#marionette ch 12

[crouton-knight]

Writing WIP grab bag with a twist

Rules:

List the titles of your current works in progress, preferably numbered, no matter how descriptive or un-descriptive each title

Open your askbox; people can now send you a number and ask a question about the WIP.

If they DON'T ask a question, write at least 1 new sentence in the WIP document and send it as an answer.

If they DO ask a question, write at least 2 new sentences in the WIP document and send it WITH the answer.

Feel free to tag your friends! I tag @mismagireve @valorousowl @oddeyesight and @7yd1a

WIP List under the cut

Krampusnacht

MYG outline 1

Milk And Honey

Moonrise

Shiro Ward Temple Scare Comp

St. Judith the Belligerent

And they were dome-mates

Rain to sea ch. 4

Devilfish ch. 2

Doppelganger

eye for an eye

House Rules

let it be 2

Marionette

Power And Control

Seafoam And Sealskin

Warp And Weft

AUH ch. 15

crucible ch. 1

Danse ch. 5

Equinox ch. 2

HELIOKENTRIKOS epilogue rewrite

Karkat: go fuck yourself ==>

ISUATS ch. 3

LMTYAH 12 (ch. 13)

Lotus Hotel ch.2

Matches And Tar

Practical Interviews

Price of an Empire

Psychogenesis

rtsief ch. 14

Roboc*ck

SCU ch. 4

Small Towns, Small Worlds

scdz ch. 9

Zodiac Knight ch. 1

SSS ch. 8

daren't go a-hunting ch. 4

Arrhythmia ch. 4

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, March 26th

GILES: Clearly something is amiss. (Xander, Oz, and Giles tie Buffy to a bench.) BUFFY: Yeah, something's amiss here, a 'Miss Kathy Newman.'

~~Living Conditions~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

“Aftermath” [Buffyverse drabble] by Aadler (Buffy, Angel, not rated)

Things That Don't Change by RollisiCarisi (Tara/Willow, T)

In vulnerable time by R4ik3n (Faith/Willow, E)

Through the Looking Glass by Widowhawk88 (Angel/Cordelia, Connor, G)

takeoff by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (Jenny, Not Rated)

that old rendezvous (meet me there) by Anonymous (Buffy/Giles, T)

how ridiculous i was as a marionette by eagle_eyes (Angel & Cordelia, G)

Faith is Force by Kate (Dawn, FR15)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Drabble Babbles - Ch. 1 by TheClowniestLivInExistence (Cordelia/Doyle, others, E)

The Saviour and the Slayer - Ch. 1 by AFanofALotofThings227 (Buffy/Spike, Cordelia/Angel, Once Upon a Time xover, G)

Rise From Darkness - Ch. 28 by rainafire (Buffy/Angel, Faith/Angel, Spike, E) COMPLETE!

Complicated Destiny - Ch. 30 by RavenclawSlayer (Buffy/Faith, T) COMPLETE!

Star in Darkness Sea - Ch. 23 by Evil_irish_batman (Tara/Willow, M) COMPLETE!

Weird and Wonderful - Ch. 5 by JWS1993 (Buffy/Spike, E) COMPLETE!

Just a Collections of the Daily Life of Spuffy - Ch. 1 by DeamonQueen (Buffy/Spike, G)

Rise - Ch. 4 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Rocky Road to Dublin - Ch. 9 by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Salvage My Heart - Ch 2 by SzmattyCat (Buffy/Spike, G)

Healed By Love - Ch. 1 by Buffyworldbuilder (Buffy, The Vampire Diaries xover, FR21)

Corsican Son - Ch. 1 by Kate (Xander, GI Joe xover, FR15)

Bubba's Idea Vault (Buffy Edition) - Ch. 1 by Bubbajack (Xander, multiple crossovers, FR21)

What do you mean I'm Magical Nobility? - Ch. 23 by KnightofTempest (Xander, Harry Potter xover, FR18)

A Third Player - Ch. 26 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Frosty - Ch. 26 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Unclaimed Property - Ch. 25-26 by PuckRobin (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

The DeSoto - Ch. 26 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, R)

The World After - Ch. 11 by TheUnexceptionableQuinn (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

something wretched, something precious - Ch. 20 by LittleTayy (Buffy/Spike, R)

Trying - Ch. 24-25 by Pet35 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Found family ties - Ch. 26 by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

The Key Saves Spuffy - Ch. 21 by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Belonging - Ch. 21-22 by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

42 - Ch. 24-25 by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

March Drabbles - Ch. 24 by Slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, R)

30 Days of Spuffy - Ch. 26 by TheSunnySlayer (Buffy/Spike, R)

Fire Starter - Ch. 24-25 by Teuntje (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Longest Day - Ch. 25 by ashcrashed (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Mostly Harmless - Ch. 17-18 by Lady Emma (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Now That I Saw You - Ch. 26 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Vies Microscules - Ch. 12-18 by Rea (Buffy/Spike, R)

Behind Blue Eyes - Ch. 25-26 by Passion4Spike (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Jigsaw - Ch. 26 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, R)

Make Me Stay - Ch. 26 by Grief Counseling (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Mad Hatter - My Cuppa Tea - Ch. 25 by MissLuci (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

So One of Us is Living - Ch. 26 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On - Ch. 26 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: [Cover] Stupid Cupid by Isabelle (isabellerecs) (Xander/Spike, worksafe)

Manip: The Archive - Ch. 1 by Dirtyaim (Spike, prob worksafe

Icons: Icons: Buffy Summers Icon Pack by onegirlinallthewrld (Buffy, worksafe)

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: SimplyMermaid88 seeks Buffy role playing discord server

[Fandom Discussions]

Intro [to meta series] by VoronaFiernan

Tara or Spike? [Dark Willow's arc vs a hypothetical Spike dying sparking a Dark Slayer arc] by thrasherpix

Episodes you skip on rewatches? updated by LovyDovySpuffy

Discussion of 5.10 "Into The Woods" updated by garuffy

Willow and Tara (Spoilers alert) [who left Buffy's house] by chemeli888

In your opinion, what are [Faith's best episodes?] by Beached-Peach

S3:13 The Zeppo [undead vs resurrected discussion] by Lurtzolas

It’s wild that Giles is in Ted Lasso. [discussion of Anthony Stewart Head's various roles in comments] by themustacheclubbitch

POLL: Actor/character from the movie that would've made the best tv cameo by InfiniteMehdiLove

Inca Mummy Girl (2X04) was a very good episode IMO. by Buffvamporigfan

POLL: Some redeeming qualities? [Forrest vs Kennedy] by jdpm1991

Came across this board game today... Is it any good? [discussion of other BTVS games in comments] by Patrick1m

Disussion: The Puppet Show (ep 9, s1) by DNASomeone

I laugh so hard every time I watch this scene. [he wears lifts] by khalizziebeth

If Buffy came out in the 2010s/2020s, what bands/musicians could you see being featured on the soundtrack? by ThrowRARAw

Is the Buffy movie worth watching!? by berface_

Scariest non-scary moment? by Substantial-Visit-40

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[envysnest]

Snakeskin (Sephiroth/Reader) (ch. 5/?)

AO3 / Pillowfort

Rating: Explicit

Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14

Tags: First Time, Reader-Insert, Hurt/Comfort, Bittersweet Ending, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Frank Discussions of Past Rape/Abuse, Everyone is Queer, Canon-Compliant (if you squint), Pre-Crisis-Core Seph, Slow Burn, i continue to disappoint my friends and family, sephiroth is a virgin and in this essay i will, Reader is a Cis Woman, fluffy sex, Praise Kink, Gratuitous Biochemistry

Summary:

You are a young biologist, fresh out of graduate school, working in Shinra's R&D Division under Professor Hojo. You had long since given up on finding a partner and starting a family, preferring instead the company of your cell samples and your scientific instruments.

As the conflict in Wutai worsens, you strike up an unexpected friendship with a First Class SOLDIER.

(Sephiroth/Reader Slow Burn)

TW's for this chapter: Description of dissociation in the first part of this chapter (before the page break).

---

This is you.

Your soul shrinks in your body, retreating from your skin into the center of you, where it cowers and waits and watches. And from the outside you are cowering and waiting and watching, but you are not, because when you are this far in, you are doing nothing at all. 

This is you: a breathing marionette. You dance for them. The mind is absent; the body moves.

There is a woman there, and she is you, and she is not you. She does not have a face, not really; her flesh ripples like the surface of a pond. It is bland, featureless, at once your face and something other. Every time you see her, you think, that is me, but instinct rears its head, and you think, that is not me. You named her the Not-You.

She is not friendly.

This is you: passive, sinking into the couch, sinking into the bed, sinking into your body. You watch the Not-You as she fucks her partner, who is and is not and is your partner. It is a body whose face and genitals and body will shift and morph as needed; it doesn’t matter who the partner is, and it matters very much. You are watching from a doorway. You are watching from a window. You are watching from a television. You are watching from the audience. You are watching from a hole in the wall. You are watching from another room. You are watching. You are very far away. You are watching. 

The Not-You turns her head, and stares at you: knowing, somehow, even without eyes, even with your own eyes. 

You stare at her in disgust. She is mocking you. You are mocking yourself. 

The strings around your wrists tighten: ping. Upright.

You are watching from very far away. 

---

The rest of the week passed without incident. Hojo treated you with his usual dismissiveness, which made you feel nauseous and relieved in turns. Shinra turned around you: researchers bumped past you in the lab, RA’s asked wheedling questions, and all you could think about was the plate in the back of the incubator.

You could test to see if the J - 180 - L - 9177 cells were human. After all, you had heard whispers of animal testing in the high-security labs. But there was no creature on Gaia that had gray cells; you were sure of that. On top of that, the cell culture room was strictly for human cells. Even the yeast lab in your graduate lab had banned other cell cultures; it was good practice. If Hojo brought animal cells into the lab, he ran the risk, however slight, of contaminating the other cell lines. You were sure Hojo wasn't stupid enough to jeopardize his own research.

The office hummed with tapping keyboards and muted conversations. You bounced your pen against your desk, staring aimlessly at your e-mail inbox. You had sent Marcie and Hammond off to run repeats of the protein pull-down experiment; it would give you time to think of a game plan without any prying eyes.

A chromosomal analysis could work. The multiple nuclei had worried you: cancer cells frequently duplicated genetic material, chromosomes flowering like weeds with every new cell division. But the more elaborate the experiment, the greater the risk. Sure, you could count the chromosomes by eye, but that wouldn’t tell you if these cells were human cancer cells; it would only tell you that they weren’t normal human cells, and you already knew that. Sequencing would be necessary to pass judgment on species, and all sequencing instruments were down the hall. You didn’t have an excuse to sequence right now; it would look suspicious.

You sighed and rubbed your eyes.

“Professor?”

You jolted. A 2nd-Class loomed over your cubicle with a stack of mail. He barely looked 20, and he was humming with energy. He gave you a toothy smile and said your full name.

Your voice was soft. “Yes, that’s me.”

He propped his forearms on your cubicle wall. “Got mail for ya.” 

You sat up in your chair. The 2nd-Class flipped through the pile in his hands, tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration. His black hair seemed disheveled, as if he hadn’t groomed himself properly before gelling it back.

You spoke up. “They put SOLDIERs on mail duty?”

The 2nd-Class gave you a withering look. “Can you believe it?” He waved an envelope in his free hand as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I didn’t sign up here to be the mail boy. Boss said it’ll build character, and anyway,” he turned back to the pile and kept shuffling around, gathering envelopes as he went, “he said there’s not a lot going on, as if we’re not in an entire war or anything. It’s bullshit.” He winced and looked over his shoulder. “Sorry— it’s bullshit,” he added in a whisper.

You were dizzy just listening to him. “Sorry?” you said, for lack of anything else to say.

“Ah, well.” With a flourish, he handed you a fistful of envelopes. “Something’s gotta happen eventually.”

“Sure.” You took the stack of mail from him, busied yourself with stacking it on your desk.

