#two gals being pals is actually something that can be so personal......

[missmarveledsblog]

Angel ( frank castle x reader )

SUMMARY : When frank meets Matt murdock's sister , he become intrigued more and more as he's around the  so called angel of hell's kitchen 

warnings : violence , fighting etc . mutual pining

Enemies to lovers

Eye scanning over the sign in such pride yet the occasion was not for such occasion , coming back to hells kitchen he was bound to find out she was home . so here Y/N stood outside NELSON AND MURDOCK LAW OFFICE ready to tell her brother she was home and a failure. The admiration didn't last long when she felt herself being pushed forward almost losing her balance completely. " asshole" she grumbled seeing the man not even stopping to apologise or even recognise his actions as he was walking into the same building .

She already rang Karen so at least one person was expecting her. Maybe the redhead could give her advice on the best way to break her news. Walking into the office she let her eyes scan around , it was the same as the pictures she was sent but being in the space physically was a whole other thing. She was proud of her brother and foggy , she used to tease the two and call them dorks all the time. Of course the same jerk from before was sitting there , deep expression on his stupid handsome face.

She rolled her eyes taking a seat barely sparing him a glance looking around to find a familiar face. She went to grab a magazine and heard a scoff looking to see the man's eyes locked on the one she had chosen . " typical" he muttered. " Excuse me, can I help you? '' she asked, almost gritted teeth . " No, just typical you type of gals go for that celebrity shit" he laughed. " You don't know me pal and all you should really be saying is sorry for nearly knocking me over but your type doesn't have a grasp on manners' ' she crossed her legs and began flipping through the articles . '' shouldn't have been standing in the middle of the sidewalk like a ditz then"he shot back . " should barge through people like you can't see them then" she growled. " Look when murdock comes, I'm seeing him first way more important than whatever you got going on" he scoffed. " how do you know what I want?" she rolled her eyes . " let me guess wanna bang pool boy and find a way out of the prenup" he chuckled. The sting of his words wasn't what she needed, not when she was looking down at the picture of her ex fiance and ex best friend's picture .

" hey y/n good to see you" Karen rushed to her side. " hey great seeing you actually i need to do something , i could meet you guys later at Josie's but don't tell my brother ok" she grabbed her things . " hey you ok" the red head face in concern til her eyes fell on the magazine. " shit i didn't know" she took it up . " i'll see you later" was all the girl called out, running out the office completely. " What's her problem?" the man scoffed. "Frank , that's Y/N as in Matt's little sister , she caught her fiance in bed with her best friend. I mean shitty enough dude's famous for some stupid business company so she has to see it everywhere" she ripped the magazine up . " ah shit" he sighed. " What did you do?" She shot the man a look . " i may have been a complete asshole and took my stress out on her, misjudged her completely too, i mean she looked at her , said she was her to get out of a prenup and banging her pool boy" he winced dodging the incoming balls of paper . " You know Matt's gonna kill you right , or she will" Karen growled, rushing off to find the woman herself.

What frank didn't expect was the two women walking backwards as a man held a gun at them . " sit there and tell me where Murdock is' ' he growled. "I'm Murdock '' her voice cool, calm and well intriguing to the man . " y/n i don't think matt can get you out of self defence murder twice '' Karen said confusing the gunman and frank castle . " i won't kill him but if he doesn't put the gun down i will severely hurt him buddy i ain't having such a great time so if you could fuck off it would be great" she huffed unbothered to the firearm directed at her. " you need help?,"Frank called both amused and curious about his tone . Usually he would handle the situation yet the women didn't seem to be worried . "No," she glared at the man . Frank watched as the man's eyes flickered between the two and her hand moved backwards feeling around the table. " Oh look it's matt" she smiled, making the man turn before she grabbed the armed hand , he watched as the magazine clip fell to the floor and she emptied the chamber in the ceiling before smashing the paper weight to the man's gut. " I warned you buddy I ain't having a good day. '' She huffed and punched him once and the man was out cold. "See I don't need your help or opinions" she turned to the man throwing the paper weight into his hands. " You should clean up" Karen winced seeing the blood on her knuckle.

" or you could explain why their bullet holes in my ceiling" she turned to see the familiar smirk of her brother . " what bullet holes, you can't see them" she rushed to him in a hug. " So if I was to stick my cane up there" he asked. " what the halloween prop you carry around" she shot back . " hey Y/N" . " Hey foggy" . " You ok?" Matt asked softly . " I mean i didn't kill him but he will have a headache" she looked down at the still unconscious man. " not what i meant" he chuckled. " I mean it sucked but Jesus those people were draining" she sighed hugging him again , he could tell she was lying but let it go as he squeezed her tighter. " Well, let's bring him to the office to see what he wants," he nodded to the man . "Well punisher there is waiting to talk to you and i need to get back to my hotel room but i'll meet you later" she walked out before they could say anything. " you told her?" Frank asked. " No, she's just good at that sort of thing," he chuckled .

Being in josie now that was way better than the gala's and pretentious socialite events. It was normal people with real life things going on . She saw her brother and the usual gang sitting as well as the man , who she now knew as Frank Castle . " hey angel's back" a voice called. " Yeah, I'm back," she laughed, heading towards the group. " Angel , devil really," Frank laughed. " except people know me" she said smiling a dig . " Hey, before I wanna apologise, I was having a bad day," he began . " and took it out on me yeah i got it" she shook her head rolling her eyes before heading to the bar before the man could even finish his apology. " hey i'm trying to be nice here" he followed. " Ok? You're still a dick , I mean I'm having a shitty time of it and I didn't take it out on those around me" she quipped. " usual please" she called. " Well then how can I make it up to you" he smiled. " Hmm that ones a thinker i'll get back to you" she smirked before taking a sip of her drink . " you're trouble," he shooting her a flirty grin . " You've no idea" she walked and left him standing there . " buddy she will have you praying" a man chuckled. " ain't that what angels are for" he chuckled, heading back to the group.

The rest of the night they let the worries of the world subside for once and enjoyed the moment . The flirty tension between Hell kitchens' own angel and the punisher was so immense that even her own brother could feel it. " I'm going to head off, I need to get up early to see some places" she yawned as they all booed. " hey i need a place to live plus you got jobs to be doing" she laughed . " Wait, I'll walk you back , lotta scary people out there" frank stood. " And I'm the scariest of them all so i'm ok" she laughed walking off . " She's not wrong," Matt snorted . " She is scary , she's made foggy cry before" Karen agreed. " that was only... five times" the man protested sloppily . " go follow after even i can see you want to" Matt teased. " Just don't sneak up on her," Foggy called. " How much is saying those two get together?" Karen asked . " We don't need to be on the obvious" Matt shook his head.

The dark streets of Hell kitchen held many memories both good and a lot of bad for the woman . passing the church seeing her standing there she shook her head still not as forgiving as her brother for the now sister's abandonment. The boxing gym her father spent time in training them both , to the old schoolyard she may have used to those lessons in .

she felt the presence following her like she was prey she felt it second she left the bar. Her brother wasn't the only one who could sense things turning to the dark alley . He stood wondering where the hell she went , one minute she was there and next gone in a split second , his boss wasn't going to be happy about that one that was for sure. Just as he walked further into the alley she watched from the shadows as he appeared making her roll her eyes she grabbed the familiar man holding her finger over her lips not to disrupt their new friend. She walked out, one movement swept his leg from under him and the mysterious man landed on his back. " Why are you following me , you know dark alleyways aren't safe right?" she asked, pressing her foot on his throat. Boss wants you , he knows you are special" the man choked out . " I mean of course I am but what does your boss think is so special?" she pushed harder. " he knows your enhanced" he spluttered and coughed. " your ex has been sharing it around sweetness everyone gonna want the angel" he grunted pulling a knife out only for her to kick it from his hand. " My ex lies honey I wouldn't listen to a word he says he told me he was eight inches " she walked just as he jumped up she swung around kicking him sending him to the ground .

" wanna tell me what that was about" Frank walked out by her side. " i may or may have not signed up for something when i was 18 turned out to be hydra and well got something extra in return" she shrugged. " extra?" . " yeah extra '' she shrugged and continued walking. They were out of the alley within seconds they were surrounded at gunpoint. " Will that extra help us here?" he asked, looking for his own plan. " can't a girl have a bit of mystery," she groaned, lifting her palms as the other men shouted for her to stop. The light on her palms glowing in a sort of purple hue as the guns they head pulled from their hands she used her other palm to pull the men to their knees as her own feet came off the ground . " You took long enough, '' she called out as the devil of hell's kitchen stepped forward. " i had a prior engagement," he gruffed. The two didn't speak for long when her hands pulled the guns apart tiny pieces falling to the ground as the men jumped up . the now devil and punisher fighting side by side in an all too familiar sequence of events . Her own feet hitting the ground panting, one of the assailants finding it the perfect opportunity to try grab her from behind that was til the back of her head hit his nose and the crack echoed through the streets before her hand grabbed his arm throwing him over her shoulder and hitting the ground with a thump . " this could have come up at any time" frank grunt dodging the incoming fists at his face . " I usually don't advertise to asshole men, I can levitate" she huffed, sending a punch to a man's gut . " Can you flirt another time?" Daredevil rasped, sending one to the ground as the three stood around now incapacitated men. " I'll leave the door open , you come on" she grabbed Frank's arm as the two walked off.

Thankfully due to the location and it being dead of night the staff in the lobby of the hotel barely batted an eyelash at their appearance when they strolled in clearly after some sort of altercation . " I'm surprised you're not an avenger or some shit" Frank quipped once both got into the elevator. " I turned them down, starks annoying" she winked until she felt the sting in her abdomen. " your bleeding heavy" he gruffed. " no shit Sherlock," she gritted . " we need to get you somewhere" he went to press the button but she grabbed his hand. " Just help me to my room" she panted, feeling the burning sensation taking over as the adrenaline was clearly wearing off. He wanted to yell at her but she knew more than he did in the situation so he held his tongue. Throwing one hand over his shoulder as his own wrapped around her waist keeping her supported, two walked down the hall as she gave directions to her room .

the minute the door shut she moved to the balcony door. Soon enough the man came in while she walked over toward the corner of the room and hands over the wound as she shoved something into her mouth. A muffled scream the men looked while a strong purple glow from her hands hit , she turned showing the bleeding stopped and the wound closed over. " See" she winced a sway in her step. " grab her she's going to pass out" Matt sighed before pulling the mask from his face. " why isn't this phasing you" frank brought her over laying her on the bed . " She's done this before huh?". " A few times actually , she nearly burned off tony stark's goatee after a comment on her ass " he walked towards the bed happy to hear everything appeared to be stable. " Why haven't you gotten her to help you out?" . " whether enhanced or not, she's my baby sister who used your brain" . " you Murdocks are trouble and pain in my fucking ass" frank huffed out pulling a bottle from the mini bar. " Well you like at least one of us and I know it's not me, '' he smirked.

" she is not safe here" he completely ignored the man's observation and sly comment . " I'll come back as well as me and we bring her back to mine , stay with her" Matt threw his mask on. " Well, where else am I going to go?" he looked up to see the man was already gone. " hate when he does that" he took his drink and seat . eyes stuck to her form how peaceful she was when her mouth wasn't running although he'd did secretly like it. But now that nickname angel made sense the ethereal effortless beauty that she had . He needed to stop staring before he got completely lost in her .

Matt returned half an hour later to some nervous looking kid driving the car as they carried her out . " how old are you 12 " Frank joked. " I'm the same age as Angel, I'm 24 sir" he squeaked out . " God Mr stark is gonna kill me" he muttered. " ok that's sorted come parker drive " matt got in the car . " She is still stable," he called back . " She hasn't woken up either, " Frank said, seeing her still sleeping head on his lap . " How's her healing factor holding? " the boy asked . " How's her, what , who is this kid". "Peter Parker sir , spiderman" he whispered in the last part . " She can heal herself," Matt added. "your fucking with me right" frank asked only for matt to lift her top slightly to show the wound from earlier was almost gone . " Anything else I'm missing here" he asked the two. "Not yet anyways thanks for lift kid" matt patted his shoulder as two got frank still carrying her as Parker drove off. " really he's the Web slinger" . " she waking up let her get inside" matt walked ahead. "Ominous asshole," Frank grumbled, stopping when he heard the little laugh . " hey if you're awake you can walk " he looked down to see her eyes shoot close making him laugh shaking his head carrying her in. " ok ok where here free ride over" she went to drop her but her feet hit the floor first.

"Little shit" he mumbled as she went straight to her bag. " oh shut up you were worried about her less than ten minutes ago" . " Worried about little old me , I'm honoured" she snorted, heading to the bathroom. " definitely a pain in my ass" he fell back on the sofa. " Yeah, tell that to you that thing you call a heart" matt chuckled. " fuck off and shut up" he added eyes locked towards the bathroom . " I hate to even say this but she's the same , she just hides it way better" Matt handed him a beer. " Who hides what better?" she asked. " Karen hides her feelings better" Matt spoke up . " Being blind didn't heighten your lying sense huh?" She took his own beer out of his hand before sitting on the sofa. " You sure he's actually blind though," Frank asked her. " finally someone else who questions it" she raised the beer up . " You two are made for each other" he walked out of the room . " we're right, I mean I changed this place around so many times and no accidents" she yelled out. "Goodnight assholes , angels don't cook, I don't need my place to burn down" he called back .

