#every time i see official art of her in her outfit she wore at the end when she leaves ohtori it makes me so happy. smiles | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miekasa · 3 years

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mie!! i’m so late to the party but i absolutely loved ‘NICE’, it made me feel so warm and fuzzy <33 it’s so unique to its own and the flow of it is beyond wonderful!

what is married life like for oc and eren in ‘NICE’? is it just like before/do you have any nice!husband!eren headcanons?

AHH I’m so happy you liked it and that you took the time to come and tell me!! Married life for them... doesn’t really differ from what their lives looked like before actually hehe. They were basically married without knowing it 🙄🙄 idiots to lovers or something like that; but here are a few head canons of the months immediately following NICE!

You officially got married in Paris on the fourth, not too long after Carla’s wedding. You guys flew in some officials, checked through all the technicalities, and signed the papers right on top of the Eiffel Tower (access granted by the city of Paris upon request of one Carla Jaeger, of course).

Aside from having the most picturesque location in the world to sign your marriage certificate, there wasn’t anything lavish in celebration after that. Carla’s wedding was just three days earlier, after all, and was still the talk of the local press. You did have a small party with your friends (Jean, Armin, Mikasa, Marco, Erwin, Levi, Hange came from the Alps for Carla’s wedding) in your overly large hotel room. Just some music, room service, and lots and lots of champagne.

Eren extended your winter break vacation by two weeks for an impromptu honeymoon to the Bahamas before you went home. Let’s just say you did not leave the safe haven of your hotel room very often, except to dip into the ocean a few nights (benefits of a private beach).

After getting married, the rings swapped places; the band with diamonds previously on your pointer finger was put on a chain (a new one since Eren threw the other one on the ground 💀), and you now wear the engagement ring on your ring finger.

Eren doesn’t like it when you take off the ring (the ring being the engagement ring). The first time you were going into the water, you were going to put it on the chain for safekeeping, but he protested very strongly. He would rather it rest safely in your suitcase than go around your neck again.

Your wedding bands are actually very similar to the band you already have: gold and diamond encrusted. Eren’s, however, has an emerald in the center, like the two emeralds that serve as the pistils of the sunflowers in your engagement ring (for reference, that ring looks something like this, but with a gold band). The bands were the first thing Eren bought when you guys got home.

Your friends in Dubai (Ymir, Reiner, Annie, Connie, Sasha) had no idea that you and Eren got married over winter break. Safe to say they were all… very surprised to hear the news. Connie was a little bit bitter because he missed it, and wolf whistles every time he sees your ring (even though he’s seen it before because you wore it on the necklace every day).

You got married in January, but have an official wedding in the process of being planned sometime around late summer/early fall. Carla insisted that you guys have a wedding despite already being married, and Eren agreed whole heartedly. They are both very into planning it, and yes, Eren is somewhat of a bridezilla, and his mom is enabling him 100% please.

The night you signed the wedding papers, Carla lent you an off-white satin couture gown from one of her past collections. She is designing and making your official wedding dress by hand, with the help of Mikasa.

The two of them are also making Eren’s suit, and all the outfits for your wedding party. Carla will murder you if you even so much as hint at just buying other suits/dresses. This is her baby’s wedding, and she runs one of the most renowned fashion houses of the modern century; she’ll be damned if you guys wear something off the rack.

You considered a destination wedding, but settled on having it in New York. You haven’t decided a location yet, and it’s the one thing Eren isn’t actually picky about (because you know he’s gonna go ham on the decor no matter where it is bye).

Jean doesn’t know it yet, but he’s your maid of honor. Good luck and best of wishes to Eren picking between Mikasa and Armin for best man.

Even before confessing and getting married, Eren never slept much in his own bedroom. You both have California king sized beds in your rooms, and more often than not, Eren would sleep with you in your bed. You didn’t always cuddle, but he just liked to be there (for your presence, and because he was grossly in love bye)… you ended up cuddling a lot of the time tho.

He wants to renovate your apartment now that you both “officially” live in the same bedroom, even though it’s not necessary. He just likes renovating things.

You guys go to dinner every weekend, and sometimes you even go dancing. Eren still can’t dance and he doesn’t actually care to learn; it just reminds him of being in Nice with you.

He kisses your ring finger every morning waking up and every night before going to bed; sometimes he even does it subconsciously in his sleep.

He holds your hand way more often. Not just because you guys are together now, but because he likes seeing the ring where it’s meant to be. He also notices that it helps to curb your anxiety, which is a good bonus.

Eren wants kids, but he hasn’t really brought it up yet. He knows you both are fairly young, and that you’re still technically in school, but that’s not really a deterrent for him.

The only reason he’s waiting to say something is because you guys have a lot going on with wedding planning and settling in to “married life”—there’s a lot of tedious paperwork to be done and documents to update. He’ll bring it up next year when all that is settled.

On the subject of school, you are still attending university, but have been eligible for graduation for a year now. You had enough credits to graduate last (the year before NICE) December, but there were a few more classes you wanted to take out of interest that hadn’t been running in past years, so you stayed for all four years. Eren picks you up from your lectures.

Eren graduated in December before you guys went on vacation. By normal standards, that’s a semester early. However, he was supposed to be in this Honors Arts and Sciences program, that should have taken him another two semesters. He decided it wasn’t worth it, and dropped the honors part, and with that, had enough credits to graduate, so he did.

A college degree is really more of an accessory for him anyway, and school was never his thing. He’s decently smart, sure, but he never enjoyed school because of the emphasis on exams; he’s more of a creative person, a dreamer if you will. The only reason he even went to Columbia was because you decided to go there.

He and you both have enough money to live more than comfortably if neither of you decided to get a job after graduation… way more than enough/ But Eren isn’t doing nothing; he’s actually sorta been working his way into the world of professional interior design, and he really loves it. You’re proud of him, and more than anything, happy that he decided to go for something he loves.

Armin and Jean also graduated a semester early. Armin’s been living with Mikasa since Connie got his own place off-campus in January. Jean is a little upset blondie is living with his girlfriend before he is, but it’s whatever 🙄if it’s gonna be anyone, at least it’s Armin.

Carla mentioned that Eren got married sometime during a NYFW interview (along with talking about her own recent marriage), and since then you both have interviewed for two magazines, one of which featured pictures from your smaller party in Paris. You’ve gotten requests from Vanity Fair and Vogue about your bigger wedding later in the year, but you guys haven’t invited any media officials as of yet.

You and Eren attend the MET Gala almost every year. You don’t walk the red carpet and nobody is scrambling to take your pictures; but you have passes because of Carla. Also, you could just buy your way in if you wanted you (and your friends have in the past). This year, Eren had to pay two security officers $10k in bribes because you two snuck away to fuck in… a part of the museum not sectioned off for the event. Whoopsies.

Even before Eren got him arrested, going out to brunch was kind of your and Armin’s thing. Eren insists he should be invited now that he’s your husband. He is not. (His bitterness grows when he learns that Jean has secured himself an invite somehow).

Eren sold the car he got arrested for drag racing in. He never told you why—and as far as transportation goes, it wasn’t a big deal because you guys have other cars—but, to him, it was a kind of symbol. He thinks it’s dumb if he thinks too long about it, but he just didn’t wanna have that there are a reminder of how he’d hurt you and his mom.

Jean still drives you to your therapy appointments, but now Eren picks you up. Eren also goes to therapy himself, and has been before you guys got married; his therapist says he’s undoubtedly happier in recent sessions… like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulder.

As far as drugs go, there’s, of course, weed on a happy occasion, or at a party; but he hasn’t touched coke since that one time (which was also the first time he’d ever done it). That’s not even him being a changed man, he just didn’t like it—he only argued with you about it because he was being stubborn. He’s more of a drinker than anything, and absolutely loves to get you drunk on a special occasion, too; he always has. He thinks you look cute, and he likes taking care of you.

You have lived in that apartment with Eren for years before marrying him, yet he insisted you needed to christen the place like it was brand new… at this point, the only places you haven’t fucked in are the elevator itself, the foyer, the storage closet, and the pool. The latter only because it’s been too cold in NYC… trust and believe pool sex is coming lmfao.

Eren bought the apartment and renovated and designed it, but he never did like being in it all alone, and that’s been magnified since you got married. If he’s there by himself, he’s usually in the living area, napping on the daybed. He waits for your faithfully every day, and is hardly in the bedroom if you’re not.

Eren has not stopped introducing you as his wife since January. Even to people in passing like cashiers and bartenders, everyone in the whole damn city probably knows you guys got hitched.

#anonymous #oh i forgot how much i love this couple eren's so baby :((((( he loves her SO much its unberable #its A MIRACLE they didnt get together sooner #yes theyre only 21 in the fic but he was literally ready at 19 god i love him i love him i love himmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm #fic.ask #eren x reader

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princesscatherinemiddleton · 3 years

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Duchess of Cambridge - 2021 Statistics (FULL YEAR)

In 2021, the Duchess of Cambridge completed (by my count) 115 engagements, around 14 less than the amount of engagements she completed by my count in 2020 and 17 less than 2019. As well as this, she was sighted (or appeared) 12 times and appeared in a whopping 27 official (or unofficial and leaked!) photographs.

She gained and lost a number of patronages through the year and finished with 21 patronages. Of her 115 engagements, 74 were related to one of her patronages, averaging at one patronage visit every 1.55 engagements. Her most visited patronage was, of course, the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (formerly, the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex), with 44 visits. This was followed by the Lawn Tennis Association (with 5 visits). She performed no engagements on behalf of Action for Children, EACH, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Family Action, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, SportsAid or the 1851 Trust.

Of her engagements, 62 have been solo and 43 accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Cambridge. One was also with Prince George, seven with the whole (or most of) the working British Royal Family, and two with one other solo royal (the Duke of Kent).

Nearly all of the engagements physically took place in England, with every engagement physically occuring in the British Isles. Unlike last year, I made a specific “virtual” category for phone or video calls - although as the year went on, the Court Circular became less accurate with confirming if an engagement was in person or not. 95 of the engagements took place in England, with 32 of those occuring in London and 50 being virtual. Catherine also performed engagements in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Catherine also undertook an official royal visit to Scotland.

During the year, she performed engagements on a variety of themes. 32 of those engagements were predominantly related to her Early Years initiative, while 13 were linked to mental health and 11 linked to Covid-19. 10 engagements were on the theme of culture, while she also completed 8 engagements linked to sport, 7 linked to the military, 5 linked to the outdoors, 4 linked to children and childcare, 4 which were diplomatic in nature, 2 linked to the arts, and 1 linked to the Commonwealth. Catherine also completed 18 engagements which could not otherwise be categorised.

Clotheswise, her most worn designer has been Zara, with 10 outfits, followed by 8 outfits from Alexander McQueen, while 14 items of clothing were unidentified. These were also the most worn designers from 2020. In a year where few bags were seen, her most carried bag designers were Mulberry and Metier London (3), followed by DeMellier London, Emmy London, Jaeger, and Joseph on 2. Mulberry was her most carried bag designer in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Her most worn shoe designer was Emmy London (for the first time) with 11 pairs worn, followed by 6 pairs from Gianvito Rossi, 5 pairs from See by Chloe, and 4 pairs from Jimmy Choo. Once again, Catherine’s most worn jewellery designer was not Kiki McDonough (although she wore Kiki McDonough 7 times this year!). Instead, her most worn jewellery designer was Daniella Draper, with 12 wears, followed by Orelia London with 10 wears and Kiki McDonough (and unidentifed items) with 7 wears apiece. When it comes to accessories, her face masks from Amaia Kids are her most worn item, with 19 wears. She had 4 unidentified pieces, while she wore her Anderson’s belt 8 times. According to my (100% wrong) calculations - created from my own criteria, she wore £31,982.67 worth of new clothes this year (I DON’T KNOW HOW MY CALCULATIONS HAVE GONE SO WRONG PLEASE HELP), and £158,171.01 worth of clothes in total.

#mine #kate #yearreview #statistics

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xenoblademisadventures · 2 years

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For fun, Imma give a quick review of all of Melia’s Character Designs

I’ll do Nia next, but I want to talk about her armor sets in 1.

Melia (Xenoblade 1)

Not going to lie, this design is one of the weaker base character designs amongst the main party in 1. This really doesn’t reflect Melia’s character even slightly and it has nothing in common with High Entian fashion.

Even if we take this to be an outfit that Melia wore solely for the purposes of her mission in Makna, this is not an outfit suitable for humid weather (I suppose the armpit window at least lets her vent out sweat there, but the head piece and gloves are a terrible idea for a sweaty climate. Tho, really assessing the practical application of an outfit in this series is pointless because practicality is, at best, barely considered (given the prevalence of characters doing acrobatics in high heels and wearing scarfs or loose clothes into combat).

From what I can guess, this is meant to be Melia wearing homs fashion, so it’s a bit odd that this is her main character design. Also, this really doesn’t have much in common with Homs fashion. Really the only shared traits is that this outfit uses primarily cloth, opposed to the metal that is more typical for High Entia. If I were to fit this outfit into 1′s universe, I’d say that it was made by Nopon living in Alcamoth who’ve seen Homs Colonies before.

My actual issue with this design is that it conveys “anime girl” more than it conveys anything about Melia. Also, with the infinity sign being the symbol of Moebius in Xenoblade 3, it being present on her character design in 1 really hasn’t aged well. This is overall, definitely Melia’s weakest design (that is given official art, technically her armor sets in 1 can always get worse than this). Even taking this design out of the context of it being Melia, the design is kinda bland. The most interesting part of this is the sleeves, mostly because I still don’t really understand how they are supposed to work.

Melia Armor Sets (Xenoblade 1)

I think something similar to this design would work better as a base design for Melia. Obviously there are issues like the stupid boob window and it not particularly matching fashion senses. Also the neck piece looks like a caste. But this outfit looks a lot more adventurous than her base design due to having a lot more sharp edges. Her boots also look slightly more armored and usable. Her regular shoes are heels, which is like No Wonder she falls on her ass every time she starlight kicks. These shoes look like they wouldn’t be ruined by stepping in some mud. I wouldn’t consider this to be a perfect Melia design by any means, but it would be a better alternative to the design they chose in 1.

For some reason the Xenoblade series just repeatedly blows their swimsuit designs out of the water. I don’t understand how this keeps happening. Normally swimsuit designs are literally just there for fanservice, but then Xenoblade just personalizes the swimsuits so much for the characters. Technically this is underwear and not the swimsuit design, but it’s still a swimsuit, fight me.

Anyways, I like how Melia just has a designer swimsuit. Like, that swimsuit says “I am royalty.” Not in a sexy way either, it just says it. Also I think its funny that Melia’s slippers in this outfit have high heels. Like, this is just a really well done swimsuit design for the character, I can’t really imagine someone designing a better one.

Which tbf, they really don’t in definitive edition. Like, this swimsuit is okay, but it’s definitely leaning more on the side of being fanservice than really being about the character. I do still like how extra it is for a swimsuit. I particularly mean the shoes. Like, that is so much for a swimsuit. Still, this outfit is definitely just meant to be a silly fanservice outfit and personally, I think that’s okay.

I do believe that the Eryth Armor is the best armor set in Xenoblade 1 in general. That’s because a lot of the armor sets look like abstract art and I don’t really see how they reflect the locations that they are found in. The Eryth set is the exception, where it’s associated with Eryth Sea and heavily follows High Entian fashion. This set for Melia is as overdesigned in a lot of spots (which is a common issue with character designs and armor sets in this series). But it’s definitely my favorite armor set on her in 1. I also believe that this armor set should have been an official design for her. She actually looks like the Empress of a mythical scifi people. It also alludes to the Fate of the High Entia with its glowing bits, in the same was that a lot of High Entian NPC outfits do.

The outfit itself has a very good silhouette. The shoulders also give her a balanced regal feel. Because they are lasers(?), it makes the most emphasized and royal looking part of her design also look rather soft, which I think fits perfectly for the character. She’s wearing a lot of decorative armor too with some clothe mixed in. This isn’t an outfit one would wear into combat, but it is one of a commanding queen.

My one major complaint about this set is that I don’t really like how her back is completely exposed. It just takes away from the commanding presence that rest of the armor portrays. I don’t really mind that the sides of her waist and shoulder plates are visible, but I think something covering up her spine would be enough. The outfit makes emphasizes an hour-glass shape with the torso and the waste both making the shape of triangles with the tips touching. That shape is taken away from in the back because of the amount of exposed skin and it weakens the outfit by a lot from that angle.

This outfit just looks a bit awkward in detail, but I I don’t mind the premise of it. This gives me the vibes of Colony 6 specifically and this outfit definitely gets across the idea of a High Entia replicating Homs fashion. The boots in particular look very similar to the boots and pants used in Homs military attire but Melia’s version is noticeably more ornate. The same goes for her gloves and arm piece. I also just really like her hat. It’s got the same goggles that Sharla has with what looks like a piece meant to protect her wings from being blown back by strong winds (Colony 6′s outfits give me the impression that the region is quite windy). I also like this silhouette. It’s more modest than the silhouettes of Melia’s other attire, which reflects that the homs are a modest people than the High Entia, but her silhouette is still more noticeably flamboyant than that of homs. So in the broadest strokes, I really like this outfit.

But I do keep saying “broadest strokes.” That’s because once look at the details for even a second, the design is kinda just lost on me. Her boob window looks like a penis. The part of her pants around her crotch look like they’re giving her a giant wedgy. Her ass is so fucking tight, what the hell? Her shirt is also clearly layered over her pants by a decent amount but there’s still somehow a bellybutton indent? Basically, the design was almost good, but its attempts at fanservice really do just distract me too much for me to ever be able to take the outfit seriously. And I’m not saying this in a “fanservice bad” way, just that the way its executed here just makes the outfit look really uncomfortable and the boob window just has a very unfortunate shape that I will never unsee.

The Makna Armor in Xenoblade 1 is racistly designed. It’s probably the second least bad on Melia (Riki’s literally just wearing a fursuit, what can I say?). Really the only positive I can say about this armor set is that it’s consistent and doesn’t resemble abstract art. In Melia’s case, I do really like the headset. The flowers on her head are just really pretty. But yeah, I really don’t have much to say about this one.

Going to be completely honest, this is my first time seeing this armor. I can’t really tell what’s going on here. This looks like Melia is cosplaying as a sexy mech. I don’t hate this, but it is a bit visually confusing. Where are the ass spikes coming from? What’s on her back? What’s going on with her sleeves? Why do they cover her elbows and nothing else. Why does she have this random white bit attached to her leggings that appears nowhere else in the design? I’m mostly just having trouble parsing the design, much less giving an opinion on it.

Melia Armor sets (redesigns)

DE redesigned some of the abstract art looking armor. So I’m going to make some comparisons.

Going to be honest, this was my least favorite Melia Armor set from the original game. She looks like she’s in a sexy queen outfit rather than being a queen. But after seeing redesign, I will say that at least this outfit embraces how ridiculous it looks. Like, I hate this outfit on Melia because it feels like self-parody, but, like, at least it’s so much.

I gotta list everything upsetting here, just to lay out how dumb this design looks. First off all, the fucking Burger King crown. Why do her gauntlets get wider than her fucking cloth pauldrons only to immediately go back to being a reasonable distance from her arms with no transition? Why do her shoes have a fucking ring sticking out of them? She has anime leggings but those leggings are also heavily armored, so fuck protecting her thigh IG. The skirt is just so wi d e and spikey, wth? The boob window looks particularly stupid because every other part of her armor is jutting out way further than it should be, especially around that area. Somehow her boobs also looked bigger to me in this armor set.

This armor definitely gives off the vibes of a gacha waifu.

