#banana turtles all the way down thoughts

[banana-can-do-art]

I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that the tragic climax of Turtles All The Way Down occurred due to Aza reading her friend’s weird Rey x Chewbacca star wars fanfic

[hayleythesugarbowl]

I crave more Ian Hecox!! Maybe one of him and reader being the “mom and dad” of Smosh. Like the cast being silly and Ian joining dad style while reader is laughing and keeping Angela from getting hurt or something. Just something 150% fluff! Thank you 💕💕

Historical Figure’s Mario Kart || Ian Hecox x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • smosh masterlist  ⋆˚｡⋆୨୧⋆

summary: imagine dating ian and being the mom + dad of smosh as you all hang out

word count: 1k

warnings: none at all, this has no plot it’s just vibes

a/n: this is super short but I loved this idea—i adore writing abt the smosh characters just hanging out. this is just 1,037 words of smosh cast being stupid (affectionate). fem!reader. enjoy! 🎀

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Do I—in theory—look like Leonardo DaVinci?”

     Amanda petted the fake beard she wore on her chin. Her, Angela, Chanse, Courtney, and Spencer all sat on a couch, staring at the TV screen in front of them, controllers in hand. 

     You had just walked into the room, followed by your boyfriend, Ian, who was sizing up Amanda’s costume. 

     “Close,” Ian said, “but you’re missing the  19-24 year old girl.”

     Ian walked towards a chair near the couch the rest of the cast sat on. He sat down and you joined him, taking your spot on his lap, watching the scene in front of you.

     “DiCaprio wishes he had a beard like this,” Amanda winked, twirling the hair around her finger 

     “Look, mom and dad are here!” Spencer joked, looking up from the game at you and Ian. 

     You rolled your eyes at him, turning to Ian and kissing him dramatically.

     “Ew, mom and dad are kissing!” Angela added. “I don’t want to see that”

     You weren’t that much older than any of the Smosh cast. But since you were dating Ian, one of the dads of Smosh, you supposed mom kind of came with the title. 

     That, and, according to them, you acted like their mother. 

     “What’re you guys playing?” You asked them as Ian flipped off Angela. She stuck her tongue out back at him. 

     “An epic game of Mario Kart,” Courtney informed you. “If you get hit by a turtle shell, you have to add a piece to your historical-themed costume. Which is why Amanda—”

     “—is a 15th century renaissance artist,” Ian nodded. “Who, by the way, died in the arms of King Francis. Little fruity if you ask me.”

     “He walked so we could run,” Chanse said, never taking his eyes off the screen. 

     “Or, in your case, slip on all of the banana peels in sight,” Spencer teased.

     “Oh it is so on, Elvis.” 

     You took in Spencer’s black wig and white jumpsuit. 

     You then looked around at the others. Courtney wore what could only have been a Bob Ross wig and Chase had on a Marilyn Monroe dress, red lipstick and all. And Angela…

     “Who are you supposed to be anyway?” You asked Angela. 

      “I’m Dr. Mike,” she gestured to her scrubs as if it was obvious. 

     “You heard historical and thought Dr. Mike?” Ian asked.

     “You’re speaking to Miss Another Plane Has Hit the Food Pyramid, remember?” Chanse said. 

     “It was an honest mistake anyone could make!” Angela shouted. “And what do you know, you’re dead.”

     “We don’t know that!” Chanse yelled, focused in on the race. “She could still be out there.”

     “Tell me about it,” Spencer added. “You think they spelled Elvis’s middle name wrong on his tombstone on accident? It’s all part of the conspiracy.”

     “A conversation about conspiracy theories and you didn’t start it?” You turned to Ian. “What has this world come to?” 

     “Got him,” Courtney said, turning her controller sharply. 

     “Oh he sent me the article,” Spencer informed you. “And gave me the brochure for the Elvis Sightings club.”

     “We talked about this,” you turned to Ian. “No spreading your propaganda.” 

     “Challenge: impossible,” Angela laughed, spinning the scissors she held around on one finger. 

     “What are the scissors for?” You pointed to what Angela was holding in the hand that didn’t have her remote. 

     “The supply of surgical tools here is lower than you might think,” she said sarcastically. “This is as good as it gets.”

     “Well, from the looks of all of your detailed costumes—and Angela’s—you all suck.” Ian said. “Let me show you how it’s done.”     

     He stood up, stretching his back. You got up with him and walked behind the couch so you could see the screen. 

     “Don’t break anything, grandpa,” Spencer joked. 

     “Ian, do you even know how to play this game?” Courtney asked. “It was made after 1975.”

     “Roasted,” Amanda said, before leaning back to whisper to you, “I’m so lost—do I want to kill those things or use them?”

     “Neither, that’s the final lap turtle,” you told her. 

     Everyone looked at you. “What? I’m around you yahoos 24/7–you’re bound to pick up a thing or two here and there.”

     “Here Ian, try and win me one,” Amanda handed Ian her controller, letting him race for  her. “I keep trying to collect all of the sparkly red boxes, but I don’t think it’s working for me.”

     “Amanda, for the last time—” Chanse began, before cutting off. “You know what, never mind.”

     Ian took it from Amanda as the race began, already driving his car off the edge of a a cliff.

     You giggled. 

     “I’m going to get some paint for my costume,” Amanda said, sighing as she accepted her defeat. “Angela, I hope you already ate.”

     “Very funny, Angela eats paint, screw you,” Angela said. 

     You stood back as you watched Ian and the rest of your friends play. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself at the fun they were having, shouting and laughing and cheering—a cool dad playing a video game with all of his kids. 

     Ian looked over at you. “What?”

     “Nothing,” you grinned, looking at your watch. “But don’t you guys have a shoot in, like, 10 minutes?”

     “Buzzkill,” Spencer mumbled.

     “Aren’t you the director of this channel?” You asked Spencer. 

     He ignored you. 

     “Yeah,” Ian pouted, “One more game?” 

     “Don’t encourage them,” you joked, grabbing the controller out of Ian’s hand and pulling him towards you, planting a kiss on his forehead. 

     “Geez, who died and made her president of the company,” Angela looked to the rest of the cast, pointing the scissors at you. “When did she start getting to boss us around?”

     “When I started dating the president of the company, doctor” you shot back, grabbing the scissors out of Angela’s hand before she could do any damage with them. 

     Ian laughed, grabbing your other hand—the one that wasn’t occupied with Angela’s scissors, and linking his fingers with yours. 

     Amanda walked back in the room then.

     “I couldn’t find any paint, but I found a pilot’s hat—Angela, you wanna take this one?”

     “For the last time, 2001 and 2011 look really similar on paper!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ˋ°•*⁀➷ hope you enjoyed this little imagine. have a lovely day filled with thoughts abt ian 🤭

[angelpuns]

50Au Part 12!

The walk was longer than he remembered. Then again, he usually portaled there, so it feeling like a million years was understandable. Not to mention how exhausted and beat up he was at this point. 

Leo wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up in his bed and not move for a long, long time, but that just was not an option right now. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, not with those guys still in a cage in his home. 

He'd ensured they couldn't get out, but their presence was not gonna do anything good for his nightmares. 

It was perhaps the only thought that kept him moving. Maybe he could call the Hidden City police, though he was pretty sure this was beyond their jurisdiction. They'd always been fucking useless anyhow. 

It took him around two hours to get to Run of the Mill, his knees stinging and his feet aching. He had to be a good distance from the lair now, and those fools couldn't track him here. 

Besides, they probably didn't even know the Hidden City existed, so there. He still wasn't totally safe, but it was better than nothing. 

It was busy tonight, even if Leo wasn't sure what tonight really was. He'd lost his phone at some point and there was a distinct lack of clocks here. Clocks that he could actually read, anyway. 

Leo limped the rest of the way to a random booth and slumped into the seat, not even bothering to glance at the menu. He always got the same thing, though he doubted anyone here ever remembered. He was a regular, but a forgettable one, no doubt. 

The table was cool to the touch, making him shiver as he leaned onto it. He hadn't realized how cold it was outside. He really should have grabbed a jacket or something. 

It felt nice on his stinging palms, though, so he rested them flat on the table and let his eyes shut for just a moment. 

It only felt a like a second, but he must have spaced out, because someone was shaking his shoulder a second later.  

“ -nardo? Leonardo?”

He blinked blearily, the light piercing his eyes and making him belatedly remember his probable concussion. He shouldn't be dozing off. Probably. Thinking was hard right now. 

The person shaking him was a waiter, their dark eyes concerned and their nose twitching faintly. Right, that rabbit waiter. Leo saw him in here all the time. 

He glanced at his nametag and tried to play up his whole face-man thing. Even if flirting didn't feel like a good idea right now, this guy was very, very cute. And he was only a little delirious, so he totally meant it. 

“ Well hey there,” Leo murmured, flinching when he heard how raw his throat was. Right, hadn't eaten or drank anything all day. His eyes flicked down to the waiter's name tag, “ Yuichi, huh? Pretty name.”

The rabbit blinked, before rolling his eyes with a fond smile and pulling away from him. Leo held back a whine at the loss of warmth. He was still cold, somehow, even in the warm restaurant. But he literally just met this guy, no need to be desperate just yet. He wasn't totally on his game, but he was trying. 

“ Oh, I see what you're doing. Fine, I'll play along,” The waiter chuckled, flipping open his notepad and clearing his throat, “ Thank you, sir. What would you like to order?” 

Kinda weird, but weirder stuff was happening to him today, so he just smiled a little and gave his order. 

“ Medium pizza with extra pineapple, light ham and light banana peppers,” Leo rattled off, “ and a water, please”

The rabbit pretended to write it down. He wasn't even holding a pencil.

 Oooookay, that was weird. 

“ What kind of order is that?” Yuichi scoffed, “pretty sure only freaks order pineapple on their pizza,” 

Leo blinked in surprise, jaw agape as he stared at the waiter. He'd never been treated like this here. Usually it was just friendly smiles and decent service. 

“...what?” 

Yuichi didn't let up, chuckling, “what, can't handle a little pizza topping judgement, turtle?”

Leo stood up suddenly, head reeling and stomach swooping when he did. He steadied himself on the table and shot a glare at the waiter, “What the hell, man? Can't you tell I've had a shitty day? I was bein' friendly, the least you could do is take my order like a normal person!” 

The restaurant went quiet for a moment, the waiter's face morphing back into concern. 

“ Woah, woah- What's going on Bluebird?” Yuichi lowered his voice, and the ambient noise Of the other customers seemed to come back a moment later, but not nearly as loud as before.  

“I wanna see your manager. I don't give a shit if I sound like a Karen, you're being an asshole,” Leo whined, not daring to sit back down. Even if he felt like a strong wind might knock him over, “ All you had to do was take my fucking order, man” 

And maybe Leo was being a tad more aggressive. He didn't like being mean to waiters if he could help it, but cut him a break, he was fucking hungry and tired and in pain. And cold. He wanted to eat his pizza in peace, and this guy was being an ass for no reason. 

“Okay, okay. I'll get Hueso, just- don't move.” Yuichi slipped his notebook into his pocket and turned, hurrying for the kitchen. 

Good. He was pretty sure that was the owner. Even better. God he felt like such a fucking Karen right now, but he didn't really wanna deal with an asshole waiter judging his pizza toppings and his head hurt and- 

And he didn't have his wallet. Fuck. 

Leo stared at the table, unsure whether he just flee or just deal with the consequences of his actions. He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. It was better than dealing with what was at the lair right now and he was so fucking hungry. 

Maybe the owner, this Hueso guy, would let him wash dishes in exchange or something. 

Minutes later, the skeleton-man-owner of the restaurant walked out from the kitchen and started for Leo's table. Leo sat back down with an exhausted sigh.

He'd been aiming for an apology, but now he was gonna pathetically beg this man for some food instead. Not his best look, but he did have money, it was just at home. With the strangers. That were no doubt pissed he'd locked them in a cage. 

“Pepino? What's going on? Yuichi said you're acting weird and-”

Leo bristled, whipping his head around to look at him. 

“ did you just call me a cucumber?” He hissed, head reeling with the motion, “what is with you all's customer service today? I'm already having a shit day and then I have to come here and be insulted? do you give all your customers terrible nicknames?”

The skeleton man blinked at him for a moment, seemingly confused at Leo's anger. Wouldn't anyone be angry if they were insulted? 

“I…Leonardo, what is wrong?” He stepped closer, hands held up placatingly, “ do we need to call your brothers or-”

“I DON’T HAVE ANY BROTHERS, WHY IS EVERYONE-” Leo slammed his fist onto the table, resting his head in the cool surface with a grimace. Everything hurt. He was so hungry. He wanted to go home. 

He let out a choked sigh, the need to cry building up into something dangerous. No, no he wasn't gonna embarrass himself any further. 

