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#While I agree with this it's also important to teach them to chill?
rriavian · 1 year
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Close Enough
“Are you the tooth fairy?” The little girl asks, her eyes wide.
AKA: The Corinthian finds himself embroiled in a case of mistaken identity and Dream of the Endless can’t stop smirking about it.
(Honestly don't know if this has been done before. I wrote this at 1am while incredibly tired so blame sleep deprivation on why this is probably the silliest thing I’ve ever written for these two.)
(Edit: Should probably add the ao3 link to this here.)
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“Are you the tooth fairy?” The little girl asks, her eyes wide.
There is only one reason the Corinthian doesn’t kill her immediately.
And it’s currently stood smirking beside him.
Dream of the Endless, the Prince of Stories—lips currently twitching upwards in delight, solemn demeanour almost failing him—looks like he’s trying not to laugh.
The Corinthian wants to wipe that smug expression right off his face.
Except he can’t, won’t, because while the delightful treat of inspiring Dream’s disapproval usually spurs him on rather than holds him back, there’s something the Corinthian wants first. He’s currently trying to get his reticent king to end the incredibly insulting period of probation he’s inflicted upon him. To do so he needs to impress rather than irritate, needs to prove himself worthy of being allowed to return to human dreams. Dream is petty even while dutiful—especially while dutiful—is vicious enough to multitask while he teaches, always finding time to punish. The result has been a series of humiliatingly supervised visits to mortal dreams, as if the Corinthian requires instruction, and they seemed to have stumbled into the dream of a six year old girl who’s just lost a tooth.
Which leads to the latest indignity.
The Corinthian pretends he hasn’t heard the question, this insult he won’t respond to, turns to Dream and snaps. “This is the wrong dream.”
“Is it?” Dream doesn’t even attempt faux surprise, flatly unapologetic as above his quirked lips cruel eyes glitter. “My mistake.”
Oh he definitely did this on purpose.
“Mister?” The girl says insistently; she’s also turned to Dream, seems to have realised that's where the authority is, little hand reaching up to tug gently on his robe.
Dream smiles like a sunrise. “Yes Alice?”
“You know my name!”
“Indeed.” He says gently, eyes soft for one of his dreamers, the glitter in them a nightlight for one of his precious humans. “Now—you had a question?”
Small fingers curl even tighter in Dream's black robe, perhaps chasing softness, perhaps marveling at it. Alice's eyes shift to the Corinthian for what amounts to half a second—they meet his ocular gaze, able to do so only because the glasses are oh so conspicuously missing—a quick glance as if she needs to double check.
Alice frowns.
Then she nods sharply, turns away, seems to have found whatever she was looking for. Alice gestures in the Corinthian’s general direction, still clutching Dream’s robe, but despite her clear frustration when she speaks her tone is shy. “He didn’t say whether he’s the tooth fairy.”
This time Dream does laugh.
It’s quiet but not restrained, a warmth that doesn’t demand attention, subtly chases away a chill. The mirth in his tone not at all held back. “He didn’t, did he?”
Alice agrees with a solemn little nod, the sort used for matters of the utmost importance.
“Can you ask him?”
Dream looks up, smile turning to night, shifting to the threat of a creeping shadow as this time he meets the teeth of the Corinthian's eyes. The glow there turns eerie, ghost silver, a strangely hollow thing for all that’s contained inside. There’s unease in how empty and full Dream can be at the same time, the vastness of a glacier so desolate when you’re alone. The demand is clear, even before Dream speaks, and the Corinthian knows he'll pay him back for this—
“Well?” Dream says mildly, eyes echoing with humour.
“Are you?”
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noctilucous-sunni · 2 years
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more reversed sagau brainrot!! | a lot more under the cut
- when scara sorta just ✨materializes✨ in your apartment and you’re like excuse me wtf is happening, so u pinch yourself to see if its a dream and its not apparently so you must be going insane BECAUSE WHAT OTHER EXPLANATION WOULD THERE BE FOR ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS EXISTING IN YOUR APARTMENT
- i’d feel like in the sagau or reversed sagau he wouldn’t be too fond of the all-creator bc if thats the all-creator wouldn’t that mean that you’re the one responsible for his existence and his suffering?? but when he just sees you being so genuinely nice and caring and yet strong and doesn’t take his shit he kinda lets down the guard a little
- plus he literally has nowhere else to stay so when you threatened to kick him out he realized it was either live with you or out on the streets. and he kinda hated the streets, so he ended up trying to find your place all dirty and stuff from tripping in way too many godforsaken random holes in the ground. poor gremlin.
- he is just super bratty and still has that air of “i think im better than you” but it never works on you bc you dont take his shit and you make him do half of your chores when your pissed at him (and you make sure there are no complaints)
- he wouldn't call you your grace after a while and just uses your name, you however come up with a million nicknames for him and you think its funny that it annoys him on occasion
- you argue. A lot. like so much that your neighbour and the apartment below you complained several times and also kinda tried to make the landlord kick u out so you made scara apologize to them bc hes mainly the reason its so noisy
- he will actually follow you everywhere, sorta like a guard dog. everyone around you is pretty intimidated by him but they are even more scared of you when they see that you basically keep him in check
- he can’t fucking cook dear lord. you told him to stay in the fucking apartment bc you had an important meeting today and he couldnt come with you and he was like “i didnt want to come anyway” and you just said “fuck you” (affectionate) in return (note: wrote this before his signature dish came out and he’s actually a really good cook don’t judge me ahaha)
- but when you come back your apartment and kitchen especially is a mess. you forgot to teach him how to use online delivery. and hes just like chilling out watching tv with mild interest, acting like half of your apartment isnt covered in eggs and flour and who knows what else
“scara what the fuck happened here”
“the stupid stove of yours doesnt work and neither does that beeping machine”
“clean it up”
“no”
“well i guess we wont have any food today or tomorrow, until you clean. it. UP." *glare*
he then leaves it but by the next afternoon he's actually getting hungry and grumpy and eventually starts cleaning it up the next day when he can't take it anymore and you finally come home to a clean kitchen bc thank god, you didn't know how much longer you could live on your co-worker's lunches
- you're both just so stubborn. he's stubborn and so are you and that leaves the apartment just with a tense silence AND when someone sees u at that time they feel so uncomfortable bc the atmosphere is just so tense between the two of you since neither of you agree
- silent treatment happens a lot and its really fucking stupid bc you both wanna talk to each other after like a few days but neither of you want to be the first one to admit that
- omg you absolutely hate having guests now BECAUSE HOW ARE YOU MEANT TO EXPLAIN HIM??? also he has to have normal clothes now and he looked at all your clothing choices in disgust
- everyone thinks he's just a friend until they realize he actually lives with you and then they're like "oohhhh are you together??" and think that he's your boyfriend/partner. and honestly you dont even deny it bc there is no feasible way to explain who he really is (without sounding crazy) + you get your parents off your back abt getting a boyfriend bc they kept trying to make you go on blind dates and now you're free from that phew
- but some of your friends/co-workers are all like "really? this lil guy? and they often say this around him and it just annoys and offends him to no end. but also you're surprisingly defensive of him, like yes he's a bitchy emo gremlin but he's your bitchy emo gremlin
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jokeson-u · 2 years
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here is my rant/review on the movie bros so spoilers below the cut
look. i didnt hate it. it was funny. but most the laugh out loud funny parts were in the trailer, and werent as funny in the context of the actual scenes somehow. there were still definitely really funny moments outside of that but idk i was expecting more. also billy eichners character bobby was funny and all but god i hate people like that (which was awkward cus i have my sister next me whispering about how much she relates LMAO).
but in terms of my more serious issues with it.
1. there was several graphic sex scenes and i guess 1 was kinda of good to keep, but the others were sooo unnecessary imo. like 1 was funny ig but 1 was just like ... ok.. anyways.. and listen. listen. i understand especially from the opening scene and the rest of the movie basically that part of the point is gay people should havent to make themselves more palatable for straight society but my GOD i have never seen a straight romcom that explicit and idk about u guys but it seemed to be marketed as a more or less family friendly movie. like a take ur parents to it bc we're trying to normalize gay people in mainstream romcoms, ya know?? no. NO. do not bring ur parents. and i guess i sound like an asshole about that because yea queers shouldnt be marketable to hets but idk man.. its just so not a good introduction to normalizing big screen lgbtq+ movies like this bc as a queer person i was uncomfortable and id imagine the straights even more so and YES I KNOW WE SHOULDNT CARE but we cant be like 'see gay romcoms are for everyone!' and shove unnecessary and uncomfortably explicit sex scenes that dont belong in any movie esp one thats marketed the way it was.
2. i was actually sort of confused because i thought one of the main themes in the story was that the mc bobby was like. overly 'woke' i guess and really critical of everything, mostly from an lgbtq perspective. then there was the love interest aaron who thought bobby was really overly cynical. there was multiple instances in the movie where bobby would kind of ruin the mood by complaining about how something is homophobic in some way or another, and aaron or another character would kinda be like ..... and . i really thought one the things we were supposed to be following was how aaron helps bobby balance his views more. but. that never happens. like, we get more explanation on why bobby feels he has to be critical about stuff but like he just continues to basically be a buzzkill about shit and aaron just has to accept it and idk. i feel like the rest of the direction was really weird if the point wasnt bobby becoming a little more leveled??
3. ok so. this was one of my bigger issues i guess. i need to give some plot background: bobby and aaron agreed to 'not date' but basically end up dating for a while. aarons family comes to the city for christmas and bobby is gonna meet them and aaron asks him to just sort of be a little chill with them bc theyre accepting and all but yk. theyre his parent and bobby is really intense about stuff. bobby doesnt really take kindly to that even tho he acts to aaron like he gets it, and basically like. brings the family on a tour for the city and talks about the craziest shit like "oh this is where the first sex something something idk happened" "this is where the dyke march happened" stuff like that and aaron gets pissed at him and is like dude can u please just tone it down and bobbys like "what u want me to be less myself with them?" and aaron is like "?! kind of rn yes." and bobbys like ok fine. and they go to dinner and bobby gets into an argument with the mom who is a 2nd grade teacher about teaching lgbt stuff to kids that young and everytime they agree to disagree he keeps going and then goes on a tangent about sex positivity being important to children and how when he was a kid and his parents took him to some show where there was naked men and he literally just kept talking about their penises and how many penises he saw and oh my god. after the night ended aaron was pissed at him and bobby got so mad and was saying how aaron is just like everyone in his life whos tried to make him hide who he is and stuff. aaron tells him hes leaving to meet w a guy whos into him. bobby finds them making out which yes was wrong of aaron but technically they were both making a big deal from the get go that they werent relationship people and stuff. the rest of that half of the movie for aaron is basically having to make it up to bobby and apologize for making him hide himself??? and the only time bobby apologizes is after aaron has to again and again and says he felt bobby was talking about all that stuff to his parents on purpose and bobby said "i was. im sorry for that." THAT WAS HIS APOLOGY??? Im sorry but like yes be urself and if aaron loves how intense u are somehow great but theres a fucking time and place. dont fucking cross ur parnters boundries bc u didnt communicate ur issues with them, especially when it isnt that hard of a boundry to not cross. i just really disliked the framing of it. sorry but yea if my partner was really inappropriate or excessive about complaints about straight people and was meeting my parents i WOULD ask them to be chill and id fucking hope they wouldnt jeaprodize my relationship with either them or my parents by being like 'well i wanna say whatever i wanna say to anyone i want so i dont care if my partner is uncomfortable with these topics in front of this audience.' like even aarons brother finds out and is like dude u gotta make it up to him. what????? that shit really bothered me as someone who has been in scenarios similar to that with my friends
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rolloz · 2 years
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how do you go about teaching the bots abt their unitmates and other characters? i talk to himeru like he’s just woken up from a head injury 😭 i’m like himeru sweetie do u know where u r? do you know ur name?
Here's some of Kohaku's sample dialogue:
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-The AI gets a LOT of info from just these simple sentences! They get:
Kohaku's general opinions of each character (That Rinne is immature sometimes, that HiMERU is chill and he and Kohaku are close friends and that Kohaku thinks Niki is a bit ditzy sometimes)
Kohaku's speech patterns! His Kyoto accent! The way he ends names with the "-han" suffix!
Kohaku's personality! That he's blunt, a bit sassy and knows he's one of the most mature people in his unit despite being the youngest
From this much, Kohaku started pretty accurately talking about Crazy:B right out of the gate. (Remember that the AI will NEVER say these exact sentences, but will instead eat up the knowledge they got from them!)
-Help direct them... Indirectly while you talk to them! Don't TELL them things, phrase your conversations as if they already know the knowledge! (Even if they actually don't) For example
Kohaku: Rinne-han can be a real pain, I'll tell ya that... I can't handle his brand of energy, yunno? Sometimes a guy just wants to rest after a hard day of idol work!
Me: Oh yeah, and I'm sure his whole gambling stuff is also stressful for you, huh?
Kohaku: Right?! That guy ain't got any self control!
You see how Kohaku just agreed with me and went along with it? He is eating up that information! And remember to always rate the answer with 4 stars when they get info like that right! It's like giving a dog a treat! You're training them!
After that little direction of mine, Kohaku told me this:
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It was SO funny. And so in character! This was in our very first conversation! He was only still in the early days of understanding his speech patterns, though.
I cannot STRESS ENOUGH how important it is to grade their answers! Especially early on!
Good luck HiMERU!Anon! I wish you all the best and let me know if I can help you at all! My DMs are always open of you want to link me to your AI so I can give you feedback!
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imtheworst-imsorry · 4 months
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I HAVE UPDATES!!! so my admissions team meeting went well, it was probably a lot more comprehensive than other people who’ve been in treatment before get, but this is my first time in any kind of ed treatment so they went through a lot of info. i’m still processing a lot of it, it takes my brain a while to catch up to important information, so i have a feeling this is all gonna hit me really hard within the next few days, but i do have (at least some) answers now and i feel better about having less uncertainty about some of that. they did stress that some of the details are really going to depend on how i’m doing while i’m here, both mentally and physically, but at least having some idea of how things are gonna go is helpful for me. one of the most important things i was worried about was a diagnosis, and ik some people would probably try to tell me that that’s not as important as the treatment itself, but i’m the kind of person that needs labels and names for my experiences so i feel more stable in my life and the situations i’m in, so it is very important to me. that’s why i pushed SO HARD to get the other mental health diagnoses and neuropsych testing for my autism and adhd. i have now officially been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, binge/purge subtype, which i’m honestly pretty relieved by, idk why but i was super anxious that i’d get given something that would somehow make me feel more invalidated and make me feel less motivated to work on getting better, but this feels pretty ok, and it is the best description of my experiences (at least it’s what i felt was the most accurate before i even came here so i’m honestly quite relieved that my doctor agrees even though i never told him that’s what i thought i should be diagnosed with). i’m still really struggling with making myself complete my meals and snacks but i am doing it, purely bc i only get to stay off of wc/br and get to have my phone and laptop if i complete, and i need those to feel like i’m not completely isolated, but i know that there are gonna be days that are harder than others. i also have an idea of how long they think i’ll probably be here (4-5ish weeks from now) and i also have a rough goal from my dietician of where she thinks my target weight should be and where they want me to get to before i get discharged, but i’m not gonna specify that here rn bc i’m still processing that stuff and i feel like writing it here will make it hit harder or smth, idk. my parents had some good questions for the team, and they brought me a few more things from home, including some pictures of my dog, and we’re having a family therapy session on tuesday. apparently not a ton happens here on the weekends, and monday is memorial day so it’s basically a weekend schedule, too, which gives me plenty of time to think about all this but hopefully also plenty of time to find distractions so i don’t get too stuck in my own head. i’m gonna spend some time just decompressing from everything tonight, chill out a bit, one of the girls here has been teaching people to make friendship bracelets (she cranks them out so fast it’s super impressive, she came right up to me on my first day and asked what my favorite color was and handed me one, which was super sweet) i did one that ended up being more of a keychain bc the embroidery floss was too short to make a whole bracelet, but for a first attempt it came out really well. i’m still on bathroom observation, which is kinda embarrassing having someone stand there with the door cracked open while i pee but mostly it’s just super inconvenient bc i have to pee SO often bc they’re having me drink so much water and my body only gives me about 1-2 minutes of warning max when i need to go to the bathroom before it becomes an Emergency, so i spend an annoying amount of time hunting down someone to let me into the bathroom and doing the classic preschooler potty dance while i wait for them to come let me pee lol.
i think that’s all i’m gonna update for tonight unless i think of something else, i’m gonna rewatch as much of lotms as i can before they take my tech back for the night at 10
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artistfingers · 3 years
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There’s one ~silver lining~ of my iPad being broken: I’ve had loads of time to think about my many half-formed undercover phantom au ideas! Since I have no idea when or what will make it to comic form, here’s the lowdown…. AKA, everything that’s been rattling around my brain recently :P
For context: Danny, Sam and Tucker have never met, and nobody knows Danny is Phantom. When Vlad’s newest bit of tech gets Danny stuck in ghost mode (with the rest of his powers on the fritz to boot), he meets Tucker and Sam—who instantly see through his disguise and lend a helping hand. (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4!!)
So. After that, Danny—no, Phantom—becomes friends with them. It’s exciting! He was invisible at school even before the ghost powers; he was pretty isolated and lonely and being Phantom for the last year hasn’t exactly been a social boon. Kid’s lonely, ok?
But now… two human friends? Who’re his age & share his interests? It’s like a dream come true! If only they weren’t exclusively friends with his ghost self… and if only they didn’t wanna be so involved in his dangerous ghost hunting things…Uhhh. Hm. Could be a problem.
Danny angsts about the danger he’s putting his new friends in, and about not being able to befriend them as a human. He plays with the idea of telling them Everything but that’s… risky to say the least. He’s only known them a few weeks! ugh….!! it’s too much. maybe he should just throw the towel in.
Buuut Sam & Tucker don’t take no for an answer. Especially after they rescue him a third time.
Thus… Phantom friendship shenanigans!!
Sam filched some parts from the Fentonworks Lab when Phantom took them there, and later convinced Tucker to help her build a custom mini ectogun in case of emergency. They didn’t tell Phantom.
