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prolestariwrites · 5 years ago

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Mead stops at the door, swallowing uncomfortably when he scans the room full of chatty boys and girls. His eyes open wide and his fingers tremble as they grasp the little sack that holds his lunch: a small loaf of honey bread, an apple, and a hunk of sharp cheese. Nana Mary, with whom he had been staying since arriving in the capital a week ago, had said this was what all the children ate at school, but seeing their fancy clothes and embroidered backpacks, he suddenly feels incredibly out of place.

Someone bumps him from behind, making him stumble forward, and Mead tries to slip in unnoticed. He takes a seat in the very back corner, running his hands over the smooth wood of the desk before lifting it up. Inside are sheets of paper—the thin kind, cut prettily, not the thick parchments like the mayor uses at home to hang up notices—along with a few pencils and even an inkwell and pen. His eyes go even wider at the sight. He’s never even seen a real pen before.

“Boys and girls, have a seat!” The teacher walks in, a tall and imposing woman with birdlike features and her hair pulled back into a severe bun. Her black robes swirl around her, the uniform that signifies her status as full professor, and she stands at the desk in the front as the children scramble for seats. Within thirty seconds they are seated and still, everyone’s hands folded on the desk, so Mead sits up and does the same.

“We will start with the pledge.”

Everyone stands, Mead jumping up as well, and he follows suit as they place their right hands over hearts. The recitation begins, and this he mostly knows, although in Bernia they say it a bit differently, not so stiff and formal.

We pledge allegiance to Liones, To the king and to the kingdom, Hearts and minds devoted to peace, And justice for all men.

“And women!” one of the girls proclaims, earning a round of giggles. The professor gives a sharp look that quiets them down immediately before the children take their seats.

“Name and date at the top, then I want at least one hundred words on The Brave Knight and its themes.”

The blood drains from Mead’s face as he frantically looks around. The other children open their desks and store their sacks away, which he does as well; then they remove a piece of paper and a pencil and begin working, the only sound is the scratching of writing.

Mead writes his name and the date at the top, and then stops. Nana Mary had read him The Brave Knight just the other day, but what is he supposed to do now? And one hundred words? Mead only knows about twenty, tops!

Biting his lip, he puts his pencil to paper, and immediately the tip snaps off. Mead looks around in alarm, wondering what to do, when a voice beside him whispers, “It’s that one.”

He looks over to see a boy with light hair and a sunny smile pointing to the side of the desk. “There is a little knife to carve. Be sure not to get scrapings on the floor, Professor gets cross when you make a mess.”

“Thanks!” he whispers back. Mead slips the little carving tool from the side of the desk and quickly whittles another point. His desk is now covered in little slivers of graphite, so not knowing what to do he scoops them into his hand and dumps them into his desk.

The boy beside him giggles, and Mead crooks a brow at him. “What?”

“You’re funny. What’s your name?” he asks.

Leaning over he says, “Mead. What’s yours?”

“Zeal. Are you new?”

“Yeah. I just moved here from Bernia. This knight guy named Meliodas said I had to come here and go to school.”

“Woah! You know Meliodas?”

Mead smiles smugly. “Yup. He made me one of the Seven Deadly Sins and everything. We stopped the evil Holy Knights.”

Zeal frowns. “Nuh uh. My sister is a Holy Knight, I would have heard about that.”

His mouth twists as he tries to think up a retort and fails. Meanwhile, his eyes lift to Zeal’s paper, which has a proper paragraph already written. “What’s the answer?”

Zeal laughs behind his hand. “It’s whatever you think. There’s no right or wrong. Professor wants to know what you think the story is about. Just say why.”

Mead nods. He sits back up and writes: “The Brave Knight” is about a knight who is brave.

“Damn,” he mutters. “Only ten words.”

Quickly he erases brave and writes very very very very very very over and over until he triumphantly counts up to one hundred, then adds brave on the end with a flourish.

“Done!” he murmurs. Then he turns to Zeal and asks, “How many words you got?”

Eight-four, Zeal mimes.

“Not bad.” He props his elbow on the desk and says smugly, “I’m at one hundred and ten.”

“No way!” Zeal protests, holding out his arm. “Let me see!”

Proudly Mead hands over his paper, but his grin turns sour when Zeal snorts loudly. “This isn’t a theme! The Professor will—”

“In all my years, I have never seen such a blatant display of cheating! How disgraceful!”

Both boys look up to see the Professor glaring down at them. Mead feels as though he is pinned by her glare, shrinking into his seat. This is worse than any of the time the old villagers yelled at him. “We weren’t!” Zeal protests. “Promise!”

“Boys chatting and sharing papers is the very definition of cheating,” she scolds. “You’ll both stay after in detention and write three hundred words on why cheaters are a drain on society.”