" pfft that was one extremely high as hell time and it only burned like half the kitchen down" she laughed nervously. " wait the saint in there let you get high" . " hey jesus isn't against weed , i mean i was first and last time was kinda snuck into a frat party , tried to be like yeah i'm cool , didn't end so well" she winced. " Something I gotta ask, how did you know who I was? Matt said he didn't tell you, " he asked . " I rang Matt during a time you guys were working together and well he said he was with a friend , the punisher you yelled for him to wrap it up along with more colourful words , so when i heard you today" she smiled . " Good memory," he nodded. " I've what they call the perfect brain. I don't use it that often clearly given my life choice but I remember things I hear and see made me prime candidate for that stupid trial they said it was" she grimaced . " the experiments , what made you do it?" . " Jesus, I never had so many questions and I've been arrested a lot" . " not very angel like now is it sweetheart" he teased . " I'm more fallen angel than heaven sent" she winked . " Well where did that come from then" he asked when he saw how her smile faltered. It seemed like the wrong question. " my dad called me , called me so many folks forgot i had a real name" her voice was less playful than before . " hey sorry i didn't mean to bring up anything bad for you" he rambled. " nah it's ok really , you wanna another beer , you hungry?" She stood up quickly. " I'll take the beer , I might pass on the food from that slight warning" he chuckled. " I'm ordering a pizza jackass" she rolled her eyes . " Well then yeah i could eat" . " I decide if you deserve it now" she tapped her chin walking backwards stumbling after hitting a chair . " blind my ass," she muttered as her cheek flushed and a frank laugh filled the living room.

" Hey, you're supposed to be on my side" she pouted. " with you murdock's nah" he shook his head. " oh shut up i'm already your favourite" she stuck her tongue out. " maybe" he muttered when she couldn't hear him . " I'd say we're even, I mean you being a dick at first to helping me out" she came in handing him the beer. " I think you owe me one for that actually" . " what would that be?". " I think you should let me think about that over dinner tomorrow night" he said calmly and cool yet his heart was beating so fast he was probably sure Matt could hear it and was gonna give him shit. " pick me up at 7" she played it cool and honestly glad her voice didn't betray her . " fuck it" was all she heard before her face was pulled toward him and her lips hitting his. It was sort of a kiss she never felt so much emotion in before , like maybe she was doing it totally wrong til now. She leaned more into the action tilting her head so she could deepen it. His hands gripping her waist before pulling her completely onto his lap like she was always meant to be there , the soft sigh from her lips told him she felt the same way . " NO HAVING SEX ON MY SOFA '' the yell made them stop ,foreheads resting against each other before they broke into a fit of laughter like two teenagers being caught by their parents. " would have been easier if he was deaf" she joked. " I HEARD THAT" . " to answer your question earlier , he definitely is not my favourite Murdock" he smirked before leaning up and capturing her lips again . 

[charlie-lec-stories]

Everything happens for a reason // CL16

Pairing: Charles Leclerc / Stroll!Sister

Summary: After a whole life of following her father's orders, Y/N's tired of being the good girl and when she finally stood up for herself with the help of her best friend, all hell broke loose.

Warnings: Sexual comments and scenarios, cheating, strong vocabulary.

Author’s Note: Well guys, gals and non-binary pals, you know I love messy stories, this is no exception. Rate: +18 (adult content)

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"UGHHHHHH". Y/N couldn't help but laugh out loud when her brother, Lance, sat down beside her, grunting as if it was the hardest thing his body had done in 20 years.

"Really, Lance, was it really that hard? Are you that old?". She rolled her eyes as the boy fixed his position on the roof, making sure that he wouldn't fall off. They had the tradition of sitting on the roof of their mansion after dinner and before bed time. They had an hour before the staff would start looking for them, the only time they could be normal and not billionaires.

"I'm not old, it was that hard, some of us train, you know. Not everyone is naturally gifted at driving cars". She laughed again. Even though her brother tried to act annoyed with her great driving, he was actually proud of her.

"I'm not that good". She lied, but he shook his head, then let it rest on her shoulder, getting comfortable next to her under the blanket she had. Her hand went to his hair, lovingly running her fingers through the locks.

"Don't lie. Gees, I'm not ever sure who you got that from, because dad sucks". She felt his body shake as he giggled at his own comment. "That old man may love racing but God knows he should never touch a steering wheel".

"Hey, don't be like that, he's an average driver...". Lance moved his head up to give her a pointed look. "He is!... When it comes to tennis karts he is". They stayed silent for a moment before bursting out laughing so hard that they got worried someone might have heard.

"Okay, okay, enough with roasting the old man". Lance said once they calmed down. He resumed his position close to her and changed the subject. "Are you excited for the new season? I mean, you have a real chance this time, sis".

"Carlos said the same". She said, sighing and looking into the horizon. The sun was setting and the sky had that perfect shade between pink and purple, it was lovely, it made her feel at peace.

"Well, we are right. I'm always right, as you obviously know, and Carlos is your best friend, he could never lie to you, that's illegal". Y/N smile, that was true, her best friend was the most honest person she had ever met, and if there were two people in the world she trusted with her life, those were Lance and Carlos.

"Speaking of Carlos, I have something to tell you about this season". Lance could feel the tension in her voice so he fixed his position again, showing her that he was giving her his full attention. "Nelson, you know, the PR guy, he told me that I have to get into a PR relationship. He gave me two options: Carlos or Leclerc. Of course, I chose Carlos. I'd rather fake-date my best friend than Charles-stupid-Leclerc".

"You should let go of that anger, your beef with Charles was years ago, he's a nice guy". Lance rolled his eyes at his sister. Y/N and Charles fought after a karting race when they were 16 and never got along after that. He was unnecessarily mean to her and she always over-reacted. But to be fair to Charles, she did say to him that he had a small penis in front of the whole grid, and that can be really harmful for a teenage boy. The fact that everyone knew that they had hooked up once only made the accusation seem more reliable, humiliating Charles even more in front of their peers. To add to the feud, Y/N called him "Peanut" and he called her "Matagot", which is basically a south-french mythology monster that only treats you well if you keep it well-fed, otherwise it can be your biggest nightmare. It was Charles' way of calling her a spoiled brat, that only cares for others when she can get something in return.

"He's not nice. But I don't want to talk about him, I want advice. I have never been in a PR relationship before and you have. It's pretty uncomfortable to have to do this with Carlos, but I have to make it work".

Lance and Y/N spent their hour talking, he gave her advice on what to do and how to keep the friendship strong after having to be all over each other in public. It was going to be awkward, but her contract said that there were things she had to do to get a better public image and Carlos was a great way to keep things interesting. Drive to Survive, the Netflix series about the sport needed something to talk about, and a relationship between two drivers from different teams was perfect, and that's how she ended up trapped with a PR relationship. Around 10 pm, they got down the roof and made their way to their rooms. Before bed, Y/N checked her phone and found a text from her best friend.

Chili-man: Hey kiddo! I know that this is going to be awkward, but remember that we're best friends first, if you ever feel uncomfortable, you let me know and I'll do everything to help out. Okay?

Y/N: Thanks Chili-man. I love to know that you're always on my corner. You're the best. And the same goes for you. It's gonna be weird, but at least I'm not fake-dating Peanut.

Chili-man: Don't be mean, he's a nice guy.

Y/N: You and my brother need to stop being such Leclerc's advocates, I'm sure he can pay his own defense lawyers, you guys don't need to do it for free. Anyways, good night and I'll see you tomorrow for the first day!

Chili-man: I promise he's not that bad. But whatever. Sleep tight kiddo. I'll see you tomorrow.

The next morning, Y/N woke up to the sound of her father shouting and her mother begging him to lower his voice. Still half asleep, she walked to the door and cracked it open. Outside, she saw Lance peeking out of his own room and after sharing a puzzled look, they moved their attention to their father. He was at the end of the hall, at the door of his room, their mother was pulling at his arm, trying to pull him into the room without success. It was strange to say the least, that their mother interfered with their father's affairs, she had her own business to worry about, but she seemed actually worried about the discussion their father was taking part in over the phone.

"I SAID NO. I don't care about the numbers, I don't care about the stupid show. She's not dating Carlos Sainz Jr. She'll do that over my dead body!". Both Lance and her looked at each other. Why was he so upset? He loved the Sainz; he had been friends with Carlos Sainz Sr. for as long as they could remember. "I DON'T CARE IF IT'S FAKE".

"Honey, please, they'll hear you". Their mother tried to calm him down, but he was furious.

"THEN USE LECLERC, BUT SHE'S NOT DATING CARLOS AND THAT'S MY FINAL WORD". She definitely didn't like that last statement. Her father hung up and stormed into his room. It was her turn to be upset, she didn't want to date Charles Leclerc, fake or for real, it was a nightmare both ways. A little later that morning she tried to convince her father in her favor, but he was so angry that it was impossible to make his change his mind. Carlos texted her mid-day, while she was on the jet on her way towards Bahrain, asking her what happened and why his PR team told him that he was replaced by Charles. She didn't want Carlos to feel bad or inadequate in the eyes of her father, so she lied and said that she had no idea and that as soon as she had an answer for that, she would tell him. When she made it to Sakhir, she was told to leave her luggage at her room and then go back to the lobby so she could wait for a car there with Nelson. They had to meet with Charles and his team to discuss the details of the arrangement. It was a quiet car ride, Nelson was aware of what she thought of Charles and that the change had not been her decision, so he let her off the hook for a few minutes.

"Welcome, Miss Stroll, please have a seat". Kathy, Charles' PR head of the department greeted her when they made it to the hotel where Ferrari was staying. The room they used for the meeting was a last time arrangement, but it had space and it made her feel better, considering how bad things could get once Charles arrived.

"Thank you". She sat down on the couch and Kathy handed her a glass of water. They didn't have to wait much before Charles walked through the door. If it wasn't for her being completely aware of how much of a prick he was, she was sure that she could fall at his feet over and over again every time she saw him. He was the most handsome man on Earth, she knew that, but he was also aware of that so it posed a problem for her.

"Sorry I'm late, I wanted to shower after the flight". He sat on the bed of the room and looked at Y/N when she scoffed.

"Thank you for that! Now the only thing that stinks in this room is your shitty personality". Charles growled. They spent less than two minutes together, 2 meters apart, and they were already at each other's throats.

"I told you this was not gonna work". He told Kathy. "She's a spoiled little shit and I can't stand her close to me. The feeling is obviously mutual, why force this?".

"Because you're the perfect marketing option and it's our job-". Kathy pointed between her and Nelson. "- to make you both a selling machine. So you'll both make it work or your teams will reduce money from your salaries for breaching your contracts".

"That's not fair. I need my money and this Matagot doesn't give two shits about her contract, her Daddy is a billionaire, you're giving her all the power in the world over me!". Charles complained. He knew that she didn't need the money, she could make his life a living hell without a problem and he would have to take it all like a good boy not to lower his income.

"Suck it up, Peanut. Compensate that small pecker of yours by being the bigger person!". She was enjoying the moment.

"The itinerary is long. Read it, learn it and follow it". Nelson explained to ease up the tension. "Remember to be caring and loving, but do not overdo it. Kiss once in a while, hold hands while you walk together. We'll take care of the interviews and the press. Act the part for Netflix and we'll help you with the conflict for the show-".

"We don't need help with conflict". Charles interrupted.

"We need conflict, not first degree murder, Charles". Kathy sent them a stern look as she let the comment out and both drivers looked at their laps.

"Okay, I got it all. Can I go now?". She wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

That night she texted Carlos, and he told her something interesting: His PR team and his father told him to put some distance with her. They were both surprised, since when did their parents dislike the idea of them being friends? They had been friends their whole lives, close since they remembered. They were like siblings, why couldn't they be friends anymore? They understood the whole PR thing, that she needed to sell and that there was drama that had to occur between her and her fake boyfriend, but why did it all have to happen with Carlos at an arms' length? It was weird and she needed to know. It was hard enough that her father had controlled her whole life, she was already old enough to make her own decision. Why did he care so much about her friends? It wasn't like she was going to date Carlos for real. Carlos had his own questions, he was almost 30, his father was stepping over a line trying to control his life like that, but he respected his old man and he was going to listen, as long as the decision didn't prove to be hurtful for his best friend.

"I'm not kissing you". She said as soon as she met Charles at the lobby of her hotel. They were supposed to show up together for the first day at the paddock. Of course, she wanted to make it difficult for him. "I'm not doing the same stupid shit twice".

"You don't have to do me this time, Matagot". Charles hissed at her. "Plus, it's not like I will enjoy it so shut up and make this easy for everyone".

"I said-". But he cut her off with his lips over hers. As fast as he did it, he pulled away and before she could say anything, he was practically dragging her to his car.

