#I start off with someone but she always has like a five minute opinion on it

[rad-batson]

The Batkids and The Arts (Feral Edition)

They’re all musical theatre nerds. Every single one of them. Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Cass, Jason, Steph, Tim, Duke, Damian. They go see Broadway shows together then don’t stop talking about it for like a week. It is the one bonding activity they will never pass up.

Jason and Steph once entered a ballroom dancing competition and won after some pompous rich kids insulted their moves during a gala. Since then, they’ve entered a competition every month or so just for fun. (And for the prize money :P)

Tim is an avid believer that Culinary Art is one of The Arts. (Can he cook? Absolutely not. It was Bernard that convinced him, but he stands by it.)

Duke talks through every single movie he watches. He always promises to be quiet at the beginning, but then he gets too excited and whispers commentary to the people around him. This habit has since bled into the entire family. They are no longer welcome at the local AMC.

Every single one of them is pretentious about something.

Dick is pretentious about any and all performance arts featured at the circus. Once, someone made a joke about going to “Clown School” and Dick screamed at them about how not even their pinky would have the privilege of being admitted into clown school.

Jason is pretentious about classic literature. They can no longer tell if his jokes and references to Shakespeare and Jane Austen are correct or if he’s just fucking with them.

Cass gets pretentious about martial arts being a performance art. She is also pretentious about ballet being a martial art. She could kill a man in fifth position without losing her balance, and that’s a fucking fact.

Stephanie is very good at acting pretentious about the arts. She absorbs everything she’s learned from the rest of the bat family’s interests then pretends to be pretentious about it to mock them while sneaking in just enough correct information so no one can call her out on it. (Her true interest is graphic design.)

Tim has no professional experience with photography, but he will be pretentious about it like he knows everything. (Bruce: Tim, why is there a filter on this evidence photo you took? Tim: I thought it looked nicer that way. Really makes the blood splatter pop.)

Duke isn’t exactly pretentious about writing, but he will lay down his life for the Oxford comma. (Bruce didn’t use it until Duke called the punctuation in his mission reports “insulting.” He now uses it.)

Damian is pretentious about studio art. If he ever hears his family or friends say, “I don’t get it,” at an art museum, he will make them look at it for five minutes as he explains in painstaking detail what’s so revolutionary about it.

The kids decided to take an improv class together once for their undercover work while Bruce and Alfred were out of town. It was so fun that they still play improv games when they’re bored.

Cass is secretly a metalhead.

Whenever one of the younger kids needs to write an English paper, they will just walk up to Jason, riddle off a dumb opinion about the book or poem they had to read, and record whatever Jason ends up lecturing them about. The most recent incident resulted in an award-winning paper about how the theory that William Shakespeare never wrote his own work is deeply rooted in classism.

Damian always has paint under his nails. It just never comes out.

Dick has personally taught everyone in the family how to do The Perfect Backflip. They all get a little ceremony once they’ve mastered it. There is cake.

Whenever Cass is standing around with nothing to do, she’ll practice her foot positions for ballet. The others always notice and follow her lead.

Jason: dramatically recites a poem in the living room Steph: starts beatboxing

Steph is always the first to find typos or continuity errors in a book, play, or movie. She doesn’t intend to; it’s just second nature to her. (She is now Duke’s official proofreader.)

Duke: So how’d you like the movie? Damian: I really loved the mise-en-scène, especially during the breakfast scene and that one shot near the end with the warehouse doors. Duke: *nods thoughtfully* Everyone Else Leaving the Theater: wtf is a meez on sen?

When Duke is finished writing something and wants to share it with his family, he’ll give it to Jason and Cass first.

Jason and Duke have frequent passionate arguments discussions about who is the best poet. Never bring up Dickinson, Poe, Shakespeare, Hughes, Plath, Wilde, Kipling, Sappho, or Angelou in their vicinity unless you want to start it up again.

Damian is surprisingly good at acting. Too good.

Dick knows your music taste before you do. He has a carefully curated playlist for every single family member, every possible combination of family members, and every possible mood at the ready.

They can and will correct anyone who mistakes Gothic architecture for Victorian or Gothic Revival and vice versa. (It’s really a Gotham thing.)

Tim: How dare you call The Grand Budapest Hotel the best prison break movie when it’s clearly The Shawshank Redemption! Jason: Well, as someone who’s BEEN TO PRISON, I think I should know! Dick: It’s clearly Chicken Run! You’re all just Chicken-ist. Duke: But what about Midnight Express?! That one’s so good! Steph: Has anyone mentioned Toy Story 3 yet? No? Damian, watching from the sidelines: I liked Escape from Alcatraz. Cass: Same.

There are several art pieces in the manor that have been positioned directly over top of bullet holes and other suspicious damages.

Damian and Duke made an animated short film once for the Gotham Film Festival. Dick and Cass were their models for the concept art. Tim did historical research. Jason helped Duke edit the storyboard, and Steph was the continuity supervisor. It was about a British super spy working for MI6 that saved the world in the late 70’s. It was titled Agent A.

[from-izzy]

proposing to you | nct dream

“Marry me,” he started, “Carry a part of me wherever you go too.”

pairing » nct dream (individual members) x fem!reader​

trope/au » ​established relationship au!, non-idol au!, marriage au! (well it leads to it)

genre » it's all just fluff and vibes here hehe, dreamies who are all very much in love with you, mark's one makes me chuckle, renjun's one makes me wanna squish his cheeks (i miss him 😭), jeno's one makes me melt, haechan's one is chaotically (?) romantic (in my opinion), jaemin's one makes me want to have pets again so bad, chenle's one makes me want to splurge and treat myself, jisung's one is too adorable for me

word count; estimated reading time » 4303 (total); ~16 mins (total)

warnings (lmk if i missed anything!) » nicknames; members to reader (love, bubs), lots of kissing, ...not proofread---

navi/masterlist!! 🤍

my very first time doing something like this. this scenario has been in my head for some time and i finally had the time to sit and write it all 🥰 (and also because sem 1 results come out later today and this is my way of forgetting about it uhm 🤠)

this is my personal take on how each member from dream would propose to you!! i tried to make them all with similar word count but i can't help but to get carried away with some 🥹

Mark sits on the stool, one foot on the ground while the other is on the footrest, making sure that his guitar is tuned properly and that the new strings that he bought yesterday are set up properly. To ease his tension he strums random chords and raps random words on top, making the other Dreamies lovingly judge (and tease) him. Jeno would be tasked with calming him down, while Haechan does the exact opposite of what Jeno is doing, purposely annoying him to get his mind off his nervousness. Either way, it worked well to get the lovesick boy from the reason why they’re all gathered today. 

“You both are too loud!” Renjun says when Chenle adds random notes to Mark’s singing, belting high notes that are out of his range whilst also purposely hitting them off-tune.

“She’s probably going to walk in and think we’re crazy,” Jisung whispers to the boy who scolded Haechan not long after, who decided to join in on the chaos.

“Well, the point is that she doesn’t see the chaos right now…” Jeno lets out a nervous grin, turning his head to the still-closed door, “Maybe one of us should stand outside and text someone in the room or something.”

“No,” Jaemin crosses his arms, “This is funny,” taking out his phone to start recording, making the other three facepalm at how he’s indirectly contributing to the chaos. 

In the end, the noise and chaos were too loud for anyone in the room to realise the door opening. When he noticed you from the other side of the room, hand over your mouth, cheeks rising at the scene, his voice cracked and his cheeks blushed instantly. Mark’s voice cracked and his coughing caused the other boys to be immediately disciplined, rushing to their scheduled spots in their room as Mark mutters an “Oh crap…” thinking that everything has all been ruined.

You tried to keep your laughs at bay at your pouting boyfriend, but the image of him being silly only made it harder for you to wipe the smile off your face. But soon after, you realise the decoration around the room and the heart-shaped balloons and the unique balloons shaped like rings. Understanding how this is a different occasion to a date that you expected him to set up, you blurted a quick “No, I didn't see anything!” and rushed out the door, heart beating fast at the possible connotations behind the set-up.

It will forever become a memory that you two will always bring up whenever and wherever. A slight mention of it would instantly bring out a shy Mark who hides his red face in the crook of your neck, forever in love with you.

“Ah! That proposal was supposed to be perfect.”

Your mind replays the scene back again. After running out of the room, you waited around five more minutes, trying to calm the beating against your chest. When you did enter back, your eyes were only focused on Mark who started performing the little piece that he has prepared for you. Your body sways to the rhythm and the sweet melody of his voice and Mark who kept his eyes on yours for the majority of the performance only made the moment even more special. You remember the way you hopped on stage, only wanting to be held in his arms and unable to let go. Eventually, you did and Mark got down on one knee with the ring that he had prepared for this moment. Reminiscing the time always made you chuckle and Mark pouted and groaned, knowing that you were lost in that time once more. 

A kiss lands on his lips, wiping the pout effectively from his lips, “It’s perfect because it was you, Markie.”

Renjun is pacing around the room, making sure the decorations are placed at their designated spots properly. He would circle the room countless times, making sure the flowers were fresh and presented in the way that he liked whilst his hands busied themselves with playing with the case of your ring; that he hopes will be on your fourth finger soon.

Mark massages his shoulder, relieving his body tension. Jaemin has his camera ready to take pictures whenever he can, making sure not to interfere with the small bubble that Renjun would create with you. Jisung, being more responsible than the older members most of the time stands still with a proud look on his face while Chenle gives him a thumbs up along with Jeno as well. Haechan is just as encouraging; Renjun’s threat to make sure he didn’t cause trouble playing in his head.

“I think everything is set up,” Jaemin says as he takes more photos of the venue to add for the memory book.

“You’re playing a very important role here,” Haechan comments, a hand resting on his hand, “Don’t mess it up.”

Jaemin replies with a slightly menacing smile, “Don’t mess with me, Lee Haechan.”

“To be honest, everything will go well as long as Renjun doesn’t go blank as soon as she walks in,” Chenle teases the older boy at how in love and speechless Renjun would be around you.

“True,” Mark gives him an encouraging thumbs up, “But you’ll be fine. She’ll be here any minute now actually.”

You received instructions through text from Jeno about meeting at a place, a dress code and a time “when you should open the door (don’t open it before!)”. The text is odd and when asking Renjun about it, the tips of his ears growing red from each passing second tell you that he does know what’s going on but it's cleer he wouldn't tell. You couldn’t ask any more questions after he pulled your face into his for a quick kiss, hushing you from any more questions. 

When you walked in, outfit in line with the theme of the room and matching with his, Renjun’s heart melted once more, falling in love with you all over again. You slowly walk towards your boyfriend, eyes flickering around the area and taking in the decorations as well as giving the boys a smile and greeting back. When Renjun is infront of you, he playfully bows, momentarily stumbling and losing his balance. You cup his cheeks when he lifts his head, kissing his lips, not bothering about the camera capturing it all. 

“W-Woah,” Renjun stumbles with his words, “That was nice.” 

“This whole place is nice, Junnie,” your boyfriend is relieved by your words, “You look beyond nice, by the way.”

Few minutes later, Renjun takes his position on the floor and Jaemin captures it the memories with his camera: the way it dawned on you that he's proposing, to when you finally sealed Renjun’s love and to the way Renjun takes your lips after. 

Jaemin smiles behind the camera, capturing all the moments to make a physical memory of it all.

Including getting extremely closer than he said he wouldn’t take a better picture of the band around your finger.

“So this is why you made me dress up?” Taking in the fragrance of the flowers that Jisung gave as a token of congratulations from the rest of the boys.

Renjun nods, “You look beautiful, by the way.”

Jeno and his little smile that would reach his eyes. That was one of the first reasons why you fell for Jeno but to him, it’s his default expression whenever he sees, thinks of hears anything related to you. At the start of your relationship, he’s shy about receiving and giving you affection but you didn’t mind initiating the skinship, hugging and pecking his cheeks that would gradually lean towards his lips. He loves the skinship from you even in front of the rest of the boys who would tease him about it.

“She loves you,” Jaemin wiggles his eyebrows at the goodbye kiss you gave him.

“I love her more,” he replies, his eyes filled with heart shapes.

As the relationship developed and you got a little place with him, Jeno would slowly be the one who initiated the skinship, hugging your waist to sleep and keeping you close to him whenever he could. Even outside, he would be the one to link your hands together first and show his love through the bouquet of flowers from the start of any date.

“These bouquets just keep growing bigger and bigger each time in my opinion,” twirling the gift around in your hand while the other is in Jeno’s.

Your boyfriend kissed your head, “It didn’t really change from the first one, bubs.” Content with the little giggle you gave as he watched the elevator take you both to the floor where he booked the last dinner where you would be his girlfriend and the last anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend; the start of a new title to the both of you.

His hand is stashed in his pocket where the ring is and he couldn’t help but gulp nervousnessly. The dinner went smoothly with the courses that Jeno pre-ordered and throughout the whole date, he loves the way you fill the atmosphere with the times that you didn’t spend together for the day, him updating you on his day too. He would never be tired of hearing your voice and the eye smile on him is a clear indication of that.

“I’m going to go to the restroom,” Jeno says as he kisses the back of your hand. He approaches one of the workers there, asking for the largest bouquet that he has ever given you in their back room where he dropped it off hours before the dinner. 