She turns and stalks back to the front of the room, leaving Mead blinking in her wake. That’s it? Detention? She didn’t even hit him! He turns and grins at Zeal, who has completely sild down in his seat. “Hey! I thought we were goners for sure. Detention don’t seem so bad.”

“It’s worse than it sounds,” Zeal groans. “She makes us clean the whole room and now we gotta write three hundred words? This will take forever!”

“I’ll clean if you write?” Mead offers.

The teacher hisses at them, and both boys shrink back. “Deal,” Mead hears him whisper, and he smiles to himself.

#nnt #nanatsu no taizai #zeal #mead #sidecastweek #myfic

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hazellvesque · 5 years ago

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Some Kind of Miracle - Chapter 8

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: G

Pairing: Adrien/Marinette

Summary: If Marinette had her way, she would have had nothing to do with Alya’s latest celebrity crush. So how did she get roped into stalking him around Los Angeles? When fashion icon Adrien Agreste quite literally crashes into Marinette’s life, they have no choice but to put up with one another or risk ruining both of their potential careers forever.

An AU based on the iconic Disney Channel Original Movie, Starstruck.

Read on Ao3

Chapter 8 - Soul

<<< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>>

The remainder of Marinette’s evening passed in a swift, dreamlike blur.

After leaving Adrien - and making a pit stop to the nearest restroom to wash the ink from her hands, though not before making sure to try to commit his phone number to memory - she found her way back to Alya’s side in record time.

It took every ounce of her self-control to stop from fidgeting, lest she draw attention to her flushed face or the faint black smear she couldn’t quite seem to wash away.

Alya, being none-the-wiser, completely believed Marinette’s “oh silly me, I must have gotten lost” excuse and suspected nothing, to Marinette’s relief. The last thing she needed was Alya finding out about where she’d gone and who she was with.

It all felt a bit exhilarating - to be sneaking off and keeping secrets. It was so unlike Marinette to even think about behaving in this way; she and Alya didn’t keep secrets from each other, especially not something that the other would be so incredibly happy to know about.

Yet, the thought of having an entire side story of her life happening without anyone knowing excited her in ways she couldn’t quite understand.

The entire taxi ride back to the hotel was spent fidgeting anxiously in the backseat while Alya chatted up a storm with the driver. Pure adrenaline still coursed through Marinette’s entire body enough to make her fumble while opening the hotel room door, having to make multiple attempts with the key card before finally unlocking it.

Mme. Césaire glanced up from her newspaper, lowering her reading glasses and smiling widely. A small part of Marinette wondered if the woman even understood the articles she was reading. Perhaps she was just skimming the advertisements in an attempt to keep herself busy. Whether she’d admit it or not, she had the same concerns any rational parent would have while sending her teenage daughter off to explore an unfamiliar city. “How was the mall?” she asked, playing a little too casual.

“Expensive,” Alya dramatically flopped down into the large sofa in the middle of the room. Marinette followed suit, though she was itching to get back into the bedroom and at the very least write down the digits that were already fading from her mind and hide them in a safe place.

Mme. Césaire hummed low under her breath. “I suppose we should have expected that. You still had fun though, right?”

As Alya and her mom chatted, Marinette’s food bounced impatiently. She cursed herself for being so fidgety - it wasn’t that big of a deal. At least that’s what she tried to convince herself of. Still, nervous energy coursed through her at the mere thought of being found out.

Paranoia was all it was, really. There was no way she’d get figured out. It wasn’t like he was going to blow her cover. He couldn’t even call her first - her cellphone was useless for making calls due to the lack of service, and she hadn’t given him the hotel room’s number.

Of course, he could still call if he wanted to. He knew where she was staying since he’d dropped her off that night, plus he had a direct line to her through Mme. Césaire’s hiring.

But no. He wouldn’t do that. He wanted this to stay a secret just as much as Marinette did.

At least, that’s what Marinette told herself to calm down.

In retrospect, his decision to put the situation in her control had been smart. He had no way of knowing if his outgoing call might reach the wrong person, but Marinette already knew that his phone was always silenced, and her unknown number could easily be excused as a spam call and brushed off to anyone who would question him.

He’d probably been sneaking around and keeping secrets for years. Marinette didn’t blame him - it was the only way he could have the tiniest bit of privacy.

Still, the sinking feeling that this would all eventually blow up in her face wouldn’t quite escape from the back of her mind.

Alya finding out would probably be the worst. Sure, her parents would be ashamed of her sneaking off with a strange boy and disregarding their rules about safety, and she’d probably get grounded for weeks; but if Alya knew that her closest friend and confidant was keeping possibly the most major, exciting secret in the world from her? She’d be crushed, for sure.

