#i gotta work on commissions but i will try to have it done this weekend | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

artzychic27 · 4 years

Text

To Save a Friend

TRIGGER warning: This story contains a physical, verbal, and emotionally abusive relationship. (Thank you @unmaskedagain for reminding me to put trigger warnings)

It was a fine morning at Dupont. Students waited in the courtyard for classes to start, teachers were setting up their lesson plans, and Marinette was actually early.

There haven’t been many Akuma attacks lately, and she got small commissions, so she was able to get some rest, something she desperately needed.

Ever since Lie-la came back, she became exhausted. Her friends became wary around her, and often shunned her when she tried to call out the Italian’s lies. She still had some allies who caught onto her lies, but the rest were lost causes. And out of all of them, Alya was Lila’s most loyal follower. If anyone pointed out a hole in Lila’s lies, Alya would be quick to attack. And if she was following Lila, Nino had to follow her too.

The two childhood friends haven’t really been talking much. ‘Probably Alya’s fault.’ Marinette thought, but then she realized Nino hasn’t really talked to anyone, not even Adrien. She recalled a rumor about Alya nearly attacking Aurore when she saw the blonde girl talking to Nino, but that was just a rumor... Right? They may not be best friends, but she knew Alya was not the jealous type.

But some other things confused Marinette. For example, she knows that Nino never goes without his signature red cap, she’s never seen him wear long-sleeved shirts, and he’s be fidgeting a lot lately- Something he hasn’t done since they were five years old.

She’s also noticed a change in his personality. Nino was always so chill and laid back, but now he’s just so nervous, and jumpy, and wouldn’t really talk to anyone... Except for Alya

“Nino!”

Marinette noticed the way he flinched when Alya yelled his name. He seemed so content, just talking to Adrien until her voice rang out. He cut his conversation short and ran over to his girlfriend, who was listening to Lila ramble on and on about her “grand adventures”. Something was clearly wrong, Nino never flinched... Was he slouching? He only does that when he’s nervous

“Có chuyện gì vậy?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Marinette turned to around to find her other childhood friend, Kim, leaning against a wall. Because of their play dates when they were younger, she understood some Vietnamese and responded, “I’m just a little worried about Nino.”

Kim nods “Same. He just seems... Out of it.”

“I know!” She exclaims “And have you noticed that he’s been fidgeting? He hasn’t done that since we were kids.”

Kim recalls how he’s only seen Nino fidget whenever he was around Alya, if anyone talked about her, or if anyone just mentioned her name “Do you think they got into a fight?”

Marinette was taken aback at such a question “Nino and Alya? No way. They always seem so happy together.”

“I guess,” He looks back over to Alya and Nino. He notices the latter has a strained smile as he listens to Lila’s tales “but I still think something’s going on between them.”

Marinette had to talk to Nino and get the full story on this, ‘Something Alya needs to do when she posts content on her blog’ she thought.

But Alya would never let her talk to her boyfriend, so they couldn’t talk during school hours, and her parents needed help at the bakery, so they couldn’t really talk after school. Looking back over to Kim, she gets an idea

“Could you try talking to him after school? I would, but I gotta help my parents at the bakery.”

Kim nods “I can do that! Gotta make sure my best friend is okay.” Marinette mock scoffs and flips her hair in a Chloé-like fashion “He was my best friend first.”

Kim chuckles and plays along “Sorry, Mari. First is the worst, second’s the best. And second, would be me.” He states smugly

Marinette pouts and pulls out the big guns “Alright. No macarons for a week. Bye!” She walks away, nonchalantly. Kim realizes what he’s just done and runs after her “Wait! You are his best friend! You’re the best best friend! Don’t do this to me, Mari!”

Classes were finally over, and students were heading home. Kim walks into the locker room, and find Nino putting books into his backpack. He remembers the plan, takes a deep breath, and approaches him with a comforting smile. Kim speaks “Hey, Nino.” He looks up from his bag and smiles when he sees his friend “Hey, dude. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk.” He takes a look at Nino’s demeanor. The bags under his eyes, how he’s refusing to make eye contact, and his hand is wrapped tightly around his wrist “Are you okay?” ‘Smooth.’ He thought

“Yeah. I’m fine.” He says quickly then shuts his locker “I-I gotta go. Alya’s been upset for a while, so I’m gonna head down to the bakery and get those macarons she likes for our date later.”

Kim seems confused “Don’t you usually go out on the weekend?”

“She just wants to hang out more. I-I mean we’ve both been pretty busy, with the Ladyblog and my gigs, they’re just cutting into our time together. Heh, she actually suggested I stop deejaying so I’ll have more time for her.” He tries to walk away, but Kim continues asking questions

“She suggested it?” He asks, now getting suspicious

“Yeah...” He sees that Kim isn’t buying it “Well, it was more like she told me to.” Kim notices him tightening his grip around his wrist “She’s not wrong, though.”

Kim places a hand on his shoulder “Well if you need help with anything, Mari and I have your back. Alright?” Without responding, Nino walks out of the room

“... That could’ve gone better.”

Kim nearly jumps out of his skin when he heard the familiar voice of a certain redhead cut through the silence. He turns around and finds Nathaniel walking out of the bathroom.

“Don't...” He pants “... do that!” He should’ve been used to that by now. Not many know this, but Kim and Nathaniel used to hang out when they were six. The redhead artist would always sneak up behind Kim and scare him

He just shrugs “Sorry.” He tilts his head slightly “Is Nino okay?”

“I don’t know, Nate.”

“... Before you walked in, I heard him on the phone with Alya. She was screaming a lot.”

“Did you hear what she said?”

“I did hear ‘Or else’ a few times, but there was mostly just angry shouting.” He grimaces at the memory “I really think something is wrong.”

“Well, he’s on his way to the bakery.” Kim reminds himself “Maybe Mari can talk to him, she’s good at this stuff.”

—

“I’m really worried, Tikki.” Marinette said while pulling a tray of croissants out of the oven “I’ve never seen him like this. He was shy as a kid, but he grew out of that.”

“Well, maybe you could ask Alya if something’s wrong.” The tiny goddess suggested, making Marinette frown

“Alya and I aren’t really speaking right now. So, I doubt she’ll talk to me about her and Nino.” She places the try on the counter and starts placing the pastries in the display case “Y’know, ever since Lila came back, their relationship has been a little... Not great.”

“I know what you mean. They don’t seem compatible anymore.” She places a croissant in the display case “I just hope Alya isn’t hurting him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well... Nino normally wears short sleeves, right?”

Marinette freezes, and thinks about what Tikki is insinuating “Tikki, y-you can’t be serious. Alya would never hurt him!”

“It is possible, Marinette.” She continues “Alya hasn’t been the same ever since Lila returned to school. She’s risking her life going after Akumas, demanding interviews with Ladybug and Chat Noir, and she’s been expecting you to do stuff for her but you don’t get anything in return.”

“Yeah, but that’s just Lila feeding her lies. I know Lila is terrible and is just a flat out liar, but even she’d be against any form of abuse!” She exclaimed “... Right?”

The two hear the bell ring, and Tikki quickly hides behind Marinette. Marinette looks up to see Nino “Hey, Nino. What can I get you?”

“Hey, Mari. Do you guys still have those caramel macarons?”

She thinks and remembers they’re not in stock “Nope. Sorry.” She notices Nino squeezing his wrist “Is everything okay?”

“A-are you sure? Could you check?” He asks nervously “I-I don’t care how many, just-“

“Maman ordered ingredients yesterday, they’ll be here next week. What’s the rush?” She steps from behind the counter “You don’t even like caramel.”

“They’re for Alya.” He explains “She’s just been really upset lately, I-I figured they might ease her up a bit.”

“Well, is she okay?”

“Yeah, totally. I’m usually the one who puts her in a mood. Honestly, it’s my fault.” He notices the look of concern on Marinette’s face and looks away “I just figured-“

“Nino, you’d tell me if Alya was hurting you, right?” She places a hand on his shoulder

Nino frowns “Dude! She’s not hurting me!” He exclaims “What gave you that idea? She’s my girlfriend.”

“I’m not saying that she is hurting you!” She says in defense “But, you haven’t been acting like yourself lately, and Alya’s been kinda... Irritable.”

“She's fine. Alya’s just been a little upset that Ladybug stopped giving her interviews, I-I haven’t exactly been that supportive.” He mutters the last part, but Marinette heard it clearly

“Excuse me?”

“Uh... Ne-nevermind!” He stammers “I’ll go see if that other bakery is open. Thanks again, Mari!” He runs out before Marinette can say anything else.

Tikki flies out of her hiding place with a concerned look on her face

“I really think Alya is hurting him.” Marinette still doesn’t wanna believe what the tiny goddess is saying, but it’s starting to seem like that now.

“I’ll try to talk to him tomorrow.”

—

Being unnoticed by people has its advantages. Nathaniel can see what others don’t, and learn new things about them. For instance, Lila seems to be giving Alya a lot of “advice” on her relationship. ‘You need to be the one in control’, ‘If he doesn’t listen, make him regret it’, ‘So what if he says no? He’s your boyfriend.’ ‘This is how a healthy relationship works’ Bullshit. That is not a healthy relationship. It also works well in the locker room when you see your friend’s girlfriend yelling at him and gripping his arm tightly

“I don’t want you talking to that... That BITCH! Got it?!” He nods quickly “Good.” She lets go of his arm, and storms out the room. Nino sits on the bench and cries to himself. Nathaniel quickly texted Marinette and Kim to let them know what he had seen.

—

Chloe was a lot of things. A sneak, tyrant, and a bully. But at least she had the guts to admit her flaws, unlike that Italian bitch, and that trashy tabloid girl. And Chloe understood abusive relationships. Sabrina told her stories she heard from her dad, and right now, Césaire and Lahiffe’s relationship is looking worse than those.

She was blonde, but she wasn’t dumb. There were signs of abuse, and it all was traced back to Lie-la. She didn’t mind the Italian at first. She let her have her fifteen minutes of fame, then go back to being nobody, but that didn’t happen. That girl had climbed her way up the social ladder, and she lied to do it.

She saw how the liar constantly bragged, made herself look better than others, fed people’s egos, and threatened others to get what she wanted, mainly Marinette. She even somehow managed to get the Eurasian expelled, something Chloe had never done.

But now she was encouraging an abusive relationship. This was something the blonde would not tolerate. She disliked everyone in that class, but even she isn’t that cruel.

When she saw Nino walking out the locker room with a visible bruise on his arm, she took a quick picture before he could pull his sleeve down, then went to find Sabrina. They had to get the word out.

—

Marinette considers herself a pacifist (When in her civilian form). But she has never wanted to hurt someone so much right now. When she saw the text Nathaniel had sent her an Kim on the group chat ‘Nino Protection Squad’, she was livid

“How could Alya do this?!” She screeched “This isn’t right! She doesn’t even care what she’s doing to him!” Tikki tries to calm her down so no Akumas are attracted

“It’ll be okay, Marinette. You can help him!”

“How can I do that when barely anyone in class will talk to me? They all believe that liar!” Her phone buzzes again. She checks and sees that Chloe has created a group chat. Everyone in the class, but Nino, Alya, and Lila was on. Marc, Nathaniel’s boyfriend, was included as well

QueenB

Meet me at the hotel at 4:00

Sk8r Gal

What’s going on??

VogueBoy

Is everything okay, Chloe?

RoseBud

Why aren’t Alya, Nino, and Lila on here?

QueenB

Don’t add them on

Sabrina and I will tell you everything. Just hurry!!!

Not thinking too much about the strange text, Marinette headed over to the hotel and met with her class, plus Marc, in Chloe’s suite

“Okay, we’re here.” Ivan says “What’s going on? And why aren’t Alya, Nino, and Lila here?”

“This is about them.” She notices the worried looks on Kim, Marinette, and Nathaniel’s faces “I’m sure some of you have noticed that Alya and Nino’s relationship seems a little off.”

While everyone looks confused, Marinette, Kim, and Nathaniel nod. Chloe notices Alix looking down solemnly

“And I’m sure you guys have noticed that Nino hasn’t been acting like himself lately.” This grabs their attention “... I think Alya might be abusing Nino, and Lila is causing it.” That statement causes outrage. Everyone on Lila’s side tries to defender her and Alya

“No way!”

“Alya would never do that!”

“You’re just jealous!”

“SHUT UP!” They’re all silenced by Marinette’s outburst “I believe her!” Before they can retort, Kim speaks up

“So do I.”

“... Same.” They turn to Nathaniel. Marc holds his hand “I... I saw Alya yelling at him. She was holding his arm tight, a-and he was crying after she left.” The class is stunned. No one says anything, but after a few more seconds of silence, Alix speaks up.

“I was skating by the park, and I saw them.” She frowns at the memory “Alya was yelling at him, saying he brought the wrong macaroons or something, and I just... I saw her slap him across the face.” She removes her cap and sits on the white couch “I didn’t know what to do or say, I just froze.” Juleka sits down next to her and hugs her

“I believe you guys.” She sighs “I know Chloe isn’t exactly the nicest person, but even she wouldn’t lie about something this serious. The more I think about it, the more I see Alya is hurting Nino.”

“But, why would Lila be the one who started this?” Max brings up

“Because she’s a psychotic liar!” Chloe screeches “For God’s sake, do you honestly believe someone could fall down the stairs and not get hurt, or that a napkin could gouge your eye out when you’re wearing glasses?!” Max cringes at the memory

Mylène speaks up “I believe that Nino is being hurt, but I don’t think it was caused by Lila.”

“You don’t notice how she keeps giving Alya ‘relationship advice’?” Marinette asks, putting air quotes around relationship advice. “Or how she’s been feeding Alya’s ego just a little too much? This is why she keeps putting herself in danger during Akuma attacks! And Ladybug won’t even talk to her anymore!”

“Yeah, but-“

Adrien finally speaks up “Guys, Marinette’s right. Lila’s a liar.” He feels Plagg nudging him in his pocket and comes clean “One day, Lila tried to lie and say that she was the descendant of a fox superhero. But Ladybug called her out, and well... That’s how I knew.”

“So, you knew Lila was lying and didn’t tell us?!” Alix shouts

“Could you blame him?” Chloe replies “You all turned on Dupain-Cheng when she tried to warn you!”

Everyone realizes she’s right. They’re starting to see that Lila isn’t the amazing person that thought she was. She was a manipulative liar, and they fell for every single story she told. They felt like idiots. They remembered Marinette, how she warned them, tried to point out Lila’s lies, but they didn’t listen. A few were about to apologize, but Marinette stopped them.

“You can apologize later.” She says “Now we need to help Nino, expose Lila for the liar she is, and keep Alya away from Nino for good.”

—

Marinette and Chloé used their connections to contact all the famous people Lila lies about. From Jagged Stone to Clara Nightingale, Audrey Bourgeois, XY, Prince Ali, everyone.

Adrien had informed his father of how uncomfortable Lila made him during photo shoots. Constantly touching him, being so unprofessional, and trying to kiss him every chance she could get.

Gabriel Agreste reconsidered his decision on making Lila his new model and decided to give his lawyers a call.

Sabrina told her dad about how Nino was being abused by Alya, and how Lila was causing it. She showed him the picture Chloé took of the bruise on Nino’s arm, and he was on board with the plan.

Kim, Marc, Nathaniel, and Alix gathered more evidence, such as Nino’s bruises, audio recordings of his and Alya’s conversations. They even recorded a few of Lila’s lies, and the advice she was giving Alya on how a “healthy relationship” works. This would be what they showed principal Damocles.

Mylène, Ivan, Rose, Juleka, and Max worked to find Mme. Rossi’s contact info. They eventually found the Embassy homepage where they found her phone number and email address. This information would also be brought to the principal.

—

Alya was pissed. First, her lousy boyfriend didn’t get the right macarons for their date, then she caught him talking to that jealous bitch, and now everyone was avoiding her and Lila for no damn reason! She bet Marinette got to them. That girl was taking her jealousy way too far! She was just so mad... And her boyfriend talking to Rose wasn’t helping one damn bit.

“Nino, please let us help you.“

“Rose, I told you. Alya and I are fine. I-I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation.” Before Rose could say more, Nino felt the recurring pain in his arm again. He turned around and saw Alya, a furious look on her face

“Leave him alone, Rose.” Alya sneered as she dragged Nino away.

Nino was hoping she would see this wasn’t his fault, and let him off easy this time. It was Rose who approached him, not the other way around. Alya didn’t believe him for a second. She dragged him into a broom closet, making sure no one saw them and shut the door behind her.

“Babe, please, I-I didn’t say any-“

Alya grabbed Nino by his head and slammed his faces into the wall, and three more times for good measure

“You idiot! You think you can just go behind my back and talk to some bitch?!” She smacked him across the face “This isn’t even half the pain I feel when you betray me!”

“I’m sorry!” This earned Nino a punch to the face, and a hard punch to the ribs, making him cough up some blood. “Stop! Please!” He was crying now

“Shut up!” She slapped him across the face one more time, then she reached into her pocket, pulled out some concealer, and threw it at Nino “Put that on!” Once she leaves, Nino slides down into the floor and continues crying

—

Alya could feel all eyes on her as she walked into the classroom. They weren’t friendly, though. She took her seat by Lila and waited for Mme. Bustier to start her lesson, but to her confusion, she wasn’t there. She turns to Lila “Where’s Mme. Bustier?” The Italian just shrugged

“So, Alya.” She turned around to see Adrien giving her a hate-filled look. Why? She didn’t know “You see Nino around?”

Alya just rolled her eyes “He said he’s gonna be a little late.” ‘He better get here soon.’ Adrien just slumped into his seat, his arms folded

“Sure.”

—

Irene Rossi was beyond livid. She was just filing a few papers and sending some emails to some fellow diplomats when she suddenly received a very disturbing email from her daughter’s principal. When she got to the end, she ran right outside, got in her car, and drove to the school. She was going to have a few words with her daughter

—

Mme. Bustier stepped into the classroom with Damocles and officer Raincomprix. The teacher looked horrified and so pale. But that all changed when she saw Alya and Lila. She glared at the two girls. She had never felt like this towards any of her students. She didn’t want to feel this way, but after hearing what had been going on behind her back, she felt those girls deserved the most severe punishment

“Alya Césaire and Lila Rossi?” Roger asked. The two girls nodded, and at that, he pulled out two sets of handcuffs “You two are coming with me.” He proceeded to place the cuffs on their wrists

“What?!” The two girls screamed

“But we didn’t do anything!” Alya yelled

Chloé rolled her eyes “Oh, so hitting your boyfriend is nothing?”

Alya was speechless at the accusation “You... Shut up, you bitch!

Lila started crying crocodile tears “Marinette, how could you?!”

“Cram it, Rossi!” Kim yelled, “We know you’ve been lying about everything!”

Lila was taken aback “I-I didn’t lie! I swear! Did Marinette-“

“Shut the fuck up Lila!” The students' mouths hung open when they heard Adrien curse “I have dealt with your shit before, but this is way too far! You are an enabler of abusive relationships!”

Lila continued to cry, trying to gain some sympathy, but no one except Alya came to her defense “How could you say that?!”

Marinette stood from her chair “Because it’s the truth, Alya! I saw the bruises on Nino’s arms! Nathaniel saw you yelling at him and squeezing his arm, Alix saw you at the park! You hit him!” Alya was about to retort, until-

“Hey, Mme. Bustier, sorry I’m late. I-“ Nino notices the handcuffs on Lila and Alya’s wrists and the angry looks on his classmates' face. He is about to ask what’s wrong until he sees that look on Alya’s face that says ‘Get the fuck out.’ “I... I’m gonna go.” He’s about to walk out the room until he feels his teacher’s hand on his shoulder

“Nino. I want you to be honest with me.” She says in a caring voice “Is Alya hurting you?” The room goes silent as they await his answer. When he says nothing, she places a hand on his cheek but notices something off about the texture of his skin

“...”

Bustier rubs her thumb over his cheek, revealing a purple mark. She’s close to tears “Nino...” She pulls a handkerchief out of her pocket and wipes the concealer off, revealing multiple bruises and cuts all over his face.

