#even if it's impossible to color doodles w/ you

[artilite]

thank you for all the love on my last post !!! reading what everyone had to say in the reblogs meant a lot <3

[onejellyfishplease]

Jelly, help, I’m already letting this au consume me LOL

K so translating my notes(cause my writing sucks) and then a breakdown of each doodle. This is just some ‘testing the waters’ doodles to see what ideas I like and what I don’t.

This isn’t actually finished yet, but I ended up loving the Sketchpage that I wanted to show, so here we are lol

“Lantern/light clan cult gang thing, tried to get Donnie to join by sending an oozesquito after him.”

So yeah, there’s a gang of moths that worship light and they wanted somebody smart in their ranks. They wanted Donnie to join because he was known all over the hidden city for his intelligence during the krang invasion. They uhh… They kinda kidnap him during a mission ig lol. He escapes but not before getting turned partially into a moth. They weren’t really as smart so they didn’t even think that maybe the mutation would only take partial transformation so uhhh mission failed-

“Tiny hairs as per many insects”

I liked your idea of the hairs that allow Donnie’s hands to stick to stuff, so it was kind of a no brainer to add that here too, since moths stick to stuff all the time.

“Common Crimson & Gold Moth (an attempt at keeping sorta purple colors)”

Yeah no, it’s more red and gold than anything but dang these things are pretty. Could be a nice design.

“Luna Moth (mostly here for the green, but an iconic moth too)”

Yeah, I wanted a nice green match for the wings as a potential option too, and I also figured when you think of moths, a lot of people think of Luna moths.

“White Ermine Moth (fluffy Dalmatian vibes)”

Kinda thrown in for the recognizable reason again, since a lot of people tend to think immediately of fluffy snowy white moths like white ermine moths or poodle moths.

I kinda like the first two a bit better tho, ngl.

“Eyes go black when pissed or scared?”

Yeah, so, I had an idea where his eyes would invert so his eyes were black with white pupils, but I kinda dropped that idea, but then I picked it up again and thought maybe his eyes look more moth-like when really stressed or enraged or smth?

“So meticulous but I love the detail ngl…”

“Mini moth man”

So yeah, I learned I liked the more meticulous antenna style. Also yeah, even if I don’t use it I’m totally making a Mothman version of him lol

“Smth like this ig??”

Me trying to figure out the wings and she’ll mix. I had the idea that the wings would sprout out from inside, sorta like your idea ngl, but I think it’d be less like… Under, and more through, so the wings would kind of be impossible to hide at that point.

“Donnie Day 1

‘Everything’s fine ✨’

‘W a t ?’”

“Donnie Day 5

‘isaideverythingsfine~’

‘Wat.’”

A stupid silly comic I made for an idea I had where Donnie starts out kinda like a moth caterpillar, looking and feeling normal, but the more days that go by the bigger his wings and antenna grow, becoming impossibly to hide, and he just can’t really pretend that he’s a full turtle anymore lol

Also definitely not motivated by me wanting to implement an idea about how apparently the reasons you get holes in your clothes is because caterpillars are eating through it (and not fully grown moths usually) so maybe he’d be hoodie biting excessively during that time lol

I have a few more snippets only written on Google docs right now but gosh I am loving this au, I totally see the fun of formation swapping Donnie now LOL

Eventually, all the important info will be on one sheet though (hopefully) and I’ll tag you then about it lol

OMG i actually love this so much!

i love how the transformation is a slow one.

And he eats his clothes as a nervous habit??? love it. glorius. amazing.

Also the eyes going black? that would be so creepy to see, it would definitely terrify villians. and his brothers (the first few times lol)

AND HES FLUFFY AHHHHH

[genericpuff]

I really wanna make a comic like you did but I feel so discouraged and idk... I wish I had your motivation and discipline :(

how do you do it?

I mean - and I'm gonna try and phrase this as best as I can without sounding curt - 'motivation' as people tend to view it... isn't really how you get shit done. Like obviously I had to be motivated to take on projects like Time Gate and Rekindled but that initial motivation isn't what keeps me going each week. People tend to have the general idea that motivation comes first, action second, but you actually need to take action in order to gain motivation, as the motivation to continue comes best from seeing the results of your work. And those results can only happen if you take action.

Discipline isn't the same as motivation, either. Discipline is not beating yourself over the head to force yourself to "do the thing" - rather, discipline can only come from creating routine. It's what I've done with creating comics, but it only came after a long time doing it. And when I say a 'long time', I don't mean a week or a month or even a year, I mean a solid decade of work. Before Lore : Rekindled, I was working on Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH]; before that I drew Time Gate: Reaper; before Reaper I drew Uzuki; and before THAT I was in high school just doodling personal comics for myself (i.e. not for an audience). And every single project came with its own learning experience, audience, and results that motivated me to continue (though for some of them, I never did, a big part of growth and succeeding is knowing that failure is inevitable and some projects you just grow out of love with, even routine can't save you from not continuing a project that you're simply not enjoying doing anymore).

Drawing comics and writing is as routine to my day and life as going to work, eating, sleeping, showering, etc. even if I don't feel compelled to work, I'll still find myself picking away at a panel or two or coming up with a story beat to fill in where I'm going next. It's the kind of compulsion that comes not from internal motivation, but from not doing the thing that you usually do and that can only be gained from building habits and routine. I may not get the same amount of work done each day, some days I'll work on comics for 8 hours straight and others I'll only get a single panel done, but I still get something done (which is better than nothing, not getting anything done at ALL in the face of 'waiting' for motivation is where a lot of that discouragement can come from) and that's been reinforced into a routine that now feels effortless to do because I've been doing it so long. Just like building up any good habit like going to the gym or doing a skincare routine or drinking more water, it can feel impossible to do in the beginning, but the more you do it and commit to that routine - even when you don't 'feel' like doing it - the less overwhelming and impossible it feels and the easier it is to see it through.

As you fulfill those habits in the beginning and see the results of your work, THAT'S what gets turned into motivation to continue.

Take the motivation out of the equation in doing what you want to do, motivation is not the first step but the result of taking action. Don't wait until you "feel like it", take baby steps and start moving. If you're wanting to work on a comic, start with something small, like a single panel even. When I started out with Reaper, it would take me a month to get out an entire 18-22 page chapter; by the time I was finished, I was getting the same length of chapters out per week, and that was only possible after years of routine, practice, and polishing my workflow to the most efficient model possible (which only came with repetition and practice).

Of course, I wouldn't recommend people climb up to that output because it did take its toll on me, I'm actually currently in the middle of burnout from working on Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH] and outputting 60+ full color panels a week, that's not something that a single person is meant to do and now I'm paying the price for doing just that.

But my point is, I'm not where I started - just like everyone else, I had zero clue what I was doing in the beginning, but I stuck with it long enough to finally get to where I wanted to be. This is the same advice I'd give to people trying to write novels, or learn an instrument, or even learn how to draw.

I think the only other thing I can recommend beyond that is finding a support network. Have someone to share your results with, whether it's friends, family members, or other people partaking in your craft online. I'm in several comic creating Discords full of wonderful people who are open to giving me feedback and celebrating when I hit milestones. Think of it like having an accountability buddy - it's a lot easier to pick up new habits when you have someone else there for you to hold accountable and to hold you accountable. At the very least, it helps you feel less alone in that initial suffering of building a new routine from scratch.

It gets easier.

But the hard part is getting started and sticking to it.

And that's not gonna happen with motivation alone. You just gotta pick up your pencil (or whatever tool you're using) and start, even if it's just a little bit at a time. Some progress will make you feel a hell of a lot more motivated than no progress.

[ask-bmc-merms]

Okaaay pinned mod post time!

About me:

I'm MJ. I'm 21. That's kind of it lol

About the au:

The ocean is categorized by two sections: the Shallows and the Deep. Merfolk (merms, as I call them) have evolved differently depending on what part of the ocean they're from. Merms from the surface have a darker range of skin tones (and darker colored eyes) to protect from their constant exposure to the sun, while merms from the deep range more on the fair-skinned/white side with better "night vision" to navigate the impossibly dark Deep.

The Deep is considered much more dangerous than the Shallows, so much so that a lot of merms from the Shallows doubt any other merfolk even live down there. The Shallows, however, are dangerous in their own regard, with sailors and pirates hunting down merms for numerous reasons.

Deep Sea merms don't venture to the Shallows due to old stories and rumors of the population's supposed selfishness when pirates arrive: that it's every merm for themself up their. Of course, this is old rhetoric that no one has ever proven either way, because aside from the invasive humans, Deep Sea merfolk have a high sensitivity to the sun and stay down in their dark environment lit by glowing wildlife.

Sirens are an interesting case, more or less being the middle ground between merfolk from the Shallows and the Deep. Their skintones and eye colors have a much wider range to appear more human OR inhuman/mesmerizing, depending on what lures their victims best. Sirens get around, but stray closer to the Shallows for the obvious purpose of feeding on sailors.

It's said that "everyone has a bit of siren in them," but only those that possess the magic required to lure their victims can truly call themselves such.

Various tags? I guess? (Probably more to be added):

#word of god = any mod posts/lore that isn't delivered by the story/characters themselves

#merm doodles = any doodle dumps/posts that aren't linked to a specific storyline

#merm fanart = any fanart y'all make of this au! I will love you eternally if you make fanart /p

#[character] response = asks answered by that specific character fourth-wall-break style

#guppy era = Flashback posts/posts that take place while the character(s) are younger

#pirates life for me = pirate crew/squip posts

#non ask = merm stuff I made unprompted/without an ask lol

General rules/things to know:

There's no set schedule for when I post; I do have to juggle a job and my own mental health

Asks may be answered out of order of when they were received. This could be bc I'm saving a certain ask for a later time or it requires more time/effort than another

Asks that are overtly sexually explicit will be deleted; while the characters may not be minors IN THIS AU, their origins are of 16/17yo high schoolers and I'd rather not risk it.

That said, LIGHTLY SUGGESTIVE asks have less chance of getting deleted with no explanation. (Be More Chill has plenty of dirty jokes! I'm a fan of the occasional dirty joke! And while that kind of stuff won't translate as well w/ half-fish people, they're definitely less Uncomfy™️ than straight-up explicit asks.)

"How do I know whether or not a suggestive ask is ok?" Fuck around and find out. If it's the kind of joke/remark that could be made in the show, assume it's ok, but don't necessarily expect a serious answer lol

As of making this post (4-26-23) I'm in the process of reblogging all merm stuff currently on main here, and there are a couple of asks that have yet to be answered. Those will be answered on main and then reblogged here, so no need to submit them again here <3 That said, if you have a merm au-specific ask I do suggest that you ask them HERE from this point on just for organization's sake :)

Likewise, asks answered Here will be reblogged to Main as well because that's where this au had its origins.

Edits will be made to this post as needed. Until then, happy scrolling!

[humming-fly]

Okay that optical illusions post keeps going around and reminding me of that one really cool optical illusion artwork that hung on my 6th grade language arts classroom wall in middle school but it is IMPOSSIBLE to find online so I turn to you the internet masses in the off chance even one of you can identify or even recognize the artwork I’m looking for

Description: from memory it was a long rectangular piece with a smooth river surrounded by tall pines in the center, with a glowing orb hovering almost perfectly in the middle of the river right before it fell away into a starry sky. the pine trees on either side of the creek grew up and up into pillars of a cathedral, the ceiling of which crowned the top of the piece

For guidance I have created this generalized layout:

(you can disregard the specific colors especially in the cathedral portions)

if you can find it you will win my adoration and also some random doodle of your choice or w/e i just need to find this art to prove I’m not insane 

[renegadeer]

test tube reads books all the way through in one go no matter the length. she cannot put the book down once she gets started it is Impossible. will walk around doing other shit and eating and getting crumbs on the pages and shit. the books are never annotated she just reads it all the way theough but she retains basically all of the information. she cant multitask books tho, she has to finish one completely before starting another. tt will reread her favorite books multiple times over i bet she has read her favorites like 50+ times all the way through

cabby cannot read books unless the Conditions are perfect she needs to read whwn she is comfortable and she has all her brightly coloured pens and sticky notes and a warm cup of hot chocolate and she has to annotate everything on every single page. she can think about funny line in book and go ahoho i bet that is on page 76 and she will flop there and be correct. cabby lower drawer filled with books she is reading or in the middle of reading. she probably only reads books all the way through once but if she is nogstalgic she will go and reread her favorite chapters

fan writes and highlights directly in his books. no sticky notes but he will draw silly pictures in the margins. he can stop in between chapters but you can tell the book is On his Mind and he will be soo antsy waiting for the next chance he has to read. he gets reread value from going over his little book doodles and stuff. he points out jokes and will go !!!

cabbys books are probably in the best condition. everything is annotated neatly and if you take all the stickynotes and tabs she painstakingly stuck into them its basically a mint condition new book. fan writes and doodles in his books but he doesnt abuse em either. theyre ok. like thrift store kinda books, he doesnt annotate Everything, and things are lightly highlighted, just things he finds fun or important and his doodles are generally light enough to be erased. test tubes books are so fucked up they are dog eared and bent. the corners are muddy from her dropping em everywhere and she has spilt so much coffee and soup on the pages and there are crumbs and chocolate smears and i think cabbby is considering divorcing her over this.

tt can probably read the fastest. like an insane speed. dyslexia does not slow her down she can get the entire plot downloaded into her brain at once. cabby has to read in complete silence or in like. aesthetic slow classical music. on a table w pen in hand so she can Absorb the info. slow reader but its mostly bc shes color coding her sticky notes and her annotations and her characters. if she was just scanning a book to Get the Plot she can do that pretty quickly. fan can read anywhere as well but if he is distracted he will stop even tho he wants to go back to the book. he is a ok speed reader. he doesnt read nearly as fast as tt but he reads faster than cabby most of the time.

if they were gonna discuss the same book it would mostly bc cabby and fan disagreeing on parts of the book like symbolism or shit or like. character morality. meanqhile tt will listen and wait for an opportunity to infodumo about something unrelated that something else in the book reminded her of

[sabo-has-my-heart]

Soulmate Alphabet

A-aging stops at 18 until you find your soulmate (can grow old together)

B-body art, doodles, tattoos, that person draws on themselves appears on soulmate’s skin

C-colors, the world is black and white until you meet soulmate, then see colors

D-Damage done to persons body translates to soulmate’s body

E-ESP, can sense one another’s presences and feel each other’s exact emotions even miles away

F-first words/thoughts soulmate says/thinks written on body

G-Guardian person who saves you from near-death experience is soulmate

H-heartbeats, share the same heartbeat, when one is panicked, shocked, etc. soulmate feels it too

I-identifier, word or symbol which is assigned to your soulmate is somewhere on your body

J-juxtaposition, soulmate exact opposite of you but somehow work

K-keys and locks dispersed to soulmates on chains when born. When in proximity, act as magnets, when key placed in lock, click is heard

L-Last words (angst) soulmate’s last words written on body

M-marks or stains of black somewhere on body, after contact with soulmate, mark fades

N-nurse, soulmate’s touch can heal

O-Opportune outfit, eternally color coordinate, even if they have not met. Often similar patterns in clothes

P-passionflower, a type of flower planted beneath skin, upon meeting soulmate, the flower will sprout through skin and fully blossom as they reach the furthest point in their relationship. When a soulmate passes, the flower on the other withers and dies.

Q-Quizzes revolving around one’s personal aspects, skills and ambitions are given to every person once they turn 18 and results read who soulmate is based off of your collective answers

R-Red string bonds 2 soulmates together for a lifetime and come in varying lengths (can only walk certain distances, sleeping on the edge of bed, etc.

S-songbird, any song a person sings will get stuck in their soulmate's head for the duration they decide to sing it

T-timers set on the wrist of every person at a certain age, slowly counting down until meet soulmate

U-undying, must meet soulmate in order to die, can still age, but won’t die

V-veiled, soulmates must walk through life blind until running into one another by fate and finally gaining sight. Those with no soulmates act as guides

W-writer’s choice, author can pick any

X-free space, person who sent prompt has choice to make up an AU or choose from the list

Y-yellow fellow, colors of vision changes depending on soulmate’s mood (yellow-optimistic, green-envious, blue-upset etc, natural colors become present once soulmates meet)

Z-zzz soulmates first meet each other and share memories in their dreams before meeting each other in person (dreams can be hard to remember)

Extra- (found from various sources online)

Chibi soulmate (See here) (mine are now officially called 'soul sprites' feel free to steal the name as you desire)

Heterochromia 

names/nicknames on body (Fire Fist, Surgeon of Death, etc.)

