#like she behaves exactly like a cat. she is so selfish it’s perfect

[jtranageder1]

i don’t think any catgirl has ever embodied a cat like Izutsumi has. she just is a fucjing cat

[rocorambles]

Ignorance is Bliss

Pairing: Kageyama x reader, One-sided Atsumu x reader 

Genre/Warnings: Yandere Kageyama, NSFW, Toxic Relationship, Misogynistic Behavior and Thoughts, Mind Break, Implied Manipulation

Summary: Atsumu learns the hard way how true the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ is and he wonders how much simpler life would have been if he had never gotten involved with you. 

From what Atsumu knows of Kageyama Tobio from their high school tournament interactions, from what his cheerful orange-haired teammate tells him, and from their encounters in the professional circuit, he thinks he has a pretty clear picture of who the blue eyed setter is. So imagine his surprise when he meets you at a hangout Hinata has organized. 

You’re not the only female at the event, with many other attendees choosing to bring their significant others, and Atsumu has a blast trying to pair up all the unfamiliar faces with past and present opponents and teammates based on appearances and personalities alone. He’s on a roll, but pauses when he gets to you. 

There’s a wide grin spread across your face, your eyes excitedly shining as you vigorously nod at something Hinata is saying before you erupt into a boisterous, stomach busting laughter that echoes throughout the entire room. You’re wild, cheerful, fun, and if he didn’t know Bokuto was single, he’d automatically assume the two of you might be a couple with your similar radiant and untamed personalities. 

Maybe Tanaka, the baldy from Karasuno? No, he’s married to that pretty manager he was always obsessed with since highschool. 

Kuroo? The messy haired businessman seems like someone who wouldn’t mind a wild lover, but it seems unlikely from the way the cat-like man hasn’t even looked your way once the entire time. 

Before he can think of another guess, he freezes at the sight of Kageyama walking to your side, intimately pressed against you as he moves some food from his plate to yours, a slight upward twitch of his lips and an unfamiliar softness in his eyes as he gazes at you. 

No freaking way. 

When Atsumu thinks of the type of woman Kageyama would date, he thinks of sweet, well-mannered girls, caring and nurturing motherly types who would be patient enough to deal with the admittedly emotionally and socially challenged athlete and take of their idiotic, but well-meaning boyfriend. 

He doesn’t think of women like you. A woman loud enough to rival both Bokuto and Hinata. A woman as warm as the sun. A woman who can so easily ignore the stubborn setter’s barked commands for Hinata and her to quiet down and behave properly. 

Atsumu doesn’t miss the scowl, the hint of disappointment in blue eyes when you ignore the dark-haired setter. 

Looks like even though Kageyama’s “King of the Court” title hasn’t been used or brought up in years, some things never change. And Atsumu wonders how long the two of you will stay together before Kageyama’s need to be in complete control and authority destroys everything between the two of you. 

Not long, he thinks, as he weasels his way into the conversation, intent on getting to know you better so that when you come crashing down from Kageyama’s tyrannical rule, he can be the one to catch you and show you a life, a relationship where you can truly be loved and appreciated for exactly who you are, a kindred wild spirit like himself. 

Atsumu doesn’t see you much after that since both the Adlers and Jackals are incredibly busy with pro season, practicing, and traveling, but the two of you text back and forth constantly, hitting it off right away just as Atsumu knew you would. He’s quick to lunge for his phone with every ping, eyes constantly checking for new messages, chortling and smiling like a giddy fool in love with every text you send his way. 

The conversations start off amazingly, no usual awkward small talk or niceties usually associated with getting to know someone, and Atsumu feels like he can truly be himself, unfiltered as he rants to you about something stupid Osamu did that annoyed him, sends a dumb inappropriate joke your way, shyly tells you about his hopes and dreams. And his heart soars as you match his sincerity and openness, revealing more and more of who you are to him, making it harder and harder for him not to fall in love with you. 

But as time goes on, he swears you’re changing, and he’s not sure if it’s for the better. 

When you see him at events, practice games, and real matches, your ear-splitting grin turns into tiny demure smiles, your bone-crushing bear hugs you greet him with become polite bows, your rowdy laughter that could rival Kuroo’s hyena howls become soft giggles hidden behind a hand you raise to cover your mouth. 

Even your messages are changing and he glares at the properly punctuated and grammatically correct sentences you send him now, his crass jokes responded to with a boring and safe “haha” or completely ignored. 

You’re different now and Atsumu hates it. 

He hates the way Kageyama seems to proudly beam at your politer mannerisms. He hates what a perfect polished couple the two of you make. But mostly, he hates how he can feel you slipping further and further away from him. 

It’s not a surprise when he receives the expensive, high-quality letter in the mail, but it doesn’t mean it hurts any less as the blond setter stares down at the beautiful winding cursive scrawled across the card in front of him, grimacing at the picture perfect engagement photos Kageyama and you had taken together and chosen to incorporate in the wedding invitation. 

The selfish child inside of him has half a mind to toss it all into the garbage, forget about it, forget about you. But then he remembers that fateful day and he knows he owes it to that raucous laughter and toothy grin he memorializes and reminisces on to suck it up and celebrate your big day, usher in the next chapter of your life while you end the portion of your story with him. 

The wedding venue is disgustingly cookie cutter perfect and Atsumu internally retches at how boring and normal everything is, so unlike the woman who had intrigued him and who he thought he knew.  

What happened to your dreams of eloping in a jaw dropping national park? 

What happened to your disdain towards getting married in a church by a pastor? 

He grimaces as he stiffly stalks down the aisle and plops down in a pew, waiting for the ceremony to start, waiting for this whole thing to be over, waiting to go home and forget any of this ever happened. 

It’s easy to zone out as the background music plays, as the speaker drones on and on, and he only looks on in mild interest as the groomsmen and bridesmaids make their way down the aisle, some familiar faces walking past him. But nonchalance turns to something nauseating, something terrifying within Atsumu when he stands up with the rest of the guests as you make your way down the red carpet. 

Is that really you? 

Logically he knows it must be you, facial features, body, and every other physical attribute matching exactly what he remembers of you. But your eyes…

Had they always been so empty? 

No. He knows they hadn’t and he briefly closes his eyes, remembering how vibrant, how fiery those two orbs used to be, feeling sick to his stomach when he opens his eyes and truly looks at you, looks at how vacant and lifeless your eyes are, looks at how perfectly trained and almost robotic your prim and proper steps are. 

It’s like you’re nothing more than a living and breathing doll and a sinking suspicion begins to build in his gut as he scrutinizes the black-haired setter carefully watching you as you make your way towards him. And Atsumu thinks he might throw up when he can’t help but notice how similar the look Kageyama is giving you is to the look Kita had given his German Shepherd when the dog had obediently performed a trick for his master.  

He knows it might be a crapshoot, knows it might be too late now that the ring around your fourth finger chains you to the blue-eyed setter, but regret and guilt for not noticing earlier and love for the woman he remembers drives him and he continuously messages you in earnest long after the wedding. He talks to you like nothing’s changed, hoping one of his awful jokes will elicit some type of reaction from you, praying that the photo he snaps of your favorite onigiri from Osamu’s restaurant sparks something in you, ignoring the painful sting he feels at your politely austere responses, not letting your emotionless replies deter him. 

But it’s no good and he can’t help how off his game he is when they play a practice match against the Adlers, can’t help the way his temper is even shorter than normal, can’t help how he lets his emotions inhibit his skills every time he sees Kageyama across the net. And when he’s finally benched and told to cool his head, all he can think of is what awful things had Kageyama done to break you down so thoroughly, slumping down in his seat with a towel over his head, mind spinning with its wild imagination. 

He’s so lost in his head that he doesn’t notice the sound of a whistle marking the end of the match, doesn’t notice the slight commotion as the two teams bow to each other, doesn’t notice the figure making its way towards him. But he does notice the way another pair of shoes enters his field of vision and he lifts his head, body instantly tensing as blue eyes regard him. 

