#love marc being relatable for not being able to ask for help

[spctrsgf]

the attack

summary: marc was no stranger to a rough fight. but what happens when one fight is a bit too much?

word count: 1.4k

warnings: language, descriptions of blood/wounds/death, marc has a panic attack, angstier than i wanted tbh but

a/n: this was supposed to be fluffy but it turned out so dark i'm sorry idk what happened

another a/n: i want to note that everyone's panic attacks look different, and i tried to factor in what ive seen from moon knight and my own experience with panic attacks to write marc's

He had to get home.

He had to get home, and fast.

His hand came to rest on the bricks of a building beside him as he heaved in a breath, instantly regretting it as sharp pain sliced across his abdomen. With bleary eyes, he looked up to meet the window of a car that held Steven. “Mate, you’re not looking great–” Marc waved him off. “I’m fine, Steven. I just have to-” he shoved himself off the wall with a grunt of effort. “Get home.”

“Please just call y/n.”

“No,” Marc huffed, his patience and energy to argue with Steven wearing painfully thin. “I’m fine.”

“Really?” Jake snorted from a window to his right. “Doesn’t look like it.”

“Fuck off, both of you.”

“Please, Marc-“ Steven tried to placate.

“I can do this by myself.”

“I’m not sure that's a good-”

“Steven!” Marc yelled, exasperated and tired. “Stop.”

The man’s only response was to duck his head with a solemn glare.

“Spector—“ 

The said man whirled on the window. “You too, Jake.”

Jake went to say more, but instead decided to put his tongue back in his mouth and prepare to take control instead.

Marc’s jaw clenched in short victory, and he moved his focus to walking. Only two more buildings. He told himself. His eyes darted every which way in a sort of frantic habit, shoulders tense in his vulnerability. Shoulders tense in the knowledge that if he were to be attacked right now, he wouldn’t make it out alive.

Deep down, he knows that Steven is right. He should call you. He’s aware that you won’t judge his strained words, won’t do anything but get to him as fast as possible. You’ll leave the engine running in your beat up Honda, dash over to where he’d since crumpled onto the ground, toss his arm over your shoulder and haul him into the car and then to your shared apartment, careful to avoid his bloody limbs from touching anything. You’ll patch him up and put him back on his feet, just like you always do.

But– something holds him back tonight. Maybe it’s the blood from the cut that seems to be too deep, something that the suit should have protected him from. Maybe it’s Khonsu’s lying words that ‘it’ll be a quick one tonight, worm.’ Maybe it’s the fact that he let the man’s words get to him, let them crawl under his skin and make a permanent home in his brain. 

Marc Ssspector.

He shook his head, trying to stop the memories before they started.

I heard about your childhood. Tragic, really.

He was nearly there now, maybe a building or two away.

Your brother’s death must’ve cut you deep, knowing that it was your fault. 

He swallowed down his panic.

And then what? Your brother dead, your mother abusive, your father nothing but a shell of a man.

His hands started to shake. Not good, not good, he told himself, he cannot be having a panic attack right now.

No wonder Khonsu wanted you. How easy it must’ve been to take a trainwreck like you in, to make you do all of his dirty work. 

Marc’s breaths became labored as he tried to shove down his pain, both wound and the sharp ended words.

But did Khonsu ever really want you at all?

Marc’s eyes fell to his feet in frustration and in shame. 

Did Layla ever really want you at all?

All he had to do was move his right foot up and forward. Why was it so hard?

Did y/n ever want you at all?

His vision swam with tears as he let them fall down his face, angry and sad and panicked. 

Does anyone ever really want you at all?

He fell to his knees, letting out a yelp of pain.

It was at this moment he realized he might be dying.

He’d done it twice, and he could do it again. It seemed probable. At the moment, being free of his mind and his pain was sounding increasingly appealing. No more guilt, no more trauma, no more Khonsu, no more people taking his heart and shattering it on the floor. 

But as he feels his head go light and his vision rim with white, the only thing he can think of is you. You and your bright smile and perfect eyes and the way you got him, the way you were always there for him and his alters. Steven and Jake too met the front of his mind as he thanked whatever was out there that brought him such amazing people to surround himself with. 

– ✮ –

When Marc came to, he wasn’t in that boat he’d been on with Steven nor was he met with the dirty ground of the street outside his apartment building. No, he was in a bed, his bed. Which meant he was home, in his house. Which meant–

You came strolling in then, and he drank up the sight of you like a man who’d been starved of water. You were wearing one of your typical comfy Saturday outfits, when you’d sit on the couch and write or doodle while he watched some sport lazily, your head on his shoulder and his heart in your hands. Your eyes met his, and they all but softened as he watched you recognize that it was him. You were by his side in a second, holding him down by his shoulders as he tried to sit up. “Don’t do that, Marc, you’re still healing.”

The events hit him like a truck. Being hurt, the man, Steven telling him to call you, the attack, blacking out.

“How am I alive right now?” Was the only thing he could get out of his mouth as you sighed. “From what I know, Jake took over and called me. I managed to get you to the hospital because I didn’t think I’d be able to patch you up,” you sucked in a breath harshly, and Marc’s hand met yours with a squeeze of support, of sorry. “I was so scared, Marc. There was so much blood and even Jake was barely managing to get his words out–”

“Hey,” He winced, but still moved his hand to cup your jaw and grab your gaze. “I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.”

You snorted. “Shoulda thought about that before you tried to walk home while bleeding out of your fucking abdomen.”

“I thought I could get home.”

“Yeah, good going on—“ you stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath and recentering your mindset. “I’m sorry, Marc. I’ve just been worried about you and everything that happened, and I couldn’t do anything about your wound and sitting in that waiting room— which felt like an asylum with how white it was— for what felt like years for the doctors to help you was the most anxiety inducing thing I’ve ever experienced. But it’s okay, you’re fine, I’m fine, everything is gonna be fine.”

Marc’s thumb brushed tenderly across your cheekbone to catch fallen tears, brows knit in worry. “You’re right, I’m here.”

“Please,” your voice was a whisper as you lent into his hand. “Please never do that to me again.”

“I won’t.”

“Please, I know it's hard to ask for help. I know real well from experience that it’s hard. But it’s worth it. It’s worth it not to watch you attached to whatever the fuck they put you on in the hospital, not to collapse onto the ground a block away in excruciating pain. Right?”

“Right.” Marc nodded.

“I love you.” You said those words as if you could lift any of his worries and insecurities and carry them into the sky above.

“I love you too.” His hand slid to cup the back of your neck, pulling you down to meet his smiling lips.

[angel-of-the-moons]

Blood Moon

Marc Spector/Moon Knight (Vengeance of Venom) x Fem!Reader

TW/CW: Mentions of child death, trauma related to that, some coping, Marc being an emotionally constipated idiot as usual; Also you can't convince me that after the symbiote invasion, Marc and May Parker didn't become like, catty bff's

A/N: After a million years, I have returned to this particular incarnation of Moon Knight! I've been trying to consume various forms of media to help get me in the zone for him, and yes that includes watching the only two episodes in that Spider-Man cartoon he's actually in on repeat...

Taglist: @badbishsblog @patchesofwork

Divider done by the ever so lovely @/saradika-graphics!

PT. 6

It had been a few days since you and Marc had discussed his past.

And you were... angry for him. What had happened to your family was bad, but it wasn't as bad as Marc coming home to his dead child.

Marc had his whole family ripped away from him because his little brother literally went insane with jealousy? Honestly, if the bastard wanted superpowers so fucking badly, he could gone to play in a pool at a nuclear power plant!

Marc's lot in life truly wasn't fair. You understood his prickly, walled-off personality a bit more, but moreover you just felt... saddened. You almost didn't push through the loss of your family. Being a combative young girl, violent and opposing to your guardians as you frog-hopped your way through foster homes; many parents simply didn't bother with you after the first month of constant disobedience and violent outbursts.

And couple all of that with the running away... it had gotten to the point nobody had wanted you, so you were forced to live in a roughened group home for the duration of your dwindling childhood.

But none of that felt as horrible and gut-wrenching compared to coming home to your own child brutally murdered out of petty jealousy and perceived rivalry.

Your heart broke for him; he had suffered horrible situations all because of someone he should have been able to love and trust with his life. Someone--

"You're spacing again."

You jumped, almost dropping your gauntlet as Marc's voice cuts through your thoughts.

You cleared your throat awkwardly, "Yeah, just... Got a bit on my plate, so to speak."

His chair squeaks as he turns back to sharpening his darts; after pointing out he needed new ones, Marc actually took your advice and put in a request with Fury for the materials to manufacture new ones. And provide a few modifications to your own equipment as well. It was the least he could do for being such an ass to you before.

The grindstone whirred, soft sparks falling onto the worktable as he meticulously honed the edges of the blades down to their fine edges; his warm chocolate eyes focusing with intensity on his task.

You tucked one leg beneath yourself from where you hunched over on the couch, staring at him for a moment before returning to your own work, hoping to distract you from your morbid and depressing train of thought.

"Have anything to do with Strange?" He asked, the question short and clipped.

"Eh?" You blinked, almost dropping your tool at the suddenness of his question. It was... weirdly out of nowhere. You hadn't really interacted with Stephen much since your hospitalization, and maybe once or twice when dealing with things at Avengers Tower.

"No?"

"He's been hovering." He muttered, frowning as he began working on a new dart, setting the completed one off to the side with the others.

"You mean like... at meetings?" You blinked dumbly, your jaw slacking slightly.

"Yes."

"Well, I mean... kinda?" You rubbed the back of your neck.

"Any particular reason?" He hummed, his mouth twisting as he scowled through the magnifier.

You furrowed your brow and squinted at him, blinking a few times. He seemed... Stiff. Prickly, almost. He almost looked like he...

You grinned widely, a lightbulb blipping to life inside of your head.

"Oh my god."

You lean forward, grasping your gauntlet in one hand and still grinning, staring at his posture. Marc seemed to go even stiffer than before, his movements not as precise as before, almost as if he was trying to distract himself from the current subject.

"Marc, are you jealous?"

The silence was your best answer, and you laughed, leaning back on the couch, and kicking your feet as your giddiness overtook you. "Marc!"

Marc spun around and slammed his fist on the table, barking, "I was only wondering if there are any distractions that might screw you up on patrol!"

You finally dropped your gauntlet, clutching your belly as it ached from laughing, his absurd reaction to your observation just ratting him out more, "Oh my god!" You gasped, rolling onto your side.

"Shut the hell up!" He snapped.

"Marc!" You sputtered, snorting at him.

"Ugh!" He grunted, jerking his chair back around to look at the task he'd dropped on the worktable.

"Stephen has been like, nosey because I was thinking about asking Fury to transfer me as his partner."

His shoulders twitched, "What?"

You sit up again a bit, resting your weight on your elbow as you let your leg sling over the side of the couch; "When we split our little dynamic duo; before I got hurt, I requested I work with Stephen because... Well? We have decent chemistry and ideally that's what you want in a partnership."

Marc scowled, keeping his back to you as you spoke; why was he so defensive over this? Why did that hot, simmering feeling return to the pit of his gut? He thought he buried it the day he saw you in the medical ward back in the Tower when you agreed to be his partner again.

"And as for the weird ass flowers? Gamora and Groot gave those to me. She popped in to say hi, and Groot happened to sprout some while we were talking. They gave them to me as a get-well present."

He looked at you out of the corner of his eyes, over his shoulder, "You certainly enjoyed his attention, though."

You coughed awkwardly into your hand, and cleared your throat; "Well, a woman appreciates chivalry every now and again, Marc. And Stephen can be really chivalrous when he wants to be."

You crossed your arms, and huffed out a puff of air. "And your manners certainly match the sewers you were living in... But it's no reason to get friggin' jealous or anything."

"I'm not jealous for the last damn time!" He snapped again, glaring at you.

"Oh... so you're protective, then? Are you that worried about me?"

He growled, grinding his teeth together as he pushed himself up from the table, the wheels on his chair squeaking audibly as he muttered under his breath.

"Hey! Where are you going?" You asked, climbing to your feet as he yanked on his hoodie.

"Out for a drink. I need one after dealing with you." He scoffed, walking up the basement stairs.

"But it's 11 in the morning!" You retort.

Even though he seemed pissed, you couldn't help but smile to yourself, your fingers touching your chin as you heard the front door slam.

"She's insufferable!" Marc growled, scowling deeply out of the window, his brown eyes watching as children played outside and cars drove by. The muffled barking of a dog could be heard from somewhere through the window.

"I swear, dealing with her has me wanting to shave my head and jump in the Hudson in the middle of winter!"

May smiled into her tea, her green eyes twinkling with mischief as the wrinkles at the corners became more obvious the more Marc ranted about you.

"Your tea is getting cold." She reminded him with a hum.

The former Marine slumped his shoulders with a hefty sigh and dropped onto the cushioned chair on the other side of the tea table next to her, taking the chipped mug in his hands before taking a big swig of it; swirling the slightly bitter liquid around in his mouth before swallowing.

"You've been talking about your partner for a while, Marc. And while you seem agitated about her," May set her mug down on a saucer to look at him with a patient smile.

"Has she really done anything to make you this angry? Or is there some other underlying issue?"

His brows furrowed and he rubbed his hand along his stubble, looking at her quizzically, "I don't follow."

"Marc, you're not used to having to rely on someone in such a hefty capacity like this," May said gently.

"You've been working alone for so long you've boxed yourself into a little corner and get mad when people don't act the way you want them to, or if they don't see things the way you do, at first. It's why you acted the way that you did when all those symbiotes invaded."

"Okay, I have my reasons for..." Marc noticed her silvery brow quirk up, her lips tipping into a smirk. He brought his tea to his lips and drank again. "...continue."

"You were concerned with your own survival. You had been alone for so long you felt like, even with your hero work as Moon Knight, you were still in it by yourself."

"...Someone helped convince me." He sighed softly, looking into the tea a bit, swirling it in the mug.

"Oh yeah, someone did all right." May said haughtily, "And I bet she was so smart and amazing at it, too."

"And a little full of herself. And preachy..." Marc slowly smiled at her.

"Okay, well, aside from that--" May giggled. "It's nice to know that I had a hand in you opening up more. Spider-Man being that other hand."

Marc pursed his lips. May Parker may know that Marc Spector is actually Moon Knight... But she did not know her beloved nephew was the Spider-Man. He didn't like lying to her, it left a foul taste in his mouth. She was one of the few--the very few--friends he had left in the world and it felt wrong to mislead her.

But he swore to Peter he wouldn't tell May until the youth decided he was ready.

"So, I think your apparent "frustration" with her might just be the fact that you're not used to having someone inhabit your personal bubble so easily. Your personalities are very different, but... You like her. It angers you because you try not to like her--or people in general--but it just happened."

"That's not..." Marc started to say; but, instead he rubbed the back of his neck. "...Entirely untrue."

"And you seem to be unreasonably annoyed that this girl had been looking for a new partner... And seemed to enjoy whatever flattery he was putting on for her."

He raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"Marc, did you stop to analyze your feelings on a slightly more... intimate manner?" May sighed hopelessly, shaking her head before taking another sip of her tea.

"Uh--hey, wait! What's that supposed to mean!" He sputtered, turning in the chair to look at her fully, feeling an uncomfortable sweat in his palms.

"Do you think you might be so protective of her because you're interested in her on a more personal level? You know, romantically. Or... otherwise."

Ugh, he hated how sagely this woman could be sometimes. She was wonderful at giving advice, but torture when she got to the core of the issues discussed.

And he knew, deep down, that she wasn't far off from the truth.

"May--"

"Marc." She put her hand on his arm, giving him a gentle squeeze, "Would it be so bad to let somebody in like that? To let her get close to you?"

He squeezed his eyes shut and determinedly sucked the rest of his tea down before speaking;

"Yes. May, I'm taking a big risk just even being friends with you. Being around your nephew."

"Is it... because of your hero work?" May asked, her eyes shining with concern.

"Yes and no... it's..." His eyes cast down to the floor, the bitter memories of what happened to his wife and daughter, his friends, associates... all at the hands of his brother.

"There's someone. A criminal who--who has it out for me. He's been targeting people close to me for years, May. I... don't want him to hurt anybody else."

She squeezed his arm again, smiling kindly, "Tell me. Please. You know you can."

"It's... not pretty, May. It's horrific, what he's done. She found out about it and I'm pretty sure she's started letting it fester in her brain." He sighed, slumping his shoulders a bit.

"I've seen a lot, Marc." May says softly. "After losing Ben, how he was taken from us... it wasn't easy. You know how I felt, I've already told you. So... Please."

Marc lifted his eyes and took a deep breath.

And began to speak.

PT. 7: No idea, with fall around the corner I may come back to this just for the spooky vibes and to hopefully be able to wrap this up!

[moiravim]

Marvel characters as your parents

Moon knight

Marc- Marc is the fun dad. He'd make your favorite foods every day and would buy anything you asked for. He'd never yell at you unless it has to do with your safety. Every Friday the two of you would do something fun together. Whether it's mini gulf or board games at home you'd always have fun. If you were to ever be in a bad mood he would make sure you're happy by the end of the day. The idea of you being upset breaks his heart. He'd let you take mental health days off of school whenever you asked him. If you were missing too much school he would see how you feel about a therapist (but he would never force you). At night before bed you would both watch TV in the living room together.

Steven- Steven is overprotective and very anxious around you. He worrys that he won't be a good dad. All he wants is for you to be happy which causes him to stress about you. He'd be the parent who cares more about your education. He'd help you do homework whenever you want. If you were failing a class he'd help you as much as possible. Steven would never yell at you. He's worried he would scare you or upset you. If you ever were to be upset he would immediately blame himself. He'd do anything to make you feel better but he'll feel guilty cause he thinks he's at fault. Steven likes to read to you when he knows your in a bad mood. All together he's very sweet towards you and shows affection often.

Jake: Jake is overprotective as well but he's the opposite of anxious. He's very confident and knows they're all better dad's than their mother. He is very loving and also shows affection towards you. Because he doesn't see you as often as Marc and Steven when you do see each other it's always special. He is the best to react when your upset. He'll immediately comfort you and find out what's wrong. After he finds out what's causing your discomfort he immediately eliminates it. He'll help you get through it no matter what. Jake often takes you to parks to hang out and have a good day. He also drives you around in his car. He'd take you anywhere you asked.

Loki- Loki is a very serious but very loving dad. He didn't have the best relationship with his dad but he wants to make sure you do. Being Loki's daughter means you also have Thor as an uncle. Thor is always excited to see you and usually hangs out with you at least once a week. When Loki had become a dad he decided the best thing to do was to move to Midgard so you grew up on Earth with the avengers. He'd get you anything you want, his only desire is to make you happy. Loki always thinks about you before anyone else. He'd do anything for you.

Bucky- Bucky is very calm as a dad. He'd let you go out with your friends without question. As long as you keep your location on and your phone with you he's on board. He enjoys going on runs with you and will try convincing you to run with him in the mornings. Being Bucky's child means you'll also be close to Steve and Sam. You also talk to Natasha a lot, her almost being a mother figure. Bucky will go out with you every other day doing things like eating out and going to parks. He doesn't care much about your grades but if you ever need help he will. Bucky is a great dad and just wants to spend time with you.

Stephen- Stephen is very protective as a dad. He's stressed something will happen to you 24/7. Everything he does is in hopes to make you safer. He makes sure your always near him in case something like infinity war happens again. Because you are almost always around him, you'll most likely become friends with both Peter Parker and America Chavez. He loves you more than anything but is more of a strict dad. He wants you to go to school and get a good education (hopefully something medicaly related). He'd love if you became a surgeon like him that way he'd be able to help you more. He may seem like a crazy dad from the outside but really just wants you to be safe. If you didn't like how strict he is all you have to do is talk to him and he'd cool down a bit.

Natasha- Natasha is a very calm mom. She is more strict than most of the avengers but it evens out having Yelena as your aunt. Yelena will do ANYTHING with you no matter how dangerous it is. Of course she'll make sure nothing happens to you but she won't stop you from doing things unless they really were too dangerous. Natasha wants you to do good in school even if that means paying for a tutor. If you were upset Natasha would immediately comfort you. She would be very affectionate and would make sure you know your loved.

Peter- (I am doing Peter as your older brother instead just so this makes more sense.) Peter is one of the best people to have as a brother. He knows what it feels like to not really have parents so he makes sure to fill that roll. If you ever struggle with homework he'll help you, most likely doing most of it himself. He is also very affectionate towards you. The two of you are basically best friends, always hanging out together. You also become friends with Mj and Ned. The four of you hang out and always do fun stuff on the weekends. All together you and your brother have a lot of fun together.

