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miraculous-rewrite · 4 years ago

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Miraculous Rewrite- The Christmas Special

What makes it special? Nine hours of straight work and a metric mountain of potato chips and classical music for focus

Paris is lighting up for the holidays, lights along shops and snow on the ground, the air is cold but the world is warm. Minor characters and classmates are seen getting into the spirit all over the city, It’s Marc getting roped into singing with Mylene and Ivan in a street corner choir, Mme Dubois coming home to her husband before getting warm by the fire, Just to see wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas. A cup of kindness split between Aurore and Mirielle, A reunion between friends and brothers, among Paris wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas.

Out of the classmates the first to be feathered for more than a moment is Lila, She and her mother are celebrating the Italian way, in church. Despite being just faces in the crowd the two of them look surprisingly content.

We then shift to the Raincomprix household, Sabrina and Roger together in the kitchen cooking, a feminine voice asks if they need any help, to which Sabrina cheerily responds that they’re not letting her burn the house down again, Mama!

Max has put together a Christmas upgrade for Markov, Kaalki resting on his shoulder happily, but just as he’s about to present it to his robot the doorbell rings, He seems excited, asking aloud if his mom got off work early for the holiday, but as he opens the door, Kim and Alix greet him. “Hey bud! Heard Capitalism fucked over your Christmas, so since Alix and I don’t celebrate, WE’RE HERE!”

Juleka and Anarka are stringing lights up along the houseboat’s exterior, Juleka wondering aloud if they should have trusted the kitchenette to Rose, Ankara laughs and states heartily that Rose’s controlled chaos will be a welcome addition this year! Meanwhile inside, Rose is grumbling to herself in a surprising display of un-Rose-Like behavior, flour covering most of her front, and worriedly peeking over her shoulder is Prince Ali. “Do Parisian dishes all have such high mess probability?” “No This thing is just stubborn!” She chirps and continues struggling. Watching the display is, of course, Luka, he’s strumming a (Public domain) christmas song on his guitar, Sass hiding in the space between his guitar and his stomach, the two of them make eye contact and Luka’s grip tightens, face pinched. There’s a quick flashback to Scorpion, just a shot through Luka’s POV, his hands shaking as he activates Second Chance. Rose yelps as another cloud of flour kicks up in her face and he puts the guitar down to assist.

Next comes the Bourgeois family, obviously, nobody here is a cook in any stretch of the imagination, so Andre, Chloe, and Amber are celebrating in a mostly chill way, combining the french traditions with a few of the American ones Amber grew up with. There’s a sound of thumping footsteps nearing the room the three of them are in, and Amber freezes, Chloe reaches over and takes her hand (both of them are covered in frosting from the gingerbread houses they’re making) And Andre stands, he takes a breath and Pats Amber’s head before leaving the room, you can hear Audrey’s voice shouting indistinctly.

Before we continue that trainwreck in the making we shift to Alya, chasing around Ella and Etta what else is new, The twins eagerly shouting about their proposed gifts from Santa this year. Alya is tiredTM but before she can try to catch up with the little terrors, Nino’s voice comes booming in, the two girls getting cut off by Nino and scooped up into his arms. Alya thanks him for coming over, that she knows it must be weird to be at a Christmas thing when his family doesn’t even celebrate. Nino shrugs, says that he might as well get used to it, knowing this country, besides, it’s not like they don’t do ANYTHING, they still get presents for Noel so the blabbermouth wouldn’t ruin the ‘Santa’ illusion for his friends.

Marinette is working in the bakery, it’s crunch time, and people are coming in for last minute pastries and desserts. She’s on the register, her parents in the kitchen. A lot of adult cameos come through here, Nadja picking up a cake, Pigeon Man getting the best oat pastries for his bird friends, etc etc, a lot of people we haven’t seen in awhile. Penny picking up an American style gingerbread for Jagged, Most of the College teachers, haven’t seen them in awhile have we? Bustier asks with genuine interest how Lycee’s been treating her, it’s pretty cute, even as she leaves after getting her moonpies. Marinette’s hand hesitates over the macaron’s she was about to pack up for M. Damocles. For a moment flashing back to Fu telling them he’d have to go back into hiding, That at this juncture it’ll be safer to keep the Miraculous’ spread out.

She remembers Marianne admitting that she still has some business in Versailles before she could move back to Paris properly, the idea of Fu going into hiding is far less ‘living with the love of his life quietly’ and more ‘a man nearly two hundred alone in the Paris winter’ Marinette’s expression tightens. And luckily the Bakery closes right then. The last person to arrive in through the business doors being, surprisingly Roland. He’s wearing an ancient looking christmas sweater, and asks if he’s the first to arrive. Sabine responds that Gina’s and Wang are already upstairs, and her parents are due to fly in at around four. Roland answers that at least the lot of them know how to celebrate proper holidays, to which Sabine and Tom exchange a look, Marinette suppresses a laugh. Sabine tells him to head on up, that her Uncle will fill him in.

“So you’re gonna let Uncle Wang tell him we don’t actually celebrate Christmas, huh?” Marinette teases, to which Sabine huffs and flips her hair.

“We split the burden where we can!” She responds. Marinette’s grin fades, and she asks, quietly, if the house would be too packed for her to invite someone else over for the holiday. He’s Adrien’s Mandarin teacher, she met him during her time interning for Gabriel Agreste, and they’d bonded since he grew up just outside of Shanghai, where Sabine grew up. He doesn’t have any family left and he’s really old so she worries about what the weather’s doing to him. Marinette keeps babbling about this before Sabine puts her hands on her shoulders. She tells her to get going, and if she has anyone else that may end up coming along (wink wink) to tell THEM that it's a potluck so they won’t run out of food; Marinette smiles and rushes upstairs to get her snow gear, just as You can hear Roland shout “What do you MEAN THIS ISN’T A CHRISTMAS GATHERING?!”

We then reach Agreste Manor, barren of decoration or company, Adrien, who's been doing his best this whole time to try and keep upbeat, is tired of this. Fidde and Plagg shoot him a look from their hiding spot in his scarf, and he knocks on his father’s door. No answer, he grumbles and pushes the door open anyway. Adrien’s aggravation fades when he sees his father, slumped over his desk, arms folded and staring into nothing, he doesn’t even seem to be aware Adrien was there for a moment. But Adrien speaks and startles him out of his trance, he quickly puts himself back together and, tersely, asks Adrien why he’s deigned to interrupt him while he’d been explicitly looking for privacy.

Adrien, fire gone, is nervous now, asking if maybe he’d like to Do something? For the holiday? They missed All Souls’ Day back at the beginning of November, and Adrien really misses spending time together. Gabriel, still looking a bit out of it, bags prominent under his eyes and hair slightly mussed, seems unable to keep his usual stony facade up, seems to seriously consider this. Trying to be encouraging, Adrien offers a hand to his father. “We can try to make dinner ourselves and nerely blow up the kitchen?” he offers.

For like a full moment it seems like this is what's about to happen, but his computer chimes with a voice that reads ‘Urgent message from: Nathalie’, Gabriel’s expression hardens over, and he tells Adrien maybe tomorrow.

Adrien’s hand drops and he looks away, brow furrowed. But he sighs and accepts, though his voice is still venomous “Okay, can I go over to Kagami’s then? Since this isn’t an important day or a holiday of any kind, I just happen to have the whole day off for no reason so why not visit my shinto girlfriend who doesn’t celebrate any western holidays?”

Gabriel’s jaw clenches but he sighs, for just a moment seeming equally distraught that this is what their families Christmases have become, before waving a hand and letting him go.

As Adrien leaves he not-so subtly undoes his scarf to let his leather choker be seen as he slips out. Fiddle and Plagg stay hidden of course, but just as a “subtle” thing. Before we cut away he places a hand to Valdamir’s chest and tells him to go home Early, he just… REALLY needs to cool off. It's Christmas, barely anybody’s out in the snow; just go home, spend some time Early with his family. Vladamir smiles and pats Adrien’s head affectionately.

Finally we cut to Fu, The massage shop long since abandoned as he only has a backpack about as big as he is tall and a suitcase, and of course, the Miracle box. He’s got a little campsite underneath a bridge, to any onlooker appearing as any Vagabond. Orikko is cuddled up to his chin and Fu remarks that it’s been too long since he did this last, a thick jacket is wrapped around his shoulders, but he still looks cold.

A shadow passes overhead, but when Fu Looks up there’s nothing. He huffs and his phone begins to ring. He smiles and when he answers the caller with ‘Darling’ we know it’s Marianne. Dire straights does not mean misery after all.

The shadow in question is, who else, but Tsering Wan, but he’s not attacking, not just yet, just keeping an eye on Fu, keeping tabs. He skitters from his hiding spot, the scorpion’s dark suit standing out against the snow, but remains unnoticed. And just as Adrien is seen Marching away from Agreste Manor, Vladimir trailing behind him before they part ways, Tsering Wan slips in.

“Anything?” Nathalie’s voice greets him.

“He hides like a coward. Under bridges, separated from the greatest powers of the box.” Tsering Wan sneers “Clever coward he is, he knew better than to keep as many Miraculous as possible where we could find him.”

“But we do know where he’s currently set up base.” Nathalie responds easily. “So we can track him from there should he decide to change locations.”

“Indeed.” Wan destransforms, and strides forward to sit across from Nathalie where she’s puzzling over the Grimoire. “Give that to me, it’s useless without guardian training.” Nathalie grumbles as the book is ripped from her, but Wan pages through the book easily.

“Knowing Fu he’s already given the heroes the Potions. Those forms with tails or wings that aid them in survival in more severe straits Though there are other uses.” he explains.

“We’ve seen a few of them, the Aqua forms and the Space forms. Are there more?”

“The Sea Potion and the Star Potion. There are five more. The Tundra Potion for Severe cold, The Flame Potion for Severe heat, The Sky potion for flight too close for the Star Potion to be useful. The Light potion for increased power output in exchange for a halved time limit, and the Dark potion for a doubled time limit in exchange for a weaker power output.”

Nathalie humms in thought. “That explains quite a lot. Do… do you think if one combined the light and dark potions something could-”

“Nothing would happen, the two balance eachother out.” Wan cuts her off. “The Seven potions are not unlike the seven Miraculous at the top of the Miracle Box you’re used to seeing. Light and Dark are Yin and Yang, always balanced, always evening eachother out, and the other five are not as strong as either of the two.”

“Do any of the potions, or perhaps a poorly assembled one, have some sort of negative affect on the Miraculous unless cured?”

“You wonder why Duusuu is slowly killing you.” Leave it to a revenge fueled old man to cut to the core. “That, I cannot tell you. The best I can surmise is that she is severely low on energy and cannot create Projections on her own. Thus she’s taking from your life force to use her magic.” He shakes his head. “Only an Order Healer would be able to help her, so you must hold on until my family reaches Paris.”

“Is that really the only way?” Gabriel of course interrupts, he still looks…. In a really bad way somehow he looks worse than when Adrien found him. “Isn’t this False Guardian Fu trained as a healer? If you know where he is, couldn’t we find him and Force him to help us?”

Wan seems barely able to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at Gabriel. “Even through force I would never allow myself to look for that traitor’s assistance, even if we were able to subdue him he’d simply refuse to partake, and Miss Nathalie would remain ill. Surely you have better sense than that, Hawkmoth?”

Nathalie suppresses a church giggle or two.

Gabriel stiffens, and snaps back that he doesn’t care about either of their stupid pride, he just doesn’t want his sister in law to DIE because they’d rather wait on a healer to travel all the way from Tibet to France than just swallow their pride for the HOUR TOPS it would take to ask someone who already lives here. A bit on the mean side, going on to Say that Emilie would be calling Nathalie a prideful idiot if she was here.

“Don’t speak for her like that!” Nathalie jumps to her feet, her point undermined by another painful throb to her head.

“Then don’t undermine what she was trying to accomplish by letting that thing KILL YOU FASTER!”

“You know what?! You ALWAYS get like this around the holidays! It’s like you just start GIVING UP once the snow starts falling! You did it last year and I had to take up the butterfly before you got your shit together and here you are now! ‘Ooohhh Emilie loves Christmas I’m so sad that she’s still in a coma’ like what do you think we’re DOING here?!”

“Honestly at this point I don’t know! This was supposed to be about our family, About bringing Emilie back and letting our world be whole again, but that’s not what THIS is! This is revenge and warring factions and You JOINED this whole thing because it was for Adrien, but have you even spoken to him at all today?”

“He has my gift! It’ll come out when he needs it! More than you’ve done for him this year!”

Gabriel’s face turns scarlet, and he pivots on his heel and marches away.

We match cut to Adrien marching through the snow, eyes trained on the ground, and Plagg and Fidde hovering over him.

“Kid, Your old man’s ALWAYS been a disappointment”

“Yule is what you make of it! It’s the midpoint of the year, halfway out of the dark, we shouldn’t hold ourselves to the darkness just because it's easier.”