The day went by incredibly slowly, but at some point she became numb to holding hands and kissing with Charles. They would kiss and she would instantly start talking about something racing related, like Lance suggested she do to get rid of the awkwardness. Charles seemed okay with that. What was actually bothering her more was the fact that she spent the whole day without talking to Carlos. Charles noticed her looking for his teammate a few times but decided to ignore the raging fire it started inside his veins. He hated the idea that he had to date her, but he dated more the idea of her dating Carlos. He wasn't surprised when Carlos told him that he was going to date Y/N as a PR stunt, what surprised Charles was that they weren't actually dating for real. He could never understand why the Spaniard would refuse to date a woman like her. Charles found Y/N the most amazing woman, when she was nice, and she was definitely nice to Carlos. The older man explained that he never felt like that about her and it never made sense to Charles, after all, he did feel that way about her when she used to be nice to him. But that was a decade ago, and she had never been nice once to him since that time. Still, he felt pleased that Carlos wasn't a threat. She may have looked around for him, and liked him over Charles, but he didn't reciprocate her feelings, so Charles was safe. He was torn between a need for her to love him and constant reaction of disgust to everything she said.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Peanut? There are no cameras here". She said when he appeared at her room door.

"We need to talk". He made his way inside the room and she sighed, already too tired to complain.

"What do you want to talk about?". He sat on her bed and she went to the couch, not wanting to be near him.

"Do you like Carlos?". He decided that dancing around the question was pointless and she was kind of thankful that he cut to the chase.

"That's none of your business, Charles"

"Well, but we are fake dating, and he's my teammate, so I need to know". Lie, that wasn't the real reason, and she knew, but she let it slide.

"I don't like Carlos that way". She saw the accusatory look on his face and explained further. "We're best friends. Something happened. I don't know what. I think our fathers may have something to do with it. He told me that we can't hang out much for now. It's weird".

"Does this have anything to do with us getting together?". 'Failed act', Freud would say.

"We're not together Charles, we can't stand each other". He could pick up on her tired tone, maybe it was the right time to finally get her out of her shell.

"We used to. I remember that time. We had a great moment". But what he thought was going to be a comment that made her happy, completely backlashes at him.

"A great moment?! That's what it was for you? Just a great time?". She stood up, tears at the corners of her eyes and Charles suddenly felt the need to get up and hold her. He didn't, though. "That's why you just simply walked out and ignored me then? Because I was just another good time for you?"

"What? No, how did you even get there?! I never said that!". Now he was the one in a defensive mood.

"Your actions speak better than your words. You ignored me, after everything we did together, after how vulnerable I was with you. I gave you my virginity and you simply threw me away!". She was fully on crying and Charles just could take it anymore, he got up and pulled her to his body, hugging her as tightly as he could.

"I was embarrassed. I felt like I did it like shit. I was stupid and had zero experience. I came so fast because I liked you so much. I thought I let you down". He wasn't sure if she heard him, his words muffed by her hair and his sobs. "I thought you had not enjoyed that moment as much as I did and it was embarrassing, because I loved every second of it. I wanted to talk to you but your parents kind of scared me off from the house the next morning. It felt like I had done everything wrong. Then we saw each other at the race and you were so cold that I believed I was right. You then said those things... I- I just didn't know what to do".

"I shouldn't have said that. I was hurt and felt humiliated, I was wrong". She was grabbing at him as tightly as he was at her.

"We both were". He kissed her head and they broke apart. "I never stopped thinking about you. I always wondered what we could have been...". He let that linger in the air, the possibility. She took his hand and led him to the bed. Her actions spoke better than her words.

They woke up the next morning to someone pounding on the door. Charles quickly fell asleep again, but Y/N got up to tell the person at the other side to get lost. She was surprised when she found Carlos on the other side. The man didn't even say hi, he walked into the room, pushing her inside with him and slamming the door shut. The noise woke Charles up again, this time he did get up, furious when he noticed that his teammate was grabbing his girlfriend's arms with a python's grip. Carlos looked worried, but it was mixed with a bit of anger and something else Charles couldn't decipher. It wasn't until he spoke up that Carlos actually noticed his presence.

"What the fuck are you doing?!". The monegasque walked towards him, and Carlos noticed the lack of clothing, the black Calvin Klein's hanging from Charles' hips were the only thing keeping him decent.

"You two...". He suddenly smiled. "It was about time. A decade. Never met two people this slow".

"You're on thin ice, mate". Charles said, sternly.

"Then you're not going to like what I'm going to say next". Carlos took a deep breath. "I need us to fake-date, Y/N. I want to pressure my father. I think he's planning on setting me up with someone. But if he thinks we're dating even though he said no, he'll leave me alone". She looked at Charles, he didn't seem happy with the idea, but she also wanted to find out why her father was so against Carlos so suddenly.

"If- IF I do it, do you think we can make it happen sometime when both our parents are there?". Charles looked down at her frowning. "Remember last night, when I told you that I didn't know what happened? I want to find out".

"I don't know, mon Ange". She took his hand and his face relaxed a bit. He used to call her that, when they were younger, it felt right.

"I need to know, something feels off. This is the reason why we are together now. Over ten years of history fixed by one phone call by my father". He let out the breath he was holding, she was right. "Please, everything happens for a reason, Charlie".

"Okay, let's do this".

They had to wait until after the race. Carlos Sr. and Lawrence, Lance and Y/N’s father, were sitting at the hotel restaurant, chatting with frowns on their faces. Carlos and Y/N held hands and walked towards them, Charles following them close behind. He had a part in the plan, and he was ready to execute it perfectly, even if it was harder for him to act mad at Y/N now that they had made up. The older men looked up at their children when the three drivers approached them. To say that they looked horrified would be an understatement. Carlos Sr. seemed about to throw up, while Lawrence was simply shocked. The first part of the plan was done, keeping the element of surprise. Now to phase two: the lie itself. They sat at the table, Carlos in the middle of Charles and Y/N, his hand interlocked with hers resting on the table so their fathers could see them. It took the older men a moment to get the color back to their faces, but when they did, Lawrence went from white to red in a second.

"What the hell is this?". He asked, trying to keep the little cool he had left.

"We're dating, Mr. Stroll. We wanted you both to know". Carlos was the oldest, he took the lead.

"You can't". Carlos Sr. said with his voice rough thanks to the lump in his throat.

"That's not your decision, Dad". Everything was going as expected, but they had to admit that their fathers did look more disturbed than they had foreseen.

"It is. You won't date Carlos, you will date Charles as it was planned by the PR team and I don't want to hear anything else about it". That was Charles’ cue.

"I won't date her if she's in love with my teammate. We can barely stand each other, I won't get stuck into this mess for her". It hurt, but he had to say it like that. The other two didn't budge, and they had to pull out the last resort they had to press their fathers' buttons. Y/N saw their mothers walking to the table, so she took Carlos by the chin and started to get closer to him, ready to kiss him. Before they could make contact, Carlos Sr. was pushing them away.

"You can't do that, don't do that". He was almost losing it.

"Why?". She whispered, her eyes looking into his and a chill ran down her spine.

"You're half-siblings". It was Lawrence who said it. There was a long list of options that Carlos and Y/N had made of what could have happened, being siblings was not on the list.

"What?". Charles was as stunned as them. Lawrence and Carlos Sr. sighed and rested against the backs of the seat. Their wives, paralyzed behind them, were still unnoticed by the rest of the table.

"I had an affair with Lawrence's assistant. Of course your mother didn't know about it". Carlos Jr. had an expression impossible to read as his hand gripped Y/N tightly. "She got pregnant, asked me to leave your mother. I refused. She had the baby, Y/N. But then she got postpartum depression. She killed herself three weeks after giving birth".

"Y/N, you mother had just lost a pregnancy, no one knew, I found you in that house, alone, crying. It was the chance to give your mother a baby after the one she lost". Lawrence continued.

"You had the power and money to make it happen". Charles was officially angry, and it wasn't even his identity on the line. "What did you do with her mother? Where is she buried?".

"She was cremated. I took care of everything. I gave her the best there is". Carlos Sr.'s wife was looking at Lawrence's with pain in her eyes. She knew, all this time she knew that they were raising her husband's offspring and she hid it from her.

"Why did you let us become friends?". It was Carlos Jr.'s time to ask. 

"I wanted to keep in contact with her, watch her grow. You two got along so well, she ended up liking racing too. Everything led to you two in my life". Carlos Sr. let a few tears free. "Ten years ago, we considered letting you know the truth".

"Your mother and I discussed it, but then we saw that Charles was in the house, we kind of got rid of him to talk to you, but then you looked so upset. You got disqualified from the race for fighting with Charles. We understood that you were going through a lot, so we desisted". Lawrence added.

Carlos Jr.'s mother made her presence known and the three drivers took the chance to run away from the situation, knowing that the argument the two couples had was going to be too much to witness. The three ran to Y/N's room, crossing paths with Lance on their way there. Telling Lance that his sister was not his biological sister was one of the worst conversations they had. But they were all victims of so much, they found solace in sharing the tears together. They refused their parents' calls for the night, sending a text explaining that they needed time and that they would reach out when they felt like it. The four of them stayed in the room, chatting and calming themselves down. The irony of it all struck Y/N like a lighting and she couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny, mon Ange?". Charles asked and then kissed the back of her hand.

"If my parents hadn't scared you off that morning, we would have never discovered the truth". She explained, but her brothers didn't follow. "Charles walking out on me that morning is the reason why we fought that day in the race. Because of the fight in the race, we started hating each other. Because of the rivalry, I choose to fake-date Carlos instead of Charles. Because of my choice, Dad made the call and everything else followed".

"So, if you and Charles had made up that day...". Carlos started.

"We would have probably been together today, no need for PR, no need for your fathers to say anything".  Charles finished. All four laughed softly. "I was so sad that things didn't work out back then".

"Everything happens for a reason".

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Okay, this is a LONG ASS STORY, sorry guys for not posting in months, I've been so caught up with work I literally thought I could get fired, but I had some time to edit this one. I hope you liked it. Remember to like, comment, reblog and all those beautiful things you do.

[lovecanbesostrange]

Please know that since yesterday I am mentally trapped in these two panels. There is actually a lot I will miss Krakoa for, but I also felt a bit of resentment throughout the era and this family is a big reason why. NOW that we are in the last stretch of burning it all down and the new X-launch is in reach, we'll get this wedding special. And we finally have all four together in a panel. NOW?! I bought X-Men Unlimited #4 in either fall of '94 or spring '95, solely because of the cover. 30 years of waiting. Let me live in this moment for a bit.

Look at what they are doing with the art! Oh sure, Mystique and Nightcrawler are the blue ones. Pair up Destiny and Rogue next to that to make them look similar enough as well. Only for my brain to scream "but the personalities are the other way around!!!!!!!!". Irene and Kurt work on faith and believe in possibilities and reaching out to be better. Raven and Anna Marie typing this out makes me feel weird are the ones who will kill a bitch and say they will darken their soul so others don't have to. Plus there is the element that they both have lived more than one life and their sense of self is distorted .

They've come a long way, okay?!

Yes this is exactly what it looks like. For plot reasons Nightcrawler was too weak to teleport and dangling off a cliff next to Mystique. And of course Rogue could only save one and before she made a decision Mystique said "I make this for you" and let go. I still like to believe she flipped them the bird when she fell. Because she is Mystique. "HaHa! Take this, you think I'm the worst mother ever, but you will have to live with a moment of nobility from me!" (Also Destiny knew this would come, and she fucking knows there is something good inside of Mystique. It just comes out... different. And needs very specific circumstances.)

Apart from X-Men Evolution (and the X-Men Forever alternate history comic with its very special vibes), we have never gotten any bigger acknowledgement of this family. And Irene has been cut out. Either conveniently on account of being dead, or because she's an old lady and clearly just a gal pal, ahem. (It's also very funny to me to go back to their first appearances, where the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants has the biggest Three Stooges energy ever. I needed Mystique, Destiny, Rogue, Pyro, Blob and Avalanche to have a drinking contest on Krakoa. That is what Krakoa was supposed to be about!! You needed to give us 200% domestic nonsense, fun and games. So it would hurt everybody when it was inevitably taken away. EVERYBODY needed to find happiness in that place in unconventional ways.)

Sadly not my original thought (I don't have those), but recently I read some comment where somebody said that with Irene being his bio-mother, Kurt should have inherited a type of precog-sense, a sorta spidey-sense for teleportation. A natural ability that he won't teleport into an obstacle. And I would be so on board with that. (Also funny, because Ms Marvel had that type of sense and I could pull up panels where Nightcrawler tried to trigger that in Rogue.) Would it be weird to add that now? Sure. But also super cute and helpful.

My deepest gratitude goes out to the fanartists who have doodled and sketched and painted cute family moments for them out of time. Now canon can catch up. Imagine their dinner conversations. N: "Logan is my best friend." M: "Oh, that reminds me there is this blue furball running around with his and my powers. I don't even remember if we ever had sex or not, we're so close in age and have these memory gaps." N: "Mutter, nein!" D: "You should ask him out, you two would make a cute couple. Trust me." R: "You're setting up Nightcrawler with Wolverine and keep giving me grief over Gambit?" M: "He speaks too much French! Wolverine might be Canadian, but at least he's not a Franco-Canadian!" N: "So I couldn't date Northstar?"

Do not get me wrong though. Mystique and Destiny are horrible people and they will stab others in the back. They have worked for the government, they have plotted assassinations of government people. They have fought alongside and against the X-Men. I don't want them tamed or be reasonable. I want their mess. I want them as anti-villains. Because they don't do heinous things for nothing. They like to create less horrible murder events than what could be... some writers just liked to go overboard with the scheming and forgot the sympathic undertones, which I want to cling to. And we deserved a time of peace on Krakoa. Truly imagine a Mystique who was happy on Krakoa. And the absolut batshit villainous energy when it's burned down against her will... now THAT would have been something. Instead of baking resentment into the foundation.

