#bonus points for whoever finds the secret message

[crossiantgay]

You're telling me I've never drawn orange eyed logan?? wack

Art taglist (ask to be added or removed): @idontcareaboutcanon @kacklingisanart-deactivated2021 @logically-blue @mellowscoffee @peachy-daisys @lost-in-thought-20 @justmeandmygayships @bisexualdreamdemon @ranboo-but-booran @moceit @spooky-scary-virgil @logan-sanders-enthusiast @a-person-who-likes-musicals @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo @shsl-fander @redraindrops @tobgan @roman-postin @meowthefluffy @fandom-science-assholery

#inspired a convo I had with not-exactly-labourous and warnadudenexttime #well not really but i was like 'oh yeah the orange side exists' #so #sanders sides #thomas sanders #my artwrok #art #artists on tumblr #artwork #drawing #hand drawn #logan sanders sides #logan sanders fanart #ts logan #logan sanders #orange side #bonus points for whoever finds the secret message

[mpregstory]

An idea I had in my head for awhile : Two friends from their football team go out to a corn eating competition and after literally stuffing themselves they get abducted and either impregnated by a mysterious person, mysterious group/ cult or by grey aliens

Football Dads

You slowly regain consciousness. The first thing that comes to your mind is the cold, hard floor you are lying on. You slowly try to find out about your surroundings. Where are you? Why are you here? What happened yesterday. You go through all your memories. Yesterday was the corn eating competition. You realize that you are not alone. In front of you is Peter, your buddy from the football team. Memories come to mind. You were there together and competed against each other. You had won. Of course, because you can still feel this as your stomach is still completely full and super bloated. You stand up and shake his arm.

"Buddy, wake up!" Your friend is also slowly coming to. "What the...What happened? Where…Where are we?" he asks, while slowly getting up.

You have no idea yourself. It's not very dark, but still difficult to judge. It looks like a garage. "I think we're in someone's garage? But who's? We've got to get a-" You stop and see a letter lying on the floor that reads 'Read Me' in large letters. You pick it up and ask Peter: "Do you want to read it?"

"I would have, but I'm still completely full from yesterday, dude," he snorts. "same, dude" you say and open it:

Congratulations! You made it! I'm happy to tell you both that you've successfully participated in the project. Before I let you two out of this room, however, there are still a few details that need to be clarified. These follow:

Don't ask questions. It's not a matter of life or death…at least if you follow the rules. I will provide you with everything you need to continue participating in the project.

Doesn't attract attention. Don't tell anyone about the project out there. It's a secret. Nobody should know about it. We're not holding you captive, but don't forget that we're monitoring you 24/7. Before you worry about whether you really want to do this, I can help you with this decision: You have no choice but to participate.

Pay attention to your needs. The project is about 9 months. After that, you will be completely dismissed with a bonus. I hope for a good cooperation.

You will get a phone with which you can communicate with me to a small extent. However, as already mentioned in the 1, I can't answer any big questions.

Resistance is futile. Don't forget that.

Then this would be it. Enjoy your work!

"Enjoy your work...seriously?" you ask.

You're both completely confused. "Nine months," Peter stutters. Before you both can think further, a loud announcement sounds:

'Welcome to your new Home' and a door right behind Peter opens.

part 2

A person you don't know just has you in their hands. The first few minutes are still completely strange. You are in a large mansion with a garden. However, completely cut off from civilization. No people around, except the two of you. The mansion has two large bedrooms, as you see when you inspect it. A basement with pool and sauna, another pool in the garden and a large children's room with exactly 4 cots. When you see this, your head clicks and you repeat the text: "about nine months…fuck!", and you look at Peter in shock.

"What?"

You stare into space and only say: "Whoever is running this project got us pregnant and if I can interpret that correctly, we should each give birth to 2 twin children in the end of the ninth month…"

You both tried everything over the next few weeks and months to get more information or to check the project for weak points in order to be released, but unfortunately Peter and a little later you gave up hope and played the game. You've spent hours thinking about what the others in your life must be thinking. Two football players suddenly disappear without a trace for nine months? Then, after weeks of desperation, there was a text message that said: Nobody will notice anything. The time is waiting for you. Stay healthy.

In other words, if you got that right, is the person trying to tell you that time stands still while you're here and only moves on once you're released?

You didn't really get the hang of it, but the theory that you two got impregnated was confirmed when your bodies started to change and both of your bellies started to massively expand and bloat. There were only clothes in the mansion that were sorted there from day one. They both fit you at the beginning, but for example the shirts became tighter and tighter until they were totally tight or ripped open when you moved. You were able to sort out the jeans after three months because neither of you then fit in and you were reduced to jogging pants, which you could just pull up to the pelvis and which were very uncomfortable when sitting. Underpants were only comfortable, especially in the heat, when you forget that the genitals of both of you have grown a bit and the underpants resulted in a full bulge. But something else also happened. Something between you and Peter.

You've been with each other all the time since then and even though playing football turned into swimming, you got to know a lot more about each other. Peter is incredibly good at playing the piano and since there was actually one in the Mansion's living room, he was even able to teach you how to play a little. Peter didn't know anything about your cooking skills and you both started to cook large and sophisticated dishes. The groceries for this were always delivered to the garage once a week. Then one evening Peter kissed you in the pool. For the first time you felt something there that you had never felt with anyone else.

part 3

It can't be much longer. Like the days before, you were woken up by Braxton hicks, which not only started with you, but also with Peter. But the night was also unbearable. It was so warm that you decided to sleep naked. You sit up in bed and circle the large pregnancy belly which is pressing on your pelvis. You count to three and get up in one go to waddle to the closet with your legs apart like a duck. You wonder if Peter is awake yet?

You have to clear your head first when you open the closet. The heat pulls all your concentration out of you and you don't even reach for socks but only for underpants which you then slowly and strenuously put on back on the bed. Then you lean back with your arms and try to reduce the stress again.

When you open the room door, you see that Peter's is also open. He must have woken up by now. This is confirmed when you enter the basement and see him rising out of the water.

"The contractions were so strong again this morning that I had to go down into the water," he explained. "Everything OK?"

You lean against the tiled wall and answer: "Yes, contractions… Me too, but I don't think I'm going into the water now. I'm more in the mood for breakfast…"

"Totally! I follow you!"

While you can already see the fridge within reach, Peter, just like you, is busy getting up the stairs, as this has become really challenging over the months. You decide on your favorite breakfast and you both treat yourself to double the amount for once. After that, not only are you completely full and bloated, but you immediately feel a little better. You settle on the couch and watch Peter play one of your favorite songs. Then your thoughts deepen. You two kissed for the first time a few weeks ago. It has stayed that way until now. Once, two days ago, you cuddled a little on the couch, but you can always feel that Peter actually wants more. You don't know if it's the fear or the fact that you're both very pregnant, although that's actually the smaller problem. It's your inexperience. Again you get up and position yourself behind Peter to lean forward to whisper in his ear: "I'm going down to the sauna now. You can come with me."

After a few minutes have passed and your underpants have already soaked with sweat, you get a little closer to each other. So close that our bellies pressed sideways together. Peter has characteristics of a top and that's how he pulls you towards him. He then climbs over you with one leg so that he is sitting on your lap. Of course, that's difficult because our two bumps are in the way, but that doesn't stop him from pressing on me until he stops. "Wait a minute."

You still hold his shoulders until he takes a deep breath. Then you circle his stomach and he says, "God that was just a really awkward and uncomfortable contraction."

He gets off you and you get up while you feel your water breaking and Peter sees all the amniotic fluid running down your legs. "Holy Fuck", you scream. That was just the most unusual feeling you've ever had and you realize that it's actually a very pleasant and beautiful feeling. Peter is still sitting on the sauna bench in shock and asks helpfully: "Did it hurt? Do you feel anything?"

"That felt liberating, but we have to get out of the basement very quickly, otherwise I won't be able to get up here later!"

Peter gives you a helping hand when you climb the stairs, but when he sits you down on the couch and goes into the kitchen to get towels, you see him clenching on the kitchen counter. "No way! Another contraction!" he shouts. As you realize that pushing your bellies on each other most likely triggered the labor, you too begin to go into regular labor. Only alternately but then more and more synchronously. However, your cervix is already opening further and you feel the first contractions to push. Even though Peter's water breaks he still wants to help you until you scream out: "Take care of yourself! I think we give birth at the same time. Everyone takes care of themselves. That's the best way! Fuck!" You feel the first child sink more and more until the lights in your head slowly go out and you faint.

part 4

You slowly regain consciousness. The first thing that comes to your mind is the cold, hard floor you are lying on. You slowly try to find out about your surroundings. Where are you? Where is Peter and what...happened? You go through all your memories. You were in Labor. You gave birth to...twins. You realize that Peter lays in front of you. He also wakes up after you call at him. You both stand up and a loud announcement sounds:

'Congratulations! Both of you have successfully mastered the project and are now free again'

After the loudspeakers go out, the garage door opens for the first time and you both see how time suddenly starts again and the birds in the sky fly again. Both of you can see right away that you are in the neighborhood of the school. So whoever planned all of this also brought you to different places.

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

So this story was kinda fun to imagine and writing down. Thank you all for reading my stuff! <3

#mpreg #malepregnancy #pregnancy #fiction #birth #giving birth #givingbirth #labor #labor pain #contractions

[goggles-mcgee]

I am in love with your Wish Me Away Au. Beautiful, truly. Few wonderings and questions. What are your headcanons for if/when Mari starts dating / how does the batfam react? How does little Mari react to Bruce and Selina getting married? And how does Talia react to Mari being there and "softening" her "son"? I ask that last one because I have this headcanon of Talia always knowing what is going on with her "son". I keep putting those quotes around it because she is no mother. Again the idea as a whole is beautiful and I love it.

Awwwwww thank you ☺

Headcanons For When Marietta Starts Dating:

• Nobody, and I mean nobody, was ready for her to start dating or just take an interest in anyone. The boys were dreading the day and had pushed that inevitable knowledge that she would maybe one day want to be romantically involved with someone out of their minds. Who was dreading this day more? Marietta or Bruce? The world may never know.

Marietta knows just how overprotective her family can be but she also knows if she tried to secretly date anyone, it wouldn't be a secret for long.

Bruce dreaded the day because he knew how protective he was, he knew how protective the family was, he didn't want to be the stereotypical overprotective dad when their daughter starts dating but he can feel the transformation happening as we speak.

• Tim legit has an Application to Date My Sister form that he carries around. If someone flirts with Marietta he slaps on of those on the person with a dead serious face.....he..he uh...he didn't think people would actually fill out and send in the forms.

• Dick is overprotective but he is ready to be his baby sister's wingman if he can. Has made the "My sister is single and ready to mingle, unless you're human trash" announcement in public too many times to count.

• Jason will point out potential suitors for Marietta and just look at her and say. "I'll fight em. If they can last 5 secs they have my approval to approach you." Mari just smacks him everytime.

• Damian is arguably the most protective of Marietta, if he sees someone flirting with her he does pull out and point his katana at said person. He says things along the line of, "You think you are good enough for her?" And Marietta will absolutely duel her brother for embarrassing her.

Damian pointing his katana at people interested in his sister happens so often that buzzfeed has made a list of his Top 10 moments.

• Babs will do an in depth background check on whoever Marietta is talking to and if she finds something she doesn't like she tells Marietta ever bad or embarrassing thing said person has done in their life.

• Cass, she doesn't even have to do anything ridiculous like her brothers, when her and Marietta go out no one approaches because really? How can you dare go up to these angels and disturb their peace? You monster?

• Duke really thinks his brothers are too much so he will take Marietta out when she wants to run some errands but doesn't want any drama. If she talks to someone go her! But if it's someone he gets a bad feeling about he will absolutely send a group message with their location and a picture of the person.

• Alfred, he doesn't do anything because he knows Marietta can take care of herself and well if anyone does hurt her well he has his shotguns and really this is Gotham, people die from mysterious means all the time.

• Bruce will give you the most intimidating interview of your life if you are interested in his baby girl. One time he was grilling this boy so hard and Bruce was having fun so he thought he'd trip the boy up with asking what his social security number was and the boy, terrified as he is, yelled his social security number at Bruce Wayne. The boy was so mortified. Bruce was laughing his ass off on the inside.

Bonus Auntie Harley: Harley absolutely wingmans for Marietta happily, but if she sees behavior she doesn't like she will not hesitate to drop kick a teenager.

How does Marietta react to Bruce and Selina getting married?

She is absolutely ecstatic! She was already calling Selina maman, now it's official! They ask her to be the flower girl. Damian is the ring bearer.

How does Talia react to Mari?

She really does start to question if Bruce has a problem when she sees the toddler. Then she sees Damian with the little one and she sees the soft look on his face and it does something to her heart. Damian would never understand, but Talia does love her son but she chose work above her heart. So no matter what Damian thinks is good for him she knows better, she knows his destiny.

So seeing him soften anymore than he already has is complicated. A small part of her is proud, but the bigger part of her curses the Bat and his family for "ruining" her son. Obviously this is the little one's fault and what better way to cure her son than by taking the problem out of the way?

It doesn't go as she plans needless to say.

#wish me away ask #goggles ask #goggles answers #goggles answer #maribat #mldccrossover #mldccrossover batfam

[geniequestria]

Twilight picks up the pace of her trotting as she gets closer to the site of the Canterlot Castle’s royal archives. Already stressed by the sudden disappearance of Celestia and Luna, getting word of suspicious activity from within the archives just added more on Twilight’s already huge plate of things to deal with this week. And even though she is a Princess of Equestria, Twilight’s rather unfamiliar with her surroundings here. As up until now, Celestia has forbade even her from entering. But with the Princess sisters gone, and the threat apparently being too powerful for any remaining guards there to deal with. Twilight was notified as fast as the Royal Guard could message her. And even allowed her special access to the Archives few ponies receive, because apparently whoever's there somehow found a way to bypass the protective enchantment.

Twilight only stops to look quickly in each room for any sign of the perpetrator or try to see if she can hear any potential rummaging. She only knows that this place holds very dangerous magical artifacts, to the point that if even one of these items fell in the wrong hooves. The peace Equestria savors will forever be in doubt.

Eventually, she hears the faint sounds of unicorn magic. Not that there was ever any doubt that whoever got in had powerful magic. In some ways, Twilight was just hoping it’d be some dumb prank by Discord. It’d be annoying, but at least it wouldn’t be something serious. But if it were Discord, the announcement of it being all a clever prank probably would have been obvious by now. As Twilight figures there’d be something weird in every room of the archives or whatever else the tricky draconequus would pull on her. The sounds of magic though were definitely coming from something with a horn. Twilight’s life growing up in Canterlot made her quite familiar with the sound of magic.

Twilight eventually gets to the source of the sounds she hears and she peeks into the room. Once she sees who’s here. She expresses a huge gasp. A pinkish-purple unicorn with a somewhat dark purple mane with light blue streaks. It was unmistakably Starlight Glimmer, the unicorn who had a whole town subjugated under an Equality cult due to a vendetta against Cutie Marks. Twilight had let her escape, hoping that perhaps Starlight would think over what she’s done and learn what she had done wrong. But it looks like she's only doubled down and is now making a direct threat to Equestria by breaking into the Archives.

Twilight puts up a determined face and approaches Starlight.

“Starlight Glimmer!”

Starlight perks her ears up, turns around and gives Twilight a smug grin.

“Well, if it isn’t Princess Twilight Sparkle... It’s about time you got here…”

Twilight gives a rather confused face. “Huh? You were… expecting me?”

“I knew ahead of time breaking into the archives would allow me to have a 1-on-1 with you. With none of your meddling friends or those traitors from MY village getting in the way!”

Twilight sighs. Looks like Starlight hasn’t reflected much at all if she still views the rest of the villagers in Our Town as traitors rather than ponies she had wronged.

“Starlight… is this even the time to do this? I’m already having to deal with the fact Celestia and Luna have been taken by someone that calls himself the Storm King… there’s more dire things than your grudge with me!”

Starlight rolls her eyes

“Uggggh, Well excuuuuuuuuuse me… I didn’t realize my revenge required an APPOINTMENT! Besides… you know deep down that the Princesses disappearance actually makes this the PERFECT time to enact my revenge! All your other friends are stuck at their homes watching for any sign of the Storm King’s invasion that could happen at any moment!”

Twilight just looks off to the side realizing that’s probably a good point. Another villain taking advantage of the situation another more widespread threat is causing makes sense in hindsight.

Twilight shakes her head. “Even so, what purpose do you have here?”

Starlight does a slight evil laugh. “I’ve already told you, I mostly came here to get you all on your lonesome. But… once I have you groveling at my mercy… I suppose a bonus out of this visit would be to pick up any item that feels like it could be useful for my plan to bring true Equality to Equestria!”

Twilight slightly raises her voice “That’s a lie and you know it, Starlight! I saw your village. You took everypony’s cutie marks but your own. You made yourself superior to everypony. You don’t actually believe in Equality! You only want to keep others down below you!”

This accusation angers Starlight. “And what do YOU know about equality, Princess?! The only things you’ve done since being crowned was take down that ugly centaur and disrupt my town’s harmony!”

Starlight turns her back towards Twilight. “And… if there was another way… I would much rather have some way to empower everypony equally rather than powering them down… but I have not yet found the solution… perhaps… something that’s been locked up here will allow me to do so!”

Twilight lights up her horn “You won’t get the chance…”

“Then let us fight…”

A duel between the immense magical skill of the two prodigies commences. Everything from their lasers, their teleports, and their general spells match each other or otherwise disperses the other blow-by-blow. Neither Twilight or Starlight can gain any sort of advantage. Not even from the air, as Starlight shows Twilight the ability to levitate herself. So any high ground Twilight could have made normally with her Alicorn wings was easily equaled by Starlight’s surprising skill in Magic. If they weren’t in the heat of battle or currently mortal enemies. Twilight would love to ask just how Starlight’s got her skill. But Starlight’s surely not going to tell her life story while she’s trying to blast the purple alicorn into smithereens.

After enough time, Twilight realizes this is just going to be a stalemate if they continue on like this. Twilight being an Alicorn might potentially have more magic reserves then Starlight does, but given Starlight still has barely broken a sweat. It could take hours before Starlight’s reserves begin to run low. Twilight needs to find some way to subdue Starlight soon, so she only has to worry about the Storm King’s inevitable invasion. And right now fighting Starlight directly has proven fruitless. Twilight has conflicting feelings, but she’s considering looking around the archive for something that could at least incapacitate Starlight in some fashion. Dodging more of Starlight’s blasts, Twilight makes a break for it once any nearby lasers zoom past her.

“COWARD!” Starlight calls out taunting Twilight. “Fight me like a mare!” Starlight then proceeding to give chase

Twilight takes some heavy breaths as she runs through the hallways looking at the many items. Even if she’s in the midst of battle she still has to sort of be careful with what items she decides to use. She has no time to read everything that they do. But many of them have names that are pretty much self-explanatory for the kind of messes they could make.

Thinking to herself “Phantom Scepter? No… Storm-Forged Fan? Already kind of having to worry about someone with the word storm in their name… Shadowshard? No… Silent Trinket? Maybe it’d shut Starlight’s voice up… but not her magic... Orb of Chaos? Too reminiscent of Discord! Goblet of Woe? No… Deathsong? HECK NO! ...Is that an item called FORBIDDEN FETISH?! Do I even want to know what that is?!”

Twilight’s about to give up as other items she comes across such as the Eye of Lost Hope, Tyrannical Talisman, Scroll of Faded Memories, and Glaive of Secrets didn’t sound like good ideas either and an angry Starlight was still tailing her. Twilight decides to break for it towards one last room and quickly goes around to any items.

Twilight’s sight then gets transfixed… onto a deep purple lamp.

______________________________________________________

NEXT

#Geniequestria #my little pony #my little pony friendship is magic #twilight sparkle #starlight glimmer #lamp #main story

[lonely-writer]

Buck x OC

Buck is buying a gift for Jee-Yun. It's the first thing he is gonna give his niece and he is nervous, he needs something special and unique, but also very Buck, so Jee-Yun can remember him for forever. He doesn't want Chim to hear about it and we know how the fam can't keep a secret, so he decides to go to Twitter and ask. It becomes viral or not, up to you, but one of the answers he gets catches his attention so he answers and the other person answers him back and suddenly they are having conversations about everything and anything, even after he buys the gift for Jee-Yun and meet her for the first time.

Any way, at some point he and the person chatting in internet decide to meet in person. And what a surprise, he/she/they is someone he met when he was going around, and they have story, but the spark is still there

Hi I love you, thank you so much for this request!

Pairing: Evan “Buck” Buckley x OC

Characters: Evan “Buck” Buckley, Original Female Character, Howie “Chimney” Han, Maddie Buckley, Jee-Yun

Tags: Fluff, awkward reunions, mentions of sex, Buck being an uncle, alternate universe from S.o.S, a lil bit of angst bc Buck can’t figure out a good gift, one count ‘em one swear word

Buck is at his wits end, he’s been struggling to find the perfect gift for his newborn niece but everything he’s looked at has been so cliche so far from teddy bears and blankets to personalized rattles she’ll eventually outgrow. He needs something else- something unique that is the best gift possible- something that she’ll cherish for years to come- and preferably something that Maddie and Chimney won’t throw out.

He’s out of ideas and he’s running out of time so it’s time for drastic measures. Twitter. It’s a last ditch effort really, sending out a tweet begging asking for suggestions on what to get his newborn niece, some of the answers he gets are absurd such as the newspaper on the day that he’ll meet her- what kind of gift is that? Another suggestion is a bath bundle which sounds good at first but then again it’s not very personal to Jee-Yun which is who the gift he’s buying is for, there are more simple things such as blankets and baby clothes but at some point she’ll grow out of those.

Buck feels as though there’s no point in asking anyone, he’ll have to get his favorite niece some crappy gift that won’t be anywhere near perfect and everyone will make fun of him and- 

RaeOfSunshine28: How about a memory book?

Huh. 

That’s actually....the best suggestion he’s heard all day. He likes the tweet and sends a reply to the stranger who has brought him salvation.

FireH0seBuckley: That sounds like a really cool idea, thx! 

He doesn’t think about it for the rest of the day until he’s off work and trying to find a memory book, it’s been awfully difficult for him not to gloat around the station that he’s got the best gift ever planned for Jee-Yun, Where in the world would he ever find that? He’s been searching for awhile when another idea pops into his head.

Message from FireH0seBuckley:

Heyyyy! So thx again for the gift idea...any idea where to get one? :P

Message from RaeOfSunshine28:

Np, Maybe try a craft store? It’ll probably be w/ the scrapbooking stuff. You could try doing it yourself tho.