“Besides, like half of your friends don’t even CELEBRATE why treat it like a big deal?”

Adrien rounds the corner and is taken a bit aback, it turned out his feet had taken him to the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie, not Kagami’s house. He looks at Plagg who shrugs.

“Miss Marinette doesn’t Celebrate Yule, does she?” Fidde pipes up “Mayhaps we should drop in and say hello!”

Adrien sighs and smiles slightly at the building. “Sure, might be better than going to Kagami's all pissed off and snappy.”

But just as he’s approaching, the door opens up in front of him, marinette all ready in winter gear and with a small duffel bag packed full of warm things. They both yelp as they merely collide with one another.

“Adrien! What are you doing around here?”

Adrien, taken aback for just a moment longer than her, blinks and just directly says “I couldn’t stay in that house with things like that, needed to see a friendly face.”

Marinette smiles, half sympathetic, but honestly happy.

“Well I literally just turned into a woman on a mission, I convinced Maman to let Fu join us for the family reunion… potluck. He shouldn’t have to be alone in winter like this. Not with Marianne all the way in Versailles.”

Adrien, seemingly on instinct, offers to help her look for him. That it’d be easier with more than one of them about. Marinette agrees, and pauses for a second before handing him the duffel bag. With a ‘Wait right here!’ she darts back inside and comes back out with a black and green wrapped gift.

“I was gonna save this for patrols, but you know, just ‘cuz I don’t celebrate doesn’t mean you don’t. Merry Christmas Adrien.” She offers him the gift, her cheeks lightly flushed from her dash to get the gift, her eyes seemingly sparkling against the snow.

Adrien’s breath catches when he accepts the gift and puts it in his bag beside Plagg and Fidde.

Marinette takes the Duffel Bag back and walks past him saying out loud that they might have a better chance in the sky than on the ground, but since he’s the one having a rough night it’s his call.

She looks back at Adrien to get his opinion, but he’s unfocused, Adrien.exe has stopped responding.

“Really has been that rough of a day, huh?” She gently shakes his shoulder to snap him out of it and repeats herself. Adrien’s face is beet red when he says he’ll just transform and take the south side.

They both transform when convenient and part ways.

Fiddle is still out when Chat races across the skyline. He wonders aloud what’s got Adrien so spooked, Miss Marinette was just being her lovely charming self!

To which Chat, the slightest bit hysterically, says that that’s the problem! He thought back when he was Aspik that’s all that he’d needed to do, to just admit to himself that he hadn’t been able to shut down his stupid feelings and properly internalize he didn’t have a chance. Marinette has a boyfriend, Maybe he’d had a chance long ago, maybe if he’d known she was Ladybug before, or, or just had been less of a punk obsessed with ‘true love’ and gone for her as Marinette, maybe, but he’d missed the boat and He DOES like Kagami.

He stops in the middle of a rooftop. Re asserts that he does like Kagami. He does get all the telltale signs of liking someone. When she smirks at him over their fencing foils, or when she’d actually let herself laugh around him, or that time he had tea with her brother and she was so embarrassed her whole face turned red! He got the butterflies, and the feeling of his whole brain turning into goo, and everything that would indicate that he’s not faking it for her!

So why can’t it go away when it comes to Marinette?! Why can’t he just focus on Kagami and let it be, does that mean he really IS leading her on? Has he been toying with her this whole time? Ohhhh fuck. He turns heel and books it over to the Tsurugi household.

Answering the door is, of course, Kenji. He smiles with a face full of mischief and asks Adrien what dastardly holiday indoctrination plans he has for his sister, but after a beat Realizes that Adrien is… not okay. So instead of insisting on playing around more, Kenji just kinda hums a quick ‘oh it's been THAT bad huh?’ and leads him inside, shouting in Japanese something to Kagami, which is quickly shouted in response.

Quickly Kagami darts into the hall the boys were in, her normal everyday outfit on, and her expression tightens before she grabs Adrien and leads him to her bedroom.

“Alright, what happened?” Kagami is no nonsense as usual, but she puts her hand on Adrien’s shoulder and seems legit tender.

Adrien looks even worse at that, eyes filling with tears for a moment before he looks down, eyes squeezed shut. “I’m a terrible boyfriend and you should break up with me.”

Kagami blinks. “What?”

“Actually no- you know, that’s cruel to put that on you- I shouldn’t be- I’m the one who’s the problem so I… I’ll just leave. I can’t treat you like you deserve to be treated and you should have someone way less gross than-”

Kagami’s grip on his shoulder tightens, her expression severe. “You’re not making any sense. Why are you being so disparaging? Who told you these things?”

“Nobody told me, they didn’t have to! You deserve way better than me and I can’t treat you-”

“Adrien i’m not breaking up with you on your word alone-”

“I have feelings for someone else! I don’t want to, but they’re not stopping and I don’t want to lead you on or leave you out to dry!”

A pause, Kagami actually seems shocked for a moment.

“You stupid boy-”

“IKNOWIMSTUPIDIMSORRYILLLEAVEYOUALONEFOREVERNOWBYE” Adrien cuts her off and darts out of her room. Leaving Kagami alone.

Well… not alone.

“Well that was certainly something.” Longg hums “Viperion and Ladybug seemed sure that things were going to get more dangerous from here on, perhaps it's a good thing that he gave you a path out.”

Kagami’s silent as she pulls out her phone. “I’ll just bring up Adrien’s name when we’re considering whom the rabbit should go to.”

“He has feelings for another.” Longg restates.

“...I already knew that. He never really got over whomever he was chasing before.” She smiles ruefully “If anything this is my own fault for going against my standards in not allowing myself to be an ‘Option’ But it seems I’m not ready to let him go just yet.”

She dials the phone and holds it up to her ear ‘Hi! This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Please leave a message!’

Damn.

Speaking of Marinette though, we’re back with her. Picking up where Adrien last saw her, she first starts at the Massage parlor, empty, figures. She huffs and for a moment the first real meeting the two of them had played back. The Grimoire heavy in her hands and Tikki’s encouraging voice in her ear, the massage parlor is of course empty, but it’s sad to see it so barren. The architecture emulating a chinese home but with nothing homey inside. She huffs.

“Obviously he’s not here. Stupid…”

Callid peeks their head out of Marinette’s pigtail, chirping that it was still worth it to check, he may have left a clue. No dice, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea.

So Ladybug keeps looking, paging through parks and alleyways, benches outside of zoos and aquariums, and even at the assisted living home. Nothing.

Until, eventually, she ducks underneath a certain bridge to gather her thoughts. And lo and behold, on a complete accident- “Master!” He looks different than he used to when presenting in front of her. Back bent not in age but weariness. The thin trail of smoke from a pipe curling around him. The Miracle box rested against his hip, but she realizes with a shock that he didn’t even bring the gramophone he would hide the box in.

“Ladybug, how kind to visit even the loneliest of Paris at a time like this.”

He’s acting like he doesn’t know her, but Ladybug sits down beside him anyway and makes her offer.

“Thank you for your hospitality Marinette, but I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

“Neither do we.” Fu Pauses, and Marinette continues. “Ba wasn’t interested in celebrating after he and Grandpa had their falling out, so we just used the day as an excuse to shut down the bakery for a few days and have a family reunion with my mom’s side. Grandma shows up every so often for a Christmas thing or two, and this the first year that Grandpa is going to be here. It’s still not a Christmas thing though. My maternal grandparents and my great Uncle will be there too.”

“Marinette, I would hate to intrude on your family’s reunion simply because I must go into hiding.”

“I already asked Maman and she said it was alright!”

“Your mother is very generous, but I cannot accept such kindness when I should be keeping anyone from harm should Tsering Wan-”

“Master I understand! You’re afraid of Tsering Wan hurting somebody, but I’m afraid of him finding you alone and hurting YOU! You can’t tell me that you’ll be okay with so little to your name! You can barely hold a transformation anymore, let alone handle homelessness. Let us at least get you some better supplies.”

Fu sighs, and finally relents.

Marinette takes a second to open her Yoyo into the phone feature, saying aloud that she’s just gonna need a sec to sync up with her civilian phone. One secooonnnddddd ah! There it is!

She realizes then that she’s got two voicemails waiting. From Kagami?

“Hello Marinette, it’s Kagami. I’m not entirely sure why, but there’s something the matter with Adrien, he’s being very erratic and attempted to convince me to break up with him, insisting he was somehow being a ‘bad boyfriend’ and running away. I fear if I attempt to pursue him that stubborn streak of his will act up and he’ll try to run from me again. I hate to ask this of you, but your family doesn’t celebrate Christmas either so i don’t feel too bad. Do you think you could see what-BEEP”

“What’s Wrong with him. Apologies, your voicemail cut me off. Please keep me updated if you do so, but it’s alright if you chose not to. Call me back when you receive this. Goodbye”

There’s a small silence between Marinette and Fu as the voicemails end. “Well, that’s timing. Would you like to come with and help out our poor tormented cat or Should i escort you to my house first?”

“I’d hate to impose on your family without your presence, perhaps I'll wait here and you may come retrieve me afterward?”

“You won’t run off while I’m gone and make me track you down all over again will you?”

“I’m old Ladybug, not senile.”

Adrien is of course, on the Eiffel tower, where else would he be? He’s transformed, jittery. “Come on… Calm in the storm… silence in the mayhem or whatever….” He grumbles eyes squeezed shut. “Just tune it all out. Nothing past this exterior….” He growls, before flopping backward. “Man Screw meditating.”

His staff beeps. He’s got a call from Ladybug. Ignored. “Sorry Mari, don’t take it personally.”

There’s a pause, he gets another call from Ladybug. Ignored. “Look, I just can’t be around you right now! I should be far away from this.” He looks away, eyes downcast “Stupid terrible boyfriend that can’t even get his head on straight on what girl he wants.”

He gets a call from Carapace, which he answers. “What’s up bro? Thought you were with Rena.”

“Chat Noir you better have a GOOD explanation for ignoring me like that!”

“You got Carapace to call me for you?”

“Why are you ignoring my calls? We were looking for the guardian together, what if something happened to him? Or there was an Akuma? Chat I know you’re going through stuff right now but you have-BEEP-”

We cut back to Ladybug as Chat hangs up. “DAMMIT. Why is he always Like This? Just once, just ONCE can he talk about his problems like a big boy?!”

We zoom out to see Ladybug Carapace and Rena atop of Alya’s house.

Rena: “So we’re going to get him?”

Ladybug: “Oh obviously, He’s at the Eiffel Tower, I could tell from the wind.”

Before she could hop off though, Ladybug gets another call waiting, this time with a little cartoon tiger claw on it.

“Jungle Queen?”

“....okay first off, I picked a real name, it’s Cheshire, can we stop with the Jungle Queen? It sounds SO much lamer than Queen Bee.”

“Okay….?”

“And Second, Please tell me there’s an akuma about. PLEASE.”

“....Chloe are you okay?”

“No, Mom strong armed her way past the guard Father had at our suite and Amber had to lock herself in the bathroom to hide from her.”

“Oh!... well uh… Adrien’s having some Issues at the Eiffel Tower, if you guys would like to come help a friend?”

“Perfect!”

Adrien has detransformed now, sitting with his legs dangling over the side of the tower, he’s scrolling through his phone, photos one after another illuminating his screen. We see some candids of Team Miraculous, a selfie here or there with himself and Nino, a small barrage of selfies of him and Kagami on the few dates they’d been able to actually have, his expression tightens.

He reaches a picture of Ladybug, one of the old ones in her old suit. Then is a candid of Marinette, getting ready for that fake date with Evillistrator all that time ago, Chloe had just finished putting up her hair and She was nervously double checking that her dress was in order.

His finger hovers over the ‘delete’ button for a moment, his expression hard, before he huffs and swipes away to rest on a photo of his mother. “You’re such a coward, Agreste…”

“CACOPHONY! CHAT NOIR YOU LITTLE PUNK YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN GHOST US LIKE THAT?!” Chloe’s voice shakes the air around him and he transforms more out of reflex than anything else.

A glowing swarm of bees starts zipping through the air and Chat turns, about to Haul ass out of there, but right behind him is, of course Rena. Looking not impressed.

“Going off to Angst as Chat is one thing, but stop being a little punk for like three seconds Adrien, jeez…”

There’s a playful scuffle, Chat still trying to avoid anyone and everyone, but eventually he’s pinned between Cheshire and Carapace. “Promise you won’t run.”

Adrien sighs and relents. He’s released of course, but seems about to go back on his own promise when Ladybug crouches in front of him and asks him to explain.

But he does.

Not everything. But he explains the beginning of it all. Two years since Mom died and they’re still not celebrating anything, Dad’s getting worse, and he keeps SAYING things about how he wants to get better and wants to repair things with him but he keeps pulling away. Nathalie used to be on his side but she’s been pulling away too, and it feels like he’s fighting a losing battle. It’s like Vlad is the only one who’s still in his corner but he can only do so much. No one in the house other than him seems to even be willing to ACKNOWLEDGE Mom’s death, so he can’t even be allowed to move on without two of the three other people in the house not-so-subtly implying that it’s a betrayal to Mom to do so.