[my-current-obsession]

Super hot take but I genuinely don't get why Forte is so appealing/popular. As someone who has played a bunch of Japanese games and watched a bunch of anime she comes off as THE MOST bland and stereotypical of the entire cast in that game.

I've seen a hundred "lady knight" characters before (Ingrid from Fire Emblem 3 Houses is just one other example, and I'd say she's much more interesting). She's portrayed as something of a tomboy who is "secretly" girly because she has the super common (in Japanese media at least) girly traits of loving sweets and being afraid of ghosts. Once again looking at 3 Houses, someone else who has those exact two traits is Lysithea, who has them for basically the same reason. Those traits exist solely to "soften" her and make her seem more feminine (and thus in theory more appealing) without really affecting her personality in any way. Also note how many other girls in that game happen to love sweets compared to guys. And how often one or two males in the Rune Factory games specifically DISLIKE sweets while girls almost never do.

A better example of those traits showing up within the Rune Factory series itself would be Rune Factory 3. There are several characters who notably love sweets, some being Shara and Monica, who are very obviously feminine anyway in terms of appearance/personality/interests, and two others are Blaise and Rusk, two guys who comfortably deny the "norm" (again, in Japanese media anyway; I don't think Western media cares so much about whether liking sweets is seen as feminine/masculine) and love sweets while ironically Colette has no strong feelings on them despite being a big food lover.

And then Raven is similarly afraid of ghosts as a more hidden "feminine" trait, but HER dislike of ghosts and things related to death actually plays into her arc in the game. She doesn't like things that make her think of death because it makes her think of what she's lost. And she's afraid of losing what she has now. Also, unlike Forte's fear of ghosts being played almost exclusively for comedy and feminine appeal, Raven also happens to be STUBBORN, meaning she reluctantly faces her fear of death and handling death-related objects head-on if it means she doesn't have to look weak or rely on others. Her insistence on carrying a skull herself despite clearly being uncomfortable with it, when Micah is repeatedly offering to do it for her, is an important, dramatic moment in the middle of her "route" that almost results in Micah getting hurt and her secret getting outed.

I just don't think Forte does anything new or interesting with 90% of her character traits. She's a basic lady knight that I've seen way too many times before, and has stock Japanese girly traits to show she's secretly more feminine despite those traits not actually being important to her personality or events and romance at all.

She has a "just gals being pals" dynamic with Margaret that is nice in theory, but in execution it feels like Margaret is way more into Forte and overtly admires her than vice versa. I can tell Forte truly cares about Margaret as a friend, but it's not nearly as balanced as the Dylas/Doug obsession with each other is when it comes to eyebrow-raising moments/lines. If anything, Forte outright downplays or dismisses Margaret's admiration of her a lot of the time while offering little in return. Outside of festivals where Forte is remarking on or expecting Margaret getting a lot of attention from others, there's not any indication that Forte finds her particularly appealing, whereas Margaret has tons of lines about how amazing and even attractive she thinks Forte is.

The one thing about her that actually is unique and that I like is her clear love and devotion, yet somewhat strained and awkward relationship with her brother. That aspect is what actually matters, and it works well. It endears me to her as a character... but it isn't enough to save her for me as a love interest when everything else either does nothing for me or outright turns me off.

[that-ari-blogger]

Collateral Damage (White Out)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a series about trauma and recovery. I think it is important to understand the nuance of its depiction and exploration of the concept.

Specifically, because one of the main criticisms that I have seen of the series is that it ignores the wider effects of the character's pasts and actions. That it excuses the character's actions and the damage that they cause. I disagree with this premise.

I can see where the idea is coming from, but I don't think it is entirely correct. I don't think the series shies away from the effects that its characters behaviours have, and to that end, I present White Out as an example of what I mean.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

This episode explores trauma's effects on a personal level and on an environmental scale. Both Catra and the first ones' tech have gone through the ringer, and are taking that out on those around them.

I think that the decision to focus this episode on Scorpia is important, because it allows that personal side of the issue to show. This may be a hot take, but Catra isn't a particularly nice person.

"We weren't sent here to chase rumors. Hordak wants tech. If your bots can't dig it out, then maybe I'll send you down there"

This line reveals the reason Catra is acting this way, but it also shows her threatening someone close to her. This isn't how friends should behave.

And, throughout this entire episode, Catra is blunt and to the point. She is quick to anger, and impulsive. Take this exchange for example:

"Scorpia, good, you're here." "Yes, I am." "Entrapta brought all this junk from her lab. Help me find a space heater or something, since apparently, we live here now."

It's an instruction, not a request, and on a one off, this might be just rashness. But Catra phrases everything as is she is talking to subordinates, which neither of her companions are. Scorpia is of equal rank to her, technically, and Entrapta might be slightly higher.

The audience can see why Catra is so scared, it was there when Hordack removed her ability to breathe as a stunt. But I would like you to imagine, briefly, if you didn't know that, if someone you knew told you they would throw you in a pit unless you did your job better. The only reason Catra is getting away with this behaviour is because Entrapta is entirely unintimidated by her.

The audience perspective is actually spoken aloud by Scorpia.

"She's misunderstood! You of all people should know that! I mean, you grew up together..."

Scorpia is making excuses for Catra here, and I would argue that she is both right and wrong. Catra is misunderstood, but she's also doing real damage. She may be a sad kitten, but she is also the villain.

I feel the need to make something clear here. A character being a bad person does not make them a bad character at all, or even reflect badly on the story as a whole. The fact that Catra is the villain of this story is important, because it explicitly frames her actions as undesirable. This is unquestionably a strength of the writing, not a flaw.

"...I can't compete with that. No matter what I do, I can't seem to break down her walls. But you two, even when you're trying to kill each other, you can tell there's a real bond there. I just, I wish she would see me as being worth her time, too."

Scorpia's line continues, and I would like to quickly dwell on her motivation here. Scorpia is the friend who will always have Catra's back, the gal pal, the... roommate. Or at least she would be, if Catra gave her the time of day.

Catra is routinely presented with ways to get out of her situation, and Scorpia is one way of that, offering her emotional stability. Sure, she may not be interested in her romantically, but the offer of friendship is there at the very least, and Catra refuses to take it up. Well, until the end of the episode, but we will get there in a moment.

Enter Sea Hawk, who helps to ease the problem in the most Sea Hawk way possible. He listens, and he tells stories. The man is a bard, and while I don't find his struggle with "being cool" nearly as compelling as the rest of the episode, I think the way he uses that to empathise is fantastic.

Because, Sea Hawk is kind of a role model for Scorpia here. They work out together that they need to care for themselves as well as others, but Sea Hawk also demonstrates actions that Scorpia applies later on in the series, that being his ability to understand. Scorpia at this point has just been listening, but Sea Hawk drives home how important it is to actually understand, but also the importance of having limits.

As such, when Scorpia breaks the crystal, she disobeys Catra for her own good, and I think that her actions are why Catra is finally willing to open up herself, because Catra doesn't want power, she wants safety. Adora gave her that, not just through protecting her physically, but also by giving her some boundaries to comfortably sit inside, so that Catra had structure. Scorpia gives her that.

"Hey, thanks for getting us out of there."

This is one of the only two times in the entire episode that the word "thank you" or anything approximating it is spoken. The other time being immediately after, with Scorpia thanking Catra for the blanket. Respect goes both ways, Catra needs to learn that.

But, and I want to be absolutely clear about my premise here, the moral of the episode is that you need to have limits to protect yourself. Because Catra may be misunderstood, but that will cause Scorpia some genuine problems if she doesn't have the ability to say that enough is enough.

This isn't just on Scorpia. The episode and the series explicitly frame Catra's actions as something that she needs to change herself, and that, while support groups are important for that, that has to come from within as well.

She-Ra doesn't romanticise the abuse Catra receives or gives off, it says "these are bad, and are getting in the way of her relationships".

On the other side of the story, I don't think that the murder virus is a virus. I think it's very much intentional.

Hear me out, the first ones were at war, and the series goes on to discuss that they were maybe not the best of people. The cost of war is an important theme in the series as a whole, and I don't believe it is out of the question to suggest that the first ones might have set up a kill switch incase their enemy ever made it to Etheria.

The important thing to note is that, whatever happened to the crystal, intentional or not, it is having massively damaging effects on Etheria as a whole.

Final Thoughts

I have seen a lot of discourse around the She-Ra fandom that seems to believe that Sea Hawk is annoying, and I will defend my boy to the end of my days. I am blind to all criticisms against this man, and will not hear any argument.

In seriousness, I think that when you see a take about a series that you disagree with, it is important to explain why you came to your conclusions. The purpose of analysis isn't to be all high and mighty, its to say "I like/dislike _, because..."

Discussion online has a habit of devolving into who can shout the loudest, and I think that is a shame, because it means that, specifically when talking about stories, a lot of nuance goes unspoken.

Next week, I am looking at Light Spinner, an episode that is one of my favourites, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[a-tale-never-told]

The Abode of a Mechanic.

*Monday, September 11th, Souda residence, Late afternoon*

Okay! It's almost finished! Just need to add the remaining components and we'll be ready to-

BEEP!

Huh? Well, who's coming around here at this time and hour? I was certainly sure that we wouldn't be getting any customers today.

*He peers his head out the window to see a green, small-sized car, outside of the entrance. Upon seeing this, Kazuichi puts down his tools and makes for the door to confront the stranger*

Hey! Come out of the car and show yourself! What are you doing at my house, uninvited? Show yourself, will ya?!

*The stranger does as told, coming out of the car and revealing himself*

Well, you never officially sent me an invitation to your house, so you really aren't on any grounds to complain about being uninvited to some special event.

Tch! Whatever, man. Forgive me for trying to protect my home from unwanted visitors like yourself. Now explain who you are and what the hell are you doing here before I force you out of the premises, okay?

My name's Hajime Hinata. I was driving to your house this afternoon to see if you could do me a little favor. See, one of my dad's cars got extremely damaged in a driving accident last weekend, and I was wondering if you could repair it? After all, you're the Ultimate Mechanic, right?

Well, yeah, I could. But you said your name is Hinata, right? Hajime Hinata, to be exact?

Y-Yeah? What's the matter with me introducing myself? Is something wrong?

...

Oh, so you're the guy Nanami was talking about! Well, that makes a whole lot more sense now, doesn't it?

*Kazuichi, without warning, frantically begins to shake Hajime's hand*

W-What are you doing?

Heh. Apologies for the rude welcome, pal. Didn't recognize you there for a minute. Name's Kazuichi Souda. I'm the Ultimate Mechanic. Nice to meet ya.

A pleasure to meet you as well, man. I've heard that you know me because of Chiaki, right? Do you know her?

Know her? I'm one of her classmates from Hope's Peak! She's a rather sweet-hearted gal, y'know? I'm supposing you're her old friend from the Reserve Course, aren't you?

Yeah. I've actually known her since when we were at elementary school together in Toyko. So, she's a very close friend to me personally.

Elementary? Dude, you've gotta tell me how you both met. Come to think of it, Chiaki never did tell me how she first met you. All I have gotten from her was that you two met when you were in the Reserve Course. There's so much history that I'm missing out on!

And why do you want to know about this in particular? Is it something that is truly valuable and important to you?

No, man! I just thought that it would be pretty cool and fascinating to hear about your history with Nanami, considering that she seems to have you in high esteem or something. So I just wanted to get your point of view on how you officially met Chiaki, considering that you're her childhood friend.

...

Well... I guess it couldn't hurt to at least explain to you the entire story of how we first met each other. But in the meantime, is there someplace where I can wash up a bit?

Sure thing, dude! The restrooms are on the left corner of the house if you need to wash yourself up. Considering that you look tired and sweaty, you might want to get a change of clothes the next time we meet, though.

I'll... be sure to keep that in mind.

Sweet! By the way, where's the car that you said needed repair? After all, your car looked pretty well refined and undamaged to me.

Well...*points to an incoming pickup truck* you'll see what I mean by that.

*Kazuichi turns his head around to see the pickup truck carrying the smoking, burnt remains of what was once a majestic car. The front hood, doors, and the rear bottom of the car had been torn off their hinges, and the windshields were absolutely shattered and all over the place. Two frontal tires were missing from the vehicle, while the other two looked flattened and deflated, and to top it all out, the interior looked as if it had caught fire*

Holy shit... how are you even still alive after that crash, man?!

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea as to how exactly I survived that to begin with. I got extremely lucky on that one, and considering the amount of car crashes that happen often, this was a particularly brutal one. I'm surprised that it took this long for anyone to pick this vehicle up.

Well, I'll... see what I can do from here. In the meantime, you just wash off and make yourself at home, alright? I'll let you know when I'm finished inspecting the damage to the car and how we're going to find a way to fix it if we even can repair it at this point.

Sure thing. Thanks again for letting me stay here man. I appreciate it.

No problem, man! It's the least I can do after treating you poorly earlier!