Message from FireH0seBuckley:

Mehhhh seems like too much work LOL

Message from RaeOfSunshine28:

.-. Bro don’t be lazy it’s ur niece

Message from FireH0seBuckley:

:P You’re no fun

Message from RaeOfSunshine28: 

Tell me something I don’t know.

Message from FireH0seBuckley:

Oxygen supply can influence the color of a fire.

Message from RaeOfSunshine28:

?????

Message from FireH0seBuckley:

You said to tell you something you don’t know, now you tell me something about you!

Message from RaeOfSunshine28:

Since when did we start playing 20 questions?

Message from FireH0seBuckley:

Since now!

Buck smiles down at his phone as he and whoever he’s messaging begin to message back and fourth, it’s nice to have someone new to talk to when everyone is busy. This goes on for about a month or so, they message each other frequently and end up texting throughout their days, he feels like it’s become more than a friendship but he doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions. Buck’s been heartbroken enough in the past- but he’s come to the realization that he wants to me this person in....well, person. So he suggests meeting at a local coffee place to finally see each other face to face, it surprises and elates him when they agree.

He’s nervous as he waits at the coffee shop, this is the first time that he’s actually been the one asking someone out, Abby was the one who called him- so was Ali, and Taylor bought him a drink at a bar so making the first move wasn’t in his wheelhouse. The only time he’d usually make the first move was when he was having sex.

The bell to the cafe’s door chimed catching Buck’s attention- speaking of sex- the woman that walked in was someone he recognized, he never caught her name but he certainly remembered the long black hair and stunning green eyes. She doesn’t notice him, at least not right away, instead opening her phone to send a message to someone...at the same time Buck’s phone vibrates in his pocket. 

Realization comes crashing into him as he frantically pulls out his phone- there’s no way- there’s no possible way-

Message from RaeOfSunshine28: 

Hey I’m here, not certain if you are yet. Want me to get you anything? :)

Holy shit it is. The twitter user he’s been talking to was someone that he’d had a one night stand with. He realizes that he must have been staring at her because her gaze is suddenly on him, eyeing him suspiciously as though she’s trying to place it. When she finally comes to the realization of where she knows him from her eyes become wide with embarrassment, mouth turning into an ‘Oh.’ shape. He gives her a small smile and a wave as she walks over to him.

“Fancy meeting you here stranger, didn’t think I’d be seeing you again since you ghosted me.” She greets all too casually for someone who- nope not thinking like that.

“Did I really ghost you?” Buck asks confidently a genuine smile working it’s way on to his face.

“Well I would say that waking up to an empty bed with no way to contact you would be a good way of ghosting me.” She hums lightly in response.

“Oh but RaeOfSunshine twenty-eight I would say that I have kept in great contact with you.” Her bemused expression suddenly drops into one of shock as he speaks.

“You’re kidding. You’re fire hose Buckley?”She asks sounding incredulous.

“The one and only. So, it’s nice to meet you Rae.” He officially greets extending his hand.

“It’s Raven actually, my friends call me Rae though and since we’ve been past that I suppose you can call me Rae. It’s nice to meet you as well Buckley.” She says a smile beginning to form.

“Buck, actually. Buckley is my last name and Evan is my first name everyone just calls me Buck.”

So it’s a rough start to their relationship but it certainly feels like a good start none the less.

Bonus: 

“So why is your twitter handle fire hose?” 

“Really? You don’t remember?”

“Maybe I’m just asking for a refresher.”

#911 #evan buckley #my writing #911 fanfic #evan buckley x oc #my fanfic #fluff

[sketchguk]

OMG PLS TELL ME THE HEADCANONS YOU HAVE 😭 for the friends setting them up! And yes their friends see them as a good pairing! Mc's bff keeps telling soonyoung he shld tell her too! Coz she knows mc likes him deep down but she's just too focused on finding somne her "type" 😔 mc's bff thinks mc is little stupid sometimes 🙈 for not seeing how much soonyoung likes her! Soonyoung tells mc's bff ( we need a name for mc bff 😂 do you want to be mc's bff? skskksks ) he tells her "you assuming things, I used to have a small crush when we started hanging out but not now" BUT mc's bff KNOWS he lying coz her boyfriend ( soonyoung's friend! ) has told her that mc has been soonyoung's crush since childhood 😭 I just love childhood crush trope ahhhh 😭 But sometimes mc's bff sees her acts towards tae and thinks that mc like tae only coz he's her type and does not reaaaaaally feel anything for him! Like, sometimes friends know you better correct! 💔 AND YES 😭 he flirts with her like that! Telling it's a double date! If they go somewhere he even buys things for her. Suppose they go to fair , he'll play ring games but he'll ask her what she wants, and he'll win it 😔 Ahhhhh I'm excited to hear your headcanons! And my timezone is WIT :o I usually message in morning or night time for me - 🌴

omg I'll try to keep them short !! I haven't thought extensively about the headcanons, but the idea popped into my head !!

What happens if mc, Soonyoung, and their friends are going on a weekend getaway trip ! The friends want to carpool, but their suitcases take up the entire backseat. Oopsies! 🙈 Now they need two cars, and Soonyoung is the one to offer 💔 Of course he has to pick up mc too, and they need to travel at least an hour to their destination 😳 They'd listen to music, he'd probably sing to her, make stops at scenic lookouts, and take pictures ! Maybe she has to feed him snacks too because his hands are occupied with driving 😭

And when they get to the vacation home... there are only two rooms??? Oh nooo. God forbid the second bedroom only has one bed :0 How could their friends make this mistake when they booked the place? They wanted their besties to have alone time!! Apparently, it was the cheapest option >.<

Their friends probably make every excuse they can to leave them alone or pair them up during their vacation (and this happens on a regular basis too aha). This shouldn't be a problem though because they're besties !!!

Two best friends in a room, they might kiss 😳 haha.. jk... unless?? 😳 What happens if they have a small smooch after a night of drinking idk idk I'm just thinking.

I'll be mc's bff if my boyfriend is junhui 🥰 kidding, kidding. This is your story ! Use whoever you want for the characters!! But thank you for offering 🥺

CHILDHOOD CRUSHHHHHH. I'm a sucker for thattt !!!! My heart is fluttering. I think it's so sweet that they have that kind of history :-( Everything is coming full circle, and I want them to get together already !! The agony 💔 The best friends seem to know so much about Soonyoung and mc's hidden feelings !! But I guess that makes sense because we end up telling our besties everythinggg, and they're like secrets afterall !! We trust them to not overtly bud into their situation 💔 as much as we want them to catalyze it aha

NOOO NOT THE FAIR. I LOVEEE CARNIVALS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I'M ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE CLAW MACHINES AND THE STUFFED ANIMAL PRIZES 😭 Soonyoung would get so pouty if he couldn't win :-( But he would not give up!! Not on his watch ! Mc is gonna go home with the plushie she's been eyeing!! Bonus points if it's a tiger because it reminds her of him >.<

Omg I don't mean to insert myself into the story, but I thought I'd share about how relatable this plot is :0 At my workplace, I bumped into a worker from a different program (but we occupy the same building). He's someone who I've known since 3rd grade, and he used to have a crush one me ;n; We're manifesting this fic irl??

WIT?? :-( I think we're 13 hours apart *sobs* If only time zones didn't separate us like this 😭

#ask #anon #🌴 anon

[masterweaverx]

You know who would be a great party member? Salem! She was an adventurer before--heck, she even tried to slay a dragon or two back in the day. And I mean, who wouldn’t want the immortal witch queen of the Grimm in their party? There’s no way this could possibly go wrong!

Of course if Salem’s going to go Dungeoning, she needs to be immortal. And have, like, real powerful magic and a lot of it. Sway the hearts of men easily. Also be able to command Grimm. On the surface, this seems like it might all be pretty difficult--but you just have to know where to look, unearthed Arcana gives people a lot of options.

You don’t get a staff of loyal servants willing to help you destroy everything without being really good at talking to people, so Salem’s Charisma is going to be her primary stat--fifteen points from the point array. Wisdom is next with fourteen points, since she needs to be able to read people, and intelligence after that with thirteen, she��s something of a genius. Of her physical stats, constitution is the most important, so twelve points go in there, and ten points go to Dexterity--not that she’s going to use it often, but she does have some running skills. That makes Strength the dump stat with eight points; surprising, given she flipped a table once, but magic can more than make up for that.

Now no standard race is going to fit Salem’s unique situation, but the Unearthed Arcana: Gothic Heroes has produced a Revenant subrace that can be applied to a lot of other races. Being a Human Revenant means Salem gets +1 to Constitution and two additional +1s to put on her abilities; putting them on Constitution and Intelligence evens those both out to fourteen. And as a Revenant Salem gets a Relentless Nature, letting her regain one HP per round if she’s below half health, regenerate within a day if she’s outright killed, and know the distance between herself and any creature involved in whatever the Goal keeping her alive is. Which... well, she was cursed to live until she knew the value of Death, so she’s always in a room with herself, but you know.

For Background, I once again went with nerd Sage, so Salem has proficiency in Arcana and History, as well as the Researcher feature. Basically, if Salem doesn’t know something, she knows where to go to find out what she doesn’t know. She spent a lot of time in that tower, and she knows the value of stories, so... yeah, girl’s smart as a smart thing.

Salem is a Master Caster, and also a Master Manipulator. For the first, she’s going to get eight levels in Sorcerer--Abberant Mind Sorcerer, to be specific, since she did toss herself into a pool of demon goop that one time. For the second, she’ll be picking up twelve levels in Eloquence Bard, which gives her more magic and actually means she gets ALL THE SPELL SLOTS.

And five whole Ability Score Improvements! We’ll burn one to give Salem the Menacing feat, which not only ups her Charisma by one for a total of sixteen, but also gives her proficiency in Intimidation and the ability to use an attack action to just Frighten anybody within thirty feet. The remaining ASIs give two ability points each--putting four in Charisma maxes it out to twenty, and putting two each in Wisdom and Intelligence bring those up to sixteen apiece.

Since Salem’s first class is Sorcerer, she gets profiency with a small grab-bag of weapons: Daggers, Darts, Slings, Quarterstaffs, and Light Crossbows. She also gets proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saving throws, and two skills from the Sorcerer list--Deception and Insight fit her pretty well. Multiclassing into Bard lets Salem have proficiency with Light Armor, a Musical Instrument, and one more skill--Persuasion is the most fitting, honestly. And of course, there are perks beyond that for the number of levels in each class.

Sorcerers get Sorcery points equal to their Sorcerer level, which they can spend to use Metamagic--options which let Salem tweak a spell she’s casting just a bit. The Distant Spell metamagic lets her double the range of casting, and the Subtle Spell metamagic means she doesn’t even have to say anything to cast whatever spell she needs. Ordinarily this would also be the part where I say she can melt unused spell slots for sorcerer points--which she can--but there’s a twist.

At sixth level, Abberant Mind Sorcerers get Psionic casting. That means that instead of paying the price listed to build a spell slot, Salem can just cast a spell directly by spending an amount of sorcery points equal to the spell slot. That is a major game-changer in terms of resource management, and that’s on top of the Telepathic Speech (lets her talk silently to one person within range) and the Psychic Defenses (resistance to psychic damage and advantage against being frightened or charmed). And any spell she casts using Psionic casting doesn’t need verbal or somatic components--it’s basically already Subtle Spelled.

Twelve levels in Bard, meanwhile, make Salem’s support and leadership roles absolutely top teir. She’s got five Bardic Inspiration Die, each a D10, that she can use to give her allies a bonus on attacks, ability checks, or saving throws--and she regains them on a short or long rest. She can also use a Song of Rest to restore 1d8 HP to her allies during a short rest. As a Jack of All Trades, Salem can add half her proficiency bonus to any skill check she’s not already proficient in, and she’s got Expertise in four skills--I’d go with Persuasion, Intimidation, Insight, and Arcana for, well, obvious reasons. When it comes to magic, Salem can use Countercharm to give her allies advantage on saving throws against being Frightened or Charmed, and she knows Magical Secrets--which means two of the spells she can learn from the Bard list can actually be from any caster list.

Eloquence Bards have Silver Tongues, meaning they can’t roll lower than a ten on Persuasion and Deception checks. Salem knows exactly what to say to convince people, and she also knows how to use Unsettling Words, sabotaging somebody with a Bardic Inspiration die instead of supporting them. Her Unfailing Inspiration means that the dice she does give out to help will stay with whoever has them until they actually help--they won’t be expended on a failed check or save. Universal Speech comes free once per long rest, and costs a spell slot every time thereafter, but given that it lets Salem talk to five creatures and have them understand her that’s not too much of a problem.

When it comes to spells, well, Salem’s got options. Since she’s got twenty full caster levels, she gets 4 level one slots, 3 slots each for second through fifth levels, two each in sixth and seventh, and one apiece in eighth and ninth. While she only has spells up to level six, she can upcast some spells with higher slots or melt them for sorcery points, so the higher slots won’t go to waste.

Twelve levels in Bard gives Salem four Bard cantrips and fifteen spells up to level six, two of which can come from any spell list. Eight levels in Sorcerer gives her five Sorcerer Cantrips and nine Sorcerer spells, up to level four--and Abberant Mind sorcerers get specific extra spells for free, although they can choose to swap out one of those spells for an enchantment or divination spell of the same level from the Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell list. I decided that Detect Thoughts was something that Salem couldn’t actually do, and replaced it with Suggestion--other than that, I kept the list of bonus spells intact.

Cantrips: --Firebolt (Sorcerer) --Frostbolt (Sorcerer) --Gust (Sorcerer) --Message (Bard) --Mind Sliver (Aberrant Mind) --Minor Illusion (Bard) --Prestidigitation (Bard) --Shocking Grasp (Sorcerer) --Thunderclap (Sorcerer) --Vicious Mockery (Bard) L1 (4 Slots): --Arms of Hadar (Aberrant Mind) --Chaos Bolt (Sorcerer) --Charm Person (Bard) --Dissonant Whispers (Aberrant Mind) --Fog (Sorcerer) (Concentration) --Id Insinuation (Bard) (Concentration) --Mage Armor (Sorcerer) --Magic Missile (Sorcerer) --Unseen Servant (Bard) --Witch Bolt (Sorcerer) (Concentration) L2 (3 Slots): --Calm Emotions (Aberrant Mind) (Concentration) --Darkvision (Sorcerer) --Pyrotechnics (Bard) --Skywrite (Bard) (Concentration) --Suggestion (Aberrant Mind Replacement) (Concentration) L3 (3 Slots): --Enemies Abound (Bard) --Fireball (Sorcerer) --Fly (Sorcerer) (Concentration) --Hunger of Hadar (Aberrant Mind) (Concentration) --Lightning Bolt (Sorcerer) --Major Image (Bard) (Concentration) --Sending (Aberrant Mind) L4 (3 Slots): --Charm Monster (Bard) --Ego Whip (Bard) (Concentration) --Evard's Black Tentacles (Aberrant Mind) (Concentration) --Summon Aberration (Aberrant Mind) (Concentration) --Summon Greater Demon (Bard MS) (Concentration) L5 (3 Slots): --Bigby's Hand (Bard MS) (Concentration) --Scrying (Bard) (Concentration) L6 (2 Slots): --Guards and Wards (Bard) --Mass Suggestion (Bard) --Psychic Crush (Bard) L7 (2 Slots) L8 (1 Slots) L9 (1 Slots)

Look at all dem spells Salem got. Look at ‘em. Bigby’s hand lets her flip tables and crush Nevermores, Scrying lets her spy on people from afar, and just... look, she’s got a lot of magic, alright? Some to control and summon Grimm and some to give her elemental magic and some just to make her a people person. Sure, she can’t really use too many weapons, but do you think she needs to? When she can literally summon and control and coerce demons? Salem’s going to manipulate everybody else and look dang fine doing so.

So yeah, that’s Salem.

#Dungeons & Dragons #D&D 5E #RWBY #Salem #Character Build

[vagrantblvrd]

Got any jeremwood ideas rattling around your brain? I've been craving battle buddies (lately, but also always), smooches ideally

You know, friend? I’ve had Battle Buddies in the back of my brain a lot recently and like nothing for them to do? But then in the shower this morning I had an Idea.

These two idiots working for their respective agencies or units and have the Worst Bosses whether through sheer incompetence or design. (Laziness or greed and not their problem if some asshole agents/operatives bit it on their watch. Hell, might be for the best if they do, if the WB is corrupt or working for the Enemy whoever that is.)

Ryan, well he’s in a Bad Place because some missions that Went Wrong and his name’s not worth much in their world anymore, right? Everyone thinks he’s either the worst kind of jinx with how many missions/operations go to shit when he’s around or he’s on the Enemy’s payroll. (Whoever that may be.)

Jeremy?

Young and stupid and got into some shit he shouldn’t have and it was this or jail and for whatever reason this seemed like the better deal. (Tell that to his scars or nightmares or shortened life-span whenever that shitball mission that gets him killed way before his time rolls around, though.)

They’re both stuck where they are and (more or less) resigned to it.

Ryan’s got Plans, though, on how to get out of his situation. Intel and Secrets he’s been gathering for years hoping to expose the people behind whatever gave him a bad reputation. (He spins it like that in his head sometimes, tries to make it about himself and not the others, the good people he’s known, who got killed by these assholes because otherwise he might abandon the long game he’s been playing for years and go in guns blazing. (OR the equivalent.)

Jeremy’s got an idea or two, but they keep reassigning him or the people he trusts to help him and he’s not sure what the safest way to do this is anymore. (Oh, he’s not worried for himself, but Matt and Trevor? Yeah. Big, big worries about those two assholes and how easy it would be for them to have “accidents” if he fucks up, so. Yeah.)

ANYWAY.

Their bosses have been working them hard for a few months (months, years, it all blurs together you know?) and they get some downtime before a Big Mission.

Conveniently (Plot Reasons) they’re in the same city at the time, because of course they are. Last stop coming back from a shitty mission to go to HQ to brief for the next shitty mission and their flight isn’t until the next day or something along those lines. (PLOT REASONS.)

Ryan gets a message telling him to meet a contact who might be able to help him with his own secret mission at a shady club somewhere. Jeremy – fuck.

He just wants a drink, and if he runs into someone to spend the night with that’s a bonus. (All this stress from the last however long and knowing he’s probably going to be dead by the end of the week, and why the fuck not, right?)

SO.

They both end up at the same club (PLOT REASONS) and Ryan’s contact never shows, so he just. Fuck, he’s already there and the diet soda’s flowing and just.

He doesn’t even know, is the thing.

Doesn’t want to go back to the shithole he’s been staying at because it’s bugged to high hell and it’s always entertaining to people watch. (Entertaining and keeps his skills sharp, two birds and all that.)

After a while he notices this one guy, right? Short as hell but there’s just something about him that makes you forget that – might be the fact he’s about to get into a fucking fight with some asshole hassling a couple of women. (Young, college age or thereabouts and looking around for the bouncer who’s been MIA for a while now.)

No one else seems willing to get involved, deescalate things or back the short fucker up, so Ryan tosses back the last of his drink (and fuck, fuck, don’t do that again because oh, God, the carbonation,) and goes over to help.

He doesn’t catch what the drunk asshole says – music’s too loud and there are people all over the fucking place – but he hears the short guy laugh. This bark, really, sounds like he’s heard the best damn joke ever – and hauls back and decks the drunk asshole without dropping that bright, friendly smile of his.

Fucking goes for it, you know? Perfect form and in the back of Ryan’s head he knows it’s weird to be hung up on that, but he’s too busy watching the short bastard turn to handle the drunk asshole’s friend to be bothered by that. (Also, making his way through the crowd to help, all “Pardon me,” and, “Passing through, don’t mind me, ladies,” and so on.

By the time he reaches the short bastard (of course it’s Jeremy) Jeremy’s taken care of two more assholes and all that’s left for Ryan to do is trip the last idiot running into the fight so he falls on his face and just kind of stays there, too drunk to realize what just happened and overall just dumb.

Jeremy’s got all this adrenaline running through him and turns to face Ryan, thinking he’s just another asshole (he’s not wrong on that one, but Ryan’s a different kind of asshole, so…) and Ryan gives him this dumb smile and holds his hands up.

“Whoa, hey,” he says, and he’s laughing a little because Jeremy looks like he’s about to go for his damn throat. “I was going to lend you a hand with these idiots, but it looks like you have everything under control.”

Jeremy stares at him because what? After a moment what Ryan says actually registers and he looks around at the drunk assholes picking themselves up off the ground (or helping their buddies who Jeremy knocked the fuck out) scurry off with their tails between their legs.

And then it’s mutual staring because Idiots, and the women Jeremy helped clear their throats and thank him before wandering off.

More staring?

Jeremy looking Ryan over like hey, okay, not bad on the eyes, and he doesn’t seem like an asshole? Meanwhile Ryan’s like oh, no because Jeremy’s also not hard on the eyes and it’s been a while for him and how do social interaction with someone who’s not a contact or target or WB?

Thankfully Jeremy is less of a human disaster (not by much, but it’s enough) and they wander off to a quiet table somewhere. Ryan gets another diet soda and Jeremy gets his drink and they chitchat for a while, Jeremy getting a wee bit tipsy and Ryan getting a wee bit more oh, no because Jeremy’s nice and funny and laughs at Ryan’s dumb jokes even though they’re both well aware how terrible they are?

And then!

Just when they’re about to maybe get around to the your place or mine bit of the conversation, they both notice some Shady Dealings going on.

Too well-trained not to notice, and Ryan’s like well, shit and makes up some lame excuse to go check on things, not knowing he beat Jeremy to it by mere seconds.

Ryan goes all Sekrit Agent/operative with the stealthily following/eavesdropping whatever while Jeremy does the same. (Due to Plot Reasons they don’t spot one another right away because Plot Reasons.)

The stalking continues long enough for them to realize some serious shit is going down – maybe ties into their respective missions, maybe not.

Shenanigans in which they lose the guy’s they’re tailing and round a corner to run into one another and don’t recognize one another at first, just think they’re baddies?

Some hand-to-hand Sekrit Agent fighty stuff until Ryan manages to pin Jeremy (height/weight advantage or something, and Jeremy’s still got that alcohol slowing his reflexes and just, yes) and then Ryan’s like - !!! because it’s the guy from the club?

Jeremy totally gave him a fake name – old habits and Ryan still doesn’t believe anyone would be so cruel to name their kid Rimmy Tim, but whatever.

ANYWAY.

Jeremy is likewise !!! because what are the odds, right? (Ryan also gave him a fake name, and no one names their kid Reggie or whatever, but the hell does he know?)

Some Suspicion because what are the odds, indeed. Also, their respective situations and career choice make trust a hard thing to earn and all that, but before they can get too deeply into the do they or don’t they of trusting one another the actual baddies find them.