“ can…can I please just get my order…I’ll..I'll figure out someway to pay for it, I promise, I'm just so fucking hungry…” He murmured, muffled by his head on the table. 

There was a bit of hesitation, before Hyeso spoke again. 

“ of course, right away. Do not worry about paying, we will put it- we will make you a tab,” He seemed nervous. Good. Leo was gonna leave a bad yelp review. 

No, that was mean. It wasn't their fault he was having a shitty, shitty day. 

Footsteps faded back to the kitchen, but he still felt a presence. The waiter cleared his throat. 

“I’m so sorry sir, it won't happen again. I…i hope you feel better,” He too sounded hesitant, before walking away with much softer steps. 

Leo shut his eyes and kept his head down. If only for a minute. He was so tired. So hungry. Everything hurt so bad. 

He just wanted to go home and curl up in bed and forget this whole day had ever happened.

-----

I think this one is the longest part so far? Anyway surprise Leosagi in here. They aren't dating but they do be besties that flirt with each other.

I do wanna clarify that the reason he's also forgotten these two is that he sees then as 'family/family-adjacent' so yeah :) I do have more thoughts on this but yeah.

Part 1 | Part 11 | Part 13

[simplyfandomish]

Imagine you’re an Earthbender

Simplyfandomish Masterlist

word count: 779 warnings: None! Named Reader?? But it’s for plot purposes🤐🤐

note: this will possibly become a very short series because I love ATLA but don’t got the time nor enters to make a full story😅 so definitely expect more parts to come!!👀👀

Aang was ecstatic to be reunited with his old childhood best friend. Of course, he was! Bumi was quite literally one of the four things that connected Aang to his previous life before being consumed by an iceberg 112 years ago; Next to Appa, Momo, and his airbending of course. 

Tears collected in both of their eyes as Aang and Bumi wrapped their arms tight around one another - Finally reunited after a century. Bumi knew all those years of chugging down onion-banana juice every morning was a genius idea! 

However, the happy moment was interrupted when an Omashu guard rushed into the throne room. “Your Highness!” 

Bumi and Aang parted from their embrace. “Yes, yes, what is it?” Bumi asked. 

The guard seemed hesitant, “We finally received news on the whereabouts of Princess Serenity.”

“ ‘Princess’?? You had kids??” Aang was both surprised and stunned. Bumim never really seemed like the family man type. Sokka and Katara were surprised that such a crazy man was even able to reproduce! They wondered if his lineage was just as kooky as he was. 

“I did, but Serenity is not my granddaughter by blood. We kind of… adopted each other a while back.” Bumi’s voice grew soft as he spoke of Serenity. His eyes hardened slightly, “Where is she?”

“She’s been captured by a Fire Nation fleet near a mining village by the Mo Ce Sea shoreline.” 

Aang and Katara gasped; Sokka gritted his teeth. 

“How long ago?”

“Just this morning. An Earth Kingdom scout heard some Fire Nation soldiers boasting about ‘hunting the last Lion Turtle’. We believe she’s been transported to the Mo Ce Sea prison rig under the control of Warden Takei.”

Bumi stroked his long white beard in thought. “Hmm. I’ve heard Warden Takei is one of the more ruthless wardens of the lot.”

“What should we do, Your Highness?” The guard asked again.

“We can go and rescue her!” Aang proclaimed. 

Bumi smiled and rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I appreciate your efforts, Aang, but I have faith in my granddaughter.” He began to erupt into laughter, “Besides I feel bad for those Fire Nation weasels! They have to deal with her!” He snorted so hard his nose hurt. 

Aang, Sokka, Katara, and even the guard shared concerned and confused looks. 

“But Your Highness, this is Omahu’s Regent we’re talking about.” The guard tried to explain. Bui cut him off, “And I taught her everything she knows. Of course, I’m worried for her, but she’s a smart girl. She’ll escape from underneath their noses as she did the other seven times.” He shrugged, beaming at Serenity’s impressive track record. 

“ ‘Seven times’?!” The Gaang gasped. 

“Yes, yes, she’s trying to break an old friend’s record of escaping thirteen times! Ambitious my granddaughter is!” Bumi chuckled and snorted again. 

The Gaang and the guard didn’t seem too convinced…

“I can not wait to send the news to Fire Lord Ozai that I have captured the Last Mighty Lion Turtle!” Warden Takei’s grin fell into a snarl, “What a stupid name that is! And to think she’s just a young girl!” The warden cackled, his laughter echoing throughout the prison rig’s metal structure.

Serenity smirked as she stared up at the air duct above her. 

As soon as she was escorted onto the prison rig in the middle of the Mo Ce Sea, she was thrown into solitary confinement deep in the belly of the large metal monstrosity. She was dressed in bland red prison garb instead of her usual bright green and gold wide-sleeved blouses and loose pants and her hair was down, flat, boring without its loops and hair accessories. 

Taunted by the warden and the guards that she had no way to escape, that her days of resisting Fire Nation rule were finished, and that she was to be shipped off to the Fire Lord’s Palace within two days time when the next shipment of supplies came in.  

Serenity stayed quiet through the tauntings. She was used to it and even grew annoyed; She had heard the same spiel from several other wardens, the same taunts and jeers from other guards, and had been promised seven times that she would be meeting Fire Lord Ozai. 

Serenity snickered as she plopped down on the cold prison floor and stretched her legs. “After seven times, you think they’d learn that they can’t contain me~” She chuckled, and a small snort came from her crinkled nose. “And eight is my lucky number!”

At least the Fire Nation was kind enough to leave her necklace and bracelets alone... 

[remuslupinkinnie1979]

Some Emilute headcanons cause I'm obsessed

Lute - she/they (mean) lesbian

Emily - they/she/neos pansexual

Lute is VERY protective, if you even look at Emily the wrong way, you have a spear inches from your throat a second later

I hc that Emily is autistic, so Lute always carries noise cancelling headphones in her back (Emily often forgets them)

Lute loves listening to Emily infodumping about their current interests

Whenever Emily sees a homeless animal in the streets she takes it home. Lute thought it was adorable, until it got to the point when: "No, Em. We already have 5 dogs, 4 cats, 2 snakes, 3 turtles and a chicken, we can't adopt this lizard."

They ended up having a little animal shelter

Emily cried every time they had to give out a pet, but was also happy it found a new home

Lute listens to stuff like Metallica, Nirvana, AC/DC etc. and Emily listens to Melanie Martinez and musicals. They both love Queen

They watch anime (why? Because I said so)

Lute gets a lot of bruises and injuries during training and stuff, and Emily always insists to take care of them

This one is kinda dumb, but I hc that when angels blush their face goes yellow (cause they have yellow blood, yk) and Lute blushes A LOT around Emily (especially when they started dating) and Adam gave her a nickname "banana" cause of it and every time he caught them simping he'd be like: "You're staring, banana" (idk, I made it today at 5 am, okay?!)

Emily loves making bracelets and giving them to people (Lute especially). It got to the point when Lute almost had her circulation stop, cause she insisted on wearing them all the time

Lute is more scared of Sera after her and Emily got together, cause Sera is kinda like Emily's parent/big sister so Lute wants her to like her

Sera picked up on it and is very cold and serious around Lute, to not show that she actually likes her

Lute has anxiety/panic disorder and sometimes gets bad panic attacks from all the pressure and Emily always succeeds to calm them down

Also Lute has some major anger issues and is often like "I'm gonna murder the next person I fucking see, I swear..." And then she sees Emily and IMMEDIATELY turns calm and nice. Adam makes fun of her for it

They paint their nails together. Lute always gets black and Emily never can decide what to pick (xe ends up with multicolour nails)

Sometimes when they're talking/flirting and Adam is in the background he would do some stupid shit to ruin the moment, like:

Emily: You look nice today... Pretty much like every day

Lute: *blushes* You think?

Adam: *Fake sexual/puking noises in the background*

They often go on dates on Earth (they love cinema, concerts and Disneyland)

Sometimes on Earth people would give them dirty looks or throw slurs at cause they're gay and Lute would be like cracking her knuckles and getting angry, and Emily has to hold her, so she wouldn't murder someone

Emily pretty much NEVER swears and Lute swears a lot. Lute loves that about Emily, so she makes sure to never swear in their presence:

Lute: Oh you little *realises that Emily is next to her* you little... stupid person?

Emily: *laughs, cause she knows what Lute really wants to say and finds the whole thing adorable*

Adam would CONSTANTLY make fun of Lute for simping

Sera would definitely give Lute 'the talk'

Emily tends to dismiss ze's own emotions and overworked themselves to make everyone happy. Lute sometimes ends up forcibly putting them to bed so she'd get some rest.

Emily loves sweets and Lute loves salty food

Emily drinks tea and Lute drinks coffee

Emily likes knitting, especially in winter, so Lute has a closet full of sweaters, scarves, hats etc. She'd never wear them if they weren't from Emily

Lute likes sketching (mostly their girlfriend)

Hufflepuff x Slitherin

Emily loves hairstyling, so ze insists on styling lutes hair

St. Peter and Emily are friends and Lute absolutely fucking hates this guy

Because of their height difference Emily has to stand on her tiptoes when they kiss

Lute takes advantage of the difference and gives Emily a lot of forehead kisses

Lute often gives Emily piggy back rides (or flies)

Lute always insists on doing 'gentlemen' stuff, like they ALWAYS carry Emily's bag and open the door for her

When they move in together Adam often just comes in uninvited and crashes on the couch like he actually lives there. Lute is kinda annoyed with it, but Emily mostly doesn't mind

Lute plays bass

When they sleep Lute always has her spear next to the bed, just in case

When Emily has a shutdown Lute either speaks for them or makes sure to get her out of there. If anyone is trying to keep Emily in the room and is being kinda pushy and obnoxious, Lute gets all protective and is like: Don't you see we're busy? With a spear targeted at them

When Emily gets overstimulated xe tends to pick up on their skin. Lute noticed that and always has some fidget toys on them, to offer

Emily collects plushies and squishmallows and when ze sees one in a store, it goes like this:

Emily: Look! It's so cute! Can we buy it?

Lute: Babe, we already have like... 20 squishmallows in our room.

Emily: But it's an elephant... *Sad face*

Lute: Oh, fine. But it's the last one. *It's never the last one*

Adam is sceptical about their relationship at first, but grows fond of Emily pretty quickly and sees them as his little sister

They cuddle using their wings as blankets

Okay, I guess that's it for now, but I will probably update. As u can probably tell I'm a little, tini-tiny bit obsessed with them atm

[hannahhook7744]

Every Group Of Young Sleuths Needs A Mascot!;

Summary: How the Badun Detective Agency got their mascot. Trigger Warnings: Inhumane conditions, dumpster diving for survival, child endangerment, homelessness, implied animal abuse, and mention of guns. Co-written with @igetthedisneybox .

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

The Badun Detective Agency were on a mission. 

The mission? Finding something mildly edible in the barrage for their lunch.

“I don’t think we’re gonna find anything.” Eddie yawned, kicking yet another empty soda can with his foot.

“Well, if we don't find anything then just pick up the most expensive lookin’ thing so we can pawn it at Jafar's.” Harry retorted, laying on his knees as he used his hands to dog through the rumble. 

The others weren't that far from them. 

Reza picked up a moldy plastic bag with the tips of his fingers. “Doubt we can do that, either.”

Jace sighed loud enough for them to hear him despite the fact that they couldn't really see what he was doing from wherever he was doing it in thanks to all the heaps of trash. “I wish you guys would stop being so negative.”

“Me too. Come on! Turn those frowns upside down!” Hermie chimed in, leaning upside down from the second story of the boat. “It’s not so bad here, see! I found a bunch of bananas!”

“Good find!” Yzla called, making her way over to her. “I got a fancy looking shoe!”

“I found half a box of cigars!”

“I found a gun!” 

That was surely not going to go poorly. 

Yzla paled. “Jace! Put that down!”

“No way! I'm keeping it. Better protection for us.”

Eddie, who had plopped himself down on a pile of garbage, chuckled to himself. Wanting to play along, he grabbed the first thing his fingers touched. “Hey, guys, I found a net!”

“Ooo! We can catch pigeons with that and make pigeon pot pie!” Hermie’s squeal could be heard from a mile away as she briefly lost her balance, causing her to almost fall from where she was dangling in her excitement. Not that it seemed to bother her. 

It never did.

Reza made a face. “I found…a stick.” He waved it in the air.

Harry laughed. “I'll trade you the cigars for the stick.”

“Deal.”

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

Jace found another gun and bullets for both of them, somehow.

Harry found a shiv, a thing of what they assumed was beer, and a box of cigarettes. 

Hermie found clown shoes and some pearls. 

Yzla found a painting and some earrings.

Reza found some books and a telescope. 