“Come over for dinner tonight. She misses you.” 

You missed him? 

Hope blossoms in Atsumu’s chest and his heart is racing as he rings your doorbell, a bouquet of your favorite flowers in his hands. But he droops a bit at the impersonal cheery greeting you welcome him with as you beckon him in, graciously taking the flowers from him without even a second glance or spark in your eyes when you see the assortment he had painstakingly chosen, treating him like he’s just any visitor and not a close friend who you haven’t seen for months.

And suddenly Atsumu wonders if he really should have come, feeling lightheaded and disoriented as he watches you flutter around the kitchen, a pretty pink pristine apron wrapped around you as you hum to yourself as you slave over the stove, urging the two men to catch up while you cook dinner. 

It all feels surreal, like a dream. Bad or good? He can’t decide. It’s jarring to see the woman who always insisted on ordering in greasy junk food, who did everything in her power to never step foot in the kitchen, who always went on and on about equal rights for men and women, become a perfect stay at home housewife, tending to the needs of her husband before hers, serving Kageyama and him so obediently, so submissively. And yet, there’s something oddly...enticing about the whole scene playing out in front of him as twisted as he knows it sounds and he feels disgust at himself when bitter pangs of jealousy strike him. 

How can he be jealous of Kageyama? How can he even entertain the idea of being okay with this role you’ve been forced into? How can he be jealous when deep down he knows something’s not right? Knows that you would never have easily or willingly let yourself be molded into something so against everything you believed or thought? Knows that your spirit and mind have been thrashed and tweaked so much that you’re completely broken and mindless, a docile little puppet for Kageyama to completely control? 

But he can’t deny the longing and awe he feels as you gracefully set the table, ladling plates with piping hot delicious food, charmingly smiling as both men compliment the meal, fawning and hovering over them as you make sure their cups and plates are always filled, shooing them over to the comfy living room as you prepare dessert and coffee for them and wash the dishes. 

Atsumu’s throat goes dry when you literally kneel in front of both of them as you place the tray laden with mouth watering pastries you had just baked, coffee, milk, and sugar in front of both of them, eyes unable to look away from the way your neck naturally arches downwards in submission. And he almost whines when you stand up from your humble position on the floor. 

But he’s jolted back to his senses at the brisk command Kageyama directs at you, disbelief and fury grounding him when you don’t hesitate to obediently kiss your husband good night and retire to your room as ordered after wishing Atsumu a pleasant evening

The door to your bedroom has barely closed before he’s lunging at Kageyama, fists bunched up in the front of his shirt. 

“What the fuck did you to her?! She’s a grown woman. You can’t just order her around like a slave-”

He’s cut off as he’s abruptly shoved away and there’s a tense silence in the air as Kageyama scoffs and straightens out his shirt. 

“She isn’t just any woman. She is my wife. All I did was bring out her true potential, which is why you are going to stop talking to her. I didn’t put all this work and effort into perfecting her for you to come and ruin all her progress. She isn’t the same woman you knew, Miya. She’s a married woman now. A woman married to me. So do us all a favor and forget about her.” 

Panic builds in a frenzy inside the blonde setter’s chest. No no no. He can’t just give up so easily. He needs proof. He needs to help you. 

“There’s no way she willingly just changed. What the fuck did you do?” 

Bone chilling tension once again floods the room and Atsumu nervously shudders at the cruel smirk that spreads across Kageyama’s face. 

“Does it matter? The results are all that matters. Isn’t that what you used to say when Kita-san used to talk about process? Plus, it didn’t seem like you minded all that much when my ‘slave’ was kneeling in front of you.”

Bile rises in Atsumu’s throat and he can’t think, can’t breathe as he’s forcefully shoved out the front door, unable to deny the harsh truth of Kageyama’s words, unable to stop imagining the horrors you must have gone through. The rest of the night is a blur as he somehow makes it back home, shaky hands washing his face, brushing his teeth, body shivering and trembling from something other than the cold as he curls up under his covers. 

But safe in his own environment, his own home, his own bed, his mind wanders and he thinks back on the night. He thinks about how perfectly the back tie of your frilly apron accentuated the curve of your waist, hips, ass. He thinks about how nice it felt to be taken care of, to have everything being done for him as he sat back and relaxed. And his hand slips underneath his briefs as he thinks about how utterly angelic you looked on your knees in front of him, head and eyes demurely turned down, as he wonders if Kageyama has you trained just as well in the bedroom. 

If he had simply asked, would you have crawled between his thighs? 

He groans as his hand wraps around his cock, thumb playing with his tip as he imagines your tongue swirling around his head, spreading his pre-cum and your saliva everywhere as you greedily taste and lap at his length. And as he begins to stroke himself, he imagines it’s your throat taking him all the way in, he imagines your doey eyes peering up at him from underneath fluttering lashes, seeking approval, making sure you’re pleasuring your lover, your husband. 

God, it’s so easy to imagine replacing Kageyama, imagine being your husband, imagine having you as his perfect slutwife and his back arches, eyes seeing only white and stars, body pulsating with pleasure as he cums harder than he’s ever had before at the thought of using your body as he pleases every night, at the thought of you eagerly serving him day in and day out, at the thought of fucking you raw, breeding you, impregnating you with his seed, letting everyone know exactly who you belong to with your swollen pregnant stomach and leaking tits as your bear his children. 

But he chokes out a sob as thick white spurts splatter across his hand, a few teardrops leaking from the corner of his eyes as he buries his face in his pillow, self-loathing and disgust curling inside of him at his traitorous thoughts, a silent plea for forgiveness and a desperate prayer for you to at least be at peace echoing in his head as he cries himself to sleep.

[imagitory]

Just thought I’d share a little of my progress in the game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery! Right now I’ve just started year 5, and yeah, while the game definitely isn’t perfect, I’m having fun! If you want to read more about my character, I put in a cut! (Sorry about my character holding hands with your character Alana’s bae, @weasleyismyking540​ -- if I could’ve picked Chiara as Carewyn’s other half instead, I would have!)

My character, Carewyn “Cursebreaker” Cromwell, although she resembles me quite a bit visually, isn’t exactly like me, but one thing that she and I do share is a love of fashion! She changes outfits all the time depending on what she’s doing, from wearing all black when she was tailing Rakepick to wearing the Weasley sweater she got from Bill when she was trying to become Prefect. The outfit she’s wearing in her screenshots and in the biggest sketch I did is her usual “adventure” outfit, though she will break out the black version when she needs to be stealthy, like when she sneaked into the Forbidden Forest in fourth year. She also managed to become a Prefect, despite her disregard for the rules! In my head, I imagine it’s largely due to her maternal streak, rather than any astounding respect for rules and regulations: even if she’s a Slytherin, she likes protecting and looking after other people, especially social outcasts, since she herself has had to deal with a decent amount of people misjudging her. 

Backstory -- Carewyn is the second child and only daughter of the half-blood Cromwell family. Her father, Evan Bach, was a Muggle who left his family when his son Jacob received his Hogwarts letter and his wife, Lane, revealed her magical ancestry to him. After that, both Jacob and Carewyn took on their mother’s maiden name, Cromwell. Carewyn was a late-in-life surprise for her parents, being born only two years before Jacob started at Hogwarts. Jacob disappeared when Carewyn was eight years old, and ever since, Carewyn has been starved for news about her lost brother. Part of her worries that Jacob -- a Ravenclaw who was kind of obsessed with learning and achieving every single thing he could -- has gotten roped in with some bad people or, worse, that he might not even want to be found, so as to not shame her or their mother or to keep them from harm. Whatever his reason is, though, Carewyn knows she has to find out what happened to Jacob and remove the shadow of the Cursed Vaults looming over her if she has any hope of living her life the way she wants. Carewyn is close with her mother, Lane, but has greatly downplayed her involvement with the Cursed Vaults so as not to worry her.