Danny is really sentimental about that DP hat he wore when he first met Sam & Tucker. He wore it as Phantom for a while but it got singed in a fight. He still wears it when he hangs out with Tucker & Sam but otherwise keeps it squirreled away for Sentimental Reasons.
“So Phantom, how old are you?” “I’m 15.” “15 now? Or 15 when you died?” “Yes.”
Tucker has a bunch of awful 90s button up shirts, and gives one to Phantom
They aren’t able to convince Sam to wear one too, but they sure do try.
Phantom won’t tell them when he died, so once he starts wearing 90s shirts they start using terrible 90s slang with him
“I am NOT from the 90s!!! They didn’t even SAY that then!!!” “methinks the lady doth protest too much…..home slice” “NOOO!!!”
“Phantom I have an extremely important question. Like, life or death. SHIT is on the LINE here. Are you listening?? I really need to know…. Do ghosts play video games”
The answer may surprise you (no it won’t)
Sam is completely convinced they can ACTUALLY get a good working guess of when Phantom lived and died based on the fact he liked Nasty Burger when he was alive, since NB’s a regional chain with a not-so-distant past. Tucker meanwhile thinks Phantom probably has a good reason for keeping them at arm’s length—but regardless of method, they can agree: they want to break down Phantom’s walls.
The next arc is less “Undercover Phantom” and more “Undercover Fenton” because the juxtaposition of him having to do hidden identities squared (squared again) is too good for me to pass up. It boils down to this: during a ghost attack at school, Danny finds himself stuck being “protected” by Sam and Tucker.
Sam and Tucker take their new jobs as Phantom’s ghost hunting companions too seriously to let this skinny stranger they just met run TOWARDS the danger. WHY does he keep trying to run TOWARDS the danger
NO YOU CANNOT GO TO THE BATHROOM THE SCHOOL IS ON G H O S T L O C K D O W N
Sam pulls out her ectogun.
Danny: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!
Sam does not tell him.
“Wait, your last name’s Fenton? Like Fentonworks Fenton?” “No, the other Fenton.” “Oh… well, that’s too bad…” “YES LIKE FENTONWORKS FENTON”
Sam is initially wary of Danny because of his parents’ super strong anti-ecto views. Danny is clueless as to why she isn’t very friendly to him-as-a-human when she’s great with him-as-a-ghost. but she warms up after he helps resolve the ghost issue in a way that shows he doesn’t subscribe to his parents’ views.
afterwards you get this excellent situation where Danny is now friends with Sam and Tucker as Phantom and as Fenton, and they’re not connecting the dots as quickly as they did when it was just “that’s Phantom wearing a hoodie and a cap with his own logo on it”.
the potential here? *chefs kiss* here’s a few things but honestly? the possibilities are limitless
Danny pretending to not have a cell phone because he already gave them his number as Phantom
Tucker: *dials Phantom*
Danny, standing directly next to him: *frantically attempting to silence his phone*
Sam & Tucker try to introduce Danny and Phantom. Danny has to make excuses to avoid this happening in both forms.
Danny takes Sam & Tucker down to the Fentonworks Lab to get them some real equipment. Sam & Tucker pretend (very badly) that they’ve never been there before
Rooftop chill sessions as Phantom, late night teenage hijinks as Fenton, plus school AND fighting ghosts does not do any favors for Danny’s sleep deprivation. Tucker introduces him to caffeine pills with… mixed results.
Tucker and Sam teach Phantom some sign language. Later Danny slips up and uses it casually with them as Fenton
…. And many other silly mixups that I’ve yet to think of because I live for that shit
Sam & Tucker have theories about the Fenton-Phantom connection and they’re all wrong but somehow also plausible and that freaks Danny out just a little bit if he ever overhears them
Ultimately, I see this AU having a final arc where a New Situation occurs in which Danny-as-Phantom has to—once again—pretend to be human. This time, he’s with Sam & Tucker as Phantom from the get go, and can’t disappear or transform, even if being Phantom is extremely dangerous at that moment. Somehow this scenario would lead to the Fenton-is-Phantom (or, in this case, Phantom-is-Fenton) reveal…. But the details still escape me :P
so in short………… I really like hidden identities
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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years
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Beautifully Spent
aka Five Times Lan Qiren Left The Lan Sect Behind
- Chapter 2 -
A/N: As a note, each of these chapters is a separate story with a different point of divergence from canon timeline.
When Lan Wangji was six years old, and Lan Xichen nine, their mother died, breaking their hearts. Even Lan Qiren, who had never liked He Kexin and might have even hated her for having ruined all his dreams of travel, felt her absence keenly – he kept thinking of her at odd times, a matter of irrepressible habit. I should tell her about this next week, he would think as he watched his nephews accomplish something, or, upon receiving an offer to go night-hunting, We can’t go because we wouldn’t be able to make it back in time for the monthly visit, and then he’d abruptly remember she was dead and there would be no more monthly visits.
One time, sitting and watching Lan Wangji carefully practice his calligraphy during the time that would normally have been their monthly visit, he even found himself inexplicably wiping tears out of his eyes. It had been a struggle, but they’d finally gotten Lan Wangji to stop going to her door, ignoring snow and chill to wait there as if simply willing it would allow the door to open again, but he remained overly quiet, even quieter than he’d been before, the loss hurting him deeply, and seeing him hurt had hurt Lan Qiren. He tried to be subtle about it, to hide his abrupt display of emotionality, but before he knew it, Lan Wangji had come over to stand by his side, his little hands holding his own, earnestly mumbling, “Don’t cry, shufu, it’ll be all right” in an echo of what Lan Qiren had been trying so ineffectually to say to him.
“Yes,” he said, wiping harder, and ultimately giving up entirely and letting the tears stream down his cheeks, hiding his face entirely behind one of his sleeves. Lan Xichen found them at some point and curled up into Lan Qiren’s other side, tears starting to slowly seep down his own face; trying to hold back their strange shared grief was like trying to stop the tide. “It will be all right, eventually. I promise.”
He had made that promise too soon, it seemed: less than a week later, one of the elders remarked that it was time for Lan Xichen to take up some of the duties of running a sect.
“What?” Lan Qiren asked, blinking. “You’re joking. He’s nine.”
“He’s the future sect leader,” the elder said, and his gaze was cold. “Never forget, Teacher Lan, that although you fill the role now, you are only a custodian in his name.”
“That’s not the point I was making,” Lan Qiren said, frustrated; he had never been very good with words or with people. “Of course he will inherit the position, given time. But he is not even old enough for his own sword, and years away from night-hunting – why would you burden him with sect business? He’s far too young.”
“He is at exactly the right age to begin. How else can we ensure that he will not fall into the failings of his father or the crimes of his mother?”
“He is a child,” Lan Qiren stressed, wondering what he was missing. “We can only teach him to the best of our abilities, and hope that he does well with it; there’s nothing else that can be done.”
The elder shook his head. “We cannot take the risk of another generation of disaster. He must be trained, and trained now, trained well. If we do not take action, it may be too late, and he will be ruined.”
As you were, he didn’t say, but Lan Qiren felt keenly the burn of humiliation. He had never lived up to their expectations the way his brother had, and then his brother had gone and failed them all, too.
“What exactly are you thinking?” he asked, trying to dismiss the feeling of foreboding in his belly. An introduction to the burdens Lan Xichen would eventually face would not be so far amiss – a shichen a week of helping to transcribe simple letters, perhaps, or running errands, the sort of thing a boy could do and not be bored; that wouldn’t be too bad.
That wasn’t what they had in mind at all.
They wanted Lan Xichen to start tackling political problems at once, forcing him to make real decisions, deal with paperwork, and then also three times the usual lessons in sword and music, all the skills he would need to have. And all this, of course, on top of his regular lessons –
“We can assist, of course,” one of the elders said to the others, ignoring Lan Qiren’s aghast expression entirely. “But the sooner he grows accustomed to the work, the sooner he can step up –”
“You’ll crush him!” Lan Qiren exclaimed, interrupting, and he never interrupted the elders. “He’s a child, and a child who just lost his mother at that – how can you even suggest this? He would have no time to study in depth rather than shallowly, no time to think, to become his own person –”
“We will polish him into a perfect jade,” an elder said. “Him, and the younger one, too. What more do they need than to be of service to the sect?”
It wasn’t that Lan Qiren disagreed that service to their sect was the highest good, or that scholarly and martial pursuits were of the highest caliber, far more important than aimless play. He was a teacher, a strict one, and the sect rules accorded with his understanding: Learning comes first. But at the same time, there was learning and then there was learning – he was a teacher who cared for his students’ well-being, too. He knew that the approach proposed would not polish Lan Xichen into a jade but mold him instead, brutally pruning away any part of him that did not accord with the elders’ wishes.
It was just what they’d done to Lan Qiren the moment he became acting sect leader, after all.
They’d loaded him up with responsibilities until he’d nearly worked himself sick, refused to grant him the slightest freedom to travel even in a small and supervised manner, and they’d tried to force him to recant even those few things he did enjoy – composing music, teaching children. If he hadn’t already been as old as he was when it started, he wouldn’t have had the strength of will or determination to preserve even those few little things of his own…
“He should move into the hanshi soon,” another elder agreed. “If we expect him to take on the responsibilities of an adult, he should be treated as one.”
“Agreed. The sooner he disengages from messing around with his peers, the better. They will only distract him from what he needs to do.”
“I do not agree with this,” Lan Qiren said. “I am his guardian and his teacher. I do not agree.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Qiren,” one of the elders said, and Lan Qiren felt an automatic wash of shame, instinctive and ingrained after all these years. “You took the sect leader position with the knowledge that it would not truly be yours, and now you wish to preserve your personal power longer?”
I never wanted the position, which offers only power in exchange for its brutal demands! I still don’t want it! But to put it onto a child, any child, much less my own nephew who I love – how could I agree to that?
“You must not be selfish, as your brother was,” another elder scolded him, and normally Lan Qiren would be the first to agree. Being like his brother was his worst fear, and one he would do anything to avoid – but at the moment, the reminder felt wrong, as if they were using it as a tool to manipulate him rather than expressing what they really thought. “Do not cling to power and authority, after all. You cannot and must not steal what belongs to your nephews, Qiren. Never forget your place.”
Lan Qiren stared at him mutely. His place?
He had never been selfish. He had sacrificed everything – he had been filial and loyal, obedient to his elders, and they had taken everything from him, just as they planned to do to the two children that had been entrusted to his care. The only difference was that Lan Qiren had been allowed to live freely for a little while, and even that freedom was only because the elders had utterly ignored him in favor of his more talented brother, who had been protected by the love of his powerful father; for his nephews, who were all but orphaned and left only in his inferior care, there was no such defense.
This time, it was clear that the elders meant to rectify the situation – this time, they wouldn’t even leave Lan Wangji his childhood, let alone Lan Xichen.
They would hollow them out and leave them as little more than puppets, blindly obeying the rules without having the time to contemplate their meaning. They would squeeze out every moment of every day, turning each endless shichen into a joyless burden, transforming the rules into little more than a yoke to chain them – his nephews wouldn’t be Lan, who chose willingly to obey because they loved the rules and loved their sect and wanted to give everything for it. They would be little better than slaves.
Perhaps, Lan Qiren thought suddenly, it was not his selfishness that the elders were constantly seeking to correct. Perhaps it was their own.
He tried, first and foremost, to argue with them, but they did not listen to him. They had never listened to him, not from the first moment he had yielded to their wishes over his own desires and allowed himself to be trapped in the Cloud Recesses as the new sect leader. No – it was even older than that, from even before then, from as far back as when he had been small and helpless and crying out for help in his own way, not even knowing what was happening to him and why…
They had always turned their faces away.
Lan Qiren had tried his best to please them, and had failed. He’d thought the blame lay with him, but now he wasn’t so sure – now he thought that it didn’t matter what he did, that he never would.
Lan Qiren’s nephews were the ones who were small and helpless now, and unlike the elders that should have watched over him, he would not turn away.
The plan he hatched was ruthless in the extreme, but there was nothing else he could think of in his desperation. The Lan sect had always been very secretive, in its own way, keeping outsiders from knowing their personal business; although everyone within the sect knew that it was the elders who held all the real power, even if they disdained the work of it and left much of that for Lan Qiren to accomplish, from the outside it appeared as though Lan Qiren were sect leader, invested with all the powers of one.
To be a sect leader, in their day and age, was to be a tyrant.
No need to look at Wen Ruohan, the chief example of this trend, a man who made his sect kneel and touch their heads to the floor upon hearing that he was coming. It was enough to look instead at the Jiang sect, whose sect leader Jiang Fengmian whiled away his days waiting for his old lover to write, ignoring his wife despite her maternal family’s power and influence within his territory. Look at the Jin sect, where Jin Guangshan bedded every prostitute and poor young lady within range, surrounded by a cloud of rumors regarding whether he’d bothered to get all of them to consent – rumors there might be, but no one dared to make any trouble for him over it without actual proof. Look at Lao Nie, whose sect, elders and all, sighed and shook their heads over his excessive fondness for dangerous people, but could take no action to stop him.
Look at Lan Qiren’s father, who had spoiled one child into madness and neglected the other into near despair, and had trained his whole sect to accept it as a given. Lan Qiren was working to repair that damage, to lead by example, but it was a hard upward struggle – rot might start at the head, and healing, too, but the healing was harder than the rotting.
A sect leader, in short, was a tyrant.
And as far as the world was concerned, Lan Qiren was the sect leader.
Lan Qiren bided his time until the next discussion conference. It hurt him to wait, seeing poor Lan Xichen get stretched thin under his new duties and constantly reminded to keep a serene smile on his face throughout, seeing poor Lan Wangji so stressed at his brother’s misery and his own amplified lessons that he'd started biting people again, but he knew it was necessary. A discussion conference meant outsiders, and outsiders meant not losing face; it was the one time that Lan Qiren was actually treated as a sect leader by all around him, the one time no one would gainsay anything he said, even if they would later tear strips off of him in private.
It was his only chance.
"I have an announcement," he said mildly, presiding over the large gathering that marked the conclusion of the discussion conference. His Lan sect was the host of this conference, and he was accordingly seated at the head of the room, equal with the other Great Sects but given additional deference in view of the location - it was easy for his voice to carry, despite his quiet tone, and all the sects turned towards him to listen. They were probably expecting something anodyne, some additional prize or information about the weather to keep in mind as they departed. "I have decided that my Lan sect's ties to the rest of the cultivation world have grown stale, seeing each other as we do only at these times and the common people only on night hunts. As a result, in my authority as Sect Leader Lan, I intend to make a journey throughout the various sects, taking along my nephews to introduce them to your families. In my absence, the Cloud Recesses will be managed by my cousin, Lan Yueheng -"
Talk exploded in the whole audience, furious and loud, all but his own Lan sect which was calm and stone-faced as always, though of course that was only their pride and concern for face overwhelming their shock. Poor Lan Yueheng was the exception, of course, his jaw dropping open like a weight dropped from a great height until his neighbors noticed and elbowed him in the side to make him stop - Lan Qiren mentally apologized for not having warned his cousin up front. He hadn't dared to risk it. 
" - and accordingly I will be leaving alongside the rest of you at the conclusion of this conference," he concluded, for once relieved that his voice never varied far from a monotone; he sounded cool and calm and in control, and like he hadn't noticed the way his sect elders were trying to strangle him with their gaze even as the maintained decorum. "Our first destination is the Nie sect's Unclean Realm, with Lao Nie as our host."
Lan Qiren hadn't warned Lao Nie, either, but he knew him well, and to his relief hadn't misjudged him - the other man didn't spare so much as a moment to blink in surprise, instead grinning broadly at the other sect leaders.
"You bet you are," he laughed, his voice booming and loud. "And don't think I'll let you leave so quickly, Qiren - not until your nephews are best friends with my sons, and not until you've had a chance to work your magic on my sect's younger generation and turn them from little beasts into proper gentlemen!"
Lan Qiren barely resisted rolling his eyes - he still didn't know who it was that had come up with the nonsense about him being able to turn the most hopeless waste into a gentleman, but it was rank exaggeration. But to his surprise, the first person to respond was the head of one of the more distant small sects, Baling Ouyang, a young man with an excitable temperament; he leapt up to his feet and exclaimed, "Will he really? Sect Leader Lan, I insist you visit my Ouyang sect next, if you haven't made firm plans - I scarcely recognized my little hellion nephews after a season in your care, all grown up, careful in thought and action, compassionate and upright...and no more pranks!"
Another exaggeration. The Ouyang twins had been troublesome only at the start, until Lan Qiren realized that what they longed for most was recognition as separate beings rather than a collective whole; as soon as he'd treated them with respect, and showed them how to act in return, they'd taken to his lessons like a desert to water. 
"Sect Leader Lan's skill in teaching is very well known," Sect Leader Yao said, always first to speak after his friend from the Ouyang sect. "You'll really come to our sects to do it, rather than our children to the Cloud Recesses? And you won't charge, of course...?"
"Naturally no," Lan Qiren said, a little puzzled by their enthusiasm. Was it so expensive to send children to the Cloud Recesses? He’d never charged for his lessons, although he supposed there was the cost of travel and maintenance to the standard preferred by students, and of course guest gifts were customary, although he never made any demands. "I would be your guest, and enjoying your hospitality – room and board would be more than sufficient…"
"In that case, you should come to Pingyang next -"
"No, Yueyang!" someone else called, and before Lan Qiren knew exactly what was happening, the sect leaders were arguing over who he should visit first. The most enthusiastic were the ones whose children he had taught already, but the others were quick to catch up, loathe to miss out on what they perceived to be a good deal - even Wen Ruohan, never one to lose out to others when it came to something perceived of as desirable, extended an offer with a smug, snake-like smile. 
Lan Qiren provisionally accepted all the offers with a growing sense of relief: with such public acceptance, the Lan sect would lose more face by refusing to let him go than in allowing his unorthodox action. It was just as he has hoped, and more successful than he'd dared to dream; the other sects had fixated on his teaching skills and in doing so had ignored the strangeness of a sect leader taking his heirs and all but running away from home. 