Steve- Steve is a very strict dad. Although he is very serious about things like your grades, your health and happiness is his priority. If you have trouble with mental health he will put that first. He will help you solve and problems that you have and make sure you get better. If you need a therapist he'd talk to his friends and see if they recommend anyone. With Steve as your dad, Bucky is almost like your uncle. He's most likely also your godfather. If anything were to happen to Steve, Bucky would always take care of you. Steve and Bucky are both very loving towards you.

Tony- Tony is a pretty cool dad. He doesn't care much about what you do as long as your safe. He doesn't care about your grades as long as you try your best. He'd enjoy when you hang out with him while he's working. Even if your just on your phone. He'd help you with school if you asked him to. The two of you would be pretty close and would most likely spend a lot of time together. You do your homework in his lab while he works and the two of you always eat meals together. If you were struggling with mental health he would comfort you and make sure you don't feel alone. If you agreed he'd find you a good therapist to help you. Tony is a very good dad and always shows his love for you.

Wanda+Vision- Wanda and Vision are very loving parents. You spend your time watching TV and playing games with the two of them. Wanda is very caring, always making sure your happy. She'd do absolutely anything to be with you. Wanda is very protective of you and always wants you to be safe. Vision is very similar as a dad but he's more calm. Vision's favorite thing to do with you is go to the park. He loves seeing you smile and will walk through countless parks with you and Wanda. The three of you have fun together almost daily. Both Wanda and Vision care more about you and your health than school. Over all they are very good parents and would almost never be upset with you.

Matt Murdock- Matt wants you to have a good relationship with him. He always makes sure he's fair causing the two of you get along very well. He's affectionate towards you, wanting to make sure you know how loved you are. His favorite thing to do with you is to just walk around the city and talk about how things have been with you. He just wants to spend time with you, enjoying all the quality time he can get. He often eats dinner with you so he can be around you more. He also let's you hang out by his desk when he's working. If you were to be struggling with mental health he'd know almost immediately. He'd be extra affectionate and would check on you much more often. Eventually he'd talk to you about it and see what he can do to help. He always wants you to be happy and would do anything to ensure you are. He's a very loving dad and would do anything to keep you safe.

Wanda(dsmom)- After your dad and brothers had disappeared you and Wanda moved to a very isolated area. She had become much more protective of you, scared that something bad would happen. She still lets you do everyday things but makes sure your always close enough that if you needed help you could call for her. When she was trying to capture America she would most likely have you stay at a friend's house in fear that she would scare you or you'd be hurt. When she sees America it reminds her of you which scares her but the thought of you alone without your brothers scares her more.

[idependentromcoms]

"(500) Days of Summer"

500 Days of Summer is a romantic comedy film that has made a significant impact on independent cinema since its release in 2009. Directed by Marc Webb and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the film tells the story of Tom Hansen (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his rough relationship with Summer Finn (played by Zooey Deschanel). What sets 500 Days of Summer apart from traditional romantic comedies is its non-linear narrative structure. The film jumps back and forth between different days in Tom and Summer’s relationship, allowing viewers to see both the highs and lows of their romance. This approach adds depth to the characters and explores themes of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery in a unique way. One of the key ways in which 500 Days of Summer has impacted independent cinema is through its innovative storytelling techniques. 500 Days of Summer has helped to launch the careers of several talented individuals involved in its production. Kevin Craft talked about the complexities of “(500) Days of Summer” in this article and how it continues to spark debate among viewers. Craft argues that what sets "(500) Days of Summer" apart from other rom-coms is its non-linear narrative structure and unconventional storytelling techniques. One of the most controversial aspects of "(500) Days of Summer" is its portrayal of Summer as a seemingly heartless character who leads Tom on before ultimately breaking his heart. What makes "(500) Days of Summer" particularly relevant to independent cinema is its willingness to take risks and challenge conventional storytelling norms. Independent filmmakers often use their creative freedom to explore themes and narratives that mainstream Hollywood would stay away from. "(500) Days of Summer" is a prime example of how indie films can push boundaries and spark important discussions about love, relationships, and human nature. 500-days-summer-marc-webb Marc Webb also talked about the difference between cheesy and lame, working with Zooey Deschanel, and his experience at Sundance in an interview. When asked about the difference between cheesy and lame, Webb emphasized the importance of being authentic in storytelling. He believes that cheesy moments are those that feel forced or insincere, while lame moments lack creativity or originality. By avoiding both pitfalls, Webb was able to craft a film that felt genuine and relatable. Webb also talked about his experience premiering "500 Days of Summer" at the Sundance Film Festival. He described it as a surreal moment, seeing his work showcased alongside other talented filmmakers. The positive reception at Sundance helped propel the film to greater success, solidifying Webb's reputation as a rising star in Hollywood. Marc Webb Interview  

[a-d-nox]

Hello, could you tell us about the asteroid Cleopatra? I have this asteroid conjunct Venus and is in the 1st house. Thanks.

cleopatra, queen of kings (asteroid 216)

back by popular request - egyptian asteroids - history and myth (@safieblue this is for you too (i didn’t forget you ;) just a little behind in the ask department!)).

cleopatra :)

Cleopatra was a notable Queen of Egypt and historical woman. She was known for her logistical skills, cunning, power, and charisma. Many say that she had an irresistible personality. It was Julius Caesar that had her statue erected in the temple of Venus - this was because she herself was thought to be a goddess or goddess reincarnated (many believed she was Isis - who is most similar to Venus/Aphrodite (hence the temple selected)). Cleopatra had great strategic skills because she had knowledge on how to speak around eight languages - this allowed for more trade and diplomacy amongst those countries around Egypt. She was a very intelligent woman who was known to have studied philosophy, writing, politics, etc. It is likely that she gained all this knowledge based on living in Alexandria, which was a cultural hub and had a renowned library. Her reputation was what made two well known Roman generals fall in love with her: Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. Most references on her have been distorted with time - most at large being her looks. Many say that she was gorgeous like Venus herself but others say she was average (most trustworthy may be the statues and coins made in her image - you can debate her beauty amongst yourself, i for one say we are all pretty hot lol). Back to her story though - Cleopatra was made to marry her brother after her father died. Her brother had her exiled after learning that he could have all the fame and glory instead of sharing it. Rome’s involvement is due to Cleopatra's father, who had a large amount of debt incurred from Rome, as well as Cleopatra's connection to the Ptolemaic dynasty (Macedonian in origin - Greek). After a civil war in Greece, the general Pompey fled to Egypt knowing that there were people who most likely had to take him in - he was wrong, Cleopatra's brother killed him. When Caesar found out about what had occurred, he demanded that Egypt pay for this terrible deed. Cleopatra was able to settle this peacefully and sweet talk Caesar into placing her back on the throne. Caesar was inspired by Cleopatra and brought ideas back to his homeland after staying in Egypt for many months - sadly, Caesar was assassinated shortly after his homecoming. Octavian and Marc Antony came to Cleopatra asking for her help in avenging Caesar. Cleopatra quickly agreed for the sake of her and Caesar's son. Marc Antony and Cleopatra quickly became involved romantically - their honeymoon phase offended Octavian into annexing Egypt and claiming emperorship of Rome. He convinced Rome that Cleopatra was trying to ruin their traditions and corrupt their leaders which caused a fleet to attack Marc Antony and Egypt. The rest is a bit blurred due to popular culture having mostly Roman history available to work with - which is a bit biased as to what happened with Cleopatra or her reign in general. So I will end it on this note: at the age of seventeen she began ruling and it is said that the twenty plus years following that were prosperity and peaceful in the eyes of Egyptians'. IN MY OPINION Kleopatra in a chart represents a) how good you are at strategic thinking, b) how others see your beauty, c) how you are remembered, d) diplomacy and how well you interact with foreigners, e) love affairs, and/or f) your power of persuasion.

i encourage you to look into the aspects of kleopatra along with the sign, degree, and house placement. for the more advanced astrologers, take a look at the persona chart of kleopatra AND/OR add the other characters involved to see how they support or impede kleopatra!

OTHER RELATED ASTEROIDS/PLANETS: aphrodite (1388), VENUS, isis (42), and caesar (18458)!

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my “suggest a post topic” button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!

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[miraculouscontent]

Who wants more sad statistics~?

Because say hello to the color-coded guide to Marinette blame/mistakes! Obviously there’s some room for debate (even I struggled with how to color an episode from time to time), but it should be mostly accurate.

Blue = "Marinette wasn't really blamed for anything notable and didn't really suffer from Adrien" Cyan = "Marinette was blamed for something unrelated to Adrien that she didn't do/she shouldn't be made to feel bad for" (this one is probably the most subjective) Green = "Marinette was blamed/made a mistake but it had nothing to do with Adrien" Yellow = "Marinette doesn't technically make a mistake or get blamed, but is negatively impacted by her crush on/relationship to Adrien" Red = "Marinette either was blamed for/made a mistake that related to Adrien."

"Negatively impacted by her crush on Adrien" could mean generally anything, but it leans towards Marinette embarrassing herself in front of Adrien, characters making snippy/unnecessary comments about her crush, and things that wouldn't have happened if her Adrien crush didn't exist. In the case that Marinette makes a mistake/is improperly blamed for something not about Adrien (cyan/green) but also is negatively impacted by her relationship to him (yellow), whatever is given more attention will take priority. There could've easily been a lot of cyan+red episodes had I allowed myself to use two colors.

Now look at all that red, which is easily the most frequent color, and then try and tell me that Marinette's crush isn't just a tool to humiliate her and force her to make mistakes in order to fit the "Marinette makes a mistake" quota.

I've put the explanations below on my decisions for each episode, as well as the tally for everything together:

Season 1

"Stormy Weather" (red) - Marinette blames herself for leaving Manon, and they're only at the park in the first place because of her Adrien crush.

"The Bubbler" (red) - Marinette uses Lucky Charm explicitly to stop Chloe and Adrien from dancing together.

"The Pharoah" (green) - Ladybug drops her schoolbook; relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, but seems to be why the show forces Marinette to awkwardly try to keep Alya in the museum instead of just having Tikki directly point out where to go.

"Lady Wifi" (green) - Marinette overslept while doing homework and was late for class

"Timebreaker" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for not being home to give the cake to Nadja... who came early and thus Marinette shouldn't have been expected to expect her

"Mr. Pigeon" (yellow) - Marinette embarrasses herself in front of Adrien, with Alya making faces at her all the while

"The Evillustrator" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for ditching Sabrina when she has an akuma to worry about, accused of "being like Chloe" (i.e: the person who Sabrina immediately goes back to anyway)

"Rogercop" (red) - Marinette, after being accused, states that everyone has the potential to be guilty, but sidesteps Adrien when someone suggests it

"Copycat" (red) - Marinette, panicked by an embarrassing confession she left on Adrien's phone (thanks to Alya), steals it to delete the message (also thanks to Alya)

"Dark Cupid" (red) - Marinette forgets to sign the love letter addressed to Adrien, which Alya laughs at her for

"Horrificator" (red) - Marinette is pressured/convinced to play Mylene's role instead when Alya throws out that she'd be kissing Adrien

"Darkblade" (cyan) - Marinette doesn't want to run for class representative because she already has enough on her plate (...what a monster?); both Alya and Alix make snarky comments at her for this

"The Mime" (green) - Marinette deletes a video on Alya phone and spends the rest of the episode trying to recreate it

"Kung Food" (cyan) - Marinette blames herself for defending her great uncle and insulting Chloe (again... what a monster?), which leads to Chloe sabotaging Wang's cooking

"Gamer" (red) - Marinette enters the gaming competition solely for Adrien

"Animan" (yellow) - Marinette offers to get Nino a date with Alya, an event that wouldn't have taken place if not for Marinette's crush (either there wouldn't have been a zoo trip at all or Alya wouldn't have been there); in addition, Alya tells Nino about Marinette's Adrien crush, which Marinette is distraught by

"Antibug" (cyan) - Ladybug is blamed for "not accepting help from others" (except she did at the beginning of the episode) and not listening to Chloe (who is a habitual liar)

"The Puppeteer" (green) - Marinette folds to Manon's "baby doll eyes" and gives her something that Nadja insisted she not have

"Reflekta" (green) - Marinette tries to steal Guiseppe's SD camera card so Juleka's picture will need retaken

"Pixelator" (red) - Marinette shirks her job as Jagged's gopher in order to get back to Adrien as soon as possible

"Guitar Villain" (blue) - Not much happens, just cool Marinette stuff; there are technically scenes of Marinette embarrassing herself around Adrien, but either no one else was there to witness it or there wasn't any significant reaction to it

"Princess Fragrance" (red) - Alya forces Marinette to go talk to Adrien, which results in Marinette tripping and losing Tikki

"Simon Says" (cyan) - Marinette... I guess is at fault for struggling to keep up with schoolwork and hero duties? That's what you get for wanting to help people, Ladybug

"Volpina" (red) - Marinette is mocked for being jealous, her following Adrien is presented as her doing it jealously (she literally says that she's going to warn Adrien about Lila stealing the book from him before Tikki stops her, but okay), and she yells at Lila as Ladybug, which is also presented as being "only about Adrien."

"Origins - Part 1 (Ladybug & Cat Noir)" (green) - Ladybug neglects to capture the akuma, having forgotten that detail

"Origins - Part 2 (Stoneheart)" (green) - The mistake from Part 1 carries over... the episode also may or may not blame Marinette for encouraging Ivan.

blue - 1 cyan - 6 green - 7 yellow - 2 red - 10

Season 2

"A Christmas Special" (red) - Marinette's "Adrien blindness" causes her to jump to conclusions and believe that a Santa Claus lookalike is an akuma

"The Collector" (red) - Marinette lies to Master Fu in order to protect Adrien, not able to believe that Adrien could be Hawk Moth

"Despair Bear" (red) - Marinette goes to Chloe's party for Adrien and is repeatedly mocked/teased for this

"Prime Queen" (cyan) - Ladybug "makes a mistake" in getting upset at Nadja for trying to pry into her romantic relationships and her potential romance with Chat Noir

"Befana" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for "lying" to her grandmother about going to a birthday party with her friends (she didn't) and "not wanting to spend time with her" (she did, Gina is the one who neglected Marinette for literal years)

"Riposte" (cyan) - One of the more subjective ones, but going frame-by-frame, Adrien's saber bends first yet the episode calls Marinette "flustered" and "new to fencing" to say that she's wrong in her choice

"Robostus" (blue) - Mostly free of crush and mistakes, episode focuses primarily on the main plot of the akuma being caused (if I had a color for Marinette just normally being mocked/embarrassed though, it'd be here)

"Gigantitan" (red) - Needs no explanation: Marinette is embarrassed in front of the girls multiple times and the entire subplot causes the akuma that almost hits Gorilla

"The Dark Owl" (green) - Ladybug orchestrates a situation in which the Dark Owl could save her so as to not hurt his feelings, which ends in him being found out, humiliated, and akumatized

"Glaciator" (red) - Marinette is upset because Adrien didn't show up to get ice cream with her, which leads to her blowing up on Andre

"Sapotis" (blue) - Marinette goes largely blameless for everything; not much here

"Gorizilla" (yellow) - Multiple "jokes"/"mocking" about Marinette revealing skin/being in her pajamas in front of Adrien

"Captain Hardrock" (blue) - Surprisingly void of blame on Marinette despite her being depressed over Adrien; if anything, Luka apologizes for making a teasing comment when she was upset

"Zombizou" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for being upset with Chloe for ruining her gift for Miss Bustier

"Syren" (cyan) - Ladybug is blamed for keeping secrets from Chat Noir (look at the Adrien stans for reference)

"Frightningale" (red) - Marinette is bothered by Chloe being Ladybug, but Adrien is involved so the fandom can easily put blame on her concerning her Adrien crush (see Marinette salters for reference)

"Troublemaker" (red) - Marinette's Adrien pictures are intentionally inflated/exaggerated to humiliate her more

"Anansi" (green) - I wouldn't argue if someone suggested that this is a cyan: Marinette "makes a mistake" in cheating Nora's arm-wrestle with Nino since Nora was being unreasonable

"Sandboy" (green) - Marinette agrees with Tikki that they should do something to help Nooroo without asking Fu

"Reverser" (cyan) - Marinette peeks at Marc's work and tries to help him work with Nathaniel (I see, so when Alya meddles to push Marinette past her comfort zone, it's fine, but--); she also embarrasses herself in front of Adrien over this

"Frozer" (red) - Marinette suffers because Adrien's an idiot and has tons of people in relationships to ask advice from, and he chooses to ask Marinette; Marinette appears to be "blamed" for either wanting to move on (due to the girls fighting) or agreeing to go with Adrien, along with a "bonus" (almost earning a cyan) due to Chat throwing a hissy fit over her rejecting him

"Style Queen" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for thinking that the magic ladybugs would bring the miraculous back to Fu (see "Sentibubbler" covering for Chat for reference on how the narrative sees this)

"Queen Wasp" (cyan) - Carried over from "Style Queen"; Ladybug is blamed for losing the miraculous

"Malediktator" (red) - Marinette is made to feel bad for being glad that her bully of many years is gone (almost earning a cyan here, or even a yellow), and this is all due to Adrien; he also unintentionally convinces her to give Chloe a miraculous (her "mistake" according to future episodes), which sets off a slew of events that makes her suffer

"Catalyst" (cyan) - Alya not believing Marinette due to her Adrien crush carries over from "Volpina," almost earning this a red, but Marinette also lies about her gift for Heroes' Day. However, the fact that she is completely sleep-deprived from the night before and was being made fun of for only bringing macarons is largely ignored by the narrative and treated too much as her fault

"Mayura" (red) - When going to correct her mistake from last episode, Adrien throwing a pity party for himself makes Marinette go back on it

blue - 3 cyan - 9 green - 3 yellow - 1 red - 10

Season 3

"Backwarder" (red) - Marinette gives Adrien the wrong letter (due to each slip of paper she has conveniently looking the exact same but the episode clearly indicates it to be her fault); she's also humiliated over this

"Weredad" (cyan) - Marinette lies to Chat Noir in a panic to protect her identity. The fact that Chat Noir is an idiot who wonders why Marinette might be on her own darn balcony and that Tikki doesn't offer a better solution for the situation is given no attention

"Chameleon" (red) - Alya believing that Marinette is only upset with Lila over Adrien presumably carries over from "Volpina" and "Catalyst;" Marinette's relationship with Adrien also seems to make her more inclined to believe in what he says about doing nothing about Lila

"Animaestro" (red) - No explanation needed; Marinette's Adrien crush makes her more inclined to believe Chloe (remember "Malediktator" and "Zombizou"?) when Chloe claims that Kagami stole her seat next to Adrien, which convinces Marinette to team up with Chloe against Kagami, and this leads to Marinette being embarrassed over her crush

"Bakerix" (green) - Marinette makes a mistake in... I guess riling up her grandfather? (this one's pretty subjective and I wouldn't argue with anyone who says this should be cyan)

"Silencer" (blue) - Regardless of what "Crocoduel" says, Marinette isn't blamed in this episode for challenging Bob Roth

"Oblivio" (cyan) - Marinette seems to weirdly be blamed/punished for getting upset with Chat Noir if the smugness of Chat+Alya about the taken picture is to be believed (perhaps """explained""" in "Reflekdoll" about Chat having his role to play as the "sense of humor")

"Stormy Weather 2" (yellow) - Marinette spends a portion of the episode sulking about the little progress she's made with Adrien

"Reflekdoll" (red) - Needs no explanation: Marinette's anxiety is caused by Adrien and she's blamed for it despite Alya orchestrating everything

"Oni-Chan" (red) - Marinette chases after Adrien and Lila, which is made to be completely about Marinette's crush on Adrien despite Marinette telling Tikki about her actual concerns (which end up coming true as Kagami gets akumatized)

"Miraculer" (cyan) - Chat gets snippy with Ladybug for not telling Chloe right away (apparently assuming that Ladybug doesn't have other obligations to attend to like school; she even tells Chat that she "wouldn't have time that day"), and Ladybug was literally about to before the sentimonster and Miraculer show up

"The Puppeteer 2" (red) - Marinette repeatedly pushed and punished for liking Adrien, then punished again in front of Adrien (who she thinks is a statue) when she was actually just taking the advice that Tikki gave her

"Desperada" (red) - The guitar scene (i.e: "huh, who would've known that my wingwoman for Adrien was actually trying to wingwoman me with Luka one time!"), Aspik (i.e: "wow, the guy who I thought was perfect because that's what the narrative is always telling me actually doesn't fit what the narrative was telling me!"), and that's all I need to say

"Startrain" (blue) - Mostly mistakeless on Marinette's end; the focus is on other characters/plots (again, if I had a color for Marinette being mocked/embarrassed though, it'd also go here)

"Kwamibuster" (blue) - Marinette isn't blamed for anything; even though Master Fu isn't aware of the events at first, Tikki apologizes to Marinette in front of him later

"Feast" (yellow) - Marinette is briefly distracted by Adrien until Alya chides her so that she can show Marinette the information she might as well have hand-delivered to Hawk Moth

"Ikari Gozen" (red) - Marinette tries to sabotage her and Kagami to prevent Kagami from meeting up with Adrien

"Timetagger" (cyan) - Tikki notes Marinette's bad excuses (which are due to the sheer amount of akuma) to the point where Alya had replaced her as babysitter before Marinette explained that she couldn't show up (I wouldn't argue with anyone who said this should be blue instead)

"Party Crasher" (red) - Marinette tries to crash the secret boys-only party in order to spend time with Adrien

"Gamer 2.0" (cyan) - Marinette+Ladybug is blamed for being upset that they have no time for anything, with Ladybug in particular "making the mistake" of taking over and failing due to Chat constantly goofing off despite her urging

"Chat Blanc" (red) - Marinette is pressured/threatened by the girl squad (specifically Rose) enough that she decides to sneak into Adrien's house

"Felix" (yellow) - Marinette, after "finally" confessing to Adrien (for like--the fourth time), ends up running off and rambling in front of Luka (not knowing that he's there), which embarrasses her

"Ladybug" (red) - Alya's doubts of Marinette's hatred of Lila (implied in "Volpina" and stated in "Catalyst" to be about her crush on Adrien) carries over as Alya chides Marinette for blaming Lila, and had Marinette not listened to Adrien in "Chameleon," Lila may have been stopped early on and she wouldn't have gotten expelled (otherwise, the episode would've gotten a "cyan" because how dare Marinette be emotional at being accused of cheating and get angry at Lila)

"Christmaster" (red) - Marinette lies to Chris (in the exact way that Alya does to Manon in "Stormy Weather" but sure) in order to protect her darn privacy so Chris doesn't find out about her chest full of Adrien gifts, which leads to Chris getting akumatized

"Heart Hunter" (red) - Ladybug neglects to detransform due to being distracted by Adrimi happening, which leads to long-lasting and overly harsh consequences

"Miracle Queen" (red) - Ladybug's mistake carries over from the previous episode

blue - 3 cyan - 5 green - 1 yellow - 3 red - 14

Total: blue - 7 cyan - 20 green - 11 yellow - 6 red - 34

[miraculouswolf99]

Field Trip To Greece

My own take on the Field Trip salt stories that usually are crossovers with Batman and have Damienette. But this is my version with them going to Greece and involves my OCs Lyon and Vallia Garden.

