#look i cannot stand this hate against tom any longer

[number-one-shadisper-shipper]

Okay this is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, there are good cops. I personally know a very good cop. The thing about the role of cop is that it is a position of power, and like all positions of power, it pulls in both the worst of people who want power, and the best of people who want to help others. Like every other group of people, there will be some good and some bad. And if you said "all _________ are bad" about any other group of people, you'd be absolutely destroyed for being racist, sexist, homophobic, or just appling generalizations. That is a double standard my friend.

Yes the system can be pretty messed up. But that doesn't make every person in the system messed up. The cops on the street who are just trying to stop crime and make the world a safer place are not responsible for the corruptions higher up or for the original origins of some of these laws that may have been oppressive. Yes, there are definitely bad cops. There are definitely those who use their power to hurt rather than help. But you can't put all the weight of a corrupt system on the lowest members of that system.

Now for Tom specifically, you cannot watch the movies with any sense of logic or morality and conclude that Tom is bad. All the evidence you use falls apart under any scrutiny.

1. He "wants more opportunities to shoot people"? What the heck? His whole arc revolves around the fact that HE WANTS TO HELP. He sees that in Green Hills there are very low stakes. There's basically no crime, and all he does is act as crossing guard and handyman. As he says about the little things they ask him to do, "they can ask anyone for that." He wants to provide help on a larger scale, actually do something that seems meaningful, actually help in a "life-or-death" situation. And by the end of Sonic 1, he realizes that these smaller things are also meaningful and are also a part of his job.

2. Took bear tranquilizers to kill racoons. Okay that was a little bit of a jerk thing to do, but if that's your worst thing to say about somebody, that's kinda sad. Besides, the whole tone of that conversation with Maddie makes it seem like he was mostly teasing about that. I'm not going to fight about this point, but like I said, if your biggest issue with someone is that they tried to kill an animal (not in a torturous or cruel way, I might add) you're pretty desperate to find something to complain about.

3. Dismissed Crazy Carl. Look, if you're literally any normal person and someone tells you they saw a "blue devil" out in the woods who runs really fast, you're not going to believe them. Especially if they keep saying it without ever bringing any evidence except a badly drawn picture. And Tom was very patient in that scene, listening to him even though it does sound delusional. The other people were laughing at him, but Tom wasn't.

4. Tom doesn't follow the laws because he didn't turn Sonic in. I thought your whole problem with cops was that they "uphold a system of laws that [are] designed to hurt and oppress". If Tom is a good cop, if Tom is a good person, then it's his job to serve and protect others above following the letter of the law. He chooses to rebel against the parts of the system that are wrong, so that he can fulfill his true oath to protect and serve people (and speedy little blue aliens.)

May I just add as footnote to the last point that in your post you use the term "good cop" in two ways, which causes confusion. You use it to mean "morally good/helping people" throughout the post, but then change it at the end to mean specifically "following laws/good at being a cop" (the exact thing you meant in that last statement was a little unclear), which doesn't make your argument strong. You argue that you can't be a "good cop" while upholding the law, but then argue that being a "good cop" means you must uphold every law. Now I believe that being "good" is to follow what's moral above what's dictated by human law, and that makes Tom a very good cop because he cares so much about helping people that he will punch government agents, risk being seen as a terrorist, hide Sonic from the government for a year (not to mention actually adopting him because he's a kid who's all alone) and then do the same thing again in the second movie, again adopting more kids who have no one else. He puts "protect and serve" above "obey every law". If that doesn't make him good, I don't know what does.

I don't want to clog up the notes of the poll so @fire-kitty-lol

there isn't such thing as a good cop. a "good" cop still upholds the system and laws that designed to hurt and oppress. listen there's sooo many resources on this, if you put in your own research you will find an answer to any question you have about this. and I've also talked about acab and why police are inherently bad on this blog a lot

and tom isnt even that good a cop??? I'm taking the tags from that post:

this sound like a good cop? someone you want to have an insane amount of power? "cops are meant to help people" tom literally was the most helpful person in the town, but he still want to leave and go to the city BECAUSE he said he doesnt feel like a real cop. kinda sound like he doesn't actually care about helping those around him, but instead feeling important. also his trigger control is non existent. also he made fun of and dismissed crazy carl because "he's crazy" - a cop acting like that towards someone who is (percieved to be) having mental health problems?? also if tom was a "good cop" and followed laws the movie would end pretty much immediately, since robotnik worked for the goverment and told tom to hand over sonic. funny how for tom to be the hero and good guy he had to break the laws that he swore and oath to uphold

[officialleehadan]

One Weapon

Hello darlings! Today's story was brought to you by Bradford! Darling, thank you so much for all your support!

Prompt: The Last of Loki’s Brood

+++

Traveling by magic was not an experience Tom enjoyed, but when it came to emergencies, he would tolerate many things. When it came to saving the lives of people he cared about, he would tolerate almost anything.

So he closed his eyes against the thick silver rush of magic, and waited for the magic to fade.

When he opened his eyes, he stood in cave, silent but for the soft sound of water, falling drop by drop.

No, he realized suddenly. Not water.

Venom.

A great serpent, longer than nay Earth could boast, was bound along the ceiling in a looping coil. Its scales shimmered green when the scant light hit it, and tis mouth was held open by a strange, shimmering metal ring that forced its fangs forward. Venom dripped from its bared fangs, one drop every few moments, and fell into an ornate, silver bowl.

Sigyn, the Goddess of Fidelity, standing with her bowl to protect her bound husband from the torture decreed by Odin.

If Tom knew nothing else about them, he would hate Odin for his cruelty.

Knowing what the Allfather did to the rest of Loki’s family, for the crime of existing, well. That was more than enough reason to hate him.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of Loki, bound across the stone.

What at first seemed like rope, were thick, pulsing cords of raw flesh, bound around the god, and still pulsing with life. A heart, human-looking and still beating, rested almost over Loki’s own.

The remains of Vali, Loki’s murdered son, used to bind his father in torture because even now, Loki could not bear to harm him.

“Odin has come for Cassandra,” Sigyn said when she saw Tom appear, unaccompanied by any member of their family who might have brought him there. Then again, she almost certainly felt her runes wake, as Hel always did. “They are fighting for her.”

“And losing,” Tom said and hurried over to examine Loki’s bonds. He was a tall man, powerfully-built, and clean-shaven despite his bonds. Hel’s work, he knew. She visited every morning, determined to give him any comfort she could. It was a small thing, but more than nothing. His hair was fiery red, as all of his children’s but Sleipnir, and his eyes were vivid green. His clothing was ragged and marked, much like his body, with terrible burns. “We need you both. You’re the only ones who can take Odin.”

“I am bound,” Loki rasped, marked by terrible, half0healed burns. The bowl, tom remembered, was emptied only six months ago, and that means Loki was left vulnerable to the terrible, acidic venom. “I cannot be freed by any who wish to free me.”

‘I know,” Tom said hurriedly, familiar enough with the lore of his girlfriend’s family to have a decent idea of what he was doing, at least in concept. He was too desperate to stop and think things through. “You can’t be freed by anyone who wants you free, and you can’t free yourself because of Vali, right?”

“Yes,” Loki said, resigned and grieving already, for what was lost and the granddaughter who was even now in terrible danger. The granddaughter he would give anything to protect, if only he was free. “I cannot leave, but Sigyn, you must go to them. Take the Bowl. The venom, it will slow them.”

“I cannot leave you,” she said, bound by more than love. She was tied to this wretched cave, as much as he was. She could not leave while he remained, unless someone else held the Bowl, and Tom couldn’t. “there must be something. Some way to aid. Thomas, who has come for her? Perhaps we might give some gift that will turn the tide.”

“We need you,” Tom said as he examined the knots that held Loki tight and pulled at them. They loosened under his hands, but tightened again the moment he let go again. It was no good. He wanted Loki free, and the magic was designed to keep anyone like him from freeing the Trickster. “We need people who can face Odin on equal footing. Your children, they can’t. They’re trying, but it’s not enough.”

“You wish me free, the spell will not allow you to unbind me,” Loki said, sorrowful and resigned to his fate. To the loss of still more of his family, as they fought to protect the last and youngest of his brood. “Sigyn-“

“I cannot, Husband. You know this.”

Loki didn’t try to argue with her. He knew the truth of his imprisonment better than anyone.

“God play by rules,” Tom whispered to himself as he scrambled at the problem. “Rules follow straight lines. They’re direct. This, not that. Because of that, not this.”

“Yes,” Sigyn said as she watched him closely, her hands steady where she held the silver bowl high. “We have not the flexibility of a mortal mind. Do you… do you know something? Have you thought of a way that the bonds could be released?”

Her hope hurt more than Loki’s despair, but together, they were a brutal combination that made Tom’s own desperation burn at his heart.

Heart.

Vali.

“Tell me again, why you can’t free yourself,” he said hurriedly to Loki. “You are’t bound by he spell, right? You could free yourself, but because you’re bound by your son’s body, by his life, you can’t fight back?”

“Yes,” Loki said, and twisted his fingers against his bonds, tied as they were by the living flesh of his youngest son. “The spell could not be cast on me. Such magic can be cast on the bonds, not the one they hold.”

“If Vali was gone, you could free yourself?”

“Yes? But he cannot be… you cannot untie him from me, and he is a god. You are mortal. You cannot kill him with any mortal weapon.”

“I figured,” Tom said, and reached for his pocket, where a small heat sent hope shocking through him like the wildfire Loki gave to humanity. “Knowing Odin, there’s only one thing that could get past his protections, and only because he didn’t know it still exists. Lucky for us, it came to me.”

From his pocket, he pulled the Mistletoe Dart, and plunged it down into the heart of Vali Lokison where it rested, still beating, on his father’s chest.

+++

The Last of Loki's Brood: (FULL COLLECTION)

BeLIEve Me

Family Gathered

Red-Gold and Silver-Grey 

Prophesy Unheeded

Strength in the Dark

Queen's Blessing

Bigger Fish

Life Once Lost (Subscriber Only!)

A Touch of Normal (Subscriber Only!)

Thunder Son 

Goddess Boon  (Subscriber Only!)

Coffee and Tea (Subscriber Only!)

Sucker Punch (Subscriber Only!)

Gold Glow

Weapon Unspoken  (Subscriber Only!)

Grandmother's Silver  (Subscriber Only!)

Big Bad Wolf  (Subscriber Only!)

Thought and Memory

Raven Feathers

Broken Family (Subscriber Only!)

No Salt, No Beer, No Bread

Formative plan (Subscriber Only!)

In the Dark

Small Wolf's Madness (Subscriber Only!)

Wretched Dance (Subscriber Only!)

Threat Revealed (Subscriber Only!)

Loyalty Calls Me (Subscriber Only!) 

One Weapon

Burning Heart (Subscriber Only!) (NEW!)

+++

MASTERLIST

[wyn-n-tonic]

Golden, Like Daylight -- Part III

Word Count: 1,810 Warnings: Mentions of drug use. PTSD. Guns. Ben Affleck. As always, if I missed anything, please send me a message and I'll amend this warning ASAP. A/N: As you can tell, I'm a slut for dialogue.

MASTERLIST | PART: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX

gif by: @santigogarcia.

“Francisco,” she’s swaying back and forth with a sleeping Luna in her arms and he can hear the pleading in her voice, “please don’t do this.”

He waited until the absolute last second to tell her but she knew as soon as she got his text—

Pope’s here. I’m gonna bring him by tomorrow to meet Luna, okay?

“Baby,” he catches her hip and pulls her into him, “it’s just a couple of days, consulting work. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“No,” she’s shaking her head, tears threatening to spill over, “you promised me. You looked me in the eye and you said, Leah, I’m done with this shit. Why are you going?”

He licks his lips and looks to Santi in the hallway, pretending to be lost in his phone. He knows he’s not.

“I’ll call you when we get to Colombia. I’ll call you every night and again when I’m on the plane home. Te prometo, ay?”

“Stop making promises,” she pulls away from him, hand on his chest to steady her shaking body, “we’ve established you don’t keep them.”

His hands find her shoulders and squeeze, “Baby, it’s almost twenty grand. We can pay off the car or,” he stammers, “your student loans. We can breathe.”

Frankie sees the words trying to formulate in front of him, the cogs of her mind turning behind her eyes. He’s bracing himself for what’s next but all she does is pull away, the only acknowledgement of the fact that she can’t stop him.

She turns on her heel and he watches her walk out the room, stopping as Santi picks up where Frankie left off.

“Stop being so harsh on him, he needs this. Your family needs this.”

Frankie takes in a breath as Leah’s free hand collides with Santi’s cheek and before he can even react, she’s rounding on him again.

“Don't you dare tell me what my family needs, Santiago Garcia. I love you because he loves you but you are nothing but trouble.”

She can feel Frankie coming up behind her, shifting the air again because he’s nothing but nerves but Santi’s too hot to notice.

“He'll be fine, Leah, you worry too goddamn much,” he wants to shout, that’s evident in his demeanor. "He’s a big boy, if he didn’t want to go, he’d tell me.”

“Baby,” Frankie’s hand wraps around her elbow, trying to gently coax her into his arms. He wants to lead her back to the bedroom. Hold her. Convince her.

“No,” she pulls away, eyes still hard on Pope, “the best case scenario is that he comes home alive, Santiago. But he’s not fine. And who’s here picking up the pieces? It’s not you.”

“Leah, I swear. It's just a consultation,” his jaw sets with the lie he fed the rest of them, like his body is finally rebelling to the bullshit but he continues on, “your husband will come home.”

Frankie’s still got one hand wrapped around her elbow, another on her back. Her anger is a hurricane, he can feel it churning deep inside as her voice comes out lower, “He better or—“

“Or what?” Santiago's face splits into a shit eating grin, “you'll try to kill me again? How is your sister by the way?”

“I won’t kill you, Santi, but I will put a bullet through the bad knee and I’ll make sure William gets me the good shit. The kind that shreds through tendon and bone like a blender.”

Nodding, Santi sucks the air through his teeth, “You can try but I honestly think you’re too chicken shi—“

“¡Basta!” Enough!

Frankie’s pulling on Leah again, the hand that was resting on the small of her back making its way to Luna now. Luna, who up until her father’s raised voice—the voice he never wanted her to know—was sleeping perfectly against her mother. Completely, blissfully unaware of the firefight happening around her.

“Pope,” his voice is shaking, “you need to go.”

“Fine,” he pulls his phone back up to his face. “I’ll pick you up for the airport tomorrow.”

“No,” he feels the hope emanating from Leah as he watches Santi’s face fall, “if I come, I’ll meet you there but this isn’t a conversation you’re involved in anymore.”

“Wha—what the fuck does that mean? I started the conversation.”

Leah pads back into the bedroom, heart aching, with Luna in her arms. Frankie watches as she closes the door and rounds on Santiago, slamming his back into the wall behind him with enough force to shake the house and when he speaks again, it’s measured and even. This is the calmest he has been in weeks.

It’s not a threat.

“If you ever speak to my wife like that again, she’s not the one you have to worry about putting a bullet into your body.”

It’s a promise. —————

Fish is most talented pilot I know—

He swings his assault rifle back, opting for the Glock 19 at his side, Santi’s words ringing through his ears.

—and he’s grounded on a bullshit coke rap.

His boots fall heavy through the mansion, he doesn’t give a shit about stealth. Threw every care in the world out the door the moment Tom started digging for more. What they had was more than enough but he could never just have enough. Had to push for more. Every fucking time.

Another lap. Another sweep. Another round.

But he never missed a hard out, Benny was right about that.

Bullshit coke rap. Every misstep Frankie made, every struggle he faced, was just a bullshit mark on a hardened warrior. That’s all they ever saw him as, Tom and Santi. All remorse drained from his soul in the name of God and country.

Frankie squeezes the trigger, eyes lighting up in the muzzle flash. If he was going to take their lives, he was going to see it drain from their faces.

If he was inflicting this horror on his mind again, making Leah puzzle his shit back together again, he was going to earn it.

The gun hangs heavy in his hand as he steps over the bound and gagged body, following the sound of the rain.

"Fish, where are you?” Tom’s voice scratches at the edge of his skull. His nickname is a stark reminder that there is a separation between man and monster and he can find it again.

He’s shaking as he reaches for the button on his collar, “I'm exiting back out to the courtyard.”

She was right, telling him to stop making promises. He said no live fire and he couldn’t even keep that to himself. —————

“Is he right?” She’s quiet as Frankie lifts their daughter from her aching arms, “Is this what you need?”

“Yeah,” it comes out quiet, leveling up to the bouncing he’s now taken over to keep the baby asleep, “I think it is.”

“Why?” It’s not accusatory, she genuinely wants to know.

“I—“ he stops to think, he doesn’t want his words to come out selfish but he knows that’s how they’ll land. “Baby, I know I brought all of this down on myself and I know that I’ve survived it once before but…”

He trails off, his large hand is splayed across Luna’s back to support her as he resettles her in his arms. A small sound of contentedness escapes her and he can’t believe he’s missed this for the last six weeks. Spent months on end higher than any fucking plane he flew just because he was afraid of failing her. He chokes on the lump building in his throat because he already has.

“But what, baby?”

“I fucked up,” he takes a deep breath to steady himself, “this has been the hardest year of my life, the last six weeks especially.”

Bad landing.

She takes a breath, a tiny spark in her eyes but he’s already in front of her, “Mi alma, let me finish. Please.”

She nods, agreeing to his appeal.

"Before, the only thing I had to lose was my license. Now, the license was just the tip of the pyramid. This shit could’ve cost me my life. In more ways than one. I know what they cut the drugs with now and my nightmares are no longer about what I did in the service, Leah. Will and Benny hold me down screaming in the middle of the night as I imagine I’ve left this shit out for you or Luna to find.”

He laughs at the love and concern in her eyes, not feeling he deserves it but he forges on anyway, “I snorted our finances into desolation. We can’t live on a teacher’s salary alone, baby, you know that. How far behind is the car payment?”

“Just a month now,” she whispers, “my sisters helped us catch up.”

“And you hate that! You’re too prideful to ask for help, too full of protection for me. This will set us back on the right track.”

She’s standing now, arms crossed to anchor her own sobs from escaping, “Frankie, we can survive until your drug test—“

“No,” he’s shaking his head, “it’s still another six weeks away.”

“You don’t have to do this, baby, I know you don’t want to.”

"I cannot let you struggle like this,” he’s shifting Luna again, her tiny fists balled into his shirt and he is devastated with his love for her, “I am supposed to provide for and protect this family. It was in my vows and I broke those.”

“For richer or poorer was also in the fucking vows, Francisco.”

He swallows hard, reaching out and pulling her into him. He can’t bear to see her face when he speaks again, his voice low with the confidence of a settled mind.

“I am going to Colombia." —————

He feels the stone falling from beneath him as he loses the mule to the mountainside, last in line of the five.

He should’ve done more. Held on tighter, walked faster. But as Santiago saw an animal and Tom saw money, he could only see himself falling over.

He lost count of the days he hadn’t called. Two? Three? Hadn’t heard her voice or the baby’s babbling as she responds to daddy. He saw himself at the bottom of that mountain. Never enunciating each syllable of Pa-pa for his little girl ever again, convincing himself that he would be her first word. Never pulling Leah into his arms, the scent of coconut and vanilla so profoundly intoxicating that all he could think about was sinking deep into her. All the comfort and clarity the world had to offer found in her arms and between her legs.

She insisted on the nicest sheets they could find and instead of falling into them, he only felt jagged rock at his back.

TAGLIST: @justanotherblonde23 | @greeneyedblondie44 | @icanbeyourjedi | @notcookiebelle | @princess76179​ | @bbuckysbeardd​ | @knivesareout​

[artxyra]

You Are My Sunshine

Note: I never thought I would write something that is over 4000 words again, but here we are. This is loosely based on the @coralloverwinnerwolf suggestion request that they had asked me. 

“With the signing of these documents, Gabriel Agreste you no longer have the sole custody of your son Adrien Agreste. Adrian, you will officially be under the care of Mme. Cheng and M. Dupain.” The CPS member states pushing a formal document across the table. Gabriel Agreste was reluctant to sign but the piling evidence against him in light of Adrien’s rebellion stage leads him to believe there was no other choice. Tom and Sabine were ecstatic to take in Adrien. He’s a sweet boy that deserves the world and for the past month has made their home feel more like a home as Marinette now had a brother.

Originally, the CPS wanted Adrien to be sent to his Aunt in England but once taking into consideration that Adrien wasn’t as close, M. Agreste would do anything to keep his son in Paris, and the fact that Adrien himself made himself a home within the Dupain-Cheng household, it was easier to move custody rights to the Dupain-Cheng once proven how happier the teen had become. There was no need for a court appearance, just a small investigation that thankfully went under the media’s noses.

As of today, Adrien no longer carries the Agreste sir name as it was now Dupain-Cheng.

Adrien was ecstatic upon returning to the newest bakery location the Dupain-Cheng had moved into after deciding to expand their business once the two teens had graduated from college. Lycée was the perfect time to start over and forget their last two years of unhappiness. Though there were a few good things that came from their time in college. At Sabine’s suggestion, Adrien and Marinette had joined a foreign pen-pal program, and through that program, Adrien had met Jonathon “Jon” Kent, who was quickly taking Nino’s place as his best friend.

“Jon, I want you to be the first to know,” Adrien says as soon as his call was accepted. It wasn’t unusual that the Kent teen would be up at these times considering their time difference. Jon now wide-awake pushes for Adrien to continue. “I’m officially a Dupain-Cheng!” The former Agreste heir squeals with excitement. Jon squeals in excitement along with the former model but his were for on the hushed end.

“That amazing, Tigger. Was the process easy? Is Mars happy about you being her brother now?” Immediately Jon goes into a series of questions and concerns. Adrien couldn’t help but smile at the dark-haired teen on the other side of his screen.

“Mars is happy for me. We’re supposed to be taking family photos latter today to officiate it. You’ll probably be hearing Damian complaining about Mars once it's all said and done.” Adrien’s smile could brighten the world now that the looming fear of his father’s disappointment is no longer a concern of his.

“That’s good—” Jon looks off to the side. A flash of light passes by before a sigh of relief exits from the teen’s mouth. “Send me some of those photos once they’re ready.”

“I will.” Realization slowly began to dawn on the blonde, “Kwami. I forgot how late it is where you are? Want to finish this discussion later?” A small pout appears on Adrien's lips that Jon cannot help but internally squeal about.

After saying goodbye (or at the very least good night) to Jon, Adrien decided that maybe it was time to become the pestering brother Marinette always wanted.

“Hey buggy,” Adrien sings entering Marinette’s room that was smaller than the one at the other bakery.

Marinette didn’t mind turning her old bedroom into her studio after the move was completed. In fact, it worked out in her favor as it kept the work away from her when she needed downtime. The bakery across Françoise Dupont quickly became a hideout for the Miraculous Team and the location for Marinette’s MDC studio.

The moment Marinette heard her kittens voice, she immediately closes her laptop and turns her attention to the blonde male. “You need anything kitty?” Tilting her head gives Adrien a sense of security.

“Yeah, we haven’t decided what we’re going to do about Bug and Chat? I know you said something about meeting with Aurore and Mireille and having them do a special about us.”

The only response Adrien received was Marinette’s infamous, rarely used, mischievous smirk. A smirk he knows all to well and would hate to be on the receiving end of it.

Just a day later, Miraculous Out! a Ladybug sponsored website posted a video featuring Ladybug and Chat Noir themselves without the Miraculous Team, a rare sight nowadays. In the video, Ladybug wearing her newest outfit: dark leggings that are covered by a long slit skirt with the black and red polka dot pattern, matching combat boots, and a matching short sleeve turtle neck that is covered by a black motorcycle that ends but above her waist. Chat Noir now wearing leather pants with a muscle shirt that is often covered by a matching jacket with faux fur. His shows just as much as his younger teen version did if not a little more. For Ladybug, Marinette decided to keep her pigtails as her hair grew longer but opted for longer ribbons to be placed in her hair instead.

In the video, Ladybug and Chat Noir drops the biggest bomb to their fans. The iconic Paris duo is no longer just partners but officially brother and sister. That message put a stake through the hearts of LadyNoir shippers and the Ladyblog as it was the one eager for the two to become an item especially after a familiar voice under Lila Rossi predominately says that the two heroes are an item as she’s Ladybug’s best friend.

“For the past few months, Chat and I have been in an internal war with one another about how to announce this to Paris. This was mainly due to the additional attention to the LadyNoir shipping wars that were from the Ladyblog. Chat and I never and will never have any feelings for each other that aren’t platonic.” With that, Ladybug ends her statement and the video goes into its closing cards, basically saying stay tuned for other Miraculous news.

The second the screen turns black; Marinette turns to Adrien with the biggest smile on her face. Now all they need to do was announce that Adrien Agreste is no longer the face of his father’s company. This news was soon to be dropped once the photos from their family photoshoot drop.

The night before Paris is once again reckoned, the mischievous, Damian, and Marinette had a perfect view of seeing how two people can flirt around each other and not get the signs.

Marinette gave Damian for not ending the streaming on his end and taking off while she and Adrien shared a room to chat with their friends. Damian gave Marinette hidden signals on the verge of wanting to kill Jon and Adrien for their stupidity.

“If they don’t start dating in the next couple of hours, I will commit mass genocide,” Damian growls the moment Marinette decided to call him. Marinette laughs it off and smiles despite that he cannot see her, but he knows well enough.

“Let them be, it took us a moment to realize that we liked each other.”

Damian grunts unsure how to proceed. “They better figure this shit out soon.”

Marinette could only shake her head before the continue to talk about other things.

The following morning was great, well it was great until Marinette’s phone begins to blow up with notifications.

Adrien DuPain-Cheng @adrienwhopuns Papers finally approved, meet my new sista from another mother (@marinettewhomemes) [Attached to the tweet is a small collection of photos: (1) Marinette standing beside Adrien wearing tees that says “I’m the sister of a punster” and “I’m the brother of a mememer” (2) Adrien being surrounded by the entire DuPain-Cheng family holding a banner that says “It’s a new DuPain-Cheng” (3) Adrien pretending to pose as Marinette looks like a deer caught in the headlights behind him]

Marinette turns to her brother with a look of betrayal plastered against her face. Adrien didn’t have the decency to tell her about the handle change. There was no warning! No wonder Adrien had his phone on silent. Realizing that her phone will not shut up, Marinette turns off notification and narrows her eyes.

Nette from Mars @marinettewhomemes Replying to @adrienwhopuns Proud to call you my brother, you doof just try not to take over my room. #nolongeranonlychild #howmusthebeolder #punsvsmemes

This time Adrien looks up and narrows his eyes at Marinette. They were only a chair apart as it was a beautiful Saturday morning for the Dupain-Cheng household. Sabine was finishing the final add-ons for the strawberry and crème breakfast puffs.

“What’s going on you two?” Tom asks as he pours the drinks and set the cups down on the table.

“We’re internet famous, and Adri is trending on Twitter.” Marinette states with a deadpan face. Tom nearly makes a mess with the drinks but quickly catches himself.

“That’s good to hear,” Sabine says as she the tray of breakfast puffs over to the table.

