs he’s so gorgeous <3(yeah he kinda looks like a penguin here now that you mention it but it’s ok pretty on brand if you ask me) always appreciate a good Karasu panel though so thank you for your service hehe

Also wait I forgot to bring this up but when I first saw the like official character design references (?? Like the visuals they release on the official website that have them looking like they’re getting their mugshots taken) I was thrown so far back by the jersey colors LMAOAOA I think it looks a lot more muted in the color pages of the manga and also (like the one in your header) shidou and rin take up so much space that you can’t see the details but Karasu and Otoya look like candy canes LMFAOOO and also Yuki/Nagi’s?? I usually like blue but something about it looks so off to me HAHAHA (also their faces but wtv ig)

-Karasu anon

this dog is how i see lorenzo LMAOAAO…but i should refrain from insulting him too much because if he ends up the way otoya did i’m going to scream!! i agree though i feel like he’s really fun w barou and honestly helps him loosen up a bit (even though barou and aiku will always be my fav random ubers friendship)

i feel like the crowd probably can’t hear them just because they’re not shouting or anything and they don’t have mics!! realistically it’s like how irl we don’t hear the players shit talking each other in soccer games but that doesn’t mean it happens yk?? regardless though there was…quite a lot being said during the u20 match LMAOAOA i need karasu and shidou to start saying unhinged stuff again!! like let’s spice up pxg vs bm a bit w some random nonsense from those too 😭 although ig rin has got it covered this time

HELP i had to go back and look and omg??? nagi’s whole build is crazy to me because even before soccer he was so jacked but he literally did nothing all day?? i need that kinda metabolism fr

MIRATOYA CANON 😜 except he’s abt to get a taste of his own medicine when i cheat on him w his best friend 😦 LMAOAO i agree though aiku’s current va has very toji vibes!! he delivered exactly what i expected from aiku

shidou is just shidou the more you think abt it the worse it gets 😩 omg loki is fr a saint like i know he’s being selfish and doesn’t care abt the team as long as charles develops but honestly i have to commend him for keeping his sanity while coaching that crazy blend of characters like i can’t even blame him 😭

nanase was just the only character i could think of that hadn’t gotten a ln besides tabieita and shidou that was also in bllk since it seems like they’ve only done bllk players so far?? but maybe now that aiku is in bllk and he was mentioned in barou’s ln we’ll get one on him. agreed though i’d rather see one for shidou!! was he born like this or did he experience smth that changed his life into whatever it is now?? apparently he didn’t play club soccer pre-bllk so how did he even get scouted??? he’s such a mystery LMAO

FRR he managed to find some bigass mansion and everything 😭 honestly i can’t even blame him if some random kid i barely knew tried to follow me home i would also take the opportunity to mess w him because what 😟 HAHA he truly is a man in finance unfortunately…he was even telling hiori he plays like city planning and stock management simulator video games?? karasu please…let me teach you about mario kart and super smash bros…please…

I LOVE THAT PANEL my fav is def the one in epinagi where he’s introduced and he calls kiyora and nagi dunces hold on let me find it

he just looks so smug and karasu-like in this??? LMAO idk he’s so handsome i love this panel sm

THOSE CHARACTER DESIGNS ARE SO SILLY HAHAHA did you see sae’s neon cleats?? 😰 i think they always look a little odd w the white background though…hopefully it’s a bit more muted in the anime!! it seems like they’re going for a darker color pallet this season (based on the trailer) so i am keeping my fingers crossed 🤞🏻

#answered asks

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