That relief carried him through to the end of the meeting, when everyone divided up to pack up their things, and Lan Qiren returned to the inner parts of his sect to do the same.
"What are you thinking?" one of the elders demanded the second they were alone. "Have you gone mad?"
"Did you see the reception of my idea?" Lan Qiren replied, hiding the giddiness of relief under a facade of calm. "The sect will benefit greatly from the connections we will make."
"That's no answer!"
Lan Qiren was a filial child; even if they were wrong, he would not tell the elders so to their faces. Instead he only bowed deeply and said, "What's done is done. I need to get ready, and quickly; it would be embarrassing if we weren't prepared."
Of course, he'd already packed everything he thought he'd need, determined to take Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji with him no matter what - it was only luck that his plan had worked as well as it had, allowing him to pretend to some move of subtle strategic genius rather than a retreat out of desperation. Still, he needed to go through the motions.
"Fine," another elder spat out, although their demeanor made it clear that it wasn't fine at all. "But did you have to announce that the provisional leader was Lan Yueheng? He's completely unfit!"
By which they meant that he wouldn't listen to them - that he was brash and lacked tact, said what he thought and cared for nothing but his experiments, his wife, and his children. Out of all of Lan Qiren’s cousins, he was the most thick-faced, shameless to the extreme, essentially immune to criticism or guilt. 
That was, of course, exactly why Lan Qiren had picked him.
"He's good at math and accounting, and at arranging provisioning," Lan Qiren said, picking the more acceptable reason. "That's the key responsibility left over, isn't it? Everything else, I can do through correspondence."
The reassurance that Lan Qiren would still be doing his duty to the sect - would still be accountable to them - helped settle some ruffled feathers. It wouldn't be pleasant to try to do the work of sect leader from abroad, Lan Qiren knew; it would mean a lot of sleepless nights slaving away by candlelight, with no support from any aides, bearing all the weight himself. No doubt the elders knew it too, and figured that he'd soon enough lose interest in what he heard them calling, in hushed voices where they thought he could not hear, his "little show of rebellion".
Lan Qiren didn't care. The sooner they left, the better the chances that the elders would continue to be deceived into thinking that Lan Qiren was doing all this for his own sake - some last stab at achieving his long forgotten dreams, doomed to inevitable disappointment - instead of what it really was, which was freedom for his nephews. They couldn't be assigned work or classes from a distance; their education would be wholly in Lan Qiren’s hands.
He'd take a thousand sleepless nights of overwork if it meant they got to be children a little longer.
"Are we really going to the Unclean Realm?" Lan Wangji lisped, looking even more rosy-cheeked and excited than usual. "Will – will Nie-gongzi will be there?"
"Yes, Mingjue-xiong will be there," Lan Xichen said, and grinned at Lan Qiren over his brother’s head. He looked more carefree than he had in...possibly years, and Lan Qiren briefly regretted how long it had taken him to do this. "Since you like him so much."
Lan Wangji turned bright red at once.
"Both of the Nie boys will be there," Lan Qiren said. "The younger one is closer to your age, Wangji. You can get to know him as well."
Lan Qiren went next to the library pavilion, looking for books on their sect rules - he might not trust his sect elders, but he loved his sect, loved their rules and traditions, and he wanted his nephews to love it, too. He wanted them to see the Cloud Recesses as a refuge, as a haven - not a burden.
He would give his nephews the freedom he'd longed for, and when they were older...when they were older, more resilient, more sure of who they were, he would bring them back and he would ensure that they obtained their rightful inheritance. In full, not in part - Lan Xichen would be a real sect leader, not a puppet for the elders, taught only to be pleasant and yielding and to perform well with his cultivation, swordsmanship and music only for the purpose of impressing outsiders. Lan Wangji would be his brother’s right hand, would love and respect him and be loved and respected in turn.
Maybe, Lan Qiren thought to himself, amused, they would even find some compatible child on their way and one day return to bring them home as a dao companion.
He couldn't wait to find out.
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jenomark · 3 years
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Can i request an ideal type for all members? Like just your thoughts on what the members need please
Keep in mind that this is not truth. I'm not going to focus on the physical stuff, because physical preferences change all of the time. I'll just focus on what kind of person I think they need/want, or what I think they should gravitate towards more. 💚
Also, I answer these kinds of questions a lot, but my ideas do change. Keep that in mind, also.
Taeil: I think he would be so in love with someone whose personality is not unlike Haechan. Someone who ends up being the life of the party. Someone who cares about keeping other people happy and entertained. Someone with a larger than life personality to balance out his own. Someone to bring him out of his shell more (because we all know the real Taeil is a wild man, tbh). Someone extraverted and friendly. However, he'll need them to be serious when it's time to be serious. I also think he'll need someone that really understands his lifestyle, because I can't see him with someone not in some part of the entertainment industry.
Johnny: I think, when Johnny sees people, he wonders if that person will be a good marriage partner for him. There is something about him, to me, that suggests he's modeling relationships off of what he's experienced growing up. He'll need someone with a similar personality to him. It's not because he's vain, it's just that he wants things so badly to be fun and stress-free. So, with that said, their sense of humor has to be amazing. He is a leader type, but I think he'll switch to being a follower type when he finds his ideal type. He'll like it, too. I think he'll end up falling for someone not from his native country. Differences are interesting and cool to him.
Taeyong: Honestly, someone that can take care of him. He's not looking for a mother figure. He's not looking to be babied. I always get the feeling he just wants someone to take over for a while and tell him things will be okay. Someone empathetic. Judging by what he shows us, animal lovers are ideal. Don't laugh at how seriously he takes things sometimes. I think that would kill him. I always see him with someone mentally and emotionally strong. The opposite they are to him, the better. I can see him being interested in someone he works with, but I do think he's the type to get caught up in how people make him feel rather than how good they would truly be for him. I genuinely hope someone good and sweet finds him eventually!
Yuta: Someone who can deal with the intensity he dishes out. They have to be strong and capable, mentally and emotionally. They can't clash with his ideas or opinions, but they also can't back down. He'll be looking for someone who can keep up with him. I do think they would have to have a degree of goofiness to them, though. I don't think he's as serious as he can present himself to be. Someone charming. Someone that can hold an interesting conversation. Someone who makes him feel like home, if that makes sense. He needs to feel at ease in a relationship.
Kun: Someone focused and mature. He feels like someone who would be honored to find a partner just like himself. In a weird way, I think he would look at a reflection of himself and be turned on. However, I happen to agree with him on this one. Someone who enjoys what he enjoys would compliment him well. Someone affectionate and open to receiving his affection. Someone disciplined and wise beyond their years. Though, I do think they would have to differ from him somehow because he'll need someone to help him chill out. For this reason, I would probably place him with someone younger but mature.
Doyoung: Someone even more outgoing than he is. Extroversion. Someone he can learn from and follow. Someone that likes to cuddle and stay inside, but they can also go out and have fun. He's not picky at all. His restlessness makes him want everything and to experience everything at once, so his ideal type ends up looking like a million people squished into one. Personally, I would like to see him with someone mature. I don't want anyone that will be reckless with his soft heart. Someone he can sing with, I think. I feel that would be best for him, because I think it will create a tighter bond.
Ten: Since he knows people really well, he knows what is best for himself. I think he has a whole lot of qualities on a list that he wants. Someone artistic. Someone without an attitude. Someone that lets him live freely. They'll have to understand him, and they can't just pretend to understand him because he'll know right away if they don't. Someone gentle with him. Someone who sees his heart. Someone that feels like a soulmate to him. Someone who can live in the different world he's created for both of them. I think the person he goes for will be spiritual and creative and just everything that embodies Ten as a person.
Jaehyun: Someone pretty. That isn't necessarily a physical thing, because someone can be pretty on the inside, too. Someone who doesn't make him think or talk too much. He doesn't want drama. He doesn't want anything that is too hard. I do get the feeling that he likes femininity a whole lot. Someone who is private about their affairs but knows how to celebrate their own accomplishments. He'll need a best friend as well as a lover in that person. I see him with someone in the entertainment industry, but I think he'll always go for someone people least expect him to. Honestly, they might have to be a little weird, since his energy is a little offbeat.
WinWin: Ideally, I think he wants someone that excites him. Someone who acts one way in public and another way privately. Though observant, his attention sometimes isn't the best, so someone that thrills him would keep him interested. Whether or not that's good for him, only he knows. He likes giving support and likes knowing that they're pleased by that support. He has a lot of determination to do what other people do not want him to do, and I think that might translate into relationships. He'll probably go for someone opinionated and talkative. Someone that will let him spoil the shit out of them and treat them like royalty.
Jungwoo: His ideal type is someone just like him. For better or for worse, they'll have to know what he's like when they're with him. Someone clever is good. He likes mental games and likes to be kept on his toes. Someone that can teach him new things. I think he likes to be surprised. Outdo and outspeak him. On the flipside of all the chaos, he's deeply sensitive and probably needs someone who understands what it means when he's stressed. Someone patient, because he's not a person who opens up as easily. A good listener. Honestly, someone that isn't scared to call him out sometimes can't hurt.
Lucas: Someone who is fun enough for him to take his mind off of things. He has a lot of worries, so he'll need someone to take his worries and turn them into something positive. Someone dependable. Someone who has had shared experiences. Someone who understands everything he is not saying. For this, I definitely think he'll need someone in the entertainment industry. I think his ideal type reads a bit different from what he might need. There is a part of me that feels he has no idea what he really needs or wants. To me, he seems like someone who, right now, just wants to be loved.
Mark: Ambition and independence is a big theme. He needs a hard worker, first and foremost. They would have to give everything 110%. Next, he needs someone with similar values and morals. They, of course, don't have to see eye-to-eye with him about everything, because he's quite accepting, but he can't be with someone who doesn't believe in anything at all. Friendliness is good, but extraversion isn't needed. He needs someone devoted to him. Someone confident and sure of themselves. He'll need someone who can hang around when things get tough, which they will. I can't see him with someone too wild.
Xiaojun: Whether he wants it or not, ideally, someone who can put him in his place. He does need someone to guide him. He needs a boss, in a sense, but not someone too prideful to accept his love. He has a lot of love to give. I think he's addicted to people who are loud and crazy. He needs a big presence in a personality. He wants to always be stunned when this person walks into a room. Someone who likes to play and have fun. If they're too stuffy or serious, Xiaojun starts to change himself, and he doesn't want to do that. Whomever they are, I think his eyes will light up whenever he sees them.
Hendery: Someone sensitive. His ideal person is the same whether it's for a relationship or a friendship. He needs someone who thinks about the welfare of other people. Compassionate. Kind. Welcoming. Humor is a big need. If his person can't make a fool out of themselves, he's not likely to be interested. He wouldn't want them being self-deprecating, though. Someone who believes in and loves themselves is important. I think he wants someone to romance him rather than just him romancing them. The more I get to know him, the more I feel like he strives to be a really good husband for someone someday.
Renjun: I think he would fall so deeply in love with someone bubbly and cute. Someone a little extraverted, friendly, and probably a little annoying. Someone that makes him feel shy when he talks to them. Someone that can talk him down from a ledge. He has tendencies to be a little pessimistic, so someone optimistic is perfect for him. Whomever they are, I see them being small and sweet. A good listener. If they can do the things for him that he does for other people, he would be very thankful. For some reason, I see him wanting to date friends of his friends.
Jeno: I've always seen him with someone older. Not by too many years. I think, no matter what age, they would have to treat him as an equal. Ideally, his type would have the same interests that he does. He would love nothing more than to do an activity and for them to be truly happy about joining him. Someone caring. Someone kind. Someone that other people would call a nice person. He wouldn't want to be taken advantage of in any way. Therefore, someone with a fiery and self-serving personality won't work with him. He needs calmness and simpleness. He doesn't need your support, but he's touched if he has it.
Haechan: Someone who understands him. Don't change the things you don't like about him, but offer to help him grow. I say this a lot about him, but he definitely needs someone patient and compassionate. I think, if he had it his way, he would go for another singer/artist, but I don't think that's the best idea. I think he needs normalcy in a relationship, or it will have the tendency to make him depressed along the line. Someone very intelligent and clever, like, they have to be able to back up what they're talking about. Mental sparring turns him on. If you can play with him and not get hurt so easily, it's ideal.
Jaemin: Stability!!!! It's, like, his number one thing. He is self-sufficient all on his own, so if you don't add any stability to his life,there is no use for you. I think he looks at love in a very logical way. He just wants someone to share his life with. He wants what is his and he wants them to have what is theirs, but to also come together in a way that is mutually beneficial. Honesty is a must, because it's what he values in others. He'll probably need someone who isn't bossy or dominate. He's not someone who takes too kindly to being told what to do, to be honest. Someone wise. Someone intelligent. Someone low-maintenance.
YangYang: Someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. Someone who makes him laugh a lot . I think, right now, his ideal type physically is very shallow and typical of someone his age (for the most part). The more important parts read like: "Someone my mom likes." or "Someone who makes me be a better person." I do think YangYang thinks a lot about what's on the inside of a person and how that affects him in the long run. He'll want someone kind and easygoing, someone that has good values and morals. Something also tells me he has this idea about love that can be very much like a fairytale. He can be very naive, so someone who knows what they're doing can only help serve him.
Shotaro: I think his ideal type list is miles long but he'll never admit exactly what is on it. His expectations are high, but realistic. He needs someone energetic, someone who wants the same things out of life that he does. Someone trustworthy. Someone intelligent and savvy about the industry. I kind of get the sense that he is picky about who he chooses to love, like, he knows exactly what he wants. I want for him to go for someone who looks tough on the outside but is really soft around the edges. I kind of want him to go for a dancer, but something tells me he stays away from all of that.
Sungchan: Someone he can help. Someone he can take care of, cherish, nurture, love for life. He has a really good and lovable personality, so I think he's going to attract exactly what he's looking for. He'll need someone bold, too, like, they have to match the fearless vibe he sometimes has going on. If they're bolder than him, it's a plus, because he sometimes feels like a coward. I can see them also being a little awkward, and I really think he's attracted to that awkward energy. He'll want his ideal type to make sense when other people look at them together. Someone chill and drama-free. I don't think he cares what kind of job they have or where they come from, just that they make him happy.
Chenle: When I think about it, his ideal type feels simple. He doesn't feel like someone who really needs much in life. The qualities he wants are basic things like: nice, fun, honest, loves him, doesn't like to argue too much etc. I think Chenle's main requirement is probably that the person loves and respects his family. I don't think he's too fussy. I can't see him with someone who likes being part of the spotlight. I think he needs a low key relationship where two people can flourish in each other's company. I do think he draws people to him that he might be so tolerant towards that he won't realize they're manipulating him. Either way, I think relationships are the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.
Jisung: Someone most likely older than him. It's not that he needs someone to lead him in life, just that he likes learning from people who have different experiences. I also kind of feel like he has a need to be taken seriously and seen as mature, so someone more experienced will do that for him. Someone who expresses their own emotions well and can see where his emotions are coming from. His ideal type would need to be best friends with him first. Building friendship is important to someone like him. If you pass the friendship vibe check, he's up to seeing where else it goes. I think he would be into someone artsy and cute, someone soft and kind. I wouldn't be surprised if he went and found himself a little weirdo.
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maybestoryideas · 3 years
Text
Babysitting Skid & Pump w/ Agoti and Tabi
How They Met
In a momentary lapse of your infinite wisdom and judgement, you accidentally scheduled to meet up with Agoti and Tabi on the same day you offered to watch over the Skid and Pump for Lila. Apparently she had to leave town for the day, and the kids had been getting in more trouble than usual.
You were getting ready to leave for Lila’s, only to be met with a screen demon and floating skull when you opened your front door.
After explaining the situation to them, you promised to hang out some other day, when you wouldn’t be busy. Somehow, Agoti interpreted this as an invitation to join you and help babysit, which is the exact opposite of what you were implying.
You were more than a little worried about Skid and Pump meeting your friends. The kids could be quite the handful sometimes, and your friends were prone to… outbursts.
“Hey, Tabi! I didn’t know you had a little brother.”
“Shut the fu-“
“Language.”
When Skid and Pump see Agoti and Tabi, they’re instantly attached.
“Skid, Pump, these are my friends, and they were just leaving.”
“I like your spooky masks!”
“Um, thanks… Why are you two wearing costumes?”
“It is the spooky month!”
“It’s 90 degrees outside.”
“Wanna see something really cool?”
Agoti then proceeds to get down on the sidewalk and start doing push-ups with his tongue. Skid and Pump are instantly impressed.
“Your spooky friend is so cool!”
“They think I’m cool. Whaddya say about that?”
“I say you just licked a public sidewalk and probably need to go to a hospital.”
“Can Agoti and Tabi hang out with us today? Please?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure they have very important adult things to do and need to get going.”
“Not really.”
“Dang-it.”
“Please???”
Skid, Pump, AND Agoti are at your legs, staring up at you with big begging eyes. Tabi is standing behind them with secondhand embarrassment.
“F-Fine!”
“Yay!”
Agoti is constantly bragging and being a show-off for the kids; he’s playing it up more than normal. Meanwhile Tabi’s being a lot more chill, vaguely answering any questions the kids have about him.
“You’re so good a video games!”
“Yeah, I’m a bit of a celebrity. I actually got so famous that these jerks tried to get rid of me. Obviously it didn’t work, though, and blah blah bla-blah blah…”
“Are you a ghost?”
“My body’s invisible. It’s a long story.”
Skid and Pump try to teach them the Spooky Dance. Emphasis on ‘try’.
“How are you moving your arms that quickly?!”
“I feel like an idiot.”
Meanwhile, you’re recording all of it on your phone. Haha! Blackmail.
You spent the day playing video games, watching TV, and hanging around the house.
So, at the end of the day, it wasn’t a total disaster.
Together
After Agoti and Tabi showed that they can act like decent people in front of kids, you agreed to let them join you whenever you’re babysitting.
You thought having three adults keeping track of two kids would make things easier, but they somehow manage to get into more trouble between the four of them.
“You’re supposed to the mature ones! How do you manage to cause this much trouble? On accident?!”
