#she's missing her headband but has everything else (and was a steal)

[geekula]

Making progress on the Haunted line!

[mappingthesky]

with planymphia what does bed time look like 👀 who gets ready first and tucks themself into bed , who steals all the covers and the big and little spoon .

I feel like they’d be very cuddly in bed especially if they’re both tired and have missed each other

-nymphia has a very long pre-bed ritual. lots of skincare & cute lil headbands w ears n stuff. jane comes in to wash her face n give nymphia toothpaste kisses, then she tucks herself into bed and watches her show or reads a book while nymphia gua sha’s or something

-nymphia is generally sleepy all day and takes lots of naps, but right before bedtime she gets a lil wired. this leads to the cutest lil pre-bed conversations. jane will be trying to read her book when nymphia finally gets into bed and it’ll be quiet for a moment….until nymphia starts asking the most random questions ever. something silly like ‘if you were a fruit, what kind of fruit would you be?’. she can’t help it - once nymphia’s next to jane she just wants all of her attention! jane eventually has to kiss her a bunch n shut her up. this arrangement works very well for the both of them.

-they’re super cuddly. they’ll just stare at each other n kiss n snuggle n talk about everything for hours, someone actually has to turn over every night or else they’ll never go to sleep.

-nymphia is almost always little spoon. she never has to ask, because jane just wants to hold her - it makes her feel special to know she’s protecting nymphia. jane does wanna be little spoon every once n a while tho, especially when she’s stressed and needs a little extra love. sometimes jane forgets she can ask to be comforted, especially when she’s had a rough day and isn’t thinking clearly, but she never has to ask to be held because nymphia knew before she did and is already pulling her in <3

-nymphia steals the covers and sleep talks <3 jane occasionally has nightmares. i wrote a lil blurb about it which you can read here. <3

[shokobuns]

“𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭”

in which you slowly give into your desires.

PAIRING: maid!zenin maki x f!housewife!reader

GENRE: smut, some fluff, some angst, slowburn (ish)

WORD COUNT: 5.6k

WARNINGS: nsfw, 16+ smut, slowburn ish?, mentioned misogyny, infidelity, unhappy arranged marriage, angsty marriage, overstimulation, fingering, oral (f receiving), kitchen sex, sex in shared bed, face sitting/riding, 69, exhibitionism, squirting, light degradation, praise, pussy slapping, finger sucking, spit kink, consensual panty stealing, masturbation (f), first time for oral, slight corruption, implied dumbification, dom!maki. slight mommy kink, humiliation (kind of)

“I love you.”

“Love you, too, Honey.”

You peck your husband on the lips goodbye before he’s out the door with a briefcase in hand and his suit as neat as ever. Staring at the leftovers, you sigh before eventually picking up the plates and pilling them in the sink, scrubbing off the sticky mess of maple syrup. Soap suds cover up your gloves as you lather them in bubbly water and plan out the rest of your day. The dishes, the laundry, a few episodes of that one show you barely pay attention to, lunch, more dishes, more laundry, a start on dinner.

You can’t help but wonder — Is this it?

You love your husband, something you remind yourself repeatedly when he’s gobbling down on the rice on his dinner plate and when he’s leaving his dirty clothes all over your bedroom floor. You love him. You want to bear his children, want to raise them, want to do the chores so that he doesn’t. You want to cook, to clean, to do everything for the sake of his pleasure. It’s what your mother insisted, it’s what she did, and it’s what her mother did. You love your husband.

Is this it?

Twenty years old, a husband with a stable living, something that can suffice for the rest of your life. All you need is to do your chores, give him your body, be his prim and proper wife. It sounds fairly easy, another thing that your mother insisted, so what is it?

Why do you crave more? Why do you have to remind yourself that you love him, love this life at all?

Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock on your door. When you open it, you’re met with the sight of a tall girl with glasses. She’s in a black maid dress that stops at her knees, complemented by the white apron that flows along with the part of the skirt, ruffling at the end. She has a bag hanging on her shoulder and her expression shows slight amusement at your surprise. Surely, she’s at the wrong house, right?

“Are you (Y/N)?”

“Y-Yes,” you stutter out, not realizing that you were staring, “Uh, w-who are you?”

“I’m Zenin Maki, but you can call me Maki,” she observes your figure, noticing the sly nervousness radiating off of your expression, “Your husband hired me. Said he wanted someone to help you out.”

“O-Oh.”

“May I come in?”

“Of course.” You move to the side, watching the woman scan your house. It’s slightly messy, a result of your husband not cleaning up after lounging in the living room, and she doesn’t waste time to clean it up, rearranging the decorative pillows and helping you carry the leftover dishes to the sink. Just as you’re about to put on your gloves, her hand comes out to grab your wrist and the other takes it out of your hand. “Don’t. I got this.”

You step back, watching Maki put on the gloves herself, lathering the dishes as you did before. You don’t know what to do, standing there awkwardly as she places them in the dishwasher. It’s a given opportunity to observe how her skirt stops right above her knee, flowing out naturally and modestly accentuating her body. Her headband compliments the look, her hair tied back with bangs covering up her forehead, stopping short of her glasses. Warmth creeps up your neck to your cheeks and you sharply look away, focusing your vision on the bowl of apples on the center of the dining table.

“You can rest, Miss. But I’m going to need help putting away the dishes later. Is that okay?” She asks and you turn around to give her a nod. “Is there anything else you need done?”

“Oh, no, it’s okay, you really don’t need to-”

“I was hired to help you out with chores. Please, do not worry about me.”

You sigh in defeat, looking directly at her face, her pretty face. She had a sharp expression, piercing eyes that can bore into your soul, defined cheekbones. A sensation of uneasiness rested in your lower belly and you realize you’re staring when she waves a hand over your face. “Hello? Miss?”

“S-Sorry! I was just thinking about something!”

“Oh. Well, I was just asking if you can help me put some of the dishes away just for today. I don’t know where everything is and I don’t like disorganization.”

“Of course. Of course.”

“You need anything else?”

“Folding the laundry, for now, I think? The clothes should be dry. Everything is upstairs.”

She follows behind you as you bring her out to the terrace where your laundry hangs on a string. Dresses, button ups, and ties of earth toned colors adorn the area and you touch the fabrics. The sun had definitely done its job. Maki is already setting up the ironing board that was previously laying in the corner of your bedroom and gathering your husband’s work attire together. When she’s done flattening the creases on the pieces of clothing, you take them, hanging and folding. With her help, you were finished in half the time it usually took you.

“Thank you, Maki. Really, I appreciate it.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Miss. Your husband hired me to do my job and I am happy to help.”

As you hang your last dress, you give her a smile.  

—

“Honey, I’m home!”

Your husband’s voice sounds throughout the house as he’s met with the sight of you and Maki laying out plating foods and placing them on the dinner table. He smiles and you walk towards him to greet him with a hug and a kiss. Maki continues with the task, sparing a glance at the both of you. “You didn’t tell me you hired a maid,” you whisper to your husband, “Though, she has been very helpful.”

“I’m glad, Honey.” He replies, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Kind of curious as to why you hired one in the first place.”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s have dinner, alright?” He shoots you a grin before looking over to Maki. “Feel free to stay for dinner, Maki!”

“I’m alright. I should get going anyways—”

“Nonsense!” You husband eagerly responds, pulling out an extra chair just for her, “My dear wife here says you’ve been helpful.”

“I have classes.”

“Oh. Well you might as well take some home!” You suggest, walking over to your tupperware cabinet.

Before you go back to your husband, you plate some food for her to take home and make sure she makes it back to her car as she walks out the door. You let out an involuntary sigh, leaning against the doorway and feeling content that you now have an extra hand.

“So?”

“So, what?”

“Why do we need a maid?”

“Simple,” he grabs your hands from across the table, “I think we’re ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“Ready to have kids, silly woman!” His laughter booms throughout the entire room, “I mean you’ll have to get off birth control and everything, but I think it’s time.”

You laugh nervously as he leans in for a kiss. “Honey, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t know about this.”

“What?” He stands up, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, “Why not?”

“I’m just kind of, uh, scared? I don’t know if I’m ready and we just got married a few months ago, you know?”

“Come on, don’t be scared,” he reassures you, kissing your cheek, “I hired Maki to be our maid to lay the stress off of you. I offered her an in-house job, which she’ll be starting next week, just so that you could rest easy while you’re pregnant.”

“In-house? Is she going to live with us?”

“Of course! She’s a college student, so she doesn’t mind getting paid and living in a house,” he explains before going back to the topic, “So please. I want you to have our baby. We can start tonight.” He suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

“O-Okay.”

—

The next few days, the cycle continues.

Maki comes in the morning, usually just about right before your husband leaves for work, and she helps you throughout the day. Doing dishes, folding clothes, cleaning the bathroom. Most of the time you help her, usually against her will, but it leads to a calm and comforting silence when you work together. She’s moving in soon, two days to be exact, and you think it’s time to get to know a little bit about her.

One problem; She’s reserved, which intimidates you, and you’re too scared to start a conversation.

Eventually, you’re going to have to break the ice. So you do it as she’s ironing the clothes and you’re putting them away. You think up a few basic questions, mulling them over as to not make her uncomfortable because you want to get to know her.

“My husband tells me you’re in university right now. What’s your major?”

“Sports science.” She replies bluntly, continuing her task.

“Oh, cool cool,” you try to figure out a way to continue, but come up blank. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk.

“What do you do when your husband is not around?” She asks curiously, as if she sensed your desire to hold the conversation.

“Chores, usually,” you frown, “Sometimes I watch TV, but I wish I was able to do other stuff. I really like painting, too. But I haven’t done much of that ever since we got married.”

“Oh. Why not?”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to become an artist. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid, but my family wanted stability for me so they introduced me to a family friend’s older son,” you smile, memories of your younger self filling up your head before a sense of sadness falls over your expression, “They said this would be good for me. And it is. My husband is a good man, I have a roof over my head and dinner on the table everyday, you know. I’m not complaining,” you pause, reeling out of your own thoughts, “Sorry if I just overshared.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” she reassures you, “Just out of curiosity, how old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“That’s funny, I’m twenty one.”

“You’re closer to my age than my husband,” you laugh, folding another white button up before placing it in a drawer, “We are in very different positions.”

“Yes, we are,” she chuckles, “A struggling college student and a cool housewife.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say cool—”

“Nonsense!” She grumbles, an attempt to mock your husband.

“Nonsense!”

“Nonsense!”

The both of you laugh and you realize how she seems almost angelic. The look in her eyes that was once piercing and intimidating was soft and heavenly. Her cheeks are flushed red and her smile was alluring. Before you even realize it, a feeling of warmth settles in your lower belly and it gets harder and harder to take your eyes off of her. Her chuckle was music to your ears and you’ve internally decided that it was one of your favorite sounds.

—

“Goodnight, Honey.”

He plants a kiss on your sweaty forehead before turning his back towards you, opting to hug a pillow on the side instead. Everything is wet, sticky, and gross, but before you can say anything, your husband is already fast asleep, little snores filling the air of the master bedroom. You lay down for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling in the dark until you gather up the last of your willpower to get up and clean the mess between your legs.

It was an okay night.

Sure, you came, but it was just boring. There was nothing to it, only the huffs and groans and praises from your husband as he lived out his fantasy of finally being able to breed you. You’re happy to provide him, as long as it makes him happy, because he loves you and you love him. Even if you have to clean up the mess yourself, even if you don’t finish, even if that rush of loving emotion that everyone seems to describe never hits you.

You’re happy.

That’s what you tell yourself anyways. Yet, your fingers rub furiously on your clit while the other pumps in and out of your dripping cunt. You’re close and you pretend that it’s her fingers You pretend that it’s her fingers that you’re clenching around, her mouth leaving soft kisses from your neck down to your exposed breasts. You pretend that you’re tugging on dark hair, asking for more, but when you come down from your high, the ringing in your ears stops suddenly and the snores overtake your hearing once again.

Maki.

It’s wrong, disgustingly wrong, but there’s no way to escape her. Not when she’s in your house in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. She helps with everything, things that you didn’t even consider yourself, talks to you about the things you like. And you know that her favorite color is black, her family would have much rather preferred if she went the same route you did, and she likes junk food a little too much.

You also wonder when you should tell your husband that you definitely have not gone off those pills.

—

“Miss?”

“Yes?” You respond, a grocery bag in your arms filled with different fruits, vegetables, and meat. Although you've made a few additions to your list and you were unsure at first, but as Maki empties it, her eyes light up at the sight of the bright little bag.

“You got chips?”

“Well, yeah. They’re for you. I know you liked them.”

She beams at you and it’s almost blinding. There’s an odd flutter in your stomach and you ignore it, but it only becomes stronger when she rips open the bag and munches on the whole thing in seconds. The small satisfied moan from the first bite has you internally celebrating. She looks at peace. All she’s doing is eating a bag of her favorite chips, yet it fills you with some unexplainable feeling of warmth. You make another mental note to buy even more next time.

—

“What do you think of him?”

“Who?” She asks, sitting up on the couch as she watches you get lost on the canvas in front of you.

“My husband.”

“Oh,” she pauses, her hand coming from under her chin to think, “He’s pretty cool, I guess. He also pays me which is pretty cool, you know.”

“Come on, I won’t tell him,” you insist, coming close, your hands involuntarily brushing over hers. She doesn’t pull them away, letting you rest them, enjoying the extra warmth.

“I mean, he’s a man, alright.”

“What does that even mean?”

“No offense,” she continues, finding the least rudest way to say it, “He’s kind of basic, you know? Which isn’t bad but he yells at the TV when watching football, has you light his cigarettes, and waits for you to serve him food. Just your typical husband things, I guess.”

“Are you saying my husband is boring?” You ask with a stoic face, watching the fear fill her eyes.

“No, no! That’s not what I—”

“Kidding,” you chuckle as she purses her lips before joining along, “I was just curious.”

“Well, why?”

“I don’t know,” you say, sighing as you think of all the times he did anything romantic for you, “He’s a good man, you know that, right?”

“Well, of course.”

“He brings me flowers, gives me goodnight kisses, tells me he loves me, but—” you pause, afraid to finish the thought. Your heart pounds at the mess of ideas on your mind and you’re ashamed, “I don’t know if I feel that love thing those people always talk about.”

“What do you mean?”

She’s intrigued to say the least. You’re fiddling your thumbs with a nervous smile on your face. All the while, the music you put on fades in the background until it’s only the two of you, hearts beating fast, blood rushing to your cheeks. When you finally look her in the eye, she doesn’t miss how glassy they look and that’s when her suspicions are confirmed without a verbal sentence — you’re unsure.

“He- Well, I don’t know. Forget I said anything about it,” you clasp your hands together before getting back to work in the kitchen, “And please, don’t tell him.”

Uncertainty, you’re most definitely full of it, but Maki is almost sure she’s figured it out before you have and she likes to think that she’s gotten to know you. She’s picked up how you play with your fingers when you’re unsure, how you smooth down your dress when you try to keep your composure, how that your smile loses genuinity while you’re at the dinner table. She decides it’s not her business, she’s only the housemaid and you’re just the housewife she works under.

But she’ll always be there for you with open arms if you need it.

—

“We gotta make breakfast, Maki.” You poke her side, waking her up from a deep sleep.

You’re already ready for the day, the top half of your hair already tied in a bun and a lilac colored dress adorning your figure. She’s caught off guard when she opens her eyes and you’re sitting up on the side of the bed poking at her hip. Her vision is blurry without her glasses, but she can clearly smell the sweet scent of vanilla perfume. Taking in a deep breath, she sits up, too, reaching for her glasses on the bedside table.

And her sleek, black hair cascades down her shoulders, though it’s slightly messy, you’re tempted to run your fingers through the soft looking strands. You’ve seen Maki in her maid uniform at home, jeans when she goes out to shop, but the sight of her in a satin night dress was different and your breath hitches when the blanket falls off the upper half of her body. It’s a loose fit and she looks absolutely ethereal, almost like an angel.

She turns her head to the side and you fake cough, trying to make up for staring a little too long. “I know your day doesn’t start yet, but I was hoping to get some help on breakfast today. Is that alright with you?”

“Of course, Miss. I’ll go get ready right now.

“Cool.”

You walk down to the kitchen, preparing a pie crust for your quiche and reading through the recipe you were given by a friend. By the time you blind bake the crust, Maki joins you in her usual attire. “Need anything, Miss?”

“While the quiche is baking, I just need you to make some cookie dough. Just the usual, my family is coming over later.”

“Of course.”

She gets to work right away, finding the ingredients immediately as you fill up your empty pie crust and dance around the kitchen. Right after the quiche is placed in the oven, your hips sway along with the music that plays in the radio. It’s all soft and slow, Maki smiling at your antics while you jokingly attempt to serenade her. She’s mixing in the chocolate chips into the dough and you walk forward, energetic and lost in the song.

You don’t think much of it when you grab her hip and your faces come closer together. One second, you were playfully dancing around your kitchen and the next, your breaths mingle, the gap between the two of you closing. It’s her who decides to lean forward, soft lips meeting together, your back suddenly meeting the edge of the counter. Her hands rest on the surface, each on either side of you, and her lips taste like cherries. Your hands come up to her cheeks as your mouths meld together until it’s hard to breathe.

You pull away first, remembering that your husband is still sleeping upstairs. “What are we doing?”

“Don’t know,” she replies, her hand starting to trail under the skirt of your dress, “It feels right, though.”

“Should we stop?” You mutter, just barely enough for her to hear.

“Do you want to?”

“No.”

It gives her the extra rush of courage to get under your dress and push your body until your back is flat on the counter. Luckily, there was nothing underneath except for a pair of plain black panties, a damp spot right in the middle. Her thumb presses on your clothed clit and by the way your body squirms she knows you’re sensitive which only adds to the sadistic fun of pulling down your underwear at an agonizingly slow pace. “Need you,” you breathe out, your legs being positioned on her shoulders, “I need you, please.”

“I got you, Baby. Don’t worry.” She replies with a smile, her breath hitting your wet cunt.

Your breath hitches as her tongue trails up from your hole up to your sensitive pearl and she moans at the sweet taste of your arousal. Her hands keep a firm grip on your thighs, holding them open as you bite your lip to contain your moans. He’s right upstairs, you think, but any thought of caution starts to leave you once her soft lips wrap around your clit, sucking on the bundle of nerves causing your knuckles to turn white as they grab onto the edge of the counter.

Your husband has never touched you like this. Ever.

The feeling of her mouth is foreign, but welcome. Before you know it, the grip on one of your thighs loosen and two fingers slip into your soaked cunt. She’s gentle at first, the pumps of her digits ever so delicately pressing against your g spot, but once you hike up the skirt of your dress and thread your fingers through her hair, she speeds up, hitting hard and fast. “M-Maki— Shit!”

You squeal when her tongue starts massaging your clit and your walls clench despite being empty, “Such a pretty girl,” she coos, watching in awe at how your slick coats her fingers, “Such a pretty pussy.”

Lewd praises and squelches fill the kitchen air as the coil in your stomach builds and snaps until your cunt is gushing all over her. Your back arches as you reach your high and she leaves a trail of kisses from your thigh to your sopping pussy. Bringing her fingers to your mouth, she gives you one command.

“Suck.”

You obey, wrapping your soft lips around her digits, swirling your tongue and she gives a graceful smile, brushing a thumb over your flushed cheeks. A sheen of sweat covers your forehead, but the sound of footsteps brings you out of your thoughts. Maki pockets your underwear, giving you a wink, before washing her hands and taking the nearly forgotten quiche out of the oven.

By the time you hear the footsteps of your husband, you’re decent, minimal signs of physical exertion just barely noticeable. She’s going through her usual routine of plating your food in front of the two of you, doing the dishes, laundry, everything. You want to say something, you really do, and you’re left with your own questions.

At night, you’re left pondering the strong women with silky black hair whilst in the arms of your husband.

—

Two days.

That’s how long it’s been since you’ve gotten the most mind blowing orgasm of your life. Your panties are still missing, though you don’t mind knowing who has them. And when you think about the things your mother has told you repeatedly about your perfectly structured life, it crumbles with each second. When you look at the face next to you, the indifference in your heart starts to become more and more prominent.

And even though you should feel guilty — well, you do — you also don’t regret it at all.

You still do your chores as expected, make the bed, cook dinner. You still organize the laundry, do the dishes, and tend to your rose garden. You still disinfect, fold, and have sex with your husband who’s indifferent to your pleasure every night. Almost every domestic activity was accompanied by Maki, who often sought to take over or help.

Yet, she wouldn’t even look at you.

She wouldn’t say anything that didn’t pertain to a grocery list or a command and it was infuriating. Still, you were determined to bring it up — how could you not? As you fold blankets on the couch and think, you call out her name. “Maki?”

“Yes, Miss?”

“Are we going to talk about what happened?”

“What do you mean?”

Your heart drops a tiny bit, it was an expected response based on the fact it felt like she was avoiding you, but you still had to swallow the lump in your throat. “Nevermind. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” She asks as you’re looking down on the rug, trying to focus on the pattern instead of the woman in front of you.

“I’m just sorry I brought it up. I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry that we did whatever that was,” you take a deep breath as forming tears blurred your vision, “I’m sorry that I can’t fucking do this, Maki. I don’t love him. I can’t love him.”

She sighs, scooching forward and closer to you then pulling the half folded blanket from your hands. “You shouldn’t be sorry. This was my fault.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“You’re just, I’m just—” you inhale again, trying to find the right words to say, “You’re different. You’re different from him in all the best ways. You listen to what I have to say, you care about how I feel.”

“That’s something that any good friend would do—”

“I don’t want to be your friend.”

“Oh.”

She brings her fingers to your chin, nudging your head up until you’re looking her in the eyes for the first time in days. She gazes at you, appreciating every curve and every mark on your skin. You take this as an opportunity to lean in, planting a soft kiss on her lips. She doesn’t stop it, instead indulging in the act, cupping your cheeks.

It soon becomes hungry, her tongue slipping past your lips, you being rolled over onto your back as she slips her hand under your floral dress. She presses a finger against your clothed cunt, causing you to gasp and throw your head back. At the same time she leaves sloppy kisses on the exposed skin of your neck and you struggle to form a coherent sentence.

