#sir the zombie we wrote about

[shejustcalledmeafish]

Behold an extensive but not complete because he does it so much compilation of John Hart’s fourth wall breaks in The Sins of Captain John (made for @4thwallbreakersshowdown but also serves as general propaganda to give the boxset a listen for Torchwood fans)

Transcript below the cut, but first an important content warning that Scene Six (timestamps marked in the transcript) has background sex noises, so just be aware where you’re listening. There aren’t any major spoilers for the boxset, though.

Have fun and Vote John Hart for Ultimate Fourth Wall Breaker!

Scene One: The Restored (0:01-0:09)

John: Or maybe, if I’d known this was an audiobook, I’d’ve bought the complete Buffy on DVD! (Heavy sigh) Well, before you go asking for a refund, let’s set the scene.

(Five seconds of John’s theme song plays)

Scene Two: The Restored (0:14-0:28)

(Background space station falling apart noises)

John: I reckon I’ve got about four hours before I’m sent tumbling into the icy black void of space which is just long enough for me to tell you [sigh] how I got here. So, strap in, get comfy, and let’s give the fourth wall a bloody good seeing to.

(John’s theme) 

Scene Three: The Restored (0:33-0:46)

Sir Thomas, dying: I pray that I shall find the gates of paradise open, and that a choir of angels—

John: Yeah, yeah, yeah, very moving. But this scene has been going on for ages and we’ve a zombie apocalypse to avert, so maybe, we should get going.

(John’s theme) 

Scene Four: The Restored (0:51-1:11)

(Faint screams in background)

John: (giddy) Plus, if this was a film or a tv show, it would look so, so cool. Cue exciting music!

(Exciting music plays, accompanied by horse snorting and galloping. The music continues to climax)

John: Heeyaw! (Whip crack) Heeyaw!! (Whip crack)

Mohisha: Heeyaw! (Whip crack)

(Horses galloping intensifies)

John, yelling: This is probably the single most visually impressive thing I’ve ever done!

(John’s theme)

Scene Five: Peach Blossom Heights (1:16-1:43)

(Background space station falling apart noises)

John: (grimly) This is it, John. Beginning of the end. (Much less grim) Or, for you listeners at home, the halfway mark. (High-pitched voice) ‘Yay, Captain Jack is in it,” I hear you squeal. Except for you, over there, tweeting angrily around your cats(?) that (nerdy voice) “actually, I think you’ll find his name isn’t Captain Jack Harkness yet” yeah, I see you. While we’re at it, strictly speaking, mine isn’t Captain John Hart either. (dramatic mock gasp) I know! But listen, isn’t continuity boring?

(John’s theme) 

Scene Six: Peach Blossom Heights (1:48-2:28)

(Genial, generic, elevator-like music plays)

John: Basically, while many listeners were totally on board for all the gratuitous sex following my previous outing The Death of Captain Jack, we received some complaints (background sex noises begin) ranging from (gruff voice) ‘utter filth!’ to, uh, (higher-pitched voice) “you people should be locked up!” So, you’ll just have to picture the scene without any of the more explicit sound effects or dialogue. (sharp inhale, voice now giddy) I mean, in reality, this went on for hours, but, who wants to hear that?

(Notable pause)

John: (faux shock) You do? Shame. Take it up with the people who wrote all those strongly-worded emails. You have them to thank. Anyway, maybe they’ll release it as a bonus disk or something. Moving on.

(John’s theme) 

Scene Seven: Darker Purposes (2:33-3:01)

John: Suppose it was nice while it lasted. I hope you’ve all enjoyed yourselves. So, why don’t you get comfy, and we’ll see how this absolute clusterfuck comes to a conclusion. …where’s the theme tune? We’re meant to have a theme tune.

Scott Handcock, irl director of the boxset: (slightly muffled as if over an intercom) Uh, is it not playing?

John: No! Scott, it’s not playing, I can’t hear anything.

Scott: (inaudible), how ‘bout now?

John: Nope. (starts whistling)

Scott: How about… now!

(Torchwood theme starts playing)

#torchwood #big finish #the sins of captain john #john hart #captain john hart #fourth wall #the video doesn't look pretty #but it's all audio so doesn't matter #0 editing skills me

[walkiingcandle]

Till Death Do Us Part. // Bo sinclair x Gn!Reader

Warnings (future chapters): Violence, character death mention, arguments, screaming, cursing, suggestive comments, mention of past relationships.

I wrote this while in a car w/ family 😋 enjoy <3!

(new) music for this chapter:

How many hours has it been? Had to atleast be maybe six hours? The sun had went down a few hours ago. Staring into the fire I had made the decision to go to the damn town myself, nick sure as hell wasn't gonna put the beer down to go and looks for our friends and his sister. Getting up from my chair I went to my tent and started packing everything back into my backpack.

crunch.

Turning to look and see who the person was, it ended up being just nick. great. "Where the hell mare you going?" he looked at the bag in my hand and other personal belongings in the other, "to look for the rest of the group. I'm tired of sitting on my ass and waiting on them to come back." He sighed and left, back to his seat and started to grab his belongings as well.

Finally after packing all we could fit onto bags, we were walking towards the town. It was an awkward quietness, tension you could cut with a knife. Finally nick spoke, "Listen y/n- I'm sorry about our past. I fucked up with the constant arrests and that's on me. It's been weird- seeing you after this. I-just- nevermind." I stayed quiet, after his speech and the owning up to his mistakes. I had no idea what to say, therefore I kept my silence.

We made it, after a decent size walk, we have made it to the town. Now to find that mechanic guy. Bo? Bob? Robert? one of those names, couldn't exactly put my finger on the right one. Looking around at the surroundings, it looked somewhat vacant? it had a eerie vibe to it, a cold shiver went down my spine, making me shiver.

We kept looking around, splitting up in the process. I went to the gas station while Nick went a separate way, easier to cover ground. I opened the glass door, a tiny bell above my head rang signaling someone had entered the store. "Hello?" calling out and looking at the items stacking the shelves of the store, a man came out from the back. He was tall, maybe 6 foot? dark brown almost black hair, sweaty, and was wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of tight jeans, nice. "Can I help you?" he asked, his voice was deep, just the right amount of deep monotone to it, "hi, uh, I'm looking for my friends. Two, Carly and Wade had come in with a man named, uh, lester? yes. Then Paige and Blake, I'm really worried since they haven't come back to the campsite for hours." He nodded, furrowed browns, a thinking look on his face. "No, don't think I've saw them, you sure they came in?" nodding and his lips became a straight line. "I'm gonna go and meet up with my other friend, thanks for all your help sir." He nodded tipping his hat at me and walked back to the back of the store.

Me and Nick were sitting on the curb, trying to decide what the next move would be in this great adventure that we were currently on. "I say we find a hotel or somewhere in this ghost town to crash, and pick this up in the morning." looking at the ground, thinking and racking my brain for what the hell we could do, this was a dead end. I knew Nick was right, we were gonna run out of energy continuously looking around and it all being dead ends. I nodded, and we stood, now on the hunt for a sleeping spot.

Little did we know, bo was watching, waiting like a predator for the perfect time to strike its prey.

He was gonna have you. You were gonna be his.

Tags:

#bo sinclair #bo sinclair x reader #house of wax #slashers x reader #slasher community #slashers #vincent sinclair #lester sinclair #brian van holt #Spotify

[ground-zero-idiocies]

How would FO4 companions react after finding the Jamaica Plain treasure? https://youtu.be/TmLr99nQaUA

They’re walking outside and they notice SS holding a bat they saw in the treasure vault

Some random feral comes in and tries to attack

But SS swing at them and the Feral goes flying about 6 feet, dead.

A moment of silence passes and SS goes with as smirk on their face, “Look like I found the treasure.”

How would they react?

Fun little story: I accidentally stumbled into the backdoor to the treasure on my first playthrough when walking around. I threw the bat on the ground because I thought it was useless. I am stupid.

Anyway, the reacts. Anon set this up pretty well, so I'll just go off that.

Fallout 4 Companions React: The Treasure of Jamaica Plain

Cait: “Ok, I gotta get my hands on that. If I ever saw me parents again, I’d punt them off into the moon. No, the sun. Damn, that thing is incredible! You’re one lucky lass.”

Codsworth: “Keeping your enemies far away was never easier, now was it? Ha ha! I suppose that you’ve been using sir’s old dumbells, have’t you mum? I’m sure you have. Soon, you’ll be a true body builder! A strength champion! A macho muchacho!”

Curie: “Every day, your apparent superhuman abilities become evermore present. Surely you do not expect me to believe that it’s only the bat itself that is causing this spike of power? I suppose that the wasteland never fails to amaze.”

Danse: “Soldier, you may have remnants of that ghoul’s body all over you. You know that standard Brotherhood practice is to use laser weapons, as to turn enemies into ash. This is disgusting, even if mildly impressive. Only mildly impressive, though.”

Deacon: “Ok, now I know it. I’m gonna make Nora action figures. I mean, you’ve got superpowers and a magic baseball bat that can send zombies flying 60 feet away? Who wouldn’t want that? I would’ve played with that toy as a child. We can use the profits to build a second Prydwen. This one will be three inches longer, just to piss Maxson off. Deal?”

Gage: “I don’t even know what to say anymore, boss. It’s not like I have a real personality to draw from and honestly I think that OP is just gonna stop writing me into these reacts all together because, lets be honest, no one would miss me. Anyway that’s a cool bat, I guess.”

Hancock: “Imagine using that thing with a dose of Psychojet. Man, we gotta get down to Diamond City and swing that bat around like it was always intended. A swing and a hit, right on McDonut’s ass.”

Longfellow: “I may have come from an amazing DLC but I’m just not an interesting character. I’m a grandpa, baseball, old world, fog bad, yada yada. Why am I here again? OP never wrote about Ada and I’m maybe 11% more interesting then that sentimental robot.”

MacCready: “You gotta show that off to Duncan. He loves baseball movies, and those are all scripted. Imagine what you could do with thing if you actually had a decent pitcher? Best hitter in history.”

Nick Valentine: “I know it was way after his time, but I’d like to think that Mickey Mantle himself once used that bat. I’d love to meet him in person. We’d drink some Chock Full O’ Nuts and just...chat. Maybe the old world wasn’t so bad.”

Piper: “I keep telling you this, but the next time you’re gonna channel Zeus and Jackie Robinson himself into your weapons, please let me bring the camera! These moments are too precious to leave in our minds. And by precious, I mean FREAKING AWESOME!!!”

Preston: “General! I can’t believe I have to tell you this for the eleventh time! Put down the supernatural wooden stick and go help the Slog! I got a report from a definitely reputable source that the Slog has a Ghoul problem! Go help them! Come on!”

Strong: “Little lady has bat that can hit Ghoul far away. Little Lady is stronger than Strong brother? Stronger than Super Mutant? Strong need to have existential crisis now. Little lady should leave Strong alone to rethink his life.”

X6-88: “How many times do I have to tell Father that even though he wants to pretend like he had a normal life he can’t leave a highly advanced baseball apparatus just lying around. We get it, you are traumatized and wanted a father to play ball with because the cruel reality of 21st century geopolitics denies you this opportunity, but you can’t just let this shit sit around. Not ok.”

#gage getting a little meta on us #nick valentine would 100% drink chock full o' nuts #fallout #fallout 4 #fallout 4 companions #companions react #nick valentine

[rahirah]

Pre-S7 ranting

More hard drive scrapings:  This is an exceptionally doomy and gloomy post I wrote for the Blood Awful Poet Society mailing list in August of 2002.  Boy, Past Me can be melodramatic when she’s in the mood.

At the ATAS panel, Joss Whedon said that the abandonment of metaphor this last season was deliberate; that season six was about reality, which was ever so much more painful and, uh, well, real. This was why Tara died by a prosaic bullet, the villains were ordinary humans, and Spike and Buffy crashed and burned.

I suppose I could buy that as a mission statement for the season. I don't think they carried it off well, but I could believe that that's what they were trying for. Except...(delicate cough)... the climax of the season, the Big Cliffhanger, is a whopping great return to the biggest metaphor they've got: the soul thing.

I'm betting that they are going to go with Soul!Having!Spike being a completely different person, not in a character-developy "I've changed" way, but in a "Spike is dead, long live Neo!Spike" kind of way. After all, from ME's point of view, season six was devoted to demonstrating that Spike =can't= change; that no matter what he does, he's still an evil dead thing. That I got an entirely different message is my problem. And if Spike can't change, he must be killed, and someone more acceptable resurrected in his image, because, after all, it's only the cheekbones we care about, right?

Making Neo!Spike a different person is the logical cop-out--er, way to get around putting Spike and Buffy back together after the attempted rape: they'll be together, he just won't be Spike any more. Unfortunately, and despite ME's best attempts to dissuade me, it's Spike in whom I'm emotionally invested as a character. I don't know this new guy, though I hear he's played by James Marsters, who was pretty good as Spike. Explain to me why I should care about him any more than Dawn's new pals.

Of course I'm gonna. I won't be able to help it, damn it. I feel a certain squicky kinship with Spike's musings about the hypothetical Zombie Buffy: if there's any part of Spike left, I'll love it... but I'll always be aware it's just a fragment of the real thing. And if I can't have the real thing, I want something BETTER, damn it.

From the sound of recent spoilers, the season opens with Neo!Spike tormented by his new soul, lurking in the shadows and occasionally emerging reluctantly to give Buffy cryptic advice but no real help. Well, that sounds like fun...not... and nothing at all like Angel, no sir, no repetition here! I'm interested in finding out if the text of the show backs up the various writers' assertions over the summer that Spike got the soul deliberately, but otherwise, there's a distinct lack of thrill here in Barbland, folks. I'm shallow. I'm tired of mopey Spike. I want snarky, kick-ass Spike back. I want Randy Giles in a duster. I want Xander to get that punch in the nose that's he's had coming for the last season. I want world peace and a pony, while I'm at it.

