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fairybluecosplay · 1 year

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Sango cosplay update and a beginner armor tutorial!

For this cosplay, I made the shin armor, elbow armor, pauldrons, armor fasteners, and painted the shirt/sword.

The photos are of before and after I revamped this cosplay! The tutorial will be under the cut with progress photos!

This tutorial will cover the creation of everything you see in this photo except for sleeveless gloves (lol), and the mask, which is real metal and was commissioned from Hollowearthworkshop on Facebook.

To make the pauldrons and the elbow armor I bought and repurposed elbow and knee pads from the thrift store. I cut off all of the fabric so it was essentially just the plastic shells left. I set aside the velcro for fastening the elbow pads later.

In my first go at this cosplay, I painted the armor/knee pads with acrylic paint and cut out a piece of large foam to be her front armor. I then lined them with a silver acrylic paint outline. As a final touch, I coated it in mod podge to keep it from chipping.

I sadly do not have photos of when I made all the red armor straps/fasteners but to make them you essentially just have to sew so many tubes, turn them inside out, sew the open side closed, and iron those babies to hell and back. For the criss-cross back piece, I sewed the wrong sides together so it would make an infinity sign or figure eight. To put that piece on, I put it on like backpack straps.

In total, she has the crisscross back piece, a red strap on each shoe, red straps securing her elbow armor, red straps securing the shin armor, and a long piece that ties around her waist securing her armor and sword.

For the waist piece, I made it wider than it should be because it gets wider towards the end. To do this I just folded it to be smaller on my waist and ironed it to stay folded and left the ends unironed so it would be larger at the tips.

I do recommend that you make the fabric pieces that will be on your back and elbows a bit larger than they need to be (half an inch or so) so you have room for movement! When my elbows are bent I need more fabric than when they are straight, and since I used cotton there is not much stretch to them. To keep them from sliding I safety pin them to my shirt.

Speaking of the shirt, I went for a fairly easy route to make it. I just bought a rigid black turtle neck from Value Village and painted the details on with puffy fabric paint for the red to create the illusion of a seam and then used regular gold fabric paint for the gold accents. For the button, I just found a silver button at Joann's that was the right shape and sewed it on.

DO NOT LET THE PAINT DRY BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF THE TAPE! For more crisp lines take the tape off while it is wet! I taped my shirt down to the floor so it wouldn't move around and smear and kept all roommates and animals clear of the area until it had dried.

For the sword, I really lucked out and found a cheap katana at a thrift store that I just painted with acrylics and then sealed with mod podge. It was super fun to do and I was pleased with the outcome. Plus, her katana is way easier to make and store than hiraikotsu lol.

(This is the photo I used as a reference for the back of her armor)

Now, you can stop there for her armor and have a fine time. It definitely worked for me. I used basic pink leg warmers for her shin armor and called it good because that is what I had the time and resources for. However, if you have time + resources to vamp it up more, here is what I did.

I bought Artminds modeling foam from Michael's and sculpted it onto my preexisting armor to make it smoother in an attempt to get rid of the obvious knee/armor pad look. I really recommend using water to smooth it out while it's still wet. It'll be sticky while working with it but it makes it sooo much more smooth. I personally didn't have the correct tools to sand it out after it had dried so this was a great way to get the final product to have a nice finish.

One thing that I disliked about my first attempt was that the pauldrons were way too small. So while I kept the elbow armor the same size, I drastically built out the pauldrons by an inch or so, checking how they looked in the mirror periodically to make sure I wasn't going too big with them.

they got a little turtle-y and I found I had to reshape them every few hours to make sure they didn't dry in the wrong shape. I did find it useful to make one at a time and use the one I wasn't working on as a mold by covering it in plastic wrap and placing the one being worked on over top of it.

Once I got them to the right size, I rolled out a piece of foam to make a long cylinder and then carefully applied it to the edge of both the pauldrons and the elbow armor. This takes a lot of patience and water was very useful during this stage to help smooth it out. I found that the modeling foam lost shape easily and when picked up to move around it would stretch out and get super thin in spots.

To fix this I would scrunch it back together in the too-small spots and in areas where it was larger than it should be I gently pulled and rolled it to the underside of the armor so I could keep the cylinder shape but move the excess foam somewhere it wouldn't be visible. This also kind of helped to attach it more securely (I think...).

I once again used pink acrylic paint, silver metallic acrylic paint, and glossy mod podge to finish them off.

I think this system worked out pretty well and I am much more pleased with the armor now than I was before!

The elbow pads were easy to attach because I super glued the velcro from their old fasteners to the inside of the armor and to the red fabric fasteners.

Velcro wasn't really a possibility for fastening the pauldrons because of how much they curved so I had myself a little reduce-reuse-recycle moment and mod-podged some thrifted doilies to the inside of them. Doilies or mesh would work super well for this, basically, the goal of this is to make something that's easy to get a safety pin in and out of and that is flexible so that it still sits correctly on your shoulder.

I also... marked which way the armor should be facing up to look best on my shoulders so I wouldn't forget in my sleep-deprived getting ready for con haze.

For the shin and front/back armor I... made my own patterns using printer paper, a ruler, and a sharpie.

For the shin armor, I measured my knee to make sure that the piece that would be covering it was both long and wide enough (I did four inches) and then free-handed the approximate shape of my knee. I made the band of the shin armor waaaay longer than it needed to be because it's way easier to take them in than to make them larger.

The most ingenious moment I had during this was making the band go up higher than it should so I could make a little flap to hem it down so I wouldn't have to worry about raw edges. (It was cut along the knee piece to make it a clean fold).

I used quilted pink cotton as my fabric for a fun texture. Her armor is demon hide and this fabric is used for making armor padding that you wear under chainmail so it was fun to make armor out of something it's actually made out of!

After I cut out my fabric with my nifty pattern, I used silver metallic bias tape on the applicable areas. I very sadly learned that the only place you can buy silver metallic bias tape, not in bulk from amazon or from etsy is... Hobby Lobby... so there is that

Then I got to sewing that bad boy! Here is what the back side looked like. I decided to hem the raw edges on the bottom just for my own peace of mind since it won't be visible/it'll be tucked into my boots. It's the thought that counts, I guess.

Sewing bias tape is pretty simple, you just stick to the outskirts of the bias tape and go slowly.

I measured and re-measured to make this... so many times. I still think I should have gone thinner on my final product but... I digress. To make this pattern I essentially just made a very top-heavy cross or t shape and then connected the bottom into a triangle and made a rectangle on top that I rounded the top of. The inner lines on this pattern were me testing out the idea of a smaller size that I did not end up going with.

I did try on and test my patterns before I cut/sewed anything and I highllyyyy suggest this. I do not have a photo of me sewing her groin/butt armor but it was essentially a longer more convoluted version of the shin armor but this time with a point! Points may seem scary but you just have to fold the bias tape on the point and pin it carefully before sewing it. I did leave all the edges raw because they would be covered completely by bias tape anyways and it would have just been a waste of time.

One thing I will say about the actual design of Sango and her armor is that the back piece of armor does not have a rounded top and is much shorter... I, however, did not fully process that information before I made both pieces to be the same so I have decided that I will not care about that.

I'm still really pleased with the outcome!

And that is how I made and updated my Sango cosplay at different skill levels! For her pants, I just wear black leggings.

And then here are my cosplay test photos! I have yet to take the new and improved version to a con, but will very soon!

**Note these photos were taken before I figured out the doilies method so the pauldrons are not fastened as securely as they normally would be**

The contact lens I am wearing are the Geo Princess Mimi Chocolate Brown (Bambi series) from Pinky Paradise :)

If you have any questions on any parts of these feel free to send them in!

#sango inuyasha #inuyasha #cosplay #cosplay tutorial #armor tutorial #cosplay armor #anime #🔮

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rollingaroundin-bread · 3 years

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My Sweet Ride is an amazing episode of Phineas and Ferb and the only thing bad about it I that I wish we could have seen more people in full out 1950s clothes!! So I did that!! (Also including some MML kids because I love them and don’t draw them enough!)

Anyways!! If y’all want to see me rant about 1950s stuff for a very long time because I had a blast doing research for this project you should click the keep reading!! :D

Okay a quick prelude!! Not only am I going to talk about outfits I designed, but while doing research I was blown away about the attention to detail the original designers had for these outfits and characters so I’m going to talk about their outfits too! :D

Here are my sources if you want to look into this btw!! :D

https://vintagedancer.com/1950s/1950s-teenager-fashions-girls-fashion-trends-and-clothing-styles/

https://vintagedancer.com/1950s/1950s-teen-boys-clothing/

https://vintagedancer.com/1950s/1950s-hairstyles/

https://vintagedancer.com/1950s/1950s-dress-styles/

https://vintagedancer.com/1950s/1950s-womens-hats-by-style/

https://vintagedancer.com/1950s/1950s-womens-shoes-style/

Candace

Okay I’m going to start out by saying I just adore this outfit

That has nothing to do with anything I just really love it!!

I’m thinking I might make one of my own for Halloween but that’s off-topic

Okay- 1950s clothing!!

Candace is wearing a blouse (?) with a cardigan over the top, and a pleated swing skirt.

This is a classic 1950s girl’s style

More specifically its also a classic “preppy good kid” look

Which Candace absolutely is!!

Y’all should notice that all the skirts are past knee-length, which was standard of the time.

Candace also has a neck scarf, a common accessory, and a headband.

Ribbon headbands were still a thing in the 50s but the hard plastic headband was also coming into style in the later 1950s.

She’s wearing a pair of saddle shoes which were one of the popular options of the time among boys and girls

Her hair is long with curls at the end, another classic teenager look in the 50s!

While short hair was more popular among adult women, teenage girls often kept theirs long with slight curls on the end!

Bangs were also standard, but usually shorter than how I drew them

Sorry that bit’s inaccurate through all of them, it’s just easier for me to draw long!

Finally, in case you had any doubt about Candace’s outfit being time period, here’s an advertisement from the article I read:

Vanessa

To start off we have a blouse and pencil shirt for Vanessa

Pencil and swing skirts were the two most common skirts of the time

She’s also wearing a belt, which I modified slightly to look like-

The wide contour belt on the bottom right!

She’s also wearing a pillbox hat, one of the popular hats of the time!

Hats were generally not worn by teenagers because they were seen as “mature”

But that fits pretty well with Vanessa’s character

It’s the same story with the pumps, which I also changed lightly to match time period ones a bit more

Now what made me make my original post about the outfits in My Sweet Ride was actually the hair

Specifically, Vanessa’s hair is modeled after the Bettie Page style

This hair wasn’t actually that popular with the masses because it was seen as too simple, not classy, etc.

BUT it was popular among rebel girls in the USA

And like!!!!!! Y’all the designers did SUCH a good job to get down into details like that!!!!!!!!

But yeah her outfit’s great!! Next one!

Stacy

For Stacy, I decided to change things up slightly and give her a dress!

Specifically, it’s a shirtwaist dress, which I modeled after the reference below

Why the shirtwaist dress you may ask? Idk I think they’re neat

I thought it fit the vibe I was going for so I did that one I don’t know what to tell you jkdshsf-

Okay so generally, the belt wouldn’t have been a different color but I wanted to tie the green I used in a little more

Btw sorry I changed her color scheme a bit

I honestly haven’t fully figured out her original color scheme so I modified it a bit so it would look nice for this!

Pastels were very popular in the summer after all

I tried to stick to everyone else’s original color scheme though!

Stacy also has a headband tied up into a bow, which was standard

And to change things up I put her in a ponytail (with the end curled) which was popular with the teens!

Sklsdjhdkj I sound very “how do you do fellow teens“ while writing this that’s unintentional sorry

Shoes are penny loafers, another popular shoe at the time

I liked the little bows on the ends of some of the ones I saw and thought it was very Stacy!

That’s about it for her!

Phineas

This has nothing to do with anything but I love drawing Phineas

He’s just a funky little triangle!! I love him!

I’ll admit here that I didn’t look into men’s hairstyles, so you won’t hear about that from me sorry!

Phineas is wearing a black button-up, standard.

Black and white matched everything so they were the most common undershirt colors

Over that, he has a jacket that looks to be varsity jacket inspired, which was seen as super cool!

Full jeans were coming into popularity in the 50s but only with the younger generations

Finally, he also has saddle shoes like Candace does

So yeah it’s a solid 1950s outfit!!

Ferb

Ferb’s a greaser, need I say more?

No, really he has everything

The white t-shirt and jeans combo is exactly the greaser look, so much so that most teenagers avoided it to not fall into stereotypes

Tighter fit jeans were coming into style in the later 50s, so that’s also accurate

The leather jacket just amplifies the greaser look

The one thing is that for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what shoes he was wearing

So I gave him a pair of sho-loks and called it a day!

More about sho-loks in Milo’s portion!

Isabella

Isabella makes an appearance with the first (and only) poodle skirt of the group!!

Poodle skirts, while definitely what most people think about when you say the 50s, actually weren’t that popular among teenagers

The embroidered designs were seen as childish, so children and preteens wore them the most

But here’s a fun tidbit you may not have caught from the show, Isabella is, in fact, a child

(I don’t know why I built that up so much sorry ldksjfhkds)

Anyways I decided if I was going to give anyone a classic poodle skirt it might as well be Isabella!

I modeled it after this poodle skirt:

She’s also wearing a blouse with a peter pan collar, the most popular collar of the time

Another headband tied into a bow because it’s Isabella I had to give her a bow

Standard belt (nothing really to say about that)

And another pair of penny loafers with little bows because they’re cute gosh darn it!

Milo

Okay, I’ve been writing for a while but honestly a lot of the rest of these I just drew directly from reference so…

I did say I would talk about shu-loks here though and I will!!!

Now we know Milo is shoelace-adverse

And while there are plenty of slip-on options I found the shu-lok to be fascinating!!

As you can see above, the tongue snaps down to keep the shoe on your foot!! Isn’t that cool? :D

So yeah I gave Milo those!!

Zack

We know Zack plays football so I gave him your standard sporty outfit

Sorry I just find girls outfits infinitely more interesting so I kinda focused on those skjhgfdss

Oh! I do have something to say here!!

Converse were your typical sports shoe for the 50s so he has those!! Almost forgot that tidbit!!

Yeah, thick soles with wrinkles and stuff were seen as cool among teens so they got popular!

Melissa

Finally, we have some patterned pants!!

Yeah- checkers, plaid, stripes, polka dots, etc. were all very popular!!

I just didn’t want to draw them a lot ‘cause it’s hard sksfjdhgs-

But I gave Melissa checkers because it would get the black and white of her color scheme and I liked the way the checkered pants looked!!

Girls did wear pants at the time by the way!!

During summer and weekends mostly since they weren’t allowed to wear them to school

Short-sleeved turtle necks were also a thing and I thought that combo would look neat!!

Also, converse because it went with the outfit and that’s kinda what she’s wearing in the show!

Hair in a ponytail and side part bangs, both popular!

Yeah okay, that’s about it for Melissa!

Amanda

By this point, y’all are hopefully getting the gist of 50s fashion so we’re going fast now

Blouse, swing skirt, penny loafers (different style but still penny loafers), headband

(here’s what I modeled the whole thing after:)

I do want to mention the pullover sweater because I thought I should include one and I really like the flower embroidery on them

Then finally we come to her hair!! I already mentioned the headband but I was specifically modeling her hair in the pageboy style which looks like this:

Obviously, it looks a little stylized but what can you do?

And that’s it!! I had so much fun doing research and designing this and I think they all turned out pretty good!! I’m going to do more go this in the futures so if there's someone in particular you’d like to see let me know!! I’m planning on doing Cavendish, Dakota, and Sara at least in the next batch!!

#I had too much fun with this hope yall can tell #phineas and ferb #milo murphy's law #candace flynn #vanessa doofenshmirtz #stacy hirano #phineas flynn #ferb fletcher #isabella garcia shapiro #milo murphy #zack underwood #melissa chase #my art stuff #my sweet ride

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stillness-in-green · 4 years

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MLA Week, Day 2: Judge/Shackles/Freedom

A threefer! Spinner and his brand new lieutenants. (Look, until Horikoshi starts deigning to give these guys names, they are free real estate.)

I was originally going to use this day to write about one of the more thuggy or delinquent-looking lieutenants, spin out an ex-con not being able to get his feet back under him and so sliding into the MLA’s sphere, but then I remembered this three foot tall goblin in a drugstore Halloween costume and decided to go with him instead.

Also included is Spinner’s number 1, this gal:

Content Notes: Discussions of disability, portrayal of the marginalized having become the radicalized. The Liberation Army’s really fascinating, y’all.

———– ———– ———– ———–

«I think you’ll like this one,» Nimble announces, the rainbow-colored letters of her quirk dancing in the air.

“You thought I’d like the first two, too,” Spinner replies skeptically, looking away from the floating words to focus on his brand new number one, a woman with a face like a doll whose sculptor had gotten as far as the eyes—huge and green—before giving up on the rest, little things like a nose and a mouth. She breathes by absorbing air through her skin like a frog, apparently, which is why she dresses the way she does, a distractingly low-cut tank top and a sweater jacket that he has never once seen covering her shoulders.

She shrugs, expressive eyes briefly fluttering closed, and movement in the air draws Spinner’s attention back over to where her quirk—Sky Write—has spelled out her response.

«I thought you’d like them too. Can I call him in?»

“Yeah, go ahead.” Just as long as he’s not a not surly bastard like the last two. They’d had good quirks, the last two, but damned if Spinner’s going to work with people who can’t even manage to keep resentment out of their eyes for the length of a job interview, or whatever this process of picking subordinates out of an army full of people that were trying to kill him less than two weeks ago is called.

Nimble’s letters dissolve into a shapeless blur as she looks over to the door, eyebrows briefly lowering in concentration. A few seconds later, the door to Spinner’s makeshift office opens. Spinner’s eyes drop almost half-a-person’s length in height and he tries to keep the surprise off his face.

“A kid?”

«He’s twenty-one, actually.»

“What she said.” The voice comes out a bit muffled through the black hood covering the kid’s—okay, the twenty-one-year old’s face. But if he’s the same age as Spinner, he sure as hell doesn’t look it. He can’t be over a meter tall, with the skinniest legs Spinner’s ever seen sticking out from under the hem of the black robe he wears like a kid running around the house beneath a sheet. A big feathery ruff sits around his neck like a dried-out wreath.

“Scarecrow, reporting in.” The weird little gremlin settles into a military rest in front of the desk, far enough back that it’s not too obvious that he has to tilt his head to look over it. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

Spinner stares at him, trying to suppress a grimace. Scarecrow stares back through little eyeholes cut in the hood, but without being able to see more of his face, it’s impossible to tell if he’s glaring or just has really piercing eyes.

“Right.” Spinner glances over at Nimble, who nods. Her response scrawls itself in the air between them, facing first him, then angling to face the gremlin.

«Show him your meta-ability, Scarecrow. Catch!»

She pulls out a 100 yen coin and deftly balances it on her thumb before flicking it out into the air over the desk.

Spinner bites back a yelp as bug legs unfold from beneath Scarecrow’s ruff, long, segmented things that narrow down to sharp points at the tips. Two thin lines of silk jet out from the knobby second joints, catching on the spinning coin, and the legs reel it back in, bouncing it in the air, spinning it like a weight on a string, then cocooning it up with quick efficiency. It falls neatly into his hand—not a normal human hand, Spinner notices belatedly, but a prosthetic, hard plastic and super articulated, with cables visible beneath the individual parts.

