#what about the figurines and art projects and stuff that were never mine until there was no one else to own them?

[violetren]

Growing up ma and I never had much money. More than some for sure; enough that I was always fed and warm and could even buy books every couple of weeks as I went through them, but always one late paycheck or missed bill away from being at risk of going without all those things.

And it's easy not to notice what kind of effect that has had until I have to clean out excess stuff so that I can properly clean my house.

There are cupboards and drawers and even a few side tables that I haven't had cause to touch or open or look at in months, sometimes even years, nothing in or on them is of vital importance to my daily life and even in those odd times of needing a super specific thing either that thing exists somewhere I use regularly, or I buy it. I need to emphasise just how badly there is nothing in or on any of these places that I need or use in my life. It's just stuff taking up space that could be tidier or better utilised.

But every god's damned fucking time I go clear one off or out I am suddenly confronted with the fact that it's potentially useful stuff. I might need that notepad, or that nail filing kit, or that dusty bottle of lotion. And even if I don't how can I just throw out a perfectly usable item? People need stuff, people might be able to use this stuff, except it's all junk stuff literally all of it would get thrown in a dumpster if I were to take it to a charity because it's old, partially used, or cannot be sold due to safety concerns. So it should go in the trash because that is what it is, but what if it isn't and how can I be this ungrateful and so the cycle fucking goes until I am standing there, garbage bag in hand, culturally poor and on the verge of tears from the weirdest combo of unnecessary guilt and decision fatigue.

The side table still isn't clean.

#chirping wren #venting #terrified i'm gonna become a hoarder #terrified i might be one already #paralysed by the fear of getting rid of things and my house just feeling empty #and thats just for the trashy stuff on a side table #what about the figurines and art projects and stuff that were never mine until there was no one else to own them? #if i can't even throw out an old box an mobile phone came in how am i supposed to throw out things that were loved by someone now dead?

[blaineandsamevanderson]

Title: We can be us

Author: @blaineandsamevanderson

Fandom: Glee

Ship: Blaine/Sam

Rating: G

Summary: S2 AU ~ Blaine and Sam meet up accidentally and strike up a friendship...and maybe more.

Notes: Happiest of Birthdays to the wonderful @lauraperfectinsanity  .  Sending good thoughts, Birthday joy and seasons greetings to my lovely fandom friend and partner in fic/fanart crimes!

***********

“Wow, that’s really good!”

Sam looked up from the small snowman figurine he was carefully painting a scarf on.  He knew it was super uncool to like decorating ceramics, but he figured the chances of him bumping into anyone he knew at Color Me Mine were very slim, plus it was cheap and kept the twins busy….

“Thanks,” he said, setting down the detail brush as he considered the other boy, who was familiar.  “Blaine, right?  Kurt’s friend?”

The boy nodded, settling down at the table near Sam, placing a reindeer figurine in front of himself.  “Yeah,” he agreed.  “You’re Sam...I asked Kurt after sectionals.  You and Quinn were very impressive in your duet.  What an entrance.”

“Thanks,” Sam replied, feeling pleased at the praise even if the mention of him and Quinn as a unit stung.  “You were awesome too, dude.  There’s a good reason we tied...Stevie, do not paint Stacy’s hair!”

The little boy froze, brush hovering by his sister’s ponytail.  He pouted for a moment before returning to his own project.

“Kids,” Sam muttered, amused, then nodded to Blaine.  “Stevie, Stacy, this is Blaine.”

The kids chorused hello, more interested in their painting than the teenager.

“It’s very nice of you to bring them here,” Blaine commented as he began to carefully apply a base coat to the little ceramic deer.  “My older brother never would have done something like this.”

“They like it, so why wouldn’t I bring them?” Sam mused with a shrug.  Dipping his brush into the orange, he carefully colored the Snowman’s carrot nose.  “Not like I don’t have fun too.”

Blaine nodded his agreement.  “I don’t think any of my friends would understand my fondness for this place.”

“Same,” Sam replied with a grin and the two of them spent the rest of the afternoon chatting until Sam had to take his siblings home.

********

“He, Blaine!”

The next Saturday, Blaine returned to Color Me Mine to pick up his reindeer, which had been in the kiln, setting for the week.  He was surprised to hear Sam’s voice behind him, then realized the other boy must be there for the same reason.

Turning to the blond, Blaine smiled.  “Hey, Sam...not doing any painting today?”

Last week, it had become obvious that Sam had quite a bit of artistic talent to accompany his enjoyment of painting.  The taller boy was still bundled in his coat though, clearly not planning to stay.

Sam shook his head.  “Got a football game...do you have plans?  Want to came watch?”

The invitation surprised Blaine, but he nodded quickly enough.  He followed college football more than high school (Dalton didn’t have full contact sports teams), but he enjoyed the game itself.  “I haven’t been to a football game in ages.”

As they packed up their ceramics, Sam grinned.  “Stacy might climb on you for warmth,” he teased.  “She thinks you look like a Disney prince.”

Blaine laughed.  “If I’m a Disney Prince, what are you?”

“Captain Samerica!” Sam said proudly, striking a heroic pose.

Tapping a finger against Sam’s chest (wow, firm under the layers….), Blaine reminded him, “Disney bought Marvel...making Steve a total Disney Prince!”

“That’s true,” Sam mused, not looking put out by this conclusion.  “Just warning you...cuz if you break into song, she’s not letting you go.”

Of course, Blaine couldn’t help but sing quietly when Stacy got bored.  She didn’t much care for the game if Sam wasn’t on the field.  Sam had been right in his prediction, and after the game Blaine had accompanied the Evens’s home, where he and Sam were commanded to sing Disney duets until Stacy was swept off to bed by their mother.