Two names on either wrist, one soulmate, other enemy

Compass that points to each other (like vivre cards!)

Swap bodies at a certain age

feeling your soulmate’s orgasms

tasting what your soulmate eats

remembering past lives when you touch

impossible to lie to soulmate

having soulmate’s voice as consciousness

time stops for a month when you meet

hearing your soulmate’s thoughts

[pidgydraws]

The way you DRAW yourself.... I'm speechless. I've never seen an artist to draw themselves so much and so cute.

I love it.

I also love your artstyle.

Looking forward to you opening your commissions again.

Keep up the awesome work.

-Biscuit💜

AH~!!! (>/// w///<) thank you so much! you're too sweet! honestly, i especially love making them right now since they let me pretend like i still have colored hair (T w T) when really, i haven't dyed it since early in the pandemic.

i'm so blond! who is this!? lol lol lol

i've been drawing my little doodles since back in 2016 when i first started my blog! i know i passed 400 of them at some point... it could be over 500 by now!? maybe even more!? i can't possibly remember... and the files aren't on this computer. (^ ___^) but they've sure changed a lot over time!

that's the first ever doodle-Pidge! (using my little wacom tablet!)

this one's from early 2018!

and now...

drawing them in color used to feel impossible, but i've gotten a bit faster over time and was finally able to get a screen tablet, which also really helped. i often find it hard to communicate my emotions on the internet? so i love that drawing myself and using the sort of typed language that feels good to me really helps me feel more understood. and if other people enjoy it too, all the better!

as for commissions, i'm hoping to have them open in a month or so. and maybe this time i should make an option for doodles like these??? well, whatever happens (-^ ___^-) thanks for inspiring this little trip down memory lane! 💙

[aphrodisians]

◜     choi  yerim  ,  ciswoman  ,  twenty .     ◞     ┈     through     her     all     -     seeing     crystal     ball,     [     𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝙳     ]     has     her     winking     eye     trained     on     hestia     jones.     the     ever - enigmatic     fifth     year     is     infamous     for     her     righteous     ways,     but     something     new     seems     to     be     weighing     our     resident     au     courant     down.     a     rumor     is     spreading     through     these     ancient     halls     like     fiendfyre,     &     even     their     erudite     face     can't     save     them     from     the     flames.     she     can     try     to     drown     out     their     sorrows     to     the     tune     of     goddess,     but     xana     can't     fix     everything     ⏤     much     less     something     as     grim     as     [     𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝙳     ].     but     ten     points     to     ravenclaw     for     trying.

hey  besties <3  i’m  cc  &  i’m  super  excited  2  be  here!  i’m  writing  your  local  hater,  hestia  jones,  who  i’ve  actually  never  written  before  but  i’m  really  excited  for  her.  anywhomstdve,  i’d  love  to  plot  w  all  of  you  &  i’m  ecstatic  for  this!

⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬.⠀ ⠀

an  accidental  crack  of  a  book  spine  that  echoes  throughout  an  otherwise  silent  library,  never  letting  anything  pass  you  by  –  never  letting  yourself  be  unaware,  unwelcome  surprises  that  you  greet  with  flushed  cheeks  and  clenched  fists,  a  collection  of  skirts  stolen  from  a  mother  that  has  seemed  to  have  forgotten  you,  bruises  forming  next  to  the  scrapes  on  almost - broken  knees,  passing  tears  off  as  just  ‘my  eyes  are  sweating’  &  heavy,  heavy,  bags  underneath  eyes  that  just  never  seem  to  sleep.

⠀ ﹟𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲

birth  name.    jeong  hyun - ae nickname(s)  /  alias(es).    hestia  jones. preferred  name.    hestia  jones,  only  hyun - ae  to  family  +  very  close  friends age  +  dob.    twenty  +  dec.  23 hometown.    belfast,  ireland blood  status.    half  -  blood house.    ravenclaw activities.    fifth  year  prefect,  ravenclaw  chaser,  chess  +  duelling label.    au  courant  –    aware  of  what  is  going  on;  well  informed ethnicity.    korean nationality.    irish gender.    cis  woman pronouns.    she  +  her face  claim.    choi  yerim

⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝.⠀ ⠀

height.    five  feet,  seven  inches  /  170cm tattoos.    none piercings.    earlobes  only scars.    a  two  cm  line  that  lays  horizontally  above  her  left  eyebrow  from  falling  off  her  broomstick  during  her  third  year  at  hogwarts hair.    never  dyed,  meticulously  taken  care  of  but  rarely  styled.  naturally  falls  straight  and  is  often  left  down eyes.    round  and  dark,  accompanied  often  by  dark  bags  underneath  and  an  absence  of  makeup usual  expression.    stressed.  just  like,  if  you  look  at  her  you  can  tell  she’s  going  through  it  (  and  has  been  for  like  the  past  three  years  ),,,  she  needs a  break  but  she  will  not  be  getting  one  <3 distinguishing  features.    cheeks  that  always  seem  to  be  flushed  a  rosy  hue  of  pink,  bags  underneath  her  eyes  that  are  haphazardly  covered  with  fake  glasses or  makeup,  brown  -  hued  hair  that  just  always  falls  correctly

⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀

( + )  positive.    erudite,  bluestocking,  intuitive,  heedful ( - ) negative.    righteous,  hubristic,  zealous,  moralistic natal  chart.    triple  capricorn,  pour  one  out mbti.    istj  -  a,  investigator moral  alignment.    neutral  good godly  parent.    athena languages  spoken.    korean  +  english likes.    quiet  -  the  kind  of quiet  that  comes  only  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  +  in  restricted  access  zones  where  it’s  close  to  silence  (  but  not  quite  ),  victory  in  all  forms,  feeling  appreciated  tbh,  sleeping  but  genuinely  hasn’t  gotten  a  good  night  of  sleep  in  years,  the  color  yellow,  scarves  that  are  long  enough  to  wrap  her  entire  head  <3,  being  a  hater dislikes.    attention  (  though  she  is  overjoyed  /  obsessed  with  winning  ),  losing  -  a  notoriously  sore  loser,  being  out  of  control  in  any  situation  -  even  if  she  can  have  no  humanly  control  over  it,  nail  polish  (  because  she  bites  her  nails  :/  ),  actually  reading  i’ll  be  honest,  staircases quirks.    as  mentioned  above,  bites  her  nails  often,  doodles  when  stressed  (  which  is  all  the  time  )  -  is  halfway  decent  at  it  too  thanks  to  all  of  the  practice,  can  fall  asleep  in  two  seconds  if  given  the  opportunity,  taps  her  foot  a  lot hobbies.    being  a  hater,  being  obnoxious  enough  to  have  attention  (  aka  dramatic  )  n  then  having  the  audacity  to  complain  about  the  stress

⠀ ﹟𝐝𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫

when  he  meets  your  mother,  he  tells  you  it’s  like  the  world  stopped  turning.  she  was  enchanting,  he  says,  like  a  rose  blooming  in  the  dead  of  winter,  a  blossom  of  red  among  a  blanket  of  white  -  and  he  swears  that  he  has  never  loved  anyone  more.  their  romance  is  swift,  a  bouquet  of  flowers  traded  for  an  engagement  ring  and  a  passionate  kiss  exchanged  for  the  start  of  a  family.  your  father  never  says  anything  bad  about  your  mother,  raising  you  on  his  own  with  a  faint  line  on  his  ring  finger.  she  will  be  back  soon,  he  says  with  glazed  eyes  and  love-flushed  cheeks  that  you  seem  to  inherit.  she  will  come  back  soon,  he  tucks  you  in  with  a  faraway  look  on  his  features  and  you  realize  with  a  ceiling  full  of  glow-in-the-dark  stars  that  he  isn’t  okay.  but,  you  hold  his  hand  when  crossing  the  streets  with  you  leading  and  you  let  him  dawdle  about  your  mother  and  you  pat  the  top  of  his  head  when  he  falls  asleep  waiting  for  your  mother.  she’ll  be  back,  he  says,  unaware  that  she  only  visits  when  he’s  not  around.  she  will  come  back  soon,  he  waits  for  her,  a  stranger  in  his  own  body.

you  yearn  for  control  the  way  your  peers  yearn  for  freedom.  freedom,  you  have  enough  of,  but  everything  in  your  life  is  just  out  of  reach.  for  your  entire  childhood,  you  grasp  at  everything  and  nothing,  your  fingers  brushing  past  the  things  you  desire  most.  you  are  a  young  girl  with  magic  in  your  blood,  but  you  watch  from  the  end  of  your  driveway  as  life  seems  to  spin  so  wildly  out  of  control.  your  father  isn’t  okay,  but  you  don’t  understand  why.  your  mother  comes  around  wearing  guilt  like  one  wears  a  birthmark  and  you  can’t  fathom  why.  you  are  left  alone  on  playgrounds  and  with  scrapes  on  your  knees  and  people  whisper  about  you  but  you  don’t  understand  why.  life  goes  on  with  or  without  you,  and  you  think  it  unacceptable.  it’s  infuriating  being  in  the  backseat,  unable  to  control,  unable  to  know.  when  a letter  falls  into  your  hands,  you  swear  to  use  it  to  your  advantage.  you  refuse  to  ever  be  in  the  dark  again.

you  arrive  on  your  own,  a  year  older  than  your  peers,  a  sheltered  girl  from  a  muggle  world  and  you  look  around,  determined  to  change  your  life.  it’s  obvious  to  anyone  early  on  that  you’re  a  bright  girl,  ambition  tied  into  your  intelligence,  potential  pouring  over  every  single  one  of  your  edges.  for  a  while,  it  comes  easily.  you  know  things,  you  understand  things;  most  of  all,  you  learn  how  terribly  things  can  go  wrong.  you  swear  to  never  let  that  happen  to  you,  but  of  course,  life  has  bigger  plans  for  you.  the  first  few  years  fly  by  quick  and  your  hands  build  up  a  reputation  that  you’re  eager  to  upkeep.  you  wipe  the  sweat  off  of  your  palms  onto  your  skirts,  you  might  use  magic  to  make  sure  your  hair  always  looks  good,  you  always  know  the  latest  news,  you  always  pass  your  classes.  then,  you  go  home  during  your  third  year  to  an  empty  house  and  your  father  is gone.

when  you  return  after  the  winter  holidays,  it’s  obvious  that  something  is  -  wrong,  but  you  do  your  thing  and  you  pretend  everything  is  okay.  your  mother  in  all  of  her  magic  and  love  writes  you  a  letter,  telling  you  that  you’ll  be  in  her  care  and  that  only  stresses  you  out  more,  giving  you  gray  hair  and  bags  underneath  your  eyes  that  never  seem  to  away  from  that  point  on.  every  blink  is  heavier  now,  every  sliver  of  information  repeated  as  least  three  more  times,  everything  you  learn  adds  a  little  more  weight  to  your  shoulders.  but  you  soldier  on.  you  become  more  and  more  high  strung,  more  sharp,  more  wretched  with  stress  that  shouldn’t  be  yours  to  shoulder.  you  are  still  an  intelligent  girl,  still  a  bright  witch,  still  gleaming  with  potential;  but  you  almost  permanently  look  like  you’ve  been  handled  an  impossible  task  and  worse,  you  wear  your  flushed  cheeks  almost  as  your  father  did,  a  fact  that  you  dislike  whenever  you  see  yourself  in  the  mirror.

⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

⠀ ⠀  ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ has  a relatively  tough  exterior,  but  wow,  words  hurt  and  hestia  is  a  lot  more  sensitive  than  she  cares  to  admit.  say  one  off  thing  about  her  and  she’ll  be  all  “i  can’t  stand  it  here!”  and  storm  off  angrily,  but  she’s  really  just  gonna  go  cry  in  the  owlery  and  talk  to  the  owls  as  if  they  can  understand  her  through  her  snot  bubbles.

  ⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ is  this  genius  of  a  witch,  right,  but  is  the  messiest  person  ever.  her  area  in  her  dorm  is  just  .  .  .  yeah,  it’s  messy.  she  comes  to  the  library,  throws  seven  books  down,  loses  ten  pages  of  notes;  is  disorganized  and  completely  messy,  but  at  least  she  always  looks  put  together.

  ⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ coming  right  off  of  the  last  one,  because  she  cares  most  about  her  image  +  her  reputation  than  she  does  anything  else,  mostly  because  it’s  all  that  she  thinks  she  has.  so,  yeah,  she  may  be  consistently  stressed  out  and  on  the  brink  of  a  breakdown,  but  at  least  she  looks  GOOD.

  ⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ her  style  is  a  little   .  .  .  amateur,  if  i’m  being  honest. very  season  one  rachel  berry.  always  looks  in  uniform  even  if  she’s  out  of  uniform  and  it’s  because  she  has  no  personality  than  being  a  ravenclaw  prefect  idk  what  you  want  me  to  tell  you.  she  has  never  been  normal  once.

  ⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ i  laugh  and  kid,  but  she’s  genuinely  a  genius.  might  have  a  bit  of  dyslexia,  but  is  just,,,  a  smart  kid.  also  makes  it  her  entire  personality  though,  so  i’m  not  sure  what  to  do  about  that.

 ⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ also,  not  to  be  That  Girl  that’s  so  quirk  n  clumsy,  but  hestia  is  always  injured.  not  gravely,  but  a  scrape  on  her  knee,  a  cut  on  her  cheek,  tape  around  her  fingers,  etc.  etc.  she’s  a  problem,  to  say  the  least,  and  always  hastily  takes  care  of  herself  (  aka,  cleans  it,  leaves  it  ).

 ⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ in  general,  is  a  hater,  but  is  so  STRESSED  from  having  a  #missing  father  that  she’s  just  like  :|  in  every  situation.  i  wouldn’t  call  her  awkward  per  se,  but  she  definitely  just  says  what  she  wants  when  she  wants  cause  there’s  “no  point  in  quieting  myself  for  someone’s  comfort”  idk?

⠀ ⠀ ﹟𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧.⠀ ⠀ in  MY  canon,  hestia  actually  conjures  up  a  fox  patronus,  but  it’s  non  corporeal  for  now  simply  because  she  literally  cannot  focus  long  enough  to  cast  the  charm  correctly  –  in  fact,  a  lot  of  her  magic  has  been  suffering  for  the  past  few  years  due  to  her  stress,  something  that  really  only  stresses  her  out  more  rip  in  pieces.