Eddie frowned, kicking another goddam soda can out of his way. He hadn’t found anything cool yet, besides his net, clutched in his hand. He wanted to find something cool.

Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. A plastic bag shifted and shuffled around. But there was no wind.

How odd. 

Maybe there was something cool moving the bag?

He crept across the garbage towards the bag. It shuffled again.

And that's when he saw it. 

A turtle in distress—trapped in a circle of trash below deck!

“Don't worry! I'll save you!” He looked around for something to save the turtle with, then remembered he had the net in his hands.

He leaned over the side of the barrage, sticking his tongue out in concentration, waving his net at the turtle. “Don’t be scared!”

“Eddie, who are you talking to?” Hermie asked from off in the distance but the British boy didn't answer. Too laser focused on the task at hand. He could tell her later once he saved his new friend. This discovery was SO much cooler than a telescope. 

The turtle looked at him with squinty eyes and moved towards a pair of nunchucks determinedly. They must have belonged to him—her? It? Yes, that's right. They must have belonged to the turtle. 

Eddie couldn't help but giggle at the thought and the imaginary it brought to mind. A turtle that could use nunchucks seemed so silly but it was the only logical conclusion—why else would the turtle be moving away from safety?

He scooped the net into the garbage, trying to get the turtle, and the nunchucks. 

“Almost…almost…got it!” He pulled the net up, turtle and nunchucks in the net.

The turtle kicked its legs, staring at him. 

“There we go! I got ya little guy. Don't worry. My friends and I will take real good care of ya!”

The little guy in question didn't look impressed in the slightest but Eddie didn't blame him—he wouldn't be impressed either if he'd been thrown away and abandoned in the trash. What kind of jerk did that? 

“Eddie, who are you—OH MY GOD, A BABY!” Hermie shrieked excitedly, bounding over to the brunette. “He's soooooo cute! What's his name? It is a he right? Or is it a she? Wait, do turtles even have boys and girls? Aw who cares! What's the turtle's name?”

“Hmm…I dunno.” Eddie peered at the turtle.

“We should make it our official mascot!” Harry declared.

“Shouldn't we get something a bit…smarter ?” Reza asked, peering over Eddie's shoulder to get a better glimpse of the little creature. Looking skeptical. 

Harry almost looked offended. “What’d you mean?! Clearly, this thing is the picture of intelligence!” He gestured towards the turtle.

“I don't believe you.”

“Reza be nice.” Jace crossed his arms, trying to stop the fight he could see coming from a mile away. “It's not nice to insult Eddie's find.”

Now the turtle looked offended. 

Yzla rolled her eyes. “Guys, quit it! The turtle’s fine. I think she’ll make a good mascot!”

The turtle snapped its jaws at that remark looking right at her. 

“I take it back. He is smart after all.” Reza hummed, looking pleased. 

“Told ya.”

“Harry, don't start.” Jace groaned. 

PHWWEEEHHTTT! 

They all pale at the sound of the barrage whistle. “Time to make a run for it, guys!” Jace calls, already grabbing his things and moving.

The others didn't need to be told twice. 

The last thing they wanted was to get on the goblins’ bad side. It would be almost impossible to find anything good on the barrage ever again if they did. Those goblins could hold a grudge. 

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

Later that day the kids sat in a circle around their new turtle friend in the de Vil treehouse—all of them doing their best to brainstorm up a name for their little mascot.

No, not just any name. 

A good memorable name. 

One that suited him. 

After all, they couldn't name a scarily smart nunchuck wielding turtle, something stupid like ‘Lovely’, silly like ‘smartie’, or something bland and boring like ‘Sheldon’. Unfortunately this little endeavor of theirs was a little harder than they had initially thought it would be—like all of their adventures did.

Meaning that they couldn’t quite agree on a name. 

“Sparkles!”

“Jimmy!”

“No, Sparkles is too silly and Jimmy is too bland.”

“Mikey?”

“Who would name a turtle mikey?”

“Harry, if you’re going to act so picky you can name the turtle.” Jace cut in, sounding more than a little prickly. “You haven’t suggested a single name.”

“That’s because I’m judging them.”

“Well judge less and start making suggestions.”

Harry threw his hands up in the air. “Fine. How about conundrum?” 

“Some of us can’t say Conundrum, Harry.” Reza snorted, picking at his nails. Likely still salty that everyone had turned his suggestions of Eruka, Einstein, Enygma, Camelopardalis, Sherlock, Uranium, Auriga, and Apus down unanimously. 

“Don't be bitter, Re, It doesn’t look good on you.”

“Shut up Eddie.”

“Hey, don’t be mean to Eddie!” Hermie whined. “Why can’t we all just get along?”

“Because I don’t want to.” Reza muttered.

“Moving on!” Yzla clapped her hands. “How about Noir?”

“Noir doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. How about Mystery?”

Eddie perked up, suddenly grinning—-still petting their little turtle friend from where he laid on his stomach. Much like the creature was. “Ooo! I like that! How about we name him Mystery Conundrum Noir? It sounds like one of those detectives from those romance novels Jace reads—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jace denied immediately, but the look of panic on his quickly pinking face said there was more truth to what the other boy was saying than to what he himself was. 

Harry just waved him off. “That sounds like an awesome idea! All in favor of Mystery Conundrum Noir, raise your right hand and say ‘I’!”

“I.” 

“I.”

“I, I guess.”

“Whatever, I.”

“I still think that Sherlock would be a much better name.” Reza grumbled, begrudgingly raising his hand. “I.”

The turtle squinted at all of them before raising its own…hand? Which caused the children to all giggle. 

“I guess that settles it! Welcome to the Badun Detective Agency, Mystery.” Eddie smiled, cheerfully scooping the small creature up with a great amount of care—or as close as a nine year old could muster, at least. “Don’t worry, we’ll take great care of you and make you a nice little spot in the box Herms found.”

[cjsarchive]

Can you write some Sam smut? If you aren't comfortable writing smut, then some Sam fluff? I'd really appreciate it!

So, I’m asexual lol. Because of that, I feel like any smut I write is gonna be pretty bad since I myself don’t experience sexual attraction😭 I wrote this Sam fluff instead and I hope you enjoy it!

Food Fight! Sam x Reader

“Ugh! Can you just let me win one time?!” I shouted in frustration at the tv. Sam laughed as he made it over the finish line in first place. I finished barely in 7th place. “My character won’t do what I tell it to do!”

“Typical, blame the game.” Sam smirked at me.

“One more round.” I pursed my lips in determination. Sam gave me an amused smile,

“Fine. Have fun losing again.” I ignored him and sat upright, my whole focus on Mario Kart.

At the start of the next round, I managed to take the lead at the start. “I’m in the lead!” I cheered.

“Don’t get too excited.” Sam chuckled. My character was hit with a turtle shell and I very quickly went from 1st to 4th place.

“No! Someone hit me!”

“That was me, doofus.” He reached over and briefly ruffled my hair. I growled. The game eventually ended and I finished in 5th place while Sam won 1st again.

“Damn, this is starting to get a little embarrassing.” Sam said teasingly. I playfully pushed him as he fell back on the couch laughing. He sat up, put his arm around my shoulder, and kissed my forehead. I sighed.

“I don't know why I’m so bad at this game.”

“I keep telling ya you gotta drift!”

I chucked and smiled at him, “Whatever,” I set the controller down, finally accepting my defeat after 10 losses in a row. I fanned myself. “All that yelling got me hot,” I thought for a second, “I want ice cream.”

“You wanna make some sundaes?” We bought stuff to make sundaes a few days ago and have yet to make them.

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

We went to the kitchen and got out two big bowls, the ice cream, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, marshmallow syrup, bananas, cherries, whipped cream, and Sam got some peanut m&ms for his sundae.

“How bout another competition?” I asked Sam. He gave me a smirk and listened, “Whoever can make the tallest sundae in 10 minutes, wins. And it has to be completed, toppings and all.”

“What will I get when I win?” Sam asked with a cocky grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes, “Winner gets to pick the movie we watch while we eat our ice cream. And no powers,” I said sternly, “Deal?” I held out my hand for him to shake.

He smiled his toothy grin and shook my hand, “Deal.” I smiled at him.

I grabbed my phone and set the timer for 10 minutes, “Alright, let’s go!” I started the timer and we both immediately started scooping the ice cream. We had tubs of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream. I struggled to scoop the still frozen ice cream. I groaned in frustration, “It's gonna take at least five minutes just to scoop all the ice cream.”

“That must suck.” Sam chuckled. I looked over to see he already had a considerable amount of ice cream in his bowl.

“Hey! I said "no powers!”

Sam laughed at my shocked face, “I’m not using my powers, doofus!” It finally dawned on me that, even without powers, Sam was still way stronger than me. There was no way I would win, but I was still gonna put up a fight.

I grabbed the chocolate syrup and gushed it in his direction. He stepped back and looked down at his shirt in surprise.

I laughed, “Oops! Sorry!” While he was stunned for a moment, I took the opportunity to scoop as much ice cream in my bowl as possible.

“Oh, its like that?” I heard him say. I didn’t get much ice cream in my bowl before I felt something drizzle on my back. I quickly turned around to see Sam holding the caramel syrup. He smiled innocently before it sprayed more and it landed on my cheek. He quickly went back to his sundae. I smiled cheekily as a silly idea came into my mind. As subtle as I could, I grabbed the whipped cream and sprayed a big glob in my hand. “What are you doing, doof-“ as Sam turned around, I shoved the whipped cream in his face. I bent over and held my stomach in laughter as he stood there frozen in shock.

“I know how much you love whipped cream.” I barely said through my laughter. Sam wiped his eyes and he began laughing wildly.

“Oh its on now!” He grabbed two handfuls on ice cream from his bowl and threw them in my direction. I gasped as two big stains appeared on my shirt. I grabbed both the marshmallow and chocolate syrup and fired both at him as he threw more ice cream at me.

Soon enough, we were both covered in ice cream cream and dripping with toppings when the timer went off. Its then when we realised what we were supposed to be doing. Sam and I took a moment to assess the situation. There was no ice cream in our bowls, the kitchen was a mess, and we were a complete mess. I looked back up at Sam and started laughing so hard my stomach started hurting. Sam eventually joined in on my laughter, “Guess we got a bit carried away,” he chuckled. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I settled into his arms around me. A blush started to spread across his face before he leaned down and kissed me sweetly on my forehead, then the lips, “So, who won?”

“I say you won. I became a bit of a sore loser,” I smiled sheepishly. He smiled kindly at me and rested his head on my forehead, our foreheads sticking together from the mess. He sighed happily.

“I love you, doofus.” He said softly. I leaned up and kissed him again.

“I love you too, Sam.”

“I mean it. You make me so happy.” We got lost in each other’s eyes for a moment before he took another look around the kitchen then looked back at me.

“Shit, we really fucked this place up,” He sighed, “Alright then, I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

“I’ll go get the shower ready for us,” I kissed him on the nose as his blushed slightly intensified.

[worms-i-think]

just gonna ramble for a bit, if that’s okay. will be discussing pet loss and some grief processing so feel free to keep scrolling.

Sorry for the wall of text

it’s been a little over two weeks since you left us all behind with a gaping blank hole in our living room where you used to make your place. i miss you, and I can’t stand to go back home and look at that corner without seeing flecks of the soft bedding we got for you once your arthritis made the old type too uncomfortable, or the pen you always used to find ways to break out of when you were little. the metal made a super loud crash any time someone tripped over it, but I wish I could trip over it again million times again if it meant you were there waiting next to me. do you remember when I first saw you? the rest of the bunnies were playing around in the center of their enclosure, but you were too shy and cuddled next to the biggest one resting over by the side. I remember driving home in the car while my mom decided what to name you. I was four years old. Do you remember when my sister came? It’s strange to believe that as big as she’s gotten, you were here even before she was. She still feels bad for trying to pick you up by the leg when she was a toddler. I brought you to kindergarten with me—it was the best show and tell I could’ve hoped for, even when the cage we brought you in broke. But you didn’t leave, you just waited there until we brought you back home. And at that time you were small enough to stick your head out of the top of that log like a little ferret. You would break out of the pen all the time, ripping open the two Velcro straps that kept the pen closed so that you could wander around the couch and surprise us when we watched TV. Then, when we fixed the Velcro because we thought it might be a safety hazard when we weren’t around, you’d push your igloo around and use it as a step stool to climb onto the top of the cage, and then jump down to explore. My mom says that one time when we were at school, you ventured all the way into the kitchen to see her when she was on the phone. The stairs were always too big for you to climb, but we carried you up to hang out in our rooms anyway. I watched YouTube videos with you when you weren’t well enough to walk anymore. I wish that that last day I held you I could’ve held on for longer.