**********

“So, Quinn thinks she broke me,” Sam said the next weekend as he and Blaine poked through the small comic rack at The Lima Public Library.  The twins were downstairs doing arts & crafts, but Sam was a bit too old for that.  He’d texted Blaine and the other boy had met him at the library to hang out.

Peering at him over a copy of a two month old Spider-Man, Blaine looked puzzled.  “Why would she think that?”

Sam sighed.  “It’s stupid.  Finn said something about the game last week….”

In a moment of clarity, Blaine had to bite back a laugh.  “Oh God...don’t tell me.  Finn saw me there and saw that I was hanging out with you….”

“And Quinn thinks her dumping me made me gay.  Because yeah, that’s a thing that happens,” Sam snorted, rolling his eyes at the faulty reasoning.  “Besides...ugh, it’s just annoying that she thinks she has any say about my sexuality and Santana keeps making comments about my lips.  I went to an all boys school, like I haven’t heard alll the comments.”

“All you can do is tell them you’re not interested in boys and hope they move on,” Blaine advised, a little flush on his cheeks.

Rolling his eyes, Sam huffed, “I wish it was that easy.  Santana, in addition to the comments, keeps making veiled demands that I date her now...and I’m not gonna straight up lie.  Ha.  Pun, I think!”

Blaine’s head tipped to the side slightly, obviously puzzled.

Sam shifted and shrugged.  “Well, I’m not gay...I like girls, but...I like guys too.”  His breath came out in a rush.  This was the first time he’d said those words to anyone other than his parents.  “They don’t know, my friends at school.”

“Am I the first person you’ve told?” Blaine asked gently, putting the comic down and stepping a little closer to Sam, keeping his voice low.

“No,” Sam assured him with a shake of his head.  “I told my folks and they said that it meant God just put extra love in my heart and as long as I’m happy, they’re happy.  I...It’s never been a big thing before, cuz I never liked another boy in real life before, just like crushes on actors and stuff, you know?”

“Actor crushes are safe,” Blaine agreed with a soft smile.  “God knows I’ve had enough of those.  And with the Captain America movie coming out this Summer….”

“Chris Evans,’ Sam agreed with a nod.  “I’m partial to RDJ’s Tony Stark myself, but no denying hotness.”

“No,” Blaine agreed and Sam felt his heart skip at the happy little smile on the shorter boy’s face.

“Anyhow...Rachel’s throwing a party next weekend...I was wondering if you might want to go with me?”  Sam blurted.  “Like...go with me, go with me?”

He didn’t know how else to say it, but Blaine seemed to understand.

“I’d like that, Sam,” he said, reaching out and touching Sam’s wrist.  “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

Sam nodded.  He liked Blaine and he didn’t care who knew.  “Yeah, I am,” he said, turning his wrist and catching Blaine’s fingers in his own.

They stood there, smiling at each other, hands clasped until Stacy ran into Sam’s legs to show him her arts and crafts project.

#blam #blamily #blam fic #lauraperfectinsanity #Happy Birthday!

[mikqueen12]

Week 13 Draft (Read Me!)

Sheridan Clark is a friend of mine I’ve taken a few classes with. When you look at her, you might get the overwhelming feeling that you just have to be their friend. Her quiet and bubbly personality meshes well with her perfectionist tendencies. Considering I am also quite shy, it took me forever to get up the nerve to talk to her! We went through almost an entire semester before I was giving more than a friendly nod. I learned that we were both taking our same professor the next semester, and this moment is when we both blossomed and really started chatting! 

On the day of the interview, I picked her up at campus. I had already heard that she doesn’t like driving places she doesn’t usually go, and I can relate entirely. I had to grab gas at the nearby gas station, and it was right at 5:00. After struggling with my gas cap and pumping gas, we prepared for take-off. I went to turn left on a busy road and instead turned right, defeated.

“Oh, well I should have known that wouldn’t work during rush hour. I’ll just make a u-turn up here. That is if I can…” I drawled off. Sheridan pointed out the sign and said “There it is! Canada has some weird laws dealing with u-turns.” “Oh, really? I thought you said you were like 3 when you moved down here, how do you remember?” 

“That’s a good question,” she says as she laughs with me. “I guess sometimes you just remember random details for life.” 

I must have made a grimace, because Sheridan and I broke out into a little laughter. “How long have you lived in the U.S.?” 

“Uh, for about as long as I can remember. I think for about 17 years?” She ended her sentence, as if questioning if she was fact checking herself. When I asked her about her memories of Canada, most of them involved her family. 

Sheridan was not a U.S. citizen, and had never had been. One time in class we all showed younger pictures of us (old drivers license photos and such) and we all saw child Sheridan on her green card. She’s a passionate Canadian, usually representing her country with a little button on her hat. The rest of our conversation was rambles about classes and any little thing we felt like talking about. 

The apartment isn’t the cleanest one you will ever see, but it is far from dirty either.  The bar separating the kitchen and the living room tries to fool you that people use the common space. The wax warmer was turned on, illuminating the side of the wall with good lights and a slight cherry smell. The key rack is varying shades of blue, it looks as if it was painted with care at home and was hung up with an off colored green string. It was at an angle and the wall behind it had a few scuff marks, showing continuous use. However, the unopened mail and the red money gun that gets used only when guests are over begs to differ. It seems things are tidy simply because the common space isn’t usually used. Two wood panels hang above the TV in completely different styles. The first looks rustic with blues and beiges. It states “The more people I meet, the more I like my cat.” The second one would be an important item in a mystery video game, if the game was about this apartment; it is brightly colored with orange, turquoise, pinks, and purples and says “Stay Salty.” 