Given Joss's impassioned defense of the season's 'reality' at ATAS, could someone explain to me why Spike's big change is the result of a soul injection rather than 'real' character development? I'm serious. If we're all about painful reality now, why retreat in this one area to the comfortable black-and-white cartoon certainties of soul=good, no soul=bad, when the entire rest of the season was devoted to demonstrating that the souled characters can be as venal, destructive and cruel as any vampire ever sired?

It's not like the character development wasn't there. (Right, I'm sorry, I forgot. It wasn't. Spike never really changed or grew or experienced any internal conflict. The writers just faked us into thinking he had, and that's not clumsy or deceptive writing; it's brilliant storytelling. Mea maxima culpa.) But rather than use it, the writers dodged the question. I still think that they were too chicken to carry it to its logical conclusion, for fear of the "If even one vampire is redeemable, then Buffy's a mass murderer" thing.

I don't believe the vampire-formerly-known-as-Spike will be relegated to cameo appearances, and I do believe there'll be some form of Buffy/VFKAS ship... but I want to, damn it. I want to feel like I felt in seasons 5 and early 6, like I still feel about the AtS characters. All I want is for =Spike= to come back to Sunnydale. Good, evil, with or without Buffy. Spike, the vampire with a heart, not some guy with a vague resemblance to Spike.

Damn it, is that too much to ask?

Probably so.

I don't WANT to be cynical and depressed all summer, but my thank-god-they-didn't-make-him- human euphoria is wearing off, and the vague S7 spoilage leaking out of the ATAS panel doesn't thrill me in the slightest. Back to high school is the watchword – guess that growing up business didn't work out. Quippy Buffy will set Dawn up for a spin-off – er, show Dawn the world, and forget the shitty way she treated Spike last season; he was an evil dead thing and deserved it. Willow's transgressions will be plastered over with a good speech and forgotten, while Spike... well, Spike is dead. He died in a cave in Africa, alone, unloved, and unmourned, and Joss alone knows who's walking around in his skin.

Grrr.

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #meta #fandom history

[comm-caribou]

Tunnel Squad’s Ice Cream Adventure:

A special thank you for @roofgeese for tagging me in this WIP game, and @voidika for asking about this piece… because I finally wrote it! 🎉🎉

————

After five failed relationships, Digger had concluded he was going to never get into one again. He was fine with being in a no stings attached arrangement, as long as they were a good kisser.

Yet, here he was again thinking about just one girl.

The worst part was she was with him even after his leave was over, running into battle and fighting right alongside him and his brothers.

He gave up on making out in alleyways, put more effort into his secret job, and spending more time with his boys.

"So, what do my boys want?"

Turning to his Sergeant with the biggest puppy eyes, Hound asked, "ice cream?"

Then, they all turned to Digger, faces lit up. They made it too obvious, that the compulsion to tease them could not be ignored like an itch on Digger's skin.

"We could go to an art gallery," Digger suggested.

Zombie nudged him, "or get ice cream?"

Digger tapped his chin, pretending to think, "but I do have enough credits for an aquarium. That sounds fun.”

"Ice cream please, sir?" Mutt tried.

Digger grinned, "maybe we could all get suits and go to one of the gourmet restaurants with the tiny food portions!"

Hound hugged his arm, “please, sarge? Can't we go get some ice cream instead?"

"Or... or..." Digger quickly turned his head faltering, don't look into his eyes, don't look into those damn puppy eyes! Do not look at him, or you'll fold like a deck of playing cards!

"Ugh!” Calico groaned, "I hate you all."

Calico—the trooper who hated be touched—gave Digger a tight hug. This one sacrificing act of Calico's lead Mutt and Zombie to join in, trapping Digger in the middle of an impromptu group hug.

"You guys are the best!' Digger hugged them back, smiling ear-to-ear. "Want to go to Guppy's?"

“Obviously!” Calico barked, “now let me go!”

****

The jingle of the door caused the sweeping Trandoshan to look up flicking his tongue curiously at his new guests, then his lizard mouth opened into a smile.

“My favorite customers!” Guppy exclaimed.

From the back, Digger could hear the squeal and giggling of the two teenage employees rushing to the front.

A Twi’lek and Togruta ran out of the kitchen, leaning over the glass counter, smiling big directly at his squad’s medic.

“Hi, Mutt,” they chorused.

“Hi,” Mutt smiled, “how’s school going?”

“Does he realize they flirt with him?” Guppy whispered.

“I couldn’t tell you,” Digger sighed, “how’s business, big guy?”

“Same old, same old,” Guppy went behind the counter and washing his scaly hands, “what will it be, gentlemen?”

Digger wrapped his arms around Calico and Zombie, “you know what these two want.”

Guppy chuckled, “plain vanilla and whatever’s new.”

Hound peered at the new flavors in the case, “what’s the blue one?”

“It’s cookie dough,” the Twi’lek answered, “want a sample?”

“Yes, please,” Hound smiled.

As usual, they took an actual spoon instead of one of their sampler scoops, and gave Hound a decent bite to try.

Guppy passed Zombie and Calico there cups, then leaned over to Digger, “I’m actually glad you’re here today. There’s a delivery tonight, and… you know how Wookiees aren’t a big fan of my kind.”

“Say no more,” Digger smiled, “but I am going to need some of those delicious saucers to bring to our ARF buddies stationed here.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” Guppy flicked his tongue, “deal.”

Digger then turned to the ice cream selection, “and I’ll take the strawberry today.”

I think that’s her favorite.

“Switching it up,” Guppy remarked, “any toppings?”

“Just the usual fixings,” Digger answered, heading through the employee door to the shipping platform.

I wonder what she’s doing tonight.

****

His boys were happy. With their disposable cups of their favorite frozen treat, they walked together sharing their dessert and sampling each other’s picks.

In a bag hanging off his arm, Guppy gave Digger six of his special cookie saucers. He could already see the Coruscant ARFs drooling as they held out their hands eagerly. He wondered how many of them went to Guppy’s during their time off, and if Guppy also called them his favorite customers too; he liked to think his secret employer liked all his brothers.

Zombie pointed his spoon to the fence, “who’s that with Other Hound?”

Calico sucked on his spoon, “looks like a girl.”

Digger craned his head, seeing a young woman sitting by Sergeant Hound’s feet as he played fetched with Grizzer. The massiff ran back—practically trotting his feet—and dropped the ball in the girl’s hand to be passed back to Hound to chuck across the courtyard.

Brushing her dark, blonde hair behind her ear, he realized he knew her.

“Oh, neat,” Hound smiled, “it’s Juliette.”

“She looks pretty in her civvie clothes,” Zombie complimented, “blue is a nice color on her.”

Digger gulped, then followed his squad inside the compound.

Why’d she have to be here? Now I’m going to look like a jerk for only bringing enough ice cream for just the boys.

He glanced down at his barely touched, slightly melted cup of strawberry ice cream.

Maybe I’ll offer her my half eaten ice cream? Maybe she’ll appreciate the offer enough to not think I’m a total ass.

She didn’t notice them, she was too busy petting Grizzer’s head looking like her mind was elsewhere.

Digger handed Sergeant Hound the saucers saying nothing, then went to her. Standing just behind her, she tilted her head back looking up at him with big, golden hazel eyes.

“Hi, Angel,” Digger smiled, I’m falling for you, aren’t I?

#caribou speaks #caribou drabbles #caribou originals #caribou ocs #star wars #star wars the clone wars #tunnel squad #sergeant digger #mutt #hound #zombie #calico #juliette trix

[rozcdust]

Omg is from Croatia ??? Podravka vegeta is my absolute favorite 😭😭 no other brands compare!! I didn't know, I wish I can go to the factory too haha 😆

I'm from Romania and idek what we invented, maybe the vampire shit, but we call it strigoi or moroi, but again I think it's a pretty Balkan thing too. Whoever wrote the vampire stuff only took some inspiration from here but funny enough Vlad Tepeş was never seen as a vampire here, just a ruler who would impale you lol.

Buuut my grandma would tell me stories about strigoi and how they would beat people and children that would walk near the cemetery or how they opened the coffin and the hair was still growing and the priest had to stab him in the heart so he can die for real. Ngl it did freak me out as a child 😆

Another thing that was common around here were witches!! But not the sexy witches on their broom, usually they were very old ladies ( babe) that would work with the devil ?!? And do sacrifices and by that my grandma told me that they would promise animals like help me and you can take the neighbors cow and the next day the cow would die 😬

Anyway, it was popular to find out who your future husband will be, and if he was married they would break them up or make the wife sick :(((

She told me a bunch of stuff but I kinda forgot about them. Nowadays it's harder to find witches cause most of the skilled one died.

Ohhh I remember a story about a girl that wanted to find her husband cause she was getting old( and by old I mean 25, apparently 25 meant you were expired back then what bullshit ) anyway she went to a witch, told her to do some weird shit and light the fire and never let it die until the man comes to her otherwise he will die. Well she did that, waited for about 2 days near the fireplace and lost hope so she put some water over it. Well guess what??? That dude was possessed and came all the way from his home to hers walking like a zombie and when he got close to her house just a few meters away he died because she stopped the fire!!!!! What a story!!! What bad luck!!! Honestly it's hard to believe lol, but it does make an interesting story

yes! i am from croatia 🥰 the land of a shit ton of water and vegeta 🤪

OH FUCK YES ROMANIA IS SO BEAUTIFUL also idk why all balkan grandparents insist on traumatising their grandchildren with creepy ass stories 😭 like does it bring them joy????

oh yes we have some casual witchcraft too, that same thing with the husband actually! it is like a thing to throw an apple peel over a roof and whatever initial it lands as, boom

HUSBAND

also throwing salt over the left shoulder to escape misfortune is a common lowkey witchy thing

AND THAT STORY IS SO TRAGIC LIKE WHAT??? imagine the horror when she realises what she has done 😭 BUT HEAH BEING ‘an old maid’ AT 25 WAS A THING HERE TOO AND IT IS SUCH BULLSHIT LIKE SIR 25 IS JUST BEGINNING PROPER ADULTING

but ya know the worst thing balkan parents/grandparents do, hands down

rakija. in water bottles. when you’re a kid and you die.

istg i still have an instinct to sniff whatever clear liquid is given to me just in case 😭

#💮deiasks #a #balkan tales be. #WEIRD

[queen-boudicca]

Next up in the nuwhorewatch, the unquiet dead! (Guys i just watched the new episode help)

Bechdel test: pass

Made me cry: yes

Ngl I'm pretty sure i only watched this episode once, twice at most, so i don't really remember it. Gonna be fun

*Corpse comes out of coffin, chokes dude* 'oh no' 

'ghoulish moans' lol gotta love the hbo subtitles

I mean, they're not accurate, but at least they're sometimes entertaining

I like how they actually show the tardis traveling through the vortex they don't do that anymore

Yay gwyneth! 

"We've got to do something"

"And we will! As soon as we've got that dead old woman locked up. Now, get the hearse ready, girl, we're going bodysnatching"

"You'll start a riot dressed like that" doesn't change at all

Mortician dude is a douche leave Gwen alone

Hey look it's Charles Dickens. Anyway

Ooh i love her shoes esp combined w her tights

"It's not 1860 it's 1869"

"I don't care"

"And it's not Naples"

"I don't care"

"It's Cardiff"

"... Right" lol get rekt Cardiff

Wow Dickens is talking really slowly

Damn does he have this memorized? That's pretty impressive tbh even if he wrote it

Lol none of the people behind the corpse can see her face

Oh my god Sneed you can't just chloroform people

"Should i remove the gentleman, sir?"

"You're absolutely brilliant, you are!"

"Uh no, he can stay"

You expect me to believe the translation circuit doesn't translate dialetical differences? There's no way it wouldn't translate fan into fanatic or something he understands.

He's a good sport about this tho

Rose sees a ghost zombie thing and the first thing she asks is if it's alright i love her

Lol Charles just walks out after nine tells him to shut up

Oh he's going on a little investigation bc he doesn't believe in ghosts

Rose bonding w Gwen is great i love it

Giggling about boys and stuff

"Don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium" nine I'm going to have you arrested

Wonder if the gelth claimed to be screwed over by the time war bc they knew the doctor would respond to it

Don't remember if that was true or if they had some psychic shit like Gwen so they knew that would work the best

Gwen is so nice and rose cares so much

Plot twist they're evil you can tell bc they turned into fire and got a deeper voice

Yay Charles you're smart

"I hope that this theory will be validated soon... if not immediately" lol he's fun

Oh fuck I'm crying I'm actually crying that's not fair

Fuck now I'm crying again over Charles Dickens

Okay have to go to bed soon so not doing a two parter rn

Next time though, slitheen and Harriet Jones, mp for flydale north!

#nuwhorewatch #ninth doctor #the unquiet dead #doctor who

[jump-wings]

Thank you for tagging me @theflyingfin !

Favourite place in the world you’ve visited?

Yumurtalık in Turkey. When we were living in Turkey for my father’s job, I visited there with my father and brothers when I was seven. It was a small seaside town. We spend the whole evening collecting seashells.

Something you’re proud of yourself for?

I decided to grow up and take responsibilty of myown life. It is not easy but slowly I am making changes. And I started to write things I always wanted to write.

Favourite books?

Fields of Glory by Jean Rouaud

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevski

When did you join the HBO War fandom? What was the first show you watched?