⠀ ﹟𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝  𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

academic  rival:   personally,  i’d  love  for  someone  who’s  just  naturally  good  at  academia  to  be  her  rival,  like  the  person  who  doesn’t  study  and  “doesn’t  care”  but  always  just  manages  to  beat  her  in  scores;  yeah,  i  think  that’d  be  fun  to  watch  her  spontaneously  combust.

significant  annoyance:  someone  who  really  just  is  the  person  to  tell  hestia  she’s  wound  up  too  tight  all  the  time  and  tries  to  get  her  to  live  her  life,  but  she  just  sees  them  as  someone  who’s  ANNOYING  HER  because  maybe  her  entire  life  is  being  uptight,  ever  think  of  that?  rabastan

quidditch  rival:  because  quidditch  is  really  the  only  time  she  lets  her  hair  down  per  se,  this  rivalry  is  more  friendly  than  it  is  serious like  the  academic  rival,  but  there’s  still  a  lot  of  trash  talk  involved  and  meet  ups  in  the  corridors  to  talk  shit  <3

best  friend:  the  one  person  who  she’s  like  .  .  .  super  grateful  for  because  they’re  always  there,  no  matter  what  she  goes  through  or  does  to  them  through  her  stress  induced  breakdowns.  you  know.  they’re  bffs  and  always  eat  together  and  spend  time  together  n  gossip  together.  eloise

tutee:  someone  that  either  hestia’s  offered  to  help  or  has  been  forced  to  help,  either  way,  she’s  as  strict  as  any  professor  and  takes  her  job  completely  seriously.  as  in,  will  approach  them  in  the  great  hall  and  ask  if  they’ve  done  the  work  they’re  supposed  to  do.

stress  reliever:  imagine  this  -  hestia  comes  up  to  your  muse  and  is  like  we  need  to  talk,  but  they  just  find  a  nice  seat  underneath  one  of  the  archways  and  talk  into  the  night,  they  make  hestia  laugh,  hestia  makes  them  laugh,  they  have  flushed  cheeks  by  the  end  of  it  and  she  doesn’t  speak  to  them  otherwise.  xenophilius 

their  biggest  anti:  ur  muse’s  #1  hater???  hestia  jones  <3  why?  probably  because  they’re  better  than  she  is  and  she’s  a  nightmare  of  a  person  so  it’s  just  her  being  their  biggest  anti,  probably  runs  a  hate  account  dedicated  toward  them  tbh  <3  rodolphus

The  Ex:  you  know.  the  ex.  didn’t  end  the  way  they  wanted  it  to  so  there’s  A  Lot  There.  longing  glances,  awkward  bumps,  lots  of  what-ifs  .  .  .  a  lot  of  sad  headcanons,  a  lot  of  wholesome  headcanons.  yeah

like  family:  just  someone  who  hestia  is  so  comfortable  with  that  it  feels  like  they’re  family.  and  by  family,  i  mean  like  the  kind  to  tackle  her  on  sight  just  for  fun,  the  sort  to  tease  her  and  make  everyone  believe  it’s  her  birthday.  you  know?

also  a  barely  filled  tag  here  n  anything  u  can  possibly  brainstorm  i’d  love  <3  thank  u  love  u 

[leafy-wings]

heres some wips for a viedo i want to make, please give me critiques, there will be longer info iunder the cut. this is a development pic so theres some commentary and split designs im trying to pick thru

quick mspaint doodles, they will be developed “more” in photoshop, but im lookin gfor a more vague style. i like making artistic points a lot, and this will be set during darkstalker times, and primarily NOT about the angst, i want to do a sort of “childrens book” simple style to show how the characters are thinking and feeling, so it plays like sort of a fable

darkstalkers... hard for me, i dont know if i want to make him more blue, or less blue. the frosty underbelly color is nice and makes it easier to tell hes darkstalker plus gives him omre stuff going on with his design, but i do want him to be simple, so i dont have to exert myself much (the videos gonna be like 3 minutes long, even with simple art its a lot to redraw every stupid star on him, yknow). idk if white highlight on the face is better or the blue, the blue doesnt really fit in and i dont like having extra colors when theyre only used for one part, but the white is a bit too striking

and idk which eyes are better, the red is really striking, but i like giving him icewing eyes. i like the eye imagery in all of this, like the sclera vs the pupil.. like how darkstalkers seeing in black and white, like.. against the backdrop of white = bad, black = good, i like.. arctic under the backdrop of seeing good but with having blue-white focus, so he lives in the night kingdom because he loves his nightwing, but hes still focused on himself? and same with fathom where hes got that bad backdrop, hes seeing bad all around him and within him, but he has light focus because he loves his friend and wants them to be better, he loves what he sees. foeslayer is like a love blind fathom, same colors (and to reuse colors sinec it makes art easier)

foeslayer actually is really dark, darker than the other nightwings, because iwant all the nightwings to be a bit more colorful to be easier on the eyes and because i want to emphasize that in this view its all rosey tintey and theyre all their own people tossed into darkstalkers way, but foeslayer is like a dark silhouette haunting him. impossible for him to grasp, and i like the contrast between her dark scales and the protection earring, draws it into view

IDK what color clearsight should be, her eyes are purple so i made her kinda purply-pink, im not in love with her design with the duel heart and star design i think she looks a bit too complex, but its very nice looking. i like the mspaint purple ive used for her eyes, idk if i want to make her spines/horns darker (same for darkstalker, or if i should make his spines white)

for the wings, i dont know if i want to emphasize the webbing (it makes coloring a bit more difficult) but the darker backdrop is really better, and i dont know if i want to go with the moon markings, might make drawing folded wings more difficult. but i REALLY like the blizzard/nightsky imagery for darkstalker and clearsight, where darkstalkers white star markings get thicker and more near his silverline scale like an ice kingdom horizon, and clearsight has the “seer” indicative markings of the four pointed star

fathom is supposed to look like hes got icewing blood in him, with the dark eyes, and i need to make his colors a bit darker and less vibrant, i just was using mspaint colors. i think a good difference between fathom and turtle is that fathom has pale spines from icewing blood while turtle has dark ones from being a seawing, its just a good contrast, plus w the black and white imagery again. albatross’ design is halgf baked and wont be included but i just wanted to feature the eye-mask sort of color marking that fathom got from him

i want arctic to look like shit, i need to emphasize more that he doesnt belong where he is, and i like the imagery potential of having to have him be silhouetted and detailless on the inside from being washed out white. hes flecked with blue because hes imperfect (i like to imagine in icewing society the whitest and cleanest markinged icewings are seen as better) and flecked with black from sand. i think we need to remember more that its implied in wof being separated from your environment will literally make you go insane and neurotic, like arctic is. clinically unwell from the heat

[foxy-exy]

23 + andriel 👀

Bloom (forget me not)

Prompt 23 from here: “No, we’re going to talk about this now.” (and tattoo artist/piercer Andrew AU also came from Syd!!) TW: lots of talk about scars i’ve been mia working on my very-close-to-my-heart and very-long-compared-to-what-i’ve-been-writing-lately aftg big bang fic (WATCH OUT FOR THAT PLZ) but syd hit me w/ tattoo artist/piercer andrew right when my need for just one (1) tattoo and many (MANY) more piercings was highest so here we are (also my aftg server was talking about flower tattoos on jean and i was like oh worm flower tattoos on aftg characters you say??? so they are also partially responsible) also i may have never actually gotten a tattoo before but this is definitely Not How It Works, unrealistic, unprofessional, and general bad clienting but shhh you can also find this fic on my ao3 here!

Andrew’s pencil scratching is the only sound in the parlor — he thinks maybe his phone died an hour ago and with it, his music playlist. He should probably get up and plug it back in.

The cat eyes glare at him from his sketchpad page, though, and he can’t leave the face half finished now. He swings his chair back around to look at the picture on the shop’s computer screen that he’s sketching. God, this cat is ugly. He wouldn’t want this cat as a sleeve, but what the paying client wants, the paying client gets.

He blocks out the nose and jaw, shakes out his aching hand, and glares back at the drawing as he leans back in the chair and shoves the pencil eraser into his mouth to chew on.

“Hey.”

Andrew sends his sketchpad flying and nearly tips his chair over to turn back around. Nobody ever shows up for random walk-ins this early, it’s why he’s usually the only one on the schedule. (They retain more clients when Andrew is not the one who talks to them. Because Andrew is, as Nicky puts it, an asshole.)

Neil Josten stands before him, dressed as plainly as ever in his standard gray sweatshirt and baggy jeans, looking bemused and out of place in the strange context of Andrew’s workplace. He is not a piercings-and-tattoos kind of person. He is a somewhat-friends-with-Kevin-purely-because-they-like-to-yell-about-sports-together-on-Andrew’s-couch kind of person.

“Thanks for not even setting off the door bells,” Andrew says coolly, around a mouthful of pencil eraser, and takes it from his mouth immediately after, because Neil is smiling a little, eyes on it.

“Sorry, I’m pretty quiet.”

“No, you aren’t,” Andrew says, and Neil’s lips twitch again.

He and Neil are distant acquaintances at best. Kevin shares Andrew and Nicky’s apartment for rent purposes as Aaron moved out months ago to live with his girlfriend, but Kevin and Andrew don’t share friend groups. Even so, it is impossible to ignore Neil Josten when he’s worked up and shouting about Kevin’s favorite teams being terrible.

“What are you here for?” Andrew clicks off the cat photo and pulls up their schedule — empty for several hours, until Kevin comes in for an appointment with somebody who wants some script work. He doesn’t know why Neil is here when Kevin isn’t working, they’re the ones who know each other.

“How much for a…a medusa?”

“Fifty.” Andrew eyes him. The uncertainty in his voice is clear, which is…interesting. “I didn’t think you were into piercings, or Kevin would have bullied you into at least three by now.”

Neil doesn’t answer, because his gaze is glued to Andrew’s arms — his shirt sleeves have ridden up to show the patchwork pieces winding their way up his wrists and forearms.

“And…” This comes out more rushed now, clearly the actual reason for the visit, “What about tattoos?”

Andrew pulls back down his sleeves. “Are you asking for pricing? I can’t give you an estimate without any kind of idea of what you’re looking for. Do you even know the style you want? Where you want it?”

Neil drags his eyes back up to meet Andrew’s. “You covered up Kevin’s old tattoos, didn’t you?”

Andrew folds his arms. Enunciates clearly because he’s never been one to beat around the bush. “Are you looking for a tattoo consultation or not?”

“Yes,” says Neil, and his mouth flattens, brows pinching.

“Glad to see you’re so very excited about it,” Andrew deadpans, opens up an appointment entry on the schedule and types in Neil Josten, tattoo consultation: Andrew Minyard. He snatches up his sketchpad and pencil from the ground and curls a finger at Neil to follow.

***

“You don’t have tattoos to cover up,” Andrew says, when Neil tentatively perches on the edge of the lounge seat in the private office. “What do you want?”

Neil tugs at the fraying cuff of his shirt and looks pained. “I just…I don’t know.”

“That really sucks, because you’re paying me to help you figure out specifics on what you want right now.”

“Can you cover up scars,” Neil mumbles, and Andrew freezes. And Neil must pick up on this, because immediately he says, “Never mind. This was a bad idea.”

Andrew catches Neil’s shirt hem before he can completely turn towards the door. “No, we’re going to talk about this now.”

“I changed my mind, it’s okay, don’t tell Kevin, I just thought maybe —”

“I won’t tell Kevin,” Andrew says.

Neil tugs at his hair.

“I can cover up scars,” Andrew says.

Neil looks back at him, and he is very pale.

And then, because Andrew is stupid, “I’ve covered up my own scars.”

Neil’s face does something very complicated, his hands shake a little, and slowly, carefully, Neil sits back down.

***

Neil doesn’t know what he wants, exactly, he says. He says he likes what he’s seen of Andrew’s work, which isn’t all that helpful.

“Abstract,” Andrew says, and Neil shrugs.

“Animals.” Shrug.

“Skulls,” Andrew says, with a hint of impatience.

“Anything,” Neil says.

“You’re my least favorite client.”

“Even that one with the lion back tattoo?” Neil asks, and he is smiling again. Teasing. Andrew knows that Neil was in the house when he was telling Kevin about that client and his ridiculous whining, but he hadn’t realized Neil had been listening.

“Yes, maybe you’ll overtake even him,” Andrew retorts, reaches for the binder sitting in the corner marked Andrew Minyard — full of his past work — and tosses it at Neil. “I can’t work with ‘anything.’ That’s how people get tattoos they regret.”

“I liked Kevin’s black rose,” Neil says, and flips through the book, lingering on a page with more floral designs. “But you do color, too?”

“That is a style I do, yes.” Andrew watches Neil’s fingers trace delicate petals and fights back a curious rush. “Scar tissue can be unpredictable when it comes to holding ink, and it can hurt. But I’ve had experience with it. Do you want something like that?”

“I like these,” Neil says quietly, and Andrew shoves his pencil eraser back into his mouth and turns resolutely back to his sketchpad so he doesn’t have to look at Neil looking at his work.

“Colored flowers,” he says, drumming fingernails against his paper. “Fine. What flowers do you like? Where would this be?”

“Forget-me-not? On my arm?” Again, Neil sounds uncertain, and Andrew turns a glare on him.

“If you want this, you want this. If you’re not sure, I’m not inking an inch of you.”

He decides he hates looking at Neil’s soft smile when he is on its receiving end. This is the first time it’s happened, and he thinks if it happens again, he should check into a hospital for heart palpitations.

“I want it. Here.” Neil rolls up a sleeve, and Andrew clamps his jaw shut as Neil taps a finger to his forearm, covered in circular red puckers of skin and the occasional, familiar raised line of white. Andrew forces himself to lean closer to examine the canvas with clinical detachment, and press his fingers to the skin, measuring.

“This big?”

“Yeah,” Neil says, and that’s that.

***

“Why the hell was Neil on your schedule?” Kevin asks very loudly from the front desk as Andrew lounges across the waiting room couch and doodles blue petals.

“Huh, Kevin, I don’t see how that’s really any of your business,” Andrew says, and scribbles out another draft.

“No, seriously. He’s never wanted anything before. Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Contrary to what your ego says, not everything is about you,” Andrew drawls.

“Neil,” Kevin barks, and Andrew looks up to find Kevin with his phone to his ear. “Why did you come to see Andrew?”

Neil must apparently say something similar to Andrew’s sentiments because Kevin rolls his eyes. “You should have told me that you wanted something. No, I — he didn’t say anything to me. Neil —!” The last part is said to an apparently dead line, because Kevin pulls the phone away with a huff. “I don’t understand why he came to you without saying anything, I’m his tattoo artist friend.”

“Too bad,” Andrew says, and pulls out his own phone when it buzzes.

Thanks, is the simple text from Neil Josten. For not telling him.

Andrew doesn’t reply, but he tucks his phone between his elbows and pretends to ignore the warmth blooming in his chest as he flips the page and starts to shade another forget-me-not.

***

Do you like this? Andrew asks, and attaches a picture of his latest draft.

Almost immediately, the text is marked as Seen, but Neil doesn’t respond for a solid few minutes.

Finally, Andrew locks his phone again, irritated, and shoves away his sketchpad, feeling too jittery to sleep like he should be doing at — he checks the clock — 2 AM.

His phone chimes, and Andrew looks down at It’s perfect and thinks that having such a giant crush on his apartment mate’s probably uninterested friend is maybe really, really bad.

***

“Hey, Andrew.”

Andrew looks up from the fridge. He has been studiously ignoring Neil’s presence on the couch while Kevin chatters to him about the latest hockey wins. But Kevin has disappeared, and Neil remains, and Neil is…looking at him.

“I like it a lot. Like, fuck, really a lot.”

Andrew glares and slams the fridge closed. Neil’s smile only grows wider as Andrew stalks over to the table to deposit whatever leftovers he grabbed (that he most definitely did not look at) onto it.

“So, when are you free to ink me?”

Andrew’s going to die, and Neil Josten saying when are you free to ink me is going to be the cause of death.

“Tomorrow. 10 AM,” he grits out.

“Okay,” Neil says.

***

“Andrew.”

“Shut up.”

“Andrew,” Neil says again, shakily.

“Don’t.”

“Thank you.” Neil stares at the forget-me-not cluster blooming across pinkened skin underneath the plastic wrap, lips parted. Andrew wants to kiss them.

“Oh,” says Neil when he looks up, and Andrew is still too close, and Andrew would usually probably pull back but instead, he dips closer. And Neil would usually probably avoid physical contact like he does with everyone but instead, Neil kisses him back.

“Oh,” Andrew agrees, and starts to turn away, but Neil shifts with him, eyes too intense, and a finger hovers at Andrew’s collar to tug very lightly.

“When would be too soon to ask when you’re free again?”

“Has the tattoo bug bitten you already?” Andrew scoffs, and Neil looks down at his forget-me-not and nods. “You’ll have to schedule an appointment like everybody else. You’re lucky my schedule hasn’t been as booked lately.”

“Okay,” says Neil, and then, “and what about asking when you’re free outside of work?”

Andrew stares at him. “For?”

“What about a repeat of this kind of thing?” Neil gestures between them. “Or…lunch, on me?”

“Lunch, on me,” says Andrew automatically. “You just gave me a lot of money.”

“Okay,” says Neil again, and laughs. “Kevin’s going to be so pissed that he missed all this happening.”

“I don’t see why I have to tell him who I’m kissing,” Andrew says.

“You’ve only done it once.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow and fixes that grievous mistake.

Neil’s answering grin is not soft, just impish, but it does things to Andrew’s heart all the same.

[kanene-yaaay-o-retorno]

Caffeinated drinks, black dots and I should’ve stayed at home

Kanene’s Notes: Heya, heya awesome beans! Howz you are all doing?!

I am very glad that I finally finished this idea dfghjkderty. Shinsou was the second character that my mind screamed that I NEEDED to put in a cat cafe and kjhgtrertyu I think that one is a litol more funny and fluff than hurt/comfort, like the one with Midoriya, but worry not! In the end of the day one more kid is adopted :D

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* That fanfic has Dadzawa and Yamadad and their relatonship can be seen as romantic, if you wish.