“What do you even do here, Professor?” he asked. “Who’s your boss?”

You looked back up at him. His blue eyes were so bright. Mako, you thought. “We’re Hojo’s team,” you said. “You probably gave us some samples before.”

The 2nd-Class’s brows shot up. “Samples?” he said.

“Yeah, like….blood? Organ tissue?”

He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “Nah. No way.”

“You should sign up,” you said gently. “You get paid extra for it.”

He visibly perked up.

You added, “Might break up mail duty.”

“Shit,” he said. He winced again. “I mean— shoot. Sorry.” He waved a hand. “Working on the mouth.”

You shrugged. “It’s cool. I don’t care.”

“Aaaaanyway.” He tapped the stack of mail on your cubicle wall. “Maybe we’ll, uh, run into each other again?” 

“Maybe."

He stuck out a hand. “Zack,” he said. “SOLDIER, 2nd-Class.”

You shook his hand; even under the black glove, it was uncomfortably warm. As Zack moved to the next cubicle, you rubbed your hand against your dress pants and turned to the mail pile. Shinra could still be remarkably archaic, even when it gave everyone their own tablets, in-house software, and cell phones.

Invoices made up most of the pile: you set those aside for accounting. You shuffled through at a rapid pace, setting each envelope aside. There were a few company fliers, which you tossed into the wastebin without a second thought.

At the bottom of the stack was a plain envelope, with your name and office number typed neatly on an address label on the front. You turned it over in your hands, but there was no author or return address. You raised your brows and opened the envelope, peering inside.

Stacks of paper had been neatly folded in on itself. You pulled it out. From a glance, it appeared to be a report of some kind: nothing out of the ordinary there.

But before you could open the report to read it, something fell from the report's insides: a single, small postcard.

It was thick cardstock, a little worn around the edges, as if it had been handled many times. It was from Costa del Sol: WISH YOU WERE HERE, said cheery block lettering over a romantic picture of the village. The sun was just setting over the beach, painting the adobe houses in the foreground brilliant reds and oranges. 

“What?” you whispered.

You flipped it over. The address box was empty, but someone had filled out the left hand side in an elegant, looping script:

I’m not one for the beach. My friends like to go, but I prefer to stay behind and read on the balcony. Is that sad? I don’t like being stared at when I’m trying to unwind. I’m sure you can relate. This postcard came close to what the view is like from up there. Maybe it could brighten up your space. 

It was unsigned.

Heat flooded your cheeks. You clutched the postcard to your chest and peeked over your cubicle wall. Zack was all the way at the end of the cubicles, laughing about something near Yun’s desk. No one was paying any attention to you.

You plopped back in your chair. Was there some mistake? The envelope had been addressed to you, sure, but clearly you weren’t meant to see this postcard. The author hadn’t even signed it, as if the intended recipient would instantly know who had sent it. They had probably left this in the report without realizing.

A love letter, you thought, before you could stop yourself.

You had to return this. It clearly wasn’t yours. 

You tucked the postcard in your meeting notebook and busied yourself with the report. It was a check-up for specimen 001: blood pressure, oxygen saturation, blood sugar, cortisol, a series of grueling physical trials. 

Your heart skipped a beat.  Yun had marked up a blank body outline, indicating past injuries in his elegant cursive. There was a bad burn on Sephiroth’s belly from last summer; he tore his right ACL as a SOLDIER trainee. You turned the page. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION [ μ ] – εуλ 1999 - October Subject has complained of feeling disconnected from work. Trouble sleeping. Excessive irritability reported by subject and noticed by examiner. Recommended yoga. Subject became hostile. Recommended 40 mg fluoxetine. Subject refused medication. Medication list: None Occupation: SOLDIER, 1 st Class Sexual activity: n

You closed the report.

Looking through this, knowing Sephiroth as you did, felt…embarrassing. Wrong. Before you two had met at the elevator, this would have just been another sample in your lab notebook. Now it felt like you were secretly looking up your—

Your what?

Your crush?

You shoved the report away from you. The cover page flopped over; you stared at the summary chart. Without your meaning to, you began making notes in your head: low cortisol, normal blood sugar, normal calcium levels.

Why was there a romantic postcard in there, one not meant for you?

Those were dangerous thoughts. Were you in high school? It wasn’t as if Shinra paid you to be a giggling schoolgirl, poring over your own specimens.

You pushed away from your desk and stood, grabbing your lab coat as you went.

You had better things to do.

---

You didn't dare ask anyone about the postcard, but it sat in your head for the rest of the day like an albatross. That night, cell feeding and mako dosing came as a welcome distraction.

You waited until everyone left before rising from your desk and walking to the lab. In the hush of the cell culture room, inside the fume hood, you placed 029 and J - 180 - L - 9177 side-by-side. 

Predictably, 029 withered more and more with every mako dose. You tilted the plate towards you; the cells had gone from covering the plate to just a few weak colonies sloshing around in media. Though you hadn’t dosed it with mako, J - 180 - L - 9177 wasn’t faring much better: you hadn’t even attempted to split the cell line yet.

After washing and feeding both cell lines, you reached for a tube of mako floating in the hot water bath. It glowed a faint, sickly green, warm like radioactive waste in the palm of your hand. You uncapped it with a practiced flourish. Even with the fume hood in the way, you could smell its rotting, gasoline-like tang from where you sat.

You pulled up 500 μL of mako and dropped it onto a plate.

The cells within flashed a brilliant blue. They glowed for a single second, fluorescent even under the hood's inner light, before fading to nothing. The liquid media remained a cheery red.

The mako was gone.

“What the fuck?” you mumbled. Normally, the mako sat passively in the media, making it glow a purplish-blue for hours. There was no way the cells had devoured it that quickly. You double-checked the plate label. 

"029-1."

You had just dosed J - 180 - L - 9177 with approximately 70,000 gil’s worth of mako.

“Oh no. Oh fuck.” You set down the mako tube and ejected the pipette tip. You tilted  J - 180 - L - 9177 this way and that, but the mako was completely gone, as if you had never dosed it at all. Tens of thousands of gil, gone in a second, because you had been too careless to check which plate needed what.

But that glow.

You glanced at 029.

You pulled up another 100 μL of mako and dropped it onto J - 180 - L - 9177. 

Flash, glow, fade. You peered into the plate. Nothing: no glow, not even mako residue. The cells ate it like candy.

What were these?

You drew up 700 uL of mako: a lethal dose. You dropped it onto J - 180 - L - 9177 with one clean press of your pipette. 

Flash, glow, fade.

The mako was gone.

You sat back in your chair. You couldn’t justify using all of your mako on this mystery cell line: even Hojo would start wondering where the money went. But whatever this line was, it was more resilient to treatment than any SOLDIER you had ever tested. You couldn't throw it away, not when it was behaving the way Shinra wanted its SOLDIERs to behave.

You drew up 500 uL of mako—

“There you are.”

Sephiroth’s voice. You jumped, hitting your wrists on the fume hood window. Drops of mako sprinkled onto the open plate.  J - 180 - L - 9177 flashed once, brilliant blue, before fading back into its sickly gray.

You hissed in pain and ejected the pipette tip. “What?”

Sephiroth lingered in the doorway, looking too big for the room. “I frightened you.”

Your stomach dropped at his hesitant expression. “No, I…” You wiped your sweaty forehead against your shoulder. “I was just in the zone. I startle really easily. Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He took a tentative step into the room. “Can I—“

“No,” you snapped, panic welling in your chest. Sephiroth stopped, one hand still outstretched towards you. You shook your head. “I mean— now’s really not a good time.”

“Ah.” He withdrew his hand; you didn’t miss how he curled it into a fist and squeezed. “I can wait.”

If Sephiroth saw these cells, you were done for. There was no doubt in your mind that he’d tell Hojo; this man wasn’t your friend, and it would be foolish to assume he’d keep your secrets. Your face crumpled, and you turned back to the plates.

“Are you alright?”

“Just…” You gestured with your hands inside the fume hood, even though he couldn’t possibly see it from the doorway. “Can you just give me a minute?”

“Yes. Yeah.” He backed out of the room, tapping the doorframe gently with one hand as he left. “I’ll be outside.”

Your heart hammered away in your chest. You capped  J - 180 - L - 9177 and retrieved a fresh pipette tip. 

As you finished dosing 029 with mako, your hands wouldn’t stop trembling. That had been too close. Your mind already reeled with how quickly J - 180 - L - 9177 devoured the mako. The last thing you needed was Sephiroth snitching on you. You looked over your shoulder as you sealed both plates, but Sephiroth had left you alone, as promised. When you pushed away from the hood, your chair squealed against the tile from the force.

Back in the main lab, Sephiroth was studying something with interest. You followed his gaze and—

Oh. Your whiteboard. It still had your mess from the disastrous lab tour weeks ago.

His arms were crossed, but his posture was relaxed. His eyes darted across your scribbled acronyms, your poorly-drawn diagrams, as if the whiteboard was sitting in a museum.

You wrung your hands. “I, uh…it’s just junk. Don’t look at that.”

Without looking away from the whiteboard, he spoke to you. “This is yours?”

“Well, yeah, technically.” When he turned to you with a curious look on his face, you gestured to the board. You felt like you were being lifted out of your body. “It’s just…it’s the summary of my team’s work. But it’s not the cleanest. It’s really nothing to look at.”

“Will you explain it to me?” His voice was soft.

Get out of my fucking lab, hissed a voice in your head.

What you said instead was: “I mean, sure. It’s, um. Kind of boring. You can just stop me whenever.”

And this time he did turn to you, one eyebrow raised. The corner of his lips quirked up in a smile.

Cute, you thought, heat rising in your cheeks. You looked away, back at the board.

His voice was lilting, playful. “I think I deserve to know where my cells are going.”

“Okay.” You took a deep breath and reached for the board eraser. “I mean. Fair.”

You erased the board, leaving you a clean slate. You didn’t dare look up at him as you launched into your practiced spiel. As you went, naming proteins and describing pathways, you drew new blobs, connected them with arrows. You felt his eyes on you, but you steadfastly ignored him. After all, this was strictly a professional interest: he deserved to know what you did with his samples. 

As you moved on to describe Lukas’s findings, you hesitated and looked to Sephiroth. He stared at where your marker was still poised over the whiteboard, fascination evident on his face. He was even leaning towards the board, perhaps subconsciously.

When you didn’t pick up where you left off, he turned to look at you. His pupils expanded, once, and then contracted to thin slits.

Your voice was reedy with fear. “Is, um. Is this making sense?”

“Yes,” he said, and was it your imagination, or was his voice rougher than usual? “Please continue.”

You tore your eyes away and looked back to the board. You stared at Lukas's mystery polysaccharide. Your mind reeled.

Those cells had devoured it, like--

"Professor?"

“No. No, that’s it.” You capped the marker; you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. He hadn’t interrupted you once.

“You’re very bright.” He bumped his shoulder against yours, and a little thrill went through you. You pushed it down.

“My mom says that,” you mumbled at the floor.

“Don’t be that way,” Sephiroth teased. “I found it fascinating. This lab is lucky to have you.”

You toyed with the marker in your hands, searching for what to say next. When no easy words came, you set the marker down on its stand. “I’m going to lock up for the night.”

The teasing tone was still there when he replied. “Alright. Don’t mind me.”

You took a pace around the lab, checking instruments and incubators, ensuring there were no frozen samples still in ice buckets. Truthfully, you didn’t need to do this: what you needed was space from him, his eyes and his smile and his compliments. You were shaking again; maybe Hojo had a point about the coffee. Maybe the caffeine made you sensitive.

You glanced over your shoulder. Sephiroth stared at the whiteboard in your absence. His face was in profile, his eyes wide and searching, as if you hadn’t babbled to him about absolute goddamn nothing for a full five minutes. 

Before you could think, you blurted, “Did you lose a postcard?”

Oh.

Oh no.

Stupid.

He turned to you with a small smile. “No, not that I remember. I usually send postcards, not lose them.”

