#was going to dumb more sketches and stuff but eh

[mellohiizz]

experimenting and testing a different style hi ^_^ (it might look a little off i havent drawn anything this way in YEARS......)

[dysfunctional-doodle]

A Somewhat Important Notice/Blog Update!!!

I will be going on holiday for a week starting tomorrow, and so everything might be slow/paused for this time due to me basically being banned from working by my family lol (yes, they include the blog here as work, rip)

So this means that I might not be able to update my socials with new art! HOWEVER, commissions are still open! Just keep in mind there might be a week backlog. Feel free to DM me for more information and stuff, or drop an ask :)

I will be doing tiny sketches and doodles on physical paper in between, and if there’s enough I might post them here. I will be posting them on my kofi as small little updates though - if you want to see these dumb things then visit my kofi page using this link :)

I have a few pieces of art I worked hard to do before this deadline, so I’ll post those dw. They’re rough and experimental but eh

Thank you for understanding the Family Bonding ™️ I have to participate in

[kakusu-shipping]

2 and 11 for your Mario S/I!!

Thankyou very much for asking!!!!!

My Mario S/I ref can be found Here and Info Here

2. How similar is your s/i to you? Are they a carbon copy, completely different or a mix of the two?

A lot of my S/Is are just straight me with a little idealization and a little warping due to just the nature of growing up somewhere different.

For my Mario S/I, he's a lot smarter than me, which isn't to say irl me is dumb, just not very good at retaining information, or using it to further a conclusion. My Mario S/I is, and is also very passionate about learning about the new world he lands in. (I like to think if I got isekaied I would be too but who knows)

He shares my special interest in Mushrooms, a lot of my taste in games, Bulling as a Love Language, Generally Chill Go with the Flow personality type, Fear of Bees, and a handful of other small traits that I don't wanna list too long.

He handles a bad situation way better than me. Like I said he's better at rationalizing and drawing conclusions, he's a lot more calm in a high stakes situation, good at talking something down, and reacting quickly to chaos.

For example in the events that'd be eventually rewritten as Paper Mario, Emile was the one to throw Luigi out of the castle, as he hung behind to find Toadsworth. He talks Bowser into instead of shoving him in the prison in his own castle to instead let him stay in his own room is the castle, and spends the rest of the game slowly sneaking all the trapped Toads out of said prison and back to his room until Mario storms the castle and saves them. I could never do all that, but he could, because he's cool under pressure and smooth with his words.

Side note this is also how my Mario S/I gets top surgery; He takes a very neutral stance to most schemes Bowser does, so when he was brought to Bowser for sneaking around the castle, and learned he had the Star Rod, he asked if he could get a wish, sense that's what the thing's for anyway. Bowser agreed as long as it wasn't something stupid like "I wish Mario had the power to defeat Bowser". "I wish for Top Surgery" is considered a Selfish wish by the Star Spirits and would never be granted, but Bowser did it, cause why not. He loves a selfish wish and is very Trans Rights

11. Does you s/i have one outfit they're always seen in or multiple?

He does have multiple outfits! Like Mario and Luigi he has all kinds of fits for different activities, not sports he doesn't do those, but like, Casual Wear and such. I actually drew us in a bunch of outfits you can see Here!

Though also like Mario and Luigi, I do typically just stick him in the Overalls look, for consistency sake. Either that or the basic Sona outfit of Big Orange Sweater

Oh! But actually a while ago I drew him in a few of my favorite Power Ups from the Main Series, I never posted it cause the image was more long than wide, and the sketches were pretty Eh in my opinion, but I'll post them now just for the sake of putting out all my art, even the stuff I'm not the proudest of.

The main concepts are his eyes and freckles change color to match the power ups, though he doesn't use them all that often sense he's an Adviser and not typically in any kind of direct line.

[victorluvsalice]

Merry Christmas Squid!

@gaydragonwizards You asked for something with your OC Melody and Beckett, and I remembered one of our previous convos about Melody drawing some of their adventures with Beckett -- and hiding a few incriminating sketches featuring a certain Tzimisce’s creations from their mom -- and decided to go with that! Hope you like!