You’re preoccupied with taking pictures of the view from the windows that span from the floor to the ceiling but your boyfriend’s reaction comes into view and your phone screen rests on the table once again, ready to greet him. What you didn’t expect is when Jeno kneeled to one knee, arms outstretching the flowers he had with the opened box nestling between its petals.

“Jeno?” You asked him, tears beginning to fill up your eyes.

“I thought it would be nice to ask here, at this place. We always spent our anniversaries here and even today,” happy with how the corner of your lips rises with the event, “Will you marry me?”

It took you less than a millisecond to respond with a nod and a loud “Yes”. When Jeno stood from his position, your arms were immediately wrapped around his, hiding your lower face behind his shoulder.

“I thought you were shy.” 

“I am,” heat rising to his cheeks, “But I wanted to make this special for my very special girl.”

The Dreamies have never seen Haechan so nervous before. It bought them back to the times when he was crushing on you, blushing and being giddy all the time at the thought of you. They remember how Haechan was asking Jaemin for advice for the outfit on your first date that you prepared, and he rocked up with something really formal for a casual date, mixing up the place for the restaurant as a similar four-star restaurant. It would be something that not only you would tease him about, but when news spread to the Dreamies, they used it as the main thing to tease him about whenever he was being mischievous. It did die down quickly as after learning that the memory is very fond to you, the teasing wouldn’t work against him anymore.

The necklace that Haechan gifted you that day would be a reminder of the happiness that he has been giving you from the start of the journey and just like the sun pendant that reminds you of him, you love how just a glance of it knocks out all your worries that life may have weighed you down with. 

It all seemed to be a recent memory, but that was quite a long time ago for everyone who knew what happened. Now, Haechan is waiting for you to come back home after a night out with your friends and earlier in the day, the boy who was pacing around the room about what to wear to his first date with now is now pacing around the jewellery store on the perfect ring on your hand. 

He talked with the boys about his proposal plan to which the others have chipped in and helped him with. In the end, some of their advice is taken on board, but most of them made him grip his hair and made him say, “I’m just going to wing it.”

To which Mark replied with, “Sure, dude. If it doesn’t go ‘well’, it’s another thing to tease you about.” 

In all seriousness though, he wants the proposal to be perfect; just like how you are to him. He plops down on the bed, raising the box to the ceiling as he looks at the diamond he worked hard for. At the sound of the front door creaking and your voice greeting him from the other side of the house, he pockets the jewellery in his sweatpants, jumping from the cotton to greet you.

Your arms were outstretched and Haechan brings you to his embrace immediately, “How was your day?”

“So good,” your voice muffled with the hug, “We bought friendship rings,” pushing him away slightly to show him, “We thought about this so much but we thought it’s so pretty that we couldn’t not get it.”

You realised that as much as Haechan smiled at the decoration around your finger, it didn’t go unnoticed that he was playing with the hem of your jacket. An eyebrow perks up from that and you give him a kiss on his cheek, asking him what was wrong.

He took a deep breath, took the box from his pockets, got down to one knee and opened the jewellery to you for the first time, “Marry me,” he started, “Carry a part of me wherever you go too.”

Growing up, you were never able to have pets. Your dad is allergic to cats, one of the pets that you’ve always wanted, and your mum isn’t sure of how well the family would take care of another life due to how busy life is. You totally agree with her because pets should be well taken care of as much as any other kind of life form.

When you and Jaemin were financially ready to get a place for yourselves, one of his first promises was to get a pet that you wanted. Through motivation and a lot of saving, making sure that you were both ready to take care of another life and doing all the research on how to take care of cats, you and Jaemin finally adopted a pet to take care of. Jaemin is also thankful for the added company in the house as your work schedule wouldn’t match with his and that would mean that one of you would be alone in the house. Having another pet would make the house more lively and less lonely. With gradual time and more financial stability, you were able to adopt two more that you both love equally. 

“We should get another one,” you comment as Jaemin turns off the bedroom lights.

Your boyfriend hums at your thoughts, knowing exactly what you mean. He slips into the covers, hooking an arm around your waist and pulls you closer to his warmth, “You really love taking care of others, don’t you?”

You close your eyes and hum a response, exhaling at the comfort of him next to you. “You know how I am.”

“I do, bubs. I do,” and he really does. With how your eyes light up whenever you take care of the people around you, always loving how you’re able to help out others whether it be him, your family, his family or the three cats that are sleeping soundly in the living room, it comes naturally that he’s thought of settling down with you permanently for the rest of his life; and having a little mini you or mini him later down the track. Similar talks have happened in the relationship and he thought that it would be perfect to make it happen soon.

No more words were said that night but Jaemin kissed a final kiss onto your soft lips and made a mental note to prepare for another life chapter with you. A few days later, he was able to speed through his work, being able to finish early to see the ring that he had been monitoring through the website. As soon as his eyes landed on it, he immediately thought of you and that’s how he made his final decision to buy it.

Thankfully, you had a later end to your work today and that gave Jaemin enough time to prepare a small, quick dinner as well as dressing the three cats into little outfits that would be fitting to wear in a wedding. 

“Come on, Luna,” he says as he struggles to get her paw in, “I don’t have a lot of time and I want to make mummy proud!” With this, the cat seemed to comply instantly and Jaemin squished the cat’s cheeks in thankfulness.

With each cat, he securely attached a note on their ventral side: Love, Marry, Me, and plans to release each cat one by one from the bedroom when you come in. Jaemin just made it in time, quickly scooping up all the cats into his arms, and rushing to hide in the bedroom.

“I’m home!” You routinely shouted, “Nana?” Confused about why the house was so quiet, especially when knowing that Jaemin finished work a long time ago. “Maybe he went out and forgot to tell me?” But that’s quickly proved wrong when pipping hot homemade food were neatly set out on the table. “Luna! Lucy! Luke!” Calling out to your three cats, wondering how none of them rushed to the door like they usually would.

Suddenly, the door to your room opens and you gasp, scared that an intruder is in your house but out comes all your three cats in different, cute attires. “Oh!” Kneeling on the floor to get a better look at them, “Did dadda do this? Hm?” Picking up Luna with his little white dress, rubbing your nose on hers. “What’s this?” Reading the ‘Love’ message on her stomach. You set Lucy down, picking up Lucy in a similar outfit, “Marry…” Your eyes widened, looking at a groom-like dressed Luke who sat patiently, licking the back of his exposed paw. Sure enough, the final and last note makes your jaw drop.

Jaemin emerges from your bedroom, smiling at how you look up at him in shock. He kneels on the floor, “I was supposed to let them out one by one but they got excited," he shrugs with a smile. "As much as I would love another pet,” he hinges the velvet box open, “If you would like to, I would also love a mini you or mini-me.” A hand rises to your gaped mouth, eyes staring at the cushioned ring. “But first, will you marry me?”

It seems that Luna, Lucy and Luke were on board with the idea, jumping on your lap and resting their little paws on your arms. Sure enough, you nod and verbally express your actions. The “Yes” is all Jaemin took to carefully place the three nosy cats away from you, sliding the new ring on your hand and pulling you into a kiss.

During ring shopping, Chenle would look around the places he could find and spend a lot of time window shopping on all the rings that were available in your size. He invited Jisung along on the journey and the younger boy was more stressed than him with how he was handling the situation. From the very first store, he already has about five rings that he’s thinking would be perfect for you. Jisung gave his input on each one which Chenle is thankful for, but did minimal in narrowing down the options. He even asked the other members, but it was still the same result. 

In the end, after visiting all the stores that he had listed, Chenle purchased about ten rings from each store. The employees are used to customers who are stuck between multiple choices as a symbol of love for their partner. But they weren’t prepared for Chenle to cross his arms, calmly exhale point to the rings and say, “I’ll just take them all.” 

Jisung tried to save his wallet but after deep thinking and checking the return policy, he decided to buy all the ones that his heart couldn't let go of. He'll figure out what to do with the rest of the diamonds later. Because of his massive purchase, on the day of the proposal, he looked calm and collected but inside, his heart was beating like he just ran a marathon. It was running so fast to the point that you asked him if there was something troubling him when you laid on his chest to sleep last night. Chenle shook his head firmly but from the way his finger trembled a little when he was patting your head, you couldn’t help but to question him once more.

“It’s not a big deal, I promise.”

After some time, your raised eyebrows relaxed, “Okay. Tell me if it weighs too much and whenever you’re ready, okay?”

And he’s so excited to tell you what is on his mind soon. The thought of finally being able to spoil the love of his life for the rest of his life excited him so much that with the boxes looking similar across the stores, he didn't realise that he also grabbed the one that he hadn't decided on the previous night. When you nodded to his proposal, too stunned and speechless from happiness to speak, the different ring to his expectations when he opened the velvet box made him let out the famous Pikachu face. 

“What?” You chuckled and tilted your head in confusion at his reaction, completely unaware of the boxes hidden under the bed. 

“N-Nothing,” well, it looks like he'll explain later but with the happiness written on your face and the kisses you showered him with, maybe he'll just gift the rest of the spares to you.

“Don't be so nervous,” a hit lands on the side of Jisung’s arm from Chenle, “She'll love this.”

In the early stages of dating, you were always sharing your date plans with him, planning most of them. You made sure Jisung didn’t mind them because being in a relationship isn’t only about one person. Jisung loves the way you talk enthusiastically about all the places you want to go with him and all the activities that you want to do with him. Jisung would give you that adorable gummy smile, eyes shaped like crescent moons whenever he did so. Those small event plans became more detailed, expanding into different topics naturally such as proposals, weddings and honeymoon places and Jisung being in love with everything about you, would mentally take notes of what you love for each occasion.

“I promise,” Jisung stops your words for a second, “We will do them all together.”

There was a time he was caught writing it all down on his phone to which Chenle teased him endlessly, the other Dreamies joining along at their youngest being in love. It’s not that he will forget the things that make you happy, he just wants to be able to see it all so that he can plan the perfect proposal. They promised to help him with every step when he was ready. 

Today is that day.

Jaemin tells him that the hinge of the engagement ring’s box would eventually break with how much he’s fiddling with it but it’s the only way he could distract his nervousness.

“Maybe you should recite your speech once more,” Jeno clears his throat, opening the paper in his hand.

“Jeno loves Jisung, guys. Look at him,” Haechan teased his same-aged friend. His bear-like friend would chase him around the room and Jisung would be shouting at the two to be aware of the decorations around the room.

You came in through the chaos, the door opening inwards where Haechan stops abruptly to avoid his face smashing against the wood and Jeno back hugged him as a result of that. You peeked behind the door, confused but smiling at the two. Before you could question what was going on, Renjun kicked Haechan out the door and welcomed you in.

“He’s not prepared for this,” pointing at your boyfriend who hides behind Jaemin. “Stay here while I talk to Haechan for ruining this moment.”

But the moment wasn’t ruined at all because just looking at how your Pinterest board came into life and the boys slowly giving Jisung the spotlight while you walked down towards him, everything is indeed beautiful and perfect.

“Oh wow,” you breathed out, “It's like my Pinterest came to life.”

Hearing that is the biggest compliment to Jisung who spent hours analysing your saved folders of wedding venue inspirations, trying to find a consistent theme. He gifted the teddy bear on his hand to you, pecking your lips and pulling away with a deep red blush across his cheeks. He readies himself to his rehearsed position after, “Will you marry…me?” Endeared by the way you hide your face behind the teddy bear. Yet, your answer is clear without your words.

Just like how he gives you a kiss on the lips with a “Yes” from you and the silver band around your finger that sealed your happily ever after.

navi/masterlist!! 🤍

tags (send a dm/ask if you would like to be here or removed!): @k-labels 💙🤍 @k-films 🤎🎞️ @kflixnet 📺🍿

[slasherscream]

Can you do some more until dawn characters (yandere please) like you’re trying on clothes at the mall and ask their opinion?

YANDERE UNTIL DAWN CHARACTERS + READER IS TRYING ON CLOTHES

A/N: thank you for reading my until dawn content! it's such a small fandom these days, comments/reblogs/anon reviews/asks are appreciated as they let me know people are still reading these. 

- Josh has an excellent eye for aesthetics. He may not know all the words/names for the types of clothes you look good in but he recognizes them right away. He’ll try and describe something you should get, give up, wander off, then come back with examples of what he meant while you’re in the dressing room. If the shopping trip is under four hours he can remain locked in the entire time. This is the strength of will and character that comes with being the big brother to two little sisters who got his driving license first. He’s spent entire lifetimes at the mall hyping up the twins. He knows what to do. Overall helpfulness: 8/10.

- Sam loves spending quality time with you. Quality time is one of her preferred love languages, in fact. She picks you up for your shopping day with your favorite coffee shop order in hand, from the best place in town. She’s good with little details like that. You can always count on her to give you her honest opinion on what you pick out. She’s gentle about it, but she’ll never let you wear something she thinks is unflattering. She’s also mindful of waste consumption. With Sam’s help you wind up picking things you love, are comfortable wearing, and that you’ll actually use. Not a penny wasted, no matter how much you spend. Overall helpfulness: 10/10. 