We sat on opposite couches, which faced each other perfectly for this type of activity. The lamp behind us helped fill the room, both with light and space. The furniture in this apartment doesn’t match, but it doesn’t look completely out of place either. The dark brown coffee table housed a few figurines: a snowman left behind from Christmas storage, handed-down coasters holding our halloween cups, and a very round green frog wearing sunglasses playing a saxophone. The TV stand was located in front of us, and held some of my artwork from classes we shared. A pumpkin was painted with a panoramic view of the night sky, with a cat walking on its fence. A metal bust of a cat with his tongue sticking out hides beneath my favorite 3D art. Made of only foamcore, masking tape, and a little glue after it was turned in, these triangles scream activated space. Activated Space was a meme from our 3-D design class, threatened to become a T-shirt design several times.

Sheridan would have a lot to say about this scene. When asked “What do all of your buttons on your bag and hat say about you?” She responded with the idea that it’s a way to learn alot about someone right from the beginning. If you look at her beanie, you’ll see LGBT+ pins, Twenty One Pilot pins, Canada pins, and many more. This shouldn’t be the only way you learn about someone, but you can find out if you will get along if you see some of these little signs. I can relate to this, as I watched back the interview footage I noticed I was wearing a flannel I have dubbed the “Bi Shirt” due to its color scheme. Nods to things like these can go unnoticed, but can become a conversation starter if one wishes.

Expressing yourself is one of her favorite qualities. This can be done through everyday life, but it can also be expressed through art. I once in the interview asked her, as a fellow artist, how she is able to express her emotions so well in her art. As children become teenagers, they obtain more vocabulary to express how they feel. One study done by Nancy Johnson took school age kids and asked them how to answer the question “What is art?” or “What do you think art is?” (61). The younger the child, the more their response would have been like this: something fun to do, making something, using clay, etc. As the grade levels rose, so did their responses. Once you ask the third graders, they began to use emotions along with actions. One student said “it’s just something you have fun with!” and others art as beautiful or playful (Johnson 63). High schoolers who were asked these questions responded with things that please you, an opinion, something that is relative, and other answers (Johnson 64). As we get older, we can describe our feelings better, and Sheridan is very in tune with her feelings.

Back in Professor Peterson’s class, our classmates were shy. However, by the end of the semester, we were all cracking up. The class was Concepts, Creativity, and Studio Practices. This class had little rules; the first project was simply to “make a time machine” and no further explanation was given. The last project was a research art project. It followed the usual frame of do whatever you want, no restrictions. This allowed everyone to create what they wanted, and the class had varying projects. Mine was a poster I created to advocate for the cats on the Marietta campus, and call for them to be TNR’d (trap, neuter, return). 

Even sunshine will eventually meet rain. Sheridan briefly mentions that she meets with her therapist to manage her anxiety and depression. One of the things that I can resonate with her the most on is these topics. Just by looking at her, I can tell she was called “mature for her age” as a child. When I was smaller, I took it as a compliment, thinking I was one step closer to being an adult. However, as I got older, I started realizing it was a soft way of saying “you’ve been through some stuff, and it’s made you into a peacemaker.” Despite the origins, Sheridan appears to be one of the most peaceful people I have ever met.   

However, Sheridan’s project was a real show stopper. She chose to research some of the most common mental illnesses and recreate them in her own way. The below piece she named “Anxiety.” The eyes everywhere to her represented the feeling of anxiety, and other ways of expressing that feeling. She also created 3 more types, with her interpretations of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Her determination for a perfect project-- or 4 for that matter, is prevalent here. This piece represents the feeling of being anxious in its entirety; sometimes when we feel anxious, we might wonder if we have general anxiety too. That’s what the research done by Takeshi Hamamura and Christian Chan focused on. The mere concept of being anxious correlated with increased googling “symptoms of anxiety” and reports of self diagnosed anxiety rise as well (Hamamura and Chan 2). The good thing about Google is how soon we can pull up information, and in this case someone might be able to schedule an appointment if they need to. (Hamamura and Chan 1). If not, researching the symptoms can give you some piece of mind!

Something I envy about my interviewee is her determination to have a perfect, well, anything. This expresses itself most often in the form of art projects. For example, in our 3D Design class we had a project called “Paper and Metal.” The goal was to make a casting of pewter and have it suspended in air only by paper and glue. The class met 6 hours a week, and she never had a moment of downtime; she was always creating the paper trees, grass, or leaves for her project. Whereas I only spent about 7 hours on my project (pictured below so you can get the idea) outside of class, I’m fairly certain she spent twice that on hers. Hard work pays off, and I hope she got a well deserved break after the completion of this pristine project. 

Sheridan doesn’t stop at expressing herself through art, or style. She also has a new hobby: Furbys! In the interview, she described them as the toy she always wanted until right before Christmas, when she forgot it existed. Now that she’s out on her own, she has more freedom and goes to  buy them, clean their fur, and revamp them! The tech that hides within these furbies is quite impressive. The article “There’s a lot of smart electronics inside a furby” describes this perfectly. For example, furbies are programmed to begin speaking “Furbish” and progressively learn English. (Edgar 28) To a child (or even me until I read this article), it would look like the Furby is learning directly from you! The realism packed into the fury creature is shocking, as many of its responses don’t seem to have a rhyme or reason. If you hold a furby upside down at first it will giggle, but if you keep holding it upside down it may say “I’m scared.” (Edgar 29)

Out of all the furbies I’ve seen, Cabbage is the one I’ve seen the most. But she has a variety, ranging from Big Mama, Shifty, and Maw. Since most of the ones she owns are ~15-20 years old, few of them work. She enjoys taking them apart, “deskinning” them and attempting to fix them. A project she’s had in the making is to make a rainbow pride furby by dying their fur. This furby is beginning to come together as of me writing this, and has been named June. Although Cabbage doesn’t work yet, I still have hope for him! 