* This happens in the same universe as This Fanfic Here and you can also find it on AO3.

* There is passing out due exhaustion, sleep deprivation and cursing, but besides that i don’t think that there are any more warnings. This is more funny and fluff.

* This characters do not belongs to me. They all belongs to the amazing the manga/anime Boku no Hero.

* Something around 2.500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* Tô com preguiça de postar a versão em português brasileiro aaaa! Oh!! If you have an idea for another scenario in this universe, hmu! I would love to hear it !!Thankys so much for reading this. Take care! Drink water! Eat well!! Pet a cute animal today!! And please sleep a bit, okie? <3 Byeioo!~

                         [~*~]

Shinsou blinked for what it felt the fifth time on the last minutes, which was probably the same amount a normal human being was supposed to blink but right now it just felt wrong. He rubbed his stinging eyes again, suppressing another yawn, firm on his purpose to concentrate his brain enough on the task of remembering his order, an almost impossible action by the way a growing headache involved his mind since he woke up.

The teenager focused again on the colorful, full of doodles of paws and whiskers menu, wishing for the first time in nearly two months attending the place that the drinks’ names were objective and direct, and not awful cat puns that made his braincells prefer to combust themselves instead of gathering the necessary information to remind him of the beverage he should ask.

 He squinted his eyes, dots appearing in the air. Hm. Definitely not a good sign. Maybe he should order two of the most caffeinated drinks instead of just one? He stared the menu again, frustration flaming on his veins as the words blurred and lost their signification, dancing together with the café’s lights.

 And it was only 7 AM.

Perhaps he should have stayed home, on the safety of his bed and the darkness of his room. He knew he should have cancelled his training.

 And yet, even thinking about that possibility made Hitoshi’s stomach be consumed by anxious tugs and knots, leaving an unpleasant taste of displeasure on his mouth. His trainings were one of the best moments on his entire week. They were events he would catch himself smiling as he thought about a newest move he learned or how his body seemed to recover quicker from the lessons. Or even how good, how right and free he felt on the gym, tired and sore, in the moment that his mentor nodded, proudness flicking in his eyes.

 … How amazing it felt to look at the mirror and see that same feeling reflected on his own gaze.

 He couldn’t deprive himself of that sensation, even if dealing with the painful consequences of his sleep deprivation and probably a lecture if his mentor caught him was the only other options.

 “Just one more. Just one more person and then I can ask for the strongest caffeinated shit here.” Yeah. This time those cups would be enough to make him endure at least his afternoon classes, he repeated to himself in mumbles. Two cups. Two cups and some minutes petting a cat and he would be ready. He would be ready for the world and society and the whole being a functional human being thing. And then he would get on the metro and nap until he gets home where he would have the real opportunity to properly sleep. Almost there. Just two cups. Two. Two cups.

 Gosh, he probably sounded like Midoriya, mumbling non stop like this. A mental image of the energetic teen looking as tired as Shinsou and drinking coffee as if his life depended on it popped on his brain, leading to a sudden urge to giggle manically take over the purple haired boy, and for the way some other customers eyed him warily he possible vocalized that impulse as well, limbs feeling at the same time too much heavy and too much light.

 He was so fucking tired.

 “Next one!” Loud. So loud. Shinsou obligated his body to step closer, opening his eyes enough to realize that dark spots still painted his vision. Huh. When did he close his eyes, again? “Good morning, little customer! How can I help you today?”

 Hitoshi stared at the figure in front of him, senses slow like he was under water, trying to understand the distorted sentences being directed at him, the dots growing and twinkling. Black dots were supposed to be able to do that?

 The world swayed a bit under his feet. He tried to move his lips but they didn’t obey him.

 “Little customer?” The voice sounded worried, and maybe that is what compelled the boy to take a deep breath, putting all his will in forming word after word when a nauseating wave of tiredness hit him, leading his conscience’s grip in reality weaken.

 “I am going to pass out.”

 And then the world got completely black, his senses disappearing together with a background screech.

 Well, fuck.

 […]

 Yamada had seen a lot of crazy, strange things while working at the cat café.

 As example that one shift when an adult of blue hair, strict pose and clear exhaustion dripping in waterfalls from his form was convinced that he was in a library and fiercely tried to return a book to them, doesn’t taking a ‘no’ as answer until the blond was left stupefied with a book of “The Secrets Hidden in The Bottom of The Ocean” on his arms.

 Or that occasion when a boy with a blank expression wearing Victorian clothes and completely surrounded by crows opened their door, looked from a side to another, stared at the deepest parts of Yamada’s soul, analyzing all his dark fears and secrets before slowly blink and say “Wrong store, my apologies” walking back and calmly ignoring the hissing and battle yowling of dozens of cats and crows.

 Or the day a green haired woman with a kind, calm aura just walked behind the counter completely unphazed by Hizashi and Aizawa’s unbelieved looks, made two healthy snacks, patted their cheeks saying ‘You two need to eat more, dears’ and then disappeared as if nothing had happened.

 However, none of those events ever prepared him for the moment which purple eyes would stare his in an unfocused state, not really looking at anything and a wobbly smirk – if he wasn’t accustomed with Shouta’s grin, he would easily call it ‘creepy’ – would paint his customer’s pale face, the silence ringing alarmingly on his ears.

 “Are you okay, little listener? Do you want to sit for a minute? You look extremely tired.”

 As the words came out of his lips, a spell seemed to break, the other’s face getting even paler, smile falling and eyes widening leaded his body to stumble forward instinctively, something on his guts screaming for him to get ready. A few other customers on the line grumbled in impatience, looking at their watch and protesting. Somewhere, in the deep part of his brain, Yamada wondered why those things only happened when Aizawa was out and no procedures for those kinds of situations were previously discussed on their contract.

 “Hey, guy,” a blonde teenager behind the paralyzed one said, tipping forward in an attempt to catch the other’s expression, his kimono following each move, “are you… here with us?”

 “Little listener?”

 A hesitant poke on his cheeks, two pair of eyes warily watching a third.

 His mouth finally moved.

 “I am going to pass out.” His voice was light, stitched together by certain. His legs trembled under his own weight, body collapsing.

 “You WHAT?” A terrified shriek mixed itself between Hizashi’s words, flying across the whole store.

 “Oh, shi-”

 His blonde client didn’t waste a second before holding the other, arms locking under his armpits in a strange kind of hug, knees weakening with the sudden, unexpected effort, the limp teenager not even flinching with the touch, laying there completely motionless.

 Hizashi blinked, gulping, adrenaline exploding on each one of his fibers, color slightly draining from his own face, a piece of his conscience wishing with all its strength for this to be only a dream. When his eyes opened, everything would be the same.

 He blinked, the deafening silence still crushing the room, one set of black eyes staring at him in confusion and growing panic, another set closed, heavy, dark circles under it.

 Right. He didn’t have time for this.

 So, he blinked again, finding himself in front of them both, pushing his feelings under a mask of a calm, an easy reassuring smile already slipping on his face, crouching to get the legs of his customer, catching the gaze the other and winking, “let’s get him on a more comfortable position, right?”

 A determined nod, quick, careful steps as they both laid the purple haired one on a small couch placed under some shelves, having to gently dislodge three sleeping cats, who hissed in irritation. The voice of Nemuri, attending the rest of the line filling the space and being acknowledged in the back of his mind, serving as a firm ground and helping his muscles to relax, even if just a little bit.

 Hizashi stared the young boy in front of him, looking somewhat peaceful, a bit of color having already returned to his face, soft snores coming out from him.

 … Hitoshi. That is his name, right? He wasn’t a new client, always coming at every fifteen days, always by morning and always caffeinated drinks that only Yamada - on his most delirious moments - ever thought in trying, quick to go to play with any feline who appeared in front of him. Although, he never stayed more than ten minutes, the quiets ‘bye’s he gave to the felines never failing to melt Yamada’s weak, bleeding heart.

 A childish voice pulled him right out of his thoughts.

 “Mom, is he dead?”

A snort escaped his lips before he could help it. Kids.

 “Sir?” The teenager shook a small device with a shiny screen in front of him, the logo of a new rock band he hadn’t a chance to listen to yet on the background “I found his phone, I think we should call his emergency contact…?”

 “Of course! Thank you, little helper!” He ruffles his hair, flashing a smile and thumbs up as his finger quickly clicked on the call button, listening, not trying to show his impatience as it ringed.

 “You’re late.” A tired voice answered him, and Hizashi felt his entire body relax completely, right before the surprise shook its frame, too much pieces clicking together in a puzzle he didn’t even know he was solving.

 “SHOU?”

 [~*~]

 “I am sorry.”

 “You will be writing a formal letter apologizing to Hizashi, Nemuri and to me, our classes will be cancelled for this week and, if I notice you didn’t recover properly on this free time, for the next week as well. I am not going to stand by and watch you running yourself to the ground, damaging your potential because you lack of some sense of self preservation, do I make myself clear?” Shinsou tried to not visibly flinch at his sensei’s words. He almost forgot how much intimidating Aizawa could be when totally serious. They stopped by the Cat Café’s door, the black eyes staring at him.

 “Yes, sir.” He answered, lowering his gaze. Shouta sighed, his worry stopping to come out as harsh and necessary words to materialize itself in the form of him patting the boy’s head, messing his hair for a few seconds before opening the door and getting into the establishment.

 “Good. Now come in, Hizashi has been worried and he won’t stop pestering me until he sees with his own eyes how you are.”

 Hitoshi didn’t had time to question how someone that he just met – if you consider passing out in front of him a proper meeting – could be worried about his well-being when, as the door clicked behind him, an excited screech filled the room, forging the realization that maybe that weird high sound before his faint wasn’t just the ring of his ears.

 “SHINSOU!!” And, in a blink of eyes, the blonde was in front of him, hands on his face, turning it from a side to another, up and downwards, “You look so much better with some color on your face! I am glad that you finally took some necessary rest, huh? Your eyeshadows even got lighter, which, phew, is such a relief! For a very terrifying moment there I almost thought you would be as bad as this guy right here.” Yamada locked his arms around Aizawa’s shoulder, using the time to take a breather and smile, gladly giving the younger some time to process the flow of words thrown at him. “You gave us both quite a scare, kiddo.”

 “I am deeply sorry for inconveniencing you and interrupting your work, Yamada-san.” He bowed, a slight embarrassed blush dusting his cheeks.

 “Just please don’t do that again and you will be fine, little customer.” Hizashi then squinted his eyes on his direction as Hioshi brought himself back to his previous position, shoulders tense and straightened back, much different from his previous more slouched pose. Yamada’s eyes got a few inches wider. “You gave him The Talk!” He turned himself to Shouta, his excited sentence, loud enough to probably making his friend deaf, if the black haired adult wasn’t already used with the other’s attics, previously covering his ears before the outburst.

 His response was a grunt, Aizawa dislodging himself from his touch with scoff and half heartedly mumbles, ignoring the confusion on his pupil’s gaze. “Maybe he looks like that because of your total disregarding of personal space.”

 “Don’t worry,” Hizashi put his hand at the side of his mouth, as if he was confiding Shinsou’s a secret. “He only does that because he is worried about you, too. Don’t let yourself to be fooled by his grumpy façade. He is a mother hen at heart.”

 “I am going to lock you outside and give all your CD’s to the kittens a their new toys.” The other threatened, going behind the balcony and turning the coffee machines on, preparing the store to open. The few cats who were already wandering around the place yowled and meowed in despair, as if the blonde hadn’t feed them fifteen minutes ago and they were starving under the hands of such unloving and uncaring creature. Aizawa crouched and distributed the treats hidden on his pockets for everyone of them, nevertheless. His friend used the distraction to mouth a ‘see?’ at the younger’s direction, eliciting a snicker from him, his body language more relaxed.

 “Feel free to do whatever,” Aizawa proclaimed, not staring at the boy, who felt a flower of warmth blossom on his chest. “Just be sure that all your homework is completed by lunch time or the moment you decide to go. Sushi is probably napping now, but when she wakes up, I will warn you.”

 “But first,” Hizashi clapped, capturing the attention as he walked with a dance on his step to the bakeries, taking two plate on his way. “breakfast! For you both. And that means something substantial and not just a cup of coffee.”

 Shinsou startled from the table he decided to place himself, shaking his head. “Yamada-san, it’s okay, you don’t need to-”

 “Nonsense, nonsense! I want to. Eating breakfast alone is just sooo boring, you know?” Hizashi spun on the place, almost throwing the muffins and breads around as Ochaco used his distraction to attack his shoelaces. “Uravity, stop, I need those.”

“Her name isn’t Uravity.” Shouta appeared again, bringing drinks and yawning, his focus changed to the boy’s. “Better give up. I’ve been fighting against him for years now.”

 “Also, her name is Ochaco Uravity Fluffy Second and you just refuse to call her that because you’re just jealous of how much genius I am.”

 “I refuse to call her that because I care for her sanity.”

 “Lies, lies.”

 Hitoshi snorted, hiding his smirk behind his hand. “I prefer his name better, sensei.”

 Aizawa watched them high five between the cheers of the blonde with an unimpressed expression. “Cheeky brat.”

 “You’re just grumpy because he has a good taste. Friendship ended with Shouta, now Shinsou is my new best friend.”

"I am truly devasted." Aizawa deadpanned, taking a long sip of his beverage, hiding his smirk as Shinsou snorted, Yamada's dramatic wailing in the background.

 And, as the playful bickering engulfed them between the warm food and purrs, Hitoshi decided that maybe losing his weekly training wasn’t so bad if that was what waited for him.  

[rainebowkitty]

Happy Birthday Riddle! <3

IT'S FINALLY TIME! I've been hyped about this for awhile ngl, but let's just get right into a small summary of the piece.

Riddle celebrates his first birthday with friends (for plot convenience, I'm also making this when he first tries a tart. Also, I originally had Che'nya insert cat puns whenever he spoke, but ehhhhhhh I don't think they really fit the piece, soooo yeah. They weren't good either, they were just changing 'you' to 'mew' and such, but whatevs).

“Take a bite now, would you?” 

“Che’nya, no need to rush him.”

Riddle stared at the slice of strawberry tart with a hesitance no kid should a dessert on their birthday. It was a gift, after all. He should be just as grateful for this sweet treat as he was the new stack of books his mother gifted him that he had neatly worked into the countless other organized scriptures on his bookshelf earlier that day. 

“Che’nya’s right,” Riddle nodded slowly as he picked up his silverware. “I… suppose I’m nervous is all.”

“It’s not like your mom can sense when you’re misbehaving,” the cat boy continued, causing Riddle to freeze mid-cut. Was he really that easy to read? 

Of course he was. He was just a boy, yet he had developed years of trust in his mother’s words already. The only flicker of doubt he had in her was the contradictory things his friends would say and do, but it was enough to keep him from arrogantly strutting about as if the name ‘Rosehearts’ were that of a prince. 

For now, anyway. 

“If you don’t want to do this, Riddle-”

“No, I-I didn’t say that, I…” the redhead trailed off as he gritted his teeth in a fit of determination. He jammed his fork into the piece of tart with the grace of an awkward goose, causing a not-so-subtle clang of plate and silver before lifting the utensil up and turning it towards his mouth. He opened then closed his lips around the fork as an overwhelming sweetness danced on his tongue. 

To anyone else, the strawberries covering the top of the tart would’ve more than balanced out the sugary cream just beneath them, but this was a new flavor for Riddle. His taste buds didn’t know how to process the dessert in the slightest, yet it was still so good that he quickly brought the knife back down to the plate to cut off another bite-sized portion. He plopped the new piece into his mouth before he’d finished chewing the last one. This frenzy persisted until there were only crumbs remaining.

“See, I told you he’d like it,” Che’nya elbowed Trey with a wry smile coloring his already flashy features. Trey just smiled as if he knew too, but he was too gentle to force Riddle into anything whether he trusted his intuition or not. 

Trey almost regretted his inability to give Riddle much of a proper push upon seeing how drastically the boy would change whenever the trio happened upon something he hadn’t experienced before and enjoyed. There was always this light in his eyes that wasn’t there before. It’d never last long, especially when early in their friendship, Riddle would sniffle and sob as he mumbled strings of apologies to his mother, careful not to exclude how much of a disgrace he was for breaking the rules. 