The students gasp at the sight. Marinette, Rose, and Adrien start crying. Ivan, Juleka, Alix, and Kim look ready to murder Alya.

Bustier turns to Roger. “Please, take them away.” The two girls are horrified when she allows Roger to take them out of the classroom, but then...

“Not so fast.”

They were about to thank God for sending them this woman dressed in a red power suit, until “Alya Césaire and Lila Rossi. You’ve been served.” She opens up her briefcase, revealing a stack of papers “Jagged Stone, Clare Nightingale, XY, Prince Ali, and Audrey Bourgeois are suing both of you for defamation.”

“WHAT?!” Alya screeched “But Lila knows them, they’ll vouch for her! They wouldn’t sue her!”

“I beg to differ. According to a few of your classmates, Miss Rossi has been lying about the following...” She pulls a sheet of paper out of the briefcase

“Claiming she saved Jagged Stone’s cat, that he wrote a song about her, Clara stole her dance moves, she visits the Prince multiple times, XY cheated on her, and Audrey begged her to model. And Miss Césaire, they’re demanding that your tabloid blog be taken down.”

Alya looked dumbstruck “B-but it’s all true!”

“No. It. Isn’t.”

Another woman stepped in. Lila immediately paled

“Lila Diabla Rossi, I can’t believe you!” She began to yell in Italian, Lila retorted, also in Italian. It was very confusing for the Parisian citizens, but the two women went back to speaking French

“You lied to me about school being shut down, about Ladybug and Chat Noir! About everything!”

“But, mama-“

“DON’T!” She yelled “You need to learn your lesson. That is why I’m wavering your diplomatic immunity.”

“What?!” Lila was livid. There was no way out of it. Where the hell was an Akuma when you needed one?!

“There’s also the matter of her partnership with the Agreste brand.” Nathalie stepped in, and a small stack of papers in her hand “Lila Rossi, you are fired. Mr. Agreste has also placed a restraining order on you. You are not to get within twenty feet of Adrien.”

Irene looked confused “Fired?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Nathalie asked “Your daughter is Gabriel’s newest model, and muse apparently. Her words, not his.”

Once again, the Italian woman shouted profanities in a language no one in the room, except for Lila understood. Many were wondering where the Akuma was, but Nathalie knew. It would be here in 3... 2...

“AKUMA!”

Now. She hid a smirk when she saw Lila pull out of Roger’s hold, and run for the Akuma. It went into her handcuffs, and she laughed like a maniac as the butterfly symbol appeared over her face

“YOU IDIOTS SHOULD’VE KEPT YOUR MOUTHS SHUT!”

Everyone waited for the black smoke to surround her, and for an Akuma to be in her place. Marinette and Adrien were about to get out of their seats and run somewhere private to transform... But nothing.

“What?!” She yelled “You need me! I was so damn close to getting that stupid jewelry! I almost killed Ladybug! You’d be nothing without me!”

The students were horrified. She was working with a terrorist! She admitted to almost killing Ladybug, their hero! The butterfly flew out of her handcuffs and became white again, much to their shock. Hawkmoth just revoked an Akuma.

“NO! YOU’RE USELESS HAWKMOTH! USELE-“ A black book was thrown at her head, and she passed out onto the floor, much to everyone’s shock and relief. They turn around and see Marc standing at the doorway with his arm outstretched

“Rainbow, did you throw that?” Nathaniel asks as he walks over to his boyfriend

“She was so annoying!” He exasperated. Nathaniel kisses him on the cheek, calming him down

“She... She was lying?” Alya asked herself “She was working with Hawkmoth...”

Marinette sighed, got up from her seat, and walked down the stairs, then walked over to Alya. The bespectacled girl looked to her former friend, hoping she’ll say it wasn’t her fault, and that she didn’t know, but instead, all the bluenette said was

“I FUCKING TOLD YOU THAT FROM THE START!” She yelled, making Alya flinch and look down in shame “But, nooo! I’m a jealous bitch! Well how are you any better?! You abused Nino, attacked Aurore, and spread lies about people I know!”

“But-“

“Save it. You hurt my friend. I don’t ever want to see your face again!” She feels Adrien take her hand in his. She sends him a smile, then heads back to her desk

Alya looks to Nino, hoping he’ll forgive her and see that she was wrong for listening to Lila “Babe, please help me! I didn’t know! I’m sorry!”

Nino just looks her dead in the eye and frowns “Why would I help you?”

—

Alya and Lila’s trials took place a few weeks later. Along with defamation, Lila had also been sued for bullying, sexual harassment, aiding a terrorist, destruction of property, and forging signatures. Nino, Marinette, and Adrien testified against them and showed no mercy. Lila tried to lie her way out once again, but the judge, a no-nonsense woman, was having none of it. They were found guilty of their actions. Alya received twenty years in prison with no bail. Lila received thirty-five, also with no bail.

As for Nino, he was getting better. His bruises healed after a few months, and his friends were there for him. A year passed and Nino found a new girlfriend, Alisha. An American girl who enjoyed painting, and musicals. When she heard about Nino’s previous relationship, she smothered him with hugs and words of comfort.

Marinette got her apologies from the class, and she accepted them. However, it would be a while before she could truly forgive them. They didn’t blame her.

Taglist:

@heaven428 @aestheticnpoetic @marinetteagrestelove @fleur-de-jasmin-fdj @wannajointhecrabcult @starpony999 @its-salty-bug @saltymiraculer

989 notes · View notes

thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

29 for indruck nsfw? i am already amused thinking about what sport either of them would play

Here you go!

29. I’m a professional athlete and I just fired my personal assistant and my manager sent you over but you don’t even know what sport I play or who my team is

When you’re in an aggressive profession it’s best, in Duck’s experience, to be as calm and friendly as you can the rest of the time.

But this whole shit-show is testing his fucking limits.

It’s been two days since he found out his perfectly fine P.A was working for the Wallstreet Journal, hoping to learn that Duck was somehow using his T or his identity to gain an unfair edge in matched. Ned fired him on the spot, thank god, but it took less than twelve hours for the guy to publish some fabricated piece on his attitude and for Duck to remember why he needed an assistant in the first place. He’s gotten so used to having one that he keeps forgetting stuff or dropping the ball on appointments, and the last thing he needs right now is to look like some stupid hick.

When Ned texts him to let him know his new P.A is en route, Duck groans “thank fuck” loud enough to startle the cat from her tree.

He goes to the door when someone knocks, but doesn’t open it.

“Who is it?”

“Indrid Cold? I, ah, Mr. Chicane said this was Duck Newton’s address and I’m supposed to start as his assistant tomorrow.”

Duck opens the door, “Fuck tomorrow, you’re startin today. I gotta focus on strategy with Minerva the next two days if I don’t wanna show my ass Friday night and it’s real fuckin hard to do that with people callin me left and right.” He guides the startled young man inside, then stops to take a deep breath, “sorry, lemme try that again” he holds out his hand, “Nice to meet you, Indrid.”

“Likewise, Mr. Newton.”

“Duck is fine. It’s a nickname. You bring your stuff with you?”

“Yes, it’s all in my car.”

“Good. Here, lemme give you the, uh, the grand tour, so to speak, on the way to your part of the place.”

Indrid smiles and nods, hanging back slightly as Duck leads him through the house. They cover the living room, kitchen, Duck’s bedroom, then come what was once the garage door.

“This here’s the gym; you can’t find me in the rest of the house, I’m probably here.”

“Goodness” The other man’s eyes widen behind his red glasses, “that’s an impressive array. I mean, I know professional athletes need to train but I, ah, I assumed you did it on site with the rest of your team.”

“Team?” Duck closes the door, spots Indrid’s fingers diving into his pockets to hide their twitching.

“Yes.”

“Which team?”

“Your...sports team?”

“....you got no fuckin clue who I am, do you?”

“No.” Narrow shoulders sag in his sweater.

Duck chuckles, “Figures.”

The silver haired head snaps back up, “Mr. Chicane didn’t say it was a prerequisite for hiring me.”

“Guess he didn’t. And I guess it ain’t. Just hoped they’d hire someone who knew what the fuck he was gettin into.”

Indrid crosses his arms, “They gave me a very thorough job description. I assure you I can do every part of it. Laying out your pre-workout and scheduling appearances isn’t rocket science, and it doesn’t matter if the dry cleaning I pick up is for a, a baseball after party or some sort of charity basketball fundraiser.” It dawns on the taller man that he’s just snapped at his boss. He contracts in on himself, staring down at his black converse.

Duck takes the chance for a more careful look; all of his clothes are second hand, chosen as if he’s cosplaying a jock who went into white collar work. There are piercing holes in his ears, flecks of silver polish on his nails. This job application was a hail mary and Ned Chicane went ahead and caught.

“No harm done, slim.” He rests a friendly hand on Indrid’s arm, “think it’s time I enlightened you.”

His office doesn’t get used much, so a sprinkling of dust greets them as he flips on the lights and reveals posters, magazine covers, and newspaper clips bearing Duck’s face. The gloves he used to win his first fight hang in a place of honor, right above the photo of him and the other fighters from Amnesty Boxing. It’s an older photo, taken the first time they sent a team out of state, sun-faded to the point the writing on it is disappearing. It makes him smile all the same.

“This does explain the set of instructions for helping you cut weight if needed.” Indrid takes in the posters, then turns his attention to the corner dedicated to Duck’s model ship collection. He cocks his head, says more to himself than Duck, “boxer. Interesting.”

“Were you just gonna bluff about knowin who I was until I said somethin?”

“That and look for clues in the rest of the house.”

He smiles, “Like a man with a plan b. C’mon, lemme show you your room.”

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

Alright, so Indrid should have researched Duck Newton before turning up at his house so he didn’t come across as ignorant and unprepared. But he was busy running every Taskrabbit and UberEat he could get just to scrape up enough to keep his landlord off his back. Sue him for not wanting to sleep in his car again.

He never expected to get this job; live-in P.A who doesn’t have to pay for groceries (buy them, yes, since that’s one of his jobs) is not the kind of luck he’s familiar with. He keeps waiting for the catch, so nervous that when Duck pops in on him unpacking he assumes he’ll scold him for his wardrobe.

“I, should I buy some more professional clothes?”

Duck takes in the two duffle bags and backpack, “Up to you. I don’t mind you lookin like the little art punk you are, but a dress shirt or two might help if we gotta go somewhere real upscale. Don't worry about buyin it yourself; just use the same card we do for groceries.”

Indrid is still hung up on why the fact a man three inches shorter than him calling him “little” makes his chest burn. Luckily, the phone rings and distracts him. Then it rings again. And again. And again. All while the inbox doubles every time he looks at it.

This turns out to be the catch; the work is actually hard. Everyone and their uncle wants to interview Duck, get him to sponsor something, or proposition him. Four hours in, he’s overwhelmed, overstimulated, and ready to hide under the desk. His fidget necklace isn’t helping, so he pulls out his chewable one; it often helps him think in high pressure moments.

The phone rings again and he growls at it.

“You’re allowed to let things go to voicemail, y’know.”

He spins in his chair, black rubber moth still in his mouth. Duck leans in the doorway, tank top soaked in sweat and towel around his shoulders

“I, I’m sorry. I just don’t want to drop anything important.”

“Ned handles the fights and the money, and anyone I care about has my private number for emergencies.”

“Right. I knew that.” Indrid can’t have his boss thinking he’s a total space-case.

Duck smiles, “What I’m sayin is; ain’t the end of the world if you don’t get back to everyone right away. Besides, right now you need a lunch break, slim. Lemme go rinse off and I’ll join you.”

By the time Duck enters the kitchen in an old “NIN” shirt and jeans, Indrid has his protein bowl laid out for him and is finishing microwaving a hot pocket for himself. Before he can scurry away, Duck pats the seat beside him and Indrid sits down, preparin to politely listen to Duck talk about himself or his sport.

He talks for ten minutes about the trees he saw on his run that morning before asking Indrid what he did before coming to the house. Indrid explains about his art and his side hustles in tarot and palm reading, about the run of bad luck that saw him without roommates and lost him his steady gig at a coffee shop. Duck makes genuinely sympathetic noises, lets Indrid change the subject when the fact he was on the edge of disaster makes Indrid’s chest tighten. They’re still talking about music as Indrid returns to his desk and Duck goes to meet Minerva in the gym.

By the time Duck’s fight rolls around that weekend, Indrid is feeling much better. He has a system of sorting emails that works for him, some mothman stickers to help him organize the paper calendar on his desk, and more confidence in his ability to spot callers with ulterior motives. He’s shut down two separate ones looking to trap Duck into interviews where he’d be forced to defend his very identity. Duck overheard his responses to the second one and brought him back a fancy creme brulee latte from his breakfast as a thank you.

He doesn’t go to the fight; it’s a small one for charity and Duck has Ned to manage him, Minerva to train him, and Leo to coach him ringside. He doesn’t need his P.A. Instead, Indrid finishes up his correspondence for the day, makes sure Duck’s breakfast is all set in the fridge, and confirms the masseuse is coming in the morning.

Once in bed, Indrid gets sucked into the commission he’s doing and is lost to the world until a tired, satisfied face pokes through his door.

“Oh! Hello Duck. Did it go well? Do, ah, is there something you need from me?”

“Yep, I won like I thought I would. And nope; was just poppin in to say goodnight.”

No one’s said that to him in a long time. The bitterness of that realization is sweetened by Duck’s smile.

“Goodnight to you too, Duck.”

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

Minerva is sick, which wouldn’t be a problem except for one part of his workout. He could skip it, but he needs to keep everything sharp for when they go to L.A.

“‘Drid? You got a few minutes?”

His assistant appears in the doorway, black jeans and white “Cramps” tank-top fitting him in a way that makes Duck want to hold him face down on the floor and find out how to take his breath away.

“What do you need?”

Duck points to the heavy bag, “You up for bracin this while I hit it?”

“I...I am not as strong as Minerva.”

“You don’t gotta be; this is just to keep the damn thing from swinging while I’m doin this speed drill.”

“Alright.” Indrid takes off his glasses and sets them on the folding chair, joining Duck, “how do I hold it?”

Duck shows him, does a few test punches to make sure he won’t send the poor guy flying. The round clock dings green, and he’s off. The bag wobbles for the first few seconds, then Indrid seems to find his footing and holds it stable enough for the drill to work. When the round ends, Duck steps baack, “okay, you can let go until the next round.”

“Goodness.” Indrid stretches his hands, “I feel for your opponents. I’m jarred just from that.”

“You need to stop? I got two more rounds at least, but if it’s hurtin you I caan skip ‘em.”

Indrid shakes his head, smiling, “nono, I like helping you with this. It’s exhilarating.”

The bell dings.

“Glad to hear it. Now brace it again.”

By the end of round three, Indrid is panting loud enough for Duck to hear him over the fan. He looks up, glove still on the bag, and finds them face to face.

“Minerva said three to five rounds for this. You wanna keep goin?”

Indrid, breathless and grinning, nods, “Can’t have you slacking off, now can we?”

Duck wants to bite his lip, just to see what happens. Blames the thought on the adrenaline. Then discovers the exact same thought waiting for him when Indrid, cleaned and in his most respectable clothes, joins him in the car to go to an interview.

Ned gave the P.A a list of likely questions, so they practice those as they creep across the Bay Bridge. But Duck notices that on both the trip there and back, whenever there’s a lull in conversation Indrid is on his phone reading about boxing. Duck knows the other man fixates on topics that interest him; knowing one of Duck’s passions has earned that distinction makes him smile.

After that, he starts inviting Indrid to watch him train, or shares his thoughts about matches with him. That’s all it takes for Indrid to start drawing him into long, animated conversations about his sport. When Indrid asks why there’s such debate over the proper way to wrap hands and also how does Duck do his, Duck demonstrates.

“Here, ‘Drid, now you try it on me.”

The P.A moves the wraps slowly, deliberately, moving Duck’s hand like it’s a priceless treasure he’s readying for transport. Every time he bites his lip in concentration or brushes hair from his forehead, Duck has to remind himself to breathe.

“Done.” Indrid is still holding his left hand, “Did I do well?”

The boxer tests the wraps, wiggles his fingers and clenches his fists. Then he squeezes Indrid’s hand, “you did perfect, slim.”

Duck can wrap his hands in his sleep. But whenever he’s home, he finds Indrid and asks him to do the honors. Indrid does them every time. Perfectly.

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

Indrid stands in the green room with Ned and a cluster of arena employees. The roaring crowd a few walls away echoes through the screen. He’s never seen Duck fight, but this event required all hands on deck to handle P.R, scheduling, and making sure Duck had what he needed to win.

Duck and his opponent enter the ring. Touch gloves.

Indrid’s pulse climbs.

Then the bell sounds and no useful noises come through the T.V. Just the announcers shouting and being drowned out by the crowd. Indrid gives up on parsing the cacophony, focus only on Duck. He’s seen him practice, but in a true match he’s a different beast. His opponent is faster, that much is clear, but Duck is patient, steady, blocks and weaves until he can land blows that make Indrid hurt just watching them.

Duck is magnificent like this. Indrid has to draw him like this, has to capture this and keep it forever, he has to, he has…

He has a hard-on in the middle of the green room.

He sticks it out long enough to see Duck win and then bolts to the bathroom so it can be taken care of by the time the boxer is done with the post-fight interviews.

They go out to celebrate, and Duck never nudges Indrid aside to let someone more important sit next to him. And as the drive to the hotel, he nods off with his head on Indrid’s shoulder.

It only gets worse after that.

Duck will coax him into joining him for a run with the promise of a fancy breakfast. On cheat days, Duck orders food to the house or takes Indrid out to lunch, and somehow the thing he wants when not focused on macros is always the thing Indrid mentioned he’d been craving. He invites Indrid on hikes with him, starts taking him to all his events even though he seldom needs help or herding at them (“yeah, but it’s nice to have someone to crack jokes with”). And on days when Indrid needs to be alone, or wants to see other friends, Duck simply smiles and closes the door.

The most dangerous days are the ones without anything on the schedule. Then it’s all too easy for Indrid to pretend that they’re something they’re not while he draws at the table across from where Duck is building his model ship. Too easy to imagine that the water-wise garden Duck tends is something he put into their house, not his house that Indrid happens to live in. Too easy to admit that Indrid wants to look after him for no payment except being looked after in return.

Duck reciprocating his feelings is within the realm of possibility. Indrid’s caught him staring when he walks in on the P.A doing yoga, and the casual touches long ago made the leap from accidental to deliberate. He also knows that Duck can’t fire him--only Ned can--and hopes that might lead to the boxer slinging him over his shoulder and tossing him on the bed one of these days.

There’s also the tabloid site circulating a photo of them with a caption claiming he’s Duck’s “boytoy” in spite of them only being two years apart. They’re not even sitting that close in the picture; Duck’s just smiling at him like he’s the only thing in the world, that’s all.

Currently, he’s having an easier time keeping his feelings buried because--ever since they landed in Vegas-- Duck has been a dick the rest of the day. Well, as much as a dick as he can be; his offenses are mainly snapping at people and lacking his usual patience.

When he scolds Indrid over something silly in the hotel that night, Indrid turns and stares at him over his glasses.

“Duck, what’s wrong?”

“Wh-uh, fuck, nothing, why do you, uh, fuck, I’m fine.”

“You just snapped at me in a way that was completely uncalled for.” He crosses his arms, “is it the fight? I know it’s a big one but that’s no reason to be rude.”

Duck scratches the back of his neck, “You’re gonna laugh at me.”

“I swear I won’t. Or, if I do, it will be after you leave.”

That gets a smile, “I’m uh, well, I’m what you’d call ‘horny as all fuckin get out.’”

Indrid’s immediate thoughts would solve the problem at hand while creating a new and far worse set, so he keeps them to himself and replies, “If need privacy, I can come back later and hold all your calls.”

“Nah.” Duck sits on the bed, “You’re not supposed to get off before a fight. Makes you too relaxed.”

“That strikes me as an old wives tale. Old boxers tale?”

“Either way, it’s one Minerva still believes. If I lose, she will ask about every possible cause, includin that one. Better if I just cat nap before I start all my pre-match stuff. Come get me in fort minutes?”

“Of course.” Indrid waves and closes the door before he offers to lay down in the hopes of Duck having a wet dream while holding him.

