#if anyone wants to chat about this with their own thoughts please hmu in responses or dms I need to talk about this haha

[beans-and-shet]

TMMN Episode 8 Thoughts

I’m gonna give a full review for episode 8 here. I have a lot of thoughts. Don’t read if you don’t want spoilers.

The art was good, but after watching it a couple times and letting it sink in, overall I’d say this episode whiffed hard when comparing it to the manga. I came out of it disappointed.

There were 5 things in particular I was hoping to get from this episode (cat Ichigo + Masaya kiss, shit not hitting the fan in only one day, full Masaya transformation sequence, angry Masaya when he rescues Ichigo, good action sequences), and New kind of only delivered on one of them (the action sequences), and even that was me being generous. The action scenes were better here than in recent episodes, but that was mostly just for Quiche vs the Blue Knight. It still wasn’t anything I’d write home about, but definitely an improvement.

First of all, Quiche kidnapping Ichigo so early into the episode after what happened in the previous episode felt way too rushed and like a "not this again" moment. And it looks like they really did skip the iconic Masaya/cat Ichigo kiss scene rest in pieces. How can they not show him realizing she was the cat from that night in s1e10?? Even if they do it later (after the final boss fight concludes) it seems like it would feel out of place at that point. I really wanted to see his reaction and that scene was in my top 5 scenes from the manga. Also, given how much they wanted to cram into this episode, I am surprised they wasted the pre-opening portion of the episode on a recap from the previous episode. As it stands right now, I still think from a pacing standpoint that it was a bad idea to have the lunch date happen as late as it did. They needed at least one episode of buffer between Ichigo and Masaya’s reveals for the pacing to feel right. I would have preferred two episodes of buffer, which is why I was originally hoping the lunch date would be in episode 5. If it had happened in episode 5 or 6, they could have sprinkled a few moments in to make Masaya’s worried reaction about Ichigo being a mew mew feel more natural. And it also wouldn’t feel like such a clusterfuck of reveals happening right at the end. There was nothing major in episode 5 or 6 that chronologically needed to happen before the lunch date anyway. Also, in the manga, when he told her he didn’t want her to fight anymore, he hugged her from behind after subconsciously rescuing her from drowning (aka almost DYING) in his blue knight form and he also saw the injury on her arm. He noticed it right in the moment too, not a day or two after she actually got hurt like what happened in New. The execution of these particular events in new, like the Quiche kidnapping, was very clunky and too fast paced.

Now for the Quiche confession scene. The first half of this scene should have been at night. At least the dark blue polluted air came in for the second half to match the scene’s vibe a bit better. I did like how New really portrayed from Ichigo’s perspective how scary and awful this was throughout the entire experience. There was no blush and "does he really love me?" after her ass just got choked. I do think choosing to have Quiche choke her after he finished crying tho is gonna make his redemption moment come off as way weirder than it did in the manga (and this is coming from someone who never thought the manga executed it very well either). But we’ll see, that’s just how I feel about it right now.

For the Blue Knight rescue oh boy, there are several things. I did think it was cool that Masaya could harness some of his power in his base form. But for the most part, this scene disappointed me. They took out most of the emotion from Masaya’s voice that should have been in his final "I said let her go!". His expression was also quite blank. I wanted to see him mad, dammit. He’s someone who is typically very calm and collected, so that moment in the manga when he yelled with that furious face was awesome and very impactful! Idk how whoever directed this episode thought it was a good idea to take that away. Their hug after she got freed from the webs restraining her wrists was cute. And I loved how Ichigo blocked Quiche’s attack. But then Masaya prevented her from fighting anymore, saying he would protect her. The manga’s portrayal of this was much better. There, Masaya told Ichigo to go help her friends against Tart so he could keep her away from the guy who tried to assault her and also question Quiche further on what he meant. New right now is making it seem like Masaya doesn’t want Ichigo to fight at all, which isn’t quite right. He is worried about her, but if he is there to help and have her back, he’s generally supportive (case in point, the Zakuro mew aqua fight from the manga).

And we know in a la mode and re-turn that while Masaya worries about Ichigo, he won’t stop her from fighting (and even encouraged her to go back to Tokyo in a la mode) so there’s that too. Lastly, NO LEGITIMATE TRANSFORMATION SCENE FOR MASAYA, WHY WORLD WHY?!!! Like I guess I have to riot now wtf. I am so bummed about that.

For the fight at cafe mew mew, it was nice to see Tart not getting that into the fight cause he didn’t really like the idea of fighting Pudding anymore. At least his change of heart will feel more natural. Also, it’s an interesting choice to keep Mint restrained at home. Will she reveal her identity to her brother or find a way to sneak away? I know she’s gonna probably be the one to stop her brother’s air purifier.