Being LGBT+ is an important part of both of our lives, and we both identify as Bisexual. A paper that Sheridan is writing this semester focuses on more education for LGBT+ students as well as just acceptance in schools. When I went to look up this topic, I found this research that came from Canada and thought it was fitting. Catherine Nash and Kath Browne talked about the importance of these topics being taught in school. With LGBT+ issues being more accepted and acknowledged, we have to remember that our society is centered around a hetronormalitive lifestyle. It has to be remembered that “The drive for LGBT integration often works in concert with broader efforts to teach multiculturalism, diversity and inclusiveness.” (Nash and Browne) School is the place where you can learn things you wouldn’t have at home, and these schools need to be a safe environment where a student won’t feel judged. Not only in Canada do LGBT+ students in school feel they are not accepted or wanted. If the environment you learn in isn’t a good one, there is a likelihood this student may not want to do work. 

In the end, I feel I got to know Sheridan on a more personal level than I did from small talk from class. It’s important to listen and understand in friendships and relationships, and if you do it might help you grow. It reminded me that expressing yourself is important, and perhaps you should consider more ways than one. Picking up a hobby that others might think is quirky might just be the thing you need to ease your mind at the end of the day. If asked “Who is Sheridan?” I feel that I can confidently answer this question. Sheridan is the single beam of sunshine that sneaks through your window to wake you up gently. She is wise beyond her years, and typically acts as a “Mom Friend” in her friend group. She won’t let herself get walked all over, and she will find a better way to live! Sheridan is the definition of expressing. Whether it is through art, furbies, buttons, music, or plants, you can find a bit of Sheridan everywhere. 

#draft

[quicksilversquared]

Tikki’s Hobby

Tikki discovers origami during her quest to find something to do while she's sitting around in Marinette's bag. It's fun, it's pretty, and it doesn't take long for her to learn. Tikki is thrilled. She can make the little figurines all day and still be entertained.

Marinette just wants her room back before she drowns in a sea of miniature origami pieces.

(AO3) (FF.net)

Being an immortal god meant having a lot of time on one's hands.

Being an immortal god who had to ride along in a teenager's bag while she was at school meant having a lot of time on one's hands during which one couldn't really do much anything interesting, like flying laps or watching cat videos or listening to all of the music that had come out since the last time the Miraculous were activated, since those activities tended to make enough noise to draw unwanted attention. She couldn't very well paint in a bag without making a mess, and even an attempt at using a tablet and Microsoft Paint had ended in failure because the glow the screen gave off attracted too much attention, even through the bag's fabric.

So Tikki had to get creative.

"Can we buy that, Marinette?" Tikki asked as they browsed through the arts and crafts department of a neighborhood store. Marinette had been looking for a book about embroidery, but a thin book with pretty things made out of folded paper on it had caught Tikki's attention instead. "Does it say how to make the paper animals?"

Marinette turned around and spotted the book almost immediately. "Oh! It's an origami book. It shows all of the steps so you can make the animals, and it comes with some pretty paper, too."

Tikki bounced. There was a folded paper ladybug on the cover, and a cat, and a turtle, and a butterfly. When Marinette opened the book, she could see designs for a bee and a fox and a peacock among the other animal designs.

Tikki had to have it.

"I think I still have a couple origami books from when I was younger," Marinette said as she paged through the book. "Some of them have the same patterns as this one, I think."

Tikki peered up at Marinette. "Can we buy the book? Pretty please?" She widened her eyes as much as she could, knowing full well how susceptible Marinette was to kitten eyes. Perhaps it was cheating, but she wasn't using it for bad. "I think it would be fun to learn!"

They bought the book.

Tikki learned quickly that her body size put her at a bit of a disadvantage with the paper folding. The paper squares that came with the book were a bit too unwieldy for her, but any smaller and the creases and thicker paper layers started to interfere with the design. She had to back away from the more difficult, more interesting designs at first until she got the hang of simpler origami designs. It took a lot of practice, and Marinette ended up helping Tikki with a couple designs in between homework problems.

The god of creation was not going to be brought down by folded paper. She was going to get the hang of it, of that Tikki was certain.

Two weeks after buying the book, Marinette suggested that Tikki use tissue paper instead, or maybe another, thinner sort of origami paper. She could use smaller pieces then, without the thickness being such a huge problem. Tikki pounced on the suggestion immediately, and soon the little god had mastered the basic designs. Slowly but surely she moved on to the harder designs, and then the designs that used several pieces of the tissue paper, all folded differently. Tikki became an origami expert in no time, though to her great consternation she never got the hang of lucky stars. Her lack of fingers kept Tikki from pressing in the sides of the paper to form the stars, which frustrated the little goddess to no end. Still, Tikki didn't let her troubles with one design hold her back.

Slowly but surely, Marinette's desk vanished under a flood of tiny paper animals and flowers.

"Maybe you could make something with the origami pieces," Marinette finally suggested after she accidentally created an avalanche of folded paper by bumping into her desk. "A bracelet, maybe? Or maybe they could be hanging decorations."

Tikki pouted as she gathered up the small paper pieces in her arms and floated off to arrange the pieces on a windowsill. "But what if they get crushed? These are fragile."

Marinette bit her lip as she watched Tikki carefully arrange the tiny herd of giraffes on the windowsill. Her room was slowly being overrun by Tikki's hobby and, well, two artists in one space wasn't going to end well, especially since Marinette's sewing machine was currently being used as a display stand for no fewer than twenty-two origami cats of all colors and patterns.