Carewyn’s biggest flaw is her pride. Although she’s made a lot of friends at Hogwarts, she has difficulty showing vulnerability and tries to be perfect in absolutely everything she does. If she doesn’t think she can do something, Carewyn tends to ignore it and/or pretend it doesn’t matter. To complicate matters, when she started at Hogwarts, she actually dreamed of doing all of the normal things Hogwarts students do, like joining clubs, the Quidditch team, and the Frog Choir, but because of her brother Jacob and the Cursed Vaults, she’s had to basically put all of her more selfish ambitions on the back burner. After writing to her mother for advice, Carewyn selflessly gave up her spot in the Frog Choir -- something she really, really wanted -- to Merula with the thought that since she earned the spot once, she could always get it back the following year when there would be room for both her and Merula, but even that ended up having to be put off because of her quest to find the Cursed Vaults. Carewyn enjoys watching and playing Quidditch, but is reluctant to commit to the Slytherin team because she’s afraid of letting them down. Carewyn is actually kind of a stick in the mud too! Unlike her brother Jacob, Carewyn is a meticulous organizer and planner who believes everything has its place, and despite liking Tonks and Tulip quite a bit personality-wise, she can’t stand the idea of most pranks, thinking they end up really mean-spirited and kind of stupid rather than anything funny. (This of course only makes her a fantastic target for pranks among her friends, who think she needs to lighten up!) Appropriate to a Slytherin, though, Carewyn can also be a little manipulative -- despite having a very strong moral compass, she isn’t above putting on an innocent face, playing mind games, or out right lying if it’ll help her reach her goals. She likes to look her best around everyone, both in her fashion sense and in how she behaves, and she hates it when her more negative impulses or insecurities peek through. Her biggest insecurity is her lack of control about her own life. Because she feels like she’s the one with the most drive to find the Cursed Vaults and break their enchantments, Carewyn has subconsciously assumed all responsibility for the fall-out and blames herself if anyone else is put in danger because of her search for her brother or because of the Vaults. She wants to control absolutely everything in her life, but the most she can control nearly all of the time is her attitude, her workspace, and how she presents herself, so she does so. Her greatest fear would be a threat she’d have no hope of controlling or overcoming -- namely, Voldemort.

Relationship-wise, Carewyn’s closest friends are Chiara, Bill, Talbott, Charlie, and Barnaby. She also really respects the eccentric Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Orion, and fancies Ravenclaw’s own “Style Wizard,” Andre Egwu, who shares her love of Quidditch and fashion. The thing Carewyn likes best about Andre is how passionate he is about his interests and therefore how much fun their conversations are. Fortunately Carewyn’s interest is reciprocated -- Andre and Carewyn attended the Celestial Ball together and have now been on two dates, one at Madame Puddifoot’s and one in one of the Hogwarts Greenhouses after a Valentine’s party hosted by Gilderoy Lockhart that neither of them remember very well. (META NOTE: As mentioned, I probably would’ve paired Carewyn with Chiara if ANY of the dating events would’ve let me, but I really like Andre too. And after choosing him for the Celestial Ball, it only felt right for Carewyn to stick with him, as I see her as a very monogamous sort, relationship-wise.)

Carewyn latched onto Chiara very quickly because of her “outcasted” status as a werewolf, and since then, she’s sort of become Chiara’s own personal Sirius Black, using her hawk Animagus form to keep Chiara company when she transforms. The Weasley family (Bill especially) sort of filled the hole that Jacob left in Carewyn’s life, but because Carewyn loves magical creatures, she really enjoys talking about dragons with Charlie and everything else with Barnaby. (Barnaby really enjoys whenever Carewyn sings to the creatures she’s working with to try to calm them down.) Carewyn was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Talbott enjoys poetry, given that she loves the arts (music especially), so she encourages him wholeheartedly in his writing, even if her enthusiasm kind of weirds Talbott out a bit. (He likes it, though.) Carewyn clashes most with Tulip (largely because of Carewyn’s aforementioned dislike of mischief), Ismelda (her sadistic streak turns Carewyn off big time), Skye (Carewyn was really upset when Skye started telling rumors about Erika Rath without any proof!), and Professor Rakepick (who Carewyn at present doesn’t trust at all, but will be play nicely with if it’ll help her find out what happened to her brother). (META NOTE: I also adore that Carewyn and Rakepick have some physical similarities, even though that wasn’t on purpose -- it just makes for great visual symbolism, considering that Rakepick is clearly trying to groom Carewyn as one of her apprentices!) Carewyn is also pretty protective of Ben and now Penny, since her younger sister Bea has gotten trapped in a portrait thanks to the Vaults’ most recent curse.

Although the so-called “Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts,” Merula Snyde, would love it if she were Carewyn’s main rival at school, Carewyn’s kind of gotten tired of the old song and dance Merula’s done with her these last five years and now tends to just ignore her terrible behavior. When Merula is willing to play nice, Carewyn’s glad for her help, but she honestly just isn’t interested in indulging Merula when she’s being awful anymore (which is often). And as much as Carewyn may think of Merula as immature and irritating, she knows that Merula had it rough growing up and that the two of them have a few things in common, like their love of music, and her mother (who was a Ravenclaw like her brother) would counsel her to choose the more peaceful route over active hostility. Carewyn wouldn’t call Merula a friend exactly, but she’s more of an ally of an enemy purely out of necessity, and for that, Carewyn shows Merula the base level of compassion and respect, but nothing more.

Carewyn’s favorite professors are Flitwick -- who taught her about Wizard Dueling and teaches her favorite class, Charms -- and McGonagall -- the one teacher who she respects above all others and would never have the heart to lie to. Being a Slytherin, Carewyn also trusts Snape’s judgement, even if she gets little of the standard favoritism from him: she was all too eager to try to help him spy on Rakepick. She also adores Care of Magical Creatures and probably would enjoy History of Magic more if Professor Binns didn’t teach the class, since her mother Lane works as a magical historian.

Carewyn’s love of magical creatures has prompted her to adopt several pets and magical creatures on the Hogwarts grounds. Her most constant companion is her orange tabby cat Mimi (named for the halfhearted “meows” she gives), but Tulip also gave Carewyn a toad she named Sir Robin the Brave, or “Robin” for short (kudos to anyone who gets the reference!!). At the magical creature preserve, Carewyn has trained a Niffler named Wicket, a Fairy named Belle, a Welsh Green Dragon named Esmeralda, a Porlock named Tumnus, and an Abraxan Winged Horse named Arjuna. Carewyn’s connection with her Abraxan is also beautifully reflected in her Patronus, which is also a Winged Horse.

I’m looking forward to seeing where my curse-breaking baby goes from here! For those of you who have advanced further in the game than me, I can’t wait to catch up with you!

[skaylanphear]

Y’all need to calm down about the Season 3 teaser

Honestly, I wasn’t gonna get into this drama because I think it’s kinda silly anyway, but the more I see about it, the more ridiculous it gets.

Y’all are getting WAY too defensive of Marinette in the new teaser. Like, a lot of her character arc has led to this moment. We KNEW Lila was going to come back and that it was likely going to have to do with Adrien. Marinette has displayed jealousy issues on multiple occasions, as well as an avid hatred for liars. This show is also centered around the will they/won’t they aspect of Adrien and Marinette’s relationship, so relationship drama is expected. This episode is likely the catalyst for a lot of those things. 

Really, it was handled rather cleverly in that it backed Marinette into a corner she couldn’t wiggle her way out of, as she typically is able to do. As I have said in previous metas about Marinette’s character, her strength lies in manipulation (“resourcefulness” for those of you who are made uncomfortable by my word choice). Be it as Ladybug or her civilian self, her first step in solving any problem is to manipulate the situation around her until she gets the outcome she desires. As Ladybug, this is her literal super power. As a civilian, it sometimes works in her favor, it sometimes doesn’t. In Reflekta, her first attempts to manipulate the situation failed, so she instead manipulated the photographer with her charms. In Anansi, she played a trick that allowed her to cheat so Nino could win, in Reverser she created a situation so that she could attempt to control the outcome, etc, etc... And while I salute the writers for using this quality as both a good and bad thing--and for displaying so acutely what it’s like to be a woman in a world where you are often disregarded--it also means that putting Marinette in a situation where she can’t manipulate what’s going on is going to frustrate her. Add in the lying and you’ve got a recipe for Marinette being backed into a corner (something that is, arguably, very, very difficult to do). 