The remake tries to fix this by making her more extreme elements less extreme, but she still looks just as dumb and this only emphasizes how stupid her shoes look as the frivols were taken out leaving only heavily armored bits that are harshly cut off by skin, which somehow resulted in this static image giving me whiplash. Also, the one thing I can appreciate about the original design, how gloriously stupid it is, got toned down. It’s still very dumb, but this redesign just doesn’t look dumb enough for me bask in it while also providing nothing of value to me (I really don’t value sex appeal in character designs one way or another, I just complain about it in 2 a lot since so many character designs get very obviously compromised for it). But yeah, this character design still sucks, the only thing that the redesign changed was that it made the armor set look way more boring.

I will say this for both of the mechon armor sets, but what the hell is this? I don’t think there’s even a place to begin here. Uh, her headpiece is the only part that looks vaguely reasonable? Why does she have hooves? Is she wearing spandex under that? Is she wearing metal underwear? Why does the metal covering her ass have an ass crack? What are those pauldrons? Her collar looks like it should attach to more metal bits but it just doesn’t. How are her knees supposed to fit into that? Does she have fuel tanks attached to her thighs? How does she move her arms? Why does her chest piece resemble a fishing net being held up by claws? How does one go about putting this on? or taking it off? Her inner thighs are also just highlighted by the aggressively orange spandex.

Somehow the remake managed to make this armor even worse. How even? This looks like a gacha waifu. While the original I’m like “this is not a readable character design” with this one I can tell what’s going on and I’d rather not. First of all, this design still looks very dumb. But it now reads less like the character designers were high and more like they were horny. Basically the reason why I prefer the other design even though I’ll drag them both for being terrible is that the first design makes me go “wtf lmao” while this design makes me feel cheated. Like, it feels like I could have gotten a cool mechon-themed Melia armor but the character designers wanted to make me horny instead. And they failed. Mostly because I need a character design to be good before I can think about it being sexy. This design also looks like if Melia somehow got a shitty valentines day skin.

The one thing I prefer over the original is that the sleeves look better. I also feel like this doesn’t have to be said, but I’ll say it anyways. I don’t like that the remake changed the armor color as this armor no longer resembles the mechon even a little, which was, like, the one thing I unironically liked about the original.

Once again, I ask, what the shit is this? I feel like this design really speaks for itself, but like with the Sexy Burger Queen outfit, I wish to drag it through the mud. The one nice thing I have to say about this is that she looks like a Machina.

Where are her wings? Why does the metal have an indent for her hair buns? Especially with nothing for her wings? Why does she have tubes coming out of her ass? Maybe this is different in DE, but in 1 those tubes don’t bend or anything, they’re just there. Why does she have pointy leprechaun shoes? How are there still boob highlights? This is metal plating. Why does she have bracelets that are each individually twice the size of her face? Somehow, her ankle bracelets are very obviously clipping into each other during her idle animation. Why does the top of her boots have spikes? Do her gloves have fucking claws? Her face popping out of there just looks very funny. Also keep in mind that 1 didn’t have fashion gear, so optimal Melia could just look like having the dumbest parts of this set combined with more reasonable looking clothing, which just really pulls the whole thing together.

This design is utter shit and I frankly love it.

Well, now she looks like a robot catgirl. Wonderful.

This design is still so far removed from reasonability, but I think I love it as equally as the original because, like, what the hell? Her pants now look like mens underwear, except they’re made of metal. Her wings are still gone randomly? But now she has cat ears. The ass wires remain. That’s an aggressive shade of orange that she’s in. There is more sex appeal, but I don’t really mind because I’m still too confused to feel cheated. Also what’s going on with that thing on her ass? Overall, this looks nothing like Melia. It looks like a sexy anime cat girl power ranger.

Future Connected

As an actual Melia design, this is a decent compromise between looking regal and looking approachable. I still have some major problems here. First of all, this really doesn’t match any aesthetic on Bionis/Mechonis. That issue is more offensive with Shulk’s FC design, but it’s present here as well, so I wanted to bring it up. I also don’t like the hip pads or silhouette. It just looks awkward and isn’t going anywhere. This is still an improvement over her character design in Xenoblade 1, but I’d consider this design to be passable at best. Also, I don’t believe Melia’s Monado staff ever gets properly explained. Like, it’s clearly a combination between the Monado, the Machina technology, and the high entian fashion, which closely resembles the floating wings on Telethia. So her staff in a vacuum is quite cool, but without a proper explanation for why she has Monado fangear, I can’t really praise her weapon’s design.

Queen of Keves, Xenoblade 3

This design is very imposing. I like the use of her mask. Really when I saw this is was mostly just relieved that 3 appeared to have actual character designs. But looking at this image separate from that, this design is fine. It gets across the point of “evil queen” without straying too far away from being obviously Melia. There just isn’t High Entian fashion here, but that actually works fine for the context of this design. It has some references to Melia’s previous designs too. Most obviously the mask, but bra also resembles the bra in FC.

Hero Design, Xenoblade 3

This design feels the most like Melia. She feels both regal and like a normal person, which is what her character designs most need to convey. This design also doesn’t feel out of character for the setting. This feels like “Melia but an adult.” If I could give one complaint to the design, I wish she had a more interesting hairstyle. While she maintains her iconic curls, the rest of her hair is pretty generic. It’s the same hairstyle as M and N, which I don’t think is the connection I’m supposed to draw. I think the idea was instead for Melia to go from short hair to long hair to mirror how Nia goes from long hair to short hair, but that idea is muddied both by the generic hair issue and by Nia having both short and long hair in 2. But, besides the complaint on hair, this really is Melia’s best character design so far.

#melia #xenoblade chronicles #xenoblade chronicles 3 #character design analysis

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magireco · 3 years

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out of curiosity what do you think of the characterization of homura in rebellion? i hugely dislike it but get the impression you enjoy it which i think is interesting cuz we seem to have very similar thoughts on homura pre-rebellion (CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG)

THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON WHAT FLAVOR OF REBELLION HOMURA YOU MEAN. i really really like the way she was done in the first half of the movie but as for the twist at the end...? mmm...

...okay, so... i've been thinking about saying this at some point but i keep avoiding it in fear of causing discourse and such bc... this is a really unpopular opinion apparently, but I really do not think devil homura was done properly. read under the cut if you wanna know why i feel this way!

the first issue i'm going to address is that there wasn't NEARLY enough buildup for it. i'm going to explain this from the perspective of a first-time viewer: what would you have thought would happen after the very last scene of rebellion leading up to them breaking homura out of her soul gem? when homulilly got purified and the flowers on her head turned to sakura flowers (y'know, the flowers that symbolize life and rebirth, homura being reborn from her witch)? did you think homura was suddenly gonna undermine madoka's godliness? because, uh, first-view me did not think that at all. and neither did almost anyone i know who watched it for the first time. not only is that poor setup but it's just so sudden and it feels so out of character compared to what we'd seen in the entire series as a whole, especially considering that the entire last part of the movie leading up until that was about purifying her... and saving her... there wasn't enough buildup. most people are like "but the flower scene happened!" but that's still way too vague...? it's hard to tell what conclusion homura comes to at the end, because we don't get to see any of her internal monologue... there is no other buildup after the flower scene... it just skips to homura realizing she's a witch. wouldn't that bring the viewer to think the flower scene was something that made homura realize she was a witch rather than her suddenly starting to form her plan? it always felt like to me the conclusion homura came to at the end of the flower scene was that she was validating madoka's bravery and telling her that if it ever came to that, she'd have the ability to make that hard decision. which is... so... weird? because i always interpreted that as homura coming to terms with what happened? i could just be interpreting it wrong though, but isn't that supposed to be our proof scene? our buildup scene? why would they make it so hard to understand? we need to know such important buildup points just as blatantly as the natural buildup to homura becoming a witch was. that's just from a moviemaking & writing perspective though.

secondly, i'm gonna discuss homura's motive. i actually ended up understanding were she was coming from after a while of being like "what the hell that makes zero sense!!!!". madoka is a 14-year-old girl who, in order to save the fate of every magical girl, literally had to sacrifice herself and erase herself from the world, and in the end, madoka just ended up saving homura again, and that must've made homura feel like her promise with madoka was never fulfilled. it's unfair what happened when you think about it and the law of cycles should not have been run by madoka herself because she, as any other 14 year old, deserves to be happy on earth. although it was said in magireco that madoka felt happy with what she was doing (and she felt like it truly gave her a purpose), she did admit to feeling lonely and homura probably made that assumption big time. but the way the writers went about it just made her seem so sinister... so out-of-character-ly sinister. what with the evil smirking and the deepened, almost... uh, sensual-seeming voice, and homura completely ignoring madoka's fear. it feels like they twisted her character extremely suddenly and it throws the viewer on a loop. they could've gone with that ending without making such drastic and sudden changes to homura's character, and if they were planning on doing that, why did they not give us more buildup? buildup that wasn't extremely cryptic that you have to scan and search every detail to get a clue? something i love about rebellion is that every time you watch you find something new, but how come some of the only clues illuding to devil homura's existence are in the op? it's odd. why didn't they go with something like making the incubators run the law of cycles? they were the ones at fault for causing it to be created. but honestly, the incubators cannot be trusted with anything, which is why it'd make sense for a magical girl to run the law of cycles, but if homura and madoka had the combined power to do so, what if they just remade the law of cycles so it was less unfair to madoka...? i don't know. either of those possibilites would make more sense than what happened.

something else that kind of irks me about it is that they demonized(literally, lol) homura's love for madoka. homura is very much a canon lesbian, and it's incredibly discomforting to me that they made her seem, outwardly to the viewer, so selfish...? please don't get me wrong, i'm not ACTUALLY calling homura selfish -- i know the entire akumura facade is a mask she put on, but like, it's so much more blatantly sinister than she is in the series when she's putting on the coolmura facade. it's going to really confuse the viewer and see every single one of her actions from the entire series in a completely different light, INCLUDING stuff that happened in rebellion itself. like the genuine sadness homura felt, the way we saw into her soul and felt her pain, that genuinely made a lot of people i've seen think that it was ingenuine upon first inspection... they made homura turn "evil" out of her love for madoka, as if it's a bad thing to fall in love, and as if love for another girl was what corrupted her soul gem... i understand that gen urobuchi probably wanted to explore that kind of path where love leads to obsession or whatever, but homura was selfless to a fault, constantly trying to force herself away from the others in order to not get attached, and deeply afraid of seeming creepy and predatory and scaring(she said this herself), which is exactly what she ends up doing at the end, and i feel so awful that they did that to her... how is the viewer supposed to know what her true motives are at that point? it gets all scrambled up after they did that huge plot twist. i'm going to address another thing super quick before people jump in my ask box over this, i understand also that it would make sense for homura to be obsessed with madoka, but in the series, it was never shown in this light, and like i said, if they were going to do this, why'd they even have the purification scene at the end at all? the buildup is all wrong . it also just made me upset that this ending caused SO many people to start literally believing homura is evil because of her actions at the end, and it made people become even more vehement on their beliefs that homura is obsessive and ps*cho...

i was really confused when i watched it for the first time (and also sobbing hysterically, literally, my funniest rebellion story as someone who has genuinely watched the movie 40-ish times, i remember vividly the first time i watched it i started sobbing on my hands and knees on a yoga mat in my mom's room). also like, just to prove my point a teensy bit more, the ending was so ambiguous and out of nowhere that one of the first google results to "madoka magica rebellion" is "madoka magica rebellion ending explained" because it shocked people so much that that was the first thing they needed to google. also, the fact they left us on such a vague cliffhanger and then abandoned the movie series for a total of 8 whole years only to make a sudden comeback in god's holy year of 2021 was almost cruel. LIKE GUYS I JUST FINISHED UP MY DEVIL HOMURA HEADCANONS IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!!

...anyways, um, i really have to address the sexualization. madoka magica, previously, was a series that avoided fanservice in the show, at least, but why did they make akumura's design look like that...? it shows an unsettling amount of skin and like, every three seconds in the end they're focusing intensely on her lips and her eyes and... it's almost like the writers forgot she was 14, but they never seemed to forget that in the series? what happened????? in the transformation scene, we get closeup views of homura's thighs and back and stuff and it's all open everywhere... they made her tights into thigh-highs... in the whole series, even when she went to school, she always wore tights, and she was wearing tights in her magical girl outfit too... they absolutely deliberately did that to sexualize her further so they could make official art with her thighs out. speaking of official art that unsettles me, why does so much of the official art make the whole outfit just glued to her body and you can see all the shading on her features... it's just. ugh. anyways.

i went off a LITTLE too much on this and i know this is probably gonna get me some weird glances in the fandom and i am open to hearing other people's opinions but i don't think i'll ever stop disliking the effect this plot twist had on the fandom's interpretation of homura and although i'm like UNDENIABLY incredibly hyper excited for the next movie, i'm kind of...nervous for what this is going to bring? i don't want this next movie to cause the same amount of discourse the ending of rebellion did and i legit just want to see homura happy. another one of my main issues with the ending is just that homura is SO unhappy when she literally deserves to be happy SOOOOOOO BAD and just take a break from all the loops ... i'm Praying to madokami out there that that's what happens.

i know this is all really funny coming from someone who draws devil homura on a regular basis and literally writes her, but like... i'm a lesbian i'm allowed to<3

ANYWAYS thanks for listening this was a fun ask!!!

#asks #neorattz #rambles #analysis #rebellion tag #IM DEADASS AFRAID TO DROP THIS #like... something i was too afraid to mention is that i Have unlisted disorders that are heavily stigmatized #and the reason why they are unlisted is literally bc of that #and i feel like i'm allowed to have a negative stance on this kind of thing because of that #not that someone who doesn't have those things isn't allowed to have these opinions OR opposing opinions but like #i've seen some people choose to cope through devil homura which like.#i get that.#and then i've seen other people use devil homura as an example on why homura is an obsessed psycho girl who only loves madoka #and hates everyone else #which is also partially where my issue stems from.#it's complicated. just like the ending of rebellion!!!!! LOLL

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coupsnim · 3 years

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Here’s another ask game for caratblr! Assign your moots as seventeen comeback aesthetics (can include solos, OSTs, collabs, Japanese comebacks, etc) and say why you associate them with that aesthetic! Some can overlap too!

this was harder and took me way more than expected ahah I decided to go through svt mvs and see if they reminded me of my mutuals, but there are a few songs that I couldn’t associate with anyone so I left them out 🙈

🌼 adore u ~ chey @soonhoonsol ↳ chey is one of the first people that I followed (and probably my first mutual) but this is not the only reason why I associate her with adore u. the song is fun and has a youthful vibe, which reminds me of her, but in the mv we also see a lot of scenes that are not linked to one another and that made me think of chey’s various interests and groups she likes ahah and of course adore u has a special place in every carat’s heart and so does chey (at least here on tumblr ahah)

🌼 mansae ~ cora @ohoshi ↳ I haven’t followed cora for a very long time, but as soon as I watched mansae I thought of her. mansae has the same youthful vibe as adore u but it’s also very energetic and when it hits the chorus it puts you automatically in a good mood, and this is what happens everytime I see cora’s tags under my posts. also her creations are always colourful just like the mv and the members’ hair for this comeback ahah

🌼 pretty u ~ lyns @kyeomshine ↳ I think lyns’ style fits pretty u the best. the mv is fun but it also has a romantic vibe, like one of those coming-of-age movies, which reminds me so much of her creations. moreover, they applied a sepia tone to the mv and whenever I think of sepia I think of lyns ahah

🌼 love letter ~ lee @uriboogyu ↳ love letter is a cute and fun mv, with bright and pastel colours, so when I watched it my mind went straight to the cutest person I follow. and that person is lee. she works so hard to bring new content and to engage with other people as well, her whole blog is like a love letter to svt.

🌼 very nice ~ yza @jonghan ↳ I think aju nice reflects a lot of my mutuals’ vibe, but when I watched the mv I immediately thought of yza. it’s just her and her 13 biases ahah (I know she says she has a bias line but no one actually believes her). the colours in the mv are bright and a bit more saturated compared to previous mvs, which reminds me of her gifs, and the song is fun and upbeat, just like her personality. I think yza fits perfectly with aju nice.

🌼 healing ~ mirelle @leechaerok ↳ to be honest, I don’t need to watch the mv to associate this song to mirelle. she is just such a nice presence on my dash, I’m happy to see her even when she doesn’t post about seventeen. what I like about her is her positivite attitude, her optimism, and the fact that she always has a nice word for everyone. every time I see one of her posts, I immediately feel at ease.

🌼 boomboom ~ emily @iiasha ↳ there are two main reasons why I thought of emily while watching boomboom: jun looks amazing and there’s a lot of technology involved ahah also the video starts out mysterious but then turns out to be funny and a bit silly (and super cool if we include the choreography) and I think this describes exactly how I see emily ahah

🌼 don’t wanna cry ~ carrie @art-hao ↳ don’t wanna cry is one of my favourite mv and I think it matches perfectly with carrie’s style. it’s simple but impactful, and the colour palette and colour grading are gorgeous and well thought in every scene, just like every single creation carrie has posted on tumblr.

🌼 change up ~ zai @icecreamscxups ↳ I don’t really know, maybe it’s because of her change up gifsets, but I immediately thought of zai as soon as I clicked on the mv. I just get change up vibes from her ahah

🌼 habit ~ oona @vernons ↳ oona is a quiet and peaceful but constant presence on my dashboard, she’s seems chill and I like when she shares her other interests outside seventeen. she’s that calm mutual who creates the perfect balance with the more chaotic ones, that’s why I associate her with habit.

🌼 clap ~ dasha @smallkore ↳ clap is a really creative and fun mv and I immediately associated it with all dasha’s gfx. she is one of my favourite content creator, all her ideas are so original and well executed, just like clap mv. I hope she’ll come back soon because I really miss her content!

🌼 thanks ~ kale @choibeomgyus ↳ thanks is another one of my favourite mv, I really love the storyline and the atmosphere. I actually don’t know why I thought of kale as I watched it, but I think her style (which I adore) fits with thanks general vibe.

🌼 just do it ~ isa @kwanies ↳ just do it doesn’t really have an official mv, but I still wanted to include it because I think the lyrics are perfect for isa! I can’t really explain further, as I don’t really know her, but that’s the vibe I get from her ahah

🌼 oh my ~ sofi @scoups ↳ the first thing I associate with oh my is summer, and that’s something that reminds me of sofi’s aesthetic as well. seeing her colourful and bright posts makes me as happy as listening to oh my!

🌼 holiday ~ sarah @dkymm ↳ another song that is perfect for summer (and one of my favourite song ever). I think that sarah fits holiday‘s concept the best, even though I can’t really explain why. maybe it’s because I associate dokyeom stan with bright songs, or maybe it’s just the vibe I get from her, laid back and funny without trying too hard.

🌼 home ~ genesis @shineesbag ↳ I don’t think home concept fits genesis, but she’s still the first person that I thought of when I watched the mv. she’s the only one out of all my mutuals that follows all my blogs (thank you!) and we like more or less the same groups/people, so I just feel really comfortable when I see her on my dash (although we never actually talked). she’s a reassuring presence on my dash and one of my favourite blogs, just like home is one of my favoutie songs.

🌼 hit ~ anna @haniehae ↳ the reason why I associate anna with hit is quite obvious: anna is a dancer and hit has probably the hardest choreography. at first I thought that she would fit don’t wanna cry as well, since the choreography for that song is amazing, but I also feel that hit reflects more her style. I have two left feet, so I admire people that can dance, and anna dances very well!

🌼 fallin’ flower ~ célia @delicatecy and mary @efflorescing-mary ↳ the first person I associate with my all time favourite svt concept is célia (who is the first person I followed on this blog). her style is so elegant, so classy, so (as her url says) delicate. I love it as much as I love fallin’ flower, she is one of my favourite content creator and although she’s not active, I sometimes go on her blog to have a look at all her masterpieces. ↳ the second person I associate with this concept is mary. fallin’ flower is pure poetry, so of course it reminds me of her and her poems!