You were fourteen and a half; I barely have a memory from before the time you were in my life. I’m not sure how much rabbits think, but I know from the way you welcomed out care, from how you did your happy bunny dance around the ottoman, from how you were the rock of my brother’s life in his worst of times, that you demonstrated love in the best way you could. I like to think that you were a schemer; we’d been calling you a grumpy old man for years before now because you’ve exceeded all expectations with how long you were around. Every vet you went to see said you were the oldest bunny they’d seen, and you were doing so well despite your illness. I miss your silly hairstyle and your mustache and the few small spots that line down your butt. I miss you sitting on my stomach when I lay on the floor. I miss the way I filled your water bottle on school nights, even when I complained about how it was a chore, and I want to go back and find the little turtle charm that marked the water level. I should’ve fed you more treats, but I’m glad my sister gave you a whole banana like I suggested on your last morning. I hope you got your fill. I know you don’t miss me giving you eye drops and liquid medications, because I know you didn’t like it, but I miss it, sitting across from you before I went upstairs to bed. I liked to lower the lights when I turned them off so you weren’t suddenly in darkness, and my brother sang you songs in the mornings and evenings. Mom always made sure you ‘gave’ us special treats for holidays and birthdays. She cried over the phone the last time I called. Even though to my dad you started as a substitute for a cat (he is allergic) or a dog (he has a phobia), he loved you for being you and always made sure you had the best. We have been restless without you. Rabbits are wonderful but silent creatures (except for when you sneezed) and I think for that reason they are often overlooked in the realm of domestic pets because not many people take the time to view their personality. You were bursting with it. I want it back. I hope that in the time between your passing and mine you wait for me but enjoy yourself in wait; I hope you meet the old friend you loved and make new ones; I hope I stop being so afraid of my memory because the more times someone remembers things, the more the mind changes them. And I don’t want to change anything I remember about you, but I don’t want to forget either. I love you a million times over, and I will miss you forever, buddy

[jacksulkes]

August 1 - Lotus Pond and Qishan Train Station

The first thing we did today was go to the Lotus Pond. The pond is surrounded by 15-20 temples, so we went to a few of them. The first one was under renovation, but we were still able to walk inside the tiger statue and walk out of the dragon statue. It was on stilts on the water and had a zigzag bridge connecting it to land. The second one was also on stilts on the water, but it had a bigger dragon statue with whiskers. It also had a bridge going to another temple in the center of the pond. We went to a group lunch after the Lotus Pond. It was Mongolian barbecue, but each table also had a hot pot. The food was all very good. Then, we went to Qishan train station, which is an old train station. It is not used anymore. There were train cars outside of the historic building. Later on, for dinner, two of the guys came with me to Ruifeng Night Market. This night market seemed like it had the most stuff out of any night market. It was shaped like a grid with night market stretching in every direction. Most of the other ones were down one street. I first got barbecue grilled squid again, and it was good again of course. Then, I got a meat pie, which is like a bun filled with meat and scallions. I have also gotten these before. I got two more things that I hadn’t tried before, however. We have seen several Turkish food and ice cream stands here and there in Taiwan. We found a Turkish shawarma wrap stand here, so we tried it. It was very good, and the young Turkish men that served us were very nice. Then, I tried a Thai banana pancake with chocolate sauce, which was also good.

Academic Reflection:

On the way to the Lotus Pond, Peter taught us about how many temples surrounded it. He also taught us about the history of Daoism and Confucianism in China and Taiwan. He said that some Confucius thought is being challenged in the modern society of Taiwan, such as men obeying their mothers-in-law. Peter also told us stories he was told as a child, where the moral of the story was a Confucius teaching. Peter told us at the temple on the water that some people buy fish or turtles and let them free near the temple so they can go to heaven.

We learned in the reading, “Religion in Taiwan at the End of the Japanese Colonial Period,” that there was and is Daoism, Buddhism, and an offshoot of Buddhism called Zhaijiao. At Qishan, I learned that the train station was built by the Japanese. The reading spoke of political dislocation, and this building is evidence of that. The reading taught us that the Japanese were good for Taiwan because they helped modernize, including building railways.

[moog-rt]

ᴄʏʙᴇʀʙᴜʟʟʏ [ʀɪꜱᴇ!ᴅᴏɴɴɪᴇ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ] ᴘᴛ. 4

Links to parts: one two three four five

Summary:

Fate brought you and that purple-clad turtle together in the form of endless battles of code.You were a purple dragon recruit, and he was your target. He plays your games as you tease him with the slim possibility of victory.

You may just let him win if you are feeling particularly merciful.

Notes:

enemies to lovers (I think?); slow burn; takes place after the movie; reader is a villain

Word Count: 2632

If you’d prefer to read it on Ao3, here’s the link:

ᴄʏʙᴇʀʙᴜʟʟʏ [ʀɪꜱᴇ!ᴅᴏɴɴɪᴇ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

Otherwise, enjoy!

♡ ♡ ♡

To Donnie’s surprise, you had, in fact, been quite literal in your proposal to play a game. The last thing he expected was the title screen of Mario Kart glitching its way onto his monitor. The little man with the red get-up and iconic mustache was all too reminiscent of his childhood. At the very least, this would be more enjoyable than typing endless strings of code for hours on end.

The menu for character selection opened up, and it didn’t take him terribly long to decide who to play as. That green turtle-esk character practically called to him. His opponent was quick to choose their character, as well. Toad…how fitting. You were a fungus whose spores had somehow taken root in his life, and you were now taking over in the worst way imaginable. Spreading. Sucking the life out of his innocent soul through your digital escapades.

Now, on top of that, you wanted him to entertain your sick little mind by racing you in Mario Kart. If you thought you could just beat him over and over again just because you were good at hacking, you were so wrong. At least you apparently had something to offer him if he won.

Donnie leaned back in his chair with a slight tilt of his head. What did you have to offer him? You had yet to clarify.

(11:08) Sir Von Ryan: So

(11:08) Anon: so?

(11:09) Sir Von Ryan: What exactly do I get if I win?

(11:09) Anon: well~

(11:09) Anon: we’ve got a few options to choose from, my dear

(11:10) Anon: a. i can just back off for a while. you can either use that time to chill or attempt to attack our servers. whatever floats your boat

(11:10) Anon: b. i can show you how to get around one of the major algorithms i’ve been using

(11:11) Anon: c. i can give you your blueprints back :)

(11:11) Sir Von Ryan: C!

(11:11) Sir Von Ryan: YOU MUST GIVE ME BACK MY BLUEPRINTS

Donnie had replied before he had even thoroughly thought out his options. Looking back, maybe the first offer would have been best, all things considered. Some time to actually sleep and eat and maybe go out on missions with his brothers again may be beneficial for his health, both mental and physical.

(11:11) Anon: okie dokie! no takesies backsies :P

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the childish response.

(11:12) Sir Von Ryan: Yeah, Yeah.

(11:12) Sir Von Ryan: Let’s just get on with it.

You couldn’t help but pout a bit at his lack of enthusiasm. Who wouldn’t be excited to tap into their inner child through a light-hearted game of Mario Kart? Maybe he just didn’t want to show it. The stoic type of you will. That had to be it!

The two of you went on to choose and put together the vehicles you’d each be using. Finally, it was time to begin.

(11:15) Anon: are you ready?!! :D

(11:15) Sir Von Ryan: Sure.

(11:15) Anon: :(

(11:15) Anon: okay…

(11:16) Anon: 3!

(11:16) Anon: 2!

(11:16) Anon: 1!

(11:17) Anon: GO!!!

Neither of you had been left in the dust as all the cars peeled out of the starting point. You quickly gained first with Donnie just a couple of cars behind you. Barely any time had passed before the first set of item boxes made its appearance. Luck was on your side as you got a banana peel. You wasted no time in placing it down, which promptly took out the Bowser that was hot on your tail. Donnie took the opportunity to decrease the distance between the two of you.

You could see the tip of his car at the bottom of your screen as you did your best to cut corners and be as efficient as possible with your driving. However, in the blink of an eye, he seemed to have disappeared completely. Maybe he got hit with a shell. You shrugged to yourself and pressed on.

A few seconds passed before you noticed the pretty little “1st” at the top of your screen changed to “2nd”, leaving you baffled. Nobody had passed you. In fact, other than Donnie, no one was even close to you. You also figured that Donnie had gotten bumped far enough behind that you wouldn’t have to worry about him.

You weren’t left wondering for too long as his car dropped in front of you. How could he have gotten ahead? You were certain you already knew about most of the shortcuts on each map. You couldn’t wrap your head around it…

It took you a second too long to react to the banana peel that was promptly placed right in front of you. You hit it and started to spin out, creating an unwelcome gap between the two of you.

You adjusted your grip on your controller as your nostrils flared.

“Oh, it is on,” you seethed.

Meanwhile, Donnie was laughing maniacally as he pushed on.

“That’s right, you menace! EAT MY PEEL!” he screamed at his monitor. He leaned back in his chair to return to his wild laughter as his legs kicked in the air. However, his excitement got the better of him as his right foot knocked over a cold mug of coffee that had been marinating on his desk for who knows how long.

“Shit!” Donnie hissed, scrambling forward to try and catch the cup before it fell and broke. He rummaged frantically around for any napkin or towel that may be lying in hopes to get the spill somewhat cleaned up. He ended up opting for a dirty hoodie, which he simply wiped across the mess before leaving it. He had to get back to this game.

His sudden halt just after taking first left you surprised. To your knowledge, he hadn’t gone off-road or gotten hit by anyone’s attack. In fact, on the mini-map, it looked like he wasn’t moving at all. You were left utterly puzzled.

Something was obviously wrong on his end, which left you feeling weird about continuing. The whole point of offering him this deal was so he could catch a break. If he was having an issue that prevented him from playing then what was the point? You decided to press on, but you couldn’t help but steal glances at the mini-map every few seconds to check on his status. If you ended up winning, you could always suggest playing for best 2-out-of-3 so that he had another chance.

By the time Donnie was able to turn his attention back to the match, he was all the way in 8th place… His heart dropped.

This was okay. This was fine. Donnie was totally not going to lose his mind.

He took a deep breath in as he got back into the groove of the race. This was still only the first lap. He still had a chance to catch up. He exhaled. This was not over.

It was easy enough for him to pass a few of the bots, getting him to fourth place by the end of the first lap. For the second lap, he took every shortcut in the book and resorted to more hostile tactics when needed. He wouldn’t hesitate to pelt anyone with turtle shells so long as they were in his way. By the end of that lap, he was back in second.

For a while, you were still nowhere in sight. However, after taking another shortcut to save himself more time, your character finally appeared over the horizon.

An evil grin stretched across his face. The last item box he got gave him a Bullet Bill.

“I am going to demolish you,” he growled and activated his item.

The distance between the two of you was gone before you could even process the fact that he was catching up. Your reaction time left something to be desired as he plowed right through you, sending you spinning off of the map.

After gasping and sputtering a few curses under your breath, a competitive grin appeared on your face. You gained control of your vehicle and made your way back onto the track, gradually building up speed. You only had a banana, which was useless unless you could get back in front of him.

Your initial intent on letting him win was forgotten as your competitive drive took over. In a few seconds, you were hot on his tail, trying your hardest to bump into one of his wheels to send him spinning. However, every time you inched to the side to get around him, he would find a way to avoid you.

Your body was growing tenser with each failed attempt, and your heart rate was increasing. The mini-map showed the finish line just around the corner, so you kept close to the inside curve in hopes that it would give you the slightest advantage you would need to pass Donnie and win. He had a similar idea though, and as you began coming up on his side, he veered into you, sending you flying.

“Fuck!” you cried. You could do nothing but wait for your character to stop spinning as you watched your opponent cross the finish line. You followed after him at a much slower pace. The game was over.

It took the turtle a moment to fully process what had just happened. He could only blink as he watched the winning screen play in front of him. His eyes widened, and the tips of his fingers covered his mouth as he began to smile.

Donnie’s desk chair was thrown back violently from the speed at which he stood up, hands raised high in the air. He couldn’t help but shriek out triumphant laughs as he began dancing around his room, shaking his booty every which way. Occasionally, he would trip over the forgotten trash and clothing that had built up on his floors, but he was quick to recover. The sweet smell of victory was too potent for him to be distracted by such frivolous things.

The guy was practically bouncing off the walls.

His sudden explosion of energy left him wheezing as he crawled his way back to his desk. With a maniacal grin on his face, he began typing to his opponent.

(11:31) Sir Von Ryan: HAHAHAH!!!

(11:31) Sir Von Ryan: TASTE THAT DEFEAT!!!

(11:31) Sir Von Ryan: TASTE IT!!

(11:31) Sir Von Ryan: I WAS PRACTICALLY IN LAST YET I STILL TRIUMPHED

(11:31) Sir Von Ryan: WHAT SAY YOU TO THAT, YOU VILLAIN

(11:32) Anon: shush it >:P

(11:32) Sir Von Ryan: Oh, yes. I am SURE you would love to brush your sorry excuse of a defeat under the rug. Now, wouldn’t you?