--

“Melody?”

Melody looked up as Becket approached them. “What are you doing?” he continued, tilting his head at their little notebook. “I thought I was the designated note-taker in our little duo.”

Melody grinned and held up the book, revealing a sketch of a rather disturbing creature with blades instead of hands and a mouthful of knife-like teeth. “Ah, I see,” he said with a nod. “Indulging in the visual arts. Suppose I should be grateful you’re not spraying it all over the walls.”

Melody smirked. “I could.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Beckett said, in the tones of someone who fully expected to come in one evening and find the cabin just a blaze of interesting colors. He took a moment to study the drawing more closely. “It is very good, though. . .have you been doing these the whole trip?”

“Eh, about halfway through?” Melody shrugged, going back to their drawing. “Just – sometimes it’s quiet, and it’s something to do.” They poked their tongue out of the side of their mouth as they added some shading. “So I can remember the trip.”

“I’m surprised you think you’ll need help with that,” Beckett noted with a smirk. “You’re supposed to be the young whippersnapper here. Leave the memory loss to those of us who have been around a few centuries.”

Melody directed the tongue at Beckett. “I want souvenirs that aren’t your dumb notes.”

“My notes are never dumb. Often strange, many times baffling, and every so often verging on the absolutely ridiculous, but never dumb.” His expression softened a bit. “But by that same point, I understand the urge to keep a record. Perhaps our methods are different, but I get wanting to have something physical to look back on. And it’s been quite the journey, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Melody agreed, grinning. “Why I wanna draw some of it. So I can show everybody back home. Since, you know, you don’t have a camera on ya when we go out.”

“It’s a potential Masquerade violation if I take a picture of the wrong thing,” Beckett reminded them.

“Yeah, but you could take pictures of other stuff. We’ve been around just regular statues and shit.”

“That is a point. . .but on the other hand, I’m not exactly the best at developing film, and my attempts to learn how cellphone cameras work have more often than not led to me photographing my own thumb,” Beckett confessed with a chuckle. “So I wouldn’t rely on me for a visual record of our adventures.” He leaned over Melody’s shoulder, observing the creature taking life under their pencil. “I think your drawings should fill the gap nicely, though.”

“Thanks.”

“Mmmhm.” He let a moment go by, then added, “I’d – rip this one out of your journal once you’re done, though. Keep it to yourself.”

Melody shot him a weird look. “Huh? Why?”

Beckett raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want your mother to know you and I personally tangled with the szlachta of Sasha Vykos?”

Melody stared at him for a moment. Then, slowly, they put down their pencil, turned back to the notebook, and carefully pulled the page out. “Uh – might leave this one with you,” they admitted.

“Wise choice.”

--

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 50

Ok so here is the Silencer inspired Chapter but obviously, I had to change directions with this in order to work with the story. I think this turned out really well. It took a bit of time and I struggled a little with some of it but thanks to my good friend, @naruwitch, I was able to get past that. I also may have taken a bit of inspiration from Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra to help me visualize how to write certain parts. Anyway I hope you guys like it :D

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

Chapter Fifty: Blackout

~The Grand Paris Hotel~

 "My good old friend, Bob! How wonderful to see you again," Mayor Bourgeois gasped, greeting the producer and shaking his hand as he walked to him with XY. The mayor smiled and turned to XY, pinching his cheeks a little. "And you brought little Xavier-Yves with you too!"

 "Uh my peeps call me XY, Mr Mayor," He declared, pushing his hand away and making a sign with his hands as he glanced to the side. "Xavier-Yves sounds way too-"

 "XY! Of course!" The mayor gasped, cutting him off as he excited moved his hands around. "Famous DJ XY!"

 He laughed, pushing them towards a table and chairs. The two took the hint and sat down before glancing up at the mayor.