I joined the fandom in last months of 2022 and early. But I watched TP in 2017 and BOB 2020.

Have you read any of Easy Company’s books? If so, which ones were your favourite?

I only read Band of Brothers by Stephan Ambrose but I want to read others too.

Favourite HBO War character and your favourite moment with them?

It is can of peaches, sir. Nix! and almost every scene Luz in it!

Do you make content for any fandoms, if so; what sort of content?

I wrote couple of fics on AO3 and created some OC for MOTA on tumblr.

Favourite actor/actress and your favourite film of theirs?

Jude Law Young Pope

Callum Turner (recently) MOTA

Cesar Domboy (recently) SAS Rogue Heroes

Random fact your mutuals/followers don’t know about you?

I have brothers from same mother but different fathers. Our fathers are from different countries.

If you’re a writer, do you need a beta reader (say yes so I can be your beta reader 🤭)?

I really need a beta reader.

Three things that make you smile?

My brothers, my grandpa and well written sentences from books.

Any nicknames you like?

Lex

Lexo (sometimes)

List some people you love to see around on tumblr!

My all mutuals!

What would you do during a zombie apocalypse?

Trying to protect my loved ones and trying to hide them and myself from zombies.

Favourite movie?

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

Das Leben Der Anderen

Do you like horror movies?

No. They affect me really bad so I never watch them.

#a little about me #thank you for tagging me

[historyhermann]

The Indie Animation Boom Continues in 2022 [part 3]

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs, my History Hermann WordPress blog on Jan. 21, 2023, and Wayback Machine. This was the ninth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on January 27, 2022.

© 2022-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] Of note are animated series in development like Re: Quest, The Alyssian, Don’t Touch the Props, Bloop and Friends, Gadzooks and the Cryptoid Kids, Project: Tideaway, Please Stay Tuned, Finding Alyx, Bleating Heart, Marabelli: A Scoundrel’s Tale!, Accidental Gehenna!, Hockey, Love, and Guts, The Crystal Eden, Dragon Falls, The Incredible Adventures of Detective Cat, Blackwater Creek, Defender Squad, Framed, Violet, Revamped, Destination Unknown (to be re-imagined), Broken Hearts Club, Alfred the Alien, Zeyka, The Cosmos in Your Eyes, Captain Zero, The Fantastic Warriors (tentative title), Sorein (working title), Royal Pain, Atomic Horseman, Swift Spark and the Defense Five, Space Landers, Crescent Fire, Dark Pages, Crash in the System, The Crystal Eden, and Aleph Stars. 

Additionally, Final Frontier, a sci-fi/dark satire webtoon may be turned into animation if there is enough support. While I would include Fruition of the Damned, the creator of that series, JrRMack, strongly supports NFTs, a morally corrupt cryptocurrency scheme which is harmful to the environment and the livelihood of artists. So, I cannot, in good conscience, support him or his series. The same applies to Roads to Rome, which is also funded by an NFT. Compare this to Whitman, who has said publicly that “NFTs are garbage as is, and you wont find my work involved in them,” as did the official account of Wild Card and the account of Faeduck Studios, which is producing Howdy Cloudboy.

[2] Century Park is said to include Indigenous characters. Christopher Wade noted his film, in development, The Will of Monsters. Jenn noted their indie animation studio, Sunflower Club, and their animatic pilot for The Figments. It is not known the progress of Dark Harvest, with the official account saying that the episode is 45% done, and the show’s creator calls himself an “expert procrastinator.”

The same can be said about Aisle99 which has an inactive YouTube channel, but semi-active Twitter, or CriTORA. The social media accounts for animated series like Harri’s World, Dirt: The Series, Romancing Roslyn Cherry, Phantom Hollow, Deranged, Zoolaplex, Cabiria Intermezzo, Here We Are, and Demonic Crepes (created by Bubblegum Cartoons, and has a pilot in 2019) are inactive.

While there is a listing of those working on the show Mayhem by Magpie V. Raven’s website, she is stepping back to pursue her own projects, like the Kina’s Adventure series while Sir Mayhem / Paul may continue the series after the animated film Mayhem Zombie Oblivion premieres. Raven is also an artist for Lackadaisy, Mystery Skulls, Ollie & Scoops, and more.

The pilot episode of Stars Align has been written, and it will “premiere when completed on YouTube,” with characters redrawn, people cast for roles, in a series with The Owl House and Infinity Train vibes. It is possible that Sara Eissa’s Astur’s Rebellion might be pitched somewhere again, as that animation is now under a company named Toon Cave, according to the updated website.

[4] The author of the webcomic based on the series, Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick, said that there was a number of reasons for the series ending, but said that “the very short answer…is that things just kinda weren’t working out” and called it “a bummer,” but is trying to look at the positive here.

[5] Cirque Du Monstro (CDM) is an additional series which fell apart, but for different reasons than Rain. The CDM Twitter account was deleted. The YouTube channel is empty. The creator, Krisis, seems to have scammed those who wanted to work with them, and sexually assaulted (and harassed) people, according to animators and storyboarders. For information on the latter, see Céline Heijnen’s thread beginning here, Bakakoujin’s tweet (and tweet thread), Antonia Pinnola’s Facebook post, and other tweets. Even a month before the tweets in December 2021, various animators promoted the show. According to a private tweet of Krisis‘s account, M0nsterParent, on December 8, 2021, the “CDM crew has been officially disbanded” and the animation is no longer being made. This is unfortunate because I felt that the project had some promise. Animators like Shou Tuzi (creating Tallyho!) stepped away from any affiliation with the show or the company producing it, 3M Productions, as did voice actor Mark Allen Jr.

#animation #tallyho #Cirque Du Monstro #rain webcomic #Mayhem #youtube #nft

[kakenaku]

THOSE ARMS lmaoo

#zombie detective #ahn se ha #choi jin hyuk #speed train to busan killeddd me #like at least yacht to jeju or something come on folks #sir the zombie we wrote about

[justcourttee]

I love your sibling Jasonette so much!! If you don't mind, could you do Marinette's first meeting with the rest of the Batfam? Also, this is probably a stupid question but are the rest of the sibling Jasonette stories connected?

Not a stupid question at all! I wrote them so that if you read all of them, there are parallels so that they could be connected, but if people didn’t want to read all of them, they could also stand on their own :)

I also NEVER mind writing more sibling Jasonette ;) Hope you enjoy! @moonlitjiminie 

Family Game Night

“What if they don’t like me?”

Jason stopped in his tracks, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Is that even a real question that you’re asking me? I’m honestly offended right now that you would even think they had an option to not like you.”

He dramatically placed his hand over his heart as if her words had fatally wounded him earning a small giggle from the girl. Slinging his arm over her shoulder, she managed to breathe a small sigh of relief as they made their way up the long staircase.

Jason didn’t even bother knocking as he threw open the manor doors, effectively dragging her in with him.

“Master Jason, what a pleasure to see you attend family game night and with a guest in tow, how lovely.”

An older man stood in the foyer, his sly smile warming Marinette to the core instantly. Jason narrowed his eyes playfully at the man, a sly smile of his own tugging at his lips.

“Marinette, let me introduce you to the only sane person in this household. Mr. Alfred Pennyworth. He likes to pretend he’s just a humble butler, but we all know that he secretly runs the whole thing around here.”

Alfred bowed deeply to Marinette to which she could only curtsey in return.

“It’s a pleasure, sir. I am sorry for invading your family time. I was under the impression that my presence was a known factor tonight.” Her narrowed eyes shot to Jason who simply shrugged, his smirk as arrogant as ever.

“Nonsense, a friend of Master Jason is a friend to all. You are by far the most pleasant friend he has brought to this event.”

Marinette almost wanted to ask about the context of his remark, but something in her gut told her she really didn’t want to know.

“Please, follow me to the sitting room. The rest of the family has already arrived.”

They walked in a comfortable silence down the hall, Marinette nerves slightly frayed now knowing that nobody expected her appearance. Alfred pushed open two oak doors, revealing a brightly lit room filled with many laughing faces. When Jason said he had a lot of siblings, Marinette thought two or three. Nothing could have prepared her for this.

“Oh my god, Jason brought home a girl!”

Instantly all sounds in the room paused as many heads turned their attention to where Marinette stood in the doorway. Hesitantly, she raised her hand in greeting, a sheepish smile gracing her face.

“Everyone, this is Marinette, the legendary designer MDC, and my sister. She’s flown all the way from Paris to meet you losers for some reason so be nice.”

Marinette mumbled a quiet hello as a few smiles broke through the room welcoming her. Instantly, a blonde girl jumped up to drag her back to where she was previously sitting, ignoring Jason’s protests.

“You just have to play on my team tonight! Are you any good at Pictionary? I mean I’m not great, but I can say with utmost confidence that I can beat most of the people in this room.”

“That’s not true!” Marinette’s attention was split as one of the men started an argument with her as to who was the better pictionary-ist. She didn’t even notice when Jason had sat beside her, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“The rude blonde is Stephanie Brown. She’s Timmy boys girlfriend, who would be the dead zombie looking kid over there.”

Marinette’s gaze followed to where Jason pointed, a small giggle escaping at his accurate description. The poor boy looked like he hasn’t gotten a good night's sleep a single day in his life. 

“The rude boy arguing with Stephanie would be Dick. He practically rivals your optimism except his happy go lucky actually disgusts me.”

The man paused from his argument, a horrified expression on his face.

“I like to think my optimism is a blessing.”

That earned a collective groan from the room to which he simply crossed his arms into a pout.

“Anyways, continuing, the redhead is Barbara Gordon-Grayson who unfortunately has trapped herself in the position of Dick’s wife. A tragedy really for such a beautiful woman, I mean she could’ve had me and instead she chose him? The world just isn’t right.”

Another protest came from Dick’s direction as he turned his pout into Barbara’s outstretched arms as her attempt to not laugh failed miserably.

“The one staring you down while trying to pretend he’s not interested at the same time would be your future husband Damian.”

Marinette felt her entire face flush red as she reached back slapping Jason in the stomach as hard as he could.

“Todd, I do not appreciate harassing this young woman. You are beneath her in status and beauty therefore you should not be allowed to get off with this insult to her self so easily.”

Damian stood from his spot, careful not to make eye contact with Marinette as he sped past her toward the room’s only exit. She wanted to call out and ask him to stay, but the pink on his cheeks caused her to pause. He probably was just as embarrassed as her and just needed some time to breathe.

“Jason, that was mean! Look at how flustered you made him!”

Jason simply laughed as he reached over to ruffle her hair.

“Trust me, he never gets ‘flustered’ that was all you.”

For the second time that night, Marinette felt her face flush.

“He’s right you know!” Her eyes turned back to the blonde from earlier who stared her down with a playful expression in her eyes. “Demon spawn definitely has a crush on you.”

The rest of the family took turns picking at her, taking jabs until she was sure there wasn’t one part of her that wasn’t bloodshot red.

“Alright, alright, give the girl some space. We want her to return eventually!”

Marinette smiled gratefully toward the dark-haired man.

“After all, I need to get to know my future daughter-in-law.”

She instantly regretted her friendly gesture as the room exploded once more, smiles and laughter filling the room. Why exactly had she let Jason talk her into this?

“Okay, okay, really though guys. It’s game night! Time to pick team captains.”

Stephanie’s devilish smile sent shivers through Marinette’s spine. It was purely chaotic, reminding her of another blonde that she had left behind.

“I vote Marinette and Jason, the ultimate sibling showdown!” Dick puffed out his chest as his voice mimicked what sounded suspiciously like a wrestling ref that her father loved to watch.

“I’m down, how about you princess?”

Marinette bit her lip as her eyes glanced around the room at their waiting faces. Her eyes caught sight of one brooding face that she couldn’t seem to pass by. He also seemed to be waiting, his eyes nervously glancing from her position to the door as if he might bolt at any moment.

“It’s game on Todd.”

They shook their hands defiantly, both wearing dangerous smirks. Maybe she could salvage her pride tonight; not just hers’ but Damian’s as well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Ladies first.”

Marinette and Jason stood on opposite sides of the room, both watching each other with an intense look that came from their competitive natures. She scanned the eager faces of his family thoughtfully. She had no idea what any of them were good at, but she wanted to maintain appearance for the psych of it.

“Damian.”

Everybody broke out into smirks as they shared knowing looks. She didn’t bother to pay them any mind as the pink-cheeked boy rose to stand with her.

“Wrong move princess, demon spawn hates game night more than he likes to win. My first choice? Stephanie.”

The girl pumped her fist in the air as she joined Jason on his side. Marinette leaned toward where Damian stood, hiding half her face behind her hand.

“Time to strategize, who is my best bet?”

Damian stared at her with a bewildered expression.

“C’mon beau garçon, I need your help if we’re gonna kick Jason’s ass.”

He nodded slowly as if that were a perfectly reasonable excuse to kick into gear.

“Grayson is the leading contender if you wish to win tonight.”

Marinette nodded as she motioned for Dick to join them as well. Jason raised an eyebrow at her as he called over Tim, challenging her to pick from the remaining two.

“Okay Damian, Barbara or Bruce.”

He didn't bother responding as he pointed at his father, leaving the redhead to Jason’s team.

It was five hours of intense games, Alfred keeping score as an unaffiliated third party,( after all, they had all agreed that he was the fairest way to keep the games moving.) They all sat in anticipation while he tallied the scores. She couldn’t seem to calm her nerves as she stared at Jason’s cocky smirk.

Marinette felt a warmth brush by her kneecap. Instantly her head snapped to where a hand rested before her gaze reached back up to his face, a light red dusting across her cheeks. Immediately his hand retracted.