I am shocked we are already getting Deep Blue next episode. The re-turn outfit is here and I’m sad his fancy pattern isn’t on the green part of his outfit. But otherwise, he looks good. Here’s hoping we get lots of crazy facial expressions from him. New really took my guesses for how the pacing would go and flipped them on their heads. I didn’t think we’d get Deep Blue until the end of episode 10. Since they are investing so much time into the final fight, I really hope they make it worth it and give some great drama and original action scenes. ESPECIALLY SOME DETAILS tying Deep Blue to the original alien society on Earth and how exactly Masaya came to be. Also, New please give me a good shot of this panel (tho that’s probably gonna be for episode 10) holy shit:

With Deep Blue being introduced this early, it also seems like it opens up episode 12 to have more room for cute moments in its second half. I know we’re probably gonna get that cheesy wedding scene for Ichigo and Masaya so I am looking forward to that.

[3laxx]

Wind update 3

A few things do have to be talked about.

In other words, the lore I came up with for the Air Series universe. Again, yes, I can't take season 2 into consideration. The canon is different now and while I'll still watch it, I'll still go along with the story I made up. I know that season 2 gave us different backstories already and I know my fanfiction doesn't quite catch up. But if I used the season 2 input it would get too unpredictable, I could write different things, plus the helping Miraculous would still remain temporary (which I don't want) and I wouldn't get to the outcome I want to have in later parts of this series. So, just, please bear with me? ':D I'm watching the season 2 lore, I'm having my thoughts on it and I'm always open to conversations about it, I got my tumblr name beneath the new chapters and my inbox as well as Private Messaging is open. Just like on Fanfiction.net, Instagram and Twitter. There's also still the Discord server that I opened up last year. If you wanna know a bit more about my theories or what I think about season 2 just hmu! But yeah, I won't take season 2 into the Air Series anymore. It's become too different and I got an outline for the Air Series in my head. It's simply a different universe now, not to mention it plays 3 years after the canon series. Anyway, just to have that out of the way again, let's jump right into it! Enjoy~

Ao3 / FF.net

Over half an hour later he finally arrived at Master Fu’s. Wayzz smiled and nodded as Nino reached for the door and looked down to search for assurance from his new friend.

“He already expects you.”

Nino smiled and opened the door, feeling weird not to knock, but Wayzz flew out of his jacket as he closed the door behind him, already heading towards the person inside. An old man waited for him sitting cross-legged on a pillow on the floor, smiling gently.

“Come inside, young man.”, he said in a warm voice, gesturing towards the other side of the table to the pillow that laid there.

“Hello, Master Fu.”

Nino just nodded as Wayzz settled down on the table in front of the old man and started chatting with him, sitting down on the pillow. Instead of listening to the two of them he looked around, taking in the room.

It was really nice, Nino noticed. Traditionally for Chinese culture there were no chairs and the room was decorated with all kinds of flower patterns, a few similar to Marinette’s shirt.

Secretly, Nino smiled to himself.

He was both excited and scared for what his new life would bring, but he was sure he could handle it. At least, both Marinette and Adrien had managed. And being a superhero must be dangerous and stressful but surely amazing as well.

“So, Carapace.”, the old man turned to him, bringing him back from his thoughts, “I am Master Fu and I will be your mentor until either you are ready or I will die.”

Master Fu bowed with a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Wh-What?”

“That was a joke, young one. I will still live a while, don’t fret. Anyways, Carapace, you are now the Turtle Miraculous wielder. We have much to discuss and I have much to teach you before you can fulfill your duty.”

Nino let out a relieved breath before he answered.

“Yes. And you were the wielder before me?”

“That is very true, my friend. You must know, as a first, that the Turtle Miraculous is constantly activated. One wielder must always look over all Miraculous or otherwise they will fall into the wrong hands or could be forgotten over the time.”

“That means, when I’m older I have to choose the next Miraculous wielder for the Turtle?”

Master Fu nodded while smiling warmly, grabbing a tea pot.

“Tea?”

“Um… Yes, thank you very much.”, Nino moved the tea cup in front of him towards Master Fu, “So, I am the new Turtle Miraculous wielder and I know that there are the Ladybug, the Black Cat and the Butterfly. Are there others? And are they all… ‘Guardians’, as you said?”

Master Fu gave Nino back his filled tea cup and he nodded again.

“There are the Ladybug and the Black Cat as the yin and the yang. These are the key Miraculous. Additionally, there are five more Miraculous, called the guardians.”

“Which animals do they represent, besides the Turtle and the Butterfly?”

“There are the Fox, the Bee and the Peacock left. And these Miraculous can build pairs too, just like the Ladybug and the Black Cat.”

Nino tilted his head and scrunched together his eyebrows.

“What, pairs? How can they when they’re five? And what pairs?”