Was destroying that trust really worth it? Marinette supposed that one way or another, she would have to tell Alya the truth. How she could do that, exactly, without hurting anyone’s feelings, would be a bridge she’d cross another day.

“What about you Marinette?”

“Huh?” Marinette jerked back to reality, nearly choking on air as she tried to speak.

Mme. Césaire’s eyes narrowed in concern, but Marinette played it off with a smile she hoped wasn’t too fake-looking.

“Did you have fun today?” she continued.

“Oh, uh, I’m fine. It was fine. I mean fun, I had fun!”

Alya buried her head further into the couch pillows, getting cozier each moment. If Marinette was lucky, Alya would fall asleep for a nap and leave her to her own devices for a bit.

“The rich people here are like a whole different brand of fancy,” Alya mumbled, her voice muffled. “At least they dress nice. You should have taken some pictures or something.”

For her sketchbook. Right. One of the main reasons she’d come all this way. One of the things that had sparked this insane situation she’d found herself in. How could she possibly forget?

(She had a pretty significant distraction. That’s probably how.)

“It’s all pretty fresh in my mind,” Marinette said. “I’ll be able to remember enough to get some ideas. I should probably jot some ideas down before I forget.”

As good of an excuse as it was, it hadn’t been necessary. Alya’s breathing was already slowing as she drifted off, her glasses pressing awkwardly into the side of her face as she sank further into the plush cushions.

Mme. Césaire tutted and pushed her own glasses further up the bridge of her nose, turning her attention back to the newspaper. “You girls can relax,” she assured Marinette, “I’ll call when dinner’s ready.”

“Merci,” Marinette nodded as she left the living area, careful to close the bedroom door quietly behind her.

Silence. Solitude. A single, gracious moment to breathe and pull herself together before her fingers started to itch at the temptation to pick up the hotel room’s landline. It’d be so easy to dial those numbers that had been dancing at the back of her mind all evening.

It’d also seem just a little desperate to call so soon. Even if it were just to confirm that the number was right, or to let him know that she was very much still wanting to keep up contact with him.

God, she was acting like a child with a schoolgirl crush.

In her mind, she fought hard to convince herself that she wasn’t heading down that path.

It wasn’t very convincing at all.

Her only option now was force her runaway train of thought to head down a different path. Ignore the boy and focus on something else. Rearrange her priorities. No more lies or sneaking around or excuses for today.

Besides, with the excitement she’d had over the past 48 hours, it’d be therapeutic to get all of her jumbled thoughts out of her head.

Marinette leaned comfortably back into the pillows she’d propped up on her bed. Taking out her favorite pencils and opening her sketchbook to a fresh page, she began to draw.

The soft graphite of her pencils wore down to dull points more than a dozen times during her session. Her right wrist ached but she couldn’t seem to stop. Every time her eyes drifted to the phone, she forced herself to fill another page.

In her flurry of fashion inspiration, she’d sketched out Adrien’s likeness only once. She hadn’t even meant for it to happen.

It was a simple portrait - he sat cross-legged on the floor of a bookstore, entirely too engrossed in a trashy teen magazine, the edge of his relaxed smile just visible. The drawing took nearly a whole page, the clothing aspect almost entirely ignored in favor of Marinette’s odd inclination to sketch in the surrounding scenery of bookshelves and vaulted windows behind him.

Adrien’s sketch stayed hidden, sandwiched between half a dozen mundane pages of black and white dresses and skirts and scarves on nondescript, dull mannequins. If she pretended hard enough that it wasn’t there, it was like she hadn’t even drawn it.

After all, drawing Adrien was what had gotten her into this mess. She still couldn’t decide if she regretted it or not.

The room fell dark as the sun set out beyond the palm trees. Marinette reached out and turned on the lamp at her bedside table. The bright light illuminated the room harshly, triggering a sharp pain at the back of Marinette’s head. Another souvenir from her recklessness, the worst one by far.

The headache hadn’t quite fully subsided at any point since it first arrived, when she’d first run into Adrien. Or rather, when he ran into her. Painkillers and rest dulled it enough to be ignored, but throughout the day it persisted as a painful reminder of their clumsiness. She’d been sensitive to any bright light or loud noise for two whole days now. Her only moments of complete relief were when she was able to sleep it off.

Even when Mme. Césaire prepared one of her signature dishes that evening, Marinette excused herself from dinner early, having only barely picked over her meal. The earlier she could get to bed and stop her head from swimming the better.

Not even the sound of Alya entering the room and settling in for the night roused her. She drifted off effortlessly and slept deeply, not a single thought or dream disturbing her peaceful hours of darkness and silence.

Once again, someone just had to come along and crush Adrien’s good mood. He was lucky to avoid a lecture from Nino on the ride home, and Chloe hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, so he thought he was home free. He’d even gotten a decent night’s sleep, ecstatic to know that he’d actually gotten away with it this time.