“I can fully cocoon up to twelve adult men a day,” Scarecrow rattles out. “I can also pull myself up the sides of walls and move between buildings, if they’re close enough together. I was inducted into the Meta Liberation Army on my sixteenth birthday; my parents have been members for ten years. I know we’re a relatively new family, but—”

“I don’t—” Spinner stops himself from finishing that sentence with care about that stuff, amending to, “I’m not worried about your—generation or whatever.” Is that better? Neither Scarecrow or Nimble react to it with narrowed eyes or a snarl, anyway. Promising? “Why’d you join up?”

Jumping on a bandwagon is one thing, but at least that takes a running start and a leap. Not like joining a cult because it’s just the family business, Spinner thinks viciously at his memory of that greasy asshole Trumpet’s plated mask.

Scarecrow stares at him for a long second. Spinner does his best to look serious, like he’s actually got a whole prepared list of questions or whatever. Like he knows what he’s doing.

Finally, Scarecrow holds up his hands, both spread wide, both obvious prosthetics. His bug legs twitch and probe at the air.

“I was born with no arms,” he says. “Just my forelegs. It’s not the same as having opposable thumbs, obviously, but it’s better than you’d think. But my teachers used to scold me for raising a foreleg instead of a hand to answer a question or carry things. The kind of stuff a kid who didn’t have a birth defect could use their quirk to do and no one would look twice. If I go out in public and so much as open doors for myself with them, people look at me funny. Because I look funny.”

Don’t use your quirk at school outside of training lessons, Shuuichi-kun. Spinner remembers that kind of bias, yeah. All the non-heteromorphic kids could run around the schoolyard playing tag with snowballs in July, but heaven forbid he use his quirk to climb a tree so he can get away from bullies for the length of a lunchbreak.

He pushes the memory away and nods at Scarecrow to keep him talking. Not that the guy needs much pushing—he talks like someone who’s told the story before, hard-edged, voice intense despite a mid-ranged pitch. He’s got just a hint of a—a hiss or a lisp, something that muddles the edges of his hard consonants. The hood doesn’t move like he’s hiding mandibles under there, but…

“I’ve been wearing prosthetics for longer than I can remember. The government pays for most of it, since I was born this way, but there’re a lot of limitations on it. How often they’ll replace them, what my folks got charged for them. It was always tight, and the kinds of prosthetics government money buys definitely weren’t as nice as these.” He flexes his false fingers demonstratively.

“My folks and I met Re-Destro—” and there’s that note of reverence, the same tone Re-Destro himself’s using about Shigaraki these days “—when I was nine. A family friend recommended Detnerat’s products to us, and he took an interest. That’s how we found out about the Army.”

“Yeah?” Spinner crosses his arms over his chest.

“My parents joined up because of me. But I joined up for myself. Because people think that because I have prosthetics, I shouldn’t need to use my forelegs in public.” Scarecrow’s voice sharpens. “Like I don’t have the right to use the limbs I was born with. I should have that right. We all should.”

“We’re not out to reform society, you know,” Spinner cautions him. He’s had to tell Re-Destro that too many times already, and that’s just having grasped it himself there in the ruins of Deika. “That’s not what Shigaraki’s after.”

Scarecrow gives him another long, quiet look, unreadable behind his hood. Finally—slower, less practiced—he nods and answers, “Destro’s teaching was that oppression will always lead to revolution. The Grand Commander of the Liberation Army is the one who’ll throw off those chains. Whatever he makes of the world, I want to be there to help, not sitting in my shackles waiting for someone to hand me an answer.”

Spinner breathes out hard. He scratches at his hair.

“…Right,” he manages. Don’t admit he said it better than you could. “Well put.” He turns to Nimble and adds, “Well, he didn’t offend me.”

«I know you’d like him.» Her words practically shimmy in the air, flickering green and yellow and pink. «Then do we have our number 2?»

Spinner glances back over at Scarecrow, who’s staring determinedly out the window behind the desk, his back toy soldier straight. He still looks more like a kid in a costume than anything else, but…

Well, I like him better than people like the politician. And we need to keep things moving, anyway. Don’t stop running or someone might catch up.

“Yeah, I think so” he says aloud, then takes a breath and leans over the desk, offering a hand. Scarecrow takes it without a second’s pause, plastic clicking against Spinner’s scales. “Welcome to the Support Regiment.”

———– ———– ———– ———–

I’ll have some links up about things here when I post this to AO3, but in the meantime, Scarecrow--whose condition at birth was called amelia--wears a hood not because he’s embarrassed of a bug face, but rather because he’s embarrassed of the way various surgeries to repair cleft palate and cleft lip have left his face looking. He’s much more confident in showing off his meta-ability than what he thinks of as his disability.

Scarecrow is also vaguely modeled on an insect called a webspinner, a tiny little bug that lives in big communal web “galleries” and has the unusual feature of its silk production apparatus being located on its front legs rather than the base of its abdomen like spiders. The choice felt appropriate for an unusually tiny cult member with top-mounted spider legs.

#MLAweek2020 #meta liberation army #iguchi shuuichi #spinner #spinner bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha spoilers #my writing #ficcing #my hero academia #plf advisors

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whatifyoulivelikethat · 4 years

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addiction, m | myg, ksj | prologue

in other words: My Roommate is a Drug Dealer

pairing(s): yoongi x reader, seokjin x reader, ??? x reader

summary: Min Yoongi is in luck when a super cheap room is up for rent. Or maybe not.

warnings: non-idol!AU; in which everyone makes bad choices; slow burn; rated M (18+) for language, mentions of drug abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts, abusive relationships, eventual smut

note: Main character is female. I use ‘she’ instead of ‘you’ in this case because I’m more comfortable writing the omnipresent POV. You are welcome to think of ‘she’ as yourself or an OC. Her name is never explicitly mentioned. The character’s appearance is set to fit the story and her role.

When he saw the ad online, he couldn’t believe the price. It had to be a joke. There had to be hidden fees or something wrong with the room. He was preparing himself for disappointment. It was too good to be true. As he arrived to the neat complex, he checked around for anything sketchy. It was eerily quiet as he knocked.

“Min Yoongi, right?”

The woman who greeted him at the door was calm and polite. She was wearing a large baggy gray sweatshirt and black pants with black slippers. He guessed she was around his age. Long dark hair, tied in a low ponytail. A plain, almost forgettable face. Almost, if it wasn’t for her piercing dark eyes. They were like bottomless pits, as if he was staring into a pair of black holes. He looked away quickly, somewhat perturbed.

“Uh… yeah. I’m here to look at the room.”

He needed this. After being kicked out of his last apartment, he couldn’t go home. He had to have something to show his parents that he could be successful in the music industry. But after producing a few remote albums and tracks, he barely had anything. Not to mention getting ripped off multiple times had him in this sticky financial situation. He bit his lip as he stepped into the apartment, looking around anxiously.

It was actually a very empty apartment. The center room was a living room and kitchen combination but there was no living room furniture, only a record player and boxes of records on a large bookshelf against the wall. The kitchen had two black stools at the counter. It was clean and neat, almost military. She gestured to the right, to the open door.

“This is the room,” the woman was saying quietly. “Bathroom is around the corner.”

There was no furniture in the room. Absolutely none. He tilted his head, looking around. The hardwood floors shone and despite how clean it was, he could see nick marks in the wood. He almost breathed in relief. At least there was some evidence someone lived here.

“Why hasn’t the room been rented out yet?” he asked, turning to the woman. “It looks nice.”

She was watching him carefully. It was unsettling. “Because I have rules that the tenant must agree to.”

Here we go. “What rules?”

Her eyes were fixated on him, blinking very sparingly. She held a hand up, counting with her fingers. “One: no people over. None. No friends, no family, no fuckbuddies. You want to fuck someone, do it at their place,” she stated with a completely straight face.

He was stunned at her language. He was beginning to understand why this place was still up for rent.

“Two: clean up after yourself. I will not ask twice. If you do not clean up after yourself, I will kick you out without hesitation. Three: I live in the room across from you.” She pointed with her pinky and he saw the other room opposite his. The door was closed. “If you have a problem with that, then leave. And finally, four…”

She paused. His throat felt dry.

“You break the record player or any of the records, I will break you.”

She said it so seriously that he was confused for a second. “Is... is that it?”

A small smile appeared on her lips. He blinked.

“Well, usually I just turn people away when I know they’re going to be assholes. You seem alright,” she replied, more to herself than to him. “You said you were a music producer? Is your work quiet?”

“I can work with headphones on,” he said hurriedly. “If needed, I can soundproof the room so you don’t hear much.”

“Hmm.” She was inspecting him like a hawk. He could feel her eyes on him. She took a few steps around him as she entered the room after him. “Have a lot of friends?”

His eyes shifted to the floor. “Not really.”

“Yeah, well, me neither. Rent is due on the first of each month.”

And that was that.

She was polite enough. She helped him move all of his equipment into the room and brought him some tables and a chair, saying they were from a secondhand store. He brought a mattress and set it up with a pillow and blanket. She was always dressed plainly. She had thin hands and long fingers. He noticed them when she was helping him move the tables.

He didn’t understand if she had a job or not. He would hear her leave at random times and she would reappear at equally random times. Sometimes in a black long coat, sometimes in a black bomber jacket and jeans, sometimes in a fluffy white jacket that made her look like a giant marshmallow. He noticed her makeup was always different too – sometimes very little, sometimes quite heavy, sometimes somewhere in between. If it wasn’t for his dire financial situation, he might have thought more about how he wasn’t quite sure what her face looked like.

Instead he spent most of his time in his room, working on his music.

“How’s my favorite girl?”

“I’m fine, Seokjin.”

She almost rolled her eyes at the man, who was sitting between two very attractive, very coked-out women. They threw themselves all over him, kissing his neck and chest through his dress shirt and blazer. Unfortunately, she couldn’t roll her eyes. She had to be serious.

He pouted. It was almost cute, if it wasn’t for the dangerous glint in his eyes. “Just fine? How can I make it better, my darling?”

“I’m not your darling, Seokjin,” she corrected calmly, setting the laptop bag in front of him. It was a scruffy laptop bag, similar to the type that students used.

“Yet.”

He pushed the girls aside and opened the bag, eyes lighting up at he saw the money. He zipped it back up and set his elbows on his knees, looking up curiously at her. “Wearing your gloves again, I see.”

She shrugged. “Eczema is pretty bad this year.”

The corner of his mouth curved upwards. “It’s bad every day of the year.”

She didn’t reply. He noticed she was dressed in a long black coat with a white blouse and ill-fitted black pants. Simple black shoes. Almost as if she was going to work. He frowned, shaking his head.

“I’m not into this ensemble today. I much preferred the jogger aesthetic you had on last time.”

She smiled. “You just like tight pants.”

“You know me too well.”

He stood up, confusing the girls. They ended up flopping on top of each other, giggling. He walked around the marble coffee table, handing her a leather-bound folder stuffed with papers.

“I’m glad you decided to continue working for me.”

She kept the smile plastered to her face as she took the folder from him. She kept it there as she bowed politely and walked out of that room, out of that house. Out of that neighborhood, until she was on the subway. The smile faded, replaced with a blank expression. The leather folder felt heavy in her hands. It felt like a brick she was dragging all the way home. She walked into the apartment, hearing the faint bass of music leaking underneath Yoongi’s door. He was a model roommate. He would probably be good looking too if he wasn’t so obsessed with music and less with eating a normal diet. But he was clean and kept to himself, so all was well.

She slipped into her room and locked the door.

The leather-bound folder was placed on the empty table. She took off her black leather gloves and replaced them with plastic ones. A swift swipe with a disinfecting wipe to get rid of the oils and the fingerprints. She opened the folder carefully, putting the useless papers aside. She found what she was looking for.

She pulled up her chair and sat down, staring at it.

It was like this every time. She questioned it every time. Then, like clockwork, she turned and opened a drawer to find the small plastic baggies. Slowly and carefully, she began to divide the white powder into the appropriate weight using the small scale in her desk.

Careful.

So careful not to breathe it in.

masterpost

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yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy · 3 years

Text

Why So Jaded? Chapter 1

Ok, so forever ago, I wrote this story called Why So Jaded for the pairing of Synlet (Buddy “Syndrome” Pine/ Violet Parr) and when I originally wrote it- I got halfway through and lost my drive, inspiration and motivation and I gave it a really lack luster/shoddy ending just to finish it and move on to something else. Which I felt guilty over because the story had so much potential to be something amazing. But I didn’t know how to really wield it then. Well, fast forward several years (9 to be exact), and I’ve grown considerably as a writer. And guess what is getting a revamp? This. So to put this into a real setting, I’ve face casted the crew. Bottom right Aged Up Violet Par who is now 24. Middle redhead. (You will not believe what I’ve gone through to find the right face model for him) Bartholomew “Buddy” Pine, aged. 31. Blonde on the left. Phillip Sebastian. Aged 26.

FFN AO3

Ten years after the events in the movies yet in a modern setting.

Violet Parr as Invisigirl, has since disappeared from the public eye several years ago. She became a protégé to none other than Mirage and has had an incredibly successful career still working for The Agency but working as a spy and agent behind the scenes and foiled more Villains than most Superheroes combined, all without anyone but The Agency ever knowing that she was the one who foiled them.

However Superhero Work has it's price- mentally, emotionally and most of all physically and now Invisigirl has to come out of the shadows and work one last job as a public handler for an Aristo-brat, genius, billionaire, playboy- Mr. Phillip Sebastian who has his own tricks and agenda and requests Invisigirl specifically. Which in turn- put's her back on the radar and put's her under an iron clad contract with not just The Agency but with Mr. Sebastian himself. And it's this one last job that will be the answer to all of Violet Parr's problems. After this, she can disappear for good and never, ever, be found again and live in peace and seclusion. However this job has it’s perks. A handsome asset, one hell of a paycheck and the bonus is that it puts her back into Metroville with her parents and the rest of her family who live just across town, still in suburbia. It's a three year contract and she is already a year in and everything is going perfectly.

Until- Bartholomew aka “Buddy” Pine decides to try his hand at corporate espionage. His target? Phillip Sebastian. Which complicates- everything- for one Miss. Violet Parr. What’s a girl to do?

Why So Jaded?

Chapter 1

Buddy Pine tried to take a calming breath as he continued to work the safe, inside was gold and jewels and other precious things he could care less about. But in the far corner, in an unassuming box would be the nanochip to end all nanochips. It would give IRize all the edge it would ever need on the market. But the more he fought with this stupid safe combination biometric lock, the more frustrated he felt. The biometrics? Easy to fake and duplicate- it was basically a cake walk for him but getting the right three numbers on the combination? Ironically, almost impossible it seemed. It shouldn't be this difficult. But it was. He had built an empire in his relatively short lifetime of just 31 years on this earth and he was on his way to building a second that would dwarf the first. But a damn combination safe lock? It was practically laughing in his face and taunting his defeat at him and he was ready to bash it with his head or just laser the damn thing open and he was so focused on opening it, he didn't notice how the hairs on his arms and neck suddenly rose up to stand on end but the chill down his spine finally pulled him out of his hyper focus which gave him pause.

"I figured I would find you here," Invisigirl accused only a second later as she dropped her invisibility as she leaned her back against the wall next to the safe and casually folded her arms in front of her, watching him closely while putting on an air of amused disinterest as Buddy nearly jumped out of his skin and had a heart attack before he took a moment to realize what was happening and who exactly had snuck up on him before he recognized his new companion.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that Invisigirl ," Buddy chastised as he stopped for a moment, seeing if she was going to stop him or arrest him or something. Meanwhile Invisigirl was impressed he seemed to know who she was. Most assumed she was another super. But he didn’t. He seemed to know exactly who she was. Interesting.

In a decade or so she had gone from tween to fully realized Super but she wasn't always walking in her parent's footsteps. In fact very few people even knew where she really stood on the Superhero/Villain or even antihero line mostly because she never did any press or appearances. She had no merch, no public presence and other than foiling a few public villains, she liked to keep her work all behind the scenes and very secretive, if not quite clandestine. She was more of a secret agent and a spy than a superhero and in reality she had done countless jobs without the villains even realizing she was ever involved at all and the few who did realize who had foiled them, rarely got to live long enough to tell anyone who had taken them down, but word had still come out, whispered among closest of allies on both sides. Enough to build a dangerous and lethal reputation among Supers and Villains and even antiheroes alike. It was like she was a ghost most of the time.

Besides, she wasn't even supposed to be here, she was supposed to be half a world away with him, her employer and Buddy’s real competition and target, but who was sadly, one of many competitors. Only about a year ago, there was a paparazzi picture that popped up of her as an assistant of her current employer and it was the first time she had shown up on any radar in the last several years. And it had been an old colleague that had even brought it to Buddy's attention and his jaw had dropped when he realized who she was and ever since Buddy had noticed she got closer and closer to her boss to the point it was rumored that she was his right hand woman if not one woman security detail even though her employer was still guarded by a full security team. A rumor also sprang up that she was also his steady girlfriend because she was his shadow and he never went anywhere without her and coincidentally, it was also the same man who owned the safe he was trying to crack and who had become Buddy’s number 1 rival after his fall from grace a decade earlier. Buddy would have to fire his trackers, they were completely useless now.

"Actually you technically sneaked up on me, I've been here the whole time, and that thing you do with your tongue when you're really concentrating is kinda cute," Invisigirl countered in dry sarcasm with an air of teasing as she examined her gloves, looking for imperfections even though she had carefully crafted her look so that even in the smallest details, she was immaculate. Even her suit had changed. Instead of the traditional red and black of her family, she was in holographic black with sheens and shimmers of the colors of the rainbow with ultraviolet accents and even his eyes could see the brilliant nano armor built into the ethereal fabric that looked remarkably like snake scales. It had been Edna's greatest creation yet and Violet wore it like a second skin. Her long black hair was straightened and even her hair had a super glossy silky sheen as it laid over her shoulder since she had swept it to lay there. She had been growing it out so that it would hit the small of her back and top of her butt when she wore it down, accentuating her gorgeous hourglass figure. While her mother had been bottom heavy and her father had been top heavy. She was perfectly balanced between the two and if anything, ideally and beautifully balanced and proportional, if not dangerously curvy herself and was now a stunning beauty in and out of her suit apparently. Her thick long eyelashes delicately fluttered as she blinked and the wicked curve to her grin was as disarming as her big gorgeous doe eyes in that deep but brilliant shade of violet- that Buddy felt he could get lost in for millennia. But her eyes had many years ago- lost their innocence but gained a sense of worldliness, wisdom and discernment as she looked from her glove back over to his face with a serene if not expectant look on her coquettish features. If Buddy didn't know of her prior, he would think she was the real thief in this situation, if not his competition to get into the safe. And her relaxed posture was clearly non threatening even though he could discern everything about her was in fact, a threat .

But Buddy took her banter and her posture as a sign that she wasn't going to stop him so he continued working the dial, trying to crack the safe and they were silent for a moment as she made no motion that would suggest she was leaving anytime soon as she appeared to settle in and the only sounds to be heard was their breathing. Invisigirl's was calm and even, while Buddy's betrayed just how worked up he was over this combination part of the lock.

