#ummm i hope this is kind of coherent

[fnaflucasverse]

It's You, It's Me

YEAAAAAH faithfic finally!! set in fnaf2 pre-jeremy. a little exploration of faith's psyche and her sense of self. and lucas is there too

CW: depersonalization, child death, blood (via nosebleed). if i missed anything that needs a warning let me know!

It was 6:15AM, and Mikey should’ve been home by now, but Faith still kept staring at the face in the bathroom mirror, waiting for it to become her own. It didn’t change anything. Blue eyes still stared back out at her from the shadow cast by the buzzing, stark-white lightbulb. She could hear the tap running, feel cool water soothe battered knuckles, see hot breath fog up the glass as it loomed closer and closer. It all belonged to Mike, she told herself, shutting off the tap. She'd only borrowed his body to make sure he got through this night.

This body is not mine. This face is not mine.

And yet, as iciness soaked into Mike’s bones, Faith felt all its pain. Knuckles stinging with dozens of old fractures knitting together. A side aching with the strain of a pulled muscle. A heart pounded thickly in her chest, as a trembling, calloused hand reached up to the face reflected in the mirror, the face that wasn’t hers, touching cheeks roughened with stubble, a forehead pockmarked with old scars, a straight, wide nose nearly broken far too many times, full lips gone dry with the stress of the night.

This body is not mine. This face is not mine.

Faith found two rows of teeth, ran a finger across the edges of the incisors to the points of the canines to the grooves in the premolars, all the way to the back of the mouth where the molars nestled against invading wisdom teeth. Dragging the finger back along the smooth flesh of the gums, the ridged roof of the mouth, the soft and spongy tongue—Faith felt it all, all of it, every single piece.

This body is not mine. It has never been mine.

Faith gently brushed the dark circles under her eye, signs of the toll these double-shifts had taken on her, then pulled down her lower eyelid. The slip of underbelly was a stark pink against pale white; she peeled back her upper lid, and red spiderweb veins revealed themselves.

This face is not mine.

Should it be mine?

Baring its teeth, the face smiled at her. No, it felt hollow—it was hollow, as though if Faith were to reach into the mirror and tug at its skin, it would slough away, like the false fur of the animatronics she had just escaped, and reveal the cold skeleton underneath, pulsing with rotting meat. The ghost inside the machine.

The man on the phone had said—to Mike, really, but Faith heard it all the same—that when you were stuffed inside The Suit, crushed against the endoskeleton within, all that escaped was your oozing blood and your eyes and teeth popping out of the faceplate. Juice and seeds and rind of a human lemonade. What was it like, in those last moments? The man on the phone still called sometimes, phantom whispers on a disconnected line, but Faith had never before asked him how it felt to die. Maybe he didn't remember how it felt. Maybe he didn't remember what happened to him.

Faith didn't remember much about her own death, either. She remembered the Before: the yellow rabbit had served them a birthday cake, chocolate, slathered in vanilla buttercream. It slouched listlessly to the side; a pincushion of candles dripping wax onto the frosting. The others had scarfed down their slices and gone for seconds, but Faith sat picking and nibbling and picking at her cut. The taste dug itself into her mouth, gag-inducing sweetness trying to strangle the bitter flavor lying underneath.

She remembered the After: she was floating in front of Pirate's Cove, staring down at Mikey's limp body, life flowing and flowing out of him like a pirate ship ripped through by a cannonball, sinking beneath the waves. Somehow she knew she was already dead, and she'd have to watch her best friend die. It wasn't right, she wanted to scream. It wasn't fair!

She had to stop this.

She had to help him.

She had to save him.

In the end, the solution was so simple.

Two souls. One body. One face that stared at Faith from the mirror, with lifeless blue eyes.

Her body. Her face. Her eyes.

Her nose, leaking blood.

Wait, that wasn't supposed to happen.

Faith touched her lip where the blood dripped down. Her finger came away red.

Her blood.

Mikey's blood.

Oh, no.

Oh no, oh no, oh no—

Reeling in shock, Faith slammed against the flimsy bathroom stall door behind her which crashed deafeningly into the dividing wall. Blood splattered onto Mike's uniform, onto the floor in a dark trail. Wheezing, she clapped a hand to Mike's gushing nose; the other grabbed clumsily for toilet paper.

Were you supposed to look up or down? Faith tilted Mike's head back, shoving wads of paper up both nostrils, but it did very little to stop the blood dribbling down his chin, turning his shirt crimson. Knees buckling, Faith slumped onto the toilet seat, panting quick, uneven breaths. She could taste iron crawling down the back of Mike's throat.

She fought not to gag—

Footsteps pounded in the hallway outside. There was a worried shout—"Mike! You're still here?"—and then a tall man in a dark blue uniform burst into the bathroom. Lucas's head snapped left and right, scanning the area—

When he met Faith's frantic eyes, his own went wide.

"Faith! Are you okay?" Lucas sprung into action, hoisting to her feet and frog-marching her over to the sink. "Take those out," he ordered, picking the blood-soaked paper out of her nose and flinging them in the corner trash can. "Head down, over the sink—that's it."

Gripping the cold porcelain like a petulant toddler, Faith kept her gaze down, away from the mirror and firmly locked on the drain. Lucas whipped out a handkerchief, dampened it under the tap, and gently sponged Mike's face clean. He folded the cloth over and pressed it to Mike's nose: "Blow—hey! Gently! Gently. Good. Now, breathe slowly. Through your mouth. Do you feel light-headed?” Lucas fussed, patting Faith on the back; she shook her head. "Alright.”

They stood there, side by side, waiting for it to end. Lucas left the tap open to a trickle; clear water mixed with the stream from Mike’s nose, blooming in the basin like watercolor. Faith remembered—or was it Mike?—getting a set for her birthday, pans of cheap paint and a fraying brush and sheets of paper that pilled up with any small drop of water. Faith never had the chance to get good at it, but she’d never stopped trying.

The first thing she’d attempted was a self-portrait. All artists painted themselves, or so she was told—who had told her that? Faith had spent the afternoon squinting back and forth between the hall mirror and her canvas.

Whose face had she seen?

Plip, plop. Scarlet lines spiraled out from scarlet droplets. Faith watched them fade to dull pink.

And then it was over.

“There we go, all done,” Lucas announced, gently shaking her. “Everything’s alright now.”

But it wasn't alright! She didn't want this to happen in the first place! She didn't want to hurt Mikey! Faith just wanted—she was just—the face in the mirror—

As if sensing her anxiousness, Lucas's hand shifted to massaging in soothing circles. "Let’s just get you cleaned up. You two break anything?" he asked gently.

Faith didn't mean to possess Mike this long. She didn't even know it was possible. But her old friends had been so aggressive that night—and then it was 4AM, and the flashlight had run out of battery, and the next moment Foxy was sprinting down the hallway, teeth bared and gleaming—and Mikey needed her help—

He'd always needed her help.

Lucas would understand, right? She was just doing what she had to. Trembling, Faith raised both hands to show Mike's bruised knuckles.

Except now his hands were also sticky with blood, and his shirt was stained, and Mike was going to be so upset with himself, and Faith had messed it all up by staying here instead of sending him home like she was supposed to and—

Faith couldn't help it. She burst into tears.

"Woah, woah—" Alarmed, Lucas's hands flew away from her. "Faith… What's…?"

She wanted to hide her face—Mike's face in Mike's hands, Mike's voice choked up in gasps, Mike's shoulders wracked by sharp sobs—but she couldn't, not with his blood on her hands. Faith heaved breath after breath, lungs knotted, heart roaring in her ears.

"What—what color—are my eyes?" she pleaded. He had to know. He had to tell her.

Lucas pursed his lips. "What color do you think they are?"

"I don't—I don't know—" Faith gulped down air, suffocating. "Blue? I can see them right now; they're blue. But that's not right, is it? That's not even my face." She laughed suddenly, though for the life of her, she didn't know what was so funny. "What color were my eyes, Luke? My eyes, my real eyes—I don't remember. I don't—I don't remember what they looked like—I don't remember what my face looked like, and—and—"

Lucas hesitated, just for a heartbeat, and then his arms were wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest, cradling her head against his shoulder. He held her, saying nothing as she broke down and drenched his shirt in tears. He held her as she cried and cried until she didn't even remember what she was even crying for, only that she felt like she was going to fall apart, and Lucas was there and warm and safe.

And finally, when her sobs had dissolved into sniffles, Lucas asked, "You know how I can always tell it's you and not Mike?"

Faith shook her head, bone-tired.

"Let's see…" Lucas drummed his fingers. "You sit up straight, no matter what. You stand with your feet together like a V. And you don't clench your jaw like Mike does. When you smile, you always… crinkle your nose first, like you're not supposed to find something funny. You actually move your eyebrows a lot, did you know that? Especially when you're thinking."

He pulled away, gripping her by the arms and staring her dead in the eye. "That's you, Faith. That's what will always shine through, no matter what you look like," he affirmed. "And nothing will take that away from you. Got that?"

Faith looked down. Feet together, in a V.

She turned to look at herself, at Mike, at the both of them in the mirror. Took in the exhaustion on their face, their wary frown, their ruined uniform. But their back was drawn up straight and proud, undefeated despite everything.

Huh.

Faith clenched and unclenched their jaw. Moved their eyebrows up and down. Smiled—a little cautious, a little awkward, but a smile all the same.

Slowly, Faith nodded.

"And, by the way…," Lucas leaned in to whisper with a smile of his own. "Your eyes are brown."

[eddiebabygirldiaz]

Hiii Ryan 💕💕💕

Happy sleepover weekend!

What do you think is going to happen in 7x4, 7x5?

We’ve gotten virtually no information about the back half of the season, so what kind of things would you like to see? What do you think would be a good finale?

-❤️🪐

hiiii darlin!

ummm honestly i don't really know, and that's such a stupid answer haha, but generally when im watching my brain is too damn fried to come up with any kind of spec or anything that's coherent really asdfghjkl

as far as things i'd like to see, just more of what we've already gotten i think. my favorite thing about this show is all the relationships so i hope they keep shining which i have no doubt they will. and im really hoping that the lead up to the madney wedding is gonna be so deliciously chaotic

sleepover weekend

[borom1r]

ace attorney asks!! (I'm sorry you're having a night,, I hope it doesn't stay that way ❤❤) ummm I would actually love to hear if you have any side/case-specific characters you're fond of and why!! & if you'd like smth more specific, I would love to hear abt either maya + miles bestie-isms or maybe how you think franziska & phoenix's relationship is after he and miles are officially together!!!

I feel like this is sooo obvious but Jake Marshal!! also Ron and Dessie DeLite!

idk that I have a lot of specific Thoughts abt them but they were all rlly standout characters to me

I also enjoyed Hugh and Robin, actually— Robin is so transfem to me. in my heart of hearts she’s trans 💞

there r honestly so many characters I wld love to see Come Back who like, obviously Won’t but still. Godot I am biting u soso much. this is not coherent im sorry but I would rlly truly genuinely love a prequel focusing on Mia n Diego like pleeeeeeease!!! PLEASE!!!!!!! give Mia her own game for realsies it’s what she deserves 😩

+ like OUGH. Maya Miles bestie hours.. I think, particularly early on wrt him n Phoenix reconnecting, he can be.. not more GENUINE per se, but he certainly puts less pressure on himself to try and hit some like. ideal the way he does w Phoenix. and not even necessarily consciously, but like, Maya doesn’t have this idealized childhood savior version of him propped up in her head.

and this is like, Me Projecting bc hey I can do that :3 but I’ve started trying 2 like. give myself more space to actually BE nonverbal when im overstimulated instead of forcing myself to maintain verbal communication— and I think Maya knows sign language from her childhood with Mia (Mia figuring out quickly that it was a good way for them to communicate if/when Maya went non-verbal— and Mia probably being the only person she felt comfortable signing with bc, well, she’s so bubbly and outgoing and really, she can’t POSSIBLY be non-verbal, they all know the moment she TRIES she’ll be talking their ears off!! So Maya forces herself to talk around the adults and signed with Mia).

and her recognizing overstimulation in Miles before he’s even really giving himself the space to recognize it himself— coming over to annoy him because he NEVER visits Phoenix and she gets it but she MISSES him and… stopping when she sees the way his shoulders hunch and his fingers clench around his pen and he’s staring pointedly at the papers on his desk because he’s been TRYING to focus, trying to force himself to function like a NORMAL adult (except not really; he’s aiming for Von Karma standards whether he wants to admit it or not and that’s not exactly normal). Maya gently tapping the desk to get him to look and signing, and the mixture of relief and sheer confusion when he realizes she’s providing accommodations he’d never admit to needing while also having absolutely no idea what she just said.

That first evening passes with Maya signing while speaking softly, and Miles writing his responses on a spare notepad, but slowly he learns more and more from her until he’s practically fluent too— they can spend a whole evening conversing about the chaos of the legal world and the equally chaotic reworks to Steel Samurai lore without ever saying a word out loud, and those are moments Miles always treasures

(and, when Phoenix stops him one night when he’s particularly overstimulated, clumsily signing “it’s okay, Maya’s teaching me” Miles feels so grateful to know her that he could, possibly, cry. He admits to nothing, but he does text her that she’s his favorite person in the world. She quickly responds “we both know that’s actually Nick, but ily2 ^u^” and it’s definitely one of those moments where it hits him that he Has A Family Now, For The First Time In Years)

ALSO Maya feels very much like the kind of person to say “I love you” very liberally. Especially because of how young she lost Mia + feeling like she didn’t let her sister know enough, even if her feelings are complicated. so I’m sure you can imagine the sort of (very hushed) gossip that goes around whenever people catch Maya leaving (Miles giving her a one armed hug and unable to stop himself from smiling a little even as he TRIES to glower intimidatingly at his subordinates while Maya exclaims “okay BYE Mr. Edgeworth LOVE YOU!! Good luck in court, you better come to game night!!!”)