And then he received a phone call while he was mid-cereal pour. From Nathalie. Who was asking him to come to her office immediately.

Nathalie Sancoeur sat intimidatingly straight at her desk, not caring to look up when Adrien entered her office, looking completely out of place in his pajamas among the polished, pristine furniture and the woman clad in business formal.

“You called me?” he asked, suddenly very aware of the way his own voice echoed through the large room. “It something wrong?” he lowered his volume.

“What have we talked about Adrien?”

He gulped. “Am I in trouble?”

Nathalie turned in her chair to face him, her face in its usual disapproving scowl. She didn’t have to say it - that look was enough to tell all.

“Who were you with yesterday?” she asked.

“Nino and Chloe…” he trailed off hesitantly. She was testing him. He had told her that he was leaving with them that morning, and both she and Adrien’s bodyguards were all very aware of their outing. They hadn’t even missed curfew or anything.

Nathalie’s scowl deepened as her shoulders dropped. “I suppose that other girl was digitally inserted into the photos that are making their way around the internet right now, then?”

What?

No. There was no way someone had gotten a picture. They had been so careful. Admittedly, he had let his guard down slightly, but they’d been in such a secluded spot that he hadn’t even spotted so much as a security camera nearby.

“Who is she?” Nathalie continued.

“No one,” Adrien blurted out too quickly, his voice too high. “Just a fan,” he corrected, “she just wanted an autograph, and she was so nice about it I couldn’t say no.”

“And where were your friends while this was happening? Because I have report from your bodyguards that you were out of their sights for half an hour, nowhere to be found.”

Never mind that Nathalie had secretly sent out bodyguards to watch him without his permission, that was a whole other issue he’d have to discuss with her when she wasn’t so pissed.

No doubt some vicious rumors had already started to spread, if the photo was already making its rounds online. He could imagine the headlines already. He was busted. Goodbye modeling contract, goodbye money, goodbye father’s approval.

Goodbye freedom.

Rather than dishing out Adrien’s prison sentence, Nathalie said, “Pick out something nice to wear tonight. We need to let your father see that you can socialize responsibly. I’ll call the caterer and pull something together.”

“What?” he stammered stupidly. Nathalie turned in her swivel chair to face her computer’s desktop and began typing furiously.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that Nathalie was actually … covering for him?

Why, he would have never guessed in a million years, but she didn’t jump to punishing him right away so he wasn’t going to question her motive. She was giving him another chance. Relief flooded him.

“That is, only if you’re feeling up for a social gathering,” Nathalie drawled.

“Yes, of course,” he hesitated, “. . .thank you.”

“Just know that your father is watching your every move,” she warned. “There is only so much I can keep from him. I would be on your absolute best behavior from now on. He’s watching more closely than you may think.”

At that, Adrien held back a sardonic laugh. Gabriel had scheduled their next conference call for Friday, and it was only Monday. There was no way the man could fit anything else in his busy schedule. Unless keeping his eye on Adrien was such a high priority that he’d make an exception. Adrien didn’t doubt that, despite how preoccupied his father was, Gabriel Agreste was still keeping a vigilant watch on his every move. That, or at least he was paying someone else to do it and report back to him.

“There’s a lot at stake here, Adrien. I want to see you happy and successful. But we both know that what we want and what your father wants are two very different things.”

Not that he needed a reminder. If Gabriel Agreste knew what Adrien planned to do with the money from his new contract, he’d snatch the opportunity right from under his nose and the possibility of freedom would never see the light of day again. No way on earth Gabriel would be willing to let the revival of his fashion empire slip away so easily.

The man had spent years using Adrien to recover his reputation. Running back to Paris now would halt all of that progress in its tracks.

Besides, Adrien himself didn’t know for sure what he planned to do. He wouldn’t want to give up his job - despite his complaints, he did often enjoy the perks that came with his gigs. And he definitely didn’t want to leave Nino behind.

If he did go back to Paris, what exactly did he plan to do? Visit for a week or two? A month, a year? All he knew for sure is that he wanted a chance to see home again, to get a chance to say his proper goodbyes if he weren’t able to stay.

“Any requests for the evening?” Nathalie asked. “Food, music? Guests?”

His mind immediately jumped to the thought of Marinette. Having her company would be that much more beneficial to his mood. If only it were possible. On the contrary, inviting her along would be one the most irresponsible and idiotic ideas he’d had in a long time.

And yet his fingers still anxiously tapped at his jean pockets waiting for his phone to ring.

“Whatever the caterer wants to whip up will be fine,” Adrien attempted to push his intrusive thoughts away. “I’ll let Nino and Chloe know. They’ll be able to pull together a group of decent people, I’m sure.”