If we look at the premise, it actually relies a lot on what has happened already in the series. Only Marinette and Adrien are going to be aware that Lila has a tendency to lie. It was also established that Lila has regular contact with the class via the Season 2 finale, which means that the students have probably talked to her regularly. They do know her a bit and as far as they know, she’s a kind, generous person who leads an exceptional life. So when she finally comes back with some silly story about saving Jagged Stone’s cat and thus has hearing damage, it’s really not that far of a stretch that the other students would believe her given the things they’ve believed in the past. 

So if we look at it subjectively, what we have is a nice girl coming back to school who suffered an injury and has asked nicely that the class accommodate that, only for Marinette--who the class knows will go too far to get close to Adrien, who will lie even if she apologizes later, and who will go to extreme lengths to achieve what she wants--to question this, thus upsetting Lila and making her--Marinette--look like a huge jerk in the process. 

You might say, “well the class should know better.” What should they know, exactly? That even though Marinette is strong and willing to go the extra mile for others, that she can’t also make mistakes and be mean? Max knows she can be, even if she apologizes later. The teachers know she tends to make up excuses to get what she wants. Sabrina probably doesn’t have the best opinion of her. Alix clearly thinks her obsession with Adrien is weird. Nate likely feels embarrassed over what her plan made him think. Like, she tries, she really does, but not everything turns out the way she wants, nor does it always come across as though she’s a saint. Adrien said she was like their everyday Ladybug, not the rest of the class. On top of that, his statement is compounded by the fact that he actually KNOWS Ladybug and has called her out on her faults multiple times before (his own issues aside). So yeah, Marinette is generally a good person and she puts up with a lot and she goes the extra mile, but she has her own selfish desires and her own skewed idea of what is acceptable. 

Let’s be frank, Marinette crosses a lot of lines. And even if that attitude leads to her doing good things, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s comfortably prepared to do whatever she wants even if someone else tells her “no.” And she learns, of course, and does better, and usually turns things around, but that part of her personality is still there. And being Ladybug, more than likely, has only encouraged this part of her.

So now we have the situation in season 3. Lila is basically, at this point, another up and coming Chloe as far as her levels of nastiness, except that Marinette is the only one who knows that (and Adrien, but he likes to see the best in everyone and so likely believed what Lila said in good faith). The issue that Marinette is the only one that knows is only compounded by the fact that she can’t defend her attitude toward Lila because that would mean she’d either, one, have to admit she’s Ladybug, or, two, formulate some sort of lie that would be the equivalent of what Lila did, which isn’t exactly a good idea given what Marinette is angry about in the first place (also, that’s a shitty thing to do anyway). The rest of the class have nothing but good opinions of Lila. Even Alya has had nothing but good things to say about her. Add in the fact that a good majority of the class KNOWS Marinette has a past of acting ridiculous when it comes to Adrien and it’s not a far stretch that they’d be irritated with her behavior. To them, it looks like Marinette is, once again, trying to manipulate the situation to her advantage so that she can serve her own desire to be near Adrien. As the audience--who arguably knows a lot more about Marinette as a person than the class--it’s easy to say “well, she’d never do that,” but the class has a different understanding of her personality. She’s a well-intentioned young woman who fights for what she believes in and who sometimes goes overboard in order to get what she wants, especially where Adrien in involved. It’s not that far of a stretch for them that she’d behave this way if Adrien was introduced into the equation. 

If anything, the fact that the class knows Marinette better only adds to the reasons they’d react the way they did. I work in customer service with my sister and if a customer came up with a disability and she had the audacity to question that IN FRONT OF 15 OTHER CUSTOMERS, I’d probably give her a nasty look too. Marinette--whether she was justified or not--came off as a brat and was attempting (again) to humiliate Lila in front of everyone (be it that she deserves that or not). After all, everyone else in the class clearly has no problem with Lila, so why would Marinette? They probably know Marinette doesn’t know her, because Marinette likely hasn’t said anything contrary in an effort to keep her identity safe. After all, when Lila was first introduced, she was antagonistic toward Lila before she’d even known her--Alya was present for that. 

Marinette’s entire attitude comes across as an exaggeration of her own previously poor behavior, whether that’s justified or not. Which likely only makes her all the angrier, as SHE knows this, but there’s nothing she can say to clarify that to anyone else. 

And quite frankly, I’m not even that mad at Alya for volunteering Marinette’s seat for Nino. No, it wasn’t the most polite way to go about it (she could have asked first), but Alya has gone above and beyond for Marinette and her love life, setting up all sorts of situations and encouraging Marinette whenever she can. I don’t think it’s that selfish of her to say “I’d like to sit beside my boyfriend” given all that she’s done for Marinette. Yeah, it’s kind of shitty that Marinette now sits in the back, alone, but if it wasn’t her, then someone else would have had to do it. And sometimes in classrooms, you just sit where you’re told to. I’d also like to add that, upon learning Alya was then sitting beside Nino, Marinette was not upset. Rather, she was simply upset she had to sit in the back.  

Honestly, even if it hadn’t been labeled a mistake, I wouldn’t even be that mad at Adrien for glaring at her. Adrien takes a lot of what people say at face-value and is often more forgiving than he should be. It’s not completely out of the question that he might believe Lila, given what other things he’s willingly believed. Adrien WANTS to believe in people. Not only that, but he has firsthand experience being on the sour end of Marinette assuming the worst because of circumstances. No, I don’t think he holds it against her, but she was pretty brutal toward him despite the fact that he tried to explain and that she didn’t even know him in the first place (origins). 

Marinette is a strong and wonderful character, but she has faults and while I likely would have handled a lot of things in the story differently, this episode premise isn’t as bad as people on this hellsite think it is. Yeah, some of the opinions that come from the Defend Marinette Squad are justified, but this episode isn’t even out yet and everyone is up in arms. That aside, I don’t really see how anyone is that out of character, except for maybe Alya. 

I think that a lot of people who view Marinette as this perfect, blameless flower are angry that her faults are being exploited so as to put her in a difficult position. A position that also reflects badly on her, despite the fact that we, the audience, know she’s not at fault. Honestly, that’s probably the whole point--that we as audience members feel the same frustration that she does. She’s our hero, so we hate it just as much as she does when someone is telling lies and it reflects badly on her. It has been well-established that Marinette is emotionally sensitive to two things--lying and Adrien. OF COURSE the writers are going to use Lila to exploit that. And they’ve set it up that Marinette has been just as faulted in the eyes of the other students as she has been virtuous. I doubt any of them now hate her, but I also doubt that any of them are surprised at the concept of Marinette becoming so emboldened as to act against another student so as to get a chance with Adrien (there’s a reason she gets compared to Chloe all the time, guys--there are parallels there whether we like it or not). 

Like, that’s literally the plot of Gamer, despite the fact that Max was a whiney little bitch about losing. 

Marinette can be a good person and still make big mistakes. 

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Morrigan (Tv Tropes “Origins”)

Absolute Cleavage: Combined nicely with Sideboob.

Abusive Parents: Being raised by Flemeth definitely qualifies. Particularly heartbreaking is the story of how as a young girl she stole a golden mirror, as she had never been given beautiful gifts, only practical ones. She ran back to the Wilds with it held tightly in her hands for fear she would drop it, only for Flemeth to find out and smash it against a wall.

Ambiguous Disorder: Likely due to her upbringing, she displays several signs consistent with Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Animal Motifs: Being a Shapeshifter, this is to be expected.

Shale comments that Morrigan resembles a bird, particularly the way she gazes at people.

And, as noted below, she does have a rather magpie-ish interest in jewelry.