Sure Dad’s DOING more, he’s getting out of the house, but he still won’t even say that she’s dead, he keeps saying ‘gone’ like she’ll walk through the damn door any minute, and he’s starting to get really tired of it. And also, he’s a terrible boyfriend and Kagami deserves way better than him. (the last part sounding tacked on and rushed, like he REALLY doesn’t want to get into it)

There’s a pause, Chloe and Amber’s transformations fade, timers running out. Marinette turns back as well, this time on purpose and pulls out her phone. “Hey Kagami, it’s Marinette, yeah we found Adrien-....oh Me, Nino, Alya, Chloe, and Amber. Yeah it goes a little deeper than whatever he told you. Really? Thank you! We’ll be there shortly.”

When she turns back to Adrien he avoids her eye. Her lips pinch in frustration. “Kagami says we should all head over to her place. She’ll have some tea ready for everybody.”

We cut quickly to the Tsurugi house, Kagami, Marinette, Alya and Amber in a pain sitting room, the four of them with cups of tea (though Marinette’s is untouched) and Chloe, Nino, and Adrien are in an adjoining room, able to hear, but whenever either glances at Adrien he curls tighter in on himself.

Kagami tells her part of what happened, what Adrien had told her before running off. Her expression is unreadable, but her gaze is fixated on her cup and away from anyone else.

Marinette doesn’t hesitate though and takes her into her arms, holding her tight.

“I’ll be fine Marinette.”

“Shush. Just hug.” Kagami hesitates, but eventually leans into it.

After that, it seems as though a lightbulb strikes Alya. “Ohhhhh…. Hey Marinette, remember valentines day back in College?”

“Huh? Uhhhh kinda? Kim turned into an Akuma? Chat Noir got hit with one of his arrows and was all grouchy and uncooperative…. So I saw on the Ladyblog at least! Hahah I wasn’t there!” Nervous laughter. “And-oh….” Realization passes over Marinette’s face. “The Valentine.”

“The Valentine.” Alya nods. “And he did always seem… hung up over it afterward too. Remember Glaciator?”

“Crap.”

“Wait-” Amber Chimes in. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Marinette.” Alya answers, uneasily. “Adrien’s still into Marinette.”

Kagami stiffens, Marinette pales, then flusters. Adrien Eavesdrops.

We cut then back to Agreste Manor. Nathalie and Wan are still talking, the sun has nearly set by now.

“Perhaps you should check in on your brother.” Wan offers. Nathalie shakes her head, expression still bitter.

“He’s not a baby. He doesn’t need me everywhere to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.”

“However, it is a holiday, and perhaps he does need his sister in the absence of his wife.”

“She was my sister before she was his wife.”

“Even so.”

Nathalie huffs “Fine. I’ll go check on him.”

She stands and makes her way toward Gabriel’s office.

Gabriel is… not okay. His Miraculous is flashing, implying strong emotions that could become an akuma, he doesn’t seem interested at first, chatting idly with Nooroo about Adrien.

That he’s hiding something… That dog wielder they’d fought on occasion… do you think…? No. That would be ridiculous. That his Son had had a Miraculous under his roof and Gabriel had not immediately known. How ridiculous.

Nooroo is normally sassy or quietly sad, but right now he’s on edge, and it’s clear why; Gabriel Agreste is starting to spiral, and that could lead to something very bad.

Nathalie enters right then, at first asking if he’s alright, but at his sudden silence makes a jab at his inability to communicate.

“Well if you would like to see what has me so stressed maybe you should take Nooroo and see for yourself!” he snaps. “There’s a possible Akuma about.” he finally settles on.

“And?”

“It’s… It’s Adrien.”

It’s not really a debate, it’s not even a conversation, as Nathalie simply stands there, half in shock, as Gabriel begins to pace.

We begin to clip back and forth now, from Agreste Manor to the Tsurugi Estate.

Nino asks Adrien if it's true, if he’s kept that kinda thing from everyone-from Kagami; Nathalie asks Gabriel if he’s really considering this

Adrien says it's not like that; Gabriel insists he’d never do so.

Plagg and Fidde chime in, saying that he really has been trying, he just sucks at it; Nooroo insisting that Gabriel isn’t Past the point of no return yet, that there’s always a chance to do better.

“Can you guys leave me alone please?”; “Leave me be.”

“Just because I can’t stop liking someone it doesn’t mean I’m FAKING liking someone else! You can like more than one person at a time!”; “We are a family first and foremost!”

Marinette peeks in, Kagami behind her “Adrien…?”; Wan approaches behind Nathalie and idly remarks “You were right he DOES lack conviction.”

Adrien reaches into his bag and pulls out a red and white box, throwing it to the ground in an attempt to make a loud noise “I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE”; “I SAID LEAVE ME BE!”

The box barely makes more than a ‘thump’ as it hits the ground, something makes a rattling noise.

“What IS that?” Nino asks, the tension thankfully broken. “Dude did you just throw someone’s christmas present to the ground to make us leave?”

Chloe laughs “Hope it wasn’t mine.”

“Huh…? I thought it was the one Marinette made for me-”

“Rude.” Marinette answers “But incorrect, your gift from me was black and green.”

“Well now I just feel gross…” Adrien chuckles wryly “I mean I already did but..”

“Who is it from?” Alya asks after a beat, but before Adrien can answer she crouches down and picks it up herself “Your dad’s assistant?”

We cut back to Gabriel, he’s mumbling to himself, in the elevator to the Lair. his voice is indistinct, but you can hear ‘family’ being stated every so often if you listen closely, his eyes are distant, foggy, and the broach is clutched tightly in his fist, the purple flash of light barely visible. But once he reaches the lair, gazes upon Amilie’s pod, he states, steadily, that Family supports each other when they’re struggling.

Nathalie is quick behind him, but she gets there only after he’s transformed, but the purple suit and silver cowl are not what greets her. No, the internal barrier has been broken, the threshold has been passed. Hawkmoth gets an outfit upgrade.

“We started this as a family, and that’s how we’ll end it.”

He’s done it, finally hit rock bottom.

The VHS gets put into an old dusty player in some unknown room in the Tsurugi estate, granny and staticky, the feed crackles to life.

There’s at first an empty living room, transposed with a ‘this was made in the 1980’s type quality, A little cardboard sign is held over the sight in a shaky marker decrying what one is about to see is ‘The greatest movie ever!’

A head of long blonde hair runs away from the camera and when the little girl turns Adrien splutters, pauses the video, and gets up to look in closely. She’s maybe 7 or 8, but it’s clear, obvious. It’s his mother.

The little video continues, a space opera through a child’s eyes, and She pulls out a rocketship, nestled in the cardboard is a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes.

“Nathalie! That’s your cue!”

Adrien chokes in surprise, exclaiming out loud, as Nathalie looks around confused, she’s maybe 3 or 4 in the video but says something that ‘sounds like an alien’ the video continues until Emilie knocks the camera over during her dramatic fight scene, the tennis ball covered in tissue paper she exclaims is a hand grenade bouncing off the camera and sending it crashing.

“Oh no! Is the camera-”

The film continues playing, little snapshots of childhood, Emilie and Nathalie Sancour, growing up over the years. Emilie’s first role in a school play, Nathalie’s debate when she ran for student council, the last clip is Emilie going to a dance, his maternal grandparents exclaiming at her cute dress. Nathalie remarks from above her book that this Gabriel guy seems like a total weiner. She’s SO out of his league.

The video ends.

There’s quiet for a moment. And then chaos ensues. Not from the others, the others were only a little stunned, but all eyes turned to Adrien.

He’s entirely in shock, and he starts muttering.

“Nathalie… and my mom are… sisters? They… they never told me, why didn’t they tell me? Why did they always say Nathalie was Father’s assistant? I'd never asked my own mother’s maiden name, why did I never ask that? Why was it KEPT from me?! Why was that a secret in the first place?! Who hides a family relationship like that? Like it’s some dark ugly secret but the two of them still see eachother every day?!” He stands up and begins to pace, he’s still talking though.

“And Father wouldn’t have kept that from me, I KNOW I have an Uncle that father doesn’t talk to, if it was anyone’s decision it wasn’t fathers. MY MOTHER and NATHALIE hid this from me. I thought they were on my Side and they HID this from me?! I- I can’t believe this, this is BULLSHIT i-”

His hands are shaking but he quickly removes his ring and thrusts it in Nino’s general direction.

It’s a good thing he does, because just as the ring drops into Nino’s hand Amber yelps in alarm, and sure enough a black butterfly had phased through the wall and was making a beeline for Adrien.

Adrien scurries back, more out of instinct, eyes still far away. Chloe, taking action and flashing back to Ex Friend, removes the fake bee comb from her hair and tries to intercept the Akuma herself, but it clearly does not want her. Narrowly avoiding being taken in by Chloe.

Meanwhile everyone else has quickly closed rank around Adrien. Nino shouting about how Adrien’s an awesome dude and he cannot and WILL NOT let this thing shake him. Alya insisting that he can handle anything that she believes in him and if CHLOE can fight off an Akuma he should be able to too!

Kagami is saying nothing, but she’s wrapped her arms tight around Adrien’s shoulders. Marinette says quietly that He’s one of the best friends she’s ever had, and that they’re there for him, but her eyes are focused entirely on the Akuma. Her teeth are grit, and she’s clearly trying not to panic.

The voices all blur together into one horrible din, and Adrien’s hands clamp over his ears. Muttering ‘Calm in the storm’ over and over, trying to find his center.

His eyes squeeze shut and tears begin to bud. We see in his thoughts for a moment. His father spiralling further and further, The venom in his voice whenever he says his mother isn’t dead, she’s just gone. His mother and Aunt’s home video, then Maman and Nathalie speaking like coworkers. Marinette, Kagami, Ladybug, Ryuuko, Kagami’s shy blush on their first real date, Marinette on Luka’s arm looking perfectly content. The Scorpion with his wicked looking spear, the fear on Master Fu’s face when they saw him alive, Hawkmoth and Le Paon.

The Grimoire in his father’s safe.

The Butterfly on the Gabriel Designs logo.

Adrien’s breath hitches, he starts to sob.

The Akuma is a hair’s breadth away.

“TIKKI TRANSFORM ME”

A yoyo swipes through the air and catches the Akuma a split second before it hits his scarf.

Everyone is huffing for breath and Ladybug releases the purified butterfly, muttering a quick ‘No evildoing for you today little akuma.’

Ladybug collapses to the ground in front of Adrien and detransforms, still huffing for breath.

“Marinette what the fuck.” Kagami’s voice is the first to ring in the silence.

Marinette’s eyes widen and she jumps back to her feet, her face pale as a ghost. She nervously, a bit hysterically, begins to chuckle. “Okay so uh… yeah I’m Ladybug, and I’m really sorry that ALL SIX OF YOU had to find out like this! At once right this moment with no foreknowledge about me being ladybug whatsoever”

“Not a single other person in this room is surprised but me.” Kagami cuts her off, clearly a bit overwhelmed at everything that has happened in one afternoon. “I have a headache.”

“....Welcome to the Order of Miraculous?” Nino tries

“Fu’s gonna kill us.” Alya adds in.

Hard cut to the bridge Fu had been staying under, Sure enough he was still there.

Adrien is sandwiched between Chloe and Nino again, Chloe’s showing him cat videos on her phone, Nino’s apologizing for not seeing the signs that he was still hung up on Marinette, he could have DONE something about it before it got this bad.

Fu, in specific, is sitting with Marinette, Alya, Amber and Kagami, as an explanation is given. He hums, is clearly none too pleased.

“It would have been incredibly dire circumstances if Chat Noir had been Akumatized, even if he only had the dog on hand at the time. While it was thoughtless of you Marinette, I can acknowledge that this was the lesser of two dire outcomes. Thankfully Miss Tsurugi was already trusted with the Dragon, so we do not have to worry quite as much about the reveal than if she’d been untested.” Fu pauses. “Miss Tsurugi, we have two avenues for you. While you made your decision to fight alongside your fellow wielders, that decision didn’t at the time mean all of… this. If you wish to leave, we can arrange your parting from the order, Or if you desire to stay, and continue to fight alongside us, then you must take an oath.”

“What is this Oath?”

“A powerful magic. A promise sworn on the Miracle Box in that you will do all in your power to protect the Miraculous and your teammates from those who may cause harm. If this oath were to be broken, your Kwami will then be under strict orders to return themself to the guardian at all costs.”

“I see…” She hums. “Well I have no plans in backing out at this point. It would be dishonorable to leave now simply because things are becoming… difficult. So I will take this oath.” She looks down at her hand for a moment. “Is there a ceremonial knife with which to make this blood oath or should I provide my own?”