~

“I-I n-never should’ve d-done th-this,” Riddle wiped a salty tear from his cheek only for three more to take its place in a neat and orderly line. It was incredible how even Riddle’s tears seemed to follow some sort of pre-planned procedure. 

“But you had fun, no?” The curious cat boy tilted his head as he asked. He was never great with this sappy side of Riddle. He knew he was there simply to convince the impressionable redhead to do things he normally wouldn’t with that buzzard of a mother present, but at least Che’nya had enough sense to be serious when these episodes of Riddle’s occurred. 

“I g-guess,” Riddle hiccupped. “B-but wh-what if w-we’re caught? M-mama will h-hate me and I-I’ll d-deserve it.” 

“That’s not true,” Trey put a hand on the blubbering boy’s shoulder, the redhead jolting a little but not having it in him to push Trey’s hand away. “At least you learned something new, right? Croquet was a pastime of one of the Great Seven.”

“R-really?” Riddle’s lip quivered. He’d heard tales of the Great Seven before and the school they represented. Entry requirements were a mystery, but even his accomplished eyes glazed with innocence dreamed of entry to a school with so many dazzling founders.

“The Queen of Hearts,” Trey nodded before wiping Riddle’s tear stained cheek with his sleeve gently. “In fact, games like this were part of the rules she upheld.”

“A-a Queen built entirely on f-fun,” Riddle wiped his other eye slowly as if the concept were impossible to him. “So sh-she wouldn’t get m-mad at me, even if I’m a-awful at the game?” 

“She wouldn’t,” Trey smiled as he picked up the mallet cast aside in Riddle’s short outburst. “So how about we give it another go?” 

“A-alright. If you’re sure.” 

~

“Thank you both,” Riddle looked up to his friends happily, that light so rarely seen in his eyes lingering there, even as underlying guilt rested in the sheets of silver.

On their way back, the sun only seemed to illuminate them more before the group reached the window in which Riddle always climbed from to join Trey and Che’nya on their daily escapades. The metallic gleam of grey irises dulled at the sight of his room. He climbed into it with a wave and a weak smile to his friends, two boys that represented the freedom he could never fully grasp returning Riddle’s gesture before turning around and walking away back to their happy homes, the redhead watching them was sure.

“I had fun,” he whispers to their backs as they disappeared in the streets.

~

Bonus: 

“I certainly hope you did, because it won’t be happening again,” came a stern voice from the corner of the room. Riddle whipped his head around to the sound with a sharp gasp.

“M-mama? Mama, please, I-I can explain!” 

“Oh, I think you’ve explained quite enough. The cream attached to your bottom lip certainly does tell me exactly what you’ve been up to.”

Riddle could only blink before wiping the remnants of the tart away distractedly, the shirt unluckily enough a darker color that made the white icing stand out harshly on his sleeve.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could squeak out as he pursed his lips so they wouldn’t quiver and so he wouldn’t cry. But it wasn’t enough for her. It never would be, and neither would he.

~

Bonus bonus: aka some doodles of mine :3

Aaaaaaand that's it. Until next year everyone! (Jk I can't pry myself away from making Riddle content. I already have ideas for general hcs of next year's bday for the lil' tyrant, but that's none of my business 👀)

[abyssmail]

Caerul Design Notes,

because I’ve actually put a lot of thought into creating Caerul’s aesthetic and I’m lowkey really proud of it.  I won’t get into her actual character concept/personality/backstory/etc. since this got super long, but this is how/why I made the choices I did with regards to her name and visual design!

▶ Caerul’s color scheme started off way bluer (hence the name “Caerul,” from caeruleus/a/um - “blue”/“cerulean”/“azure”/“of the sky/sea” in Latin) and less saturated, but when I gave her a (dead) twin with a red theme, I wanted them to look more alike and made both of their hair purple (although I haven’t actually done more than sketch Roseus before... he’s got purple hair and red eyes).  Purple’s my favorite color, and unnatural hair colors don’t seem to be uncommon in Orth, so why not, right?   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   The red elements in Caerul’s design are meant to represent her honoring Roseus!

All of the base colors I use when drawing Caerul! They all end up looking a bit darker once they’re shaded though.

▶ As well as shamelessly using one of my favorite Latin words (I’m a Classics major, okay ;;>~>), I also tried to pick a name that sounded similar to the ones that already exist in-universe.  This was actually fairly tricky, since as far as I can tell the names in Made in Abyss have a WIDE variety of influences.  Some of them seem passably Japanese-sounding (Riko, Jiruo, Kiyui, Nanachi) disclaimer I bring dishonor to my ancestors and know 0 Japanese so this is just about vibez, others seem Western-ish (Reg, Nat, Lyza, Prushka).  Some are fairly whimsical (Shiggy, Maruruk, Mitty) while others are more mysterious and fantastic (Any of the White Whistles besides maybe Lyza).  The only common thread I could really settle on was a general fantasy feeling to all of the names.  I tried to capture that nebulous vibe with Caerul’s name, although with something so vague and subjective it’s pretty much impossible to say if I was entirely successful.  I named her siblings afterward with other Latin color words and ended up with a RGB theme lol.

▸ By the way, “Caerul” is pronounced “KAI-rool.”  It rhymes with “Hyrule.”  The ae diphthong makes an “eye” sound in Latin #TheMoreYouKnow

▸ “Caducalae” is a portmanteau of “caducae alae,” literally “falling/doomed/futile wings” in Latin (again), playing off how pointless it is to be able to fly when the Curse of the Abyss is a thing.  Originally, they weren’t supposed to work at all outside of the Abyss, but I decided that was boring for crossovers/other verses so I scrapped it.  I’m not too happy with the name since it doesn’t fit the naming scheme of the canon relics (there is no precedent at all for gratuitous Latin in Made in Abyss, which is a good thing because it’s overused in fantasy, but Latin was the only thing I was good at in high school sooooo... ^^;), but I didn’t like any of my other ideas that much, either.  “Wings of Futility” feels more canon, but it’s also kinda depressing :/

▶ I’ve mentioned before that Caerul’s build is based off of mine for art reference purposes (it’s convenient to just look in the mirror while making the pose I want =w=)b), but another reason she’s so short is that I didn’t have to make the caducalae quite as big since she’s smaller, so she can actually go indoors if she’s careful.

▶ Long hair isn’t super practical with mechanical wings with lots of bits for it to get caught in, but Caerul idolizes Lyza, so I left her hair as long as I could reasonably get away with.

▶ I heavily referenced the canon Made in Abyss character designs for Caerul’s clothing so she would fit into the world, but made some alterations to make everything more personal to her and accommodate for her wings.  In general, I lightened everything up, since she takes a bunch of short, quick trips rather than lengthy expeditions.  Her gloves, for instance, are loosely inspired by the ones we see many delvers wearing in the manga/anime, but are less heavy-duty and are convertible mittens/fingerless gloves for better dexterity with handling letters and such.  

The best close up of the gloves I could find was actually a screenshot of the aftermath Reg & Riko’s orb piercer encounter, but I didn’t want to have to tag this for gore, so you get Lyza ^^; There’s a filter over Caerul here so you can see the glove better which is why she looks kinda washed out :/

▶ Her coat is heavily influenced by Jiruo’s, since he’s the only Moon Whistle we’ve seen in canon.  

yeah, uhhhh, sorry to yoink your style my dude ^^;

▸ Caerul’s has a different color palette, a simpler lapel border, an extra set of outer pockets, and three separate panels in the back that button around her wings so she can put it on! I haven’t drawn it, but her shirt works similarly.  

This is my favorite detail about her design tbh... it’s just really satisfying what a logical solution it is for some reason???  the original doodle is off rotting somewhere in my Modern European History notes, but I tried to recreate it just as sloppily here =w=)b

▶ Caerul’s corset isn’t just a painful fashion choice - it’s actually meant to be a(n admittedly heavily stylized) brace for her back against the weight of her wings.  

▶ Since Caerul can’t wear a backpack with the wings, I had to get creative with storage options for her.  In addition to an undetermined number of pockets on the inside of her coat, I gave her these two pouches on her thighs to carry more stuff.  

I wonder how buff your quads could get carrying a significant amount of weight there...

▸ Messenger bags don’t seem super practical for delving, so I didn’t design a specific one for her to carry all the time, but Caerul does use them on occasion.  Even with that, though, she still has far less carrying capacity than the average delver, which is a problem she has to deal with when carrying out her duties!

▶ The wings/caducalae were by far the most difficult part of designing Caerul, and it took several redesigns over 2+ years before I was finally happy with them.  Their first design was deliberately far simpler in the interest of having to draw them a zillion times, but they ended up clunky and unwieldy looking: 

chonky o~O

▸ The final design is MUCH more of a pain to draw (in fact, a lot of the time I cheat and just copy and paste them from drawings I’ve already done), but I think it looks much sleeker and more “functional”.  

I also got better at making my diagrams look slightly more authentic ;0

▸ I knew I wanted jetpack-style thrusters to be a component of the wings to somewhat justify the shit I wanted Caerul to be able to pull with them (especially to eliminate the need for accounting for the damage landing suddenly could do to her ankles), but incorporating them proved to be one of the biggest problems of the design.  At one point, they were going to have a whole separate attachment point on her back, but I finally just made them an offshoot of the first “joint,” as you can see in the final design.  

A really messy intermediate caducalae sketch.  The weird double pentagon shape was meant to be the part of the relic actually fused to Caerul’s back, but I scrapped that too when I scrapped the separate limbs for the thrusters.

▸ Speaking of the joints, they’re all balls so they can rotate all over and I don’t have to fuss too much about how they move.  Likewise, the frame is metal, but I treat it like it’s kind of flexible, so Caerul can “flex” the wings open and closed.  These wings are hard enough to draw period okay I’m giving myself every excuse to be inconsistent af on purpose.

▸ The caducalae have some “bonus” features that I’ve sketched out, but that Caerul hasn’t unlocked yet, and won’t for a while.  

owo what’s this?

▸ For the wings, I think my biggest inspirations were some of the mechier Cardfight!! Vanguard dragon units (although I don’t remember which cards specifically) and the energy wings on the ninth-generation knightmares in Code Geass R2.

I’ve made a lot of OCs, and since I don’t like to use faceclaims, I’ve done a fair amount of character designing.  I don’t think I’ve ever spent as much time or had as much fun with any of them as I have with Caerul, though!  OCs aren’t always super well accepted in fandom roleplay, but the Made in Abyss community has been super welcoming and I’ve had a blast.  Thanks for listening to me gush about Caerul if you got this far, and thank you to everyone who’s interacted with her!  

The original sketch of Caerul from back in 2017.  How far we’ve come :’D

[musedblues]

Between The Lines

a/n: Here it is! Nothing but pinning and fluff for the much anticipated STL Event! This is my gift for the lovely wonderful @joemazzmatazz​ I really hope you enjoy this, lovie! And I hope that your day is beautiful regardless of this silly little holiday. 💖

w/c: 6k

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was Valentine's day. Usually, you were only excited about the day that followed, when all the chocolates went on sale. But this year your roommate had plans to throw some big ridiculous party. Tilly had been planning this bash for over a month now, and you had agreed to help set up and mingle with mutual friends. But until later tonight, you had far too much more to worry over.

"I've gotta go get Joe from the airport." You sighed, sliding your arms into a thick jacket.

"Oh," Tilly realized with a playful roll of her eyes. You let out a frustrated mewl at her disregard as you scrambled to grab your purse.

"I just don't get it." Tilly continued smirking. "Why are you nervous, again?"

"Because." You hissed. "I've gotta tell him. And I don't want to."

Tilly must have registered the true dread bubbling closer to the forefront of your system; because she slouched closer to the door as you stepped out into the hallway. She said, "You have no reason to be nervous. Trust me."

Oh, but how wrong she was. Since Joe had up and left overseas to film his latest project, you missed him. But you came to realize the magnitude of your feelings for your dear friend smack dab in the middle of a grocery store's freezer section, last month. After spending too long debating on ice cream flavors, you chose cherry, because Joe loved cherry and you loved him. Oh shit. The thought seamlessly pieced itself together in your mind as if it were a fact as clear as any other. You raced home in a panic and spilled your guts to Tilly like she was a priest and you, a dirty sinner. Your roommate helped you through that night, and several more that followed when you regretfully avoided Joe's phone calls. You were afraid of letting your true feelings seep through the phone speaker,  or at all. But time was up. You had agreed to fetch your dear friend from the airport some odd weeks ago, and according to the time on your phone, his flight just landed.

Joe deserved to know how you felt, so why not rip the plaster off right away? He'd be pissed if you kept this from him for too long, and you couldn't act like everything was fine. You knew you had to tell him. You just really didn't want too.

As you slid into the driver seat of your car, you reached toward the visor for the pair of sunglasses you stashed there. From out of nowhere a tiny piece of canary yellow stock paper came fluttering into your lap like confetti.

"Oh, wonderful." You huffed a laugh. It was a note from Joe. He was always stashing these tiny pieces of yellow paper in odd places for you to find later, with silly little sentiments jotted down. This one read:

"You're only a day away!"

He must have left this one before he left to go film.

Some notes Joe left were inside jokes. Some were thank you's for dinner. Some were doodles of dinosaurs and maps. You kept them all in a ball jar on your dresser. But all you could do with the latest note was stash it in your jacket pocket with a frustrated groan as you began to drive off.

It all started the first night you went out to dinner with your hoard of mutual friends, who were the only reason you'd met Joe in the first place. They each left one by one, and soon you and Joe were alone with a basic knowledge of each other's existence, finishing dinner at a six-person table. By the end of the night, you'd exchanged life stories and ended up rambling over the topic of arcade games. You marveled over how fun they seemed growing up, but how you came to understand the sad reality that most arcades were just scams to collect change in disguise. But then Joe brought up some bowling alley he swore had a rigged Pacman machine that spit out tickets that won some above-average prizes. He decided he would invite your group of friends there, next weekend. Then, he exchanged his phone number on a slip of canary yellow stock paper because your phone had died and he left his in the car.

The following weekend you met up with all your friends at that bowling alley. They were shocked to see you'd come out of hiding two weekends in a row, and invited you to pick a team to bowl to the death. But then you locked eyes with Joe, walked past the lanes and headed straight for the arcade in the back. Joe had been right about the rigged Pacman. He showed you how to pause the ghosts by holding down a broken button to cheat. But after racking up mega points, the machine was out of tickets. You both presented this sob story to the jaded arcade prize gatekeeper, who simply did not care. Not like you did, either. Even though you had your eye on a silly looking plush green crocodile from the midlevel prizes; the time you'd spent with Joe was reward enough for you.

He called it a night soon after, leaving you with the few friends who couldn't be stopped from bowling. You joined their team, even though you already felt like you'd won something.

You were at ease that evening as you headed toward the dusty car park.

You notice something was resting against your windshield. You were alarmed enough to wonder if this was one of those trafficking tricks, where a kidnapper left something for you to be distracted by long enough to snatch you. But then you noticed just under your windshield wiper, a canary yellow slip of stock paper. It read:

"Sorry I couldn't win you the alligator you insisted was a crocodile. Hope this will do until next time."

Next to where Joe had left the note, you found a tiny keychain with a neon green frog attached. It wasn't quite the river monster you'd been hoping for, but Joe had left it just for you, alongside a note; the latter of which would become a tradition. You stashed both mementos in your pocket and wondered when you'd see Joe again.

One long year had passed by, and you managed to see Joe at least once a week since those first fateful meetings. You added the frog charm to your keychain.  And every time, without fault, Joe would leave behind a note for you to find.

You spent days accidentally snowed inside each other apartments. He bought you Christmas presents and you took him out for his birthday. You watched terrible movies for fun and wound up alone together even in the midst of your group of friends, who were the reason you'd known Joe at all. You'd seen each other cry and fought over things that did and didn't matter. But it wasn't until he flew across the ocean for a while that you realized exactly why you missed him so much.

Considering the time you'd spent with Joe, practically attached at the hip, your heart sunk at the realization that if anything romantic had been blossoming between you, Joe would have done something about it by now. But you had to tell him how you were feeling, waiting any longer would only complicate things further. So as you pulled up to the airport gates and marched into the waiting area, you practiced a speech in your head one thousand different ways. There was a swarm of people buzzing in different directions hardly paying you any mind, but soon one voice cut through the crowd.