[kimsgoeun]

muses i wouldn’t mind using with some plot ideas. but always up for something different with any of them.  

some have tags and some don’t 🤷‍♀️some plots work better with some changes that can be discussed. gender roles do not matter plot wise (i just copy/pasted stuff)

camilla donnelly | appears 35 | demon | fc: amanda seyfried | tag

info: cynical. apathetic. prone to violence. manipulative. finds humanity a drab for the most part. but also used to be human, but can’t remember it. 

plot ideas: ▶   demon x human plot ▶   demon x angel plot ▶   You are a student with the least amount of magic potential ever recorded at the Academy and it’s the day of the familiar summoning test. A misplaced rune or word results in an arch demon/ess becoming bound as your familiar. ▶   Instead of having a guardian angel, you have a guardian Demon. His methods are often much more violent. But much more straightforward.

carmen stratten | 29 | unemployed (former event planner) | fc: kylie bunbury | tag

info: got married too young to someone she didn’t really love. pretty much let her mother run her life. only tried to live how she wanted to recently (burned lots of bridges and got divorced). was rather rebellious in her teen years. is kind of lost now that she’s starting over.

plot ideas: ▶   *whispers* a f/f thread where they’re two best friends, coworkers, whatever. who are both single and decide to spend valentine’s day together watching movies, eating snacks and drinking wine as gal pals but at some point of the night they’re singing to their favorite song because FUCK YEAH they sooo don’t need a man and slow dancing and there’s too much wine in their system and it’s all too unintentionally romantic that they start kissing and oh…..   ▶   we broke up right before a giant road trip our friends planned and we don’t want to bail on everyone and ruin the trip so yay, looks like we get to spend a five hour drive and a weekend in a cottage together. ▶   we’ve lived in this tiny ass town where everyone knows everyone because no one leaves and when we were young we would sit up at night on your roof and i’d listen to you talk about how you were actually going to do it one day and you did but you never knew i’ve had a crush on you ever since back then so when you send me postcards from all these different cities with bright lights it makes my heart hurt and here we are several years later and i’m finally starting to move on but oh wait you’re back and my heart’s beating like crazy well fuck au

cora hong | 29 | supernatural podcast host | fc: kim go eun | tag

info: curious. adventurous. can talk for hours about supernaturals. can have a one-tracked mind. slightly reckless. wants to prove supernaturals are real.

plot ideas: ▶   but a cute supernatural-y sort of plot where one muse is a regular person who is trying desperately to prove that the supernatural exist - phone recording everything, going out late at night into their small town’s too-big forest, pulling all-nighters for research, maybe going so far as dabbling in blood rituals - and the other muse is some supernatural creature trying desperately to keep them safe. they’ve known each other for a short while - a ran into b in that forest after they fed, perhaps ? - and a has clung to them since. and the more a whacks the hornet’s nest with their big stick ( so to speak ), catching the attention and aggravation of much more powerful beings, b is now caught up in feelings ( romantic or platonic, either way ! ) for this hyperfixating, overexcited, terribly emotional human who is so driven to prove there’s more out there that they’re willing to risk never seeing it all to show it. ▶   i’m a werewolf, whom you find wounded on the side of the road (as a wolf) and take in/nurse back to health – i can’t shift back into human form because it’ll freak you the fuck out. you share your secrets and hopes and dreams with me, and i fall in love with you, so, when you’re away from home, i shift back into a man and try to get you to fall in love with me too. ▶   muse a needs a change of scenery after a traumatic event has them running from their home town. they find a town in the mountains, secluded and intimate, where nobody knows their name. they move into the only available house in town, an ancient victorian style home that seems to be covered in dust… except for the master bedroom. muse a spends the first week cleaning up the entire house from top to bottom, and finds themselves taking a bubble bath sunday night…. only to find muse b, a supernatural being, looming over them, demanding to know why they were in their home. ▶   muse a is a typical student working at a dead end minimum wage job, on their way home from work when they realize they’re being followed. they try to outrun the thugs, but are quickly cornered by them in an alleyway deep in the dark side of town. things seem bleak, but not for long when muse b steps into the alleyway and makes quick work of her enemies… by eating them. muse b is a ghoul. muse a is able to make eye contact with their bloodied face once before passing out cold, surprising muse b. well, they were just going to eat them all, but with muse a’s stunning looks and soft behavior, they found themselves taking muse a back to their home, to figure out just what to do with this human.

daria yang | 25 | pawn shop employee | fc: jessie mei li | tag

info: charismatic when they want to be. otherwise kind of an asshole. independent. doesn’t mind taking short cuts to get what they need/want. doesn’t have any real ambitions in their life. 

plot ideas: ▶   pls give me “we’re exes who ended on kind of shitty terms but are trying to ‘stay friends’ anyway, and we occasionally sabotage each other’s dates, get drunk and fuck, scream and fight until four in the morning and still refuse to acknowledge maybe we’re not quite as over each other as we like to think we are.” ▶   so I need a ‘you’re a person of high wealth/status and I legally married you at a courthouse the night before your wedding because you found out your fiancé is trying to dupe you and your family out of money/ruin your reputation as a revenge plot because of an old family rivalry and they’re not legally entitled to your assets if you’re already legally married to someone else and you agreed to pay me a high sum of money for this and I have a lot of debt so I didn’t pass up the deal but then your ex hits back at you in the media and we have to keep up the charade of being married and you agree to keep paying me money for it but oops I think I might be enjoying more than just the money and oops you’re starting to grow fond of me and this wasn’t part of the deal shit fuck’ plot please and thank you

declan finch | 38 | actor | fc: adam brody

info: a little too self-centered. a flirt. can be a jerk. doesn’t have the best reputation. doesn’t really let people see the real him. 

plot ideas: ▶   i just want a i have a famous boyfriend but i cannot tell anyone plot cause cute like going out at night and dressing him up so that people won’t recognize him, secret meetings at the closet and FUCKING inside the bus   ▶   “You’re the sibling of a celebrity and hate your sibling’s celebrity bestie because their cocky and annoying, but oops the bestie falls for you and now is trying to win your attention/affection by sending you gifts and talking about you in interviews and maybe you don’t totally hate the attention after all.” ▶   a plot where a male celebrity has gotten a really bad reputation for sleeping around with his costars and just being an awful boyfriend in general and his management decides to set him up with an up and coming star to not only help her career but his as well, and while the entire world is loving their new relationship and they have quickly become everyone’s favorite celebrity couple, the pair cannot stand each other

eden lohr | 28 | princess | fc: willa fitzgerald | tag

info: can either be super sweet or a bitch. super studious. isn’t afraid to speak her mind. goes for what she wants. seems super nice tho based on appearances. uses her attractiveness to her advantage. can get jealous. isn’t the most open about her personal life.

plot ideas: ▶   "we met in the woods while riding early in the morning and had an intense fuck session but opps turns out you are actually my brother's betrothed since birth and your marriage will end up a centuries long dispute between our kingdoms" ▶   muse a is a knight—it’s all they have ever wanted to be. muse b is a prince/princess, and muse a is assigned to personally protect them. this could go one of two ways—they could be fond of each other and eventually fall for one another, even though muse b is meant to marry into a noble family; OR they could both dislike each other but honor dictates that muse a must put up with muse a, and it’s more like an enemies-to-lovers sort of deal. ▶   a good old arranged marriage plot—muse a and muse b are engaged to be married by their parents, in hopes to make both of their houses stronger. one way this could go is if the muses couldn’t really stand one another—their personalities are opposites and they initially completely balk at the suggestion of their marriage. or they could start out nervous but willing to give it a shot, so they’re all awkward and antsy around one another since they’ve never met before but they’re expected to be married.

elizabeth zhu | 38 | lawyer | fc: gemma chan | tag

info: had a shitty upbringing. made all the bad decisions as a teenager. is very unhappy with her current life. recovering addict. can be socially reserved. uses physical intimacy to avoid emotional connections. has a hard time being vulnerable and asking for help.

plot ideas: ▶   pray tell, who is going to give me the vanilla asf (LEGAL!!!) age gap plot of my dreams.... ft an emotionally repressed older muse a who fucked off to this tiny town in the mountains YEARS ago for whatever reason and they’re just trying to live a semi-functioning life in relative peace until muse b waltzes into town.... maybe to escape their past.... for a fresh start... who is to say..... and muse a is so enraptured by them bc muse b is just this wonderful breath of fresh air n muse a hasn’t had that in years n they click so painfully well.... two ppl learning to heal and become each other’s light... but ALSO the drama of “i’m too old for you” and “i don’t think i can be what you need” and “you can’t keep shutting me out” like please i am beyond desperate. i Can and Will give you my left kidney for this ▶   plot about muse a and muse b who were two high school sweethearts who had a really bad break-up but are always kind of on each other’s minds even as the years pass and then one day muse a moves into an apartment complex miles away from their hometown because of a job and their neighbor is constantly having sex and it’s just getting really annoying so one night they they go knock on the door to say ‘HEY CAN YOU STOP BANGING ALL THE TIME I’M TRYING TO SLEE–’ and then whoops it’s muse b. surprise!!

ezmeray suvari | 28 | subtitle translator | fc: demet özdemir | tag

info: absolute sweetheart. believes in the best of people. can be a little naïve because of it. loves learning languages and traveling. has horrible judgement when it comes to romantic partners. 

plot ideas: ▶   ok but someone give me that cute bartender storyline though? like this guy tends bar at a restaurant or a pub or something and always sees this cute girl hanging out there, but she’s always either with friends or with some guy so he never really gets the time to talk to her BUT ONE DAY she walks into the place alone and orders so many drinks until she’s so bloody drunk, screaming about how her boyfriend cheated on her, that the bartender had to bring her home himself. she wakes up with a horrible hangover, stumbles out the room to find the bartender cooking breakfast and rolling his eyes, laughing. “first of all, you’re an idiot. second, we didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re wondering. third, breakfast will be ready soon. sit.” and fluff commences HELP PLZ   ▶   okay  but  hear  me  out  ,  a  plot  loosely  based  on  jim  &  pam  in  the  office  ???  where  these  two  co-workers  are  crushing  at  each  other  but  one  of  them  is  taken  but  still  this  doesn’t  mean  they  can’t  lightly  flirt  at  work  .  .  .  and  then  one  day  at  a  happy  hour  or  something  they  end  up  hooking  up  and  oh  my  god  how  awkward  are  things  gonna  be  now

florence fitzgerald | 31 | gang leader & owner of casino | fc: brianne howey | tag

info: badass boss bitch. fiercely loyal. family oriented. can be spiteful/vengeful. doesn’t do second chances. took over her family’s business. 

plot ideas: ▶   head of the mafia starts dating someone who doesn’t know what they do, just simply thinks they’re this rich businessperson, but after dating for a few months and falling head over heels, they find out what’s really going on and cue ALL of the angst ▶   boss and right hand man/woman have a thing ▶  rival family gang  ▶ i really want a beauty and the beast inspired au where the ‘beast’ isn’t an actual beast, but someone like a gang leader, someone who everyone views as a monster. ‘belle’ is a small town, family oriented book nerd with a big heart. when her father (or any family member, really   brother, sister, even a friend) gets themselves into trouble, she makes a deal with the ‘beast’ to save them. for their freedom, she gives up hers. he’s cruel, short-tempered   she’s scared, withdrawn. overtime, ‘belle’ finds herself warming up to the ‘beast.’ his cold exterior has melted. he’s kind, sweet to her. he finds himself protective over her, surprising her with little gifts. and before they know it, they’ve fallen in love.

hanna bok | 28 | actuary | fc: seol in-ah

is not relationship oriented. likes to be honest. loyal friend. enjoys her independence. can come off cold/uncaring. 

plot ideas: ▶   muse A is trying to get over an ex and muse B is known to prefer casual hookups rather than dating so muse A approaches them for rebound sex.  as expected,  they say yes.  however,  muse B has secretly been harboring feelings for them. ▶   I love girl/girl relationships where one is just constantly grumpy and the other is this cheerful happy go lucky person who is always amused by their gruffy mcgruff gruff girlfriend ▶   basic plot idea where my muse is kind of cold and unaffectionate with anyone, but is friends with your muse who recently went through a bad breakup. my muse suggests or agrees to fake being in a relationship with your muse to make their ex jealous. but then my muse starts to like the fake relationship a little too much and falls for yours

hui liyang | 32 | con artist | fc: ni ni | tag

info: burned by her family. uses people to get what she wants. doesn’t trust people easily (or at all tbh). has lots of walls up. lies about herself all the time. deeply insecure.