Thought they were being followed and better check it out, and anyway, there’s the usual shootout/hide behind cover and snark back and forth before one of them gets a flesh wound and they manage to escape.

Go to some cheap motel – God knows wherever they’ve been staying isn’t safe or secure – bugged to hell and who the fuck knows what else – to patch one another up. Offer some truth – sekrit agent/operatives and (technically) on the same side and the baddies are definitely NOT on their side and too much Good Guys NOT to look into things even if they’re on their own?

And wouldn’t you know it, they both know where to get their hands on the weapons gear they’re going to need to deal with things in the city and it’s just.

The two of them working together – and totally flirting because there are no rules tonight, you know? They’re probably (definitely) going to get themselves killed doing this and no WB breathing down their necks and their next mission probably would have killed them anyway.

Super competent sekrit agent/operative stuff with the track jig down the baddies and finding out what they’re doing (weapons trades or national secrets, something blah, blah, blah,) and being all oh no, that’s hot when one of them shows their competence or does some cool sekrit agent/operative thing?

Also bantering and realizing that while this is the worst idea either of them has ever had, it’s also the most fun?

(Which is sad because wow, they’ve wasted a lot of their lives working for assholes, but whatever.)

Before they go in for the climactic fight or whatever, they’re like, fuck it and kiss because might as well at this point, right?

Probably going to die, and if they don’t it’s not going to hurt. (They were thinking about the whole one-night stand thing before the sekrit agent/operative shit happened, so yeah.)

Action scene like whoa in which there is shooting and yelling and (flesh wounds on Ryan and Jeremy’s part because I’m a sucker for those, sorry friend) and one of them being held at gunpoint, because of course they are.

The thing where their eyes meet and the one being held at gunpoint by the Head Baddy (Jeremy, it’s totally Jeremy) is all “Do it,” or “This isn’t your fault,” or something else the Good Guy always says in this situation? And  Ryan starts to lower his gun because he can’t let the HB kill him?

And just when the HB is all gloaty mcgloaterson, Ryan whips out a throwing knife and gets him in the throat, saving Jeremy’s life and making the HB super dead.

The !!! moment of realizing wow, he’s not dead? And Ryan being like wow, it actually worked? Neat! And then the two of them staring at one another like what now?

Which, of course, is when the sekrit agents/operatives who have been watching HB and their cronies this whole time show up.

Geoff and his idiots and just. The fuck did you two do? (~Ruined months of work on Gavin and Michael’s part, since they’ve been working on getting HB and their people with the weapons trade/national secret thing and goddamn, what the fuck you two?)

Ryan and Jeremy being all ??? while Geoff’s people swarm the area and get shunted off to a little gray room somewhere for debriefing/interrogation thinking they’re really fucked this time? Sit there for hours and hours and hours. (Chitchat and banter and try not to think about what’s going to happen to them now.)

But of course not. (Because Plot Reasons.)

Geoff sweeps in with Jack and they have a nice chat about things.

The shit Ryan and Jeremy did with HB and their people, and their respective situations with their agencies/units and what do they say about working for Geoff instead?

“Uh,” and “What?”, and “Are you high?”

Because look.

No way their respective agencies/units are going to let them go knowing what they do, right? Shady as hell and corrupt and they’d rather see Ryan and Jeremy dead than let them tell anyone what’s been going on. (Have been trying for a while, actually, but they’re stubborn bastards.)

Geoff rolling his eyes and asking them if they’d like to work for him if he helped them take care of their respective agencies/units because he’s had his people looking into things since Ryan and Jeremy stumbled into their operation and the things they found, you know?

Still.

Best deal they’ve been offered – and who knows, they might live through it – so they say yes.

Geoff is delighted because he’s been meaning to deal with their agencies/units but hasn’t had the time with other shit going on. But with them on board it’ll go faster, or something?

Whatever.

Jeremy won’t do it unless Geoff gets Matt and Trevor out of his agency/unit – which he does because they’re useful bastards. (Also, like hell would he have left them there once he found out what was going on.)

Ryan’s own people (the ones still alive) were out of the line of fire before now, so he’s good to go.

Geoff (who doesn’t realize what he’s done, but when he does? ALL the regret) introduces them to Gavin and Michael and everyone else and it’s pretty much a disaster in the best way.

They get teamed up because everyone's impressed with what they managed to do and all that. Work together for a few months with the flirting and banter before they finally go on a date-thing?

Like.

Flirting’s easy, comes with the territory, but actual FEELINGs and whatnot are complicated and stupid hard. (...that’s what she said.)

Takes a close call to make them realize they’re wasting time better spent NOT being dumbasses (and maybe one of the others says as much) and then it’s some blurted invitation to coffee or burgers or whatever and this date...thing.

It gets ruined, of course, because enemies from their past pop up and shoot at them and then shenanigans? But they smooch somewhere in there and get other the awkward stage of being them and not knowing how to do FEELINGS and like. Save the day, but also smooch, idk, you know how these things go.

And then everyone makes fun of them for forever for not figuring their shit out before then, and also a lot of death-defying shenanigans and explosions and sekrit agent/operative fun-times???

#ragehappy #jeremwood #battle buddies #anon #prompt fills #technically not a fic #vagrant fic #sekrit agents aus #Anonymous

[missnight0wl]

The Black Quills

I tried to collect information about all the Black Quills (and messages from R) that appeared in the story so far (until Y7Ch16). So, without further ado...

Black Quill #1 (Y2Ch3)

Finding this Black Quill was a process that started in Y2Ch1. MC and Rowan were searching for Ben in the Artefact Room when they found a coded note. Rowan pointed out that it’s a different code than in the room with the cursed ice in the previous year (the message there said: “The Ice Knight stands guard past the Vanished Stairs”). Interestingly, “Brother Theme” was played in that scene. A bit later, Rowan decoded the note:

When we finally found the Black Quill, the message said:

Also, Ravenclaws and Slytherins went to the Gryffindor Common Room while Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors - to the Slytherin Common Room.

Black Quill #2 (Y2, The Weird Sisters! TLSQ)

Found in the Artefact Room when we were searching with Myron for the props to use at the concert.

Black Quill #3 (Y3Ch5)

Jacob left that Quill at the Three Broomsticks when the Aurors took him from there at some point. It contained his notebook which also was written in code. Rowan at first got excited that it’s the same as the one used in the ice room, but they quickly realised that a lot of symbols are different. Here’s the part of the notebook (unfortunately, the only one we saw on the screen):

Fun fact: it seems that there’s a weird bug where the middle line doesn’t appear for female characters (no matter in which House).

Black Quill #4 (Y4Ch5)

Found in Filch’s Office when we were looking for a broom to sneak to the Forbidden Forest. The message is not coded, and neither is any other after this (possibly to simplify the narrative).

Black Quill #5 (Y4, Unleash Your Patronus! TLSQ)

Ben informed us that there must’ve been an intruder in the Artefact Room who left a mess behind. While checking the place, we found the Black Quill with a message:

Then, when Tonks was trying to help MC get in a better mood at the Three Broomstick, we found a note probably to R:

The sentence ended abruptly, so MC concluded that whoever left it must’ve been affected by their Belch Powder prank.

Finally, after MC defeated the Dementor, Merula gave us another note she had found nearby:

Black Quill #6... kind of (Y5Ch10)

This is a bit weird case. During our first trip to Knockturn Alley, we also visited Flourish & Blotts. We found there the book by Maerwynn Montfort - the author Jacob liked - but its pages were blank, so we had three options to choose from:

After using Revelio or the Revealer, the message was shown on the pages:

However, if you used Reparifarge, the book turned into a Black Quill. MC took the Quill with them, saying that they would return to that later, but as far as I know, they never did. In other words, either you know the message but you don’t know about a Black Quill OR you know it’s a Black Quill but you don’t learn the message...

Black Quill #7... kind of, again (Y5Ch15)

Found in the DADA classroom when we were following Fletcher’s attacker (as seen on the Marauder’s Map).

However, this Black Quill didn’t have any hidden message.

Black Quill #8 (Y5Ch15)

Found in Jacob’s room where we followed after Fletcher’s attacker. It contained Jacob’s notebook.

Black Quill #9 (Y6Ch17)

Found in Jacob’s room when MC looked for their brother after learning from Moody that he saved them from the wizard in white robes.

Black Quill #10 (Y6Ch26)

Found in the Boathouse after Duncan directed us there; left by Jacob.

Black Quill #11 (Y6Ch30)

Found near the Whomping Willow. It ultimately led us to the secret meeting where we learnt about a mole for the first time.

At this point, the Whomping Willow attacked, and Merula dropped the scroll. However, we managed to get it back and finish reading the message.

Also, Merula’s question suggests that the letter wasn’t directly addressed to anyone or signed by anyone.

Black Quill #12 (Y7Ch3)

Found in the Owlery, presumably left by Ismelda after we’d witnessed Merula Transfiguring a note into a Black Quill earlier in the Muggle Studies class. It turned out that the meeting was about Badeea tutoring Merula in Charms - or at least that’s what we’re supposed to believe.

Black Quill #13 (Y7Ch15)

We know about this one only from Corey.

Black Quill #14 (Y7Ch16)

Found near the Whomping Willow, shortly before MC and Corey were busted by Merula.

Bonus #1: The letter written to Jacob (Y5Ch7)

Found in Jacob’s room while we were searching for information about Duncan Ashe. It’s possible that it was originally sent as a Black Quill but Jacob left it in an Untransfigured form.

Bonus #2: The first White Quill (Y6Ch7)

Brought by Sickleworth. Probably it’s a feather from Rakepick’s owl. Interestingly, Sickleworth really didn’t want to give it to Jacob, who had to use force to get it.

It was the very first White Quill we saw in the game. Even though they were used in communication with different people, they were always Black Quills. Therefore, I have to say it again that vault!Jacob is full of bullshit with his claims that: “Oh yeah, R is using White Quills, too!”. I understand that he could’ve deduced that it might contain a message from R, but he was absolutely certain about it - and I just don’t get why he acted that way.

Bonus #3: The second White Quill (Y6Ch17)

In Y6Ch16, Talbott called for MC because he saw the white owl dropping some letters. One of them was in Japanese and supposedly contained instructions about White Quills at the Black Lake. MC and Talbott found one quill there.

MC assumed that it was sent by R, but if that’s the case, it’d be the first message from them NOT signed as “R”.

The final commentary

First of all, I just want to point out the Black Quills in this list which are NOT signed by “R” nor they mention “R” in specific: Black Quill #11, #12, #13, #14, and the second White Quill. In all of those cases, MC or Corey only assumed they have anything to do with R. And that’s exactly why I’m more and more certain that they have nothing to do with R. Merula is corresponding with someone else. I mean Corey even started pointing it out themselves: “(...) it didn’t say To R (...)”, “It’s not signed by anyone (...)”.

Also, in Y4Ch12, we were spying on Rakepick for Snape. This is when we learnt one interesting information Filch told Rakepick when she was interrogating him about the Gillyweed/Coral key:

As I said in one of my previous posts, I believe that one of those three Black Quills was the one with the letter to Rakepick (Black Quill #4). I suspect that the second one could be Jacob’s notebook about the Cabal (Black Quill #8), considering that Fletcher’s attacker was seen in Filch’s Office right before they went to Jacob’s Room.

What about the third one then? I assume that we haven’t found it yet, and I want to believe that it has some important answers - perhaps about the relationship between Jacob and Rakepick. Because even if the story from Y5Ch30 is true, there’s still a lot of unclear things. How did Jacob become her apprentice? What about Duncan and Olivia? Did Jacob think she’s R when they went to the Portrait Vault? Overall, it’d fit two other Black Quills because they should make us question Rakepick’s true nature: why R threatened her and why (and how) she saved both of the siblings in the past?

#long post #hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #hphm jacob #hphm r #the cabal #black quill #analysis post #hphm research #masterpost

[venus-says]

Kamen Rider Gaim Episodes 01-20

Also known as Kame Rider Fruits Salad edition.

It's time for more past rider action as I start my fifth season in this series. I honestly don't know how I'm still doing this, but I'm glad that despite my schedule problems I'm sticking with this journey because this season is a good one.

I was very excited to see this, not just because my experience with Wizard was very positive, but also because I've seen images and gifs being retweeted in my timeline and everything seemed so ridiculous I couldn't wait to experience all of that by myself, and I gotta say, they delivered! (different from that other season I saw people being so passionate about but that I disliked with passion)

And this is something funny because I have quite a lot of things about Gaim that bug me and that should make me dislike it, but even still I can't help but like this season a lot. Gaim has a certain magnetic charm to it that I don't know how to explain, putting in terms of the show I'm like the Inves and Gaim is the evil fruit of the forest taking control of my brain. This show is so entertaining that if I was able to sit down for 72 hours without being interrupted and not needing to do my physical necessities I'd definitely spend those hours watching Gaim, I'm not joking, I had to force myself to stop watching it a couple of times because if it was up to me I would sit down in front of my laptop and leave after the show ended.

And I feel like a huge part of what makes me so interested on Gaim is this mystery feel it has to it, I wanna know where all of this is gonna go so it makes me more interested on watching more and more to see the secrets being revealed and all of that. Add a whole lot of great cliffhangers and the fact this series doesn't seem to follow the "2 episodes, 1 story" format and you make for a show that has a very good pace and that makes it feel like no episode here is filler or unnecessary.

But this is a double-edged sword because while the mystery vibe is great I feel like the show held a whole lot of information at the beginning which made it hard for me to understand this world, and understand these characters. Why is dance so important here? Why do these dance teams exist and why are they fighting each other? When did those lock seeds start appearing? And why are they in the kids' hands? What's Kouta's relation to this dance crew? Why is there a ranking for dancing crews? Why is all of that so important for these characters I'm gonna follow? I watched 20 episodes, still, I feel like I don't know any of the characters very well because neither of them had a very good base for me to have a feel of who these characters are. Which makes it harder for me to connect because I don't feel what the characters are feeling, my experience with Gaim is a very "external" one, I'm watching it and I'm enjoying it a lot but I'm not emotionally invested, I think that's the best way to put it.

Speaking of characters, another thing that I feel like it makes it harder to know all characters is the fact that THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM. No joke, I don't know any of their names and the only Rider name I have memorized is Gaim because of obvious reasons, the way I have to connect the characters to their faces is by their main fruit, which solves things for the characters that are Riders but the side characters that don't they literally have no name for me, any given name you see in this post is because I opened the wikia and went to look for the names. This is a very crowded season.

Kouta as a protagonist gives me a lot of mixed feelings. I overall like him, but that are times where the show makes me want to hate him, but I guess that's just how teenagers so the show has perfectly hit the nail on him. I like how he starts as a good kid trying to get a job to help support his family, but then he becomes a rider and that gets up to his head and he becomes an overconfident prick just to have his ass kicked down and throw him on a downward spiral where he "refuses the call" to then have a moment where he slowly rises again, and even in this escalation he gets doubtful in quite a lot of times showing that he's a very interesting character. I only wish we knew more basic stuff about him, or at least have glimpses of his past, to know where did he came from and be able to have an estimative of where he's going to.

Sadly the other characters aren't anywhere near being this interesting. Kaito is just the hot-blooded rival, they decided to give him a backstory about he being anger at Yggdrasil for taking over the city but I think it only made him look more like just a teen with anger management issues rather than a compelling character. Mitchy had potential with the whole thing of being a kid from a rich family that has no freedom in regards to his future, but he more or less always followed the things I expected him to do as a character in his position so it was just a little boring. Near the end of this batch, Zack became a rider too but he's such a background character I have nothing to say about him. Junouchi and Hase lacked in personality because they were sold as a duo and they barely did anything on their own, Hase at least got more interesting things going for him since he eventually ate a fruit and died as an Inves what made him interesting where Junouchi just ended up being the keychain of another rider... and oh boy, Oren... it's kinda hard to talk about him. I'm not sure if "gay coded" is the correct term for him, probably not, but the thing is he's very problematic. First, because the show kinda sits in with Kouta's point of view and since the first meeting Kouta already showed signs that he didn't like him and that it was weird for him to see a flamboyant man with feminine trajects and he was always negative towards him. Then the show makes him be a Team Rocket villain where his character gets downed to a single goal and objective and every time he gets up on the screen is for him to be made fun of and it just makes me wanna hit my head on the wall. I know I shouldn't be surprised since last season they had the manager of Hungry Donuts that was also an LGBTQ+ character being used for comedic purposes, but at least in there, there was no portrayal of any character of the cast being uncomfortable or hostile against her so she was never seen with bad eyes or had any negative association to her (they also had a trans actor play her role which is an added bonus even though she wasn't out yet during the time of filming).

The show also has a "second set" of riders that are the adults on Yggdrasil's side. I feel like I don't have a lot to say about them because they were in the backseat a lot during the season and only started to have a more active role on screen now so I still don't have an opinion on them. Takatora seems bland, Sid was the one of this team that had more screen time but I also don't have an opinion on him, he's just like a drug dealer there's nothing special about him other than he uses one of my favorite fruits in his rider form. Ryoma and Yoko are probably the more interesting characters from this team and I'm really excited to see more of them.

There are more characters of this cast but I don't like any of them all that much so I won't spend more time talking about them, I'll talk briefly about the Riders' designs because this post is already long enough.

To begin with, I think it's a genius idea of mixing fruits with samurais for the main motifs of the riders, it's such a ridiculous, wild, and creative idea I wish I could be friends with whoever imagined this concept. I pretty much like all of the suits, I think the only form I don't like it's the Jimba Lemon one because it's not very aesthetically pleasing, it doesn't match very well with Gaim's basic design so it doesn't look as good to me, but I also don't like the giant watermelon suit, probably because the CGI looks weird, but I still don't like it. I love how the belts are very simple, it's a good contrast with the overly designed suits, I wish they had kept that simplicity for the genesis drivers as well. If I had to choose my favorite designs they are Gaim's strawberry, Baron's mango, Zangetsu's melon, Duke's lemon, and Marika's peach forms.

Before I wrap up this post I have two final complaints about this whole thing. The first one is the fact I don't know what's the message the show is trying to convey. Right at the beginning, I thought it was about growing up, but that was never touched again so I'm not sure if it's that, you know? The show feels a little lost in this aspect. It is a nice story, don't get me wrong, but all stories so far had a theme and I couldn't really find the theme on this one yet. I hope that after the reveal that the forest is like a parasite they'll bring up discussions that'll highlight what this is story is about.

My other problem is how against adults the show is. Maybe if I had watched this in my teenage years I'd be more in synchrony with the point of view of adults are liars and they're a problem, but now as an adult, I know that things aren't so simple. While I agree that using kids to gather data for their experiments wasn't the right course of action, I don't like how the protagonists are always so keen on being against adults and everything. Maybe they're like this because of how Japanese society is and to them becoming adults is like losing the sense of their own identities so to them adults are really like villains, but I still think that they hit too much on this key and it's kinda hard to watch without rolling my eyes at certain points.

With that being said, I still enjoyed the hell out of this show and I'm very excited to continue. So, what are your thoughts about Gaim, let me know down in the comments. I'll catch up with you folks later.

#Kamen Rider Gaim #kamen rider

[danielxrk]

                              EMPTY ENIGMA ; THE PLAYLIST ( youtube ) ( spotify )

1. ╬═  uncontainable - set it off 2. ╬═  rockstar - daddy rock (cover) 3. ╬═  bad kids - lady gaga 4. ╬═  sophomore slump or comeback of the year - fall out boy 5. ╬═  float on - modest mouse 6. ╬═  do it now remember it later - sleeping with sirens 7. ╬═  restless - too close to touch 8. ╬═  last ones left - blessthefall 9. ╬═  have faith in me - a day to remember 10. ╬═  player haters’ ball - palisades 11. ╬═  watch out - memphis may fire 12. ╬═  against the waves - blessthefall 13. ╬═  petty trappin - slaves 14. ╬═  broken - lovelytheband 15. ╬═  champion - fall out boy 16. ╬═  down for the ride - slaves 17. ╬═  this is the house that doubt built - a day to remember 18. ╬═  dream on - blessthefall (cover) 19. ╬═  immortal - palisades

1. uncontainable  ⊰ we’re taking our crown, we’re taking it now ⊱

coming out the gate, we’re swinging. empty enigma together is an unstoppable force, or at least they feel like they are-- destined for amazing things and soaring to great heights. especially on stage, they don’t back down for anything, but it applies to their true selves, too. for a bonus, daniel and woojin box, so the metaphors 👍

2. rockstar  ⊰ dude your girlfriend is a groupie she just tryna get in, saying “i’m with the band” ⊱

squall, alpha, brand, cameo and reign are wild; there has to be at least one song dedicated to it. don’t give them too much credit and think this isn’t relevant beyond the title.

3. bad kids  ⊰ i’m not that cool and you hate me, i’m a bad kid that’s the way they made me  ⊱

everyone came to empty enigma for different reasons, but all of them have at least a little rebellious bone in their body to be part of a metalcore band. there’s some defying authority, a lot of defying expectations, and a little disappointing people in their lives that don’t think the band is an honorable pursuit, at the very least. empty engima doesn’t care. all of that aside, they came together to support each other under all circumstances. you’re still good to me if you’re a bad kid, baby. 

4. sophomore slump or comeback of the year  ⊰ i’ll keep singing this lie if you keep believing it  ⊱

empty enigma is a mystery, but also a lie, based upon stage personas all of the members hide behind, giving them the power to be whoever they want to be-- different than they really are. there’s more to the song than that, though: a dedication to empty enigma’s fans, and their devotion to each other, getting through hard times, and enjoying every moment. it’s just a matter of time until we’re all found out, and they were, but at least it was on their own terms.

5. float on  ⊰ don't worry even if things end up a bit too heavy, we'll all float on  ⊱

together, they get through everything, taking everything one day at a time, and it’s all okay as long as there’s empty enigma. [sobs into my hands]

6. do it now remember it later  ⊰ remember when they said what we want can never be done? ⊱

empty enigma has had a lot of doubters, whether it’s random people or those close to the members, but in the end, they do what they want to, and the band empowers them to say so. come on say what you think, it won't mean a thing, in the end we're gonna be just fine.

7. restless  ⊰ do whatever makes us lose control, just for a night  ⊱

they all have their own troubles, but the band is an escape from that, even if it’s just for a show every weekend.

8. last ones left  ⊰ if we’re going down, we all go down together, and that’s the way it is ⊱

somehow this song ended up on this playlist when i made it the first week of the mgas, but it has new meaning following the developments of the mgas. kenta and woojin receiving contracts, everyone wanting to hang onto the band, even to the point of wishing they wouldn’t accept their contracts. the chorus reflects their original feelings, but now it’s clear they won’t stay like this forever, but they’ll still supporting each other regardless. 

