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bigskydreaming · 2 years

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My wishlist of dead mutants I still hope to see brought back or written about:

Scaleface, Rusty Collins, Chrome and Alchemy, Sara Grey and her kids, Jamila St. Croix, Kurt’s literal horde of half-siblings, the mutant members of the Trask family (Larry and Tanya), Adrienne and Cordelia Frost (last we saw of Cordelia she was alive, but apparently she died off-panel since then, wtf, ugh), Shard, Tyler Dayspring, Chris Bradley, Namorita, Siena Blaze, Johnny Dee, Gamesmaster, Trevor Chase, the Hayes (Molly Hayes’ parents from Runaways), Clan Akkaba and the various past Horsemen of Apocalypse because I want their reactions to Apocalypse having gotten what he was after all along and it NOT being what he told them, the Apocalypse Twins, Alexei Kravinoff, Haven, Lukas, Lucid, the Monroe siblings, Mulholland Black, Delphi, Persephone, Quiet Bill, Meme and Antonio Agazzis, and lastly......have some thoughts on Externals and how much they could be fleshed out as a concept now.

So:

1) Scaleface. I loved her and I'd also randomly like to see that one Morlock killed by Harpoon, Zeek....his outfit was so extra lol, but we have no idea what his power is or anything and I mostly just want a story about a random, one appearance dead mutant we never knew anything about before like, becoming a major player in mutant politics or superheroics or something upon their resurrection. 2) Rusty Rusty Rusty Rusty Rustyyyyyy - I've been on an original X-Factor kick lately and I miss this dork and so does Skids 3) Chrome as I've mentioned before, and also Alchemy. Transmutation powers are great and have so much potential, I think there's also a random background Academy X kid who was depowered named Collider who also had powers like that.....I wanna see the mutant alchemists back and what they can add to different mutant circuits 4) Sara Grey and her kids. There's a really powerful story waiting to be told about a woman whose previous only connection to mutantdom was advocating for it on her dead sister's behalf, but never with much connection to it beyond that.....and who was murdered before she ever had a chance to find out her sister rose from the grave. Then cut to a decade later, Sara Grey wakes up in a strange tree-cave with her believed dead sister before her, and for a second she thinks THIS is the afterlife before Jean tells her no, this is LIFE life, she's really back and now Sara is too because she was a mutant who just died before her power manifested....as did her kids, but before she panics, Jean assures her they can and will bring them back too, but they just wanted to bring Sara back first so she had a chance to acclimate to life and all the changes since her death before resurrecting her kids, so that Sara could be better prepared to help them through that confusion and ordeal as well.

Also, on a related note I would love to see Jamila St. Croix (the mother of Marius, Monet, Nicole and Claudette) brought back and revealed to have been a latent mutant. She was killed by Emplate who we know famously only ‘hungers’ for the life energies of other mutants, so.....

Plus, I imagine Monet and Emplate’s mother has to be a force of nature personality wise, and I would love for resurrection to be used to give rise to major players among mutantkind with the implication that they WOULD have been big names alongside Xavier, Shaw, Exodus and others by now, if not for their deaths.

I’m just saying, Jamila St. Croix for Quiet Council Seat Number 12. 5) Similarly, I kinda want Kurt's horde of half-siblings back and Kurt adjusting to the reality of HAVING all these familial connections that for the most part only existed as abstract ideas for him in the past. His family has always just been his sister Rogue and his estranged mother Mystique, and his even more estranged and detested father Azazel.....but now throw in a repowered Abyss, Kiwi Black, and even the various half-siblings we only briefly glimpsed in the Draco. As Azazel just to be a petty bitch (because its not like he even cares about his kids), like, makes a whole truckload of noise about "oh the Quiet Council insists we were all given amnesty for past deeds before Krakoa, but how many of its deceased enemies have benefitted from resurrection yet? We've all heard the rumors by now, of how they tried to keep Destiny from returning...let them prove their amnesty isn't just for the handful of mutant enemies of theirs who happened to be lucky enough to still be alive when Krakoa was founded!" 6) This could also lead to the return of controversial figures on Krakoa like the mutant members of the Trask family, Larry and Tanya, or Adrienne and Cordelia Frost despite Emma's attempts to keep them out of resurrection. I'm gonna keep harping on Adrienne's return, because of how good a foil she is for Emma, but also because now that Everett's in his Glow-Up Era and a possible omega on the rise, I want him to have a chance to confront the woman responsible for his death and make her live with the awareness of how thoroughly the student of her sister's that she disdained as a teenager has fucking lapped her and will always be more important in the eyes of other mutants than Adrienne could ever aspire to be. 7) Shard neeeeeeeds to come back somehow, I don't care how, and Greystone too, but like look it may be tricky but you can't tell me they can't find a way, and that Bishop doesn't have the desire to see her resurrected. I mean, his next storyline is going to involve TIME TRAVEL, yeah its to the past, but its just a further reminder there's gotta be SOME way to get back to his original timeline and nab a DNA sample and Cerebro back-up of her. 8) Would also love to see Tyler Dayspring back, for the potential drama and ethical implications of like, say.....maybe its not even Cable who pushes for his resurrection because Tyler by the time he died was so twisted from the boy Nathan once raised and already grieved that Nate's like....let the past stay buried, he has a different perspective on resurrection perhaps, idk. But point being like, it doesn't even HAVE to be Cable who pushes to bring Tyler back because one of the Five just so happens to be Tyler's adopted sister who has grown up AWARE of Tyler and the impact his life and death had on their shared father. Imagine a story where Hope with the best intentions gets the rest of the Five to help her resurrect the adopted brother she'd never known, but deliberately only ages him to like, how old he was as a teenager BEFORE Stryfe got his hands on him, and similarly only back him up to that point, so its a teenage Tyler even younger than her who returns....idk. Possibilities. 9) Chris Bradley aka Bolt. Said it before and I'll say it again, I want him back and I want his surrogate older brother Iceman to find out it was Maverick who accidentally killed Chris after Bobby had trusted him with Chris on Logan's say so....especially given Maverick's 'man without a country' status in regards to Krakoa, over in his appearances in Wolverine. Also add in the fact that Chris at the time of his death had no way of knowing it was Maverick who was killing him, and had only set out in Maverick's guise in order to AVENGE his mentor.....Chris struggling to adjust to the reality that his trusted mentor was the very reason he'd died, and now he's persona non grata in the eyes of the country that just brought Chris back to life.....there's drama for days in that story! FOR DAYS!

10) And if bringing back Chris, for sure bring back Namorita too, who as far as I know is still dead since the Stamford incident. I honestly loved those issues of New Warriors where she and Chris were totally platonic roommates, and as much as I also want to see both of them interacting with Firestar, Silhouette and Timeslip on Krakoa, and Vance too if he ever comes check it out or even just gets told 'hey come see who's back'....there's a really interesting story to be told, I think, in Namorita and Chris both coming back after dying at very different times and being like, let's room together again as we try and adjust to what the FUCK all has happened since we checked out.

11) Siena Blaze and Johnny Dee are two villains who were extremely effective at times and could be so again. Also Gamesmaster - not sure what his status is, whether he died, ended up depowered, or just has been in comic book Limbo, but I think he'd be a fascinating character to play with in the current era, because the only reason he gave up his game of killing the remaining New Mutants and Hellions is Paige Guthrie pitched him a NEW game....that for twenty five years, we've never seen followed up on but could be more relevant now than ever before. Basically, Paige sold him on a new challenge....she pointed out how many new mutants were being born in the 90s era, the future New Mutants and Hellions of the next generation....and who would of course be susceptible to being led or influenced by their elders like Magneto and Xavier and Emma Frost had influenced the New Mutants and Hellions. Paige challenged Gamesmaster to get to these new emerging mutants before Xavier and the others, 'win' a new game of being the one to influence the next generation of mutants the most, be the 'new Xavier/Magneto/Emma' of a rising generation....and then we like. Literally never ever saw that followed up on a little.

But cut to the current era, which has specifically been critiqued both out of universe and IN universe like in Ayala's New Mutants book, for being sort of aimless when it comes to the younger generations of mutants and no real guidance being offered for them or idea what to do with them....and have Gamesmaster either arrive on the island or be resurrected if dead (perhaps without anyone really realizing just WHO they're resurrecting, as the Gamesmaster always kept his true identity well hidden, and it doesn't seem like when downloading back-ups into the new host bodies that telepaths actually have the time or inclination to skim through everything contained in that consciousness)....and bam. You have the IDEAL antagonist for the New Mutants going forward, the very people most associated with the Gamesmaster in his previous stories....as they fight for the future zeitgeist of their people. 12) The Chases - another deep cut centered around Irene Adler's reality warping grandson Trevor Chase. We haven't seen him in decades and no idea if he died or was depowered after M-Day, but he was just a kid last we saw him, as Mystique was watching over his family in Irene's name. I'm pretty sure it was Justine Chase, Trevor's mother, who was Irene's daughter from a period when she and Raven weren't together, but it was never really hinted that she was a mutant herself....so either the X-gene skipped a generation or maybe Justine was just a latent mutant. Either way, I could see post-Inferno and after reuniting with Rogue, Irene looking into what happened to her other child and grandchild.....and thus bringing Trevor into relevancy that way (he should be a teenager now if still alive) or using her pull as a Council member to get Trevor and possibly his mother or father brought back as well. 13) The Hayes - Molly Hayes' mutant parents. They could be extremely interesting characters moving forward as we know very little about their powers but we DO know that they don't lack for ambition.....not only could their resurrection give Molly actual emotional conflict about going to Krakoa when she really isn't interested otherwise....it could be a great way to introduce two new antagonists that are blank slates in mutant stories but already with a strong conceptual foundation. 14) Clan Akkaba - Apocalypse's hand-picked clan of descendants and worshippers has numbered in the hundreds of thousands at some points, with most (other than the few random outliers like Frederick Slade, Blink's great-granddad or something like that) having been killed by the Apocalypse Twins after being depowered during M-Day. But now they should all be in the resurrection queue due to be reborn with their original powers, and I'm totally down to meet a new character who's introduced as an ambitious Clan Akkaba resurrectee who spent their entire life dedicated to pushing Apocalypse's agendas....and then came back to life to find out not only was Apocalypse's grand design NOT what they'd expected, he'd seemingly fulfilled it in their absence and peaced out a la 'I got mine, bitches' - leaving hundreds of thousands of future resurrectees without purpose and potentially feeling let down or betrayed, like their lives were wasted or pointless.....which is a hell of a recipe for new antagonists. 15) The Apocalypse Twins - similar to Tyler Dayspring, they were once upon a time innocent babies who got hijacked by Kang's twisted agenda, and he literally raised them with deliberate methods of abuse, indoctrination, etc, specifically TO shape them into the villains they became. I'd like to see Warren at least show some 'what if' feelings about them even though he's emotionally distanced from their very existence due to how fucked up his head was when they were even born, like, all of that had very little to do with the character and persona that is Warren as he is when not being manipulated - BUT the very fact that Warren himself knows better than just about anyone what its like to be constantly manipulated and twisted into a boogeyman of someone else's deliberate design, like, I can see that as being the basis for Warren feeling drawn to his kids that he never really got the chance to know and wonder what they could have been if they'd just ever been given the chance to just BE on their own terms. 16) Alexei Kravinoff - Kraven the Hunter's mutant son, who could be an extremely capable antagonist for Wolverine or similar characters, a rival mercenary like the role Maverick and Solem play in his solo title. Also, he's the kind of character who IMO would be drawn to Arakko and could be potentially very interesting to build up in stories there. 17) Other former Horsemen of Apocalypse - these were some of the 'biggest guns' in mutant history, so it'd be very interesting to see them as like....a kinda lost, aimless group unto themselves who are like, at the top of everyone's Rolodex whenever mass destruction is called for and omegas are busy. Decimus Furius, Sanjar Javeed, Plague, Autumn Rolfson, Jeb Lee, Abraham Kieros, Ichisumi, Phantom Bats of the Twelve Minds....collectively, they're one hell of a wrecking ball. Yeah, some of them are nasty assholes, so don't give them redemption arcs, just write the story of what do you do with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse after the Apocalypse has LITERALLY come and gone? 18) Clay, Marcus Tsung, Armageddon Man, Switch, King Bedlam, Paradigm, Dirtnap - like with Siena Blaze, Johnny Dee, Kravinoff and the Horsemen, in the interest of building up more mutant villains who aren't wrapped up in mutant political plot armor, these are all potential A-listers with the right focus....Clay was a hitman with Jamie Madrox's powers, a literal army of assassins unto himself. Marcus Tsung had a power called 'telekinetic bullets,' basically a specialized blast of telekinetic energy that hit like a bullet and was basically impossible to guard against and left zero trace evidence linking back to him. Devon Alomar aka Switch might not be dead, but hasn't been seen in ages....regardless, his power is to switch minds with anybody he locks eyes with, jumping them into his body and himself into theirs, which he used for many a frame-job while his partners watched his literal back as long as someone else was stuck in it, until he was ready to hop back into his own body. King Bedlam, one half of the depowered Bedlam brothers with his brother having been a member of X-Force briefly.....had the power to psychically throw anyone's mind into total confusion, like a psychic hand grenade that just blew apart their ability to concentrate, focus their power, form logical thoughts or speech, etc. (His brother, in contrast, could wreck the same havoc but on technology instead of psyches). The Armageddon Man was a nameless, powerful mutant who was kidnapped by a government agency and forced into hibernation from an early age as they feared his power....which was essentially that he acts as a lightning rod for natural disasters. Unlike Magma, Storm, Iceman and other elementals, he's not a powerful alpha or omega capable of using natural forces to cause mass destruction.....he's ONLY capable of mass destruction because he doesn't control or use these natural disasters....he basically just triggers them. Also Paradigm was a powerful technokinetic infected with the Phalanx virus from a young age, but we never really got a glimpse of either his personality or the Armaggedon Man's, and they both were more 'used as tools by people' characters so they could actually go the nonvillain route or be rightfully pissed off about their past treatment, there's grounds for both. But Clay, Tsung, King Bedlam, Switch - they LIKE being assholes. Oh yeah, and Dirtnap. He was a messed up dude who could absorb people into his body and then shapeshift into them. He got stuck as a rat for a long time. Long story. But then he died so he wouldn't be a rat anymore when he came back, just a fucked up dude, so there's that. Oh and basically Mountjoy could kinda do the same thing, and he was always an interesting antagonist to Bishop, if someone came up with a reason to bring him back. And he never got himself stuck as a rat, so. Probably makes him a better villain.

19) Glow Worm - we saw his 'partner in crime' Bulk in the background in Marauders Annual, but I'd like to see their resurrections expanded upon because they were always tragic figures. They were two mutants from the original X-Factor run who stayed away from humans and mutants alike because they were literally radioactive, but NOT because of their powers, just from being steeped in radiation for so long that it was gradually killing them and killed everyone they came into contact with. They just happened to be more resistant to it, but it ultimately DID kill them. So I imagine being able to bring them back, sans radiation and not forced to isolate themselves from all other mutants, might make for a cool story about the original X-Factor having had a chance to finally 'make right' one of their earliest failures and one that at the time had weighed quite heavily on them. Along similar lines, another of X-Factor's past failures that haunted them was the death of Michael Nowlan - he was a mutant who could boost other mutants' powers but in the process made them kinda dependent on him like a drug. Apocalypse used him to boost his Alliance of Evil henchmen like Tower, Stinger, Frenzy and Timeshadow. X-Factor were unable to stop Nowlan from being killed in a fight with the Alliance.....definitely would impact them to have him back.

20) Lowballing this one because I honestly don't expect to see it happen given how complicated it would make things, but people like Amanda Mueller and Fiona Knoblach would be really interesting to see on Krakoa as they're like....literally Scott and Jean's ancestors. Amanda of course is Scott's grandfather's grandmother, with a longevity power that means technically she might still be around somewhere though we haven't seen her in ages (other than X-Men Legends), and Fiona is Jean's many times removed grandmother, a precognitive mutant with telepathic abilities she used to hop herself from one body to the next and survive all the way up until Messiah Complex, when she was one of the precogs Sinister had his Marauders take out.

21) DELPHI - I would looooove if she came back, she was a super obscure Genoshan mutant of Nigerian descent I believe, who had the real unique ability to extract memories and skills from people and then store them externally in objects and artifacts that would then 'transmit' the memories to whomever picked up the object it was stored in. In her like, one appearance, she used her powers to help X-Force on a mission by giving them various items from her shop that contained different memories or knowledge that they'd need. Like Warpath's box gave him a mapmaker's memories of the city layout, Dani's artifact contained the medical expertise of a doctor, Tabitha got a box that contained some scientist's memories of access codes to a specific facility. Idk, I always thought she was cool and had a really unique power that could be used all kinds of ways in the current era, for like, new kinds of mutant art or whatever where an artist's memory of what inspired a work could be 'contained' in the art itself, or like, to help teams with various missions and expertise like she did with X-Force that time.

22) Genus - Tim Rhodes would be an interesting resurrection to explore, as his power was biological transmutation. He basically could gene graft one species onto another, thus changing people into animals....but with it also theorized that he could literally GIVE humans mutant genes and turn them into mutants....or turn mutants into humans, which was why Namor advocated for killing him when Xavier was trying to recruit him.

23) Guardian (Derek Morgan) and Mach II, as well as Jimmy Hudson if he's died off in space, would be interesting to see resurrected just because of the differences in the Ultimate Universe mutants and the regular one....are they compatible? Were they still considered mutants by Cerebro (I'd say yes since the X-Men Blue team used Cerebro to find them), and as long as they have back-ups, can't they still be brought back via DNA samples even though they're not 616 mutants, since technically the process doesn't REQUIRE you be a mutant to work, even, the main issue is just that Cerebro is a mutant detection system so only backs up mutant consciousnesses.... (honestly I don't really care if they never acknowledge again that Ultimate mutants are technically different, I just liked these three and would like them around).

24) Haven (Radha Dastoor) - Honestly her storyline was fucked up, and she was an interesting character and her pocket dimension was really cool in application. Also I'd like to see her brother Monsoon back too though I think he's actually still alive. But yeah I think 'hey remember when this character literally got ripped in half by the Adversary when birthing itself after she'd carried its new body to gestation believing it to genuinely be her baby' is reason enough to give a character a do-over. That story was fucked up. Plus, she was powerful as fuck, we could always use more desi characters, and the Adversary is back to being relevant again so I say Radha's got a score to settle, let her balance the books.

25) The Monroe kids - Flashback aka Gardner Monroe's son and daughter Malcolm and Jenny inherited his ability to pull other versions of themselves from different points in time, and then died in Secret Warriors after Fury blackmailed them into joining up. Waste of some great characters - they were basically like Madrox, but their 'dupes' were from elsewhere in their timeline meaning they could be any age and allowed them to pull various 'shape-shifting'-esque tricks, by using versions of themselves who looked different than expected due to being much older or younger than the person they were trying to fool knew them to actually be.

26) Lucid was the little girl who died of M-Pox in Limbo during IvX, she had X-Ray vision and was a huge X-Men fan, so her human sister yelled at the X-Men to visit her on her deathbed because all she ever wanted in life was to be an X-Man like them. Like, there's so much focus on the negative aspects of Krakoa, just give me a heart-warming story about Storm showing up at the house of Lucid's mother and sister and asking them to just trust her and come with her, there's something they need to see....and bringing them to Krakoa for Lucid's resurrection ceremony. Show us more humans integrating into Krakoa, Lucid's family were ride or die for their mutant family member so why shouldn't they be like Kyle and like I say Mrs. Guthrie should be, more than welcome to live with their child/sister on Krakoa where she's safe and happy, and enjoying her second chance at growing up to someday still become an X-Man if she still wants to.

27) Lukas was a Genoshan mutant with a power that like Dani's allowed him to sense fears....but instead of making illusions based on them, he shapeshifts into a physical embodiment of that fear. Like the Avengers Initiative kid Trauma - I always liked him and his power and how he used it but I don't care enough about Avengers to read books he makes the occasional appearance in, so I say do all that with Lukas over in the X-books lmao.

28) Mulholland Black - I reeeeeeally want to know what her powers would work like if on Krakoa or Arakko instead of in LA.

29) Persephone - Her zombie powers were kinda cool, particularly with the range she had in how fully she resurrected someone or not, and I wonder if she could sub in as part of the Five's circuit.

30) Quiet Bill - I just think he's neat. LOL, a scryer able to open viewing portals to other timelines and realities, and cross over at will. Like, he could be Krakoa's Guy in the Chair just channel-surfing through various realities to see what they're doing in other timelines and get ideas. Idk. I just want all the precogs and clairvoyants Sinister killed off in Messiah Complex to come back and start a We Really Hate This Dude and Here's Why If You're Gonna Kill Off The People You're Scared Know Too Much, You Should Really REALLY Make Sure It Sticks.

31) Saint Anna, Triage, etc - I've heard Triage was seen in a background panel somewhere so presumably is already back and repowered, but make it official. Literally my only reasoning here is I'm sick of how 'small' they make the island feel when Krakoa's supposed to be a nation of 200,000 mutants by now with more resurrected every day. Its ridiculous to act like the Healing Gardens are staffed by a grand total of the Morlock Healer and Cece Reyes - not that they're not great at their jobs and sure it makes sense Elixir is busy, but there's SO MANY HEALING MUTANTS you could have running around in the background there just easily establishing that like....this island's got resources. Its not staffed by a skeleton crew of the same five characters across every book.

32) Lastly:

Externals.

So Burke, a precog who represents Fortitude, was recently reborn to parents in Canada a few years back, after Gideon killed him. Some people have pointed out that theoretically Externals are outdated now since all mutants are immortal, but I think its worth noting that Externals are still unique in that they don't need to rely on the Five to come back. Part of their nature is that as long as they're not trapped in some mystical way, like by the External Gate, or as long as they're not all killed off by one single External who absorbs the power of all the rest, they CAN die, but they'll always be reborn on their own....though they have to grow up all over again.

Its that last part that's potentially really interesting to me, because as has often been noted.....pretty much all the Externals we know of are assholes, even if they represent concepts that aren't inherently evil like with Burke and Fortitude, or Saul and Patience, Nicodemus and Wisdom. BUT....what if it turns out that all along, there have always been plenty of other, more benevolent Externals, like ones representing Innocence, Joy, Justice, etc......but these particular Externals throughout history have opposed the worst Externals and been their enemies......to the extent that when some of them like Selene, Gideon, Krule, etc, have managed to kill these other Externals at various points in the past.....they then came up with ways to track when and where each of these Externals were reborn.....and then made sure to kill them all over again when they were still young, before they had a chance to age up into adulthood and become threats to them once more?

After all, back when the Externals believed that Sam Guthrie was the newest External to be born, the embodiment of Hope, they went back and forth between first blackmailing him into staying out of all External business or they'd kill all his friends, and then trying to woo him to their side when they felt they needed his help. Now, eventually Marvel retconned the idea that Sam was an External and said all the people who claimed that were just lying, even though its still canon that Sam returned from the dead on his own just like an External (to clarify, Externals can die, but normally if they're not killed by another External, they resurrect right away.....whereas its only if they're killed by an External that they're reborn elsewhere as a baby). But the retcon about Sam was for the same reason Marvel killed most of the Externals at that time and said the remaining ones like Apocalypse and Selene weren't technically Externals....the TV show Highlander threatened to sue over similarities in the concept. But given that they no longer are concerned about that ever since they brought back the Externals five or six years ago, even pre-Krakoa....its possible that Sam being the External of Hope is once again back on the table.

Point being, what if how the Externals approached Sam was something they've actually done with multiple other 'good' Externals in the past, and its only when those ones have all refused to play ball that the others killed them and kept making sure they stayed dead or never had a chance to regrow to full power?