"You know, I never thought you would ever be the kind of guy who would do his own dirty work, I thought with this kind of thing you usually used a variety of accomplices, if not some little device or machine, what happened? Your safe cracker device is broken? " Invisigirl instigated as she gave his work a dismissive glance before her eyes traveled up his hands to his arms to the rest of him. Gone was his old suit and eccentric hair style. He was simply wearing black tactical gear and his hair was much shorter, slicked back and still handsome as her eyes took notes of his extensive scarring that even she could see he had been trying to fix with lots plastic surgery so he looked more or less like himself as she refolded her arms loosely under her chest and instead appreciated the painting on the adjacent wall, the glass covering the priceless art giving her the perspective she wanted so that she could look like she was appreciating the art instead of actively watching him as she waited for him to figure out that safe combination as she mentally wondered if she should just open the safe herself to save him this excruciating ordeal because the guy was clearly getting even more flustered now that he had an audience which she thought was telling.

"As a matter of fact, it is. But if you want a job done right, you do it yourself." Buddy managed to answer as he tried to focus on the task at hand as he noticed that answer gave her wicked grin a deeper curve.

"It sounds like you haven't tried to crack a safe in your life, are you even trying to crack it or are you trying to break the locking mechanism by zeroing in on all of those false contact points or will you keep twisting that thing until your fingers fall off?" Invisigirl further instigated as her boredom began to tax her patience. He was supposed to still be a genius. He should have had it by now. She knew she was being distracting but this was bordering on ludicrousy.

"I don't suppose you know the combination?" Buddy drawled, getting annoyed and frustrated with himself that he was getting so flustered by her distracting and alluring presence, let alone the damn lock.

"Of course I do, the combination is your birthday, the creator is a big fan of yours, perhaps one of your biggest, but I'm sure if you simply asked him for the nanochip, he would have given it to you rather than you going through all this trouble of stealing it from him," Invisigirl answered.

"I didn't know your boyfriend was the sharing type," Buddy quipped as he turned the dial with now deft fingers, opening it now with ease. Invisigirl snorted a laugh and shook her head.

"Well at least my cover is intact," she alluded as she pushed off the wall and stretched a bit- bringing her arm over her head and stretching her shoulders and neck. "By the way it's the box on the left, not the right," She added as she began to walk away, flipping her hair off of her shoulder to her back as a cascade of soft silky black hair began to hang down her back as she gave him one last look over her shoulder to make sure he actually got the nanochip and nothing else.

"Wait a minute, you're just going to let me get away with this?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's not my fault you broke in on my vacation when I'm supposed to be in.. Barcelona? Or is it Madrid? Is that where your goons think I am? By the way, you need to get new ones, they don't blend in at all and their loyalty is flimsy at best, they report their tabs that they keep on you to him before they ever report thier tabs on him to you because his pockets are deeper than yours and who doesn't like to collect at least two paychecks for the same work?" Invisigirl divulged as she continued to lazily saunter away, her hips swaying in a near hypnotizing rhythm that had almost completely distracted Buddy from the safe altogether.

Buddy narrowed his eyes at the contents of the safe, it would be something he would deal with later. "Wait, so he's not your boyfriend?" Buddy inquired as he stowed the nanochip safely away and locked the safe up again before catching up to her and walking beside her for a bit.

Invisigirl gave him a side glance. "Not even close, he has a thing for the thin, ballerina- runway model types, uses them faster than Kleenex," Invisigirl answered flippantly with a waive of her delicate and slender fingers before turning a corner and opening a door to an office and walking over to the window, opening it and getting ready to jump out.

"You're jumping?" Buddy inquired knowing that his exit route was eerily similar.

"Again. Not even close," Invisigirl practically laughed as she tapped on the device in her ear, a sliding door to a small hovercraft opened right in front of them as the outline of it began to warp the view around it as it moved closer to her. "You didn't think I'm the only thing capable of disappearing did you? I would offer you a ride but, something tells me you already have one, see you around Syndrome," Invisigirl bid him with a mock salute as she gracefully hopped from the window sill to the waiting door and into the aircraft.

"Hey, haven't you heard? Syndrome died, like a decade ago, he got pulled into a jet turbine. Horrible painful death. He ain't coming back from the dead." He called after her which made her pause and turn to look at him curiously.

"Did he? Well in that case. Good riddance to him then, the world's a much better place without him." She called back before the door closed and vanished completely again. The only evidence that it was gone was a stiffer than normal breeze. Buddy could just barely hear it fly away and felt his stomach collect a few butterflies as a smile bloomed on his face. A jaded Invisigirl was a sexy Invisigirl and she knew it. Color him intrigued, if not quite impressed as he wondered if he was one of the first to ever get to see her in action and live to tell about it.

#Why So Jaded #Why So Jaded Chapter 1 #Synlet #Buddy Syndrome Pine #Bartholomew Pine #Violet Parr #Invisigirl #Corporate espionage AU #Modern AU #Let the games begin

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atths--twice · 3 years

Text

Angel in the Graveyard

In New Orleans, there have been two attacks on college kids. Unexplained deaths, talks of statues coming to life, survivors who are unable to leave their homes, and medical staff and police who are beyond stumped... must be an X-File.

This is the first case fic I’ve ever written and I had a lot of fun with it. I hope you enjoy it! Written for @tinglingworld for the Case File Fanfic Exchange.

Chapter One

1/9

Vacherie, Louisiana

October 31, 2017

The music was loud as the car pulled up to the old, abandoned and rundown church, low lights set up in the broken windows. Someone walked in front of the headlights, a black cape billowing behind them.

“God, I’m so ready for this party, y’all,” Arielle said, adjusting her top, reaching in and lifting her breasts and looking down at her cleavage. “So glad I bought this bra. It makes my breasts look amazing.”

“Yeah, it really does, Arielle. Damn girl, how did I not notice that?” Farrah asked, turning off the car and looking at Arielle. “What kind of bra is that? I should have had you get me one.” She looked down at her own chest, finding it looking rather flat compared to the plumpy cleavage Arielle had going on.

“Oh stop, Farrah. You have those fantastically big boobs that don’t need any enhancement. Mine are small and need the extra help,” Arielle said, rolling her eyes as she pulled down the passenger visor and opened the mirror. She took out her lipstick and started applying it. “You want to borrow?”

“I will,” Desiree said from the backseat, leaning forward and taking it. “This is a great color. You always find the best things, Arielle.”

“Half price too, or I wouldn’t have bought it. Never pay full price, ladies.” They all laughed, fixed their hair and costumes, then grabbed their flashlights, before stepping out of the car.

“I hope Davis has a super sexy costume on, maybe a sexy fireman, or something that requires no shirt to go with it,” Arielle said.

“Like an underwear model?” Farrah teased, as they walked carefully down the old broken pathway, their high heels clicking loudly.

“Mmm, yeah. Some short boxer briefs would be more than acceptable.” Arielle nodded, shaking back her long dark hair.

“I bet it would,” Desiree laughed, pulling her long blond Elsa braid over her shoulder, then tugging down the short sparkly blue dress she had made. “God, I think I got the measurements wrong. This dress keeps hiking up.”

“Hope you’re wearing underwear,” Arielle teased and Desiree just shrugged. “Girl…” They all laughed and walked in through the doorway of the church, the front door long gone, and entered a room full of people.

Walking further into the room, they saw many of their friends, all of them in Halloween costumes; though most of the girls were simply scantily dressed. They waved to the DJ, who pointed to his left and they nodded, the music too loud to speak as they continued walking through the church.

Walking into what used to be a small kitchen, they found bottles of alcohol sitting on an old dirty counter, along with Halloween themed bowls of snacks- chips and pretzels mostly. As the church had no power, and the DJ system ran off of a generator, all the rooms were lit by camping lanterns placed around the room to fill it with light.

In the middle of a counter sat a smoking black cauldron full of dry ice. Around it sat numerous bottles of alcohol and plastic black and orange cups. They reached for their bottle of choice and grabbed a cup.

“Boo!” Yelled a voice and all of the girls screamed, dropping their cups to the floor. Turning around, they found Davis, taking off the half mask he wore as he laughed.

“Ass!!” Arielle yelled, smacking at him with a smile. Looking him up and down, she tilted her head to the side. “So, what exactly are you supposed to be?”

He stepped back and put out his arms, showing off the black cape tied around his neck. He was bare chested, his brown skin highlighted by the soft light, and he was wearing black board shorts. Spinning around, he smiled as he faced them again.

“Well… what do you think I am?” He waited and Farrah watched Arielle look him up and down again with a smirk.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I like the lack of clothing involved,” she said, her hands landing on his chest, pulling them away quickly. He laughed and looked at Farah.

“You’re good at riddles. What do you think?” He gestured to himself and she narrowed her eyes, letting them travel over his body.

“Cape, swim trunks, no shirt… hmm.” She tapped a finger to her chin and he spun around, his arms once again stretched out. “Some sort of swimming superhero? Someone who can swim the length of a pool or body of water very quickly?” She raised her eyebrows knowing that could not possibly be what his costume was, as it looked more like he had made no effort whatsoever.

“Sounds as good as anything. I just grabbed whatever I could find to pass as a costume.” He shrugged and they all laughed, Farrah nodding, knowing she had been right.

Picking up their cups from the floor, they tossed them into a large plastic trash can. Resuming the task they had set out to accomplish, they made their drinks, tasting each of them and exclaiming over how delicious they all were. Walking back to the main room, they danced with their drinks as they listened to the DJ.

______________

Standing outside amidst the crumbled stones of the courtyard, within their own small group of friends in the back of the church a while later, a few joints were passed around between them, except for Jenkins who had agreed to be the designated driver.

“I so needed this tonight,” Farrah said as she blew perfect smoke rings, much to the approval of the group. “School has got me wound tighter than ever. I don’t know what I was thinking, changing my major this late in the game. I am either incredibly stupid or it’s all gonna work out.”

“Is it mean if I say it might be a little of both?” Becca asked, her green eyes shining. She had arrived later than the others, changing into her costume in the kitchen, the group cheering her on when she had gotten down to the skimpy bathing suit she had under her clothes, claiming she was Malibu Barbie as she shook out her long golden blonde hair.

“No, because it’s how I feel too,” Farrah said, taking another hit before passing the joint to Zara. “Z? You hittin’ this?” She shook her head and looked around the yard with a heavy sigh.

“Did y’all see where Zach went? He said he was going to take a piss, but he’s not back yet.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Davis said, reaching over and taking the joint from Farrah. “I mean it’s not like he could go a lot of places.”

They all looked out at the large area in front of them, the dark of the night seemingly darker as compared to their flashlights and the glow of the inside of the church.

“This place is fantastically creepy, isn’t it?” Becca asked as she shook her head. “Seriously, some of the places we’ve been have been good, but this place is truly the shit. I mean, the last place wasn’t a church with a graveyard behind it, so bonus points already.”

“We should play hide and seek!” Tyler cried, a normally quiet and reserved guy, but when he drank, he was far more outgoing.

“In these heels?” Arielle asked and shook her head. “You must be out of your goddamn mind.” She closed her eyes with a happy smile and they all laughed.

“Oh, come on,” Davis said, untying his cape and letting it drop. “We can hide together. Buddy up, you know?”

“Oh. Well, then hell yes. I’m in.” She stood up and Davis grabbed her elbow, helping her become steady on her feet. He shook his head with a laugh and looked at everyone else.

“Who’s in?”

They all scattered, laughing as they grabbed their flashlights and ran into the dark night. Farrah had a hold of Tyler’s hand, mellow and chilled from the pot and the alcohol.

“Here. This is good.” He pulled her behind a large headstone close to the church and they stood there, laughing and loudly telling the others to be quiet.

She shivered and he pulled her closer, rubbing up and down her arms. From around the graveyard, they heard the others laughing and Jenkins called out.

“Hey! Who’s the seeker? I think we forget something, y’all!”

“Oh shit,” Travis shouted back and laughter rang out.

“Come on, let’s start over,” Davis yelled and everyone agreed.

“Be careful, okay?” Tyler said, reaching for Farrah’s hand again. “I don’t know how you girls walk around with those shoes on normal ground, let alone on grass.”

“Well, this was obviously not what I imagined was going to happen tonight or I’d have worn my kicks. Kicks… kicks… that’s funny.”

“You’re stoned,” Tyler laughed and she gripped his arm as her heel got stuck and they stopped to release it, laughing hysterically, before walking back to the stone courtyard.

“Seriously, you guys,” Zara was saying, fear in her voice as they walked up. “Have you seen Zach?” She glanced out into the dark backyard, worry crossing her face, as she wrung her hands. “We didn’t see him out there and…”

“Z, I’m sure he went inside. Maybe to get a drink or something,” Jenkins said with a smile.

“I would have seen him. What if he’s hurt? What if he tripped or something?”

“We can look for him. Oh shit! We’ll be the seekers!” Arielle yelled and they all cheered, again leaving the courtyard, laughing and clinging to one another.

“That’s not what I meant to happen,” Zara called after them. “You all could get hurt! It’s too dangerous. Just… wait. Come back.”

“We got this Z. Don’t worry!” Davis called and then began calling for Zach, Arielle laughing as she called with him.

“It is possible that he could have fallen or something, Jesus, it’s dark and the ground is precarious,” Tyler said to Farrah, her grip on him tight.

“Precarious. Listen to you, fancy man.” She snorted with laughter, the word sounding funny to her ears as she felt better than she had in weeks.

“Yeah, yeah. Zach! Where you at man? Zaaaaach!” Tyler yelled and Farrah heard the call echoed by the others.

Their flashlights shined ahead of them, their calls echoing back and forth, but still there was no sign of Zach. Stopping a few times to loosen her heels from the deep grass, they laughed when she fell onto her ass. Pulling her up, Tyler stared at her and leaned in to kiss her, surprising her, before she kissed him back.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he admitted breathily and she grinned.

“I’ve wanted you to do it for a long time,” she said, biting her lip.

“Let’s not wait so long next time,” he teased and she laughed, pulling him down for another kiss.

“Wait… let’s… let’s get out of this creepy ass graveyard and back inside. Let’s find that idiot Zach and bring him to Zara, then…” Tyler said, asking her with his eyes if that was okay.

“Hell yes,” she breathed and he laughed. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her forward, calling out for Zach.

Despite the happy feeling inside of her, Farrah shivered as a thought began to niggle at her. Straining to listen, hoping she was wrong, she clutched Tyler’s arm, breathing hard.

“Farrah… do you…” He looked at her and she knew it was not just her imagination.

“Arielle?” she called out, her eyes on Tyler, no answering call returning. “Becca? Desiree?” They waited, her grip on him becoming tighter.

“Why aren’t they calling back? Tyler… what’s…”

“Becca?” Called a voice to their left and Farrah froze, chills appearing over her entire body.

“Who is that?” she whispered to Tyler and he shook his head, breathing hard.

“Who is that?” The voice repeated in a lilting tone and Farrah froze. No chance anyone could have heard her except Tyler.

“What?” Farrah breathed and Tyler pulled her close, her body now shaking from something she could not explain.

“Dude, this isn’t funny. I don’t know who…” he said and then stopped, shaking his head.

“Not funny.” The voice seemed to breathe from all around them and right next to them all at once.

“Tyler…” Farrah closed her eyes, putting her head on Tyler’s chest, feeling weak and almost sick.

“You’re… leave us alone. We were just looking for our friend,” Tyler said in a strong voice, even as Farrah felt him tremble, goosebumps rising on his arm as she held it.

A haunting laugh seemed to drown out every other sound and Farrah began to crumble, feeling she was being forced down to the ground. Tyler followed and she briefly wondered if she was forcing him or vice versa.

The cool wet grass hit her knees and she felt dizzy as she continued down, feeling as though something was forcing her to the ground. Lying flat on her stomach, Tyler squeezed her hand and she whispered to him, her eyes full of tears.

“What is happening?”

“It… is happening.” The voice breathed and she felt it on the back of her neck.

Frozen, unable to turn her head to look to see who was doing this, she closed her eyes tighter, her tears escaping as she did. Tyler squeezed her hand once more as chills covered her entire body, fear coursing through her.

A scream filled her head, a sound that echoed around her, bouncing off the trees. Tears ran down her face as the screams from her friends joined the other voice. Every one of them she heard separately, feeling their pain, when it suddenly fell silent, and the world went dark.

#XFCase2020 #The X Files Fanfic #XF Fanfic #CaseFic #Teaser

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kd-holloman · 4 years

Text

Eisoptrophobia

I’m back with a short story based on the fear of your reflection! It was beta read by the wonderful @andrewminyardd!

Warnings: Blood, gore, and self-harm.

The worst part about the mall wasn’t the crowds of people or the double-takes I received when I spoke and my voice contradicted my masculine appearance. It wasn’t the way my feet ached after browsing through racks of clothing or the way the overpowering scent spilling from the fragrance store gave me a headache. It wasn’t browsing the racks, finding clothes in my size, or waiting for Ashley to finish trying on her sixth pair of jeans that day.

It was the mirrors.

I remember the first time my reflection waved at me. I’d been standing on the sidewalk in front of a glass storefront while my mother admired an antique china set, my hand clasped in hers. I could see my reflection watching me back, dark sullen eyes, and a disinterested expression. Then, she moved on her own. She pressed her hands against the glass and whispered, Free me.

I never understood how people could spend hours sitting in front of the mirror, putting on layers of makeup or curling their hair so it laid just so. Weren’t they afraid of the face looking back at them? Didn’t they hear the sinister words it whispered to them?

Judging from the way Ashley admired her butt in the mirror, the answer was no. “Millie, what do you think?” She asked, twisting so the jewels on the pockets winked under the store’s harsh lighting. “I think they’re cute. Though, they might be too nice to wear to the carnival.”

“I like them,” I replied, picking at the chipping black nail polish on my fingernails.

“You’re not even looking.”

I let out a resigned sigh and looked, “Yeah, they’re great.”

In the mirror, my reflection stared back at me, dark circles beneath tired eyes. She smiled at me, even though I was far from cracking even the smallest grin.

Don’t look, I told myself. Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.

What’s the matter? My reflection asked. Are you afraid?

Terrified.

“Are you okay?” Ashley asked.

I kept my eyes on my sneakers. “Fine.”

The carnival was the most exciting thing to happen in Winston. For just a few dollars college students could take their girlfriends on dates, eat until they felt sick, and woo their lovers with cheap prizes from the ring toss.

I liked the carnival. There was something nostalgic about the scent of fryer grease floating through the air, mingling with buoyant music cut with the shrieks of ecstatic children.

I sat with Cole on Super Loop. I would never admit it to him, but I thought he was cute with his bright smile and muscles from playing on the lacrosse team.

“The last time I rode this, I was with my ex and her hair got in my mouth.”

I smiled back at him and said, “You don’t have to worry about that with me.”

He chuckled and ran his hand over the top of my shaved head. “Yeah, you’re right. Why do you shave it, anyway?”

I knew I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him that I was too afraid to look in the mirror long enough to brush my hair and it had ended up so knotted that I’d snapped the handle off of my hairbrush in my attempt to detangle it. “It’s easier.”

“That’s a good point.”

The car hissed and lurched forward so fast that it pressed me into the back of my seat. I gripped the handle and let out a delighted shriek.

“You gotta put your hands up!” He encouraged me. He put his arms up in the air to demonstrate.

“What if we fall out?”

“At least you get to say you died in a fun way.”

