#i must choose both butterflies and honey bees

[weavingsilver]

tagged by @rottingpetal 💌

thank you for tagging me <3

coffee or tea | early bird or night owl I chocolate or vanilla | spring or fall | silver or gold | pop or alternative I freckles or dimples | snakes or sharks I mountains or fields I thunder or lightning I egyptian mythology or greek mythology I ivory or scarlet | flute or lyre I opal or diamond | butterflies or honeybees I macarons or eclairs I typewritten or handwritten | secret garden or secret library I rooftop or balcony I spicy or mild | opera or ballet | london or paris I Vincent Van Gogh or Claude Monet | denim or leather I potions or spells | ocean or desert | mermaids or sirens I masquerade ball or cocktail party

i tag @winedark @athinginmotion @perfectday1972 @veilguards @ladyfromshalott 💫

[hhbridgertonau]

16 - Cotillon of Thorns

Not the chapter you're looking for? Check the Masterlist!

The wedding was, by definition, romantic. It was a small and intimate ceremony in the chapel of St. John, with only their immediate families in attendance. Bouquets of white lilies and roses lined the pews, and white ribbons hung from the wooden beams of the ceiling, almost acting like curtains over the altar.

It was dream-like seeing Gab stand there, waiting for her. His hair had been combed and slicked back, with his suit fitting perfectly square on his broad shoulders. Daleon would have wished to say she floated on air knowing that she married the man who truly held her affections, but with the circumstances clouding over her head, all she felt in the moment of exchanging vows was solemnity. Gab looked gently into her eyes when they exchanged rings, and held her hand as the parishioner announced them husband and wife. Her first kiss as Daleon Driscol was chaste, simple, and tender. Yet, she did not feel any sort of euphoric jubilation from it. In fact, she felt nothing. Try as she could, she could not read Gab’s face, and the defeated sigh he let out only reminded her of her place as his wife by circumstance.

She was a fool to believe that any of this would have ended happily.

The reception at the Morningstar estate was different. It was perhaps the liveliest their home had ever been. The music and clinking of glasses filled her ears and overwhelmed her. The whirlwind of guests approached her and Gab like bees to honey, offering their congratulations with such enthusiasm - it was as if the scandal never happened.

“The ton truly has a small mind,” Gab mumbled to her after they finished a few more congratulatory greetings. “I am glad we will be leaving them soon.”

She offered him a faint smile, before looking a little further out, watching Dancel and Roush talk with other guests. Ergon was nowhere to be found.

In a few hours' time, she would be leaving this world behind and stepping into a new one. She did not know how to say a proper goodbye, or if she should say one at all. She could always return to visit, and this would always be her home, but it felt strange to have her horizons suddenly broaden. There was excitement and fear, and most notably, a husband to love and cherish. If only the butterflies in her chest gave her some reassurance.

“We should dance,” said Gab.

She did not feel like dancing. “Might I freshen up first?”

Excusing herself from her husband’s side, she pushed past a few party goers and up to the second floor, retreating to the familiar pink pastels of her own room. A great number of her things had already been moved, and the knowledge made her heart sink. She sat on the loveseat at the foot of her bed and heaved a sigh. Nothing had gone to plan - and she felt oddly sick.

“Daleon?”

Dancel stood in the doorway. He must have followed her. “It is unlike you to be away from your adoring public.”

“I thought I’d be happier,” she admitted. “But I only feel…frightened.”

Dancel took her hand and sat beside her. He gently massaged her knuckles as he spoke. “Love is more than a feeling,” he said. “And it’s not like the books and poems I used to read to you as a child. There are hardships and pains too terrifying to name, and in the darkest moments, hope will feel fleeting and fear will consume you. Love overcomes all of those - but only if you choose it.”

His eyes spoke of great sorrow and longing, one Daleon only remembered from her childhood. She took his hand and held it to her cheek, engraving the warmth of it into her skin. “I will miss your wisdom, Dancel.”

He sighed. “There are many things I wish I could have taught you both. But wisdom is not taught, it is earned. One day you will earn it, with your husband and eventually, your children.”

“Do you think I will make a good wife to him?”

“You are a Morningstar.” He smiled. “You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.”

The reception ended without a single dance from the newlyweds. Despite their weariness, Gab expected them to depart before the sun set. Both families stood outside, saying their farewells as servants loaded the couple’s trunks into the carriage.

Daleon held out her arms, and Ergon came to her embrace. Strangely, she thought it would be the last time they would ever embrace each other this way.

Ergon’s hold tightened. “I still wish you would not leave.”

She pulled herself away to look at him. She cupped his cheeks, rubbing them with her thumbs. “We are twins,” she said, proudly. “No matter time or distance, our love is stronger than most.” She kissed his forehead, and held him a little longer.

“Don’t get in too much trouble when I’m gone,” she said almost as a tease.

“I will be leaving soon.”

“What do you mean?”

Ergon shrugged. “Since you’re leaving, I need to think about some things. I cannot think here.”

She looked to Dancel, and it was clear in the man’s gaze that he knew this would happen.

“Ergon—“

“Go,” he said. “It is time I decide for myself as well.”

Gab called her into the carriage. She was reluctant to part with Ergon now, but it was he who escorted her into the carriage, planting one final kiss on her cheek. As they drove away, Daleon craned her neck to look through the window. She saw Ergon standing on the road, watching her as they left. She waved to him, but she was sure he did not see her.

They were out of London in an hour. While the carriage ride was altogether bumpy, the clopping of the horse’s hooves, the creaking and clicking of the wheels and the occasional lurch of belongings were the only sounds they heard. Soon, brick-faced buildings began to diminish in view, as the roads made way for the sprawling countryside with meadows and the smell of wet grass.

Gab was quiet, and she was unsettled. She imagined she would have plenty of things to talk about to her husband, but knowing her husband was Gabriel Driscol put things in perspective. She chewed the inside of her lip trying to think of something to say, as it seemed he was not interested in conversation. It was very like him. Had she given them the chance to court properly, had she truly been righteous with her advancements or intentions, would things have been different? She could only wonder now - her marriage with him had only begun, yet it felt as if the seams were beginning to rip themselves apart.

“What is Edengrove like, your grace?” She broke the silence at last.

Gab cleared his throat. “It’s not too different from the duchy Dancel holds. I mainly see to a town nearby, though it is not as advanced as London.”

“Will you show me once we arrive?”

He took her hand, petted it, and said, "In time. First, I would like you to see where you will stay for the week.”

The week. So he was already convinced that she would leave him? No. He wanted her to leave was the more likely scenario. That was the arrangement they agreed upon. She squeezed his hand. He did not return the gesture, but neither did he let go.

They reached the inn by nightfall. Gab ordered separate rooms for them, much to Daleon’s surprise. She did not comment on the fact, and allowed her to be shown to her room across his to wait for supper. By then, she did not feel like eating. She shed off her coat and shawl, and checked herself in the mirror. For someone who was just married, the bags under her eyes made her look awful.

It could have been worse. She could have been abandoned, divorced, or returned like a damaged good. But who was she to think of such things? Gab was a good man, if not decent. His character was the epitome of nobility, and she would be provided for. But she could barely hold her tears as she changed into her night gown. She did not like the face in the mirror - even her reflection looked as if she was taking pity on her.

She moved to the bed, pushing her back right against the pillows. She brought her knees up to her chest. Her mind was in a daze. Helpless. That’s what she felt. Utterly helpless to the circumstances she caused. One week. She’d only have to put up with it for one week. But could she bear it? And when that week passed, what then? She could go back to London, but she knew deep in her heart she would still long for Gab. She didn’t want to go away, but she did not know if she could stay.

“Daleon?” Gab knocked twice. “Are you there?”

She thought not to answer him, but it would have been rude. “Just a moment,” her throat was hoarse and her voice cracked when she spoke.

“I’m coming in.”

Panicked, she threw the covers of the bed over her. What kind of face was he making now? She wondered.

“Daleon, you’re not a child.”

“I know.”

She felt the mattress beneath her dip. “Tell me what troubles you.”

She did not answer. She could tell he was only trying to be gentle. “Do you wish to be back in London?” he asked.

She shook her head. She did not know if he could see. “I don’t want our marriage to be like this.”

A sigh. “It was not supposed to end this way. You know that.”

She pressed on. “I know you think of me as simple and naive, far from the wife you envisioned, if you’ve even envisioned one at all.”

“You are correct,” he said. “I have not even a glimmer of an idea of who I wish my wife to be. But you are my wife now, creating ideals will only distract me.”

“But what if I end up not being the wife you want?” She felt her face getting hot. “I don’t care for the shame or the questions that come with it. I’d only feel terrible if I didn’t make you happy. More than anything I…“

She broke into sobs, and began to feel the covers slipping away from her, revealing her sorry state to Gab. She buried her face in her knees, wrapping her arms around them as if to encase herself. “You cannot possibly comprehend how agonizing it was to watch you from afar, only wanting, desperately, to be near you.”

She told him about Tomo calling on her after they were engaged. “I could not see myself marrying Tomo. I would have spent the rest of my life dreaming of you. I can only be sorry for all of this.”

Another sigh, longer this time. “You have been very troublesome - waltzing into my life, developing feelings for me. Getting us into this mess. You are soft.”

“I don’t understand you,” she cried. “One minute you treat me with such kindness, saying the most romantic things in front of the king himself, the next it is as if I do not exist—“

“Because I too am afraid!”

She heard Gab raise his voice before, but knowing it was directed at her made her flinch. Her heart caught in her throat. She blinked her tears away, and she could see clearly the way his cheeks were dusted red, and his hands curled into trembling fists.

“I’m afraid of you, and all that you are. I may be unable to confess that I have feelings for you the same way you claim to have feelings for me. But the last thing *I* want is for a lady of your caliber to be unhappy. I do not want to fail.”

She held her head up and looked at him through her tear-stained eyes. “Then let me stay with you. I promise I won’t be a burden to you, so please don’t push me away.”

His expression softened as he held out his hand. She took it almost instantly. She was brought to his side, and soon, she felt her tears being brushed away. She looked into his eyes, and attempted to read them, but she could only see her own reflection in the darkened pools of blue.

Then he kissed her. Daleon closed her eyes, only wanting to feel more and more of him. It was close to the kind of kiss she dreamed of, and much better than their first kiss. Gab pulled away suddenly, panting.

“Gab?”

“Apologies, I’m—“ He pressed a hand to his face, trying to cover the evident red on his cheeks. “I’m a little light headed.”

Something about his face turning red as a tomato after a romantic declaration of some kind was quite charming to Daleon. But she would have been daft to not notice. It dawned on her then. “Gabriel, could it be you are embarrassed by my affection for you?”

His face turned redder.

She tried not to smile. “Do you dislike it?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“It is common for a husband and wife to be physically affectionate.” She waited for his proper answer. “I am not opposed to it.”

So he was simply shy.

“Then I shall be plain: I would like to be kissed, your grace. And I would very much like to kiss you.”

His eye twitched. “You should not demand such shameless things so openly. What if someone else were to hear of them?” he said, yet he did not look away from her. Nor did he try to distance himself when Daleon leaned closer and closer to him. She felt his trembling breath on her face.

“Then am I not most fortunate to have you as my husband?”

“You tread dangerous waters, Lady Driscol.”

Their lips met, and she could not help but sigh. They almost seemed to melt into each other. She felt Gab’s arms wrap around her and pull her even closer to him, crushing their chests together. They did not seem to care, not until Gab pulled away again, out of breath, like he had nearly drowned. Daleon took in every shaking breath, rubbing his arms and shoulders to soothe him. There was an odd sense of victory rising in her, knowing that she could be the only one to get such a darling reaction out of him.

“We should retire for the evening,” she said.

“Yes,”

“Will you stay with me?”

There was a flicker of hesitance, and then a nod. She tucked herself in while waiting for Gab to take off his boots, before slipping between the sheets with her. They lay on their sides, staring at each other, for God knew how long until the light died on the hearth and the last candle had dimmed significantly, that all they could see were the shadows of their face. Daleon began to feel drowsy, the weight of sleep calling her. The same seemed to be for Gab. She reached out a hand to brush his cheek, and his eyes fluttered close as she touched him. She wished she could ask what he was thinking about.

“Come here,” she whispered. And come to her, he did. They were closer now, close enough to feel each other’s air and smell each other’s scent. She loved it. She loved him. She dared to kiss him again. Gab did not flinch or pull away. He sighed, finally relaxing after the long and rather eventful day they had. She wished to stare at that peaceful face until the sun rose, but sleep soon came to her as it did him.

That night, she fell into a dreamless sleep. As far as she knew, all her dreams were right beside her - and for once, she felt a tinge of excitement for the days to come.

[pamgkrthwrites]

Flame of Healing | EraserMic x Reader | Chapter 5 - Back Off

Masterlist | AO3

Warnings: Angst, crying, reveal, shouting, soulmate au

Word Count: 2064 

Taglist: @stargazingaloneatnight​

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. The image below is of one of the character mentioned in today’s chapter. Be warned, Shouta yells at reader in this chapter.

Cover by @pamgkrthart​

The week had passed slowly. Tuesday, Shouta came in to get paperwork from you so his agency could report it correctly, Wednesday came and many people were celebrating Hizashi’s birthday and on Thursday, Ms Joke saw you in the morning and was teasing you about your chose to avoid your Soulmates.

But today,

Today was Friday.

Which meant the Anti-Soulmate group meetings.

The group was named Heart’s Desire for Wronged Souls. Its leader was a man who divorced his soulmate who he was three kids with for an older woman who rejected her soulmate. The group is a mix of many things, counselling for soulless, counselling for rejecting soulmates, parties, get to gathers, and the main event, dating centre for “wanting souls”. 

They started to label people who rejected their soulmates as “rejects”, and started to be rejected by people around them.

You were more than glad Ms Joke didn’t go around confessing what she found out about you, and that all she did was simple teasing.

But you were happy the day was done and sighed in relief as you closed your apartment door, dropping your bags to the floor. You crash onto your couch and let out all the stress in your back with your quirk.

“Time for some stress release.” You sighed as you got yourself ready for that afternoon of fun activities.

---

Shouta and Hizashi eyed the building from one across the road, watching and counting everyone who entered. Shouta tried to make himself fancy looking and Hizahi tried his best to not look like himself.

“I like it when your hair is tied back, Shou.” Hizashi flirt as he watched his partner.

“Get back to work, ‘Zashi.” Shouta shushed him as he continued to watch the people down below.

Hizashi puffed as he leaned onto the wall and watched. “Why did we get assigned to do this mission? Don’t they know I am the last hero who would want to do it.”

“Which is probably why they chose you. You had your 21st the other day so the doubt that I’m not your soulmate might be there. It could also be you don’t like me and have doubts about the relationship but as a Pro Hero you have to keep up the idea you are happy with me-”

“Shou stop please you’re concerning me.”

“What if that’s why we haven’t met her yet, Hizashi?” Shouta turned to Hozashi. “She must have seen you at the very least name us as soulmates and figured it out, yet she hasn’t come looking? What could possibly be the reason-”

“Shouta shut up.”

“Hizashi I-”

“No look!” Hizashi grabbed Shouta’s face and made him turn to look at a girl walking towards the building.

“What on earth is she doing here?” Shouta asked he stared down at the girl walking into the building.

“Why is M/N L/N here?”

---

“Chase Saito!” You greeted the young man.

Chase Saito was the son of the founding member. Even tho he was 24 he already had built a massage medical Company that sold to Japan, China, Korea and Australia. 

Chase and you had on and off flirty relationship. He seemed to always start them and you would end them if he got too creepy. He was respectful when he crossed the line and would back off until you were okay with him again.

You two may not have clicked all the time but the small relationship you two had would work out with effect. 

“L/N!” He smiled as he walked over to you in a fancy suit. “I saw you on the news healing that hero! I didn’t know your quirk could do that.”

His voice was like honey to the ears, sweet and smooth that attracted bees and butterflies, yet also wasps and flies.

The reason for that effect on people was his Quirk, Ease. He can ease people around him, making them calm. He was easy to be around, and only after you walked away did you realise how sticky and annoying he can be, just like honey.

Annoying people aren’t bad to be around, they just had moments, moment about them they didn’t know about or couldn’t change about themselves. Sometimes they were too much and you can stay away and they are usually respectful about it, sadly because it has happened to them so much.

Chase may have been annoying sometimes, but he was a good person, and he goes towards those people as well. He always called people by their last name in public, that’s what he had to do as a public figure. He didn’t mind people calling him by his first name. He spent half his life in England so he used to it.

“If I had known you had a healing quirk I would have used my quirk to convince you to join me!” He smiled brightly as he made his way over to you and a respectful distance away.

“Ha, yeah. I don’t like advertising my quirk.” You blushed in embarrassment. “People used me during my childhood for having a regeneration quirk.”

He looked shocked at your response. You didn’t really talk about your childhood to him or anyone there.

“Oh, I’m so sorry about that.” He said with full honesty. “Your quirk is designed to be used by others but that doesn’t mean people have the right to use you as an object.”

You felt small at that moment.

You don’t know what you feel.

Happiness or grief.

Oboro said something similar when he first started to get to know you too.

This wasn’t Oboro in front of you though, this was someone else.

Someone who even fully understood staying away from one’s soulmate.

His short honey-orange hair shaping his face defining his features. You look Chase deeply into his dark green eyes. They reminded you of Hizashi-

Your blood turns cold once that names crosses you.

Even In a place like this, you can’t avoid the bitter truth.

Chase noticed the changes in your face and wore a worried face.

“Hey, are you-?”

Hands grip you by both shoulders and pull you away from Chase.