Fu splutters and Marinette seems to choke on air.

“It- It’s not a blood pact Miss Tsurugi… Place your hand over the Miracle Box. That- that’s all.”

Kagami does so. “Kagami Tsurugi, do you swear, on your life and your immortal spirit, to protect the Miraculous you guard with all of your strength?”

“I swear it on my life, spirit, and heart. The Dragon will never be abused by the forces of darkness for all that i still have Longg’s wind in my lungs, his water in my blood, and his lightning in my heart.”

Marinette has her face in her hands, but her grin is wide and a bit wobbly. She’s so gd chuffed rn. She REALLY picked right with Kagami.

“I’m sorry Kagami.” Adrien’s voice finally chimes in, he’s pulled away from Chloe and Nino, arms folded and eyes to the ground. Her expression tightens for a moment before it settles into her natural cool look.

“I always knew, you know.” She responds. “It was clear that you still had feelings for another; For Marinette.” She ignored Marinette’s sudden shrinking into herself as she stood and approached Adrien. “I told myself that I'd never be anyone’s rebound.” Adrien flinches “And I don’t think that’s what happened. I know you weren’t lying to me, not after what’s already happened. You may have feelings for another but you also have them for me as well.”

Adrien looks up at Kagami and seems so relieved, Kagami can’t help but smile back. “However, I feel at this juncture, both with the darkening battle and new revelations, I feel as though it may be prudent if we focus more on our friendship and relationship as teammates over our relationship as a couple. If romantic entanglements are causing you this much distress, perhaps it's for the best to take a break from them entirely.”

“It will make my own and Marinette’s friendship easier as well, that our friendship may be strengthened without the pressure of being pointedly aware that my own boyfriend has romantic feelings for my friend.”

“YES THANK YOU KAGAMI WE’RE ALL AWARE OF THAT FACTOID NOW CAN WE STOP MENTIONING IT PLEASE?” Poor Marinette

“God am I glad Adrien turned me down back in college so I don’t have to deal with this bullshit.” And somehow, just like that, things are okay again.

Adrien sighs and though he looks like he’s more relieved than sad, it's probably because he’s been through the emotional wringer today.

But the day isn’t over yet.

“Master, I have some concerns.”

The lot of them are now packing up Fu’s little setup, Kagami being caught up on what they know so far by Alya, Nino and Chloe are wrestling the blankets and cloth that Fu had been using to keep out the elements into his big overstuffed backpack, Amber putting out the fire (it’s being stubborn with her) And Marinette has the Miracle Box, taking double and triple inventory.

“Yes Adrien?”

“My mother died of illness two years ago, and uh… how do I say this… Nathalie’s her sister and she started showing the same symptoms mom had at the start of it. I don’t know if its genetic or not, but she didn’t start showing symptoms until Hawkmoth had her take the peacock and had her be Mayura way back during Catalyst. Can Miraculouses… accelerate illness? Is there something wrong with the peacock? Is there any way to cure it?

“And-I… I know that’s a LOT of conjecture on my part, it’s a bunch of HUGE ‘if’s all strung together, but if Father really does have some sort of connection to Hawkmoth like we’ve all been thinking… then...any man exposed to that would be desperate enough to make a deal with someone terrible in exchange for a wish… Nathalie might be working with them too.”

Fu looks down for a moment, hand resting on his chin before nodding. “We have no way to tell for sure if Miss Sancour’s heath was in any way related to her use of the peacock while Akumatized, nor can we tell how close your father is to Hawkmoth. But with what little evidence they hold, it’s enough to get them just close enough to the truth, if we are very clever in the coming times.”

“However it works out, we’ll work it out together.” Kagami speaks up. “Hawkmoth, Le Paon, and this Scorpion fellow have no dignity to treat themselves and the world as they do. They’ll collapse in on themselves the second we put too much pressure on them.”

“And it’s not like we haven’t been through the wringer ourselves.” Marinette walks up and places a hand on Kagami’s shoulder, smiling slightly at her. Kagami, a bit hesitant, returns the grin.

One by one the others affirm their confidence in themselves and each other. And Adrien finishes it off with a small smile and a nod. “And I’ll convince Father and Nathalie to leave those three mad men to their quests. So when we confront the three of them, we’ll truly have numbers on our side.”

“So…” Nino speaks up “What do we do now? My folks think I’m spending the night with Alya.”

“I just have to get home before Curfew.” Alya adds on “I don’t think anyone even NOTICED I left.”

“Dad wants us home before it’s too late” Amber comments, to which Chloe adds on “Unlike you dweebs WE told the truth. Our friend needed us because his father was being awful about his dead mother.” Chloe’s blunt remark leaves everyone cringing a bit, but Adrien chuckles.

“You always were more pragmatic than most people expected of you Chlo.”

“WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!”

And now, and only now, we return to the Agreste mansion. More specifically to Gabriel’s office. Much like how we found him at the beginning of the special, head down on the desk, staring into nothing, but now his eyes are glassy, an empty glass that probably held an alcoholic drink at some point loosely grasped in his hand.The door opens, and in comes Adrien, followed closely by Marinette. He stands, stumbles just a moment, before approaching Adrien, apologizing profusely for what happened earlier, Adrien smiles slightly, clearly thinking it's about him brushing off his attempts to make things okay for once.

It is not, but Adrien doesn’t know that. So he simply trades a look with Marinette and carefully steps away, letting Marinette get in front of Gabriel instead. He’s confused, but doesn’t stop her as she reaches up and gently taps either of his shoulders with the side of her hand.

“Gabriel Agreste, I hereby dub you, and your kin as Honorary Dupains for the rest of the Holiday season. And as such, I hereby cordially invite you, your son, and your sister in law, to the Dupian-Cheng family reunion potluck!”

Gabriel, still confused and more than a little tipsy, just kinda lets Adrien grab his wrist and drag him into the hallway in the direction of the kitchen.

“Come on Dad, We can’t go to our first potluck and NOT bring a dish! What kinda extended family would that make us?”

Marinette of course is easily keeping pace as Adrien starts rattling off quick yet decent dishes they could probably make without burning the kitchen down.

“What on Earth is happening right now.”

Marinette chuckles. “Well, the entire Chinese half of my family doesn’t celebrate, and on my dad’s side the only living relatives we’ve got are my grandparents, so we just kinda decided to use the holiday season as an excuse to be closed and just invite everyone over to catch up. So be ready to deal with a small chinese woman in her seventies tapping your chin and telling you you’re way too skinny.” The look on Marinette’s face implies she’s been the subject of said ‘you’re too skinny’s for years now. “But anyway, a bunch of mine and Adrien’s friends don’t celebrate either, so we’re all in this together. And This year will be great because my paternal grandfather is finally starting to join in the festivities which means Nonna’s probably going to literally go insane and it’ll be HILARIOUS to watch.”

“MARINETTE WE NEED HELP IN HERE”

“....At this point I’m starting to grow afraid to ask…. But who is ‘We’?”

Cut to the two of them in the kitchen doorway, chaos surrounding.

The rest of team Miraculous are in the kitchen, the majority trying (and failing) to whip up several potluck dishes at once. Fu (“My Uncle” is Marinette’s only explanation) is sitting at the island in the middle of the room with Nathalie. Nathalie takes a long drink of some nondescript clear liquid, right before Alya shouts for everyone to shut the fuck up so she can make this goddamn food.

Gabriel blinks once, then twice, before sighing. Marinette, meanwhile, rolls up her sleeves, and as we follow her walking forward, the camera is covered by her, and then uncovered to show everyone at the Dupain-Cheng apartment. Marinette is in the kitchen proper with her paternal grandpa and maternal uncle as they all try to make food amidst yelling and shouting from all parties.

“Is that how you fold dumplings? Sloppy! How could anything be held once it hits the steamer?”

“M. Dupain, believe me, I've been doing this longer than you, You’re pressing them too tight, they’ll end up too dense packed that tightly.”

“Preposterous!”

“Grandpa, remember what we talked about?” Roland grumbles but quiets down a bit. Marinette shoots her uncle a small smile.

At the counter sits Nathalie, Sabine, and Sabine’s mother, the three chatting about nothing in particular but clearly enjoying each other’s company well enough. Mama Cheng leans forward and taps Nathalie’s chin with a thumb.

“You’re too skinny missy! What do you get paid at that fancy assistant job? Can’t be near enough if you’re this underfed!”

In the living room Nonna is entertaining the rest of Team Miraculous with some story from her time traveling abroad, everyone clearly enthralled by it.

“And then I JUMPED OFF THE MOTORCYCLE! Over the side and into the ravine below! If that water had been rushing just a breath faster I would have been a splatter on the rocks!”

And the rest of the men in the family, Tom, Marinette’s grandfather, Fu, and Gabriel are all coalesced at a fold up table in the foyer, Papa Cheng is lining up three shot glasses per man here.

“Simple rules French boys, first two to finish their drinks get in an arm wrestling match, the winner gets the first cut of the duck in the oven.”

Tom leans over to Gabriel and stage whispers “He pretends it’s this big traditional contest, but really he just likes arm wrestling and can’t think of a way to challenge someone naturally.”

“I HEARD THAT BOY”

Unsurprisingly Papa cheng is the first of the first round, Fu coming in close second. And from there the wrestling match is unseen, but you can hear a cry of defeat, so one can ASSUME the ancient guardian of the Miraculous whipped Marinette’s grandpa’s butt.

There’s laughter, some shrieks of rage courtesy of Roland, some whoops of excitement as Gina gets into a REALLY good part of a story, at one point Tom leans in to Gabriel again “You want to Arm wrestle anyway? Been awhile since you partied with the working class, hasn’t it?”

“I grew up working class, and I have an older brother, so… sure, if you’re willing to lose.”

“Oh it is ON”

We pan upward, up in Marinette’s loft, all of the Kwami present are gathered, including two that they never expected to be present.

Tears are shed as everyone hugs Nooroo and Duusu, scared to let either go, fearful that if they do the two will vanish like ghosts. Everyone is aware of what this means, but also aware that none of them can give this information because of the rules in place on Kwamis. But it is a reunion for them all, a promise that they will help them both somehow.

And at least, for the moment, they are all together again. The Seven are whole. And a few Zodiac are there to watch it unfold.

Finally, the sun has been set for hours, the dark is long fallen, the snow reflecting the lights outside, the stars bright. Gina has moved along, Roland has headed home, Chengs with hotel rooms have returned to their hotels. The group of kids are sprawled along the couch, all asleep. The only lingering adult guests are Fu, Gabriel, and Nathalie.

Fu and Sabine are speaking quietly, as he helps her clean up a bit, the two are doing dishes together. Sabine tells him that Marinette said he was Adrien’s Mandarin teacher, that the two have been bonding during Marinette’s internship. Fu confirms this, states that he’d lost his chance to have children with the woman he loved, and maybe that was why he’d bonded to Marinette, but she’s a brilliant girl and he’s glad to know she has an equally brilliant family at her back. Sabine huffs, the cheery exterior she normally has dropping.

“I’m hardly brilliant, I let my own daughter know the bare minimum of her own culture, I could have taught her more, I chose not to. I spent so long thinking to myself ‘She should be as French as possible, people will leave her alone if she’s as french as possible.’ She’s been through so much already” her eyes look far away “she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, that girl.”

“You’ve done your best with what you had.” Fu responds “You didn’t want her to suffer as you or I did upon coming here. We can’t prepare for everything, we can only do what we believe to be best.”

“I wish I could do more.”

“We all do.”

Sabine looks over at him and smiles, maybe a touch too knowingly.

But we then cut down into the bakery, dim light with only one lamp, right over the coffee pot. Tom’s pouring a pair of cups for the still exhausted Nathalie and the probably still a bit buzzed Gabriel.

“Not that I’m not always proud of my daughter trying to take care of people, but… I never really got much of an explanation as to why you guys went along with this.”

It’s a quiet moment, Nathalie looks aside, not wanting to put voice to it. So Gabriel does.

“My wife… died two years ago, and for a time it was… easier to pretend that the world stopped turning than it was to move on. We didn’t celebrate last year, but it’s… unfair to Adrien… to keep doing that to him. It was your daughter’s idea to…allow us to meet halfway.”

“She’s not dead.” Nathalie cuts in. “She’s just gone.”

Gabriel glances over at Nathalie, a frown just barely forming, but he doesn’t get a chance to speak, as Adrien meets them, wraps his arms around Nathalie, and whispers a “Thank you for your gift, Aunt Nathalie.”

The Agrestes take then to make their leave, Tom reminding them that now that they were here for Christmas eve, they were expected to show up tomorrow as well for Christmas day. Adrien happily returns that they’ll be there! Marinette gave him his gift Early but he didn’t open it yet! Nathalie’s already on her way into the snow, and for just a moment longer, Gabriel lingers in the doorway.