“This goes without saying, but dress nicely,” Nathalie continued. “I’ll phone the photographers and have them set up their equipment in a few hours.”

The evening was going to be a spectacle for the press more than anything else. Adrien had grown used to pretending to have fun under the watchful eye of half a dozen cameras, but asking his friends to do the same? Not only did it feel incredibly pretentious, but he was also forced to drag regular people like Nino into his ridiculousness. None of the photos of anyone else would be published - if anything, it’d be like they were hired to be background actors in the spectacle that was Adrien’s life, which was exploitative at the least and downright wrong at most.

This mess wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own, and now his friends and family would have to clean up after him. It wasn’t fair to anyone.

Though there was one small thing he could do for someone, if only so that he could feel a little better about this whole situation.

“Nathalie? That caterer you hired, she has a daughter. Could you put her on the guest list?”

Marinette awoke to the sound of Alya screaming, which did absolutely nothing to help her sensitive state. All she wanted at that very moment was to shove her head as far as possible into her pillow and sit in complete silence and darkness for the rest of the day, but evidently the universe had other plans.

At first, Alya’s shrieks could have easily been mistaken for pure terror, but upon further listening, it was clear she was giddily exclaiming whatever news had made her this ecstatic at 7am.

“Marinette, you’ll never believe it, you-” Alya burst into the room and promptly froze in her tracks, “-look like hell, what happened?”

Marinette lazily lifted her head from her pillow and looked Alya in the eye. Her mouth was dry and her eyes were likely bloodshot from her restless night. “My head hurts,” was all she could muster before lying back down and pulling the blankets over her face.

“Mom got called in for an extra event tonight,” Alya continued, noticeably deflated.

“That’s great,” Marinette tried to sound enthusiastic, hoping not to ruin Alya’s good mood.

Alya crossed the room and sat at the foot of Marinette’s bed. “And you’ll never guess where it is!”

“Where is-”

“It’s at Gabriel Agreste’s house!” Alya was practically vibrating with delight. Marinette, on the other hand, was glad she still had her blankets partially covering her face so she could muffle her violent coughs from the air she’d just choked on.

“I mean, can you believe it?” Alya continued, babbling at a million miles an hour. “Mom says she got permission to let us come along and help serve appetisers. Maybe we’ll get to look around at the house, I bet it’s huge! And there’ll probably be so many A-listers and-”

Marinette managed an odd affirmative whimper from the back of her throat.

“Do you think Adrien will be there? I mean, obviously, it’s his house, but there’s no telling whether he’ll be out somewhere else or if he’s staying home for the night. What do you think?”

“I don’t know.” Marinette blurted out much too quickly, her voice cracking slightly. “Why would I know anything?”

Alya shrugged. “You’re just as clueless as me, girl. But isn’t this exciting?” She grinned super wide for extra measure.

For Marinette, it was anything but exciting. Nerve wracking and inconvenient was more like it. She pushed herself further down into her blankets, trying to exaggerate her point.

“I’m not sure, Alya, I’m really not feeling too well today.”

“Oh, come on! This is a once in a lifetime chance! You can’t leave me to do this all alone!”

Sure, once in a lifetime for Alya, but it would be the second time in as many days that Marinette had been inside the Agreste manor. That prospect wasn’t quite as exciting. For all she knew, she might get shoved into a closet again.

“You won’t be alone,” Marinette offered. “Your mom will be there. Besides, it’s a job. You’re not going there to party with all the models and designers.”

Alya frowned playfully. “You’re no fun. I guess if I meet Adrien I’ll have to just tell you later how beautiful he is in person. . .”

Just then, a startling image of his shining green eyes and gentle smile flashed in Marinette’s mind. There was no denying that even the most professional photography did no justice to how warm, welcoming, and downright charming he was in real life.

But this was no time to be thinking about that.

“I’m sorry I’ll have to miss it,” Marinette tried her utter best to sound disappointed. “Maybe you can manage to take a selfie with him. Post it on your blog.”

Marinette’s snark flew over Alya’s head; she was far too busy utterly losing her mind trying to decide what to wear.

Through the bedroom door, she could hear that Mme. Césaire was just as frantic as her daughter, if not moreso, as she rifled through her various recipe books she brought with her to prepare for this very last-minute event.

“You should go with the cupcakes again,” Marinette called out, hiding the knowing smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. “They’re a crowd favorite.”

What seemed like an eternity later, but was really only an hour or two, the two women were ready to leave and get a head start on their preparations. Alya stopped by Marinette’s bedside before they went.

“I’ll take thousands of pictures for you,” she promised. “Millions, if you want. And I’ll make sure maman leaves extra desserts aside for you. And if I meet any cute models I promise I’ll put in a good word and only show them you most flattering pictures. And-”

“Alya,” Marinette groaned, though couldn’t help but smile. “Go have fun. It’s okay, don’t worry about me.”