Some have compared her attitude to that of a cat.

Sten knows a viper when he sees one.

Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: She passes through an Eluvian to a place that is neither Thedas nor the Fade. It is impossible to know at this time if this is simply another dimension or another Plane of Existence.

Bad Powers, Bad People: The most ruthless and unpleasant of the companions, she starts off with spells tilted toward destroying things and screwing with people’s minds.

Because You Were Nice to Me: Ilona is the first friend Morrigan has ever had in her entire life.

Berserk Button: Morrigan greatly values freedom and hates it when people are imprisoned, such as Sten. Those who willingly submit to imprisonment - such as the Circle of Magi - earn even more of her contempt. Also, as a Vain Sorceress, she has another fear:

        Morrigan: "You… do not truly think I look as my mother does, do you?“ 

        Alistair: "Have you really been thinking about that all this time?”           Morrigan: "I am simply curious.“           Alistair: "And not insecure in the slightest, I’m sure.”

        Morrigan: "I think I look nothing like her.“           Alistair: "I don’t know. Give it a few hundred years and it’ll be a spot-on match.”

        Morrigan: "I said that I look nothing like her!“

        Alistair: “All right. Got it. Totally different. I see that now”

Black Widow/Death by Sex: She tends to respond to men hitting on her with threats of this sort. Like mother, like daughter.

Broken Bird: Has the detached, cynical personality, the troubled backstory, and the dark Gothic look. This is further reinforced by the mirror story, as well as some of her other dialogue, which suggests that Morrigan is secretly desperate for a connection with the outside world, but she doesn’t know how to go about it after years of Flemeth’s abusive upbringing.

Dark Action Girl: Combined with a Lady of Black Magic.

Dark is Not Evil: Subverted. When Ilona first encounters her, Morrigan muses about whether she’ll immediately assume she’s evil because she’s one of the (legendarily evil) Witches of the Wilds. Once she’s spent a little time on the team, though, she turns out to have a very nasty Darwinist streak and in the end, it turns out that she’s been assigned to help the Wardens solely to perform a dark ritual and capture the soul of the Archdemon for purposes unknown. She gets a little closer to playing this trope straight in the ending of Witch Hunt, given that she’s apparently had enough time to defrost a little further.

Interestingly enough, Morrigan is one of the more innocent and naive characters, having only ventured out of the wilds a few times and never truly interacting with anyone other than Flemeth. Moreover, her beliefs are a result of Flemeth conditioning her to think and act in this way as it is strongly hinted that this would make it easier for Flemeth to take Morrigan’s body.

Deadpan Snarker: She doesn’t get along Alistair really well. Thus their banter is highly snarky.

Defrosting Ice Queen: Throughout the story, Morrigan starts to consider Ilona as a friend to the point where she sees her as the sister she’s never had.

Depending on the Artist: Her facial structure tends to vary between official depictions. Compare this in-game screenshot with these two illustrations. She looks like an older version of her Origins self in Inquisition, which makes perfect sense since ten years have passed.

Deus Sex Machina: Though not used to titillate the audience, for once.

Disappeared Dad: Her biological father is unknown but is heavily implied to have been of Chasind origin, reinforced by the fact that more than one character has pointed out that she resembles a Chasind. Given Flemeth's penchant for killing her lovers, it's unlikely he survived the encounter.

Druid: A bit of a Deconstruction of the type. While not fond of cities, she doesn't go on about it. Though she's clearly a Social Darwinist, she doesn't go out of her way to try to get anyone killed but Flemeth, and that only after she realizes that Flemeth's working on killing her. She's clearly modeled after the D&D druids but doesn't care for such notions as balance.

Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: The first half of which is odd, considering she has spent most of her life outdoors.

Even Evil Has Standards: Morrigan immediately expresses disgust that Sten has been caged like an animal in Lothering to serve as darkspawn chow by the "mercy" of the Chantry. Though he did kill innocent people, the story makes it clear that being captured by the darkspawn is one of the most horrible fates imaginable that nobody deserves.

Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Morrigan is not exactly one of the good guys, but while she and Flemeth argue and snipe at each other, it's clear she cares for her mother very much.

Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The very idea of acting altruistically seems to be both alien and offensive to her for most of her time in the group, presumably due to Flemeth's teachings.

Evil Counterpart: Could be considered this to Wynne.

Femme Fatale:

She has a two-part dialogue with Sten in which they speak about the Qunari act.

Multiple instances where she talks about women only needing to bat their eyelashes to get men to do what they want.

The Friend Nobody Likes: And vice versa. The only people who get along with her to any degree are Zevran, Brutus, and Ilona.

Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She's a Lady of Black Magic who mostly wears purple and black. Violet is often emphasized with her in official artist's depictions, as well as occasionally being the color of her magic.

Hates Being Touched: Well, at least when it comes to simple greetings. Morrigan's just not a handshake person; she doesn't in the least understand the need for it.

Hollywood Atheist: Not so much in the reasons for her non-belief, which are fairly realistic, but in that her atheism goes along with being selfish, misanthropic, and actively contemptuous of religious people.

Hot Witch: Lampshaded, not that it's all that unusual for the setting.

Impossibly Cool Clothes: The blouse of her 'robes' are loose and draping from the shoulders and down the front, yet has a laced cinch at the back. It's possible but difficult to make and impractical to wear. Especially implausible as most of what she knew about humans came from observation, but there are no role models shown for her design.

The Robes of Possession (which presumably belong to Flemeth) share the same design.

Ineffectual Loner: Morrigan’s not a “people” person. In camp, her tent is placed away from all the others, and she has her own private campfire where only Ilona bothers to visit her.

Insufferable Genius: According to Alistair, who tries to use a Chantry-related question to mock her for it.

Jerkass: Almost all the time. As noted above, the only people who seem to get along with her are Zevran, Brutus, and Ilona.

Lady of Black Magic: Well-spoken, cunning, and evil, she has a look of wild elegance and favors very destructive spells.

Licked by the Dog: By Brutus, of course. In Witch Hunt, she’s actually rather pleased at how happy he is to see her.

Love Redeems: Morrigan’s personality during her appearance in Dragon Age: Inquisition was likely the result of Ilona befriending her. She behaves with much more warmth and compassion.

Magic Pants: Whenever Morrigan strips down to her underwear for any reason, she's always wearing a white bra and panties, even though she clearly doesn't wear a bra with her standard outfit.

Her original concept art, on the other hand, depicts her wearing a bra underneath her robes.

Meaningful Name: The Morrigan was a shapeshifting Celtic deity of war and death, but she averts the trope since the lead writer said that Morrigan is named after a character of a friend of his and all similarities with the Celtic goddess are coincidental, as they are with Morgan le Fay.

.Seems the outfit designers didn't get that memo. The crow feathers on her shoulder are symbolic of the other Morrigan.

In-universe, she seems to be named after a legendary Avvar warlord famed for her powers of seduction as well as her skills as a fighter. Given what Flemeth sent her to do, this was probably an intentional reference on her part.

Nature Hero: An unconventional Evil Counterpart of the standard version. Instead of a kindly Friend to All Living Things, she lacks compassion for anything barring a scant few exceptions, embraces social Darwinism, and doesn't hesitate to resort to murder if someone gets in her way. She's Nature Is Not Nice personified.

No Social Skills: She is largely tactless and ignorant of/annoyed by social mores; she considers shaking hands an offensive breach of her personal space, for example. This is because she was raised in the wilds, largely forbidden to interact with outside world.

No Sympathy: A big part of her character. Morrigan just doesn’t do empathy. She may surprise the audience every now and then, however - once befriended, she genuinely cares about Ilona and her feelings, expressing sympathy over the death of Ilona’s mother and having girl talks with her.

No, You: Notably in one of her conversations with Alistair:

     Alistair: "So let's talk about your mother, for a moment..."

     Morrigan: "I'd rather talk about your mother."  

     Alistair: "But there's nothing to talk ab— And besides, isn't your mother a scary witch who lives in the middle of a forest? Much more interesting."  