 "It's such an honor for the Palace to receive such a fantastic artist and his father!" He declared, making Bob smirk. Of course, the mayor was sucking up to them. It's what he always did in order to make sure he had very powerful friends. Of course, he was dumb enough not to realize that Bob didn't see him as a friend. Not at all. Andre was just another way to the top for Bob and while he remained useful, Bob would keep him around but the moment he no longer had a use, Bob would drop him like a ton of bricks. He had no time for anyone he couldn't use. He smiled and turned his head to Andre.

 "Does that mean dinner's on the house then?" He asked, smirking. Almost instantly, Andre begins to stutter and panic as he didn't want to reject his friend but he didn't want to give them a free meal either. Seeing his expression, Bob began to laugh, causing him to relax a little. "I'm joking,"

 "You're too much, Bob," He laughed before pointing at him. "Always the comedian. Enjoy your meal. Bon appétit,"

 As soon as the mayor was out of earshot, Bob let out a sigh.

 "Eh, I tried," He muttered before looking at his son. "Ok, we need to talk about this special TV appearance you're gonna be making. We need to make sure it's a full success! After all, this is a major promotional event for us, especially since Jagged left the label and got the number one 1 spot again. We need to kick him off that throne and make him regret leaving. Now have you got any new material to premiere? New ideas?"

 "Course not, Dad. You know I never have any ideas," XY replied before the two of them laughed. "Besides, you don't need to worry about that has-been. He might be number one right now but I'll easily knock him back down once I release a new single,"

 "Excellent," Bob smirked. "So let's here what you've ripped- I mean come up so far,"

 XY took out his netbook and placed it on the table before turning to face his father and pressed play. The music that came out was repetitive and boring but Bob ignored them and listened it, moving his shoulders a little as he did before he noticed something. He held up his hand, causing XY to pause the song.

 "Isn't it a bit similar to what you were doing last year?" He asked, causing XY to blink at him before he turned the netbook around and pressed the icon for last year's song. He pressed play and listened to it, moving his shoulders slightly as he did before chuckling as he realized it was in fact similar to it.

 "Oh yeah," He grinned, glancing over at his father. "I guessed I ripped off my own music,"

 He laughed in an obnoxious way, causing Bob to join in with him.

 "Never mind. No one will know the difference anyway," He declared, not even fazed. Even if a couple of people noticed, there would be a hundred people who wouldn't and would lap up whatever they released. Fans were desperate in that way. "Image is king! What kind of visuals you got going? Any concepts?"

"Any what?" XY asked, looking confused. 

 "Ah, forget it. I'll use the same plan that's made me the rich man I am today," Bob declared, pointing his thumb at himself before moving his hand to the side of his mouth. He leaned in and moved his eyes around as if looking for people watching him. "If you're short on great ideas, 'borrow' someone else's,"

 The two of them burst into loud laughter, causing a number of people to glance at them with concern as well as disgust. It's not like the two were quiet about their plan to rip off other musicians.

 ~A Couple of Days Later~

 "Guys!" Marinette called out as she rushed down the steps, causing Luka and Ivan to look at her, along with Rose and Juleka. She stopped in front of them and held her legs a little as she caught her breathe before straightening up. "I have something I need to show you,"

 "What is it?" Rose asked, curious as Marinette took out her phone and brought up a video. Kitty Section surrounded her and looked at her phone as she pressed play on the video. Bob Roth appeared on the screen and began to talk about how his studio was looking for new talent and had created a competition to find it. The goal was to create a music video with great visual and musical skill within two weeks. The prize was getting to play live in KIDZ+ Studios on one of their shows. The video finished, causing Kitten Section to gasp in surprise. 

 "It's the perfect opportunity to showcase Kitty Section," She gasped, making Luka pull a thinking face. He could pull in favors with Jagged but he didn't want to use his dad in that way. Besides, this way they could prove their worth. It would also mean they could show off some of Marinette's designs as she had been planning to make some for them.

 "And the stage clothes you designed, Marinette," He added in, making her look at him as her cheeks turned pink. She giggled shyly before shaking her head.