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

Duck wins, though it’s a tough battle to get there. He fucking hates these Pay-Per-View fights, they try to make it sound like he’s got beef with the other guy. In reality, once he’s down from a knockout, Duck is the one who helps him to the other side of the ring.

There’s a flurry of press afterwards, of questions and congratulations while all he wants to do is shower. He gets clean, promises Ned they can all go out to celebrate later. As he and Indrid finally escape to his suite he’s forced to admit that--if the thoughts of hitting the “fire” button and fucking Indrid against the wall are any indication--his problem from earlier hasn’t gone away.

“Do you need me to see if I can get a masseuse up here? You look very stiff.”

“Just uh, just tense.” Why did he tell Indrid he liked those jeans on him? He’s worn them as often as he can since.

Indrid cocks an eyebrow, “Still pent up even though the fighting is done?”

“Yep.”

The P.A shakes his head, hiding a smirk, “Do you need me to find something for you to watch?”

“No.”

“I mean it, this place has all the good channels.” He’s so earnest, picking up the channel guide like it, rather than those fucking jeans and shirt with Duck’s name on it, has what Duck needs.

“No.” He growls.

Indrid sighs, sets the book back down, “This mood is annoying us both, so just tell me what kind of porn you want and I can go out and buy it.”

“Unless they got somethin called ‘boxer jackhammers skinny artist until he cries’ we’re gonna be shit out of luck!”

The P.A blinks, “Duck, this is Vegas, I can probably find that. Or look for it on your laptop…” he trails off when their eyes meet. Duck knows he must look like he’s ready to jump him. Indrid licks his lips, “Duck? What, ah, what exactly lead to this situation?”

“You really wanna know, slim?” Duck steps across the carpet, notices Indrid padding over the black and blue patterns to meet him.

“Yes.”

Duck removes Indrid’s glasses, “Had a dream about you while I was on the plane. Woke up havin just finished fuckin you open. First thing I thought was “no big deal, ‘Drid’s right here. We can do the real thing once we get to the hotel.’ Then I fuckin remembered that we couldn’t, and I know for damn sure that if I jerk off I won’t feel satisfied because you’re be over there” he jabs his thumb at the door connecting their rooms, “so close and completely outta my reach.”

“So keep me right here instead.” Indrid purrs, fingers tentatively finding Duck’s hips. The light contact splinters his self-control and he practically tackles Indrid onto the bed, kissing him as the taller man moans and paws at his clothes.

The kiss takes the heat off enough to clear the steam fogging up his head and sits up, “This really okay?”

“I would have said if it wasn’t now for goodness sake please get back down here.” Indrid yanks him forward by the front of his shirt, smashing their lips together. He’s humming and sighing every time Duck touches him, rolling his hips to display a quickly forming hard-on.

“Aw, sugar, you gettin excited just from kissin’?” Duck grinds down just to see him gasp.

“Y-yes. I, Duck, I’ve wanted this for months.”

The implication of those words slam his desire into overdrive, “You sneaky little thing, that why you kept runnin around in tight clothes?”

“Most of my clothes h-hang off me.” Indrid holds tight to Duck’s thighs as the boxer strips his shirt off, “but yes I, I did start wearing what you liked more often.”

“Ain’t that thoughtful. And what were you hoping would happen, slim?” Duck yanks his sweats off and kicks them to the floor.

“This.” Indrid’s eyes keep slipping down to stare at Duck’s dick.

The boxer strokes himself lazily, “like what you see?”

“So much.”

“Then how about a closer look, sugar?” He crawls up Indrid’s body to straddle his face. It looks even better than normal framed by his thighs.

“Do I get to touch too?”

Duck guides his hands onto his ass, “As much as you want. You gonna be sweet and let me fuck your face, or am I gonna have to hold your mouth open?”

Indrid opens his mouth instantly, a whimper creeping out of it as Duck strokes his hair. The sound morphs into a louder, but muffled, moan when Duck sinks down. He teases his dick against Indrid’s lips, drags slick across his chin, feels his jaw tremble with wanting to close. Duck shifts so his dick touches Indrid’s tongue, “get to it. Oh fuck” he braces a hand on the wall, “heh, didn’t know Ned screened for cocksuckin skills.”

Indrid shakes his head, brown eyes wide as Duck roughly rides his face.

“No? He didn’t make you demonstrate on some of the other fighters? Didn’t make sure you could make a whole gym cum to prove your mouth was good enough for me?”

“‘O” Indrid shakes his head again, silver strands sticking to the pillow as he kneads Duck’s ass in a way that makes him groan.

“Too bad for them. Because now they ain’t ever gonna get a chance.”

A whimper and write of the torso; Duck glances over his shoulder to watch Indrid buck his hips in the air, pre-cum clear on his crotch. His feet, still in their shoes, point and flex as he moans around Duck’s dick.

“You like that, don’t you sugar?” He threads both hands into Indrid’s hair, pinning his head down or pulling it closer as it suits him, all the while gently rubbing his scalp “like knowin’ that you’re doin well.”

A harder suck in reply.

“Then be a good little cocksucker and make me cum.” He holds his head down and let’s loose, grinding and grunting in pursuit of the heat that starts at Indrid’s tongue and is steadily curling up into Duck’s belly. The other man holds him tight, moaning and licknig and sucking until Duck cums on his mouth, the lasts bursts of it happening against a slackening jaw.

As soon as his legs cooperate, he climbs off and guides Indrid to sit up in his arms. His attempt to check on the other man is interrupted by a frantic kiss.

“I was gonna ask if you wanna keep goin’, but I think I got my answer.”

“Yes, I mean no, I mean please don’t stop yet. Please I, we can do whatever you like, we can do just this, you can drag me out on the balcony and fuck me in full view of the city-”

“Easy, slim, easy.” Duck cups his cheek, “let’s start with somethin simple. Get naked and get comfy on your back for me. I gotta go grab somethin from down the hall.”

His memory turns out to be spot on; the vending machine on this floor has toiletries, including condoms and a travel bottle of lube. He buys ten of one and three of the other, drops them in the pockets of his robe and hurries back to Indrid. Sprawled on the bed, he looks painfully vulnerable, like someone who got used to life kicking him and telling him to stay down.

It’ll be different when they’re together, Duck can promise that much.

“Seem to recall you wanting me to keep you here.” He grabs a handwrap, holds it where Indrid can see, “how do you feel about me usin this?”

“Extremely good. Oh, oh hello.” He laughs when Duck rolls down beside him to pepper his face with kisses. The process of trapping his hands to the headboard is prolonged thanks to their mutual need to keep kissing every five seconds.

“Now” Duck kisses his shoulder, “I didn’t bring any toys to fuck you with, so it’s just gonna be my hand.”

“You say that as if it’s a disappointment to me and not incredibly sexy.”

“Some folks don’t think you’re fuckin ‘em unless you use somethin dick-shaped.” Duck shrugs with a flicker of sadness from the last time he had that conversation.

“Tell me who insulted your body or your skills in bed and I shall stand outside their window with a megaphone informing them of how terrible their manners are and how they missed out on the finest man in the world.”

“That’d be funny” Duck leisurely kisses his belly and hips before sitting up, “but you’d have to get outta bed.”

“True. Ah well, a sternly worded email will have do OOOh, oohhhyes.” He wiggles his hips as Duck presses in the first finger, relaxing under his touch.

“Get the feelin you’ve done this before”

“Yes.” Indrid’s chest is flushed and Duck reaches up his free hand to play with his nipples.

“What’s the most you’ve taken?”

“Th-three, I believe. I, ah, I’m usually facing away so I sometimes lose track.”

“You're takin four tonight. Can’t believe anyone would wanna miss out on how you look when you’re getting fucked.” He teases the second finger to prove his point and Indrid’s mouth curves with bliss.

“My ass is many people’s type; my face not so much.”

“Fuck that.” Duck pushes the second finger in. Indrid arches, then sighs as Duck keeps working him open.

“I find it difficult to care what they thought right now. I, ahhhn, it’s much more fun to think about you.”

“About me…?”

“About right you’re doing right now and, AH, what we can do next. I do so want to sit in your lap in the hot tub back home.”

“Can manage that. What else?”

“I’d very much l-like to fuck you, however you’ll let me and, and I want us to do it right after you train some day, you look so good like thatAHgod.” The third finger is in and Indrid is now steadily pushing down on them, “and one of the times you get me to run with you I expect a blow job in reward oh, ohfuck” his eyes are wild and eager, “please do the last one, I’m ready, I want it so badly, please.”

Duck begins teasing the fourth finger, “Think all those wants of yours sound real good. You wanna know mine?”

“Absolutely. AHaahnnnahgod” The wrap tightens as Indrid clings to it, trying to stabilize himself as Duck fucks his hand into him hard.

“Soon as we get home, I’m gettin the strap-on and fuckin you for a solid hour at least. Gonna leave you so fuckin raw and relaxed you won’t wanna do anything but lay there, and you’ll goddamn get to because you’re mine and I’m gonna take care of you.”

“Duck” it’s a happy sob, Indrid’s cock bobbing in the air.

“Gonna take a trip somewhere private, just the two of us, and you’re gonna spend the whole fuckin time tied up, to the bed, a chair, whatever the fuck else I feel like so I can ride your dick whenever I want.”

“Yes.” Indrid is barely getting out words between his cries.

“And the next time you have the fuckin nerve to wear tight jeans the day I gotta fight, I’m gonna shove a vibration plug up that cute little ass and lock your cock in a cage so we can both be horny without bein able to get off.”

“Duck please, I’m close, please touch-”

He wraps his fingers around Indrid’s dick and works him over hard and fast, “Soon as I’m done with that fight, you’re gonna blow me in the locker room so I can focus on nailin your ass into next week when we get--ohfuck!” Cum hits his chin as Indrid gasps and squeaks, scratching at the wraps and the headboard.

If Duck ever loses his memory, he hopes this is the last moment to go; Indrid Cold, happy, safe, and satisfied while he moans Duck’s name.

Indrid is boneless as Duck undoes the bonds, though he rallies enough to pull the boxer into a hug so he can cuddle him like a teddy bear. He kisses his throat, feels his pulse even out beneath his lips.

“Duck? Does, ah, does this mean what I think it does?”

The phone rings right as he’s about to answer. It’s probably Ned, so he holds up a finger and grabs the receiver.

“Go for Duck. Yeah, yeah that’ll be fine” he nods as Ned explains the plan for their exclusive, late night dinner, “yeah, tell ‘em five; you, Minerva, Leo, me and” he winks at a beaming Indrid, “my boyfriend.”

#indruck #indrid cold/ duck newton #trans duck newton #reader request #meet ugly #boxer au

20 notes · View notes

theloneliestshipper · 3 years

Text

I don't always do collaborations but when I do it's an utterly self-indulgent crossover of two Star Wars properties that have absolutely no reason to overlap and a potential audience of about five people. Also I do it with @nyelung.

AO3 Link

And never kick the ball! Rated T

“... Hutts don’t have feet!” The final words of Baroness Deathmark echo through the arena. Having heard the introduction a few dozen times or more in the last year alone, Boba could say it with her if he were in the mood. He’s not.

They’ve changed the arena up for the season. There’s only so many ways that the Nar Shaddaa Huttball arena can be changed but apparently they went all out this time and rearranged a significant portion of the walkways and traps. He can make out something that looks suspiciously like a series of trapdoors surrounding the mag-ball’s centre spot, undoubtedly hiding some nasty surprises. Well, since Fennec managed to draw Djarin in as the team captain he’s not too worried that one of their team will find out what’s beneath those trapdoors the hard way.

Two minutes into the game Boba is scowling inside his helmet - not an unusual occurrence if the Quesh Rotworms were to be asked. He came aboard as a coach last year, when there were children’s teams on Tatooine who could play better so they had seen it a lot.

“It’s nice that for once it’s not our players getting maimed,” Fennec comments. “It was getting hard to find new ones.

Huttball is one of the most brutal semi-legal sports in the galaxy and even though all players are fully armoured - part of the reason why the sport is so popular in the Mandalorian sector - and killing during the game has been forbidden since the Cold War, injuries or even crippledom aren’t uncommon because the players are also armed to the teeth. That’s what the Frogdog wearing the number seven just found out the hard way when Djarin and Aelto perfectly executed a manoeuvre to take the ball from him.

Baroness Deathmark on the other hand should avoid dark alleys tonight since the ban on killing did not apply to the way she verbally tore Frogdog Seven apart with her remarks. The handsigns he throws in the direction of the commentator box are basically a promise to hunt her down and kill her slowly and painfully. At least that’s what they mean in Mandalorian space and that’s what has Boba scowling. Why promise the commentator utterly brutal torture when it was Djarin and Aelto who maimed him?

It’s not his problem, Boba reminds himself and concentrates on giving Djarin reports on the Frogdog team’s movements. If Baroness Deathmark earns another deathmark to her name, it’s nothing he has to worry about.

In the end, Boba doesn’t have to feel too bad about the Rotworm’s performance even though they took quite the beating and lost by two points against the Frogdogs. Baroness Deathmark’s final comment is just as cutting as the spikes Tika fell on in the second half. They’re still stitching all the muscles and tendons back together in the med-area but Tika will probably never play again.

Still, just one player permanently out of commission and eight points scored versus ten lost is much better than the Rotworms have managed in decades. Overall Boba is quite content. “Do you think they serve Spotchka here?”

Fennec raises one brow. “Do you mean: Do they serve affordable Spotchka here that’s not actually engine grease? No idea, let’s find out.”

___

The commentator booth is quiet now. Leia takes a second to let her head fall back and to roll the stiffness out of her neck. When she turns her chair around, the event producer Lando Calrissian is standing in the doorway, his headset still on. “Nice work today,” he says, covering the mic with his hand. “You really live up to your name.”

“Let them try it,” Leia scoffs as she picks up her satchel and jacket. “If I had a credit for every huttballer who threatened to kill me I could retire yesterday. And anyway, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t blatantly obvious to every being in the stands.”

“Still, I’d watch your back while you’re on Nar Shaddaa. And listen, my buddy Han is in town this weekend. Why don’t you let me set you up?”

“I’m busy next weekend.”

“Sure you are. Where are you going now? Home to your tooka and the latest episode of Sith Mansions?”

“For your information I’m going to a cantina. To meet someone.”

The fact that she doesn’t yet know who she’s going to meet doesn’t seem important. She might be a farm girl from Anchorhead, but she’s never had any trouble getting someone to pay for her drinks. Maybe she’ll get really lucky and it’ll even be someone who isn’t a spicer, slicer, smuggler or assassin. That would be a nice change of pace.

The Slippery Slope cantina is crowded with fans. Some of the Frogdog and Rotworm players are there for their contract-mandated mingling. As usual the Mandalorian players keep their distinctive helmets on for the personal holos their fans will want and to protect their privacy.

She passes by a knot of fans in Frogdog colors, several different languages conversing in varying tones of outrage. She hears “the Baroness” and smiles to herself as she finds a seat at the bar. She doesn’t need a helmet to keep people from recognizing her face. It’s her voice they know...and sometimes despise.

There’s a man two seats down wearing Mandalorian armor, but it’s not painted with team colors. He’s a fan, maybe. His helmet is resting out of sight beneath the bar while he nurses a glass of Spotchka. Spotchka sounds pretty good, actually.

He glances in her direction, but there’s no shift in body language, no smile. Shame. He’s a good-looking man and probably has a very nice smile. Leia signals the bartender and nods in his direction. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”

That catches his attention, if briefly. He lifts his glass in a silent salute, one eyebrow slightly raised. Still no offer. Maybe he’s partnered. She lets her eyes drift down over his armor, applying what she’s learned from interviews with the Mandalorian huttball players. It looks like beskar to her.

The bartender delivers her Spotchka and her attention strays from the Mandalorian to any other likely candidates at the bar. Everyone is talking about the match.

“She’s dead,” a heated voice rises behind her, but not addressed to her. “Who does she think she is? That play was bullshit. You know it, I know it. There was nothing he could have done.”

Leia doesn’t have to turn around to know that the person speaking is wearing Frogdog yellow. They can whine about it all they want, but their player had at least two opportunities to pass before the Rotworms took him out.

Some players want all the glory. That’s not her fault.

“She had no right to tear into him like that. No wonder everyone hates her.”

“It’s her fucking job.” The unexpected defense comes from the Mandalorian sitting two seats down. He’s turned his chair to face the yellow-clad group, and there’s an unmistakable challenge in his low tone. “If your player did his, you wouldn’t have lost him two minutes in.”

The man who was speaking turned a startling shade of purple. Almost Rotworm purple. “Who asked you?”

“It’s a public place. If you want to have a private conversation I suggest you go home.” It’s not a suggestion. The Mandalorian makes that clear by standing up.

“You can go to hell! You and that fucking bitch-”

“Did someone say my name?” Suddenly there’s a woman standing between them, and Leia recognizes her instantly. Fennec Shand. Her iconic steely gaze is now fixed on the outraged fan. “You want to go home.”

In spite of the clamor around them there’s a silence and stillness that makes the threat implicit. The fan bares his teeth in a snarl before turning to go. Some of his friends leave with him and the rest drift away.

Fennec’s head tips toward the bartender. “Her drink is on me.” She winks at Leia before walking away. Maybe she’s more recognizable than she thought.

“Well. That was exciting,” she says, more to herself, but the Mandalorian nods as he reclaims his seat.

“You know Fennec?”

“Just by reputation.” She takes a quick sip of her paid-for drink. “That’s definitely the first time a huttball coach has bought me a drink.”

“Your lucky night.” The corner of his mouth curves up just enough to make Leia feel validated. A very nice smile indeed.

“And she’s a legend, obviously. It’s a shame she’s stuck holding up the Rotworms by herself.”

His smile hardens, just a little. “Is it?”

“There’s gotta be a dozen better teams who would be delighted to have her. And the Rotworms might be better than they were a year ago, but their offense is still half-awake at best and I heard her defense coach only got the job because his daddy rules Mandalore.”

“You believe everything you hear?”

“No, but I kind of have to keep my ear to the ground. Like you said, it’s my fucking job.”

“You’re Baroness Deathmark.” He says it with disbelief. “That’s why-” He directs a look of annoyance at the place where Fennec Shand vanished into the crowd.

“My friends call me ‘Leia.’” She leans forward, resting her chin on her hand. “I don’t think I got your name.”

For a moment the Mandalorian hesitates. Then there’s a shift in his posture, a slight relaxing of his shoulders and Leia’s willing to bet that that twitch in his face could become an actual playful smile. “Why don’t you tell me? Since it’s your job to know everything.”

It’s a challenge that makes her sit up. He’s someone connected, then. A promoter or a staff member. That explains how he knows Fennec. “Okay,” she says, intrigued. This could be fun. “Where did you grow up?”

“Kamino. What about you?”

She’s never heard of it. No help there. “Tatooine. My local team was the Anchorhead Womp Rats.”

“Did you play?”

“I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions,” she reminds him. “Did you play?”

“Yes. For the Skullhunters of Mandalore.”

“Fenn Shysa’s team?”

His head tilts to one side. “How do you know Fenn?”

“Everyone knows Fenn. Are you single?”

“You think that will help you figure it out?”

She raises her eyebrows. “Maybe I just want to know.”

“Yes. I’m single. You?”

“Yes.” She pauses to take a sip of Spotchka. “I wanted to play, but Uncle Owen wouldn’t let me. Too violent. I tried telling him that it wasn’t like the old days where entire teams could be massacred in a match, but for some reason he didn’t find that convincing.”

He nods in agreement. “It used to be a rite of passage in Mando culture. Now it’s just sports.”

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic for someone hanging out with Fennec Shand.” For a short moment Leia entertains the question whether he resents the no-killing-part or Huttball itself.

He shrugs. “There’s better sports.”

She hates to admit it, but she’s stumped. He knows the game but doesn’t particularly seem to like it. He can handle himself in a confrontation but it’s not as if the legendary Fennec Shand needs a bodyguard. Is it possible that someone actually hired a Mandalorian to take out Baroness Deathmark? But no, his surprise about her identity had been genuine. “Okay, final question. Why are you here?”