(11:32) Sir Von Ryan: Unfortunately for you, I shall not allow that!

(11:32) Anon: >:((((

(11:33) Anon: do you want your blueprints or not

(11:33) Sir Von Ryan: YES I DO

(11:33) Sir Von Ryan: RETURN THEM TO ME

He only had to wait a moment before a file popped up on his screen. Against his better judgment, he opened it right away. He was too eager to consider the possibility of it being a virus or some other type of malicious software. Lucky for him, you were true to your word. Within the file, he found every single blueprint that had been so savagely stolen from him.

He couldn’t help but tear up…

“My sweet, sweet babies!” he cried out. The monitor was quickly pulled into his embrace as he planted endless kisses on its screen.

♡ ♡ ♡

When the game ended, you sat frozen for a while. The loss made your heart feel a bit heavy. Usually, when you lost at games like these against your siblings, it was because you were letting them win. While you were intending on doing the same for Von Ryan, you were quickly forced to realize that you weren’t in that position of power when playing against him. He was far more skilled at games than you initially pegged him for. It was naive of you to assume that, just because you continuously bested him at code, you would be better in the area of gaming, as well.

Your attention was grabbed by several messages pinging from his end. It was evident that he was happy with himself as he rubbed your loss in your face. With a huff, you changed the subject back to his blueprints and sent them his way.

You released a long breath and slumped back in your seat, gaze still trained on your screen. What a pleasant surprise, you thought as a smile etched its way onto your cheeks. Not one of maliciousness or mischief, but of content. The way your heart raced during that game… It had been so long since you felt such an adrenaline rush. It made you eager to make another deal.

With a sigh, you finally turned off your PC and monitors and stood up. Due to your excessive LED d��cor, your shadow was constantly pivoting around you as you padded your way across the room. You glanced over to the wall of ceiling-to-floor windows, but all you could see were the reflections of the various neon signs and ambiance lighting you had hung all around your room.

With a huff, you threw yourself onto your bed and crawled into the center of it. You remained sitting up in a crisscrossed position as you opened your phone. With the click of a few buttons, your room went dark, and a new set of lights revealed themselves in front of you.

Your wall of windows framed the city of New York perfectly. You’ve tried more times than you can remember to count all the skyscrapers, but you would always end up losing track. Every night, the patterns of glowing windows differed. If Von Ryan really was the same Donnie as April’s friend, there was a chance that he was one of the thousand or so lights that helped to illuminate the city.

Your head fell to the side as you stared out at the man-made landscape. You hoped he was happy to have his designs back. You know that you would be if you were in his shoes. Despite going against the purple dragons in a way, you didn’t think that they would be too bothered. After all, so long as they had their copies of the blueprints, they would be able to proceed with their plans as they would if you hadn’t sent Donnie’s copies back to him. They would be none the wiser.

You leaned forward to get a better view of the streets. Your eyebrows knitted together as you took note of how few cars and people were out. You lived in a fairly busy area of Manhattan. Usually, those streets were far more crowded.

You checked the time on your phone and cringed. April had arranged plans with you early in the morning, and you should have been asleep already. Had everything really gone by that quickly?

You straightened out your legs and allowed your body to fall backward onto your mattress with a slight bounce. You tugged your covers completely over your head as you rolled onto your side and shut your eyes. However, after only a moment, you pulled the blanket back down just enough for you to peek over at your desk. Your eyes immediately landed on your monitor, and a soft smile adorned your lips.

You were right after all.

He was going to be quite the challenge for you.

♡ ♡ ♡

[mythica0]

heres a request what if the turtles are showing each other their scars from the krang attack and Donnie shows them the scares on his shell from the ship and then the all start to trace the scars and ofc it tickles and they tell him how proud they are of him

Sweet scarring

🎂: ROTTMNT

🧁: Donnie

🍫: Leo, Mikey, Raph

Summary: the brothers are showcasing their scars from the kraang attack to show that they’ve gotten through it. When they notice that Donnie has some scars on his shell, they can’t help but mess with him, in a loving way, of course:

A/N: this concept is so cute and wholesome! Sorry it’s late, by the time I saw this yesterday it was almost 1:00 AM so I wanted to go to sleep lol. Thanks for the request and enjoy! (P.S this obviously takes place post-movie so beware spoilers)

TW: Depictions of scarring, spoilers.

Sweet scarring

The Hamato brothers were gathered in a circle.

They had decided that, it’s been long enough, let’s show eachother our scars from the Kraang invasion. Just to prove that we got through it, we made it.

They went around in clockwise order, starting from Raph then going to Mikey, Leo and lastly Donnie.

Raph ended up showing them the scars around his eye from when he was possessed, as well as some mild scars on his arms and tail(A/N: I give them tails and you can’t stop me) from taking blows and cuts.

Mikey didn’t have too much scarring, just one little chip in his shell and then some mild burn scars on his hands from opening the portal.

Leo did have quite a bit of scarring. He had one above his eye, close to his temple, where he had been punched repeatedly by the Kraang Prime. He also had a small dent in the side of his shell for the same reason. Then a few long cuts down his legs.

Donnie was, like Mikey, not too bad. He had the normal mild scars on his arms, some that led up to his hands. But then, he took off his battle shell and took a deep breath in.

He turned around, and his brothers were a little shocked. He had small welts that webbed across his whole shell, a few cuts too.

Mikey could tell it was from when he attached to the ship, and it was explained as such to Raph and Leo.

Once they got over the shock factor of that, Leo noticed something….

The scars were on his shell. His most sensitive place.

Leo smirked. This was going to be fun.

“Hey DonTon! These scars look so cool! And it must’ve been so hard for you to expose your soft shell like that!” He started speaking and tracing the scars at the same time.

Even though he was using his words as an excuse to mess with his twin, they weren’t lies either. He really thought that.

Donnie seized up at the contact. Holy banana pancakes that tickled! He tried to hide the fact that it was effecting him so badly, even though Leo knew already.

Eventually, the others started joining, slowly and gently scratching along the webbed scarring.

The added sensation broke the brainy turtle, who then started giggling.

“Guhuhuys! Thahahat tihihihickles!”

Donnie’s brothers ignored him.

“Look at how brave you must’ve been Donnie!” Raph called

“Your so strong! I remember how gross that stuff looked, but you still did what you had too even though it was scary!” Mikey pitched in.

They continued to trace and tell their techy brother how proud of him they were.

Donnie’s heart was soaring. Not only was he laughing quuiite a bit from that blissfully ticklish tracing, but they were proud! Proud.

They might not have been parent-aged adults but it was something.

He didn’t fight back at all as they continued to tickle him lightly. He just let himself be lost in laughter and comfort.

He guessed it was some sweet scarring.

———THE END————————————————

[banana-can-do-art]

I didn’t have tumblr when I first watched the Turtles All the Way Down movie, but now that I do have tumblr I think I need to throw my thoughts on here because that movie is actually incredible. Turtle’s all the Way Down is a film and book that means a lot to me because as someone with OCD really it might be the only movie I’ve ever seen where they focus on a character that canonically has OCD and they actually do it well. Sure, I have headcanons (Riddle Twst eee), but Turtle’s all the Way Down says it in text. Contamination isn’t even really my main obsession, but the levels on which I related to Aza’s emotions about everything. The way she takes something like bacteria and morphs into a question of existential dread. It beautifully encapsulates how the disorder affects people’s minds, and yet on top of that, it still keeps Aza as her own unique person aside from that. Not to mention the whole intrigue of there being a whole mystery plot tying into this. Also Daisy is iconic and I love her. As I was watching this movie I was just thinking, I have the mental illness of Aza and the personality of Daisy. This movie is just really touching and hit so many great emotional beats and I’ve watched it three times and it made me cry the first two times because it’s just that good and relatable and real. I also read the book because of it and while that made it clear that the movie diverged from it’s source slightly, I think it still did a really good job at keeping the essence of the novel. Anyway, in conclusion Turtle’s All The Way Down is an incredible movie and book, and if you’re in a good enough place mentally to watch it (because it is really sad and depicts intrusive thoughts really vividly), then I highly recommend you do if you haven’t.

[thelaundrybitch]

Little Blue Hearts Update - Chapter 34

WHHAAAAATTTT???!!!

Good Saturday to you my Turtle Doves 😘

Guess who had some inspiration and time to write recently 😂

I'm hoping to get another few chapters written and out soon. I want to be able to post my Christmas Special by Christmas 😅

SO, no promises. Just hopes and dreams. I'll try not to shatter them this time 👀😬

💙💙💙ALSO!!! I apologize if you had asked to be put on the LBH tag-list, and I didn't tag you. My list got deleted, and I'm going off of who I tagged for the last chapter of LBH - Please let me know in the comments, through an ask, or you can even DM me to let me know that you want to be included. 💙💙💙

18+ content - for mature audiences only!

Reblogs only, please!

Little Blue Hearts cover art by the lovely @leosgirl82

Proposal Cookies

~Leonardo~

My heart is so full.

Liv is awake.

Liv. Is. Awake.

I let out a sigh of relief as I take another sip of my tea.

I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed my morning tea.

Actually… 

I can't remember the last time I had my morning tea.

As I'm thinking over the last few days' events, Mike stumbles into the kitchen.

He looks like hell.

"You're up awfully early," I tell him, furrowing my brow ridge as he spins to look at me in surprise.

Oh geez. He looks way worse than I initially thought.

"Rough night?" I ask as he stumbles to the chair across from me, cradling his head in his arms that are laying on the table.

"Ashley's having nightmares, still," he mumbles to his arm.

"The one about the police station with that creep?" Asks Don.

What the? I didn't even hear him come into the kitchen.

"Mhm…" agrees Mike, unphased by Don's magical appearance.

"You look like shit," Mike giggles, lifting his head as he stares at Don.

I turn to study my brother's face, and Mike is right. He looks like hell too.

"And you're the picture of beauty," Don sasses Mike, making me chuckle.

"Is everything alright, Don?" I ask him.

"Yea. I just… I'm having really strange dreams," he tells us.

"It's all that meditation. It's screwing with your brain," says Raph as he saunters into the kitchen, headed right for the pot of coffee Don is making.

Raph? Coffee? Alright. Maybe I'm still in bed asleep.

"You feeling alright there bro?" Mike asks Raph, concern spilled across his face as he watches Raph pouring himself some coffee.

"Hmm?" Raph hums, his eyes darting around the room to each of us, who are all staring at him in horror.

"Coffee??" squeaks Don.

"Oh!" He says with a smile, "Michelle is on her way down to join Dad for breakfast. I thought I'd make her some coffee," he says, suddenly shy.

I glance at my other two brothers and we all have the same knowing smirk on our faces.

They're adorable, really. Just oblivious.

"Breakfast! Oh shit," Mike says, jumping up. "That's the whole reason I came in here!" He says in half a panic.

"What's the big deal?" Asks Don.

"I wanted to make some of those oversized cinnamon rolls with glaze that Ashley loves so much, before she has to leave for work!" he tells us as he hurriedly gets out his ingredients and tools.

"You want help?" I ask him.

"I would love help. Do you mind starting the dough while I mash the bananas and the cinnamon together?" he pleads.

I smile and get up to make the dough.

Don and Raph take a seat at the table and watch as Mike and I dance around each other in the kitchen with practiced ease.

I've always loved helping Mike in the kitchen. It's really nice seeing him in his element, and taking directions from him while he's in the zone. He's undoubtedly a natural leader.

But what I especially enjoy is watching him get into what he's working on; he's always so relaxed and peaceful. His entire demeanor changes. It's almost like it's meditative for him.

🍪🥣🍪🥣🍪🥣🍪🥣🍪🥣🍪🥣

I'm making two mugs of black tea just as the cinnamon buns are coming out of the oven. Black tea will compliment the cinnamon and sweetness of the breakfast pastry.

The kitchen suddenly becomes very lively as the rest of the household and Michelle make their way into the kitchen.

*Gasp* "You made cinnamon rolls?" asks Liv, a bright smile spreading across her face. She turns and looks at me, "Do you have any black tea I could have?" She asks sweetly, as Ashley walks with her arm in arm to the breakfast bar.

She knows how to pair tea to food…

That's it. 

I'm officially in love with this woman.

I walk over and set a tea mat and her mug of black tea down in front of her.

She wraps her hands around the mug and looks up at me, her gaze flicking from my eyes to my mouth and then back again. 

Those pretty lips of hers are begging for immediate attention.

I reach out and put her hair behind her ear, my hand cupping her face as it's on its way back.

One of her hands leaves the mug and wraps itself around the wrist of the hand that's cradling her face.