*****

“Mari, Mari, MARI,” Adrien basically yelled into his friend’s ear.

Marinette woke up with a jolt in her bus seat.

“What,” she groaned, never being much of a morning person.

“We’re almost at the sanctuary, so I figured to wake you up,” Adrien smiled at his friend.

“Thanks and curse how fast this bus is,” Marinette said.

“And curse Hawkmoth for late night akumas,” Adrien suggested.

“That to,” Marinette agreed. “Even in Greece, he still finds a way to annoy us in Paris.”

“Well, you brought the horse miraculous for a reason,” Adrien said.

“How are you not tired,” Marinette questioned him.

“I’ve always been a morning person,” Adrien shrugged. “Blame my father for a lot of early morning photoshoots.”

“I’d slap your father if it did not mean risking my future as a fashion designer in the process,” Marinette says.

After revealing themselves to each other after Miracle Queen, the two had developed a more brother-sister relationship. They both thought that it would be better for them to know each other after having all their allies exposed to Hawkmoth and Mayura. They joked around, teased each other, and also always had each others backs.

Having each other’s backs certainly helped them when Lila’s lies got worse. After Chloe had willingly helped Hawkmoth, she had been sent to a private reformatory school in Sweden. Lila took the opportunity to tell more of her lies, saying that she had been telling her “best friend” Ladybug to keep the Bee miraculous away from Chloe for months. And just like everything else Lila ever said, their class ate it up like it was their last meal.

Adrien had joined Marinette almost immediately after he made his “deal with the devil” in order to get her back into school. He threw himself off the “high road” the moment that Marinette told him that Lila threatened her. But even with him backing up Marinette every time she caught inconsistencies in Lila’s tales, there were still few that actually believed them. Some even went as far as scolding Marinette for her “brainwashing Adrien” into thinking that Lila was a liar.

Kim, Juleka, and Nathaniel were the only ones that stayed loyal to their friends. Especially since Marinette had done so much for them in the past. Like curing Juleka of her photo curse, helping Nathaniel get together with Marc, and Kim had been her friend since they were in diapers. With their group was also Kagami, Luka, Marc, Aurore, and Mireille. The rest of Bustier’s class was pretty much made up of Lila’s attack dogs.

What annoyed Adrien the most was how his so-called best friend. Nino may be siding with his girlfriend, Alya being Lila’s biggest supporter/attack dog, but that also meant he was part of the problem. He certainly never helped Adrien when Lila would constantly hold onto his arm no matter how many times he told her to let go. It was driving Adrien crazy and he was very close to taking Plagg up on his offer to Cataclysm the liar.

“I bet the garden is going to be beautiful,” Juleka says, her seat next to the two heroes.

She was sitting next to Nathaniel while Kim was in the seat in front of Adrien and Marinette. They were all in the seats at the back of the bus.

“I heard that the Garden Family Sanctuary is ranked as an unofficial wonder of the world,” Nathaniel said.

“Anyone else find it odd that a nature sanctuary is run by a family with Garden as their last name,” Kim asked.

“I think this is one of those ‘don’t think about it too much’ times,” Marinette shrugged.

“I haven’t been here in years,” Adrien was glad to be back.

“You’ve been here before,” Juleka asked.

“There was a charity fashion show here about a year before my mother disappeared,” Adrien explained. “I was here with my parents for it.”

“Did you meet any of the animals here,” Kim looked excited. “I heard that they let any animals here roam free even when they have events or tours here.”

“The animals do roam around the sanctuary as they wish,” Adrien says. “But the Garden family and all their employees work hard to tame all their animals privately to make sure that even the predators do not harm anyone. They spend months to years taming them before releasing them into the main part of the sanctuary.”

“It really sounds like an amazing place,” Marinette said.

“I can’t wait to draw some of the animals,” Nathaniel already had out his sketchpad. “Marc requested I draw him the most amazing animal that I see. No pressure. Haha.”

Juleka patted his shoulder, but her obviously hiding her laughter made her attempt to comfort him fail. 

But, as usual, their good moods had to be ruined by the Italian that never seemed to go five minutes without hearing the sound of her own voice. And, also as usual, she was spouting her nonsense. They were very close to throwing her out the back of the bus if she did not stop talking.

“Of course I know the Garden family,” Lila brags, lying through her teeth. “They are basically family to me.”

“Here we go again,” the five friends groaned.

“The mother and her two daughters mostly handle the plants,” Lila continues. “The father and their son handle the animals. It’s only natural since they are the only ones that can stomach having to put down the more dangerous animals.”

“Tell us more, Lila,” Alya was recording the entire time.

Adrien growled. “There has never been a case of an animal being put down at the sanctuary. The closest that comes to that is when an animal gets sick and there is nothing they can do to help it.”

“They have to put it out of its misery, don’t they,” Marinette asked.

Adrien nodded. “The youngest two Gardens speak fluent French, so I was able to spend some time with kids my own age during the fashion show. They told me that while it breaks their hearts, it is better than letting the animal suffer.”

“I can see where they come from for that,” Juleka says. “They love, take care of, and train all the animals. So it’s only natural that they form a bond with them.”

“I know I am not the brightest person in class, but how can they believe such crap,” Kim shook his head. “Whenever anyone even slightly mentions someone famous, she instantly says she is either best friends with them or somehow related to them. It’s impossible.”

“Tell that to the sheep that follow her around like she’s god’s gift to the world,” Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Makes you wonder if we really are the only ones in class with braincells,” Nathaniel, of all people, said.

The bus doors opened as it came to a full stop at the sanctuary. Bustier was the first out and the class followed her. They all first went into the sanctuary. And even from what little they could see from where they were, it already was one of the most beautiful places any of them have ever seen.

Trees, flowers, and even fruit and vegetable plants were growing as far as their eyes could see. The entire sanctuary also seemed to be covered by a glass dome, making an environment similar to a greenhouse. It made sense since there were probably plants in certain areas that needed to be grown in certain temperatures.

But today the dome’s windows were open, letting in the natural light of the sun, even if it looked like squares on the ground because of the dome’s window linings.

As Bustier lead them to a stop, two teen their age approached the group. Adrien recognized his two penpals. The ones he met in Greece when he was there for the fashion show. Lyon and Vallia Garden.

Vallia was quite beautiful and had a grace and elegance to her style. She had long blond hair braided with roses and butterflies and had pink streaks. Her eyes were a stunning silver that you could see, if you were close enough, had specks of blue in them. Her style was a red, pink, and purple dawn colored dress with gold flats. On her wrists were diamond rose cuff bracelets, a butterfly on the one on her right wrist.

Lyon gave off a very icy exterior that also screamed honor and loyalty that only a knight would have. A tall boy with hair that was black with streaks of white and blue in it, coming to the length of Adrien's. His eyes were the opposite of the girl's, blue with silver specks. His outfit of choice was a sky blue t-shirt under a white jean vest, matching the blue pants with white boots. On his hands were white fingerless gloves. Around his neck was a sword and shield pendant as well as a white cloak only going down to his knees.

They all also saw that the two did have crystal medallions on their foreheads. Vallia’s was a rose quartz butterfly and Lyon’s was a sapphire wolf.

“Your pen pals are hot, Adrien,” Marinette smirked as she saw her honorary brother staring at Lyon.

“Shut up,” Adrien grumbled, making Marinette giggle.

Bustier turns to the class. “These two are going to be our guides through the sanctuary. Please show them the proper amount of respect since they are the ones that work here.”

Lyon and Vallia gave the teacher the side-eye. While they technically did work there, their family owned the sanctuary and it was like Bustier had completely forgot about that and thought that they were just employees of the sanctuary.

“Shouldn’t we be guided by adults,” Mylene asked, trying not to sound offensive to the two teens.

“We’re your tour guides because we are the only ones here fluent in French,” Lyon told the class, his French flawless.

Adrien hid that he was chuckling behind his hand. He knew the twins were fluent, but the looks on his classmate’s faces when Lyon spoke in French was just so funny.

“Before we begin, let us introduce ourselves,” Vallia said, also switching to French. “My name is Vallia and this is my twin brother, Lyon.”

“Please also take note of a few rules of the sanctuary,” Lyon says. “While the animals here have been tamed, do not touch or interact with them without permission. Certain movements or actions could cause them to badly react. They are all also on specific diets, so do not feed them unless we give you food to give them.”

“The plants should also all remain untouched,” Vallia added. “There are certain plants here that are not native to the area and survive here only because we created the right environments for them. Especially the ghost orchid. There are barely even 2000 ghost orchid plants left in the world and they need to remain here so that they do not go extinct.”

Most of the class nodded, understanding the rules. Lila hid how annoyed she was at not being able to take whatever beautiful plant she wants or touch any cute animal that she sees.

The tour than began, the class following the twins deeper into the sanctuary. Already they were starting to see a ton of the animals that lived there. There were some animals of Greek origins. Such as brown bears, red deer, lynxes, rock lizards, weasels, and wild boar. There were also more international animals. Like white-tailed deer from North America, jaguars from South America, pandas from China, African panthers and lions, Indian tigers, horses from Canada, even komodo dragons from Indonesia. And that was just the beginning.

“The Garden Family Sanctuary was founded almost a hundred years ago by siblings Apollo and Persephone Garden,” Lyon says. “Having been named after the god of the healing and the goddess of flowers, they had always loved helping nature and animals.”

“They started out with an animal shelter that took in any and all animals,” Vallia continued for her brother. “They had a very clear rule about being a no-kill shelter. The more popular they became, the more room they needed. And since they already came from a rich family, they bought more land. And over the years, it grew into the sanctuary you see today.”

“With the amount of animals and plants coming, there has been chat about buying land on another island to expand the sanctuary,” Lyon said. “Which means more area to protect from smugglers and poachers.”

“Your French is very good,” Marinette compliments them.

“Thank you, we’ve had years of practice,” Vallia says.

“It helped when we hosted a few French fashion designers here a few years ago for a charity fashion show,” Lyon said.

Adrien caught the smirk that Lyon sent his way. It made the blond blush.

The group continued walking through the sanctuary. A few of the animals curiously looked at the group, but chose not to get near them. There were a few did cuddle up to the twins, who happily petted them before sending them away with a treat in their mouth.

But even as the twins tried to talk about the sanctuary, Lila was still telling her lies as the classmates not under her spell surrounded her. They listened to her more than they did their actual tour guides.

“Yeah, poachers and smugglers try to get in all the time,” she was saying. “The first time I was here, I saw one and tried to tell the employees and they didn’t believe me. They certainly did after I single-handedly stopped him from taking a rare blue tiger.”

“That is so cool, Lila,” Rose unknowingly encouraged more lying. 

“They should make you a partner here if you caught a poacher that they did not even know was there,” Alya said.

“They wanted to, but my mother said I was too young to be part of a business,” Lila says.

Adrien saw the twins look at each other as they hear what is being said. He knew that while the two were mostly quiet around those they do not know, other than when they gave tours, they would definitely not take liars sitting down. They were extremely protective of their family, which was why Lyon practiced archery while Vallia is an expert with the bo-staff.

“The Garden family would never offer someone outside of the family a part of the sanctuary,” Lyon stated, making the class look at him.

“We would appreciate you not tell such tall tales about such a charitable family,” Vallia crossed her arms. “They are well-respected by all of Greece and do not deserve to have such lies told about them.”

The class looked very insulted at the accusation of Lila being a liar, which happened whenever anyone said that. It happened more than you think since Bustier’s class was the only one in the entire school that actually believed her. Everyone else knew that Lila was nothing but a liar.

“Something tells me that things are about to get interesting,” Juleka whispered to the rest of their group.

“You’re the one that knows them, Adrien,” Marinette says. “What do you think they’ll do?”

“I’ve been in contact with them for years,” Adrien said. “And from all I know about them, it’s a slight miracle that Lyon hasn’t already threatened to shoot her with an arrow.”

“Does he do that often,” Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

“Only to those that really anger him, really annoy him, or threaten his family,” Adrien said. “But that last part also includes the sanctuary and all of the animals kept here.”

“Guess we should be thankful that he doesn’t have them on him right now,” Kim says. “Even if he could get rid of our liar problem with a single shot.”

“Lyon was actually scouted by the coach of the Greek Olympian archery team,” Adrien tells them. “But Lyon doesn’t like competition. He says that they are nothing but barbaric events meant to to do nothing but enlarge egos and decrease braincells.”

“Can are class even lose what they don’t have,” Marinette smirked.

All of them laughed at her joke. When Marinette got sassy and sarcastic, it was hilarious. She could sass-talk like nobody’s business.

“Haw dare you,” Lila put a hand over her heart and then started up the crocodile tears again. “How could you be so mean to me?”

That was when her sheep glared at the twins.

“Lila is not a liar,” Alya was her main supporter as usual. “You’re nothing but simple employees. I bet you do not even know the Garden family. Lila, on the other hand, is basically an honorary member of their family.”

Both twins crossed their arms this time, staring down the class.

“Let us fully introduce ourselves,” Lyon narrowed his eyes at them. “My name is Lyon Garden and this is my twin sister, Vallia Garden. Our family owns this sanctuary and neither of us nor the rest of their family have ever met this girl.”

Adrien was seriously smirking at this point. He had seen this coming and was very glad that it had finally was. Especially since Lila did not even get the number of family members right. There were two Garden parents, but the children were another story. Lyon and Vallia were the youngest of the family, but Vallia was the only girl and they had two older brothers.

“You’re probably just lying to make Lila look bad because you’re jealous,” Alix glared at the twins. “She’s connected to the Gardens while you are not.”

“Don’t believe us, we don’t care, but we do have a friend in your class that knows who we are,” Vallia giggled. “Isn’t that right, Adrien?”

The sheep looked at the model. He only smirked as he joined Lyon and Vallia’s side.

“You two certainly know how to make an impression,” Adrien tells them, chuckling.

“If we really wanted to make an impression, I would have started at my favorite wolf den,” Lyon snickered. “But I would have been too tempted to order my wolves to eat them.”

Adrien laughed at the looks of horror on his classmates’ faces.

“If you guys haven’t figured it out, it was my family that the twins were talking about before,” Adrien says. “We were the ones that came here for the charity fashion show. It was great to meet the two youngest members of the Garden family.”

“So these are the sheep that follow that liar like lost puppies,” Vallia looked at Adrien. “The liar that doesn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer?”

“Got it in one, Vallia,” Adrien says. “And she’s been telling lies about your family since this field trip started. She even said that your family was three girls and two boys.”

The twins rolled their eyes.

“Wow,” Lyon shook his head. “Vallia might wish she had a sister, it’s just us and our two older brothers with our parents.”

Vallia playfully slapped her brother’s shoulder.

While Adrien took his two friends over to the rest of his group to introduce them, the rest of the class finally seemed to get that Lila did indeed lie to them. They turned on her like lions on an antelope and started yelling at her for lying to them.

The twins made mental notes to contact their parents about needing to sue a girl for slander and defamation. 

[starshine583]

For the soulmate thing, can you do k or b for felinette?

(Okay I have Too Many Thoughts for b- like, a whole fic long thoughts -so I’m just gonna do k for now lol hope you like it!)

Everyone has a soulmate. Everyone. No exceptions. It may be a romantic soulmate or it may be a platonic soulmate or it may be some other type of soulmate entirely, but everyone has at least one type of soulmate. However, finding a single soulmate in a world full of billions of people can be tricky. That’s why the gods bestowed mankind with a most thoughtful gift: the lock and key.

When a person is born, they are provided with a lock or a key that’s wrapped around a chain. Sometimes it is on the wrist, sometimes the neck, sometimes it wraps around one’s entire torso, and it is said that, once on, the chain cannot and will not be released until that person finds their other half. When they do find their other half, though, the person with the key will open the other’s lock with a satisfying *click* that will release their chains, and they will be newly free together.

At first, the idea sounds ludicrous. People with keys would be frantically running to try every lock, while people with locks would be trying to frantically find other keys to get the chains off. There would ultimately be more chaos than before when the world was trying to find soulmates without help.

Except there’s a catch.

When two soulmates start to get near each other, their lock and key will begin to act as magnets. The closer they get, the stronger the pull, and eventually, they’ll be running towards each other until one’s key slides perfectly into the other’s lock. Some rumors even talked about a few people getting dragged down the street by the force of the magnets.

Unfortunately, a certain Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng couldn’t attest to whether those rumors were true, because she hadn’t found her soulmate yet.

Oh, she’s tried everything. She’s worked overtime at the bakery to meet new customers, she’s idly walked around Paris for hours to see if the key would pull in a certain direction, and she’s tried forming deep bonds with everyone she knows in case that was a factor she didn’t know about. And yet, despite her desperate attempts, nothing’s worked. Her key continued to lay across her chest, unmoving and mocking. Was there something she was missing? Something she was doing wrong? Why couldn’t these things come with proper instructions?

Her parents told her to wait, that she would find her soulmate eventually, and perhaps that advice would be easier to follow.. had most of her classmates not found their soulmates already. Mylene found Ivan in kindergarten, Juleka and Rose found each other in first grade, Max found his soulmate at a tech lab, Alix and Kim found both of their soulmates around the same time during dares, Chloe found hers at a gala, and even Sabrina found hers a few years back. That left herself, Nathaniel, and Nino still waiting on soulmates, which she took a bit of comfort in. If she must wait endlessly for her other half, at least she wasn’t waiting alone.

But then Alya came along.

And Marc.

And Marinette suddenly felt much more isolated than before.

Everyone around her was happy and in love, and yet her key still refused to move. Her only solace at that point was the fact that Adrien hadn’t found his soulmate either.

Unfortunately, that also gave her another form of torture: hope. Hope that they would be soulmates somehow, that her key and his lock were simply lagging in action, and that someday Marinette would be able to be linked to that beautiful, sweet, sunshine boy for the rest of her life. 