“M-Maki, stop,” you whimper and she pauses, “Wanna make you feel good.”

“Oh?” She smirks, giving you another breathless kiss, “Wanna put that mouth to use, Baby?”

“Yeah,” you breath out, “Wanna make you feel good, Mommy.”

Her expression is filled with pride as she drags her fingers across your face and into your mouth. You comply with the silent command, wrapping your lips around the digits and sucking softly, swirling your tongue around them. “Good girl.”

You let out a hum while she discards her panties somewhere on the ground and her bare cunt hovers over your face. It’s intimidating, yet the sight of her glistening folds makes you wet. All you wanted to do was taste her, drink up all of her juices, and when you finally do you can’t get enough. Despite the lack of experience, you do what you think would feel good, giving experimental licks, noting when her body twitched and when she would let out a saccharine moan.

“Fuck — you’re doing so well,” she coos, carding her fingers through your hair, admiring the sight of your half lidded eyes and the feel of your tongue, “You sure this is your first time eating pussy?”

You hum in response which sends vibrations throughout her body, causing her to throw her head back. You grip onto her lower back, desperately bringing her wet cunny closer to yourself and she rolls her hips, grinding herself on your mouth. You’re already addicted, lapping at all of the cum she has to offer, watching intently as her mouth forms an o shape and she soaks the lower half of your face.

“Such a good fucking girl, aren’t you?”

She gets off your face and you smile with pride, tugging off the rest of her maid uniform until she’s completely bare in your living room. Every curve of her body fills you with even more lust and you’re sure your panties are soaked just from the sight. Her thighs are defined, muscular even, and you kiss them before going back to her ruined pussy, lapping at all the slick.

“You’re so pretty, Maki,” you utter, your breath hitting her neck as you come back up to her face.

She pushes you backward until you’re flat on your back, pinning your wrists together before ripping off your panties. Maki wastes no time, two fingers entering your hole and curling with every thrust. “You got this wet from eating me out?” She questions cockily, leaving an open mouthed kiss on the shell of your ear along with a nibble, “You’re a cute little thing, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” you whimper in between breaths, “Feels s’good.”

“Yeah?” She responds, watching you come undone underneath her.

Your orgasm builds up with every pump, the coil in your stomach tightening. She fastens the pace, every movement being calculated, her fingers knuckles deep in your cunt. Her fingertips manage to brutally hit the spongy spot inside of you, causing your legs to shake. Your back arches when her lips wrap around your clit, the simultaneous stimulation making your body tremble in delight. You’re gushing all over her fingers and she stares in awe as your slick drips down your thighs.

“Can we go to the bedroom?” You request meekly, barely recovering from your last orgasm.

“Of course, Baby,” she beams at you, body gleaming with a sheen of sweat, your heart fluttering in your chest.

Maki picks you up bridal style with almost no effort, pressing kisses all over your face on the way upstairs. When you finally get to the bedroom, she lays you down gently, almost as if you were a delicate piece of glass. But the moment of soft intimacy doesn’t last.

It doesn’t last when her pussy hovers over your face with her head buried in between your legs, licking hot stripes on your folds, sucking on your pearl while her fingers brush on your legs before finding their way back to your ruined cunt. Your tongue presses on her slit and her hips lower until your mouth is full of pussy. Her sweet taste is addicting and concurrent moans only heighten the pleasure, vibrations shooting through both of your bodies. Her thumb circles your clit furiously as she pulls away from your cunt to speak.

“You like this, don’t you? Ain’t this the same bed where you get fucked by your husband?” She questions demandingly, slapping your cunny.

You whine into her cunt, the sudden pain causing your walls to clamp around nothing. She laughs sadistically, pinching your clit, biting at your inner thighs.

“S’good, such a good little slut,” she coos, her nose tickling your clit as her face inches closer, “Bet you like getting fucked by your maid, don’t you?”

You can only respond with a squeal, her hand laying another blow to your aching pussy. “Don’t worry, pretty girl. I got you.” She reassures you, mouth ravaging your cunt, slurping every drop of cum you had to offer. She’s close to her own orgasm, you can tell by the way she rides your face, soaking the lower half until the sweet droplets slide down your neck. You massage her clit with your tongue as she comes down from her high, but after yours, she doesn’t stop.

Instead, she continues to feast on your cunt like a starved woman, the pressure in your stomach building for the nth time that day. Coming again almost hurts, but she ignores the high pitched wails spilling from your lips, the sounds only encouraging her to keep sucking until your body trembles. At this point, you’re light headed, vision gradually becoming blurry. Your walls are pulsating, your mind is unable to process everything at once.

Especially the shocked man who stands in the doorway of your bedroom.

And at that exact moment, you let out a sob as Maki sadistically looks your husband right in the eye, her mouth still devouring your overstimulated cunny with fervor. Your hole leaks milky white, staining your shared sheets and you cry out her name, hopelessly gripping onto the plush of her ass for stability, digging your nails into the flesh. When she pulls away, a string of spit connects from her mouth to your pearl and her pupils are blown, cheeks covered with your arousal, all the while maintaining eye contact with him.

As if there was no one in the room, she readjusts her until her face hovers over yours, her swollen pussy present on your thigh.

“Open.”

You comply readily and she grabs your face with one hand, squishing your wet cheeks so hard that they start to ache.

“Good girl.”

She spews into your mouth, watching the blob as it glides down your tongue and you swallow obediently before she comes down for a sweet kiss. The taste of yourself makes your head dizzy with lust. Let it be known that the horrified figure standing in the doorway could never make you feel as good as the maid.  

Oops.

© this is a work of @crybabygumi, all rights reserved. do not plagiarize, copy, or repost my work on other platforms.

[wave0fg00dvibes]

Baby - Spencer Reid x Reader

Request: Spencer’s daughter tries to tell him that she’s “not a baby anymore.” He doesn’t take it too well.

A/N: I’M FREAKING BACK, BABY! It has been so long and I’m so very sorry. Here is some tooth-rotting fluff for y’all because I love you. I actually wrote this for the lovely @thekatherinewinchester​ as a part of @imagining-in-the-margins fic swap, and it was SO fun to write. It also really helped me to have a deadline. I think I’m going to try to do that more often!

Please leave feedback if you have any! Lots and lots and LOTS of love, as always.

Category: FLUFF

Content Warning: None

Word Count: 1.7K

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

The first time our daughter attempted to assert her independence, she had just turned 6 years old.

A morning routine with two young children was often chaotic, to say the least. However, the first day of school was always a special one. For some reason, something about this particular September morning made me extra grateful and reflective, even among the disarray. 

1 ½ year old Grayson sat in his highchair, babbling nonstop. Though he had only just started eating his applesauce, it completely covered his face and arms. Before I knew it, he was using his spoon to fling the food onto the floor. 

Was that an issue on the top of my priority list right now? Nope.

Ava sat at the kitchen table, swinging her legs and eating her cereal with the enthusiasm of an excited 1st grader. Her polka dot dress and matching headband were neatly and meticulously adjusted, revealing the hidden nerves within her initial excitement.

The small TV on the counter was tuned into the local news, though no one ever really listened. Even if anyone wanted to pay attention, Grayson’s babbling would probably drown it out anyway. It was mostly just background noise. But, selfishly, I liked to know the state the world was in before my husband left our home each morning to go make it better, safer. I liked to at least have some idea of what he was going to encounter, even if it meant certain days were filled with anxiety and worry. 

Dealing with the unease and stress was a small price to pay for the unceasing love and immeasurable happiness.

To be honest, I never imagined a world where I’d be simultaneously getting our children ready for the day and scrambling eggs for Spencer as he slept in after a long night of work. I never imagined his severe, draining job would let us have even a sliver of happy domesticity. But, as I scraped the last of the eggs onto his now-full plate, I reflected on how lucky the universe had deemed us. This shouldn’t be a reality, and yet, I couldn't imagine our life together any differently.

“Mama?” The voice of my sweet girl snapped me out of my reflective moment. 

“What is it, Ava?” I asked, momentarily pausing my motions. She turned around in her chair to face me, eagerness lighting up her small face.

“I’m really excited to go back to school.”

I couldn’t help but smile. She truly was her father’s daughter in every capacity.

“I’m so glad! You’re going to have an amazing day!”

Her bright, golden eyes sparkled, and she turned back to finish her cereal.

Spencer would definitely be up soon. There was no way he was going to miss the sendoff of his favorite girl on her first day of 1st grade.

There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that Ava was going to blow all of her teachers away. I insisted on keeping her in kindergarten for her first year of school so she could make friends and get used to that type of social environment, but now that she was starting more difficult content, I knew all bets were off. She was absolutely going to skip grades, make breakthroughs, and undoubtedly change the world. 

But, thankfully, that was a conversation for another day, and one Spencer was undoubtedly going to have to help me through.

At that very moment, my sweet husband rushed into the kitchen, fastening his tie as he jogged. Even in his disheveled haste, the elation in his face and pep in his clumsy steps revealed that he was just as excited about this day as Ava, if not more.

Grayson babbled in the happiest tone he could muster at the sight of his daddy, and I couldn’t help but smile right along with him.

“Good morning, buddy!” Spencer smiled, crouching to meet Grayson’s eye level and pinch his chubby, applesauce covered cheek.

The tiny gesture took me back to a time when Spencer’s cares and worries were much different. Back then, he would never have thought to voluntarily reach for the grubby face of an infant, no matter how cute. But, six years and two kids later, this was a beautiful reminder of how much we had both changed, and how lucky we were to grow together and not apart. 

However, in true Spencer Reid fashion, as soon as he was done making silly faces at our son,  he padded over the sink to rid his hands of the sticky, grimy applesauce.

Everything may be different now, but some things never change. 

As I packed Ava’s lunch, I felt his eyes on me from behind. Before I knew it, he lightly turned me away from my task and wrapped his arms completely around me, leaning down to rest his head on my shoulder.

“Thank you.” He softly whispered.

Forgetting the rush of the morning for a moment, I let myself sink into the embrace. For though our lives plowed forward at seemingly a million miles an hour, moments like these kept me grounded, sane. 

“For what?” I asked.

“The extra sleep. The food. The babies. Everything.” 

The case they returned from last night must have been a nasty one. Spencer was a very affectionate person, but something about this profession felt heavier. 

Nevertheless, even after so many years, he still had the ability to make my heart skip a beat.

I pulled back from the hug to smile up at him, running my hands up his arms to get lost in his hair. His eyes reflected utter joy and gratitude, despite the fact that he had undoubtedly seen some horrifying things for the past few days. 

“I love you so much.” The words flew out before I could stop them. Of course, I meant them with my whole heart, the phrase just seemed so mundane compared to my ever-growing, aching love for him. 

The love in his eyes and sparkle in his smile told me he knew. He always knew.

He pressed a slow, firm kiss to my lips, hands coming to rest gently on my hips as we slowly swayed together. 

“I love you too.” He whispered, and before I could fully savor it, the restless world started turning again. 

Stealing moments with him would forever make my heart sing, but today needed to be about our sweet girl and nothing else. After all, according to her the first day of 1st grade marks the “beginning of the true educational journey.” Lord knows we couldn’t miss a second of that.

Spencer quickly walked over to the plate I had ready for him, setting it across from Ava at the table and kissing her head as he passed.

“Good morning, baby! Are you excited for your first day?”

Ava was silent. I felt the air in the room change as she put down her spoon and looked up at him, features completely serious. Somehow, I knew what was coming before she even opened her mouth, and Spencer was not going to like it.

“Daddy. I am not a baby.”

As expected, Spencer choked on the small piece of egg he had just attempted to swallow. In spite of the sad punch of the reality that my sweet girl was growing up, I nearly snorted, covering my mouth with my hand so as to not offend her.

Spencer looked absolutely dumbfounded.

“But, you are technically my baby-” He attempted to explain.

Ava was not having it. She took a deep breath, pushing her bowl of lucky charms aside so she could fold her hands in front of herself on the table. 

“The term ‘baby’ is applied to infants from birth to the age of 1, and then sometimes to toddlers from ages 1 to 4. I am 6 now, daddy, so technically I have already let you get away with it for an extra year.”

Oh, my girl. What a little firecracker she was. No one in the entire world besides her could silence Dr. Spencer Reid with one sentence.

Spencer sat there at a loss for words, fork still in hand, clearly trying to formulate a coherent sentence. 

“But…”

The school bus pulled up in front of our house with impeccable timing. 

“Ava honey, the bus is here!” I gladly interrupted, shoving the lunchbox into her backpack and zipping it up.

Her poor father. I had never seen his jaw drop for so long before. 

But, as always, there was no time to unpack in the current moment. That would have to be a later conversation. 

Ava excitedly got down from the table, running to put her dishes in the sink before grabbing her backpack and putting it on with complete elation. I lifted Grayson from the highchair, quickly wiping off his applesauce-covered face with the ratty old t-shirt of Spencer’s I was wearing. By that time, Spencer had slightly snapped out of his trance in order to help Ava put on her sparkly converse shoes and matching coat. 

The four of us were greeted by the autumn breeze as we stepped out onto the front porch. Spencer and I instinctively bent down to simultaneously kiss her cheeks, and she hugged our necks with the fervor of all the love in the world. She gave Grayson a small cheek kiss as well before turning away to start her new educational adventure.

“Have the best day, sweet girl!” I yelled after her as she sprinted down the driveway to the bus. She waved in reply. Though I couldn't have been prouder of her, I couldn’t help but notice the new missing piece of my heart that seemingly got on the school bus with her. 

It was at that moment that I realized Spencer hadn’t said a single word since his baby proclaimed otherwise. He still looked like he had seen a ghost.

“You alright there, old man?” I playfully nudged him with my shoulder, bouncing Grayson on my hip. 

“But she… she is my baby…”

I smiled, knowingly, trying to hide the small pain that struck my heart at the thought of Ava growing up. There were no words I could say that would calm his racing heart in the moment. So, I held our smallest baby a little bit tighter and leaned up to lightly brush my lips against Spencer’s.

“I know. Me too.”

[mariesocuniverse]

Relationships: NCT DREAM

Look for Mark and Haechan: here

RenMae

Okay RenMae is one of the top if not the #1 among NCT

fans are like almost 100% sure they’re soulmates

Like there was no awkward small talk when they first met they just talked and ended up each other’s best friend

You would think they’d be childhood friends or at least friends before they became trainees with the way they interact even though they met at SM

she did confess to him before debut that she had a crush on him but he thought she was joking and now none of them talk about of that

Whenever she has a hard time sleeping and wants to sleep with someone, the first option is renjun

she also steals his clothes a lot and renjun’s pretty sure half the clothes in Mae’s closet belong to him

he just stopped fighting her about it because of how stubborn she was and let her do what she wanted

there was this one time he ran out of shirts to wear so he just walked to Mae’s closet and took one out

there was also this one time Renjun was in China and Jaemin posted a pic of Mae taking a nap with Renjun’s sweater on saying that she missed him so much so she wore his sweater

yeaaaaah nct twt broke that day and Renjun’s phone was blowing up with notifications

they dressed as peter pan and tinkerbell for halloween and have each other as that for each other’s contact name uwu

okay enough with the corny stuff

just because they’re close doesnt mean they’ll hold back on each other when it comes to teasing each other

like you wouldnt want to get in their crossfire unless you want them to turn their attention on you instead

MaeNo

you would think he’s older than her because of how protective he is of her

He has eyes like a damn hawk when they’re going somewhere

whenever they’re doing schedules you can see Jeno holding her hand as they make their way through all the crowd and glancing around to see if anyone has any bad intentions towards her

If it weren’t for his status as an idol you would think he was a bodyguard and he would beat up someone for Mae’s sake

whenever they record Jeno always waits for her to finish so they can go home together no matter how late at night it is

there was this one time sasaengs kept calling her phone during a live so he just grabbed her phone and turned it off and threw it too the side without saying a word

Second person Mae goes to when she has nightmares

they’re also have a really playful relationship

like there was this one time she wasn’t paying attention to him so he just lifted her and put her over his shoulder like a potato sack even though there was staff watching them Mae has tried and failed to do the same to jeno

You know how jeno says he likes being called no jam bc of how it makes him feel less burdened? Yeah she always throws him under the bus when it comes to variety shows

she has a samoyed plush on her bed when she bought when she went shopping with him bc it reminded her of jeno

Sometimes she hugs the plush instead of jeno just to annoy him lol

“I’m right here you know” “well the plushie is more huggable for you information”

Yes he did tackle her after that comment

MaeMin

okay this man right here

you know how he melts at everything jisung does? yeah the same goes for Mae

only that she openly accepts his affection and lets him cling to her whenever he wants like his personal teddy bear

you know how at fansigns idols sometimes get gifted cute headbands and plushies? he openly yelled “i love you!” to her when he saw her with a cat ear headband surrounded by plushies

she’s also like really impressed by him

she never thought she’d meet someone who would do aegyo so willingly and so shamelessly

like that one episode of weekly idol where they did the ottoke song and jaemin did a duet with everyone? yeah she couldn’t believe someone like him existed

he basically acts as her parent if none of the 127 members aren’t near them

Whenever they’re on reality shows and the prize is food he always put someone on her plate regardless of whether she lost or not

third person mae goes to when she has nightmares

would not leave his side for a week when he was put on hiatus and couldnt perform with the rest of the dreamies

she didnt want him to feel lonely while everyone else went to promote without him :(

All in all, they’re very affectionate and if they’re together you’ll have to pry jaemin’s hands off her

ChenMae

Mae’s child #1

he got lost in the company building and was too shy to ask the staff so mae approached him and brought him to wear he needed to be

accidentally called her hyung once when he was still learning korean but it ended up sticking so now he and jisung call her hyung instead of noona

When he first joined she helped him adjust with her broken Chinese and now they help each other with the language

one time she visited his house for dinner and his mom made her eat a lot of food because of how skinny she was chenle didnt stop her bc she needs sustenance >:(

wants to give her a personal tour of Shanghai when they’re given enough time for vacation

you know how chenle gave 00line watches when they became adults? he had to fight mae to get her to keep it bc she didnt want him spending money on her

legit he tried to buy her stuff but the only thing she accepted was the watch and this cute charm bracelet that says NCT on it

he put one of his photocards in her phone case (the WGU one with him by the water) and she hasn’t removed it since

he’s really smug abt it and brags to the others about it jisung retaliated by putting his photocard too so now she as to make both of them visible

fights jisung for favorite child position and he wins 50% of the time even though she says she doesnt have one

MaeSung

Mae’s child #2

took one look at him and decided to protect him

she’s used to other people taking care of her so it was nice to take care of someone else for once

i said he also calls Mae hyung but it’s also because he forgets that she’s a girl?

sometimes he hears someone call Mae ‘noona’ and he just gets whiplash because he got reminded that his “hyung” is really a girl put in a boy group

they were honestly really awkward when they first met because Jisung didn’t know how to react to a girl joining the group and kinda avoided her until she cornered him

calls him a tree whenever he teases her about her height

mae when jisung tease/pranks her: i’ve fed and raised you and this is the treatment i get?!?

jisung: you’re only two years older than me….

he gets pouty when Mae doesn’t pay attention to him

theres this one video of Mae talking to another member during Resonance filming and you just see him pouting in the background before walking to her and giving her a back hug

definitely uses his status as a maknae to his advantage

she’s not even subtle about it she’ll buy or cook food for him or yield whenever he loses a game

whenever she’s not around he always brags that he’s her favorite nct member haechan and renjun get so salty abt it lmao

[british-bombs]

( TO BEAT THE DEVIL ) An introduction.

FORMAT: teleplay / novel

GENRE: horror, coming of age

LOGLINE: An interning demon drives a pair of twins cursed with obedience and honesty to kill their cult leader.

THEMES: Trauma, sexual abuse, domestic violence, victim blaming (particularly self blame), peer pressure, redemption, internalized homophobia, and religion.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Sexual abuse, violence, domestic and otherwise, manipulation, and death

EXTENDED SUMMARY, CHARACTERS, EXCERPT AND NOTES:

Carmine can taste it. They're hiding something. Humans have such a silly smell about them, turns an overwhelming shade of sweet when they've made a demonic deal. All four of these children have. He just can't figure out what, and more importantly: why.

It keeps him on the surface longer than he should be. Long enough that Lilith sees it fit to send him a fucking trainee? And if that wasn't insult enough, the trainees one of the eternal teenage know-it-alls.

He's already got four annoying toddlers to trail, and now there's one tugging his hand in the new generation's approach to soul-catching like Carmine isn't one of the best employees they've had since the turn of the century.

And somehow, to make it all worse, the trainee is good at it. And if Carmine wants to keep his spot at the top of the food chain, he's going to have to get the soul of that dumb bitch who's running the joint.

But, of course, the kid gets him murdered??? And then has the nerve to figure out how what those toddlers managed to stick their syrupy, grubby little hands in. What gives?

But two can play at that game. If he can't get the dead guy's, then he can have the next best thing.

Jesse has lived just under seventeen years, but he's ready to check out. Or he was. But of course, some selfish bastard had to come along and say you can't ever act on those thoughts again! Don't think like that!

And then the hole kept getting deeper.

Six feet deep, to be exact. He's got blood on his hands and no matter how fucking good it felt to cut off the air supply to the God who stole his innocence, it's probably not going to feel very good to watch his mom suffer through a highly publicized trial with headlines like CHILD MURDERS HIGH PROFILE BENEFACTOR!!!

Oh. Well. Billy did say if he really got in that deep, he could always strike up a deal. His soul, everything wrapped up in a nice little bow, sweet as Easter Sunday. But until then? Yeah, he's content to live in a stupid fucking Sherlock Holmes novel.