"It's you! It's really you! You haven't aged a day in the hundred years I've been gone!"

You spun toward the sound of Joe's excitable greeting and barely caught a glimpse of his bright smile before he was pulling you into a hug. You couldn't help but laugh as you hugged him back, welcoming the boy home, but selfishly longing to be so much nearer to him all at once. Oh no. This was too weird.

"Welcome back." You grinned as Joe reached for his suitcase once more. He was still smiling that stupidly pleasant smile.

"That's all I get?" He playfully jeered. "No, 'I almost died of boredom without you? '"

A nervous chuckled escaped your throat as Joe started walking toward the sliding doors, right up to your car right outside.

"Uh, actually... I. Well." You began, sheepishly following Joe out of the airport. "I was going to tell you something but we can worry about it later."  You feigned passivity, all the things you practiced to say melting off the page in your mind. That wasn't the plan, but the words were out before you could think of reforming them.

"What? You found someone funnier than me to add cometary to hallmark movies?" Joe quirked a brow.

"Impossible." You assured, opening your back car door so he could lift his luggage inside.  "How was your time?" You scurried to change the subject, not really sure what happened to the plan you'd promised yourself to stick by.

Joe didn't seem to notice your internal battel as he eased into your passenger seat, already rambling about where he'd been and what he'd done. You listened with care, truly interested in knowing what he had to say. But one half of your mind buzzed with worry and confusion while you drove Joe home.

You unlocked his door while he managed his luggage from your car. When Joe made his way inside you remembered the plans you'd made for the rest of the evening. He was apart of the group chat where your roommate birthed the idea for her Valentine's day party. Joe was invited, and one late night over the phone (before you started having this strange crisis) you offered to spend the rest of this afternoon with Joe so he could hitch a ride with you to the party.

"So Tilly's party isn't until nine, now. I promised to pick up Zoey and Lyla  and stop for dinner someplace." You chatted naturally as any other time you'd spoken to Joe. Regardless of your feelings, Joe was still your friend and you had plans. You naturally expected Joe to shrug and agree like he always did when your shared plans became altered. He was standing before you, bright forest colored eyes searching your face as his usually permanent grin began to fade.

"Actually..." Joe frowned, flicking his eyes to the floor then back up to yours. "Well, is it okay if I just meet up with you where you stop for dinner? I kind of need to do something. Alone."

"Oh... sure." You tried to hide the shot through your heart as you processed this. Of course, he wanted to show up alone. Lyla always had a thing for Joe, never one to hold back her lingering stares. Joe was single and it was Valentine's day. And right now, you had to pretend like you couldn't care less.

"Thank you for picking me up, Y/N. Text me where to find you." Joe shifted, dawning a little smile.

"Of course, Joe." You smiled brightly, stepping out of the already opened door.

"I'll see you tonight! And you can tell me whatever it was you mentioned earlier!" Joe promised as you skipped down the steps toward your car.

"It doesn't matter anymore!" You waved a hand, opening the driver door, trying like mad to remain casual. Shit. Why did I say that? You just dug a deeper hole for yourself.

"Oh. Well okay! See you later!" Joe waved from the door, shutting it as your engine started.

Okay... Was it just you and your twisted, jumbled up mind, or was Joe acting weird, too? Maybe he picked up on your vibe and didn't want to spend any more time near you than he had too. You boggled your brain all the way home, wondering why you were such a wimp. When you unlocked your apartment door, Tilly was pinning bright red cartoon hearts across the living room wall.

"Oh." She cocked her head at your arrival as you shut the door behind you. "You're alone."

"He's meeting up with us later, I guess."

"You guess?" Tilly wondered in a curious tone.

"I didn't tell him." You huffed, kicking your shoes off.

"You were supposed to bring him here either way! He said he'd help decorate." Your roommate pouted, nodding toward a box of Valentine-themed tinsel on the sofa.

"This is all a bit ridiculous don't you think?"

Tilly's excuse was that every holiday deserved a party, even the one couples famously spent alone together. You proceeded to help decorate, draping streamers and tossing flower petals in place. Your roommate made 'Love Potion' with peach schnapps, red grapefruit juice, and vodka, while you jammed strawberries onto the side of clear plastic cups.

"I'll be handing these out. Take your pick." Tilly held out a bin full of plastic headbands. Some were pink with cartoon hearts attached to a couple of cheap springs, like an Instagram filter come to life. Others were deep red devil horns covered in glitter. You just rolled your eyes and went on setting up snacks.

"When are you going to tell him?" Tilly asked from across the room as she placed her bin of headgear on a table near the door.

"Oh, you know what?" You raised the pitch of your voice. "I think I'll do it right in the middle of your bangin' Valentine's party." You pointed toward Tilly, as if this idea had just come to you like a message from cupid himself. Tilly let out a dry mocking, "Ha Ha."

"You can break out that Prince vinyl, and I'll stand on the coffee table and rip my own heart out in front of everyone!" You really hoped you sounded more like you were joking, and less like you wanted to cry.

"I'm sure we'd all love a bit of a show. But babe, it's gonna be okay." Tilly softened.

"Isn't it funny how you keep saying that and I keep on feeling the opposite way?" You groaned, abandoning the kitchen past a doorway full of shiny maroon ribbon.

"You have exactly an hour to dress up for seduction!" Tilly comically hollered your way, skipping toward her bedroom.

"You mean confession!" You shouted back, sulking toward your own room. After shutting the door, you unearthed Joe's latest note from your pocket. The one that fell from your visor. How hadn't you found it sooner? Without too much thought, you opened the jar on your dresser where other notes had been collecting and went about getting ready.

You stared into your closet for far too long, almost talking yourself into throwing on a pair of leggings and calling it a day. But then you found an unassuming longsleeved dress, one that was passable in the cut-throat world of party fashion, but somehow remained supremely comfortable. It would do.

Then you hurried to fetch your friends from across town. Zoey and Lyla were dressed in tight velvet and equally as confused when you showed up to their door without Joe. "He's never not with you." Zoey pointed out. "Is he okay?" Lyla worried. This only made your heart hammer despite all your efforts to pretend everything was perfectly fine.

You pulled into a shitty diner because Zoey wanted breakfast for dinner. Both girls were enjoyable company, laughing over memes and telling you their latest gossip. The three of you were nearly through your meals when Joe finally showed up to join the party. He was dressed for the occasion, in a cozy blue sweater and dark jeans. You had to turn and sip your soda to keep from staring. Joe slid into your side of the booth with an arm across the seat, trapping you into his side and unknowingly making your guts twist up. Lyla seemed unusually unassuming. Every time before now, when Joe was in her line of sight, Lyla hardly ever hesitated to throw her self near him. You wondered why the hell everyone was being so insanely weird tonight, but then the thought brought you comfort, hoping you weren't alone in all the unease.

While Zoey and Lyla waited in a long queue to pay, Joe dragged you around the corner to an empty section of the diner. For just a moment, Joe stalled and looked to you with a barely noticeable furrow in his brow. It was as if he had something to say but forgot in a flash. Just when you were about to question Joe's antics, he turned away from you and walked deeper into the unused room. There was a giant, brightly painted claw machine in the corner, stuffed with prizes of the highest caliber.

"I dont have any quarters." You frowned, looking toward your friend. His smirk was back, the one you'd missed seeing all this time. Joe just chuckled, reached into his pocket and stepped up to play the game.

You should have been distracting him with a joke. You should have been saying something. He dragged you all the way back here to be apart of the fun. But all thoughts faded while you kept an eye on your dear friend. Joe was surprisingly good at operating the machine, eyes focused on the claw, fingers moving the control in just the right direction. It was becoming a challenge to keep your lovesick thoughts from burning your skin.

Joe broke out into a celebratory jig when the claw latched onto some plush toy and you laughed all the while, snapping back to reality. Joe retrieved a small plush bear from the prize slot and tossed it your way. You caught the thing without missing a beat, but the action caused your head to clog up all over again.

Luckily, Zoey and Lyla popped around the corner, excited to leave for your roommates long-awaited Valentine's day party. You kept a hold of the claw machine prize while you drove the girls in your car, watching Joe's following close behind.

The party was in full swing by the time you arrived. With the plush bear dangling by its paw from your grasp, you led your crew inside. Past guests who had all already shown up, mostly Tilly's friends. Men with sharp jawlines and nice cologne. Girls in tight dresses, lingerie peeking out from hemlines. And a couple of people you knew, offering hugs and demanding selfies in their matching themed headbands.

Your friends grabbed some from the bin next to the door. Joe chose a headband with cartoon hearts but turned to put it on your head like a crown. All you could do was hope to high heavens that you weren't blushing.

"Snacks in the kitchen. Don't forget to try the 'Love Potion' it's actually pretty good." You shrugged, passing a massive bowl of pink alcohol nestled behind a row of already filled cups. Joe grabbed one as he followed your lead.

"Everyone is in there." You gestured toward the living room entryway, where a group of girls lingered, taking selfies. Zoey and Lyla scurry hand in hand into the dim dance party.

"And you should be too! Nice of you to finally make it." Tilly twirled into your vision, toting an empty tray, her sequined dress sparkling right in your eye.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Joe greeted with a smile. She gave him a half-hearted hug, complaining about running out of finger foods. Your roommate loaded her tray with cups full of candy hearts and dashed back into the room where the party raged on.

The kitchen was empty and quiet now. You reached for a skewer of cherries and plucked one off to eat. A distraction.

"You look really nice. I like this." Joe actually honest to God tugged at the hem of your dress. And somehow, you magically managed to keep from fainting into a puddle.

"Thanks. You too." You shrugged, eating another cherry. You were being weird again. Usually, you'd make a joke or sashay around the kitchen to show off your look. But your feelings were collected in a mess of worried thoughts, and you were being weird. You knew Joe noticed, but if he cared, that didn't show.  He just downed his 'Love Potion' and reached for two wine glasses from the rack near your stove.

"The usual?" He asked in a funny voice, already reaching for the bottles of wine on your counter.

"Of course."

You liked white wine, but not too sweet. He liked red wine, but not too bitter. So you learned one night, to mix them together. Everyone around you practically shrieked in terror, because of etiquette or whatever. But you and Joe eventually figured out the perfect proportion to mix, and he made a show of it every time. You were laughing again, as Joe poured each wine in a separate glass and went on pouring one into the other until he was satisfied. It was like watching a middle schooler at a science fair. He offered you one of the experiments and leaned across the counter to enjoy his own glass.

Then you settled into conversation, like always. He talked about his flight. You bit your tongue. You kept waiting for Joe to mention anything about being occupied earlier. Where he might have gone and why. But he never did. So why did he skip out from you in the middle of the afternoon? And why was he acting like nothing was strange at all? Why was Joe standing in the kitchen with you, instead of flirting with one of Tilly's pretty friends with sparkly devil horned headbands peeking through their silky hair?

Your intrusive thoughts were quieted as Joe asked about you. And somehow you both stared laughing about stupid old jokes, reaching for another love potion and gripping a little tighter to the plush bear in your fist.

When Tilly turned off too many lights and cranked up some tasteless raunchy record, Joe rolled his eyes. You watched him move to the other end of the kitchen, snatching the two bottles of wine, and an unopened box of frosting covered cookies.

"Come on!" He snickered, clearly headed right toward your room. You giggled, pushing yourself from the counter to follow behind him, toward your bedroom.

Usually, when Joe hung out at your flat, you'd had to hide away in your room together often. At first, because Tilly would bring dates home who couldn't keep their hands to themselves far past the living room couch. Later on, because it became a normal and relaxing spot to unwind.

So when you shut and locked the door, to keep any drunken partiers from breaking in, it didn't feel weird. And it wasn't unnatural the way Joe flung himself toward your bed. He reached across the empty blanket-covered space to grab your remote. You ripped off your stupid cartoon heart headband and rested it on the dresser with your plush bear, the same space the jar of notes had taken residence.

Before you knew it, Joe had queued up 10 Things I Hate About You, kicked off his shoes and settled in for one of your favorite stories. Naturally, you floated to his side and tore into the tin of iced cookies, much like any other normal movie night with your friend.

Joe made you screech like a loon, adding his own commentary and laughing too hard to even go on doing so. Maybe it was the wine, but either way, it was paradise. And Joe always made you laugh that hard. Between the sweets and all the wine, You and Joe nearly laughed yourselves sick. When the film cut to the scene where Kat was meant to read her poem, Joe lunged for the remote and clicked pause.

"Okay, name ten things you hate about me, Go!" Joe laughed, laying back and looking up to where you sat cross-legged, sipping some water you'd earlier filled your cup with from your bathroom sink.

"One..." You thought for a second, glancing at the bottle Joe kept a loose clutch on. "That you're hogging all the wine." You laughed, swiping the bottle from his grasp. He gave it up easily, chuckling with you.

"Nine more to go." Joe rose a brow, searching your eyes as you held the wine bottle to your chest. You couldn't think of anything besides the way Joe's eyes peered into yours, how they still seemed so bright in your low lit bedroom. You were suddenly a little too flustered by the sight of Joe laying against your pillows.

"I can't think of anymore." You looked away from Joe's gaze and took a swig of wine right from the bottle.

"I'm sure that's not true," Joe chuckled again, egging you onto listing off the things he did that annoyed you. But you couldn't seem them right now, you couldn't see much of anything past the way your eyes fogged over with a rosy sheen.

"I dont hate you, Joe." There you went again, speaking without thinking and letting your tone reveal more than intended. You hadn't even considered a response before that one came tumbling past your lips, like a half-hearted confession. It was quiet then, with the movie on pause. Even the heavy thrum of music from past your closed-door seemed light-years away.

"What were you going to tell me? Earlier?" Joe asked, propping himself up a little so his eyes could catch yours again.

"Oh uh- no. Nope, not yet. I should probably wait." You decided, feeling vile for admitting you had something to say but holding it hostage all because you were suddenly not at all ready to give up this moment. You figured Joe would catch on to any way you acted trying to hide your feelings, but when you froze up, Joe had yet to call you out. So now you were trapped in feeling too frightened to give any of this up. Say how you felt would ruin all the fun. You didn't want to confess, watch Joe leave and spend the night locked away alone while strangers made out in the hallway outside your door.

Thankfully, Joe didn't push you any further. He just watched you watching him. You knew better than to say another word. But then, Joe shifted. He slid off the side of your bed onto the floor beside you, kneeling with one knee on the ground.

"What the hell are you up to?" You couldn't help but cackle, out of nerves mostly. Joe had that look in his eye, the one he got before telling you a story or showing you something he was proud of.

He reached into his back pocket.a Joe pulled out a pretty velvet wallet. He held it out in front of you.

"I uh... I tried to give this to you at the diner. Unzip." Joe demanded, still holding onto the thing.

You glared suspiciously out of the corner of your eye, taking a beat to try and figure out what this is all about. After setting your bottle of wine on your bedside table,  you did as he said. Inside the wallet was a tiny yellow note.

It read "Happy Valentine's Day" in Joe's writing. Nothing more. Nothing less. It was the first note he'd given you in ages, even though you'd only just found the last one he left, today... This one felt different. Your heart seemed to grow three sizes as you glanced over his holiday greeting once more.

"It always takes you way too long to find my notes. Keep this with you, I'll put them in here for you to find, from now on." Joe explained with a sleepy smile.

"I do." You mocked his kneeling on one knee, ignoring the butterflies multiplying in your belly. Joe's smile was soft as he slowly shifted to sit on the edge of your bed next to you.

"There's something else in there." His voice nearly caught in his throat, it was so quiet. The muffled music from the party outside your door was beating as heavily as your heart inside your chest. Joe was so close to you that you could practically feel him, just far enough away to leave you wishing you really could.

You let those thoughts seep into the back of your mind while you reached into the wallet once more. You pulled out another piece of trimmed stock paper. This note was an unusual shade of tea green, and three words were meticulously scrawled in dark marker.

"I love you."

I love you?

"Joe..."