“Don’t quote me on this… nah, forget it.”

Oh, so it’s a story. “Come on. Entertain a lady.”

It’s clear that he’s tempted, calculating loss of face versus the chance to win her over for wherever this flirtation is going. Leia’s got a few suggestions already lined up in her mind. With an inaudible sigh he comes to a decision. “Dad kept nagging me to make connections beyond bounty hunting and Huttball is a lucrative enough business. It could be worse.”

Now there’s a hint. “So your father is…?”

“Some might say he rules Mandalore.” He gives her a quick smirk before finishing off his drink.

It all adds up quickly in her head, his history as a player on Mandalore, his knowledge of the game and his connection to Fennec Shand. She sets her glass down hastily in case she needs to make a very quick exit.

“You asked for my name,” he says, drawing it out with the ruthlessness of a professional Huttball defensive coach. “It’s Boba Fett. And for the record, that’s not how I got the job.”

As he speaks he stands and removes his helmet from the shelf under the bar and Leia recognizes it immediately. For one thing, it has the Rotworm logo painted on the side. She couldn’t say a word now even if she tried, but when Boba Fett turns to face her, it’s with a smile.

“I’m sure you have more opinions on what my team did wrong. Maybe you’d like to tell them to me over dinner.”

“I do,” she manages. “Especially about your team’s inability to follow through.” Feeling a little bit daring, Leia leans in to make her intentions perfectly clear. “What about dinner at my place?”

#boba fett/princess leia #rebelbounty #star wars: the old republic #swtor #star wars fanfiction #the Huttball AU no one saw coming #with good reason #my fic

15 notes · View notes

nepenthendline · 4 years

Text

Pulling Away - Tendou

This was a commission for @dont-mind-me-imjustpassingby with permission to post. I hope you enjoy it! My commissions are open if you would like one too! (3.1k words)

Since the start of high school, you’ve shared your classes with Tendou - someone you would call a good friend of yours. He was different from some of the other people you’ve met: unfiltered, honest, and so, so bright. You heard around the school of some of the opinions against him, ones you never thought to be true. How could someone so kind, so supporting be a monster?

He was intriguing and you couldn’t help but want to get to know him more, and he seemed to want that too. Your first experience with him was when the teacher asked you to speak to the person next to you about a passage in the class book, and you were fascinated by his thoughts and personality. Over the next few years, you got to work with him more and hang out from time-to-time. There was never a dull moment with him, whether you were out late getting ice cream together or laying on his floor, side by side, talking about your thoughts. You trusted him; you wanted to be a big part of his life, just like he was for you.

He had grown to have the same love for you. You were one of the first people who listened to him, who spent time with him and learned about his interests. You never seemed scared of him, or disgusted by the way he spoke or acted, or the way he looked, that he was so used to. You always gave him so much care and affection, hugging him or encouraging him during class or practice. Since he met you, he thought of you as the most caring, loving and accepting person he had ever met, and that’s exactly who you were – to everyone. He always thought of you as stray cat rescuer, saving people like him who no one else wanted to be around.

The two of you were waiting in the long queue at the school cafeteria since Tendou said he’d treat you to a snack. It was only halfway through the day, but you were exhausted already, just wanting to get some food in you.

“Why is this line so long?” you whined, dragging out your words and leaning your head on his shoulder. He chuckled, a wonderfully warm sound, and loosely wrapped his arm around your back.

“It’ll go down soon, and then you’ll appreciate your food even more,” he tried to comfort you, but you sent him a glare. You were about to speak when a group of your classmates approached you, asking you a question about your next class. You quickly straightened yourself up, pulling away from Tendou and letting his arm fall back by his side. One of the guys in your class talked about some of the analysis he did as part of his homework, and you stared with wide eyes, praising him for his impressive work. You were too focused on your friends to notice the way his smile faded, and how he pulled himself further away from you. You were always so kind to everyone, friends or not – he’s noticed this over the few years that he’s known you. You never held back from complimenting others or being a friend if they needed someone to speak to or if they were alone.

At the weekend, Tendou had invited you to go shopping with him since he wanted to get some more hoodies. Of course, you quickly accepted, wanting to spend more alone time with him. You trailed through a bunch of stores as he flicked through the racks, making comments about each garment that had you giggling. He picked up some options he liked and left to try them on. A few moments later, he stepped out of the changing room and gave you a twirl.

“Whaddya think?” He asked, looking at you with a nervous smile.

“You look so good! It compliments your hair nicely,” you state with enthusiasm, giving him a thumbs up. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting to hear that from you; his cheeks started burning a little and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. ‘No, don’t get carried away,’ he thought, ‘she’s just being nice. She’s always nice. That’s just Y/N,’. It was hard enough to accept a compliment already, but it overwhelmed him a little at the possibility that people might be lying, people might just be being nice, and he’s not going to make a fool of himself on top of the comments he already gets.

He gives you a weak smile, and a ‘thanks’, before heading back into the changing room and putting on his regular clothes. As he came out, he saw you lift your head from your phone, your expression changing from a smile to confusion.

“Are you not trying on the others?” you asked, looking at the other 3 hoodies he brought in with him.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve got plenty already,” he waved your question off, giving you a bright smile like always, then heading off out of the store once he put the clothes away. You two talked to an ice-cream café that was nearby since you knew he loved chocolate ice cream. He didn’t speak too much, less than usual, but you got the chance to watch him as he looked at the sky and surroundings. The warm sun radiated off his skin and hair, making him glow and glisten. His wide eyes looked so bright in the sunlight, and his soft hoodie was so inviting. Without thinking, you reached over a grabbed the edge of his sleeve, feeling the heated fabric between your fingers that brushed against the skin on his arm. This wasn’t the first time you’d done this so Tendou had gotten used to the feeling, but it still shocked him every time. You held onto his sleeve until you walked into the café, then dropped your hand as you looked over the menu board.

“Let me guess, chocolate ice cream for you? With chocolate sauce and chocolate shavings?” You teased, looking over to him.

He gasped dramatically, putting a hand over his chest, “how did you know?”. You let out a chuckle at his drama and replied,

“I just know you well Satori,” you gave him a warm smile, before walking to the till to order. His mind seemed to glitch a little at your words, did you really learn to know him well? No, you came here often, of course you would remember, anyone would after that many times hearing him say his order. He took a deep breath, then moved closer to you.

“And what can I get for your boyfriend?” The young, perky girl at the till asked, looking between you and Tendou.

“O-oh he’s- he’s not my boyfriend,” you panicked, stuttering through your words as your cheeks burned hot. Boyfriend? You’d thought of it many times before but hearing it out loud was different. Could Tendou really be your boyfriend? As much as you wanted to play along with the idea that he was, in fact, your boyfriend, your embarrassment stopped you. What if it made him uncomfortable at the idea?

He watched you as you defended yourself to the cashier, his eyes losing their shine that they had before. He expected you to quickly reject the possibility, but it still hurt. That was what he wanted to be, what he wanted to hear people ask, so that he could wrap you up with a grin and say confidently, ‘yes, I am her boyfriend’ and douse you in his love. He knew it would be bad for your reputation, your image to be associated with the likes of him, and he never expected you to want him in that way either, but witnessing you pull away from him was 100 times worse than his own thoughts he played in his head.

You ate your cold treat together, mostly in silence. You were still recovering from thinking of Tendou as your boyfriend, but you noticed him being oddly quiet and slower than usual, moving his ice cream around with his spoon.

“Are you ok?” You ask, leaning over to tap his arm and tilting your head. He looked up suddenly, his face first lifeless, his cheeks were pale, and his eyes drooped. After he acknowledged your question, he pushed out a wide smile,

“Hmm? Of course! I’m fine, no need to worry,” he said in his typical joking tone, patting you on the head. He started quickly finishing his ice cream, finding a way to cover his low expression and have an excuse not to speak. You noticed though, you really did know him well, and you knew that he was holding back. It was hard to get through to him, to get him to open up though. He always built a wall around himself that not even you could get through.

“Would you like to go walk in the park?” You asked as you both stepped out the café. His eyes widened slightly at your question, then looked towards the ground.

“Actually, I think I’m gonna head back. I’ve gotta help Wakatoshi with some volleyball stuff. Um, see you later,” his voice broke as he talked but he tried hard to be convincing. He gave you a wave and a grin, before heading off in the opposite direction.

You hadn’t heard from him at all over the rest of the weekend. You had messaged him once to see how things were going, but he hadn’t even read your text. You kept telling yourself that maybe he was just busy, or asleep. Maybe he really was helping the volleyball team sort some things out, but you knew this was unlikely.

When you got back to school, you thought things would go back to normal and that as soon as you saw each other, you’d be able to talk like normal, but he didn’t even acknowledge you when you walked in. He kept his head down, fiddling with a pen.

“H-hey Satori,” you sat next to him in your seat, leaning over a little and speaking quietly. He lifted his head towards you briefly, offering you his usual bright smile, a ‘hey’ then tucked his head back down. You were about to ask what was wrong when the teacher entered, sending students scattering to their seats. The whole time in class went without a single interaction between you and Tendou – he even asked the guy in front of him questions about the topic rather than you.

During your lunch break, he headed off as soon as the bell rang and sat with his teammates. You watched him from across the cafeteria – he seemed like his bubbly self, although that wasn’t usually much to go by since he was a master of covering his emotions. You tried to ignore the possibility that he was avoiding you on purpose, throwing yourself into your conversation with your friends, though you couldn’t help but look over towards him every few minutes.

It continued like this for a few days; you approached him a few times each day, saying hello or asking a question about his day, but he always found some excuse not to talk to you, ending with him running off and you being alone. You just wanted to know what you did wrong, what you did to make him hate you?

If only you know how much he loved you, and how he was doing this to protect you and himself? He thought that if he distanced himself, if he tried to forget how perfect you were to him, then he wouldn’t feel so strongly towards you and mess up your friendship. The worst thing he could think of happening would be for you to reject him after he poured his heart out to you, so he removed himself before you could.

After a week of this distance and many hours of lying awake wondering what was going on, you gave in and pulled up your phone. It read 10: 38pm; the bright light straining your eyes in the dark as you lay in bed. You pressed call under his name, and anxiously awaited as the phone dialled. You didn’t think he was going to answer, but you heard the accepting click of the line just before it went to voicemail.

“Satori? Hey,” you questioned across the phone as he hadn’t spoken.

“Hey, what’s up? It’s late you know, you should be in bed,” his tone teetered between being caring and forced.

“I… I just wanted to talk, are you free?” You heard him shuffle around a little as he stayed silent for a few moments,

“Actually, I’m just in the middle of helping Wakatoshi with some chores so-” you cut him off,

“I know you’re alone. Please just talk to me,” you weren’t opposed to begging at this point for him to speak to you, you just wanted to fix things. He went quiet again for a little while, then let out a sigh that rattled through the receiver.

“Ok,” you barely heard him speak.

“Ok? Can you meet me somewhere? At the park we used to go to behind the big tree?” You rushed out before he could change his mind. He agreed and hung up, leaving the pit of anxiety in your stomach to churn.

You quickly got ready and head out, making your way to your meeting spot. He lived closer than you did, and you saw his red hair standing out under the light of the streetlamps nearby. He was wrapped up in layers of hoodies, tucking his legs close to his chest. You sat down quietly next to him, keeping a little distance that felt so unnatural. Neither of you spoke for a little while as you settled in to being close to each other again.

“What did I do wrong?” You asked suddenly, gazing at the side of his face. He let out a deep breath and looked back at you.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” it almost sounded like a question, as if he had no idea why you were asking.

“Then why won’t you talk to me? Why are you avoiding me like you hate me? I thought we were friends, and that we could come to each other when we had a problem,” you voice was unsteady as you spoke as your mind rattled through various emotions.

“Nothing’s wrong, I’ve just been busy,” he hated lying to you, but he didn’t want to get into this – this was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

“Stop lying to me! Just tell me what I did wrong? Let me fix it. Or at least tell me that we’re not friends anymore so I know,” your eyes filled with tears, shocking Tendou. He didn’t know you cared this much about your friendship, not enough to cry over him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, so he pulled his head down and held it between his palms.

‘I don’t want to be your friend,” he murmured, loud enough that you still heard. Your eyes grew wide as tears rolled down your cheeks. You were speechless, but he continued.

“I don’t want to just be someone you hang out with because I have no one else, I don’t want to just be someone you try and make happy. I want to be so much more than that,” his voice was muffled in his position, but you heard him clearly.

“What do you mean?” He shook his head at your question, looking up at the dark sky.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m never going to be enough anyway, not that I blame you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you are more than enough.” He let out a sarcastic chuckle at your words, not believing you at all. You moved from your spot to sit in front of him and held his hands in yours. “I think you’re amazing, Satori. You’re so bright and intelligent, you always make me happy and I love how generous and caring you are. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you, Satori, you mean too much to me. I love spending time with you and talking to you. I… God…I love you.” You didn’t really think about what you said, letting your heart take over and spill your thoughts. He stared intensely at you, frozen in his spot. He went to speak but stopped himself and pulled your joined hands close to his face, resting just in front of his lips and closed his eyes.

“I thought if I distanced myself from you I would stop having feelings for you, because I don’t want to ruin what we have, and I don’t know what I’d do if I told you and you said no. I thought I was making things better for us,” his voice cracked as he spoke quietly, keeping his eyes firmly shut.

“You-you like me?” you asked hesitantly, watching him for a reaction. He nodded slightly and covered his whole face with your linked hands, but you pulled yours away. Instead, you lunged forward and pulled him into a tight embrace and let out a breath you had been holding. “Oh my god, I thought you hated me. I like you Satori, I really do. I have for a while I just had no idea you liked me.” You could feel him shaking slightly in your grasp, but he didn’t settle into your touch. In fact, he pulled away a little to see your face and spoke.

“You do? You mean it? Please tell me you really mean it.” His eyes were red, and he spoke so weakly you barely heard him. You placed one hand on his cheek, cupping it and stroking his skin with your thumb.

“I mean it, I promise,” you rested your forehead against his, “I want you in my life, and I want you to be such a big part of it,” you gave him a gentle smile as you looked in his eyes. He smiled back at you, one so genuine that his eyes scrunched up and they seemed to glow. You admired him for a moment, then slowly leaned in, kissing him delicately. Your lips barely brushed against each other’s, but you felt the sparks that tingled their way through your skin. Both of you paused after pulling away, revelling in this state of bliss.

“I guess I have some making up to do but thank you for being mine.”

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu headcanons #haikyū!!#haikyuu fanfiction #commission #tendou satori #Tendou satori x reader #Tendo satori #tendou x reader

216 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 3 years

Text

Goof Week: Goof Troop: Forever Goof Review (Everything’s Coming Up Goofy, Good Neighbor Goof, Gotta Be Gettin Goofy) (Commission for WeirdKev27)

Yahhahhooooeeeey all you happy people! WELCOME TO GOOF WEEK! Now normally when a character who got their start in theatrical shorts has a birthday, I do a marathon of them. I have since last year with Donald and it’s one of my favorite things: it allows me to explore Disney’s rich history of them I was largely unaware of till Disney+, and allows me to revisit the shorts I grew up with in the case of The Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry while discovering new favorites. SO naturally with Goofy’s birthday in two days I intended to do the same for him, especially since I’d covered Donald and Mickey the same way.

But fate had other ideas. Not thinking about this tradition, Kev, my patreon, friend and the guy who commissions a LOT of reviews from me ($5 an episode if your curious and I WILL make room on the schedule so your commission gets done as soon as possible), suggested reviewing the Goof Troop pilot movie Forever Goofy, later split into the episode Everything’s Coming Up Goofy and Good Neighbor. I loved the idea since I genuinely loved Goof Troop, and decided to do both that week.

It’s then I got a great idea.. why limit myself to JUST doing two things? I hit my 15 dollar patreon stretch goal, so a review of the Goofy Movie was on the Horizon anyway, and for it’s anniversary year Kev has been commissioning House of Mouse Episodes, so it wouldn’t be THAT much of an ask (and it wasn’t) to simply randomly select from a pool of Goofy-Centric episodes instead of all the episodes.

Thus GOOF WEEK was born, and Kev once again proved vital to all this by suggesting the special Sports Goof from the 80′s. I’d like to give him special thanks as outside of the Shorts Special, which as a patreon he still got to pick one and if you’d like to pick one for Donald’s special, sign on up even one dollar patreons get the honor. , this week is either entirely paid for by him or in the case of A Goofy Movie, is partly thanks to him. I wouldn’t be able to do NEARLY as many reviews nor make money off this without you bud, so thank you.

So naturally given the idea to do this two parter gave me the idea for this week and that Goofy Movie makes a logical finale for said week, it only made sense to start the week with Goof Troop. Bop-dop-da-da-do-bop, YEAH.

Goof Troop is the first Disney Afternoon show I ever watched and the only one I watched when I was younger, as Disney Channel used to play it ocasinally when I was younger and Toon Disney would do the same and I even got to Marthoon it when Disney XD did a weekend marathon. Given it starred my faviorite Disney Character, Donald hadn’t worked his way up to tying with him quite yet, I loved what I could grab of it. And as an adult.. it still holds up. It has problems i’ll get into, but it is a real good time so I was exastic to get an excuse to watch some of it and much like with Darkwing wish I had sooner.

Before I can h-h-h-hit it though, I have to talk about the series history. I ALMOST didn’t find anything: much like the other Disney Afternoon shows there really wasn’t much on the Disney wiki nor wikipedia, google turned up nothing... it wasn’t till I went to the Tv Tropes Trivia Page for the series, where i’d remembered reading about some early versions of the show, that I hit gold: A two part behind the scenes blog post by series co-creator Michael Peraza. You can find part one HERE and part two HERE. It’s a short but fascinating read.

Speaking of fascenating Peraza himself is someone i’d never heard of till reading this article but damn if he isn’t a legend. Seriously the guy’s career is as an unsung hero, starting work under the Legendary Nine Old Men, and working on some of disney’s greatest films: The Great Mouse Detective, Aladdin, The LIttle Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, along with live action cult classics Tron and Return to Oz via concept art. And concept art is where he’d hit his stride: he did conceptual work for all the big Disney Afternoon shows apart from Gargoyles, being one of the key guys in the early days of Disney Television animation. He didn’t stop at just designing things either as he worked as Art Director for Ducktales, The Proud Family and of course given how vital he was to it’s creation, Goof Troop, and to this days gives lectures with his wife to aspiring animators. He even did some guest work for the 2017 Ducktales Episode “Treasure of the Found Lamp!”. So yeah dude’s awesome

So how did he come to be a key part of this show’s creation? Well he’d just finished up some concept work on some other Disney Afternoon shows, and being a company man was glad to report to the Goof Troop..ers to help as the show was having trouble getting off the ground. The reason for this was the creative exec, who Peraza didn’t name out of kindness as the guy wasn’t a BAD person.. just a clueless one, this being his first job in film and tv. As such rather than work hard to develop around goofy or focus on his strengths the kid threw out one concept after another: The series got it’s name from a pitch that had Goofy as a scoutmaster, something I was glad to finally know. To quote Peraza

“ Although while I was doodling versions of the show that were destined to never see the light of the TV screen, the pitch date remained etched in stone and kept creeping closer. Various versions would find their way to the surface only to sink again into the wasteland known as the roundfile (trashcan). One moment Goofy was the Captain of the Fire Department, the next day a detective out of the Maltese Falcon mold, or a swash buckling hero fighting The Flying Dutchman.

The supporting cast he came up with really wasn't very supportive when you consider they sometimes included alien dragon babies with wings along with a large gorilla. Somebody at Walt Disney Television Animation must have really had a thing for giant gorillas around this time as they were plugged into almost every concept we assembled.”