Alya reached over and squeezed Marinette’s hand. “You’re the best, girl.” She rose to leave, her excitement evident on her face as she practically bounced out into the hallway.

The front door closed with a resounding thud.

Marinette was alone.

As if it had a mind of its own, her hand was on the phone, dialing the numbers before she could stop and think about what she was doing.

It rang only once before a simple “Hello?” sent her heart fluttering.

She’d really need to work hard on that whole not crushing on him thing.

“Hi, Adrien,” she took a deep breath. “Uh, it’s me. Marinette.”

“I had my fingers crossed that you wouldn’t be a telemarketer trying to sell me something,” he joked. “I’ve been waiting all day for you to call. What’s kept you so busy?”

Her honest answer - lying in bed all day doing absolutely nothing - was probably the most boring thing she could possibly say.

“I’ve been working on my sketches,” she said. At least it wasn’t a lie.

“I’m sure word has gotten around town that I’m hosting a get-together tonight,” he hinted playfully. “It’s a shame you probably can’t make it.”

“Oh, absolutely not,” Marinette didn’t hesitate to answer. “I can’t sneak around anymore. I’m already scared Alya is going to catch on any minute now. And we both know that would be a major mistake. Plus, I’ve already made a good excuse to her why I won’t be coming.”

He chuckled lightly, his breath making the phone’s speaker pop in a way that made him feel like he was right there next to her.

“I guess you’re right,” he said. “It might just be worth it though, her finding out - maybe once the novelty wears off, she and I can conspire to get you to actually have some fun.”

Marinette rolled over onto her back, pressing the phone closer to her ear. “She blogs about you, you know. An entire website she made herself. Full of nothing but your face.”

“That’s nothing, you should see my dad’s office. At least there are no embarrassing childhood photos out there on the internet.”

“Oh, sure, not yet,” Marinette laughed. “But once you let her in your house I’m sure they’d find their way out.”

“Like I said, it might be worth it.”

“You’re not giving up on this, are you?”

“Nope,” Adrien said matter-of-factly.

“In that case, why don’t you just tell Alya personally? It’ll probably go over better than me confessing myself.”

“As tempting as that may sound, you know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Did she know that, though? Hell, she barely knew him. Yet, she trusted him all the same.

Sure, his reputation needed to be protected, but Marinette was nobody. Exposing her secrets wouldn’t have as big of an impact compared to what he’d go through if the public knew any juicy details about his personal life. But he still knew, however mundane it may be, that choice to reveal her secret was hers and hers alone to make.

“She and her mom will probably be here any minute, along with the rest of the guests,” Adrien sighed. “I should probably get going.”

“Right,” Marinette tried her best not to sound dejected.

“Before I go, I do have a question for you though.”

Instantly, as if she’d just downed a cup of coffee, her entire brain perked up.

“How much longer will you be here?” Adrien asked carefully. She prayed her imagination wasn’t running wild, that she truly did hear a hint of hope in his voice. That one simple question implied a million more possibilities.

She counted down in her head. “Eleven more days,” she said after a moment, not quite believing it herself. Had it really only been three days since they arrived? And if she and Alya had already gotten into this much trouble so soon, she could only imagine what havoc they wreak with more than a week remaining in their trip.

“Well, if you’re ever in need of a tour guide, or if you want recommendations for the best beaches-”

“Or if I want to go on a surprise midnight joy ride through a stranger’s big fancy neighborhood. . .”

Adrien laughed, “Yeah, that too. You know where to reach me.”

“And you know that I could never get away with talking to you while Alya and I are staying in the same room. And this is the only working phone we have right now.”

“You don’t need cell phone service to use an app,” he offered. “You can text me on your phone using the internet. That way you won’t have to always wait to call.”

She hadn’t even considered that. Then again, Adrien probably knew lots of sneaky ways to get any tiny bit of privacy from his everyday life. It came with the territory of the career, she supposed.

“I’ll do that then,” she smiled.

“Great,” Just from the sound of his voice, she could tell he was smiling too.

They both stayed on the line for a half a dozen fleeting moments, Marinette not quite sure whether or not she wanted to be the one to hang up first. And in those few moments, a thought came to her.

Really, the thought had been pressing in the back of her mind for ages, but she supposed it was a good time to set it free.

“Okay, you got to ask your question, now it’s my turn,” she told him. “And I want a real, honest answer.”

“Of course,” Adrien replied.

“You’re being so nice to me. Spending all this time talking to me when you could be busy with your friends or family or. . . anyone, really. I don’t get it. Why me?”

“I like making new friends,” Adrien said. “And you seemed like a good candidate.”

“But you barely know me.”