"I 've had this plan forever, but I started overthinking everything. So I waited till the last minute and I had to go buy more of this paper and I felt really bad about sending you away without earlier any explanation. But I wanted you to have this. It's like a promise. You keep the wallet, I'll keep giving you these notes." Joe gestured toward the gift as you gapped at him. "And also I love you. I know it's a cheesy holiday but it doesn't matter, I couldn't as hold it in any longer and I wanted to do something for you anyway but I didn't wanna freak you out and -"

"That's what I was gonna say. Earlier. I was gonna tell you that I'm in love with you. But then I got scared. I... I never thought you'd. .. " You look back down at the note. His confession.

"Well, I do."

"You really love me?"

"I love you a whole fuckin' lot."

"I love you." You grinned in near disbelief. The irony of this situation was almost unreal. Joe was here, something you'd been so nervous about. If only you could have spoken up at the airport, maybe this day would have gone differently. But a wave of affection washed over you thinking back to Joe's sweet presentation. You wouldn't have wanted this day to have gone differently, after all.

And slowly, you both leaned in. Joe was the first to brush his lips against yours. You pressed yours back with all the care in the world. That must have been enough of a confirmation for Joe, as he moved to cradle your head in his hands while proceeding to part your lips and kiss you like a soldier coming home after too long gone. Your head spun as you registered the way he smelt like fancy cologne and the way his fingertips pressed into your head, pulling your lips closer to his. You thought of nothing but the way he kissed you, warmly and deeply. You lifted a hand to rest on his shoulder. But you couldn't tell if it was because you longed to touch him, or if you needed the extra support from how dizzy his kisses were making you. But they slowed after then and turned into lingering pecks. As you parted ways to catch your breath, you glanced to his gift still in your grasp.

"Thank you for this, Joe." He looked to the wallet you'd fixed your gaze on. "You've got a lot of notes to catch up on, ya know?" Joe had been gone for longer than you allowed yourself to keep track, feeling void grow vaster every day he wasn't around.

"I hope those two will suffice for now," Joe smirked, searching your face. His eyes were still sleepy but they were filled with all kinds of multitudes; flecks of gold and green you'd always wanted to look at a little longer each time your eyes managed to meet his.

"They're the best notes you've ever left me." You beamed, glancing at Joe with a wide smile. Then you were struck with the realization that everything still felt normal. Exceptionally normal. Tilly was right when she warned you not to worry. You rested the wallet on your side table next to a bottle of wine and turned back to throw yourself toward Joe, wrapping him in a hug that was more like a tackle. He laughed at your antics, chuckles dying down when you pressed your lips against his, again. Joe gave you a sweet kiss back before he broke out into quiet laughs once more.

"Were you really gonna lay all that on me at the airport, earlier? Why didn't you? We could have gone viral on Facebook, or something." Joe teased. Yep, still normal.

Even though some shitty pop music still blasted from the living room, you reached for the remote to start the movie over and turned up the volume. The rest of the night faded into some pulsing daydream version of all the things you longed to do with Joe. Lingering touches you'd never let yourself wish for, because you were so sure they'd never come true. Sweet, hot kisses that each lasted a little longer each time you met again after pausing to breathe. You laughed the whole night long, about how you stopped Joe from leaving marks on your neck long enough for you to focus on your favorite part of the movie. You laughed over one of Joe's stupid puns. You muffled your giggles when some drunken party people tried their luck at your locked door handle. You marveled the colors Joe was made up of and he traced every shape of you, with focused eyes and a smile you could have gazed at forever. After the deed was done, and done again, you ended up wearing Joe's sweater, polishing off the last of the wine from the bottle. Joe had somehow found that stupid Valentine's day themed headband (the one with the cartoon hearts) and wore it a little crooked while he snacked on those cookies he'd stolen from the party earlier. He actually ate the last cookie, even as you protested. You were actually kind of hungry, by now.

So once you noted that the music from the living room had been turned off for a while, and noticing the clock on your wall ready somewhere around 2 in the morning, you had no qualms with sneaking to the kitchen for a midnight snack. You collected all the trash you'd accumulated and skipped out of your bedroom door as quiet as a mouse, really hoping some of the fruit skewers were left. There were a couple of guys passed out in the frame of the hallway entry, and you had to maneuver around a few more sleeping beauties in the living room. By the time you rid your arms of two empty wine bottles and an empty tin of cookies, someone else pushed open the kitchen door.

"Holy shit, I thought everyone was asleep." You gasped with a hand on your chest, watching Tilly groggily shuffling toward the refrigerator.

"Fuck!" She cursed weakly. "Someone stole my Gatorade."

"Take one of my coconut smoothies from the back." You shrugged, knowing your roommate only sought to prevent feeling like shite in the morning.

"God, you're an angel." Tilly croaked as you snagged the last skewer of cherries and kiwis from the fruit stained cutting board. Tonight had really turned out in your favor.

"But you look like hell." Tilly went on, shutting the fridge and moving to make her exit. But before she could leave she kept an eye on you while you snacked on the leftover fruit. And the look in your roommate's eye shifted as she gave you a once over.

"Care to explain in explicit detail why you're wearing Joe's sweater?" She asked with a grin and a look in her eye that made you believe the girl would have acted far more excited if she wasn't so partied out.

"You don't need to know everything..." You turned slightly to hide the blush on your cheeks, even in the dark kitchen. But Tilly already knew everything, even what you weren't telling her. "Yet."

After you shared a hardy laugh, Tilly sulked back to her room with one of your favorite smoothies in hand. But not before she said, "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

Of course, she had been right all along. You wondered how Tilly could have been so sure all this time as you walked back to your bedroom. There you found Joe had tidied up the colossal mess you'd made of the sheets and was in the middle of queuing up one of your favorite shows. You performed the ritual of locking the door and throwing yourself on to your bed, and into Joe's arms. He engulfed you in a familiar hold and chuckled as something on the television. As much as you enjoyed being with him, you couldn't get over the fact that he was here with you. You laid next to Joe in the stillness of your bedroom, considering the whirlwind your day had been, reveling in how everything ended up.

You used to only like the day after Valentine's day, when all the chocolates went on sale. It was three in the morning on the fifteenth, and you had a whole lot more too look forward too, now.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

[sassyduckqueen]

30 Days of Lukanette- Missed Connection

Based on Chameleon. Hope you enjoy :)

Also I edited Flavor again and changed it from Ladybug happening to Feast happening instead so in this AU, Ladybug hasn't happened yet.

The ones that have happened Backwarder, Weredad, Bakerix, Startrain, Kwami Buster, Animaestro, Desperda, Chrismaster, Oblivio, The Puppeteer 2, Silencer and the Battle of the Miraculous. Some of these were made into chapters but some of them weren't.

The ones that haven't happened and will be turned into chapters or mentioned are Party Crasher, Reflekdoll, Gamer 2.0, Stormy Weather 2, Ikari Gozen, Time Tagger, Cat Blanc, Ladybug, Oni-Chan and Felix

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"Ok so you know what this one does?" Marinette asked, holding up the green potion. Luka was laid on her bed with Sass curled up on his chest as they talked Miraculous business. She had made some of the power up potions for him and was teaching him what each one did.

"That's the aqua potion," He stated, looking at her. "It gives the kwami the ability to adapt to water so the user can breathe underwater and swim faster then they could naturally,"

"Good," She smiled before holding up the blue one. "This one?"

"Ice right?" He asked, getting a nod off her. "Gives the holder ice skates,"

"And?" She asked but he bit his lip as he thought. She felt herself blush as he looked cute when he did that.

"Immunity to be turned into an ice statue?" He asked.

"I don't think so," She replied. "But it does give you cold resistance so you can survive in extreme cold,"

"Oh cool," He smiled before he realized the unintentional joke as Marinette smiled. "Pun not intended,"

"But accepted," She smiled before holding up the red potion. "This one?"

"That's the fire one I think," He explains. "Similar to the ice one but opposite in effect,"

"Yep and this one does make you fire resistance but we've only needed to use the water and ice ones so far," She explained before holding up the yellow potion.

"That's the psychic one?" He asked, unsure. She shook her head. "Flight?"

"Nope," She replied. "It's the luck potion. It makes the user immunity to any form of luck so if we had a villain that's ability was to curse people with bad luck, we're used this. It can also be used to gain extreme perception if needed,"

"Cool," He smiled as she held up the orange potion. "That's the earth one,"

"Very good," She smiled. "What does it do?"

"Makes it easier to climb trees,"

"And to go through swamps, jungles and subterranean areas as well mountain like areas," She explains. "The costume gains grips on the hand and feet areas so you can climb anything. Also if you can't see in the dark naturally, this potion will allow you to do so,"

"Awesome," Luka grinned.

"Ok. Purple?"

"That's one the flight one right?"

"Yeah," She smiled. "We gain wings as part of it and it also makes it easier for us to be in the sky at extreme heights so no fear of heights and we can breathe as normal. Also friction, air pressure and temperature don't affect us with this potion. Ok last but not least. Pink?"

"Um.... that one's unlimited power up?" He asked before frowning as she shook her head.

"No. It's the psychic potion. Makes us immune to any villain that has psychic abilities but also increases our own nature 'sixth senses'... like your music gift. It's a form of empathy which is a type of psychic ability so if you used this potion, you'd be able to hear people's heart songs more then you already do,"

"That is pretty awesome but I could imagine it would get noisy," He replied, gently stroking Sass's head as Marinette gets up and walks over to her draw.

"So I know Sass really likes cakes so I made him some mini cake slices that I baked the potions into," She smiled, taking out a little box and handing them to Luka. "I've also made some bread for Longg so Ryuko can also use the transformations,"

"Marinette, you're amazing," He smiled, making her blush. "Do you want to go out and get a bite to eat?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," She smiled softly, moving the hair out of her eyes. He smiled and poked Sass lightly in the head.

"I was sleeeping, Luka," The little snake yawned as Tikki giggled before the two kwamis flew up as their owners got their jackets and leave the room.

(***)

Marinette smiled to herself as she entered her classroom before noticing that the seating plan had been arranged. She rose an eyebrow before noticing Alya and Nino sat together and the only seat left was next to Adrien. She felt a stab of pain in her heart before shaking her head and walking up to Alya.

"Hey, Alya," She smiled weakly. "You didn't rearrange the seating plan so I could sit next to Adrien, did you? Cause you know he's dating Kagami and I really think that it would be a bad idea if I sat next to him,"

"Easy there, Marinette. Miss Bustier asked us to rearrange the seating plan so she could have a place in the front. I'm sorry but we had to put you in the back. I hope you don't mind," Alya frowned, making Marinette frown before she whispered to her. "Plus I know you're still hurt over the whole Adrien dating Kagami so you could actually have space to breathe and relax, maybe doodle some designs down without Miss Bustier actually seeing you,"

She winked, clearly thinking it was a good idea.

"I know it must be hard for you to see him in class and all so I figured a bit space might help. I hope you don't mind that you're in the back,"

"Um... no I guess but who's sitting at the front?" She asked, as Miss Bustier came in.

"Good morning, students," Miss Bustier smiled as she walked in. "I assume you all know that Lila is back from her trip to Atua and is back in school again,"

"Hi everyone," Lila smiled, waving as she walked in. Marinette frowned.

"Hi, Lila,"

"Ooh a seat in the front row," She gasped, dramatically. "You all remembered my hearing issue. You're such sweethearts! All of you!"

She threw fake kisses towards everyone as Marinette watched in annoyance.

"You have a hearing problem, Lila?"

"Yes. I suffer from Tinnitus, a constant ringing in my left ear," She stated, coldly. "I've had ever since the sound of an airplane engine burst my eardrum on the run way when I was saving Jagged Stone's lost kitten,"

"Oh, that's so terrible. How did you manage to hear a single thing at Jagged Stone's concert?" Marinette asked. "And doesn't Jagged have a crodile?"

"Now, it is. Yes but it use to be a kitten before he found he was allergic," She replied. "As for a concert, I haven't been to one recently,"

"Really? Because I saw you backstage at his most recent one," She replied but Lila laughed.

"Are you sure it was me?"

"Oh, I'm certain,"

"Oh really?"

"Really," Marinette smiled as Lila glared at her before showing her a clear picture of her, Luka and Jagged that had clearly had Lila in the background. "Weren't you suppose to be in Atau at that point?"

Lila's face almost drained off color before she laughed it off.

"Oh that was this weekend just gone-"

"It was three weeks ago, Lila," Adrien pointed out. "I was also at that gig and I saw you there too,"

"Was it? Oh man I didn't realize," She smiled slyly, playing dumb. "The jag lag must have gotten to me. I'm so sorry, Miss Bustier,"

"That's ok, Lila. These things happen," She smiled, causing Marinette to frown deeply. "Marinette, do you mind taking a seat so I can begin my lesson?"

"Miss Bustier, why do I have to sit in the back?" Marinette sighed, making Miss Bustier frown.

"Do you have trouble with your hearing, Marinette?" She asked, concerned. "We can work around if you do,"

"My eyesight and hearing are good so I'll sit in the back of the class," Adrien piped up. "Marinette, you can sit next to Lila-"

"No!" Both Lila and Marinette gasped, making everyone frown.

"Oh no... my return is causing trouble," Lila sighed. "Maybe I should have just stayed on the other side of the world. If Marinette has an issue too then I should be the one to go sit in the back. It's ok,"

The whole class gasped, looking at Marinette angrily. She sighed in defeat and shook her head.

"I don't actually have any sight or hearing problems..." She mumbled, thinking about her options. She could lie like Lila and make up some story but then she'd be just as bad and it's probably a bad idea for her to sit next to Adrien anyway. It's not like she minded someone sitting next to Adrien but what she did mind was that Lila had lied to the class just so she could sit next to him. Taking a deep breathe, she looked at Miss Bustier. "I'm sorry to disturb your class, Miss. I'll sit at the back,"

With that, she sat down but found herself getting more and more annoyed as Lila intentionally flirted with Adrien, who seemed extremely uncomfortable with it. However, Miss Bustier started her lesson and Marinette's anger went away with it. The rest of the morning was uneventful but soon, Lunch time turned up and Marinette found herself, walking to a table with her food tray. To her annoyance, Lila was getting people to bring her dishes, claiming she couldn't carry them herself due to an injured wrist. What annoyed Marinette even more was most of Kitty Section was been used by her. She pulled Juleka aside.

"Why are you getting her food?"

"Oh, she can't carry it herself," She mumbled, making Marinette frown.

"She's lying, Juleka,"

"W-what? No, she isn't,"

"She is and she's using you," She mumbled, making Juleka frown. "Look, what if I could prove it?"

"Um..."

"She said her wrist is sprained right?" She asked, causing Juleka to nod. Marinette grabbed a napkin. "Hey, Lila. You forgot your napkin,"

She threw it at her and naturally, Lila caught it without hesitation.

"Oh, I didn't realize your wrist had gotten better," Marinette smiled, victorious but Lila realized what she had done.

"Oww," She gasped in a delayed reaction. "Once I was in India, I witnessed someone getting their eye gourded out with the corner of a napkin. If I hadn't caught it, Max would have lost his eye. I didn't have a choice. Owww!"

"That's impossible!" Marinette gasped, getting more annoyed.

"Lila, you saved my eye!" Max gasped.

"Lila's in more pain now because of you," Kim frowned.

"Are you proud of yourself?"

"Don't blame Marinette. She was just trying to give me a napkin," Lila gasped, smiling at her. Marinette had enough at this point. She stood up and stormed out of the dining room before going to bathroom. She took a few deep breathes as she tried to calm down but someone came in.

"Marinette?" Lila's voice instantly grated on her nerves. She faced her as the girl walked over and reached out towards her. "Are you crying?"

"No, I'm not," She snapped, frowning. Lila frowned and withdrew her hand.

"I can sense you don't like me but I don't understand why," She gasped. "We barely know each other,"

Marinette's mind flicked back to when she called her out as Ladybug and to when Lila basically called Luka a loser for been akumatized and that she had a thing for villains. Clearly, Lila thought she could win over Marinette and pretend that didn't happen but Marinette knew her game.

"Don't tell me it's because of this new seating arrangement in class!" Lila gasped, looking upset. Marinette knew it was fake but she had to give credit where it was due. Lila may be a bad person but her acting skill was amazing. Marinette huffed and turned to the side, not wanting to face the trickster. "It is!"

Marinette frowned.