🌼 snap shoot ~ rhys @heartgyus ↳ me and rhys have been mutuals for less than a month, so I can’t say that I really know her. but I often see her on my dash and I think her personality fits snap shoot, both the song and the mv. also since the video was made by mingyu, my mind probably made a link between the two ahah

🌼 my my ~ maddie @kyeomblr ↳ another personal favourite, my my is a cute and bright song with a cute and bright mv. as I said, I tend to associate dokyeom stan to this kind of songs and I think this concept fits maddie! (I saw it was your birthday yesterday, so happy belated birthday!)

🌼 left and right ~ dreamy @scoupsy ↳ as soon as I watched left and right, dreamy was the first person that came to my mind. not only the concept reminds me of her style, but the song reflects her personality too I think. also left and right is coups’ first comeback after hiatus, so it holds a special place in my heart.

🌼 24h ~ zay @dk-s ↳ zay’s style and her colouring in particular really remind me of 24h. it’s dark without being too dark (like fear, for instance) and it’s quite elegant. also black and red is a colour scheme I associate with zay in general, so the outfits svt wore in the dance scene instantly made me think of her.

🌼 side by side ~ alicia @myungho ↳ that’s cheating, I know, but there’s only one person I can associate to side by side and that’s alicia. not only because she’s the resident myungho stan on my dash, but also the mv reminds me of her witty personality!

🌼 not alone ~ belle @xuseokgyu and nele @seohoshi ↳ the first person I thought of while watching not alone is belle. she’s the most supportive mutual, she always showers me with compliments, even when I post the simplest gifset, and she always makes sure to reblog my content even if it gets 2 notes. she surely makes me feel less alone sometimes. ↳ and I associate this song to nele too for a similar reason, but it’s a more general feeling I get from her. we don’t interact much, but when I see her tags on other people’s posts as well, she’s always so supporting and she always catches the smallest details. she really makes you feel like the time you spent on your content is not wasted.

#I tried to include all of my mutuals #but there are people I don't know that well and I don't see often on my dash #so please don't get offended if you're not here #I just wasn't sure which song I should've associated with you #also this is long #I'm so sorry ahah #anyway thank you for sending me this game #it was quite fun!#ask

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petri808 · 3 years

Text

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Inukag Royalty AU

“I see that,” the King chuckled, gathering the child into his arms. He looked at Kagome. “And who have you brought Rin?”

While Rin was all happy smiles, Kagome immediately went on edge. Of all the people to see first, the King himself! She was not prepared whatsoever to meet the Inutaisho, but she bit down and hid her rising anxiety, pulling on all those years of putting on a false expression to get through important meetings. All she had to do was get through this encounter. Bring the girl home safely, go through some pleasantries, and be on her way.

“She found me in the market when I got lost. Can we keep her papa?”

Kagome’s heart stopped. ‘Wait what?!’ Did Rin just say what she thought she’d said?!

Again, the male laughed. “Well, we’ll have to see.”

“Papa, she can be my new attendant. Please! She’s so much nicer than the other one.”

“Oh?” The man turned back to Kagome. “Thank you for assisting my granddaughter, miss?”

Thinking quickly. “Kagome Tanaka,” she bowed. “And the pleasure was mine. The Princess was a joy to talk to.”

“Miss Tanaka, are you from around here?”

“I’m from a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom.”

“Her mom and dad are dead like mine, so she needs a new job.” Rin chimed in.

“Is that true?” He questioned.

“Yes. It’s why I came to the city thinking I’d have a better chance to find one. I actually just arrived this morning when I came across the Princess.”

“I see. Then tell me do you have any qualifications to be a Lady in Waiting?”

“I believe so your majesty. My mother schooled me in all the main subjects. Language, arts, history, literature, and such, so I’d hoped to find a tutoring position with a noble family here.”

“How interesting.” The King put Rin down. “For such a coincidence.”

Startled, Kagome bowed low again. “I swear it was never intended your majesty.” She didn’t want the king to think she’d targeted Rin for a nefarious reason. “My only intentions were to make sure she got home safely.”

He waved his hand with a chuckle. “I believe you. Our Rin here is very determined and she must have taken a genuine liking to you. But the decision is up to her father, my son to make.” The King then turned to his granddaughter. “Why don’t I wait here with miss Tanaka, and you go and fetch your father?”

“Okay!” Rin skipped merrily away on her mission. “I’ll be back quick!”

“While we wait, tell me more about yourself miss Tanaka. For starters, it is unusual for a commoner to be educated.”

“Oh… as a young girl my mother was a nanny for a noble house and as her ward was tutored, she herself learned things. She told me she loved learning so much that she took every opportunity she could to read and spent her off times in that family’s library. After marriage and having me, she took it upon herself to make sure I was educated because she wanted me to have a better life.”

“She sounds like a good mother.”

“I miss her dearly and only hope that one day I’ll be as good a mother as she was.”

“Your instincts have already shown through when you saw a lost child and decided to help her.”

Kagome blushed. “Thank you, your majesty for your kind words.”

They chatted for only a couple more minutes by the time Rin came back holding the hand of a tall, very statuesque male. Her father looked a lot like the King except his hair was free flowing and he had a crescent moon on his forehead. Another glaring difference was in demeanor. While the King was very pleasant from the get-go, Rin’s father wore an irritated expression. The child had mentioned that he scared people, and now Kagome could see why.

“That’s her, papa!” Rin pointed at Kagome. “She’s the one I want to be my attendant.”

“Miss Tanaka,” the King gestured, “this is my son Prince Sesshomaru.”

Kagome bowed to the Prince. “It’s nice to meet you, your highness.”

The Prince looked down, fixing Kagome in a stare as he spoke. “My daughter tells me you found her lost in the market?”

“Yes, your royal highness.”

“I’ve spoken with Miss Tanaka, and she appears to have all of the qualifications needed for the position.” The King tells his son. “I would approve, but the decision is yours.”

“Please, daddy!” Rin pulled on her father’s hand. “She’s really, really nice! I really like her!”

The Prince barely showed any reaction to his child’s whims, so it was hard to discern what he was thinking. Kagome just continued to stand there silently and demure as possible while he stared straight at her. It was nerve wracking!

Finally, the man spoke. “Very well. The royal steward will prepare a room for you.” He then gave a slight nod to his father and left the room leaving his child practically bouncing with excitement.

The moment Sesshomaru turned his back, Kagome let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in. His intensity was a force all its own and she had no idea how Rin could be so mellow to it. Yet the child was completely oblivious and seemed to have the man wrapped around her fingers. He didn’t even question anything.

The king chuckled. “Rin, why don’t you show Ms. Tanaka around while things are taken care of.”

“Okay papa!” Rin grabbed Kagome’s hand and started pulling her away. “I’ll show you all the cool parts in the palace! Then we can hang out in my room.”

“It was nice to meet you, your majesty.” Kagome tried and failed to bow properly while being yanked away to the chuckling amusement of the King.

They spent much of the afternoon walking around the palace, inside and out with Rin playing the excitable tour guide introducing Kagome to everyone. It was a typical sized palace from what she could see, though the styling is what differed from her own. Several private rooms and guest rooms, administrative type rooms, entertaining rooms, etc. But the one she knew instantly she’d be spending a considerable time in would be the library. Oh, the texts that room held were simply amazing! So many ancient documents dating back hundreds or perhaps thousands of years! It’ll be wonderful to take a book and read it in the lovely garden on a nice sunny day.

As the afternoon sun dipped closer to the horizon, the royal steward found the pair in Rin’s room chatting quietly about a storybook they’d found in the library. Myouga was the older man’s name and he explained to Kagome her duties under the official role of the Lady in Waiting to the Princess. She was the child’s tutor in all areas of education and would accompany the girl any time she left the castle grounds or as needed by the Princess. All of her food, shelter, and personal needs including attire would be furnished by the kingdom along with a small stipend. The same bedchamber maids that attended to Princess Rin’s laundry and cleaning would also take care of hers.

“The former attendants room has been prepared for you Miss. Tanaka. It is the next room over. Your clothes for dinner has already been laid out on your vanity by the bedchamber maid. I trust we chose the correct size for you. Tomorrow, I shall have one of the royal guards take you to the royal seamstress to set you up properly.”

“Thank you, Mr. Myouga. I understand. I just have one question. Before meeting Rin in the marketplace, I’d boarded my horse and meager belongings at the Umagoya. I’d like to retrieve them. My horse is very precious to me.”

“Certainly. See the palace stable hand and he’ll accompany you to retrieve your horse to take it back to the stables.”

Once the man left them alone, they followed his instructions of taking the stable hand into town with them to hand off the horse. It would have been nice if she could spend more time with the stead to get him adjusted, but they needed to get ready for dinner. So, Kagome promised Rin they’d visit Buyo in the stables the next day. When they arrived back at their rooms, two bedchamber maids were waiting, one for each other them.

Kagome patted the hand she held of Rin’s. “I’ll fetch you once I’ve changed, okay?”

“Yup!” Rin hugged Kagome before skipping towards her room.

The white dress with red, orange, and pink accents presented to Kagome was a bit more extravagant than she’d expected to be given to a simple attendant. It was elegant and form fitting from the bust down to the floor, with a slit running down the side of the skirt from mid-thigh to allow for easier movement. The top half was full sleeved, mid-collared, with knotted button closures running down the front until it reached mid-chest. She’d noticed this outfit resembled the same style worn by other nobles and royals in the palace, but not the commoners who wore much simpler outfits. And while not mentioned yet, the colors were also a theme associated with the royal family. It was very different from what people wore back home in her kingdom, but the style was beautiful to Kagome. Aside from the dress, the bedchamber also re-did her hair, adding accessories befitting the dress as well as makeup. Kagome was glad to see it was done with a natural tone and not too gaudy. She never did like being made up to look like a doll. It was a bit odd to her that she’d be dining with the royal family, but again she assumed it was because of Rin’s age and excitable nature. The child was young and having her attendant present necessary so the adults could go about their business. It was nice though, that they included the child. Kagome chuckled inwardly as she thought about the two royal members she’d met so far. The Prince did not seem to even care about a child being around yet must have a heart to have adopted Rin in the first place.

The bedchamber provided information on other dynamics of the royal household so that she wouldn’t ask the wrong questions. According to the woman, the Inutaisho had two queens. The primary Queen was Prince Sesshomaru’s mother through an arranged marriage. It was a loveless marriage, so once she’d fulfilled her obligation of providing a son, she was allowed to live away in her own royal villa in the countryside. It was a few years later when the Inutaisho met a human Princess in another kingdom, fell in love, and took her as a second Queen. She too bore a son, half yokai, half human named Prince Inuyasha. Prince Sesshomaru was married but he and Princess Kagura had yet to produce an offspring of their own. Rin, again according to the woman was an orphaned daughter of a highly respected human general in the army who despite his ornery disposition really gravitated to the Prince. That affection grew on the Prince until he’d decided to simply adopt the child as his own. It was a really nice story and showed maybe first impressions are not always accurate.

“Good evening Ms. Tanaka,” Inutaisho welcomed Kagome as she sat beside Rin at the large dining table. “I trust your accommodations are amenable?”

“Very much so, your majesty. Thank you very much. Your palace is very beautiful.”

The king chuckled. “Is there any room in the palace you liked the most?”

“The library,” Kagome responded. “All the old texts are quite amazing to see gathered in one place.”

“Ah yes.” He smiled. “There is much history held in that room.”

Prince Sesshomaru and his wife Princess Kagura arrived shortly, and Rin introduced Kagome to her mother. Kagura was just as statuesque as her husband, a poised beauty befitting a future Queen. Servants puttered about setting out appetizers before the first course coming in a few minutes. So, in the meantime, Kagome and Kagura chatted about Rin’s schedule. The woman was happy to see her adopted daughter so happy because the child never got along with the last attendant, regardless of how highly recommended the woman had been.

“Ah!” The King suddenly stood up. “There’s my Queen.”

Kagome stopped talking to look at who the man was talking about and saw another gorgeous woman walking towards him. The Queen was definitely human, with long raven hair pinned back away from her face, and flowing dress of the royal color schemes. They were adorable to Kagome, how the Inutaisho greeted her and helped her into her chair. Royals were often assumed to be haughty, proud, and snobbish but it could be quite the contrary as evident in the Inutaisho’s caring nature. Kagome was certain that, if necessary, the man could be a very imposing figure indeed, but with loved ones no different than any other, human or yokai.

The King introduced Kagome to his wife. “This is Queen Izayoi.”

Kagome stood up and bowed. “I’m pleased to meet you, your majesty.”

“I’m pleased to meet you too, Ms. Tanaka, I’ve heard a lot about you from my husband. Thank you for taking care of my granddaughter.”

“You’re too kind,” Kagome bowed again.

“I’m certain you— Oh,” the Queen cut short and focused he’d gaze past Kagome. “You made it, my son.”

‘Son?’ Kagome turned to see who the Queen was talking about. ‘Oh… wow…’

“Inuyasha, come meet your niece’s new Lady in Waiting, Ms. Tanaka.”

#inukag #inukag fan fic #inukag au #inukag fan fiction #inuyasha #kagome higurashi #royalty au #the irony of fate #ch 2 #petri808

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youarejesting · 4 years

Text

The Bomb

[Masterlist]

Beta: @juniethebug Rating: 16+ Pairing: Namjoon x Reader Genre: Mafia, enemies2lovers. Trigger Warnings: mentions of Violence, Gore, Torture, Drinking and wetting yourself in public from fear and a full bladder during a gun fight. Character death. Words: 9.4k

Summary: The leader of a mafia should be calm collected and poised. He should live meticulously and know what he needs to do. Namjoon was that man, he had rules that kept his business running smoothly and nothing can get in the way of that. Can it?

[Part 2]

Kim Namjoon, the leader of the biggest mafia in Seoul, lived his life by many rules. His first rule, a man should only cry three times in his life. The first time is when a man loses his mother, the one who raises a man to be who they are worth mourning.

The second when a man marries the love of his life and he shall weep tears of joy. The third and final time a man is allowed to cry is when he sees his first child born.

Pathetically sobbing against the dirty concrete while getting the life beaten out of you is not one of those three incidences. “I will ask you again, where is the payment I was promised?”

“He gave it to his daughter, used the money he was supposed to pay you, on his daughter; a beautiful emerald necklace. Something about it being her birthday and wanting to gift her with something as pretty as she is.” Yoongi scoffed, spinning the knife around his fingers a habit he had developed to keep his dexterous fingers busy.“Or at least that is what Hobi had to say after tailing the man all day. Just take the necklace from her pretty little neck; she doesn’t have to come with it.”

“The birthday party is tonight, a lavish affair for their daughter, every man, woman, and child from rich backgrounds were invited to the ball held at their Manor.” Jimin sighed, rolling some scotch in his glass.

“Be ready to leave in ten minutes.” Namjoon walked to the door, Jungkook opening it for him. A reminder of rule number fourteen; a powerful man never moves unnecessarily, which includes opening doors and stepping aside from someone.

Pulling on a black on black suit he fastened his Platinum Rolex to his wrist, in his classiest polished pair of dress shoes. Walking towards the front door, he stopped by the front door and Yoongi pulled open the suitcase, graced with the sight of two pistols both with a shiny custom nickel finish with gold filigree on the handle and barrel.

These were gifted to him by Taehyung, a man with an eye for the finest of arts. Just like the weapons he provided he was a beautiful young man with an innocent face. But he was a dangerous man and rule number ten. Never give the man who provides you with your weapons the chance to provide them for anyone else. Of course, naturally, that meant Namjoon hired him in an instant, not willing to let his enemies use his weapons dealer.

The boys were heading to the car; Seokjin was going to drive as he was the most sensible behind the wheel. Each piling in Namjoon looked at his watch and over the five individuals in the car.

“Should I tell Jimin to hurry up?” Taehyung said reaching for his phone, he was in the middle of texting when Namjoon placed his hand on the phone pushing it to his lap.

“No need we leave without him, he knows the rules-”

“Rule number fifteen, a man is never late,” Jungkook nodded; he lived by Namjoon’s word and his rules. Knew them better than Namjoon did himself, wrote them down, and numbered them as the leader taught him each one.

The car door was shut by Seokjin who situated himself into the driver's seat and pulled away from the house. House may be a bit of an understatement even Namjoon thought so, officially titled the Kim Manor with four stories complete with east and west wings, staff quarters, elaborate gardens, and land.

It was the picturesque home with lavish rooms headed to the front gates, a motorbike raced past and pulled up. Jimin climbed into the car with the others, grumbling about how the wind destroyed his hair.

He ran his fingers through his hair trying to return it to its former perfection, once the gates spread open they headed on their way to the party.

Each stepping out at the foot of the manor, fixing their hair and suits one last time before heading up the steps. “Your invitation, sir?”

Yoongi pulled out a gun and tapped it against the clipboard pushing it down so he could read it. “That's us there unchecked, sorry we are late, traffic is horrible at this time of the day,” the man swallowed thickly.

“Of course Mr. and Mrs. Le pomme, you don’t look French?”

“It’s Ms. Actually,” Yoongi poked the man's chest with his gun.

Namjoon turned speaking immaculate French to the young man and patted his shoulder. “Jungkook always learns a language, a man should never miss an opportunity to learn new things.”

Jungkook was writing the new rule down following behind them, Yoongi pushed the gun into his waistband and the group entered the manor. Walking the floor as a small unit they began analyzing the ballroom.

Jimin had disappeared and Jungkook smiled gesturing to the young woman who was mingling a beautiful emerald necklace delicately nestled against her decolletage. Namjoon looked her over. She was stunning with her smooth skin and gentle curls.

She was nothing like he expected, Namjoon thought she would have a dark tan and bleach blonde hair, with extensions and the latest trending nails and jewelry and shoes.

But this woman. This gorgeous woman had pale skin with sun-kissed freckles, her lips were a soft velvety crimson. She wore a simple black dress but somehow managed to still be the most beautiful person in the room. He could gaze at her forever and never get tired.

You smiled feeling proud of your outfit, it was such an elegant and complicated piece, a sweetheart bodice with off the shoulder lace straps it was a thin and long dress that fell to your ankles showing off a pair of thin heels.

It wasn’t a famous brand designer, no, you made this yourself there were many little fun hidden details. You were speaking with your friends when he approached.

He was handsome, his profile was strong one you would remember easily he had a small scar on his eyebrow but it added so much character to his image.

“Ladies,” he greeted the small group with a short bow, his eyes flicking up and meeting yours full of confidence and you gave a small friendly smile back.

“Shall we dance?” He asked, and you, never to be overdone, agreed. You had never been asked to dance before. Especially not by someone this handsome.

“My name is y/n. You?”

“You may call me Namjoon,” he smiled and you blushed, looking at his dimples, he was so charming and cute. But there was something about him he took the lead and guided you through a slow waltz. Something you couldn’t put a nail on. Something… sinister..?

You gasped clutching his bicep gently. He saw the emerald necklace secure around your delicate neck. Your breasts strained against your dress with every breath.

“You seem to be out of breath miss y/n?” His fingertips brushing gently across your décolletage. He too was breathing heavily from the physical activity of dancing.

“A testament to your dance skills,” you tried to laugh back.

“Perhaps we should get something to drink,” he took your hand and weaved it so your arm wrapped around his, “we can chat while you relax but I do apologize for being too enthusiastic.”

“No, really, it is okay,” you protested, not wanting to seem too affected honestly it was embarrassing to get tired after one vigorous dance.

“Indulge me,” Namjoon’s raspy voice reverberated so low you could have almost mistaken it for a purr, “I would very much like to steal a few extra moments with you”

“Well then, I shan’t protest,” you gestured towards the refreshment table where he handed you a champagne flute. The two of you drank slowly his eyes locked on yours.

“Sir,” a voice called politely, you were both pulled from your intense eye contact to see Your father flanked by two young and very handsome men.