CHARACTERS:

JESSE NIX: A soon-to-be seventeen-year-old saddled with the curse of obedience. Unlike miss-lucky-Ella-Enchanted, he wasn't told to give away his mommy's locket. No-siree. He was told to give away his virginity. In his opinion, the only appropriate payback is a life. Maybe, one day, if he really snaps, he'll dig up Pastor Dallin's corpse and chop his dick off. Really stick it to the man. If he doesn't go to prison first, anyway. (spotify playlist)

NANCY NIX: Also a soon-to-be-seventeen-year-old, though saddled with the curse of honesty. It's really not so bad. That is, until she stumbles across the sight of her dearest little brother covered in blood for no reason he can push through his metal braces. She refuses to believe he did it on purpose. If only she could convince the cops without sounding like a nutjob. (spotify playlist)

BEVERLY PINES: A seventeen-year-old cursed to feel the pain of those around her. It makes for some fun family dinners with a sadistic mom and a missing dad. Distance nulls pain, but she can't ever seem to make it past state lines before her mom gets wise and breaks one of her ribs. Oh, well. She's got a bone to pick with psychos like her mom. Apparently, Pastor Dallin was one of them. She doesn't think she could stomach the pain of killing someone, so next best thing, right? (spotify playlist)

CLARICE ANDERMANN: Also a seventeen-year-old cursed to be constantly in motion. It's honestly not that bad. She's Yale bound! Perks of having endless energy for everything to cheerleading to debate contests, though she can't imagine her heart's going to keep up like this. It's already hanging on by a thread. That thread is named Beverly Pines and like hell she's letting it go to prison for nothing. (spotify playlist)

BILLY: An annoying fuck trapped in a seventeen-year-old's body. No curses. The opposite, in fact - blessed with a silver tongue and a keen sense of deduction. It takes him all of two hours to put together (almost) everything about Jesse Nix. He just didn't think he could push the repressed little fuck to murder that quick. (All the more power to him, though. Prison always makes people desperate and paranoid, AKA: an easy mark.) (spotify playlist)

MAVIS EVANGELISTA: Former housewife turned grieving widow turned revered prophet. If she got a little help from someone downstairs, then who's to know? They love her all the same. Now, she really, really wants to see how far she can push them all. (spotify playlist)

CARMINE: Just a helpful guy, passing through. Really doesn't need anything, just a little pledge, is all! And then? Then, you can have everything you want, fame, money, power, love. The sky is your limit. The water's fine! (Ignore the piranhas, they'll wait till you're dead to eat your face, just a little bit.) (spotify playlist)

NOTES:

- all of these characters have equal importance within the story.

- personal tag system for story stuff is '#tbtd' and character tags are just first name (ex: '#jesse')

- this is kind of really fucked up. the only reason i wrote it was cause i was thinking damn ella enchanted really is NOT fucked up enough. like i don't think the author of ella enchanted went dark enough. a locket? that's it? a bitch move. i'm taking it to straight murder and sexual abuse

- jesse transgender, no character straight except evil people

- i'm not entirely sure how tag lists work but i think i get the gist of them?? idk if you want rb or ask or something </3

EXCERPT:

There were moments, where she was reminded just how different this voice was, how violent.

She had found Lynette, making off with her makeup that she’d spent her own allowance on. Mavis doted on her and, from what she’d seen of other families, everyone else looked upon their little siblings with contempt, despising the burden they dragged along with their existence.

But Mavis adored Lyn. When she'd been born, her mother had come home with a tiny thing bundled in pink fleece. Mavis had taken to Lyn on sight, thinking Lynette’s headband adorned with a baby blue bow was the universe’s way of telling her happy birthday! as reparations for the ones her mother had missed while she was enduring her week long stay at the hospital.

But that mindset was a disease, one that had finally caught up with her. Had Lynette not become her burden? She was nineteen, busting her back day and night so Lynette wouldn’t have to, that she might avoid the life that Mavis had lived in those blissful six years where it was her and her alone.

Had her mother not tampered down her birthday celebrations since Lynette’s was so very close and they couldn’t afford double anyway? Had Lynette not deprived her of the teenage experiences she heard her classmates speak of, going out and tasting alcohol for the first time while Mavis followed a ten year old Lynette house to house so she could complain of a stomach ache after she’d devoured all the candy on the walk back home?

And now this! Stealing her few precious items, the few things she bothered to save up for, few things she bothered to keep hidden. For what? It wasn’t as though she was ever going to have the courage to ask a peer of her’s out. She was a thief.

One Mavis had made the mistake of taking care of. She should’ve embraced those stirrings of resentment, should’ve left Lynette to her own devices since Lynette didn’t appreciate anything, or even half of what Mavis afforded her. She should’ve left her out in the cold that Christmas. How could anyone have known? It wasn’t as though corpses could talk--

She had let Lyn take off with the whole case, as if to remind herself when she woke up the next morning what she had considered, how vile the thought was.

Lyn had never done anything unforgivable to Mavis. Mavis didn’t suppose she ever could. It was no fault of Lyn’s she didn’t understand what it was like to live with their father. How could she? It was a topic off limits to Lyn by both Mavis and their mother. After all, a child born blind doesn’t know until it’s pointed out to them.

And yet, she found guilt hard to summon. She did, but the speed at which it came, the strength, made her uneasy. What had happened to the girl she was? Lyn had been her world. What had changed?

Then, dully, that other voice, entirely of its own volition, said You did.

[themonkeycabal]

Wandavision Ep 5 Spoilers

Wherein I watch Wandavision at a stupid hour of the morning because I do not sleep like a regular human being, and sometimes I have things to say.

Previously on Wandavision, we all discovered that Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo were the BFFs we never knew we needed and now can't live without. Also Wanda reminded us that she's really scary.

We should be in the 80s now, right? Ahh the 80s. Leg warmers, Aquanet, and MTV.

Baby shenanigans with crying twins. Wanda tries to magic them to sleep and it doesn't work. "Maybe we just need some help." And in pops Agnes without waiting for them to answer the door. As you do in a sitcom hell. She's got a headband and leg warmers on and is on her way to jazzercise. Of course. Is the point of Agnes to really anchor us in a decade? Asking for real. She's very "this is the era, and these are the tropes, let's all play along now."

Vision is very protective of the babies, to such a degree and with such intensity that Agnes literally forgets her line and nervously asks Wanda if she wants her to take that again. Well, then. Agnes very super a lot does not want to be wished to the cornfield. 

The babies stopped crying during the whole "should we do this scene again" interlude. Vision noticed the weirdness and is trying to figure out what's going on, Wanda is trying very hard to pretend everything is normal. Agnes is being super duper bizarre in the background. And suddenly the twins are like three years old. Agnes has given up and got into the liquor. I don't blame her.

Opening credits. Okay, I'm sorry, 'baby' Vision is almost more stupidly funny than I can take. Like … what? I think I want that as my new icon, though. Also the credits are too long. I think they were very proud of their theme song, so we have to hear it all. These are my least favorite so far. Very 80s, but meh.

In the real world, Monica is getting x-rays and giving a report on being yeeted from Wanda World.

Jimmy Woo and Darcy are there to greet her at the end of the exam. "This is Doctor Darcy Lewis." Yes, she is! Still very proud. She's also the doctor of encouraging people to wear pants, shoving a pair at hospital gown-clad Monica. Erik's no-pants phase was very scarring.

The medic comes back and says the medical tests didn't work or something. The medic wants to do x-rays again because the first came back blank and also she's going to have to do another blood draw. Hmm. Monica is still somehow affected by Wanda World? Unclear on how that would work. Some sort of weird witchy radiation-like energy? Monica says 'no' to more needles and also wants to put pants on. Just let the woman have her pants.

Now we're on to a briefing with the acting Director of SWORD whose name I don't remember. He's very "government suit" bland, I have a hard time caring about anything he says. Also, does anybody else pronounce the 'w' in SWORD in their head when they read it? Like I cannot make my brain stop doing that. "s-WUH-ord'.

"Our initial theory had Wanda Maximoff as one of many victims. We now know she is the principle VICTIMIZER!" Settle down there, acting director guy. Why not say 'subject', 'suspect', 'perpetrator', or boring old 'cause of the anomaly". VICTIMIZER! Geez then. I'm going to guess his solution will be a tactical nuke or some such rot.

Jimmy gives background on Wanda.

Acting Director Guy: "The twins were subsequently radicalized, volunteering at Hydra." Jimmy Woo: "That's an oversimplification of events, but yes." I'm giving you heart-eyes Jimmy Woo.

"After unspecified experimentation with the mind stone, Maximoff gained telekinetic and telepathic abilities."

Then a weird aside where the Acting Director — who shall now be known as Acting Director Dick — wants to know if Wanda had a code name or a something, seeming to imply that not having one made her a bad guy?,  and then he points out how the first time she used her powers it was against the Avengers. He totally just ordered a tactical nuke from "overreacting-government-douchebags r us".  I hate this particular character trope, the government heavy who never listens to anybody and is always ready to napalm the suburbs because reasons. It's so tedious.

Jimmy points out that Wanda earned the Avengers trust and then became an Avenger herself, thank you very much. Acting Director Dick doesn't care, he's decided Wanda is a terrorist and he'll turn half of New Jersey into a glass parking lot to get rid of her. Sure am glad he's in charge of some sort of mysterious and powerful agency.

Jimmy Woo is not a fan either, and he walks back over to his new bestie and tells Darcy that while he tries not to speak ill of anybody … Darcy interrupts "then allow me", and she has no trouble saying that Acting Director Dick is, in fact, a dick. That's my girl.

Elsewhere AD Dick is blathering on about how they don't negotiate with terrorists. Well, since Wanda hasn't made any demands, or released a manifesto or anything …. Monica also points out Wanda is not a terrorist. AD Dick twists her report to make Wanda sound as terroristy as he can. I'm bored with him now.

Monica argues with him a bit and say she doesn't believe Wanda World is a premeditated act of aggression. I vote Darcy, Jimmy, and Monica wait until AD Dick is alone, and then they shove him in a locker for the rest of the season. If anybody asks he had to run back to sWUHord for meetings or something, "Darn, you just missed him. I'll tell him you're looking for him. Great. Buh-bye now".

AD Dick needs to make his big jackass point that Wanda is the most terroristy terrorist who ever terroristed, so he shows off footage of Wanda breaking into a SWORD facility to steal back Vision's body. Because that seems terroristy and not at all like some sort of emotional breakdown. As far as I can tell, she just busted open a few doors, but didn't hurt anybody. I think AD Dick doesn't know the meaning of the word terrorist.

And, yes, then she resurrected Vision in an idealized sitcom world in a small city in New Jersey. That's exactly like something a terrorist mastermind would do. Mmmhmm. Is it nice for the people trapped there with them? No, clearly not. Agnes and Herb in particular seem aware and are scared. They need to be rescued and Wanda needs LOADS of therapy. But Director Nuke the Site from Orbit over here isn't going to make anything better. Darcy, sister, shove that asshole into a locker stat.

Jimmy notes that stealing Vision's body is a violation of the Sokovia Accords. And while I appreciate his dedication to maintaining the Accords … well, I mean, look, it's body theft and all. It's not a great look; I absolutely allow that. But you can just sort of stop there. Though, that's very the Sokovia Accords "if this guy dies, his body must go to a shadowy government agency. for safety. yep."

Also Vision had a living will, where he didn't want to be used as a weapon. Sure, okay. Because I'm sure SWORD was just totally not doing anything at all with his body. Nope. Look, I'm totally a SHIELD girl and even I wouldn't necessarily trust SHEILD with that. So, who is SWORD to me? Pfft. I'd give him to Thor or something and ask him to be buried far far away. I'm just saying. I'm supposed to trust Johnny-Come-Lately S-WUH-ORD?

(In my head now is an inter-agency rivalry where SWORD is like "We have rocket ships!" and SHIELD is like "lol, our lead scientist got eaten by a rock and survived on an alien world for like six months". "But rocket ships?" "We've traveled through time a dozen times in the last year alone. We're a bigger chaotic disaster than you can ever hope to be".)

AD Dick undermines his own "SHE'S A TERRORIST!" thesis by saying she acted out of grief. And then he dismisses everybody. "Work the problem!" Uh … whut? Fine? What is the problem? That she's a WILD MURDERY TERRORIST who must be stopped! or a grief stricken woman who stole her technologically advanced boyfriend's body and probably should be talked down? Acting Director Lack of Clarity.

Jimmy wants to know how Wanda could have resurrected Vision without the Mind stone and Darcy wants to know what Vision will do when he figures it out. Fine questions, friends, fine questions. Monica is just like "acting director dick used to be a buddy but now I kind of want to punch him and am very conflicted. oh and wanda kind of freaks me out but also i feel bad for her" only she says all that without words.

Tommy and Billy are now about like 5 or 6 or something. I'm terrible with kids ages. They're up to shenanigans. Oh, they found a lost puppy dog and they're giving him a bath in the sink. It's all super adorable.

Vision wanders in and greets his family all formally and in his human face. He says he has a premonition someone might pop over. He's not a fan of sitcom neighbors either. And there's Agnes now with a dog house. How does she know whether to enter through the front door or the back door?

The dog tries to burn the house down by licking an electrical outlet? so they name him Sparky (harr harr) and Wanda magics him a collar with Agnes right there. Vision's all "wtf darling?" and she points out Agnes didn't even notice when the boys went from babies to five-year olds, she certainly didn't notice the magic collar. Agnes is trying very very hard not to notice anything. Poor Agnes.

Wanda says she's tired of hiding her abilities and Vision is Very Concerned. He's starting to figure things out.

They tell the boys they can't have a dog until they're 10, so the boys grin at each other and age themselves up to 10. That is all very unsettling. Agnes "Let's just hope this dog stays the same size." as she screams internally "save me!"

Real World. Jimmy's hustling back to the science room with coffee for Monica and Darcy. Monica is asking for some sort of wild mobile bunker to help her get back into Wanda World and Darcy's like "well, yes, but also no". But Monica knows an aerospace engineer who'd totally make it for her.  

"I can't guarantee the Hex won't just mind wipe you as you go in." "What's the hex?" "Oh, it's what I'm calling the anomaly because of it's hexagonal shape. It's starting to catch on." Darcy's so proud, but Jimmy's like 'not so much' but he's too polite to say.

Monica's determined to go back in. Jimmy wants to know who the kids are, if they've id'd them or the babies and Monica's all "oh, no, those are legit Wanda's." Darcy says if she can make stuff with her mind, and all the props and whatnot in the Wanda World are real then she's wielding an insane amount of power. Monica is sure she could have taken out Thanos if he hadn't cheated and snapped her. Jimmy thinks Captain Marvel could have done it. Monica very much doesn't want to talk about Captain Marvel.

Monica has an Idea!

Ah, she wants to see her outfit from Wanda World, which is now in the real world. So, is it real matter Wanda created, or is the perception field bleeding over to make them all see that outfit in the real world. That would have been hella awkward if Monica got yeeted out of her clothes.

Monica confirms they're real then steals Jimmy's gun and shoots them. Ahh, she was wearing a kevlar vest when she went into Wanda World, and that changed shape to be her super fly 70s outfit. "Wanda is rewriting reality." Changing things to fit the hex. So they'll send in something that doesn't need to be changed. Um. Sure. Fine. I don't know what that means, or how that would help in this context, but I'm sure I'll find out.

Meanwhile, Vision is at work, and all his coworkers are amazed at the actual computers. Golly shucks. Computers. Hey, so, computers have been around since the 40s. ANYWAY.

"Should we surf the internet?" We're progressing rapidly through the 80s. Oh, lol, Darcy sent an email. And the whole office creepily reads it out loud. Vision is very weirded out. As well he should be. He wipes the computer with his glowy synthezoid powers and then he glowies Norm when Norm tells him 'none of it is real'. Norm wakes up "please help me. what day is it? how long has it been?". Oh dear. Poor Vision. This is all going to go so very badly. Norm gets very freaked out begging Vision to "stop her". Vision resets him.

At the house the boys wonder where dad is, and Wanda tells them it's Monday and he's at work. Except the boys are all "um, no, it's Saturday". Wanda, your house of lies is tumbling down! You shouldn't have let them grow up so fast. Babies don't ask inconvenient questions about why Daddy needs some space from Mommy and her questionable choices for their shared reality.

Wanda takes the opportunity to impart the 80s family sitcom trope of the weekly life lesson about how family might fight, but they still love each other and family is forever. One of the twins asks if she has a brother. She does. He's far away. But, Sparky goes barking at the door. Wanda looks far away herself. She goes to open the door and Sparky runs out.

Monica has sent in a drone from the 80s. Well that wasn't really a thing. But, how does the 1980s rc plane look more high tech than the 2020s drone they sent in first? Talk to your design team, SWORD.

Anyway, Wanda spots the drone, but she's keeping it out of the broadcast, because she's the editor and director and producer of Wandavision, of course.

Monica announces herself and tries to get Wanda to acknowledge her. Whoops. Wanda's eyes go glowy. AD Dick says "take the shot" and Monica's all "what? no, the drone isn't armed." Except of course it is, because AD Dick is a monumental dick, and he's got a backup drone pilot who takes the shot. Wandavision goes off air. And, oh no, there's a breach at the Hex!

Lol. It's Wanda coming through, dragging the mangled corpse of the drone with her. That was entirely deserved, AD Dick. I hope she shoves it up your ass, dick.

"The missile was just a precaution". AD Dick backpedals quick, like a coward. You gave a three second attempt to talk to Wanda before you pulled the trigger, I don't like you. "You can hardly blame us."

Wanda warns him to stay out. "You won't bother me, I won't bother you." Okay, well, he does kind of have a point, in that there's a whole town of people who are stuck as bit players in Wanda World. That's not very nice. I mean, surely she could have found a nice empty spot somewhere and created her sitcom utopia. That's at least a fair criticism.

Monica tries her best to talk Wanda down. It doesn't work particularly well.

"What do you want?" "I have what I want and no one will ever take it from me again." And she mind controls the soldiers training their guns on her, to turn them on AD Dick. Whoops. And Wanda goes back to her world. The Hex glows all red as she goes.

And we go to commercial. Lagos Brand paper towels. "For when you make a mess you didn't mean to." Wow, so that was brutal. Wanda's not mad at you, Monica. She's just carrying a lot of guilt. Ouch.

Back in Wandavision, the boys are looking for their dog. They find Agnes hiding in the bushes with the dog. Poor Sparky apparently ate some azalea leaves and died. The boys are very sad and Wanda warns them not to age up. They can't run from their feelings. Oh Wanda. "It's too sad," Billy says. "You can fix anything mom," Tommy cries, "Fix the dead". Yikes.

Wanda "I'm trying to tell you there are rules in life." Poor Agnes is trying not to have a total meltdown. "We can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Some things are forever."

Billy and Tommy try to talk her into bringing back Sparky. And Vision turns up. Well, this is just brutal.

Vision is entirely outside of Wanda's control. "I spoke with Norm. I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and I spoke to him free of your oversight." Yikes. "He was in pain, Wanda."

Okay it's kind of funny they're arguing over the end credits. Vision is very very pissed. "I'm scared." Aww.

Wanda insists she's not in charge of every life in Westview. "I don't know how any of this started in the first place." Huh. Is that really true? Because she's pretty sure of it now. Somebody or something convinced her into a sitcom world and now she's just like "yeah, this is good"? really asking.

Ding-dong.

"I didn't do that." 

Vision: *doubt*

DING DONG

Wanda goes to answer the door.

In the real world, alarms are blaring but Darcy notices a new revelation on Wandavision.

Wanda Word — and it's Pietro at the door. See! I knew it had to be Pietro who'd be the surprise guest thingy. I mean it's hilariously X-Men Pietro (Evan Peters, like @lewstonewar suggested), but Pietro nonetheless. There's nobody else it could have been.

Darcy be all WTF? "She recast Pietro?" lol

Okay, Wanda seems legit shocked. I don't think she did that. And I super really don’t think she’d make him sound like a NYC cabbie. 

And end.

Well. I mean, I'm not sure what to think. Wanda insists she's not controlling everything. I don't think she created Pietro. But, she totally stole Vision's body and created the kids and seems mostly happy in her sitcom universe and she can traverse the Hex, which obviously suggests its her doing. Dunno. I have questions about Agnes and her convenient timeliness here and there.

The mystery continues.

Disney wants to know if I want to watch Age of Ultron next. How poorly you know me, Disney.

[thebiasrekkers]

Shadow’s Birthright | MYG

Chapter 06: Convergence

Plot: Riding in on thunder and lightning, two princes are born. But a crown cannot be shared. It can only be worn by one and one alone. The hands of man have separated the brothers, allowing one to live in wealth and comfort inside the palace while the other grows up among commoners. But Fate cannot be destroyed by the hands of man. A shared destiny reunites the brothers; one to become a king who descends into madness and the other will rise as a dragon whose journey has only just begun in order to claim a crown he does not desire to have.

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: series | historical!au | fantasy!au | angst | romance | drama | tragedy

Pairing: Min Yoongi (Lee Yoon) x Female OC (Kalina Shuri)

Warnings: Historical setting, caste system, magic/sorcery, graphic violence, disturbing graphic images, religious tones, angst, slow burn, smut

Previous Chapters: Prologue 01 02 03 04 05

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 4,065

Tag List: @luxekook, @pinkpjmin, @btsaudge, @flowerwrites06, @stillcopingxx, @taevkimchi, @aroseforyoongi, @vivpurple7, @happilystrongthroughthedark, @sw33tnight, @nikkitane, @mini-coop25, @shrimpmsg, @ggukkieland​

AN: Sorry this took me so long. Life decided it wanted to kick me in the face repeatedly. But I did warn everyone this was going to take a little time with the updates. Please be patient with me. I promise you that it will be worth the wait. If you would like to be added to the tag list, feel free to drop me a line!

P.S. Please bear in mind that while the historical accuracy will be mostly correct, I am setting this in a time period in Joseon history where there was no such thing as a king who had a twin brother. Obviously that’s where the fiction/creative freedom is going to come in. Everything else will be period accurate, trust and believe.

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” - John F. Kennedy

Yoon greeted his parents with the Crown Princess at his side. They both bowed deeply as they heard the King and Queen laugh in delight. The Royal Consorts also received bows from the Crown Prince and Princess. Finally, they turned and were given bows from the princesses and princes of the Royal Court. The officials and guards, as well as the rest of the palace staff, were present for the opening ceremony to celebrate Crown Prince Yoon’s first international liaison. 

When they were finally dismissed, Yoon took his seat next to the Crown Princess, waiting for food and wine to be served. Various voices of praise and congratulations were given to Yoon, to which he simply nodded his head politely and smiled while returning his own charming forms of gratitude. He allowed the Crown Princess to serve him a cup of wine and he, in turn, also served her. Merriment and good cheer surrounded the palace.