(he does, of course, come to game night)

(Maya has definitely channeled a spirit to win at LEAST twice and they have yet to decide if it counts as cheating or not since technically it’s not looking up an answer!! but also it is kinda looking up an answer.)

+ lastly ok I’ve probs talked abt this before but I do like the idea that they maintain the sort of silly rivalry they start with but more in a “if you turn my brother into even MORE of a fool you WILL face my wrath, Phoenix Wright” “pffft yeah right, Maya will never let you live it down if you break out the whip at dinner on Saturday” “…I will exact my revenge in other, more subtle ways.”

She sends him a Top Ten Scariest Things Caught On Camera compilation at three in the morning one night (thank you different time zones, she loves being in a different time zone) and he texts back “I hate you >:(“ but they are both laughing. There’s no one he would trust to take care of Maya more than her and there’s no one she would trust to care for Miles more than him.

Also I’ve DEF talked abt it from Phoenix’s POV (texting her at night to confirm Maya’s safe when he has nightmares about her being kidnapped/in danger) but Franziska ABSOLUTELY texts him every now and then like “Miles is there?” and Phoenix knows she would never outright admit to either him or Miles how much Miles’ “death” affected her. Asking if he’s there (safe, nearby, a phone call away) is as close they’ll get — Phoenix always responds as soon as he can (“yep, we’re making dinner!” or “he’s at his office, I’ll see him in forty minutes for lunch” or “he and Maya have a coffee date, you can double check with her but I wouldn’t wanna interrupt their Steel Samurai gossip session”)

She doesn’t always respond, but Phoenix gets it, and he’s always happy to let her know— he’s okay just getting a one-word (or sometimes one letter, if it’s super late for her) response about Maya, but he knows she needs more detail to put her mind at ease (Evidence is key, after all; you can’t build a perfect case without all the information) and he’s happy to provide

They definitely all have dinner together once a week (either just the four of them out at a restaurant, or their entire “family” at one of their houses— Miles and Phoenix, Trucy, Maya and Franziska, Klavier and Apollo, Pearl, Kay, Emma, Athena and Juniper, Simon if he��s feeling up to group interactions, Gumshoe and Maggie if they’re in town, even Larry sometimes). It gets hectic and usually they only get EVERYONE together for holidays, but all of them spent so long with nothing, losing everyone they loved, that having such an ABUNDANCE of connection really is something for them to revel in.

[sachertortes]

@holdmecloseandfast​ here you go! (I couldn’t add more vids to the last post so I had to make a new one lol)

Okay, the thing with Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir is that they’ve been partners since they were 7 and 9 respectively. So they’ve grown up together, trained together etc. for over 20 years. 

Scott says that he considers his first kiss to be Tessa, when he was 10 and they were at the Ilderton Carnival. Aww.

(Everything under a cut to spare your dash)

When they both young, they were living in CA and training in Michigan.

When they trained in Canton, Michigan they had to cross the border from Canada. Scott: “When we crossed the border, they would ask for a note from Tessa’s parents because they thought I was stealing her to Vegas to elope.”

They rose through the ranks of Juniors and started Seniors. They were actually devastated when they didn’t make the cut for the 2005 Olympics.

For the 2008-2009 competitive season, they withdrew because Tessa developed compartment syndrome on her shin. When she went for surgery, it was a very very delicate time for them. Scott was basically training alone (he says he was skating with a sandbag to stand in for a partner). And during this time, some people had no faith that Tessa would ever be back in shape to compete. A lot of very shrewd, very rich parents and coaches were presenting Scott with their daughters to skate with. He refused, of course! But before we get all swoony, by his own admission Scott was not handling Tessa’s injury/surgery very well. He says he did not call or visit her in the hospital once (?!?!?!?!) An awkward teenage boy thing or a Scott thing IDK. 

But despite what must have been a great deal of awkwardness, they pushed on to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics where they won gold. During this time, Scott was dating figure skater Jessica Dube but doing [this sort of thing] with his skating partner pre-skate. It’s to ~~synchronize their heartbeats~~.

Post Vancouver - Pre Sochi aka The Struggle Years. Things are tense at their training cam. They’re training with their main competitors and their coach begins giving most of her attention to their competitors as well. Tessa is dating her coach’s son, Fedor.

When they were really struggling, Tessa tells this cute as hell story about a Bucket of Rice. Basically, one of the things they use in training is the thought that every good thing that they do they add a grain rice to the bucket. And some days are bad, and you don’t add rice to the bucket but you’re also not taking any out. At one point Scott left this outside her hotel room before a competition, to say “Look at all this rice we already have in our bucket.”

In 2013, someone (in PR, probably 😒) convinced them to do a reality show. It was...bad. Awkward as hell. It painted Tessa as this sad, lovelorn girl pining after Scott who was already attached to a girl named Cassandra. (The fact that Cassandra looked like Tessa-lite did not go unnoticed by fandom 👀👀👀). At one point Fedor comes in as a footwork coach and Scott so obviously despises the dude. The show was cringey. Mention it to an old VM fan and watch their eye twitch lol. At least it showed people how awful the atmosphere was at Canton. If you do want to watch it, it’s on Amazon streaming.

This was also the year they did a bridal photoshoot for some reason?? The pics are cute tho: [here] and [here].

Around this time, it’s generally thought that even they were both with other people they were messing around with each other. Things were still bad at their training camp, they both felt that their coach wasn’t completely on their side and Tessa’s leg began acting up again. If you search youtube for their Carmen program and “4CC” it’s actually really heartbreaking because they had to stop in the middle of their FD :(

They kept coming in second to their training mates, Americans Meryl Davis and Charlite White. Scott said that he knew that the writing was on the wall when they came in second during Worlds, after performing clean and even in their own hometown.

They had a difficult time at Sochi, making a bunch of wobbles and mistakes in the Team Event. Before their Individual Event FD, Scott says to Tessa, “No matter what, we’re together, and no matter what, I love you, and no matter what, we’re gonna enjoy this.”

After earning Silver at Sochi, they performed the following angsty as hell Exhibition.

For the rest of 2014 and 2015, they went on tours and shows together. Scott was seeing Olympic Curler Kaitlyn Lawes and Tessa was seeing skier/dudebro Ryan Semple. Ryan doesn’t really last tho.

Then, as Tessa tells it, “We went on a Gold Medal Plates trip to Scotland, northern Scotland, this year and we were with Spirit of the West and Johnny Reid was there performing. And Johnny Reid’s backup vocalist, Miku Graham, and pianist, Michael Shand, they performed a song in a pub. And it was this very stripped-down, beautiful version of ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, Tina Turner. And it was funny because we just sort of caught eyes, while she was singing, and we just knew we needed to skate to this song.” Yes, they locked eyes across the room where Scott’s girlfriend was also present because that’s what buddies do I guess.

A short time later, Scott becomes single 🤔 and they both decide to come back for the Pyeongchang Olympics.  🤔🤔 

The thing that I love most about their comeback in 2016 leading up to the Olympics is that they were working with B2Ten (an organization that provides support for elite amateur athletes) and new coaches and they seemed stronger both physically and mentally this time.

This promo video for their comeback is 🔥🔥🔥. The good stuff starts at 1:00.

The Olympics happened (I could write a whole separate post on why it seemed like everything was against them this time around too and why their Gold was so wonderful and meaningful) & everyone fell in love with them but they denied, denied, denied when it came to questions about their relationship. Fandom rumor seems to veer towards them actually getting together at the beginning of summer 2018, then something happened and they broke up. Don’t ask me what the receipts are for that one, I genuinely don’t know how people came to that conclusion? Some think that since she was doing a Vogue photoshoot while they were in Japan and he came to the shoot that was evidence that they were finally making a real go at it? IDK IDK. 

Then they went on tour together and signs pointed to the fact that they had a whole tour bus to themselves?

In any case, last December shipper dreams were dashed, crushed, demolished! once Scott showed up to Canada’s Walk of Fame event with his new girlfriend, Jackie. Jackie was Scott’s partner for about a year before he was partnered up with Tessa. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Anyways, after allllll of that I bring us to the present day where Scott is dating his skating partner (yay!) but not that one (...oh.) and Tessa is single and ready to mingle. 

They have another tour coming up this year so...we’ll see where this goes I guess!

EDIT: OMG HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT THE BABY BLOG

So in 2010(?) someone made a conspiracy blog that claims that Virtue/Moir are together and they are actually parents of a bunch of toddlers and that they are bad people b/c they leave their babies to go on tour all the time??

If you wanna read the crazy you can do so [here].

[moonstrider9904]

I just finished watching Tales of the Jedi and I have a lot of words so SPOILER ALERT if you haven't watched it.

I don't want to put this under a read more because I feel like that'll just make people ignore the post so please, if you haven't filtered spoilers and don't want to be spoiled, close your eyes and scroll past this fast :D

I'll be as coherent as I can 😅

First off I am blown. Blown away by this. I'm in awe at how much Star Wars can make me feel and how this is the only franchise that will do this to me.

Episode one, I cried. Baby 'Soka, I shall protect you from everything even though you shall be the one protecting me even with thou chubby baby legs. But when the end credits rolled and Ahsoka's theme played, I teared up. I hadn't cried with Star Wars ever since Crosshair was left on Kamino!! For a moment, I was nine years old watching The Clone Wars in the movie theater with my brother all over again 🥺

Now... Dooku. I hate him. I love him. I love to hate him. I hate to love him. I love Yaddle more (seriously, Yaddle my beloved, I'm not over that). And the way I howled when I realized some of the events were set in TPM?! I mean, animated TPM Qui Gon?! MY CHILDHOOD-

The sadness that Dooku felt at losing Qui Gon, and the scene at the tree felt so surreal. I would have loved to see Dooku's fall to the Dark Side in much more detail but this is in no way a complaint; I love the execution and the short story format, and I felt the setting was exposed pretty clearly and just- AGH.

Also, that scene where Dooku tells the guy from Raxus he can kind of understand his point of view, and while he talks, his face is lit red and the background behind him is dark - *faints* I love it when a scene can visually reflect a character's inner turmoils. 10/10

I still love Yaddle more.

and Mace Windu was fuckin' amazing in this, as he always is. We stan Mace Windu in this house - holy crap.

Now. Now. NOW.

Tales of the Jedi is truly special because, while many will like to dismiss nostalgia factor as pure frivolity, it's the reason I and possibly others feel so intensely right now.

We saw Ahsoka again, as well as Obi-Wan, Anakin, Rex, Jesse. Characters I watched as a kid, who have shaped me in one way or another; we see them grwo with the course of the mini series, and we can tell the context and feel either joy or pain, mostly pain by the end. I had no clue that the training montages with Rex and the boys would lead so smoothly (and so painfully) back to Order 66.

There's a sequence I will now watch with even more pain!! Thank you, Felony.

Also DEPA BILLABA AND CALEB DUME. Guys. The incoherent noises I made at seeing them. I yelled and cried and fangirled and asdkjhañksjdghañsdbgj it was gorgeous to see them. Their cameo didn't even have words, they were just there and it made sense and it felt nice and I love it. Same with Plo and Yoda.

And I respect Ahsoka way more now knowing she worked hard days under the sun. Respect to my queen. UGH and the pain of knowing she was at Padmé's procession because they were friends, having Bail tell her there was nothing she could have done for them (isn't Bail Organa just the best, most comforting character in the franchise?)

And that inquisitor - I was bummed that it ended so quickly. People, I'm a slut for Percy de Rolo, and then you give me an inquisitor with a bird like mask and a deep voice? AÑISDJHGFAÑSBJGFDA anyways ummm Ahsoka was a badass, as usual, and I really wanted to smack the dude who turned her in.

Hehes, I really hope not to have rambled too much. I'm still not over it, these are just my thoughts on the whole series. Soon, I'm going to rewatch it with a bag of popcorn.

[kasienda]

A Miraculous Reveal: A Gift of Responsibility

It had seemed like an ordinary day. Except that Marinette had been on time for school. That, like, almost never happened. But here she was in her seat ten minutes before class was to begin, snacking on a croissant her father had handed her on the way out the door and chatting idly with Alya about nothing remotely important. 

Her classmates filed in slowly in clumps until finally everyone except Adrien was in their seats. She watched his empty seat with a hint of worry. She always hated when he wasn’t there - knowing he was either trapped in a photoshoot he cared nothing about, or was home in bed with illness. 

But before her anxiety could spiral too deep, he slipped casually through the doorway. But he paused, facing the whole class. He smiled softly as his gaze swept the room, but there was something sad and wistful about his expression. 

“Are you okay?” she asked him. 

His spring-green eyes whipped back to her, and his smile grew. “Yes, of course. I just… I have some changes coming up, and I just wanted to savor this normal morning.” 

“What changes?” Nino asked. 

“Oh… ummm…” Adrien’s hand flew to the back of his neck. “I’m going to go back to home schooling in a week.” 

Keep reading on Ao3

Marinette’s eyes shot open, and her gut twisted painfully.

“What?!” Alya exploded. 

“That’s so uncool, dude!” Nino was shouting. “What toe did you step out of line this time?” 

Marinette couldn’t speak through the lump in her throat or the churning in her stomach. 

Adrien shook his head. “I agreed to it, actually,” he admitted.

“What?! Why?!” Nino demanded, his face looked exactly how Marinette felt. What would life be like without Adrien’s kind and patient smile offering her warmth and comfort? What would his life be like when he was being shuffled between photoshoots and tutors without anyone who wasn’t being paid a salary to remain in his presence? 

“He needs my help,” Adrien said. “Nathalie is sick, and he’s under a lot of pressure and apparently he wants to start training me in the… family business. He said I can still have you all over once a week.”

She and Nino exchanged a glance. Of course, Gabriel would buy Adrien’s compliance by offering the one thing Adrien always strived for - his father’s high opinion and attention. 

“You’re even allowed to all visit at the same time, so we could have, like parties, and movie nights!” Adrien exclaimed, his face lighting in genuine delight, and Marinette couldn’t help reciprocate the expression. “That was our compromise,” he added softly before his eyes fell into his lap and he trailed off into silence. “I know it won’t be the same,” he whispered.