Sadly, a hope like that only crushed her more when nothing ever happened between them. He sat in front of her everyday in class and talked with her all of the time, but her key continued to dangle around her neck. No tugging. No dragging. Just dangling.

One day she tried to throw it away, so frustrated and bitter towards the whole thing, but the chain didn’t break no matter what she did, which was honestly expected. The locks and keys wouldn’t be considered nearly as mystical if their chains could break off at the slightest bit of force. 

Annoyed and confused and worried, Marinette resigned herself to the fate she’d been given and went on with life, telling herself that her soulmate would come even though she didn’t quite believe it. She continued to speak with Adrien on the whim that her key would decide to work and busied herself with friends and work and Ladybug duties to avoid feeling the weight of the chain around her neck, and after a while, she started to feel okay. She didn’t think of her soulmate as much, or where or who they could possibly be. She simply lived her life and consciously ignored Chloe’s teasing towards her being “soulmate-less” or anything else related to soulmates. If life wouldn’t give her her other half, then that clearly wasn’t what she needed.. or at least that’s what she told herself. 

It was a few weeks into this mindset that her heart truly shattered from the pressure, but it wasn’t because of anything Chloe had said.

Adrien Agreste, the boy she’d been uselessly pining after for over a year, her supposed last string of hope, had found his soulmate, and it wasn’t her. It was another girl that Marinette didn’t even know, someone by the name of Kagami.

Marinette broke down that day. She’d managed to slip out of the classroom during the cheers and cries of congratulations and hide in the bathroom, and even now her chest ached from how hard she’d cried. A part of her felt guilty over it, since this was supposed to be a happy day for Adrien, but all Marinette could see was a cruel sentence suddenly pushed further onto her than before. A life without a soulmate, alone. She’d figured that if Adrien, the embodiment of perfection, could still be searching for his soulmate, then she had nothing to worry about. Now that he’s found his, though, she’s not sure what to do or where to go. Should she try to meet more people again? Or get used to a life of solitude? Why couldn’t her soulmate be close to her like everyone else? Why couldn’t her key just work!

It’s been about a week and a half since Adrien found his soulmate, and Marinette, still “soulmate-less”, found herself sitting in their usual classroom once again. The weight in her chest had gotten noticeably heavier, along with the chain around her neck, but she made an effort to ignore it, idly rubbing the key that was the source of her troubles as she waited for her other classmates to arrive.

“Did you see Adrien’s posts about London?” Alya asked excitedly next to her. She’d done her best to comfort Marinette in the last few days- as any good friend should -but in the end, they both realized that a conscious ignorance towards the matter would probably be best.

“No.” Marinette muttered. She hasn’t touched her phone in a while, specifically since Adrien mentioned taking Kagami to London to meet the rest of his family. “Why, did something happen?”

“Only him showing us how great the country is!” 

Alya slid her phone over to Marinette to show her a few pictures. Most of them were landscapes such as the Big Ben, the House of Parliament, and what she assumed was St. Paul’s Cathedral, but one had people in them, people that Marinette didn’t recognize. There was a girl on the left of Adrien with raven hair and brown eyes, clearly Kagami- and wasn’t it cruel irony that they both had the exact same hair color? So close, yet so far! -and then there was a boy on the right of Adrien. He had pale, blond hair that was combed to the side and pale eyes that almost appeared to be silver. His neutral expression highly contrasted the bright smiles on the faces of the couple next to him.

A sense of curiosity pricked in the back of Marinette’s mind, and she straightened to get a better look at the picture. “Who’s-”

The question caught in her throat no sooner than she started it as something lightly tugged on her neck. Her body tensed up, her mind reeling with the possibilities as she glanced down at her key. Did it really just move on its own? Or did the key simply shift on her chain as it had done a million times before? 

“Marinette?” Alya asked, concerned.

Marinette shook herself from her thoughts, mentally scolding herself for being silly. The key couldn’t have moved, because everyone in this class had their soulmates already and she was certain none of the other students at Dupont were her soulmate. The key probably shifted on the chain again, like usual.

“Sorry, I’m fine-”

Another tug, and Marinette gasped as she saw the key actually lift into the air. What was happening? Why was it moving now? She didn’t see anyone new around.

“Yo, Adrien!”

The girls’ attention turned to Nino- who was waving towards the door of the classroom -then to the doorway, where Adrien Agreste himself had just entered. Marinette had forgotten that he was returning today, but that was the farthest thing from her mind right now. She was much more engrossed in the fact that her key was tugging on her neck again, this time harder, more insistent. Whoever her soulmate was must be getting closer, but who could it be? Was someone new to the school? She didn’t hear about anyone transferring.

“How was your trip, man?” Nino asked as he met the blond at the door.

Adrien flashed him a bright smile. “It was great! Aunt Bridgette really like Kagami, and I actually brought someone back for you guys to mee-”

Marinette let out a yelp, accidentally interrupting Adrien’s story as the key abruptly jerked on her neck. It pulled her to her feet and almost dragged her over the desks as well, but she managed to gain enough control and follow the magnetic pull down the stairs.

Alya, along with a few other classmates, gasped and got to their feet as well. “Woah, Marinette! You’re about to find your soulmate, girl!”

Marinette let out an anxious squeak as she stumbled towards the door. She was about to find her soulmate? But how? Who would it be? It almost looked like the key was pulling her towards Adrien, but that wasn’t possible! Adrien already had a soulmate. Unless something really strange was happening-

The key practically flew forward now, taking Marinette with it, and poor Adrien didn’t look like he was going to have time to move. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face, already blurting out apologies for the collateral damage she was about to cause.

Her hands landed on someone’s chest, both parties grunting from the hit, and a distinct sound reached her ears, one she’d memorized from listening to too many youtube videos at night.

*Click*

Marinette’s eyes snapped open, her jaw dropping with shock. Was that what she thought it was?

She didn’t see the signature black shirt and white jacket of Adrien Agreste- the person she’d originally assumed running into -in front of her, but instead found her fists curled into the dark grey material of a vest.  It took a second more to realize that Adrien was actually standing next to her now, his eyes just as wide as hers. 

At the center of the mystery person’s chest was a lock, clear as day, and inside that lock was her key, fitting comfortably in the socket that it had forced itself into. This was… this was it. This was the miracle that people had told her about for fifteen years. Her soulmate was here. 

The chains slipped off of her neck, bringing a strange sense of weightlessness to that area, and tentatively, Marinette’s gaze trailed up to the face of the partner that fate had given her. 

Immediately, she was struck with recognition. The pale, blond hair sweeping across his features, the grey-ish eyes that she could now pinpoint as an icy, steely blue, the sharp eyebrows and facial features- this was the exact same person from Adrien’s pictures of London that she’d seen only a moment prior.

But who was he?

Alya grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her with an enormous squeal. “Girl!! You’ve done it! You’ve found your soulmate!!”

“I..” Marinette trailed off, at a loss for words. She had. She had done it. She’d found her soulmate at last. It’d been so long since she gave up on having one that the experience felt surreal, like a dream that was too good to be true. Please don’t be too good to be true.

“Adrien, are you going to introduce them or what! You said you brought this guy here to meet us, right?”

At Alya’s insistence, Adrien snapped out of his trance, and so did the boy in front of her, apparently, because he extended a hand to Marinette.

“Apologies, I.. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle.” He said sincerely, his voice soft yet steady.

A blush exploded across Marinette’s cheeks, and she couldn’t help flailing slightly before she took his hand. “O-Oh, uhm, yes. Nice to.. to meet you too.”

“Everyone,” Adrien spoke up, an ear-splitting grin now on his face, “This is my cousin, Felix Culpa. Felix, this is my wonderful friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Marinette..” Felix muttered, as if he were testing the name on his tongue. Then he smiled. It was a small, quiet thing, not nearly as bright as Adrien’s, but it melted her heart faster than Adrien’s smile ever could. “That’s a beautiful name.”

“T-Thanks!” She squeaked out. “Y-You’re really beautiful too- er, I mean- wait, no-”

A chuckle tumbled from his lips, and she caught the faintest blush tinting his cheeks as he lifted her knuckles to his mouth, pressing a light kiss to them. “Thank you, but I’m surely nothing compared to you.”

Marinette’s blush deepened, but before she could decide whether to argue his pure radiance as a human being or thank him for his second compliment, the bell cut into their conversation.

“Oh!” Alya said. “You guys are totally sitting together. I’ll sit in the back if I have to.”

“Oh, Alya, you don’t have to-”

“Nope!” Alya insisted, already jumping up the stairs. “This is the greatest moment of your lives! You’re taking time to enjoy each other.”

Marinette supposed she could fix the seats herself by sitting with Alya in the back, but.. she really didn’t want to, especially when Felix slid his hand fully into hers as he stood next to her. Besides, if everyone was fine with it, why should she fight it?

“Mind if I join you for class?” Felix asked, a light note to his voice.

Marinette offered him a warm smile and squeezed his hand. “Nothing would make me happier.”

Fifteen years just to get a look at Felix Culpa..

It was definitely worth the wait.

(Send me a letter ask and I’ll do a thing!)

[ct-multifandom]

Theories about the powers of future heroes

Paragraphs copy pasted directly from my messages in an mlb tumblr group chat

@chatismine asked about Nath specifically so I’ll do him first. He’ll be Coq Courage so his kwami is Orikko. My theory for Orikko’s power is illumination because roosters are associated with the sun. Coming up with the superpower itself is the hard part because sometimes they’re really random, but maybe he’ll be able to do something with producing/enhancing light or some firebending crap? Idk (why are roosters archetypal-y associated with fire? Where did that come from?)

Traquemoiselle is Sabrina with Barrk, but I predict that she’ll only appear for the first time in season 5. Her power is probably detection because of the “traque” (track) in her name, which is also something dogs are known to be good at. Also a lot of people hc that her future career will follow in her dad’s footsteps in the field of criminal justice, so it’d be a cool tie-in if she were to become a detective. Maybe the superpower helps her sniff out the akuma/amok, or maybe it just helps her track down any one thing/person that she needs

Okay so I’ll do Tigresse Pourpe, Juleka with Roaar, next, but I can’t come up with a word ending in -ion for Roaar’s power. Maybe someone can help me out. This is a super popular theory and I agree with it: her power has to do with invisibility/stealth. Tigers are known to camouflage in the jungle and silently attack their prey. This fits Juleka because part of her feels insecure and always wants to hide, but the other part wants to be a flashy model or rockstar. Invisibility powers would make a good balance and let her use her low-key nature to fight without sacrificing her showy side.

I could use similar reasoning to justify my vague idea of Coq Courage’s power being related to fire because he is either too quiet or he snaps and blows up at people, so a power like that could create a balance where he can go wild in a controlled way

Caprikid is Marc with Ziggy, who I think will be in season 5. I’ve seen very few theories about him, but one I liked was that his tool is a shepherd’s cane, which inspired my theory. I think Ziggy’s power might be assertion. Goats are known to be aggressive, stubborn, and protective. One side of Marc is too shy to go after what he wants, but the other gets upset when people aren’t who he wants them to be. I think a power like assertion will create a balance between being too passive and being too controlling. As for the superpower, I’m thinking something like telekineses where he can “shepherd” things around with the cane.

Last but certainly not least we have Minotaurox who is Ivan with Stompp. I had no idea what to give him but I saw someone say fortification and I like that one. Ivan is very protective of those he loves but he can go too far sometimes and be standoffish. Those are also qualities of an ox, who is known for being strong and resilient. Maybe this power can help Ivan be protective and strong while also being patient. The superpower is the hard part because everything I can think of is pretty basic, but I think a simple yet effective power would fit him. Nothing too similar to shell-ter, though. Maybe he can become really sturdy or immovable like the metal power up in the mario games?

[emisfritish]

Where the heart is

Pairing : Sarawat/Tine (2gether the series)

Summary : There’s no place like home, and after a rough day, Tine can relate to this feeling on the deepest level.

Title from the saying : Home is where the heart is. 

Notes : Is this fic self-indulgent ? A 100%. But I’ve had a rough week and I missed writing, so please, enjoy those 4k words of self-indulgent hurt/comfort and fluff with Tine being pampered like the king he is. 

---------- 

‘Sometimes, it’s truly a wonder how you even got into law school,’ Tine is walking home after an afternoon of working on a group project with his classmates, and the words keep repeating themselves over and over in his mind. 

‘Tine, does it ever get tiring being you ? I mean what with your brain not functioning a 100% most of the time.’ Today has been the worst. Tine had tried to do his best to laugh along with the “jokes” that were being thrown his way the entire afternoon, tried not to show how they were affecting him, but as soon as he’d left the group to start walking home, his brain had started working against him and the exhaustion that has been building up for weeks now had made itself known.

He’s truly trying to get over the words, trying to be the bigger person and move on, to tell himself that they were just joking and probably didn’t mean it... But his brain isn’t making it easy, playing all of the jokes on repeat as if they were the newest summer hit. And after several weeks of being faced by the same jokes over and over again, and weeks of losing sleep over wondering if maybe parts of them were true, ignoring the words just wasn’t that easy, and Tine was just so tired. 

Thankfully, this whole project is over and he hopefully never has to work with these people again. He’s been working on this project for a while now, meeting up with his classmates once or twice a week, and although he’s not really friends with anyone in the group that was assigned to him, he didn’t expect it to be this bad either. When he thinks about it, it had mainly been one member of the group, the other people either laughing along without adding anything, or even looking uncomfortable at the words, like it had seemed to be the case for one of the girls in his group. Still, one had been enough to make him feel awful for a couple weeks now.

Clearly, Tine must have either done something to annoy him, or done something to annoy the gods, because he has no idea why Marc would be this set on making him the butt of his jokes for weeks now, or what could have prompted him to be this mean otherwise.

‘Yeah, I don’t think that’s really a viable idea. But what did we expect ? It did come from Tine after all,’ Tine shakes his head, trying to clear the thoughts out of his mind as he sees his building and feels the pull towards the apartment grow stronger. As hard as he tries, he can’t quite shake the thoughts completely though, part of his brain still wondering… What if the jokes were true ? 

Tine finally reaches his apartment complex, preventing him from dwelling on the thoughts much longer. Impatient to get to his place, he shakes off some time by taking the stairs two at a time, before he arrives in front of their front door and pushes it open. 

Home.

Tine’s shoulders relax instantly the moment he walks through the door, and he can’t stop from sighing in relief. He’s safe, he’s home. 

The feeling only intensifies when Sarawat, who is busy cooking something on the stove, turns towards him and smiles blindingly. He really is home. 

“Hi Albino buffalo, did you have a good day ?” he asks Tine, eyes raving all over his face, clearly trying to read Tine’s mood, probably having noticed how down his boyfriend’s been for a couple weeks now.. 

Tine smiles sadly at his boyfriend, silently reassuring him that he’s okay, before he takes off his shoes, coat, and drops his bag on the floor, finally making his way fully into the kitchen. 

“You’re cooking ?” he asks Sarawat, and his boyfriend simply hums in answer, before focussing back on the stove in front of him.

They usually take turns cooking and Tine is fully aware that tonight had been his turn. After the day he’s had though, he’s really grateful that Sarawat took over, leaving him with one less thing to worry about. 

Tine walks closer to his boyfriend and plasters himself against Sarawat’s back, head resting on top of his shoulder, and feeling the knot in his stomach that’s been present all afternoon finally loosen a little at the contact. Both of his arms make their way around Sarawat’s waist, and while Sarawat is holding a spatula with one of his hands, he uses his free one to reach up and squeeze Tine’s arm in comfort. He then turns his face towards where Tine’s is resting and presses a soft kiss against his cheek, before turning back to his cooking. 

“Why ?” Tine asks softly, and he feels Sarawat shrug his shoulders. 

“You sounded a little off earlier when we were texting, and I know how stressful this project has been. I figured I could do this to help,” his boyfriend explains, and Tine feels his love for Sarawat grow in his chest at the words, something he didn’t even think was possible. 

He closes his eyes and pulls his head back a little to rest his forehead against Sarawat’s shoulder, basking in the other boy’s presence to soothe the hurts of the day. 

“Thank you for cooking, I know it was my turn. I’m sorry I got home this late,” he finally whispers. 

His eyes are still closed, but he can feel Sarawat shifting slightly as he shakes his head, one of his hands making its way back up to squeeze Tine’s hand, which is still resting against Sarawat’s stomach. 

“Don’t apologize, I don’t mind. We’re a team, right ?” Sarawat prompts, and Tine nods his head silently in response, before pushing forward to press a kiss to Sarawat’s neck.

The afternoon he’s just spent is still rooted in his brain, and the words thrown his way and the fear they reawakened are still weighing on his shoulders, but Tine can feel his heart healing a little just by being around Sarawat, and he finds himself being once again so grateful that they can be this for each other.

Once Sarawat is done cooking, both him and Tine move onto the table to eat dinner, Sarawat electing to sit next to Tine instead of sitting opposite him like he usually would. Dinner is a mostly silent affair, Sarawat seeming to understand that Tine just needs some time to unwind and get out of his head, and although no words are exchanged between them, Tine basks in the comfortable silence.

With every brush of Sarawat’s shoulder against his or with every time their knees touch under the table, Tine feels his body relax a little further, finally starting to put the horrible day behind him.  

Once both of them are done eating, Sarawat gets up and starts gathering both of their plates and cutlery, clearly aiming to bring them to the sink, before Tine’s hand shoots up to halt his movement. 

“I’ll do the dishes Wat, you already cooked dinner,” Tine tells his boyfriends tiredly, and Sarawat turns towards him and watches him in silence for a few seconds, eyes travelling all over his face and frown growing a little deeper with every second he spends watching Tine. 

After a few seconds of staring, Sarawat nods his head once, clearly having come to a decision before he puts the stacked plates back on the table. 

Just as Tine is gathering his courage to get up and go and do the washing up, Sarawat reaches down to take one of his hands in his and pulls him up to his feet. 

“Come on Tua Woon Wai, let’s go upstairs,” he says softly, before he starts pulling him towards the stairs. 

“But Wat, the dishes…” Tine starts to say as they reach the bottom of the stairs, before pausing when Sarawat interrupts him by turning towards him and shaking his head. 

“They’ll be okay for one night Tine, okay ?” he asks with a smile, once again squeezing Tine’s hand where it’s cradled in his,  and Tine smiles softly in answer. 

“Okay,” he whispers, before he lets himself be pulled up the stairs until they finally reach their bedroom.

Once they arrive in front of the bed, Sarawat turns fully towards Tine and lifts himself up on his tiptoes to press a kiss to his forehead. Tine’s eyes automatically close at the soothing gesture, and he only opens them up when he feels one of Sarawat’s hand caress his cheek. 

Once he’s lowered himself back to the ground, Sarawat smiles soothingly and gently pushes Tine towards the bathroom. “Go and change into your pyjamas, and come back to lie on the bed afterwards, okay Tua Woon Wai ? Leave your shirt off though,” His boyfriend instructs, and Tine doesn’t know what to say in answer. 

He’s not really in the mood for doing anything tonight, still feeling emotionally exhausted enough from the whole afternoon that he just wants to lie down and relax. He also doesn’t want to hurt Sarawat’s feelings by turning him down though, especially when the man has been nothing but kind to him all evening. 

Still, he knows that Sarawat would hate it if Tine forced himself to do anything he didn’t want to do, which pushes him to speak up. 

“Wat, I don’t think I really want to do anything tonight…” he starts to say, relief coursing through him when he sees the reassuring smile Sarawat sends him.

“Tine, I know. Just trust me, okay ?” he answers back softly, and Tine nods in response to the words. 

Sarawat pecks him on the lips, before he pushes him once again towards the bathroom where Tine had left his pyjamas this morning. 

Once Tine is in his pyjamas, having opted for one of Sarawat’s old football pair of shorts for the comfort they bring him, he moves to the sink to wash his face and brush his teeth, wincing a little when he catches sight of his reflection. 

No wonder Sarawat was able to read that he wasn’t doing great. Even to his own eyes, he can see how miserable he looks, and with Sarawat always managing to read him easily… It’s no surprise that his boyfriend caught on right away. From the dark rings that he can see under his eyes from the lack of sleep that he’s been accumulating ever since this project started, to the tenseness that is still clearly reflected on his face, Tine has to admit he doesn’t really look all that Chic right now. Thank god this project was finally over. 

Not wanting to see his reflection any longer, he quickly brushes his teeth before leaving the bathroom and making his way back to the bedroom, finding Sarawat in his own pyjamas, rummaging in one of their nightstands. 