“Thank you for your hospitality Tom...Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Gabriel.”

Adrien grabs his father’s arm and gently leads him into the snow.

“I think we might be okay this year.” Adrien says as they walk off. “A bit crowded at the Dupain-Cheng’s though, maybe next year we should host!”

“I’m not sure if we’ll be invited along next year Adrien.”

“Pssh! Marinette and I are gonna be friends forever, if I know her, this is a standing invitation… she’s… she’s great like that.”

There’s a short time jump, assumed to be a few days later, Marinette’s got an armful of the same duffle she brought out for Fu, but now she’s bringing the bag inside. Fu has the rest of his bags in hand and seems nervous.

“I would hate to impose upon your kindness any longer Mme Dupain-Cheng.”

“Nonsense. People like us have to stick together.” Sabine waves him off and gently takes the suitcase in his hand from him. “Don’t tell her, but I’m glad my daughter has someone looking out for her while she’s off saving Paris.”

“Welcome Home Mr. Wang.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Rewrite #The Christmas special rewrite #Mod vega #Mod Aimee #rewrite

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themovieworldaccordingtotps · 4 years ago

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BEST MOVIES OF 2020 (Arranged alphabetically)

1. David Byrne’s American Utopia Director: Spike Lee Cast: David Byrne, Chris Giarmo, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Angie Swan, Bobby Wooten III, Mauro Refosco, Tim Keiper, Gustavo Di Dalva, Jacquelene Acevedo, Daniel Freedman, Stephane San Juan Critic’s Notes: Stop Making Sense is my favorite concert of all time. So, American Utopia easily slots in as one of my favorite. And boy, this is the most urgent film of 2020. It is that watchable as David Byrne possesses his inner Mr. Rogers to guide Americans to an ideal society.

2. Driveways Director: Andrew Ahn Cast: Hong Chau, Lucas Jaye, Jerry Adler, Robyn Payne, Christine Ebersole, Brian Dennehy Critic’s Notes: Just the sweetest swan song from Brian Dennehy before his passing. Generally, this film is a slice-of-life story of the unlikely friendship between a lonely boy and a lonely senior, and the poignancy is too precious that it struck a chord.

3. Fan Girl Director: Antoinette Jadaone Cast: Charlie Dizon, Paulo Avelino Critic’s Notes: For my native pick from Philippine cinema, here is an unlikely story between a fan and her idol. It is a predictable deconstruction of an acclaimed, who becomes an over-the-top antithesis to his onscreen persona. But the script is sharp, so as the delightful leads.

4. First Cow Director: Kelly Reichardt Cast: John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer, Lily Gladstone, Alia Shawkat Critic’s Notes: Kelly Reichardt became the Yasujirō Ozu of 2020, for this film contains the year’s most meditative shots and moodiest atmosphere on an otherwise simple story of friendship.

5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things Director: Charlie Kaufman Cast: Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis, Guy Boyd, Hadley Robinson, Gus Birney, Abby Quinn, Colby Minifie Critic’s Notes: Charlie Kaufman is one of the pioneers of meta storytelling. And him helming one of the most unnerving suspense novels is a strange one. But it brings to light the subgenre of existential horror. First viewing may not be scary, but lingering on its subtext is the scariest part.

6. Minari Director: Lee Isaac Chung Cast: Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung, Scott Haze, Will Patton Critic’s Notes: My pick for the best film of 2020, Minari is another slice-of-story about a Korean immigrant family wanting to achieve the American dream in Arkansas. What it lacks on dramatic stakes, it has the heart of a striving family. And the best subplot comes from grandma Soon-ja.

7. Palm Springs Director: Max Brabakow Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, Peter Gallagher, Chris Pang, June Squibb, J. K. Simmons Critic’s Notes: The emblematic comedy of the last year, Palm Springs takes in the time-loop trope and gives it a fresh twist. The true heart of it is the chemistry between Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, whose signature personas seemingly blend.

8. Soul Director: Pete Docter Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, Angela Bassett Critic’s Notes: Aside from Brad Bird, Pete Docter just become one of the Pixar directors whose films are worth waiting. Soul is an intriguing character study of two souls needing to find the purpose of their lives. With its layers and layers of themes, this is the boldest Pixar project since The Incredibles.

9. Sound of Metal Director: Darius Marder Cast: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, Mathieu Amalric, Chelsea Lee Critic’s Notes: Riz Ahmed is the reason to see this film that honors the deaf and disabled community. His character’s deconstruction and subtle expressions give such gravitas that it is heart-wrenching to watch. Also, the best sound design of the year. (Sorry, Tenet.)

10. Wolfwalkers Director: Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart Cast: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Tommy Tiernan, Jon Kenny, John Morton, Maria Doyle Kennedy Critic’s Notes: Cartoon Saloon just landed itself as one of the prime animation studios, next to Pixar, Studio Ghibli and Laika, with their most ambitious film yet. Wolfwalkers is perhaps their Princess Mononoke with a fresh twist on Irish history.

Runners-Up: Hamilton, The King of Staten Island, Run, The Trail of the Chicago 7, The Vast of Night

Missed Masterpieces: Nomadland, One Night in Miami, Promising Young Woman, Rocks, The Father

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downthetubes · 4 years ago

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Phil-Comics offers first issues galore in latest auction, and first TV Comic featuring Daleks, too!

Phil-Comics offers first issues galore in latest auction, and first TV Comic featuring Daleks,��too!

The latest Phil-Comics auction running now on eBay offers some terrific British and US comics gems, including an often much sought after edition of Polystyle’s TV Comic featuring the Daleks.

TV Comic Number 788, featuring the Daleks

TV Comic Number 788, cover dated 21st January 1967, the Daleks appeared in the title’s “Doctor Who” strip exactly one week after “The Daleks” strip ended in…

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#Batgirl #John Canning #Paul Scones #Phil Comics #Roger Noel Cook #The Daleks #TV Century 21 #TV Comic

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disasterdeacy · 5 years ago

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Never In My Wildest Dreams

A/N: Here is a continuation of Some Day One Day and also a request from @mariekuuuuuh who requested some domestic Bri fluff! I’m sorry if this isn’t what you had in mind, but I got a bit carried away lol. There is no smut in this part, but I do have a good bit of smut written that accompanies this, so if you would like me to post a second part with smut, just let me know!!! Title comes from the Dan Auerbach song, it’s hella underrated and the only thing I could think of to name it lol. Summary: Y/N has been having a rather shitty week, feeling sick, tired, and just all around crappy. Arriving home from work, she wants nothing more than to curl up next to Brian and sleep.... Life, however, has other plans. Word Count: 7k Pairing: Present Day Brian May x Young!Reader Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Pregnancy, General Issues With Mortality, Age Gap, Mentions of Hospitals

Walking through the front door of your and Bri’s Chelsea home, a groan of relief left your mouth at the smell of dinner cooking. You absolutely loved being Brian’s wife and making him dinner every night, but you were absolutely exhausted, and had no idea why.. Work hadn’t been anymore stressful than usual, you were sleeping extremely well, eating healthy, taking your vitamins... and yet somehow were still absolutely KNACKERED.

Sitting your purse down on the foyer table, you kick off your heels and pad to the kitchen, smiling widely at the sight of your husband. Brian was stood in front of the stove, your favorite GBBO apron, that Noel Fielding had nicked for you after you’d met him at the BRIT awards and told him of how much you loved the show, tied around his waist over a black button up and matching trousers. His hips were moving to the beat of ABBA, as he tasted a bit of whatever was in the main pot, nodding his head in approval at the taste.

You didn’t know how you’d managed to get so lucky. He knew how insanely tired you were, and had actually told you to go to the doctor to get tested, although you’d adamantly refused, telling him that you were 100% fine, and that he had nothing to worry about. He didn't believe you in the slightest, but, you were a grown woman and he wasn't about to infringe on your right to be a stubborn idiot. You quietly make your way over to him, admiring the way his ass looked in the right black trousers, before slipping your arms around his waist, laughing loudly as he squealed and jumped around, eyes wide.

"Sorry love, I couldn’t help it!" You grin into the kiss he places on your lips, reaching around to squeeze his ass before turning my attention to the various pots on the stove.

"Whatcha makin?" Brian smiles down at you, curling your hair behind your ear.

"Chicken soup, love. You said you haven’t been feeling well, and it always helps me. It’s my mum’s recipe. Technically." He winks at you

"It has a few key ingredient changes." He loved his mum’s cooking, but he had to make almost every single one meatless. Taking a moment to wrap his arms around you, Brian smiles and leans his forehead down to rest against yours.

"How have you been?" Sighing, you lean forward a little, pressing a kiss to Brian's nose.

"I’m feeling a bit better, still a little drained, but better."

It's a lie, which Brian seemed to notice right away, based on the look he sends you. Sighing, you throw your head back, his arms tightening to keep you upright.

"Well alright love, if you must know I’m absolutely fucking exhausted, and can almost fainted on the Central Line earlier." Brian gapes at you, his hazel eyes widening as he takes in the severity of your words.

"Y/N! Darling, why haven’t you gone to the doctor? You really need to, especially if you’re feeling faint! Why didn’t you call me?" He leads you to a nearby chair, making you sit down, obviously concerned for you.

You roll your eyes playfully at his concern , but your heart was swelling at the same time from it.

"Bri, love I’m okay I swear! It’s probably nothing, I promise. If anything else happens I’ll go okay?"

He didn’t seem pleased with your answer, his eyebrows raised, a frown on his, but before he could retort, you take his hands in your own, bringing them to your lips to place a few reassuring kisses to.

"Go finish up my soup and stop your worrying Doctor May, I need some warm liquid ASAP." Laughing at your innuendo, he rolled his eyes and returned to the stove giving you a pointed look before he turned his back, a quiet sigh of relief falling from your lips.

You were feeling a little worse than you had when you had walked through the door, the usually incredible smell of Brian’s cooking making you sick to your stomach, but you definitely couldn’t let him see that.. Usually you never got sick, but this had been going on for weeks now, the exhaustion, nausea.. the whole thing was worrying you, and obviously worrying Brian. Feeling the bile rise in the back of your throat, you quickly slide from the chair, legs scraping across the tile floor as you rushed to get up, hand over your mouth.

"I gotta go to the bathroom love... "

Running as fast as you could up the stairs, you fall to your knees on the floor, not even bothering to close the door behind you before you lurch over the toilet, heaving up the sparce contents of your stomach. God, you hadn’t puked like this in years, not sense a bad run in with appendicitis in college. Your head was pounding, limbs weak, something was genuinely so wrong, and you needed Brian, maybe even a trip to the hospital. Pushing yourself away from the toilet, you crawl to the door, weakly crying out for Brian before darkness washed over you completely.

Brian was initially worried when you all but sprinted out of the kitchen, and he quickly stirred the soup before putting it on a different burner and turning it on low. Turning off the previously used burner, he takes off his apron and scrubs his hands as fast as he could. He knew you hated when he worried but he just.... had a bad feeling.

So, despite his own chastising himself, he followed you upstairs, calling out your name gently. When you didn’t answer his knocking, he sighed and pulled open the door, but upon eeing your unconscious form on the floor, his stomach dropped, nausea over taking him. The absolute worst case scenario was filling his head, and he was already dialing 999 before his knees hit the floor beside you and somehow directing emergency services to your home. He didn’t know what to do; was nearly scared to move you, so he just stroked your hair, making sure you were laying on your side, talking to you—begging you to wake up, to be okay; assuring you that help was coming.

By the time EMS get there, Brian is a complete wreck, absolutely terrified. He couldn’t lose you—Jesus, he couldn’t lose you. He couldn’t keep losing the most important people in his life! He rides along in the ambulance, bitching at the EMS workers when they insist on putting a heart monitor on him. Feeling empty when they make him stay behind while they whisk you away at the hospital, he sits heavily into a chair in the waiting room, still attached to the heart monitor the EMS had managed to attach to him.

God, he had never been this scared in his entire life, seeing you lying on the floor, pale, sickly, and completely defenseless... It tore his heart from his chest. Brian knew he didn't need to be alone through this, knew he needed someone with him to lean on, so with shaky hands, he pulls out his phone, and after giving Roger the scare of his life, slumps into the chair, tears falling freely from his tired hazel eyes. Groaning a bit as you came to, you attempted to open your eyes, quickly closing them when they were assaulted by the bright lights above you.

Your whole body felt like it was on fire, your head was pounding, and if that damn beeping didn’t stop within the next 5 seconds, you were going to rip your ears out. ‘God, what happened? Where was I?' was all that was running through your head. The last thing that you remembered was crawling to the door in the bathroom, calling out for Brian, and then all of a sudden you were waking up in place surrounded by a smell you knew all too well, thanks to your proclivity for childhood injury.