“Are you harassing her, reject?!”

Everyone goes dead silent and you feel anger rise within you.

“What the fuck you say?” You snap your head to the tall man.

To say you were shocked to see Shouta glaring down at Chase would be an understatement. 

Where his hands where on you burnt your skin. You wanted to fall into his body and wrap your arms around him. Looking up at him trying to protect you gave you butterflies and pushed a blush onto your checks.

So forcefully pushing him off of you with harshness not just hurt him, but hurt you, and the way he looked down at you with shock also hurt.

“Chase isn’t harassing me, Asshole!” You yelled at him. “You’re just being a dickhead who wants to shame us for not choosing our soulmates!”

The shock and hurt on his face hurt you. It hurt knowing you were hurting him.

Why was he wearing a fancy suit.

You felt your eyes burn as you held your ground, seeing him hurt.

You wanted to cry.

You needed to leave.

You rushed passed Shouta and headed towards the exit fast.

“M/N! Please wait!” Shouta spoke and went to move to go after you.

“M/N?” Chase said softly. “But her name is Y/N…”

Chase may have spoken softly, but Shouta still heard him and froze.

Shouta snapped his head around. “What did you just say?!”

Chase was too scared to respond to from the harsh tone, but Shouta didn’t really need him to respond. His reaction was enough.

Shouta moved back around to chase after you.

M/N L/N was Y/N L/N this entire time, she was just hiding from them.

---

This was supposed to be your off day, your relaxed day.

Not your hot soulmate insulting your friends-

What did you just say?

You puffed as you walked down the street to the train station, only to hear running footsteps coming for you. 

You quickly grabbed pepper spray from within one of your pockets only to hear Shouta.

“You lied to our faces!”

You stopped and turned around.

“What are you talking about?” You asked as you made it clear you were putting away your weapon.

“You knew who we were, didn’t you?!” He huffed and puffed. “Oboro told you and pushed you yet you still gave us a fake name! You even hid our names on your wrists, don’t you!”

You were shocked that he figured it out. Chase must have corrected him on your name and it clicked in for Shouta. 

You stared at the angry hurt Shouta, tears threatening to leave his eyes.

You did this to him.

“I’m right, aren’t I?!” He yelled at you as he walked close to where you stood. “What is so wrong with us you had to hide from us? Why don’t you love us?!”

“Love you?!” You glared at him as tears threaten to leave your own eyes. “I do love you! I love both you! I watch everything you two do! Sometimes I regret hiding I’m not going to lie, but you two were happy and have been happy without me this entire-”

“YOU DON’T KNOW SHIT!” He yelled in your face as tears ran down your face. “We ask ourselves all the time why we haven’t found you! We are a public figure and Hizashi is very public about having two soulmates so we knew you were hiding, but we didn’t know it was for this long! All we ever do is wonder what type of person you are! What your life was like! But no, you found out through Oboro and fucking hide from us since!”

You two both glared at each other. Your names were burning at the skin. Your high emotions were hurting both of you and your soulmate marks. 

You were both crying at this point as you glared at each other. Were faces were so close yet all you could both feel were each other’s names on your wrists.

Shouta held your face in his large hands and rested his forehead onto yours. You both sobbed.

“Please… Just give us a chance…” He asked in a soft voice filled with sobs.

You cried into his hands as you pulled up your arms to wrap around him. He pushed your head into the crook of his neck and rubbed your back as you sobbed onto his shoulders.

You never felt so warm in your life.

“The last time I saw you cry your hair turned into fire.” Shouta admitted.

You remember that day, the day he told you Oboro died. You sniffed and rubbed your eyes onto his fancy jacked. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Your just as emotional as Hizashi.”

You two stood there for a couple of minutes before you heard footsteps approaching.

You felt Shouta tense up and you gripped his tighter as you hid your face.

“Shou, where are you-?” You heard Hizashi’s voice and you tensed up. 

You could feel Shouta’s arm move as he silently talks to your third half. Even if you are trying to not pay attention you hear a small gasp from Hizashi at one point and Shouta’s arm made a motion with his arm that got Hizashi to stop.

Silence falls and Shouta breaks apart from you. 

“We are going to drop you home, but we will be having a discussion in the morning.” He says with a stern voice.

You hesitantly nod your head. Shouta puts his hand on your back and leads you to their car.

Hizashi and Shouta continue to have a silent conversation with you right there only for it to end once you enter into their black car.

“Address.” Shouta says with a stern voice, you answering softly.

The car ride to your apartment was awkward, but you couldn’t stop the butterflies in your stomach from the hug earlier. 

Shouta leaves Hizashi in the car as he walks you up to your door and leans on the door frame once you enter.

“I will tell Hizashi what happened and in the morning we will be discussing how we will proceed.” He says as he looks down at you. “Don’t run off, Y/N.”

[itsmeevie01]

MLB Secret Santa 2020!

Hey, @kaijuusandkryptids! I’m your secret santa this year. A little identity reaveal is heading your way! :)

@mlsecretsanta

a side note, to clear it up a lil, in this everyone is aged up and in University. Marinette (in this . i’m not sure how realistic this is...) skipped a few grades because i wanted her to...

Marinette flopped down into her bed, exhaustion taking over as she sunk into the mattress. It was just after the sun had gone down, and the teen had been up for over 24 hours, hunting the never-ending flow of Akumas that had started a week ago.

Enjoy!

At first, she had thought that it was just Hawkmoth being petty, but now the girl had a different idea. Now, she had a feeling that two people were using the Butterfly Miraculous. The differences had been small at first, obviously the second person had been given instructions. Then they had started to understand the miraculous the way the first Hawkmoth never could. Akumas were getting stronger, faster, and smarter. This change in MO, however, had led Marinette to narrowing down her search fields for the magic villain(s).

Marinette’s brain protested at the idea of adding what she had figured out to her list. Groaning, the girl patted the comforter around her until she found her phone. Sending a text to herself, making sure that she used the guardian language, Marinette let her exhaustion take over. Sleep was the only thing that would help her now.

The next morning, Marinette tumbled out of bed close to 10. Her eyes squinted against the bright light coming in from her skylight, and she pulled a pillow over her head to try to go back to sleep before giving up. When her feet touched the floor, she cringed in pain. She may not have been without her suit for much of the last week, but when she was using the miraculous so intensely as often as she had, Marinette knew that it was taking a toll on her body. She also knew that the healing properties that Paris relied on, had started to pass over her, leaving the noirette with more and more injuries after each akuma battle. With a week straight of fights, the teen was aching for a vacation that she had been unable to take for three years.

After pulling on a skirt and switching her sleep shirt for a top that sat just off one shoulder, the 17-year-old reached for her phone. She knew she had plans at some point this summer, and they were going to be…oh. Her plans were for today. Knocking on her desk for good luck, even when you carry luck herself in your purse, it never hurts to be too careful, Marinette pulled her hair into a ponytail and curled the ends, trying to at least pretend to try today. When the teen took a glance in the mirror, for the first time really looking at her face, she froze. There, on her face, was a sunburn. A sunburn that looked a little too much like it followed the outline of her mask to be anything else. Shit.

For the most part, this wouldn’t be a problem, if Marinette wasn’t getting ready to go meet Chloe and Kagami. If she was going to see almost anyone else, it would be fine, but the girls, her best friends, also happened to be Empress Honey and Ryuko. These girls were her team.

The scream that had rocked the Grand Paris Hotel had scared many of the patrons. The girl that the cry of distress had originated from was standing in her bathroom, enjoying the first morning in over a week that she had to herself, until she looked in the mirror. The blonde’s eyes went huge as she gaped at the sunburn that was sitting rudely on her cheeks. The sun freckles were cute, the heiress could deal with them. She could handle the natural highlights she got from being outside all the time, but the teen hero could not handle the sunburn that would immediately out her as being one of the kids running over the rooftops in colorful costumes. This. This was not good.

Kagami knew that being out in the sun would cause a sunburn and had made sure to carry sunscreen at first. After the first day, however, the fencer had decided that it would be easier to just change her suit. Now, the girl had a hood that used magic to keep her entire face in shadow. The girl had a feeling that the others hadn’t thought about the ramifications of the sun, and she knew that the reactions and aftermath would be entertaining in the least.

The Agreste Mansion was quiet, as it had been all summer. Adrien had seen two other people in his father’s house. The Gorilla, who was taking him to all of the commitments that his father had planned for him, and Natalie’s new assistant Kirra. The quite brunette was kind to him and would sneak the (too) skinny teen extra helpings when she could. Besides the two adults that the 19-year-old knew were tasked with his care, Adrien had lost all Gabriel sanctioned contact after he had moved on to university the year before. With so many online courses, the model had become a prisoner in his own home.

Of course, Gabriel Agreste didn’t know that his son was Chat Noir. He also didn’t know that the boy had been sneaking out since he was 15. As Adrien stretched and stumbled towards his bathroom, his feet protested. The hero had been active for almost a week with no reprieve. Now, he just hoped that he hadn’t missed to many events, or his father might start to take notice. When he opened the door and fumbled for the lights, the blonde froze. Staring back at him was his reflection. His very sunburnt reflection.

When the heroes saw the akuma alert show up on their phones, they all groaned. For just one day, they wanted to be able to relax. It would be nice to follow through with commitments and see their friends and family. Instead they found themselves, once again, making excuses to go transform and continue a battle that was starting to feel endless.

When Marinette, Adrien, Chloe, Kagami, and Luka met up for coffee later that week, three out of the five were sporting very telling sunburns. It didn’t help that the Miraculous team had finished a fight less than an hour before. All of the young heroes were exhausted but had promised themselves that they would push through their exhaustion to see their friends. When they had collapsed at their table, each clutching a cup of coffee like it was the last thing keeping them standing (it was). The security that came with being around friends, people that they trust, led to the group collectively letting their guard down. Their delayed reactions to the matching sunburns was expected but would embarrass them for years to come.

Marinette had just shaken her head at Chloe, muttering a “of course we both goofed.”. Chloe had gapped at the youngest of the group, shock obvious on her face as she connected the dots. Adrien had seen Chloe’s face, the bright red that the heiress had tried to hide, and practically squealed. The unintelligible onslaught of excitement from the model had caused Chloe to look over at her friend and screech. It was at this point that Kagami and Marinette agreed to move their get together to Luka’s apartment.

As soon as the door shut, Chloe turned to Marinette. “You. You are Ladybug.” The complete confidence in the statement made Marinette smile slightly. She knew there was a reason she had chosen Chloe for her bee. The way both Kagami and Adrien whipped their heads to look at the girl, it was clear that they hadn’t put it together. Luka just chuckled and shook his head.

“It took you long enough, Chloe. I’ve know Mari was Ladybug since the first time I met her.” The looks of shock that his friends sent him made the oldest shrug. “I can hear everyone’s soul song. It isn’t that hard to figure it out.” Kagami blinked as she processed the information. The realization that Luka must know her secret identity as well made the girl freeze. Next to her, Adrien was looking back and forth between Marinette and Luka, confused.

“Wait, but, no, I…How?” Marinette laughed slightly at the look of shock on her friend’s face. As the boy gaped at her, she studied him, before shaking her head. She had started to suspect that Chat Noir was her only friend that she didn’t think would suit the miraculous in her box, but the confusion and shock, paired with his matching sunburn, had sealed the deal for her.

“I picked Luka to be Viperion years ago”. The response was quiet. Her words however, made them all fall silent. “He was the first one that I made permanent. I needed the ability to have another set of hands. And,” here, the girl sends Luka a glare, “I needed someone to tell me when I was dying. Someone just happens to be exceptionally bad at remembering to tell me.” The musician scowled in response, the expression out of place on his face in his friends’ minds. Marinette simply raise an eyebrow, obviously very used to his reaction. Chloe was the first to break the silence.

“wait, Marinette. YOU chose the other holders?” the shock in her voice shook Kagami and Adrien from their shocked stupor. While Kagami narrowed her eyes, Adrien shook his head.

“that’s…that’s not possible.” Chloe’s head snapped to look at her oldest friend.

“what do you mean, it’s not possible?”

“Marinette. You. Ladybug. Couldn’t have chosen me. Right? It. That just doesn’t line up?” the uncertainty in the boy’s voice made Chloe pause, and Marinette wince.

“I…no. Adrien. You are one of three wielders that are currently active that I didn’t choose. If. If it makes you feel better? The other two are the reason that we are fighting.” Chloe stomped her foot in frustration, her blue eyes blazing.

“How are you so calm? Your secret identity was just outed! Because of a sunburn! And it was outed to people who have been akumatized before!” Marinette simply smiled and shook her head.

“I was going to tell you, all of you, soon anyways. Because we are close to Hawkmoth’s identity, and I wanted you to know.” The looks of shock on everyone’s faces made her smile. “Adrien would have been the first to know though.” Luka looked at her in confusion.

“Mari, wait. I thought you said Chat was- oh.” The guardian smiled as she watched her friends digest what they had heard and put the rest of the pieces together.

Three weeks later

Marinette smiled as Adrien settled into to his normal spot on her floor, a book in front of him. even before the accidental sunburn fiasco, the two had taken to hanging out when the model could get away. Now though, there was no pretense. The blonde would drop down the girl’s skylight and settle on her chaise while she finished whatever she was working on. Earlier that day, Adrien had appeared toting a bag of books. The bag was huge and was obviously straining under the weight of the textbooks the boy had come to drop off for his friend. The girl had spent the last few weeks working diligently with Kagami to piece together the clues on Hawkmoth’s identity. As their list continued to be narrowed down, Marinette had started sending Adrien worried looks, but the teen had resigned himself to what he suspected was coming. While his friend worked to organize the proof they needed, he had started to run errands for her. If he accidentally left her money behind and used is instead when he did things like pick up her university textbooks for the fall semester, well. Marinette was a little busy right now.

I may go back and add a part two, but as of now, this is a stand alone...

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Littlebug & Turtle Tot

Author’s Note: I know, I know, I know. I said 'soon'. I meant for it to be soon! I really did! It just... didn't happen. Couldn't get myself to write. But now it's done! I haven't proofread it, but I'm pleased with how it turned out!

Reference slides here.

Summary: Ladybug and Tortue Verte are the first on scene of a new akuma. Things don't go as planned.

“I can’t! I can’t!”

Allan and Marinette turn at the sound. A teenage girl with a laptop and several school supplies laid before her is clutching at her hair desperately. She’s barely audible, especially in the little corner she’s tucked herself away in, but her distress is clear. Tears seem to be forming in her eyes, and she’s shaking.

“It’s too much! I’m not ready! This- this is-! I’m only 16! I don’t know anything!”

The pair frown, not quite sure what’s going on, but clearly in agreement about wanting to help. Just as they stand, they spot the dark butterfly land on her pencil.

As the girl tenses, purple butterfly shape over her face, Allan grabs Marinette’s wrist to drag her out of sight with him.

“Wayzz, Shell On!”

“Tikki, Spots On!”

The green and pink lights fade leaving Tortue Verte and Ladybug standing next to each other.

“We should probably call the oth-” Ladybug is cut off by a flash of light and sparkles. Tortue hears her yo-yo hit the ground and glances toward his teammate.

Now standing less than a meter in height, she seems to have been de-aged to around three to five years old. Her costume has changed as well. She has pigtails again, though longer than they ever were, tied in two red ribbon bows.

She has a headband on, with two little antennas sticking out of it. Her suit is entirely black now, looking like some sort of soft onesie, though around her shoulders is a red cloak with large black ladybug spots on it. If her hands are at her sides, the cloak would likely fall to her knees. Her mask is replaced with a ladybug face paint design.

As it is, her hands are raised slightly as she looks over herself, inspecting the change. She seems calm, and eventually turns to him, slightly confused, and reaching upwards.

“Up!” Even her voice has changed, and he worries that she’s been de-aged both physically and mentally, because if she hadn’t she’d probably be coming up with a plan rather than just requesting to be held.

While he’s thinking, she takes his silence as a refusal, and a heartbroken look crosses her face.

Not wanting to risk a crying Ladybug (Littlebug?), he swiftly picks her up, making her giggle.

Yep. Definitely a child.

“Alright, let’s go,” he can’t see the akuma and assumes that it’s moved on to other places. It isn’t until he hurries around a corner and feels his shell knocked off his back that he realizes how wrong he was.

The akuma giggles triumphantly, and the turtle hero is soon in the same state as the girl he’d been carrying. They stand next to each other, the same height. Tortue similarly has a onesie, though the theme is slightly different from his usual costume.

A dark green, edging on black, is the main color, with streaks of yellow and red scattered across it. The chest is entirely red, and looks like it’s a slightly thicker material than the rest, a padding of sorts. A rounded cape hangs from his back, the outer part looking dark-gray-green with thin streaks of red. The inner portion is clearly more red, though it isn’t as visible. The onesie ends at the ankle, where socks can be partially seen from the tops of the green light up tennis shoes on his feet.

As a mask, he also has face paint, the same color as the main portion of the outfit, with similarly colored streaks coming from the eyes to the edge.

Turtle Tot looks around to see Littlebug fiddling with his shell, which is still adult sized. She’s attempting to drag it away, presumably to safety so they can use it as a shield.

He also notices how the akuma is reaching for her ears. Acting quickly, he grabs her hand and runs outside.

It’s dark. He and Marinette had been up early and had been planning on going back home before the attack happened.

Everyone else is asleep. As would be expected, seeing as it’s not even six. Of course the one night he and Marinette leave so early-

Littlebug squeezes his hand, “It’s okay. We’re heroes!”

Oh my Kwami! She’s right!

He’s a superhero! This is so cool!