Probably hearing Tine arrive back into the room, Sarawat turns to him and smiles. 

“Lie down on your stomach, I’ll be there in just a second,” he says, moving towards Tine and pressing a kiss to his cheek, before making his way to the bathroom, probably to do his own cleaning off.  

Tine moves towards their bed, and he drops on it, feeling his shoulders relax a little further at being surrounded by all of their bedding, their scents mixing up together and serving to calm Tine’s brain down a little.

This is safe, this is home. 

Sarawat comes out a couple minutes later and he kneels down on the mattress next to Tine, caressing his hair with one of his hands, until Tine’s face turns towards him from where he’s still lying on his stomach. 

“You don’t have to come to bed straight away if you don’t feel like it Wat, I know it’s still kind of early to sleep. I won’t mind if you want to watch a show or something,” Tine tells him, doing his best to keep his eyes open and look up towards his boyfriend, catching the moment where Sarawat shakes his head in answer. 

“It’s okay, we’re not going to sleep right away anyway. And there’s no place I’d rather be than with you right now,” he finally responds, before he pushes himself forward to straddle Tine’s back, seating himself against Tine’s upper thighs and butt. 

Tine tenses a little, wondering what Sarawat has in mind, before he starts relaxing again when he feels Sarawat bend down to pepper a couple kisses on his shoulders. 

“Trust me Tine, relax. I’ve got you,” he whispers in his ear, before pressing one last kiss to his upper cheek and lifting himself back up to sit straight. 

Just as he’s about to nod in answer, trusting that Sarawat knows what he’s doing, Tine feels something cold drop onto his back, before Sarawat’s warm hands start spreading the lotion into his skin, massaging his tense muscles. 

Oh. This is what his boyfriend had in mind. 

Tine feels a little stupid about it, but he can’t help the tears that immediately pool into his eyes at the gesture. He knows he shouldn’t be this surprised after all this time of them being together, but sometimes Sarawat still has a way of taking his breath away with the sweetest gestures. He somehow always manages to showcase his love for Tine so clearly, and there’s truly no better feeling. 

Being loved and cherished by Sarawat is truly something else, and no matter what else goes wrong in his life, Tine will never stop being grateful that they found each other, that they held on and worked hard to be where they are today. 

Sarawat keeps massaging for about 20 minutes, working on knots that have been building up in Tine’s back and shoulders for weeks, pausing now and again to press soft kisses on different spots of his back, and Tine feels himself melt into the mattress as the minutes pass, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment. 

He can feel the calluses on the tip of Sarawat’s fingers brushing against his skin, making this massage unmistakably unique and making it clear who was actually rubbing his skin, and Tine feels his heart grow lighter under the other boy’s ministrations. 

After 20 minutes or so, the massage having left Tine a boneless mess, he feels Sarawat pepper a couple of final kisses onto his back before he lifts himself up and moves away, laying down next to Tine and staring at his face from where it’s resting sideways onto the mattress. 

“Thank you, you’re the best,” whispers Tine, emotion still clear in his voice, and Sarawat lifts one of his hands to brush away a stray tear that is still clinging to the corner of Tine’s eye, before he pushes himself forward until their noses are brushing against each other and nuzzles Tine. 

Sarawat doesn’t say anything to break the silence, but Tine can see the love shining through his eyes, giving him strength to have the conversation he’d been hoping to avoid having, but deep down knows is needed.

Tine being more open about his negative emotions and about stuff that bothers him is something that he’s been working on a lot, never wanting those feelings to cause any more issues between him and Sarawat. Still, it’s a work in progress, and Sarawat never pushes him more than he needs, giving him the space to decide if he wants to broach the subject or not and finding silent ways to comfort Tine instead, just like he had tonight. 

Still, Tine knows that Sarawat worries. And although he doesn’t really want to voice the fear that’s been plaguing him for quite some time now, he knows he’ll feel better once he gets it off his chest. 

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyelids so as to not have to look into Sarawat’s eyes when he asks the question, before he finally takes the plunge. 

“Wat… Do you think I’m stupid ?” he asks in a small voice, and he feels Sarawat jerk against him. 

“What ? Of course not !” the other boy exclaims instantly, and Tine feels a rush of relief course through his body at the fact that his boyfriend didn’t even hesitate a second before answering. 

He opens his eyes, and the relief grows deeper when he sees the shock in indignation on Sarawat’s face.

“What happened Tine ? What could make you think that ?” Sarawat questions, eyebrows frowning slightly with worry. 

“It wasn’t really a big deal, but there’s this one guy in the group I’ve been working with that just… He hates me, Sarawat. And I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but it’s like every idea I had was stupid to him, and every word that came out of my mouth prompted a different type of joke and was used against me and just… I must have done something to deserve this. But I can’t recall doing anything to this guy, so then I started thinking that maybe he was just annoyed that he got stuck working with someone like me, and that has to be because I’m stupid but…”

Tine is embarrassed when he feels tears pool into his eyes as he’s recounting his thought process for the past few weeks. He lifts both of his hands to rub his palms against his eyes, hoping to clear away the tears, before he feels Sarawat delicately move his hands away to catch the tears with his own fingers. 

“Oh Tine, babe…,” he starts, voice cracking with emotion. “No. You’re not stupid, and I can assure you, you didn’t do anything to deserve this. Sometimes people are just assholes for no good reason, and I know you don’t understand that because it’s the furthest thing from who you are, but…”

Tine nods in understanding, and looks back up towards Sarawat. 

“You would tell me right ? If I was actually stupid ?” he asks in a small voice, and Sarawat shakes his head. 

“Tua Woon Wai, you’re not stupid,” he says firmly, and Tine wants to believe him, but there are pieces of his life that contradict the statement and he can’t quite shake them off. Stuff his parents threw at him when he was younger, people making fun of him when he’s the last one to catch on for a joke, and it’s just… It’s hard to believe. 

“But I know that sometimes I’m the last one to catch on on a joke, and I see the way people look at me sometimes when I’m with my friends, and just…” Tine starts to explain, but Sarawat cuts him off by pushing forward and resting one of his hands on Tine’s cheek. 

“So you can be oblivious sometimes, and you like to goof around. But Tine, you’re so fucking smart, and I don’t know how those idiots could ever doubt it. First off, you got into this school to study law, that’s not a small undertaking, don’t sell yourself short. And you’re studying on top of your cheerleading practice, and on top of hanging out with your friends, or spending time with me and.. you manage to balance all of that and still get amazing grades. So no, I don’t think you’re stupid. But more than me simply believing it ? I know it to be true, because I’ve seen you in action,” Sarawat finishes earnestly, and Tine feels a weight lift up from his stomach, fear dissipating a little at the words. 

He finally nods at the words, starting to see the truth in Sarawat’s speech. He did get pretty good grades. And it’s true that this school was pretty tough to get into in the first place. 

“I know it’s not easy, but you should try to ignore this guy because truly, he’s not worth it,” Sarawat continues saying, and Tine nods once, feeling lighter now than he has for weeks, and he pushes himself forward until he’s lying half on top of Sarawat with his face pressed into the other man’s neck.

Both of Sarawat’s arms come to rest around his waist and he feels the other boy hug him closer to his body. 

“Thank you,” he whispers from where his face is hiding between Sarawat’s neck and shoulder, and he feels Sarawat squeeze his waist in answer. 

“Has this been weighing down on you ever since the project started ?” Sarawat finally asks, and although Tine doesn’t want to admit it, knowing it’ll displease Sarawat, he nods.

“Tine, you should have told…” Sarawat starts to say, one of his hands caressing his back, and Tine nods into his shoulder. 

“I should have told you sooner, I know,” he admits. “I’m really trying Wat,” he continues, and he feels Sarawat press a kiss to his hair. 

He is trying. Trying to ignore what people might think about him, trying to open up more and be honest with Sarawat, and suddenly it’s important for his boyfriend to know that. 

“I know you are Tua Woon Wai,” he finally whispers, and Tine lets his eyes close, sleep coming to him easily for the first time in weeks, and feeling safe and loved in Sarawat’s arms. 

Just as he’s about to drift off to sleep, Sarawat’s innocent voice pulls him back. “Just out of curiosity, what was this guy’s name again ?”

Tine laughs at the words, shaking his head in disbelief at how obvious his boyfriend is being right now. They might have been together for months now, but Sarawat’s protective streak has in no way diminished, and Tine has to admit he kind of loves that. He loves the feeling of knowing that Sarawat will always have his back and be in his corner, that someone is always on his side. 

Still, he wants his boyfriend in one piece, and if precedence is anything to go by, Sarawat isn’t always really good at fending for himself in a fight if this was to turn violent because of his boyfriend’s blinding rage. 

“It’s okay, it’s not important. He’s not worth it,” Tine says, echoing the words Sarawat told him just a minute before. He drops back onto the bed and turns to his side, tugging Sarawat’s arm over his stomach so the other boy is spooning him from behind. 

Just as he’s about to fall asleep, he feels their blanket come to cover his body and he feels Sarawat press a kiss against the back of his neck.

“Good night, Tua Woon Wai,” he hears him whisper, and he barely has the time to answer back before he feels sleep take him under. 

It was true then, there really was no place like home. And after everything that they’ve been through, Tine is so happy that he’s found his home in Sarawat. 

[seungnoir]

My Current top 10 favorite Miraculous Ladybug Episodes and why (+analysis)

1. timetagger - the amount of possibilities this brings to the plot and insight is so fun. also, it’s one of the few things of writing and planning i appreciate in this series because it was hinted in the very beginning of s1 that alix’s watch was a miraculous, but now we get to see that connection. Seeing things that were hinted long ago end up having substance makes it more interesting. Also, I do thoroughly Alix as a character and loved to see her and see that she will have a bigger role in the future. This episode alone leads to so many theories and things that can be analyzed and makes it so fun - such as the idea that there is someone (besides master fu) that knows about their identities, and even further, about what happens in the future. The idea of a new hawk moth also comes to play. The akumatized villain from the future proves that there is a hawk moth in the future, but that it isn’t gabriel agreste. This brings into question of what happened to Gabriel and the current Hawk Moth? How did someone else of ill-intention end up the miraculous after hawk moth? Who is this new Hawk Moth? This brings so many theories and possibilities to where the show is heading. We also see chat noir and ladybug do still exist in the future as adults. We can only wonder and theorize about how theyve developed between present and future, though. Another small detail at the end that was interesting is i’m pretty sure chat broke the fourth wall?? At the end of the episode, chat is talking to ladybug and about what alix said about the future as they walk away, and started saying “maybe in the future you might even agree to see a movie with me. Hey, what if it was in the very near future? Like, the next show...”

2. sandboy - there are many reasons i enjoy this episode. first, i love the kwamis and i love learning more about them and having some focus on them. We learned more about background and history of the kwamis as well as see more than we had before. In addition, I think it brought good development to character, particularly for adrien/chat noir. Marinette’s and ladybug’s biggest nightmares weren’t too much of a surprise, and neither was adrien and chat noir’s when you think about it but foes bring more insight to him as a character and helps set up ideas for his character and things later. As adrien, his biggest nightmare was being trapped and cornered, obviously a result of how he’s treated by his father. While adrien tends to always seem chill and nice around people and like everything’s always fine, it shows there’s more we don’t see. Then, as chat noir, his biggest nightmare was that ladybug hated him. It was important to show how much chat noir really cares about his relationship with her, and not just romantically. It shows us this not only as a watcher, but so that ladybug sees too. This sets up well for the ny special, where ladybug gets upset with chat and says she can’t trust him. While not exactly like his nightmare where she despises him, it is parallel to his literal biggest nightmare and shows why he reacted the way he did and shows just how much ladybug saying that would affect him. I also very thoroughly enjoy the moment where adrien sees the sock plagg left when he sneaked out and he went “Plagg! who turned you into a sock!” i think i find it funnier than i should. 

3. heroes day p2 - not to be a ladynoir stan but that’s a big reason i enjoy this episode. When the other heroes they recruited fall, Ladybug gets worried and begins to lose hope. This isn’t very common for her, but it shows she’s not some perfect hero, she has times where she has doubts. However, chat noir was right there for her. He was able to encourage her and get her back into the spirit. I think this is important to show their relationship without thinking about it in a romantic way. It shows chat noirs full trust in ladybug, and how even if ladybug doesn’t always express it, it shows how she does appreciate and trust chat noir and that he is able to help her when she’s down, it’s a balance. Also, when chat noir is encouraging ladybug, one thing he says “let’s go back to what always worked - you and me against the world, m’lady.” In my eyes, this reinforces the “soulmate” idea and the importance of the two. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other heroes and miraculouses being used, and maybe its just me, but I think it’s important that despite the other heroes being helpful, chat noir and ladybug are the core, and that reinforces that. Also I honestly love that adrien was detransformed at the time of saying that line. In addition to ladynoir, there’s the plot and villain progression of hawk moth and nathalie, which sparks the plot to really start picking up after this event. 

4. reverser - I love marc a lot, i relate to his character a lot so i enjoyed having him and I wish we had more outside of this episode. There are also other fun characters we get to see that we don’t see as much (Alex and nathaniel). I also like the akumartizaion set up, i think it’s a very realistic situation in which misunderstanding takes over and there’s no specific person to blame, and i appreciate the demonstration of that. Not to be a chat noir stan, but him being a “scaredy cat” after getting hit by the reverser was so cute and funny and i enjoyed that. Again, back to the other characters, as i mentioned before i like alix a lot. i enjoyed her mocking chloe in the episode and then not caring when the teacher tried to say she should be nice. and then i liked the moment she scared chat noir. and then i enjoyed seeing her role in helping the duo in defeating reverser. also, there was a moment on the beginning of the episode where adrien teased marinette and any moment where adriens chat noir side comes out is my favorite. in conclusion, i love seeing the characters we see in this episode and chat noir was cute. 

5. puppeteer 2 - as much as the wax statue scene gives me the worst second hand embarrassment of my entire life, the episode gave us a clearer insight to adriens perspective on his relation with marinette, which i enjoyed, and made me like him as a character even more. while i love a good “she’s just a friend” joke, it is confirmed in this episode he’s genuinely oblivious - which he shouldn’t be perceived as dumb for. social cues are harder for some people and can cause problems but it’s not smth people can help, we also have to remember he has very limited experience with people. anyway, it gives us that insight and i believe it’s important. he even expressed acknowledgment of how he doesn’t pick these things up sometimes. so he interpreted marinettes reaction wrong, and he believed marinette even didn’t like him. it distressed him so much to think that was the case. this was the insight we needed to see how adrien perceives their relationship and how much it really developed. even if he doesn’t have a crush on her, it introduces the idea that he still genuinely cares about her and having a relationship with her - parallel to us seeing ladybug see that with chat, which i believe is very important for the development of lovesquare and the plot. not to mention the frusturation of dramatic irony at the end when adrien, seemingly for the first time we’ve seen him as adrien, mention to someone else how he DOES love someone. while painful for marinette, i do think it’s interested because i don’t even think he’s mentioned the fact he loves someone to nino, showing how he still considers marinette as someone he can be close too. 

6. ikari gozen - I love Kagami and I appreciated this kind of redemption arc. I wasn’t sure how I felt about her at first, but after this episode she’s one of the most relatable characters, personally. In turn, it also helps Marinette learn a good lesson. So yeah, the main reason i enjoy this episode is Kagami’s character development and her character. Ryuko is also so cool.

7. kwamibuster - i mentioned this before but i love the kwamis a lot and i love getting to see them in episodes. in this episode we got to see not only interactions between plagg and tikki, but get a chance to meet other kwamis and see their miraculous jewelry and some of their abilities. we also see that marinette and adrien are not incapable of connecting dots, realizing both plagg and tikki were in the same school. however, plagg and tikki try to reason them out of it and they both did things to throw the other of their track, so they didn’t keep their theories - but it does show they’re not Completely Oblivious. 

8. troublemaker - there’s a lot of small things and moments that make me appreciate this episode rather than one big thing. to start, i enjoy penny’s character a lot and this is one the few episodes we really get to see her and the only one where we get focus on her. in addition, she was a good villain and arguably the closest a villain got to taking ladybug’s miraculous, taking an earring. then theres marinettes adrien photo collection being exposed, and adriens facial expressions in reaction to it made me laugh. and then of course, the scene following the fight, adrien talks to marinette. one noticeable thing is that marinette didnt stutter as much as she had and got out full thoughts. good for her ! and it shows that she is slowly beginning to be more comfortable with him. then of course, adrien. he starts by asking if she was okay since the fight happened at her house (even though he was literally there and knows damn well marinette wasn’t even there, kinda anyway). and then, as i mentioned before, my favorite thing ever is adriens chat noir side coming out, which is exactly what happened. he teased marinette for the photos, both asking if she was lying and then the “even in the most unlikely places” line. the thing about this is that this is something we barely see happen with adrien as adrien, yet it happened with marinette, which shows he’s comfortable enough with her to do that. and then of course the sincere moment of him saying he’s glad she’s her fan, he’s just so sweet good for him i love him. 

9. origins - a classic. provides us background we needed on how things start and characters meant. there’s so much things to take from origins about their characters and the story in general. for one, marinette not even wanting to be ladybug. i feel this fit her character and was more realistic than if she accepted it right away. and then her being a bit of a mess the first time and not even capturing the akuma. i think that was important; to show ladybug and marinette are not perfect, but that’s what makes her a better and more relatable character. it wouldn’t be fun if she were perfect from the beginning. and then chat noir, who was a lot less reluctant. in contrast to marinette. he had been isolated his whole life and forced to try to fit a perfect mold. this gave him not only physical freedom he always desired but also the personal freedom to be able to be who he wanted. it of course also shows the balance of the two heroes. ladybug was nervous and had no hope at the beginning, but was able to get though with chat noirs encouragement - which is something that comes up every so often, but shows their balance and dynamic. and then of course . the umbrella scene. one of the most iconic moments, and also one thing i’ve noted is that we barely ever seeadrien laugh like he did in that scene, and it makes me treasure that moment more. and despite the whole “she’s just a friend” thing, it was important in that moment and you can see how important it is to him that he has a friend, and probably establishes the trust and appreciation for marinette we see as the show progresses as she was very important to him being kind of his first friend and that it holds a different kind of importance to him. 

10. glaciator - an iconic episode of course. while marichat is probably my least favorite in terms of love square ships, i think marichat moments are some of the best. i think it’s where the two are more showing themselves to each other than in any other way. chat gets to see truly marinette in which she isn’t a nervous mess and is actually acting like herself, and marinette gets to see chat has more to him than she saw previously as ladybug. with his constant flirting and joking with her, it seemed that she interpreted this as this is just his personality and it didn’t mean much, that maybe he acted the same with anyone. but with the interactions of this episode, she learns that’s not the case, he genuinely and truly loves and cares and about ladybug, it was more than just joking around. this realization is big for marinette and she even comments that she misjudged him. this episode allows eachother to rlly learn more about eachother. and then it helps ladybug be honest. she’s completely honest with chat after that, saying there’s someone else and she doesn’t want to lead him on, but that sets the stage for them to still grow on their platonic relationship, which is still important. ladybug for the seemingly first time directly tells chat how he’s important to her, and chat admits that his friendship with her is the most important thing to him, showing us more about adrien/chats character, as well as demonstrates despite his love for ladybug the platonic relationship still holds great importance with seems to contrast how marinette views adrien at this moment. 

honorable mentions: 

reflekdoll - this was almost in the top 10 but i changed it last minute. i appreciate learning more about juleka and hope we get more to grown on that later. and not to be an adrien stan but he looked really pretty with his outfit for marinettes shoot. one thing i feel is also important to notice is how easily he was willing to take off his miraculous for the sake of marinettes shoot. he didn’t even really hesitate? that wasn’t really surprising for marinette to do, but for adrien it again represents a small thing that shows he really appreciates and cares about her (whether it’s romantic or not). the concept of them switching miraculouses were also fun, and seeing a little bit of tikki and plagg interactions again. the reason that it didn’t end up in the top 10 was because i think the execution of their miraculous switch should’ve been done much better. i feel like the writing made chat look dumber than he is and made ladybug look more bossy than she is. while i feel part of this was meant to demonstrate they’re truly made for their own miraculous, it could’ve been demonstrated without making the character look worse. 

startrain - i don’t mean to be basic but the adrinette in this episode was super cute. however that’s not the only reason this episode stood out. hawk moth rlly sent his own son into space, u know as one does. and then the irony of him saying “how ironic i have to depend on my enemies (ladybug and chat noir) to save my son” like if you think that’s ironic then… but anyway . i also enjoyed seeing more max in the episode. his transformation is fun and i think we deserved a max based episode where he (or markov) didn’t have to get akumatized. also i feel like in the beginning of the episode, i like how adrien flat out decided to go to london without even asking his dad. i think he’s slowly stopping to care so much about his fathers rules and realizing what he needs for himself and this shows that. 