You were in the hospital. Swallowing the bile that had risen in the back of your throat, you attempted to sit up, only to have a nurse gently push you back onto the bed, saying that you needed to rest, because they were running a few tests to figure out why you had fainted. Your mind was immediately swirling with the worst possible results. Cancer? Heart attack? Everything that ran through your head was nothing sort of nauseating. The nurse must have seen your face turn green, and swiftly handed you a bedpan, rubbing your back as you visited.

Tears were running down my face as the nurse handed me some ice chips, throwing the bedpan in the medical waste bin. Brian... You needed Brian. You were so weak, everything hurting, your nerves frayed, and the only person who could make you feel any semblance of normalcy was Brian. Glancing up at the nurse through teary eyes, you open your mouth to speak for the first time.

"Where’s my husband? C-can I please see him? I-I need him, please."

The kind nurse smiled, squeezing your hand and telling you that she would go get him. Thanking her weakly, you fall back into the bed, tears falling freely when Brian all but ran into the room.

Brian had been sat with Roger’s arm around his shoulders when the nurse comes out to get him. He stands, wobbling a little on his feet, Roger stands too, making sure Brian doesn’t fall over

"How is she? Is she alright? Please, is she okay?"

His voice is shaking as he speaks, and he wants to sob when the nurse tells him you’re awake and asking for him. He spares a look at Roger, but Rog just shoos him off, telling him to go. So Brian follows the nurse, bursting through the door to your room and all but collapsing in the chair by your bed, his hands reaching for you. He’s trying to keep a brave face, but he knows he’s failing as he cradled your face in his hands, looking you over frantically.

"Y-You really scared me, love. God, I thought—I didn’t know—"

He shuts his mouth, reaching for your hand without the IV and pressed a kiss to the back of it

"I love you Y/N. I love you so much."

Brian's voice hitches with nearly every word, and he desperately tries to reign in his emotions, to no avail. Seeing Brian so emotional, his hands shaking as he grasped your hand, it was too much, and the dam that you had been desperately trying to suppress just breaks, sobs wracking your whole body.

"Oh god, Brian, I’m so scared, I’m so- oh god Bri."

Brian looked absolutely terrified as well, his eyes red rimmed, his breathing shallow, but he just held you, climbing into the bed and wrapping his arms around you, placing kisses into your hair as he whispered words of comfort. You wanted to be optimistic, to think that everything would be okay, but given the present circumstances coupled with your exhaustion, you couldn't help but think the worst.

"Bri, what if... what if it’s ca-"

The words wouldn't even come out, the fear of the disease that almost killed your grandmother overtaking my body as Brian holds you tighter, lips against your hair as he attempts to console you.

"Shhh, Anna, it’s not that. It won’t be that. It’s going to be alright, love. There are so many other things it could be."

His mind is racing, trying to come up with anything to distract you.

"I mean—Roger was just telling me that TigerLily has an electrolyte imbalance that makes her sick in the exact same way! It went undiagnosed for a long time, but now she just watches her intake and she’s fine! So let’s just—just wait for the tests to come back before we prepare for the end of the world, hmm?"

Pressing a kiss to your hair, he sighs a bit, the action shaky.

"It’s okay, love, I’m here. I’m going to take care of you."

The words are quiet, but he means them, and he knows you know it too. The two of you lay there for what feels like ages, wrapped in one another's arms, but is probably only ten minutes or so before a nurse comes in the room, a doctor got on her trails. Their entrance causes Brian to hold out of the bed, scrambling to his feet in an attempt to get to the doctor to find out what's happened, what was wrong with you. He just wanted to know that you were okay, and the doctor simply smiles at the two of you, introducing herself before walking to stand by your side, Brian and the nurse following behind her.

"Well, Mrs May.. your test results came back perfectly normal, save for one. But, this result explains all of your symptoms."

She pauses for a moment, flipping the sheet. You were about to throw up when she smiles you. ‘An odd reaction from a doctor when reading test results’ I thought.,

"Congratulations are in order you two. Mrs. May, you’re pregnant. About 10 weeks I’d say."

Brian blinks, staring at the Dr. in complete shock. It’s like he barely comprehends what she’s said, his brows furrowing.

"I’m—I’m sorry, what?"

She repeats herself, laughing a bit at his reaction as Brian hakes his head, blood pounding in his ears.

He looks down at you, white as a sheet. It was the last thing he was expecting, a complete shock. It wasn’t that it was a bad thing! Actually, it was the furthest thing from it. He just, well—he was 71. He hadn’t been sure it would even be POSSIBLE for them to get pregnant, and it’s not like they’d been TRYING. He runs a hand through his unruly curls, his other arm still wrapped around you. A baby. Oh my god, a BABY.

"You’re pregnant... "

His voice is little more than a whisper, trying to get the idea in his head. You couldn’t focus on anything except for the feeling of Brian’s arm around you, his gentle voice filling your ears.

"B-baby? I-I’m having a baby?"

You weren't upset about it, you were absolutely overjoyed! You and Brian had been discussing having children together since the night he made drunk you brownies almost 2 years ago. The two of you knew it’s what you wanted, but you weren’t exactly making an attempt to have them.

Brian had been worried in the past when you'd discussed it, citing that being his age and having a baby would be a bit... strange. He’d been a great dad to Jimmy, Louisa, and Emily, and an even better granddad, but you knew that he was still concerned at having to learn how to be the father of a newborn all over again. The doctor smiles again, shaking her head slightly.

"Babies Mrs. May, your sonar shows you’re having twins."

Brian feels very faint, and hears himself say so, the words leaving his mouth before he can think. The nurse immediately has him sit back in the chair, getting him a cold pack to put on his forehead. He looks over at you in complete disbelief; you have the same sort of look on your face. He realizes he should probably try to say SOMETHING to make it less awkward, but all he manages is.

"Well I... I guess everything works, huh?"

You can't help but burst out laughing at Brian’s words, initial concern for his well being flying out the window. Only he could make a situation as insane as this one somehow funny. Still laughing, you reach over and grab his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"A little too well, I'd say. "

The nurse and doctor are laughing as well as they leave the room, saying that they would like to keep you overnight to get your fluids back up. You and Brian manage a word of thanks as they leave, still shaking with laughter and disbelief at what you'd just been told.

"God Brian.. twins.. y-you.. we're having two babies.."

You looked over at Brian as you spoke, taking his hand before your eyes widen in concern at his appearance. He looked pale, hands still shaking. You knew deep down that he wasn't upset, that he was just in shock, but you had to ask, to make sure Brian was as equally excited as you. Squeezing his hand again, you raise up in the bed just enough to properly sit face to face with him.

"Bri, you-you’re not mad are you?"

His head shoots up to look at you, hazel eyes wide. He reaches for your hands quickly, concerned as he presses a kiss to your palm.

"No! No, Y/N, love, why would you think that? No darling I could never be mad at yiy , especially over something like this.., I’m... I’m excited! I’m just.... terrified?"

He nods to himself, huffing out a laugh.

"Yeah. Absolutely terrified. And.... surprised, I guess. Really surprised. I didn’t know—I mean we weren’t sure, "

He stops talking, knowing he was just reiterating what had just been said.

"..... Two babies, Y/N! "

Bringing his hands to your lips, you nod at him, smiling into the light kisses you were placing on his hands.

"Yeah love, two babies.."

Your eyes start to tear up, happiness bubbling up and out.

"I’m.. I’m gonna be a mom! Brian, oh my god you’ve made me a mom!"

Before you'd met Bri you were positive that you didn’t want kids, but then you met him and it was like your whole perspective on life changed. Then there was his worrying that it wouldn’t happen, and you finally accepted that you would never be a mom. And you were genuinely okay with that fact, you had everything you'd ever wanted in Brian, but now? This was happiness like you'd never known.

Brian breaks out into a smile at your excitement. No matter how many worries or concerns he had.... he just wanted you to be happy. He always wanted you to be happy. He laughs a bit, leaning forward to kiss you deeply.

"I think it’s all you, Love, "

He pauses, his throat growing thick with emotion,

"You’re going to be an amazing mum. God, I love you so much. And I love our little babies already."

He laughs a bit, teary eyed, and presses a wet kiss to your lips before sighing and standing up, smiling down at your confused look.

"I guess I should go tell Rog he can go home."

You look up at him surprised and he grins, looking a bit bashful as he runs his neck.

"I uh, was kind of freaking out earlier. He’s sitting in the waiting room.. "

Your eyes widen at his confession, he's called Roger? Not that you were surprised, Rog was always the first person that Bri called in a situation like this, you were just worried for him, you'd not even thought about how your spell had affected Brian, and you knew he wouldn't want you to either.

"Bri, are you sure you’re okay? God babe, I didn’t mean to scare you so bad, I’m so sorry."

He only smiles down at you , pressing a kiss to your forehead in reassurance, lips migrating further south to take your ear in his mouth, teeth grazing it just enough to make you giggle. Laughing as you do so, you push Bri away and towards the door, smacking his ass as he stumbles away.

"Go tell Rog that I’m not dying, just that your sperm is a little too potent."

He's still vividly blushing when he reached the waiting room, both Roger, Sarina, AND Tigerlily were standing there, eyes wide and full of questuons. Brian is a bit meek, voice soft when he tells them it wasn’t exactly bad news. Roger makes a HUGE scene of course, whooping and hollering, and teasing him. Sarina and Tigerlily are just as excited, just a bit more reserved about it. Tigerlily was already asking if she could tell her siblings, her eyes bright.

Brian is a bit overwhelmed, and doesn’t quite know what all to say to any of them. Luckily Sarina gets Roger to calm down, and the blonde man decides that the Mays should have some space. They give a confused Brian a bag of food, Tigerlily explains that food was a necessity for you to feel better, and that sure, maybe ramen wasn't the healthiest call, but it was your favorite, and that's all that mattered.

Brian wraps the young woman in a big hug, smiling widely as the whole Taylor family leaves, shaking his head as he returns to your room.

"Alright so, I’m not sure, but the entire Taylor clan might know about this by the end of the day. Not much I can do."

You laugh, and he relaxes a little bit, going to sit beside you again.

"How are you feeling now? Hungry? Because your friends certainly went all in for you."

Happily taking the bag from Brian, your stomach rumbles as you smell the ramen inside. Whatever drugs were being pumped into your body through the IV were doing the lord’s work, because you felt immensely better than you had a few hours earlier, and your appetite was back in full force. Opening the bowl you groaned, god Lily knew you so well. Brian laughed as you dug into the ramen.

"The Taylor clan can tell the whole damn world if they keep bringing me food like this."

The broth was warming you from the inside out, the noodles and bamboo root hitting the spot and filling your previously empty stomach. Brian simply watches you eat, a dopey smile on his face. After you finish, Brian took the trash and dumped it in the recycling bin outside, smiling as you make room for him in the bed, patting the space beside you. His smile widens and he crawls in beside you, your body curling into him, head resting against his neck. It was silent for a while, Brian holding you, randomly placing kisses into your hair. Lying there you allowed your thoughts to wander to what Brian had said, about how the Taylor clan was going to spread the news like bonfire. Tightening your hold around Brian's waist, you sigh, mind wandering.

"Bri, we have to discuss how to break the news to everyone.."

Brian hummed in agreement, murmuring into your hair

"Well, do you want to wait until the three month mark? Isn’t that usually what’s done? And then we can... we can announce it however we like. It doesn’t have to be fancy if you don’t want it to be. I’ll do whatever is best for you."

He smiles a little, biting his bottom lip to try and tame it, not wanting to seem TOO eager.

"I’m excited, I think. I mean, I AM excited. It just had to... settle in. I mean, I’ll spread the news all over Instagram if you want me to, "

He chuckles to himself, arms tightening around you.

"I think the majority will be thrilled."

Seeing him so happy made you happier than you'd ever thought possible, and you knew he’d been worried about being able to have children with you, but he never let it show, never made it obvious. But, he didn’t know that you'd heard him crying countless times while watching videos of babies, videos of you with his youngest grand kids.. he wanted to have a baby with you so badly, and now, now the two of you were having two when you didn’t think that just one would be possible..

Nodding into his chest you showed him that you knew he was right, waiting another 2 weeks to publicly announce the pregnancy was the best thing to do. For now, you’d keep it between you and your families and friends, just basking in the fact that you were going to be parents. But, agreeing to hold off on the announcement didn't mean you couldn't imagine it. Chuckling a little, you sit up, resting your head on your hands on top of his chest.

"Can we please do a really cute announcement on Instagram? Like, something that’ll make everyone cry? Because, personally I want to see everyone cry. "

Brian laughed loudly at your words, squeezing you tighter as you joined him, unable to keep your smile from pulling at your lips. Reaching down to touch your stomach, the first time you’d done it since being told you were pregnant. Your stomach was still relatively flat, well not exactly flat, it never had been, but normal, and yet, in a few weeks you would start showing and there would be no going back, well technically there was no going back now, but it almost didn't feel as if this whole situation would be real until you could see it for yourself. Sighing in contentment, you press kiss to Brian’s chest as he reaches down to touch your stomach as well, tears welling in his eyes.