It made Yoon sick to his stomach.

The conversation he had with his Father-In-Law still didn’t sit well with him. At his own behest, he politely reminded Minister Jang that he should keep his small-minded ambitions to himself. He didn’t need to drag the Crown Princess into his mess. Regardless of his own personal feelings, Yoon held a deep amount of respect for his Princess. Jang Chae-Ok had no ambitions or selfish desires for wanting to be Crown Princess. She was simply a childhood friend to Yoon who always remained faithfully at his side. 

The Crown Princess was not blind to his relationship with Kalina. But she also did not question it. It was from this show of her character alone that Yoon promised he would not take a Royal Consort when he became King. He owed her that much for her understanding.

“I wish that I could accompany you, Your Highness.” The Crown Princess’s voice was sad, matching her expression. 

He reached out to grasp her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “It will be a long journey. It is no place for a Crown Princess.” Yoon smiled. “I will be back before you realize I’m gone.”

She sighed. “I will miss you greatly.” She placed her hand over his. “Do be careful.”

“I will, Crown Princess.”

A loud gong resounded, drawing everyone’s attention. All conversation hushed as the head of the Artisan school approached. He bowed deeply while the others waited with anticipation for his announcement. 

“Members of the Royal Court! We are here to celebrate the Crown Prince’s upcoming journey. We wish him great fortune but before he traverses out in the world, we want to be able to ease his worries and give him memories to hold on to as he travels to Ming. Things that he will be able to keep close to his heart and treasure if he should ever become homesick.” 

Yoon smiled, despite his own internal dark thoughts. He loved his country. He loved his people. The skills they mastered in order to have these small moments to showcase their talents were clearly battles within their own houses. Some performers and artists had better skills than others, hence why they were allowed to appear at the forefront. Others were still in training to be able to climb up in the ranks along the way. 

He secretly admired the drive that pushed these individuals along. Everyone had dreams, goals, and ambitions. People’s reasons for doing anything were threads that bonded everyone together to achieve common goals. No matter how small or big, they were to be appreciated. Even if one could not voice these appreciations aloud. 

The Chief Artisan gave a wide gesture, spinning on his heels as the performers made their way into the grand courtyard. “We hope that our performers, both within the palace walls, and those who have managed to make their ways from the streets, will be able to soothe your soul.”

Everyone applauded as Senior Artisan stepped away, allowing for the in house performers to showcase everything they’ve practiced for days. Curiously, Yoon hummed to himself at the mention of street performers entering the palace. If they were skilled enough to gain the court’s attention, there was a good chance they would be given slots to enter the performance schools within the palace halls. It would be a golden opportunity to change their livelihoods for the better.

He was keen to see just what they were made of.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

Jimin clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, silencing Taehyung’s whining. “Hyung-nim is filling in for Namjoon Hyung-nim.” His eyes narrowed. “Surely you don’t expect him to wear the dress, do you?”

Taehyung pouted. “No, but still!”

“Besides,” Hoseok cut in, patting Taehyung’s shoulders roughly, “we all memorized multiple parts in case something happens. We only had time for Hyung-nim to learn one. Stop being difficult.”

Yoongi smirked, shaking his head while readjusting the waistband to his costume. The large rosary that hung from his neck was heavy and the boots were a little bit cumbersome, but bearable. He would be able to switch his shoes out when it came time for the tightrope routine. Jungkook and Seokjin fawned over him, making sure he looked as proper as he could in performance gear. 

Namjoon appeared, holding out a red and black demon mask to him. “I gave it some new paint earlier so it should be dry now.”

Taking the mask from him, Yoongi cradled it in his hands. “Thank you, Namjoon-ah.” He scratched at the cloth headband. “What will you be doing during the performance?”

“I’ll be narrating and helping the musicians out. Percussion, mostly.” 

“I see.” Yoongi eyed the mask, taking note of the large white fangs protruding from the mouth carved into the wood. 

Because of the depth of the role, he wouldn’t be able to take his mask off during the entire performance. Beneficial for him, but he hated that Namjoon wouldn’t be getting any credit. Yoongi knew how hard they all must have been preparing for this particular performance. A small measure of guilt wormed its way into his heart, but Namjoon’s laugh brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Now I feel even more terrible, Hyung-nim.” Yoongi saw the concerned look on Namjoon’s face, even though he was smiling. “Seriously, you’re doing me a favor. I feel bad enough. If you keep looking like that, I’ll think I’m completely worthless.”

“I’m sorry, Namjoon-ah.” Clearing his throat, he nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be feeling like this.”

“Thank the heavens you’re wearing a mask.” Taehyung pushed his headband up a little more. “Otherwise the audience is going to think you’re guilty of some crime.”

“It’s just nerves.” Jimin flashed Yoongi a reassuring smile. “Right, Hyung-nim?”

All he could do was give a small smile. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Hayan Geutop Troupe?” An unfamiliar voice pulled all of their attention. They saw someone dressed in official robes motioning toward them. “You’re up next.”

No one could hide their excitement. This was the first time any of them would be entering the palace. Each of them were given temporary passes to gain access. Once inside, they all made sure they were looking their best. The sound of joyful laughter and music rumbled through the courtyard, causing Yoongi’s heartbeat to elevate with excitement.

“Hyung-nim!” Jungkook gently nudged Yoongi’s back. “Your mask! Don’t forget to put it on!”

“Oh. Right.” Yoongi slid the large Demon mask over his head, making sure the cloth headwrap covered every part of his neck from view except the front. 

The sound of loud drums rang out through the courtyard. It was a little bit difficult to breathe with the mask on, but not impossible. If anything, Yoongi was more concerned with the mask falling off by accident. But Hoseok assured him that the bands were secured and redesigned to fit his head perfectly. It wouldn’t come off unless he pulled it off himself.

Admittedly, his nerves were a little frayed. Being around so many people at once, as well as so much noise, was teetering him toward sensory overload. But he continued to remind himself that he had a job to do. He just needed to get through the performance and then he could continue exploring the Crown City to his heart’s content. They were set to ride back out to the mountains at first light.

He hoped the shops would still be open before the lanterns were lit.

The large drum was hit, signaling for everyone to settle down. Yoongi took another breath, waiting for their group to be announced in front of the Royal Court. His vision was limited through the small holes in his mask - the rest of the world shadowed on either side of him. He could hear his own breath in his ears as he tried to peer out in front of him. But he wasn’t sure what he was even looking for. There was a strange pull at his heart; a feeling he couldn’t quite explain. 

Like someone was calling to him.

No. Like multiple people were calling to him.

“Members of the Royal Court! I present to you a troupe of young performers who hail from the outskirts of the Crown City!” The Chief Artisan looked in their direction as some of the students in the palace artisan school helped to set up their stage. “The White Tower Troupe!”

There was a round of polite applause from all the members of the royal court. The other troupe members were helping to set up the first scene for their skit. Yoongi waited patiently, even though he offered to help. Taehyung and Hoseok insisted that he stand back and focus on the performance. It wouldn’t take them long to get the set pieces ready. Once everything was put together, Namjoon walked gently forward and bowed deeply to the Royal family seated at the large banquet table.

“Please forgive our lack of eloquence, Your Majesties, as we attempt to regale you with a story. It is one I am sure you are all familiar with, but allow us to perform it for you just the same.” He flicked out the large fan in his hand, a picture of a blue sky and a green field painted on it. “We humbly present to you...the Tale of Green Pearl and the Demon!”

Yoon felt Chae-Ok grab his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He cast a sidelong glance in her direction, noting the soft pink flush that tinted her cheeks. He knew it wasn’t from the wine but more from her excitement. He smiled as she met his gaze.

“Oh, I love this story!” She looked back out toward the courtyard. “I’m interested to see how they will tell it.”

“As am I.”

The bass drum resounded through the large space just as the troupe finished setting up for the first scene. The narrator who spoke walked off to the sidelines and took a seat on a plush cushion that was provided for him. Silence draped over everyone present as the actors moved to their positions. 

“Many years ago, there was a humble man who lived a humble life. He had a humble trade and a humble wife. The wife bore him two children. A son named White Fang and a daughter named Green Pearl.”

Yoon watched as the narrator spoke about each character. One by one, they all appeared - their faces concealed with wooden masks painted in eloquent designs. Lingering off to the side was an actor clothed in black, red and gold garbs - a demon mask covering his face. Yoon felt his heart beating a little faster as he gazed at the person, unsure of why this strange sensation was lurching in his chest. 

The narrator slapped his stick against the small drum cradled in his lap. “As the seasons changed and the children grew older, the father became ill. The wife sent for what physicians they could afford and the old apothecary said that there was nothing he could do. The wife was distraught, unsure of what would become of her or her children should her husband leave this world for his journey to the afterlife.”

“Seobang-nim! You cannot leave us like this!” The wife sobbed beside the husband, cradling his hand between her palms. “What are we to do without you? How are we supposed to live?!”

“Don’t worry, Mother,” said White Fang as he placed his hand over his mother’s, “I will find a way to cure Father. I will travel across foreign lands until I can find the medicine that will save Father’s life!”

Again, the narrator struck the drum. “White Fang left to search for a cure for his ailing father, leaving his mother and sister behind.”

Yoon watched the person portraying Green Pearl moving toward the backdrop meant to pose as a wide open field. A lone tree stood off in the distance where she clasped her hands together and prayed. 

“Gods of Heaven, I beseech you! Please help my father. Please find a way to help him get better!” cried Green Pearl as she lowered her head, all but sobbing into her hands.

Heavy drums beat softly, signaling an ominous transition. Yoon watched as the actor portraying the demon slowly moved forward, until he was mere feet from the Royal Banquet table. The Demon whipped his head around to face the Royal family, causing everyone to lean back and gasp. 

All except Yoon.

Maybe it was the optical illusion of the mask, but he swore that the demon was looking directly at him. His heartbeat escalated, a soft thunder against his chest, and he waited for the demon to speak. There was a line here. Yoon remembered it. A line where the demon spoke to the audience of his wicked scheme.

But the demon said nothing. All he did was stare. Had the actor forgotten his lines?

“A demon heard Green Pearl’s cries, intrigued by her earnest wailings.”

The narrator cut through the silence. This seemed to wake the demon up, causing him to swiftly shuffle back a few steps as he threw his arm out in a dramatic flourish. 

“The sweet sound of sorrow nourishes my heart,” the Demon exclaimed, curling his shoulders forward. He pressed a hand against his face, fingers gliding over the white fangs on the mask. “It is the sound of easy prey. How I have longed to devour such a miserable soul!”

He heard the Crown Princess gasp as the Demon ran forward, leaping into the air and landing on the tightrope with amazing ease. Yoon quirked a brow, internally admiring the actor’s swiftness and balancing abilities. The Demon leaned forward, slinging his legs out until he was hanging upside down from the rope. 

Green Pearl took a sharp intake of breath, clutching at the front of her dress. “W-Who goes there?”

“A humble and curious Demon. But nevermind me, Sweet Child.” The Demon spoke in a cooing and sweet voice. “What seems to be ailing you? What causes you to mourn so?”

“My father is ill and there is no way to save him. My brother has left to travel in hopes of finding medicine to cure him.” Green Pearl turned away from the Demon, looking off in the distance. “I mourn for my family and what is to become of them should my father pass.”

The Demon laughed, swinging his body so that he was now sitting upright on the tightrope. He rested a hand on his knee and leaned forward, drawing Green Pearl’s attention once more. “This is a simple problem with a simple solution.”

“It is anything but simple!”

“Oh, but it is!” The Demon hopped onto the rope, bouncing up and down in a playful manner. “Because I know how to save your ailing father!”

Green Pearl stepped toward the tree, her hand reaching up toward the Demon but she was far out of his reach. “What do you know? Please, tell me how to save my father!”

The Demon bounced on the rope a few more times before dismounting, landing just a few feet away from her. He placed his hands behind his back and paced, not really bothering to stray too far from her but not coming too close. “There is a flower that grows in the western mountains. It is said that creating a potion from this flower can cure any illness.” He spun on his heels just as Green Pearl tried to approach him, causing her to halt in her steps. “But it is an arduous journey. Many have died trying to claim this flower.”

“Can you guide me to this mountain?” 

The Demon circled her, his steps slow and measured. “What will you give me if I decide to lend you my aid?”

“Whatever you wish to claim from me, Sir!” Green Pearl fell to her knees. “No boon is too great when it comes to saving the life of my father!”

The Demon knelt down before Green Pearl, lifting her face to meet his. “You will become my bride. That is the price you must pay if you wish to obtain my help.”

“If marrying a demon is the trade we are making, then I would marry you a thousand times.” 

The Demon pulled Green Pearl up onto her feet, a hearty laugh bursting from his chest. “Then come! Let us be off! The day grows shorter and the journey will be that much harder for you when the night comes.”

A gong and more heavy drums rang out as the Demon and Green Pearl exited the stage. Troupe members hurried to change the set backdrop to suit the next scene transition. 

“So Green Pearl and the Demon hurried toward the Western Mountains. The journey was, indeed, arduous. Many perils crossed their paths, but the Demon protected Green Pearl every step of the way. The harshest trek, however, was the path leading up toward the mountains. Wild animals impeded their path. Even the cold mountain winds attempted to blow the two off the krags so they would plummet to their deaths.”

With each scene change, a linen drape with a painted landscape was swapped. The serene music fit the pacing of each scene and the narrator’s strong voice pushed the actors to continue through the skit. Yoon knew this tale very well. Yet watching it unfold in this manner made the story seem brand new. He was particularly drawn to the Demon, unable to shake the tremors in his heart as the masked performer’s moves seemed fluid and natural.

“Finally, Green Pearl and the Demon reached the top of the mountain peaks. There was the mythical flower the Demon mentioned. It was a rich purple in pigment, the stem a soft green and nestled among a cluster of clovers. In the snow and cold temperature, there was no way that any vegetation should have flourished, let alone this single flower.”

Green Pearl reached for the flower, preparing to dig it up from the earth. Suddenly, she was stopped by the Demon’s harsh pull at her wrist. “W-What are you doing?!”

“Do not forget your promise to me, dear Child.” He pulled her flush against him. “You are to be my bride the moment your father is well. And not a minute later.”

“I haven’t forgotten our deal, Demon!” Green Pearl pushed away from him. “We must hurry back quickly!”

A soft bell tinkling sound issued from a row of wind chimes. The Demon laughed, grasping onto Green Pearl and jumping up toward the tightrope. Everyone watching sucked in their breaths as a stream of dark blue fabric followed after them. The Demon dragged Green Pearl behind him as the actors portrayed him using his powers to help them travel quickly. The two actors almost appeared to float across the thick line of rope.

“The Demon used his powers to transport Green Pearl and himself down the mountain. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they instantly moved through the fields. Within minutes, they were back in Green Pearl’s humble village. He safely brought her home and Green Pearl wasted no time preparing the flower into a medicinal tonic for her father.”

Green Pearl appeared next to her mother, holding out a wooden bowl. “This tonic will help Father. Please, we must hurry!”

The Wife started to feed the potion to the ailing Husband. In minutes, he started to rise up from his bed. He held his wife’s hands and she threw herself into his arms. 

“Husband! You are well!” she cried as her husband held her close. 

He laughed, stroking her back. “Yes, I am well, Pu-in. But tell me, what has helped me come back from the gates of the Underworld?”

“I traveled far to retrieve a flower that is said to cure any illness.” Green Pearl hugged her father’s neck.

“A flower?” He tilted his head to the side. “How did you come to learn of this flower?”

Green Pearl lowered her head. “A Demon told me. He guided me to the Western Mountains and I plucked the flower from the highest peak.”

Both the husband and wife looked at each other, clutching at their chests. The father reached out for his daughter’s hands. “You foolish girl! How could you make an agreement with a demon?!”

“Don’t you know that a deal with a demon only breeds disaster?!” The mother shook Green Pearl’s shoulders. “You have sold your soul to the Underworld!”

Green Pearl pulled herself away from her family. “I’m sorry!” She ran out of the house where the Demon was waiting for her. “We must hurry!”

The Demon grabbed her hand in his. “Let us leave this place!”

“Stop right there, you foul trickster!” The Father appeared, brandishing a wheat sickle. “Release my daughter, this instant!”

The Demon laughed. “The deal has been made, Human! You cannot break the contract!” 

The sound of a gong exploded over the courtyard, causing the Demon to gasp. When he looked down, there was a sword plunged through his stomach. As he turned, the assailant stepped forward to push the blade through his gut even further. The Demon reached out with a bloodied hand toward the one who attacked him. 

“B-Brother!”

White Fang ripped the sword from the Demon’s body, causing the Demon to fall to his knees. His head hung low and Green Pearl was instantly at the Demon’s side. He finally collapsed to the ground and Green Pearl clung to his shivering form. 

“What have you done?!” she screamed as the Demon continued to tremble in her arms. “Why did you strike him?!”

“It was a Demon, Green Pearl!” White Fang dropped the sword from his hand and the satchel from his back. “They only breed misfortune!”

“Y-You fool,” sputtered the Demon, “I would have given her a good life.” A trembling arm lifted as he pointed at White Fang. “Because of your actions, you have now condemned your sister to death.”

“What?!” White Fang dropped to his knees. The husband and wife hurried forward. “What lies do you speak, Demon?”

The Demon turned to look up at Green Pearl. “I will not be able to give you a life you deserve.” He touched the side of her face. “But I will be able to stay with you in the Afterlife. Always.”

“I am sorry for the cruel nature of man! Forgive me!” Green Pearl sobbed, burying her face in the Demon’s shoulder. “I will see you on the other side.”

And then the Demon’s hand fell limply to the ground. Seconds later, Green Pearl collapsed next to him.

Silence filled the courtyard. No one spoke. Hardly anyone took a moment to breathe, Yoon included. 

It was broken the minute that the King began to clap. The Queen soon followed until everyone at the Royal Banquet table rose from their seats and applauded. Yoon was still stunned, but he, too, clapped. The actors remained where they were - unmoving. However, the narrator stepped forward and bowed deeply to them. The tragic scene remained, but the story’s message still lingered in the air. 

Even a Demon was deserving of love and a person could see beyond the surface to one’s true heart.

But when promises were broken, a terrible fate would await. 

[seattlesea]

Lorien Legacies Characters + Styles of Dress

One- Surfer + Cute She always dresses like she’s about to go to the beach. She wears a lot of tank tops, shorts, sandals, flip-flops, wedges, Vans, ripped jeans, tie-dye t-shirts, flannel shirts, bikini tops, and cute tops and always accessories with sunglasses and a small crossbody bag. She also likes wearing silver jewelry and sun hats or baseball caps. Her outfits are always on-point and super cute. Her main colors are blue and white with tan and light orange accents. She also loves shorts with beach-type prints like waves and palm trees, thin jackets, and high-waisted shorts, and when it’s cold out she wears a jumper or knit sweater with a natural tone, and she’ll wear a button-up jean shirt from time-to-time. Her style is really laid-back and looks super nice even when she doesn’t really try as she doesn’t care too much about fashion but likes the style. Her favorite article of clothing is a white and blue gradient tank top she ‘borrowed’ from a store while with Wade. 

Maggie-  Autumn + Academia Her style is really cute and warm, she looks like the human personification of autumn. She likes wearing scarves, cardigans, knit sweaters, stockings, skinny jeans, parkas, short and ankle boots, and flannel, long-sleeved, and button-up shirts. She usually looks like she’s about to walk into a coffee shop to read. She always carries a brown bag to carry all her books and accessories with plain gold jewelry- especially rings and earrings- usually has some sort of overcoat on, likes wearing layers, and her outfits are always precise and perfect. She accessories perfectly and her main colors are brown, black, and maroon with dark orange and crimson accents. Sometimes she’ll wear an overall dress and floral patterns so long as it has that fall-color palette, and she’ll wear the autumn style no matter the season. She’ll wear the perfect fall outfit in the dead of July without hesitation. She also likes wearing hair accessories like hairclips, headbands, bandanas, hats (especially fedoras, she’s one of the few people who can actually look decent in them), bows, and clips and she usually styles her hair really nicely when she doesn’t just put it down. She also steals clothes from all of the guys- mostly Adam, John, and Nine- like she did with Conrad cause they’re so big and comfy, especially on her. Her favorite article of clothing is an oversized maroon sweater Conrad knit for her. 

Hannu- Trendy + Comfy He likes the classic, comfortable clothes most teenage boys wear. He wears a lot of sweatshirts and hoodies, brand-name shoes like Nikes and Adidas, sweats, jeans (most of which cuffed), zip-up sweaters, knee-shorts, khakis, and plain tees with the occasional turtleneck. Most- if not all- of his clothes are big and comfy and others love stealing them from him cause because of it. His main colors are brown and gray with black and white accents, and he owns most clothes everyone else own. He likes to keep it simple and straightforward and doesn’t care too much for fashion, but will experiment from time-to-time. He’ll occasionally wear a basic accessory like a woven bracelet, wristwatch, or chain necklace and a bolder color like yellow or blue every now and then but other than that he avoids anything too flashy or eye-catching. He also likes clothes fitting for long runs and playing basketball like tank tops, athletic shorts, and track pants. His favorite article of clothing is a black tank top with the Kenya flag on it he got while at the village. 

John- Prep + Plain He kind of dresses like a white suburban dad (and Nine loves making fun of him for it). He likes button-up, striped, and polo shirts, khakis, plain tees, zip-up sweaters, jeans, knee-shorts, sneakers, sandals, and the occasional sweatshirt or hoodie. He owns a million different belts and sometimes wears a watch but doesn’t really like to accessorize. The number one thing the others hate about his style is his tendency to wear socks with slip-ons (it’s an Ohio thing), and he does it just to piss them off. Overall, he has a very simple and plain style. He doesn’t care too much about fashion but does like looking presentable, so he and his clothes usually look pretty neat and clean but most of the time there’s that one thing that tips his outfit off like a color that doesn’t match with the rest or an accessory worn with the wrong outfit, but no one bothers to point it out cause they all know John will just shrug it off anyways. His main colors are white and blue with brown, orange, and dark blue accents. His favorite article of clothing is a pair of lightly ripped jeans that used to belong to Henri. 