9. have faith in me  ⊰ you’ll always find me right there, again ⊱

a song about how they’ll always be there for each other no matter what, even when all else fails basically, haha!

10. player haters’ ball  ⊰ wolves don’t lose sleep on the thoughts of sheep ⊱

here we have a lovely hardcore screamo song that marks the beginning of the part of this playlist dedicated to their haters, which was relevant enough before due to people hating on metalcore in general and people in their lives trying to tell them what to do. after the mgas, the relevancy increased by 200%, since daniel and kenta especially endured some hate comments and lowkey care a lot about what people think of them; empty enigma gives them strength and makes them care a whole lot less about anonymous people tearing them down. the only truth is that you’re still unknown, and empty enigma isn’t anymore.

11. watch out  ⊰ we came to change the game so get out the way ⊱

this is another self-hype song and a lil bit to haters too, and their intention to be successful and their belief that they already are just doing what they’re doing. this is another one that applies more mgas considered, because this is relevant to when they first set foot on the show. (fun fact: this was a contender for between fear and faith’s title track.)

12. against the waves  ⊰ but if it’s all the same, they’ll find the worst in you ⊱

pt 3 of songs to their haters, and a vow to stay strong in the face of them and any adversity, and the chorus applies to them wanting the band to be a source of support for people going through the same. i wonder why that “nothing can last forever” line is there haha how is that relevant haha

13. petty trappin ⊰ you say i’m everything you despise, everything you don’t like ⊱

this is the final and most relevant song dedicated to haters, all a highly applicable message to anyone that talked shit during the mgas, supercharged with some unshakable empty enigma confidence. every person that hates them is a person that can’t stop paying attention to them, after all. also a song in my potential ee follow up album playlist because they truly could’ve written this song.

14. broken ⊰ i like that you’re lonely, lonely like me, i could be lonely with you ⊱

all of the members were a little broken, and maybe they still are, but at least they’re broken (and maybe a little lonely) together where they didn’t quite fit in anywhere else. daniel also met most of them late night at a party, so that’s a bonus. (extra bonus: this is the first song i ever associated with ee; i think it was back in october 2018 or something and that think i could love you but i’m not sure line always made me think of nielwoon, perhaps i’m a psychic.)

15. champion ⊰ i’m a champion of the people who don’t believe in champions ⊱

one of the last songs added to the playlist, this is dedicated to their dreams and touches back on that constant theme of being some kind of outcast and underdog. it also highly applies to the mgas (if i can live through this, i can do anything) but this playlist was still finished by episode two of the show, so that i’m calling you from the future to let you know we made a mistake line was foreshadowing?? ee mgas was a mistake. maybe

16. down for the ride ⊰ taking over, feeling at home with you ⊱

empty enigma is home, as a band or just the friends that make it up. they leaned a lot from each other, and the band was a crazy ride-- one they’re still on together and might be too attached to. (moving forward, learn to let go.)

17. this is the house that doubt built  ⊰ we’ll sing like everyone when they’re alone ⊱

a mix of several moods on the playlist: empty enigma as an escape, strength and something that makes them feel fearless, and teamwork on top of that. it’s also a bit of a reference to their secret identities, why they used them, and what they’ve learned from them. (when you find yourself please let me know.)

18. dream on  ⊰ sing with me, just for today; maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away ⊱

the original intent of this song in the playlist was because this was probably a cover on the band’s early setlists, and you know, the whole concept applies to people going after their dreams together and performing to cope with everything, but post disbandment(?) this hits different. don’t make me explain it and just listen to it. thank you.

19. immortal  ⊰ i’m not dying, no i’m not dying today ⊱

this is the band’s lead single on their first album. please proceed to between fear and faith.

#rkship #rkplaylist #;ee #( * there's a reason haru designed our album cover #anyway!! finished this playlist ep 2 of mgas #had intent of posting it to get those pts #but didn't have time to make a graphic and do descriptions #so why not now right #half of these songs hit different post-mgas i kinda hate myself for this playlist now )

[dazzleflight-blog]

Helga’s secret was NOT so secret

Now that I’ve rewatched the series as a grown ass woman is so obvious that a bunch of characters knew about Helga’s feelings for Arnold 🏈❤️🎀 • Phoebe: Helga basically blabs it all in her ice-cream metaphor (S02E02A) but she had her suspicions since she helped Helga screw over Arnold’s attempts to approach Ruth at the Cheese Fair (S01E03A) and maybe even before that and that’s why she was so willing to help • Lila: she gets Helga to spill the beans to her (S03E20) • Mr. Simmons: he READ every single word this hopelessly in love girl wrote • Miriam Pataki: she throws away one of Helga’s shrines (S01E08A) the bubblegum one which is the first shrine to appear in the show; she probably saw the other ones but she threw away that one cause it was attracting flies and other insects, as we can see on screen, the rest of the shrines were less “perishable”, and she may be careless but she paid enough attention to Helga to get her the Christmas gift she wanted, she probably knew • Phil Shortman • Brainy • Dr. Bliss • Gertie: she receives Helga’s message when she blabs it all, she gives him another message but she KNEW (S03E01A) • Tish Wittenberg: she “casually” mentions to Helga that Arnold will be her husband’s best man at the wedding after she offers her to be the maid of honor and Helga rejects her, the fact that she used it to manipulate her into a yes wasn’t very subtle (S03E12A) • Big Patty: after Patty fakes beating her up she questions Helga about her relationship with Arnold, and after Helga softly denies it they share a complicit smile that I’m pretty sure had nothing to do with their ruse as it’s quite different from the one she shared with Arnold later (S03E04B) • Stinky: the show does not go in a chronological order, however if we try to make a timeline the episode Helga’s Boyfriend would take place BEFORE Arnold’s Christmas because it takes place in autumn, and this totally makes sense as in the Christmas special he inserts himself into Helga’s shopping and critiques her on the skateboard she’s planning to buy and he casually drops in that Arnold already has one and in the same color as if HE KNEW she was gift hunting for HIM, if we assume he pretended to be her boyfriend two months prior it would make perfect sense for him to know. Now you may be thinking “hey, at the end of that episode he falls in love with Helga and he tells Arnold, why would he go to the one person his crush is crushing on?” let’s keep in mind Stinky is dense and a naive and gullible character, he probably figured it out LATER • Harold: he obviously noted Helga’s crush when it was fair new as he teased her about it in kindergarten and thats why she became a bully, I’m sure he remembers that since he’s older than them (Helga does remember because of the emotional toll but no other character seems to), however he figured out she was still in love with him at the cave in Elk Island (S01E13B) he stays back to “watch out” for the gang, and Helga kind of forgets he’s there and has a soliloquy moment, it’s a cave so it echoes, and she wasn’t that far from him so he probably heard, and even though he likes to make fun of her sometimes he never made fun of her about that, probably because he does remember what that led to in kindergarten and he’s kind of scared of her, and because despite everything he does like her, he respects her and obviously enjoys her company sometimes, as shown in Buses, Bikes and Subways • Gerald: Evidence A: Valentine’s Day special, Arnold may be dense enough to not even suspect it is Helga, but Gerald is anything but gullible. Evidence B: Dinner for Four. Again, Gerald is smart. Helga won, she told Phoebe to invite whoever she wanted knowing that she’s invite Gerald and he’d invite Arnold, he probably noticed Helga’s changed demeanor and how it was connected to his compliments towards Lila. Is not that hard to figure out. That would also explain his resistance to Arnold taking care of her during Beaned, he finds her manipulative and he wants to deny her, I used to think he did so because Helga bullied Arnold however Harold and Sid were pretty nasty to him too and he never argued against Arnold’s sweet nature when it came to them. Helga’s Masquerade was another turning point, while in Beaned and other episodes he tries to stop Arnold from being particularly attentive to Helga from a place where he’s protecting Arnold, in the masquerade I feel he’s protecting Helga, accusing Arnold of spending time with her ONLY because she looks and acts like Lila. Arnold has done stuff like that before, questionable stuff, and Gerald usually has fun, tags along and encourages that behavior on his friend, this time he didn’t. I think in this episode Gerald noticed how vulnerable Helga was and what this desperate feelings could drive her to do and he starts feeling more empathic. Evidence C: The Jungle Movie, by that point he KNOWS for sure and he’s supportive of it, he and Phoebe are obviously an item, he probably changed his mind after getting to know Helga through Phoebe’s stories and eyes Bonus: I think the whole gang knows or at least suspects it as in Arnold Visits Arnie she has a soliloquy behind the goal sign and when she comes back the whole gang looks baffled and has wide eyes. I think they may have heard her 🤷‍♀️ And there are other instances like that one - I don’t know it’s just really interesting to me to think about the possibility of a lot of people knowing but everyone playing along to her bully façade for one reason or another.

#Hey Arnold #Helga pataki #shortaki #nick #Nickelodeon #Arnold shortman #Hey Arnold! #the jungle movie

[rins-rambles]

Callum’s Sealed Letter

    You’d think after all my VLD theories I’d learn to not ramble on and on about possible future story plots for cartoon shows, right? Wrong. Here’s another TDP theory, focusing more on Callum and Harrow. Also, there will be reaches, and this is all my personal opinion. 

  So what’s on my mind today? Callum’s letter from Harrow that he drops and never retrieves. Prepare yourselves, this theory is long. 

 There was a lot of tension built around that letter Harrow gave to Callum in the first couple of episodes, wasn’t there? I can see it being a red herring to add onto the “Harrow is in the bird theory”, since he technically did die, but now lives inside something else. However, that’s been discussed to death, and not what I’m planning on doing.   Like the twin-headed cobra’s, they’re introduced, and when the plot mentions it again, they’re then suspiciously omitted. Why put so much emphasis on that letter if Callum was just going to accidentally drop it as a clue for Claudia to find, causing her to investigate until she ran into them with the dragon egg? One thing it could mention is the identity of Callum’s biological father. 

 While this isn’t a new theory, many have speculated that Callum’s biological father was an elf, but which race they are is up in the air at the moment *badum-tss*. Although another hint is when Callum seemed to quickly take up magic like fish to water, and his first spell is the wind spell Aspiro. You can argue that Callum is perfectly human, since Viren and Claudia are definitely humans just with a higher aptitude for magic, and Callum just happens to be one of those people. But now that Callum got rid of his Primal Stone, he needs to learn more from someone. I hope we get to see more human mages later on in the story for Callum to either learn more magic from to show how “normal magic” is studied instead of through the shortcuts that black magic has. Or if we’re lucky, we get to see elves train him in their ways of magic. 

{Think of this like FMA, where alchemists have to go through intensive training to learn alchemy. A skilled alchemist on their own is powerful, while an alchemist with a philosopher stone can bypass the laws of equivalent exchange. Since Callum’s destroyed his “philosophers stone”, he needs more hands on training.}

 Now, to try and steer this horse back on topic, this leads to what Harrow may have written for Callum in his final letter, also make note that this one was specifically for Callum, so let’s assume that Harrow didn’t write anything for Ezran. 

A) Harrow’s Message

  I feel that Harrow didn’t say all that he wanted when bidding Callum farewell and having him promise to look after Ezran. When writing something akin to a will, you’d tell whoever the person you’re writing to a lot of dark/important secrets you probably wouldn’t have told if you didn’t think death would be knocking at your door soon. One thing shown in Callum and Harrow’s relationship (mostly on Callum’s part), was that while Callum does think of Harrow like his father and he does love him, with all of the reminders that he’s just his step-son, he puts a rift between them as subject and king. In one ending credit card, Harrow was the one to give Callum his trademark sketchbook, and definitely wanted Callum to see him as his father and for most of their interactions, is open to Callum about their situations while he lies when Ezran is around. Yet, if there’s something Harrow seems to be keeping from Callum, it could be about his biological father. 

  This feels like something he would want to write down to Callum, knowing that he will not be able to speak to his son again, and we’ve suspiciously heard very little about Callum’s biological father. Even though the information we get on Sarai is almost as bare as he is, it’s still a bit suspicious. No one mentions anything about Sarai’s first husband before marrying Harrow, and I wonder if she disclosed this information to Harrow before her mysterious death. 

  Harrow loved Sarai, as I’m speculating that the picture he looks at before putting it away on Viren’s arrival was a portrait of him and Sarai (or possibly Harrow with a younger Callum and baby Ezran since he knew he wouldn’t be able to see his sons ever again). If she loved Harrow enough to marry him and have Ezran with him, she’d probably tell him about her first husband, and with a mixture of love and guilt (since he blames himself for the supposed death of the Dragon Prince), Harrow would keep this secret for Sarai until Callum was old enough to know, or when he was about to die, depending on how Sarai would wish for Callum to know. 

  While Harrow certainly had enough time to write a letter out for his son, it still feels odd that he chose Callum specifically of his two sons. I understand that Ezran is still very young, but he has proven to be more mature than he lets on. If Harrow’s letter would just be him writing about how much he loved Callum and Ezran, that final goodbye scene they had would have sufficed. Then, the only letter they’d get to read/open was when Amaya found them out the lodge on Harrow’s orders. However, there is one other theory I have on the letter, and it involves Sarai. 

B) Sarai’s Secret

  We’ve seen nothing of Callum’s letter after Claudia picked it up, and it remains sealed. But, what if this isn’t a letter that Harrow himself personally wrote? What if it was a letter that Sarai wrote a long time ago and gave it to Harrow either after they were married, or again, before she mysteriously died?

  All of the above that I wrote still applies: Sarai’s first husband was an elf, thus leading to Callum and him never being mentioned, but now it’s in a different light since it’s in Sarai’s perspective. 

  We don’t get a whole lot about queen Sarai as a character. One being, she’s dead, and two, she’s fondly remembered with Amaya even calling her sister her hero. Callum’s small moment of reminiscing when Rayala sees him sketching his mother in his sketchbook has him saying that she was amazing. Still, if we’re to learn something about the characters in The Dragon Prince, not everyone’s pasts and motivations are purely black and white. 

  Sarai has a wealth of potential to be explored not only to help flesh things out in the current plot, but also with our characters. Who was she before she met and married Harrow? Why was she so revered? Why did she decide to have Callum with her first husband? Why does no one, not even her sister Amaya talk about her past more? Amaya you can argue was probably busy at the border patrolling, therefore wasn’t around her sister often besides maybe communicating through letters. But still, Callum knows ASL, something Sarai likely taught him to communicate with his aunt, and Amaya had to have asked her sister how in Ka-tallest mountain of Katolis she got pregnant with a kid. 

  Normally, dead mothers to the heroes have small flashbacks of their lives to highlight a certain event going on, or a moment with a character whom they shared a connection with, usually a close friend, relative, their children, or their spouse. So with the skirmish between human and elves, Sarai’s past could be explored through flashbacks of some kind, and bonus points if it involves Callum. If Callum’s father was an elf, this could also hint at how Ezran got his ability to speak to animals. Perhaps some of that elf gene carried on into him so he inherited this skill? If there’s something that highlights the elves abilities, it’s magic and communicating/being associated with animals (ex: Lujanne and her bird). Speaking of Lujanne, thanks to her, and the Shadow-Moon elves, we know that while elves hate humans, they’re not against crossing the border for personal matters, so Sarai meeting Callum’s father this way instead of having to be near the border is more plausible in how their story pans out.

  This revelation of Callum being half-elf could lead to the revelation that humans and elves, “We’re not so different after all!” Although that’s highly unlikely, and they’ll have a better shot at just returning the Dragon Prince over this, since it seems like it will just be another move for character development for Callum as a person. 

  So while Sarai’s letter could have been her telling Callum all about his real heritage, and how she couldn’t tell him because everything about it would be taboo, there could be other ways this is explored, or exploited. 

  Whoo, I kept getting new ideas and editing halfway through, so I’m going to make a part two of this theory to highlight that last part. I am incredibly sorry for the long rant, but since I don’t make videos, writing is all I can really do to get my thoughts out. HMU if you have had similar theories, or a different idea of what Callum’s letter might have been about. 

#tdp theory #the dragon prince theory #tdp theories #tdp meta #callum (tdp) #ezran (tdp) #king harrow #harrow (tdp) #the dragon prince #queen sarai #sarai (tdp) #my theory

[noddytheornithopod]

So it’s chapter 4, and things are heating up.

Very eerie Rantaro message. He says there’s something important about the rule to the two people left rule, and that this isn’t their first something (their first killing game?). Whoever finds out who they are will come for them, and that they apparently wanted this. I assume Rantaro is talking to the students... what does it all mean? I mean, the wanting the game definitely ties into that memory of Shuichi wanting to die. All in all, this is all pretty weird.

So what’s up with that writing on the rock? Who’s writing it?

Gonta also apparently keeps seeing bugs, weird.

Okay so Kokichi is REALLY getting into the killing game now. He’s no longer just an annoying brat, but he’s actually starting to show his Ultimate Supreme Leader side. I still can’t help but wonder if he knows something the others don’t. And of course, the Mastermind could STILL be one of the students. I feel like Kokichi would be too obvious to be the mastermind (as said, it feels like he’s a Byakuya/Fuyuhiko type, though him getting more serious and manipulative is very Nagito too, plus like Nagito he has a major link to the story’s central themes), but I’m still keeping an eye on him.

Kokichi steals one of the items you need to unlock new areas... and it just so happens to be a card. I have a feeling it might be the library card for the hidden door. What’s really in there?

Tsumugi gets her lab, nice. Also turns out she was a bartender as a job to get money before sponsors, cool. You’re back to being adorkable instead of a creepy cult follower, Miss Shirogane.

Shuichi gets his lab, huh. I thought it would be the checkered one downstairs, but I guess we get this one. Whose lab is it down there then? Rantaro? Or maybe Kokichi... maybe his checkered scarf is a clue.

Keebo gets a lab... and doesn’t like it. Monokuma tailored to everyone except him, of course. :v

So they get another memory flashlight and we see the meteors. We also hear about something called the Gofer project to save humanity which supposedly failed... and we also got some weird culty group saying mankind deserves damnation. Sounds kind of Ultimate Despair-like if you ask me.

Wait... this is the crisis Kirumi was overseeing wasn’t she?

More training. I’m enjoying the Shuichi, Maki and Kaito trio. Also Maki weirdly asks a question about whether Shuichi had feelings for Kaede, and if it’s rational. TBH it’s like she’s asking if she has feelings for someone. :v My guess is Kaito, lol.

That bonus I got with Himiko and Gonta training was fun. Seeing Himiko try to live her best life possible and move forward is pretty cool... even if she’s trying too hard sometimes, lol.

Okay this Monotaro and Monophanie subplot is REALLY weird. Monotaro malfunctioning is one thing... but the weird incest thing too? And domestic violence? What even is this? And there’s an ending??? Wow.

So we get Maki’s tragic backstory with training... ouch. So the Ultimate Child Caregiver cover has some truth to it, being something that happened at her orphanage. But then she was forced to be an assassin so she could get the money to keep the orphanage running. It sounds like that life really took a toll on her, huh. Amazing how she went from the most invisible character to TBH one of my faves. I like this main trio we currently have, as said.

Also got another bonus event with Shuichi bringing a practice katana to train with Kaito and Maki during the day... but unfortunately it makes Maki remember her failed mission. Turns out she failed the assassination because they thought she was cosplaying as a character and everyone loved it... and the attention meant she was almost discovered and couldn’t do her job. It’s kinda cute, but Maki is pretty upset by it because of the aforementioned backstory. I have to admit even if it’s a bit cliche with her kind of character, seeing Maki warm up to the others like this is nice.

Okay so free times... I finished Tsumugi’s since she’s now un-cancelled, and it actually got really sweet in the last one where it turned out Shuichi really liked a show she not only adored, but also inspired her to cosplay. Also wow, they get a bit awkward at the end, in a bit of a romantic tension kind of way. First character I completed too.

Also did some more Kaito free times. He’s really talking himself up, huh? I don’t even know if I believe these stories about having a pirate rival out at sea and running into an anaconda that guarded some ancient empire? IDK what to make of it, but it seems like he really has a taste for adventure and that’s why he wants to explore the Universe (gosh I hope he’s not blackened and that’s his Monokuma execution). Best part though was when Shuichi was really fondly of Kaito but then was like “WAIT I SHOULDN’T BE THINKING ABOUT A GUY LIKE THIS!” Shuichi Saihara is not straight confirmed, honestly this makes me ship him and Kaito even more.

Speaking of Kaito, he seems pretty unwell. It’s interesting that even though he’s trying to push and inspire Shuichi and Maki, he’s afraid to admit his own weakness (even as he encourages the others to talk about what’s bothering them). That end of chapter 3 thing implied he was dying, but from what?

Kokichi, what are you up to? I don’t trust you. It’s implied he’s somehow using the card for the second Neo World Miu was working on, but IDK how that works, especially if it’s the library card. Unless there’s something IN there he’s using, or the card is something else completely (like it has code or something)? And again, I feel like he might know something the others don’t. Also wow, his sprites get progressively creepier.

I guess Chapter 4 is the “callback to last game’s setting” chapter now, lol.

They do make a good point about wondering why Gonta feels such a need to be useful and protective to everyone.

So it also becomes apparent that even though Miu was working on the Neo World, she’s up to something with Kokichi. Miu decided she wanted to use it so they can all escape, but it seems like Kokichi has conspired something with her, or at the very least is manipulating her into doing things that he’d want. Is there really a secret in the Neo World, or is that all just an assumption that Kokichi wanted the others to make?

Miu, with vegetable and the R word, enough with the fucking ableist slurs.

Wow, so this Neo World has them all looking like weird funko pop things. Miu is as crass as ever (and there’s some odd exchanges about Tsumugi being sensitive on her neck and Kaito being a perv WTF), but also using her authority as the one who developed this version of the Neo World to steer things in her (or Kokichi’s?) direction.

Wow, Kaito is pretty excited about snow, lol. Maki says he’s acting like a puppy. Also when they split into groups to search Maki sounds disappointed she wasn’t with Shuichi and/or Kaito, and later comments that Shuichi really is cold for not checking the roof of the mansion to see if Kaito was there when he goes missing.

Miu gets rid of the bridge for the mansion group, which is pretty suspect even as she (really badly) pretends it’s an accident.

So they hear the chapel side even though it’s far away from them... is there some circular aspect to the loading of the world? Like you can travel between the supposed ends to reach the other world and not just the middle loading point?

Keebo makes a peculiar comment wondering if the world’s borders here with nothing beyond them reflects the academy they’re in right now. Huh.

Alright Kokichi, just spill the beans already. You asking Shuichi to basically join you is pretty suspicious. I have no idea what you’re planning, but it’s clearly not good.