Imagine if each of the 'known' Externals like Selene and Gideon have their own personal hitlists of various 'good' Externals....but now that the Five can resurrect any mutant as they were when they died....including ones who might possibly be Externals....suddenly, the remaining Externals might be VERY worried because their old approach of killing off their rivals in childhood is no longer an option. Any day now, the Five could resurrect various External enemies of theirs as full grown adults already possessing their full powers and knowledge....and Selene, Gideon and the rest can't really object without revealing that all along there have been benevolent Externals who only wanted to help other mutants.....but Selene and the others have been keeping that from happening for the sake of their own personal agendas.

ALSO, add to that the fact that we know at least a few Externals went with Arakko to fight Amenth - the White Sword is stated to be an External (possibly embodying Valor, or maybe Mercy given his healing powers, and he could just happen to have a particularly harsh personal view of what Mercy entails).....and Isca is hinted to be an External given that the sword she made for her brother-in-law Apocalypse was said to be 'imbued with External Sadness' making me think perhaps she's the External embodiment of Sorrow (a nod to the way her power makes her betray her chosen side if the odds are too stacked against them). And its possible Genesis might also be an External (Cultivation perhaps? A nice counterpart to her husband's embodiment of Evolution), and there could be other Externals who went with them to fight Amenth, or Externals who were born in that dimension over the past 4,000 years.

Anyway, all this is just to say that I always loved the possibilities in the Externals, and a series showcasing their fights and squabbles throughout history could literally be EPIC....but also, with the return of various Externals from Amenth, the addition of new ones born to the Arakki over the past 4,000 years, and potentially the resurrection of Externals that the others have ensured stayed dead for centuries......imagine something like War of the Externals, as these ancient conflicts erupt in the modern day, due to these confluences of factors?

(Also my personal headcanon is the whole embodiment of various concepts thing could be because Externals are literal incarnations of mutant zeitgeists. Like the whole notion of gods are created by the myths and belief of their people....well mutants as a people are beings possessed of all kinds of psychic powers and energy manipulating abilities, etc. What if every so often, the collective zeitgeist of all living mutants takes form from all that ambient psychic, creative energy that mutants pump out into their environment and atmosphere....and THIS is what results in the birth of a brand new External, a mutant inherently tied to a concept or emotional state expressed by thousands or millions of mutants....to such an extent that this External is tied to mutantkind as a whole and fueled by how much energy and focus mutants pour into that particular External's 'embodiment'? Thus if Selene was born of all the existing mutants of her time accidentally birthing Corruption incarnate....the more mutants engage in acts of Corruption, the more power it feeds her. Which could explain why Externals are so intent on eliminating rivals that could erode their own powerbase....someone like Selene has a vested interest in making sure an External of Innocence or Justice never gains a foothold allowing them to influence mutant society as much as Selene herself does).

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nordleuchten · 3 years

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La Fayette in Prison - Part 4.2 - Adrienne in Paris

After six months the dreaded news came. Adrienne was to be transferred to Paris. Virginie wrote:

My mother arrived in Paris on the 19th of Prairial, the eve of the fete de l'Étre supréme, three days before the decree of the 22nd, which organized une terreur dans la Terreur. At that time, no less than sixty people were daily falling victims of the Revolutionary Tribunal. All seemed to forebode approaching death to my mother.

Her children were allowed to visit her one last time and her oldest daughter, Anastasie, argued and pleaded with the guards that she was old enough to be taken with her mother to Paris, that she was an adult and guilty of the same “crimes” as her mother. Anastasie was fifteen at this point in time and the guard refused her, although they were visibly touched by her plea.

Frestel, well aware of the imminent danger, wrote Morris in Paris and informed him about the situation. Morris lost no time and immediately demanded Robespierre himself to release Adrienne - he was ignored. Morris had previously been quite open about this dislike for the revolution and was therefore not really welcomed. He however made it very, very, very clear, that the Americans were quite attached to La Fayette and his whole family and that if, should anything happen to Adrienne or the children, this could quite possible be the final straw for the Americans. He said, and I paraphrase here, Morris himself was a tad more diplomatic, “Our rebellion against England started with a trade boycott. America is one of the last countries that still trades with France. The American government is and will remain neutral, but if something were to happen to Adrienne or her children and the American people start boycotting French goods, well, what is the government supposed to do?” After that, Morris was even more hated by the Jacobins but his initiative proofed to be successful. Adrienne remained in prison but it was made clear that she should not be executed. Americas neutrality was nothing that France could afford to lose.

Frestel had furthermore collected all the jewellery that still reminded in Chavaniac and sold most of it, so that Adrienne would have money while in prison. A number of the servants even gave some of their own money to Adrienne (have I mentioned how great and loyal and amazing the servants were?).

Adriennes mother, the duchess d’Ayen, her sister, the vicomtesse de Noailles and her grandmother, the duchess de Noailles were all executed early in July of 1794. Her mother and sister had fled to safety in Switzerland but decided to return to France to nurse Adrienne’s dying grandfather. After his death, the three women were arrested. Virginie wrote concerning their arrests:

My grand mother and my aunt de Noailles, who had remained along time at Saint - Germain, to take care of the Maréchal de Noailles in his old age, returned to Paris after his death, anxious to attend once more to their religious duties. They were, soon after their return, put under arrest in their own house, at the Hôtel de Noailles. The danger of their situation filled my mother's mind with terror and absorbed all her thoughts.

They died on the same day. Their local priest was able to get close enough to them to give them the absolution. He later noted that the two duchesses at least were content with their fate because they would both die before their child. On the day of the execution, the duchess de Noailles was the first to be guillotined, followed by her daughter, the duchess d’Ayen who in her turn was followed by her daughter, the vicomtesse de Noailles. A parent should not outlive their child.

I can not imagine what Adrienne must have felt as she received the news. All her live she had been extremely close with her mother and her older sister Louise. She furthermore could never be completely certain that she were not to follow her family members to the guillotine. Her American connections kept her safe for the time being, but that could change quickly.

The downfall of Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety was Adrienne’s salvation. More moderate forces took over the reign of government and less and less people were executed. Adrienne however was still in prison - and she did not know why. James Monroe, a close and dear friend of La Fayette had just taken over as ambassador from Morris and getting Adrienne out of prison was one of his top priorities. He could not risk a diplomatic misstep in his affair and he therefor did something very clever - he asked his wife Elizabeth Monroe if she would like to visit Adrienne. Elizabeth naturally agreed and soon the Monroe couple visited Adrienne on a regular basis and brought her all sorts of things she might need in prison. Their visits served two purposes (beside cheering poor Adrienne up). They made it clear that America was still very invested in the wellbeing of Adrienne and her family. They also kept Adrienne in the spotlight because it almost seemed as if the new government had simply forgotten that she was still imprisoned - and still without any reasonable charges. Adrienne wrote Monroe on October 3, 1794:

It is likely that I will be the last to leave this place. I believe that the threat of execution is subsiding and if hope persists, there is no danger for me, as I have not the least reason to be held. But the situation of my children so far away from me adds to the sorrow that will follow me to my grave. These cruel anxieties and this kind of torment not being completely without remedy, I beg you to ease my cares by allowing me a moment of conversation with a man who should have your full confidence. Nothing is easier than what I am asking you, and I cannot believe that you would refuse me. (…)I truly need you to look after the interest of my dear children from whom I have been torn apart. It isn’t too much I think after a two-month confinement in the same place, to ask for the consoling confirmation that I have some right to hope for my liberation at the moment of their arrival. You see, my dear sir, that I assume no pride in this because I sense that you have already enough assurances of my appreciation that I am ready for you to undertake new responsibilities. But, I am accustomed to remaining silent when I am not allowed to express openly what I feel. Pardon the candor with which I express myself to you; and doubt not that not only what the United States and its minister has done for me, but what they have willingly attempted to do for me, has instilled in me a very sincere appreciation.

There are many letters between Monroe and Adrienne, a few letters between Adrienne and Washington and only one letter between Adrienne and La Fayette (that I know of). Monroe did not only aided Adrienne in obtaining her release but he also helped her further with her finances and to take care of several relatives and former employees. Here is just one of the many, many examples. Adrienne wrote to Monroe in an undated letter (in all likelihood November 1794):

I cannot finish without recommending again to the kindnesses of the American minister, Mr Mercier, a servant who has served me for seventeen years with fidelity and zeal, and who has also run risks for me and shared with me a month in prison. He has a position at this moment, but I cannot bear the idea that he would suffer poverty. And I need to hope that he will not be abandoned by the United States. A very poor family whose son is the victim with my husband also has sacred claims to their kindness, the father, the mother and five children will be furnished of what aid that will relieve them.

Adrienne was not in a great position herself, but she constantly thought of others.

After a grand total of sixteen months in prison, Adrienne was finally released. Her immediate aim was to get her son and his tutor Frestel to the safe shores of America. She first re-purchased Chavaniac from the government so that Louise Charlotte and her children had a safe place to stay. She also argued with the government that she was eligible to inherit her mother’s properties - they eventually agreed with her. Monroe in the meantime had “found” an American passport for Georges. (Let me know if you all are interested in a separate post about Georges time and reception in America).

Adrienne and her daughters travelled to Austria, there to argue for La Fayette’s release - and that is exactly where we continue next time, with La Fayette’s stay in the infamous Olmütz prison.

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daveeddiggsit · 3 years

Text

No Return

Note: so this is not a new fic. i actually posted it back in 2017 (but deleted all my smut from this blog about a year afterwards haha we love being impulsive). but i’m over myself now, so i’m reposting! a lot of you have been asking about it, so... here you go. posted for all of y’all to enjoy again.

Word Count: 4.7k

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x Reader

Warnings: smut. cursing.

Summary: Diggs loses a bet which results in him owing you a lap dance.

Parties at Rafa’s place were always the best; the drinks were great, the music was amazing, the atmosphere was never dull, but the best part about them were the incredible people that made up each one; you were never bored. There was always something to do whether you were talking to people, dancing, playing drinking games, or just drinking in general. And that’s why whenever you were told that there was going to be a party at Rafael Casal’s apartment, you never turned it down...even if you ended up showing up late.

“Well, look at who finally decided to show up.” You heard a familiar voice say as you walked through the door to Rafa’s place. Daveed grinned widely at you before he slid an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close to him as you walked deeper into the apartment. “My favorite!”

Daveed was one of your closest friends and if you were being honest, it would have been a lie if you said you didn’t want him to become something more than that. The two of you often flirted and were constantly together (these occurrences happened so often that there were many times people believed you were dating), but neither of you had made a real move. You knew how you felt toward him, and he was giving you signs that he felt the same way, but no true actions were made by either party. So that’s why it stayed the way it was between you two: just close friends who often flirted with each other.

“Aw, I’m your favorite?” You asked, raising your voice so he could hear you over the loud music that was pumping through Rafa’s speakers.

“Uh, yeah,” he stated as if it was obvious, “but don’t tell anyone else. It’s a secret between you and me.” He whispered in your ear as you entered the kitchen.

Yeah, he had definitely downed a few drinks before you got here.

“Diggs, I’m pretty sure everyone heard you when you shouted it.” You laughed as you plucked the cup half-full of alcohol from his grasp, draining it of its contents. He pouted at you once you handed him back an empty cup.

“Y/N, hey! It’s been forever since I’ve seen you!” Adrienne said from beside Rafa who was pouring out a few drinks.

“Hey!” You pulled away from Daveed’s grasp to give her a hug. She’d been away in Canada for the last few weeks shooting for a new project she was working on. “I’ve missed you! Why’d you have to leave me alone to deal with these boys for so long?”

Adrienne laughed while Rafael furrowed his eyebrows.

“Oh, so you didn’t miss me? I see how it is, Y/N, I see how it is.” He feigned hurt, before pushing a couple of newly filled cups towards you and Daveed.

You rolled your eyes at him. “We had lunch a few days ago, Cash, it hasn’t been that long since I’ve seen you.”

“But so much has changed since then.”

You chuckled before taking a sip. “Like what? Did you finally finish that song you’ve been working on?”

“No.” Rafael replied before he smiled at Adrienne beside him. “Unlike Diggs, I am no longer a single and lonely Bay Boy.”

Daveed’s eyebrows furrowed as he cocked his head. “Yo, who said I was lone—?”

“You guys are finally together? Oh my god, congrats!” You cut in with widened eyes.

They both grinned at each other before Rafa leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“Aww,” you gushed, “you two are couple goals already.”

A few seconds passed before you felt Daveed’s arm drape around your shoulders again.

“You know, we could be couple goals too.” He said, looking down at you with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes, pushing him away. “Ha, you wish, Diggs.”

You laughed it off because you knew he was too tipsy to be serious. He always flirted with you like this, but why did this time feel so different?

A few drinks later, you were beginning to feel the familiar light-hearted, buzzing feeling course throughout your body, giving you a boost of energy. You had drifted away from Daveed and Rafa to roam through the house and catch up with people you hadn’t seen since your Hamilton days. You were talking with Adrienne and Ari when you heard your name being called from behind you.

“Aye, Y/L/N!”

You turned your head to see Daveed standing next to a table a few feet away.

“Diggs!” You responded in the same playful tone.

He grinned at you before waving you over. “Come play Flip Cup with me.”

“Really?” You quirked an eyebrow. “You lose every time you play against me, D.”

“I’m feeling confident today. I’ve been practicing.”

You tried not to laugh as you rose from your seat and approached him. “Practicing?”

“Bruh,” Rafa snickered at his friend from the other end of the table. “You played a few games before this and won two in a row. That ain’t practicing.”

You let a smug grin show up on your face as you glanced back up at your best friend. “Daveed, I am the queen of Flip Cup, okay? You can’t beat me. Nobody ever has, and nobody ever will. That’s a fact.”

“I’m pretty sure I can beat you today, Y/N.” He said bluntly. Wow, he was forward when he was drunk. “I have a good feeling about this.”

“Ha,” you huffed out a laugh, “wanna bet?"

“What do you propose, oh mighty Queen of Flip Cup?”

You thought for a second. What was something you knew would make him think twice about challenging you? Something that would make him step down from this newfound cockiness he embodied.

When the idea formed in your head, you sent him a sly grin. “Winner gets a lap dance from the loser.”

You distinctly remembered an earlier conversation with him where he stated that he couldn’t dance. You knew it was untrue due to the times you’d seen him dance at the club or during some of the numbers in Hamilton, but you also knew that the wager wasn’t something he’d necessarily jump on (despite the confidence boost the alcohol had supplied him).

Rafa led the mini crowd that had formed around you in a chorus of “ooo”s.

“Deal.”

You looked up at Daveed in surprise. You hadn’t expected him to agree to the terms so easily.

“Diggs, that means if you lose— sorry, when you lose, you have to give me a lap dance.”

“I know.” He said seriously.

“And you’re good with that?”

“If it happens, which it won’t because I’m gonna win, then yes.” He stated, his mouth forming into a confident smile. “I’m good with that.”

Fine, he wanted a challenge? You were going to give him one.

“Alright, then.” You said, narrowing your eyes at him. “Game on."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━ ♛ ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Daveed lost. Badly.

So badly, in fact, that you actually felt bad for him. So you tweaked it so it was the best out of five games...and even then, he still lost.

Oh well, it’s not like you didn’t warn him.

When the third game ended and Daveed realized his defeat, he threw his head back and groaned.

“Aww, don’t be such a sore loser. You lost fair and square, Diggs. ” You teased with a smile, wrapping your arms around his torso to hug him from behind. “I warned you. I told you I was the queen of Flip Cup, but you didn’t listen.”

“Those cups were rigged, Y/N.” He stated, turning around in your grasp so he could hug you back.

You laughed, rolling your eyes. “Say whatever you want to make yourself feel better. Nothing’s gonna change the fact that you owe me a lap dance.”

He was quiet for a moment before he murmured something. “You know I can’t dance, right?”

“First of all, yes you can. And secondly, lap dances are different, Diggs.”

“No, they’re not.”

“Yes they are. And if you don’t think they’re different, you dance at parties all the fucking time. You should be able to handle an easy lap dance.”

He lifted his head back up from your shoulder to look down at you. “But Y/N...”

You let out a laugh before you patted his cheek lightly. “You dug yourself into this hole, loser. Guess you’re just gonna have to figure it out because you’re not getting out of this one.”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━ ♛ ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

The next day you woke up to someone knocking on your door. In sweats and an old t-shirt, you made your way over to unlock it, squinting your eyes to adjust to the bright light. The slight hangover you had wasn’t really helping you get out of your groggy state.

“Daveed?” You asked, realizing who your visitor was once your vision adjusted. “What are you doing here so early?”

He was dressed in a yellow Oaklandish tank top that showed off his toned arms/shoulders and dark blue jeans with a brown belt buckled just enough to let them sit loosely on his hips. You also noticed that he decided to rock his glasses today.

You snapped your eyes up to his and away from his figure that left you breathless. You totally had not just checked him out.

“If your definition of early is 2 o’clock in the afternoon, I think you may need to reevaluate some things and consider fixing that sleep schedule of yours.” He replied with his lips turning up into an amused grin.

“Shut up, I had a late night last night.” You mumbled, turning around to walk away, leaving the door open so he could let himself into your apartment. “And you did too. I’m surprised you’re not asleep right now.” You glanced back at him to see him shrug.

“I had to meet Bill and Jon at the studio at 10. I’ve been up since, like, 9:30.”

“Damn, Diggs, you’re gonna have to teach me your ways.”

“Caffeine.” He chuckled, putting on his signature grin. “It works miracles.”

You returned the smile, before sending him a curious look. “So, why are you here? Not that I mind or anything, it’s good to see you, but you haven’t been over in like a month and a half.”

“Exactly! It’s been awhile since we’ve hung out alone, so I thought it’d be dope if we chilled and watched movies or something.” He replied before he went to ramble on. “I mean— only if you want to. If you’re really tired, I can leave so you can get some more sl—”

“No, no, it’s fine! That sounds great.” You cut him off and placed a hand on one of his toned arms to reassure him.

“You sure?”

“Yeah!” You responded. “Just let me take a quick shower and we can start in like 20ish minutes.”

“A 20 minute shower counts as a quick shower?” He questioned with a teasing look.

“Yes,” you said, “or would you rather it be 45ish minutes?”

“20ish minutes is good. Have fun with your quick shower. Though, I think it would be more fun if I joined.” A tiny but noticeable smirk made its way onto Daveed’s face.

You laughed when he sent you a playful wink, dropping your hand from his arm to walk towards your room. “You wish, Daveed Diggs.”

“You have no idea.” He mumbled under his breath (inaudible to your ears) before he let his eyes follow your retreating figure.

“Maybe you could set up the movie in the meantime? It’s your turn to choose. The remote’s on the coffee table and you know where the popcorn and shit is in the kitchen. I’ll be out soon. If you need anything, yell.” You said before closing the door to your room.

Daveed sent a thumbs up in your direction even though he knew you couldn’t see it before he made his way to your living room.

Little did you know, Daveed had something else planned.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━ ♛ ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

When you emerged from your shower, you quickly dried yourself and combed through your now damp hair. After that, you exited your room and entered your living room to see that it was completely dark. Confused, you surveyed the room to look for your best friend, but there was no sign of him at all.

Did he leave? If he did, he didn’t text you or anything to let you know.

“D?” You called out, walking further into the room.

With each step you took, the more you realized how this seemed like a scene from a horror film. You weren’t a fan of them, but a few months back Daveed and Rafael had pretty much forced you to have a scary movie marathon with them.

“Daveed Diggs, I swear to God. If you’re trying to scare me right now, I will—”

You squeaked when a pair of arms snaked their way around your waist from behind. Daveed’s voice had come seemingly from out of nowhere. “You’ll what?”

“Kick your ass.” You glared at him, quickly turning around to push him away. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

He laughed, smiling brightly. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

“No, you’re not.” You grumbled, moving to sit on your couch. Daveed followed you.

“You right. It was so worth it.” He grinned at you, causing you to roll your eyes at him. You tried to stay mad at him, but it was damn near impossible when he was looking at you like that.

“We’re not friends anymore.” You stated, crossing your arms.

“What, why?” He asked, his grin dropping into a pout.

“You were mean to me, Diggs! How dare you scare me in my own home!” You were laughing internally.

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry for real this time. What can I do to make it up to you?”

When he asked, you contemplated it for a few moments before you looked up at him with a smirk.

“What?” He asked.

“Well, you still owe me that lap dance…”

He groaned, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back on the couch. “I thought you forgot about that.”

“Nope.” You said, your smirk forming into a smug grin. You had the upper hand now. “How could I forget you losing a bet against me, resulting in a lap dance from the great Daveed Diggs himself?”

After a couple of seconds, he sighed, opening his eyes and tilting his face towards you. “If I do this now, will I win back your friendship?”

“I’ll think about it.” You said, causing him to give you a deadpanned look. You laughed before you spoke again. “Yeah, I guess we could be friends again. But it has to be good.”

Daveed sighed again before he straightened himself up. “I don’t even know how to give a good lap dance, Y/N.”

“Improvise. C’mon, D, you’re great at improv. Treat it like you treat a freestyle. Just go with the flow.” You smiled widely at him.

“Fine.” He said, getting up from his spot next to you. “But I’m only pulling through with this because I like you.”

“Aww, you like me?” You asked teasingly to mask the actual feeling that was coursing through you. You continued to grin at him as he pulled out his phone to scroll through his music library. When he finally settled on a song by The Weeknd, he turned to you once he pressed play.

“Do I start now?”

“Yes,” you laughed. “C’mon, you know how a lap dance works. You’re not a novice when it comes to these things, stop fucking around.”

You could see him smile and rub his arm before he looked away for a second. When he started to slowly sway to the beat of the song, it was extremely hard for you to stifle your laugh. Your best friend was about to give you a lap dance and you could not take him seriously.

He continued to dance to the beat for a bit as he stared you down with a smirk. He was doing this shit on purpose. He was joking around until you couldn’t contain your laughter any longer.

“Diggs, I can’t take you seriously like this. I can—” You wheezed. “I just can’t.”

Your laughter and the slow, sexy beats of the music were the only audible things in your apartment until Daveed spoke again.

“Are you ready for me, Y/N?” His smooth, low voice washed over you.

You let out yet another giggle. “Don’t make it sound so sexual.”

“It's supposed to sound sexual, Y/N, it’s a fucking lap dance.” He chuckled, now standing directly in front of you.

“Alright, show me what you got, Bay Boy.”

You continued to laugh at him as you watched him, but the moment he straddled your lap, you stopped. His arms were on each side of your head, using the couch to steady himself over you as his hips began to slowly grind against you. That’s when the atmosphere in the room completely changed.

Your eyes widened slightly when you saw him bite his bottom lip in concentration. When you envisioned Daveed giving you a lap dance the night prior, you didn’t think it would be like this...it was flustering you more than you thought it would. Before you knew it, you were struggling to control your movements. Your fists were clenching and unclenching as you so desperately tried to keep them anchored to your sides.

As if he had read your mind, Daveed murmured, “You can touch me, Y/N. Don’t be afraid.”

If you weren’t turned on before, you definitely were now. His gravelly voice paired with his hot breath right next to your ear caused you to shiver, making goosebumps appear across your entire body.

Then, you finally let your hands wander. They traveled up his chest to rest on his shoulders, then back down again to move under the hem of his tank top so you could feel his bare and strong torso. Sure it was a bold move, but the more and more Daveed grinded on you, the less and less you cared. When his tank top rode up to the point where you could see all of his abs, he paused to stand up and quickly get rid of the article of clothing before he came back to straddle you again.