My face hurt from smiling so hard. “Okay, but if I fall out I’m going to haunt your ass.”

“Deal.”

I put my arms in the air.

When we got off we stumbled around until we found Ashley and Doug waiting outside of a funhouse.

“Hey, do you guys want to go through the funhouse with us?” Ashley asked.

I stared up at the funhouse. It was painted in swaths of bright yellows, blues, and reds. The entrance was a sinister clown with its mouth wide open like it would swallow anyone brave enough to enter whole.

I’d never been in a “funhouse” before, but I’d seen enough scary movies to know that there were mirrors inside.

“No,” I said quickly. “I-I don’t want to go inside. I’ll wait for you out here.”

“Oh, come on!” Cole said. He put an arm around me. “It’ll be fun. It’s not scary inside, you know.”

I stepped out of his reach. “I don’t want to go in.”

“Please?” Ashley begged. “It’ll be fun!” She curled her fingers around my wrist. I could feel her bright pink nails digging into the pale underside of my arm.

I planted my heels. Fear tasted metallic on my tongue. I couldn’t find the words to argue.

“I got this,” Cole said. He reached down and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I demanded, trying to kick free. “Cole, I’m serious! I don’t want to go in!” Fear was scraping its jagged talons through my insides, clawing its way up the back of my throat.

He carried me through the entryway and set me down. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you get lost.”

I wasn’t afraid of getting lost.

Ashley and Doug were right behind me.

I couldn’t move.

“Hey!” The carnie snapped, peeking his head inside. “You can’t stop inside the doorway. You have to keep moving.”

“Sorry!” Ashley said. She gave him an apologetic smile and squeezed past me. “Come on, Millie.”

I had no choice but to follow them.

I managed to navigate the rollers on the floor without falling. I crawled through a plastic tube that smelled like sweat, but I lost them when I had to feel my way, unseeing, through a pitch-black room.

I fumbled blindly through the room until I found the door. I pushed through it and it swung shut behind me. I froze, unable to make my feet move. Everywhere I looked I was surrounded by my reflection.

It was my worst nightmare and she knew it.

My reflection threw her head back and laughed, her teeth white and perfectly straight from years of braces. Did you really think you could hide from me? She asked, her words a whisper in my head.

“Don’t,” I hissed, hands covering my ears.

Do you think you can silence me?

“I just have to get through the maze and I’ll be free. Everything is going to be okay.” I told myself, voice quivering with fear. I didn’t sound convincing, even to my ears. The only way I was going to get out was if I put one foot in front of the other.

I did.

She followed.

Do you think you can run from me? She asked. She seemed thrilled by the prospect of me running. Her smirk was dimpling the corner of her mouth, her eyes manic and bright. When are you going to learn that you can never escape me?

“Don’t listen. Don’t listen.”

She smacked her hands against the glass and I swore it shivered beneath her palms. She leaned in close enough that the mirror should have fogged with the heat of her breath but it remained clear. I am you, Amelia.

I stumbled back, hitting the mirror behind me. It quivered under my weight. “You’re wrong!”

I’m not and you know it. You’re afraid of me because you’re afraid of yourself. I am the darkest parts of you. Do you remember that time you thought about squeezing Anna Smalley’s neck until her face turned purple and her eyes popped out of her head? That was me.

“Stop!”

My reflection smiled. It was a twisted and gruesome expression that was unnatural on my face. When will you stop being afraid and embrace what we can be?

There was no we. There would never be a we.

“Millie?” Cole called. “Are you okay?”

Relief made me feel weak at the knees. “Cole? Thank god! I’m lost!” I called out, my eyes never leaving my reflection. She didn’t speak when I did. Her mouth never moved.

“Hold on,” He shouted, “I’m coming.”

We stared at each other, my reflection and I. Each beat of my heart seemed to drag on forever and ever.

Cole’s reflection appeared beside mine as he came up beside me.

She reached for his reflection like she was going to caress his face. Then, she dragged her nails across his face, gouging into his flesh, leaving it hanging in shredded, bloody, ruins. She did it again and again. I am you. I am you. I am you.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked. When he spoke, his reflection did as well, the bloody tendons and muscles moving beneath his ruined skin to make his jaw move. I could see a bit of bone, blinding white, tinged with pink.

I am you. I am you. I am you. I am you.

“Millie?”

I blinked and looked at him. His face wasn’t torn to bits. There was no blood, thick and bright, running down his neck and staining his shirt. He looked fine. I closed my eyes and kept them shut. “Get me out of here.”

I couldn’t get her voice out of my head.

I am you. I am you. I am you.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I never wanted to see her again.

I picked up the clay chisel from my desk. It still had pieces of grey modeling clay stuck to the end from one of my sculpting projects. It was sharp enough. It would do just fine.

I went down the hall to the bathroom. I didn’t want to do it without being able to see. I wanted to see her face when she realized what I was doing.

I am you. I am you.

The bathroom was empty this late at night, which was surprising. College kids functioned on odd schedules.

I stood at the sink, gripping the cool edges. I wouldn’t let myself avoid this. It had to be done. I was tired of living my life afraid of catching glimpses of my reflection. I took a deep breath in, counted to ten, and then I lifted my gaze to the mirror.

She stared back at me, gaunt face blank, eyes dark. She didn’t seem to be afraid. I know what you’re going to do.

I held the chisel in my hand. “You should be afraid.”

You won’t. You’re a coward.

“I’m not.”

She threw back her head and laughed. You think you’re brave enough to do it? Yeah, right! You? Please, you’re the one that took down your mirror when you moved into your dorm. You’re the one that won’t get a smartphone because you’re afraid of seeing me. You won’t even sit in the front seat of the car if you can help it. You are a coward.

“I’m not!”

You are. Do you know how I know? Because I am you.

The chisel shook in my hand. I didn’t break eye contact as I held it up, just millimeters away from my eye.

I am you. I am you. I am you.

I took a deep breath in and let it out fast, the way I had when I’d gotten my ears pierced, and shoved the chisel into my eye.

The pain doubled me over. My eye throbbed as wet, hot, fluid ran in rivulets down my face. The white of the sink beneath me was spattered with red droplets.

I let out a pained wail and let the chisel clatter into the basin. The end of it was red with blood. Tears dripped down my cheek from my good eye. A sob broke its way free from my chest. It hurt, it hurt so much.

With blurred vision, I lifted my head and looked at myself.

My reflection was still staring back at me. Vitreous fluid and blood poured from her eye socket, staining the skin on her face. Her expression was blank.

I ignored the way my eye throbbed with each beat of my heart and with a shaking hand I picked the chisel up again. “You have to do this,” I sniffed. “J-Just one more and you can be free.” One more. I could do it. I held it up in front of my eye.

Don’t forget, my reflection whispered, I am you.

I jammed the chisel into my eye.

#horror #short story #writers of tumblr #writerblr #writeblr #writing #horror short story #tw blood #tw gore #tw self harm

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jungcupid-archive · 5 years

Text

miraculous, the luckiest! (but not up to the test, like at all)

pairing: jungkook x jimin

summary: in which they’re both superheroes (ladybug and cat noir, to be exact)

a/n: in the show, ladybug has the power to call on a lucky charm to conjure an object and cat noir has cataclysm which enables him to destroy anything he touches with one hand. they’re both powers used towards the end of a fight. the fight is against civilians who have been “akumatized” (their negative emotions have drawn butterflies called akumas towards them and they turn into supervillains). ladybug also has this yo-yo that helps her swing from place to place like spiderman. cat noir has a metal baton that extends. to defeat the villain, the pair must destroy the akumatized object and purify the akuma.

God, it was embarrassing enough having to wear a bright red spandex leotard with black spots while trying to save Seoul from complete and utter destruction, but now that Jimin has a fucking hard-on it seems that it’s not going to take long until his face blends into his outfit.

Who even makes a super-suit out of spandex? Jimin doesn’t know, but he wants to find them and be his own hero for once by wrapping his fingers around their neck.

A huge crowd of people have gathered below his feet, and although he has more pressing matters he should probably request divinely assistance for, he prays that they don’t notice his boner first. Oh, and that they don’t find a way to film it. You can never be too safe with advanced zoom-in technology, Jimin had discovered after someone had snapped a picture of his leotard bunched between his ass-cheeks. He’d been swinging through the city and someone had still managed to capture that in high definition.

Voyeurism knew no bounds, or distances, Jimin had concluded. It’s safe to say that he’s never forgotten to wear underwear (before transforming) again.

He’s a couple stories up, and the wind is strong, but he can still hear the muffled laughter from beside him. He turns to his partner (but not too much – his boner is still very prominent, thanks god!) and narrows his eyes behind his mask.

“Do we have a problem?”

His partner’s eyes emit a greenish glow, and Jimin can clearly tell that they’re crinkled up behind the mask. He clasps a hand over his mouth, trying to stop his giggles, and the bell around his neck tinkles in the process.

“Cat got your tongue?” Jimin spits out, keeping from body-slamming into his partner because he is a prestigious superhero who is a role model to many young children, a lot of which are watching him from way down below as of this very moment.

Violence is not the answer, Jimin inhales deeply and then refines his thought, at least not in public.

The villain they’re facing today – some sort of weird pigeon-man, don’t ask, he’s got a big enough headache as it is – is slowly regaining consciousness. Unfortunately, Jimin’s co-hero (more of a sidekick, really) doesn’t want to let this issue go.

“Who? Me? Never! Although, it’s pretty hard being in the presence of such a monster,” Cat Noir says cheekily from beside him. Jimin is about to reassure him because his heart is just that kind when Cat Noir continues, “Oh, and the pigeon dude is pretty bad too.”

His cat-eyes flick down to Jimin’s No-No Spot and then back up, he grins. Jimin is about to demonstrate what all those kids he’s a role model to should not do when tempted by a bully when he hears the villain groan. He rolls his shoulders and shakes everything off, getting ready to fight. He’s got to stay focused on the mission at hand. It’s fine, he’s fine. It’s completely natural. He shouldn’t be ashamed.

“Although, it’s kind of small, this monster. Almost cute.”

He shouldn’t be ashamed. He should be enraged. Jimin runs a hand through his blond hair and takes in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He turns to his partner and shoots him a sickly sweet smile.

“Careful, kitty. This monster can cause a lot more damage than you can handle. Not that you’ll ever find out,” and with that, Jimin leaves an indignant Cat Noir behind, using his yo-yo to swing over to the villain. Of course, Cat Noir is right beside him within a minute. They’re partners, after all.

“Okay, Mr. Choi, it’s time to stop now. Give me that whistle and resist Hawkmoth, you know it’s for the best.” Jimin taps Cat Noir’s hand and he slowly starts inching sideways while Jimin holds out his palm. It seems that their villain is still recovering, as he blinks his eyes continuously and doesn’t notice Cat Noir.

“No! Your miraculous! I can’t disappoint him. Hand your earrings over, Ladybug. You know it’s for the best.” Pigeon-dude is fairly well-spoken for someone who just got knocked unconscious from being dropped from 20 feet above the building. Jimin really wishes he hadn’t used his own words against him. Or called him Ladybug when he’d specifically asked everyone to call him Misterbug. Stupid Hawkmoth and his stupid commands.

“I hate this part, but it gives me some sort of sadistic pleasure,” Jimin withdraws his hand and grabs his yo-yo instead, “Cat Noir! Now!”

As soon as the words leave Jimin’s mouth, Cat Noir is in action. He’s a blur of black leather and since he’s been inching towards Mr. Choi, it doesn’t take long to get behind the man. Cat Noir takes the whistle from around Mr. Choi’s neck and, bless his soul, puts it on the end of his metal baton before extending it over to Jimin. The gesture is almost enough to make Jimin forget about the comments he made earlier about his dick (which is slowly retreating back towards Jimin’s body, thank god). Almost.

“And here I was thinking you’d just throw it to me. I guess you do have some brain cells rolling around in the kitty litter in your head,” Jimin smirks and throws the whistle to the ground, stepping on it to crack the plastic.

“In this wind? Please, I’m more than just a pretty kitty.” Jimin laughs despite himself and drags his finger down his yo-yo, opening it to capture the Akuma that escapes from the broken whistle. He quickly seals it inside and opens it back up, finding the once dark purple butterfly now transformed into white.

Jimin watches the butterfly fly away and grabs the Lucky Charm he’d called on earlier, a bag of bird seed – again, don’t ask, it’s getting late and Jimin really doesn’t have the patience to explain anything anymore – and throws it into the air. Immediately, red wisps of sparkling images of ladybugs fill the sky. They zoom through all the destruction their fight had left behind and restore everything back to its original state. Mr. Choi loses his costume and looks dazed. Jimin doesn’t have the energy to bring the victim back to his home, so he turns to Cat Noir (proudly, now, because he’s boner-free).

“Think you can take care of this for me, Cat?” Cat Noir nods and grins at Jimin, his cat ears being blown along with his hair back and forth because of the wind.

“Until next time, bugaboo,” Jimin makes a face at this and recoils, very much hating what just came out of his partner’s mouth. Cat Noir, unfazed, doesn’t let the grin drop from his face as he helps Mr. Choi up.

“Alright,” Jimin manages, already feeling the fatigue taking a toll on him, “Bug out.” Jimin steps onto the ledge of the building and throws his yo-yo into the city, feeling it cling onto something before he lets himself fall over the edge. Once he’s got enough momentum, he releases the yo-yo and lets it catch onto another building. His arms protest, searing with pain, but he doesn’t have a choice. Walking would be impractical and way too chaotic (and he’s a broke college student, remember?). Not only are his arms killing him, but Jimin feels like he’s been socked in the stomach. With every strained use of his upper torso, Jimin has to take 10 deep breaths. Jimin hears the cheers from below as he swings through the city but the smile on his face barely stretches to his eyes.

Jimin is tired and, apparently, horny, so you can understand why defeating the latest villain in what was a line of 5 akumatized victims in 3 days has him completely drained. God, either he needs to get laid or eat more vitamin gummies. Maybe get laid while eating vitamin gummies. Does Jimin have a food kink? No. Probably not. Unless…?

Letting his thoughts wander, Jimin swings through Seoul until he finds a hidden corner to transform back into himself. As soon as he utters the words ‘spots off’, his supersuit (because leotard is just such a horrible word) develops holes in it before it disappears entirely. Where to? Jimin doesn’t know.

Now you might be wondering, why is Jimin so fucking clueless? Listen, he’s not in it for the knowledge. He just wants to kick ass, get validation from complete strangers and maybe find a way to channel his anger in a healthy manner along the way. And if he had to say it, yes, he’s in it for the free anonymous friend as well. Cat Noir may be a major pain in the ass, but he’s a good partner and friend. For instance, him taking the victim back because Jimin was too exhausted to do it himself.

More than that, Cat Noir knows how to read Jimin effortlessly. They’d talked about the whole gig when they’d first gotten their powers. Jimin had found a pair of earrings sitting neatly on top of his desk and Cat had found a ring. Once they’d put the items on (because from the little Jimin knows about his friend, he is also a broke college student and wouldn’t dare pass up the opportunity to obtain free things), they’d both felt this sense that a part of them had been opened up to someone else.

Along with a ton of other information that entered their brains so fast and hard that Jimin had gotten a migraine that lasted for a week and Cat Noir hadn’t been able to stop throwing up every hour for 3 days, of course. Because life is pain, but superhero life is, like, Pain pain.

It didn’t take long before the world’s first supervillain had unleashed his minion on Seoul and the world’s first superheroes had to step up to the batting cage. Jimin had been scared shitless, rightfully so, and although Cat Noir boasts about never having any hesitation, Jimin knows he’d been pretty lost as well. As soon as they’d started fighting, though, it was like nothing else mattered. They clicked instantly, knowing exactly what the other wanted to do and why they wanted to do it without either having to exchange words.

Not mind reading, but something else. Something that allowed for a constant stream of rightness between them and intuition so strong that often, when Jimin moved to do something, Cat Noir would already be waiting with assistance. It was nice, except for when Cat decided to make bad jokes and flirt with Jimin in a way that made him want to cry and laugh at the same time. His partner is a dumbass with a good heart, and it’s absolutely infuriating (okay, fine, it’s endearing). In another world, Jimin can see how he would even fall for those antics.

Jimin walks into his apartment building and takes the elevator up. Sometimes, he feels bad about leaving Cat Noir hanging so many times. They’re good friends, but Jimin knows that’s all they’ll ever be. Because his heart belongs to someone else, whether that someone knows it or not. The elevator comes to a stop and Jimin steps out, reaching for his keys. Cat Noir seems too genuine about his feelings towards Jimin sometimes, and yes, he uses his own name because he knows that Cat Noir would love him with or without the mask. It was Jimin who had decided not to reveal each other’s secret identities, while Cat Noir had begged him to reconsider.

It’s unfair to Cat, but Jimin’s not leading him on, and he can’t blame himself for letting someone else capture his heart. Jimin sticks the key in the lock and turns it, wondering if his roommate will be inside. A large thump and something that sounds like a bell tinkling confirms that he’s home as Jimin opens the door. Before he can step into their living room, he hears a voice.

“Jimin! Don’t come in! I’m, uh, naked! Give me a minute to get dressed, yeah?” Jungkook calls out from the living room. Jimin, despite himself, blushes and calls, “Sure. Um, take your mime! Shit, I meant time! Haha... okay.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the Miraculous Ladybug (unfortunately, Misterbug just isn’t catching on) in all his bumbling glory.

Jeon Jungkook, the only man alive that can make Jimin, a literal superhero, shy and would probably make Cat Noir, the pettiest person alive, extremely jealous.

Jimin is technically supposed to be morally superior as a superhero, but you’d have to be inhuman to not want to sneak a peek at Jeon Jungkook putting on clothes. He was built to be stared at for hours on end, if Jimin were to be honest, and who was he to deny god’s intention? Just as he is about to stick his head around the corner, he hears Jungkook’s voice telling him that it’s “all clear”.

Great.

Jimin steps into the living room and is greeted with an (unfortunately) fully clothed Jeon Jungkook. He grins at Jimin while walking to the kitchen and Jimin honest to god nearly pees himself from how fucking attractive he is. Weak-kneed and the vague thought of buying adult diapers on his mind, Jimin slips into his room and sheds his clothes, taking a look at himself in the mirror. There are bruises running up his ribs (probably from when his graceful partner had extended his baton without realizing it was pointed right at Jimin`s midsection) and more scattered across his legs. His suit was pretty good at deflecting anything that could potentially give him cuts and scrapes but this time around, he`s got a couple of scratches on his arms.

Jimin, surprisingly, is a pacifist. He really is. Violence should never be the primary solution, but as a superhero, more times than not, he`s had to abandon this philosophy. Sometimes, he wonders why – because seriously, he’s still not cut out for this shit – but he knows that if he’s had to abandon his philosophy, he might as well stick to his morality. That is, to save people from harm (seeing people naked not inclusive). It’s days like these when he’s burned out and aching from a particularly difficult fight that he wonders what it would be like to give it all up.

Jimin opens a drawer and takes a handful of pain relief patches, sticking them carefully onto his body one by one. It’s not like he gets any bonuses. If anything, it just makes life harder. Classes take three times the effort to attend, relationships take half of his week’s worth of energy to maintain and crushes are basically out of the question. To get into a relationship meant to endanger a loved one or, possibly, leave them grieving if worst came to worst. So why didn’t he take off his camouflaged earrings and leave them on someone else’s pillowcase or dressing table or pant pocket?