Marinette and Adrien look at their mother with skepticism, it wasn’t like Sabine to be completely away from her children, but then again it doesn’t come as a shock. When Sabine and Tom accidentally came across the two teens coming home as their alter egos, nothing really surprises them anymore. That was one of the reasons why they had allowed the Miraculous team to hide out in the home of their other bakery.

Jon Kenting Me @jonnyboykent Replying to @adrienwhopuns I knew these photos were lit but I didn’t expect this!! @marinettewhomemes what were you doing in the background?

Marinette scoffs at Jon’s response to Adrien’s announcement tweet. She knew exactly what photo he was talking about and she doesn’t want to talk about it. Deciding that her breakfast was the best distraction from this ongoing shit show on Twitter, she begins to eat with peace on the mind.

Before Sabine took her seat, she called for the kwamis to join them for breakfast. All but Plagg ate in peace. Plagg wanted some cheese but after being on the receiving end of Mama Cheng’s glare he ate grumbling at every chance he got.

Adrien had finished his breakfast first; it was not because Jon had sent him a series of text messages begging for answers. Marinette watches her brother leave as she finishes her last bite and pulls out her phone.

Nette from Mars @marinettewhomemes Replying to @adrienwhopuns and @jonnyboykent What I do in the image is my business. Call me if you want the deeds.

She knew Jon wasn’t going to call her after posting that to the thread. Jon was probably in the middle of a phone call with Adrien before heading to sleep. Sabine and Tom watch their daughter leave the room with the kwamis trailing behind her, with smiles on their faces. To them, this makes it all worth it.

“Kitty, you coming or what? Luka and the others are ready to go.” Marinette shouts one day from the doorway of the house. She turns to see Luka standing sheepishly with his guitar on his back, Kagami with an eyebrow raises, and Chloe hanging off of Kagami’s arm examining her nails.

“I’m coming sheesh.” Adrien cries back before making himself known. Marinette rolls her eyes and walks out.

Sabine and Tom already in bakery, cannot wait to surprise their kids later this afternoon.

“How are things with you and Damian, Mars?” Kagami asks laying on her girlfriend’s lap as Chloe plays her hair.

Marinette heavily blushes. She and Damian have been dating for about six months after a couple of years of bouncing between each other. They ended up dating because Damian and his brothers ended up taking a private jet to Paris one evening and basically force the two into a closet. They spoke out their feelings and ended up trolling his brothers for a couple of days before announcing their newly made relationship status. Since Marinette isn’t seen in Gotham, the media has yet to link the two together as a couple.

“We’re fine, I’m more worried about kitten over here.” Marinette nudges Adrien’s shoulder who looks offended beyond belief.

“About what? I don’t have a problem.” Adrien counters as Luka plays his guitar.

“Your melody says otherwise.” The older teen states humming the tone to the melody.

“Luka!” Adrien screeches, his face turning red. The group laughs and proceeds to watch the clouds. The wind picks up.

“So how are things with Jon?” Chloe suddenly asks after a moment of silence. Everyone turns to Adrien who tries to look everywhere but at his friends. Marinette could see the rise in red reaching his ears.

“It’s nothing.” Adrien shutters out. The four looks to one another knowing the former blonde model was lying beyond belief.

“Uh huh…” Chloe sings the words out appearing behind the blonde male.

“He’s…” Adrien is stopped by his thoughts. What was Jon to him? A friend? A potential lover? His blush deepens at the thought of that. “He’s… I don’t know what to think.”

“You are in too deep for this,” Kagami states as she too saw what was becoming of her oldest friend. Adrien curls into himself unsure how to feel.

Marinette knows that deep down, Adrien was falling for Jon; however, it did make her wary. Adrien was quick to bond with Jon during the pen-pal program and nearly lost it when the program ended. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had exchanged numbers before the last, she doesn’t know what would have happened to Adrien. They were both going through a tough time when they joined the program. Adrien had a wake up called regarding harassment and learning that the real world wasn’t all fun and games while she, herself, was trying to rediscover the self-confidence that she had lost due to the bullying she had to endure because of Lila Rossi. It took months of therapy and talks with Damian for her to acknowledge that she wasn’t responsible for the person people created of her in their minds, and that was the tea.

Adrien’s wake up call was the reason he began spending more time with her and her family. Her parents say Adrien as the broken, lost boy he was and took him under their wing. Of course, Marinette wouldn’t change what happened for anything in the world.

Then there was an explosion happening in the background. Without speaking, the five split up to transform and regroup once they have all the details.

While Paris has grown used to somewhat daily Akuma attacks, they know how to avoid the fighting areas and proceed with their day. Sabine had left the bakery to go pick up three people from the airport.

Jonathon Kent had to beg his parents to allow him to go to Paris with Damian and Jason. Damian had wanted to surprise Marinette with a visit and Jason, well Jason just wanted fresh baked goods. Jon, on the other hand, just wanted to meet Adrien for the first time in person. For years, the two spoke through video chats, text messages, and twitter threats, but never had they had the chance to meet in-person. When Jon found out that Damian was planning on visiting Mars, he knew he just had to come. Their school wasn’t in session and if anything, really disastrous happens, he could fly back in no time.

“Hello boys,” Sabine greets grabbing their attention. Jason was the first to run over to the small frame woman with the speed that could match a dog.

“Hey, Sabine!” Jason greets back. Sabine narrows her eyes; she knows that Jason wants something, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

“Hello again, Mrs. Cheng,” Damian adds walking over to his brute of a brother and the mother of his girlfriend.

“Hi, I’m Jon.” Jon gives the older woman his brightest smile.

“I can see why you and Adrien have bonded so easily.” Sabine chuckles lightly to which a blush crosses Jon’s face. Jon could hear the teasing that Jason was whispering to Damian about having a crush and a model, which only farther the blush.

Sabine sends him another smile. “Well, we should get going if we want to surprise Marinette and Adrien.” Clapping her hands, she begins to usher the boys in the direction of her car.

While driving across Paris, Sabine notices the swirls of ladybugs fixing up the city. This once gives her enough time to park, get the boys to settle, and start making dinner all before her children get home.

“Wow, this place is bigger than the last place? What happened?” Jason asks kicking his feet up onto the couch the second they arrived on the second level of the building. Sabine scolds the older male before explaining that with Adrien being added to the household and Marinette’s growing business, their old place was becoming cramp, and now that the two are longer attending Francoise Dupont, they could have to look farther out for a bigger home and bakery all while still owning the other one.

Damian took notice of the new photos hanged up on the walls. Of course, the photos that Adrien had posted on twitter, but along them are photos of a happier Marinette and Adrien acting like siblings. They had even recreated iconic sibling moments from television shows to make It feel real.

“Those two have made our lives so much better, and Sabine and I are glad that our little loaf has met you.” Damian turns to see Tom hovering over him. He had thought his girlfriend’s father was down in the bakery, but he was wrong. Damian wasn’t sure what to say, sure he had met Tom before and have grown used to the tall being, but even he knows when to picks his battles.

“I’m lucky to have her.” Damian states before walking away.

While Damian was already used to the environment of the Dupain-Cheng household, Jon on the other hand was having a dream. His excitement to finally seeing Adrien has finally caught up to him. So, imagine when he jumps off on the couch, nearly flying when the door’s knob begins to jiggle.

Their eyes locked, blue meeting green for the first time outside of a screen. Jon stares agape at Adrien who stares back with the same energy.

Marinette who took notice of the situation sneaks past the two and into the arms of her boyfriend. Jason watches from behind with a bowl of popcorn in hand waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“H-h-how?” Adrien’s voice squeaks before pulling Jon into his arms.

Even though the two are lost within each other’s thoughts they could still hear Jason’s laughter and the smack that follows.

“I practically beg my parents to see you,” Jon answers as just as flustered as Adrien. “Then begged Damian to bring me.” He quickly adds looking away from the blonde.

For a moment the two stay in their own world not noticing the flashes of light and whispers.

Not from afar, Marinette tries not to laugh, her lips purse into a fine line. Damian watches shaking his head and tries to grab some of Jason’s popcorn.

The next day, Adrien ran out of the bakery with Jon right behind him. They were going to visit Andre’s ice cream cart. All under the pretense of being just friends, but all who knew them thought otherwise. Marinette had decided to skip this trip in favor of walking the Seine with Damian then planning on making Jason a new leather jacket. Jason wanted to check out the crime rate in Paris walking around the area.

Adrien DuPain-Cheng @adrienwhopuns Ice cream from Andre is always the best especially now that I’d shared the experience with @jonnyboykent [Attached is a photo of Adrien and Jon holding ice cream cones with matching flavors that are similar to their hair, lip, and eye colors along with other flavors. In the background is Andre waving at the two with a large smile]

Nette from Mars @marinettewhomemes Replying to @adrienwhopuns 🤩Aw… you guys look cute having your outing an all that. How was the ice cream?

Jon Kenting Me @jonnyboykent Replying to @adrienwhopuns and @marinettewhomemes The ice cream was delicious. 10/10 recommend it.

Adrien laughs the moment he looks at their replies. He then turns to Jon, who was on the verge of eating his last scoop of ice cream. Jon, noticing that Adrien is staring at him, blushes lightly before they continue to walk. The walk was peaceful until…

“Adrien!” The two due turns around to see a tall dark-skin teen running towards them. Beyond the teen are two females with varying facial expressions.

“Hey Nino, haven’t heard from you since college graduation.” Adrien murmurs the second Nino had gotten closer to the two. Jon could only watch, clearly intrigued by this new encounter. He had heard much about Nino from Adrien and the downfall of their friendship as the final years of college came to end.

“Yeah dude, I wish we could have hanged out more. But you know how it is.” Nino states rubbing the back of his neck. “Who’s your friend?”

“Nino, this is Jon, he’s a friend of mine and the friend of Mari’s boyfriend that came to visit us.” Jon could feel the tension growing as the two girls come closer. The ombre haired teen, looked like she wanted to yell or hit something awhile the other wearing clashing oranges looks like she is about to commit murder. Upon seeing this, Jon moves closer to Adrien for support.

“That cool, dude, but when were you going to tell me that you and Marinette are siblings? Lila had gotten the whole class thinking you two were a thing.” Unbeknown to Nino, he had just proved the thoughts that Adrien and Marinette have been theorizing since the two had been chosen to go to a different Lycée than the one that most of their former classmates went to.

“Why would Lila even think that? You know what I don’t even want to know.” Adrien says. Subtly, he tightens his around the edge of his shirt. “Mari and I have practically been siblings for a couple of years now, and we’re much happy about that.”

“That’s good to hear, man,” Nino says unsure where this conversation will go. The aspiring DJ could feel the gnawing questions that Alya was soon going to throw at the blonde the moment he is done.

“Sunshine,” Alya explodes in the background to which all three males roll their eyes at. “We haven’t seen you in two years and this is how you treat us. Lila was your ex at the very least say hi to my gurl.”

Jon looks to the reporter as if she had grown a second head. Never once had Adrien mention being in a relationship with the liar, and for the years that he has known Adrien, he’s been single. In fact, the only times Lila even mentions is when she makes an outcry on twitter within Adrien’s threads. Jon knows that when the announcement was made, this Lila person had the biggest voice; commenting questions that Adrien didn’t need or want to answer.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Alya. I haven’t been in a relationship since I tried it out with Kagami and that was back in college. I’m as single as a pringle and not looking for anyone.” The subtle side-eyed look to Jon said otherwise. Jon could have sworn his face turn red after realizing what the blonde had done.

Alya scoffs, “Yeah right. Lila told me you had done out on dates after we all left Dupont, she even had pictures to prove it.” She then grabs hold of Lila’s wrist and pulls the girl closer to three. Lila batters her eyes, trying to be a flirt, little did she know.

“Alya, anyone can fake a photo, there is a reason Photoshop exists. Knowing Lila, she probably showed you photos from our shoots and changed them. She did it once to Mari, and I have no doubt in mind that she did it again.” Narrowing his eyes, Adrien glance away from Alya and onto Lila.

“C’mon Adrikins,” Jon and Adrien wince at the old nickname Chloe had given the blonde be used by Lila, “We had so many good memories together. As much as I miss them, I’m much happier with my long-distance relationship with Damiboo.” The liar then gushes to which Alya joins in for.

“And who is this Damiboo, you speak of?” Jon asks, speaking for the first time since his day with Adrien was interrupted.

“Oh, it’s Damian Wayne, of course. He’s such a sweetheart. You know, I could introduce you to him sometime.” Adrien and Jon turn to each other, both holding in the laughter that was threatening to come out. Yeah, Damian is a sweetheart but only to animals and Marinette, beyond those two things, he’s everything but.

“Good to know, well it was nice seeing you guys again.” Adrien waves to the girls before turning to Nino whispering. “If you need to get away from them some time, DM me and I’ll give you my newest number.”

Nino’s eyes widen in excitement before he quickly nods. Nino misses his best bud and it was hurting him to see Adrien living his truth while he is stuck with everyone that decided to remain together.

While walking back to the bakery, Jon had some interesting things to say about the whole encounter. Never has he ever heard anyone call Damian by that nickname, he is amazed out how he handled the situation knowing how much mental damage the liar had placed on Adrien and to an extend Marinette.

“I’m sorry our outing was ruined by them, I wasn’t—” Adrien tries to apologize but is interrupted by Jon stopping and placing his hand on the blonde’s shoulder.

“I had fun regardless of them. Wanna try again later tonight, perhaps a movie.” Jon sends Adrien a reassuring smile who nods happily at the offer. It was a good offer and gives them more alone time before he had to leave with Damian and Jason.

“I’d like that.”

When the boys had returned to the bakery, they are greeted by Sabine handing an order to a customer before mention that everyone is in the living room. Adrien quickly grabs Jon’s wrist and moves to the mentioned room.

Marinette is annihilating Jason on Ultimate Mecha Strike III, his cries of defeat bring music to Damian’s ears as he reads a novel.

“So, did anything exciting happened?” Marinette asks her eyes never leaving the screen. Flawless victory. Jason sighs and turns to the duo then blanches. He hands Marinette a twenty and shakes his head.

“Nothing happened…well except running into Nino,” Adrien answers, though he wonders why Jason had given Marinette a twenty.

“That’s good,” Marinette finally turns to him and waves her controller. “Wanna play around, and while I’m kicking your butt you can tell me all about your encounter with Nino.” Adrien shrugs and takes the controller that Jason had left on the couch to proceed to raid the fridge. No matter what time of day, Jason always raid the fridge for food.

“So, Kent, when are you going to tell him?” He heard Damian ask as the video game’s music raises and his attention turns to something else.

The day slowly became nighttime to which Jon and Adrien had decided to invite Damian and Marinette to the movies. Marinette took one look at them before saying no and for them to have fun. However, what they didn’t hear was her saying, “Come back dating or not at all” after they had left the bakery.

Nette from Mars @marinettewhomemes Loverboy 1 and loverboy 2 went to movies. Should I place a bet on what they’re going to see? I swear it will be a sap or action movie, knowing my brother. [Attached is a poll with three movie suggestions.]

Sending off the tweet, she looks up to her boyfriend’s chin. They were resting on her bed looking at the starry night sky from her skylight. Damian had his arms wrapped around her waist as she rests her head on his chest. They love snuggling together especially when they know that his brothers, specifically Jason, weren’t going to barge in on them.

“Fifty saying that they won’t confess even after seeing my tweet,” Marinette states lifting herself up to play with Damian’s hair.

“That’s a fool’s bet, Angel.” Damian counters causing Marinette to pout. She hates it when he’s right, but look fifty euros or dollars can do a lot for her.

“Eh, you’re right.” Marinette decides to switch the topic. “I’m going to miss you when you leave in a couple of days. It’s fun having you around.”

“We won’t be separate for long; we have video chats to keep us company.” Damian knows full damn well that video chat isn’t the same as seeing her in person. His own family loves it when Marinette’s around him because he acts his age, a normal sixteen-year teen.

“Dams, it’s not the same.” Marinette playfully hits his chest. Damian kisses Marinette’s forehead before smothering her kisses on the cheek. Marinette’s nose scrunches with the amount of love he is showing her.

“As much as I love being in your arms, you know how papa gets when it’s late and you’re not in your guest room with Jay-Jay.” Damian groans but he understands. Instead of staying at a hotel, Tom and Sabine were willing to let the boys stay at their home with strict sleeping guidelines, more specifically for Damian.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Angel.” As he pecks her lips, Marinette smiles then waves her boyfriend a farewell.

Adrien DuPain-Cheng @adrienwhopuns Can someone tell @jonnyboykent that the movie wasn’t scary? It was a good non-horror movie. [Attached is a photo of Jon behind Adrien covering his eyes.]

Adrien and Jon had arrived late from the movies that night. Hugging each other, neither one of them wanted to let go. Jon ended up brushing Adrien’s hair with his hands as Adrien just rest his head against the half-Kryptonian’s chest. They stayed like that for a moment before crashing on the living room couch.

When Marinette woke up the following morning, she immediately took photos of them sleeping. Yes, these will be very helpful when giving her in-law speech at their wedding or for blackmail, whichever one comes first.

“Wake up you goofs and tell me about last night.” Marinette playfully hits Adrien’s leg forcing the poor teen to groan and move. He glares at Marinette like a cat that didn’t want to be disturbed.

“Morning Mars, where’s Damian?” Jon asks looking around as he wipes the sleep away from his eyes. Marinette answers with a shrug. “Ugh, I’m going to go get changed.” Jon then moves and leaves.

The second Jon was out of hearing range, Adrien looks down and murmurs, “I think I like Jon.”

“Of course, you do, you won’t be hanging out with him otherwise.”

“No, no, like more than just a friend.”

Marinette’s eyes widen with excitement. She tries to contain her squeal. “I knew it! You got to tell him before he leaves.”

Adrien rubs his arm; a faint blush crosses his face. “I don’t know; I don’t want to ruin what we have and—”

“And nothing, you like him, kitty.” Marinette became determined to get the two teens together.

In the other room, Damian was having the same conversation with Jon.

“About time,” Jason says putting on his jacket.

“Last night was so amazing, but—”

“But nothing Kent, walk up to him and kiss him,” Damian states crossing his arms sharing a knowing look with his brother.

“If anything, ask Pixie to help set the mood. I’m sure she already has it planned out.”

“I don’t know…” Jon literally was avoiding his best friend’s glare at him. However, they were right, but was he ready to destroy three years of friendship for a romance? Nope, the idea seems to be too much of a risk.

The two Wayne boys growl out in frustration, this was hopeless.

Damian, Jon, and Jason’s last day in Paris was met with tearful goodbyes and relaxation. Marinette was already making plans to visit Damian in Gotham while Adrien and Jon danced around each other.

They flirted opening with one another but never made any advances. It was driving everyone insane.

Nette from Mars @marinettewhomemes Imma about to kill a bitch if these two don’t kiss already.

The day was slowly coming to an end. After a series of goodbye hugs and kisses, Sabine had taken the boys to the airport. Never once did Adrien no Jon admitted their feelings to another and that aggravated Marinette to no end. When will the two just admit it already?

Jon and Adrien resumed their daily chats messaging whether it was through video or text. Adrien would come out smiling after each message which made the family happy to see once again after a day of pouting Adrien.

For months everything was going great until a news article across seas mention that the American heroes are in trouble. Superboy is down along with a few other young heroes. At first, the article was nothing and that changed when Damian had called Marinette and ask for Adrien. Jonathon was in the hospital. Immediately, Adrien went into a massive panic, nearly becoming akumatized if it wasn’t for Marinette grabbing the butterfly and purifying it before any damage could be done.

For days, Adrien was restless and worried. He calls Damian for updates every day hoping for a miracle. Tikki and Plagg reassured him that he’ll make it out. This goes on for a week. His twitter account less than active. He barely eats, pays attention in school, and nearly failed an exam if it wasn’t for Marinette.

Then on one faithful late-night Adrien’s phone rings. He was barely functioning when he had answered. It was Jon, he was okay and no need to worry. That short phone call didn’t ease Adrien’s worry.

Marinette’s and Damian’s one-year anniversary was coming up. Adrien and Jon’s daily chats became nothing but scarce. He would try and message the half-Kryptonian on more than one occasion. Sometimes he would receive a reply, sometimes he didn’t. Adrien knows that Damian is coming back to Paris to surprise Marinette. Marinette was working on a new gown to show to Damian as a tribute to their anniversary. Helping Damian was keeping Jon off his mind.

“Luka what am I supposed to do, I like him, I really like him,” Adrien says laying down on the chaise in the Miraculous team HQ back at the old bakery. Luka sat on a stool with a clipboard in hand and his guitar place beside him. This was becoming an everyday occurrence for the two of them.

“Uh-huh,” Luka nods writing something down before replacing the clipboard with his guitar. Playing a few notes, Luka knew what to say to Adrien and as a plus, the music calmed Adrien down just enough to relax. “Have you tried sending a letter?”

Adrien thought about it. Sending a letter wasn’t something he did for Jon since the pen-pal program ended and before they started to call and text each other. It was a start at best, but would Jon receive his letter in time? Would he even read it? Has he changed addresses? Too many questions ran through the poor blonde’s mind.

So, after thinking about long and hard, Adrien opted to send Jon a letter. He had to text Jason to make sure he had the correct address to the letter to Jon. It took him a day to write and have Marinette proofread it. The letter was no ordinary “how you’re doing” letter but a confession from the heart. He had poured his heart out into the letter mentioning every time he felt whole when being around Jon. A few teardrops onto the sheet of paper at least once or twice.

After sending the letter, it felt like something was lifted from his chest. Marinette was there to support him and hug him as he cries out his worries.

Nette from Mars @marinettewhomemes I never thought that I would have experienced a one-year anniversary with someone who is not from France, regardless, Happy Anniversary Dami! [Attached is silhouette photo of Damian kissing Marinette’s hand]

While Adrien was helping Tom and the kwamis calm down Marinette, who was is a mass panic about today, Sabine had gone to go pick up a group of people from the airport. Originally, it was supposed to be Damian who was going to come to Paris alone, but that plan changed with an addition of a way more people.

“I can’t believe, Demon Spawn managed to keep a relationship going for a year,” Tim says sipping on a cup of coffee that he had brought from the airport. Everyone in the car was talking amongst themselves congratulating or teasing Damian.

Sabine could only smile at the commotion that was happening in her car. It was always nice to see them, but it does disappoint her that Bruce couldn’t make it, unlike the boys.

When they had arrived at the bakery, the majority of new visitors ran inside. Sabine could hear the cheers and screams of happiness from her location outside. She turns to the lone figure who was rubbing his arm anxiously and gives him a soft smile. Sabine then walks inside and seconds later Marinette and Adrien run outside. Damian appears behind Marinette wrapping his arms around her as Adrien madly dashes over to the lone figure.

“Jon!” Adrien cries out crashing his body into Jon’s. Jon holds Adrien tightly as tears threaten to shed from eyes. “What are you doing here?” Adrien breaks the embrace to look him in the eyes.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for how I treated you. I shouldn’t have—” Adrien's lips brush against Jon’s effectively cutting the taller dark-haired male off.

In the background, Marinette looks like she’s about to commit murder. “Great now I have to share an anniversary with him too.” It may have come off as mean but the mischievous glint in her eyes says otherwise. “Have him home before dinner, Jon.” She then yells back before Damian twirls her around and takes her inside.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for six months,” Adrien says breaking the kiss for air. Red covers Jon’s face as he pulls Adrien in for another kiss.

“And I have been wanting to do that for a year.” Jon then says breaking the second kiss. This it was Adrien’s face that turns bright red rivaling Ladybug’s former suit.

Adrien DuPain-Cheng @adrienwhopuns It’s official, I’m no longer single as a pringle! Thx mom for taking this photo! #yesimgay [Attached is a photo of Adrien and Jon kissing in the sunset facing away from the camera]

After five years of dating, Damian had proposed to Marinette first. Then Jon had to go and propose a little under a year later to Adrien. Both Marinette and Adrien had said yes to their significant other. What really got into a heated argument was planning the wedding. Marinette wanted to wait a year or two before walking down the aisle and Adrien wanted to get it done and over with. However, that was not the case as everyone wanted to get involved. Tom and Sabine wanted to make the cake, the Wayne’s and the Kent’s wanted to fund the weddings, and Marinette had to make the outfits for her and Adrien.

After waiting for a little under two years, the two pairs decided a double wedding would be less expensive than paying for two separate events and it work out seeing they share an anniversary day anyways.

Then the royal day has arrived.

Tom and Sabine are crying as they help their children get into their designated outfits. Marinette was wearing a laced white ball gown with red accents. Sabine had a family heirloom that the women wear at their weddings to give to Marinette. Tikki had given Marinette her ladybug luck as part of her wedding gift to the guardian and her chosen. Adrien was wearing a suit that was similar to Tom’s when he had married Sabine. Marinette had also made him a Chat Noir theme bow tie to match.

Soon the music was blaring throughout the venue. At the altar, Damian and Jon were anxious beyond belief. They thought, telling they're significant others about their nightly activities was anxious, but this takes the cake. Together they wait for the rest of the procession to end and the music to pick up at the arrival of their loved ones. At the end of the hall, Tom stands in the middle with Marinette and Adrien to the side of him. Tom tries to hold it together as he walks them down to the alter. Sabine was already in tears along with Lois as they were sitting close to each other.

Everything running smoothly. The officiant would speak to then as a whole, just that they had practice in rehearsals until the exchange of vows. Marinette and Damian had done theirs first it was romantic and just right for them. Then Adrien and Jon had followed suit. Adrien’s vows were very similar to the letter he had sent Jon all those years ago as Jon made the promise of never leaving him in life or in death.

After exchanging the rings everyone at the venue could see the anticipation to say “I do” between the two couples. In fact, the Officiant could barely the pronouncement of marriage before they had kissed their soon-to-be husbands or wife. Everyone applauded. Marinette was resting her head against Damian’s shoulder interlocking their hands in the process as Adrien was holding Jon closely never wanting to let go.

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[qqueenofhades]

I was already distressed about the political and social situation in the US, and then this happens. Are there any examples of societies that fought back against fascism and won, without civil or international war breaking out? Surely there must be some success stories in history. How did other societies overcome fascism, are there lessons to be applied to our current situation? Please tell me we're not doomed, because I have no hope for the future.

Sigh.

Okay.

I’ve been through... a lot of the stages of grief by now. That is, rageposting on tumblr, venting to my friends via text, drinking, crying while drinking, lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling, feeling the crushing weight of certainty that we’re all screwed and nothing matters, crying while talking to my sister, crying generally, lying in bed some more, and am currently still in bed while writing this, but am struggling to put on my internet historian aunt hat and offer some comfort to the stricken masses.

First off: This is bad. I’m not even going to pretend this isn’t bad. We all knew RBG had cancer again, but it was pretty fixed in our minds that she would somehow manage to hang on until after the election. 45 days before the biggest presidential election of all time, in the middle of this year, when names including Ted “Zodiac Killer” Cruz and Tom “Time for Roe vs. Wade to go, block federal funding from being used to teach about slavery, send in the military to crush the BLM protesters” Cotton have already been floated as some of her possible replacements? With Trump and McConnell determined to work as fast as possible to steal this seat as brazenly as they can, because they are literal fascists who don’t care about their own example (Merrick Garland was nominated in FEBRUARY of an election year and McConnell held it up for being “too close to the election?”)