It was clear that while Goofy COULD fit into just about anything, this exec was just throwing everything at the wall, nothing was sticking, and rather than try to refine his supporting cast, they kept having to throw them out and start over. And dont’ get me wrong, cartoons go through a lot of development and changes as they go.. but it’s usually born from a concept and usually by this point, they at least have what the show will be ABOUT in stone. While i’ve had the same creative changes and what not when coming up with projects that ultimately never saw the light of day, and currentlly some I hope to but might not, I’m not being paid by a studio to do this nor had a hard deadline. I was just spitballing trying to get something anything off the ground before reviewing gave me a steady outlet for my creativity and thus ballanced me to take my time with stuff. Peraza WAS turning out amazing art, like this concept art for the fireman pitch that honeslty makes me want to see it as a series. Who DOSEN’T want to see 9-11 with Goofy as the main character? Throw in Donald and grown up versions of Max, PJ and PIstol (And even not THAT much for the former two, as they did go off to college and all), don’t forget Roxanne this time out and you have a worthy goofy movie sequel.

So yeah this wasn’t working and the latest pitch was not great: Putting Goofy in ToonTown as a cabbie driving the Cab from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. As Peraza TRIED to point out to the exec, putting Goofy in a naturally goofy setting didn’t really play to the characters strength, his whole shtick being a goofus in a normal world. Enough of an every man to root for but also a slapstick joly weirdo.

The executive’s INCREDIBLY douchey response, especially since Peraza was a Disney Vetran at this point and had spent quite a lot of time on Ducktales, so he knew what he was talking about was “Do it anyway and leave the “Visionary” part to me”

As you can tell by MR. OOC there, this might be one of the most punchable sentences i’ve ever read.

So Peraza wasn’t in a great place and was naturally terrified when he got a call from Gary Krisel, president of Disney TVA, asking about the show and to see him about it.

Turns out though Krisel was a nice guy who already had a great working relatinship with Peraza, and genuinely wanted to know what was going on there and wanted his honest opinion. It’s why i’m not AGAINST executives in animation as sometimes they can come in when somethings clearly not working or allow a smooth transition of power if a propelmatic creator has to be booted off their own show so the show and i’ts crew don’t suffer as a result. It’s just more often than not they cause headaches or cancel shows for entirley stupid or self motivated reasons. But I will give credit where it’s do and point out times where there NOT stupid or homophobic or what have you and this is indeed one of those times.

Peraza was indeed straight with him: pointing out all the concepts they’d gone through, and like with the other guy honestly gave his opinon the ToonTown Pitch wasn’t working.. and he not only agreed but asked Peraza himself, actually respecting his experince instead of yelling at him that he has a vision that wouldn’t last the end of the day probably.

Peraza was HOPING this was where this was going and gladly gave him a far less high concept pitch and one truer to the character, quoted in full bellow:

“ My spiel went as follows, "Goofy is a recognized star of Disney animation, so why re-invent the wheel? His son is an average kid dealing with many of the usual issues they face: peer pressure, young love, grades, school bullies, and so on. On top of all that, he has the zaniest, wackiest GOOFIEST dad to live down. No matter how insane the situations get though, they will always love each other. They're a family." Gary asked how I would pitch it and I replied, "It's ONE day in the life of Goofy and son. From getting up in the morning to fixing breakfast, we see their difference side by side as his son tries to distance himself. No matter what though he knows deep inside that his father will always be there for him, whether he likes it or not."

If your wondering if Peraza noticed that that original pitch line is basically the peremise and emotioinal core of The Goofy Movie down pat.. your extremley correct and he notes that the film was based on said pitch even if he had no involvment with it that I could tell. The series would still use this but the whole embarasment aspect was toned down, and honestly fit a teenager better than an 11 year old..

So the exec loved it and Peraza shaped the core of the series: the idea of having Pete as his nemisis, pete having a nuclear family including a gorgeous wife, and the show being more slice of life and what not. He made some great sketches, got roaring approval and then pitched it to rousing success and the rest is history. Goof Troop was a moderate success and The Goofy Movie after it is a classic beloved by all. We have this wonderful man to thank for all that and I also thank him , on the offchance he ever sees this, for bringing Goofy into modern times in a way that did the man-dog justice. It’s thank to you we got this fun series, two great movies, and a goofy the way he is today: the best of everything about him rolled into one. Thanks man, free review.. not htat you NEED It since you’ve worked on things i’ve covered and what not, but I feel like I should offer. Outside of Peraza, I found one last bit of making of stuff before I get to the premiere proper. These two early concept shots:

The first has Max who both looks older and has red hair like he did in the shorts. Honestly I see a lot of his Goofy Movie self in thiis design, the only diffrence obviously being the red hair which was wisely changed to make the boy look more like goofy, something kept for the movie.

The more intresting one is this shot of the Pete’s. Starting with Pete he’s more athletic and has a perfectly tacky outfit. While changing him to be a bit more slovenly honestly fit this version of the character better, I do wish they’d kept hte outfit as the tacky gold and green jacket, the gold chain, the open ollar.. it all fits this version of pete so well, as well as his illusion of being a big shot when he is in fact a medium one. Peg is both slightly younger looking and far more doting and is so different I swear this picture looks like Pete remarried after the divorce and got some lipo. Pistol has about the same design but with a vastly different, more Isabella-ish outfit. Finally we have PJ who looks the same, but has a diffrent outfit and a far more sour demeanor, probably meant to be a bully. My best guess is sthis stuff comes from the pitch, and was likely made to simply get the basic premise across before fine tuning the characters for series

So with all of that out of the way i’m calling eveyrone to join in the fun under the cut and report to the Goof Troop.

Everything’s Coming Up Goofy:

Our first episode opens in a small but cozy trailer, where Goofy’s cooking up lunch as only goofy could: by making osme meatballs then serving them to his son over a game of table tennis, with Max doing the same. It’s really freaking adorable, and a dynamic i’m not used to since i’m more familiar with Teen Max. Seeing Max genuinely get into his dad’s hyjinks and enjoy them.. it just warms the heart and adds weight to The Goofy Movie by knowing there was a time the two really were thick is thieves before the stygian hole that is high school drained all that out of him.

So the two are like buddies and pals until the Mailman arrives, not even phased at this point. Turns out it’s a Diploma, and with this Goofy can get a job he’s been up for in Spoonerville and plans to move immediately. Max is devisated he’ll loose his friends and runs away to use a magical mystery box to keep them together only to end up in a land full of frogs with an old man who sounds like his dad minus the drawl and two other tinier frogs and ... I may have the wrong show. In fairness you try dislodging a finale where Keith David runs a 13 year old through with laser sword and then talk to me.

Goofy is sympathetic though: While he seems a tad oblivous to Max’s worries, it’s very clear he’s jumping on this job and this move so far to give his son a better life. Sure he runs through all the cartoon moving away talking points that don’t work in real life or most other cartoons such as there being a nice lake and that max can make new friends, and Max accepts it weirdly fast because this episode is only 22 minutes and they don’t have time for that subplot... but it’s clear the idea of a better paying job, a secure home not in an alleyway, and some stablility for his son is the real reason Goofy’s doing this, and he probably wants to simply give the boy the childhood he had growing up.

Meanwhile in Spoonerville, we meet Pete. To my shock this is where Jim Cummings took over the roll he was born for and has played since and with good reasons as Cummings is just amazing with Pete no matter the incarnation and excels here his penchant for playing jerks, hams and gravely voiced guys all coalesicing. Pete is planning on building what modern toxicly masculine weirdos such as himself would call a Man Cave on his lawn, because Pete is a very SPECIAL kind of douchebag. He also plans to stretch it into the neighboring property, tear down the house there and set it up.

This is news to his wife Peg, played by fellow voice acting Legend whose stillg ot it, April Winchell in her star making role. Peg is Pete’s strong willed wife who dosen’t put up with her husbands crap.. you know that trope that infected sitcoms for kids and adults of the doofy husband whose either a manchild , a skeevy self serving quipy asshole or some horrible combination of the two. The kind that has still been so prevealant the wife from one of said sitcoms helped produce a show about the wife finally doing the logical thing and plotting to kill the bastard. No really.. that’s an actual thing that’s happening. It’s even got a Little Bit of Alexis as Anne Murphy plays the poor, poor wife.

youtube

And why yes the series is called Kevin Can Fuck Himself. And why yes said former sitcom wife was the same one on a sitcom called Kevin Can Wait who was fired because they wanted to retool the show with the wife from Kevin James other sitcom. That also is very really a thing that happened. Payback is a bitch aint it? Fun too.

But yeah from minute one Pete is a terrible husband: Peg is a realtor and thus is trying to sell the house because it’s her fucking job instead of letting her husband throw their family deep in debt to very likely illegally demolish a house so he has a giant yard to play in. I mean even if this is all played for jokes i’ts just not funny enough to not make him an utter bastard. The fact his response to her VERY valid criticism and subtextual worry he doesn’t’t take her career seriously is to fake a panic attack, from a very REAL tendency he turns out to have giant breakdowns under stress, to try and guilt her into letting him have his giant public man cave just backs this up.. as does the fact she simply glares at the camera as he’s clearly DONE this before.

Since I have to put up with this version of him for the rest of this episode, the next, AND a portion of the movie, i’m proudly introducing the Pete Sucks Counter. This will carry over to any other appearances of the guy from here on out. So that’s one for his insane plan, one for disrespecting his wife’s career and one for faking a panic attack to try and win an argument Pete Sucks Counter: 3

So because this episode ran short Peg caves and compromises: He can have the property if it isn’t sold by 9. So Pete does what ANY husband would do: uses his spy camera and booby traps he’s set up in the other house to try and scare away prospective buyers.

Yeah.. while the show TRIES to have Pete not as his old-timey villian self.. they traded in for him being fucking MODOK. I mean he is a grotesque monstrosity who has a nuclear family and spends all his time in a chair thing and can barely function as a Husband or Father. Though at least I can belivie MODOK LOVES his family which not so much with Pete.

To prove this Pete tries using a fake spider to scare some buyers then CALLS THEM TELLING THEM PEG IS A CON ARITST. I.e. something that if they mention to her bosses could get her FIRED. He respects his wife’s autonomy, what she wants and what she’s asked him for, which is a fair shot to sell the place before he tries to wreck the place, as well as likely what his neighbors want. I mean I can accept breaks from reality for comedy, snakebird is my boy.

So I can accept pete has this stuff.. I just can’t find it funny when these shenanignas very transparently show that while he surface level loves his wife he dosen’t respect her or actually listen to her except when she gets angry. He IS the villian so he’s still a slight step among monst sitcom dads but i’ts not great. I can find it funny that his den also functions as a super villian lair though. That shit will never not be great. Also Pete Sucks Counter: 6 For the record: one for the spider itself, one for having traps set up in a property hat both isn’t his and his wife is trying to sell and another for threatening her job and her self esteem as she is baffled at what she possibly did wrong.

So Goofy and Max get on the road, leaving moving the rest of their stuff to an old coot whose a friend of theres. So it’s goodbye Duckburg, Hello Spoonerville! And yes I headcanon this as Duckburg. Goof Troop is one of two shows that very clearly happened in SOME form, the other being Tailspin, the only difference being the time period (Goof Troop taking place in the 90′s and Tailspin in the 30′s or 40′s) and any adjustments for clashes with the 2017 verse. So going off that, we also know Donald and the boys KNOW goofy and didn’t remotely question his presence, as did the rest of the cast.

So figuring out the timeline, Goofy likely met Donald in college, even if he never finished college as per an Extremley Goofy Movie, which may not happen the same exact way given Goofy still has his old job and may not loose it in this timeline, though i’d like to think he still meets Sylvia. But point is he drops out, possibly to marry Max’s mom, they end up moving to Duckburg for her work, she sadly dies, and Goofy is left raising Max alone. Donald and Goofy likely bonded as single parents struggling in low paying 9-5 jobs. Goofy left here, likely said goodbye to Donald and the 5 or so year old boys offscreen , and left. As for how anyone else knows him that’s simple: he probably visits whenever he can. He’s a good friend, genuinely loves Donald like a brother in all continuities, and of course would show up with a progressively more then less grumpy Max every time. As for what I think the rest of the cast would think of him: Scrooge would hate him for his disaster area ways, but at least respect him as a hard worker, he just wouldn’t personally hire him which is.. it’s fair. Beakley would be aggravated by him. Webby would of course like him because she’s essentially him but competent and gay, and Launchpad and him .. god that’d be a joy to see. And drive up Scrooge’s insurance. Della would also like him obviously. I”m really disappointed we didn’t get a season 4 if for nothing else the fact we probably would’ve got another Goofy episode. It also feels weird he’s not in the finale in any way shape or form you know? Why have such a big guest spot for him and then just not bring him or Max back? GIVE ME MORE MAX DISNEY DAMN YOUUUUU So they move right along with Goofy excited to get back to where he once belonged, and to call Pete with the good news on his 90′s cell phone. Pete is utterly TERRIFIED finding out Goofy Comin and tries to send him off course to prevent it. Naturally despite nearly running into a truck, Goofy makes it to Spoonerville by evening anyway and we get a delightful bit that shows off BilL Farmer’s comedy skills as he rapidly lists off all the things in town while driving Max through town. It’s so damn smooth. This also is notable since before this farmer had just played the character in some DTV music videos, which stands for Disney not Denton but god I now want Shock Treatment with the Disney Crew. I mean who wouldn’t want Donald as Brad, Daisy as Janet, and Gladstone as Farley Flavors I ask you. Not sure who every one else would be i’m sorting that out. And if you don’t know what Shock Treatment is, here have this trailer with a nightmarish opening.

youtube

Dammit now I want to watch Shock Treatment again... so I am. Found it in full on YouTube, and I feel no shame in sharing that as it’s not on VOD, nor any streaming service, the DVD, which I own, is out of print, and the Blu Ray is a UK exclusive. This film both needs to be seen more and needs another proper US release damn it!

So naturally Goofy somehow finds Pete’s house.. I dunno maybe Peg’s been sending him letters. Can’t blame her for having a wondering eye long as she dosen’t act on it. She’s married to a walking lump of ego, selfishness and cholesterol and likely only held on as long as she did for the kids. Which for the record Peg as a child of divorce whose parents got divorced rather than keep up a sham marriage or anything.. it’s not worth it. I was MUCH happier that way in the long term.

Anyways Peg and Goofy happily reunited while they awkardly try to get the kids to meet, with Goofy and PJ not warming up to each other at first, likely because Max just lost all his friends, and PJ clearly had none going into the series from context we’ll get later in the pilot. We also get a hilarious bit where Peg alternates between warmly greeting the goof’s and hilaroiusly shouting at Pistol to not play with worms.. in what honestly sounds like a protype for Miss Finster’s voice.

Meanwhile the kids try to hide a small crack in Pete’s boat.. which he notices as he’s just about to steamroll the house despite NOT having asked Peg if she sold it yet and just assuming, possibly opening himself and her to a lawsuit

Pete Sucks Counter: 7

Discovering his boat is trashed, he has a comical panic attack, which I can forgive since this was 1992 and they weren’t as well known as a serious problem. Seriously while pete is a bastard man.. the animation on him is GORGEOUS as it is HILARIOUS, while Jim Cummings brings the hell out of it. He’s kept the roll for three decades as of next year for a reason. Goofy ends up accidently destroying his boat in the process of trying to help him as you’d expect.

So Pete reluctantly lets the goofs sup with them.... and by reluctantly I mean he don’t wanna but Peg’s forcing him, which is pretty much the other half of their relationship in a nutshell: When pete isn’t lying and betraying her, Peg is forcing him to do stuff. As you can probably guess by how harsh i’ve been this aspect has aged INCREDIBLY poorly for me. This is your standard sitcom setup: asshole or dumbass or both dad, put upon wife who has to keep him in line.. but it’s just not how a GOOD marriage works and got so damn draining over time. Again and again we got things saying marriage is awful, comitting sucks unless your young, again and again. It’s why i’m REALLY happy we’ve been getting far better sitcom dad’s and marraiges lately. Bob’s Burgers is naturally the example, with the wife being the less sane one but both having their quriks and neither being so entirely dysfunctional you ever question the marriage. The Louds are another good example: Lynn Sr. And Rita NEVER right with each other that i’ve seen, have a perfectly happy relationship despite 11 kids, and wholly support each other, with Rita happily giving her husband the go ahead to quit his soul draining desk job so he could pursue his deream as a chef, and later letting him take a massive fincial gamble and open up a restraunt, purely because she belivied in him. Finally we have the Williams from Craig of the Creek who are easily one of the best married couples i’ve seen in western animation and one of them’s played by Terry Crews so that shoudln’t be a shock. I could prabobly find more but my points made: this trope REALLY ages the show poorly, more than any of hte 90′s specific tech or swinging theme song I just realized I forgot to talk about. Eh i’ll save it for the next episode.

I have NEVER liked this trope anyway: only simpsons has really made it work for me and Family Guy did until they just stretched it too far, and with Simpsons at least they freqeuently have episodes pointing out how unehalthy it is. It dosen’t help this trope somehow STILL isn’t dead, as evidenced by the fact Rick and Morty has it in spades and for SOME damn reason got them back together.. I mean they don’t fight anymore but it dose’nt fix the problem. So yeah while I’m not holding against the show TERRRIBLY as this trope wasn’t as widespread at the time, it still dosen’t make it GOOD even at it’s core.

Things get worse for Pete though as while Goofy praises him (And the Pete Kids rightfly wonder if Goofy is from space given the logic of ANYONE being that fond of pete. ) Pete finds out GOOFY bought the house he was going to demolish and will be staying with them till they move in. I have only one response to his misery....

Max also futzes with the tv which you THINK would lead to Peg finding out her husband is the antagonist of a Blumhouse movie but instead just does nothing.

So then we have Dinner where we find out SUPRISINGLY, Pete actually has a somewhat valid reason for resenting Goofy: Goofy cost him the big game in high school as Goofy and Peg were on the cheerleading squad together and Goofy accidently kicked pete in the face at a crucial moment, which Pete got the blame for. Granted I did say SOMEWHAT: Goofy is genuinely apologetic and says Pete shouldn’t of been blamed and Pete’s apparently been hiding the truth from his kids this whole time. I do call bullshit on that as while admittedly i don’t get into local football or any sportsball, Pete works at a dealership. At least one asshole would bring it up to either rile him up or out of genuine rage at something that happened at the very least a decade and a half ago. Pete hasn’t let go of this footbullshit DESPITE owning a successful dealership, having two wonderful children, an even more wonderful wife, and a friggin nice boat. But really.. it speaks to Pete’s character in any version: His ultimate undoing is his greed, his tendency to keep going and never settle. It’s something he oddly shares with Donald but Pete lacks Donald’s’s heart or redeeming moments. Pete just wants and wants and wants no matter who gets hurt because he’s inehently selfish and will simply TAKE It if he can’t get it. But it’s why he’s miserable, and ultimately ends up divorced: He can’t be satisfised so he often looses what he has.

So with Pete on the rampage Peg sends the boys upstairs. It’s here we get PJ’s first Woobie Moment: He has a room FULL of cool toys, comics and what not but his dad is such a greedy asshole he refuses to let the kid actually use them. He even knows this isn’t normal but is just resigned to it. Rob Paulsen is phenomenal as PJ, being funny and energetic, snarky and off to the side or depressed and fearful all with grace and ease and all making this all feel like the same sweet kid.

I mention this because Paulsen’s action is so good it highlights an issue with PJ: the writers lean way too hard into how much a hardass Pete is, to the point the series, likely intentionally, HEAVILY implies he physically abuses pete and the stuff on screen isn’t over the top enough, at least for tehse episodes, to get away with how he emotionally abuses him either. He talks down to him, doesn’t let him play toys and as seen by various episode synopsis and the next episode, uses mind games to keep him in line. THIS is why I can’t stand this version of Pete. He’s an abusive monster to this poor boy and I won’t stands for it, nor it being played off as a joke, especially since they try to ping pong between using it for comedy and using it seriously which just.. doesn’t work.

So Max earns his future best pals’ friendship by trying to help him.. and succeeding by pointing out that while he said not to use the Tank anywhere on the ground.. he didn’t mention the celling or walls and has the tank going up the walls. And clearly by the fact PJ is seen sleeping with it later, despite Petes’ss anger at this, Peg presumably ripped him a new one once she found out about the toys thing.

So that night Pete can’t sleep with Goofy tromping around the house and tries to whack him with a Golf Club. I’d give him another sucks count..