"Of course. You're jealous because I was sitting next to Adrien. You would have given anything to sit there yourself," She replied. "We shouldn't fight over a boy. You and I could be friends. In fact, I could help you with Adrien,"

"You and I will only be friends the day you stop lying, Lila," Marinette replied, facing her. Lila frowned. "Also Adrien has a girlfriend and unlike you, I respect that,"

She gasped, looking shocked at Marientte's words.

"I can't prove it but I know for a fact that you don't have Tinnitus, that your wrist is just fine, that you don't know Prince Ali because you've never even set foot in Achu and despite what you got Alya to write on her blog, Ladybug has never saved your life!" Marinette gasped before pinching her nose. "Honestly, I don't care about the seating plan. I care that you're using everyone and lying through your teeth to look good,"

For a moment, Lila looked shocked but her facade finally dropped and she grinned wickedly.

"I only tell people what they want to hear," She replied, smirking.

"It's called lying!"

"There's nothing you can do about it anyway," Lila stated, calmly. "People can't resist when they hear what they like to hear,"

She walked forward, making Marinette step back.

"If you don't want to be my friend... fine," She smiled wickedly. "But soon, you won't have any friends left at all and trust me, I'll make sure you don't get close to Adrien in class or anywhere. He'll hate you by the time I'm finished. Everyone will,"

She slammed her hands on the wall by Marinette's head and moved in closer.

"You seem a little less dumb then the others so I'll give you one last chance," She threatened. "You're either with me or against me,"

Marinette stared at her in shock and fear as Lila continued.

"You don't have to answer me right away," She smirked. "I'll give you to the end of class today,"

With that, she moved away and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Marinette shaken up from the encounter. She knew Lila was bad but this was a whole different level of wicked then she was use to. Hell, she'd rather face Miracle Queen again. After all Chloe's betrayal came from a place of suffering. Lila just seemed to enjoy hurting and using people. She rushed to the toilet stall and locked the door as Tikki popped out of her bag.

"I thought Chloe was evil but Lila takes the whole cake," She gasped, feeling tears stinging her eyes. "She's like a super villain who doesn't even need a costume,"

"You mustn't let her get to you, Marinette,"

"She threatened me, Tikki," She gasped. "If I don't manage to expose her lies, she'll ruin my life. She'll turn everyone against me,"

She felt her anger build so she hit the wall before she burst into tears. Lila was truly a horrible person.

"Marinette! Look out!" Tikki gasped, making her look up. Her eyes widen in shock as she saw the purple butterfly.

"An akuma!?" She gasped, jumping up as it flew towards her.

"You can resist it, Marinette!" Tikki encouraged. "Hawkmoth's power only effects people who think there's no solution to the problems,"

The butterfly was so close she could feel the flutter of her wings.

"And you always find a solution!" Tikki gasped.

"You're right!" Marinette gasped, smiling before staring at the butterfly. "You won't get me! I'm proud, I'm confident. I'm Marinette!"

The butterfly flew off and Marinette grinned before transforming with Tikki to go after it. She went to go out the door but saw Adrien and gasped, closing the door and looking around. Seeing the air vent, she used her yoyo to open it and climbed up into the vent before heading up to the roof. She crawled out and frowned to herself as she saw Adrien acting completely out of character. He stole Nino's hand and jumped up onto the roof, saying something about been at the effiel tower before leaving the school. Ladybug followed him. She saved a mother and child getting hit from the bus and made her way to the effiel tower. When she got there, she saw Adrien on the edge of the tower, walking across it. She jumped and landed on the edge.

"Adrien!"

"Help me, Ladybug! I'm losing my balance!" He shouted before he misplaced his footing and fell. Ladybug jumped down and rescued him, getting a cheer from the crown. "Oh my princess charming! You saved my life!"

He went to kiss her but she pushed him back and jumped away.

"You're not Adrien!" She gasped, making him grin.

"You're right! I'm Chameleon!" He smirked. "You're getting better at this, Ladybug, which is a good thing. It will make this fight all the more interesting,"

He charged at her, swinging his fists and trying to kiss her. She blocked and fought back, avoiding his attempts. She grabbed him and threw him on the ground before taking the hat and tore it in half. To her surprise, there was no akuma. When she looked down, she saw he had vanished. She jumped up and flew off.

(***)

Ladybug jumped around as she searched for the new villain. So far, she was still alone so she took out a phone and sent a text to Cat, Ryuko and Viperion before she continued to look around.

"Ladybug!" A little boy yelled, making her look at him. "I saw the villain running away,"

He pointed to the merry go round.

"Thanks," She smiled. "Don't stay here, okay? It's dangerous!"

She turned around to face the merry go round, spinning her yoyo but before she could do anything, a woman cried out that she had found her son, making her turn round. The kid jumped at her as if to kiss her but before he could, Cat Noir jumped in front of her taking the kiss. The kid transformed into him as he felt asleep. Chameleon went to grab his ring but she stopped him before he turned to her.

"It's down to you and me, Ladybug!" He shouted before summoning his power. The two of them started to fight but Ladybug got the upper hand and headed to the tower again. She summoned her luck charm and received a shirt. Unsure what to do with it, she wrapped it around her wrist and fought him. She grabbed his baton and broke it but again, it contained nothing. He fought with her more and finally got the upper hand, pinning her down while he tried to kiss her. She pushed back his head and held back his arm but he was pushing against her, getting closer. Before he could kiss her though, a green blurt suddenly knocked into him, throwing him off. "Well, well. Looks we got a snake in the grass,"

"I take it you're not Cat," Viperion asked, dodging the attacks off the villain. He tried to kiss him but Viperion grabbed his arm and twisted it, slamming him against the side of the tower. "And what's with the kissing? Haven't you heard of consent?"

"Viper! Use his cataclysm on the floor here!" Ladybug shouted. Viperion nodded and twisted him around, forcing his hand on the floor. The three of them fell into the bar area. Chameleon jumped up and went to kiss Ladybug but she shoved an oyster on his lips, forcing him to kiss it. The villain looked shocked before he turned into another oyster. Viperion picked it up as they both hear the muffled cries of a girl.

"Well, seems like we have a shellfish villain,"

"Leave the puns to me, Danger Noodle," Cat Noir laughed, jumping down. "I take it they clammed up?"

Ladybug laughed and rolled her eyes before picking up the oyster.

"Anyway, we're not out of the woods yet," Cat Noir stated. "Any idea where the Akumatized object is?"

"I have an idea," Ladybug replied. "Waiter... if you don't mind,"

She handed the oyster and the t-shirt to her and the woman opened it, revealing a black pearl. Ladybug took it inbetween her finger and thumbs.

"Now we can find out what you really look like, Chameleon," She mumbled.

"You'll see," Cat replied. "It's an old acquaintance,"

"I dread to think," Viperion replied before Ladybug broke it and purified the akuma. The oyster turned into Lila to both Viperion and Ladybug's surprise, who seemed confused.

"Lila?!"

"Ladybug?!" She asked, moving back a little.

"At least, now you can say I saved your life for real. Truce?" She asked, holding out her hand. Lila looked at it surprised. Lila sighed and before smiling and shaking her hand.

"Thanks, Ladybug," She replied. "I'd be honored to call you my friend,"

"Yeah? I'm happy to hear that," She smiled. "Some advice. You don't have to lie and pretend to be something you're not. People will like you for just who you are,"

"You have my word, Ladybug," Lila smiled before her eyes flickered to Viperion. "Oh, wow! You're Viperion right? I'm a huge fan! Not that I'm not a fan of you two,"

"It's cool, Lila," Cat Noir smiled. "Danger Noodle, here, is pretty awesome,"

"And has to be else where I'm afraid. It was nice to meet you, Lila," Viperion replied but it wasn't in his usual wise voice. Not that Lila noticed. "Cat, Bug. A pleasure as always,"

With that, he ran off before he jumped down, disappearing. Ladybug's eyes lingered on him for a moment before she turned to Lila as both hers and Cat's miraculouses beeped.

"I'm sorry, Lila. We have to go. Will you be ok?"

"I'll be fine!" She smiled. The two heroes flew off and Lila finally dropped her act as she glared evilly at them. She got up and took the lift down to the ground floor. As she exited, a limo pulled up and the door opened. She rose an eyebrow as it appeared no one was inside it.

"Lila Rossi... I think it's time we met in person, don't you?" Hawkmoth's voice surprised her. She stepped back but her back hit something and she spun round. To her surprise, Mayura was stood there, smirking. "Why do you get in and I'll have you dropped off anyway you want after we've had a talk?"

She looked around before getting into the car. The doors closed and the limo drove off. Luka slipped out from his hiding place and frowned as he sent the photo he took to Marniette before he got on his bike and cycled off, getting back on his shift.

(***)

Marinette frowned to herself as she looked at the picture Luka had sent her. She'd have to look into it as Ladybug but she's not surprised that Hawkmoth had his eyes on Lila. While she was an awful person, she was a gifted actress and liar. They would have to take extra precaution with her. After all, a leopard doesn't change it's spots and while she had given Lila some advice to stop lying, she was doubtful she would. Of course, Lila thought Ladybug believed her so she could use that to her advantage. Nino and Alya came up to her as she closed the picture.

"Thanks for sitting next to me, Alya," She smiled.

"No problem, girl," She grinned. "I'm glad our seating plan's gone back to the way it was. Hey, you doing anything tonight?"

"I'm watching Kitty Section's band practice," Marinette replied. "Do you guys want to come? I can ask Luka,"

"Sure," Alya smiled as Adrien walked down the steps. "Hey, Adrien. Do you want to come and watch Kitty Section's band practice with Kagami?"

"Oh, we can't. My dad actually booked us a table at the Casa Bini," He smiled before waving at them as he gets into the limo. Marinette rose an eyebrow as she looked at it.

"I better go," She smiled. "I'll message you once I've asked Luka,"

"Ok, girl! See you later!" Alya waved, along with Nino. Marinette turned around but found herself face to face with Lila.

"I see you've made your decision, Marinette," She grinned, evilly before leaning in to her. "From now on, you and I are at war. You will lose your friends and wind up all alone. And Adrien will soon be mine,"

"We'll see about that, Lila," Marinette replied, coolly. "For one, Adrien already has a girlfriend and we're just friends,"

With that, Marinette walked away, leaving an angry Lila behind.

(***)

Marinette smiled to herself as she walked onto the boat. Luka was cool with Alya and Nino coming by and the evening was going to be good. She slipped into the kitchen and waved to Anarka, who waved back before she went to the back and knocked on Luka's door.

"Come in," His voice replied and she opened it before going. "Hey, Mari,"

"Hey," She smiled, closing the door. Sass was curled up on top of his drawers, happily snoozing. Luka, himself, was sat on his bed as if he was mediating. She moved over and sat on the edge of the bed but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap before nuzzling his nose against her neck. She giggled and moved her arms around his shoulders. "Comfortable?"

"Um hm," He replied, looking up at her with big, blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Your song is off a little," He replied, making her frown. "Talk to me?"

"I had a rough day at school," She mumbled, looking down. "Lila came back today..."

"Well, that's never good news," He mumbled. "I assume this has something to do with her akuma?"

"It wasn't originally hers," Marinette mumbled, making him frown. "It came for me,"

"What?!" He gasped, looking at her with fear. "Why? What happened?"

"She happened," She muttered, looking down. "First, she convinced everyone to have her sit at the front of the class because of her 'tinnitus', which she claims she got when she rescued Jagged's lost kitten on a runway,"

"Jagged has Fang,"

"I pointed that out but she claimed it was before Fang,"

"He's never had cats," Luka pointed out. She sighed. "Go on,"

"Well, she only wanted to be at the front so she could be next to Adrien. She was flirting with him and he looked so uncomfortable and because of her so called 'tinnitus', I had to sit in the back on my own. If it was genuine I wouldn't care but it's clear it isn't. Anyway, I was fine til Lunch. She was getting other people to get her food for her cause she claimed her wrist was sprained! And people were actually doing it! I tried to show Juleka-"

"Hold up. Juleka was helping her get her lunch?"

"Most of Kitty Section were. Actually, literally the only member who wasn't was you and that's because you weren't there," She replied, making him frown. "Rose is caught up in her lies about Prince Ali. I've heard her promising to put Juleka in touch with a photographer so she can model and Ivan and Melene worship the ground she walks on. Anyway, I chucked her a napkin and she caught it fine, like really quickly. I said her arm must of gotten better and only then did she go oww and then claimed that she had seen someone having their eye gourded out by a napkin in India! A frigging napkin!"

"Well, that seems stupid. People believed this?"

"Yeah and then blamed me for hurting her more!" She huffed. "I ended up going to the bathroom but she followed me and at first, she acted like she didn't do anything wrong but once I revealed that I knew she was a liar, she turned on me. She actually threatened me, Luka! She literally told me that I wouldn't have any friends left at all and that everyone would hate me by the time she's finished,"

At this point, she had tears in her eyes. Luka was silent, which was never a good sign.

"S-she told me I had til the end of the day to make my mind up," She mumbled, trying to control her breathe and wipe away her tears. "At the end of the day, she told me that we are at war and that I'll lose my friends and wind up all alone,"

She sniffed and wiped away the tears that were falling.

"I brushed it off but she really got to me," She mumbled, looking down. "And I'm sure no one will believe me if I tried to tell them about it, apart from you.... Luka?"

She looked at him and almost gasped in shock. His expression could only be described as murderous and he was physically shaking as if trying to control him. He looked like Silencer.

"Luka? Please don't get angry. I didn't mean-"

"You didn't do anything," He stated the words a little too harshly, causing her to frown before his eyes softened. "Sorry. I just hate seeing you upset,"

He cupped her face and wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb before leaning in and pressing his lips softly against hers but before she could kiss back, he pulled away, realizing what he did.

"Sorry," He mumbled, a little calmer. "You should tell a teacher,"

"I don't have any proof that she threatened me and no one will believe me. She has everyone in that school wrapped around her little finger," She mumbled as her phone buzzed. She moved to her jacket and grabbed it, seeing that Alya had text her. "Alya's here,"

"I'm serious,"

"We'll talk about it later ok?" She mumbled. "Besides, I need to talk to you about that picture as well,"

"Alright," He mumbled, looking up at her as she knelt on the bed. He lightly grabbed her hips and moved her so she was laid on her back and he was leaning over her. He linked their fingers together, making her blush. "I have your back,"

"I know," She smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek. He smiled softly before getting up and pulling her up before he grabbed his guitar and headed outside with her. Alya waved at her but to her fear and annoyance, Lila was sat next to her and Nino. She smirked over at Marinette, daring her to do something. She frowned to herself and both her and Luka took deep breathes until Juleka came over and handed her a drink.

"Aww thank you, Juleka," She smiled but her eyes told a different story as she looked around the place before her eyes landed on Luka. "Oh I remember you. You know I still have Bob Roth's number. I really wouldn't mind putting you in contact with him-"

"As I told you last time, no thanks," He replied, making her frown. "I have no interest in working with the guy who tried to steal my work,"

"Your loss," She mumbled, shrugging. "You know this is the first time I've ever been in a boat house. It's so cool and I just love how chilled out you are about the clutter,"

"Is there something wrong with the place?" He suddenly asked, making her look at him as she held out her hand.

"W-what? No," She laughed nervously. "I'm just use to a tidier kind of place. You know I've been to Prince Ali's palace and it's just so immaculate there and I forget that not everyone has that kind of standard,"

"So what you're trying to say is our home is a tip?"

"W-what?! No!" She gasped, laughing again. "It's just kind messy... I don't know how you can live with it is all I'm saying. I couldn't but I'm a clean freak,"

"Well, no one's asking you to stay," He pointed out.

"Luka," Juleka hissed, moving over to him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I get bad vibes from her, Jules," He replied. "Also she just insulted our home,"

"She just said she loves how chilled we are about the clutter,"

"That's called a back handed compliment, Jules," He explained. "It's a clever way to insult without people knowing and what did you think she meant by 'that not everyone has that kind of standard',"

"S-she's my friend..." She muttered, looking down.

"Juleka... you know I'm not just rude to anyone for no reason,"

"She offered to put you in contact with Bob Roth,"

"The man who tried to steal our work," He muttered. "Also she offered before and then proceed to tell me that it would have been easier just to let XY have our music and Marinette's designs and that she was sure his version would have been better,"

"S-she said that?" She frowned before shaking her head. "Let's just get on with the practice,"