 "If we all pitch in two weeks is more then enough time to make an awesome video!" She declared in an energetic way as she looked at them all. "Everyone in?"

 "Here we go!" Rose declared, holding up her arm before the five of them high fived together, shouting out their name before they pulled away.

 "Why don't we get started tonight?" Luka suggested, making Marinette look at him. "We have band practice planned anyway so Marinette, you can come over with your sketch pad and listen to us while we play. Hopefully, it will help give you inspiration,"

 "That's a great idea, Luka," She grinned, making him smile back as Juleka and Rose shared a look. "I'll just have to go and grab my stuff then we can head there,"

 "Hey, why don't we go ahead and Luka, you can go with Marinette to collect her stuff?" Juleka suggested, causing both of them to blush. She smirked a little at their reactions. "We can give Ma a head's up and start setting up the instruments,"

 "Um... sure? If Marinette doesn't mind?" He asked, causing her to grin and grab his hand, pulling him to the bakery as Rose shouted for him to pick up some snacks as well. Luka gave her a wave as an answer and walked with Marinette, keeping hold of her hand as he did. She glanced back at him and gave him a shy smile before they walked into the bakery. She let go of his hand and walked over to Sabine, gently kissing her cheek as she greeted her.

 "Hey, Mama," She smiled. "I'm going over to Luka's for a bit but I'll be home for dinner if that's ok?"

 "Of course, dear," She smiled before waving to Luka. "Hello, Luka. It's nice to see you again,"

 "You too, Mrs Ch- I mean Sabine," He replied, correcting himself as Marinette walked back over to him and pulled him into the apartment, waving to her father as they passed him in the back of the bakery. Tom waved back as the two of them climbed the stairs and headed up into Marinette's room. As soon as they entered, she went straight to emptying her bag and switching out her sketchpads from her practice one to her professional one. Luka rose an eyebrow as he watched her take out her pencil case and put in her bag as well. "How come you don't bring those ones to school?"

 "Lila and Chloe," She replied, making him frown. "Chloe use to laugh at my designs and even stole a design before. As for Lila, she had tried to get her hands on my work and destroy it. I managed to get it back before she did any real damage but since then I've left my professional sketchpad here. As for my pencils and pens, I've never brought them to school. They're pretty expensive so I'd rather not bring them to a place where people can easily get them. It's not like my locker is secure or anything,"

 "I'm sorry," He muttered, making her look to him before she shook his head.

 "Oh, it's not your fault, Luka," She smiled. "I'd actually trust you with those things. I know you would take care of them and you won't steal my work, even if you were into fashion,"

 "Of course, I wouldn't," He replied, making her smile a little. "I actually hate it when people steal art work regardless of what media it is. It's just wrong,"

 "Yeah, it is," She nodded, zipping up her bag and putting it on. "Well, I have everything I need so let's go get some snacks,"

 "Sounds good to me," He smiled, making her smile back. The two of them headed back downstairs and went to grab some pastries. Sabine came over and handed them a bag each, making Luka smile. "Thank you,"

 "There should be enough for everyone," She replied, making him smile a little more before Marinette thanked her and said goodbye. Luka waved as they left the bakery and walked towards the Seine in a comfortable silence. Marinette was happily humming a little bit, making him smile a little.

 "What?" She asked as she caught his glance. He chuckled and gently ruffled her hair, making her giggle.

 "You seem happy," He smiled, making her blush a little before she smiled shyly at him.

 "I am," She replied, playing with the straps of her bag. "I get to design awesome costumes for an awesome musician... I mean awesome musicians!"