Jimin will tell you why. Because being a moron runs through his bloodstream. Because his brain cell bank balance is in the negatives. Because at the end of the day, if he were to give up this life, Jimin knows that he’d regret it.

Being a superhero is tough, Jimin’s not going to sugar coat it, but not being a superhero after having been one would tear him apart. He has a need to help people in bigger ways than his 8-year program in clinical psychology (yeah, his brain cell bank balance isn’t the only one in the negatives right now) will.

A knock at his door alerts Jimin, and he quickly pats down the patches all over his body and pulls on his clothes. He opens his door and tries not to drop dead from how cute his roommate looks. Jungkook is standing there with a sheepish smile, a tube of muscle-pain relief cream in his hands.

“How bad?” Jimin squeaks out (shut up, he knows he’s pathetic), letting Jungkook into his room. Jungkook winces as he sits on Jimin’s bed, already tugging off his shirt. Maybe it’s some sort of syndrome that he should get checked out but suddenly, Jimin’s mouth is a lot more dry.

“A little worse than usual, you know how it is,” Jimin feels concern washing over him as soon as Jungkook’s shirt is off completely, all traces of his hypothetical medical condition have left. Jungkook’s back is littered with purple and blue bruises. The streetlights from outside his window cast a yellowish hue on Jungkook’s skin and it makes the mark look that much more sickly.

“Jungkook,” Jimin breathes, “is your coach insane?”

About two months ago, right when Jimin had received his earrings and became Ladybug, Jungkook had joined a boxing club. Jimin hadn’t even heard of this kind of torture disguised as an extracurricular activity before, but he got to know it soon enough. Jungkook started coming home looking really beat up, and when Jimin said this, he meant really beat up. Sometimes, he’d have bruises and cuts to the degree that Jimin would – and Jimin was a goddamn superhero. One night, Jungkook had come to him and asked if he’d rub some of the muscle-pain relief cream on his back and when Jimin had learned just how much it helped with the tension, he started doing it every night. It was routine at this point.

“Maybe,” Jungkook lets out a laugh that quickly turns into a hiss when Jimin’s finger makes contact with one of the darker bruises, “he’s just really passionate about turning us into full-fledged fighters.”

“Still, you need to tell him to chill or something. You’re too perfect – I mean too pretty – shit, okay, no, what I’m trying to say is that you don’t deserve this. Every night, it’s like you’ve come out of a fight with an akumatized person or something.” Jimin feels Jungkook tense under his fingers and he panics, taking back his words at once. “I mean, of course, I know you love that club. You’re free to do whatever you want! I mean, obviously. Plus, you’re good at everything so… yeah… ha…”

A mental face-palm isn’t enough anymore, Jimin physically smacks his face with his hand. Of course, right after that he starts screaming because he had the fucking cream on his hands and it’s in his eyes and fuck it burns it burns it BURNS.

Jungkook has to help him wash it all out of his face. Jimin doesn’t think he’s ever been so ready to die.

God, he pleads silently as he’s trudging back to his room with a squeaky-clean face, if you have any mercy, please wipe the events of today from Jeon Jungkook’s mind. If you turn out to be merciless, please note that I will be going to hell and becoming best friends with Satan himself so that together, we can make your life in heaven a non-living hell. Amen.

One day, the big guy upstairs is going to get tired of Jimin’s bullshit. How does Jimin know this?

Because he’s been tired of his own bullshit for the past 19 years.

Jungkook watches as Ladybug throws his lucky charm into the air and tells the voice in his head to shut up when it starts telling him that he would be useless without his partner.

It’s true, but it doesn’t mean Jungkook has to take it.

“Think you can take care of this for me, Cat?” Jungkook perks up at this, nodding with a grin on his face.

“Until next time, bugaboo,” He calls in a saccharine voice, making Ladybug’s face go sour. Jungkook knows he doesn’t mean it, though, he could never hate his beloved Cat Noir. Well, that’s what he tells himself. Jungkook helps Mr. Choi up and adjusts his footing so that he’s able to carry all of the other man’s weight.

“Alright,” Ladybug says with a tired smile , “Bug out.”

He’s fallen over the ledge before Jungkook can respond, and he has to stop himself from calling out his name. It’s not like Jungkook is in love with Ladybug or anything (DEFINITELY NOT) but he cherishes his time with the other, wanting to milk every moment for what it’s worth. Ladybug is purr-fect (Jungkook is clever, he knows) in every way possible and Jungkook just wants to bask in his glory like a cat in sunlight.

Alas, Ladybug doesn’t seem to reciprocate his feelings. Jungkook throws a mental hand to his forehead in distraught and acts out a quick 7-second drama in his head before addressing Mr. Choi.

“Let’s get you back home.” In an instant, they’re soaring across the sky on the baton while Jungkook most definitely is not ranting about his feelings to this literal stranger they just fought. Nope, definitely not.

The window is wide open and Jungkook berates himself for leaving it open this morning. Not that he’d have much trouble taking down any intruders, he’s rather claw-lified that way (Qualified? Claw-lified? Get it?). Still, he doesn’t live there alone. If Jimin were to come home and be put into danger because of an intruder, Jungkook wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

He slips into the window stealthily and then, of course, fall flat on his face when he hears the front-door unlocking.

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-

“Jimin! Don’t come in! I’m, uh, naked! Give me a minute to get dressed, yeah?” Jungkook cries in desperation. He hears the footsteps cease and Jimin’s words ring out clear in the apartment.

“Sure. Um, take your mime! Shit, I meant time! Haha.. okay.”

Jungkook smiles and thanks the gods above for giving him such a kind roommate.

“Claws in,” Jungkook mutters under his breath, letting his suit slowly tear and stretch before it disappears completely. His ring loses its black colour and the neon green pawprint. Jungkook, out of habit (although he knows he’s never going to find anything), pats his hair and makes sure his cat ears didn’t accidentally stay on his head or something. Hey, freak accidents were a thing and you could never be too careful.

Especially if you were a superhero.

“All clear,” Jungkook says, heading to the kitchen. Unfortunately, his suit is not equipped to carry a water bottle. Jungkook blames the lack of hydration for the acne that has started popping up on his jaw but honestly, he’s probably just really stressed out. An enormous mental toll came with this whole superhero gig. unfortunately.

Jungkook was disappointed, but not surprised.

After a quick drink of water, Jungkook heads to his room to evaluate the damage but can’t even manage to turn his torso to take a look at his back. His sides are so sore that Jungkook wonders how he’s going to sleep tonight. His back was out of the options entirely, so were his sides, and his stomach wasn’t looking too good either.

Jungkook winces as he bends over to grab his tube of muscle-pain relief cream from the bottom drawer of his nightstand, but it’s not just from the pain. If his stomach was hurting this bad, he wonders how bad Ladybug is feeling. He’d been stupid and had managed to extend his baton right into his partner’s ribcage.

Which was just great, you know? Really did a lot for his non-existent love life.

Jungkook walks to Jimin’s room and pauses at the door. He hopes that Ladybug is alright, he doesn’t know how he’s going to make it up to him, but he has to. He just has to. Without really thinking about it, Jungkook raises a fist and knocks on Jimin’s door. He hears a bit of rustling inside and in a matter of seconds the door is open and Jimin is facing him.

“How bad?” Jimin asks in a high voice. Jungkook can’t help but feel relief and gratitude flood through him as he sits on Jimin’s bed (that, on the other hand, only floods him with pain). Park Jimin has only known Jungkook for 2 months or so, but he’s been so accommodating and is probably one of the only friends he has. When Jungkook had left his hometown, he’d most feared the possibility of not making friend, but Jimin dispersed his worries almost right away. The boy is too kind for his own good and fills Jungkook with pride to be able to call him his friend.

“A little worse than usual, you know how it is.”

Jungkook pulls his shirt off in a swift motion and clenches his teeth when his pain shoots through his shoulders. It’s never been this bad and he knows that Jimin is concerned when he says, “Jungkook, is your coach insane?”

He tries to laugh it off but can’t help but suck in a breath through his teeth when Jimin’s finger makes contact with his back. “Maybe, he’s just really passionate about turning us into full-fledged fighters.”

Jungkook doesn’t believe himself, and he’s the one making up the stupid lie. But Jimin has been buying it for 2 months, so he can’t be as bad of a liar as he thinks he is. A lot of the times, Jungkook contemplated telling Jimin. His roommate is too sweet to be duped like this, plus he’d really like having someone to talk to about superhero stuff (okay, yes, and his crush on Ladybug, are we happy now?).

But Jungkook would never risk his friend’s like that. Never.

It’s times like these when Jungkook finds it especially hard to keep his identity a secret. He involuntarily tenses, Jimin’s breath making goosebumps rise on the back of his neck. In the mirror, Jungkook catches sight of Jimin’s face and observes how it goes from concern to flustered to panicked and he has to stop from laughing. In a different reality, and Jungkook will freely admit this, he could see himself with Jimin. Jungkook could picture himself falling in love with this literal angel, but in this reality, they’re just really good friends – and Jungkook is really happy about that (especially since he already has Ladybug).

“I mean, of course, I know you love that club. You’re free to do whatever you want! I mean, obviously. Plus, you’re good at everything so… yeah… ha…”

Jungkook is about to assure Jimin that he didn’t say anything wrong when he sees the boy cover his face with his hand in the mirror. Jungkook turns around immediately, wide-eyed, and grimaces when Jimin starts screaming and using an extensive vocabulary Jungkook wasn’t aware he had.

Jungkook ends up helping Jimin wash it all out. He offers running out and buying an icepack but Jimin refuses, profusely red in the face and mumbling something about god as he stalks off to his room.

Later on, as he’s moving his body over and over again to find a comfortable position to sleep, Jungkook pictures a certain superhero in red and becomes pliant, coming to a stop on his bed. A smile spreads across his face.

“It’s all worth it if it’s for you,” Jungkook whispers through his smile. He falls asleep that way, moonlight streaming in to coat his skin and make his smile shine brilliantly.

“Cat, I don’t think we’re qualified to be superheroes.”

“Unsurprisingly, I completely agree my, purr-ince.”

“I can’t believe she managed to actually trap us.”

Ladybug and Cat Noir are sitting back to back, their hands joined at the wrists by a rope made of indestructible fibers. Ladybug had tried calling on his lucky charm earlier but it had skittered far away from him, leaving him unable to reach it while he was still tied to Cat Noir (whose Cataclysm had also failed him, they decided that indestructible really did mean indestructible).

“Well, I don’t see how we’re getting out of this one. Unless, you’ve got a plan, bugaboo?” Ladybug laughs and doesn’t bother hiding it.

“Nope, but we’re going to have to put our heads together and really think. I’ve got someone I want to be able to get back to.” Cat Noir pushes his head back against Ladybug’s and smiles, ignoring the hundreds of questions his partner’s words incite.

“Yeah,” he says fondly, “Me too.”

did everyone enjoy that? yes? no? want more?

#jikook fics #kookmin fics #jikook #kookmin #idk what this is i wanted it to be longer but also i got tired #im only made for short fics tbh slkfdj #jungkook #jimin #park jimin #jeon jungkook #jungkook x jimin #jimin x jungkook #jikook fanfiction #kookmin fanfiction #jikook fanfics #kookmin fanfics

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treya-barton · 5 years

Note

souyo + “I saw this and thought of you.”

Yosuke was making his way through the shopping districtafter hanging out with Kanji after class. It was so strange seeing the huge change in Kanji and how serious he wasabout his goals, and if Yosuke was being honest with himself, it made him feela little anxious about his own lack of motivation. Sure, he was studying harder with the vaguegoal of meeting his partner in Tokyo for college…but if he was honest withhimself, he didn’t really have a set plan for what he would study or what heeven wanted to do. Seeing Yu was reallyhis true motivation, and it was starting to make him feel a little nervous forhis future. Yosuke let out a sigh andkicked the toe of his shoe against the street as he mulled over hisdilemma. He was just resolving to worryabout it later (of course), when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound ofsomeone calling for him.

“Hey! You! The Junesboy!” someone nearby was shouting, and Yosuke immediately flinched. He tried his best to brace himself, for whilehe hadn’t been experiencing as much hate since the fog had lifted from thetown, he still heard the occasionally muttering behind his back. Yosuke looked around until he spotted amiddle aged man standing next to one of the shuttered stores on thestreet. He recognized it as the oldhobby shop that had shut down not long after Junes had opened in town. Yosuke felt that old tendril of guilt creepup his spine as he walked over, trying his best not to appear as nervous as hefelt.

“Hey…I mean, hello,” he said, bowing slightly. He was trying his best to be polite. “What can I do for you?”

The former shop owner appeared to have caught onto Yosuke’snervousness and was also able to intuit why, because he quickly reassured himwith a smile. “I just wanted to askabout your friend – that gray haired, quiet kid? How’s he been doing?”

Yosuke couldn’t help but feel relief and amusement overencountering yet again another person in town whose life his partner hadmanaged to touch. It seemed at somepoint he had interacted with everyone, leaving a positive, lasting influence onthem that sometimes, like now, Yosuke managed to somehow benefit from. He let out a small chuckle before saying, “He’sdoing great! He’s one of the top inclass at his school in Tokyo and seems to be as busy as ever.” Yosuke was a bit bummed about that since itcut into their texting time, but he was genuinely happy Yu seemed to be doingwell. Even if it did occasionally remindhimself about his own shortcomings. He wasworking to overcome that by taking cram school classes on the weekend in Okinaand being more serious about studying this year.

“I’m glad. He was agood kid. Hey, do you know if he’s stillbeen building models?” he asked hopefully, and Yosuke suddenly realized whereYu’s odd hobby came from. ‘Of course,’he thought before pulling out his phone and scrolling through their textconversation. He found the picture hewas looking for and handed his phone to the hobbyist.

“He sent that to me a few weeks ago. He had been working on it for a month when hefound time,” Yosuke said. He watched theolder man’s face light up at the picture, and couldn’t help but feel goodhimself at helping make the man’s day, even if it was indirectly.

“That’s a difficult one,” the man mused to himself. “He’s really got skill. Nice to see a young man with so much patienceand attention to detail.” The man handedYosuke back his phone with a ‘thank you’ and Yosuke pocketed it before smilingback.

“No pr…I mean you’re welcome,” he said. “Partner certainly does have loads ofpatience. I mean, he deals with me,”Yosuke chuckled, and the man looked at him thoughtfully.

“How would you feel about giving it a try?” he asked, andYosuke stared at him in surprise. Thisman, whose business probably shut down because of Junes, wanted to give himsomething? Before he could say anything,the man disappeared into his old business, before reappearing moments laterwith a small model kit in his hand.

“This one is pretty easy and would be a good place to start,”he said, handing it to Yosuke. “What doyou say?”

He looked pretty excited and hopeful about it, so Yosukedidn’t have it in his heart to say no. “Heckyeah!” he said, taking it from the hobbyist and glancing at it. It looked like it was probably from one ofthe Gundam series, but he hadn’t watched any since he was a boy and couldn’t identifyit. ‘Maybe Yu would want it,’ he thoughtto himself before waving at the older man and heading home. Once he got home, he took a picture of itwith his phone and sent it to Yu with a message, “I saw this and thought ofyou.”

Yu immediately replied asking, “Are you getting into modelingtoo?” and Yosuke snorted.

He then messaged back, “Yeah right,” before starting abarrage of text messages back and forth with his partner. He didn’t realize the wide grin that hadspread across his face until Yu messaged that he had to get to studying,causing Yosuke to set down his phone. Heput his hands on his cheeks, suddenly feeling foolish at how just texting hispartner could make him so happy, before he glanced again at the model kit. Honestly, he should also get to studyinghimself, but… All that talk with Yuabout building models had gotten him curious.

Yosuke carefully cut the shrink wrap from around the boxbefore lifting the lid and looking inside. There was an instruction sheet along with a few different colored piecesof plastic that had the model pieces already cut into it along with a fewstickers for decoration. Yosuke pulledout the instruction sheet and looked over it before glancing back at thesheets. It looked like each sheet had aletter and each piece was numbered, which made it very easy to follow,especially since the instructions also contained pictures for each step. ‘I think I can actually do this,’ herealized, while also thinking about how surprised Yu would be in a few weeks ifhe brought the completed model with him during his visit. He was going to check out college campuses inthe area…although honestly it was mainly an excuse to see his best friend.

Yosuke bit his lip and checked his clock, making a mentalnote of when he would need to stop in order to get a decent amount of studyingdone. He then went to work, finding thefirst two pieces and carefully twisting them off the plastic before snappingthem together. He frowned upon realizingthat just snapping off the plastic piece left a little plastic hanging off, andhe headed downstairs to see if his mom had a sharp knife or an x-acto knife forhim to use. When she asked what for, helied and said it was for a school project before triumphantly heading backupstairs with the x-acto knife in hand and his mom shouting after him to becareful with it.

When Yosuke returned to his room, he sat back down at hisdesk before carefully using the x-acto knife to scrape away at the bit ofplastic sticking out until it was smoothed down. He grinned, giddy at the fact his ideaworked, before moving onto the next piece. After about 10 minutes, however, Yosuke lost his enthusiasm and set downthe x-acto knife, suddenly wondering, ‘How does partner do this?’ and leaning backin his chair. His hand felt a littlecramped, and he felt himself fidgeting from sitting still that long. He looked at the few pieces he had assembledalready before packing everything into the box and sliding it into his drawer,afraid that if he left it out Teddie would get into it on one of hisvisits. He travelled back and forth fromthe Shadow World and knew that the Hanamura household was always open to himwhenever he felt like being in the human world for awhile.

Yosuke then pulled out his books, surprised that somehow thethought of studying appealed to him morethan finding an excuse to procrastinate. His enthusiasm for his bright idea began to wane and he suddenlywondered if he really would finish this project by his visit to Tokyo. Yosuke shook his head and pulled out his mechanicalpencil before glancing at his math book and jotting down a few equations topractice. He ended up not touching themodel kit for another day since he had work after school, so it was two dayslater that he tentatively pulled it out again and winced at what littleprogress he had made.

Yosuke decided to give it another go, however, and he soonhad himself set up after checking the time to see how long he had to work onit. Afterward he got to work, gamelyforging ahead and doing his best to focus and brush past his wandering attention. He played music this time, finding havingsomething to listen to actually gave him more focus, not unlike his experiencein the Shadow World. After about a halfhour of making pretty decent progress, he suddenly hit a snag as a piece he wastrying to cut out from the plastic broke off in his hand. Yosuke froze, staring at the broken piece in horrorbefore glancing down at the instruction sheet, panicking as he tried to figureout if this was repairable. Not only washe mentally letting Yu down (even though the gray haired teen knew nothingabout his surprise), he was also letting the hobbyist down, and Yosuke couldn’thelp but internally berate himself at screwing up yet again. He set down the pieces carefully and pulledhis headphones down to his neck as he tried to think. The piece wasn’t a hinge, so while it wouldbe noticeable and wouldn’t be pretty, using a little glue probably wouldn’t hurtit. It certainly couldn’t be worse thanit was right now.