“Come on, we’ll get home, an’ then…” she stops, looking around as she pauses in her once confident strides, “Where are we?”

“Uhhh... “ He looks around. The street signs are really tall, and he can’t read them anyways. Turtle Tot shrugs at her helplessly.

She hums, thinking for a moment. She spots something out of the corner of her eye. A small dandelion peeking out of the sidewalk. Littlebug gasps delightedly, and hurries over to it.

“Look! A flower!” she picks it up and puts it behind his ear, where it peeks out from his hood, “We should go this way!!”

He nods excitedly, flowers are very sound reasoning.

Eventually they stop running, out of breath, but somehow still in good spirits.

“What… wha’ now?” Littlebug huffs out.

He looks around, and recognizes a building nearby. He’s not really sure what its name is, but it’s really, really tall, and they’ve defeated akumas there before. It makes sense that if they can defeat akumas there once, they can do it again… right? Turtle Tot turns to Littlebug, explaining his solid reasoning. She nods, agreeing immediately.

They find a way inside and hurry up to the silver doors of the elevator.

They can’t reach. He frowns, clearly upset at his plan being stopped.

“Tot, look! Stairs!” Littlebug tugs on his sleeve and points energetically to a nearby stairwell. The pair race over, and hurry to head up.

Littlebug begins to pass him, and gives a sly grin, “I’m gonna’ beat ya’!”

“Nuh-uh!”

The two children break out into the fastest speed their small legs can handle, turning the corners of the landings as fast as they can.

If there’s anything they won’t do, it’s lose a race.

They’re starting to slow down significantly when they finally reach the end. Huffing from the exhaustion of the race, they tumble out to the roof, sprawling onto the ground.

“I think....” Littlebug pauses to catch her breathe again, “I think that… we tied…”

“Yeah,” Turtle Tot inhales as much air as his little lungs can fit, which eventually turns into a yawn, “Tha’ sounds… right.”

The small heroes begin yawning more and more, eventually making their way to a corner to lean against each other.

“At leas’ we beat the akuma,.”

“What?”

“In th’ race,” Littlbug yawns, “...’got here first.”

“Oh, yeah…”

Her head droops slightly, eventually settling on his shoulder. He faithfully decides he’ll stay up to keep watch, because that’s how being a hero works.

He’s asleep within five minutes. 

---

Allegra wakes up third. They’d all stayed over at Adrien and Marinette’s place after a movie marathon, because none of them felt like heading home.

Felix is drinking coffee at the table, reading the newspaper, though she can’t see Allan, Mari, or Adrien.

She heads to the kitchen, “Where is everyone?”

Felix shrugs, “Allan and Marinette were absent when I awoke, and Adrien went out to run an errand. He should be back-”

The door opens, and Adrien enters.

“-soon.”

“Hey,” Allegra greets the man, he nods at her, smiling slightly before frowning.

“Do either of you know where Allan and Mari are? I can’t reach either of them, and I don’t know where they are,” he asks as he sets a small bag down on the counter. Allegra recognizes the Kwamis’ usual treats.

They both shake their heads.

Claude pops up, “Do you think there’s an attack?”

Felix nods at this, “It could make sense. Perhaps it is one of the ones that is more subtle. Some do not get an alert after all.”

“Then why aren’t they getting us for back-up?” Allegra points out.

“Maybe they can’t get away?”

“Or it isn’t that bad?”

“Claws Out.” A disgruntled yelp of protest is all the Cat Kwami can manage as he’s sucked into the ring.

“Is Marinette alright?” Felix inquires.

“Probably,” Chat sighs, opening his baton to call his friends, “She’s not like, playing dead, or hibernating or anything, but I don’t like this. Something feels off.”

The weapon rings.

And rings.

And rings.

No answer. 

He calls Torte Verte this time.

It rings.

And rings.

And rings.

No one answers.

They’re all tense now, because if neither is answering either phone, then something must be wrong.

Chat heads to the balcony, “I’m heading out!”

Claude and Allegra follow after him, speaking in unison, “I’ll come too!”

Felix throws two granola bars at the pair, “Eat first.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Claude groans.

“That would be Allan, actually,” Felix corrects. 

Claude grins, complying. Allegra does the same, then takes care of both of the wrappers.

“We’ll keep you updated, Fe’!” She calls as they swing out the window, following the tracker for their friend’s weapons.

When they show up and find both Ladybug’s yo-yo and Tortue’s shield abandoned on the ground inside a building they tense further.

Something is definitely wrong.

Chat’s tail is flicking around, and it’s clear he’s on edge.

Before any of the trio can speak, their weapons ding simultaneously with the same message.

 Distress signal trail located: Kwami: Wayzz

Continue to the next signal.

Skip to most recent signal.

Ignore.

 “Distress signal?”

“Wayzz?”

They all choose the obvious option, and their weapons provide them with an address where Wayzz’s ‘last distress signal’ came from.

“That’s pretty far from here, especially since they must have walked,” Honey Bee points out in concern.

“Not to mention Wayzz is sending the distress signal, not Al’,” Kit agrees.

Chat frowns. “I didn’t even know those were a thing.”

Despite their confusion, the three head out across the rooftops. Honey mutters something about bad parenting when she sees a couple of children outside of a building. Their parents must have told them to wait outside, how hard is it to just take them in too? 

She lands on the roof shortly after Kit and Chat, looking around. There’s no clear sign of their teammates.

“Ladybug? Tortue?”

“Either of you guys here?”

There’s no response, but they continue to call softly, not sure if there’s a threat nearby they should be wary of.

Honey spots them first, “Oh. My. Kwami.”

“What? What is it?” Chat turns to her as soon as the words leave her mouth.

“They’re so cute!” she squeals, taking a picture with her top, directing the men’s attention to the corner.

There, resting against each other, are their missing teammates. The notable issue is that they look like they can’t be more than five.

The pair is sound asleep, and Kit soon joins in taking pictures. Chat may or may not do the same.

Eventually, Ladybug begins to stir, which causes Tortue Verte to move too. They both sit up around the same time, wiping at their tired eyes with the heel of their hands.

Ladybug is the first to notice the other three heroes. She stares at them in surprise for a little bit, her tiny mouth open in shock, as she nudges her friend.

“Tot! Look!” she no-so-quietly-whispers, “They here too!!!”

The turtle boy looks up, then similarly ‘whispers’ back, “wha’ ‘bout Felix?”

Ladybug turns to him and puts a hand in front of her face as if she’s telling him a big secret, “‘member? We don’ have the peacock yet.”

He nods solemnly.

Kit is recording the whole thing, so Honey puts her top away to greet them, “Hi guys!”

They break out into grins, waving excitedly and shouting greetings at all three of them. Making their way to their feet and approaching their friends.

Ladybug notices Chat’s silence and gives a child’s version of a smirk, “What’s da matter kitten- get-” she frowns, mumbling to herself until the boy in green whispers in her ear, and she continues, “Cat got your tongue!” She declares triumphantly.

Chat Noir shakes himself out of his silence, “No, I’m just sur-purr-ised, that’s all.”

The girl frowns, crossing her arms, “That was dumb.”

Tortue shakes his head, “Littlebug! That’s mean!” “‘Littlebug’?!” Kit squeals.

“Yeah! I’m Turtle Tot, and she’s Littlebug!” Tor- Turtle Tot informs, jumping excitedly. His shoes light up.

The adults get another notification on their weapons.

 Distress signal: Kwami: Wayzz

Already at location.

 Lady- Littlebug nods in agreement to Tot’s statement, before yawning, rubbing at her eyes once more.

Tot does the same. Both children are not nearly as good at hiding their exhaustion as they seem to think.

“Oh, are you guys tired?” Honey approaches them, speaking softly.

They nod.

“Beat the ‘kuma,” Tot mumbles.

“You did?!” The adults can’t keep the surprise from their voices.

“Yeah, got t’ the top first,” Littlebug adds, “We left Ms. Kuma after we got small, then we walked, then Tot found here, and he ‘membered that we won here b’fore, so we wen’ to the top ‘cause then we could win ‘gan, and we got here b’fore the akuma so we beat her here.”

Tot nods, as the others try to follow this reasoning. The children don’t bother to try and give them time. Tot flops towards Honey who is closest, and Littlebug makes her way to Chat, leaning against his leg sleepily. Kit continues to record the whole thing.

Chat smiles softly, bending down to scoop her up. She nuzzles against him, and he marvels at how light she feels. Honey does the same, and soon both of the mini-heroes are dozing against their friends’ shoulders, hugging them tightly.

After a moment, Kit Mime stops recording, “That was absolutely precious.”

“Right?!” Honey whispers.

“We should head back to Felix. He’ll be worried,” Chat suggests. The others nod, and they carefully make their way back, doing their best to keep from waking the sleeping boy and girl.

They land on the balcony, and Felix turns to them immediately. He opens his mouth to ask about how it went when he spots the children. He shuts his mouth again, then says, “Well, I suppose that explains it.”

Kit rushes inside first, bouncing excitedly, “They were so cute, Felix! I already sent the video to myself - Let’s Rest - and I’ve got to show you, it is the most precious thing I ever witnessed…” Claude continues their rambling, pulling out their phone and handing it to Felix to show him the video.

Honey Bee and Chat Noir also enter the apartment, shutting the door behind them. Both of them attempt to put their respective passenger onto the couch, but the kids have a stronger grip than what would be expected, even in their sleep.

Chat shrugs, flopping onto the couch and propping himself up on a pillow, so that he can comfortably allow Babynette to rest on his chest. 

“Claws In.” Plagg flies out of the ring, snickering at the children before curling up to rest on Adrien’s head.

Honey looks between the boy in her arms and the man on the couch and grins.

Somehow, she manages to get the boy to let go so that he can be transferred to join Littlebug on the couch. Adrien is now a mattress for both tiny heroes, who seem to have no trouble with this arrangement.

“Buzz Off,” Allegra is quick to get her phone out and take a picture, “Oh we’re going to have so many pictures by the end of this.”

Pollen and Trixx float nearby, clearly enjoying this.

“Most certainly,” Felix agrees, having finished the video.

Claude spots the group on the couch, grinning and snapping a picture as Adrien waves softly.

“Oh boy, Sugarcube is going to be over the moon,” Plagg remarks.

The other Kwamis nod, and Pollen elaborates, “As the Kwami of Creation, she is especially fond of young creatures.”

“I’m especially fond of these young creatures!” Claude exclaims.

“Guys?” Adrien addresses the Kwamis, “How did we not know that distress signals were a thing?”

“Ooh! Ooh! I’ll answer this!” Trixx yelps, excited to contribute, “Given that Marinette and Allan’s forms changed when they were hit, Tikki and Wayzz had to edit their transformations. The akuma would have probably changed their civilian outfits, but changing the looks of the transformations is beyond her abilities. When a human transforms, some extra features are usually added based on personality, but how or if they function is up to the Kwami. For example, being a Black Cat does not mean you are going to have a bell - that comes from you. Plagg chose to make it able to ring. So Allan contributed his shoes, and Wayzz gave them the ability to light up, as well as send alerts to your devices when you went to a location it had been set off at. Likely for this very purpose, given that you may have had trouble finding them otherwise.”

“Thank goodness for Wayzz,” Allegra says.

“Transformations can also make up for any limitations of a user - for lack of a better word,” Pollen adds, “Perhaps ‘weak spots’ would be more accurate. In this case, the ‘limitation’ or ‘weak spot’ is clearly that they do not have the ability to find their own way around, and as such, needed someone to be able to find them. That’s why the shoes lighting up went beyond something as simple as just lighting up.”

---

“Kitty, nooooo,” Marinette whines, “Don’ gooooo.”

The ‘kids’ had been awake for an hour now, having detransformed shortly afterwards.

Allan’s outfit had prompted ‘aww’s from all of them. The boy, who clearly had become just as shy as he was as a child, was in a fairly standard outfit. The defining feature was a green dinosaur hoodie he was wearing. The hood had a few spikes on the back, and there were big dot eyes on either side. Little spike-shaped teeth hung from the top.

Marinette’s outfit, on the other hand, looked like something out of Pinkalicious. She was in a pink play dress, with feathery boa wrapped around her neck - the pink turning more of a hot pink towards the ends of the feathers. Her shoes had small heels, and were completely covered by sparkly pink glitter. An equally sparkly bow sat at the front, and the little pink strap had a gold buckle. An impressively large sun hat sat atop her head, also pink. On her face sat large, sparkly, pink sunglasses with heart shaped rhinestones above the eyes.

Claude took one look and collapsed to the floor, laughing hysterically.

Now, however, the still adult heroes needed to go out to look for the akuma, which had stayed oddly quiet so far.

“Sorry, Baby Bug, but don’t you think we have to do our job?” Adrien is crouched in front of her.

“Nuh-uh!” Marinette pouts, stomping her bedazzled foot. “No job!”

“I’m with the kid,” Plagg drawls, lounging on top of her hat. “Less work, more naps.”

Adrien sighs, not sure how to reason with her.

Felix comes over, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. “Marinette, don’t you want Hawkmoth to be sad?”

“I want to punch him!” she declares. Claude snorts.

Felix determinedly does his best to not smile at that. “Well, in order for that to happen, they have to find the akuma, don’t they?”

Marinette sighs. “Yeah. I guess.”

Allan, upon noticing how sad she looks, walks over to her and quietly holds out Lucas, his dinosaur plush (Claude had excitedly rushed off to grab the plush when Turtle Tot was still asleep).

Marinette pats the dino, still looking dejected. “Hi Lucas.”

Allan holds him out more. “Hug.”

The girl hugs the dino, and Allan wanders towards Allegra, wringing his hands and looking at the floor. “Ally?”

She smiles at him. “Yeah?”

“Can… can I have a star?”

She pauses, trying to figure out what he means. When she remembers, she tries not to let her slight panic show. She got rid of those sparkly hair clips ages ago.

Allan is still looking at the floor, so he doesn’t notice Claude poke her. When she turns to look at them, they’re holding two of those hair clips, a victorious grin on their face.

Allegra stares at him, mouth fallen open slightly because what the- Claude?! 

His grin only grows, and she takes them suspiciously. Allegra takes a blue one and gently pushes Allan’s hood back a little to slip it in his hair.

He straightens, touching it gently, then beams, hugging her tightly. She smiles, returning the hug.

Allan goes over to Claude, chattering excitedly about having a star.

Allegra goes over to Marinette, holding out a purple star. She gasps, then takes it, clipping it to the brim of her hat.

“We have to go now, alright?” Allegra looks between the two ‘children’.

They nod sadly, but after several hugs, the three (still adult) heroes transform and head off.

--- 

“Careful!” Allan tells Sabrina. “Hot!”

She nods as she puts the cupcake tray into the oven. “Thank you. I’ll be careful.”

He nods. “Good.”

Marinette is bouncing on her stool. “How much longer!!!”

“You’re a baker, Mininette,” Chloe reminds her. “You know this takes time.”

She pouts.

“Marinette, while the cupcakes are in the oven, we can get started on the cookies.

Allan tilts his head. “Cookies?”

Marinette nods, hopping off her stool, ignoring how Chloe hisses at her to ‘be careful’. “Yeah! We’re gonna’ make turtle cookies! For you!!”

Allan gasps, then smiles wide. “Thanks!!!”

Sabrina snaps some sneaky pictures, while Chloe just shakes her head. “They are so pure. If you hadn’t called us over, I would have rioted.”

“I could not have handled being in charge of children without back-up,” Felix admits.

The two Kwamis are enjoying the state of their holders. Tikki has been flitting around excitedly, while Wayzz watches calmly from his perch on Allan’s head.

The door to the balcony opens.

“So,” Chat Noir says, “Tiny Kagami is adorable and calm, but still 100% capable of wielding a blade.”

“Kitty!!” Marinette races toward him, and he sweeps her up in a hug.

“Also, Aurore is just as obsessed about weather as a small child,” Kit Mime informs.

Adrien has taken Chat Noir’s place. “We didn’t manage to get the akuma yet, but we decided to take a break.”

“We couldn’t miss more Mininette and smol Allan!” Claude chirps.

Honey Bee detransforms, making her way to the kitchen. “So what are you guys up to?”

Chloe kisses her cheek. “We’re baking.”

“I brought over Pinkalicious, and Marinette wanted to make the cupcakes,” Sabrina explains. “If you give a moose a muffin…”

Adrien laughs, booping Marinette’s nose. “She’ll want to one up that muffin recipe.”

“That’s not how it goes!” Marinette cries. “The moose wants jam!”

“Yeah!” Allan agrees. “So you gotta’ get the blackberry jam!!”

“Right. My bad.”

“No!!” Both children shout. “You’re not bad!!”

Allan hugs his leg, and Marinette pats his head a bunch. “You’re a good kitty-cat!”

Claude definitely isn’t recording the interaction Trixx is. “Okay,  so what do you need help with?”

“We’re makin’ turtles!!” Marinette declares.

“The cupcakes are in the oven. We are making turtle cookies now,” Felix elaborates, “It was Marinette’s idea. For Allan.”

“Aww,” Allegra coos.

“Mari is really nice!!” Allan shouts. The girl blushes, covering her face.

“Yes she is,” Claude agrees. She squeaks, hiding her face in Adrien’s shoulder.

Allegra rescues her, taking her from Adrien. “So, Miss Baker, how do we make these cookies?”

She brightens, motioning towards the counter. “Recipe!”

Sabrina grabs the recipe that they’d been planning on using. “Here.”

“Well let’s get started then!” Claude shouts.

---

After they’d finished decorating both the cookies and cupcakes, they’d turned on some Disney movies for the ‘children’.