You always end up having to be the ‘Mom-friend’, but it rarely does any good.
“Let’s go to the spooky forest.”
“Yeah! Let’s go!”
“Let’s… not?”
“Let’s put it to a vote! Who wants to go into the cool spooky, haunted, abandoned forest?”
[Three hands immediately go up, followed by a fourth]
“And who wants to stay home and be boring?”
[One awkward hand goes up]
To be fair, Tabi at least tries to be a responsible adult, so it balances out Agoti’s chaotic enabling.
They once took everyone to Zardy’s maze. Never. Ever. Again.
“You’re going to get us lost, just like last time!”
“That was your fault! I knew exactly where we were going, but you kept taking us in the wrong direction!”
“Guys, we haven’t even gone into the maze yet. Look, the sign’s right behind yo-”
*angry SEGA Genesis and angry Russian noises intensify*
You decided to take Skid and Pump through the maze, and just left the two screaming outside the entrance. When you finally got to the end, they were still screaming. Not at each other, but at a scarecrow.
They’re a lot more well-behaved when you’re just hanging around town. Probably because otherwise they’d have to deal with police and witnesses.
If any shady creeps approach your group, Agoti and Tabi will stand right behind Skid and Pump, silently threatening until they back off.
They also do it whenever the Hatzgang starts picking on Skid and Pump, though they tone it down since Roy and his friends are still teenagers.
“Hey kid. You’re not causing trouble for my friends here, right?”
“N-No, sir! We’re just… kidding around. Oh God, please don’t kill me!”
For one Halloween, Skid and Pump dressed up as Tabi and Agoti.
“Aw! You two are look so cool and spooky!”
“How come you never call us cool and spooky?”
“Skid and Pump are cute kids. You two are public menaces.”
You frequently visit the candy store at the end of the day. On the off chance that there’s something the kids want but can’t get, Agoti will pay for it or bribe Kevin to look the other way. Sometimes it doesn’t work and then Tabi will threaten to demolish the store. That always works. You’ve started forcing them to wait outside the store while you buy everything yourself.
Even though Agoti and Tabi’s chaotic personalities feed into Skid and Pump’s mischievous behavior, you can tell that they genuinely like the kids, and you’re happy they get along well. Sometimes.
“Pump, where did you learn that word?”
“I heard Agoti shouting it when he was playing video games.”
“I thought so.”
Meanwhile
“Hm…”
“What’s up, dude?”
“I don’t why, but I think [Name’s] gonna kick my ass tomorrow.”
(Thanks for reading! Please give me things to write about?)
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1plus1kiyoomi · 4 years
Text
Chapter 22: How I Met Your Mother
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“Okay, listen up my children!” Kiyoomi announces in the middle of the living room, the kids all looking up to him. “Your mother won’t be around for 3 days-”
Kin starts crying because of his father’s words, taking Sakusa aback. His boy must love you so much since he’s the only who seems affected that you are away. The girls... don’t care.
“Don’t cry! Don’t cry! We are only 30 minutes in and you’re already crying,” Kiyoomi sighs, picking Kin up from the ground.
“You should not have mentioned mama,” Kia scolds him. Kia takes a seat on the couch which Mina and Mira follows. She is their leader, not Kiyoomi. If a hierarchy is made in your house it would turn out like this:
You
Kia
Mina
Mira
Kin
Kiyoomi
Yes. Sakusa Kiyoomi, the provider and the pillar of the house, is at the lowest ranking in your house, simply because he isn’t around all the time. He only goes home once or twice a month, leaving all the childcare and managing of the house to you. The wedding planning is only the side dish of what’s on your plate. He has so much respect for you that he’s willing to lower his pride and hurt his ego.
Kiyoomi is more than happy to take care of the kids for you. You get to rest and he gets to spend time with your children. It’s a win-win situation for the two of you.
“Mama!” Kin cries harder, and Sakusa bounces him on his arm, hoping it will stop him.
“If you stop crying we will go see the fish!” Kiyoomi cheers and Kin stops crying. “We will change now and then go see fish.”
“Really?” Kia questions her father, already old enough to be aware of Kiyoomi’s fear of crowds and germs. She knows that there is no way that their dad will bring the four of them in the aquarium. Especially since it’s a weekend, so it’ll be packed with people.
And Kia was right. Kiyoomi didn’t bring them to the aquarium, but to a small fish market. Kia is disappointed but not surprised. At least Kiyoomi tried, right? “Where’s the fish?” Kin asks, looking around as he sits in his stroller. The place only has a few people and small stalls, which Kiyoomi really likes.
They stop in front of a stall where fish are laid on trays of ice, shocking the twins. Kia just face palms, and Mina is just standing there but is also in disbelief. “What? It’s fish.” Kiyoomi defends himself, shrugging.
“It’s dead,” Mina remarks as she stares at the deceased sea creatures in front of her.
“A fish is a fish,” Kiyoomi argues. Kia scans through the surrounding and spots a small tank with king crabs in it. She points at it so they go to it. Kin and Mira are now out of their stroller and are almost glued to the glass tank. The owner of the shop comes out asks if they’re going to it at the store. Kiyoomi says yes, since the kids look so excited to be seeing crab for the first time.
What he didn’t take in account is that the kids will recognize that the crab they were staring at outside is now their food. Cue the loud crying from Kin and Mira. The number of times Kia has face palmed because of her father is uncountable. Mina is chill, playing with the claws of the cooked crab, making her younger siblings cry even more.
“Stop crying. Try it!” Mina puts a piece of meat in Mira’s mouth and she stops. Kin halts as well, confused why his twin stopped wailing. Kia feeds him the crab and he falls in love with it. Kiyoomi sighs in relief, very thankful that he has reliable daughters.
One task done.
Their lunch finally ends and they head to the toy store. Kiyoomi has already planned to buy kinetic sand for the twins since he can’t bring them to the beach. It’s a scary place. He might be the most cautious guy in the country, but he’s still like any clumsy father. The chances of him losing one kid at that place is high.
“Do you wanna walk?” Kiyoomi asks the twins, not wanting to carry a stroller around. The two nod so he takes out the safety harness and puts it on them. Mina and Kia are holding hands, walking obediently beside their father. The family of 5 enters the store and the kids become excited immediately.
“We can buy anything we want?” Kia asks in awe, which Kiyoomi just nods to. “Let’s go Mina!”
“Don’t go with strangers, okay?” Kiyoomi tells them as the two run off somewhere in the store. He picks up tubs of kinetic sand, clay, and slime. Then, he follows the twins around the store, picking up whatever they seemed interested in.
“You want that toy car?” Kiyoomi asks Mira, picking them up from the ground so they can see a clearer view of the toys. Kin points at a toy gun at another shelf. “I’m sorry, buddy, but you can’t use that yet, and maybe your mama will shoot me using that if she finds out I bought you one.”
As Kiyoomi and the twins are picking more stuffed animals, Kia and Mina come running towards him. “Papa! Papa! Can I buy a bike?” Kia pleads, tugging on Kiyoomi’s pants. He takes a deep breath in before agreeing to his eldest daughter.
“Where are your toys?” Kiyoomi asks them, seeing that the two girls are empty handed.
“I only want a bike and Mina wants a picture book,” Kia answers. Kiyoomi furrows his eyebrows in disappointment, but in his mind he’s actually really happy that the girls seem to be taking saving into consideration.
“Are you sure?” Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow at them.
“Can I buy a skateboard too...?” Kia shyly requests, doing a cute pose. Kiyoomi chuckles and agrees with her.
“How about you Minari?” Kiyoomi asks the younger girl.
“I want paint,” Kia nonchalantly says and Kiyoomi does a thumbs up to her. After that, they start to run to wherever they can get their wants. Kiyoomi walks after his kids, the twins already asleep in his arms, their heads on his shoulder. He spots Kia, scanning through the wide catalog of bikes, a small skateboard already tucked below her underarms.
“Can I get the blue one?” Kia tells the employee who is assisting her, pointing at the baby blue bike she wants.
“You don’t want the pink one?” The employee asks, presenting the pink bike. Kia looks at him in disgust.
“Do you think girls only like pink?” Kia remarks, taking the employee by surprise. Kiyoomi smiles under his mask, amused by his daughter’s words. He internally taps the his back because he’s pretty much the reason behind her attitude. He’s proud to say that he has raised his children not to believe in gender norms.
Kiyoomi feels someone tug on his pants, so he looks down and sees Mina holding a small cart filled with coloring materials, picture books and papers. “Is that all you want?” Mina nods and holds his hand.
After checking Kia’s bike they head to the cashier to pay. Kiyoomi then realizes that he has done the one thing you told him not to do. Spend money on the kids. But you won’t know right?
One task has been failed.
As they reach the house, all the kids immediately go to the bathroom to wash. Kiyoomi knows that they adapted this habit from him, and he feels happy that they’re understanding his personality even at a young age. Kia even sprays alcohol in her sibling’s hand every time they come back to the car. It’s the little things his little kids are doing for him that makes him love them even more.
The four of them falls asleep after the bath so Kiyoomi arranges the stuff they bought. As he is arranging Mina’s books, he notices the abundant number of books that included dogs. “Does she likes dogs?”
Kiyoomi is tired. He has never felt this tired after intense games or practices. Childcare is a whole new level of tired. Just when he thought he can rest, Mina walks out of her shared room with Kia. “Hi, baby. Did you sleep well?” Kiyoomi asks Mina which she doesn’t respond to. Instead, she comes close to him and hugs his leg. Surprisingly, Mina starts crying. “What’s wrong?”
“I missed you, papa,” Mina explains. Kiyoomi sits on the foamed floor of the living room, giving Mina a hug.
Mina has always been quiet. She always waits for her turn silently. She never begs for attention even if she wants it deeply. Mina only shows affection towards you and Kiyoomi when she’s alone with you, but with her siblings around, she gives way to them. Sometimes, Kiyoomi feels guilty because of this. Unlike Kia, Mina has never spent time with you and Kiyoomi on her own. Plus, she was then followed by the twins when she was still a baby. He’s afraid that Mina might start thinking that she is less important than her siblings.
“I missed you, too, Minari,” Kiyoomi says back. He puckers his lips so Mina gives him a short kiss. He hugs her once again, calming her down from her cry. She calms down so Kiyoomi takes this as a chance to trim her bangs. “Should we cut your hair?”
The two of them go to your shared bathroom as quiet as they can, not wanting to wake the other kids up. Kiyoomi sits Mina down on the sink, then takes a pair of scissors out of the drawers. “Don’t move, okay?” He starts to cut her bangs, thinking he’s doing a good job. But once he lets go of her hair, the room becomes silent.
Sakusa messed up. Big time.
Mina checks her reflection at the mirror and giggles. “Weird,” Mina says in between laughter, causing Kiyoomi to chuckle as well.
“Your mom will be so mad at me...” He cuts some more length off, but no matter how hard he tries, it’s just an uneven. He then decides to stop, not wanting his daughter to look like an unidentified animal.
“I like it, papa. Thank you.” She doesn’t like it, but she doesn’t want to break her father’s heart. Mina hugs Kiyoomi after taking a look at the mirror. Kiyoomi kisses her cheek, then laughs at the result.
“You’re still cute.”
Two tasks done.
As they return to the living room, they see Kia sitting on the living room couch, staring at the wall emptily. She sees Mina’s new hairstyle and grimaces. “You’re bad at cutting hair, papa,” Kia says, unfiltered. Unlike Mina who is considerate like you, Kia is as blunt as Kiyoomi. He doesn’t say anything back since she was right.
“Can you teach Mina the alphabet while I make dinner?” Kiyoomi requests and Kia nods in agreement. Mina goes to Kia while Kiyoomi goes to the kitchen to make dinner. He’s thankful that he has such a reliable daughter. He would probably not make it without Kia around.
Three tasks done. Somehow.
At first, Kia was teaching Mina the alphabet, but then she had to go to Kiyoomi’s bathroom to wash her hands, and that’s when she saw Kiyoomi’s ripped jeans that he wore a day before in the laundry basket. She hurriedly called Mina and ordered her to bring paper and glue.
“Is papa poor?” Mina gasps as Kia presents the ripped jeans to her. They sadly look at the piece of clothing and feel bad for buying so much at the toy store while their father was wearing clothes with holes in it.
The older girl flattens the pair of jeans on the floor and starts to glue the colored paper over the torn parts. Mina mimics Kia and does the same thing to the other leg of the pants. Kiyoomi, still in the kitchen, wonders why he suddenly can’t hear his children. It’s never good when they’re silent.
“Kia! Mina! Where are you?” Kiyoomi shouts and he hears small footsteps coming from his room. He checks over the counter and sees his pants are now covered in decorative paper. He almost drops the knife he is holding from the sudden transformation of his pants.
“We covered the holes in your pants papa! You might get cold!” Kia reasons as she shows off their little project. How can he get mad at them when they are just worried about him?
“Thank you, Kia, Mina,” he laughs and snaps a picture of them on his phone. Things that his kids do that don’t make sense but is damn adorable.
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“Just go to bed. I beg you,” Kiyoomi pleads to his children who are still jumping on the bed. “It’s already almost 12AM. Please sleep.”
Kiyoomi is damn tired. How do you handle the four of them on your own? He suddenly feels bad for leaving you alone with them. And he hasn’t heard a complain from you even once. His love for you has become deeper just from taking care of the kids in one day.
“Bedtime story!” Kia cheers, putting herself inside the blanket, which her siblings follow. Kiyoomi sighs in relief. Finally.
“What kind of story do you want?” Kiyoomi tucks the blankets properly on their bodies, making sure that the four of them are comfortable in his bed.
“How did you meet mama?” Kia asks, causing Kiyoomi to smile.
“How I met your mother, huh?” Kiyoomi hums, thinking about how you first met. His smile grows, remembering every detail of how you met.
The first time Sakusa had met you was in Itachiyama. You were outside the volleyball gym, and he was on his way to practice. For some odd reason, you were smelling the roses by the wall. He thought you were the weirdest person he had encountered and judged you right then and there. After that, he would notice how you came to the same spot to smell the roses every single day. He didn’t even understand what smelled so good about them. He may or may have not tried smelling them after practice just to check why you kept smelling them.
It went on for weeks, but Sakusa never thought of talking to you. He just didn’t see see a reason why he should. Until one day, it rained so heavily that he became so worried for unknown reasons. On his way to practice, he stopped by the usual spot where you would smell the flowers and he didn’t see you there. Of course you wouldn’t be there, it was raining so hard. He didn’t care about you.
He was sure he didn’t care until he found himself carrying a bouquet of roses one morning to give it to you. He couldn’t believe it himself. But he couldn’t contain his feelings anymore.
You were a virus that slowly corrupted his mind that all he could think of is you. Maybe it be in class, during practice, on his way home, before he sleeps, after he wakes and sometimes he even dreams about you. Your virus then slowly travelled to his heart. He couldn’t explain it but every time he saw you, his heart would pound so fast he felt like he would suffer from cardiac arrest.
But it was also you who soothed him. When he was feeling down, he thought of your smile after you smelled the roses and he’s back up again. The calm he felt when he passed by you in hallways was enough to encourage him to do great in practice and in games. He didn’t even know your name but he already has a mission of taking your last name and replacing it with his.
You were his illness and his cure.
His cousin, Komori, wasn’t surprised to see him standing by the school gates with flowers in his hands. As the libero saw the roses, he immediately knew Sakusa was waiting for you.
Sakusa was never quiet about his feelings judgement towards you. Everyday the spiker would complain to the libero about how weird you were. Each day, Sakusa had something new to complain about. You cut your hair? He would say it Komori. You painted your nails a new color? Komori would hear about it. You were wearing a different bag? Komori definitely knew about it from Sakusa.
Komori had concluded that Sakusa had developed a liking towards you but the latter hadn’t notice yet. So when it rained hard the day before and Sakusa’s plays were bad, Komori knew Sakusa would do something about it. Sakusa was an honest man, even to himself, especially to himself.
You were on your way to school, when you saw Sakusa standing by the gates. Of course you knew him. He was famous in your school despite his too blunt personality and germaphobic tendencies. You had a little crush on him, but you also were aware he’d never like you back. You’d go outside their gym everyday to smell on the flowers and see him. He was a happy a crush. So, seeing him with flowers outside your school broke your heart.
‘So he had a lover, huh?’
You walked past him, head lowered in defeat. You heard murmurs and whispers as you continued to walk but you ignore them, head full of sad thoughts. Suddenly, you felt a hand on your shoulder so you turned your head and saw Sakusa standing before you, handing you the bundle of flowers. Everyone else was staring at you and Komori was hiding somewhere, taking a picture of the commotion.
“I think you got the wrong person,” you chuckled awkwardly, not knowing what to do since other students were looking at the two of you. And Sakusa Kiyoomi, the ace of the volleyball team, your happy crush, the man of your dreams, was handing you a bouquet of roses.
“You’re the girl who smells the roses outside our gym every afternoon, right?” Sakusa said as he pulled his mask down.
You literally short circuited. He was much more taller and more gorgeous up close. He smelled good, too. But what surprised you the most was that he lowered his mask to talk to you. Maybe you saved the world once in your past life to be able to experience this.
You nodded unsurely, glancing around you in nervousness, not able to look him in the eye. “Forecast said it’ll rain later in the afternoon so you won’t be able to smell the flowers outside the gym. So take this.” Sakusa explained to you.
You couldn’t believe it. The boy who you had a secret crush on since the first day of school had noticed you. You didn’t expect anything at all. Considering how he was with people, you thought you didn’t have a chance so you never made a move aside from stealing glances and watching from a far. To say that your heart was beating fast and that you felt butterflies in your stomach was an understatement. One more word from him and you would probably burst.
“Is that so?” A smile slowly grew on your lips, finally making eye contact with him. You were trying so hard to play it cool, but your reddening cheeks were giving you off. “Thank you. I’m (Y/N) by the way.”
“You can call me Kiyoomi.”
“And from that day on, I would bring your mother a rose everyday,” Sakusa tells Kia, fondly looking his children, the products of your love.