     Morrigan: "To you, perhaps. You would find the moss growing upon a stone interesting."

Not Good with People: She freely admits that due to her time in the Korcari Wilds, she's better at understanding animals than people.

Not So Different: To Flemeth.

Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Ilona unknowingly invokes this in Morrigan after befriending her. It doesn't stop Morrigan from following through with her true objectives, but it's clear that she feels guilty about it.  However, when she finally reveals her true intentions to Ilona, instead of getting angry at her, Ilona understands and holds no hard feelings towards her. 

Odd Friendship: Any friendship she forms, given her complete lack of social skills. It's especially notable with Ilona.

Only Friend: Morrigan admits that Ilona is the first friend she's ever had and that she views her almost as a sister.

Pet the Dog: She apologizes to Ilona for her jerkass tendencies and admits that she appreciates her friendship.

In Witch Hunt, she practically does this literally. When Ilona finally catches up to her, both Morrigan and Brutus are quite happy to see each other and she even cracks a rare smile.

At the Lothering Chantry, when Ilona asks the revered mother for her blessing, Morrigan respectfully kneel along with the rest of the party. Contrast this with her usual dismissive attitude towards the Chantry and religious belief in general.

When Ilona admits that her mother was killed during an attack on her family’s castle, Morrigan responds with genuine sympathy for her loss.

Pre-Climax Climax: With Alistair in order to conceive a child to complete a dark ritual that would prevent either him or Ilona from dying after slaying the Archdemon.

Raised as a Host: After finding Flemeth’s grimoire she becomes convinced this was her mother’s intent for her and asks Ilona to kill Flemeth for her.

Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has pale skin and black hair, and a few characters often comment that she’s very beautiful.

Sequel Hook: You just know the child she conceives with Alistair at the end is going to show up again. And of course, he does — in Inquisition.

Sideboob

The Smart Guy

Social Darwinist: Flemeth raised her to be a pretty severe example of this. As a result, Morrigan believes that people who can’t solve their own problems without help are worth less than nothing. It actually explains many of Morrigan’s more Stupid Evil tendencies. Perhaps the best example is in the “Broken Circle” quest, where she insists Ilona should leave the Mages to their fate, claiming that their current plight is their own fault, for a) agreeing to be caged in the Tower in the first place and b) not being strong enough to stop Uldred before things got out of hand.

Stalker with a Test Tube: Her real reason for joining the party is that she needs to become pregnant by a Grey Warden in order to complete a dark ritual.

The Starscream:  To Flemeth, albeit out of self-defense rather than ambition.

Stupid Evil: Often falls into this. She seems to take the position that helping others is universally wrong, even if such aid is explicitly rendered solely on the condition of later repayment (and even if the person being helped is absolutely critical to stopping the Blight).

The Tease: Towards Sten and even occasionally Alistair.

Token Evil Teammate: Morrigan actively disapproves of acting selflessly and helping others.

Too Many Belts: Her outfit features a skirt that appears to be made out of rags and strips of cloth stitched together with belts.

Took a Level in Kindness: Takes one over the course of the story after Ilona befriends her. Similarly, despite her constant irritation at Brutus, she broadly smiles upon seeing him again at the end of Witch Hunt.

This follows her into Inquisition, where Morrigan comes across as warmer and more compassionate most likely because of Ilona befriending her.

Troll: A large portion of her conversations with other companions is this, particularly with Sten.

      Sten: "Paarshara! Why do you pester me?“ 

     Morrigan: "Because ‘tis amusing, that is why”

Tsundere: Oh yes. Type A, mostly tsuntsun, but Ilona’s kindness brings out the deredere (as much as she is capable of, anyway).

She eventually apologizes for her behavior in a very roundabout Tsundere-ish manner.

Tykebomb: One of many raised by Flemeth. Unusually, she ends up defusing herself to a certain extent, planning Flemeth’s death the moment she realizes her end use; it’s not until Witch Hunt that she finally slips her leash altogether, though. Temporarily, anyway.

Vain Sorceress: She’s a magpie when it comes to jewelry.

Verbal Tic: Almost all of her dialogue is spoken in a sing-song rhythmic style, which is not that noticeable at first but becomes far more apparent the more characters talks to her. She also has a noticeable fondness for the word “'tis,” and she uses the “over” instead of “too,” as in “overlong and "overmuch”.

Voluntary Shapeshifting: Her specialization.

[crybabydx]

She reminds me of someone I hate , but can’t get rid of. She’s in my life for the next ten years probably. I’ll probably just give her to my aunt tbh. They’re perfect for each other. And they get to go outside anytime they want. I think she would like it there. When I’m away I don’t miss my animals. I don’t miss Bobo like I used to. After seeing how nice and sweet other cats are, it makes me resent her.

I hope I’m never in a relationship where I hate the other person. Honestly I don’t think that’s possible for me. My relationships don’t last very long for that reason anyway. I need to be left alone half of the time. But I do like affection of course and like sex. I just don’t think I could ever live with someone. People get on my nerves with little provocation and I sometimes have rude, intrusive thoughts that make me feel like a terrible person. It makes me feel like my mom, and like someone else I hate. For that specific reason. I hate that I’m like that. When I’m with my mom, I feel rude, I am indeed very disrespectful, I curse and yell at my mom majority of the time. I always have ever since hm, maybe 13, so not long after the divorce happened. Before the divorce my mom was everything to me. I guess I can’t forgive her still for what she did. Also I do it because I don’t want to be close to her. Anytime I get close to her or I am friendly with her, she hurts me.

For instance tonight we had dinner , just her and I at the dining room table. Her roommate was busy doing something so we were alone. I hate being left alone with her, I feel unsafe and rightfully so. This is when she feels entitled to speak her mind , to belittle me or put me down in micro aggressive ways. For instance when I was bragging to her about how happy I was with Andrew at one point, she looked so,.. pissed. At least , she was not happy. She did not say anything like I’m happy for you. Another time, I was singing for her , as my sister and I would and still often do when we have the chance. And during my favorite Imogen heap song she randomly says my hair looks like a rat tail. In the middle of me smiling and singing. I DO criticize her A LOT !!!! So I’m not going to sit here and pretend Like I don’t put her down. I know it comes from a place of her wanting better for me. I tell her she should lose weight ( I realize now this is insukting), and I criticize her house A LOT, in a mean way. So I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say she shouldn’t do it when I do it. But anyway tonight she blurted somethjng out to me unprovoked, ‘if you didn’t fuck up and lose your job’ , ‘(I wouldn’t have to_____)’or somethjng along those lines.

I don’t like my mom. I like her as an idea. But her flaws are just too great for me to tolerate most times. I hate the way she behaves, and I hate when I see her in me. I hate that she raised and programmed me into the person I am. In relationships, I’m mean and manipulative, aggressive/ abusive just like her.

I know I need to be nicer to her. But she will never change, ever. And her behavior pisses me the fuck off. I get SO. SO angry at her. Never in my life have I felt so strong hate for someone. I think that’s where I get the majority of my issues from. Her but also my father. I know exactly why I struggle with the issues I have. It makes senses as to why I can’t have any normal relationship. I have terrible sense of boundaries, lack of respect for people. I’m entitled, selfish and domineering. I’m manipulative and a bit narcissistic. I don’t know how to change. I’ve always been like this and feel out of control most of the time. Like my behavior is compulsive , I can’t help but say how I feel majority of the time , and most of my feelings are entirely toxic lol.

[weepingfanchild]

X: Dirty

"He must know where the real fun is in Paris."

The idea of ditching the lady who has been translating everything to her the whole night seemed quite appealing to Suji. But the idea of ditching her mother was what had her buying into this idea of going clubbing in Paris. Her mother would just be clung to the arm of her new boyfriend the whole night, talking to people she wanted nothing to do with and she would be doing exactly the same if she stayed. She would be getting a glimpse of the future that she didn't want but was expecting.