“Thank you for inviting me to your party tonight, sir.” Namjoon shook his hand firmly, his voice made you shiver, it wasn’t as light as it had been before, there was something clipped in his tone. Your former suspicions returned to you. Hard.

“Ah, Mr. Kim, I am glad you could make it, I didn’t think you would come to such a small affair?” Your father smiled, he was sweating a sign he was nervous but trying to hold his cool.

“Dad is everything okay?” You took your father's pocket-handkerchief and dabbed his forehead.

“Darling I would like for you to get some pictures with your mother. It is your birthday after all,” you looked at him curiously and almost yielded to his request when a firm hand caught your wrist.

“Just a moment I would like to give you your birthday gift,” Namjoon smiled reaching into his pocket, his next statement seemed to cause the young man beside your father to scribble in a notebook. “A man must never come to a party empty-handed, especially not a birthday party.”

“Oh it’s okay, I don’t usually get presents anyway,” you were flustered by the prospect you always requested not to get presents to spare people the trouble of spending their money on material things.

“That is a shame a pretty young lady like yourself should be spoiled daily,” a hot flush pinked your skin and it crept up your neck.

He handed you a box wrapped in a small ribbon. She opened it to reveal an emerald bracelet just like the necklace she wore and he helped secure it to the wrist and smiled.

“Emerald looks brilliant on you?”

Namjoon looked your father directly in the eyes watching the man sweat. Would he sell out his own daughter for his own safety? “Well darling, mister Kim and I are just going to do a quick spot of business”

“Okay,” you nodded, Namjoon looked over his shoulder and made a gesture to Jungkook and Yoongi to keep an eye on you. While following your weasel-like father to his study.

“I know why you are here and I am sorry, I had the money ready to give you but it was my daughter’s birthday and I couldn’t turn up empty-handed,” Your father said “I will get you the money by the end of the week.”

“You will as I will have collateral just in case your daughter will leave with me.” Namjoon threatened before adding an afterthought “tonight”.

“Please don’t hurt her, I will get you the money, I promise. Please.” He pleaded, dropping onto his knees. Namjoon felt his eye twitch in disgust.

“You will give me the money, otherwise you will never see your daughter again.”

You were feeling kind of awkward, the two young men accompanying you weren’t awful company, they just weren’t very talkative.

“So you work with Namjoon?” you asked

“Mmm…” one so graciously grunted in response

“What do you do?” you swayed from foot to foot trying to strike up some sort of conversation.

“Mister Kim is an entrepreneur,” The taller man said excitedly. You nodded; he very obviously liked his boss.

“You seem to enjoy working for him then,” You asked happily and the two nodded going back to standing around.

“Ah, you must be the birthday girl?” A sweet voice called your attention, “Wah, You are so beautiful miss y/n?”

“Have we met?” Already knowing you hadn’t met any of these men they were way too handsome for you to just forget. He had long legs accentuated by his high waisted trousers, his feet moved one in front of the other with all the grace and caution like a model in a field of landmines. He scooped your hand into his grasp and kissed your knuckle’s eyes searching your person and the room. “Park Jimin.”

Beside him was a taller young man who was boyish with big rounded ears that added so much youth to his face. “I do not believe we have ma’am and that is a shame” He also kissed your knuckles politely and threw you a grin. “Kim Taehyung at your service.”

“Tell me, miss Y/n. Do you like Painting?” Taehyung asked with a grin and you nodded

“Though I am not good at it, yes.” You sighed while playing with your lace sleeve, you were currently surrounded by these very tall and intimidating men. “Do you like painting?”

“I enjoy it greatly my dear, would you be interested in painting with me?” He smiled brightly and you grinned feeling more relaxed.

“I would love to,” you grinned and they all got a text to their apple watches that they read and quickly dismissed from view.

“Miss y/n, we would like to hold a toast,” Jimin grinned, handing you a champagne flute. You nodded and Jimin led a toast celebrating your birthday, ending his short speech with. “You have to all drink it in one shot for the best of wishes for the birthday girl”

You drank heartedly watching them all drink as well, the conversation continued and you were happily chatting about all different things when you started to feel rather drowsy. “I think I drank too much.” You giggled, feeling tired, a warm coat was draped over your shoulders it was super roomy and you felt yourself drift off.

There were strange sounds and lights passing over you periodically, though it stirred you it wasn’t enough to wake you fully. Only when your body had fought the immense fatigue did you wake.

Everything was stale, the air, the room, life, for a moment you didn’t move. Your body was heavy and your head clouded. Taking a deep breath you sat up the lush blankets in their covers making noise against the soft satin sheet.

The room wasn’t yours, the furniture was all a dark almost black lacquered wood, the bedding was also all black. It was a dark room with thick heavy curtains.

Swinging your legs over the side of the bed you gripped the fourposter frame and stood upright nursing a slight ache behind your temples.

The floor was a white marble, searingly cold against your feet. You looked down at the sweet emerald négligée, your jewellery was placed on the bedside table.

Where you saw a glass of water, taking the glass you took a few sips quenching your thirst and pushing the bile rising in your throat back down.

Crossing the room, trying to find a bathroom you opened the first set of double doors and found a walk-in wardrobe. There were many suits inside and a door caught your eye, perhaps it led to the bathroom.

Opening the door you saw for the first time in your life real guns and weapons on display, wherever you are it mustn’t be safe. You picked up a small handgun like the ones you had seen in movies.

You moved on to the bathroom, your bladder was urgently requesting relief.

Opening the next doors you came across a bathroom like no other. It was all the same white marble, the feature was a round shower located in the middle of the room. With two curved sliding doors one on either side of the shower.

Between curved glass panels were stone pillars one which had been carved into as to create shelves with built-in product dispensers.

You saw a control panel on the outside of the shower and you wondered where the water came from but looking up at the hanging gold shower head that was almost as wide as the shower.

You could imagine how it would feel, like warm rain falling against your skin. On your right as you stepped in was a beautiful counter with his and her basins in front of a finely detailed gold framed mirror.

On the opposite wall to your left were shelves of fresh towels and a few cabinets and a seated area with a lady might do her makeup

Walking around the shower along the walls of towels you saw the toilet the door was made of frosted glass and you at this point didn’t care if you were quick you wouldn’t be seen.

You flushed and paused waiting for any signs of people coming to get you but you heard nothing.

You stepped out and circled the shower the back wall had a brilliant window and four short steps to a lifted square seating area with a cushioned window seat that lined the three of the square walls.

There was a small coffee table in the middle and continuing on the last corner of the room just between the sitting areas and the counter was a square bath fit for perhaps four people.

“Shit, where is she?” The sound made your pulse skyrocket, you needed to hide. You stood behind one of the big thick pillars on the outside of the shower. Hoping they would glance over the room.

You froze the gun behind your back and you waited. “Is she in here?” A voice said, “doesn’t look like it,” another said

“Where is she?” A raspy voice spoke.

“We don’t know, sir, Yoongi was posted outside and swears she didn’t leave so she has to be in here.”

“Y/n?” He called, “are you okay, you are a guest here I promise.”

You snorted, “that’s funny, I don’t remember being invited.”

“You don’t remember what happened last night do you?” He asked and you saw movement in the mirror. You grabbed the shower door and opened it stepping inside and pressing your back against a pillar.

The problem was opening one door opened both, you used your free hand to reach beside you and slowly close the glass door.

He smirked, grabbing the opposite glass door with his hand, stopping it from closing and pulling the door back open. “You won’t shoot me, baby, you are too gentle, hand it over and we can talk.”

You took a few heavy breaths psyching yourself up before pulling the trigger. Eyes squeezed shut only to hear a click, “shit!”

“You got some guts, I will give you that. I am proud, the weak don’t survive” He grinned, reaching outside the shower to the control panel and grinned “but you didn’t put a magazine in your gun, I could show you how?”

He pressed a button and cold water poured down, jolting you awake. You tried to avoid the water but you were soaked, he stepped inside and shut the door with his men standing guard either side.

“When you shoot a gun don’t close your eyes, baby otherwise how will you aim?” His chest pressed against yours and he grinned, taking your hand. “Now let’s get you dressed, and we can have a late breakfast.”

You struggled to pull your hand free, “why am I here?”

“Because your father borrowed five hundred thousand dollars from me and didn’t pay it back in time,” he gently tucked your wet hair behind your ear frowning at how it stuck to your neck, how the small négligée clung to your skin and how your body reacted to the cold. “So I took you as collateral for my money. How very gentlemanly of you.”

He took the gun from your hand and grinned, “you are spirited and I like that, but do not worry my only intentions are my money no harm will come to you, you are actually really interesting I would like to get to know you more.”

“Come let’s have breakfast baby,” he said over his shoulder

You followed him obediently your goal was to play your way out, cooperation until they let their guard down. Stepping out of the Taehyung standing there with a grin, and he held up a bag, “Hoseok and I bought you clothes?”

You nodded while taking the bag pondering a recurring thought, “who changed me last night?”

“I did, love but do not fret, I am a doctor and I assure you I did nothing inappropriate, while you were asleep. I would never, it’s too much work?” the short black-haired man spoke twirling a knife around his fingers.

“Seriously, I don’t think Yoongi is human, we have taken him to so many brothels and he doesn’t get turned on at all,” you made eye contact with Yoongi who looked away causing you to crease your eyebrows.

“I respect women and their professions?” Yoongi sighed, and you nodded thoughtfully walking into the bathroom and staring in the mirror. Eventually getting out of the wet garment and into a beautiful sundress.

Processing your thoughts meticulously. He said you were here until your father paid his debt. He said he wouldn’t harm you. You had many unanswered questions but you felt a little reassured by these factors. You were still scared out of your wits but

When you stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed you felt much better. The room was empty except Yoongi and you sighed looking at him. “I really didn’t do anything.”

“I believe you, do not stress,” you patted his shoulder and with a deep breath in, you puffed up your chest, square your shoulders, and strode forward to the door with a firm nod. Yoongi navigated you through the halls behind you trying to keep up but you didn’t slow down.

“Through to the end room two double doors,” he panted as you lost him down the hall, throwing the doors open, guns were drawn and all your new found confidence dwindled.

“Ah, my apologies we usually knock.” Namjoon smiled holding his hands out to his men to stand down, “it’s polite.”

“Is kidnapping me polite?” You scoffed stomping towards him. “You said I am here till my father pays his debt and then I am free to leave correct?”

“Yes, that is—”

“So am I a prisoner?”

“You are a guest,” he said.

“So I can leave?”

“No.”

“Do you happen to know the definition of prisoner?”

“I believe you are referring to the noun of a person captured and kept confined by an enemy or criminal” he sighed “listen would you like to see a real prisoner? I can guarantee you are treated better than some of our other guests in this house”

Taken back by his words you looked away and sighed slumping into the empty seat at the other end of the table “who are you really?”

“I am Kim Namjoon, also known as RM,” he looked down the table at you. You were silent while eating, pondering this information biding your time before you could ask some more.

“Now for business?” Namjoon gestured for his men to start talking.

“Uh about mister Lee, I have successfully um… spoken?” The word came out as more of a question as Seokjin side-eyed you, “with him and he told me where we can find the um...”

“Hey, whatever it is you can say it, I’m not going to be scared by mere words.” You scoffed, stabbing a piece of cantaloupe. Namjoon nodded, approving Seokjin to talk freely.

“I interrogated him and we found the children he was trafficking returned them to their families,” Seokjin said “He is seriously sick in the head”

“You are sure he has told you everything?” Namjoon ate his eggs and toast watching them over his cup of coffee.

“I think so but to make sure I might cut off his remaining fingers and see what he has to say,” Seokjin nodded, “if he says no more well then I guess he is finished.”

“Hoseok what do you know?” Namjoon prompted the next man to speak.

“I know that Mr. y/l/n is accumulating stocks and seems to be on the way to paying his debt,” Hoseok said, your head snapped to him at the mention of your father and he cleared his throat with an awkward twitch of his head. “In other news, there is a young man named David from America is here to discuss a transaction on weapons”

“Anything else?” Namjoon pressed on, studying the man's reactions.

“A few minor gossip aspects from last nights party” you blinked turning to Hoseok who continued, “nothing serious but I will file it away for possible use in the future”

“I took out Mr Roth last night at the party.” Jimin threw the paper down and Namjoon picked it up. “Easily fooled as always.”

“Was there any complications?” Namjoon asked placing the paper down on the table and you walked around picking it up standing beside Namjoon as you read the information on the front page.

Mob Merrymaking

On the evening of the 13th of July, Y/N was celebrating her 21st Birthday. The night was full of dancing, gifts and esteemed guests. The night which was intended to be a beautiful celebration turned sour when a Local Gang drugged and abducted the young woman. Mr Roth a nobleman of 45 had been found in the bathroom, his death was determined as substance abuse.

Mr. L/n stated “She will be fine wherever she is, she is a smart girl and too pure to get herself hurt” He further implied “...I also have no ill will towards any gangs that would warrant my daughter being taken or our family getting hurt. She is a beautiful woman and I think he must have taken a liking to her which leaves me to believe he won’t hurt her.”

Kim Industries which deals with Construction, real estate, property investments, restaurants bars and even Casinos are implied to be the gang in question. Kim Namjoon, as the owner of Kim Industries, was happy to oblige to the police investigation allowing his home to be thoroughly searched by police for the missing young woman. The residence came up empty of any incriminating evidence.

Where did the young woman go? Who is she with? If you have any information contact the police.

You were told to wait in the house while they all went to meet this American man named David, you refused saying if they left you alone you would either run away or set the place on fire.

Namjoon grabbed you by the upper arm, “You are a young lady, start acting like one, we have treated you well and you have done nothing but act like a spoilt child.”

You had never been reprimanded so directly and harshly before, you were somewhat sheltered and sensitive to anger. You turned your head away from him as a few tears slipped.

“Sir, would you like me to stay behind with her?” Jungkook asked, watching his leader take out a pocket-handkerchief and take the young woman's chin firmly between his thumb and crooked finger tilting it up.

“She will come along, she must learn the severity of one's actions and the business we dabble in, to know the true weight of her actions,” He sighed, wiping your eyes. “Always carry a handkerchief Jungkook, women cry.”

“Of course! This way Miss,” Jungkook smiled softly, taking out his notebook to write the newest rule as he walked, “Namjoon is never late for a meeting.”

Escorted to the car as they all checked their weapons discussing their plan of attack, the trip took longer than you expected and at least an hour and a half had passed. The large juice you had at breakfast was making itself known.

“Uh, I have to pee?” You whispered to Yoongi who frowned patting your knee in consolidation.

“Namjoon doesn’t stop for anyone,” he sighed, “You will have to hold it,”

“What is it?” Namjoon commanded, not liking the whispering you were doing with his doctor.

“Y/n said she has to pee,” Yoongi said, “and I told her she will have to hold it.”

Namjoon nodded unphased “You should have gone before we left. Always pee before leaving the house.”

“I am not a child,” You hissed “I know when I need to pee and when I don’t, I wasn’t told the duration of this trip, to know whether I should go to the bathroom, and if I remember correctly I was ushered to the car before I had a chance to question it.”

“Keep your emotions out of your argument, you really are starting to sound like a child,” Namjoon said turning back to the conversation, there was nothing you could do.

The car pulled up, at a small furniture store, the men walked in lead by Namjoon and you were to stay outside with Yoongi and Seokjin.

It was supposed to be a peaceful meeting, but you really had to go to the toilet. The two men were leaning on the back of the car, Yoongi smoking slowly and Seokjin complaining that it was bad for his looks to be near smoke.

“Then fuck off,” Yoongi growled blowing large wisps of smoke purposefully at the other. The two bickered like a father of three and his bratty child.

You really needed to go, to the point that you were eyeing a couple of bushes and hedges in the area. You, a high-class lady were contemplating urinating in public, that’s how serious this was.

You looked at the two bickering again, Yoongi smirked, blowing more smoke at Seokjin who started coughing open-mouthed at Yoongi not bothering to cover his mouth.

“You're nasty!” Yoongi grumbled, you rolled your eyes and snuck into the shop, there had to be an employee bathroom.

You found a door but when you opened it you were met with men and guns, you immediately froze, all the muscles in your body tensing up.“Darling come here,” Namjoon said, gesturing you over to his side, and slipping you under his arm. “What are you doing here? I told you to wait by the car?”

“I have to pee,” you whimpered.

“Calm your expression,” he held your cheek and brought your eyes to his, “by my side, you don’t need to be scared, no one can hurt you?”

“That’s right darling we are just having a discussion, do you want to wait outside again we don’t want anything to happen to a pretty girl like you?”

You don’t know who said what but shots we fired and Namjoon pushed you across the room behind some big cabinets. When your back hit the tall boy you felt your bladder relax and you looked down warmth spreading down the inseams of your jeans.

You were shaking in fear as the shots rang around the room, some hitting the furniture near where you hid. But worse than all that you were embarrassed and shocked never in your teen and adult life had you ever wet yourself.

You stood sobbing, standing in a puddle of your own liquids. You took off your sneakers throwing them aside and you looked at your clothes.

“Namjoon, we can’t find Miss Y/n?” Seokjin shouted ducking bullets, and brandishing his own gun. The distraction allowed their enemy to escape.

“She is here you idiots, I asked you to do one job and you couldn’t even do that?” Namjoon said “Jimin, good shooting, David won’t make it home”

“That’s my job,” Jimin said proudly and you had to pluck up the courage to talk to them, but it was easier to hide climbing into a cupboard.

“Miss Y/n, are you hurt?” Yoongi asked “huh?”

“What is it?” Namjoon said

“Oh no darling, I am so sorry?” Yoongi’s voice was solemn.

“If she is dead I am killing you both,” Namjoon growled his boots hitting the cement as he stomped over.

“Stay there,” Yoongi said with authority, the footsteps stopped “Jimin take off your pants?”

“What why?” Jimin asked confused as to why the conversation shifted to him and his trousers.

“Just do it?” Yoongi growled snapping his fingers.

“None of you will step foot over here until I say so, if you do I will happily sedate you all and turn you into eunuchs, and that includes you Namjoon.”

“I am your leader?”

“And I am your elder, go wait outside, all of you?” They all stepped outside and Yoongi sighed walking to the cupboard holding Jimin’s trousers.

“Come here darling,” he said, taking your hand and guiding you to the bathroom he told you to strip everything off except your bra. you sobbed. “Don’t worry I got more enjoyment out of seeing Jimin undress than redressing you last night, if you understand what I am saying.”

You realized and wiped your eyes, he pushed you to sit on the bench and he washed your legs in the sink and asked you to wash everything else yourself.

You felt better, he apologized for not having any underwear for you and you slipped on Jimin's pants and fastened the belt. The last thing you would need is to expose everything and Yoongi gave you his undershirt.

He walked you out and Namjoon looked relieved when he saw you emerge. “Are you okay?”

“No I am horrified, I was in the middle of a shoot out and I quite literally pissed myself,” you shouted. Your eyes stung from the crying you had done, “Never in my coherent life have I disgraced myself like that.”

“I apologize,” he said, holding his shoulder you saw blood seeping through his fingers, you immediately felt bad for yelling and making it about you when he was in pain.

Jimin stood in just his boxer briefs. “I have nothing against the no-pants but can we go home?”

The only rational thing to do after the incident at the furniture store and warehouse was to seclude yourself in your room away from everyone else. Namjoon often visited and brought you your meals talking to you about things with no real substance. Mostly about his loathing of check ups, it seemed he was hiding in your room from Yoongi.

This happened for a number of days until Hoseok got bored, he wanted to gossip with you and Taehyung came along with paints in hand. His excuse was that you had promised him you two could paint together.

Forcibly removed from your one-person pity party you sat outside painting and chatting about random topics.

Hoseok wanted to know if you had any suitors and who they were, he asked what type of guy you liked and you hummed.

“Someone kind and generous who gives back to others” you gushed about your tall dark and handsome and they laughed.