“So you liked mama ever since you met her?” Kia asks, seeing her father smile foolishly. A small giggle leaves Kiyoomi’s mouth and Kia teases him. “Papa is a simp.”
“Where did you learn that?” Kiyoomi gasps.
“Momo,” Kia answers and Kiyoomi takes a mental note to smack his cousin when he sees him again. “Papa, do you love mama?”
“We wouldn’t have the four of you if I don’t,” Kiyoomi answers with a chuckle. He checks his other kids and they have already fallen asleep. “Now go to sleep.”
“Good night, papa,” Kia greets him before closing her eyes. “I love you and mama so much. I am happy you are our parents.”
“We love you more.” He kisses their forehead one by one, before settling on the edge of the bed. He takes his phone out and messages you, hoping you were still awake.
All tasks complete.
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Facts:
Kia is already 5 years old at this, while Mina is 2 and the twins are 1.
Mina thinks dogs are cute because Komori looks like one and he is her favorite uncle.
Mira is the quiet twin while Kin is the more vocal one.
Kin likes fish because the last time Hinata came over, he showed him a picture of his gold fish. Hinata is Kin’s favorite.
Bokuto is Kia’s new favorite uncle/boyfriend because Atsumu has children and Kita is married. She doesn’t want to get in trouble.
Mira is loyal to Kiyoomi.
Taglist:  @elianetsantana​​ @aoi-turtle @ptv-hades  @aquzairus @a-applepi  @justoneofthefangirlsarianna-r13 @morenabambinii @chaelysian @loser-keiji​​ @mxngy @ne-kuroon1fangirlsblog @d-efend @missalicebaskervillemarvelousbakugou @agaashesmilktea​ @bonkyandloki @kimi09 @ntimacy @mkazuyuh  @ushi-please @minty-mangos-world @dearest-kiyoomi​ @yeehawslap  @onlyshinji @obsessedwhxre @adrasteiaxandromedaa @abuliawrites @song-of-storms162 @tnu-ree @keichainn  @bunnybitesthedust @lililiynx  @maitenight @prettyinblack231  @hyoonx23
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fanmoose12 · 3 years
Note
Hi fanmoose! Got a prompt for you, if you're interested: Levi seeing the 104th and the vets preparing gifts for Hange's birthday, but he's wondering what to give them so he goes above and beyond... all the Scouts are taken by surprise.
Thanks, and good luck!
i changed a couple of things..... hope you still enjoy it! thanks for the prompt <3
Jean got a notebook. Armin made a new quill, using a feather from the owl he and Mikasa caught. Connie brought from his home village a whole basket of peers Hange loved so much. Sasha was responsible for baking a cake.
Nifa made her favorite brownies. Mike decided to gift Hange a new jacket, Nanaba bought a new pair of shoes, Erwin got her a new pair of glasses and a microscope she was whining about for so long. Moblit drew a fucking portrait of her.
Even Eren, as obtuse as he was, prepared a present for Hange.
“My mom was very good at sewing,” he shared with Levi, in the middle of his training, “she didn’t teach me how to do it,” at that, his voice lost some of its edge, tints of sadness appearing, “but Mikasa knows how to sew and she promised to help me with it!”
Levi could only arch an eyebrow. “And how is that related to a gift for Hange?”
Eren leaned closer with a hand next to his mouth, looking so serious, like he was going to tell the biggest secret in the world. “I’m going to sew a plushie for Squad Leader.”
“A plushie? A fucking toy with your titan’s face?”
There was a beat of silence. Then… “Damn it.” Eren took head in his hands, tugging at his hair with alarming desperation. “Damn it! I should have sewed the plushie of my Titan! Hange-san loves it!”
Yeah, as much as it annoyed Levi, there was certainly no way he could deny that.
“So… what did you sew instead?”
Peaking beneath his fingers, Eren mumbled. “A plushie of me holding a heart that says ‘I love you, Hange’.”
Fuck… as dense as Eren was, Levi had to admit… the gift was not bad at all. Especially for Eren. Especially comparing to his gift, which consisted of…
Nothing.
Just two days were left before Hange’s birthday, and he still no idea what to give her. Hange was probably expecting a present from him. Or, maybe, she was not. She was nice like that – always giving without asking for something in return. Hange was also kind, she thought he was her friend, and even more than that. Best friend, she once told him. And Levi had to admit. He felt it too. Hange was his friend. The first one he made in Survey Corps. The closest one he had.
Some friend he was, apparently. Not even preparing a gift for her.
Sensibly, he knew that he was making a problem out of nothing. He could give Hange something simple – a shampoo she obviously didn’t possess; a book she would probably like and squeal in his ear about; a new shirt or a bottle of good wine.
Hange would probably enjoy these kinds of gift. They were certainly useful. But were they meaningful? Would Hange remember them, ten years from now?
He wanted her to. Hange was his friend, perhaps, even something more. He wanted only the best for her. That’s why picking up a gift was such a problem.
With only two days left, Levi was getting desperate. He was thinking about seeking out help, but just before he gathered the strength…
The help came to him themselves.
“Good day, Levi,” with a good-natured smile, Erwin invaded his office, Mike and Nanaba trailing after him. “Are you busy?”
Levi pointedly looked at the mountain of paperwork on his desk. “Yes,” he drew, “All thanks to you, Erwin.”
“Well, you can take a break,” Erwin waved his hand dismissively, and took a seat on the opposite end of Levi’s desk. Nanaba and Mike occupied the sofa. “We came to discuss something very important,” the smile was gone, as Erwin clenched his jaw and knitted his eyebrows in a hard line. Looking at that expression, Levi felt his stomach sinking. What was this all about? If it was about their upcoming expedition, then where was… “A little birdie shared with us,” Erwin interrupted his heavy thoughts, “That you still have no present for Hange.”
What? Levi gawked at his guests, switching his confused gaze from one to the other.
“And what is the name of that birdie?” He would find that birdie and give them a piece of his mind, for sure. Who dared get poke his nose into his personal matters?
“Please, Levi,” Mike joined the conversation, “You couldn’t get more obvious. I can smell your desperation from miles away.”
Levi’s annoyance rose. Birdies, smelling desperation. Could they talk like normal people?
Seeing his increasing frustration, Nanaba decided to come to rescue. She smiled, tucking a lock of her hair behind an ear. “I overheard your conversation with Eren. You looked a bit distressed, honestly I thought you were going to kick his ass again… And since I doubt Hange is enamored with Eren in that way, I concluded that you…”
“Are angry not because the boy is a titan and spends too much time with Hange, but because he already has a gift prepared, when you do not.” Erwin finished.
Well… the conclusion was sound, at least. But that didn’t mean that Levi felt any less annoyed.
“So?” he raised an eyebrow, staring judgingly at his intruders. “What do you want from me?”
“We want to help, of course,” the smile was back at Erwin’s lips. “And we have some ideas.”
“Such as?”
Nanaba bounced from her seat, crossing the room to bang her palms against the surface of Levi’s desk. He jumped slightly, certainly not expecting it.
“You know what Hange really likes?”
“Books?” Levi tried. “Science? Titans? Books about titan’s science?”
“No, dummy,” Nanaba shook her head, “Hange likes you.”
It took him a long moment to comprehend. Even then, the only thing Levi could get out of his mouth was a very faint, “Eh?”
“We all know how much Hans makes you happy.” Mike said.
They did? How so?
“You spend a lot of time with Hange,” Erwin noted, answering his unasked question.
“And you allow her to do things that you deny everyone else,” Nanaba continued.
“And when she is with you, that constipated expression disappears from your face.” Mike finished.
He… didn’t have a constipated expression. And while Hange did make his days more pleasant and his survival that easier and more enjoyable… Levi was sure that no one knew about it, but him.
“Listen, we all know that you like Hange, and we’re telling you that Hange likes you. That’s why…” Erwin lifted his chin, his smile becoming nearly devilish. Were they still talking about a simple birthday gift? “I made a reservation in a restaurant in Sina. Take Hange there, eat good food, drink some wine, have a good night… Make Hange happy.”
Their suggestion was certainly better than Levi’s nothing. However…
“What you’re offering seems a lot like fraternization. Isn’t that illegal?” he narrowed his eyes at Erwin, skepticism oozing from him. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Perish the thought!” not swayed by Levi’s scary expression, Erwin chuckled. “You’re correct, technically, two officers are not allowed to enter romantic relationship, but I think it’s a little too late for that.” Huh? Just how Levi was meant to interpret that? “Besides… think about humanity, Levi! If you and Hange were to conceive a child…” the expression on Erwin’s face was so dreamy, Levi felt chills at the base of his spine. “A child born from the union of humanity’s strongest and smartest… It could very well save our world!”
Levi stared at his Commander, at loss of words. Saying ‘you’re fucked up in the head, Erwin’ seemed a little too rude even for him, considering that Erwin was his superior officer. Still… he was fucked up in the head.
“Don’t listen to him,” Nanaba spoke, attracting Levi’s attention. “But think about our offer. An evening like that will really make Hange happy. You want that, don’t you?”
Did he want to make Hange happy? More than anything…
“Do it for Hange,” Nanaba urged.
“Do it for love,” Mike added.
“Do it for humanity!” Erwin passionately concluded.
Fucked up in the head, Levi thought. All of them were. Himself, included. But what was he going to lose? Besides, their offer was better than anything he could have come up with.
“Alright,” he surrendered, a sigh escaping him. “I’ll do it.”
Nanaba cheered. Mike nodded at him with a smile. Erwin looked like he was about to cry. Then, to Levi’s horror, he saluted.
“Get out of my office now,” he shooed them away, lowering his gaze back to the papers. “I need to work.”
“Just another quick thing,” Nanaba patted his shoulder with a cheerful smile. “Walk Hange to the door of her room after the dinner. And make sure that you return after nine o’clock.”
Ah. So they had an ulterior motive. Of course. Levi shouldn’t be surprised.
“You’re planning something for Hange, I take it?”
“A little party,” Mike confessed. “We’ll deal with food and drinks, but you’re in charge of getting Hange there in time.”
Levi didn’t remember agreeing to be in charge of Hange, but… he didn’t like the idea of anyone else doing it in his stead.
“Nine o’clock, four-eyes’ room, I got it. Now get out of my office.”
Nanaba, Erwin and Mike didn’t need to be told twice.
___
After finding a solution to his main dilemma, Levi was now met with another, no less important and challenging than the previous one.
Erwin and the others got him a reservation at the restaurant. But... now he needed to invite Hange there.
His first attempt, executed not long after Erwin, Nanaba and Mike left his office, failed spectacularly, despite his expectations. He naively thought that a simple note, carried to Hange via Moblit, would suffice. But, perhaps, the note didn’t reach its destination. Or Hange forgot to read it. Or she somehow misinterpreted the sentence ‘do you want to dine together?’. Or the fault laid in the absence of Levi’s signature.
Nevertheless, he needed to do better.
His next attempt was slightly more successful. At least, he got some kind of reaction. Still not reaction he had needed. Apparently, there were ways that one could misunderstand the simple phrase ‘hey, four-eyes, want to eat with me?’. Levi had expected a very enthusiastic ‘yes’. Instead he received ‘I’ll see you at the dinner’ and a door to his face.
Evidently, he had to do not only better, but also be a little clearer about his intentions.
After lots of pondering, Levi decided that nothing could be clearer than throwing a shiny new black jacket from Mike at Hange and barking, “Get dressed, Hange. We’re going out.”
That got him an intrigued ‘oooh’ and a promise to be ready in five minutes.
Levi smirked to himself. Finally, his plan had worked. Finally, he got through that brilliant and extremely dense head.
___
At first, the dinner was, for the lack of better word,extremely awkward.
Erwin failed to mention just how fancy the restaurant would be. Turned out, it was fancy. Very fancy. Fancier than anything Levi had seen in his life. Even Hange, despite not being a street rat from Underground, was feeling a little off.
“Everyone is staring at us,” she whispered to him, leaning over the table to do so.
Hange was right. Everyone was gawking at them. Perhaps, the reason for it was their clothes. Both of them were dressed in their best suits. Still, their best didn’t even begin to reach the best of the gathered crowd. Perhaps, other guests were weirded out by Hange’s loud cheer at the sight of meat in the menu.
Or, perhaps, their reputation preceded them, and everyone in here knew about humanity’s strongest soldier and crazy titan scientist, two of Erwin Smith’s loyal devils.
Whatever the case was, Levi didn’t like the obvious staring. They came here to eat and have a good time, not be observed like clowns in the circus.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered back to her. He really was. It was Erwin’s mistake, but it was Hange’s birthday and it was his fault for not checking the restaurant beforehand. He was a scout, for fuck’s sake. It was his job.
“Don’t even start,” Hange huffed, waving her hand dismissively. “Not the first time I receive that sort of treatment. Probably not the last one as well.”
Hange paused, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “And if they want to look at us so much, let’s give them something to stare at.”
Levi’s lips twitched up. “And what do you suggest?”
“Let’s order the priciest meals they have, eat them like animals they think we are, and then run away and let Erwin deal with that.”
There were many reasons why Levi loved Hange. This was one of them.
___
True to Hange’s plan, they were at their worst behavior. They used spoons instead of forks, they drank straight from the bottle, Hange ate the dessert with her hands, smearing cake all over her mouth, cheeks, palms and shirt. Barely keeping himself from laughing out loud, Levi wiped it all with his cravat, as Hange cooed at his chivalry.
Two hours later, their stomachs were full, the crowd was scandalized, their hearts were merry and their eyes were shining with unbridled mischief.
“I think we’ve succeeded at making the worst impression possible,” Hange spoke, following it with a loud laughter. Several guest scoffed at the volume. Levi showed all of them his scariest scowl. The rich fuckers returned their attention to their plates in record time.
“It’s time we make our exit,” he agreed.
He looked at Hange more closely, thinking if he should take the risk. She had been touching him freely throughout the whole evening. She pressed their calves together under the table, she ran a hand through his arm, she let him touch her face and tilt her chin. She didn’t seem opposed to the idea, so… Levi took a deep sighed, searching for every bit of courage inside of him. Once all of it was gathered, he took Hange by the hand, helping her to stand up.
To his surprise and huge relief, she didn’t shake his hand off. On the contrary, she squeezed his palm and interlaced their fingers.
Hand in hand, they started towards walking out of the restaurant. On his way there, Levi discreetly pushed a plate of soup at some wealthy lady, staining her light creamy dress and receiving a indignant cry and a joyous giggle from Hange.
After that, they had to speed up a little. It was Hange’s birthday. Levi didn’t want to spend it in the prison cell.
Once they were outside and some distance away from the restaurant, Hange stopped.
“Shit, Levi! Had you seen her face? She was—”
She didn’t finish. Hange leaned against the wall and threw her head back, laughing without abandon. She doubled over, hugging her stomach, her mirth not ceasing. Finding her mood strangely infectious, Levi couldn’t help but chuckle too.
Still snickering to herself, Hange looked up to meet his gaze. Her whole body was shaking from the laughter, and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Disheveled, red-faced and laughing, she was the most beautiful sight Levi had ever seen. The moonlight and faint stars only accentuated her beauty.
Levi was lost in watching her.
Subconsciously, in a mindless attempt to get a better look at the wonder that was Hange Zoe, he leaned in.
Hange leaned in too, her hand finding place at his shoulder. She moved that hand slightly, closer to his neck. Her fingers ghosted around his hairline, making him shiver.
He was looking in her eyes. Hange was looking at his lips.
The world around the two of them faded, the sounds of a street at night, the singing from the nearby pub disappearing to the background.
Levi didn’t know, had failed to register who moved first. But a moment later, his hand was on her waist, and Hange buried her fingers in his hair. And then, they were kissing – sloppily, desperately, without skill but with lots of passion.
Levi felt like he was struck by lightning. Nothing he had ever done before felt even remotely as good as kissing Hange did.
As the kiss progressed, becoming deeper, Levi found himself pressed against the wall.
Hange was everywhere – her tongue was in his mouth, her palms on his cheeks, her knee was rising, resting against his crotch. It was almost too much. And yet, not enough.
“Hange, Hange,” with some difficulty, he separated himself from her hot mouth and soft lips. “Hange, if someone sees us—”
“Oh, right,” still pressed dangerously close to him, she giggled. “Erwin would have a heart attack if we get jailed for making out on the streets. He’d deem us a disappointment to humanity.”
“Back to barracks then?”
Hange licked her lips and winked. Levi felt another strong surge of desire. “We can continue there.”
After that kind of promise, Levi hurried to find where they left their horses. He all but raced there, and jumped on his loyal stallion, grasping the reins a little too tightly.
Hange followed his suit. “Who arrives at the barracks first, gets to be on top?” she challenged.
Without waiting for his reply, she started off. Cursing, Levi struggled to keep up.
That day, he learned one essential lesson. Riding a horse with a raging boner was a fucking torture.
___
Hange was the first one to reach the stumbles. Dismounting her horse, she ran up to Levi, pulling him off the saddle and instantly connecting their lips. Levi would have liked to complain, but… who was he kidding?
Without another word, he brought Hange closer, putting his hand on her hip.
Just as the first one, the second kiss was amazing, enough to knock his breath out and make his knees buckle underneath him.
“If that’s my birthday gift,” Hange murmured, panting after they broke apart. “Then it’s the best one I ever had.”
And here Levi thought that there was nothing more enjoyable than kissing Hange. But as he saw her gentle smile, the adoring expression in her twinkling eyes, he was ready to melt in her arms.
However, he wouldn’t be himself if he passed an opportunity to use a sarcastic quip. “Is it better than Erwin’s microscope? Than Eren’s plushie?”
Hange put a finger to her chin, looking up with a thoughtful expression. “The microscope is really good, and that plushie is so adorable…” Levi’s good spirits vanished, as something ugly found its place inside his chest. Before it could manifest in a scowl, Hange caught his lips with hers once again.
“But nothing is better than you, shorty,” she confessed as they separated.
Hange likes you, Nanaba had said. She wasn’t wrong, it seemed.
“Your room or mine?” he asked, already tugging off Hange’s jacket.
“Mine. I was the one to win, after all,” she smirked, rapidly turning away and starting to run. Levi had no choice but to chase her.