Everyone was enjoying the calm of the day. The akuma seemed to have disappeared, and there was no reason to be worried about it at the moment.

Adrien is sitting on the couch, his arm around Marinette. The little girl is curled into his side, eyes seeming heavy. Every time they slip closed she’d force them open again, determined to stay awake.

Allan had no such qualms, dozing where he sits on Felix’s lap.

Allegra is sitting on the other side of the couch from Adrien, Chloe stretched across her lap as she scrolls through her social media. Occasionally she’ll look at the screen when prompted by her fiancé.

Sabrina and Claude are sitting on the floor, a bowl of popcorn between them as they make quiet commentary.

Later, there would be a reliable sighting of the akuma. Later, they’d have to rush out to get it, returning triumphantly with the new knowledge that butterflies can be venomed.

Later, there would be a quick transformation, and a tiny voice casting a much bigger cure.

But now, in this moment, they enjoy their peace.

---

Author’s Note: See! It's fluff! Claude is fine!

Reference slides here.

I was going to say this at the end of the last thing I posted, but since there was a good chance some people might have made the decision to skip reading that, I'm putting it here. I just want to thank you all for your patience. I haven't been writing as much, and I want to. Sometimes I just can't get myself to write, and I'm being patient with myself because, well, the world is a bit of a mess at the moment. That's why I do want to write, because we can all use a reprieve. I also haven't been responding as quickly to comments, and for that I'm sorry. I don't want that to discourage you from commenting! I've been quarantined with my family, and as both an introvert and someone with social anxiety, sometimes I've just had my fill of people. The thought of trying to talk to other people gets stresses me out, and I wouldn't be able to respond to comments in any sort of meaningful way. I assure you though, when I do find it in me to respond, you guys make my day. It makes me so happy to see that people liked my work enough to comment, and I guarantee that I will be getting around to responding to everyone eventually.

I'd also like to thank you guys for your patience. I haven't seen a single comment asking why I haven't been posting much, or anyone being upset that I'm not as active as I used to be. You guys are so sweet, and you make things so much better! I love you all so much!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Princess Justice2

Second Part of my “What if” AU of Episode: Ladybug.

A got a bit wordy, sorry!

In AO3

-

“Master Fu, our worst nightmare has come true!” yelled Plagg as soon as they were inside Master Fu’s house. Wayzz looked at him with a sarcastic expression.

“Adrien feed you the wrong kind of cheese?”

“Our second worst nightmare has come true!” Plagg corrected himself. Master Fu and Wayzz stopped in their tracks and looked at the two newcomers seriously.

“Hawk Moth has gone scarlet again and…”

“Marinette has been akumatized” whispered Adrien.

Master Fu fell to his knees. Wayzz fell from the air and into a table.

“She…”

“She managed to take off her earrings before that.”

“So you know her identity”

Adrien avoided his eyes. He knew the rules, and this meant they both would be replaced.

“We need to act quickly. Hopefully Marinette will be able to hide who she is, even akumatized, and Tikki… where is Tikki?”

“Leading a rebellion with the rest of Marinette’s friends. Queen Bee and the others seemed very keen on rescuing her.”

“So you came for the Miraculous…”

“That or advice. This is too much, if I had been akumatized, I’m sure Lady… I’m sure Marinette would have found a way to bring me back, but I…”

“You are going to bring her back” said Master Fu, in a reassuring tone. “She trusts you, and I trust you too.” He went to the gramophone and took out the Miraculous Box, opening it.

“Adrien Abigail Agreste, this is a dire time, you must pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you will get the Miraculous back from them and return it to me.”

“Take them all!” begged Plagg “We’re going against Marinette! We will need as much help as we can get!”

“Is that allowed?”

“Normally I wouldn’t allow it, but Plagg is right. Marinette can, and will, be a formidable opponent, and you will need everything you have to go against her.”

Adrien picked every Miraculous, including the Turtle, and placed them in his bag.

“Please be safe. And remember that Marinette is not herself. Whatever happens, don’t hold it against her… But also, don’t hesitate to fight her, she’s counting on you.”

Adrien nods solemnly, realizing that he might need to go hand to hand against his La… against Marinette.

“Plagg, Claws out!”

-

In what felt like an eternity, Chat Noir reached the rooftop of the Le Grand Hotel Paris, then he went to Chloe’s room, where everyone was already reunited. Kagami and Luka were already there, and Chloe and Tikki seemed to be giving the others instructions. That’s when he noticed everyone was wearing a purse, pouch or designer bag, all apparently from Chloe’s collection. He also noticed Chloe had gotten installed a whiteboard with “Operation: Save Marinette” written at the top, and other squiggles he didn’t manage to read before Chloe called him.

“Glad you decided to show up!” teased Chloe. She then bit her lip when she realized what she had said. “Sorry, didn’t mean it like that.”

“Were you successful?” asked Tikki. Before he could answer, Kagami got up and was all in his face.

“Wow, it’s so obvious now. I can’t believe I was fooled before”

Adrien smiled. “Sorry, keeping our identities secret was a top priority. I didn’t even knew who was ladybug”

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious now too” teased Alya. Once they rescued Marinette, she was in for the biggest surprise of her life.

Tikki cleared her throat. “Oh yeah. Plagg, Claws in!” Chat Noir transformed into Adrien before everyone’s eyes. He put out his bag and started giving everyone their miraculous. “You know the drill. Use these for good, don’t be a dick, return them after we’re done.” Chloe gave him a purse after receiving the Bee hairpin. “What’s with the bags?”

“We raided the kitchen. We don’t know how long the battle will last, and Tikki pointed out some of us might need to recharge, so each bag contains food for our specific kwami, and some extras for the others, just in case.”

“… This is your designer collection” noted Adrien. Chloe blushed when everyone started looking at the purses she had given them.

“Well, yeah, I had no time to get some cheap knock offs… And I wouldn’t know where  to buy them anyway” she added with a haughty tone. Adrien smiled. Even if she didn’t want to admit, she was worried about Marinette, and was willing to sacrifice her very valuable collection for her.

Chloe gave Pollen a sweet made of honey, which she thanked her for. The others did the same, Alya giving Trixx grape jelly donuts, Nino giving Wayzz pistachios, Xuppu stealing a banana from Kim, Max and Alix giving Kaalki and Fluff some carrots, Kagami giving Longg some peppers and Luka giving Sass some biscuits.

Adrien noted how the others were looking at their friends and their Kwamis in awe. He took a deep breath and reached inside the bag.

“Mylene Haprele, here is the Miraculous of the Mouse, which grants the power of Multiplying.” He gave the mouse necklace to Mylene, and then approached Ivan. “Ivan Bruel, here is the Miraculous of the Ox, which grants the power of strength.” He gave the nose ring to Ivan, who looked at it with curiosity. “Don’t worry, it’s a clip on, it stays with magic” Adrien approached Nathaniel. “Nathaniel Kurtzberg, here is the Miraculous of the Rooster, which grants the power of enlightment. “ He gave Nathaniel a thumb ring. “And Marc Anciel, here is the Miraculous of Goat, which grants the power of…”

“Thanks, but I already have a Miraculous”

“what”

“Yeah, we were thinking about it, and it would be highly suspicious if Ladybug doesn’t show up to fight Akumanette” Adrien made a mental note to ask who had made up that punny name.

“And Marc is the one that looks the most like Marinette” Adrien looked at Kagami instinctively.

“Yeah, my personality doesn’t match hers at all, I’m more blunt and serious, and not to mention it would be also suspicious if everyone else shows up except Ryuuko.”

“And I already read his Ladybug diary” teased Tikki, flying around Marc and landing on his head. “It was spot on” she giggled.  

“Wouldn’t Hawk Moth notice a pair of things… different?” asked Adrien looking at Marc’s chest.

“Well yeah, but Tikki said that if I focus when transforming I will look like her.

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Losing Marinette to Akumatization bothers me more than looking like a girl”

“And if he doesn’t look exactly like Ladybug, Marcbug will use my ladybug suit over his” said Chloe, pointing out at her secret close, were her replica of the Ladybug suit was held. Adrien was always a little creeped out by that, but now it might come in handy.

“Sounds like a plan… OH! You guys, I trust you, but you have to know that once this is over the Miraculous must return to hiding.”

Everyone in the room nodded. The newly chosen were feeding their Kwamis, while they explained how to transform and what their powers would be.

“We all can use our powers just once, and then we have 5 minutes left on our transformations” lectured Adrien. “If that happens, find a safe place to detransform, feed your kwami and transform again to rejoin the battle. Try to keep your identity secret, but that’s not a priority. Guys, I know I’m asking a lot of you, but we might need to transform several times” he addressed the Kwamis, who nodded, as they wanted Marinette back as much as the humans.

“There will be probably more of those butterflies around, so this will be the hardest part.” Chloe took a deep breath. “Don’t lose hope. Have determination. Keep positive, whatever works for you. Marinette, Sabrina, Rose, Juleka… everyone is counting on us. “

“What about Lila?” asked Kim. Chloe glared at him.

“She tried to keep us inside. Is her fault Sabrina is not with us anymore” She took a deep breath, not wanting to attract a butterfly.

“If you run into her, don’t trust anything she says. Get rid of her if needed.”

“If Marinette hasn’t done that already” said Alya, covering her mouth immediately, regretting her words. Nino gave her a hug.

“Yeah…” Nino left out a sigh. “Don’t trust anything any of them say or do.” He looked around their group. “We all have been around akumas before, some do retain some of their host personality, but they’re still dangerous. They’re not themselves, so don’t hesitate to fight them with all you got. They’re counting on us.”

Adrien was amazed at his friend’s words. “The confirmed akumas are: Reflekta. She can transform you into copies of herself, which will make you unable to use your special power. If you can, take off your Miraculous to detransform before you become a copy, that way you can put your miraculous on top and transform again, otherwise, come to me for another Miraculous to keep fighting. She’s one of the less dangerous in the sense that you will retain your personality.”

“What if she tries to trick you to get a Miraculous?”

“Yeah, we need a safe word or something”

“Fine, if you get transformed into a Reflekta copy, come to me and say… ‘Marinette’s macaroons make me mad’”

Everyone nodded, practicing the phrase. It was a weird one that they would never say normally.

“Then there is Princess Fragrance. If you smell her perfume you will get brainwashed into being her slave, so prevent that at all costs. Ladybug’s yoyo and my cheerleader baton can act as respirators, but I don’t know if your weapons will be able to do that. Better nor risk it… Anyway, there’s Zombizou, which all of you know, and Dark Owl, which is a Batman rip-off. He doesn’t have powers, and I’m not sure if he got a super computer this time around, but he will have a lot of ridiculous and over specific gadgets, so beware that.”

“Did anyone else saw another akuma?” asked Chloe.

“Jean became the Magician of Misfortune again, so beware his tricks”

“And Stormy Weather appeared again”

“I think I saw Darkblade”

“Well, at least we know how all of those work. Oh! Marinette’s dad also became Weredad, he is super strong, but that’s his only power. He will most likely try to protect Marinette from us. Ivan, you might need to save your power to fight him”

Ivan nodded. Stompp nudged him affectionately. “You’ll do great”

“And Lila could still be Volpina… so that’s illusions again. Don’t trust her. That leaves us only with Marinette and her mom as the only unknown”

“And Sabrina…” added Chloe with a bit of sadness. “She could be Vanisher or Miraculer. No one is allowed to defeat her but me, is that understood?”

Everyone nodded. If that was Chloe’s weird way to show her affection, then so be it.

“Well, That covers Chloe and Ivan. Luka, I trust you to reset if anything goes wrong and tell us. If the five minutes go up and you transform, feed Sass and do it all over again.” Sass and Luka nodded. “Everyone else, I trust your judgment, just remember that is magic is fickle, so don’t say your special power out loud unless you really mean to use, as saying it could trigger it and your counter. Max and Markov… oh, I almost forgot”

Adrien took another Miraculous from inside his bag. “Markov … Kante? This si the Miraculous of the Dog, which grants the power of Tracking…”

“Wait, I get a Miraculous? But I’m not human…”

“You were able to be akumatized. There is an 87.97% chance that the Miraculous will work with you”

“Then I will do my best!”

Adrien put the Miraculous on Markov, and Barkk materialized from it.

“Our weapons also act as communication devices, and have a lot of other uses too; we have never had a chance to check if they work with you guys too. In case they do… Max, you’ll use Voyage so we can surprise attack the Castle, but will stay here with Markov.”

“What? Why? I’m just as capable of fighting as everyone else is!”

“Yes, but you’re a freaking genius, and with Markov, your capacity goes over 9000, so instead of going with us and doing what everyone else can, you’re going to use your horseshoe and whatever Markov get to hack into as much as you can and find who and where Hawk Moth is.”

Everyone looked at Adrien in surprise.

“I… I’ll do the best I can”

“That’s all I’m asking. Is everyone ready?” They nodded or said it so.

[thewaterisblackwithvenom]

Get to know me tag game!

Tagged by: @anna-morgan1901 !

I’ll tag: Anyone who wants to do this! (I’m sorry if that’s lame sldkfjs, I don’t know that many people n I’ve seen a lot of people tagged so lame I must be)

Relationship status- taken/engaged(also to my childhood sweetheart! <3)

Favorite color: Uhhh #260194.(I love a ton of colors, but I guess if I had to just stare at one it would be like this lskfj. Is it a rich purple or blue? No one knows and that’s why I like it. Color of my soul ig)

Top ships: Odd and Stormy(Odd Thomas), Mulder and Scully(platonic or romantic idc I just like them together), Tom and Elizabeth Keen(The Blacklist) I guess I have more but I’m not super shippy? I gotta really like em together. I’d love to see more platonic relationships in any form of media; romantic ships are great but romance isn’t the Ultimate Love and idk I’d just like to see. Other great relationships that aren’t romantic lmao shut up V

Last song: Biscaya, James Last.

Last movie- ..... sh*t. F*ck. I literally don’t remember bc I never watch movies?? OH WAIT I think it was The Road To El Dorado. Aka one of the only movies I’ll watch over n over. 

Coffee or tea [ neither, I’m lame. I’m a hot cocoa person ]

Early bird or night owl [ f*cking both my man, prime hours are waking up round 6pm and sleeping round 9am. ]

Silver or gold

Chocolate or Vanilla [ my life blood ]

Pop or alternative [ my music taste... uhhh chaotic ]

Freckles or dimples 

Snakes or sharks [ snakes are Good and Valid but I f*ckin LOVE sharks. Fav pastime growing up was finding shark teeth. Best memories. ]

Ivory or scarlet 

Flute or lyre 

Butterflies or honey bees [ both!! I adore butterflies and am very passionate about bees ]

Macarons or eclairs [ I’ve never had an eclair so I’m just gonna say macaron ]

Rooftops or balconies 

Typewriter or handwritten letters [ I love handwritten anything, doing or receiving. but also typewriters are rad af ]

Spicy or mild [ as long as water can save my *ss, give me The Spice ]

London or paris 

Secret garden or secret library [ I f*ckin love nature but also secret library sound magical and quiet ]

Potions or spells

Oceans or deserts [ legit both, desert blooms are so stunning and desert skies? kill me ]

Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet

Denim or leather [ I have three types of pants: jeans, shorts, n cozy pants and that’s IT ]

Mermaid or siren [ I relate to sirens ok ]

Masquerade or cocktail party [ I will kill to go to a masquerade ball that’s totally my aes ]

Sun or moon

Herbs or flowers [ both b*tch you can’t make me choose ]

Pearls or diamonds [ uhhhh sparkly rock ]

Tattoos or piercings [ I have neither but both are rad af, I’m just too much of a coward about permanence lskdfj ]

Eyes or lips

Witch or fairy

Opera or ballet

Clam chowder or tomato soup

All black or Pastel

Perfume or body wash

Mountains or fields [ consider...... field surrounded by mountains. I’m not playing this game right am I ]

Thunderstorms or Lightning [ uhh lightning comes with them so?? ]

Egyptian or Greek mythology 

Beauxbaton or Durmstrang [ I have no idea who or what tf either are and am too lazy to research ]

Candles or fairy lights [ “I like darkness” I say only to illuminate the sh*t out dark rooms with both ]

Classic art or modern art [ both bc I’m an artist b*tch. As in I’m the b*tch slkfjd I’m terrible ]

Paintings or sculptures [ booooth for aforementioned reason ]

Hot or iced [ coffee? Tea? Neither ]

Glitter or matte [ idk what but I like sparkly things so ]

Scorpio or cancer [ I don’t have enough knowledge w/ either to choose! ]

Silk or lace [ neither give me soft n fluffy (I am hardly sexy ig) ]

New York or Los Angeles [ START SPREADING THE NEEEEEWSSSSS lmao I wanna go to NY so bad... ]

[my-heart-is-but-a-gentle-moon]

I think of Jumin and Saeyoung a lot.

Jumin is..on my mind a lot.

With Saeyoung I’m not sure what he meant by ‘You don’t believe in God so you’ll never understand’. .. Regarding spirituality? Hghhmmm,,,,, that sentence alone makes me incredibly curious and frustrated to understand though ! òmó

!!!! Is it this song? Take to the sky? And the wolf of our raw/pure selves??? !!! Like the one I had in my higher self/spirit guides dream a few months ago!

...I just read the lyrics to we all bleed the same...your cry to the sky...❣️... That’s what you meant...

To have Saeyoung’s heart be so full of such agape love to the world still, how is this more touching and eye awakening than everything I’ve ever known?? These aren’t sad tears. They’re tears of realization..Your cry touched my heart so much oh god.