plot ideas: ▶   but what about “your ex hired me to make you fall in love with me then break your heart but oops i think i fell in love and now i’m conflicted what the fuck is happening i’m supposed to hurt you ow what am i sUPPOSED TO DO” that’d be rad   ▶   a rough around the edges, con artist girl is doing dirty work for her shitty boyfriend and they decide to target a rich, wealthy, cocky sort of young socialite male who feels like his life is a bit empty and redundant, and she may seem like she’s in this con artist game for the money (and she is, partly, because she grew up really poor and knows how it feels to starve) but she also has an unhealthy attachment to the boyfriend even though he treats her like crap and uses her to attract rich males, and then, on the night where she has dressed up and come up with a fake name and is about to make her move on the rich young man she realizes oh, he’s actually extremely attractive and cute and not like the other creepy old men she preys on? and oh, he’s actually extremely charismatic and witty and charming and kind of a dick, but not to her? and oh, now they’re kind of going out on multiple really amazing dates and spending tons of time together and she’s supposed to be digging for his deepest secrets and finding out numbers to his safes and stealing jewelry pieces he probably won’t miss and then one night, her wallet falls out of her bag and… OH, why is her name not the name that she said it was on her drivers license and why are his personal, private cartier bracelets engraved with his initials in there too and who the fuck is calling her phone ?????? ▶   Y’all. I need an ‘I’ve got no where to live, so I went to a fancy hotel pretending I’m rich & fancy AF, and pretended to be your wife in order to get the key to your room. But please don’t yell and kick me out when you see me laying in your bed with your robe on while watching pay per view on the TV and eating the mini bar snacks. But wait, this works out in your favor? Now I have to actually pretend to be your wife so your crazy mother will get off your back about marriage? As long as I get to keep all the clothes you buy me’ plot.

im ye-jun | 28 | pro-gamer | fc: song kang | tag

info: gaming nerd. hasn’t really cared about being in a relationship or finding romance. isn’t always the best with social cues. considers himself kind of boring. very kindhearted and tries to help others. comes off rather aloof. more on the reserved side. 

plot ideas: ▶     a plot where both muses are hardcore gamers ( possible twitch streamers or youtube creators ) & they get invited to an event which is where they meet and from then on, they became inseparable. they live very far away from each other but always bond over playing games together & facetime before bed. until eventually they decide to invest and move in together. they take things slow due to them both being busy & it’s just very cute and full of fluff & “I miss you” phone calls ▶     give me a plot based off of ‘my love story with yamada-kun at lv999′; after muse a’s bf dumps them for someone they met online in a game, muse a decides to show up to a game event in the hopes of getting their ex to regret their decision. muse b is a well-known gamer online but doesn’t have much interest in the real world. the pair happen to meet in person after realizing they know of each other through one of the games muse b plays. muse a, spotting their ex and their new gf, convinces muse b to pretend to be in a relationship with them just to save face.

jang soo-min | 25 | athletic trainer | fc: park yoo-na

info: very work-oriented; sarcastic; more of a tomboy; reactive; likes to host parties; social

plot ideas: ▶    muse  a  was  invited  to  spend  the  summer  at  their  best  friends  beach  house  with  their  entire  family  ,    including  the  older  brother  /  sister  (  muse  b )  that  they’ve  had  a  small    (  but  hopeless  )    crush  on  since  middle  school  .    despite  all  the  years  they’ve  known  each  other  ,    they’ve  never  spent  this  much  time  around  each  other  and  it’s  hard  to  keep  their  eyes  off  of  one  another  ,    especially  when  the  hot  summer  sun  is  involved  .   ▶  i just need a “hey, i know you’re dating my brother but he’s an asshole and just playing with you but me, i’m in love with you since 3rd grade” plot?   ▶   Oh your parents planned a surprise visit and now you’re having that awkward ‘Where is your life going? We’re low key disappointed in you.’ conversation in a ridiculously public place? Here let me pretend to be the reason you’ve been staring at your phone this whole time. “Hey baby, sorry I’m late.”   ▶   athletic trainer x athlete

jasper o’hara | 26 | financial analyst | fc: alex fitzalan (can be changed)

info: a little impulsive; was a major screw-up growing up (still is a little bit now); tends to avoid relationships; a smart-ass; has a strained relationship with his family; doesn’t really believe he’s capable of much

plot ideas:   ▶  “academic rivals to lovers but she’s the only one who hates him and he’s been in love with her since the day they met” ▶  pls gimme a cliche ass plot with two best friends where muse a is an asshole who fucks everything with a pulse & doesn’t care about anyone but gets super protective etc about their best friend muse b at all times!!   ▶   “i had to be ur fake boyfriend/girlfriend bc some creep was hitting on you and it was making you uncomfortable and now i have busted knuckles and a cut lip but hey are u okay” au  

jia park | 27 | unemployed | fc: han so-hee | tag

impulsive. can be petty. has ambitions but no follow-through. lives off of her family’s money for the most part. wears her heart on her sleeve if she cares. can be childish and brash at times. also can be defensive. secretly insecure and puts on a very tough front. 

plot ideas: ▶   give me a “i’ve been in love with my best friend forever but they’ve never noticed, so i decided to start something up with best friend’s enemy/rival in the hopes of making them jealous.” ▶   anyone wanna do a modern romeo/juliet plot?? where their parents are the heads of rival companies or are huge celebrities who have been in a known feud for years and they meet and try to sneak around in secret but there’s paparazzi and tabloids and all that someone please do this with me

min moon-ji | 31 | art teacher | fc: shin hye-sun

info: soft spoken; takes her a while to warm up to people; invisible middle child; doesn’t like asking for help

plot ideas: ▶    “Muse A is well-mannered, polite, quiet, and shy, and Muse B didn’t even know they existed until they tap on Muse B’s shoulder and asks them out super awkwardly/nervously. Muse B, feeling bad for them, agrees and ends up having a rather awkward and weird first date with them. Despite this, Muse A asks them out a second time, and while Muse B doesn’t exactly think it’s a good idea, finds themselves agreeing again. Of course the second time around, Muse A goes in for a kiss and it ends up not being chaste, sweet, or awkward like Muse B expects, but instead it’s rough and passionate and oops, now Muse B is a little more interested to see where things lead.”   ▶   we’ve been best friends since we were kids, and people always see us as practically siblings, and we do everything together, but one night we had a ~ moment ~ and things have been weird ever since. now you’re making out with someone else right in front of me, and i don’t know why it makes me so upset, you’ve had bfs/gfs before and it wasn’t a problem.   ▶  teacher x teacher ships

phoebe keller | 27 | jewelry maker | fc: adeline rudolph

info: is not the golden child of her family. has a strained relationship with her family in general. tries to accomplish a lot of things to compensate. craves a sense of belonging. can be a little bitter. sweet and sassy. sarcastic. always has a million projects going on. 

plot ideas: ▶   a plot where the muses are best friends with obvious sexual tension but they’ve never done anything about it until one night they’re watching movies together like they always do and their hands accidentally touch and muse a just so happens to notice that it makes muse b blush and of course they start being cocky and teasing muse b endlessly like “really THAT’S enough to make you blush wow” and then it becomes a personal goal of muse a’s to see what else makes muse b blush and so muse a puts a hand on muse b’s leg like “does this make you blush” and muse b keeps ignoring them so it gradually gets worse and muse a starts kissing their neck and maybe even slips a hand between muse b’s thighs like “what about this” and it’s just ! lots of tension and teasing and :~) ▶   “you broke my little sisters heart so i’m going to make your sister fall in love with me and do the same” ▶   give me a plot of “i’m your father’s mistress && and was nearly caught sneaking out early one morning but you saved the day by introducing me as your girlfriend && now your mother invited me to spend the summer at your vacation home so we have to spend the entire summer pretending to be in love.” 

samantha pérez | 35 | writer & criminal | fc: ana de armas | tag

info: very vindictive. has a loose view on morality/good vs. bad. claims to be a writer but is an awful writer. loves to learn about anything poisonous. will enact revenge against you if you’ve wronged her in some way aka has killed someone. likes to be considered smart/clever. always put 110% into everything she does. 

plot ideas:  ▶   not going to lie i 100% want a plot where muse a is an assassin that has been dating muse b for over a year and has managed to keep their career a secret until they get called in for a new assignment and find out that muse b is their next target. it would be so full of angst and drama and yes just give it to me please. ▶   i stole your car and the police aren’t doing anything so you decided to track me down yourself and you found me, but whatcha gonna do, i went through your stuff so i know all your secrets. ▶   your dad is my biggest enemy in the crime world and you’re a straight-up rebel, so to piss him off you decide to sleep with me and wow, it was fucking amazing, but now your dad is out to kill me so what now. ▶ ok but a plot where one is a criminal that’s on the run from the police, and they stumble across this practically empty motel that’s in the middle of nowhere, and they think, hey, perfect place to hide out for a few weeks until the manhunt dies down. the motel is run by a married couple, and their sheltered, somewhat naive child – well, actually they’re an adult by now, but they’ve never left their small town, had a job outside the motel, or been anywhere, and their parents still treat them like a kid. the criminal checks in, of course not mentioning why they’re here, and the owners’ kid is fascinated by their guest – they hardly ever get guests for more than a night at a time, let alone guests who seem to have so many interesting stories and secrets….

sebastian pierce-waldorf | 25 | brand marketing assistant | fc: felix mallard

info: arrogant and a little condescending; tries to please his parents even if he hates the life they want for him; kind of a stick in the mud; high-strung; leads a semi-double life to let off steam; occasionally does underground ring fights; too emotionally unavailable to be in relationships

plot ideas: ▶  enemies to lovers // enemies with benefits ▶  “We’re fake-dating and I’m supposed to publicly break up with you but you’ve been irritating me lately so instead of dumping you I publicly proposed to mess up your plan and now we’re getting married, fuck” au ▶ childhood friends where you’re about the only person i can stand being around and i’m really protective over you

sun-hee “sunny” park  | 29 | script supervisor | fc: lee sung-kyung | tag

info: likes to be work-oriented. has bad taste in romantic prospects. desperate to find love though. sarcasm is her defense mechanism. gets easily annoyed by stupid people at work. 

plot ideas: ▶   ‘we promised we were going to write a tv show one day but we never did it because we grew apart but wait – didn’t i just hear these kids on the bus talking about a tv show that sounds a lot like our idea? wait, you are the one writing it? you do realize that story was half mine, right? i wANT MY MONEY’ au ▶   we used to be friends but then you become famous and left our town to travel the world but not once you texted me back. now you’re back and you wanna go back to the way we were? ha no not happening ▶   What about a plot of a personal assistant and a celeb? One where she’s been working for him since he had gotten famous. He can’t go anywhere without her and brings her everywhere he goes. They are more like best friend than boss and assistant. The media jokes about how they act like a married couple. And he can’t help but mention her during interviews. Sometimes they even sleep in the same hotel room when she’s working late. BUT NO IT’S TOTALLY PLATONIC!! That cuddling they did the other night?? Completely what friends do!

winona renwick | 31 | vampire | transcriptionist | fc: poppy drayton

info: likes to be alone since being turned. tries not to mingle with humans. kind of a grump. hates being a vampire. hesitant to make any kind of connection with others. 

plot ideas: ▶  “i’m a vampire and we met when you were still human and we fell in love and planned out our whole eternal life together but on the night i turned you i freaked out over the commitment and abandoned you in the middle of the night & now it’s over a century later and we’re only just seeing each other again for the first time since and there’s so much hatred in your eyes when you look at me but fuck you still look just as hot and make my heart race as much as you did back then and i think i made the biggest mistake of my life in leaving” au ▶   okay but a dracula untold style plot where vampire vlad has been alive for centuries loving one soul over and over again as he finds her again. he finds her again in the twenty first century, his mina, shes all bright hair and those same old eyes, there’s only one problem, she just so happens to be the daughter of a hunter and has been trained to kill creatures like him all her life. ▶  vampire x vampire plot

[butwhatifidothis]

The absolute appall I felt when reading Woobiegard interrupting Ficleth mid sentence with a kiss was so AUASH it felt so manipulative and I just don’t comprehend how the author wrote that and saw no problem with it whatsoever? And the fact Woobie or Ficgrid never actually respond to Ficleth’s genuine concerns is…. Very very not good either they really just swept it under the rug and faced nothing despite them still behaving so romantically with the other it kinda smells of “oh two women displaying obvious signs of romantic affection? Nah just gal pals that’s not cheating or love or whatever that’s what good friends do :)”

Yeahhh, it kinda gives off those vibes to me too. Either that, or the equally bad "it's not cheating as long as there's no sex involved!"

But I do kinda lean towards the other possibility you bring up, since, like. Imagine if Sylvain and Ficleth acted around each other the way Woobiegard and Ingrid do. If a man was caressing the cheek of a woman, kissing her, giving her his personal belongings, telling her he loves her and wishes he could always be by her side. If the woman felt her heart lighten at the sight of a man, if she felt the need to protect him and want to stand by him. If they're willing to kill and die for each other. All of that, behind the backs of their lovers.

There is legitimately no way in hell Cap'n would ever write anything like that. The closest he ever comes is all the unintentional Ferdi///bert and how those two have way more chemistry with each other than their girlies, but even there he never has them outright say they romantically love each other like he does with Woobiegard and Ingrid (and like I said, that ship is being written completely unintentionally lmao). He wouldn't write a man cheating on his lover with another woman as the pure, innocent, uplifting love he's writing Woobie/grid to be.

Though it is interesting to note exactly who is it that's being cheated on. Sylvain, the prolific skirt-chaser, and Ficleth, someone who doesn't have a good grasp on her emotions. Someone who the audience doesn't have to feel that bad for if he were to get cheated on (just desserts! he got what was comin' for him!), and someone who can be easily manipulated into believing that being cheated on is Just Part Of Being Human, Actually. I doubt a character like, say, Ferdinand would take having his trust in his lover broken as well as Sylvain would - just seems awfully convenient for Woobiegard and Ingrid to have the perfect lovers needed to be able to pull this shit and get away with it.