So they exit the Neo World and... Miu’s dead. This is intriguing, since it seemed like she was planning something (or Kokichi was and using her). Kaito being missing makes him an obvious suspect, but even if it is obvious, I do think they’re setting something up with him dying and all that. Maybe he discovered the plan and at the last minute killed her to stop it, whatever it may be (I mean, chapter 4 IS the “super tragic sacrifice” chapter... gosh Maki if you have any feelings for Kaito say them before it’s too late)? Kokichi is also suspicious of course for seemingly orchestrating everything, but I feel like he’s too smart to be the killer directly right now.

#danganronpa V3

[real-fakedoors]

under leaves so green - CHPT 15 - Miraculous Ladybug

After the Dupain-Cheng family purchases a flower shop around the block from the Agreste mansion, Chat Noir frequents the spot in search of company from the manager-but-not-really Marinette. Beneath the mask, Adrien starts to struggle with how cute she looks in that green apron. (AKA: the not-really flower shop AU where basically everything is the same, but Marinette is extra stressed by her job and Adrien tries to be supportive)

Cross-posted on AO3 and FF.net

Chapter 15: White Magnolias (Part 1)

In which, Marinette has some father-daughter time, basically everyone sneaks up on Adrien, and the most obvious person swears, twice. Additionally, we see Plagg and Tikki tempt fate, and Gabriel keep a secret.

With rays of light beaming across her forehead, Marinette groaned. Night was over, and the morning sky alone was cheerier than anything had right to be that early; she hadn’t even gotten out of bed, and yet Marinette was sure she was already beginning to wilt unders it sunny weight.

In an effort to force herself into better spirits, she knelt and opened the hatch on her window, and with it came a swift change of pressure. The room immediately felt ten-times lighter, no longer aching for rest, but opened to bird calls and idle cars - to Paris beyond.

Crawling through to the balcony, Marinette stretched and rubbed the corner of her eyes, wanting to take this time to appreciate the day. It was lovely enough to admire, and she found herself missing sleep less as Paris woke alongside her, pacing itself quietly against the morning dew that gathered on windshields and in parks.

“Good morning, Marinette,” Tikki greeted with a small yawn, stretching her arms and flying up to the balcony with her. “How did you sleep?”

Humming momentarily, Marinette gave her kwami an uneven smile. “Well enough.”

As it happened, Marinette slept very well... and somehow, not well at all. She blacked out for nearly six hours, and started up her day again without a wink of real rest. Dreamless, heavy, chronically empty sleep was all she had to tide her over, and the day was coming fast through the Eastern sky.

At a certain level of exhaustion, sleep wasn’t even refreshing; in some ways, it was almost just as tiresome as staying awake. To cease, knowing she had a large agenda with not enough to show for it, Marinette felt her very human needs to pace herself buckle under her will to keep going, to answer the call of responsibility wherever it bid her.

A bit cross over it, Marinette had promised Tikki, (and Adrien, and Alya, and her parents, for that matter,) that she’d take better care of herself. It was strange to focus inward rather than outward, but it was a habit she’d have to start practicing.

As if to prove her point, when Marinette raised a hand to shield the sun from her eyes, she winced. Her fingers tensed, pain licking her skin, radiating through the slice through her palm. It was a sharp, uncomfortable reminder of what could happen if she didn’t act more carefully.

Friday had passed in much the same fashion as Thursday. A memory now, the day had been a blur of movement, aching muscles, and copious sweating. Her friends arrived midday and they followed much of the same routine as the previous day - Marinette giving whoever was available a single task, with Max or Alya acting as coordinator depending on who was around. Though their progress began slowly, by the end of the day Friday, each person had established a rhythm; Juleka mastered her shears, Kim could set flowers with the same precision he had while swimming, and Max had established a even more organized system than she had before.

As an added bonus, Nino showed up for several hours, and it turned out that he was the prodigal son when it came to flower arrangements, his work just an extra boost of efficiency within an already well-oiled machine.

With her friends diligently working and keeping their voices to low murmurs, Marinette managed to keep the front of the store open without interruption, and she was able to oversee the demands of the day-to-day work without falling behind - tending to customers, watering her plants, adding fertilizer to her larger planters, sweeping the floors and wiping the windows… They were mundane tasks, all of the things she would do normally, but it was surprisingly restorative to just do simple, familiar work. No difficult brides, no overbearing coordinators, no funerals, no weddings. For one whole day, it was almost like tending to her own little garden, indulging in the best parts of work without shouldering so much responsibility.

Now, it was Saturday morning. The day of the party, and with it came a whole host of issues.

Tikki interrupted the thoughtful silence after several minutes, giggling at a pair of pooches on the ground growling at each other. “So, aren’t you excited, Marinette? It’s Saturday!”

Marinette repeated the word patiently. “Saturday… hmm, yes, I am excited. Mostly just to be done with this stupid order for Chloe, though.”

“Oh, right,” her kwami’s antenna drooped, voice turned to a sympathetic tone. “I am sorry we never got to go to the fabric store, and about the dress and the party… You’re a strong person, Marinette, and it shows in your work as Ladybug and in your job. You’ve given up so much to make others happy, and I’m really proud of you.”

The girl ducked her head, touched by her kwami’s sincerity. “Thanks, Tikki. I know that, but it is nice to hear it sometimes.”

Marinette released a contented sigh, and her arms fell from their comfortable spot on the balustrade. Tikki kept pace with her charge as she spun around, marching down the hatch to her bedroom as she began her day properly.

Collecting her wrinkled work clothes (as they had been tossed aside in the early hours of the morning without much care), Marinette paused in front of her full-length mirror. She approached it slowly, touching her cheekbones and brushing some hair from her eyes. The papery quality of her skin and the bags beneath her eyes seemed... less noticeable… Maybe? Maybe she was just getting used to them.

Marinette shook her head, not needing more distractions right now, and set herself to task of starting her morning routine. Though it was the weekend proper, she had to keep her focus on work; she dressed, ate and prepared herself quickly.

Just before heading downstairs, she checked her phone for the time, 7:54 AM, and discovered three new text messages.

[phone] (5:50 AM):

Hey - knock knock! Guess who? It’s *not* your phone - that would make me a phone-y.

Marinette scrunched up her nose, knowing that horrible humor anywhere. Before even reading the next two messages, she immediately added his new number to his existing contact in her phone.

Adrien “Anything” Agreste (5:52 AM):

So you’re probably asleep - which is good, if you’re reading this before 7 AM go back to bed right this instant!

Adrien “Anything” Agreste (5:53 AM):

And now that you’re properly awake after 7 AM, first of all - good morning! Second, I’m sorry I won’t be able to come by in the morning to help you finish the orders - I think R&J, M&I and Max & Kim will still be coming. But I’ll have my phone all day, so if you need me… dont hesitate to text or call :)

“Well, what did he say?” Tikki poked Marinette’s cheek when she mouthed the words of his last message.

“...Hmm? Oh,” Marinette blinked. “Just, he got a new phone. He can’t come to the store today.”

Her kwami appeared visibly saddened by that news, her antenna falling by degrees.

“Hey, it’s okay.” The girl offered her red companion her open palms, putting on a sympathetic smile. “We might get to see him in the afternoon when we drop off the flowers. I’m not that bummed about it.”

Her kwami made a face momentarily, but eventually returned her charge’s smile. “Right… right, that’s true.”

Quickly thereafter, Marinette descended to the bakery with Tikki in her bag, and she was surprised to find her parents out of their usual Saturday morning routine. Typically, Papa was the one deep in dough and smeared with frosting, but he was wearing just a t-shirt and a regular pair of slacks, like he might when they went out for dinner. Her mother was the one working at the prep station, smiling wide as her daughter appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

“Good morning, Maman, Papa.” Marinette went with greedy fingers to her travel mug, thanking her parents for helping her prepare.

She gestured to her father’s attire. “What’s this? Did you need to pick something up before the morning rush?”

The man laughed with enthusiasm before planting a kiss on the top of his daughter’s head. “Don’t be silly! I’m going to the shop with you today.”

Marinette scratched her chin, unphased. Surely, she must have misheard him. “Come again?”

Nodding, her father flattened out his mustache. “I will be working the flower shop with you, and I will come with you to help get things ready for the reception. Are you ready to go?”

Appearing more a fish than a ladybug, Marinette looked between her parents, opening and closing her mouth a few times. Her processing power dropped to zero, just fully blank as her brain did a factory reset. It took almost thirty seconds for her to realize they were waiting for her to say something.

“Wait - what? Why? How?” Marinette blurted, shaking her head. “Saturday’s are your busiest days! I can handle the store myself, Papa. You really don’t need to worry yourself...”

The room, stifling from the heat of the oven, grew even more uncomfortable as her voice trailed off, her hands shaking with self-prescribed guilt.

“Of course you can handle the store, sweetheart,” her mother offered, keeping her focus on the piping bags she was currently filling. “But we’re also not just going to ask you to give up your plans with your friends for business’ sake. You’re our daughter first, not an employee. The last thing we want is this job making you miserable.”

“I’m not miserable!” Marinette protested immediately, head shooting up. “I love the shop - I love my job! There’s no way you could have accounted for Chloe.” She made no attempt to stop her lip from curling with distaste.

With a collecting sigh, Marinette tagged on, “It’s just... time. There’s never enough of it, but you guys shouldn’t make that your problem.”

Her parents were quiet for a moment, and eventually her father placed a tender hand atop her head, touseling her ebony hair. “I wouldn’t have let you agree to this order if I didn’t think you could do it, Marinette, but that doesn’t mean you have to work through it alone. Let ol’ Dad here show you a thing or two about crunch time.”

Marinette bit her lip, trying to force back her smile. Her Papa was sometimes just too much.

“Are you… are you really sure? Don’t do this for the sake of me going to that dumb party - I can’t go either way. Adrien and Alya and Nino all already know.” Marinette glanced between her mother and father with overcast eyes.

Wearing tempered looks of sympathy, they both nodded.

Her father gave her an encouraging smile. “That’s not the important part, dear. You can go if you want, or you can stay home - but you’ve been working so hard, and we’re so proud of you, the least we can do is try to offer you a bit of a break. If you don’t go out to the… uh, museum hopping, was it?”

The man paused and shared a glance with his wife. “Even if it’s not that, you still deserve to have some time to rest. So no arguing!”

Marinette frowned momentarily, feeling a pang in her heart of guilt, but her father’s big, silly grin and reassuring presence was infectious. With a firm hug, she squeezed his midsection as far as her arms could reach, and the man laughed.

“Now, let’s go. Have a good day, dear,” he stepped around the counter and gave his wife a quick kiss, and she waved them off through the front door.

By the time the pair started on their way to the flower shop, Marinette realized it would be her first time working alone there with her father (well, they were only “alone” if she wasn’t counting Tikki).

“Hey, Papa?” Marinette peered up at him when they paused at a crosswalk. He hummed, indicating his acknowledgment.

“Why did you decide to come today? I mean - beside wanting to help me and being proud of me, and blah blah blah.” She waved a hand around nonchalantly, and they both giggled. “I meant, why you? Usually Maman comes to the store. You know, she’s got uh… smaller fingers.”

As if to demonstrate her point, Marinette’s father lifted up one of his massive paws and held it up against her dainty, thin hand. He chuckled and scratched his chin.

“I thought it was obvious, sweetie. There’ll be a lot of hauling with all these big planters - roses, mostly, right?” He glanced at her side-long, and Marinette nodded. “While your mother is a better baker, florist, organizer and overall better person than I am, I’ve got the guns in the family!”

In the middle of the sidewalk, he struck a pose that demonstrated just that, attempting to force his muscles to pop or his stomach to look less… flabby.

Marinette peeled with laughter, though her father took it in stride. “It’s true! That’s how you’ve gotten those biceps there, my girl,” he squeezed her upper arm, and she drew it back with a little giggle. “It’s a Dupain family heirloom - you’re welcome!”

Snorting, she waved him off. They were almost at the store now, so Marinette recovered her keys and began to thumb through them for the right match.

“Well, thank you so much for the gift, Papa. Unfortunately, today, I’ll have to be repaying you in hard labor.”

“Oh sweetheart,” he boomed with laughter, holding open the door for her. “Don’t tell me about manual labor. I’ve been doing this since before you were born.”

Marinette watched her father step into the shop with a small smile.

“Wow, sweetie, the place looks great. You’re doing such a good job,” her father remarked, and she smiled proudly. The happiness within the airy greenhouse permeated the fresh waves of morning blooms, and Marinette quickly followed after him.

Parisians of every age, every walk of life, every temperament seemed to pour into the greenhouse that day, and Marinette had to turn back to the office more than a handful of times just to let out a few exhausted sighs before returning to her task. Each time, her father offered wistful smiles and some words of encouragement, but she made sure not to linger. There were only six arrangements left, but he wasn’t particularly skilled in this capacity, so she wanted to give him as much time as possible.

It would have been a beautiful day to see one of her regulars, to lighten the stone in her stomach by keeping after Bitty or debating the right color combination with Brielle, but the ebb and flow of work was mostly driven by random sales - bouquets and potted plants, for the most part. A few crowns, maybe three bags of mulch - all regular, domestic purchases. They weren’t the most interesting aspects of the flora spectrum, but still important cornerstones to the integrity of the business.

The hours passed too quickly, and before Marinette could do much but blink, it was noon, and she switched to commander-in-chief of the flower brigade. Her classmates arrived in pairs, and Max helped her to establish an assembly line of last minute touches, packing and loading the delivery van.

With the midday sun high above, Marinette glanced at her phone once she set down the final arrangement in the back of a very-packed but very-well-organized van.

“Thank you guys again, so, so much, for everything.” She wiped her brow of a fresh layer of sweat and wrestled with the apron round her neck as she turned to Alix, Kim, Rose, Juleka and Max. “I’ll have just enough time to get these to the hotel before the party begins.” She punctuated her sentence by slamming the back door of the van with decisive force.

Usually, Marinette coordinated deliveries, and sometimes tagged along to help with unloading and set-up, but this time the responsibility fell entirely to her. Their usual delivery service didn’t have any drivers available for the off-cycle time on a Saturday with such short notice, so she and her father rented one of their vans and planned on driving it themselves.

Her father appeared from the cabin of the truck, releasing a low chuckle. “Labor of love, my dear.” Tapping twice against the industrial-grade steel exterior of the van, the man appraised each one of her friends.

“Thank you kids, again, for everything. Marinette’s mother and I appreciate it, and we’re so lucky Marinette has so many people in her corner.”

He paused beside his daughter, placing a large but gentle hand on her shoulder. Marinette smiled up at him.

“No prob, Monsieur Dupain!” Kim shot him a finger gun, which her father promptly returned.

Max fixed his glasses, adding, “It wasn’t so bad as a team, we were able to divide the more taxing issues and it made for a simple and effective streamline process. I’m just glad we finished in time.”

“Always got my girl’s back,” Alix said with a simple shrug, half-way through putting her skates back on.

Juleka bowed her head slightly. “We know Marinette would do the same for us.”

“And it’s the least we could do for all she does for our class!” Rose finished for them, leaning against her girlfriend’s side with a tired-but-accomplished grin.

Collectively, the group all waved to the father-daughter duo, giving plentiful reassurances and wishes of good luck as Marinette buckled her seatbelt, thanking them out the window repeatedly as the van pulled away.

She swiped a quick hand across her lashes, feeling a bit emotional.

“You’ve really got some great friends, sweetheart,” her father said as they came up to Courtier St., glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Marinette sighed happily. “Yes. I really do.”

The drive to the hotel was not a long one in terms of distance, but it was painfully slow. Twice, Marinette could have sworn pedestrians were walking faster than the van’s crawl, but she didn’t blame her father for being cautious. Nothing would be worse than getting in an accident or hitting a bump too hard with seventy orders of flowers, sitting just so in the back. Even imagining it sprouted anxious roots in her belly, so Marinette sought any source of distraction.

“Papa,” she kept her eyes forward when they came to a stop at a light. “I know you and Maman always… like to tease and joke about, um, Adrien. But what do you… you know, really think about him?”

The man turned thoughtful for a moment, humming a tune before he responded.

“Your mother only teases you so much because that’s what her parents did about me,” the man adjusted his weight. “That means she approves.”

“I didn’t ask what Maman thought,” Marinette replied with a small laugh. “I asked what you thought.”

Her father’s expression softened, though he was gripping the steering wheel with the same tensed fingers he would when delivering a wedding cake.

“That’s a hard thing for me to answer... you’re my little girl, Marinette. No one will ever be good enough, but…” Papa smiled her way, and Marinette was surprised to see some moisture well at the corners of his eyes. “It also doesn’t exactly matter what I think. The important thing is he’s kind to you, and treats you with respect. Does he do those things?”

The question was unexpected, but Marinette did not stutter. “Of course! Adrien’s… he’s always been respectful, of me and everyone he meets. I mean, it’s weird, he’s famous and rich, but you would never know it just by talking to him. Heck, he even treats Chloe with respect… that I don’t think she deserves…” her voice darkened as she tagged on the last part, but the pair met eyes with a little laugh. “But yes. Definitely.”

“Then that’s your answer,” her father said, grinning broadly as they turned into the loading dock of the hotel. “Your approval means far more than mine ever would.”

Marinette tried to think of something to say, taken aback by how sincere and sweet an interaction she just had with her father, but the man was already out the door gesturing to some staff members. Instead, she just looked after him, her heart feeling especially full.

“It sounds like your Dad really values your opinion,” Tikki chirped suddenly, causing Marinette to flinch. She had poked her head out of Marinette’s purse momentarily, blue eyes wide.

“I guess it does sound like that, doesn’t it?” The girl wore an easy smile, watching him laugh at some unheard joke between the men at the gates.

After a few minutes, her father returned and pulled the car into a sort of huge garage around the back of the building, opening to freight elevators and all sorts of high-rise palettes that must provide services to the hotel. Marinette recalled this place as the entrance Planificateur had taken her and Madam Cesaire through a few days earlier, and the memory brought a frown to her lips.

To herself, she whispered a vow. “I won’t let you down, Madam Pomeroy.”

As the promise wore with time, Marinette grew increasingly nervous that she wasn’t going to manage to keep it.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes much too quickly turned to hours. The place was a bustle of activity, men and women moving around while doing their best not to get in each other’s ways, dozens of vans and trucks parked around for other providers who were servicing the event.

She, her father, and a few spare hands around the loading dock took to unpacking the van and loading each arrangement onto a sort of wheelbarrow-meets-dolly apparatus. It was flat-bottomed and long, almost like a child’s red wagon, with a handle and edge to tip-up uneven parts of the floor. The hotel only had one of these contraptions to spare, as many other crews and teams of people had claimed others for their own needs.

Marinette took responsibility for the dolly, which turned out to be the least labor-intensive rol, though her motivation had nothing to do with fatigue. Rather, the dolly could only carry perhaps four or five of her arrangements at a time, and Marinette made it her primary focus to roll each set up to the lobby and make sure they were set-up properly; this was the key to Madam Pomeroy’s position’s security. Chloe, Marinette knew, couldn’t care less about time tables or proper bloom care - as long as they looked pretty, she should be fine.

Still, even with the reassurance of being the ‘hands-on’ figure at the event for placement and preparations, Marinette was still terribly worried. Murphy’s Law stuck to each wall, glaring at her from every corner, and her shoulders felt desperately tense as the day went on.

The first hour over, now three PM, and the truck was fully unloaded. Marinette had managed to dodge Chloe, catching only a glimpse or two of her in the lobby; Madam Pomeroy swiftly said hello, thanking Marinette until her breath was hoarse, and quickly sped off again.

The second hour passed, indicating four PM, and guests were beginning to arrive. Perhaps two-thirds of the order were stationed dutifully around the lobby. Marinette made a point to work from the entrance and then back towards the inner-sanctums of the hotel. That way, as the first wave of attendees arrived, they would not notice any decor out-of-place or missing as they entered the atrium. Thankfully, with the opening hour, the guests were mostly only press and nominal friends to the Bourgeois who hadn’t any reason to seek further than the very cusp of the hotel.

Three hours in, and Marinette was the very definition of haggard. She had soil smeared down one cheek - how it got there, she didn’t even know - and the cramps in her arms had cramps. Her back sore, shoulders tight, and thighs achy, she almost dropped the seventieth and final pot, a tall, almost statuesque curved piece filled with a tower of white magnolias. They rose like sentinels above the vase, alabaster and elegant against a wall at the top of the stairs.

Marinette sighed, panic settling in her stomach when she caught the vase at the last second, and carefully repositioned it. With the back of her arm, the girl swiped at some of the perspiration that kissed her brow.

Tikki’s head popped out of one of her apron pockets, and thankfully, no one was around.

“You’re finished! Great job, Marinette.”

“Thanks,” she whispered back with a smile, breathing a little heavily from hauling the vase up the stairs. “And we finished in time. Just in time.”

With a little giggle, her kwami nodded and disappeared back into the sanctuary of green fabric that, sometimes, felt more a noose than a bow around her collarbone.

Guests were beginning to arrive in earnest now, audacious gowns and modern suits, all tailored-to-perfection, making their entrances in bold colors, accompanied by sultry makeup and daring hairstyles.

Marinette allowed herself just one, one little human moment, to breathe, to enjoy the scene from above.

The sight was beautiful, filled by beautiful people, in a beautiful room. While the world they lived in was superficial, it was certainly vibrant. Truly, even for all the disdain Marinette held for Chloe, she couldn’t say the party wasn’t everything Alya and Adrien had made it out to be.

Le Grande Paris shimmered, from the polished marble floors to the twinkling golden lights above. Snappy jazz music, (a surprising choice in Marinette’s opinion,) created an oddly lively and comfortable atmosphere beneath it all, and there was no shortage of drink being distributed to each guest in lavish flutes, a bubbling microcosm to pair alongside the strange reality at the bottom of the staircase.

Marinette released a low chuckle of sympathy when the smooth cornet solo was interrupted by Chloe, demanding something shrill (and probably unreasonable) to Jean. Some guests attention was drawn in the direction of her classmate’s screeching, and Marinette decided her singular moment had ended as appropriately as possible - ruined by Chloe. She slipped down the stairs quickly and made for the exit.

She didn’t make it very far.

“Mari - Marinette, wait!”

The pocket that held Tikki bristled slightly, almost excited. Marinette, on the other hand, sported a frown - she knew that voice anywhere, but for once, she wasn’t terribly excited to hear it.

Adrien must have seen her in the crowd.

Marinette groaned, knowing she looked (and, physically, felt) like hell. There were more than a few well-dressed, well-groomed individuals eyeing her appearance with curled lips and angry brows; she clearly didn’t belong here, and especially not looking like this.