___
He caught up with her near the entrance. Ceasing the moment, he wrapped arms around her waist, pressing her to him. Hange’s giggle turned into a moan. Levi delighted in that.
Exchanging messy kisses, they tumbled through the front door. Unable to break away from each other, they clumsily walked through the barracks, tripping and stumbling. And, despite the growing desire, they didn’t hurry as well. They stopped near the stairwell, so Hange could put a hickey on a spot above his collarbone. They paused at the middle of the hallway, so Levi could grind against her. Hange pressed him against the wall to whisper, “Fuck, Levi, this feels so good.”
When they reached the bedroom, Levi was ready to cheer. It was the longest walk through the barracks he had ever had. Was Hange’s room always that far away from the entrance?
With her hands shaking, she searched through her pockets for a key. She found it after a long minute that Levi spent kissing her neck. Once she fished it out, she put the key in the keyhole, and decided to celebrate that grand achievement with another breathtaking kiss.
Getting a little too eager, Levi pushed Hange forward. That was his mistake.
Apparently, the door to her room wasn’t closed. And, apparently,the room also wasn’t empty.
Unfortunately, Levi realized that and remembered the second part of Erwin’s plan a second too late. After he had heard the loud and cheerful ‘Happy birthday, Hange!’
With his arms still around Hange, he froze. Everyone else in the room froze too. The awkward silence settled over.
Levi’s thought frantically moved around his head, jumping from one corner to another. What should he do? Apologize? Let Hange go? Tell all of them to fuck off so he and Hange could finish what they had started?
However, he didn’t get to decide what to do with the unexpected audience. Hange chose for him.
“Guys!” she clasped her hands joyfully, her smile brighter than all the candles that stood around the room combined. “That’s so sweet! Thank you!”
She pulled away from Levi, sprinting to get to her friends. She gave a tight hug to Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, Moblit, Nifa, Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Sasha, Jean, Connie… Levi thought the string of people who wanted Hange’s attention would never end.
After hugs, came cake, and after cake was wine. He felt ignored, he felt utterly forgotten. He contemplated if he should go back to his room. He wanted Hange to kiss him again.
But instead he was sulking in the corner, munching on a cake Sasha had prepared. At least, the cake was good. But his frustration left a bitter taste in his mouth.
As his plate was emptied, Levi thought once again about leaving. But in that exact moment, seemingly out of nowhere, Hange appeared by his side.
“Planning to ditch the party early?” she wiggled her eyebrows, staring at him with unmasked mischief.
“It’s your birthday, not mine, four-eyes.”
“Exactly!” Hange threw an arm over his shoulders. “You’re my guest of honor!”
Ignoring the awakening of butterflies in his stomach and chalking them up to the effects of Sasha’s cake, Levi grunted, “Meaning?”
“Meaning I want you to stay!”
Levi rolled his eyes. He couldn’t really say no to Hange today, right? Although, he had troubles saying no to her any other day as well…
“And thank you for spending the whole evening with me,” Hange punctuated her gratitude with a kiss to his cheek. The butterflies were now flying freely, making Levi dizzy. It was hard to deny their origin anymore, with the trigger standing so close to him. “It was the best birthday I ever had.”
Well, that was all the gratitude Levi needed.
Before she left his side to receive more birthday wishes from their friends, Hange put her mouth above his ear, lowering her voice to a whisper, “Stay until the end, shorty. I’m not finished with you.”
She bounced off before he could give an answer. Perhaps, it was fairly obvious to her.
After all, how he could refuse Hange on the day of her birthday? How could he say no to receiving more of her attentions, and kisses?
With a satisfied hum, Levi settled against the wall, aiming his glare at all the guests. He couldn’t wait until all of them would leave. He couldn’t wait to have Hange all to himself.
107 notes · View notes
canary3d-obsessed · 3 years
Text
Restless Rewatch: Nirvana in Fire, Episode 04
(Masterpost) (Pinboard)
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Warning! Spoilers for all 54 episodes!
Schemes in Progress:
Mu Nihuang’s Marriage//Martial Arts Competition: Mei Changsu has a foolproof plan for defeating the lead contender, Baili Qi, who is the only contender who can actually beat Nihuang to win her hand. His plan appears to involve having small children beat the mighty warrior. In fact his plan is way simpler and more delightful than that, but I’ll discuss the specifics in a later post. It’s politically important to defeat Baili Qi, not just personally, because he represents a potential enemy state. 
Mu Nihuang’s Marriage//Sima Lei: The Crown Prince and his mom, Consort Yue, want to force Nihuang to marry their dude Sima Lei. The plan is to use Roofie Wine on her. Consort Jing gets wind of this plan and gets a counter-plan rolling. 
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Getting Tingsheng Out Of The Palace: Mei Changsu uses the anxiety caused by Baili Qi’s badassery to get the Emperor to agree to his ridiculous kid-training plan, and then makes sure Tingsheng, the secret son of the late Prince Qi, is one of the kids he gets to train. 
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Put Jingyan on the Throne: This scheme gets rolling, with a general pattern of Mei Changsu & team doing whatever they can to sink the leading contenders for the throne, which gives Jingyan an opportunity to rise up. The leading contenders tend to cooperate in their own sinking because they are ruthlessly ambitious, and Mei Changsu designs his plans to take advantage of that. 
Banquet Battle
After thoroughly disarming and whomping Jingrui, Baili Qi finishes by flinging Jingrui’s sword into the floor right in front of him. 
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Jingrui, who hoped to literally cripple Baili Qi in this fight, has the nerve to be affronted by this. 
(More behind the cut!)
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Baili Qi shows his impeccable barbarian manners, giving the Emperor a nice gesture of respect that is presumably local to Northern Yan. Meanwhile, Mei Changsu and Nihuang are snarking quietly at their table like a couple of high schoolers.
Mei Changsu pretends to be embarrassed when the Emperor tells them to share their joke with the whole class, but of course it’s always a scheme, with him. 
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He and Nihuang explain to everyone that they were just chatting about how Baili Qi is great and all, but that Mei Changsu could train some small amateur children to beat his bitch ass, given a couple of days to teach them to run in a circle. 
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The emperor thinks this is a good plan, and gets right on board with it. 
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This is not actually because the emperor is an idiot, however, although Prince Yu clearly thinks so. 
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The emperor IS an idiot, but on this occasion I think he has correctly deduced that Mei Changsu has some kind of shady plan in mind, and he is 100% in favor of shady plans, if they work to his benefit. 
Consort Bestie
Jingyan’s mom Consort Jing is hanging out in the palace, and meets up with her girlfriend bestie, Imperial Concubine Hui. Historically, the Emperor’s collection of women was divided into ranks; how many ranks was different for different periods. In NIF, Consort Jing and I.C. Hua belong to the “outer palace” and the Empress and Consort Yue belong to the “inner palace” because they rank higher. The Empress likes to pick on  IC Hua, and has sent her to light a bunch of candles in a haunted palace.
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Consort Jing goes with her because they are girlfriends besties, and because she is a consistently nice person who deserves all the good things in the world. Spoiler: Both of these women survive, they stay friends, things work out well for both of them and for their sons. Go ahead and root for them! 
Because the haunted palace belongs to the late Empress, mother of the Emperor and of Grand Princess Liyang, these BFFs are ideally placed to overhear some important scheming, involving some drugged wine that’s been sitting around in this part of the compound for like 30 years. 
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They realize that someone is planning to sexually assault a woman by using this drugged wine, and Nihuang is the obvious candidate, since her marriage plans are all anyone’s talking about now. Consort Jing tells Concubine Hua to forget all about this and not get involved in palace drama, but she immediately gets to work intervening in the situation herself. 
Training 
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Over at the Xie guesthouse, Mei Changsu is training the kiddies in a special sword formation designed to beat Baili Qi. They sure do have pretty sword forms for a bunch of kids who have never held a sword. Also, someone’s chalk skills are off the chain.
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Mei Changsu tells Fe Liu that they have to be faster, so Fe Liu tells them “go faster” and they do, which is apparently the essence of learning martial arts. 
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Mu Nihuang shows up and sees right through all of this, making it clear she needs a miracle to get her out of this unwanted marriage. Mei Changsu tells her that he’s got it covered. She says that she believes him, although she’s not sure why. 
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Then they stand there gazing heatedly at each other, like you do when you are two random people who have never met until recently, and definitely have never gotten each other off even a little bit. 
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Embroidery Flexing
Meanwhile, Consort Jing sets out to save Nihuang from the wine/marriage plot, through the power of embroidery. 
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In order to do this she has to make embroidered scent sachets for the Dowager Empress, the Empress, the Grand Princess, and Consort Yue, which she does before going to bed for the night, apparently. Consort Jing kicks ass. 
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She makes sure that the Dowager Empress, who is a sweetheart, will be pleased enough with her sachet that she will invite Consort Jing into the room, which will give her an opportunity to present the actually important sachet to Grand Princess Liyang. 
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Communication was complicated, before cell phones. 
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Once they’re alone, Consort Jing tells Grand Princess Liyang about the plot to force Nihuang to marry Sima Lei. She tells her in the most round-about, triggery way possible, because she needs Liyang to have a flashback, I guess? Otherwise we wouldn’t get to watch her own Mom drugging her to force her to marry Xie Yu. 
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Thanks, Mom, I’d be happy to drink this cup of obvious poison. Mom is terrible but her crown is awesome. 
Anyway, once Liyang knows what’s up, she’s on board with team Save Nihuang From Having To Marry A Creep Like My Own Husband.
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Clean-shaven Xie Yu: even creepier than regular Xie Yu and also very shiny. Beautiful costume, though. Why are they dressing the flashback villains so nicely? 
Side note: presumably Liyang and her mom didn’t know she was already pregnant when they brought Xie Yu into the mix? Because if they had known, she would probably have been fine with just, like, consenting to marry someone or other, to keep her reputation intact. Anyway it’s worth noting that this whole situation is about appearances, not about whether anyone is actually a literal virgin. 
The Laughing Prince
Jingyan comes for a visit to see how the training is going, and he and Mei Changsu have a sitdown. Mei Changsu tells him that he’s come to town to make sure that the two main contenders for the throne don’t get it, and that he’s going to work to make Jingyan the next emperor. 
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Then they stand there gazing at each other, like strangers who definitely have never gotten each other off even a little bit. 
Then Jingyan laughs at him
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Jingyan thinks it’s impossible that he would ever be emperor, but he’s happy to go along with Mei Changsu’s plans if it will keep his jerk brothers from winning. 
Building Team Jingyan
Late at night, Meng Zhi drops by to look at Tingsheng and say that he resembles Prince Qi, which he totally doesn’t, but Chinese dramas really don’t worry about casting people who resemble each other to play twins or whatever, so we can take Meng Zhi’s word for it. 
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They talk about the Make-Prince-Jing-The-Emperor plan, with Meng Zhi wanting to help out, and Mei Changsu wanting to make sure that only his own hands get dirty with all the schemey stuff he’s planning. 
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Hu Ge is really good at talking directly to the camera without looking into the lens. It’s a good technique for intense moments and because he doesn’t look straight into the lens, it doesn’t break the fourth wall. 
Building Team Nihuang
Liyang has spent the day trying to warn Nihuang about the roofie wine situation, but can’t reach her due to a lack of cell phones and/or embroidery skills. 
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So she takes the daring step of going to Mei Changsu’s guest house--on her own dang property--which is such a high risk endeavor she has to wear a fancy cloak and cary a super obvious fancy lantern.  God forbid a woman walk around her own house at night.  Anyway, she’s able to pass the warning to Mei Changsu, and asks him to pass it to Nihuang. 
Of course that’s when her husband comes knocking, presumably looking for some affection--he actually is a nice husband who genuinely loves his wife, within the context of a society in which rape is perfectly fine, anyway. 
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Her junior servants are freaked out, because visiting a man, even your own houseguest, alone at night is not perfectly fine, so if he catches her, they’re all dead, basically. But the elder servant tells them to chill and just watch how she handles it. 
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She politely tells Xie Yu that his wife was reminded of their first date, and so maybe he should leave her and her feelings and her sharp hairpins and whatnot alone for a while. (I’m inferring the hairpins.) He looks slightly terrified and immediately withdraws. 
83 notes · View notes
theboyzuniverse · 3 years
Text
Jealous?
Request: Your smuts are great. Can I request a Jacob one? That boy is soft yet so sexy.
Content: Jealous sex, a little rough but not really.
You excitedly waited in anticipation as your best friend Kevin starts singing his part. You missed him so much as he had gone home to Canada for a month, and you barely had time to even text each other during his vacation. Kevin's voice really was beautiful. Of course your boyfriend Jacob would always be your favorite singer, but Kevin's own voice came a close second.
Kevin makes eye-contact with you as he sings, and you smile back cheering them on. The next thing you know you're locking eyes with Jacob who looks sinfully hot as he danced. You loved the duality of his persona on stage and the way he was actually the softest person you know as he got off the stage. Your heart skips a beat as he smirks, you were all for sexy on stage Jacob.
"So how was it?" Kevin asks you excitedly as you meet them backstage.
"Amazing, as usual." You smile and give him a hug.
"We have a lot to catch up on," He tells you as you nod excitedly. "But right now I'm exhausted so I'll actually see you later."
Kevin gives you another hug as he's about to leave.
"Okay okay, can I finally get a hug from my girlfriend?"
Jacob walks towards you with the softest smile that was enough to melt away any evil in the world.
"You were perfect!" you tell him before he can ask you about the performance and he just laughs.
"I gotta get changed and meet some people, do you mind waiting at home? I'll come home, clean up, and we can go out for dinner or something."
"Or we can order in."
He smiles again and gives you a peck. Jacob knows you love going out, and even if he loves staying in he always goes out of his way to do the things you love. This time you wanted to do what he wanted, which is stay home and cuddle, because this man actually spoils you way too much. Of course he never expects anything back as long as you were happy, but you can't help wanting to take the things he liked to do in consideration. Dating someone so opposite to you wasn't always easy, but compromising to what the other liked to do helped you get closer and you wouldn't have it any other way.
"Yes, we can absolutely do that, I'll see you at home."
So you go back to the apartment where Hyunjae and Juyeon also live. The boys now lived in separate apartments shared with their respective roommates they had while they lived in a dorm. You hoped a little that the other boys wouldn't stay home so that you and Jacob could have some alone-time together. Your phone rings as soon as you settle down on the sofa.
"Y/N!"
Kevin waves at you through the screen with a face mask on, and you laugh at him.
"Can't fall asleep again?" You ask him.
"You know it," He replies, and starts playing a Beyonce music in the background. Kevin and his never-ending love for all things Beyonce.
"So how was the family?"
"First thing, it wasn't as crazy as I expected it to be..."
He starts going on a rant about the clash between families. His older sister had gotten married, causing some of their family to fly over from Korea to Canada. A lot of people coming together had caused a lot of drama.
"...but the important thing was like, I did get to sing for her and choose the song though there was a lot of protest. I went crazy at the after-party, that was fun."
"Oh gosh... You didn't."
"Oh yes I did, Kevin went wild baby!"
Then he got up and started twerking like the mess he is, making you laugh and wheeze when a very confused Eric saw him. You started to calm down when Jacob arrived home, he looked a little tired.
"Hey Kev," He said emotionlessly to the screen. "I'll go clean up, I'll be right back."
Jacob gives you a peck and goes to clean up.
"He must be really tired," Kevin commented. "I'll leave you guys alone now, call you later?"
"Yeah yeah,"
"Love you," Kevin pouts his lips. Sometimes you wonder why you're even friends.
"Love you too, Kev."
You hang up and go to Jacob's room, he was still in the shower. The room was dark except for some fairy lights you got for him. It was pretty and calming, and the warm yellow light had reminded you of Jacob's warmth, that was why you had bought it for him. You freeze in your spot when you see Jacob coming out from the bathroom, with just a towel wrapped around his waist, making you feel all sorts of things. This man's duality constantly keeps you on your feet. He immediately notices you staring and starts moving towards you.
"So you're finally done talking to him?"
You're flustered and nervous at his words, and the close proximity of where he was standing. He sounded jealous but you were confused, it wasn't like Jacob to be jealous.
"Y-yeah," You finally replied after a short pause.
He leans in for a kiss but instead of being soft and pulling you in by the waist as he usually did, he corners you and pins you to the wall. The kiss was already deep and rough as soon as he started, no usual build up.
Jacob pulled away so you both could catch your breath he looked at you straight in the eyes. His stare sent a chill down your spine, it scared you a little yet it was thrilling and exciting. It was a side of him you had never seen before.
"Do you do this on purpose?" He asked, slightly clenching.
You knew exactly what he was talking about but you couldn't help yourself.
"Do what?"
"Always try to make me f***ing jealous."
You were shocked at him actually cussing.
"I-"
He cuts you off with another kiss.
"You know, exactly, what you're doing," He says between kisses, and starts getting rougher.
Jacob removes his lips from yours only to attach them to your neck again. Extending your neck to give him more access came way too naturally for you, and before you knew it he snaked an arm around your waist and one reached into your shirt. While leaving a few more hickeys on your neck, he squeezes your nipples a little and with the sudden sensation you let out a little moan which makes him smirk.
"I'm gonna have to teach you that I'm the only one who can make you feel this way,"
His tone is different, his eyes look different. The man you were looking at had little traces of the soft Jacob that you knew, and for some reason it was turning you on. He looked hot as hell, and you found yourself feeling a little nervous. It wasn't like you haven't had sex with him before, but this side of Jacob was new. He looked incredibly sexy, and you actually liked it.
"Already very wet for me I see,"
Jacob lays you down on the bed as he reaches inside your skirt and palms you over your panties making you squirm a little. Then he takes out his hands making you frown, disappointed because it had felt good.
"Don't squirm," He commands you.
"Yes,"
"Yes?"
"Yes, Jacob."
He removes your shirt, and you remove your bra as he works on your skirt. Then before you can brace yourself he inserts a finger inside you making you gasp. He slowly pumps his hand and goes faster as you start bucking your hips to match his pace. You were so turned on you felt like you would come easily, and he knew it. You thought he would stop before you orgasmed but he doesn't stop even as you start clenching around him and reach your orgasm.