Five- Emo + Grunge He’s the middle line between emo and grunge, really. He mostly wears skinny and/or ripped jeans, classic-rock band tees, Vans, Converse, leather or denim jackets, combat boots, faded clothes, parkas, distressed jeans, oversized shirts, black sneakers, and acid-washed jeans. He doesn’t really like accessories except a few pins and wristbands here and there, and when his hair has grown out too long and he doesn’t feel like combing it (which is most times) he wears a beanie to cover it. Overall he doesn’t really care about fashion (or his appearance at all) so he just throws on whatever he sees first and it may look bizarre at first but he somehow makes it work, even though he doesn’t really try. He also- to the others’ surprise- really likes floral-print, so he’ll be seen wearing a black and white floral-print t-shirt every now and then. His main colors are black and white with silver, dark gray, and dark green accents. His favorite article of clothing is a parka he got the first time he went to a non-tropical place during his run from the Mogs. 

Six- Androgynous/Tomboy + Punk She acts like a butch and dresses like one, too. She usually wears army-print jackets, ripped jeans, sweatshirts and hoodies, button-up shirts, jeans, sneakers, trucker hats, leather jackets, baggy tees, flannel shirts, combat boots, and denim or leather vests. She rarely accessories but the few times she does, she goes all out with studs, chains, wristbands, pins, fingerless leather gloves, black accessories, and studded belts, and sometimes she’ll wear eyeliner (with enough begging from Ella), and other times she’ll wear suspenders, women’s suits, or polo shirts. Her right ear is covered in piercings and she has a diamond nose stud on the left, and it may not seem like it, but she actually doesn’t care about style. She just throws on whatever she thinks will look somewhat decent and leave, but it usually looks really good, though sometimes she messes a few things up like mismatching the colors. When she’s feeling nostalgic or she misses Katarina more than usual, she’ll wear a bow in her hair like she used to, and her main colors are black and blue with white and brown accents. Her overall style is down-to-earth, simple, and tomboyish with some punk-rock highlights here and there, or she’ll go full punk and it looks pretty good on her. Her favorite article of clothing is a black leather jacket, which was the first thing she got after she escaped from the West Virginia Base.

Marina- Hipster + Simple Her style is simple, but pretty cute. Out of all the Garde besides Ella, she probably cares the most about fashion and often wears fedoras, flannel shirts, jean shorts, stockings, beanies, combat or ankle boots, denim jackets, baggy sweaters, graphic tees, and cardigans with the occasional leather jacket (usually one of Six’s). She loves tying flannel shirts around her waist or throwing it into any of her outfits, even if it doesn’t match. She usually accessories with a bunch of stacked rings, silver necklaces, and sometime a bracelet, mostly beaded ones, but rarely wears earrings. She also loves layering, it’s almost impossible for her to go out- even in the summer- without wearing something over her clothes. She likes looking nice so has a very neat and cute style but doesn’t go overboard. When it’s cold out, she’ll throw on a cute knit sweater or nice-fitting long-sleeved shirt and also likes wearing beanies (a lot). Her main colors are brown and cream with black and tawny accents and while she does care quite a bit about fashion and presentability, she’ll always choose comfort over fashion. If she had to choose between a cute cardigan that itched and a plain and baggy but comfy tee, she’ll choose the latter in a heartbeat, but she’ll choose flannel over everything, it’s basically her trademark style and she owns like a million flannel shirts in a hundred different colors. Her favorite article of clothing is a dark orange and black flannel shirt. 

Eight- Cozy + Eccentric His style will change every other day. One day he’ll be wearing basic, everyday clothes like hoodies, sweatshirts, jeans, sweats, baseball caps, sweaters, tank tops, baggy tees, and sneakers- the comfiest clothes almost everyone has just lying in their closet- and the next he’ll be wearing the weirdest array of bright, flashy colors and prints. He loves floral and animal-print shirts, silly graphic tees, skinny jeans, and bizarre accessories like fringe necklaces, friendship bracelets, woven bracelets and necklaces, and Silly Bandz (which are his trademark article of clothing). His right cartilage is pierced and he always has a small silver helix earring on, and he’ll wear the most offbeat and surreal colors together like a bright orange t-shirt with lime green skinny jeans and dark blue boots. They literally never look good but he doesn’t care (nor does he mind the staring from strangers) as he doesn’t care about fashion and just wears whatever he’s comfortable with, which just so happens to be the brightest, flashiest clothing and colors in existence. His main colors are basically every one with gold and silver accents. His favorite article of clothing is a bright yellow ‘Shut up, Karen’ t-shirt, a gift from Nine.

Nine- Athletic + Casual His style isn’t too bad when he actually wears clothes. He wears the basic workout clothes like track pants, zip-up sweaters, comfy t-shirts, workout shorts, athletic tops, gym shoes, and athletic tank tops that usually have a Chicago team logo on them (mostly the Bulls), but besides that he wears basic, everyday clothes as if he’s taking a quick trip to the grocery store like sweatshirts, large hoodies, plain tees, (ripped) jeans, sneakers, and knee shorts. Despite having the most money of all the Garde and living in a penthouse in Downtown Chicago, Nine doesn’t like flashy or expensive clothes and goes with the casual, daily clothes he’s seen the majority of people wear since he’s learned to adapt to and act like others around him while on the run from the Mogs. He also hates formal clothes like tuxedos cause they’re uncomfortable for him and he would never let Sandor make him wear one. His main colors are gray and blue with dark red and black accents and besides a basic watch and chain necklace here and there, he never accessories and usually throws on the first thing he sees when he wakes up. The others always steal his shirts and hoodies cause they’re so big, warm, and comfy. His favorite article of clothing is a gray sleeveless hoodie he had since he moved to Chicago. 

Ella- Retro + Feminine Her style is easily one of the cutest out of all of them. She loves feminine, retro, old-fashioned clothes like striped shirts, cute dresses, flowy skirts, 90s band tees, overalls, button-up shirts, suspenders, sweaters, cute tops, shorts, and colorful sweaters. She usually accessories with sunglasses, bows, scarves, belts, bandanas, earrings, and small rings and always looks like she came out of a 90s romance film. She cares the most about her clothes and fashion so usually looks the best-dressed out of all the Garde with an exception for her lazy days where she usually just throws on a sweater and leggings. Sometimes she’s the epitome of the ‘Soft Girl’ aesthetic- baggy sweaters, denim skirts, scrunchies, white shoes, and cute t-shirts. Her main colors are pink, pastel purple, and vivid red with jean blue and soft orange accents and her style really reflects on her young and bright personality. Her favorite article of clothing is a red, orange, yellow, and blue-striped t-shirt she got while out with Marina.

Sam- Nerdy + Vintage For someone who doesn’t really care about his looks, Sam’s outfits are pretty damn nice. He mixes ‘nerdy’ and ‘vintage’ styles so he usually wears button-up shirts, suspenders, collared shirts, flannel shirts, plain jeans, zip-up sweaters, striped shirts, sweaters, and sometimes a denim jacket. He basically looks like Peter Parker if he was from the 90s. His style pretty much reflects his personality- nerdy, cute, sophisticated, and smart- and he rarely accessories besides watches and friendship bracelets he made for him and John. He won’t be caught dead without a zip-up sweater on, too. He’s obsessed with the things and refuses to leave the house without one, and he occasionally wears ripped or cuffed jeans. Mostly he likes wearing a collared long-sleeved shirt under a sweater and also likes funny shirts with cheesy jokes and puns on them. He doesn’t really care too much about his appearance or fashion, but enough to make sure his outfit isn’t absolutely hideous before he goes out. He usually goes for the comfier clothes and will often steal John, Nine, and Hannu’s clothes. His main colors are light blue, gray, and brown with cream and dark orange accents. His favorite article of clothing is a slightly baggy, dark blue zip-up sweater that was Malcolm’s. 

Sarah- Fashionable + Girly She has the most feminine style, and it suits her well. She usually wears  dresses, skirts, halter tops, tank tops, high heels, sandals, silk jackets, ripped jeans, jean shorts, tube tops, denim jackets, and cute tops. She always accessories and does so perfectly with earrings, affirmation necklaces, bangle or charm bracelets, and plain rings, and every outfit is always on-point and perfect as she’s one of the only ones who actually cares about fashion, cares the most about her appearance, and always wants to look nice and presentable. She’ll occasionally wear comfier but still cute clothes like beanies or knit sweaters and always has a bag or purse with her to carry all her regular ‘human’ items, including her camera. She also usually wears light makeup like mascara, lip gloss, and a bit of blush and either has her hair down or nicely styled if she has the time. Her main colors are pink and white with light blue and gold accents and her overall style is very neat, cute, and feminine and shows what type of person she is. Her favorite article of clothing is a white off-shoulder top she likes to wear with a silk pink circle skirt when she’s feeling extra pretty.

Adam- Alternative + Dark He has that ‘dark but not emo’ style, on the border of e-boy. He typically wears black aviator, leather, or bomber jackets, long-sleeved shirts, band tees, ripped jeans, striped shirts, denim jackets, baggy tees, Vans, collared shirts, and dress pants. He likes wearing leather belts with chains but other than that usually skips accessorising besides the occasional earrings as he has quite a lot of ear piercings (and either a nose ring, snakebites, or eyebrow piercing). Sometimes he’ll even dress like a skater boy- Thrasher and/or baggy shirts, distressed jeans, checkered Vans, studded belts, flannel shirts, light studs, beanies, long socks, and graphic tees, and he loves black and white flannel shirts and pocket-grid pants and jackets. His main colors are black and white with dark blue and gray accents, and he adores pins. He owns about a million different vests and jackets (most of which leather or denim and either black or dark blue) and he loves decorating them with pins, stitches, and even safety pins on the sleeves of his vests. He has too many pins to count like the stereotypical alien head, a UFO, a pride flag, rock band logos, a skull, a smiley face, and other random things he sticks onto himself every morning. His style is overall a little messy but pretty nice as he doesn’t care that much about his appearance but likes the style. His favorite article of clothing is a black denim vest with a hundred pins and stiches on it Malcolm bought for him. 

[huilian]

Summary: Five times the ruby earrings changed hands, featuring: the Queen Thief thieving, Gen wrecking havoc with his siblings, a raging at the gods™ episode, an obligatory palace sneaking scene, and finally, Gen’s kids wrecking havoc (with Gen).

The woman her father was courting was wearing ruby earrings, and she hated it. She always knew which items her father had stolen, even if she sometimes didn’t understand why, and these earrings bear the mark of her father’s hands.

This time, however, she could guess the reason her father had gifted that earring to this woman. In the year since her mother had died, her father had courted three different women. To give his children a mother, he had said, but she knew better.

None of the Thief’s current children were named after him and his god. None of the Thief’s current children fated to become the next Thief of Eddis.

Not even her.

She knew she had the god’s favour. Cleverness and skill she had in spades, more than any of her siblings, and when she jumped from roof to roof, she could feel the god’s hands guiding her. But she was not named after him, and so she would not be the next Thief.

She used to hate it, as a child. She would steal as many things as she dared, and she would place every single one of them on Eugenides’s altar, praying that the god would choose her to be the next Thief, if she showed him her skill and persistence. She gained a reputation that way, of being a thief as prolific, if not yet as formidable, as her father.

Her name still remained Vassilissa. The Thief of Eddis was chosen by the gods, and no one could change their decision.

She had learned to accept it, even if sometimes, when she placed her offerings on Eugenides’s altar, she wanted to scream and rage at the god. It’s not unheard of that the blessing from the God of Thieves skipped a generation.

She knew. She had checked every single record.

But her father would not stop trying. Since her birth, her mother had had two still-births, several miscarriages, and then finally, last year, had lost her life on the birthing bed, delivering yet another still-birth. Before the pyre had even cooled, her father had searched for a new wife.

Vassi had driven off the first two women easily. They were a regular at the court of Eddis, and when they realized that their belongings had disappeared and reappeared on the altar of Eugenides, they knew what it meant.

This one, however, was not a regular at the court, and no matter how many of her jewelry went missing, she did not catch the hint. She had stayed long enough for her father to give her the ruby earrings, and that brought Vassi back to this situation.

She had to steal it. The earrings. But no doubt her father had known about her part in driving off the last woman he had courted--He thought it was simple jealousy. For all the bragged about his mind being his best asset, sometimes her father could be exceedingly foolish--, and would do everything in his power to keep her from driving this one too.

Vassi didn’t mind. She loved the challenge.

In the end, it wasn’t even that hard. Whenever the earrings weren’t being worn, it would be under the guard of her father. The simple solution, then, was to steal them when they were being worn. A shy smile to the woman her father courted, a framing of her request to speak alone as a child who would like to know her future step-mother better, and a span of twenty seconds were all she needed. She showed up to the next court session with the ruby earrings on her own ears, carrying herself with all the grace of a queen.

They called her Queen Thief, then. A thief as formidable as her own father.

Her father courted no more women after that.

***

Temenus ran with all the speed he had in his body, cursing his siblings all the way, from Xenia to Euphemia to Iris and Penelope, to Alexis and all the way to Stenides.

Xenia had stolen their mother’s ruby earrings last week. Why, Temenus didn’t know, but that started the chaos. Mother had stolen the earrings back, of course, but chaos, like the waters of the Arachtus, cannot be stopped when it has started its journey.

Like clockwork, the day after Mother had gotten them back, Euphemia stole them from her. And then Iris had taken them from Euphemia. Which was then followed by Penelope stealing them from Iris. By that time, it had become the nightly entertainment for the court, to see which one of the women from the Minister of War’s family would show up wearing the ruby earrings.

And then Mother had stolen them back, again, and Stenides, sweet, sweet Stenides, had decided that it’s not fair that only the women could play, and told Temenus his intent to steal the earrings himself. Before Temenus could tell him what a horrible idea that was, his brother had dared him to steal the earrings too.

He had to accept. He should have known that it was futile to resist the call of chaos, especially when his mother was at the very center of it.

He cursed again, this time focusing the worst of it on Stenides. Why had his brother dared him to do it? And whose idea was it to measure a man’s courage by the insane bets he took?

The ruby earrings, rattling together in his pocket as Temenus ran, weighed down his leg with every step he took. The image of his mother, grinning delightedly as she caught him taking her earrings, weighed down the other one.

She had come into the room as he had closed the jewelry box. He expected her to take the earrings back immediately, but instead, she had smiled and lifted up her hand, all five fingers splayed out. Temenus had felt his body relax at the sight, but then, she bent one finger, leaving only four splayed out.

Temenus knew exactly what that meant. He pocketed the earrings and ran as fast as he could, leaving the false key he had used to open the jewelry box in the first place.

“Why are you running?”

The voice caused Temenus to jump. He looked around, searching for the source of the voice, but found no one. Then, his mind connected the voice to a face, and he looked up.

“Because I have Mother’s earrings in my pockets,” he told his youngest brother.

Eugenides gave him a shrug. “Then why run? She’d find you anyway.”

That was true, but Temenus was not going to say that.

“Are you going to help me or not?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I’m your brother, that’s why.”

“So should I go help Stenides?” Gen asked, voice full of the same mischief that decorated their mother’s face when she saw Temenus holding her earrings. Truly, Gen was their mother’s child, more than anyone else, though Xenia certainly tried.

“If you don’t want to help me, then don’t,” Temenus spitted out. He has no time to argue with his youngest brother. Either Gen would help him or not, nothing he said would sway the boy from his decision. Temenus took one more deep breath, preparing himself to run again. Gen was right, he wouldn’t be able to run from Mother forever, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t try.

Before he could run, however, Gen dropped down from the tree he was sitting on and smiled up at him. “I’ll help,” he said, the picture of innocence.

Temenus knew better than to trust the innocent face, but he had no choice. He took Gen’s hand and let his brother lead him through the courtyard and to the hidden passageways of the palace of Eddis.

When they were already so deep into the passageways that Temenus had no idea where they were, he turned around and saw that Eugenides was gone. Cursing, he put his hand into his pockets.

They were empty.

***

Eugenides looked up to the altar of his namesake, and clenched the ruby earrings tighter in his hands. He had stolen the earrings from his mother’s jewelry box just three days earlier, intending to present them to her with a smile and a glib comment about losing her touch.

She didn’t lose her touch, but she did lose her step, and the earrings stayed in his pocket throughout the funeral ritual and pyre.

The altar of Eugenides sparkled with the offerings from generations of Thieves. Near the front, Gen could see the fibula pins that were his grandfather’s offering, and scattered between them, the earrings that were his mother’s.

The ruby earrings burned in his hand.

A thief would only fall if her god drops her. So either Eugenides had dropped his mother, or…

“Or you don’t exist,” Gen said to the silent altar. He knew the sentence is heresy, especially said inside Hephestia’s temple, in front of her half-brother’s altar. But the other option was that Eugenides had dropped her. Eugenides had dropped his mother.

Gen clenched down even tighter on the ruby earrings, their points leaving indentations into his palm. Then, with a last look on the altar, he pocketed the earrings and turned around.

His grandfather’s words rang in his ears. Send a prayer as you start your work, send a prayer after you finish it, and leave a gift once a month on the altar of Eugenides. Gen had placed a gift on the altar this month, and he would do so again next month. The gods did not exist, or even if they did, they do not have any interest in lowly mortals such as themselves. But it would not do to abandon the tradition. He would leave a gift on the altar of Eugenides next month, just not these earrings.

Let the god of thieves have other earrings as gifts. This one, Gen would keep for himself.

***

With one hand outstretched, Gen carefully moved the velvet case containing the headband of the Queen of Attolia. She was beautiful, as she always was whenever Gen climbed into her chambers to look at her. Her face was expressionless, as it also always was, but in sleep, the lack of expression gave her a peaceful look, instead of the uncaring mask she wore whenever she wakes.

She suited the ruby inlaid in her headband marvelously. She would suit the earrings marvellously as well.

He had had the earrings remodelled, the design on the gold surrounding the ruby made to match the design on her headband. No one had asked what became of his mother’s ruby earrings after she died, and when he brought it to the goldsmith to be remodelled, the goldsmith did not recognize the earrings.

That was just as well.

The points on the earrings still left indentations on his hand. Gently, he opened his fist and placed the earrings, positioning them so that they are exactly next to the case.

Moonlight entered the windows of the queen’s chambers, dousing her features and softening them, making her look less like the stone statues of Hephestia and more like the girl who had danced under the orange trees, years and years ago. Eugenides wished that he could make her look like this all the time, and not just when she’s sleeping.

He stepped closer to the bed, drinking in the sight of her. A voice inside him urged him to reach out, to tangle his hand on her hair, but the more sensible voice inside him, one trained by years and years of practicing his trade, told him that to do so would be the most foolish thing he had ever done in a life full of doing foolish things.

He did not reach out. He stayed where he was, looking to the Queen of Attolia, watching as she drew in breath after breath. When the moonlight had dimmed, signalling that dawn was fast approaching, he nudged the earrings one last time, arranging them so that they looked as pleasing next to the case as he could, and climbed out of the queen’s chambers.

It would be foolish to think that the queen would wear his earrings, but then again, he made a living out of doing foolish things.

***

“My King,” Attolia said, not moving from where she was seated as her attendants did her hair. By now her attendants knew well enough the antics of her husband, and did not think if out of the ordinary that the queen was speaking to what seemed to be empty air. “Do you know where my ruby earrings are?”

Materializing out of nowhere, Attolis replied, “I thought they’re in your jewelry box?”

“They were,” his wife answered. “They are not anymore.”

Waving the attendants out of his way, Attolis made his way to the queen and placed the last of the pins in her hair. He took one look at the box, which was currently laid out on the queen’s dressing table for her to choose which jewels she would like to wear today. The ruby earrings were not the grandest of the jewelry inside the box, but they were very conspicuous in their absence.

“Oh,” the king breathed out. “She does grow bold.”

*

“Your Highness,” Costis called out to the seemingly empty tree in the courtyard of the palace of Attolia. “Please come down.”

No response.

“Your Highness,” he tried again.

This time, a small face appeared from between the leaves. “Shh, Costis!” the princess of Attolia said. “You’re going to get us caught!”

“Your Highness,” Costis said again, flashing back to all the times he had done this for the king. “I’m sure there is no one who would want to catch you.”

Just as he said that, however, another small figure appeared out of nowhere. “Nia!” the prince of Attolia cried out as he ran towards his sister. How he managed to evade the squad of guards assigned to guard him, Costis would never know. The same way his sister escaped hers, he supposed. “You have it!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Yes, you do!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Yes, you do! Why else are you in a tree?”

The princess changed her tactics immediately, the same way Costis had once seen Attolis do. “So what if I do?”

“You said we would get them together!” Hector protested.

“You’re too slow!” his sister retorted back.

“I’m not! You just keep leaving me!”

“If you can’t keep up, then you’re too slow, Hector,” Attolis said from somewhere behind Costis. Costis did not relax though. Not yet. It was always a toss on whether Attolis would curb his children’s behaviour or give them pointers on how to escape their flustered guards and caretakers running behind them.

Well, not really. Mostly the king would give pointers.

“And you don’t leave anyone behind, Eugenia,” the king continued, walking past Costis to the base of the tree. “A good companion is rare for a thief. You must take care of them.” He tilted his head up, and Eugenia, without even looking, jumped down to her father’s waiting arms.

“He’s too slow,” the princess said again. Hector, who had placed himself next to his father, complained. Loudly.

The king let out a snort of amusement. Ignoring the complaints from his son, he extended his hand towards the princess raised an eyebrow.

Scowling, the princess reached into her pockets and took out a pair of ruby earrings. Costis felt his eyes grow wide. Those are the queen’s ruby earrings, the pair that she wore more than any other earrings. There were many rumours surrounding that pair of earrings, and Costis was privileged enough to know that some of them did have a basis in truth.

Costis expected the king to pocket the earrings himself, but, as always, Attolis’s actions could not be predicted. He pulled the princess close and put the earrings on her ears, navigating them easily even with one hand.

Costis would never tire of watching his king doing things that never should have been possible with one hand.

After the earrings were in place, Eugenides brushed a hair out of her daughter’s face and pressed a kiss on her forehead. Then, after a shriek of protest, smiled and did the same for his son. The children then talk over each other, both of them eager to tell their father about the adventures they had today.