You nearly broke the freezer handle in your grip. “Just asking. I found one in my mail today,” you said, trying to keep your voice even. “I’m just, uh. Trying to get it back. You know. To the owner?”

His smile grew wider. God, you could kill yourself right now.

Sephiroth said, “If it’s in your mail…”

“It’s not mine,” you said. “I don’t know anyone who’s gone to Costa del Sol recently.”

“Interesting.”

You turned back to the fridge. Yes, it said -20 degrees Celsius: same as always. You wished you could freeze yourself until the end of time: one over-caffeinated, nervous block of ice. “Why’s that?”

“You know one person.”

You wanted to die. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes,” he said gently, “You do.”

You turned to face him. He was grinning now, smug, leaning back against the wall next to the whiteboard. His arms were crossed.

Your heart fell to the floor.

“You,” you breathed.

“Did you like it?”

You blinked hard. You couldn’t look away from him. “That’s not…”

At your hesitation, his face slowly fell. “I thought you would appreciate it.” A look of mortification crossed his face, and he looked away, out towards the empty lobby. "Maybe I overstepped."

A warm feeling bloomed in your chest. Was he shy? “I…no. It's...nice of you. Thanks.”

He straightened up, and the moment evaporated like so much water vapor. “You’re very welcome. I wanted to be discreet.”

“So you sent a 2nd-Class?"

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and scoffed. “Angeal sent Zack,” he said with a laugh. “So much for discreet.”

You were grinning with him despite yourself. “There’s nothing subtle about that kid."

Even from across the lab, you could see Sephiroth’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. The tension of the previous moment was gone; for a second, you felt like you had a friend. Yes, that was it. There was no way it was a love letter; Sephiroth was just being friendly, as courteous as sending a birthday card or a thank-you. He had probably given postcards to everyone he knew. 

You steadied yourself on a nearby lab bench. Just a friend, you thought to yourself. He won't hurt you.

Sephiroth pushed off from the wall and made for the door. “I’m glad it’s safe in your hands,” he said.

“I’ll take good care of it.”

“Would you like more?”

You looked up at him. His hand was on the door, but he was turned towards you.

And the realization hit you, all at once, that this was entirely inappropriate.

But before you could stop yourself, you said: “Yeah. I would.”

He nodded once. “Then there will be more.”

---

You turned the postcard over and over in your hands. The TV was on mute: some news story about a gold chocobo breeder. Cars honked in the intersection below your building.

Sephiroth had clearly gone through great lengths to hide it from prying eyes: sending it through company mail, having it hand-delivered, tucking it into a report you would reasonably receive on the job. 

But he was just your friend.

Right?

You said that to yourself, but something still nagged at the back of your mind. You stared at the sunset on the card. The photographer was on a balcony of some kind: the house roofs formed a rolling field of tile leading down to the beach, where umbrellas dotted the sand like diamonds. Beyond that was the ocean, and beyond that was the Eastern continent, and within that was Midgar, and Shinra, and you, and him.

I don’t like being stared at when I’m trying to unwind. I’m sure you can relate. 

No one wrote about a friend like that.

A sort of strange helplessness overtook you. For years, you had tried to bury every thought, every emotion, every urge, under a veneer of cool professionalism. With every sideways glance, every compliment, every wandering hand, it sunk deeper and deeper into the dark. That soft, vulnerable inside of you was for no one; you had decided that a long time ago. By the time Sephiroth got to you, there was nothing left of that gentle romantic. In fact, you had done everything in your power to be as unapproachable as possible, hoping that he would lose interest and pursue easier— prettier— prey. 

And he still wasn't getting the hint.

He knew what you needed: a vacation, a “thinking of you,” a listening ear. He had read you so very perfectly. You wanted, so badly, to be seen; he knew that.

You were vulnerable, still. Your mask was slipping.

You made to crumple the postcard in your hand, but you stopped yourself.

Was it all bad?

That hope was dangerous, you knew. That hope led to awful sex, to dropped calls, to nasty rumors, to a lost job and the ethics board. That hope led to blood, coppery and sweet, on your tongue. It was foolishness to think anyone could be tender towards you. The lack of a raised hand was tenderness enough; it felt greedy to ask for more.

The steam heater hissed to life. You fell back on your bed and tossed the postcard aside. As you did, you caught the sight of the copper honeybee under your pillow.

A life-giving thing, you called it.

Sephiroth’s coy smile flashed in your mind. Your breath caught.

You had to repay him his kindness. He would remember that you took this postcard from him, but you didn't have to entertain him after this peace offering. You had to be firm, but gentle, when you let him down.

You rolled onto your side and took out the honeybee.

Go to next chapter >>>

[koreaweeb]

Marionette - Eight of Hearts (3) *Side story

TW: SWEARING, VIOLENCE, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, SEXUAL CONTENT

-

-

It felt so surreal, to see the woman waltzing and twirling with a rabbit in her arms, humming a tune softly, right in front of the lion enclosure. Her behaviour was scarier than the fact that the enclosure’s glass was broken. 

As she was dancing about, the woman kicked something from under a bench. She stopped, tilting her body slightly to see what it was. A small wooden box was hidden under the bench and by chance, she found it. Squatting down, she held onto the rabbit in one hand and opened the box with another to reveal a vial and a note.

“Lucky!” she grinned, picking up the vial.

“I thought you said that’s poison?” you asked.

Ignoring you, she picked up the note too and read it:

Congratulations! Please keep this vial safe and do not consume until the last thirty minutes. Good luck!

Putting the note back into the box, she kicked it back under the bench and walked off. Following after her, you did not understand what the woman was thinking at all, and it was both frustrating and puzzling at the same time. 

What she said before still bothered you. 

“They wouldn’t trust anything I say, and frankly I wouldn’t either. And neither should you. When it comes down to it, I will not hesitate to sacrifice you.”

It was hard to believe that you were in such a place, somewhere that only existed in movies. And when characters were always portrayed as selfish and merciless, it was hard to believe that true humanity would act in the same way. The truth was, when it came down to it, humanity was as selfish as in the movies. It was a dog eat dog world and you had to come out on top. 

“Attention all players, one hour and fifteen minutes have passed. I repeat, one hour and fifteen minutes have passed. If you have yet to find a vial, you better work harder!”

Although you understood the game, with each passing minute and each time announcement, you could not help but feel anxious. What if she was wrong? What if the poison was delivered to them somehow? She had a vial but you did not. Were you tricked?

Coming to the petting zoo, the woman made herself comfortable in the building where they used to keep the rabbits and guinea pigs. She stroked the rabbit gently, kissing the top of its head.

“Is this where you lived, hm?” she asked. “Did the bad man lock you up in here?”

“How long have you been in this place?” you asked, sitting a few feet from her.

“It’s my second night here,” she answered.

“You seem to know a lot about this place.”

“I don’t know much more than you do. This is Borderland, and you play games to survive. That’s all I know.”

It was practically nothing, prompting you to think that she was withholding crucial information. 

“What’s your name?”

“Chuya Kurenai.”

“I’m-”

“I don’t need to know,” she said, interrupting you. “Nothing personal, but if you died, I wouldn’t feel as bad.”

How could one become so detached? Not once did it cross your mind not to ask someone for their name because you would feel bad if they died. Something in your guts was telling you that this was just the way she was, even before she arrived here in Borderland.

“There you are.”

Standing by the door was a man covered in blood, holding an axe in one hand. You stood up instinctively, moving toward Kurenai but she was still sat on the floor, holding the rabbit. The man walked in, stopping about two metres away, and yet, Kurenai was unfazed. 

“You are chill, aren’t you?” he asked, looking down at her. “Did you find the vial? If you want to live, hand it over.”

Letting out a soft sigh, Kurenai pushed herself off the floor and stood up, brushing her dress. She looked at the man, not showing a shred of emotions in her eyes. 

“I said hand it over, bitch! I know you have it!”

“So what if I do? I found it.”

“I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll kill you like I did all those others! The less of you there are, the more chance there is that I’d survive. Hand it over, bitch!”

“God, keep it down will you? Use your indoor voice, please. You’re scaring the rabbit.”

While you were not as clever and adept as Kurenai was in these games, you could not help but feel that she was being absolutely reckless right this moment. She found a vial not too long ago, and she deduced that it contained the poison, not the antidote. So why would she not give it up? 

This man did not look like he was kidding when he said he would kill her.

Was the vial holding an antidote after all?

“I said hand it over!”

“Hand this over?” Kurenai held the small vial between her thumb and index finger, and the man’s eyes widened. “Are you sure you want it?”

“Give it!”

Holding the vial toward him, as he approached, Kurenai suddenly threw the vial to the side. Desperate, the man jumped in the same direction, catching the vial. By that time, however, Kurenai pulled out the dagger she took earlier in the game and strapped to her ankle. She jabbed the dagger in his knee and he screamed out in pain.

It was never part of her intention to hurt people in these games, though she would not hesitate if it was to protect herself.

As the man waved his axe about, Kurenai clutched tightly onto the rabbit and made her way around him. She was about to leave when she saw you staring in horror. The man was incapacitated for now, but it would not be long before he overcame the pain and came for you. 

For a split second, she thought of being selfish. Better you than her.

Against her better judgement, she grabbed you by the arm and pulled you out of the building, running as far away as possible. 

When you finally stopped running, you were both out of breath and Kurenai sat on a bench nearby, trying to catch her breath. She looked down at the rabbit with a little frown, stroking it gently and whispered softly in its ear.

“You stabbed...you stabbed him.”

“I had to,” she said. “It was just a jab to the knee, he wouldn’t die from that.”

“You took me with you.”

Kurenai was quick to look away when your eyes met, not saying a word but instead, continued talking to the rabbit. All this time, she talked about this being a Hearts game, and how one would have to be selfish and know how to toy with other people to survive. The fact that she grabbed you back at the petting zoo, however, was telling another story.

As much as she would like to be completely heartless, Kurenai could not bring herself to do it. She saved you this time, but you might not do the same. Although both were Hearts games, this was different to the one she played last night. This, they could survive together.

“Time’s up! Congratulations to all players still alive, it’s game clear for you!”

“Oh, it’s time to say goodbye,” Kurenai pouted, kissing the rabbit’s head. “It’s been nice having you around, but off you go!”

Somehow, you felt like those words were meant for you.

“If we have to keep playing these games, maybe it’s a better idea if we stick together,” you suggested.

“No thank you,” she smiled. “I’m better alone. And so will you.”

“Wait!”

“Maybe if you stay alive, we’ll meet again.”

[desultory-novice]

Gijinka Kirby Fan Comic 

"Marionettes' Pavane"  

Summary: Magolor recalls how he met a "friend" of Kirby's, the strange, wild, and wonderful time they had together, how they grew closer, how they parted, and how they found each other again...

Main Characters: Magolor, Marx

Minor Characters: Kirby, Gryll, Drawcia, Hyness, Susie, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Bandanna Waddle Dee, Taranza, others...

---

You can also read it on [Ao3]

Latest Update: 05/22 - Chapter 5 Side Story Added + Extras Updated

03/18 - Chapter 5 Pt 2 Added + Extras Updated 07/12 Arc 2 Cover Page Added 06/30 - Chapter 5 Pt.1 Added + Extras Updated

[Chapters]

[Arc 1 - Introductions - COMPLETE]

--Ch.1: “Salvaged From the Wreckage” Pt.1 / Pt.2 (19 pgs)   [Extras] Magolor Design Sheet

--Ch.2: “Survivor of a Clockwork Star” Pt.1 / Pt.2 (13 pgs)    [Extras] Marx Design Sheet

--Ch.3: “Lost Gifts and Empty Inheritances” Pt.1 /  Pt.2 (15 pgs)   [Extras] Marx’s Magic

--Ch.4 “The Breaking Point” Pt.1 / Pt.2 (16 pgs)   [Extras] Magolor Unhooded 

-Side Story “Magolor’s Observation Log” (5 pgs)

[Arc 2 - Marx - In Progress]

--Ch.5 “The Sweet Taste of Home” Pt.1 / Pt.2 (20 pgs)  Side Story “Style Savvy” (3 pgs) - LATEST

--Ch.6 “Let Me Play Amongst The Stars” Side Story “Marx’s Dream Diary”

--Ch.7 “Take Me Up, Wake Me Up”

--Interlude 0.2 “Witches’ Allemande”

...and much more...