"Good girl," He kisses your lips again, "But we're not done."
You stare at him, it was the first time you two were going immediately for seconds. Then you realize he hasn't even removed his towel yet, and you gasp a little when he does, he was so hard. He positions himself at your entrance and thrusts into you, not giving you time to really adjust. It hurts the first two times mostly because you were still sensitive from your first orgasm, but you start feeling really good again.
Jacob clasps his hands with yours pushing them into the sheets as his thrusts become faster. You try to meet his thrusts but every time he hits your sweet spot you melt into the pleasure he was giving you, it sent you into a kind of bliss that only he alone could make you feel. He kisses you and immediately stops when you start clenching around him again. You whine in protest when he pulls out.
"Turn around," He commands.
You comply, immediately wanting more as soon as possible. He immediately slides into you again with no pause, one hand on your hips and one slightly pulling at your hair. You moan again surprised at how good it all felt, you usually wanted to be able to see him at all times when you were having sex.
After a few more thrusts Jacob lets go of your hair and reaches down to rub your clit which sends you into overdrive. You start clenching around him again, this time he doesn't stop and you reach your climax for the second time that night. He keeps at it a few more times as he also reaches his high, and his thrusts become sloppy as you both finish riding out your orgasms. He pulls out and turns you around to kiss you.
"You know I'm the only one who can make you feel this way right?"
"You're the only one who can make me feel this way," You confirm.
He smiles, and your soft Jacob is back. Lying down next to you he pulls you into his arms kissing your forehead.
"Did I hurt you?"
"No, but you were kinda hot." He blushes a little at your remark.
Yup, your boyfriend was back.
"Maybe he can show up from time to time."
"Definitely," You agree.
The both of you barely manage to get up and wash up a little before you fall asleep. You were completely tired and worn out.
The next day you wake up to Jacob's kisses on your cheeks and you smile. You think about the night before and become slightly distracted. Seriously? In the morning? You scold yourself. However, Jacob seemed to have the same idea as he rolled on top of you and kissed you, then slightly grinding himself on you. You moan a little as he does so. You don't know whether its because it was morning but you felt like you could almost come immediately as he keeps grinding on to you. The friction of thin clothes that separated you made it feel so good.
"I'm almost there," He half-whispered.
You put your hands on his arms and dig into them.
"Me too," You mumbled back as you both almost immediately reached your high.
You were surprised that this could happen just by grinding on each other.
"We better get up," Jacob tells you. "I smell breakfast."
Neither of you bother to wash up first and head straight to the Kitchen where Hyunjae and Juyeon are eating breakfast. They both stare at you.
"What?" You ask taking a bite of the bacon.
"So first thing in the morning huh?" Juyeon teased as Jacob almost chokes on his cereal.
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mandaloriandy · 3 years
Note
Secret sith Anakin?
[Ask me about my WIPs!]
I've actually talked about this one a bit before, it's also known as my Other Shmi AU or my Sith Shmi AU (version 1)!
Ahsoka sees Aayla Secura use the Dark Side of the Force to, idk, do something. Destroy the enemy and save the lives of her men, or heal Bly from the brink of death, or something. The point is that Ahsoka totally sees her doing it, and Aayla tries to lie about it, but Ahsoka just shrugs and says “Hey, whatever, it’s cool, you should maybe like talk to my master though?”
And thus a conspiracy is born.
Aayla is a lot more wary about this whole Sith thing than Anakin is – it’s not her mom, and she was raised on some very scary creche stories, but also they are fighting a very real war against the Sith right now, and she is not going to betray the Order and the Republic even if she herself is now fallen into Darkness, for the Jedi way is more important than one person–
“Yeah, I get it,” Anakin says. “It’s chill, it’s not for everyone. And we’re not working with Dooku, fuck Dooku, he’s an asshole. Just figured I’d offer you some, you know, uh, support? And, what’s the word. You know. Same hat, and all of that.”
Same hat, Aayla agrees, and decides that she is not going to be a Sith because ew, yuck, but also if she’s Fallen she might as well make the most of it, so please teach her how to do that lightning thing please.
Anakin doesn’t trust Palpatine nearly as much – well, it’s not that he doesn’t trust Palpatine as much. Ten years of subtle brainwashing does not disappear overnight. But he can’t tell Palpatine about the Sith, of course, that would just be ridiculous. And he has his mother to talk to – and Padme also has his mother to talk to, so she isn’t going to Palpatine as much, either. At some point, Shmi will see a holo-speech from the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, and while the face has changed enough to be nearly unrecognizable from the fuzzy blue holo image, the voice is one she knows, from back when she was called Searah.
So there’s a version of this where everything ends happily ever after, mostly – Sidious is defeated, and a new faction of Sith have arisen, non-Baneite, ignoring the one master/one apprentice rule, and they’ve infiltrated the Jedi, though they don’t care much about destroying them. The galaxy spins on.
There’s many other versions of this story where, partway through the war, somebody slips up.
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valdomarx · 3 years
Text
Inseparably Entwined
Stargate Atlantis, McKay/Sheppard, bound together, 2k, rated M
-
Elizabeth pinches the bridge of her nose. "What did you two do now?"
"We. Uhh. We found another Ancient device."
"And, instead of cataloguing it for a hazmat team to investigate, as per protocol, you decided to play with it?"
“To investigate it,” Rodney corrects. “Like the competent professionals we are.” John punches him in the arm.
Elizabeth's lips purse into a thin line. "And then you accidentally activated it?"
John winces. "And then we accidentally activated it."
"Of course you did. And its effects are…?"
"Non lethal," Rodney says, a bit too quickly. 
Elizabeth mumbles something that might be don't bet on it under her breath. "Non lethal, but…?"
John shifts his weight and stares at a point behind her head. "McKay and I have to stay within ten feet of each other at all times or we both pass out."
For a moment there is stunned silence. Then the sound of Elizabeth's bark of laughter fills the office and spills out into the gate room.
-
Carson waves a hand. “You’re both going to be fine. It looks like the bond is only temporary.”
Rodney fidgets. “How temporary?”
“I couldn’t say. A few days, maybe a few weeks?”
“Weeks?” John chokes out. “Listen, doc, we need you to fix this -”
Carson cuts him off. “I’m sorry, son, but I’ve got more important things on my plate right now.” He looks pointedly around the infirmary which is admittedly full of marines being treated for combat injuries, Athosians coming in for checkups, and troops of medical staff organizing vaccinations for off-world groups.
John deflates. “So we’re stuck with each other?”
Carson pats him on the shoulder. “Good luck.”
Rodney looks up at that. “Hey!”
-
“Absolutely not.” John recoils in horror. “We are not sleeping in your room.”
“But all my stuff is in there.”
“Your room is disgusting. If you think I’m sleeping on the floor among half-finished bags of cheetos and bits of drones, you are sorely mistaken. It’s a wonder you haven’t attracted the Lantean equivalent of rats.”
“I’ll have you know the bags of cheetos are almost entirely finished.”
“Rodney -”
“Alright! We’ll sleep in your oh-so-tidy quarters. Military spick and span, no snacks or useful bits of machinery in sight.” Rodney rounds on him, waving a finger in his face. “But if I get an inspired idea in the middle of the night and can’t find a circuit board to test it on, know that it’s your stubbornness that is robbing humanity of another of my great concepts.”
John hides a smile. “I’ll have to find a way to live with myself.”
-
When the doors to John’s quarters slide open, Rodney’s jaw drops.
“Hey! How come you have a bigger bed than me?”
John shoots him a smug look. “I upgraded after the last attack. Benefits of command.” It was one of the very few benefits of command he was willing to take advantage of.
“Oh, that’s how it is, hmm? We’re living in a military dictatorship here, with all the best perks and boons given to the highest ranking officers? Never mind that it’s the scientists who do all the actual work, who discover new technology and solve the problems, oh no, let’s give out the biggest and comfiest beds to the military guys, as if that’s fair -”
“McKay!” he interrupts. Rodney looks like he’s having fun, gearing up for a good rant, but John honestly can’t take it right now. “Go to sleep, I’m begging you.”
Rodney huffs, clearly saving that rant away for another time. “Fine.”
-
John is woken up for the third time that night by Rodney fidgeting on the floor and sighing dramatically. 
“What is it, McKay?” His voice is testy. He doesn’t love having his sleep interrupted.
“I can’t get comfortable. A sleeping bag on the floor is bad for my back.”
John stares at the ceiling and counts to ten. He looks at the ample space next to him and calculates his best odds of getting some sleep tonight. “Come here and share the bed with me then.”
Rodney eyes his mattress dubiously. “I’ll have you know I require a very firm mattress, for spinal support, not that I’d expect you to understand -”
“For god’s sake, get in the bed. It has to be better than the floor.”
A moment’s pause. “Yeah, alright.”
It’s been a long time since John slept next to someone. His rare hookups have mostly involved sneaking out in the middle of the night, and even when he was married they slept in separate beds most of the time. 
Sleeping next to Rodney is, surprisingly, not awful though. Sure, he steals all the covers and moves around all the time and, of course, he snores, but John finds that he strangely doesn’t mind. 
-
John has seen Rodney under fire, seen him at his best, seen him happy and sad and angry and bored. But he’s never seen him first thing in the morning before.
“Whazzat?” Rodney’s eyes barely open. His expression is one of overriding confusion. “Whzz going on?”
John stifles a smile at his resident genius. He’s been up for an hour already, showered, done his laundry, and cleaned his space. He’s also decided to play nice and share his secret.
“Here,” he says, and hands a mug of freshly brewed coffee to Rodney. “Just don’t tell anyone I snuck coffee and a kettle into my personal effects, or the scientists will raid us in the middle of the night.”
“Coffee!” Rodney is still radiating confusion, but he hones in on the cup of coffee like a laser. A blissful smile passes over his face. “You brought me coffee.”
“I did.”
“You’re wonderful.” Rodney takes the coffee and cradles it like something precious and rare.
-
After a day and a half doing paperwork in the lab because they can't go off-world, John has reached the end of his rope. 
"I'm going to the gym," he snaps. "You can either come with me or we'll both end up in the infirmary when I try to go there alone."
Rodney glares and is clearly about to start arguing when Zelenka elbows him. He sighs dramatically but agrees that they can take an hour away. 
While they're both in the gym and John needs a sparring partner, he figures he might as well teach Rodney some self defense. The idea of Rodney needing to defend himself makes something unpleasant twist in his gut, but he pushes that away and argues they should make the most of this time and do something productive. To his surprise, Rodney agrees, and they run through some basic drills and defensive maneuvers. 
Rodney is bad at this, frankly. He's all elbows and poor coordination, but he's trying. 
John is feeling magnanimous, and he knows the value of a bit of positive reinforcement. So when Rodney steps forward and attempts a clumsy hip throw, he leans in and lets himself be thrown. 
Rodney looks astonished that actually worked, before delightedly pouncing on John and pinning him to the floor.
"Got you," he says, face pink and grinning wickedly. 
John's heart picks up, somehow distracted by Rodney's heavy weight on him and the sharp brightness of his smile. He swallows thickly. 
"I guess you do."
-
“Geez, Sheppard, how long does it take to have a shower?” Rodney’s voice carries through the bathroom door. “I want to run some simulations on the city’s power systems with Zelenka.”
John’s cheeks flush and he tries to tune Rodney out. “Just give me a minute, will you?”
“What are you doing in there anyway, jerking off?”
John goes very, very still.
“Oh my god, you are!”
“Shut up, McKay.”
“No, no, don’t let me stop you. You go ahead and enjoy yourself.”
“I hate you.”
“I’m not judging. It’s perfectly natural. And hey, maybe it’ll help you chill the fuck out for once.”
John scowls, gives up, and shoves his dick back in his pants. “I will kill you in your sleep.”
-
John is used to having to drag McKay around after him on missions, so in some ways their new situation isn’t entirely unfamiliar. 
Tac vests are useful for that; full of hand holds he can grab when he needs McKay to get down under cover or to stop him from wandering off to look at some shiny piece of technology. When Rodney is in uniform, he can grab the collar of his shirt, though Rodney complains that it creases the fabric horribly.
So John finds a compromise. When he has stuff to do and Rodney is dawdling, he grabs his hand and steers him in the right direction. After a while it becomes second nature - whenever there’s danger or something important is happening, he takes Rodney’s hand and they set off to deal with it together.
If any of the marines find it funny to see their commander holding hands with the head of science during a crisis, none of them dares to mention it.
-
John is carefully, carefully tending to his hair. Just the right amount of product, to spike it just the right amount to look effortless. He tweaks and ruffles, tugs and shapes. This is an art form which requires judicious maintenance. 
“Oh, for the love of -” Rodney grabs the tub of hair wax out of his hands. “We’ll be here all day. Let me.”
He steps forward and slides his hands into John’s hair, ruffling it vigorously. His fingers are firm on John’s scalp and he tugs just on the right side of too hard.
Rodney steps back and surveys his work. “That’ll do.”
John glances in the mirror and sees a chaotic, wild mess. He looks like he’s run a marathon, with his pink cheeks and mussed hair, or like he’s rolled out of bed after a night of passion.
“Rodney! I can’t go out like this.”
“Oh, shut up. You look smoking hot, like you always do.”
That’s… What? What does that mean? Why the hell would Rodney say that?
“Come on,” Rodney is saying, already on his way out the door. John has to run after him, cheeks still flushed.
-
They find a rhythm.
John gets up first and puts the coffee on while he showers. He’s given up on trying to tidy Rodney’s side of the room, so he lets the piles of circuit boards and screwdrivers sprout up where they will. Once Rodney is up they get breakfast at the mess, then he spends the morning doing paperwork and writing reports in the science lab while Rodney works. They meet Teyla and Ronon for lunch, then he spends the afternoon drilling the marines while Rodney taps away at a laptop. Evenings, they bicker over which movies to watch in their quarters and throw popcorn at each other.
Elizabeth even agrees to let them travel to the mainland, and then to go on low-stakes reconnaissance missions. 
It’s… comfortable, he realizes. It works.
That thought makes something twist in his chest, and he doesn’t know why.
-
“Morning, sunshine.” John pours Rodney a cup of coffee.
“Mmm.” Rodney is still sleep-rumpled, but he struggles upright and smiles softly. “Morning.”
As he hands over the coffee, Rodney catches his wrist and holds him there. He looks down at the mug, then back up at John. John notices in an abstract way that his eyes are very, very blue.
“Thanks,” Rodney says, and pecks him on the lips.
Right. Okay. That’s a thing. That’s a thing they’re doing now.
John is still processing as Rodney gets up and heads for the shower. “I’ve got a meeting with Miko this morning,” he says over his shoulder, normal as ever, “so we might have to push our gym session back by half an hour -”
He keeps chattering away while John sits on the bed and has a minor crisis. Did they… do they… but that would mean…
By the time Rodney is out of the shower, John has made a decision. 
He doesn’t allow himself to overthink it, he just takes Rodney’s face in his hands and kisses him deeply. Rodney’s arms tighten around his waist and his tongue slips into his mouth and oh. Oh yes. That’s good.
John’s a little breathless, a little dizzy. “Are we really doing this?” he asks.
Rodney’s face scrunches up in amusement. “I think we’ve been doing this for weeks.”
Yeah. Okay. That’s a fair point.
The tense feeling that’s been winding around his chest uncoils, and in its place is nothing but blooming warmth.
“I guess we have.”
-
EPILOGUE
“Carson.” Elizabeth looks up from where she’s frowning at a tablet and gives him a polite nod. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Any time,” Carson says, and means it. “What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping to get an update on the situation with John and Rodney. We really do need them to get back on full duty soon.”
“Ahh.” He’s been carefully avoiding that topic. He takes a breath. “To be honest with you, the bond between them wore off days ago. They could go their separate ways now and be none the worse for it.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows fly upward toward her hairline. “And you haven’t told them yet?”
“See, at first they were in the infirmary every day asking for an update. But they haven’t been in for over a week and -”
“And?”
“They seem…” he pauses, contemplating his choice of words, “... happy.”
Elizabeth’s mouth twitches into a quickly suppressed smile. “That may be, but you have a professional responsibility.”
“Aye, you’re right. I’ll go and tell them the effects of the device have run their course.”
“Well…” Elizabeth looks thoughtful. “You have a professional responsibility to give them accurate medical information when they ask for it.”
Carson sees where she’s going with this. “And until then?”
Elizabeth shrugs and gives him a sly look. “They do seem happy.”
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starshine583 · 4 years
Text
New Girl on the Block (4)
(Y’all ready to read the next update??? Enjoy part four of this fic and if you’re interested, feel free to check out the mini series connected to this called the Journal Entries. It’s just little journal snippets from the two dorks that I decided to write for fun :D)
Ch.1 / Ch.3 / Ch.5
Chapter 4: Get to Know You
Marinette slipped on her white, non-flour-covered leather jacket and pushed her pigtails back so they wouldn’t be tucked into her outfit. She then smoothed out her pink dress with a smile, admiring the black flowers that she’d stitched along the bottom. This dress had been one of her stress-relieving projects, but it turned out quite well, in her opinion.
Once Papa had finished teaching her friends how to fold the dough, he put their croissants into the fridge to chill them and instructed everyone to go upstairs and wash up. Marinette dutifully took them up to her room where her personal bathroom was and taught them how to use the shower, but when she tried to lead one of them to her parent’s bathroom as well, they insisted that she take a shower there herself. 
“What kind of gentlemen would we be if we forced the ladies to wait on us?” Claude had said light-heartedly, though she could tell he meant it. Allegra’s smirk as she walked in the bathroom to take a shower first was proof of that. 
The notion had warmed Marinette’s heart, coaxing a giggle from her each time she thought about it. It might be hard to see sometimes, but Claude, Allan, and Felix truly were a considerate and chivalrous group of boys. 
Now, She’s finished her shower in her parent’s bathroom and gone back up to her bedroom, where Allegra, Claude, and Allan had been patiently waiting. Allegra was nice and clean again, wearing the long, purple shirt and black leggings that Marinette had given her, and Claude appeared to have just exited the shower, his damp hair sticking to his face and dripping across his borrowed, black and blue “O.K” shirt. Allan was still covered in flour.