IT'S JUST NOT GOOD MAN LIKE nothing about this is even close to being okay. I legit couldn't believe mine own eyes when I first read it because it's just SO unneeded?? Like, the justifying all the innocents lives getting thrown in the meat grinder is at least something that needs to be done in a fic trying to justify Canongard as Completely Right - it's annoying as hell, but it comes in the job desription. But Canongard doesn't even cheat!! Fuckin', one of her (annoyingly) consistent traits is just how weirdly loyal she is in her love to the player-insert! This cheating shit isn't something Canongard was prone to doing and thus needed a manipulative "justification" to explain why she's totally right to cheat on her lover, this is something Cap'n throws in completely by himself for literally no reason! It's just so fuckin' weird!

[thebigshotman]

It took a miracle for it to happen, but I finally caught up with everything!! Woo hoo 🥳🥳 Seriously I am so excited that I finally had time and the energy to get to everything. Thank you to everyone for your massive patience. I’d say now I’m here to stay, but with the summer who knows 😅 But hopefully there’s no more month long hiatuses!

Unfortunately I don’t have the time for any other shenanigans, as it is getting late here. But before I go for the night, I present to you something extremely confusing that somewhat involves the funny Big Shot guy that I saw a day or two ago that somehow gave me the energy to come back?? You may or may not see why

Ok, so I’m a fan of the Fate Stay Night series, problems and all. I think the overall concepts and story are really fun and engaging, and that the mobile game (which I play frequently) is very very good, it’s just that…what it chooses to do with those concepts can be…interesting lol. Anyway, on a forum called Beast’s Lair I discovered a Servant-the thing that protagonists in the series summon that are actually famous historical and fiction figures in disguise-creating contest thingie and immediately checked it out from the most recent stuff down.

Now, most people will go for completely original concepts with this thing, with only the FCs being anime references or references to specific characters usually. However, occasionally a figure’s entire personality and skillset is themed around an already existing fictional character that has been molded over them. A good example is someone taking the Norse God Thys, molding him into Columbo, just Columbo, and somehow making it work.

…But then, holy crap I am not making this up. One time a few months back the theme was biblical figures, which is already a touchy subject to make anime characters out of. Some mad lad/cursed dude who probably did not think before posting…made Spamton out of the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve. Just…what??? No disrespect towards the creator of the sheet, but…what????

The justification is this is the form and voice he is taking for “misleading humanity into eternal torment”, so says the sheet, y’know as punishment. And when I take a step back, molding THE serpent that tempted Adam and Eve into a sleazy salesman type is not a bad idea. But why specifically Spamton…? Why not Saul Goodman or someone else? He could be a literal snake oil salesman but nope! Gotta stuff the funny meme man in there.

The best part is NO ONE acknowledged the sheet. Not discussions, not in the voting. It was like it never existed. The contest was happening not even half a year after Chapter 2 came out, too, so it’s not like people wouldn’t recognize the gimmick. People just…thought it was cursed 🤣 And I for one agree lol

So what does this have to do with bringing Spaul back? The moral of the story, guys gals and non binary pals, is that sometimes people’s bad ideas based around a character inspire you to try and do better. No matter how weird my Spamton is at least he’s not that. So! One cursed serpent thing later I am back and am hopefully not going to disappear for a month again.

Anyway on that note 😅 I am signing off for the night! Not sure if I’ll be around tomorrow cause it’s Father’s Day, but we’ll see! Hope you enjoyed story time haha. Have a good night and I’ll see you all soon!

Edit: Someone else also did a thingie for Pinnochio and made Spamton his FC but at least that’s that extent of it

[twstinginthewind]

Who is your OC’s closest platonic friend? Tell us about a complicated relationship your OC has with another character? What chapter does your OC get the most personal character development? TWST OC questions for Joker! <3

• Joker's closest platonic friend... it's hard to say, honestly? Because she is the type of person who throws herself into a whole lot of friendships all at once and doesn't differentiate between who's the "best friend" and who's not. She does have a few contenders though.

In terms of canon characters, Cater is the one who gets to know most of her secrets, and she trusts him a lot. However, she tends to do a lot of the talking, and hasn't noticed that he hasn't opened up to her in the same degree. In terms of "folks she just has fun with", Ace gets a slightly higher rating than Deuce, partially because he's as much of a loudmouth as she is, and there's no weird crushes happening. They've got great friendship chemistry and know how to make each other laugh.

OC-wise, her closest companion and holder of the brain cell has always been her twin brother, Punch. Her best gal pal (and someone who inspires her, but she won't say it out loud) is @twst-the-night-away 's Savvy, and her secret-keeper and occasional necessary reality checker is Daisy's other daughter, Violetta.

Other answers under the cut!

• Joker's most complicated platonic relationship is with her housewarden, Riddle. He has high hopes for her - just like he does for all of the students under his watch - but they also infuriate each other. Joker came into Night Raven College prepared; she already knew the Heartslabyul rules, and had quite a few already memorized, thanks to her father's help. (Punch knows a lot of them too, but a fat lot of good they do him in Ignihyde.) She has always been a little bit of a rebel, though, probably also due to Wild Carder's influence, and had taken note of several rules that were worded in such a way that she could flagrantly "break" them without actually being out of line. Particularly, she tends to pick on ones that refer to any student as "he", and will cheerfully point out "and that's not my pronoun, is it?" when called out on it.

But as much as she annoys Riddle, she also has a deep admiration for him. She was there during the beginning of his overblot (escorted away from danger by a copy of Cater, which is part of why she trusts that particular Diamond so much), and while that was probably one of the most terrifying experiences of her life, watching Riddle as he recovered from the incident and adapted his approach to things made her realize what a strong person he is. His personal and magical strength are something that she really looks up to, and she hopes that someday she might be able to lead as well as he does. She's still incredibly surprised when Riddle asks her to assume the Vice Housewarden position when Trey begins his off-campus internship work, because she never thought that Riddle would see any potential in her, aside from potential headaches. But he wants her to do better, and intends to use her critical eye and deep knowledge of the house rules to help him lead the dorm fairly.

I'll leave out her complicated romantic relationships, because they are heavily dependent on which timeline she ends up in, and also I would be writing this post for about seven and a half weeks. Oops. But she has complex routes with Trey and Floyd, that intertwine and then branch off into two different stories.

• I'm still working out her story in relation to the order of events in the game. I think it may be easier once we all know the whole story, so I can properly place her plot points. I will say that, because she is a Heartslabyul member, in the intro through chapter one, she is going to go from just a happy-go-lucky Queendom kid to someone who realizes that having magical ability isn't just a "nice bonus" or something fun to do at a tea party. It can mean danger, it can ruin friendships, it can be frightening and chaotic and it means that you hold a responsibility to the people around you. Magic should be used to protect and help; this is serious business.

[blue-moon-echo]

The first time I ever shipped characters, I got tore a new one because it was lesbian and “they’re just friends”. Fk that, I can ship who I want and it’s better than the non-ship the writers keep saying they’ll do but never actually commit to. Plus girls are great as I absolutely will project onto characters I like.

But another thing is like, did we read the same story with same characters? Cause sure there’s how they act, but there’s also a why behind their characterization.

If you show me traumatized girl who’s been neglected and abused her whole life and adverse to physical contact, and then show me that girl willingly hugging their best friend who has their own traumas but also makes her tea and is the only person she has who loves and she can trust, and if you show me her sitting on the couch holding hands with them while she stares deeply into her eyes as they assure her that she’s not the monster she’s afraid she might be and that everything will be okay, then yeah I’m reading into that.

Hugs and handholding and assurance, and any kind of affection, isn’t something inherently romantic. I’m writing two characters who are in fact just friends and they do all that and also kiss one time because they love each other, just platonically. And I don’t read into it because I wrote them so I don’t need to, but also because the context of their relationship. I wouldn’t fault someone for shipping them or just reading into it, they kiss after all. The point is that the more you contextualize a relationship that drives the characters closer and you know the characters aren’t aromantic, its easier see affection as romantic. Remove half the context and yeah I can see them as gals being pals, but with context I have to be convinced.

[boosifer]

Wouldn’t it be nice if I had some actual answers for once in my life?

Wouldn’t it be so unbelievably fucking great if I didn’t overthink quite literally every minute interaction???

I was so hopeful and excited about the possibility of this being something, and now I don’t know. I really don’t know. We had another little friendship date getting coffee like two weeks ago, but nothing since. And I’ll send messages and joke around in person, but it feels like I’m forcing the interactions? I’m not sure how to phrase it exactly, but it’s like he’s pulled away in messaging while still acting normal in front of our friends.

I’m worried he overheard me telling the gal pals about Mr “leaves +4 years of art and gifts at my mailbox unannounced” calling me and misunderstood. I confided in him about the situation and tried to convey that I’m okay now. Obviously I’m lonely, but I miss having that constant texting as opposed to the relationship or the person themself. I don’t want my coffee boy to think that this is just a game to me or anything like that. I care, apparently way more than I thought.

I don’t even know if he’s really thought about our interactions and hangouts like I have. Again, he could just be being a friend. But then he threw me for a loop again by saying something like, “if this is gonna go any further.” Granted, we were arguing about fucking vegetables. But still! It’s flirty!!

He’s just so refreshing. And I know I keep saying that, but it’s the best way I can to describe the sensation. I’m just overall lighter now compared to before, and it’s helping to have that connection. He’s going on a trip now and he’s been busy preparing on top of schoolwork, but I’m hoping we’ll get more friendship date hangouts once he’s back.

[grapecaseschoices]

part five about my infamous ocs and love

asks; 4

there are two more parts after this one. i regret starting this series. i love doing this series

Ludus – Playful, Flirtatious Love.

Does your OC have any particular favourite chat up lines? If not for themselves then perhaps ones they have suggested to a friend? How effective do these tend to be?

Hiyam: Sort of. I don't think she has cheesy lines [but I am sure in another life she gave Seven the Corn] but I think she has beats that she knows works. They tend to be fairly effective, but leaning on mixed reactiions.

Ori: Yes. Yes. And if a person loves silly then yes -- if not then no.

Lala: Lala has natural rizz but isn't against some lines, they come up more naturally than pre-decided/oldies. They aren't a flirter tho. At least not in the pick up sense, they do/can tease. And it really dpends on the person if they like it. They prefer being bold unless for some reason the person has them nervous -- in which theyre still straightforward but maybe a bit more fumbly [but that is rare].

Alana: Uses lines but they are meant sincerely qwerq Like, 'oh, you would stand out in all the stars with that smile!!!" I mean not that ORI of all people isnt sincere about his attention, but even the himbo knows its lines -- he'strying to be funny. Alana doesnt always qwews. She is a shy teaser and it actually works best out of all of them

BJ doesn't flirt but he isnt without game, it is accidental tho. He is team sincerely stated lines like Alana, except they are much more accidental [most the time ;-)]

Is your OC particularly skilled at flirting? Have they had to practice this or does it just happen naturally?

Hiyam: She thinks she is. It is a mix.

Lala and Alana: I think they are, it is natural.

How does your OC feel about one night stands? Have they ever enjoyed a night of passionate romance with a stranger? Is this something they are quite keen on recreationally? Or only something they might engage in under specific circumstances (such as the eve of a battle or after a difficult breakup)?

Ori: I think I have said isn't a fan.

BJ: Is typically a hard no, but it has happened once. Regrets.

Alana: Is curious but generally is too quick to fall in love to see it that way [tho the people she may tangle with may feel differently ...]

Lala and Hiyam: Have done one night stands. Hiyam hasn't had the time to give them attention -- so less than it might seem. Lala doesn't seek them, if it happens and they're feeling it -- /shrugs.

Who was your OC’s first crush? How do they feel about it now?

BJ: Seven. ROFLMAO.

Alana: Seven but she doesn't realize it yet. She thinks it was just gals being pals.

Hiyam: Gina Reign.

Lala and Ori: Idk, some person. I may have thoughts for ori but tiyed

What seduction techniques are most likely to be effective when it comes to your OC? Are there some things guaranteed to get them going? Or are they immune to such things?

qwertew homie IDK!

[nulliustram-webfiction]

KeyMates Snippets - "The Others"

"Hold on, we get to meet more psychics?" Anne asked, following after their supervisor.

"Yes." Dr. Rutherford agreed, "They seemed very excited to meet you."

"As the fresh meat on the chopping block." Flynn muttered, "I bet they're all adults and stuff."

"Some." Dr. Rutherford clicked her tongue, "But I tried to get more younger psychics to meet you. Are you interested? We can back out any time if you want."

Which was why she had sprung this on them at the last moment. Flynn wasn't fooled. He had been drilled by his mentor on this type of manipulation before. Anne, however, might not be familiar with this, because she squared her shoulders and nodded.

"It'll be fun to meet people like us, don't you think?" She asked him.

"Are there any Uni-Sensing pairs?" He asked Dr. Rutherford, reluctantly.

"Yes, actually." She shared excitedly, "You won't know them, they're more of the secretive bunch, but seemed excited to meet you."

A wave of relief went over him. Finally, someone who got it! The attention and the assumptions and the whispers that followed them everywhere would finally be understood by someone else! He couldn't wait to meet them and get a proper complaint out of his system!