- Chris could not possibly, in any version of reality, fix his mouth to give you a criticism about any of your choices. Let alone choices about how you will go about decorating your body. He’s lucky he gets to look at you. It’s an honor! Thank you for honoring him! Every time you step out of the dressing room you will get the exact same answer, very enthusiastically, in the same tone: “That looks GREAT, babe!” You’ll be ready to kill him thirty minutes in. Absolutely worthless feedback. You’ll have to get help from the salespeople who work there for opinions. If you want a ‘yes man’ this is your guy! Overall helpfulness: 3/10. 

Hannah is another sap. She’s more helpful than Chris, but only by the slightest margin. If something doesn’t look good she’ll be able to stutter her way around to it…. eventually. She’s nearly petrified at the thought of upsetting you. Never-mind the fact that you’ve asked her how the top looks on you five times now. “Well…. I mean… how do YOU think it looks, Y/N?” As if you’d be asking if you could come up with an opinion yourself. You’ll wind up leaving with only a few items. You’ll have to come back with a friend in a few days. You may need a new wardrobe, but if you need help picking it out, you’ll need a different set of eyes. Overall helpfulness: 4/10.

- Emily is going to be honest to the point that, yes, it will hurt your feelings a little… if you’re lucky. Mileage may vary. If you’re particularly sensitive she’ll hurt your feelings a lot. But god forbid you start trying to take someone nicer shopping with you. She’ll throw the hissy fit of the century when she finds out. Yes, when, and not if. Emily manages to find out everything you try to keep from her. Everything. On one hand you’ll wind up looking the best you’ve ever looked. Your entire wardrobe suits you perfectly. She even buys/picks out things that you’ll like, in your style, even if she finds the style personally distasteful. That’s how much she loves you. It just has to suit you, or else she will say something, and the way she says it is never very nice. You’ll look incredible, but at what cost to your mental health? Overall helpfulness: 8/10. 

- Mike isn't very enthusiastic about the activity, but likes the good boyfriend points it garners him. Thus, he will come along whenever you bid him to do so. He’s only got about two and a half hours of shopping in him though, so try and have an idea of what you want to get in your mind. Before you arrive at the stores, please. If you take a long lunch break he can go back for another two hours but this is his hard limit. Knows well enough what you already look good in. Or when something looks downright awful on you. He does struggle a little to help if you’re wanting to try a completely new style. He’s as lost as you. The more underground/alternative/particular the style you want to try is, the worse the advice gets. If you’re just doing a wardrobe refresher this is your man. Overall helpfulness: 6/10. 

- Beth makes shopping relaxing. You’ll stay as long as you need in order to get everything you need. She probably had you make a Pinterest board before you guys went out so that you’d be able to refer back to it. She knows getting into the stores can wipe your mind clean of what you needed/wanted to get. She’ll have you guys stop for lunch as well, but then you’re right back at it! She likes seeing your style evolve and change. Her feedback is honest, but gentle. It won’t ever feel like a criticism of your body, just the clothing. You walk out satisfied and always happier than when you came in together. Overall helpfulness: 10/10. 

- Jessica is in her element here. Honestly, Jessica drags you shopping with her more than you’ll ever drag her shopping. Spending time together means a lot to Jessica. She never takes it for granted. Thus, she always tries to make any activity, but especially repeat ones like shopping, fun. She probably has a shopping playlist she made for the two of you. You both wear one wireless earbud and get to movie montage with each other. Watch out if the Princess Diaries songs or something Hip-hop comes on, she’ll start dancing to make you laugh. Her feedback is upbeat and positive, but honest. She hypes you up like crazy when you come out wearing something that makes you look really hot! Wolf whistles and everything, your face will be burning up as you flee back into the safety of the dressing room. “Baby, come back! You look smoking!” Overall helpfulness: 9/10. 

- Matt knows absolutely nothing about fashion. He tries his very best to help, but he’s at a loss. Only if something very obviously doesn’t suit you will he be able to veto it for you. “I dunno… maybe it’s a little awkward in the arms or…. something?” You’ll have to take a few breaths. However, if something looks good, he can absolutely be a hype man! His eyes light up, he takes your hand, makes you do a spin. All the attention is enough to make you kick your feet and giggle. He can compliment you all day long. To his credit, he can compliment you specifically enough on what looks good. Even if it’s still a little vague. “The color of this makes you look really… wow! You know?” You’ll be able to figure out he means jewel tones make your skin look glowy one of these days. For now, at least you know your boyfriend thinks you’re gorgeous no matter what you wear. Overall helpfulness: 5/10.

[cyripticchronicler]

Ink and Destiny - Part 4

Maybe keeping a secret relationship with James is not as perfect as you think. Or, a whole lot of nothing, I need ideas plz.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, I hope everyone had a great Christmas! If you don't celebrate it then I hope you had a good day! Sorry this part is really bad, I need ideas, PLEASE give me ideas in the suggestion box please ily.

Part One Part Two Part Three

“Did you hear that James Potter is dating someone?”

“Do you think it’s Lily? He’s been crushing on her for years” “Of course it’s Lily. They’re going to have the cutest babies.”

You focus on the schoolwork before you, trying to block out the people next to you. You know James and you agreed to keep this dating thing private but you can’t help but feel sad, and jealous when people think he’s dating Lily. 

You know James likes you, he’s made it clear. And you know that Lily doesn’t like James if the way she always rolled her eyes when he was around was any indication. 

You’ve told Lily and Alice everything between you and James, as James has Sirius and Remus. Alice already knew since James asked her what your favourite book was, and Lily was shocked, disgusted and happy for you all in the span of five minutes. 

The teacher dismisses the class and you rush out, bumping into Lily on your way to the girl's dormitory.

“You’ll come with me to the Quidditch game, right?” You ask nervously. You’re still nervous around James and Lily coming with you would help you calm down a lot. 

She nods, hooking her arm with yours, “Yeah. Do you want to start getting ready? I’ll paint your nails.”

“Can you paint them red? I don’t know what I’m wearing yet, please help me.” you plead, sighing in relief when you reach the Gryffindor common room. 

Scanning the room, your eyes land on James sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace, talking to James and Sirius.

Lily teasingly nudges me and you glare. “Stop it-” You stop at the sound of your name being called out and turn to face the speaker.

“Do you want to sit with us?” Sirius Black asks you from his seat, eyes swirling with mischief.

“Excuse me?” You squeak. From the corner of my eye, you see James smash his face against the couch pillow. 

“The Quidditch game. Do you want to sit with Remus and me?” James lifts his head from the pillow, cheeks flushed as he mouths a silent ‘sorry.’

You nod, “Okay. As long as Lily can sit with us.”

It’s Remus who speaks, “Of course. We’ll meet here in an hour.” 

You nod your head awkwardly, flashing them smiles then drag Lily up the stairs.

“I’m not ready to hang out with Remus and Sirius, what if they don’t like me? James values their opinion and if they don’t like me then who knows what will happen-” Lily cuts you off with her hands on your shoulders. “Calm down, it’ll be okay. You’ve worked with Remus before in Potions, remember? He liked you, and Sirius will like you too. Now cmon, let’s get ready.”

She leads you to a table in the corner, pulling out a deep red nail polish. You take turns painting each other's nails, Lily choosing to go for a dark green. 

“What do I wear?” You ask, throwing everything out of your trunk in search of something cute. She joins you on the floor, rummaging through your trunk before holding a black skirt up.

“This is cute!”

“It’s almost winter.” “So? You’ll wear tights.” 

It's pleated and lands mid-thigh. Hesitantly, you agree and you continue the hunt for a top. You chose to pair it with a maroon turtle neck sweater so you don’t freeze to death.

“Are you wearing cute underwear?” Lily asks as you get dressed.

“What? We’re not having sex!”

“Are you sure?” You send her a look. “Okay, but wearing cute underwear makes you more confident.” “Go away.” You can’t resist your smile as Lily laughs. You quickly do your makeup and hair, putting on simple black boots.

“Is this too much for a Quidditch game?” You ask self-consciously. Lily scoffs from behind you, “No. You look hot.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

—

Remus and Sirius are sitting in the same place as before, cheeky grins on their faces as they spot you. 

“You ladies look amazing,” Sirius purrs, “You ready? I know James is excited to see you.” He winks, causing your cheeks to flush. 

Ignoring Sirius and Lily’s laughter, you make your way to the field, Remus falling into step next to you. 

“Don’t stress about getting him to like you. He already does. We all do.” At your confused face, he continues, “James has been so much happier since he found out you were his soulmate. And we like whoever makes him happy. So as long as you don't break his heart, we like you.”

“I’d never break his heart.”

“Good.”

—

“Potter! Potter! Potter!” The common room is deafeningly loud with almost everyone from Gryfindoor celebrating.

Gryffindor won, obviously, and the celebrations have been going on for an hour already. Besides a quick congratulations on winning the game, you haven't seen James since. 

You and Lily were sitting alone in the corner before she got dragged away with a boy from her Defence Against the Dark Arts class, so now you’re sitting alone, nursing a glass of water as you try not to look too miserable. Parties have never been your thing, and even though you can’t exactly speak to James, you’d celebrate with him in spirit. 

Perking up, you spot Sirius coming towards you with flushed cheeks, forehead lined with sweat. “Darling! James asked you to meet him in the boy's dormitory. It’s nice and empty for ya.” He slurs, stumbling over his feet. 

Your cheeks flush red and you hurriedly thank Sirius before pushing your way through the crowd, breathing a sigh of relief when you make it into the dormitory.

It’s empty and you stand awkwardly in the middle, turning in a circle as you take in all the bits and bobs around the place. 

There’s only one bed made, most likely Remus’s, and clothes are strewn across the floor. 

“I’m sorry, I told the boys to clean up in here.” You almost jump out of your skin at the sound of James’s voice. Turning around, you take in his sweaty hair and flushed cheeks. 

“It’s okay.” You mutter quietly, watching as he comes closer. 

He goes to hug you but stops. “Sorry, let me have a shower.” He points to a messy bed, “Take a seat, I’ll be quick.” 

The door shuts behind him and you do as he instructed, tidying his bed up a bit, first. Ten minutes later he comes barreling in, cheeks flushed from the hot shower. 

He sits down next to you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders as he places a gentle kiss on your forehead. 

“I feel like I haven't hugged you in ages. How are you, Love?”

“I’m okay. How are you?”

“I’m amazing.”

He kisses you, it’s soft and gentle but you can’t get those nagging thoughts out of your head. 

James notices, of course, he does. “You seem tense, you sure you’re okay?”

You tense even more and he pulls away slightly, brows furrowed in concern. 

“Are you okay?” He asks again.

“I- We’re not going to have sex, right?” You blurt, wincing immediately. 

He pulls away completely. “No. I just missed you, haven't seen you much tonight so I thought we could have some quiet time together, I know you don’t like parties. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention. I just missed you.”

Your cheeks flush and you shove them into your hands. “No, I’m sorry, I’m so stupid.”

He gently prys your hands apart, “Hey, no. I would’ve thought the same thing, too. But we’re not having sex until I become your boyfriend and we talk about what we’re comfortable with, okay?” “You want to be my boyfriend?” You ask shyly, a small smile forming on your lips. 

“Of course, You’re incredible. Why wouldn’t I want to be?”

You hesitate, “I have a lot of insecurities, James, and I don’t want to burden you with them.”

He scoffs, “You could never burden me.” He lays down beside you, reaching out so you’re forced to rest your chin on his chest, legs tangled with yours. 

You scoff, earning a stern glare from James.

You change topics, “So when are you going to be my boyfriend?” You question teasingly. 

He sighs playfully, “Well, I was going to ask you on our next date.”

Your eyebrows raise, “Our next date?” He nods. “I’ll bring your favourite food if you promise to ask me to be your girlfriend, okay? "He smiles, “It’s a deal.” Returning his smile, you lean in for a kiss, relishing in his warmth. Neither of you notices the time go by, too captivated by each other.

Taglist: I have a taglist omg

@lilianelena39 (I didn't know if you still wanted to be tagged but if you don't just leave a comment!) @remussbitch @universallyblizzardlove @ropickle

Thank you all for your support! I promise the next chapter will be more interesting, hopefully.