Your heart was beating wildly in your chest as you looked up at your best friend. He looked undeniably attractive when he was on top of you shirtless and with his glasses on. Every feeling you had ever felt for him came crashing down on you at that moment and that’s when you just about lost your self-control. Part of your brain was screaming at you, saying that you were about to cross a line that you could never cross again...but at the same time, all of your cares had disappeared.

You used your newfound courage to cup Daveed’s face in both of your hands and pull him into a deep kiss. He gasped softly, surprised at the sudden contact, but quickly eased into it.

You had just passed the point of no return.

You didn’t know what to expect when you decided to kiss him, but it was better than you could have imagined. When you pulled back, his mouth was slightly dropped in awe and one of the sides slowly twitched up into a soft smile. (It was kind of adorable.)

“Daveed, I like you.” You blurted, short of breath.

His face broke out into a full grin. “I like you too, Y/N.”

“No,” you shook your head, moving your hands from his cheeks down to his shoulders. “I mean like— like like you.”

“I know,” he chuckled. “I mean, I figured given what just happened a few seconds ago. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

You shrugged, breaking eye contact with him. You subconsciously traced one of your thumbs across his collarbone. “I was afraid of rejection, I guess.”

“Are you serious?”

“What?” You asked, sounding offended.

Daveed caught your gaze again, pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Y/N, I’ve had like the biggest fuckin’ crush on you since Ari introduced us.”

“Wait, really?”

“Mhm,” he hummed. “I’m actually really surprised you didn’t notice.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about your crush earlier, Diggs?” You voiced, giving him a pointed look.

He gave you a shy smile when he moved off of you to sit beside you, still facing you. “Same reason as you.”

“You know what? I’m not even mad about not knowing sooner.” You said. “I’m glad we found out like this.”

“You’re just happy I gave you a lap dance with my amazing skills.” He teased with a laugh of his own.

You laughed again, and pushed at his chest so he could lay on his back and let you crawl on top of him to straddle his waist. “Not gonna lie, I didn’t think you had it in you, Diggs.”

His jaw dropped completely as he looked up at you. “But you said that I could do a lap dance when even I said I couldn’t!”

“That’s true, but to be fair, I never said you couldn’t do a lap dance. I just didn’t think you’d do as well as you did.”

Your response brought yet another smile to his face as you leaned closer to him. “I’mma take that as a compliment.” He said softly.

At this point, the song Daveed had chosen had ended a while ago and the lap dance was long over.

“Good.” You responded before you kissed him again.

This one was different from the first. It started off soft, but quickly turned passionate and heated. As your mouths moved against each other, Daveed’s hands moved from your hips up to the hem of your shirt, his fingertips grazing your bare sides, leaving goosebumps in their wake. The only word you could use to describe this feeling was just complete bliss.

When you reached down to Daveed’s belt buckle, he shivered, causing you to smile against his lips.

Then he pulled away, panting. “Y/N…” he breathed. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to— fuck.” He cursed as you pulled back completely to unbuckle his pants. “I don’t wanna push y—”

“Daveed,” You said, before pausing quickly to put a hand on his scruff, tenderly moving your thumb to caress his cheek. “I’m absolutely sure about this. Now please, shut the hell up so I can blow you.”

You smirked when you saw his eyes widen and when you crawled off of him to go in between his legs, you heard a quiet, “Okay.”

Wasting no more time, you removed his jeans and boxers to free his erection. You could see Daveed’s chest begin to rise and fall quicker when you took his length into your hand and pressed a kiss to the tip of it.

“Oh, shiiit.” He drawled softly when your mouth wrapped around him, slowly sucking your way down as far as you could. As you began to bob your head up and down, Daveed’s breathing increased with each suck and occasional flick of your tongue.

Now, he was fully panting. He lifted his head up to look down at you, causing him to groan. After a minute or two, he brought a hand down to move some strands of hair out of your face.

“Fuck, Y/N,” he babbled, “I...I shouldn’t...oh God, I shouldn’t be this fucking close.”

You slowly pulled off of him and he brought you back up to kiss him again.

“You,” Daveed breathed against your lips, “are way too fucking good at that.”

You grinned.

“And,” he continued, “this clothing situation is a bit unbalanced, don’t you think?”

His thumbs grazed the waistband of your sweatpants. When you nodded, you pulled them down along with your underwear. You moved off of him to take them off completely and remove your shirt and bra, leaving you just as bare as he was.

You climbed back on top of him, straddling his washboard abs, when he ushered you to move up. You obeyed, moving forward an inch or two, but Daveed shook his head and grabbed your thighs, moving you himself.

“Daveed, what are you doing?”

“Returning the favor.” He said simply, bringing you over to his face.

“Oh,” you breathed when you felt his tongue lightly touch your clit.

The man’s mouth worked miracles from between your thighs. Daveed kept you still above his skilled tongue, occasionally giving your ass a squeeze.

“D-Daveed,” you gasped, your mouth forming a perfect ‘O’ as his tongue lightly circled your clit before he brought fully into his mouth to suck gently.

This was the best head you’d gotten...well ever, actually. He wanted you to feel the best you’d ever felt and he definitely achieved that.

Before you knew it, you were reaching your high, climaxing as you shouted Daveed’s name, not caring how loud it echoed throughout your apartment. When you crawled back down Daveed’s body, the two of you shared a sloppy kiss as you both breathed heavily.

Although you just came, you weren’t completely satisfied. You still wanted him... needed to feel him inside you.

You moved to position yourself above his cock, but he made you pause before you could do so.

“Y/N, stop,” Daveed panted. “Condom.”

“Don’t need it.” You replied quickly. “I’m on the pill.”

“Oh, fuck yes.” He replied, releasing you so you could resume what you were about to do.

You breathed out a laugh before you slowly sank down onto his length, making both you and him release a groan.

“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he gasped. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this.”

Your fingers ghosted along his stubble-ridden jaw. “I think I have an idea.”

When you adjusted to his size, you began to bounce and he helped you, meeting each of your thrusts as he guided your hips onto him.

Your lips met Daveed’s yet again and you captured every moan that fell from his mouth, he did the same for you. As your pace quickened, so did each grunt, pant, and moan. You felt your pussy begin to clench again like it had when you came before.

“I’m gonna come,” Daveed said quickly against your mouth.

“Fuck.” You groaned. “Me too, D.”

“Come for me, sweetheart.” He breathed, bringing a hand up from your hip to cup your cheek. “You can do it.”

And you did.

Your walls clenched around him and you gasped, letting your orgasm wash over you in waves. Daveed came shortly after you, and continued to thrust, riding the both of you through your highs.

As you came down and pulled yourself off him, you collapsed, exhausted, halfway leaning on him and halfway laying on your couch. You moved a hand up to rest on his chest again, closing your eyes in bliss as you relaxed against him.

After a minute or two of silence, Daveed broke it.

“Wait, so...does this mean we’re friends again?”

You looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He was still on that? Wow, what a dork. “After this? Everything that just happened?” You asked bewildered. “God, I hope not.”

“Fine,” he said letting his signature bright smile show up on his face, still breathing heavily. “More than friends?”

Your heart fluttered in your chest and you grinned widely back at him. You leaned up to softly kiss his jaw before you gave him your answer.

“Way more than just friends, D.”

#daveed diggs x reader #daveed x reader #hamilcast x reader #daveed diggs fanfiction #smut

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bngtanah · 4 years

Text

I’m (not) With The Band. | o7

summary: Adrienne is an indie producer who is hired to help co-produce BTS’ next album alongside their resident producer; Suga. Despite the initial opposition on both ends, the pair spend time together, share a few stories, dreams and aspirations and begin to hit it off really well. Wrapped up in the whirlwind of late nights and heated disagreements and reconciliations, Min Yoongi and Adrienne Rolle find themselves growing closer and closer. One night they decide to cross the barrier between personal and professional and do their best make a relationship work against all odds.

pairing: idol!Yoongi x OC

word count: 4.5k genre: drama, romance, smut(eventually)

chapters: prologue| o1| o2| o3| o4| o5| o6| o7| o8| o9| 10| 11|

warning: fluff, workplace relationship, slow burn, sexual attraction, ambw, developing relationship, light angst, making out.

a/n: hey. sup. it’s been forever lmao.

"No, no, I want there to be a subtle kind of...sexiness even without the lyrics"

"But I thought we agreed to go for a different feeling?"

"We did...then I changed my mind"

"So, I guess what I want doesn't matter?"

"For this song- no. No, it does not."

Yoongi wanted to be annoyed by her dismissal and deep down he mostly was, Andy was being unnecessarily difficult with the direction of their latest music-related venture, and although she had shot down nearly all of his ideas today, Yoongi still found himself bowing to her will instead of arguing with her like he usually would whenever she batted those big green eyes at him. He was fairly certain that she wasn't doing this on purpose, enticing him so that he would continue to remain entranced by her attractive features and intoxicating smile, even if she wasn't aware of what she was doing, the results were still the same. She already had him wrapped around her finger without even realizing it and Yoongi hated being so damn malleable.

Today was another day off for the group but with the limited time and amount of preparation they still had to go through t in order to be ready to release their album on time, no one in the group had the luxury of lounging around doing nothing like they had been doing the past few days. Everyone was either practicing, giving interviews or helping out with lyrics for the few songs that were already completed and approved leaving Andy and Yoongi alone in an empty dorm to get some actual work done. They opted out of working at the studio since it was already crowded with Namjoon, Jimin and Hoseok using the computer and mic, Yoongi knew that the dorm would be empty for most of the day, so it gave them a chance to work in peace.

"Look," Adrienne sighed and leaned back on her elbows, they were seated on Yoongi's bed and much closer than they needed to be "I'm sure whatever you're thinking is great but if you guys really want to go for a more mature image with this album you need a song like this. The kind of song that will give you the confidence to strip and give your boyfriend a lap dance even if you can't dance for shit." Adrienne exhaled sharply and glanced up at the ceiling, looking wistful. She wasn't looking at Yoongi, and she hadn't been since she started speaking, but if she was she probably would have noticed the way his eyes ping-ponged between the slight amount of cleavage peeking out of the top of her v-neck and her plump lips that curled into a seductive smile when she spoke that last sentence.

Something about the way she said the previous sentence, however, must’ve given too much of her desire away, because he froze when she exhaled, just to stare her down. When Adrienne finally did glance to the side she flinched slightly under his intense glare but didn't back away.

"Sorry, was that too much? I talk without thinking sometimes..."

"No... that's not-"

It seemed Yoongi hadn’t truly been paying attention to what she was saying before, but now he would have been hanging on her every word if she had the courage to say anything else, instead, they just stared at each other, neither one moving an inch until one of Adrienne's braids fell into her face and Yoongi raised his fingers and brushed the back of his knuckles across her cheek to put it back in place.

His movements were gentle, so gentle that Adrienne could barely breathe– the moment stretched out for so much longer than seemed appropriate, allowing Adrienne to become lost in her thoughts and the realization of just how much she wanted his lips on her to hit her with a heavy awareness. Andy broke under the thought and found herself leaning forward to just do it, to just kiss him like she had wanted to for so much longer than she cared to think about. Yoongi leaned forward as well, the hand that was caressing her cheek moving down to her neck to securely keep her head where he wanted it to be. Eyelids hooded and lips just a few inches apart, their breathing intermingled as they drew closer and closer to their intended goal. Weeks of flirting and mutually explosive tension bubbling just under the surface was just seconds from reaching its peak....until hearing the door handle jiggle broke apart their fantasy.

Suddenly the front door opened, and the sound of Jin's voice blending together with Jungkook's caused the enamored pair to spring apart, quite literally, with Yoongi rolling further into the center of his bed and Adrienne tumbling from the bed to the ground, landing flat on her ass.

"Are you okay?" Yoongi asked quickly, peering over the edge as Adrienne nodded and rubbed the sore spot on her hip where she landed.

"I'm fine, just a little bruise-" She responded with a groan then looked up, the moment between them was long from being forgotten and that was evident in the way Yoongi still peered down at her like he wanted to devour her right then. But, Jin and Jungkook making their presence known in the hallway outside Yoongi's bedroom made them break contact and swiftly pretend to be working, Andy grabbing her notebook off the edge of the bed and Yoongi mindlessly pressing keys on his laptop as the two young men hovered around the entrance and inquired about how their work was going.

"Yoongi's being stubborn, and I am making amazing music, so it's just like always," Adrienne commented from the floor, earning a chuckle from both Jin and Jungkook and an agitated smirk from the target of her jeer.

"Ah, well we won't distract you, keep working hard!" Jin stated as he began to usher Jungkook out the door, who was on the verge of complaining.

"Oh no! You can stay!" Adrienne replied, too quickly, and shot out her hand to stop them from leaving "It would be nice to hear some feedback." She wasn't too certain about being left alone with Yoongi after what had almost happened just a few seconds earlier, even with her sitting on the floor now there was no guaranteeing she wouldn't lose her senses again and do something stupid like try to kiss her coworker.

"Are you sure won't we be in the way?" Jin asked in part, allowing Jungkook to finish off the question even though he was already walking back towards Jin's bed and sitting down. Both of them glanced back and forth from Adrienne to Yoongi for an answer, before finally settling on Yoongi.

"It's fine," he grumbled from behind his laptop screen, "Just try not to make too much noise."

They, of course, did the opposite of what he asked.

Yoongi slammed the door of the Bangtan room so hard Adrienne swore she could hear the frosted glass crack and shatter when he entered the room. She didn't even bother swiveling around in her chair when she heard him come in since she already knew what was bothering him. Yoongi had a meeting with the boss today about a few songs he'd submitted on his own for approval and, judging by his reaction, it probably hadn't gone well.

It was always interesting (terrifying) to see Yoongi so genuinely angry, he was usually so calm and unconcerned by small or big things, but when it came to his music he quite literally wore his emotions on his sleeves and it barely took much to ignite a blaze of fire within him.

"Yoongi-ssi?" Adrienne called as she heard his pacing back and forth behind her.

No answer.

"Are you alright?" Adrienne decided to ask once again when he took a seat on the couch and began running both of his hands down the length of his face.

"Do I seem alright to you?" Yoongi snapped with his face still buried in his hands, his knee was bouncing up and down so quickly it warbled his voice and Adrienne couldn't even find herself becoming offended by his curt reply.

"You don't," Adrienne answered as she spun around to face Yoongi, "That's why I'm asking if you are. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but don't come in here disrupting my time with your bad vibes if just going to be an asshole."

Yoongi puffed up almost immediately, his chest inflating with arrogance and his lips twisting into an aggravated scowl. He looked up, ready to dispute his right to be an asshole whenever he wanted to be, but once his eyes met Adrienne's he deflated and glanced to the side with a heavy sigh. He shouldn't be putting his anger off on her, she wasn't the reason he was upset.

"He said no- again!" Yoongi finally replied with an answer that Adrienne already knew, but she nodded anyway, her gaze never leaving his as he began to rant about not being taken seriously.

"They still look at me and talk to me like I'm still the same kid that auditioned here three years ago, it's fucking humiliating!"

"Did he at least give you some constructive criticism?" Andy asked, trying to remain positive.

"That's not even the point," Yoongi huffed, rising up from his seat, "If it was just about my song not being good enough, I could change that. I can always make better songs but I'm not growing as an artist if I'm constantly being told to write about the same thing in a slightly different way! There are only so many similes and metaphors you can write about someone not loving you the way you love them."

Adrienne frowned and nodded because she understood how he felt. Even when she felt like she didn't know Yoongi as well as she wanted to, it was always very obvious to Adrienne how much his music meant to him, that was something they had in common and it was probably the reason for most of their music-related disagreements. Neither of them would put their name on a project that they didn't know was their absolute best effort.

Yoongi was still pacing back and forth the length of the small studio room in an attempt to work off all the anger that was building up inside him. He stopped abruptly once he felt Adrienne's arms embrace him from behind and her cheek rest against his shoulder, she was wearing platform sneakers that made her as tall as him.

"Do you really think your boss doesn't respect you?" She asked after a few seconds passed and his harsh breathing had calmed some.

"He's not acting like he does," Yoongi muttered over his shoulder.

"You know that's not what I asked, do you honestly think he doesn't respect you? Would he have given you the responsibility of producing an entire album for your group if he didn't appreciate your talent?" Adrienne inquired and picked her head up off of Yoongi's shoulder.

"...Technically he didn't, he hired you to produce it with me." He said quietly, followed by a pained hiss when Adrienne flicked his earlobe.

"Yah! We're getting along, don't ruin the moment!"

Yoongi smiled, it was small and short-lived but it was the first time he hadn't been scowling since he walked into the room and Andy counted that as a win.

"In all seriousness, I know for a fact that he doesn't think you're still the same kid you were when you were training. You should hear the way he talked about you before I met you guys, it was nauseating. I think he recognizes that you've grown which is why he allowed this opportunity, he also knows what's going to sell so try not to take the rejection too personally."

Yoongi exhaled and pressed his lips together, he knew she was right. He may have been taking this a little too personally, but his music was an extension of him, how could he not? After a second of contemplation, Yoongi turned so that he was facing Adrienne and looped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him in a tight hug.

"Thank you," He said gently as they pulled apart and Adrienne smiled widely in response, her grip on his forearms reluctantly growing slack. A moment of charged silence passed between them once again when they were no longer hugging, and Adrienne felt a fleeting sensation of recklessness pass through her once again. They still hadn't talked about what had happened a few days earlier in Yoongi's room, Adrienne was waiting for him to bring it up while being too cowardly to do it herself and Yoongi felt the same way.

"You should do something," Adrienne spoke first.

"What?" Yoongi asked, clearly confused.

"Your song," Adrienne clarified and backed away to save her own sanity. "You should do something with it if you really like it that much. Maybe you can't put it on an album, but you can always release it for free? Your fans would like that"

"Ah, I don't know about that" Yoongi shook his head and returned to his seat on the couch, "The big reason it can't be included on the album is because of the subject matter....it's kind of suggestive."

Andy shrugged and leaned against the back of the office chair "But it would be nice! Think of your fans."

Adrienne pouted and Yoongi caved.

"Fine, but I need you to sing the chorus, and we can't release it anywhere."

"Me? Why? Can't you use Jimin?"

"He's busy, and I doubt he would be comfortable singing some of the lines."

Adrienne's curiosity was piqued but understood what he meant once they actually began recording the song. The word 'suggestive' would have been the last adjective on Adrienne's mind as she read the lyrics as well as she could and sang along with Yoongi's direction; explicit would have been her first choice. It was a catchy song, that was definitely true, but Adrienne understood immediately why it couldn't be included on the album. They finished the song in just a few takes and quickly got back to working on the album like they were supposed to be. It was well into the night before either of them left for home and Adrienne made a quick stop to one of the few cubicles that were still occupied with someone working. It was an assistant name Soo-Bin whom Adrienne wasn't overly friendly with, but she still knew her by name. She quickly asked to post the cover she'd mixed and arranged for Jungkook before she left for the night since she was going to be there a lot longer than Adrienne was. Soo-Bin agreed, reluctantly, and once it was time for her to go home quickly published the first song that seemed to match the specifications Adrienne described.

She wasn't in the mood to double check.

The next morning Adrienne got ready for work with a heavy heart after waking up to a message from Bang Sihyuk requesting her presence in his office, the second she got to work. She hadn't had a one on one meeting with him since she was hired, and she honestly couldn't think of anything they needed to talk about. She wasn't finished with the latest batch of songs and there was still time for her to send them in, so she knew he couldn't have been moving up the deadline, and anything else pertaining to the album was usually just relayed to her through Yoongi or one of the other staff members. There was only one logical reason Andy could think of for him wanting to meet with her alone and that was to tell her that she was fired. The thought alone nearly made her hyperventilate.

Slowly, Adrienne trudged her way towards Bang Sihyuk's office when she was finally inside the Big Hit building. She paused once she was a few feet away from the office door and noticed a familiar face leaning against the door frame.

"Yoongi-ssi?"

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd get here, you're late today."

"It took me a while to get ready..why are you here? Do you have a meeting today too?"

Yoongi nodded, "Yeah, right now. He wants to talk to both of us."

Adrienne sighed a small breath of relief once Yoongi turned and entered the room before her. If he wanted to talk to both of them at once, then the chances of her being fired seemed to be a lot smaller. Andy soon followed after Yoongi and immediately bowed at a complete 90 degree angle once she was inside, the rules of engagement when it came to her superiors were still foreign to Adrienne, and she wasn't sure if she had to bow once she entered his office, but she didn't want to run the risk of possibly offending her boss.

Bang Sihyuk was in the middle of a phone call when they walked in but motioned for them to side down anyway. Andy and Yoongi exchange a short confused glance but their attention was brought back to their boss once he hung up and cleared his throat.

"I'll be quick about this, I'm sure you're both wondering why I called you here," Andy and Yoongi both nodded simultaneously, "The reason is simple really, I need to have a conversation with you about the nature of your relationship and the easiest way to do that is if you're both here together."

Adrienne was confused, she was sure she heard him correctly but the way he said 'relationship' didn't make sense to her.

"Now while I suppose I can't outright stop you, I can strongly discourage you from openly dating so early into Yoongi's career. The group is finally gaining some ground in the music business and a scandal like this could derail all the hard work that-"

"I'm sorry, did you say dating?" Adrienne interjected, trying to sound as respectful as possible but she just had to stop him before all his words began to blur together.

"PD-nim, we're not dating" Yoongi spoke up once Bang Sihyuk answered Adrienne's question with a firm nod.

"Are you sure about that? The song that you put up on the blog yesterday seems to very explicitly suggest otherwise. You don't have to lie to me,Yoongi. Honestly, it's better if we get it out in the open now that way I can protect you if I need to in the future." Bang Sihyuk countered with genuine concern in his tone.

"Song? What song?" Adrienne muttered underneath her breath before the wheels in her head finally started turning "Aish! Soo-Bin must have uploaded the wrong song last night, I asked her to upload Jungkook's cover. She must have gotten the files mixed up" She said to Yoongi who nodded and shook his head.

"That song was never meant to be released to the public, sir" Yoongi explained, "It was just something we recorded for fun but I can promise you that we are not dating or anything like that."

"Truthfully, we are not. I don't have a reason to lie to you" Adrienne tacked on.

Bang folded his arms across his stomach and leaned back into his comfy office chair "Good," he said after a few seconds of tense silence "We've already taken the song down but both of you need to be more careful in the future, you can't afford a mistake like this."

"Yes, Sir."

They both thanked him for understanding before he excused them and allowed them to leave. Adrienne dramatically sighed and slumped into the sofa once they reached the studio.

"I can't believe I thought I was going to be fired today."

"Why would you think that?" Yoongi asked from hovering over the computer console.

"I didn't know you were going to be there, I thought he wanted to talk to me alone and that could only mean one thing."

"You shouldn't take things so personally" He snickered, proud of himself for being able to use her own words against her.

Adrienne rolled her eyes, "This not the same thing, my reason is totally valid" She scoffed "Can you believe he thought we were dating, though? There's no way that would ever happen."

Yoongi stopped fidgeting with the keys on the keyboard just long enough to look back at Adrienne who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, her statement had struck a chord in him "No way, huh?"

"Hm? Oh! It's nothing against you I just....I don't think I'm your type" Adrienne said with a humorless laugh as she got up to take a closer look at the books on the shelf against the far wall.

"What does that mean?"

"It...means what I said, I'm not your type," Adrienne answered over her shoulder, completely unaware of the utter disbelief written all over Yoongi's face.