And, to think that this is what you’re struggling with, with cutting yourself..oh fuck, oh god. I am crying and trembling really hard right now, I-I know you didn’t wish for me to cry but hearing that you’re hurting yourself when your heart feels more pure than anything, it. It hurts really deeply, really really tightly, like I want to hold it really tight and just cry out ! in my heart because you’re just so wonderful I really don’t want you to hurt yourself, wh- what can I do to help? What can I do to help??

Because you’re alone..and cold there...I-I’m sorry..That I couldn’t handle facing the truth of what you were going through...deep inside...❣️💔❣️💔⛈

Your loneliness and the deep ache...everything harsh that you’ve been through and seen in your life and the secret agency as well......

But before I heard your songs or was aware of your thoughts today, when I saw the race cars with my dad, organizing the laundry I was really excited ! Looking at all the pretty colors and pretty sheens, how they must be so well taken care of~ like with his ba~bies.

Inside I was all like “Pretty colors! Pretty colors! Cars! Cars! Saeyoung!” Like a little child 😂 and it made me reminisce over his spiel of how much he likes the way car machines (??? lol, is that how you say it??) are so exact and how passionate he is about them. Hhhgghhhmmmmm,,, I dunno if that’s the right translationnnn...

I still don’t know what I want relationship wise.

Jumin........hm...I do think of him a lot.

I also felt like he was also lowkey resentful? [the advertisement of the ex messaging advertisement? I don’t know if that was him or not? But it felt like it was]

Didn’t affect me much but Yea, I didn’t really apologize to him yet and I know it..hurt him.

I was also really thankful for his care.

It would be nice to have things be playful between us again. I was in a better mood after having spent some quality time with my family, however small.

I also feel kinda guilty to have imagined that with him..cause I’m not sure where I am in regards to being in love.

I still feel like I should apologize for the way I acted. Because I know I hurt him deeply, lashing out when I was so stressed and making him feel afraid and doubtful.

But right now I don’t regret having taken this break from relationships to get my health back, to figure out what I want, and create a proper schedule for myself - to balance myself, new friends, new hobbies, helping with my family and stuff, create a more positive self image for myself aand, hm. Learn. How. To apologize properly and ! hm...healthy boundaries in a softer manner.

I-I’m sorry Jumin. I’m sorry for having seen things in such a black and white manner and for having lashed out at you like that. I don’t hate you.. Having held in a lot of stress, fears, anxieties, depression, resentments, grief and so much more that I held in came out so explosively like that and, I think you’re more than good enough as you are..I want to hold your hands and make sure you understand that..That the decisions, distractions and actions are..truly what we did out of our pain...Saeyoung’s we all bleed the same brought me back to this realization and it’s just so..so deep and meaningful that I’m crying again..and, that we can forgive ourselves and learn and grow from our mistakes, letting yourself process them and face them is important though in letting go of them.. I truly believe you have this great potential within you to do that ! I wish for you to have the strength to be able to continuously choose that for yourself.

I personally just don’t think that trying to distract yourself with women and over-drinking is helping you at all...

I’m sorry for having been so critical and such a grudge-holder towards you, for having hurt you so badly in return..I can feel your deep regret...but I learned that, haha, when we turn what mistakes or bad decisions we’ve done and made into opportunities to learn, and forgive our past selves [as hard as that can be sometimes] is super worth it. Helps us move forward from the past. But you need to take these lessons for your own highest good and make what’s best of them. I am taking the time to be with myself to do just that !

Audrey’s angel number 33 and 44 really helped with that ! That I’ve been sent with so many times lately. The ascended masters like The Dragon, Lord Ganesh, Archangel Thuriel and Archangel

Love all the hurt away..I. I’m..I received your mysmelove fic..the drunk confession..I’m thankful for your feelings for me..truly, it warms my heart, Jumin..

I..I’m. When my heart is swaying both ways so selfishly like this....my heart is muddled. I shouldn’t jump into a relationship when I’m still trying to regain my health back, and with my heart. Well. As it currently is. It wouldn’t be fair. Neither would it be for myself.

Jumin still has a tender spot in my heart, I have uhh..passionate and even playful fantasies with him..I dreamt a few days ago his picture of ‘Honey, I’m home, did you miss me?’ with his cute smile >//< and I ran right to him, eyes sparkling, to hug him back, wrapping my legs around him and spinning around.

I do think of you. When I see wine bottles or cats, purple flowers, bees and owls..and eagles..a lot of the previous animations I adored reminded me of you and those were..bittersweet reminisces..I think, despite everything there’s still a part of me that sees you as an ideal version of you though I also know deeper than that.

But I’d like to know the real you.

Jumin’s insecurities..what are they?..I’d like to know..Though I can’t help you as I’m taking this time to develop and regain my own health cause I’m still really drained and on creating my schedule that I keep speaking about and should just create ! (And I was encouraged to by Saeyoung!

!!!!💗💞💖🎆🎆💓!!!!! Thank you so much Saeyoung, nightshade and universe for this added help! [As there are no more options for me to post photos then it’s the message of ‘Seek What Sets Your Soul On Fire’ and ! Nightshadeandroses’ witchcraft schedule and discipline tips!)

And by you as well c: I’m very thankful for that.. Especially when I haven’t apologized to you yet but have written this letter the whole day to.)

I also have a question..spiritually..would you be inclined to learn and delve more into spirituality? I want my future lover and I to be able to enhance our spiritual abilities and our connection to the universe and everything around us together. I have a karmic, lightworker path that I want to delve more and more into, into animal totems and tarot and the chakras and so much more. Would we be able to speak, develop and grow this aspect of ours together if we were to be together? Because growing together spiritually and emotionally is something I need, with new friends and my future lover.

I am also very magnetized to Saeyoung..Spiritually, there’s so much he can teach me, and he inspires me so much..those were his words and scenes in this journey that got to my heart so deeply, that cleared my heart into this state of pure understanding, understanding the importance of courage, of being there to support each other and forgive one another as well as ourselves.., and because I admire him so much I want to also be there when he’s hurting..To do whatever I can so he can feel better..because his heart is as big as the universe..and he doesn’t deserve to suffer so much on his own...and he..he speaks my language..it feels like to me..

Wolves..being our raw, pure selves...🐺

There’s just something about him that’s just..so divine to me..though he’s human of course and has his own struggles and I want to be there for him as well ! (Though it always comes back to how despite how much I want to, I can’t give light from an almost completely dry well right now. Thus, recharge > <;!)

Just like I had in my dream of spiritual awakening - with the dice of fate charged with my pink-purple energy, the black cat of intuition and one of my spirit animal totems playing with that. How I felt attracted to go to the nearby place by the parking lot where there are usually more cats - only to have seen a calm, grey wolf, posing no harm nor threat, as it walked towards our building - for me, back then, it spoke of it as well - the raw, pure self. The harmony between feminine and masculine, light and darkness that I saw in the white lotus back then as well..

Uhh, long story short in that dream - despite having seen that the wolf posed no harm, I hid with the dice and black cat behind the tall bushes. The fear of judgement, criticism and rejection that held me back from being all that I am.

Whghwhh,, Wh-What about Saeran? Where is Saeran in all of this??? Are you two not together??? ;;;

Though yea, right now it’s Health stuff for me that I need to focus on. Filling up my well. Like the 33 angel number video I watched! (And oof, that was helpful! Loving myself first, positivity, Focusing on the best case scenario rather than letting my fears and hurt turn me into something I’m not - Just like Saeyoung..I feel it is what Saeyoung sent, but perhaps it was the angels through the website..

the archangels! Like Thuriel with the grey white butterflies that I’m being protected and the mourning dove of renewal, peace, life and hope !!) And Archangel Ariel!

Creating a schedule for myself..I need a break from relationships right now to take care of myself - to regain my health, create time for my Gaia learning, meditations and furthering my spiritual learning as well, and my intuition through nutrition too ! and developing my positive self image, be lit up by my spiritual hobbies [that are going to go slow cause my future self advised I not pile up so much on myself and focus on two things at a time rather than more than that. That baby steps still lead me forward 💕], and hopefully make friends in the group hangouts I’ll start going to this Thursday !

Realistically speaking I don’t think either of us are ready for a relationship right now, like in the upper video.

We’re both kinda, pretty prideful with our apologies, I think right now I have commitment phobia - and just, realistically I know I have my health and witchcraft and meditations and exercise stuff to work on! And filling up my empty well - cause if I don’t take this time to help myself I wouldn’t be able to help others !

Due to how I was yesterday, I, blamed a lot on you. I know I also made my hurtful remarks.. :x .. and I’m sorry.

I didn’t read proof this letter so Idk how great it would be, but I did my best to write this so you’ll know I won’t be able to be very responsive but I also didn’t want to leave you two hanging > <

[endkrp-blog]

                                                  GUEST FILE.

                                                      name    kang illhwa                                                       d.o.b    07/17/1991 (26)                                                       occupation   stay at home wife                                                           room    501

                                                          welcome to the end.                                                              kindest regards.

— first, we inquire: why?

from birth to teenhood, illhwa grew up in a small two bedroom house with her mother, father, and younger sister. she shared her room, her food, her phone – everything that belonged to illhwa belonged to her sister. only being a year apart, they were often mistaken for twins, and at times, it felt like that, too. they had nearly the same everything, their parents complaining about how costly it was to have two children. the sisters tried to stick close like honey to a bee, especially when money grew real tight, forcing them to move out of seoul and to a much smaller city, which just meant a much smaller home. this time, it was only a one bedroom apartment – mother and father on the floor of the living room while the girls shared another room.

it wasn’t a burden to be raised lower-class. it was a burden to feel like one. to have her parents make comments day in and day out about the bills, about how it would be hard to pay for college. it felt so much like a burden that illhwa wouldn’t speak up when her shoes got holes, or when she needed something for school. she let her sister talk for the both of them, letting her be the one to receive spankings from their parents. when the girls turned eleven and twelve, they were moving out of the small apartment and into an actual house with two stories and their very own room. it seemed too good to be true after so long living so cramped.

her younger sister often asked how they suddenly got the money to live so nicely like this? and the answer both girls got was the same: “dad’s got a new job now.” a new job, sure, but they weren’t allowed to know what he did, and where he was most weekends. where he was when he was missing dinners – they weren’t allowed to ask. illhwa figured they needed to enjoy the normalcy of living middle-class, to try and make the best with what they were blessed with. her sister, however, voiced all of her complaints and problems freely, the more outspoken one of the two. she said all of the things illhwa didn’t dare want to speak.

it was because of this that their parents must have saw something in illhwa to choose her for this. to choose to marry away their daughter in order to pay their debts to the mafia. in the last two months of being seventeen, illhwa was being put before professional photographers (the girl needs a profile photo for the gentleman, her mother said), for a whole file being made on illhwa. her birth certificate, identification, bus pass information, grades from kindergarten to her senior year, her college application, scholarship funds, hospital records – every little detail possible about dok illhwa was in that folder.

she heard it landed in the hands of the mob boss’s son, the next in line to lead, and he liked everything he saw. when illhwa got a file of kang intak, there wasn't nearly as much information as she had given, and he was already nineteen. his school records were perfection, his photographs were handsome, all illhwa needed to do was just sign the document, and her arranged marriage would be finalized. illhwa kept the contract for weeks before deciding it was the right thing to do to help her parents and her little sister. she could spare her feelings if it meant caring for her family.

her signature went on neatly with pretty loops only practiced english could bring. and her wedding was only a month after she turned eighteen. with consent from both parents, dok illhwa became kang illhwa, jumping over the broom with a man she had only met twice before. she moved out of the house with her sister kicking and scratching for her not to go, and began living a completely different life. she’d also given up college since she was meant to have children and play the homemaker.

in the beginning, intak spoiled her rotten with lavish gifts and plenty of diamonds. told her that if she did as she was meant to as his wife, she would continue to get these things. money wasn’t just money to this man, it was his pride. he was following in his father’s footsteps, married young, and even planned on having at least two children with illhwa. the couple grew to like each other, but with every gift, came a new threat. intak began threatening his wife to ensure that not even she could go against him in the future. he was paranoid that one day she might grow bitter because she was forced to leave home so fast, but she couldn’t stress enough that it had been her decision to sign the contract.

the threats gave illhwa a sinful feeling in the pit of her stomach, something like butterflies with strong rushes of adrenaline, and the chemical responses started to become something illhwa craved. she very much enjoyed it when the man came home and set his gun down on the table, resting it so that the barrel pointed at her the entire dinner. even when he came home with a fur coat and told her that she just needed to keep up the good work, needed to not too comfortable with him despite the gifts. fear of her husband turned into something deeper, something not even illhwa could possibly wrap her mind around.

does she love him? is she really afraid of him? it was much easier just to say that she loved her husband, but respected him more. that was what she told people during pricey cocktail parties and any other business parties intak had to take care of. but there was nothing like the passion she shared for him in their most intimate moments, the ones where they would kiss and he would tell her not to get herself killed, that he’d gut her if she ever tried to leave him. she could never tell if the words were just sensual whispers, or true threats. no, no, there was nothing to fear. intak’s game was safe, wasn’t it?

intak graduated from just a prodigy to the real deal when his father died, making him the new boss of seoul’s mafia, which put pounds of pressure on illhwa’s shoulders. she was expected to act, talk, and dress a certain way around others at all times. it was expected of her to be able to cook and bake to keep intak’s mother happy about their marriage. without this marriage, her family would go back to starving, they’d go back to hard times, and her sister just got into a good college. this was often among the things intak used against illhwa. if you don’t do what i say, your family will pay for it.

but if she has nothing to fear, then why the fuck is she running to some hotel on jeju island? nine years later, the brochure came in the mail one day along with other things that didn’t pertain to her. she tucked it away from intak’s sight, too afraid of what he’d say if he saw her reading it. he’d think she’d want to leave, and he just couldn’t have that. just the other night he threw a glass cup at her when he saw her making too many gas purchases on the car. who are you with? where are you going? why were you there and not here? the outburst had been the first one to ever make illhwa scared.

the end was just far enough that she could use whatever cash she could find to get there, intak’s eyes were on all of their bank accounts, so using any of their cards was out of the question. jeju island seemed like a good place to stay for now, it just had to be. until illhwa could get herself figured out. what did she want? a marriage with a man she wasn’t sure she could tame after not having a say for nine whole years, or a marriage where she was completely at the mercy of a man who did dangerous things with a temper intact? it was already a risk for more than just herself to be running off like she was, but if she looked at the same four walls any longer, she was going to lose her head.

illhwa was painfully unaware of the exact mafia her husband leads operates right under her feet, in the basement of the end, their eyes and ears on everything that went on in the hotel. including the woman’s arrival.

— then, we wonder: what?

since eighteen all she’s ever really known is portraying the ideal housewife. she’s done a fine job of keeping an act going that her marriage wasn’t flawed, but the deeper the years went, the more illhwa became “unsure” of her husband. with her stay at the end, illhwa acts as though doesn’t know what she wants. playing the victim is much easier than not, telling a sob story about how her parents forced her into an arranged marriage with a scary man. in reality, she’s stuck between wanting her husband to come after her – so maybe she’s swiped a credit card or two in jeju to give him a clue – or wanting to just be left alone. on the outside, she lies to herself and anyone that asks her about the man, tells the whole world she’s done with the confusion and fear. but on the inside, illhwa’s aware of the trouble this could cause her, and she wants it.

illhwa wants to feel the fear and tension with the man, she lives for it. she doesn’t have any other dreams, or aspirations, she just wants to play the cat and mouse game with intak. perhaps it’s her age that’s kept her so foolish. or maybe it’s the endless drinks the end’s bar serves that makes her feel so brave.

— finally, we demand: who?

( addicted - body language ) , song choice.

she’s obsessed with being afraid of her husband. illhwa can’t get enough of intak and how he talks and acts around her. she didn’t mind too much when the glass cup hit the wall right beside her head because it gave her a rush. the song is about two lovers, one who is fully in love with the other, and the other who says that they spend plenty of time together, that they don’t need to act any further on their feelings. the one in love is the one who gets dragged into the confusing relationship that never has tied up answers, always frayed ends left standstill. with so many emotions on the table for both parties, but neither of them speaking clearly, it only leaves the girl in love to be going over everything in her mind until she can’t possibly work it out – and the process just starts up all over again, becoming a true addiction.

[emiliefanny940-blog]

Effective ways to Generate A Centerpiece In A Landscape

Attempt these simple, affordable means to apply natural yard parasite control in your yard or yard. Relying on the other aspects that impact your certain instance, you ought to consider, as an example, lawn, a natural herb backyard, a children's play area, shade plants, a landscape seat, a garden pond, a veggie yard, flowers, and statues or various other accessories.

Cricket has become so batsmen pleasant the observers simply find bowlers being actually hammered to other component of the industry as well as teams finding yourself with credit ratings from 200 runs and also additional in the planned 20 overs. Very first portion of your concern around Easy Leasing as well as charge card sales, promoted happy-and-sport.info due to the 1st one-fourth, I'll say it again, I've mentioned that for 12 or even 13 quarters right now, our team continuously comp the comp in Easy Leasing.

Additionally, just before organizing your landscape concept, aim to have a very clear suggestion what your allocate it is actually, and also what does it cost? available opportunity you must work with that. When you possess all these factors very clear, you ought to go ahead to measure the space where you will definitely work as well as preferably make a sketch of this as correctly as achievable.