"I didn’t know it was possible to love you even more than I already did when I left home this morning, and yet here we are."

He chuckles through his tears, rubbing your tummy gently, just thinking about how there were two little lives growing there, lives that the two of you had made!

"I feel the same way, truly."

He snuggles with you, considering the other things you’d said

"Of course we’ll make a big public to-do about it, love. We’ll work together to make it the most tear inducing announcement the world has ever seen."

Laughing a little, he shakes his head in thought.

"Freddie was always good at things like that. Maybe he’s rubbed off on me. And, well, Rog is quite good at being dramatic as well. So things seem promising."

He's teasing, but still serious, getting more excited the more he talks.

"Oh, Anne will be absolutely over the moon! Get ready for tons of baby clothes from her."

You smiled at Bri’s mentioning of Freddie, he rarely did that, and when he did, it was because he was beyond happy, and after the past few years you’d had, seeing him so insanely happy was all that mattered.

"Do you think Fred would like me? Like, would he approve of me for you?"

You knew it was insane to ask, but you really wanted to know. Freddie was such an important and integral part of his life, and you just... needed to know..

Brian was a bit thrown by your question- surprised by it. You'd never really asked about Freddie. Not so forward, at least. Brian didn't blame you; he didn't talk about Freddie all the time. Not that he didn't think about his friend every day, it just... hurt. Still. He figured it always would. He supposed he hadn't exactly given you a lot of guidance on how to handle the subject.

"Of course he'd like you."

His voice is soft as he considers his words. There's a pause, and he huffs out a quiet laugh.

"He'd probably tell me you're the only one that actually makes any sense for me. Though, he might only say that to get a rise out of me, seeing as the two of you are so alike."

He laughs at your surprised expression

"I'm serious, love. It's a bit ridiculous, actually. Rog and I have both talked about it."

You burst out laughing at Bri’s statement. You and Freddie Mercury? Similar? You weren't one to argue with the man who had known him the best, but, that didn't mean you actually believed it.

"So, I’m like Freddie? Genuinely? Because if that’s the truth, that might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Brian knew how much you absolutely adored queen, knew how much the band meant to you as you'd’ been a fan for almost 20 years, nearly your entire life. And he knew how much you admired and adored Freddie, although you had never really talked about it, because you knew just how painful it was for him. Brian had been incredibly open about his struggles with depression and all of the things that would set him off, but never once had he mentioned Fred, and you respected that and left it well enough alone.

He simply smiles, his face a mixture of fondness and sadness, his voice the same. But he doesn’t shy away from speaking about it. He figures he owes you that much at least

"I’m serious. I mean, the two of you aren’t twins or anything—I don’t think the world could handle another Freddie. Or YOU, for that matter."

He grins at you, poking you gently in the ribs

"But yes. You have the same sense of humor, the same kindness—the same interests, even. And..."

He shrugs, blushing a little.

"You both care for and support me in ways no one else has. Differently, of course. But... still uniquely."

Emotions bubbling up, you swallow the lump in your throat. Hearing Brian be so open about something you’d never heard him talk about made your heart burst, it felt as if the final beam had fallen into place. Reaching up, you brush a stray tear from his cheek, one that you were willing to place cold hard US dollars on he hadn’t realized had escaped his eye.

"Well, I’ll just have to make sure I give you enough love and support for 2 people then huh?"

Placing a gentle kiss to his lips, your smile soon causing you to pull away as Brian curled himself into your side, placing butterfly kisses down your neck until his head came to rest at your chest.

"Also love,"

You chuckled, pulling at a stray curl on his head.

"The world is about to get TWO more of me.. and you, but, mostly me I’m willing to bet. Ya know, American genes and all."

He scoffs at you, trying to hide his emotions, even though he knew he didn’t have to.

"American genes? Oh, Anna, you are SORELY underestimating the May genes. Just you wait—they’ll be just like me, and it’ll drive both of us absolutely mad."

He smiles a bit at you before it fades. Sighing, he touches your cheek.

"You can ask about him, you know. If ever you want to. It’s a sore subject, but.... but I need to be more open in remembering him."

Leaning forward to place a kiss to his lips, smiling into it before burying your face into his neck. You knew that he wouldn’t mind me asking about Fred, but you also didn’t want him to think that you were nosy, putting your nose somewhere it didn’t belong.

You had never met Freddie, never met Jim, only met Mary once... You just didn’t feel like you belonged in that world, I mean, you had almost passed out when John had turned up at your house, wedding present in hand, a few weeks after you’d returned from the honeymoon.

"I love you so much Bri, but you’ll regret telling me that. I’ll never shut up about him now."

You laugh into his chest, his hands pinching your sides playfully, tickling you until you were a laughing mess against him.

"Dirty move Doctor May! Tickling the mother of your children, that’s a low blow."

At the mention of his children, you couldn’t help but think of Jimmy, Louisa, and Emily. What their reactions would be to the baby. You groaned, grabbing the bed remote and lying it all the way back, allowing the two of you to cuddle up closer, and far more comfortably. Brian’s grip on you tightened, hazel eyes looking down into your’s. He knew something was wrong, something was bothering you. Twisting around, you lie down on your stomach, deciding to revel in the feeling while you could.

"How do you think your kids are going to take the news?"

He knew that there was more you want to say but he doesn’t pry—just waits for you to decide when to ask. His heart aches a little when the words fall from your lips, his hand stilling on your back.

"... I’m not sure, love. It’ll be another big change, and they’ve proven themselves unreliable when it comes to being mature about those."

His voice is tight. He hated that his kids were acting the way they were. It made him mad, but also just.... extremely sad. He knew they’d like you if they’d give you the chance.

"I mean.... maybe the twins will help them realize how serious you and I are?"

He seems lost in thought for a moment, and then he shrugs.

"They’ll take it however they take it, Y/N. It’ll be alright. It’s their own issue."

You wanted to be optimistic, wanted to believe that what Brian said was true. That, because of these little miracles inside of you, his children would come around to your marriage. You had apologized to Brian about a million times throughout the duration of your relationship, for coming between his children and him, only for him to give you the same answer he’d just given you. Lying your head down on your arms, you hum in contentment as Brian runs his hands through your hair.

"I know Bri. You know how I am, I just want everyone to get along."

You chuckled a little at how naive it sound.

"But, I know that I have to think about us first, about making the best home and foundation for our children."

You paused, eyes widening slightly.

"Fucking hell Bri, we’re having children. Like, actual kids."

Your voice was shaking a bit, the reality finally setting in for REAL. You'd thought that it had set in the minute you'd been told, but this, this was the first time you had that overwhelming sense of ‘I’m going to be a mom.

Brian grimaced up at the ceiling, already going through the list of things he had to do to prepare the house.

"Yeah. Jesus.”

He sighs, his worries coming back. He taps his fingers over your lower back, mind racing. God, having two new babies? He was beyond ecstatic but.... well. How long would they have him for? Ten years? Fifteen? He’d be 90 by the time they graduated, if he even lived that long (something he tried not to think about at all costs). God, would they resent him for it? Think it was weird?

“.... I’ll have to do some research for baby proofing."

He decides to stick to talking about the house, not wanting to ruin your happiness. Those were his own issues and insecurities, not your's.

"We can probably turn my office into the nursery. I don’t use it much, and it’s right off the bedroom. How does that sound?"

You knew exactly what Brian was doing, was rambling about baby proofing, about the nursery, about absolutely anything to try and keep you off of the scent of his anxieties, but you could tell something was bothering him.. You could always tell.

"Bri, love, as much as I love the image of you painting little constellations all over the nursery, what’s wrong?"

He was acting strange, his eyes not as bright as they’d been earlier in the day.

"You are still okay with this right? With the babies? I know it’s a lot, and I just, you’re okay with it? Or is it something else love?"

Leaning over, you kissed his shoulder, worried about what was going through his head. He always tried to internalize his own insecurities, something he’d done the entire time he was with both Chrissie and Anita, something you’d been working with him on for the past 2 years. You just wanted to make sure he was okay.

Brian stops himself short from his rambling, eyes downcast. He felt guilty for worrying you

"Of course I’m alright with the babies! I’m so excited for us to expand our family together, and I can’t wait to meet them and love them, and see how amazing of a mum you are. Really, It’s nothing, love."

You give him a look, and he sighs. He could never lie to you—though he still tries.

"It’s just still settling in, and the idea is nerve wracking, but I know you already know that! It’s a scary thing. You’d think I wouldn’t be so worried after already having kids, but it never gets easier."

He huffs out a laugh, running a hand through his messy curls

".... I’m just.... old, Anna."

He feels like that’s all he needs to say, just thinking about it makes him feel sad. He already doesn’t know how you’ve stayed with him and wanted him, with his age and his looks and his... capabilities

A sudden sadness washes over you at his words knowing exactly what he meant. It was something the two of you had had a few very tearful conversations about in the past. Being with someone Brian’s age you knew you wouldn’t get the 50+ years with him that you wanted, but you were determined to make the most of the time you had together. Bringing children into a relationship like this was going to be hard, and they would only get 20-30 years TOPS with their dad, just like you. But, you didn’t care. Rolling your eyes, you press your face into Brian’s neck, wrapping your arms around him tightly.

"I’m not going to pretend like it’s not going to be hard, but, we’ll make it work. We always have."

You smiled into him, placing a kiss to the skin of his neck.

"We’re not going to be like normal families, I mean why would we want to be it’s boring that way. But, we’ll be a family full of love, and affection, acceptance, and happiness. We’ll give these little nuggets the best years we can with the time that we have together."

He sniffles, nodding a little.

"I know. I know, it’s just—i feel so guilty. I don’t want to put you or them through that; I don’t want to leave you alone."

He's quiet, voice shaking a little. No one ever liked talking about their own morality, but he selfishly thought he had reason to hate it even more than most. He tries to pull himself together, focusing on your words

"I’m sorry. I know you’re right. There’s nothing we can do, and I can’t... I can’t focus on that when there’s so many other things to think about."

He presses a kiss to the top of your head before speaking again, arms still around you.

".... like getting you out of this hospital and back home, for one. Did they say you had to spend the night? I’m sure you’d rather stay in our bed than this one."

He gestures to the hospital bed the two of you were squished together on.

Groaning as you attempt to get comfortable in the bed, you look at Brian for a second before pressing the nurses button.

"Yeah love they wanted to keep me overnight if I felt like I needed it, but honestly I want nothing more than to go home, take a hot bath, and have you make slow love to me."

You kissed his jaw, pulling away just in time for the nurse to come in, asking what you needed. When you sweetly explained that you felt like you were ready to go home, she sighed, saying that you would be better at the hospital, but that it was ultimately your decision.

After assuring her that you were in capable hands, she left, returning a few moments with the paperwork for you to sign, and the declared you discharged. Letting out a sigh of relief, you crawl off of the bed, stumbling a little as you attempted to use your legs for the first time in hours. Brian was still sat on the bed as you dressed yourself, a dazed look on his face. You grin, knowing exactly what your words had done to him, before pulling sweater and leggings on.

