#but we had a lot of fun today! its a miracle i didn't get a sunburn

[clamorybus]

babysat my niece all day and it went really well! we spent most of it on the trampoline, just shooting the shit

[kissmetwicekissmedeadly]

I know you already talked about but this I think the fandom has changed a lot. I am a shy reader so I stay on anon and I don't reblog much because my Tumblr is small. But I have been around for a few years and its not the same.

There was a lot more playfulness and silly posts. People reblogged other people's writing a lot more. I also had fun following how people talked to each other.

The kind of writing people wanted was different. You didn't have such a focus on how "good" the writing was or how much imagery a writer used. It was about the stories being told and it feels like that has changed. The fandom seems to only want that flowery writing, those blogs that write at a "elevated" level. I was just fine without it, to be honest.

I am sad that people are not liking things and that Prince is taking over more and more. There is no love anymore for Vamp or Sen or Rev (my beloved Rev 😭)

I don't know why I am reaching out to you except you have been here a long time, one of the best blogs in this fandom. And part of me is just sad that it feels like the fandom is dying.

Oh my god anon..... when i saw your ask last night i got overwhelmed with emotion and with all the things that popped up in my head that i wanted to say to you, but today real life gave me another portion of problems and I'm sitting here giving my screen a blank stare. i hate this, i really want to give you a better answer, but let me try. and thank you for sending it in this blog, i feel even more comfortable talking on here!

The thing you pointed out about the quality of writing and people's demands.... it's actually something i wrote in my last reply to you. and then deleted it. because i thought, "haha no it must be just me", but now that you say it, im prone to agree - your angle of things is actually very trustworthy in my opinion, being someone who's been here for so long and observed from afar. for me it's easier to forget how it was in the beginning, but now that you say it, you're absolutely right... the blogs i looked up to, the writers i admired, weren't put on a pedestal for their skills, it was purely in my head how great they were - to a point where it makes me sad that it feels like ive received more praise now than they did back then. some of them don't write as often anymore, if at all... it's not right. i wonder why did that happen and when, and if it's actually harmful for us writers or im being too cautious. i want to be just like you sometimes, to enjoy the fruits of this fandom from the comfort of being a small blog seldom interacting with posts but still appreciating them from afar - i've been that person in other fandoms, and it has its perks definitely. it's just some strange miracle that i became what i am right now and broke through the shell of being a shy reader! seriously! i appreciate you and people like you, because im glad that i can make more of those fruits for you to enjoy. it's an unpopular opinion but ive never been mad at lurkers all that much. everyone has their reasons to feel uncomfortable interacting, and other than that, i personally want to have a blog where people escape from the hustle of being seen and present. again, that's just me, and i'll encourage commenting and sharing work when it comes to my peers... we're getting off topic, haha. and i should make a paragraph break already

i want to comfort you somehow but without lying to you that "nooo it's alright we're still having fun around here and the fandom is totally not dying" and we could make what the musicians on titanic did, but hey, we're not in the middle of the ocean and i seriously cant be a pessimist 😭 i don't think that it's that bad - i did say that some writers are put on pedestal, but are they really? i doubt anyone is seeing those things so dramatically, well maybe that one anon. but that's just one case, and unfortunately it affects how we see things A LOT , because noone else allows themselves to point out things in such dramatic light, no matter if they're right or not. we're paying the anon a lot of attention, so this fucks with our heads to a certain degree. i think that you should rest assured that this mood around the fandom is temporary, same with the more fun postings that you mentioned - i have a theory for that too, and it's because ikepri is simply not allowing for as much goofing around as its predecessors. you still see your doze of cursed jokes but they're not realistic in the nature of the game's world like they would in ikerev for instance, or even ikevamp . but that's fine because, and this is something i actually thought about the other day, they can't keep making more and more dramatic dark and twisted all overly serious games (right? right?) , somewhere along the way a game with the carefree atmosphere of ikerev will come to existence again, and we'll heal again. and the hateful anons who dont see that we're just a bunch of people having fun without that made-up hierarchy , will get bored and go away eventually. i believe in that, and i really want to make you believe too

i enjoyed talking with you about this, and i hope i didn't gave any unnecessary seriousness to our talk because im trying very hard to stick to the belief that our time here should be purely just positive and fun... and hey, we might have not interacted much, but knowing that you've been here for awhile already makes me feel you close somehow hkhkhkhk is that weird??

now, let me give you this ticket: 🎫 that equals one xxsycamore request (from the valentines/1000 followers one) and i want you to think of the most self-indulgent prompt you can come up with and send it. you said ikerev my beloved so if you end up choosing that (seeing that there is a serious lack of those requested 😭😭) id be even happier to write it for you. dont worry to refuse ofc <33

im sorry that this was all over the place and thank you for coming here anon. have a great day ❤

[mayberaspberrywrites]

All I want For Christmas Is....(Diluc x Female Reader)

Prologue

[MONDAY, DECEMBER 1ST]

'Finally, all of my commissions are done.' You thought to yourself as you teleported to Mondstadt. You were playing as your main, Diluc. You reached the Adventurer's Guild, and you quickly skipped through Katherine's dialogue, eager to collect your primogems. 'Now what should I do? I suppose I could—'

"DAMN IT! Another 50/50 lost, and to Keqing out of all characters?!"

Ah. That's right. You're still at school. It's currently your off period, and your friends have all gathered in the corner of the upper commons. Junia stares at her phone, frustrated. She rolls her eyes, closing out of the wishing screen. 

"Whatever. I guess that means I have a guaranteed Scaramouche now." You would tease her about her misfortune, but you remember how the last time you did that, you ended up with a Qiqi instead of a Kazuha. You cringe at the reminder. "Yeah, and maybe you'll get his weapon too!" Your friend Aspen tries to comfort Junia. "Pff, yeah, right. The weapon banner has never been nice to me. That would be a miracle!" Junia exclaims.

Unbeknownst to you, Many pairs of eyes are watching you from inside your phone. A porcelain-skinned blonde concentrates his gaze through a small device pointed towards the sky, surrounded by a few others.

"What do you see, Mr. Albedo? C‐can you hear what they're saying?" Sucrose spoke quietly, looking up at the sky. "It seems that Junia lost her Yae Miko to Keqing." Albedo responds, not looking away from the device. "Ah…a shame, really. I think it would've been fun to have another me around." A pink kitsune sighed. 

'Actually, that would be for the best…' A certain furry-eared general thought. He looked towards his far left, where a man dressed in red and black stood, immersed in a conversation with 3 other people. Y/N's team. "Yes, I agree. Unfortunately, that all depends on Y/N. We don't have control over that." He spoke, unintentionally squinting his eyes. He felt eyes on him, turning his head towards the general. Gorou quickly turned back around.

Diluc suddenly felt his legs move forward. "Ah, yes, the player is back. How much longer do we have until they have to leave?" Sucrose asked the blonde. "Approximately 5 minutes Earth Time." Albedo responded again, finally looking away from the device to write down the current events. Sucrose watched over his shoulder. Albedo handed his clipboard over to Sucrose before resuming his previous task.

–

"Well, who are you saving for Y/N? Maybe the 50/50 gods will be friendlier with you." Junia joked. You thought for a moment. You didn't really have any limited characters in mind. "I don't know. All I really want are Diluc's constellations." You responded. "Please, take all of mine! I don't even use him!" Aspen groaned sarcastically. You laughed. "You know if I could, I would." Suddenly, the bell rang. Students began filling the hallways as you and your friends stood up and said your goodbyes. You soon arrived at your Chemistry class and took a seat. While your chemistry teacher passed back your tests, you closed your game and turned off your phone, ready for today's lesson.

–

"That's it everyone. Pack it up, We have work to do here in Teyvat." Everyone slowly dispersed into different directions. Diluc decided that it was time to go home and prepare for his nightly routine, saying his goodbyes to the rest of the team. With that, he was off on the trail towards Dawn Winery.

It'd been snowing a lot more recently, with Christmas being on its way. Diluc had never really been a festive person, he usually lived life day to day with no breaks unless he was ill. His boots crunched through the snow that'd coated the path, leaving footprints behind him. His thoughts began to wander as his body went on autopilot. 'It's almost Christmas. Fortunately, the monster presence around the city has begun to die down. Perhaps I'll be able to stay in the Winery and give everyone the Christmas they deserve.' The thought brought a small, brief smile to his lips. He soon arrived at the Dawn Winery, quickly greeted by Moco and Hillie, who helped him take off his coat and hang it on the rack. Diluc thanked the two before walking upstairs to his room.

–

"Pass the screwdriver." A calm voice said, holding his left hand out while scribbling something down with his right. A young woman with light green hair quickly made her way across the lab, returning with a screwdriver and handing it to the man. He turned to a huge machine, adjusting a screw, and took a few steps back. He admired his work. "Sucrose, it's done. We've done it." Sucrose stepped forward, now standing side-by-side with Albedo. Together, they examined the machine. Other than being a huge, fancy hunk of metal, it had child-like flowers painted all over it, clearly Klee's doing. Albedo let out a sigh of relief before reaching for his clipboard. "Machine…complete…22:05…12/2/22…running tests." He muttered to himself.

"Um…Mr. Albedo? You never told me exactly what this machine is supposed to do." Sucrose quietly asked, eyes glued to the machine. "Ah, yes. Allow me to explain. This machine should neutralize the barrier between Earth and Teyvat, meaning that communication and perhaps even travel between worlds will be possible. Right now, however, we can only send messages to the player and move semi-freely. Travel is…a little more complicated." Albedo responded, gesturing his hands as he spoke. Sucrose nodded in understanding, her eyes lighting up in excitement. Albedo reached for his safety goggles, placing them on his face. Sucrose did the same, stepping back from the machine. 

"Get ready, Sucrose, this could be life-changing." Albedo felt a surge of excitement, something he never knew he could feel. He pressed a flower shaped button(another one of Klee's works) on the machine, watching as it turned on and charged up. Albedo then pressed another button, and the machine fired a bright white beam into the previously cut hole in the ceiling. After a few moments, a loud boom was heard, and Albedo and Sucrose ran to the lab window to look outside. The usually starry sky glowed white, and they covered their eyes before it went back to normal. Sucrose slowly opened her eyes, blinking away the spots before looking over to Albedo, who had already begun furiously scribbling onto the clipboard.

"Mr Albedo, do you think it worked?" Albedo ran to his desk, taking a deep breath before typing into a slightly smaller device and pressing send. "We're about to find out."

–

Text Received

December 2nd, XXXX

10:13PM

Unknown Number: Hello?

[former-proffessor-and-policeman]

It twas the day before christmas, the kisaragi foundation was more quiet than usual as finally everyone gets a rare two day break for the holiday, however midori was with minako in front of the building searching for a certain someone.

"Minako, while I do trust your judgement...I'm really not sure why you're insistent ryutaro's here..."

"Midori do you know what today is? Of course he'd be here, just look in the back."

"The back..? You mean of the foundation?"

"Yes the back of the foundation! It's been years since the graveyard was built how do you still not remember where it is!?"

"Oh! Oh...."

Midori tilted her head down saddened, she did know it was there she just...Never really visited too much...She guessed with how occupied she was she just kinda easily forgot about it. She sighed and looked at minako apologetically, she didn't mean to come off as insensitive really...Minako returned a sad look, she understood..of course she did. After taking a moment the two walked behind the foundation, and sure enough there was a beautiful overgrown garden filled with gravestones, because of the winter the flowers and bushes had been frozen over but by some miracle not dead...And moving their eyes over to a certain gravestone there of course was ryutaro, sitting down criss crossed on the ground in front of it, a hand on his cheek..Minako shouldered midori lightly signaling her to go talk to him and so she approached.

"Ryutaro...You shouldn't be out in the cold like this..."

"I know...I just...Had to see her today."

"..."

Midori carefully sat down next to him, the ground was covered in snow but the feeling of it was oddly refreshing for her...She looked at ryutaro before looking at the gravestone...Kiyoka maki's gravestone....

"Why...Do you come here every year? She...She wouldn't want you celebrating her birthday like this..."

"....I....I just can't help but think a lot today, about her...About the way she died...About all those times I told her to....I didn't mean it not any of it but-.....I wish I could've said sorry to her just once....Just tell her that I cared about her...."

"And her birthday......Today if she were still here....Would she still go out and party like she did before? Would she have changed and did something else...? I'll...I'll never know, she'll never get that chance."

"Oh ryutaro..."

"....."

"You know she always hated her talent, she never wanted to be known just for her sniper skill...It was just something for fun for her even if she was extraordinary at it...All she ever wanted was to be seen as anyone else, to have lots of friends and live life to it's fullest....But no one except me..And this foundation will know about that."

"When...When people look back at hopes peak, they aren't going to see kiyoka maki a girl who was taken far too soon, or kiyoka maki that girl that loved to socialize and hang out her friends, who cared about human life more than anything....They'll just see another ultimate lost to the tragedy...Maybe not even that...And no one will celebrate today or her or think of today and be reminded of her...They'll think of...of...That girl that caused it all!"

"No one is going to remember her except us! They'll only see today as the day junko enoshima the girl who made the tragedy was born! EVERYTHING KIYOKA DID EVERYTHING SHE LIVED FOR, THAT SHE DIED FOR ITS ALL GOING TO BE FORGOTTEN AND IN HER PLACE EVERYONE WILL REMEMBER SOMEONE WHO NEVER EVEN DESERVED TO BE BORN!!"

"....How....How could I not think about that.....If no one else will remember her today even if it's bad....I don't want to forget her too...."

".....I know.....I know.....It hurts, it really hurts....I can't put into words like you can...But it hurts....I wish she didn't have to die...I wish kakureru didn't have to die...I wish things were different....But theres nothing we can do but try and keep working and fighting for them...."

"But what I said before is true too...She wouldn't want you to remember her like that...She'd want to be celebrated...Or for you to live your life to the best of your abilities....Thinking of the what if's and the bad won't help the pain..."

"But how can I not? Every time I even hear her name I can only think about how she never got to do so many of the stuff she said she wanted to do, how she'll only be remembered for her ultimate...How...How can I just ignore those thoughts midori?"

"...You don't...."

"You...You think those thoughts, and you remember her, and you also remind yourself that's why were doing all this. That's why we fight every day isn't it? Why we work so hard no matter how exhausting or difficult it gets, Were fighting for our families, for the hope they died with and left us with, for the people who have hopes and dreams and lives just like theirs...just like hers! Yeah we can't ignore all the bad stuff but that just gives us another reason to keep going! So no one has to think those same thoughts again!"

"......You know I never took you as someone who did inspiration speeches midori."

"E-Eh? W-Well it just kind of slipped out, b-but you get my point!....Right?"

"Yeah....I get it....Thanks."

"It's nothing...S-So...Are you ready to go now...?"

"Yeah...I think so."

Ryutaro and midori stood up midori taking his hand and walking them both to minako who seemed a bit teary eyed but she waved it off, the three then walked back to the front of the building and then onto the side walk, chatting about the holiday and their relief for the holiday....But ryutaro couldn't help but look back just once and muttered out one sentence;

"Happy birthday kiyoka....Big sis...."

[lovesgonnabe]

Love Is Worth It - Mini Episode I: Happy Mothers Day

Characters: Chris Evans x Maya Alonso-Evans (Black OFC)

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, cursing,daddy kink, fake IG Post.

Word Count: IDK Yet(Soon)

Summary: What happens when there is a surprise on the Horizon?

AN/Disclaimer: There’s only slight edits so there may be errors. Also if you haven’t noticed this series will have many time jump things referenced here may make more sense later on in the series when new episodes come out so please bear with me.

Taglist: @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss, @canadian-girl87, @i-just-like-fanfics, @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful​ if you would like to join the taglist let me know.

Please leave a note and tell me what you think!

May 9th, 2021

Boston was moving from chilly too warm with still more cold days than not. Boston at this time was beautiful even The Evans home was littered with flowers. The beginning of 2021 has been eventful for the Evans Family.

Chris's A Starting Point has taken off like no one had expected, doing incredible number in educating a whole generation on one of Chris’s passions politics and the world.

While Maya within the few months has launched her skincare line Lavish Lilah Skin, and has been able to open back up her dermatology offices with the slowing down of the current devastating pandemic.

This Mothers Day for the family of 3 was different but the same at the same time.

Maya's Birthday has just passed, Chris filming schedule will pick up in the Summer and for the last year Delilah has been homeschooled.

With work picking up for the couple May 9th was a beautiful day for the Evans to just relax and be together as a family.

Its 9 am and Maya was sprawled in the middle of their California King Bed as Chris and Delilah were in the downstairs getting Maya's Mothers Day Gift ready.

"Ok Lilah you've got mommy's gifts and I've got the food you ready?" Chris asked with the tray in his hand.

Delilah nodded and they headed up the steps to the master bedroom the 5 year old ran up too the room first leaving Chris in her dust.

"Mom wake up its Mommy Day" Delilah said trying to climb the large bed.

Maya began to stir awake with a smirk on her face when she heard her baby girl struggle to to get up on the bed.

Delilah hooped on the outerman at the front of the bed and climbed to her mom laying up on Chris's said of the bed.

Delilah began to play with Maya's face.

"mommy get up me and daddy have gifs" Delilah said trying to open Maya's eyes with her little fingers.

Maya breaks out into a laugh now completely awake and pulling Delilah into a big hug kissing her all over the face.

When Chris walked in his two favorite girls were both laughing their heads off the sunlight in the room glowed on their golden skin as their smiling faces brought a bright smile to his.

"Are you two having fun without me" Chris asked as he walked to Maya's side of the bed.

Chris lays the tray on the night stand, pecking Maya on the lips mumbling a sweet Happy Mothers Day against her lips as he pulls her into a deeper kiss just enjoying the taste of her sinful lips.

When they pull away Maya moves over to make room for Chris in their large bed.

Delilah and Chris handed over the gifts to Maya, it wasn't a lot just some small things a card made by Maya from her zoom arts class, a mini breakfast in bed and more flowers *like she needed anymore*.

"Sweetheart I told you that you didn't have to do anything for me for Mothers Day especially everything you have done for me recently" Maya said taking sip from her coffee mug.

Chris chuckles thinking about the last few months, and he has been what you would call a rockstar husband.

With the pandemic Chris has been home a lot more he dropped a film he planned to star in and went full throttle on ASP which kept him home a lot making him kind of a stay home dad.

Chris did everything from some cooking to cleaning to school with Delilah. Him staying home was not only for him to do ASP and spend more time with his family but to let Maya work and bring her employess back so she can get her dermotobly practice back to as close to 100% as she can during a pandemic.