But given my brother lives in the basement and I sometimes accidently wake him by tromping overhead without meaning too, I DO get getting a bit fed up with someone clomping around and waking you up, and it is a slapstick cartoon so trying to physically assault someone is less of a crime here and more a setup for a punchline.

So get an UTTERLY hilarious scene as teh combination fo tripping on golf balls and Goofy singing his family lullabye, camptown races with lyrics

So Pete proceeds to have another freak out this time RUNNING ALL THE WAY TO DUCKBURG, THROWING THE OLD MAN OUT OF THE CAR AND THEN BRINGING IN THE GOOF’S BEDS AND BOXES BEFORE TOSSING THEM IN THE HOUSE. It is truly an amazing combination of Jim’s utter talent as he babbles hialriously and the animators as they just make it sing. It’s a great climax to part one. So with that the goofs are home and Pete semeingly gets to go to sleep.. until they start working on unpacking.

Final Thoughts On Good Neighbor Goof:

This is an excellent start to the series. The jokes are really well paced, the characters well introduced and the humor top notch> I had my complaints obviously.. but i’ts more systemic issues with the series, and stuff that honestly it dosen’t hamper my viewing experience for the most part. The PJ stuff does, but it’s not as big a deal this episode as he barely interacts with his Dad, but otherwise it’s stuff that just hasn’t aged well and they can’t be faulted for not seeing a deluge of terrible sitcoms a comin. The cast is top notch: I didn’t get to them in the proper review so Dana HIll deserves praise as Max, giving just the right amount of 90′s TV Kid mixed with real honest emotion and i’ts a tragedy she’s gone. She would’ve been right up there with the rest of this amazing cast in history. Though at least she got a worthy succesor.. but that’s not for now. For now we’re taking an interlude to look at the wonderfully 90′s music video that was aired along with this special:

youtube

Gotta Be Gettin Goofy:

This was my raw reaction to this video. Now is it bad? No the song has great flow it somehow manages to scratch Bill Farmer’s goofy vocals with the beat, the rapper makes the cheesy lyrics work, and the chorus of “gotta be getting goofy” backs a great bit. It’s not a bad SONG.. but the video is a hilariously insane mess. We have two of the poor dancers forced to wear just.. HORRIFYING looking Goofy costumes that look like the Dog based sequel to cats that thankfully only exists in my nightmares

I pityt hose poor dancers. Meanwhile the rest of the dancers are wearing Goofy Baseball uniforms and letterman jackets for some reason. is it beause Goofy likes sportsball. I thoguth they just had them lying around but now I see the g’s on the uniform. They CHOOSE to do this. Max also does a shredding guitar solo, not the max up there the animated max. Combine that with LOTS OF random clips from the show and you get this thing.. and i’ts worth a watch> it’s just hilarously what the shit.. not the most hilariously what the shit thing i’ve seen.. not even this week... that would be this thing from the Eurovision Song contest...

youtube

Your welcome. So moving on because this is already badly behind.

Good Neighbor Goof:

So our second episode opens with the Goof’s trying to move in and pete being upset their being loud. Now being upset your neighbors are being loud is one thing: Mine set off fireworks all week around fourth of July. Granted Pete would probably be the one doing such nonsense but still, I get it.. but it’s fair to have a lot of noise when your moving in and in Goofy’s case also trying to patch up a massive hole in the place.

So he does what any reasonable man would do and activates the earthquake machine he hid in the basement.

I wasn’t kidding about the MODOK comparisons. Granted the thing uses a belt to somehow do this.. but it’s designed to SIMULATE AN EARTHQUAKE AN DDOES SO WELL. The only reason Goofy’s not dead is that pete uses a low setting that instead ends up unpacking everything. IT’s a neat gag but again... PETE HAS AN EARTHQUAKE MACHINE.

Which Goofy accidently destroys his boat with. Meanwhile the boys try to talk over tin can phones only for Pete to notice and try to stop it because he’s a dick and doesn’t want his son to be happy because he hates Goofy. So Pete’s idea of a punishment is for PJ to wear the family shoes to go crush cans while wearing a helmet and given Pete mutters to himself about this keeping PJ away from Max i’ts likely something that he made up to torture his son soooo..

Pete Sucks Counter: 8 Max being a good pal agrees to help his friend crush the cans down to recycle for money and comes up with a zany scheme to do so

Meanwhile we get a few scenes of Pete trying to eff with Goofy’s day: Peg is making food for Goofy like a good neighbor/someone planning for their eventual divorce, so Pete makes him some too with tons of hot sauce. By the laws of classic cartoons, naturally Goofy loves it and wonders if Pete has hot sauce, while Pete trying it explodes his head Scanner’s style.

He then tries giving Goofy a chainsaw loaded with some kind of explosive or something... so yes he’s esclated to MURDER over.. Goofy annoying him a bunch as he’s apparently given up on the whole taking over that lot thing.

Pete Sucks Counter: 9 But it is hilariously petty and naturally backfires again by cartoon law as Pete ends up starting it for Goofy who can’t get it going.

Meanwhile PJ and Max inact the plan which is to drop a bolder with a rope on the cans, but end up having to ride the cans down when PJ lets it go too early and it ends up sweeping both boys on top of the box. They have fun though, with PJ actually getting to enjoy life for once and loving having a new friend.

So as his lot in life Pete has to ruin it by yelling at PJ for getting diryt, then for hanging out with max as he can SMELL the goof on him.. which means he’s either exaggerating or he knows what goofy smells like.

So he forbids PJ to see him insluting max.. while Max is hanging out the window and ends up crying. Oh and Peg never gets involved in any of this across both parts, likely because she dosen’t know.. which makes it even MORE horrifying as it gives off the implication Pete gets away with his abuse of his son because he hides it, like a real world abuser. But even then some things like trying to break up his and Max’s friendship or the toys thing you’d THINK she’d notice.

So we get more untetionally telling stuff as PJ says he’ll treasure this day and the only time he was happy.

Pete Sucks Count: 14 2 for the last scene, 3 for ALLL this one implies. But Max won’t give up the ghost no he won’t give it up. They haven’t the strength to hold on for long but if they both hold on together they can make each other strong. So he has a plan: have Goofy throw a Luau and invite the petes.

Peg naturally forces him to attend and Pete is a dick about it at first, but eventually enjoys himself when they do a conga line. The pets, Waffles and Chainsaw get into some antics. I do love Waffles because I love a kitty. Chainsaw is okay even though I love me a good doggo. Especially this one.

You are a Good Boy, Good Boy. But eventually while playing a party game about passing coconuts, Pete considers the coconut and considers the trees but dosen’t consider Goofy kicking him in the face AGAIN

So Pete is naturally a dick about this despite it being you know, an accident. But he takes it a step further by insulting Max Pete Sucks Count: 15 So Goofy gets mad. But here’s where a rather sizeable flaw shows up in the episode as Goofy.. acts exactly like Pete does about the insuing feud. He forbids Max to see PJ makes up rules and is generally petty and vindictive. And look Goofy could be in the shorts. He’s endlessly adaptable.. but here nothing about his character has shown he’d sink to this and it feels forced to bring abotu the climax.

Thankfully said finale salvages thing: That night Max pulls PJ into his room via the cans, and comes up with a plan.. weirdly asking PJ to hit him with a muffin to save their friendship... but it’s not random it turns out. His plan.. is brilliant. While I really don’t like these types of feud between neighbors make our kids suffer by making them not be able to be friends because we’re being petty children plots, this one has a REALLY clever solution to that: Max and PJ FAKE an oversclated fued similar to their parents, starting with insutls and throwing mulch and escalting to taking down each others fences and then throwing food at each other, before injuring their dads with planks and stuff, nothing serious just slapstick stuff, all to get both to settle down and try and get the boys to stop fighting.. it works like a charm, it’s full of great bits like Peg offering the boys pie only for Max to use it as amuination and i’ts just a great way to end one of these episodes. Not that I WANT more of these episodes but if your going to do this stock plot you might as well be creative with it.

So we end on the Petes and Goofs having a BBQ, all friends again, with Pete having his marina and Goofy nearly burning Pete’s house down and us getting a photo to end the episode.

Final Thoughts:

This one was a step down. Pete’s abuse is REALLY highlighted here and the plot is very paint by numbers and forces Goofy to be out of character for the last act for it to work at all. He just strikes me as too genuine and noble to hold onto a grudge this easily. Peg is also reduced from her usual feisty self to being oddly useless, not stepping in at ANY point to stop any of this depsite it being grossly otu of character. There’s a few great gags and a great climax, but the whole product is just okay

Later Today: Goof Week and Goofy’s birthday continue as I complete the trilogy of Shortstaculars with one about my boy! Featuring Goofy’s first apperance, his first short and the first apperance of what would eventually become Max!

If you liked this review, follow me for more and consider joining my Patreon which you can find RIGHT HERE. Even a buck a month helps me keep doing these and more gets me to my stretch goals, the next one up being the two remaining ducktales mini series, a darkwing duck episode a month and a reivew of the danny phantom film the ultimate enemy. And even a buck a month gets you access to exclusvie reviews, my patreon exclusive discord and to pick a short any time I do one of my shortstaculars. My next one is for Donald’s birthday next montha nd there’s only 6 days left to get on that pay cycle so if that sounds good to you get on in NOW while you still can and i’ll see you at the next rainbow.

#goofy goof #goofy #goof troop #max goof #P.J. Pete #PJ Pete #Pete Pete #Peg Pete #Pistol Pete #Sponerville #Gotta Be Getting Goofy #disney channel #the disney afternoon #disney afternoon #disney xd #disney plus

34 notes · View notes

ponett · 3 years

Note

Do you have any tips for artists with ADHD on how to stay on track?

that's something i'm constantly trying to figure out myself. one of my best bits of advice is just to break down daunting projects into lists of smaller, more manageable tasks, and try to get at least a little done every work day. slow progress is better than no progress. it's pretty general advice, but it is important

but also, don't be afraid to give yourself days off. REAL days off, not just days where you try to work all day but keep getting distracted so you're just stressed the whole time. i only started working on SLARPG on a standard five day work week this year, and surprise! this has been the most productive five months i've ever had on this game

previously i would try to get work done just about every day with no planned weekends. because i didn't give myself any clear days where it was okay to just chill, i'd always feel guilty about any days where my ADHD got the better of me and i ended up slacking off. because of this i had basically two modes. i had weeks-long stretches where i'd work nearly every day but not take any days off because i still wasn't hitting 40 hours of dedicated creative work a week, and then i inevitably also had stretches where i'd be unable to focus for several weeks because i was burnt out

so these days i only work monday through friday and i pretty much always make sure to take the weekend off to just chill. even if i didn't get as much done as i theoretically could have during a work week, i can't punish myself by crunching. i gotta have that time to recharge. and, like i said, i'm making progress on the game way more consistently now. i can actually see the finish line in the distance

i realize, of course, that not everyone has the luxury of taking days off. sometimes you've got bills due and you gotta power through a bunch of commissions. and pros have deadlines. but burnout is a very real problem, and you have give yourself time to relax whenever possible

#anon #ask

92 notes · View notes

bard-of-worlds · 4 years

Text

The Law is the Law chapter 8

@susiej1118

@elmokingkong

@silvergold-swirl

@id-dance-with-draco

@eridanuswave

@iwritelikeimrunningoutoftime

@zotinha456

@feliciakainzofspades

@miraculous-simmer7

@raisuke06

@heyitsbugette

@glasswolff

@abrx2002

@ livelifeauthorstyle

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sorry this was a day late, i skipped a weakend in the story so sorry. here it is and i hope that i will have the next chapter out faster then this one

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Alya slipped out of her room and stopped at her sister’s room, opening the door and looking it, smiling as she saw them sleep as she looked into the room. I am never letting those two hang around Lila if I can ever again, I mean I trust her to look after them and she probably told them nothing but lies about herself. And I can’t believe that Adrien thought we wouldn’t believe him, but I can see why he was thinking that. I let both of them down and I let my sisters down! Her thoughts died as she felt a hand on her shoulder that caused her to turn to Nora’s smiling face and she sighed, now or never.

“Come sis, it won’t be that bad.” Nora said as Alya smiled and sighed.

“I dropped the ball so bad sis, so bad.” Alya said as she walked towards the kitchen, keeping her hand closed as she walked, mentally preparing to exposed everything that she hadn’t done, sure that her parents would be ashamed of her. As she came into the room she saw her father Otis seating at the table as her mother Marlena put the last of the leftovers away in the fridge and Alya coughed and they both looked up at her and Nora.

“So what’s wrong Alya?” Otis asked as Alya and Nora sat down at the table as Marlena walked over and sat down next to him. No one noticed Alya slipped something onto the underside of the table and Alya took a deep breath before she started.

“I messed up, I…… to start with about two days ago a liar that I trusted framed and got Marinette expelled.” Alya began and Otis looked shocked as Marlena gasped as Nora scowled.

“Marinette, your friend Marinette? Why?” Marlena asked and Alya looked down. “Alya?”

“They found the answer sheet for a practice test in her bag, then the liar said that Marinette pushed her down the stairs while they were walking to the principal’s office and then a necklace belonging to the liar was in Marinette’s locker.” Alya said as

“Wait the lockers, but they don’t have locks! And why didn’t the teacher see what happened when she was ‘pushed’?” Otis demanded as he stood up from the chair, a scowl on his face and Alya looked away.

“She stayed in the class room, they were alone when they went to the principal’s office. Then the lieing bitch took us to our locker room and her necklace was in Marinette’s locker.”

“She, the liar just walked after falling down the stairs to the courtyard? After a fall like that you’d get some wounds. And the nurse just let her?” Nora asked with a growl and Alya looked shocked before she started to look sick. “What is it sis?”

“Lila didn’t even go to the nurse’s office, she just led us to Marinette’s locker.” Alya said and at this Marlena gasped.

“Wait, don’t your lockers not have locks!” Marlena said and Otis looked shocked.

“They what?! What kind of school is this?!” Otis demanded and Alya looked down. “Alya?”

“That’s not the worst of it. I missed it when I investigated the school…… about five years ago a student almost drove another student to take their own life.” Alya said and her parents paled as Nora started to growl.

“How the heck did you miss that Alya?!” Nora asked angerly and Alya looked down and Nora winced. “Sorry sis, I mean……”

“It was kept quiet, I….. it was part of a settlement to spare the school and to try and make it better.” Alya said and looked up at her parents. “My friends…..Marinette’s family is going to sue the school about this, how he said she was expelled and well everything, there’s going to be an expulsion hearing last I heard and no matter how it came out she’s……They were talking about going homeschool definitely.”

“And you want to join them Alya?” Marlena asked as she reached over and grabbed her husband’s hands as he looked thoughtful.

“Homeschooling? Are you sure about it little sis?” Nora asked and Alya nodded.

“The way they were talking, they might close the school to go over everything and if that happens well they might send us off to any-school in the city no matter what we want or what kind of school it is, this way we’ll be ahead of the curve and all.” Alya said with a nod. “I’m setting up a private blog so that the other students can look over all the programs tomorrow.”

“You’re setting up the blog because you want to make up for not believe Marinette right sis?” Nora cut in, causing their parents to look from her to Alya as they tried to understand what Nora had said.

“Not believe her her……why?” Marlena asked and Alya looked down ashamed.

“I thought it was like what happened with Daisy and me mom; I just saw what I did in her actions.” Alya said and Otis looked at his daughter and released a sigh as Nora shook her head.

“Oh Alya.” Otis said with a look of self-hatred that almost broke Alya’s heart.

“Dad, it wasn’t your fault. And you were right about me and Daisy.” Alya said as she looked at him with a smile.

“Sis, you gotta let it go. The way it came out, the both of you were having a bad day and you acted like that for about a month before dad talked to you.” Nora said as she smirked. “And he only knew what to say to you because he had a bad first encounter too right?”

“Okay, I’ll admit to that. But homeschooling……… how are we going to not have the twins know about it?” Otis said and then he chuckled at Alya’s confused expression. “What, are you thinking that they’ll not have problems with them doing it too?”

“Fair point…… Alya are you going to the hearing?” Marlena asked and Alya nodded. “Then Nora will be going with you, she’ll ask for a copy of the minutes so the two of us can look it over and then we’ll talk about it, how the other hand how about looking into school around here that might be a good place to transfer to.”

“Okay, okay.” Alya said and sighed. Nora walked over and hugged her. “Sis?”

“Look Alya you made a call based on what happened to you. Yeah it was the wrong call but everything that you knew said it was the right one to make.” Nora said as she drew away. “This isn’t gonna be the last time, and that you know it was the wrong call will help you a lot latter in life, trust me.”

“Thanks.” Alya said as her parents got up and hugged her as well.

“So, homework done, anything else that you need to do to get ready for tomorrow, anything we can do to help out?” Otis asked and Alya looked down and thought about it for a few seconds.

“First, I need to talk to someone without Lila knowing, Nora can you watch the twins tomorrow, I need to track down a few people.” Alya said and Nora nodded.

“Sure little sis, I’ll be glad to, but I’ve got something I need to do on Sunday.” Nora said and she shared a look with her parents. “You head off to bed, I’ll be on twin patrol tomorrow.”

“Thanks sis, I think I take a shower and hit the sack, is that okay?” Alya said and the other three stayed where they were until they heard the shower being turned on.

“You’re going to talk to Marinette about this, aren’t you? And nothing we say will stop you right?” Otis asked and Nora nodded.

“Yep.” Nora said and Marlena sighed.

“Make sure you grab some of their cookies when you leave then, need some money for that?” Marlena asked and Nora shook her head.

“Why talk to her?” Otis asked and Nora sighed.

“I think there might be something off with the story Alya told us, that she left something out on purpose.” Nora said with a shake of her head. “I figured that the little girl won’t.”

“She is honest.” Otis said as he got up, never noticing a microphone on the underside of the table that Alya had slipped there when no one had noticed.

As Alya got into the shower she removed an earbud as she turned off an app on her phone. So glad I got that tech piece form Max, glad I commissioned it from him. I gota send a message to Marinette about this, I mean I can’t not tell her, I mean I never told them about the ‘Akuma Attack’ attack that fizzled out, nothing happened and the butterfly never even got me! But if Lila is working with Hawkmoth then I don’t know why she didn’t try and grab one during………..because if anyone of us saw it then she would have been exposed! That lying rat, I will do everything that I can to take her down! Alya thought as she gritted her teeth and finished undressing before she got into the shower and let the water flow over her. “Something else to deal with latter.”

Later on as she walked into her room drying off her hair she grabbed her phone and got onto her bed before she activated a texting App.

Reporterox; Hey girl able to talk or are you talking with your guest?

BakeDesign; Alya!! It’s not like that!

Reporterox; Sure it’s not, not yet anyway. Anyhow, my sis is going to come over on Sunday, I told them about the liar but not the swarm.

BakeDesign; You didn’t you tell them about the red bugs that attacked?

Reporterox; No….. I should have but I don’t want them to worry to much, say do you know where the weather girls will be tomorrow?

BakeDesign; Alya. Fine I’ll try and not say anything, I can keep secrets you know. And I think Nadia said she saw them at the station sometimes on the weekends before lunch once.

“Don’t I know it girl, don’t I know it.” Alya said with a smirk as she typed another replay.

Reporterox; Yeah, I know you can girl. I guess I don’t want to make more waves now then we need, I mean my dad when he gets bit by bugs is one thing but my mom, let’s just say Nora inherited her temper.

BakeDesign; Ouch.

Reporterox; Don’t get me wrong, we’ve all got problems but well, mom once turned the air blue when someone insulted dad.

BakeDesign; Okay I would do the same thing if someone insulted my mother or father.

Reporterox; Yeah, well tomorrow I’m planning to talk to Aurora about what you told me, find a way to get the information you got me to the others in the school.

BakeDesign; Make sure that you do it safely, if Lila figures out anything that might then you’ll be her next target.

Alya looked at the text and a tear escaped from her eyes and she shook her head. After everything that happened you’re still putting others ahead of yourself, girl you are too good for this world. And that bitch is going to be driven out of here on a rail if I have anything to

Reporterox; Don’t worry, Lila said she’ll be gone for the weekend so I’ll head to the station early to talk to Aurora.