 "I'm glad you're designing stuff for us, Marinette," He smiled, making her look at him. "I love your designs. They're always so authentic and original. You capture people's songs and turn them into beautiful designs,"

 "Luka," She gasped, blushing. "I-I'm glad you like them,"

 "Of course, I do," He smiled as they came to the liberty. Rose waved to them as Luka opened the gate on the plank and gestured for Marinette to step across. She smiled shyly at him and climbed onto the ship. He followed, closing the gate behind them as Juleka did a sound test on her bass. His guitar was leaning against the side, waiting for him to play it. "We bring snacks,"

 "Excellent!" Ivan grinned as Luka put down the bag of snacks and took off his own bag, placing it to the side. Marinette took a seat and took out her sketchpad and pencil case as Luka crossed over to his guitar and picked it up. He slid the strap over his shoulders and plugged it, testing the sound and making sure it was tuned. He tweaked it a little before playing again and smiling as he was satisfied with the sound. 

 "Ready?" He asked the others, getting a nod of Juleka.

 "Yeah!" Rose declared as Ivan picked up his drum sticks. He clicked them together, counting them in as Marinette opened her sketchpad to the sheets where she had started to work on some concepts for them already. She took out her pencil as they started to play, causing her to look up at them. "You know I love unicorns and nothing makes me feel better!"

 She smiled and began to outline one of the mask designs she had before glancing up a little. Luka looked over at her and gave her a soft smile as her eyes connected with him. She blushed a little and shyly looked back at her book before she continued to draw out the masks as an idea began to form in her head. She turned to a fresh page and began to draw out the idea, sketching out Rose first. Once she had done her base drawing for her, she moved on to Juleka then Ivan and finally Luka. With those done, she began to design outfit ideas and play around with different masks. She wanted Rose's to be a little bit different to the others as she was the lead singer but she didn't want it too different as they were still part of the same band. She also wanted to make Luka's and Juleka's similar to represent that they are siblings. She glanced up again and found herself slightly mesmerized as Luka played a bit of a solo before quickly glancing back down as a light blush came over her cheeks. Over the next two weeks, she spend as much as time with them as she could, causing her ideas to flow onto paper as she listened to them to play. Luka would come over to her during the breaks and take a look at the drawings. He helped her pick out which designs she would create and during school hours, they would meet for break and lunch to talk over the ideas they had. She drew final designs for each of them. With Rose, she went with a primarily pink mask with dark details and an aqua green horn. She picked out rounded shoulder pads that had stars on them and a pink chest plate, that was cropped, with the kitty section logo on it. With Juleka, she went with a primarily purple theme but she put in hints of pink to represent her relationship with Rose. She chose a star design for Juleka's mask. She painted it pink with a blue outline. The pink was for Rose but the blue for Luka. For her outfit, she created a triangular shaped collar that extended over her shoulders and chest in a light purple shade. She decided to go with something subtle for Juleka as she was a quiet person. With Ivan, she took a bit of inspiration from Leatherback. She wasn't sure why but he kind of reminded her of Ivan a little. She created a circular chest plate similar to Leatherback's costume but instead of been a turtle shell design and green, she made it red and gold with a similarly colored Kitty Section logo in the middle. The straps that connected to it were a dark scarlet with a gold trim and with gold studs going up it. His mask's base was white but she drew out a design similar to flames around the eyes, coloring it red. The horn was a dark scarlet red and she had also added some arm guards with spikes on them. In her sketch book, she posed him with his arms above his head as if he was gonna smash something. She drew out his name like a brick wall and even drew a little bit of debris as well. She had done something similar with Rose and Juleka as well. Juleka's name was done in a curled style with the star in the back ground. She was stood with her hands in front of her and a shy smile on her face. Behind her, Marinette had drawn a flag with the kitty section logo on it and her bass guitar to the side. With Rose, Marinette drew her jumping excitedly with her hands stretched out in a claw like pose. Her name was drawn in a style similar to Juleka's but she had swirls around it instead of a star. With Luka, she had drawn him as if he was walking forward with his arms out slightly. She put lines and little stars around him to emphasis the movement. His name was drawn out in bold letters with little stars around them too and she drawn several types of lightning bolts. She had settled with a simple one that would cover his right eye in the same place as Juleka's star. His mask's main color would be white but the lightening bolt was blue with a pink outline. The horn on his mask was a metallic teal blue and his outfit had curved shoulder pads with added spikes on the edges. They were glittery blue with little stars inside them and a white outline while the shoulder pads were a light blue. His chest plate was the same color as the shoulder pads and had a nine pointed star in the middle. It was a glittery blue with a pink outline and a kitty section logo in it. She had also created him a fanned collar with spikes that was teal blue in color. When the outfits were created, she took them straight to the liberty and helped them get into them. Luka gave her a thumbs up when she checked his before she handed him the mask she made as the others put on theirs. She took a step back and grinned as they posed, making her laugh. They couldn't complete the video that day as she still had to make some props but the hardest part was done for now. That night she began working on the props and even managed to get a good amount done before she had to go on patrol. Luckily, she didn't have to make much as the liberty had some flags already up. She created a large rainbow with the kitty section logo in the middle of it. She added pink stars and purple lightning bolts to it to make it stand out more and she even painted up Ivan's drums with the kitty section logo and a beautiful butterfly pattern in purple, orange, pink, red and green. When it came to filming, Luka helped her set up the props and they put a purple back drop around the area they were to film in. Once that was done, the band got into the position and Marinette began to film. While she had been designing their outfits, they had been practicing the song and coming up with a few dance moves as part of it. Rose made a clawing movement towards the camera before Luka and Juleka moved side to side as they played. Marinette couldn't help but feel proud as she filmed them. Luka moved over to Rose and the two of them made clawing movements towards the camera. Marinette smiled happily as the song came to a stop before stopping the recording. With the main parts done, all was left was to edit the video and submit it. Marinette took home the camera and uploaded to her computer, editing almost straight away. It took a couple of days in between school, akumas and patrols but once satisfied, she invited Kitty Section around to watch it. They were really happy with it and it needed no extra editing so they submitted it to the contest before pulling Marinette in for a group hug.