“I’m sorry if that was inappropriate, your knee was just bouncing anxiously from the corner of my eye and it was a slight bother.”

Marinette muttered out a small sorry before they both broke their gaze, the blush evident on both of their cheeks.

“And with a final score of 5-4, the winning team is… Miss Marinette!”

Her whole team jumped from the couch in excitement. Without thinking, she threw her arms around Damian’s neck. Realization crossed her face as she quickly retracted her hug, her entire face as red as could be. God, she hadn’t been this much of a blushing mess since she was thirteen.

They all chatted idly for a few minutes before Jason finally intercepted, insisting he had to get her back to her apartment before it got too late. The whole family waved her goodbye, minus one red-faced teen who instead handed her a small piece of paper as discreetly as he could, ignoring the taunts from his family behind his back.

As they drove back to her apartment, Marinette couldn’t hold her excitement anymore.

“I don’t know why you were warning me so much, I think I’m in love with your family Jason.”

His familiar smirk sat on his face as he turned into the apartment’s lot.

“I told you they were going to love you, and what do you know? I didn’t even have to give Damian your number, you two worked it out on your own. I truly believe they are planning out your wedding right now.”

Marinette shook her head as she reached over the console to hug Jason tightly before stepping out of the car. She wanted to deny accusations of what happened tonight, but she knew it would just fuel his picking.

Besides, even she couldn’t deny that she was excited for the next family game night and if she saw a certain Wayne there, well, that really wouldn’t be so bad.

Permanent Tag List:

@damianette-is-life @ash-amg @rebecarojas07 @heaven428 @long-lost-peace @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @moongoddesskiana @nach0ava

#daminette #jasonette #maribat

[soap-lady]

Aw, sh*t. Here we go again.

Hello!

This chapter isn’t as long as Ch 7 but I hope you like it.

Shout outs as always to @vixen-uchiha, @g-arya for moral support and my fabulous(ly busy) cowriter @arylace

Taglist is now closed. Repeat: Taglist is now closed

@queen-in-a-flower-crown, @ash-amg, @legallyspawned, @chocolatecatstheron, @thyladyanput, @goggles-mcgee, @kuroko26, @justafanwarrior, @wannajointhecrabcult, @purplejade24, @morning-star-57, @mochegato, @sir-david-von-templo, @more-or-less-human-i-guess, @iggy-of-fans, @jasmine-the-fox, @maxdark158, @ladybug-182, @emotionalsupportginger, @a-marlene-s, @justafanwarrior, @akana-sama, @astronavigatrix, @anjuachiffer, @little-lady-bird, @g-arya, @fidget-eep, @if-you-give-a-chat-a-cookie, @a-marlene-s, @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen, @artemisfandomthings, @virgil-is-a-cutie, @bluebirdnerd, @sturchling, @softredrobin, @96tsubasa, @amayakans, @iwantwhirlledpeasandlotsatrees, @ flower-and-drawing, @jardimazul-blog, @zombi-vomit, @jasmine-the-fox, @random-nerd-3, @pheonixashtree, @sidd-hit-my-butt-ham, @loysydark, @lozzybowe, @demigodgirl20031, @tellmeicantdothis, @tall-and-angry, @kristycocopop, @pinkflash4627, @ur-average-reader, @mewwitch, ,@seraphkitty, @punkpopfeministscribe, @elmokingkong,  @purefandomsalt, @chocolate1721, @redeemingmygloryintopurgatory,  @supertomboyprincess, , @fiendsangelical, @gothfoxx, @hell-or-high-waters, @kokotaru, @smileytrinity, @im-here-for-the-content, @humanliveshere, @heyitsbugette, @shippernaturalsanderspjoandscifi, @sarcastic-jenny, @gottaloveanime, @maribat-is-lifeblood, @fantasyfandommaiden, @hanabiri, @awkwardmochi79, @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry, @asianfrustration13, @kalonius, @trubel43, @chez-pezeater, @geminikessa@damnaged-princess, @angelicbookfangirl @castielsofficialtoothbrush, @gwennex @the-shippers-deligjt, @saays-bitch, @fantasiame, @para-dox-normal, @captain-lostkid, @thetrashqueen15, @isabellemasen, @misslenamooney

Chapter Eight: “We’re gonna need a montage!”

If Friday and Saturday brought rosy fingered sunrises and pleasant weather, Sunday was a cloudy, gloomy mess.

Only the skies were cloudy. The gloom was provided by, of all people, Rose Lavilant.

Marinette appreciated being invited aboard the Liberty for Sunday brunch with the Couffaines and Rose but also felt a bit nervous. She hadn’t been in the same class with Juleka and Rose in a week now and although she still considered nearly everyone in Bustier’s class to be her friends, she wasn’t sure how close she was to them any more. She’d have to wait to hang out either after school or on the weekends but her new classmates were also becoming her friends as well. Maybe she should ditch Adrien’s schedule and draw up one for herself so she could spend as much time with both friend groups as possible.

She could hear Luka playing below decks on his acoustic guitar and she felt the tension in her shoulders eased as her body relaxed. Just hearing her guitarist...friend play made her feel comfortable and not as burdened. Then again, it could just be she didn’t feel the weight of everyone’s expectations crushing her as bad as she used to. The thought made her feel disloyal even as she enjoyed the sensation. Her friends appreciated everything she did for them, didn’t they?”

The noirette shook her head to clear her thoughts and made her way to the aft deck. There she found it even messier than usual. Piles of balled up pieces of paper lay strewn about, being neatly sorted by Juleka. Rose sat on the stage and listlessly wrote on a legal pad. After ten minutes she would look at what she wrote, grimaced, and balled up the sheet  before tossing it onto one of Juleka’s piles.

Marinette stood quietly for nearly fifteen minutes before clearing her throat to get the two girl’s attention.

Rose was the first to notice her. Her eyes looked a bit red from crying but if she and Juleka were having relationship issues she wouldn’t be hanging out onboard she would have gone home. Her usually bright eyes and cheerful expression were absent and the pall over her was almost palpable. The designer wondered if the group project was what had the sweet angel so depressed. If so this was partially her fault for suggesting Rose be the class playwright, but she just couldn’t imagine anyone else doing a better job.

“Hey, Rose,” Marinette approached the blond pixie. She stared at the deck boards and said reluctantly, “you look...uh…”

“Horrible. That’s the word you’re thinking of, Marinette.” Rose’s voice was almost as gloomy as her expression. “I'm a hack writer who shouldn’t be allowed to write as much as a commercial for the rest of my life.”

“My girlfriend is out-Emoing me. I don't know what my place in life is any more.” Juleka spoke up for the first time and sighed at Marinette until a thought hit her.  “Do I have to be...the Prep now?!” she asked in a terrified whisper.

“Worse...the Perky Prep,” the noirette replied and then shook her head so the tall Goth girl would know she was joking.

Juleka sagged with relief. “Good. It took me a long time to build up my goth rep. I’d hate to have to give it up.

“Marinette?” the pixie looked at the designer, hope shining in her eyes. “I know you’re not a writer but you’re still really smart. Can I ask you for some advice?”

The pig tailed girl hedged. “Is it about your group project?”

Rose nodded and if possible her enormous eyes got even bigger.

Still the designer hesitated. “I thought we were supposed to keep the details of each project to ourselves. After all, won’t your play be better if we’re surprised?”

The pixie sighed and Marinette could swear she saw a cartoon rain cloud appear over the tiny blonde’s head. “At this rate the play won’t even be written!”

The designer’s first instinct was to think her blonde friend was exaggerating; Rose was pretty excitable, but she didn’t want to discount the girl’s feelings either. She sat down next to the pixie and asked gently, “Why don’t you tell me where you’re stuck where you’re writing and we can go from there? I promise anything you say about your project will remain between me, you, and Juleka.” Marinette raised her right hand as if swearing an oath. “Think of this conversation as a verbal non-disclosure agreement.”

Rose nodded. Her parents were lawyers and they’d been discussing a possible contract with Bob Roth Records. She looked at the noirette with hopeful expectation; as if she alone could solve all of Rose’s problems. Marinette felt the uncomfortable weight of expectations return and she realized that’s how she had felt in Bustier’s class all the time. She also realized she hadn’t missed it.

“I...can’t write this play for you, but I’d be glad to give you some pointers,” the noirette told her friend cautiously. “I’m sure all you need is a hint here and there and you can come up with something amazing all on your own.” She smiled at her friend, who smiled back. Feeling a bit relieved, Marinette continued, “so, what’s your play about?”

“Well…” Rose hedged and looked at Juleka for support. “Hawk Moth,” Juleka mumbled, “we’re doing a comedic play about Hawk Moth.” At Marinette’s look of confusion and concern she elaborated, “we decided to do a play that acts out his secret villainy. You know…’A Day in the Life’ sort of thing. We thought it would be funny for the people of Paris, and our class in particular to portray him as this pathetic loser we should laugh at instead of being afraid of.”

The designer blinked, impressed. “That’s...a very good idea.” She imagined the villain stomping around his lair, yelling at his butterflies and ordering Mayura. “I mean, you’d have to be careful to be tasteful and sensitive to people’s feelings but that could be very funny and cathartic to some people.”

“That’s what we thought at first too,” Juleka replied. She looked over at her girlfriend and frowned in concern. “But…”

Rose sighed. “But…” she hesitated.

Marinette waited patiently for her friend to continue. Juleka walked away from the reject piles to sit beside her girlfriend and hold her hand in unspoken support. Marinette smiled. They had such a supportive relationship it almost made her jealous.

Rose kissed Juleka’s cheek and continued, taking strength from the tall Goth girl’s presence. “But...you know...most of our class has been akumatized.” She shivered and Juleka wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I can still hear him, in my head. He’s whispering all sorts of mean things I should do and he makes it sound so reasonable. He acts like it’s your choice but it really isn’t.”

The designer took Rose’s other hand. “I know what you mean. When I was expelled and the scarlet moths showed up, I could hear him in my head too. I don’t blame you for being scared. If writing this play is making you relive your trauma, you shouldn’t do it.” That sounded like something Ladybug would say so Marinette felt confident in saying it.

“We could go to Mlle. Bustier and suggest we either change the play or do another project,” Juleka suggested.

The noirette was stuck by sudden inspiration. “Or...why not shift the focus of the play?”

Rose blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Marinette went on to explain. “Okay, so the play is still about Hawk Moth but he’s no longer the main character.”

“So...who would be?” Juleka wanted to know, “Mayura?”

“Exactly!” the noirette replied, pleased her friend had caught on. “It’s now Mayura’s secret diary and all about how difficult it is to work for the Villain of Paris.” For some reason an image of Gabriel Agreste looking stern and displeased about something flitted through her mind. “To everyone else he’s mean and scary but to her he could be this hard to please boss with lots of hidden insecurities!”

Juleka chuckled to herself and laid down on the stage, hand to her forehead. “Dear Diary. It’s been exactly a year since my boss put on a ski mask and decided to terrorize Paris to get his hands on some magical jewelry. Every time he’s defeated by a girl in spandex and a furry. I think I need to find a new job.”

Marinette laughed so hard she nearly fell over then sat up straight. “That’s perfect!” She pointed at Juleka then looked at Rose. “That is exactly how you should write Mayura. As some depressed, put-upon assistant who has to deal with some psychopathic manchild and her way of coping is being a deadpan snarker.”

The blond pixie stared at her so hard the noirette was afraid she’d made the wrong suggestion until the tiny girl squealed with glee and hugged her designer friend. She pulled away and hugged her girlfriend as well. “That’s...that’s perfect!” she exclaimed and grabbed her notepad. “Mayura isn’t scary and having her make fun of her own boss will make it okay for me...and the audience...to laugh at him as well.” Rose wrote at least three pages before looking at her friend. “Thank you, Marinette. You always make everything better, just by being you.”

Juleka sat up and gave the designer one of her rare warm smiles. “Yeah. You’re awesome.” She sighed and looked down. “Things in class aren’t bad, but it’s just not the same without you there. I’m sorry the school had to move you.”

The noirette just smiled, grateful to be missed and appreciated. “Thank you, Juleka. It’s just...something that happened. It doesn’t mean we have to stop being friends. And my new class is pretty nice!”

“What about Mme. Mendeleiev?” Rose wanted to know. “Is she nice too?”

Marinette tried to find the right words to describe her new homeroom teacher. “She...might not be as overly friendly and outgoing as Mlle. Bustier, but she cares about her students. She’s strict but she’s fair and her class has even come up with ways to help people calm themselves if they feel angry or upset. They talk out their feelings to help prevent becoming akumatized. Don’t get me wrong, Mlle. Bustier’s meditation techniques are great but so is thinking about the problem logically and coming up with a solution.”

“You sound pretty happy,” Juleka told her wistfully. “I guess it would be selfish to ask you to come back if we could switch you with Nathaniel or something.”

“Well...if that’s what Nathaniel wanted, I would at least think about it.” Marinette laughed nervously. “I can’t say I miss being in the same class as Chloe after four years. And it’s a relief to not be class rep any more, especially with this group project. I need the spare time to design. “

Neither of her friends pressed her further and she was glad they were letting the subject drop. She truly loved all her friends but she didn’t love the pressure they had put her under. It was partially her own fault for not putting her foot down when she felt overwhelmed but she wished they would ask her if she was okay more often. Like Bellamy or Viv did. “So...what’s it like being in a class with Kagami?” Juleka asked after a few minutes of companionable silence. “I’d think it’d be kinda awkward to have your love rival in the same class you were, right?”

“Not as much as you would think.” Marinette was pleased with the change of subject but wished the Goth had picked something less uncomfortable. “Kagami and I are becoming friends. We even sit at the same workstation.”