The movement is small, but I don't miss it.

She pulls my arm toward her - just a little - as her eyes stay focused on my lips.

Shit.

I'm leaning in when I hear Master Splinter clearing his throat, effectively snapping me out of my descent to Liv's slightly parted lips, my hand slowly dropping down to my side.

"I have been informed that you make wonderful chocolate chip cookies, Evelyn," says Master Splinter.

But Liv is in her own world… as she stares at my lips.

"Liv," Ashley nudges her cousin, "Master Splinter is talking to you," she whispers.

Liv just nods, dreamily.

The whole kitchen has stopped and Liv is now the focal point of the room, while her eyes are still trained on my mouth.

I can't help but smirk.

I reach out again and cradle her face. She turns into my hand, causing my breath to catch momentarily as her pout brushes against my palm.

"Love… uh, Liv," I correct myself quickly, hoping no one caught my slip up.

She looks up at me with eyes that are begging me to bring her back to the bedroom.

"Master Splinter wants to know about the cookies you bake," I whisper to the blonde beauty in front of me.

It takes her a moment, but she blinks herself back to reality, her face flushing while her eyes grow to the size of Jupiter.

"Cookies?!" She panics through a whisper.

"You make chocolate chip cookies?" I ask softly.

She nods frantically, looking mortified that she has gotten caught up in our little moment.

"Proposal Cookies!" Ashley tells Master Splinter with a smile, trying to save her cousin from horrendous embarrassment.

"Proposal Cookies?" Inquires Michelle as Raph opens a folding chair for her, that he just brought into the kitchen.

Liv smiles bashfully, "Yeah… I get teased by this one," she says, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at Ashley, "because every time I make them for a company party or community event, people always tell me they'd marry me on the spot or they ask for my hand in marriage after their first bite," she explains, as her cheeks turn a pretty pink.

Well. There will be no more Proposal Cookies made for anyone outside of friends and family.

"These sound like quite the cookies," Master Splinter says with a smile on his lips.

"Liv! You should totally make some for everyone!" Ashley says excitedly, glancing at Mike.

The silent conversation is so quick I almost miss it.

"I can help if you'd like!" Mike says, glancing at me.

"What do you think?" I ask her. "I know I'd love to try these cookies," I smile warmly.

"Really? You wouldn't mind if I used your kitchen?" Liv asks Mike, hope and happiness brightening her already stunning features.

"I would be insulted if you didn't want to make these cookies in my kitchen," Mike tells her, pulling the biggest smile from her that I've seen in a while.

Good. Maybe this will raise her spirits.

"I, too, look forward to these cookies," says Master Splinter. "But perhaps we can rename them," he winks.

Little Blue Hearts Master list HERE

@leosgirl82 @turtle-babe83 @drowninghell @mysticboombox @chicchanmooshy @roxosupreme @raphslovemuffin80 @nittleboo @post-apocalyptic-daydream @mistyroselove @ashleighclark98 @xanadu-702 @pheradream15 @jurikyu-blog @sewerninno @tmntspidergirl @raphielover @zombiesnips-blog @meowph-132 @superneko-chan @lazygirlfanfic0-0 @sharpwindow @8pmblackcoffee @soryuwifeyxx @clockworkmorningglory

*If you aren’t on this list, please let me know if you want me to tag you in my other work or if you prefer me to not tag you 😘

[homoose]

Teach Me Something I Don’t Know: Part I

Summary: When Will asks him to pick Michael up from school, Spencer may or may not develop a schoolboy crush on the kindergarten teacher.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category: fluff

Warnings/Includes: none

Word count: 2.5k

a/n: Here she is! I’m not sure exactly what it is about Spencer Reid x teacher!reader, but it is my most requested fic topic, and I am happy to oblige! This is the first in a multi-part series. Weird is Good also takes place in this verse. Any teacher!reader requests will be folded into this verse as well, so feel free to continue sending me those!

Series Masterlist

Click here for the story mentioned, read by everybody’s fave Michelle Obama.

———

“A strong geographical profile is one of the most important pieces of the overall behavioral profile; it significantly narrows the area the team has to cover, allows for law enforcement teams to prioritize and maximize limited resources, and helps focus the investigation in conjunction with the other elements of the profile. And that wraps our section on building geographical profiles!” Spencer smiled at the faces in front of him, gesturing to the board. “The information we covered today will make up a significant portion of your midterm, so make sure to review it before next week. See you all next Thursday!”

As his students began packing up their things, Spencer’s phone rang from inside his bag. When he retrieved the phone and saw Will’s name on the caller ID, his brow furrowed in concern. “Will— everything ok?”

“Hey, yeah, yeah, everything’s fine,” he assured him. “I’m sorry to ask, but JJ’s on a case, and my partner and I just finished our last call clear on the other side of the city. Henry’s got soccer practice, but Michael’s gotta be picked up in about— well, shit, right about now. Would you mind picking him up and bringing him ‘round to the house?”

Spencer looped the strap of his bag over his shoulder and started up the aisle out of the lecture hall. “Yeah, of course! It’s over by the Naval Observatory, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. If you pull ‘round the parking lot, they usually come out the side door. His teacher’s real sweet, Ms. Y/L/N. I’ll let her know you’re picking him up.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Spencer pushed open the door and made his way down the hall.

“You’re the best,” Will drawled. “I’ll only be about half an hour.”

…

When Spencer pulled the baby blue Volvo into the parking lot of the school, he saw Michael and Ms. Y/L/N sitting on the steps of school. Their heads were so close they were almost touching, looking down at a book laying across their laps. Her legs were stretched out straight and she pointed down to the page, saying something that made Michael throw his little head back in a laugh that floated in through the open window of the car. Spencer grinned at the familiar sound as he pulled around the carpool loop.

When he recovered from the giggles, Michael caught sight of the car and waved his hand excitedly at Spencer. Ms. Y/L/N looked up and gave a wave as well, albeit a little less vigorous. She closed the book and turned her torso slightly to unzip Michael’s backpack and drop the book into it.

Spencer put the car in park, stepped out, and walked around the car to meet the two of them. Michael was already up and running, throwing himself at Spencer’s legs and hugging them tightly. He leaned down to return the hug. “Hey, buddy! How was school?”

“It was amazing,” Michael gushed, pulling out of the hug to gesture wildly. “We learned how to write the zzz sound, and now we know all the sounds! Oh, and then we used blocks in math, and that was so fun, because Ms. Y/L/N let us build with them when we were done counting. Oh, and then we learned about frogs, and they are so cool. Did you know that frogs have night vision? Oh, and Ms. Y/L/N said I could borrow my favorite book from the classroom library! She read it to me already while we were waiting for you, but maybe you could read it to me, too? I can read some of the words but not all of them yet, so I still need some help.”

Spencer smiled widely at him. “Wow, that does sound like an amazing day. I did know that about frogs, actually! And of course, I’d love to read with you.”

“The book’s called Giraffe Problems, and it’s about this giraffe named Edward who doesn’t like his neck.” Michael looked at Ms. Y/L/N. “What’s the turtle’s name again?”

“Cyrus,” Ms. Y/L/N reminded him.

“Right, Cyrus.” He looked at Spencer. “See, that one is tricky because c’s don’t usually make the sss sound, but sometimes they do. Ms. Y/L/N’s teaching me about it, even though she said it’s kinda hard for kindergarten.”

“Because you’ve got a big, powerful brain, right?” she said, tapping her temple and winking at Michael. “I’m Ms. Y/L/N, by the way. You must be the infamous uncle Spencer. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Then she smiled at him and his big, powerful brain melted inside of his skull.

Michael continued talking, and Spencer briefly wondered if this is how people felt when he rambled. Michael lost his attention immediately, because all he could do was stare at Ms. Y/L/N. Her eyes glinted with humor as he chattered on. She followed his expressive motions with well-timed nods and mhmms, a skill she’d no doubt honed through years of indulging kindergarten babbling. She met Spencer’s eyes every so often, only a slight eyebrow raise indicating her amusement. Her hair had been tied back, but soft pieces had come loose throughout the day, falling into her face and around her shoulders. Up close, he could see that the print of her collared a-line dress was hundreds of green frogs. On her feet were a pair of beat up, low top converse, and Spencer thought he could physically feel the crush branding the chambers of his heart. He was jolted out of his thoughts by Michael’s hand tugging on his pant leg, and he looked down to see him looking up expectantly.

“Sorry, what?” Spencer asked him.

“I said,” Michael repeated with a sigh, “can we look up the author and see if he has any other books?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Of course, buddy.”

“Jory John has lots of amazing books,” Ms. Y/L/N confirmed. “You’ll love the series he wrote with Pete Oswald.” She smiled at the pair of them before checking her watch. “I’ve gotta go pack up, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Michael.” She winked at Spencer, and he almost swallowed his tongue. “It was nice meeting you, uncle Spencer.” She waved again and then turned up the stairs to disappear into the building.

Spencer let out a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding, and then turned to Michael. “Well. All right, are you ready to go home?”

…

They were settled into the car and halfway home before Michael finally needed to take a breath. Spencer capitalized on the break in conversation.

“So, Ms. Y/L/N seems pretty cool,” Spencer hedged.

“Yeah, she’s the best,” Michael confirmed with a nod. “On Fridays she lets us put on the smocks and paint. And she has really good story voices. Oh, and she also has these really cool blocks that stick together—magnet blocks. And when I fell off the jungle gym and got a big scrape, she gave me a Paw Patrol bandaid! And she gives great hugs.”

“Good story voices, huh?” Spencer met Michael’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Better than mine?”

Michael tilted his head in deep thought. “Hmmmm. It’s pretty close. Your wizard voice is good, but she does accents.”

Spencer blew out a dramatic breath. “Guess I’m going to have to up my game.”

“You’re gonna have to practice a lot, because Ms. Y/L/N reads to us every day.” Michael raised his eyebrows in a challenge.

“Hey!” Spencer looked incredulous. “I read every day, too!”

“Yeah, but do you read with story voices every day?” Michael clarified.

Spencer sighed. “Well, I guess not.”

“It’s okay, uncle Spencer,” Michael soothed. “You can’t be the best at everything.”

“So they are better than mine?”

Michael pressed his lips together, and Spencer almost laughed at how much he looked like JJ. “... maybe.”

…

A trail of shoes and school supplies led to the couch, where Spencer and Michael sat shoulder to shoulder. They were on their second read of Giraffe Problems. Spencer took a long, dramatic breath before launching into Cyrus’ banana speech, and Michael burst into a fit of giggles. With his best theatrical voice, Spencer read down the page. “Yet, day after day, I’ve felt like such a fool as I stretched my neck toward those greedy branches, only to be limited by my own physical shortcomings.” He flipped the page and changed his tone. “You… want a banana from a tree?” He looked at Michael and said, quickly and in a low voice, “That’s what I said, yes.” Michael wheezed out another laugh.

Spencer finished the story, Michael mouthing the words along with him. When they reached the last page, Spencer softly closed the book and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “That’s a pretty great story.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “Ms. Y/L/N said she likes it because it reminds us that we gotta love ourselves and our bodies for how they are.”

Spencer nodded. “Absolutely. We’re all different, and that’s what makes us special.”

“Yeah. I just really like when he’s wearing all the scarves.” Michael burst into another fit of laughter, and Spencer couldn’t help but laugh with him.

The front door opened, and Will was smiling as he stepped over the threshold. “I could hear y’all laughing all the way down the sidewalk.”

“Daddy!” Michael jumped up from the couch, and Will bent to scoop him up, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Hey, kiddo. Sorry I couldn’t pick you up. It sure sounds like you and uncle Spencer had fun, though.” He shot Spencer a wide smile.

“We read Giraffe Problems. Can we read it again later?” Michael asked.

“Sure thing. We can read it before bedtime.” Will set him down, furrowing his brow. “Wait, Giraffe Problems? Is that a new one?”

Michael shook his head. “Ms. Y/L/N let me borrow it from the library. I have to give it back in two weeks.”

“Man, Michael, you really lucked out, huh?” Will posited. “Ms. Y/L/N is so good to you.”

“Jeez, everybody’s saying that today,” Michael sighed. “Yes, Ms. Y/L/N is amazing, we all know this.”

“All right, sass monster. I didn’t know uncle Spencer thought she was amazing, too.” Will grinned. “We gotta go pick up Henry in a few minutes. I’ll get you a snack, and you can pick up your things?” He gestured to the mess of shoes and school supplies in the foyer.

Spencer smiled sheepishly. “That’s probably my fault. We were just so excited to read the book.”

“Ah yeah, I know how he gets.” Will crossed to the kitchen. “A one track mind, that one. Thanks again for picking him up today.”

Spencer stood from the couch and followed, hands stuffed in his pockets. “It’s no problem at all! I can do it any time.”