-----

[Other Misc MariPav Content!]

[Comics/Fic]

-“You’ve Changed” (Marx + Kirby pre-MWW) -“With Lingering Side-Effects” (Marx + Magolor fusion)

[Text Posts / Q&A]

-Soul Forms? (w/ sketch) - LATEST -First Sentence Game -Marx/Magolor or Magolor/Marx...? -Marx's arms -Magolor's mask -My MariPav Writing Songs -OTP Asks (Cute) -Attention-starved Marx (w/ ficlet) -Ranting about Marxolor (long post w/ ficlet)

[Sketches]

-Random Costume Details -”Ides Los Bautifal Sarla” -Cat Day -”He Purrs?”  -”No Hands Club” -A Chibi Kiss  -”Master Clown”/”Beautiful” -Live Reaction to RtDL DX spoilers about Magolor -Happy Birthday, Magolor! (ft. Kirby and the others) -Happy RtDL DX Announcement -Melancholic Marx -Thank You Art -Variety of Sketches -Template Chibis -Teething Boyfriend -Marx “Twilight” (Old) -Magolor “Dawn” (Old) -Random Rough sketches (Old) -Ship Dynamics (Old)

[Gift Fanart]

MariPav + SideOrder Trailer Animatic! (DriftwoodMFB) MariPav Mags meets Malus Mags MarPav Mags, Magolor Epilogue version

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

A pavane is a slow, courtly dance for couples. A marionette is a type of puppet controlled by strings and is borrowed from the title of Marx and Magolor's shared Kirby Cafe song, "Marionettes Kitchen."

[because-why-not-a-fnaf-blog-too]

Updates and all that stuff

Current wips (Will try to keep this recent):

Within a Sun and Moonlit Cove: (fnaf sb au-mermay, sun x reader, moon x reader) https://archiveofourown.org/works/38816991/chapters/97062900

Latest chapter posted: 8/1/22

Chapters: 12/?

Next update: TBD, ch 13 in the works

This wasn’t covered in the employee handbook (post fnaf security breach, platonic Sun, Moon and Reader)

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/38642949/chapters/96604728

Chapters: 3/?

Next update: TBD

Spooky gremlin to gremlin communication (fnaf sb au, Moon x y/n, Sun x y/n, but y/n is a ghost).

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40848879/chapters/102359190

First chapter post 8/7/22

Next update: TBD, but likely whenever I end up writing it.

Future wip ideas:

Three ideas floating around but will keep them on paper/computer for now. Idea three took the lead

-first idea is basically a nauseating mushy romance between the reader and sun/moon. But it would be post fnaf sb because I think there’s enough floating around in the daycare itself. Fun to see how sun/moon react if placed in other situations like finding their way into one of those play places and everyone working there’s just like. All right then. New coworker I guess that can help keep an eye on the playing kids. *points to the reader* you have past experience with machines so therefore congrats, you get to have a roommate and coworker to drive into work. Sun is ecstatic. Moon is reserved. Reader is all are you f’ing kidding me?

-another idea is a post fnaf security breach where everything is rebuilt but not open since main animatronics need to be rebuilt (and Freddy is missing). Oc works with sun and moon (one body) but the oc needs them to help wrangle a new animatronic found out in the city nearby (security puppet-for this fic, they’d be sentient since the marionette was in lefty/security puppet could be put in main area). Suffice to say, the security puppet does not like its freedom revoked and does its damndest to escape. Slated to be Platonic. Enemies to friends and strangers to friends.

Idea three- basically the mc worked with sun/moon and is an after fnaf sb where fazbear co rebuilds but it’s smaller scale like old locations but this place has two floors/a bit more spacious: daycare goes into pirate cove, a stage in a dining room, a few security offices, maintenance underground, upper floors hold fazerblaster, arcade and a food court. Lower floors daycare/pirate cove, main stage, entrance area with merch stores. Essentially mc grappling with the face that sun/moon had a virus that wiped their memory aka don’t remember mc. Kicker is that there was a relationship and time spent together that trinkets and gifts accumulated so mc has to decide if they want to start over or if they just keep it as friends. Up to sun/moon mostly, as they are both curious about the new friend who looks so sad when they see them.

Currently on hiatus:

Whispers in the dark

Generic 1st pov fic with security guard at fazbear frights who gives Springtrap a scrub down because yeesh what a smell and then goes to oops you’re actually ‘alive’ and the guard is ready to throw hands. Stop being so dramatic bunny man. Also had interludes with marionette and other animatronics. Outline more or less down. Motivation was low.

[astudyincontrasts]

WIP (not) Wednesday

I was tagged by @silcoitus 🖤

Rules: post a snippet of whatever you’re currently working on, no more than 300 words, and tag five other writers

Tagging: @sherwood-forests @ink-and-dagger @sweatandwoe @abitohoney @a-gal-with-taste

AKWAF Ch 12:

Mortifying. Horrible. Too weak to fight it, too sick to fake any form of bravado.

“Why?” You managed to cry out between the violent explusion of the drug your body was bent upon. It sounded wretched, broken and weak even to your muddled senses, had further tears streaming down filthy cheeks. Please don’t let this be real. Anything to be back in that alley still, in the trash.

“I should ask you the same thing.” He replied coolly, pausing that soothing caress to stroke your hair back again.

It struck you a half a beat behind what he was intimating. That you’d done this to yourself. Some warped bid for attention or else some horrific mode of self-flagellation, like you’d go out and OD on his drug to get even somehow? Or just to numb the pain.

All that anger flowed back, terrifying in its intensity.

Rage had always been your safe haven. A place to shelter from everything that hurt you or threatened you. Somewhere to hide when the feelings got too big or intense to manage. Rage never let you down, never made you feel weak or stupid, or powerless. But this. This was uncentered, uncontrollable, monstrous.

His arms tightened around you as you thrashed bonelessly, all the anger pouring out of you in guttural, animal screams that tore your throat, left you blind with directionless desire to destroy.

Somewhere, deep under it all, you lay terrified. Not in control. Watching yourself in horror.

Silco wrestled you back from the toilet, so much stronger than he looked, his back thudding hard against the tub as he kept a grip on you with arms and legs, holding tight until it passed, until you were limp as a stringless marionette laid back against him, sucking the hiccoughs of erratic breaths and gazing blankly at the ceiling overhead.

[angelofthequeers]

Free to Be You and Me: chapter 13

Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

“Alya, you don’t understand! This is a matter of life or death!”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m counting on you to have my back when I need it!”

“Yep.”

“I need you to – are you even listening to me?”

“Hm?” Alya blinks and shakes her head, like she’s snapping herself out of a trance. Marinette throws her hands up.

“What use is telling you my secrets if you won’t help me?” she wails. Alya sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Marinette. Girl.” She reaches out and grabs Marinette’s hands from where she’s sitting on the bench in the school courtyard. “I’m begging you. Stop.”

“I thought you’d be happy that I finally did it!” Marinette gestures wildly. She narrows her eyes when Alya snorts.

“Okay, one, please never say that out of context. Ever. Second, I’m thrilled for you. I mean it. But I’ve been listening to this since the moment you called me at five in the morning to scream at me. Just…stop freaking out.”

“Stop freaking out? Stop freaking out?” Marinette clutches at her pigtails and yanks, trying to keep herself grounded in the face of the Thing that happened last night and the other Thing that’s coming up. She starts to pace again. “Alya, it has to be perfect! Red roses? Way too cliché! Eiffel Tower date? Everyone and their mother goes there! Picnic in the park? Yeah, sure, if we want everyone to know we’re a thing and then my identity will get exposed and everyone in Paris will know and Shadowmoth will kidnap Adrien and use him against me and then Chat Noir will try and sacrifice himself for me and – and –” And then white. And then freezing blue. Broken moon, cold water, muted and cool, blue and white, white, white –

“Okay, okay, whoa.” When did Alya end up standing in front of her? Marinette sucks in a deep breath, rattling in her chest, and grabs Alya’s wrists with shaking hands. “Marinette, what’s going on?”

“I – I – just nerves! Over the date!”

Alya sighs and guides Marinette to sit down on the bench. “No. This isn’t just some major nerves. I looked into your eyes and you were in another place. What’s wrong?”

Marinette chews her lip. She looks away. She ducks her head, trying to think of what to tell Alya apart from the truth. But, well, she’d told Adrien the truth last night, hadn’t she? Part of the truth, at least. And having someone to hold her, to comfort her while she loses her mind, trapped in her own nightmare…if she can trust Adrien, she can definitely trust Alya. Her shoulders slump.

“Remember the beret I made for Adrien? The one you guys made me deliver?”

“Yeah. You said he wasn’t home.” Alya’s eyes narrow. “What happened?”

“I…did deliver it. I signed my name and everything. But Adrien saw me jump out the window. He realised…”

Alya’s hands fly to cover her mouth. “He realised who you were.”

Marinette inhales shakily and nods. “Then Bunnyx – she’s the Rabbit hero from the future, I haven’t given out the watch yet – she told me that I had to fix it. I had to capture the akuma just like I always do. And she took me to another Paris – another timeline – but – but it was –” White, blue, cold, freezing cold. “White. Everywhere. The moon – the Eiffel Tower – everything – broken – dead –” Her breath hitches. Alya immediately sidles closer and wraps an arm around her.

“What was it?” she says. Marinette shakes her head feverishly. She hadn’t quite spoken it last night to Adrien – hadn’t named him – so she’s still safe. It can’t happen if she doesn’t say his name. But Alya looks at her so earnestly, so desperate to help, and another wall inside Marinette starts to shake and crumble.

“I…”

“Marinette, you can tell me. But if you can’t, I understand. Whatever it was must have been horrific.”

“Ch – Chat –”

“What about him?”

“Chat…Blanc.” Marinette’s entire body crumples, like a marionette whose strings have been cut, but Alya’s there to catch her and hold her close as a wrecked sob forces its way out of her.

“Oh. Oh no. I’m so sorry, girl.” Alya’s voice is soft, soothing, and Marinette desperately latches on to it to keep any semblance of mental stability when she’s on the verge of the hundredth breakdown this week.

“He was in so much pain,” Marinette whispers brokenly. “And he knew who I was. He somehow figured out my identity. Our l-love did that.”

“And that’s why you don’t think you can love Chat. Why you can’t let him know who you are,” Alya says. Marinette nods and throws herself at Alya, who holds her close and strokes her back. “Marinette, that won’t happen. You’re in love with Adrien, not Chat. He must have found out who you were some other way. Adrien would never betray you like that.”

“But what if he does?” Marinette’s voice cracks. “What if this is a bad idea? What if I can’t be happy without destroying the world?”

“Rubbish. You do so much for everyone. You deserve to be happy. And so does Adrien. I don’t know how him finding out your identity led to…that timeline, but it won’t happen here. You know why?”

Marinette shakes her head. When she looks up, Alya’s smiling gently at her, and she can’t help but grin weakly back.

“Because your best friend in the entire world has your back.” Alya jabs her thumb at herself, wrenching a watery giggle out of Marinette. “No one else is gonna find out your identity if I have anything to do with it. And whatever made that timeline happen won’t happen here. But you get that, don’t you, Marinette? You deserve to be happy. You got that?”

“If you say so, ma’am,” Marinette says, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Great, now she probably looks like an emo panda. “Alya…thank you.”

“Of course. What else are friends for?” Alya nudges her. “Now, back to your scheming –”

“Are we scheming?” someone says brightly. Marinette yelps and practically throws herself off the bench across Alya’s lap when Adrien sits next to her, beaming. A grinning Zoé sits on the ground, neatly crossing her legs, while Nino leans against the brick wall behind them, looking like the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

“Hey, babe.” Alya waves at Nino as she pushes Marinette upright, then frowns. “What’s up?”