Not only that Chris hosted a surprise launch party/brithday party for Maya's new skincare venture in early April that was a small get together with all there closest friends and family (that were vaccinated). Even flying her parents who they haven’t seen in a year out to see them. (who were still in town and staying out in their guest home)

The three were still sitting in bed watching cartoons.

"My love if you thought today would go by and I would not celebrate you then you are out of your mind" Chris said kissing Maya's head.

The last four months have really shown Chris how much he admires Maya because everything he has been doing is what Maya has been doing since Dede was born.

So at least for today Chris was pulling out the red carpet for love of his life, after an hour of just lazying around Chris grabbed a now napping Delilah and told maya that she need to be dressed and ready to leave the house by 1pm which was 2 hours from the current time.

When 1pm hit the Evans and the Alonsos were out of the house and all in Maya's Truck.

They drove the 3 hours to the Alonso Family Estate in Martha's Vineyard and with Maya having absolutely no idea where they were going she grew antsy because unbeknownst to everyone in the car except her mother Maya was now Pregnant with her and Chris's second child and she was afraid she was going to have an accident in the car.

Maya was about 16 weeks how she has hide being pregnant from Chris for that long is a surprise and a miracle on its own.

However she just wanted to wait until she was absolutly sure that she could carry a complete trimester before telling anyone but her mom because her and Chris have tried 5 times after Delilah and has miscarred everytime.

All that faliure takes a toll not only on your body but on your psyche and she didn’t want to keep getting Chris's hopes up to keep failing him.

Even though he has been there through it all to hold her when she cries thinking about it or pick her up from the pool of blood in the middle of the night he was there holding her hand, but the of how many more times will he be able to do this with her still creeps in the back of Maya's mind.

Her mom's reassuring smile kept her calm while Chris and Maya held hands the entire ride up as they rolled up around 5pm to the estate that had multiply cars in the driveway.

When they walked in Maya's Brothers were both there along with Chris's parents, siblings and their kids.

Chris explained to Maya that with the kids out of school they all decided to being summer vacation a bit early.

As the night went on the all talked, laughed, ate good food and enjoyed each others company as one huge blended family.

It was coming up around 7pm it was golden hour outside and Maya knew for some reason it was time to tell Chris.

As Maya walked outside closet to the horses her mom followed.

"May baby cakes its time you can't live in fear forever" handing the ultrasound she kept in her purse and walking back into the house Maya took a deep breath as she sipped on her water and looked at sun hint the vinyard in the most majestic way.

"Maya you ok your mom wanted me to come and check in on you" Chris asked walking next to Maya who bit her lip which she did whenever she was nervous.

"Babe whats wrong" Chris knew something wasn't right the her body langague was and Chris could read his wife.

Maya tightly gripped the ultrasoud and turned toward Chris looking into his ocean blue eyes made her weak at the knees but she needed to focus.

She handed him the photo

"For the last 16 weeks or so I haven't found a way to tell that we are pregant and I guess this is it I am sorry I waited so long" Maya Says.

She smirks trying to keep it light hearted and Chris Smiles not even taking enough time to really process the new information with tears in his eye picking up Maya who squeals as he spins her around.

"I hope you know I knew already” he says putting her down leaving his arms around her waist.

"What do you mean you knew" Maya asked as her eyebrows frowned as she looked up at him.

"You underestimate how well I know your body" Chris says rubbing his hands up and down the curves of her body till her reached her ass giving it a good squeeze.

"Also you definitely did not hide this ultrasound that well so when I did first have hunch you had already confirmed it to me without even knowing it" Chris said.

He gave Maya his trademark smile and kissed his wife like his life depended on it.

"why didn’t you tell me you knew" she asked breaking the sweet embrace of the two lovers.

"the same reason you didn't I know that with you even though I hate it, some times I need to just watch from the sideline before you can put me in coach, but next time please do wait this long" Chris said.

Maya eyebrow raised "who said there will be a next time you better be lucky you are even getting 2 out of me sir" she said.

Chris laughs "thats what your mouth is saying now we will see what it says later when you riding papi's cock" He said kissing her lips even harder as they fought for domanice.

They knew both of there families were inside and thats why they stopped and just stood enjoying each others company.

"lets take a picture babe for memories" Chris said.

They pulled apart and Maya laughed .

"Chris look at you trying to take flicks for the gram" Maya said posing next to her favorite horse.

Chris took the picture and put it on his instagram along with a picture of Maya when she was pregnant with Delilah.

Chris laughed grapped her hand and they walked inside and told everyone the good news.

This will definaly be a Mothers Day they would never forget!

[your-brilliant-lady-m]

Part 1 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Miraculous Jewels

Alright! I promised you meta and now I deliver!

I feel like people mostly watch Miraculous for the romance these days. Shipping is all everyone cares about. I wonder why? Probably because writers themselves don't take their worldbuilding very seriously and because they don't put much effort into making the audience care about something other than Love Square, like the mythology behind the Miraculous, or motivations of the main villain, or some pretty heavy topics for a kid's show that they bring up and then refuse to touch again. You know, all the good things. And this is coming from someone who is a passionate multishipper. I have lived through several shipping wars in different fandoms and came out victorious after all.

I am probably the only person out there who cares about the big picture, the overall storyline and the worldbuilding of Miraculous in addition to all details and implications that could develop into fascinating plotlines relevant to the main story. It is a rather lonely fandom experience, I must confess. But, hey? Who cares? I am here to have fun and bring to the table discussions no one wants to have.

So, let's talk about the basics.

If you, as the writing team, are capable of keeping only 1 thing consistent, then please, I beg you, let it be the basic concepts of your universe. Because in this case, one has to actively put effort into writing characters and conflict resolutions badly. And also because nothing can save bad worldbuilding.

I don't have high worldbuilding standards for Miraculous. They certainly aren't as high as the ones I had for Legend of Korra (which was a badly written trainwreck, that ATLA doesn't deserve as a sequel) or the ones I currently have for Dragon Prince. Therefore I won't be too harsh in my criticisms. Granted, I think that Miraculous has better worldbuilding and lore consistency than Winx Club for example (I haven't seen the reboot yet, so writers might have fixed their worldbuilding at least a little bit). Even though I enjoyed Winx when I was younger and some elements of this story still attract me.

Both serialised and episodic shows as well as movies to the lesser extent must have some flexibility in worldbuilding and plot because you can never be 100% sure where your story is going. Maybe, you'll get money for more seasons, maybe not. However, you must never lose sight of your basic concepts. They have to stay the same no matter what, because rewriting lore and retconning major developments every new season is not and never will be called good writing.

Forgive me for using architectural metaphors, but you need a solid foundation to build any kind of structure. Otherwise, everything falls apart.

I like to apply this logic to writing as well. When designing a world where your story takes place, you must lay a few ground rules. It's especially important if you have a magic system. What kind of ideas absolutely must exist? What kind of conclusion do you want your story to have? Does your magic system has limitations? Where is the grey area? Could you introduce new elements later on?

And I feel like the writing team of Miraculous Ladybug did not ask these questions. This may feel like I am nit-picking canon material and looking for problems that simply aren't there, but I promise that I am not. You see, things that I am about to point out only seem small at first glance. But these details are actually the source of the largest plotholes in the series. And their presence negatively affects character development, conflicts and resolutions of said conflicts.

That doesn't mean that I have nothing good to say about the magic system of the show and its elements. There are a lot of great ideas and concepts. And some of them have the potential to contribute to the delightful story.

Let's dive right into it, shall we?

Camouflage

I have to give credit where it's due because the idea of camouflage and shapeshifting for Miraculouses is brilliant. It seems like Miraculous can't fundamentally change its type of jewellery or accessory. The ring will always be the ring but with a different ornament, colour or shape. This is true most of the time (Monkey Miraculous is an exception since it transformed into earplugs/headphones/headband/circlet) It makes sense and avoids plotholes. Grimoire doesn't have the pictures of each Miraculous in disguise for identity protection. That was very neat too. I have no comments. This concept was very good.

Also, since Marinette wore a nose ring of the Ox in "Kwamibuster" without any problem and Adrien wore Ladybug's earrings in "Reflekdoll", we can assume that you don't need to have piercings to wear a Miraculous. Miraculous just magically passes through your skin.

I'm interested to know the following. Can Kwamis recognise a camouflaged Miraculous on a person? Can the holder order them to confess the identity of this person? This shouldn't be possible for identity protection just like with Kwamis sensing each other. But more on that in later posts.

Power Levels

For a long time, we assume that there are only 7 Miraculouses. Turtle belongs to Master Fu, Gabriel has Butterfly and Peacock, Marinette and Adrien have Ladybug and Black Cat. Everything is pretty straightforward. Then it's revealed that there are more jewels and more boxes. It makes the worldbuilding interesting, but it also majorly complicates things, making them inconsistent.

Their position in the Miracle Box implies their power levels. Creation and destruction are the most powerful forces in existence, therefore they are at the top. Moreover, it makes this Box the most important, the most powerful out of all others. Su Han in "Furious Fu" calls it "Mother Miracle Box". Fox, Turtle, Bee, Butterfly and Peacock have less power than the main pair, but more than the Miraculous of the lower Zodiac tier (since they correspond with animals of the Chinese Zodiac).

1. Ladybug can create anything out of nothing (Lucky Charm, which gives what you need the most at the moment). This Miraculous can resurrect the dead, reverse the effects of the Cataclysm. The power of Miraculous Cure or Miraculous Ladybug can work in several ways:

it simply repairs the damage (puts stuff back together, heals injuries and so on)

it reverses time for the matter, restoring things back to the state they were before the destruction occurred (however, the Cure doesn't erase people's memories of everything that happened unless they were mind-controlled, frozen in place or transformed by Akuma into something else - this is an important point that I'll discuss some other time)

How does Miraculous Cure work when there are no supervillians? In NY Special Marinette just says this.

Excuse me, what? What was that? You can't do anything when the villain is gone? What the hell?

*insert here every scene where Ladybug fixed Paris after destroying akumatized/amokized object (this action causes the Akuma victim to detransform/sentimonster to disappear - villain is gone) and purifying butterfly and feather*

It was such cheap angst. I couldn't even be upset when Adrien gave up his Miraculous, because that whole situation is just stupid. But, never mind. We aren't talking about that today.

Apparently, Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure only work when summoned to battle a specific villain. What is the point then? Huh? You can't tell me that Ladybug has the power of unlimited creation and then say that she can't repair the damage without a special Lucky Charm that was magically synchronised with specific big bad of the week.

Ladybug also can purify Akumas. It makes sense for Ladybug to have the ability to reverse the magic of less powerful Miraculous. But this power can't be applied universally. How does this power of reversal apply to different situations where there is no evil Butterfly holder? Can Ladybug reverse the magic of any Miraculous?

The unlimited power of creation introduced in season 4 ("Mr. Pidgeon 72") is another fascinating thing. On one hand, it's logical and proves the status of this Miraculous as the most powerful. On the other hand, by introducing this power, you have created a plothole. Look, Marinette can create the charm which repels Akumas. If Ladybug can create anything then what stops her from creating a tool for finding Hawkmoth (like special glasses for discovering identities or a compass)? I mean, the show says that the power of creation is unlimited, it means that the creation of such tool is possible.

2. Black Cat can destroy anything with Cataclysm, even other Miraculous. He can kill living things and turn them into ash, but not himself. This Miraculous is supposed to have other special abilities that we don't see. And they should be equal to powers of Ladybug, both in number and in potency. Unfortunately, after 3 seasons writers didn't give us anything. It makes laughable the idea of balance between Ladybug and Black Cat.

Now, to the second tier. These Miraculouses have a singular ability, but they need a second one to keep the power balanced between Zodiac and the main pair.

3. Butterfly creates champions with different superpowers. But how does the time limit of children work for Butterfly? In theory, the countdown should start right after the creation of the Akuma since for Ladybug and Chat Noir countdown starts after activation of their powers even if they don't use them. However, if the countdown of the Butterfly begins after Akuma creation then there's no point because the holder has to stay transformed to guide their champion. The charged butterfly won't have time to even grant powers before the transformation of the child-holder drops. This issue is never explored because Gabriel doesn't have a time limit. However, I feel like it should be addressed in flashbacks of past Butterfly holders for example.

This Miraculous should be less powerful than Ladybug and Black Cat. It's often not. Some Akumas are too overpowered. Stormy Weather can move the Earth away from the Sun, Timetagger can send people through time and jump through time as well, Chat Blanc destroyed the world with a single energy blast, Miraculer could steal powers of those more powerful than her by default. These are the most notable examples. One could argue that Chat Blanc was a different case. Hawkmoth simply gave the most powerful Miraculous a boost. However, we know that even without a holder (the wildest and the most powerful form of uncontrolled Miraculous magic) Plagg's Cataclysm can't destroy the universe just like that (he presumably wiped out dinosaurs and sunk Atlantis on his own without a holder). I think that the less powerful Miraculous (Butterfly) shouldn't be able to increase the power of destruction to such a degree and give Black Cat the power to destroy celestial bodies and galaxies.

Writers want us to see Hawkmoth as the formidable villain. But it's not easy because he is less powerful than your main heroes by default of your worldbuilding. Sometimes writers make the Butterfly more powerful than creation and destruction to raise the stakes, breaking the laws of their magic system. So, how do you solve this? Let Ladybug and Black Cat keep their status as the most powerful and instead of giving Hawkmoth more magical power, make him smarter, more cunning, inventive. Gabriel is a fashion designer, whose creativity makes him a very good Butterfly holder. He has a life full of experience, he knows much more about things than the main teenage characters. Catalyst was very interesting for this very reason. Gabriel sort of discovered a cheat code to boost his powers. Show us how he experiments with his powers, how he analyses his past Akumas and tries to find the most effective ones. Maybe Gabriel tries to design Akumas that can specifically neutralise Ladybug and Chat Noir. This exploration could also give writers an opportunity to explain how the powers of Butterfly work. Can he control the type of powers he grants? Can he control the appearance of Akumas? There are many things to be explored.

4. Peacock creates sentimonsters. I remember that fans were very disappointed when the power of the Peacock was revealed at the end of season 2. I was one of them. The concept of Amoks is far too similar to akumatized butterflies. Other Miraculouses have unique abilities and keywords for their powers, while Peacock just looks like Butterfly 2.0. That glowing mask effect just adds insult to injury.

You have to start by figuring out the powers of the Peacock in a normal situation. If a holder is a good person, then how does their power work? For example, make them related to sight (because of the "eye" pattern on feathers). Maybe, Peacock grants the ability to see the several possibilities of the future, but only a few minutes ahead. Maybe, this Miraculous gives you the ability to see through someone's eyes for a few minutes (and the victim is completely unaware of the intrusion). Perhaps, Peacock allows the holder to use feathers (or tiny peacocks) as cameras one at a time and be all-seeing. These feather-spies can be destroyed by the holder or disappear on their own after some time. Such power could be devastating when used against heroes in canon.

5. Bee can paralyze. This power is pretty straightforward. Once I read a fanfiction focused on very vell done Chloe Redemption, where she fights alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eventually, she grows and becomes a better person. This fic ends with an Akuma battle, where LB and CN are trapped and Akuma is ready to kill them. But Chloe uses a second power of the Bee on the villain - Miraculous Stinger. It's deadly both for the holder and for the victim (because bees die when they sting someone). Chloe kills the Akuma with a Stinger before it can get LB and CN, but she too dies making the ultimate irreversible sacrifice. I will add a link if I find it again.

6. Turtle can create a shield. I don't have much to say on this either. It feels underpowered compared to others in the second tier. Maybe Turtle can also slow down opponents (because turtles aren't the fasters animals out there).

7. Fox creates illusions and acts as their puppeteer. In order to create a balance between other powers, these illusions must hold for as long as the holder needs them to. I propose this mostly because we see that Venom of the Bee lasts very long, the shield of the Turtle lasts either until it's destroyed or the holder wants to remove it, same goes for Akumas and sentimonsters who disappear only when the holder wants them to or their affected object is destroyed.

Let's talk about Zodiac tier. Miraculous of the third tier shouldn't have the second ability like more powerful ones. These powers are the most inconsistent. Even if we haven't seen all of them yet.

8. Mouse can create many small clones of the holder. It is unclear how these clones communicate with each other and how many of them this Miraculous can create. The holder can control the number of clones. This power was very convenient in "Kwamibuster" and it makes sense symbolically for the mouse. What activates the time-limit for children? Marinette didn't have any problems with it when she became Multimouse.

9. Snake can create a 5-minute time loop and has the ability to come back in time. This Miraculous feels a bit overpowered for the Miraculous of the Zodiac Tier. The holder can reset the time as many times as he/she needs to. It's was a good source of drama and trauma in "Desperada". I was honestly surprised that Adrien was capable of fighting after spending months in a loop. But this doesn't change the fact that Snake is overpowered. You can give this Miraculous the power to hypnotise or keep the time ability but place a limit on the number of resets. How does the lyre work as a weapon? Who knows? No one!

10. Dragon can shapeshift into elements: water, wind and lightning. It has the coolest transformation words hands down (Bring the Storm and Open Sky). Apparently this Miraculous doesn't have the time limit.

11. Rabbit can time travel or jump through alternative realities, even writers aren't sure. Time-travel in this show is so badly written it gives me a headache. This Miraculous shouldn't exist just like its powers. Snake belongs to the same tier, but 5 minutes and whole centuries of time jumps aren't comparable in power levels. They are not and this is the hill I will die on. Give the Rabbit powers related to its symbolism in China like an ability to de-age people, heal them or give them a speed boost in contrast with Turtle who might have the ability to slow down.

This Miraculous is so special that its Kwami - Fluff can live separately from his Miraculous in a Miracle Box for millennia (Fluff lives in the Box in "Sandboy", but his Miraculous, pocket watch, was passed down for generations in Alix's family). This is a discussion for a separate post, however. There's a lot to unpack. We'll do that some other time. You will suffer with me but at a later date.

12. Horse can create portals. They could lead anywhere, which is pretty cool. On the other hand, this power is not very useful in direct combat, especially when it's used by a child since we can have only one portal per transformation.

13. Monkey can cause a malfunction in powers of other people. What is the point of this? This power was specifically created by writers to defeat Akuma in "Party Crasher". That's it. What if your target is not magical? How does this Miraculous work in different circumstances?