“Easy there, young one.”, Master Fu smirked again and the boy laughed.

“I’m sorry, Master Fu.”

“If you call me Master that will be alright. And yes, the pairs. As the Ladybug stands for good luck and the Black Cat for bad luck, the other Miraculous stand for traits too, good ones as well as bad ones. Your partner as the Turtle wielder is the Butterfly Miraculous.”

Instantly, Nino’s eyes shot open, slowly beginning to shake his head.

“Hawkmoth?! Hawkmoth is my partner?!”

Master Fu smiled reassuringly, making a calming gesture towards the pale boy.

“The Butterfly Miraculous is your partner, not necessarily Hawkmoth as a human. The Turtle stands for steadiness and the Butterfly for change. Do you see it now?”

He nodded relieved, sipping on his tea.

“Okay, that’s understandable. Which are the other pairs?”

“The other pair is the Fox and the Peacock, the Fox standing for illusions and the Peacock standing for the truth. The Bee Miraculous has no partner.”

Nino leant forward, eyeing Master Fu suspiciously.

“The Bee has no partner? Well, what does the Bee stand for?”

Suddenly, Master Fu looked rather sad, probably remembering something in the past.

“The Bee stands for loyalty and vitality.”

He nodded, clenching his teeth.

“So, the opposite and partner for the Bee is-… Betrayal and Death?”

Master Fu suddenly smiled and drank his tea.

“Well, that shall be another lesson. Do you have any other questions?”

The boy decided that he would wait until it would be needed. He took another sip of his tea, thinking about what Wayzz had told him earlier. He had mentioned that Nino would get to know why he was chosen.

“So, Master, why did you get me for the next wielder? You could’ve gotten anyone, so why am I this one special person who was selected?”

“Ah, that is a very good question, young one. I had noticed you earlier on, even before the incident with Miss Fortune. You know now that the Turtle Miraculous stands for steadiness and you must be asking yourself in which situation you’ve proved that.”

“Well, I’m well off on my own two feet and-…”

“That is not a physical question.”, Master Fu grinned at Nino who was quick to rub the back of his head, “It is a trait that you have. Being a tower of strength, so to say. You and I know very well that you don’t exactly are what you’d expect the Miraculous of steadiness to require. A wielder who is prudent and calm, a man of his word and responsibilities.”

The boy laughed nervously but Master Fu continued without hesitating.

“I am not saying that you are a bad person just because you don’t take school that seriously although you are graduating. Or that you are rather choosing to pursue your hobbies in the hopes of being successful in this department rather than playing it safe and trying to get an apprenticeship. I am saying that you maybe need some, let’s say… Balance in your life.”

Nino tilted his head curiously, not really understanding where Master Fu was going with this.

“But-… Wayzz said earlier that I both need and fulfill the Miraculous. So, I know that I’m not the steadiest guy. What did I do to deserve the Turtle Miraculous?”

At this, Master Fu set down his tea cup and suddenly got very serious. Nino gulped but forced himself to hold the gaze of the old man’s dark brown eyes.

“I’ve been paying attention to you while your friend Ladybug had a hard time. She was depressed, helpless and desperate because of her hopeless situation. And you stayed with her. Of course, you were grieving because you as well thought her akumatized form had killed Ladybug, but you stood up for her regardless and tried your best to protect her from the wrath of her classmates, especially the mayor’s daughter. As you already know from Wayzz, you are the wielder of the Turtle which stands for the protection of the other Miraculous. You proved both steadiness and protection skills while Ladybug needed it the most. She didn’t quite realize it, which is understandable because of her condition at that moment, but you still were by her side. And you took the sword Hawkmoth had meant for Chat Noir. You threw yourself between the two to protect someone you didn’t know to be your best friend yet. You barely knew Chat Noir other than the superhero who kept Paris safe. And yet, you protected him with your life. That was the most striking action for me to choose you as my successor.”

Nino nodded, feeling stiff after what Master Fu had told him about the time he tried to be by Mari’s side. He always thought he hadn’t been there for her enough although she constantly had tried to make him feel otherwise. Seems like he really had been wrong.

“So, I-… I really both earned and need the Turtle Miraculous?”, he asked quietly, his voice shaking.

“That you did and do, young one. I am very proud of you and I am sure you will fulfill your duty with all skills that are needed.”

“And my duty is to protect the key Miraculous?”

“As well as the other Guardians and the Zodiacs, yes.”

“The Zodiacs?”, Nino questioned, tilting his head as the old man chuckled.

“Lesser Miraculous than the Guardians, 12 of these. They are minor Miraculous and not usually needed.”

Nino looked up and nodded.

“Ah, okay… Yeah, of course, Wayzz said so before. I mean the protecting thing. So, I’ll have to protect the Butterfly Miraculous too, but… How? Hawkmoth has it.”