Ugh. Anyone who doesn’t get that this is bad or acting like people are overreacting doesn’t get what’s at stake. And when, as we’ve said before and are saying again now, the future of everyone who isn’t a white straight rich Republican man in this country depends on an 87-year-old woman with cancer for the fourth time? Something’s wrong here. RBG’s death did not have to leave us in this total existential panic, and oh yeah, maybe this could have ALL BEEN AVOIDED AND WE COULD HAVE ALSO HAD THREE (3) NEW LIBERAL JUSTICES SECURING PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION FOR A GENERATION IF SOME OF YOU HAD JUST FUCKING VOTED FOR HILLARY CLINTON IN TWO THOUSAND AND FUCKING SIXTEEN.

(Why yes I am still mad about that, I will be bitter until the end of time that we were consigned to four years and counting of this completely avoidable nightmare because of apathy, misogyny, and Leftist Moral Purity TM, but we’re talking about the future and what can still be done here, not what’s in the past.)

Anyway. Here’s the bright side, which admittedly sucks right now, but it’s been the answer all long:

VOTE.

You have to fucking vote, and you have to fucking vote for Biden/Harris. Everything that we’ve been talking about is no longer a hypothetical; it’s happening right now. This is not just some Awful Worst Case scenario, and it’s not somehow being spouted by privileged white liberals ignoring the struggles of the masses. (Viz: that awful fucking text post with its simpering self-righteousness: “are you punching nazis or just telling oppressed people to vote blue?” I hate that text post with a fiery passion and it’s the exact kind of morally holier than thou leftist propaganda that wouldn’t surprise me if it was generated by a troll farm in Krasnoyarsk.) My dad is disabled and lives on Social Security. Trump’s second-term plan to end the payroll tax takes SSID out by mid-2021, so... I guess that’s my dad fucked then. I’m a gay woman with long-term mental illness, no healthcare, no savings, no current job, and a lot of student debt. My sister has complex health problems and relies intensely on publicly funded healthcare programs. All my family have underlying conditions that would put them at worse risk for COVID (age, asthma, immune issues.) These are just the people IN MY HOUSEHOLD who would be at risk from a second Trump presidency. It says NOTHING about my friends, about all the people far less fortunate than us, and everyone else who IS ALREADY DYING as this nation lurches into full-blown fascism. That is real. It is happening.

Here’s the good news and what you can do:

Democrats are fired up and mad as hell, and they’ve already donated $31 million between the announcement of RBG’s death last night and today, and that number is climbing every second.

You can help by donating to Get Mitch or Die Trying, which splits your donation 13 ways between the Democrats challenging the most vulnerable Republican seats in the Senate. That also has raised EIGHT MILLION BUCKS in the less-than-twenty-four hours.

You can donate RIGHT NOW to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, vote if your state offers early voting, request your mail-in ballot, or hound everyone you know to ensure that they’re registered.

You can call your US Senators (look up who they are for your state, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE REPUBLICAN OR YOU LIVE IN A SWING STATE OR ARE UP FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2020) and phone the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to voice your insistence that they respect RBG’s last wishes and refuse to vote on any Trump nominee until after January 2021.

The other good-ish news is that I woke up to an email from the Biden campaign this morning about how they’re well aware of this and they’re already on it. BUT WE CANNOT COUNT ON EITHER THEM OR THE SENATE DEMOCRATS TO BE ABLE TO STOP IT. Because Joe Biden is not president and the Senate Democrats do not have a majority, if the Republicans manage to rush a nominee and a vote and all 52 GOP senators vote for that nominee, hey presto, tyranny by majority, a SECOND stolen Supreme Court seat, and a 6-3 hard conservative majority for the next generation. Even if Roberts or Gorsuch sometimes defect on procedural grounds, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Breyer (who is also 82 and thus ALSO might soon be replaceable, thus resulting in an EVEN WORSE ideological swing) would be outnumbered on everything. This is terrible. I’m not even gonna pretend it wouldn’t be.

BUT:

If Joe Biden is elected with a Democratic Senate and House, IT MATTERS. It gets us off the fascism track, it gives us the ability to make progressive law and have it enacted without going to die in Mitch McConnell’s Kill Stack, it gives Biden the executive authority to nominate liberal judges and change Trump’s worst outrages on day 1, it stands as a huge example of a nation managing to reject fascism by democratic process, and while yes, we’d still have a terribly rigged Supreme Court, Democrats would control all the other branches of government and be able to put safeguards in place. The other option is outright fascism and the end of American democracy for good. This may sound alarmist. It’s not. It’s literally what the situation has ended up as, as all of us who were begging people to vote for HRC in 2016 saw coming all along.

So yes. That’s what you need to do, and what WE need to do. We need to make as much goddamn noise as possible, protest, contact elected representatives, make sure everybody pulls their weight and ferociously fights the promised attempt to ram through a new justice before Election Day, all that. But even if that does happen, THEN WE NEED TO FUCKING DONATE, ORGANIZE, AND VOTE FOR JOE BIDEN AND DEMOCRATS UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT. ALL OF US. NO EXCUSES. NO MORE TWITTER LEFTIST ECHO CHAMBERS. NO MORE. THEN, EVEN WITH A RIGGED SUPREME COURT, WE WILL ALL BE SAFER ON NOVEMBER 4TH AND CAN TRY TO FIX WHAT’S BROKEN.

The stakes are just too high to do anything else.

May her memory be a blessing, and a revolution.

[popurikat]

Ruin Teresa Agnes career. Aka: the Teresa analysis. Take all the time you need >:3

Okay I’m saying this right off the bat in case someone who stans this character misses the point above, but well I hate Teresa Agnes’ character in the maze series, both movie and book. However, in my analysis I will try to explain why her character misses the mark both as a villain and as a sympathetic character. So, to analyze her in depth, I’m putting this into parts under the read below. HEADS UP! As of now this analysis will exclude Death Cure Novel review as I have not finished that one, though it will mention one major spoiler I have been informed of from that book that I need to add for the sake of her character; other than that I will be discussing the other three novels before it (yes that is including the prequel Fever code) and the three movies from the series in broad ideas as I am not about to scavenge for quotes like I did in my last long post… well at least not as many.

Part 1: Teresa the master manipulator

No matter which way you look at it, Teresa has a way to bend others to her will, whether we blame WCKD for teaching her so well; or she used it as a means of survival, the idea still stands. Though she is extremely skilled in combat, especially at using spears and knives, Teresa’s biggest skill is her silver tongue, she can lie her way out of anything. Most evident is her betrayal in Scorch when she has such a good poker face that she not only convinces group B that Thomas is the problem they have to eradicate to get WCKD’s good side, but she also doesn’t hesitate to maim Thomas to the point of threatening to kill him: “Get in the room or I’ll hit you again. I swear I’ll keep doing it till you pass out or bleed to death” (Ch. 51). /sarcasm/ Charming ain’t she? /end of sarcasm/ The thing about lying though is that sometimes it backfires, for instance in the case of Group B, Harriet and Sonya hear Thomas out on why they shouldn’t kill him like Teresa asked, and when they listen and observe him they realize that Teresa is the worst and side with him; which in turn makes Teresa have to take drastic measures which involve getting Thomas alone with her to finish her duties to WCKD. Anyways, she even goes as far as to cement her betrayal by kissing Aris and crushing Thomas’ feelings by saying they were never a thing; she does this mind you without so much as breaking this character she builds up even though later she tries to say she still cares for Thomas. She is so convincing that Thomas has stated that: “Thomas had never heard such arrogance from her. She was either a really good actress or had started going crazy. Gained a split personality or two” (Ch. 45, Scorch). So yes, Teresa is too good at lying to the point I can say she can align as a Pathological Liar because she’s deceptive, goal-oriented in order to get HER way meaning she will not tolerate anyone interfering with her methods, she disregards the feelings of everyone around her, and she is constantly tweaking her excuses to adjust to the situations at hand. She is so good at lying she oozes self confidence when elaborating her defense by staring directly at the person she is talking to, unblinking, and will lash out in defense if someone calls her out on any inconsistencies. 

Mind you this isn’t the first instance we get at how well she turns the story to her favor. In Fever Code, she is the one to help put the Gladers in the maze and erase Thomas’ memories, which transfers in Maze Runner with how she openly gaslights everyone by pretending she doesn’t remember much about WCKD’s doings even though her memories are the only ones implied to be in tact based on that email she wrote in Fever Code: “I’ve just said my goodbye to Thomas, and he’s now in the Glade, safe and sound. Tomorrow, it will be my turn. Dr. Paige has asked me to send a final note to everyone, sharing my thoughts. I’m more than happy to do so. I feel good about the plan to leave my and Aris’s memories intact. You need someone in each group with whom you can communicate and plan during the phases of the Trials”(FC epilogue) and also based on this specific tid bit in Maze Runner where she slips she knows more than she lets on: “Though I guess a Griever can’t squeeze through this window, so I’ll be happy, right?” The mention of Grievers surprised him -- he didn’t remember talking about them to her yet. ‘Teresa are you sure you’ve forgotten everything?”(Ch.37, pg.246). Griever knowledge in general for Teresa in Maze seems to be code talk for “I am here to cause trouble, I kept my memories'' because during the sequence with the fiasco with the invasion of the species in Group A’s field, Teresa casually wakes up after the event’s commotion subsides earning Newt’s suspicion that maybe the map fire was not done on accident. Anyways, in keeping things down low and having an advantage in memory recollection, she ensures Thomas and co. don’t recall events correctly unless it's vital to her mission. And yes, Teresa will use violence and anger if necessary; she is perfectly fine with murder...”So we’re just going to kill them all? [...] They’ll die anyway [...] No, Tom, It’s be tough now or everyone dies later”(Ch. 47, Fever Code). Or even this small aside on her stance on death overall: “This is kind of fun,’ Teresa whispered to Thomas. ‘Walking along with my new friend.’ He looked at her in bemused disbelief. ‘Really? You drop that bombshell about kids dying and now you act like it’s no big deal? You’re so weird.’ He tried to make a joke out of it to hide just how horrified he’s been by her second question” (Ch. 9, pg. 55, FC). And she has killed, mind you, yes they were cranks, but they are still humanly conscious. Thomas in comparison shows pity about the fact that they were still human, Teresa didn’t bat an eye. And now, you might say “Hey Popuri, you know, she’s just willing to kill if it means saving everyone else right?” to which I go, sure she’s stated that if it means saving the rest it doesn’t matter if thousands or so die. However, she is also clear that she only cares about Thomas’ survival in specific, no one else; which immediately gets falsified by her “lie” in Scorch, thus she will kill anyone if need be no matter how close they are. What I’m saying is that not even Teresa has a clear path in why she manipulates everyone when she can so easily be convinced to make elaborate murder scenarios at the snap of WCKD’s fingers. She claims it's to save her “crush” but will not hesitate to shed his blood and drag him across the desert. 

She claims it's to help WCKD, that WCKD is good, but she has bore witness time and time again that the facility makes countless errors and knows there's no REAL cure available … and Teresa is a smart kid, so why continue believing a hopeless façade? Because she's desperate to cling to some hope? No. Teresa doesn’t do the whole hope thing, she's convinced WCKD is good period, there's nothing else. So, even if there is no evidence anymore she will fight tooth and nail for something she herself is trapped in because no one will want to be there for the girl who treated her only connections as poorly as WCKD treated her. Therefore, is it because she can’t help it then? I can only imagine that's the case. She’s willingly this puppet for WCKD, she could’ve escaped them any time she liked like Thomas and co. did, but she prefers to stay on the burning train even if it means her own demise because she refuses to admit any of her actions were wrong, the truth will NOT set her free because she cannot confront it. 

Moving forward, I wanna delve more into the whole telepathy dealio she specifically shares with Thomas and we actually never really learn if she can talk to others as she evades the question when it does arrive in book. The only certain thing is that if you have a chip, you can talk using your mind. Now this would be a fine plot device, but in the hands of someone who wants to control your every move and thought, well....”Thomas, this is Teresa. He was going crazy. He was actually going crazy. It was the oldest and most common symptom -- hearing voices in your head. ‘Uh...’, he said aloud. Is this working? Is this working? The last words landed between his eyes like a thunderbolt. The pain knocked his legs out from under him and he collapsed onto the floor. Never had the world felt so fluid beneath him, as if nothing solid existed, no form, no substance“ (Ch.20 , pg. 112, FC). So first things first, Thomas hates it when he gets a mind message, he feels extreme pain when someone tries it, this is recurrent throughout the series. He has told her a few times not to contact him through that method, but it's their little secret and besides, if he told anyone who would believe him? “Teresa shrugged. ‘You didn’t tell anyone, did you? They’d think we’re crazy“(Ch.36, Maze Runner). So we have a situation where Teresa has a huge way of overpowering Thomas, she can send images to his head without his consent and yell into his mind even if it means it hurts him. And the kicker? She doesn’t teach him how to use it on purpose. And when he tries to contact her? Well depending on her mood she can either be flirty or... well this: “Teresa? A pause. Teresa? A longer pause. Teresa! He shouted it mentally, his whole body tensing with effort. Teresa! Where are you? Please answer me! Why aren’t you trying to contact me? Ter- /GET OUT OF MY HEAD!/ The words exploded inside his mind, so vivid and so strangely audible within his skull that he felt lances of pain behind his eyes and in his ears. He sat up in bed, then stood. It was her. It was definitely her. Teresa? He pressed the first two fingers of both hands against his temples. Teresa? /WHOEVER YOU ARE , GET OUT OF MY SHUCK HEAD!/ Thomas stumbled backward until he sat down once again on the bed. His eyes were closed as he concentrated. Teresa, what are you talking about? It’s me. Thomas. Where are you? /SHUT UP!/ It was her, he had no doubt, but her mental voice was full of fear and anger /JUST SHUT UP! I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE! LEAVE ME ALONE!/ But, Thomas began completely at a loss [...] /LEAVE ME ALONE, OR I’LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND CUT YOUR THROAT. I SWEAR IT. “ (Ch.8, FC). *sarcasm* ah yes, nothing says true love like a death threat that actually comes to near fruition later in that same book and pretending to not know that person only to later, upon meeting Thomas acting like a sobbing mess, kiss him and disappear...she sure knew him then huh? *end of sarcasm* Having a power imbalance in a relationship is, you know, not good, especially when you’re making it so you gaslight the person anytime they know something you don’t want them to or to have control over the situation. Teresa does this OFTEN. To the point that it makes Thomas so emotionally attached to her he finds it hard to admit he doesn’t need her, even when he’s been badly hurt. 

 Part 2: Your past does not excuse your bad actions in the present. Period.

Now let me clear something up, PAST ABUSE does not CONDONE you to HURT OTHERS in turn, let alone allows you to use it as an excuse to justify wrong actions. I am aware Teresa, aka Deedee, was abandoned due to an outbreak of the flare at an early age; had her name changed, was confined to a room with Thomas as her only friend who was the same age as her, and openly manipulated by adults to believe WCKD is good. But you know who else goes through the same treatment? LITERALLY EVERY KID EXPOSED TO THIS EXPERIMENT! AND THEY DON’T THREATEN EACH OTHER IF THEY DON’T GET THEIR WAY OR KILL EACH OTHER. And this is not said in order to justify that everyone with the same experiences will have the same reactions, I understand stressors and trauma affect everyone differently and acknowledge everyone needs a different support system. But like, for peeps sake, Thomas who is Teresa’s exact foil as a narrative play to show that they are more alike than they realize which is the flimsiest proof to grab at as to why they need each other to an extent; literally has the exact same story cut and paste from her and he has more empathy and compassion to those around him, than Teresa ever shows. WHY? If the idea is to show Teresa has hardened from her own experiences, she should in theory act more like Brenda, a renegade civilian that isn’t soft for anyone except the boy who will save her. I know in my explanation I compare Thomas and Teresa a lot, but it's hard not to when Teresa, though having Aris as another buddy who is also in on the whole WCKD scheme, still decides to CLING to Thomas to be her saving grace. And the thing is, even if she only ever trusted Thomas in this whole experiment, then why not confide in him or tell him what is happening? She doesn’t LISTEN to anything he says to her in turn. YES, Teresa knows more about the situation as a whole, YES she is capable of doing things by herself, but she never trusts anyone. You’d think she would be more open to talking to the kids her age or be the quiet type because she knows what will happen to them all if they don’t comply; but no, I can’t even describe her personality other than stoic one moment and complete chaos in the next, and she does that switch VERY often. But sure, she prefers to skew half truths and put everyone in danger because ….WCKD? She’s supposed to be the intellectual one and she doesn’t know how to spread her capabilities, no wonder Brenda is introduced in the second book.

It's also incomprehensible to me why she feels it necessary to follow WCKD in general when she was the first to know of all their evil doings? “They were at the door when Teresa stopped and asked Dr. Leavitt a question. Two, actually. And it was enough to change the man’s demeanor completely. ‘What’s a swipe trigger? And is it true that seven kids died during the implant surgeries?’ The questions stunned Thomas. He turned to look at Teresa as the doctor fumbled for an answer. ‘How...’ the man began, then stopped, realizing at the same moment what Thomas did: Teresa had stumbled on something major. Something true”(Ch. 9, pg.54, FC). You’d think she would have the maturity to one up WCKD and knock them from the inside out to save the one she “loves'' but she doesn’t, instead she abides by the facility...even when knowing they are the ones who made the Flare in the first place. Call me naïve, but wouldn’t it make sense that if she wants to help stop the Flare than it would be in her best interest to hold Ava at an inch of her life (and Ratman) until she fesses up how to reverse the Flare, only to then realize oops there never was a possibility for a cure ~, but in knowing this finally be rid of the one thing holding her back? Again, someone can argue that hey, she thinks the people who made it HAVE to eventually find the termination and either way what possible choice does she have when her own manipulators control her? But remember, in the end it's always been a huge experiment to eliminate the human populace, and that's motive enough to rebel and/or snap at the hand that feeds when it's gone too far. EVERYONE has a breaking point mentally and physically, THOMAS BREAKS DOWN SEVERAL TIMES IN THE SPAN OF THE SERIES BECAUSE HE CAN’T MAKE SENSE OF THE EXPERIMENTS AND THE REASON TO CONTINUE SURVIVING ONLY ON WCKDS TERMS. And it drives me insane that Teresa would openly keep the Gladers from knowing about their procedures when she has known the longest from everyone else! Oh? You want evidence that Teresa keeps her memories intact and lies about ever losing them, sure! Here, have a morsel: “Teresa..., he started to say, but then stumbled a void. He had no idea how to respond. Did you....did you already know this stuff? /I’ve heard rumors./ And you never told me? He was stunned. How could she have known this and never said anything? She was his best friend. The first person he went to with everything. /I just don’t see the point. Yes, we have reason to hate these people. But how is dwelling on the past going to help anybody? The solution is what matters./ Thomas had never been so blindsided in his life.../I’m really tired, Tom. Can we talk about it tomorrow?/ She was gone from his mind before he could respond [...] The next day Teresa refused to talk about it, emphasizing that she’d rather focus on the future than the past Dr. Paige also blew it off, saying that those decisions had been made well before her time. it was almost like they were both determined to forget” (Ch. 43, pg. 239, FC). TALK ABOUT BECOMING THE ONE THING THAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO OVERCOME. Like goodness sake, Teresa was part of the prep and launch of putting each Glader into the Maze and she never doubted it, never fussed over how this was bad. The excuse of “this is for their own good, my own good, and the world’s” can only go so far when you are in an environment that is full of violence and trauma, you expect me to not believe Teresa just never broke down and truly analyzed how she can use her lies to one up her own abusers? She’s supposed to be this “empowering” female character and she can’t even get THAT right. 

Part 3: How come the films did it better?

The film actually humanizes her a lot more and makes her motives at least justifiable in a fit of protecting the one you love. I know a lot of people dislike her character in the movies because it's more frail and sympathetic, but it was a very good way to justify her motives and plan out her actions from point A to point B. What do I mean by that? Let's take a look. Film Teresa enters the Maze without the ability to communicate to Thomas through telepathy, she still has her memories and she is still in close contact with WCKD, that much is still the same. Her motive though is to get everyone out of the maze and into stage 2 where the facility can round up the ones who have been viewed to be immune through the Maze Trials. So far so good, but pretty on par with the book right? Well, here is where it differs for the best. On the last act of Scorch, Teresa tells Thomas WITH SENTIMENT, no more lies and no more hiding that she contacted WCKD because it was needed to keep Thomas alive and well. WOW, notice how she doesn’t emotionally manipulate him and her innocent nature of trusting the scientists of her world to cure everyone actually leads her to be more sympathetic and relatable to the audience? In Death Cure, she doesn’t expect Thomas or ANYONE to forgive her for her actions and in fact takes her actions at face value. This Teresa is more understanding of the phrase “You can change, but those you’ve wronged have no obligation to forgive you” than book Teresa ever will. To the point that when she finds Thomas in the city and has bore witness to the startling realization that there indeed could be no cure cause her patient flares back up; of which is intentionally a little girl to reflect without showing that she can relate to the Flare stripping away her childhood, she then betrays WCKD by allowing the Gladers to infiltrate the facility, thus redeeming her when she dies in the explosion. Thus, making her in the film's eyes an anti-hero. As Skquill once told me, “Film teresa really did want to create a better future, and wanted to help people and that's what I like about film teresa. It didn't work. It literally blew up in her face. But, she tried, and she saved Thomas in the end.”

The only reason I don’t like Teresa even in the film is because she is kind of a wet blanket there, barely expresses any emotion beyond stoic token girl that cries sometimes, and she could’ve saved herself the whole betrayal arc if she just learned to better communicate her intentions instead of sobbing pathetically every time no one wants anything to do with her for her ill doings.Not to mention she still maintains her personality to a degree from the book (just call her diet Teresa really) because once both enter the sequence in Scorch where they ran out of pawns to move around they claim that they did what they had to do and they wouldn’t change a thing, they’d do it again if they could. It is only when both are at death’s door with no other choice that they give in some noble sacrifice at a chance for redemption, which is well too little too late. And in the opposing corner of knowing some people blame Thomas for not just allowing himself to be experimented on since the beginning, my rebuttal to be fair is that Teresa just again, sucked at explaining herself and the intentions of WCKD until it was deserving of a literal showdown bloodbath that evidently Tommy boy had to take defense to and threaten his life if anyone else died due to miscommunications. ALSO, IT'S HIS OWN BODY, HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS WITH IT INSTEAD OF HAVING OTHERS DICTATE WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO.

BUT ANYWAYS, book Teresa in comparison has even less characterization, I am sorry to say. SHE'S BARELY IN SCORCH AS IS, only coming out toward the climax because before that she is crying and kissing Thomas before going MIA for 45 chapters. Ouch. And when she does appear? She purposefully causes trouble that leads to essentially no where, we could’ve gotten to the safe haven way sooner without her interference.

Part 4: Is Book Teresa a good female character?

 The simple answer? No.

The slightly longer answer? Even if I were to place her as the villain of the story she’s...not that good? Mostly because again, she acts as a puppet for a rich, governmental organization that basically implants how she should think and act. YET, somehow she is still smart, brave, lethal, and *ahem* UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL WITH HER LONG HAIR THAT IS BASICALLY DESCRIBED THE EXACT SAME WAY AS BRENDA’S, WHO FYI IS THE SLIGHTLY BETTER FEMALE LEAD THAT STILL CAN’T HOLD A COIN TO SONYA OR HARRIET (the background characters) THOUGH. I also need to say plainly, she has no gradual growth, she remains by her ideals and thinks she's right constantly in all but one book...which is one book too late and thus made meaningless. By no means is Teresa a mary sue, yet she still manages to be a stereotype in Maze Runner: “If you’re going to decipher a hidden code from a complex set of different mazes, I’m pretty sure you’ll need a girl’s brain running the show”(ch.43); then again going most of the book in Scorch missing, and then unceremoniously gets crushed by a boulder in Death Cure as her final hurrah for all the bs she caused isn’t really a means to become a memorable character. This is the female supportive character I’m supposed to relate to and or praise for her dastardly, cunning intellect?  If I were looking for a strong female with various flaws and a tragic end I would saunter over to Hunger Games’ Katniss instead. Teresa fails as a character the moment that her sole purpose is to be so emotionally/physically attached to Thomas that her whole character gets washed down the gutter so badly that Kill Order had to be made to justify her actions through a tragic backstory. In no way or form was I able to entertain this character as a favorite because she is everything I don’t want to be or befriend, and even as again, a “villain” she doesn’t exactly do much as the real masterminds are Ava and her cronies who MADE the disease and the trials. Even going as far as calling her an anti-hero feels off because none of her actions deliberately affect the plot or progress of our main character’s story. But that's kind of the thing with D*shner’s characterization of females overall? They’re either brutish or simply there. I don’t think any of them even pass the Bechdel Test. 

Final thoughts:

I don’t like Teresa, I would personally fight her in a Denny’s parking lot at 3am if I could. I recall saying multiple times how she should just “shut up” as I read Maze and Scorch because most of her quotes are not memorable nor important. But in no way do I blame the character for the angst and tragedy of the novels overall. D*shner just...doesn’t seem to know how to make honest character growth and a decent plot, thus, in turn the story and its leads suffer tremendously as the narrative gets stretched out. (me yelling in the distance about how Crank Palace was made for clout). HOWEVER, In no way should my analysis stop people from finding Teresa as interesting or “cool”, I actually ENCOURAGE anyone that stans her to explain why to me because I personally don’t understand why beyond thinking “I just think she's chaotically evil and her treachery is fun to witness”. COOL IF THAT'S THE REASON OR EVEN IF YOU RE-WROTE HER TO BE BETTER! I just personally don't find her presence necessary for plot progression or as a love interest in general. It in fact sucks that she gets essentially replaced by Brenda almost as soon as the opportunity arises. In turn though, for others who don’t like her either as much as me, feel free to add onto this post any other “Teresa sucks and here's why” moments as I know there's a lot of moments out there to quote or paraphrase. Thanks for reading~

[chat-noir-always-here]

Marinette and Anxiety

First, lets count all the things Marinette has that Adrien doesn’t have:

She has a healthy and positive home environment

Both of her parents are living, active presences in her life

Tom and Sabine love Marinette unconditionally

On top of having loving parents she has extended relatives who care deeply for her

she is allowed to go out and have friends over

going to public school is treated as a necessity rather than a privilege

she has, to some degree, or at least more so than Adrien, knowledge of socializing and is able to perceive signals better

she is on good terms and has a history with almost all of her classmates

she is allowed to explore her hobbies

she is allowed to choose her own occupation 

she has the freedom to do whatever she wants with her schedule outside of school and curfew

I could go on but I trust my point is clear? Marinette is blessed with many of the things Adrien has been denied. Worse, everything listed above falls under the category of “normal” “common decency” or “necessity.”