14. Pig shows people their greatest desire. Both the holder and the recipient of this power can see this desire. Chat Noir wasn't impressed in "Guiltrip" and neither was I. It's underpowered compared to other Miraculous in this tier. Also, why does the tambourine can shoot energy beams? Why?

That's all I have to say on the matter. I'll update the power analysis as needed.

[hufflesmonsters]

New Beginnings

A/N: hi, just dropping in to say I’m writing again >:D enjoy this slow burn. Also, surprise, it’s not a lizard man story though I do have one in the works so there is that.

~*~*~*~

Torren swung the ax down, splitting the log in two. Sweat beaded his brow as the sun bore down on him. He stuck the ax down in the wood stump and stood, wiping away the sweat with the back of his hand as he looked up at the sky. Just past noon, he’d have to get a move on if he was going to be on time for the kings summon. If he even wanted to take the job, whatever it was. If King Richard the second wished to hire a mercenary, it surely couldn’t be for anything fun. He clearly didn’t want to waste his own men for this, which meant that Torren was likely going to die during his job. 

And yet… the money he would get if he lived. He could retire, and finally live his dream of being the towns hermit to its fullest potential. As in, he only ever comes into town on stormy nights to buy ten kegs of ale and disappear for another three months. He grew his own food, hunted his own meat. Of course he kept messing up his tomato plants which meant he had to go into town to get those, but once he can figure it out then mission Hermit was a go. 

Stepping back, he grabbed the shirt he had draped over a nearby branch and walked towards his home. It was a nice little shack, one he’d built from scratch back when he was just a young boy. He had found the location by accident really, one minute he was being chased by his elder brothers, the next he was standing in a clearing with a pond and no one in sight for miles. At first it was just a cool hideout, somewhere he could go to get away from his crazy family and village bullies. But over the years he spent more and more time here, fixing it up and expanding the facilities. Next thing he knew he had completely moved in and claimed the land officially as his. 

Tossing the shirt on the couch, he walked into his bedroom and opened his dresser. He wasn’t sure what he’d need really, if this was a quick trip, and he hoped it was, he’d only really need two shirts, pants and his washing supplies. He already had his armor on, his swords were already by the door, polished and ready to go. He grabbed the shirts, extra pants, and his bag of supplies and stuffed them into a bag that he could tack onto his horses saddle. He’d grab a small coin purse for food and drink, which should cover him for his trip if he was careful. If he ran out of coin he’d only have to offer to chop wood for inns or something like that. 

As he turned to leave, bag in hand, he stopped by the kitchen and grabbed the oat bag for Sweetie. Most of the time she was content to just chew on grass, or even break into gardens and devour everything in sight. But oats, how she loved oats. 

The sun glared at him as he exited the house, he stopped briefly to lock it up before continuing down the path to the pasture. He could already see the giant grazing peacefully, black tail flicking away bugs as her dappled gray coat shone silver in the sunlight. She was truly a magnificent horse, holding a presence without even trying. She was a draft horse, one of the few capable of holding a full grown orc. And she was an absolute sweetie, hence, her name. 

“Got something for you, Sweetie,” Torren called as he entered the stall part of the pasture, grinning as her large head shot up, ears pointed forward and nostrils flaring. She smelled the oats like sharks smell blood in the water. With a graceful trot, she soon stood in front of him, towering over him by two feet. She bent down and nuzzled his cheek lovingly, snorting into his ear as he tried to shove her away. “We don’t have time to cuddle, girl. The King wants us at the castle by midday tomorrow.”

Sweetie snorted and stood upright again, flank twitching as she moved past him and into the tacking area. She was smart, smarter than most horses he’d met. She waited patiently as he began to saddle her, taking his time to secure the bag and oats in a place where she couldn’t get to it. She was tricksy, especially when it came to oats. But she also knew that those were a night time snack, something that he wouldn’t just give out unless they narrowly avoided death and allowed her to have something to chew on while he fought off a panic attack. 

He slid the reins over her head, patting her cheek as she opened her mouth to allow the rod to go in. Once she was fully outfitted, he lead her out of the stalls and closed the doors behind her. He swung up onto her back, and settled in. Gathering the reins, he clicked his tongue and set off down the dirt path that lead into town. The castle wasn’t too far, if he traveled nonstop today he’d be able to make it before midday tomorrow. Talk to the king, get the job done, and they’d be home before they knew it. 

~*~*~*~

Reaching the castle, Torren almost turned back around. He’d heard the rumors, how King Richard the second seemed to… overcompensate. The walls around the kingdom were large, but not as large as the damn castle. It towered over everything, almost as if it was a direct challenge to the gods. It was also very, very ugly with its pale brown coloring and lack of windows.

Showing his summons slip to the guards at the gate, he slowly made his way into the kingdom. It was another thing that irked him about King Richard, he was a man with “purist” beliefs. No race other than human was allowed past the walls without a proper invite. There was no trading, or apprenticeship allowed between humans and others. Which raised another red flag about this job offer, why would a king who hates his kind specifically ask him to complete a task for him. 

Torren tightened his fist on the reins as he watched the crowd wearily. He was going to die, either here or on this job if he wasn’t careful enough. The townsfolk weren’t bad, they looked more open to him than the guards did, but he didn’t dare interact with them. Not even to the young children who waved at him for the guards were watching him just as closely as he was watching them. 

Reaching the palace, he climbed off of Sweetie’s back and handed the reins over to the stable boy, a warning look in his eyes. If they mistreated her, he would rip all of their spines from their backs and beat them to death with it. Torren turned to look at the guards that approached him, back stiff as he towered over them. It was almost laughable, how they escorted him into the palace. 

The inside of the castle was just as ugly as the outside, the same beige walls, no decorations whatsoever. Whoever helped the king design this deserved to be publicly executed. Knights stood at every corner, some seemed to be standing at random places the further they got in. It was almost as if someone had just told them to pick a window and stand. The guards increased as they drew closer to the throne room, all of them standing at attention as they stopped in the middle. The guards beside him stood at attention, hands over heart and back straight. 

One of the guards announced the arrival of the king, everyone else following in salute. Torren looked up in expectation for the infamous King Richard the Second. Looking, looking, out of confusion, his gaze drew down to the floor when an irritated cough sounded. 

Oh, oh gods… 

Torren had to physically bite his tongue as he took in the sight of King Richard the second. No wonder the castle was so large and hideous, this man barely stood past a humans waist. He recalled an old nickname for the king, one that was immediately outlawed in the towns surrounding his kingdom. Little Dick Jr, the bane of all of Pufort. 

Torren knelt in front of the tiny king before any more offense could be given. And he had a lot to give at this moment in time. “Your grace,” he said stiffly. 

“Rise,” came the nasally response. “Do you know why I've called you here, orc?” Dick Jr asked once Torren towered over him again. 

“No, m'lord.” 

“I am a king without a queen, I'm basically a laughing stock in all the kingdoms!” Torren was willing to put money on it, that wasn't the reason why, but he knew better than to say that. “But there's a princess, locked away in a tower due east. And she will be my bride.” 

“And you wish me to retrieve her?” Torren asked for clarification. That didn't sound so hard at all. 

“Yes, it's a week’s journey all together, the roads are treacherous, but I'm sure you're no stranger to that,” again, nothing dangerous. “And then of course there's the active volcano and lava surrounding the castle and the dragon guarding it.” Ah, there it is. 

“I see, that doesn't sound too difficult for me,” Torren said, lying through his teeth. He could handle bandits, he could even sneak past a fucking dragon. But lava? An active volcano? That was something he'd never experienced before and wasn't too keen on the idea. 

“Perfect, we will discuss your payment when you get back. Godspeed, I wish to be married by the end of the month!” Little Dick Jr clapped his hands twice, alerting the guards that he was done talking to the half orc. 

Torren bowed his head and turned to make his leave. If he walked fast enough, he could get out of this city by the time the king reached the stairs. The guards had attempted to follow him out, but after they had to literally run to keep up they quit. It wasn't like he was going to do anything anyways. 

He eyed the gods awful bust of Dick jr. and contemplated tripping into it…

No, no. Not yet. 

~*~*~*~

If there were small miracles, Torren may have found one. Sweetie was in perfect condition when he had retrieved her, granted she had been touched by the stable hands and she made sure to voice her displeasure by biting his shirt and nearly throwing him into a mud pile. Sweetie was a sweetheart up until she had the wrath of the gods placed upon her. 

They had made their way out of the kingdom as fast as they could, and Torren was grateful that the guards didn’t give him an official escort out of the kingdom. Though, he had noticed several guards watching him carefully if he lingered too long in an area. Sure, there was traffic, but he was an orc, that was an unforgivable crime don’t you know? He half expected to get harassed when he passed by the front gate guards, but he was uncomfortably surprised to find that they did not. 

Oh, he was going to die on this mission. He should have gotten his affairs in order, who was going to take after Sweetie when he was gone? His brothers were half a kingdom away and his neighbors didn’t know he existed. Now, he was realizing as he traversed the hills, it was a bad time to be a hermit. Sweetie was smart though, maybe she’d find a new hermit to adopt and go about her life. 

Okay, maybe he should focus on traveling and not his soon to be untimely demise. 

Torren had just crested the hill overlooking the neighboring village when a shout came from his right. Looking over, he was wary to see an elf making his way over on his own sturdy steed. The elf seemed friendly enough, though most elves he met rarely stayed friendly. He paused and waited for the elf to approach, keeping a hand on his dagger just in case. 

The elf wasn’t bad looking, kind of handsome really if Torren was being honest with himself. Tall, a bit taller than most of the elves he met, golden skin that would make King Midas jealous. Long brown hair braided back in practicality rather than aesthetic, though it was a tad too ornate for pure practicality. He was dressed in simple leathers, with elven embroidery up around the shoulders, partially obscured by the cloak he wore. 

  “Hail, friend! I see you came from Pufort, a fine accomplishment for those of us considered too “unpure”,” the elf gave a laugh as he settled beside Sweetie. “Gavril, merc for hire,” he introduced himself as he put his hand out.

“Torren,” Torren said as he took the hand and shook it once. A mutual respect was given to the elf, some mercs stuck together, especially those around Pufort. The land wasn’t known for tolerance, mostly the guards fault, and so it wasn’t common to see many mercs who weren’t human. “What brings you to Pufort?”

“Ah, but the king, of course!” Gavril gave the man a bright smile before his smile dropped. “Better to talk here than in the village. Less ears.”

Torren felt his heart drop at the comment, dear gods was this the end? He hadn’t even made it out of Pufort yet! Gods, the amount of fun his brothers would have when they find out that he died in Pufort of all places… 

“I can see you’re freaking out, fear not, I am not going to say “long live Dickie”,” Gavril let out a laugh, and Torren didn’t appreciate it, like, at all. “He hired me a month back, and when I disappeared he chose to hire you.”

“And I should believe you, why?” Torren actually did believe him, it was just the dick move that Dickie would pull. But he was a distrustful man by nature, and so grilling the elf it was. 

“Why would I lie? Being here in of itself is a death sentence for me if one of his guards spots me,” Gavril shrugged. “No, I felt as if the job was far too… strange for me to complete without the full story.”

“And that story was?” Torren raised a brow as he shifted on Sweetie, who snorted in warning as she grazed. 

“The princess, she’s apparently the daughter of the neighboring kingdom, Aster. I did my research and went to them with the information on Richard. They don’t like the idea of an unsavory man such as him “rescuing” their daughter in such an unhonorable way,” Gavril leaned a bit as his voice dropped. “I was riding by, coming back from another business that I had to attend,  when I happened to have heard he had another summons, I thought it was only fair to let you know about it all.”

“And what, exactly, are you hoping to inform me of other than the princesses misfortunes?” Torren leaned slightly in despite himself. 

“I’m to meet another fellow, a minotaur by the name of Jardor. He was the princess's guard before she was imprisoned so she’d be more trusting of us. Her parents hired me to take her Aster instead of Pufort, and their offer is extended to any other mercenary hired by Richard.”

“And this is legitimate? How do you know they won’t cast you off to Richards' wrath once they have their daughter?” 

Gavril nodded as he sat upright. “A fair question, I, myself, found myself doubting it. However, I asked around their former employers and found that they were actually credible. I understand that you have no reason to believe me, but if you are curious you are more than welcome to come with me to meet up with Jardor.”

“And where is he?” Surely a minotaur would be noticeable around a place like Pufort.

“He was smart enough not to come to the welcoming land of Pufort,” Gavril said with a grin. “He’s in Halder’s Rest in the neighboring village, Stonewall, I believe.” 

“And you just happened to be riding by Pufort and saw me?” Torren raised a brow as he leaned back. 

Gavril let out a soft laugh. “Fair enough, I might have been lingering around to see what the little man’s reaction would have been.”

“How? You couldn’t have been allowed in the city.”

“It’s actually fairly easy to sneak in if you find the really dumb guards,” Gavril said with a smirk. “If you talk fast and use big words to explain away things, they simply just let you in.”

Torren shook his head, “very well. I’ll come with you to this Jardor, but I make no promises that I will join you.”

“Of course,” Gavril gave a bow to his head. “Now, what do you think are the odds that these kind folk will allow us to rest in their undoubtedly comfortable inn?”

“‘Us’?” Torren looked at the elf with furrowed brows. Surely he didn’t think they were going to travel to Halder’s Rest together, did he?

“Yes, ‘us’,” Gavril said with a raised brow. “Surely you didn’t think I’d just abandon you to these unwashed masses, did you?”

“Yes?” Torren wasn’t sure who he pissed off up there, but he was fairly sure he didn’t deserve this kind of forced upon companionship here. 

“Oh, my friend,” Gavril gave a sympathetic pout before clapping Torren on the shoulder. “You’re stuck with me.”

Gods help him.

~*~*~*~

Turns out, the good folk were not willing to rent out their plentiful rooms to two distinguished gentlemen like them. So, seeing as the guards started gathering around them once they exited, the duo had opted to camp out on the spacious planes outside of the village. Pro: it was a nice night out with the stars shining bright; con: there were wolves and they very much were eyeing them as a snack.

Luckily for them, the wolves found a rather unfortunate deer and left them alone for the rest of the night. After that, the sleeping got easier, though Torren still kept a hand on his dagger under his pillow. And if he noticed that Gavril did the same with his staff, well, he wasn’t going to be one to talk. 

The morning was a tense affair, Gavril had cooked and while it smelt delicious Torren wasn’t one for accepting food from strangers. But his mother also raised a gentleman with manners so he ate anyway. And it pissed him off more that it was, indeed, delicious in all honesty.

They set off not long afterwards, mounting their steeds and making their way to Stonewall, a village that was a good two hours away. Both Sweetie and Torren did their best to ride ahead of Gavril and his steed, Farren, however the two seemed to be professionals Thorn in his Side, for they stayed right on his heels, humming a stupid little song.

Torren really pissed off some of the gods. 

But, by the Grace of the gods, they finally made it to Halder's Rest with minimal spats. Or, "character building" in Gavril's mind. The vast difference between Aster's civilians and Pufort's was easily spotted. Where an inhuman was hard to see even just passing through in Pufort, it was hard to not see them in Aster. From vendors, to guards, to just a milk maiden lizard girl. 

It felt… welcoming. 

"Halder's Rest is just down the road,'' Gavril said as he led Farren though the bustling roads. 

Torren let him take the reins, not sure if he should run or not. He had no idea really what sort of situation he was walking into. One kingdom was going to be pissed off, that was for sure. Either Pufort or Aster, and he wasn’t sure which one was better. Aster wasn’t known for its military, sure it had it, but no one had seen it in action in well over a hundred years. They preferred to stay diplomatic in negotiations, and somehow it’s worked so far. And yet, he feared what Aster would do if King Richard the Seconded got his grubby little hands on their daughter. 

But another part feared what the King would do to him if he failed to deliver the princess. He wasn’t the first mercenary, and even Gavril admitted he was cheating death when he hung around Pufort waiting for Torren to leave. Pufort was well known for their military power. King Richard was always willing to fling a fleet at a neighboring kingdom, or hell, even his own people, if he felt there was even a hint of offense at him and his legitimacy of his rule. 

He should run, Torren realized. Like now, right now-

“Hey, there he is!” Gavril said as he pointed at the minotaur guard that stood outside the inn with his arms crossed.  “Jardor!”

Jardor looked up with irritation on his face. He was big, even for a minotaur and just as uniquely colored. Most minotaurs that Torren had come across were either brown or black with white colorations. But Jardor was a multi-colored minotaur, white based but he had russet, black, brown and gray mottled on the skin that was exposed through his armor. His horns were wide and angled high, making him more imposing.

“Stop calling attention to us,” the guard hissed as they drew closer. “You could jeopardize the mission.”

“Oh, please,” Gavril rolled his eyes. “There’s only milkmaids here, it’s not that dangerous.”

“The king could find out and send his fleet,” Torren hissed at the elf. 

“Exactly,” Jardor snorted as he shifted his stance. “Our success depends heavily on stealth. Until we deliver the princess back to the capital of Aster, we are not out of the weeds yet.”

Gavril sighed heavily but nodded. “So, are we heading out or is there other business we need to attend to first here?”

“We’ll head out, most of the pleasantries can be exchanged on the road,” Jardor said as he led them to the guards stables and pulled his draft horse out of the stall. As he mounted, Torren surveyed the town. It was a nice place to be, he supposed. But he still preferred his privacy.

“I don’t believe we met,” Jardor said to him as they set out. “I’m the Princesses’ guard, Jardor Stoneskin. And you?”

“Torren Azorrn,” Torren said finally. “Just got hired from the King-”

“-and poached from me once he left,” Gavril interjected with a cheerful grin.

“Yes,” Torren agreed with a heavy sighed. 

Jardor snorted and shook his head. “Of course,” he sighed. “I apologize for him, he was supposed to go home and then make his way back here. Though I am glad he did make the detour, I doubt I would have survived the trip with just the two of us.”

Torren found himself smiling as Gavril let out a gasp of mock hurt. “It is nice to have a more level headed company,” he agreed as Gavril mumbled to himself as the two men snickered. 

“I will have you two know, I am pleasant company!” Gavril said as he steered his horse next to Sweetie. 

“Of course, my friend,” Jardor said evenly with a placating smile. “Of course.”

“Why did you have to return home, anyways?” Torren asked with a raised brow at the elf. He had only mentioned business arrangements, but going home was an entirely different thing “Was that the other business you mentioned earlier?” 

“It was,” Gavril said defensively. “I have people at home who were waiting on me, had to let them know I’d be back for good later than anticipated.” 