“It’s okay, dude,” Nino reassured with a huge smile. Marinette was completely confident Nino was burying his own feelings to put on a brave face for Adrien. “We understand. This is a chance to spend time with your old man.” 

Adrien nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’ll be nice,” Adrien agreed, but his expression didn’t match his tone, and Marinette grew more worried. 

Her hand reached for his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” she asked. 

His smile stretched fondly across his face as his green eyes turned to her. Heat bloomed in her cheeks and she glanced down into her hands. 

“Yes, Marinette. I’m okay with it. I think it’ll work out well for a lot of people.” 

She made herself smile back at him. If he was excited, she wouldn’t poison it with her worries. At least she was still going to get to see him every now and again. 

“Actually, Marinette?”

“Yeah?” 

“Can I talk to you after class? Alone?” 

The blush in her cheeks burned hotter. “Uh… y-yes, absolutely.” 

She didn’t need to look at Alya, to feel the heat of her friend’s teasing gaze. Marinette kicked her from under the table. 

But then class was starting, Adrien had turned back around to face the front, and Marinette had to pretend that she wasn’t going out of her mind about whatever it was that Adrien wanted to talk to her about. 

The morning went by agonizingly slow. Like the clocks had clearly been spelled to go backwards when they weren’t being directly observed or something. 

When their morning classes finally concluded, Alya departed rapidly, hooking Nino’s arm through her elbow and dragging him away on her way out. Adrien watched them leave arm in arm with a sad smile before he turned back to her. 

“Shall we?” he asked. 

And she nodded, not trusting her tongue to form a coherent response, before following him out. 

It didn’t take long for them to find some privacy in a private alcove. She knew it was a good spot to not be seen. She had transformed here more than once. 

“So, I have a confession to make,” he said into the silence, his eyes gazing directly into her eyes. 

She nodded rapidly urging him to continue, trying to ignore her heart, which was currently threatening to beat out of her chest. 

“I lied earlier. I don’t have another week. Today is my last day.” 

Whatever she had been expecting or hoping he would say, that was not it. “I… What? Why?” 

“I just… I didn’t want everyone to make a big deal out of it today. I just… wanted one last normal day,” his gaze had shifted past her, and his sadness struck her in the chest. 

“I understand,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone.” 

He smiled again. “Thank you, Marinette. You’ve always been so good with secrets.” 

“Is this what you wanted to talk about?” she asked. 

He shook his head. “Actually, no.” And he reached into his bag and pulled out a small wrapped package. “I have something for you.” He handed it to her.

“For me? What about the others?” 

“This could only be for you, Marinette.” His tone was so certain and yet so gentle. How was she ever going to get over this boy? 

She started to open it, but his hands covered her. 

“Open it when you get home,” he said. 

Her eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t want to see what I think of it?” 

He shook his head. “I’m quite confident you’d give me an earful, but…”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How much did you spend on me?” 

He held his hands up in surrender. “None, actually… Not that you’re not completely worth it! This just isn’t that kind of gift!” he told her. “Just… promise me that you’ll open it as soon as possible.” 

“You sure you don’t want me to open it now?” 

“I’m certain! It’s… private… and embarrassing! I don’t want anyone else to see it. It’s only for you, okay?” 

Her eyebrows furrowed together. It was like he was trying to tell her something, but wasn’t allowed to say it out loud. “Okay,” she agreed. 

He smiled. “Thank you, Marinette.” And he pulled her into a hug. She let herself linger for a second, but then tried to pull away. He just squeezed her harder, and she let herself melt against him, her arms wrapping around his back. 

A second later, she realized his whole form was shaking. 

He was crying. 

She had no idea what to do. 

“Adrien? Is… everything okay?” 

He pulled away, and wiped his eyes. He was shaking his head. “No,” he said, but then he smiled through his tears at her. “But it will be. I promise you that.” 

And then he was leaving, and she didn’t know what to say to bring him back. She just clutched the small package to her chest, wondering what might be inside. 

… 

The second Marinette was through the bakery doors of her family home, she bolted upstairs without so much as a “Hey, how was your day?” to either of her parents.

She pulled the wrapped parcel from her bag as she was climbing the slanted ladder to her room, and the second the trap door was closed, she dropped her bag unceremoniously to the floor, and Tikki buzzed excitedly in the air beside the present. 

“What’d he get you?” Tikki asked. 

“I don’t know,” Marinette said, even as she was tearing through the paper wrapper. 

She finally revealed a little black box and a letter that had been folded up eight times to fit under the box.

She opened the box and her giddy excitement vanished like a puff of smoke. In its place, she felt raw dread twisting in her gut. 

Before she could even ask Tikki for confirmation, A sparkling green light confirmed her fears. This was Chat Noir’s ring. 

Plagg manifested right in front of her. He whirled around, taking in her room. 

“Damnit kid! I told you to not be rash,” he grumbled. “Hiya pigtails! How’re things?” he asked casually as if it was completely normal to see her every afternoon. 

“Plagg?!” Marinette screeched. “What are you doing here? What happened to Chat?”

“Well, obviously he must have given me to you,” Plagg said. 

And Marinette felt dizzy. If that was true, Adrien was Chat Noir. But she couldn’t scream about that now. Something was wrong. 

“But why?” she demanded. Something was wrong.

“Did you read his letter?” Plagg asked. 

She tore open the letter, ripping it once in her haste, but it was fine. She could still read it.

Her eyes scanned through his words rapidly. 

Please forgive me, princess, for putting this on your shoulders. 

My partner and I have been chasing the same guy pretty much since the day you and I met. And yesterday, I found out who he is. 

He’s my father. 

That last line was blurred with obvious tear stains. 

I am entrusting you with this keepsake that was gifted to me because it is no longer safe with me. I couldn’t even risk using it one more time to contact my partner as I’m more closely protected than before. It’s far safer with you. 

And I’m asking that you do more than keep it safe. I’m hoping you will use it and take on the role that I once did in protecting my partner. 

And I know that is a lot to ask. But I’ve watched you handle all the tools in the box simultaneously, and you’re an absolute natural, princess. I have no doubt that you could fill my role seamlessly. 

My father’s assistant has fallen ill. He used to rely on her for everything, but now that she’s sick he has entrusted her role to me. 

But I can’t. I can’t betray my partner. I love her. 

Please entrust everything I’ve said to my partner whether or not you decide to fill my shoes. I hope together, the two of you can come up with a plan to deal with my father. 

And make it fast. 

I don’t know how long I can pull off pretending. 

~Your Black Knight

She was barely aware of the tears pouring down her face. She was too angry. 

“Plagg! Is he okay? Tell me he’s okay!” He hasn’t seemed okay during lunch. He had seemed sad all day, but at lunch, when they had been alone he had broken down for a moment. 

“I mean… he’s physically fine. The bastard didn’t hit him or anything. And on some level the man is trusting his son for the first time since his wife disappeared.” 

His wife! Adrien’s mother! That was why he was doing this, wasn’t it? 

Marinette could almost understand. Almost. She thought she might be capable of anything to protect her loved ones. 

But she liked to think that she would have stopped once she realized how much she was hurting others. She wasn’t sure though.

“But my kid’s heart is breaking that he has to betray him in the end,” Plagg continued. 

Then she shook her head at herself. Her partner was so good and so pure, that he was willing to stand against his own father. Willing to throw a wrench into a plan to bring back his own mother. Because it was the right thing to do. 

Marinette would follow his example. Her hand tightened around Chat Noir’s - around Adrien’s - ring. 

Gabriel didn’t deserve her understanding anyway. 

Because Gabriel hadn’t just hurt Chat Noir with his Akumas. Adrien himself had been a victim of them on several occasions occasion, he had been the target more than once. 

What kind of father did that to his own son? 

She slipped on the ring. 

“Marinette!” Tikki shrieked. “You cannot unify myself and Plagg,” she warned. “Not without risking reality itself.” 

Marinette nodded. “I understand, Tikki. Don’t worry. I have a plan.” 

As Chat Noir has pointed out, Marinette could use every miraculous in the box. And she wasn’t going to wait.

Because she had a partner to save, a friend to hold in a never ending hug until he was well and truly cried out, and a love to fight for. 

Hawkmoth wouldn’t know what hit him.

[blackkatmagic]

Hi, so I haven't commented in a while. It's because I had a small surgery and wanted to wait until I could leave a coherent review :D So I have hoarded the new chapters and you're going to receive my flailing about them all at once, I hope you don't mind.

Not the waking: Okay, this chapter kinda broke my heart. Like in the "it mugged me in an alleyway, punched me in the stomach, took all my money and left me in a fetal position on the floor" kind of way. Fox, Ferus, Cody and Jon, I just want to bundle all of them in blankets.

Dawn of a doom: what a team, this is going to be the craziest found family. If Barriss ends up with two new big brothers and a big sister, they are absolutely going to go batshit if something tries to hurt her.

Starshine and Clay: Anakin thinking about the clones was heartbreaking, I'm really interested in the way you portray his journey. And baby clones! Jango better start praying, because when Jon catches up with him it's not gonna be nice.

Fracture: I love Trilla more and more with every chapter, especially the Trilla - Luke relationship. Tarre will have to do a lot of house cleaning Mandalorian style when gets to the present. The Death Watch and Pre are toast.

More stories in the Never travelled universe, yay! Mace and his lineage of theater nerds in their element is awesome. And Shmi is also a jedi, which is also great. I have to admit, I got a little confused about Cyslin's lineage, who is the apprentice of who? I mean I understand the Depa and Maul are both Mace's padawans, but what about Savage and Eldra, who was their master? And who is Feral and Kass' master now? Sorry for the barrage of questions, it's just that there are a lot of Jedi in that group :D The Keeli/Feral tag made me cheer. They will be the nice couple, who will absolutely turn around and wreck anyone who is stupid enough to stand in their way. And Jaster will a 100% snatch up every single clone. Jango's reaction to that is going to be intersting :D :D

Oh the one shots, so many awesome one shots! Mando!Jon isn't going to leave my brain any time soon. I don't know who is older, Jon or Ursa, but I've been picturing an older sister Ursa. However Countess Wren picked Jon up, it must have been glorious, and the Dark Woman still hasn't recovered from it.

Or the one with Jon and the Domino squad, that one warmed my heart. I'm still so sad we didn't get to see more of the Domino squad in the show, Hevy would have been such a good commander. And Jon wandering around with a small mobile unit is much more up his alley, than having to lead an entire battalion.

Which leads me to Indestructible, loved the sentinent cloak bit :D even if it's gonna be some time before Jon understands that it wasn't said maliciously. He's just really out of his element. His relationship with Kass is also very intersting, so different from his dynamic with Katooni in Never travelled. But here both him and Kass are fighting a war, in leadership positions they did not want and Kass has already lost a Master she loved.

And finally, my absolute favorite, RWLF. Feral is getting better and better. He's becoming the world best long-range Force powered telephone, and now with the new lightsaber he got even more sneakier. I'm glad Wolffe was able to work through his emotions.

The Padme/Fox/Maul part was ummm, really hot. Those three fit together better than I ever thought they could even in bed :D

Thank you so much for writing all of these amazing stories!

💜💜💜

I'm glad you're all right, and I hope your recovery goes well!!

[moririki]

⤷ OPPOSITES ATTRACT

IIDA TENYA X READER -> 1.5K
the class representative finds an unlikely partner in the resident punk of 1-a

REQUEST -> anon: is it okay if i suggest something for tenya iida with a rebellious s/o? not like mean rebellious, just kinda abides by their own rules in a kinda punk rock sort of way while still being friendly and stuff even if they tease tenya a little bit and think he's cute. i apologise if this breaks any rules, i wasn't able to find any
CONTAINS -> light teasing, less light flirting, reader being cool and swag and self assured, tenya kind of being an easily flustered mess, swearing bc i do it too much
MORI'S THOUGHTS -> ummm hey!!! i'm so sorry for how long you had to wait for this shit but thank you so much for your patience anon! this was a very fun request, and though i'm not super punk, i hope i still did what you wanted justice <3 and as for the rules thing, i purposefully haven't set any so i'll just try to address requests on an individual basis. hope that that clears things up :)

-> right ok i have taken the executive decision of making this a drabble

-> idk what they're called the bullet point fucks i like em sorry if you don't anon

-> ok so

-> you (reader) and tenya

-> definitely opposite ends of the people scale i won't lie

-> he's very rule-abiding and uptight (except when he uh went to kill stain but let’s look past that for the sake of this)

-> you are pretty much the exact opposite

-> you couldn't give a fuck about rules, especially stupid ones

-> and though this fact may make you seem off-putting, your friendly smile and disposition cancelled that out completely

-> you were so kind and a well-loved member of class 1-a, and you got along with everyone

-> well, almost everyone

-> ever since iida had screeched at you on the first day for chewing gum in class and resting your big chunky skull-crushing boots on your desk, you had made it your life mission to torment this poor class representative

-> out of affection, of course

-> you just found it so amusing when his face would get aggressively red, and he started to stumble over his words and increase his erratic arm gestures as he got more flustered

-> hell, maybe you even found it kind of cute

-> i mean, you definitely enjoyed looking at his face as a blush spread across his cheeks

-> "y/n, a leather jacket is not part of the standard school uniform. where is your blazer?"