Yosuke got up and wandered downstairs, heading to the drawerwhere his parents stored miscellaneous items and felt relieved when he found asmall bottle of super glue. He headedback upstairs and sat back down, trying his best to steady his shaky hands ashe carefully dabbed a tiny bit of super glue onto the plastic. He slid both pieces together and held itfirmly for several moments, feeling relief when it held and didn’t fall apartagain. He realized that it was actually moredifficult to tell than he had thought that the piece had snapped off, and oncehe firmly clicked that part into place on the leg he realized he didn’t screwup as badly as he thought. He was stillemotionally drained after that ordeal and decided to yet again put the kit awayfor another day.

Yosuke continued to slowly chip away at the project, findingthat while it wasn’t particularly exciting or even that enjoyable to him, hewas finding it easier to get absorbed in than it had been originally. More importantly, he felt like he wasstarting to understand some things about his partner and his weirdhobbies. While Yosuke liked more instantaneousforms for gratification, he could see how Yu could get satisfaction out ofcompleting a project that took more time to do. In fact, while he didn’t exactly enjoy the process of building themodel, he was looking forward to it being done and could appreciate the amount ofeffort it was taking him to complete it.

He had also learned to slow down and take his time so hedidn’t accidentally snap another piece and so the stickers were alignedproperly when he put them on. He hadperused a few forums for model building tips as well and had a few more toolsat his disposal such as a q-tip and small pliers to aid in the process. There was a lot that went into building thesemodels, Yosuke was learning, and people often painted or in other ways enhancedthem after they were built. He knew hedefinitely didn’t have the skills for that, but suddenly wondered if Yu with hisattention to detail had ever done that. He’d have to take a closer look at his models when he went to visit.

Fortunately, Yosuke ended up finishing the model with a dayto spare before his trip. He couldn’t helpbut feel a sense of accomplishment at actually doing it, and while he didn’treally have a desire to take on such a project again, he was still proud ofhimself and couldn’t wait to give the model to Yu. He knew his partner would be impressed andalso touched Yosuke would take the time to do something like that for him. The thought had Yosuke in a pretty good mood,although he had to admit a lot of that was also simply the fact he’d be seeinghis best friend the next day. He haddifficulty sleeping the night before due to being so excited, and he ended upgetting up early the next morning and arriving far too early to wait for the trainto the city. He had the model carefully packedaway in its box in his bag, and he was trying to decide if he wanted to show Yuthe model himself or wait for him to open it up and see the completed modelinside.

He fidgeted even worse than usual during the trip and keptgetting up and walking around, glad that at least the train this far out wasstill pretty empty so he didn’t get too many odd stares. Ironically, once they got close to Tokyo, hewas glued to his seat, his eyes straining out the window in anticipation forthat first glimpse of his best friend. The moment the train pulled toward the platform for his stop, he saw him,and he couldn’t help but grin and begin waving wildly. Yu also spotted him right away and wavedback, before stepping toward the door Yosuke would be exiting from in order towait for him. The moment they were infront of each other, they high fived in greeting before Yosuke surprised bothof them by suddenly pulling Yu into a hug. Yu warmly returned the embrace, however, and when Yosuke pulled awaywhile flushed in embarrassment, he didn’t say anything.

“Are you ready for me to invade your place?” Yosuke asked,waggling his eyebrows as Yu carefully took his bag. Yosuke frowned slightly, looking worriedlywhere he knew the box for the kit was tucked away, but did his best to soothehis anxiety. He knew Yu was trying to behelpful and honestly was far less clumsy than he was.

Yu pretended to contemplate his question for a moment whilecounting off on his fingers. “I havedinner simmering on the stove, your futon already set out, your favorite snacksand games set out for the evening. Am Imissing anything?”

Yosuke’s eyes widened in surprise. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you werepretty excited about me visiting,” he commented with a slight chuckle, and Yu lookedaway.

“I believe you know the answer to that,” he replied softly,and Yosuke felt something tighten in his chest at his words. He shook his head before clapping his hand onYu’s shoulder.

“You can’t be as excited as I am,” he said, his eyestwinkling. “Coming to see the collegesis honestly an excuse.”

Yu shook his head while giving Yosuke an exasperatedsmile. “Being happy to be back in thecity isn’t the same thing,” he teased, and Yosuke blinked in surprise.

‘I’m not excited about being in Tokyo,” he replied. ��“I’m excited to see you.” To his surprise, Yu appeared to take a misstepafter that, and Yosuke had to quickly move to catch him before he stumbledover. He felt his heart racing, bothover Yu almost falling and possibly getting hurt, and with the realization itcould have damaged his gift as well. “Youok?” he asked, and Yu quickly nodded his head.

“Yes,” he replied. “Imust not have noticed where I was going.” Yosuke glanced down, noting that he didn’t see anything that looked likesomething Yu could have tripped on but shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t his place to question it. The rest of the walk to Yu’s apartment wentby smoothly, and soon they headed inside. Yu’s parents had left the apartment to him for the night, deciding totake a date night out in order to give him some privacy with his friend, so itwas just the two of them. As Yu went togo check on their stew for dinner, Yosuke went into his room to set his bagdown and pull out the kit, glancing inside to ensure the model was still ingood condition.

He also took a moment to peruse the ones Yu had on hisshelf, noting that the one Yu had finished recently did appear to have somedetails painted on as well. Now thatYosuke knew first hand how much work went into building the models, he couldn’thelp but feel amazed at Yu’s skill, and he suddenly felt nervous about givinghim his model after seeing how much better Yu’s looked. But. Yosuke stood a little straighter. He had a plan and he wasn’t chickening out now.

Yosuke wandered into the kitchen where Yu was wrapping up ontheir dinner, stirring the stew he had simmering all day while two bowls of steaminghot rice were already set out for them. He turned his head and raised his eyebrow when he saw what Yosuke washolding, and he dished out the stew while asking, “Did you bring that for me?”

“Yeah,” Yosuke said, bringing it over to the kitchen tablewhere Yu already had drinks set out for them; Yosuke noted that his was hisfavorite soda while Yu had tea. Yu setdown their food before reaching over to pick up the box, noting that it hadalready been opened before lifting up the lid. He then stared in surprise for several moments.

“Did…you assemble this?” he asked, gingerly picking it upand peering at it closely.

Yosuke jiggled his leg and nodded until he realized Yu wasn’tlooking at him to see it and cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, I did.”

“This looks really good,” Yu grinned at him before settingit down. To Yosuke’s amazement itactually stood on its own and didn’t immediately fall apart. It did look pretty cool standing there with abuster sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

“I have to admit, I have a newfound appreciation for whatyou do,” Yosuke said, a fond tone creeping into his voice as he spoke. “This one took forever and the hobby shop guysaid it was supposed to be an easy one.”

Yu chuckled. “Myfirst one was quite difficult for me as well,” he admitted.

Yosuke shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. You’regood at this and obviously enjoy it since you kept it up. I don’t think I can do it again myself. But,” he trailed off for a moment. “I’m glad I did. And got to experience a little bit what itmust be like for you.” Yu was watchinghim carefully as he spoke, and he looked pleased at his words, although it wasonly barely noticeable in the way the corner of his eyes crinkled slightly and thea small tug on the corner of his lips.

“Is that so?” he mused. “Well, I’m glad to see you tried my hobby at least once. I really appreciate it.” He moved to put the model back in the box,and Yosuke shook his head.

“It’s yours. I madeit for you,” he said. “You’ll get moreuse out of it than I will. Also, I kindof read up a bit on modeling to get some tips as I put it together, and I haveto say I’m really impressed by that one you finished a few weeks ago. I can really see the detail you put intoit. Must have taken you a lot of time.”

“Yeah, it did,” Yu nodded.

Before he could say anything else, Yosuke spoke forhim. “But that sense of accomplishmentcan’t be beat, huh partner?” he asked, and Yu looked a bit surprised. His eyes widened slightly, and his eyescaught Yosuke’s for a moment as he studied him.

“You hit the nail on the head Yosuke,” Yureplied honestly, and they both turned to focusing on their meal as theycontinued their discussion. Yosuke couldn’thelp but feel a little bit of pride over the fact Yu would keep his model anddisplay it with his much better ones, and he was happy that his plan worked outas he hoped it would. Yu also appearedto be in a really good mood, and Yosuke hoped at least some of that was becauseof him. He thought back to all of thethings he had learned about Yu over the days he worked on the model kit, and hecouldn’t help but steal a glance at him. Maybe, once they were roommates, Yosuke would try his hand at anothermodel kit. That is if he and his partnerbuilt one together. Yosuke grinned tohimself at the idea, and he decided he’d go talk to the hobbyist to see whatwould be a good one to try next while letting him know how well the firstproject went. He was sure Yu would alsolike the idea, and Yosuke was looking forward to surprising him with it.

#souyo #narukami yu #hanamura yosuke #p4

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optimusphillip · 5 years

Text

OptimusPhillip Reviews 13: Transformers: Generations Shockwave (War for Cybertron: Siege)

Now, I know it’s been a while since my last post, but I had a hectic couple weeks, and I’m only just now getting back into the swing of things. But, I did say that I would review the rest of my Siege collection, and next in line is the biggest one I’ve obtained so far... kind of. It’s Leader Class Shockwave, one of the more contentious figures in the Siege line so far. Let’s take a look at the figure.

“Spaceship” Mode

Shockwave’s alternate mode is a Cybertronian spaceship, and totally is not an upside-down space gun. Detail-wise, he is covered in sculpting, way more than any of the other toys I’ve covered. Panel lines, screws, vents, exposed wiring, anything they could think of to fill out space, they did. There is not one flat surface on this mode. Two standout details for me are the missile racks on the rear section, and the light-piped yellow eye on the bridge, just like the robot head. Also on the bridge are some flip-out tail fins. Officially, you’re supposed to have them out in this form, but I like to leave them flipped down, for reasons I’ll explain later. In terms of landing gear, he has a flip out skid on the front, and two thin nubs towards the back, so don’t worry about scuffing up the bottom of your spaceship. Though I will say, the nose doesn’t seem to want to stay straight on my figure. Maybe it’s a mileage may very issue, but it does kind of bug me.

But of course, there’s a dirty little secret to this “spaceship” mode, and to figure it out, all you need to do is flip down the tail fins (if you haven’t already), fold up the landing skid, plug the hose onto the port at the bottom of the nose, and flip the toy upside down. Now he is unmistakably the G1 Shockwave alternate mode. Most of the detail is carried over from the spaceship, though the rear landing gear forms a targeting sight, in a clever bit of dual usage. My only real issue with this mode is that the bridge is too small to hold comfortably as a gun handle. It doesn’t bother me too much, though, it still works aesthetically.

Gunship Mode

Part of being a Leader in Siege is that you don’t just get a single figure. You also get a bunch of add-on pieces to create upgraded modes. There really isn’t much of a conversion, it’s just pegging on a bunch of parts, but it’s technically a new mode, so I’m giving it its own section.

Anyway, this mode offers a major visual change. Two new booster rockets, a lot of new weapons, a brand new front end piece, and a bunch of extra fins (including X-wings) all make him look way more like a Decepticon warship. If it didn’t still have so much Shockwave to it, I’d honestly believe this was a new design for the Nemesis. By the way, this mode is the reason I leave the tail fins folded down in spaceship mode. They just feel better suited to this mode. In total, this mode adds ten new cannons, six of which are compatible with the blast effect parts from the Battle Masters. I like how the two main cannons are designed after Shockwave’s arm gun, it’s a nice way of tying things together. That said, there’s not a lot of new functionality here, so let’s get into robot mode.

Conversion

Shockwave’s transformation harkens back to his G1 toy, but more streamlined with modern engineering, in particular the barrel and legs. The G1 toy used the legs to form the gun handle, and the barrel was just a detachable part. Here, however, only the side panels of the legs form the handle, with the bulk forming the back end of the gun, and the barrel stays attached and forms his backpack in lieu of the G1 toy’s battery pack, though this does mean that it’s purple instead of the G1 gun mode accurate silver. And for those concerned about the add-on parts, they all fit together into a singular unit, which can be used as a battle platform.

Robot Mode

Shockwave’s robot mode is the spitting image of his G1 show model, only with a lot more sculpted detail. I like the face sculpt, where you can see a lot of mechanical details surrounding his mono-eye, almost like extraocular servos or something. While we’re looking at the head, let’s talk about the eye. It’s light-piped yellow, and it’s really, really good light-piping. As long as there’s pretty much any light in the room, the eye will glow to some extent, and it will even vary in color depending on what light you use. I also really like the chest. On the surface, it’s just a clear plastic plate, like the G1 toy, but if you look closely, you can see that there’s not only molded detail on the backside, to create a layered look, but there’s also a fully painted inner chest, with black wires and nodes on a pink background. That same shade of pink can also, of course, be found on the toy’s hands, which are standard fare for Shockwave, right down to the gun in place of his left hand. And of course, the hose from “spaceship” mode now pegs into the back of his left forearm, to recreate the look of the original toy’s light cable. This hose also features one of the few spots of battle damage paint on this toy, with silver scuff marks on its surface at various points. I don’t know why they put those scuff marks there, though. If the hose had gotten scuffed up, we’d probably be seeing exposed wiring, not bare metal. At least it makes sense on his feet, where you get much more elaborate scuffing detail. But aside from that and some fake chipping on his right arm’s Decepticon insignia, that’s it for battle damage. Kind of makes me question the point of that whole gimmick, really.

Onto articulation, he’s about on par with Optimus in terms of sheer jointage. Ball-jointed neck, universal shoulders and hips, swivels at the bicep and thigh, 90 degree elbows and knees, wrist swivels, ankle tilts, and a waist swivel. However, the thing that makes him unique is that his hips and knees are ratcheted, giving him an extra element of stability that you can’t rely on from simple friction hinges. Though as one might expect, the hose on his arm can limit posability in the left arm. You still get enough range for some decent poses, though, so it still works. Though I will warn that, while I haven’t had any issues, some people have reported that the hose has broken on them, so... be careful, I guess.

Now onto the part that has people questioning the Leader price point, size. As nice as this figure is, it’s only the size of a Voyager in this mode, and that’s totally a fair point. However, this can be rectified slightly when one remembers that this is the white Prime to this set’s Ultra Magnus, and that means...

Super Robot Mode

Of course, the add-on parts from gunship mode can also be used in robot mode to create a sort of super mode. The nose piece just forms a bigger backpack, adding a pair of tails for some reason, but the booster rockets form larger shoulder pads, the side cannons form extra foot platforms, and the main cannons form into a pair of extra arms. It is so ridiculous and outlandish, I kind of love it. This form also gives some extra battle damage, in the form of scorch marks on the new shoulder pads. And don’t worry, these new parts don’t hinder any of his posability. In fact, his extra arms have about the same level of articulation as his regular arms, so he actually gains a bit of articulation. Each of these arms also has a port on the back for his hose, but I find that it’s a scarily tight fit on my copy. Again, mileage may vary.

Unfortunately, this mode doesn’t really do much for the height department. His extra foot pads don’t even add a head to his overall height, so he’s still about Voyager sized at the head. But this mode does still add a good bit of extra bulk to him, particularly in the arms, and on the backpack. That said, I can definitely see this being unsatisfactory to some collectors.

Final Thoughts

Siege Shockwave is an amazing figure, I’m really glad to have gotten him. He’s the perfect update to his G1 toy design, and the extra add-on parts give a lot of extra play option. That said, $50 might be a bit steep for some people, and I’ll admit, I had to think long and hard about whether or not to go for it when I saw him in the store. However, I’m still glad to have him in my collection, if only just to have a really good Shockwave toy. But if you are feeling hesitant about this toy, I don’t blame you. He is definitely not budget friendly. Still, if you’ve been waiting for a good retail level Shockwave since the Classics line first debuted, you will not be disappointed in this update.

#transformers #war for cybertron #siege #shockwave

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clanwarrior-tumbly · 6 years

Note

Ralph finding a broken dying Android and the Android begs him to take care of the toddler she was protecting saying "She will help set us free, get her to Jericho" and Ralph (even with his fear and anger) takes the child and gains the courage to go to Jericho and he finds out that the tot is Half Human Half Android. A babe born between a freak incident where an Android got pregnant by her "owner" and they allowed her to be taken to help Markus free the androids.

Aww yess my best boi Ralph!!

I was super happy to get this request so I hope you enjoy the story~!

“Surely Ralph can find something in this dumpster..oh yes he must. Ralph must find something useful for his home!” The android whispered to himself as he raised the lid of the garbage dumpster, taking a look inside for anything of value.

However, the static cough that rang in the air caused him to gasp and stagger back, the lid slamming shut rather loudly.

“Wh-Who’s there?!” He hissed, drawing his knife and walking towards the source of the noise. His LED flashed red as fear and anger coursed through his systems. “Show yourself to Ralph!! Ralph will not hesitate to-!”

But his words were cut short as he rounded the corner and saw another android slumped against the brick wall, broken beyond repair and her eyes completely black. Her short, ragged breaths came out staticy, and she seemed to be holding something, as an old blanket was wrapped around it.

Seeing that it was not a human, Ralph immediately put his knife away, dropping to his knees in front of her. “Wh-What..happened to you? Did..h-humans hurt you like they hurt Ralph?” He mumbled, eyebrows furrowing, although he blinked in surprise when he saw a young girl’s head peek out from the blankets.

“A-A little girl…” He began, although he corrected himself when he noticed that she had an LED as well. “..a-a little..android girl.”

“Ralph..”

Looking back at the broken android, he tensed when she pushed the child towards him, his stress levels rising as he didn’t know what was happening or why she was doing that.

“Sh-She…will help set us free,” she rasped, taking his arm and interfacing with him, her skin turning plastic white, as did his own. “Take c-care of her…and get her to Jericho…M-Markus will be there…..please..”

Ralph’s hand trembled as he closed his eyes and saw a static-filled vision of some kind of rusty metal boat, the words “JERICHO” written on the side of it. His LED flickered to yellow while he synchronized this information.

“B-But..Ralph can’t leave his home. Ralph doesn’t even know who o-or what Jericho…!” His protests, however, fell on deaf ears as he opened his eyes and saw her LED deactivate, her body ceasing all movements as her arm slumped to the ground.

“Miss android lady..? Hello?” Worried, Ralph tried to tap her shoulder and wave his hand in front of her eyes. “What are you trying to tell Ralph?? What is Jericho??”

“..mommy’s gone..”

Once more he tensed up, although when he looked down and saw you hug him, he relaxed a little. It wasn’t long before he managed to wrap his arms around you as well, his stress levels going down as his LED flickered blue.

He wasn’t sure why, but in that moment….he wanted nothing more than to protect you and make sure what happened to your mother never, ever happened to you.

“It’s okay, little girl. Ralph is here,” he whispered. “Ralph will protect you.”……..

In the weeks that followed since your mother passed, you’ve warmed up to Ralph, seeing him as a fatherly figure. And in turn he treated you like his daughter, being more than happy to finally have a “family” after being alone for so long.

Since you were never given a proper name, he decided to call you [y/n], but he’d give you nicknames, too, like “sunflower” and “tulip”. They stemmed from his love for gardening, as he use to work as a gardener before humans did “bad and mean things” to him.

Even though he sometimes scared you with his knife and constant mumbling, you did your best to be obedient and patient. And whenever he lashed out by accident, he’d immediately apologize to the point of tears and hug you tight.