Torren nodded and left it at that, he wasn’t going to judge people for their personal affairs, he knew that if he was still in contact with his own brothers he’d be doing the same. They lapsed into a silence after that, save for the occasional direction change from Jardor the other two were content with just following him. Finally, Torren found himself speaking up. “Jardor, if you’re the princesses’ guard, then why aren’t you with her?”

“Ah, there are two princesses in Aster, the one who is heir to the throne and the second in line should anything happen to the eldest sibling,” Jardor said. “The princess I served was the second in line, though she loathed the whole thing,” he added with a soft smile. “When she was...cursed, I was ordered to stay behind and help protect her sister.”

“So she’s cursed?” Gavril asked with a frown. “You didn’t mention that.”

Jardor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I, yes, she’s cursed,” he said stiffly. “The sooner she comes home, I’m sure she’ll be closer to breaking that curse.”

“Isn’t true love usually the factor in those curses?” Gavril asked with a furrowed brow as Torren studied the minotaur. 

“Yes, but that is not the case here,” Jardor said with such confidence neither mercenary knew what to do with that. 

“So what is this curse?” Torren asked. “Why was she moved to such a remote location, surrounded by lava and a dragon?”

“It was considered necessary by the Throne, it was not my place to question it,” Jardor said stiffly. 

“So you did disagree,” Gavril noted. “Which means it likely isn’t a curse, and that makes me so much more intrigued, don’t you feel the same, Torren?” 

Torren didn’t comment. But he did note that the minotaur was clearly hiding something, and that made him all the more wary of this job. He should have just stayed home. 

“Must you grate on my nerves, elf-boy?” Jardor snapped as he looked at the elven mercenary. 

“Ah, elf-boy is actually my younger brother, a cute lad but not nearly as annoying as me, elf-man,” Gavril said with a grin, but it dropped quickly in the wake of a grim expression on his face. “Look, we can deal with a dragon, and even the lava. But if she’s cursed, we need to know exactly what we’re walking into.”

“Nothing dangerous,” Jardor promised, and the two men relaxed just a bit at that. The situation was weird, but Jardor radiated a trusting aura that it was hard to suspect they were walking into a trap. At least for Gavril, Torren always assumed there would be a trap involved when he traveled with others. “Just let me take the lead when we get to the tower, a familiar face will help her.”

“How long has she been locked away?” Torren asked finally. 

“Seven years,” Jardor said with a weary look in his eyes, and deeper down, pain. “It’s high time for her to come home.” He nudged his horse, kicking her into a faster gait as they made their way out of Aster and into the wildlands. “That said, we’re a three day journey away from the tower, it’s in a remote part of the country that few travel by. We shouldn’t face any resistance before the volcano.”

“Well then, let’s get ourselves a princess,” Gavril said with a smirk at Torren as he sent Farren barreling after Jardor. 

Torren sighed heavily and patted Sweetie’s neck, “let’s get this over with,” he said to her as he nudged her side gently, a gentle permission to run with the other horses, a permission that she gladly took as she galloped next to their two companions. In just three days, he’ll be fighting off a dragon surrounded by molten lava just to rescue a princess. That was the only certain thing he knew about this mission, if there was a curse, if they could get her to Aster before the King found out, if he still was getting paid.

Gods, was he still getting paid?

~*~*~*~

[eye of the tiger blasting]

Jardor kept the lead, forging ahead when Gavril decided that bickering with Torren was a Lovely Idea. Both men, both adult men, were constantly five seconds away from getting into a slapping fight that escalated when Gavril, a four year old apparently trapped in a twenty eight year old's body, claimed that Torren had hit him. 

Jardor just let it happen when Torren really did hit him. 

Setting up camp was a horrid affair, all three of them were skilled in camping, but those skills had varying degrees. Jardor could put up an excellent tent, but the sleeping cot kept getting tangled and eventually he just laid out on the mess with a stoic resolve. Torren was an expert in putting out his sleeping cot, but his tent kept falling out on one side and eventually he just moved Sweetie over to help keep it propped up with the promises of getting her an extra big bag of oats. And Gavril would put his tent up, but in the process of laying out his sleeping cot the tent would fall. When he’d try to put the cot up first, the tent would fall and he’d have to find his way back out again. And so, in a moment where his remaining two brain cells bumped together, he tied his tent up to the branches of the tree keeping it up and elevated while Torren glared at him from the inside of his lopsided tent that was beginning to smell of horse.

The morning didn’t help anything either. 

Torren, used to years of cooking and traveling by himself, had woken up early and made himself, and only himself, a nice breakfast. The other two, woken by the pleasant smell of bacon and the heavenly sizzle of fresh eggs being cooked, came out of their tents with growling stomachs and crushing disappointment when they spotted Torren eating it all by himself. Jardor was disappointed, Gavril was dismayed. The two had to fend for themselves, Jardor splitting a piece of jerky with the elf as they glared subtly in Jardor’s case, and blatantly in Gavril’s. 

When they finally set back out again, it was in lesser spirits than the day before. They were less than a day away, according to the smell of sulfur that got increasingly heavier as they traveled on. Gavril could see why no one had rescued the princess prior till now, the lands around the volcano were barren, the roads treacherous by hungry wolves. It was dangerous even for the three of them, he couldn’t imagine a merchant or a lone adventurer braving this land.

Well, maybe Torren.

But everyone else would be fucked.

Jardor let out a soft laugh up ahead and slowed to a stop at the crest of the hill. He glanced back at the two catching up, a light shining in his eyes as he grinned at them. “We’re here,” he announced as the tower, tall and magnificent, loomed below. It wasn’t exactly just a remote tower, Gavril could make out some crumbling structures of a once beautiful palace. He wondered, hoped really, that it was still stable and safe for the princess, surely her parent’s wouldn’t have dumped her into this hell hole if it was unstable. He paused, actually, he’s met some gods awful parent’s. It was a high possibility. But that was neither here nor there, the tower was still far enough away, but they would arrive there within the hour if they paced themselves. They still couldn’t spot the dragon, and none of them were willing to go head on against a fucking dragon.

Torren opened his mouth to speak, to ask what the plan was in case the dragon reared its head. But before he could utter a single word, a horn sounded from behind them. The three turned on their steeds to watch as a troop of soldiers made their way towards the tower, banners flying high, and armor glittering in the sunlight. 

Pufort. 

"Fuck," Gavril said with pursed lips. 

Fuck was right. 

~*~*~*~

Princess Amirah was absolutely, and positively bored. She had nothing else to paint, unless Harold suddenly changed their mind about her painting his scales. She’s run dramatically through the hallways a dozen times this morning, and really she wasn’t feeling it for a thirteenth time. All the books have been read, a countless amount of times. At this point she could quote the books and she did, constantly, to Harold as they cleaned their teeth from their meal each night. Harold never spoke as to whether or not they enjoyed it, but she assumed they would have put an end to it by now if they didn’t. 

She sighed heavily as she paced her room, paint brush in hand as she tried to figure out a new canvas. There was still some room on the window sill, maybe even the dresser if she painted small enough. She paused by the open window, the smell of sulfur no longer bothered her as she breathed it in. She barely remembered the smell of fresh, clean air. Or the sound of bustling streets, the maids coming in with sweet hushed words, her mothers hugs…

Amirah shook her head and smacked her cheek chastisingly with her paint brush. No, no thoughts like that, she’s survived seven years without those things, she can survive many more. In all honesty, she probably could leave. It wasn’t like anyone was going to come looking for her of all the princesses in this unholy tower. They were more likely to go for the skinny blonde overlooking the ocean than her. Which was fine, she was the second born princess of Aster, her sister was always considered the prettiest, the fairest, the princess that all should aspire to be. 

Amirah made it her mission to defy that expectation. She hated the princess duties that her mother and sister had forced her to attend. She hated the expectations that were expected of her as the second in line to the throne. To marry a neighboring kingdom, to secure an alliance between the two. To have their heirs and continue the bloodline. It all made her squeamish honestly. In a perfect life, she wouldn’t mind marrying and settling down on her own terms with someone that she truly loved. But she didn’t have the perfect life, she had her mothers expectations and her sister's legacy. 

She was honestly safer in the tower than back home. 

A strange sound filled the air, and a frown pulled at her lips as she looked off outside. She adjusted her glasses as another horn sounded, a horn of all things. Why would a horn be here, who was blowing the damned thing. They were going to wake Harold up!

Leaning out the window, Amirah let out a gasp as banners crested over the hill. Banners that belonged to Pufort, the kingdom ruled by King Richard. In the distance, she spotted three men charging ahead of the group, and hope glittered in her heart as she spied familiar horns. Was Jardor really here? She didn't know who the other men were, or what she assumed were male honestly she knew some beefy female knights, oh gods was Clarissa here? That would truly make her day. 

Before she could speculate, however, a loud roar filled the air and shook the ground. Clinging to the wall, Amirah looked up in slight fear. She knew that roar, and what it meant. A challenge, anyone who wanted her, had to go through them.

May the Divines bless their poor souls.

[strongsassysexysloane]

Eleventh Day of Twelve - A Tired but Treasured Day

A/N - Look at that! We are second from the end! Thank you to all the comments and love! Really appreciate it, it's been a long week!

. . . .

Read previous drabbles below.

. . . .

You walked into the office clinging to your cup of coffee. It felt like you were just here and you were, only five hours ago. This time however it was your own doing. You'd found a tiny shred of evidence to go on and had to follow it before the trail went cold. Then it lead to Gibbs and Nick finding the killer in a warehouse in town and bringing him in at just after 0100. You didn't finish interrogating until 0200 and it was now 0730. Coffee, coffee needed to be pumped into you to wake up this morning and a constant flow throughout the day would be required.

To your delight there was a hot cup sitting on your desk as you walked into the bullpen. No note so you assumed this time it wasn't from your gift giver. Day 11 and no one had spilled the beans or gone looking at the cameras like they wanted to on day one.

"Gibbs dropped it off about five minutes ago before he went down to get a report from Kasie who wasn't pleased to be called in so early." Ellie explained while leaning back in her chair and sipping her coffee. "He brought one for all of us."

"Christmas miracles do happen." Nick grinned, dropping his small cup in the trash. "Done."

"It's not a race. You just slugged all your energy for the next three hours."

"Oh please, I've stayed up later and come to work more tired before. Remember the November incident." He waved off.

"I still feel hungover from it." Ellie grumbled, scrunching her nose at the memory of Tequila.

"Please don't remind me." Tim groaned. "Plus I'm not allowed anymore Tequila, Delilah's orders."

"She may be on to something." You ran your hand through your hair, smirking at the banter. Turning on your computer for the day, you saw the next gift hanging from your desk lamp. It was beautiful, a little teddy bear carved out of marble with a shimmering purple and green crown sitting on its head.

"Day 11, the gift giver strikes again." You rolled your eyes at Nick's words while holding the Christmas decoration in your hand, running your thumb over the intricate detail.

It was sweet, a cute addition to your small Christmas tree at home. You'd put it up on December one. That was your tradition and some years it didn't seem worth it but you made the effort. Being alone on Christmas sucked, there was no way around it but this year you were making an effort to not sulk about it. The secret gift giver certainly lifted the spirit as well.

Your tree wasn't over the top but a nice addition to your home. This would fit perfectly front and centre and you made sure of it.

The day was relatively easy. The office banter keeping the spirits going with a good supply of caffeine. It was really just a lot of paper work and then you were set free around mid afternoon to try and have that weekend off. This time Vance made sure the team wouldn't be called in. There were other agents to take the call after all.

You'd missed Jack most of the day and didn't want to interrupt her as she was head deep in evals for the end of year. Instead you decided to shoot her a text when you got home.

- Just wanted to say have a good weekend. Didn't want to interrupt your head mojo.

You knew she'd get a kick out of it and you weren't mistaken.

- Head mojo hey? Smarty in the evening just like you said. Missed you today, didn't realise how many evals I still had to do before I went on my trip. Now I'm back logged and still at work.

It was just hitting 1830 which was a late one for Jack on a Friday. She was always hurrying along at the end of the week to make sure by the time 1700 hit she was out the door.

- I hope you are either finishing for the evening or planning on having dinner while you work. It's getting late, Jack.

- No need to worry about little old me. I need to get these done, I'll grab a bite later. Enjoy your night.

An idea popped to mind, you grabbed your coat and car keys and headed back out into the snowfall with your blue scarf still wrapped around your neck.

Thankfully, you weren't too far from the Navy yard and the Diner was just a five minute detour on the route. You called ahead so the food was ready when you got there and still warm when you knocked on her door.

"Come in, y/n."

You huffed, opening the door. "Now how could you possibly know it was me?"

Jack was sitting on her couch, shoes off, legs crossed and glasses tugging her hair back and sitting on her head. "You didn't reply, you always reply. And you care too much." She got up, placing her laptop on the coffee table and walking up to you.

Those were a lot of compliments you weren't entirely prepared for. You thought Jack was the one that cared a lot, but never too much. "I think I care just the right amount but I can eat this all by myself if you'd prefer?" You smirked, pretending to walk back out but Jack caught your arm.

"I didn't mean it like that. I lo-ike that you care so much." She ran her hand up and down your arm a few times before dropping it away. Her warm comforting smile turned into a cute frown. "And don't you dare walk out on me now that youve made all this effort to come here." She took a deep breath in. "Is that two cheeseburgers and fries?"

The frown and the way her nose twitched at the smell was completely adorable. "With a side of gravy. Wasn't sure if you liked it on your fries or not." You shrugged, missing the soft and loving look Jack gave, you walked past her and sat at one end of the couch, unpacking the bag of food. "Come, sit." You urged, patting the spot beside you as she just stood there and watched.

With a soft smile curving her lips, she came around after a beat and sat exactly where you said to. She took the small pot of gravy and poured it over her fries before pouring the rest over yours. "Thank you."

You bumped her shoulder lightly. "Anytime. Can't have Jack Sloane Hangry and loose in DC." That got you a slap on the knee but it was worth it as her hand soothed the spot she hit and stayed there for a while until it was time to eat.

"Didn't mean to ruin your Friday night plans either." She took a huge bite of the burger.

Between bites you managed an answer, "You mean my big watching The Holiday movie while eating a cup of noodles or the one where I go to sleep at 7pm because im living on about four hours sleep right now."

Skipping over how tired you were she jumped at the mention of the movie. "That's my favourite Christmas movie! It's got the best of both worlds! The sun of LA and the cold winter wonderland of the UK. God, I haven't watched that in years! My mum and I went to the movies to watch it and then every Christmas after we'd watch it together, some people had Love Actually, we had The Holiday. Guess I stopped watching when mum passed." She ate a few more fries. "Wow, Jack, way to ruin the good mood. Sorry. Got lost for a moment there."

You liked it when she rambled. She always would say so many interesting things and you just loved to hear her voice. You prayed the day never came when you wouldn't hear it anymore. "Don't apologize-" You held up your hand to stop her from butting in. "- And, no it's not because of Gibbs silly rule. I enjoy hearing about your past about things you love or did. The Holiday is a sweet movie, my must watch in December along with The Grinch, Home Alone and many more. I try my best to keep the holiday spirits up when I'm by myself for them which has been the last many."

"I enjoy hearing you talk too." She smiled, taking a massive bite of her burger and filling up her cheeks.

There was no silence after that. The evals were put to the side and you talked for what seemed like hours. Talking about childhood Christmas' and silly stories to cringe worthy dating moments over this time of year. It wasn't until you couldn't keep your mouth shut from yawning that you said good night around 2300.

"Sorry you didn't get your evals done." You sing over the roof of your car as Jack unlocked her Mini.

"Don't be. I'm happy to come in tomorrow because tonight was fun!" Her genuine smile told you that she wasn't lying. You could read people pretty well and most times Jack Sloane was an enigma to you but right now you knew she was telling the truth.

"Good night, Jack."

She opened her car door before adding. "Enjoy your movie!"

You yawned with a laugh. "You're kidding right? I'm going to sleep, I'll watch it tomorrow now."

"Fair, good night y/n. Sweet Dreams!"

. . . .

Who doesn't want this to end? Me. But I also maybe, slightly want a break from writing every day. It's been fun but tiring. I've enjoyed it a lot though! I love this time of year, if only I wasn't working in retail.

[jessicaroffe]

You know when you have an idea of ​​nothing and you share it with your friend and she tells you that the idea is very interesting? my friend and I had an idea of ​​what a crossover between Sherlolly and Good Omens would be like. We are still working on the chapters but I brought you something to get an idea of ​​what it would be.

-------------

Between Heaven and Hell

1.

He placed the book in its respective space on the library shelf, sighed in satisfaction as he admired the shelf and saw it well organized, he was proud of his work and one of his greatest treasures; he heard the bell at the entrance of the establishment ring, walked to the free space he had at the entrance of the library seeing Miguel and Gabriel standing like real dizzy cockroaches, Aziraphale felt sorry for his brothers when they walked on Earth, as they did not know about human customs they knew how to behave and when they "tried" to deceive mortals it was very weird.

Gabriel spoke up -We came to deliver a .....

-Fanfic! -Michael added.

-Exactly, fanfic.

Everyone present at the place looked at the two as if they had mental problems, Aziraphale looked around in embarrassment.

-P-please come with me. - went to a reserved area of ​​the place, when Aziraphale confirmed that there would be no one around Gabriel started.

–We received reliable information that the incarnation of Eve and Adam are here in the city.

Such information surprised the angel, Eve and Adam were their first mission on Earth after they left and never heard from him again, the news was really unexpected.

-That ... it's ... it's good ... isn't it?

-Go if they come to the light side. -Miguel replied with pride talking about heaven.

-It was just that? -Aziraphale asked hopefully.

–Aziraphale, you as a good child of God must know that just as the actions of Adam and Eve had an effect in the past, they can have an effect again now, perhaps more drastically than before, there is a prophecy that says that if Eve is not influenced by correctly, chaos on Earth can occur and only the love of your life, Adam, can save you. –Gabriel added.

At that moment Aziraphale was already wondering why Gabriel and Miguel were telling him that, he was going to have to do something, he sure would.

-You have been here on Earth for a long time and have always been efficient in your work, we will give you the mission of making the two stay together, so that chaos does not occur, we had to take such measures, because the opposite side decided to act and interfere with the natural line of events and sent a demon to do the job. –Miguel explained.

-So I will be a cupid?

–What is a cupid? -Gabriel asked.

-Nothing, forget it.

–Anyway. -Gabriel snapped his fingers and a folder appeared in his hand. -We found out the whereabouts of the two and they are here in London, another reason why it was you, their names are Molly Hooper and Sherlock Holmes, all the details of them will be here.