Long post is long and I don’t like cuts because I’ve lost a few posts in the past using them. Please filter the tag “long post” i use it for walls of texts like this one.

But Mari’s life, despite being vastly different and more fulfilling than Adrien’s, isn’t perfect.

In order to understand Mari’s struggles we need to take a look at her history.

We see in Origins that Marinette has been the target of Chloe’s bullying for a long time—three years or perhaps even longer. As is the case with many victims of bullying she lacked the courage and confidence to stand up for himself and more or less suffered in silence until Alya encouraged her to fight back.

Something to understand about bullying: it drastically warps someone’s perspective. Not only in how they view themselves but the people and environment around them. The end result? Some form of isolation and possibly PTSD. Bullying victims tend to be either physically/mentally withdrawn, or both.

Not a lot is known about Mari’s life before the Origins episode, but given that none of her classmates stood up to Chloe except Alya, we can infer that they have grown accustomed to Chloe’s treatment of Mari and are likely not especially close with her at this point in time. 

In her “In defense of Chat Noir” video, Toon Ruins states that Adrien isn’t especially close with his classmates yet either, saying he is “that friend that your mutual friends invite along and is just kinda there.” Its not unreasonable to presume that Mari was in that spot before she became Ladybug, befriended Alya, and developed enough confidence to stand up for herself as well as others.

It would also help explain why her friends were so quick to doubt her when Lila accused her in the Ladybug episode. Despite everything she’s done for them between Origins and Ladybug, they simply haven’t been close for very long and as Alya pointed out the evidence “was stacked against her.” Of course Alya and Adrien believed her because they are closer with Mari than practically any of her other classmates.

Adrien glaring at Lila when Marinette calls out to him for help. I cannot~~~~

Of course there was another, more obvious reason they doubted her: her feelings for Adrien and how intense she is when acting on them, which as Alya puts it served as her supposed “motive” for “hurting Lila.”

Marinette has often been seen crossing lines that are better off left uncrossed when it comes to Adrien. Her friends, especially the girls, are even somewhat aware of how intense these feelings are. (i.e. Alex’s comment during Gigantitan “Marinette knows a lot about Adrien it’s kinda creepy”).

More often than not, Mari wants to go somewhere mainly for the sake of seeing Adrien. Examples of this are when she’s supposed to wait for Nadja to come pick up her cake and during Simon Says when she is grounded for valid reasons . Often times there is some obligation involved—her promise to show up at Alix and Kim’s challenge and her promise with Nino in Simon Says—but chances are if Adrien weren’t there she wouldn’t want to go so bad (until an akuma showed up that is).

Something to understand about this: Mari has little to no opportunity to see Adrien. Worse, her history of being bullied and her previous status as an “acquaintance” rather than a “close friend” gives her at least some modicum of understanding about his situation. She empathizes with Adrien and cares for him, and is aware of his loneliness. During her life before Ladybug she likely longed for someone who would comfort and console her, and yeah probably found some relief with her mom given how Sabine seems aware of Chloe’s treatment of her daughter.

 But Adrien has no one, and knowing that makes Mari all the more anxious when he doesn’t show up for their social gatherings as well as driving her desire to be the source of love and comfort he so desperately needs.

I won’t deny Mari literally breaking the law for Adrien isn’t okay. Sneaking into his home, stealing his phone, and kissing his statue (its a statue in an important museum. Chances are you’re not supposed to touch those, let alone kiss them) are simply NOT OKAY things to do. A lot of this behavior earns her some hate from the fandom and some well-deserved scolding from Tikki. But rather than making me hate her, or call her a stalker, I’m mostly concerned that she doesn’t understand how bad that is. 

But Chat Blanc was a game changer. Adrien would NEVER have seen Ladybug in his room if she hadn’t taken her sweet time inspecting his belongings, smelling his pillow, etc. Meaning Adrien could have had her present and not known about Ladybug (he may have been curious as to how Mari’s gift got past security though). 

However since Marinette WAS seen by Adrien, he was able to learn her secret identity which led to this:

This is a scenario she never expected. And as she learns this was caused by her own poor judgement, she wastes no time in saving Chat Noir, erasing her name from her gift and allowing Adrien to believe it’s a gift from his Brazilian fan club instead of from her, Marinette.

Chat Blanc was one of the last episodes of s3. Safe to say she probably won’t be breaking into anything anytime soon (theres some debate over the chronological order of the episodes, but if I recall this one takes place either in the last four or five episodes on most lists). She nearly lost her kitty for good after all--that’s not a price she’s ever been willing to pay.

This likely wouldn’t have happened at all except Mari’s life as ladybug has caused her to become accustomed to certain behavior in order to keep her secret. Yeah Mari stole Adrien’s phone right out of his locker—and no that wasn’t okay. But remember when she stole her textbook back from Alya? Taking it right out of her bag when Alya wasn’t looking? Just so you know, in the French version, Mari tells Tikki she wrote her name in that textbook. So her secret identity was in grave danger and she had to act quickly.

You’re damn lucky Alya didn’t crack that book open the minute she got it, Mari.

Anyhoo the point is this: Mari is applying what she has come to know as “acceptable behavior i do to protect my secret identity” to her situation with Adrien and misinterpreting it as “acceptable behavior I do to keep Adrien from possibly rejecting me and crushing my soul.” And in her head, they’re similar even though the consequences of either secret coming out are vastly different.

Really think about the context of that voicemail she sent Adrien—if she had accidentally butt dialed Adrien while taking to Tikki about her life as Ladybug and then had to go steal his phone to keep him from learning the truth the fandom wouldn’t have had nearly as much beef with her over that as she wasn’t the one who created the “secret identities rule.”

The reason the two secrets are equally crucial in keeping, in Mari’s mind, is likely due to her overwhelming anxiety. Which even before she became the Guardian of Paris and then the Guardian of Miraculous she was still an anxious person.

She didn’t have much confidence or even a large support network. But in the span of one day she was entrusted with the safety and well being of every single person in Paris.

She didn’t believe she was cut out for being Ladybug but was denied the option of refusing the position and told to just do her best.

She knew going out she would likely screw up the job and given her task failure wasn’t really an option.

Then her worst fears were realized when she failed to capture her first akuma and many citizens were turned into stone statues. The only way to turn them back was to allow Ivan to be akumatized so she could defeat him and take his akuma. The very knowledge of which crippled her and caused her to give up the ladybug earrings.

She tried to go back to her normal life but couldn’t. Ivan was akumatized, Alya’s life was in danger and Chat Noir was struggling to the point he got captured and needed her help. So she took up being Ladybug again in order to help them.

What was she supposed to do? Watch?

From the very beginning she had no say in the matter. Her life as Marinette wasn’t and isnt easy—she has plenty of her own problems but she was given a Miraculous and basically condemned to being at war with Hawk Moth indefinitely.

Ever give a thought as to why the French government allow these two vigilante teenagers to handle the situation? Because ordinary people can’t. In other words if Mari thought only of herself she would give up the fight and ignore all the ensuing damage. But she can’t. And she won’t. She has a job to do. She could give up her miraculous but that would mean taking the pressure off her shoulders and dumping it all onto someone else just as it was dumped onto her. She cant bring herself to do that and even if she could—who would she possibly give it to?

Just imagining that kind of pressure makes me want hurl from nerves. And as of the S3 finale its gotten worse as she has lost Fu, the person who could give out Miraculouses to other people in case she never comes back one day.

Hawk Moth would win. Game over. That’s what it would mean.

Ladybug and Chat Noir know what Hawk Moth winning would mean better than anyone else does. Of course they won’t walk away from this fight. But that means they have to juggle their double lives until its over, and apparently have to do it again with a second hawk moth later on in the future.

And again, even before all of this Mari had a lot she suffered from. Chloe bullying her, feeling lonely, being clumsy. Clumsiness is mortifying--it truly means suffering. Being the class clutz is like being the class laughingstock. Mari seems to handle it fairly well.

 Until she’s around Adrien. I mean look at her!

Poor girl can’t stand looking so uncool in front of her crush. Even though he seems to find her clumsiness endearing.

Going off what was said in my “Debunking: Adrien is perfect” post, Marinette is hyper-sensitive to Adrien’s situation despite not really knowing the full extent of his suffering. 

Marinette doesn’t know Gabriel is Hawk Moth either, but she does understand Adrien is lonely, isolated and in need of a source of love and comfort. She also understands to some degree that his heart is delicate, so she constantly handles him with kid gloves and looks on him with a perfection filter. We see how Mari reacts to upsetting Adrien in Malediktator when she softly whispers an apology after Adrien expresses his sorrow over everyone celebrating Chloe’s departure. She seems pained and distraught over causing him to be upset. Thus the reason Marinette calls Adrien perfect isn’t that she never sees any of his flaws--she just cannot acknowledge or process them under these conditions. She’s too busy trying not to hurt him. 

Marinette can comprehend Adrien’s situation, couples that with her own past experiences of bullying/ loneliness/ being a clumsy laughingstock. That combined with her love for him and her anxiety-warped common sense, led to the behavior which has earned her some disapproval from the fandom at large.

 But really? Marinette’s not a terrible person. Anymore than Adrien is.

 Adrien’s sometimes-obnoxious-flirting is brought on by his desire to “not look lame” in front of Ladybug. Ergo, his own insecurities are amplified around her because he too lacks confidence.

 Likewise Marinette’s stammering and clumsiness are amplified around Adrien, as is her anxiety and her desire to be cool in front of him.

 They both feel they have to prove themselves to the other in some regard. And they both have past and present experiences that have left them hurting and/or warped their judgement in some ways. 

 This doesn’t make Mari’s irrational behavior any more acceptable than Adrien’s troubles make his leading Kagami on and lying to Ladybug acceptable. It’s not acceptable. But Mari is no more deserving of hate than Adrien is.

They’re just a couple of stressed out kids, folks

[rubysunnday]

This is really random but Shelby sis organising a scavenger hunt type thing to find her because the family had been arguing a lot recently so they all had to work together to collect clues to find her -the clues could be like important memories with each member So as well as getting along they find out about each other more

A/N: I sort of took this idea and ran with it. It’s kinda along the same lines but also slightly different so I hope that’s alright! 

Also, my hatred of small children appears to be fairly obvious in this one...

You were close to loosing your will to live.

No, scratch that, you had lost your will to live.

There was a lot going on with the family business at the moment. A lot of arguing, a lot of fighting and more drinking than usual - which was saying something - had led to the entire family being even more volatile than usual.

Because everyone had been too caught up with the business, they’d all forgotten it was easter.

And had all forgotten to make an Easter egg hunt for the children.

“Why the fuck have I got to do it?” You asked, frowning as you stood in the doorway of Tommy’s office.

“Because you’re the only one not involved with this,” Tommy replied, gesturing to the very full room of his office.

The ‘family’ meeting had been going on for several hours now and there’d been a lot of yelling coming from the office. You’d been evicted thirty minutes in when Tommy had realised that he didn’t really want you hearing what was going on.

“Only because you don’t want me involved,” you muttered.

“Y/N,” Tommy said, raising a hand,“just, please, do this one thing without complaint because I’m about to fucking loose it.”

You tutted but gave in. “Fine,” you replied, turning around and shutting the door again, leaving your family to continue their meeting.

That was how you ended up organising an Easter egg hunt for the numerous children you’d somehow become godmother to over the years.

Said Easter egg hunt was also the reason why you currently wanted to die.

You’d sat yourself in the lobby of the house, near enough to the office that you could occasionally hear what was going on and near enough to the front door that the children could find you.

And so that you could run away.

“Y/N!” Charlie whined and you closed your eyes, sighing.

“Yup?” You asked, turning to look at your nephew.

“Katie took my Easter egg,” Charlie whimpered, pointing at his cousin.

“Katie, give it back,” you said tiredly.

“Why?”

“Because there are enough Easter eggs for everyone to have at least five so give it back,” you replied.

“Fine,” Katie grumbled, taking the egg out of her basket and all but throwing it into Charlie’s.

The two ran off again and you relished the blessed peace that came with it.

“Y/N!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” you muttered as Karl came up to you. “Hi,” you said, leaning down to look at your nephew. You’d always had a soft spot for Karl. Well, you had a soft spot for Ada and therefor her son too.

“I can’t find anymore,” he said quietly and you glanced down into his basket, seeing only two eggs.

‘Those fucking animals’ you thought.

“Oh, don’t worry,” you said, lifting Karl onto your lap. “I’ve got a secret stash you can have some from.”

“Really?” Karl asked, looking up at you hopefully.

You nodded, smiling. “Yeah. Now, go see if you can find any in the library, I’m pretty sure there's some in there.”

Karl jumped off your lap and ran down the corridor.

Peace reigned once again.

Until yelling started up again from Tommy’s office.

“Right, I’ve had fucking enough,” you muttered, standing up and marching over to Tommy’s office.

You swung open the door, silencing the yelling match currently occurring between John and Tommy.

“You lot, shut the fuck up!” You exclaimed.

“Y/N,” Tommy began, a warning tone in his voice.

“No,” you said shaking your head, “I've had enough of this. I’ve spent all fucking day with your children and, quite frankly, it has put me off ever having children. So, here’s what’s going to happen. You lot are going to help your children with their Easter egg hunt whilst I go hide somewhere. I have also conveniently left clues to where I shall by hiding along with the eggs.

“Once you have figured out where I am hiding, you to find all of the shit you’ve taken from me over the years and bring it to me in my secret hiding place. When you bring it to me you are to not be twats or arseholes and are to act like my older siblings and, maybe, give me a hug. We clear? Good.”

You didn’t give them a chance to answer properly before you left the room, slamming the door behind you.

You looked up from the magazine you were reading as the wooden ladder up to the tree house creaked and groaned.

“Why the fuck are you up here?” Tommy asked, poking his head through the hatch.

“The children can’t follow me,” you replied, breaking off another bit of chocolate. “And it’s where my chocolate stash is.”

Tommy climbed in and sat down next to you.

You glanced down at what he was holding. “Is that the book you borrowed four years ago when you bored during Ada’s birthday and never gave back?”

Tommy chuckled, handing it to you. “Yes, thank you,” he replied. “Did you put those clues there just for us to give your shit back?”

“Oh, no, it was meant for the kids to come and get the final prize,” you explained, “except the final prizes no longer exists because I’ve eaten it.”

Tommy scoffed, shaking his head as you ate another bit of chocolate.

The tree house groaned again and Ada popped her head through the hatch.

“I hate you,” she said, climbing in, accepting Tommy’s hand of support.

“Ahuh,” you said, scooting over so that she could sit next to you. “My bracelet which you borrowed for a date with Freddie but never gave back?”

Ada handed you the bracelet as she sat down, taking a bit of chocolate at the same time. “Is this the treehouse?”

You nodded. “Yup. Tommy over there has sentimental issues apparently and moved it here for Charlie, except he never fucking uses it.”

Tommy rolled his eyes but said nothing.

“You get fed up of the arguing too?” Ada asked, accepting the chunk of chocolate you offered.

“Did I ever? I almost kicked a small child as well,” you muttered.

“Who’s?”

“John’s.” Ada nodded. “Feral children.”

“Thank you!” You exclaimed.

“I take great offence at that,” John said, wiggling his way through the wooden hatch. “Why the fuck we up here for our family reunion?”

“Because the children cannot climb,” you replied, scooting further around so that John could fit in. “And therefore I am safe from their terror.”

“They’re not that bad,” John said, sitting down on your right.

“Yes they fucking are,” you told him, “I think Karl learned about five new swear words today because of your fucking children harassing me.” You turned to face Ada. “Sorry, in advance.”

“Apology accepted,” your sister replied.

“Alright, where’s me mirror?” You asked John, holding your hand out.

John rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a very battered but well loved silver mirror. “Forgot I had that.”

“Yeah, no shit,” you muttered, adding it to your collection. “You nicked it to give to Lizzie.”

“Don’t remind me,” John grumbled.

“Who the fuck decided to come up here?” Arthur grumbled as he climbed inside the cramped tree house.

“I’m hiding from your children,” you replied. “They’re evil and I never want one.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, throwing a hair clip at you. “Found it in an old drawer,” he said, sitting down next to Tommy.

“Yeah, you nicked it last year because I was being annoying and never gave it back,” you told him.

“Didn’t we build this?” Arthur asked, knocking on the slightly shabby wood wall behind him.

“Yeah, you and Tom,” you said. “When Finn and I were...eight, I think? I did wonder how it was still standing.”

“I am slightly concerned it’s about to collapse underneath us,” Ada muttered to you ad Tommy and Arthur complimented their work.

“No, so am I,” you muttered back as the tree house creaked and groaned.

“Y/N, those children are fucking feral and should be locked away,” Finn groaned, grunting as he squeezed himself into the house.

“I quite agree, Finn,” you replied, dragging him to sit in front of you so you could hug him. “Terrifying things.”

Finn put the ring he’d found on your finger. “Thanks, by the way,” he said, “even if I didn’t end up proposing.”

“Didn't think you would, to be honest,” you replied, resting your head against his back.

For a moment, the tree house was silent.

“You lot done fighting for the next ten minutes?” You asked quietly, suddenly acting like the youngest sibling instead of the oldest.

You didn’t admit it often but being left in charge of numerous children was terrifying. You didn't think yourself fit to be a mother - well, you knew you weren’t because you couldn't stand children - and it terrified you whenever your siblings left you alone with theirs.

The constant arguing for the past week had put you even more on edge. You weren’t sure that you could cope with your family falling apart in front of you. They were your main column of support and you knew you wouldn’t be able to function without them.

Before the war you rarely argued. There was the odd sibling fight but that was to be expected when six siblings lived in one tiny house. But, the tiny house had brought you all closer and the bond you had with your siblings was a unique one.

John shuffled closer to you, putting an arm around your shoulders. “Yeah,” he said, pressing a gentle kiss to your head. “Did we scare you?”

You nodded once. “Only because I was going to end up looking after your kids,” you covered quickly.

Arthur snorted. “Y/N, sweetheart, you’d end up murdering them all in the first day.”

You shrugged. “What can I say, I don’t do children.”

Ada laughed, entwining her hand with your hand and resting her head on top of yours.

For a single moment, you all felt like the kids who’d lived in Small Heath in a tiny house, sharing bedrooms because there wasn’t enough room.

“You know,” you said suddenly, “I really don’t think this tree house was built for six grown adults to sit in.”

“Yeah, I don't feel entirely safe,” Finn added.

“Are you insulting our craftsmanship?” Arthur asked, frowning.

“Yes,” you said as Finn nodded. “Now, leave me alone and go deal with your feral children.”

“They are not feral,” John said as he got up and began climbing down.

“KARL, THAT’S MINE!”

“Alright, maybe they are,” John admitted to himself as he climbed down the ladder to deal with his children.

You rolled your eyes as John started yelling. “Fucking children,” you muttered.

[chernayawidow]

INTERTWINED — TOM RIDDLE

pairing: student!tom riddle x professor!reader

word count: –

warnings: age gap (Tom is 18 and reader is 20), reader is apart of the peverell family

a/n: this is my first ever tom riddle fic, so i’m very sorry if he’s ooc or if it’s just trash in general, i tried my best!

His intense gaze was like fire on your skin, his devilish eyes staring you down from his spot in the front row of the classroom, the promise of illicit acts hidden behind a feigned interest for the topic. You swallowed thickly, your throat running dry as you attempted to focus back on the lesson you were teaching. That’s how it had gone, right up until the dismissal of class.

Slowly packing away his things, Tom Riddle had waited until all of his peers had cleared out of the classroom before standing up and approaching you, his signature smirk resting upon his soft lips. The look on his beautiful face had you leaning back against your desk for stability, white knuckling the smooth oak wood in an attempt to keep yourself under control.

Your heart was racing a mile a minute, pounding so hard that you could hear it in your ears. You hated that he had this effect on you. Tom Riddle, one of your students, managed to make you weak in the knees with a single glance. It was wrong, in every sense of the word. Aside from the fact that you were his professor, he was also a minor, and the consequences would be horrifying. But sometimes, one just couldn’t stop lust from prevailing.

“Professor? Professor Peverell, are you alright?” His smooth voice, barely covering up his smug tone, tugged you out of your trance like state, your wide hues darting up from his lips to look into his own.

He was taunting you, egging you on to make the first move. Tom did this every time, refusing to touch you unless you touched him first. It was his way of letting you know just how tight his hold on you was, how he could most likely convince you to commit murder with a mere sharp grin.

Swallowing your urges down once again, you released your grip on the desk behind you and stood tall, determined to never touch him inappropriately ever again, “Yes Mister Riddle, I’m doing just fine. Thank you for your concern.” The words came out in a strictly professional manor, your composure not once faltering.

Looking almost amused, Tom took a step closer to you, his body inches away from being pressed up against your own as he leaned down to whisper into your ear, “Are you sure about that Professor? Because you’re looking quite flustered... if I do say so myself.” He purred, tempting you further.

“I can assure you Mister Riddle,” You began, stressing the matter that you were no longer on a first name basis with each other, “that I have a clean bill of health.”

A low growl emitted from the wizard, his patience with your unusual resistance wearing thin. It felt like hours that the pair of you had just stood there, staring deeply into each other’s stubborn eyes, daring the other to make the next remark. It was all a game, one big risky game of chicken.

His fingers gave a slow brush against the back of your hand, the contact feather light and ghostly, but enough to make you close your eyes and let out a low moan of satisfaction. Neither of you could deny the connection that you shared. It ran to the point of pain for being away from the others presence for too long.

It was almost as if your souls had intertwined tightly together, like two snakes. Fitting, seeing as how you were both apart of Slytherin house, Tom being a prefect and you being the head of house.

“Mister Riddle...” You breathed out lowly, your eyes remaining closed as you once again relaxed against your desk for stability, “This must stop. Whatever this is—whatever we are—cannot continue on any longer.” You drawled, almost regretting the words as soon as they left your mouth.

You knew as well as he that you would never be able to remain apart, not for too long anyway. It was simply not possible. One way or another, your bodies would pull each other back together again like the two magnets that they are.

Clenching his hands into tight fists, Tom had to calm himself down before responding to your weak words, his chest heating up out of anger. It was insane to him, how irrational you were being. He thought you ill enough to escort you to the infirmary.

“It’s working so far, is it not? You know full well that you belong with me. You’re beautiful, intelligent, witty, powerful... the perfect dark lady.” He smoothly quipped, raising his formerly clenched hand which was now open to hover just above your cheek, dangling his electric touch just out of reach. It was you who needed to make the connection.

After this love affair had began, Tom had confided in you about his future plans to become the most powerful dark wizard in not only the world, but in history, showing just how deeply his trust for you ran.

At first, you didn’t know how to feel, or even act, about his future plans. They were unnatural. Tom had the opportunities that other boys would kill for. Just to secure a successful future. Yet Tom didn’t give a lick about such a powerful position like the Minister of Magic.

You had reasoned with him that becoming the Minister would allow him more sway over the Wizarding world, hoping that he’d grow to like being minister so much so that he’d let go of his dark plans. But Tom had dismissed the idea, almost as soon as he had heard it, and you dismissed his darkness, reasoning that it might just be a phase.

Though before your relationship even began, he had come to you about many dark and unthinkable things that he had read about in the restricted section—including the corrupting topic of horcruxes—which despite the alarm bells going off in you’re head, you indulged him in. Oh, how stupid of a decision that is as for you to make.

You were just so powerful, so talented in the dark arts, so intelligent that you were the obvious choice for Tom to seek out this information. If you for some reason didn’t comply, he would resort to asking the potions Professor, Slughorn. But you did just as he hoped, and gave him the information he needed, and that was the moment he decided it.

You could never forget the look of pure malice which drowned in his eyes that night. The intentions they held far from good and pure. His eyes were most definitely not innocent. Yet you held your nerve, never once faltering, and that was the moment he knew you were the one. That was the moment he decided you were to be his.

“Tom... you must understand that not only could I lose my job here at Hogwarts, but they could lock me away in Azkaban for the rest of my days.” You explained rationally, hoping to appeal to his logical side, which part of you knew was pointless.

Usually, you weren’t one to waste time on logical and patient communication, but you realised that it was necessary when dealing with the likes of Tom Riddle.

“I assure you—” He began to speak, reassuring arguments resting on the tip of his tongue, unwilling to let go of the vice like grip that he held on you. But you cut him off before he could continue.

“Not only is this detrimental to both of our futures, but my family is on the verge of arranging a marriage for me due to my supposed lack of luck in romantic endeavours. They are unwilling to allow the most noble and ancient house of Peverell to end with me.” You explained, taking on a sharp tone as you pushed past him.

Tom’s eyes watched in annoyance as your figure walked at a hurried pace, out of the room. Out of his presence. Oh, he would get you, in more ways then one. He would tie you to him, in many ways one couldn’t even imagine.

[queenmylovely]

Good Company

Summary: Gwilym lee x fem!reader. Your family’s annual ski trip with the Lees is the first time in a while you’re seeing your childhood best friend Gwilym. 

Word Count: 6.3k

Warnings: cussing, fluff, smut light (18+!! marked with ***)

A/N: This is my entry for @laedymoon​ 1k follower celebration! This is only my second Gwil fic and it was actually really nice to write. I got some definite inspo from @sweet-ladyy​ MOTH ch. 5, this is a bit of a switcheroo on that, but if you know you know ;) Thank you to @coffeewritingwine​ for beta-reading! Any feedback including likes, replies, reblogs and asks are greatly appreciated! Especially replies, messages, and asks are super helpful for my writing ‘cause I get to hear what you think!

Masterlist

(gif by @mazzelloplots​; ugh he’s so hot) 

🎿🎿🎿

Every March, for so long that it had become tradition, your family and one other would go on a ski trip. This trip started before the two pairs of parents were even married, and continued until now, when their kids were all grown up and had kids of their own.

This year, by some miracle, all kids, spouses, and now grandchildren were able to come. So it was you; your brother, Nick; your sister, Kate, her wife, Jen, their daughter Ella; and your parents Julia and James. On the other side was the Lees: the parents, Tom and Ceinwen; their son Geraint, his wife Mary, kids Siân and Aled; another son Owen; their daughter Rhiannon, her husband Elwyn, their son Tomos; and finally, their third son who was your age and your childhood best friend, Gwilym.

There was no way the 18 of you would fit into one house, so you were divided into two that were next door to each other. The people with small children were in one house (affectionately dubbed the “chaos house” by you) and the rest of you were in the other. The houses were identical, two four-bedroom cabins with just enough room to house you all but not enough so that anyone could avoid each other. It was all by design because good old T, C, and double J wanted to make the most out of having all their kids and grandkids together at once.

Each couple had their own room, the kids were in one, Nick and Owen were sharing one (as they were also best friends), and you and Gwilym were sharing the other.

Which was fine. The two of you had had countless sleepovers since you were little, going all the way through until the summer before university, so you were totally comfortable in each other’s presence.

Now that you were grown up, you were still close. Since you were both living in London, you did try to see each other at least once a month, but it was difficult with how busy Gwilym was with shooting and such. So when the trip came around, and you hadn’t actually seen each other in over three months since the annual Christmas Eve eve party that your parents had, you were super excited for a week with him and both families.