"You alright love? Ready to go, you've got a long night ahead of you... "

Tags: @meddows-taylors @only-theclassics @toomuchlove-willkillyou @leah-halliwell92 @glasgowkisschelseasmile @cyndagoaway @goodoldfashioned-rogerboy @im-just-a-musical-prostitute @rogertaylors-lipgloss @brianmayoucease

#lemme know if you like it and want part 2 #present day brian may x reader #brian may x reader #current day brian may x reader #2019 brian may #queen x reader #my writing #gwilym lee x reader #roger taylor x reader #bohemian rhapsody #brian may imagine #brian may fanfiction

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brookstonalmanac · 1 year ago

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Birthdays 11.1

Beer Birthdays

Ferdinand Rodenbach (1714)

Benjamin Lee, Baronet Guinness (1798)

Petrus Van Roy (1830)

Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun (1840)

Edmund Fitzgerald (1847)

Henry Schupp (1868 or 69)

Five Favorite Birthdays

William Merritt Chase; artist (1849)

Toni Collette; Australian actor (1972)

Larry Flynt; magazine publisher (1942)

Charlie Kaufman; screenwriter (1958)

Edward Said; Palestinian writer (1935)

Famous Birthdays

Rick Allen; rock drummer (1963)

"Whispering" Bill Anderson; songwriter (1937)

Sholem Asch; Polish writer (1880)

Jules Bastien-Lepage; French artist (1848)

Bo Bice; singer and musician (1975)

Edmund Blunden; English author, poet (1896)

Barbara Bosson; actor (1939)

Hermann Broch; Austrian-American author (1886)

Jan Brożek; Polish mathematician, astronomer (1585)

Tim Cook; Apple Inc. CEO (1960)

Stephen Crane; writer (1871)

Jan Davis; astronaut (1953)

Louis Dewis; Belgian-French painter (1872)

Lou Donaldson; saxophonist (1926)

Richard "Kinky" Friedman; rock singer (1944)

Nordahl Grieg; Norwegian poet (1902)

Michael D. Griffin; physicist and engineer (1949)

Sophie B. Hawkins; rock musician (1967)

Ted Hendricks; Green Bay Packers/Colts/Raiders LB (1947)

Shere Hite; writer, researcher (1942)

Eugen Jochum; German conductor (1902)

Mitch Kapor; Lotus & EFF founder (1950)

Roger Kellaway; pianist, composer (1940)

George Kenner; German-American painte (1888)

Anthony Kiedis; rock singer (1962)

James Kirkpatrick; television journalist (1920)

Robert B. Laughlin; physicist (1950)

Lyle Lovett; singer, songwriter (1957)

L.S. Lowry; British artist (1887)

Jenny McCarthy; model, actor (1972)

Ken Miles; English-American race car driver (1918)

Philip Noel-Baker; Canadian politician, activist (1889)

Gary Player; golf player (1935)

Aishwarya Rai; Indian actor (1973)

Grantland Rice; writer (1880)

Barry Sadler; songwriter (1940)

Jim Steinman; rock songwriter (1947)

Rachel Ticotin; actor (1958)

Fernando Valenzuela; Los Angeles Dodgers P (1960)

Marcia Wallace; actor (1942)

#Birthdays

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vintagelira · 4 years ago

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Hogwarts Mystery OC

-Name: Banu Davis-Lee

Age: 23 y/o

DOB: August 28, 1973

Gender: Female

Nicknames: none

Ethnicity: Scottish/Turkish

Nationality: Scottish

Species: Human witch, halfblood

Face claim: Cansu Dere

Appearance

Height: 5′4″

Complexion: Fair

Hair Color: Black

Hair style: long, wavy, usually in a low bun

Eye color: Hazel green

Personality

Mature for her age due to family life

Very funny and loves to make people laugh

Kind heart

Brave and faces things head-on

Quite stubborn

Backstory (Family)

Banu Davis was born to Noel Davis and Fatma Ozturk on August 28, 1973. Her father was a Curse-breaker for Gringotts and her mother worked for the Department of International Cooperation for the Turkish Ministry of Magic. Her parents met while Noel was working in Turkey and Fatma was assigned to monitor him.

They fell in love and got married in Turkey after Noel’s assignment was up and Fatma moved to England to be with him. Soon after moving him and his wife to London, Noel quit being a Curse-breaker and took up a job as a banker with Gringotts. When Fatma found out she was pregnant with her first child, Mona, she decided to be a stay at home mom. Noel was a good father and husband, he loved his wife and small daughter and he soon became a highly respected figure in the wizarding community due to his ascension to Senior Banking Administrator for Gringotts. Fatma was beloved by her neighbors and friends and was very adept at healing and household spells.

Affiliations/Organizations

Ravenclaw House

Order of the Pheonix

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Charms Professor)

The Mage

Wand: Red oak wood, unicorn hair, 10 inches

Special Abilities: Animagus, Legilimens

Mirror of Erised: Herself as Headmistress of Hogwarts

Boggart: Her family telling her that they don’t love her

Animagus: Fox

Patronus: Golden Retriever

Amortentia (what she smells like): orchids, sandalwood, black cherries, musk

Amortentia (what she smells): mahogany, teakwood, oak, fresh rainfall, sage

Hogwarts Information (O.W.Ls and N.E.W.T.s)

Astronomy: 7/10 (E)

Charms: 9/10 (O)

DADA: 7/10 (E)

Flying: 9/10 (O)

Herbology: 6/10 (A)

History of Magic: 9/10 (O)

Potions: 7/10 (E)

Transfiguration: 8/10 (E)

Hogwarts Electives

Divination: 9/10 (O)

Care of Magical Creatures: 8/10 (E)

Ancient Runes: 7/10 (E)

Quidditch: Ravenclaw House Chaser (2nd year - 5th year)

Ravenclaw House Seeker (6th year - 7th year)

Extra Curriculars: Frog Choir, Duelling Club

Favorite Professors: Flitwick (He’s Banu’s Head of House and since she was very adept at picking up Charms she became his favorite student. Flitwick began assigning Banu extra charms work to challenge her and when she tells him in her 7th year that she wants to become a Charms professor, Flitwick makes her his first ever TA in his first and second year classes. Banu viewed him as a second father figure. 9/10)

McGonagall (Banu greatly admires and respects McGonagall and respects her. Even though she was just average at Transfiguration, McGonagall liked Banu tremendously for her quick wit and eagerness to learn and made sure to keep an eye on her while she was searching for the Cursed Vaults. When Banu began coming to her and asking “hypothetical” questions about becoming an Animagi, she panicked at first but when she remembered her experiences with the Mauraders, made sure to provide her with the appropriate books and ingredients and also encouraged her to register with Ministry and kept Banu’s secret when she didn’t. Was definitely invited to Banu and Barnaby’s wedding and no she definitely wasn’t crying happy tears. 10/10)

Least Favorite Professors: Rakepick (Banu didn’t really trust Rakepick from the get go and kept her at an arms length while she was teaching DADA and trying to glean information about the Cursed Vaults. When Rakepick’s true nature was revealed in the portrait vault Banu was shocked at the level of cruelty that Rakepick demonstrated towards her and friends but wasn’t surprised that she was part of R. 2/10)

Trelawny (While Banu loves the actual subject and does exceptionally in it, she is really annoyed by Trelawny. Banu is always the subject of her doom and gloom prophecies and thinks that Trelawny is a right old fraud. 4/10)

Relationships

Sister: Mona Blackwell (nee Davis)

Slytherin

Shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, delicate build, 5′7″, pretty

Cat animagus

Healer at St. Mungo’s

Mona is three years older than Banu and the two girls are very close. Mona graduated from Hogwarts with top grades in her N.E.W.T.s and moves to London to start her career with St. Mungo’s. Mona meets her future husband, Roger Blackwell, there when she’s a trainee Healer and he’s her patient getting treated for a spell that went wrong. When Jacob disappears while searching for the Vaults, Mona strongly advised Banu not to get involved as well. Banu obviously didn’t listen so Mona made sure to send her little sister letters containing news from the outside world and periodically sweets from Honeydukes. She was the maid of honor in Banu and Barnaby’s wedding and Mona fought in the Battle of Hogwarts with her family and helped Madam Pomfrey to heal the wounded.

Brother: Jacob Davis

Ravenclaw

Short cropped black hair, athletic build, hazel eyes, 6′0″, good looking

Legilimens

Curse-breaker in Paris

Jacob is two years older than Banu and the siblings have an okay relationship. After Jacob was rescued from the portrait vault by his sister he immediately went after Rakepick and kept Banu in the dark about R and treated her like a kid, which annoyed Banu. After all the vaults are opened and Rakepick is captured and sent to Azkaban, the siblings mend their relationship but things don’t really go back to normal. Jacob gets a job as a Curse-breaker, following in the footsteps of his dad and is assigned to work in Paris. He meets a French pureblood witch while working and soon after meeting marries her. Jacob fought in the Battle of Hogwarts with his family, taking out a few Death Eaters.

Father: Noel Davis (deceased)

Gryffindor

Windswept brown hair, green eyes, strong build, 6′2″

Senior Banking Administrator for Gringotts

Noel and Banu had a good father-daughter relationship which didn’t change throughout her search for the Cursed Vaults and for his son. He was worried for his daughter’s mental health during that time and made sure to write to her frequently. When Banu brings Barnaby home to meet her family, Noel immediately gave them his blessing which was a relief to the couple since they had worried about Barnaby’s parentage being an issue. Noel fought with his family during the Battle of Hogwarts but sadly was killed by Dolohov while dueling.

Mother: Fatma Ozturk

Durmstrang

Long black hair, brown eyes, willowy build, 5′4″

Stay at home mom

Banu was her mother’s favorite child since she was the youngest. Fatma makes sure to pass down her Turkish culture to her kids and Banu helped her while cooking in the kitchen and Fatma regularly took her kids to Quidditch matches in both England and Turkey. Fatma walked Alexandra down the aisle at her wedding and was a great grandmother when Banu and Barnaby’s children, Hasan and Hazel, were born.

Love Interests: Talbott Winger (Crush, 2nd year)

Barnaby Lee (Husband)

Best Friends: Rowan Khanna, Nymphadora Tonks, Penny Haywood, Charlie Weasley

Rivals: Merula Snyde, Erika Rath (in Quidditch)

Enemies: R, Rakepick, Death Eaters, Voldemort

Dorm-mates: Rowan Khanna, Tulip Karasu, Badeea Ali

Pets: A barn owl named Crema and a Crup named Jack

Headcanons

- Fatma had wanted Banu to go to Durmstrang but Noel insisted that she follow her siblings to Hogwarts so she wouldn’t feel lonely.

-Banu met Rowan Khanna in Diagon Alley and they immediately hit it off, which helped both of them to settle into Hogwarts easier since they had each had someone they already knew with them.

-Banu was super excited to go to Hogwarts and see her sister and was hoping to be in Slytherin. She was a bit disappointed to be sorted into Ravenclaw but was happy about it after Rowan joined her at the table.

-Banu could hardly bear wearing the standard skirt uniform so in her third year she started wearing a bowtie and jeans, making the bowtie out of her school tie. Snape gave her detentions for the first couple of months and then gave up after he realized that Banu wasn’t going to stop.

-She had a small crush on Penny during her first year and when they became friends the crush dissipated into a deep friendship. Penny regularly helped Banu with Potions and was secretly the only reason that Banu got an ‘E’ in Potions.

-Banu proved to be very good at flying even though her first time on a broom was in her first year. Rowan and Penny convinced her to try out for Quidditch and Banu asked Andre Egwu to help her achieve that. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had made the House team. The Davis sisters developed a healthy rivalry on the Quidditch field and Banu enjoyed kicking Mona’s butt.

-Banu picked up on most subjects easily, like History of Magic and Charms but couldn’t quite get the hang of Potions and Herbology. In her third year she signed up for Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes. Rowan made Ancient Runes enjoyable but they got detentions in their fifth year for using runes to insult a group of Gryffindors.

-Banu formally met Talbott Winger in her second year and immediately tries to become his friend because, well, friendship! She liked how sarcastic Talbott was and matched him wit for wit which made her crush on him grow. When Talbott started dating Badeea at the end of second year she finally gave up on her crush on him, but that doesn’t mean she liked it :(

-Banu had to beg Talbott for three months straight to help her become an Animagus. It took buying a limited edition raven feather quill and a box of Jelly Slugs to convince him.

-Banu’s Animagus form turned out to be a fox and Banu took advantage of having a woodland creature as her Animagus form to spy on conversations in the Courtyard and take trips into the Forbidden Forest.

-Banu was instantly smitten by Barnaby cause hello, emerald green eyes and dimples. She helped him realize that he doesn’t need ‘friends’ like Merula and Ismelda and that he wasn’t stupid. Barnaby gave her a Bowtruckle, that she named Twiggy, and Banu almost fainted when he gave her a kiss on the cheek during their first date on Valentine’s Day.

-Banu drove Chester crazy since she lost points frequently in Snape’s classes due to her smart mouth. She equally drove him crazy by the fact that she more than double earned them back in her other classes. Don’t even get him started on the time he caught her, Rowan, and Penny making Firewhiskey in the Artifact Room. Banu gave Chester a plaque that read “Best Prefect Ever” in their House colors when he graduated and he may or may not have it displayed proudly on his mantle in his flat.

-Banu frequently visited the Library with Rowan and their study sessions usually ended in a few rounds of Exploding Snap, singed eyebrows and eyelashes, and Madam Pince sending flying books to chase them out.

-Bill Weasley often had to physically restrain Banu from launching herself head first into physical fights with douchebag Gryffindors that insulted her family and Rowan. Mysteriously those same Gryffindors showed up in the hospital wing frequently, Obliviated and with broken bones. Bill knew absolutely nothing about this because of course he would report it.

-Banu frequently teamed up with Tulip and Tonks to play pranks on the student body and was a nuisance so imagine her surprise when she was chosen as a prefect over Rowan. The best friends didn’t speak for about two weeks since Rowan was pretty upset. Banu took a special trip to Diagon Alley to get a limited edition book from Flourish and Blotts as a make up gift. The girls patched things up and Banu gives Rowan House points whenever she can.

-Banu enjoyed patrolling the halls with Charlie Weasely and scaring students who are out after hours. They once caught Penny snogging a Gryffindor in the bushes around the Courtyyard and the two prefects had a good time being all ‘mom and dad’ about the situation.

-Barnaby and Banu had most of their dates in Hogsmeade that usually started with going to Honeydukes, hanging out with their friends in the Three Broomsticks, and ended with a snogging session in the Astronomy Tower.

#hogwats mystery #hphm #penny haywood #barnaby lee #rowan khanna #tonks #weasely #hogwarts mystery character

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