Gabriel handed the folder to Aziraphale, before leaving the folder in full possession of the angel he warned him.

-We trust you Aziraphale. -The angel swallowed, a little terrified by the subtended threat, he knew that this mission was not just any one, peace on Earth depended on him which worried him, because if the punishments failed, they would be severe.

Gabriel and Miguel left the room and the first one shouted.

–Thanks for my fanfics!

Aziraphale leaned against a table he had there to process the information, what did he get into? He soon remembered that he would be fighting with a demon who would be there to disrupt his plans, he took a deep breath.

-I just hope that the demon is not Crowley.

_______________________

Molly promised herself that she would get back on top with her passion for Sherlock, she would move on and meet other people, she was never a woman to have many dates, she also didn't want to appeal to modern relationship apps, so she thought an agency that held meetings in the dark, made the registration by email, made its due demands regarding the person who would have the meeting, the man could be a little older, nothing more than five years older than her, who had a good musical taste, a good conversation, and was red, yes, red! Molly had even thought that the best way to forget someone who doesn't return their affection for her would be to cut off any resemblance to the next one, no dark brown hair then.

On the day of the meeting he left the office at Bart's and went straight home, he wanted to have at least a few extra hours to get ready calmly, this was his first date after he broke up with Tom, which in the case had been two years since do not go out with someone, I was not nervous, it was something different, perhaps an anxiety, I hoped that those who knew today could give you a thread of hope.

She chose a red skirt and a white blouse with cherries as prints, as it was summer in London, she didn’t need a coat or something, she did light makeup and styled her hair with a braid on the side of her head and her inseparable ponytail, picked up her bag and headed for the meeting place. On the way he wondered if it was the right thing to do, had he not given up on Sherlock more easily? He had already demonstrated a few times that he cared about his feelings, but she couldn't wait for miracles to come from him, there were times when she asked God to send her concrete signs that what she felt for him will one day be reciprocated “maybe not this time. life. ”, the chestnut thought a little discouraged.

Upon arriving at the restaurant where the meeting would take place, he introduced himself and asked the attendant if the person who booked the table with her had already arrived, as the establishment was a partner of the agency, all the attendants were already used to the routine of the place, he led to the round wooden table with a U-shaped sofa where an apparently tall red-haired man with dark glasses (who covered the entire side view not showing any crack in his eyes) then he saw Molly's presence and soon stood up .

"Hello!" Said Crowley excitedly. "You owe me company tonight," he finished by kissing Molly's hands.

- Hello, - he said a little embarrassed. - I'm Molly Hopper and you are?

- Anthony J. Crowley, at your service.

While talking Molly found Crowley very interesting, enigmatic with those sunglasses (which she really didn't know why he was wearing this time of night, would remind me to ask him later), funny, talking about things as interesting as if had lived thousands of years.

- So Molly, what do you do with your life?

- I'm a pathologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

- Wow. It must be a difficult job.- he said smiling.

- Until not, the dead are not the problem, the living that appear there wanting information or sometimes clues. Molly said and took a sip of the wine in her glass.

- And this guy would be a coworker or ex boyfriend ?!

Molly laughed at Crowley's questioning and shook her head.

- No, no, let's say he's more like a co-worker than anything else.

Well, if I can say something, he's an idiot. He doesn't really know what he's missing. ”Crowley smiled seductively and Molly bit her bottom lip and let a red appear on her face.“ I don't know about you, but here's boredom, come on.

Crowley got up leaving the money on the table, Moly was confused by his sudden action, but decided to follow him.

-Where are we going? Hooper questioned.

-You must spend a lot of time inside a morgue that doesn't do any good to anyone, let's have fun, do you dance?

"I'm not much of a thing," Molly said sincerely and found it too crazy for a first date in the dark.

- No problem. I'll teach you. Come on.- the redhead held out his hand to Molly who accepted.

Outside Crowley, he made his way to his car. Molly was feeling like a real adventure, a mixture of fear and excitement was running through her blood, she barely knew the guy next to her and they were already going to a nightclub, what if he were to traffic her? Or drug her and leave her on the street? "Stop paranoia Molly" Molly scolded herself in thought.

- So, how do we go to this nightclub you talked about?

 

- Let's go in my car. - The taller looked at Molly, at that moment curiosity hit her, she imagined what such a car would be like an ordinary car like all the others, but when Crowley approached a Bentley Molly she couldn't help but show surprise! - Then? What did you think? - is leaned against the car.

- He's very, very different.

- Is this different good or bad?

- It's a very good different. I never rode such a model.

- Feel free, miss. Crowley opened the door and pointed into the car like a real gentleman.

-Thanks.

As soon as he closed the passenger door he went around and got into the driver's side.

“So where's this club at?” Asked Molly.

- Stay in Soho, I discovered this place a few years ago.

- Hmm looks cool.

Upon arriving at the nightclub that was packed with songs from the 70s and 80s and with all the themed decor of those decades, with lights, a dance floor and everything else that was entitled to a themed nightclub.

Crowley took Molly's hand and led it to the center of the floor where he was playing “Night Fever” by

Bee Gees and making a few steps the redhead approached as if calling to join him in the roar of the music.

- Wow, I ... I like to take a few steps but I'm not much of a thing.- Molly said sincerely and found it very crazy for a first date in the dark.

- No problems! I teach you! Come on.- the redhead held out his hand for Molly to rise from the table.

Crowley insisted on paying the dinner bill and then headed out of the restaurant.

- So, how do we go to this nightclub you talked about?

 

- Let's go in my car. - The taller looked at Molly, at that moment she did not know what to expect, imagined that it would be an ordinary car like all the others, but when Crowley approached an old car model Molly can't help but show surprise! - Then?! What did you think? - is leaned against the car.

- Wow! He's very, very different.

- Is this different good or bad?

- It's a very good different. I never rode such a model.

- Feel free, miss. Crowley opened the door and pointed into the car like a real gentleman.

-Thanks.

As soon as he closed the passenger door he went around and got into the driver's side.

“So where's this club at?” Asked Molly.

- Stay in Soho, I discovered this place a few years ago.

- Hmm looks cool.

Upon arriving at the nightclub that was packed with songs from the 70s and 80s and with all the thematic decoration of those decades, with lights, a dance floor and everything else that was entitled to a themed nightclub.

Crowley took Molly's hand and led it to the center of the floor where he was playing “Night Fever” by

Bee Gees and making a few steps the redhead approached as if calling to join him in the roar of the music.

It was not possible to notice that they were being watched by a certain consultant detective who was sitting on the other side of the establishment.

-----------------

The question now is this ... Does this fic have a future? I'm dying to know your opinion.

[kira-7]

This is my Good Omens Secret Santa, created by @mabsgatos, for @ineffablesociety, hope you like it! And good holidays!

Spooky Christmas

(aka This tree is on fire!, a new single release by Alek Keychains, this Christmas, on iToon)

Aziraphale doesn't hide a smile when, while he's reading Mr. Wordsworth's words, he can perceive a well known aura; without thinking about it, the angel starts a mental countdown... Three... Two...

"Angel!"

One. Still too fast. Oh well, Aziraphale raised up, puts the book upon the shelf and reaches the living room, where Crowley is waiting for him, hardly to contain the excitement about something.

"Hello, dear. Have you done something very evil today?"

Crowley nods and quickly approaches his angel, "You have no idea," he snaps his fingers to miracle a black jacket, a red hat and a grey scarf worn by Aziraphale, "Hurry, angel, or we'll be late!"

"What? But--Crowley, I'm in the middle of a declaration of love," the blond angel tries to protest, showing to the demon a book he was reading a few minutes ago.

"Y-yeah, so you juss-just... Do you want to remain here, while outside Evil Forces are spreading like snakes of shadow, surpassing the-- the... Urgh... The army of good, or what else you want to call it?!"

Aziraphale watches Crowley without worrying, he is relaxed and peaceful, "My dear," he starts, "We both know you don't want to hurt anyone, just because it isn't funny, according to what you said two years ago in that Manor, at Tadfield."

Crowley doesn't give up, he has another ace in the hole, he crawls near the chair and hisses tempter in the angel's ear,

"And if I sssay you I booked a table in that restaurant, the one you wanted to try, because it has the most delicious macarons in the world, will you come with me, angel?"

That malicious voice, and a dinner invitation, Crowley knows well how to use his skills, foul fiend... Aziraphale turns his head to look into Crowley's eyes, and unconsciously he holds his breath, "Anywhere you want, darling," the angel answers with a soft smile, causing a self-combustion to Crowley.

"Err-O-ngh-o-ok, right, yes... Well, must we go!"

The demon runs away a few meters from Aziraphale, and leads him to the Bentley, which radio spreads Freddie Mercury's voice who thanks God because it is Christmas.

When they arrive, the two creatures ahead to Trafalgar Square, Aziraphale follows Crowley, the demon seems sure of which direction to take, until they reach a white iron table, placed under a fir Christmas tree, its lights are off yet.

"Oh, this is for us?," Aziraphale asks, watching Crowley sits in one of the two chairs, then he sits too.

"Only the best for you, angel," he smirks, "A front row seat for the best show of the century! Do you want a glass of wine?"

"A cup of cocoa it's--" the angel stops when a white cup of chocolate appears in front of him, "Thanks," he says with a lovely smile.

Crowley looks away while he's drinking his glass, then watches at his watch, impatient.

"What are we waiting for, darling?"

"Soon you'll see, it will begin in less of ten minutes."

The angel starts to drink, and is thrilled to see all couples sitting waiting for something, and probably the angel understands what it is.

"Did your evil plan consist in bringing me outside to see the lighting of the tree, of this tree above us?"

It is good to see Crowley running his hand through his hair to suppress his nervousness, the angel stretches his hand to hold the demon's, "I like it, thanks!"

The demon blushes, and he is going to start saying something, when a small choir of children begins to sing O Holy night, to demon's surprise. Someone proposed the mayor to call it, because God would have been glad to receive such a gift from pure creatures like children.

"The mayor listened my suggestion," Aziraphale says, looking emotionally at those lovely children, "They're wonderful, are they, sweetheart?"

Crowley doesn't pay attention at those children, he prefers to observe the profile of his angel, longing that smile for himself, looking at that tiny tear run along angel's cheek, "Ye, yea, nn--" he answers, resting the chin on a fist, "Beautiful."

Then Aziraphale turns to see Crowley and notices a little smile on his face and feels a bit nervous to be under that demonic gaze.

"Something's wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing, my dear, it's just... I... I feel cold actually."

Crowley raises an eyebrow, not convinced, "Should I miracle a more padded jacket?"

"No, I will be fine, really. Don't worry!"

An awkward silence rises between the two creatures, it's a bit odd, it didn't happen anymore after the Armageddon't, until in this moment; both of them find easy to speak and see each other every day, but they know, deep down, there is something they both prefer to not talk about, they know what are the other's feelings, of course they do, it would be silly if they hadn't made it... Both of them are afraid to put in words these feelings, and yet they feel the need to put them in words...

At the end of the song, the tree lights above them come on, coloring the two supernatural creatures' faces in red, blue, green and yellow, there are a lot of lights, maybe a million, and because of that Crowley smirks.

"Ah! He followed my idea! What a fool man! Totally."

"What? What did you said to tempt him, Crowley?"

The demon points to the tree and answers, "I simply told him that if he wanted to become the most famous mayor in the world, he should perhaps put some more light on the tree, nothing more."

"Oh my Lord," Aziraphale gasps, holding a breath, "This will not end well, I feel it!"

If the angels is worried, Crowley is laughing with so much pleasure, humans are always funny! In fact, ten minutes later, the too many lights start to overheat, until the tree catches fire, making everyone run away, screaming and afraid. Is there any casualties? Of course not, it would not been fun otherwise, by pure miracle everything was saved, except the poor tree that had been unfortunately chosen for that role. Oh well, it will be better next year.

Aziraphale and Crowley sit on a bench near Trafalgar Square, observing firemen while they are trying to suppress the flames; Aziraphale looks sad for that poor tree, it doesn't deserve an end like this.

"Oh, c'mon, angel, there are so many trees destroyed by humanity's madness, one more doesn't make the difference."

The angel nods sadly, a bit convinced by that discourse, "I guess you're right, but--" he decides to rest his head on Crowley's right shoulder, closings his eyes, "You don't need to create such a show for a date, a simple question is enough, I will answer always yes."

The demon is tense, not knowing how to behave, and with great difficulty he manages to hold the celestial creature close to him, while he mumbles a "Maybe you are right".

"Thank you for this, dear, it was funny."

Crowley gets the strength to press his lips on those blond hair, followed by his sharp cheekbone, looking in front of him.

"Spooky Holidays, angel."

"Happy Holidays, love."

[insensitivesurgeon7]

Original strange story

‹ Always with me ›

❤️Woman/Womаn❤️

Valeria/Emilia

rating: PG-13

genres: drama, romance

warnings: ER, POV, death of the main character, non-linear narrative

———————

— How far can you go?

— Well, at least smile at me, at such an important moment.

— Look, you're glowing!I don't know what it is, but it definitely suits you.Always be like this.

The performances of the terrible! The audience is not interested in this at all, on the contrary, they look at me with horror and disgust, turn pale and burst into screams at what is happening on the stage. Insultingly. Am I making such an effort for such uneducated trash? No one appreciates my efforts, no one except...

Emiliа.

She never missed a single performance of mine, never took her burning eyes off the stage, and looked right into my soul. A bright ray stood out in the crowd of gray and gloomy gentlemen, almost jumping out of the chair in the first row and breaking her voice in one and the same phrase: "encore!"

— And now, ladies and gentlemen, the real horror of this neighborhood will be on the scene. Many lost their minds just seeing it!

The audience was simply dumbfounded, not knowing what else to expect this evening. Some covered themselves with their hands, and others wrapped themselves in their clothes, so as not to see even greater horrors. But that's what they came for, isn't it? So why are sobs and angry exclamations heard instead of cheers?

But only the tiny girl in the front row was waiting with lively interest for the miracle I had prepared especially for her. I removed the fake smile from my face and put on a genuine, real one that was meant only for her.

It's strange, but I don't remember what happened after the intermission. Right now, I'm standing at the door of the dressing room, not understanding how I got here. There was no memory of me going up to my room. Only the people actively moving towards the exit; the head of that old lady with wide eyes, which I held so carefully in my hands; the floorboards stained with dirty blood; the bright image of Emilia…

Still, I burst into the dressing room with a cry of joy, plopping down in an old ragged chair with gold upholstery on the uneven edges. I couldn't help but laugh out loud, throwing my head back. Why was I having so much fun? I suppose I was amused by the ladies, who were as pale as toadstools, who threw up their hands in fright, and who, forgetting their proprieties, screamed like slaughtered pigs. But the laughter didn't last long. I stopped abruptly and looked at the floor mirrors. I liked the reflection: my glasses had slid sideways; my hair, which had been so neatly arranged a few hours ago, was completely disheveled; my shirt was soaked with the blood of the old lady who had been so impudent.

I grinned even harder, my uneven smile with crooked teeth looking creepy, and my gaze, wild and triumphant, lingered in the background. A skeleton in a worn maroon dress and a dark wig with dirty patches.

— How do I look? — Emilia was busy twirling around the mirror, looking at herself from different angles. The full silk dress suited her immensely, and the hem of it rose above the tiled floor as she danced, exposing her pale little legs. She looked like a fragile butterfly whose wings were scorched by a scarlet flame.

— Honey, you look beautiful! — There was no lie in what I said, I really thought she looked amazing. Although in fact, it always looks like this.

— Oh, dear, are you here yet? How did you manage to get here before me?

I got up and went to my beloved, kneeling across from her and taking the leather-gloved hand in my palm, gently stroking the uneven surface with my fingers and gazing in awe at the empty eye sockets.

— Emilia, how do you like my performance? Did you like it? I tried my best, really! — She didn't say anything, just tilted her head, and the wig slid to the right. — Why aren't you talking? Did I do something wrong? I thought I had prepared only the best…

She doesn't answer, why? Did she enjoy it so much that she was speechless? Or is it so bad that she won't talk to me? But wait…

My head is full of holes. How could I forget our anniversary? I slapped my hand against my forehead, looking down guiltily. — Now you must be offended with me." You know what, let me fix it! I'll have a small dinner for the two of us, with your favorite music playing. Just give me some time, okay? — I looked at Emilia with pleading eyes, and I thought she was breaking down a little, but she nodded slightly. Or was it my imagination? .No.

— How soon? — Emilia tapped her heel impatiently, fidgeting with the bandage.

I untied the tight knot of the ribbon, and Emilia closed her eyes for a moment, shielding her hand from the bright light. At the same moment, her eyes widened at what she saw.

— You… Did you do all this? — she gazed with fascination at the ornate gazebo I'd been working on day and night for so long, given its taste. She always wanted a gazebo on this hill next to the twin oaks, and with a view of the cemetery.

— Do you like? - the smile did not leave my face, the pleasant surprise in Emilia's eyes made me happy. She didn't say anything, just came over and hugged me tightly, murmuring her thanks in a low voice. It was an important gift for her. I never understood why she wanted it so much, she only spoke in vague riddles that I never understood.

I stroked her hair, lifted her in my arms, and sat her down in the big chair, getting as close to her face as I could, feeling her hot breath and the tips of her dark brown hair tickling my cheeks.

— We have the whole night at our disposal... — My voice became eerily low, piercing the silence of the night. In an instant, the reddened Emilia smiled at the corners of her mouth, enticing me into a kiss with her soft pink lips…

The air was cool, and it enveloped my legs and crawled slowly down my back, penetrating my sensitive areas, feverishly tickling my skin. All life seemed to have died out: there was no sound of the confused rustle of leaves that sometimes fell to the ground, no cry of night birds that suddenly appeared from behind the trees, and even the old guard singing sailor songs, even he seemed to be gone.

But to be honest, I didn't care at all. But worried whether it Emiliа?

— The sky is unusually clear today, and the stars seem to Shine brighter today. — Trying to start a conversation and filling the glasses with sweet wine, I took a small SIP, watching the behavior of my beloved. Who behaved... in no way. Her skeleton was leaning back against the carved back of a chair, and her wonderfully shaped skull was hidden behind the remnants of artificial hair. She sat at a little distance from me and looked like a statue ready to shatter at any moment.

There was no response, and the silence was annoying.

I couldn't help laughing as I fiddled with the crystal glass filled with sparkling cherry liquid: too much resemblance to the blood of Emilia. So sweet, with a metallic taste, I remember there was a lot of it…

— Your death pleases me, because now we can always be together! Isn't that great?!