His hand latching onto her wrist took her by surprise and Adrienne gasped softly as she was suddenly being pressed against the wall next to the bookshelf, her body sandwiched between Yoongi and the plaster. His knuckles softly grazed over Adrienne's cheeks just like they had days before but this time, there were no braids obstructing her view to excuse his actions. His move was deliberate, and he made that notion clear as his gaze never left Adrienne's face as his hand moved down to her jawline and the pad of his thumb lightly traced Adrienne's' sharp features.

Yoongi only wanted to make a point; that there was no possible way she wouldn't be his type. However, being so close to her. Feeling her chest rise and fall against his body each time she drew a shallow breath he found it hard to stop himself once he'd started. As if of its own accord his head dipped, and he pressed his lips to hers. His free hand cupped the back of her head, holding her there gently. His kiss was soft and almost chaste to start off with, not forcing Adrienne to give any more than she wanted to, but she soon found herself getting lost in their kiss, her lips returning his actions with as much vigor as she could muster. She couldn’t quite explain the feeling that she had right now, it was as if all the blood had rushed from her head and that she was flying, she felt light and grounded all at the same time. Whatever it was she definitely knew she had a word for it now; right.

As much as she tried to ignore it and push her feelings to the back burner for the sake of her sanity and now career, kissing Yoongi felt right and Adrienne could no longer deny that fact. Her arms gripped tightly around his back as she pulled her head back momentarily to catch her breath, she looked up into Yoongi’s eyes and it was as if she was seeing him for the first time. The slight redness in his cheeks made her grin playfully as she sent her lips plunging back to his, her head shifted to the side with precision as she snaked her tongue past his lips. Yoongi no longer felt the need to be gentle, he put his all into the kiss now, and he let her in, tongues massaging and bodies wrapping up in one another as his hand slid down Adrienne's torso to firmly grasp her hips and hold her steady.

The feeling of her fingernails dragging across the skin of his neck ignited a five-alarm fire within Yoongi and just as quickly and unexpectedly as their kiss started, he ended it. Detaching his hands from her waist and immediately backing away like Adrienne was radioactive.

"I'm sorry," He said breathlessly with his hand covering his slightly swollen lips. "I shouldn't have done that" Yoongi croaked, that one moment was validation of something he'd wanted for such a long time, but he couldn't allow himself to completely abandon his self-control.

"Please, don't apologize," Adrienne answered, still trying to catch her breath "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to kiss me."

"No, I have to because I can't.....we can't...we can't do this Andy!" Yoongi frantically exclaimed, pushing the hair away from his face roughly.

The strength of his response made Adrienne flinch slightly, he wasn't yelling but there was a temper behind his words that she didn't fully recognize, "Okay." She nodded and adjusted her top so that it laid flat over her stomach again.

"I don't want to sound desperate but why?"

"We just can't," Yoongi exhaled and hung his head low.

"I-is it because I'm black?"

He spun around quickly to face her with his expression contorted in confusion, "What? No!"

"Then what is it?"

Yoongi sighed heavily and took a seat on the sofa then patted the seat next to him and gestured toward Adrienne "Come here."

Adrienne followed his command and occupied the seat next to him, he took both of her hands in his once she was seated.

"You heard what PD-nim said today." He started softly, his thumb gentle caressing the back of her palm. "I have a very demanding job. It's not that I wouldn't want to be with you, but I also want to have a successful career and I don't know if I could handle doing both. I know that seems selfish but I've given up so many things in my life to make sure that I can do this to the best of my abilities and I can't become lenient now, no matter how tempting the thought of this is." He accompanied his words with another gentle stroke against Adrienne's cheek.

"If we got together I wouldn't feel right unless I was giving you every part of me and I can't do that and be good at my job, Andy" He frowned and cradled her face with both of his hands "I have so many goals to accomplish before I can give my heart away and I can't just ask you to wait for me...that wouldn't be fair."

Adrienne bit down harshly on her bottom, she understood where he was coming from. Honestly, she did but still didn't stop her from feeling like he was just admitting to being too afraid to take a risk. She didn't voice her opinion, however, he was bearing his heart to her and accusing him of being a coward would undoubtedly only ensure that he would never do that again.

"I understand," She responded with a tight, forced smile; her palms smoothing up Yoongi's forearms until the rested over his hands "I don't totally agree but I understand, your job is important to you and it wouldn't really be fair for me to ask you to put it on hold." Adrienne leaned forward and pressed her lips against Yoongi's cheek long enough so that her lipstick transferred to leave an outline of her lips against his pale skin.

"If you change your mind you know where to find me."

#houseofddaeng #btsguild #bangtanarmynet #bangtanhq #ficswithluv #bts fic #suga fic #suga imagine #bngtanah #inwtb

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hushedhands · 3 years

Text

Challenge 80

Thank you for voting @thespianbooks!! Since so much is happening in the world out there, I promise that absolutely nothing happens in this challenge! It’s just Maxerica and brand new baby Addy hanging out together, about a week before the beginning of the Postscript.

“Then you twist it under.”

“Twist under…” Maxon’s tongue poked out of his lips as he focused hard. “Like that?”

“Yes.” America smiled over at him. She was feeding Addy, now a full four days old, from a bottle that she’d pumped earlier in the afternoon.

“And so then this part… it goes like that?”

“Tuck it under the middle part.” America corrected him.

“Blast.” Maxon had taken to using pseudo-swears in front of the baby so she wouldn’t ‘learn any bad habits from him’. It always made America giggle. “I can’t understand how you do this so quickly. You hands are a blur!” Maxon complained.

He’d caught America braiding her hair into pigtails to keep it out of her face, and more importantly out of baby Addy’s face, during their frequent feeding times together. It was a skill Maxon had never needed to acquire before, but now that he had a daughter, Maxon wanted to learn to braid so that he could fix her hair when she had enough of it to braid.

“I was slow at first, too!” America promised. “Kenna taught me to braid when I was six. Give your hands time to learn how to do it and eventually you’ll be able to braid anything you want without giving it a second thought.”

Maxon considered the three ribbons laid out before him as though studying a recovered text from a long-dead language. “Hmm…”

Baby Addy finished her bottle and gurgled contentedly.

“Here. Why don’t you take a break and burp the little dairy princess?” America offered.

Maxon’s face burst into an enormous grin as he pulled the baby, dressed in her cutest, softest little onesie, from America’s arms and onto his chest. He let her rest her little head on his shoulder while he looked around for a baby towel. He found one strung on a chair nearby and leaned way over to grab it without having to get up, then he repositioned the baby so that she was on the towel just in case she spat up any milk when she burped.

Then he started firmly patting her back.

Free from her bundle of joy, America stood and stretched, rubbing a hand over her soft belly out of habit. It looked like one of Gerad’s deflated soccer balls now, but it was still big enough that Astra occasionally asked America to please double-check that there weren’t any more babies inside.

America looked around the room at the unbelievable mess that had taken over the family room. Maxon had asked the maids to only come when they were summoned instead of doing their usual daily cleaning rounds. It meant the new little royal family had lots of time to themselves, but the result was that a tornado of baby clothes, towels, bags of unused diapers, bottle cleaners, breast pumps, and soft toys had wrecked their once tidy home. And America knew, without a doubt, that this was what heaven looked like.

Even though the baby wasn’t even a week old, and she definitely couldn’t respond socially to anything America or Maxon did to her, she already seemed to have such a personality. She grunted and cooed and waved her little fists in the air, and made perfect eye contact with whoever was feeding her. America could swim in those grey eyes forever.

“Hungry, Maxon?” America asked, snapping out of her dazed thoughts about her daughter when her stomach growled.

“Sure, I could eat. Would you call down to the kitchens?”

“Way ahead of you.” America was already halfway to the telephone in Maxon’s bedroom. The Palace chef had been feeding the two of them very well since the Addy had been born. They always ate well, so maybe she was reading too much into it, but America felt spoiled by the Palace staff who were all so excited to have a brand new royal baby in residence.

“What do you think we shall feast on tonight, little girl?” Maxon asked the princess on his chest. “Perhaps something warm and cozy, like soup?”

Baby Addy burped and Maxon grinned, “Of course, your order is for milk, milk, and more milk. Don’t worry my little love, we’ve got you covered.”

“We?” America asked, listening to the telephone ring. “Don’t overpromise, Maxon, I can only make so much milk at a time.”

Maxon hid Addy’s little ears so she wouldn’t overhear America’s words and become afraid that there might be a milk famine.

That was one thing America wasn’t struggling with, much to her relief. She’d heard horror stories from women at her clinics that sometimes milk was slow to come, or when it finally did, their babies wouldn’t latch on and drink it. Each clinic’s formula cupboards, which were kept stocked for those women, literally saved the lives of their babies. But Addy and America were off to a great start, milk-wise, and America was endlessly grateful for their luck.

After alerting the kitchens that the King and Queen were ready for dinner, America rejoined her husband on the sofa and ran a hand through his golden hair, dragging her fingernails along his scalp. “Is she ready for a nap?”

“Hmm…” Maxon lowered the baby from his shoulder, now that she was done burping, and examined her little face. Wide, grey eyes blinked up at him. “I think she just wants to be held for a little bit.”

“Oh goodness, if only she had someone who wanted to hold her.” America smirked sarcastically. She and Maxon had a large rotation of baby-holders who would come take care of the baby for five or six hours at a time to allow America plenty of time to rest while she recovered from giving birth, and Maxon plenty of time to rest from taking care of his recovering wife and infant daughter.

Magda was always first, claiming her right as Gramma, and then May would show up next. They also had the help of Kenna as Addy’s official royal nanny, though she wouldn’t become a full-time employee of the Palace until America was back at work. Mary and Paige each spent chunks of their free time in the evenings or hours of their weekends doting on the new baby, refusing to accept payment for their time even though their presence meant America and Maxon got an extra nap. All in all, America felt incredibly loved and supported, and her thoughts often turned to the women in Illéa who did this without the help of husbands or family or chefs or maids. She’d do it for Addy, there was no question, but America couldn’t even properly imagine how hard it would be.

“Here, I need to keep practicing.” Maxon returned their soft, chubby little angel to America so that he could return to braiding the ribbons. America peppered Addy’s belly with kisses and was rewarded with a squirm: their new baby girl was ticklish.

America leant her head on Maxon’s shoulder, peering lazily down at his work, holding Addy securely across her lap.

It was not possible for life to get any better than this.

After dinner that night, America was feeling energetic enough to wrap everyone up in warm clothes and take a stroll through the gardens. Maxon held baby Addy, swaddled in a tremendously fluffy blanket, all the way down stairs with one of his hands firmly gripping the railing just in case. America was glad to know that he had somewhere else to put his worry now, and she tiptoed behind them with both hands stuffed into her coat pocket, living life dangerously and thrilled at not getting caught by her husband.

They kept a stroller by the door for their many garden walks. It was the only place they’d gone since entering their suite after introducing Addy to the Kingdom a few days before. Now, on a dark, wintery December night, everything in the gardens was beautiful. Only the winter flowers were in bloom, but somehow the earth still smelled rich and alive.

“Addy’s going to be so surprised when spring comes.” America smiled.

Maxon paused pushing Addy in her stroller to kiss America on the lips and then said, “She won’t know what’s hit her. The flowers blooming. The bees buzzing.”

“And this summer, when we start taking her to the swimming pool…” America grinned.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to see her first swimming suit. Astra’s have these cute little skirts attached. Will hers have a little skirt?” Maxon asked eagerly.

“Yes, absolutely.”

Maxon chuckled, “I always thought my life was going to be spent in war rooms, making tough decisions about troop movements and scarce resources. Now all I’m doing is imagining baby clothes and learning to braid.”

“Mmm.” America smiled happily down at their little bird, now snoozing peacefully on her ride. “Let’s never, ever go back to work.”

“Oh? You think we can just barricade ourselves in the Palace forever?”

“Yes.”

“And what happens when the people choose a new royal family?”

“They can take the second floor.”

“And when the chefs refuse to feed us any longer because we’re no longer King and Queen?”

America made an overly dramatic shocked face at Maxon, “They would never do such a thing. They love Addy and me too much.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Maxon allowed with a grin. “In that case, we must start our lives as ordinary citizens at once.”

“Ordinary citizens claiming squatter’s rights in a palace.” America corrected him.

“Yes, of course.” he agreed. “What’s the first item on your agenda, non-queen America?”

“As Squatter Mer, I declare that we must choose a normal name for Adrienne, something distinct and ordinary.”

“Well, as Squatter Max, I must voice my concerns.”

“Oh?”

“I believe she will have to choose her normal name for herself, just as we chose our names when we started playing castaways.” Maxon reminded America.

“But it will be years before she can name herself. What can we call our Squatter Daughter in the mean time?”

“Squatter Daughter. That’s her name.” he declared.

“Oh no. Adrienne, I am so sorry for your terrible play name my love.” America giggled down at her sleeping baby.

Addy was a good sport, though. She played along and let them call her “Squatter Daughter” until the air grew too chilly on her nose and she cried out in complaint. The game ended and the royal family returned to their suite for the night.

Maxon and America made a nest of blankets in Maxon’s bed and relaxed there while Addy rested cozily in a bassinet within reach. When America fell asleep that night, she was curled up on her husband’s chest listening to it vibrate as he hummed a lullaby for their baby. When Maxon woke up a few hours later to Addy’s hungry crying, he drifted back off listening to America hum songs while she fed the baby. Just like that, Maxon and America took turns singing each other to sleep all night.

#laws of inheritance #challenge #DemocracyHands

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gayenerd · 3 years

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The Band You Love To Hate By Tom Lanham of RIP (There’s no date on this but I would say 1995 or 1996?)

Eyes wide as a barn owl's. Spines stiff with anticipation, like a hungry scorpion. The two teenage girls sit stock-still in their booth at a posh Berkeley diner, practically bursting with excitement, but without the faintest clue how to handles it. Clueless, you might call them. A few feet across the linoleum aisle--with his back to them, oblivious to all the oh-my-gawd facial expressions--sits the object of their adulation, dressed in unassuming black jeans, black T-shirt, shredded black Converse, and a beat-up black baseball jacket. But even with his once-green dreadlocks tamed to a short black business cut, Billie Joe Armstrong--yes, the snaggle-toothed MTV ragamuffin from megaplatinum neo-punkers, Green Day--is as easy to spot as Michael Bolton at a Rogaine convention. Although the kids want to leap up from their seats and race over for an autograph or a jittery hello, they don't dare. Instead, they're forced to deal with their seething emotions as if they were eating post-tonsillectomy ice cream: a lot of numb gulping and a quick pain chaser. This is the blessing of being Billie Joe Armstrong. Alas, it's also his curse. By the time you read this, the irascible little rocker will have turned 24. And exactly two years ago, he and his wacky bandmates--drummer Tré Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt--lolled around the trashy basement flat they shared, getting stoned and sneering at the idea that Dookie--their just-released "sellout" on big-time Reprise--would ever amount to more than a nice drink coaster. Fame? They were more preoccupied with their bong collection, stacks of rock 'n' roll bubblegum cards, and a thriving sea monkey tank displayed prominently on a window-sill. Most of their furniture had springs poking through--they didn't care. Armstrong regularly picked boogers from his gold-ringed nostril and then flick them onto the scary shag carpet--what did he have to worry about? Too bad he couldn't have foreseen the all-too-near future. Green Day happened to be in the right place at the right time. The three-chord slam-a-rama Dookie--a pop-edged return to decade-old punk ethics--became the surprise hit of '94, going on to sell over 11 million copies. Armstrong, accustomed to frenetic club performances, began translating the group's infectious energy to larger and larger venues. Demand continued to grow at a staggering pace; Green Day fought back. They turned a satellite MTV Video Awards performance into a "spit-cam" fest by urging the crowd to gob any camera lens it could ("[The cameramen] tried to make it look like it was cool, but it wasn't"). Last October, Armstrong and company issued their 32-minute follow up, Insomniac, almost as an afterthought, with little promotion, a visually offensive video (for "Geek Stink Breath") and--at least initially--a strict no-interview policy. Simultaneously, they ditched their high-powered Cahn-Man management team and are now virtually managing themselves. Along the way, Armstrong married his long-time sweetheart Adrienne and last March fathered a son, Joey. In typical down-to-earth fashion, the couple spent their honeymoon a few blocks from home at Berkeley's prestigious Claremont Hotel, not on some exotic island. Beginning to see the problem here? How does a street-smart kid from humble beginnings skyrocket to world-class notoriety and yet--with his music in millions of homes and his privacy suddenly a right that needs defending--still adhere to the simple ideals, the simple lifestyle that spawned him? Is "successful punk" an oxymoron? Insomniac provided few clues--it was more of the same slacker-ennui sentiment, more defeated, disenfranchised grousing set to speedy, memorable hooks. Or, as Armstrong barks in the aptly-dubbed "Walking Contradiction," "My wallet's fat and so is my head...I'm a victim of a Catch-22." And that, in essence, was the topic this tortured artist wanted to discuss at the diner. The old "be careful what you wish for" adage. The classic "problem with success is finding someone to enjoy it with you" truism. Armstrong, who takes occasional sips from a vanilla milkshake, but mostly stares morosely at the floor, seems to be dealing with superstardom in a relatively normal way. Don't be fooled by the steady stream of negative vitriol that follows; he's analyzing it, breaking it down, figuring out ways to disconnect his kinetic career. Or at least turn down the volume for awhile.

RIP: We know what's going right. But what's going wrong?

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG: Lots of things, really. Actually, when I came here today, I said I didn't wanna talk about anything good, because I don't really have anything good to talk about. Goin' on tour pretty soon--don't really wanna go. Just because I've been kinda torn. I wanna stick around at home. I don't like playing arenas, and I realized I didn't know what I was getting myself into on the last tour, but I went into it being positive and getting excited about it. But I didn't realize that I was the kind of person to whom it's too much of an event and not really a personal thing anymore. And I started to realize how much I liked being the background music to this scene at the club. And now it's.... I dunno. People expect so much. It's cool and stuff, and it can be a lot of fun, a really good experience. But when you play that many arenas.... The first time we ever played those big kinds of shows at the Shoreline (Amphitheater in Mountain View, California), there was weirdness--we were playing for a lot of f?!kin' people. And I hate to say it, but sometimes it just feels like another gig. We played every day, 50 gigs this last leg, and it just wears on ya. There's all these people, and they think "Alright. I paid my $15--you better impress the f?!kin' shit outta me right now!" And I realized that for Joey, the rock and roll touring life is not a good atmosphere for a kid. I tried to make it to where it would be, bringing lots of his toys out. But there are no familiar surroundings for him. And he likes all the attention--people come up and say hello to him every day, people who are on tour with us. But he doesn't have his own room or a home to go to every day. So, no more touring for Joey.

RIP: Turned on Regis and Kathie Lee this morning to find their gossip columnist dishing dirt on Green Day. How Insomniac didn't do nearly as well as predicted, how it was a disappointment to the label. A failure, supposedly.

BJA: Well, it's like, we didn't set up this record. We didn't. We didn't do any promotion beforehand, we completely quit doing interviews, and basically we just wanted to go on into it. We weren't even sure if we wanted to do a video. And then when we did a video, it got yanked from daytime rotation because people were getting grossed-out by it. So I think we did alienate a lot of people. So that was expected, that it wasn't going to sell a lot of records.

RIP: NOFX have taken it one step further. They refuse to talk to press, make videos, pander potential singles to radio. They don't want to get any bigger.

BJA: I dunno, maybe I'm just getting jaded or something. But I just got cable again and I can't stand anything. Six years ago you could hear something that was different and know that it was different. So it'd be "alternative" or whatever. But now it's like you get this Joan...Osborne? With the ring in her nose, waving the alternative rock flag, when she's just...not, ya know? And I'm thinking, I hate all this music that's coming out now--the past year was just hell for music. But people are buying it, so then I'm thinking, Maybe they're the ones that are good and I'm the one who sucks? I just don't know if I really wanna be involved in the rock world anymore at all. Period. I don't necessarily have anything against a big record company or people who what to join up with a big record company. It really is right for some people, but more and more, I don't think that I'm really meant to. And I hate to sound like that, because I don't like taking things for granted. I don't like to talk about my problems when there's some kid struggling in his garage somewhere saying "F?!k him! He's just taking it for granted. Shit, I wish I could do something like that, but I'm just stuck here in Biloxi, Mississippi, and I can't even get a gig." I'm so confused right now.

RIP: It must be odd to know that, with all those millions of albums sold, drunken frat boys are probably staggering around to your music right now. Your audience grew far beyond your control.

BJA: Oh, totally! We became what we hated. Which is, the people I despised in high school--and now--are buying our records. We initially became a trend, so there was no way I expected to sell as many records with Insomniac as with Dookie. That's one of the biggest-selling records of the decade. We get slagged by the punk rockers, and it's like, I don't blame them. If you draw that much attention to yourself, that's what you're gonna get--attention--and it's not personal anymore.

RIP: Ever think about giving it all up?

BJA: There isn't a day goes by in the past year and a half that I haven't thought about quitting. I went to this party on New Year's Eve, and this band Juke, and another band, the Tantrums, played in a friend of mine's backyard. And a lot of my old friends showed up, and everybody was just dancing. And I was dancing, and getting really muddy, and I was having a great time. I can't remember the last time I sat down and listened to a record from beginning to end and felt this incredible spine-chilling music. And it's because I haven't been able to go out and watch bands play at my free will. I'm not gonna live in a closet, I'm not gonna vegetate myself.

RIP: But it has to be difficult, when tons of kids know your face. You're on your way to Michael Jackson-dom, where you have to wear a disguise in public.

BJA: If you think about the Beatles, at that time all people had to go by were the photographs on the records and every now and then a television appearance. So when they'd come to town, people would just flip out--it became this huge public event every single time. Whereas now, everything is so saturated kids don't even have to leave their home to go to a show anymore. They can sit in the comfort of their living room, and your favorite rock star is gonna be entertaining you while you sit down and have your microwave burrito.

RIP: The Milwaukee cops weren't pleased with aspects of Green Day's Milwaukee show last November. Why were you arrested?

BJA: I dropped the pick and--actually, I even forgot about it--I just mooned the crowd, which is pretty harmless compared to what I've done before. And I wasn't even thinking about it--I just went out and started playing again. Then I went backstage and was hanging out with Adrienne, and this guy Jimmy who does security for us goes "Come on--there's a car waiting for you outside right now. You've gotta get out of here!" I said "What's wrong?" and he said he didn't even know. So we get in the car and all of a sudden about ten cops come walking over, fully surrounding the car. So the guy puts the cuffs on me, throws me in the car, and I get tossed in the holding tank for two, three hours. I wasn't in the bullpen--I was in with the other ones, the not-so-bad ones. They made me take all my jewelry out. And my shoestrings, so I wouldn't hang myself or something. I dunno. I just don't know how to fit into rock music anymore. I don't know what I like about it anymore. I don't like anything about it anymore, to tell you the truth. To tell you the real truth, I'm a pretty miserable person right now. I'm totally depressed, and my wife can vouch for that because she's around me. In fact, she's the only person who's really around me. I dunno, the whole thing with the mainstreaming of punk rock. I just feel lost in the whole thing...I don't really know...I don't wanna...I dunno...It's miserable, it really is. It's f?!ked up.

RIP: For every original voice that comes along, there will be countless mad signing dashes for any and all sound-alike artists, with no thought given to the artist's longevity. Just throw the record out quickly and hope it sticks.

BJA: The thing is, a lot of musicians have gotten so comfortable with this big so-called "Revolution in Rock Music" over the past decade. First it was like, "F?!k the corporations! F?!k the corporations!" And then people just sorta got cozy with that, and forgot that these bands are getting lost in the shuffle. And I'm talking about the ones that never get noticed at all and just get kinda bitter. The 15 minutes of fame is getting shorter and shorter. And now music is totally going backwards--the first half of this decade, there were a few things going on that were interesting. It wasn't my favorite kind of music, but it had a sensibility about it. If you think about Nirvana and Pearl Jam and that whole Seattle scene, and even the Offspring--there was this thing going on that was more honest, in a lot of ways. It wasn't like, beer, drugs and pussy, like what went on through the '80s with all the hair bands. But now what we've got is Hootie & the Blowfish....