 ~Couple of Days after the Contest ended~

 "And nothing makes me feel better!" Rose sang as the song finished before she held up her fingers in a peace sign. 

 "Wow! This is so awesome," Luka gasped. He hadn't felt this energetic in a while but it was hard not to. Everyone was so excited about the contest and they had been practicing pretty much non stop for the last two weeks but it didn't feel like a chore. It was fun and exciting. "We're so in the moment! This song is fun and totally sincere!"

 He smiled before glancing over Marinette, who was sat on the sofa. She was looking at her phone but her expression was one of worry and sadness. Luka frowned a little before walking over to her.

 "Hey, Marinette," He stated, causing her to look up at him as he sat down. "Still no news about the contest?"

 "Maybe they didn't like our song," She replied, looking sad. Luka instantly placed his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

 "They must have received a ton of videos," He explained. "They probably haven't made their pick yet,"

 She gave him a small smile and nodded a little as his words reassured her. Of course, lots of other musicians had entered. It was the chance of a life time after all.

 "Uh oh," Ivan gasped, making them both look to him as he stared out of the window before he looked back at them. "You better take a look at this, guys!"

 Marinette and Luka looked at each other before jumping up and moving over to one of the other portholes before glancing out as Rose and Juleka moved to the other one and did the same. The screen on the TVi studio was showing a performance by XY but to their horror, it looked stupidly similar to their video. Marinette quickly took out her phone and pulled up the live stream to play it, showing XY playing a really bad version of I love Unicorns.

 "Cause I love my unicorns and my fluffy blue bunnies too!" He sung while literally hitting the DJ deck he was using. Luka gritted his teeth as he glared at the video. The song ended with XY crossing his arms before it switched to Alec Cataldi.

 "Wow! Loving the new look, XY! You've really out done yourself this time," He declared, glancing at the camera as the so called musician came over to him. "How did you come up with a style that's so... original?"

 "It's all in here!" He replied, taking his head and making Luka let out a small growl. 

 "But that's our original style!" Ivan gasped as Marinette gripped the phone tightly.

 "Your unicorn and your mask," Luka gasped, looking at Marinette. He was annoyed on her behalf and judging by the look on her face, she was annoyed on his behalf as well.