_____

Your flight had been delayed so you knew you were the last one arriving. The cabins you had rented were at the ski resort, and you took the ski shuttle to them, your luggage in tow. Luckily, you would be renting the actual skis. Getting off at the main building you had a bit of a trek to the cabins. By the time you reached them, you were out of breath, your hat was about to fall off your head, and you were sure that sweat had plastered your fly-aways to your forehead, but you were too excited to see everyone to care.

Knocking three times, you only had to wait a second before the door was flying open. Owen was standing there, beaming at you, and although he had seen you only two weeks before at Nick’s birthday drinks, he pulled you into a big hug and squeezed you too hard with a laugh. You got much gentler hugs from the others, except Nick who just pulled your hat down over your eyes before giving you a quick side hug. Then the kids seemed to realize you were there and a ten and eight year old, Siân and Ella, respectively, came running over, yelling your name. You hugged them both and kissed the tops of their heads.

Then the two two-year-olds, Tomos and Aled, toddled over, curious as to what was causing the commotion. When they recognized you (both were very smart two-year-olds), they garbled out your name. With a grunt, you managed to pick both of them up at the same time, giving them big kisses on the cheek that they laughed at and then returned, no doubt getting whatever they had last been eating on your face.

The only person who hadn’t greeted you yet was Gwilym. Your mom saw you looking around for him and said, “Gwilym’s just down the hall in your room getting the bed ready.”

“Okay. Better go say hi and put this in there,” you replied, grabbing the handle of your suitcase.

The two of you were in the only downstairs bedroom, so you walked down the hallway past the kitchen and a bathroom, finding the door slightly ajar all the way at the end.

You knocked lightly before pushing it all the way open, “Knock-knock, is the movie-star decent?”

Gwilym was just finishing making the bed, placing the little throw pillows perfectly when he looked up and saw you. He grinned and walked around the side of the bed, rolling his eyes before pulling you into a tight hug.

“Sorry, no movie stars here, love. Just me, hope that’ll do,” he said into your hair and you let out a little contented sigh. No one gave hugs quite like Gwil.

“As if,” you said, pushing on his upper arms to look at him. Your hands stayed there and his stayed on your waist. “You cannot play a member of Queen in a big Hollywood movie and then refuse to be called a moviestar. We’ve been over this.”

“We’ve also been over that I’m the same exact person I’ve always been,” Gwil said, a little sternly.

“Well I know that,” you said, hitting his arm lightly and then letting go. He did the same. “No amount of fame could knock the dork out of you. Or let me forget what a nerdy little kid you were and still are.”

Gwil laughed at that, relieved that you still saw him the same. In the year and a couple months since Bohemian Rhapsody had come out, you had only seen each other a handful of times, and for no longer than three hours. He had been a bit worried that you could have come to think of him differently and just hid it well around others. But your teasing definitely assuaged that worry.

“So I made up the bed for us. There’s an electric blanket under the comforter so we don’t get cold. I don’t think this cabin has the greatest insulation,” he pointed out, looking at the walls distrustingly.

“Thank you for that, you know how much I hate making beds,” you told him and he smiled. “Another thing I would appreciate is if you let me sleep on that side of the bed.”

You pointed to the one furthest from you, and Gwil looked at it then you.

“Is this your thing about not sleeping the closest to the door?” he asked, squinting at you.

“I know, it’s irrational or whatever, but I’d just feel safer if I didn’t sleep closest to it,” you replied. You had just a bit of a fear that murderers or something would break in and attack everyone during the night.

“I guess I can. But I don’t know how good of protection I’d be. I’m no self-defense expert,” Gwil admitted, smiling.

“Even if you aren’t they’d kill you before me, so maybe I’d be able to run away,” you said matter-of-factly.

Gwil’s face turned into one of shock and he exclaimed, “So I’m just a killing buffer to you? You’d run away while I was being brutally murdered? Good to know I’m disposable.”

He crossed his arms and frowned harshly, but you knew he was just pretending to try to make you feel guilty. Nevertheless, you hugged him around his crossed arms, resting your chin on his chest and looking up at him.

“Aw, Gwilly, you know that’s not true. You’re much more than that. You’re my smart, handsome, funny, dorky, best, best friend in the whole wide world,” you laid it on thick, trying to flatter him into not being “upset,” though nothing you said was a lie. When he didn’t budge, you started tickling his sides until he broke and started laughing, uncrossing his arms and grabbing yours to stop you.

He wrapped his arms around you again, resting his chin on your head that you had turned to the side and laid against his chest. “Okay, I’ll sleep closest to the door. You’ll be safe. As long as the murderers don’t come in through the window.”

Eyes widening, you looked straight at the big window that was next to your side of the bed. Your arms tightened around Gwil, genuine fear creeping into your voice, “Don’t even joke about that.”

_____

Since it was mid-afternoon when you got there, there was to be no skiing that day. Instead, the whole group made dinner together (well, really it was the grandparents with a little help from the other parents peeling vegetables and setting the tables). You and Gwilym were in charge of the kids while Owen and Nick were sent to buy wine, beer, and juice boxes. Siân and Ella were doing their own thing, playing some kind of spy game that had them giggling and using a pair of walkie-talkies.

Aled and Tomos were content to sit on your laps. You and Aled were playing patty cake while Tomos was playing with Gwil’s short beard. Tomos was having a good time, but every so often, he pulled a little hard and Gwil winced in pain, reminding him to “be gentle.”

Once dinner was ready, you picked up your respective kid and called to Ella and Siân. They dutifully followed you to the tables, and you plopped the toddlers into their high chairs next to where their parents would sit.

Dinner was good, a chicken alfredo with homemade sauce that was sure to please everyone, including the picky eaters. There were also roasted carrots that even Ella, who hated vegetables, could stomach.

That was followed by a movie, but everyone talked over it.

“Has Aled bitten anyone? Tomos has done it like once, but I’m hoping he doesn’t enter a phase.”

“The target is in place, get ready for attack, over.”

“Aaah! Stop hitting me! Why are those pillows so hard?”

“I see the girls are enjoying their walkie-talkies, you’re welcome, by the way.”

“Do you have any podcast recommendations that aren’t true crime? I just worry about Siân hearing since she would actually understand what they’re saying.”

“Y/N, Michael’s the cousin that lives in California, right?”

“No, that’s Mark,” you half-yelled back to Nick, who was talking to Owen and Tom. Then you turned back to Gwil, “Wait, you already wrapped? I thought you were shooting until May.”

“No, that’s when it comes out,” he corrected you.

“Oh… Does that mean you’ve been in London for weeks and you haven’t tried to make plans with me? Where were you for Nick’s birthday?” you asked, in a teasing tone but you were also a little bit mad.

“I’ve been travelling some. But I was at a Fashion Week thing,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Whatever, moviestar,” you said with a huff. Then you adjusted how you were sitting so you were against the back of the couch instead of facing Gwilym.

“Y/N…” Gwilym started, but trailed off because he knew you would probably interrupt him.

“Nope, don’t talk to me right now. I want to be able to sleep in the same bed as you without strangling your pretentious ass. Just let me cool off,” you told him. You were being a little over-dramatic, but you knew that in ten minutes you’d be done being annoyed. Both of you knew you weren’t really all that angry because you were still sitting with your thigh and arm pressed to his. When you were really mad, you didn’t even want to be in the same room as him.

_____

Once everyone was making their way to bed, you and Gwil took turns in the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“You’d better go first, I have my whole skincare routine,” you let him know, slight anger long having faded away.

“How do you know I don’t have one?” he shot back and you just rolled your eyes to his laughter.

As he was brushing his teeth, you changed into your pajamas. Just an old uni shirt that was too ratty to wear outside of the house anymore and a pair of cotton running shorts. But it was soft, oversized, and very comfy, so it was perfect for sleep.

“All yours,” he told you, walking into the room just as you pulled your shirt over your head. You were facing away from him, so at most he had seen your back, but you didn’t really think about it, grabbing your stuff, giving him a quick smile, and heading into the bathroom.

As you walked away, Gwil took in a big breath. After not seeing you very much over the past year and a half, Gwil was feeling different seeing you now. You had always been beautiful, but Gwil could’ve sworn your beauty had increased tenfold over that time. That, or he had just been taking it for granted since he used to see you constantly. Whatever it was, everytime you guys hugged, or when you sat close to him on the couch, or just now when he had gotten a glimpse of your lower back as you dressed, Gwil’s cheeks heated up uncontrollably and he had to fight to act normal.

Since the two of you were so comfortable physically around each other, he couldn’t pull away because then you would know something was up and ask him about it. He had no idea how you would react and he didn’t want to risk the years of your friendship and the bond between your families over a crush.

You walked into the room with a fresh face and moisturizer, ready for bed. Gwil was sitting on the bed, looking deep in thought.

“Can I turn off the big light?” you asked, hand over the switch.

“What? Oh yeah, let me just get the lamp,” he told you, getting up and turning on the lamp.

As you switched off the light and then walked to your side of the bed, you took another look at his pensive face, “What’s got you thinking so hard?”

Gwil looked at you, pausing for a moment before answering, “Just thinking about which side of the mountain I should go on first. I don’t know if I’m too rusty to hit the backside right away.”

“Oh, you should definitely do the frontside the first day so we can ski together. Otherwise, I’ll be left alone with the kids on the bunny hill. I need your guidance,” you said with a goofy smile, climbing under the covers.

Guidance, Gwil thought for just a moment before recovering and getting under the covers himself, “Okay, sounds good, I’ll join you on the front side.”

“Thank you!” you said, beaming at him. Then you leaned over and pecked his cheek, “We’d better get to sleep. Early morning and all.”

“You’re right,” he said, turning off the lamp, glad that the darkness would hide his red cheeks at your kiss. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Sweet dreams, Gwil.”

_____

The next morning, the musical sound from your alarm woke you up. You groaned, opening your eyes slowly and lifting an arm to turn it off. Except the arm wouldn’t lift. Looking down, you realized you were tangled up with Gwil.

Your cheeks heated up in embarrassment for a second, but then you thought again and realized it was Gwil and he would not care at all that the two of you had ended up cuddling. The two of you tended to cuddle whenever you got tipsy anyway.  

So you slipped your arm from underneath Gwil’s and were able to turn just enough to reach your phone and turn the alarm off. Your movement made Gwil stir and he blinked his eyes heavily. Then they opened wide when he realized how you were situated.

You giggled at his look and said, “Morning, Gwil.”

Relaxed by your laughter, he let out a chuckle too, “Morning, love.”

Neither of you moved from each other’s grasp, happy to be lazy and warm in each other’s arms for the moment.

“I feel like I just got the best sleep I have for months,” you told him, playing with the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

“Mm, me too,” Gwil agreed, squeezing you in his arms a bit.

“Maybe we should always sleep in the same bed,” you joked.

“Haha, yeah,” Gwil replied kind of awkwardly, but when your phone went off again, you were distracted.

“That’s my ‘you better be awake by now’ alarm, so we better get up,” you said, patting his chest before disentangling yourself from him.

Gwil let you go and got up himself. Realizing the family was going to head to the mountain in less than an hour, the two of you rushed to get ready and eat breakfast, not having time to chat very much.

_____

“I am in dire need of hot chocolate. I’m sooo cold,” you announced, your teeth chattering as you removed your snow-soaked jacket and hat.

“Same, I’ll go put the order in,” Gwil said, having removed his wet clothes faster than you.

“And some fries,” you called after him and he waved over his shoulder in acknowledgement. “And chicken strips!”

Gwil just shook his head, but you knew he would get you them anyway. He was always so good to you. Sometimes it made you wonder whether there was anything between you, but neither of you ever made a move, and it never seemed like the time to talk about it. You loved Gwil, sure, but loving him as your best friend and being in love with him were two different things. Sometimes that line became a bit blurred, especially when you noticed how good he looked on this trip, his hair and beard having grown out. But these feelings had popped up before, and had gone away in a couple weeks, so who’s to say that this time would be any different?

“Alright, here we go, you mooch,” Gwil said, somehow managing to balance two cups of steaming hot chocolate, and a giant basket of chicken strips and fries.

“Let me take this,” you said, grabbing the basket from him so he wouldn’t accidentally spill. You grabbed a couple fries and shoved them in your mouth. “Thank you!”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to talk with your mouth full?” Gwil asked sarcastically, as the two of you sat down.

“Actually, you’re the first,” you replied in an equally sarcastic fashion.

“Whatever, give me some of those fries.”

The two of you ate, mostly silent because you were very hungry. The ski lodge’s stereo system was playing the radio at a medium volume, so you were content listening to that. Then “Bohemian Rhapsody” came on and you looked at Gwil with wide eyes.

“It’s your song!” you said excitedly, immediately swaying to the music.

Gwil threw his head back in slight exasperation but laughed all the same, humming the rhythm of the guitar and doing some light air guitar that made you break out in laughter.

The whole situation brought him back to a time probably two years ago when he had finally been able to tell you about the project that was Bohemian Rhapsody.

_

“You what?!” you exclaimed. “You’re playing Brian fucking May?! What the actual fuck, that’s so exciting!!”

Then you tackled him in a hug that actually knocked the wind out of him.

He coughed and then replied with a grin, “Yeah, it really, really is.”

You pulled back at him and smiled, “Okay, tell me everything. Even the stuff you’re not supposed to.”

Gwil chuckled and smiled back, “There’s not a ton to tell. Serious. But I can show you a mockup they did of the Greatest Hits album.”

He pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of the four actors’ faces superimposed onto the album cover next to the original. It took you a second to tell them apart. Multiple seconds in fact. What gave it away was the actors that were playing Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury. Then you looked back and forth between Brian May and Gwil’s version.

“You literally look like a carbon copy of him, what the hell? Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to see you in a wig,” you gushed, laughing as you continued to stare at the two pictures.

Gwil looked at you, smiling and you caught his eye when you looked up, rushing forward to hug him again.

“I’m so proud.”

Over the course of filming, he had you on set a couple of times, and you had met the rest of the cast. They were a great bunch and you loved how happy Gwil was around them. Part of you was a little jealous that they got to see so much of him, but it was his career, and overall you always stayed supportive.

He had invited you to the premiere too, but you had sat with his family to watch it, as he sat with the rest of the cast. The popularity of the movie meant he had been busier and busier, and it was hard to see him consistently. That’s why you were so happy for this week’s vacation; a chance to reconnect.

_____

Ever since the movie had been announced, everyone from both families had taken to listening to Queen much more than they had previously, both to be supportive, but also because it just reminded them how good their music was.

So, that night when you were hanging out with Rhiannon, Kate, and Jen in the kitchen of the chaos house making cookies while everyone else was making dinner, you were playing Queen in the background. Soon, the conversation turned from family gossip to a debate about the members while looking at pictures of them as the cookies baked.

“Listen, I will concede that Roger does have a certain appeal as a blonde, but Deaky just has something else,” Rhiannon stated.

“Hmmm, I can’t really relate about his looks, but I definitely think Deaky wrote some of their best songs,” Kate pointed out.

“I gotta say that there’s something about Brian’s voice, though, that makes me feel something, like, in the depths of my soul. His voice is just so melancholy and soft,” Jen said dreamily as she pointed at him in a picture. All three of you turned to look at her, pulling faces and then everyone cracked up.

Gwil walked into the house, looking for the four of you to tell you that dinner was ready when he heard loud laughter coming from the kitchen. He smiled to himself, wondering what you were laughing about and then he overheard you talking.

“Don’t get me started on Brian. He looks…” Gwil was sure that you were about to say “Just like Gwil” but instead you finished “So hot in this picture.”

Gwil’s eyes widened at the implication as he connected the dots; if you thought he looked exactly like Brian and Brian was hot, did that mean that you thought he was hot? Gwil didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he didn’t know how else to interpret what you said. Maybe there was something there. Maybe his crush wasn’t one-sided. Maybe he should talk to you about it? Maybe.

For now, he just walked up to the swinging kitchen door, knocking lightly before he walked in.

“Dinner’s ready. You all better get over there before it gets cold,” he warned with a smile, ignoring the way you rushed to take your phone off the counter and that you hardly looked at him.

Kate, Jen, and Rhiannon looked at each other quickly; they had seen the looks both of you gave each other when you thought no one was looking and had actually talked to each other about it when they were on the ski lift. Gwil was easy to read and they were certain that he was practically in love with you, but you had been a little harder to understand. But then you went and said what you thought of Brian and that was the final nail in the coffin.

“Yeah, we’d better get over there so the guys don’t take all the food,” Kate said with a smile.

“Oh, but the cookies aren’t done,” you pointed out.

“You’re right. Gwil, why don’t you stay with Y/N and help her out and we’ll save you guys some food?” Jen asked, though it seemed more like a direction than a suggestion.

“Yeah, you don’t mind,” Rhiannon said, looking at you and then Gwil pointedly.

“Uh, okay sure,” you said, a little confused as to why they were acting strange.

“That’s fine,” Gwil answered at the same time, making eye contact with his sister and nodding ever so slightly, but you missed it.

The three of them walked out of the room and then out of the house to the other one, whispering and giggling all the way.

You shot Gwil a confused look but he just shrugged.

“So what type of cookies are they? They smell good,” he asked pleasantly, walking to stand next to you.

“Oatmeal chocolate chip. Mom’s specialty, although now she’s passed that off on me and Kate,” you responded with a closed-lip smile.

He groaned appreciatively, “Those are my favorite.”

“I know,” you said, smile growing, “That’s why I suggested them.”

“You’re literally the best,” he said, pulling you into a hug that you accepted happily.

“I know,” you said, resting your cheek against his chest and wrapping your arms around his waist. His rested over your shoulders and he chuckled in response.

You were tired from the day of skiing, and it felt nice to be in Gwil’s arms, so you relaxed there, closing your eyes. After a minute, Gwil decided he did want to talk to you and pulled away slightly. Looking up at him, you waited for him to speak, but he just stared at you for a moment. You found yourself unable to look away from his intense eyes, and they were getting closer and closer, though who was moving you didn’t know. You got so close you could see little flecks of green and hazel in his blue eyes and feel his gentle breath on your face.

The air felt charged with possibility, and you were just about convinced to lean up the two inches more and connect your lips. You were two more seconds away from closing that gap, now needing to know what kissing Gwil would be like. You were sure that once you started you wouldn’t be able to stop.

Then the timer on the oven went off and both of your heads whipped to the side to see where the noise was coming from. You broke away from Gwil to turn off the timer and then opened the oven door and took out the cookie trays with oven mitts. As you were placing the trays on the heat proof pads on the counter, Gwil turned off the oven.

“They can just cool here until everyone’s done with dinner,” you said too quickly, and Gwil nodded.

Then the two of you took off for the other house, Gwil about five steps behind you. It wasn’t until you were in the other house and surrounded by a bunch of loud family members that you felt you could breathe normally.

_____

That night, after getting ready for bed, turning off the lights, and climbing under the covers, you patted the part of the bed next to you and reached your arms out to Gwil.

He paused for a second so you said, “Come on, if we’re just going to wake up like this anyway, we might as well save sleeping us the trouble.”

“You make a good point,” Gwil conceded, scooting closer to you, again grateful the lights were off. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and you cuddled into his side, bringing one of your legs over his closest one.

Once both of you were settled, you patted his chest and wished him a good night, him doing the same with a squeeze of your hip.

As you were dozing off, Gwil thought that at least the almost kiss or whatever it was hadn’t made things so uncomfortable that you couldn’t sleep next to each other. That was a good sign.

_____

***

Once again in the kitchen, you found yourself in his arms. But this time, instead of anything interrupting you, your lips crashed together. The kiss was hot and intense, and before you knew it, you were seated on the counter with Gwil standing between your legs.

Hands were everywhere; yours were running through his hair and tugging on it as his roamed across your breasts, hips and ass. Then you were unbuttoning his pants and he was pushing them down along with his boxers revealing his hard cock. You hopped off the counter, turning around and laying over top of it, and Gwil pulled your panties off, throwing them to the side. With a few swipes through your wet folds, Gwil pushed into you, a gasp of pleasure escaping you as he did.

***

_

Gwil opened his eyes blearily, having been woken up by you moving and then your loud gasp.

“Y/N?” Gwil asked softly, but when you didn’t answer, he looked at your face and saw your eyes were still closed. The two of you were now in a more typical spooning position, having migrated to it throughout the night. By the low amount of light that was in the room, Gwil assumed it must be early morning.

Then you squirmed again, this time practically grinding into his cock, and Gwil froze in shock. You let out the most wanton moan Gwil had ever heard in real life and he had to clap his hand over his mouth to keep from gasping himself.

Just when Gwil thought he couldn’t have been more surprised, you said, “Yes, Gwil, right there,” and Gwil almost moaned. His cock was definitely getting hard, and he didn’t know what to do so he moved his hips back away from yours so you wouldn’t be able to feel it.

He tried to remove his arm from around your waist, but you were holding it to you even in your sleep, and he feared that if he moved you too much you would wake up and know that he heard you. And see his hard-on.

Then you squeezed his hand and whined, “Fuck me harder, please Gwil,” and he didn’t have the choice but to wrench his hand away from you. Getting out of bed and out of the room as quickly as possible, he headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. As hot as it was that you were having a sex dream about him, he felt it would be wrong to bear witness to it and give himself any pleasure because of it. It did further confirm the idea that you had feelings, or at least a subconscious attraction, to him though, so that was a plus.

Gwil’s sudden movements had pulled you from your dream, and as your body slumped in the bed you only just saw him before he left the room. But you saw his boner and your eyes widened as you remembered your dream. There’s no way he could have known what you were dreaming about, right? The boner was just morning wood, right? Then you shifted so you were sitting up and felt that your underwear were a mess. Maybe it had been kinda obvious. Fuck.

You got ready before Gwil was done with his shower, going to the kitchen to help with breakfast. When he came down the hallway and the two of you made awkward eye contact, you felt your cheeks heat up to a dangerous degree and ran into your mom who was carrying a stack of pancakes.

At breakfast you and Gwil sat next to each other like usual and when his leg brushed against yours you knocked over your glass of water. As the two of you were wiping up that mess, you kept bumping into each other and your hands kept touching and your breath caught every time. By the time breakfast was done you were dizzy with all of the blood that was rushing to your cheeks and lower stomach as each brush and accidental touch reminded you of your dream.

“You know, I didn’t get very good sleep last night and I’m feeling kind of off. I’m gonna stay here and take a nap, maybe join in the afternoon,” you told those around you.

“Gwil’s not kicking you in his sleep is he? He used to do that to me all the time when we were kids,” Geraint said with a laugh.

You laughed lightly in response, “No, nothing like that. Just a restless night. Have fun you guys.”

Then you went to your room and laid down on the made bed, staring at the ceiling as you waited for everyone to leave. When you heard the door close and no more footsteps followed, you walked into the living room and flopped on the couch.

“Can we talk?”

You just about jumped out of your skin and looked around, realizing you hadn’t noticed that Gwil was sitting in the armchair across from the couch. You sat up and hid your face in your hands and heard Gwil walk over and sit by you.

Then you looked up at him painfully, “Can we actually just never ever talk about it?”

Gwil got worried; he had wanted to talk to you about your feelings for each other, but he didn’t know what to do if you were just going to shut him down.

“Why?” was all he could think to say, trying to get some explanation.

“Because it’s so embarrassing,” you replied, looking away from him.

Gwil got a bit peeved that you would say that and scoffed, “Embarrassing?”

Now you were confused. He should understand why you were embarrassed. Then it dawned on you that you might be talking about two different things. “Wait, what did you want to talk about?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he said with a huff. Then he took in a deep breath, “What I wanted to talk to you about is that I have feelings for you. I wasn’t sure to trust them at first because we’re so close and I worried about transference or whatever, but it’s not that, it’s you.”

You felt the embarrassment completely drain from your body, replaced with happiness at his words. Although you were a little surprised, you were more than relieved that he felt the same as you. Smiling, you took Gwil’s hand in yours and told him, “Me too. It’s you, my feelings are all for you.”

Returning your smile, and with nothing to stop him or interrupt him this time, he leaned in and kissed you. It was much slower and more delicate than the one in your dream, but it was also infinitely better with the real Gwil.

Moving your free hand to cup his cheek, you deepened the kiss softly, teasing your tongue along his lower lip. He opened his mouth, moving his tongue with yours. Even though it was gentle, it was a deep kiss and still took your breath away.

You pulled away after a minute and breathed, “Wow.”

Gwil smiled, pressing his forehead to yours and repeated, “Wow.”

Then your lips connected again and Gwil’s hands moved one to your hair and one to your back, keeping you close to him. You couldn’t believe in how long you had known each other you had never done this. It was quite possibly the best feeling in the world, Gwil’s lips pressed to yours, the drag of his tongue, his strong hands on you, and you didn’t want to stop. That is, until Gwil pulled away. You followed his lips and he gave you a quick peck but pulled the rest of the way away after.

You looked at him, waiting for him to talk so he said a little awkwardly, “So what are we?”

Nervous laughter from you followed his question and you gave him a look.

“Well, I just think it would be good to answer that before anything else happens,” he defended.

“No, you’re right, you’re right, I was just surprised. Normally I have this conversation after something else happens,” you joked and then took a deep breath. “I, for one, want it all. I want to date you, to be your girlfriend, to kiss you, everything else. I want everything with you.”

Gwil breathed out a sigh of relief, “I want everything with you too.”

“Good,” you smiled, leaning back in for a kiss. Gwil indulged you for a few seconds but pulled away again.

You frowned and pouted, “What now? Haven’t we talked about everything?”

“Well, there was one more thing. As your boyfriend now,” he said with a cheeky smile, “I’d like to know about the dream you had this morning. A dream, it seemed, that was about me.”

You facepalmed and felt your cheeks get warm again, “This is exactly what I didn’t want to talk about, it’s so embarrassing.”

“Well I was thinking that as your boyfriend I could maybe try to help you recreate it,” he said with a wink and you felt heat pool in your lower stomach.

“Okay,” you said breathlessly. Then you thought for a second, “But probably not in the kitchen.”

“It was in the kitchen?” Gwil asked, surprised and you nodded sheepishly. “No, maybe not in there. I do know of a nice big bed that we could use though.”

You smiled in excitement, standing up and pulling Gwil with you, saying flirtily, “Show me this bed.”

“As you wish,” Gwil said, grabbing your waist and picking you up. You squealed but wrapped your legs around his waist as his arms supported your thighs. Then he carried you down the hallway, your mixed laughter bouncing off the walls as you exchanged messy kisses on the way.

🎿🎿🎿

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[mcwriting]

starstruck (8)

Hellooooo... sorry I didn’t post this on Friday, I was super busy all day/night finishing up my summer college course + other stuff. I haven’t finished 9 yet so it should go up next week :)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Fandom: Tom Holland

Ship: Tom x reader

Setting: LA, Seoul

Word Count: 1964

Warnings: maybe some mild language idk

Rating: K+

                             __________________________________

Tom burst through the door of the hotel room being used as a lounge for his and his castmates’ teams while they did press.

He was late, and his management stood up as soon as they noticed him.

“Thomas! Where have you been? We’ve been calling all morning! This isn’t a good look,” his publicist started.