“I don’t even know,” Nino mutters. “Dude’s been weird all morning. But he won’t tell me why, ‘cause apparently best friends don’t mean anything.”

“I told you! I’m just happy!” Adrien’s practically vibrating where he sits. Gosh, he’s beautiful.

“Uh huh,” Nino says with a long-suffering sigh. “Look, dude, I get if you can’t tell me, but you’re creeping me out. This is beyond happy. This is, like…akuma levels.”

“Oh, you’re happy?” Alya says with a terrifying grin. She turns her grin onto Marinette. “That’s good, Adrien. You deserve to be happy.”

Marinette flips her best friend off when Adrien’s not looking. But Nino notices, and he narrows his eyes at them, making Marinette smile sheepishly back at him.

“You know,” Zoé says, “if I knew being friends with you guys would be like this, I would’ve just stayed in New York.”

“Rude,” Marinette sniffs, her heart still recovering after Adrien’s jumpscare. “We’re a delight to be around.”

“Dude!” Nino throws his hands up and gestures wildly at Adrien, whose leg is bouncing wildly. “Do you need to pee or something?”

Adrien shakes his head frantically, his blond hair whipping all around his face, and Marinette almost faints on the spot at his sheer, radiant beauty.

“Nino,” Alya scolds.

“I’m just…ecstatic! Overjoyed! Euphoric!”

“A thesaurus,” Alya says dryly. A snort-giggle escapes Marinette before she can help herself. This is her. Adrien’s happy thanks to her!

“Is anyone gonna tell me what’s going on?” Nino says. Adrien just keeps bouncing and beaming. Alya’s still got that fox-like grin on her face. Zoé looks like she’s questioning every one of her life decisions until now. Marinette can’t keep her eyes off Adrien. After a moment, Nino shakes his head and pushes himself off the wall. “Yeah, I’m outta here. Call me when you’re all not possessed or whatever.”

“I’m not possessed!” Zoé protests.

“Ah, dammit,” Alya sighs as Nino slumps off with his hands in his pockets. “I’d better go after him. Marinette, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Wait, what?” Adrien’s smile vanishes in an instant, like the sun disappearing behind a cloud. Marinette would’ve glared at Alya for disturbing that sunshine if Adrien wouldn’t have seen it. “Something’s wrong with Marinette?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me!” Marinette says, pasting on a smile. “I’m fine!”

“Are you sure? You look like you’ve been crying!” Adrien’s brow crinkles. He leans towards Marinette, resting his hand on her arm, and oh no, this is dangerous – she knows now how it feels for him to touch her as more than a friend, the shape of his lips against hers, the lips currently downturned in worry that she’s kissed but he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know he’s sitting next to Ladybug, the girl of his dreams –

“Um, I think she’s about to have a stroke,” comes Zoé’s distant voice.

“Wait, what?” Firm hands grasp Marinette by the shoulders and then Adrien’s face is next to hers, and she shrieks and throws herself over Alya and to her feet before she can make a serious mistake and throw herself at him.

“I’m perfectly fine! Everything’s right in the world! I don’t love you!” Marinette lets out a hysterical laugh, grabs Alya, and scrambles out of there so fast that she might have been akumatised into a speed demon. How the hell is she going to survive the rest of her life with this boy when she can’t even make it one morning?

.

“Okay. You can do this.” Ladybug takes deep breaths, staring at Adrien’s lit bedroom window from the nearby rooftop where she’s perched. “He’ll like it. He likes you.” Butterflies burst inside her at those words, at that realisation that he loves her, and she giggles and hops from foot to foot. “It’ll be perfect! Just…go over there! With your yo-yo! And knock! And secret him away like a trapped princess!”

Tikki may not be here, but Ladybug can still clearly see the Look that her kwami would be giving her right now. Groaning, she unslings her yo-yo and swings over to the Agreste mansion and goes through her now-usual routine of hanging outside Adrien’s window, knocking, and waiting for his eyes to light up as he rushes over to let her inside. Except this time, she doesn’t accept his waiting hand.

“I, um…planned us a date. Somewhere,” she says through her heart hammering in her ears. “That is, if you want –”

“Yes! I want!” Adrien’s face brightens, then falls. “But, um…I’m not exactly dressed for it.” He gestures down to his pyjamas. Ladybug giggles.

“You know what? I’m in my pyjamas under the suit too. I don’t think either of us thought that far ahead.”

Adrien’s mouth drops and his face flushes a brilliant red. It takes Ladybug a few more moments to realise what she’d said: that if she dropped her transformation, she’d be in nothing but her pyjamas in front of Adrien. She squeaks and almost loses her grip on her yo-yo but catches herself just in time.

“Just come with me already!” she half-shrieks at him. Adrien blinks and shakes himself out of his trance.

“Right!” He takes her hand and lets her pull him out of the window, and she takes extra care to arrange him bridal style with her free arm so that she’s in no danger of dropping her precious cargo. Then they’re off, swinging through the cool Parisian night, sticking to rooftops and dark spots to avoid being spotted by nosey civilians on their way to their date.

Their date. Ladybug almost drops Adrien at the very thought. As it is, he yelps when Ladybug accidentally misses a step on the rooftop and almost ploughs into the tiles face-first. Ladybug gasps and tightens her grip on him.

“Don’t worry,” she says. “I won’t drop you.”

“I know.” Adrien looks up at her as though she had personally hung each star in the sky. “I trust you, Ladybug.”

Ladybug dies on the spot. Thankfully, she manages to claw herself out of her grave and get herself and Adrien to the Eiffel Tower in one piece, where she yo-yos them up the metal beams until they’re on the top deck. Waiting for them is a picnic blanket covered in a variety of baked goods and a single red rose in a black jar.

“D-Do you like it?” Ladybug twists her foot nervously as Adrien, open-mouthed, stares around at her set-up, taking it all in. “I know a picnic is super cliché and all, especially on the Eiffel Tower – like, what else do people think of when they hear Paris? – but I just wanted to give you a little piece of what Chat Noir and I get to see, since we can get up here whenever we want –”

“Ladybug.” Adrien turns to grab her arms and kiss her softly. Ladybug dies for the second time that night. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better place for our first date.”

“R-Really?” Ladybug stammers. Adrien smiles and nods and leads her towards the blanket, and she can’t help the relieved grin that breaks free. “That’s a relief. I was so worried all day – Rena was about ready to throw me into the Seine after I woke her up screaming at five this morning and wouldn’t shut up –”

“Well, I am a catch,” Adrien winks as he sits down and holds out his hands for her to join him. Ladybug moans and covers her flaming face.

“When am I gonna get over that?” she complains. “I should be used to you by now.”

“Maybe I just like to keep you on your toes.”

“Listen, I have to deal with an ugly butterfly slash bird guy with dreams of grandeur. And the crushing weight of being the Guardian. And having to see you as a civilian and not tackle you to the ground and kiss your brains out. I think I’m on my toes quite enough, thanks.”

“Oh?” Adrien leans in with the same smirk he’d worn while teasing Marinette about having photos of him in her room. “You saw me today? You know I wouldn’t complain if you did tackle me and kiss me.”

Ladybug gasps and frantically fans her flaming face. Adrien bursts out laughing, so she growls, grabs a muffin, and stuffs it into his mouth, cutting off his laughter with a choked cry.

“Stop teasing me!” she huffs. “You just have to make my whole life difficult!”

“M’t’pl’se,” Adrien tries to say. He takes a bite out of the muffin, letting the rest of it fall into his lap, and then swallows and repeats himself. “I aim to please.”

“Whoever made you should be arrested,” Ladybug says sullenly. “They did too good a job.”

“But if you arrest my father, where else am I gonna go?”

“Not my problem. That’s your fault for being too gorgeous.”

Adrien laughs and sags against her. They bask in the silence for a long while, eventually ending up on their backs together staring up at the stars, the rest of the food untouched. Thankfully, Adrien isn’t perfect, and Ladybug’s finally found one thing he doesn’t know: astronomy.

“I have no clue,” Adrien says. He reaches up and traces a random couple of stars. “I think that looks like a cat. Hell if I know anything about constellations.”

“And here I thought you were good at everything,” Ladybug teases. Adrien laughs.

“I have to let everyone else think that.” He rolls until he’s tucked into Ladybug’s side, and she grins and slips an arm around him so that they’re cuddling. They’re cuddling. Adrien’s cuddling her. It takes every tiny bit of Ladybug’s willpower to not scream that amazing fact out to the whole of Paris.

“Oh?”

“Well, yeah. I can’t be the sunshine prince of Paris if I’m not perfect at everything.”

Ladybug giggles. Adrien grins back up at her, and she leans down and kisses him sweetly before she can stop herself.

“Chat and I do this sometimes,” she says. “Obviously not this, of course. But sometimes, when it’s just too much, we lie up here together and just forget the world exists. That’s why it was the first place I thought of when I was planning this date. I’m not in love with Chat but…” She sighs. “I seem to compare every guy I come across to him. And girl. Just everyone in general. You’re the only person who can match him. Rena too, but she’s got a boyfriend and I’m not interested in being a homewrecker, or whatever the Americans say.”

“Oh,” Adrien says softly with a mysterious little smile that Ladybug can’t decipher. “That means a lot to me, Ladybug. To know that I can measure up to Chat Noir.”

“Just don’t tell him I said that, or he’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

Ladybug shows her gratitude with a kiss. Except that it doesn’t stay a simple kiss. It evolves as their mouths press against each other, tongues swiping at the other’s lips but not quite breaching, and Ladybug lets out a pleased hum and drags Adrien so that he’s half-sprawled over her. It takes every fibre of her being, but she finally manages to pull away before the kiss can cross a line into something that neither of them is ready for; Adrien gasps and flops so that his head is on her chest and his legs are awkwardly entangled with hers, and he sounds as wrecked as Ladybug feels.

“You,” Ladybug says breathlessly, “are a menace, Adrien Agreste. You’re too much for me.”

“You’re Ladybug,” Adrien rebuts. “How do you think I feel?”

They laugh together and then Adrien settles so that he’s staring up at her with his arms crossed over her chest and his chin resting on the back of his hands. Ladybug just hopes that the depths of her adoration for this boy can be seen in her answering gaze; it seems to be visible, because after a moment, Adrien gives her a gorgeous, toothy smile that she answers in turn.

“I love that you brought me up here,” Adrien says after a few silent minutes. “Thank you, Ladybug.”

“Of course.” Ladybug brushes Adrien’s cheek with her hand. “Anything for you.”

Adrien’s cheeks darken and he ducks his head. After a moment, he looks back up at her with his bottom lip working between his teeth.

“It’s more than just the view,” he says. “This is where I fell in love with you.”

Ladybug’s breath hitches. “R-Really?” she stammers. Adrien grins up at her and nods.

“That second day, when those Stonehearts were everywhere, and you thought you’d failed. You stood up here and you looked out at everyone and swore to protect them all. You stood up to Hawkmoth. You showed him that you wouldn’t just roll over and let him win. That’s when I knew that I loved you, whoever you were beneath the mask.”

“I – uh – I’m –” Ladybug’s brain is currently offline and not about to reboot any time soon, so she’s reduced to garbled sounds in a feeble attempt to communicate something about the words that Adrien had just strung together and delivered right to her. Adrien’s brow furrows.

“Too much?” he says.

“No, no!” Miraculously, Ladybug manages to remember what words are and how they work. “I’m just – I was so afraid. I’d already messed up and I knew I wouldn’t make a good superhero and I – I was gonna give the earrings to Al – to Rena –”

“You what?” Adrien’s eyes bulge.

“I put them in her bag and everything! But then Alya was in trouble and Chat Noir needed help and I just…I knew I had to step up. I knew I had to fix my mistake.”