She hasn't been breathing well the whole night, maybe it was because she kept getting glances and stares, and being talked to in words she can't understand and being asked questions she can't answer for now, or maybe it was because off this god damned dress that she's been wearing all night. The tightness made her feel confident but by hell, it was so fucking tight. "Can we stop by a shop or something? I hate this dress," Suji said to the man beside her.

The lights of the boutique they were in felt more comforting than the lights they had just left at the party. The chandelier gave off light in a golden hue which made everything warmer. A few minutes after entering, Suji already emerged with a black dress in hand. "Oh shit," Suji blurted out as they stood in front of the counter, realization washing over her. She left her bag with her assistant and she had no belongings on her. Stupid bitch, she thought to herself. "What is it?" asked Jimin who was with her the entire time, looking at her with worried eyes, "I don't have my bag with me," she replied with a blank expression still sulking about her lack of attentiveness. Jimin let out a breathy laugh and pulled out his wallet, "I thought it was something serious. Here, let me," he said as he paid for the dress himself. He smiled as he picked up the paper bag and led Suji to the dressing room with his hand on her waist.

"When was the last time you went to Paris?" Jimin asked, his voice was muffled to Suji's ears as he stood outside the fitting room. "I don't know about like two years ago," Suji answered as she pulled at the hem of the black dress. Two years ago? She said it like nothing happened two years ago. Like she wasn't part of it, like Jimin wasn't part of the reason why she went here. She opened the door to reveal Jimin standing there, his body leaning against the wall as he watched Suji step out. The dress hugged Suji's perfect proportions just right and with a little space, unlike the one with the long train in which he could see that it was hard to breathe in. He thought about how she had to wear those kinds of dresses all the time, as if reminding her of her lack of freedom, like it was reminding her that she's bound to her own beauty.

The Paris air at night felt a little cold to Suji, as Jimin opened the car door for her. And she couldn't help but smile as she sat on the leather seat of the luxury car. It has been so long since she went out spontaneously without her mother's permission and no eyes on her to make sure she behaved like she should. Jimin poured some red pinot noir in a gold detailed wine glass and handed it to Suji saying; "Here, for your nerves." He seemed to have noticed the excited jumping of her leg up and down with a slightly rapid rhythm. "Thanks," she said and thought hard if she should ask the question or not, "Do still think about Seokjin oppa?" Her question seemed to have caught Jimin off guard as he stopped pouring the drink for himself. Suji felt regret for a split second. The first time she went to Paris, she was with Seokjin. They shopped and stared at lights until Suji forgot everything and she regretted that that was the only time she talked with depth to Seokjin when he, of all people understood what she was feeling. He understood how it was like, being trapped in other's idea of you and how you should be. "Sorry," she apologized as she looked down at her glass.

"No, it's alright,"Jimin said as he twirled his glass with his fingers. "Why? Do you think about him?"

"I came to paris for the first time five years ago," she said as Jimin looked at her with interest, "I was with Seokjin oppa at the time, it was for an award's show. He was a nominee and I was invited, he was the only one I knew personally and we spent time together," Suji smiled at the memory. "We talked and for the first time and for the longest time I found someone who actually knew what I was talking about, he understood where I was coming from. I didn't know that it would be the last time too." Her smile faded as she remembered, "I guess I was just reminded of him looking at everything here."

Jimin's mood was dragged down but he tried his best not to show it. His supposed eye rolls were replaced by fake understanding smiles. He didn't need to hear this from Suji too, he has had enough of Taehyung about this. Jimin was sure that she'd forget that she said all this at the end of the night, but he wasn't sure if he could.

"What took you so long?" Said Hayi in front of the limousine they rode in on the way to this club that was now in front of them too, looking impatient. "Sorry about that, shall we go now?" Jimin said as he led them inside.

The neon lights surprisingly complimented the vine crawled brick walls that made up of this elevated building. A remix of Stromae's Papaoutai was playing as Jimin watched Suji dance with Hayi from his view. Leaning against the bar and sipping on his usual Boulevardier, his eyes were dark and full of tiredness. The brightness in it that was present at the birth of this night was now long gone. Why did she feel the need to ask him that? Did he think about Seokjin?

Of course he fucking did.

And he didn't want to. He didn't want to feel guilty about it anymore. He didn't want to feel guilty of not trusting him when he was probably the only one that he could. He felt guilty about getting jealous over Taehyung coming to Seokjin more than he did to himself when he didn't have the right to. It was his own fault that he didn't understand Taehyung like Seokjin did, that he didn't give the same amount of time to Taehyung, and that he didn't console Taehyung like Seokjin did. It was his fault that he didn't have the piece of Taehyung that was missing. Did he understand you? He mentally asked Suji from his place, I'm sorry that I probably didn't. Jimin didn't know why he was so bitter about the people around him remembering Seokjin. Maybe he was still jealous? Still guilty? Or maybe it was because it reminded him about the guilt and the jealousy that he shouldn't be feeling.

He felt dirty. Despite the pure white aura that he oozed and always wore, he was splattered with his secrets, his lies and his selfishness. Despite how clean he looked,

He felt dirty, and he was dirty.

Suji felt the music surge through her veins as she swayed her body around not caring about the looks she was given, whether it was admiring or judging. She felt herself scattered all around this room, with the music smudging itself on her body, she felt dirty and she loved it. She couldn't remember the last time she let herself run this free, she couldn't remember the last time she let herself get this dirty. She forgot how good it felt to breathe freely for once without her mother doing it for her inside her throat. Hayi was long gone beside her and she payed it no mind, only until she felt another person beside her. His chest was colliding with her back, and his scent reached her senses and she just knew that he was someone unfamiliar. He held on to Suji's hips as she stopped moving, as if urging her to continue what she halted. He was whispering to her in words she couldn't understand yet she still felt she urgency to get away from him, but his hands were planted on her so tight.

"Get your hands off her," she heard unfamiliar words from a familiar voice. She was pulled away by her arm away from the man by a tight but comforting grip. She turned to see Jimin with a dark gaze and judging by the smell of Bourbon in his deep breaths, he's had a couple of drinks. His tired eyes met Suji's and then met the eyes of the man again. Suji eyed the man. He was taller than Jimin and he had a bigger build but judging by the way he backed off, he seems so have caught Jimin's aura of power. It's the thing about him that you can't miss. Decked out in a white suit that could buy everybody in this club a round of drinks, his posture, and way with words, you just know that he is the type of person you do not wish to deal with if you do not have the means. If he laid his hands you, you're his. "We're going home," he said to her, now in words she could understand.

The chill of the evening air hit her skin and sent her shivers, and the deep plunge of her dress at the back didn't do her any good. Jimin seemed to have noticed her behavior and in a quick motion gave her his suit jacket. The silk lining didn't give Suji all the warmth she needed but it was better than her bare back. She watched as Jimin walked over to the limousine that was parked behind the car that they rode in. Taehyung and Hayi were out of the car talking to someone inside.

Jeongguk was sat there, looking out of the open window and talking to Taehyung when Jimin joined in on their conversation. "You were here the whole time?" he asked the younger, "Yeah, people might recognize me," Jeongguk answered. Jimin nodded before adding another question, "How are you doing? Are you still thinking about it?" Jeongguk smiled and Jimin then nodded, "But it's not so heavy anymore, I didn't wanna sulk."

"Oppa," Hayi said to Jimin and caught his attention. "Let's take him to The Cat House when we get back. I wanna show him off," she said with a smile as she stood under Taehyung's arm which was draped around her shoulder as they both leaned on the car. "Sure," Jimin said as he nodded his head, smiling. He turned to look at Suji as she stared at their interactions from where she was standing and gestured for her to get in the car, which she did.