“Oooh!” Rose looked at Marinette with interest. “Does becoming friends with Kagami mean you’re not in love with Adrien any more?”

“Does this mean no more Girl Squad meetings at eight am on a Saturday?” Juleka teased.

The designer huffed. “You can be friends with your love rival, you know. It doesn’t mean I care any less about Adrien because she and I are friends now. It does mean I’d be just as happy for her as I’d be for myself if he chose her. It also means no more hostility like with Chloe.” She still felt ashamed of how she’d tried to sabotage Kagami and Adrien’s date out of jealousy. What had she been thinking, teaming up with Chloe? Adrien had the right to live his own life, even if he moved to Japan.

“That has to be a relief,” Rose offered.

Marinette nodded. “It is. Kagami is a good person and she genuinely cares about Adrien. She’s not just pursuing him because he’s rich or famous.” Unlike some people. “Don’t get me wrong, it would still hurt, but at least I know he’d be with someone who likes him for himself.”

“Awww!” Rose cooed and hugged her friend. “That’s so wise and selfless of you!”

“It’s pretty cool,” Juleka agreed.

The designer just laughed. “Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up on Adrien just yet. I’ve just realized I don’t have to be jealous of Kagami because we like the same boy. No guy is worth hating someone.”

“What about Chloe and Lila?” Juleka’s tone was gentle but Marinette couldn’t help but feel stabbed and a bit betrayed.

“I…”

“I bet Lila could introduce you to another boy,” Rose offered. “Someone just as cute and famous and nice as Adrien. Maybe if you two were better friends…”

Juleka cleared her throat and eyed the submarine door leading below deck.

Rose’s hands flew to her mouth. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it! Luka’s wonderful. He’s cute and sweet and sensitive, talented, a great listener…”

Marinette just smiled, trying not to blush as she thought of Juleka’s empathetic and very attractive older brother. “Well, yeah, Luka’s all of those things and more. But to be honest...I don’t have much time to think of romance for the next few months. Not if I want my class’ fashion show to be as good or better than the completely fantastic play I know Rose is going to write!”

Rose just laughed. “Oh, you’ll come up with something amazing, you always do. In fact,” her big blue eyes turned mischievous. “I’ll bet you that your show will be just as good as our play. If I win, you have to go with us and Luka to get ice cream at Andre’s.”

“And if I win…” Marinette thought about it for a minute. “I want you to write a Kitty Section song about...me! Just kidding. My parents’ twenty-first anniversary is coming up soon. I think they’d love a Rose Lavilant original song.”

Juleka raised a brow. “Your dad likes hard rock?”

“My mom does!”

Rose held out her hand. “You’re on!”

The two girls shook hands solemnly and then giggled. This group project could be a lot more fun than they thought, especially with a friendly wager to spice things up.

                                                        ***** The first two weeks passed by in a blur. Fabron and D’Argencourt’s classes assembled their costumes (supplementing their flea market finds with a few pieces borrowed from M. Harprele’s troupe) and began rehearsing; one class in the gymnasium, the other on the basketball court in the middle of the school. Various other classes claimed both the Art and the Drama room and Bustier was able to snag the auditorium just minutes before Mendeleiev could request it for her own students.

“Surely they don’t need it day and night, Aristotle,” Mme. Mendeleiev tried to argue with the principal. “I’m sure if Caline and I put our heads together we could easily work out a schedule where we could share the workspace between us.”

“Yes, well, under normal circumstances you would be correct, Demeter. But her students need the room for set building, rehearsal space, and the like. Plus, there is always the damage of...er...sabotage,” Damocles finished awkwardly, parroting the lie told to him by Bustier (made up by Lila, no doubt.)

Mme. Mendeleiev got uncomfortably close to the principal and pinned him to the way with her ice blue eyes. “You mean to tell me, Aristotle, that you are of the notion that any of my students would sabotage the hard work of another class?”

“Well...Demeter...surely not all of them...but! You have a known troublemaker in your class now and Mlle. Bustier is concerned that…”

“Ah,” Mendeleiev pretended to understand, “I see exactly what you are talking about. You’re implying Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a young woman who has been in this school for four years without incident has somehow morphed into a delinquent in a matter of months.”

“Well…” Damocles’ self-confidence began to wane in the face of the science teacher’s tranquil fury.

“And you have come to this egregious hypothesis due to the actions of one student, a student who claims to have been absent from school for months due to an overseas trip. This trip has not been verified by contacting the child’s mother. She also claims to have a variety of ailments not verified by either her mother or a medical professional.”

The principal struggled to defend his position. “The child has a condition that causes her to-”

“Lie uncontrollably. So you’ve told me,” Mendeleiev glared at her colleague, completely unimpressed or convinced. “I’ve done a bit of research, Aristotle and could find no such disease. There is a mental condition known as pathological lying, which seems much more likely. It would also mean anything the student said would be immediately suspect and should be carefully investigated.”

“Now, Demeter, be reasonable,” Damocles tried to say but was cut off.

The science teacher took several calming breaths and stepped away from the principal. “As usual, I see that I am on my own to deal with issues caused by other parties. Your hypothesis is invalid, Aristotle.”

“But-” Damocles had the distinct impression he’d been outmaneuvered.

“Good day,” Mendeleiev turned on her heel and sauntered out of the principal’s office, leaving the man confused yet impressed.

                                                         ***** “And there you have it, students,” Mendeleiev said heavily as she looked around at the disappointed faces of her students. “There isn’t an unused space big enough for us to create Marinette’s fashions. The only space we have is the classroom itself.”

“It’s not your fault, Mme. Mendeleiev,” Marinette tried to reassure her teacher, who was clearly disappointed on her students’ behalf. “This room is big enough to get everyone’s measurements at least.”

“But not big enough to haul in sewing machines and our clothing pieces,” Viv pointed out, practical as always. “Plus we can’t be sure we won’t have to deal with saboteurs either.” The class rep trusted Bustier’s class about as far as she could throw them. “I’d offer my home gym but unless I find a way to move all my equipment out, there still won’t be enough room.”

Everyone drooped with disappointment until Mireille timidly raised her hand.

Mendeleiev noticed and called out, “Yes, Mireille?”

The shy young girl put her hand down and pitched her voice only a tiny bit louder than normal. “My boyfriend Theo has a studio. Well, his parents own the studio,” she blushed. “He rents it from them and works odd jobs to keep the lights on between sculpting jobs.”

Finally, some good news. Bellamy turned to Mireille. “Is he doing any sculpting at the moment? Do you think he’d let us use the space?”

The girl nodded. “I’m pretty sure. He doesn’t have anything going on right now. I could ask him for a favor, considering this project is twenty percent of our grade and I know he doesn’t want me to fail.”

Marinette remembered Theo as the boy who created the fantastic Ladybug and Chat Noir statues. He was also akumatized as Copycat when she failed to attend the unveiling. The young sculptor also had had a crush on Ladybug. Fortunately he’d gotten over it just in time to notice what a lovely and sweet girl Mireille was. He and Luka attended the same lycee, a school known for its art program. The noirette was grateful for the lucky coincidence and made a mental note to give Tikki an extra large cookie for dinner.

                                                 *****

“This...is...perfect!” Bellamy looked around Theo’s studio. Marinette tried not to wince as she saw the life sized drawing of her alter-ego still up on the wall.

“Look at all this room!” Viv did a foreward cartwheel just because she could. “We could get up the sewing machines over there and have the clothes stores over there.” She pointed to various parts of the room. “I talked to the drama teacher and he’s loaning us a clothing rack his class isn’t using at the moment. We can keep the completed designs on it.”

“Um...Theo?” The designer approached the older boy warily. She was mostly sure he wouldn’t recognize her but there was always a chance his artistic eye would pick up on the similarities between her and the spotted hero. She didn’t even change her hairstyle for kwami’s sake!

He just smiled at her politely, no recognition in his eyes. “Yes? Uh…”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Nice to meet you,” her smile was relieved and polite, pretending he was just the boyfriend of her classmate and not a former akuma victim. “I’ve seen your work in the park. It’s amazing!”

The older boy turned pink, from embarrassment or pleasure she couldn’t be sure. The designer pretended not to notice. “Thanks for letting us borrow your studio like this. It’s a huge help.”

Theo just shrugged modestly. “It’s no big deal. I don’t have any big projects going on right now and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to help Mireille.” He gave his girlfriend a fond smile, making her giggle and blush. “All the other classes are hogging the work space,” Brielle told him bluntly. “Plus we can lock this place up without having to worry about a rival class messing with our stuff.”

The artist frowned sympathetically. “Mireille told me you had a few new students and one of them had come from what she referred to as ‘The Akuma Class’.” He looked straight at Marinette. “That’s you, huh? According to Mireille,” he put his arm around the petite girl’s waist. “You had a lucky break, getting away from those guys. Mendeliev might be strict, but at least she doesn’t allow bullies like Chloe Bourgeois to get away with whatever they want.”

“Ah, yeah,” Marinette tugged on one of her pigtails nervously and looked at her feet. She’d rather not be reminded of her time being stuck with Chloe but didn’t want to be rude.

“Marinette’s our designer,” Mireille quickly but gently changed the subject. “She came up with the idea to alter existing clothing into totally new fashions! It’s called ‘upcycling’ and we’re all going to be wearing outfits inspired by the heroes of Paris.”

Theo looked interested. “Oh? You mean like Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

The noirette was glad he didn’t seem to hold any ill-will towards her or her partner. “Actually, I decided to go with the temporary heroes, like Carapace and Rena Rouge, some heroes that haven’t gotten the spotlight like Ladybug or Chat Noir but still deserve it.”

“Plus everyone would expect you to feature those two so using the temporary heroes as your headliners is both original and exciting.” Theo gave the young designer a thumbs up. “As an artist myself, I approve. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I may not be a student at Francois Dupont any more but I hope you’ll at least let me see the completed outfits.”

Marinette nodded. “Absolutely. It’s the least we can do after all your help.”

The artist grinned. “Well, I just hope you plan to make something amazing for Mireille to wear.” He hugged his girlfriend. “Hey, do you have a web page?”

The noirette brightened. “Yes, I do! I just started one to show off my designs. I also take commissions, but I’m suspending them until after the contest.”

Theo nodded his approval. “Smart. It’s good you know how to plan ahead. You know, I do some photography too. If you like, I can take some pictures of the outfits once they're done, with your models of course for your website. I just ask to be credited and that you include a link to my Instagram. It’s a good way to advertise both of our services.

Marinette looked back at Vivienne and Brielle for their permission. The two blondes just shrugged as if to say, “It’s your decision” and the designer turned back to Theo, hand outstretched. “Sounds like a good deal to me.”

He took her hand and shook it. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to hear a little more about this upcycling and what kind of design are you planning for Mireille.”

                                                        *****

Meanwhile, Mlle. Bustier’s class was also hard at work; Kim and Ivan built sets, Nathaniel and Alix painted backdrops and Juleka helped Ivan and Rose compose when the latter was available. The blonde playwright finished the script within three days and all she would say when asked was she was visited by “inspiration” aboard the Liberty.

Alya and Sabrina also kept busy, either as production assistants (Sabrina was the only person who could deal with Chloe’s diva moments) or filling minor roles such as akumas. Alya also assisted Nino when she had the time and kept the young director from having a breakdown.

“You know, for someone who’s relaxed and chill most of the time, you’re very serious when you’re in that director’s chair,” the journalist told her boyfriend. “In fact, it’s kinda sexy.”

“Really, babe?” Nino gave the blogger what he hoped was a seductive wink and the two made a date to play Super Penguino after school.

Chloe was doing what she did best; bossing people around and charging things to her father. Rose and Juleka had mysteriously acquired some costume designs and the mayor’s daughter hired a small army of seamstresses to make them all. Juleka and Rose refused to tell where the designs came from and Chloe pretended not to notice how amazing yet familiar the designs were. However witnesses claimed that if the blonde and the noirette saw each other in the hallways they at least managed to be civil. Marinette was pleasantly surprised and Chloe’s respect for the other girl went from negligible to almost noticeable.

Adrien was having the time of his life playing the over-the-top Hawkmoth to Mylene’s subdued but snarky Mayura. The two played off each other very well and were glad to have another chance to work together after the Horrificator fiasco. The model enjoyed stomping around the stage, crying over his assorted failures and raging ineffectively. In contrast Mylene was the voice of reason as the put-upon assistant and the two had such a good time working together it hardly seemed like a group assignment at all, just a good chance to hang out with friends without his father’s reprimand. It also did his inner Chat Noir good to get out some of the frustrations he had with the villain.

Max and Markov did a great job keeping everyone on schedule; taking breaks when needed and helpfully supplying lines if someone forgot theirs. Somehow the two of them had managed to convince Chloe to pay for craft services so that everyone would have snacks while they worked. She had even gone the extra mile and had the catering done by the Dupain-Chengs and delivered by Luka and Theo, giving the two boys some much-needed extra cash.

Mlle. Bustier was thrilled class harmony was back at last, even though it was at the expense of her former star pupil, her favorite student for the past two years. Well, she couldn’t have the girl calling out a fellow student as a liar, could she? Marinette had refused to befriend Lila, an almost unpardonable sin as far as the young teacher was concerned. The poor dear had so many medical issues caused by her charity work and rescues that she deserved a little extra care and attention.

In her heart of hearts Caline missed the noirette’s bright smile, her bubbling personality, even the little wiggle she would do when especially excited. The girl made being class rep look effortless and did such a good job as the class example the teacher barely had to lift a finger. That had all changed when her little star had allowed herself to become jealous of such an accomplished young woman. Marinette had plenty of talent and charisma; her bad attitude was unwarranted and so, although it hurt Caline to do it, the child had to go.