That night Namjoon knocked on your door and requested you come down for dinner, you agreed much to his surprise. He stammered obviously not expecting you to consent to his plan for dinner, he nodded curtly and walked off down the hall. Tripping in his haste on a small lump in the hall carpet and catching himself on the wall.

Wearing a pretty emerald green halter dress the skirts swished as you walked and your modest heels clicked on the timber. You heard hushed talking and slowed down, being so confined the past few days you were almost starved for conversation.

“He is having dinner tonight, they will all be in the dining hall which will leave his office free, once I get the information I will get out of here before they find out.” The man had a weird moustache and a mole above his eyebrow.

You tiptoed past holding your skirts from ruffling and keeping your heels from clicking you headed downstairs.

Pushing open the doors a multitude of guns were pointed at you, “Miss Y/n I was told you were from a moderately high-class family you should know how to knock.”

You raced over to Namjoon and cupped your hand around your mouth leaning down. “I heard someone talking about breaking into your office, to steal information”

“Jimin” Namjoon beckoned him over, he whispered to Jimin who nodded and went out the back door.

“Where is he going?” You asked and Namjoon stood up and walked you to the other end of the table and you frowned, “I don’t like this?”

“Sit relax, it is time for us to enjoy dinner.”

You sat for the briefest of moments watching Namjoon cross the room and sit at the opposite end of the table before taking your chair and dragging it across the floor slowly.

You saw his eyebrow twitch as you did so and stopped beside him. “I would prefer not to shout across the table,” you smiled softly

“You are both a blessing and a curse,” Namjoon said, “dinner is now a minute late”

Dinner was unlike anything you had ever had before, you smiled and ate happily, “this is delicious”

“You should try the steak?” Namjoon smiled, you nodded, cutting some of your chicken and stabbed it with a fork.

“Alright, I will try some of your steak if you try some of this chicken?” You held it out to him and his eyes were wide “it’s a fair trade”

He leaned forward and ate the small piece off your fork and he cut you a piece of steak and held it out to you.

You leaned forward and took a bite chewing slowly, your eyes going wide. “That is delicious”

Namjoon leaned over wiping your chin with a napkin his thumb, your eyes were locked in a fierce gaze and he gave you a dimpled smile.

“Jin, try some of my chicken?” Taehyung asked, holding out his fork.

“No, thank you?” Seokjin said, continuing to eat his steak ignoring the pouting young man.

“But they shared?” He whined. This made you aware of how intimate your action was, your cheeks flushing dark at your forwardness.

After dinner you were being escorted back to your room. Namjoon was quiet the whole time, not for lack of trying. The amount of times you saw him open and close his mouth, as if he was trying to strike up something to say.

Standing at your door he paused looking at you searching for something, you laughed opening the door, “Would you like to come in for a drink?”

He seemed grateful for the excuse to stay in your company, after a drink of two you started talking about your most embarrassing stories. He was actually super clumsy for someone in the mafia and a complete goofball.

“And that was my first kiss, I haven’t really had many kisses after that and the few I can remember were just as bad” Your laughter was cut off by Namjoon who had leaned over on the small couch and pressed his lips to yours. Just as you felt your heart flutter he pulled away.

“It is getting late you should sleep” He stood up and placed down the glass, you walked him to the door and he froze. “Was that okay? I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries, did I?”

“No it was nice really nice, you can do that-” He pressed his lips to yours once more and smiled whispering good night before walking off down the hall. With a sigh you added “Anytime you like.”

You didn’t hear anything strange from anyone or see anyone but you hoped everything worked out and the man who wanted to steal information ran away.

You were trying to find Namjoon the next day and travelled downstairs looking in random doors.

You reached the end of the hallway and found a door you heard screaming and knocked hesitantly on the wood, Yoongi stepped out covered in blood and gun in hand.

“Oh, y/n now isn’t a good time?” Yoongi said, stepping out and shutting the door. “What are you doing down here?”

“I was looking for Namjoon, is everything okay? What are you doing?” You asked, concerned by the amount of blood on Yoongi’s clothes.

“We are okay, Seokjin and I are just interrogating the mole, hey good spotting by the way no one knew they had snuck in,” your stomach dropped, this blood was from that man and it was all because of you.

“Namjoon is in his office on the third floor from the ground west wing double doors on the left-right at the end of the corridor.”

You nodded, froze in place and Yoongi sighed “I have to go back in,” he went to pat your shoulder but saw his stained gloves and sighed ripping them off.

He turned punching in numbers into the code lock. 7276. He slipped inside and you heard screaming, which was silenced immediately as the door sealed shut, you quickly ran feeling sick.

Racing up the stairs and bumping into Jungkook and almost falling, thankfully he caught you, “hey hey, slow down what’s wrong?”

You were wide-eyed and scared and he frowned. “Did you go downstairs?”

You nodded and he led you down the hall, “you are scared and helpless, but the way to feel better is to get stronger. You won’t feel as scared if you're not so helpless.” Jungkook opened the doors to the gym.

“Let me teach you how to fight,” Jungkook began teaching the basics and at another point, Jimin entered the two gave you pointers, their fighting styles. Jungkook was all power and strength and Jimin’s was survival.

“Look all you got to know is how to break free so you can run away,” Jimin instructed. “Even someone like Yoongi can break out of Jungkook's grasp.”

“That was one time and he refused to give me a rematch,” Jungkook wined.

You were learning so much, and it was in a sense a little empowering. The two guys were good at what they did and the more you learnt the more you wanted to learn.

Learning to fight gave you something to take your mind off what you had seen at least for the first two weeks but when you heard them relay information at breakfast you felt sick once more.

“He refuses to speak,” Seokjin said

“He will eventually,” Namjoon didn’t bat an eyelash. Two weeks of torture because you outed him.

This was all your fault. He was suffering because of you. You left the dining hall unable to stomach the thought of food.

Heading down the stairs you opened the door with the code 7276, you almost vomited, he sat there unrestrained and unconscious. His fingernails were removed and his face broken beyond repair.

“Hello, sir are you alive?” You asked, he groaned struggling to move his head, coughing up some blood at the effort it took to move.

“Who are you?”

“I am no one sir,” you breathed, “I can help you.”

He lunged hands gripping your throat and you fell back under the weight of him, you were struggling against him in panic. “Die you bitch, I know who you are, you're that monster's whore. He has never tried to protect anyone in his life and yet his soft spot is you. They are coming to kill you all.”

You struggled less hearing Jimin’s words in your head, “don’t panic” his voice would smooth as he held you in this position. “You want to panic but relax and fight back”

You did what he said, “your legs are your strongest so kick them in the chest” Jungkook would coach from the side, following their instructions you kicked the man off and ducked out the door pulling it closed.

You were gasping and you ran up the stairs and into the dining hall gasping. Namjoon flew to his seat and scooped you up, sitting you on the side of the table.

“Yoongi.” He commanded, he gently brushed his fingers over your neck, he looked upset, angry and sad all at once. The emotions were so strong it shocked you. Grabbing his gun, you pressed it into Namjoon's hands.

“Kill him,” You wheezed, “slowly.”

“You went back down there didn’t you?” Jungkook sighed and before Yoongi could stop him Namjoon cocked the gun and stormed off. Seokjin followed after him and they all watched you trying to help.

“Your throat will sting for a few days try not to talk it will help it heal,” Yoongi sighed

“You just don’t want to hear me talk,” you joked, wincing at the pain. “Got it, no talking.”

Namjoon threw the man into the dining hall and dragged him by his hair across the floor, “the lady has requested you die and slowly.”

Namjoon shot him six times in both legs, one in each foot, calf and thigh, the blood was pooling everywhere. You felt queasy, you wanted this but you weren’t sure you could stomach it.

“If you can make it back to your people with these wounds I will let you go?” Namjoon put his gun away and the man tried to crawl away, losing strength as he streaked blood across the ground.

The man was making horrible noises and you didn’t like it, covering your ears and Yoongi warned Namjoon who shot the mole in the back of the head as he reached for the door handle.

Again the only thing you deemed appropriate after witnessing that sort of horrific event was to seclude yourself in your room. Yoongi visited bringing you soups to soothe your sore throat and his persistence and gentle nature was the only thing that got you to drink some of it.

You laid there alone when it started to rain. You loved the rain, but what surprised you was your new fear of the thunder rumbling in the distance sinister as if it was coming after you.

You had never been afraid of storms you used to stand out on the patio undercover with your father and watch the lights flash and feel the electricity in the air. But now each flash had shadows in your window and was accompanied by gunshots that shook the ground.

You were a whimpering mess and you wanted to get out, you ran from your room and raced down the stairs and out the front door. You were in the rain running down the long estate driveway and you expected to be followed by Namjoons henchmen and dragged back and punished for what you didn’t expect was for Namjoon to be running after you.

He grabbed you and pulled you to his chest hugging you gently and he started to sing in your ear, his voice was low and soothing. You found yourself easing into his chest and your erratic sobbing calmed some.

Forever Rain, Forever Rain, Forever Rain, Forever Rain, Forever Rain,

He repeated this phrase slowly singing into your ear holding you desperately and before you knew it, you passed out in his arms.

Namjoon was sweet, you woke up beside him, you were dressed in a button-up and nothing more and he was in his trousers that looked damp, he was sleeping above the blankets holding your hand as if he hadn’t intended to fall asleep beside you but to watch over you.

You brushed his hair off of his face and covered him with a blanket before heading to his closet, taking out some sweatpants and a plain white shirt. He stirred awake when you emerged from the walk-in closet.

“Good morning,” You said softly

“You haven’t obtained any of my weapons while I was sleeping have you?” He asked, making you laugh behind your hand.

“No, someone hasn’t taught me how to use a gun properly, something about a magazine?” you said, trying to play coy. Namjoon laughed getting out of bed and taking your hand, dragging you into the closet and he began explaining all about guns and you listened he had all these amazing facts from when they were made to how they were made and how they fired and how far.

He demonstrated how to put ammunition into the magazine and the magazine into the gun. He taught you how to take the safety on and off and how to hold the gun being new so as not to accidentally shoot anyone.

He led you to the balcony and smiled telling you to hold the gun and he corrected your stance and hold and he told you to aim at a tree and you did.

“Now shoot?” He smiled encouragingly. You turned to him shocked, starting to protest that you weren’t ready.

“You are just scared I promise nothing will happen?” He smiled talking you through it all again.

He didn’t rush you and he didn’t laugh, he spoke the whole time about what you would like for breakfast. You fired a shot and bumped into Namjoon, he chuckled, “that was a good start. Did you close your eyes? Try again.”

It took a few goes and the boys busting in the room before you were comfortable with the weapon. Each had pointers and you felt empowered once more.

“I can make you a pretty handgun,” Taehyung smiled and the group went to breakfast.

“We have a meeting today, so dress pretty, it’s a good meeting, nothing scary, I think you will like it.” Namjoon smiled, making you nod and run off to get dressed.

“Something Christmassy!” Taehyung shouted.

This wasn’t what you expected when you heard mafia, usually you would think things like guns and drugs and women and violence and sure some of those things were true.

But giving Christmas presents to an orphanage full of children wasn’t what you had in mind. You took a present and handed it out, “are you mister Kim’s wife now?”

You giggled at the children’s naive question and began thinking about what it would be like if you really were Namjoon’s wife.

“Well, he hasn’t asked me so, no,” you laughed with the children some of the teens heard and began teasing Namjoon.

“Why haven’t you asked her yet she is so pretty?” They said, “I would ask her.”

“Namjoon is shy, underneath the suit he is just a boy with dimples” Jimin teased earning a wad of wrapping paper at his head from the man in question. You had stepped outside into the snow watching it fall around you, Namjoon was eyeing you through the small glass window.

Excusing himself Namjoon left the children and headed out into the snowy garden, he shrugged off his jacket as he approached and slipped it over your shoulders. Clearing his throat “you shouldn’t be out here, you might catch a cold”

“Not with you here” You elbowed him playfully, he chuckled allowing you to lean against him, he didn’t tell you he was cold but dutifully stood there and kept you company.

“Thank you so much,” The woman said, as you all stepped out the front door, the boys all headed to the car and you were left beside Namjoon who had left his arm around your waist leading you to the car. “For the presents and the donation, the children and I truly appreciate it.”

“Y/n?” Namjoon said as you walked into the dining room to find it empty, the food was set and there were candles. “I wanted to speak with you privately.”

“Okay, what did you want to talk about?” You asked curiously, what was so important that his men whom he confided everything in were not present.

“Since I met you, I have broken so many of my rules, I have been late, I have forgotten what I have wanted to say, I have spoken without purpose, I have even broken the rule to keep speeches short and sweet.” He laughed rubbing the back of the neck. “I have enjoyed your company greatly and you have made me a better man because of it. Ever since I met you, I was enraptured by your brains and beauty. You are fiery and sassy and kind and real.”

“Thank you, I haven’t done that much though.” You weren’t being modest, you hadn’t done anything special to warrant his compliments.

“I wanted to ask if you would do me the greatest honour of marrying me?” He said, “I will keep you safe, you will never go hungry or cold, I will cherish you with every fibre of my being.”

“Yes,” You said in shock, you liked him of course, you had for a while now but the fact that he could get anyone and he chose you. That was what shocked you, you weren’t on the same status level. He was very high class and you were scrapping the lower end of high class.

The celebration was to be held at the grand hotel, the hall was booked and looking spectacular you were announcing your engagement. It was a real lavish affair and you were in the most expensive gown you had ever seen, feeling like a million dollars and wearing a million and a half.

It was all real, the shoes, jewelry, hotel, engagement and you couldn’t believe it. “Is this a dream?” the stylist shook her head.

You were trying to wonder where it had all come together; it was little gestures and actions. When the two of you met and he was charming and poise when dancing with you. The more you got to know him he was meticulous and sassy and strict, he didn’t miss a chance to correct and reprimand you.

Somewhere along your journey he started to enjoy your company, he became more clumsy, and open to new ideas. He took a chance and started approaching you with his feelings and what blossomed between you was love.

“My lady, if you are ready follow us to take some photos with your fiance on the rooftop.” You were shaken out of your daydream and guided to the elevator headed for the rooftop, the two men were talking into headsets, “Everything is secure” The man said straight-faced, and the other man helped you hold the small train of your dress.

When you stepped out the men guided you across the rooftop and told you to sit in the chair while the cameraman finished setting up. You sat drinking, you only got a short way through it before you fell asleep.

Waking it was dark, you were strapped to the chair and there was something heavy and bulky on your chest. Eyes adjusting to see the glowing numbers on your chest. You started to cry, something was wrong and almost an hour went by before, you heard someone shouting your name.

“Y/N!” it was Jimin.

“Jimin!” You shouted and he raced over to the door but you heard the clanking of chains. You were locked in.

“Wait here, I will get the others and something to get you out.” He was gone before you could tell him.

You heard more voices and Namjoon came over, you had ten minutes written on the digital clock on your chest, the numbers flickering down consistently. “Y/N?” Namjoon said, “Don’t worry, we will get you out?”

“Namjoon,” You cried from the seat, sobs breaking through your words, “There is a bomb.”

“Where is the bomb?” Namjoon said

“It’s here,” Hot tears falling from your eyes stinging, “It’s on me, there is only nine minutes left.”

He swore, “Break this door down now, find another way in?”

They all began struggling and trying their best, but you knew it was useless. Namjoon, go, take everyone and go, there isn’t enough time?”

“No!” Namjoon growled smashing his fists on the door and throwing his shoulder into it, “I will get you out of it.”

“Namjoon, send the boys away don’t get them hurt because of me?” You whispered, “Go!”

“Leave us,” Namjoon said, his voice defeated.

“We won’t leave without you both?” Jungkook said, the timer said three minutes and you wanted to scream at them to go but the sobs took everything out of you.

“A man will follow orders to the letter Jungkook.” Namjoon said, sending the younger man away, “Get out of here.”

“Yeah rule number twenty-two, but what about number thirty-three take a challenge or thirty-nine finish what you start.”

“Jungkook, leave now before I shoot you, your orders are to get everyone out of the building, we will be down soon.”

Jungkook hesitated before running off. You called out to Namjoon begging him to leave but he refused continuing to try to break down the door blinking away the blur in your eyes from the tears you saw the time had only a minute left.

“Namjoon, there is only a minute left, please leave.” You pleaded and you could hear him on the other side of the door.

“I am not leaving you,” He sniffed, voice watery and shaking with the sounds of his sobs. He broke the number one rule.

[Part 2]

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magnusbanewastaken · 4 years

Text

WHAT TO BUY THE SHADOWHUNTER WHO HAS EVERYTHING (And Who You're FINALLY Officially Dating... And More)

SUMMARY: In compliance with our roleplaying group's winter holidays special activity, following the prompt: “Someone has just become fabulously wealthy and is picking out gifts for their family.”

RATING: G

CHARACTER/S: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Max Lightwood-Bane

TAG/S: rpgroup, writing challenge, romance, winter holidays, christmas

also @ ao3

Last minute Christmas gift-shopping was always a terrible idea. Either things would be out of stock by that point or nothing much of worth would be left on the shelves. Not to mention the surprising long lines that still exist that late into the holidays. Not to mention having to deal with ill-tempered customers in line with you and the frustrated staff who had to be stuck at work instead of spending the last few days before Christmas preparing for their own celebrations at home. But that's not always the case, not if you were like Magnus who knew exactly where to go.

Everywhere you looked in the Liberty Mall were a festoon of lights, ribbons, tinsels, shiny ornaments, and faux evergreens decked along escalators, archways, and guardrails. A massive Christmas tree that reaches up to almost the third floor of the mall, stood tall at the center of the atrium. This was the place to be in Manhattan for Magnus's quick, at-the-very-last minute shopping spree. All the shops were still open despite it being Christmas Eve already but there weren't a lot of people there compared to other stores and strips around Manhattan around this time in the afternoon. The reason for that most likely had something to do with the stores there being lavishly-priced luxury stores. And that was most unfortunate for him since he liked the attention and stares he'd get for the captivating outfits he usually wore.

Today he had on black leather pants, a studded black belt that looped around his waist twice, and a blood red wool overcoat open over a white wool deep V-neck sweater. A pair of gold thin rimmed sunglasses sat neatly over his coiffed hair and his face was subtly slathered with silver bits of glitter just over his eyelids and out towards the outer corners of his eyes. At least there were still some store managers to dazzle, he thought, perhaps he'd even get discounts as it sometimes often happens to him. Not that he needed any discounts. He had a perfectly wonderful yet complicated relationship with money that never really failed him even at times when he'd end up with nothing but the shirt on his back. He could get himself anything he wanted and anything anyone else wanted. Which is how he ended up going for a last minute shopping spree in the first place.

He didn't have to be there. Personally Magnus wouldn't really bother with shopping "traditionally" for anything. He could just conjure up anything from somewhere and compensate for them later, that is if he remembers to do so, and it was more reliable than online shopping. But now that he was practically sharing his life with Alec, some changes with his lifestyle had to be made. His roguish shopping habits weren't something Alec particularly liked leaving the warlock no choice but to oblige.

He sauntered through the marbled floors of Liberty Mall, going in store after store to pick out presents for tonight's party. It was a gathering at the Institute, mostly a Shadowhunter event despite other Downworlders like him being invited and despite Christmas not exactly traditionally celebrated among the Nephilim. It was an excuse to have a party for the holidays and a way to have their growing families gather together for a night. He wasn't in charge of organising this party, a mistake and a tragedy for them if you'd ask Magnus. He would've done it for free if they asked but the other people who aren't his friends and family that will be there were still predisposed into thinking Magnus would have turned it into a Downworlder rave. At least it was Isabelle helming the celebration, he could count on her to pull off something he would still enjoy despite the restraints of the ever-so-uptight Nephilim traditions.