[mana-jjk]

BEATS VIOLENTLY ON THE SITE

i think toge was so happy to have the first-years join them 🥺 after yuuta left, i think he feels a little empty not being able to take care of him. so when the first years join they might not fill that void but they definitely act as a bandaid I PROMISE YOU

megumi likes to say that the only upperclassman he can openly respect is yuuta, but i think he has a soft spot for toge. he’s silly, and sometimes megumi has to do that emo kid thing where he forces himself not to smile because that would be losing the war. but more than anything, i think toge is one of the few that actively shields the first-years and tries to protect them. he tore his throat to shreds trying to protect megumi from hanami, but he also immediately stepped in when todo was giving him shit. and the fact that megumi is fluent in his safe words and understands him so well tells me that he’s known him for a long time so i just think !! little kid megumi practicing sign language by himself and then acting like he’s known it forever and it’s just by chance really ! but toge knows <\3

we haven’t gotten much yuuji and toge interactions but i INSIST they are cooking buddies who delight trying new recipes together. everyone else? incapable in the kitchen. yuuji and toge? certified chefs that have repeatedly talked shared recipes and methods together. i also think yuuji reminds toge of yuuta if yuuta was somewhat mentally stable, could sleep for more than 30 minutes, and wasn’t the shyest boy you’ve ever seen. knowing what it feels like to be a danger to your loved ones is so awful but it’s something they can share. plus toge cares so much about not letting yuuji know about his arm it makes me so ☹️ he’s so caretaker coded it physically hurts. but yuuji also sees him as so reliable, just like yuuta in his first year. i can imagine sometimes he sounds just like him when he’s gushing and praising toge during training that it almost feels like he’s there. toge is also a good source of physical contact. the other first-years ‘tolerate’ him (they love him but can’t show it) and maki would sooner kick him. panda is tolerant but it’s like hugging a stand-up mascot. so toge who ruffles their hair, bumps their shoulders together, and gives them gentle high-fives is like a balm over an open wound.

nobara… do not get me started here i swear to god they are so bestie coded and i died reading the light novel. i think they get so excited about fashion together because everyone else is boring and they make maki and yuuta come to dress them up, clap over their fits, and carry their bags. nobara always says that toge can do better than eyebags, but inwardly she’s just happy to see him happy and secretly looks up to yuuta too. she cares so much about toge’s opinion and he hypes her up and looks after her self-esteem. she felt so guilty getting toge hurt but he didn’t even hesitate !! she also started off not understanding a thing he said but ended up understanding him so well that everyone was surprised 🥺 and it always tears me apart that he stopped her from killing that guy so she wouldn’t have to live with it. especially with little hints from canon that suggest he’s either hurt or killed someone before. maki is 100% her favorite person ever because they’re girlfriends and they kiss, but toge is a close second because they’re besties. they gossip together and are on speed dial and watch crappy reality shows. toge is one of the first people she was vulnerable with and i think he reminds her a lot of saori and it GUTS ME.

then yuuta comes back and after spending so much time thinking about him as a first-year and then taking care of the other first-years, toge expects everything to go back to how it was. except it doesn’t, because yuuta is not only bigger now but he’s stronger too. he comes back, a head and a half taller and it’s a struggle to convince him that no toge doesn’t need to be taken care of that’s his job ?? toge stumbles and suddenly yuuta’s hand is on his arm, toge cooks dinner and yuuta already put his plate on the table and washed the dishes, toge takes a hit for him and not even a breath later he’s being carried like he weighs nothing. and it’s hard to deny him and it’s hard to push away because no one has ever treated him that gently before. like he wasn’t dangerous, like he was something precious. he still has the first-years to take care of, and yuuta was still the same pathetic boy in a lot of aspects. but when he was awake with phantom pains and nightmares, yuuta was there to soothe the worst of it and remind him that there was still a future for him, that he was worthy of being cared for, worthy of living, worthy of being happy.

y’all i have so many thoughts it HURTS someone ask me something before i explode

[surr3al1sm]

My Brezziana & Jack (best) friends headcanons

I've had these in my brain for a hot second now (aka ever since I saw them interact bc I was like 'yup besties') but it's time for the world (tumblr) to know.

Everythings below the cut bc there are a lot.

My headcanons about the type of duo they are:

🧡 A true ^^ (Brezz) & :| (Jack) character trope duo

🌹 Brezziana is an extrovert and Jack is an introvert (which automatically makes them even better friends)

🧡 Brezziana has a very high social battery while Jack has a very low social battery.

🌹 Brezziana is an optimist while Jack is a pessimist, but they always manage to find a middle ground.

🧡 Brezziana is a heavy yapper and Jack just sits there and listens.

My headcanons about what their (best) friendship looks like, they start silly but they get more funky at the end:

🌹 One of Brezziana's main love languages is physical affection, while Jack dislikes (I wouldn't say hates but he could live without it) it. Eventually they managed to find a compromise where Brezziana is allowed to offer him a high five daily and a hug once every two days (unless Jack instigates it first)

🧡 Brezziana will send Jack her entire feed, and he takes time out of his day to look at everything and respond to it/like it. Jack rarely sends her anything but when he does she responds within minutes.

🌹 Whenever they're ordering food Jack will say he's not hungry, so Brezziana orders him something anyways. So whenever the food comes out she's just like "Oh but what's this quarterpounder with cheese doing in my pocket?"

🧡 Brezziana encourages Jack to be more confident outside his preformances. (This one I got from @mimikyuu-x so thanks pooks)

🌹 Brezziana always cooks (more cultural) dishes she likes or has been wanting to try whenever Jack's around because she knows he'll at least try them since eveything is better than the bland food they serve at the Swan Tower.

🧡 The only language they have in common is English, but the second someone pisses them off they start roasting them to each other in their respective languages. They don't speak a lick of each others language but understand every word that's said.

🌹 Brezziana's apartment is very brightly decorated, so whenever Jack comes around she dims or turns off all overhead lights to make everything more bearable for him (he grew up as a sad black-and-pink baby, he isn't used to all that colour).

🧡 When they hang out they tend to partake in some sort of active activity (like dancing). Brezziana is just happy to have someone that can keep up with her, and Jack is relieved he doesn't spend time with her in ways his mother would consider useless (he doesn't see it as useless activities himself, but hearing the same opinion about stuff like that your entire life does something to a man).

🌹 Jack has a little voice in his head (specifically Night Swan's voice) thats constantly criticing his every move, and Brezziana is slowly trying to chip away at this by constantly giving him compliments and telling him he's doing a great job.

Jezus christ this is another long ass post. Honestly, if you came this far: I thank you for listening to me yap for so long. I hope you enjoyed my head canons and maybe you even agree with some.

[so-long-soldier-writes]

Sweater Shopping

kai parker x bonnie bennett

summary: bonnie needs to buy a new sweater for the holiday season. kai, much to her annoyance, invites himself along.

tags: thanksgiving, autumn, not canon compliant, enemies to friends

word count: 2k

a/n: working on several different things, but in the midst of those, decided i needed a cheesy bonkai fluff-ish piece, so here's one

When Bonnie hears the passenger door shut after closing her own, she sighs. She does, however, thank the higher power above for getting her to the mall safely, considering her travel buddy has been known to attack people from the backseat of their cars. 

The boy in question smiles at her as he approaches. He puts his phone in his pocket and follows her across the road. 

Bonnie glances at him from the corner of her eye. “When I said I forgive you, I did not mean that we would be friends. And I certainly did not mean you could follow me around everywhere.”

Kai kicks a pebble across the pavement, but doesn’t answer. 

“Why did you even come with me? The mall is the last place I’d ever think you’d want to be.”

“I don’t see it as a place you’d be, either.”

“I need a new top for the holidays. My mom wants me to come over for Thanksgiving, and all my sweaters are looking pretty rough.”

“Ah.”

Bonnie lets her feet carry her to her old favorite store. She hasn’t visited in ages, but she and Elena and Caroline used to go all the time together. 

“So where’s your mom live? What’s she do?”

The girl turns to give him a sharp look. “Why do you care?”

“Damn, just curious, okay? You always talk about your Grams. I don’t know anything about your mom.”

“You don’t know anything about me, either.”

Kai clicks his tongue. “I know more than you think.”

“Ugh.” She turns back to watch where she’s going. 

“Okay, look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you.”

“Then stop talking.”

He opens his mouth again, but then promptly shuts it. 

Satisfied, Bonnie turns the corner into the store. “If you’re gonna be here, stay close. Don’t need you wandering off and killing someone,” she mutters.

Kai nods, mouth still sealed. 

For the next ten minutes as she browses, he lurks a good five feet away at all times. With time, though, he starts to pick up on what kind of sweater she’s looking for, and to her indignation, offers some options. 

“Bon.”

“What?”

He lifts up a pastel blue one.

“No.”

“This?” A green with a frilly collar. 

“No.”

“This?” Now, it’s a maroon with a lower neckline. 

She sighs, ready to snap, but then kind of likes that option. “Maybe.”

Kai, smiling, loops it around his arm to keep for her. 

After she’s collected five or six options, she searches for the dressing room. Kai follows her into the section, but when her hand reaches for the knob into the actual room, she turns to him. 

“Stay.” Like a troublemaking dog. 

To her surprise, he does. 

Kai waits patiently, tapping his boot heel on the wooden floor, while she changes. His eyes are trained on the door, curious, but not daring to ask any questions. 

Bonnie, meanwhile, stares at herself in the mirror. She isn’t sure how she likes the pink-ish, argyle fit, and crinkles her nose with uncertainty. She sighs, then snaps a picture to send to Caroline. For three minutes, she waits for a reply. After nothing, she caves. 

“Hey,” she opens the door slightly and catches Kai’s attention.

His gaze is on her immediately. “Hi.”

“I need you to tell me how this looks. I don’t know if I like it.”

“Okay.” His heart races with excitement. 

Bonnie opens the door wider to show him the whole top. Kai tries not to stare, and more importantly, tries to form an appropriate reaction that doesn’t include stuttering.

The sweater is cute, and matches the rest of her outfit well, but doesn’t seem like her style. 

“I like the color, I’m just not digging it,” Bonnie explains. 

Kai then nods. “It doesn’t seem like you.”

“Okay. Putting it in the ‘no’ pile.”

She shuts the door. 

Two minutes later, she opens the door again. “Opinion?”

It’s a plain forest green, although with tiny green sparkles throughout it. Again, she looks beautiful, but it’s still not a match. 

“I don’t like it,” she states. 

“I don’t dislike it, but I think you could find something better.”

She gives a short nod. “‘No’ pile.”

By the third time, Kai’s expecting her. The first two times, he was caught off guard, but now he waits eagerly to see the next option. 

“Red,” she announces. It’s more of a maroon, but Kai doesn’t correct her. “Might look good with some gold jewelry.”

He smiles in agreement. “I like it. Gold would match well.”

“It’s a little big in the shoulders.”

“I didn’t notice until you pointed it out. But it gives it kind of a comfy look.”

Bonnie seems to like that answer. She smiles a little before poking her head back into the room. 

In a minute’s time, she presents another. “This one’s cool.”

Kai agrees immediately. This option has a criss-cross design across the top, exposing her chest just a little. Half of it is gray, but it’s an ombre into black at the bottom. 

“Here’s the back.” She turns so he can see the ombre from the other side. 

His breath hitches in his throat at how well fits her perfect body. The whole top is slightly cropped, too, showing off her tight jeans. “Um,” he stutters. He tears his eyes away as she turns back to face him. If he hadn’t known better, she did that on purpose. 

“Opinion?”

“Maybe not to wear at your mom’s. But you should get it anyway because it looks really good on you.”

Bonnie looks in the mirror at her figure. “I see what you mean. Maybe I’ll just get it for fun.”

“You should.”

A small smirk tugs on the edge of her lips. She definitely did that on purpose. 

“Okay. Two more choices.”

Kai’s foot taps harder against the wood as his mind clings to the image of her. She laughs to herself, having no idea why she decided to tease the boy, but is certainly having fun doing it. 

“Alright, your pick.”

It’s one of the ones he lifted up for her. Another maroon option, though with a v-neck that’s slightly off the shoulders. It fits well, hugging her body, but not too much. There’s no pattern or design, but she kind of likes it that way. 

“I think I already have a pair of earrings that would go with it.”

Kai smiles. “It looks nice on you.”

“It’s very soft, too.” 

Unexpectedly, she steps out of the room for him to touch. He leans forward to feel the cashmere material. The softness of it makes him relax, visibly, as he stops tapping his foot. 

“Comfortable.”

“Very. Alright, I have one more.”

Kai pulls his hand away, but can still feel the threads lingering on his skin. He waits patiently for the last one. 

It’s plain black, again with the argyle design, but without any frill. Bonnie likes it, but it doesn’t stand out in the way the others did. 

“Opinion?”

Funnily enough, Kai’s thoughts on it match her own. “Looks good, but I like the other ones better. Color suits you.”

That comment makes her smile. “Okay. So which of the maroons, then? The slightly baggier one, or the slight v-neck one?” Kai ponders her question for a moment. Meanwhile, she continues, “I like both, but with the first maroon, I’d have to buy gold jewelry. But with the second one, my bra strap shows a little.”

“So what?” Kai says without thinking. “Girls wear bras.”

Bonnie actually laughs. “Yeah, but I’m seeing my mom. Whom I don’t know all that well when it comes to her opinions of clothes.”

Kai bites his lip. “You look gorgeous in both of them.” 

She searches his face, taken off guard by the comment, but finds complete sincerity. “Thank you.”

He only nods. “Which is more comfortable?”

“I like them both. Though that cashmere is tempting. And the price isn’t outrageous.”

“I felt like you’d like it because you seem to always wear lower necklines or v-necks.” 

She thinks about that. “I do, yeah. I don’t like the feeling of clothes being tight around my neck.” She pauses. “Alright. I’m going with the second one. Plus I already have jewelry for it.”

“Are you still getting the ombre one for fun?”

Bonnie stops abruptly at his question. “How do you know what ombre is?!”

“I have a sister! I know these things.”

“Hm. Not a lot of boys would know terms like that.”

“Jo and I used to be close,” he reveals, “I remember some of the hairstyles and colors she used to pull off.”

The thought makes the girl laugh. She likes this more human side of Kai. A far cry from the sociopathic, alien-like creature she knew in the prison world. Maybe all it took to see it was for Bonnie to give him a chance. 