But as much as you enjoy the quiet, peaceful life in the old house, you remembered your mother’s words and had to tell him you needed to get to Jericho.……

“Ralphy?” You peeked into the downstairs bathroom, seeing Ralph carving the words “ra9″ into the walls. “Ra9…? What’s that?”

He quickly turned to you, although he calmed down as he realized it was only you. With a smile, he set down his knife and walked over, scooping you up into his arms. “Ralphy isn’t sure what ra9 means..but he finds comfort in writing it over and over. So it’s nothing to worry about, tulip.” He booped your nose, earning a small giggle from you. “Is there something you need?”

“O-Oh um…can we…go to Jericho yet?”

At your question, his smile faltered. “Ah..Jericho..Jericho…yes Ralphy remembers [y/n]’s mommy’s dying request. Ohh….Ralphy doesn’t want to leave the safety of our home…but Ralphy wants to keep that promise. If keeping promise means Ralphy and [y/n] won’t have to live in fear..then….maybe…they can go tonight.”

Your smile returned as you hugged his neck. “I’ll be here for you, Ralphy..I love you.”

The damaged android chuckled softly and held you close, sighing. “Ralphy loves you, too.”…….

When you and Ralph snuck out into town later that night, he realized that your mother gave him clues as to how to find Jericho. All he had to do was follow the symbols hidden in the graffiti on the buildings, ones that only androids could detect.

Of course, he kept his trusty knife with him just in case you ran into any trouble. But fortunately, the shadows and darkness protected you, so the long journey wasn’t as bad as you both anticipated it to be.

Soon enough you found you way onto the ship, entering a large room where many other androids were gathered, supplies were stocked in crates, and bonfires illuminated the place with an orange-yellow glow.

“Th-There’s..so many people like Ralph,” he whispered, scanning for the android named Markus. “All scared and lost and broken, but free from the cruelty of humans, like Ralph..”

“Ralph??”

Turning around, his eyes widened when he saw a pair of familiar faces. “Kara! Little girl!! You’re safe!” He exclaimed, grinning happily as they approached him.

“We’re glad to see you again. But how did you find this place?” Kara asked.

“Oh…Ralph had a promise to keep!” He explained, stepping aside so the two females could see you. “[Y/n]’s mommy went to sleep forever, and she said to Ralph “[y/n] will help set us free, take her to Jericho, Markus will be there”.”

“I’m Markus.”

You both looked over to see Markus and another male android approach you.

But Ralph suddenly whimpered, holding you close as he recognized the second one’s face. “P-Please don’t hurt Ralph…h-he’s extremely sorry for what happened at his house. R-Ralph was only t-trying to protect Kara a-a-and-”

“Hey, it’s okay..” Connor put his hands up, giving him a reassuring smile. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m on your side now. Markus managed to convince me to join you all.”

Ralph’s eyes widened in surprise, before his gaze shifted to Markus, who simply nodded. Then the Jericho leader glanced at you. “You’re..saying that this little one would help our cause?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Ralph wasn’t told how..but he had to fulfill [y/n]’s mommy’s dying wish.”

Connor hummed and knelt down in front of you, his LED flickering as he scanned you, trying to identify your model number and anything else about you that was important. But once he was done, his eyes widened in shock.

“What is it, Connor?” Markus sat beside him. “What did you find?”

“This child is..a hybrid of a human and an android. She has Thirium but the only parts of her that aren’t made of biocomponents are her brain and heart. And she can age just like humans do.” The RX800 looked at him. “She originated from a BL200 model, an upgraded version of the BL100 model that is able to simulate pregnancy and give birth. Of course, though, to do that, the android and her male owner have to-”

But Markus put his hand up to stop him from going into too much detail. “That’s all I need to hear.” He then sighed and looked back at you. “A human and android hybrid..a cross between two species. I see why you were sent now.”

Even though his face remained stoic, his eyes showed warmth and hope as he put his hand out to you. “You may be too young to understand what’s happening right now, [y/n]..but you’re the key to our freedom. This is where you belong. With us. Welcome to Jericho.”

You smiled and went to take his hand, but you heard a small sob and looked back to see Ralph sitting on the floor, too, curled up against the wall. His arms were wrapped around his head as he slowly rocked back and forth.

With a slight frown you glanced at Markus, who withdrew his hand and gazed at the crying, broken android for a moment, before he nodded to you. “Go to him.”

You made your way over to Ralph, hoping you could comfort him. As you cuddled up beside him, he uncovered his face, revealing his red-rimmed eyes and tearstained cheeks to you.

“R-R-Ralph isn’t r-ready to say goodbye to [y/n] yet..” He sniffled, hugging you tight as he continued sobbing. “H-He hasn’t..felt this happy w-with someone in a-a long time….all Ralph w-wants is a family but…everyone leaves h-him in the end.”

“Then stay,” you told him, squeezing his waist tight. “You don’t have to go, Daddy.”

His breath hitched as you said that word, and he looked down at you in shock. “Wh-What..?”

“We can be a family here, Daddy,” you giggled and smooched his scarred cheek. “I won’t leave you. I love you.”

For some time, he just stared at you in disbelief, before he whimpered and held you close. He shut his eyes as more tears streaked his face, smiling brighter than a child on Christmas Day. “..I-I love you, too, [y/n]. W-We’ll be together..forever. I promise.”

#clanask #detroit become human x reader #dbh x reader #dbh ralph #detroit become human ralph #readerinsert #child reader

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otakuprincess15 · 6 years

Text

Does Anybody Have A Map? Chapter 3: Did That Really Just Happen?

A/N: So... I suck and I am so totally sorry! I tried super hard to get this written in time to post on Monday but life got in the way. I will work harder! But in the mean time, please enjoy the next chapter. Also, this story does need a trigger warning for mild discussions/emotional stuff having to do with a character who is unable to have kids. It won't come up for a while and it will not be a continuous thing talked about. I will give a warning on the chapter when we get to it too.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Love you guys!

~marauderluverz

Index: 1, 2, 3, 4 or read on ff.net

Chapter 3: Did That Really Just Happen?

"Did Marinette really used to have a crush on me?" Adrien asked.

Alya choked on a sip of her fresh cup of coffee. "I never said that."

"You might not have, but I'm pretty sure that's what it sounded like Marinette said," he countered.

"Oh god, she is going to kill me," she sighed, setting her cup down on the counter. She looked at him over the top of her glasses, "But seriously, how did you never notice?"

Adrien blushed, "What do you mean? It's not like it was obvious."

She laughed at that. "How can someone really be this oblivious? Think back on all of our school years."

He did as instructed. His mind thought back to all of the awkward stuttering, the inability to hold a conversation with him for many years, all the pictures she had of him… He let out a groan. "How did I never notice?"

"Simple, you were a teenage boy."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Does she still have a crush on me?"

Alya picked up her coffee and shook a finger at him. "Nuh uh. You would have to ask her that yourself. And honestly," she looked back at him over her shoulder. "I don't know what she feels anymore. She hasn't seen you in six years, but she also hasn't really dated anyone since getting Hugo." She gave him a knowing look. "So, you might have a chance."

"No, that's not why I was-" he watched hopelessly as she headed to the living room, ignoring him, "Asking."

The next morning, Adrien ate breakfast before heading to his childhood home. He had had most of his belongings shipped there over the last few weeks to store until he got his own place. Now that he had arrived in Paris himself he had discovered there was enough room in his bedroom at Alya and Nino's to bring some more of his things.

He pressed the buzzer on the front gate and waited for the security camera to come to life.

"Who's there?" Nathalie's voice came through the speaker. The camera moved until it was directed at his face. He raised his hand to wave.

"Hi, Nathalie."

There was no response aside from the camera returning to its place and the buzz of the gate being opened. He walked up the drive, unsure if he should be enjoying the nostalgia he was feeling. His home held many bad memories but there were still quite a few good ones as well. By the time he reached the front door, Nathalie was standing in front of it. The six years had treated her well. She still stood tall and stern, though her hair had begun to gray in some spots.

"Good morning, Adrien. I didn't realize you would be stopping by this morning," she greeted.

Adrien grinned. "Good morning, Nathalie."

She allowed a controlled smile to grace her features before leading Adrien inside the house.

He took in the foyer which still held an air of familiarity. Not much had changed. Some of the pictures that hung along the walls had been replaced with ones from his most recent photo shoots, though even those were outdated by several years. Even the portrait hanging at the top of the stairs was the same. He wondered if he could convince his father to take a new one seeing as this one was more than ten years old.

"Your father is very busy today. I'll check if he has a few minutes to speak with you in between meetings."

Adrien turned to look at Nathalie. He nodded, he hadn't expected his dad to drop everything when he arrived. Maybe that's why he hadn't bothered calling ahead. It certainly lessened the disappointment.

"Sounds good. Thanks, Nathalie. I'll be in my old room." He didn't wait for an answer before heading up the stairs.

Inside his room was much the same as the rest of the house. It felt like stepping back in time. It still held his foosball table and CD collection. There was still the skateboard ramp, rock climbing wall, and basketball hoop- all still in close to pristine condition. Boxes lined the room now, and he began to search through them for some things he wanted.

He found some clothes he had packed away that he still liked because they were part of his "I bought these myself" collection. As well as, some framed pictures of him and his friends, his mom, and him in special places on his travels. He picked up one that was beneath the others and saw a picture of him standing next to a pretty young woman with long dark brown hair. They were standing together in front of a tree full of flowers and he had his arms wrapped around her.

Adrien winced and shoved the picture back down into the box. Still not ready to deal with that then.

Several more minutes passed before there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" he called.

The door opened and Nathalie stepped inside, tablet in hand. "Adrien, your father would like to talk to you." She held out the tablet to him and he saw his father was already present on the screen.

"Good morning, Father," Adrien said.

Gabriel Agreste gave him a once over as he sat behind his desk. "You look well, son."

Adrien fought back a smile. His time abroad had helped to ease the resentment toward his father and now that he had the freedom he had always craved, he found his father's coldness a little amusing. "Thank you. You do too."

"Have you reconsidered your decision to live with your… friends yet?" Gabriel asked coolly.

"I'm happy at their apartment. It's very nice," he answered.

His father had not been happy when Adrien had said he was coming back to Paris but would not be returning home, but Adrien had not left the decision up to discussion. He had gained independence while away and would not lose it now. "That reminds me, when am I scheduled to photograph my first shoot?"

Gabriel sighed, "If you are certain you would rather do photography than modeling, you can assist with a shoot this afternoon. It's a group shoot and the photographer's assistant is unavailable. Meet at the Place des Vosges at one o'clock."

Adrien beamed. "Of course! I won't be late. Thank you, Father."

"And I'll have Nathalie send your bodyguard to pick you up beforehand."

"Father, I can take a taxi or an uber-"

"This isn't about transportation, Adrien. It's about your safety."

It was Adrien's turn to sigh. "I don't need my bodyguard any more. I'll be perfectly safe."

Gabriel opened his mouth to argue but Adrien didn't give him time.

"I have to get going now. I'll set up with Nathalie for us to have dinner. Bye," he said before clicking the end call button at the bottom of the screen.

Nathalie stared at him with wide eyes. He held the tablet out to her. "If you could set up that dinner? As of right now, I'm available all week."

"Of course, Adrien." Nathalie took the tablet, giving him an approving nod. "I'll let you know once I've arranged it." She made her way to the door, pausing just before exiting. "I don't think I've ever seen someone hang up on Gabriel Agreste."

When the door closed behind Nathalie, Adrien stared after her for several moments trying to determine if her comment had been a compliment or not.

As Marinette rode the metro from her home, she thought over her and Alya's conversation from earlier that morning.

The doorbell rang announcing that Alya had arrived to pick up Hugo. Marinette hurried across the room and pulled open the door. "Hey, Alya!" she called behind her as she hurried back down the hall. The apartment was a mess and she knew it. Clothes and toys strewn everywhere. Plates were still set out on the dining table from breakfast and the sink in the kitchen was running.

"Why are you still rushing around?" Alya asked, raising her voice so Marinette could hear her.

Marinette leaned out of her bedroom. "My mom surprised us with breakfast. She only just left." She hurried back down the hall, tucking a white button up shirt into her navy skirt.

"Girl, don't you think you should just tell them you're a tour guide? It's been seven months." Alya beckoned to Hugo who had just stepped into the hall from his room. "Come on, Half-pint. Let's get your shoes on."

He skipped to where Alya was and gave her a hug.

"You know why I can't tell them. It's too embarrassing. Things were going so well with my commissions before, that's why I moved here. They'd want to help, and I can't take anymore of their money." Marinette pulled on her navy vest and began to fix her red ascot into place. She sighed and turned to look at Alya. "I know it's ridiculous to not tell them, but I don't want them to know yet."

Alya shrugged. "It's up to you. But if they knew, I'm sure they'd babysit so you could pick up some more shifts."

Marinette rolled her eyes as she placed the red beret atop her head. "The goal is to work there less, Alya. Not more."

Marinette stepped off the train when she reached her stop. Alya had pestered her constantly to tell her parents when she'd had to take a new job to make ends meet, but she knew she couldn't. It was bad enough she'd been living off of her parents until she was twenty-two. She couldn't go back to asking them for help.

When she entered the guided tours office, Marinette saw her supervisor, M. Legrand, speaking with some of the other guides. He looked up at her entrance. "Ah, Marinette! Just the girl I wanted to see."

"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked.

He held out a plastic button to her. "Please fix this to your vest before today's tours. We just got these in last night."

She took it and read the bright red writing across the white background. Ask me anything! I'm here to help! She forced a smile. "Of course, sir. Looks great!"

He grinned and turned to speak with another guide. Marinette walked to the backroom where the schedule would be posted, the smile sliding off her face as she attached the button. She read her assignments. First one of the day was a full tour of students from the states. She groaned, I hate my job.

Adrien was pretty sure he loved his new job. Sure, he had done some photography assisting while traveling and he had taken some jobs while finishing school, but this – this was a full on Gabriel Agreste fashion shoot. There were eight models and this was the first official fall shoot. However, no one was too excited because today was still the middle of June which meant it was far too warm to be wearing sweaters and long sleeves.

He tried to make the best of it though by being friendly when meeting the models, none of whom he'd met before since they were all about eight to ten years younger than him. The real problems started when he met the photographer.

Bastian DeFranc was in his late thirties to early forties, he was short with thinning black hair and a permanent scowl attached to his face. He had looked less than interested in Adrien when they'd been introduced but Adrien at first assumed he was just all-business. He was wrong.

Thirty minutes after set-up, the first problem appeared. Adrien was fixing the shades to make sure they had the proper tone of a fall afternoon, when he heard the photographer yell, "You have got to be kidding me!"

He set down the shade and hurried over to where the photographer was glaring at one of the female models. She was staring up at him, eyes wide with confusion.

"What? What did I do? I'm not even modeling yet," she asked. She glanced at another model she had been talking to. "We were just waiting for our turn."

The photographer scoffed and grabbed hold of her wrist. She let out a cry of surprise as he held out her arm. "You rolled the sleeves of a Gabriel sweater. What did you think you were doing? It will wrinkle."

Adrien jumped in then, placing a hand on Bastian's upper arm. "M. DeFranc, please."

Bastian huffed and released her arm. "I apologize," he muttered, though his tone conveyed he was anything but apologetic . "I did not realize you were an amateur and didn't know not to do something so stupid."

The other model standing nearby spoke up. "Hey! You know she's only been modelling for a few months. It's not like she did it on purpose." The girl put her arm around the amateur model and led her away while fixing the sleeves.

Bastian rolled his eyes and stomped back to his camera, where he had left a model waiting. Adrien rubbed at his temples. Hopefully, things would cool down from here. He may have been out of Paris for several years, but according the Ladyblog, Hawkmoth was still as active as ever.

They were two hours into the photo shoot and Adrien couldn't wait for it to be over. So far, he'd heard Bastian berate a model for being too tall – calling him an awkward baby giraffe, demanded make up artists to conceal even the slightest freckles across one of the model's arms, ordered a model to go get his hair cut before they could photograph him, and told the design assistant to stuff the top of a sweater dress to "show off the design" better.

There was only an hour left to the shoot and then they'd be out of here. He was debating on offering to buy the models some smoothies after to combat any negative emotions, when the final straw landed.

The models had all lined up for some group shots and Bastian had asked each of them for a different type of look. However, Maya (the amateur model) seemed to be having trouble perfecting her look and posture.

"No! You are too stiff. You are supposed to look happy and carefree. If you keep frowning you will give yourself wrinkles before you're twenty," Bastian lectured.

Maya stared at the ground fists clenched at her sides. It was impossible to miss the tears that began to fall and splash the ground.

Bastian let out a cry of frustration. "And now we will have to do more make up! Kristin, if you please?"

A sob erupted from Maya's throat and she ran to one of the changing tents. Adrien prepared to follow after her, to ensure she wouldn't be akumatized when someone else grabbed the photographer's arm.

"You can't talk to her like that!" it was one of the male models, named Sean. "We're people too. You can't just yell at her. How can she fake being happy if she's trying not to cry because you're a jerk."

The photographer glared up at the teen before brushing away his hand. "Get off the shoot. I'll be letting Gabriel know we don't need unprofessional teens who can't control their emotions."

Sean turned and stormed away, leaving everyone else in shock.

Adrien stepped away a little and looked into his messenger bag. "Hey, Plagg." He waited a moment and then poked the black cat kwami. "Hey, wake up."

Plagg stretched before opening an eye. "What is it?"

"I think someone's going to get akumatized. What do you think I should do?" he asked.

Plagg groaned. "I don't know. I've been out of practice for a while. Either way, if someone is gonna be akumatized, there's nothing we can do about it."

Adrien ran a hand through his hair. "I guess that's true. But maybe I can transform and head it off."

"And it won't be at all suspicious that Adrien Agreste just got back to Paris last night and today Chat Noir is out saving the city?" Plagg asked.

Adrien paused, Plagg's words washing over him. "You're right. I can't even do anything. I'm useless."

Plagg pinched Adrien's hand.

"Ow! What was that for?" Adrien rubbed at the red mark on his hand.

"Just because you can't transform, doesn't mean you can't help keep people safe. You should know that by now."

Adrien smiled, "Right again. Thanks, Plagg." Just then screams broke out on the other side of the park. "Looks like that's my signal. Come on, Plagg!"

Marinette dropped into a chair in the break room of the tour guide office. She had just finished her fourth tour of the day and her feet were aching. Finally, a chance to relax and get off my feet. She pulled off a Mary Jane and rubbed her foot through the stocking.

Just as she leaned her head back against the chair, an alarm went off on her phone. She picked it up.

AKUMA ALERT: NEAR PLACE DES VOSGES. MAINTAIN DISTANCE UNTIL LADYBUG ARRIVES.

She groaned and slid her foot back into her shoe. "Of course. Right when I get a break." She grabbed her purse out of the locker and peered inside. "You ready, Tikki?"

Tikki pushed the last bit of a macaroon into her mouth. "Ready as always, Marinette!"

It only took a few minutes to swing from the guided tours office near the Eiffel Tower to the park and even less time to locate the akuma. Ladybug spotted him shrinking people all across the park and the nearby streets and businesses.

"Wonder what his problem is?" she muttered aloud. Over the years without Chat Noir by her side, she had taken to voicing her thoughts out loud to make up for the silence.

She swung towards the akuma when she caught sight of some civilians hiding behind some cars. Good, at least no one's trying to record it and putting themselves in danger.