“Yeah we’ve been having to make excuses for over a half hour for you. Everyone else started interviews ten minutes ago. Let’s get you in there,” the manager continued.

“No,” Tom replied blankly. 

“What?” they asked at the same time.

“I said no. I’m not doing things on your volition anymore. I’m tired of disappointing people and living a fake life just because you two have decided against the things I want to do. I’m sorry to do this right now, but you’re both fired.”

“You can’t be serious Tom. You know me! I’ve been with you for years!” his now ex-manager said.

“Yeah, come on. Who’s going to keep you relevant without me?” the former publicist asked.

“I think I’ll be able to manage just fine by myself, and if I want new help I’ll find someone better than both of you. You two have been jeopardizing my personal life for far too long in the name of fame and I can’t stand for it any longer. Harry will arrange for you two to get to your homes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go do my job.”

With that, Tom walked across the hall into the interview room, where he was met with a few cheers and the smiling faces of his costars.

                             __________________________________

“How are we gonna get her back to you?” Harrison asked late that night as everyone huddled around a table eating snacks. “I mean, I don’t think she’s going to come running back into your arms any time soon.”

The boys munched on chips and swigged Korean beer as they contemplated. Tom felt like a weight was off his shoulders now that he was free from his management.

“Doesn’t she have that friend? Maybe she could help us out.” Sam suggested. 

“I don’t know, man. Y/n said she’s a huge fan. But they’re also best friends. Would she even be willing to let me near y/n? And if so, do you think she’d keep a secret that big?” Tom replied.

“It’s worth a shot, innit? Maybe she’d understand?” Harry thought aloud.

After some deliberation, the boys settled on sending b/f/n a dm through Harrison’s instagram to seem slightly less conspicuous in case you happened to notice her dms.

They didn’t expect an immediate reply. Midnight in Seoul was 8 am in LA, but luckily b/f/n had woken up early to work out since you were going to her house later that day.

The message asked her to help you and Tom reconnect and hopefully reconcile in person, and asked her to keep it a secret.

She was shocked to say the least, and unsure of whether to trust them after the hurt you’d experienced, but finally answered back after a few minutes.

Okay. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I know I can get her to this formal next Friday night if you can make it. 

She sent a link to the page for the upcoming event. It was a fundraiser gala for people of all ages. The site said it was sold out, but Tom knew he could probably find a way in.

That’s perfect. All you need to do is get her there. And you absolutely cannot tell her any of this or the whole thing might be ruined

Oh believe me, I won’t. I honestly want this as much as you guys, she’s been super bummed still and I just want to see her happy again. I’ll try to get back to you with her dress color and stuff if you want to coordinate.

Perfect. We’ll be in touch.

The boys fistpumped and high fived as they planned out flights and scheduling and finding a way to get those tickets. Eventually, they retired to their respective hotel rooms, since Tom would have one last day of press before heading home.

                             __________________________________

Back in LA, b/f/n was now standing with you in her kitchen, watching you mix up some sauce for mac and cheese.

She leaned back against the counter as you stirred and added ingredients.

“Hey are you still going to the formal next Friday?” b/f/n asked.

“The what?” You didn’t look up.

“Remember? The big formal next week? All our friends are gonna be there.”

You thought about it for a second and then looked over at her as you turned off the stove burner.

“Oh my God. I totally forgot about that. I guess not since, 1: it’s probably sold out, and 2: I don’t have anything to wear.”

B/f/n smirked, turning to pick something up from behind her while you poured the sauce and pasta into a baking dish, topping it with breadcrumbs.

“Well I think I have the first thing covered…” she trailed, holding up two tickets.

“You didn’t,” you smiled, stepping away from the dish. “No way.”

“Yes, way. I figured you’d forgotten with everything going on and snagged one up, even though I was mad at you. Who else would I take as my date? It’s not like I have a boyfriend.”

You went up and hugged her.

“You are literally the best friend ever.”

“Yeah, I know,” she replied proudly.

“But I still don’t have a dress. I don’t even know where to start,” you worried aloud as you put the pasta in the oven.

“Well… I kind of maybe looked up places at the mall that have dresses I know you’d like.”

“Oh my gosh. Is that why you want to go to the mall so bad? I can’t tell if I love or hate you for that.”

“You know you love me. Now how long is that mac and cheese gonna be? My stomach is growling.”

                             __________________________________

After your pasta lunch, b/f/n and you drove to the mall, where she took you to 3 different dress shops. You were relieved to find that no one had followed you, as it seemed interest in you had diminished after everything you’d said.

“I’m getting the feeling I’m not gonna find anything I like. Maybe we should just give up,” you suggested after almost two hours of trying things on.

“Come on. There’s one more place at this mall and I saved it for last because there’s a dress I think you’ll really like.”

She drug you through the building and up an escalator until you finally came upon the shop. There were some really pretty dresses in the window display, so you felt a little bit less nervous when you walked in.

An employee asked if you needed help upon entering. B/f/n showed her a screenshot on her phone, and the lady immediately led you towards the back of the store. She pulled a black bag from the rack and hung it on another one near the dressing rooms.

“I think this is the one you’re looking for. Let me know if you need anything else,” she said, walking off.

“Okay, y/n. Close your eyes so I can unzip the bag. I want to surprise you.”

You did as told, putting a hand over your face for good measure. You heard the zipper and some rustling before b/f/n told you to look.

You opened your eyes to find a long, navy, satin dress staring right back at you.

“Whoa,” you whispered, going up to inspect it closely.

It was beautiful. It had a classic ball gown shape with a slit up the thigh and a beaded lace bodice. The neckline was in a deep V and the straps came up and over your shoulders. The back was low cut and a thin strip of silver beads circumvented the waistline.

“Sooo… what do you think?” b/f/n questioned.

“I- b/f/n. This is incredible.”

“Wanna try it on?”

You nodded enthusiastically and stepped into a dressing room with it. After a good minute of struggling through the inner tulle layers, you finally got it secure and was able to zip it yourself.

When you stepped out of the room and saw yourself in the mirror, you gasped.

“Y/n. You look amazing. What do you think?”

You didn’t answer her because you were too focused on how you looked to even process what she said.

“How are you ladies do- wow. That’s a gorgeous look on you,” the lady from before said as she came around the corner.

She helped adjust it a little, seeing whether it needed alterations or not.

“You’re in luck. This fits you like a glove. It does seem a bit long, but I’m assuming you’ll wear heels?”

You nodded, still speechless.

“So? This the one?” b/f/n asked.

“Yes. Absolutely yes,” you returned, beaming.

“I’ll go ring you up, then,” the employee said, leaving you to take off the dress and put your normal, boring clothes back on. You’d initially been saving up to buy a dress, and still had the funds since forgetting about it.

You and b/f/n hauled the dress bag around like your lives depended on it as you went on a search for matching shoes.

It took another half hour or so of walking around stores and trying on heels before you found a pair.

They were strappy and silver and the perfect height for your dress length. You couldn’t believe your luck.

                             __________________________________

Now that you’d finally gotten everything, you and b/f/n headed to your house so you could show your parents, who were by then off work.

Your dad was fixing himself a snack when you both came in the door, you wrangling the dress over your head and her carrying the shoe box.

“Woah, girls. Whatcha got there?” he asked.

“Just my dress for the fundraiser formal next Friday…”

“Oh yeah I forgot about that. I think your mom and I will be skipping out this year but I’m glad you’re getting to go.”

“I forgot too until b/f/n reminded me. I’ll go put it on here in a minute. Where’s mom?”

“She’s in the office. Why don’t you surprise her?” he suggested, so you did exactly that. 

You quickly got the dress and shoes on (with b/f/n’s help) and tried to quietly come down the hall. It was difficult since your heels clacked, your dress swished, and you and b/f/n tried not to let out cackles.

You popped just your head in the office doorway.

“Hey mom. What are you up to?”

“Oh hey honey. I’m just filing some charts. I’m almost done. Why?” she replied, only looking up from the computer to initially address you.

“Well I just wanted you to see something. And by something, I mean this.”

You slid into full view, and your mother’s jaw dropped. B/f/n appeared in the doorway behind you.

“Sweetie, you look beautiful! Did you just get this today?” you nodded as she got up to look at the dress closer. “Is this for next week?”

“Yeah. B/f/n bought me tickets and then took me out to look at dresses today,” you slung an arm around her shoulder. “I basically have the best friend in the world.”

“Well I love it and I’m so excited to see you both dressed up together next week. I think this is the perfect symbol for new beginnings!”

With that you gave a “hear, hear!” in agreement.

                             __________________________________

Tag List: @marvel-lously, @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @dreamyvans, @lisannehus, @honeymoonpeter, @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven, @chenellearose, @photoshopart15, @parkeret, @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch, @racewife2004

To be added, pls message me or send an ask. Also lmk if you’d like to be part of my permanent tag list!

[sidneycarter]

ink and coffee stains

a short fic loosely inspired by chatting with @bisidneycarter about secret love letters!

Sid x Sullivan (with mentioned Felicia x Flambeau!)

Pretty PG

Felicia reads a love letter that wasn’t intended for her, but it warms her soul anyway.

There’s been a body found on the edges of the Montague estate. Dastardly business, Felicia thinks to herself as Sid drives her to the police station at Kembleford.

She’s taking the maps of the grounds to the Inspector, and has volunteered to answer a few questions about the estate management to see if they might help find leads for the case.

Father Brown, of course, has also given her a second task of digging for any information she can find to help relating to the case. The Father is convinced it’s a murder connected to another in a neighbouring village, and needs all the information he can get.

Sid pulls up outside the station and helps her out.

Felicia heads for the door but stops up short when Sid doesn’t follow her. Normally he likes nothing more than to sit in the police waiting room, tormenting whichever Sergeant is watching the desk that day. The exception to this is when it’s Sergeant Goodfellow, of course, of whom Sid is rather fond, in which case they talk about village gossip and the biscuits Sid would like for the next time he’s in the cells.

But this time he seems hesitant, and pulls a cigarette from his pocket before leaning back against the Rolls. “If you don’t mind I think I’ll stay out here, have a cigarette.”

He seems distant and Felicia frowns in concern. He’s been not quite himself for a few days now, choosing to sleep at his quarters in the Main House rather than in his caravan. He’s been quiet too, lacking in his usual gregarious charm. Felicia even offered to make him a hot cocoa the other night, and he turned it down. He’s known for refusing any drinks Hercule makes (some nonsense about expecting poison), but he never turns down Felicia’s. Something is obviously afoot.

Felicia has her suspicions. While many believe her to be a ditzy, air-headed Lady of the Manor, she is in fact an astute observer and a shrewd judge of character. Working alongside Father Brown, and carrying on with an internationally wanted Art Thief has honed her skills even further.

Felicia senses that something has been going on between Sid and the Inspector. At first she thought they were just friends, but they spend an inordinate amount of their free time together and then fall out and act like strangers in public. If they were just friends surely there wouldn’t be the need for the distance and the secrecy. It’s all rather odd.

Felicia leaves Sid to it, sweeping in to the constabulary and throwing a winning smile at Sergeant Goodfellow. “Good Morning, Sergeant. It’s wonderful to see you. Apparently I’m required by the Inspector?”

Sergeant Goodfellow beams. “Morning your Ladyship. The Inspector said to bring you straight through.”

Goodfellow knocks on the Inspector’s office door and waits for a moment before entering.

“It’s Lady Felicia, sir. She’s here about the body.”

Sullivan looks surprised and a little startled at their intrusion, as if he’d been concentrating hard on something. He’d been writing, and writing a lot by the looks of it. There is some paper in front of him on the desk, filled with scribbles, and his fingers are ink stained. “Right, yes, of course. Lady Felicia, please, um, sit down. Thank you, Sergeant.”

He looks tired, Felicia thinks as she takes her seat. There are bags under his eyes, and his entire posture seems stooped, like it’s taking him real energy to hold himself up. He looks slightly scruffier than normal, too. Not so much that it would be noticeable ordinarily, but knowing the Inspector’s usually exacting style it looks a little out of place.

He’s frowning deeply, and hurriedly chivvies the paper he was writing on underneath some folders. He takes out his notepad and sighs. “Right. Lady Felicia if you could just --”

The door swings open again, and the Sergeant peeps his head round the door sheepishly. “Sorry to interrupt, Sir, but Head Office are on the phone and they want a word. They say it’s urgent.”

Sullivan looks like he’d hate nothing more than having to speak to Head Office right now. He sighs once more and stands up, running a hand over his face. “Apologies, Lady Felicia. I hope you don’t mind waiting, this will take just a few minutes.” 

It’s no bother to Felicia at all. It’s the perfect opportunity for her to do a little snooping for Father Brown.

She stands and strolls around the desk, scanning the various folders and binders for anything that looks like it might be of use. There’s nothing really, disappointingly, and she’s about to give up and sit back down again before remembering the papers that Sullivan had shuffled away quickly.

She digs them out from under the folder, and holds them delicately, balancing them on her fingertips. Sullivan’s handwriting is so neat it’s almost difficult to read, very swirly and intricate. Someone has taught him penmanship since a young age, clearly.

Felicia isn’t exactly sure what she’s expecting to be on the pages. But what she reads causes her to gasp softly.

Mr. Carter,

I rather dislike you. Sometimes I am sure that I dislike no one more than you. You continually think it’s acceptable to break the law, to spend nights in the cells, and to make yourself a general nuisance to myself and my officers. I fear that I should hate you, even.

And yet somehow I can’t. I’m sorry that I shouted the other night. I’m sorry for losing my temper and saying what I said. My problem is that I care for you, far too much than is allowed. It is my worst nightmare to see you walked into court and carted off to the cells for months, maybe years, maybe more. I know Father Brown has good intentions but you cannot deny that the man is occasionally reckless. And I know you think it’s fun to go along with him. My problem, Carter, is that while sometimes I really do not like you, I am afraid that I’m falling irrevocably in love with you instead.

You make me feel things that I have never felt in my life. Just the sight of you makes my heart beat faster and steals some of my breath away. I feel safe with you, like I could trust you with a thousand secrets and you’d never breathe a word. I feel important, and special, and good enough. I don’t think I’ve ever felt good enough for any one. I find myself wanting to talk to you for hours, and to listen to your views on everything and nothing at all. I think I could sit in silence and watch you and I would still be enthralled.

I have never felt fire like when you kiss me. How am I supposed to go about my day, sitting at this tiresome desk, when all I can think of are your arms around my waist and your lips at my neck? How can I listen to those hopeless love songs they play on the wireless and not want to be held close by you? How has my life been so discontented by something so small?

Perhaps you will think this is silly, and that this is all just a game to you. Well I’m afraid if that is the case then I can’t play it any longer. This cannot be something meaningless or fun to me anymore. My heart won’t settle until it knows you are mine. I am sorry, Sid, for the way I have been recently. But I hope now you understand why, and why truly I cannot help myself. I can only hope my feelings are returned. I am not sure what I will do if they aren’t.

Your Tommy

Felicia drops the letter back on to the desk and swallows thickly. A lump has formed in the centre of her throat, and she feels a little choked up. For someone so cold, stoic, and often emotionless Inspector Sullivan has the burning passion of a classical poet.

She feels rather guilty, then, in that moment. She is occasionally rather dismissive towards the Inspector, irritated by his sometimes contemptuous and ungrateful manner, but now she thinks they have a lot more in common that she had realised. She too knows how it feels to have been so repressed and unloved and neglected for many years. She knows how it feels to have to choke down your feelings, and never let them out. She knows how it feels to hide them behind arrogance, a cold, steel wall that very few get to see behind. A way of protecting one’s self from harm.

And yet she also knows the feeling when someone who just fits appears in your life. Someone who breathes life back into your soul and sets you free on a whirlwind of emotions. It’s a beautiful, if terrifying feeling, falling in love. Especially if it’s with someone who should be deemed entirely inappropriate, and rather criminal. She knows that feeling all too well.

It turns out that Inspector Sullivan is something of a hopeless romantic. She wonders if he’d like to read her novels.

And how wonderful it is that it’s darling Sid. Sid has allowed him to feel like this. Sid has obviously sparked something within him that has made him want to let out all of his emotions rather than keeping them bottled up. Her suspicions about the pair of them were correct. She wasn’t quite sure it had gone as far as it clearly has, but she can’t be anything less than delighted. It’s about time that someone saw Sid for the kind, protective and intensely loving soul that he really is - it was about time someone could return that love with the same ferocity.

Felicia resolves to never tell a soul about this. This is between the two men to sort out. She has no doubts that they will, and by the state of both of them it’ll happen sooner rather than later. She tucks the letter away, back where Inspector Sullivan had hidden it, and returns to her chair.

Sullivan returns moments later, looking a more than a little stressed, and drops himself heavily into his chair.

Thomas, she presumes. Tom to friends, and Tommy to someone who holds his heart in his hands.

Inspector Sullivan takes her statements quickly and tells her she is free to go. Felicia bids the Inspector goodbye far more warmly than usual.

As he escorts her from his office, she notices Sid has wandered in to wait for her. He stands up bolt straight almost immediately, his hands twisting anxiously on his cap. “Your Ladyship.”

Your Ladyship. Felicia tries not to scoff. Such formalities are rare from Sid these days. He also seems to be looking through her, at someone standing behind her. One doesn’t have to be a sleuth of Father Brown’s calibre to work out who exactly.

She also feels the Inspector tense behind her. For a moment they stand in perfect, unmoving silence, gazing at each other.

Sergeant Goodfellow appears to be busying himself with some paperwork on the front desk, but Felicia is sure there is a suppressed smile on his face. She wonders if he knows too.

It is Sergeant Goodfellow who puts them out of their misery. He informs the Inspector that there’s something in the back office that needs attending to, and Sullivan snaps out of his reverie.

“Right, yes. Thank you for your assistance your Ladyship. We’ll be in touch if we need you further.” With one last glance Sid’s way, he disappears into the back of the station.

Sid is staring helplessly at the door the Inspector had ducked in to.

Felicia presses a hand to his cheek. “Sidney,” she calls softly, waiting for Sid’s eyes to tear themselves away from the door and on to her face. “Father Brown is expecting us for elevenses soon, we’d best be going.”

“Right, yes, of course.” Sid bumbles, pulling his hat on quickly and offering her his arm.

Felicia takes it fondly. This is why Sid has been so glum recently. Now she knows it’s his first real lovers’ tiff. She has no doubt that the Inspector’s feelings are returned just as vociferously. What a silly pair.

She’ll make sure Mrs M gives Sid an extra scone to cheer him up.

[yeahwellyourface]

MOVIE REVIEW TIME!! A Little Chaos and Far From The Madding Crowd

I had a Matthias Schoenaerts weekend cause the boy can get it. Both of these movies were already on my list, but when I realized he was in them, they jumped to the top. So, here we go.

A Little Chaos

Available on Netflix. Directed by Alan Rickman. Stars: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Helen McCrory, and Jennifer Ehle

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2639254/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

This one has been on my list for awhile but I really wasn’t in the mood for a depressing period piece. FYI, it is not a depressing period piece. In fact, the word I think works best for describing it is “cute.” It is not a great film, but it is very enjoyable. I smiled through most of it and then when I turned it off, I realized I was still smiling.

The basic plot is that French king Louis XIV is building Versailles and his head gardener, Andre Le Notre, is hiring different gardeners to do different parts of the whole since it is a whole lotta shit. Against his original idea, he hires Madame Sabine de Barra to create a section of the garden that will basically be an outdoor ballroom. She doesn’t do well at court, but some people still like her, some don’t. Given that there is an actual outdoor ballroom at Versailles, I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that she eventually builds it (although in actuality, it was not built by a woman…unfortunately). But that’s it. It is a very simple little movie. It is full of tropes and could be quite stupid but the amazing cast makes it charming instead.

So, the fantastic cast…everyone is basically doing exactly what you want them to do. Kate Winslet as Sabine de Barra plays a woman who has been through some shit but is gonna get things done her way and it is no use to try and stop her. She is better than you. Just accept it. Matthias Schoenaerts as Andre Le Notre is mainly there to look pretty (difficult with that horrible hair, but he can do it) and worship de Barra as she deserves. Alan Rickman plays Louis XIV because why the fuck not. Stanley Tucci plays the king’s outlandish bisexual brother who adores both his wife and his young lover. He was in the movie for like 10 minutes and was the best thing ever. Seriously, we need to protect Stanley Tucci at all costs. Helen McCrory is Madame Le Notre and is a bad bitch as only she can be. I bow down to her. Jennifer Ehle plays against type as the flighty mistress to the king. I thought I was going to hate her because the character was supposed to be annoying at first, but I ended up loving her too.

So, yeah. Not a movie to go nuts over, but if you are curled up on the couch one afternoon and want something light and sweet, this will do the trick.

Far From The Madding Crowd

Available on Amazon (but you have to pay for it, even with prime). Based on the novel by Thomas Hardy. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Stars: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple.

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2935476/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

This is another one I’ve been considering for awhile. See that bit above where it says “Based on the novel by Thomas Hardy?” Yeah….that’s why I was putting it off. Now, it’s not that I dislike Thomas Hardy. I actually enjoyed Return of the Native…kinda. But his stuff is very much overdramatic, windswept English countryside. And damn, if that is not something that I am always willing to go for. But I’d do it for Matthias Schoenaerts. So I did.

So, here is the basic plot if you’ve never read the book (and I actually haven’t, but I’ve read about it…does that count?)…young woman, Bathsheba Everdene, with a middle-to-upper class education lives with family on a farm because her parents died. She meets a young man, Gabriel Oak, and then enjoy hanging out and working on the farm together. He has land that is almost paid off and a bunch of sheep. Her aunt owns the land that they live on and work. He falls in love and asks her to marry him. She says no, she doesn’t want to get married and be tied down to a husband. Immediately after, their fortunes reverse. He loses all his sheep (and it’s kinda horrible and depressing, so if you need to look away, I understand) and his land. She inherits a pretty nice farm and is no longer dependent on family. He’s wandering looking for work and accidentally stumbles on her new farm and gets a job as a shepherd there.

Now that she is moving among the landed class, she meets the next door neighbor, Mr. Boldwood, who falls in love with her (the way that happens is she plays a prank on him and is generally an asshole and hurts him and damn, woman, wtf, that was mean…but she does apologize). He asks her to marry him. She says she’ll think about it.

Mixed in with this, we see a side story about an army sergeant and his pretty sweetheart, who used to work at the Everdene farm but ran away to be with the guy…never a good move. They were supposed to get married, but she went to the wrong church. By the time she gets to the right church, he thinks she stood him up and has left. She is now destitute since she left her friends and family. This was another scene where I couldn’t bear to watch. I knew what was going to happen and seeing them both so happy getting ready for the wedding just broke my heart, so I fast forwarded. Sue me.

Anyway, army sergeant Frank Troy is now wandering drunk around the countryside brokenhearted and literally runs into Miss Everdene. She thinks he’s cute and decides to meet up with him. He shows off flashy sword moves and then kisses her and pulls a trump and then runs off. Because we do stupid things sometimes, she is completely charmed by him and runs away to marry him.

Now, through all of this, Mr. Oak has worked for her and been there for her and tried to help her and give advice. He points out that she was an asshole to Mr. Boldwood and she gets pissed at him for telling her because she knows she was and she doesn’t want to be told. He knows that Sergeant Troy is an asshole and tries to convince Miss Everdene to stay away from him but she doesn’t.

Literally at her wedding dinner with Sergeant Troy, Miss Everdene (Mrs. Troy now) realizes that she married and asshole. But she’s stuck with him.

If you really want me to tell you the rest in detail, I will. But basically, she has to deal with an asshole husband, a rich neighbor who is still in love with her (and kinda off his rocker about it), and the shepherd who has loved her for years and been there to support her even when she was an asshole to him. I wonder who she will end up with?!?!Okay, now for the movie. It was just okay. Like, I’ve read the first couple chapters of the book and there is SO MUCH INFORMATION that cannot be put into a movie. There is just not enough time. This is the problem with turning a book into a movie. They have to skip so much that they can end up leaving a lot of it flat. We see Miss Everdene be a good person several times. But we also see her be an asshole. I wish we had been able to see her more indepth. But there wasn’t time. I never felt fully connected to her. When she was being good, I liked her. When she was being an asshole, I disliked her. There was no continuity between those feelings. The movie never gave me a chance to feel conflicted over her. It was all surface feelings. Carey Mulligan does a good enough job for what she is given. But the best relationship is between her and her companion. That’s the only string that carries through with that character.

Matthias Schoenaerts is beautiful, of course. He is the solid character that all the others are whirling around. He is a big man, much bigger and taller than Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen, but you can see how he curls his shoulders down to give the two of them more power as he is lower class than they are. There is a scene between him and Michael Sheen near the end where he straightens Sheen’s tie, and I think that is the only moment between those two where Schoenaerts stands up straight, as for a moment, they are almost equals. However, by the end of the scene, he is curled in again. It’s really interesting on the choices made there. Because when he is not in a position where he is “under” them, when he is working and being damn good at his job, he is standing up straight. It’s fascinating to see the difference between the two sides of this character.

Michael Sheen. Oh goodness, Michael Sheen. He did so much better for this character than this movie deserved. I love this man and he is so good as an actor, but this character is a bit out there. I wonder how much of his bipolarness is in the book. Cause the character is all over the place in the movie. He goes from one extreme to the next. And yes, some of the plot points are definitely from the book, but the in between stuff….is he really like that? So, Sheen does a great job with what he is given, again. But the character is just so weird and again, very little continuity throughout.

Tom Sturridge plays Sergeant Troy. This character is a huge asshole and Tom Sturridge plays him perfectly. If I met Tom Sturridge on the street, I would want to slap him because I hate him. That is a good sign for an actor.

Juno Temple…another one I love. She is slowly becoming a bigger name, but deserves so much more. In this, she plays Fannie, Sergeant Troy’s first sweetheart. He didn’t deserve her. And I love Juno Temple, so she can do no wrong.

Overall, it’s an okay movie. I won’t pay for it again. I rented it and I’m glad I didn’t buy it. But if it comes on tv, I’ll watch it. If you want to watch it, you won’t hate it. But I don’t recommend running out and grabbing it any which way. The cinematography was BEAUTIFUL. The way they used light was lovely.

So, since I mentioned Matthias Schoenaerts as my reason for going ahead and watching these, lemme talk about my feelings for him in these. He is very strange. Watching interviews with him and seeing his artwork, he seems to be a ball of chaotic energy, but in both of these movies, he is the calm figure that the others bounce around. I watched the beginning of Rust and Bone, but then my internet went out and I wasn’t able to finish it without paying for it again (which I intend to do). And of course, I ADORE The Old Guard. That’s another one where he plays against what seems to be his personality type. I also love The Drop (seriously, one of my all-time favorite movies and if you haven’t seen it, go watch it NOW). That character seems to be a bit more on his level with the chaos, but I hope not with the assholeishness.

Either way, he was stunningly beautiful in these movies. Kate Winslet adored working with him and says that he was so sweet about their sex scene because she was pregnant and felt like shit. His hair is awful in A Little Chaos, but I’ll forgive him, this time.