“Alright, then.” She smiles. “And yes, I’m getting both.”

The next time she hears her passenger door shut, she finds herself glad that the little troublemaker came along. She got to see a different side of him, and actually enjoyed his company. He came in handy, too, with his opinions on the sweaters. Caroline hadn’t answered until they were in the check-out line. 

“Mhhhmmm, pink’s kinda more my color,” her text said, “maybe there’s a maroon?”

Bonnie showed Kai the text with a smile. 

She replied to the girl, “got a maroon one, thanks!”

What she neglected to say was that Kai picked it out for her. She kept that little tidbit to herself, as well as the fact that she had fun with him. To Bonnie’s knowledge, though, Caroline doesn’t even know the little weasel slipped into her car in the first place. 

“So…” the weasel in question starts, “what day are you going to your mom’s?”

“Two days before the actual day of Thanksgiving. She knows I have Friendsgiving here on the actual day, and she knows my best friends are closer to me than she is.”

“Ah.”

“So I’m driving down that day, but then staying the night, then driving back in the morning-ish. She lives in North Carolina,” Bonnie finally reveals.

“Oh. Are you, uh, going by yourself? Like, Elena coming with you, or something? That’s quite a drive.”

“It is, but no.”

“Damon?”

“Hell no. She hates him. He’s the one who turned her.”

“Oh,” Kai repeats, then, quieter, “shit.”

“Yeah. So just me.”

“Can I go with you?”

“What?!”

“I don’t know, just asking. Keep you company.”

“I’m not sure, Kai…” Yes, she had fun today, but to spend a four hour drive with him? And to introduce him to her mom? She’s not sure about that. 

“It’s okay,” he says quickly, “I get it.”

“I just…” She makes the mistake of looking over at him. His eyes look slightly sad, the skin underneath tinted with bags. His hands are clasped in his lap, unusually still. “Tell you what… we still have a good week and a half until then. If you are good, and promise to be on your best behavior around my mom, maybe I’ll let you come with me.”

“Wait, really?”

“Since you picked out such a nice sweater for me to wear,” she jokes. 

“I promise I’ll be good. I won’t even bug Damon for fun.”

“You better not.”

Kai’s quiet, though internally very excited. Then, after a moment, he asks, “does this make us friends?”

Bonnie sighs. “Guess it sets us on the path to friendship. If you can promise to be good,” she reiterates one more time. 

The boy smiles one more time. “Yes!” He mutters, lowkey fist pumping the air. 

Bonnie watches him, hoping she made the right decision. Truthfully, he has been a lot better to her and her friends lately. Maybe he’s grateful for the accidental second chance he got when they realized they needed his magic to return from 1903. Or, maybe, it’s Bonnie seeing him in a different way now that he’s seemed to settle down. Either way, it would be easier to be friends, rather than enemies, with Kai, and maybe, she’ll learn she wants him that way, too. 

[gabster-fabster]

So I was listening to Madds Buckley’s ‘Sunset on Summerville’ Album about MHA and couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the songs could fit Umbrella Academy characters. I wrote this in like five minutes so it may be a bit jumbled but I hope you enjoyed.

One/Luther to me is Scotch Tape and Cellophane. The first verse when taken at face value is frustrated with the stickiness of the tape, forcing the singer to suffer while unwrapping the gift. I thought of this like the struggle of Luther and Reginald. Everything Reginald did stuck to Luther and even though his intentions were clear, he wanted his kids to suffer and Luther to be hidden away from the world. The rest of the song is more silly and loving, which shows the character growth Luther went through. He started as a leader type but grew into a very silly and loving character and the transition is mirrored in the song.

Two/Diego would be Little Big Boy. I originally thought that this would fit Five but listening to the song more and more made me change my opinion. Diego has this need to be seen, a need to prove himself. This is shown in his conflict with Luther and his vigilantism. He’s so determined to show everyone that he is the best, due to the fact that he feels as though he is a small fish in the metaphorical pond. The metaphor for water also fits with him since his power in the comics is breathing underwater but that’s less relevant to the comparison. He always wants something out of his reach, something bigger than him, saving JFK, being Number One in the Umbrella Academy. His desperation to prove himself makes him seem like a child vying for the approval of his father even well into adulthood, hence the ‘Little Big Boy.”

Three/Allison is Ambrosia Wine; she can give pleasure or pain, she can rumor someone to shoot themselves, but also to fall in love with her. Her power is quite literally giving people temptations and making them give into them. She is also known by many names and epithets due to her acting career. You cannot deny her, she is quite literally an urge you cannot ignore. This comparison is pretty self explanatory but it’s cool to draw it anyway.

Four/Klaus is Hawk in The Night. This one is more of a broad commentary of how Reginald wanted him to be. Hargreaves wanted Klaus to be powerful, to be obedient. The song is sung from the perspective of someone telling Hawks about how they are happy how he lost himself in his training and childhood, likely his handler. While Klaus didn’t meet the expectations set for him, he lost himself in drugs. The phrase ‘we raised you right’ comes up many times and it shows the self righteousness felt by both Hargreaves and the Commission. Reginald wanted to train Klaus so that he had the potential to be Number One and in doing so caused Klaus to lose his childhood and to shove down himself, desperately clawing at the world that wronged him. Hargreaves wanted him to be empty and emotionless, obedient like One was, and in doing so raised him ‘right,’ with days in the Mausoleum and traumatizing him so much that he had to turn to drugs and not tell anyone he was struggling because both him and Reginald had so much pride.

Five would be Child of Ashes. The warped sound of the song highlights the fact that he’s so much that his mind is a bit twisted. He is a child of ashes and without a home, raised in the apocalypse where his only company was burned buildings and the memory of his dead siblings. The song can also be seen as the manipulatings of the Handler. Telling him that his family won’t care for him now that he’s killed so many, and that he would be better off staying with them. The last line ‘We can watch the world decay,’ only reinforces this. The Handler wants him to stay and watch as his family dies again, in the same inevitable way. He has nowhere to run, his only home for so long was the ashes of the world’s end. The song is only about a minute and a half long so there isn’t much to analyze but it’s sad in its brevity.

Six/Ben is Sunset On Summerville. The sun is brought up again and again, a metaphor for life, the sunset and night being its opposite death. Ben is waiting for Klaus to realize that life is worth living, waiting with him. He is in twilight, the area between life and death, and everyday he is being called to the beyond, but he won’t give up on Klaus. The moon, or death indeed casts a cold light, we see this in the other ghosts that Klaus interacts with, it is so easy to give in to the despair but Ben finds comfort in his brother, the moons frigidity ‘only lasts the night’ but Klaus is there, a warmth or a beacon, a light like the sun of life. This reminds Ben that waiting is worth it. Waiting for Klaus to get sober, to stop being scared of his own power. While Ben longs to live again, he accepts the fact that he can’t, but seeing his siblings live and grow is enough for him to evade the cold embrace of death totally.

Seven/Viktor is Reach. This is actually what got me thinking of this whole thing. He is jealous of his siblings, she wants the spotlight they have. He wants the powers, the acknowledgment from their father. He works so hard, becoming exceptional at the violin, but it is impossible to become exceptional in the eyes of Reginald. He is constantly asking himself what he is doing wrong and when it will be his turn to be in the spotlight. He writes his book to try and lash out and get that spotlight, but instead it makes everyone shun him. He wants his life to be easy, while reaching for something he thinks is out of his grasp. He is left behind, his siblings have training, missions, but he has isolation and his violin. He is bitter, and in Season 1 this is very apparent. He harbors so much anger and frustration that it overflows into all of his actions. Also, fun little factoid, during the line ‘Why can’t I excel at something…like you’ like you is repeated six times, six times for his six other siblings who have powers.

If I had talents in creating edits or art I would make videos of these characters to these songs but alas. Hope this makes sense!

[rose-pearls]

Childhood infatuation - epilogue

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

He hadn’t been able to sleep much last night, the stress of today had hit him hard and he had to sleep without her for the first time in far too long. His sister had taken his phone to make sure that he couldn’t call Thunder and even after pouting and pleading she didn’t give in, she was a cold-hearted woman that one.

His mother came to see him to tell him to prepare and he starts to feel nervous, tons of questions running through his minds. What if she doesn’t come, what if she found someone better than him, what if she decided to go to Rooster. 

Jake shakes his head at that thought, Rooster had talked about it with him and her, that he had had feelings for her but that she was happier with Jake and that was all he could ask for. He had never felt lighter that day as he held her closer to him that night, making sure that she was there. Plus, there seemed to be something between Rooster and Bob since the end of the mission, the Dagger squad had a bet going on for when these two would get their heads out of their asses. 

Coyote barges in and starts to talk far too fast for him to understand anything but the bright grin reassures him, and he lets Coyote haul him out of bed to get ready. The morning goes by quickly and he wishes could see her already, but he knows that everyone would kill him if he did, even sweet old Bob. Even if they have spent the last five years together and have had a dangerous mission together where they met their found family, he still feels nervous and takes a moment to sit down in the garden.

He is surprised when someone sits down and the person is Bob, the WSO is looking at the garden with a soft smile and Jake feels himself relax. The quiet WSO always seemed to calm everyone down and Jake was grateful that he wasn’t talking his ear off, he was just there in support.

“You know it is normal to feel nervous, but she is going to say yes.”, Jake lets out a laugh and feels lighter at Bob’s teasing words. He bumps their shoulders together and Bob grins.

“Thank you for the reassurance, Baby on Board.”, Bob lets out a groan and rolls his eyes, but a grin appears on his lips.

“I knew I should have joined Thunder’s wedding party.”, Jake scoffs at that and Bob’s teasing grin gets wider.

“Please, you love me.”, the both of them laugh and Jake realizes that he isn’t stressed anymore.

“Unfortunately, I do, but don’t tell anyone else.”, he can’t help but bring Bob close in a half hug and the WSO pats him on the back.

“There is five minutes left before we need to go, I’ll let you have them in peace.”, Bob has a knowing smile on his face and Jake releases a sigh. 

After five calm minutes he hears his mother call him and he feels the stress get higher but knowing that in just one hour he will marry the woman he loves makes him calm down.

The place is hectic when they arrive, guests are arriving everyone is trying to get ready. He can see Viper coming down looking like he has cried with an equally teary Ice and Maverick. The three men get closer to him before giving him a pat on the shoulder.

“Ready son?”, he nods confidently and Viper smiles at him content.

“Good, I’m going to get her then.”, Jake feels stressful and giddy at the same time.

“How is she?”, the three men share a look before chuckling softly.

“Stressed, running around bossing everyone, even Rooster has been keeping a low profile.”, Jake has to keep himself from laughing because Rooster usually doesn’t keep a low profile.

“That is because he gave her an opinion on her flower arrangement last night and she told him that if he knew so much about it, he should get his head out of his ass and ask Bob to marry him.”, the three are snickering at the memory and Jake has never felt prouder to call this woman his fiancé, and in less than an hour his wife.

“Jake! There you are, we have been looking everywhere.”, Bob looks breathless as he arrives, clearly having ran everywhere.

“Coyote went to get the rings, the others are at the altar already so the only thing we need is the groom and the bride of course.”, the WSO says with a big grin, quickly saying hello at the other men who have large grins at the sight of him.

“There you three are Phoenix is ready to strangle you, Thunder is asking for you to come.”, Rooster looks breathless too and Jake is finding it really weird that these two just arrived breathless and judging by the others unimpressed looks they are thinking the same thing.

“Bob, hey. You look good – I mean you always look good but the suit – wow.”, Jake wants to groan at Rooster’s failure in flirting or just simply giving a compliment, but he knows that Thunder will love to hear it. Maverick and Ice are shaking their heads looking like they want to shake him out of his misery.

“Thanks, you look handsome.”, Jake is surprised to hear Bob say that without stuttering before smirking at the WSO; that is his groomsman. Rooster gets as red as the red roses around them before Viper, who is looking tired of these two, drags Rooster back to his daughter and Bob quickly leaves to help Payback with flowers while telling Jake to go to the altar.

“So, you two want to join the bet?”, Ice and Maverick look at each other before smirking and nodding, they are at 300 dollars right know so whoever wins the pot is lucky.

Everything looks perfect just like Thunder and him had planned, she had wanted it to be with family and friends and as he looks around, he feels grateful for that decision. The song starts to play, and Jake knows it’s finally time.

He knows she is a gorgeous woman, but he wasn’t ready to see her in the beautiful white dress. She looks even more radiant with her bright smile and sparkling eyes. He just wants to go down the aisle and kiss her senseless and tell her how goddamn beautiful she looks. The minute she sees him she flashes him a bright smile and he feels tears in his eyes at seeing her in her wedding dress, looking at him with utter love in her eyes. Coyote clasps a hand on his shoulder, trying to steady him as a few tears leaves his eyes.

Viper doesn’t look better than him as he whispers a few words to her before giving her hand to Jake. 

“You look stunning, I don’t even have the words.”, she lets out a wet chuckle and quickly takes his hands in hers.

“You look handsome, I missed you.”, Jake feels the stress leaves his body as he looks at her, he can only feel love.

The ceremony starts and before he knows it the vows are exchanged, and the rings are given to each other. He just wants to kiss her and make her his wife already, but he knows he has to wait another few minutes for it.