Well, it had all worked out for both teacher and student. The girl was thriving under Demeter’s watchful eye and although she hadn’t taken up a leadership role like she had under Bustier at least she wasn’t disrupting class. Truly Bustier had done what was best for everyone involved.

She felt a tiniest twinge of guilt; not for transferring the young designer but for taking the best spot in the school to work on the group project. Her class needed the space for rehearsals and set building and while she might have been able to work out a sharing schedule with Demeter she really couldn’t risk it. Lila had come to her privately and shared her concerns. Even though the noirette was happy with her new class and building new relationships while still being friends with Bustier’s students, there was a chance she was faking. Marinette could be holding a secret resistance towards her former teacher, her class, and the girl she thought had taken her rightful place; LIla. The Italian girl worried that if they shared their space with the other class there was a chance the designer could sabotage the play. Perhaps she would even recruit Mendeleiev’s class to help her. If the two classes weren’t sharing space then Marinette wouldn’t have the opportunity or temptation for vandalism.

But Marinette spent a lot of time and effort assigning roles everyone would enjoy, the teacher’s conscience whispered. She took into account everyone’s strengths and gave them jobs according to ability. She even made the play a comedy so Mylene wouldn’t be afraid.

Yes, but what role did she give Lila? Her paranoia argued. A mere supporting role? That proves Marinettte is jealous of the girl for no reason.

Well, has Lila ever mentioned being in a play? Do you know if she has any experience like Mylene does? You can’t expect a mere teenager to know everything. Lila knows plenty of celebrities and has done lots of important things. Surely she would deny Mylene the right to star. She’d probably cheer her on and wish her good luck.

Well, what’s done is done. Everything was going so perfectly, Caline wasn’t going to bother to change anything unless she had to.

                                                   *****

Everything was going so well for Bustier’s class as a whole. Everyone was having so much fun getting ready for the play and looking forward to their parents attending and the event being live streamed and uploaded to the school’s website by Alya for parents who couldn’t attend. All the students had been given an important role and would have a chance to shine.

Who wouldn’t be thrilled by the opportunities hand selected for them by their sweet, thoughtful friend, Marinette?

Lila Rossi, that’s who.

Really, a supporting role? Her and not that dumpy little Mylene? Oh sure, the girl had more experience, some would even say talent but those people had never seen Lila. She had the face and body that deserved to play the lead. The Italian couldn’t believe her teacher had folded so easily when that other class rep said no to auditions and they would play the parts assigned and that was that. Ugh. Bustier was so easy to manipulate but Lila hated it when someone else beat her at her own game.

She hated Mendeleiev’s class even before Mari-brat had joined them. The science teacher demanded doctor’s notes or a meeting with her mother before she would make special accommodations. Lila could provide neither and the steely-eyed woman would reject any attempts at forgery; she’d even threatened Lila with detention if she ever tried “such blatant falsehoods in her class again.” God, she hated that woman.

All the goody-goodys in her class just made it worse. They had two celebrity students compared to Bustier’s one (Adrien of course) and were a lot harder to impress. Any time she tried to make up lies to win them over they’d pull out their phones and Google her name, feigning surprise when they found nothing. If it weren’t for the fact Bustier’s class was so gullible she’d have no admirers at all.

She always had the impression that class looked down on her because they always shot her down when she tried to tell them about her fabulous (read: made up) life.

“Pics or it didn’t happen,” Vivienne told her after Lila mentioned saving Jagged’s cat.

“Yeah, no. I’m going to need to see some receipts, please,” Brielle brushed off her story about Clara Nightingale

Even Bellamy, a cute boy referred to as the “Mom friend” gave her a “I’m not mad, just disappointed” look every time he saw her on the way to the cafeteria.

Well, she didn’t need their admiration but she noticed they held sway with other classes for some reason, as did Marinette. Something about the pigtailed girl being such an amazing leader or something, who cared. Every now and then she’d notice the open contempt other classes gave hers and even a whisper of “Akuma Class” now and then. That was hardly her fault. Most of her class had been akumatized before she’d ever joined, many because of something Chloe Bourgeois did.

She wasn’t the problem. It was all someone else’s fault. Chloe’s fault.

Chloe and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Lila didn’t think it was possible to hate someone as much as she did Marinette. The girl wasn’t nearly as pretty as herself but at least two boys in Bustier’s class used to have crushes on her. Now she was receiving presents from admirers who had been waiting for her to leave “The Akuma Class” so they could ask her out. Her new class liked her immediately, even that Ice Queen Tsurugi.

That wasn’t the half of it! She was even more popular with her own class now! Any attempts to smear her good name were quickly thwarted by Adrien, who was all but mooning over her. Neither Rose nor Juleka would hear a word against her. The entire class thought she was wonderful and sweet and giving and talented.

Mari-brat made her feel things she hated; fake, untalented, unimportant.

Inferior.

Well, no more. She was going to upstage and outshine that baker girl. Her class couldn’t work on their project anywhere on campus and had to find space elsewhere. That made it harder to spy on her but not impossible. She’d have to find where they’d set up and ruin them somehow. The clever little merdas didn’t make it easy for her to follow them; they’d all take different routes to wherever they were going. Trying to get Nathaniel to try and get information out of Marc was no good. The tomato head used to have a thing for Marinette and his boyfriend credited the noirette for getting them together. No one else in Mendeleiev’s class would even talk to her. Ondine told Kim the class had signed a non-disclosure agreement and she couldn’t even tell her boyfriend without risking legal action. That could be a lie or the truth but the jock wouldn’t risk getting his broad shouldered sweetheart angry at him.

Well, who cared about whatever rags Marinette tried to pass off as fashion? She’d go back to her original plan and be the star of the play. All she had to do was steal it from Mylene. Fortunately she already had Bustier under her thumb.

                                                         *****

“Mlle. Bustier?”

Lila had waited until class was over and everyone was out before approaching her teacher. Bustier looked up and her and the smile on her face faded into concern. “Lila? Have you been crying?”

The Italian girl was very proud of herself. She had real tears in her eyes, created by pinching herself as hard as she could. The faux crying was having the desired effect; the redhead looked prepared to give her anything to keep her happy.

“What is it, Lila? What’s wrong?” Every now and then...just every now and then Caline wondered if she’d traded the wrong student. Lila was certainly high maintenance compared to Marinette but the teacher was certain she was the kind of instructor a sensitive girl like Lila needed, not Demeter. Lila pinched and twisted the sensitive skin near her wrist to make herself cry in earnest and made it look like she was wringing her hands in dismay. Her teacher’s look of concern intensified and she decided to turn her performance up a notch.

“I can trust you, right, Mlle. Bustier? You won’t repeat anything I say to the class? I’d hate to upset anyone.” At her teacher’s nod she continued.

“I just...feel singled out. Everyone is doing just amazing work; and I’ve been practicing with Matthew Geczy and I think I can play a wonderful Mayura. I’m not trying to take anything away from Mylene, of course.” She said with a self-pitying laugh. “Mylene is amazing, but…” Lila bit her lip and her eyes pleaded with her teacher.

“But…?” Bustier prompted gently, believing every word.

The Italian girl sighed.  “I’m...very sensitive to the thought of being presented as an akuma. I mean, I was akumatized on my very first day here, not a great first impression I know. I was akumatized again when Marinette got angry with me because she had the mistaken idea I was lying to the class. Yes, I have a lying disease. I’m not proud of the things I say sometimes.  It makes me feel like they're making me the bad guy on purpose.”

Bustier was almost there. She was almost exactly where Lila wanted her. All she needed was one more final push and Lila would get her way again.  “Mayura isn't an akuma and I think I might feel better playing her rather than an akuma.”

The woman was frowning thoughtfully and Lila could tell she was teetering on the edge. She gave the redhead a sad little smile and made herself look as pathetic as possible.  “You could at least ask Mylene if we could switch parts, couldn’t you? It never hurts to ask, my nonna used to say. She worked with Sophia Loren. They even roomed together until she introduced my nonna to my nonno.”

Mlle. Bustier sighed and the auburn haired girl knew she’d won. “All right. I’ll ask Mylene if she would be willing to swap roles. But!” Bustier interrupted before Lila could thank her. “I want Mylene to be your understudy in case you have any hearing issues or your arthritis acts up, all right?”

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you, Mlle. Bustier!” Lila grabbed her teacher’s hand with both of hers and shook it in gratitude. “You won’t be sorry, I promise. I’ll be the best Mayura I can and make you proud!”

The teacher pulled her hand away, embarrassed at the enthusiastic show of gratitude. She felt a bit ashamed to take such a plum role away from Mylene; she was doing so well as Mayura. But poor Lila might only have this once chance to be a star, whereas Mylene would have several. It couldn’t hurt just this once.

The Italian girl left the classroom and waited until the hallway was clear to grin triumphantly. Mylene was a sentimental pushover and would easily be persuaded to step aside for poor brave Lila. She’d just given the performance of a lifetime to Bustier so starring as Mayura next to Adrien would be easy.

I always get what I want. You’re next, bel regazzo.

                                                        *****

As predicted, Mylene kindly but reluctantly allowed Lila to take over her role as Mayura. Many in the class applauded the curvy girl’s generosity but not as many as LIla expected. Clearly she was losing control over the class.

She tried her usually effective crocodile tears. “I can’t thank you enough, Mylene. You’re so kind!” She took one of the shorter girl’s hands into hers and gazed into her eyes, trying to look sincere and grateful. “I promise to do the best job I can so you’ll be proud of me.”

Mylene slumped but she managed a weak smile and gently pulled away before going back to her seat. For some reason she remembered the hateful way the Italian had looked at Adrien and Marinette as they cuddled in their sleep aboard Star Train. She tried not to let the inner turmoil appear on her face. Lila didn’t miss the way Ivan glared at her, or Rose and Juleka’s distrustful expressions. Adrien just looked at her with cold, cruel anger. She’d deal with him later.

Chloe was displeased and let everyone know it. “Uh...excuse me, but I would have liked to have been informed about the cast change earlier, being the producer and bankrolling this whole production.” Her haughty eyes bore into the red haired teacher. “This throws the whole budget out of whack.”

Mlle. Bustier tried to placate the mayor’s daughter. “Surely you could just have Mylene’s costume adjusted to fit Lila, couldn’t you?”

The blonde twisted in her seat and looked from Lila to Mylene. Turning around she laughed in her teacher’s face. “You’re being ridiculous. Not only are not the same height, they’re not even the same body type. No. A whole new costume will have to be made for Rossi and I doubt I could ask Daddy for another advance. Mommy says I’m being too nice to everyone as it is. Looks like from now on everyone will have to make due with cold cuts and water bottles or just bring their own lunches.”

There was a collective groan from the class and nearly everyone glared at Lila.

She tried the tears route again. “I’m causing problems for everyone aren’t I? Maybe I should just shut up and be an akuma instead!”

The Italian looked at Mylene expectantly and the girl with multicolored braids sighed and told her. “It’s fine, Lila. Right, guys?”

The class muttered their agreement but clearly they were just saying it to be polite. They’d change their minds once they saw her onstage. She would be spectacular.

Lila leaned over and whispered to Adrien once the teacher’s back was turned. “I guess we’re starring in the play together now. Looking forward to working with you.”

The model didn’t say anything but leaned away before the auburn haired girl could touch him.

Not for long we’re not.

                                                       *****

That day’s rehearsal was, in Adrien’s admittedly biased opinion, a complete disaster. Mylene was too disheartened to play a believable akuma and Lila was...well. Her acting style (if one could call it that) reminded him of Vincent; completely over the top. Unlike his photographer Lila didn’t have a tenth of Vincent’s talent or work ethic. She was borderline rude to the rest of the cast and demanded frequent breaks  under the pretense that “her arthritis was bothering her”. She was ten times the diva Chloe had ever been but the blonde didn’t manipulate people into feeling sorry for her. Adrien could feel his teeth grinding together. He missed working with Mylene; her Mayura was deadpan and snarky and she was always professional.

The girl also wouldn’t stop touching him, even when he pulled away. Nino had to bellow “Cut!” and separate the two.

“Lila, what are you doing?” The normally easy-going DJ was becoming exasperated.

The Italian was all wide-eyed innocence. “But aren’t Mayura and Hawk Moth a couple? I wanted to show that with my acting.” She sidled up to Adrien again, who backed away.

Nino groaned and pulled his cap over his eyes. “No, Lila, they’re not. Not as far as anyone knows. Even if they are, that’s not what our play is about.”

“But-” she tried to argue, “can’t we change the script?”

Rose approached her and looked almost ready to cry. “Don’t you like my writing, Lila?”

Lila hesitated, worried she’d look difficult in front of her class. “I just think it needs a little tweaking. A little nuance?”

“Lila,” Chloe was watching her phone while Sabrina painted her nails. “Actors don’t have script approval. It was in the agreement everyone signed, remember?”

Damn, she had to sign it to be in the play. “Well, I’m sure no one would really mind a few small changes…”

“Actually,” Markov spoke up, hovering beside Max. “Changes to the script are possible if ninety percent votes in favor of said change.”

Max looked over a physical copy of said agreement. “Confirmed,” he agreed.

Adrien shrugged. “Okay, let’s vote. All in favor of making Hawk Moth and Mayura a couple raise your hand.” Only Lila and Alya raised their hands. “All in favor of keeping Rose’s amazing script just the way it is?” Everyone, even Chloe, raised their hands. “Okay! We’re keeping the script as is. Lila, I’m going to have to ask you to back off a little from now on, please.”