-> "aww, iida, but this is so much comfier. besides, i look way better in this"

-> you grinned to yourself as the tips of his ears turned red, his chest inflating as he prepared to lecture you for the thousandth time. you rested an elbow on your desk, propping your chin on your hand. you wanted to get comfortable for this one

-> "y/n, we are privileged enough to be chosen to study at ua. it is only right that we show respect for our teachers and seniors and wear the school uniform as intended”

-> he had sent his right arm sailing firmly downwards in a chopping motion, and you grinned, your nimble fingers latching onto it and completely ceasing all of his motions

-> “iida, i can respect my seniors and wear my own jacket indoors. you should try and loosen up a little.” your hand slipped to the knot of his tie, tugging on it a little to make it look messy

-> you then let go of his arm, but iida remained frozen for a few seconds. you laid back in your seat, smiling as the kinda cute boy started to turn a furious pink colour

-> he didn’t even manage to get a coherent sentence out, only muttering something vague about how “irresponsible” you were and that this was “highly inappropriate”

-> he stalked off, and you laughed to yourself a little before resituating your feet on the desk in front of you

-> that was the kind of dynamic that you and iida had, him trying to reprimand you for breaking a rule and you teasing him mercilessly

-> tsu had pointed out that he didn’t treat anyone else like that, and though you had scoffed at her suggestions that the tall class representative may have a thing for you, you couldn’t help but hope that what she said was true

-> and so, you proceeded with caution now when it came to iida

-> you, who was usually so cool and calm and in control of situations, found yourself screaming internally at a throwaway comment from a mutual friend

-> you never showed it on the outside, though

-> as far as everyone else knew, iida was still the easily flustered one. it had become a pretty standard sight to see him red and stumbling over words before aizawa started classes

-> you weren’t particularly sure on whether there was a specific way to go about this, though. on the inside, you were panicking majorly and now painfully aware of how you behaved

-> this feeling really pestered you, and to be honest, you didn’t like it

-> you thought that you would have a better grip on your feelings than this

-> but here you were, y/n y/l/n, getting nervous over a boy

-> it took you a few months to truly figure out how you felt

-> but when your feelings for him were doing the exact opposite of fading away, but rather only increasing in intensity, you realised that you would probably have to do something about it

-> you had never been the sort of person to sit around and wait for someone to make the first move, anyway. fuck having to do things by the book, right?

-> the romantic aspect of your confession had kind of been overlooked by you

-> instead, you had opted to grab tenya’s hand and drag him to a semi-secluded alcove outside of the school

-> his back was against the wall, eyes wide and face flushed as you stood in front of him, unsure of what to say

-> you should have rehearsed this

-> “y/n, i-” you placed a hand over tenya’s mouth, and his eyes were almost comically wide

-> “sorry tenya, it’s just that if you talk i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to say this”

-> you were aware of the look he was giving you. it was one of intense scrutiny, and you took a deep breath for courage. and maybe a little bit of luck

-> “the truth is, tenya, that i’ve liked you for a while now. i don’t know if you feel the same, but i just wanted you to know” you let your hand fall from his mouth, and you could see that tenya was effectively frozen in place

-> “and if you wanted to, maybe we could go out some time?”

-> he didn’t respond, not for a good few seconds, but you saw him give you the slightest nod

-> a wide grin broke across your face. “c’mon, class rep, use your words”

-> tenya adjusted his glasses, trying not to stutter

-> “y/n... i would like that very much”

-> you were about to tease him for the lack of hand gestures and monologue, until you were just about proved wrong

-> “but y/n! what were you thinking to drag me here in front of all of our classmates? what if somebody saw! and being so close on school grounds! this is highly inappro-”

-> you giggled, giving him a quick hug before slipping back out to join the rest of 1-a heading back to the dorms

-> and that was history

-> you and tenya went on a pleasant first date to a cafe somewhere halfway between your houses

-> it went very well, to say the least

-> iida was, as expected an absolute gentleman (even though he was a tad awkward at times)

-> as it turned out, not being in a school environment really helped him loosen up

-> though he was still as uptight as always

-> you two shared drinks over some discussions about your interests and lives outside of school

-> and really, things just got better and better from that point onwards

-> who knew that the cutest couple of class 1-a was one that were in a relationship right under their noses?

-> the only person that knew was tsuyu, as you felt that it was only fair to tell her since she had helped the two of you get together

-> but tsuyu wasn’t exactly one to gossip freely, so word didn’t get around

-> it just never came up

-> tenya didn’t think that pda was something to partake in at school, and you respected his wishes

-> but that didn't mean that you didn't like to push your luck

-> though the two of you lived in pretty much opposite directions, iida would walk you home, and you'd repay him with a swift kiss to the cheek

-> but one day, you simply didn't want to wait

-> the two of you had just left the school, with a few stragglers behind you as well as midoriya and uraraka tagging along with you. you felt kind of bad not telling your friends, but it just never came up

-> well, you could change that

-> just before you all went on your separate ways, you slipped your hand into tenya’s tugging on him a little so that you could reach his cheek

-> you pressed your lips against it, only briefly

-> it was still enough for tenya to let out the slightest squeak, and for midoriya and uraraka to stare with wide eyes

-> “y/l/n.... have you finally made a move on iida?”

-> “we’re dating, midoriya.” you couldn’t help but laugh at the green-haired boy’s face when iida said that

-> uraraka clapped her hands together, sqealing

-> “about time! congratulations!” you grinned and iida blushed, though your hands still remained intertwined

-> the four of you split off to walk your respective directions, and you turned to face iida

-> “you didn’t mind that, did you?”

-> “y/n, you know that it was-”

-> “-highly inappropriate, yeah,” you finished for him, and the two of you laughed

-> “they were going to find out anyway, y/n,” iida hummed, swinging your arms by your side

-> and the two of you continued that way, together

-> even if the two of you were wildly different, you would still make it work

take a look at the menu - ,, 📚 ·˚ ༘ ꒱

[plasticnightmaredoll]

(artwork is a commission done by @stillfuckinbetterthanyou)

I guess because it’s my birthday soon and I’ve been obsessed with Arkhamverse Riddler lately, I came up with a kinky little drabble involving Enigma/Edward Nashton (Riddler before he was Riddler, basically) and my Arkham Origins o/c, Lorelei Jones.

This may not be part of the main fic involving them, but can be seen as a sort of “bonus” side story or a deleted scene even. 

But it’s canon (well, for this Arkham Origins A/U at least).

The main fic will probably be called, “Break All of Our Stigma,” which is a line from Lady Gaga’s song, “Enigma” (Yes, I know, I know, I just lover her, ok? And the song actually kind of fits Lorelei and Edward). This side drabble is called, “Cake,” and while it does involve Lorelei helping Eddie celebrate his birthday, the “cake” in question isn’t a literal cake.

If you know what I mean 👀👀👀👀💦💦💦💦💦

I mean, there is a cake mentioned in the drabble, but the cake Eddie gets to feast on isn’t that cake.

*cough*

Anyway, here is part 1 of what will most likely be 3 parts. Part 1 is the lead in to eating the “cake,” part 2 will be “eating” the “cake,” and part 3 will be...well, you’ll figure that out ;)

Hey, if you think this is spicy, this is NOTHING compared to what I’m writing for Telltale Riddler. Imagine all of this but, like........................MORE PORN. 

Very NSFT/NSFW content under the cut because Eddie and Lorelei are horny little fuckers 😘

Cake (part 1)

Summary: It’s Edward’s birthday and his lovely GCPD detective, Lorelei, decides to plan something special for him, including a cake. He tells her she needn’t spend so much effort on him, especially since she just wrapped up a rather exhausting case. However, she shushed him and told him he deserves, at the very least, an excellent cake for his special day. However, the “cake” she has ready for him isn’t what he’s expecting...not that he’s complaining.

Edward was more than ready to get to his apartment after a long, tiring, frustrating day at the always “glorious” GCPD. How was it that so many idiots worked in one place? Why were people in general so damn annoying? And stupid? 

As he made his way down the hall, he felt some of the tension leave him as he knew his lovely detective was waiting for him. She’d already given him a birthday gift that morning (a green-striped scarf and dark green gloves, both of which he loved but he told her she didn’t need to spend her money on him), and now she had a cake prepared for him. Sharing some cake with her on his “special day” (he still didn’t see what the big deal was) sounded like the perfect way to unwind (even if she didn’t need to go through the trouble to make one for him). Perhaps it would be relaxing for her as well, chatting over something sweet and enjoying some peace after finishing a very tiring case? He hoped as much since, again, he didn’t want her to feel like she had to spend time or money on him like this.

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” Lorelei’s text had said in response to him as he left work, and when he entered the apartment, he heard her call out.

“In here, Darling,” she said.

“Be right there,” Edward replied as he hung up his scarf and coat, then placed his gloves in said coat’s left pocket.

Loosening his tie, he placed it on the back of a chair in the living room along with his vest and ID tag. Undoing a few buttons of his dress shirt and rolling up his sleeves, he made his way to the kitchen, a warm smile on his face as he prepared to greet his sublime lover.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw Lorelei sitting on the kitchen table wearing nothing except a green garter belt with matching stockings and green high-heels. He could feel his face turning red as his mind struggled to come up with something to say, something that made sense considering his thoughts were all jumbled up at that moment.

“Where’s the cake?” he finally asked, and he mentally kicked himself for asking such a ridiculous question.

“Right here,” Lorelei said as she opened her legs for him. “Disappointed?”

“Not at all!” he said with a little nervous laugh. “Just...really surprised.”

‘Well, it is your birthday...surprises are bound to happen.”

“Indeed…”

“So, are you gonna come over here and enjoy your ‘cake’ or…?”

Edward’s legs seemed to move on their own as he quickly walked over to Lorelei, stepping between her spread thighs and grabbing her waist as he pressed his lips to hers in a deep, passionate kiss. She was so receptive, moaning into his mouth as she wrapped her legs around him to keep him close. How did he get this lucky? Why was he even this lucky? The way she treated him, it was like he was the sexiest man alive, and while he honestly wasn’t, he couldn’t help but soak up all the attention. It felt good -- she felt good. Ah, more than good. He couldn’t properly describe it, especially not while he was making out with her as she was practically naked and had just invited him to enjoy her...to put his face between her thighs and…

“So, did you expect to come home to an invitation to feast on my cunt?” Lorelei asked, slightly breathless, as Edward kissed and nipped at her neck.

His cock twitched in his trousers upon hearing that, and he bit back a moan.

“N-No,” he replied, moving to her collarbones. 

“Disappointed it’s not a real cake?” she asked, and he could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Not one bit.”

“There is actually a small cake in the fridge for us to share. I literally finished icing it before you texted me to tell me you were coming home. We can have some now if you prefer?”

“No, it can wait...I mean, thank you but I...I, umm...want this other ‘cake’ first.”

“Which cake?” 

Lorelei had the most devious grin on her face, and she couldn’t help but think of how adorable Edward looked blushing like crazy and acting a bit shy while still feeling incredibly turned on. Yes, he knew how to fuck her just right so she was reduced to a moaning, panting, mewling mess, but he was undeniably sweet. He gave as much as he took, you could say, and sometimes, he didn’t take nearly enough since he always focused on her. She had no idea what she did to deserve him but she wasn’t going to complain.

“Ummm…” Edward gave Lorelei a cute bashful smile as he slowly reached down between them and pressed his fingers between her slick folds. “This one.”

“You naughty little geek,” she teased with a giggle.

“I haven’t even gotten started yet,” he said, raising a brow and smirking, feeling more and more bold as the seconds ticked by. “This is hardly naughty.”

“Oh? Then what is naughty?”

“This.”

Edward slipped a finger inside Lorelei, meeting little resistance with how wet she was, and quickly inserted a second one, curling them both against her spot and making her shudder. He watched her eyes flutter closed as he carefully stroked her inner walls with his fingers, using his free hand to help guide her head down onto the table. 

“Mmm...that’s more like it,” Lorelei purred as he continued to finger her at a steady pace. “But is that all you--Oh!” Her eyes shot open when she felt Edward’s thumb rub her clit. “Oh, fuck…”

But Edward wasn’t done yet.

He hadn’t failed to notice the green-gemmed nipple piercings Lorelei was wearing (she really knew exactly what turned him on, didn’t she?) and he leaned down and gently sucked on her right nipple. Her fingers threaded into his dark brown hair as a sigh escaped her, and when he lightly tugged on the nipple ring, she inhaled sharply, her fingers scratching at his scalp. 

“Mmm...Eddie,” she panted, chewing on her lower lip. “That’s so good…”

Edward started to use his palm to stimulate Lorelei’s clit as his fingers moved more roughly against her g-spot. Coupling that with the way his mouth was teasing her breasts and Lorelei was no longer as chatty.

“Yes, yes, Eddie, fuck!” she moaned. “Just like that, please, fuck, fuck...ah, shit, fuck!”

Or rather, she wasn’t very coherent anymore.

As much as Edward was loving the sexy noises Lorelei was making, the feeling of her elegant fingers grabbing at his hair, and the lewd wet sounds caused by his fingers between her legs, he knew he had to stop or else this would all be over too soon.

“Sorry,” he said as he slipped his fingers out of Lorelei, causing her to whimper at the loss. “But we can’t let things end too quickly…”

Edward kissed his way between Lorelei’s breasts, up the side of her neck, along and jaw, and stopped at her lips. Their eyes met and they both couldn’t help but smile warmly at one another, her hands cupping his face. Time seemed to stop in that moment, and all he could think of was how much he loved her, how much he craved her, and how he’d give up anything and everything for her. Her thoughts were nearly the same as she delighted in the fact that her life had become so much brighter since she’d let him get close to her.

The kiss they shared was tender this time since neither of them were good at being very sentimental with words. It was enough, though -- or they hoped it was enough to convey how much they cared for one another. It didn’t take long for the kiss to become hungry, however, both of them practically gasping for air as they clung to each other and nearly refused to take proper breaths. 

Lorelei’s fingers moved to Edward’s shirt, undoing the remaining buttons before tugging it out of his pants, watching him sit up and practically tear it off before pressing his now naked upper body against hers and kissing her hard. They were almost forgetting what they were even doing on the kitchen table, and when she reached down to grasp his erection through his pants, he hissed into her mouth and rutted against her palm. She hastily unfastened his belt and ripped it from the loops, then went right for the button and zipper of his trousers, allowing her to reach into his boxers and take hold of his cock.

“Ah, L-Lorelei!” he groaned as he lightly bucked against her hand. 

Honestly, she wanted to beg Edward to just fuck her already, forgo this whole kinky surprise ‘cake’ thing and let him raw her, but no, no, she wanted to do this right. It took all she had to resist but she managed to get herself together so she could speak.