 "That's your melody! It's your music! That's... That's not fair!" She declared as she looked at them. "That should be you guys up there on TV!"

 She frowned as she looked at them before turning around and glaring at the large screen, showing XY.

 "There better be a good explanation for this!" She declared, clutching her phone before she turned to the others. "We need to have it out with Bob Roth and XY! Let's head to the studio!"

 As soon as she declared that, the band nodded and rushed out of the boat. Luka and Marinette were in front as the other three followed them but Luka wasn't sure if there was a good explanation. To him, it was clear what had happened. XY had stolen their style and music. He wasn't really surprised since he had seen the way XY had acted towards Jagged and this was obviously his attempt to get back on the number one spot. They came to a stop as they saw the TVi building. Outside of the doorway were two security guards. Marinette took a deep breathe and stormed over to them with the rest of the band.

 "Can we help you?" One of them asked, glancing at them.

 "We need to see XY and Bob Roth," Marinette replied, making the men frown.

 "They're not here right now," One of them replied, making Marinette click her tongue.

 "Seriously?" She gasped before pointing to the screen on top. "They're right there on live screen!"

 "You're not allowed in," He replied again, making them frown. "You're not invited and the show's already started,"

 "But it's our show!" Marinette argued, annoyed as Luka frowned.

 "Not our problem, Miss," The other one answered, making them frown a little more before Luka turned to Marinette, who gave him an identical look. The two of them smiled at each other before turning to the others.

 "Come on, guys... we'll work out something else," Luka sighed, leading them away from the doors with Rose muttering something about not giving up. They walked down the stairs to the Seine, taking them out of the line of sight of the security guards. Since they were hidden, Luka stopped the group from walking and turned to Marinette with a mischief glint in his eye. Rose, Juleka and Ivan rose an eyebrow as they noticed Marinette had the same look in her eyes. "You think what I'm thinking?"

 "Find a way to sneak in and confront Bob Roth and XY?" She asked, making him grin.

 "Exactly," He smirked before the two of them pulled identical expressions. "How to do it though?"

 "Well, we need to distract the security guards," Marinette replied, frowning as she tapped her finger against her chin. Luka glanced over the wall and looked over at the building. The guards were still stood there but they were talking to each other. Luka glanced over to his friends and smiled as his luck vision kicked in. Ivan got highlighted then Juleka and Rose before he looked back at the building. The two security guards got lit up then the doors before he looked back again. Finally, Marinette got lit up.

 "I've got a plan," He announced, smiling as he moved over to them, causing them to look at him in surprise. "Rose, Juleka, you're gonna pretend you're been chased by an akuma, who will be played by Ivan. That should be enough to get security guards' attention then Marinette, me and you will sneak past them,"

 "Ok but how am I gonna be an akuma?" Ivan asked as Luka thought before snapping his fingers together.

 "Your kitty section costume. We're close enough to the Liberty to go grab it," He replied, getting a nod of everyone. "I'll go grab it. You guys keep an eye on the guards and text me if the show ends,"

 "We will," Marinette replied, getting a nod of him before he ran off. Tikki poked her head out of his pocket as he got closer to the boathouse. 

 "Do you think Bob Roth and XY will admit what they've done?" She asked as he walked across the gangplank and went below decks.

 "I don't know but we have to find out why they did this," He replied, grabbing Ivan's costume and mask. "It's just wrong,"

 "Definitely," Tikki huffed, crossing her arms. "They should be ashamed of themselves,"

 "Yeah. Let's get back to the others," He replied, opening his jacket so she could fly into his inner pocket. He had asked Marinette to create an inner pocket in his jacket for Tikki. Of course, Marinette had no idea that it was for a kwami but she did it for him anyway. He ran back to the others and held out the costume to Ivan, who grinned before he took it and put it on. He fixed on his mask before turning to Luka.

 "You sure this will work?" He asked, making the guitarist nod.