From his place behind his king and the princess and prince, Costis stood watch.

[missmitchieg]

The Phantoms, Triple Threat, Nick, & Caleb Covington as Pokemon trainers

Julie’s Pokemon: Sawsbuck (Bambi), Lurantis (Bloom), Mismagius (Magician), Pikachu (Sparkler), Solrock (Sunshine), Meganium (Long-Neck)

Julie’s a loving, gentle trainer that gives every Pokemon that comes her way a nickname and lets them out every once in a while to relax and play in a forest but goes hard in battles. She never loses. Her Pokemon never lose.

She’s good friends with every nurse Joy and officer Jenny and loves meeting new friends along the way to becoming a real Pokemon master. She never forgets her daily check-in calls with Ray and Carlos. She also keeps in touch with her best friend, Flynn, and loves the pictures she gets from her.

She likes to give her updates on “that cute but mischievous boy with the Gyarados and the Charizard“ that she’s pretty sure has a thing for her but she’s too shy to ask. Even if he seems to just “pop up“ wherever she goes after they met outside of a gym.

She genuinely laughed in Caleb Covington’s face when he tried, and failed epicly, to intimidate her. She thought it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. Then she proceeded to beat him in battle. In public. Humiliating him. She hates him, and Team Rocket, and everything they stand for.

Bloom and Magician usually prefer to be out of their balls and walk and float around with her. She likes that about them. Sunshine and Lon-Neck seem to be closest with each other, but love the rest of the team as well. And they never run low on food or berries to munch on while they make pit stops on their journey.

Julie usually likes to wear a purple t shirt or sweater, a matching purple headband, white pants and sneakers and a black jacket. She always has a charm bracelet with 6 charms: A Poke Ball, a Great Ball, an Ultra Ball, a Master Ball, a Love Ball and a Friend Ball.

Luke’s Pokemon: Jolteon (Bolt), Charizard (Blaze), Gyarados (Bayou), Poliwrath (Polly), Zapdos (Tazer), Beedrill (Honey)

Yeah, Luke’s a bit of a genwunner. What’s it to ya? He knows what he likes and he knows what’s good. And yeah, he might have gotten himself in trouble with more than one officer Jenny more than twice for trying to steal a potion or two. (Nurse Joys always hate him so he’s learned to stay away from centers.) So he’s a rebel. Sue him. At least he cares enough to get them for his team.

Unlike those awful Team Rocket people that, rather than loving and caring for Pokemon like the epic, amazing, awesome creatures they are, they hurt them. Luke hates Team Rocket with all of his heart and he makes that fact known. He’s only ever met two, and they both sucked. One yelled at a kid’s Geodude and the other made a Togepi cry. Hard. He took it upon himself to comfort the little Togepi and feed him some (stolen) Pokemon food until he smiled and skipped away like nothing had happened.

Anyway, he loves being a trainer and exploring places with his Pokemon and he loves forest picnics (of stolen food, usually) and watching his Gyarados hide in waterfalls to jump out and scare people off. He also likes to keep tabs on “that girl that gives her Pokemon nicknames like a (pretty) dork” (Which is a thing he totally didn’t steal from her. He was already calling his team those names.) and tell the few friends he has about her.

Charizard and Jolteon have been with him since the very beginning of his journey, as a little but strong Charmander and Eevee and he loves them (and everyone else) like crazy. Zapdos tends to come out of his Ultra Ball without warning to spread his wings. Poliwrath is a big fan of swimming in lakes when they find them.

Luke generally wears a blue tank top with a black vest hoodie, jeans and black boots. He’s never seen without his blue knitted beanie (”My mom knitted this, so I’m wearing it forever.”) or the pink, red and blue friendship bracelet Reggie had gifted both him and Alex with before they went on their journeys. (”Reggie and Alex are my best friends, so I’m wearing it forever.”) Luke’s bracelet has a Master Ball charm and he loves it.

Reggie’s Pokemon: Eevee (Foxy), Braixen (Fire-Starter), Vulpix (Curly Top), Cyndaquil (Volcano), Teddiursa (Baby Bear), Togetic (Angel)

Reggie’s not necessarily too concerned with being a Pokemon master. You see, he’s more inclined to just have a good time and explore and let his Pokemon just be and give them all nicknames. He’ll sometimes pop into a Poke Mart just to say hi and grab a potion or two, mostly to not have to bother nurse Joy about his Eevee, who prefers to be carried around like a baby, (And who he doesn’t want to evolve into anything. Same with the rest of them. He’s very content with his “baby” team, thank you.), or his other Pokemon, again.

He likes hearing about his friends crazy adventures, though! And he likes hearing about their love lives, even if they’re both too shy to do much about anything. He likes telling his friends about all the stuff he sees in his town, like the old guy selling Pokemon food and the little girl that “just has an Arcanine, a Flareon, and an Infernape already! How did one little girl manage that?”

Reggie thinks he’s really lucky he’s never met a Team Rocket member, considering everything he’s heard about them from Luke, they suck. He’s honestly started to genuinely hate them by emotional osmosis at this point.

Reggie likes to dress in red and black flannels, white or grey t shirts, black jeans, black sandals, his own friendship bracelet that has an Eevee charm and a black jacket when the weather calls for it.

Alex’s Pokemon team: Sobble, Psyduck, Entei, Rapidash, Lapras, Starmie

So catching the Entei was kind of an accident. He’d just been exploring around a volcano looking to try and catch a Rapidash (he got it) when the volcano erupted and Entei appeared. He had (somehow) managed to calm the rather disgruntled Pokemon and catch it with a Poke Ball and Entei loves being part of Alex’s team, as do the rest of them. The Lapras was an accident, too, but that’s another story for another day. It involves a very grumpy, greedy hunter and Psyduck’s chronic headache.

Sobble, Starmie and Psyduck all just kind of felt drawn to him. He wasn’t going to question why an anxious duck with a permanent headache, a water lizard that always looked distressed and a star felt like sticking around him, but he loved them all equally. He loves updating his friends, Luke and Reggie on his adventures and catches (and the cute boy with the Blissey and Bellossom he met in a Poke Mart and keeps bumping into “on accident”*) or just calling to talk about nothing when he misses them.

(*It’s so not an accident.)

Alex likes to wear pink t shirts with a grey or black jean jacket, blue jeans, a white snapback and black sneakers. He never takes off his friendship bracelet and is very careful to not snag it on a twig or door handle or lose the Starmie charm.

Willie’s Pokemon: Blissey, Bellossom, Slowbro, Snorlax, Garchomp, Aromatisse

Earlier on in life, Willie had been pretty certain he wanted to be like his dad and become a real gym leader, but over time, he grew to like the idea of being a Pokemon doctor. His parents were a bit surprised by the news of their boy wanting to be a doctor, but they wholeheartedly supported his dreams and let him go to school to be a doctor, getting semi-regular updates from him.

Now, he’s often seen picking berries from trees and walking into Poke Marts to grab whatever he’d run out of that week, always happy to see the store clerks or say hi to a friend whose Pokemon he helped heal. (He especially liked when he ran into that Cute Blond Boy and he sometimes walks into stores just to talk to him even if he bought supplies just the day before, but shh. Cute Blond Boy doesn’t need to know that.) He also liked to offer grumpy, angry people a couple bites of Blissey egg to make them happy just because.

Willie usually likes to be comfortable and wear orange and white tie dye t shirts or orange and yellow floral t shirts, blue jeans, white sandals, and his hair loosely tied in a bun. After meeting Cute Blonde Boy, though, he started incorporating snapbacks and sneakers into his wardrobe. He liked how they looked on Cute Blond Boy better, though.

Flynn’s Pokemon: Liepard, Torracat, Delcatty, Pyroar, Lillipup, Persian

Flynn is honestly more of a Pokemon photographer than anything. She likes to hang around fields and forests to see the Pokemon roam free and take pictures or just watch while her big and little wildcats (Her favorites.) and her puppy (Accident. She doesn’t know how she fell so hard for the little pup.) either play or lie next to her and nap. She sends her favorites to her best friend, Julie and talks to her over the phone all the time. She likes hearing about her adventures and her cute boy and give advice on how to talk to him.

Flynn has only ever encountered Caleb, Dante and Fuego twice and she hated him instantly. The first time, she saw him snap at a little boy holding a Growlithe plushie. She had instinctively sicced her Pyroar’s flamethrower on him, yelling at him to leave the kid alone. The second time, she saw him physically grab a girl’s Hoppip and stomped toward him, commanding her Liepard to use Fury Swipes on him. She watched him struggle to walk away afterwards, gently handing the Hoppip back to the little girl and pointing in the direction of a Pokemon center just in case “her little friend got hurt when the mean guy grabbed her”.

Flynn is always seen wearing some kind of wildcat print in her outfits. Whether it’s the orange tiger t shirt and blue jeans combo with matching tiger boots she loved to put together, or the leopard print dress she saved for special occasions. She and Julie have always worn their matching charm bracelets with nothing but pride and love.

Carrie’s Pokemon: Mew, Sylveon, Dragonair (Shiny), Alomomola, Clefable, Audino

Listen, Carrie Wilson may be a pink princess, but don’t mistake her love of girly, glittery clothes and only having pink Pokemon on her team as her being weak. It’s not “she loves pink and glitter, but she’s strong and smart“, it’s “she loves pink and glitter AND she’s strong and smart“.

She simply has an aesthetic and an image to maintain and she maintains it, while having a team of strong fighters. She caught her Mew when all she had was a Sylveon and a couple of Pokeballs (What, like it’s hard?) and she’s proud to have a Mew, who prefers to float around her or piggyback her rather than be stuck in a ball, on her team.

She thinks it’s hilarious that Caleb assumed she would be at all scared of him. And assumed that she would lose to him. Carrie Wilson never loses a battle and she doesn’t plan to make that a habit of hers anytime soon. It’s simply not what Carrie Wilson does. Carrie Wilson instills fear into the hearts of weak little men, and has fun doing it.

But she’s always nice to little girls like her who love pink and love to beat boys in battle. She even gives girls strategic advice and runs into stores to buy them potions, poison heals and more just because. Little girls love her for it and she loves the little girls she comes across like her sisters.

Carrie wears a bedazzled white t shirt with a picture of a Love Ball on the front, a pink (faux, of course) fur coat, a sparkly pink tiered skirt with matching pink high heels. She saves her favorite pink and silver crystal dress for only the most special occasions.

Nick’s Pokemon: Cubone, Elekid, Wartortle, Chimchar, Pidgey, Butterfree

Nick is an aspiring baseball player, just like his dad. He’s not the best in battle, and he has to make quite a few emergency trips to Pokemon centers or clinics when he’s out of potions, but his team still loves him and fiercely (Well, as fierce as a tiny dinosaur, a ball of electricity, a turtle, a chimp, a pidgeon, and a butterfly can be.) protects him from danger.

Like that time when he accidentally angered a flock of Zubat by kicking a rock a little too hard and startling them awake. Emolga and Chimchar had to come to his rescue and they managed to get away relatively unscathed. Or that time he’d been found by a sweet old couple that offered him a warm meal, some Pokemon food and a bed for the night. After he’d been ambushed by a massive colony of angry Beedrill for walking too close to Beedrill territory.

Nick liked to wear a yellow t shirt with his dad’s baseball team, The Electabuzz, white shorts, black sandals and a white vest. He was always in either that or a regular white t shirt with a Poke Ball, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

Caleb’s Pokemon: Seviper, Grimmsnarl, Gengar, Skarmory, Umbreon, Spectrier

Caleb’s a member of Team Rocket. No one there really likes him or takes him seriously except Dante and Fuego, but he’s convinced himself they all do. No one, not even Dante and Fuego, is really sure how he managed to catch the Spectrier (or any of his team, because they don’t really like him much, either), but they also haven’t bothered to ask and he can’t really be bothered to tell.

He’s totally not friends with Dante and Fuego (yes, he is) and he totally doesn’t love them like sons, what? He doesn’t have a heart. (Except for Dante and Fuego.) He steals from stores and scares kids just by existing near them. Except Julie, Flynn, Carrie, and Luke. They’re not scared of anything. He’s more scared of them.

He hates the standard “bland, boring and ugly” Team Rocket uniform. With a burning passion. So naturally, he decided to dye the white parts of his uniform purple and cover it in glitter, replacing the hat with a much more his style top hat. He had gotten in trouble for the modifications to the outfit initially, but he didn’t care much. He was evil, but he wasn’t boring. And his boss had just sighed and decided he could get used to the non-regulation uniform after all.

[ziracona]

What other chaotic shenanigans has Michael cat gotten into? I feel like if something happens then Michael is just smiling endearingly, Quentin is wheezing, and Laurie is sighing lol

All kinds. Every animal on the block is afraid of him, including the pitbull three houses down that used to be king of the block and now is king of the block sans the Myers yard and gives Michael Cat a respectful distance and ducks his head when he sees the cat leering out the window at him.

He’s very destructive. Thankfully not of everything in the house, or all the furniture, but every so often he will decide a random object is his, and rip it to shreds with no warning signs. Also likes to steal things sometimes and leave them under Michael’s bed in a hoard just out of curiosity and maybe also as gifts? Loves to bring kills as gifts. Michael did not know cats did this and was confused and concerned greatly the first time his pet was yowling at the door to his room and he opened it to see the thing carrying a rat almost as big as himself. Michael Cat is most loving towards Michael, but he likes the whole regular gang (and adores Claudette, which is another story), and he specifically seems invested in impresssing Laurie. She is by far the most commonly given dead things as gifts, and she kind of appreciates it—especially since he is a really good mouser, and while I am deeply sympathetic to mice myself on a personal level, if you’ve ever had the misfortune to live in a house with a mouse problem, you understand how desperately horrible that is. Myers house was old and in bad repair and in Illinois, so uh, it definitely started with one. On the other hand, though, Laurie feels kinda bad for the mice, and doesn’t love finding dead things left neatly by her shoes all the time. She’s more impressed than inconvenienced though. Also, Michael Meowers is extremely smart. After seeing someone else give Laurie a flower once, and her be happy about it, he started adding flowers and leaves to his piles of gifts by her shoes. He’s extremely proud of himself and acts like whatever thefts or kills he’s able to manage are no big deal and just trifles to his endless energy and skill. Laurie is very appreciative, and the little kitty is gleeful about being praised. He tries to act aloof, but he’s super needy. He will pretend he doesn’t need your affection, but if he’s around and wanting attention and you start using a phone or reading, he’ll come over and start aggressively chewing on whatever you’re paying attention to that is not him in an attempt to redirect that attention. One night at the Myers house will void the warranty on a lifeproof case. He also just likes to bite, and is a show affection by biting cat with very sharp teeth and a licky cat. Michael loves him deeply and does not mind petting a purring bundle of black fur that is curled up on his lap and has its teeth sunk passively into his spare hand.

That’s all more kind of par for the course cat behavior though. As far as extreme chaos goes, beyond scaring the other animals in the neighborhood, Michae Cat also is impossible to contain. They try to keep him in the house, but he has shredded screens and broken windows before, somehow always unharmed in the process. Cat has stowed away on car rides, and run after them on walks. Once during its first week home, they left it in the house asleep and went for a stroll, and about ten minutes from home, heard the bouncy “meow-meow-meow-meow” of a cat calling after you while running and Laurie looked back to see him chasing them down, and almost had a heart attack. Luckily, he let himself be picked up and taken home, instead of running off. Another time, she, Quentin, Michael, David, and Nancy were all two hours into the drive to the cabin when Michael Cat just climbed out of the pile of suitcases without warning and spring loaded launched himself at Michael in the passenger seat and almost caused a wreck. Lots of screaming. He’s notorious for being impossible to contain or stop, and half the time, they don’t even know how he got out. He’s also very good at reading vibes in a room, and if someone he likes is talking to someone they hate, there is a 90% chance that slowly slides towards 100 the longer the conversation lasts, that he will leap out and attack them unprovoked for whatever has caused the bad vibes he is picking up on. It’s kind of beautiful. He attacked someone during a game tournament once on live video stream (again it was a place he wasn’t even meant to be. He showed away, and Laurie chose to carry him in instead of missing the event herself—an act she quickly regretted) because he could tell Quentin and Min didn’t like them, and he wanted to cause chaos probably as well. That competition had to reset, because the cat singlehandedly destroyed it, but to be fair, it was one of the most highly rated streams that con ever did. He’s a menace, but in the best possible way.

Weirdly, while Alex the crow is routinely shunned by other birds, and constantly very sad about this, and Michael Cat throws hands with anything that looks fun to fight on sight, after a few initial scrapes at their first several meetings, the two started vibing, and Michael Cat was the first animal to decide it liked Alex. It’s weird, because Alex sure does not like cats, and Michael usually will try to attack and kill any bird, but those two will play with each other if they get the chance, and genuinely seem interested in each others’ company. No one knows why.

Also, while only medium chaotic, Michael Cat causes the most trouble for Claudette. Unfortunately, this is becuase he loves her, and no one has any idea how to curb this issue. She’s like his second favorite person ever after a time early the first year when she saved his life, and since she’s an angel now in his head, he always tries to give her gifts. Early on, he caught her a mouse that he hadn’t totally killed (as cats often do), and she was super distressed and saved the mouse and nursed it back to health and then let it go. Unfortunately though, Michael Cat, who watched this all go down, had his takeaway from that be “Wow she had so much fun playing with that—she loved it,” and now every time he sees her, will try to capture a live something for her and drop it off. She has had to nurse a lot of birds back to health and it distresses her so much. Michael Cat thinks he’s incredible and doing an amazing gift giving job. 50% of the time Claudette visits, they’ll have gotten halfway through a conversation, and then hear the pad-pad-pad of kitty feet and a sad cheeping sound and a proud meow from the floor and Claudette will go “Oh no,” with great sadness, and go accept her wounded house finch and get to work of go take it to an animal clinic. This has drastically curbed his actual kill count though, so that’s a plus. Laurie is working on trying to get him to stop targeting birds at least and only pick on rodents at present. It’s working, just slowly.

About a year in, Michael and Laurie were going through files, and old newspapers, and there was a picture of Loomis in one, and Michael clearly and visibly had such a strong reaction to it that Michael Cat ripped it up and ate it in solidarity, and they let him (well, Laurie tried to stop the eating part) becuase it was kind of nice. Kitty was feeling the chaos that day, and kept ripping up pictures as they went through, and since then, it has turned into almost a game or a trick. Cat will shred all Loomis photos with a vengeance. It’s a very cathartic party trick for his namesake.

He also regularly just decides to attack things, or that a random object is his and will snag it and begin a chase while whatever poor person he has robbed screams for him to stop and gives chase. Sometimes this is becuase he wants the thing, sometimes becuase he wants the chase. Objects stolen or attacked have included keys, food—especially poisonous to cats food, headbands, books, phones, necklaces, wallets, kitchen knives, Tapp’s gun (no one understands how he got it—the panic was real and complete), Jake’s engagement ring (taken off his finger), letters, wrapped presents, term papers, scarves, and more. Cat also figured out early on that Frank was nervous around him specifically, and since made it his goal to go bother him and follow him around whenever he’s there for maximum discomfort. I don’t think he’s even really trying to be mean—just the urge to cause trouble is too compelling to fight.

[zwiezraczek]

6 + 1 Underground [Four x OC/reader] Chapter 7

SUMMARY: Sasha is a Polish girl, with a strange past. She has various skills, driving amongst others. So she becomes Eight. And you know that Four plus Four is Eight…

CHAPTER 1 - CHAPTER 2 - CHAPTER 3 - CHAPTER 4 - CHAPTER 5 - CHAPTER 6 - CHAPTER 7: Eight is Weronika

Sasha becomes Weronika, and Four becomes Nikita. A hooker and a thief.

WORDS: 2.4k

WARNING: smutty situation at the very end!

TAGLIST (if you want to be part of it, leave a comment! ^^) : @kingniazx @imjustboredso @pandamanda99 @mustbeaweasleyginger @cooliosmosh @lillymitl

“We're having a movie night, you want to join us Eight,” Four asked her with his head only inside her trailer after he opened the door.

After the whole meeting, she had to stay alone and to think. To think about her coming back into the mafia, again. She would lie if she said that she wasn't scared. She absolutely was. And she didn't want to bother the others with her feelings – not again – so she withdrew for a longer moment. She feared an impromptu encounter with one of the people from her previous life, she wouldn't know how to handle this encounter. She wouldn't know how to lie to them, to these people who once called her family. Sometimes, she regretted that decision she took during that night. And even if she knew that Three was about to find a plan for the three of them, she was nervous. Yet excited to know who she was about to be in this another life, her third one apparently.

And Four showed up, out of nowhere offering her a movie night. An offer she couldn't refuse. She sighed only before getting up to follow Four, under the bare sky dotted with stars.

“Ready to be back on tracks,” he asked her, with his hands buried in the pocket of his blue hoodie.

“As I'll ever be,” Sasha replied with a little smile. “But for real, it's just... Too much. Like, I left them and I'm joining them again only after a couple of months? That's just crazy.”

“We'll have to handle this,” he resumed the problem with this only sentence. “”Let's hope that Three will give us a nice role to play because I just can't stand being either out of that game or the delivery-boy,” he complained before they reached his trailer as Sasha giggled.

“I'm sure you're making a great delivery boy,” she teased him as she stepped inside.

“Oh shut up,” he reacted as he rolled his eyes.

Seven and Amelia were already laying on Four's couch. It was really the first time that she went into his trailer for another purpose than work, and apparently when his trailer didn't look like a total mess full of maps, it seemed pretty decent. The large burgundy couch seemed to be pretty comfy, and full of unhealthy food – but with Amelia's supervision, everything was allowed here – which were good news. Seven and Amelia stopped arguing for a second about the movie they were about to chose – just to greet Sasha and Four – before demanding them to pick a side. Space Jam or Home Alone. It hurt Sasha to let Seven win, but she had to admit that Space Jam was something, and she got a handful of popcorn thrown onto her face from Amelia when she picked his side.

“No junk food for you,” she threatened Sasha as she stuck her tongue out.

“No, have some pity,” Sasha said, as she sat next to Amelia and Four sat between her and Seven.

“Have some pity for those with taste,” Seven added making things even worse as he clicked on the laptop in order to start the movie.