[aquariusrunes]

The Superfriends AU (part 2)

Marinette slowly zipped the black bag, smiling at the garment inside as it disappeared. That was the last of them. Fifteen. She had created fifteen new looks, some were recycled pieces or materials, but all the outfits were brand new. She’d only be with Edna for eleven days, but she knew outfit changes were going to be a must, she also had to factor in the formal events she’d be taken too. 

She placed the garment bag on the silver rack that was against her wall. Now that her outfits were done, it was time to finish packing the rest of her luggage. She’d already filled the small pink trunk which housed her shoes, accessories, and makeup. Now she just needed toiletries and electronics. She began mentally checking things off her list as she filled her backpack.  

It had been awhile since she last saw Edna in person. 

Last time was when Edna unexpectedly dropped by the bakery about two summers ago, her first summer as Ladybug. She remembered nervously squirming as her everyday school outfit was criticized for not being powerful enough for Marinette.

She also remembered nearly having a heart attack when Edna shooed her parents out of the room and sat down, crossing her fingers in the way she does, then saying very calmly in a low and threatening voice, “now darling, let’s talk about that suit.”

She still wasn’t sure why she ever thought she could keep her secret from her family, considering about a month later she was rushed to Gotham for an impromptu Cousin Hang Sesh and promptly pressured into giving up the goat. At least her family had a good concept of keeping a hero’s identity secret. The Wayne’s practically taught Marinette the hero code, as well as trained her in a lot of skills she was finding more and more useful as Ladybug. Still waiting for the day where she lucky charms a gun though, then it’ll be Jason’s time to shine.

She hadn’t seen them since that summer either, at least not in person. But it was pretty normal for her to go long stretches of time without seeing her extended family. Especially those on her father’s side, they were all rich and constantly busy. Which is why she was so excited when Edna asked her to come to Steel City and help her with her latest collection. Of course Marinette initially turned her down, explaining that she couldn’t just leave Paris for a week and a half. But Edna pushed her to discuss it with the Guardian and Marinette was quite surprised when he pushed her to go. 

Fu had said that it was important not to let her superhero life destroy her civilian one, and that this sounded like an excellent opportunity for her future. He then assured her that Chat Noir, and perhaps if needed, another hero, could handle things without her for a little while. Even Chat seemed excited for her. 

Marinette paused in her packing to look at the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls sitting side by side on her desk. She and her partner had come a long way from when Ivan was first akumatized. There wasn’t a person in the world she was more in sync with, and she doubted there ever would be. They had a deal now, once Hawkmoth was gone and they return their miraculouses, they would reveal themselves. It had been her idea, and he had been over the moon when she suggested it. She just hated the idea of losing him forever, he was after all, her best friend. 

She quickly picked up the blonde doll and placed him in her backpack before zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulders. She did one last sweep of her room, making sure she didn’t forget anything before finally moving to the cork board above her desk. Her pictures of Adrien long since gone, her wall space was needed for other things now. 

The cork board had three lines drawn down it, Marinette’s name written on the right side and Lila’s on the left. The middle of the board was labeled Neutral. Push pins with her classmates’ faces on them were stuck all over the board. A lot had changed in her class since the Liar first showed up. Now it was a full on war. 

Everyone knew you were either on Marinette’s side or Lila’s. Chloé and Adrien were the only ones in the neutral zone, as Adrien refused to get involved and Chloé simple could care less. Marinette still had trouble disproving whatever Lila said, but now and again she’d catch her, and some of her classmates had just wisened up, like Max. 

Max was under Marinette’s name, as was Alix and Kim. Nathaniel was there too, and with him of course came his boyfriend Marc, even if the boy wasn’t in their class. Kagami and Luka were also on her side even though they weren’t in Ms Bustier’s class either. Ivan was also on Marinette’s side, despite Mylène being on Lila’s. The two girls were the only thing the couple fought over or could never agree on. But she was very happy when Ivan apologized to her and told her that he believed in her. 

Rose, Jukela, Sabrina, and Alya were also on Lila’s side. Though she thought Jukela was close to converting. It used to bother her that Alya always took Lila’s side, but over the past few months Marinette had become desensitized to it. Though it did take her forever to stop thinking of her as her best friend, demoting her to friend, and then just an acquaintance. Every now and again a spark of hope would fill her chest when the glasses wearing girl showed concern for her, but it was typically smothered as quickly as it appeared. 

With a sigh Marinette plucked Nino from her side of the board and pinned him back on Lila’s. Nino and she had been friends for a very long time, and it hurt like hell when he chose Lila over her, it hurt more than some Akuma attacks did. But then one night he showed up at the bakery and asked her if they could talk. And Nino explained. 

He told her that it took him awhile, but eventually, after doing some fact checking he realized Lila was lying, about a lot. He’d tried explaining to Alya but she just got upset with him for ragging on her friend, so he dropped it. He didn’t like the way Lila hung all over Adrien, or how she badmouthed a lot of people, not just Marinette. But he loved Alya, a lot. And he was quite sure that eventually he could get her to come to her senses, though he wasn’t sure if Marinette would still want to be her friend then, and when the day came, he wouldn’t push it. And furthermore, Lila told Alya a lot, and Alya usually repeated it to him. He knew things that Marinette didn’t, sometimes he even knew about rumors or frame jobs before they happened. Nino asked her if she would forgive him, and in exchange, he’d stay on Lila’s side. He’d be Marinette’s mole. 

She hated seeing Nino on Lila’s side of the board, she hated not being able to hang out with him like she used to. But his information was always good, and her side was making a lot of progress when it came to getting people outside of the class to turn on Lila. So she let it continue. 

“Marinette! The car is here!” her mother’s voice came from downstairs. 

She quickly doubled checked that she had all her legal documents in her red folder before clutching it to her chest and turning to face Tikki. “Ready for America?” She asked. 

The small kawami giggled. “Yes! I can’t wait to see how it’s changed.” It was still odd for her to think about the small god being anywhere besides Paris, but Tikki had assured her that she’d had wielders all over the world. Marinette waited for the creature to settle herself into her backpack before she went downstairs to greet one of Edna’s men. 

… 

By the time Marinette boarded Edna’s private jet her lugadged was already a board and secure. She eyed the black bags and trunk carefully as she went to sit in one of the white leather seats. It wasn’t her first time on a jet, she’d be on a handful throughout her life, but she always got a little nervous when it came to flying. 

She checked her watch quickly, it was almost 8:30pm, meaning by the time they got to America and she got through customs, it would probably be close to midnight. Her aunt had suggested Marinette come later in the evening, that way she would have a full night to adjust to the time difference. She’d thought it would have been a better idea for her to take an earlier flight and just sleep in the air, but she wasn’t about to argue with her aunt, after all, it wasn’t Marinette’s jet. 

She was introduced to the pilots and the two attendants that would be on the flight by Desmond, a large and imposing man her aunt had sent to collect her. After introductions the staff gave her a run through of basic plane safety. Both attendants, one male and one female, were very talkative and their safety monologue had a lot of jokes and quips in it. After they were finished they kept chatting with her, asking her questions about herself and how she was related to Edna. The man kept asking about her outfits, which were towards the back. 

By the time the conversation died down and Marinette looked out the window, they were in the air. She hadn’t even noticed the take off, either that or she’d just blocked it out. In any case she set to work making herself comfortable, she was hoping to sleep for most of the flight. 

As she spread the blanket she had been given over her lap she stealthily examined the man who Edna had sent for her, he was sitting on the opposite side of the cabin in a similar chair to her own. Desmond was large in stature, reminding her of Adrien’s bodyguard. His head was square shaped and he had a grey buzzcut. His chin was large and protruding with a dimple in the center of it. His eyes were a dark hazel and covered by square reading glasses that he had not been wearing when he picked her up. He wore a well tailored suit and was holding what looked like a romance novel in his hands. That’s when Marinette noticed the wedding band. 

When Edna had come to visit Marinette a few years back, she ended up stealing Marinette away for an impromptu American weekend. That was the last time she had been to Steel City, which was Edna’s home base. They spent two whole days in Edna’s costume shop attempting to come up with a work around for the magic suit. Marinette left with no new suit, but Edna did promise her she would come up with something.

She had ridden alone on Edna’s jet back to Paris, save for a bodyguard of her aunt’s. “Were you the man who escorted me home the last time I visited Edna?” Marinette asked, her voice low and calm. 

The man looked up from his book and smiled. “Yes ma’am.” His voice was deep and gruff with some sort of accident Marinette didn’t recognize. 

“I remember that flight.” She whispered. “Weren’t you, I mean, hadn’t your wife just give birth?” The conversation was still fuzzy in her head, but she remembered the man being very nervous about fatherhood. 

His smile grew as he sat his book down.

“Yes ma’am. Zoe was only about a week old. I volunteered for the day trip to escort you back. Needed to clear my head for a little bit.” 

“How is your daughter?” More of their previous discussion coming back to her. “She was in the NICU, wasn’t she?” 

“Ten days, yes. They needed to run some tests but the doctors and her mom and I were fairly confident that she was healthy by the time I agreed to take you home.” She could tell he was surprised she remembered so much.  

“Do you like fatherhood?” 

“Very much ma’am. Little Zoe’s babbling and toddling all about now. And she’s got a brother on the way, he’ll be here in a few months.” Marinette beamed at the man. 

“That’s wonderful! Do you have any names picked out yet?” 

“We’re thinking either Brandon or Lewis.” 

“Oh, I love the name Lewis!” Marinette chimed. “It’s one of my top two boy names. The other is Hugo, but I suppose you don’t hear that one as often in America.” 

“No ma’am, you don’t.” 

“Sorry that you had to fly to Paris and then all the way back for me. I bet you would much rather be with your family right now.” She looked down sheepishly. “If I had children I don’t know how on earth I could leave them for even a second.”

“I don’t mind ma’am. And besides, it’s not like I left my little Zoe all by her lonesome, she’s got her mom. And her grandparents are in town. Plus, Edna’s always much more generous with paternity leave if you’ve put in a few long hour jobs.” 

“Oh. Well I’m glad to hear that.” Marinette breathed. “Can I ask, it’ll be pretty late when we get there, do you think it’s worth me sleeping now? Or should I try and wait it out?”

“Honestly, with all the commotion, Edna will probably want you up bright and early. I’d say once we get you all settled in it’ll probably be around one in the morning, and someone will come round to wake you about five o’clock.” 

“So I should sleep now?” 

“That would be my suggestion ma’am.” 

She nodded happily. “Alright then, that’s the plan. Could you wake me up about an hour before we land so I can make sure I look a little presentable?” 

“Of course ma’am.” 

“Thank you Desmond.” She relaxed into the chair and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep. But sleep did not come to Marinette easily nowadays. In fact, it was getting hard to remember a time when sleep came easily to her at all. 

Her mind immediately went to Chat. He knew she was leaving that night, usually they would be patrolling together about now but she’d explained to him she would be leaving before they got the chance to meet up again. Hawkmoth had been unusually quiet the week leading up to her trip so she hadn’t seen Chat in about five or six days. She missed him. 

Usually on nights where one or both of them weren’t patrolling, Chat would drop by her balcony and the two would have a nice talk over hot chocolate and baked goods. But he hadn’t been in awhile. He’d explained that his schedule was getting more and more hectic as they moved into spring, or at least he explained it to Ladybug. She later used that information to rationalize to herself why he hadn’t been around in a while. 

She was a little surprised he hadn’t made this point known to her civilian self, but then he was leaving certain details out of conversation between her two alter egos. She’d noticed it a few months ago. He’d tell the same story twice but a handful of details would be added to one and would be missing from the other. When he told Marinette about his friend getting his head stuck in the railing of his stairs, he’d mentioned that this was the same friend who constantly challenged people to arm wrestling competitions. But when he told the story to Ladybug he completely left out the part where his other friend had tried to use butter to get him unstuck, thoroughly coating his head in the condiment. 

It felt almost like he was testing her. The dynamic between them had been weird like that for awhile. It was almost like he knew, or he was close to figuring it out, and was just trying to piece together the last few dots. If this had been a year ago, or even half a year ago, she would have lost it. But now, the idea of Chat knowing, didn’t bother her as much. She actually found herself playing along, dropping hints. 

He’d drop hints too. She wondered if he’d figured out that she had a guess for who he was as well. If he’d noticed her testing questions or not. He probably did, her kitty was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. 

They’d agreed on waiting till after Hawkmoth’s defeat to reveal themselves, but she was pretty sure that by the end of the year they’d both have a solid grasp on who the other was. She wasn’t as afraid of it anymore, not after she came to terms with what her mind and heart was telling her. And the idea of him knowing got less and less scary the more he looked deeper into Marinette, the more he analyzed her when he thought she wasn’t looking. He almost seemed rather pleased at the idea of it being her, or at least at the idea of him having figured her out. 

Of course, everything could very easily fall apart if Marinette’s own guess was wrong. Hence why she was a tad more cautious with her own digging. After all, Chat knew that she had a very very large crush on Adrian at one point. The last thing she needed to do was upset him by assuming that the two boys were one in the same, or worse insult him. Though the evidence to support her theory was mounting quite high, she still felt a little unsure. 

At this point she was about sixty-eight percent sure Adrien and Chat Noir were one and the same. She felt like Chat’s percentage of where she and ladybug stood was much higher, but she no longer cared if he figured her out first. 

As she drifted off to sleep she made a mental note to make sure and get him something, a souvenir of some kind from her trip. She wondered if she should get both boys something, or just Chat and see if Adrian showed up with it on his person. That was a good idea, she’d have to remember that. 

_______________________________________________________________________

(part 1)  (part 2) - Here (part 2.5) (part 3) - soon

Planning on making a part 2.5 which will hopefully be up within the next few days depending on my spare time. And if you want to be tagged, let me know!

@graduatedmelon @northernbluetongue @violatiger8 @bamagirl513

[deceptive-jo]

Who am I to you?

Based on this post where I said I wasn’t gonna do it. Not part of my Brotherly Divination AU.

The Actor lost his best friend years ago. Meanwhile the Host just tries to live in peace with the other egos and Dark. But is that all there is to it or might there be a past and future for them?

TW: death, mention of lost body parts (It’s the Host what do you expect), manipulation, loss of a loved one, cursing

Words: 2.909

@blood-stained-ink I have a feeling you might want to look at that.

Author loved the Actor. That was a fact, they were both aware of it and it was completely up to them what they made of it. Currently that meant small kisses in passing, hot cups of tea and a warm blanket whenever one of them fell asleep on their desks and cuddles in front of the fireplace after waking up from yet another nightmare. It was enough. Honestly, being able to live in peace in their cottage and continuing to work was more than he could have hoped for. So what if Dark wanted to come over to bother them from time to time? He could go back to hell for all Author cared. It was not like he had a place to judge their relationship as long as he had that pink maniac running around. So what if they were a pair of egoistical assholes that killed people from time to time? That was nothing less then the other Egos could say about themselves. Well, maybe King, that boy was precious. No, Author was content, as long as he had his partner and a successful novel from time to time.

Speaking of- “Where did you put my baseball bat?”, the yell rang through the house to catch the attention of a certain performer in his bedroom. The Actor, or Marc as called by most, turned away from the mirror he was fixing his hair in front of and marched out of the room. “What do you mean? You put it back in your room after last time- Wait are you going out?! We’re supposed to be at the restaurant at 7!” Author dragged his hand through his hair. Right, the dinner Ace had planned. “I’m gonna be quick”, he yelled upstairs not bothering to search for his bat. He’d have to do with his pen and notebook then. He was already half out of the front door when he caught the “Don’t get any blood on your clothes”. ‘Don’t worry, love’, he thought to himself, ’I am going to look my best just for you.’ With that thought and a last grin the door slammed close behind him.

The Actor paced back and forth in the living room, throwing a hurried glance towards the front door and listening intently for any sound the back door might make. Nothing. What ever the hell was ‘quick’ for that asshole? Sure, they still had 10 minutes left but Author knew how much he hated to arrive in the very last secound if he could avoid it. But they’d just have to go through the void. If only this idiot would finally come back. But Author did not come back. Not in the next 10 minutes. Not the next hour. Not even the next day. It was after waking up on the couch for the secound time in a row that Marc decided to start searching for his friend. So he wandered through the forest for hours, trying to pick up any trace Author or his ‘victim’ could have left behind. Nothing. Then the actor went into the city, checking the cafes and restaurants they frequented, the book shops his best friend would sometimes spend hours in, but again, nothing. No one he asked had any recollection of seeing the Author the last days. Marc even sifted through the void for 4 days in a row steering clear only of the blue-red pulsating area that was Dark’s aura. After two weeks he stopped searching. He didn’t know if that was an appropriate time or if he should search longer. To be completely honest, he hadn’t really lost a person before like that. The last person to not come back to him was Celine but he still knew where she was back then and he refused to think about the implication this left for his current situation. Truth be told, he also didn’t like the other implications that left. The man sighed, slumped over on his desk staring at the small ring box in his hands that had become increasingly heavy in his pockets over the last days. Where the hell was his best friend?

The Host didn’t remember much. In fact, before a certain point in his life his mind drew a blank slate. When waking up the man found himself unable to see. The room smelled of hand sanitizer and peppermint. A hospital perhaps? But why would he be in a hospital? The next he knew a person appeared at his side and the scent of peppermint and hand sanitizer grew stronger. “Hello Host. My name is Dr Iplier. I’m going to change your bandages real quick then Dark will want to speak to you”, a male’s warm voice reassured him. The Host – was that his name? It seemed so peculiar – had many questions but he still kept them in while the doctor was at work. After that he couldn’t feel him leave the room but instead another presence joined him and suddenly the Host was glad that the doctor stayed. This presence was different, repressing and dark. The new man set himself next to the Host and began to talk in a deep, echoing voice, for a long time. He told the Host that his name was Darkiplier and that he was the leader of what he called ‘Egos’. Apparently the Host was one of them. They took him in after finding him on the forest floor, unconscious and with his eyes ripped out of his skull. The Host was still very confused but Darkiplier was there to explain most of his questions. Whenever he awoke in the hospital bed in the manor’s clinic Dark sat next to him, no matter how late it was. He was there to comfort him after he had another nightmare, more wild and obscure pictures just flunked around in his head. It was Dark who helped him figure out how his new sight worked and when he had his first vision that left him thrashing and screaming it was Dark who appeared and calmed him down. When he was allowed to finally leave the clinic Dark awaited him in the hallway and took his arm. While escorting him through the manor Dark did most of the talking. That was alright. The Host was more then content with listening to his boss (friend?) complaining about the Jim’s newest shenanigans. He just contributed his occasional nod or short remark and in no time they arrived at his room close to Dark’s.

The next months passed in a rush. Despite mostly staying in his bedroom, the library he discovered soon and Dark’s office he still became well enough acquainted with the rest of the hosehold. RJ and CJ were always eager to listen to his stories, Bim liked to spend his rehearsal time before a show in his room and even Google tolerated his stay in the android’s office whenever the Host wished to escape the chaos of the house. But over it all it was Dark who he was closest to. Whenever he could spare the time the entity would visit the Host in the library for a game of chess, a talk or simply to read in the semi-silence of the room. The first time he touched him the Host still repulsed, startled. But Dark didn’t seem annoyed to announce himself before making a move and soon the seemingly random hand on his arm or shoulder brushes became a regular thing between the two of them. He had a feeling they were more and more trusting towards each other. The Host knew that it was no use to try and lie to his friend and Dark was aware that he could hardly keep a secret from him. So they didn’t. Besides Dr Iplier was Dark the only one to have seen the Host’s empty eye sockets. Whenever Dark would have an episode his friend would know and help him with his chronic pain as good as possible.

The Host assumed this to be a normal thing until he noticed the reactions of the others and how Dark always seemed to distance himself to them somewhat, or how he seemed to never enter any of their offices in a non-business related matter. After this revelation he also began to notice how the others treated him in a seemingly overly conscious way as well as the looks Wilford would throw him sometimes that he couldn’t quite place. Something had changed with his closeness to Dark and he didn’t like the effect it had on his relationship with the other Egos.

But all that didn’t matter right now. In this moment the only thing that mattered was Dark’s arm around his, pressing the Host close to his chest. His chin rested on his head and the man’s hand gently stroke his hair, twirling his blonde streak of hair around his grey fingers. “What is on your mind, dear?”, mumbled the demon who had noticed his friend to be in deep thoughts once again. “The Host was just thinking about the other Egos. He noticed how their behaviour regarding him has changed over the last weeks. They appear to have become more...distant towards him.” The fingers in his hair stopped just for a moment before picking up their motion again. Dark hummed, “Don’t worry about them. Who knows what’s gotten into them. They’ll get themselves together again, I’m sure. You should get your mind off of these thing. I’ll invite you to dinner.” That actually took the Host off guard, “W-What would bring Dark to such an offer?” “Can’t I just take out my boyfriend?” “Boyfriend?”, when had that happened? Had he not interpreted the change in behaviour right? Dark chuckled behind him, “That wasn’t supposed to slip out. I can take it back if you want me too.” “No”, the Host mumbled. He didn’t move his head, just slowly raised his left arm before his hand got grabbed by Dark’s, “the Host wouldn’t be opposed to that.” “Wonderful, I will come by at 7 to pick you up”, and with that and a quick kiss on his head Dark was out of the room. Leaving the Host behind, alone with his thoughts.

It was exactly 7 pm when the Host heard a knock at his bedroom door. He opened the door, trying not to look as if he had been standing behind it for several minutes already. Dark smirked down at him looking somehow even sharper in his suit than usual. He reached forward before stopping himself as if he had to remind himself of something. What was it- right, the Touch-Rule. Why had they put that up again? It was not as if he would mind, right? “Your tie is crooked”, a moment later he felt quick hands redoing and adjusting his tie. “You look good”, came from his escort as he took his arm and began guiding him down the corridor. The Host beamed at the compliment. He had found a suit in the back of the wardrobe that he didn’t even remember owning. He did not know why it seemed so important for him to impress Dark all out of a sudden. But that was normal for boyfriends, right?

Dark watched his pet as he rambled on about his latest works. He did look just as handsome in the suit as he had imagined. ‘Yes, I can definitely make this work’, he thought to himself. By now all his moves had played out in his favour, from gaining the seer’s trust and affection to wiping his memories. It hadn’t been easy, he had to admit that, but in the end it pay out. When they found the Author in the woods, alone and unconscious, they had to take the chance they got. Host would be thankful for knowing that he freed him from this obnoxious personality and the Actor’s influence were he ever to regain his memories. Not like that was going to happen any time soon.

The Host was...content. He should be happy. Maybe he was. Technically his life hadn’t changed. He still spend most of his time in his office, writing and recording. Bim and the Jims didn’t come to his room quite as often. Dr Iplier rarely talked during their appointments any more. He hadn’t seen the rest of the group for days, or was it weeks? He found it hard to sleep, often falling asleep only in the early mornings which usually resulted in Dark bringing him breakfast. That was the one constant in his life: Dark. And while he still stopped by from time to time and they spent most nights together...there was something keeping them at the points they were now. They didn’t grow apart, you couldn’t say that, but there seemed to be this one topic that stood like a wall of glass between them – the Host’s past. He still couldn’t recall exact memories (not like he was trying to) but much like with the Egos he managed to catch onto certain auras and atmospheres. And while those surely changed – from wild green swirling in deep oak brown over baby blue tinted with cold metal to flashing yellow playing with lavendel – one red aura always stayed there, omnipresent and calming, warm. He was unsure on the identity of this man, for he knew it was a man, but he was sure of his connection with him, which was a passionate and loving one. For a moment he wanted to assume it was Dark’s, though it didn’t match with his current one. Maybe he should ask him. While Dark didn’t like to talk about his past, he had always shown interest in any possibility of the Host’s memories returning. The Host did not tell him about the man.

It was the Host’s birthday. Well, actually it was the day he joined the Egos but they didn’t really have anything else to go of. He received some mumbled birthday wishes when he entered the kitchen but he could also feels how the others averted their eyes not even daring to look into his direction. He knew why they did it. He had had enough time to really think last night, seemingly for the first time in a while. That wasn’t to say that he liked the reason. He needed to get out of here before the air suffocated him.

The man sitting on the porch of the small cottage went by the name of Actor. His friends called him Marc but the last one of them had died three years ago. Exactly three years actually. That’s why he sat on this porch. Because he shouldn’t bother any more, right? He told himself he didn’t because that was not the kind of person he was. But that didn’t change the fact that he hadn’t had another partner since then, that he had taken no one here – home.

The man had lived in a manor once, together with his beautiful wife. When she left him the huge house felt too big and too empty for him alone. So he filled it with parties and music and loud women and men. Ten he had started to live here with his beautiful friend. When he left him the house felt way too tiny, suffocating, made him question how they had survived in it as two. So he didn’t need to fill it with noise. As it was it was enough. It had always been.

Movement out of the side of his eye caught his attention. Annoyed at the disturbance he turned around and looked right at- “Author?” The other man looked up at him, caught off guard. He could now see the bandage around his head, not the beautiful golden eyes of his beloved but besides that and the glimming golden streak of hair it was an exact copy of him. The man seemed to have noticed his stare and began muttering again. How had he not noticed that before? Actor opened his mouth again when- “The Host knows you”, the stranger (?) blurted out. “You do?” The man nodded, “Your...aura. He has seen it before. In his memory”, he tapped lightly against his temple as if to emphasize his point, “No, he doesn’t know who you are. But of all the few things he remembers...you are the clearest.” Actor frowned. He didn’t understand everything the man (the Host?) said but damn if he wasn’t going to try and help them both. “I’m the Actor”, he began while slowly walking towards the Host, “and you are the Author. But you’re supposed to be dead.” The Host (Author?) slowly shook his head, the same sad and omnipotent smile on his face as his partner, “He supposes that would have been three years ago.” “How did you know that?”, Marc hissed with narrowed eyes. “That’s when the Host was taken in by the Egos with no recollection of his previous life.” “The Egos- Fucking Dark”, Marc swore under his breath. That insufferable, disastrous bastard! How could he dare to- “What did he do to you?”, he had to know. And may the gods know if that absolute maniac had hurt just a single part of his beloved’s being he would make. him. suffer. But the Host just kept looking at him with that tilted head, the sad smile still on his lips as if he were to pity the other man. “He proposed.”

[zombiejoepino]

The Scavenger. CH: 3 (Cobb Vanth x OC fanfic)

Chapter 3: The Search 

simpFandom: The Mandalorian

Word count: 3636

Summary: Plog is searching from town to town for anything related to the missing Scavenger. The Marshal finds she is gone already.  

A/C: If you havent read the first parts, they are here and here. Also you can check them on my wattpad 

"I'm telling you, this is too much. I'm not paying for that piece of trash." The pale hooded man rose his arms and signed at the tiny hooded figure.

The Jawa just shook his arms and argued back that it was a fair price. It might be an old speeder but it works. He was trying to explain and then folded his arms, telling him to take it or leave.

Plog just frowned for a moment and handed him the bag with credits. The Jawa took the time to count it and shook his hand. He steps aside to let him check the old imperial speeder. The weapons were down but, it moved. For him, it looked like they put together whatever they found and just label it as imperial to get a fair price.

He muttered in his language and took off in the speeder.

He didn't like Captain Qod that much, yet, it meant protection for him. His gambling habits got him in a lot of trouble, Qod stood up for him in exchange for information. Plog was useful and sneaky to get intel from strangers or anyone. He knew everything about the town, what kind of drink you like, how many Hutts went around before they were all gone, even knew about the lone Jedi that years before helped that farm boy. He never saw them again.

Now, he was just an errand boy, looking for two bounty hunters and their prey. Probably they killed each other and tried to take the canister, who knows. There was a small chance that the woman was dead already. After all, it was the Captain's words to bring her dead or alive, he didn't care, he wanted back was his prize.

Plog wasn't exactly loyal to anyone but, he owed Qod, and the man was good at finding traitors and take them down personally, like the time he just threw one of his crew members out of the ship cause he giggled about his heist plans. Qod didn't like pranksters or jokers, he was serious with his matters. He had little tolerance for stupidity but, Plog a lucky card, he was silly and clumsy, yet, he was useful.

The first stop would be nearby towns, asking the right folks about two lousy hunters wouldn't be so hard. Those two weren't exactly low profile. They were loud, show-offs, always trying to demonstrate how strong they were, picking fights cause they could, ally with other hunters that were stupid enough to trust them and take the bounty from them. No honor amongst thieves.

But those stops would be useless. If those two are on the run, they would go to Mos Eisley's spaceport and take passage with anyone, leave with the canister forever. He hated the whole road to Eisley cause that meant problems; dust, Tusken Raiders, and long cold nights in the middle of nowhere. He loved the comfort and the luxury in the city that he disliked those dead areas and sleeping in the ground. That annoyed him the most.

...

The sunbeam made its entrance through the thin curtains aiming right at his face. The first rays were warm but not burning ones like the mid-day ones. He opened his eyes and quickly scanned the area. He studied the dirty white walls and dusty ground, the armor placed in a chair next to a helmet.

Cobb sat up and stretched a little. He had no idea how long he slept but it was time to start his duties. An idea bolted in his head and made him rushed to the room.

It was empty.

He sighed and shook his head, looking around last night's disaster; shattered glass on the floor, the bloodied and dirty bandages. He rubbed his temples to think.

Maybe it was the best if she was gone but he felt responsible for the girl. He was not a smooth-talker with strangers and worst, with women. He was rough with her and pushed too much. He didn't even ask if she was feeling better.

When you corner an animal, they jump on you, he thought. No reason why the girl snapped at him.

Cobb picked up the glasses and bandages, putting them into a small bin. Then, he fetched a clean shirt and tossed away the dirty one. He ran his fingers through the primitive like star-shaped scar with dots and hashes on his back. He hated every side of it, what it meant but, it was a reminder to keep fighting.

A knock at his door interrupted his thoughts and rushed to put on the long-sleeved shirt. By the entrance, there was a slim guy with a hat and big rounded shades. He had small scars over his cheeks. When the Marshal stepped out, full armor and everything, he waved at him.

"Morning Marshal! How was last night's watch?" Marc flashed a friendly smile and shook hands with him.

"Nothing new, son. Creatures chasing each other. Not sign of the Dragon yet." Cobb adjusted the crimson bandanna across his neck.

"That must be a good sign, right? Maybe it's gone."

"Or just hunting somewhere else. Anyway, is the list ready?"

Both men walked together across the town making their way towards the bar. Cobb could hear Marc talking but was not paying too much attention, he kept wondering if the stranger was gone, maybe lost in the dunes, limping away from Sand People, or worst, found by the large Dragon.

His mind kept drifting. He thought about his time as a slave, how the women had it worst than anyone. He hoped that The Mining Collective or the Red Key Raiders wouldn't find her. The whole idea of what they do to young girls just made him sick.

He felt bad for thinking that and worst for not being able to help her. Damn, he wished she would listen to him and understand he had no shady intentions.

"And we need fuel." Marc's voice finally made some sense and snapped the gruesome thoughts in the Marshal's head.

Cobb frowned thinking about it and he started to nod. Marc rose a brow noticing the lost gaze and rephrased again.

"For the speeders. And extra for the young lady, your guest."

"My guest?" Cobb said.

"Aye, she got up early. Limped around and waited for the old Weequay to open the joint."

Cobb tried to act as cool as possible and told Marc to look for him later. He would fetch a soup and get them ready to go. The Marshal made his way into the joint and scanned the area looking for her.

The young redhead was near the counter having lunch; blue milk and slices of Ahrisa. She dipped the bread in the liquid and took a small bite. She finally looked at the Marshal but didn't say much. Just gave him a slight nod.

Cobb tried his best not to smile, he was glad that she was still around.

"Everything ok, Marshal?" Weequay spoke at him while he poured down a drink and slid a wooden bowl for him.

The Marshal nodded, gulped down his morning drink, and then took the bowl. He noticed the bartender's uneasy eyes when he looked back at the young redhead.

"Is it safe to keep her around?" The old one lowered his voice.

"Just for a few days, pal. Let's give her a break." Cobb sipped from the bowl.

Nath just kept her gaze down her plate and didn't dare to look back at the armored man. She was shamed about her behavior but was too proud to apologize. She heard his footsteps approaching her and looked up at him.

"Thought you were gone." He flashed a pearly smile.

Nath just shrugged and looked away. "I was about to but I was hungry, so, I hopped my way out and got here."

"You know you could ask for help, kid."

"You seemed tired. I don't wanna give you much trouble." She took another bite from the bread.

"How's the leg?"

"Better, it hurts at times but it's not that bad."

"Good. I'll bring more bacta spray then."

"Going somewhere, Marshal?"

"Out of town to get supplies. Do you need anything?" He placed the bowl on the table like he was about to sit down with her. He gave it a second thought and stood still.

"Just the fuel. I was hoping to put together a speeder with whatever was left from the crash."

"Whatever you were riding is gone. The rest is with us."

"Are they working properly? Maybe I can check them for you cause I took some pieces from them." She tried to stand up but the leg stung at that moment. She cursed quietly and sat back.

Cobb chuckled and placed his hand over her shoulder while looking at her.

"Don't sweat about it, kid. I'm sure they are ok" He reached the bowl and sipped it while reading out her expression. She didn't say anything but after giving it a long thought, she nodded at him.

"Well, you should trust me on this. They are gonna break down before you exit the town." She took another bite.

...

The streets were packed with junk dealers and other black-market folks, trying to shove you whatever piece of trash droid or strange food they had around. Plog just kept walking between them, trying to keep them away from his pockets.

He wasn't exactly a flashy man but, these lowlives can't tell the difference and are willing to steal anything they can find.

The pale man was uneasy for parking the speeder outside the dirty joint, Jawas or other scavengers always stopped long enough to take a piece or two. If he needed intel about the bounty hunters' whereabouts, that was the only place where he could go.

A smoky atmosphere crashed his face, followed by music and indistinct conversations between the folks around. Some helmets looked back at him, just checking the new stranger. Others just ignored him, no one started for too long.

Plog just moved around to catch up with the Zabrak bartender. He had mean looks, a horned head but quickly asked him if he needed a drink. Plog slid the credits on the counter and, the Zabrak took them fast.

"What are you looking for?"

"More like who. I dunno if you saw these guys around." He took out a puck that flashed the hologram of the two bounty hunters. The Zabrak examined the blueish image and made a face.

"Yeah, those two were around a couple of nights ago. They go around like bounty hunters but ain't exactly from the Guild. They got a reputation for joining bounty hunters from the Guild in their quests. When they have the proper opportunity, they shot down the Guild member and take the puck. It worked the first two times but those two are stupid. While they were drunk, they didn't stay quiet about their achievements and got The Guild's attention. There's a price for their heads so, my best guess is that they must be dead by now."

"Do you know who they were tracking the last time?"

"Some old Quarren."

"Did you see a woman or someone else with any of them?" Plog said.

"Not, I mean, the Quarren met with different people that day, all of them male. He even cut a deal with a scavenger." The bartender paused while his thoughts drifted for a moment.

"Now that I think about it, I can't tell if it was a woman or not. He or she wore a long tunic and mask. But I remember that scavenger cause those two followed him after taking down the Quarren. It was strange they just left him there to follow him or her. "

"Anything peculiar about the scavenger? Did they come back?"

"I haven't seen them after that day and the scavenger, I didn't pay much attention, you know how they are. Carrying trash bags, stealing whatever they can. Arguing with Jawas. Nothing else." The Zabrak poured himself a drink and shrugged. "Maybe talk to the Jawas." He joked.

"Yeah, right. They are gonna rip me off." Plog shook his head and left the counter. He was running out of ideas.

...

Her body plopped under the biker speeders, checking the cable hitches, patching up the fuel tube, and reached a small screwdriver from her bag as she adjusts the loose shift gear. Fixing things always made her feel better in any situation. She didn't mind the heat, the sweat, or the oil stains on her clothes. What mattered to her was making the speeder work.

Basic 101 for scavengers was being able to take someone's trash and turn it into a decent vehicle. Stealing was allowed if you didn't get caught. Cantinas were the best place to wait for your next hit. There is always someone that gets too drunk and passes out in the middle of the street.

That was the chance to take the finest pieces fast as you could before others showed up. It was a never-ending battle with Jawas. They were always in groups and worked faster, but if a human was smart enough, it would take the best parts first and leave the rest for the little scoundrels.

Nath didn't think of herself as the best mechanic from her town but, she was a pretty decent one. She kept a low profile most of the time and no one bothered her when she put together speeders or podracers, only if they paid a fair price.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the approaching footsteps and a voice.

"Thirsty?" He spoke and stopped next to the bike. The Marshal looked down at the curious woman and shook a small bottle with water.

"You bet but, I wanna finish this." She peeked out to look at him and return her attention to the bike. Her hand tried to reach a wrench.

"You should take a break, kid." The Marshal lowered down to hand her the wrench and smiled at her.

She puffed her cheeks and rolled her eyes. "Told you, I'm not a kid." She took the tool from his hands. Seconds later, her hand reached out of the bottle.

"Where did you learn to do this?" His eyes studied the bike and the tools around the ground, followed by small pieces from other ships or speeders.

"I was raised by scavengers, learned a few tricks from pilots, and picked one or two things from Jawas." Nath sipped the water. This weather was unbearable at times.

"Ever thought about starting your shop?" He kept examining the items around and, picked something that looked like a knife. It had old blood or oil stain. He couldn't tell by the color.

"It crossed my mind but I didn't worry too much when I worked f..." and she paused before she gave away something else. "Business is hard, you gotta commit yourself to one place and it's not my style."

"Staying in one place is not that bad, at least you can call it home." He shrugged and looked at her working.

"I'm not sure about that. I've been moving around since I was a kid, so home is not exactly something I look for."

"We all need one at some point."

"Not when you are being hunted down." She muttered to herself and tried to change the conversation. "What about you? Why Marshal and not bounty hunter if you have that armor?"

"Long story. But killing for pleasure is not my thing." He admitted.

"And killing in the name of the law is?" She chuckled.

There was a small silence, Cobb kept a serious expression and smirked.

"If they pull, I put them down." He said.

"So, you made your own rules for this town?"

"There's not much to follow, just don't step over your neighbor kinda thing. We look after each other."

"That's interesting. From where I come from, you have to watch your back all the time. I guess that's why I'm not made for places like this."

"You can't tell if you haven't tried it"

"Are you asking me to stay, sir?"

"I'm just saying."

"Sure." She flashed her tongue at him and kept her head down under the bike. Then she groaned when the oil leaked down her clothes and hands. "Dank farrik!" She yelled.

The Marshal chuckled and shook his head. He reached for an old rag to hand it to her. She snatched it from his hand to clean her dirty face.

He couldn't help himself to think that she looked cute with the dirt and oil stains across her fair skin and flushed delicate face. The contrast between those two ideas got him thinking but scratched the idea off his mind when the pale gaze met his.

Her eyes had a peculiar way to look at someone. This time they were friendly, curious about him, unlike last night. He swore that those soft blue eyes were cold and sharp with him, just like ice or whatever it looks like. He never got the chance to leave this planet, but he knew stories about those other worlds and snow.

Nath crawled out from under the bike and thumbed up at him.

"Ready to go, Marshal." She smiled at him.

"Thanks. And you can call me Cobb, you know."

"Well, I like calling you Marshal." She teased him. Cobb chuckled and held out his hand to help her.

She pulled herself up with a swift move but bumped her chest with him. His first reaction was to hold her still and not let her fall. She rested her hands over his chest. Their gazes lock for a moment and they froze right there.

Being close to him allowed her to see his features a little better. Even though his hair was grey already, he didn't look old. She thought that he was trying to look older than he was. She found herself studying his features again. Even breathing was something she didn't dare to do.

Cobb noticed a few looks from the locals and quickly moved his hands away to give her space.

"Good work, kid. I think the boys and I are ready to go." He excused himself and smiled at her.

The redhead smiled back, dusted off the sand from herself, and took the bottle from the ground. She took a large sip to refresh from the heat.

...

The tiny hooded figure just kept studying his speeder and nodding vigorously. He signed those pieces he wanted and, Plog just rolled his eyes. He looked around many times, making sure no one else was watching him with the group of Jawas and took out the small puck. He displayed the image of Nathsca and, they yelled gibberish in anger.

His jawaese was pretty bad yet, he understood briefly that the woman was around taking what rightfully belonged to them, that she had no reason to be a scavenger. They saw her taking off. She left behind most of her belongings but, she clung to an old silver canister. They wanted the canister. It was shiny.

Plog shook his head at them and quickly kept the puck back in his pockets. He paid the tiny hooded figures and pushed them away from his path. Some of them cursed at him but picked the pieces they wanted from the speeder.

A Jawa rushed after him and pulled his sleeve, Plog looked quite annoyed and folded his arms. "What now? I told you, anything you want but It needs to keep working."

The Jawa shook his head and signed at him while he whined. Plog squinted his eyes, listening to with attention, trying to put together all the ideas but he was pretty sure what the tiny one just told him. This was the first time that he met a Jawa that wanted something for himself.

"Off the map, you say?" He lowered to his level. The Jawa nodded as it explained quietly about the lost sandy areas in the west, an old mining place near a small town called Mos Pelgo. People thought it was gone, but this little guy saw the town; just farmers. When the speeders chase down the young scavenger, they were on the path to this town.

Plog slid a bag with credits for the little Jawa that rushed back with his kin but kept the bag for himself.

West. The unexplored dead area. He would go and tell the Captain with the risk of finding lone and empty dunes, taking the risk of getting attacked by the sand people, or worst, a Krayt Dragon. Qod was way scarier than the dragon. The dragon would eat you and, that was it. Qod would take his time to torture you before killing you.

The pale man jumped back in his speeder. He needed to get supplies, fuel, and a blaster. He thought about bringing muscle but, it was hard to trust anyone these days. Lone dunes or not, he was not gonna let some stranger or sand people take advantage of him. Shooting first and fast. Basic survival skills. He gave a second thought about bringing muscle.

tagged for the readers and thanks for reading too :3 : @simpfields @fandoms-will-be-the-death-of-me @sithcajunvalkyrie  @qrangcr  @rachel2003 @wolfangelwings @storytellerandwriter25  @beyond-antares @youmademeanolyphant  @kenobilover1009 

[dawnwave16]

Not what I expected

I feel like there will only be 2 more chapters at most as another fic is seriously tempting my muse!  Anyway, Enjoy!

first; 10; 11(here); 12

Chapter 11

The look on everyone's faces would have sent shivers down Nekane and Hawkmoth's spines.

The plan on how to expose Nekane was quick to form however it would take a while to actually come to fruition, especially if they wanted to draw Hawkmoth out at the same time. It would also require serious amounts of help from Interpol as Paris was not the BAU's jurisdiction. Cruz had been great in letting them all take off so suddenly but they knew that they couldn't push their luck too much. The IRT had been called away to a case in Belize so they wouldn't be able to assist in any way. Before they left, however, they had introduced Hotch's team and Clyde to Commissaire Clement. They had looked at bringing in Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix but they had decided he was too close to the mayor and that he might talk to the man out of loyalty. They knew he was a good man and that he tried to do the right thing but they just couldn't risk it with so much at stake.

They would execute the plan in two weeks time, as they needed Jagged's help but didn't want to call him away from his honeymoon. This would also give several other famous people that Lila had lied about, time to fly into the country discreetly. In the meantime, Commissaire Clement would bring in the school board as well as the education department to do their own investigation into the goings-on within the school. He believed that things should never have gotten as far as they had.

Clyde, on the other hand, had dispatched Interpol agents to each of the countries that Nekane had been in and start checking the friends and families of the girls that had died. They would also talk to Aisha and her family to make sure that it was Nekane at the core of the issue. They couldn't afford to leave anything to chance after all. His other stop was to the Italian Embassy. He made to sure to speak to the top diplomate and stressed the need for his conversation to remain confidential until the time was right.

They knew that due to the Vienna Convention of 1961 which focused on Diplomatic Relations, they couldn't even question Nekane without the Italian government waiving her immunity. They also knew that this would most likely be the most difficult part of their plan as governments didn't like lifting their diplomates' immunity except as a last resort.

Thankfully that meeting had been a success, Mrs Kelly's boss had had his concerns about her for some time as he couldn't understand the lack of reasons given for each of her requested transfers. With Clyde's information it was agreed that they would launch a covert investigation of their own to corroborate any evidence found on Nekane, but also to prove that Mrs Kelly was covering for her daughter rather than getting her the help she needed. 

Marinette also had her own part to play in everything. She had to record absolutely everything that happened in the next two weeks. She would wear a camera hidden in a broach on her shirt and the only time it wouldn't be active was during any Akuma attacks when she was Ladybug. They knew kwami's didn't show up on camera, and a little bit of editing would make sure any mention of her superhero activities wouldn't show up.

Slowly the celebrities started to arrive, and as each one did the BAU grew more and more amazed by how many of them Marinette had designed for, even more so that they all seemed very willing to take time out from busy their schedules just to help her. Each time one arrived, they would show up at the bakery after Marinette was done with school for the day and would hang out with Mari until they decided to head to where ever they were staying. 

Jack was having fun while this was all happening too because not only was his big sister spending time with him, he got to meet all these famous people too. He knew he wouldn't be able to brag to anyone when he got back to school but it was still fun getting photo's with them. The highlight for him was when he and Hotch arrived slightly early for supper the one evening and Jack ran into his sister's room without warning. She hadn't closed the door so he hadn't thought much of just going in, only to find her kissing a boy that Jack didn't recognise.

“I thought you liked that blond boy,” Jack's confused voice came through the fog that was clouding Marinette's brain thanks to the kiss. “Why are you kissing this guy when you like someone else?”

Marinette's cheeks were scarlet as she and the boy exchanged glances. His cheeks were just as red as hers.

“Adrian and I were never dating Jack, and after his most recent appointment with his therapist, he came to the realisation that while he loves me it is not romantic love. With everything that has been going on these last few months or so, I'd realised the same thing about him.” Marinette's voice was soft as she answered her little brother's question.

“So is this guy your boyfriend?” Jack demanded.

Marinette blushed shyly, “Yes, Jack, he is. But you can't tell anyone yet okay?”

“Oh, okay then. You'd better treat her right or else!” Jack said waggling his finger at the boy who was still holding his sister's hand.

“I'd better go,” the teen said softly to Marinette, “I'll see you when everything goes down?” Marinette nodded rapidly, still smiling. With that, he left and Marinette turned to her little brother.

“I'm guessing Dad is downstairs?”

“Yup!” Jack tugged Marinette's hand as he started to lead the way down. 

By the time the day to take Nekane down arrived they had everything in place. Celebrities from all over the world were waiting for their signal to act. Marinette had video footage of being threatened in the bathroom on two separate occasions. The Italian Embassy had enough evidence to fire and arrest Mrs Kelly for her part in keeping Nekane from flying under the radar, up to and including stopping an investigation in Basque, which should have taken place when Aisha's parents had filed their complaints.

Commissaire Clemont had made sure to have extra camera's put up in secret around the city, with Ladybug and Chat Noir's help to make sure that no one suspected anything. They had done this during their nighttime patrols so it didn't look suspicious. Thankfully there hadn't been many attacks in the meantime, it did, however, put everyone on edge. They knew from past experience that any Akuma attack that came now would be stronger than normal. 

Marinette knew that they were going to need extra help should that Akuma attack happen due to their plan. As a result, she made sure that Luka, Kagami, Marc, Nathaniel, Alix and Aurore all had a miraculous and they were ready to jump in at any second. Despite having been revealed as Viperion she had still given the snake miraculous to Luka, Kagami, on the other hand, had the fox and would use the name Kitsune. She had given Marc the dog miraculous and he had decided to use the name Akira. Despite knowing she would eventually give Alix the rabbit miraculous, she had given her the tiger as she felt it was needed more, as a result, Tigris would be joining the team. Nathaniel had the rooster miraculous and would use the name Oilarrak while Aurore had the Bee and had named herself Honey.

Marinette had the dragon miraculous on as well as her earrings as an added precaution. She was nervous about having so many miraculi out at the same time but knew she wouldn't be able to run for backup if it turned out that it was needed. She had asked Wayzz to protect the miracle box should anything go wrong. She had even brewed a couple of the potions that would strengthen the kwami's and extend their transformation times, each wielder had been given a set as an added precaution.

That's not to say she wasn't nervous, there was a lot of things that could go wrong but they had done their best to plan for almost every situation. For now, though all she could do was have a good night's sleep.

@moonlightstar64; @northernbluetongue; @wargraymon0709; @winter-gardenflower; @bee-wrecker; @starsshineandgivehope; @goggles-mcgee; @vivilakitty

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Going Through Motions{3}

Title: Going Through Motions {3}

Steve Rogers X Reader OFC Korral “Korri” Evans

Warning: Plot, Cursing, Angst

Word Count: 1.9K

Summary: You and Steve had a hot, passionate, and wild romance seven years ago when you worked with the Avengers. It was the best year of your life; you’d never felt the things you’d felt in all your life. Then out of nowhere, Steve just ended things—in a letter. A heartbreaking letter, then the world deemed him a criminal, and he disappeared. Now, you’ve moved on and have gotten engaged to rich man Marc Spector. Tony brings you back to work with the newly rebuilt Avengers that is still led by Captain America who is definitely done asking for permission and not looking for forgiveness. Or is he?

Note: So, for this fic, we are going to alter the MCU timeline a bit. This takes place after Civil War, but Infinity War has not happened yet. Steve is off the grid for seven years before he comes back. {I know that’s a long time, but let me rock please} Also, I’m going to be introing/adding in Moon Knight (Marc Spector) in just because I feel like it and I want to start exploring other Marvel characters and of course I will twist him to serve my purposes.

**Loosely Proofread/edited**

**Interactive**

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight was the night of Tony’s party. You weren’t in the mood to party. In the last three weeks, you were a wandering ghost. Your role at Stark Industries was a unique one. In the beginning, you played more an executive role on the Avengers side, but when the Avengers broke up your position increased and blurred over to the industry side, you went into sort of executive to vice president, to employee relations to mission coordinator, and even mission operative. You wore many hats. These days the hat you wore was executive and vice president, you ensured the Avengers side of the company ran smooth, and everyone worked well. So, for the last three weeks, that’s what you did, you ensured the Avengers side ran smoothly. You spoke with world leaders and dignitaries about the reestablishment of the Avengers and what it meant moving forward and had meeting after meeting on various topics. You didn’t step foot into the compound; you remained in the city. Not that it mattered in the least your mind was everywhere.

   While you continued to try to cut the red tape around them so they could freely do their duties, the rest of the team remained at the compound getting back into the swing of things. There were tons of new gadgets and weapons they had to get used to, Tony had been busy in the seven years. Tonight would be the first night the world would be able to see the new and improved avengers. It was so much of a big deal Thor came in to make an appearance, not that he’d miss a party if his life depended on it.

   “You seem like you’re a million miles away. Are you okay?” You brought your attention to Marc, who was sitting beside you and smiled. “Yes, I am fine. Just trying to get into unwind mode.” Marc put his hand on your thigh and gently squeezed. “Is that something you need a little help with? We have another twenty minutes before we arrive, I can put in a little work for the cause.” You smiled and shook your head. “My god Marc, if people knew how much of a horny little teenager you really were they might look at you differently.” He chuckled and brought his hand higher on your inner thigh, the split on your dress afforded him plenty of access. “If people knew I was a horny little teenager they wouldn’t be surprised especially once they took a look at my beautiful, sexy, and brilliant fiancée.” With each compliment, he kissed you, first your jaw, then your neck and finally the exposed skin of your breast.

He always knew what to say. He’d always been like this, such a sweet talker. After Steve disappeared, you hadn’t wanted to get involved with anyone especially not another superhero. After a year and a half of courting you, he wore you down for a date and then after the four years of dating he’d convinced you to move in with him, and ten months ago he’d accomplished his ultimate goal of convincing you to marry him. Marc’s hand disappeared between your thighs and under the barley there lace thong you wore. Once his fingers grazed your sex, you gasped and slightly arched your back off the seat. “I do so love when your back arches Ri.” Moaning you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to enjoy the moment.

   Marc’s fingers expertly swirled around the most sensitive part of you and with each passing second stroked the kindles of the fire he was igniting within you. “That’s it relax and let me do all the work, let me take care of you.” His husky voice was hypnotizing. Before you knew it, your legs were draped over his shoulders, and his head was buried between your legs. You tried your best to control your moans not wanting the driver to know what was going on in the back of the limo. He wasn’t having it though; it seemed he was doing everything he possibly could for you to scream out. After a few minutes, you felt the first desperate pangs of your oncoming orgasm. You grabbed Marc’s head, arched your head back and let the pleasure claim you and whatever stress you were holding on to.

   By the time the car stopped at your destination, you were again the image of grace. “I can’t wait to get you home Ri,” Marc grunted as he tried to rearrange the crotch of his pants. Looking down, you could see his erection straining against the material. You smirked to yourself before you leaned over to him and kissed him making sure to suck his bottom lip into your mouth the way he liked. Marc groaned loudly. “God, you’re trying to kill me.” His door opened, and he stepped out to make his way around to your side. When he opened the door, you took his hand and walked arm in arm toward the entrance.

   You and Marc walked through the crowds with smiled, politely greeting those you knew and those who recognized you. It seemed you couldn’t make it more than a few steps before someone stepped to Marc to shake his hand or get a picture or talk about his ventures. All you could do was smile, look pretty and play the supportive fiancée. It was a role you normally took pleasure in. Your phone buzzed, and you saw a message from Tony asking if you’d arrived yet. You shot him a quick message to let him know you’d make your way to him soon. You were in no hurry.

   Thirty minutes, about a hundred handshakes, and plenty of well wishes on your impending union later you and Marc made it across the room up the steps to where Tony and the others were. Nat was the first to see you, then Wanda, then Tony. Once Tony saw you, everyone knew you were there. You greeted everyone with hugs and introduced Marc to them, but not as your fiancée. Since they’d been gone for seven years none of them, but Tony knew him. You quickly noticed Steve was nowhere in sight and part of you was relieved but the other part disappointed. Marc easily charmed them; you weren’t surprised it was part of who he was.

   The next few hours went by with endless stories from all of them about their time on the run and even reminiscing about old missions. You sat and listened to the stories and did your best to keep a smile on your face, the never-ending rotation of drinks helped—a lot. When you’d lost count of how many glasses of champagne you’d had you heard a commotion down below. After looking over, you realized Steve had made his entrance, and he was being swarmed by people eager to talk to him. God he still looked good in a suit, you thought to yourself. Once the thought entered your head you felt Marc’s hand at the small of your back. You excused yourself and made it to the bar to get a stronger drink. You sat with your back to everyone and used the time to psych yourself up. You’d repeated to yourself in your walk-in closet that in order for encounters to become normal they had to keep happening. “Repetition breeds normalcy.”

   “Repetition breeding normalcy is a crock of shit,” Natasha said as she sat beside you at the bar. “How you holding up?” You smiled and pushed everything away. “I’m fine. You look gorgeous Nat.” She rolled her eyes and looked over you. “Me? Kor, you are breathtaking, that dress my god.” Shaking your head, you rolled your eyes and downed the drink the bartender placed in front of you. “I know it’s been seven years since we’ve talked, but you do know you can talk to me still right? We used to be close, I want that again,” Nat expressed. You touched her hand and gently squeezed. “I know Nat I want that too. I’ve just—been on my own for the last seven years. Old habits.” She nodded and downed her own drink. “Marc seems nice.”

   You smiled and nodded. “He is nice. He’s a good man.” Natasha sat there and scanned your face, and you knew she was trying to read you. She was a spy she was good at it. After a few moments, she nodded and looked away. “Congratulations, Tony let it slip about the wedding.” Nodding you stared at the diamond ring on your finger and smiled. “Thanks.” At that moment Marc came over wrapped a hand around your waist and kissed your neck. “Everything okay?” You smiled widely and nodded. “Of course, I was just congratulating her, now I can congratulate you,” Nat said. Marc beamed and accepted her well wishes. “Congratulate him on what?” Sam approached the three of you and with him brought the attention of those close, Steve included.

   “Let me. Everyone let’s raise a glass please,” Tony began. Everyone did as he said, except you. Marc leaned to your ear and whispered sweet words about how amazing you were, and you smiled, he truly was a good man. “Let’s raise a glass to Korral Evans and Marc Spector and congratulate them on their engagement.” Everyone around you burst out in applause and cheers. You didn’t dare look to Steve, but you could feel his eyes. Marc again went to your ear and spoke so only you could hear. “I love you.” you smiled at him and allowed him to kiss you. It was to be a quick one, but Marc dipped you and intensified the kiss to everyone’s delight around you. Once he put you up right your eyes noticed the back of Steve’s head as he walked away back down the steps and Sam hurrying behind him. Cat’s out the bag now, you thought.

  ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

-Steve-

  You looked happy. Not a fake happy either, it looked like a genuine glow of happiness that was painted across your skin. You were as beautiful as ever. In the seven years, he remembered your beauty but either your image had slowly blurred just a bit disguising the full effect of it, or you’d gotten even more beautiful. He couldn’t figure it out. The seven years had been kind to you-kinder than they had been to him. He was a completely different person now. He’d had to change; he had to adapt. Every day there was someone new after him, every day he was on the move, and every day you were on his mind. There hadn’t been a single second where he wished things had been different, that he would have handled matters differently. It nearly killed him to write that letter, and it actually did kill him to leave. So many times he second-guessed it, so many times he thought to go back and take you with him but he couldn’t. He couldn’t put you in that kind of danger; he couldn’t submit you to that kind of life. There were days he was glad he hadn’t given in to his selfish weak needs because the things he’d been through and had to do to survive were hard. It was no life for you. You deserved better.

   When he’d gotten word that it was safe to go home his first thought was of you, and he made a move to go back but he couldn’t. He felt sadness and shame, sadness because of the last seven years and shame for the things he’d had to do, shame that he was no longer the innocent, straight and narrow Steve Rogers you’d known. That man was gone. Running for one’s life unjustly did that to a man. He didn’t even know if he had a home to come back to. Countless times over the years he worried you’d moved on and found someone new, worried that he was just a faded memory of a man you used to know. He couldn’t face the possibility being a reality, so when the others went back he stayed away. He was scared. How could he face you again after all these years? How could he look in your eyes after everything? The things he’d said in that letter had to be said. He wondered if you hated him for it.

   When he finally laid eyes on you, it was like feeling the serum course through his veins all over again. He wasn’t over you; he knew it then, and he knew it now. When he’d picked up and left, his feelings for you were at their peak. He loved you, hell he would have done anything for you. He would kill without question for you now. There was so much he wanted to say to you, so much he had to say, but you made sure to stay away and he didn’t want to crowd you. Things had to be done on your time; he couldn’t force things.

   A fiancée, you’d moved on, and the thought of that killed him. “You okay?” He knew Sam would be the one to follow him. In the last seven years while Bucky was in Wakanda taking care of himself Sam was his go-to. He and Sam became tight, and he relied on him to have his back. That remained the same. “Yeah.” Sam snorted and sat on the roof of the Stark Tower with him. “You’re a damn liar.” He scoffed and nodded. “Yeah, I am.” They sat quietly staring out over New York. “Miss seven years, miss a lot huh.” He looked at Sam and gave him a “really” look. “Sorry, too soon?” He laughed to himself; he could already rely on Sam to give him a laugh even at times he didn’t want to laugh. He wanted to punch something. “It’s my own fault I guess.”

   Sam looked at him and waited for an explanation. “I was the one who left right? I couldn’t have expected her not to move on.” It was true, he didn’t want her to move on, but he was realistic enough to know she would. He knew there would be a man who would see how incredible she was and fall head over heels for her like he had and hold on to her; something he hadn’t done. “You’re talking like you had a choice,” Sam began. “I did, didn’t I? I made the choice to fight Tony over Bucky, and I made the choice to draw lines in the sand--,” Sam kissed his teeth. “Man, your biology made that choice. You’re Captain America; you are goodness and justice. Bucky needed help, you saw that, and you did the just thing. You can’t beat yourself up over choosing the side you did. You did a good thing, and you were punished for it. If I had to do it all over again I’d do it in a heartbeat.” He studied Sam and knew he was being truthful. Part of him wanted to listen, but the part that refused was the hurt part, the part that just watched another man touch you, and kiss you, a man who was going to marry you, have kids with you, build a life with you. That hurt part was quickly turning into a bitter part. He’d given so much and gotten so little in return. The one thing he wanted and had the nerve to try to claim for himself he even had to that give up.

   “All I’m going to say is, it ain’t over until it’s over,” Sam added. He looked to him again, trying to grasp his meaning. “What does that mean Sam?” He stayed quiet for a few moments but shook his head. “She’s not married yet. It ain’t over until she walks down the aisle.” He scoffed and shook his head, but the part of him that should have been appalled by Sam’s implications was silent or very near it. The part that spoke up was the part that was in agreement with him. Yeah, he was not the man he used to be anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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