Anyway, watch A Little Chaos at some point. And I guess you should watch Far From The Madding Crowd at some point too, but don’t pay for it if you don’t have to. Go watch The Old Guard and The Drop RIGHT NOW. Those are much better movies of his. Go watch Rust and Bone and I will watch the rest of it soon.

In A Little Chaos.  Seriously....why would they do this with his hair.

And in Far From The Madding Crowd.  See....much better. And I see you, dude in the background looking at him. I agree, he is definitely a snack.

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 118

Chapter Summary - Danielle gets work done before meeting someone new.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

All image rights belong to their owners

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ @jessibelle-nerdy-mum​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @damalseer​ @hiddlesbitch1​ @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly​ @salempoe​ @wolfsmom1​

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

‘Did you steal our dogs?’

‘Maybe.’

‘I am all alone.’ Tom put on a fake upset voice.

‘You poor thing, go play with your friends.’

‘I am not twelve.’

‘No, but you’re acting like you are.’

‘Where have you gone?’

‘The office.’

‘You brought the dogs to the office? What about if Bobby needs the bathroom?’

‘Then I will bring him out. They are chilling here. It didn’t seem fair to just leave them at home, we won’t be too long.’

‘What time are you coming back?’

‘About four-ish leaving here, plus traffic.’

‘Okay.’

‘What are you planning?’

‘A surprise.’

‘That sounds dangerous.’ Danielle smiled.

‘It might very well be.’

‘I will see you soon, Mr Hiddleston.’

‘I love when you call me that.’

‘Bye then.’ Danielle placed the receiver down and looked at Mac, who was looking at her curiously. ‘Wonder what he is up to.’ He gave a groan, waking Bobby, who looked around worriedly. ‘Don’t worry little man, just Tom being silly.’ On hearing Tom’s name, Bobby looked around again before getting comfortable against Mac once more, since there was no sign of his other human. ‘Not much longer now.’ Amelia knocked then entered. ‘Perfect timing, could you send the last of the Branagh work for me please.’

‘Already done.’ Amelia did not even look at her, instead, she was focusing on the dogs.

‘You’re not scared of dogs, are you?’

‘Em, maybe the big guy, but….’ She looked at Bobby.

‘Yes, our little boy is terribly cute. Aren’t you?’ Bobby’s head popped up as Danielle spoke to him. ‘Where’s my little boy?’ He watched as Danielle walked across the room towards the other woman. He got up and ran over excitedly as Amelia’s stoic demeanour broke immediately as Bobby tried to get her attention. She scooped up the puppy who was licking her face. As she cooed over him, Danielle went over and gave a happy Mac a belly rub.

‘Does he get jealous?’

‘I don’t give him a chance to.’ Danielle smiled at Mac. ‘You’re as important to me as my other boy, aren’t you?’ Mac nudged her hand. ‘I know people are going to give him all the attention, so I counter it, by looking after Mac.’

‘He’s sort of intimidating looking.’

‘It has its advantages, I have not had anyone in my face with him with me.’

‘Is it weird?’

‘The situation with being Tom’s partner and having all these people follow me around even though I am literally so boring and not famous? Yes, it is very weird, and Tom is very much the same outside of his work, honestly, I cannot understand what people are so obsessed with.’

‘The normality is probably half of it.’ Amelia commented.

‘Perhaps, but it is annoying. I am just glad we are not like Ben and Sophie with kids.’

‘No, that would be difficult.’ Amelia continued to play with Bobby. ‘I don’t want to get back to work. How do you get anything done?’

‘I have no choice, I need to make money to spoil my doggies.’ Danielle smiled as she gave Mac another scratch before going to her desk again. ‘If I want to get this done and home for whatever plan Tom has, I need to stop playing around and sort myself.’

‘Easier said than done.’

‘Indeed.’ Danielle smiled. ‘Now, I better get this done.’ She pulled herself away from Mac. ‘Bobby,’ The puppy looked at her. ‘Bed.’ The dog waddled over to the other dog and curled up. ‘Good boy.’

‘How does he know that so well?’

‘He is learning quick, especially with his big brother giving him instruction.’ Danielle smiled as Mac moved to help Bobby get comfortable. ‘It’s so cute how he looks after him. I almost feel guilty for not getting him a buddy sooner.’ She looked fondly at the dogs. ‘Right, I am going and getting my work done.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Not your fault.’ Danielle dismissed. ‘This is mostly me not wanting to do this paperwork.’

‘I will get what you need.’

‘Thank you.’

*

Come four o’clock, though slightly delayed by puppy potty training and a lack of wanting to do the work, Danielle had the majority of her work done. When she heard a knock on her office door, she wondered who it could be when Mac rose and wagged his tail, she had her answer. She opened it and smiled. ‘Hello.’

‘How did you know it was me?’ Tom asked, walking in.

‘I had my security tell me.’ she pointed to Mac, who was sitting awaiting attention, to the side of him, Bobby was half sitting, half standing, his tail wagging furiously as he tried to do as he was learning was acceptable, but his excitement not able to be contained in his small body.

Tom leant down and gave her a small kiss. ‘You don’t mind me coming?’

‘Not at all, but I will be another small while, getting work done has been hard today, I don’t want to work, but I have to.’

‘I hate those days.’ Tom sat in the chair across the desk from her and paid attention to the dogs. ‘Is it all paperwork?’

‘Yes, which annoys me because I want to do it at home, but I can’t because I need to send it off, and it needs to be done securely here. So, I left it all for today and the bunny at the controls is not too pleased.’

Tom chuckled as he scratched both dogs ears. ‘And you chose to bring the boys with you?’

‘We are literally at the verge of fully training Bobby, we need to get him sorted and us being gone for the day meant he could have reverted, I am not setting him back like that, he will be so good when he is one and he is doing so well.’

‘He is.’ Tom agreed with a smile, looking at the content looking puppy. ‘Do you think you will take much longer?’

‘Why, have we plans?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Ooh, I am curious.’

‘Odd, I thought you were Elle.’

Danielle stared at him for a moment before laughing. ‘That is so bad.’

‘It is, I’m sorry, sort of.’

‘I won’t be too long more.’ She promised as she forced herself to get back to work.

As soon as the last file was confirmed sent, Danielle turned off her computer, tidied her belongings and looked at Tom, who gave a grin and put on his jacket. When the dogs realised the humans were readying to leave, they got to their feet. ‘What about the bed?’ Tom pointed to the blankets Danielle had brought to her office.

‘Leave them, I am going to bring them with me when I can, I don’t want to have to drag something with me every time I come here.’ She smiled. Tom smiled and clipped the leads onto the dogs, handing Bobby’s to Danielle. ‘Ready?’

‘Yes, Ma’am.’ He smiled.

‘I am not going to lie, I am worried as to what you are doing.’

‘We are having dinner.’ Tom informed her.

‘Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad.’ She eyed him as he looked at her from the side of his eye. ‘What?’ He did not answer. ‘Who are we meeting?’ He could not meet her gaze. ‘Tom?’

‘Chris.’

‘Hemsworth?’

‘Obviously.’

‘Tom, Marvel seems to be contracted to have a dozen Chris’s on payroll at any one time, you have to be sure.’ Tom chuckled. ‘So we are going out for this?’

‘No, I did not want to make you uncomfortable, I thought we would have something at the house.’

‘Okay.’ Her tone lacked enthusiasm.

Tom halted and looked at her. ‘Wait, are you okay with this?’

‘I...Yeah.’

‘Elle, please be honest with me.’

‘I just….I knew this was coming, so this is nothing to do with Chris, I am nervously excited to meet the guy that is like a brother to you, honestly, I am, but the idea of going home and dealing with cooking a meal and….’

‘Would you rather we didn’t?’

‘I am so conflicted, because the other option is to go out and that means dressing up and bleuch!’

Tom chuckled at her reaction. ‘Which would you rather?’ She said nothing for a moment. ‘You actually want to go out?’

‘I was going to ask if we could go out tonight anyway, I feel like getting dinner somewhere.’

‘Why didn’t you say something?’

‘I wanted to see what your plan was first.’

‘This brings it all together, but this….this is meeting a friend of mine, in public?’

‘Tom, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve been found out, months ago in fact.’

‘And you are okay with this?’

‘Well, I am not too fond of noisy bastards in my business, but the idea of dishes tonight.’ She smiled. ‘Is he dieting for a role?’

‘Why?’

‘I really want somewhere with proper good food, not fancy shite.’

‘I will ask,’ Tom smiled. ‘You really want this?’

‘Yes.’ He pulled her to him and kissed her, only for a moment, but the emotions he wished to convey were expressed in that moment.

*

Danielle laughed as Tom went red while Chris told yet another terribly embarrassing story from their escapades from their times on the different Thor and Avenger films.

‘Please stop.’ Tom begged.

‘You are regretting this so much right now.’ Chris chuckled.

‘I am, actually.’ Tom conceded.

‘I am sorry, it’s partly my fault,’ Danielle laughed. ‘Excuse me a moment please.’ She smiled as she rose from the table and went to the bathroom.

Chris took a drink of his water and looked at Tom. ‘She’s something else, Mate.’ Tom beamed. ‘You really love her?’

‘I do.’

‘She seems to be incredibly grounded and intelligent and honestly, so….you.’ Chris grinned. ‘So, how serious are we talking?’

‘Well, she had a dog already, but we got one, together and we are looking at getting out of the city.’

‘Wait, house hunting, together?’ Tom nodded. ‘When will I have my suit ready for?’ He grinned. Tom frowned. ‘What? Pets, houses, that is a serious commitment, the wedding can’t be too far off.’

‘It’s only been a year.’

‘Elsa and I were together ten months when we were married.’ He reminded his friend. Tom was forced to concede that that was true. ‘Look, Mate, when you know, you know. It just feels right.’

‘Elle is on the up with work, she is after getting her own share in a company, years before she had planned to achieve it.’

‘Good for her, sounds like she will do great if that is her initiative. But marriage wouldn’t change that. Babies change it, I am not even going to lie a little to you there, Mate. But marriage, that’s not the same, I mean, there is a lot of work in it, but it allows you both a lot of freedom still with work. Does she have plans for that stuff?’

‘Marriage was never something she felt she needed to have.’

‘Against it?’

‘No, just not overly bothered.’

‘Bad parental situation?’

‘No, her parents were married for thirty-seven years, her mum’s death was the only reason it ended.’

‘Odd, I was always led to believe girls wanted marriage, a sign of commitment.’

‘As if a house and dog aren’t?’

‘That’s true actually.’ Chris conceded. ‘So do you think she is it?’

‘I hope so.’ Tom admitted.

‘I do too, Mate. She is a right one. I like her, she gives off a good vibe, like she is cool with most everything this career entails, and I don’t think I am the only one to say that.’

‘No, most everyone does now. Ben is mad about her too, he was before I ever got my act together and did something about my feelings for her.’

‘Ben’s another one that is good at judging character. Honestly, Tom, she’s great.’ Chris noted Danielle coming back into the room. ‘She’s so different to Taylor too. No need to imitate your fashion.’

‘She did not…’

‘Tom, don’t try and defend it man, she did.’

‘Who did what now?’ Danielle asked, wondering what was going on.

‘I was saying how you don’t need to copy a guys style.’ Chris admitted, not sure how Danielle would react to a mention of an ex.

‘Oh, yes. I have a sense of identity and self, so I don’t need to copy this month’s squeeze.’ She winked as she took another drink of her water. Chris chuckled. ‘You okay?’ She asked, looking at Tom who seemed slightly uncomfortable.

When he said nothing in response, Chris laughed slightly. ‘I think he is worried about leaving us alone for a minute.’

Danielle studied his face. ‘I think you’re right.’ She nodded. ‘We’ll be fine, right?’

‘Well, I am going to try and convince you to run away with me, if that’s what he’s worried about.’ Chris joked, causing Danielle to laugh. ‘Go on, we won’t be offended, we need you to be gone to talk more about you anyway.’

‘That is not the least bit worrying.’ Tom commented as he rose to his feet and made his way to the bathroom.

‘So, do I pass the test?’ Danielle asked curiously when Tom was out of earshot.

‘Which test is this then?’ Chris grinned.

‘The “good enough for your friend” test.’

‘Flying colours.’

‘Good to know.’ Danielle felt herself beam at his declaration.

Can I ask you something, and I do not mean this offensively?’

‘Dare I say yes?’

‘How much of a bitch are you, when the situation requires it?’ Chris asked, sensing that Danielle would not be overly offended by such a question.

‘I once told Swift that should she feel need to jump off the face of the planet, we would have….what were the exact words, oh yes, something along the lines of “we would still have our Recommended Daily Allowance of moaning cunt who can’t get over her ex covered, because we still had Adele”.’ Chris stared at her in shock. ‘Does that answer your question for you, Mr Hemsworth?’

Chris laughed as he looked at her intently. ‘You need to meet my wife, she would love you.’

‘I have seen interviews with her from movies before, she seems like a lovely woman. And from what Tom says, a lovely mum too.’

Chris nodded. ‘You don’t understand, our kids, they are her life, she loves them so much, and I see the days when she calls me on set, she is so tired, and they are pulling out of her, and I know we have a nanny and everything….’

‘But some days Mommy is the only one they want.’

‘Exactly, and she looks like all she wants is to hide in the laundry room, but if she goes there…’

‘She is faced with the laundry of three active kids and two adults.’

Chris paused for a moment and studied her for a moment. ‘How do you….?’

‘My job is to assess an environment and see what are the contents of it. A laundry room, by virtue of being called that, will contain such things, and I have never heard of a family where the wash basket is empty when there are kids, it is literally the most common complaint I overhear, that as soon as it is emptied, it starts filling again.’

‘Yes, that is true.’ Chris chuckled. ‘Was it like that in your house?’

‘We were lucky, I was self-sufficient at a young age, my mam would cook, but I would help with the house and my dad’s practice, so I was well able to throw on a wash.’

‘You have no siblings?’

‘Nope, just me, I have a fair amount of cousins though, so I was never too lonely.’

‘And you are friends with Tom’s sister?’

‘Emma is my best friend, I really get on with Sarah too, but Emma, she is probably why I ended up not running back to Ireland, her and Diana, their mam, they looked after me when I got here, so I never got too homesick.’

‘You have his mother onside too, that’s good. My mother took a while to warm to Elsa, though I don’t take it personally, she was the same with Miley and Samantha, she is just overprotective of the family.’

‘Well, as long as everyone is happy now,’ Danielle smiled. ‘Look who’s back, and looking scared?’

‘Nothing of the sort, I am just happy you two are getting along.’ Tom smiled, looking at Chris as he put his arm around Danielle, his friend giving him a nod as he did.

‘Well, with you as the common factor, we were both bound to be wonderful and intelligent people who would recognise such.’ Danielle smiled.

‘I am not gonna lie, I like you.’ Chris declared.

‘I rock this “get your friends to like me” thing.’ She leant into Tom to speak but made sure that Chris heard her.

‘Yes, you do.’ Tom beamed.

As they left and said their goodbyes, Chris pulled Tom in for a hug. ‘Tom, I say this with only your wellbeing in mind, never let her go.’

‘I don’t plan to.’

‘I mean it, I am going to have my suit ready.’

‘Jesus, don’t start.’

Having not heard the first part, and not understanding the reference in the second, Danielle stood smiling, but unaware as to the situation.

‘Elle, a pleasure and I cannot wait to see you again.’ Chris leant down and kissed her cheek.

‘Likewise.’ she smiled, noting his use of Tom’s nickname for her. ‘Have a good tour and safe journey.’ She waved as he got into a taxi and it drove off. When she looked to Tom again, she noted an odd look on his face. ‘Hey, everything okay?’

‘Better than okay.’ He smiled as they walked back to their car. clearly thinking of something else. ‘Thank you for tonight.’

‘Thank you.’ Danielle looked at him. ‘We brought your car, and you had something to drink.’

‘Yes.’ He grinned cheekily.

‘Oh for goodness sake, you….’

‘I win.’ He grinned, handing her his keys.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

I Bet You Kiss Your Knuckles (Right Before They Touch My Cheek)

Lady Wifi revealed Ladybug's identity to all of Paris. It's time to pass on the torch.

So I've had this idea brewing in my head ever since I first watched the episode "Lady Wifi" when it first premiered in October 2015. It laid in the back of my head, dormant, until I saw some GIF's on tumblr in which Marinette is in the process of getting akumaitzed and immediately pulling off her earrings.

In the meantime, I watched all of season one but have only watched four episodes of seasons two and three combined, so don't expect this fic to be canon-compliant or entirely in-character.

Title comes from a Halsey song.

Here is my design for Chilocorus and here is my design for Miss Fortune.

AO3

FFN

"How can we trust the girl when we don't know who she really is?" Lady Wifi says. "We have the right to know!"

Lady WiFi tugs at Ladybug's mask. It doesn't come off, but Ladybug whimpers in pain, trying to plead with her best friend's mulberry eyes.

"Why doesn't it come off?" Lady Wifi asks.

"Uh, because it's magic?" Ladybug is relieved, both that her friend is no longer pulling at her face and the fact that her secret is safe. How can Paris trust Ladybug when they didn't know their hero's identity? How could Ladybug trust herself if they knew?

Lady Wifi does not pause for banter when Chat Noir comes in through the dumbwaiter. She freezes him, and turns back to her first prisoner. She does not wait for Ladybug to use her Lucky Charm. Hawk Moth was clear with his intentions to every victim of his akumas; take Ladybug's earrings and Chat Noir's ring. Lady Wifi wants to know Ladybug's identity. Why wait, when she can take the earrings from Ladybug, chained to the wall by pause buttons?

"Alya, please, please don't do this," Ladybug pleads. Lady Wifi smirks; her knuckles rest on Ladybug's cheek bone as she grabs the red-and-black stud with her index and pointer finger.

"Like I said, Alya's not here." She is quick about pulling out the first earring, and immediately moves on to the second one. "Now, let me see who's hiding behind a mask."

Except Alya is here. She may have mulberry eyes and wear a black mask and jumpsuit, but it is Alya who trembles as in a shiver of sparkles Ladybug becomes Marinette once more. It is not anger, but regret that fills her face and causes her to set the earrings on the counter as she backs away. A messy, perhaps unintentional stroke dismisses the pause buttons on Marinette's wrists and Chat Noir's body.

"Save me," Alya pleads, disappearing into orchid pixels.

"Ma, my Lady?" Chat asks. Marinette wonders if he regrets all those questions he asked her on the stairs.

Marinette glances at the video, likely still playing. "One moment," she says. She grabs her earrings and she walks into the freezer. Maybe the tears at the corner of her eyes will freeze.

"It's cold!" Tikki complains the second Marinette puts her earrings on.

"Everyone knows I'm Ladybug now," she said, eyes downcast. "Hawk Moth knows who I am."

"I know," Tikki says. Her voice is solemn. "But you still need to save Alya."

Ladybug walks out of the freezer, rubbing at her arms.

"I jammed the signal," Chat says, pointing to the pan lid hanging over the the video symbol. "But I'm not sure how to get both of us out of here, unless you want to take the dumbwaiter one at a time. Are... are you okay?"

Ladybug shrugs and summons her Lucky Charm. "Stand back," she says, already maneuvering the microwave.

Chat, his usual self-sacrificing self, still tries to shield her with his body. And maybe she is off her game, and maybe she needs it.

The pause button disappears.

"Destroy the WiFi box," Ladybug says. "That way she won't be able to use her powers."

"Are you okay?" Chat asks again, more insistently this time as they run. "I know you and Alya are friends."

Ladybug does not ask how Chat knows about her friendship with Alya. There have been far too many akuma attacks at Collège Françoise Dupont. He could have seen her interacting with Alya at any point that he got to her school before she could transform. It was odd, how often that was. She'd think he is professional because of this, if not for his constant joking and flirting when she is around.

They reach the rooftop, and Lady Wifi is waiting, and based upon the glowing outline so is Hawk Moth. "Give up, Ladybug. I know who you are," Lady Wifi says. Her voice is cold, faraway. The corner of her eye twitches, like she is in pain.

They need to save her.

Ladybug distracts Lady Wifi as Chat unleashes a Cataclysm upon the WiFi box. He then holds down Lady Wifi so that Ladybug can break her phone in two and purify the akuma.

Akuma victims do not remember what they did. Alya immediately asks if the two heroes of Paris would give her a quick interview, like she hadn't already exposed Ladybug. The heroes make their way to a balcony on the opposite side of the building.

Chat holds her wrist as she goes to swing away. "Wait, I want you to know who I am. It's only fair."

"No, Chat," she says. "Your identity is too important; not even I can learn it. It's too dangerous. Distract the paparazzi for me, please?"

Marinette's parents are waiting for her. And why wouldn't they be? Their daughter has been caught risking her life for all of Paris.

"Marinette, we're proud of you," her papa said, "but we're worried."

"You fight all the time against people who want to hurt you," her maman said.

"I know," Marinette said, "but if I don't do this, then everyone else will get hurt."

"But why does it have to be you," her maman said. "You're only fourteen; you should be worrying about boys and school."

"As it is, just how many times have you been late for school or forgotten homework because of an akuma?"

"I mean, isn't Ladybug saving everyone more important than, oh, grammar?"

"But why does Ladybug have to be you?"

When her parents think she is asleep, Marinette asks Tikki this question.

Everyone started clapping when Marinette entered the classroom.

Almost everyone. Alya sat in the back of the room, head buried in her arms.

Marinette does not sit behind Adrien, who looks at her like she is a goddess. He probably had a crush on Ladybug, and now that he knows who Ladybug is he has hopefully transferred his crush to Marinette.

Marinette goes to the back of the room. "Can I sit here?" she asks.

Alya looks up, and she has none of the exuberance she had from when the akuma was purified. She knows what she has done, not because she remembers but because everyone recorded the broadcast where Ladybug was unmasks. Alya now knows the consequences of her goal.

"Sure," she says. "I'll, I'll go if you want."

"No, stay. Last night, it wasn't your fault."

She thinks she sees a black butterfly resting on the window. Waiting. Spying.

There is paparazzi waiting outside the school.

"Ladybug!" one of them shouts. "Can you tell us about your plans to defeat Hawk Moth?"

Marinette freezes. A hand grabs her wrist.

"I am the daughter of the mayor of Paris! Let us through!" Chloe says, dragging Marinette through the parting crowd.

"Thank you," Marinette says. Chloe sniffs.

"I'm not doing this because I li-" Chloe looks down. "Look, this isn't because, this isn't because..."

Marinette has never seen Chloe stammer or blush before. She is doing both.

"This is a thank-you for saving me before!" Chloe insists far too quickly. "Honestly, do you only have a backbone when you're Ladybug?"

The jab feels like a cover-up for something Marinette cannot place, but she appreciates the change in attitude anyways. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches a black-and-purple butterfly fly away. She gets the feeling she won't be able to do her homework.

She gets the feeling that she was the intended target.

Chat holds out his fist for a "Pound It!" when they defeat Chambrecho half an hour later. For someone who sent their attacks back at them, he was a surprisingly easy akuma to defeat.

Ladybug's fistbump is half-hearted. "Chat, can we talk? Privately?"

"Sure," Chat says. They duck away to a secluded area. He didn't use his cataclysm, so he doesn't need to worry about his identity.

"Is this about last night?" he asks.

"I, yeah," she says. "Chat, that black butterfly was meant for me."

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yeah. It's been following me all morning. I, Chat, you're a really great partner, but I can't be your partner anymore."

His jaw drops.

"I've already talked to my kwami, and she says a new Ladybug can be found. I... Chat, I don't want to give up my earrings. They, and my kwami, and I guess you too, they've helped me develop my confidence so much. I'm scared I'll go back to the scared little girl I was before I became Ladybug, but only Ladybug can purify an akuma. If I get akumatized, it's over."

"I, I doubt that will happen. Tell you what, I can show you my identity and maybe you won't be so scared anymore. I, you're like, one of the closest people in the world to me, and I don't want to lose you."

"Chat, you don't get it! I'm dangerous, now. I'll try to stay positive, but all I need is one bad day. One bad day, and Hawk Moth will akumatize me, and I will give him my earrings if I still have them. Don't make it easier for me to give him your ring."

She takes a deep breath. "I'm not asking for your permission, I just don't want to leave you without a word because you're important to me, and I wanted to tell you that, you know the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie?" He nods. "I live there. Feel free to stop by."

She hugs him, and doesn't comment as he starts to cry.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tikki asks. She had given Marinette instructions on where to go, questioning her every step of the way.

"I... yes." That was a lie, and Marinette hates liars, but the truth was complicated. The truth is that no, she doesn't want to do this, but for the sake of Paris she needs to. Marinette pulls out the box her earrings first came in.

"Okay," Tikki says, and she phases through the wall of a... massage parlor? A few minutes later, she comes back. "Okay, we're ready. Marinette, you've been the best Ladybug I've had."

Marinette sniffles. "Thank you, Tikki. I'm going to miss you."

She takes out her earrings and places them in the box. She places the box in front of the door, and she walks away. She pulls her hair out of her pigtails.

"You don't have to worry about me being Ladybug anymore," she says to her parents before she goes to her room.

Only then does she allow herself to weep.

 Alya texts her the day after Marinette gives up her earrings.

Hey, can I come over?

They don't have school that day.

Of course, is Marinette's response.

"Hey," Alya says, and she is quiet. She has been this way ever since yesterday. "So, um, I'm thinking about taking down the LadyBlog."

"Why?" Marinette asks.

"I... revealing your identity wasn't the right choice, was it? And, like, in all the superhero comics and stuff, the identity reveal makes things worse for the hero, and I wasn't thinking about how it'd affect Ladybug, well, you, I was just thinking of how it could make me a good reporter and -"

Marinette tucks her hair behind her ears. Alya gasps.

"I mean, you're right. The identity reveal makes it harder for the hero, but anyone could wear the earrings."

"Who's the new... I shouldn't ask that, should I?"

Marinette shakes her head. "No, you shouldn't. However, I don't know who the new Ladybug is, but for what it's worth, I hope it's you. I mean, I tried to give you the earrings once already."

 It's been two days since Marinette gave up her earrings, and one of the girls from Ms. Mendeliev's class has been akumatized. She wears armor the color of cast iron with spinning blades for hands and a gold visor.

"So, what's your name? Edwardia SawHands?" Chat asks. He catches Marinette's eye, and taps a finger to his human earlobe.

"It's DarkSaw!" the akuma screeches. Marinette shakes her head at Chat.

"Hey, aren't you going to do something?" Kim asks.

"If you need help getting to the bathroom so you can change into your costume I can help," Chloe says as she inspects her nails.

Marinette looks to Alya. Alya gives her a sad smile and tucks a stray lock of hair over her ear. There is no earring.

DarkSaw lunges for Chat. The yo-yo that knocks away her hand is a darker red than usual.

Marinette looks up and pulls her hair into a single ponytail, revealing her ears. "I'm not the one who's going to save you."