"There might be a way to make them sturdier," Marinette suggested as she carefully moved seven origami peacocks to the side so she could do her homework in front of her computer. She wriggled the mouse to wake the computer up, almost crushing a paper flower as she did so. One quick Google search later, she found her answer. "This site says we could use acrylic paint or clear fingernail polish to make the paper harder so it could be used for other things."

Tikki whizzed away from where she was straightening a herd of elephants to peer over Marinette's shoulder. "But wouldn't anything wet make my animals warp? No thank you!"

Marinette giggled at her kwami's pout. "They only use a little bit at a time and do a bunch of layers so that the paper doesn't warp or anything. You could at least try it on some of your earlier attempts first, and if that doesn't work then we'll try something else."

Tikki looked undecided for a moment. "I don't know..."

Marinette waited.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt," Tikki finally decided. She brightened and looked up at Marinette with a grin. "Okay! Do you have any nail polish?"

   "I didn't see where the akuma went!" Chat Noir shouted to Ladybug as they raced over the rooftops. "Do you have any idea?"

"Not a clue!" Ladybug shouted back as she slowed down to take a look at their surroundings. They were in a part of Paris that she hadn't been in much before. In fact, she had only been there once, to get the materials for an art project she did back in école. She and her father had gone to a giant art store that had absolutely everything any artist at any level would want. She had been overwhelmed at the options at the time, but now...

There it was, right over there, a beacon to artists all over the city with its flashy, art-themed storefront. Ladybug knew full well that they carried the product that Tikki wanted for her origami there, the product that she hadn't been able to find anywhere in any of the stores near her house. She had been hoping to maybe take the bus over to this part of town some afternoon soon before her chaise vanished under the growing collection of paper figurines, but she had never had the time before.

But she was here now, and with the akuma suddenly gone quiet...

Ah, Paris could wait three minutes while she ran in and bought a bottle of clear glaze for her kwami.

"I need to make a quick stop at that store," Ladybug announced as Chat Noir jumped over the street to join her. She could almost feel his quizzical stare on the side of her face. "I'll be right back out, I promise."

"O...kay?" Chat Noir sounded nothing short of puzzled. As Ladybug started forward, she could hear his footsteps following her. "May I ask why you are shopping in the middle of an akuma attack, my lady?"

Ladybug couldn't stop the blush that flared up across her face as she swung down to the street. Perhaps it was irresponsible of her, but she was getting desperate. She could barely do her homework anymore without worrying that she was going to crush the miniature owls surrounding her keyboard. "It's for my kwami. She's taken up an art hobby and needed something that I couldn't find near us."

"Uh-huh. And how are you going to pay for that?" Chat Noir landed next to Ladybug with a light thud and followed her as she made a beeline for the store. "Like, are you going to need to detransform? Because I can totally go take a hike for a few minutes while you do your shopping."

Ladybug froze a meter away from the door. She had been so incredibly focused on the store and getting the glue for Tikki that she had completely forgotten that her wallet had vanished with her transformation. If she wanted to get the glue without depending on the old "stuff is free for superheroes" thing that some shopkeepers had decided to do, she would have to find somewhere safe to detransform, get into the store, make her purchase, and then find somewhere to transform again, all of which would slow her down a lot.

She might have the time to make a quick stop in a store, but she definitely couldn't afford the extra time and danger that detransforming in the middle of a fight- with the akuma MIA, no less- would create.

She couldn't do it. Tikki would have to wait.

Almost as soon as the decision entered Ladybug's mind, a ripple of magic at her hip caught her attention. Ladybug looked down in confusion, only to see that her suit had sprouted a pocket, a pocket that was bulging a little from the wallet inside of it.

"I guess that answers that question," Chat Noir chuckled as they both stared. "Wow, your kwami must really be passionate about her hobby, huh? Mine only cares about cheese."

Ladybug could only flash a weak grin in reply.

It didn't take them long to get through the store, since everyone had gone into hiding when the akuma fight got too close. Chat Noir cracked art-themed puns as Ladybug hurried through the aisles towards the glues and paints section. He had actually been surprisingly helpful once they got to the right section- the glaze Tikki wanted was on the highest shelf and was almost out, putting it far beyond Ladybug's reach, even when she stood on her toes.

"I don't think the cashier even noticed we're the real Ladybug and Chat Noir," Chat Noir cackled as they left the store with Ladybug's purchase. Ladybug was busy trying to shove both wallet and jar into the tight pocket in her suit. "Like, did you see that eye roll he gave us when we got to the counter? We were just interrupting his texting time with his girlfriend."

Ladybug snorted. "You don't know that, chaton."

"I do! I was looking at his phone screen while he was ringing you up, and he was texting a girl that had, like, five hearts after her name. Totally his girlfriend."

Ladybug finally got the jar into the pocket and with another flash of pink magic the pocket vanished, leaving her outfit as smooth and seamless as it normally was. "You really shouldn't have been looking at his personal texts, Chat Noir."

Her partner shrugged, completely shameless.

"You're impossible," Ladybug sighed, trying not to grin. "Really, though-"

A scream cut off whatever Ladybug was about to say as both heroes whipped around to face the direction the scream had come from. More screams from the same direction left no doubt that the akuma had shown his face again.

"Ah, it looks like your shopping time is over," Chat Noir said with a wide grin. "Pity, since there's a great shoe store over a block and they have some fantastic deals on their fall heels collection right now."

"Maybe we can stop over there after we take the akuma down," Ladybug shot back with a grin. "I know how much you love your high heels. I'll even carry a bag or two for you if you buy too much to get in one trip."

Chat Noir clasped his hands over his heart as they sprinted towards the screaming. "My lady, you would do that for me? We should go shopping together someday! I could carry your bags one day, and you could help me with mine the next, and oh, it would be so much fun! I've been looking for a new shopping buddy-"

Ladybug snorted with laughter as they charged around a corner. "God, the media would have a field day."