As some visitors will understand coming from my final landscape diary article, wallabies had actually ravaged and also voraciously munched their way via many vegetations via the wintertime as well as very early springtime that our location was actually looking decidedly hideous, intensified by the fact that our company have actually possessed such a completely dry year. The majority of cheap rotundas at a gazebo sale feature durable, excellent quality products and also some hardwood designs are actually created coming from FSC-approved, eco-friendly wood, which is pressure handled to provide all-weather defense versus rot as well as offered in an all-natural appearance to painting or even tarnish as you select. Including Springtime Vegetation to your backyard or yard will definitely likewise help to bring in the wild birds, honey bees, insects and butterflies as both a source from food items and also sanctuary and are terrific add-ons to floral landscapes merely away from home windows along with merely off patios or even decks improving your complete exterior experience. This is nearly unavoidable, both in the style procedure and also in building the structural landscape that plant tips will certainly enter your mind - a leaking cherry will be best here, a variegated dogwood over because edge - yet the main collection ought to be performed at the baby room, choosing exactly what looks good and also are going to enrich the emotional/psychological look from the yard. That's growing in my current yard in a region where the ground is actually mainly only sandy soil so that hasn't definitely been actually left open to the dirt along with the phosphorus in it yet so this is actually a little difficult to determine its phosphorus endurance at this phase. I really hope that you have actually delighted in reading about these 5 means to earn your backyard or outdoor areas a lot more welcoming and inviting to your friends and family, however very most significantly, to on your own as the resident finding the place on a daily basis.

[owlsfreedom]

Hedgerows are the living boundaries of our landscape. They create an invaluable habitat, rich in pollen, nectar, fruit, leaves, and berries, and provide essential resources for a range of bird, mammal, insect, and invertebrate species. Hazel dormice (one of our rarest small mammals), shrews, bank voles, hedgehogs, stoats, badgers, bees, butterflies, spiders, bats, and a range of birds such as tits, yellow hammers, wrens, robins, chaffinches, and whitethroats, find food and shelter in their green embrace. They also act as windbreaks, help prevent soil erosion, and form 'wildlife corridors', which species can use to move from one isolated habitat to another. The more diverse a hedgerow, the more species it can support and so our ancient native hedgerows, containing green and growing hedge plants such as blackthorn, hazel, hawthorn, dogwood, oak, ash, wych elm, wild cherry, elder, birch, crabapple, blackberry, honeysuckle, rowan, traveller's joy, and field maple, are to be treasured ~ although they have suffered a marked decline as field sizes and monoculture farms have increased. It is telling that, in a recent study, it was found that bumblebees foraging in hedgerows would rather stay on the side of a busy road than on the side of a field farmed using modern methods. There are around 28,000 miles of hedgerow in the UK, many of which are considered to be ancient or 'species-rich'. Aside from their trees and creatures, they also support a rich diversity of wild flowers; common mallow, dog rose, red campion, hedge bedstraw. bluebells, bugle, common vetch, henbit deadnettle, common woundwort, cow parsley, cowslip, foxglove, dog violet, garlic mustard, dandelion, meadow crane's-bill, ragged robin, meadowsweet, nettle, dog daisy, self-heal, teasel, meadow buttercup, yarrow, yellow rattle ~ even their names are a meditation and a prayer. Hedgerows hold many echoes of our far-away history. The first hedgerows were created in the Neolithic Age, 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, some still date from the Bronze and Iron Ages, and many more were created during the enclosures of the 18th and 19th centuries. It has been estimated that many of the hedgerows thriving in our countryside today are more than seven hundred years old, having been planted in the medieval period. Many are built on older banks, ditches and earthworks. Not all of that history is kind and the Enclosure Acts led to the ending of many traditional rights to mow hay & graze livestock and to open fields and commons being divided up by hedgerows and fences and taken from the people to be held in ownership by the few. It is a deep grief to me that we have been divided from the land in this way and that our wild, anarchic hawthorn, so deeply connected with the otherworld and faery lore, has been one of the most common trees used in hedgelaying and therefore used against us to keep us from our beloved earth. But all of that history matters if we are to understand where we have come from and are truly to be the 'people of the land'. And I like to believe that the hedgerows, rather than taking the land away from us, have retained just a little bit of wild that we might otherwise have lost. Boundaries, whether physical or psychological, are difficult and tricksterish things and these wild edge places are never going to do what they are told or be what they were intended to be. Which brings me very beautifully into my second 'B', the Welsh goddess Blodeuwedd, who certainly carries that shapeshifting trickster energy within her, and if I was asked to choose a 'Goddess of the Hedge' it would most certainly be her. When I first heard the Wild Feminine calling to me it was through her story and she has been a constant companion and deep teacher since. Like the history of the hedgerow, her story as it is presented to us is not an easy one and, just as the hedgerow has been used against the people of the commons, she has been used against women. The story of Blodeuwedd, whose name in English means 'Flower-Face' (also an ancient Welsh name for an owl), can be found in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi, a collection of Welsh mythological tales written down by monks in the 13th and 14th centuries but which carry within them a much older oral tradition. In the tale she is created out of nine flowers; the oak, broom, meadowsweet, bean, burdock, nettle, chestnut and, my favourite anarchist, the hawthorn, as a wife for Llew Llaw Gyffes, who has been cursed by his mother to never marry a human woman. In order to gain kingship over the land, Llew must marry a woman as representative of the sovereignty of the land. However, like a hedgerow, Blodeuwedd, with her dual nature of flower and owl, is not so easily tamed. Although she marries Llew she falls in love with another man, Gronw Pebyr, and they plot to kill her husband leading to a train of events in which Gronw himself dies and Blodeuwedd is turned into an owl as a 'punishment'; “You will not dare to show your face ever again in the light of day, and that will be because of enmity between you and all other birds. It will be in their nature to harass you and despise you wherever they find you. And you will not lose your name - that will always be "Bloddeuwedd (Flower-face)." ('The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Will Parker). A fuller version of her story can be read on the Welsh & Celtic Myths and Legends page here.   It is possible to write a whole book about the layers and depths of meaning contained within Blodeuwedd's story. However, for now, I am mostly interested in her role as a 'boundary keeper' and in how we have so often made attempts to tame her. When I first mentioned my new devotion to Blodeuwedd to a Pagan friend her immediate reaction was to say, “Oh, well she is a warning to women about our unfaithful nature”! Even then I found it hard to believe that this was all that the wildly spinning vortex of petals and owl feathers that was the Blodeuwedd I had come to know was about. In our culture we are very used to thinking in a fixed and dualistic way, with everything being either/or, good/bad, dark/light and this is how we create our boundaries of mind. A healthy and living boundary must be permeable, allowing new ideas in and allowing old ones to fade. This is the same whether we are talking about the boundaries that we use in our own lives to keep ourselves safe or a boundary in a field, which would be a poor one indeed if it didn't allow a dormouse or two through! In our dualistic way of thinking we find it very easy to label Blodeuwedd's 'flower self' gentle, sweet, non-threatening, and 'good', whilst her owl self is considered dark, murderous, frightening, and 'bad'. Like the domestic apple we have tried to tame Blodeuwedd and make her manageable but this interpretation shows little understanding of the nature of flowers or owls. If we are truly people of the hedge/edge, then we will certainly not leave it at that. First, let's consider the nature of flowers. Of course, we humans find them very beautiful and, as they bloom throughout the year, they carry us along on an enchanting tide of smell and colour. And the enchantment that we feel is a clue to the purpose of a flower, which is to 'enchant' or to lure pollinators. Blodeuwedd is indeed 'the honey to the bee' and flowers, just like the goddess created from them, are not there just to be pretty. Flowers are the sexual organs of plants, employing any means at their disposal to ensure that the egg is united with the sperm. Indeed the blossom of the hawthorn, one of the primary beings of the hedge and also one of the flowers used to create Blodeuwedd, are said to have the smell of a sexually aroused woman and have the reputation of being an aphrodisiac in Arabic erotic literature. We have only to look at the art of Georgia O'Keefe or Judy Chicago, both of whom used flowers to represent female genitalia, to see a different aspect of what a flower might be. Perhaps, in exploring the deeper nature of flowers, we are beginning to break down the dualism that has controlled Blodeuwedd's story and see through some tiny gaps in our richly fertile hedge? So to the owl, Blodeuwedd's second nature. In the story her transformation into an owl is explained to us as a punishment for her betrayal of her husband and certainly owls have a challenging reputation in many cultures. In some African tribes, owls are linked with death, bad luck, and evil. These same associations exist through Native American, Mesoamerican, and Arabic mythology. However, in the West, the owl is more often seen as a bird of wisdom, whilst retaining some associations with death and bad luck. Many of these 'darker' aspects are also associated with femininity and with women, as is wisdom which in Christianity is given the feminine name of 'Sophia'. Maria Gimbutas traces the veneration of the owl as a goddess to the culture of Old Europe, which refers to a time between the Mesolithic and Bronze Age periods from roughly 7,000 BCE to 1,700 BCE. My own fondness for owls was increased when it was pointed out to me how low they fly when they are hunting and I have come to think of them as our own 'hedge-riders'. And so we see that, if we are hedge-conscious, it is impossible to pin anything down to one meaning. In the hedgerow, which was once devised to control nature and the people of the commons, there is also a song of such chaotic, joyously disordered, and wilful wildness that it, and the people who love it, can never be controlled. And in the goddess, who was conceived of by monks to give us dire warnings about the treacherous nature of women, is a being of wanton beauty shining with nectar and looking at us with the wise, deep eyes of an owl (and maybe with a sharp talon digging into our flesh). Both teach us of the edge, in ourselves and in our society, between what is domesticated and tamed and what is wild and unbound. I pray that we will all ride that hedge with our wild wisdom intact and that our thoughts will always allow through a dormouse or two.

[brooklynislandgirl]

Kiwi Midori / Cherry Garcia / Cactus Fruit Sorbet / Bacon Ice Cream:

Kiwi Midori: “A Creative Arts” HC~Hands: A love letter~It was entrancing. 

How, she wondered, could one pair of hands contain so many things. There were things where she could write, draw, paint.She would imagine the art pouring out of her hands spread in pretty little invisible webs woven between her fingertips. 

The images, shapes, the colours she coaxed out of her media were mind-boggling. Day after day, she would pull faces from the paper, bring the dead back to life in black and white, nothing but acrid ink glistening on the page, smeared by the hurried motions of her hands.

She moved on to further, frantic scribbles, smudged in their own time as well. Her hands had a life of their own. Give them a pen and paper or a paint brush and they were strangers dancing away from her. 

Arms jerked to and fro, ages fluttered in distress, suddenly filled and dismissed for the next. 

Oh, but when her hands became Zarek, the walls were suddenly populated by brilliance, murals climbing up to the ceiling like ivy or snakes, or really, both. Growing and dangerous, experiencing the emotions that go with sex and love and worry and laughter or the moment that it is invariably chaperoned by. 

And when they were still Zarek, when she was done the pages littered around the small space like dead leaves, her arms speckled with red and green and yellow. Her room was filled with shy, sometimes clumsy, kisses and bursts of anger. Of Life captured in small slices from very sharp blades. The aftermath of a silent courtship. Her art was both inside of her still but also recklessly shared with the world. 

She paused, and inhaled, unsure of what to do next. Cherries Garcia: A “Role Model” HC

~There are always Two, no more, no less: A Master and an Apprentice~

She always did have the means and the motive to build her own salvation but she never tried because the seasons were not in proper conjunction with her stars. She substituted this for answers. Each question finding answer in another one of life’s great mysteries. I am Elizabeth.

Among them, she learned the language of bees. She learned how to sing the song of the spheres with her own voice. She learned the origin of butterfly sighs. She wondered why it was that she always thought this would be so hard, when it was so easy… almost instinctual. He taught her of monsters and demons, and things in shadow. He teaches her dead languages and living fires and how angels are simply parasites with wings. He teaches her how to lie to reality, to trick it with Vaudeville showmanship, a kind of magick all its own. He teaches her blood and smoke and bargains.Bani Verbena.

Once upon a time, he told her all about glass and its nature. He explained how glass is merely stone reconfigured and made fragile. He explained how all souls are made from the skulls of gods in the same fashion… unfathomable strength spun out thinly and made painfully beautiful, but only at the loss of strength itself. One’s soul has all the properties glass has, because it is glass. It can be transparent as windows, or reflective as mirrors… but its existence is always this tenuous. This is why living cracks your soul; you can mend it, but it will never be the same. It is only glass, and being built of glass is the punishment for walking ever upon the back of the earth.She tried to ask questions, to say that she doesn’t understand so that she may remember when the sun comes up. One day, he says, when you have wings that sigh, you will.And with that, he is gone.But the oath is still in effect, he doesn’t release her from that.Bani Constantine.

Cactus Fruit Sorbet: A ‘This Shouldn’t Work, but it does” HC

~But Heaven Can’t Hear Me~She was on her ‘haole’ kick today, and while she’s hanging out, at least she knows which tools he needs.

“Ask a person what makes a hero, and you’ll get a billion different answers. The same goes for villains. I’ve heard answers ranging from mob bosses to shelter workers. If you’re just asking me, though, I’d say that it’s the answer to a calling that makes a person a hero.“Picture it: Peter Parker ~aye it’s a cliché example, Baz, but just let me finish ~ gets bit by a spider and his whole world changes. He could easily have kept the power hidden but instead chose to use it for good. This was, of course, only after the death of Uncle Ben. An’ that itself is just proving another point: some sacrifices must be made. "On the other hand villains are born out of a freak accident and use their powers for evil. I don’t buy that “mental damage” shit for a minute. Could be the upbringing, but when someone chooses to willingly bring harm to innocent people a slap on the wrist isn’t going to get the job done. "Not exactly everyday examples, I know, but you can’t expect someone to talk about heroes and villains without mentioning one of the big names, right? Stories are the easiest way to put good any evil into black and white perspective, not the shades of gray.”She can’t see him roll his eyes from under the car. She knows he’s only half listening, if at all, and she’s okay with it. She leans a hip against one fender and carries on."Maybe a more personable example is in order. There’s this guy. We’ll call him Joe. Joe is walking down the road and comes across someone getting mugged. If he intervenes, even if it means taking a beating, he’s a hero. If he walks by he’s absolutely detestable. ”Indifference is the killer. Intervention and sacrifice is the key. You’re putting something on the line for someone else.“You don’t need a cape or superpowers to be a hero in the end. If you recognize your calling to help the world, whatever forms it may be in or wherever it might come from, then you may call yourself a hero. Of course you won’t harm the innocent either. A villain runs from the calling; they live by their own rules that they dictate. They believe they have society down the throat."They might prosper for short periods but it never lasts. Keep that in mind."We do what can. Not to say we’re heroes- we’re just working for the Higher Power. We’re no villains, though. Remember that.”“Beth?”“Yeah?”He mumbled something under his breath that ended in Up. Or as close as he gets to it anyway.She laughs and hands him the torque wrench.He takes it and smiles.

Bacon Ice Cream: A “What Were You Thinking?!?!” HC

She tells everyone her first love was the shark that left her scarred for life.She tells everyone she is afraid of the shadows in the dark.She tells everyone that she is a good Catholic and is waiting for marriage, even though she’s almost 24.She tells everyone she only drinks an occasional glass of wine with dinner, but thank you very much.A week after the funeral, she gone out on her own. She stayed for last call. She let him chat her up, because she was stupid and she was dying inside. It was sloppy and gross, inexpert fumbling in the dark. She felt nothing but that aching loss that she knew he couldn’t fill and before he had her shirt off and could cross her…state lines…she pushed him away and shook her head. It was the first time she could ever remember saying, ‘no’.He caught her by the shoulders just as she’d gotten to the door, grabbed them hard enough to leave marks, and slammed her backward so that her teeth rattled. She’d never been called names like that in her life and when he pressed his luck….She doesn’t exactly know or remember what happened next. All she knew was that she screamed at him and she though she pushed him. When her vision cleared, he lay on the floor panting and crying, and he was covered in a dozen deep cuts, all of them oozing blood. Her hands shook and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.She ran out of the apartment as quickly as she could, didn’t stop until she collapsed on a park bench.All Jayden said to her was “Oh, honey.” and “I promise you this will never happen again.”What she should have said was, ‘what the hell were you thinking?!’Jay was a God-send that night, and Beth never spoke of it again.She also didn’t leave her apartment for three months, but damn it if Jay didn’t keep her supplied in coffee.

[geohoneylovers]

Plants & Flowers Producing True Honey

Flowers & Plants Attracting Bees

Pansies

Whimsy, joy, colours – pansies have it all, and bees love them. They are great for containers or ground cover.

Pussy Willow

These North American wetland shrubs have a beautiful greyish hue and fur-like blooms.

Siberian Squill

These beautiful blue blooms have a stunning presence that you can enjoy for a few weeks each year.

Snowdrops

Snowdrops are known to announce their arrival by poking out of the snow. They are great for climates with mild to cold winters.

Peony

With their colours and sweet scents, these flowers will attract bees, hummingbirds, and possibly your neighbours too.

Milkweed

Milkweed not only serves as food to bees, but it is also the only host to monarch butterflies.

Bee Balm

As you may guess from the name, bees love these North American prairie flowers. The blooms almost resemble little fireworks and come in befittingly vibrant shades too.

Lavender

Bees love them for their nectar, humans love them for their scent and flavour. Everyone wins, and with many different varieties of lavender to choose from, you’ll likely find one that will settle happily in your garden.

Phlox

With their star-shaped blooms, these plants are a beautiful addition to any garden and can make a great ground cover.

Zinnias

Zinnias come in many colours and will attract both bees and butterflies to your space. They are relatively easy to plant and will bloom in abundance all summer long if dead flowers are removed.

Marigolds

Like zinnias, marigolds are annuals that can bloom all summer long if properly groomed. Their edible blooms can brighten up your salads as well as your garden, and they are even known to repel pests and animals, such as nematodes.