"She's always been so stuck up," Hayi said as she cocked her head to the side to study Suji as she got in the vehicle, "she doesn't know it but she acts like the world revolves around her. Her problem is that she's too pretty, that's it. I understand the pressure and shit we all have that, but she doesn't have it the hardest. She could get out of this easily, and she had her chance. Running away from her own wedding because she felt guilty? She needs to get over herself." Her words weighed down on Jimin making him feel what he didn't want to feel; guilty. He did what he did for himself and Hayi was right. Suji needed to learn how to be people like them. She needed to be a little selfish, for her own good.

•••

"You don't need to worry about your mom, I called them last night," Jimin said as he rested either of his elbows on the cement border between the Nuage mansion's balcony and the view of Bordeaux below it, joining Suji who was facing the broad vineyard with wind blowing on her hair and on the ruffles of her pink dress. "Thanks," she said with a smile. "What's that?" Jimin asked about the contents of Suji's wine glass. "I don't know really, this was what Hayi was drinking," she explained as she swirled the contents. Hayi had been loitering around the mansion for majority of the morning insisting on trying all the wine she could get her hands on, and Taehyung fully supported this idea because it meant he got to have some too without doing all the work. "Wait here," Jimin told Suji as he left his previous position and went towards the bar inside the room. He came back to Suji holding a golden bottle and a new set of wine glasses, one for each of them. "You shouldn't be drinking this blurry mess. That's too heavy. It's not for you." He took the wide wine glass from Suji's hands to replace it with a new one, this time a little more slender with a gold lining at the top. He poured the contents of the golden bottle inside the glass that it seemed to match. Out came a bubbly liquid in a color that reminded Suji of an old rose shade of lipstick that she loved to wear. It looked like it tasted sweet and it did. The taste of it was fresh on her tongue and she loved it. "What is this?" she asked Jimin who was also savoring the sip he took. "Rosé," he said as he studied the bubbles in it, "Roederer Cristal. You remind me of this wine." He turned his head slightly to look at Suji. "Why?" she asked. "I don't know really. Maybe because it's pretty?" he answered with a laugh.

Suji didn't know what answer to expect from Jimin. Of course that was what he was leading on to, that's all she'll ever be. Pretty. Maybe she won't grow out of it, will that be a good thing? The Bordeaux wind was softly blowing, and she surprised herself by being relaxed.

•••

"Namjoon hyung?" Jeongguk called out as he entered the penthouse. He got off work about an hour before they arrived in the country, but he wasn't home.

Kim Namjoon

Are you at the pearl?

7:32 pm

Kim Namjoon

I'm at the cat house. You can come if you want.

7:33

It has been so long since he has been at The Cat House and he honestly felt a little more nervous than excited. His grip on the steering wheel and the chewing that he was doing on his bottom lip was further proof. As he made a turn down the familiar busy street where the building was located, he cursed himself for forgetting to bring anything that allowed him to partially hide his identity. He knew that the people here won't care that he is who he is, but he would feel a little better if he wasn't so exposed. The last time he came here was four years ago, a year after his debut and just right before the news broke out. The night before all that showed up in the news was of actor Kim Seokjin's disappearance. Before Jeongguk was bombarded with questions about his close friend by the media who didn't even know his name. A part of the fame he was basking in now was from those news, he used to be known as Kim Seokjin's friend but that's about it. A few people started noticing him and that made his breakout a little easier. He felt guilty about his fame now, maybe that was why he wanted to hide his face. The people here would know, they knew about everything.

He took a deep breath before he exited his vehicle. A few people have already turned heads to look at the unfamiliar car that stopped among all the other messily parked vehicles. He got out with his head down, and walked with a quick pace, he wondered if he still knew the way around this place. He heard a few whispers as he approached the elevator that he knew would take him to Namjoon, confirming that they did recognize him. He got in the elevator that had another passenger. As soon as she realized who got in with her, the bright pink on her cheeks intensified, following with her avoiding eye contact. This wouldn't happen four years ago.

"Did you have fun in France?" Namjoon greeted as soon as Jeongguk sat down, "I hope it got your mind off things."

It would have been fun if my mind wasn't on those things in the first place, he thought.

"It was fine, went to two parties in one night. Well, I stayed in the car for the second one because I saw cameras. But it was fun," Jeongguk said with a slight laugh at the end. "Well these two didn't seem to catch those camera's that you were talking about," Namjoon said as he showed Jeongguk the article on his phone. The pictures showed Jimin and Suji inside a boutique, wearing what they were that night in Paris. A part of the article read;

Time is up ladies! It looks like one of the country's most eligible bachelors is off the market.

Park Jimin and Bae Suji was caught having a night out in Paris. Wearing an exquisite red number, Suji looked nothing short of her goddess status. That much was expected from the most beautiful girl in the capital city. We are surely looking forward to where this rekindled romance is heading, and the whole country must be too. Because like they say, love is sweeter the second time around.

"I bet you my monthly salary, they don't even know they're dating," Namjoon chuckled as he continued reading. Jeongguk turned his attention to the stage where the girl he got on the elevator with was now performing. "Hyung who is she?" he asked Namjoon.

"That's Kim Taeyeon. People want to put her out there too," he said also looking at the stage. Putting her out there means that the people here want her to go mainstream too, and Jeongguk knew that all too well. He just hoped that she would get the recognition that she deserves without having to go through what he did. Without having her fame partially because of a missing person.

A few more acts followed and a few drinks were downed by the both of them on that balcony until they finally called it a night. Jeongguk felt a little more relaxed walking back to his car than away from it. Maybe because there were fewer people than then or maybe because of the alcohol, but he felt a little lighter. "Do you wanna go somewhere else?" Namjoon asked as Jeongguk opened the door of his car.

"Do you wanna come home with me?" said a voice the both of them knew. There stood Min Yoongi with both hands in the pocket of his hoodie and his usual nonchalant expression. "So you've been staying with him huh," he said as a bitter smile tugged on his lips.

"He wouldn't be staying with me if he found you when he came home," Namjoon countered and Jeongguk knew what was coming by now "what kind of person does that? The kid's been worried sick and you didn't even have the decency to fucking call."

"You liked this didn't you?" Yoongi snickered, "You have his attention once again and now you feel like lecturing me. You shouldn't be lecturing me about how he's feeling because you wouldn't know. You weren't the one left without a single word."

The air between the three of them was dense and it was keeping them from making any form of movement. The thick moment of silence was cut through by a breathy laugh, "Is this what this is about? How many years have fucking passed and you're still not over it? How many times have you brought this up before? You dragged him into this too? He didn't do anything! You're pathetic!" Namjoon raised his voice as he spoke to Yoongi.

"You think this is about that?" Yoongi said as he let out a laugh, big enough to show how he felt about Namjoon's accusation. "You think I would do that to him? Besides, didn't you see me that one night? Why didn't you tell him about that, about where it happened? You didn't want him to go right?" His smile now vanished and was now replaced with a restraining expression as if he was holding back cruses. "Why do you still want to keep Jeongguk? Because Seokjin said so? Because he asked you to take care of him and now you're taking it way too seriously? Neither of you have the fucking right! Get over Seokjin, the man is fucking dead!"

"Hyung!" Jeongguk couldn't take what was happening in front of him, not again. His exclamation was enough to stop their loud quarrel.

"You don't know what you're saying," Namjoon said as he smiled at the ground with an undecipherable expression, "Stop it," Jeongguk pleaded. Silence took over the three of them as the they listened to the footsteps of the people passing them by.

"Who are you coming with?" Yoongi deadpanned and it got Jeongguk's attention. It was no question to him, he'd always go with Yoongi. "Drive safe hyung," Jeongguk said to Namjoon who was aware of his opponent's victory.

The grip he had on the wheel caused the exposure of white on his knuckles. His mind flashed back to night Yoongi was talking about. The light of the convenience store flooding his memory, the cold wind and the overtime hours. It was nice to see that Min Yoongi hasn't fucking changed.

His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID. He picked up only to say "Not now Suji," then hung up. He didn't want to deal with her right now. He didn't really care that she was sobbing on the line and maybe needed help. His attention was meant for someone else tonight, and he was headed for that someone.

Thanks Jeongguk, I'll drive safely.