“I’d like to get to know you better. If that’s okay with you.”

Her breath caught in her throat, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears through the silence.

After another moment, he asked, “Does that answer your question?”

“Yes,” she forced herself to answer, forcing down the violent butterflies threatening to burst from her chest.

“Good,” Adrien answered casually, as if he hadn’t just sent her mind on a whirlwind of emotions. “In that case. . . I’ll see you soon?”

Would he though?

“Maybe,” was the most honest answer she could give, and she hoped her response came out as more playful than downright rejecting. “Have fun at your party, Adrien.”

“Goodbye, Marinette.”

Adrien hung up first, leaving the sudden silence of the empty hotel room as Marinette’s only companion.

In the end, Marinette Dupain-Cheng could honestly say she really, truly tried not to fall for Adrien Agreste. But try as she might, there was no denying that, more than anything else, she was looking forward to - maybe, possibly, hopefully - seeing him again.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #adrienette #ml fic #adrinette #some kind of miracle #my writing #am I reposting this because the original didn't get any attention????......maybe

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redvioletpanda-art · 7 years ago

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Ash’s Inktober Art Supply Megalist

a Because Inktober is such a huge event and because it’s relatively new and doesn’t have a huge masterlist of art supply lists associated with it, I have decided to post and maintain a masterlist of art supplies ranging from inks, pens, and sketchbooks to use as well as art supply stores online and other useful hints based off of my own, my friends, and other helpful artists who have given me pointers on this site.

INKS

Author’s Note: Anything called India Ink is waterproof by default most of the time. Shellac based ink tends to have a sheen, though there are exceptions. Most if not all color ink aside from black and white will not be light fast.

Dr. PH Martin’s Black Star India Ink

It is water proof and lightproof and does not contain a sheen like most other illustration inks, which means it won’t have light reflections when you scan or photograph your work. I have used it in dip pens and brushes, and it works well even when diluted with water to create shading effects. It has a rich black tone.Not entirely copic proof.

Koh-I-Noor Water-resistant Inks

These inks are water-proof and ideal to use in dip pens. It isn’t lightfast, at least the color versions aren’t, but the black and white inks are. Black and white are opaque colors while the other colors (numbering 17 in all) are transparent, similar to watercolors. Unlike a few others on this list, they come in plastic bottles rather than glass.

Yasutomo Black Sumi Ink

It’s a good brush ink, although there are some drawbacks. One would be the fact that if exposed to air long enough it will get thick, as well as the fact that it has a strong scent due to the fact that it does contain various eye and skin irritants, so don’t get any on your hands. It is very waterproof though, and works nicely if you know how to use it. It is not copic proof. It does come in a plastic container. There’s a vermillion color I haven’t used, but looks nice and bright.

Windsor-Newton Inks

Basically the go to for all and any illustration inks you’ll ever worked with. This is the ink you’ll use in art class (at least the art classes I’ve been to). They come in two different sets, though you are most likely to see the first set. They also come in metallic colors, which is a good thing if you want to go fancy. They are waterproof, but not light proof, so care must be taken when displaying them. They come in glass bottles that do not tip over.

Deleter Black 4

The ink for manga artists. It’s not only a rich solid black, it’s also resistant to fading from erasers, as well as being copic/marker proof. Excellent to use with dip pen and brush. Also waterproof, like most Deleter brand inks.

Keimei Manga Pen Ink

Not only is it waterproof and copic proof, it also has a matte finish, excellent for scanner in your work.

PENS

Staedler Pigment Liner

Lightproof, waterproof, and smear proof. Similar to microns, but from what I’ve heard better. It is erasable though on certain surfaces. Does not bleed through and won’t dry out for 18 hours if left uncapped.

Sakura Pigma Microns

Won’t feather, won’t bleed through, and a favorite of many artists. It is not Copic proof however, so try to use them after using copic. I’m not too big of a fan of these, as the think nibs do break if you use them on sharp curves and such.

Marvy Le Pen

This is becoming a surefire favorite of mine. Not only is it quite cheap, it’s also waterproof and copic proof (the permanent pen however, is not copic proof). It has a stronger nib than the Micron and it does comes in a brush tip, unlike a few others.

Windsor-Newton PITT

One of the more famous pens used for illustration, the PITT pen comes in a variety of nib sizes as well as brush pens. They are waterproof, lightfast, and acid free. They are not copic proof however, and should be used after a copic drawing.

Pentel Technica Stylo Pen

I think these pens are servely underrated. Not only are they a cheap alternative to a lot of other pens on this list, they are also waterproof and copic proof. They come in a variety of sizes and excellent with any medium, including watercolors. However you need to watch out as the ball point can get clogged up. I own at least four and they have lasted me for at least a year.