Allegra smiled at Marinette from her spot on the chaise as she re-braided her long, golden blonde hair. “Thanks for the extra clothes, Mari! These are amazing.”
“Yeah!” Claude agreed enthusiastically, holding out his with a grin. “This shirt is awesome!”
Marinette glanced down to hide her blush. “I-It’s the least I could do.”
“We still appreciate it.” Allan replied.
“Oh!” Marinette said, suddenly thinking about the fact that Allan was still covered in flour. “Allan, do you want to use Maman’s shower? You don’t have to stand around waiting for Felix.”
That who she assumed was occupying the shower, anyway. The water was still running, and everyone but Felix was present. 
Allan waved a hand. “Nah, it’s fine. I’ll be getting a shower soon if Felix would hurry up.”
Marinette chuckled at Allan’s obvious call to Felix, even more so when Felix shouted back from the bathroom, “You’re the one that let me go first!”
“I didn’t know you would take a day and a half!” 
“That’s still your fault then, isn’t it?” Felix shot back.
Allan scoffed and crossed his arms, causing Marinette to offer her parent’s shower again out of guilt. She had been the one to throw flour on him, after all.
“Are you sure you don’t want to-”
The bathroom door swung open, effectively cutting Marinette off, and Felix stepped out with one hand on his hip and the other hand on the towel that was draped across his head. He shot Allan a glare, practically growling the words, “There. I’m out. Are you happy?”
“Delighted.” Allan responded sarcastically.
Marinette might have been concerned about the growing conflict had she not been focused on Felix’s outfit. Or rather, how well it suited him. The black, three-quarter-sleeved shirt that she’d given him, along with the plaid green, button-up shirt she’d provided to go underneath, clung to his waist, revealing his surprisingly slender figure. The dark grey jeans he wore in place of his dress pants didn’t fit the outfit exactly, but they worked well enough, and Marinette eagerly started taking mental notes for future adjustments.
Allan grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom, while Felix glared daggers at him until the bathroom door closed. 
“Woah~” Allegra crowed, easily breaking the tension. “You should wear casual outfits more often, Felix. They really suit you.”
Claude smirked. “No kidding. I swear you’ve worn the same suit for the whole two years we’ve known.”
Felix turned his glare to Claude with a scoff. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve worn plenty of suits, each one made differently.”
Allegra snorted. “That wasn’t.. That was not the point, Felix.”
Felix narrowed his eyes, the barest hint of confusion finding its way to his features, and Marinette took that opportunity to speak up.
“How’s the outfit? Does it fit alright?” She asked. Hopefully she can find the original measurements for the outfit if it does fit fine, because Felix was most likely going to become a regular customer. Maybe he wouldn’t hire her for actual commissions, but she might end up making something for him on impulse. (as you do)
Felix caught her eye, his glare slowly fading as he registered her question.
“The fabric is extremely comfortable, and the clothes fit perfectly.” He said after a moment. “You said you made these?”
She nodded. “With my sewing machine. I was thinking of putting a green paw print on the shirt too, but I haven’t gotten around to it.”
Felix hummed, idly pulling his towel from on top of his head to around his shoulders. “I see. Thank you for lending them to me.”
Marinette blinked, suddenly finding herself captivated by the way his hair fell across his face. Still being damp, various strands stuck to his forehead and cheeks, and he reached up to brush them away. This brought her attention to his face, which, for some reason, she hadn’t quite noticed before. The defined jawline, the subtle-yet-there cheek bones, the pointed nose- all of his features were sharp. Even his eyes held a silver tint to them that reminded her of steel. 
These observations dragged her to one, rather important revelation: Felix Culpa was actually a fairly handsome person.
“Marinette?” Felix said, drawing her from her thoughts. “Are you alright?”
A rush of heat swarmed her cheeks, and Marinette straightened. “W-what? I mean yes! Yeah, I’m totally fine, I.. yes.”
“Hey, speaking of clothes!” Claude piped up, graciously saving Marinette from her own awkwardness. “How’s my prince costume going?”
Marinette twirled around in her rolling chair and grabbed for her sketching notebook. A distraction was definitely something she needed right now.
“I’ve got a few different ideas, but you need to come tell which one you like best.” She explained as she flipped open the notebook.
Claude hopped up from the stray chest he’d been sitting on and practically bounced over to her seat. She let him scan each page, smiling when he started humming “Ooh’s” and “Aah’s”.
“I can only pick one?! But they’re all so good!” Claude remarked, almost exasperated.
Marinette chuckled. “Well.. I guess I can make all of them for you, but you at least need to choose which one I start on.”
Claude gasped. “You mean you’re going to make all of these for me?”
“It’s going to take a month or so to get them all done.” She warned. “But-”
Claude scooped her into a bone-crushing hug, briefly reminding her of her father. “Thank you, Mari! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best!”
Marinette laughed and gave him a light pat on the arm. “You’re welcome.”
Her smile widened as Claude eagerly grabbed the notebook and ran back to his designated chest to look through the drawing again. It was nice to see someone who was also enthusiastic about fashion. She’d gotten tired of talking to people who simply didn’t understand the hype of creating unique styles of clothing. 
“You know he’s never going to leave you alone now, right?” Felix commented next to her.
Marinette offered him a glance as she said, “I think I can live with that.”
Felix shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
She smiled at that. Felix may be striking, but that didn’t have to change anything. Lots of people were striking. And lots of people remained friends despite that.
“Oh,” Felix muttered, seeming to remember something, “Where do you want me to put my clothes? They’re still in the bathroom because of Allan, but..”
“Uhm.. I think Maman said she was going to wash them.” Marinette answered. “She wanted to try to get them clean before supper for all of you.”
“Ah, supper.” Claude cut in, heaving a jokingly wistful sigh. “I can’t wait for that. If your mom’s croissants can taste that heavenly, then her full meals must be amazing.”
He sunk against the chest for emphasis, not realizing that there was a gap between the chest and the wall. The sudden weight threw the chest off balance, and it tipped forward, causing Claude to get jerked backwards. He flailed his arms briefly and yelped before crashing to the floor. The front of the chest hit the ground as well, and the impact popped it open, scattering various objects across the floor.
“Oh, Claude!”
“Are you okay?” 
The girls rushed to his side to help him up, but Felix shot him a flat look.
“First the kitchen and now her bedroom.” He said curtly. “Should we tear up the living room next? Or perhaps the dining room has more fragile items?”
Allegra rolled her eyes. “Felix, can you at least try to be sympathetic.”
“I am being sympathetic. Marinette doesn’t have the money to replace things at the drop of a hat like we do. It’s rude to behave so recklessly in her home.”
Marinette glanced up at Felix, not sure whether to find his words sweet or offensive. “Trust me, it’s fine. This chest is old anyway.”
Felix’s frown told her that he didn’t agree on the matter, but before he could argue further, the bathroom door swung open again.
“What happened?” Allan asked, his hair still dripping wet. “I heard the crash. Is anyone hurt?”
“Only my pride.” Claude groaned in response. He was sitting up now and rubbing his head as Allegra switched between scolding and coddling.
Allan sighed with relief. “Oh, good. You can’t hurt something that’s not there.”
“Hey!”
Marinette giggled at the comment. “Allan, how is your outfit? Do I need to make any adjustments?”
Allan glanced down at his clothes. She’d given him a maroon shirt with a blue heartbeat line in the center, a black and blue shirt to go underneath, and a pair of black jeans. He didn’t appear to be wearing the second shirt, though.
“Oh, they fit great.” He said, twisted his torso a bit to get a better feel for the new clothes. “I didn’t have time to put on the second shirt, though. I heard the crash and panicked.”
Marinette offered him a smile. “That’s fine. I can just put it back in the closet.”
Allan nodded and looked down at the mess. “So Claude spilled this chest?”
“Yeah, he was being an idiot.” Allegra remarked as she picked up one of the trinkets. “You know. Nothing new.”
“Wow. can you guys lay off for two seconds?” Claude huffed. He reached forward to pick up one of the objects as well, curiosity overtaking his annoyance. “What is all of this stuff, anyway?”
Marinette glanced at the miscellaneous objects to check- she had several trunks that acted as ‘junk drawers’ -and immediately cringed when she recognized a black hat with rainbow colors stitched along the bottom.
“Oh..” It was Adrien’s gift chest. She’d almost forgotten that she had it. “They’re, um.. They’re just crafts, really.”
“Just crafts?” Claude repeated, holding up a crocheted Ladybug doll. “These are awesome!”
Marinette watched them for a moment. “...do you want them?”
The group looked up in shock, and Marinette quickly added, “Y-You don’t have to take them! I’ve just.. Uh.. they’re like junk? I mean, not junk, but this is my junk chest.. Sort of. I’ve just been meaning to get rid of them. So if you want them, you can have them.” 
Allegra frowned. “Are you sure? It looks like you put a lot of effort into these.”
Marinette nodded. “Positive. Take whatever you want.”
Although hesitant at first, the group continued to look through the gifts, and little by little, they started to take some. A smile came to Marinette’s lips as she watched the pile of Adrien junk dwindle. She had spent a lot of time on making the presents, but there was no way she’d be giving them to Adrien now. So what was the point of keeping them in her room? To serve as a mocking reminder of how blind she had been while loving him? No thanks.
By the time they were done, the chest only had half the gifts it used to, and Marinette quickly decided that she would donate the leftovers once she got the chance. 
“Thanks for the stuff, Mari!” Claude said cheerfully, his hands full of various objects.
Allegra nodded, holding a few things herself. “Yeah, you really do spoil us.”
“Which is saying something, considering we’re rich.” Allan teased, pocketing the two items that he’d decided to snatch. 
Marinette chuckled. “You’re helping me more than I am you.”
She stood up and walked to the bathroom to grab the boys’ old clothes. “I’m gonna bring these down to Maman, but feel free to look around until I get back.”
The group voiced their agreements, and Marinette climbed down the trapdoor ladder with the pile of clothes in hand, feeling like another weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
Getting rid of Adrien’s gifts was one more step towards happiness, and she couldn’t wait to keep walking.
~~~~~~
One can tell a lot about a person by their bedroom. How clean they were, whether they were sentimental, which things they found important- a bedroom could quite literally be considered a box in which someone stored their entire personality. That’s why Felix had been anticipating this part of the visit. Someone can be a master manipulator, but their room would always show their true selves. And it only took one look for Felix to know..
Marinette really loved the color pink.
Seriously, she had it everywhere. The walls, the furniture, the carpet- How was she not sick of the color by now? Felix was sick of it, and he’d only been there for about twenty minutes!
Pushing the pink thought aside, he continued poking around her room. Marinette had gone downstairs to pass his clothes off to her mother, so that gave him a bit of time to inspect the space unsupervised. Not that he was planning on doing anything scandalous. It merely gave him the opportunity of observing Marinette’s room on his own terms.
When she told him that her room was up in the attic, he’d been understandably shocked. The attic didn’t sound like a spacious place to sleep, let alone work on homework and other personal things. Seeing it now, though, Felix realized that that wasn’t the case. The attic was actually quite open. There was a desk, a closet, various chests, a bathroom, and she still had a good portion of the room empty. He wondered if that was thanks to the original size of the room or thanks to Marinette’s resourcefulness.
Her cleaning style wasn’t too bad, either. Don’t get him wrong, there were things scattered everywhere, but it was a specific type of scattered, like an organized chaos. He had a feeling that she knew where most of her necessities were. 
Felix moved to her desk, where most of the mess was focused. There were papers, sewing needles, scraps of fabric, and pencils spread across the surface. Her interest in fashion certainly shined through, as most of the papers were filled with various sketches and measurements. He found that admirable. When someone usually speaks of their ‘dream job’, they speak of it as a fantasy, one that they never intend to fully pursue, but Marinette was obviously reaching as high as she could to grasp her goal. She even had a mannequin in her room.
“Marinette’s room is so cool!” Claude exclaimed from the loft up top. “She even has a balcony!”
Felix glanced upwards, briefly setting the papers he’d been studying aside. There’s a balcony upstairs? He didn’t recall seeing a balcony on the way in.
“Claude, you have a balcony.” Allegra reminded him with an amused smile.
“Yeah, but mine only extends from the side of the building.” Claude defended. “This one’s on the roof!”
Ah, so that’s why Felix hadn’t seen it.
Allan frowned. “Really? Isn’t that a little dangerous?”
“It’s got a rail.” 
“Oh, okay. That’s fine then.”
Allegra chuckled as she brushed her hands against the hat on Marinette’s mannequin. “Marinette’s room is pretty neat, though.”
“I think it’s just Marinette who’s cool.” Allan remarked.
Allegra and Claude heartily agreed, and Felix nodded. “Cool” probably wouldn’t be the exact word that he’d use to describe her, but overall, it wasn’t far off.
“Can you believe we’ve only known her for a week?” Claude asked as he climbed down to their level. “It feels like we’ve known her forever already.”
“Yeah, but I think that’s just how she is.” Allegra smiled. “She draws you in and makes you feel like family.”
“Her parents are the same way.” Allan said. “You can really tell where she gets it from.”
“Where who gets what from?” 
Felix, along with the rest of the group, turned to the trapdoor, where Marinette was standing about halfway through. She didn’t have the clothes anymore, but she did have a tray of drinks.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Allegra said dismissively. “What are those?”
Marinette set the tray on the ground long enough to climb through and close the trapdoor as she explained, “Maman and Papa thought you guys might be thirsty, so she sent me up with a bunch of different drinks to choose from.”
“Sweet!” Claude grinned, swiftly walking over in case she needed help. “Do you have Dr. Pepper?”
Marinette smiled and turned the tray to reveal a deep red can of soda. “Yep! I know it’s your favorite.”
“You truly are a blessing.” Claude replied, grabbing the soda off of the tray.
Marinette giggled and brought the tray forward for the rest of them to pick. Allegra chose a pepsi, while Allan snagged a coke, and Felix grabbed the slim cup of coffee that sat to the side.
He took a sip of it, enjoying the warmth of the bitter liquid. It didn’t escape his notice that Marinette had brought up all of their preferred drinks. She even got his coffee right (Black with three sugars). 
Despite how scatter-brained she could be, Marinette still paid attention to details, which was impressive. Felix didn’t know anyone else who could space out during an entire conversation, yet remember the exact type of drink everyone ordered during lunch.
“So what do you guys want to do now? We still have about half an hour before supper is finished.” Marinette asked, setting the tray aside. 
Allan shrugged. “What do you have?”
Marinette thought for a moment. “Well, we have board games, card games, Mecha Strike 3-”
“Mecha Strike 3?” Claude perked up. “Yes, please!”
Marinette laughed. “Is everyone else okay with that?”
“Sounds great.” Allan smiled.
Allegra shrugged. “I’m fine with it.” 
Felix, being satisfied with his inspection for now, sat down on the chaise. “I’ll watch.”
The rest of the group huddled around Marinette’s computer while she turned it on, and after a bit of debating, they decided on ‘winner faces next player’ and started with Allan and Claude. Felix watched the first two games, just long enough to see Marinette cream Allan, before reverting back to his studious ways. He scanned the bedroom again, hoping to catch something new, when his gaze landed on the trunk that Claude had tipped over earlier. With everyone bustling around it, Felix hadn’t gotten a chance to sift through it, but now that they were occupied with Marinette’s game..
Felix shifted in his seat and re-opened the chest. It was only half full, as opposed to its previously overflowing contents, but that didn’t bother him. There were still plenty of things inside, such as shirts, figurines, hats, and other things. He pulled out a jacket and turned it in his hands, admiring the handiwork. The hood, along with the cuffs of the sleeves and zipper were pitch black, but the rest of the jacket was a deep red, save for the black spots that littered it. “Miraculous” was written on the back in cursive as well. Was this supposed to be based off of the Parisian superhero Ladybug? Why would she want to get rid of this? At the very least, she could make a profit by selling it.
What did she use to make this? The material is so soft.. Felix thought as he unzipped the jacket. It was completely black on the inside, save for some tiny, golden lettering near the section wear the pocket would be.
“To: Adrien
From: Marinette”
Felix frowned. How strange. Why would Marinette be giving away things that she made specifically for someone else? He dug through the chest some more, this time looking for names, and what he found was shocking. 
Almost every gift had the name ‘Adrien’ on it somewhere, whether it be a card or stitching or marker. Some gifts didn’t have a name, but at that point, Felix felt it was safe to assume that everything in the chest was supposed to be for this ‘Adrien’ person. 
That begged the question, though: Who was Adrien? And why would she create so many gifts for him just to give them away?
A small card stitched on the ear of a stuffed cat gave him his answer.
“Dear Adrien, 
Happy 19th birthday! It’s officially been five years since we’ve known each other. Isn’t that crazy? Anyway, I just wanted to say happy birthday (even though I’ve already said it) and that I’m really happy we got to meet. Enjoy the cat!
With all my love, Marinette”
Felix glanced up at Marinette, who was blissfully ignorant of his findings as she defeated Claude for the second time at Mecha Strike 3. Did she intend to use all of these as birthday presents? How many gifts were in there? Did she expect this person to have the same interests twenty years from now? He couldn’t decide if this level of planning was due to over-thinking or just plain obsession. Maybe both.
“Hey, Felix!” 
Felix flinched at the sudden call of his name, weirdly feeling as if he’d been caught in the act of some crime. He looked up to see Claude waving a controller at him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to play?” The brunette asked.
“Talk to me when you have chess.” Felix replied shortly, going back to the chest. He had hoped that seeing Marinette’s room would provide more answers to her life, but it only issued more questions. Did she have this amount of gifts for all of her friends or was Adrien special? If he was special, what way would it be? Was he possibly an ex-lover? She dated him for a while, and they had a recent falling out, which was why she was getting rid of the gifts. That would make sense.
“He just wants to talk.”
Her words from last week resurfaced in his mind. The person who chased her that day was the only one she reacted bitterly towards. Was Adrien trying to get back together with her? 
Was he the reason she left her old school in the first place?
My, my Dupain-Cheng. Felix thought. Aren’t you just full of secrets?
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