It was probably silly, she reckoned, but Marinette decidedly bolted and made a beeline towards the stairs, pretending not to have heard him. She decided to forgo the elevator at risk of being slowed down.

“Marinette! What are you doing?” Tikki whisper-shouted up at her, clearly unhappy to be jostled around violently in the girl’s apron. “Adrien was trying to talk to you!”

“I know that,” she snapped back in anguish. “And I look like a fallen souffle, so no thank you, not today!”

Leaping through the doorway to the basement level, Marinette felt an uncomfortable twinge of familiarity here once again. She’d been brought here under the guise of being a mindless working zombie a few days ago, forced to do a job she didn’t want, all because Chloe still hasn’t learned to be nicer to people even after all these years.

The irony was definitely not lost to her.

“Aha!” Adrien appeared behind her much faster than she would have expected, and Marinette almost shrieked when he grabbed her wrist. “Mari, I’m so glad I caught up with you!”

“A-ah! A-A-Adrien, I’m s-sorry. I j-just…” The girl’s mouth ran dry, and she fumbled with her words. It was like going back to square one, her mind turned blank, like accepting an umbrella from him with shaking hands in a rainstorm.

Sure enough, when she turned around, the world’s most angelic smile greeted her in spite of his slightly labored breathing. Any attempt to form coherent words died in her throat, and her eyes went wide as he stood a few inches away.

Just as handsome as ever, the boy’s golden hair was brushed to the side and his complexion a gentle rush of cream with an echo of warmth against his cheeks. His smile was maddening and adorable, just-the-right amount of lopsided without seeming malicious. Clearly decked out in Gabrielproduct, Adrien’s suit was dark and form-fitting, showing off his slim figure a little too well, if Marinette’s lingering eyes had anything to say about it. Beneath the ebony suit, he wore a simple dark gray button-up - not unlike the one he wore for their dinner with his father, though they were matched this time with a perfect pair of slacks and shoes that shined.

“W-wow,” Marinette breathed, barely audible. Her face felt incredibly warm. “You look… you look great.”

Adrien smiled and held the front of his jacket. “You think so? I’m just sorry I’m not wearing my favorite accessory.” His voice turned playful, and he leaned a little closer. “My pretty girlfriend, on my arm.”

Marinette snorted. “You’re very sweet, and very silly. You really shouldn’t be -- ”

She was interrupted when a staffer, presumably some sort of waiter, brushed past them to use the staircase. Biting her lip, Marinette looked down the hallway marked Loading Zone, and then back at his heartbreakingly beautiful smile.

“P-Papa is waiting for me, so... I should probably go,” Marinette managed, swiftly kissing his cheek and taking a step back. “Have fun at the party.”

She watched his lips thin and brow come together slightly; even while scowling, he still looked frustratingly gorgeous.

“If you’re sure you won’t join me...” Adrien’s voice was low, almost hypnotic and he stepped after her.

With his cologne in her lungs and his face only a few inches away, Marinette’s head felt heavy and her heart fluttery. Her lips parted slightly, greedily wanting to drink him in through all five senses, though she was sure she probably looked foolish with her mouth hanging open. She was practically gaping at him, a plea tumbling from her mouth as an exhale of air, of unformed words - please, kiss me.

If Adrien thought she looked dumb, he didn’t comment. In fact, neither of them said a word for several seconds, and he decided to unravel the peace by answering her request, carefully pressing his lips against hers.

Sweet like creme and supple as water, Marinette forgot about the party, and her Dad waiting outside, and the fact that she probably smelled like sweat, and about Chloe, museums, Paris and even her own name. For a few moments, she yielded everything she had, everything she was, to the dreamy kiss. It was softer than previous kisses, like she could have sworn her flowers had imbued him with that same silky quality that defined her most gentle petals. Too easy to bruise, but too delicious to resist, Marinette just held his face with her loam-stained hands and breathed out an offer of security, a quiet sort of fortitude; in that moment, she was an amaryllis stake, and he delicate green veins that she would never, ever disappoint.

As they leaned apart, Adrien sighed. It was the sound of utter contentment, and he placed a hand over his heart - the action nearly broke Marinette in the most beautiful sort of way.

“You take care, and I’ll see you soon,” he said, meeting her gaze. Marinette felt her eyes widen as she tried desperately the curves of his face, the pale pink of his lips, the focus of his stare.

“I’ll see you soon,” she repeated, eventually ducking her head. The moment was almost too intense, and she was suddenly feeling very short of breath.

By the time she stumbled back to the delivery van, Marinette had only recovered some small amount of feeling in her legs.

“There you are! Everything settled upstairs?” Her father greeted her with his usual booming gusto. Apparently, he had made fast friends with the staff. A group of men and women had gathered and were laughing over water bottles in the shade of the garage.

Marinette nodded slowly, finding her words with some difficulty. “Umm… yes. We should be good to go back to the shop. I couldn’t find Madam Pomeroy after the party began, so I’ll call her tomorrow or Monday about payment.”

Wearing a smile so huge it bristled his mustache, her father clapped his hands together. “Well! That’s all I needed to hear. Let’s head back.”

A small round of “aww’s” and “c’mon, stay awhile’s!” came from the servicemembers around them, and Marinette giggled at her father’s popularity.

He waved them off. “Sorry folks, duty calls. My girl here has worked herself to the bone this week, so we better head out.”

“Fair enough, fair enough,” said a young man with a dark ponytail, beaming. “But we’re going to hold you to that promise on the croissants, though! Mark my word!” Everyone else roared with laughter at some joke Marinette must have missed earlier.

They climbed into the cabin, and once the truck was moving, Marinette finally let herself relax.

“We did it, didn’t we?”

She had to say it outloud, hardly able to believe it herself. “Seventy orders in three days. We did it.”

“You did it,” her father said pointedly as they pulled onto the main drag. “You’re a natural planner, Marinette. I’m so proud of you.”

The color of fresh Spring blooms spread across her cheeks, and Marinette smiled at her lap.

“W-well, I had plenty of help. Alya, Adrien, you, everyone from school… I’m just amazed it all worked out. Just, like, wow. I feel a hundred times lighter!” She laughed, and it sounded a little bit like a maddened cackle, but it was the really just the melody of sweet relief. Tension melting away, replaced by bubbly euphoria, the sudden sense of freedom was almost as thrilling as swinging across the Parisian skyline or racing down the Seine with her yo-yo in hand.

“Me too,” her father said with a warm smile. “Actually, speaking of which, I’m pretty hungry after all that work. Why don’t you run into the bakery and grab us a few things to eat before we head back?”

“Yeah?” Marinette brightened, surprised and excited by the suggestion. Today was such a strange day, and the idea of going back to the store with her father for the remainder of the day, instead of being alone, lifted a huge weight from her already lightened shoulders.

“Sure! We’re about to pass it anyways.”

Marinette’s father pulled up to the curb and unlocked the door.

“What do you want?” She asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.

His blue eyes, much like her own, danced as he mulled it over. “Hmm… Surprise me!”

Nodding, she leapt from the van and headed towards the store - thankfully, it was empty of customers at the moment.

“Maman! It’s me!” Marinette called over the bell, and she heard a pleasant sound of surprise.

“Oh! Honey, come here.”

Marinette did as the woman bid, loosening her apron as she stepped through to the back of the bakery. Her mother was smiling and giggling to herself, which struck Marinette as odd.

“What’s going on? Papa and I just stopped to pick up lunch.”

The woman raised a brow. “Oh, did you?”

Her tone was unmistakable - Maman was up to something.

“Just tell me what you’re planning, please,” Marinette whined, hunching over to demonstrate exactly how done she was with today.

“Nothing’s going on. I just had a feeling you’d stop for lunch, so I made you some sandwiches. They’re upstairs.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes distrustfully. “Is that so?”

Her only answer came in the way of a clicking tongue, dismissing her as the woman turned to pull out some cookies from the oven.

Marching up the stairs, Marinette grumbled a bit to herself about annoying parents and persistent boys, opening the door that led into the actual domestic part of their building. She stepped through the kitchen and walked towards the fridge.

As she expected, she found a conspicuous sticky note on the door handle, but she didn’t recognize the script.

“Look upstairs…?” She mumbled out loud, feeling Tikki free herself of her pocket as she read the note.

Marinette rolled her eyes and climbed the stairs to her bedroom, musing to herself if her mother’s little game would be worth the ticket Papa would get for parking illegally for so long.

Poking her head through the ceiling, Marinette gazed around her room suspiciously.

Her hands flew to her lips, subduing a stunned gasp. Tikki watched her charge with a huge, knowing smile on her face.

Suspended on a hanger against the edge of her loft bed was the most lovely gown Marinette had ever seen. At first glance, it looked almost just like the purple dress she had been working on in her sketchbook, but upon closer examination there were a number of differences that only amplified the almost nymphic quality of the delicate fabric, soft beneath the muted light of her bedroom. A wreath of midnight, hydrangeas were sown into the off-the-shoulder bodice, dipping carefully to maintain a sweetheart neckline. All along the corset, more of the same textured, handcrafted petals swirled in the colors of the night sky, paling by degrees as the tulle skirt fell away from the hips, tumbling to the floor in gradient shades of an amaranthine dream. Along the top, two thin sleeves - almost reminiscent of garters - hung from the edge of the gown, extending out into a sheer organza, delicate and tapering to about halfway the length of one’s arm. At both ends, the hemming was disguised by more intricate hydrangea blossoms that were sweet and simple, much like the gossamer sleeves she had imagined as accents to the other dress in her sketchbook, dyed the same tones of indigo and fading to lavender with each stitch.

As if it would help, Marinette balled her hands into fists and rubbed her eyes, trying to dispel the workings of her imagination.

“Oh no,” she whispered when she reopened her eyes. “I guess this is it.”

A few inches away, her kwami seemed concerned. “What do you mean?”

Vision out of focus, Marinette looked vaguely towards her red companion. “I finally snapped. That’s what this is. I’m probably in the madhouse, right now. They probably took my miraculous away, and Adrien’s getting married to Chloe, and I’m totally making all of this up. Some sort of psychological break-down. At least my room’s the same in my fugue state...”

“Marinette!” Tikki chirped in alarm. “Don’t say that! This is real - really real! Look, there’s a note on the chaise!”

The words were slow to sink, an anchor too buoyant to be believed. Still, Marinette figured she had nothing else to lose now that she’s officially become unhinged, so she stumbled across her bedroom and grabbed the note.

It sat on top of her sketchbook.

Marinette,

I know you’ve said you’re not going to the party. That’s okay - seriously. That’s 100% absolutely okay. But, I didn’t want you not to go just because you didn’t have a dress to wear - if you want to stay home because you’re tired, or not interested, or for any other reason, that’s what you should do. The dress is yours either way, and if you don’t wear it tonight, then I’ll just be excited for the next opportunity to see you in it.

I’ll be at the hotel - hopefully I can get there early enough to catch you before you leave after you deliver the flowers… Just seeing you once before the night is over would be enough for me.

Love,

Adrien

Adrien scrunched his nose up when one of Chloe’s father’s colleagues struck up a conversation with him.

For one, he really didn’t care for politics as a topical issue for discussion, especially in the polite passing conversations that were expected of him at these sort of social functions. Sure, Adrien was almost of French voting age, and living a double life as an icon of the city - if not the country - it would be almost impossible for him not to have his opinions. But with his father’s money and his own subsequent fame, Adrien’s found that his personal take on political affairs carried more weight than he was frankly prepared or interested to deal with.

More offensive than politics, though - the man’s breath was terrible. Just, awful. He reeked of tobacco and some sort of alcohol - perhaps vodka? Whatever it was, it was terribly strong and almost made Adrien nauseous.  And this was coming from someone who had a pungent-cheese-loving-roommate that also happened to imbue him with magical powers and occasionally enforced his rebellious behaviors.

Nodding along politely, Adrien sipped his water and used the opportunity to think about more interesting things. He had made eye contact with Alya at one point, but lost her in the crowds after he followed Marinette downstairs.

Speaking of which…

Anxious, Adrien quickly glanced at his phone, offering a hum to counteract his visible apathy towards the conversation - Marinette hadn’t sent him any text messages. Surely, she was home by now.

Was she going to come after all?

Maybe the dress didn’t fit? The designers did their best without being able to measure her.

Maybe having them combine the dresses was a bad idea, maybe she was mad about him taking her sketchbook?

It’s not like he could exactly explain his way out of that one.

“Oh, sorry Marinette! It was my kwami’s idea. He’s actually a hopeless romantic, deep down. Right, by the way I have a kwami, his name is Plagg, and together we’re Chat Noir!”

As a matter of fact, the two halves of Chat Noir had a small argument about it when they last left the shop, starting with when the black troublemaker instructed Adrien to turn back. He found Marinette’s sketchbook placed conspicuously around the corner of the store, laying on the ground, and his kwami laid out some larcentic instructions for him to follow thereafter.

Probably against his better judgement, Adrien complied and brought the designs to some people on his father’s detail. They seemed a tiny bit annoyed to have been given such a complicated request with only a few days notice and no model to measure, but the team didn’t give Adrien too much trouble - just, he would owe them one, when the time came.

To make Marinette happy, he would have gladly owed everyone in Paris.

“... And that’s when I told her, no, that’s not Emmanuel Macaroon, it’s Macron! Silly Americans.”

The man laughed heartily before sipping from his drink, and Adrien gave an uncomfortable chuckle while scanning the crowds.

The room was a champagne supernova, from the literal bubbly drinks to the aesthetic of the party. Overcome with light, every surface shimmered, and even the air seemed to refract unusual, unnatural levels of beauty. From every glimpse of a photography flash, to waiter’s serving platters, to the glare of reflective makeup on the faces of caustically beautiful women, even to his own shoes, the room was bright. Blindingly bright. Toobright.

With another fifteen minutes of inane discussion, Adrien had basically scoped out the entire lobby. He spotted Chloe, running between Jean and her other staffers, Alya and Nino, whispering intimately by the side windows, his father, speaking seriously to an artist Adrien vaguely recognized, Macie and some other of the usual Gabriel models sticking close to the cameras, and dozens more faceless aristocrats.

No navy hair, no purple gown.

“And with a watch like this? I couldn’t believe it -” the man brandished his wrist, shining a Rolex in Adrien’s face. “The nerve of some scummy…”

“Excuse me,” Adrien cleared his throat, stepping around his unsolicited conversational partner. “I think I see someone I’ve been supposed to meet…”

With a quick flash of his model-smile, the blond made his expression apologetic and quickly walked to the windows along the wall, near the cafe.

“Hey, man!” Nino greeted, glancing over his shoulder when Adrien released an irritable exhale. Upon his approach, the disgruntled teen noted Nino had a hand on Alya’s hip, and they both looked a little dreamy. Stupidly happy.

Jealousy thumped in his chest a tiny bit, but he swallowed hard on the instinct.

“Hey guys! Alya, you look great,” Adrien greeted with a smile, and he meant it. She wore a flattering dress in a shade of gold not unlike her eyes, and it sat snugly over her curves. Nino winked at Adrien, nodding vigorously.

“Thanks, blondie,” she rolled her eyes towards Nino’s not-at-all subtle agreement. “You clean up pretty nicely, too.”

Adrien shot Nino a finger-gun, who shot him right back. “And of course, Nino, you’re the most handsome belle of the ball.”

“I was going to say the same about you, dude,” he feigned bashfulness, resting a hand over his cheek.

Alya cut in with a loud cough.

“BRO-cough-MANCE.”

The three laughed openly for a moment, and Adrien felt ten-times better already after abandoning the foul smelling jerk, though he expected to get a bit of a verbal lashing from his father afterwards. Surely, his perceived “rudeness” in walking away would prompt some sort of unnecessary drama in the whispers of the crowds, but talking with his friends eased Marinette’s absence by a few degrees.

“Something on your mind, dude?” Nino questioned after a moment, looking at him from above his glasses.

Adrien fidgeted a bit, ultimately burying his hands in his pockets. He felt Plagg roll over in his jacket.

“Eh, just, wondering if Marinette is okay… I saw her for a second, when she was done with the deliveries. But she had to go. I’m sure she’s fine, though! Nothing to really get upset over, heh.”

Knowingly, Alya smirked. “It’s okay to be a little worried about her, she’s your girlfriend. If anyone would understand, don’t you think it’d be us?”

He looked up and met both their gazes, relieved to find they were both absent of judgement. Indeed, Nino was giving him an uncharacteristically serious nod, a sympathetic brow raised high along his forehead.

“We’re worried about her too, you know? Working so hard all the time - she showed me her hand when I was there yesterday.” Nino paused, shivering for effect. “Yikes.”

“Yeah, but,” Alya crossed her arms and released a slow sigh. “I know Mari like the back of my hand, and I’m telling you, she would feel way worse if we just mope for her sake. She told me she isn’t coming, and that was final, so let’s at least try to have a good time.”

Adrien pursed his lips, unable to disagree. Marinette always burdened herself with unnecessary guilt, and feeling bad about it wouldn’t help anyone. But still, the only topic he could find interesting tonight was the one person who wasn’t there.

“When do you guys wanna head to the museums?” Nino offered after a pause, glancing at his watch. “It’s like, almost 6:00 now, and there’s a few places I for-sure want to hit up. I heard there’s supposed to be an impromptu show outside the Louvre around 11, and that’s where most of the food is supposed to be.”

“I’m ready to go whenever,” his girlfriend responded. “Mom said she’s going to be working all night so not to stick around unless we wanted to. Maybe 6:30?”

“That seems a little early, doesn’t it?” The blond suggested, trying to keep the strain of hope from his tone.

Alya gave Adrien a hard stare, eventually dragging her eyes to her purse, recovering her phone.

“Actually… yes… maybe that is a little early. There are, uh, rumors Ladybug and Chat Noir might show up to the party… I’d like to stick around and see if they’re true. Gotta do it for the blog!”

Confused, Nino looked down at the brunette, then up again to Adrien. “You didn’t mention anything like that before?”

“Oh, my mistake. I forgot we agreed that I would tell you absolutely everything. Cause a girl can’t have any of her own business.” Alya countered, raising a brow.

Nino had enough sense to know when to drop it, so he held up two hands in defense and chuckled uncomfortably. “Uh… heh… right. You do you, babe. We can leave whenever.”

Wearing a smirk, the girl titled her head to one side. “‘Whenever’ sound good to you, blondie?”

“I…” he blinked slowly, a little confused. “Sure. I’m not on any schedule… for once.”

Clapping her hands together, Alya’s voice returned to normal. “Alright. Then, for now, why don’t --”

“Adrien.”

Shooting to ramrod straight posture, the so-named teen flinched. The icy inflection, punctual and exacting use of syllables… it was a voice Adrien would have recognized anywhere.

Turning swiftly, he plastered on his most convincing smile.

“Hello, father.”

Void of emotion, his father’s face was carved from stone. “A word, please.”

Ah, crap.

“Sure. I’ll be back, guys,” Adrien half-waved to the couple, and they gave him some apologetic and encouraging hand movements as he was led away.

The pair made their way through the crowd easily, his father’s intimidating aura all but bending the bodies away from them. A few young women very clearly tried to step in Adrien’s path at first, so he made a pointed effort to stare at the back of his father’s well-combed hair instead, staying close enough that no one could “fall” between them.

They came to a stop at the bottom of the stairwell, occupying the space beside the bannister and a huge, immaculate arrangement of roses in a porcelain planter, accented by sepia ribbons.

Automatically, Adrien smiled. This was one he worked on himself with Juleka, as he remembered a few of the roses’ peculiar blossoms, some tiny swirling galaxy of ruby stars, twisting inwards with a sort of shyness that he would never have been able to identify a few weeks ago.

“Marinette prepared these,” he commented off-handedly.

Both men looked down into the overflowing, lovingly crafted arrangement quietly for a moment.

His father cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, I noticed Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is not in attendance tonight.”

“No, she might not come. Probably not.” Adrien made a face. “I don’t know.”

“Well, then that is a shame. It would have been a good opportunity to put those rumors to bed after your impromptu breakfast. An irresponsible choice, to dine outside, you know.”

The teen grimaced and looked away, watching the crowds instead of meeting his father’s piercing stare. “Yeah, I imagined it was sort of… irresponsible. Sorry, father. Sometimes I just... lose my head around her.”

His father didn’t respond at first, but when he did, Adrien was surprised to hear him laugh.

“You’re just like your mother.”

Adrien nearly choked on a sip of water, and the man just shook his head.

“Neither of you could reel it in, even to keep up appearances. Hopeless romantics, the both of you.”

Thumping against his chest, Adrien coughed a few times and stared at his father like he had just confessed to him that he was Hawk Moth. In return, the fashion icon only wore a small smirk and a thoughtful gaze, joining his son in his study of the crowds.

“As it happens, I did not come over here to ask about Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s whereabouts, or to cause you an untimely choking death, son,” he paused, glancing sidelong at Adrien. The teen just gaped back. “I just finished speaking to one of the patrons for the Musée d’Orsay, and they mentioned their affinity for music; as it turns out, they know your piano tutor. An old friend.”

Adrien frowned thoughtfully. “Oh… that’s, um, nice?”

“That is not of consequence. Rather, I’d like for you to parlay with them for a little while; they’re a valued benefactress, and as it happens, a fan of the brand. Once I mentioned you were here, she requested to see you specifically.” His father’s tone did not leave it open to debate, and a no point had he phrased it like a request.

After Adrien did not respond for several seconds - he was still trying to appreciate his father’s anecdote about his mother - the man put a sturdy hand on his son’s shoulder and offered a thin smile. It was reminiscent of something like encouragement.

“I have every confidence in you, so no need to be nervous.”

“I… er, that’s…” The blond shook his head, trying to catch up. “No, it’s not nerves, exactly. I just wish I had… er, I was still trying to wait to see if Marinette was coming. You want me to go, like, right now?”

In lieu of an answer, Adrien gauged his father’s expression.

That’s a yes.

The teen scratched his cheek. “... Right, um, I can do that. Let me just take a second?” And he promptly downed the rest of his water, a little too cold and stinging as it chilled his throat.

His father nodded sternly and walked away, in the general direction of the piano. Probably to indicate where Adrien’s next move should be.

A slight nuzzle inside his front pocket garnered his attention, and Adrien held open the front of his jacket.

“Your dad is something else, isn’t he?” Plagg muttered, wearing a scowl.

Adrien licked his lips, and they already felt dry again.

“Yep,” he sighed, but tried for an exasperated smile. “But I’m sure it can’t be worse than that guy from earlier. I just… I’m not a huge fan of when my Dad does things like this. Did he even say the woman’s name?”

His kwami hummed for a moment (though it sounded suspiciously like a purr).

“Nope. You could always guess. I think the most popular names in France right now are Louise, and maybe Gabriel.” Plagg shrugged.