It was easy enough to think of gifts for the women in his life since fashion was always the answer. He went to every big-named fashion houses at Liberty and was immediately entertained by store attendants, likely believing he might be someone important or famous with the way Magnus always carried himself. And if not that, it was the wads of cash he'd fan and flaunt to their faces, Magnus always wanted to do that. Isabelle was easy to give gifts to since she was always more than willing to try out anything Magnus recommends and her taste and style was to his liking. He simply got her anything he thought would look good on him if he was a woman. Maryse, much like her daughter was somewhat easier to give gifts to. Some jewelry here, designer coats and handbags here and there. They didn't always see eye to eye but ever since his little blueberry, Max, came around, Maryse had softened, even Robert too. She'd often invite him over just to chat, although he was certain she just wanted to spoil little Max. But it did give him the opportunity to get close to her and know her well which also pleased Alec.

Lily was another person he found to be easy to gift to, she'd accept almost anything fancy he gave her, even the not-so-fancy ones he'd sometimes trick her into believing were fancy. Clary on the other hand was slightly more difficult as to this day she still had little to no fashion sense and would deny him the opportunity to enlighten her about the latest fashion trends. Even Maia was easier to bend, provided it came along with a couple of board games and video games. But that won't stop him from trying. He didn't want to force Clary into things that would be uncomfortable for her even if they are trendy. He didn't want to change her, he only wanted to open her eyes to different possibilities than just sticking with something safe and casual. Good thing Jocelyn wasn't as difficult as her daughter. He got her some clothes and jewelry but of course he had to give her the finest brushes and paints as well as coffee table books on art. He was certain Clary would be jealous of them but she'll have to up her fashion game first before he gives her anything she actually wanted.

Men were difficult to give gifts to, he thought. If they weren't anything like him who had a taste for all the pretty and stylish things in the world, he wouldn't be enjoying even thinking about what to give them. Raphael and Ragnor were the exceptions since their gifts were almost exclusively joke gifts and expensive ones at that. But, well, it wasn't possible to do that anymore. He completely rushed through gifts for Jace, Simon, Luke, and Robert and got them simple, not-as-thoughtful as the rest gifts. A set of throwing knives from Japan and a set of Scandinavian hunting knives were for Jace. Simon gets to inherit some of the rare comic books in his possession that were still in mint condition. He threw in a couple of the latest computer games in there just to say he actually bought him something. Luke also gets a set of first editions of books he had owned for centuries; he figured he wouldn't mind that they were used books. But he also got him some new clothes and shoes. Magnus appreciated his alternative, scruffy vibe but he can't wear plaid and worn out boots every single day of the week, that's just preposterous, especially when he has to stand next to a lovely woman such as Jocelyn. And for Robert he got him a pair of watches and a set of fashionable ties, dads liked those kinds of things, right?

He also threw in mugs with designs that he thought would fit for everyone like "Nothing Less Than Seven Inches" for Isabelle. "World's Best Grandma and Grandpa" for Maryse and Robert respectively, "Life Is Short And So Am I" for Clary, "I'm A Vampire Let Me Suck You Off" for Lily, things like that. Nobody likes getting mugs, especially not for Christmas, but he had already prepared expensive gifts for them, surely they wouldn't mind the mugs.

He was empty-handed again after sending away the novelty mugs he got for everyone. His loft must look like Santa's Workshop by now with the amount of gifts he sent back there, he was hoping to get back and do some wrapping before Alec and Max comes home. He looked out the glass panes of the side of the mall to see that the sky was still a bluish gray of daylight, and the horizon was just turning into a faint shade of purple. It's only been a couple of hours but going through all those stores felt like a lengthy ordeal. Next year he wouldn't be so generous, he thought, he'll only do it again in ten years or twenty.

Now all that's left was his own little family. Alec and Max. Max and Alec. My family. He kept repeating the thought in his mind. Even if it's been years since he and Alec were together and well over a year since Max came into their lives, it was still a bit odd for him to think that this was all real if he was being honest, but it was all real. Being with Alec was real. Having Max with them was real. He doesn't really show it but even Magnus was still trying to get used to the idea.

Max was not difficult to think of a gift for, what was difficult was restraining himself from spoiling him; Max was such a cute baby it was really difficult not to do so. If Magnus had it his way he would've spoiled him to death, even Maryse was quite eager to do just that, but Alec wasn't going to have any of that, and he was right on this one. Still, it was Christmas, so he got Max some stuffed toys and a rideable toy car that looked very much like the black Maserati he and Alec rode through France last summer. He hoped for the best that Alec would let this slide becuase Max would look really cute in it, provided he didn't float away with it.

Alec was the last person he would be getting a gift for. Magnus could have made an excuse for himself that this was because he saved the best for last but really Alec was the first person he tried to think of a gift for, the moment he woke up this morning to be exact, and since then he hasn't settled on what to actually give him. Magnus wondered how you could love someone so passionately and even know that someone all too well for quite some time, yet you still find yourself having difficulties with thinking of what to gift said someone.

Magnus took respite in a garden cafe on the first floor of the Liberty Mall. He had one of their special winter lattes that were sweet and minty cool to taste while still thinking of a gift for Alec. He knew he couldn't ask anyone else for their opinions, he learned that lesson the last time he tried to think of a gift for Alec on his eighteenth birthday. He could always ring up Isabelle but he figured she would still be busy with organising things for tonight. Scrolling through articles online on his phone didn't help much either since they found them all too tacky and incredibly heteronormative for his liking. He sighed and put down his phone and took a sip from his latte.

His eyes lingered on the stuffed toys sitting inside the toy car he recently bought for Max just sitting next to his chair. He hadn't sent it away to his loft yet since seeing it gave him some sort of comfort. Looking at the car closely made him remember of his time in France with Alec again. That was the time where they finally managed to redo their European trip without having anything to do with demons and cultists. He has been in and out of France far too many times since the Belle Époque but that summer felt like a brand new experience with Alec. Magnus showed him all the places he had fallen in love with in the quaint countrysides of France and Alec showed him how to fall in love with them all over again. He told Alec about how he felt about that and Alec told him how much he looked forward to seeing the world with him. That was a promise that made Magnus believe that what they had was something for the long run, that he would be loving Alec for a long time. And that's when it hit him. He finally figured out what to give Alec.

Magnus's loft never looked so bright and festive unless it was because of his parties. It has been a long time since he last threw one and it was before Max came along. Tonight, his living room was ornamented by the dreamy and warm hues of gold, beige, cream, and white. The usual colours of reds, greens, yellows, and blues were much too gaudy for Magnus's vision of Christmas that year. The only greens in sight were the garlands lined all over the place and the tree sitting at the center of the room, swathed with gold and silver tinsels and ornaments as well as strings of fairy lights. Sitting by the floor and standing about as high as half of the tree were the presents he had bought earlier in the day. Magnus had already changed into the suit he would be wearing tonight. Alec had warned him that he might get looks from people since he would be wearing white when it's not a funeral. Not that Alec really minded but thought he should let him know anyway. Magnus thought that would be ridiculous, he'd be wearing chanterelle beige not white and he would very much like to get looks from people. And that was that, no one could tell Magnus how to dress anyway.

He was surrounded by lights and sparks of blue as he did his magic, as he was still in the middle of boxing and wrapping the last batch of presents when he heard the door swing open. Without pause, he looked over the side of the tree and looking past the mountain of presents to find Alec with an astonished expression on his face. He was also already in his outfit for tonight which was something he asked Magnus to pick for him. He wore dark brown dress pants and brown overcoat over a cozy beige turtleneck sweater that let him look somewhat formal without sacrificing comfort. He would have just worn something semi-formal but knowing Magnus, he wouldn't have let him look too simple next to him. Alec was carrying a little blueberry of a baby in his right arm, wearing a little black and white onesie suit. The little blue warlock was looking far more cheery than Alec at the sight of the presents. Or perhaps he just had a nice mix of milk in his bottle that day, Magnus couldn't quite tell with Max sometimes.

"Did you just rob the North Pole?" asked Alec.

"Of course not! And even if I did, I'd say it's fair game, that jolly old bastard owes me," Magnus just finished tying the final bow on the last gift in the pile when he walked over to where Alex and Max was.

"...Santa Claus is real?"

"Absolutely, and he's a warlock too. I thought that was common knowledge," said Magnus then planted a kiss on Max's temple.

Alec was not always sure whether Magnus was making things up especially when it comes to warlock things and his warlock friends but that wasn't what's important right now.

"You paid for all this, right?"

"I did and here are the receipts to prove it," with a quick snap of a finger there appeared a clipboard of receipts popping up from a blue swirl of light, floating right in front of Alec's line of sight.

Magnus spoke almost too proudly about legally acquiring his gifts. Alec had been persistent in guilting him with the things he'd conjure from somewhere without paying after all. Magnus picked up Max from Alec's grasp before Alec started flipping through the receipts. Then suddenly a gasp was heard.

"By the Angel, Magnus! Twenty thousand dollars just for clothes?" Alec asked, having a more audible and greater shock than the one he had when he came in earlier causing Max to look up at Magnus as if he could understand and was looking at him for answers.

"They were Dior," Magnus simply explained.

"Seventeen thousand dollars for a watch?" Alec continued flipping.

"Two watches actually, believe me that's already cheap, I hope your father doesn't mind."

"How could you even afford all this?" He asked as he still continued flipping but should really be stopping at this point.

"The painting I sold off the other day remember? It was worth millions apparently,"

"Millions?" Alec looked at Magnus with an even greater expression of disbelief than when he started flipping through the receipts.

"This is why I don't want to talk money with you, you look like you're about to faint," Magnus spoke calmly as he held Alec's face in his free hand hoping it would calm Alec down as well.

"Remind me not to ask next time," Alec nodded then sighed. Magnus looked at him, a bit of worry evident on his face but Alec gave him a reassuring smile, "As long as you actually paid for things."

"Yes, dad, I don't do that thing anymore," Magnus quipped with a smile and dipped in for a kiss on Alec's cheek.

"How are we getting all this to the Institute?"

"Darling."

"Right, magic. Almost forgot. Well, we better go ahead, Izzy will kill me if we're late."

"Wait, I'm sure Izzy won't mind us being fashionably late. I want to give you your present right now," said Magnus then passed Max back to Alec's arms.

"You look serious," Alec noted as he let Max nestle comfortably in his right arm.

"Just nerves. I'm not sure why when I know you wouldn't say no."

"No?"

A whirl of blue light appeared in the palm of Magnus's hand. When the glowing light dissipated, underneath it was a small red velvet box. Magnus could see Alec was already too stunned to say anything. He stared at the box in the warlock's hand for a moment and then back at Magnus. His brilliant blue eyes seemed like they were glistening as their eyes met and Magnus felt his heart warm up at the sight of Alec's smile.

Magnus opened the box and cushioned inside were a pair of rings. One had a round ocean blue diamond set in an intricate basket of flame filigrees, setting on top of a half-braided white gold band. The other ring was a bit bigger in size with an emerald cut blue diamond framed with blue melee diamonds.

"You paid for this too, right?" Alec finally spoke, Magnus almost laughed.

"Darling."

"Sorry, nerves."

"It's my promise to you, my love," said Magnus. "I still stand by what I said the last time we spoke about it, that I won't have you marry me until you, until we, can marry in gold. You deserve nothing less and I can't have you settle for less just because you chose to be with me. I want these rings to be a promise and a reminder for us everyday when we might glance upon it that this is all real. Just as real as any other Shadowhunter unions. That the kind of love we have is not worth anything lesser just because it's a little bit different than what Nephilim traditions dictate.

"So, Alexander Gideon Lightwood, if I may ask,” Magnus got down on one knee and looked up at the two loves of his life, first to Max and then to Alec, "Will you promise to stand by me until we can marry in gold?"

"Absolutely. Yes. It's a promise," Alec was holding back tears as he said that. Max might have felt it too since he started blubbering things and patting his little hands on Alec's face as if to comfort him.

Magnus picked out the ring with the round cut blue diamond then reached out for Alec's left hand. He slipped the white gold band in his ring finger then looked up into Alec's beautiful blue eyes with his heart full of love. Alec took out the other ring from the box with his free hand as Magnus raised his left hand in front of him. The ring sat perfectly around Magnus's left ring finger and suddenly it was the most priceless ring he had, putting all the other rings he wore to shame. They both leaned in for a kiss, it was sweet and tender and Magnus felt the warmth of Alec's love between his lips. But Max had other plans when he decided to break it off and hit Magnus on the side of his head.

"Alright you little smurf, we're going, we're going," he smiled as he ruffled the head of the little blue warlock.

"Oh, right, Alec," Magnus raised his hand and behind the blue glow of smoke surrounding his hand, he conjured up what looked to be like car keys. He handed it to Alec and he immediately recognized the logo etched on its body.

"Did you rent this just for tonight? Can't we just Portal through?"

"You know I don't trust Portal-ing with the baby," Magnus replied. "And no, it's not rented, it's yours."

"No way. Magnus, I can't—" but Magnus cut him off with a kiss.

"Darling, no more arguments before a party," said Magnus as he pulled away from Alec. He then took Max from him and carried him in his arms. "I don't want us to look stressed when we waltz in there. We have the image of a perfectly perfect family to rub in people's faces."

Alec was still a bit dumbfounded about everything that just happened. All those surprises in one night seemed to be too much for the Shadowhunter. But Magnus liked it whenever he leaves Alec dumbfounded.

"Now come along, Alexander, I don't want us to be later than fashionably late," Magnus was already out the door and was being playful with Max who was giggling his little heart out. "My little blueberry must steal the show, yes you will, you're going to be just like your papa when you've grown."

Alec eventually broke out from his daze. He followed them out and went on their way to the Institute.

The party had already started by the time they rolled in the Institute grounds in the sleek black Maserati GT Convertible Magnus had just given him. Though the streets were lined with snow, luckily it wasn't snowing that evening so they were able to ride the car with the top down. Alec might have wanted to argue with Magnus about it earlier but driving it now let him warm up to the idea of owning it. Max seemed to have enjoyed the ride as well as he sat on Magnus's lap in the back of the car. Everything seemed to be going smoothly on its own that Isabelle had the time to come out and meet with them. Simon was with her of course and Jace and Clary followed too when they heard that Magnus, Alex, and Max were on their way. But it was really just an excuse for them to be able to leave the party even for a moment. Parties really weren't the same without Magnus in it.

Clary immediately walked over to Magnus who was carrying Max in one arm. Max was still bouncy and lively as he wrapped his hands around Clary's finger and patting his other hand on her head. Jace was in awe of the car that his parabatai drove and recognized it was the same one Alec kept talking about when they got back from their European redo trip last summer. Jace nearly flipped when Alec told him it was his Christmas gift and even Simon who wasn't exactly a car guy was impressed by it. The car conversation was cut when Isabelle broke in to reprimand Alec and Magnus for arriving late but immediately had a change of heart when the two showed off their rings. Isabelle practically leapt in to hug her brother and so did Clary with Magnus. They all said their congratulations but no one could say they were surprised. With the way things are between Magnus and Alec it was just the natural progression of things but it was still something nice to see especially on Christmas Eve.

As Magnus had expected and have willed to happen, there were a lot of eyes on him as he walked inside the Institute with Alec holding his hand and Max nestled in his other arm. No one would dare state for too long but he noticed the side glances and whispers as they walked through. Whether they were bad or good whispers he didn't particularly care, it boosted his ego pretty well either way.

He and Alec approached Maryse and Robert first who were in the middle of a conversation with some of the Blackthorns. Maryse was quick to ask for Max when they got close which Magnus obliged to and passed his little blueberry into his grandma's arms. It was Alec who excused his parents for a moment and brought them aside to show them their engagement rings. Maryse looked like she was getting overwhelmed that Robert had to take Max from her while she hugged Alec tightly. Like the others, they weren't entirely surprised by it but the rings really did make all the difference.

When all was finally said and done, Magnus conjured up the mountain of presents that were sitting back in his living room. The presents were all lined up around the base of the Christmas tree for his friends and family to open up later when the other guests have left. He made sure to conjure up the gifts in the homes of the others who weren't able to make it there that night like Jocelyn and Luke who decided to stay in together. As well as Maia and Lily who had hosted a different kind of party for the werewolf pack and vampire clans.

At the Beth Israel Hospital, Catarina finally had time to take a break from cheering up the kids who were stuck there for Christmas. She sat on her own in the breakroom having a snack and some coffee using a mug that said "Why So Blue?". She was on her phone to check the messages she couldn't read earlier and most of them were typical holiday greetings. The one that stood out and brought a smile to her face was a photo greeting of Magnus and Alec showing their rings and Max floating on his own next to them with the caption, "Happy Holidays from the Lightwood-Banes".

#malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #max lightwood-bane #the mortal instruments #tmi fanfiction #tmi fanfic #river writes crap

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kitty0boy · 3 years

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Y’all know what time it is. I know it’s past April fools day but I’ll be damned if I don’t write some for it. And knowing my sleep deprived Marichat obsessed ass, you know it’s gonna be Marichat.

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It was April fools day, and everyone knew it was Chat Noir’s favourite. Well they didn’t know for sure but he seemed to be out and about more than usual every year on April first. And nobody was complaining. His practical jokes were always light hearted and fun, purrhaps if he did this everyday, no one would be akumatized. The streets where each prank took place was filled with laughter and excitement at seeing the hero in person. He was happier too, seeing everyone smile and hearing them laugh was his favourite part of the day.

Unfurrtuately Adrien was scheduled to have a photo shoot that same day, and in an act of rebellion, decided to prank his father by hiding from him all day and occasionally he detransformed and took pictures of himself in different locations before retransforming and taking off again. He would scroll through the comments on each post and he his school friends cheering him on. He just hoped that Gabriel didn’t punish him too harshly for this, then again he wouldn’t let that stop him from living normally. What was he gonna do anyway, take his miraculous? If a super villain whose been hunting it down for 4 years can’t take it, there’s no way his father could.

For his final act of the day he had something special planned. It had been set up, waiting for them all day. He just had to go pick her up in the most Foolish way possible. And what’s more foolish than a clown costume? Nothing, the answer is nothing. So dawning the oversized shoes, the baggy polka dot pants, the large white collar, and the red wig. He set off to François DuPont Highschool.

She was at the front entrance, talking to Alya. Neither of them were wearing their usual outfits though and their hair was soaked. Kim had mentioned something about water balloon so he’d just assumed that was the cause. Instead Marinette wore a cute dark brown button up sundress with a pastel green dress shirt underneath. Accompanied by some simple platform boots. Her wet hair fell into light curls that brushed her shoulders when she laughed. He guessed that she’d caught word of Kim’s endeavours and brought a change of clothes, or maybe she brought them just in case.

Puffing up his chest and holding his head high, he waddled over in his giant red shoes that squeaked with each step. Did he almost trip and fall, yes a few times. Did he adopt a wider stance as a result, yes, yes he did. By the time he’d gotten to Marinette he was the same height as her while he scuttled like a crab behind her. Alya had taken notice a long time ago and struggled to stifle her laugh, she knew he wanted it to be a surprise and oh boy was it. He pulled a little horn out of his pocket, the ones with the rubber ball end that you have to squeeze to get the sound out. He pinched it and she flew into the air and nearly tripped on his shoes but he caught her before she could hit the ground. Alya burst out laughing, nearly falling to the ground. “Oh my god,” she said between cackles. “That was amazing.” Marinette started laughing too, “Chat you scared me.” She giggled. Step one complete, onto step two.

He took a few steps back, each squeak of his shoes making the girls laugh louder. It took Marinette a minute to compose herself when she turned to face him. He took a pink rose out of his belt and held it out to Marinette in a bow. A few gasps were heard from the top of the staircase as more students came out only to witness a cat clown giving a pretty girl a rose. She took it carefully and inspected it from a distance before deciding that there was nothing tricky about it. He pointed to it and she spun it around in her hands a few times before finding what he wanted her to find. Written on the outside petals was a message for her, only two words. “Brace yourself?” She read aloud before he slung her over his shoulder (ensuring that she skirt was covering her of course) and ran off with her. The red wig flying off his head. In their journey he spotted a very angry Lila Rossi, what a lovely bonus.