“There will be the time to defeat Hawkmoth and bring back the Butterfly Miraculous to its rightful place. And to be honest, I am hoping that you will be able to bring back the Butterfly Miraculous because it is your partner, after all. Maybe, Wayzz being able to transform again will make the job easier to free Nooroo, the Butterfly’s Kwami.”

The boy looked into his cup of tea, eyeing the brown liquid that slowly cooled down.

“… I understand.”, he murmured, suddenly feeling very weird about the responsibilities that came with being a superhero. Master Fu stood up, smiling and put a hand on Nino’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You will be just fine, after all, you got friends to lead the way. You already learned from them how to keep an identity a secret and I am sure that you will do just as skillful as those two.”

Nino flinched at the mention of a secret identity, deciding to ask about that as well.

“So, I have to keep my identity a secret like they did for four entire years?”

“Yes, I would advise it to you. Well, it might not be four years, it might be longer, it might be never. After all, maybe you want them to trust you as a hero as well before they know that you are their best friend.”

Nino nodded again, lowering his head.

“Yes, yeah… You’re right, of course.”

Master Fu kneeled next to him and slightly squeezed his shoulder.

“See it like this, you have a mentor to teach you. They did not, they had to learn it all by themselves. With the help of their Kwami, but Tikki and Plagg are doing this for thousands of years by now, as do all the other Kwami, so they sometimes forget what’s obvious to them.”

Nino grinned.

“Thanks Master.”

Master Fu smiled too, getting the tea pot and standing up.

“Well, do you need to know anything else? Oh, of course, one of the most important things.”, he went over to his gramophone and pressed buttons Nino hadn’t seen before.

“What is this, Master Fu?”, he stood up and carefully neared the old man, unsure whether he was allowed to look.

“Come here, young one. These-”, he stepped aside for Nino to get a closer look at what was hiding inside his gramophone, “... Are the Miraculous. Well, a few of them at least. It is mostly the box that contains them when they are not activated.”

The boy’s eyes widened as he saw the brown box that was opened up. There was a yin and yang in the middle, both empty. He assumed it were the sections for the Ladybug and the Black Cat Miraculous. They were in the middle while around them, there were five more sections, each for one Miraculous of the guardians.

“The Fox and the Bee are the ones that are left as you see. The Butterfly has Hawkmoth, the Turtle you and the Ladybug and the Black Cat are activated as well.”

Nino scrunched together his eyebrows and pointed to the blue section that was empty too.

“What’s this one?”

Master Fu’s shoulders slumped.

“Ah, yes. The Peacock Miraculous. It went missing after something… Something bad happened to its wielder.”

“I understand… So, the Fox and the Bee are left. Will they be given out to someone while I’m the Turtle Miraculous wielder?”

“Most likely, actually, for this is a job for a lifetime, at least for you.”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Oh, yeah, right. So, when will I be able to join Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Your time will come soon enough. But for now, we have to discuss a few other things. Come here, sit down again. Your new life will be dangerous and it will bring you to your limits even before you’ll start fighting.”

Nino gulped as Master Fu led him to the pillow again after letting the box vanish into the gramophone, giving him some more tea, probably to calm him.

Late into the afternoon the boy finally got home, completely exhausted.

“Woah Wayzz, Master Fu sure is being ambitious with me.”

“He has to be, young Nino. He doesn’t want you to have any problems with your new responsibilities.”, his Kwami tried to soothe him by stroking his short brown hair.

“Yeah, I know… I’m grateful, don’t worry. It’s just… Everything is just going so fast.”

They both sighed and Wayzz nestled himself into Nino’s hair. He felt the tiny Turtle shell press against the top of his head and couldn’t help himself but smile.

“Wayzz?”, the boy asked, his voice slow and careful.

The Kwami perked up at his name, humming gently as he stretched on Nino’s hair.

“Yes, young Nino?”

He took time to phrase the question right, struggling with himself to get the right words out.

“What-… What if I’m not the right one for the job? I mean… Sure, I was chosen and all that but… What if I’m just not…”

His hand once again wandered up to his chest, stroking over the soft bump of his remaining scar.

“Maybe just because of that.”, Wayzz replied, reading his thoughts. The little Kwami got up and floated off of Nino’s head, to make eye contact with the boy as he lowered himself down to his hand that was on his chest.

“But-… I mean…”

Wayzz nodded, his eyes serious.

“Nino, you’d give everything for your friends. For your family, every single stranger and even for your enemies. You’re a guardian, a perfect wielder for the turtle Miraculous. Master Fu himself was surprised at the power of your actions, to jump between your friends and the sword. And yet-”, he stroked Nino’s thumb, “You’ve never wasted a thought to take revenge on Hawkmoth other than wanting to see him behind bars, paying for his crimes. Healthy and well but punished. You are the ideal protector. Did you know Chat Noir wants to see Hawkmoth dead for what he did to Ladybug?”