In my arms rested a cooling, lifeless body, dripping blood and staining everything possible. Her eyes were glassy, and there was a pain in them that pleased me so much. Still, I was a little disappointed.

— You promised to die with a smile on your face and a ringing laugh, welcoming a new world for yourself with open arms, so why did you scream and struggle, showering me with curses and bitter tears?

It was as if I felt my beloved's gaze on me, the emptiness of her once-bright brown eyes tearing at my soul, making me shudder with unpleasant memories. She still hasn't said a word. I was beginning to worry about it.

— Oh, honey, are you still mad?I have forgiven you for your incomprehensible affair, so be consistent. — the corners of his mouth twitched convulsively, the glass swayed in a trembling hand, and a scarlet drop fell on the snowy tablecloth, spreading across the rough patterns.

— Stop following me! I told you everything yesterday! We are no more!

— You seem to have forgotten something, my dear — there was a short click, and the revolver in my hand was aimed at a tall, slender young man with large blue eyes.

- No!..

Suppressing a sudden surge of anger, I tried to smile amiably, but I could feel my face shuddering, contorting into a terrible grimace.

— Why are you silent? We see each other so rarely, and the luxury we are allowed now will not come for a long time. So why don't you use it? — She didn't even look at me. What am I talking about, she didn't even touch the holiday table!

— Please say a word! Is that so much to ask?! — My left eye twitched nervously, the first tears came to the corners, and my voice trembled treacherously. I didn't like it, but Emilia seemed to enjoy it. Why do I hear her low, angry laugh?!

I swallowed hard and tried to keep my composure, but it didn't work. I stood up and walked resolutely toward Emilia, hovering over her skeleton, which seemed to me to have shrunk in size. Hot tears ran down my cheeks and into my mouth, and my chest ached, and my laughter was unhealthy.

— Y-You... you like hurting me, don't you? — choking back tears and laughing hysterically, I barely managed a few more words. — Answer me! — I must have looked pathetic from the outside.

No attention, but there was a mocking look directed at me, at my hands, or rather at my prosthetics.

— Are you so concerned that you cut off your own hands?!

— Answer me, you insensitive bitch!— I took her chin in my hand and looked into her empty eye sockets. Oh, my dear, where is your charming gaze? What happened to your velvety voice that soothed me in the evenings? And your delicate skin, pale and sore, where did it go, do you want to tell me?

It was very painful. Very. I've never felt such pain in my life. I couldn't see much because of the tears, and the bubbling, broken laughter tore at my chest.

Something cold touched my face, wiping away tears. These were the knuckles of Emilia's fingers, painfully prickling at the corners of my reddened, I'm sure, eyes. My hand held tight to the radius of my beloved, as if afraid to lose it again, afraid to let go, and the brush of a somewhat yellowed bone soothed my cheeks, and I felt a little relieved.

— Forgive me… Please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry ... — I whispered endlessly, burying my face in the crumpled fabric somewhere in the area of my collarbone, my free hand clutching the fragile piece of bone.

— It's our holiday, isn't it? — I looked at Emilia's face with genuine love as I got up from my knees. — We haven't lost anything yet, so let's dedicate ourselves to each other under these sparkling stars!

— This is my favorite artist playing! Lehr, let's dance!

Everyone was looking at us that night.

Light jazz began to play, and Emilia's favorite tune turned on. You could see that she brightened and seemed to straighten up. I asked her to dance by pulling on me, and she plopped her skull on my neck, and I just giggled. She's funny. Trying to keep my balance, I put one hand on her waist and the other connected with the bone of her wrist, and she bent over and looked at me. I could see her confusion.

We began to circle slowly to the music, keeping our eyes on each other. Even though Emilia no longer had them, I still knew that she was looking at me, and only at me.

— You will always be with me.

———————

[minybangy]

EXO reaction : Their S/O is a medical student/intern...

[Sorry if there’s any typos or mistakes]

Kim Junmyeon — Suho

A 24h shift is hard and very tiring, you ran in the ER all night, prepared an operation with your chief and took care of ungrateful patients who had dared to tell you you weren't doing your job correctly. What did they know about your job? So when you came home and the delicious scent of your favorite dish came to you, you felt truly happy. You quickly went to your kitchen, finding your boyfriend cooking, you couldn't help but come behind him and wrap your arms around him.

“Jagi, I missed you.”

You and Junmyeon had your habits, he was busy most of the time and so were you, but whenever you could, you always made sure to be there and to make time for each other.

Sometime you would run a hot bath for him to relax after rehearsals, sometimes he would give you a massage to help you recover from constantly running and walking in the hallways. Each of you always made sure the other was okay. And your relationship was working perfectly, sure there were occasional tensions but both of you were understanding and mature enough to make it work well.

Kim Minseok — Xiumin

You had a big exam coming up soon, and you weren't ready, really NOT ready. You worked, you really did but it was simply not enough and now you wanted to cry, frustration taking over, fearing to fail and to lose your chance to be a surgeon. Minseok was working out not far from you, but when he looked up and saw your eyes watering, he stopped, got up and came to you, asking what was wrong, so when you told him about fearing to fail, he sighed a bit, not really knowing what to do. He was covered in sweat, and you were sad, so the only solution he thought of was to take a long, warm shower.

After your shared shower, you were relaxed, wearing fresh comfy clothes, your boyfriend behind you, gently stroking your arms. He then took your flashcards, bribing you for motivation.

"Okay jagi, for every correct answer, I'll give you one kiss, stay focused."

Zhang Yixing — Lay

Exhausted was not a word strong enough to describe the state you were in. You wanted to fall and sleep for at least five days. Your back ached, and you could barely tell if you could feel your legs. The shower relaxed you though, maybe a bit too much as you were almost falling asleep while standing. You lazily placed your toothbrush in its cup, rinsing your mouth and quickly brushing your hair. You came out of the bathroom, wearing something comfy to sleep, and joined Yixing in your shared bed, clinging to him as he embraced you tightly. You both talked about your respective days, nothing special about it but it felt great to finally be with him and to be able to really relax. He played with your fingers for a little while, occasionally taking a strand of your hair between his fingers, not even knowing what to do with it, but he talked, his voice was low, almost a whisper, making you doze off easily. So when he asked you something, and you didn't answer, he looked down at you, a chuckle left his mouth when he saw your eyes tightly closed.

"You worked hard Y/N, I'm proud of you."

Byun Baekhyun — Baekhyun

Baekhyun, being the cutie that he is, would want to make sure that you were taking breaks, so as soon as he saw you rubbing your eyes or temples, he would get up, close your laptop and take your hand.

"C’mon, time for some fresh air!”

It could be simple things like just the two of you walking down the street for a bit or sometimes it could be little dates, far away from your books and headaches. He was proud, don't get him wrong, he was so proud of you and knew that you still had to work for a while before to go to bed, but your health is important to him so by making sure that you were stopping for a while, he felt better. And you were grateful, he was saving your head from exploding and your legs from stopping to correctly function due to the amount of time you were sitting.

Kim Jongdae — Chen

You were confident, there were really no reasons for you not to be. You worked so well and reviewed everything you had to. Your boyfriend had helped you as well and gosh, he saved you. Last month, you had an important exam to pass, well, important? More like decisive. Make it or break it, there was no way back.

Jongdae had accompanied you to get your results, but as you approached the place, you started to stress more and more. You somehow managed to calm down and enter the building, coming out with an envelope. You both sat on a bench nearby, your fingers playing with the sides of the brown paper, not daring to open it and reveal the final results. Your future was in there, written on a document. One word could literally change your whole life right now. Accepted or Rejected.

“Fighting Y/N, You can do it”

"I can't do it Jongdae, do it for me please."

So he did, he took the brown envelope, carefully opening it and took a paper out of it. There was no need to read everything. The most important was written in bold. He didn't say anything though, and you thought it was over until he took your hand in his, making you look up, seeing a wide smile spread on his face. He presented you the paper. Accepted. And at this moment, you thought your heart has stopped.

"Congrats Doctor. May I take you out on a date tonight or are you too busy for me now? Don't abandon me when you accomplish miracles and become famous."

Park Chanyeol — Chanyeol

Sometimes, mostly at the end of the week, you were struggling to keep everything in your head, too tired to be able to stay fully focused, you were frustrated, sighing and growling, throwing your book on your desk and dramatically plopping yourself on your bed, at least five times in the pasr hour. Chanyeol wanted to laugh at first, but when he saw how desperate and tired you were, he somehow had an idea. So one day, you saw him enter your living room, wearing some kind of human's anatomy printed clothes. Giggling, he planted himself in front of you.

"Jagi, let's make this fun! I'll be your model.”

He got up on the coffee table, facing you, he pointed at some muscles, asking you to tell him everything you knew about it. At the end of the day, you had learned everything you needed to know, and your boyfriend couldn't be prouder, knowing he had been a great help to you.

Do Kyungsoo — D.O

You were often coming home late, sometimes you would even forget to eat, going to bed as soon as you could and hiding in your man's arms, almost immediately falling asleep. Studies and work taking too much time and you being too unorganized, this mix not giving anything great for you and your health. Kyungsoo wouldn't say a lot, but he knew, he saw, you and your bad habits, so he would've created this little routine for you to follow, it was a pretty simple routine, but it was efficient: Water bottle to empty before a certain hour, not skipping any meals even if you really didn't have any correct schedule due to the hospital being an unstoppable rollercoaster, and finally, a good amount of sleep. 

So when he saw you getting up on your own to cook, he felt proud, knowing that you were taking his words seriously. Yes it wasn't a lot, but it meant a lot to him, firstly because you were listening to him, but mostly because you were taking care of yourself. 

“Eat well jagi”

Kim Jongin — Kai

You watched your timer for the fourth time, sighing, grabbing your pen again and writing down as fast as you could. You were testing yourself for an upcoming & very important exam, willing to do anything in your power to make as little mistakes as possible. So when your alarm went off, you stopped breathing for a microsecond, hoping you had it all correct. You took the paper with all the answers written onto it and proceeded to correct your test.

You jumped from your chair when you re-checked every answer for at least three times, everything was correct, you didn't expect to do this well, so you felt all the chains tightly wrapped around your lungs, fall, letting you breathe normally again. The little victory dance you were doing since a good minute made Jongin laugh, but it didn't stop him from joining you, taking your hands in his and dancing like two crazy kids for a little while.

"I knew you were smart baby! Now you deserve a long night of sleep and cuddles, come here."

Oh Sehun — Sehun

As per usual, you were working when Sehun came back from rehearsals, you were memorizing tons of information and medical stuff, just like every other day, and you were not closing your books until late every night. Sehun was proud, and very understanding, knowing that to succeed, you needed to give your all, but he was also worried, always making sure you were still going to bed and you were getting a reasonable amount of sleep before going back to your revisions. He would watch you work sometimes, but of course, you wouldn't know that; this man wouldn't let you catch him observing you lovingly while you were so focused. 

But as much as he would understand and accept the fact that you are as busy as him, he would still want some of your time, and if you ever forget him, don’t worry, he’ll make sure to remind you to pay attention to him.

One last thing, this guy would brag about you at any given opportunity.

"Sehun, we haven't seen Y/N for a while, you should bring her someday, we miss her!”

"Sorry hyung, you know doctors are busy. She's performing her first operation today!"

[nutellarchives]

December Wrap Up!

Oh its the last day of the year already? Honestly I've been procrastinating for this post but today is the last day of December and of 2021 so let's do this! There are personal stuff that happened like family gathering and such but I will be telling in detail the things that are interesting (because my personal life is boring) anyway,

Click that "Keep Reading" button to know the highlights of my December!

The Awaited NCT Comeback~

During my exams and all of the fiasco for my academics, there is one thing that kept me distracted, which is the NCT 2021 COMEBACK. I actually missed (or didn't really anticipated the NCT2020 Comeback, though I really like the NCT2018 ones..) being an NCTzen and ever since they debuted I have peers that stan them or are a fan so I'm always influenced (and I just love SM artists so much even if they are not my ult groups) to just fangirl and it's a very fun experience.

This comeback is quite addicting (the song I mean) with let's play ball and once listened to it, it will just keep on playing in the head. My Thoughts? The choreo is good (and hard how do they even sing live with that choreo) and I want to learn it but lazy and it's a boy's song so nevermind. The combination of the members are quite interesting since it's really mixed up and for the first time there is no Taeyong and Jaehyun for this one (no personal attack /ofc I love them/ but I guess I always notice that the two mentioned are always in an nct u comeback like a major comeback with stages) . This unit hopefully brings members that haven't interacted that much to know each other since NCT is always divided into units and they only unite in comeback's like this (which also feels crammed). I really enjoy the Inkigayo stage they had and quite disappointed that that was their first and last stage for this CB, it's because they had the comeback late that KBS, MBC and SBS don't air music shows anymore, instead they do the year-ender special which is an annual thing.

From the Universe album, I'd say I like the following: (aside from the title track which is also my fave), Earthquake, Miracle, Dreaming, Know Now and Round & Round.

Also I just want to mention like the marketing strategy is strong!! Because of the special card, just like from NCT2020 Resonance where there are limited photocards that are printed with only a limited quantity, wow sm this is a smart move but its sad because a lot of fans will be broke again, due to buying a lot of albums just to get those special pocas or if someone sell it, it will be verryyyyyyyyy overpriced. Another thing is, I really like the Jewel Case ver of the albums but well these versions of albums got fans broke which is pain.

STAY~ by ONEUS and ONEWE

FStay by WeUs is now officially one of my favorite songs during the Christmas season and I will play it whenever Christmas is near (and even if its not Christmas since I love their vocals and the song and the mv are wholesome). Though this section ain't about solely on Stay but me loving both groups. For ONEUS I did a separate post on that on how I became a To MOON~, and usually I really like groups that are like brothers, an example would be SEVENTEEN and NU'EST (which SVT is my ult and NU'EST is my stan) and they had this legendary collab during MAMA 2017 and I'm so happy about it. For this they are really like bro groups since they debut the same year and their names are almost the same except for the We and Us. I knew ONEUS due to their promotions, like being able to read ONEUS and then ONEWE as well and I'm like (before becoming a fan) are they connected or something? and I did google and yeah they are of course! Although ONEUS is an Idol Group while ONEWE is a Band Group. For the past few days I've been keeping myself busy with WeUs content, where I watch youtube videos for guides and compiled videos with funny or interesting context. Originally though, I only planned on stanning ONEUS and they became my ult but since ONEWE is their brother group, they are always involved with each other like mentioning them and having interactions etc. So I was also encouraged (or at least that what I felt) to listen to ONEWE music and good decision there! I watched the MVs of ONEWE from Regulus to Star and at first I'm not really into it but I like the most from the initial listening would be, End of Spring and Parting, which until now is my favorite. Then gradually, I'm diving into their discography and found some favorites (I'll put some on my dec playlist below). All month long it's non stop that I'm thinking about, listening to and watching WeUs stuff. For ONEUS, I was able to finish the first season (like a handful of episodes) of Show me the MWM and it's really funny and cool at the same time since there are moments that looks like its an advantage of the other members but its the other way around. There is an episode there where they are asked to dance various KPop Songs and Left and Right and Fantasia were played... and they are able to dance to those songs esp Fantasia where it felt like a cover oh yeah ONEUS are Monbebes in secret xD. Early days of being a TO MOON, I also was able to watch the Weekly Idol episode of ONEUS with Kihyun and Minhyuk are the Guest Hosts and I AM SO HAPPY THIS INTERACTION IS PRECIOUS, MUST KEEP, they did weekly idol stuff and Woong and Lee Do danced Shoot Out and Fantasia and Kiki & Minmin are proud sunbaes :">.

I also watched To be or Not to be and Twilight MV BTS, it's really cool! I love how they provide the content for those since they were able to give a glimpse of what happens during a MV shoot.

For ONEWE contents, I am happy that there is a lot in youtube and I was able to watch a handful. I watched videos like Memory: Illusion album making, where I saw them produce their songs and it was a learning curve for me since I don't really know stuff about that that much and they shared their experiences and it was fruitful. There are also videos like, where Yonghoon broke his guitar string(?) and they are singing Gift and he was sending signal to Hyungu and he didn't get it so he looked at Dongmyeong instead and DM doesn't know what to do its so funny. Those behinds, their chit chats and friendship are wholesome and I have grown fond of them along with ONEUS, they might not be my ult but I look at WeUs as a whole group that are only divided into units.

p.s. I was able to buy my first ONEUS album! (will do a separate post on it but yeah~)

p.p.s Pingu is my ONEWE bias after contemplating between him and CyA! Though I love all of them of course.

The Rare 10 pull that turned into Gold

Okay, so I accidentally got Itto, which I did plan on skipping since I wanted Eula but got Mona instead and they are consecutive banners. I was originally going for Gorou since I want him! even on my main account I did try to pull but I just stopped since I am guaranteed on that account as well. I did a one 10 pull, which I rarely do since I do singles all the time and I am lazy at that moment so I did 10 and I was chill since I'm not even in the soft pity yet. I did the 10 then the light appear (or asteroid? I sound dumb, I don't really know what is it called) then its gold I'm like is it possible to get another off banner after getting one? and yeah it's the One and Oni Arataki Itto... My initial reaction is surprised then shocked then acceptance. During that day that I got him, I build him immediately but right now he is waiting for his ascension... I don't have enough Onikabuto (which btw Idk where to get) and that boss that I have to fight pain (mainly due to corrosion and I don't have that well built healer). But currently I was able to lvl 80 Whiteblind (which is the F2P option) and raise Itto to lvl 60. I will resume on farming and stuff when I have the extra time to do so. But I guess I've accepted that that alt account of mine is a husbando magnet since I have Zhongli, Childe and Kaeya there ( plus Itto now), I just need Diluc (which can be easily obtained since he is an off banner) and Thoma (since he is a 4 star another easy to obtain).

This SSR Went Home Instead of Artem's

MR ARTEM WING IS DODGING ME!