“No, see, that’s why I love you.” Adrien reaches up and starts to brush Ladybug’s forehead with the back of his hand, sweeping strands of hair away. Warmth shoots through Ladybug’s veins every time Adrien touches her bare skin. “I liked you before then, yeah, because you were a superhero and all and I love superheroes. But then you did…that. That speech – the way you just caught all those butterflies and got rid of Hawkmoth’s face…I told you, I just love that you’re not perfect. You make mistakes like the rest of us, and you always fix them. No one else could be Ladybug. You’re Ladybug.”

“Stop it!” Ladybug buries her face in Adrien’s warm, silky, spicy golden hair. “Just…stop being like that!” When she finally musters the courage to remove her face from its safe space, she’s greeted with that one grin of Adrien’s that always sends tingles down her spine and into her legs and turns her muscles to jelly.

“Can’t,” Adrien sings. “You’ll just have to put up with it if you want to keep me around.”

Ladybug sighs, and a smile slips out, unbidden. “If that’s what it takes to keep you,” she says, brushing her fingers over Adrien’s cheek, “I suppose I can deal with it.”

[shenriyue]

钟离 Reading Archive.

December 🧸 8 Dec 20    28 Aug 21    Brutal: Satsujin Kansatsukan No Kokuhaku ブルータル 殺人警察官の告白    CH 1-12    ⭐ 9/10 May 🧸 5 May 21    5 May 21    Toyboy’s Charm    CH 1-27    ⭐ 4/10 🧸 6 May 21    18 July 21    Nevertheless    CH 1-14    ⭐ 6/10 🧸 7 May 21    12 May 21    Castle    CH 1-48    ⭐ 8/10 🧸 13 May 21    13 Dec 21    The Real Lesson    CH 1-59    ⭐ 9/10 🧸 17 May 21    17 May 21    Ticket Hero    CH 1-38    ⭐ 3/10 🧸 25 May 21    25 May 21    LOSER LIFE    CH 1-55    ⭐ 9/10 June 🧸 5 June 21    28 Aug 21    How to Fight    CH 1-96    ⭐ 8/10 July 🧸 17 July 21    26 Nov 21    The Second Marriage    CH 1-87    ⭐ 8/10 🧸 19 July 21    19 July 21    The Girl’s Trial    CH 1-41    ⭐ 3/10 🧸 19 July 21    26 July 21    It’s Mine    CH 1-125    ⭐ 7/10 🧸 20 July 21    20 July 21    Wendy the Florist    CH 1-13    ⭐️ 3/10 🧸 25 July 21    25 July 21    The End of Relationship    CH 1-46    ⭐ 2/10 🧸 26 July 21    31 July 21    LOOKISM    CH 1-350    ⭐️ 10/10 🧸 27 July 21    4 Aug 21    Solo Leveling    CH 1-160    ⭐️ 10/10 August 🧸 1 Aug 21    2 Aug 21    Occult    CH 1-50    ⭐️ 2/10 🧸 4 Aug 21    6 Des 21    Survive Romance    CH 1-39    ⭐️ 9/10 🧸 4 Aug 21    4 Aug 21    Convenience Store of the Dead    CH 1-101    ⭐️ 2/10 🧸 5 Aug 21    6 Aug 21    Return Survival    CH 1-75    ⭐ 8/10 🧸 7 Aug 21    8 Aug 21    Eschaton Game    CH 1-15    ⭐ 2/10 🧸 13 Aug 21    14 Aug 21    Chainsaw Man    CH 1-97    ⭐ 7/10 🧸 14 Aug 21    24 Des 21    Omniscient Reader    CH 1-70    ⭐ 8/10 🧸 14 Aug 21    15 Aug 21    Garden of the Dead Flower    CH 1-28    ⭐ 5/10 🧸 15 Aug 21    17 Aug 21    Her Weird Hobby    CH 1-59    ⭐ 7/10 🧸 17 Aug 21    17 Aug 21    Roxana: The Way to Protect the Female Lead's Older Brother 록사나 : 여주인공의 오빠를 지키는 방법    CH 1-35    ⭐ 3/10 🧸 18 Aug 21    23 Aug 21    GOOD/BAD FORTUNE    CH 1-15    ⭐ 2/10 🧸 19 Aug 21    8 Jan 22    Actually, I was the Real One    CH 1-63    ⭐️ 4/10 🧸 22 Aug 21    22 Aug 21     If You Touch My Brother, You're All Dead    CH 1-25    ⭐ 8/10 🧸 23 Aug 21    24 Aug 21    Rumor Has It    CH 1-10    ⭐ 2/10 🧸 26 Aug 21    27 Aug 21    Kill the Villlainess    CH 1-32    ⭐ 2/10 🧸 28 Aug 21    20 Sep 21    Shotgun Boy    CH 1-27    ⭐ 8/10 🧸 30 Aug 21    31 Aug 21     Friendly Rivalry    CH 1-18    ⭐ 5/10 🧸 31 Aug 21    5 Sep 21    Gentle Hispter    CH 1-37    ⭐ 4/10 September 🧸 7 Sep 21    18 Sep 21    Study Group    CH 1-123    ⭐️ 6/10 🧸 18 Sep 21    20 Sep 21    Kasane    CH 1-21    ⭐️ 2/10 🧸 20 Sep 21    28 Sep 21    Pumpkin Night    CH 1-34    ⭐️ 3/10 🧸 20 Sep 21    23 Sep 21    Bad Guy    CH 1-24    ⭐️ 4/10 October 🧸 10 Oct 21    14 Oct 21    Plunderer    CH 1-70    ⭐️ 7/10 🧸 18 Oct 21    9 Nov 21    Hardcore Leveling Warrior    CH 1-300    ⭐️ 6/10 November 🧸 9 Nov 21    13 Nov 21    Never-ending Darling    CH 1-12    ⭐️ 6/10 🧸 11 Nov 21    12 Nov 21    Mieruko-chan    CH 1-38    ⭐️ 7/10 🧸 26 Nov 21    29 Nov 21    Bad Guy    CH 1-74    ⭐️ 6/10 🧸 28 Nov 21    1 Des 21    Stalker x Stalker    CH 1-84    ⭐️ 6/10 🧸 29 Nov 21    13 Nov 21     I Didn’t Mean to Seduce the Male Lead 남주를 꼬시려던 건 아니었습니다    CH 1-37    ⭐️ 3/10 🧸 29 Nov 21    29 Nov 21    Ex vs Stalker    CH 1-22    ⭐️ 5/10 December 🧸 1 Des 21    2 Des 21     Let’s Kill Your Husband    CH 1-34    ⭐️ 5/10 🧸 2 Des 21    2 Des 21     Sosias    CH 1-25    ⭐️ 2/10 🧸 2 Des 21    5 Des 21     The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass    CH 1-86    ⭐️ 8/10 🧸 6 Des 21    11 Des 21     Into the Light Once Again    CH 1-33    ⭐️ 5/10 🧸 17 Des 21    23 Des 21     The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke’s Mansion 그녀가 공작저로 가야 했던 사정    CH 1-33    ⭐️ 5/10 🧸 17 Des 21    23 Des 21     Into the Light Once Again    CH 1-33    ⭐️ 5/10 🧸 23 Des 21    24 Des 21     Even Though I’m the Villainess, I’ll Become the Heroine! 악녀지만 여주인공이 되겠습니다    CH 1-22    ⭐️ 3/10 🧸 24 Des 21    30 Des 21     Black Winter    CH 1-37    ⭐️ 2/10 🧸 30 Des 21    4 Jan 22     Her Summon    CH 1-117    ⭐️ 9/10 🧸 31 Des 21    1 Jan 22     So You    CH 1-4    ⭐️ 8/10 January 🧸 4 Jan 22    6 Jan 22     The Villainess is a Marionette    CH 1-45    ⭐️ 6/10 🧸 6 Jan 22    7 Jan 22     I Became the Male Lead’s Mother    CH 1-49    ⭐️ 4/10 🧸 7 Jan 22    10 Jan 22     The Emperor Reverses Time    CH 1-33    ⭐️ 3/10 🧸 10 Jan 22    10 Jan 22     Seduce the Villain’s Father    CH 1-    ⭐️ /10 🧸 13 Jan 22    13 Jan 22     Shingeki no Kyojin    CH 1-    ⭐️ /10

[lovelycoralmentality]

Manhwa

Who made me a princess -> chapter 89

Devil wants to hug -> chapter 49

To Be or Not to Be -> Chapter 63

The reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke’s Mansion -> chapter 147 (fin)

Shadow queen -> chapter 38

The justice of villainous woman -> chapter 113

Silent lover -> chapter 19

The Villainess reverses the hourglass -> chapter 45

Charlotte Has Five Disciples -> chapter 43

The grandmaster of demonic cultivation -> chapter 175

Beware of the villainess -> chapter 58

I became the villain's mother -> chapter 36

The Twin Siblings’ New Life -> chapter 39

Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess -> chapter 44

Actually, I Was the Real One -> chapter 32

Am I the daughter? -> chapter 47

I Want to Be You, Just For A Day -> chapter 44

Please Throw Me Away -> chapter 40

The Villainess Lives Twice -> Chapter 38

Youngest Princess -> chapter 44

Daughter of the Emperor -> chapter 207

Virtues of the Villainess -> Chapter 34

When the Villainess Loves -> Chapter 38

saving the Villain Who was Abandoned by the Female Lead -> chapter 21

The Antagonist's Pet ( The Pet of the Villainess ) -> Chapter 56

The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess Manhwa -> Chapter 74

The Newly-wed Life Of A Witch and A Dragon -> Chapter 17

My Husband Hides His Beauty -> chapter 32

I'm the Ex-Girlfriend of a Soldier -> Chapter 21

This Girl is a Little Wild -> Chapter 50

 I don't want to be Empress! -> Chapter 58

This Villainess Wants a Divorce! / survive as the hero's wife-> Chapter 87

A Villain Is A Good Match For A Tyrant -> Chapter 38

The Garden of Red Flowers -> Chapter 28

Is It a Fortune or Is It a Woe? -> Chapter 30

The Young Lady I Served Became a Young Master -> Chapter 23

Seduce the Villain's Father -> Chapter 43

Blinded by the Setting Sun -> Chapter 21

The Duchess with an Empty Soul -> Chapter 63

Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp -> Chapter 126

I Raised Cinderella Preciously -> Chapter 37

Once more -> Chapter 27.5

Your Majesty, Please Don't Kill Me Again -> Chapter 23

My Sister Picked Up the Male Lead -> Chapter 37

Beware of the Brothers! -> Chapter 45

the lady and the beast -> chapter 39

Everything was a Mistake -> Chapter 32

A false confession -> Chapter 45

Elskar -> Chapter 32

The Detective Of Muiella -> Chapter 104

This Is An Obvious Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 59

Daisy: How to Become the Duke’s Fiancée - Chapter 35

I Became the Ugly Lady -> Chapter 5

The Lady's Butler - Chapter 25

Royal Shop of Young Lady - Chapter 34

Choose Your Real Daddy Tyrant - Chapter 11

The Sunny Lead was Raised as the Villainess - Chapter 1

Princess is a Bloodthirsty Surgeon - Chapter 58

Guide to a Male God Chasing his Wife - Chapter 21

Princess Tomboy & Prince Grumpy - Chapter 90

Living As The Emperor's Fiancé -> Chapter 28

The Foodie Next Door - Chapter 47

I Raised the Beast Well - Chapter 14

The villianous queen wants to level up - Chapter 0

National School Prince Is A Girl -> Chapter 83

Wendy the Florist -> Vol. 2 Ch. 1

What Kind of Empress is This? - Chapter 42

Revenge Wedding -> Chapter 36

I Gave Birth To A Murderer’s Child -> chapter 15

The Black Haired Princess - Chapter 39

Perfect Adaptation Chapter 2

Uniquely You - Chapter 11

Too Close - Chapter 88

Limited Time Princess - Chapter 27

She's my type - chapter 31

Lady Beast - Chapter 77

Read The Tyrant Falls In Love (Can Can) -> Chapter 56 

Mismatched Love - Chapter 15

Happy Ending for the Time-Limited Villainess - Chapter 9

I'll Do That Marriage - Chapter 21

Don't Provoke The Crazy, Dumb and Villainous Consort - Chapter 23

The Daughter of the Elemental King - Chapter 45

The Golden Haired Elementalist - Chapter 38

I Became the Hero's Mom - Chapter 26

Beatrice - Chapter 49

The Stereotypical Life of a Reincarnated Lady - Chapter 51

Cheerful Countess Sisters - Chapter 24

It Looks Like I've Fallen into the World of a Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 32