“You're the next on my list, Seven!” They shared a laugh before the movie started.

Sasha rested her back against the back of the couch, Amelia's head on her shoulder during the movie. And from time to time, she felt like dozing off. She caught herself fluttering her eyelashes in order to stay awake, and felt strangely warm when she opened her eyes after missing a few scenes. Four had put a blanket on the two of them – Amelia and her – and Sasha found her head on Four's shoulder as they were asleep now, all of them. For a moment, she felt a warm feeling coming from her chest, she felt safe and home, with all of them, with Seven by her side,  Amelia  - her new sister – and Four – her Slav mate. Mostly with Four for some reasons.

~~~

Three's plan was way more than perfect, it was sublime. Dreaded and admired. Sasha couldn't have asked for a better disguise and a better character to impersonate. She chewed her gum as she wrapped a strand of hair around her index. These shorts were outrageous, just like Weronika. Three insisted very much on this girl's poor manners and her easy virtue. She apparently was supposed to be a hooker, a good driving hooker who used to seduce her clients to let her boyfriend – Nikita, who was the brain of the couple – steal from these people. As much as Sasha, Four had to change his look, fully. He got a handful of long-sleeved shirts with very original patterns to wear which suited him – not.

The Ghosts spent month trying to get some information about Mila's gang in the US, about somebody who would come there and give them an opportunity to introduce themselves. And the opportunity was called Wasyl Petrotchenko. One of the Lady in Rouge's man. He was about to close a deal and to have a little accident with a too curious man about what he was doing. One was the man. And who else would save Wasyl? Bingo.

Weronika and Nikita were just passing by in this hotel, Eight trying her best to keep her legs crossed with these short shorts – she wished Three would have thought about her comfort in these – and Nikita having a conversation with a man at the reception. Sasha had a huge sport bag next to her as she eyed the hall, she spotted Four first talking with the receptionist with the thickest accent he could, which, according to herself, wasn't the best idea, and then she spotted their target. Nonchalantly, she stretched her back, hands high in the air and One came in. She felt nervous as hell. From now, she wouldn't see Amelia anymore, for a few months probably because all of this wasn't a small job, no, this was a full-time job. Pretending. Faking smiles. With only one ally by her side: Four.

“Wasyl Petrotchenko,” One asked as he put his hand on the man's shoulder.

“Who are you,” the man aggressively asked, looking left and right.

“Somebody who will be glad to talk with you, in private.”

“I wouldn't if I were you,” the man said, rising his voice slightly. But enough to let Four hear what was happening.

“Oh, you don't know me Wa...”

“You have a problem sir,” Four cut him off, casually walking towards them. He frowned at One, hands in his trouser's pockets, he looked so casual as if it wasn't a death threat to be there and to try this.

“You're lucky, Wasyl. You fucking really are,” One said, stepping outside the building as the two mean looked at each other.

“Thank you young man,” Wasyl said to Four as he gave him his hand.

“Always a pleasure to help.”

“Babe,” Sasha said, trotting her way up to them with her huge bag, “what's wrong?”

“Nothing doll, just some jerk being disrespectful to this man.” She clung to his arm, with a smile and looked at the man.

“Oh, you're with your lady here, young man,” the man said, eyeing Sasha who felt his very eyes undressing her. But Weronika shouldn't mind. Sasha did.

“Weronika,” she presented herself coyly.

“And I'm Nikita.”

“We're coming from the same family apparently,” the man happily said. “What you're up to here?”

“Moving from town to town, just to... Survive, you know,” Four said with heavy undertones that the man seemed to catch immediately.

“Interesting... You should come and meet me in a restaurant tonight, I'm meeting with some friends, I'd like to present you to them,” he offered before handing him a paper. “Bring your lady, it will be a nice evening.”

They got it.

~~~

They got in. Apparently, entering the mafia wasn't as hard as it seemed – when you were Eastern of course. Sasha had forgotten how good it felt to be surrounded by people talking about money, about heists and about a lot of things, and how she could think about what type of car they would need for this mission or how fast she could drive. But Weronika was a hooker, a good-driving hooker but no more. So, she had to look nice and smile, and stay quiet. She had a nice red headband with a little bow on it, and wore a beautiful – and tight – short red dress while sitting next to Four, him having his arm on the back of the couch as she could lean closer to him.

They were trained for that, and, strangely, the first time they had to hold hands and pretend to be a couple for a whole day wasn't as awkward as expected. Sasha tried to understand Weronika, and it seemed easier with Four by her side as Nikita. She told Amelia how disturbing it was to be this comfortable with fake-dating him, and Amelia just rolled her eyes and mumbled something about obliviousness.

And, during that evening, they drank. Never enough, never too much. They drank until the party was over and they had to be back in their hotel, they drank until the man told them that he would call them on the next day to tell them what they could do for him as thieves – as he winked looking at Sasha who coyly smiled and bite her lower lip with her index wandering on the corner of her lips. They seemed to had won it. They felt like king and queen of this mission – not even thinking about Two who had still to enter the mafia in a way or another.

As they walked in the hallway of the hotel, Sasha began to tipsily agitate her hands as she slowly danced her way through the long red carpeted hall. From time to time, she tuned back to look at Four with a smile.

“Don't tell me you didn't enjoy this evening,” she teased with a little giggle.

“Was nice,” Four replied, looking for the keys in his pocket. He couldn't look at Sasha for a longer moment without thinking about her as his girlfriend, not only a fake one but as someone he desired, right now, as drunk as he was. But he had to stay calm.

“You look so concentrated, Niki,” she said to him, brushing his nose with her index. She also wanted to tease him, and to maybe have more. And when she arrived in front of their door, she leaned against it, before Four came up to her. “Want to have a little fun,” she asked as she put her arms around his neck.

“We're drunk,” he tried to say but she put a finger on his lips, encouraged by her tipsiness.

“Not enough.”

He opened the door. She pulled him, grabbing his shirt, against her chest, kissing him passionately. She couldn't get enough of his tongue as she kissed him harder and harder. She lacked air, she had to catch her breath as they parted for a second, her forehead against his.

“Give me all you got Four,” she gasped as he looked deeply into his pearly green eyes.

“Only if you give me everything tonight,” he replied grabbing her by her waist.

“You know that Eight is two times Four,” she asked running her hand through his short blond hair. “I'll give you even more than that.”

She let herself fall on the luxurious bed behind them, Four letting her go. Her long blond hair falling all over from the ponytail she made earlier. She looked at him, lust in her eyes. The Polish angel, looking at him, laying on the dark sheets, her pink lower lip bitten, she screamed innocence but her attitude was anything than that.

“Will you give me your babies, Four,” she asked, teasing him as she ran her hands through the strands of her messy hair. “Pretty please.”

“Don't you fucking Melanie Martinez me or I'll go nuts,” he answered with a hoarse voice as he looked at her, then he humidified his lips with his tongue.

“Maybe it's all I want, Four,” she replied going on her knees, resting on her hands behind her back. “You'll watch me for the rest of the night or we'll have some fun?”

“Stop teasing me Eight, I have a hard time controlling myself right now,” he whispered as he went on the bed, moving forward to reach her and to kiss her neck. “Really hard time...”

“You don't have to, you know I love everything you do,” she gasped between the kisses he gave her in her neck. “Please, please Four...”

She could feel his bulge as he leaned against her, she was really excited too. She ran her fingers under his shirt, stumbling upon some rough scars under her finger tips. He moved back, to take the shirt off, and as he did so, she took her dress off too revealing her black laced bra. The only thing she loved more than comfy clothes was lace. He looked at her with a burning desire, she definitely turned him on: she had that power over him.

“We should stop playing Eight, let's get serious.”

She whispered back “As you wish, Niki.”

And as they game unfurled, she rode him, she moaned and he did too. If she could, she would have taken his babies, but they protected themselves. Sasha slowed down, reaching this panting moment, looking at him, making the pleasure last, as if it could go on forever. She felt it, he felt it too, an explosion. Their moaned their names, their code names. She kissed him, quickly, almost a chaste kiss before whispering “I think I'm breaking One's rule by falling for you.” “You're not alone then, I'm ready to break so much more rules for you.” They probably would.

[dakotacrisis]

Transferred (2)

I am back with the salt!

                                                            ---

After explaining what had happened in the classroom, the principal gave Marinette three days detention. If Lila was there she probably would have talked Mr. Damocles into a full blown week of detention. Why stop there? Lila had already dragged her down far enough that she probably could have gotten Marinette suspended.

Mr. Damocles dismissed Marinette back to class. She wasn’t ready to head back into the belly of the beast yet and made a detour for the locker room. She laid back on one of the benches and stared at the ceiling.

“Marinette?” Tikki popped out of her purse, “Do you want me to pull up your ‘Feel Better’ playlist?”

“No. Thanks though, Tikki.” she held the kwami close, “I just need some time to breathe.”

“Why don’t you say something? What is happening to you can’t be justified by any means.”

“It’ll just be my word against Lila’s. I may be the one with the deeper history with my classmates but she knows how to turn the situation around to look like the victim. She’s like a more manipulative Chloe. Everyone knows Chloe is full of it so they aren’t taken in. With Lila though they only know what she’s shown them. What she’s shown them reflects back on me like a funhouse mirror.”

“Marinette? You in here?” Tikki disappeared back into Marinette’s purse. Adrien walked into the locker room. “There you are, I got worried when you didn’t come back to class earlier.”

“I’m fine,” Marinette sat up, “Lila got to me is all.”

“I saw that.” He sat down next to her, “I’ve seen you get mad before but to rush her like that…”

“That’s not how I am. Even at my angriest I’ve never resorted to violence as a means to vent my rage. It’s like she’s getting in my head. Pushing all my buttons in the perfect way so I explode.”

“It won’t be like this forever. The truth will come out and then she won’t have a leg to stand on.”

“How much longer though? I can’t keep going on like this, Adrien.”

“I can’t say. But you’re strong, stronger than all of us. Our everyday Ladybug, remember?” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “No matter how much she tries to distort the truth you’ll always have me in your corner.”

Marinette’s brain was short circuiting at the contact. She still had enough sense about her to listen to what Adrien was saying though. “Thanks, Adrien.”

They walked back to class and Adrien politely nudged Nino back to the desk with Alya. Everyone else was staring at Marinette like a fairy tale villain. Truly that stunt with Lila had tilted the scales in her favor. Adrien had enough foresight to keep her shielded from the worst of it by keeping her close. Her own shining knight.

Adrien even walked her home to make sure no one accosted her.

She’s strong. She can be strong. Even when she’s not Ladybug she can do anything. No weakness. No sadness. She can’t fall prey to Lila’s attacks. She won’t!

As the days went by Lila’s assault was unending. Every incident was at best inconvenient or at worst horribly damaging to her psyche and/or reputation. Marinette kept a brave face and didn’t let it break until she was alone. The process of holding everything in was grating on her already shot nerves. If things didn’t get better soon Marinette wasn’t sure how long she was going to last.

Another day dawned and Marinette gathered her courage as she walked into the school building. “Marinette!” Rose ran up to her, “Look at what a fan of Kitty Section made us?”

Marinette took the little pencil topper out of Rose’s hand. Each one was meant to look like a little chibi of each member in their band gear. “These are adorable, Rose! Kitty Section has really taken off since that tv concert, huh?”

“It is really exciting.” Juleka smiled.

“Excuse me ladies,” Max walked up to the group, “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a travel charger anywhere have you?”

“No. Did you lose yours?” Marinette asked.

“It was in my locker but now it’s gone.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for it.” The girls promised and they all went to class.

It was a shame that Max had lost his charger. Maybe it was just a boy thing. Nino’s headphones went missing yesterday too.

The next day Mylene was in mourning since she couldn’t find her favorite headband. It was a birthday present from Ivan and it had disappeared without a trace. Even the Kitty Section pencil toppers Rose and Juleka had been showing off to their classmates had vanished. There was no way this could be a coincidence. There was a thief among them. Marinette’s immediate hunch was one Lila Rossi but she didn’t say anything. How could she? She didn’t have any proof outside of her distrust of the girl.

“No! No! No!” Lila was in her seat at the back of the class looking frantic as she deposited the contents of her bag out on the desk.

“Something wrong, Lila?” Alya was the first to ask.

“My phone is gone!” Lila sniffled, “I need it on me at all times in case of emergencies. I’m one of Clara Nightingale’s emergency contacts. If she gets hurt I’ll have no way of knowing!”

Marinette scoffed. An emergency contact to Clara Nightingale? Marinette was sure Lila had never so much had been in the same room as Clara let alone be good enough friends to be an emergency contact. Just another tall tale.

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you find it.” Nino grabbed his phone and dialed Lila’s number.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

All eyes swiveled to where Marinette was sitting. Her bookbag was ringing.

No…

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Hesitantly Marinette reached for her bag and unzipped the front pocket. Sure enough there was Lila’s phone.

How had she managed to sneak her phone in there? It must have been when Marinette went to the bathroom earlier. Stupid! You would think that she would have learned not to leave her belongings alone with that snake slithering about.

“Marinette, why did you take my phone?” Lila stuck out her bottom lip.

“I didn’t take your phone!”

“You do realize that you just pulled it out of your bag, right?” Alya eyed Marinette suspiciously, “Also, you kinda have a track record of palming people’s phones.”

“But I didn’t--Hey!” Kim had grabbed Marinette’s bag. “Give it back!” Marinette reached for it but Kim was too tall.

“If you stole my phone then what if you stole all the recent missing items of our classmates?” Lila had quickly gotten over her ‘shock’ of Marinette’s ‘theft’. “I think it would put us all at ease if we made sure you aren’t the thief in our midst.”

Kim unzipped Marinette’s bag and rummaged around. “Look what we have here.” he pulled out a pair of headphones. “These are yours, aren’t they Nino?”

“Yeah, I put that sticker on them.” Nino took the headphones back. “Marinette?”

“I didn’t--I don’t know how those got in there!” She knew perfectly well how they did. Lila.

Kim handed the bag over to Lila. “Look, the Kitty Section pencil toppers, Mylene’s favorite headband, and Max’s travel charger.”

“No!” She snatched her bag back from and emptied the rest of it. There wasn’t anymore pilfered items but it didn’t matter much now. “I swear to you all, I did not steal any of this! I’m being framed!”

“Who would frame you?”

“Lila! She’s been out to ruin me since she got here! All the pranks, my paper being deleted, the wrong name in the newspaper, the thefts. It’s all been her! You’re all just too blind to see it!”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I will not stand to hear your lies about me. I have done nothing wrong. I offered you friendship time and again and all you’ve ever done is yell at me. What have I ever done to you that I warrant this treatment?”

“Cut the crap, Lila! I don’t care if I’m the only one who can see through you, I will not take the fall for your sabotage again!”

“But I’ve never--”

“Liar! For once in your life tell the truth! You stole all that stuff and then slipped it into my bag so that it would look like I took it. I have to have some faith that everyone will see you for what you truly are. You. Are. A. LIAR!”

“I--I--” Lila bolted out of the room.

“Hey! Get back here!”

“Marinette!” It was Alya that snapped, “Just stop.”

“What?”

“Stop trying to make Lila the bad guy here.”

“She is the bad guy!”

“No. She isn’t.” Alya sighed and walked over to her friend, “You’ve been on edge lately and you’ve been taking out all that frustration on Lila. It isn’t fair. She’s here trying to get an education and make friends like the rest of us and you are resolute in your decision to hate her.”

“Alya, please,” Marinette begged, “Not you too. You’re a journalist. You’ve said it yourself that you have to have all the facts before you can make a concrete judgement. What makes more sense? That I would steal all this stuff and blame Lila because I got caught? Or that Lila, the girl you barely know, is a pathological liar and manipulator that hates me?”

“I don’t want to believe that either of you are a bad person. The facts as they are presented paint a telling picture. One that doesn’t portray you as much of a hero, I’m afraid.”

“Please…” Marinette was losing the will to live. Not Alya too. Please not her best friend.

“I’m sorry, Marinette. But I can’t condone this kind of behaviour. We all know why you really don’t like her and projecting your jealousy onto her just because she likes Adrien isn’t healthy. I think you owe her and everyone else here an apology.”

“Adrien? You think this is still about Adrien?” Marinette felt like she was going manic, “Not everything in my life revolves around him! I hate Lila because she is a liar, a thief, a manipulator, and a life ruiner. She has you all wrapped around her little finger and I can’t take it anymore. I will not stand here and be made the villain when all I’m doing is trying to rid the evil from my life.”

“Then how about you go?” Alix said. Everyone else nodded in silent agreement.

Marinette looked to Alya for something. Some kind of support. But she wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Fine…” Marinette stuffed everything back into her bag, “I don’t want to be a part of a class like this anyways.”

She kept a brave face, her heart hardening as she walked to the principal’s office. They talked for a couple minutes and Mr. Damocles started the paperwork for her transfer. After he told her it was in motion she thanked him and started to leave the school.

On her way out of the school she passed Adrien heading in. “Marinette, hey, where’s the fire?” he stopped her, “You’re crying…”

“I--” She sniffed loudly, “I can’t…”

“Shh, it’s alright,” Adrien sat her down on the steps, “What happened?”

“Lila happened. What else would it be?” she spat.

Adrien listened patiently as Marinette ranted and blubbered about how Lila had framed her for stealing all the missing items. How she broke down and chewed Lila out. How the class turned on Marinette because of it. Finally she told him about her decision to take their suggestion and leave the school.

“But that is--” Adrien clenched and unclenched his fists, “This isn’t right! You shouldn’t have to leave. I’ll go in there and tell them all the truth right now.”

“Don’t. They’ll just turn on you too.” Marinette muttered into her knees.

“I don’t want you to go though.” Adrien took one of her hands and squeezed it, “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to make you stay? We’ll move to a different class away from Lila.”

“That means so much but if I’m in this school Lila will still find a way. Being around all these people that think I’m the bad one is wreaking havoc on my mind. All it is going to lead to is even more stress and with everything else going on in my life that’s one thing I don’t need right now.”

“Marinette--”

“I can’t--I can’t--” Marinette hiccuped, fresh tears welling in her eyes, “I can’t anymore. I’m not strong--strong enough. I’m sorry,” she wiped at her eyes trying to banish the tears before they could spill, “I--I’m sorry I can’t be stronger. I’m sorry.”

Adrien pulled her into a bone crushing hug. “No. You don’t need to apologize.” He pulled back enough so he could look in her eyes, “Never apologize.”

She hugged him back burying her face into his neck as she pulled together her last shreds of dignity and strength. She never wanted to leave these arms. She was safe here. Accepted. At least one person still believed in her.

All too soon Marinette broke the hug and took a deep breath.

“You um,” she tried to force a smile, “You should head to class. I’ve been keeping you long enough.”

“You’re more important than a literature lecture right now,” He gave her a genuine smile, “When do you leave?”

“End of the week.”

“I’m gonna throw you a farewell party.”

“Who are you going to invite? All the people that still want to be associated with me?” Marinette joked but the comment was too real.

“It’ll be great...as great as a farewell party can be anyways.” Adrien helped her to her feet. “Are you going back to class?”

“No. Not today. I have to talk this whole transfer over with my parents anyway.”

“Where are you transferring to?”

“Lycee Carnot.”

“Hey, that’s where Kagami attends school.”

Marinette was too exhausted to curse her luck. Of course the school she would be transferring to would have her romantic rival. Kagami was better than Lila by far though. And at least she’ll know someone when she starts there. Even if the two of them haven’t really spoken more than a handful of sentences to each other.

They said goodbye and Marinette went home to explain further what the principal had called them about. Her parents were saddened to hear how horribly she had been suffering. Had they not been paying attention? Was that why she was so reclusive lately?

Marinette assured her parents that this was not their fault in the least. She was in a bad spot and now she was out of it. Things could only get better now that she would be leaving the toxic environment Lila had created. They let their daughter go and rest. After some self care and a heaping helping of her favorite dessert they would talk more about this transfer.

Tikki floated next to Marinette’s head as she laid in bed. “Are you sure about this, Marinette? Lila can be exposed. We can still fix this.”

“This is fixing it, Tikki.” Marinette pulled up her Feel Better playlist and breathed slowly.

Lila had gotten what she wanted but Marinette saw this as her own win. Karma was an unforgiving mistress and in time it would come for Lila. Then Marinette could sit back and watch the carnage with a smile and a snack.

                                                             ---

(1) (3) (4)

[cruezins]

       ☣  ;  (  KIM TAEHYUNG  ,  24  ,  HE/HIM  )  coming up next on rebel radio is OPAUL by FREDDIE DREDD  .  this tune goes out to SIWON RYU  .  rumor has it they just rolled into town and are fightin’ for the GHOULS  .  they’re AFFABLE  ,  INQUISITIVE but also AIMLESS  ,  MERCURIAL so watch your backs out there  .  we wish them the best of luck here in our golded city of light  .  stay vigilant  ,  stay dirty rock ‘n rollers and we’ll catch you for the next one  .