He gave her his fake model smile and hers was just as false. She pretended to concede gracefully when all she really wanted to do was slap his perfect little face. That wouldn’t go over well, neither with the class, nor her employer.

Ah, yes. M. Agreste. It was high time she had another little talk with her employer about his son’s behavior.

                                                     *****

To say that Adrien Agreste went home in a bad mood would be vastly understating his current emotional state..

Lila had in less than a few weeks; gotten Marinette placed in another class, stolen Mylene’s role, and tried to change Rose’s script as an excuse to hang all over him.

There was a word that described his current emotional state perfectly, a word he learned from Nino.

Pissed.

In England, the term meant “very drunk” but in America, where Stephen Basilberg lived, it meant “angry to the point of being enraged.” That was exactly how he felt at the moment.

He was slightly consoled that most of the class prevented her from getting her way this time but he was disappointed in Mlle. Bustier for allowing Lila to steal Mylene’s role for whatever bogus reason the Italian thought up this time.

The model knew the situation was partly his fault for insisting on the high road. He mistakenly thought keeping silent and going easy on Lila would help her. He should never have given Marinette such awful advice. Even if he didn’t want to confront the girl and risk her becoming an akuma, he could have talked to his classmates and told them about the lies. He also could have talked Alya into taking down the video she had posted on the Ladyblog after witnessing Ladybug say Lila wasn’t her friend.

He enjoyed working with Mylene. She was sweet and sensitive and loved to help others. But when she was playing Mayura she was snarky and witty; he could easily see her as a put-upon supervillain sidekick. It was kind of fun making two people who seemed determined to make his life miserable suffer on stage.

He couldn’t change the past but he could make sure Lila wasn’t rewarded for his actions. He would talk to his father or Nathalie (who would consult with his father) and step down from the lead role. He wondered what excuse he could give his father to let him do so.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to.

When he came home from school, Nathalie was waiting for him just inside the door. She looked calm and stoic but her lips thinned into an disapproving line.

“Adrien,” she greeted him once the door was closed, “your father would like to speak with you.”

The boy didn’t even have to fake his shock. “Is everything all right?”

She turned towards his father’s office door rather than answer. “I think it would be better if your father told you himself.”

“Um, okay,” he answered and made his way to his father’s office. Nathalie accompanied him and shut the door behind her.

His father didn’t look up as he came in but did save what he was working on so he could give the discussion most of his attention. “Adrien.”

The blond ducked his head. “Father.”

“Your Chinese tutor called today. He informed me that your attention has been slipping slightly. Your piano teacher says that although your technique is excellent your playing has become somewhat mechanical.” Gabriel looked up and at his son, arctic eyes piercing. He tried not to notice how much his son resembled his beloved wife and tried to look stern. “Would you care to explain why?”

It was almost too easy. Adrien sighed and tried to look exhausted. It was an easy feat. “Well, Father, it’s because of this group project my class is doing.”

Gabriel looked at his assistant then back to his son. “Nathalie mentioned this. She told me your class is doing an original play written by one of your classmates.”

The blond nodded. “Yes, Father. We’re doing a comedic play about Hawk Moth. I’m playing Hawk Moth and Lila is playing Mayura.”

Nathalie's expression changed to one of utter disgust when she heard Lila was playing the peacock-themed villain but the look was gone so quickly Adrien couldn’t be sure he saw it at all. When he looked at his father’s assistant out of the corner of his eye she had schooled her features back to their usual stoicism. Adrien was perplexed; did she have something against Lila, Mayura, or both?

The model decided to ignore what he thought he saw and continued on in the same exhausted tone. “We’ve been spending time making props and rehearsing lines and since Hawk Moth is the focus of the play it’s a big part. I don’t think I can do justice to the role and do my best in my extracurricular activities. I’m thinking of stepping down and letting someone else have my part while I take a lesser role. The project is twenty percent of our grade for the year but I don’t have to star in the play to get a good grade.”

Gabriel nodded his agreement. “I should say not.”

“Besides,” Adrien sighed, “I’m not completely comfortable starring in a play about the Villain of Paris.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, confused. “Elaborate.”

“Well…” his son began, “what if Hawk Moth hears about it and gets angry? What if he comes after me? Or you? Not only has he akumatized you, he’s had akumas who targeted you as well. I don’t want to think about what could happen to you, Father.”

Adrien didn’t even have to pretend to be scared. He had nightmares about what could happen to his father, Nathalie or the Gorilla if Hawk Moth found out who he really was and decided to take revenge on him through his loved ones.

What he said must have worked because his father managed what was for him a brief, reassuring smile. “You needn’t worry about our safety, Adrien. That’s why you have a bodyguard and home defenses. Nathalie will speak to your teacher about your stepping down. She should have no objections considering all of your activities benefit your future.”

The blond’s smile was relieved and genuine. “Thank you for understanding, Father. I’ll do my best to improve my Chinese and piano playing.”

Gabriel’s face was once again stern. “See that you do. You have an early morning photo shoot for the athleisure line. An all-male shoot, I think. The advertising department has discovered the “boy band” look is in again. We should capitalize on the trend while we can.”

“Of course, Father.” No posing with Lila, nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah. “I’m going to go practice my piano before my Chinese tutor arrives.”

The designer was already back at work. “See that you do.”

Adrien waited until he was safely in the privacy of his room before doing a little happy dance.

Plagg zipped out of his pocket. “Not bad, kid. You got your father on your side and thwarted that little pest, all in one fell swoop.”

The boy grinned. “Thanks, Plagg.”

He must be a better actor than he thought.

                                                        *****

When Lila called her employer to whine about his son not cooperating with her on a class project she received a very unwelcome surprise. It turned out that Adrien had already discussed the assignment with him and they agreed that the play had been detrimental to his extracurricular activities.”

“But, M. Agreste-” she tried to argue but was coldly interrupted.

“Mlle. Rossi, you are my employee. It is your job to look out for my son’s best interests, not to question me. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Remember, your modelling career depends on staying in my good graces. Am I understood?”

Lila felt chilled by the man’s tone of voice. She had to tread carefully or all her plans could be ruined. Working for M. Agreste could mean great things for her future but not if she made him angry enough to fire her.

“I...I understand, sir. I’ll remember my place.”

“See that you do. Goodbye.”

He hung up and she cursed under her breath. Adrien’s little rebellion could ruin her plans. Perhaps she’d try a little subtlety.

                                                        ***** Lila didn’t get a chance to formulate any plans because as soon as she got home she had to start learning all of Mayura’s lines so no one would have an excuse to take away the part she had rightfully stolen...earned.

She was tired and not at the top of her game when she got to school so she missed Marinette and her super happy lovely new class going off to their secret headquarters. She also got a bit of a shock when she arrived at the auditorium and Adrien wasn’t there.

“Oh, he had an early morning photoshoot,” Bustier told her when she asked. Lila didn’t have to pretend to be surprised. “But...that’s impossible!” she insisted. “No one called and told me we had a photoshoot today.”

“Well, it’s not important, Lila. Just take your place. Kim is Adrien’s understudy so he’ll be glad to rehearse with you today.”

“But-” the Italian tried to argue and was just as successful with her teacher as she had been with her employer.

“What’s the matter, Rossi?” Chloe taunted. “Is the part too hard for you? Maybe you should give it back to Mylene.”

Lila gritted her teeth and gave her producer a sickeningly sweet smile. “Of course not, Chloe,” she simpered. “I’d just hate to start my new relationship with Adrien off on the wrong foot.”

She could swear she saw Chloe’s eye twitch when the blond said, “Relationship?”

“Professional relationship,” Lila clarified, looking innocent. “But Hollywood is full of stories of actors who fell in love on set. History repeats itself, you know.”

“A relationship!” Chloe sputtered out as she began to laugh wholeheartedly, it was the type of laughter that none of the students in Mlle Bustier’s class had ever heard before. The laughter was sharp and vicious, clearly mocking the Italian. “Oh Sabrina, take a picture of her, I need it when I show Adrikins.”

Dutifully the redhead got out Chloe’s phone and snapped a picture of Lila’s incredulous face, before the Italian got the message and schooled her face into shock and hurt.

“Oh listen here Rossi, I’m Adrien’s best friend.” Chloe began speaking with a bright smile.

“Debatable.” Nino called out from his director's seat. “I’m clearly the best bro.”

“I have entire albums of baby pictures of us two, and I know all his darkest secrets and can blackmail him for the rest of his life. Bite me, Lahiffe.” Chloe snapped back at Nino, going as far as sticking her tongue out to the capped boy. “As I was saying, as Adrien’s best friend, I know his type.” She thought about the time she caught him mooning over a picture of Ladybug and secretly applauded his good taste.  “You are not it.”

“Aren’t you also after Adrien too Chloe?” Alya asked with a frown, ready to defend her friend.

“I haven’t met anyone who is worthy of my Adrien.” Except maybe Ladybug. Chloe deadpanned with enough sass to let Lila know she was unworthy in the eyes of the mayor’s daughter. “Besides, this isn’t Hollywood. Adrikins has enough experience dealing with social climbers to know how to conduct himself. Or did you guys become blind when you saw Adrikins pulling away from Rossi yesterday?”

Chloe’s question was met with silence. No one could say anything that would contradict what the blonde heiress was saying. Which only made Chloe’s smile widen, and Lila hated Chloe Bourgeois a bit more than she did in the past. Nowhere near Mari-trash’s level of hatred. But the blonde knew just how to flaunt what she had, and unlike Lila, Chloe Bourgeois did have connections, money, and status as a socialite that Lila didn’t have. For now.

“I didn’t do it to make him uncomfortable, I was just trying to show Hawkmoth and Mayura’s relationship with my acting.” Lila said, tearing up with a well placed pinch.

“Yeah, the non existent relationship, like the one you have with Adrikins now. I mean, I read the script. Rose didn’t do a bad job.” Chloe snarked with a giggle.

“Guys, that’s two compliments for two different people. Chloe Bourgeois complimented Marinette and now Rose!” Nino blurted out rushing over to Mylene. “Am I dreaming? Do I have a fever?”

“Not the point, Nino!” Chloe hissed with an embarrassed blush. Ladybug’s influence was clearly rubbing off on her, not that she would admit it out loud.“Kim, as Adrikins understudy your job is to be Hawk Moth. I am going to make a note to have another costume made, in case Adrikins has to drop out.  So I’ll get your measurements by the end of the day. Brina?”

“Here you go.” Sabrina chirped, giving Chloe her phone back as the blond seemed to be typing something over on her phone with a smirk.

“Well, Lila, it’ll be fun working with you.” Kim spoke up walking towards Lila while Nino was taking advantage of an embarrassed Chloe to antagonize her a bit more. Probably over Adrien’s friendship would be Kim’s best guess.

                                                  *****

It was after lunch before Adrien joined his class in the auditorium. Chloe tried to greet her oldest friend but was beaten to it by Lila. “Adrien,” she cooed as she tried to grab his arm, “you didn’t tell me you had a photoshoot this morning.”

“That’s because it was none of your business!” Adrien replied cheerfully. “It was an all-male group shoot, so we didn’t need you.”

He strolled past her and slung an arm around Chloe, who threw a look of triumph at the fuming girl over her shoulder.

“Can you help me round up the class, Chloe?” he asked his friend. “I have a quick announcement.”

                                               *****

The class gathered quickly after they heard their friend and lead actor was back. The class chatted among themselves, wondering  what he wanted to tell them.

Bustier clapped her hands to get her students’ attention. “Everyone! Adrien has an announcement to make.” Her voice sounded resigned but accepting.

“Guys, I’m sorry to do this, but I have to step down as lead actor,” Adrien told his friends. “I can still be in the play as a supporting role. Besides,” he looked at his understudy, “Kim knows my part just as well or even better than I do. He’d make a perfect Hawk Moth.”

“What?!” Lila gasped before she could stop herself. “Why?”

“It's taking up too much of my time and I’ve been letting other things slip.” He gave Nino an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, dude.”

Nino was disappointed but accepting. Besides, he had a feeling Adrien’s old man was behind this decision. “You gotta prioritize. Right, bro?”

“Right, my dude,” the two boys shared a fist bump.

Chloe just smirked, watching Lila fall into despair. The blonde hoped Adrien enjoyed the picture of Lila she’d sent him. She appreciated Adrien taking the time to text her the night before. She knew part of the reason was he was afraid of how she’d react in public after Lila took Mylene’s role and messed up Chloe’s carefully balanced budget. The blonde couldn’t help but be pleased her oldest friend trusted her with the information over his so-called “best bud”.

Bustier was less than happy with this latest cast change but M. Agreste’s assistant had explained the situation to her, along with her employer’s expectations and there was nothing else the teacher could do. Besides, Lila acting was...rather outgoing compared to Mylene’s more subtle approach and Kim was very...flamboyant. The two new leads would compliment each other perfectly.

Meanwhile Lila was becoming more and more agitated at being repeatedly thwarted. She knew she could be in danger of being akumatized but she didn’t care. She could have accepted a butterfly right in front of Bustier’s face and the teacher would believe her if she claimed she did it to save anyone else from being akumatized.

She waited but no little black butterfly appeared. Now even Hawk Moth was ignoring her.

Fine. Adrien didn’t want to be her villain? She could make do with Kim and the model would come crawling back when he saw what a success the play was. Everyone would.

After all, how good could Mari-brat’s little designs be?

                                                *****

Meanwhile after a few hiccups beyond anyone’s control, Mendeliev’s class’ preparations for their fashion show were running with pristine efficiency. Vivienne and Brielle kept everyone organized and Bellamy made sure everyone, especially their designer, took regular breaks and ate healthy snacks.