Nino’s eyes widened as he heard what the Kwami said.

“Wait, so you’re saying Adrien wants to kill Hawkmoth?!”

The small, green Kwami shrugged to this, his eyes averted as he leant back.

“He can’t help it. Destruction requires wrath and despite the calm nature of your friend, he still wields the Miraculous of destruction. And since he’s a key Miraculous holder, his soul and mind are molten with the Miraculous’ traits. It’s a perfect Yin and Yang. He’s just as much an equality in himself as his powers are to his partner’s.”

Nino slowly hummed, still brushing over the scar as he looked up to the ceiling, letting his thoughts flow freely.

“So that means Marinette is the exact opposite to Adrien?”

“Ladybug’s character is, in contrary to Chat Noir’s, a little brash and careless, as well as impulsive and intuitive. The Miraculous has awoken her rationality and logic, her calmness in fights as well as her ability to put mind above heart but always acknowledge the morally right thing to do.”

“And I have an opposite, too, right? Master Fu said my partner is the butterfly.”

“Ah, yes.”, Wayzz answered, a little lost in thoughts, “In contrary to the turtle’s steadiness stands the constantly changing, multifaceted butterfly. Your own traits are a little lightheaded carelessness while the turtle awoke the responsibility within you. The butterfly’s wielder should be the exact opposite but as it seems, Hawkmoth is not. He is not a chosen and thus, cannot use the full span of Nooroo’s powers. Master Fu and I have monitored and analyzed his Akumas and tactics for a year now and this is definitely not all the butterfly can provide. Perhaps a reason why Hawkmoth wants the two key Miraculous, despite combining them for the ultimate power.”

With a surprised expression, Nino looked down to the Kwami again and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Wait, so you’re telling me the butterfly is not at its full power?!”

“Yes, Hawkmoth is not a chosen but it is possible for humans who aren’t chosen by any Zodiac, Guardian or Key to wield a Zodiac freely and a Guardian with limits. Those who are not chosen cannot access the full power of a Miraculous, or wield a Key Miraculous. That is why he can only seldomly transform twice the same day, but mostly needs a day break between his transformations. Chosen can transform as they wish, as long as their Kwami is charged.”

The boy leant back again, dumbfounded.

“So the butterfly is not even at its full power…”

Wayzz shrugged.

“The Key Miraculous are not significantly stronger than the Guardians. Sure, they have a few more features, a little more power and they require the wielder to withstand more energy, plus they’re the oldest known Miraculous. But you remember how comparably quickly Chat Noir was at defeating an Akuma when Ladybug wasn’t around?”

“Comparably quickly?”, Nino snorted.

“He didn’t take days to take one down. And yes, while the quantity wore him down, he still defeated most Akumas within an hour, a lot even under half an hour. And while the fights were hard, once Chat Noir had noticed a villains fighting technique and had gotten used to their unique powers, he was able to locate and destroy the akumatized object fairly fast. And that is just Chat Noir alone, driven by nothing but incredible loss, despair, anger and sheer willpower. Together with Ladybug they have only had a few exceptions where the Akuma was good enough at fleeing to let the fight take more than a few minutes. If the butterfly had all the power the wielder could use, it would surely look a little different. The Key Miraculous combined would need as much time as Chat Noir needed during spring and one Key wielder alone would still win. But barely.”

They remained silent for a few minutes before the boy spoke up again, his voice breaking and quiet.

“Do-… Do Adrien and Marinette know that…?”

“Master Fu has informed them, yes.”

“Phew, okay…”, the boy sighed relieved.

[artificialqueens]

Check You Out - Chapter 4 - May

A/N: It’s here! Thank you so much to everyone who left feedback, it means so much to me. I have one final chapter planned out, and I can’t believe I’m almost at the end of this, and I really hope you enjoy it. The gap between this chapter and the next should be shorter as I’ve already written most of it, and I’m a tad less busy with life atm. If you have any feedback or comments I’d love to hear it, either here or hmu at artificial-may 

“No ma’am I cannot give you a refund on this opened packet of crackers, especially with no receipt and half of the crackers mentioned missing. I’m sorry about that,” Bianca told a particularly obstinate woman, giving her a look that said you-are-an-absolute-pain-in-the-arse-and-please-get-out-my-vicinity-before-I-yell-at-you. The lady retreated, grumbling about poor customer service while Bianca rolled her heavily lined eyes and the young checkout operator working alongside her smiled sympathetically.