“You haven’t had your ‘cake’ yet,” Lorelei said as she removed her hand from Edward’s pants. 

“You’re right,” Edward said, letting out a breathy laugh. “I want to taste you, Lorelei. Can I? Can I put my mouth on you?”

“It’s your birthday, Baby. Have at it!”

Edward flashed her a grin before giving her a sweet kiss and standing up.

“Let’s get you situated,” he said as he looked her over.

“Yes, Sir,” Lorelei said with a wink, and a shiver ran through Edward.

God, she was going to be the death of him and he didn’t have one complaint about that.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Can we please get a yamairu story about Yamato sprouting flowers every time he sees iruka without realizing it. Maybe sprouts a bunch when he finally works up the courage to ask for a date and iruka says yes

AO3 Link

Iruka’s smile is stunning. There isn’t a single thing Tenzo can think of that lights up a room quite like it. 

Soft and full of kindness it quickly becomes one of Tenzo’s favorite things to see. A ray of sunshine on his otherwise never ending days getting teased by his Senpai and trying to keep Naruto from doing something incredibly reckless. 

“Captain Yamato,” Sakura’s voice brings him back to reality and forces him to drag his eyes from that beautiful smile. “What is this?”

As she speaks, Sakura reaches out to touch something on his arm. Following her hand with his eyes he groans when he sees a small light blue hydrangea blooming on his bicep. 

This was the third flower to sprout up out of nowhere this week.

“It’s, just...” Sighing, he reached out and plucked the flower off of his arm. There was nothing quite like having flowers growing all over him to catch unwanted attention. “Just ignore it. That happens sometimes.”

Usually when he was feeling exceptionally emotional about something.

“It’s beautiful,” Sakura smiled up at him. “Your Mokuton really is amazing.”

Amazing. That was certainly one way to put it.

“Here,” holding the flower out to Sakura, he smiled. “You can have it.”

It wasn’t like he was short on flowers himself.

“I-thank you,” waiting for Sakura to take hold of the steam, he released his grip on the flower and smiled. It was always interesting to see how others reacted to some of the things that grew from his Mokuton. “It’s gorgeous.”

“It would look good in your hair,” He smiled over at her. “A nice little accessory for the day.”

She wouldn’t be the first to wear one of the flowers he had grown, though he didn’t think his Senpai would like it if he told her about how Kakashi-Sensei liked to wear flowers that Tenzo had grown on his uniform sometimes. 

Now if only he could figure out why there were flowers growing on him this time. 

“H-Hey, Naruto that’s not funny,” Iruka’s voice caught his attention, and he can’t help but smile when he looks back at the Academy Sensei. “You’re not being serious right now are you? please tell me this is a joke.”

He has no clue what Iruka’s talking about. All he knows is he can’t take his eyes off of that gorgeous face even when Sakura tries to talk to him again.

This is definitely worse than the puppy crush he had on Kakashi when he was younger.

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

A day off. 

He had a whole day off with no responsibilities, no requirement to be anywhere and no expectations, and here he was.

Sitting in a tree watching Iruka teach his students Taijutsu.

“You’re hopeless,” Glaring over at the man beside him, Tenzo huffed when he saw him looking over the top of his book at Iruka. “You should just ask him out.”

“I don’t recall asking for advice,” he grumbled. “Especially not from the guy who asked his boyfriend out by challenging him to an eating competition.”

“You say that like it didn’t work,” There was actually no come back to that one. Kakashi’s plan had worked and not only did he end up with a dinner date from it, but he actually managed to act like enough of a functioning human for that date that Gai-san agreed to another. “This one’s purple, by the way.”

This one?

Purple!?

glancing down at his body he started to search for the flower his Senpai was talking about. That had to be what it was he was referring to.

But for some reason he didn’t find anything.

“Here,” seeing Kakashi reach out, Tenzo cringed when his hand went straight for his head and returned with a dark purple tulip. “See? Purple.”

Great. Whatever was wrong with him was starting to get annoying. The last thing his Senpai needed was more reason to tease him mercilessly.

“Just ask him out, Tenzo,” Kakashi sighes and turns his attention back down to his book. “He’s not going to say no.”

“You can’t know that,” Tenzo’s mind instantly starts to come up with all of the worst case scenarios. The look of disgust on Iruka’s face when he asks him out, the slap to the face. All the things that would make him feel like an idiot for having this crush. “I’ll get over it. I always do.”

“He’s not going to say no,” Kakashi repeats himself, giving Tenzo a soft look when he glares back at him. “Trust me, Tenzo.”

Tenzo had learned long ago never to trust those words. The only thing that ever followed them was disaster and headache, even if their missions did end up being a success after Kakashi had dared to utter those terrifying words to him.

“Tenzo,” diverting his eyes, Tenzo huffed when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. “He’s not going to say no. If he does, I'll just stab him for you.”

“That’s not a solution, Senpai!” He knows he has made a mistake as soon as the words leave his mouth, but hearing Iruka calling out to them to ask if Kakashi’s bugging him isn’t any easier to handle just because he knows he screwed up.

He actually feels a pretty strong urge to die right then and there so he doesn’t have to deal with the overwhelming feeling of embarrassment that was now taking over. The only reason he didn’t drop dead in his spot was because of Kakashi, who had actually fallen out of the tree laughing and crashed into the ground.

That was actually funny enough to make him forget about dying for two seconds. At least he wasn’t suffering alone now.

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

This was it.

Today was the day he was going to do it. After three weeks of debating and struggling over the perfect plan, and collecting an entire three vases worth of flowers to decorate his apartment with just thinking about Iruka. 

He was finally going to ask Iruka out.

Stepping into Iruka’s classroom, he smiled when he saw the man of his affections leaning over his desk marking papers frantically.

How was it that man could make even school work look good?

“You look like you’re having fun,” Iruka’s head shot up when he spoke. “Whoe, sorry. I didn’t think I would catch you off guard.” After all those years in Root and then ANBU he was so used to keeping his Chakra hidden that sometimes he forgot he didn’t actually have to do that in Konoha anymore. 

“As long as it’s you and not someone worse,” Tenzo’s gut told him that ‘someone worse’ was Iruka’s way of saying ‘Hatake Kakashi’, and somehow he wasn’t surprised. He only wondered what his Senpai had done to set Iruka on edge like this. “What can i do for you, Captain Yamato?”

“Well, ummmm,” Suddenly hours of practice finding the perfect words disappeared, and Tenzo was left with an empty brain and an heart pounding so hard in his chest it was actually starting to hurt a bit. “I was just…”

“Hmmm?” Iruka tilted his head. “What is it?”

This was not going as easily as he had hoped. In fact, this was a disaster.

“I-N-Never mind,” turning on his heel he was about to make an escape when a hand came down on his shoulder and pulled him back, Iruka’s smiling face greeting him when he found the tiniest bit of courage to look at him again. “Ummm…”

“Why don’t you tell me what it is over Ramen?” Iruka suggested. “I was getting a little hungry anyways, and I could always use the company.”

Ramen? With Iruka?

How was he actually getting dinner with the man when he couldn’t even figure out how to form a coherent sentence around him?

“I-uh, s-sure…” His face feels like it’s on fire, and he’s certain he’s going to burst into flames when he sees Iruka reaching out towards him. 

“Those are pretty,” Pretty? What in the world was he talking about. “Is this normal?”

Tenzo’s about to ask what Iruka is talking about when it clicks, and suddenly he feels like he’s going to melt into the floor. Actually, he kind of wishes he would. It would provide an easy escape, but he was stuck now. If he ran away Iruka may never talk to him again.

“It...it happens sometimes,” he grumbled under his breath. Reaching up, he sought out the flower in question and plucked it off of his shoulder. Bright yellow. It sort of reminded him of the bright smile Iruka always had on his face when he saw Naruto. “Sorry. I don’t always have full control over how my Mokuton responds to some things. The stray flowers get out once in a while.”

“Oh, Captain Yamato,” Iruka laughed, pulling his hand back to reveal another flower. This one vibrant purple like the one Kakashi had picked from his head a few weeks ago. “It’s more like a whole garden.”

A garden? Did he mean...was there…

Reaching up once again, Tenzo ran his hand over his shoulder. Too afraid to look and see how bad it really was, but needing to know anyways.

His entire soul left his body when he felt a whole row of flowers there on his shoulder. All bunched up close together.

“A-are they…”

“Everywhere?” Iruka chuckled when he nodded his head. “Oh ya. Yellows, blues, purples. There’s even a cute little orange tulip on your head.”

Why did the tulips like to grow from his head? 

“Give me five minutes to make myself look human again,” he grumbled under his breath. The last thing he needed was for people to see him walking around with flowers sprouting everywhere on him. “Then, if you still want…”

“Ramen,” Iruka finished for him with a smile that lit up the room and somehow calmed Tenzo’s nerves a bit. “I’ll just put everything in here away and meet you outside?”

“That sounds…” perfect. Wonderful. Amazing. So many words ran through his mind but not one of them agreed to be spoken. “Beautiful.”

Finally something left his mouth, but he’s pretty sure it has more to do with that smile he can’t take his eyes off of than it does with the plans Iruka just laid out for him.

For the first time since he met Iruka, he doesn’t care.

Absolutely nothing he says could make him look worse than Iruka seeing him sprout flowers from every part of his body. He was a garden of his own emotional creation and there wasn’t a damn thing that could make this situation any more embarrassing.

“Beautiful works,” Iruka laughed, bright and happy. “It describes your face really well.”

Ok. 

Maybe there was something that could make this whole scenario even more embarrassing. That thing was Iruka and his damn perfect complements.

“You, uhh… you have a few more,” Iruka pointed at his head, and this time Tenzo is certain his spirit has actually left his body.

[itspileofgoodthings]

❤️ Is it silly that sometimes my favourite posts are the ones where it's just a picture of nature and you don't even need tags because we all know how much you love it?!

Ummm I LOVE this so much because reblogging pictures of nature and also sometimes not having any tags is a very fundamental part of my blog and I am so delighted that you noticed 😂

Your Moment

I was hit by the realization for your moment the other day and it was so right I almost screamed aloud!!! I hope you love it but I feel almost certain you will!!

Because! You are the end of Anne of the Island —the proposal in the garden at sunset!! Gilbert saying “I have a dream that I persist in dreaming even when it seemed it would never come true” and Anne being overcome with this wave of happiness to the point of her not being able to speak and Gilbert saying “you’ll have to wait a long time and even then there will be no sunburst or marble halls” and Anne says “I don’t want that I just want you” and Gilbert calling her sweetheart and also kissing her and then the two of them walking home together.

And it’s just: 1) it’s a happy and EARNED ending and a long time coming and the way that is Soft AND important, life-changing and yet gentle reminds me of you!

2) it’s so beautiful in more ways than one! It happens in a garden at sunset! In a place that is dear to them and that has its own history and heart. You have such a complete coherent aesthetic; your life’s beauty is always multi-layered.

3) finally, even though it is a happy “ending” it somehow isn’t just about the moment itself. It is a promise of love and hope for a lifetime! Anne and Gilbert know it won’t be easy; they know, even in this golden moment, that they will know grief. And they choose ALL of it. And in choosing all of it, their happy ending isn’t an ending but a kind of beginning too.

And in light of your thoughts on the sometimes inherent tragedy of frozen happy moments and your knowledge that that isn’t and can’t be the whole truth—this moment is where you find your peace!

And I love that, so much.

[illprotectyou-hearteyes]

@rochc93​ I’m also answering the Ethan one but the Meredith post got so long adsfgdfsdf so I’m answering in a separate post.

Ethan Hunt:

Why I like them

He’s suffered so much and been betrayed so often that it would almost be hard to blame him if he had turned cynical and cruel but he didn’t. Even knowing on the deepest emotional level that a good outcome isn’t guaranteed no matter how hard he tries and that opening himself to love also means opening himself to pain, he chooses kindness and hope and love over and again and again 

Why I don’t

This doesn’t make me like him less, but Ethan is so desperate to save everyone else that somewhere along the way he seems to have stopped factoring his own wellbeing into the equation at all. And if there’s a selfish bone in his body it’s that he's so deep in his panicked determination to protect himself from the pain and guilt of loss that it doesn’t seem to have registered that losing him would hurt his loved ones as much as losing them would hurt him.

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

Oh gosh ummm ... this changes day to day but I think at the moment it’s Ethan waking up to Benji after the torus 

Favorite season/movie

I mean for me it has to be Rogue Nation or Fallout, but we never would have gotten those without every one of the films that came before (yes, even MI2) and I love them all

Favorite line

“Zero kill count” from MI1. I’m almost certainly being dramatic, but I always find myself wondering if Ethan would have become who he is without that line guiding the writing of his character throughout the franchise.

Favorite outfit

They ... they’re almost all black ... I’m sorry I know I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time looking at this character but I truly cannot distinguish his outfits in my mind.

EDIT: Can I say the grey suit-vest from MI7 set images? That one is good I like it.

OTP

Okay so I have to say Ethan/Benji, but a part of me is happily convinced that Ethan and Luther have been quietly married since sometime after he and Julia separated. It’s not a secret, but it happened during a mission and there were more pressing things to talk about, and by now it’s become a standing game of “how long will it take our Actual Spy Friends to notice”

As an extension of the above I really like the idea of Luther/Ethan/Benji. Also Ethan and Julia love each other so fucking much and nothing will ever take that away. 

Brotp

I’m intentionally not saying one of the characters from the ask above in order to get to more of them, so I have to say Ethan & Ilsa—I think their dynamic is really fascinating and I’m really hoping MI 7 & 8 develop it further. I also really love Ethan & Jane’s relationship, though. 

Head Canon

Ethan likes to read in his (concerningly sparse) free time. It’s useful enough for keeping one’s brain active and understanding/engaging with the world that it slips past the persistent guilt that’s always insisting he ought to be doing something useful, while at the same time it allows him to escape into lives entirely different than the one he feels trapped in. Usually fiction, but nothing that revolves around violence; a too-familiar detail in even the most unrealistic war story or spy thriller can make it abruptly hard to breathe. Instead he gravitates to those rare sci fi and fantasy books that don’t have some sort of violent conflict at their core, and equally to stories about everyday sorts of people—to him, those too bear the sheen of fantasy.

Unpopular opinion

Not only am I ready to go to bat for Ethan as a complex 3-dimensional character, I would argue that Ethan’s characterization in MI2 (for all of its cartoonishness and the fact that I don’t necessarily think this was the intention) can be read as coherent stage of his character progression. Basically, I see Ethan in the beginning as having responded to the trauma of MI1 by attempting to shut himself off from emotion and connection and trust, hence the whole cool bad boy persona (which unfortunately for him he very bad at, seeing how he is not, in fact, cool), and his arc in the film is him making the decision that defines him through the rest of the franchise: to lean into love and protect what is good, in defiance of the pain it makes him vulnerable to.

A wish

I just ... I just want him somehow to get out of the IMF and let himself be out and to have the peace and happiness he fights so hard to protect for others but seems to have given up on for himself. I don’t know how this could happen but I want it so bad

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

His life is a mess that so I’ve gotta lower my hopes here. As long as he doesn’t die or lose Benji, Luther, or Julia (and preferably not anyone else he’s cares about either, but again, low standards), I can deal with it.

Oh also if there wasn’t a forced romance with Ilsa that would be lovely.

5 words to best describe them

loving, kind, determined, loyal, disaster

My nickname for them

This ask game is making me wonder if I actually have a nickname for any character. I’m not sure I do

[churchkey]

2, 5, 7, 32, and 35 for the fic asks! Hope you are having a great day Lara, or should I say Queen Of Winnix 👀💓

Hey Carrie! Aaah bless your sweet heart! Thank you for the ask - I’ll try to say something halfway thoughtful and/or coherent. 

(2.) Why do you write fanfiction?

Frick, where to start on this one... I suppose because there are a couple of actors who’ve got some kind of amazing chemistry that sucks me in and I just need more of them. Or the characters are so richly drawn that I’m compelled to throw myself into their story and add my own threads and patterns. And also - and this should not be understated - for the erotic factor, I mean lbr. And I don’t know, I just need to. There’s a creative impulse in me that observes and notices things in a certain way, and I want to try to describe that, or I’m trying to get as close to telling a truth that other people will read and recognize and say “yes! I know what that feels like!” To connect, I suppose. 

(5.) What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

For the sheer scope, A Spell of Riot. Definitely the longest and most ambitious story I’ve ever written. But I also feel pretty good about Roger Wilco as a fairly succinct combination of porn and feels that gets to the heart of their love for each other as this light that nothing can snuff out. 

(7.) What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Since I already talked about my crippling self-doubt, I’ll say the momentum. I’m terribly slow at starting. I tend to get bogged down in description and then NOTHING happens for like 4k and how anyone could read that without falling asleep I don’t even know. Plot in general, but a lot of that might be to do with the fact that I love introspective, character-driven novels where not a lot happens. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone, for sure! I could go on for days. 

(32.) Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less.

Ha ha, I love this one. Okay, let’s see... “Harry has a massive wang; they finally go to Chicago”. Goddamn, I did it again!

(35.) Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

Ummm.... I once read in a writing book that if you’re a writer, all the terrible, sad, tragic things that happen to you can also be your best inspiration and fertile ground for connecting with your characters to tell their stories. If you look at it as grist for the mill, you might find that elusive path into a character’s pain or a different way to look at it, or maybe you just have insight and experience that can bring your ideas to life and make them immediate and authentic because they come from the truth of your life (*cough* divorce fic)... anyway, there might be something there, is what I’m saying. There might be a story anywhere. Keep your feelers out. 

Thank you Carrie! Hope you had a great birthday!  

[residentlesbrarian]

The Third Book I Read In the Dark: You mean there's more and this time it gets GAY! Sign me the F*** UP!

Sovereign by April Daniels

As Day 1 of my time in the dark ages was coming to a close so did my second library book and even though it was late and I should probably go to bed (and by bed I mean the couch in the living room closest to the fireplace because sweet sweet crackling warmth) I couldn’t help but at least crack open the sequel to the phenomenal book I’d just finished. I was set to have wisdom tooth surgery the next day bright and early but with the state of the world I had doubts it would happen so, you know...YOLO.

Now, I know what people say about sequels, never get your hopes up too high because usually they will let you down, but I was so pleasantly surprised to know that the curse of bad sequels passed over Sovereign without leaving its mark. I loved this just as much if not more than the first book. If my review of the first book is anything to go off of this is gonna be a mess so let’s get this love fest on the road!

Unicorn Rating:

Blurb: Danny is finding her feet as Dreadnought but things are far from easy especially with curve balls coming from every angle. Things are getting harder, darker, and maybe a bit...gayer!

Disclaimer: I will try my best to not spoil anything from the book, but my book loving rambles may give more away than a traditional review. Here we go! Ramble time!

Review: 

Diving right into this I genuinely liked this book just as much if not a bit more than the first book. Now there are a few reasons for that, one is that we don’t have to deal with Danny’s parents much, my feelings on them were made very clear in my last review. The second was that, although we were introduced to a few new characters, we were mainly focused on characters we already knew and just got to know them more so it did what I think all sequels should do; build on what you already know while adding just enough new stuff to keep you coming back for more. 

The plot of this second book is a multi-layered beast that I had a blast peeling back piece by piece, while also not being too difficult to follow. It is for sure a much darker plot than the first book, but as someone who’s second book looks to be pretty dark and emotionally...well, ouch, I can really get down with this kind of character heavy story that really depends on the reader being invested in the struggles of the characters more than an overly complicated plot. The twist also still got me there at the end. Comeuppances sure are fun to see. Okay, I behaved for a whole two paragraphs and talked about the plot now to really let ‘er rip!

Oh boy! Oh jeeze! How do I want to do this!?! Ummm spin the wheel-o-characters and see where it stops? Sure! That's a solid way to write coherent and professional reviews (I know logically I should start with Danny but I’m saving her and a particular western themed vigilante till last for GAY reasons)!

The Wheel has chosen and I am going to talk about Karen first! So, Karen, this was a character that when she first showed up I was utterly confused and then got so freaking excited so freaking fast when I figured out who she might be! I literally closed the book and went, “That ain’t a backpack!” Now I am gonna try and be extra careful about how I word this next part to try and not spoil anything, but please someone ask me questions about it so I can gush about it more in a spoiler filled response! So, if you read my Dreadnought review I genuinely liked Valkyrja and I was so sad we weren’t going to get to see more of her after the ending of the last book, but then Karen quite literally broke on in to make my day. She honestly fascinated me. The struggle she is going through reminds me so much of something from one of my favorite animated shows, RWBY, that has been an ongoing struggle since Volume 4 for the character of Oscar. (I won’t say anymore cause I don’t want to spoil the book or the show, you should read the book and watch the show, they are both awesome and then come into my ask box and we can talk about how interesting it is). She was a character that I felt deeply for because of her struggle, but also was conflicted on because of reasons that I can’t get into but man...just Karen, why, Karen why?

So next up we have more from the local literal wizard, Charlie, who is as sleep deprived and as eclectic as ever. He is a good example of what I meant when I said I was glad we were able to spend more time with characters we already knew. He was instrumental in the plot even if he was mostly a background player, but I cared about him when the crew got into big fights because I already knew him and knew that he wasn’t a fighter. He was a friend in a world where there weren’t a ton of those to be had.

 Oooo let’s do another newcomer, Kinetiq, who admittedly has a bit of beef with our girl. Danny has been getting a lot of press for being “the first transgender superhero” which is not at all accurate she is just the first pretty white superhero with Legion-sized support and funding behind her and Kinetiq never lets her forget it. They are a non-binary Iranian-American superhero that has been capin’ way longer than Danny has but hasn’t gotten nearly the recognition. They are such a cool character and really rounds out the team of superpowered teens.

Let’s dig into our villains next. I still hate Graywytch with every fiber of my being and the burning passion of a thousand suns, but that isn’t ever gonna change, so we can move on before I have another melt down like last time. We wouldn’t want that now would we? Maybe you do. I don’t tell you how to feel. So now we can talk about Sovereign (I know we got his civilian name in the book but I have forgotten it because I read these books in 2 ½ days and I have the memory of a brain damaged goldfish so we’ll just go with that), he was a character that we met him and I immediately went “Sooo, he’s the bad guy right?” Everything he said just oozed “entitled asshole” and “I’m more important than you.” And I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. Now I do like to have some more complications in my villains, some grayness and not all black and white, but in a story so hinged on Danny struggling internally with so much I think having a really deep complicated villain would have been too much to handle at the same time. 

I’ve contained this as long as I can and I can’t contains it no more…*runs to the top of the nearest mountain* I LOVE DOC IMPOSSIBLE!!! I know in my last review I said she gave me kookie grandma character vibes even though she didn’t really fit into either one of those categories, but she still just fits like a puzzles piece into a hole in my heart of characters I love. The reveal at the end of Dreadnought that she was an android only made me love her more and then to see how much she is struggling with what Utopia used her body to do against her will just makes me want to give her all my love and support even more (Maybe I just have a thing for characters breaking away from controlling abusers and fully accepting and owning themselves for who they truly are *cough* Yasha from Critical Role *cough*). And no spoilers but the ending scene with Danny and her made me squeal/tear up with happy tears.

So now on to the main event or well...the main character and her grapple handed revolver wielding bandana wearing paramore. Now I’ve alluded to it in the other character opinions but Danny, well, Danny goes through it in this book. I remember while I was reading it thinking how tired I was, part of that was probably because I had been reading literally non-stop for two days but also I think I was really picking up on Danny’s fatigue in that it just never ended. As soon as one trial or tribulation ended she had little or no time to rest before she had to force herself back to her feet and say, “Alright, whatcha got?” Danny also goes to some pretty dark places, and as someone with some experience with PTSD it was really compelling to read a character who was working through those kinds of thoughts and...not handling it well. She was rash and angry and lashing out, she was far from the perfect picture of composure her publicist/lawyer wanted her to be, that’s for sure. Danny is yet again a fascinating character to follow along in her journey because she has so much depth and is so compelling because she is so flawed. 

Now Danny’s dynamic with Calamity/Sarah this book was just...so good. Now do I think they are perfect and amazing and gonna go off and have a perfect little capin’ life together...honestly, no. But that is why I love them so much. I was convinced Sarah had the budding start of feelings for Danny all the way back in the first book but Danny had SO MUCH going on she didn’t notice and Sarah wasn’t gonna push the issue and probably didn’t even really know what she was feeling herself. I am a connoisseur of gay media after all, but the hints were there. When nothing came of it I didn’t feel let down because it wouldn’t have made since in the story of the first book especially with Sarah losing her arm and everything else. Then this book came around and turned everything up a notch. Danny is realizing she is soooo much gayer for Calamity than she thought, and Calamity/Sarah is really being the only person who isn’t letting Danny slide when it comes to the self destructive behavior she has been kind of reveling in which I am so here for. In relationships, good relationships, you have to be able to call each other out, call bull shit on one another, without it getting personal. We see that in real time develop between Sarah and Danny. We also see that Danny really depends on Calamity and her wit and know how in battle situations because, lets face it, Danny is the muscle, but Calamity is the brains. The fact they are able to work together so well is just a testament to the fact I think they will have a good relationship going forward. Maybe not all sunshine and roses all the time, because that isn’t realistic, but they will support each other and protect each other in the way that matters and counts. And I am a soft bitch when it comes to stuff like that. 

My final thoughts on this is that I really liked the way, after such a hard and trudging journey (I say that with as much love and admiration as I can), we were able to have an ending that radiated such softness, such hope for a future that wouldn’t be full of so much pain and struggle. I needed that ending. I needed that exhale to be able to just settle with Danny, and Sarah, and Doc, and the rest of the crew after the holy hell storm they had to go through in this book. I know there is supposed to be a third book in the Nemesis series but I would be okay with it ending here. Sure, there are some unanswered questions plot-wise, but I am happy with where our characters landed and by now y’all know me, I’m in it for those sweet sweet character driven stories so I’m good. That doesn’t mean I won’t read the third one when it comes out, but I’m in no rush. My reading list is currently lording over me with a baseball bat and looking mighty threatening so I should probably start on that. *nervous sweating increases* 

Queer Wrap-up: Let’s jump right into this tally. Of course, we have our protagonist Danny who is living her best life, well not really but it’s a figure of speech, as a transwoman and trying to shine a light on trans superheroes and doing an ‘eh’ job at it but at least she is trying. Now we did get to see another side of Danny’s identity in the fact she is not only trans but also a lesbian. Now this wasn’t hidden in the first book, but it wasn’t the focus by a long shot, and I gushed a tad in my review about Danny’s irrefutably adorable gay panic at meeting her celebrity crush, Valkryja, but other than that and a few lines here or there the focus is definitely on Danny’s identity as a transwoman in the first book but this one brings her lesbian identity out more and I loved to see how the two mixed and how there was never any questioning there. Danny is a woman who is attracted to woman, so she is a lesbian...easy peasy. Love that for her. Now onto what moved this from a four unicorn rating for the last book to five for this one. We get the lovely romance between Sarah and Danny confirming that Sarah falls somewhere on the spectrum, though she never defines herself in any way other than loving Danny, and we know her and Charlie have dated in the past so we can assume she is also attracted to men. She could be bisexual, pansexual, we don’t know and she never says and honestly it doesn’t matter. I’m just gonna sit in my happy little queer bubble and watch her and Danny be cute. We also have the additional rep of Kinetiq, the kick ass nonbinary superhero that joins the team. They give us additional gender identity rep outside of just Danny and they are snarky and awesome to boot.

So yeah this more than earns that last unicorn by building and expanding on what the first book started and I also believe for the amazing rep and deep dive into the mind of someone being trans and just living their life as super powered and fantastical as it maybe, which is something I cannot personally speak to, I think this earns a place in the Sparkly Unicorn Hall of Gay! I swear this won’t only be YA super hero series, remember Raven: Pirate Princess is in there too!

Links: 

Goodreads

Dreadnought Review

So this book took slightly longer than the others to read mainly because I had to go to the next town over to maybe have wisdom tooth surgery. Well, that didn’t happen cause the whole state was one day out of an ice storm and was still walking bow legged but hey I got to eat something that wasn’t reheated soup for the first time in 2 days. French fries have never tasted so good! Once I dug into this book though it flew by like the rest. Remember that I found all three of these books in the library I work at so check the shelves of the ones near you, you could be surprised what they have on their shelves just waiting to be discovered. Trust me, I’m a lesbrarian.

But now I was sat most of the way through Day 2 and I was officially out of library books! Whatever would I do? Find out next time on...The Books I Read In the Dark!

[wafflehousepancakes]

hey, ummm. have you heard about The Madness Bloom finally being cancelled? opinions?

woah y’all want my opinion?? am I a Big Fandom Blog now???

in all seriousness though thanks for asking I guess?? When I saw the news I was mildly disappointed but mostly satisfied?? Like I think it was the right decision to make. I haven’t been closely closely following it but I’ve been...aware of the book and some of its issues just from keeping up with Goodreads and such. My understanding is that a lot of people (myself included) thought it was going to be a f/f romance from the way it was advertised and then it started being sent to sensitivity readers and such for review and got some kind of negative feedback when it turned out that the main character was actually a trans man, which led to some discussions about why that wasn’t made more clear in marketing and how the whole character was handled a little poorly.

Now, I can’t speak for all trans people (using trans as an umbrella term for anyone non-cis) and I definitely can’t speak for all binary trans people. I am but one humble nonbinary reader. But I think that stories with trans characters at the forefront need to be written by trans authors. I’m not saying cis people shouldn’t include trans people in their stories—they absolutely should. But cis people shouldn’t try to write as a trans person as the main character. Sometimes cis authors can write as trans characters and it can be handled really well and that’s great! But it’s just not their stories to tell, you know? It’s important that trans authors get to tell their own stories. Being trans is a very unique experience and sometimes, even with all the research in the world, it’s hard for a cis person to fully understand/capture. I think Mackenzi realized she wasn’t handling this character the way she should have and decided it wasn’t the book she should be writing.

Authors are human. They make mistakes. But if they work to rectify these mistakes and the potential damage done by them (which, in this case, doesn’t seem to be much as the book was never properly published) and learn from those mistakes, then it’s okay. I think by making this decision to not publish the book and attempting to use her platform now to amplify the voices of trans authors, Mackenzi is doing that. I still love Mazkenzi Lee. She’s still my favorite author. But I’m a little glad she listened to sensitivity readers and decided not to take up space with a narrative that wasn’t hers, especially if it looked like she wasn’t going to be able to write that narrative properly. (Still keeping my fingers crossed for a f/f book though 👀)

so, yeah. I hope this was a coherent answer and I’m sorry it got so long, but that’s my take on this. I’m slightly disappointed not to get a new book from Mackenzi Lee, but I am more glad that she made the responsible decision regarding this.

[gryffindorcls]

When Words Succeed

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Hello, lovely readers! Thank you for choosing to read "When Words Succeed". This is the Marinette POV follow-up to "When Words Fail". It works as a stand-alone, but it makes more sense as a companion piece.

If you would like to read “When Words Fail”, click here.

Enjoy!

My username on AO3 and FanFiction is clslovegood47.

—

The world felt like it was ending the day Marinette released her transformation in front of Chat Noir.  She had been so careful...and it took only a moment for all of her diligence to be rendered meaningless.  She had been ready to beg Chat to detransform somewhere else when his own transformation slipped away to reveal Adrien in his stead.

Over the years, Marinette had worked hard to build her confidence around Adrien.  She’d even managed to control her embarrassing stammer when talking to him, but her ability to form coherent sentences went out the window when Chat turned into Adrien.  Her legs gave out from underneath her, and she crumbled into a heap on the pavement.  She vaguely remembered the feeling of two strong arms wrapping around her, picking her up, and carrying her home.

For the following week, she couldn’t even look at him.  Patrol became awkward and uncomfortable.  In school, Adrien looked as miserable as she felt.  She couldn’t bring herself to talk to him.  How could she?  She’d turned down Chat Noir for two full years before he finally stopped trying to ask her out.  Sure, the flirting continued, but it felt more like playful banter.  Still, every time she rolled her eyes at his jokes and puns, she could see the hurt in Chat’s eyes.  

She’d inadvertently broken her crush’s heart.  Marinette didn’t see how a romantic relationship with him was possible at the moment.

At the end of the first week of knowing each other’s identities, Tikki had a heated conversation with Marinette.

“You can’t keep ignoring Chat Noir!” the tiny being exclaimed, making her holder jump.

“I’m not ignoring Chat.”  Marinette crossed her arms.

“You haven’t spoken to him all week.  He looks miserable.  Sooner or later you’re going to have to come to terms with what happened.  Okay, so you know he’s Adrien.  Big whoop!  You can’t change the past, but the future of your relationship as partners is in jeopardy.”

“But I broke his heart, Tikki!  I can’t just talk to him.”

“Yes, you can.  You were able to talk to Chat all the time, and you were getting better at talking to Adrien.  You have to try.  If you don’t, Hawkmoth will win, and, more importantly, you will break Adrien’s heart even more.”

Marinette sighed.  “You’re right, Tikki.  I’m still hurting him, but what am I supposed to do?”

Tikki softened her expression.  “I think you’ll find that if you just talk to him, things will be okay.”

“I’m still in love with him, but I can’t tell him that.  I rejected him for three years.”

“Then don’t tell him right away.  Fix your partnership with him, and then confess your feelings.  You were working on being friends with Adrien before the reveal.  Go back to that.  Friends is a great place to start.”

“Okay...yeah...I can do this!  Wait...when should I do this?  Should I do it now?”

“If you want to, I’m okay with transforming you again.  I’m not that tired.”

Marinette fluffed up her hair in her mirror before running downstairs to grab a few pastries.  Once the treats were safely packed inside a box from the bakery, she transformed and swung off into the night.

She did her best to calm her racing heart as she bounded across the Parisian rooftops towards the Agreste’s mansion.  Ladybug hooked her yoyo onto a beam above Adrien’s window and lowered herself onto the ledge.  When she tapped on the glass, Adrien jumped, rushed over to the window, and pushed open the glass pane.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in a frenzied panic, “You said you were going home.  Are you okay?  Are you hurt?  Is there an Akuma?”

She hopped inside his room and held out the box of pastries for him to take.  “Actually, I’m not here because I need Chat.  I’m here because I wanted to see Adrien.”

He slowly took the box from her hands and looked at it.  “Why?”

She reached out and touched his arm.  “Because I’ve been a bad partner and a bad friend this past week.  We need to talk about what happened, and then I’d like to get to know you better.  I met you three years ago, and I still don’t really know you.”

A smile stretched across Adrien’s face, and his eyes twinkled.  It was the same smile she’d seen Chat Noir use when he got excited; however, she’d never seen it on Adrien’s face before.  Marinette decided that she liked seeing Chat Noir’s mannerisms being used by Adrien.  It helped ease the insecurities that came with having a crush on him.  His expression gave her the confidence to continue talking without her stammer making a comeback.  Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the couch, causing her to giggle.

“This is just your silly kitty,” she thought to herself, “Why were you ever scared of him?  You trust him with your life.”

“Can I get you anything?” he was practically vibrating with exhilaration as he placed the pastry box onto the coffee table.

She shook her head.  “No, but would you mind if I detransform?  I think Tikki would like to hang out with Plagg.”

Adrien took a seat next to her.  “Go on ahead.”

He shielded his eyes as the bright pink light washed over her body.  Tikki zipped off without saying a word, leaving the two teens to talk.

She allowed her eyes to wander around the room.  “You know, I always forget how big your bedroom is.  I’ve been here before, but not enough to really appreciate it.”

Adrien looked down at the ground.  “Uhhh, yeah.  It’s nice, but it’d be even nicer if I could actually have friends over.  That rarely happens though.”

“I could come over if you’d like.  Oh, and you could even come and visit me.  I wouldn’t mind if a certain black cat knocked on my window sometime.”

“Really?  Because...I kind of thought that I lost you as a friend when you found out I was Chat Noir.  You stopped talking to me, and I thought you were mad that I saw who you were.  I’m sorry for screwing up the whole secret identity thing.  I know how important it was to you.”

Marinette’s heart melted upon hearing his words.  She wanted to kick herself for not talking to him sooner.  She knew he was hurting, but she didn’t realize it was this bad.  Adrien valued his relationships with others more than anything in the world, and she made him think that he’d lost her.  

She had to fix this, so she swallowed her apprehension and spoke from the heart.  “Oh, kitty, you will never lose me.  Do you know how much I care about you?  And I’m talking about both sides of you.  You mean more to me than any old secret identity.  I was just being weird for the past few days.  I’m sorry that I made you think I was angry at you.  It’s no one’s fault.  You didn’t do it on purpose.  I think I just needed some time to adjust.”

He nodded.  “I understand.  I think I also needed some time to get used to this new ‘thing’ between us.  At first, I was worried that it ruined our partnership...mostly because of your reaction...but I think I’m starting to see things in a new light.”

“Really?  How so?”

“Ummm...well, I don’t exactly know how to describe it, but I think that this reveal may have been one of the best things to ever happen for us.”

“Purr-haps it was, minou.  Only time will tell.”

“Did you just make a cat pun?”

“Yup.”

“I thought you hated my jokes!”

“No...I think you just need to work on your timing.  It’s not always appropriate to make puns when we’re trying to concentrate on defeating an Akuma.”

He scootched closer to her, making her heart thump loudly in her chest.  “So, Bugaboo, does that mean I have your purr-mission to make as many cat-tastic puns when we’re not in the middle of a battle?”

She giggled.  “Oh, no!  I’ve created a monster!”

The duo laughed and talked for the rest of the night.  Marinette felt a fluttering in her stomach every time he looked at her, but she did her best to suppress the urge to freak out.

Thoughts raced through her mind like wild stallions attempting to run in the Kentucky Derby.  “It’s Chat.  He’s your friend.  One day you can tell him that you love him, but he needs your friendship right now.  Calm down...you can do this.”

By the end of the night, Marinette felt more at ease around Adrien than ever before.  She even had the confidence to pull him into a tight hug before heading home.

“Tikki!  I did it!” she celebrated, “I didn’t stutter once!  My words work again!  I had the best time, and I think he did, too!”

“Oh, Marinette!” Tikki chirped, “You did an amazing job!  I’m so proud of you!”

Her smile faded.  “I still love him though.”

“I know you do.”  Tikki hovered in front of her face and cast her a sympathetic look.

“Maybe one day I’ll be able to talk to him about it.  I hope that by then he’ll be able to forgive me for turning him down so many times.  Maybe we’ll even be able to laugh about the ridiculousness of the situation.”

“You’re doing the right thing by being his friend, and you never know what may happen in the future.  Keep doing what you’re doing, and I know that things will turn out great!”

“Thank you, Tikki!”

The next day, Marinette got to school early and found Adrien sitting in the classroom by himself.  She slid into the seat next to him and nudged him with her elbow.

“Good morning, kitty!” she greeted cheerfully.

Marinette swore she could see a blush creep across his face, but then again...it may have just been the lighting.

“Good morning, Marinette,” he said with a sheepish grin.

She rolled her eyes.  “That’s all I get?  Just...good morning, Marinette?  Where are the puns?  You missed the purr-fect opportunity to say good meow-ning.”

His laugh rang through the empty room.  “You’re right!  My apologies.  Allow me to correct this egregious error, my lady.  Good meow-ning, Marinette!”

She placed her hand on his arm.  “I hope us talking didn’t keep you up too late last night.”

“Not at all.  Actually, it’s the best I’ve slept in a week.”

“That’s good to hear.  You look happier today.”

“I...uhhh...yeah.”

“What’s wrong...cat got your tongue?”

He scratched the back of his head.  “Ummm...no.  I actually wanted to ask you a question.”

Her mind began screaming.  “Oh, no...he’s so cute when he does that!  Don’t freak out.  He needs you to be his friend.”

She took a deep breath.  “Okay.  What’s up?”

“I...ummm...you see...I was wondering,” his eyes wandered over to the door, “if you wanted to grab lunch with Alya and Nino today.  It’s been a while since the four of us have done anything.”

“Sure, kitty!  That sounds like fun.”  She reached over and playfully ruffled his hair and tapped him on the nose.

Someone gasped loudly behind her.  

Marinette turned around to see Alya standing next to Nino with her mouth agape.  “Girl, I...what?  How?  When?  EXPLAIN!”

Marinette left Adrien’s side and moved to her own seat in the row behind him.  “Adrien wanted the four of us to go grab lunch together.  Are you two going to be busy, or can you come with us?”

“We’re free, and lunch sounds good to me, my dudes,” Nino replied, giving Adrien a fist bump.

The two boys entered their own hushed conversation as Alya sat down next to Marinette.

“Alright, spill,” her best friend whispered.

“Spill what?” Marinette asked with an innocent expression.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.  I know you’ve become more comfortable around Adrien over the past few years, but never like that.  You touched his hair.”

“He doesn’t mind.”

“Yeah, but you used to.  What happened between you two?  Are you and Adrien an item now?”

Her heart sank, but she maintained her smile.  “Right now I’m just focusing on being a better friend to Adrien.”

Alya narrowed her eyes.  “Okay...if you say so, girl.  But I know something is going on.  This conversation is not finished.”

Over the next two weeks, Alya did not stop pestering Marinette about her newfound super-confidence around Adrien.  She asked questions at every conceivable opportunity.  Marinette’s heart broke every time she told Alya that she was just friends with him.

Everything inside of Marinette was screaming to tell Adrien how she felt, but she still hadn’t found the right moment.  Nonetheless, they continued to spend time with each other, and every day she fell more in love with him.