“Well, I don’t want to bother y—”

“It’s not a bother!” Spencer schooled his voice back into a normal register at Will’s raised eyebrow. “It—It’s not a bother at all. I, um— I have a lot of free time when I’m on sabbatical. Especially since I’m only teaching one course this semester. Plus, I love seeing the boys.”

“I’ll remember that.” Will smiled. “So… Ms. Y/L/N’s amazing, huh?”

Spencer just knew that his cheeks were as red as the apple Will was cutting up. He tried to shrug nonchalantly. “Yeah, she was— she was really nice.”

“She’s not bad looking, either,” Will supplied. When Spencer’s mouth fell open, Will continued, “What? JJ thinks so, too. Don’t tell me you didn’t even look, because I know that’s a lie.”

Spencer sputtered, “I— well, I—”

“Daddy, can we get an ice-cream on the way home?” Michael interrupted, completely unfazed.

Will laughed. “Saved by the bell, uncle Spencer. Yeah, buddy, we can get ice-cream.”

…

“It’s not weird to look her up. I just want to know more about the person who’s educating my godson,” Spencer tried to reassure himself as he pulled up the school’s website. He scrolled to find the teacher pages, a little smile crossing his face when he saw Ms. Y/L/N’s picture— white ruffled shirt, red bow, and black hat. A perfect tribute to Mary Poppins.

He dropped his smile. “She barely said five sentences to you, and you didn’t say anything back.” His eyes wandered over the links on the side, landing on the About Me section. “But she did say she’d heard a lot about you, so it’s only fair that you get to know a little about her.” Against his better judgment, he clicked the page link. A photo of Ms. Y/L/N— grinning and holding a very distraught-looking black cat— popped up on the screen, and Spencer laughed aloud.

I grew up on a farm outside of Fayetteville, NC before moving to Boston to complete my undergraduate degree. I moved to DC to earn my Master’s in Early Childhood Education, and I have been teaching here for 8 years! I love working with young learners, because children grow so much in their foundational years. Watching a child have a lightbulb moment is one of my greatest joys. When I'm not in the classroom, I love to read, travel, play scrabble, and spend time with my cat Roald (pronounced Roo-all)!

Spencer scrolled through the pictures of Ms. Y/L/N and her students. There were pictures in their “smocks,” which Spencer discovered were really just old t-shirts. There was one of her in the middle of some very animated story telling, and another of a field trip to the zoo. In each one, the smiles beamed out through the computer screen in a digital portrait of unbridled joy, contagious even over the waves of the internet. Smiling to himself, he clicked on the tab labeled Teaching Philosophy.

I believe that every child is an extraordinary and essential piece of our classroom puzzle. In order to nurture the unique individuality of each of my students, I work hard to make our classroom a safe, positive, and supportive community where students are given the space to express themselves. Our classroom culture is also one of kindness and creativity, where each individual is valued and celebrated for who they are!

Spencer swallowed the unexpected lump in his throat as he thought back on his own school career. While his teachers had always appreciated his intelligence, he honestly couldn’t recall a moment where he had felt valued for just… being himself. The majority of his time in school had been spent unsuccessfully fending off bullies, completing other students’ homework, or being gawked at like some sort of alien. He was grateful that Michael would hopefully never go through anything like what he’d experienced; at least not while Ms. Y/L/N was around.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he leaned back in the desk chair to pull it out. He swiped it open to read the incoming text.

JJ: So......... you like Ms. Y/L/N, huh? 😉😉😉

Spencer: What?! Did Will tell you that? I didn’t say that.

JJ: Some things you don’t have to say out loud, Spence.

———

Tags: @spacedikut

[sunstone-smiles]

Can I request an apollo and blackquill fic 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 Maybe they were facing off in a game night with the fam and got too competitive and one tries to get the upper hand in a silly way 🤭

Hello Anon! Ace Attorney fics are back! I had a lot of fun with this prompt, so I hope you enjoy!

Family Game Day Shenanigans

Series: Ace Attorney

Characters: Apollo Justice, Simon Blackquill, Trucy Wright, Athena Cykes

Words: 1,973

Summary: When Apollo gets competitive about the game he Simon, Trucy, and Athena are playing together, he uses a silly tactic to try and win, but it soon backfires and turns into an all out playful battle. Enjoy!

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The engines of the video game karts roar as they fly down the gimmick-filled track, zooming around the underwater themed corners. Apollo is on the edge of his seat as he races against his friends, twisting a small rectangular controller in his hands like an actual steering wheel as his eyes are focused on the screen. He pushes the top right button where his index finger lies and launches a turtle shell forward towards the kart in front of him, but Simon pushes the same button on his controller and activates a banana item to block the turtle shell from hitting the back of his kart. The two items collide and Simon speeds across the finish line in first place, scratch free. Right behind his character, Apollo’s virtual kart races across the finish line in second, followed by Athena in third and Trucy in fourth.

“Darn, I thought I had you that time,” Apollo says to Simon sitting on the blue couch alongside him, while Trucy and Athena stand behind. All of them wear casual clothing of shirts and sweatpants rather than their usual outfits while they have a family game day within the Wright Anything Agency. 

“Ugg, Simon won again?” Athena leans over the back of the cushions, defeated.

“He’s even better than Polly,” Trucy chimes in and leans over the couch on Apollo’s side.

“Yeah, yeah. I almost had him that time though,” Apollo huffs.

“Face it Justice-dono,” Simon glances over at him with a pleased grin, “You can’t handle the fact that I’ve gotten better than you.”

Apollo furrows his brows. “Oh please. You’ve only played this a few times. Athena, Trucy, and I play it almost all the time.”

“And yet, the results tell a different story,” the man with black and white hair smirks. 

Apollo grumbles. His competitive spirit refuses for him to lose to Blackquill’s smug demeanor. “Oh yeah? I’ll come in first next round, just you wait!”

“Whatever you say, Justice-dono,” Simon confidently smiles and turns back to the television. Apollo narrows his eyes at him, then turns back to the TV as well, determined to win this round.

They pick one of the classic cement road courses of the game to decrease the amount of traps on the track, so the results would be determined more by skill rather than luck. Then, they begin. Just like all their other matches, Simon quickly takes the lead. Chaotic items are tossed left and right for the other players to try and catch up to first, but Simon still trails ahead. As they zoom past the same corner for a second time, the game notifies them that this is the last lap. At this rate, Simon will win again. None of the items Apollo is throwing are enough to stop Simon, and he can’t get enough speed to pass him. 

Apollo momentarily takes his eyes off the screen to glance over at Simon. He sees that smug air of confidence as the prosecutor nears the finish line. The competitive spirit within Apollo boils. If he wants to win, it’s now or never.

Without really thinking, Apollo takes his left hand off the controller, while still moving his character with his right, and squeezes Simon’s side—followed by the lawyer wiggling his fingers into that same spot. The prosecutor jumps and grabs Apollo’s wrist, almost veering off the course due to Apollo’s sneaky tactic of tickling.

“Justice-dono! What are you doing!?” Simon growls as he struggles to keep his character lined up on the track.

“Oh nothing,” Apollo smirks devilishly while continuing to scribble into Simon’s side, “Just winning.” The black and white haired man tries to scoot to the side and tug the lawyer’s hand away, snarling at Apollo to knock it off while his kart veers into the grass; but they both freeze when the game suddenly plays a short victory tune, signaling the players that Apollo crossed the finish line in first place.

Apollo raises both of his hands victoriously in the air. “Yes! I won—AH!” the lawyer yells when he’s suddenly tackled down onto the other side of the couch by a growling Simon. 

“Blackquill!” Apollo panics, now realizing the consequences of his actions, “L-Look! We can talk about thi-IS! Hahaha!” he starts giggling when Simon gets back at him by tickling his ribs.

“So, you want to play dirty, huh? Fine by me!” Simon exclaims and digs even further into a squirming Apollo’s ribs, curling his fingers into stiff claws and swiping them back and forth across the ticklish spot. 

“No! Nohoho! Wahahait!” the lawyer kicks his legs and tries to shove the taller man away, which only leaves himself open for Simon to scribble upwards into Apollo’s underarms. The lawyer yelps and clamps his arms down as Simon gets his revenge for the mischievous tactics Apollo had used earlier. “Ahahathena! Truhucy! Hehehelp!”

“Buuut you’re the one who started it, Polly,” Trucy smiles.

Athena leans her arm on the back of the couch. “Yeah, maybe we’ll help later, you know, after we enjoy the show.”

“Ohoho come on!” Apollo tries to wriggle out of Simon’s hold when his other friends offer no help at all. He’ll have to take matters into his own hands if he’s going to escape this mess he created.

Through his squirming, the giggling lawyer reaches his hand up and scribbles into Simon’s ribs, causing the prosecutor to quickly grab Apollo's wrist to stop him; but now that there’s an opening, the lawyer uses his free hand to attack Simon’s other set of ribs. Blackquill reels back while holding in his laughter and grabs Apollo’s other hand away from his chest, but the lawyer swiftly sits up and pushes Simon into the cushions of the couch. Apollo lunges at the prosecutor and scribbles into his ribs with fast fingers, making Simon flinch back and try to tug Apollo away. 

“J-Justice-dono!” Blackquill growls through his teeth while the uncharacteristic giggles build up in his chest. He attempts to wrestle Apollo’s hands away, but the lawyer finds an opening and plunges his fingers into Simon’s belly.

“GAH! Mnmpfff—hahaha! Justice-donohoho!” Simon bursts into giggles and tries to squirm away from Apollo’s fingers tickling his tummy. His grip slightly weakens, but he quickly grabs Apollo’s arms and tugs the shorter man over his lap, shoving the lawyer face first into the couch. Now with the advantage, Simon scribbles into Apollo’s sides once more.

“AH! Nohot agahain!” Apollo giggles as Simon scratches his fingers up and down his torso to get the lawyer back into a giggle fit. Apollo wriggles and squirms to regain the upper hand. He reaches behind him and scribbles into Simon’s side to make the prosecutor falter, then quickly pushes himself up and shoves the taller man down onto the arm of the couch.

“Take this!” Apollo exclaims, and just like Simon had done earlier, Apollo quickly claws into his torso.

“Hahaha! Why yohohou!” Simon roars as he breaks out into more giggly laughter.

Athena and Trucy chuckle as they watch this tickle fight play out. “You know, maybe we will help,” the female lawyer smiles, “Are you ready Trucy?”

The magician giggles. “Ready!”

The girls then dash over to the arm of the couch and each grab one of Simon’s hands currently trying to shove off the lawyer. “Don’t forget about this spot, Apollo!” Athena grins as she and Trucy pin Simon’s arms over his head and hold on tight. 

Simon increases his squirming. “Noho! Don’t yohou dare!” Simon exclaims through his laughter, but his threat is completely disregarded when Apollo springs at the opportunity to sneak his hands upwards into Blackquill’s underarms.

“AH! Hahaha!” the prosecutor nearly jumps out of his skin when Apollo scribbles into his most ticklish spot, “Yohohou are gohohoing to get it!”

“Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try,” Apollo states with a smug air of confidence, thinking that he has the upper hand in this fight. Simon squirms left and right while he tries to pull his arms out of Trucy and Athena’s hold. He twists onto his side, but he rolls a little too far and ends up tumbling off the couch onto his stomach, resulting in the girls letting him loose and Apollo getting knocked down alongside him. Simon begins to push himself up to get revenge, but Apollo lunges back at his sides before he can fully recover. The prosecutor lets out a bout of laughter and almost flops down; however, even through the Apollo’s attack, Blackquill is able to keep himself up and nudge the shorter man backwards. The lawyer topples onto his spine and lifts his head up to see a smirking Blackquill towering over him with wiggling fingers in the air. Apollo’s eyes go wide and he scrambles to escape by turning around and crawling away as fast as he can, but Simon catches his leg, causing the lawyer to trip onto his stomach. 

“Oh no, you’re not getting away that easily,” Simon snarls and yanks the lawyer’s leg towards him. Apollo desperately claws at the ground like a cat pawing at yarn to try and escape but he stops in his tracks when Simon tightly grabs hold of his ankle and starts scribbling into his socked foot. Apollo yelps and crumbles into a giggling puddle, pounding his fists on the ground from Blackquill’s attack. Simon then eyes another potentially ticklish spot and pulls the squirming lawyer closer to him to reach it. He wiggles into the back of Apollo’s knee, scribbling into the fabric of his sweatpants, which sends the lawyer into another giggle fit when Simon digs into this hidden spot. Apollo twists around to try to kick Simon away, but now that the lawyer’s on his back, Simon lunges his hands one more towards his torso.

“Last chance, Justice-dono! Surrender!”

Apollo is giggling his head off, but that same competitive spirit is telling him not to give up. “Nehehever!”