𝐎𝐎𝐂  :  hello  !  i’m deni and i don’t know what editing is  .  i use she/her pronouns and live in the gmt+9 timezone  .   i’m terrible with ooc chats and half the time just want to vibe a connection or plot idea  ,  so please don’t hesitate to throw a half-formed thought at me because i swear i’ll do the same  .  my discord is gay fairy#6371  .  anyway  ,  here is siwon  ,  someone i’ve been work-shopping for a while  !  looking forward to writing with you  ♡

                     ☣  ;  𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇  .

cw  :  drug mentions  ;  stop me if you’ve heard this one before------

       his dad’s a junkie and he hasn’t seen his mom since some fatcats bought their restaurant for a steal a few years before  ,  but that’s the way of life for a lot of people in the underground  .  young  ,  bored  ,  and desperate to hear and smell anything that wasn’t the rottenness of his own childhood home  ,  siwon found himself on the streets more nights than not  ,  spray paint in one hand   ,  painting nights in greens and purples until reds and blues chased him away  .  makes his first steal before he can tie his shoes  .  creates alliances with the neighborhood kids  ,  sneaks around to watch how the haves live with their pretty  ,  pretty screens and their ugly  ,  ugly words  .  school isn’t anything special  ,  either  ,  and while siwon can’t remember shit that he reads from a page he can work with his hands  .  fast and efficient  ,  nimble fingers whether they’re flying across a keyboard or fucking around with some screws  .  you can make something of yourself  ,  some of his teachers tell him while others can’t stop bitching about homework or tardiness or the way he falls asleep in the middle of class  .  but what’s siwon supposed to make  ?  he and his ragtag group of weirdos he calls friends  .  when he gets older and nights get hungrier  ,  siwon learns to stop relying on the benevolence of neighbors and finds a job  ---  he’s fast  ,  after all  ,  with a sweet face and wide eyes  ,  makes a helluva getaway after years and years of running  .  

       thieving’s a natural grift  .  he’d been training for this his whole life  .  then he catches the eyes of a boss man who isn’t nearly as mad as he should be catching some kid with his wallet in his hands  .  courier comes next  ,  ferrying messages from a bunch of suits all over the city  .  siwon never opened the packages  ,  never second guesses the credits that start bloating his account  .  desperate  ,  he does what he’s told and does it well ------ and that’s the real kicker  ,  isn’t it  ?  that after a year and some-odd months of dedicated service they leave him high and dry with some bullshit he doesn’t have any involvement with  .  after years of running  ,  boys in blue finally catch him and he’s left to take the fall of some dumb fuckery  ,  man  ,  and he’s pissed  .  steaming in jail  ,  it’s a wonder some other gang didn’t get to him first  .  the longer he sat and talked with that ghoul member  ,  the more he grew to despise the rich  ,  the ones who left him to rot after all the shit he did for them  .  what was even the point anymore  ?  dog eat dog kind of bullshit  ,  no sense of loyalty or shit anywhere  .  the law and all that money was out to get him from the beginning and siwon had enough of it  .  a few months locked up but he learned and leaned and learned  ,  only able to get out on a technicality  .  the second he stepped back out into the sun  ,  siwon followed the map given to him and signed up for the ghouls  .  city of light be damned  .  the only lights he wants to see are flames eating this hellhole alive  .

                    ☣  ;  𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓  .

➤  full name.  ryu si-won ➤  date of birth.  january 29th ➤  hometown.  city of light ➤  gender.  cis male ➤  affiliation.  ghouls  ➤  primary occupation.  drug runner  ,  pickpocket  ➤  secondary occupation.  network manager at an internet cafe 

➤  sexual attraction.  pansexual ➤  romantic attraction.  panromantic ➤  character alignment.  chaotic neutral ➤  personality type.  enfp ➤  temperament.  sanguine ➤  wants.  power  ,  family

       stands around 5′11  .  broad shoulders  ,  slim hips  .  floppy  ,  messy hair and sun browned skin  .  half legs  .  a few pieces of silver in his ears and a small hoop on his bottom lip  .  dresses somewhere between a washed up rockstar  ,  your college weed dealer  ,  and a miami vice reject  .  style’s a whim with a closet’s chaotic mix of anything he thrifts or patches together  .  most of the time he’s sporting cuffed jeans  ,  vintage blouse  ,  a denim jacket or tweed blazer and thick ass boots  .  keeps all that hair back with a bandanna or a headband  ,  hair ties on his wrist  .  nothing in his closet’s technically new and he loves looking for a bargain steal —— or simply just a steal  .  likes colors just as much as he likes his neutrals  .  wears a black air filtration mask and fingerless gloves  .  considers his floral button-up shirts fancy material and his trousers cut off at the ankles  .  likes the smell of old leather and the breathing of fringe on a jacket  ,  the weight of heavy rings on his fingers and sunglasses swooped low on his nose  .  wears a monocle because he can’t be fucked with reading glasses  .   his hair’s been every color of the rainbow and he’s always changing it up thanks to temporary dye  .

                                    ☣  ;  𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄  .

       hustles at arcade halls  ,  scarfs down ramen and burritos like they’re gonna disappear  ,  looks as comfortable in a dark  ,  dirty alley as he does standing under all those lights in the neon district  .  pockets full of candy and a lollipop between his lips  .  likes cheap beer and cigarettes  ,  fast talking and smooth smiles  .  gets up when the sun goes down  .  who knows if he ever gets a full night’s sleep  ,  but you can find him taking a nap just about anywhere  .  seems to live for the dark hours and stays busy as a bee  ,  at the internet cafe one moment and grabbing fried cheese sticks in the next before crossing the bridge to watch the street races and venturing to the tunnels for the fighting rings  .  complains about being broke but puts down bets faster than anyone  .  lives for the feeling of wind in his hair so the window of his top-floor one bedroom shit hole stays open all the time  .  feels the rain on his skin  ,  plays with matches  .   learned how to assemble a gun in less than sixty seconds and stays packing nowadays though he can’t really shoot for shit  .  spray paints boobs on the sides of government buildings and dicks on malls  .  looks like an angel under all those holographic lights  .

       rides a motorbike and his skateboard  .  can do crazy math in his head and spot fake bills with incredible accuracy  .  can barely stand to sit still  ,  always moving except when there’s a computer screen in front of him  .  gets addicted to things so easily it’s scary  ---  people  ,  food  ,  liquor  ,  feelings  .  craves that intimacy  ,  craves that closeness that’s always been denied to him  .  has a loud as fuck laugh and a love for sneaking into places where he doesn’t belong  .  catches extra cash on the side by fixing up broken-down machines and can figure his way around a motor with a bit of elbow grease  .  still sees his family  .  not as much as a good son would  ,  but he sends cash when he can and looks after his younger sister  ,  makes sure she stays well and clean  .  they don’t know half of what he’s gotten up to since he was let out of prison  ,  but they might have some idea --- after all  ,  who’d pay a crooked boy with a record as well as he seems to be  ?  when the sun starts to come up and he crashes into bed  ,  siwon stares out the window and thinks about how in another world  ,  or in another time he probably could’ve been something  .  could’ve made something great  .  but for now he’s just got a whole lot of anger  ,  raw like a fresh wound he can’t stop picking at  .  

                           ☣  ;  𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐓 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔  ?

➤  bonds.  my loyalty to my friends is unwavering  ;   i owe everything to my mentor --- a horrible person who’s rotting in jail somewhere  ;  i fleeced the wrong person and must work to ensure this individual never crosses paths with me  . ➤  flaws.  once i pick a goal  ,  i become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life  ;  when I see something valuable  ,  i can't think about anything but how to steal it  ;  i have a weakness for the vices of the city  . 

       he’s friendly  ,  but he doesn’t make friends easily --- the ones that he has made  ,  he’d do anything for  .  because that’s how he’s gotten this far  ,  right  ?  all those people who looked after him when others tried to stomp him out  .  he’s still close with his teen friends who threw a few grifts with him  ,  gaming buddies that he knows only through a screen  .  little escapes from all the other bullshit going on in the world  .  even though he isn’t a club guy  ,  he runs into more than a few faces on his rounds  .  maybe they’re bad influences or sweethearts who help that touch starved affliction that comes from living in a city so wired  .  on the flip side  ,  there’s some enemies --- competitors in the runner world  ,  antagonists he meets at the races or rings for whatever reason  (  insane bets make tempers run hot  ,  who knows when they’ll flare for good and siwon’s learning the hard way how to keep his mouth shut  )  .  he’s fixed up a few cars or weapons for people recently because he misses working with his hands  .  y’know  ,  making nice  .  then there’s people he’s caught in a crossfire with  ,  where they’ve met something nasty one too many times before over turf  ,  territory and clients  .  a newer face to the ghouls  ,  he’s bugged someone into mentoring him  ,  and gone on a few runs with someone he loves to call a coworker  .  

       eager to prove himself as more than a green kid with a keyboard and an eye for detail  ,  find him cutting deals and making trades in smokey barbecue houses  ,  hole-in-the wall ramen shops or by taco tents  .  a full bellied class of clients are happy clients in his opinion  ,  and siwon isn’t above not making deals with the other groups who’s names aren’t violent delights  .  speaking of which  ---  there are definitely some skeletons there he aims to confront  ,  some old demons to fight from that class of people that fucked him over  .  there’s an ex lover in there somewhere  ,  probably met in that pre-prison childhood phase when he mingled past class lines more  ( ~1.5-2 years ago )  .  someone he’s healthily fearful of for whatever reason  ,  and maybe a vendetta against the family that scammed his parents out of their business and basically sent his life spiraling  .  there’s someone who isn’t what they seem  --- he doesn’t know who they really are  ,  and maybe they don’t know who he is  ,  either  .  they’ll learn eventually  .  someone he’s protective over  ,  someone who protects him in ways he doesn’t even know  ,  and those he looks after because they grew up on the same side  .  desperate for connection  ,  desperate for a place  ,  he finds it all in heaven and hell  .

[uncloseted]

Effy’s Closet Watches Skins: 302 “Cook”

Hey everyone! I'm back with another recap. I've always found this episode to be a bit of nonsense and i've never loved Cook as much as the other characters, but I think it gives a lot of insight into who he is and what motivates him.  More under the cut!

- I’m still annoyed about the music change. I get why they had to do it but whoever chose the replacement music really didn't even try. I've said this before, but the original music isn't just music- it adds emotion, but it also adds commentary and lets us know what the characters are feeling. This is missing that. 

- Cook and the boys are wandering down the street. It's Cook's 17th birthday, and he's having a party. Freddie says he hopes some people will show up; JJ says he invited half the college. It's a throwaway line, but I think it's actually pretty important- Cook wants people to pay attention to him, to think he's funny, to witness his debauchery. He wants people to like him despite how hard he tries not to give a shit about anyone or anything. So he invited everyone to make sure some people would come. Cook almost gets into a fight with some posh kids and looks thrilled about it. They're at Uncle Keith's pub and I'm a bit offended that the bartender is named Christina. It seems like Uncle Keith might be the only adult male influence Cook has had in his life in a long time, which explains some of why he is the way that he is. He introduces Freddie and JJ. Cook has an earring, which I don't think I've noticed before now. Keith is telling stories about his wild days and I think Cook feels like he needs to live up to those stories. Cook claims that Uncle Keith is a legend and JJ asks who exactly Keith is a legend to. Cook, who's looked up to Uncle Keith for a long time, seems really offended by the idea that Uncle Keith isn't a legend to *everyone*. 

- Enter the girls. Cook says, "Look, man. Look at that. Quality totty. That's top shelf shit" about Effy to Freddie and then "hey baby" to Effy and puts his arm around her. Effy looks very uncomfortable. At this point in time, Cook really views Effy as being a hot girl more than anything else. Freddie looks upset by this. Then Cook declares that his party will be legendary, which it clearly is not. There's also an interesting throwaway interaction with this guy who wanders into the pub. Cook says the guy burnt his house, and the guy apologizes. Cook's life is clearly very hectic if his house is being burned down by some random dude, and yet he doesn't feel like that's enough. His party needs to be wild, crazy, legendary.

- Effy and Freddie share a really nice "Cook is crazy" look, and for the first time in this episode she seems happy that she came. They sing "For he's a jolly good fellow" and Effy looks very unamused and bored with how tame this whole situation is. "He's already had half a bottle of vodka" says JJ. "Really? How crazy" deadpans Effy. She looks about ready to leave, except Freddie is there so we all know she won't. The gang does tequila shots, and Cook howls. JJ joins in, excited to be included, and Freddie begrudgingly follows along. Effy gives him this cute little understanding smile. I just noticed that the headband she's wearing has star studs on it. Freddie says that Effy will like JJ's magic trick, and what I love about this is that he's right. Effy is all "what? He does magic?" And then she's totally amused by JJ's magic trick. It's one of the first times we see her smile like that in the series, which doesn't mean anything right now, but it's interesting in the context of her mum saying that she likes magic. I think part of the reason JJ likes her so much is that she really, unapologetically likes his magic tricks. She spends so much time being unimpressed about pretty much everything else that I think her liking his magic makes JJ feel special. She seems uncomfortable with Cook drinking the goldfish- the other girls definitely are. 

- Pandora pukes, and Cook is excited- that means they're having a good time. Freddie and Effy share another glance, and then Naomi enters. She looks vulnerable, like she's not quite sure what she's doing there.  For Naomi, this is being brave. The guy who harasses her and the girl who tells lies about her in one room... all because she wants to see Emily. Katie makes a lesbian joke, and Emily hisses, "Shh... I've told you to fucking... Just leave it, ok?" Clearly they've had this conversation about Naomi before, and it gives us a hint that maybe Emily has been standing up to Katie more in private. Cook tells Naomi that the cure for gayness is his cock. I think he likes the challenge of a girl who won't sleep with him. He's really set on impressing Naomi pretty consistently in the early episodes of this series. Effy is not having Cook's views on lesbians, but meanwhile Katie finds it hilarious, I guess because someone is finally on her side about it. Emily comes to the rescue by producing a cake. I like this because she's saving Naomi from this awkward situation, but without actually having to defend Naomi or tell her how she feels. Very series 3 Emily of her. Also, how cute that Emily made Cook a cake? Cook eats the whole thing and Effy smirks. Everyone else looks disgusted. 

(Also, can I take this time to ask people why on earth they color edit gifs of Skins like this?  The entire show is already color edited by professional color editors.  It’s a big part of its look.  Why make everything orange?!) - Katie is fed up with the situation. She asks where the conversation, the dancing, the men are. Cook is offended and tries to insist that they're men, but the rest of the gang finally says what they mean- this party is shit. Cook stands outside, waiting for a sign from God about how to improve his party. This is really, really important to him, and nobody else seems to care, so he has to make it happen himself. Then an opportunity presents itself- Freddie's sister is at an engagement party. Cook seems pleased at the idea of seeing Karen (he mentions that he's always touching with her and flirting with her, to which Freddie responds that that's why she doesn't like him), and I've always thought they should have delved into that relationship more. They have a really interesting dynamic- both Cook and Karen are characters who will do whatever it takes to be noticed and to be loved. One thing I really love about this episode is the pressure that everyone is feeling to have a crazy night and a good time. I feel like that's such a relatable part of being a teenager that doesn't often get depicted- you feel like you're supposed to be going out all the time, having the craziest moments of your life, but sometimes there's just nowhere to go and nothing to do. This episode captures that restlessness really well.

- They get to the engagement party and are turned away by the bouncer. Freddie talks Cook down from fighting the bouncer, which it seems from his expression like he has to do a lot. Karen and her friend come out, Cook offers them drugs, and finally they get let into the party. It's clearly not exactly their scene, but Cook isn't deterred. He meets Johnny White, a gangster, who threatens him, but he doesn't seem to care all that much. Pandora has decided she loves drugs, I guess because she's on a quest to get everyone to like her and everyone else is doing drugs. Pandora eats all the drugs, which provides a big problem for Cook. Effy, who is used to Pandora, thinks the situation is hilarious. Everyone else, not so much. Kayleigh tells Cook to get her more drugs. The rest of the gang is dancing. Effy's maroon dress has a black diagonal stripe on it, which I guess I always thought was part of her jacket but isn't.

- Cook talks to Freddie and JJ about how he needs the drugs so that he can get with Kayleigh. Freddie says, "I thought you liked Effy", to which Cook replies, "Yeah, she's a peach. But I already tapped that. Top-dollar shag. She's my last resort. Sure thing, I reckon." Freddie didn't know that Cook and Effy had sex, and now he's upset. "But...JJ likes her", he says. Meaning, "I love her. Why would you do this to me?" I think it's the first time he realizes how Cook will never put Freddie before himself, and that he's a way better friend to Cook than Cook is to him. Effy and Freddie steal another glance; she seems to be trying to inviting him over to dance with her with some flirty eye contact, but he's still processing what he just learned.

- Now we cut to Naomi and Emily in their first real conversation of the series. As a sidenote, both of their outfits are utterly ridiculous and perfect for them. I like how the pink in Naomi's top matches Emily's cardigan. Emily asks Naomi not to leave, and Naomi asks her why not, maybe hoping, just a little bit, that Emily will say "because I want you to stay". Here's Emily, being brave, going out on a limb for Naomi. She may not seem like it on the surface, but I think Emily is actually one of the bravest characters in the show.  She knows that if she pushes Naomi too far, Naomi will run away from her, and so she's subtle, gentle, leaving room for Naomi to feel how she feels. Emily starts to say exactly what Naomi wants to hear, "I don't know....because...." and then thinks better of it and backs off.  She knows that even though it's exactly what Naomi wants to hear, Naomi isn't ready to hear it. Naomi asks her why Katie thinks she's gay, and Emily apologizes. Naomi leaves.

- Johnny White gives a speech, and clearly this marriage is political; he's merging two gangs so that they won't fight anymore. Freddie looks upset, in general I think but also because of all the people there, he believes in love, and I think he feels like Kayleigh shouldn't be getting married for politics. Pandora faints and Effy tries to wake her up. Cook gets more drugs from Keith and gives them to Kayleigh. He has this argument with Kayleigh where he tries to convince her to have sex with him, which is gross but also I think shows his desperation. Cook is not someone who knows how to let go, even if he doesn't really care about the endgame. She says that if he impresses her, she'll have sex with him, and so Cook hatches a plan. He does the rest of his drugs (interestingly, he eats them in the same way Pandora does) and then does a whole song and dance number, angering Johnny in the process. Freddie sees danger coming, but not before Cook gets hit over the head with a bottle. Cook continues to poke at Johnny, getting himself deeper and deeper into trouble, and it's at this point that I wonder how prevalent gang activity actually is in Bristol. Every series these kids get into some sort of altercation with a gang. Is that normal for the UK? Anyway, Freddie sweeps in and saves the day, promising that they'll leave, and Johnny tosses Cook off of a balcony, starting a gang war in the process. 

- Cook seems relatively unharmed from this fall, and begins to laugh. He's definitely gotten the legendary night he wanted, and to him that's all that matters. The gang runs away, hooligans that they are, before their situation can get worse. Effy concedes that it was a cool party and has this cute moment in the background where she and Pandora are playing. Freddie says that Cook is "fucking unbelievable", still with a mixture of admiration and disgust, which I think is common for their relationship. Still smiling, Freddie says, "you're always fucking trying to get laid", and it's interesting, because it's friendly but sharp. Cook isn't sensing the escalating situation with Freddie, and just says that he tries and succeeds before turning to the girls to see if any of them want to fuck. All of them evade him, including Effy. She pauses, thinks about it, looks at Freddie (who seems very nervous about what she's going to say), and then turns Cook down, saying that she has to take Pandora home. She looks like she might be wearing some sort of feather in her hair?

- Cook, undeterred, says that he wants to go somewhere with women. Freddie says he's tired, and Cook initially thinks he means sleepy, but Freddie says no- he's tired of Cook. I think Cook propositioning Effy right in front of him is the final straw for Freddie; clearly Cook doesn't care about his feelings, and if Cook doesn't care about Freddie's feelings, Freddie's not going to go with him and protect him from himself anymore. Cook responds with anger, a "fuck you, then" and tries to get JJ to come with him. JJ, I guess not wanting to rock the boat further, only hesitates for a second before he goes along. 

- The rest of this episode is mostly filler nonsense so that Skins can earn its "edgy and provocative" stripes. It feels like a rehash of the events of episode 101, except now Skins has a reputation to uphold. Cook and JJ go to a strip club/brothel situation. Cook says JJ is going to lose his virginity; JJ stands up to him (a bit) and says he's not sure he wants to. I think Cook thinks he's doing JJ a favor, and by getting JJ laid, he'll make sure JJ stays on his side if this fight with Freddie is real. JJ is totally out of his element and clearly uncomfortable. Cook can't afford what he wants, and I think he's surprised that this is not a situation where he can bargain, no matter how good or sexy he thinks he is. JJ just wants a kiss; he's never kissed a girl and doesn't know how.  He realizes that Johnny White is in the other room and goes to get revenge, but not before he sees JJ kissing Megan and calls it "gay shit".  JJ apologizes to him, as if he's wronged Cook in some way.  Cook takes pictures of Johnny in a... compromizing position... and takes Johnny's necklaces.  Like Cook was doing before, Johnny provokes him- he won't let go even when he knows it's in his best interest.  Johnny makes some comments about Cook's mum, and Cook physically fights him.  JJ tries to pull him away and accidentally gets caught in the crossfire, with Cook almost hitting him.  Cook looks disturbed by the fact that he got so angry that he almost hit JJ, and JJ runs away.  Johnny threatens to kill Cook, and Cook, for the first time all episode, seems to realize that his actions have consequences.  

He walks across a park alone at dawn.  He doesn't have anywhere to go, so he goes to see Freddie, the only person who's always been there for him.  Freddie comes out of his house and into the shed, looking like a bit of a grandpa in his dressing gown.  Cook is drinking and Freddie calls him on it, but he's not willing to push the issue.  I think he's hoping Cook has come to offer some form of apology.  But Cook asks, "so what are we doing today then?" And Freddie knows that that's not why he's here.  Freddie says he almost got them killed, and Cook finally offers up an apology of sorts.  Freddie says that it's a first; even Cook's half apology seems to be more than Cook has ever said before.  But Freddie's not having it- Cook says he wouldn't have done the stupid things he did if Freddie was there, and Freddie reiterates that he's not going to take care of Cook anymore, that he's tired of being a bystander to Cook's death wish.  Cook pulls the Three Musketeers card and says he loves Freddie to bits, and Freddie relents.  He knows that he's all that Cook has, and I don't think he's ready to let go of that.  He asks just one thing, that Cook "stops all this crazy shit".  But even that's too much for Cook.  His response is only "shut it, you pussy".  And so he goes right back to his old ways, walking down the street and singing loudly, just like he did before.  Only this time, he's all alone.  In this episode we see how far Freddie has been pushed, how much he just wants Cook to be okay.  How much he thinks that somehow, he'll be able to get through to Cook and save him from himself.  And it's so clear from the ending of that episode that that's not where Cook is,that's not what's going to happen.  He wants to keep things exactly as they are, with Freddie looking out for him so nothing truly bad happens, where there are no consequences for his actions because Freddie will shield him from them.  This conversation marks Freddie's final straw- he's trying again, one more time, hoping he got through to Cook.  Forgiving him for everything with Effy, for creating messes he always has to clean up... offering one final olive branch. 

Bonus: Effy and Freddie sharing glances in this episode: