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writtenbyrain · 4 years ago

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The Lucky One

Read it on AO3

Summary: What if Master Fu hadn't been the only reason Marinette was late to her first day of school? What if, when Ladybug told Chat Noir she was in love with someone else, it really was someone else? Really, it comes down to this: What if Marinette met Luka before Adrien?

Notes: This is written for @feminaexlux for the LBSC 2021 Valentine's Day Exchange! I'm your secret admirer, so happy Valentine's Day, beautiful — I hope you enjoy the fic! 💕 Also, thank you so much to the lovely @chrwrites for beta reading! Word Count: 2,873

Luka loved his little sister more than words could describe, which was precisely why he couldn’t let her leave for her first day of school without her lucky pink hair clip.

Sure, she never really wore it; in fact, she seemed far more comfortable allowing her purple bangs to obscure her features in an increasingly persistent effort to hide from scrutinizing eyes. But that didn’t stop her from bringing the clip with her every day, anyway, just in case she ever found the strength to let herself be seen.

And as Luka waited patiently for her to unearth that courage for herself, he did his best to support and encourage her in any way he could, which was precisely why he found himself racing toward Collège Françoise Dupont on the first morning of the school year.

“Sorry, excuse me,” he mumbled to no one in particular as he pedaled perilously close to cars and took street corners just a hair too sharp.

That morning, as he had been organizing his own school books and binders, he found the small hair clip sitting forlornly on the deck of the Liberty. It must have fallen out of Juleka’s backpack, he realized, considering the haste with which she had raced off to meet Rose.

Thus, he now found himself down the street from the school, approaching the corner where a charming bakery huddled adjacent to the campus.

Only, just as he reached the crosswalk, an old man with a cane hobbled out into the road, where—

“Whoah, watch out!”

Luka skidded to a stop, tearing off his helmet as he ran to grab the man’s left arm. At the same time, another girl in pigtails, one arm burdened with a pastry box, ran out into the oncoming traffic to grab onto the man’s right.

Narrowly missing the bumper of a passing car, Luka huffed in relief as all three of them staggered back onto the edge of the sidewalk — but not before the girl in pigtails tripped, landing heavily on her hands and knees.

The crosswalk flicked green, then, and pedestrians began to obliviously mill past.

“Are you okay?” Luka bent down to grab the girl by the elbow, just as a cane appeared in his peripheral vision. “Are you hurt?”

The old man they had rescued edged closer to clear his throat before the girl could respond.

“Thank you, both of you,” he said before eyeing the box the girl had dropped. Pistachio green macaron shells lay shattered along the cement. “Oh! What a disaster.”

“Don’t worry, I’m no stranger to disaster. Besides, there are still a few left,” the girl responded buoyantly as she sat up and recovered the surviving cookies. She turned to Luka. “Oh! And y-yes! I’m okay! I’m just such a clutz, thank you for helping me.”

Her cheeks were dusted with a subtle pink as she looked up at Luka, his hand still resting gingerly on her arm.

She’s cute, he thought to himself before glancing back toward the crosswalk. And kind. Maybe I should—

The school bell rang, then, and the girl whipped her head back around, her eyes wide.

“Oh no, I’m going to be late!” She stood and hurriedly shut the lid of the pastry box before angling back toward the road. “H-have a nice day!”

“Wait!” Luka grabbed the girl’s wrist before she could barrel across to the campus. “You go to Collège Françoise Dupont?”

“I-uh, yes?”

“You don’t happen to know Juleka Couffaine, do you?”

The girl straightened and turned fully back toward Luka, her eyes flicking to where his fingers curled around her wrist. Her blush reemerged, albeit more brightly this time.

“I do! W-we’re in the game sass together! Well, I-I mean the same class,” she clarified nervously. “We’ve b-been in the same class. Together. Maybe we’ll be in the same class together again, this year, I mean.”

Luka just chuckled and grabbed the clip from where he had stuffed it in his pocket on the way out.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ma-ma-Marinette.”

“Well, ma-ma-Marinette, if you happen to see Juleka, can you please give this to her?” With one hand still on her upturned wrist, Luka pressed the clip into her palm. “You can tell her that her brother Luka dropped it off.”

________

If she thought about it hard enough, Marinette could imagine she still felt the pressure on her hand from where the boy — well, where Luka — had pressed Juleka’s hair clip into her palm, even though weeks had gone by.

Juleka was, in fact, in her class again, which seemed to work to Marinette’s advantage.

As time went on, Luka made increasingly regular appearances after school, primarily to pick up Juleka and walk her back to the Liberty at the end of the day.

And if Marinette made the conscious decision to linger around the front steps of the school under the guise of sketching or organizing her backpack, who needed to be the wiser? (Albeit Tikki did occasionally chide her for running even later than usual.)

But every day that Luka took the time to stop, say hello, and ask to see her sketches, she knew that the loss of time was worth it. “Hey, Marinette!”

Absolutely worth it.

________

Despite the fact that everything had turned out well in the end, Luka wasn’t sure that his righteous anger that morning had been worth it.

And as much as he refused to show it, he felt a twisting pit of shame and apprehension in his stomach.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had just released him from Hawkmoth’s akuma, and he was about to take center stage with the rest of Kitty Section for their well-earned television debut. While this moment should have been exhilarating — triumphant, even — all he could think about was what Marinette must think of him now.

Marinette, who always went out of her way to help those around her.

Marinette, who spent what precious little time she had making costumes for the band.

Marinette, who was kind and gentle, and had now seen him at his worst.

Who had now seen him as a villain… literally.

Luka took a steadying breath, one thumb skimming nervously over his Kitty Section mask as he prepared to step out in front of the cameras… until he felt warm fingers encircling his wrist.

He half-turned, the pit in his stomach sinking even further.

“Luka?” Marinette stood there before him, one hand bashfully coming up to her face. “Did you really mean those things you said when you were akumatized?”

Wait, was she… blushing? No, that couldn’t be.

Not after today.

“I'm sorry, Marinette, but I don't remember,” Luka said slowly as the pit twisted itself into butterflies. “What did I say?”

“Uh, oh, n-nothing,” Marinette stuttered. She looked down and rubbed nervously at the back of her neck. “It was nothing at all. You were possessed by Hawkmoth's akuma.”

“I don't know what I possibly could've said. I just hope it wasn't anything mean, because—”

He had to tell her how he felt. Now. Because if he didn’t, what else was she supposed to think? What if what he said while he was akumatized made her think that he didn’t—

“—You're the most extraordinary girl, Marinette.” He grabbed her shoulders earnestly. “As clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You’re the music that’s been playing inside my head since the first day we met.”

The words sat right on his tongue, as well-rehearsed as his fingers on the frets of his guitar. He squeezed his hands once more on her shoulders before turning around to take the stage.

Though he had just recovered from being Silencer, he thought, perhaps he still had one thing left to silence: His doubts.

________

Ladybug had little doubt in her decision today, even if she found herself gritting her teeth and bearing with the stench of Paris’s sewers — again.

Really, she and Chat Noir had made somewhat of a habit of coming down into the watery maze beneath the city, and she was beginning to think that it was time to find an alternative place to run and hide.

As much as she cared for the silly kitty, sometimes the time they spent alone became a little overwhelming, what with his constant flirtation and declarations of love. And coming down to the sewers didn’t exactly make his attempts seem any more romantic.

… Wait, in that case, maybe being in the sewers wasn’t too bad of an idea.

In any case, she had tried time and again to tell Chat Noir that she was in love with someone else — someone with deft fingers, blue hair, and eyes that were bluer still — but the blonde still didn’t seem to be deterred.

Which was what gave Ladybug the idea to bestow a Miraculous upon Luka.

He was a natural match for combat after all, right?

Luka, who was so level-headed.

Luka, who always took the time to think before acting or speaking.

Luka, who genuinely put the needs of others before himself.

He had demonstrated as much on the day they met, after all. Who else would make themself late to school not only to help an old man out of the street, but to also make sure his little sister had her favorite hair clip on hand?

Luka was selfless, caring, observant, cute—

Yes, that settled it: Luka was the perfect candidate for a Miraculous.

Today, Chat Noir seemed to think they should give this particular one to Adrien Agreste, but Marinette wasn’t so sure. Would the celebrity model really be cut out for an akuma battle, let alone one that had brought them down into the sewers?

Probably not.

Closing her eyes and ignoring the acrid stench of garbage as she sucked in a determined breath, Ladybug called Luka out of the locker Chat Noir had left him in. Hesitantly, he approached the spot where Ladybug stood by a metal ladder that led to the surface.

“Luka Couffaine,” she began. Gently, she turned his hand over and pressed a box into his palm, much in the way he had pressed a clip into hers some months ago. “This is the Miraculous of the Snake, which grants the power of Second Chance. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?”

Of course, she knew the answer even before Luka smiled and nodded.

His hands tightened around hers knowingly.

________

Of course, knowing and understanding were two very different things.

After Miracle Queen had come and unnerved all of the Miraculous wielders by revealing their identities, Ladybug, in particular, had seemed uncharacteristically dispirited. Even Chat Noir seemed to hold himself at arm’s length from the heroine, albeit Luka didn’t understand why.

Nor did he understand why, over the past several weeks, she had appeared at his window in frequent blurs of red and black, offering him time with Sass under the condition that he come out to patrol in Chat Noir’s place.

Of all the previously-exposed Miraculous holders, he was the only one she had recalled to the field, even though it was never for the express purpose of an akuma battle.

Now, racing along Paris’s rooftops, Viperion did his best not to pry, though he couldn’t help but feel concerned at the discordant melody that was all but radiating off the girl. Weeks had passed, but something about Ladybug was still off-beat.

Patrol that night was almost over and it was only getting more and more difficult not to ask questions, especially considering she—

“We’re here.”

Ladybug landed gracefully on the final rooftop of the evening, her expression indifferent as she hooked her yo-yo around her hip and looked out at the distant wash of lights across Paris. She released a silent sigh through her nose, the rise and fall of her shoulders otherwise betraying her neutral demeanor.

Viperion landed beside her, consciously restraining himself from coaxing a sad melody out of his lyre and asking, “Do you feel kind of like this?”

“Why don’t we stop to catch our breath?” he asked instead. “Before we go our separate ways, I mean.”

Ladybug’s gaze flicked up to him in question before softening a fraction.

“Sure,” she murmured, her softly-emerging smile a small victory in Viperion’s heart. “I brought a snack, anyway. Just in case we got hungry.”

As Viperion lowered himself to sit on the ledge of the roof, Ladybug padded to the opposite side, bending down to grab a pastry box before returning and perching herself next to him. As she opened the lid, Viperion didn’t try to suppress his own smile.

Pistachio green macarons sat in a neat row within the box, their fragile shells still perfectly in-tact.

“These look delicious,” he said, gently removing one with his right thumb and forefinger. His left hand skimmed distractedly over the hidden pocket of his Miraculous suit.

The two sat that way for several minutes, the silence of the night punctuated only by the occasional passing car or giggling civilian. Ladybug and Viperion, meanwhile, relished in the quiet anonymity provided by both the height and the shadows of the building they sat atop.

Eventually, Ladybug sighed once more — this time more audibly — and leaned to rest her head against Viperion’s shoulder.

“You’re unbelievably brave, you know.”

“What?” Ladybug lifted her head to look at him through her falling bangs.

“I said you’re incredibly brave,” he repeated, his eyes fixed forward. “And I just want you to know you don’t have to shoulder all of the burden on your own.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Ladybug’s brows furrowed. “I mean, I asked you to come out and help patrol with me, didn’t I?”

Viperion just chuckled once more, as he often did while contemplating how best to string his words together like a discernible song of their own.

“Yes, and I’m grateful you did,” he conceded. “But you and I both know that’s not all. And maybe that’s why I don’t feel any doubt, anymore.”

“What … what did you doubt?”

Luka paused a moment, his hand once more pressing against his pocket. This time, he pulled the contents out and curled his fingers around it protectively.

“I guess… I doubted that you wanted me to be there for you,” he said. “But, lately, you’ve been leaning on me more, both in and out of the suit—”

Ladybug gasped.

“—And that makes me happy.”

Viperion turned, grabbing Ladybug’s wrist with a feather-light touch. Turning her palm up, he pressed a small clip into her hand before closing her fingers. Then he pulled her in for a reassuring hug, careful to hold her gently enough that she could pull away if she wanted to.

He heard her sniff before he felt her burrow into his neck. His skin was cooled by the unexpected dampness of her cheeks.

“Juleka gave me her lucky hair clip several weeks ago,” he explained. “She said she hoped it would help me to find the luck and courage I needed to tell the girl I love about my feelings, which… I guess I already did. So this time, I’ll just tell you that I know what you’re facing and, if you ever need someone to shoulder more of the burden for you, I’ll always be here. My life is already filled with music, but you add the sweetest harmony of all, Marinette.”

Ladybug hiccuped, wrapping her arms hastily around Viperion’s waist. One hand remained fisted around the clip while the other pressed between his shoulder blades, silently asking him to hold her tighter.

So he did.

Humming the heartsong he had written for Marinette weeks ago, Viperion pressed his cheek into her hair and rubbed circles into her back. His body shook slightly as the girl gasped and wept, but he didn’t dare let go. Not until she was ready.

Several minutes later, her body had finally relaxed into his, the sobs gone and her breath evening out. His humming trailed off as she slowly unwound her arms from around him.

“I’m sorry, Luka,” she whispered as she pulled back and wiped at her face. “It’s all just been so much.”

“I know. And I’ll be here for you every step of the way, in whatever way you’ll have me.”

Finally, the girl smiled — the first real, genuine smile he had seen from her in weeks.

Viperion’s heart soared with relief.

“You’re right you know,” she said, uncurling her fingers to once more reveal the clip. “You didn’t need this lucky clip to tell me how you feel. Though, to be honest, I feel like I’m the lucky one.”

Slowly setting the clip down beside them, Ladybug reached up, pressing one hand to Viperion’s cheek and the other to the back of his head.

His eyes fell closed as he bent his head low, his lips catching hers just as she pressed closer to meet him. This time, his hands floated to her waist, the moment weaving a delicate new melody around him.

Her lips were softer than he’d ever imagined... and tasted faintly of pistachios.

No, he thought distantly. I’m definitely the lucky one.

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moved-danganronpamess · 4 years ago

Note

Just give me Fuyuhiko, the baby needs some love.

GUESS WHO'S BACK

BACK AGAIN

Me beech, ayo wassup- :D

I!! Love!! Fuyuhiko!! I saw this in our inbox while I was on break and went "✨SNATCH✨" because I adore him to bits. He's like- my favorite character in the series and I- I simp for him so much- no words can describe how much I love him. I genuinely couldn't wait to write this because I constantly have Fuyuhiko brain rot, so get ready for me to ramble. I have like- a lot of ideas so this may be a bit unorganized or all over the place. This one's for my fellow Fuyuhiko simps!!

A bit of a warning for a curse word or two. This is Fuyu afterall-

Hope you enjoy this, my buttercup!

- 🌺💖Mod Rantaro💖🌺

Fluffy Fuyuhiko HCs!

AYO time for me to simp-

I feel like he's someone who needs time to get used to physical affection, but when he does get used to it, he genuinely craves and adores it.

Because I would imagine he's extremely touch-starved. I mean, his childhood consisted of him almost dying because of his parents' fighting, so I wouldn't think that they were very affectionate or loving towards him or Natsumi.

Like- like sometimes, when he wants cuddles, but you're busy or something, he just clings to you. Doesn't say a word, and if you point it out, he denies it.

"Fuyu, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about."

While you literally can't move because he's holding onto you.

If he was a cat he’d be one of those cats that deliberately sits on your keyboard and doesn’t move until you give him head scratches or something.

I also like to imagine that Fuyuhiko has freckles on his shoulders and arms, maybe a few on his hands.

Why? Freckles are cute damMIT-

And when you're cuddling, you're constantly tracing your fingers over his freckles, like you're trying to count them. Whether it be caressing his face or his shoulders, he just- melts on the spot. It's really sweet to him, even if he'll never admit it.

I also think he’s easy to gross out, but by like... Regularly gross things, I guess?

Like my guy sees a dead body and turns a blind eye but if you blow a spitball at him he’s freaking out over it.

“eW IS THAT A SPITBALL?! HOW FUCKING OLD ARE YOU-”

He has big mom friend energy and nobody can change my mind. I can see Nagito constantly getting paper cuts and Fuyuhiko always having bandages on him because of that.

Or fixing Kaz’s clothes because he always looks disheveled in some way, to the point of Kazuichi not even questioning it anymore after a while.

But he’ll act like he’s annoyed. You know, he’s gotta keep his tough persona. Even if he’s genuinely worried for his dumb friends.

Anyways stan mom friend Fuyu-

Back to the relationship stuff sorry for going off track um-

He always blushes whenever you kiss. Whether it be your first or millionth kiss, he's bright pink.

And at first his kisses were very gentle, mostly because he held himself back a lot. He was afraid he'll hurt you, but with time and reassurance, he became a lot more passionate.

Also sQUISH HIS CHEEKS, PLEASE.

They're so soft and hdbddh🥺💕

*mod rantaro simping noises*

He may try to bat your hands away and get embarrassed, but it's all worth it.

And he? Doesn't hate it?? He actually thinks it's lowkey cute???

But again, mr boss baby over here would never admit it.

I’m sorry but my cat keeps batting my goddamn face with his tail like sIR CAN YOU STOP

If you call him handsome he malfunctions.

Like ok he's used to being called cute and yet barely handles it- you tell him he's handsome and his brain goes "MARRIAGE RN💍🧎🏼‍♂️" because it's just?? So domestic and precious and he just goes soft??? Mans ready to give you a ring, gIVE HIM YOUR FINGIE-

Fuyuhiko honestly hates the fact that he’s actually SO cheesy.

He just wants a warm, loving relationship that will last forever. He wants to get married, grow old with you, maybe have kids if you’re up for it. But if you don’t want human babies, animal babies are fine too!

Speaking of animal babies, cats gravitate towards him for some reason. It’s like he’s a cat magnet. If you ever go to a cat cafe the kitties will just be all over him and completely ignore everyone else.

Me too random cats I put in here, me too

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t smother them or go out of his way to pet them. Who knows-

He really likes to sleep in with you, or just stay in bed all day.

You’re so warm... He just wants to be in your arms.

Please kiss the scar on his eye by the way. He may or may not tear up a little.

Even with you knowing what he’s done in the past, you still adore him, and always will. And he can’t thank you enough for that.

Also, lowkey won't admit he likes being the little spoon. The feeling of being protected and cared for by the one you love most, it's just,,, heaven to him,,

Totally not me just projecting because I wanna hold him um

He buys you a lot of stuff. I would imagine that before you started dating, he would always give you something on Valentine's Day and then brush it off as him "not wanting to hear you complain about not getting anything all day".

If you got him something in return he's extremely flustered, but says something along the lines of ",,, not like I wanted any of this stupid shit from you but ok" while on the inside he's just "GEHDGDJDBDN🥺💕💗💘💝💓💕🥺💗💘"

Don't let his tsundere self fool you, he is literally the definition of whipped.

*chav accent* AYO LUVS✋😩 Been a while, huh? I'm still not in tippy-top shape but I'm doing... Relatively ok! I'm glad to be back though, I missed you all a bunch!

Make sure to drink some water, take any meds you may need to, and maybe eat some fruit or candy! Lotsa love from me, my buttercup baby! <3

#mod rantaro petals #mod rantaro #story petals #danganronpa #super danganronpa goodbye despair #danganronpa goodbye despair #sdr2 #goodbye despair #fuyuhiko x reader #fuyuhiko kuzuryuu x reader #fuyuhiko kuzuryu imagines #fuyuhiko kuzuryuu headcanons #sdr2 fuyuhiko #goodbye despair x reader

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orangedodge · 3 years ago

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@dannybagpipesarecalling replied to your text post:

I didn't realize those were Destiny's diaries either. If you would be so kind, can you explain how Emma knows? Unfortunately I haven't read enough comics to know this backstory.

I am glad you asked about this, because it gives me an excuse to post about it while hopefully not sounding like a conspiracy blog. I've been slightly obsessed with this idea since Emma first turned up in House of X, so I'm rather excited that “maybe Destiny's Diaries still exist” isn't just my weird crack canon any longer.

Emma was, in short, the last person who can be established to have control over the whereabouts of the diaries. And as one of the top five telepaths in the world, who has expressly defended that secret from the likes of Exodus and Mr. Sinister, she is capable of preventing Professor X from just taking the information from her. So barring new retcons, if Moira has the diaries now, they had to have been obtained directly from Emma.

That's not enough to say that she turned them over to Moira specifically. She could have given them to Charles or Er—okay, no, she wouldn't give them to Charles. There could be a circumstance where she'd trust them to Erik though. But in that contingency, I think there's enough context to support Emma knowing why they'd want them and for who. To be clear though, I would be less confident about making that assertion if Emma hadn't just opened the “Dr. Moira MacTaggert Memorial Public Hospital” expressly to freak out Charles and Erik, and if HoxPox hadn't already linked them by showing Moira to be worried about what Emma was up to.

(This got kind of long so I thought it'd be helpful to say the important part up front before spiraling down the continuity rabbit hole)

The origins and resulting chain of custody for Destiny's Diaries are as follows: One January, decades ago, Destiny began recording visions of the future in a series of diaries. Filling one book per month, she continued writing for thirteen months. This process was described as auto-writing, and Destiny herself did not have a complete memory of what she had written, nor did she understand the meaning of much of what she wrote.

Nonetheless, the July diary contained a recording of the events leading up to the defeat of Apocalypse, and another diary contained information on the life of Hope Summers, so they've been very relevant to the events of the modern era. It's not explicit yet that Krakoa's founding is also in the diaries, but because we know Destiny had at least one separate vision of Krakoa, and because Moira is interested in reading them, it seems fairly likely that whatever Moira, Charles, and Erik have been doing behind the scenes is also in there.

In the decades since Destiny authored them, most of these diaries were lost, except for five that Mystique kept hold of, and a sixth that Irene hid away herself. After Mystique killed 'Moira,' she sent her five diaries to Professor X, hoping that the temptation of using them would consume his life and lead him toward a ruinous fate. Destiny meanwhile had entrusted the sixth diary to Shadowcat (who Destiny met in 1936, while she was time traveling and having an affair with Moira's grandfather don't worry about it), who eventually became so freaked out by something she read in it that she vanished on a mission, let her friends believe her dead for weeks, and had herself deleted from Cerebro, while leaving the diary to Rogue for safekeeping while she was away.

(That last chain of events isn't incredibly important, I just think it becomes kind of lol in light of current canon)

Rogue went on to take that diary and the research that had been done on it to Storm. Storm and Rogue then formed a splinter team of X-Men, to journey the world searching for the lost diaries, believing Professor X could not be trusted. Along the way a seventh book turned up with a treasure hunter named Vargas (don't worry about him), and an eighth was found by Gateway and given to Rogue in a dream. Eventually Storm tried to get Phoenix to collect Professor X's diaries for her, but they discovered that they had already been stolen (Shadowcat did it).

The rest of the diary hunt isn't really important, just that Kitty eventually ended up retrieving the full set, before she rejoined the X-Men, which only happened after Xavier had left Scott and Emma to run the school. This timeline is important for establishing that Xavier has never possessed the full set of diaries himself, and was not involved in collecting the lost books at any point, nor was he present at the time the diaries were brought to the school and fell under Emma's protection. This rules out the possibility that the set of diaries we've previously seen were somehow forged by Xavier.

Xavier would not return to the school until after losing his mutant powers, whereupon he departed for space on an adventure to another galaxy. He was unavailable, therefore, to have undertaken any telepathic shenanigans, so what happens next actually happened, and is not a psychic illusion. While Xavier was gone, Mr. Sinister recruited Exodus and Mystique, and began a campaign of hunting down precognitive psychics, time travelers, and any other sources of information on the future. Scott, Emma, and Kitty meanwhile predicted that they were going to be next, and came up with a bananas plan to keep the books safe.

X-Men volume 2 no. 203 by Mike Carey (Writer), Humberto Ramos (Penciler), Carlos Cuevas (Inker), Studio F’s Edgar Delgado (Colorist), Virtual Calligraphy’s Cory Petit (Letterer), Will Panzo (Assistant Editor), Nick Lowe (Editor), Joe Quesada (Editor in Chief), Dan Buckley (Publisher)

First they hid the diaries somewhere in parts unknown. Emma then altered the minds of “all of us” (everyone who lived at the mansion at that time) to perceive a bunch of decoy books as the real thing. She then erased Kitty's memory, and her own, so that no telepath would be able to extract the information by force, before they gave each other a series of post-hypnotic triggers so they could restore one another's memories if they ever needed the books again. When eventually Exodus attacked the school looking for the books, they restored their memories, and decided to send another team to the hidden location where they'd buried a mystery box. Emma gave this location to Sam and Bobby, who dug up the box, which was never opened, and which was destroyed by Gambit during a firefight with Sinister's forces before anyone could confirm its contents.

This was intended by author Mike Carey to be the end of Destiny's Diaries, a dropped plot from a previous creative run, that was vaguely useful at building up to the Messiah Complex crossover, but was a lot more trouble than it was worth to an author who was writing about the X-Men trying to avert a bad future. But there's a lot of room in the story he wrote for the diaries to have survived after all.

I think it's actually really suspicious that the box was accessible to Bobby and Sam at all. Why not drop it under a mountain? Why not bury it under the ocean? Why not keep it phased in a tree? And it's a big red box with a big red 'X' on it. I know the X-Men love their branding and all, but that's going pretty far.

No one actually opens the box before Gambit blows it up either. It could have contained more decoys, or nothing at all.

And when talking among themselves, Emma and Kitty never actually say that they're sending the X-Men to retrieve the diaries. They say that they know where the diaries are, and then send the X-Men to a place where they've buried something. The intent of the author is clear, but there's room in the dialogue for a later writer to decide that this just was another plan to keep the books hidden.

So for the entire period of time between assembling the complete collection of thirteen diaries, and their seeming destruction, they are never unaccounted for. Only Emma and Kitty knew the full extent of what they did to hide them, and where they were hidden. If fakes were destroyed instead of the real thing, no one would have known.

We could just be in retcon territory, but I don't think so, because it's fine on its own without any direct changes to canon. And really, faking the destruction of the books to cover up their real location makes a lot more sense than believing Emma Frost actually sent Sam to retrieve the incredibly suspicious looking red box that contained the most important object in the world, while half the super villains on the planet were chasing him.

Believing the diaries weren't really destroyed just requires the reader to accept that Emma would lie to the other X-Men, and keep lying to them for years, and that she'd be willing to put Sam and Bobby's lives at risk to protect that lie. Which she was already doing in that story anyway. She was already lying to everyone when she changed everyone's memories. And she—and Scott and Kitty—was already fine with risking everyone's lives when setting up a decoy trap in a school. So that's why I think this works better as a continuation of the existing, known, story of the diaries, and not a direct retcon to what happened.

In conclusion I think Emma knows about Moira because Moira got the diaries from somewhere, and Emma is the person she could have gotten them from. Nothing proves a direct hand-off in, like, a formal standard of proof or anything, but Emma having access to the diaries for so long, and having been wrapped up in this whole weird plot thread—which involves Moira and most of the Quiet Council—is enough to imply the connection in a story sense.

(ETA - For completion’s sake, there is also a weird story I didn’t go into called Chaos War that was published in 2011 where Moira is resurrected and finds a book in the ruins of the Xavier School that may or may not be one of the diaries, and touching it causes her soul to merge with Destiny’s, who then possesses her and guides her through a quest to destroy an evil god. This was an odd story to place in continuity at the time, and has only gotten stranger, given 1. that couldn’t be the real Moira, 2. Destiny is not merged with her soul. If this is in continuity (it’s been suggested that Moira’s golem was the character in this event), and all of the characters are who they say they are, and if the book in question was actually one of the thirteen diaries (and not some other book that Irene also wrote), then it requires Emma to have deliberately left one of the thirteen books behind for “Moira” to find, which if anything only adds to the likelihood that she knows what’s up)

#x-men #comics #marvel #wednesday spoilers #long post

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sassyduckqueen · 3 years ago

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 59

Oh damn! This has been a great chapter to write and I managed to work in Dark Bee!! Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this roller coaster ride of a chapter and get ready for more. It's Miracle Queen next and things are about to get even more crazy! Just as a heads up, Lila's take down won't be in this chapter. I'm sure I've said this before but I intend to have her full take down in my adaptation of Truth which will be my 'season 4' finale so chapter 80. I know it's far away but i promise it will be worth the wait. Anyway, that doesn't mean that Anatis is going to ignore Lila's actions. He is gonna be watching her like a hawk after this and searching for solid evidence to be able to take her down once and for all. I just wanted to let you guys know that so you can read Miracle Queen without been disappointed when a lila take down doesn't occur. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it :D Oh, my miracle queen redesign will now be marked as non spoiler too since she has been revealed in this chapter

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Chapter Fifty-Nine: Loveater (1/2)

~One Week Before Princess Justice~

Marinette frowned to herself as she sat in the park alone. She had tears rolling down her face and had been crying for a good few minutes. She was so tired and hurt that she didn't even care that it was raining or that she was soaked. It didn't matter. Not anymore. Her whole life was about to be destroyed and she didn't know how to save herself. Lila had been going on and on about how successful she was and of course, Marinette had gotten annoyed and pointed out her lies. Given they were obvious ones this time, she thought her classmates would finally realize but then Lila started to cry and accused Marinette of hating her and having a grudge against her. Marinette pointed out that she wouldn't have a problem with her if she didn't lie. That only made Lila worst and she began to cry so dramatically, it made Chloe look normal when she threw her tantrums. However, it worked on the class. Almost instantly, they began to berate her and tell her not to 'bully' poor Lila. Marinette tried to argue that she wasn't bullying her. She was simply trying to disprove her lies. That's when Miss Bustier told her to go to the principal's office. Marinette did in defeat and was given detention even though she explained she was just trying to help her friends. After that, lunch time came and Adrien came up to her. She naturally blushed and stumbled her words but he told her she shouldn't accuse anyone of lying without solid proof. Of course, that hurt Marinette more then he realized. He thought he was giving her advice, telling her to collect evidence and then show it to her classmates but Marinette saw it as him telling her off and berating in the same way as the rest of the class. Alya had already told her on several occasions that she needed proof that Lila was lying yet she never once verified her source when Lila claimed to be Ryuko's best friend and Aspik's girlfriend. It was so obvious she was lying yet it felt like Marinette was the only person who saw it. After Adrien's "advice", she excused herself and headed to the bathroom to cry. Unfortunately, Lila had seen her and followed her. She tried to be nice to her and worm her way in but when Marinette didn't relent, Lila showed her true colors and threatened her, giving her til the end of the day to bow down to her. That's why Marinette ended up in the park. She ran as fast as she could out of the school and to one of the only places she felt slightly safe. It was odd that she felt safe in the park but she could hide in the merry-go round, which is what she was doing. She jumped as her phone vibrated, causing her to look at it. She opened it and saw it was the group chat that her class had. She opened it, wondering if they were trying to reach her but it was just them spamming it with memes and other crap. Marinette sniffed and wiped her eyes as she realized no one had actually texted her to see if she was ok. She didn't expect her parents to because they were busy and some of the class she knew had issues with texting or phoning people. Juleka was one of them as was Nathaniel so she didn't expect them to but she thought Nino or Alya would have. Yet they had done nothing. Looking at the time, she decided to get up and walk back to the bakery. She needed to change her clothes anyway. She wiped her eyes off her tears and walked with her shoulders slumped towards the gate, failing to notice the purple butterfly fluttering towards her. However, as she literally stepped out, a bike pulled up next to it.

"Marinette?" A familiar voice asked, making her look up as Juleka's brother, Luka, climbed off his bike. His expression was one of concern and worry. "Are you ok?"

She blinked and automatically put on a small smile. It was a mask she had gotten so use to wearing.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She lied but Luka didn't look like he believed her. His expression became even more worried as her song didn't match her expression. Seeing him look at her with worry and concern shook her and the dam broke. Her shoulders shook as she felt tears in her eyes. "A-actually, no! I'm not fine at all!"

She covered her face and turned away from him, not wanting him to see her tears. He would just ignore it anyway. That's what everyone did. She began to sob, feeling alone again as the butterfly fluttered closer but then she felt an arm move around her as Luka gently pulled her against her. He was holding his bike with his other hand and she couldn't help but cry as everything she felt came out.

"I'm so tired, Luka!" She gasped, shaking as she cried. The butterfly fluttered closer to her. "Of all these responsibilities. Of having to put up a front all of the time. Of not been allowed to be who I truly am!"

"It's alright, Marinette," He stated as he gently moved his thumb up and down on her shoulder, trying to comfort her as she cried. It slowly worked as the butterfly just hovered nearby. "You can tell everything or nothing if you prefer. You can be yourself around me you know... just yourself,"

She looked up at him as he looked back at her before leaning against his chest, causing him to let go of his bike. It crashed to the floor as he wrapped both arms around her, causing her to close her eyes. For the first time in ages, she felt... warm and safe and for a while, they just stood there. Neither noticed the butterfly fluttering away to find a new victim. Instead, it was just the two of them and the world could wait before she sniffed and wiped her eyes, looking up at him sadly before reality seemed to catch up with her. She quickly pulled away, embarrassed as she blushed.

"I-I'm so sorry, Luka," She gasped, trying to not to freak out too much. "I didn't mean to break down-"

"It's ok," Luka smiled, making her smile shyly and her heart flutter a little. "You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders but if you don't want to tell me-"

"I'm been bullied," She stated, making him blink as she looked down. "There's this girl in my class. She lies like it's second nature to her and I realized what she was doing. I tried to call her out to protect my friends because she's promising them everything but no one believes me. Alya keeps telling me to not to be jealous of her and Adrien told me to not to accuse her if I don't have proof and I don't know what to do, Luka. She threatened to destroy my life if I didn't-"

"She threatened you?!" He gasped, shocked. "Marinette, you have to tell a teacher!"

"I can't, Luka," She whispered, making him frown."They do nothing... Chloe bullies everyone but none of the teachers do anything because her father is the mayor and Lila is the daughter of the italian ambassador or so she says but the point is the school believes her and they don't bother rich parents,"

She looked down with a broken expression.

"It doesn't matter anyway," She stated, looking sad. Luka went to argue but before they could, an explosion got their attention before Ryuko and Aspik landed in front of them. They grabbed them and carried them away as a building landed where they had been standing, causing Luka to look back. His eyes widen in surprise as he saw some kind of monster in the dust but before he could question it, he was dropped off near his home and was alone. Aspik had taken Marinette back to hers. He sighed and dropped her a text, telling her that he was there for her if she needed him. She replied with a simple thank you. Neither of them expected their lives to change one week later when Princess Justice's reign began and Anatis was born...

~The Dupain-Cheng Resident, Current Time~

Marinette hummed to herself as she sew the final part of her gift to Anatis. She stopped and stretched, glancing around her room. Plagg was curled up in his bed, sleeping off his food coma. He had stuffed his face with a cheese danish while she had been working and was now snoring a little. She smiled and shook her head as she went back to her thoughts. Tomorrow was exactly one year since she had became Princess Justice and Anatis had turned up to save Paris. However, she wasn't upset about it been the anniversary of her akumatization. Quite the opposite actually. Since she had became Princess Justice, her life had changed dramatically. Most of her class knew that Lila was a liar, even if some people were still in denial. Though Alya was getting the memo now and definitely started to act carefully around the italian. She had build friendships with people she never thought she could be friends with. Kagami was one of them and so was Chloe and Sabrina. The two girls had turned out to be pretty awesome and then there was her friendship with Adrien. Since she had completely moved on from him, she no longer stumbled over her words or acted like an idiot. She was fully supportive of his relationship with Kagami as well. They made each other happy and she was happy for them. She had also befriended Kitty Section and grown so much closer to Luka. Sure, he had always been there for her before but their friendship was so much stronger now. Even the students at their school had noticed and began referring to them as the everyday Anatis and the everyday Lady Noir. The irony that she was Lady Noir made her chuckle when she heard it. However, she saw why they called them that. She generally considered him her best friend. They were quite the duo too. Luka was always willing to help others and Marinette was kind of his partner in crime so to speak. Of course, she wanted to be more then just his friend but this wasn't like how she was with Adrien. She had realized that what she felt for Adrien was a crush and an unhealthy one at that. She wasn't in love with him at all. She fallen for the person she thought he was but she had him on a pedestal and she was determined not to do the same with Luka. She wanted to truly love him for who he was, faults and all. She also intended to give him a gift for the anniversary as he had been there for her no matter what so she had made two gifts. One for the boy who had always supported her and stayed at her side and one for the hero who had stepped up and saved her from herself. Without Luka and Anatis, she wouldn't be here. She jumped a little as she heard a thump on her balcony, making her smile a little before she got up and picked up the gift she had made Anatis. It wasn't anything fancy. She had made him a scarf with a ladybug pattern as it would be getting colder soon and she didn't want her partner to get cold. She grabbed the small bag of cookies that she always kept on the side before climbing up to the balcony. Anatis was leaning against the balcony, looking out to the city as the light sparkled. He had been pretty quiet on their patrol earlier so she had a feeling he might come to visit her as her civilian self.

"Hello stranger," She stated, making him look over and smile a little. "It's been a while since you came by,"

"It has, hasn't it?" He replied, smiling a little. "I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to come back given that your father probably still hates me,"

"Don't worry. Papa has let it go," She replied, walking over to him. "It's nice to see you again though,"

"Likewise, Princess," He smiled before shaking his head. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't call you that..."

"I don't mind," She mumbled, moving a little bit of her hair behind her ear. "So what brings you to my balcony tonight?"

"I wanted to check on you," He admitted, playing with his hands. "Tomorrow is exactly a year since-"

"I became Princess Justice and you became Anatis," She stated, making him nod. "And because you're a wonderful bug, you wanted to check on me in case I'm feeling upset?"

"Y-Yeah," He muttered as his cheeks went a little red. "I-Is that ok? Or am I been too intense? I can go-"

"Stay," She replied, making him look at her in slight surprise. "I'm not in a bad mood but I like your company, Anatis... you saved me. I actually have something for you,"

She held out the scarf, making him blink and pick it up as he looked at it.

"It's a thank you gift for de-akumatizing me," She replied, looking down to the ground. "You were one of the only people who tried to save me and cared about me. I don't know how I could have come back from that place without you or Luka,"

"L-Luka?" He asked, looking at her in surprise. She nodded as a small smile appeared on her face and a light blush came across her cheeks.

"He saved me too," She replied, making him look at her with more surprise. "Not in the same way you did but... he believed me when no one else did and tried to help me. I know I failed both of you by falling prey to Hawkmoth but even after that... he was still there by my side. Without you two, I'd be lost,"

"You didn't fail us, Marinette," Anatis stated, making her look at him as he stepped closer to her. She expected him to say something else but to her surprise, he didn't. He just simply placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, making her blush as he did before he looked at her with a gentle look. "I think I can speak for both me and Luka when I say we will always been there to help you find your way home,"

"Anatis..." She whispered as tears came into her eyes. She hugged him, causing him to wrap his arms around her shoulders. "Thank you,"

"Anytime, Marinette," He replied as she leaned into him. He gently pulled away and put the scarf around his neck. "Thank you for making this for me,"

"It's the least I could do," She replied, blushing a little. "I thought a scarf would be nice since it's gonna be winter again and I don't want you to get cold. Ladybugs don't do well in the winter,"

He chuckled and smiled as she gave him a small smile before she took out the bag of cookies and macarons as well.

"And these are for Tikki," She smiled, making him smile back.

"Thank you," He smiled, taking them from her. "She'll be over the moon with these,"

Marinette smiled as Anatis sat down next to her. The two of them remained in silence for a few minutes as Anatis played with his hands while looking out to the city. Marinette frowned a little as he seemed nervous before deciding to break their silence.

"Are you ok?" She asked, making him look as he stopped playing with his hands. "You seem... nervous?"

"I was invited to an award ceremony," He admitted, making her blink. "Something about the mayor wanting to give me a medal for my bravery and to name the day after me... I guess I don't really get it. I'm not brave-"

Marinette snorted at that, making him look at her.

"What?" He asked, smiling a little.

"You're not brave?" She asked, making him nod. "Anatis, you're the literal hero of Paris. You face dangers every day and fight supervillains to save us from some mad man with evil butterflies,"

"That's not bravery," He replied, surprising her. "Bravery is standing up against those who wish to harm others without mask,"

He gently tapped the side of his mask.

"I have a mask," He replied, making Marinette shake her head.

"That doesn't make you not brave," She replied, looking over to the city. "I think you're brave. When it came to getting your powers and taking the responsibility of saving Paris, you took it in your stride. You could have freaked out, turned evil or just cowarded away but you didn't. You're not just a hero to me. You're a beacon of hope and a light in the darkness. When it felt like I was drowning and no one was trying to save me, you reached in and pulled me out of that and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that way. That's why the mayor wants to give you a medal and name a day after you,"

"Marinette..." He whispered, making her look at him. He smiled softly. "Thank you..."

"Anytime," She smiled. "So are you gonna attend?"

"I don't know," He admitted, looking down. "I think if I do, Lady Noir should come with me. She deserves as much recognition as I do. I'd even say she's way braver than I am,"

"I think it's adorable how you talk about her," She smiled, making him blush a little. "It's obvious you admire her a lot,"

"I do," He nodded, leaning against his hand. "She's my best friend and I like to think I'm hers,"

"I think so," Marinette smiled, making him smile. Of course, she considered him her best friend but he didn't know that. She smiled a little again before gently leaning against his arm. He looked at her and gave her a soft smile. "Thank you for checking on me,"

"Thank you for listening to me drone on," He replied, making her chuckle a little before the two of them looked over to the city once more.

~The Next Day~

"Yes, Papa. I do know where the Grand Paris hotel is," Marinette stated as she held her mobile with her shoulder as she placed the last of the lemon and vanilla macarons into the boxes. They were part of the buffet for the Rossi's wedding anniversary. She didn't really want to be at the place, giving that it was Lila's family but her parents asked her to help bring the food to the venue then she would be free for the rest of the day. She closed the box and moved her hand to her phone as her father told her not to be late. "Me? Late? I won't be this time, Papa. For sure! I promise!!"

"Ok then," Tom replied before he hung up. Marinette put her phone away and picked up the boxes before picking up the boxes and headed to the door. She almost tripped up on the small step but caught herself and didn't drop a single box. She let out a sigh of relief as she heard Plagg snigger at her before she carefully made her way across the shop floor and out of the door. It was a bit difficult but she manages to get out without dropping a box. However, a bike bell made her jump as someone pulled up next to the shop, causing her to accidentally throw the boxes. Luckily, the person on the bike caught them as she recovered from the surprise. She blinked and saw Luka there, making her smile.

"Luka!" She asked, smiling as she walked over. "What are you doing here?"

"I was working on a new song for you actually," He replied, handing her the boxes. "One that matches you completely and I think I've found it at last. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes please," She smiled, making him smile back before he reached for his guitar and moved it into his lap. He began to play, causing her to cheeks to flush as she listened to it. It was really beautiful and making her heart flutter as he played. He came to a stop, making her blink as he looked at her. "T-that's me?"

"Yeah," He replied, nodding as she blushed more. "What do you think?"

"Wow, it's... it's incredible!" She gasped, making him smile a little before he pulled a thoughtful face. "I-is something wrong?"

"It's still not quite right," He sighed a little, making her blink before he smiled. "I can do better. I'm gonna work on it some more,"

"Will you play it for me when you work it out?" She asked, making him smile and nod before her phone rang. She picked it up and answered it, causing her father to ask her if she was on her way. "Yeah, Papa, I'm on my way,"

She hung up and turned to Luka with a little frown.

"Sorry," She muttered, looking down a little. "I have to go,"

He put his guitar back and pulled out a second helmet, handing it out to her. She blinked in surprise.

"Are you sure?" She asked, surprised.

"I don't mind," He smiled and kicked down part of his bike so it could stand on it's own before getting off it. He walked over to Marinette and took the boxes off her, securing them onto the back of his bike as she put on the helmet before he got back onto the bike. Marinette sat behind him and held onto his waist as he kicked the rod back up and began cycling again. "Where to?"

"The Grand Paris hotel," She smiled as they did a u-turn and began to cycle there. Once there, Luka brought the bike to a stop and held it still. Marinette jumped off and took off the helmet, handing it back to him before she got the boxes and moved around to the entrance. "Thank you for the lift, Luka,"

"Anytime, Marinette," He smiled before she gave him a shy smile and gently kissed his cheek. Though she had kissed his cheek on several occasion, it took him by surprise because it felt different. Or more precisely... she felt different when she did it. Her previous kisses were gentle and the kind you expect off a friend but this one was bold and he could feel her intentions. She intended it to be romantic, completely surprising him. However, he shook his head and just put it down to his imagination before returning the smile. "I'll find the perfect melody for you,"

"I can't wait to hear it," She smiled, making him blush a little. "I better bring these up before Lila sees a chance to make me look bad again,"

"Lila?" Luka asked, making her nod.

"It's her parents' wedding anniversary and for some reason, they booked the bakery to do their food," She sighed, making him nod. "Mama and Papa told me I only have to bring the food to the venue then I could leave and have the rest of the day off,"

"Do you want me to come up with you?" He asked, surprising her. "In case Lila tries anything,"

"That would be nice if you could," She admitted, blushing a little. He smiled and moved his bike over to the parking area. He locked it up and took off his helmet before walking back over to Marinette and grabbing three of the boxes. She smiled and headed to the lifts. "You're not gonna get in trouble at work are you?"

"Oh no, I finished my shift before I came by the bakery," He replied, making her nod as they stepped inside.

"What if Lila clings to you?" She asked, making him look at her as she felt bad about accepting his offer. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable or put him in a situation that he was uncomfortable with. "You know if you want-"

"I'm not gonna leave you alone in the claws of that faker," He stated, making her smile. "And if she clings on me, I'll remove myself from her claws. Of course, if she happens to get hurt... well then that's her fault,"

"You're the best," She smiled, reaching up and kissing him on a cheek again. "A good side is that Kagami and Adrien are here since their families were invited,"

"Ah, I'm not surprised," Luka mumbled, nodding. "Isn't Lila's mother an ambassador for Italy?"

"She is and her father is the Public relations manager for Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Armani and Versace," Marinette replied, making Luka look at her in surprise and shock. "I know! It turns out she wasn't lying about her mother's job and her father works with the famous,"

"So her stories might have a bit of truth," Luka muttered as the lift pinged. Marinette nodded as he frowned. "That explains why she finds it easy to tell them and make them slightly believable. Though she really shouldn't lie so much, even if her mother is part of the government and her father works with the famous,"

"Agreed," She replied as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened. "Some of her stories are so over the top,"

"That's true," Luka smiled as they walked out of it. Luka glanced around as they walked across the room. They saw Adrien and Kagami sat by Tomoe and Adrien's bodyguard and Lila herself was leaning against the lift. She noticed him and gave him her best smile but he ignored it and walked past her, causing her to frown. Marinette strolled next to him but cried out as she tripped and fell. Luka rushed over to her as Lila smirked, causing him to glare as she walked away. To his surprise, Kagami and Adrien rushed over as well.

"Are you ok, Marinette?" Kagami asked as Luka helped her to her feet and Adrien picked up the boxes she dropped.

"I am," She replied, nodding. "Lila just... urg..."

"She tripped you up, didn't she?" Adrien sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, you'd think she would lay off for her parents' wedding anniversary,"

He glanced over to the couple and the crowd, causing Luka to look over at them as well. Mrs Rossi was fairly pretty but strict looking. She had the same colored hair as Lila but it was styled in a bun. She was wearing a very beautiful dress that had a silver and gray top with gems across it and a deep green skirt. Her husband wore a matching suit. It was dark gray with deep green detail. His shirt was a light gray and his tie was green. He wasn't anything really special to look at and it was obvious he had some sort of plastic surgery to make himself look younger then he actually was. His hair was clearly dyed and he had some very expensive accessories such as his rolex watch. Seeing him in person, Luka could see that Lila took after him in looks. He had a similar face shape with a rather large forehead and his eyes were the same olive green as hers. However, what caught Luka's attention more than anything was the awkwardness between the couple. It was clear that neither wanted to be there. They were refusing to meet each other's eyes and Mrs Rossi had her arms folded. Her expression was one of annoyance and disappointment. Mr Rossi was completely ignoring her and looking far from her. However, the guests stopped chatting as an usher clapped their hands, getting their attention. It also caused Luka, Marinette, Adrien and Kagami to look over. To Luka's surprise, Mr Agreste's assistant was there, holding her tablet. Noticing his confused look, Adrien leaned over to him.

"Father has created a very special gift for their anniversary," He whispered, making Luka nod as Mr Agreste cleared his throat.

"Maria and Marco, on this most solemn day in celebration of your ten year wedding anniversary," Gabriel Agreste stated as everyone watched. "I am delighted to offer this magnificent gift I personally designed for you,"

Luka rose an eyebrow as Lila walked over to the Gorilla and Nathalie who passed her a box before she walked on stage and presented it to her parents.

"My dearest Mr and Mrs Rossi," He stated as they opened the box and took out the gift, putting it on. "I hereby present to you the Gabriel couple cloak, a symbol of eternal love and bonds of marriage,"

"Ouch!" Mr Rossi growled as his wife knocked into him. "Are you trying to trip me up?!"

Mrs Rossi ignored him as she turned to Nathalie and Mr Agreste.

"Thank you, Gabriel," She smiled falsely. "It's wonderful,"

"Yes, quite fantastic," Mr Rossi replied, smiling false as well. "Truly it's a piece of art... even on someone as strict as my wife. You know I told her to let her hair down for once but she insisted on having it up in a bun. I admire her for it though. It takes a very special person to not care what people think. I think that's part of the reason why she's so successful in her job... that and everyone's scared of her. To my wife!"

The adults held up their drinks and called out Mrs Rossi's name as if giving a toast to her, making her and Mr Rossi smile a little but it made Luka frown deeply. He knew a back compliment when he heard one and he could feel the hurt that she felt. Marinette frowned as she looked at him before gently poking his arm.

"You ok?" She asked, making him nod as Lila returned back to her original position. "You sure?"

"Yeah," He replied as the four of them walked over to Tom and Sabine, placing the boxes down. "Hi, Sabine. Hi, Tom,"

"Hello, Luka. It's good to see you," Sabine stated as Tom waved before she turned to Marinette. "Before you go home, could you just get rid of these trays for us?"

"Oh and grab us some cocktail umbrellas," Tom added in, causing her to nod as she and Luka automatically grabbed some of the trays. To her surprise, Adrien and Kagami grabbed some too.

"You guys don't have to," She stated, making them blink. "You should enjoy the ceremony,"

"We're good," Adrien smirked as they walked to the kitchen. "It's so boring and we're more then happy to help you,"

"Well... thank you," Marinette smiled as Luka placed down the first set of trays. Marinette placed hers on top and began to look for the umbrellas. She found them and smiled before heading outside as Adrien and Kagami picked up some of the utils and began to play fight. Marinette came back a few minutes later and turned to Luka. "Well, I'm free for the rest of the day-"

Adrien's bodyguard suddenly burst through the door, causing the two of them to look at him. They both noticed that Adrien and Kagami had ducked down so they couldn't be seen. He was looking around, causing Luka to blink.

"Can we help you find something?" He asked, making the Gorilla frown before he left. Marinette let out a sigh as Adrien and Kagami popped back up.

"Thanks, you two," Adrien smiled, causing them to look at him before a mischievous look came on his face. It was quickly matched by Kagami's expression. "Could we ask a favor?"

"Could you help us escape?" Kagami asked, making both Luka and Marinette blink. "We don't want to be here and it's not often we get time for ourselves... oh you could escape with us!"

"Um I mean my parents have everything covered and I don't want to be here much longer with..." She glanced at the door, making everyone understand who she meant. "But the only exit is out there. Your families will see you sneak away,"

"That's a good point," Adrien sighed before looking out the door. "The biggest issue is getting past the Gorilla. He's stood by the doors as well,"

Luka looked over, frowning before looking around the kitchen. His luck vision lit up some aprons and chef hats. He grabbed them and handed them to Adrien, Kagami and Marinette before putting one on himself, making Marinette smile before the four of them left the kitchen and walked past the guests. Luckily for them, the Gorilla was looking the other direction for them as they walked by. Just as they got halfway across the room, he looked over and began to move over, causing the four of them to run out of the exit. They ran up the stairs and dropped the disguise, causing them to land on the Gorilla as he followed. The four of them burst through the last fire escape and rushed onto the roof, running down the steps and past the ball pool. Adrien and Kagami looked around, trying to work out where to hide as they heard the fire escape door open. Luka suddenly pushed them into the ball pit before grabbing Marinette's hand and jumping in with her. Seconds later, the Gorilla rushed by and looked for them, frowning as he couldn't find them. He looked under the tables but gave up when they weren't there. He walked over to the lift and took it down, causing the four of them to look up.

"Luka, that was genius!" Marinette gasped as Kagami and Adrien nodded.

"Been disobedient is entertaining," Kagami smiled, clearly enjoying herself. "I've never had so much fun in my life,"

"Really?" Luka asked, surprised before Marinette playfully threw a ball at her, surprising her and making everyone laugh. Luka ducked and grabbed a couple as Adrien tried to aim at him before throwing them towards him and kagami. Marinette laughed and moved over to him, using his height to hide behind him as she threw them at Adrien and Kagami. Seeing a chance, Kagami drove underneath the balls and pulled Marinette under before resurfacing and laughing. Marinette resurfaced, laughing as well but her pigtails had come loose, letting her hair down. For a second, Luka was completely taken back at how beautiful she looked, allowing Adrien to him with a ball. He blinked and shook his head before looking to Marinette again. "Wow..."

"Huh?" She asked, confused.

"It's the first time I've seen you with your hair down," He smiled, making her blush and dive under to find her hair ties. Kagami giggled as she tried to find them, causing Luka to help her. Marinette luckily took the joke well and laughed as she tried to find them.

~Back to the Party~

Lila frowned as she saw all the attention of her parents. However, her phone buzzed, causing her to look at it. She smirked as she saw a text from Hawkmoth, telling her to do what needed to be done. She smirked to herself and put away her phone. For the last couple of weeks, she has been causing problems for her parents. There were just small things but she had done things like cancelled flowers, helped her father choose the wrong thing, got rid of some of her mother's work so she had to work late and had been driving a wedge between them. The worst part is it was working. Throughout the whole morning, she had been dropping snide remarks or redirecting things. The best part was when her mother told her off, she would just cry and claim that she was trying to help which in turn made her father coddle her and snap at her mother. However, she wasn't done yet. The pièce de résistance of her plan was the cake. She had already messed with it, changing flavors and icing but somehow it managed to remain the way they wanted it too. She wasn't bothered by that though. She had a plan to use it as the final nail in the coffin so to speak and all was needed was to literally topple it. She knew it would be enough to push her mother over the edge and start one of her infamous arguments. Lila glanced over as Tom began to wheel the cake over, causing her to disappear over to the cart. He walked away to go and get the knives in order to cut it, causing her to smirk and carefully move it to the edge. It was just enough not fall right now but it would the moment anyone put pressure it. With that done, she moved as close to the entrance and typed a message to Hawkmoth, telling him to get ready. Tom returned and her parents walked over. Her father was holding the cloak as they walked over. Lila smirked as they reached it and took one of the knives from Tom before he stepped back. They held it together and placed it on the side of the cake, causing it to wobble and fall. They managed to jump away so it fell onto the floor, making her mother gasp in annoyance before she turned to Tom with a glare in her eyes.

"You idiot!" She screamed, surprising everyone but Lila. She knew her mother kept a tight lid on her emotions but would explode like a volcano if the right buttons were pushed. "What the hell were you thinking putting that damn cake close to the edge like that, you useless orge?!"

"Darling, calm down," Her father gasped, making her smirk as her mother turned to him.

"Calm down?!" She screeched. "You useless imbecile! I won't calm down!! Give me that!"

"What?! No! You don't deserve this piece of art!" Mr Rossi shouted back as she yanked at it. "You're been ridiculous!"

"I'm been ridiculous?!" She screamed, making him blink. "No, you're been ridiculous! And this whole thing is ridiculous! That stupid cloak is! That dumb baker is! Why don't you just go back to Italy like you always do?! Hell, I'll paid for the seat for you!!"

"Gladly and I'll take Lila with me!"

"Oh no! You won't!" She screamed, making him growl. "You're a useless father!"

"I'm the useless parent?!" He screamed back. "You're never there for her!"

"Oh and you are!!"

Lila couldn't help but smirk as they kept on arguing, making the guests blink as they were unsure what to do. Lila smirked even more as she saw the akuma fluttering into the room and straight into the cloak as her phone vibrated. She looked at it and smirked again before disappearing through the fire exit as her parents accepted the akuma and transformed into whatever monstoriaty Hawkmoth had turned them into.

~Back to Luka, Marinette, Adrien and Kagami~

Kagami smiled as she watched Adrien play the piano while Luka sat on the edge of the ball pit. Marinette was still finding her hair ties. She managed to find them and moved over to the edge, looking to tie her hair back up. Luka looked over at her and gave her a soft smile, making her blush.

"Your hair looks beautiful," He stated, causing her cheeks to heat up even more but before anyone else can could say a thing, the lift bell rang as two girls ran out of the lift. Luka frowned as he recognized one of them as Renée Marcel. However, her song and expression was one of panic. She glanced around and knocked down a table, dragging it to the lift and blocking it, alarming Luka even more. He stood up, causing Adrien to stop playing as the girls backed away from the lift. Marinette looked over to him.

"Luka?" She asked, causing the girls to look over and gasp. They rushed over to them as he frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"T-There's a monster!" The other girl gasped as Renée rubbed her arm. "I-It ate my father!"

"What?!" Adrien gasped, jumping and going to run over to the lift but Luka suddenly grabbed him as the table went flying as the creature burst from the lift.

"Under the piano!" He hissed, pushing Adrien towards it as the six of them ducked underneath. Renée gently held the other girl as she shook and Marinette looked at Luka as he frowned. They all held their breath as a snake like creature slithered by.

"Come out, children," A female voice hissed, sending shivers down their spines.

"We only want your love!" A male one replied, making Luka frown. The girl in Renée's arms shook as tears rolled down her face, causing Luka to frown. It was clearly an akuma and they needed to escape before it caught them. He glanced around before one of Marinette's hair ties lit up, along with a cake. He quickly grabbed it off her, making her blink at him before he grabbed the cake and used it as a slingshot, firing the cake across the pool and near the lift. It hit something, making a loud bang and getting the monster's attention. It hissed and moved over there. "There you are!"

Luka pointed to the fire escape, causing everyone to nod and jump out. They ran over and through the door, slamming it behind them. They ran down the stairs as fast as they could, rushing into the restaurant area. However, the creature burst through the door a few minutes later. It was truly terrifying to look at it. It resembled a snake person but it was pink. It was wearing an outfit that resembled the couple cape given to Mr and Mrs Rossi, making Luka gasp as he realized it had to be them. It had four arms but the creepiest part was it's head. It appeared to spin and switch between Mrs Rossi and her husband. Currently, it was Mrs Rossi looking around but Luka could see her husband's face on the back off it's head. Her face had a massive frown on it, framed with heart shaped lips and jagged teeth. Her eyes eyes narrowed as she stared at Luka.

"This one has so much love," She declared, licking her lips before her head twisted around to reveal her husband. Like her, he had jagged teeth but instead of a frown, he had a massive grin.

"Yes, it's making my mouth water thinking about it!" He declared as his eyes glowed.

"Luka!" Marinette screamed, pushing him out of the way as they fired a pink beam at him.

"How romantic! It makes me sick!" Mrs Rossi snarled as she took back control before firing beams at them again. However, Kagami threw a cake at them, along with Adrien. Renée and her friend were curled up, holding each other as the creature turned to them. Luka jumped onto his feet and helped Marinette up as Kagami and Adrien dodged the beam of the creature. "Stay still brats!"

"Get out of here!" He gasped, pushing her towards the exit before he rushed over to Renée and her friend. Renée jumped up, just as Kagami got hit by the beam and turned into a heart. Luka looked in horror as the creature's head spun into a male face and ate the heart. Adrien screamed and charged at it, causing it's tail to hit him. It turned on him, causing Luka to shake his head. He scooped up Renée's friend and ran out of the cafe with her. Luckily, Marinette had gone ahead but with Adrien and Kagami gone, the creature was following them. Luka ran as fast as he could while holding the sobbing girl and Renée ran with him. He ran up some stairs and into a new hall.

"Luka!" A voice shouted, making him look over. Chloe was stood in a door and Sabrina was gesturing towards him. He ran over and pushed the crying girl inside as the creature clashed through. Renée tripped and fell, causing the creature to go and fire a beam at her as it's head spun back to Mr Rossi. Luka rushed over and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the way in time. She looked at him in surprise as he pushed her into the room. He went to enter the room as well but the creature's tail crushed the door frame, causing bricks and debris to block the way. He managed to dive out of the way and backed up as the akuma turned to him, licking it's lips. It's head spun around back to Mrs Rossi as he backed away from it.

"This boy is full of so much love for his family, for his friend and for the girl who stole his heart," She gasped, licking her lips as she leaned closer to him. Her eyes began to glow as she literally drooled at the idea of eating him. He shuddered a little at the thought of it. "You will make such a delicious meal!"

Luka manage to jump out of the way before the beam hit him and rushed out of the escape door, running back up the stairs. He burst through the door and ran across the roof, making the creature follow him. Despite its size, it moved extremely fast and managed to catch up with him. It went to grab him but before it could, Lady Noir jumped down in front of them and slammed her hand onto the ground.

"Cataclysm!" She yelled, causing the floor to crack. It gave way beneath akuma's weight, causing it to fall through. Seeing her chance, Lady Noir turned to Luka and picked him up. "Hold on,"

He did as told as she ran to the edge and jumped across the roofs before landing by the bridge near the Eiffel tower. She put him down and looked at him.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, making him shake his head. "Good, please stay here. I have to go see if anyone else needs rescuing before engaging the akuma,"

"There's four girls possibly trapped in Chloe's room," He stated, making her nod. "But thank you for rescuing me,"

"No problem, Luka," She nodded before jumping off. As soon as she was out of sight, he hid under the bridge and transformed into Anatis. He ran out and threw his yoyo, returning to the hotel. He landed on the rooftop and glanced around, not seeing Lady Noir or the akuma. He did see Renée and her friend huddled under the piano but Chloe and Sabrina weren't around. He walked over and knelt down, making them look at him. Renée was holding her friend as she shook.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a gentle voice.

"T-The monster got Chloe and Sabrina," The shaking girl gasped, making him frown. "They were trying to get us out of here but the monster has destroyed anyway to get out so we headed up here and it attacked us but Chloe and Sabrina sacrificed themselves so we could escape. The creature was hunting us but it suddenly up and left..."

"I think it was talking to Hawkmoth," Renée stated, making him frown. "It jumped off the building,"

"Ok," He nodded, taking out his yoyo and checking the news report. It showed Loveater attacking people down the street but Lady Noir wasn't there. He frowned but maybe she was tailing it and decided not to engage with it until he was around. A wise choice. "Do you know who it is?"

"Mr and Mrs Rossi," The shaking girl gasped, making him frown as it confirmed what he thought. "It's their 10 year wedding anniversary today but everything went wrong then they turned into that monster when the akuma flew into the cloak Gabriel had given them,"

"Alright," He nodded. "You should stay here. Loveater isn't in the hotel anymore so you should be safe to hide here. Just be careful of the debris ok?"

"Ok," Renée nodded before gasping. "Our friend Luka-"

"He's safe," He smiled, making them both breathe out. "Lady Noir managed to rescue him,"

"Oh thank goodness," Renée sighed with relief as they crawled from under the piano. "Come on, Elise,"

Elise nodded and walked over to an area of the roof that wasn't destroyed as Anatis jumped off the roof and swung over to where Loveater was rampaging. He jumped down and noticed Lady Noir on a roof, watching it. He jumped across and landed next to her.

"What have you observed?" He asked as she looked at him.

"It's obsessed with destroying love and it moves very fast," She replied, making him nod. "I think we're gonna need help,"

"I think so too," He muttered, nodding.

"Do you want me to engage it or just keep an eye on it?" She asked, making him think.

"Keep an eye on it," He replied, pressing the dot on his yoyo. It lifted up, allowing him to take it out and put it in his ear. "And let's keep in contact too,"

"Ok," She nodded, taking one from her baton and placing it in her ear. He nodded before jumping away and swinging towards Master Fu. He jumped across the rooftops as he got closer but he suddenly fell and landed on the ground as a wave of illness came over him, making him frown and look around. On the roof opposite to him, he saw someone perched. He narrowed his eyes as he saw the blue and purple colors.

"Mayura," He muttered, throwing his yoyo up and jumping across the roofs, leading her away from Master Fu's. He managed to shake her off by hiding behind another roof. He looked over as she looked around before she lifted her fan.

"Hawkmoth, I've lost him. He was just passed the rooftops of the Arènes de Lutèce," She stated, making him frown. A few minutes later, Hawkmoth himself landed next to her, causing him to look around and smirk.

"He's here somewhere" He stated, making him frown as Hawkmoth looked around. "Come out wherever you are, Anatis,"

Hawkmoth continued to look around before he jumped down and ran over to the roof. He swung off, causing both Hawkmoth and Mayura to chase him so he pressed his ear piece.

"Kitten, can you hear me?" He asked.

"Loud and clear,"

"I need you to go to Master Fu's instead," He stated, sensing the frown as he passed the Eiffel tower. Hawkmoth and Mayura were gaining on him. "Hawkmoth and Mayura are following me,"

"Do you need back up?"

"No," He replied, landing on the very top of the tower. "I'm gonna take them keep them distracted. You head to Master Fu's and get the Bee miraculous. That's the one we need,"

"But I don't know who Abeille is," She gasped, making him frown.

"Don't worry about that right now," He stated as Hawkmoth and Mayura raced up the tower. "Get the miraculous and I'll meet you soon,"

"Ok," She replied as Hawkmoth and Mayura landed on either side of him. He glanced around and smirked at them as he took out his yoyo. It just happened to be quite the foggy day today, meaning most of the Eiffel tower was surrounded by a deep fog.

"Catch me if you can," He replied before dropping off the Eiffel, making both Mayura and Hawkmoth gasp as he disappeared into the fog. He threw his yoyo, wrapping it around part of the tower and swung underneath. He threw his yoyo up and summoned a lucky charm, getting a box of washing up soap. He glanced around as his luck vision highlighted the fire hydrant. He rushed over to it and opened it, pouring the soap in it. Within seconds, it exploded, cover the area in a high amount of soap foam that covered him. He heard Hawkmoth shouting in annoyance.

"Where is he?! I can't see him!!" He growled as the foam kept growing. Seeing his chance, Anatis carefully moved over to a manhole and opened it as he heard Mayura trying to look around.

"He must have used a lucky charm!" Mayura gasped as he climbed into the manhole and re-covered it. He ran through the sewer as quickly as he could. He frowned to himself as he heard the manhole open again, meaning one of them was following him. He came to a ladder before he climbed up and pushed open the other manhole, climbing out of it and into an alleyway. He moved over to the edge and saw nothing was around so he ran out and over to the Metro. He ran down the stairs enough to hide but to be able to spy on the alley he had come out of before detransforming. He caught Tikki and gave her a cookie as he waited for the person who had followed him. It took a few minutes but Mayura came out and glanced around, frowning. She lifted her fan to her mouth. "Hawkmoth, he's gone and I can't sense him either,"

"Damn it," He heard Hawkmoth's voice echo. "Return back to me. We just use Loveater to capture him,"

"Of course, Hawkmoth," She replied, folding up the fan and jumping up onto the roofs. Luka narrowed his eyes as he watched her run off before turning to Tikki.

"That was close," She gasped, making him nod. "It was a good thing you noticed them,"

"I know," He replied, frowning. He was deeply concerned with the fact that Hawkmoth was out and about. He sighed and turned to Tikki. "Are you fully charged?"

"Yep!"

"Good," He smiled before swiping his earrings. "Tikki, spots on!"

He re-transformed and threw his yoyo up, pulling himself onto the rooftops before running across them. He checked Lady Noir's location on his yoyo before heading to the Pont des Arts. Before he landed next to her, he made sure that Hawkmoth or Mayura had followed him.

"It's attacked almost everyone in it's path," She replied, making him frown. "Did you lose your tail?"

He glanced over, just in case before nodding.

"Did you get it?" He asked, making her nod and showing him the bee miraculous. He smiled and gently patted her head, causing her to smile and purr a little. "Good job, kitten,"

"So what's the plan?" She asked, making him frown. "Are you going to get Abeille?"

"No, it's too dangerous with Hawkmoth about," He replied, making her frown. "If I go to find her, he might try to follow me again and that would directly lead him to one of our allies. I'm afraid this time we won't be able to get help,"

"So what do we do?" She asked, frowning. "We need the bee to succeed as it will paralyse the akuma,"

Anatis bit his lip before he sighed.

"We only have one other option," He replied, making her look at him. "One of us has to merge the bee with our miraculous,"

"I'll do it," Lady Noir stated, making Anatis to look at her in surprise. "They'll expect you to be the one to do so but they don't see me as important or as intelligent as you. Sure, they want my ring but we all know they see me as the sidekick,"

"Lady Noir..." He stated as she gave him a weak smile. "I don't think of you like that. You're way more brilliant then I am and I know I've said this before but I couldn't do this without you. You're amazing and my best friend,"

"I know," She smiled, gently kissing his cheek. His cheeks flushed a little. "But I also know Hawkmoth doesn't see me as a threat so let's show him what this cat is truly capable of,"

She placed the comb in her hair, causing Pollen to manifest.

"Hello, my queen," She smiled, bowing before turning to Anatis. "Hello, my prince. How may I be of service today?"

"Pollen isn't it?" Lady Noir asked, making her look at her as she nodded. "I'm Lady Noir. We need your help to defeat Loveater,"

"Of course, my queen," She bowed again, making Lady Noir coo at how cute she was before she shook her head and looked to Anatis.

"How do I merge them?"

"You have to say the name of the kwamis and unify," He explained, causing her to nod and take a deep breathe but he gently grabbed her arms. "But if it gets too much, don't hesitate to tell me and divide them. Merging these are dangerous and I don't want to see you hurt,"

"I'll be fine," She smiled, gently placing her hand on his before she pulled away. "Ok let's do this. Plagg,"

She held out her left hand.

"Pollen," She stated as she held out her right hand before she closed them together. "Unify!"

A golden light engulfed her before disappearing, revealing her new form. Her hair was no longer in a braid but was tied up in a curly ponytail with yellow and green on the curls. She had a yellow ribbon tied around the top that resembled bug antennas. Her mask was no longer completely black but had a yellow strip below her eyes, which still had green irises but her scleas were yellow. Her full suit had changed as well. The top half of her suit was yellow with black strips on her upper arms and stomach. The second half was black with yellow stripes on her thighs. Her boots were black with yellow stripes on the calf and yellow heels. Her gloves were similar in design as they were mostly black with yellow stripes. Her spintop was hooked around her waist and her baton rested against her hip. She still had her cat ears on top of her head. She took out the spintop and opened it.

"User manual," She stated, reading through her powers as Anatis checked the news. She closed it once she had read it before looking at him. "So what's the plan?"

"Loveater is rampaging by the Arc de Triomphe," He stated, making her frown as he closed his yoyo and threw up in the air, calling for a lucky charm. He sighed as he got a rolling pin. He glanced around before sighing. "I can't see anything yet so let's focus on me luring it to you. Our best bet would be the Eiffel tower. The foam I created should still be there so it would provide a sort of smoke screen and it's still a pretty foggy day,"

"Alright so I lie in wait there and you lure it to me and then hopefully we can use the lucky charm," She stated, making him nod. "Ok! Sounds like a plan to me!"

"Alright," He smiled, nodding. "Be careful, Lady... Lady Bee?"

"What? Oh," She grinned, realizing he meant her new form's name. She grinned before placing her hands on her hips. "Call me Dark Bee,"

"Dark Bee?" He asked, making her nod. "I like it. Alright, see you soon, Dark Bee,"

He threw his yoyo and pulled himself onto the rooftops, leaving Dark Bee alone. She took out her spintop and threw it, using it to pull herself onto the roofs and swing through the city, whooping as she did. She landed on the rooftop opposite the tower before glancing around.

"Dark Bee, can you hear me?" Anatis asked in her ear.

"Loud and Clear, bug-a-boo," She stated, causing him to chuckle.

"Alright. I'm bringing our guest towards the tower," He stated, making her nod. "Oh!"

"Worked out the lucky charm?" She asked.

"Yes," He replied. "There's a small stand near the tower that sells all kind of things including rolling pins and different types of balls. I need you to cataclysm it.

"Got it," She replied, seeing it in the foam. She rushed over and summoned her power before slamming her hand on it, causing it to break and releasing all the rolling pins and sports balls across the floor but no one could see it because it was covered by the form. She threw her spintop up and pulled herself into the tower as Anatis swung near by. "Be careful. All of the stuff is on the floor,"

"Perfect," He replied, swinging by and landing on the part below her as Loveater rushed over. Almost instantly, it slipped and fell onto it's back. "Dark bee now!"

"Venom!" She cried out, twisting the spin top and grabbing it. A yellow stripped energy wrapped around her hand and she dived down, slamming it into the middle of the Mrs Rossi face, just as it got up and was about to fire at her. She backflipped away as Anatis landed next to her and threw his yoyo at them, cracking one of the brooches. The akuma fluttered out, allowing him to throw his yoyo and capture it before he pulled it back to him and released the purified butterfly. He unhooked the rolling pin on his hip and threw it up in the air.

"Miraculous ladybugs!" He called out, throwing it up into the air. It burst into the swarm and moved around Paris, restoring everything and everyone that had been destroyed or eaten by Loveater before returning to the Eiffel tower and getting rid of the foam and restoring the little stand before it burst into the sky, disappearing. Dark Bee grinned before a sudden wave of dizziness made her stumble. Anatis rushed over to her and held her as she blinked, feeling very tired. "Dark Bee, are you ok?"

"I'm f-fine," She whispered, giving him a smile. "Plagg, Pollen... divide,"

The golden light appeared again as Pollen reappeared, causing Lady Noir to catch her. She took out a chunk of cheese and gave it to her. Pollen ate it quickly before hiding into her hair. Anatis still looked worried but she gave him a smile before nodding towards Mr and Mrs Rossi.

"W-what happened?" Mrs Rossi asked as she looked around before gasping as she spotted the heroes. "Anatis? Lady Noir?"

"You were akumatized," Anatis stated as he walked over and helped her to her feet as Lady Noir did the same with Mr Rossi. "But it's ok now. We deakumatized you,"

"Do you remember why you got akumatized?" Lady Noir asked, causing Mrs Rossi to explain about all of the things that had gone wrong for the last couple of weeks. Both heroes frowned as they listened before she tearfully turned to her husband and apologized. He began to tear up himself and apologized to her as well before they embraced each other. Anatis frowned as his earrings beeped, along with Lady Noir's ring. He turned to her with a concerned expression on his face.

"Recharge and meet at Fu's," He stated before throwing his yoyo and swinging off with Lady Noir going in a different direction.

~At the Grand Paris Hotel~

Lila growled in annoyance as she watched the miracle cure spread through the city, fixing everything. That stupid bug and his mangy sidekick had managed to defeat Loveater, meaning she had failed. She kicked something in annoyance as Hawkmoth and Mayura landed near her, making her turn around.

"I was sure he wouldn't be able to defeat them," She gasped, making Hawkmoth chuckle. "I failed,"

"No, you didn't," He replied, walking over to her. "You did exactly what I asked you to. You have proven yourself to be a good ally and so I wish to reward you,"

"Oh?" Lila asked as Hawkmoth tapped his cane, releasing an akuma. Almost instantly, she grabbed it and placed it into her fake fox miraculous, making him smirk. He didn't even need to convince her. "So what powers do you have for me this time?"

"Miracle Queen, I'm giving you the power to control the entire city including our heroes with your music and of course, you'll still have your illusions," Hawkmoth smirked as Lila allowed the dark smog to over take her. When it disappeared, it revealed an upgraded version of Volpina in her place. Most of her outfit was exactly the same. However, she gained a crown on her head, golden gauntlets with orange diamonds on her forearms, matching armor on her calves and shoulder armor that was black with gold trimming. Hawkmoth smirked before doing a mock bow. "My Queen, why don't you show these heroes what true royalty can do?"

"It will be my pleasure, Hawkmoth," She smirked, taking out her flute and playing it. An orange ball appeared on the end before she threw it up into the sky. It exploded, sending the sound of her music around the city as it caused anyone who heard it to fall into a trance. "Anatis! Lady Noir! Come and serve your queen!"

~At Master Fu's~

"Is everything ok?" Master Fu asked as Lady Noir gave Pollen a little hug before she took out the clip in her hair and placed it in his hand. Anatis was pacing around, clearly worried. He frowned as he took the comb from her and returned it to the miracle box. Once it was back in the box and hidden in the phonograph, Master Fu got up and made them both some tea. He handed a cup to Lady Noir before getting Anatis to stop pacing and made him sit down, giving him a cup of tea as well. He poured one for himself before sitting down and sipping it. "Tell me what's on your mind,"

"Hawkmoth and Mayura followed me today," Anatis explained, causing Master Fu looked at him in surprise. "That's why Lady Noir came here instead of me,"

He ran his fingers through his hair as Master Fu frowned.

"I lead them on a wild goose chase but I'm concerned, Master," Anatis sighed as Lady Noir frowned. "The only time Hawkmoth has came out in public was Heroes Day and today is the one year anniversary of me becoming Anatis. I think he has something big planned,"

"This is most concerning," Master Fu frowned.

"That's not the only thing," Anatis stated. "Lady Noir asked the akumatized victims why they got akumatized and what they told us gave me a very bad feeling,"

"What did they say?"

"For the last couple of weeks, everything that could go wrong had gone wrong for Mr and Mrs Rossi," Lady Noir stated, making Fu frown. "Even things that shouldn't have gone wrong and then today... their ten year anniversary... things continued to go wrong and they end up akumatized..."

"What are you saying?"

"Hawkmoth has been planning this akuma for at least two weeks. There's no way this akumatization was just chance," Anatis stated, making Master Fu frown. "I would bet that Lila Rossi is somehow helping Hawkmoth and has been making things go bad to turn her parents into akuma bait,"

"But they're her parents?!" Master Fu gasped, surprised. "Surely, she wouldn't get them akumatized on purpose?"

"We suspect that she took an akuma on purpose and she tried to stop Lady Noir from helping me against Big Mama and Little Sister," Anatis stated. "And she is indirectly responsible for reverser as she influenced Alya into trying to claim that diary,"

"Not to mention she has caused two akumas through framing and bullying," Lady Noir added in, making Anatis nod. "I wouldn't put it past her to help Hawkmoth akumatize her parents but what could he achieve with that particular akuma?"

"That's what concerns me," Anatis sighed. "Sure, it was a difficult akuma so I had to get help but he could have just had Mayura follow me. Why is he out and about? It just seems... I don't know... maybe I'm been paranoid,"

"Maybe but your instincts have been right before," Master Fu stated, making Anatis nod. "So what do they tell you this time?"

"Honestly... this all feels too... easy and doesn't add up..." Anatis stated, frowning. "It feels like the battle isn't over yet and that this akuma wasn't Hawkmoth's master plan. I think he's trying to distract us. Even him following me feels like a distraction. I feel like he wants me to focus on that he's looking for who I get the other miraculous from because that will somehow stop me from seeing the full picture and yet at the same time, I feel like I'm missing something. Like there is something very obvious in front of me but I can't see it yet. Something doesn't feel right,"

"Then I suggest you follow your instincts, Anatis," Master Fu stated, making him. "Be on your guard,"

"Yes, Master," Both Lady Noir and Anatis stated, standing up and heading to the window. Lady Noir reached over and opened it, causing the sound of the city to echo in but among it was the sound of a flute been played. The three of them felt their minds turn blank and empty as they heard it. Their arms dropped to their side and their eyes turned a glowing orange as they stared out at the city before a voice echoed in their minds.

Anatis! Lady Noir! Come and serve your Queen!

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

Next Chapter: Chapter 60

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seasonsofeverlark · 4 years ago

Text

you & I (just meant to be)

Author: @rosegardeninwinter

Prompt: This silly, silly ditty was inspired by two (count ‘em! two!) lovely prompts which are as follows “Peeta can’t stop staring at Katniss in her costume :0” and “Everlark meeting at a fancy dress party dressed as a ‘matching’ pair, although they don’t each other - maybe a famous couple but who don’t need the other … Joker and Harley Quinn, Batman and Robin or my favorite: Anna and Elsa from Frozen … Peeta would make a wonderful Anna” - I thought these two went well together, and took a couple of creative liberties to make them jive. Hope you lovelies like! [submitted by @deardiaryithinkiamaghost and @wendywobbles]

Rating: T, for implied Everlark shenanigans

Author’s Note: Thank you to my dear @archersandsunsets for her second pair of eyes on this one and to all the lovely moderators and coordinators of @seasonsofeverlark, the true MVPs. It’s been a busy month, so I apologize for any incoherence. Sometimes, the heart just wants goofy modern AU fluff. Alrighty, Chatty Cathy is done … enjoy!

____________

“Katniss, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Prim exclaims, though it sounds pretty pathetic with her congested, pinked nose. “You make the perfect ice queen!”

“I don’t think that’s usually a compliment,” Katniss says dourly, plopping down on the couch where her sister is situated with several fuzzy blankets, a box of tissues, and a large bowl of ice cream. She can’t taste it very well, but it’s the spirit of the thing that counts. Prim is in denial.

“I wish I could go,” she whines, holding the “o” in a long, dramatic note.

“I wish I could stay,” Katniss shoots back, holding the “ay” just as long.

“No you don’t,” Prim shoos. “You love our friends.”

“I do,” Katniss sighs, plucking at the silver sequined sleeves of her—well, Prim’s—Elsa costume. It’s too long on Katniss, with her sister’s good half inch on her, but it’s all they’ve got. Her original plan was to pull the classic black top and pants plus cat ears, but when it became apparent Prim wasn’t budging from the couch this Halloween, the real snowy blonde princess of the family had insisted Katniss take her outfit.

“You can’t show up to Finnick’s in a slapdash, last second costume, Katniss,” she’d said. “The man lives for Halloween. Don’t insult his extravagance with plastic headbands and tails.”

“I do love our friends, but … I don’t want to go out tonight. I’m tired.”

“Just half an hour,” Prim says. “Snag me some candy, make some pleasantries” — “okay, Jane Bennet” — “and then come home. At least one of us needs to show up. Just pretend to have a social life for thirty minutes, okay? For me.”

Katniss rolls her eyes as she gets up from the couch in a twinkling of blue overlay and snowflake hair pins in her braid. She does a quick once over of her shadowy makeup in the hallway mirror as she grabs her car keys. “What do you want?”

“Chocolate. Anything with chocolate and peanut butter. I’ll save it for when I can experience taste again,” Prim calls back. “Oh, and if Delly’s cousin is there, all of the cupcakes he brought.”

“Mmkay. All the chocolate and cupcakes, coming right up,” Katniss says with a resigned smile. On her way out, she clicks on her phone. It’s just now eight. She resolves to be firmly ensconced in bed by nine at the latest. She gives her sister a wave, keys jangling. “I’ll be back. Soon.”

At ten thirty, Prim looks up from her Harry Potter induced doze to find she’s received a text from her sister.

Staying a little later. Fifteen minutes maybe. Have the treats.

Prim checks the time stamp. The text was sent forty five minutes ago. This might be cause for alarm were it not for the text underneath Katniss’s, from Finnick. It’s a photo, taken in front of a makeshift photo op with purple and silver and orange streamers in the background and cutesy little bat and pumpkin and vampire fang cardboard props for people to hold up. It’s captioned “You can’t marry a man you just met!”

Prim brings her hand to her mouth to catch a laugh before it turns into a cough. Her sister, Elsa costume sparkling in the flash, is pretending to shake her finger disapprovingly at her “Anna” counterpart. The laugh breaks free this time. Prim grabs for her tepid tea to soothe her throat as she cracks up over the really incredible image of Peeta Mellark, Delly Cartwright’s stocky older cousin, in a red braided wig, and strikingly accurate green rosemaled gown, sitting quite comfortably, if amusingly, over his athletic build. He’s pretending to gripe back at Katniss about why exactly he can marry Hans of the Southern Isles. Their mock scowls barely contain smiles.

Prim quickly fires a text back to Finnick: How??? Did that happen???

Finnick’s text comes through a second later: The Lord works in mysterious ways! Idk!

Okay but like?? Yes??

I know!!!!

Some people are worth melting for????

Her cold never bothered him anyway? *finger guns*

Omg.

Katniss arrives back at the house at five to midnight, and Prim pretends to be asleep, watching with one eye cracked half open as her sister unstraps her silver heels and dumps them by the front door, drops her keys into the bowl. Sets down a full bag of what Prim can only guess are cupcakes and sweets.

She’s humming under her breath. It sounds like the chorus of “Love is an Open Door.” Prim wonders if it’s possible that her folk and indie music loving sister actually listened to a Disney album on the way home. Katniss unbraids her hair and shakes it loose, dropping the pins on the side table as she sinks into the squashy chair kitty-corner to Prim’s couch. She curls up, knees to chest, making her look like some sort of ice mermaid as she takes out her phone and taps something on it, still humming. Prim watches her chew her cheek pensively, as if deciding to send the text. She takes a deep breath and taps one final time on the screen, then drums her phone nervously against her lips for a moment. Prim’s nerves are firing with anticipation.

They wait a silent minute. Two. Three. Three and a half —

Katniss’s screen lights up again and she flips the phone up to stare at the reply. Her whole face softens. Eyes, brow, edges of her mouth. Katniss bites her lip and closes her eyes, letting her head fall back onto the chair cushion with a contented sigh. “‘You know what’s crazy?’” she sing-songs in a mumble under her breath. “‘We finish each other’s sandwiches … I’ve never met someone who thinks so much like …” She yawns. “Me.”

“You know,” Prim says, and Katniss shrieks, sending her phone flying to the carpet, “Peeta Mellark strikes me more as a Kristoff than a Hans.”

“Prim!” Katniss yelps, going red. “Wha — what? What do you mean?”

“So we’re done with stupid plastic cat ears for Halloween then I take it?”

[the very next Halloween]

“Whoa. Okay.” Peeta sits up from the pile of cushions at the head of their bed, eyes wide and staring in approval, pupils gone dark. “Katniss Everdeen in cat ears is not something I knew I needed until this moment.”

“Oh sure,” Katniss laughs. “Because it’s definitely the cat ears that are doing it for you. Not these.” She hoists one stockinged leg up onto the bed like a mountain climber posing for a magazine.

“Well, those are certainly part of the appeal,” he teases, reaching for her leg, running his hands up and down the silk tights. “As is this lovely number.” He toys with the hem of her dress, a strapless black velvet thing that falls just above her knee. “Where’s this from?”

“Jo,” Katniss sighs. “She says if I’m going to be a cat, I need to be a Gretchen Wieners level cat.”

“For whose benefit, I wonder?” Peeta muses, cheek nuzzling gently at her lower thigh.

“You wonder?” Katniss laughs, taking her leg away and flopping onto the bed. She glances over at him, eyes sly and somehow soft at once. “I don’t.”

“I can’t help thinking,” he muses. “that this is something of a counterproductive plan on Jo’s part. Because now, I have a sudden and distinct interest in staying in tonight.”

“Oh?” Katniss raises a come hither eyebrow and pushes up on her elbows to accept the kiss he plants on her lips as he crawls over her, urging her back to the headboard. “Is it the cat ears?” She reaches up to give the (already molting) plastic and faux fur ears a flick.

“The Kat ears,” he says. He nips softly at her real ear and she shivers. “The Kat nose.” He kisses that too. His nose nudges her head back, inclining her neck at the perfect angle for him to plant a stretch of kisses down it. “The Kat neck.” His mouth wanders down the front of her dress and he scoots down the bed with it. “The Kat’s cradle.”

“You have that,” she says, hiking her legs up to hug around his middle because her arms can’t reach to hold him. “You’ll always have that.”

“A piece of that Kit Kat bar.” He kisses her stomach. “The whole Kit and Caboodle,” he teases and she laughs loudly, but on a dime his tone is changing, from silly and playful into husky and dangerous, as he moves lower. “Kitten,” he murmurs and her fingers curl in the bedsheets at the name. “Grab my phone,” he tells her, hooking his fingers around the band of her tights, “Tell Finnick we’re going to be late.”

An hour or so later finds the cat ears lost somewhere among the remains of their costumes and a hasty snack of pepperoni rolls cooking in the convection oven. Peeta, festooned in boxers and an old apron, presides over the food like it needs a baker’s supervision. Katniss perches on the counter, wrapped chest to toes in the white sheet she pulled from their bed, feet batting absently at the cabinets.

“This is a good look too,” he tells her, gesturing with the salad tongs he’s using to handle the pepperoni rolls.

“What is? This sheet?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of sexy ghost.”

“Or sexy Roman senator,” she laughs, tossing one edge of the sheet over a bare shoulder. “Sexy Julius Caesar.”

“You’d make a good Julius Caesar,” he says.

“Why?”

“You’ve got that “came, saw, conquered” vibe. Least that’s how I felt that night at Finnick’s party.”

“Conquered?”

“I was gonna say seen, but — yes. Conquered too. I couldn’t stop looking at you.” He snaps his fingers. “Sexy ice queen? Definitely.”

“I’m not exactly sure what kind of Freudian analysis one could make on falling in love with the guy dressed as your fictional sister but — ”

Peeta shrugs as the timer beeps, and he sets to fishing the pepperoni rolls onto a plate for them to share. “I choose to think of it as a metaphor for how the two people you love most in the world are your real, actual sister …” He sets the rolls beside her on the counter and sets his hands gently on her sides. She lets the sheet fall and pool slightly around her waist to cup his face as he leans in to kiss her forehead, very gently, thumbs rubbing circles on her hips. “And some loser who has the luck of … oh, I guess having the same first initial and hair color as she does,” he jokes.

“And the same beautiful heart,” Katniss corrects in a whisper. “I mean that.” She’s rarely so sentimental to anyone except him. She smirks. “And I haven’t even started drinking yet.”

“Well, my pretty kitty,” he starts, wrapping both his arms around her middle and hoisting her off the counter. She rolls her eyes, even as her hands card through his hair. “The night is still young.”

#everlark #everlark fanfiction #autumn #autumn 2020 #rosegardeninwinter #submission #octoberlark 2020 #octoberlark

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kiarcheo · 4 years ago

Text

Meowsunderstandings 1 / 2

'Oh.’ If Cathy could dig a hole in the floor and disappear, she would. ‘Ignore me, I swear that I’m usually not this much of an idiot.’

‘We know.’ Jane reassures her.

‘And even if you were, we wouldn’t mind...I mean, we love Anne anyway, don’t we?’

This has been in my WIPs folder for at least 6 months if not more, but I decided it was time to dust it off because I didn't have the greatest week and I needed some levity. Should have the second part ready and post it next weekend.

Can read on Ao3 here

Part 2

——————————————–

In Cathy’s defence, it was a totally understandable mistake. And she had not been alone in that. But, of course, as the one dating the subject of the misunderstanding, she is the one teased about it.

It all started at university, in class, where Cathy had ended up paired with Anna. It turned out that they actually got along quite well and became friends outside of lessons too. Which led to meeting Anna’s girlfriend, Jane, and then a relatively new friend of Jane’s, Catalina. And, because it’s a small world, to discover that they were old family friends. Catalina had recognised the surname and asked if she was a relative of Maud Green. Apparently Catalina had met Cathy when she was a baby…which obviously Cathy didn’t have any recollection of.

Anyway, they all hit it off.

As new friends, one of the first topics to be covered had been housing. Between complaints about housemates, landlords, buildings and neighbours, it always guarantees plenty of fodder for conversation.

And when Catalina, whom Jane called Lina and had shrugged when asked if they could call her that too, said, ‘I have a housemate, my Kat’, with a warm smile, well, forgive Cathy for thinking she was talking about an actual cat. Especially when the topic of pets came up and Lina said ‘Does my Kat count?’ with a laugh. ‘I mean, she is independent, obviously, but-’

Cathy remembers Jane and Anna sharing her own slightly confused expression because of course cats are pets, why should it not count??

It didn’t help that Lina would say stuff like:

‘Rain check? Kat is sick, has been throwing up all day so I want to keep an eye on her.’

send a voice message on the group chat that ended with ‘Sorry, have to go. I have a Kat on the table and I don’t know why.’

And then there was the time she was distracted and then admitted that she was worried because she didn’t remember if she had locked the door and she didn’t want anything to happen to her cat.

Or she would talk about cleaning and how often she has to vacuum. Because two girls in a house mean lots of hair too. And you know what? Cats can shed hair too! And Catalina would not be the first person to refer to pets as you would do to a person (or treat them as such)!

And she literally replied to the question ‘How did you get your cat?’ with ‘Well, she was living with…someone I knew. When she had to move, taking her along…was not really worth the trouble, all the documents and stuff. Especially since she would be coming back anyway. And it just made sense…we already knew each other and got along well. We could keep each other company. And me and Anne might have our disagreements, but she knows she can trust me with her Kitty.’

Or should Cathy talk about the texts? Despite what people might assume, Lina uses lots of emojis. So when texts such as ‘Movie night’ or ‘Girls’ day’ were paired with others like ‘Snuggling with 🐱’ or ‘Day in with 🐱’ … Well, forgive Cathy for thinking that Lina talking about her Kat was talking about an actual cat, as in an animal.

---

‘Where is your cat? Hiding?’

Jane asks, looking around. It’s the first time Lina is having them over at her house – them being Anna, Cathy and herself – as usually it’s more convenient and easier for everyone to meet at places around or close to the campus.

‘She went out, but she should be back soon.’ Lina chuckles at the way they all seem eager to meet her. ‘You’ll meet her, don’t worry.’

They fell into an easy conversation, the topic forgotten until...

‘Cathy? Cathy?’ Catalina calls out. The girl in question has her cup half-way to her mouth – a couple of degrees more and she would be spilling the tea all over herself – and her eyes fixated towards the door.

Everyone turns around to see what is capturing Cathy’s attention.

‘Did Anne die?’ Catalina tilts her head as if to look for something behind a girl in basketball shorts and a sport bra, high ponytail with pink tips.

‘Almost.’ Another girl drags herself in. She drops on the floor. ‘Was it your plan all along?’ She wheezes out. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I thought you knew��have you seen her?’ Catalina gestures to the girl still standing there, barely out of breath. ‘She is fit!’

‘I thought it was metabolism…I have a good one too.’

‘Good metabolism doesn’t give you abs like that.’

Cathy’s attempt to avoid looking at the exposed skin glistening with sweat fails completely when Lina mentions them. If the humming coming from the other girls is any indication, she is not the only one.

‘Come on, I’ll let you shower first.’

Anne moans, reaching up with grabby hands.

‘What? You want me to carry you?’

‘Are you saying you can’t?

‘Is it a challenge?’

‘If that’s what it takes…’ Anne shrugs from her spot on the floor, unrepentant.

The girl sighs but crouches down. It doesn’t seem to take too much effort for her to lift Anne in her arms and start walking, her hold confident and comfortable as if it had happened many times before.

‘Kat.’

‘Yeah?’ The girl turns around.

‘You can use my shower if you don’t want to wait.’

‘Thanks Cata, you’re the best!’ she smiles brightly at her before leaving the room, Anne in her arms.

‘That’s your Kat?’

Cathy hears Anna asking but after that, she honestly has no idea what the others talks about or even what she is thinking until the girls returns, Anne once again carried in Kat’s arms.

Kat gently puts her down on the armchair before leaving the room again. ‘Need anything from the kitchen?’

‘No, thanks!’ Catalina calls back, before addressing Anne. ‘You know, they say you should keep moving, this is only going to make the pain worse later on.’

‘That’s a problem for future me.’

‘I would apologize saying that she isn’t normally like this, but I’d be lying.’ Catalina turns towards her friends.

‘Hey!’ Anne protests as Kat comes back, sitting on her armchair’s armrest and passing her a glass of juice.

‘Thanks Kitty.’

Catalina is going through presentations when Cathy suddenly comes back to earth. ‘Wait, you’re Lina’s cat??’

‘Possibly?’ Kat replies, hesitant confusion in her voice, while Anna, Jane and Lina look at their friend weirdly. They probably already went over it. Oops!

‘I mean, it’s Katherine.’ The girl continues.

‘Me too!’ More odd looks.

‘But most people call me Kat. Or Kitty.’

‘I better be the only one calling you Kitty.’

‘And the overprotective one is Anne,’ Kat slings an arm around the other girl, ‘if she didn’t present herself.’

---

‘Cathy? You alright?’ Jane asks as they walk towards the bus stop after leaving Catalina’s home. ‘You’ve been spacing out.'

‘Yeah.’ She nods. She hesitates, before blurting out. ‘Do you think they are dating?’

‘Who? Kat and Lina?’ Jane laughs.

‘No! Anne and Kat!’

‘I’m sorry, but am I the only one who thought that when Lina talked about her Kat she was talking about a cat, like, actual animal cat, meow?’ Anna interrupts them.

The look exchanged between Jane and Cathy gives her the answer. ‘So it wasn’t just me.’ Anna nods to herself, relieved.

‘Some things make more sense now,’ Cathy muses aloud, ‘like Lina not having her scarf because she gave it to her Kat.’

‘And some things don’t.’ Jane points out. ‘Kat on the table, anyone??’

‘The cat is on the table.’ Anna laughs. ‘Sorry.’ She can see her friends don’t understand why it’s funny to her. ‘When you learn English as a second language, that’s often one of the first sentences you learn.’

---

‘How did you meet?’

They are all back at Catalina’s house, this time Anne and Kat joining them from the start.

‘We were frenemies.’

‘Oh?’

Anne’s answer doesn’t really explain much.

‘We dated the same guy.’ Catalina expands on it.

‘Henrat.’ Anne mutters darkly, before adding, ‘Not on purpose.’

‘Certainly not.’ Catalina scoffs.

‘He told me he was going to break up with her. That it was taking some time because they had been together for years and it was hard. And well, naïve mistake of thinking myself different or better…Spoiler alert, if someone cheats on someone with you for months, chances are they will cheat on you too, sooner or later.’

‘Oh.’ That was not the story Jane was expecting when she had asked.

‘Yep. So…soon after we officially get together, Henry is out every night, just sleeping around, like what the hell?!’ Anne looks around, as if seeking support from her audience. ‘So I thought if that's how it's gonna be, maybe I'll flirt with a guy or three just to make him jel. Henry finds out and he goes mental. He screams and shouts, like so judgemental.’ She rolls her eyes. ‘We were at a party and he was like "you damned witch”, which wow, talk about outdated, but anyway, I go “mate, just shut up, I wouldn't be such a bitch, if you could get it up”.’

‘It rhymed!’ Kat points out like she does every time Anne tells the story.

‘Is that what you said?’ Anna sounds impressed.

‘Yep. Everyone heard that too. He’s been wanting my head since.’ Anne shrugs. She didn’t regret it a bit. ‘And not in the sexy way.’

‘So it’s a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” situation?’ Jane looks like she is trying to wrap her head around it. She isn’t sure she would be willing to be friend with someone she got cheated on with, doesn’t matter if they are not together anymore.

‘Not really. I didn’t want anything to do with her…or Henry. Until I saw him harassing a girl. Well, flirting according to him, but she looked so uncomfortable and so young. Especially compared to him.’

‘Yeah, I was 16.’ Kat pipes up.

‘So I shooed him away. Comfort the girl, who was pretty shaken. Have her call someone and wait with her…and who shows up?’

‘Me!’

‘Anne.’ Jane guesses correctly at the same time.

‘And that would have been the end, but Kat wanted to thank me and keep in touch and…it’s really hard to say no to her.’

‘Yeah. Especially when she gives you the KHoward look.’ Anne nods solemnly. It’s a patented weapon she has fallen victim of many many times.

‘Uhm? The what?’

‘Do it, Kitty.’

‘It’s not a party trick.’ Kat protests. But everyone is looking at her expectantly. She lets out a sigh. And she obliges the request.

‘AWW.’ Jane coos, while Anna nods. ‘I get it.’

Cathy is just speechless.

‘Yeah. And suddenly that scene in Shrek made sense.’ Catalina adds.

‘It didn’t before??’ Anne looks almost offended.

‘Well, I never had a cat before, how was I supposed to know?’ Catalina defends herself.

‘Wait!’ Cathy suddenly exclaims. ‘K?’

‘Yeah? Katherine, you know?’

'Oh.’ If Cathy could dig a hole in the floor and disappear, she would. ‘Ignore me, I swear that I’m usually not this much of an idiot.’

‘We know.’ Jane reassures her.

‘And even if you were, we wouldn’t mind...I mean, we love Anne anyway, don’t we?’

A betrayed gasp. ‘Catalina! You turned my Kitty against me??

Catalina is laughing so hard that she is crying. 'My Kat, I love you so much!’ She finally wheezes out.

Cathy is smart. She is! But apparently she turns into a complete simpleton in the presence of pretty girls...or more specifically of one pretty girl called Katherine Howard. Sure, she had fumbled in front of girls before, but never to this degree. An absolute and utter disaster.

‘Anyway,’ Catalina starts again after regaining her breath, ‘long story short, we kept in touch. It was not Kat’s fault what Anne did, anyway. And they were living together and when Anne had to move, it made sense for Kat to come and live with me.’

‘But now you’re back?’ Cathy’s question is completely disinterested, of course.

‘Soon permanently.’ Anne smiles at Kat, nudging her.

‘Where are you going to live?’ Anna asks the younger girl. ‘Are you going to move out or stay here?’

‘Oh, she is trying to win her back.’ Catalina nods towards Anne.

‘I never lost her.’ Anne retorts.

‘I’m not a prize to be won.’

‘I’d argue about that.’ Cathy mutters, getting an amused look from Anna, the only one who heard her.

Kat heaves a sigh. ‘I would suggest we could all live together, but I don’t think I can deal with this on a daily basis.’

---

They hang out. It’s quite difficult to get everyone together, between classes and jobs and other commitments, but in smaller groups it’s easier and more common. That’s how Cathy finds herself at the pub with Anna and Anne, her and Anna celebrating having finished a big assignment and Anne joining because Kat and Catalina don’t particularly like going out drinking and she misses doing it.

Cathy has mixed feelings about Anne. Is she pretty? Yes. Is she smart? Yes. Is she funny? Yes. Does she hate her a little bit? Also yes. Is she going to get drunk while trying to keep up with her (and Anna, but her Teutonic constitution puts her on a whole other level)? Again, yes.

She pretty much checks out, lost in thoughts, until a shrill ‘Kitty’ brings her back to the present...and to Anne hanging from Kat’s neck, nuzzling into her. ‘You came!’

‘Of course, I did. You called.’ Kat says as if there has never been any other option.

Did Cathy mention that she hates Anne a bit?

‘Time to go home?’ Kat asks, while rubbing Anne’s back.

Anna raises an eyebrow at Anne, still wrapped around the newcomer, and then chances a look at Cathy, slumped on the table. ‘I think we better.’

‘Do you have a car?’

Anna shakes her head. ‘No, I planned to drink so...’

‘Good.’ Kat smiles at her. She is happy to play chauffeur if it means her friends are being safe and responsible. ‘Let’s get you all home.’

Anna helps Cathy to Kat’s car while the younger girl helps Anne.

‘Cathy, where-’ Kat looks at the rear-view mirror only to see that the girl is asleep. ‘Do you know where she lives?’ She asks Anna, the only one still awake.

‘I know she lives in a hall on campus, I might even remember which one, but no idea about the room, sorry.’

‘That’s okay. I’ll just take her home with us, then.’

‘Are you sure?’ Anna looks to the backseat, both girls dead to the world.

‘Yeah. I can carry Anne, I’m sure she won’t be much of a problem either.’

Kat drops off Anna and then drives home. Once she parks, she texts Catalina to open the door for her.

She picks up Anne and carries her home. ‘Can you stay at the door and keep an eye on the car?’ she asks Catalina before manoeuvring inside, careful not to bump into anything lest Anne wakes up. Few minutes later she comes back, goes to the car, and picks up Cathy.

‘Ahnghh.’

‘What?’ Catalina takes the car key Kat is holding with her teeth. ‘Say that again?’

‘I said hand because I wanted to drop the key in it.’ She adjusts her hold of Cathy. Not that she is heavier than Anne, but she has no qualms grabbing and holding Anne, and if she grazes her butt or her boobs, so be it. Cathy is a relatively new friend, and she is more conscious of any touch, no matter how accidental, that could make her uncomfortable (well, if she was awake to realise it, anyway). ‘Lock up for me, please?’

——————————————–

Storytime: I was 2000 words deep into this when an atrocious doubt came to me…was Kat actually pronounced the same as cat?? English is a weird language and not my native one so I started to worry…did I just base my story on something that made no sense? Also (perhaps more important), had I butchered people’s names for years without knowing? As someone whose name is often mispronounced (well, in the UK at least, since it’s Italian), I felt really bad about that. So I asked a native-speaker friend and he said it sounds the same. So if he trolled me (he told me he wasn’t, but who knows) and Kat doesn’t sound as cat…I hope you enjoyed the story anyway (and let me know so I can get back at him!)

#six the musical fanfiction #six the musical #parrward #beheaded cousins #catherine and katherine #fic: Meowsunderstandings #six fanfiction #six the musical fic #six fic #mywork #my ideas #six writing #six fanfic #six the musical fanfic #my posts #my six posts

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kimikitty96 · 4 years ago

Text

Goodbye Letter to my Eating Disorder

It’s been hard. The past 3 years were so difficult, I’m surprised I haven’t completely lost myself. From having relationship problems, to deaths in my family (my brother and kitty died), to being sexually assaulted in the gym, to almost losing my mom this past year...suffice it to say, it’s been rather difficult.

I turned to my old “friend”, Edward. We “met” when I was 8 years old, and lost touch when I started working at 21 years old. Or, at least I thought we lost touch; he just put on a mask. But here he was again. He was there for me when I was struggling the most. No one else understood my pain the way he did, and no one numbed me like he did. He gave me the drive and motivation to get out of bed and to go to the gym; he kept me from faltering on my diet and turn to comfort eating; he continued to cheer me on when I made mistakes and would tell me to keep going. When I have injuries, he’d tell me that my initial weight loss was not due to me exercising, but my eating habits and to not worry, I can still continue! When I got sexually assaulted at my gym, he said to me that I never have to go back to that gym, and that I can go anywhere else to get my “Brazilian Booty”. He suggested I take a trip to Vegas and just enjoy myself, then come back and get serious.

He comforted me when my fiance would reject me, saying if I listened to him, I won’t need my fiance because I’d be able to attract the guy I really wanted, that all I needed was a little push. When my kitty passed away, Edward allowed me to grieve and to celebrate her life by going to a buffet and enjoying seafood, on one condition: I had to make sure that I was right back on track by making sure that I would “let my body rest” from food for a couple of days.

Last July (2019), I went into PHP because I knew something was seriously wrong. Edward was no longer helping me. His voice grew louder in my head, and what used to be gentle nudging became more forceful, more frustrated. Here was his evolution:

-”Oh, you want carbs? Well, that’s okay! You can have carbs and use it as energy for the gym when doing cardio/lower body workout tomorrow! Just make sure you lower your fat intake, okay?”

-”Yes! There’s a food festival! Make sure you get your 10k steps before you go, okay? We’ll eat everything we want, just like those fitness people do on YouTube! You’ve earned it!”

-”Oh, you gained weight...again. I mean...maybe you should lower your calories again. You’re eating a bit more than you’re supposed to, so just make sure your weekly calories are where they’re supposed to be.”

-”Lord, you failed an exam??? Okay, you need to hit the gym harder so you can focus better.”

-”[Fiance] refused to touch you again? It’s been a month since the last time? Why do you even want him to touch you at this point? You should just think about that guy who molested you at the gym, since that’s all you can get at this point.”

“You failed another exam? Jesus christ, you need to focus harder. You’ll never finish community college and get into [#1 dream school] if you continue like this! But if you let your body rest from food, you’ll have mental clarity and will remember your course material better.”

-”Oh, fiance said no to you again. You really need to stop having these “cheat days” or “cheat meals”. He’s getting more and more grossed out by you every day.”

-“Why can’t you just stop eating the junk foods you’re eating? You were able to do it before. You’re so stupid, you can’t even get this right. You know what? I’m going to test your willpower. Go out and buy junk food, and stare at it and say no!”

-”See, he’s flirting with so many other women at his work. This is why he won’t touch you. You’re stupid and ugly; you’re worth nothing unless you are at the top of your class, and weigh less than [UGW]!”

-”Why can’t you stop eating?!?! Why do you have the willpower of a drug addict?! You’re nothing! Get rid of that! You don’t deserve your meal! GET RID OF IT NOW!”

-”JESUS CHRIST, YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID! IT’S YOUR FAULT YOUR FIANCE DON’T WANT YOU! YOU’RE WORTH LESS THAN NOTHING! YOU DESERVED BEING GROPED AT THE GYM BECAUSE THAT IS YOUR WORTH!”

-”See? You failed a class you already took! This is how stupid and [ableist expletive] you are. You can’t even do that shit right. YOU ARE NOTHING. YOU HAVE NEGATIVE WORTH.”

-”Your brother died because he had diabetes. Your mother almost died because of diabetes. They couldn’t control; the shit they put in their mouths, and you will end up with the same fate because your dumb ass can’t even say no to a chip.”

-”Oh, you lost another friend? That’s because you’re a piece of shit. You’ve always been a piece of shit. You deserve to be alone. No one should be subjected to the bullshit that is you. You should just KYS.”

-”No, you can’t have that! You can’t touch food unless I say so! I don’t care that it’s been a week!”

-”No don’t touch food! It’s all poison! It’s going to kill you! Look what it did to your mom and brother! You’re gonna lose your dad too because all food is poison! DON’T TOUCH ANY FOODSTUFFS!!!”

*Me, fainting, at home alone, because I haven’t eaten in a week and my heart rate is in the low 50′s*

-”Why are you being an attention whore? Stop your bitch ass whining and go pee.”

*My response* “Bitch, there’s no one here! Who am I being an attention whore to, my cats?!”

-”Yes! Now stop being a whiny bitch and go pee!”

-”Why are you still here? Why aren’t you doing everyone on this earth a favor and disappear. No one would miss you. They’re not even thinking of you right now. No one misses you now. Everyone is just pretending to like you because they feel sorry for you. They actually really hate you. Just disappear. They don’t want you around anyway.”

-”Leave. Disappear. No one wants you. Just take [redacted], and go to sleep.”

Edward was not helping me. He made it seem like he was, but he wasn’t. He entered my life during a time when I was vulnerable and made me believe he would be my redemption. He knew me; he knew what was best for me. He could make me better/stronger/more beautiful/more desirable/smarter; all I had to do was listen.

That’s not who he is. He is a monster. He’s worse than that; he is pure evil that nothing and no one should ever allowed in. He took what I give him, and it’s not enough. It’s never enough. Once I did what he told me to do, he tells me to go farther because while it’s good, I can do better; I can be better. He destroyed everything I touch and turned it against me so that I couldn’t rely on anyone but him. He isolated me and introduced me to his partner-in-crime, Shame. The more Edward spoke, the more Shame consumed.

When I thought Edward was giving me drive and motivation to go workout so I could improve myself, in reality, he was telling me my body was grotesque and that I needed to punish myself because I mistreated my body. When he tried to keep me from faltering on my diet, he was telling me I shouldn’t eat [xyz] so I can be healthy, when in reality, he was encouraging me to binge/purge/restrict/fast, causing heart palpitations, unstable-low blood pressure, gastrointestinal distress, brain fog, increased bouts of depression, and severe low self esteem; instead of being healthy, he made me extremely unhealthy. When he continued to cheer me on whenever I injured myself due to too much physical exertion and would tell me to “reign my diet in”, the reality was that he caused these injuries by telling me that I had to keep going no matter how hard I trained, that I couldn’t eat enough calories so I could heal and recover, and that even though I was injured, I couldn’t rest and had to continue to exercise. When I got sexually assaulted at my gym, he graciously allowed me to transfer gyms and continue to workout and ignore my mental health when in reality...he wanted to keep me mentally weak so that I would continue to rely on him because he made clothes fit better.

He made it so clothes can fit better; clothes I bought, that I wasn’t allowed to wear, because my body wasn’t where he wanted it to be, therefore I didn’t deserve to wear them yet.

The past few months have been the most difficult out of the 3 years I’d been struggling; COVID, finishing school and transferring to uni, cheating on my fiance, my mom almost dying (twice), and really delving deep inside me to come to terms with everything I went through and being completely honest with myself...I never want to go through that again. But I am extremely grateful I did, because I saw who Edward really was. I saw him for the toxic, vile, awful evil entity he always was, and now I get to say goodbye.

To Edward:

Thank you for who you were when you back into my life (again). Thank you for helping me cope with my issues, and for keeping my head afloat; you did the best you could, given the circumstances you had. I was broken, hurt, lost, and saw nothing good in me. You showed me that I can be better, and that I can do better. I just have to push a little harder, and I’ll eventually get what I want.

You gave me something to hold on to in the beginning, and thankfully, I figured out your toxicity before it was too late for me. This is me telling you that I want to part ways. I know you’ll still be around, because you are my oldest “friend”, and I know you will do your very best to get me to succumb to your ways. But like you taught me, if I just have a little bit of willpower and a little bit of strength and perseverance, I can achieve what I want; that the only person stopping me is myself. I can either move forward, or sabotage myself once more; it was, and is, completely up to me, isn’t that right?

Thank you for the lessons you taught me. I will utilize them to fight you every single day of my life. Yes, I will have setbacks. Yes, I will falter. But like you taught me; if I falter, I need to keep going. What was it you used to tell me? If I miss a workout, or eat something I wasn’t supposed to, that I needed to work twice as hard the next day? That’s exactly what I’m going to do. If I let you in, I will tell myself that it’s okay to make a mistake, and that I can always turn my back on you whenever you appear. The only difference between your lesson and my OWN words is that I will forgive myself for allowing you back in.

I want to thank you for all the vitriolic words you’ve shouted at me. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve never seen the kindest words uttered to me by the ones who do love and care about me (yes, the people in my life love me despite your insistence that they don’t). I want to thank you for the discipline you’ve instilled upon me. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve never remembered the drive I have at succeeding at endeavors that mean a lot to me. And you know what means a lot to me?

I MEAN A LOT TO ME!

So I will work my hardest to make sure I fight you every single god damn day of my life, and in doing so, empower me to be the best me I can. And you know what it means to be the best me? It’s to be my most authentic and honest and forgiving self. I means I can finally love and appreciate me the way I love and appreciate everyone in my life.

This is my goodbye. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Kitty

#eating disorders #recovery #ed recovery #pro ana #promia #proana #proed #binging #ana #mia #anamia #anorexia #anorexa #bulimia #bulimea #can't stop won't stop #self love

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interactive-watchers · 4 years ago

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The Possessions of Aster Rose

Written by @waterrose3

Perhaps ae was overly sentimental. Perhaps a better Librarian and Historian wouldn’t have kept the various trinkets and items ae collected over the years. But ae still did aers job well. And Aster Rose wouldn’t have it any other way.

Name Xir name wasn’t always Aster. Xe was once known as Rose (and if xir visions were correct, will again be in the future), and depending on xir gender, Water, Astro, Alex, Ace, Aria, and Aelin. None is the name xe was born with. But xe wouldn’t prefer it any other way. Xir biological family are the only ones allowed to know xir true name anyways. And xe will continue to use xir names, inventing and being given more if necessary (perhaps that was proof of how fluid xe was in all aspects).

Messenger Bag It was funny, how one of aers oldest and most prized possessions wasn’t a gift but rather something ae made aeself. Yet, the denim blue messenger bag was aers. Perhaps it was the material, sourced from a place ae can no longer find. Or perhaps it was the pins and charms, all gifts from aers family. Or perhaps it was the guidance of Mother, back at Sonder. Perhaps it was because it was one of the few things ae has left of Sonder. Or perhaps it was it’s usefulness in storing aers personal items, should ae need to leave on a moment’s notice (like how you left Sonder. Completely on accident but unable to go back and now you’re worried about how they’ll react if you ever come back).

Diary Xir diary, not to be confused with xir various journals. Xir journals were for documenting the history of the worlds xe went to. Xir diary was for xirself, for documenting xir life and xir thoughts. It was the only thing one of the few things xe had left of xir biological family. Xe could almost remember their voices. Xe remembered the brush of their hands as they gave xem the diary to record their life in. “Make yourself a Librarian and Historian to be remembered.”

Apple’s Bracelet Perhaps it was bad etiquette to put a bracelet around the strap of aers messenger bag. But the bracelet was something Apple gave aer, and ae would rather not accidentally lose it when ae was wearing it. This way, the only way ae could lose the few things connecting back to Sleepy Time Junction and the New World was if someone stole it or if the clasp broke.

Izzy’s Bee Charm Xe always kept the charm on the bracelet Apple gifted to xem. Perhaps it was odd for xem to put this gift on another, but this way, there was less chance of losing it. Xe treasured this charm that Izzy gave to xem. On particularly bad days where the homesickness for Sleepy Time Junction was too strong and xe missed the New World, xe would clutch the charm and remember all xe could of xir once-family. Sure, maybe Bop and Soup and others—xe didn’t check in on the world that came after the New World—were still around, but that wasn’t enough. Xe wished more of xir once-family could’ve survived the destruction of the New World. Perhaps xe wouldn’t have been so alone if they did.

Panda Stuffie A gift from Ma. Endie was a wonderful person, and she tried to keep the chaos of the family at a bare minimum. Not that it worked sometimes. Ae kept the stuffie in their messenger bag. On bad days, ae would hug the stuffie. It sometimes felt like Ma was back again, giving aer one of her hugs. It was funny, how ae got attached time and time again and learned heartbreak time and time again. But ae wouldn’t give up attachments for the world. Ae would love. It wouldn’t be fair to close aers heart off. The love that ae felt made aers job so worth it. Made aers job so fulfilling, that ae would be immortalizing aers loved ones in some way.

Sleepy’s Potted Succulent The most misplaced possession of xirs. Xe kept it in the Infinite Library most of the time. Sleepy loved plants, going as far as to be a green witch under Mama. Xir sibling was interesting. Few mortals would summon a demon accidentally and get into a close relationship with them. Few people had what Sleepy and Gumnoblade had (and oh Technoblade’s name hurt so much, so close and yet so far from xir sibling’s nickname. Perhaps that’s why xe couldn’t talk to Technoblade for long. His name reminded xem too much of xir late sibling’s). Because xe cared for the plant, xe kept it in the Infinite Library. A place where it would get plenty sunshine it wouldn’t if it were in xir messenger bag or the Library of Worlds. Xe was sure the rest of the Infinite Library Squad thought the succulent was some sort of Void plant (and the rest of the Voidwalkers had decided to keep the ruse up), but it was just a plant that reminded xem too much of Sleepy.

Book of Enchantments and Spells Aers hand brushed over the leather cover and the gold embroidery ae stitched onto it as well as the name Roofza Catcraft (and oh Philza’s name hurt so much. Philza Minecraft was very similar to and yet very different from Roofza Catcraft. Why did the universe hate xem this much, having xem meet people whose names were so similar but so different from the people xe still loves) stitched in a delicate, shimmering green cursive. Mom had given aer the book before her death (you could’ve prevented it, it’s your fault). Mom was the first of Sleepy Time Junction to die (and oh that hurt. Mom, MotherCat, dead. Ae didn’t know why they killed her but does it matter? Mom was dead, dead, and the family was forced to cope). It was too precious of a book to use for day-to-day life, so ae kept documentation of all spells ae knew in it.

Enchanted Jar with Several Kneecaps Oh Corn. Xe missed her. Corn, goddess of chaos back in Sonder. Xe missed plotting acts of chaos with her, and listening to whatever crazy idea she had. Xe missed her crazy ramblings, even if xe tuned them out most of the time. Xe stole kneecaps back in Sonder, that was xir thing. And Corn gave xem the bottomless jar. Xe no longer stole kneecaps, but the jar was a reminder of simpler times. Of times before xe took xir job as a Librarian and Historian seriously.

Picture of Sonder Or more specifically, ae and aers family on Sonder. Ae missed Sonder so very much. Perhaps in another life where ae didn’t accidentally wander too far ae would’ve lived in Sonder until its destruction. Ae would’ve lived with aers family back there. But ae wouldn’t have it any other way. Had ae not wandered too far, ae would’ve met STJ, ae wouldn’t have met Orocorum, ae wouldn’t have met Librarian. Ae can’t regret having it this way because ae loves all they met because ae lost Sonder. But ae misses those who ae left behind on Sonder. Mother, Ren, Yuki, Fox, Soul, Corn, Rei, Three, T, Kitti, Chicken, Melody, the list goes on. On days where the longing for Sonder is overwhelming, ae would take out the picture and cry.

Ashes’s Lighter Oh Ashes. Xir sibling in chaos. Xe missed them, the feral little shit. Ashes gave xem a lighter, and xe treasured it, using it to commit arson as Ashes probably intended to when they gave xem the lighter. After all, Ashes committed chaos, perhaps even more than Corn did. Xe remembered laughing with Ashes, getting thrown in the box jail time and time again for some wild scheme one of them thought up.

Florence’s Rock Once upon a time, Florence had given aer a very pretty rock. No, go back: once upon a time, an archangel and a voidwalker became siblings by circumstance. Ae was never extremely close to Florence, but they were siblings nevertheless. After all, both of them were the only ones in the family who were too divine to be mortal, but not divine enough to be a god. It was a fine line, and Florence knew how to walk it, ae not so much. Ae was still young back then, taking aers job as Librarian and Historian seriously for the first time. Perhaps ae wasn’t close to Florence as ae was to aers other siblings, but Florence’s advice on how to walk the line helped aer through aers time in Orocorum, aers championship, and beyond. After the New World’s destruction, the rock was the only thing ae had of Florence. And ae treasured it, a memento of Florence.

Eyelander’s Sword Eyelander gave xem a replica of his sword. Xe really didn’t expect anything less, but it was nice to have something to remember Eye by. Xe really just shrunk it and kept it in xir messenger bag because it was a nice emergency weapon (not that xe could wield it without thinking of Eye). Eye was the last of STJ to ascend to godhood. He probably survived the destruction of the New World, but xe wasn’t going back. The losses would just be more apparent, but why did it matter? Xe already mourned for the New World and Sleepy Time Junction already; xe was over it (you aren’t but keep on telling yourself that. Maybe one day it will be true).

Gumnoblade’s necklace Ae remembered Gumnoblade. Their name was really Gummy, but Gumnoblade was the only name that stuck for aer. Plus, it was more fun to say. Gumnoblade, Gumnoblade, Gumnoblade (Why oh why did the universe have to curse them this way? First Technoblade and Gumnoblade. And now Philza Minecraft and Roofza Catcraft. The Demon and the Godmaker, the Anarchist and the Father). Gumnoblade was the child of Lucifer (or Satan, ae wasn’t clear on the details) that Sleepy summoned and they became soulbound (like Bad and Skeppy, oh why does XD’s story have elements that coincide with aers life back in the New World? Does XD really have it out for them? Ae can see it in the way some people act like those back in the New World. In the similar beats of Tommy’s exile and Bop’s exile). Gumnoblade gave aer a pretty necklace that they said reminded them of aer. Ae never wore the necklace (like all the things ae collected) but placed it in aers messenger bag.

Strawberry’s Emerald Flower Crown Strawberry was…odd. Xe never really interacted with her, but she gave xem a flower crown made of emeralds anyways. Strawberry was a strawberry that mutated and formed sentience. Really shows that life flourishes anywhere. The flower crown fit xem perfectly, and xe wore it on days xe wanted to feel pretty.

Mama’s Ruby Brooch It was a pretty ruby brooch. Ae only realized it had a protection charm several years after receiving it. Ae pinned it on aers messenger bag, proudly on display for the world to see. Mama was a witch; if ae was correct, she was the high priestess in the Old World. Mama was also in a platonic marriage with Dad and Ghost Dad (Lily, Crab, and Spectre). Ae kept the brooch even though ae really didn’t need the protection. The protection would be a nice safety net, and the brooch reminded them of Mama. Ae knew ae wasn’t Mama’s favourite, Sleepy held that title (witches bond together), but Mama still held nice memories for them. Ae was Buir’s favourite (Thirteen’s favourite), was near the top in Ma’s favourites list, and was near the top in Ghost Dad’s favourites list, but Mama’s favourite was Sleepy, Mom’s favourite was Izzy (ae thinks but ae can’t remember correctly), and Dad’s favourite was Ashes. But ae loved aers parents all the same.

Eternal Flower Crown A reminder of a time long gone. The flowers in the flower crown were enchanted to never wilt or die. The perks of making the flower crown while xe was the God(dess) of Life and Chaos. Xe remembered Orocorum. It was a strange world, and the only one where xe became an actual deity. Xe managed to stumble into the world shortly after its creation, and the Goddess of Creation, Emma, gave xem the divinity and title, at the cost of a piece of herself. Xe loved every life to walk in that world, but xe ultimately fought for xir family (the Pantheon) and chaos.

Ren’s Flower Hair Clips Ren was...Ren was Ren. Ren and Raster (a strange mash-up of Rose and Aster). Best friends until the end. Ren had given aer two flower hair clips. Aer occasionally wore one or the other. Ae regrets everything that led up to aer leaving that world. Everything that led up to leaving him. Ae loved the flower clips, one a rose, another an aster. Ae was close to Ren in that world (Tommy and Tubbo’s friendship reminds aer too much of Ren and aerself. They were the Tommy, ae was the Tubbo. It hurt to see that). The flower clips sometimes hurt to look at sometimes; was ae really deserving to wear them after what ae did? But ae kept and wore them nevertheless; ae would honor the memory of Tobias “Toby” Ren Passeriformess in whatever ways ae could. It was the least they deserved.

Jax’s Ring Are you still married if your spouse has died? Jax was interesting and beautiful. They were the Blood God of that world, the God of Bloody Conflict, and xe was the only one to call them by their true name. The only one who had the honor of knowing and using their true name without consequence. Xe loved them, and they loved xe. Perhaps if xe wasn’t so afraid, xe would’ve saved this world (xe knows that that world was due to expire anyways, but xe could’ve extended it a bit. Xe could’ve fought for it harder. Xe could’ve at least saved Jax or some of the pantheon). Perhaps xe could’ve used more of xir energy and divinity to save the world, to extend it. But xe had to watch as everything connecting xem to the pantheon was destroyed, as xir ties to godhood were destroyed. As Larkza fell and Erlea fell after them, together until the end. As xe had to watch Jax the Blood God fall, fighting to the end. And in the end, it was just xirself and Emma. And then it was just xirself, Librarian and Historian, in the Void, fleeing the dead world with a journal filled with its history from beginning to end.

Titles For as long as ae remembered, ae held the title of Librarian and Historian of Worlds. Ae was born with it, but ae never really embraced it until ae found STJ and the New World. Archivist offered ae the title of her champion, but ae never really accepted until the Archivist became the Librarian, and now ae holds the title of Champion of %] proudly. Ae also holds smaller titles like one-third of Bootleg Bench Trio, Only Sane One in the Infinite Library Squad (jokingly, Fågel and Lucas had their shit together more than ae does). And ae holds very well-known titles as well: the Archivist (ae laughed when ae heard it, but Librarian wasn’t complaining: ae was giving the name a positive context), the Librarian (ae teased Librarian so much after that), the Historian, the Records-Keeper, the One who Walks the Shadows, the One with no Fear, and aers most regretted title: the Godslayer. It wasn’t the title itself that ae regrets: it was what ae did to obtain it. Aers most prized titles were the smallest ones: sibling, child, friend, spouse, parental figure, partner in crime. Perhaps that was very telling of the type of person ae was: sentimental, loving, caring. But yet, ae knew that the smallest ones wouldn’t last. After all, ae will one day outlive the givers of the smallest ones (except for maybe the Gospel Court) as ae watches their world be destroyed.

#interactive watchers #Aster #Aster Rose

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2nerd4this · 4 years ago

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For @cynicalrainbows. Sending lots of love and hope for better times your way.

Productivity had always been important to Catherine Parr. She definitely preferred spending her time producing something she could use to prove she spent her time well over doing nothing, and most of the time, she found this fairly enjoyable. Being able to look at the end result of her hard work was always satisfying, and she never felt more successful than when she was proud of the work she had done.

In her old life, being productive was an expectation. She had grown up with the expectation that she would get married and be a good wife for her husband, so she had learned many skills that would prove her worth to any potential man that could support her in society and allow her to survive. In society’s view, she was only productive when she took care of her husband and potential family, and over time, she got pretty good at that. Good enough, at least, that she had four husbands.

This form of productivity, however, was not nearly as satisfying as she had hoped, so she began to spend any free time she had being productive in a way that was much more appealing to her. Writing allowed her to see the things she accomplished grow and become solid in front of her eyes, and above all, it was just enjoyable. She created a name for herself as more than a wife or a Queen, but as a writer, and that became her legacy. Her purpose and her most important form of productivity.

---

Being productive stayed just as satisfying in Cathy’s second life. When everything was so uncertain and unfamiliar, being able to do something productive was a way to retain any sort of stability. It also gave her a purpose in the world she felt so out of place in.

When united with the five other Queens, she soon learned that her legacy had carried on into history and was what set her apart from the others. Each of them had an expectation that was laid on them in reincarnation and writing was hers.

In all honesty, this excited her. With all the new freedom, tools, and knowledge, she could write more, about more, and for more, than ever before.

In the beginning, she wrote as much as she could, for her own sheer pleasure. When she wasn’t writing, she was reading, exploring, and researching. The others were adapting to the world and contributing to their new lives in their own way, and they appreciated her work, which made it all the more better.

Recently, though, something had changed. Writing was no longer pleasurable. In fact, it felt more like a chore, but as hard as she tried to contribute to housework or errands, she had discovered that this was the way she had to be productive, and so she carried on.

Soon enough, she would be done with this infernal, horrifying script and she could move on, back to being as productive as she knew she needed to be.

At least that’s what Cathy told herself as she leaned over her desk, and lowered her head into her sore hands, sighing.

Even as she shut her eyes, the piercing light from her laptop invaded her vision and she cringed. She had been sitting in this chair for hours now, making absolutely no progress on the script that she promised the others would be ready by the end of the week.

It had been almost a month since Anna proposed the idea of telling their own versions of their stories on the stage and at first, Cathy had jumped at the opportunity. In her time in this century, she and the others had gotten quite the introduction to modern theatre through small productions that were put on just down the street, and their fascination grew from there.

Anne and Kitty had immediately volunteered to work on the songs, but when Catalina pointed out that they would need dialogue and an actual script, all eyes turned to Cathy, and she had no choice but to accept.

She was the writer of the group, after all, and she knew it would be cruel to make any of the others spend any more time than they had to reflect on their past traumas. When it came down to it, she was the obvious choice for the job, but that didn’t make it any easier.

The other Queens had been quick to reassure her that they didn’t expect a final draft during the first read-through, but the cousins had finished writing and composing the songs days ago, and they were all counting on her.

As such, the sixth Queen had spent day and night for the past week at her desk, trying to clunk through the script. It had been going fairly well, actually, until she finished Kitty’s section and reached her own.

It wasn’t a big deal, she told herself. She was expected to produce a script, and a script she would produce, but she could feel herself sinking into the world of uselessness, and that would never do. She was Catherine Parr, Queen of England and famous writer. This is what she is supposed to do.

Rubbing at her eyes, she tried to pull her brain to the blurring screen in front of her, but the light that was starting to seep through the curtains made her recoil and she flinched, then glanced at the clock: nearly 6am.

Sighing, she decided to treat herself with another mug of coffee, and began to stumble downstairs towards the kitchen, trying her best to remain silent for the five sleeping women in the house.

Or, apparently, the four, because a door creaked open behind her as she descended the first flight of stairs.

When Cathy reached the kitchen and the coffee maker, she saw Anna blearlily appear out of the corner of her eye, and tried her best to give a polite smile.

“You’re up early,” the fourth Queen commented, then paused and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the younger woman, “or, more accurately, really, really late.”

“I was just working on the script, I’ll go to bed soon.” Cathy mumbled, to which Anna smiled.

“How’s that going, by the way?”

“Oh, errr....” Cathy quickly turned her attention back to the slowly filling mug. It was so hard to lie to Anna.

“Cathy? Is something wrong?” Anna looked suddenly concerned, and stepped toward her slowly. “We don’t expect it to be perfect, you know. It’d be completely understandable if you wanted a second pair of eyes, or third or fourth or... just to help out.”

“I got it, Anna.” Cathy mumbled under her breath, willing the coffee to drip faster.

“You sure? I’m always free to help if you...”

“I said-” Cathy cut her off suddenly, swinging her mug away and turning on the taller woman- “I got it. Wouldn’t want to tear you away from your Netflix and horror films, would we?”

“Whoa, Cathy, what-” Anna started, but it was too late. The sixth Queen had disappeared up the steps, leaving droplets of spilled coffee in her wake, with Anna reeling from her sudden tenacity and words.

---

Cathy collapsed into her desk chair just in time to bury her face in her hands, willing the tears to hold back. The moment she snapped at Anna, she felt horrible, but she didn’t exactly regret what she said. It was true- the Queen did spend an awful lot of time relaxing in the living room.

The interesting part, though, was that Cathy didn’t find herself angry at her for it. More... jealous.

Jealous that she was able to stop and breathe and not worry about creating something, jealous that the other Queens didn’t seem to mind her lack of productivity, jealous that she didn’t hate herself whenever she had a second of calm.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear these thoughts. Anna and Cathy were just built different, she reasoned. She was made to create things and Anna was made to... do whatever she did, which she was always somehow amazing at.

Cathy often hated herself for how jealous she was of the others when they sat down to watch a movie or go out to lunch, when she knew she needed to retreat back to her room to work. Logically, she knew she could easily join them, that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, and that she couldn’t be expected to be productive all day every day, but the instinct was so deeply ingrained in her from life in the 1500s that it was nearly impossible to shake.

As she turned back to the laptop, the rough draft of her introduction to her song that Anne had drafted with her a week ago (which, now that she thought about it, was about the same time things began to go downhill) glared back at her.

Before the draft, Anne and her had had a long conversation about Thomas and how she would tell her story, and the two eventually came to an agreement that the truth could be told through a different angle to make the whole story of the show flow better.

That didn’t make it hurt any less.

Writing these things about her life had forced her to reflect on things she never wanted to have to think about again, at least not at this depth.

In times that she was clear headed enough to examine her own thoughts and emotions, which were rare, she knew that there was trauma associated with her past, and that while she was still reeling from reincarnation, she was trying to write something that could communicate her experience, which was still all too real, to unassuming audience.

In those moments, she knew this was part of the struggle she was having. It was part of the reason that she had taken the burden of the script, to relieve this pain from the other Queens, and to find productivity and purpose in her skills.

When she wasn’t clear headed, though, there was no such self-awareness.

Now, she was just staring at her work in silence, willing herself to write something, anything, before she lost all energy and collapsed.

Closing her eyes, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly and bringing her shaking fingers to the keyboard.

As she opened her eyes, the words on the screen were still out of focus, but she began typing anyway, with only a vague idea of what she was writing.

---

After twenty-minutes or so, Cathy had written a page, but she didn’t have the guts to reread it and see if it said what she wanted it to say.

Resigning herself to continue this pattern until she was able to return to her usual standard, she forged on, but before she could type more than a few words, a knock on the door broke through the haze in her mind.

Her heart dropped as she initially thought it must be Anna, but the voice that echoed through the door negated that idea, and after the instinctual relief, she realized that this was probably worse.

“Mija? Cathy?”

The sixth Queen could do nothing but sigh and lower her head to the desk in defeat at the sound of her godmother’s voice.

“Querida, I know you’re in there. I could hear you typing.”

Cathy held her breath, as if that would drive the first Queen away, but to no luck.

“I talked to Anna.”

A sharp inhale, and within moments, Cathy slid her wheeled chair to the door and turned the lock sharply.

Catalina waited a moment, then slowly turned the doorknob and peeked her head inside to see her goddaughter slumped over in the desk chair in the middle of the room.

“Catherine, are you alright?” The first Queen slipped through the barely open door and crossed the distance between them in a stride, kneeling down in front of her goddaughter, only to see her eyes tightly shut.

“How mad is Anna?” Cathy muttered, not opening her eyes. Catalina frowned.

“Hmm?”

“I didn’t mean to say that to Anna.”

“Oh...” Lina nodded slowly, “You mean when you insinuated she was lazy?”

Cathy cringed immediately, pulling her hands away from where her godmother was holding them gently.

“I swear I didn’t mean-”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. Anna isn’t mad, mija. She’s just concerned.” Catalina hurried to correct herself, immediately regretting her words.

“Concerned for what?” Cathy peered up at Lina, who sighed.

“You, of course. We all know you’ve been overworking herself on the script and Anna told me what happened when I came downstairs for breakfast.”

“I’m really sorry, I should never have said that to her. I was just... you know...”

“No, I don’t.” Catalina shook her head, shifting to sit on the floor in front of the chair. Cathy bit her lip, then slid out of the chair and sat across from her godmother, leaning against the bed. “Tell me, mija.”

“I guess I was just a little jealous,” Cathy admitted quietly, blushing furiously. “It’s so stupid, I know, but I haven’t really been thinking very clearly recently.”

“Jealous of... of Anna?” Catalina questioned, only to receive a small nod. “Of what exactly?”

“You know, her... the way she... she’s so chill and relaxed all the time, and I... I’m... not.”

“Alright....” Catalina began, tilting her head as she tried to examine the sixth Queen’s expression. “I’m sorry, querida, I don’t think I quite get it. Are you saying you want to be more, uh, ‘chill’?”

“No, no, I... I just want to...” Cathy stumbled over her words for a moment, before closing her eyes and leaning back against the bed in defeat. “I just want to relax.”

“Oh.” Lina whispered quietly, the pieces in her mind falling into place. “Oh, oh pobrecita.”

“Please don’t.” Cathy cringed. “I know what you’re going to say and I don’t need to hear it. I’ll take a break when I’m done with the script, but I really just need to finish it.”

Catalina nodded slowly, processing her words, before asking simply: “Why?”

“What?” Cathy was caught off-guard.

“Why?” The eldest Queen simply repeated, shrugging softly.

“You... they... it just needs to be done.”

“Well, yes, eventually that would be nice, but why does it have to be you?”

“I’m the writer. I volunteered and I should follow through,” Cathy explained simply.

“Alright... then what’s stopping you?”

“....”

“What was that, mija?” Catalina leaned forward, ducking her head to try and make eye contact.

“I can’t. I just... I can’t.”

“Okay.... what’s the difficult part?”

The question was meant with silence, so Lina hoisted herself to her knees and peered at the still shining laptop for a moment, before humming softly.

“I know the rest of us aren’t nearly good with words as you are, but would you accept our help? At least with this part?” Catalina offered, trying to sound as casually as she could. Cathy shook her head.

“I can do it. I would... I need...”

“Mija, honey... I, I don’t know how to explain this to you, but you’re not obligated to write this, especially not now.”

“I know that, I do, but I-” Cathy started, then suddenly furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean, ‘not now’?”

“You’re hurting.”

“No, I’m-”

“Yes you are,” Catalina quickly cut her off. “We all are. And we are all coping with reincarnation and the effects of our past trauma differently. I’m really sorry we didn’t see it sooner, we... we thought writing was your way of healing.”

“It is!” Cathy exclaimed, heartfelt. “Or at least it was... I.. I don’t know what happened.”

“Cathy... Catherine... you’re allowed to take time for yourself, especially when you’ve been through something like this. There’s no need to be productive, to have a purpose all the time. You can rest, honey. You should rest.”

There were a few minutes of silence after this, as Cathy stared at the carpet and Catalina fidgeted to keep herself from speaking, before the younger woman lifted her head slowly.

“I don’t think I can finish the script, Catalina. Not right now.”

Catalina beamed, then quickly schooled her expression and nodded. “Okay. I’ll talk to the others and see if we can figure something out, and then you can approve it when you’ve rested.’

“Thank you. They won’t... they won’t be mad, right.”

“Of course not, querida. We all know all too well how it feels to be a little messed up, or a lot messed up, and how important rest is because of it. You’re more than allowed to take time for yourself to recover. Alright?”

“...yeah.” Cathy nodded slowly. “Alright.”

Catalina smiled widely once more. “I’m very proud of you, mija. Please rest.”

Cathy simply nodded, feeling the exhaustion of the past few weeks finally catching up to her. As she allowed herself to relax fully into the bed behind her and her eyes to fall shut, she exhaled slowly, feeling for the first time in the week that she could breathe again.

#six the musical #six the musical fanfiction #not edited but oh well #also meant to get this out there sooner but life happened #love you cyn <3

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mhdiaries · 4 years ago

Photo

Freaky Fusions Cleolei Diary

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Past One

The most horrifying event in history just happened to me, and I’m still shaking in my wraps! I became fused together with that dreadful werecat, Toralei. We are both inside this same body, and it’s all her fault! Typically, she was sticking her whiskers in where they didn’t belong and got her paws on something... and, zap! Being stuck in this body makes me so clawstrophobic, I’m itching like I have fleas! Oh, how I long for a lovely scented bath, but the furball gets her tail in a bunch at the slightest suggestion of water. Hmmmm... I wonder if I can talk her into a milk bath. CdN

30 mins A.F. (After Fusion) - Today started out to be a purrfectly fun day. There were so many killer things to explore in that mad scientist’s lab, I just had to get my paws on them, you know? How was I supposed to know touching that vortex thingy would cause such a cat-astrophy. I mean, seriously! Of all people to get fused with, I have to get stuck with her royal heinous... that ghoul really strokes my fur the wrong way! TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Til Two

Unacceptable! Her pointy little ears keep popping out no matter how tightly I wrap them! And everywhere I walk, I hear that horrid tail swishing. It echoes down the halls of MH. I accidentally tripped Deuce with it, and his sunglasses slid down his nose and turned poor Hissette into stone! She was following me - I think she mistook the swishing for hissing and was jealous I might have been hanging out with another cobra. As if I would ever find one as sweet as her. I’ll miss her as long as it takes for her to de-petrify. Luckily, it looks like it’s already wearing off. CdN

75 mins A.F. - This day just keeps getting better and better. Cleo keeps smashing my ears down with her wraps! So I didn’t hear her cobra slithering around us, and when I saw it I jumped in surprise - and I accidently tripped Deuce with my tail! I feel bad poor Hissette had to get caught in the crossfire of his stone-ifying eyes, but at least we know it’s temporary. I wish I could say the same about being fused with her royal pain. Ugh. I feel a furball coming on. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Two

Well, rehearsal for BIte-Centennial truly bit. Ugh, I’m just so desperate to send that kitty back to the pound she came from. I can’t believe my ancestors had a special affinity for felines. This one in particular is nothing but a mangy little pain in my abacus. And I’ve heard more with from headless sphinx statues. Give me a loyal greyhound any day. CdN

110 mins A.F. - Hahaha! That was pawsome! Miss purrfectly proper almost fell off her makeshift horse. And then I made her dance a little jig. If she sticks with me, she might learn to have some real fun. That’ll show her for claiming I’m not a purebred werecat. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Til Three

For some reason I can’t fathom, Frankie is convinced that the Hybrids can help us learn to be good at this whole fused-together thing. They are the new monsters at MH, and they are the kids of 2 different types of monsters, so I guess they have proper credentials. But the last thing I want to do is get too comfortable in Toralei’s skin, although apparently even I don’t have a choice. I was talking to Ghoulia earlier... well, trying to, anyway. It’s really difficult to have a private conversation with the werecat listening in. But I think Ghoulia has a plan to get me - all of us, I suppose - out of this situation. In the meantime, I guess I’ll see what’s up with the Hybrids. Toralei must be rubbing off on me, because I must admit I’m curious. CdN

125 mins A.F. - I’d trust Ghoulia with all of my 9 lives. She’s the kind of ghoul who doesn’t talk much, but when she does, monster listen. Or at least they should, if they have a brain in their skull. Even Cleo seems to pay attention to Ghoulia. But for some reason, Cleo seems to think Ghoulia is her own personal treasure. I was trying hard to hear what Ghoulia had planned - and I have pretty good hearing if I do say so myself - but Cleo kept trying to shut me out, like she thought she could entomb me in some tiny part of her dark and dusty mind. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Three

Oh, my Ra! Fearleading practice was positively scarab-ulous! For the first time in a millenia, I perfectly formed the very top of the pyramid! I know, that doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment - after all, a pyramid is right in my wheelcasket - but contrary to my usually flawless skill, I tend to be, um, shall we say, less than regal when hoisted on the backs of other ghouls. Although, I always believed that was more them than me, of course, but I digress. Anyway, not only did I fashion the top of the pyramid, from there I performed a triple pirouette, half-spin, reverse flip, over-the-crown split, and I STILL landed gracefully on my feet! My Daddy-Mummy would be so proud! The help from our new friends totes worked! CdN

165 mins A.F. - I’ve never enjoyed Fearleading practice more than I did today. I mean, jumping around and landing on your feet? That’s kitten play. Where’s the challenge in that? But it was nice not to have Cleo getting under my fur for a change. She didn’t boss me around ocne. I don’t really know what got into her. She was practically purring. Looks like we have our new friends to thank for that. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Four Precisely

You know, my ancestors may have had a point about this feline thing. I was feeling a bit cat-nappish after Fearleading practice. It was one thing that Toralei didn’t argue with me about. We found an empty classroom where it was nice and quiet, and stretched out near the window sill in a pool of sunlight. I must confess, it WAS soothing to have the werekitty purring and mumbling in my ear as we dozed. I slept like the un-dead. I won’t tell her, of course. Her head is already so over-inflated, it might pop. Normally, I wouldn’t concern myself with that possibility, but, now that we share the same head... CdN

195 mins A.F. - I’m feeling refreshed from a nap. I can almost deal with the rest of this Bite-Centennial. Is it just me, or has this been a really long day? Cleo doesn’t think so, but then she’s been alive forever, so I suppose one day wouldn’t seem like much to her. To me, it feels like an eternity. But the nap was nice. Cleo doesn’t smell as musty as I expected, just a bit too perfume-y. Made my whiskers twitch. But I’m really surprised by now how much I liked being tangled in her wraps, swaddled like a newborn kitten. I found myself purring out loud, and didn’t even care if she heard me. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Four

I’m royally pleased to be back to me! Now that I’ve been de-fused from the werekitty, I am feeling much more my ancient self. I feel like I just rid myself of a furball that has been gagging me all day! Toralei and I decided to each write a grain of sand’s worth here just to finish up OUR diary. In the end, it wasn’t as horrific an experience as I would have imagined, given that she usually ruffles my wrappings. It turns out we CAN get along, when we are forced to under the most dire and unexpected of circumstances, i.e. stuck in the same body. But I could really use another nap. CdN

10 mins A.d.F. (After de-Fusion) - I am so happy I feel like everything is made of catnip! I am back to being my clawsome self, and Miss Queen of deNothing is back in her own wraps. I don’t know why everyone blamed me for getting them into this. I don’t think it turned out to be so cat-astrophic after all. They would never have known how freaky fabulous things could get if I hadn’t tried a few things, right? You have to be a little curious about the world - sniff outside the box - if you want even one purrfect life, much less 9. TS

We my not be fused anymore, but we must work together more than ever! Frankie is in dire need of our help, and she is one ghoul worth crossing a desert... CdN

or getting wet for. There isn’t anything we won’t do to SAVE FRANKIE!! TS

#monster high #monster high diary #freaky fusion #cleolei #cleo de nile #toralei stripe #toralei

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sea-side-scribbles · 3 years ago

Text

Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/81198748

Chapter 73

Arthur had no chance to see who attacked him. Also, he was much too concerned with his own feelings to take notice of his surroundings. Just cut and run, he had thought. And smile along, always smile. And then, one moment after the other, he felt a stinging pain in his left upper arm. He turned around, but slower than he had attended. His body didn't obey him. Then the world continued to turn around him. Shortly, he panicked. Did he blow his cover? Finally, he felt how his strength left him, sinking down on the street. A blink of an eye later he passed out.

When Arthur awoke, he stared at the wide cloudy sky above him. Dawn was breaking, and he found out that he couldn't move. Startled, he began to tear at his fetters, but it was in vain. He was left to look at them in disbelief. Someone had done a competent job. Arthur stretched himself as good as he could, regretting that this guy didn't have the decency to give him a mattress before tying him onto a rock. Even though he was joking about it in his head, he didn't feel like laughing.

Once again, he had risked everything he had been fighting for in the last few weeks, and this time he was sure he'd pay for it. Often enough he had gotten away with it, but this time he had a very bad feeling. He recognised that he was in the Garden District and somebody had decorated his rock with lit up candles. Reasons enough to abandon all hope. He had seen multiple cultists in this district, with rituals that made him sick at the mere thought. What god would he be sacrificed for, he asked himself without being interested in the answer. Arthur hoped they'd choke on it. That'd be funny for once, he thought giggling hysterically. “I'm sorry, Percy...”, he whispered. “I fucked up.”

“Ah, Mr. Hastings, I hope you've been sleeping well?”, suddenly an amused voice asked. At least one of us has fun, Arthur stated to himself. He nearly twisted his neck to look around. The sight made him wince. “Nick?” His voice was a terrified rasp. The other man leaned against a rock, watching him with glowing red eyes. Arthur saw surprise and curiosity in his expression. He would've almost called it innocent, if there hadn't been these concerning circumstances. “No, but well-nigh”, the stranger said quietly. “It's interesting that you see our connection.” “Well, I'm afraid one of you is a copycat.” “You will understand soon”, the other man assured him. “Oh, Mr. Hastings, I'm sorry I have to do this to you, but you've been indeed very, very unwise. Downers don't belong in this town, you should know that.” “I'll keep that in mind, thanks”, Arthur said with sarcasm, “Now if you'd kindly untie me, I'll take the next train right to the mainland.” The stranger laughed. “You're charming, really. But I'm afraid it's too late for that. You had your chance, you know? You were gone already, but then you came back. You just can't say goodbye and I understand, it's such a jolly place, isn't it?” His grin caused a cold shiver run down Arthur's spine. “What do you mean? I never left the town. I wanted, but sadly my train got delayed.” That seemed to entertain the other man even more. “You know, I understand you. Truly, I do. And you know what? I make you a present. I give you one last date with the love of your life. How's that?” He didn't sound sentimental saying that. If he cared at all about Arthur's feelings, he didn't show it.

“Where is he? What have you done to him?” Arthur once more tore at his fetters. The other man watched his efforts without concern. “He's alright and I advise you to not chance that, otherwise I might change my mind and take care of you myself.” Arthur didn't understand. “What do you want from us?” The man eyed him. “Only you, Mr. Hastings. Only you.” Arthur was now certain that he dealt with a lunatic. “Foggy Jack.” It was worth trying. “You are Foggy Jack.” "I have many names...", the stranger said quietly. "People have to give things a name. Downers, Skippers, Wastrels...everything they don't understand. I'm just a man, Mr. Hastings. And so are you." He eyed Arthur and perhaps even looked sympathetic. Arthur sniffed a chance. "Then we can get along! We don't have to do this!" Foggy Jack gave him a pitiful look. "I'm sorry, but there's no way around this. Tell yourself it was worth it...that's your only option..." He raised his eyes to the horizon. His expression became sentimental this time.

"What have I ever done to you?”, Arthur desperately shouted at him. “I never stood in your way! As you said, we're both outlaws here, we're equal..." Foggy Jack broke out in laughter. "Do you think I'm a Downer?" Arthur snorted. "Of course, no one off Joy would be so insane!" The man didn't look offended. "That's fair", he said quietly. "Seems like in this town the winner is who's most insane." "And Nick?”, Arthur brought it up again. “What did he do to deserve this?" His mind began to create a full picture. The murders...the mauled corpse of Kitty Bates...Virgil's blood... He suddenly felt cold. The man smiled. "He's an eccentric individual, my Nicky...He deserves the world." "Then leave him alone!", Arthur shouted again. "As I said, you will understand", the stranger said with emphasis. "Now, it was nice chatting with you, but I'm afraid we've come to the end of our time." The way he said it made Arthur's stomach turn. Was that...could that be...?

Foggy Jack got up from the rock and busied himself with gagging Arthur. Arthur in turn tried his best to bite the other man's fingers, but to no avail. His attacker was too careful and probably experienced to be fooled like that. When the work was done, Arthur fought down another panic attack. He was glad that the crazy killer at least cared enough not to choke him. Then uncomfortable silence ensued. Jack spend the silence looking at a point in the distance, something he awaited eagerly. Arthur sucked in the air when he saw another man approach, dressed in a black suit and with an eerie shimmer on his face.

“James, you wanted to see me?”, Nick asked a bit out of breath. He had hurried to come here after finding the message in his dressing room behind the stage. Jack cupped his face with his hands and looked him deeply into the eyes. He liked the glow they had. “Nick, what happens now is very important, do you hear me?” “Okay?” Nick didn't quite understand. “Did you take your Joy?” “Yes.” “Not too much?” Nick shook his head. “One.” Jack smiled. “Very good. Do you remember the gift you once made me?” “Gift...” Nick blinked. The memories...they were foggy. Then he touched his chest. “Yeah...” Jack nodded. “Now I'll give you something just as precious.” “Another gift?” Nick furrowed his brows. “Something even more precious than my last one”, Jack described to him, giving him a meaningful look. “Something you lost...” Jack turned around and gestured Nick to follow him. Nick saw the light that flickered around the rock and he also saw that someone was lying on it. Curiously, he came closer, reaching out for the seemingly lifeless body. When he noticed that the chest was still moving, he winced and stopped. His hand remained in the air, doubting, his eyes searched for the face of the stranger. Suddenly he looked into brown eyes, his expression just as startled as the other man's was.

“Arthur?”, Nick whispered. Looking back at his mentor, he saw the man return his gaze with an approving nod. "The man who broke your heart, right here. We thought he'll leave the town...He said he had so many important things to do...but all the time he was here, just not at your side..." Arthur's throat made a sound. He didn't recognize himself if he had been shouting or sobbing, but the gag obliterated the difference anyway. What remained was an opaque, doleful sound that made Nick wince again. "Oh, dear, is he begging for your love now?", Jack sneered. "Should we let him explain why you weren't good enough for him? Why he wanted to live a better life than the one at your side? Should we allow him to stab another blade into your heart? Nick, look at me." Nick who wasn't able to tear his gaze away from Arthur finally obeyed. "Don't make the same mistake again! You lost so much to him and he doesn't care!" Another muffled sound came from Arthur. Jack gave him an annoyed glance. "You did everything to gain his heart but he took it from you! Today I'm giving you the chance to get back what's yours! His heart will be with you forever! We'll keep it next to mine, so we can always remind ourselves to never give our heart away again...."

Nick looked back at Arthur who didn't like how the other man eyed his chest, as if he was looking for a certain spot. He also didn't like the glow in Nick's eyes. It could be the candles that gave his eyes an orange shimmer, but combined with the outfit it created a picture that made Arthur gasp in despair. Why did he never notice? How long had Nick been under Foggy Jack's influence? And was he really innocent?

“Did you bring it?”, Jack asked when Nick was finished observing his new gift. Arthur noticed how he kept Nick from thinking for himself, how Nick looked up to him, asking for his advice. The rockstar acted slowly, as if he was controlled, but not clumsily. If anything, he didn't make any superfluous movements. He was probably very focused. So, perhaps not high. Still, Nick was clearly not himself and Arthur hated to watch how Nick obeyed to Jack, fetching something out of his pocket. It shortly flashed, making Arthur blink. Then he felt hot and cold at the same time, because Nick held a little knife in his hands and looked up to Jack who gave him another approving nod. Jack put a hand on Nick's shoulder and gently pushed him to the improvised altar. Arthur cramped and tugged at the fetters again.

Nick seemed to ignore Arthur's desperate calls. He also avoided his eyes, rather stared at the uncomfortable spot on his chest. The knife came closer until it was only millimetres away from his shivering body, as if Nick would take measurements. Arthur closed his eyes. Then he felt Nick's hands on him and opened wide to look at the man. Nick still didn't return the gaze. He simply opened the buttons on Arthur's jacket, one after the other. Arthur almost laughed. One last date with his lover! How he had missed that! If only he could convince Jack to leave them alone for a bit. Arthur winded, blinking away tears. Soon, Nick had removed the annoying cloth and his fingers ran over Arthur's skin. Then he let his hand lay on his chest. He certainly felt his heartbeat, Arthur thought. By now he had lost his strength to scream. Nick positioned the knife again. Suddenly, he looked him in the eyes and Arthur stared back. Like this, they remained for an unexpected long while. Nick seemed to feel doubt, his look became fearful.

He turned back to his mentor. “I can't...”, he whispered. “Yes, you can”, Jack answered. His voice was full of confidence. Arthur was afraid that even he would kill for such a voice. But Nick shook his head. “I have never...” “Yes, you did”, Jack said, “and you left your work for everyone to see.” Arthur cramped. Nick froze and looked at Jack, less horrified than confused. “Do you remember where you left him?” Nick seemed to brood over it. He looked at his hands, than back at his mentor. “Virgil...”, he whispered. “You held him in your arms”, Jack explained as if it was the most beautiful thing he ever did. “And all people found him like that, in your arms. It was so touching.” “I...I...” Nick sobbed. “You showed him your love. He betrayed you, he payed for it and you forgave him.” He pointed towards Arthur. “Now it's time to forgive him, am I right?” Nick shivered. “It's fine, Nick. I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of. Once you have his heart, you'll feel the warmth of it in your hands. Arthur won't leave you again. We'll keep him and you can always come back to him.” Nick hung at his every word. “And the body, well, I'm sure you'll find a good spot to honour him.” Nick's gaze wandered along the wide meadows, stopping by the red glowing Nonsuches. “See, it's all there in your head”, Jack concluded.

Nick ran a hand though his hair, then turned back to Arthur. Arthur made another noise, this time it was merely a whimper. He could see his own chest raising and falling. He also felt how his skin touched the cold blade of the knife. Finally, Nick tightened his grip and lifted it up. Arthur froze and pressed his eyes shut.

He felt a tug at his wrists and suddenly, he was free. For a short moment he was baffled, but he used his luck to attack. Nick had covered him good enough so that Jack didn't notice what happened until the Downer had already jumped at him. Arthur had no strategy for this, only pure violence. He dragged Foggy Jack to the ground, held him down with his knees and pressed his upper arm against the killer's throat. He was afraid he couldn't keep him under control like this forever. “Nick, help me!”, he shouted. Where was he? Did he run away?

Nick watched the scene that unfolded, paralysed. It had felt right to free Arthur. He didn't have the heart... Did he really do it already? He had felt nothing but fear at the thought. And the smell of blood had occupied his mind. He didn't like that smell. But now James was in danger and he couldn't let that happen.

Nick set himself into motion and grabbed Arthur to pull him away. “Let go of him!”, he rasped. He managed to tear Arthur away from James. The man jumped back at his feet and shoved Nick off. “You're just as crazy as him!”, he screamed into the eerie, glowing eyes. He barely noticed the sadness in them. “Arthur...?”, Nick said quietly. “Leave me alone!”, the other man continued to scream, slapping his hand away. Arthur panicked. Jack was about to recover and moved to get up. Nick scared him too, and so he turned away from him and fled as fast as he could, off this awful place. “Arthur!”, Nick shouted after him. “Arthur, wait, I'm not like him! I...!” But Arthur vanished in the darkness and Nick couldn't sense him. He could be everywhere. Also, Nick's tiny bit of courage was already used up. He was paralysed again, unsure if he even wanted to flee. He watched James getting back on his feet and fear spread in his body. He knew he had made a horrible mistake.

“James, I couldn't...”, he whimpered. Jack massaged his throat. “You couldn't...”, he repeated, and his voice had lost it's approving sound. “I told you how much he means to me! You should've known! You...!” “You blame this on me?”, Jack snarled. “After everything I've done for you, you embarrass me like that? Don't you listen to me?” Nick sobbed. “You took Morrie away from me! And Virgil! And now Arthur!...How could you?” Jack glared at him. “You're right. I was so blind. You're not like me and you never will be! I can't believe I wasted so much time on you! Stupid, sentimental me! But now, now you've come to the end of your time!” “No!” Nick overcame his shock and ran away, down the same slope that Arthur had taken, the same that Nick had climbed up full of anticipation a few moments ago.

“You can't hide from me, Nicky, I can sense you!”, Jack yelled after him and Nick knew he was right. They were connected. For some time past they were able to feel each other out. They couldn't exist without each other. It made it more painful to be hunted by him. Nick felt like a part of him was ripped out of his body. He still continued to run, down the slope and into the wide field, where Nonsuches faintly lit up the road and clouds of think fog covered the grass here and there. Neither the fog nor the high grass could hide him. Eventually exhausted, he crouched under a rock that was big enough to cover him. It at least made him feel safer. Gasping for air, he noticed he still held the scalpel in his hands. His fingers curled tightly around it. It was his only chance. He felt James come closer and waited, shivering, fighting the urge to flee. It would be no use. James wouldn't stop.

Soon, he heard his footsteps. The grass was quietly rustling. Someone else would've failed to hear it, but the Joy had sharpened Nick's senses. He froze when James came to a halt right at the other side of the rock. Then Nick heard nothing but his own quick breath. “Are you waiting for me, Nicky?”, Jack whispered. “Do you want to fight? Oh, I've been looking forward to see you fight! You learned so much, you know? But it was no use...” Nick didn't want to fight. His only chance was one fast stroke, so he sneaked around the rock while Jack was still talking to him. He found his mentor turning his back on him. When Nick lifted up his hand, however, he turned around. His expression was mocking and Nick himself felt ridiculous. He was still too far away to attack him and ended up standing there like an odd living monument.

“You still have my gift”, Jack noticed. “Do you want to kill me with it, Nicky? Can you do it?” He came closer while he spoke, eyes fixed on Nick's. Nick trembled more. He had to do it now. Now! But what chance did he have? And it was James...His helper, his friend, his manager...This could only be a nightmare. Jack grabbed his arm, shattering all chances. “No, you can't”, he concluded. “I knew it! You just can't do it! There's no use in teaching you!” With the other hand he took the scalpel away from him. “You don't deserve this!” Nick's eyes welled up. “I told you...”, he whispered. “This always happens to me. I disappoint everyone who loves me. I chase them away. It was naïve of me to think it would be different with us...” He sobbed. “I loved you! And I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you!” Jack lifted his eyebrow. “Please, could you do me a last favour?”, Nick went on. “Just one moment, please, pretend this didn't happen. Let me believe I didn't lose you too. Tell me it's gonna be okay.” He widened his arms. “Please, hug me one last time.” Jack looked actually blindsided. Nick's behaviour confused him and it made him wonder if he wronged him... If he wanted a hug, he could get it, right? What of it! Slowly, he opened his arms. Nick gave him a questioning look first, then he dashed into the embrace. Jack curled his fingers into Nick's hair. It felt good to be so close to him. It was the last thought he had before he lost consciousness.

Nick pulled the syringe out of James' neck and gently lowered the limp body into the grass. He positioned the knife and made his first cut with shaking hands. He would show him his love, honour him and make him a monument. He'd keep his heart forever. Warm blood covered his fingers. The beating of his heart was so disturbing. Nick wasn't used to this. He wondered how long his heart would keep on.

“Hey, what are you about?”, someone yelled at him. Nick jumped. His senses had been focused only on James. He looked up to a man. A very tall man in a blue uniform. Immediately, he pulled out the scalpel. His hands were full of blood and his eyes full of guilt. “It's Foggy Jack!”, the Bobby howled. “I got him! Don't let him get away!” Nick ran away head over heels, but it had become darker. All he saw was blackness and the many furious voices of his pursuers came closer.

#we happy few #arthur hastings we happy few #whf #wehappyfew #whf arthur #whfarthurhastings #nick lightbearer #nicklightbearer #whfnick #whfnicklightbearer #whfarthur #foggy jack #whf foggy jack #foggyjack #fanfiction

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that-bi-bitch-writes · 4 years ago

Text

My Favs... and possibly why

(Haikyuu, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen)

Haikyuu!!

1. Iwaizumi- tbh if you think it’s because I find him hot you are partially correct. but like he is a multitalented athlete who cares about his friends(strangers too) and despite having all the traits of a strong leader he spends his time supporting and helping others and is passionate about it marry me now. He strong also. My haikyuu husband

2. Kenma- Anxious gamer boy supports nerdy friend, in his passion finds joy in it, is incredibly smart/perceptive, hot , awkward, puts his all in the things he likes doing. everyone says he’s not baby he’s aggressive, chaotic and would not hesitate to fight but that is what makes him MY baby.

3. Noya- Hello what show are you watching if you don’t like nishinoya?? although he is very energetic and it would exhaust me at time he’s talented, pretty, passionate, shorter than me, loving and motivating. I want to be the kiyoko or asahi in his eyes. that look in his eyes. I want it to be for me.also i want to go on a gay trip around the world with him no fair asahi

4. Asahi- Trope subversion yes please. Give me my big softie who is a ball of anxiety but a normal teenager even though he looks so tough and mature i love him so much and he’s strong and reliable and would support you in whatever you’re doing come on what is there not to like (besides his new design) i want him to smile for me and design some clothes for me.

5. Tie for Hinata and Bokuto- Idk i don’t have that shounen mc aversion so i love loud passionate babies. Hinata is not my favorite but I haven’t seen the whole series and I think i can fall in love with him a little more because he’s adorable and passionate and hardworking look at him why would I hate him. Bokuto is like hinata if hinata had his personality put in a bigger body. It’s a little more unstable in the bigger body but still fun and so amazing. beefy.

honorable mentions: Aone & Ushijima: Asahi in different fonts. Suga: I would marry him if he asked but in terms of fav characters he narrowly missed top 5. Tendou & Kyotani: They are seen as scary but i don’t find them scary and want to tame them and have them for myself. Matsukawa: Hot. you need anything else?

Jujutsu Kaisen:

1. Yuji Itadori- He is SO CUTEEE. Hellooooo are you watching jujutsu kaisen? like I know you’re all unnecessarily horny for Gojo and Sukuna but no one is better than Yuji. He is sweet and cute and considerate and loving and trusting and a beautiful himbo. He is adaptable, welcoming, passionate, and he’s like one of the only characters i know who says “i don’t want to kill because I value human life but one day I will have to. Until then I am going to look for other ways” He accepts the darkness of the world and that he is going to be put in a difficult position. He is not on the “killing people is always bad no matter what situation you’re in” train. I dislike those people.

2)Teenage Gojo and Geto- to avoid spoilers I’m just gonna say icons. mwah

3) Nobara- I am not a gay disaster I am a bi/pan disaster. All other men (except the ones above) pale in comparison to this wonderful woman. She is chaotic, badass, smart, amazing wonderful talented gorgeous where was I going with this. Anyway when she was fighting that one guy and she was whooping his ass it was amazing (this happens i would say often so it’s not a spoiler)

4) Nanami: I feel better about him than Reigen Arataka but they are similar. Nanami wants Yuji to be a child, though he respects Yuji and recognizes his power and passion. He wants kids to be able to be kids and let the adults handle the big problems. Unlike reigen he actually realizes when he can’t handle everything by himself and the kids will be put into hard and horrible positions so he teaches/advises. Also he hates working as he should

5) Megumi: He is cute and i love his non gendered preference for good people. plus i think his animals are cool. He is respectful and cares a lot, i like how his bad backstory affects him but doesn’t control/motivate him. pretty dry otherwise

honorable mention: Adult gojo: cutie! Junpei: no words. Sukuna: bastard but likeable

BNHA/ My Hero

1. Aizawa- Did you think I would put anyone else in the number one spot? please. Aizawa Shouta is my one and true husband above all fandoms. This man is hot, all other words for attractive, gorgeous, funny, sleep deprived passionate (“really cool”-shigaraki) he cares about his students, regular people and i think a little bit for people who become villains out of necessity. I have read the manga and vigilantes and oh my god he is such a great hero and so strong ugh. Him and the kitty in vigilates 10/10. He is a true hero and I think he’s better than all might

2) Bakugou- It took me a long road to get here but I am 100% a bakugou fan. When he was in middle school I wanted to beat the crap out of him and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. He took things too far. But then I started to think about his life and i’m 100% sure I would’ve become a villain in like season 4. He matured, and became a strong willed passionate person who cares about saving people over proving his worth and I know that was hard for him. I dare say he had even more character growth than anyone else in the series that stuff speaks to me. It definitely doesn’t hurt that he’s attractive

3) Shinso- I think I saw a tiktok where people were confused how we like shinso so much after seeing so little of him and I was so confused as to how his little screen time wasn’t enough for y’all??? Traumatic backstory? pretty hair? sleep deprivation? strong motives and an amazing quirk? sarcasm and cutthroat attitude to get where he wants but he refrains from violating people too much? he is like aizawa and bakugou mixed together and then given some insecurities what’s there not to like

4) Midoriya- He’s a really cool MC i’m gonna be honest. He just isn’t my favorite person in the series. He’s a hard worker, brave, strong, admirable, adorable, and sweet. he can also get violent and lets loose and cares about people. I for one am really glad to see him living out his dream and thinks he’ll be fantastic

5) Amajiki & Kirishima- These two are the opposites of each other but make up for it and make great work partners. Amajiki is cute and shy with a lot of anxieties but he’s powerful and smart and can take control of a situation very quickly once he makes his mind up. He is wonderful i love him. Kirishima is handsome and bold showing off his strength and charisma but he has a lot of insecurities about inaction yet he can be great support especially when he’s got a good partner/leader fighting with him (bakugou, fatgum, amajiki). An he’s sweet and amazing

honorable mention: Twice: He is caring and so sweet and i love him, also he’s hot. Iida: loosen up a little class rep, you’re smart and semi adaptable, you are passionate and pretty handsome too. Present Mic: amazing talented brilliant showstopping. the only other person who can have aizawa.

#jujutsu kaisen #bnha #mha #haikyuu!!#hq #not a fic

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gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights · 5 years ago

Link

Rating: G

Summary: An offhand curiosity leads to Ladybug and Chat Noir riding his baton up as high as it can go. Or, as high as it can go before they get distracted. (It's just nerves about the height that has Ladybug's stomach in knots, she swears.) Ladynoir oneshot for @lovesquarefluffweek, dedicated to @rosekasa who made me a ladynoir stan

Word Count: 3511

XXX

Marinette rested her hands on her hips, watching in amusement as her partner finished wedging his staff in the crack in the dilapidated rooftop.

“This is a horrible idea,” she said idly.

His tongue stuck out as he tried wiggling the stick, ensuring that it was secured fast. “Come on, Bugaboo, none of your ideas have ever been horrible.”

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t her idea. She’d only wondered how far Chat’s baron could extend, if its length was as infinite as her yo-yo’s string. It was her ridiculous, adrenaline-junkie partner who wanted to ride the baton up as far as it could go.

Not that it was that dangerous, really. They’d done it a few times to scout for some akuma or another during attacks. Besides, it would be nice to see the city from such a height without a threat looming over them—or below them.

“It wasn’t an idea. It was a question,” she still said on principle. “I didn’t think you were actually going to test it.”

He rested his chin on the top of the baton and grinned. “How long have you known me? I’m not majoring in Physics for nothing.”

“You’re not majoring in Physics.” She leaned in to flick his nose, which only made him grin wider. “Not for another two months, and not ever if you become a pancake by pulling some stupid stunt before then.”

“How could I hurt myself? I’ll have my amazing partner right there to catch me if I fall.” He winked.

Her stomach twisted like pretzel dough—from nerves about the height, that was all.

“Don’t go treating me like a parachute, kitty. I’ll be more likely to rip my arm out of its socket if I have to yo-yo us out of this.”

Or she’d have to use Lucky Charm and hope for an actual parachute, but it probably wouldn’t come to that. Silly as her kitty could be, he never let her down when it mattered.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be extra careful, I Pawmise.” He crossed his heart with one claw, still grinning like he was already on top of the world.

Ridiculous or not, this idea was worth it just to see him so excited. He’d been bouncing all night since she’d agreed.

“You’d better,” she warned, though her voice was warm.

His grin reached Cheshire proportions as he wrapped one arm securely around the metal staff and extended the other to her. “One catapult, going up.”

“Oh no.” She laughed. “Points for the pun, but please don’t tell me you’re going to launch us.”

“I already said I’ll be careful. Don’t tell me the fearless Ladybug is actually scared?”

“Pffff, you wish. You just want me to hold on tighter.” Her fingers threaded through his teasingly before slipping out just as he tried to kiss her knuckles.

His lips pursed in a pout. “You know me too well, my Lady. ...But seriously, please hold on. I know you can catch yourself if you have to, but I’d really rather not drop you in the first place.”

“That makes two of us.”

She wrapped one arm around his waist and secured the other at his shoulder. His feet lifted off the ground to brace against the staff, leaving his thigh as a comfortable seat.

Enjoying this, huh? She almost expected him to tease as she snuggled closer—because she did want to be safe. It was almost disappointing when he neglected to quip though. Maybe she wasn’t clinging tightly enough after all.

“So high do you think we’ll go?” He asked, holding her by the waist as she finished getting settled. “Think we’ll be dodging planes tonight?”

“I doubt it. Even if we technically could go that high, we shouldn’t. It’ll be freezing up there.”

“What, afraid I won’t be able to keep you warm?” He teased with a gentle nuzzle to the size of her head.

Had it always been this difficult to keep from leaning into his touch? Not that she couldn’t, but, well—if she gave into his jokes, he’d have no reason to continue.

“Why don’t you just focus on getting us up there at all.” She kept her voice flat, hiding any trace of that brief thought.

“Whatever you say, Bugaboo.”

For all his earlier joking, their ascent started fairly slow, more like an elevator than a catapult. It gave her plenty of time to take in the sights below—the warm lights flickering from windows, divided by the dark swath of the Seine. Streets radiating out from the Arc de Triomphe like spokes on a wheel, cars inching their way down them like little lightningbugs. And of course, the Eiffel Tower, sparkling in the distance, a homing beacon that never failed to bring a smile to her lips.

Paris. Their city.

“Pretty amazing, huh,” Chat breathed beside her. With their arms around each other and the glittering lights below, it was easy to pretend they were rulers surveying their kingdom.

...Chat had must have been calling Marinette Princess too much. Or else his My Lady’s were going to her head.

Royal daydreams or not, though, there was no one she’d rather have beside her—no one else she could have beside her. And not just because it was his baton that held them aloft, his embrace that made her feel as secure as if she stood on solid ground. She would have been crushed under the weight of her superhero mantle if he weren’t there to share it. Staring down at just how many people depended on them, it was impossible to forget that.

“Does it ever feel like too much?” She whispered the doubt that had been nagging at her more and more lately. She tried to stay strong for the team’s morale, but when it was just her partner and the hushed sky, her necessary barriers wore thin.

“Does what feel like too much?” He replied just as quietly. His face turned to hers, emerald irises glinting in the moonlight, closer than she’d prepared herself to handle.

The pretzel twist in her stomach made a reappearance, but she was hardly thinking about the height.

“You know. All of this.” She couldn’t let go to gesture to the glowing city beneath them, but he seemed to understand anyway. “We’re the only ones standing between all of them and two adult supervillains. And even after all these years, we still haven’t found them.”

Her voice cracked a little on that last sentence. The uncomfortable truth they’d been dancing around for the last few months—longer, really, but it became more and more urgent as lycee ended and they prepared to go to University. Most of their team of miraculous wielders (not Chat, of course) would be leaving Paris. This was the last summer they would be together, and the last summer they could be kids, only they hadn’t really been kids for four years now thanks to Hawkmoth and Mayura—

And maybe that was why she agreed to this crazy idea. Because they were kids, dang it, and she deserved to do something silly and dumb with the one person she trusted more than anyone in the world. She wanted to spend time with him outside of taking down Hawkmoth’s villain of the day. She wanted them to just be together.

Wait. Not together, together—just, like, as friends. Who could spend time together without wearing magical suits and masks. She wanted to sew them matching shirts, and text him cat memes at two a.m., and kick his butt at video games. Which she could do as Marinette, but—she wanted him to know it was her, too.

The sheer force of that longing took her by surprise, and only multiplied her hatred for Hawkmoth a hundredfold.

“Hey, Little Bug,” Chat said softly. His arm tightening around her dissolved the complicated web of her thoughts. “We’re going to find him. And it’s not just us anymore. Pegasus is analyzing all the data Rena’s collected, remember? And we’ve got her and Carapace alternating patrols with Ryuuko and Viperion. We can even call in Queen Bee or Bunnyx or King Monkey if we need to. We’ve never been closer to taking Hawkmoth down.”

He was right. They weren’t alone. They never would’ve survived the combined powers of Hawkmoth and Mayura if it weren’t for their team, especially since sentimonsters started regularly joining the fray two years ago.

Still, there was something about sitting with Chat among the pinprick stars that brought her back to before then. When it was just the two of them against the world.

Was it weird that she sometimes missed that?

“I know,” she murmured. Her forehead leaned against his chest, where the steady thump-thump of his heart calmed her own. “Sorry, Chat. I shouldn’t worry.”

“I don’t think anyone could stop you from worrying.” His chin rested on her head, his warmth and familiar scent cocooning her. Roses and leather and cheese, juxtaposed in a way that was so uniquely him. “I doubt Paris would still be standing if you didn’t worry. But it’s going to be okay. I promise.”

The rational part of her brain wanted to ask how he could say that. The newspapers cried out against them at every mistake, at every day that drew them closer to the fifth anniversary of Hawkmoth’s appearance.

But the other part of her brain, the part that had worked in tandem with him long enough that trusting him was second nature, calmed at his reassurance.

“Who knows,” he continued. “Maybe we’ll kick Hawkmoth’s butt before summer ends, and then we can throw a party before everyone splits for University. The whole team can show up. We’ll get Multimouse to bring the pastries. Carapace can blast us some sick tunes. I’m sure Queen Bee can get us a venue…”

Marinette giggled at the thought of all the miraculous wielders, unmasked and just hanging out like normal friends, no more worries than what they were going to do in University. Alix and Kim would probably (definitely) end up in some kind of competition, powered by their miraculouses or not. Luka would serenade Kagami with his guitar instead of Viperion’s lyre. Speaking of which, Marinette wondered if Adrien’s brief stint as Aspik would mean he would be there… and how he would get along with Chat Noir. For some reason, she had a feeling it would be odd to see them together.

Regardless, it was a dream worth fighting for. A dream worth hoping for.

“I’m sure Multimouse would love that,” she said, hiding her smirk against his collarbone. By the time such a party could happen, Chat would know the truth about her dual identity, anyway. “I know I would.”

“There’s only one thing that would make it better.” Chat’s voice turned teasing.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

He didn’t answer as they passed through a cloud, the dampness much colder and all around wetter than she was prepared for. She shivered and sneezed, feeling her pigtails cling to the back of her neck. Chat chuckled and brushed them aside. His claws lingered for the briefest of moments on the sliver of skin between her suit and hairline.

“A private party,” he said softly. “Just the two of us, before everyone else.”

She pulled back just enough to see his eyes again, intending to tease him about what kind of party he was asking for—but the sincerity and softness in his features stopped her short.

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah. So we can… I mean, I know I want…” he swallowed for a moment before quietly finishing, “I want you to be the first one to know who I am.”

They didn’t talk about revealing their identities often—mostly because she made it clear that they couldn’t, and she already thought about it enough without tempting either of them by saying it out loud. He was Chat Noir, her partner and best friend, no matter who he was under the mask.

But maybe they should talk about it more, if he thought she would want anything else.

“Of course, Kitty.” Carefully, since they were hundreds of kilometers in the air, she moved the arm at his waist to wrap around the back of his neck instead. A few of his damp locks tickled her fingers even though the suit. “I’ve always wanted you to be the first, too.”

His smile could’ve powered the whole city below. “Then it’s settled. Pegasus finds Hawkbutt next week. We storm the castle, Queen Bee Venoms him and Mayura, you rip their miraculouses off, we pound it, and we throw the biggest party Paris has ever seen.”

His optimism, if unrealistic, was contagious. She felt the hope untangling knots in her chest as she laughed again.

“I should’ve left the planning to you, Chaton. Maybe then we’d have beaten Hawkmoth already.”

“Nah, we all know you’re the brains of the operation, Bugaboo. I’m just here to look pretty.” He flipped his soggy hair, and his bangs hit his forehead with a fwap.

She couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her. “You’re such a dork. I love you.”

He froze solid as one of Style Queen’s statues. She half expected him to turn to gold, for his warmth to bleed out like the color currently draining from her face.

She said—

She’d said she loved him.

She’d said she loved him, and the words had come out as easy as breathing, as sure as the pounding of her heart. How—why? She didn’t love him, not like that, she couldn’t couldn’t she’d told herself that long ago—

But any denials caught in her lungs, trapped like the dark butterflies snared by her yo-yo. Only when the words were fully purified were they released again.

“I—I love you,” she whispered.

She hadn’t meant to say it once, much less twice—but with the repetition the truth of it snapped firmly into place. She didn’t know when her kitty had snuck past her defenses, slipped past her blinding crush on Adrien, dodged all the logical reasons she had for not falling for him.

But he had.

She loved Chat Noir. Of course she did.

“You—but you—is there an akuma?” He stammered, eyes wide and disbelieving. She’d been turning down his off-and-on (mostly on) flirting for four years now; of course he wouldn’t assume she was serious.

“No, Kitty.” Her laugh felt suffocating. After all this time she’d been trying to confess to Adrien, and now, when her target was her Kitty, her mouth didn’t give her a choice.

Maybe that was for the best. She would always have a special place in her heart for Adrien, but Chat—Chat was her home. Her partner, her friend, her everything.

The twisting in her stomach finally unwound, swelling into something that she could hardly contain. His face was so close, his lips still parted from the three words she’d dropped on him. It would be so easy to lean in and kiss the shock from his face, until he melted in her arms, until they both believed this was real.

But Chat had always respected her boundaries, and she would do the same for him. Besides, what if he didn’t feel the same anymore, if his flirting was just habit? And she’d just blurted out her feelings before even she realized them—what if she ruined the comfortable companionship they shared?

No. No, she knew better than that. Even if he didn’t feel the same, nothing could tear the two of them apart.

“I know I’m late, but—if you still want me—”

“My Lady.” She felt more than heard the tremor of emotion in his voice. “I’ll always want you. I always have.”

Was this real? How had she gone from flirting with her partner to baring her heart to him? The liquid moonlight washed aside her walls. His golden hair was spun silver in its glow, and her hands ran through it involuntarily. She was lucky Chat had returned his grip to her waist, because otherwise she might have accidentally slipped off him.

As much as his words made her feel like she could fly, it was best not to test that theory.

“Thanks for waiting for me, Chaton.” She rested her forehead against his, still shaking with the realization and love and longing and—how had she ignored this feeling? How long had she wanted him to kiss her senseless before her mind would admit it?

It didn’t matter. She knew now, and the electricity that sparked between them wouldn’t let her forget anytime soon.

“You know I’d wait forever for you. I love you.” His breath fanned across her cheeks, soft and hot and everything she hoped his lips would be. “I love you so so much, Ladybug, I—”

He might be willing to wait forever, but she wasn’t. Her lips consumed whatever it was he was going to say next—

And all she knew was that he tasted like coming home.

He matched her passion with a surprising sweetness. It wasn’t the intense kiss she was expecting, but maybe that was for the best. He was the only thing keeping them from plummeting to the ground far below, and distracting him probably wasn’t the best idea, but frankly after that first touch of lips she was so gone they could’ve fallen and she wouldn’t have noticed—

He yelped against her mouth. Had she done something wrong? She hadn’t kissed a boy since Luka two years ago, but she couldn’t be that bad—

Oh. She hadn’t noticed.

Gravity really wasn’t supposed to be tugging in that direction. And the wind wasn’t supposed to be blowing up.

And Chat’s baton wasn’t supposed to be slipping through his fingers.

Gah! She barely had time to think as his arms tightened around her middle so he was hugging her from below. What was he thinking? Did he expect to cushion her fall?

Jolting out of oh-my-gosh-I’m-kissing-Chat mode, she threw her yo-yo from her hip and lassoed the still-upright baton. Only miraculous magic could be holding it steady, especially when she yanked them towards it—

And in a jumble of limbs and string, she promptly tangled them against the metal length.

She heard a sharp crack, followed by a dizzy groan.

“Chat, oh my gosh, are you okay?” The world was still spinning; she couldn’t turn to see him. Mostly because her back was pressed flush against his chest.

“Purrfectly fine, my Lady.” His laugh sounded near her ear. “I always knew you’d sweep me off my feet.”

She rolled her eyes, unsure if she wanted to laugh or groan. She was so stupid. Making out with Chat with nothing but a pole holding them up? Yes, that sounded like something from her romantic fantasies (which she wasn’t supposed to have with him, but—shh), but she should’ve known better in real life!

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” She muttered.

He hummed thoughtfully. That sound should not have made her shiver, she was just—it was just cold. Even though his body was hot against her back.

Yeah, she wasn’t kidding anyone.

“I could be purrsuaded to forget,” he said to her surprise.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.” His chin rested on her shoulder. “For the low price of fifty more kisses.”

“Fifty?” She choked, face heating. Fifty brushes of his lips on hers, of his laugh filling her lungs— “I—I don’t know. Actually, you’re the one who let go of the staff. I might’ve kissed you first, but you’re the one who should be getting teased.”

“Fair enough. A hundred kisses, then. Fifty for me to forget, and fifty for you to forgive me for dropping you.”

“Bold words from a guy who couldn’t even handle kissing me once.” She would’ve flicked his bell if her arms weren’t trapped over his around her middle.

“Ah, it just means I need more practice!”

She twisted her head just enough to stick her tongue out at him. “You won’t get any practice if you don’t get us down from here.”

“Oh. Uh. About that… I can’t reach the button.” He laughed awkwardly. “You mind untangling us?”

The magical properties of her yo-yo meant she could still retract the string even tangled as it was, but it would take a minute to lasso them back to the baton properly this time.

“Only if you don’t mind falling again.”

“For you? Never,” he said with a quick kiss to her cheek.

She shook her head. She refused to be distracted by him this time, even if his smell was everywhere, more dizzying than their brief fall through the clouds.

“You’re such a dork.”

“But you love me,” he practically sang.

Despite the fact that they were hanging in an awkward position hundreds of meters in the air, her nerves vanished completely.

“Yeah, Kitty. I do.”

(That truth was far more important than learning how far Chat’s baton could extend, anyway.)

[And then next week they beat hawkbutt and ship him and nathalie off to jail and everyone in the whole team comforts Adrien and he and marinette live happily ever after with a hamster]

#ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #fic tag #tali writes #lovesquarefluffweek2020 #no reveal here lads #other than marinette gettin her feelings revealed to her

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