BakeDesign; Good, I’ve gotten in contact with him and he wants to meet you all tomorrow so after lunch then, you see Manon is coming over tomorrow for me to watch so we’ll have to go see him after I let her go, so after lunch if nothing happens.

Alya went still and released a deep breath and looked around her room before smiling that at least she might say goodbye to Trixx. This is bigger than you Alya, this is about Paris. The best thing that could happen is that Mari and Adrien can keep theirs and keep fighting Hawkbutt, if I have to loose Trixx then so be it. Alya thought as she got her emotions back under control.

Reporterox; Good girl, then I’ll talk to Aurora and swing around to help with Manon after, maybe a play date at the park before she’s picked up…… no the twins are staying home for the day……. Long story okay and I don’t want to talk about. So I’ll see you tomorrow and tell you about it all, have a nice night because I’m sure my dad will be here any minute.

“Lights out Alya! You’ve got a big day tomorrow so make sure you have a good sleep!” Otis said from the other side of her door and Alya looked up from her bed and smiled and sent off one last text as she got under her covers.

Reporterox; he just gave me the bell, see you.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Max sighed as he put away his dishes and finished cleaning up his dinner as he looked around his home as Markov recharged behind him. I can’t believe that I was so wrong about them. I’m usually better but then that napkin thing was proof that I don’t always think things through. Max thought as he finished.

“Come on Max, I mean you couldn’t have known. With all the data it stood to reason that we were right.” Markov said and Max sighed as he walked out of the kitchen towards the living room as Markov took off and flew after him. “You can’t blame yourself too much.”

“I know Markov, but I guess with what happened I was too sure of what we found to think we were wrong. That’s a problem I have I guess.” Max sighed and shook his head. “But what really gets me is what they told us about the school.”

“I suppose that the Principal wanted to protect the school’s reputation. But you would think that they would have tried to keep that from happening again.” Markov said and Max sighed as he sat down and grabbed a controller as he turned the tv and game system on, quickly starting one of his creations.

“I guess…… but still.” Max said as he leaned back against the couch and sighed.

“I believe this is another reason your mother said that you need to talk to people more Max, at least Chloe wasn’t involved.” Markov said and Max looked at his robot as he hovered there. “I predict that she would have, what’s the term, blogged about it right away.”

“Maybe not right away, but maybe.” Max said with a laugh. I mean, maybe the old Chloe. She has become a lot better, but then I did see her mother and I can guess where how she acted came from but man, I don’t know who’s at fault. I never thought the fact that my father is dead would be a good thing, I can only know him from the stories mom told me, I can never know if how he would thing about how I’m more brains then brawn. Max thought as he called up a save file. “I think maybe she’s trying to be a better person, but I can kind of see where and why Chloe became who she is.”

“That is still beyond me Max, I am getting closer to that level of thinking is still beyond me.” Markov said with a sad ‘face’ and Max smiled at him as he paused his game.

“I know you are Markov, that’s something else I’m proud about you, and then there’s the face that you showed the inactive to investigate Lila on your own, I’m so happy.” Max said and Markov ‘blushed’.

“From the interactions with Marinette I knew that she wouldn’t do something so out of character. I first went through the easiest thing I could figure out, Lila’s fall. I calculated with a seventy percent chance that Marinette tripped is the only reason Lila could have been pushed at all, but even that is suspect because of how Lila was able to walk away with the supposed fall.” Markov said and then hovered to the left. “Of course then there is the necklace found in Marinette’s locker, that was very suspect, how could Lila have known the stolen necklace was there? How could Marinette have known about it since Lila never mentioned it before?”

“A few things to mention to Marinette when I talk to her then.” Max managed as he realized all the unanswered questions that the principle hadn’t even thought of because of the chaos of the event. “I can’t believe we missed all that!”

“Don’t be too sad Max, nobody notice it even me; it was only after I looked over my files did I think of those questions.” Markov said and Max looked at him and his mouth dropped open in total shock. “Max?”

“Why didn’t the principle or Miss. Buister call for the nurse, why didn’t she come?” Max asked shakily and Markov looked at him and a question mark appeared on his face as he landed, a sign that he was trying to find out the answer in his data banks.

“I don’t know…. I can’t create a possible idea.” Markov said and Max went still as he thought of one reason but there was no way. “Max?”

“Nothing Markov, I just can’t think of anything myself.” Max said before a ringing came from the phone. “Markov?”

“There’s a video call coming in Max, shall I put it on the tv?” Markov asked and Max nodded.

“Do it Markov.” Max said as he put down his controller. A few moments later a woman with dark skin, brown eyes and short brown hair a low bun wearing a orange uniform with a patch of a moon before a yellow star.

“Mom! You’re back on earth already?” Max asked with a smile

“Hey baby, Markov how are you two?” Claudie asked as she stood before a camera with

“Quite fine Claudie, a few problems here and there but everything is fine.” Markov said and Max looked at him as his mother gasped.

“Are they serious Max?” Claudie asked and Max looked at Max and then sighed.

“When are you able to come home?” Max asked and Claudie looked at him and he hoped that she didn’t read into more then he wanted as he tried to keep his face expressionless.

“I should be home in a few days but if you need me to come I could see if I can get bumped up.” Claudie said and Max shook his head. “Are you sure Max?”

“No mom, it can stay as it is for now. When you get back we will have to talk but what happened didn’t happen to me.” Max said with a smile and she looked at and sighed.

“Okay, okay I’ll still try and get my post mission work done first, but I will let it take the normal course.” Claudie said and looked at them with a smile. “So anything else, any new Akuma’s that push the understanding of science?”

“The last one was yesterday, I think it was someone who either loved dogs or worked with them, he could control dogs and rode a giant one.” Max said and Claudie looked at him and shook her head as an old horror that he knew all too well came over her.

“You were safe right Max?” Claudie asked and Max grinned

“When the attack started I was in my room, and I he didn’t come over here at all, I think he might have been defeated near the stadium according to what Chloe posted.” Max said and Claudie looked at him and sighed.

“With what’s happening in Paris that’s the best that I can expect then. I’ll be back in a few days and we’ll talk about everything then.”

“Thanks mom, be safe and have a good day.” Max said and Claudie laughed a little.

“Have a great night’s sleep baby.” Claudie said as she closed the video chat. Max smiled and got back to his game was soon lost in the action.

“That was better than I predicted Max, I was sure she would have tried to get here faster.” Markov said and Max nodded.

“Mom promised me that if I said it was okay, she’d not rush home. And this way I have a few days to look over the data and give a good presentation to her about it.” Max said with a smile. This is perfect, this way I don’t have to bother mom on the station and we can talk about what I learned and then work from there! I just hope that those programs that Chloe found for Marinette are right for all of us. I know mom fought against me doing that before but after what happened this might be for the best. Max thought as he played his game, his mind trying to relax when a beeping from his phone caused him to look down and saw a message from Marinette. “This is perfect, Marinette is going to take me to

“I think I’ll stay home Max, if someone hacks into me then Hawkmoth could have the other Miraculous!” Markov said as he hovered around the room. “One stray Akuma and he’ll know!”

“Then I guess we’ll have to work on your security programs Markov.” Max said before a bit of music from the tv caused him to frown. “After tomorrow.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Nathalie walked into the mansion and stopped before Gabriel’s office, sighing as she did so. He’s not going to like this at all. But the plan I made is the best thing for everyone involved. She thought as she gathered her courage to knock on the door when a voice came from within.

“Come in Nathalie.” Gabriel said from within the office and Nathalie swallowed and opened the door. “Have you found my son?”

“I think so, after checking his friend Nino’s place I then went to the next likely place he could be, the Hotel.” Nathalie said as she looked at Gabriel as he sat behind his desk looking at his computer. “Once there I found evidence that isn’t a definite it is the best lead we have.”

“And what did you find that told you that?” Gabriel asked and Nathalie smirked a little.

“I overheard the Bourgeois girl talking to a staffer about a special guest, something about how he hasn’t had to leave the suite.” Nathalie said with a small smile. “Given how she feels about him I’m positive that he’s there.”

“Good, once you can talk to him about this then it can all be fixed.” Gabriel said as he looked up and frowned at something before nodding. “Yes, that should work.”

“What should?” Nathalie asked and Gabriel smirked a little.

“The secondary Lila problem. I’ve scheduled a shoot for her tomorrow while you were gone, got back a reply and have just received another report from a special photographer who will be covering the shoot.” Gabriel said with a smirk that caused Nathalie to raise an eyebrow.

“And with everything that’s happening you think pandering to Lila is a good idea?”

“With this photographer, yes. She will give me a perfect report on just what kind of model Lila is.” Gabriel said and looked down with a smile at another email that he opened and read the contests of. “And he’s gotten to the last school she’s been in, I should have a very revealing report on her by sometime in the next few days.”

“When did you send an investigator to look into Lila?”

“After she was in the mansion the first time Miss Nathalie.” A voice form above caused Nathalie to look up and see Nooro hovering there with a scared look on its face. “I begged Master to do that, she doesn’t feel right.”

Nathalie looked at Nooroo for a few moments before turning to Gabriel with a frown. “And you decicded to work with her after an empath told you she wasn’t right?”

“Again yes, but if it had worked out perfectly then we would have finally had what we. Why the Dunpain girl alone might have won us the day!” Gabriel said with a scowl. “But of course that girl Lila couldn’t even do that right!”

“The mass attack didn’t fail because of her, it was because I was week.” Nathalie said and Gabriel sighed and shook his head.

“She planned the expulsion with my help, but it was her idea. We just tried to make it……larger.” Gabriel said as he looked up. “Perhaps the next attack should be someone with a grudge against the Bourgeois, someone who will cause enough chaos that it will let you get to the floor he’s on and get him out. If you can talk to him about it, then maybe this nightmare will end without too much damage.”

“What about Lila?” Nathalie asked and Gabriel smirked.

“I expect that I will have all I need to fire her within the next few days. I will of course have to explain to Adrien why I did it…… I plan on telling him that I did it because I didn’t trust both Adrien and the school to tell me about what has happened there.” Gabriel said and Nathalie looked down at her tablet before looking up at Gabriel.

“Are you sure that’s a good thing Gabriel?” Nathalie asked and Gabriel looked up before looking down and sighing.

“No, it’s not. But that is the only way I can go and still have a chance not to destroy my relationship with my son. And when will she get back from those negotations with our overseas distributers?” Gabriel asked and Nathalie looked confused before she realized who he ment.

“Oh, her? A few days if the airport does their jobs right.” Nathalie said as she looked up

“Good, once she’s here I want her to talk about the lawsuit about Adrien. I want her to go over everything that the courier gave to us.” Gabriel said and sighed and looked down. “Nothing is going to be the same no matter what happens, will it?”

“No, I’m sorry Gabriel but I have said before you need to make more time with him.” Nathalie said and Gabriel sighed and shook his head. “Gabriel.”

“My Miraculous gave me empathic abilities that I haven’t been able to turn off, even working here I still get traces of Adrien’s feelings about her absences and it magnifies my own. The way I’ve been has been the only way I was able to stay partly sane and still be able to function.” Gabriel reminded Nathalie who looked down. “And remember what happened when you used it? You were unconscious for the entire day when they overwhelmed you.”

“I know, I remember Gabriel. But there had to be a better way to do this that didn’t sacrifice your relationship with him.” Nathalie said going over an old argument and Gabriel sighed and Nooroo floated lower, a look of sadness on his face.

“I’m sorry master, but all my holders always have had this problem with others emotions when others have feelings based around the same pain.” Nooroo confessed and Nathalie looked at Gabriel who only looked down, this old argument the three of them had was something that had been said many times during his campaign as Hawkmoth.

“On another note, the Pack Leader was something else sir. Shale I put it into the possible returns file?” Nathalie asked and Gabriel looked up at her and sighed before nodding. “Of course sir.”

“Oh, make sure you that you are notified the moment the paperwork about Miss Dupain-Cheng is underway, if the Lila situation is brought up I will of course deny everything. The modeling contract was just to get Lila help in keeping an eye on Adrien, a mistake that I am paying for.” Gabriel said and turned to look at his wife’s portrait. I know that you will hate what I have become, but I only did this to get you back, once Adrien knows why I did this he will understand, I’m sure of it! I know it will take a long time to heal what I’ve done, but I know we can fix this! Gabriel thought as he looked away from Nathalie as she shared a look of long suffering with Nooroo.

“Of course sir…….. but could he have gone to her house to hide?” Nathalie said and Gabriel shook his head as he understood what she was saying.

“No, from what I know she’s just a school mate that is friends with that Nino boy’s girlfriend, beside being classmates they have no interactions.” Gabriel said and looked at her and held up a hand. “The reason that Adrien did that to Lila is because she was used by Lila because of something about him, no more than that, from what Chloe has said the two girls aren’t friends, Adrien would not risk his oldest friendship by befriending her.”

“I will look into the school; something is bothering me about what has happened.” Nathalie said and looked at Gabriel. “If this plan fails and we can’t find him before Miss Dupain-Cheng hearing I’ll head there, if she has one then I’ll head there and take away a copy of the minutes.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Alya walked out of her building and sighed. At least I was able to slip out before they woke up, now Aurora should be at the station so all I need to do is head there and my Ladyblog should let me into the station and talk to her, I hope. Alya thought as she walked through Paris, keeping an eye out for any sigh of Lila. For this to work she had to make it to the station without Lila having seen her, and given that she had said that she would be taking a weekend trip to help out a charity auction she had to hope that meant that Lila would be staying in, but given that she didn’t know where Lila lived she had to keep on her toes, she couldn’t mess this up.

As she moved through the streets she kept an eye out for anything that might hide Lila the false fox and within moments she had left the area and got on a bus, never noticing that Sabrine and her dad had been driving by, nor that Sabrina had noticed Alya.

“So you want to be homeschooled Sabrina?” Rodger asked and Sabrina tore her eyes away from the bus and nodded at her father. “If something’s wrong with the class you can always transfer.”

“It’s more that I discovered something about the school itself dad, its bad.” Sabrina said and sighed. This is so not the place for the conversation but dad had to pull a late night and then this time was the earliest we could talk. And I don’t want to talk while we’re moving. Sabrina kept an eye out and notice that they were almost to the Seine where Chloe was waiting for her. “It’s complicated and I’d rather we not talk about it in a moving car.”

“That bad then?” Rodger asked and cursed himself when he saw Sabrina nod. “Okay, then lets talk about it tonight when I get home, but what sparked you finding out about it?”

Sabrina stayed silent until Rodger stopped the car and she looked at him with a hard stare before replying. “Marinette was framed and expelled.”

Before Rodger could react Sabrina got out and ran towards Chloe and the two walked off, Rodger staying still for a few more moemnts before he drove off, a scowl on his face from what he was told.

Sabrina walked on and kept her face blank and Chloe looked at her before sighing. “So you just told him about what happened?”

“Just the results, not the nitty gritty Chloe, he stayed out late.” Sabrina said and Chloe sighed.

“Once the report crosses Daddy’s desk I’m homeschooled no matter what, the only thing I can hope for is that I’ll be pick the program.” Chloe said as they started to hear music that grew louder as they walked closer to it. “Sometimes I don’t know if being a mega bitch is worth it.”

“I know why you’ll the way you are, you might not think like a lot of people our age but the core results of it is worth it Chloe, you just need to learn to……show it more like other people.” Sabrina said and Chloe sighed.

“Well, no more tears or jeers! Let’s enjoy the morning and then lunch out, my treat Rina!” Chloe said and Sabrina laughed as they walked closer to the music.

Alya got off the bus outside the TVi building and took a deep breath before she prepared herself and walked in. she moved towards the front desk and smiled at the receptionist.

“Hi, I was wondering if Aurora, the Kidz weather girl came in yet today?” Alya asked and the receptionist looked at her and then at the computer.

“Yes, she and Mirelle are due to record a segment today, but they haven’t made it in yet……. And there they are.” The receptionist said looking over her shoulder and saw Aurora and Mirelle walk into the building talking.

“…..so I was thinking, maybe we should get some new dresses for that party next moneth from Marinette if she can slip us in. I mean I love her work and a nice dress my size…. What is it Mirelle?” Aurora trailed off at how Mirelle’s face fell when she saw Alya and when Aurora turned she scowled at Alya as soon as she saw her. “Oh it’s you. What do you want Alya?”

Alya winced, for the last few weeks Aurora had been a little short with her and Alya could figure out why now, she didn’t believe Lila and with how Alya had put the interview on her blog she deserved it and more. “Aurora I need to talk to you, please.”

“About your new friend Lila, oh she wants to broadcast her recent activities?” Aurora asked and Alya glared back.

“I wouldn’t help that liar if she was on fire! This is about the school and Marinette!” Alya said forcefully and Aurora took a step back and Mirelle spoke up.

“So what happened finally made you realize she’s a liar then?” Mirelle said and Aurora looked around and Alya did as well and noticed the people in the lobby were watching them and Aurora grabbed Alya’s arm.

“Come on, we’re a good hour early and we can talk in one of the unused dressing rooms.” Aurora said as she Mirelle led the way to an elevator and soon they were going upwards. “I’m sorry what happened to Marinette was what it took to have you see the light Alya.”

“Me too.” Alya said and stayed quiet until they reached a room with Aurora and Mirelle’s names on it. Stepping inside Mirelle grabbed a paper cup of water and gave it to Alya with a smile.

“Here, you look like you need it.” Mirelle said with a smile and took a deep sip of it and smiled at her.

“Thanks, I did. I can’t believe that lying bitch tricked me so bad. I can’t believe that I didn’t believe Marinette.” Alya said and Aurora scoffed and shook her head. “What is it?”

“Look Alya….. Marinette is a great judge of character, a really great judge.” Mirelle said and looked down before taking a deep breath. “A year ago she didn’t like a sub, and he was caught trying to steal the proceeds of a school function.”

“Yeah.” Aurora said as Alya gasped. “If Marinette doesn’t like someone that’s a big red flag right there.”

“But Chloe….. I mean she and Marinette are getting along better.” Alya said and Aurora shrugged and Mirelle giggled. “What?”

“Marinette hates what Chloe does not Chloe the person.” Mirelle said and shrugged. “I know it’s weird but Marinette said it herself and well she’s trusting her instants about people.”

“That’s our girl but let’s not talk any more about our favorite designer and let’s talk about what you want to.” Aurora said and looked at Alya who sighed and looked down. “It can’t be that bad.”

“What if I told you that a few years ago a girl was driven to attempt suicide at our school by a bitch like Lila, that the reason more people don’t know is because a deal was made that got rid of the principle who shield the bully?” Alya asked and looked up at Aurora who stared at her stormily and Mirelle who had paled in horror.

“Then I’d say that if the school did that and expelled Marinette then I wouldn’t trust our current principle.” Aurora said and Mirelle looked at her and Aurora sighed and shook her head. “Of course when he didn’t even react to the fact what happened to Marinette, that he did, was illegal but of course he didn’t.”

“Yeah, Kim sent me a text about that.” Alya said and then she looked at the two girls before her. “But I’m here because I got a lot of information about home schooling programs from Mari, and I knew I had to get them to the other students at school and I knew you would be the best person to go to for help with that.”

A knocking at the door caused them to turn and Theo wearing a headset and with his eyes closed pocked his head in. “One hour ladies, the makeup artist will be by in about ten minutes so finish up and get ready for work!”

“Thanks Theo, see you in a bit.” Aurora said and smirked as Theo left. “Good that he’s still doing that think after the last staffer was fired for accidently peeping.”

“Yeah. And no Alya we won’t say any more about that, and don’t spread it around okay?” Mirelle said and Alya nodded and looked around and threw her cup into the trash.

“Well thanks, I’ll send you the address for the website I’ll put the information onto and you’ll get it to everyone who needs it?” Alya said as she stretched and smiled at them. “I’ve got to go, I promised that I’d help Mari watch Manon today.”

“Nadia’s whirlpool, ouch.” Aurora said and even Mirelle cringed.

“Don’t worry.” Alya said as she left. “I’ve got a lot of experience keeping track of kids like her.”