 “Customers suck don’t they?” she said, tossing her black hair over a shoulder, having heard the entire exchange. Bianca saw her name was Violet from her name tag. “God, most of them,” responded Bianca, rolling her eyes again. “There’s one or two that make me smile though.” Bianca noticed the corners of Violet’s twitch upwards at that, and her eyes became a little softer, as if she’d just remembered something. Bianca raised an eyebrow. “What’s that expression for?” she asked. Violet flushed a pale red, and her closed expression returned. “Does someone have a little crush on a customer?” teased Bianca in a sing-song voice, and the colour in Violet’s face deepened. “N-no,” she stammered. “Some of them are just nice.” Bianca smirked. “Nice to look at you mean?” Violet shrugged and tilted her head to the side. “Yeah,” she conceded. Bianca snickered and Violet looked indignant. “It’s just one, and yeah, she’s pretty and has the loveliest hair ever, I just like talking to her because she’s super chill and actually listens to me and is nice. I most certainly don’t have a crush on her.” “Sounds a little like you do,” responded Bianca, seeing right through what was obviously a lie. “So you can’t empathise?” asked Violet, a challenge almost, not a question. “No, I cannot. Because unlike you, I have never fallen in love with a customer,” responded Bianca. Violet was nearly shouting now. “I am not in love with any-“ She broke off suddenly as a tall blonde tentatively placed her basket on Violet’s conveyer, Violet’s eyes widening in surprise. “Hey Pearl,” she said, a little breathlessly.

Chuckling to herself at Violet’s foolishness and denial, Bianca turned away, and locked eyes with Adore, entering the door, who raised her hand and wiggled her fingers in a lazy wave. Bianca’s stomach jumped.

 “Adore!” she called out, the green haired girl turning her way in surprise. Bianca idly noted she needed to get her roots redone. Bianca held up the bottle of Berocca and wiggled it in the air. Adore smiled and made her way to the express lane, hurdling a barrier in order to get there. “You’re not supposed to jump the barrier,” Bianca said automatically and Adore grinned. “'Kay,” she responded. “Why’d you keep this at the checkout?” “Didn’t want a repeat of yesterday where I didn’t get to talk to you,” responded Bianca, fake pouting. “Yeah that sucked man,” responded Adore.

 They were both quiet for a second, before Adore spoke again, after checking her phone. “Well I’ve got seven minutes before I need to leave, tell me something fun.”

 +++

Violet’s insides were twisting with embarrassment as she greeted Pearl, hoping she hadn’t heard the conversation that she’d been having with Bianca seconds before. In all fairness, she had been screaming, fairly loudly she had to admit.

 It was no secret Violet liked to be in control. Everything in her life, she lived with control over, she prided herself on that. But for some weird reason, her weird quasi-friendship with Pearl had her feeling out of control. And she was too proud to admit it to anyone, especially Bianca, that there was a tiny part of her that liked Pearl in that way. Even the thought of it, made her want to cringe. Violet was powerful, she had dreams. She was not someone who got distracted by other girls, or who pined after the moments they would come in and make her shift a little bit brighter.

 Yet here she was.

Pearl was standing in front of her a little uneasily, and with every passing second Violet could feel some sort of weird tension build between them. Crap, she thought, she heard me didn’t she?

“Right,” she said, smiling, “how are you today?” The tension that had been building crumbled a little, and Pearl smiled back at her. “I’m good, sorry, I’m a little out of it today,” Pearl responded. Violet laughed, and they were back as they usually were, laughing, joking and chatting like good friends. Not a hint of tension.

In a small part of her mind Violet acknowledged that she really needed to get a handle on the feelings that were pooling up in her stomach. She knew it wasn’t healthy to dwell on the fact that the two literally knew nothing about the other, yet they felt as close as old friends.

Violet felt like she was going to burst.

“See ya then,” said Pearl, all too soon, and Violet hated the fact that she wished Pearl had bought more just so she could have stayed chatting longer. “Have a good day Pearl,” responded Violet, waving as she passed over the receipt. Pearl left, not throwing a second glance over her shoulder, but Violet remained with her eyes locked on the retreating head of blonde hair.

The automatic doors shut behind Pearl with a snap, pulling Violet’s gaze from the blonde girl. She glanced at Bianca, who was watching the girl with green hair saunter out the store, with the same expression that Violet was pretty sure she had been wearing just moments before. Violet snorted, and Bianca turned with a start, to see Violet’s smirking face.

“You really don’t empathise with me?” asked Violet.

In response, Bianca turned a deep pink. “If you tell anyone I will come to your house at night and cut off all your hair and weave it into an ornamental throw rug.”

Violet laughed loudly.

 +++

“Can I tell you something Phi Phi?” asked Sharon in between customers as they stood together at express. “Yeah, of course,” responded the shorter girl, running her hands through her newly blue streaked hair. She’d taken the plunge a week ago after Sharon had almost convinced her to apply for a fashion course, before deciding her parents would be a lot gentler on her if she did something that wasn’t going to change their idea of a perfect daughter. “I’m quitting at the end of my shift.”