"I don't know, we could probably wear something over our suits and maybe pop on a pair of sunglasses and bam! No press!"

"You'd have to find something to cover those cat ears of yours, kitten," Ladybug teased as she wound up her yo-yo to throw at the akuma. "They're not very subtle."

Chat Noir grinned over at her as he circled around to attack from another angle. "Maybe your kwami can make something for me to wear, hmm?"

"You'd have to ask nicely!" Ladybug called back before diving into the fray with a shout. There was little time for banter after that, and then once the akuma was defeated both Ladybug and Chat Noir had to save their breath for sprinting back to their side of Paris before their timers ran out. Ladybug had only just gotten into her room when her transformation dissolved early. Tikki rushed out of her earrings with a grin, little arms already held out for the bottle of glaze.

"Easy there," Marinette laughed as she regained her balance. "I think the jar might be a little heavy for you to carry down. Why don't you go find the pieces you're going to use for the test run, and I'll set up the glaze and your paintbrush?"

Tikki nodded eagerly and dashed off, making Marinette laugh at her kwami's eagerness. She headed down the steps from her loft as Tikki rummaged through the pile of less-than-perfect origami pieces for the ones that she was going to try the glaze on first. Marinette couldn't help but hope that the pieces either didn't go too well at first so Tikki could throw a couple pieces away or that Tikki would do well right away, at which point she could toss the less perfect pieces of origami like she had been promising to do for a month. Marinette poured a little bit of the glaze onto the lid of a container, then pulled out the brush Tikki had adapted for herself. The handle had been cut short so it wouldn't be so unwieldy, and the bristles had been trimmed down a little as well.

"I got the pieces!" Tikki squealed from behind Marinette as she finished setting up Tikki's workstation. "Can I start now, Marinette?"

Marinette giggled at her kwami. "Are you sure you don't want a cookie first? We did just fight an akuma, you know!" When Tikki hesitated, Marinette added, "And soon you'll be too covered in glue to hold a cookie without getting it sticky as well!"

"Ooh, that would be bad!" Tikki squealed. "Cookie first, please!"

   The paper glossing went very well from the start. It only took one ruined piece for Tikki to get the hang of using just enough of the gluelike substance at a time to stiffen the paper when it dried but not too much that it would warp the origami paper or make the ink on the paper run. Once Tikki got confident with her skills, it wasn't long before the army of paper animals and flowers around Marinette's room turned into an army of glazed paper animals and flowers.

It really wasn't much of an improvement.

"I'll get rid of some of it soon, I promise," Tikki said when she caught Marinette staring at her covered chaise. "Can I borrow a needle and thread? I want to make a chain of flowers."

Marinette produced the materials with a bit of a sigh. She was truly lucky that her parents didn't often venture up to her room, since it would be next to impossible to explain the origami overflowing from every corner and even, in some cases, stuck to the walls with a special wall putty Tikki had found.

"I can give some of this to Master Fu," Tikki said as she strung paper flowers and ladybugs onto the thread. She made a careful knot between the flowers, spacing them out along the thick thread. "Wayazz would like a chain of turtles, I know he would."

Marinette's mind went to Master Fu's shop. He probably couldn't display anything too obviously associated with the Miraculous in his front room, but he probably wouldn't mind a few more things in his back rooms. "Maybe you could do a chain with all of seven of the Miraculous animals on it as well. Master Fu would like that, I think."

"Ooh!" Tikki wriggled with excitement. "I'll make several things for him, I think. It's lots of fun!"

Marinette couldn't help but smile as she left her kwami busy working as she went back to her homework. If she was lucky, maybe Tikki could bring along the string and some origami figures to school in her bag and continue her work there; while the glazing kept Tikki busy while she was at home, it wasn't something she could do while Marinette was at school. As a result, the number of origami figurines in Marinette's room just kept growing.

She only felt a little guilty about encouraging Tikki to offload some of her origami on Master Fu. The older Miraculous holder could handle a couple decorations. He had the space.

"Oh, I love it!" Fu exclaimed when Marinette presented him with the two garlands Tikki had pulled together. Her kwami had decided to get a little more creative with the turtle garland and had added small shiny green glass beads on either side of the little turtles. "These are absolutely gorgeous, Tikki."

Tikki spun around in glee, clapping her little arms together happily. "Thank you! I made a bunch of origami animals. They're so much fun to make, but I can't keep them all."

"Yes, yes, I know the feeling," Fu chuckled. "I have had many hobbies over the years, and more than a few have resulted in too much stuff. Some of it I gifted, some of it I sold. You may want to consider the same; these pieces are gorgeous."

And that was exactly what they ended up doing. Several of Master Fu's customers complemented his new decorations, so he started selling the garlands that Tikki happily produced. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as her room slowly cleared up, letting her see her chaise for the first time in weeks.

Much to Tikki's amusement, people seemed to like the ladybug-and-black-cat garlands the best. They always sold within a day of Tikki delivering them.

"Imagine what people would say if they found out that Ladybug was the one selling these," Tikki giggled as she strung together another garland. The kwami thankfully didn't seem to mind catering to the demand for certain animals; as long as her paws had something to do during class, the kwami seemed perfectly happy. "I don't think I would be able to keep up!"

Marinette smiled at Tikki as the kwami hummed happily, carefully putting a bead in place before stringing another black cat on. The glaze on the paper cat shone white for a moment as Tikki tugged it down the string.