RIP: Who are probably a lot like you. They seem like nice, regular guys who--through no real fault of their own--are suddenly assimilated into pop culture.

BJA: Yeah, but that's the problem, is that they are nice regular guys. And they're totally comfortable with that, and they sort of put that out, to where they don't really have...I dunno, there's a certain amount of attitude that, say, someone like Cobain or Vedder has that they don't have. But it's becoming way not...real anymore or something. Maybe not real to me. It's just turning back into what it was in the '80s. It's like, "Hey, everyone! We're Huey Lewis and the News!" I dunno. Maybe nobody knows what the f?!k I'm talking about anymore.

BJA: I get so irritated by people. I think I'm more bitter than I've ever been in my whole life, to tell you the honest truth. I think Insomniac is much more of a bitter record than Dookie. And I think the older people get, the more they kinda get angry. I think a lot of people feel like they get cheated by lief somehow--no-one is ever completely satisfied. There's maybe a few. But I mean, I'm in a place where I don't really wanna be. It's like, sometimes I feel like we're losing our passion for playing music. And that's the f?!ked-up thing, when you lose passion for what you love, then it's like, Is this marriage headed for divorce or what?

RIP: Theoretically, you can fight back a couple of ways. Like Cobain, you could make a record almost calculated to offend all the bandwagon-jumpers. Or take as much time off as you'd like. Who says you can't go live on a desert island for two years?

BJA: That'd be nice. I'm just not enjoying life right now. I'm really not. I'm so cluttered, I can't even speak. Yeah, I do feel like I'm getting old, and I'm kinda bitter about that. I'm not excited about being onstage anymore, and I was really trying to convince myself that I was. Really. Before we did this last U.S. tour, every time I did an interview--I don't know if you read the last Rolling Stone piece--I was like "Yeah! I'm excited! I wanna play these arenas!" and stuff. And then just every night, it started sucking, it felt like a routine or something. It felt almost choreographed in a lot of ways. And I was yelling "f?!k you!" to people, but I didn't know who I was yelling "f?!k you" to anymore.

RIP: Last time we spoke, you said you went out of your way to change every single show, make each one different.

BJA: Well, I think it's just the stress of getting up in front of all those people all the time, every day. It's like, "Do I really feel like downing another f?!cking pot of coffee and a bottle of wine before I walk onstage to do this again? Just to get myself ready to go?" You know, for all those people. And every night I always do something different and stupid. But at the same time, it'd be really cool to just say "F?!k you!" to people and like, walk off. And then they'd get it. It's like, "I'm really telling you to f?!k off this time! Time to pack up and go home." It'd just be so nice to start from scratch again.

RIP: In many ways you can. That's the music-making system trying to program your behavior. And obviously you've broken quite a few rules already--you don't even have to be talking to me right now, actually....

BJA: Oh no. I really wanted to do this interview, just because the last interviews that I've done, I've been miserable, and I was pretending not to be. I really was, I was lying. Not to the reader, not to the person I was doing the interview. But I was lying to myself, convincing myself that I was really happy with how everything is going.

RIP: So you always knew what you wanted, and now you've got it, in spades. You're having trouble figuring out what's next?

BJA: I didn't even know what I wanted back then. I really didn't. I didn't know if I wanted to be huge, totally successful. I never knew that. I was struggling so hard even to sign that f?!king contract--when I was sitting there, I was contemplating, "Should I just run outta here right now? Am I making the biggest mistake of my life?" A lot of people say, "You're totally disillusioned with what money can do for people," but money never meant shit to me. There's something very passionate to me, very romantic, about living on the street in a lot of ways. Just because I really like my lifestyle back then. I was totally content, in retrospect. A lot of it has to do with the fame. I dunno, I'm trying to talk right now and just totally stuttering.

RIP: It's not like you chose music--it chose you, and you can't help it.

BJA: Yeah, it's cool when people really get it. But what a lot of people don't understand is that we're a band that's been around a lot longer than people know. And that's the thing. The difference between this and what happened between Kerplunk and Dookie--in a year, I got married, I had a kid, and I sold 11 million records worldwide. That can do something to ya, ya know?

BJA: Sometimes I think it'd be cool to just hang out with my friends, drink beer, smoke cigarettes. The more I think about it, the more I'd be really happy with that. I don't think that we're feeling quite like a band anymore--that's one problem we have. There was this certain rock 'n' roll underdog think that we always had--we always drove for something, always drove from town to town in a small van. And you know, I f?!kin' like touring like that--it's like culture shock, really, driving around in a van, setting up my amp when I get there, and playing. That's rock 'n' roll, that's what it started out as. A bunch of sweaty pigs in some tiny f?!kin' bar having a hootenanny, that's what punk rock was to me, that's what drove me to it. I love rock music in its simples, rawest form. And I think we're the only band, really, that plays rock 'n' roll.

RIP: Has all this put a strain on your old friendships? Do your pals treat you a little differently now?

BJA: When I come up to friends I haven't talked to in a while, there's a weirdness. And the ones who are really close to me don't really bring up anything, but that thing is still there; it's still in the air. And sometimes I'll just not say anything the whole time we're hanging out. I'll be totally quiet, because the only thing I'll have to talk about is my band, and I get so sick of talking about my band and myself. So I'll just be quiet, since that's the only thing there is to me, except for my son and my wife.

RIP: Pretty soon, you'll be boring everyone with slide shows--"There we are at Yosemite!"

BJA: Ha! Adrienne was telling me the other day, "When you were in there dancing with all your friends, while the band was playing, you were so happy because you were so in your element." And I've even gone as far as saying we're not a punk band anymore. But no matter what, that's still gonna stick with me forever, because I love the music, I love the energy of a new band coming out that creates this sense of urgency about 'em. I'll never be able to kick that habit. I love hangin' out with my friends who have small fanzines--kids just writing their guts out about whatever the hell's bothering 'em, and putting it on a Xerox machine and then handing it out for a quarter apiece at shows or at a party. All I wanna do is just try and work it out. I was sitting there the other day, counting all the records that the Replacements put out, stuff like that, Dan thinking how [Paul] Westerberg totally came across to his audience and did everything, everything that the wanted to do in music. He wasn't extremely successful for it, but the guy has influenced people, and a lot of 'em don't even know that they are influenced by him. All I wanna do is just write good songs and stick to it. I wanna develop--not being experimental--but go into different styles, go across my boundaries of the two-and-a-half minute punk song with a three-and-a-half minute jazz song, or maybe get into a little bit of swing or rockabilly.

RIP: With such staggering success, you could walk into Reprise and tell 'em you're doing an album of saxophone solos and they'd allow you that creative luxury.

BJA: Well, I never wanna be that experimental. I don't wanna get into synthesizers and shit like that. The thing that was cool for me with Insomniac was that I think we definitely set a foundation for ourselves, because we put out our hardest record to date, totally in-your-face all the way through, and now we're able to go anywhere we want. We can do that now--we do have that going for us. That is, if people are still interested. Which is kinda weird for me to say....

RIP: Your craft will always remain the most important thing of all, even if you're just writing for your own amusement.

BJA: Yeah. No matter what, I'm gonna be writing songs for the rest of my life. I mean, I already have a shitload of new songs right now. But I just wanna do some other things with it. We've sold a million of Insomniac so far. But I definitely want to be respected as a musician. Well, more as a songwriter than as a musician. I wanna be f?!kin' normal, is what I wanna be. The thing is, I've seen so many freaks and so many weirdos and crazy punk rockers and drunks and junkies. But for a lot of those people being weird is easy. It's so easy to be strange--the hard thing is to try to be normal. There's no such thing as normal, ya know.

RIP: How's your mom feel about all this?

BJA: She's kinda worried about me. She doesn't know what to think of everything. We have a hard time communicating with each other, just because I don't like to talk about it that much. So she feels like she has to walk on eggshells around me all the time.

RIP: You buy her anything cool once the money started rolling in?

BJA: Nah--she doesn't want anything. I've asked her. She's been living in the same house for over 20 years, and she's content living there. But I did give her a trip--she went to Hawaii, her and her boyfriend. And I think travelling is really good--if you paid for someone to travel, so they can go and explore and see some things they've never seen before. But I think that's probably where I get it from. I get so content with not having much. And then you get all this stuff, all this attention, and you don't really know what to do with it. You don't know how to channel it.

RIP: Most outrageous thing you've bought for yourself?

BJA: I got my car primered! And one thing I did do was build a home studio. So I've been recording all my friends' bands for free. I produced this band called Dead and Gone, and Social Unrest, Fetish and the Criminals. And I have this side-project called Pinhead Gunpowder--nothing's up with it right now, but we played at the beginning of '94 a few times. RIP: Sounds like you've got more than enough pressure valves to let off the steam. Still, do you worry about death?

BJA: Yeah, I do. But I have too many reasons to stick around. One is my son and my wife. And I don't feel like I'm finished yet. I'm not done, ya know? And the beauty of it is that death is forever and your problems aren't. And that's why I'm talking about my bad shit, because you vent that, you get it off your chest and you can move on to something else. There's gotta be a positive side to all this--so you just sort of try and dig it out. Get rid of all the bad--out with the bad air, in with the good air.

RIP: You said about Green Day that you think your "bandwagon is coming to a close and all that's gonna be left is just a band. Hopefully." So then will you start writing happy songs?

BJA: I thought about writing a totally sarcastic song called "I'm So Goddamn Happy," just talking about how happy I am. Actually, I'd like to put out a double record--I'd like to put out tons of music. But I never wanna become an egomaniac. I just wanna keep things down to earth, so I think it's really important for us to take a long break after all this stuff. We just put out two records back to back, one year after another, and now we can sit back and work on ourselves as people again. So we don't parody ourselves. And it's so hard to be a father and a musician at the same time. If I get into one thing and I pay close attention to it, like if I'm with Joey and I start neglecting my music, then I feel like I should play more often. So I start playing my music, and then I'm going, "Am I neglecting Joey?" So it becomes hard to do everything at the same time.

BJA: I wanna create a very mellow and sound atmosphere for him, because I don't wanna make any mistakes for him--I want him to be able to make his own mistakes. And even when it comes to swearing--I don't cuss in front of my kid. I'd rather him get it from some dirty-mouthed kid at school. Then at least I'd know, I could go "Thank God--my kid is in a real world and he's learning these things from his surroundings." That'd be a good thing. Because the best things you ever learn are the things you learn in kindergarten.

Finally, after more than an hour worth of gut-spilling, Armstrong suddenly observes four brace-faced girls, each no more than 12 years old, idling over by the cash register. They're there on the pretext of getting change. In reality, they just want to ogle punk icon and pin-up darling Billie Joe, stare at those caterpillar eyebrows and chiselled cheekbones up close. Another oh-my-gawd event. "I gotta go--it's gettin' weird," the reluctant rocker whispers, literally leaping up from the booth. "I can feel eyeballs all over me already...." And as fast as that, he's gone. "Was that...was that...B-B-B-B-Billie Joe?" stammers one swooner. "No," says the waitress, with a subtle smile. "That was just some guy who usually eats here alone, nobody famous at all. You know, just an average guy." A little white lie to herd the young 'uns out. But nevertheless the truth.

#i know it wasn't healthy for him #but i miss when he would use interviews as free therapy #the discussion about how he hates playing bigger shows is interesting #obviously he figured it out because i think he genuinely likes playing arenas/stadiums now #i wonder how he did that #like did he get tips from other rock stars #or did he just work thru his emotional baggage about selling out #article #interview #articles

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gale-gentlepenguin · 5 years

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ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 11

(Master post)

Before you start, I want to thank all of you so much for the amazing fan art. I never thought I would see so many versions of Marinette’s outfit. Also, your comments and support have really made writing this a delight.

Okay now for part 11.

_______________________________________________________________________

The ladybloger was relaxing in her room. She was looking at her laptop and was thinking of what to do? Adrien’s interview didn't start for another half an hour, nothing new regarding Ladybug and Chat noir, and she had zero motivation in tackling her homework. She was considering messaging her boyfriend and seeing if he wanted to play some ‘Super penguino’, he would likely say yes. Just as she picked up her phone, she remembered that thing Marinette sent her.

“Oh yea, what was this about.” She said aloud as she looked at the audio recording. “Jeez, its like a forty minute recording. What did she do an interview?”

Alya shrugged, ‘super penguino’ can wait. She pressed play and began listening to the recording.

_______________________________________________________________________

“And We. Are. Live! Welcome my lovely listeners! I am Sonny Potins and you are watching ‘Scoops and Scandal’, the show that brings up the scoops and scandals with your favorite Celebs.” The enthusiastic wavy blonde haired host exclaimed. She was in her mid twenties and was wearing plenty of make up. “And today we have a very special guest, you have seen his ads all over Paris, the young model who is the face of the Gabriel brand, the one and only, Adrien Agreste.”

The spot light shined on Adrien as he approached the stage to his seat with the audio from the cologne ad playing in the background. The studio audience cheered as the model walked with a cool yet approachable attitude. A bunch of them screaming ‘I love you’ ‘Adrien!’ ‘You are amazing’. Adrien smiled and waved at the audience.

Sonny was sitting in a comfy leather chair across from Adrien, who was sitting in an identical chair. She was sitting on the left, and her was sitting on the right. A table with two water bottle and two microphones stood between them. The chairs were angled to help the two face each other while also face the cameras and the audience. Above them was a jumbo screen that would show clips, info, and whatever the people in charge wanted to show. Usually fan submitted questions, photos or live cam.

“I am happy to be here.” Adrien greeted the audience.

“I am sure all of Paris would love to hear all about you. So lets get the ball rolling.”

Back stage, Marinette watched out of view, she looked to see Adrien notice her and give her a quick wink before looking back at the host. Marinette smiled at his sudden wink, doing her best to stay calm.

“Seems like everything is going well.” A voice whispered from Marinette’s jacket.

“Yea, I can't believe Adrien found out about the scarf. I thought he would be sad about finding out the gift wasn't from his father.” Marinette whispered.

“Seems like he is happy to have someone who cares about his feelings. You both seem to be really connecting.” Tikki assured. “I think he doesn't see you as a just a friend anymore.”

“You think?” Marinette questioned with hope in her voice.

“Call it a hunch, but in the mean time, we should probably listen in. Maybe you can learn more about him through this interview.”

“I am pretty sure it won't reveal anything new, most of these interviews are just for publicity, repeating questions that were asked in the past. But I am glad Adrien is getting the screen time he deserves. He is really great.” Marinette responded. “Though I am not opposed to watching at all.”

Tikki rolled her eyes and smiled at her chosen. Marinette sure was helpless when it came to Adrien, but the same could be said about Chat noir around Ladybug. How the red bug Kwami wanted to reveal this tid bit of information to Marinette. But she said she wouldn't and the time will come one day.

_______________________________________________________________________

“And I was right about his favorite color!” One of the four girls squeaked.

“We all got that question! I expect nothing less from the Adriknights.” Adrienne answered with pride.

Lila was sitting to the side of the couch as she watched these four fangirls gush at every word that Adrien said, it was nauseating. The interview was so by the book it was boring, combine that fact with annoying fans and it only gets worse. The brunette had begun contemplating the pros and cons of a lobotomy by plastic spoon, but she knew she would have to endure.

Adrienne was the perfect person to set up to be akumatized, she needed to wait for something to make her upset, anything that would bring potential negative emotions to draw an akuma here. But this interview was practically kid stuff. But then something caught her attention. Lila tuned back into the tv to listen to a particularly interesting thread the host was spinning.

_______________________________________________________________________

“...but yes I am allergic to feathers, but as long as I am not wearing them or I breath near them, I don't sneeze.” Adrien answered.

“Adrien, you are quite an enigma in this city. a young teen that is one of the most well known faces in Paris, a voice actor, and has his own line of cologne, which is just getting an international release.” Sonny exclaimed. The crowd cheered as the jumbo screen showed a picture of the Ad. “Yet you are one of the sweetest people I ever had the pleasure of interviewing. Most stars around your age are... well they are spoiled brats to put it mildly. What helps you stay so kind and keeps you grounded?”

The crowd was quiet as they waited for Adrien’s answer.

“Well I am lucky enough to be surrounded by talented people. My Best buddy Nino is an up and coming DJ, his girlfriend Alya runs the Ladyblog, my fencing Team mate Kagami comes from a legacy of proud fencers, and Marinette is a fashion designer that has designed works that the fashion critic Audrey Borgeois and My father have both approved of. The latter of which I can tell you personally is no small feat.” Adrien started off.

“Then of course the fact that we live in a city full of superheroes. Nothing is more awe inspiring and humbling then seeing Ladybug save Paris. She is just so incredible. It is reassuring knowing that she is watching over Paris. She is really Miraculous” Adrien slightly gushed before bringing it back. “Those are just some of the amazing people I know and know off, its easy to remember to stay humble when you are surrounded by wonderful people.”

The crowd awed at the cute statement. They were eating up his words.

“Talented indeed. You are quite the fan of Ladybug. If I remember correctly she has saved you a few time. Should Chat noir be worried if you have a crush on the spotted heroine?” Sonny teased.

The blond blushed, but didn't let himself get flustered.

“I am sure Chat noir wouldn't hold it against me. I am pretty sure everyone in Paris has a little crush on Ladybug.” Adrien deflected. “It would be easier to make a list of people who didn't like Ladybug.”

The crowd clapped in agreement, Ladybug was a well respected hero and the Blond made an excellent point. Marinette smiled at the little display, the blond was able to easily handle everything the host was throwing at him. She also was a little happy to hear that Adrien was a fan.

“Truer words have never been spoken. Though speaking of the cat hero, he happens to be a handsome blond hero with a certain flare, are you actually chat noir?” Sonny prodded. “Because that is a popular theory going around.

Adrien for a split second felt a tingle of fear in the back of his spine, but thankfully he knew the host was playing with him. So he laughed it off.

“Secrets out, Thats why I was cast to voice him in the movie.” Adrien remarked with a clearly joking tone.

The crowd laughed along with the blond.

“If that were the case, my father would have a trademark on all of the Chat noir merchandise in Paris.” Adrien answered.

“I heard your father is pretty protective of your image. Is it true that people can't take any pictures of you without you or your father’s consent without being fined?”

“Pictures are fine as long as they don't try to make merchandise of me or use it for financial gain like in magazines, media and tabloids. Thats when people get sued. Thats why there aren't that many paparazzi that hang out by the Agreste manor, they couldn't handle the lawsuits.” Adrien explained. “Not exactly easy to do, my father spent a fortune doing that, but considering the industry he was in, he more then made back his money.”

Marinette blinked.

That explained why he was never hounded at school by photographers. Though that didn't really stop the fans when that ad first came out.

“Fascinating, Your father must be pretty protective over you?”

“Its his way of showing he cares.” Adrien answered. He managed to maintain a smile despite how irritated he was over how protective and controlling his father is.

“So that means having permission to bring a guest to any of your events must be a hardsell.” Sonny continued prodding.

“He is easing up a bit more ever since he said I could go to school. I can sometimes bring friends along to events, like fashions shows and photoshoots.” Adrien assured. “I was even able to bring a guest to this interview.”

Sonny nodded.

“Oh, yes. I believe I bumped into her when you both showed up. I believe her name was Marinette. She was the designer you mentioned earlier.” Sonny smiled.

“Thats right. Marinette is pretty great. I am glad she was able to come along.” Adrien responded.

Marinette smiling brightly at the comment, he was happy she was there.

Sonny smirked, she had found a way to kick this interview up a notch.

“Hey can we get a view of Adrien’s cute guest? I remember her wearing this amazing outfit and I think the audience will love to meet her.” Sonny asked.

“Wait I think she should have a say before...” Adrien tried to interject but sure enough the big screen revealed a camera showing up behind Marinette.

“Say hi sweetie, you are on the air.” Sonny called out.

The bluish-black haired designer turned around and noticed the camera. She nervously waved, unsure of what to do.

“H-hi sweetie.” Marinette parroted nervously. She wish she was better prepared for this. Granted it wasn't the first time a camera caught her off guard, she still remembers when the cameras following Jagged stone went into her room. That was a real nightmare, this might be a close second.

The crowd was cheering as they saw Marinette on the screen. One person in the audience yelling ‘Damn she cute!’ but no one knew where.

“Oh wow, she is cute.” Sonny commented. “I need to find out where she got that outfit, it is incredible.”

“She made it herself. That is just one of her designs.” Adrien answered. “But I think we should turn the camera off, I don't think she would like to be on camera without permission.”

“Of course.” Sonny motioned quickly and the screen stopped showing Marinette. “I guess we got a little over excited her on SaS. Thats what I call this little show.”

“As I was saying. Marinette did design that outfit herself. She told me it was inspired by Chat noir and I must say it is very impressive.” Adrien veered the conversation back to avoid that awkward moment. He made a mental note to make sure Marinette was okay with being on camera like that and apologize if she wasn't. He had told her she would likely not be on camera, and this was counter to what he had said.

“Well I see why you are humbled by her talent. That design is to die for. Though are you worried that Chat noir might steal her away from you? She did base a design off of him.” Sonny poked.

Adrien felt a faint blush thinking about this.

“I am sure Chat noir would probably find himself falling for her if she wore that in front of him.” Adrien answered, more honestly then the audience knew.

“So what is your relationship with this Marinette? Are you dating? Because I do remember rumors floating around about you running around Paris with a mystery girl? Omg is SHE that mystery girl?!” Sonny excitedly interrogated, causing the crows to lean forward and ‘Ooooooooh’

“Marinette was one of the first people that helped me out when I first started class, though we didn't exactly get off on the right foot at first.” Adrien began.

“Oh? Someone that didn't love you after first meeting you? I find that hard to believe.” Sonny replied.

The Designer was beet red from the previous questions and was now listening super closely. She was going to get to hear how Adrien thought of her.

“You could almost say she hated me, but considering how she thought I put gum on her seat, I doubt anyone would have had a high opinion of me.” Adrien continued. “ It didn't matter that I was a model or had a decent face...”

One person on the audience screamed ‘Your face is perfect!’ which got a few claps. Adrien nodded in the direction mouthing a ‘Thanks’ before facing the camera again.

“It was the first time I realized someone was treating me like a person, not just as a model or as some rich person that needed to be coddled. It made me want to change her mind, her opinion of me mattered. Because it was someone that was judging me for me, not my reputation, not my family, just me.” Adrien confessed.

Marinette remembered that moment in the rain outside of the school. It was the moment that she fell in love with him.

“I managed to clear the air with her and she was happy to move past it once she heard me out about the misunderstanding. After that, I started to get to know her.” Adrien smiled. “She had become my first real friend even though it was a bit bumpy at first, she always seemed nervous around me, I thought it was because she was still on guard, but I realized that it was just her being Marinette, she always seemed nervous but never let it stop her from helping people. She is someone I admire and someone that I can say I am better for knowing.” Adrien finished.

The crowd was surprised by his answer. kind of silent by it.

Adrien realized he had more or less spilled out how he felt about her.

Crap... So much for keeping it calm and professional. I was so busy trying to not to put a label on it that I ended up spilling my guts.

The audience started clapping. There was thunderous applause, they were moved by Adrien’s word.

At the edge of the stage, Marinette was crying happy tears.

He thinks of me like that.

The audience’s applause seemed to die down and Sonny was able to speak up again.