“I declare you husband and wife. You can kiss the bride.”, you don’t have to tell him that twice as he brings her closer and kisses her passionately, having missed her and wanting to show her just how much he loves her. He hears the cheering, but he can only focus on her and the feeling of having her close to him again, the feeling of her lips on his that are addicting and the feeling of her hands in his hair.

The pictures are as chaotic as expected with the Dagger squad taking pictures together while the Jake and his now wife, it feels so good to say it, are making out somewhere. When they do finally arrive, they take the family pictures and wedding party pictures. 

The evening goes by quickly and Jake has to stop himself from pinching himself to know it this is real but as he watches Ice scold Maverick for shoving food into his mouth or Phoenix arguing with Fanboy about which Harry Potter movie the best is or hearing his wife’s laughter next to him, he know it’s real and he has never felt happier. That happiness is slightly ruined with the speeches, but he knows it’s going to be in all good fun.

Viper’s speech makes Thunder and himself cry, that man is one of the best pilots and somehow manages to all make them cry like babies. Coyote’s speech makes him want to throw his napkin at him as he retells the story of how the mighty Hangman fell for Thunder but as he hears his wife’s laughter, he decides to let it slide. Lucy gives a speech and recalls how Thunder used to talk all the time about him and Jake can’t help the smirk. 

Their first dance is probably far too romantic for the others, but Jake doesn’t care, he has his wife in his arms, and he wants to spend the rest of his life making her happy. There are cheers and whistles when they kiss, multiple times, and the both of them can’t stop smiling at each other. The dance floor opens for everyone after Viper and Thunder share a dance and that brings chaos. Phoenix dragged Bob for some dancing and the rest of the squad follows them, dancing like idiots.

At one point in the evening, he doesn’t see Rooster or Bob and starts to get suspicions.

“The two love birds are gone.”, Thunder looks at him with wide eyes before looking around to see for herself and looks back with a smirk. 

“Maybe they finally confessed their feelings.”, Jake snorts at the thought but hopes that it is in fact happening. 

Half an hour later he sees Bob returning looking red and his costume slightly askew and Rooster following with the biggest smirk on his face. The whole Dagger squad groans at the sight and start to get their money out for Ice and Maverick who are smirking.

“Did you just bet on us?”, Bob is looking at them like a disapproving mother and Rooster chuckles before bringing Bob closer to him.

“Of course, they did, what did you expect Bobby.”, the WSO grumbles under his breath but leans into Rooster’s touch.

“What they don’t know is that no one has won.”, this time Bob smirks, and Jake starts to feel uneasy, the rest of the table is looking at each other with the same looks.

“That is bullshit, we said that you were going to get together today and look.”, Maverick makes big gestures towards them while Ice rolls his eyes at Maverick’s dramatics. 

“That would have been correct if Bradley and I weren’t already together.”, the whole table starts to explode in chatter and the two lovers’ smirk at the chaos in front of them.

“Robert Floyd, you didn’t tell me?”, Phoenix seems outraged, and Bob looks a bit guilty.

“I wanted to but then we heard there was a bet, so we decided to keep it to ourselves and win the money for ourselves.”, Rooster looks so damn proud of his boyfriend and Jake has never felt prouder of Bob. 

“Well, you heard the man, give them your money.”, Thunder is laughing as she says it, and everyone grumbles before giving the money.

“We will tell you all about it but after the wedding, tonight is about these two.”, Jake smiles gratefully at Bob who shrugs before taking Rooster to the dance floor.

“It’s always the shy ones.”, Viper grumbles under his breath and Jake can’t help but laugh, the rest joining him.

The rest of the night is spend laughing, dancing, kissing his wife and making her laugh. They finally leave the reception, and he can’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her by his side.

[skywarpie]

Severing the Ties

based on this post bc i wanna make everyone sad after the exciting morning we’ve had. :)

Word Count: 891

nothing too drastic, just a lot of angst.

He’s not sure where his ghouls are. There hasn’t really been enough time in between the current events to allow him that knowledge. All he knows is that he’s gained himself an extra five minutes, something that was done through a massive amount of negotiation. Or more along the lines of Copia being a blubbering and begging mess until the unknown ghouls around him agreed.

“Five minutes.” One of them had growled out to the sobbing man at their feet. And that was all the permission he needed. 

Copia jumps to his feet and rushes down the hall as quickly as his aged body will allow him. He only stops when he is in front of the door, taking a moment to ground himself with a deep breath or two. 

The door creaks as he opens it and makes his way inside. Two small beds adorned each side of the room, one of his daughters quickly asleep in each. Copia seats himself on the edge of Athaliah’s bed, his eldest daughter. 

It takes a moment but her tiny eyes flutter open with a yawn. “Papa!” Her voice is quieted by another yawn. A tiny hand rubs at her eye as she sits up and pushes her hair from her face. Her joy suddenly seems to fall as she takes in his solemn expression. “What’s wrong?”

He swallows thickly. Copia hadn’t spent much time giving a thought to an excuse as to why he was waking her up in the middle of the night. “Papa has to go away for a little while.” It comes out sadder than he wants. The goal is to make this goodbye a good one. If you can actually even call it that. Somehow telling your kids bye with the knowledge that you’re going to be dragged to your death doesn’t sound too comforting.

“Right now?” She tilts her little head. Athaliah glances at her alarm clock off to the side. 1:30 am. “It’s still dark outside.” She says this like it’s the most logical explanation as to why he should stay. 

Copia’s upper lip twitches. “Something came up.” 

“But you said you don’t go on tour again until next month.” Her little voice has an accusing tone to it. Rightfully so.

“Yea.” He clears his throat. “Turns out someone changed the date for that.”

“And time?”

Such a smart girl, Copia thinks. “Yea, and the time.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.” Her bottom lip sticks out. 

“No, it doesn’t.” His smile is sad. “But that’s why I’m here now. That way you don’t wake up in the morning and can’t find me.”

“Oh okay.” Her smile returns. “I’ll wake up Accalia.” 

“Wait,” Copia grabs her little arm before she wakes her sister. “Let her sleep, yea?” 

“Why?” Confusion clouds her vision again. “You don’t want to tell her bye?”

He does. Copia really wants to tell her bye, but at the age of three he doubts she’ll remember him as much as Athaliah who’s six will. Or at least that’s what he tells himself and that it’s not the fact he knows she’ll cling to him until he is dragged out of the ministry. That seems more traumatizing than waking up with him gone, in Copia’s opinion. “You can tell her for me, si? You don’t want her to be cranky when she wakes up in the morning now do you?” He grins. “And we don’t want that, do we?”

“No!” Her response is quick and it drags a laugh from Copia’s throat. “You’ll bring something back for us?” By now she’s clinging to his arm, looking up into his face. 

“Don’t you have enough toys?”  

Her brows furrow. “But you always bring back the best ones.”

“Someone sounds a little spoiled.” Copia adds as he tickles her. He quickly shushes her when her squealing laughter starts to get a little too loud. He looks at her and then points to her sister, placing a finger over his mouth to signal her to be quiet.

Her giggles start to quieten down when he tucks her back into bed, blankets snug around her. Copia tries to pull away but Athaliah winds her tiny arms around his neck. “You don’t have to bring me anything back, Papa. I know you get busy.” When she pulls back Copia feels like he’s going to be sick. Her expression is so genuine and understanding. He unwinds her arms a little quicker than he’d typically do, but her expression doesn’t change, even as he places a kiss on her head.

He’s cutting it short, exceptionally short if he’s being honest with himself. The last thing he wants is her to see him flocked by a pack of unknown ghouls. Copia has his hand on the doorknob when he hears her again.

“You’ll call every night?” 

He chews his bottom lip, looking back at her. “Si. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

There’s a faint smile on her face as she yawns, getting comfortable again. “I love you Papa.”

“I love you too, topolina.” He’s glad the light from the hall obscures his features because he knows he looks terrible. “Whenever you miss me just remember that I’m with you always.” The last part he whispers as he closes the door, separating him from the two most important things in his life.

[pennedbyeve]

I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THESE PICTURES.

Note:

Hi you guys. I’ve been toying with this idea for a while, but I did not want to publish it for no apparent reason. But after talking to Zee I ripped the bandaid off and here we are. Johnny is my baby and as I write this, Amira has become my other baby. The reason why I named this sunflower is simple - sunflowers are my favorite flower, and the two of them both go through tremendous growth. Though initially they will frustrate you, but that’s what makes a story good in my opinion.

Also friends to lovers is my favorite trope so writing this makes your girl happy without further ado, I hope you all like this.

One

Johnny

CHANGE WAS NEVER A GOOD THING. Well at least to him it wasn’t. He had a steady routine and was not trying to deviate from the normalcy of this thing called life.  He was a creature of habit for sure, today was not an expectation to that. He had stopped by the local coffee shop, near his apartment and he was getting ready for work. The same old mundane 9-5, he hated but it put the food on the table, at least that was a good thing, right? 

The bustling Chicago commute was never something he was ever used to, even though he had been here his whole life, sitting in the uber drinking his lukewarm coffee he was now ready for yet another, Monday morning.  The hustle and bustle never stopped once it was time for him to get out as he clutched onto his coffee mug, he headed into the office buildings, and it was going to be another day of work. 

For the last three years he had been working as an accountant to a local business, he could recall his excitement when he told his mom when he first got hired, but now that the flashness and everything had died down, it felt like everything was on a constant cycle, though he was acclimated to it and adjusted, if he had to pivot, he could.  

Now that he was in his mid-twenties now and he was ready to settle down, he knew that marriage was one thing he had always wanted and desired, but his contenders were not his match, the ones his mom would attempt to set him up with just felt like a mismatch puzzle piece, and he never wanted to force anything.  

He had his own expectations on his own personal wants and desires, but he knew that there was someone out there for him, or at least that’s what he prayed for.  Of course, the doubts and his own insecurites would tell him otherwise, but he had a good solid group of friends – that reminded him that he was indeed worthy of love.  

He saw how his parents operated in their marriage and he knew that one day he wanted that for himself. 

After being at work – he was beyond ready to go, the evening commute was quieter than the morning, and the breeze was something he often looked forward to.

He found himself in the elevator ready to his floor, when he stepped in the scent of vanilla engulfed his nose, as he looked up at there she was – someone he had not seen in over a decade, the emotions that he thought he had moved on from were circulating his brain.

Amira Desiree Bulter, his first best friend from when they first met when they were five, from pinky promises to prom, they did everything together they both had went through ups and downs in their lives and then one summer everything changed. 

He decided to stay in Chicago for college, she went to Atlanta, she had promised they would keep in contact with each other, but that was nothing less than the truth.

The elevator felt like it took forever to reach his floor, he slid past her, being that he was much taller than her it was easier to get off the floor.

Then he saw her step off the elevator along with him and his mind started to go over a mile a minute.

He remembered that Omar, his landlord mention the day prior that someone was moving in, but he did not care to even ask who the person was.

When he made it to his apartment he dug into his pocket, he patted around for his key as he retrieved it out his pocket, he watched as she went across the street to her own apartment, now he wondered how things will play out hopefully, they would just see each other every blue moon and not too often.

“Johnny?”

Her voice was just as he remembered, extremely soft and melodic.  He could tell she was hesitant.

  He turned around to look at her – the last time they saw each other she was a few inches shorter, and her face still had some baby fat.

He couldn’t even form the words to speak to her, and he knew that was going to eat him alive all night.

Amira

SEEING JOHNNY BROUGHT BACK ALL THE FEELINGS. She thought she was over the thoughts she had but they were still fresh in her brain even years later. Leaving Chicago, she made a vow to never come back.   

Atlanta was nice, but she knew she that this was not her forever home, when she got into school her sole focus was bettering herself, but in the back of her mind she could not escape the thoughts of Johnny that circulated in her mind. When she saw him in the elevator the thoughts of seeing him again were never in the cards, so she could not believe her eyes when she saw him.

She knew he had questions, but this was not the time for any of that just yet, now that she noticed they were neighbors there was no escaping him, she prayed that they worked opposite hours because if not it would be so awkward.

As she moved the last box into her house, she was ready for the new beginnings, but the fact that she saw Johnny again, made her question everything to begin with, she put her box braids up into her bonnet, she wanted the night to be over, but her mind kept racing about the what ifs and the endless possibilities, as she laid on the bed, she knew that this was her new reality, and she was ready to face the things that life threw in her way.

[omegasmileyface]

The Forest, the Trees, the Fire I: CATALYST

Chapter 1

Let's get it started! This is the phic that @ectolemonades and @attackradish and I put together for Invisobang 2023! Our wonderful artist was @crunchysart, and you can see part of their work in this chapter! :3

For the full characters list, word count, content warning, and a directory to all the currently available chapters and related content, see the Table of Contents!

full summary: The world outside of Amity Park has learned about the existence of ghosts, and the time for first impressions has arrived. The delicate public consciousness could be disrupted by the slightest ripple. Danny Fenton is being ripped apart from all sides, and when he finally breaks, the ripples will be very big indeed.

warnings: none for this chapter

words: 1001

AO3 link

next chapter

===

There is no forest without its trees

and though the roots bind together

in ways you could never see

until no one tree is distinct from the others,

each green needle is a letter in the story.

And when they are blown off, one by one,

they become tinder.