A girl jumps from the second story balcony. She has long black hair pulled into a low ponytail with bangs that fall over her left eye. The ends are dyed a darker red than her right eye. She wears a wine-colored sleeveless high-collared dress with boots, arm warmers, and fingerless gloves. Under the dress is a sheer spotted dark red skirt, and under that is a polka-dotted mesh leotard that covers everything not covered by the rest of her outfit. Her mask has a large black spot over her eye. The girl looks at Marinette, as if looking for approval. Marinette smiles at her. The girl's burgundy lips curl into a shy smile. Marinette turns to her classmates.

"She is."

"Three, two, one, action!" Alya calls from behind the camera after school. They had been planning this ever since Marinette had told Alya that she hoped that she would be the next one to get the earrings. They had two separate versions, and if Alya had been the next bug then this would have been the last LadyBlog entry, so that no one would question why Alya was no longer posting. It would have been one where Alya apologized to Paris and to Ladybug, and would have proclaimed that she didn't want to continue out of guilt.

In this way, Marinette is thankful that Alya did not receive the earrings.

"Hello, Paris!" Marinette says, trying to be as cheerful and confident as possible. "If you watched the broadcast from a couple nights ago, you know that I'm Ladybug. Or, rather, I was. Because my identity was compromised, I gave up my earrings. There's now a new hero wearing them; her name is Chilocorus and she debuted today at Collège Françoise Dupont."

Marinette gets the feeling that Alya would cut the video so that there would be video footage of the new hero between Marinette's speech.

"Alya will be repurposing the LadyBlog to focus on helping the citizens of Paris instead of trying to unmask its heroes. It's still under development, but she's going to set up an akuma tracker.

"And if you're watching this, Hawk Moth?" Marinette let her face settle into a glare. "Fine. You won the battle against me. But in the end, it'll be Chat Noir and Chilocorus standing victorious over you. And I can't wait for you to beg for their mercy."

That night, someone knocks on her trap door.

"Fancy seeing you here, Chat," she says. "Now, what would my parents say about you showing up on my rooftop in the middle of the night?"

He gives her a bright red rose. "That I'm being a purrfect gentlecat."

She laughs and takes it. "Well then, if you mind your manners I'm sure you can stay and talk, but I've got school tomorrow kitty so it can't be too long."

"What do you think of Chilocorus?"

"She's definitely fancier than me," Marinette says. "Or at least, she's more of an eager romantic about the idea of being a superhero. I can't say I was too big on the idea, because I could've definitely come up with better costume ideas than that spotted leotard I wore."

"She's a novice," Chat complains.

"So was I."

"I know, but couldn't you have kept your earrings?"

"It's for the best, Chat. Just because you have a new partner doesn't mean we can't stop being friends."

He sighs. "Hey, what smells so good?"

"The cookies downstairs."

"Could I have one?"

Adrien, Rose, and Juleka are nowhere to be found when they are supposed to take the school photo.

Juleka said she panicked.

Rose said she got the feeling that Juleka's anxiety was acting up and had tried to find her friend.

Adrien had managed gotten his foot stuck in a trashcan, somehow, and he hadn't thought to ask anyone for help.

In unrelated news, the Akuma Tracker said that La France pittoresque had been terrorized by an akuma known as Red Herring at the same time as the school photos.

Marinette doesn't allow herself to think about the possibilities.

Marinette fails her math quiz. She balls it up, and a black butterfly lands on it.

"Hello, former Ladybug," Hawk Moth says, voice smug.

"Oh, shut up," Marinette says. She throws out her math quiz.

Twenty minutes later, there is an akuma attack. Marinette's parents are thankful that she's home.

There is a knock on her roof.

Marinette grumbles and places her textbook down. She has a test tomorrow. A big one. She can't afford a bad grade on it, not after her math quiz. "Just a minute, you mangy-"

A red eye peeks out under black-and-red bangs.

"Oh," Marinette says. She blinks once, twice, to make sure she's really seeing her successor. She mentally stomps all over the hope that her, no the earrings are being given back. Marinette has made her choice and she must live with it. "Hi, Chilocorus. Something wrong?"

"Can I ask you for some advice?" she asks.

"Sure. Is Chat still being cold to you? I can tell him to quit it... again, if I need to."

"No, it's... Chat Noir has warmed up to me, mostly. I don't think he's ever going to like me as much as you, nor in the same way, but I'm more than okay with that. Just... how did you handle it all? I don't know what I'm doing with the Lucky Charm half the time, and I don't know how to balance being a superhero with my regular life."

"Yeah, that takes some getting used to. One moment." Marinette runs downstairs, and grabs some of the cookies that she is allowed to take from the bakery. "Give these to Tikki for me? Now, something that helps with balancing things is doing homework while on a stake-out."

Everyone expects more of Marinette. She was able to barely handle the stacked responsibilities when she led a double life. Surely more responsibilities can be handled because she is no longer Ladybug.

It's very frustrating, and one day she raises her voice at her parents before slamming the door as she stomped off to her room.

"I'll make you a deal," Hawk Moth says after a black butterfly lands on Marinette's pencil. "After I use them to get what I need, you can have your earrings back."

"And what do you need?" Marinette asks. Hopefully she will remember enough to pass it on to Chat or Chilocorus.

"First, I need you to get me Chilocorus and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

This isn't one of her good pencils, so Marinette snaps it. The black butterfly flies away to akumatize someone else.

Marinette thinks things are going well. Chloe is being oddly nice, to everyone, but especially to Marinette. She can hold full conversations with Adrien. She, Alya, Chilocorus, and Chat Noir are able to coordinate plans.

Marinette misses Tikki, though. She misses the feelings of freedom and confidence that being Ladybug gave her. Without being a hero, it's a bit harder to keep up her cheerful demeanor and inspiring attitude.

Marinette sees the black butterfly, and she is so very tired. Thankfully, she has the Ladyblog open, and in a final moment of clarity she types two words.

The butterfly lands on her right hair tie.

"Don't even give me the speech," Marinette says as a pink glowing mask forms in front of her face. "I don't care anymore."

The first herald of Miss Fortune was not the small black, white, and red beetles descending upon Paris like a swarm of locusts. It wasn't even the girl in a black-and-white spotted suit, with a single red ribbon in her hair.

It was two words from one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, former Ladybug, on comments of the Akuma Tracker portion of the Ladyblog.

SAVE ME

[alyseofwonderland]

Alyse Reads The Goldfinch, Part 2

What follows is my best attempt at liveblogging. I had the books as an audiobook in hopes that I could keep it from taking even more of my life from me. This was perhaps a mistake. I think I broke Siri trying to make notes. The notes that are rambly are the ones I dictated.

I entirely blame @rollono​ for my suffering. But I am also aware that it seems to give her joy. 

Every time I reference Tara, I am talking about @wellntruly​ who’s own live blog of the book was the only roadmap I had to follow in this waterlogged wasteland of a novel.

Part 1

I thought Tara was making up the Camel-hair coat bit but APPARENTLY NOT.

Architecture has that much to do with the city and or northern Europe, really? I mean, “whitewash” doesn't everybody do that?

Nina ( @proud-librarian​ ) is going to have a lot to say about their descriptions of the Netherlands and Amsterdam in this book. like oh my God!

Theo Deckard doesn't understand how thermostats work.

This isn't satire? I don't understand we're like three minutes in and it has to be satire. right. right?

Who the hell says my mother and I didn't like my father much? like what.... what is this? what am I reading? what is happening? what.... I don't understand.... okay maybe fine whatever

This feels like it should be... I don't know.... satire is the word I'm looking for again. I don't want to just repeat what Tara, said but Jesus. the start of the story is he is rich enough to have a Doorman but not rich enough to afford the fancy private school, and him and his friends break into vacation homes in the Hamptons. what is this? what is this? I just... just.... just write a Jane Austen or Lord Byron novel if that's what you want to do just do that. do that.

My audiobook app just turned itself off in the middle of a passage because it decided I didn't need to listen to Theo talk about whatever he was talking about.

Curse you, Donna Tartt, for also being in the "all things coconut smell like suntan lotion" club. I did not want to have this in common with you.

I am laughing so hard it turns silent into my steering wheel because the audiobook reader makes Tom Cable sound like a surfer dude from the 70s,  and I. cannot. handle. that.

"I like to think of myself as a perceptive person" is basically the way that I know that Theo has about Harry Potter level skills of observation when it comes to the people around him.

Y'all this book would be so much better if Theo actually thought like a 13-year-old that he is supposed to be in the intro part. That would just be peak comedy, which is really what I'm looking for.

Audrey Decker and the Laura Moon from American gods are now the two people that I have ever known to call men "puppy" which I still find alarming, in both cases. Surprisingly they also both die, so I guess more things they have in common.

The longer this book goes on the more clear it is that I am not bougie enough for its contents. ( timestamp 30 minutes)

(GIF BY @rollono​ BY MY REQUEST FOR EVERY TIME THIS BOOK MAKES ME FEEL POOR)

I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to think that a 13-year-old would know this much about their parent's job and be able to ask questions. I'm trying to think of what my dad was doing when I was 13, and I mean I know where he worked, and I know who his boss was, but if you tried to ask me daily issues or me giving advice... oh my gosh. I just can't. nobody talks like this.

I’m making a face akin to Kermit the frog. 

I threw up in my mouth a little at the description of Pippa walking past in the museum.

Did we just describe a 12-year-old girl's arms as marble? is that what just happened? did I just have to listen to that?

Theo has given me a lot of like “Golden State killer” vibes right now with his desire to poke around through all these people's homes and stuff. like this is clearly the Visalia ransacker's motivation in the 70s. I know too much about true crime, that's what's happening right now.

The true-crime serial killer alarms keep going off in my brain.

I know Tara already mentioned how ridiculous the Murphys bed story is but it really is incredibly ridiculous and breaks the tension of the entire scene that is occurring at the time (laughed uncontrollably to the point that Siri typed nonsense)

I get it, Donna, you know things. You do not have list every fire truck to prove it.

Let's take a child to a dinner at 3 am. Really Donna?

Why does Donna insist on giving me the text of signs around whats going on? Why did I just listen to the smoothie specials while an emotional scene is occurring?

Donna, did you just call Mrs. Barough a weasel?  [afronted gasp]

OI!  (me shouting when Donna says that Andy was weird for being lactose intolerant.)

Pukes in my mouth a little at the term 'high verbal'. I get it, Donna, you think you are smarter than all of us stop being a dick.

Donna Tartt would make it to r/iamverysmart in like a minute if she understood how the internet worked.

WHO TAUGHT HER ABOUT FMA?

Okay, so either Donna Tartt knows someone who lost a parent and basing this off them or like went through it herself because I am white-knuckling through the grief bits trying not to have my own trauma response to the situation. Or she wrote Theo with like the exact grief I had. Her incessant need to list things in a room is the only thing between me and a spiral of remembering my dad's death.

ANDY IS A RAY OF LIGHT AND DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE IN THIS FAMILY OR IN THIS BOOK!

Five whole hours before the first sight of Hobie. Like Jesus.

I miss Terry Pratchett.

Hobie thank you for making this book interesting again.

Hobie is now my main squeeze and I won't hear a word against him.

POE DIDN'T INVENT SCIENCE FICTION FUCKING MARY SHELLY DID. DONNA WHAT THE FUCK.

The Hobie part of the story just makes me more sure that a version of the movie should have been without the Baroughers (sp?) and only included Hobie and Pippa.

Any is a murderino. I love this baby boy.

Aw, I love Hobie so so much.

Donna if you call Andy annoying one more time you are gonna catch my hands. (She just referred to his voice as annoying twice in a conversation and I swear to god I will rip this character out of her snobbish clutches she doesn't deserve him.)

Theo on this we agree, I too enjoy Hobie.

Hobie is the only person who belongs in this novel and he's a god damn delight.

SEVEN HOURS AND THE PAINTING HAS COME UP AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LITERAL HOURS.

Theo straight up using Spanish to fuck over his father is just *chef's kiss.

I can see how much contempt Donna has for Xandra is longer and deeper than this book will ever be.

I am going to suplex Larry Decker I swear to god. (i have a very particular trigger to spouses bad-mouthing the dead one due to personal experience.)

Necco wafers are no one's favorite candy Donna. You can't just say shit like that and expect anyone to believe you.

I have just realized that Donna Tartt has never been to a public library. How do I know? Witchcraft books are never on the shelves. Ask any librarian. They are stolen pretty much the moment we buy them.

I am standing dead in the tea aisle at the store because Theo just thought it would be “gay” to tell the doormen he has known almost his whole life he is gonna miss them.  (hours later I realize this is her backtracking in edits going "shit shit shit I have to add the repression in somewhere for those dumb readers that don't understand art" and I hate it more.)

Mrs. B is ready to physically fight Larry and I would pay real money to see it.

WHY DOES DONNA KNOW ABOUT DRAGON BALL Z?!? Step away from the things I love Donna I don't trust you near my media. (Also why she does reference it she clearly has NO concept of what DBZ hair would even look like to expect me to believe any child could achieve it.)

oh my god, Boris. I'm so happy to see you.

I am happy to report the audiobook narrator does not do an Australian accent for Boris. Thank the lord.

I knew I was going to love Boris but like a few minutes in I adore him.

It's interesting to me that Theo and Boris seem to have received similar amounts of attention/affection from non-parent adults, but while Theo finds it uncomfortable Boris soaks it in.

The Australian part of Boris's accent seems impossible.

*sobbing audibly into my keyboard* Popchyck

Boris you sweet like socialist.

Comrade Boris we need you in this election.

I'm sad he (Boris) doesn't get to go to college and like piss off every yuppie and hippie, and just make Philosophy 100 and Government 250 absolute hell for everyone.

Drunk Boris at Thanksgiving is a gift.

Me listening to this book before Boris: half paying attention, fucking around on my computer, doing chores. Me after Boris shows up: staring at the middle distance determined to listen to every fucking word because this prison sentence of a novel is finally interesting.

James: you said the author is a snob and you aren't enjoying the main character.  Me: yeah James: then stop reading it. Me: No, then Donna and her Anna Wintour knock off hair cut will win. James, frowning and backing out of the room: k sweetie.

6:30 am is too early to hear Theo Decker describe his bed as "our bed"

I WAS RIGHT. Boris belongs in college making every American white kid absolutely furious in every Poli-sci.

Larry Decker calling Theo and Boris his "kids" made my heart skip a beat.

So the nurse notices they don't have vitamins and smell but doesn't call child services. I mean I know that I learned that school nurses are less likely to call CFS on white kids than they are on black kids but like god damn.

The sheer salt of Theo refusing to learn the name of Boris’s girlfriend is so hilarious.

Now *this* is gay.

The truth is Theo is ready to cut a bitch.

Fellas is it gay to do shots while your boyfriend talks about his girlfriend?

Theo trying to set up Boris with like a nice polite girl who won't fuck him is fucking hilarious. This poor baby gay.

Theo (and Donna cuz she writes him) have never heard of learning disabilities and I will legit throw down.

LARRY IS A SCORPIO IN CANON?! I thought that was something from the fan fics. omg Ally hates this.

No one wears white sport coats Donna stop trying to make it happen.

Boris totally knows what's going on with Larry and he's just trying to look out for Theo because he loves Theo but oh my gosh Boris why do you make me feel so many feelings!

Please, Donna, I am begging you to stop telling me what the light from the sun looks like at different times of the day. I just can't take it anymore. Every scene of Theo in Xandra's house does not need the qualifier of what type of sunlight he is seeing. Some times fine. But every time?

My entire stomach just dropped when I realized what Boris has done, and I'm just I'm so sad. this is not how I wanna start my commute to work today.

I have just had my first moments of being very proud of Donna's writing, because long long time ago, in the same chapter, she had the bit about how Xandra will say "apparently" when she's being bitchy with Theo and now in a conversation where Theo isn't paying attention to her she says "apparently" to Larry and I just had to stop and say this, this is the writing I'm looking for Donna. This is clever and interesting and I LIKED IT. Stop making lists and do more of this.

Friendship ended with Book Boris, Movie Boris is my best friend now.

I don't understand how the director and the screenwriter of the film could move who said those lines and then not make it gay. Like, commit to your choice.

My mom: You finish that book yet? Me, angrily: No. My mom slightly worried: do you like it? Me: unclear.

NEW CHAPTER!

Theo, I need you calm all the way down when you are looking at Pippa.

Love this lawyer. I want to be his friend.

God poor Pippa. All the shit she goes through and she still has to put up with Theo's weird obsession.

Theo, you slid right back into the serial killer habits in a second and I want you to stop it.

Oh god, I feel that in my soul. Like "no sir you have it wrong I look more like the parent I like best." (also I do look more like my dad. like way more like him)

I am begging someone to get Theo some kind of hobby or help or something so he stops acting like a victorian ghost.

I am gonna have to get the actual book so I can see what weird spelling is going on with the text messages. I just know its weird. The narrator does it in such a weird voice.

We spent so much time dealing with emotional issues and other whatnot that going back to the bit about the painting feels like a huge tonal shift in the book. I'm like staggering around confused.

Literally no one uses strawberry shampoo.

Love that Theo ‘s final plan is the one Andy purposed an eon ago.

Salty that Theo is getting the cool college experience that Boris would have crushed.  I would have paid good money to watch him make the philosophy department cry.

[kermit in the car gif]

Yo! Theo struggling to deal with school is like exactly my semester after my dad died.  

The adults attempting to force him into different living arrangements is so what we dealt with post my dad’s death.

Grisha! (Russians the only people I trust atm)

Tara was right, Andy's death comes off like a joke!

I gotta say, Crime Theo is my favorite Theo so far.

I don't know which serial killer Donna was channeling to write the parts about Theo being obsessed with Pippa, but it is just so intensely a serial killer vibe I cannot even begin to describe the look on my face; the feelings I'm having. I'm just like this man is going to kill someone. he's going to kill a lot of people. not only that it's going to be a lot of women because he doesn't view them as people. that's what I'm getting from this it's. Theo doesn't think women are people.

If Theo was on reddit he would be part of r/niceguys and r/iamverysmart.

If I have to listen to him drone on about his fantasies of Pippa for one more minute I will kill myself in the baking aisle of Aldis.

HES HOARDING HER HAIR?! HER UNWASHED CLOTHES?!? Please someone put him in jail.

[the sound of me throwing up in the frozen food section as Theo describes Kitsey]

Donna don’t try to act like you didn’t add that foreshadowing yourself about Andy. You crack me up you relentlessly snob.

How is Theo just The Worst all the time?

Theo freaking out because two gay guys know what’s up with him is just *chef’s kiss

Me having seen only the movie: Theo and Boris should get redemption and a romance run away. Me now: [ gif of “Ive had enough of this guy” from IASIP]

I mean I understand that John Crawley was a coward in so many of his directorial choices, but the fact that he didn't put the second meeting of Theo and this Lucius guy into a crowded weird restaurant where they're both getting hit by the waiters as they go past is just the weakest move you could've made. because this makes it so much funnier.

I'm with Hobie.

honestly this book should've just been 20 hours of art crime and like to shave off a good 10 hours of LISTS because that's what 10 hours is. give me 20 hours of art crime. I would love to watch each sale happen that would've been riveting to read but instead.... this.

Bish, you like those earrings or I will cut you.

Theo salty, while Kitsey picks out new china, is so fucking hilarious.

him just like "why are we buying new plates when my job is literally to find plates that were made by craftsmen?!?!” but being too fucking repressed in his bullshit to say anything, so he just making some poor sales lady suffer.

my friend Ally: “Theo’s repression makes everyone suffer is a good summary of the book.”

Alternative version of this book that would have been 8 million times better: Theo gets into art crimes but is also a serial killer. We don't know the second bit but it begins to start dawning on us as women seem to disappear from his social circles and weird hints of thoughts about blood and rivers.  Bonus points if it ends with him on the run from the law with his only vaguely criminal (by comparison to serial killer Theo) boyfriend. We are left to wonder if they will be gunned down in the chase or if perhaps there will be one more body to great the river.

Theo's textbook serial killer nonsense is only comparable to the sheer petty gay energy he gives off.

The power trip he gets from being like "hahaha yes I have bagged the ice princess who wanted nothing to do with me when we were kids" is just so gross and hilarious.

Theo realizing he is not the only sociopath in the room is just *chef's kiss.

Boris, did you really send some guy to just watch your ex?

Boris, I am begging you. You have made Grisha so upset.

Donna shying away from describing Boris comes off, if you don't know who we are talking about, as weird and slightly racist.

You have the internet Theo, you can look up when movies are going to start. You are not living on the moors.

HOW IS THIS BOOK NOT A SATIRE OF AMERICAN PYSCHO FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE BONERS FOR ANTIQUES?!?

Boris returns. I have almost forgiven him for what he put me through.

Maybe "fuck you" can be our always.

*tries not to cry when I realize that Boris' friends have heard about Theo

bless Aneurin for everything he did for this reunion in the movie.

Why is Boris such a slut? Why will I forgive him for anything?

Is it gay to think about the guy you used to jack off as handsome when you meet each other again?

Genetics means those kids can't be Boris' unless his mother was blonde. (Theo kind of agrees.)

My soul has left my body at the concept of Boris having a wife and kids.

I'm not saying I endorse crime, I'm just saying a mobster front with a pun in the name is really on-brand for me.

Knowing what I Know. That Boris thinks Theo is gonna try to kill him when they go for the "surprise" just makes the whole thing so tragic and sad.

Boris and his dog REUNITED AT LAST. I'm not crying. I'm fine.

Interesting that the next story we hear is about Gyuri's dead "brother" right after Boris says that Theo is "blood of his heart, his brother". Like. I might not be the biggest history buff in the world but I know gay code when I see it.

I mean I knew this was gonna happen, but I can't help but feel personally betrayed by Boris once again.

Donna, stay away from stuff about computers. Your attempts to use them make me, a technology expert, cringe.

Boris like "you don't deserve this dog. I deserve this dog."

"Babe I get that you are a WASP at heart but I need you to fight with me like a Russian now." - Boris to his disaster husband

"Did I lie?" "YES" (me laughing so hard I'm practically crying)

why does no one in this book appear to exchange numbers or like airdrop contact info.

Does Donna think that people only have iPhones?

Ally who is CTRL F reading this book "'Every few hundred pages she's like 'oh yeah, it's modern times...they're texting and there's emojis!' Seriously, there was the mention of emoji's and my soul escaped my body for a minute because it had no tether to time or space" @aces-low​

Off the top of my head, the name that Donna is not saying for this Horace to guy is Volkswagen.

Instead of being in the mob Boris should run an animal shelter.

Boris being Bitchy and jelly when Theo is talking to the German guy is just so cute. You two deserve each other with your weird shit.

If Donna wasn't a coward this book would have had Theo just getting eyeballs deep in art crime with Boris and his associates.

Adding a sin for making me listen to whatever that just was.

Things Donna forgot to list in "girl food": chicken wings, bread, rolls, other types of bread, garlic bread, a bit more bread, maybe cookies, eight more cookies, 20 more cookies, every type of chocolate humanly imaginable, jam, and barbecue ribs.

What do ankles have to do with being attractive?!?!?! this isn't the Victorian age! 

(from Ally re this comment: “I'm now convinced that every day Donna sat down to write this book she spun a wheel with different years on it, and that's the year the book was set that day”)

I didn't mind Kitsey cheating on Theo, because he doesn't even really like her. Until just now, when I realized that Mrs. B knows about it and she's keeping it from Theo, and my heart broke into 1 trillion pieces. she is the closest thing he has to a mother and he realized that she kept it from him, and I should not be crying in my car before my special Valentine night dinner.

James just walked in during a part describing Pippa and goes "Men writing women, huh?" and I had to pause the book, turn to him and say "a woman wrote this" and he just looks at me like 0_0

Mrs. B clutching Theo's hand so he won't leave her alone with Smalltalk-old-man is honestly the cutest thing in this entire book.

Hobie being able to be spotted from a distance at all times! I have a friend who is 6'5" and we can find him in crowds so easily!

Perhaps the funniest moment of this book is Theo saying "if girls loved assholes then Pippa would love me". buddy I'm going to post this entire book to r/niceguys

I WANT MORE ART CRIME! Why did you make me listen to 15 hours of boring nonsense when we could have had ART CRIME!

I deeply enjoy Boris's commitment to being a dramatic goofball, falling to his knees just be annoying.

Movie Boris appears in a dramatic way. Book Boris is just like there and also shoving food in his face and walking out of the party still eating all the food he just put in his cheeks like a chipmunk.

Hobie just like "if you want to run off with your gay love i'll cover."

Theodor Decker you get back in there and make sure that thief stays away from Nicole Kidman she has been through enough already!

Theo, I know that you don't actually have brains for anything besides drugs, crimes, being weird about women, and your own ass, but you could at least listen when people speak.

Theo is such a mess. He doesn't belong in modern times. He deserves to be Jack the Ripper.

I know the narrator is saying croissant the "correct" way. But every single time it happens I'm so fucking confused because who just leans into a french accent that hard for a single word?

Theo offers an actual good idea that Boris is going to use later and they all look at him like he's crazy.

I know "my brand" is "man holding gun" but listening to Boris assemble a gun I'm like "oh goodness I need to lay down". *fans self

Theo suddenly "I have made a huge mistake"

It's interesting to me how reluctant Boris is to make Theo a larger part of the heist. Theo reads it as frustrating but I read it like a kind of care and affection. He doesn't want his friend mixed up in something he can't handle, despite the fact that he wants Theo close so he can get him the painting back.

I see now why the heist in the movie was so fucking confusing. You need the Horst stuff and like a bunch of other nonsense that does not translate well to screen unless you re-write all the connections, which John Crowley was not willing to do.

Really love the "women drop their mark the first time" bit.

me: Theo I swear to god stop being high and sick in your room and go get some actual clothes and medication or at least don't make me listen to so much of it

this book is not 30 hours long. its 15 hours of a book and 15 hours of Donna going "gotta get that word count up or people with think I'm weak". Please, Donna. I don't need to hear this one thing happen for so long. It adds nothing to the tone, the themes, the plot, or the ambiance. You are just writing words for words sake.

The first suicide note was so well crafted that I honestly want Theo to kill himself now. If he can manage to write the others pretty okay I will be happy with this ending.

Don’t think I didn’t notice that the ghost of a dead loved one appeared on Christmas Eve.

I'm sorry who doesn't respond to "didn't you get my text?" with "my phone was dead" instantly?

me listening to Theo throw a tantrum at Boris because neither of them is capable of explaining themselves and like speaking as normal humans do: "It would have been better if Theo died"

Why must I be forced to listen to Donna make these scenes longer because these people don't talk like people?

Thud by Terry Pratchett does a much much better job of asking the question "can we trust our hearts and be the person we want to be?" And it honestly gives a better answer. And has you know, clever writing.

I thought it was like Over. I did. I was like "oh this is it wrapping up" ONLY THERE IS 30 MORE MINUTES AND I WANT TO SCREAM!

Me certain the book is over: i mean maybe this is a good ending

Me seeing i still have 30 more minutes: this is the worst book ever

This book held me fucking captive for over a week and all it left me with was like a few good lines, burning hatred for the main character, and the desire to go into Donna's home and rearrange all her stuff. 

also, I now hate antiques. out of spite.

don't read The Goldfinch. it's not worth it y’all.