I'm Stanning The Prince -> Chapter 42

Flowers Dance and Wind Sings -> Chapter 25

The Tyrant’s Guardian is an Evil Witch -> Chapter 23

The Goal is to Become a Gold Spoon so I need to be Completely Invulnerable - Chapter 27

The Villain's Savior - Chapter 74

The Princess in the Dumpster - Chapter 31

I Gave Birth to the Tyrant's Child -> Chapter 10

I'm the Male Lead's Female Friend -> Chapter 12

Villainess Maker -> Chapter 11

I Became a Maid in a TL Novel -> Chapter 36

I tamed the wild duke -> Chapter 4.1

The Viridescent Crown -> Chapter 33

A Night With The Emperor -> Chapter 7

The Villain Discovered My Identity -> Chapter 39

I Tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away -> Chapter 21

Charming and the Beast -> Chapter 4

The Emperor's Companion -> Chapter 72

I Saved The Cursed Duke -> Chapter 5

The King’s Beloved Daughter -> Chapter 6

The Precious Sister of the Villainous Grand Duke -> Chapter 11

The Way to Protect the Female Lead's Older Brother -> Chapter 20

Undercover Empress -> Chapter 35

The Flower That Was Bloomed By A Cloud -> Chapter 27

The Villainess Is a Marionette -> Chapter 21

Obey me -> Chapter 8

Stop Bothering Me, Emperor! -> Chapter 3

I'm a Martial Art Villainess but I'm the Strongest! -> Chapter 27

Angelic Lady -> Chapter 22

I'll Become the Tyrant's Tutor -> Chapter 6

Truly Refuse to Be a Witch -> Chapter 3

Father, I Don’t Want to Get Married! -> Chapter 15

I’ll Just Live on as a Villainess -> Chapter 3

Crimson Karma -> Chapter 82

The Fake Princess' OP Bunny -> Chapter 6

Reminiscence adonis -> Chapter 129

Not Just Anyone Can Become a Villainess -> Chapter 12

Lady Baby -> Chapter 125

[erednayy]

Male Yandere Masterlist

[Last update: 16-12-2023] [Last entry: Mushroom Oasis ] [Entry count: 214]

Anime

Akkun to Kanojo Dakaretai Otoko Ichii ni Odosareteimasu Dance with Devils Gugure! Kokkuri-san Tokyo Mew Mew

Drama CD

Aisaresugite xx Sarechou Alice=Alice Seventh Heaven Vol. 4 Shuuchaku Eye The Melancholy of Sleeping Beauty and Her Protectors ~Dream Magic and the Magician’s Tower~ Yandere Heaven

Game

7’scarlet Amnesia Clock of Atonement Diabolik Lovers Dot Kareshi - We’re 8bit Lovers! - III ~Bride of Darkness~ Ephemeral Fantasy on Darkness Gekka Ryouran Romance Heart no Kuni no Alice Mushroom Oasis Mystic Messenger Nameless ~ The one thing you must recall Nightshade Otome Chat Connection Period: Cube ~ Shackles or Amadeus ~ Pinewood Island Piofiore: Fated Memories Taisho x Alice Episode 2

Manga/Manhwa/Comic

340 Days Addictive Fruit Twins A Gentle Crime Aishi no Yue, Charlotte Aishite Kudasai Sensei A Kind Goblin’s Bird Akuyaku Reijou to Kichiku Kishi antiStalker An Uncomfortable Truth Atashi ni wa Sore wo Gaman Dekinai  Avant-garde to Stalker Beware of the Red Thread Boku no Kawaii Stalker Boyfriend Restraint System Black Bird Brother, Don’t Ruin Me... Cheese in the Trap Chitra Chotto Kiken na Amaama Onii-san Cierra Death Chants His Lament Deichuu no Hasu Dekiai Yakuza ni wa Amayakasarenai! Detain Dreaming Freedom Fetish Chapter 2: Love Letter Former Villainess and the Fallen Prince Fruit of the Tongue Game Loading Glen Glotoneria Haikyuu!! dj - Primary Target Hey, Tell Me You’ll Die Without Me Hocus Pocus Horage Sekai ni Tensei shitara Satsujinki no Oshi ga Ita How to Train Your Handsome but Overbearing Boyfriend！ Human System Hypnosis Mic - Answer (dj) I Don’t Remember That I Failed to Abandon the Villain I Gave Birth to the Tyrant’s Child I Have to Be the Founder of Space’s Pair! I Lost the Leash of the Yandere Male Lead I’m the Ex-Girlfriend of a Soldier  In the Cage Inuwashi Momo wa Yuruganai Inu x Boku SS Isekai Saintess Tries to Escape the Harem-Type Yandere It’s Mine I Want to Escape from Princess Education Isekai Trip-saki de Tasukete Kureta no wa, Hitogoroshi no Shounen deshita Jinsei 2-Shuumei wa Yandere Kareshi wo Amayakashite Happy End ni Narimasu!! Kami Kon ni Ai Kami-sama wa Ikiru no ga Tsurai Kansai Jin to Hukumen Satsujinki Kare Joshi Kasahara Ichika (25) wa Hentai ni Sukare Yasui - Elite Megane wa Stalker Kareshi ni Donhiki Saretai Minamoto-san Katakoi Opera Kawaii Senpai no Kaigoroshikata Kimi ni Koisuru Satsujin Kimi Shi ni Tamou Koto Nakare Kimi wo Metoru Hi Kingyo no Shigai wa Numa no Soko Koi to Shinzou Kono Ai wa, Itan Koufuku no Ouji-sama Kuzu Chapter 1: Caste Heaven Bangaihen Kuzu Seito to Stalker-sensei Lala no Kekkon Lima Syndrome Love, Murder, Basketball Mad Dog Marionette May Belongs to Me Metronome Mind Control Miniamaru Kareshi Murderer Llewellyn’s Enchanting Dinner Invitation Mutual Love My Boyfriend’s a Ticking Time Bomb My Deepest Secret My Doting Childhood Friend Is My Husband and Stalker!? Nekokaburi Kyuuketsuki ni Honenozui made Tabetsuku sareru Nise X Koi Boyfriend - Usotsuki to Happy End O Ojou to Banken-kun Omegaverse Chapter 4 : A Gentle Cage Once it Was Love Ore no Yandere Otouto ga Konna ni Kawai Wake ga nai Ore to Omae no Stalker Boushihou Oredake Minaito XX Shichauzo Psycho Love Pupa Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Red Fox Reikan no Mattakunai Danjo ni Tori Tsuku Danjo no Rei no Manga Risou no Kareshitachi Sakuraba-san wa Tomaranai! Sayonara, Boku no Goshujin-sama Secret Alliance Shikabanechou Undead Similar Terms Soine Lovers Ch. 3-4: 25 Years of Confinement Stalker Danshi Stalker Shachou no Kareinaru Kyukon ~16-nenkan Suki Datta Nante Kiitemasen~ Stalker’s Game Stalker x Stalker [web comic] Stalker x Stalker [manga] Stockholm Suki ni Shitaiyo Sultan’s Love Tensei Shite Yandere Kouryaku Taishou Chara to Shuujuukankei ni Natta Kekka That Unexpected Side to my Childhood Friend - Watch Out for the Animal in Him! The Bondservant The Crown of Thorns The Devil / Lady Devil The Earl’s Red Doll The First Night with the Duke The Love and Lies of a XXX The Maid and the Vampire The Male Lead is a Murderer The Predator’s Fiancée The Prefect’s Private Garden The Result of Being Reincarnated is Having a Master-Servant Relationship with the Yandere Love Interest The Villain’s Savior The Younger Male Lead Fell For Me Before The Destruction They Who Shouldn’t Have Loved, The Story of Their Cursed Love Tobita-kun to Sudo-san Tonari no Seki no Hen na Senpai Tsukarete Shimatta Juku Koushi wa Josei-Muke Derheru o Riyou Shite Shimatta Tsumi wo Okashita Shuudou Onna wa Orochi no Mamono ni Zange Suru Negi Manjuu Tsunderu Moto Akuyaku Reijou wa Do-S Ouji-sama kara Nigedashitai Wakatte Kudasai Warehouse Watashi ga Motete Dousunda? Worldend: Debugger Yandere Hitotsu Yane no Shita Yandere Ouji ga Sachiku Onna no Watashi wo Hanasanai Yankee to Yandere no Kakera ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai Yasaotoko to Sadistic Yuukaikon Yuusha-sama ni Ikinari Kyuukon sareta no desu ga Zekkyou Gakkyuu Zettai ni Nigasanainode Boku ni Hoshoku Sarete Kudasai ~ Inaka de Deatta Toshishita no Kare wa Moto ● na Jigoku no Yandere Danshi Deshita~

Movie

The Phantom of the Opera

Music

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Minor Key Version An Unhealthy Obsession Betty (Cover) Blood Sweat & Tears Christmas Kids Creepin’ Up On You Every Breath You Take Honey Revenge Kaito ga Uninstall Le Mal Sorcier Meant to be Yours Monster Mx. Sinister New Magic Wand My Nocturnal Serenade Obsession Love One Eyed Ripper Scarle Stalker’s Tango Super Psycho Love Tragedy of the Chateau Cepage True Love Restraint Yandelenka

Novel

A Dimensional Tune Series An Eternal Seal Broken-Winged Angel Children of the Water Desuge Imouto Enclosed Perimeters It Seems Like I Got Reincarnated Into the World of a Yandere Otome Game I’ve Been Reincarnated as this Game’s Villainess, I’ll Train the Main Capture Target to Be a Yandere Kingdom of Possesion Lucia My Childhood Friend Became an Obsessive Husband Outaishi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Psycho Stolen The Infectious Series You’ve Got the Wrong House, Villain

Series

You

[sharinluna]

MLQC Translation Excerpt(End of Ch 17 ~ Beginning of Ch 18)

DO NOT COPY, QUOTE, REPOST OR REBLOG THIS ANYWHERE. Links are okay but I don’t want this post to spread too much in other communities or websites.

This is rather short, but I’m running out of time so:

This is not a full translation, only some parts. It’s more like a abbreviation/summary/paraphrasing of some parts of the story. Do not ask me to translate more or reveal more plots in the story.

The translation is based on KR version text. I’m not a professional translator and get things wrong. So do not regard this as the actual canon story.

I used Yōurán as the name of MC because that is the unofficial default MC’s name in CN version.

It’s strongly recommended that you read the previous translations if you want to understand what’s going on.

**********************

I turned on the TV, there was news about the flu as usual. But they said that the patients were getting better. They found a way to control the influenza and there were some breakthroughs in finding the cure. Due to this happy news, the festival that was cancelled was planned to open again.

I went to the window and could hear cheerful shouts. It seemed like the festival was about to start.

When I turned around. I found a white envelope on the table that was empty before.

Yōurán: Who’s there?!

I looked around carefully, but there was no one in the house but me.

I opened the letter. In black stationary were the words: <14:20, I will send my honest blessing among the crowds.> The letter was signed “Queen”

Yōurán: Queen…

That’s what the Black Swan called me. Did they send this letter?

Yōurán: Among the crowds…

I looked out the window again where there were laughter and cheers.

**********************

I arrived at the central square. The crowds cheered as the parade went on but I couldn’t join in the enthusiasm. Then I saw the woman that I had saved the other day from getting hit by a bus. She went up to the front of the stage to make a speech.