Marinette and Bellamy took everyone’s measurements and then the noirette showed the class her completed designs based on the clothing they’d found at the flea market. Everyone oohed and aahed appropriately and then the hard work began.

Marinette did most of the complicated sewing with Bellamy’s help while Zayan did some basic stitching. Nearly everyone learned to use a seam ripper and took lessons from Zayan on how to shape worbla for the purses and turtle backpack. Everyone helped with trimming excess material or carefully removed sleeves and other excess material, all of which was carefully set aside for other projects.

The head designer and assistant designer took breaks to embroider and knit respectively so Alicia led a workshop on silk screening, to everyone’s surprise and delight. The quiet girl beamed with pride as she showed Curtis how to make a little fox pattern on a scrap piece of fabric.

The designer’s eyes sparkled with an idea. “You know, I think the backstage crew deserves special shirts of their own. We don’t have the time for complete outfits for everyone but what about some Hawaiian shirts silk-screened with different patterns? Maybe with the animals the Miraculous are based on?” She looked over her classmates. “Turtle for Bellamy. Snake for me. Fox for Bri. Bee for Marc. Maison would be a good fit for Pegasus.”

“Oh!” the boy exclaimed happily, “with little horseshoes and wings?”

“Exactly,” Marinette confirmed. “Alicia would rock as a tiger. She’s the Queen of Stealth.”

“Yeah, I am,” Alicia shrugged modestly.

“And...” she looked over at her teacher.

Mme. Mendeleiev was just as caught up in the excitement as everyone else. “What about me?” she asked.

Marinette thought about it. She couldn’t think of a Miraculous animal that fit her teacher, but she knew what would.

“The molecular formula for gold!” she exclaimed. She turned to her teacher. “What else would suit a scientist like you?”

“And you’re the gold standard as far as teachers are concerned,” Curtis piped up.

Mme. Mendeleiev didn’t say anything at first but everyone could tell she was touched. “Thank you. I quite agree.” Everyone cheered but Alicia quickly brought them back to Earth. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier but me being quiet and stealthy helps me get around school without being noticed.”

Everyone looked at her and she flushed from all the attention. “Anyway, I heard some rumors that one of the other classes...I’m not saying who...might decide to try to sabotage our show.”

“Probably Bustier’s,” Viv muttered under her breath.

“Class, let’s not add to the rumors, we have no proof,” Mendeleiev interrupted sharply.

“She’s right,” Brielle agreed and everyone slumped.

“That isn’t to say we won’t take sensible precautions to protect everyone’s work,” the teacher’s thin smile was a bit sly.

“Any ideas?” Viv asked the class.

Everyone thought about it. “I once made a box trap to keep my diary safe,” Marinette volunteered.

“I’m good with puzzles. I’ve beaten fifteen different escape rooms.” Brielle told the class.

“Hey, I’m pretty good at building things. If you ladies come up with a trap design I can make it for you.” Zayan said.

“That gives us a place to start,” Vivienne agreed. “We still have money in the budget for the Hawaiian shirts plus some extra. It wouldn’t be that expensive to buy a little security camera so we can catch whoever tries to mess with our stuff.”

“My dad works for a security firm at a department store. He told me they fill these anti-shoplifting tags with non-toxic but very staining ink. We could get something like that so if someone does spring the trap they get sprayed with ink and the camera would tell us who it was,” Maison added. “Hey, maybe add a few more traps if the first trap doesn’t stop them. Something that would hold them until we got there.”

“Okay. Project Ink Trap is a go,” Brielle decided.

“Great ideas, guys but let’s put off the trap making until tomorrow,” Bellamy decided. “We have a lot more work to do today. Ondine, let me teach you how to sew a hem.”

The tall swimmer walked over to the blond boy. “Happy to help!”

#fic #new class #marinette deserves better #lila salt #bustier salt #damocles salt #mendeleiev sugar

[girlucifer]

Mammon + 18 and 2 for the ask prompt thingy plz and thx 🤗😌

yayyy thank you for the mammon prompts ^^ hope you enjoy! :)

2. their emotional/weak spots

ahhh big brother mammon! i always classified as mammon = oldest brother, lucifer = oldest sister, just because they differ on how they act with their brothers. naturally they both care so much for them albeit in way different methods, lucifer is far more strict and wants to shape them to be good and proper, whereas mammon would sell them for three gold coins [and then conduct a convoluted heist to get them back]. so honestly mammon would be always looking out for his brothers, and takes notice when his brothers want or need something. leviathan talking excitedly about a new game? mammon makes fun of him but weirdly enough, pays leviathan back the first time in a hundred years, just enough money to cover the game. mammon loves going out alone but somehow always brings back enough drinks + food for the house of lamentation. he overhears luke wishing he can go to the traveling carnival and mammon is like luke i’ll take you there for that snazzy necklace you got! luke bites him and mammons like just KIDDING lets go buddy! and obviously. mammon would move heaven and hell for the human... he’d let them kill him if it meant his blood would be on their hands for the rest of time... 

18. things they'll never admit

ohhh there is literally just SO much he'd never admit due to his self-proclaimed 'tsundere' personality but i'll try and think of something that is kinda out there. lets see... we know he loves the human with everything he’s got, we know he is hurt by his brothers’ insults and ridicule, we know he’s terrified of zombies and ghosts and the like, solely because it’s pretty obvious through his actions. all the while he never admits it to others nor himself. i think something that he can’t even admit to himself, much less anyone else, is that he feels in the end worthless. in my quiz, i wrote for mammon that he feels his worth is only measured by other hands, never his own, that he deludes himself into being such a grand and great demon as a front for how vulnerable and small he feels inside. [sighs] and yes he’ll never admit that he loves when mc orders him around [mc’s like mammon go to the carnival with me RIGHT NOW and hes like yes SIR!]

#the last one is solely my opinion. much akin to inuyasha and kagome where inuyasha is such a strong headed demon but like #hes so easily subjected to kagome. she glares at him and hes like Oh my GOD FINE ill do whatever you want #i lovee when i get the option to tell mammon. SIT BOY! #anywayyy ty so much for the ask!! this one is my last one so im glad i got through them all this week has been really busy and tiring #not to infodump but i had two exams another two next week which i need to start studying now for. and i got a lot more hours at work and #im just dead <3 sighhhhhhhhhhh #plus ive been feeling bummed cuz i dont think im gonna make it thru school... im not v confident in my abilities anymore #sigh. idk we'll have to see #okokok sorry for the fucking Spam im going back to studying now. for reference im writing this at 6am june 4th but queuing it for noon #lol! <3 #obey me mammon #text #ask

[icecreamkink]

watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.

feelings.

very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful

anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start

in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr

listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?

For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies

i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics

fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service

slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it

wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god   wwx: :0

i lov them

through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart

in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back

my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think

no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD. 

some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART

lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him 

being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize

wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top 

that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.

 It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo,  lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass,  shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is,  the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’,  “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss

fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-

and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy

i have Learned. caves = gay.

 accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)

the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it

early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin 

EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it. 

i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance

 baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)

jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"

jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry

lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((

up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all

seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez

that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir

 would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory  LIKE

when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious

all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them

hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)

its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

they are SO insufferable pleeeeease

in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”

in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.

 the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss

the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)

ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok

you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out! 

jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)

i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha. 

the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic

and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic

i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon

and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying* 

The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears 

wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression  when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh

me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”

its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE,  and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ

everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice 

ngl the sword flying looks very dumb 

“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;

the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes

untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo

related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious 

and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof 

 and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. ) 

highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.

lan zhans sad eyes tho :((((((((( 

on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn

also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'

when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///

hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss

they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad

when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN

so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted

even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf 

wwx: fucking w demonic energy   jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)

the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid

wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)

LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k

take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood

zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth 

cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!

wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn

everyone: brooding and fighting                                                                wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch?? 

showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no. 

justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁

jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword                        wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief

my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession

the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go. 

“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”

"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd

also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. .  . nice

yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON

they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((

wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer

both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w

;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all

wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience

the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after hes ressurected

on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY

lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;

 they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together

also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy

wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg  .   spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation

did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins

jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;

i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . . 

im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA 

when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair 

also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point

 sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like                     ?          ?

wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"

unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also   so       thrilling   (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say) 

and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris. 

jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say

i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-

 i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE

a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:

SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU  the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du’ 

literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour

babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That 

(not that the pain is over LOL)

lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’

“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 

and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......

and jiang cheng.  being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance. 

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY  

great now i made myself sad

and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all???  amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??

JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD. 

and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it

enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏

 jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him

babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future  

one of the ?? things  i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks

wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺

so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh

a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad 

her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao

 its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE. 

like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby

and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???” 

anjo sensato :(

xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...

the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof

song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn. 

wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding. 

THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change

should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells

the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is

u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever 

BAT WEN NING 

wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’ 

(they didnt) (yet)

DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.

i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again

also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever

mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy

also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious

i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something

jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he

the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock” 

in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT

oh my god oh my god

the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead

lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞

also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck

i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...

poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'

ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth

wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face. 

ME ON THE OTHER HAND"

the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*

"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard

not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho

i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...

re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?

idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling

i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again

jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god

and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night

i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not

jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'

the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl

never trust a dude with a fan.

nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself! 

when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.

and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy

netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)

the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........

there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe. 

that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities.  *longest oh boi ever*

#m. #ANYWAY #ENOUGH TALKING #THIS IS SO LONG #LOL #but whatever this is MY performative journaling i do what i want #rambling impressions abt what i watch is a thing i do now? apparently?? #cql #untamed #the untamed #fun fact that chat is named 'k keeps on babbling abt the untamed' and it STILL wasnt enough #also it took me 15 episodes to realize lwj was yibo #IT WAS V SHOCKING #i did not recognize him at a l l #but in retrospect he WAS the perfect choice

[crystallized-iron]

Tagged by @hellfre - thank you!

20 questions, writer’s edition!

How many works do you have on AO3?

97 apparently :)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

319,418 words posted on AO3. Gosh, that’s so many!

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

MCU, X-Men movies, and a few for MacGyver (2016).

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Well, let’s see.

Should We Go? (pre Bucky/Winter / Tony) Prompt: an avenger unintentionally tells “winter” that tony doesn’t want him around any more

Comfort (pre Bucky/Tony) It's a cold night in the tower and Bucky starts feeling bad memories creeping up on him, so he goes searching for comfort.

Nightmares Brought Me Here (pre Bucky/Tony) Tony is still suffering from past events. Still shaken from a nightmare, he ends up in Barnes' room.

Sir’s Gift (Bucky/Tony) Learning that it is Christmas time, DUM-E realizes he must come up with a new gift for Sir. At first he decides he will build something again, until someone comes to the lab...

Sparring (pre Bucky/Tony) Prompt: Tony realising he likes sassy, leggy and man bun…but only on Bucky.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes I do! I try to respond to every comment I receive, but I’ve been late the last several times, and I fail a lot when it comes to commenting on fics myself...

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Um... Probably No More Chances.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Maybe Night Sky? To be honest I’m not sure but this one isn’t so sad.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I do! Um... They’re not posted yet (nor edited enough for posting). A few different collabs I’m actively writing with @ria-grey :D

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I think so? I can’t remember which one. And it was... confusing. I remember that much.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Kind of ish. Majority of my smut writing is done in collabs.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I think I was once notified of one on one of those sites we were warned about for like a couple weeks and then it sort of disappeared?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. One of my own, and one that’s a collab with @ladydarkphoenix-blog

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I think we know the answer to this one by now. Yes.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Apparently winteriron by the answers above lol. But currently it’s a long list of names. Should I?

Alex Summers/Angus “Mac” MacGyver (MacGyver 2016)/Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016)/Murdoc (MacGyver 2016)/Tony Stark/Steve Rogers/Charles Xavier/Erik Lensherr/Hank McCoy/Logan Howlett/Peter Rasputin

It’ll make more sense once the stories (this is currently a two part monster of a story) are edited and posted.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Zombies vs vampires vs humans...

What are your writing strengths?

Gosh, I don’t even know anymore.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Productivity. Description? Repetition?

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Unless I made it up, I don’t usually add any.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

As in posted? Um... -thinks back to ff.net days- ... Fruits Basket? Gundam Wing? I’m pretty sure it’s one of those two.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

So far, it’d have to be The Gifted. I know I haven’t updated in a long time. Be patient with me still. Been dealing with a lot.

tagging: whoever wants to do it!

#jlynnbtext #tag meme #thank you!

[agentem]

Putting Matthew Chauncey on blast.

He wrote the “Zombies” episode of “What If...?” And I have mentioned some criticism about it before but since he wants Sharon dead, here are some more reasons I think he sucks.

Dear sir,

1. The zombies in this episode do not act like “normal” zombies from mainstream movies nor like the Marvel Zombies we know from th comics. This feels lazy.

2. The episode relied too heavily on references to other media, like Zombieland. No other episode of this series has been referential like that. It doesn’t fit. I realize anything with Peter is going to have more pop culture but visual references were also used in scenes Peter wasn’t even in.

3. Thanos wouldn’t be in Wakanda since he and the Black Order always seemed to know where the Infinity Stones would be. He would go to New Jersey, where Vision was. Your ending doesn’t work.

4. No trains go from Grand Central to New Jersey. This is a small point but the Marvel Universe is supposed to be based in the real world, which means you could do some goddamn research.

5. You made Janet the source of the virus, talked shit about Sharon Carter, and killed all the women characters so only men survive the Apocalypse. I think you need to see a therapist about your problem with women.

In summation