Phi Phi couldn’t respond, opting instead to simply and openly stare at the white blond girl next to her. “You’re what?” “Quitting,” responded Sharon, simply. “This isn’t what I want to do.” “But your dad- “ “He can get over himself,” shrugged Sharon. “If he really wants me to work here, he can work here himself.” Phi Phi gaped. “Like two weeks’ notice?” Sharon smiled. “Effective immediately.” “Damn.” Phi Phi let out a low whistle. She knew Michelle, the store’s manager, hated sudden staffing breaks. If she’d been yelled at for pulling out of a shift with not enough notice, God knows what she’d do to someone straight up saying they were leaving. Eat them alive probably.

 Then again this was Sharon she’d be up against.

 More than that, Phi Phi thought, she’d miss working with Sharon. Most of the time Sharon was bored, sarcastic and didn’t want to be there, which clashed with Phi Phi’s attitude sometimes, but Phi Phi would miss the times when there was a lull in customers when Sharon seemed to drop her attitude a tiny little bit. And maybe, just maybe she’d miss having Sharon standing opposite her for five hours a day. Sharon might be the bane of Phi Phi’s existence sometimes, but Phi Phi couldn’t deny she was straight up gorgeous.

“You all good there?” asked Sharon, jolting Phi Phi out of her reverie. “Huh? Yeah, I was just thinking,” responded Sharon “Aww, are you going to miss me Phi Phi?” teased Sharon, raising her voice in an annoying sing-song way. “No!” exclaimed Phi Phi loudly. “I’m already planning the party I’m going to throw once you’ve left,” she joked. “I’ll miss you,” said Sharon, her voice low, a quiet contrast to Phi Phi’s outburst. Phi Phi looked over, slightly stunned. She didn’t think Sharon particularly liked her. They had a relationship that was essentially based on I-really-don’t-care-for-you-but-we-both-hate-the-bloody-customers-more-so-lets-chill. “Really?” Phi Phi’s own voice was also now no more than a whisper. She cleared her throat, cringing inwardly at how sappy she sounded.

“Yeah Phi, you’re a real laugh sometimes. Probably the only good thing about working in this place.” Phi Phi smiled against her will, and pushed down the thoughts she’d been having about Sharon for weeks now. Thoughts of maybe, possibly, if she did ask Sharon about a relationship if something would ever work. It was purely hypothetical of course. Sharon and I will never be a thing. Stop right now Phi Phi, she thought. But those thoughts didn’t stop her from hoping.

 +++

 It was 4pm, which meant the staff room was packed with day staff all trying to log off and go home. Willam had already clocked off, and had just gotten out of Michelle’s office, and was now leaning against the lockers waiting for Courtney to come through so she could talk to her.

 She saw her blonde head appear in the crowd, and she kept her eyes on the other girl, watching as she scanned her fingerprint and logged her time. “Courtney!” she yelled attempting to get the other blonde’s attention. Failing, she looked around as Courtney started to leave the room, trying to figure out a way to get across the room to talk to Courtney. Her eyes alighted on a chair next to the lockers, and without really thinking about what she was doing, she mounted it, and banged on the locker next to her, creating a metallic reverb that clanged through the room. Courtney turned to see her, as did every other worker in the staff room. “Courtney!” she yelled a second time, trailing off a little under the glare of the others in the room. She smiled widely at Courtney who just looked mortified and jerked her head, indication Willam should come talk to her outside. Smiling, Willam hopped down from the chair and

 The afternoon sun was low in the sky, and it threw a buttery orange filter over the carpark, making it romantic, almost beautiful WIllam thought. Courtney was standing next to the ticket machine, hair reflecting the rays of sunlight. Pretty, she thought. Courtney caught Willam’s eye and approached, hands on her hips. “So what was that palava in there about?” “I thought it was pretty clever-“ “Everyone saw you.” “I got your attention,” Willam shrugged. Courtney rolled her eyes. “Yes. You did. I’m here. What do you want?” “I wanted to let you know that as of today, I will no longer be working in conjunction with you.”

 Courtney’s eyes widened. God that’s cute, thought Willam, shaking her head at herself for her thoughts. “You’re quitting?” “No, sadly, I will not be working in conjunction with you as meat manager.” Willam paused dramatically. “As I am transferring to the dairy department.” Courtney’s eyebrows knitted. “And you thought to tell me this because?” “Because we’re friends!” Seeing Courtney raise an eyebrow she added “kind of. Also your little chat last week about you being vegan inspired me a little.” “You do realise as a vegan I still don’t do dairy,” responded Courtney, face blank. “Yeah but for me you’d make an exception wouldn’t you,” smirked Willam. Winking at Courtney’s shocked face, Willam turned on her heel to saunter over to her car.