“Truly beautiful wording. But that didn't really answer the question.” Sonny pointed out. She smiled as she noticed something on his cheek that was pointing away from the camera.

“Seems the make up crew missed a spot. There seems to be some lip gloss on your cheek there.” Sonny stated with glee. “And what a familiar shade it is.”

Adrien and Marinette’s face’s shared the same red blush and their thoughts were in sync.

OH FUCK!

“And we will find out more about that and answer some fan questions... When we come back!” Sonny answered as she closed out for commercial.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Oh wow things are really getting interesting.” Nino commented to himself as he was watching Tv and the interview went into commercial. “Good on Marinette for making a move.”

He decided to support his friend by watching the interview, at first it was pretty dull, until Adrien started talking about him and their friends. Of course that host smelled blood in the water and she kept on attacking. He notices his phone buzz. It was a text from Alya.

‘Open the door asap!’

Oh crap! Did I forget something important! Think Nino, is today her birthday? No that is next month. Anniversary? No that was last month. What did I mess up?

Nino opened the door to see his rather furious Girlfriend at the door.

“Hey Babe have you been watching Adrien’s interview? Things are really... is something wrong?” Nino asked cautiously.

“First, is anyone home aside from you?” Alya asked, talking with an eerie calm.

“Are you planning on Killing me?” Nino asked trying to pretend like he was joking.

“Not you, you are wonderful. Someone else.” Alya assured.

“Oh, then yea. Its just me.”

“Okay good.” Alya smiled for a second before closing the door before letting her emotions out. “THAT TWO FACED BITCH LIED TO OUR FACE!”

Nino was shocked. “Wait who?”

“Lila! She blatantly lied to our faces! She told us that she was sorry, that it was a simple error in judgment. That she was doing this to help Marinette and Adrien! It was all a load of crap! My Intuition was picking up on this but I ignored it because I didn't have proof. But now I have proof!” Alya raved.

“Babe, deep breaths. What proof?” Nino tried to ease.

“You are gonna wanna sit down for this.” Alya stated. _______________________________________________________________________

Lila felt her fist tremble as she watched that interview. She was disgusted by his praise of Ladybug, how he kept so calm and collected, but then, then he started talking about Marinette. He was practically saying he worshiped the ground she walked on and then just to add insult to injury, that comment about Lip gloss.

The brunette wanted to scream, but her emotions seemed to cool when she noticed Adrienne’s reaction.

“Who is that bitch!?” Adrienne shouted as she shot up from the couch. “How come she gets to get so close to Adrien!? How come he is practically singing her praises! Just because she is a designer? I designed all of these banners! I designed the Adriknight Logo!”

“Adrienne... Please calm down, I don't think they are dating. He would have clarified it if they were.” Maggie tried to ease.

Lila felt her rage turn to sinister inspiration.

“Oh Adrienne, I am really sorry to tell you this, but they are.” Lila spoke with a saddened tone.

The three other girls looked at Lila with wide eyes. As if saying ‘What have you done’

“WHAT!?! That can't be true. You are lying!” Adrienne cried out.

Lila walked over.

“They started dating a few days ago, after they got matched up in Soulmate Searcher.”

Adrienne felt her knees wobble.

“Thats not possible... I made an account, I would have showed up on his list if he had one.” Adrienne answered.

Lila pulled out her phone and showed her a photo, one that showed Adrien’s list.

“Adrien sent me this when he told me they started dating.” Lila lied as she let the girl look at the photo closely.

“Adrienne please don't listen to her. It is obviously a joke!”

“Oh, I wish it was. Marinette is a nasty manipulative shrew that is only dating Adrien because she wants him to help launch her fashion career. The poor boy doesn't even realize it.” Lila spoke into Adrienne’s ear. “I am convinced she rigged it to get 100%, after all, no one else has ever gotten 100%. But poor naive Adrien was so trusting of the app that he just couldn't help but give it a chance.”

Tears began to stream down the club president’s cheeks.

“Adrien... but he .... but we...” Adrienne tried to articulate as she dropped Lila’s phone. She ran into the bathroom and started sobbing.

The three other girls ran after their club president as Lila picked up her phone. She snagged an Adrien cupcake and took a bite out of it, before casually walking out of the room. Lila was going to make her way to the studio.

Enjoy your gift Hawkmoth. I need to go get that recording.

_______________________________________________________________________

A window opened letting the light into a dark room. A man in a grayish silver mask and a purple suit stood in a room filled with White butterflies.

“Ah, obsession, The crazy sister of the emotion of Love. The tears and absolute anguish of a heartbroken fan who finds herself separated from the object of her affections. How tragic. It seems Miss Rossi has blessed me with a gift.” Hawkmoth monologued as he opened his hand allowing a white butterfly to land. He infused the white butterfly with his power turning it into an akuma

“Go my Akuma, find the source of that powerful negative emotion and evilize her” The villain exclaimed as he sent out the akuma from his hand and let it fly into Paris.

_______________________________________________________________________

Adrienne wept on the floor of her bathroom as her friends tried to get her to come out. She was clutching her bag of homemade Adriknight pins as she cried.

“Adrien... you belong to all of us... not that evil witch...” She sniffled as she let her sorrow take hold. The akuma flew through the small bathroom window and possessed the bag. Adrienne sat up and her face now had a purple butterfly outline over her face.

“Fandoom, I am Hawkmoth. Adrien is someone that can not be possessed by one individual, he deserves the praise and adoration of all of Paris. I am giving you the ability to expand your influence and power by recruiting more members for your cause. Show him that he deserves better. In exchange, you will deliver to me Ladybug and Chat noir’s Miraculous.”

The red head smiled darkly at the proposal. Adrien was not something that could belong to one person. If Adrien was taken away, then there would be no Adriknights, and then the club would dissolve. She couldn't let that happen!

“I accept Hawkmoth. I will show Adrien the love he deserves.”

Adrienne was covered in a purplish black mist transforming her into an akuma.

_______________________________________________________________________

Part 11 is finished I am so amazed by all of the amazing takes you guys have on Marinette’s outfit. So, I thought of something that would be cool if you guys are up for it. I want to see your guesses on what you think ‘Fandoom’ looks like. (This is completely optional and will not impact whether or not I write part 12. It would be super cool to see.)

Please Keep up that amazing feedback. I love seeing those notes and comments, It really feeds my impulsive need to write.

Below are all the people who are tagged. If you have not been tagged, and want to be tagged, or requested to be tagged and want to be from now on (PLEASE Check to make sure you are tagged in case there is an issue with the system):

@suzanaboss @chrissyl0v3 @changingmagz @black-cat-9000 @misscrimsonflame @wegan97 @maddrag @lady13bug @franco-green @i-sttan @t-mblrwontletmehaveagoodname @miraculous-multishipper@assortedyeets @noirchengs @katzzz @miyugaze@mindfulmagics@janaikam@wolfyred-ks @only1nycsweetie @aconi17 @miraculousl4dybug @origami-dreams @mellsrants @idekpeople@isingwhennobodyseesme@garfieldloganlovesrachel@mr-ray607@bromanticgigglefits @masked-bixch@starryarose@flightfoot @coccinellegirl@cheezuschryst @checkmeow @auroradraws @absolutelycoathangered@solar-flare-606@angelisalise

@the-tophatted-dinosaur @galaxies-of-fandoms @rasberrytears@gprattt001 @katthekitkat@myheadinthecloudsnotcomingdown@shayshaymonyou@un1cornf1ghter@mewwitch @lionxufia @obliviousasheck @princessofdawn0718@martasaur @jewelcuzimpreciousdamit@ariana-the-fangirl@whimsicallyconfusedforlife

@mr-adrien-swagreste@poptartpeter@kabih@howtoshuckatlife@theartistinbed@alyas-ladyblog @http-chatbug @blueflower45 @generictrashblog@certainmuffinbagelcalzone

@adricat-and-buginette@tylily@snow-swordswoman@rose-sparks13@wilhelmares @mintflavormelon @kphoe8 @mery-vhan27@skeletonmermaidlife@mermain123@chatnoirismycinnamonroll @here-in-the-corner@lidgraphy@kitzune701 @bowser14456@coccinellegirl@funstufffandomsandcoolpictures @red-pandas-and-books@jsaais@strangerahne @ladybub @zoe-oneesama@chimpcamp@galahadwilder @biacetrash @rose-sparks13 @dweeborg @communistchexmix @heizerux @fusselkuchen @shitposting-embodied @tigris-types @avatar-jenny-mac @xxxspacexxx @loving-neko @coltaire @seguin @ale-san28 @foreverrightnot @panda-charlotka @fanatic-kay @random-posts-and-stuff @moodiecookie @dear-minette @adannayamiraculousbakes @lunamoonmint @lilbabygoose @kiara-rose-blackthorn @pendragonpotterwinchesterchief @kikisuteru @rominix11 @starlightky @theluckiestwitchathogwarts @cosmiccarrotcake @gargling-through-the-memes @theyellowfeverexperience @scurry-vampire @fan8687 @finnsauroraborealis @vi-bi-bye @silent-storms-posts @kmarinova @absolutelycoathangered @maggiethemagical12 @lexysama

#soulmate survey #soulmate searcher #miraculous ladybug #ml #adrienette #ladrien #marichat #ladynoir #marinette dupain cheng #Adrien agreste #alya cesaire #if this one could also get 1000 notes that would be beautiful #or some delicious fanart #nino lahiffe #so much drama #the fluff #the suspence

2K notes · View notes

pink-caterina · 3 years

Text

The Cost of a Legacy (8)

Summary : He sees her and she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, everything perfect. Well except the fact that they’re growing up during the revolutionary war. Their love will hit many hurdles and what the future has in store may not be what they planned.

Pairing : John Laurens x Reader

Words : 2,205

Authors note : So the start of this chapter is based around Lafayette, I can't speak French... So it'll be in English but imagine there speaking French. I also know nothing about how the French monarchy works so bare with me.

September 1776, France

One month before the engagement

“Next up is, ugh. Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de LaFayette.” He stood up making his way to the advisor’s office. “You know you think by now you'd stop putting your whole name. We know who you are and why you're here.” Lafayette scoffed, “Charles with a name like mine, it needs to be announced, my name is my father’s great name and his fathers. It would be disrespectful to my ancestors to not use it.”

Charles rolled his eyes and motioned for him to sit, “Lafayette, you know what I'm going to say, so why do you keep bothering?” Lafayette smirked, pulling out a couple of crumpled sheets, “Because this time I have recommendations, from great french generals saying I should help in the war effort.�� Charles sighed, “The ‘American’ war effort, say it with me, AMERICAN.”

“I know, I know, but what those men are doing across the sea is unheard of. They're making history over there and I know I can help them.” The advisor took his recommendations and put them away in a cabinet, “I'll give this to the king to review, again. But as of right now the answer is still no, he says specifically you Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de LaFayette are too valuable to your country.” He read off a sheet before handing it to Lafayette. “Maybe next time friend.” He motioned for him to leave.

“Charles you know we're not friends.” And with that Lafayette exited the palace, tearing up the king's writing and dumping it on the lawn. Rejected five times, five times Lafayette has written essays explaining his reasoning. Five times he’s spoken with stupid Charles, five times he’s had to wait knowing his request would be rejected. Why couldn't he just sail off to the colonies, oh maybe because the king seized his ship after he attempted to sail himself to America.

He finally came up to the road that led down to his home, where his wife Maire was waiting for him. The other path led down to a local pub, where all his high-class friends could waste themselves. Yes, right now that's what he needed a nice cold drink to distract him from his crushed goals. He ran down the path, busting into the pub, “Lafa-Lafayette! Bud! Guys, look, it's the great Marquis de Lafayette! Come over pal.” He chuckled making his way down to his friend, Jacques.

“Buddy, how did it go? Are you leaving me yet?” Jacques frowned before throwing down another beer, “No, the King still hasn't authorized me to go, who knows if he ever will.” Defeated, he ordered a beer for himself. Jacques patted his back trying to comfort his friend, “I’m sorry mate, I know you want to fight. But who knows maybe the sixth time's a charm? Let me tell you something funny I heard today, I was on my way to the bank and some peasants were complaining about the famine again! They started blaming-” Jacques continued his story, Lafayette nodded along not truly listening. Really just stuck on one thought, what if he just went? No permission, no waiting just to go, of course, he'd have to stow away on a trade ship that would take a couple of months to get him to his destination. Too long, he needed to get there now he's waited too long.

“Thank you, good sir, please do let me know if you know of any suitors with these qualities. Hello gentleman may I bother you for a moment?” Lafayette turned to see a short man, obviously not native to France. “What can we do for you friend?” Jacques responded, turning to the man, Lafayette rolled his eyes returning to his drink, only wanting to listen to himself, drink more beer. “Well I'm here on behalf of my employer, he's in search of a gentleman to wed his daughter. She is nineteen years old and beautiful, elegant, and educated, he seeks a wealthy and honorable husband for her. Are either of you interested or know anyone who fits these qualities?” What is happening? What man sends a servant to find his daughter a bride? “I’m single, where does this girl live?” Jacques chuckled, “Well that is the issue, my boss is from the colonies, the new United States. He's providing his own transport on his vessel and will pay for all expenses in the new country until the two are wed.” Jacques laughed, “Almost had me until you said Id have to move across the ocean, sorry pal were good-”

“This man you work for has his own vessel in France right now, ready to sail back to the states?” Lafayette asked the man, who nodded shocked at how interested the other man seemed now. “Yes it's all ready but anyone who does agree to this needs to be reviewed by me, just to make sure they're not lying about any of the requirements.” Lafayette smiled and took the man's hand and gave it a hard shake, “Sir I’m your candidate then, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de LaFayette.” The man smiled pulling a pamphlet out of his satchel, “Well Monsieur Lafayette, thank you. Take this and please meet me here tomorrow with all that the sheet requires and if all goes well I'll have you on a ship to the United States by Friday!” They shook hands and said goodbye, the man leaving the pub.

“What just happened?” Jacques asked with shock all over his face. “My friend, I just got my ticket to the revolution.” Jacques did the only thing that came to his mind, he raised his hand and slapped his best friend. “Oh my, what was that for!?” Jacques grabbed his friend and pulled him out of the pub, “What is wrong with you? Are you really this desperate to fight that you're going to leave Marie for this?”

“I'm not leaving Maire, I have a plan.” Jacques laughed, “I don't think Marie wants to be a part of a harem.” Lafayette smacked his head, “No you idiot! I'm going to follow up with this man and agree to marry his boss's daughter, go to the colonies, and make a good impression on this girl and her father. And then I will enlist in the war, become a great officer and help win the war against the British, and then one day when I die I will be remembered by those I helped. Oh and after that, I'll just disappear back to France, to my loving wife and best friend.”

“I have zero words, except that you are insane.” Jacques turned away and began making his way home, “It'll work out, you'll see... Goodnight friend!” Jacques waved, not bothering to respond.

---

“Marquis! Marquis stop what is going on?” Maire confused followed her husband around their home as he packed his belongings. “It's happening Maire, it's really happening. I'm going to war!” His tone celebratory as he continued packing his wife right behind him, “The king approved of you? I thought he said you needed to stay?”

“No, he didn't.” Still packing, “Well why are you packing then? Marquis stop and talk to me.” He sighed continuing, “I don't have time to stop, I leave tonight.” Marie stopped hovering, “Husband, please. Talk to me, I don't understand Marquis please.” She begged to block his way, in front of his dreams. “I found a way to fight, there's a man who's going to help me get to the states. The king won’t let me go, so I'm improving myself. I need to go.” He stated going around her, he was going to leave tonight. “If the king said you can't then you won't, this could be treason! Marquis, you will not go.”

“My mind is made up, Marie you are my wife, you swore to support me when we wed. So support me and my choices.” Marie shook with anger, “You swore to be with me for the rest of our lives, so if you go I'm coming.” He sighed, here comes the truth, “You can't come.”

“Why? Why can't I come?” He sat down on their bed, “I need you to hear me before you speak again because this will sound terrible, and I understand if you don't agree with what I'm doing, but nothing can change my mind. The man who is helping me get to the colonies made a deal with me. He's looking for a groom for his daughter, and I volunteered, it's not what it seems though. I will not marry this girl or kiss her or anything that would break our bond. I'm doing this because it's my destiny to fight and I will do what it takes to complete it.” He looked up at his wife, who was as expected shocked.

After a couple of moments of silence, she spoke, “What if you at the end of the war want to marry her? Our marriage is only legal in France, you could remarry and never come back to me.” He shook his head and approached his wife, “No, I will come back to you, god is my witness that I Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de LaFayette will come back to you my wife Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, Marquis de La Fayette.” She smiled hugging him. “My father will never forgive you.” He laughed, “I don't need his forgiveness all I ask is that while I'm gone you find it in your heart to forgive me.” She nodded, “When this war is over I want you to come back to me immediately okay?”

“Yes mam”

---

October 1776

After the engagement

Fiance? Has any woman ever been engaged to two men at the same time? Juliet- no she was married and engaged at the same time. Well then, (Y/n) was the first she knew of.

“I know princess I should have said something in my letter, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I have found you the best husband.” Still shocked she only nodded, still staring at her father confused, “She's just speechless, Monsieur Lafayette.” He nodded, “I'll just take her bags inside then.” Lafayette sensing tension grabbed her bags and ran into the home.

“Come on sweetheart, let's get you to bed the journey must have been exhausting.” (Y/n) still shocked didn't move, her father sighed and carried her inside up to her old room and placed her in her bed, “I know it's a lot to take in, but I want you to talk to him and give him a chance. He's perfect for what this family needs right now, he's high class, rich, and well educated, he could get us back on top of New York and help fix the business. He's the key to fixing this family… Just give him a chance.” He tucked her in and kissed her forehead, leaving her alone in her room.

Give him a chance.

He's the key to fixing this family.

Give him a chance?

He's the key.

Give him a chance… What is she going to do?

---

“Bonjour Mademoiselle, did you sleep well?” Oh gosh, it wasn't a dream. She took a deep breath, time to be clear and brave. “Is my father home?’ He shook his head, “No he had early business to deal with, told me to tell you to get to know me.” He smiled cheekily, she forced a laugh. “Have you had breakfast yet?” He shook his head again, “No (Y/n) I was waiting for to wake so we could eat together.” She smiled heading to the dining room, where he pulled the chair out for her before sitting. “My father was right, you are a gentleman.”

“Well, I was raised in a high-class french family, if I didn't wait for you or pull your chair out my nana would die all over again.” She laughed, immediately covering her mouth, “I'm sorry, please forgive me that I was improper, to laugh at.” He laughed, “Don't worry (Y/n) I don't mind, I like those who appreciate my sense of humor.” She gave a small smile, realizing he was flirting with her, they sat in silence as the maid served them their food and retreated out the dining room.

“Lafayette, I have a secret to tell you. It will ruin all my father’s plans and yours but I can't let this drag longer than it needs to. I can’t marry you, I'm already engaged.” She quickly said, pulling out her necklace as proof.

“Oh thank King Louis this is perfect!” He proclaimed standing up and hugging the girl. “That is not the reaction I expected.” She said hugging him back. “I know, and I will explain. Is there somewhere we can go? Where no one will hear us?” She nodded, both of them standing, “Yes I have a spot, well used to but it should be fine.”

“Okay let's go and I’ll explain to you why I'm so happy you can't marry me!” He laughed, “And bring those finger sandwiches!”

“Okay!”

—-

Not edited

I’m dying of sleep exhaustion

Have a good night hope you enjoy

#alexander hamilton #hamilton #angelica schuyler #eliza schuyler #peggy schuyler #aaron burr #fanfic #reader insert #john laurens x reader #lafayette

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weregonnaneedmorewhiskey · 4 years

Text

Covet

Chapter 1

Chapter 2- “You look like a bougie hooker but in a good way”

Let me know if you want to be tagged by sending an ask or a DM :)

Songs for this chapter:

Touch Me, Tease Me- Case ft Foxy Brown & Mary J. Blige

March 22nd

"So, did he tell you where's taking you?" Adrienne asks me whilst I apply a layer of Fenty lip gloss onto the deep pink lipstick. Turns out, I wasn't going to be forgotten so easily by James Brooks since he texted this morning asking me for drinks. After the party, I thought I should google him because 1. He could be lying about who he is because there are crazy people out here and I'm not trying to get murder for acting like a dumb bitch and 2. A part of me was weirdly enough curious about him. Maybe it's the Miami heat or maybe it's Taty's words finally sinking in.

"Yeah, some expensive bar. Can't remember the name but I thought I probably shouldn't wear jeans there. How do I look?" It wasn't an overly dressy look but dressy enough to not feel out of place once I got. Just a little black dress with thin straps that just about covered my ass, pair of lace up stilettos and my signature gold hoops. "You...look like a bougie hooker but in a good way. Like a hooker that only messes with NBA players or A-Rod when he was still a fuck boy"

"Good to know" I reply sarcastically. Another 20 minutes until he arrives. "Do you think you'll fuck him" I knew Adrienne gonna ask that. "Haven't given it much thought but I'm not stupid. If he's willing to give up the dick, then I'm gonna be there to receive it" Ok Taty's words have definitely sunk in. My phone flashes with a text from him. In the lobby. "A, He's in the lobby".

"10 minutes early. Impressive. Well have fun and be safe. Hold up" She goes into her suitcase and throws a condom in my direction. "Because I know you wouldn't think to take one with you". That's the good thing about Adrienne, she's the mom friend you need in life. Well...in terms of her being like a mom, she's kind of like Regina George's mom. But her heart is in the right place.

There he was. Stood in the lobby as if he had just stepped out of a GQ Magazine spread. James had that timeless attractiveness that stretched beyond what was happened to be in style. Sort of that Marlon Brando thing.

"Well...you look good" he greets me.

"Why? Did you doubt that I wouldn't look good?" I joke. When did that comment come from. I don't say things like that

"Quite the opposite. Just to clarify, you are of drinking age right?"

“Yes and you’re how old? About 45?” He definitely didn’t look 45. More like late 20’s, early 30’s. 33 at a push.

“I’m 32” Damn, I was just a year off!

“Based on the car, I see you’ve done well for yourself for being so young”

There was a matte black Tesla Model S parked outside which James got into the drivers seat.

“Something like that”

We arrive at the bar. James leads us to a booth in one corner of the room. I notice there’s no one else in this corner of the room.

“It’s just us two” I point out.

“Yes. Thought it would be nice if we had some privacy. If you don’t mind...”

“No, I don’t mind” We go and sit down in the booth. Soon after a waiter comes to take our drink orders in which James goes out of his way to order a bottle of Merlot.

“You come here quite often?” I ask him.

“From time to time. A lot of my clients like to come here and have events”

“These clients you mention, so are you like a lawyer or something?”

“No” he says. “I do marketing for a talent agency”

“Wow, impressive. Who does your agency rep?” I ask him.

“Lebron James, Travis Scott, Margot Robbie, Ben Affleck, Doja Cat, Kaepernick” Well I definitely wasn’t expecting those names at all.

“Your agency represents all those people? That’s...a lot of people” A lot of people? That’s fucking huge! No wonder he drives a Tesla. Probably not his only car based on the clientele.

“So what’s your major or have not decided it yet?” James snaps me out of my thoughts/state of shock.

“It’s Art with a minor in Latin American Studies”

“So you’re an artist?” He asks. The waiter comes back with the bottle of merlot. James pays for the bill and slides the waiter a $20 tip.

“I guess you say that but it’s not what I want to do after college. I’m more interested in art dealing” I take a sip from my glass and let the flavours dance on my tongue. It’s deep and fruity.

“Good wine?” He asks.

“Yes. Nice choice. I’m typically not a wine person. More into whiskey” I let him know.