“You are almost impressively unhelpful, you know that, right?” Adrien remarked.

The black cat scoffed, but his tone was an octave or two lower than usual. “Geez, lighten up. You’re just upset because your little girlfriend isn’t here.”

There was a small edge to the kwami’s voice, and Adrien knew him well enough to know his tone. It was comforting to know that, in his own way, Plagg was actually attempting... sympathy.

“Maybe a little,” Adrien admitted. “But I’m sure I’m worrying over nothing. Let’s go find ourselves Loiuse-whats-her-name.”

“Don’t go falling in love with her,” Plagg tagged on.

Adrien rolled his eyes and stepped out of the slightly private corner he had occupied with his father, frowning in the direction of the grand piano. The very tips of his father’s pale hair could be made out above the crowds nearby.

Wracking his brain, the teen tried to recall some talking points that would make the next twenty minutes or so less painful. He’d gotten good at talking to strangers over the years, making pleasantries when necessary, but that didn’t mean he necessarily liked it.

Before passing through the last few meters of the crowd, Adrien swiftly checked his phone, hoping uselessly to see any sort of simple message.

On my way!

The dress was perfect. Thank you.

I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Nothing.

Adrien released a slow sigh and slipped the device back into his pocket, fixed his hair and readjusted his shoulders. Wearing a small smile, he stepped out of the tides of people into the small circle around the piano, eyes scanning for his father.

The man himself was easy enough to spot, but Adrien didn’t see any obvious “benefactress” waiting for him. A little inanely, he hoped that maybe it was an elaborate surprise and Marinette would be there, perched in pretty hues of purple, but there wasn’t anyone in particular - man or woman - looking back to meet his gaze.

“Well, well well. I thought that was you.”

Adrien winced, surprised to hear a wheezy voice sidle up beside him. It took him a moment of blinking and stepping away, fully appraising the woman, to realize who it was.

And his heart swelled happily in recognition.

“Madam Kleinstein!” Adrien exclaimed, loud enough that a few people looked. “I -- you? I had no idea!”

Chuckling, the woman winked up at him with a crinkly smile. Her tanned-skinned was covered by a dark, long skirt, colored like the sea at night. Her severely bent torso was draped in a woman’s blazer of the same hue, but the whole ensemble was surprisingly lively, accented by flashes of red from head to toe. Decked out in ruby patent-leather shoes and buttons of scarlet that down the front of her jacket, the old woman’s youthful energy was clearly reflected in her choice of dress. Topped perfectly by a dark pillbox hat teetering off one-side, with a gossamer mesh of red and black polka-dots that just skimmed her forehead, Adrien smiled at the reminder of their shared favorite superhero.

“I told you, it’s Cecelia. I don’t mind the reminder of my late in-laws - good riddance, I say. But please, for my own sake! I’m not old enough to be madam anything.” She teetered over to him and gripped his arm for ironic support, aged and wispy as she was.

Adrien laughed, his free hand moving to his forehead in disbelief. “I just - huh, wow! What a small world. I didn’t know you were…” Hesitating, he scowled around at the crowd, unsure of how exactly to label Madam Kleinstein’s surprising presence.

“Rich enough to rub elbows with this lot?” She suggested, making no attempt to keep her voice down. Adrien felt a bit embarrassed, but the woman was a whip and he knew there would be no culling her.

Instead, he opted to take his father’s advice to heart and walk her around the lobby.

“You could say that,” the blond offered with a sheepish grin as he led them back towards the front of the room. “Really, I’m just not used to meeting… people I know in ‘real-life’ in… this-life.”

He swept a hand across the room to demonstrate, and Madam nodded knowingly.

Patting his arm with one of her heavily-ringed fingers, she chuckled. “I thought you were Gabriel’s son when we met, so imagine my surprise when I find you working at Mo’s! Er, Marinette’s, that is.” She smiled thoughtfully for a moment, and they stopped at one of the many bushels of roses scattered around the room.

“Marinette prepared the flowers for the event,” Adrien commented as the woman leaned down to inhale their perfume.

Releasing a contented sigh, Madam Kleinstein plucked one of the many roses right out of the arrangement, taking it while they walked. “I assumed as much; no flowers in all of Paris ever bloom as well as her’s. Though I’m surprised she’s not here; I thought vendors were usually offered to attend most of these events.”

“Mmm…” Adrien frowned, unsure how to reply. He didn’t want to harm Marinette’s professional appearance by discussing their personal relationship with one of her clients, but he also didn’t want to lie to Madam Kleinstein. Part of him had a feeling she would see right through him anyways.

He answered slowly, matching their pace as they wandered the vast room. “She… well, she might be coming, but I’m not really sure. She worked herself too hard this week in preparation for this, I think, and might just want to take a break.”

Madam stopped a waitress and offered her the rose in exchange for some champagne. The service worker seemed confused but appreciative, and they were on their way again.

“Oh no, she’ll be here.”

They stopped walking.

“How do you know that?” Adrien asked, wide-eyed. “She’s got to be exhausted, it’s not like anyone would blame her for not coming.”

Madam threw her head back and laughed, squeezing his arm a bit to steady herself.

“Marinette is too much like Mo. And my husband, for that matter. They’re proud. If they have the chance to go above and beyond, they will. They always will.”

“That…” Adrien tilted his head to one-side. “That does sound like Mari, doesn’t it?”

The woman chuckled and shook her head, and they began walking again.

Madam had to crane her neck to look at him, short as she was. “Don’t be sour, Adrien. She’ll come.”

Pinking slightly, he just nodded and grinned, feeling a little silly. “Was it that obvious?”

“Oh yes, but it’s not your fault. Everyone is about as transparent as the stars at midnight when it comes to love.”

Adrien staggered slightly in their walk, surprised to hear her say the word. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about how impossibly in love with her he had fallen, but to hear someone verbalize it…

Ultimately unsure of how to respond, the teen settled on a stiff nod, continuing to stroll around the room. He felt somewhere between comforted, disconcerted, hopeful, and terrified.

After a few moments of silence, the pair slowed to a stop again before another arrangement, near the side of the room he had last seen Nino and Alya. This was one of the few that weren’t roses. Adrien didn’t know these by name, but they were pretty, tall white things with delicate petals.

Madam tapped her chin. “My Lucky Little Latanas are just lovely, by the way. I do appreciate a keen eye when it comes to my garden.”

“Oh.” Adrien blinked, looking between the array of petals and the tiny woman on his arm. “Of course. You could say it’s just a product of my good luck.”

Snickering, the woman nodded in approval and turned them around, looking instead out to the crowd.

“This isn’t my kind of party, you know,” she remarked. “I was hoping there’d be less photography and more… portraits, murals, art. The music isn’t half-bad, though.”

To prove the point, Madam eased her hold on Adrien’s arm and did the most comical rendition of “raising the roof” Adrien had ever seen in his entire life. Unashamed, he began to giggle, and the woman stopped to join him, grabbing her knees to support her own amusement.

“I know what you mean,” Adrien agreed as he regained his wits. “But for an artless party, it sure did draw a crowd.”

Madam Kleinstein smirked and raised a challenging, thin eyebrow into the creases of her forehead.

“Now that’s the right frame of mind!”

Adrien’s smile widened, half-covering his mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. “Well, you were right. No use being sour - I’m glad I Baroqueout of that mood.”

“Oh, child,” Madam cackled so hard she started to cough, and Adrien snatched some water for her from a passing waitress. She smiled and accepted, wiping her mouth. “That’s the good stuff. You should consider a career in comedy.”

The pair continued like that for sometime, slowly circling the room with a buoyant spirit about them - totally puerile compared to the otherwise imperious attitude to the room, but once the jokes were rolling, their infectious moods played off each other. Adrien wasn’t exactly competitive, but Madam Kleinstein was practically trying to out-pun him, and he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

They slowed after the second or third full sweep of the room, coming back to the piano where he first found the tiny Madam.

“Now, Adrien,” she frowned and lowered her voice for the first time all evening, and it struck Adrien as odd. He bent slightly to better hear her.

“Do you think you’d do this old woman a favor?”

“Anything for such a young beauty, Cecelia,” he replied with a wink, and her dark eyes rolled.

“Do you know much Debussy?”

“Debussy?” Adrien repeated, furrowing his brow. “Well, sure. Mostly his bigger compositions, so I’m not sure how much…”

Madam waved a hand to interrupt him. “That’s fine, that’s fine. Then you’ve got to know Clair de Lune?”

Scratching his chin, Adrien sat at the piano bench. “I think I know where this is going. Though I didn’t picture you as the type, Cecelia.”

The woman sat beside him on the end of the bench and smirked. “I’m a bit of a wild child, so Marinette’s said.”

“I wholeheartedly believe that,” he replied with a laugh, eyes befalling the keys.

A bit weary, Adrien began to play the opening notes softly, not wanting to distract from the overall ambiance of the reception. Only a few heads, nearest the piano, turned in their direction, so he continued the opening, the lightest droplets of melody tuning to life beneath his fingertips. Impressionist music, Debussy’s music was composed of tiny pieces, put together to make the whole.

Adrien did not notice, not really, as the familiar notes filled the air, imbued with purpose through his the keys at his hands or the pedals at his feet, but the room had grown nearly as quiet as Marinette’s greenhouse after a minute’s worth of playing. Party-goers seemed to halt breathing, and camera stopped shuttering. No heels clicked, and no chatter interrupted. Only, for a time, the sound of the chords and sighes of the melody, complexity developing in the second half.

Of any song Madam could have requested of him, Adrien was abundantly thankful it was one he knew so well; he still could not keep his mind from wandering, even as far as this night has taken him.

Marinette. Marinette. Marinette.

She was the 9/8th meter that drove the song, the pressure in his chest as the piano filled the quiet hall, and the breeze of confidence that let him command the attention of the entire room. She was the moon he had fallen in love with. Delicate, and yet, so clear, the notes were her midnight hair or the freckles, twinkling like stars along her nose. The brighter, bold sections was his breathing whenever she was inches away, and the soft recessions of sounds were the smile she wore whenever she waved him off.

There was no denying it, if there was any chance before. His pulse felt like the ocean tides, weaning under her influence, a beauty that had never been successfully captured by song, or painting, or words.

And so the song ended, only half as beautiful as she was.

After a pregnant pause, the room erupted into applause, thundering in what had been a peaceful reprieve from the material restrictions of the hotel lobby. For a moment, he had been at sea in the darkest hours of night, but now he was awake again, on the mainland, in the real world.

Madam Kleinstein beside him wiped a hand across her cheek. “It was Jules favorite. My husband,” she clarified. “Those white magnolias from earlier just, I don’t know, set me off.”

Wearing a careful smile, Adrien glanced over at the woman and patted one of her wrinkled hands. “It was a pleasure to play it.”

After some more clapping, the crowd finally receded to the same buzzing monotone it had established before he played the song, and the swingy band picked back up the burden of entertainment. Adrien felt strangely cathartic, like his stomach was churning from nerves but his heart had found some small peace.

Cat-hartic. He could practically hear Marinette’s voice in his head, joking with him the day this all started.

Standing from the bench slowly, Adrien was aware of dozens of eyes still looking his way, so he smiled politely around the room while helping Madam stand. She clutched his arm appreciatively, though Adrien hardly noticed - he was busy internally rearing up to hear his father’s voice any moment, quelling him for making such a scene.

“Um, Adrien?”

A soft chill passed by his ear, and the teen felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on-end.

That voice.

That sweet, caring, hesitant and imaginative voice.

He was saying her name before he even finished turning around.

“Marinette?”

And so she had come.

The dress had been stunning when the designers presented it to him; leave it to Marinette to create something so ephemeral and dreamy, so he had thought. Any expectations he had of how she might look wearing the dress, however, were completely devastated with a single glance.

Dark hair, pinned up elegantly to expose her shoulders and neck, the tresses were gathered into a low bun that rested above her shoulder blades. The darkness of the top of the dress clung to her creamy skin like night drags against the walls of a windowed room, subduing everything around her by degrees. A phenomenon of the prettiest kind, the gown became a cascade of skirt, lightening in its descent to the floor, and Adrien admired the way the fabric of the sleeves both hugged her upper-arms, only to float delicately away from her elbows. Most eye-catching of all, Adrien’s breath caught in his throat when he found her cautious smile, worn against pink, full cheeks.

“There she is!” Madam Kleinstein snapped him back to reality, and Marinette turned a few shades darker in recognition. “You’ve got yourself a real pretty girl, Adrien. She looks like she belongs in a museum with that dress. It’s a work of art.”

Marinette sighed, holding her forehead with one hand. “Madam, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a dozen times. Don’t encourage him.”

“N-no,” Adrien cleared his throat, barely managing to relieve the scratchy emptiness of his windpipe. “She’s right. You look… beyond perfect. Amazing. I can’t - just, wow.”

As if to prove his point, Marinette flustered at his compliment, looking straight at the floor and covering one cheek with a hand; Adrien could see it burning beneath her fingers.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped when he felt an almost nervous twitching in his breast pocket. Annoyed, he lightly patted it to get Plagg to stop fidgeting.

“Um… Madam Klein -- I mean, Cecelia,” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, surprised to realize he was sweating slightly. “Do you mind if I have a minute alone with Mari?”

“Of course,” she smiled at the girl, who looked up at the mention of her name. “But don’t run off without saying goodbye.”

Making sure she was steadied, Adrien released the old woman from his hold and stepped forward to Marinette, carefully placing a few fingers just beneath her jawline. Her skin was smoother than he could have imagined.

They were both quiet, and Adrien was just fine with that. He was absorbing her presence, reveling in her really, really being here. Madam Kleinstein had said she’d be coming, but he hadn’t been sure. Now, seeing her up close, it was like a hole had been filled that he hadn’t even realized had been manifesting in his chest. She had little sprigs of green and purple flowers laced delicately into her hair on both sides, winding together at the bun between her shoulders. Her blue eyes were wide and full, turned up slightly at the corners to accent the curve of her smiling lips. Truly, she looked more like something out of a mythology textbook, like a sylph of the night sky.

“You came,” he eventually offered, not really thinking.

With a tiny nod, Marinette agreed. “I did.”

“The dress - you - you look really great. Did I say that already? Like, really great. Really.”

She giggled and brought one of her hands to the one he had nestled along her neck, squeezing his fingers. “Y-you did. Thank you, for the dress - for everything, really. I know I caught you earlier, but��� you look handsome, too. The best dressed in the room, definitely.”

“Are you kidding?” Adrien croaked, forcing some air into his lungs. “You stole that possibility the moment you walked in. Just, wow. I can’t believe I’m dating you.”

Marinette lowered her neck into her shoulders slightly, adorably demure as she avoided his gaze. “Don’t be silly. You’re the model and the famous one here. Speaking of which, a lot of people are, um… looking.”

Attention flickering above her head momentarily, Adrien found Marinette’s claim to be accurate. Whispers were buzzing around them, and many eyes swiftly looked away when he glanced around. To his surprise, he locked eyes with his father - one of the few people who didn’t look away. The man’s lips were pursed, but he rolled his eyes and smirked before turning away, shaking his head.

You’re just like your mother.

Adrien slipped one of his hands into Marinette’s as he returned his attention down to her, easily lacing their fingers together. “Let them look.”

Bowing her head, Marinette just nodded twice and let Adrien lead the way, and he noted her movements were a little more stiff than normal.

“Are you okay?” He whispered, lowering his voice to her ear.

She shivered, though the room was plenty warm.

“I-I-I’m fine,” Marinette said with a breathy little laugh. “I’m just… happy. Really happy.”

That did it - Adrien was sure his heart stopped beating.

“Oh!” The girl at his side exclaimed, kickstarting him back into a living, breathing human-being. A man was tailing them with a camera, though she pointedly tried to ignore him. “I see Alya and Nino, over there.”

Grinning at the photographer, entirely proud (if not a little bit smug), Adrien stopped her.

“Is it okay if we let them take a picture of us? Together, I mean.”

She blinked at him a few times, appearing utterly confused, and her head tilted.

“I… sure, yes. Yes!”

“Yes! Thank you!” The photography exclaimed, unashamed to have been so easily caught, and instead he rushed up to them and half-knelt to widen his shot.

Adrien didn’t have to force his expression for once, though it was probably wider and giddier than was suitable for his usual photos. Beside him, Marinette appeared radiant, her smile reaching her eyes.

“Chaaaaaaaa’boy!” A voice called above the party-goers, many of whom turned and appeared offended at the source of the sound.

Half a second later, Nino bowled through the crowds and slammed into Adrien’s back, achieving maximum bro-hug capacity. Sensing the moment over, the young camera man bowed his head in thanks and began to thumb through his camera, scurrying back into the crowds.

Alya sauntered after Adrien’s attacker, but she went to Marinette and held the girl at arm’s length.

“Holy shit,” she commented. “Girl, you look hot.”

Marinette’s skin turned scarlet, from where her bodice hugged her torso all the way up to her ears. “Alya! Language!”

“Seriously. This justifies swearing, you look fucking amazing. Where did you get this dress? Did you make this?” As she spoke, the reporter-to-be wrapped Marinette in a hug, just as Nino released him.

Adrien piped up, smiling towards the girls. “I usually don’t condone swearing either, but she’s right, Mari. I can’t say it enough - 你看起来很美.”

“No offense friends,” Nino added, sweeping up beside Alya and swiftly wrapping a hand around her waist, reclaiming her by his side - the usually mellow brunette was so surprised she actually let out a tiny gasp. “While I agree, ‘Nette, you look amazing and thank god you ended up coming after all, ya’ll can’t hold a candle to this.”

He proceeded to plant a kiss atop Alya’s head, not sparing a care in the world for any of the people around them.

It’s not like Adrien could blame him, now that he knew how it felt to be in Nino’s shoes; he’d kiss Marinette every second of every day if he could get away with it.

“Are we still waiting for ‘whenever’, blondie? I think we’re about ready to go. I don’t know how much more I can take of being in the same room as Chloe, even if the room’s this big,” Alya said darkly, looking around in case the so-called blonde was afoot.

“I can be ready in a second, I just have to let Father know, and tell Madam Kleinstein goodbye... and give my regards to Chloe, so…”

Marinette and Alya exchanged a glance, and Nino responded, “I’d be exhausted if I had to put up with half the stuff you do, man.”

“Eh,” Adrien shrugged. “I don’t mind. Mari, do you want to come with me?”

She looked at Alya as if requesting permission, and the brunette just chuckled and nodded. Swift as the wind, Marinette came up beside him and carefully took his arm, much like she had several nights ago when he visited as Chat Noir. It was an attachment of security - one of trust. Adrien never wanted to let her go.

They started their salutations with Chloe, as she was the easiest person to find. The girl was storming around in her heels, spending the entire evening on the warpath, and her gown was a massive, golden ensemble that took up enough room for two people. It reminded him vaguely of the infamous one dress from the dance scene in Beauty and the Beast, though by the looks of it, Chloe’s was tight enough to be suffocating.

When Adrien managed to catch her attention, he felt a bit sad to see how strained she appeared. In no stretch of the imagination could he guess that party-planning was a laissez-faire sort of commitment, given the insight he had from Marinette’s work… and that was only one aspect of the huge affair.

At least she smiled when he approached.

“Adrikins!” She leapt at him, throwing herself into one of her iconic, overbearing and ridiculous hugs. Still, Adrien hugged back, happy to hear a familiar pitch in her voice.

“Hi, Chlo’.”

Marinette cleared her throat quietly. “Hello, Chloe.”

The blonde scowled as she pulled back from Adrien, glancing to her side with a look of distaste. “Oh. Dupain-Cheng…” her lip curled momentarily, but she flickered a gaze towards Adrien. “... Hi.”

Adrien, sensing the tension, decided to be the one to steer the conversation. “Well, I just wanted to catch you for a second. I can see you’re super busy, but, the party is a huge success. You did a great job, and the whole place looks amazing.”

Frowning, Chloe pulled out her phone. “Ugh, thanks, but no thanks. Everything is a disaster - you wouldn’t believe the behind the scenes nightmare --”

“Adrien’s right, Chloe.” Marinette interrupted, sounding a little exasperated. “It’s actually really lovely. If there’s anything going wrong, you wouldn’t know it from the guest’s perspective. I’m happy I got to see it. You’re a very talented planner.”

Chloe looked as if she’d been smacked, eyes wide but pupils tiny, confusion creasing her forehead. After a beat, though, she whipped her hair around slightly and resumed her usual attitude.

“Well… whatever. You’re… you know, thanks, I guess. I’m glad you both liked it.”

Turning his attention to the girl by his side, Marinette wore a huge grin and her blue eyes sparkled under the chandeliers above. Adrien felt like he’d had three cups of coffee for how fast his heart was beating, and they quickly bid Chloe farewell and sought out the next individual on their list.

They didn’t have to look far, thankfully, because Madam Kleinstein found them.

“Gosh, you kids look cute together. Almost as cute as I did with my husband.” She remarked, shuffling towards them with another champagne flute in her hand. Though her irises were dark, they turned spirited and humorous whenever she smiled.

“Madam,” Marinette whined slightly. “Please. I may be here as Adrien’s guest, but I’m also on business.”

The woman waved Marinette off, shooting the blond a wink instead.

“What’s that saying - all fun and no play? You’ve done great work here,” Madam Kleinstein said with bright tone. “Now you can sit back and enjoy it!”

“Heh, well, about that,” Adrien commented, scratching his cheek. “We’re actually going out - to the museums and stuff. Like you said, these parties…”

Madam grimaced. “You don’t have to tell me twice. But if I can insert a small recommendation, be sure to stop by Musée d’Orsay at some point this evening. It’s one I’m particularly drawn to.”

“Well, then,” he replied with a knowing smile. “We’ll have to be sure to pencil it in.”

Marinette dropped his arm and threw her hands up. “That’s it - I’m leaving.”

“Such a temper! Color me sympathetic,” the old woman laughed, and Adrien couldn’t resist joining in. Sometimes, eliciting Marinette’s chagrin was too tempting, just to see how far she’d go before snapping back. It was one of the things he admired most about her; true to her convictions (misguided they may be when it came to humor), she took everything in stride and never truly harbored any anger. Indeed, she might not have a single unkind bone in her body.

“Ahh, but really, we should go find my father. We have some friends waiting for us,” Adrien said pointedly, garnering him an appreciative smile from Marinette that twisted his stomach into the most pleasant sorts of knots.

The tiny woman placed a hand on her cheek, studying the two seriously. “Sure, sure. Just be careful out there when it gets later. Maybe I’ll come by the shop sometime this week to get something for inside the house.”

“Of course,” Marinette said with a wistful tone, taking a step forward and gently holding one of the woman’s hands in both her own. “You take good care Madam. You can always call ahead if you want an appointment.”