Just as she let out a breath of relief, her eyes landed on a man crouching and running back into the park. Straight towards the akuma.

Ladybug dropped to a nearby lamppost and somersaulted through the air to land near him. "It's dangerous over here," she said sternly. Then her eyes took in the man before her: blond hair, green eyes, dashing good looks. Adrien?

He looked just as startled by her sudden appearance. "M- Ladybug?! What're you doing here?" he blurted out.

Ladybug bit her lip to hold back a laugh. "Um, there's an akuma." She pointed to the akuma that was attacking people a few hundred feet away.

He blushed. She had made Adrien Agreste blush! "Right. But what are you doing over here?"

She rolled her eyes. "Removing civilians from danger," she replied matter-of-factly. Then in one swift movement, she picked him up in her arms and carried him to safety.

He was fighting a smile when she dropped him off a block away from the danger. "Thank you, Ladybug, but I was trying to find one of the model's from my father's photo shoot. She was in one of the dressing tents last I saw her."

Ladybug nodded as she backed away. "All right, then I'll go check for her. And next time, M. Agreste, leave the saving to the heroes." She gave him a flirty wink and threw her yo-yo behind her without looking before being pulled away into the sky.

When she landed on a building across from the park she felt as if her face was on fire. Oh my gosh, she thought, when did I turn into Chat?

#miraculousladybug #fanfiction #marauderluverz #wip #adrienette #adrinette #LadyNoir #ladrien #marichat

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berrytaetae · 6 years

Text

college!taehyung ♡

a/n: i was inspired by my favourite - @warmau - to start writing; if you want to read some beautiful imagines, please read her work if you haven’t alreadyㅠㅠ i love this boy very much so i hope i did him justice... since this is my first imagine, constructive criticism is much appreciated! also, please feel free to message me - i have no friends :) -🍓

being the fashion major that he was, taehyung was always around campus looking like a greek god

even if what he was wearing included a kilt and a pair of sandals, he was always turning heads wherever he went

of course... his hair was no exception

it was basically his canvas, painting whatever new colour he wanted onto it

people would always ask whether he was worried about his hair falling out but taehyung just smiled his wide, rectangular smile and said that it was fine! he always wanted to try shaving his head anyway

and although the fashion majors were known for keeping to themselves, there was not one student who could say that they had never heard of taehyung

he was quite the social butterfly, always at college parties with his best friends, dance major jimin and film major jungkook

he wasn’t one of those people who went out to forget about their problems and wake up in some stranger’s bed in the morning

no, taehyung was always found dancing and laughing with some new friend he had just made

don’t get me wrong, taehyung enjoyed a shot of soju every now and then... he just knew how to control himself

of course, you knew of taehyung as well - he was infamous for his good looks after all - but you had never crossed paths

that was until one day, a friend from your study group had urgently called you because they had left their graphic design portfolio behind in the library and you, being the amazing friend that you were, had promised to pick it up and drop it off at the art building after class

after a long, emotional exchange of “you just saved my life” and “i owe you big time”, you had decided to wander around a bit... you had finished all your classes for the day anyway and you had never been to this part of the school before

so as you were walking around, listening to some music and admiring all the pretty paintings and sculptures, you hadn’t even noticed that someone else had joined you

it wasn’t until you had stopped in front of a particularly stunning watercolour painting that you had realised a boy was talking directly to you

taking your earphones out and apologising for your ignorance, you looked up to notice that this was not just some boy... no... this man standing next to you was the one and only kim taehyung... and wow he was even more attractive than you had imagined

stopping yourself from staring for too long, you stuttered, “i-i’m sorry... i didn’t quite catch what you were saying”

with a glistening smile, he repeated, “that’s okay! i was just asking what you found most beautiful about this painting?”

and before you could tell him that no, you weren’t an art major, taehyung started describing all the small details about what he believed the student was trying to convey through this form of expression

and you didn’t know what it was, but something about the way that he had captured the beauty of the painting in his words had prompted you to do the same

so you carefully explained everything from the colour, texture and composition to what you had interpreted differently about the symbolism of the painting to taehyung who was listening intently on what you had to say

and when you were done, he moved onto the next piece, doing exactly the same

you lost track of how long you guys had been talking for, but as you came to the last few displays, you noticed that the sun had already set and the cleaners were telling you guys to leave because they had to lock up the building

so taehyung and you went your separate ways and...

that was it

you hadn’t talked about anything else let alone exchange numbers... heck, if he wasn’t already known as the boy who caused way too many heart palpitations, you didn’t think you would have even caught his name

so you didn’t think much of your small encounter with taehyung until a few days later when you were grabbing lunch at the cafeteria

you were chatting with a friend, talking about the stress of exams and assignments, when you had reached out for the last bottle of banana milk

but instead of the cool plastic of the bottle, you were met with a soft, squishy object...?

and looking to your left, you had once again come face-to-face with kim taehyung for the second time that week

with a smirk, he snickered, “i see you can’t get enough of me”

“you’re the one who keeps following me around”

“and you’re the one who’s about to steal my banana milk”

and that’s when you began to rant about the shitty mess of a morning you had just experienced with someone spilling coffee all over your new white top and how your professor got angry at you for something you hadn’t even done when taehyung stopped you with a wink and said “don’t worry - i’ll strike you a deal. you get the milk if you help me with my next project”

and maybe it was the thought of not getting your banana milk that day or the way that taehyung had winked at you, but without a second thought, you had agreed to his proposal

so after handing you a napkin that he had quickly scribbled his number on, taehyung was gone as fast as he had appeared leaving both you and your friend dumbstruck in the middle of the cafeteria

“what was tha-”

“i don’t even know.”

that night, you had received a text from taehyung properly introducing himself and asking when you were free

and in a couple of minutes, you two had decided to meet at the cute cafe near campus the following tuesday

you couldn’t tell if something out there had decided to play tricks on you, but you swore that time moved infinitely slower in the days leading up to your date(?) with taehyung

but you planned out a super cute outfit for the day anyway

and when you got there, sitting down with your beverage of choice, you nearly choked when taehyung revealed what his exact plans for his next project actually were

“the fashion majors are holding a fashion show and i need you to be my model”

your first instinct was to immediately decline - you couldn’t walk down an entire hall without tripping let alone an entire runwary

but the excited look on his face stopped the words from slipping out and you were forced to nod your head with a sigh of resignation

so your next few weeks were filled with countless sessions of sketching, measuring and sewing

the hours would include taehyung groaning as he stained yet another one of his drawings with coffee as he worked on his project while you studied next to him until he needed to take his next measurement

but you guys got along well too well

taehyung would always make you laugh until you had tears wellling in your eyes and the people around you were annoyed from the amount of noise

and there was the small smiles and touches and the pink tint of blushing cheeks

and the moments of eye contact that lasted a little too long to be accidental

it didn’t help that taehyung was also a gentleman - he always offered to pay for your drink, brought you your favourite snacks from the convenience store and walked you to your dorm

but as much as you pleaded, he never showed you what he was working on, keeping everything as secret as possible

all you got were glimpses of fabrics and thread - nothing more and nothing less

and before the two of you knew it, it was the day of the fashion show

you, of course, were nervous

you had never done anything like this before and you didn’t even know what you were wearing for goodness sake

taehyung could have made you a clown costume for all you knew

but when you saw his bright smile greeting you and asking you to close your eyes, you suddenly felt the butterflies in your stomach become something more than just the thought of walking down a runway

with taehyung’s hands covering your eyes, making sure you wouldn’t peak, and a countdown from three, you were soon confronted by the most beautiful outfit you had ever seen

the white silk, adorned with the most intricate, fine details, caught the lights around it in the most beautiful ways

and the thought of taehyung working tireless hours to perfect this dress to fit every curve of your body made all your insides feel giddy

so in the spur of the moment, you threw yourself into taehyung’s arms, overwhelmed with the spectacular masterpiece that stood before you

but to your surprise, taehyung’s soft lips pressed against yours and you could feel him smile into the kiss

and in a soft whisper, taehyung asked, “before you try it on, i need to ask you something...”

and with a small nod of approval from you, he continued, “will you go out with me?”

“only if you let me keep the dress”

“i was going to let you keep it anyways”

“in that case, i’ll be happy to go out with you”

and that’s how you and taehyung became the most iconic couple on campus

like you guys constantly look like aesthetic couple pictures come to life with the matching outfits and everything

and you quickly come to learn that wow, this boy loves to cuddle

tbh he probably loves being the little spoon just as much as he loves being the big spoon uwu

when you guys are together, he always comes up from behind and wraps his arms around you, resting his chin on your head and shoulders

taehyung’s favourite place to take you out is the movies

he loves the feeling of the dark, open space

like he isn’t one of those people who gets bored halfway through a movie and starts making out with their significant other

no... taehyung is the type of person who will put all the armrests up and cuddle you through the whole movie AND the credits (”because what if there’s a post-credits scene that just makes everything perfect” he says)

once, taehyung had dyed his hair bright red and you refused to call him anything but ‘berry boy’ for an entire week

he eventually convinced you to dye your hair as well so it was a win-win situation in the end

his favourite place to kiss you is your neck and collarbones

“they’re made perfectly for my face” he says

and taehyung is honestly just boyfriend material™... like he would treat you riGHT

he would always buy you a bottle of banana milk and put it in your bag where you would find it with a cute note stuck onto it

and sometimes he would take you to fancy dinners where y’all would hold hands and enjoy a plate of spaghetti ‘lady and the tramp’-style with some glasses of wine

while on other days, he would take you on a picnic on the roof of some building so you could go stargazing

and sooner or later he would end up lying on your lap while you played with his hair, asking each other deep and personal questions about life

and taehyung would genuinely listen to all your answers because he thinks that your mind is just as beautiful as your face

and with closed eyes and a goofy grin on his face, he would tell you how much he loves you

and while you’re at it, give yourself a pat on the back because wow, you managed to score yourself a kim taehyung

#wow this was too cute #can someone please find me a taehyung #also can you tell that i love taehyung's red hair #bring back taehyung's red hair bighit #bts #bts v #kim taehyung #bts scenarios #bts imagines #taehyung x reader #taehyung imagine #taehyung scenario #bts v imagine #bts v scenarios #bts au

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kbox-in-the-box · 6 years

Text

Austin Kingsley: Star Prodigy — Episode 1, “Saving Alexandria,” Part 2

The cheery yellow 1971 Honda Z600 puttered to a stop in front of the imposingly monolithic warehouse, surrounded on all sides by a manufacturing park that had long since fallen into disrepair.

The driver stepped gingerly through the shallow puddles that dotted the grimy pavement, not wanting to muddy either her broken-in but still mostly white Adidas sneakers or her hot pink leg warmers.

“According to this, this is the place,” Mitzi Klingfeld confirmed, brushing back her billowy blonde hair as her bright blue eyes skimmed through the folder of loosely organized documents that Ms. Van Doren had handed her. “Building 49-A in the Hammersmith Industrial Development ... God, who would want to set up shop in the middle of the Engine Block?” she wondered, tugging at the loose neckline of her oversized sweater to keep it from falling off her shoulders.

As her sweater settled back down to its normal level, Mitzi spotted a small, seemingly hand-carved wooden sign, next to the structure's only visible entrance, whose homey and ornately rustic charm felt incongruous with the featureless exterior of the inner-city facility.

“The Bookhouse,” Mitzi read aloud, tracing her fingertips along the rough grain of the letters, before she fished a key out of the sheaf of paperwork with which Ms. Van Doren had entrusted her.

“Hello?” Mitzi called out nervously, as she was struck by the stark contrast between the sun outside, nearing its midday height in the Southwestern sky, and the murky darkness inside, punctuated only by perplexing, intermittently flashing, tiny chirping computer lights. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out towering shelves stocked with an eclectic mix of antique museum pieces and futuristic-looking devices whose functions she couldn't even begin to guess at. “Jeez, it's like the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark in here.”

“Quest Tracker recording, Star Point Portal experiment 51,” a man's voice announced, from further in the depths of the labyrinthine shelves. As Mitzi followed the voice to its source, she suddenly found herself facing the backside of a naked young man, standing inside a large upright ring, spreading his legs to plant his bare feet firmly at its base, as he extended his arms horizontally for his hands to grip the ring. Even as Mitzi quickly averted her stunned stare, she couldn't help but be reminded, by the pose of his body, of a five-pointed star.

“This is Austin Imhotep Kingsley, conducting scientist and guinea pig,” his voice reported for posterity, with enough of a wry tone that Mitzi could practically see his smirk, even as he continued to face away from her, “attempting to activate the Ouroboros on its own, minus the key of the star segments, by redirecting my recently received energies into the artifact.” As the ring's glow grew, Mitzi traced the light trails of its wires and tubes to a much smaller ring, an engraved stone relic on which the metallic model appeared to have been based.

“And with that, I suppose all that's left to say is ... Desperta Ferres,” Austin Kingsley declared tremulously, as his naked skin lit up with neon yellow symbols and patterns, whose energy pulsed and flowed, first into the larger ring, then into what Mitzi guessed must be the Ouroboros, illuminating them both with a rising hum, until crackling sparks flew from where Austin's hands and feet made contact with the ring, and an explosive force blew him backward, out of the ring and into the nearest row of shelves, where Mitzi had hidden to spy on him.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Mitzi repeated frantically, even as she immediately rushed out to grab the glaringly red extinguisher off its wall mounting and douse the flurry of flames that had replaced the shower of sparks coming from the ring, before she turned to Austin, who'd been knocked out by the blast. “Mister Kingsley?” she patted his face anxiously, hoping to revive him, while pulling a heavy wool blanket from the floor around him for warmth. “Please say you're okay.”

Austin coughed himself awake, to discover his head resting in Mitzi's miniskirted lap. He blinked his wide blue eyes at her, and she realized that his smooth, handsome young face made for a fitting match with his sleek, attractive body ... not that she'd been looking, of course.

“It didn't work, did it?” Austin checked, his tone so despondent that she couldn't resist brushing his silky, sandy brown bangs back from his knitted brow.

Mitzi shook her head with regret. “Whatever you were trying to do, I don't think it happened.” Curiosity overcame her. “What does 'Desperta Ferres' mean?”

“It's a Medieval Catalan battle cry,” Austin grunted as he rose to his feet, sloughing off the rough blanket like a snake shedding its skin, which compelled Mitzi to grudgingly turn her appraising gaze away yet again. “It means, 'Awake, iron,' which couldn't help but seem appropriate under the circumstances.” When he turned back to address her, he noticed her attention was fixed intently on the ceiling, her arms crossed tight over her broad chest. “Why are you ... oh, right. Western culture, nudity taboos. Sorry. I still forget sometimes.”

“Yeah, think you could take care of that? Thanks,” Mitzi requested curtly, and instantly felt a twinge of guilt over her mild abruptness, as Austin slipped on the same pair of black casual pants and matching utilitarian top he'd apparently been wearing before his experiment. The band collar with the gold trim opened into a low but narrow neckline, that allowed him to slip it over his head while barely mussing up his floppy mop of hair, and only exposed glimpses of the peach fuzz on his chest to those who were genuinely trying to catch sight of it.

Mitzi cleared her throat, as much to rouse herself from her reverie as to attract Austin's attention. "Look, I'm sure whatever you're doing here is super-important, and it's not like I'm in any position to judge how anyone else does their business, so if you could just fill out these forms, that Ms. Van Doren sent me over here to get completed, I promise I'll leave you alone, to strip down and electrocute yourself to your heart's content."

Austin rolled up his gold-hemmed sleeves as he scanned rapidly through the thick stack of expense inquiries. “Of course Nora sent you,” he muttered, as much to himself as to Mitzi. “Only seven keys in all of creation can open the doors of the Bookhouse, and they can't be duplicated.” He stopped short, in the midst of his nimble fingers flitting quickly through the overstuffed binder, to separate out a single sheet of paper from the pile. “This belongs to you, actually. It's your résumé from ... Trust-E Temps? And you might as well return the rest of Nora's tedious attempts at bookkeeping to the Athenæum on your way out. Please tell her I have no time to be nickel-and-dimed by the same company my parents started and her family stole.”

“Tell her yourself, Buster!” Mitzi slapped Austin's proffered paperwork against his chest, her temper finally flaring. “I'm tired of you two treating me like one of those little plastic players on a foosball table, and I couldn't care less about whatever sordid soap opera drama you've got going on between you!” She sighed wearily, her shoulders slumping so low that she briefly resembled a deflating balloon. “If you send me back there empty-handed, then Nora, or Ms. Van Doren, or whatever I'm supposed to call her? She'll call my agency, and I'll get a bad eval, and I'll be out of a job. And I've got a little girl to take care of, so that is just not going to happen, okay?” Mitzi mostly succeeded in keeping the tremor of impending tears out of her voice.

Austin so obviously had no idea how to handle such an outburst that Mitzi almost felt sorry for him, until he broke into a giddy grin that did little to reassure her. “Wait ... ah, why didn't I see it before? Stupid, Austin! Um ... Mitzi, is it? Or Ms. Klingfeld, if you prefer? If all you need is a new employer, then I could just hire you to help me out here! Oh, you'd be perfect!”

Mitzi winced reflexively. “It's not that I don't appreciate the vote of confidence, but ... well, I've been in enough bad relationships already that the absolute last thing I need in my life right now is to nursemaid yet another crazy person who's trying to kill themselves. No offense.”

“Two minutes,” Austin cajoled, holding up two fingers. “Give me just two minutes, maybe three, to give your perspective a paradigm shift ... and I'll fill out Nora's forms for you, regardless of your decision,” he exhaled heavily at the apparent weight of his concession. “Please.”

“Two minutes?” Mitzi checked skeptically.

“Maybe three,” Austin repeated, before venturing, “Possibly four?”

“Let's make this simple,” Mitzi held up her hand, before fetching her burgeoning purse from where she'd set it on the floor. “Lucky for you, I'm a sucker for hopeless headcases.” She fished through the depths of her handbag until she found her Walkman, the cord of its headphones still wound round it securely, to keep its cassette from popping out. “I've never been able to resist giving at least a single dance to just about any fella who can work up the nerve to ask. If he knocks my socks off, we keep on dancing. If he doesn't, I thank him kindly, and he still gets to say he got a free dance from a classy gal.”

This time, it was Austin's turn to pull a befuddled expression. “I ... never really learned how to dance.”

“That figures,” Mitzi snorted, before retrieving the tape marked “Heart: Alone/Barracuda” from the player, and holding it up to Austin's line of sight. “I'm guessing this'll be your first lesson on the Wilson sisters too, then.” She replaced the tape in the player, snapped its lid shut, hung its headphones around Austin's neck, and dialed their volume to maximum, before holstering the Walkman on the waist of her miniskirt. “I picked up this single during the summer. I've practically worn out the A-side since then. The song's about three and a half minutes, and you'll pardon the pun, but I know it by heart.”

“And I have the length of this song to make my case,” Austin grasped, as Mitzi noted that he seemed suddenly invigorated by being assigned such concrete parameters.

Mitzi beamed with approval in spite of herself. “Clever boy, Mister Kingsley.”

#Austin Kingsley: Star Prodigy #Austin Kingsley #Star Prodigy #Mitzi Klingfeld #Nora Van Doren #Beatrix Klingfeld #Bookhouse #Athenæum #Q-T #Quest Tracker #Star Point Portal #Ouroboros #Saving Alexandria

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