#Miraculous Ladybug AU/ The Law is The Law #miraculous: tales of ladybug & cat noir adrien Fanfiction #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #Ladybug AU #ladybug fanfiction #ladybug fic #lila salt #lila rossi bashing

134 notes · View notes

dameferre · 3 years

Note

can we see a snippet from the "penpals!" courferre one :0

of course! i will warn you this will. most likely never see the light of day BUT it’s based off of ‘the year of secret assignments’ by jaclyn moriarty, a... kind of ridiculous book i bought at a charity shop at like. age 10? or something

basically these three sets of teenagers are assigned pen pals at a neighboring school, and hijinks ensue, with one set of penpals giving each other secret assignments (hence the title), the other set of penpals being a girl who writes to a guy who uses a fake name (that plotline ends horribly, it would not have done so in my fic lmao)

one finally one set of penpals (a boy and a girl) decide to start having practice dates, so the guy can hone his skills and ask out a girl he likes, and the girl can critique his form, and... i mean i think we all know how this goes.

anyway, it’s half in letter format, half actual writing the story. here’s a snip! (under the cut because i. couldn’t help myself)

Official Assessment of the Second Meeting By Chance executed by The Lord of Flowers, Combeferre, henceforth referred to as the Subject, as reviewed by Courfeyrac the Ravishing, henceforth referred to as The Operative.

NOTES

When the Operative (and Guest) approached, the Subject smiled very nicely. It was a sort of surprised, warm smile that lit up his face. Did the Subject practice his ‘oh I was hoping to see you and I’m so glad I have’ smile in the mirror?

The Subject did a very good job of consoling the Guest, and as it turns out, the Subject’s height is not as offensive as previously thought, as he holds an umbrella perfectly.

The Subject was much more relaxed this time, and funny, and his hair fluffed a little in the humidity which was adorable. He had a great way of explaining things to the Operative without being patronising, and teased admirably. The Operative spent a good 80% of the walk laughing, but upon writing report can’t remember a specific instance of hilarity. The Subject should have more memorable jokes next time.

Overall, great work Combeferre. You’ll have Feuilly falling over himself to get to you in no time.

Yours,

Courfeyrac the Ravishing

Courfeyrac,

You seem to be losing your touch; that last review lacked the mildly insulting bluntness I’ve grown so accustomed to. Does this mean we’re becoming friends?

Anyway, I’m now, as you would say, ‘balls-deep in tech week’ and halfway through my descent into the deepest pit of hell. The entire production is an original script written by a friend of mine, named Jehan Prouvaire, who decided to rewrite the final scene this weekend. They’re my friend, have been for years, but even I wanted to murder them slowly. The cast is hard at work trying to learn the scene, while I had to stay late last night redoing all the cues.

The worst part of it is, the new ending is fucking fantastic, so we can’t even stay mad at them.

It’s exhausting. Literally exhausting; I got three hours of sleep last night.

Anyway, I’m writing this as a way of avoiding calculus homework. Not that I wouldn’t write to you if I didn’t have calculus homework, but it is harder to just ramble on about my life now that we’ve met in person. I don’t think I ever would have told you about Feuilly if we had met before we started writing. There was something in the anonymity that made it easier, like writing into a diary. I hope you don’t take this as an insult- what I mean to say is that now that I know you, I want you to like me. And by extension, I want you to know a lot less about exactly how lame I am.

Anyway, I wanted to say I won’t be able to make a meeting by chance this week, though I know telling you that ruins some of the fun. If I’m around next week, which is really looking less and less likely every time an actor misplaces a prop or mic pack and I am forced, once again, to weigh the pros and cons of murder, I’d be happy to accidentally run into you on my way home from school.

Side note- Avi(my brother) comes home next week, which lines up nicely with Mom’s birthday and means he’ll be able to see the show. It’ll be nice to have him back. I think you’d like him; he’s the attractive one in the family, and the extrovert. He’s also a mechanical engineer who medal-ed in track when he was my age. Basically, he got all the good genes, but he’s too nice to admit it.

Anyway, calculus beckons.

See you on the other side, Combeferre

p.s. Only you would practice a smile. Mine was genuine, I swear.

My Dearest Combeferre,

FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE STARTS TOMORROW HELL YEAH

I mean, yes, technically the other guys on my team have been practicing for two weeks but I have sadly been out of commission. BUT NOT ANYMORE BABY THE BITCH IS BACK

This will help distract me from the pain and yearning as I wait a whole week to see you again. I’ll be wistfully wandering the moors before Saturday, mark my words.

I’m also fascinated by the idea of a brother who’s you, but more attractive. Does it hurt to look at him directly? Do strangers fall in love on the spot? Is he officially considered a menace to society because he’s caused traffic accidents and ruined weddings by walking past at the wrong moment?

Someone should put a stop to him before things get out of control! No man should wield such power.

The idea that you, of gorgeous cheekbones, perfect hair, jawline, and eyes and face in general, notorious multi-tasker, valedictorian and walking encyclopedia, not to mention polyglot, could think someone else got the good genes means either you are humble to the point of actively lying to yourself or your brother is a minor deity.

Courfeyrac, I can hear you saying, flattery really isn’t necessary.

But it is! Enjolras, who I’ve mentioned before and is my best friend in the whole world, is gorgeous to the point of being inconvenient to look at. I’m a notorious flirt, I know this, and I’m good at it, but we’re not even in the same league when it comes to making people question their sexualities. He walks into a room and you can see half the people inside mentally decide they’re bi-curious. He’s also a raving lunatic and antagonistic asshole, which he openly accepts and takes pride in, but try to tell him he’s attractive and he looks at you like you’ve just suggested he’s got wings or a tail. So what I’m trying to say, I think, is that I’m used to people not realising how good looking they are. And bludgeoning them with compliments is my way of dealing with this.

Anyway. Getting sidetracked.

I’m flattered you use me as a method of procrastination! I’m gonna make myself a button that says ‘more interesting than calculus’ and wear it with pride. Also, is writing to pen pals not mandatory at the Academy? We’re given a half hour block during the study period. When we first started, Enjolras said the whole thing was “infantile and outdated and a waste of time”, but at this very moment he is on page six (6) of his latest aggressive correspondence to his mystery R, even though I saw what R sent him last time and it was, I shit you not, an envelope that was empty except for a tiny (approx. 3 centimeters long) rubber chicken. For context, the one before was a thorough analysis of wage inequality written entirely in pig latin.

I hope one day I meet this person, even if immediately afterwards they steal my kidney or turn me into a newt or whatever minor trickster gods do these days to pass the time when they’re not torturing my best friend.

Anyway, gotta go, stay sane, don’t kill anyone unless you really have to, and if so lemme know and I’ll help you get rid of the body. I know a guy.

Courfeyrac

p.s. I already like you, idiot.

#this little wip exercise is bad for me it makes me want to keep working on all of these lmao #elle writes things #elle answers your questions #anon #courferre

17 notes · View notes

keefwho · 1 year

Text

April 17 - 2023

8:42 AM

I want to take some thing off my schedule today to lighten the load but how do I know if I should? How do I know I’m not lazy/weak? I don’t know if I should man up and push through it all or not. I wish it was another weekend day.

11:46 AM

Which is worse, doing nothing and feeling bad about it, or doing everything and burning out with at least a little satisfaction at the end? I don’t know. I think working is always the better option but I just wish I could ignore it all.

I think I’m gonna jerk off, take a hot hot shower, get a water, and try to get everything done today. I want to stop being a crybaby and do it. It’s not like it’s going to go away. Work will always need to be done for the rest of time so the best I can do is get used to doing it no matter what. Rest will come, just not yet.

3:29 PM

I almost feel into a spiral today but I got commissions done and now I’m making lunch. Afterwards I’m going to finish the rest of my tasks before 6pm and then I will relax.

The weekend kinda sucked and today my tummy hurt too. On top of that I had stress about work, personal shortcomings, and seeing my bestie so upset really hurts. All these things have me teetering on the edge of an emotional crash I feel like. But I will stay strong. My biggest enemy is overthinking. Most of the time I don’t get so distraught about actual happenings, I get distraught at all the potential ways it could be worse. Or sometimes I make things out to be worse than they actually are. It’s an easy trap to fall into and one that is hard to get out of. Right now I’m trying to avoid it by staying diligent with my tasks. Some days are bad like this but ultimately I am just waiting for things to be good again. I just gotta pass the time and do my best.

0 notes

dimensionwriter · 5 years

Text

Hammer Away

Gender Neutral! Orc x F! Reader

Word Count: 2,756 words

Warning: None

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

So, hi. So big news, I'm working on a way to start up commissions. Since I have some free time, I would be able to do them now. So watch out for that post if you are interested. For now, enjoy this beautiful story.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Moving to the city was a big deal for you. It was your first step towards that adulthood freedom you always heard about and creating yourself for the future. It was your time to shine in this world.

And things seem to be going great. You got this cute contemporary apartment that was high up, so you could see the sun rising over the city. You got this cool job at a retro cafe and worked at a library on weekends. Things were looking up in your life.

That was until the lot next to you got sold and all of a sudden a hotel was going to be built there. You really didn't think much of it since it didn't block your beautiful view. But your opinion changed really quickly.

You got into the habit every morning to walk past the construction site and peak over the wooden fence to see what was going on. There would be a bunch of orcs working with a bunch of construction equipment. The way they just move so easily with such massive objects just captivated you.

At first, they didn't notice you, but around the 5th day, they did. It shocked you to peek over the fence and see a group of talking orcs stop and wave at you. You were not prepared for that and embarrassingly, you may have ducked down while running away.

You didn't peak over the fence for the next two days. You knew it was a dumb thing to do, but you were too scared of them getting mad at you for always peaking over. You didn't want to seem like one of those creepy humans that was always staring at other creatures like they were some type of zoo animal.

On the 8th day, you grew curious again when you heard what sound to be wielding. You went to a new part of the fence, a few feet from your normal spot, and peaked over. A small one couldn’t cause any damage, right?

The foundation of the building was already built and they seemed to be working on the exoskeleton of it. Bars of metal were being lifted up by cranes along with orcs carrying them around as if they weighed nothing.

You noticed that one orc was staring at you. As soon as you made eye contact, his eyes lit up and he turned to an orc carrying an arm full of sandbags and tapped them. The working orc turned around with a confused look before their eyes landed on you. They seem to jump at seeing you, causing their hands to release the sandbags…right on their foot.

You ducked down at the scream that got ripped out of their throat. You were quick to run to your job after that. There was no way they weren't going to be mad at you now.

A full week went by with you avoiding the construction site like the plague. You were too scared to even go near it. You were expecting a manager to come up to your door and yell at you for distracting and injuring his workers. What if that orc tried to make you compensate them? You can't afford that. How much does damaging someone’s foot cost?

The Monday of the third week, you walked out of your apartment building to see that the wooden fence had changed into a wire fence. The amount of dread that overcame you felt like a tsunami. Whomever was watching over you was finding a huge amount of humour in your suffering?

You walked as fast as you could past the construction site. But you weren't fast enough.

"Hey! Human! Watch out," someone yelled. You turned your head towards the construction site to see a small white object speeding towards you.

You didn't have any time to move. By the time you would've moved your leg, the ball would smash into your face. If you tried to dodge it, your body would move too slow since you just used precision time standing here and thinking.

You flinched as you saw it get extremely close. But instead of feeling your skull getting knocked into next week, a thick arm wrapped around your waist. You were dipped slightly and spun. What?

You open your eyes to see a figure above you. They seem to be a sort of shadow as the early sun creates this giant glow around them.

They tilted their head to the side allowing the sun rays to reach their face. You were met with a dark brown eye and a light green eye. Their hair was flowing down and seemed to encase you within them. The left side of the hair was pitch black while the right was pale white. They were really cute.

They opened their mouths to speak, but nothing came out. Their tusk was jutting out and touching the infinity ring dangling from their nose. A dark green forest was painting their skin as they stood still.

You leaned your head back and saw their muscular right arm was sticking up above you. Wrapped tightly in their fist was a softball. So that's what the white object was.

"I-I-I," they stuttered out like a broken record. You lifted your head back up and looked into their eyes. Their green skin was turning a dark blue colour and was spreading fast. Were they okay?

"You can let me up," you mumbled. Your legs were starting to cramp from being at this angle for so long. Most of your weight was in their arms, which you were kind of grateful for.

"Sorry," they yelped, yanking you forward. Everything blurred for a second before you were slammed into a stop. Their giant hand was gripping harshly on your shoulder as they held you up. You think you may have gotten whiplash.

"Thanks for the help. I gotta- I need to go to work," you slurred out trying to regain your being. Everything felt like it was still spinning.

"Of course. Sorry for being a nuisance," they squeaked out, shrinking into themselves. In your state of dizziness, you barely manage to give them a thumbs up before stumbling away to your job.

The next day, you felt kind of scared to cross past the construction site. You thought about it yesterday and began to wonder why a softball was flying that fast through a construction site. You may know nothing about the job, but you're pretty sure it doesn't require a softball.

You walked at a fast pace as you got closer to the construction site. This time you were going to keep a close eye out. No softball is going to catch you off guard this time.

As you walk past, you realize orcs work a lot faster than humans do. The exoskeleton of the building, which looked to be 7 stories, was already done. Except for one long metal bar that was extended a little over the fence. There were a few orcs on it that were yelling at someone on the ground.

"Bro…she's right there…just talk…okay fine." You looked down on the ground to see who they were talking to. You recognized them instantly.

It was the orc that saved you yesterday. Today, their hair was pulled into a high messy bun that looked like it was going to fall apart if someone blew on it.

They glanced over at you and seemed to jump up high like a cartoon woman seeing a rat. You blinked slowly at them and waited for maybe a wave or something. But they just stood there with wide eyes and seemed too afraid to move. Were they frightened by you? Well, they probably were since you probably damaged their hand because you were too slow to move, and now that you looked at them, they looked like the orc that you caused to drop that sandbag. Yeah, they definitely had a reason.

You turned your head away and was about to walk away. When you hear a voice above you scream," Whoospie. Oh no, human!" It was so sarcastic and insincere that you thought maybe they were making jokes about what happened yesterday.

It was until you saw a wall of green running towards you. You barely had time to turn your head before you felt a pair of arms wrapped around your waist. You were wrapped into a ball full of muscles. A strong wift of cinnamon and pine flooded your senses. They smell really good.

Something cold and wet splashed on your arm causing you to jolt in surprise. The thing around you let out a shiver from that weird substance splashing onto it. It seems that they took most of the hit instead of you.

Slowly, the arms unwrapped from around you and you were pulled straight up. You glanced up to see a pair of brown and green eyes staring down at you in slight panic. Water slowly dripped down the front of their face into their soaked shirt.

"Sorry-dry-um," they let out a low cough before starting again," You didn't get wet, right?" They scanned their eyes briskly over you as their eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"I'm fine, but you're not," you yelped, taking in their soaked form. The white shirt they were wearing was completely see through now and they're jeans were a very dark blue. It wasn't cold, but it would still be uncomfortable standing there soaked. "Stay here."

You turned around and ran as fast as you could to your apartment. You felt so bad for always getting in this orc's way. This poor orc has had their foot smashed in, hand probably bruised from that softball, and now they're soaking wet.

Maybe it would be better if you took a different path to work. You're like a bad omen to this site. Yeah, that's the plan.

You returned back outside with two pairs of towels. The orc wasn't standing where you previously left them. You did tell them to stay there, right? So, where did they go off to?

"Dude, that was so smooth. The way you slid in and wrapped yourself around her," a squeaky voice whispered nearby. You realized that the talking was coming from a portable building.

"It was anything but smooth. Didn't you see how she ran away?" Another one sighed out with a small whimper at the end. You held the towels tightly as you tiptoed closer to the building.

"She probably was too flustered from how awesome you are! I saw her whisper something to you before she ran away. Spill it," a deeper baritone voice cheered on. The sound of a loud hit followed by coughing came from the building.

You stepped towards the building and noticed a small window. It would hypothetically be the perfect height to peak in through. But from all your previous tries, it always ends up in something bad.

But, if you only do it for a few seconds, you should be fine. A few seconds peak won't change anything. Yeah, just a tiny peak.

Tip toeing over to the window, you took a deep breath to calm yourself. You just want to make sure that the orc is okay then you will leave. They have been taking a lot of hits for you and you never got a chance to repay them.

You slowly stood up until your eyes were leveled with the window. Inside of the room were a bunch of chairs around a small table. All the chairs were filled with orcs, but one orc was sitting in the corner balled up. You could see their soaked shirts from all the way over here.

“I wasn’t paying attention to what she said. All I was thinking was that she smelled really really good. Then I blinked and she was running away. Guess my monstrous size scared her,” they mumbled out in defeat. Their hand slowly went up into their hair and started gripping it harshly. The others in the room started to instantly express their disbelief.

“If she was scared of our size, then why has she been coming by here for the longest time. People don’t tend to frequently visit something if they fear it,” the orc closest to them spoke, patting them gently on the head. Their hands untangled themselves from their hair allowing the black and white strands to fall over their face.

Since you were so busy staring at the orc in the corner, you didn’t notice the female orc across from the window staring at you. She bumped the shoulder of the man beside her and flicked her head towards you. Putting a hand over his mouth, he whispered for everyone to glance at the window. It was loud enough for everyone to hear but the poor orc in the corner and you.

“Maybe you should just plainly ask her out,” the female orc in the corner said with a smirk. The orc jolted straight up and stared at her in bewilderment. They furiously shook their head as they squeezed themselves into the corner. “Andy, I’m telling you, you’re just overthinking it.”

“Trust me, she wouldn’t go for someone like. I’m not going to shoot my shot, if I’m in the middle of the ocean, millions of miles away from a hoop,” the orc, who you assumed was Andy, rambled sliding down the wall. The other orcs shook their heads at him and you felt that some of them were glancing at you. Have they already noticed you?

“I am telling you that the hoop is right there, I mean right there,” an orc turned his head so he was staring right at you. Instead of ducking down, you stayed put. You were kind of liking where this was going.

“I’m nothing more than a lump of sea grass floating through the ocean,” Andy whined out balling up. One orc stuck his hands out and pretended to strangle him in frustration. After a second, his rage dissipated and he just sunk into his chair.

The female orc let out a low groan before yelling,” Forget it.” Andy jumped a little and their pretty eyes were widening in panic as they looked around confused. “Ay, human up there. Are you interested in going on a date with this orc?”

Finally, Andy’s head lifted up and spotted you through the window. You had given up a while ago after figuring out they could see you, and was standing at full height. You are kind of surprised that Andy didn’t notice you before. It’s kind of adorable how clueless they are.

“I’ve been standing out here for a while hoping for one,” you joked, sending them a wink. Andy’s face exploded into blue as his brown and green eyes sparkling with happiness. They jumped up and tripped over the chair in front of them, but recovered quickly. Within a quick second, they were staring you dead in the eyes with so much hope.

“Are you free this afternoon? Or is that too soon? I can go with any schedule of yours,” they babbled out rocking on their feet. Their hair was floating around them like some sort of halo. Gosh, this adorable hunk of orc has had a crush on you this entire time. You feel that it should have been the other way around.

“This evening is fine. I should be able to meet you right here around 6. How does that sound?” you asked tilting your head to the side. Their eyes melted slowly and you swear small lights of hearts appeared on their eyes.

“It sounds perfect,” they whispered, giving you a giant smile. You leaned forward and pressed a swift kiss to the window. Even though you didn’t touch them, their face hued darker and their eyes were shining so hard.

“Now, I better get to work before my boss gets mad. See you in a couple of hours,” you yelled jumping off the ledge and running to your job. You just hoped your boss wouldn’t mind you being so late. But whatever was facing you at work, you felt you could deal with, especially when you have a date with such an adorable orc.

As you ran down the sidewalk, the last thing you heard from the construction site was,” I guess you can still make the hoop from the ocean,” followed by loud laughter. A smile made its way to your face as you turned the corner.

See you at 6, Andy.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Once again I am creating these soft orcs. I promise, one day I will create something better.

Anyway, please leave a Like and Reblog. I love it so much when you guys Comment, I think i reread them like 20 times. It's nice to see that people actually see this content instead of it just passing by in this overwhelming source dump.

Thank you so much for reading. As said earlier, keep your eyes out for a post about commissions from me.

460 notes · View notes