While the kwami seemed enthralled enough with origami now, Marinette knew full well how hobbies like that could work. She had gone through more than a few arts-and-crafts hobbies when she was younger- origami, then jewelry making, then scrapbooking, painting, paper mâché, embroidery, knitting, and finally sewing her own clothes. The materials she had left from those hobbies were fantastic now whenever she was babysitting Manon, but at the time it had been incredibly frustrating to have to explain to her parents why she absolutely had to go to the art store to buy something when she still had loads of origami paper or paint or beads left to play with. Manon went through hobbies even faster than Marinette herself had, but at least her mother provided all of the materials for Manon to use.

At the moment, those materials involved a whole lot of glitter. Marinette couldn't wait until Manon grew out of it.

"I have a present for Chat Noir," Tikki announced, breaking into Marinette's thoughts. The little kwami held up the garland she had been working on. Spaced evenly along the black string were folded black cats, each edged by two brilliantly green beads. "Do you think he'll like it? Plagg only likes cheese."

"He'll love it," Marinette promised. It definitely was true; Chat Noir would treasure anything Ladybug gave him. "I know he will."

Naturally, she was right.

"I love it!" Chat Noir exclaimed, picking up part of the strand to peer at the origami cats more closely. "The cats are so cute! And you said your kwami made them?"

"She's gotten really into origami," Ladybug replied, smiling as she watched Chat Noir's grin stretch wider. "She'll be thrilled to know that you like it."

"I'm putting it up as soon as I get home," Chat Noir assured her with another grin. "My room needs more decorations. Tell her thank you for me."

"I will," Ladybug said. She grinned at him. "So I hear that your kwami isn't into anything but cheese?"

She laughed as her partner groaned. "Oh, is he ever. Let me tell you..."

   A few weeks passed, and Marinette mostly forgot about the chain of paper cats her partner had gotten. It was just one of many chains that Tikki had made, and there was no particular reason for that one in particular to really stand out.

And then there was.

"So this is my room," Adrien said as he ushered Marinette and Alya through the door into a huge sun-lit room. "Snacks should be up in a few minutes, and then we can get started on our project."

"Holy hell, model boy," Alya breathed, turning around slowly as she wandered into the middle of Adrien's room, eyes wide as she took in the expansive space. "Your room is insane, isn't it Marinette- Marinette?"

Marinette didn't respond. Her eyes were locked on the garlands crisscrossing the open area between the upper walkways in Adrien's room. One of the strands was strung with alternating ladybugs and black cats- which was normal enough, since Tikki had made over a dozen garlands in that style- but the other garland was purely black cats, set off with bright green beads. She could have sworn that Tikki had only made one strand like that- the strand that she had gifted to Chat Noir. But then that would mean...

Marinette's eyes snapped to Adrien's slightly concerned face, framed by perfectly styled hair. Both boys were blond with green eyes, yes, but picturing Chat Noir with Adrien's hair was laughable and besides, she didn't know for sure if Chat's eyes were actually green or if it was merely his suit that made them appear that way. There was no reason to jump to hasty conclusions over a strand of origami cats. It was far more likely that Tikki had simply made more of the black cat strands and Marinette hadn't noticed. As bad as it sounded to admit it, she really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to Tikki's hobby other than to ensure that her kwami's supply of materials wasn't running low.

She could ask Tikki about it later. There was no reason to needlessly freak out now. Sure, it was strange that Adrien just happened to know Master Fu- because where else would he have bought the garlands?- and strange that he had just happened to buy the same style garland that she (well, Tikki) had gifted to Chat Noir, but maybe Adrien went to Master Fu's practice every once in a while after a particularly strenuous basketball or fencing practice. She couldn't rule that possibility out, or the possibility of Adrien having received the garlands as a gift, possibly from Nathalie or his bodyguard, both of whom were a whole lot softer than they appeared at first glance.

"Marinette?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said hastily, finally pulling her gaze away from the decorations gracing Adrien's upper level. Surely there was an explanation. She was just jumping to conclusions. "Should we get started on our project?"

   As it turned out, Marinette completely forgot to ask Tikki about the black cat garland. The group project at Adrien's had gone swimmingly, and Alya had been a fantastic wingman, pushing Adrien and Marinette closer together whenever she could. The two of them had actually had a fully coherent (if short) discussion while Alya used the bathroom, and then Adrien gave her (and Alya as well, admittedly) a hug before she left. Marinette had been walking on Cloud Nine when she got home, suspicious decorations completely forgotten.

"We had an actual conversation," Marinette sighed as she flopped onto her chaise (after checking for stray origami pieces). "And we're going to work together for a whole month."

"With Alya," Tikki pointed out, carefully pulling out her newest additions to her origami collection from Marinette's purse. She smoothed out a couple of wrinkles and lined them up to be treated. "Don't forget that."

"I could never! Alya's the only reason I could survive this." Marinette fanned her face with her hands. "Ooh, this is going to be awesome, unless- oooh, what if I mess up my words again? That would be so embarrassing-"

Tikki sighed and let Marinette babble on as she folded another butterfly and propped it on top of the rest of her figurines. Her Chosen would calm down eventually.

Until then, Tikki could keep on creating.

  Of course, it couldn't last. Folding paper day in and day out was bound to get old after a while, even for one of the most patient kwami. And so one day, Marinette opened her bag after a long day at school and found her kwami staring a bit blankly at the side of her purse, surrounded by unfolded origami paper.

"Are you sick, Tikki?" Marinette asked after a couple seconds. She picked up her coat, ready to head right back outside and straight to Master Fu's place.

Tikki startled, glancing up at Marinette. "Oh no! I'm not sick at all, I..." She paused, sighing. "It's just that garlands take so many of the same thing, over and over and over, and I, I don't want to sound ungrateful because you bought all of this origami stuff for me, but..."