Pentel Color Brush Pen

Waterproof and really neat for those who like using brush pens, these are nice for those who travel around and use ink. It’s technically a brush pen with a reservoir of black ink you can squeeze out. Warning, there’s a few setbacks, as it does take a while to dry if laying in thick amounts of black ink. It is not copic proof, but can be used on top of copics. A good note of caution is not to squeeze too hard as the ink will drip right out. If the ink runs out, you can refill it with your own ink.

Copic Multiliner

If you are using copics, you should definately have a number of these at your disposal. They are waterproof, smearproof, and won’t bleed through paper. The other good part is the fact that they come in a SP version which can be refilled and reused, although they’re more expensive.

Sakura Gelly Roll

The white pens are excellent for making highlights and contrast.

Watercolors and Markers

Copic Markers

Literally the go to markers and my favorite markers to use overall. They come in a wide variety of colors and types and can be refilled. However they are pricey, but I feel like all in all they are worth the extra cash. Many come in pre-made sets in certain color combinations, though I would start in either a blue palette, a red palette or a grey palette to test them out. Like many markers, they will bleed through, and I would use either marker paper or a thick paper to use them on.

Sharpies

Not too much of a fan of these. but they are cheap and found everywhere. They come in a range of sizes and types, but like most markers, they bleed through paper. They are waterproof and fast drying.

Windsor Newton Watercolors

These come in either pans or tubes, but I use a mix of them. The ones I use are cotman, which are the cheaper version and comes in a plastic travel palette kit which can be put in a lot of places. I have added a number of tubes, due to the number of colors avaliable. They have rich and vibrant colors. The pan colors don’t mix as well in my experience, but the tube colors work lovely. The fact that they come in travel kits is the main reason why I put them on here.

M. Graham Watercolors

A professional set of watercolors, and they have super rich colors. They only seem to come in tubes, which aren’t as good for travel.

Ecoline Liquid Watercolors

I wasn’t sure to put these in inks, but given that they are called watercolors, I’m putting them here. They are dye based and bright and come in wide mouth jars. They can also be dluted with water. Unlike any of the watercolors here, you can use them in dip pens and airbrushes.

Sketchbooks

Author Notes: The paper to get is paper that is 100 gsm and up, as anything 100 gsm and up will hold to water better. The higher you get the better the paper will hold to washes and won’t buckle.

Moleskien Cahier Journal

I personally find the whole Moleskien brand pretty expensive, but they are recommended by the Inktober site. However, you’ll need to watch out as ink won’t dry fast and markers will bleed through the paper

Bee Creative Mix Media/Marker

I really like this paper as it’s thick and holds up to watercolors and markers well. It also doesn’t warp as badly as the watercolor version of this sketchbook. It has a thick black cover but it is wirebound so watch out for shoving it into backpacks and bags.

Bee Sketchbooks

These tend to have thicker paper, and good tooth for pen and ink, copics and illustration.

Canson Sketchbooks

A lot of these are good for watercolors and pen and ink, especially the Mix Media Art Book, Artist Series Mix Media, and the field books. The XL series is also great for those looking to save a little for a big bang.

Derwent Sketchbooks

These are a thing, but unfortunately the only one I can find at the moment is one that has premade designs in it.

Online Stores

Oozak

I have used this store in the past and it has some great deals on Copics

Jetpens

A new store I have discovered, it offers a large variety of pens, inks, and nibs

Blick’s

A very famous art store, they do offer gifts in your online purchases and have some good shipment deals

Poses and Reference

Senshi-Stock

Offers a lot of awesome poses, must be on DevArt to view. They also have a Pateron if you want to support them.

Pose-Maniacs

Rather limited, but good for some poses

Photo Reference for Comic Artists

A site I just discovered which has lots of royalty free pose references ranging from action and everyday to clothing reference

Music

Dark5 Radio

Offers dark syth-techno tunes

Electronic Gems

Some really good tunes here

Artzie Music

Mainly Future Funk and Vaporwave

Walt Ribeiro

Ever wanted to hear “Take on Me” done by an orchestra? This is the place

NOTES

Have at least two erasers at your disposal, one of them should be a kneaded eraser as they lift graphite marks and do not leave a dusty mess.

It’s alright to draw with pencil first

Take breaks to drink water and stretch every 30 minutes or so

It’s good to invest in B nibs and manga art nibs if you plan on using bottled ink. Maru and school points are the best for manga and illustration style.

Round and liner brushes are the best brushes to use for inking lines

You can plan ahead your drawings, sometimes it helps.

Listen to music while drawing helps in getting some ideas.

Official Page for Inktober

Thanks to @ancaxbre , @ayasunflower ,and @ps-art for suggestions

#inktober #art supplies #inktober art supplies #ink #copic #art #art supply masterlist #inktober masterlist

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