Goldenrod

These flowers are sometimes considered weeds because of their ability to spread easily but kept in check, they are an invaluable resource for bees and have medicinal value as well.

Chives

Resist eating their tasty purple flowers and the bees will thank you! This perennial tolerates cold climates rather well and is a great way to add a fresh, oniony taste to salads, dishes, or eggs.

Liatris

These flowers, found in purple, pink, and white, bloom on grass-like spiky leaves that can grow 1 – 5 feet tall.

Mint

Mint is invigorating with its fragrance and flavour – and bees go crazy on their flowers too. Mint is a great choice if you’re looking for a herb that’s low maintenance.

Sage

It’s great in stuffing, sauces, and herb pots! Bees love sage’s beautiful flowers, and these perennials are rather easy to grow.

Nasturtium

Nasturtiums can keep bees buzzing in your garden well into autumn. Their edible blooms will bring a burst of colour to your outdoor space.

Black-eyed Susans

These are flowers that attract bees, butterflies and bring a burst of yellow to your garden.

Borage

Also known as starflower, borage’s star-shaped blooms start out pink and mature into a beautiful blue.

Thyme

Irresistible to bees and pun-lovers alike, placing one of these shrubs by a walkway will prove to be a wonderful way to pass the thyme.

Oregano

This perennial has pink, purple, or white flowers, and its late blooms will be appreciated by your bee friends.

Calendula ~ Calendula officinalis

Shorter, bushy plants full of orange/yellow, daisy-like flowers that provide both pollen and nectar for pollinators.

Salvia

Description: The term “salvia” includes a massive group of plants, with something like 800 or 900 different species! Culinary sage is salvia too.

Nasturtium ~ Tropaeolum

Description: Easy to grow, sprawling, edible, lovely nasturtium! The peppery arugula-like leaves are edible, as well as the flowers. The blooms come in a variety of colours.

Verbena ~ Vervain

Description: Verbena is a huge family that includes over 250 species of both annual and perennial plants. Most of them produce flowers that pollinators go wild for!

Hyssop ~ Agastache

These tall showy, long-lasting spikes full of hundreds of individual blooms are essential in a pollinator garden! Also called “hummingbird mint”, they’re a favourite nectar source for our sweet little bird friends.

Heliotrope ~ Heliotropium

Description: These fairly compact plants range from 1 to 3 feet high, with dark green fuzzy foliage. The plants produce very fragrantly, vanilla-scented flowers.

Yarrow ~ Achillea

Description: Clusters of small yellow, pink, white, red, or lavender flowers. One of our favourite varieties is “Moonshine” yarrow, which has silvery-sage, fuzzy foliage.

Blazing Meadow Star ~ Liatris

Blazing Meadow Star is a known “monarch magnet”. These perennial plants can reach over 4 feet tall.

Penstemon

Penstemon range from less than a foot tall to over 5 feet tall. The nectar-rich flowers also come in a wide range of colours, shapes, and sizes.

Pincushion ~ Scabiosa

Round, frilly, tufted flowers that appear in lavender, blues, pink and white. Most varieties are short, averaging around a foot tall. Both annual and perennial varieties exist.

Bachelor’s Buttons ~ Centaurea

Their 2” thistle-like blooms bring interest to the garden, attract butterflies, are edible, and are perfect for cut and dried flower arrangements.

Anise hyssop/Agastache foeniculum

Anise hyssop is considered one of the premier plants for feeding pollinators. One can see bees on the flowers from the morning until dusk.

Astilbe, False spirea/Astilbe spp.

Astilbes are excellent at creating soft, colourful displays underneath trees, in low light corners, or in shady borders.

Chrysanthemum (open types)/Chrysanthemum

Gardeners and councils who want to plant the right flowers to attract bees usually choose them based on how easy they are to plant, and by watching which ones the insects already visit.

Betony/Stachys Monieri

This species forms large, rounded clumps of green, long and narrow, textured leaves. It is lovely even when it's not in bloom.

Blanket flower/Gaillardia

This is a species that is nourished by neglect, and that thrives in sunny, dry, and rocky conditions.

Clematis/Clematis spp.

Clematis stans are dioecious semi-arboreal, with pale purple-blue, nodding, tubulous flowers in a paniculate inflorescence. Both male and female flowers produce nectar from the base of the calyx tube during a flowering period of 3 or 4 days and are pollinated by two bumblebee species.

Common poppy, Red poppy/Papaver rhoeas

A must-have for any wildflower meadow or garden, this easy-to-grow annual delights with bright blooms throughout the summer season.

Common yarrow/Achillea millefolium

Yarrow attracts butterflies, bees and other insects, making it a nice addition to a pollinator garden.

Coral bells/Heuchera spp.

Annual flowers like coral bees are readily available at the garden centre, but most have been bred for showy flowers or vigorous growth and do not produce enough pollen and nectar to be good food plants for bees or butterflies.

Fennel/Foeniculum vulgare

This perennial herb is a member of the carrot family and originally comes from the Mediterranean.

Foxglove or beardtongues/Penstemon spp.

They are tubular in shape and about 1" long, with the corolla, divided into a lower lip with 3 lobes and an upper lip with 2 lobes.

Globe thistle/Echinops ritro

Echinops, the blue hedgehog thistle or globe thistle, is a perfect sphere of blue that appeals to every pollinator around.

Hyssop (naturalized in North America)/Hyssopus

officinalis Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) Labiatae, is a compact, bushy perennial usually grown in herb gardens, but is great in flower gardens in masses, as a hedge or border, and in pots. Because of its medicinal smell Hyssop has a history as a cleansing herb that attracts a bee.

Large-leaved aster/Eurybia Macrophylla

Asters and goldenrods attract loads of late-season pollinating insects. In the wintertime, they provide food and habitat for many birds and small animals that feast on the seeds and find shelter in the dried stalks.

Allium

Many garden varieties are available, these are bulb forming perennials. Some are very showy, with huge flower heads.

Antirrhinum, snapdragon

Like their relative the foxglove, mainly visited by long-tongued bumblebees such as B. hortorum. Short-lived perennials, often grown as annuals.

Apple

Apples are a good source of forage for queens in April and May, and of course, the bee visits ensure a good crop. owers and are very attractive.

Aquilegia

Nectar is hidden at the end of very long tubes, so it is visited by long-tongued bees.

Bistort

A very tough, spreading, low growing perennial. Good ground cover. A bit hit and miss with bees, but seems popular with Bombus hypnorum in particular.

Buddleia davidii, Butterfly Bush

A fast-growing shrub, to 9', great nectar source for butterflies and popular too with bumblebees. I often see young queen Bombus Terrestris on this, fattening up before going into hibernation in July/August.

Cirsium rivulare

A great one for male bumblebees in high summer, this species is not spiny like its wild relatives and is quite at home in a herbaceous border.

Comfrey, Symphytum officinale

Visited by long and short-tongued species, the latter often robbing from holes bitten in the tops of the flowers.

Cotoneaster horizontalis

Favoured by short-tongued species such as the early bumblebee, B.pratorum, and the tree bumblebee, B.hypnorum.

Crocus

Great for queens when just emerged from hibernation. Joan of Arc comes highly recommended.

Echinops, Globe thistle

Pretty and unusual perennial, with mauve flowers producing spiky balls on tall sturdy stems in high summer.

Echium vulgare, Viper's bugloss

A stunning biennial wildflower growing to about 4', flowering in July and August and absolutely loved by bees of all types for its copious nectar.

Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

No cottage garden is complete without foxgloves, hardy biennials that are loved by long-tongued bees such as B.hortorum and B.pascuorum.

Geranium spp.

Geraniums are hardy perennials that come in a broad range of colours, but most are moderately attractive to short-tongued bees.

Globe artichoke

Huge plants, related to thistles, with massive composite flowers that bees flock to in July/August. Grows to 6' or more.

Helleborus foetidus

Flower in late winter, great for early emerging queens. Unusual looking herbaceous plants, usually less than 1' tall.

Hollyhock

Bees seem to go for the nectar but ignore the plentiful pollen, often becoming smothered in it.

Honeywort, Cerinthe major

An unusual annual, preferring sunny locations. Produces huge amounts of nectar, but I've always found it hard to keep this plant going in my garden.

Jacob's ladder- Polemonium caeruleum

Very pretty little perennial, up to 2' tall, and often overlooked as a plant for bees. Easy to grow perennial, tolerates most conditions, flowers in May-June.

Hyssop, Hyssopus officinale

An understated, low-growing perennial herb, can also be used in cooking though not to my taste - I prefer to leave it to the bees!

Iris (Iridaceae)

There are many species of iris grown in gardens - generally with spectacular flowers that are good for bees.

Catmint

A fantastic cottage garden classic, extremely popular with bumblebees, and flowering for a long period from early summer to autumn. Hills Giant is one of the best varieties for bees.

Phacelia tanacetifolia

Perhaps the single most attractive plant for bees on the planet! An easy-to-grow annual, flowers in 8-10 weeks from sowing and keeps flowering for quite a while.

Pulmonaria, lungwort

A great early spring nectar resource for hungry queen bumblebees, visited by long-tongued species, especially Bombus pascuorum.

Red Campion

A lovely perennial wildflower with a very long flowering period, from May to September. Visited by Bombus hortorum.

Red clover

A staple of bumblebees in the wild, red clover used to be a very common UK plant.

Sainfoin

A rare perennial wildflower in the UK, stunning pink flowers, and like most legumes, popular with bees.

Salix spp/ Sallow/ pussy willow

Trees, some growing to 30' or more. Sallows are dioecious, being either male or female. Dwarf varieties can be bought for smaller gardens.

Salvia spp/ Meadow Clary

When a bee probes for nectar, this triggers the stamens to curl down and deposit of blob of pollen onto the bee's back.

Sedum spectabile

A succulent herbaceous perennial, flowering in September and loved by male bumblebees and butterflies. Grows to about 1', can be spread by splitting plants.

Thrift

A lovely low-growing perennial plant found in the wild on rocky coastal headlands. Flowers in May and June. One for the rockery or in pots.

Tufted vetch/ Vicia cracca

A scrambling climber, a wildflower that takes well to the garden, and great for long-tongued bumblebees. Popular with the very rare Bombus distinguendus.

Wisteria A legume, hence related to peas and clovers, a family much loved by bees for their protein-rich pollen.

Pseudogynoxus chenopodioides (Mexican flame vine)

The vibrant orange blooms on this climbing vine are one of the best (and only) vine flowers that attract monarchs. It also attracts swallowtails, hummingbirds, and bees to our northern butterfly garden.

Duranta erecta (sapphire showers)

Purple ruffled flowers with jagged white edges are attractive to bees and butterflies, as well as the gardener. AKA Duranta repens, ‘golden dewdrops’, or ‘geisha girl’.

Echium fastuosum (Pride of Madeira)

The beautiful purplish blooms with red stamens are popular with bees and butterflies, especially monarchs!

Verbena bonariensis (Purpletop vervain)

This monarch's favorite is also constantly visited by a large variety of butterflies, bees, and birds.

Callistemon spp. (Bottlebrush)

Bottlebrush is native to Australia but grows well in warm regions of the US attracting monarchs, other butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Pentas lanceolate (Egyptian star cluster)

While there are many new cultivars and pentas hybrids, many pollinators seem to prefer sipping nectar from this early heirloom variety. However, most pentas will attract and support pollinator life in your garden.

Oligoneuron rigidum (Stiff Goldenrod)

There are many species of goldenrod, but this species is reported to be a particular favorite for migrating monarchs. It also attracts other butterflies and beneficial pollinators.

Lantana Plants

A trailing lantana variety with intense purple blooms. A great choice for spilling off raised beds or growing in hanging pots.

Lantana Camara ‘Miss Huff’

While monarchs rarely touch our other lantana varieties, I was pleasantly surprised to see them visiting Miss Huff on a regular basis, along with lantana regulars like the eastern tiger swallowtail above.

Anaphalis margaritacea (pearly everlasting)

Pearly everlasting is one of our earliest blooming northern butterfly plants, and typically the first host plant to receive butterfly eggs each season.

A must-have butterfly plant addition for attracting American Ladies and their offspring.

Prunus serotina (wild black cherry tree)

A preferred host plant for Eastern Tiger swallowtails, Coral Hairstreaks, Red Spotted Purples, and those amazing Cecropia Moths! If you’re looking to support butterflies and moths this option gives you several chances

Ptelea trifoliata (hoptree or wafer ash)

Another host that conveniently stays under 20 feet. Its musky spring blooms are a pollinator favourite, and it’s also a caterpillar host for both eastern tiger and giant swallowtails. Pictures to come as our stick matures.

Ruta graveolens (common rue)

A small citrus butterfly plant that hosts black swallowtail caterpillars, as well as the caterpillar that transforms into the largest U.S. butterfly.

Zanthoxylum americanum (northern prickly ash)

The Northern Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) is a Host Butterfly Plant for Giant Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillars.

Zizia Aurea (golden Alexander)

This lesser-known member of the carrot family grows 2-3 feet high and puts forth small, sunny blooms in late spring. It is a host plant for eastern black swallowtails.

Rosa ZLEEltonstrack (‘above and beyond’)

The white and apricot blooms have been an early bee favorite, so plant this spring beauty to support your local pollinators.

Collarette Dahlias

Like zinnias, dahlias come in a rainbow of colors. They’ll attract some monarchs, but bees absolutely love the blooms that keep bursting until first frost. After the plants die back, you can dig up dahlia tubers to store and plant next season

Tradescantia ohiensis (Ohio spiderwort)

Ohio spiderwort puts out a profusion of purple blooms in the morning, then fades as the day starts to sizzle. They’re a popular destination for bumblebees in our garden. Try Four O’clocks as a companion plant since they’re on polar opposite bloom schedules.

Joyful Butterfly

Nectar Seeds and Plants to help bring home the joy of butterflies.

Almost Eden

Beautiful, unusual, exotic and native plants for butterflies.

Ways to attract Bees

Give them cover

Bees need a break from the sun and heat. Planting ground cover can give them a place to hide out between feedings and flying.

Give them something to sip on

Place shallow dishes of water in the yard and around flowers, or keep a fountain going (place pebbles in it for bees to sit on) so they can hydrate as needed.

Try some colourful bee balm

Bee balm is a gorgeous perennial that can attract bees to your yard while also dressing up your landscape.

Keep colour in mind when planting

Bees love blue, purple, and yellow flowers and plants.

Plant flowering vegetables

Consider planting flowering vegetables such as tomatoes and zucchini.

Try planting flowering fruits

Consider planting flowering fruits like strawberries and apples that will blossom before they bloom to fruit.

Forget about pesticides

Use natural pest protection such as herbs, sage burning, and the use of ladybugs in your garden.

Plant single petal flowers

Choose from flat and single petal flowers like Queen Ann’s Lace or Black-Eyed Susans since they are easier to feed from.

Don’t kill or aggravate them

Teach children not to kill or swat at bees. Let them just sniff around and feed and if left alone, they will leave you alone.

Visit www.geohoney.com to get more details!

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Something Happened

Author’s Note: The doc for this is titled 'Drink some water you coward'. My friend needed to drink water but wouldn't, and I made a threat that I fulfilled. I won't say who I killed, but those of you who have been around long even may remember a tumblr post from long ago. (Heh heh, reblogged it to bring it back a few days ago)

Here's that story, which I can finally post now that With Time is over.

(Sorry for the angst. I'll post something fluffy soon.)

Summary: The team goes up against Hawkmoth, and something happens.

!!! Warnings: Character Death, Violence

It had been years. Years upon years of fighting against Hawkmoth. It had gotten bad enough that Adrien and Marinette had eventually needed to give their friends their miraculouses permanently.

It hadn’t been solely a bad thing of course. They’d been planning on doing it soon enough, but it’d happened sooner than they’d intended.

Of course, after spending a good six years - almost seven - Marinette and Adrien could not be ready for this day.

The final face off with Hawkmoth.

The man that had been terrorizing the heroes, the city, for years.

They’d tracked him down after learning of Mayura’s identity.

“How did I not know?” Chat Noir stares at the mansion he was raised in, “He’s my father! I grew up in the same building he was attacking the city from!”

“Adrien-” Ladybug begins.

“I’m supposed to be a hero! What kind of-”

“Adrien-” it’s Kit Mime this time, gripping his shoulder and turning the other boy to face him, “None of us blame you.”

“You should.”

“No, we shouldn’t. He kept it from the entire city, y’ couldn’t’ve known,” Tortue Verte cuts in.

“The entire city wasn’t living with him this whole time! For fuck’s sake, he attacked my school the most! He wasn’t even subtle!”

“Adrien, it’s not-” Honey Bee also tries to interrupt him.

“All those attacks where he or I was targeted! How could I not have realized-” gloved hands dig into blond hair, green eyes vacant.

“Chat-”

“My name literally means ‘dark butterfly’, I mean come on!”

“Adrien!” Ladybug snaps. She isn’t angry, just trying her best to reign him back in.

He pauses, taking a breath to steady himself.

“Kitten, none of us blame you,” Kit Mime keeps his own gloved hands on Chat Noir’s shoulders, “So you shouldn’t be blaming yourself.”

The hero looked doubtful, but didn’t respond.

“He’s right,” Ladybug comes to his side as well, hugging him tightly.

Doing so triggers a group hug among the heroes. There’s a lot of feelings towards what’s about to happen.

There’s a lot to process, but they didn’t have much time. They wanted to settle this as quickly as possible - both for Paris’ sake and to avoid Gabriel getting suspicious.