One day, she even managed to work up the courage to rest her head on his shoulder while they watched a movie together on her chaise.  Marinette nearly fainted when Adrien responded by putting his arm around her shoulders.  As she melted into his embrace, she could feel the steady thumping of his heart and smell the subtle, earthy aroma of what she assumed was expensive cologne.  From that moment on, she took advantage of every opportunity to cuddle with Adrien; however, it wasn’t helping her stick to “friendship only” plan.

The night before the class trip to Normandy, Marinette looked at her Kwami and sighed.  “I can’t do this anymore, Tikki.  I have to tell him how I feel, but I’m still worried that he’ll get upset.”

Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek comfortingly.  “It’s only been a few weeks, but you two have come a long way.  I’ve been talking to Plagg, and I don’t think Adrien is heartbroken about your past rejections anymore.  You’ve made a big effort to show him that you care, and that means the world to him.”

“I think I want to tell him while we’re on the trip.  Maybe I can convince Alya to sit with Nino on the bus so Adrien and I can talk.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!”

Marinette smiled.  She felt confident that her plan would work...until she went to bed that night.

Her nightmare felt like more than a dream.  Marinette could feel the heat of Hawkmoth’s breath as he leaned in and ripped off her earrings.  She could hear the anguish in Chat Noir’s scream as he lunged towards her and was captured by Mayura’s sentimonster.  Hope drained from her soul when her partner fell into an unconscious heap on the ground.  Just as she watched Hawkmoth don the two Miraculouses and shout his wish into the heavens, her eyes opened.

She woke up in a cold sweat with tears streaming down her face.  Marinette cried for an hour before falling back into a restless sleep.  Even the soft humming coming from her Kwami could not soothe her anguished heart.  The notion of being defeated by Hawkmoth and losing Chat Noir was something that haunted her.  Every so often, these thoughts seeped into her dreams, but this was the worst one yet.

Marinette found herself running late the following morning as she scrambled to throw a few last-minute additions into her duffel bag.  She put on a t-shirt and jeans while attempting to do something with her hair.  She hastily made coffee that she poured into a travel mug before bounding out the door.

She got to school with five minutes to spare.  Unfortunately, she crashed into the teacher’s desk on her way into the classroom.  After collapsing into her seat, Alya told her that she was going to sit with Nino on the bus, leaving Adrien free to sit with Marinette.  At least one good thing came from her morning rush.

Once they were seated on the bus, Marinette turned to Adrien and tried to tell him about her dream.  He seemed confident in their partnership, but his demeanor withered when he attempted to ask her a question.  Her heart felt heavy when he changed the subject.  All she could do was stare out the window and hope that he didn’t see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Maybe today isn’t the day to tell him how I feel.  He’s obviously not completely comfortable around me.  Maybe our relationship isn’t strong enough yet,” she thought dejectedly.  

A shiver ran through her body as she rested her head against the cold glass.  She mentally chastised herself for wearing only a t-shirt.  Today was not her day.

 She then felt a light tap on her shoulder.

“Are you feeling cold?  If you are, you’re welcome to use my hoodie.”  He held out his sweatshirt for her to take.

Her heart fluttered at the selflessness of his gesture.  It was like getting that umbrella all over again.  “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yup!”

“Thank you, kitty!  I forgot to take my jacket out of my duffel bag before it got stowed under the bus.  You’re a lifesaver!”  She pulled the sweatshirt on and put up the hood.  “How do I look?”

He leaned in.  “Wonderful as always, Bugaboo.”

Marinette’s face was on fire.  In an attempt to hide her blush, she flipped up the armrest between them, pulled his arm around her, and snuggled into his side.

“Comfy?” he asked.

She scootched even closer.  “I am now.”

Marinette felt the exhaustion of her restless night wash over her body.  Unlike the boy in her dream last night, the Adrien next to her was unscathed.  She placed a hand on his chest so she could feel the steady rise and fall of each breath.   Feeling safe and warm in his arms, she fell fast asleep.

She awoke to Adrien gently shaking her arm.  When she looked up, her heart leaped at the softness of his gaze.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said with a smile, “It’s time to get off the bus.”

“Ugh, no!” she protested, “I don’t want to move.  You’re warm and you smell good.”

He laughed and gave her a gentle squeeze.  “As much as I would love to stay here all day, we will get in trouble if we don’t follow the class.  I’ll let you keep wearing my hoodie if you let go.”

Even though her body was begging her to go back to sleep, she decided that Adrien’s offer wasn’t the worst trade-off.  “Fine!”

Missing his warmth, Marinette latched onto his arm as they exited the bus.  He grabbed their duffel bags, and they walked into the hotel together.

“What a gentleman.”  Her brain was still feeling hazy from her nap.

“You two look cozy,” Alya noted, snapping Marinette’s brain into the world of the waking, “Did something happen on the bus that I should know about?”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Come on, Alya.  Let’s go put our stuff in the room.  We only have a few minutes before we’re expected to meet back here in the lobby.”

She let go of Adrien, took her bag, and dragged Alya to their room.

“Okay, you can’t tell me that something isn’t going on between you two.” Alya put her hands on her hips.  “You fell asleep on him, and he held you for almost three hours.  Girl, you should have seen the way he was looking at you.  Look!  I even got pictures!  Here...let me pull out my phone.”

As she looked at the image on the tiny screen, Marinette sighed.  “Right now I’m…”

“...just trying to be a better friend...blah blah blah.  Is that all you can say?  You’ve repeated the same canned response to me like a hundred times.  Admit it...you still like him.”

“I never said that I stopped.”

Alya pinched the bridge of her nose.  “Wait...what?”

Marinette scrunched her lips and huffed.  “You heard me.  I never said that my crush went away.  I realized that he needed a friend right now, so that’s what I’ve tried to be for him.  I was planning on admitting my feelings one day, but it never seems to be the right moment.”

“Let me get this straight...you still love him, and it’s obvious that Sunshine Boy has feelings for you...but you’re not going to do anything until the right moment.”

“That’s the plan.”

“Oh, girl...no.  Just tell him.”

“I can’t.”

Alya put her hands on her hips.  “And why not?”

Marinette grabbed Alya’s arm and led her out of the room.  “Because it’s time to go, and we have a full tour schedule with our class.  There’s not going to be any time to talk to him today.”

“What about tonight?”

“I barely slept last night.  I’m going straight to bed when we get back.”

“Mmmmhmmm.  Yeah.  We’ll see about that.”

“Alya!”

Marinette’s body dragged as the class was taken to each destination on the itinerary.  By the time they returned to the hotel, she could barely keep her eyes open.  Staying true to her word, she turned down the offer of going to the lounge with Alya and opted to sleep.

Marinette crashed face-first onto the bed upon entering the room.  After a few minutes, she felt a tiny paw poke her on the cheek.

“Are you okay?” Tikki asked with concern in her eyes.

Marinette sat up and slumped.  “Yeah...I’m fine.  I just don’t know what to do, Tikki.  Adrien seemed so weird and dismissive on the bus, but at the same time, he was sweet and cuddly.  Then Alya said that he was looking at me with his signature soft eyes while I was sleeping.  I want to tell him how I feel, but I don’t know if we’re there yet.  I need a sign to point me in the right direction.”

“Maybe you should sleep on it.  I know I slept on something very interesting today.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let’s just say that Adrien’s sweatshirt pocket was rather cozy.”

“I don’t understand.”

The tiny red being shook her head.  “Just look in the pocket.”

Marinette shoved her hands into the front pocket.  (Because she did not want to wake-up her sleeping Kwmai, this was something that she avoided doing for most of the day.)  Her hand brushed against what felt like an index card.  She pinched it between her fingers and pulled it out.

She gasped upon seeing the words written on the card.

“My dearest, Marinette...I fell in love with you the day I met you.  I truly believed that my heart only had room for Ladybug.  Then, I became friends with my sweet, caring classmate who sat behind me, and slowly I found myself loving her, as well.  Falling for Ladybug was like being swept away by a crashing wave.  However, falling for Marinette was like following a stream in the woods, only to find out that it leads to a mighty river.  Both sensations are different, but they are equally as powerful.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that the two girls who took up all the space in my heart turned out to be the same person.  I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you this sooner, but my words have failed me over the past few weeks.  I love every part of you, Marinette.  You have my whole heart, and you always will.”

Her hands trembled, and she felt tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.  She felt like she was going to laugh, cry, and pass out all at the same time.  The confusing swirl of emotions inside her brain were overwhelming.

“Tikki!” she said breathlessly, “what should I...he love...I can’t…what...I need...do...help?”

The Kwami flew up to her face and brushed the hair out of her eyes.  “I know it’s a lot to take in, Marinette, but you should go talk to him.  Adrien will help everything make sense again.  This is your moment.  You wanted a sign...here it is.”

“I...yes…okay.”

Marinette pulled out her phone and frantically texted Adrien.  She did her best to keep her messages sounding vague.  All she did was ask him if she could come to his room to talk, but when he texted back, her mouth went dry.

“Now is not the time for your speech to stop functioning.  You’ve been doing so well.  Don’t regress...it’s just Chat...it’s your kitty...you can win this battle.  It’s all in your head.  Let your words succeed...don’t let fear win.  He loves you just as much as you love him.”

She took a deep breath, shoved the index card back into the pocket, marched to Adrien’s room, and knocked on the door.  Marinette could feel the tears returning to her eyes as he opened the door.  She did her best to blink them away, but the nervous energy in her gut rendered her efforts useless.

She toyed with the edge of the sweatshirt’s front pocket as she spoke.  “I...I...there...I...can I some din?  I MEAN...can I come in and sit down?”

Adrien’s brows knitted together.  He placed a gentle hand on her back and guided her towards his bed.

Concern flooded his features.  “Bug, you’re scaring me.  What’s wrong?”

She tried to speak, but the words got caught.  Instead of trying again, she pulled out the notecard.

Adrien’s eyes grew wide.  “I can explain.”

She didn’t let him.  Marinette proceeded to read his declaration aloud.  When she was finished, she looked at him with an earnest expression.  However, he didn’t respond.  The room became shrouded with a tense silence.

“Now’s your moment.  Tell him...use your words!”

She gathered all of her courage and asked, “D-did you mean it?”

He nodded.  “Every word.”

“Is this what you were trying to tell me on the bus?”

“Yes.”

Relief washed over her as Marinette pulled Adrien into a tight embrace.  He hugged her back, and she melted into him.

Marinette finally found the right words to say.  “I love you, too, kitty.  I’ve loved you since the day you gave me your umbrella,” she whispered into his chest.

He pulled away from the embrace.  “But...that’s the same day I fell in love with you.” 

“I could barely function around you for years.  Didn’t you ever wonder why?”

“You always denied liking me.  I thought you just wanted to be my friend.”

“No.  I’m just a spaz who couldn’t tell the boy she liked how she felt.”

“Well, I can’t really judge.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve barely been able to talk to you.  Every time I try to ask you out, my brain stops working.”

Everything inside her came to a screeching halt.  “He never stopped loving me...he’s loved me all along.  Why did I ever think that he wouldn’t be receptive to my feelings?”

“You want to ask me out?” she whispered.

He blushed  (and it was adorable).  “Umm...yes?”

“Oh, kitty…”

“Well, I guess there’s no going back now...Marinette, would you go on a date with me?”

“Only if you’ll kiss me.”

“That can definitely be arranged, my lady.”

He initiated the kiss, but the second his lips were on hers, she was lost in a sea of bliss.  Marinette snaked her hands around his neck and toyed with the hair on the back of his head.  When they pulled apart, she immediately found herself wanting more.

She grinned.  “Do you think we could do that again?”

Adrien rested his forehead on hers. ”Will you go out with me?”

”Yes, Chaton.”

”Then yes, we can do it again.  It's nice to know that I'll actually remember the kiss this time.”

”Shut up and kiss me.”

And to her satisfaction, he obliged.

BONUS SCENE:

“WELL! WELL! WELL!” Alya’s voice boomed, causing Marinette’s eyes to flick open, “What do we have here?”

Marinette attempted to sit up, but something was snaked around her waist.  She looked down to see an arm draped over her body.  

The events of the past few hours came rushing back to her sleep-addled brain.  “We must have fallen asleep.”

“Oh, hey, Alya,” she croaked, noticing the phone in her best friend’s hand.

“That’s it?  That’s all I get?”

“Ummm...no?”

“Hey,” Adrien sat up and rubbed his eyes, “what’s going on?”

Marinette turned around and touched his cheek.  “We fell asleep, and now our best friends are here to interrogate us.  I’m pretty sure we’re being filmed, too.”

“Oh, is that so?  How about we give them a show then?”  He pulled Marinette close and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

She giggled.  “Stop...they’re going to use this footage against us one day!”

He looked up at Alya.  “Can I at least get a copy?”

“No can do, Mr. Model.  I’m saving this for your wedding.”  She flashed him a toothy grin.

Adrien turned to his best friend.  “Et tu, Nino?”

The Dj held up his hands in surrender.  “I’m on her side, bro.”

Marinette removed Adrien’s hands from her waist and got up from the bed.  “Alright, everyone.  I think it’s time for bed now.”

Adrien pouted and stood up.  “But we still have an hour before curfew.”

She pulled him into a hug.  “I’m very tired, and Alya needs time to grill me before I pass out.  We’ll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow on the bus and on our date.”

“Date?”

“You asked me out, right?  Or did you want to take that back?”

“Nope!  Not at all.”

She leaned in so their noses were touching.  “Goodnight, Adrien.”

He gave her another peck on the lips.  “Goodnight, Marinette.”

She gave Adrien a little wave as she left the room with Alya.  

Once they were back in their room Alya turned to her and put her hands on her hips.  “Will you finally tell me what’s going on between the two of you? And don’t tell me that was you being his ‘friend’.  Friendship does not look like that.”

Marinette paused to think of a way to tell Alya her story without giving away her secret identity.  She then smiled and sat down on the bed. “Yes, but let me start at the beginning. Sit down because this might take a while.”

AO3

FanFiction