“Chat! Hey put me down!” Marinette laughed over his shoulder. Before they really got moving she’d propped herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck so that she wasn’t completely slung over his shoulder. Which he was glad for, he didn’t want her to get dizzy, just wanted to take her on a fun run across the roof tops of Paris. Of course there was a destination though, and it was waiting just across the street. In one final leap, they’d arrived at Le Pont des Art with its many lockets reflecting the sunlight. Reached up and grabbed her waist with both hands before lowering her to the ground.

“And what are we doing here?” She asked crossing her arms. “I thought we could go for a little, catwalk. See that we can find in the lockets.” He pointed. ‘Please take the hint’ he thought, and thankfully she did. “What did you hide here kitty?” She teased before turning towards the fence. “You’ll see, but if you want to find it, I’d suggest looking in the section.” He gestured to a square section of locks while she turned to look through them. Occasionally she would hold one that had familiar names on them. Exclaiming, “Hey I know them! They live across the street.” or something along those lines. Until her eyes fell on the lock he was waiting for. It was the only one that was unlocked on the bridge. “Maman et Papa’s lock.” She said. She tentatively cradled the lock in her hands before running her thumb across the initials engrave into it. “Hey wait, why isn’t it locked?” In her realization she turned around and glared at Chat, he was in the middle of taking off the baggy pants and he froze, holding his hands up in surrender. “They said it was ok, you know since they’re taking all the locks off anyways.” She didn’t seem convinced. “They asked if we could take it back home to them and besides, I only broken the lock mechanism.” Her gaze softened and she unhooked to lock from the fence. Keeping her eyes fixed on it, she walked over to Chat and sat beside him on the bench. “How did you find it? There’s hundreds of locks on the bridge.” “Simple, they showed me.” He explained. “They still knew where it was?” She asked, he wasn’t sure how they remembered either honestly, but “I have a feeling that, they put it on the fence on a special day. Maybe they even came back to see it a few times.” She let out a small gasp beside him as she rubbed her finger along the back of the metal. She turned it over only to find a small “MDC” craved on the back. “I guess we know when the put it on the fence then.” He couldn’t see her face, but he felt her smiling, and when she turned her head towards him, the purest light danced in her eyes. He smiled at her and he smiled back.

“Now then, I do have a lock if you want to use it.” He stated as he rummaged in his pocket. “Wait really?” She perked up, looking around to the hand in his pocket, watching as her pulled out a silver locket with an engraved design of vines swirling around the edge. “Oh wow Chat it’s beautiful.” She said reaching out for it, but before she could grab it he pulled his hand back out of her reach. “Ah ah purrincess, you can’t look at anymore than this until Hawkmoth is defeated.” He told her. “Oh? And why is that?” He put the lock back into his pocket before crossing his arms. “Because it has my real first initial on it.” He stated simply. “Chat! Your superhero name would have been fine.” She lightly smacked his arm with the back of her hand. “Yeah but I wanted it to be more official, you know?” Her face turned pink, very reminiscent of her bedroom walls. “Official as in, what I think it is?” He laughed, was she really embarrassed about that? “Well not all the people that come here put locks on are a couple Marinette,” Chat turned to look out at the sun. “I’ve seen a mother a son come to put a lock on here once. They were laughing to themselves. The mom put the lock on while her kid twisted the key to lock it, then she picked him up and he threw it in the seine.” He smiled. “Do, do you know which one it was?” He looked down at Marinette, she looked so cute when she was curious. He took her hand and walked with her a little ways across before stopping and grabbing a locket in his hand. “G, E, and A Agreste. Chat I know them! That’s Adrien and his parents! Oh do you think Adrien would want his locket too?” He blinked, he hadn’t thought about it. Did he want to keep the locket? What would his father do if he found out he had it. He clearly wasn’t over Emilie, despite it being year 4 of her disappearance. “I don’t know Marinette, he might? Why don’t you try giving it to him at school tomorrow.” ‘That way I can decide if I want it or not’ he thought. “Oh but what if he thinks I’m weird, or a stalker?” He looked at her and half smirked half laughed “Why would that make him think you were a stalker?” She crossed her arms and pouted “Well me just happening to find his locket on a bridge that no one else knows about might seem a little stalkerish.” He laughed “Ok first of all, I don’t think ‘stalkerish’ is a word. Second, I don’t think he would think that of you. I mean, you’ve found a bunch of locks today. Plus, I do have fans and they happen to be amazing photographers.” She perked up, “What? Who? Where?” “Uh behind you?” He used his finger to turn her head towards a little boy with a Polaroid camera. He blushed as a picture came out the top. Marinette approached him. “Did you want a photo with Chat? I can take the picture.” He nodded and Marinette held out her hand. After giving her the camera, he walked over to Chat and he was lifted onto the hero’s shoulders. There was a little click before the picture came up. The boy hopped down and shook the picture until the image of him and Chat smiling brightly came through the plastic.

“Hey big guy,” Chat turned to him, “Mind if me and this lovely lady get a photo together while your here?” He kid nodded before holding up the camera. Getting a request from a superhero seemed to have made him so excited that he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Marinette and Chat stepped back to get in frame and without giving her a warning, he scooped her up bridal style causing her to laugh. “Big smiles for the camera princess.” And click, the picture was taken. The boy shook the picture proudly, jumping up and down. So a quiet boy, he sure did have a lot of energy. Out of nowhere a woman came running towards the three and bent down to him. She spoke to him using sign language. ‘Oh shit was this kid deaf, had he understood a word I had said?’ The boy seemed to sense Chat’s confusion. “D-d-ont worry-y. I-I-I un-n-nderstood-d.” He said through a stammer. ‘Oh I see, some people just have an easier time speaking in ASL.’ “Oh sweet, and don’t worry,” he cut himself off, he then signed “I know sign language too.” The boy did a cute little wiggle of excitement before he hoped onto his mother’s shoulders. She stood and signed “Thank you for taking care of my son, he’s a big fan of yours.” He signed back “It was no problem, we had a little photoshoot together. Look.” He held out the pictures to her. She smiled before taking the ones of him and her son, and walking away with the big guys waving at them.

“So kitty,” Marinette piped up, “there was a rolled up paper in the lock.” He turned to her and crossed his arms. “And what does the lock say?” “I think it wants us to go to the Louvre.” She stated. “Well then purrincess,” He said, holding out his hand. “Close your eyes and hold on tight, ok?” He instructed before she was scooped up in his arms and carried towards their next destination.

This is not the end of the story! I still have more I want to write on it. But for one, It’s 3:37 am and I need my beauty sleep and two, this is already longer than what I normally write so I will be writing a second “chapter” soon. I’ll try to have it out by like, Wednesday. I’ll even figure out how to add a link to it. So stay tuned!

#marichat #miraculous ladybug tales of ladybug and chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous marinette #miraculous ladybug #cat noir #ladybug and chat noir

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sortavibing · 4 years

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helloo!! i would like to request a male romantic matchup if thats alright :)? there r so fun to make and i wanna know who i'd be best with LMFAO. my name is siena and my pronouns are she/her and im bi! i'm tiny (5'2) and filipina with long dark hair with bangs and dark brown eyes. i'm a taurus and an enfp-t.

oikawa is one of my top kins and i think kenma is pretty high on my list too. my top kin is marceline from adventure time, idk if that really makes any impact but !! im a pretty upbeat and passionate person, id say! i'm social and love to be with my friends, and am the type of person to start a convo easily. and i tend to be on the more talkative and extroverted side? i'd also say i'm very very sarcastic and super stubborn and self-assured. i'd say im a pretty emotional person, or i'm intuitive with my emotions, and try to help others to be the same. i hold myself to a high standard, especially academically, so i tend to do well in school.

i really like fashion and dressing up and putting together outfits overall, as well as music and singing. i've been a singer for as long as i remember and it's one of my passions!! and i've always loved music too. i also like movies and tv, playing guitar, and staying up really late (i'm a huge night owl).

in relationships, i tend to lean towards best-friend dynamic relationships in a way? someone i truly can be myself around and be super lazy and low-key with. just being in their company but still having fun with them is my dream. my love language is honestly insults and a sense of humor; im very sarcastic and appreciate someone who i can insult the crap out of and i'll receive the same energy back. i also really appreciate little acts of kindness instead of big gestures; i'm an outgoing person but always more private with my romantic relationships. i've never been too into pda / mushy (??) type stuff in general but little, private moments together are always really cute. i would love someone who i could go on midnight adventures with but also stay home late talking and listening to music. <333 thank u so much in advance!!!

hi siena! thank you for requesting! i wish i was doing well in school😐 i aspire to have motivation like you- anyways, here’s your matchup!

i match you up with tsukishima!

what first drew him to you was that you were sarcastic just like he was, so he wanted to get to know you better so you guys could absolutely demolish hinata with just petty comments and shady insults. it also helped that you are pretty extroverted, because you were easily able to help him get to know you better.

you and tsukki do not hesitate to insult each other at every chance possible, and they get so intense that yams is always on standby because he thinks you guys are going to beat each other up, but you and tsukki both know that the insults are your own special way of flirting with each other.

tsukishima isn’t too big on pda either, because he thinks publicly affectionate couples are gross and a little cheesy, but he still likes to hold your hand, or lock pinkies when you guys are walking around with each other, because he wants to show everyone that you are his and his alone, without being too over-the-top about it.

the first time you sang in front of him. he stopped what he was doing and just stared at you, because he was amazed about how good you were. after you noticed that he was staring, he told you to keep singing, and while you were singing, he secretly recorded it, and now he listens to it with his headphones whenever he wants to hear your voice.

since both of you are pretty smart, you guys always study together, taking turns choosing the music, sharing notes and snacks, and reviewing everything you guys need to know. the sessions are actually really helpful, and sometimes yamaguchi joins in to cram on a new topic you guys just learned.

since tsukishima is a foot taller than you, he constantly makes fun of you for being shorter, and if he sees you are trying to reach something that is too high, he will not hesitate to pick it up and take it for himself, or hold it just out of your reach, because this bitch loves to make you struggle and get mad at him.

one of your favorite dates you had with tsukishima was when he wanted to take you out for dinner, but the restaurant he was planning to take you was all booked, so you guys had to take a train to another place to find a restaurant, but when you got there, it was closed, so you guys spent almost the rest of the night trying to find a place to eat, and when you finally did, you found the best restaurant you ever have been too, which made the night actually pretty good, because the entire time you were searching, you guys just talked about whatever you wanted, and tsukki visited a small shop to buy you a little gift while you looked for a restaurant.

please help tsukishima learn how to dress well- like have you seen the official art? concerning i tell you. tsukishima first didn’t really like that you were giving him fashion tips, because he thought he dressed well, but after a while, he finally listened to you, and when he wore the outfit you put together for him, he actually really liked it, so you are now his personal fashion consultant.

every few weeks, you and tsukki have a movie night, where one of you chooses a movie, and for the entire show you guys just roast the hell out of the characters and their decisions. there is only one series of movies he refuses to insult, and that is the Jurassic Park series. you make fun of him for it, but he just ignores you because he thinks that they are amazing movies.

overall, you guys are a couple that don’t have to be super romantic or sappy to still enjoy each other’s company, and you both trust and respect each other a lot. you guys also aren’t afraid to call out each other’s shit, or just make fun of them, because both of you know that you don’t really mean any mean thing that you say to each other, which is a really fun dynamic to have in a relationship.

i hope you enjoyed!

#haikyuu #haikyuu matchups #tsukishima kei #tsukishima headcanons #haikyu #haikyu matchups #tsukishima x you #tsukki #tsukishima imagines #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu headcanons #haikyu imagines

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xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx · 4 years

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Official Not-Fake Date - Gerard Way x Reader

Request: basement Gerard asks you to be his date to aunt’s fancy birthday party, gee in suit, mikey loves you two together

Word count: 2 000 (wow, look at these beautiful three zeros in a row. Perfect.)

A/N: Yes, this is a gender neutral reader, even though they are wearing a suit. Because I, a female, would prefer wearing a suit over wearing a dress at most family parties. And I take no criticism for happy Mikey. AND: Happy Birthday to Mr. Gerard Way. Thank you for all the inspiration and strength to keep on fighting which you have given me and so many other people. I hope you never find this story bc that would be very embarrassing.

One more look in the mirror? Not like there was enough time to change anything anymore, so…? You turned around none the less, and looked yourself over in the huge mirror in your hallway. The suit you wore was of an elegant and very flattering cut, and sky blue. You had been hesitant about it at first when you had bought it, but now the blue was a lot more easy going on the eyes than black would have been. Not that you minded the black, in fact Gerard would turn up in a black suit, but for you, you felt the blue matched better, especially considering the wonderful spring weather outside. You ran your fingers through you hair and secretly wondered whether it would stay like this throughout the entire day, when the doorbell rang. Quickly you walked over to the coat rag, grabbed your jacket, and opened the door.

Outside Gerard was bouncing up and down on his heels, and when he saw you, his chin dropped slightly.

“Wow, (y/n), you look great,” he complimented, unable to take his eyes off you.

“Thanks, so do you!”

And you were not lying. You were used to seeing Gerard wearing ripped jeans and washed out band shirts that were several numbers too huge for him. But now he was dressed in the black suit he had told you about, a blue shirt, which magically matched the colour of your suit, and a tie. His unruly black hair was brushed and seemed to have been brought into some kind of order, but was already defying all the effort again. He looked more than just great.

Offering you his arm, he walked you to the car and held the door open for you, before quickly jumping in on the other side behind the wheel.

“Thank you for doing this,” he said, when he turned into the next street, “I really didn’t want to be the only one without a date, again.”

“It’s fine, anytime,” you shrugged.

Gerard had called you a week ago, asking if you were okay with being his date for his aunt’s birthday. The way he had phrased it had not made it clear if this was a real date, or just a fake. Since you were not dating, you assumed the latter. Not that you would have minded if it had been a real date. On the contrary.

The rest of the drive went by fast. You talked a little, about the usual stuff, music, friends, family, and listened to the radio.

The party was at a fancy restaurant with a huge garden. If you had worried about being overdressed earlier, these worries now were gone. Wearing your suit, you were pretty much the golden middle between all the other outfits the guests were wearing. Gerard had offered you his arm again, and guided you inside, where Mikey was the first one to spot you.

“Gee, (y/n), hey,” he laughed and came over, “you look great together.”

“I should hope so,” Gerard laughed, and quickly sent a glance to you, checking if you were okay with his statement.

“You don’t look to bad yourself, Mr. Way,” you laughed, and let go of Gerard’s arm to adjust Mikey’s bow tie.

“(Y/n), Gerard, you’re here,” Mrs. Way greeted, and politely you shook her and her husband’s hands.

You had met Gerard’s parents only twice before, and were not entirely sure if they knew you and Gerard were not together, but you did not bother to correct them, when they encouraged you to go over to the photographer who was currently taking pictures of all the couples.

Gerard did not seem to be bother either, because he just took your hand, and led you over to where his mother had pointed you.

On the way there you met Mikey’s girlfriend Kristin, who you knew from all the D&D evenings which the brothers loved hosting, and halfway to the photographer, you even found his aunt whose birthday it was.

After congratulating her, and Gerard handing her a box of chocolates he had been hiding in his jacket, she started asking about you.

“This is (y/n), we met in one of our college classes,” Gerard explained. He seemed to be ready to elaborate on it, but his aunt spotted someone else across the room.

“Ah, college, a wonderful place to fall in love. Good to meet you (y/n),” she mumbled, and left you standing.

“Okay-“ you laughed, and Gerard shook his head.

“She’s always like that. Her thoughts are never in one place for too long,” he grinned, “Shall we take that picture?”

The photographer had arranged a couple of flower as the background in front of a huge curtain, and patiently gave advice to the people he was taking pictures of.

“Stand a little closer,” he suggested, waving Gerard to step closer to you, “come on, you two, don’t be so shy!”

You tried to ignore the hammering heart in your chest, and moved your weight from one foot to the other, so you were leaning closer to Gerard. From this close up you could smell his deodorant. You flinched in surprise as you felt him place his hand on your waist, and pulled you a little into him. With big eyes you looked up to him, but he just focused on the camera, and smiled gently.

“Wonderful, perfect, that’s it,” the photographer cheered, “you’re done. You can pick up your pictures later. Next!”

Quickly Gerard and you stepped aside, making space for the next couple.

“Should we- should we go into the garden?” Gerard’s cheeks were dusted over pink, making you wonder if he had been as nervous about getting these pictures taken as you had been.

“Sure, let’s catch some fresh air,” you agreed, and side by side you stepped onto a huge terrace. The garden was truly gigantic. A huge field of flowers spread out before you, and in the distance huge trees reached up into the sky. Small tables with chairs were spread out across the lawn. Standing close to some rose bushes were Mikey and Kristin. They had stuck their heads together and were giggling, but when Kristin saw you, she pointed over to you, and the two met you halfway to them.

“Got the picture taken,” Mikey asked, and you could not help but wonder what he was up to. Judging by his wide grin? Something evil.

“Yeah, we- we did,” Gerard nodded.

“I really have to say, you two look so happy together,” Kristin smiled, “I mean, I knew you liked each other, but…”

“It’s good to see you finally had the courage to ask (y/n) out,” Mikey completed Kristin’s sentence, and playfully hit Gerard’s shoulder.

“We-“

“I know, I know,” Kristin interrupted you, “you’re not supposed to say that to people, but you two just have such wonderful energy together. And Mikey told me how much Gee loves you.”

“I-“

“I’m glad you’re happy now, dude, you really deserve this,” Mikey grinned even wider at interrupting Gerard, “come on babe, I think it’s almost time for the first course.”

And with that he took his girlfriend’s hand, and they quickly walked away, leaving Gerard and you in stunned silence.

“What just happened,” you asked weakly.

“I never- I never told Mikey how much I love you,” Gerard protested, “I-“ Helplessly he turned to you. “I don’t- he made that up- I-“

You did not know what it was but somehow Gerard had managed to completely ruin your day with these couple of stammered words. What had you been thinking anyway? That this was some stupid rom-com where you pretended to be his date and in the end he would admit to actually having been in love with you the whole time? Just because you wanted it to be that way did not mean it was that way. Trying to will the stinging in your eyes away, you swallowed hard.

“I think Mikey said food’s gonna be served soon,” you managed to choke out, and turned to walk away.

“Hey, (y/n), no, wait, that wasn’t- that’s not- shit!”

Quickly he grabbed your wrist, and turned you back around to him.

“Shit, I messed up, okay, whatever, fuck this,” Gerard mumbled more to himself than to you. Looking up into your eyes, he bit his lip, “I never did tell Mikey how much I love you, he made that part up, but-“

“It’s fine,” you shrugged, “You needed someone so accompany you, so your family doesn’t bug you about why you don’t got a date. It’s fine.” Damn it, how was your voice so steady and calm when all you wanted to do was cry and run away. Maybe you should try to get into voice acting instead of animation at art school?

“Let me finish please,” Gerard asked, trying to catch your eyes, but you avoided looking at him, scared you could not hold back the tears. “The point is that I do love you, or at least am totally in love with you, have been since basically the first time you set down next to me in class. That’s why I asked you to come today, I thought maybe I could ask you to be my real date and not just some pretend date, but it turns out I’m far too much of a coward to do that. But I do love you, and I want you to be my real date for this, but I didn’t tell Mikey. And now I probably messed up our friendship.”