“Well I’ll remember that for the next date” He lets me know.

“The next date? What makes you so sure they’ll be one?” I raise my eyebrows at his confidence

“I just have a feeling. Plus I can be quite persuasive”

I know I technically shouldn’t be attracted by him making a statement like that but yet it’s rather sexy.

“Well I would like to see it” Taty’s words have sunk in. I’m on a date with this guy, might as well have some fun with him and besides I may never see him again.

”What were you doing at the party the other day. Doesn’t seem like your kind of scene”

“It’s not. Well...not all the time. My friends dragged me to the party. I was quite happy spending the day with Audre Lorde but can’t say that I regret going to the party” He smirks at the last bit of my sentence.

“I wanna know more about you” James tells me, still wearing that smirk that’s shamelessly sexy.

“So do I. Who goes first?” I tell him. I think that liquid courage is setting into my bloodstream.

“Well since I asked you out, I think you should go first. Only fair” he takes a final sip from his glass before pouring a new one.

“Well, I’m originally from San Francisco. I’m a Virgo, My mom is Latina and my dad is Black. Got one brother. I go to Berkeley. Your turn” I finish off my glass and he goes to pour a new one for me.

“Alright. I was born in Seattle but I moved to Boston when I was 13. I have one brother as well. Went to Columbia for college, was living in New York until a year and a half ago” He gives me his brief bio but I have this feeling there’s more to him than he’s telling but it’s the first date and I didn’t give him much info so I guess it’s tit for tat.

“Why did you leave New York?” I ask him

“Needed a change of scenery” he gives a very brief answer.

“Well alright then” I can’t figure it out but there’s something about him I can’t put my finger on.

“Why are you staring me like that?” Once again snapping me out of my thoughts.

“I’m trying to figure you out. I feel like there’s more to you”

“Well, we could get out of here and find out more about each other. Maybe I could find out if you’re a scotch or bourbon girl since you mentioned you like whiskey” He does not bullshit at all.

“And where would we go then to drink this bourbon or scotch since we’re already in a bar?”

“I think I know a place. It happens to have some great art pieces as well that a potential future art dealer might like” That smirk was back on his again.

“Well, now I’m interested. Let’s go then” I finish the glass of wine and we leave the bar.

Tag list: @emjayewrites

#henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill #henry cavill x poc henry cavill x woc #henry cavill x black reader #fanfic #fanfiction #woc reader #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x black ofc

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therandomfics · 4 years

Text

Unknown: 5

How long had you been talking to Sonny? It seemed like ages but in reality it was only a few weeks, and though you felt such a connection you found yourself feeling a little off put by how little you knew about the man. All you had surmised was that he was a lawyer, he was intelligent, he had a big family and he was Catholic. Sure, that was enough for some people to elope with, but you felt like you needed more. He felt like he was too good to be true.

When he invited you out to celebrate a friend’s birthday, you had to accept. It was your chance to learn more about your new friend - and while you were borderline miserable with just being friends, you knew it was for the best. It hadn’t been very long since you’d finally let go of your ex-husband.

The evening rolled around finally and you found yourself gazing into the mirror, picking at your perceived imperfections. Patchy, dry skin, chapped lips from not having the time to stay hydrated during the last few insane days at work, your hair looked like it needed a gloss treatment and most of all, you looked like you were nervous.

Well, good, because you were. Incredibly nervous.

Sonny picked you up from your apartment around 7 and greeted you with a kiss to the forehead.

“You look amazing,” he complimented, eyes wandering from the top of your frame to the bottom, then back up again to settle on your face. “Gorgeous.”

An involuntary and embarrassing blush crept onto your cheeks and you stammered out your appreciations. “We should get going, yeah?”

The twenty minute ride to the restaurant was quiet but not uncomfortable. You’d grown to appreciate the fact that you didn’t always need to have something to say with Sonny. It was the kind of thing you’d only fantasized about in the past. With Luca, you were constantly concerned he was going to find you boring and you tried your damnedest to keep him tricked into the idea that you were fascinating and absolutely his type. Looking back, you cringed at the amount of wasted time.

“Here we are,” Sonny nearly whispered, parallel parking a block down from the bar. He placed his hand tenderly on your knee after he shifted into park and looked at you with sincere concern.

“What?” you asked as you met his gaze.

“You look terrified,” he said and bit back a laugh.

You shrugged, but didn’t disagree. “Usually when I meet new people I’m wearing a surgical mask and their mouths are usually wide open with limited communication skills. I guess I don’t get out a lot,” you admitted with a chortle.

“Everyone’s going to love you, Y/N. Who wouldn’t?” His rhetoric was followed by his exit from his car so that he could open your car door and help you out onto the sidewalk. “C’mon, I want to show you off.”

Several of Sonny’s friends were already seated at the table, though as you approached you realized that the reserved area was more a free for all, and people were roaming about the secluded room with drinks in their hand, socializing.

“Amanda, this is my friend Y/N. Y/N, this is Amanda. We used to work together. We still do, just in a different capacity,” he explained as you shook Amanda’s hand and smiled at her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N. Sonny’s had a lot of really nice things to say about you, so I’m hopin’ they’re all true,” Amanda said with a short but kind laugh and released your hand.

“Oh god, I hope he hasn’t been lying then,” you replied and laughed, shaking your head at Sonny.

Amanda and Sonny chatted for a few moments and you wandered away, over to the table that had pre-poured glasses of champagne and trays of delicate treats that you couldn’t quite name.

You had to admit that it was nice to see Sonny in his element, talking to his friends and coworkers, laughing and showing how natural it was for him to communicate with people. For a while you had felt like maybe you had a strong connection with him, but now you were realizing that he was honestly just a nice guy. It stung for only a moment, giving you time to realize that this wasn’t about you - it was about Sonny, and you were here with him because he asked you, because he wanted your company.

Relief washed over you as the champagne coated your throat and left you feeling warm.

Time passed on and you were introduced to several other people that were there to celebrate the birthday of their shared friend. You met a few lawyers, a few detectives, police officers from Staten Island, and a few people from the gym that Sonny frequented. It was a nice mixture of people and you were happy to see how well everyone was getting along.

At nearly 9PM, the doors to the party room swung open and a gorgeous redhead strolled in on the arm of a man who looked like he probably visited the gym more than anyone should. By then, you were feeling a little fuzzy and had found yourself much more sociable thanks to your three glasses of champagne. Even your abundance of alcohol couldn’t trick you - you had to take a second look at the couple that just walked in.

“Adrienne! Luca! You finally made it! Happy Birthday, Adri!” The chorus of celebratory comments filled the room and confirmed your nightmare. Your ex-husband was the date of the birthday girl, the woman that Sonny worked with several times on different cases. Of course, it all made sense. God was playing a dirty trick on you and you couldn’t think of an excuse quick enough to get away.

“Y/N!” Sonny called out and grabbed your hand, pulling you towards the redheaded bombshell and her obnoxious date. “I want you to meet my friend Adrienne, she’s based out of Brooklyn but she’s one of the best paralegals I’ve ever met.”

Adrienne extended her hand and you took it, shaking it firmly. “So nice to meet you, Adrienne. I’m Y/N. Happy Birthday!”

She smiled and pulled you into a hug. “Thanks! I’m so glad to meet you!”

From your embrace, you felt eyes staring into your soul. Luca was fixated on you.

“Luca, man, so glad you could be here tonight!” Sonny said and half embraced Luca in a manner that was befitting of two men who seemed to be a lot closer than you could have ever imagined.

“Thanks so much for helping me get this shit set up, Sonny. And hey I know it’s been a while but I wanted to say thanks again for getting that Yankees stuff for me and leaving it at the gym. I appreciate you. I can cash app you if you want?” he asked, holding up his phone and giving it a small shake.

You couldn’t believe what was happening.

Someone was playing a trick on you, but you weren’t quite sure who it was. Fate? Luca? God? Karma?

All you knew was at that moment, you felt like you were going to burst into pieces of divorcee shrapnel and slice through your ex-husband if you didn’t make an escape.

“Luca, I want you to meet my friend Y/N,” Sonny said and turned on his heel, pulling you protectively to his side with a squeeze.

Luca’s eyes widened and he smiled, grabbing your hand and pulling you against him to embrace you. “Any friend of Sonny’s is a friend of mine, Y/N. So nice to meet you,” he said with such a thick faux friendliness that you wanted to scream and hurdle him out of a window.

You felt the urge to vomit come and go, and pushed yourself away from him with a stumble. “I’m so sorry, I’m not feeling very well. Nice to meet you. Excuse me, please.”

Your eyes roamed the room and you settled on the exit that lead to the back of the restaurant before dashing away. Blinded by your own tears, you tore through every door until you found yourself standing in the back alley of the restaurant as the door shut and locked with a loud click behind you. Great you thought to yourself. You shivered and berated yourself for not wearing something with more coverage as you pawed at the skirt on your dress to pull it down lower. It didn’t matter, you told yourself. It didn’t matter at all. It was far better to have to take the long way through the alley to get home than to go back inside and deal with the monstrosity that was waiting for you.

Grumbling, you walked back down behind the restaurant towards the main street. The subway was only a few blocks, and you were a true New Yorker now anyway - your heels had stopped hurting your feet hours ago.

#sonny x reader #detective sonny carisi #sonny carisi x reader #sonny carisi fanfic #SVU fanfiction

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adobe-outdesign · 5 years

Text

The Big Grand DCTL Review/Critique

In my previous liveblog I said that I’d do an overall review/rating kind of thing to summarize my thoughts on the book, so here you go.

No Spoilers: So I’ll preface by saying the book isn’t bad. It has it’s... moments, but it’s pretty enjoyable overall. The FNAF books, for example, were fun to read but they were also a hot fucking mess. This is not a hot fucking mess - it has its flaws but it’s pretty decent over all.

Spoilers below the cut:

The Canon-ness of the Book

I would like to say first off that I really don’t think this book is meant to be 100% canon - not to say it isn’t canon, but I don’t think it’s supposed to lie up with the games perfectly. It was approved of by Kindlybeast, but they didn’t write it - Adrienne Kress did, they just helped to develop it.

To explain better: There are a lot of contradictions in this book with the main lore. Some are more minor and could potentially be waved away, but others are extremely glaring. Here’s a short list of the ones that come to mind:

In the book, the Ink Machine is secret and almost no one knows about it. In the game everyone knows and actively complains about the machine on a daily basis. In the Employee Handbook, there’s even a memo from Joey proudly introducing the Machine to everyone.

The book claims you put ink into the Machine and it changes it in some way (effectively running on ink). In the game, it seems to produce ink itself - Joey’s memo kind of indicates this, as does the blueprints, and Wally’s “who really needs that much ink anyway” makes less sense if they’re putting ink into the machine rather than it making the ink.

Plus on Thomas’ board he has a list of the gallons of ink produced each day, with the highest amount written with exclamation points - if it ran on ink this doesn't make sense, as to get 423 gallons of ink he would’ve had to have put 423 gallons of ink into the thing to begin with.

Sammy is wildly OOC in this, as he’s basically a feral asshole throughout the thing, while in canon his merch description calls him a “decent person” and he generally seems agreeable most of the time, except for when he’s annoyed. The book even claims he doesn’t refer to women by their last names, while Susie’s tape tells us the exact opposite (as according to her he referred to Allison as “Miss Allison Pendle”).

Bertrum is also OOC in this - in canon, he’s extremely egotistical and hates Joey for multiple reasons. In the book, they’re buddies (even hugging each other) and Bertrum seems more humble. He doesn’t even correct Joey on calling him “Bertie”, when he had an entire tape about how much he dislikes being called that in the game.

The timeline for this part is also very wrong - it’s treated as if they just met (which could explain why Bertrum doesn’t dislike him yet)... but Bendyland was in progress for years before the studio went to hell, and he even has his BATDR tape (wherein he’s actively disliking Joey) dated years before this book takes place.

This also makes it kind of impossible for him to be the octopus ride like in canon, because he literally just joined the studio when Joey started killing people (and keep in mind that designing and building a ride like that would have taken at least a year or two).

The ink is, for some reason, somewhat alive, able to move around on it’s own and possess people. This was never indicated in the game, ever.

Buddy wakes up as Boris. In the game, stuff like Grant’s tape indicate the ink creatures wake up and then transform (the files even have an unused transformation tape from Wally, who’s likely our Boris). You can kind of headcanon around this one if you try though.

At the end, Norman and a few background characters die. Joey says he didn’t use the machine on them because they had been infected by the ink for too long and didn’t have souls any more. This means that, according to the book, The Projectionist cannot exist (as Norman wouldn’t have had a soul to use and Joey outright says he couldn’t/didn’t use the machine on them in the first place).

Some of these are pretty minor, but some of them are extremely glaring and even casual gamers would pick up on this stuff.

Basically, we have two options: Either Kindlybeast doesn’t know their own story/characters too well, or they didn’t require this to line up perfectly with the games. Except the first option doesn’t make sense, because they’ve recently published stuff that contradicts what’s said in this book in favor of matching the actual lore from the games, proving they do know their own story.

For ampel, Bertrum’s BATDR tape, which lines up with the game’s lore and corrects the mistakes in DCTL, was released in March - long after this book was in production. The thing about the Ink Machine being secret was also disproved in the recently-released Handbook, which instead says they employees do know about the Machine, just like they do in the game. So Kindlybeast do know these things don’t line up with canon.

I think basically they approached Adrienne and were like “hey, can you write a prequel novel based on our game?” and while they offered her some guidance, she mostly just did her own thing based off of it (she even said it felt like working on fanfiction while writing it) and Kindlybeast liked it and published it. It’s an adaptation of the game and its lore, done by a new person - things tend to change in adaptations. I don’t think they needed or cared if it lined up like puzzle pieces, they just wanted a good story, which they got. It is canon... but it’s also not, if that makes sense.

So for our intents and purposes I’d consider this semi-canon - take what you can as canon (which is most of it, as the most major contradictions also tend to be the shortest scenes) and ignore the stuff that doesn’t line up with canon, unless otherwise stated by Kindlybeast or confirmed in BATDR.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Overall, I’d say this book is about 70% good and 30% bad. When it is good, it is really, really damn good - but when it’s bad it leaves an awful taste in your mouth that’s hard to get rid of.

The Good:

Like... the majority of the book, really

Buddy and Dot are wonderful characters with strong personalities. They’re super likeable, bring some much-needed heart into things, and have great chemistry.

While some of the aforementioned characters are majorly OOC, the ones that are in-character (Joey and Norman are good examples) are amazing - every scene with them is gold and the book really fleshes out their personalities.

Some of the new lore tidbits are great, and help explain some things in the game (like how Lost Ones are created) or are just interesting (like Sammy drinking the ink and the idea of the ink being able to infect people, which sounds like something that could have directly come from the games).

The book goes into way more depth about what being a cartoon/ink creature is like, which is some much-needed exposition and is extremely interesting.

It also has a ton of heart and good intentions. I was worried about it being overly dark, but if anything it has far more sweet moments than depressing ones.

The Bad:

The contradictions I mentioned above. Some of them are easy enough to ignore, but some are incredibly jarring and take you out of the story (and make it impossible to take it as 100% canon without breaking the space-time continuum).

I kind of mentioned it above, but the stuff with the ink being alive and possessing people comes right the fuck out of nowhere, has nothing to do with the game lore, is completely tonally dissonant to BATIM as a whole, and literally has nothing to do with the plot of the book, like, at all. It feels like a few pages from a Venom novel got mixed in with the early draft and no one remembered to remove them before publication.

The racist shit - it’s only like 1% of the book, but when that 1% of the book ruins a really good character it’s a pretty big deal.

A random NPC dies for no reason and this death has more relevance to the plot than Norman, who dies off-screen.

Also consider: They could’ve found Norman first, Buddy runs off to get back to his house, Norman follows and gets killed via neck snap. Fixes both problems at once.

There’s very little tension during the horror moments because we already know Buddy will die but not until the end and that Dot will live.

The Ink Demon acts more like an xenomorph than the Ink Demon in this - his behavior is bizarre and it feels pretty generically horror movie monster-ish compared to how he acts in the game.

The Ugly:

The B-plot with Buddy’s grandfather should have been cut. I know that sounds harsh, but really think about it: what effect did it have on the plot? It only crosses with the A-plot twice, and both times nothing came out of it. It gives Buddy a chance to learn how to draw and he goes through some character development, but I find it hard to believe that couldn’t have been accomplished by expanding the A-plot.

The main problem is that A) this is a BATIM novel so we want to see the studio, not Buddy’s relatives at home, and B) it makes it kind of slow towards the middle, wherein the stuff with the studio barely progresses while we keep cutting back to the B-plot.

I didn’t dislike reading it or anything, but it makes the plot flabby, and slicing it out would’ve given us much more time in the studio and the characters we like rather than trying to juggle two plots at once, effectively streamlining it and making for a more cohesive story.

The ending (like the last 5 chapters) is a hot mess in multiple and varying ways:

Sammy shows up and... gets knocked out by a projector. Which is funny, but it amounts to nothing plot-wise and makes Sammy’s whole appearance kind of pointless

Killing off a bunch of characters, one of which was a main character, off-screen

The weird Venom shit that has nothing to do with the plot of the books or the games and amounts to nothing

Bendy acting fairly OOC, especially with how he goes about killing people

Buddy grabs the idiot ball bard by trying to drown a creature made of ink in ink, then standing right near the spot so he can be grabbed and killed

Not only does the “can’t use them because they had been infected for too long and no longer had souls” thing not only raises the aforementioned plot hole with the Projectionist, but it raises a plot hole in the book itself: When the other are exposed to the ink they die, but when Sammy drinks the stuff he turns into a Lost One. Which one is it?

Keep in mind that that was more bullet points in those 30-some pages than I have for the entire rest of the book

There are only like... two actual horror scenes in the book, and one of those is the climax. While it makes sense that too much couldn’t have happened before the ending, it feels like there could have been more than that.

Not all of the characters from the games appear. I know it’s a tall ask but it’s also easy to see how they could have been integrated, and some of them could have easily taken the roles that were given to NPCs instead.

I feel like this book would be more engaging as a non-fan, as the plot tends to progress like a mystery, with you learning a bit more about what’s happening with every scene in the studio... except as a fan you already know what’s happening, so there’s little to keep you engaged until you get into that nice juicy lore at the end.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s lots of little details that tell us new info and the character interactions are great, but a lot of the scenes are just like “Surprise, Sammy is crazy!” and it’s like thanks, we already knew that. The mystery is supposed to build and move the plot forward, but there’s effectively no mystery.

Overall Rating

I’m worried this review is going to come across as overly negative, as it’s much easier to critique what’s wrong than it is to say “this part was good!” like 200 times. But all of the stuff I was talking about that’s an issue? That’s like... 30% of the book, maybe less. Some of the most problematic scenes you could literally remove and loose nothing plot-wise (which is frustrating but you know). The bulk of the book is very good, the lore stuff when handled correctly is amazing and it even provides some extra answers that we didn’t have before, and the characters are great.

Overall, I’d give the book a solid... 7/10, I think. Not perfect, but pretty damn decent all around. If you’re a fan, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy if you haven't already.

#bendy and the ink machine #batim #batim: dctl #dreams come to life #buddy lewek #dot #sammy lawrence #joey drew #outdesign posts things #batim spoilers #outdesign analyzes things #the good news regarding the canon issues is that buddy has memory issues and is a unreliable narrator #so you can take the bulk of the book as canon and just headcanon around the stuff that doesn't make sense and say buddy got confused

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bngtanah · 4 years

Text

I’m (not) With The Band. | o2

pairing: Min Yoongi x Named OC

word count: 2.2k genre: drama, romance, smut(eventually)

chapters: prologue| o1| o2| o3| o4| o5| o6| o7| o8| o9| 10| 11|

warning: light angst, smut, fluff, workplace relationship, slow burn, sexual themes, ambw, enemies to friends to lovers, developing relationship

a/n: still a fool. still re-uploading.

Adrienne had never been a shy person.

She was always the first to volunteer for school presentations even if she hated the class, she made it her duty to be friends with every single one of her lab partners in science class whether they wanted that friendship or not and she was always ready and willing to offer her opinion when questioned on just about anything.

But it seemed that being in a new country, thousands of miles from home had given her personality somewhat of a timid edge since she was currently surrounded by six energetic and talkative boys and Adrienne couldn't think of words to answer their nonstop questions. The language barrier could excuse some of her silence since she honestly didn't understand a lot of their questions, but for the things she did understand Adrienne couldn't stop herself from looking like a fish out of water; her mouth gaping open then closing quickly when she lost her train of thought.

"Where are you from?" "How old are you?" "Are you older than me?" "Should I call you noona?" "Can you give me a big part in our title track?"

The questions kept coming and Adrienne could barely keep up when a stern voice from the front of the van finally calmed the storm of inquisitive young voices.

"Calm down, kids. At least let her answer before you start asking another question."

Adrienne sighed a short breath of relief when she was finally able to hear herself think and offered the lanky boy in the passenger seat a small smile of gratitude.

"Okay, I want to answer all your questions. But I have a few of my own first" She said as she rested the notebooks she'd been clutching tightly against her chest onto her lap. "Well, questions and one request."

"First, I don't speak Korean that well so try to talk slowly because I didn't understand half of what you guys just said." Adrienne chuckled and looked around at the smiling and curious faces of the boys who were still facing her.

"Second, I want to make sure I have everyone's name right so I know who I'm talking to, -Jin?" Adrienne asked and pointed to the boy seated to her left a row ahead who nodded and Adrienne smiled, feeling accomplished.

"J-hope?" She asked of the next member who immediately replied yes and shot her a love bullet which Adrienne pretended to get hit by before laughing and sitting up straight again. "Would you mind if I just called you by your real name?"

"Yes, that's okay" he nodded quickly with a surprised grin.

"Okay, Hoseok. It's locked in."

She moved on to the person with the deep voice who had complimented her hair. Andy didn't quite recognize his face since in the performance videos she studied they all had different hair colors than they currently did. The only reason she managed to remember Suga's name without doubting herself was because she forced herself to, knowing that he would be the one she would most likely be talking to the most. Adrienne was still riding high on the confidence of getting the first two name's correct however so she assumed she would his name right as well. "...Jungkook?" her confidence was shot down when he didn't smile and the other boys began laughing at her mistake.

"I'm Kim Ta- Taehyung Kim" He replied in English, which surprised Adrienne to much for her to remain embarrassed.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" Adrienne apologised quickly "Tae..hyung...V?"

He nodded and offered her a wide and boxy grin which Adrienne couldn't help but replicate, it was infectious.

"I hope you're Jungkook," She said to the next member and instead of smiling and agreeing with her like Adrienne was so sure he would his youthful features fell into something like a glare and the young boy shook his head from side to side gravely. Adrienne felt her eyes open widely and her hands flew to her cover her face in embarrassment, she was never particularly great with names but she was pretty confident that she recognized his face.

"Yah, Jungkook. Don't be like this" The member seated in the same row as Adrienne, on the other side of Yoongi spoke up.

When Adrienne peeled her hands away from her eyes and looked forward again she could see the mischievous smile budding on "Not-Jungkook's" lips before he collapsed into a fit of laughter which made Adrienne gasp when she realised that he was only kidding.

"Oh that's not funny" She replied even though she started laughing right along with him.

"We are going to have problems aren't we?" Adrienne said to Jungkook who replied with a playful quirk of his eyebrow before Jin and Taehyung shouted something about him being greasy.

Adrienne turned to her side and glanced down at the member she'd already spoken to, "I've met Suga," she muttered to the body on her side, he wasn't moving but Adrienne could tell that he wasn't really asleep. Looking up, she prepared to guess the next name but he was already speaking and offering his hand for her to shake before Andy could say anything.