The Woman: I thank you all for coming. This festival was made possible by…

I didn’t know that the woman I saved was the chief organizer of this festival.

Yōurán: She seems well. I’m glad...

The Woman: …for the happiness of everyone in Loveland City. Our future will-

She stopped in the middle of her speech. One second, two seconds, three seconds… she didn’t continue. She hung her head low, so people couldn’t see her face.

Audience A: Why did she stop?

Audience B: Did the microphone go out?

She finally looked up. Her face was pale and twisted. The corners of her mouth twitched to form the most blood-curdling smile. A sharp shriek came from her mouth.

The Woman: Enjoy what little time is left… for the end of the world is near!!

The speaker erupted out a deafening noise that was enough to drive the audience to silence. The sense of foreboding washed over me.

Yōurán: Excuse me! Let me through!

I pushed through the crowds toward the stage. I had to put a stop to this.

The time on the clock reached 14:20.

The woman screamed and I froze in my tracks. Blood was pouring out of her eyes. What was more terrifying was that her mouth was still smiling in that eerie way. Like a marionette that lost its string, she crumbled to the floor. The confetti that had been pre-programmed to fall at the end of speech sprinkled down like colorful snow. The woman had stopped breathing.

The Crowd: She’s dead!

Panic shook the crowd and everyone ran this way and that, screaming in terror. I could only stare numbly at the stage.

??: Did you think that you could change the future?

A voice whispered in my ear.

Yōurán: Who is it?!

I looked around but no one was near. Everyone was trying to get far away from the dead woman.

??: You can never change what will happen.

Yōurán: Who the hell are you?!

There was no answer.

The woman on the stage lay dead. She may have escaped her demise for a while, but fate caught up to her. I thought I changed the future, but in the end, nothing changed and everything turned out the way it was destined to be.

Yōurán: This is all my fault…

**********************

A white beam of light came down and lifted me into the air. The sky and earth reversed and I fell down to an empty black space.

I walked toward the light I could see in the distance. I soon came across a mirror. I touched the glass surface, and it rippled like it was a lake and my reflection appeared.

My Shadow in the Mirror: We meet at last.

My appearance in the mirror spoke. Her voice was very soft.

Yōurán: Why did you try to see me?

My Shadow in the Mirror: It’s pretty tough for you, right? You feel helpless because you can’t change the foreseen future. You got betrayed and lost so many people…

Yōurán: How do you know all that?

My Shadow in the Mirror: Because I am you. I know what you think. I feel how you feel. But you can do nothing to change the future.

Yōurán: Is there something you know? Please tell me!

My Shadow in the Mirror: Soon, the human race will cease to exist. Everything you care about, everything you feel attached to, they will be gone.

She spoke very calmly as if she wasn’t talking about the end of the world.

My Shadow in the Mirror: But if you were to do one thing, everyone can be saved.

Yōurán: How do I do that?

My Shadow in the Mirror: …by sacrificing your life.

I took a step back.

Yōurán: This doesn’t make sense at all…

She stepped out of the mirror and grabbed me.

My Shadow in the Mirror: Did you think that peace would come on its own and a bright and happy future would happen without lifting a finger?

Yōurán: I don’t want to hear this anymore.

My Shadow in the Mirror: The world is facing calamity. Human civilization will be wiped out. Everyone will die, but death is not the end. It means a new beginning.

Yōurán: I cannot agree with that…

I struggled to get away from her but it was no use.

My Shadow in the Mirror: Remember, it takes all the running you can do, just to keep in the same place. And Queen is the last puzzle of evolution.

Yōurán: Queen…

My Shadow in the Mirror: You are Queen. And I am you. Queen’s duty and fate was in front of your eyes all the time.

I looked at my face. It was the same face but the eyes held no mercy.

My Shadow in the Mirror: There is little time left for humanity. Will you sacrifice yourself? Or will you sacrifice everyone else instead?

She disappeared into the darkness.

**********************

When I opened my eyes, I was standing alone on the street. No one could be seen. I was alone in the center of the city.

The virus was worse than ever. There were casualties now. Half the city was dying sick, the other half was cowering in fear. Death was waiting for everyone. All hope was gone and everyone was dreading the doomsday that would inevitably come.

I scrolled through my contacts. Most of them were unreachable to me.

Victor was still out there time travelling. He said that everything was fine in the future. That had to mean that the virus will be cured, that this was not the end of the world, that everyone is going to live.

What saved everyone from this catastrophe then? Was what she said true? Was I the key to stopping the world from dying?

**********************

I kept wondering about what she said. About what I must do as my duty and fate as Queen. I didn’t want to know if she was right or not.

Then I dreamed that I pushed her away and kept running into the unknown. The place arrived was empty and nothing was in there.

Was this the future that she talked about? The future with no life left on earth. If I refused her and neglected my duty and escaped my fate, would this come to reality?

I wanted to hide. I wanted to run away. People could call me a coward. I just couldn’t face this anymore.

Yōurán: Dad… please tell me what to do…

I thought of the last day I saw him before he died.

Yōurán: Dad… if I can never be brave like you… will you be disappointed in me?

Grandpa Chuck: No, child. Your father will respect your choice.

Yōurán: Grandpa Chuck? How did you come in here?

He sat down next to me and handed me a handkerchief.

Grandpa Chuck: You were lost in the other dimension for a long time. I was worried about you. Is something wrong?

Yōurán: I just missed my father so much… Grandpa, in your memory what was my father like?

Grandpa Chuck: Your father… wasn’t exactly a good father. He tried to make time for you, but he was just too busy. But he was a good man. Thanks to him, I found a reason to keep on living.

I smiled at him. I was proud of my dad. And I was sure he would give me courage to make the right choice.

*********************

Okay, that’s the end. I’ll do the rest of chapter 18 in another time.

MLQC in chapter 1: Run your media company while dating 4 gorgeous men!

MLQC in chapters 12~17: 4 gorgeous men leave you.

MLQC in chapter 18: Sacrifice yourself or everyone else will die.

Before I end this post I will include a short summary of Victor’s Rumors & Secrets.

Rumors & Secrets After Tomorrow

The story is from the perspective of a clown who hands out balloons to children in a theme park. He encounters a tall strange man(Victor) who wears old-fashioned clothes and buys things with credit cards. Who uses credit cards these days? And he still uses cell phones! Weren’t they all in museums? The clown suddenly thinks that the man is either a criminal or a time traveler but waves the thought away thinking that he’s been watching too many sci-fi movies.

He lends Victor his futuristic device and casually mentions the influenza incident ten years ago. According to him, the flu epidemic suddenly came and killed thousands of people including his brother. The doctors couldn’t find a remedy, but one specific day, for reasons unknown, everyone got cured miraculously.

Victor uses the device to research the name Yōurán(MC’s name) but finds nothing. He searches everywhere but finds no trace of her.

The virus vanished mysteriously. And Yōurán doesn’t exist in this world ten years later.

“Will you sacrifice yourself? Or will you sacrifice everyone else instead?”

[gundam-gic]

Il fantasma di Okiku è uno dei racconti più famosi tra le storie di fantasmi giapponesi, ha per protagonista uno yūrei. La storia viene per la prima volta codificata nel teatro delle marionette (bunraku) col titolo Bancho Sarayashiki. Una leggenda di fiducia infranta e promesse non mantenute, ch https://www.kblejungle.com/2019-12-storie-di-fantasmi-giapponesi-il-fantasma-di-okiku/

[replicapromo]

August Burns Red ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM PHANTOM ANTHEM RELEASES NEW SONG & INCREDIBLE NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR"INVISIBLE ENEMY" August Burns Red is back with the announcement of new album Phantom Anthem, the follow-up to 2015's Found In Far Away Places that took the band to new heights and earned them a GRAMMY nomination. The Lancaster, PA five-piece teamed up with Sirius XM Liquid Metal to premiere new track "Invisible Enemy" and have released the imaginative new music video today. Phantom Anthem is available for pre-order at http://AugustBurnsRed.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg1ROKEIZJM&feature=youtu.be Working with director Samuel Halleen, the band's most iconic videos are reenacted by 3D marionette versions of themselves, with no details spared. To the clothes they wear on stage, to the small details in their personal instruments, this video truly captures the energy of August Burns Red's commanding presence and even includes some of the band's top fans in the video. August Burns Red - Phantom Anthem Track List 1. King of Sorrow2. Hero of the Half Truth 3. The Frost 4. Lifeline 5. Invisible Enemy 6. Quake 7. Coordinates8. Generations 9. Float 10. Dangerous 11. Carbon Copy​ August Burns Red will kick off their European headline tour for the 10-year anniversary tour of their much-loved album, Messengers (2007), with performances slotted for the fall on Rock Allegiance Festival, Houston Open Air, and Aftershock. Full tour dates below.   AUGUST BURNS RED TOUR DATES Jul 28 - London, UK @ UnderworldJul 29 - Bristol, UK @ The FleeceJul 30 - Manchester, UK @ Sound ControlJul 31 - London, UK @ UnderworldAug 1 - Cologne, DE @ EssigfabrikAug 3 - Copenhagen, DK @ PumpehusetAug 4 - Oslo, NO @ John DeeAug 5 - Stockholm, SE @ FryshusetAug 7 - Helsinki, FI @ TavastiaAug 8 - Tallinn, EE @ TapperAug 9 - Riga, LV @ Melna PiektdienaAug 10 - Warsaw, PL @ ProximaAug 11 - Josefov, CZ @ Brutal AssaultAug 12 - Bildein, AT @ Picture OnAug 13 - Rasnov RO @ Rockstadt ExtremeAug 14 - Sofia, BG @ Mixtape 5Aug 16 - Budapest, HU @ Durer KertAug 17 - Dinkelsbuehl, DE @ Summer BreezeAug 18 - Allstedt, DE @ Destruction DerbyAug 19 - Hamburg, DE @ Elb RiotAug 20 - Stuttgart, DE @ UniversumAug 21 - Zurich, CH @ EarshakerdaysAug 22 - Dornbirn, AT @ Conrad SohmAug 23 - Aschaffenburg, DE @ Colas SaalAug 24 - Amsterdam, NL @ MelkwegAug 25 - Sulingen, DE @ Reload FestivalAug 27 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix ClubAug 28 - Paris, FR @ Petit BainOct 7 - Camden, NJ @ Rock Allegiance FestOct 15 - Spring, TX @ Houston Open Air FestivalOct 21 - Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival​AUGUST BURNS RED - By personally aiming beyond your perceived potential, you can truly grow. That's been the case every time August Burns Red record an album, and it's quietly turned the Pennsylvania quintet-JB Brubaker [lead guitar], Brent Rambler [rhythm guitar], Matt Greiner [drums], Jake Luhrs [lead vocals], and Dustin Davidson [bass]-into a GRAMMY® Award-nominated heavy music torchbearer. Their journey began back in 2003 with marathon jam sessions on a farm belonging to Matt's family in the egg refrigerator. Embracing a diehard Rust Belt work ethic, they tirelessly pushed towards the top of heavy music with a series of critically acclaimed albums and countless gigs. A hard-earned high watermark, 2015's Found In Far Away Places marked their second consecutive Top 10 debut on the Billboard Top 200. The single "Identity" notched a GRAMMY® Award nod in the category of "Best Metal Performance." A streaming juggernaut, both "Identity" and "Ghosts" [feat. Jeremy McKinnon] crossed the 3-million mark on Spotify. When it came time to record their seventh full-length Phantom Anthem [Fearless Records] with longtime producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland, the game didn't change. The musicians put their heads down and rallied around the same shared goal, uncorking a barrage of infectious intensity, the boys augmented and amplified the touchstones of their signature style on Phantom Anthem. The musical equivalent of a clenched fist haymaker, the grooves hit harder, the hooks blaze brighter, and the instrumentation ignites even more intricacy. https://www.facebook.com/augustburnsred/https://twitter.com/abrbandhttp://augustburnsred.com/