"Hey, I'm Mica." An older girl with a buzzed haircut waved at them lazily, her legs thrown over the rest of the couch, where her combat boots were resting in the lap of another girl, who was dressed in a knee-length green peacoat and dyed purple streaks in her long blonde hair.

"This is my girlfriend, Olivia." She added, beaming at her, "Mindlink buddies!"

"We can't actually communicate through minds, so it doesn't count." Olivia added, still grinning at Mica.

Ah, never mind, so they got to be happy with their nature-assigned soulmates. Flynn couldn't help the instinctual feeling of bitterness that rippled through him at that. Or maybe it was just jealousy?

"Forget the lovebirds." The last person in the room interrupted, "Tell us about yourself, newbies."

She looked to be about Flynn's age thankfully, with strawberry blonde hair and light brown eyes.

"Anne Livingston and Flynn Westing." Anne blurted out quickly, "We can... we can find keys."

She raised an eyebrow, and Flynn felt himself flush. But finally, she replied, "Sophie Carmichael. I can see the future sometimes."

"Cool!" Anne brightened up.

She seemed to pick up speed at the encouragement, "And I can do this, too!" She swiped her hand through the air, leaving in its wake a glowing, solid orange construct.

"Awesome!" Flynn stared at it, entranced. He turned to look at Mica and Olivia curiously, "What can you guys do?"

Mica grinned brightly, "Whaddaya say? Wanna show them?" She asked.

Olivia sighed, long-suffering but fond. And then they both held up their hands in a high-five. The second their palms made contact, there was a bright spark of electricity, that blossomed up and exploded, sweeping through the entire room and blowing out the light bulbs.

Mica's cackles rang through the stunned silence, "That never gets old!"

---------

Yes, something that will be brought up in the main series is how the non-romantic queerplatonic m/f relationship is constantly put as romantic, while the actually romantic relationship of the exact same nature is not given the same treatment, with a very 'gals being pals' style reporting. Also Mica and Olivia are cool, alright? (also, insert here about Flynn being a girlboy egg who hasn't yet put together that he kinda wants to be these two in every possible way.)

[chikabika]

So like. I was on tumblr in 2012. Earlier, even.

I watched Supernatural, and BBC Sherlock, and Teen Wolf. In fact, I finally gave SPN a shot after three tries because the way tumblr talked about Destiel had me thinking they were actually dating. I asked google "when does Dean's boyfriend show up" and google said "Castiel shows up in Season 4" and I was like, great, let's watch 8 seasons in 3 weeks.

I've watched plenty of other things, but I think SPN, Sherlock, and Teen Wolf are the most relevant, because I remember fan spaces, I remember shipping, and I remember how show runners, writers, and actors treated fans and shipper fans. Teen Wolf capitalized on the Sterek ship, used it to win awards. BBC Sherlock teased a queer romance in the text of the show and then derided fans for thinking there could be anything between Sherlock and John Watson (nevermind that that ship is even older than Kirk/Spock). I know I was deep in the sauce, but before I stopped watching Supernatural, it felt like, yeah, maybe, in the last episode, there could be a confession. Or something. And I guess there was a confession, but we all know how Supernatural ended.

As a queer person, it has felt like, as each year has passed, it'll be this year that queer stories get told in a major show. There have been incredible strides in children's media, and of course there are queer characters in other tv and movies.

But something about Our Flag Means Death just. I don't know, it was hitting the same beats that I have seen in stuff like the shows above, and because I have seen the potential for queer romance in them, and been disappointed, I couldn't quite trust it. I have seen the same looks between two men, the intimacy, that Stede and Ed share, and been told "oh, but they're just friends, you're reading too much into it." And yes, obligatory disclaimer that friendships can change your life and caring looks and intimacy between friends should and does exist. If you knew me in person you'd know I invest strongly in my friendships.

The point is that I have seen "friend" used to cover up or deny queer relationships. I mean damn, we've all seen it, in media and history and modern tabloids. "Kristen Stewart and gal pal spend day on friendly outing". THEY'RE GAY! Star Trek TOS came out in the 60s, when homosexuality was illegal. Of course they weren't going to say anything about a queer romance between the two. But there are plenty of lines about their friendship. Spock says "Jim when I feel friendship for you, I feel ashamed." They are close, they touch, there are long gazes and heart eyes and held hands.

These are all things I was seeing and hearing in Our Flag Means Death, and it is why I was on the edge of my seat, unsure, untrusting, despite being reasonably sure that the shipping on tumblr was not just people latching on to some great "subtext".

In BBC Sherlock, there are plenty of characters who assume or insinuate or straight out claim a romantic relationship between Sherlock and John Watson. In a straight romance, those would be signs that there is something going on, and any denial from the characters comes with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge. There is a scene in OFMD in which Stede is asked/accused of sleeping with Ed. I could see it for what it was supposed to be-introducing the idea of a sexual component to their relationship in Stede's mind, making him ask himself if that's what he wants-and still the spectre of Sherlock, and Supernatural hung over me.

Teen Wolf even had queer characters, it felt that much more possible for two characters whose sexuality hadn't been established at the beginning to realize they had feelings for someone of the same gender. OFMD does not state Stede or Ed's sexuality from the get-go, we do not learn about relationships they might have had with other men, until the scene I just mentioned. And of course I know about matelotage and how queer pirates were, but does a showrunner? Do they even care?

And yes. They do. And it is a balm on an old wound.

Older men, falling in love, surrounded by other queers. Wow.

I have to rewatch this show, because I had my heart guarded the whole time. When Fleetwood Mac came on and Ed reached out with his boot, this show reached through the screen and punched me in the heart. I felt that excitement and longing, and delighted when the music and camera treated the delicate vulnerable awkward kiss with the moment it deserved.

I just.

This show means a lot to me, for these reasons, and it's also just a good show.

[unoriginalmess]

A Second Mask: Chapter 4

Did that just happen?

Hello guys! It's me. I'm finally writing again. Sorry about the delay. I'm going to explain more at the end of the chapter, but I'm just going to keep the beginning short. So here is chapter 4:

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To say Adrien was concerned would be a huge understatement. He was downright disturbed. Its been weeks and still Marinette hadn't changed back to the happy, peppy, nice girl that he knew. AND SHE WOULDN'T EVEN TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT!

He tried to talk to her for a whole week after her original trasformation, but after the repeated firm rejections, he stopped altogether. He figured that maybe with some space, she might be able to work through whatever she was going through, but at this point, he's losing hope.

When he is feeling this distressed about something, he usually turns to his lady, but she has been acting weird too. Ever since she suggested they start sparring, she's started to show that she is going through kinda a rough time as well. She is the same ladybug when everyone is watching, but when it's just the two of them, she looks sad and tired. She has also started saying some concerning things while they are sparring. She has started talking about how she has started taking being Ladybug and the Guardian more seriously, and how she has less distractions now, which would be a good thing if she didn't say them so sadly.

The good thing is, the sparring has given him a chance to get out his aggression because of the whole Marinette-situation and his anger at his father in a safe environment. He didn't like the idea of hitting Ladybug at first (especially in the face) but with her not holding back on her hits, he felt more comfortable doing the same. It has helped them fight better too. He hopes that whatever Ladybug is going through in her civillian life will work itself out soon, but until then he will be there for her. He just needs to figure out how to be there for Marinette.

•••

Felix was making good progress with Marinette. After they first asked marinette about (insert fashion question of your choice here, I legit know nothing and I didn't have time to research anything for this chapter), she had started answering their questions on a daily basis. After a couple of days of that, she had started to rant to them about different things in the fashion world that were bothering her, exciting her, or confusing her that particular day. In response to that, they had started to respond to her rants with their own opinions on the subjects and even start their own rants.

It had gotten to the point where Felix would now consider them to be friends, though they know that Marinette would never call them as such, it was fine with them. They know she has trust issues, and they can understand why, so they are fine with being friends in everything but a name.

Felix was looking forward to their daily banter as they waited in their seat for Marinette to arrive. When she did, she was followed by a very pissed-looking Alya. Felix turned to look at her and noticed that she had what looked to be tears forming in her eyes. What they didn't notice was the little black butterfly that had entered through the window in the back of the room, and was making a beeline towards her.

•••

Marinette walked to school in yet another one of her newest fashion creations: a pair of oversized grey ripped jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt. She was actually really liking her new look, and the comfort that it offered was just an added plus.

She was actually feeling excited to talk to Felix about Gabriel Agreste's newest fashion flop. They were the only person that she had met that actually cared about fashion as much as her. It made her happy to talk to them. It kind of scared her how excited she was. Shouldn't she be distancing herself from everyone? she thought to herself. No. Felix isn't my friend, they aren't close to me, they are just someone I talk fashion with. Like a coworker, yeah. Totally. Felix is just a coworker. ("Liar" says the inner voice in her head)

She was shocked out of her thoughts when she was pulled to the side by someone as she entered the courtyard. Her mind immediately thought of an akuma, when the person spoke.

"Marinette! Girl," Oh it's just Alya. Wait Alya? "How long are you gonna keep up this cry for attention? Are you really THAT jealous of Lila? I know that Adrien likes her, but that doesn't give you the right to act like this! And you are hanging out with Felix, who accused her of sexually harrassing Adrien on their first day here-?" She looked absolutely furious at her, but Marinette had heard enough. She cut Alya off in the middle of her presumably long rant.

"ALYA!" Said girl jumped at both the inturruption and the tone of voice used, "First of all, this isn't a cry for attention, if anything its a cry for leaving me the fuck alone. Second of all, I'm not jealous of Lila. I'm not in love with Adrien anymore, and haven't been for a while. You knew that I was dating Luka right? Why would I care who Adrien likes? Lastly, I am allowed to hang out with whoever I choose, whether you like them or not. It's none of your fucking business Alya, and if you think that I'm just some jealous, attention-seeker why do you even care?" With that last question she stormed off to the classroom, leaving a speechless Alya behind her.

When marinette sat down in her seat, she just kept thinking about how Alya was just talking to her. How could she think that about her? They used to be best friends, and Alya wasn't even concerned about her not talking to her anymore, she was just concerned about her being "jealous of Lila". It made her so furious that she could feel tears trickling down her face. She sees the black butterfly out of the corner of her eye and without hesitation grabs it out of the air.

(Next part is taken from this post by @bigfatbreak)

"Go ahead and akumatize me- See what happens, Hawkmoth!" She screamed the words with a slight madness that the energy of the akuma was giving her, "Every leash has two ends! I just have to pull until I find where you're holding it!"

At this point, the entire class was frozen in place watching her and listening to her crazed-sounding voice threaten an actual terrorist. Marinette felt Hawkmoth's confusion and terror through the bond. What in the- She's sensing me through the Akuma?! The akuma then started to fly away, and when it couldn't it zapped her hand like it was made of lightning and fluttered through the same window it came from. Marinette felt like she had failed yet again and collapsed down on her desk, muttering, "Uuuuggghh. It escaped anyway... What a waste. I didn't realize that Hawkmoth was such a coward. He usually likes grandstand..."

She was startled when her hand was picked up by Felix's, "You likely scared him off by managing to locate him like that... A risky move, I should mention. I would ask that you not attempt that a second time. No one knows what his akuma is truly capable of. You'll want to keep off of this hand for a while, too."

"Oh, are those the doctor's orders? Why, Felix, it almost sounds like you care about meeee." Marinette was all too amused by Felix's concern for her. She also liked to tease them... AS COWORKERS DO.

"I have an investment in your presence. Now don't be cheeky and let's get you to the nurse's office," They said while holding her wrist and gently pulling her in that direction.

Marinette scoffed, "'An investment in my presence'??"

Felix chuckled while still semi-dragging her by the wrist towards the front of the room, being careful not to hurt her injury even worse, "What did I just say about being cheeky?"

On their way out of the door they passed a VERY distressed-looking Adrien. He seemed to be sharing the sentiment with the entire class of: Did that just happen?

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And thats chapter 4. It is VERY LATE! I know. I've been swamped with work, and when I went to write it, I had zero ideas on how to write this chapter. I never ended up getting those ideas. I just went where my writing took me, so if it doesn't really match the characters that's why. I will try to be better at updating regularly, but it probably won't happen. Sorry to everyone with a normal sleep schedule, but this is the time that I write things. Also I didn't have my outline with me while writing this chapter, so it might not have everything I planned to write in it.

I would like to thank you all for all of the support I've been getting on this fic. Despite all of the chapter delays, you guys have stuck with me through all of it, so thank each and every one of you. I love seeing so many people loving this au as much as I do. Without you guys this story wouldn't exist, and I would've stopped writing it after the first chapter.

As always, constructive criticism is always accepted. I love being able to improve my writing whenever possible.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day/night/whenever you are reading this. See ya next time guys, gals, and non-binary pals.

Taglist

@queer-illusion @apasponsor @heckinggremlin @1-ahiro-1 @hewantedbeefintheparkinglot @sassakitty @lennauts @rianoel @dorkus-minimus @khneltea @welp-that-was-unexpected @mlnchlymrshmllw @lovelyautumnsunflower @chariphrasis @lovesbooks @komatsuna-yuki @polyvirnl @innocentlyguiltyfrenchfry @qhobias @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @hammalammadamdam @cloudydaysomewhere @alcoholic-barney @basenikon @xxbehindthemaskxx @corporeal-terrestrial @shadowymemoirs @moonlight-densetsuu