The current X-Mas banner, I tried to pull since my pull count is almost near 100 (spoiler: I got the SSR on the 100th pull Im- why!?) and since Artem is one of the cards I wanted that card (though I like the Skadi more). I tried to save myself from the temptation to pull and I got defeated! I pulled (and during this time, where I am writing this post, Skadi event was announced which was surprising because it was supposed to be on a later month next year based on the China Server) and I didn't get artem, instead I got a Marius SSR. I was disappointed of course but I said it's fine since Marius is my 2nd fave and Skadi is prolly months away.. and I just clowned myself because that is the next event and Artem whyyyy....

p.s Please Skadi Artem come Home! I need to see your washboard

Finished The Flower of Evil

Last highlight for this month is after 2 months of starting and a month of hiatus, I was finally able to finish watching this drama! Since it is a mystery drama, it gave me a lot of headaches thinking about what might be the answer to a certain situation mystery in that episode and the plot as a whole. It was not as mind blowing though because of so much thinking (and obvious hints shown) I was able to pinpoint the accomplice to the murder's of hyunsu's dad. I want to share a lot but it would be a spoiler. Overall it's an interesting drama although sometimes its kinda boring and it didn't really give me that let's finish this in one seating impression that lead to 2 months of completing. Another factor though as to why it took me this long is it was finals month when I started watching so I was busy too.

Overall, its a solid drama, not really my favorite but I'd give it a high rating. It's engaging and the mystery is really well executed. There are some situations that are predictable and there is no major shocking factor which I am always expecting when it comes to mystery dramas. The one thing that I like about this drama is that in the beginning its the big picture that is shown they slowly they show the small details until the answer is revealed. There are instances where you think you are sure of the answer but suddenly there is a scene that they will show to you that serves as a hint. Small details are also important that they didn't emphasized but it's up to the viewers to observe it.

A thought that I was able to get from this drama is be a good parent (I guess, personal opinion no hate pls). Since Hyunsu's dad and Heeseong's parents are key factor to their children's behavior. Another thing is if you want a person to trust you, be open and honest. This is between Hyunsu and Jiwon because their relationship is always turbulent because of lack of trust and being too secretive.

Congratulations for making this really far! I hope that this post made sense since I am writing this at almost new year's eve. I also hope you enjoy this rambling!

The Playlist for December!

a.k.a WeUs Playlist bcs I literally listened to only Oneus and Onewe songs for the whole month of December oof

LOGO - ONEWE

Rewind - ONEUS

Trauma (Aquarium) - ONEWE

TO BE OR NOT TO BE - ONEUS

COSMOS - ONEWE

That is all for now~ Thank you and Happy New Year! 2022 please be good!

-ella

[bardqueenofgallifrey]

I didn't have a tumblr account in 2013, so I have no idea how the fuck a 53-year-old Sci fi show became part of something as cringe as "superwholock". I mean, I watch Sherlock but damn this match makes no sense. Could you explain to me how it happened please???

Honestly? I don’t know exactly.

I was never really a part of SuperWhoLock, and I don’t think I was on here for the origins either, but whenever it was that I did get on here, I was just a passionate Whovian who also watched and liked Sherlock (these days I’m pretty indifferent about Sherlock one way or another, and give as few shits about Supernatural as I ever did).  

BUT, I’m gonna see if I can try and work out/theorise how SuperWhoLock rose and fell, if only to try and make the point that Doctor Who never deserved to be lumped in with it. Feel free to challenge any points I make, because I’m guessing here. 

although, frankly, this idea of cringe culture is kinda snobby and gross. let people like shit, damn, if they’re not hurting anyone or trying to say Supernatural is the best show ever, who gives a fuck, honestly

Firstly, the thing about Doctor Who is that it has been around for literal multiple decades. Almost fifty four years. It has been around since before some of our parents were born. 

Doctor Who fans were around long before the internet was invented. They were here before, and will be here long after everyone has forgotten what the hell Supernatural ever was. Doctor Who fans are now the ones making Doctor Who. They were the ones who, when it got cancelled, created an entire thriving Audio Drama business through the love of it that still existed everywhere, and they are the ones who brought it back and now create it. They’ve never let it die. 

You know why? Why Doctor Who’s endured, and is so passionately loved by so many, and before all this mess wasn’t any more cringy than being into Star Trek? Because it’s good. 

It is a flawed show, of course (always, somehow, in some way, in ways that vary across different eras), but one that is good in a reckless, nonsensical, optimistic way. No matter the ups and downs of its objective quality, it’s never really lost its heart. 

It is a show with a protagonist that uses words/intelligence/compassion over violence to fight, a show that focuses on telling hopeful adventures that can be watched by children and also inform them of some of the harsher aspects of the world in an interesting way.

Also, it’s always been quite progressive. It had the first female drama producer at the BBC, and a gay Indian director. No one wanted it to succeed and it’s a miracle the show ever got off the ground. 

People like to talk about the “screaming Classic companions” but you know what? Fuck that. The Classic ladies were all wonderful, including the biggest screamers. Susan? The Doctor’s granddaughter, genius, with telepathic abilities and a whole lot of heart. Mel? Computer programmer aka fucking smarty pants, who once flipped the Doctor over her shoulder, and was such a genuinely nice person that it was genuinely impressive. Zoe? Adorable 60′s companion who canonically had a higher IQ than the Doctor. 

Doctor Who ladies have been awesome since the beginning, and calling out misogyny from the beginning. 

(It ALSO had errors of its time, especially an Orientalism issue that is pervasive through a lot of older sci-fi, that can’t and shouldn’t be forgotten either. But that’s for the most part irrelevant to this discussion other than the general whiteness which is still obviously a problem albeit one the show is slowly working on.)

The reboot then brought in (some, not enough) queer characters and main characters of colour, etc, and its general diversity has only been getting better and better on that front for the most part, especially in the last couple of years. 

But anyway, how the hell did it get mixed up with the whole SuperWhoLock mess? 

Well, the reboot brought in a whole new generation of fans, and only got bigger and bigger and bigger, and was peaking RIGHT about when Sherlock aired. 

The Doctor Who and Sherlock crossover is easy enough to work out; they had the same headwriter(s), and they’re both about neurodivergent (coded??) genius white guys that theoretically have a kind of unconventional attractiveness to them. You can see how they drew in the same crowd. 

Now, how the hell Supernatural became a part of that, I’ve no idea. I’ve never been a Supernatural fan (even if I did watch the first four and a half seasons once, more or less enjoy them, but also not find them massively interesting). 

But I’m going to assume it’s because it again involved white guys with Big Emotions, that the fans could thirst over, who were undertaking some larger than life shit. 

My theory is that it, at least partly, was the White Male Slash Fandom. 

You know. That group of mostly straight girls who treat shipping conventionally attractive white men like a fetish and a kink to explore, who will ship basically any two CAWM under the sun if they so much as look at each other. I imagine the Johnlock crowd overlapped with the Destiel and Wincest crowd, and Doctor Who, since it had Ten/Simm!Master (and Eleven/Rory to a lesser extent) as well as some nice hetero ships, kind of got dragged along because almost everyone in the Sherlock fandom was probably in the Doctor Who fandom too. 

You can kind of see how it fits. The Supernatural gang and the Team TARDIS are big damn heroes with a lot of heart, while Sherlock fulfilled the ideal levels of pretentiousness that we all go through in our teenage years. 

Of course, then everyone realised that Supernatural kinda sucks because it’s an incredibly white, incredibly male, incredibly STRAIGHT show that just queerbaits its audience and doesn’t know when to call it quits, and so everyone started jumping ship. 

Then everyone looked at Sherlock, either went “this has its issues but it’s still fun”, “this is QUEERBAITING TOO, WHY WONT JOHNLOCK KISS, FUCK MOFFISS”, or “this is also incredibly white, incredibly male, and incredibly straight, so fuck this also”, and that was it for Sherlock and general opinion too. 

(For the record: Johnlock was not queerbait. Johnlock was an expression of Steven Moffat’s own very intimate, but platonic, friendship with Mark Gatiss, and they explicitly told everyone they were not gonna make it gay. And then the toxic ass fandom, deluded out their minds, started sending Gatiss - an actual gay man - abuse about being “an honorary straight” for not making their fetishised fictional relationship canon, at one point literally the day after the Pulse massacre. Seriously. What the fuck. Never speak about it being queerbaiting ever again and leave Mark Gatiss the fuck alone.) 

Now. Doctor Who had meanwhile been dealing with the changeover of the showrunner. 

Series 5 went down pretty well for the most part, but a lot of people had their issues with Series 6 and Series 7. The fandom had kind of gotten too big, for a show this unconventional. To the point of a lot of people not being able to deal with the distinct change from the style of Russell T Davies, because they weren’t really aware of how the show needs to reinvent itself constantly even on a stylistic level. Because they were treating the show like any other show, when one can’t really do that. 

It was all kind of a mess of:

very mixed fan reception on Series 6

Series 7 being on the weaker side (not as weak as some people who missed the whole point of Clara’s storyline make it out to be, but weak nonetheless, though Moffat has admitted to this and explained it was because he was under so much pressure about the looming 50th anniversary, and like, fuck, fair enough)

people being pissed at Moffat for Sherlock shit

Russell T Davies having done quite a few things in his era that are questionable from a wider Doctor Who standpoint, which Moffat as the Ultimate Who Fan didn’t go along with, only to then receive hate from people who were convinced that if RTD did something it must be right, because they haven’t seen Classic Who or apparently bothered to do a couple of google searches to educate themselves

plus, a few of Moffat’s quotes around 2012ish got taken out of context because he’s a sarcastic little shit who runs his mouth

and so people got the idea that Moffat’s a narcissistic misogynist who “loves white men”

also people confused “plot hole” with “is going to be explained later” and complained about him having plot holes in series 5-7 when really it’s just that he was waiting to tie up all the loose ends in Matt Smith’s finale episode

Anyway, thus began the popular - to this day! - sentiment of thinking that Moffat is one of the worst things to happen to television, or at least Doctor Who (and Sherlock Holmes). 

And so, that was the “downfall” of Doctor Who and SuperWhoLock, so to speak, as all three shows were written off by the wider Tumblr/nerd community as being incredibly cringy. 

Now, to examine it from today’s view, in light of recent series/opinion about the series/the female Doctor reveal. 

The problem is, the general attitude about Moffat - who don’t get me wrong, is far from a flawless writer, or person - has literally reached the point of mass delusion. It’s very clear that literally thousands of people have a completely fictionalised version of him in their heads. 

How do I know this? I saw someone say that a female Doctor was a “defiance of everything the Moffat era stood for”. 

As in, the same Moffat era that, in the last three seasons:

explicitly made the genderfluidity of Time Lords canon (Dark Water/Death In Heaven, World Enough And Time)

changed the Master into a woman (Dark Water)

had the now female Master refer to becoming a woman as an “upgrade” (The Witch’s Familiar)

had a companion’s whole storyline be about “becoming the Doctor” in her own right, with her getting a whole episode of her pretending to be the Doctor, and her flying off in her own TARDIS with a companion of her own in the end of her final episode! (Flatline, Hell Bent)

had ANOTHER companion’s storyline end with her immortal space girlfriend at the console of the TARDIS, offering for her to travel through all of time and space with her in a direct parallel to the Nine/Rose offer from the first episode to the reboot (The Doctor Falls, Rose)

had a Time Lord regenerate from a white guy to a black lady onscreen just to FINALLY shut up people who said race/gender changes couldn’t happen (Hell Bent)

had the Doctor positively reacting to the suggestion that he could be  - or had been - a woman, multiple times (Death In Heaven, World Enough And Time, The Doctor Falls)

Moffat’s era has been statistically proven to have shifted public opinion in favour of a female Doctor (ask @scriptscribbles, if you want proof), thanks to the above. 

Simm!Master: “She? Is the future going to be all girl?” 

Twelve: “We can only hope.” 

Also, Moffat wrote Lumley!Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death in 1999. He’s been pushing for a female Doctor for 18 damn years. 

So, the idea that anyone thinks he’s against it, as opposed to having explicitly worked to help make it happen for years, shows that the general opinion of him is literally a mass fictionalisation/delusion. 

(It’s just one example, but there are hundreds of others, like how everyone seems to think he thinks of himself as The Greatest Ever and having a huge ego, when he’s literally one of the most self-deprecating people ever, if you watch him in an interview. He’s openly admitted to mistakes he’s made on his time on the show, such as the way he handled the scene at the end of Flesh and Stone, and how Series 7 wasn’t his best because of the pressure he was under about the upcoming 50th anniversary; he is aware of his fallibility.) 

He’s not a perfect person, or writer, and no one knows that better than him. There’s a lot of critical discussions we could have about his writing, and there are a fair few actual problems with it, just as there are in the RTD era, and every damn era of Who that has existed. I’m not saying everybody has to like it, because every era of Doctor Who is down to personal preference, and that’s fine. There are plenty of rational, well-informed people, fans and otherwise, who have their -often sound - reasons for not liking Moffat and/or his era of Who in general. I am friends with some of them. 

But those rational, well-informed people are like, 5% of the people who otherwise make up a sea of loud, ignorant delusion that condemns Doctor Who under Moffat’s direction and downright refuses to acknowledge some of the amazing stuff it’s done in the last few years. 

(Like, Series 10 featured a black lesbian co-lead who got a happy ending, leaving the Moffat era finishing strong on six canonically sapphic women, four of whom are still alive, none of whom died pointlessly or without agency, and three of whom are immortal or close enough, in a time when all other TV sapphics are dropping dead like flies. It also had the Doctor punch a racist in the face and comment on how history is whitewashed, and had an episode slamming capitalism. Plus, the finale canonised that Time Lords don’t view gender the same way, reinforcing canon genderfluid Time Lords.)  

Between his second and third seasons of DW being divisive and/or a bit weak, all the Sherlock shit going down, and the fall of Supernatural, and the issue of people taking RTD Who as the baseline for everything Doctor Who when they really shouldn’t have, anti-Moffat sentiments got so big that masses of people fell off the show, and continue to refuse to acknowledge that he might have done anything worthwhile with it since they left. That he might, as a person, have developed and improved. 

And so, that is potentially how Doctor Who got lumped in with SuperWhoLock, labelled “not progressive”, and considered “cringy” to this day. 

Or at least, that’s my theory, as someone who wasn’t really paying a lot of attention, but knows her Doctor Who. 

[serienzacharysblog]

GIVEN Characters

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Hello everyone, I wish you have a great day and a lot of success, today I'm going to talk about the basic characters in the band ( Haruki / Akihiko / Uneoyama / Mafuyu ), I wish you have a fun reading, and let's begin and talk about our beloved characters..

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[1̲̲̅̅] Rikitasuki uneoyama ┊力立すきウネユアマ

  Instrument : Guitar ◁

                     Age : 16 ◁

       Height : 175 cm ◁

                    Blood : B ◁

         Born : 1 August ◁

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-_Guitarist • ギタリスト_-          

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『 A talented guitarist in the band, he is 16 years old and is now in high school with his colleague "Mafuyu", loves to play guitar and play basketball and sleep most of the time in school, he has a sister named "yayoi" and has refined him well since childhood, he now has a special friend and his name is "Mafuyu sato" and uneoyama was impressed by Mafuyu's unique talent in singing, and became a lover of his beautiful, sweet voice, currently Uneoyama teaches Mafuyu how to play the guitar and how to become a professional in it, Uneoyama is characterized by his sharpness and interest in the feelings of others and his love for music , loves a musician ( Uk Rock/ Japanese songs )

Before uneoyama met Mafuyu, he was bored of playing Guitar and playing basketball, and no longer played melodies and music as passionately as he was at first when he was playing for the first time, but after meeting Mafuyu, he had a passion for music again, because Mafuyu reminded him himself when he wanted Playing for the first time in his life, and over time Uneoyama's passion for music increased with Mafuyu being by his side, and in the end Mafuyu was able to ignite Uneoyama's enthusiasm to play strongly again and join the singing competition when he was given the opportunity to hear the sound of his singing for the first time.

On the other hand, this strange coincidence that brought Uneoyama and Mafuyu for the first time was perhaps the best thing that happened in the life of these two, because they both - without feeling - were able to help each other and compensate for their past, Uneoyama gave Mauyu confidence, became a close friend of his and compensated him for his friend Old yuki,

As well as Mafuyu, he managed to recreate Uneoyama's passion for music and give him happiness and pleasure in playing and spending time with him, even uneoyama admitted to him saying in manga chapter 10 "Whatever we did during that time, your presence in it made this really fun." 』

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[2̲̲̅̅]  mafuyu sato┊真福湯里

  Instrument : Guitar ◁

                     Age : 16 ◁

                     Blood : AB ◁

        Height : 173 cm ◁

     Born : 28 February ◁

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-_             Guitarist & Vocalist •          

ギタリスト・ボーカリスト     _-

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『 He is a 16-year-old band singer and guitarist, in high school second with Uneoyama. At first, he was sticking to a broken guitar that was dear to him and didn't know how to fix it. But after meeting his classmate Uneoyama by accident. Fix him the guitar. Since then, Mafuyu has been chasing Uneoyama to teach him how to play guitar. After Mafuyu met Uneoyama. Mafuyu's passion for music began to appear By time . Uneoyama finally invited him to join the band when he heard the sound of his singing..

Sato is characterized by his beautiful lyrical personality and funny reactions, especially when he's with Uneoyama, and he really looks like a lost puppy! As Uneoyama said about him before. *How cute you are Mafuyu*, he doesn't have a certain musician who loves her, all he remembers from the melodies is the song he sang to Uneoyama the first time..

Before meeting sato by uneoyama, sato was alone because of the death of his dear friend and confidant yuki, yuki actually committed suicide because of the controversy between him and sato, in fact Mafuyu did not forgive yuki because of what he did to himself, but Mafuyu also can not forgive himself as well because The reason for what yuki did himself, Mafuyu, no matter what he did, was unable to express his feelings like others, even when yuki died, he didn't even have enough feelings to express what he felt when he lost it, but. Understanding little of those feelings is enough for Mafuyu..

Even if his pain is great. Even if the words, letters and singing are unable to describe the pain of his departure, even in spite of all that pain. They're just a few of them. And that's what Mafuyu later acknowledged when he started singing on the band's first show. And yet, i don't know what you're talking about. This is the only boy Mafuyu. That his father would have beaten if he spoke. Who lost his only friend who's supported him since childhood. Incapable of expressing his feelings in words. He has a friend standing next to him, and he's a lover, Uneyouma..

With Uneoyama's support, he was able to sing and express his feelings. Thanks to him, he was able to play the only instrument that his dear friend Yuki ever loved. Which became all that was left of his friend..

" Even if I don't have the words to express how I feel. Even if you're not going to come back to me, and I'll never see you again. I'll keep the thing you have always loved and take it with me wherever I go. I'm not alone. You're around me all the time.

All the time. I feel like you're everywhere. I'm not alone "..