One needle becomes one spark,

the spark becomes a fire,

the trees are gone,

and the forest is gone

because one needle caught too soon.

It is the work of historians

(and naturalists, and readers, and gods)

to trace the fire back to the needle

and to the tree that dropped it.

===

September 28, 2006

Danny Phantom stumbled a landing on the gravelly roof of a building. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

Danny had enjoyed fighting Ember for all of five minutes. She took control of a little gig at the record store, he showed up to save the day (with the Fenton Fones in, of course. He learned his lesson with her), witty banter, blah blah blah, now she'd end up in the Fenton Thermos.

It was almost a relief having someone to fight. Something to distract him and keep him from being crushed under the pressure of his reality. Something to make his life feel normal. Or— it was, until he spotted a clock and realized he was officially late for a history lesson with Frostbite. The Observants would no doubt be on him for it. He could practically hear them; he can’t even make it to a history lesson on time, how is he qualified to be King of the Infinite Realms?

“Look. You’ve had your fun, you got your attention… if you let these people go, I won’t put you in the Thermos today.” Danny tried to keep his stance somewhere between non-threatening and ready to pounce, just in case Ember wasn’t willing to back down.

Ember rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. “Fine. You’re off your game, anyway. There’s no satisfaction when your heart’s not in it.”

“Wow," said Danny, "you’re so thoughtful.”

“Hey, I may be a ghost, but I do have a little human decency left.”

Danny snorted. “Tell that to the media right now. Anti-ecto propaganda is making a comeback.” He cringed a little as soon as it came out. Why did he say that? He didn’t need to vent about his problems to Ember, and it’s not like she cared anyway.

“Hasn’t that… always been a thing?” Ember cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Just go give those people their free will again,” Danny said with a dismissive wave.

“They’ll be fine for a few more minutes. Tell me what’s going on, kiddo.”

“I mean… in a nutshell, the ‘all ghosts are crap’ stuff stopped around the time I stopped being actively hunted every time I did anything,” Danny explained.

“Wow. Public opinion changed that much in the last— what, year?”

“I thought so, but there’s been all this talk lately about how ghosts and humans aren't 'supposed' to interact, and how ghosts are, like, 'scientifically unable to behave themselves' or whatever. They make it so it doesn't sound evil, but… it’s just a lot to deal with right now.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. He was exhausted, his body ached, and he really just wanted this conversation to be over so he could get to his last scheduled task of the day before he could go home and maybe get some sleep. “Look, I’m late for a meeting right now, appreciate the heart-to-heart, but if you’ll just work with me here I really need to get going.”

Ember stood back up, brushing herself off as if she’d actually been sitting on the roof and not hovering a few inches above it. “Alright, I’ll get outta here then. Thanks for not putting me in your stupid soup container.”

“Yeah, whatever. You might not get so lucky next time.” Danny gave her a half-smile.

They both made a move to go their separate ways when flashing lights in the distance caught their attention.

“What’s going on over there?” Ember asked, squinting.

“Uh, hopefully something that won’t be my problem,” Danny responded.

White vehicles had surrounded what looked to be the Dairy King on the edge of town. There was a moment of chaos as people in body armor rushed into the building and others ran out.

The pair glanced at each other, silently deciding that this wasn’t something they should get involved in.

“See ya, babypop,” Ember said with a mocking salute to Danny. She headed back in the direction of the record store while Danny gave the Dairy King one last, lingering look before leaving.

===

===

Four in custody following Dairy King raid

Tiffany Snow | Staff Reporter

The Garrison Irving Walker Commission took four ghostly employees into custody following a raid at the Amity Park Dairy King Thursday.

The GIW discovered the four ghosts employed at Dairy King during routine patrols of Amity Park. GIW operatives raided the restaurant Thursday evening and took them into custody.

“By incorporating themselves into human society, ectoplasmic entities give the public a false idea that they can trust them like humans. They are posing as employees at businesses around town, high school students and who knows what else,” Operative Q, a senior operative with the GIW, said.

No current law explicitly forbids ghosts from working in customer service, but given that they are unable to legally obtain the required paperwork to be employed, the situation at the Dairy King is being investigated. There is currently no policy in place defining ghosts and their relation to living things. In addition, the GIW deemed their employment unsafe to the public. A GIW representative said the entities will be used for research and disposed of.

Dairy King management offered no comment regarding awareness of the employees being ghosts during the hiring process. The restaurant will be closed temporarily due to short staffing.

[tenpintsofsundrop]

i know that this is such a random question, but...

for the Titans show, do you think all of the cast for the show fit their characters? or do you think there could've been someone else to play their role?

(tbh I love random questions like this omg. I love any chance to discuss Titans at length)

And genuinely, I wouldn't change any of the casting.

It's actually so interesting, because Titans is the first piece of live action DC media that I have gotten really sentimentally attached to. I was always a bigger fan of DC than Marvel because I always enjoyed the Batman films, and I did watch episodes of the Justice League cartoon in passing, or I watched other random animated Batman movies or Justice League movies and really enjoyed them - and I have always enjoyed how DC has so many different styles and tones across each piece of media, rather than the homogeneous boring schlock that Marvel puts out.

Young Justice was the first piece of DC media in general that I got really, really personally attached to, because @nctzenkane is a huge DC fan (and when we first met, it was one of the first things we ever talked about that made me start falling for him) - and he really sparked my interest in certain things and caused me to convert my casual enjoyment of it to a very hardcore nerdom. And him encouragining me to watch Young Justice was definitely the first step in me becoming a full blown DC nerd.

And he also encouraged me to watch Titans - just because Ryan Potter is hot in it - and it's so funny because Jaycen is not even the biggest Titans fan, but I developed such a distinct emotional attachment to it. So in my mind, all of the actors for those characters in Titans - they just are the live action versions. Whenever I am reading fanfiction of those characters, no matter what version the writing is talking about - I always picture the Titans cast in my head.

I know there has been a lot of (idk how to phrase it) controversy? Around Curran Walters as Jason Todd because people think that he's not bulky enough to be Jason and people think he somehow should have shredded and bulked up to become Red Hood?

Honestly, I am fucking relieved that the show didn't pressure him to make major changes to his body just because in the comic books he magically went from a skinny fifteen year old kid to the hulking body of a 6.4" shredded pro wrestler (for those of you who don't know, I have described it as: The Pit makes comic Jason go from looking like Titans Jericho to looking like Titans Hank in five minutes) - like there is already so many gross unrealistic body standards when it comes to men in superhero roles. There doesn't need to be more

And in terms of emotions, and the actual acting, Curran is literally the best fit for Jason possible in my opinion. He brings so much power and depth to Jason's scenes, he makes the character eager and excitable yet worn and jaded at the same time, and he makes Jason's mental illness and struggles so layered and relatable.

One thing about Titans, is that they have some of the most phenomenal actors ever. They might not have the best special effects, or storylines/writing that makes the most sense - but the actors take the material and elevate it so fucking much.

Ryan Potter brought so much depth to Gar (which is something I could rant about for hours), Brenton balances Dick's hardened outer shell and his tender moments so fucking well, Anna makes Kory such a pensive and thoughtful character beyond being just intensely powerful and 'badass' (not to mention, casting a black woman in that role was a risk with whiny fanboys complaining about POC on screen and I am sure she puts up with way too much bullying and hate because of it), and Tegan was so young when she started as Rachel, but she brought an intensity and professionalism that carried Rachel so well (especially during the first season, where her character was the focus) that not many other young actors could have pulled off.

And that is just the core four - I could also go into how Joshua Orpin balances Conner's anger, inner turmoil, and troubled mind with his naive optimism of seeing the world for the first time so well.

And genuinely, I don't think Hawk and Dove could have been played by anyone else than who was cast.

And not only that, but from what we do see of the behind the scenes, it feels like Titans is a true passion project for all of them, and that's why they put so much care into these characters (even if the writers sometimes neglect the details). I think the actors bring so much to the show.

I think possibly my only 'what if' - would have been Tim Drake being an Asian character as originally planned?

And this is absolutely no hate to Jay Lycurgo, I think he did end up being fantastic in the role. He plays the character wonderfully, balancing Tim's bright optimism, gentle fears/insecurities and heroic confidence well.

But I think a visibly Asian character who is clearly connected to their heritage would have been really great to have on screen, and it would have only added to the amazing array of representation in the show. And as far as Asian actors go, I don't know who I would replace him with. (Especially because I think it's interesting when lesser known/up and coming actors play these roles, and all the ones I can think of are popular from other things, or too old to play this role???)

But I do think that it's really cool how he was also in The Batman, so there could be headcanons of him also being Tim Drake in that universe (which I haven't seen anyone mention?)

But overall, I wouldn't change anything fundamental about the cast of Titans. I think they are amazing and I think they did their job so well. They made the show what it truly is for me. They made it close to my heart.

[spicyicymeloncat]

It’s 4am it’s angst o’clock so here’s ninja attachment issues:

I feel like everyone has attachment issues but like Zane in particular sticks to people like a sad puppy. After wu finally grew up again after s9, Zane would not let him leave the house alone and because incredibly over protective (hence him jumping in front wu every time anything happens ever). Especially after s11, Zane does not like to be left alone, he’ll start to disassociate. Whenever someone leaves he’ll try not to look sad but he will be, and whenever he does any solo missions, he does so out of necessity and so tries to put on a brave face. He’s still kinda in denial about it all but everyone else kinda knows and always have a buddy system, and get worried if Zane is alone.

Kai also does not like being left alone but unfortunately his response to anything is isolating himself. No one is allowed to leave him but he will storm off when he’s upset, only for a few minutes later he’ll realise that he actually did not want to be alone. He’s caught between trying to do things alone because he had to in his childhood but also feeling very scared of reliving said lonely childhood. Whenever Kai feels bad about himself he basically punishes himself by isolating himself but he’s trying to break that habit. So yeah he likes company and will often drive with someone on the phone (Pixal usually just because they are driving phone call buddies).

Jay is more of an introvert and definitely needs his alone time but he also requires validation every five minutes and can be really clingy and overwhelming when he is around people (which in turn is the reason why his social battery is so low, he’s draining even to himself). He definitely didn’t have that many friends before the ninja and so he’s kinda insecure and tries really hard to be around people bc insecurities. Jay’s just one of those types who assumes everyone’s default opinion of him is bad so he’s always trying to prove himself. And he thinks if people don’t want to spend every moment with him then he’s doing something wrong, and also if he doesn’t spend all the time with them then he’s conveying that he doesn’t like them. It stresses him out and leads him to try and over plan dates and occasions because it has to be perfect. Again like Kai, he’s trying to change that mindset and learn self love, and take space for himself and valuing quality time over quantity.

Cole was someone who tries to leave before he got attached, he’s family trauma making him hesitant when opening up. He’s also more on the introverted side and especially in times of hardship he just wants to be alone because people are pressure yknow. He finds it hard to rely on others and would and could disappear into the mountains for months if he thought he should. He often won’t speak his mind due to a low self esteem and he does go off on his own because he doesn’t want to bother anyone else with his problems. However, he also tries his best to accommodate for everyone else meaning he ends up internalising his own needs to stay with them. Also he’s acts really friendly unintentionally so even when he does run off he can’t help but make other friends, because usually they’re in a similar position to him (the rule of the socially awkward: make socialise best with other awkward people). He needs his space but Cole also needs to be reminded to not take on too much all on his own.

Nya is also someone who would totally isolate herself. Like Kai, being alone isn’t ideal but instead of just hating it, Nya just got used to it, and doesn’t have very high expectations for commitment. That’s why she was initially uncomfortable with the level of attention Jay gives her, or why her response to the group disbanding in s3/4 was to chug on and build a boat. Nya kinda just expects people to leave and doesn’t put in a lot of effort because of that. Like someone who used to be very clingy but then the worst case scenario came true and she no longer cares. But as time went on, she’s slowly beginning to trust and depend on the group more and is slowly healing. She’s still in the process of it all especially demonstrated in Seabound where she still couldn’t trust her mother enough to fully spend time with her.

Lloyd literally hyperfixates on every interaction ever. He tries so hard to please every single person he meets because he feels the pressure of being the green ninja, and he’s overly trusting - firstly about the nature of the people he meets and secondly, about his ability to help them. He’s kinda got an “I can fix them” complex since what happened with pre s8 Garmadon. When he first started living with the ninja, he didn’t exactly feel at home and so was a lot less sociable with them but at the same time was incredibly lonely. Although from seasons 3-7 he definitely got more emotionally dependant on others since getting kidnapped by the overlord, the group split up, his dad dying, and being possessed, but after s7 he regained confidence to start working solo. I also hc that s8 was when he physically turned 18 so by then he was kinda wanting more independence (especially because the ninja are a lot more smothering and the household is never quiet) and took on more solo missions. Lloyd is still incredible awkward talking to people outside the family especially since he didn’t have a lot of time to socialise tho. I guess all in all he’s on the more nonsocial side.

Gotta put wu, elemental master of having no friends sticking around, in here as well. Wu has seen many people come and go and usually they just leave him and he’s come to expect it. However he usually takes it as a failure on his part and will spend the rest of time being sad about it and would not continue to try and meet other people since Garmadon left. The only thing driving him to not become a complete hermit was the green ninja prophecy, and he accidentally let himself get attached to all his students. That’s another thing, Wu gets really easily attached, he’s pretty desperate to prove himself (which is why it hurts when they leave). But his attachment to the people around him, is also what causes him to push them away, because he felt he’s failed too many times and also because he wants to keep them safe.