"I'm Jimin" He said with warm and inviting smile "Please take good care of us."

Adrienne accepted his handshake and found herself staring at his smile for longer than she would consider appropriate.

"Now who's being greasy?" She heard Jungkook chuckle in a murmur and that made her snap back to attention and stop shaking Jimin's hand like an idiot.

"Okay so that just leaves, Rap Monster?" The boy at the front of the minibus nodded and turned slightly to wave in Adrienne's direction "You can call me Namjoon if you want" He replied, also in English which made Adrienne knit her eyebrows together.

"How many of you speak English?"

Namjoon laughed, making the deep dimples in his cheeks sink even deeper "Just me. V knows some English but he doesn't practice enough."

Taehyung nodded and looked at Adrienne "It's true."

Andy laughed and pulled the ends of her braids over her right shoulder "This is so great, I thought I would be lost the entire time but you speak English! You can help me! This is really really great" Adrienne rambled, her mood noticeably less subdued than when she first stepped into the vehicle.

"If you need to translate anything I'll try to help as much as I can" Namjoon reassured her.

"Good, my tutor says that I shouldn't speak English if I know how to say what I want to say in Korean so I'll try not to use you as a crutch."

"I wouldn't mind."

Adrienne grinned, holding Namjoon's gaze for a moment before glancing down at her lap while the rest of the members simply looked on with confusion. Well, all except V who could make out some of their conversation.

"I actually wanted to talk to someone about a few ideas I had in mind for your next album" Adrienne started, switching back to her cautious and slow Korean "But I'm not sure my co-producer is up for a conversation right now." She said underneath her breath and looked to her side at Yoongi who remained bundled up and still.

"Yeah, you don't want to wake him up. He didn't really sleep last night." Jin said gently as he joined Adrienne in looking down at Yoongi.

"I don't think he's sleeping, though" Adrienne answered back and leaned down to examine his face more closely.

"How can anyone sleep with all this goddamn noise?" Yoongi protested, loudly, from beneath his hood.

Adrienne jumped back and placed a hand on her heart, the sudden sound of his voice when she got closer to him nearly scared her to death.

"I knew it" She whispered once her heart rate had settled, his sudden outburst confirmed Adrienne's suspicions of him being awake. "Sorry about the noise" Adrienne stated in Yoongi's direction but he only shook his head and removed the hood covering his eyes.

He was never going to attain the amount of rest he was chasing so there wasn't any point in pretending that he could.

The group rode out the rest of the commute in relative silence, Adrienne taking the time to make conversation with the younger members while the older ones seemed to be involved in their own forms distraction or trying to rest their eyes. It took them nearly an hour to reach their destination and once the van halted to a stop everyone immediately began pouring out the van leaving Adrienne confused and stuck in her seat.

"Uh, do I need to get out too?" She called out to Yoongi since he was the last to exit the van and closest to her seat.

Yoongi pulled an earbud out of his ear and turned back to face her as if he'd forgotten she was still sitting down and hadn't joined the rest of the group when they got out.

"Yes, you need to get out of the van" He replied bluntly and watched as she gathered up her belongings and soon joined him on the pavement. They both began walking quickly to catch up with the rest of the boys who were already inside the building.

"Someone should have said something," and by someone she meant Yoongi but that didn't need to be clarified.

"It's kind of obvious isn't it?"

"Not really, I'm not being interviewed why would I need to get out of the van?"

Yoongi discreetly rolled his eyes by pressing his palm to his forehead for a few seconds before he began speaking again. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid today; having to explain how and when to do everything on their tight schedule.

"When you're with us, you do what we do," he said after a moment's hesitation, turning his head to look Adrienne full on.

"Okay, that makes sense. That wasn't so hard to explain was it?"

Adrienne smiled as she teased him and Yoongi took the time to secretly appreciate how easily her wide off-centre grin seemed to spread across her lips and illuminate her entire face. She reminded him of Jimin in that way, both of them possessed those kinds of expressions. Smiles that honestly looked painful to be so broad and enticing resting on someone's face.

"Suga-ssi!"

His name was being called and Yoongi stopped leering just long enough to notice that his members were already in the process of being seated, leaving him the odd one out.

"Find a seat," He said to Adrienne quickly before scurrying toward where the rest of BTS was seated.

Adrienne nodded and slowly turned to find somewhere to sit down and occupy herself until they were done with their interview. The rest of the staff that had walked in with them seemed to be gathering around a certain table do Adrienne joined them here, offering everyone she recognised a small greeting before she pushed a pair of earbuds in her ears and silently turned to an empty page in her notebook and began scribbling music notes and lyrics over the page.

Listening to the different tones in all of them members voices when they spoke had given her a few ideas for something new. Every so often Adrienne would look up while the boys spoke, laughing at the silly answers to the interviewers questions or to watch them demonstrate a dance move or song lyric from their current album. She would smirk and make faces whenever she caught one of them looking in her direction, she caught Namjoon the most and one of the faces she made nearly made him laugh out loud while Jimin was answering a question.

Truthfully, she only caught Namjoon the most because her eyes tended to gravitate toward him whenever she looked up. If Adrienne had been paying close attention she would have noticed that Yoongi's eyes rarely left her when he wasn't being addressed or answering something. Initially, he just wondered what she was writing down but as the interview wore on and Yoongi became more uninterested in repeating the same answers to the same kinds of questions he began staring at her just to have something appealing to look at. The way Adrienne bit down on the end of her pen cap when she seemed to be stuck on something, and the wrinkle that would form in her forehead when she reread something she wrote down only to realise it made no sense was all, dare he think it?

Cute.

The interview finished about an hour after they began and as everyone got up and prepared to leave their manager was informing them that the photo shoot they had scheduled next was cancelled due to the photographer injuring himself. Instead, they would all be returning to the studio so that they could get in a few extra hours of practice.

Adrienne pumped her fist silently to herself because she knew that meant that she would finally be able to get some of the music out of her head before she went crazy.

"He said we're going back to the studio right?" Adrienne asked Namjoon when she stood up to join the group walking outside. Namjoon nodded and repeated the manager's message in English for Adrienne who nodded and struck up a conversation with him on their way back to the van, leaving Yoongi to continue silently gazing from behind them.

#bts #bts fic #min suga #min yoongi #suga fic #suga scenarios #yoongi x oc #bngtanah #inwtb

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crazyrandomfucker · 4 years

Text

Hero Apprentice Twins 3

Chapter 3: Stormy weather

Summary:

This akuma in particular is very similar to canon, but instead of summer it's October, the whole twin thing going on and some love parallels of later akumas.

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-At the Dupain-Cheng living room-

"Manon! Mina! Give Marin those hats back!" says Marinette chasing two little girls across the living room.

"But we want to be designers too" says Mina dodging Marinette again.

"Those aren't finished!" says Marin trying to catch Mina but failing again.

"Please girls! Marin needs to finish those! He should be working and not chasing you two!" says Marinette as she hits her head against the table.

"And remember, press 1# for Aurore and Aria and press 2# for Mirielle and Miriam" says the TV presenter.

"Mirielle! I love Mirielle!" says Mina grabbing Marin's phone and sending a message to the TV station.

"I love Miriam" says Manon grabbing Mari's phone and copying her sister.

"Hey!" say the designers at unison.

"I forgot today was the weather girls competition, Aurore mentioned it if I'm not wrong" says Marinette.

"You know Mirielle and Miriam?" ask the little girls.

"Well, we were classmates once" says Marinette.

"Yeah, but they are really timid. We know better Aurore and Aria" points Marin.

"Can you present us to them?" say the girls with puppy eyes.

"Well... I-" says Marinette trying to resist the puppy eyes.

"We can't unless they want to" says Marin as he catches the hats.

"But we-!" begins Mina, but the doorbell rings.

Marin opens the door and the Césaire twins are standing there. "Hey man, you busy?" says Alen.

"A little bird told us that your crushes are doing a photoshoot in the park" says Alya smirking.

"It's not a crush!" says Marinette blushing.

"I don't have a crush Alya. Besides, we're both working" says Marin.

"Another request from your crush boss or is it from THE boss?" asks Alen.

"First, only god knows how many times I've told you that I'm not crushing on Adrienne" says Marin. "Second, I have a request from Gabriel to make a hat for Adrienne's Halloween costume, which I have already finished".

"Thanks god, because I think that I DO have a crush on her, lucky me I won't have competition. Let's go see her" says Alen.

"Yeah, no. Also, me being the only competition? Are her model friends and army of fans not enough competition for you?" says sassily Marin.

"Man, you're the only one I'm afraid to lose to. You've got it all: baked goods, baked looks and baked talent" teases Alen.

"Bro, stop it with those half-baked puns. Besides, you're more handsome than I am" says Marin.

"Shut up you two and kiss already. What are you working on Marinette?" asks Alya curious.

"I'm babysitting the daughters of my mom's friend. They are... Little precious angels" says Marinette. Mina and Manon appear from behind Marinette.

"Well, luckily for you, we're experts in dealing with little precious angels and we know that a walk in the park can help to tire them" says Alya.

"And what a better opportunity to show your progress on the hat to the one who is going to wear it?" says Alen winking to Marin. "Besides, taking a break is necessary when working and I want to see her but I'm not going without my bro".

Marin sighs. "Okey, I'll go with you scaredy cat, but you owe me".

"Wait, who are them?" ask Mina and Manon.

"We?" asks Alen smiling.

"We are unicorns from the magical planet Wualulu trapped in the bodies of these two gorgeous teens" says Alya getting down.

"No you're not" says Manon laughing, but then she doubts. "Are you?"

"Do you grant wishes?" ask Mina excited.

"We only grant wishes to well-behaved children and we eat bad-behaved ones. What are you little monkeys?" says Alen.

"I don't know, they sometimes do behave" says Marinette smiling.

"We'll behave!" say both little girls.

"Then let's ride to the park!" says Alya as she and Alen put Manon and Mina in Marin's and Marinette's shoulders.

-At the Kidz+ TV station-

"Now it's time to announce the winners of the Kidz+ weather twins contest!" says the TV presenter. "And the winners are... Mirielle and Miriam! Congratulations you two! And don't be sad Aurore and Aria, you've only lost for..." says as he looks at the paper. "Half a million votes! Yikes, better luck next time!"

Aurore and Aria leave the studio furious and they enter the elevator. "We should have won! We are more cute, more confident and we're dressed a lot better!"

Without the girls noticing it, two dark butterflies enter to the elevator and the elevator stops. The girls, surprised, turn around and see the akumas approaching them just as the elevator lights began to fail. In a desperate attempt of defending themselves, Aurore and Aria fence their umbrellas trying to scare away the butterflies, but as soon as the umbrellas touch the cursed butterflies, they turn to a very dark purple and a light purple butterfly symbol appears on Aria's and Aurore's faces.

"Hello Stormy Weather and Hail Queen. I am Hawk Moth. You should have won that contest but worry not, you can be my weather girls. In exchange, I want you to bring me the miraculous".

"With pleasure Hawk Moth" say the girls and a dark blob covers them.

-At the park-

Adrien and Adrienne are sitting on a fountain with the new winter line their father was releasing in weeks and posing for their Italian photographer, Vincent, when they notice four familiar people coming into the park. Adrienne's face lights when she sees Alen and Alya, but then her expression turns into a strange mix of blush and confusion when she notices that Marin and Marinette are carrying kids on their backs. Adrien also brightens up when he sees the Césaire twins, but then he looks confused because of the little girl on Mari's shoulders, and finally his gaze turns bitter as he glares Marin, who returns him a similar glare. While Adrien now understood better Marin thanks to the little chat with Adrienne some weeks ago, he still didn't trust him because of his odd behaviour around Adrien. Now that he thought about it, Adrien finds weird that both Dupain-Cheng twins behave different only around him.

"Oh no. No no no no no. Don't put hat face. Cheer up, think of Mamma's spaghetti" says Vincent.

The models remember that they still are on a shoot and they regain focus again, putting on a model facade and fake perfect smiles for the cameras. Even so, after twenty or so pictures it gets really boring and the Agreste can't help but to lose their focus. Then, as the expert photographer he is, Vincent notices the boredom of his models and gives them a little break as he searches for something to spice the photoshoot up a bit. The models happily wave at their friends and Marinette waves at Adrien with a dumbfounded expression until Alya hits her softly on her back, making Mari regain some composure. However, Alen just begins to tease Marin about him having a crush on Adrienne (again) and the designer just rolls his eyes. Adrienne goes to the girls and pulls them into a hug while Adrien just shakes Alen hand and holds a kind of staring competition with Marin. Noticing that, Vincent comes up with an idea and, while Mina and Manon beg to the designers to go and play with them until they resign and accept, he approaches the young models and carefully scans the Césaire twins, nodding in approvement.

"Friends! Some emotions are lacking on the young models and what is better than some friends to bring out great emotions than friends" exclaims Vincent without making much sense. "Are you two interested on being in a photoshoot with the young Agreste's?"

"Uh, us?" asks brilliantly Alen.

"I'm sorry sir, but we're horrible picture material" says Alya with a smug grin. "But our friends Marin and Marinette who are over there would be an excellent choice".

Adrienne blushes and Adrien frowns. " But aren't they busy with... those kids?" asks Adrien.

"Don't worry sunshine, we could take care of the little angels if that brings out your model smile" says Alya winking.

"Yeah, imagine making the shoot with sweet old Marinette, she's really cute and hey, maybe she could give you a treat or two as a thanks later" says Alen as he and Adrien gawk thinking on food.

"Idiots" say Alya and Adrienne deadpanned.

"Wait a moment! Those beauties, those cute little features!" says Vincent. "Forget about friends, those two little girls would bring out the excellent adorableness that we need for the picture!"

"What?!" exclaim the teens together, backing away.

"Excuse me! Young sitters!" says Vincent ignoring the surprised teens. "Would it be okay if I borrowed those two cuties for a photoshoot?"

"Uh- I-" stutters Mari unsure of how to react.

"I'm sorry sir, but unless their parents’ consent, I'm afraid we can't" says Marin diligently.

"Of course, that's understandable. Could you perhaps ask their parents?" asks Vincent.

"It would be difficult; we don't have their father's phone number and their mother is currently working. I'll try to send her a message, but I can't assure she'll answer" says Marin and sends a message to Nadja.

"Thank you for being so understanding young man. May I know your name?" says Vincent, examining Marin's clothes.

"I'm Marin Dupain-Cheng and this is my sister Marinette. The girls are Mina and Manon" says Marin.

"Oh, I see you've met already Marin" says Adrienne. She puts on a proud expression. "He's my personal designer and my father has taken interest in him. You will probably work with him in the future, he and Marinette are both really talented".

"We're not that talented" says Marin blushing a bit and rubbing his neck.

"Is that so? Then it's my pleasure to meet you" says Vincent.

"Likewi- Oh, Nadja answered. She says that it's fine as long as there aren't many photos and they are revised by her before using them" says Marin.

"Wait, Nadja?" asks Adrienne confused. "As in Nadja Chamack? The reporter?"

"Yes, she is mom's old friend and we sometimes babysit her daughters while she works" says Marinette sheepishly.

"Anyway, let's just simply finish the break and take the pictures" says Vincent, but Manon stops Mari.

"But I still want to ride the carrousel!" says Manon making puppy eyes.

"Sir, couldn't we have an extended break, we'll be in better shape later" asks Adrienne succumbing into the puppy eyes.

"Fine, but I'll expect only the best afterwards" says Vincent resigning.

"We'll ride the carrousel with them, we already have kept Adrien and Adrienne for ourselves" says Alya as she and Alen pick up the toddlers with smug faces.

"Alya, I love you, but I hate you so much right now" thinks Marinette. Then she notices Adrien approaching and her mind disconnects.

"Hello Marinette, what are you doing here?" says Adrien.

"I- We- Uh- We are Nadja babysitting- I mean, we're daughters Nadja- I mean-" stutters Marinette before Adrienne puts a hand on her shoulder.

"They are babysitting the daughters of Nadja Chamack" explains Adrienne.

"Really? Wow Marinette, I didn't know you were a babysitter" says Adrien impressed.

"I-I'm not really a ba-babysitter. I-I-I've just taken c-ca-care of them and N-Nino's yo-younger brothers" mumbles Marinette awkwardly as she plays with her fingers.

"I see..." says Adrien looking down, remembering what had happened some weeks ago on her rooftop.

"A-Are you o-o-ok Adrien" says Marinette noticing it.

"I'm fine, don't worry" says Adrien gloomy, getting a soft pinch from Adrienne.

"Hey, Marin! The girls want a balloon of Mirielle and Miriam!" says Alen and Marin goes to buy them mumbling something.

"What are you doing here by the way?" asks Adrien.

As Marinette opens her mouth to reply that he is obviously not fine, two akumas descend from the sky. When they see the balloon guy only selling Miriam's and Mirielle's balloons, they get mad and Hail Queen freezes the poor guy. Marin, who was already back with Mari from giving the balloons to the girls, instinctively puts himself in front of Marinette, Adrien and Adrienne to protect them. Adrien is surprised by that and doesn't have time to react, but Adrienne blushes and mentally fawns over Marin. But unluckily, the akuma notice them and approach, freezing the Agreste's bodyguards who tried to immobilize them.

"Wait, those umbrellas, those faces... Aurore! Aria!" jumps Marinette before she can stop herself.

"Aria and Aurore are gone Marinette. We are Hail Queen and Stormy Weather!" says Stormy Weather.

"And look who do we have here, Agreste twins and Dupain-Cheng twins. Tell me, who did you vote at the contest?" says Hail Queen getting close to them.

"You two of course, I stopped from working just to cheer you two from home" lies Marin.

"I also vote you two" says Marinette quickly.

"Yeah, so did us. We even told our photographer, Vincent" says Adrien.

"We voted Mirielle and Miriam" say Manon and Mina, oblivious to the danger.

Hail Queen freezes the carrousel, trapping inside the little girls with Alen and Alya, and Stormy weather unleashes a storm that covers all of Paris. Adrien takes Adrienne and goes to the limo, letting both of them transform privately and go to their bags to find their kwamis, who were mysteriously gone until the models pull out a piece of cheese. The black kwamis appear and try to bite it, but the models call upon their transformation. Once they have suited up, they exit the limo using the opposite door to avoid suspicion.

Marin and Marinette, on the contrary, rush to the now frozen carrousel to check on their friends and the little girls. Alya and Alen reassure that they are okay and rush the designers to take cover as soon as they can. After promising their return, the designer duo run to the nearest bushes and check that no one could see them transforming. Their kwamis smile knowingly and the designers call upon their transformation, changing into their superheroes personas.

"We have to save them" says Ladybug.

"Agreed" responds Lordbug already leaping and landing near the carrousel.

"Lordbug! Man you need to call your sister and get us out of here" says Alen.

"No need to call me" says Ladybug landing. "I'm already here. I was just talking with two teens who begged us to save you. I recall their names are Marinette and Marin".

"Those are our friends!" says Alya excited.

"Have they abandoned us?" asks Manon and Mina.

"Of course not, they went for help, like us or the firemen" says Lordbug.

"Come on brother, let's try to break this igloo" says Ladybug backing off.

The red clad heroes throw simultaneously their yoyos in opposite directions, rolling them up around the iced carrousel, and pull to break the ice but the yoyos slip away without leaving even a scratch, but landing on the heroes foreheads. Meanwhile, Stormy Weather keeps shooting lightnings to the Mirielle's and Miriam's balloon and Hail Queen keeps shooting big ice chunks at them. People panic and everybody tries to run away, but the akumas chase a couple out of the park and they prepare to shoot once again, until a certain black cat appears on top of the park's fence that is in front of them. Then, Kitty Noir jumps behind them, cutting a possible escape path and thus creating a pincer attack pattern.

"Hey ice queens, why all the terrorizing?" says Kitty Noire moving her tail.

"Why don't you pick someone your own temperature?" says Chat smiling smugly.

"Our names it's not ice queen!" says angered Stormy Weather.

"We are Hail Queen and Stormy weather!" says Hail Queen with an angered but cold tone.

"Listen. I'm feline more generous today than usual" says Chat Noir as he slowly slithers down the fence while playing with his tail. "So cool down and we'll call it quits, okay?"

"Come on, don't give us the cold shoulder and surrender" says Kitty grinning.

The akumas give them a dead stare and Stormy Weather opens her umbrella evoking a gust of wind that sends Chat Noir flying across Paris, who lands on a car and, due to the strength of the impact, bounces to another car and bounces back again. Luckily for him, their superhero magical costume absorbs most of the hits they take, which if you combine it with the strength boost they had, the damage was almost non-existent, but they still felt that they were hit. To avenge her brother Kitty jumps to the akumas, but Hail Queen opens her umbrella and Kitty is tossed to the sky. When she's about to crash to the floor at the speed of sound, Stormy Weather opens again her umbrella and sends her flying in the same direction as her brother. However, before she hits the floor Lordbug catches her on his arms as he swings by. He lands and lets her down by herself, just as Ladybug lands next to them.

"And here I thought that cats always landed on their feet" says Ladybug amused, helping Chat to stand up.

"Well, thanks my Lady and my Lord, but we had it covered" says Chat leaning to kiss Ladybug's hand, but she boops his nose pushing him softly backwards.

"There's no time for your childish charms Chat Noir, but you're welcome" says Ladybug.

"We have some akumas to beat!" says Kitty Noire.

"We should be expecting lighting storms like, right now!" says Stormy Weather as she and Hail Queen descend. She lifts her umbrella and shots a lightning to the sky, which gets stormy and begins to roar with thunders.

Lightnings fall straight to the cat heroes and the bugs tackle them just before the lightnings strike them, rolling and ending with the bugs on the floor and the cats pinning them down. Chat Noir is surprised and smiles sheepishly as he rejoices internally for the unusual luck, but Ladybug deadpans and push his head towards the akumas to make him focus again, unimpressed by Chat's behaviour. Meanwhile, Lordbug thanks the gods for the amazing view he's getting to see, with Kitty pinning him down and her hair all down kind of blocking everything except her. Kitty at first is surprised, but in a moment of smugness, she pulls her hair back and smirks at Lordbug, making him fluster.

"Enjoying the views, my Lord?" says Kitty Noire with a wink.

"W-We sh-should foc-c-cus on the a-akuma f-fi-first, m-my Dame" stutters Lordbug being a blushy mess.

"Come on sis, those akumas have just won themselves a cat fight!" says Chat getting up and charging towards the akumas.

"Flat ice!" says Hail Queen smiling as she points to the floor and covers almost the whole street in ice.

Chat slips and falls, but before he hits the ground, Stormy Weather opens her umbrella, summoning a gust of wind that sends the heroes away. Ladybug and Lordbug react quickly and grab the nearest fixed objects, which resulted to be post lamps. The cats aren't that lucky, but Ladybug manages to catch Kitty Noire's tail and pulls her closer so she doesn't slip away. Lordbug doesn't catch Chat Noir at first, but he somehow gets a firm grip of his yoyo and throws it to Chat, getting the yoyo stuck on Chat's belt and pulling him closer. Then, Stormy Weather closes her umbrella and the wind disappears leaving the heroes mid-air, who fall to the ground and get up complaining. The akumas ignore the superheroes recovering from their fall and turn around to continue their march surrounded by a gust of wind that spun around them, pushing back cars and anything that came near them in a five meters radium. A broken electronic billboard lights up and shows an image of Mirielle and Miriam, catching the akumas attention. Hail Queen and Stormy Weather share a look as if they were mentally speaking to each other and destroy the billboard before heading to the TV station with a devilish grin on their faces.

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#miraculous ladybug #miraculous au #Twins!Au #hero apprentices twins

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