Now Uneoyama is the one who gets by his side all the time to make up for this pain that Mafuyu faced after losing his friend yuki.. 』

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[3̲̲̅̅] Akihiko kaji ┊梶昭彦

  Instrument : Drums ◁

                     Age : 20 ◁

                    Blood : A ◁

        Height : 184 cm ◁

         Born : 1 October ◁

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-_Drummer • ドラマー _-           

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『 He is a 20-year-old drummer in the band, who is in the early stage of college, and at the same university as Ugatsu and Haruki, his current girlfriend, who will later reject yayoi.

- Sister Uneoyama - , has the talent of playing drums and playing violin as well, and has learned karate since childhood, able to do anything without exerting much effort in his performance, working in many functions such as (traffic officer / worker carrying goods / etc ), to the extent that Haruki told him in the end "Where do you find time to do all this? " Akihiko couldn't help but answer, "Do you want to know how?"

Akihiko, contrary to what is expected of his character and body, which the viewer sees for the first time, has a completely different taste in music than everyone in the band with him, he does not just like rock songs. He loves the songs of ( trip hop/ classic/modern/metal/melodic/ambient music) , and above all he is a music major..

At first. Before he met Haruki, Akihiko worked as a violinist and drummer, and after a year of a short conversation between them, haruki invited him to join the band, the band formed and Akihiko joined it, and it was like a miracle for Haruki..

But, on the other hand. Joining Akihiko gave them a lot of fun that he had never felt before, and he was no longer bored of playing with them, so. In one manga class, Akihiko confessed to Haruki, saying, "Thank you for inviting me to join the band, you saved me!"..

There's no doubt that Akihiko's condition after his parents left the house. And the passing of his only friend, Ugatsu, no doubt made him "lonely." But, you know, i don't know what you're There is no doubt that meeting him with Haruki and having all that fun by being with him and playing music compensates all his past pains and memories.. 』

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[4̲̲̅̅] Haruki Nakayama ┊中山晴樹

  Instrument : Bass ◁

                    Age : 22 ◁

                  Blood : O ◁

        Height : 178 cm ◁

         Born : 13 July ◁

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-_Bassist • ベーシスト_-          

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『 He is a bass player in the band, 22 years old, he is at the same university where Akihiko, he has a friend from one of the bands he joined before, but he currently does not communicate with her, but because of that - being a former friend of his - will happen Unlike him and Akihiko in chapter 20 manga, because she invited him at the time to join the band and become a supporter, and therefore may neglect his original band "Given"..

Haruki has a knack for dealing with others, and he is kind-hearted and tactfully and characterized by his modesty and simplicity of personality, which makes him loved by those around him and close to them - without feeling it - and Akihiko confessed to him in this matter saying "you're able to appeal to any one", for For Haruki, he is very personal in my opinion and is characterized by his interest in the thoughts of others and his consideration of their feelings. Especially his bandmates.- This will be very clear sometimes the scenes, whether in anime or manga - ..

He works in a restaurant as a waiter to get money for the band, and he's got the beauty of his long hair, which is why Akihiko's constant inconveniences won't end with this before he cuts it later. He'll tell him every time he sees his hair, "Your hair is cute!" "It's beautiful, how do you make it like this? . . " and he always sends his hair foolish, which makes Haruki confused and ashamed..

*Oh, my God, Haruki*

Before the formation of Given with Uneoyama and Akihiko, Haruki was just a Bass player and to support many bands, the situation was always constant. And he felt like a guest between those teams. Nothing new. Everything goes smoothly. And it ends and goes on. He goes from one band to another. And from here to there, until he met Akihiko on the street by accident. The look on Akihiko's face was cold and strange, Haruki looked strangely and said to himself "His eyes are cold. " ..

And when he met him by chance for the second time, he invited him to join the band, and from here. A year after the interview. Be a Given team from (Uneoyama/Haruki/Akihiko)..

Haruki was actually a fan of Akihiko, and the idea that Akihiko became in the band made him happy with reality, and the issue of fun days in the band, but it became after the arrival of Mafuyu and joined them - according to Haruki - "days really enjoyable as well, but also painful" ..

Haruki loves Akihiko but hides it from him, and with Uneoyama and Mafuyu around him and seeing their relationship with each other increases in front of him, it increases in pain.

- Because he can't do it with Akihiko -

*The person he loves*

Or he can't be bold and tell Akihiko he loves him, but. That changed later in the 20th manga class. Then the water returned to its course later in this matter in chapter 30‪..

Haruki actually didn't paint his hair for one reason, "his love for Haruki" was done to make Akihiko always around him, where Haruki said in himself one time - which he will say in the fifth episode of anime -

"I actually lengthened my hair because of you, like a lucky amulet I want to keep around me forever." Haruki's favorite musician is Japanese rock music, .., light pop music, cheerful dance music with slow tempo.. 』

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In conclusion, thank you for your good reading and I hope that my blog for today has benefited you, and I will see you in other parts soon..

#Given characters

#Part_two

#Watch _Given

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[your-brilliant-lady-m]

Part 5 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Guardians

Helloooo! Did you think I was done? No!

My PhD thesis chapters were approved last week, so have some celebratory meta. I haven't seen the latest Season 4 episodes, so do forgive me for not being up to date.

Welcome to the next part of my analysis of the basic concepts of Miraculous Ladybug. Today we are talking about Master Fu, Order of the Guardians and how little everything here makes sense. I highly recommend reading previous parts to fully understand this one, but I'll try to quote most parts of earlier posts.

Order of the Guardians

Order is an international and ancient organisation (New York Special showed us the guardian from North America and he was dressed like Su Han). Presumably, Miraculous jewels were created by these people. Guardians are responsible for the preservation of jewels and knowledge about them. They also distribute Miraculouses to worthy people around the world to combat mostly magical threats, but sometimes jewels are used against normal threats too. It's implied that Master Fu used Miraculouses during WW2 when he was in Paris. Perhaps he performed some spywork with Marianne, but the magical nature of his interferences was discovered and he was forced to flee, before returning to France many decades later.

Why does the Order need so many people to take care of a 3 Miracle Boxes? If its only purpose is to preserve knowledge, keep magical secrets and distribute Miraculous jewels then wouldn't it be more logical to have Master-Apprentice system? It's much easier to keep magic knowledge a secret and train a few people in martial arts than doing the same in the self-sufficient temple full of people, keeping in mind that a good part of them are teenagers and children, who are bad at keeping secrets. Also a single person can travel around the world much easier to give out Miraculouses. Imagine that we have a few active guardians traveling the world with Boxes. What do other people at the temple do in the meantime? They teach the next generation about the powers of each Miraculous and Mirakung Fu, but besides that?

Master-Apprentice system gives us more personal conflict between Fu and his mentor and makes his relationship with Marinette and Adrien more nuanced. In this scenario Fu accidentally caused the death of his Master at 14 because he wasn't careful. It makes sense for him to take on only 1 or 2 students if this is how things were done with Miraculous Guardians. This Wang Fu is very cautious and protective, he spent the majority of his life afraid of hurting someone else and never took an apprentice as a result. But now he is ready to try again, since he is not getting any younger and he likes these 2 kids. He wants them to succeed. Maybe Master Fu, becomes the father figure for Adrien in this situation and a guide for Marinette. Just think about it. This way writers avoid the need to develop all these extra characters (Su Han) and traditions related to the Order. All inconsistencies I mentioned before and later in this post are gone now! Hell, even memory loss and the changing of the Miracle Box shape could make more sense. We also raise the stakes post-amnesia, if it happens of course (the whole Season 3 finale didn't make sense, so stay tuned for my next meta). Marinette and Adrien are on their own now, there's no one who can give them answers. It's very fun scenario, which has potential to be brilliant. Any thoughts on that?

The existence of Order of the Guardians is not quite a secret, at least it wasn't in XIX century China. Master Fu in "Feast" says that guardianship was considered "a great honor". It implies that people who lived close to the temple of the Order knew about Miraculouses and what exactly guardians did for the greater good.

The existence of other Miracle Boxes around the world makes sense from a real-life perspective. Writers have the ability to create many stories set in the same universe and use them for merchandise and an almost unlimited amount of content. Judging by the unholy amount of specials in production, this is exactly what the creators are going to do. It probably won't go down well, but who knows?

However, it doesn't work in our main story. The main conflict is Paris-centred. Gabriel's motivations revolve around Emilie's resurrection and Season 4 gives us more reasons to suspect that Adrien's mom wasn't as wonderful as everyone says. Hawkmoth still remains the main villain of the show and most likely it's going to stay that way. There's no point in moving the main story to different places for the sake of introducing more Miracle Boxes from around the world. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't needed to fight something halfway across the world unless Hawkmoth also changes locations.

LB and CN are centrepieces of this franchise. They brought success and money to ZAG. Creators constantly need to remind the audience that this new piece of media with new characters who will never be mentioned again is connected to Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Writers have to come up with reasons to include our heroic duo into the story even if makes no sense.

New York Special had to introduce American Heroes whose names rarely come up in the fandom because people stopped caring about them or their stories shortly after the release of the Special. I barely saw any content dedicated to them. In order to bring LB and CN into the story, you have to include Hawkmoth too. Gabriel suddenly needs to get his hands on the Eagle Miraculous and goes to USA. Marinette and Adrien suddenly have a class trip to New York. Unfortunately, their presence in this story is required only to expand the world of Miraculous and attract fans of the show, so that they could keep an eye on new content related to newly introduced characters.

In the end, it's not their story. Events of the special don't affect main story of the show and the development of the love square is merely an illusion, because Adrien and Marinette are no closer than before. In season 4 LB and CN are growing apart and their test of trust in NY Special doesn't matter. Perhaps, some people don't see it that way and it's their right, but I find it hard to see NYS as a valid contribution to canon. I mean, even people in large portion of the fandom state in the tags on AO3 that "specials are not canon", "specials didn't happen" or "ignores both specials". It speaks volumes about continuity and preferences of your fandom.

Shanghai Special didn't give us more information about the Order, which is located in China, history of Miraculous jewels. We still don't know much about how Gabriel and Emilie found Peacock and Butterfly. Maybe, Marinette's family had connections to Miraculous jewels. Maybe, Adrien does some snooping and discovers research his parents made while Gabriel is away. All of these are relevant to the main story. However, we got something much different in the end.

Marinette chases Adrien across the globe and they make new friends. Fey becomes Ladydragon and now has a direct contact with Marinette through her uncle. Gabriel's desire to get his hands on the Prodigious comes out of nowhere. Apparently, he had been planning this trip for years, presumably even before Adrien was born. It probably happened at the same time as Agrestes found 2 Miraculouses. He bought bracelet-key (which is also a Miraculous apparently, but its Kwami is a Guardian of the Prodigious and they existed separately for a very long time - and let us not dwell on this mess) from some shady mafia boss, who can easily find out just who Gabriel really is (fashion designer billionaire) and use this information to blackmail him. This Special didn't answer important questions, but it gave us a new superhero character.

The real question is whether Miraculous as a project will survive long enough for writers to create content for every minor character they introduced in all specials. This is only a beginning after all.

Miraculous is not a global show and it can't be globalised in a way that makes sense, at least with Ladybug and Chat Noir in the centre of action. Case closed.

Mirakung Fu

I liked the idea of Mirakung Fu introduced in "Furious Fu". It makes sense and things rarely do in this show. Miraculous grants its holder superhuman strength, stamina, endurance and ability to fight. This means that essentially transformed heroes are guided by magic in combat. There's nothing personal in the way Miraculous holders fight. You can predict their moves and learn how to fight this magic guidance, which is what Su Han does.

However, if the holder has any special training, skills or knows any martial art in their civilian life then they become more dangerous opponents during transformation because now their fighting is a mix of magical moves and their personal knowledge, tricks and style. Therefore, Adrien and Kagami as skilful fencers have more chances of winning against someone who knows Mirakung Fu than Marinette, for example.

Memory loss

At the end of season 3, we find out several things:

apparently, now Miracle Box can change appearance to suit its guardian;

when Guardian passes down the Miracle Box to someone else, they lose memories not only about everything related to Miraculous, but also about pretty much everything in their life (Fu doesn't recognise Marianne, instead he experiences the love at first sight)

Master Fu trains Marinette to be the proper holder and next Guardian off-screen. He says that her training as the holder is complete in "Feast" and wants her to become the next Guardian. Fu told her lots of things, and yet, he never mentioned the fact that he would lose his memory after relinquishing the box, nor the fact that Marinette would lose her memory afterwards. She finds out about this from Wayzz after the battle with Miracle Queen and the letter that Master Fu gave her. That's not proper training! How on Earth do you forget to mention this memory loss? How?

Master Fu's amnesia is a convenient plot device that removes him from the narrative almost completely. That's mostly all there is to it. Why? Because it doesn't make sense.

Fu was around 7 or 8 when he started his training. The disaster at the temple happened when he was 14. He stated that his training was never complete, which means that he never passed any magical ritual, never swore an oath or was bound by some kind of spell that made him subjected to the rule of memory loss.

Miracle Boxes belonged to the order, not Fu. Their design reflected their country of origin because these Miraculous were made and kept in China. They were just standing there on the shelves not magically bound to anyone in particular. When Feast attacked, monks just tossed Wang Fu the miracle box and grimoire. No one at the temple lost their memory after Fu took the box with him (Su Han is the proof). Su Han not only remembers Fu and his mistake but everything that happened that fateful day as well. In "Furious Fu" Marinette explains Su Han that Master Fu lost his memory in the very first conversation they have. However, after Ladybug and Chat Noir fight Su Han on the roof and escape with the Miracle Box, the latter searches for Fu and attempts to take his staff from him. In this scene, Su Han acts like Fu knows very well what is going on and who he is.

Su Han should be aware of the memory loss rule as the Celestial Guardian. He remarks on the different shape of the Mother Miracle Box and calls her "incorrect", which means that Su Han should have been able to easily tell that previous Guardian lost his memory and the Miracle Box is now bound to someone else. But he doesn't say anything. Moreover, since Su Han is supposed to know about amnesia, he seemed awfully chill about forcing this 14-year-old girl in front of him to give up the box and her memories. Hell, Chat Noir wasn't on board with this. But we get zero reaction from Su Han.

During the first conversation between Marinette and Su Han, he doesn't ignore what she is trying to say, instead he actively comments on every word. Even if Su Han didn't listen when Marinette told him about Fu's memory loss, than he still should be able to understand that Fu doesn't recognise him, because of common sense and the "incorrect" shape of the box. But nothing of the sort happens. Because writers apparently forgot that "memory loss" is supposed to be known to everyone in the Order. On-screen it looks like Su Han is not aware of the "amnesia rule".

"Furious Fu" makes the concept of memory loss a plothole no matter how you look at it. Just like "Timetagger" and "Chat Blanc", as well as "Kwamibuster" this episode is not consistent within itself. It does not surprise me, however.

Grimoire and Guardian Staffs

Let's talk about the Miraculous Grimoire. Good things first.

There are no illustrations of Miraculouses in camouflage. Kwami can't read its contents, only guardians can. Certain elements are written in riddles as an additional precaution. The book contains only the information people have learned so far, which means that Miraculouses have more unexplored potential ("Mr. Pigeon 72"). It describes powers of each Miraculous, provides information about weapons, has instructions for potions that don't make sense (see previous parts).

Unfortunately, everything is about to go downhill from here.

Guardians are taught how to read the writing in this book. They can read it just like people learn to read texts in a different language. This means that one can read Grimoire like any other book (you don't need to consult some guide to decode each letter or word). Master Fu proclaimed Marinette an almost fully trained Guardian. He should have taught her how to read the Grimoire then (he doesn't know the code very well, but he knew enough to understand the general meaning and content of the book according to "Collector"). He didn't. We don't know why. He shows her powers of every Miraculous but doesn't teach her the code.

Master Fu knows that Grimoire now belongs to Gabriel Agreste. He knows that it's dangerous for someone else to have it. If they knew how to read the Grimoire, they could discover all secrets of Miraculouses and harm Ladybug, Chat Noir and other heroes. It's very important to keep the information about the code top secret because Fu is not the only one with the source material.

What does he do then? Master Fu proceeds to write a French translation of Grimoire for Marinette, a translation that he doesn't even need. He carries it with him at all times on a tablet (without any precautions) just like the Miracle box after "Feast". Naturally, it means that in "Miracle Queen", Gabriel and Nathalie easily managed to get their hands on the tablet and Miracle Box. It allows the plot to happen, sure. But it doesn't make any sense.

"Furious Fu" created another curious plot hole. It will probably be ignored, of course. Su Han has a staff with a magical compass that allows him to find any Miracle box, but not the Miraculous jewels for some reason. How does the staff work? Can it locate the box without the Miraculous? If yes, then it seems useless. What's the point in the ability to locate an empty box? If it can locate the box only with the Miraculous jewels inside, it implies that the staff can track the location of every Miraculous too. So, Su Han could just locate the Butterfly and Peacock without any problem. But he talks about reassigning Ladybug and Black Cat to adults and defeating Hawkmoth like locating the Butterfly is not possible. This situation makes the Guardian Staff a simple plot device that creates plot holes and its only purpose is to explain how Su Han found Marinette.

Also, I have a few more words to say about this. Master Fu had a Guardian Staff that was never mentioned before. I wonder why? That's because the staff didn't exist before "Furious Fu" was written. Writers just went: "Do you know what would be cool? If Fu's cane was really a secret Guardian Staff with a compass all along that he decided to keep even after he lost his memory? It would make people wonder whether Master Fu is faking amnesia, and everyone will definitely call him an awful mentor after this even though we kind of tried to make him a good and responsible person."

Fu didn't give it to Marinette and didn't mention it to her. Why? When he gave up his memory, he should have written about this in his letter at least. Why did he decide to keep it? He can't use it anyway now.

Please note how in the flashbacks Fu didn't take any staff with him when he escaped the temple. Su Han seemed to know how Fu's staff looked like. It means that Master Fu didn't make this staff himself, because it belonged to the Order.

Su Han wasn't even surprised that Marinette didn't have the staff as the current Guardian. Was she not supposed to have it? He never questioned the fact that the former Guardian without memories has the staff. Su Han actually returns this staff to Fu after he is deakumatized and Fu acts like they have never met before. Why did Su Han gave the staff back when he knows what it is and to whom it should belong (to him or to Marinette as the current Guardian)? The staff is useless in the hands of the civilian. Does Marianne know about its secret? We'll probably never find out, unfortunately.

Guardian Staff of Master Fu has a compass too and therefore this also makes it a plot device, just like Su Han's staff.