[yourpalghost]

Valentine's Day

The Playlist AO3

Word Count: 1,478

“Thank you for coming to Freddy Fazbear’s Valentine’s day ‘Love Rocks’ bash! I hope you have a faz-tastic night and get home safe!” Freddy said into his microphone following their final performance of the night. Guests made their way toward the entrance as Freddy’s closed for the evening.

This was your first time helping run a holiday party with the band and you were relieved that, while your shift still ran the full time, after 7, the pizzaplex was closed to anyone who didn’t hold a ticket to the party. In addition, instead of the usual 10pm closing time, the holiday party had the campus closing at 9. That additional hour of not being around guests was more than welcome in your opinion.

You waved to guests along with the band as they were politely herded away by security bots who all had little paper hearts taped to their chassis in order to match the theme.

“Good job, team,” You said after the atrium was cleared of guests, climbing the stairs to the stage where they stood. Freddy took your hand in his and gave it a shake.

“We couldn’t have done it without you,” he praises and you can't help but roll your eyes in a lighthearted manner.

“Oh, please,” you chuckle but don’t protest further. Realistically, you didn't need to even be here for the party as most everything was set up and taken care of by S.T.A.F.F. bots. Still, you were there to take care of the prized animatronics. “Let’s get this place cleaned up,” you declared and started off stage with the rest of them.

The glamrocks set about stacking the extra chars which had been brought out for the nights festivities and the S.T.A.F.F. bots would take the stacks, having been lacking in the dexterity and height needed to put them together all while you pushed around a large broom, picking up rubbish left by more careless guests. Chica approached you, a stack of chairs in her arms.

“So,” she starts, after calling your name to get your attention, “after every party, we have our own little party back in rockstar row,” she explains, walking beside you. “And we would super duper love if you came. We usually just dance and hang out but since there's five of us, well SOMEONE needs to dance with Monty,” she jests, loud enough for the alligator to hear. He calls out a flustered “hey” before Chica laughs her little cluck-like laugh. You’re about to protest since you still had work to do but she cuts you off.

“Before you say no, It's only thirty minutes and we always help with duties after so you don’t have to worry about all that.” With your duties covered, you don’t exactly have much in the way of an excuse not to go so you concede. She does a cute little steppy-step in joy partnered with a high pitched squeal. “Oh, I can’t wait, I’m so excited. We’ll see you at, like, 10 back there, okay?”

You get some more cleaning done and take a bathroom break before you head back to rockstar row. When you get back there, there's a little portable speaker set up on one of the towering flower pots that the benches surround and the group are all dancing together and singing along to Whitney Huston’s “I wanna dance with somebody”. It’s clear just by looking at them that they’re all having fun, even Monty is singing along. You feel a little nervous to join in but luckily Bonnie sees you. He makes a move to pull you into the little cluster of singing and dancing animatronics and immediately, you are overcome with a bubbling of giggles. “Take my Breath Away” begins to play from the speaker and the animatronics partner up and even though Chica had joked about Monty being the odd man out, it’s Bonnie that you dance with.

“Having fun?” he asks you and has you perform a lazy twirl.

“I am,” you confirm. “Who made the playlist?” you ask as its filled with songs that Freddy Fazbear’s definitely doesn’t have the rights to use.

“This one was a collaboration between Roxy and Chica” he explains. “Monty and I made this past year's Halloween mix.”

“That’s nice,” you chuckle “I’m enjoying this one so far”.

“Well, you know, musicians usually have pretty good taste in music,” Bonnie jests with a teasing wink and you snicker in response.

When the next song comes on, you can't help but groan loudly along with a couple of the others in your group as Rick Astley promises to never give you up or let you down. Still, it's a fun song to dance to as a group and so you join. The remaining songs are all ones you enjoy as a group and the energy is fun and playful. Just as you’re growing tired of dancing (it’s quite the work out), theres a lovely swell of strings that announces a slow song. Just as youre about to find a partner, Chica claims you and pulls you off so that you two might dance together.

“There’s designated partners for this one,” She says to you quietly. You raise a brow at her as she leads your dance. “Well, one pair.” She shrugs and smiles. You turn together so she can gesture to the brown and blue pair holding one another close. You look from them to her with the same confused expression. She just lets you do the mental maths yourself and nods when she can tell you’ve put it all together.

“How long,” you ask in a hushed voice.

“Oh gosh, forever.” she answers. “There’s never been a rendition of them that weren’t head over heels for one another.” it’s hard to not whip your head back to look at them but thankfully you don’t have to as she turns the two of you to let you see them again. They’re talking quietly amongst themselves, one pair of hands clasped while the others simply hold one another close. Freddy laughs at something Bonnie says and rests his forehead against his partners shoulder briefly in a sweet and tender moment of comfortable joy.

“Did the company program that?” you ask, looking from them to her and she looks at you with the softest expression you think you’ve ever seen from something made from metal. “No,” she says it like its the most beautiful thing. And it is. “I know its cliche but,” she sighs wistfully. “I don’t know if we have souls or whatever but they are definitely soul mates,” she confides. You smile at this, feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the idea that time and time again, these two robots fell in love with one another. You look to the other partnered pair together then to see what they’re doing and Chica bursts out laughing. Despite the lovely music, Roxy and Monty are on the floor wrestling instead of dancing.

You leave them after the music ends and their bandmates separate them, having had a lovely evening. You’re just out of the hallway of rockstar row, reentering the atrium while checking your watch for what to take care of next when Moon joins you by dropping in from above.

“Did you– it's just me- did you have fun?” he asks, brushing off your startled gasp. He has to wait a beat for you to recover but he does so patiently.

“We did, yeah.” you finally answer and start back on your track. A thought crossed your mind as he walked beside you. He hadn’t been invited. You weren’t surprised since the way some of the glamrocks felt about him was clear but it still wasn’t polite. And Sun hadn’t come either which, while he didn’t like you, you hadn’t heard any negative comments directed toward him from the glamrocks. “What did you and sun do today?” you ask instead.

“The kids made valentines.” he answers and hands you a crudely made heart card. “I did too. During nap time. Here.” You take it and it's clear that it was either made in the dark or Moon wasn’t particularly skilled at arts and crafts. In white crayon on red construction paper, under where it was addressed to you (your name misspelled even though you knew he had access to the employee database), it said “get stick bugged, valentine” and below were lines that definitely resembled the stick bug from the video he had showed you the first night you met. You rolled your eyes and chuckled.

“Beautiful,” you shake your head. “I’ll keep it forever, thank you.” He smiled wide.

“Put it on your fridge,” he demands, getting up in your face. You shove him away by his faceplate and he chuckles.

“Sure, buddy. Right when I get home.”

[purrincess-chat]

Actually thank you for being open towards pre reveal adrinette. I still do have kind of mixed feelings about how the ladynoir relationship was never acknowledged in transmission but I hope that'll be solved in the next part hopefully? But I've seen too much of negativity towards pr dating and it kind of started affecting my opinions too? Seeing your post was so refreshing tbh

As someone who has been around the block a few times, I totally get what you mean. There are a lot of fandom scholars out there posting their opinions as fact, and it can get difficult to root out how you feel, especially if it's a popular blog doing it or someone you admire and a lot of people are agreeing with them or they're being aggressive to people who disagree. I've seen blogs vague posting about me for simply defending pre reveal Adrinette and responding in ways that completely miss the points of my posts and simply just take issue with me daring to think pr Adrinette is a good thing bc what about their precious side that's getting robbed??? And honestly I don't really care, I'm not a stranger to people in this fandom vague posting about me or hating me or shit talking about me in discord servers. I've been here a while and been through my fair share, so at this point I just shrug it off.

My main advice to you would be to take every post you read with a grain of salt (including and especially mine) because everyone has their bias. For me, I've always loved Adrinette, so even my posts can be considered biased because they're my favorite side of the square, though I do try to be objective. But for me, I don't really understand why people thought Adrinette wasn't going to have something pre reveal? To me it just makes sense, but I've seen so many people being like 'No hate but pr Adrinette is the worst possible choice the writers could ever make and it's so boring and terrible and I hate it with every fiber of my being and what about my favorite side how actually dare the writers write their own show in the way they intended instead of catering to my hyper niche fanfiction ideas.' And like... people can have their opinions. I'm not saying everyone has to like every single thing about this show, I know I don't. But a lot of the posts I've seen have been claiming that pr Adrinette doesn't make sense (it does if you've been paying attention) or is a detriment to the love square (still scratching my head at this one). My favorite argument I've seen is people saying that the show is called Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir so why the hell are they focusing on anything other than their superhero sides, and I just have to wonder sometimes if people are watching the same show as me.

(more salty under the cut, so read at your own risk)

Like? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Stormy Weather was the first episode to ever premiere of the show, and within the first five minutes of that episode if you ignore the opening credits, we learn that Marinette is in love with Adrien. It's basically one of the first things we learn about her, and her love for Adrien has been a staple of the show and the love square dynamic, just as Adrien's love for Ladybug has been. This show has always been about their civilian lives just as much as it's been about their superhero alter egos. If it was only ever about the superheroes it would be very flat and wouldn't leave them much room to develop and grow. That's why the love square has four sides. That's why the love square exists at all. But this show has always included their lives as civilians, idk why people are shocked. Even the opening credits start out with "I'm Marinette, just a normal girl with a normal life." Yes, she's secretly a superhero, but the first thing they tell us about her every episode is that she's a regular girl. And after 5 seasons, I'd assume people would realize that her civilian development is just as important as her superhero development. Adrinette and LadyNoir have always been the leading sides for a reason. This show isn't only about her and Adrien being superheroes, it's also always been about them being real kids with real problems who just so also happen to moonlight as superheroes when the need arises. Yes, it's a villain of the week show, but the plotlines have always run further than that. S5 especially runs deeper than that.

I dunno, maybe I'm biased, but Adrien falling for Marinette always felt more plausible to me than her falling for Chat, and s5 has explored both of those outlets, but to me, the superheroes come with too many strings attached for them to be anything more than partners. Especially after everything that has happened the last season and a half up to this point. Their friendship and partnership is a keystone of the love square. Their dynamic works best as far as focusing on their mission and getting the job done when they're platonic. We've seen numerous times throughout canon that when one of them has feelings, they get distracted and something goes wrong. Their love for each other is their strength and their weakness as Tikki and Plagg pointed out in Transmission. And [SPOILER] as we've seen in some of the later episodes that were released thanks to Gloob's vanity, the LadyNoir dynamic is working out great for them platonically.

I think one thing I haven't seen people talk about (which granted I know people were waiting to watch the later episodes until after Kwamis Choice airs), but LadyNoir is starting to push the boundaries just as much as Adrinette just from a different angle. They're slowly letting walls down and talking about their personal lives, which is something they forbade themselves from doing prior. They're growing closer as friends without any ulterior motive behind it. In the past when Chat asked about her love life, it was because he was fishing to see if he had competition for her affection, and Ladybug rightfully shut him down. Now they're a lot more carefree and open with each other just from what we've seen of them past these episodes. Being friends is benefiting them, and it's going to benefit them when the reveal rolls around. To me, LadyNoir was always meant to be the best friends of the love square, while Adrinette was always meant to be the lovers. That's the impression I've always gotten from canon ever since s1. I knew there would come a day when Adrien loved her back pre reveal. It just always felt like a natural progression for their relationship to me.

And as I mentioned in my previous post, Adrinette needed the development they're getting. LadyNoir is solid, they came back together stronger, so now they need to help Marinette overcome her trauma surrounding Adrien or the reveal will be an absolute fucking disaster. Like could you imagine Marinette moving on with someone she deems as being "safe" only to turn around and discover that he's the very boy she fucked everything up with? How damaging would that be to their relationship? How traumatic would that be for her? And in turn him. Personally, I want the babies to succeed post reveal and just be happy together, so I fully support airing out all of the dirty laundry ahead of time.

Again, take that with as many grains of salt as you see fit because that's just how I've always viewed canon. But even if I'd been wrong, I wouldn't have been disappointed. I'm stoked for any of the sides getting development and getting together because I understand that in the end it will all come together for them and be a benefit to their post reveal relationship. And I'm so excited for that day! So, honestly, I just ignore all of the salt at this point and just watch the damn show. People can feel any kind of way they want about it, and that's great for them. What ultimately matters is what you personally feel about the show. If you enjoy pr Adrinette, that's great! Don't ever let anyone take that from you just because they're salty. The main reason I left the salt life behind is because it was affecting my enjoyment of the show, and I had to learn how to enjoy it again without being clouded by other people's opinions, and honestly, it's been the best choice I've made in this fandom. And I know people are going to inevitably vague post about me for posting this, but whatever. Die mad, I guess.

Though honestly, I'd wait until we see the second half of this two parter before worrying too much about LadyNoir. I can see where people are coming from with how quickly they moved on, but we still have another half of the story to see. And as I mentioned, from episodes that have aired that take place after these, we can see LadyNoir is doing just fine. But again, we will just have to wait and see what happens.