Warmly, the two smiled at each other and said their goodbyes, and Adrien found Marinette’s bandaged hand a few moments later. He began to lead them towards the edge of the room as the volume of the music and pressing bodies began to increase incrementally, the space officially beginning to transition between refined reception and party proper.

“Thank goodness,” the dark-haired girl said quietly once they reached a tall column on the outskirts of the crowds. Curiously, he looked down at her with a brow raised, and Marinette held two hands in front of herself defensively.

“N-not that I’m unhappy to be here! J-just, you k-know, I’m no-not much of one for parties. You know?”

Winding a careful hand around her hip, Adrien pulled Marinette a little closer so he didn’t have to raise his voice over the din - surely, for no other reason than that.

“I was thinking the same thing. Just got to find my Dad and we can go” He stated, catching a sly glimpse of her in his periphery. With rosy cheeks and averted eyes, she was breathtaking, and it helped to bolster Adrien’s confidence to know he had that effect on her.

Absently, he pulled her in a little closer.

Marinette twisted her mouth in focus, glaring over the crowds on her tiptoes. “I don’t… hmm… oh! Is that him?”

Following her extended hand, he indeed spotted his father across the room by another fashion designer, one he had worked with on collaborations many times before.

“Yep, let’s go.” He directed them through the crowds, trying to stay close between jarring laughter and clinking glasses and weaving through rivers of wealth beneath the air of excess. In a word, the room was overstated, and stuffy and exaggerated by consequence, but Marinette didn’t seem to have any trouble. She dipped and dodged away from waiters in time with him, skimming over the marble tiles without crinkling a single corner of her dress. They stopped to take some more pictures, this time with a group of children dressed in what reminded him of flower girls and ring-bearer boys, almost like Marinette, and almost like him.

Giggling and holding hands with the kids, Marinette had a particularly difficult time parting with their unexpected friends, leaving them with a quick lecture on talking to strangers.

“I’m coming - just, hold on!” The girl swatted a hand at him, which he caught and held, stupidly pleased to catch her blushing. “T-that’s right, kids. We were happy to play with you, but just be careful! Not all adults are as nice as Monsieur Agreste here, so be sure you feel safe when you’re talking to people you don’t know.”

“Okay okay!” Most of them grumbled, giggling and gasping when Adrien took the chance to place a swift kiss on Marinette’s cheek, entirely embarrassing her in front of the group of children.  He felt pleasantly smug with the look she shot him.

“Don’t go yet,” another one of them whined, pulling on the hem of one of Marinette’s loose sleeves.

Carefully, she swiped some fringe from her own eyes and lowered herself to the little girl’s level (partially, Adrien assumed, so as not to tear her gown). “Sweetie, you’ve got lots of friends to play with here. We’ve got our own friends waiting for us. Just remember to be careful and play nice.” Marinette smiled and patted the girls dark brown ringlets.

Shyly, the child twisted away from Marinette, voice relcutant. “Ooo-kay… But you’ll come back and play later?”

“Maybe,” Adrien offered over Marinette’s shoulder, helping her to her feet and giving her a moment to smooth out the tulle of her skirt.

With some difficulty, the pair finally managed to part with all the kids, receiving lots of vigorous waving as they went.

“God, those kids were so cute,” Marinette said with a breathy sigh, reorienting herself.

Adrien took the chance to look around, and thankfully, his father was still absorbed in his earlier conversation. He set the path forward again, near the front of the room.

“They really were,” he agreed, squeezing her fingers. “You’re great with kids.”

He felt her arm move slightly, suggesting a shrug. “Babysitting. You learn to speak their language.”

Teasing, Adrien flashed her a grin. “So that’s French, some Chinese, flowers, and child - any other languages you know that I’m not aware of?”

“Klingon.”

Adrien was so surprised he stopped moving for a second. “Really?”

“Nope!” Marinette strode right past him, leaving him scrambling after her as she approached his father - rather boldly, if he were to judge.

Adrien caught the tail-end of his father’s conversation as he hurried after Marinette. She was standing a polite distance away with her hands behind her back.

“... And then this season’s line is -- oh, a moment, Marc.”

The men turned towards them, and Adrien gave the designer a friendly wave and smile.

“Adrien! Bonsoir! It’s been awhile.” Marc, a man a few years younger than father, strode forward and shook his hand very tightly.

Burying the instinct to wince, Adrien tried to return a friendly amount of pressure. “Yes, hello. Sorry if we’ve interrupted.”

“Not at all,” Marc insisted, attention turning to Marinette beside him. She appeared to be visibly shrinking under his gaze.

Placing a hand on her upper back, Adrien tried to be encouraging without becoming completely distracted by the feeling of her exposed skin, soft and warmth beneath his fingers.

“This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my girlfriend. We were actually planning to leave to see the museums in a few minutes,” Adrien turned his gaze to his father, wondering if the man picked up on the unasked question in his tone.

… If that’s okay?

“Well hello, mon belle fille. Are you one of Gabriel’s models?”

Adrien noticed his father’s brow flatten slightly, but Marinette responded before either had a chance to say something.

“Um, no. Just… I’m Adrien’s, uh, classmate. We met… at class.”

“I see,” Marc answered with a little smirk. “And that’s a lovely gown, I should add. Who is it?”

“...Who?” She repeated, blinking. Clearly, she’d never been asked such a question before, and Adrien frowned as her discomfort became more and more evident

He cleared his throat. “Actually, Marinette designed this herself. She wants to work in fashion someday.”

Marc stood back, surprised, and looked towards his father. “Really? This isn’t one of yours?”

“No. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is extremely talented, especially for her age.” As ever, Adrien’s father’s tone rang with finality, and the man could only nod.

“Now, Marc, as I’ve already asked once, could I have a moment with my son and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng?”

“Oh, oh yes - my apologies. Take care, Adrien, mon belle.” The man waved them off, attention automatically being dragged to another person-of-importance just around the corner.

“My apologies, Marinette,” his father said, eyes narrow. “Marc is an old colleague with a good eye for the trends, and a terrible capacity for etiquette. I hope he did not offend you.”

His father bowed his head slightly as a show of respect and it was hard to know which of them was more shocked.

“Now,” his father stood upright again, voice a gunshot over the din of the idle party. “You were saying something, Adrien?”

Adrien blinked, forgetting himself, and shook his head. “R-right! Sorry, um, that was… weird. Anyways… Marinette and I are going to go out and see the museums with Alya and Nino. Is it alright if we leave the reception now?”

Beside him, he noted Marinette looking at their shoes, black tresses turned up to face the ceiling. Even just the glimpse of her face, though, showed that she was wearing a huge smile, and, wow, Adrien realized his heart was positively hammering in his chest. When did that happen?

Adrien’s father glanced at his watch, than up again at his son, who tried his best to look neutral, if not a little sensitive.

“Naturally, I would prefer if you stayed a little longer,” he sighed. “But I can see you’re both anxious to leave. Your bodyguard will be with you two and your friends all night - given the circumstances, I feel that’s only fair.”

“Yes,” Adrien said immediately, hardly caring. He was gripping to his good luck and intended to let it ride.

“I’ll have Nathalie communicate with him to keep… some distance, so you’re not uncomfortable. But I’d feel much better knowing he’s with you - let’s say, at minimum, one room away?”

Marinette looked up and nodded vigorously. “Yes! I’d feel better that way, too.”

His father looked amused. “I’m glad we’re all in agreement. Then, this is adieu for the evening. Thank you, Marinette, for agreeing to come tonight, even if it was brief. And, Adrien, be sure to have her home for her curfew. Keep your phone on at all times… and don’t lose it this time, if you don’t mind.”

With a hint of red tinting his cheeks, Adrien heard Marinette tried to stifle a giggle beside him.

“Yup, noted, and noted.” Eager to go, Adrien extended his arm for the girl at his side. “Shall we?”

“Oh - yes, sure. Thank you, Monsieur Agreste. Have a nice evening.” Marinette smiled and bowed her head politely, and his father offered them a nod before walking the other direction.

Adrien was quick to lead them away after that - away from the people and pageantry, thankful they were already near to the front of the building. Marinette had consigned her purse, so Adrien waited at the exit patiently, and he could already see Alya and Nino outside by the car. They were giggling and pointing at Alya’s phone, by the looks of it.

A little nudge against his chest grabbed Adrien’s attention.

Quickly and without looking down, he tried for his best sort of “ventriloquist” answer - that is, without moving his lips.

“What’s up?”

Plagg’s answer was louder than he expected.

“I’m thinking this is where I’ll duck out! Course, I’ll stay near, blah blah, keep and eye out, blah akumas. We’ve basically got this down to a science, right?”

“Err…” Adrien felt his forehead dip, but was determined not to look down. “I guess that’s okay. But seriously, if I need to transform, you have to be around. Okay?”

The cat grumbled something unintelligible before construing a proper response. “Sure, sure.”

Adrien offered a roll of his eyes and closed his jacket as Marinette approached. As she neared, the bow of her lips curved  into a simple, gentle smile.

“Ready to go have fun?”

Adrien wanted so badly to kiss her. So, so badly.

Instead, he choked out an answer and turned to the doors. “Yes.”

Bonus Scene (1):

Thursday afternoon, approx. 5:30 PM

Tikki frowned, watching Marinette’s classmates hard at work from inside the greenhouse. “Come on, please, Plagg?”

The cat’s head was in her lap, and she was patting behind his ears.

“Hmm…?”

“Were you even listening?” The red kwami asked, now annoyed. She continued to scratch though, and she had to admit the tiny purr rumbling in his chest was sort of… cute.

“Yes.” He opened one green eye, looking up at her. “You asked if I could rope Adrien into a silly plan to steal his girlfriend’s sketchbook, try to convince him to convince other people to magick up some dress for her, all for a party she might not go to, and my kid’s insisted it’s okay if she can’t go. Did I miss anything?”

Pursing her lips, Tikki looked outside after Marinette again, watching her lean over Juleka’s shoulder attentively.

“Just the part where you’re a real jerk sometimes,” she muttered in a low tone.

“C’mon, Tikki,” he said, sitting up and turning to face her. Today, their place of hiding had been the creepy crawly vines that hung above Marinette’s desk. “I’m just being realistic. Imagine - me! Realistic.”

Instead of meeting his green gaze, knowing that he was right, Tikki just bowed her head and picked at a fallen leaf. “I just want her to have this. This one night, Plagg. Doesn’t she deserve that?”

The black cat did not respond for several seconds, not until Tikki finally looked up at him with wide eyes. She was certain she looked terrible, worried and exhausted as she was for her charge. If Marinette wasn’t well rested, neither was she, and it was starting to fray her usually solid nerves. Slicing open her hand had been the straw that broke the kwami’s back.

“It’s not that she does or doesn’t, Tikki. But that’s not our job. You said so yourself - we maintain a balance, right? We can’t mess with fate like that. She’s not supposed to go.”

“Balance…” the kwami repeated, finally sighing and resting her head in her tiny paws. “You’re right, you’re right, I’m sorry. I just feel so bad for her - especially after that akuma. Marinette just needs a break. So much for my good luck, right?”

She glanced up from her palms with a wry smile, and an unsettling grimace stared back at her.

“What?” Tikki leaned back slightly.

“Yes, we can’t go… intervening in fate. That would be bad.” Plagg spoke slowly, nodding his head. He tapped a paw on his knee, legs crossed. “Our chosens have to manage themselves.”

“Thank you, Plagg, I got it,” she snapped at him, only feeling more guilty when he flinched. “S-Sorry. This isn’t your fault.”

“It’s not,” he agreed. “But it could be.”

Now it was Tikki’s turn to grimace, turning her gaze over the ledge of the hanging planter again. Adrien was laughing along to something Kim or Rose just said, and Marinette looked chagrined but… happy.

“What good could possibly come of that?” She eventually asked, not liking the mischievous look spreading on his face.

“Well, if things were to be thrown off balance by one of us - say, Adrien happens to find your girl’s sketchbook in the alley and being gently encouraged to go along with this plan… Well, to maintain the rightful order of the universe, you’d have to act, take something away her subtly, to equalize his gain.”

Tikki blinked a few times, sure she wasn’t hearing what he was suggesting. “You mean - intentionally disturbing the roles of the universe, for our gain? Plagg, that’s the worst idea you’ve ever had!”

In a totally predictable fashion, the black cat’s smile just widened and he shrugged. “What’s the fun in keeping order for thousands of years if we - if they - don’t occasionally get something out of it? You better figure out something to keep from her, because I’ve already made up my mind. Now you’ve got to keep me in check, or this is on you.”

“P-Plagg!” She exclaimed, feeling her face warm a bit from the smug look he was giving her. “That’s… that’s underhanded! You can’t force me to…”

“Do you want to risk fate?” He wagered, whiskers bristling in amusement. “Because it’s fate now that she goes, unless you’re going to stop her.”

“I -- that’s… ugh!” Tikki dropped her face into her hands again, but this time, it was to hide her smile. “You’re unbelievable…”

“I know, I’m great. Adrien says that exact same thing all the time.”

Raising her head to chastise him for being, well, himself, Tikki was surprised to be wrapped into a soft, gentle hug.

Plagg snuggled into her shoulder, squeezing her tiny frame close.

“Marinette’s not the only one who deserves a break. Let me do this for you.”

Surely, the warmth from her cheeks must have been burning Plagg’s fur, but Tikki let herself smile anyways. She yielded to his suggestion, squishing her cheek against his shoulder and hugging him back, tightly, happier than ever to have his support.

“I… okay, Plagg. Thank you.”

After a brief pause, he pulled back and his whiskers tickled her face. He smiled at the sound of her giggle, and Tikki just felt her skin darken into deeper shades of scarlet.

“Do you know what you’ll give up? What’s something you give Marinette, maybe something everyday?”

The kwami wracked her brain for a moment, taking Plagg’s paws in her’s without a second thought. “... I guess, I guess I could stop giving her advice for a few days. Just sort of be there, instead of being there for her…?”

“That should be perfect,” her black companion nodded seriously, raising one of her paws to rest on his cheek. He closed his eyes and smiled at the contact. “Let me be there for you, and for her, this time.”

Bonus Scene (2):

Thursday Evening, approx. 8 PM

Adrien, literally, couldn’t thank them all enough.

“Thank you, thank you all so much. I can’t tell you what this means to me - even you just considering it. Thank you!”

The boy turned to Jacque, the head of the design team, and bowed his head politely. “If you make a decision, please give me a text or call. I’ll be sure you’re all paid overtime for your hard work, and I’ll definitely owe you one. Anything, anytime.”

The team of designers exchanged some heavy, doubtful looks, but politely waved off Gabriel’s son. It’s not like they could do much against the boss’s kid, though it was frustrating that he asked them not to tell Gabriel about it, either. Talk about a Catch-22.

“Welp, let’s put our heads together. He thinks we should mix them,” Rachel stated as she brought Marinette’s sketchbook to the center table, and the other five gathered around. “It’s not a bad idea, but it’d be more work. I’d say we go for this one instead?”

She pointed at the black, thinner and sexier dress in the book, and there was a general murmur of agreement.

“I’ll admit, she’s got talent,” remarked another designer, fixing his glasses as he peered over the purple design. “It’s sort of a shame they didn’t plan better. This one would have been a fun one to make. Nothing we can do about it now, though.”

“Right,” Jacque said with pursed lips. “Let’s go with Rach’s suggestion. We do the black one. Adrien will deal with it.”

“What will my son deal with, exactly?”

All six of the team practically (and in two cases, literally) leapt in the air at the sudden, sharp voice at the other end of the room. They were positioned around a long conference table, and at the other end, framed in the doorway, stood one Gabriel Agreste.

“M-Monsieur Agreste!” Rachel bowed severely. “What a surprise! Our apologies, we don’t have the samples ready quite yet.”

“That’s alright,” he said, tone so icy it made the team’s blood so cold. “What was it you were saying about my son?”

Several of them met eyes, all of them anxious and desperate. Gabriel Agreste was not the sort of man to lie to, and eventually, the tension hummed their general agreement.

Fuck this. Not worth losing my job over.

Jacque, as the team leader, cleared his throat and took a step forward. “M-Monsieur Agreste, your son, he just… that is to say, you’ve only just missed him. He brought us a request for a design, and asked that we stop all other projects to work on this by Saturday afternoon. We - I didn’t, rather, we did not know if it was... approved by you yet...”

As the man’s speech puttered off, it was accented by the sharp click of Gabriel Agreste’s heels on the tiles, and those on the left side of the table nearly fell backwards when he approached.

The man picked up the sketchbook with a skeptical look. “Is this what he requested?”

“Yes, sir,” another designer answered meekly. “He asked if we could combine them, and make the dress by Saturday, without any sort of model or measurements. It is reportedly for, um, Adrien’s… friend. I believe her name was Mary. We w-were going to, fairly, I’d say, pick t-the black one. It should be… simpler.”

“Simpler.” Gabriel repeated flatly.

Rachel nodded furiously. “Y-yes sir. We don’t want to take any time away from the Autumn project, so we’ll do the fastest and best job we can on the black one.

In the same tone, Gabriel inspected the sketches closely, bringing the book close to his glasses. “Yes. Why don’t you finish what you’re working on for the Autumn line.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Of course! Right away,” Jacques agreed fiercely, hugely relieved. “You heard him, Rachel, you go --”

Gabriel continued as if he hadn’t heard Jacque at all. When he looked up from the designs, his mouth was set to a hardened frown. “I will be back in an hour or so with a mock-up of the gowns, combined. See to it that they are completed by the latest, Saturday morning. This is not an ordinary gown - so, as usual, not a stitch out of place.”

Ghostly white, Jacque blinked furiously from the man to his team, all who looked about as deadpan as he was.

“Do you understand? This gown must be perfect.”

After a pregnant pause, the tension positively suffocating, Gabriel simply marched back out the way he came.

“Perfect,” he repeated. “And don’t mention a word of this to my son.”

Gabriel promptly closed the door behind him, leaving a room full of shocked, speechless - and soon-to-be relentlessly focused - designers in his wake.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculers #miraculous #miraculous fanfic #marinette dupen-chang #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien x marinette #adrinette #adrien agreste #adrienette #adrienette kiss #gabriel agreste #tikki and plagg #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #chloe bourgeois #language of flowers #flowers #flowershop au

[thatonehiddenbladeingibraltar]

can we have pre-fall! jack m. whose soldier partner (preferably fiancé?? gotta get the angst) went mia in their latest missions. but when overwatch is recalled, they show up? bonus point if they can't recognize him ;;-) ty!!

I hate love angsty anons. Keep sending requests like this in.

You and Jack had been in a relationship for a good few years

The two of you were always at each other’s side

In missions, at public events, etc.

Everyone knew you as the Strike Commander’s partner that no one touched unless they wanted to die

Even though your engagement was a complete secret, somehow the news got out and it made everyone either freak out more in happiness or in jealously

Have you seen that man? Anyone would be jealous of whoever got to marry him

You were his shoulder to lean on after a rough day, a voice that calmed him down and provided advice in tough situations

You always kissed his cheek in front of new recruits, just to embarrass Jack

One time you even kissed him so passionately that Jack was blushing the entire day

Until the two of you were alone in the bedroom

Except for Talon (because Talon knows no bounds when it comes to Overwatch)

You were sent on a team mission to infiltrate and gather as much information in an abandoned base when it all went south

Jack didn’t even know you went missing due to bad weather conditions which prevented messages from being relayed from the ship to Overwatch until your team returns and you don’t step out of the dropship with a hug and kiss for him

He immediately devoted a good portion of Overwatch’s resources into finding you but to no avail. You were truly missing

Ana and Gabe have to keep him sane when Jack eventually comes around to the idea that you may be dead by Talon’s hand

When Switzerland rolls around, Jack finally relaxes, knowing that he may have a chance to see you

But of course he doesn’t actually leave this world. Because where’s the fun in that?

He becomes Soldier: 76 and becomes a shadow that only emerged to fight injustice and gangs all over the world

Despite all that he lived through after the fall, he never forgot you.

Not that he could, you were too important for him to even try

When Overwatch was recalled by Winston, Jack was hesitant to even go to Gibraltar

He and Ana still had work to do, but ultimately it was because of Ana that the two of them went to the base

However, when he arrives, he sees a very familiar face

Namely your face

You hadn’t aged a day and good Lord was Jack grateful for his visor which hid his shock and gaping expression

You turn to glance at the newcomers and you beam at Ana but frown at Jack

Mercy later informs Ana and Jack that you had been suffering with amnesia after being stuffed into cryostasis by Talon

You had been experimented on extensively until the base had been abandoned and had only woken up due to a tech malfunction

Naturally the prefall! agents were all a bit suspicious that you were another Widowmaker, brainwashed to kill them all in their sleep

However, you kept on going about your day like your old self and slept soundly at night

You trained with the agents that had been recalled along with new ones that had been recruited by Winston

Surprisingly you managed to retain a good portion of your fighting abilities before you went MIA when you managed to take down Reinhardt one day in the training arena

The only thing that had changed about you was that you couldn’t recognize Jack fully

You’d get the occasional twinge in your heart that he meant something to you but you could never place your finger on it

Believe anyone when they say that Jack’s mood was always unstable

Especially when you were nearby

The last time he cried so hard was when you were declared MIA

He had mourned you, he even left flowers at your parents house every year on the day you ‘died’

You tried to talk to Jack but every time you did, he either had short responses for you or just plainly ignored you

Eventually your frustration reaches its limit and one day you snap when he ignores you in the common area for the last time 

Everyone in the room went silent and Jack just stared at you before taking your hand

He led you to a secluded area on base and removed his visor, showing you his full face before you can even apologize for your outburst

In a moment, every memory about Jack Morrison returns and you actually have to hold your head in your hands because of the headache

You remember holding onto the thought of Jack retrieving you from Talon, taking out every single agent that dared to stand in his way as scientists poked and prodded at your body before forcing you into a cryo pod

All of the times you purposefully embarrassed him in front of people, standing in the wings while you waited for him to finish delivering another statement to the public, even talking about starting a family together one night

When you say “Jack?” for the first time in years, he crumbles in front of you

The two of you stand there in a tight hug as you run your hand through Jack’s silver-white hair while Jack himself tried to grasp with the fact that you were truly alive and hugging him

Even though the two of you have a lot to talk about, you’re filled with hope when Jack kisses you gently on the lips and promises to be there for you before leading you back to the base with your hand in his

Tagging: @elise-the-assassin

#jack morrison #prefall!jack morrison #jack morrison x reader #prefall!jack morrison x reader #angela ziegler #mercy #ana amari #reinhardt #winston #overwatch #headcanons #anon