He let go of your wrist, and stepped back. He looked sad and lost and scared, but there was a confidence in his eyes you had not expected. You knew that he meant every word he had told you, and if you would ask him now if he meant it, he would probably laugh in despair, throw his head back and exclaim that indeed he did. So you did not ask, and instead took the step towards him which he had taken away from you.

“Yeah,” you whispered, gently taking his hands in yours, “you totally messed up our friendship.”

You waited for Gerard to look into your eyes in confusion before you closed the small gap between you, and pressed your lips against his. You could feel him tense up for a second, before he under stood. His skin was cool from the spring air, and his lips still quivered slightly as he let go of your hands, and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him, while kissing you sweetly.

“Hey, stop making out, the first course is on,” Mikey shouted from the terrace, surprising both you and Gerard.

“Shut up,” Gerard shouted back to his brother, who ran bent over laughing, and walked back inside.

Questioningly you looked up at Gerard.

“Where does that leave us,” you wondered, intertwining your fingers with his.

“Everyone in there already thinks we’re dating…”

“And I return your feelings,” you added, “just so that that’s clear.”

Gerard giggled quietly.

“Well, in that case I think I’d really like you to be my official not-fake date for the rest of the day,” he announced, “and even longer, if you want that.”

“I’d love that,” you agreed.

“Now that that’s cleared up, I think we definitely should see what kind of fancy food we can get in there,” Gerard laughed.

“We’re college students! We eat whatever free food we can get!”

Together you walked back to the terrace, but just before walking in, Gerard stopped you.

“Were Mikey and Kristin planning this?”

You thought back to how they had giggled when Gerard and you had stepped into the garden, and glanced over at them, sitting at the table, watching you two closely.

“Definitely,” you decided.

“Damn it, I owe them!”

“So do I, don’t worry,” you patted Gerard’s back, and together you walked over to your seats next to Mikey and Kristin, who were already grinning far too brightly.

Taglist (if you want to be added or taken off, please let me know):

General: @justawriterinprogress @robinruns @jayloverthe3rd @lookalivefrosty @butterfly-writes @angelevansfalls @rene-royale @500240 @starduststyx

MCR: @deadlovers

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faean · 4 years

Text

Midnight x Gender Neutral Reader

Requested by: I really do not know or remember. Whoops.

Rating: T+; Innuendoes, Midnight being Midnight

Word Length: 1,287 words

Title: Playful Thoughts

-----

(Y/N) (L/N), recent college graduate and holder of a Bachelor of Arts in Quirk History with an emphasis on its prevalence in art and culture, along with a minor in Hero Studies and Linguistics and some very important teaching credentials.

Now on the path for a career, (Y/N) is hoping to be employed at one of the many Hero Schools that are spread across the globe; however, what you did not expect was to get a job offer. Much less a job offer from U.A., one of the most prestigious Hero Schools in Japan. Having read the letter over and over and over and…

Well, it all seemed a dream come true. They were offering to help pay for any travel expenses should you need to relocate and even had suggestions on finding a home near the school. Your pay would be exceptional with ample opportunities for a raise if you go for a Master’s or Doctorate’s; you’d get full benefits within thirty days of employment; your own parking space; and you’d be teaching alongside Pro Heroes, including All Might!

There was just one simple yet excruciatingly important little detail you missed in your excitement that you didn’t discover until already moved into your new apartment.

‘There will be a probational teaching period where you aid one of the teachers for a full school week so we may determine which class you would be best suited for.’

Needless to say-

“Shit…” you breathed out in a nervous huff. “I actually moved and applied for citizenship and everything, and I didn’t even bother to read the full letter.”

Your anxiety grew rapidly, but it was just as quickly quelled as you reread that sentence.

‘…so we may determine which class you would be best suited for.’

A sigh of relief escaped your lips as you sunk into the couch in your new living room. “I am hired, they just don’t know where to put me. At least I still have two weeks before school officially starts. Maybe I can meet with the principal and even find out which teacher I’ll be shadowing…” you said, trailing off as you began to imagine different scenarios.

You only knew of a few teachers at U.A., mostly through the news and other media, and some of it from your own research. There’s Present Mic, though he didn’t strike you as someone into history and art other than music. There’s also Midnight, and she gave you chills, though she is an Art History teacher, so it may be her, which means having to get used to, well, Midnight. Then, there’s All Might himself, but you were pretty damn sure he’s teaching Heroics, and you don’t have the necessary licenses to teach that. Of course, there were a number of teachers at U.A., and not just in the Hero Department. There’s the General Studies (where you kind of hope to be put), the Support Department, and Business Classes…

“I really hope I make it into the General Studies. Even though I minored in some heroic practices, I’m not really up for that sort of thing.” You said aloud, now laying sprawled across the couch as you continued to think.

---

It was time. The first official day of school. Despite becoming fairly close with many of the teachers and heroes at the school, you still had trouble warming up to one, almost literally.

The R-rated Hero: Midnight. (Or was it 18+ Hero? You were regretting not paying attention in your linguistics class, it would have helped a lot.) Every time she was near, she sent chills up and down your spine, and you tried to avoid her whenever possible. Until you learned that you’d be shadowing the Art History teacher for Class 1-A, Midnight. After learning this, you tried to talk to her more, but everything about her just made you a nervous wreck, and you couldn’t figure out why.

Was it her outfit? No, there are countless scantily clad heroes and heroines out there, and at least she has a full body suit, even if her suit is the same tone as her skin.

Maybe it was her Quirk? It could put people to sleep when they smell it, and it’s supposedly more effective on men than women, but you hoped you wouldn’t have to experience it for yourself.

Perhaps it was her personality? She had no shame about how she dressed or acted, regardless of who was around. Her dominatrix personality both intrigued and terrified you, which means it probably works.

Watching some media clips of her work didn’t help, either. Especially during the time where she wore mostly leather and nothing else. Honestly, you couldn’t figure out if you were scared or turned on, or both. Which only made things more confusing. That is, until you actually started shadowing her.

She was an exceptional teacher, and she tolerated no disrespect. Though, you had to admit she could be a little harsh, even sadistic, when interrupted or insulted, which happened often, unfortunately (a certain purple ball-haired boy really made you wish you were in General Studies). Then, there was the fact that she was genuinely helpful. She made sure the students listened to you when you would take over, she walked you through the grading system, and she helped you prepare your own lessons. Although, there was one minor problem.

The more time you spent with her, the more you started to adopt some of her tendencies. The confidence and no tolerance for disrespect were good, but then you found yourself thinking about innuendoes and retorts to them when something remotely suggestive was said. There was the oh so original ‘that’s what she said’ quote, but soon, those thoughts started to revolve around Midnight.

I can help rip her suit off… for Quirk use, obviously.

Those thighs can kill, and I will happily sacrifice myself for the greater good.

Do I prefer legs, or breasts…? How about yes?

Hi, yes, I would like to order one dominatrix in six-inch heels that will tower over me.

All right, that last thought was more revealing than you, err, thought, and you realized you had to do something about it. With the students soon to return after they recover from the USJ Incident (you were grading some homework when everything went down, but without a proper hero license, you couldn’t do anything), it would be the only chance you got at speaking privately (heh) to Midnight.

But… that wouldn’t be the case.

“So, (L/N) … You wanted to talk?” Midnight spoke in a sultry tone; her arms extended on either side of you as she backed you into a corner.

“I-I-I-…” you stammered, a blush spreading across your face and neck as your knees felt weak.

Midnight was mere inches from you, her hand now resting on your shoulders as she wore a sadistic grin. “Seeing you tremble and stammer before me really turns me on, (Y/N),” her hands began to rove across your upper body, stroking your arms and ghosting over your chest and neck, “but I also really enjoy seeing you take control in the classroom.” She pressed herself up against you as she said that, and you almost fainted right then and there.

Unable to form any coherent words, just small, embarrassing squeaks and moans, Midnight took control, and you didn’t want her to relinquish it.

She took one of her hands to your chin, curling a finger under it as her thumb rested just beneath your bottom lip, ever so slightly parting them. She leaned in close, her breath tickling your ear as she moaned out “I think I prefer the former.”

And all you can remember is her lips meeting yours.

-----

Two down, eight more to go. Have a magnificent Pride, and I hope you heathens enjoyed!

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maraudererasmut · 5 years

Text

Black and White (Part XXII)

((This one is a long one!! I’m sorry for posting so many in such a short period of time... I was just so excited, I couldn’t help myself!))

((TW: Drinking))

Remus dug through his tiny closet, searching for something— anything — that he could get away with wearing to the Halloween party.

There would be other artists there, so he couldn’t just show up without a costume. Lily had insisted that whatever he wore would be fine, but she also emphasized the fact that many of her friends would be dressing up.

There would also be professionals at the party, other gallerists and wealthy individuals— people that James knew and was friends with. Remus knew he couldn’t get away with some crazy outfit; he needed to look at least somewhat presentable, in case he had the opportunity to discuss his art career.

After significantly longer than he would care to admit, Remus finally settled on a fitting outfit; it was just costume enough to appease both crowds. He grabbed his coat and scarf and headed out of his flat, mentally preparing himself for the arduous task of pretending to be friendly.

When Remus arrived, there were pumpkin decorations scattered about the front yard and little strings of lights adorning the door. There was a warm glow pouring out the window, with shadows passing by every once in a while. As Remus approached the house, he could hear the low murmur of people talking and pop music playing in the background.

Ding dong.

Remus patiently waited, clutching a cheap bottle of wine nervously in his hands.

The door swung open and he was greeted by Lily, wearing an absurd amount of makeup. She had little brown freckles drawn on over her already freckled face, with a large black painted nose and white highlights on her cheeks and forehead. Her auburn hair was let down over her shoulders, and she had a headband with animal ears protruding from it. She wore a chocolate brown dress with a white belt and little black mittens. Remus couldn’t help but smile at his friend as he took in her home-made costume.

“What’re you supposed to be?” Lily teased as she gave Remus a once-over.

“I’m a werewolf,” he answered matter-of-factly. He turned his body around to show the little grey tuft of fur that protruded from his trousers. “See? I’ve got a tail and everything.”

Lily let out a joyful laugh and rolled her eyes.

“That is so low-effort, Remus! You’re just wearing your suit!”

“I have ears,” he said with a mock pout, pointing to two balls of fur that he had managed to fasten to his head somehow. “Anyway, not like your costume is more complicated. What are you supposed to be, anyway?”

Lily put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow at Remus.

“I’m a doe. Duh. I’ve got a tail too, you know.” She turned around and wiggled her bum slightly, and Remus had to remind himself that Lily was James’ wife and that he needed to not be staring at her tail. As Lily turned back to face Remus, her smile grew wider. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here.”

Remus lifted his bottle of wine and gave a nervous smile.

“Thanks for having me. This is for you guys… I’m sorry it’s not much…”

“Oh, Remus! You didn’t have to bring anything!” Lily took the wine from Remus’ hands before wrapping him in a hug. “Thank you! That’s so sweet. You… You really didn’t have to.”

“I know,” Remus said, returning her hug. “But I wanted to.”

“Thanks…”

Lily pulled away and beaconed Remus inside. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath in order to mentally prepare himself. When he opened them, he gave Lily a grimace and followed her into the house.

The combination of guests attending the party was eclectic, to say the least.

From what Remus could tell, there were people from all walks of life filling James and Lily's home. The house was large— larger than any house Remus had been inside— and every room Remus could see had people in it. There were men in suits laughing over beers, there were people in eccentric costumes filling cups with punch, there were people on sofas, people in chairs, people standing, people walking around.

In fact, some of the people drifting through the house were holding trays filled with tiny appetizers. At first, Remus had assumed they were in costume, but he quickly realized that they were actual servers doing their actual jobs. Remus had to bite his tongue to keep from making a snarky comment at Lily.

"Welcome to our place!" Lily beamed. "Make yourself comfortable, Remus. Let us know if you need anything."

Remus responded with a stiff nod before Lily walked away to socialize with her other party guests. The artist glanced around and found himself a corner that seemed unoccupied.

"Remus!"

Remus looked up to find James walking towards him with open arms. He had face paint and clothing to match Lily's, but his headband had antlers in addition to ears. Remus smiled at his expressive friend and allowed himself to be scooped into an aggressive hug.

"Hey, James."

"I'm so glad you came! I was worried you weren't going to make it, especially when Lily said you were hesitant on coming. I'm glad you're here!"

"Thanks," Remus mumbled, pulling himself out of James' death grip. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Of course!" James' hand landed on Remus' shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. He looked Remus over and cocked at eyebrow. "Where's your costume?"

Remus rolled his eyes and gave a half-turn, showing James the back of his trousers.

"I've got a tail," he offered with a shrug.

"My god, the two of you! Learn to live a little!"

Remus furrowed his brow and was about to question what James meant when he was cut off by Lily's voice calling for her husband.

"Ah, duty calls!" James gave Remus' shoulder another affectionate squeeze before he sauntered off to join his wife. Remus was left alone with a bemused smile, pondering their peculiar interaction.

One of the waitstaff passed by Remus and offered him a strange concoction in a glass; seemingly some kind of Halloween beverage. With a shrug and a you only live once attitude, Remus accepted it. It was sweet and strong, a dangerous combination for an alcoholic drink.

"Evening, Mr. Lupin."

Remus turned around to find Sirius Black standing behind him, perfectly straight posture, chin lifted ever so slightly, arms tucked behind his back. The gallery owner had a wry grin on his face and his silvery blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Back to last names, I see," Remus teased, taking a deep swig of his drink and hoping for the alcohol to help relax him.

"Where's your costume?" Sirius asked, positioning himself beside Remus and staring out at the crowd of people that was steadily growing in size.

"Where's yours?" Remus retorted, mirroring Sirius' position, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other man.

Sirius was wearing an all black suit, complete with a black shirt and a black tie. He had his hair down, falling loosely across his shoulders, swept away from his face with a hairband, which had a pair of furry black ears. Like Remus, Sirius had a tail attached to his trousers, which the artist pointedly tried not to notice.

"I'm a dog," Sirius said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So I've heard," Remus retorted with a smirk. "But what's your costume?"

Sirius let out a bright, cheery laugh, garnering the attention of other party goers. It swooped through Remus and made his stomach drop, and the artist couldn't help but blush. Sirius' laugh was infectious, and Remus chuckled along.

"Sirius!"

Both men glanced across the room, where Dorcas was waving with a broad grin spread across their face. Sirius cocked an eyebrow and gave a nonchalant shrug, offering Remus an almost-apologetic smile.

"Duty calls," the gallery owner said, before nodding towards his friend.

"Go schmooze. I'll be fine here with my…" Remus raised his empty glass pointedly. "Whatever this is."

With a flash of a grin that seemed like it was reserved just for Remus, Sirius nodded his head and turned around. He swept across the room, offering people polite smiles and happy greetings. Remus thought back to the first night that he met Sirius, the way he commanded a room, the magnitude of his presence. This was the same Sirius— the gallery owner who knew how to chat people up and win over their hearts.

As impressed as Remus was, the soft-spoken Sirius from their intimate talk in the gallery was the artist's favourite version of the man.

——-

As the evening went on, Remus found that Lily was right— though he'd be damned if he ever told her that himself. Lily's friends from school did have a lot in common with Remus, and he enjoyed mocking the contemporary art scene alongside them.

They were quirky individuals, exactly the type of people that Remus had imagined he'd meet at art school, all wearing elaborate costumes with hand-made elements. They had a lot to talk about, constantly bickering over each other and chiming in with their thoughts. It was surprisingly fun, and Remus felt a pang of jealousy as he reminded himself that this wasn't real, that these weren't his actual friends. They were just being polite because they knew he was friends with Lily.

Remus brought his drink to his mouth and took a deep swig, vaguely wondering in the back of his mind if this was his fourth or fifth glass of mystery-halloween-drink. By the time glass four-or-five was finished, Remus was starting to feel noticeably dizzy; he bid the other artists goodbye and set out to find a glass of water.

He ended up nearly bumping into one.

"Remus!"

The artist glanced up and found himself staring into two pools of molten silver, shimmering in the sparkling Halloween decorations. He smiled at them, adamantly refusing to look away. Silvery blue was officially his new favourite colour.

"Remus, are you okay?"

Remus reached out a hand and pressed it into a black lapel. The fabric was so soft, he couldn't help but run his fingers across it.

"Yeah, 'm fine," Remus said with a relaxed grin. It was true. He was fine. For the first time in weeks, he was fine. He wasn't thinking about his art, he wasn't worried about his emotions, he was simply relishing the feeling of being buzzed, the slight numbness in his fingertips, the way the room seemed to shift and spin as he moved. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine?"

Remus felt two surprisingly strong hands brace against his arms, and he leaned into the touch, his fingers still grazing soft material.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Remus nodded aggressively, immediately regretting that decision. The room was feeling quite dizzy.

"Let's get you some water…"

Remus felt himself being guided across the room, he felt pressure on the small of his back, an open palm, fingers spread out. He liked that feeling.

Before he realized what was happening, Remus was in a kitchen, waitstaff dutifully ignoring him and the tall, handsome man beside him. He heard a sink running and felt a cool glass being forced into his hands.

"Drink," a voice commanded gently. Remus lifted the glass to his lips and dutifully did what he was told. He had enough wits about him to know that he needed water.

When Remus finished the contents of the glass, he felt it lifted from his hands and heard the soft klink of it being placed on the counter. He smiled, internally grateful for being helped. For some reason, the room refused to sit still, and he wasn't sure if he would have succeeded at pouring water by himself.

Remus glanced up into the silvery eyes and smiled. They were really pretty.

“What are?”

Remus furrowed his brow, confused at the question.

“Wha—?”

“What are really pretty?”

Remus blinked, staring at Sirius, vaguely wondering what his lips would taste like.

“Iunno…” Remus slurred, hardly paying attention to what he was saying. Why was Sirius so close to him? Why was he getting closer?

“Remus?”

Remus felt a hand grip his arm, giving a squeeze. The fabric under Remus’ fingers was so soft, and there was suddenly a bunch of it in his grip. Sirius’ face was closer than it had been a moment ago, but Remus couldn’t tell which one of them was moving.

“You’re so drunk right now...” Sirius had a smirk spread across his face and Remus hated it. It was the same smirk he had every time Remus did something awkward or embarrassing. It was the same smirk that Remus desperately wanted to get rid of.

“You wipe that smirk off your face, or I’m gonna wipe it off for you,” Remus muttered threateningly with a cheeky grin of his own. Sirius cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say I’d like to see you try.

Before he knew what was happening, Remus’s lips pressed themselves against Sirius’. They were rough and chapped and it was barely a graze, but Remus’ stomach was exploding and his fingers were tingling and the room was spinning and he thought his heart might actually burst.

When Remus pulled away, he noticed the stunned expression on Sirius’ face, his lips slightly parted. For the first time since meeting the gallery owner, the man didn’t have a witty comeback. Instead, he moved forward, capturing Remus’ mouth with his own, moving his lips in time with the artist’s.

Remus closed his eyes. He felt a hand snake its way around him, grasping at his side. He felt his hands raise up of their own accord, weaving through soft, velvety locks, loose strands of hair tangled in his fingers. He felt Sirius’ hand in his curls, a thumb tracing along his cheek.

Then everything ended.

Sirius pulled away, the magic disappearing with him, and Remus desperately wanted it to return.

“I— I shouldn’t have done that,” Sirius murmured, taking a step back, putting distance between Remus’ body and his own. “You’re not thinking straight… I shouldn’t… I’m sorry, Remus.”

Come back!

Remus didn’t want the kiss to end. He didn’t want any of this to end. He wanted Sirius’ mouth and his lips and his tongue and his hands and suddenly everything was gone. He didn’t know what was happening, all he knew was that he was standing alone in the kitchen, wondering where Sirius was, wondering why he was there, wondering what to do.

Remus turned around and noticed a tray of mystery drinks. He needed one. He took it. It tasted so sweet, he could drink it all night. It was so good, and it made everything feel a little better...

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