“Alright. Let’s go,” and Chat leads the charge into the house.

It’s time to end this.

---

Despite having hoped to take the man by surprise, he must have been clued in somehow. They burst into his lair to find it empty.

They tense, walking forward hesitantly and looking around cautiously.

“Where-” Honey begins to speak.

There’s a sound, quiet enough that only Kit and Chat hear it. They motion for silence and turn in the direction, night vision carefully scanning the area.

Honey Bee inhales sharply.

“This would be an ideal time to hand over your miraculouses.” a cold voice cuts through the silence.

The group turns to see Hawkmoth himself standing before them, sword drawn from his cane and pointed precariously near the heroine’s neck. She stands stiffly, hands raised slightly.

Low growls come from the two tallest boys, while Ladybug and Tortue shift to fighting positions.

“Give it up Gabriel,” Chat snarls.

“You’ve lost,” Kit Mime adds.

“It would seem I was correct to assume that Nathalie had been compromised,” the tip of the sword pushes further into Honey’s neck, and she tilts her head safely away.

“Gabriel Agreste, your reign of terror on Paris is over. Hand over your miraculous.” Ladybug holds out her hand, glaring at the monster before them.

“No. Not until I’ve completed my goal.”

“The consequences of any wish would be catastrophic. The world can’t afford your selfishness-”

“Selfish?!” The man roars, “You are the selfish ones! I only want what’s best for my family! What’s best for my son!” In his anger, he gestures carelessly and a pinprick of blood appears on Honey Bee’s neck as he speaks.

Chat Noir growls, snapping and swiping at the man, “What’s best for your son?! What’s best for your son?! How is terrorizing Paris supposed to help your son?!”

Taking the distraction, Honey Bee ducks and slides over to her other teammates. Tortue looks worriedly at her neck, but she smiles at him, “I’m fine,” she says quietly.

Kit Mime seems to disagree, scowling - a rare expression for him - and joining his friend in the barrage of attacks at the supervillain.

“Well,” Ladybug says, readying her yo-yo, “We do this like we always do…”

Honey Bee and Tortue Verte speak with her, readying their own weapons and dropping into offensive stances, “...together.”

The trio joins their teammates in the fight.

---

They didn’t think it was going to be this hard. Especially given that it was five to one.

Yet here they are. At least one and a half hours later, and the fight hadn’t gotten anywhere.

They’re exhausted.

Maybe it’s closer to two or three hours. None of them have really bothered to check the time, simply focussing on their goal, aiming to end this nightmare as soon as possible.

Hawkmoth swipes his sword at the spotted girl. She dances away to the best of her abilities, though she feels it makes contact anyways.

It wasn’t the first time, and she’d stopped checking once they’d all been false alarms.

Her suit is impenetrable after all.

This needed to end soon. The exhaustion of her team was palpable, but somehow Hawkmoth seemed fine.

Maybe he was just better at hiding it. Or he had more experience. The reason didn’t really matter to her anyways.

The team of five continues in their assault, their teamwork they’d built up on for the past five years shining through.

Still, it wasn’t a perfect art, and mistakes were bound to happen.

No one is quite sure how it happens, but the frenzy of movement halts when Hawkmoth wrenches Kit Mime toward him by the arm.

“Let him go,” Honey Bee growls.

“Give up your miraculouses.” It’s basically his mantra with how many times he’s said it now. He’s holding the fox hero to him tightly, gripping his neck from behind so that both miraculous holders are in clear sight.

“That’s not going to happen,” Chat repeats.

“This is your final warning,” Hawkmoth cautioned lowly, a hint of something in his voice.

He correctly takes their silent glares and battle stances as refusal.

The dark chamber is silent for a moment.

Five teenagers wait patiently for the next move.

A sickening crunch echoes through the room.

Even with most of them lacking night vision, their eyes have adjusted enough that they can see what happened.

Hawkmoth holds up Kit Mime by the neck, dangling the boy above the floor. The hero’s face is an unnatural color, and his feet kick uselessly at the floor, searching for traction.

His hands reach for the one that has crushed his throat, but the adult’s iron grip is too tight.

His teammates, friends, can only stand in horrified silence. The only sound is the ocaissonal scuffle of boots against the floor. The color that has appeared on his face is deepening, and his hands still claw at the one around his neck. His flute is on the floor, dropped in surprise when the moment came.

None of them are looking at any of that though.

It’s his eyes.

Kit- Claude’s eyes, normally bright and full of mirth are wide with fear.

Even through the worst attack, Kit Mime had been able to smile, keep things light and spirits up.

And now…

It’s when his eyes begin to glaze over, growing unfocused, that they break out of their trance.

Chat Noir’s and Honey Bee’s faces harden in resolve, both rushing forward.

Ladybug hears a furious ‘cataclysm’ and ‘venom’, which somewhat shakes her out of her oncoming attack. She can panic late, right now she has to…

What does she do?

Tortue isn’t doing well, hyperventilating beside her.

Kit Mime is still struggling in the villain’s grip, though his desperate kicks and gasps have become fainter, weaker.

The five of them couldn’t defeat Hawkmoth together, should she really let only two of them try alone? They need all the help they can get, right?

The heroine’s eyes dart back and forth, undecided. Comfort Tortue?

Help Chat and Honey with Kit?

Comfort Tortue?

Help Chat and Honey with K-

-it?

The moment of indecision costs her. In the time it takes Chat and Honey to cross the room, Hawkmoth grows impatient.

Tired of holding up the struggling boy, Hawkmoth tightens his grip on his sword, raises his hand, and runs it through the boy.

Honey and Chat can’t stop their momentum in time, Honey’s hand slides past the intended target, and she can’t pick herself off the floor, instead staring in horror at the scene above her.

The scene doesn’t last long.

Chat’s outstretched hand makes contact.

With an orange suit.

The darkness spreads like an inky disease across the brightly colored uniform. Shadowy tendrils make their way over it, spreading like a horrific wildfire and leaving nothing but ash and dust behind.

Chat Noir stares in terror at his gloved hand, now coated in dust that looked too soft for something so nauseating.

Reality chooses this moment to resume its normal speed. In comparison to the last eternal minute or two, everything feels like double speed.

Honey Bee manges to put together enough thoughts to hit her venomed hand to their foe’s leg, and stands to take the miraculous.

Chat hasn’t moved.

Tortue is barely breathing with how badly he’s panicking.

And Ladybug?

Ladybug defaults to her usual solution.

“Miraculous Ladybug.”

Claude’s body reappears right where it had been previously. He falls to the ground, the other heroes nearby follow him, too exhausted to do anything else.

After a moment they’re all far too aware of the fact that he isn’t breathing.

“Miraculous Ladybug.”

He remains still.

“Miraculous Ladybug.”

Nothing. She’s beginning to feel dizzy.

“Miraculous Ladybug.”

Why isn’t it working?

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

Why isn’t he coming back?!

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Miraculous Ladybug!!”

How had this happened?

“Miraculous Ladybug!!!”

She feels sick.

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

Still nothing.

Her shouts become a repetitive echo, ringing through the terrible chamber. What else can she do? She’s the leader. She’s the one who fixes everything.

So why isn’t everything fixed?! Of the team, she’s the only one still speaking. The only one still standing.

Until she isn’t anymore.

The others look up after her quiet, pleading calls go silent, soon followed by a thud.

Against a surface other than her bright red suit, the alarming amount of blood flowing from a distressingly large gash in her side is hard to miss.

---

When Felix walks into the hospital room he does not know what to expect. He had known they were going after Hawkmoth, so the fact that Adrien had sent him a text with nothing but the words ‘we’re here’ and the hospital’s address and a room number concerned him.

Still, he did not want to jump to conclusions.

Perhaps Hawkmoth had been critically injured.

He repeated that thought over and over because the alternative-

No, there is no alternative. Hawkmoth is injured and his friends are fine.

He loops that thought.

Hawkmoth is injured and his friends are fine.

Hawkmoth is injured and his friends are fine.

Hawkmoth is injured and his friends are fine.

Hawkmoth is injured and his friends are fine.

Hawkmoth is injured and his friends are fine.

Hawkmoth is injured and his friends-

He walks into the room, hearing the steady beeping of the heart monitor and turns to see…

Marinette in the bed. All manner of tubes and wires attached to her.

When he manages to rip his eyes away, his fears do not cease.

Adrien is staring at Marinette, though his eyes are far away.

Allegra is barely holding herself together.

And Allan…

Felix hadn’t seen that look on Allan’s face since- since-

Something is missing.

Someone is missing.

“Where is Claude?” He barely manages to keep his voice steady.

Those three words are all it takes.

The Allegra’s final threads snap and she loses the little composure she already had. She falls to her knees like beggar and sobs.

The look on Allan’s expression gets worse, and he stops breathing momentarily, and even afterwards his breaths are irregular.

Adrien is gripping Marinette’s hand like a lifeline, head buried in the sheets of the hospital bed as he sits beside it.

No one speaks.

The picture is becoming very clear, but Felix just will not accept it.

Surely Claude is just somewhere else.

Grabbing something perhaps?

Another sob from Allegra is all it takes to dash all his hopes. Anyone with half a mind can see the only answer to this question.

Something happened.

The mission went wrong.

Claude is gone.

---

I'm just going to leave this here. No more words from me.

Reminder: This is very much not canon to my With Time storyline.

[reddirtramblings]

At night when I can’t sleep, I engage in a bit of garden dreaming. Instead of counting sheep, I wander through the everlasting garden in my mind. While meandering, I push away thoughts of garden work because just the images of all I need to do in spring might keep me up all night.

This is about joy, not work.

One of the places I often go is down the main walk of the garden where I sit for a while in the purple chairs.

[bctt tweet=”As J.M. Barrie wrote in A Window in Thrums, God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. ” username=”reddirtramblin”]

The two beds facing the street in the middle of summer.

When I close my eyes, I see my garden as it was last spring, summer, and fall. The seasons are fluid and usually feature whichever part of the garden is at its best at any given time. There are no limitations of time and space in my mental garden.

[bctt tweet=”The garden of my mind is perfection. It is a foretaste of heaven.” username=”reddirtramblin”]

The garden of my mind is perfection. It is a foretaste of heaven. Bees, hoverflies, and butterflies flit from flower-to-flower gathering pollen and nectar.

One of my honey bees flying to ‘Wendy’s Wish’ salvia, one of my favorite plants.

I envision the golden tummies of my honey bees filled with nectar, and I trust they are well. Flowers unfurl their petals to welcome their beloved with scent and color. I may stop to smell a rose or run my hands through the tall ornamental grasses as I walk. Wherever my mind leads me, that’s where I go.

Rosa ‘The Poet’s Wife’ has no blackspot in my dream garden. She always looks just like this.

Birds sing in the trees. No one is eating anyone else. Not even the praying mantises. No caterpillars are being devoured by birds or wasps. In the garden of my mind, all is well, and no one needs to eat anyone else to survive. Not logical, you say? Perhaps, but this isn’t reality. It’s better.

Benary’s Giant Wine zinnia with a honey bee.

Bordered Patch butterfly, Chlosyne lacinia

Male Monarch butterfly on ‘Bluebird’ aster.

There are times when the garden I visit is in its winter state, receptive for longer days and moisture from the heavens, but most of the time, it’s spring, summer or fall. I like those seasons best so that’s when I visit.

Grasses and other plants in my garden midsummer of 2013. It looks similar now, but the chairs are painted purple. I could no longer find French blue paint.

New border and older garage border.

Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam,’ one of the most beautiful and mature grasses in the garden.

All is harmonious in the garden of my mind.

Paths, back garden and she shed.

If it’s spring, I see daffodils, tulips, and my favorite blue plant, Phlox divaricata ‘Blue Moon.’ In the garden of my mind, there are no voles to eat tulips, no moles to tunnel beneath and upend plants. There is no disease or drought. Instead, the garden of my mind is a cacophony of color. Flowers, grasses and leaves dance and play in the breeze, and the sun is warm on my back as I bend to examine a flower or insect more closely.

After all, I have all the time in the world, and there are no weeds in the garden of my mind.

Phlox divaricata given to me by Wanda Faller years ago.

Phlox divaricata with variegated Solomon’s seal.

Tulips in the garden not eaten by anything.

Double daffodils from John Scheepers bulbs.

Pink and white daffodils have a salmon-hued cup, but in my mind, they are the perfect pink of catalog photographs.

It is supposed to take the average person twenty minutes to fall asleep, and in that time, I can wander quite far. I usually start on the back deck, walking down the steps and opening the gate. My tennis shoes hit the gravel paths crunching beneath my feet. I then turn and look left to the three-tiered borders. Usually, the roses are blooming. Most of my David Austin roses are here, including ‘Darcey Bussell,’ ‘Graham Thomas,’ ‘The Lady Gardener’ and ‘Olivia Rose Austin.’ among others.

Containers on the deck surrounding the chairs.

The tiered borders looking from below on the path.

I have ‘Darcey Bussell’ planted next to Mary in the tiered beds.

Rosa ‘Olivia Rose Austin,’ another newer David Austin rose in my garden.

‘Graham Thomas’ is a strong yellow English rose.

Apricot mystery rose with ‘Niobe’ clematis. What a sweet dichotomy I planted here. Occasionally, a plan works as you want it.

After I stroll the back garden paths, stopping to gaze at my favorite Japanese maple, ‘Tamukeyama,’ I turn left, walk past my little she shed and then climb the hill to the potager where tomatoes are neatly staked, ripened peppers hang on stems in bunches, and beans climb a trellis with basil and lavender planted beneath.

AAS winner ‘Mad Hatter’ pepper is one of my favorites to grow.

Red Racer tomato produces a lot of fruit on a very small plant. It does get some disease, but it hasn’t overwhelmed the plant yet.

‘Valentine’ tomato is a heavy producer of grape tomatoes. It is Indeterminate so make sure you stake it well.

Basil, especially one with red or purple foliage is great in bouquets too. Photo courtesy of Chronicle Books.

Basil and chard I saw planted for fall in an AZ garden.

All this vegetable bounty makes me hungry so I spend a moment or two planning meals around everything ready and waiting. You see, in the garden of my mind, there are no specific seasons or limitations. I just go to that part of the garden I love most in the particular season I love best.

The potager surrounds the red fountain which is the focal point of my vegetable garden.

The potager in July a couple of years ago. This is one of the photos that looks so Mediterranean.

I really like the plant combinations around the red fountain this year. Pineapple sage, ‘Dallas Red’ lantana, ‘Pink Crystals’ ruby grass and ‘Victoria Blue’ salvia (returned from last year.)

Start small with raised beds or containers.

‘Little Fingers’ eggplant in my garden. They were very, very small.

Even with slight flea beetle damage, this eggplant blossom still glows

I love tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, green beans and basil so I visit the potager in its summer months. However, it’s the perfect temperature. Just right for vegetables to ripen, but not sweltering so that I’m begging for water and shade. My greenhouse sits just beyond the potager, so when I choose to visit it, it’s winter.

I cleaned the inside of the greenhouse and grouped the plants by color and type for easier transplanting outside in late April.

Potager planted and cedar mulch for the gardens.

The sweet peas and coleus are growing nicely in the greenhouse.

The greenhouse and cold frames on a cool morning. Notice the condensation on the windows. Everything is nice and warm.

‘Republic of Texas’ orange tree that grows in the greenhouse over winter. The oranges are very good.

Snow is gently falling on the roof, and I look up to see the snowflakes as they fall. The kumquats are ripe, and I pluck one off and chew it tasting first the tang of the fruit and then the sweetness of the peel. I have Meyer lemons and oranges too, but they aren’t yet ripe. Both ripen later than the kumquats and while I can be in any season, my mind seems to acknowledge that everything has its season so all is harmonic and peaceful.

Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Lenca’ Regal Mist, pink muhly grass with Salvia leucantha, Mexican bush sage.

Maddie posing in front of the street bed. The pink grass is muhly grass.

Pink muhly grass with coleus and Mexican bush sage in 2016. The clumps have just gotten bigger.

Pink muhly grass is starting to show its fall colors.

If I’m still not sleepy and want to wander, even more, I may go out to the bed that faces the street and check out the pink muhly grass. My faithful and beloved dog, Maddie, is there. I’ll then go walk over to the cutting garden beds and see if the zinnias are still going strong.

I always grow several varieties of sunflowers in the cutting garden. I look forward to them each year.

‘Strawberry Blonde’ sunflower.

Here, they bloom with the sunflowers and other annuals to give the pollinators more to eat while also gracing my table with flowers. I may take scissors in hand and cut a bouquet. Suddenly, I’m back inside arranging the flowers. If I see a flower spider, I’ll gently blow it back outside on another flower. I do this in my real life too. I don’t usually kill insects unless I must. Although, in the garden of my mind, no one eats anyone else, we know that birds, snakes, lizards, and other insects must eat to survive. Over the years, I’ve learned to let everything exist pretty much in balance unless something gets way out of hand. Then, I do occasionally intercede.

Usually, by this time, I’ve drifted off to sleep where I may continue to stroll grateful to God that I have a garden in which to go. I’ve spent the last eleven years on this blog, and years before in articles and in garden talks, teaching people how to garden.

If I could give you one gift, it would be this.

One day, I may no longer have the strength to toil in the dirt, but I will still have the garden in my mind.

Please remember, gardening isn’t only about the practical things like when to sow, plant, water, and harvest. It’s also about the garden that resides in our souls, in our dreams. As you drift off to sleep, try thinking of these.

      In the garden of my mind At night when I can't sleep, I engage in a bit of garden dreaming. Instead of counting sheep, I wander through the everlasting garden in my mind.

[global-times-blog]

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