“That’s inappropriate!” yelled Courtney as Willam got into her car. “I’ll report you!” “No you won’t!” Willam yelled back through the open window, blowing a kiss and driving off, leaving Courtney alone in the afternoon sun, smiling a little bit to herself.

+++

Over the past few months, Trixie had gotten into a routine at work. She would turn up five minutes early precisely, scan in and take over from Kim at express. She would wait there, maybe serving a customer or two, until Katya would rush through the door, between five and ten minutes late. Trixie knew this routine well, which was why she was confused that it had been twenty-five minutes with no sign of Katya, and Kim still on express.

 “Where’s Katya tonight?” she asked Kim, after another couple of minutes ticked past, worried that something had happened, envisioning a car pretzelled around a tree, or a maniacal stabber, or something very bad. Katya was often late, but never this late “Oh didn’t you realise,” responded Kim, “there’s been a bunch of shifts shuffled around.” “What? How come?” “Um, some people wanted to work different shifts, so some other people moved to accommodate them.” “You wanted to work the closing shift?” asked Trixie incredulously. Kim shuffled a little bit looking awkward. Trixie normally loved that Kim was transparent enough to always know what she was thinking, but right now she wished she could truly believe that Katya wasn’t there because Kim had a deep desire to work the closing shift.

 “Katya wanted to move?” she asked quietly, disbelief colouring her tone. “I’m so sorry,“ said Kim, gently, “I know you guys were good friends, I’m sure she had a reason though.” She trailed off a little, and the two lapsed into silence.

 Katya doesn’t want to talk to me, she thought, and she mentally scanned through conversations she’d had recently, and found nothing that she thought could cause the Russian to want to avoid her. Pulling out her rhinestone encrusted phone she flicked a quick text off to Katya.

 To Russian Whore: Heyyyy

To Russian Whore: Where u at? Kim said you wanted to switch shifts x

 “She wouldn’t be avoiding me would she?” asked Trixie tentatively. Kim shrugged, “I mean you are the worst person I’ve ever met,” she joked, “but maybe she just didn’t want to work here so late.” Trixie made a noncommittal noise, knowing that wasn’t the case. Katya had often said she like the night, because there was no one either on earth or in heaven above she would get out of bed before 10am for.

 She checked her phone. Read 9.42pm.

 To Russian Whore: Did you turn read receipts on just so you could leave me on seen?

 Another read receipt popped up and the three little dots started flashing at the edge of her screen, and Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, though she instantly wished she could take it back, as the message simply read.

 From Russian Whore: Out on a date. Pls don’t text atm, phone’s turned off

 Trixie stared at her phone until the screen autolocked and she was staring at her dismal reflection in the black screen. It doesn’t matter, she thought, Katya’s allowed to have her life.

 Her phone buzzed with a snapchat notification, she opened it to see a snap from Kim from a couple of tills over.

 From Kim Chi <3: Stop being sad!!!!

 She chuckled, and saw Kim smile out of the corner of her eye, before turning to serve a tall, long legged customer purchasing a packet of gnocchi. Trixie was about to turn her phone off for the night, when she noticed the purple notification, showing someone had updated their story. More to get rid of the notification than out of actual interest she flicked over to the Story tab. It was Katya’s story, and Trixie’s thumb hesitated over the story before she opened it. It consisted of three snaps: the first a snap of Katya in her bathroom, evidently getting ready for her date, the second a video of Katya dancing with a girl with long messy blonde hair whom Trixie recognised from the meat department, with a heart eyes emoji overlaying. Trixie tapped the screen and bile rose in her throat at an image of Katya and the other blonde in a deep embrace, attached at the lips, at the hips. Trixie shut off her phone instantly as she felt her stomach sink so far through the floor she thought it was looking to begin an independent oil drilling venture.

 In a flash, Trixie remembered the conversation they’d had a few nights ago, where Trixie had mentioned her boyfriend, and Katya had become oddly closed off. Trixie wasn’t the most emotionally sensitive, but she had definitely felt a weird kind of tension in the air between them in the recent weeks before that conversation – something more than friends, the kind of flirting that you did with your friends but sort of – different. Trixie couldn’t quite explain it. It still didn’t explain why Katya would try to cut her out of her life, not unless –

 Trixie gasped audibly as she realized what had really been in front of her the whole time.

 Katya liked her. Like, liked liked her.

 That explains the petty snaps, she thought. But she needs to deal with the rejection. I have a boyfriend.

But she still felt an inexplicable hurt and, for some reason, jealousy at the idea of Katya making out with someone else. She shook her head a little.

 God, why do you even care Tracy? she thought.