"You're tired of making the same thing over and over," Marinette finished. "That's perfectly understandable, you've been making so many."

Tikki perked up. "Exactly! And then today, I was going to start, but I just didn't want to, and then I told myself no, I had to so that I can get enough to finish the next garland, but it was worse than just sitting there and doing nothing while the teacher talks!"

"It's okay, Tikki, don't force yourself to do something you don't like!" Marinette said hastily. "You were doing it for fun, and it's not like there were people ordering the garlands or anything."

Tikki looked a bit relieved before she slumped again. "But what about the pieces I have laying around? There's so many odds and ends, but I don't know if I could finish enough of any of them for an entire string..."

"So we can do something else with them." Marinette placed Tikki down on her desk and wriggled her computer's mouse, waking it up. "I know I saw a bunch of other stuff online when I was searching to figure out pricing for the garlands- most of it was jewelry, like earrings or necklaces. Those would only take one or two origami pieces, and I bet a lot of people would like them."

Tikki blinked up at her. "But where would we get materials for that? Don't you need earring hooks, and chains, and special jewelry wire?"

Marinette giggled, scooting her chair over to a large box sitting in the corner of her desk. "Surely you didn't think that I didn't have stuff like that? I was really into making jewelry for a while maybe a year and a half ago, and I still have the stuff for that. It's useful if I can't find the right accessories to go with an outfit, but I really don't have much of a use for the earring stuff now, obviously." Marinette tapped at her earlobe, where her Miraculous were attached. "Well, except for as gifts. But you can use this stuff for now, and if it works out, I'll buy more. Do you want me to look up a tutorial for how to make earrings?"

Tikki nodded eagerly, energy returned, and thirty minutes later both of them were hard at work. Tikki sat on Marinette's diary box, bent over her first pair of earrings. Further down the desk, Marinette was hard at work on her homework. Tikki hummed happily along to the Jagged Stone song as she picked out what beads she was going to use with each origami piece- there were so many choices!- and strung them onto the earring pin, occasionally pulling everything back off and rearranging the beads. Marinette smiled at her kwami before returning to her French Literature reading.

"It's perfect!" Tikki announced half an hour later. She held up the pair of turtle-themed earring pieces. "But I think I need you to bend the top of the pin to attach it to the earring hooks. I don't have the strength to do it myself."

Marinette winced. "I should have thought of that." Setting her pencil down, Marinette reached over and picked up the needle-nose pliers before taking the pin from Tikki. "A lot of jewelry with the origami uses these pins, actually. Maybe you can experiment with other things." She carefully attached the first pin to the earring hook, then set it aside and did the same with the second. Tikki squealed in joy as she handed the pieces back.

"These look great! They're glorious!" Tikki spun around the room one earring in each hand. She settled back down after a minute, beaming as she hung the earrings back up. "I'm gonna make more!"

And she did. Another three pairs of earrings followed the first, and then Tikki decided to make a necklace. A tiny flower hung on a pin from the middle of the strand, offset by tiny seed beads.

"It goes with your jacket, Marinette," Tikki said as she held the necklace up. She had to hover in the air so that the bottom of the necklace wouldn't drag on the desk. "Do you want to keep it?"

"Oh, of course!" Marinette dipped her head so Tikki could slip the cord over her head. "Thank you, it's gorgeous!"

Tikki beamed, clapped her paws together, and flittered back over to her workspace to keep working.

Over the next few days, Alya got a ladybug necklace, Marinette's mother got a pair of earrings with flowers dangling from the ends, and a whole mountain of jewelry made its way over to Master Fu's place to be sold. The odds and ends of Tikki's origami stash dwindled down to a few of Tikki's favorites that she was keeping. She made a couple new pieces to complete a set of earrings, but otherwise Tikki had completely stopped doing origami.

Origami burn-out, Marinette called it. Too much in too short of an amount of time. Tikki would probably be interested in origami again after a while, but for now she would have to find another hobby to occupy the hours she spent in Marinette's bag.

It could have been worse, Marinette reminded herself as she finished up her lunch. Tikki might have not wanted anything to do with her origami after the burn out, and she would have been left dozens upon dozens of little origami figurines to store until Tikki could face them again. At least now, Tikki was dealing with the figurines. They were leaving the room, and Tikki seemed to be enjoying herself with picking out which beads to pair with which origami pieces. It was also nice that they could do something with Tikki's pieces- if they hadn't, if Tikki had gotten into something like sewing tiny, kwami-sized scarves or making similarly small paintings- it would have been far more of a problem.

"Ready to go, Tikki?" Marinette asked as she headed up the stairs and pushed her trapdoor open. "I want to be early for my next..." She trailed off as her eyes fell on her kwami. Tikki was sitting in the middle of a pile of beads in front of the computer. A beaded earring sat to one side of Tikki, completely origami-free, and another was half-done in the kwami's paws. The computer screen displayed step-by-step instructions for the gorgeous instructions.

Somehow Marinette suspected that Tikki had found her next hobby.

"Oops?" Tikki offered a little guiltily as a couple seed beads rolled off the desk and bounced to the floor. The kwami held up the earring. "I just was having so much fun with the origami pieces, and then I got curious about how other earrings get designed, and then I looked it up and it looked really cool so I had to try, and this is amazing."

"It's fine," Marinette assured her kwami quickly. Really, she shouldn't have surprised that Tikki would get interested in jewelry-making eventually; Tikki was Creation, after all, and of course creating things would be right up her alley. They might end up wrestling over the seed beads when Marinette needed to bead a purse or a dress or something, but she would rather have to deal with that than deny Tikki something that she enjoyed doing.

And besides, at least the jewelry making didn't involve glitter.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #Tikki #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #origami making