“Then you asked for it!” Simon slips his hands under Apollo’s shirt and scribbles into his ribs. Apollo attempts to squirm away, but he lets out a squeal of laughter when Simon finds an extremely ticklish area right below his ribs.

“NO! Nohohot there! Ahahanywhere but there!” Apollo erupts into hysterics and tries to curl himself on his side to escape the devilish scribbling in his most ticklish spot, “I give! I gihihihive!”

Simon pulls his hands away and Apollo flops onto his back, leaving the lawyer in a breathless, giggly puddle. The prosecutor smirks. “And that’s why you always play fair, Justice-dono.”

“R…Right…” Apollo responds winded, “No more dirty tricks.” 

“Looks like Simon wins again,” Trucy chuckles.

“Although I do have to say, it was a pretty close match up until the end,” Athena teases.

Apollo sits up and wipes away the ghost tickles while shooting the two girls a glare. “Ha ha, very funny.”

“Cheer up Justice-dono,” Simon sits himself back on the couch. “Or do you need a bit of motivation to do so?” he wiggles his fingers in the air. Apollo flinches back.

“No no! I’m fine!” The lawyer releases the tension in his muscles. “Let’s just get back to the game, and I promise no tricks this time!”

Apollo takes his place back on the couch and Simon hands him his controller that had fallen during their little scuffle. They pick the next track and start the game again, racing around the colorful course. Apollo may have not won the tickle fight or a fair match of their game yet, but the results don’t seem to matter as long as everyone’s having a good time. However, Apollo still has competitive bones in his body, so even though the results may be insignificant, the lawyer still wants to try and see if he can beat Simon in their game once and for all. 

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Optigami

For the first time this season, we're actually acknowledging what happened at the end of the last season. Of course, it's the thirteenth episode chronologically, so you can tell the writers really wanted to strike while the iron was hot.

Let's get into the ninth (chronologically the thirteenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Optigami.

We start off with Nathalie recounting the events of “Miracle Queen” to Gabriel, where Chloe exposed the identities of the temp heroes, which is kind of odd considering they were both there. Then again, it's entirely possible Gabriel forgot what happened given we're literally halfway through the season chronologically. According to Nathalie, she created a Sentimonster the very next day to spy on the heroes. After a lot of surveillance by the Sentimonster, named Optigami, all Nathalie and Gabriel really found out was that the heroes were just regular teenagers who occasionally got a Miraculous from Ladybug without even learning her identity, all while we learn she continued to give Miraculous out to the heroes despite the risk to their safety.

Okay, a few questions here. First, why the hell didn't Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth or Mayura try something like this from the beginning? It took you two lucking out in finding out the identities of seven heroes to think about spying on your enemies? Second, Mayura created Optigami the next day? Wasn't she in a lot of pain as a result of using the Peacock for a whole season? At least when she created a Sentimonster in the New York special, it was set a vague amount of time after “Miracle Queen”. Third, Ladybug is seriously recruiting the same heroes again after the rules that she imposed onto Chloe? You know, the person who couldn't use the Bee Miraculous again because of the risk to her safety, and ultimately betrayed Ladybug because she hated the rule? Seriously, the video footage shows Ladybug recruiting Ryuko, someone whose identity Shadowmoth already knew before “Miracle Queen”, so this makes even less sense. If Chloe doesn't get her Miraculous after exposing her identity to the whole world, the same should apply to the other heroes too. If they wanted to make Chloe an exception, all they had to do was have Ladybug bench Queen Bee because she didn't trust Chloe in her civilian life. This just makes Ladybug come off as a hypocrite who serves to justify Astruc's warped mentality that Chloe doesn't deserve a Miraculous even though she lost hers for the same reason as the others.

Nathalie calls Optigami a failure, but Gabriel actually uses his brain for once and comes up with a plan to take out all of the temp heroes at once by putting them in a situation where Ladybug is forced to recruit one of them in order to stop an Akuma. He calls Audrey Bourgeois, a major fashion magazine writer and praises her idea to give a monthly award to a fashion icon, and Gabriel says “there's no better introduction than giving it to his son”, so I'm not sure if he told Audrey to give the award to Adrien, or if he already got the award and Gabriel was just capitalizing on the chance.

So we cut to Marinette and Alya hanging out in the former's room, and surprise, surprise, Marinette is gushing over Adrien. It isn't a love story if there's a single scene not talking about the love interest according to Astruc.

Yeah, despite not being on the list of targets, Marinette got a ticket to the award show because the writers weren't sure how else they could work her into the plot. The Kwamis ask if they can come along, forgetting about the fact that they need to be a secret or be with an owner (guessing Marinette learned her lesson after “Furious Fu”). I'm starting to think I was a little too harsh on Master Fu considering he managed to put up with these godlike idiots for 176 years.

Alya and Trixx, the Fox Kwami, bring up a decent point that now that Alya knows she's Ladybug, she can take a more active role in helping her as Rena Rouge if she had the Fox Miraculous full-time, while Marinette points out the fact that it's too risky for anyone but her to hand out Miraculous. This is brief, but I like this little disagreement here. While I think Marinette could have brought up the fact that Shadowmoth knows Alya's identity in her argument, both sides still make a good point, and this will come into play later on, for better or for worse.

So Marinette and Alya head out to the award party where they meet up with Adrien, Kagami, Luka, Kim, Max, and Nino, with Alya doing a secret handshake with him that I'm sure won't be important later on. We also get a hilarious scene of Alya once again trying to force Marinette into an elevator with Adrien with the explicit intent to have her get closet to Adrien, while she unsurprisingly freaks out, leading to some brief Unfunny Marinette Slapstick.

So much for Marinette growing after the second umbrella scene.

Optigami is set up, and Shadowmoth creates a Sentimonster of the man hosting the award ceremony, and takes the opportunity to do what we've all wanted to do since Audrey's first appearance in late 2018.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you, Gabriel Agreste. You're the real MVP of this episode.

So Shadowmoth sends out an Akuma to akumatize Audrey into his “magnum opus”, Style Queen, once again (Audrey is also implied to be willingly akumatized like Chloe in “Queen Banana”). And since the titular Sentimonster plays a big role in Shadowmoth's plan this episode, I think now's a good time to talk about Optigami.

Optigami has a simple design, a butterfly colored like Mayura, but I like the role it plays. It has the power to hide in any solid object and observe the environment like a camera Nathalie watches, all while Style Queen chases after the temp heroes and turns them into piles of gold dust. Whether that's because she's been powered up by Shadowmoth or because the animators can't afford to create new models of the characters as gold statues isn't clear. It still really shows the writers are taking advantage of the concept of Sentimonsters as support for Akumas outside of more muscle.

So Kagami tries to distract Style Queen while Adrien runs, and she is the first to be taken out. Chloe then tells Style Queen where Ladybug went, but she gets targeted because she laughed at her mother earlier, and then tries to use Zoe as a human shield before getting blasted. Oh, thank God. I thought Chloe was going to appear in an episode where the writers didn't remind the audience how much of a terrible person she is and anyone who supports her is just as bad.

Marinette and Adrien both run off to transform, but get into the same elevator together, which then gets broken thanks to Style Queen's interference. This leads to an interesting setup where neither of them can transform and hope their partner will save them, leading to some real tension. There's also thankfully little to no stammering from Marinette in these scenes. It's almost like the writers only have her struggle to talk with Adrien so they don't actually have to write scenes like this. Alya briefly teases Marinette for saying she's stuck in an elevator with Adrien before realizing she's trapped in an elevator with a civilian and can't transform.

After Max and Luka get taken out, Marinette calls a phone she set up near the Miracle Ball to call the Kwamis, pretending to talk to the fire department and secretly tells them to send Kaalki to help her, but Adrien sees Optigami spying on them in the elevator, so Marinette is forced to hang up. Marinette and Adrien are about to transform and reveal themselves to each other, but because neither of them are on the list and because Shadowmoth felt like actually being a decent father today, Optigami retreats with Style Queen, who then takes out Kim, leaving only Alya and Nino left.

Marinette tells Alya to call the Kwamis, but while she does so, she gets a call from Nino, who is soon taken out by Style Queen and... is replaced... by an... evil... doppelganger... The eighth one in four seasons...

The only question I have is how did Shadowmoth create two Sentimonsters in the same day? Did he recharge offscreen? Either way, he sends “Sentinino” after Alya to lure her out, but Kaalki arrives and portals her to Marinette's room, leading to the funniest joke of the episode.

Alya takes the Fox Miraculous and transforms into Rena Rouge and creates an illusion of Ladybug to distract Style Queen while she meets up with Marinette with the Bee Miraculous, but she decides to take the Turtle Miraculous even though Marinette didn't tell her to just to be safe.

Rena Rouge meets up with Sentinino and gives him the Turtle, alerting Shadowmoth to the fact that Alya may have a bigger role than he anticipated. Sentinino transforms into Carapace (or would a more accurate term be Sentipace?) while Optigami hides in the Turtle Miraculous, leading to another interesting conflict. If Style Queen gets Ladybug's Miraculous, Shadowmoth wins, but even if Ladybug wins, Sentipace can swoop in and steal Ladybug's Miraculous when her guard is down. This is David Xanatos levels of planning here.

Rena Rouge escorts Adrien out of the elevator via one of Kaalki's portals, and Marinette transforms into Ladybug before unifying with the Bee Miraculous into Ladybee.

Ignoring the creepy look on her face, I think Ladybee has a pretty good design. I think the black and gold go well with her suit, and the ponytail with the gold streaks is a nice touch. I'm not sure if it's referencing Queen Bee's design, but I like it, as well as the slight antennae on her head. I still prefer Dragonbug's design, but I can see why so many fans love this one too.

Ladybee is surprised Sentipace is there, but accepts his help anyway. Ladybee summons her Lucky Charm, a compact mirror, but when looking around, she doesn't see how to use the Lucky Charm with Sentipace as he isn't highlighted in her vision like certain objects/heroes that play a part in stopping an Akuma. Ladybee uses Venom, and with Sentipace's Shelter, manages to tank Style Queen's blasts and stun her before de-evilizing her.

Cat Noir tries to cataclysm the golden shield Style Queen placed around the building, but shows up too late, being surprised at the presence of Rena Rouge and Sentipace. He jokes about it, but this will somewhat come into play in future episodes.

Ladybug prepares to throw the compact mirror to use Miraculous Ladybug and fix the damage, but through the mirror, sees Nino fail to do the secret handshake with Alya. Ladybug pulls a John McClane and swings off the top of the building and tells Cat Noir to use his Cataclysm to destroy the Turtle Miraculous, releasing Optigami, and giving Nathalie a major headache. Shadowmoth undoes the creations of Optigami and Sentinino and retreats.

Alya is naturally upset that she screwed up and almost let Shadowmoth find out Ladybug's identity, but then, well...

Like with “Gang of Secrets”, I'm very mixed on this ending. Both Alya and Marinette make good points here. Alya knows she almost let Shadowmoth win, but Marinette points out how invaluable Alya was today and realizes how helpless she was doing a lot of things on her own. Even if Alya didn't give the Turtle Miraculous to Sentinino, Marinette still had to face the possibility of revealing herself to Adrien. Like it or not, she needs someone to help her more, and Alya is the only one able to fill that position.

The problem I have is that because of how Marinette phrases that sentence, it comes off like Alya is being rewarded for what happened this episode. I get she helped, but I just find it weird that Marinette doesn't feel a little uncomfortable trusting Alya more after going behind her back and almost screwing up the entire mission in the process. I think the scene could have worked if Marinette was a little more stern towards Alya and realized she had no choice but to give her the Fox, creating a little tension between the two as a result.

So the episode ends with a post-credits scene where Gabriel and Nathalie realize they need to focus more attention onto Alya due to her connection to Ladybug.

But yeah, this was honestly a really good episode. It's become my favorite this season.

The plot has a fair amount of suspense and tension, most of it derived from the very clever plan Shadowmoth has this time, taking full advantage of the repaired Peacock in order to make what was already a very powerful Akuma even more of a threat. There were jokes, but unlike in other episodes that focus on humiliating Marinette or interrupting the tension, they're well-placed. The same goes for the elevator scene. The writers easily could have made Marinette stammer all of her words around Adrien, but for once, they realized that they needed to have her actually interact with him in order to maintain the tension of the episode.

Granted, there are still some flaws, like Marinette really had no reason to be invited to the award ceremony. All they really had to do was have Adrien invite her himself, which would justify her eager reaction at the beginning. It's also strange that nobody brings up the fact that all of Adrien's friends who were invited were temp heroes. I've already gone over the problem with timeline at the beginning as well as the ending and I plan to talk about Rena Rouge's partnership with Ladybug next time.

Overall, this was still a really good episode. Even the evil doppelganger plotline had an interesting twist to it. What's the next episode about again? What? Another evil doppelganger of Nino?