 "It will work," He grinned, giving the drummer a thumbs up. Ivan grinned at him before roaring out loud. Rose and Juleka instantly screamed and ran up the stairs as Ivan chased them, shouting about how their friend had akumatized and to call Anatis and Lady Noir at once. Luka watched as the security guards kept their eyes on them. They told them it wasn't working but they also weren't aware of the full plan. Luka carefully took Marinette's hand and led her closer to the building, hiding against the edge closest to the door as they did. Rose screamed again, causing one of the guards to sigh in annoyance.

 "Stop messing around, kids," He declared as Luka and Marinette sneaked closer. "It's not going to work,"

 "We've got work to do," The other replied as the door opened and the two of them slipped inside. "So get out of here and go watch the show at home,"

 The door closed as Marinette and Luka looked around. The lobby was completely empty, making their plan a lot easier. They walked over to the lifts and pressed the call button, causing one of the doors to open. They got inside and pressed the button for the studio that XY was in. The door's closed and the lift began to move up. Marinette turned to Luka and gave him a smile.

 "That was a great plan, Luka," She grinned, making him smile.

 "Wouldn't have been able to pull it without you guys," He smiled as the lift pinged and the doors opened. He glanced around as he stepped out with Marinette. They weren't sure where the entrance to the studio would be. They stopped as a woman walked by, heading towards a door. Marinette tapped Luka's arm and pointed at her before she disappeared into the studio. Luka nodded and the two of them ran over to the door she had gone through. They carefully pushed it open and peered in. XY was stood next to Alec Cataldi.

 "So, tell me, where did you get this inspiration for all this new material?" He asked as XY looked at him. 

 "Oh, it's nothing really," He replied, moving his head to the side. "I came with the whole song in like five minutes,"

 "In five minutes?" Luka gasped, annoyed. "He couldn't even sing it the way it was suppose to be sung!"

 "And his mask isn't even a good rip off," Marinette replied, equally annoyed. She glanced over and noticed Bob Roth stood behind the camera line. She rushed inside the studio and over to him. "Mr Roth!"

 He turned to look at him with a blank face.

 "My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng," She explained, making him frown. There was a hint of recognition in his eyes, causing her to realize he knew her but he couldn't place where from. "I'm the one who sent you the kitty section video!"

 "Video?" He asked in an aggressive manner. "What video? I don't know what you're talking about, Kid!"

 "Maybe I can jog your memory!" She declared, taking out her phone and holding it up to him as it played the video, causing him to look at it. "Look! The costumes, the masks, the music, the dance moves... they're all the same,"

 "There's no comparison!" Mr Roth declared, crossing his arms before he gestured to the phone as XY joined him, mimicking his father's pose as he looked at them with disgust. "This here is some amateur garage band. My son is a solo artist,"

 "Son?" Luka questioned as he put his arm around XY, who had started to smirk.

 "You guys play instruments, his music is all digital," He continued, pointing to XY. "Our unicorn is much more cooler and our masks are nothing like yours,"

 "That's not true!" Luka yelled, surprising Marinette as he glared at them. "You copied Marinette's costumes!"

 "And it's the exact same song!" Marinette added in, looking at the two thieves. "You stole Luka's music!"

 "Oh, come on! Let's not exaggerate now," XY stated as he looked at them. "We may have been just a little... inspired! That's all but I thought you would know that given that your father is a musician,"

 "Ah, that's right," Mr Roth smirked as he looked at Luka. "I thought I recognized you. You're Jagged's son,"

 "My father has nothing to do this with this!" Luka growled, making the two of them look at him in surprise. "And you weren't inspired! You flat out stole!"

 He walked up to XY and poked him in the chest as he looked at him in an angry manner.

 "You didn't design this mask!" He yelled as he grabbed the mask off XY and ripped it off him, causing the DJ to rub the side of his face in pain. "Marinette did!"

 "Look, it's not too late to do the right thing!" Marinette gasped, causing Luka to look at her in surprise. Even though he really shouldn't be. Of course, Marinette was gonna try and appeal to their better selves. She always saw the good everyone, even those who didn't deserve it. Luka was even sure that she probably still managed to see good in someone like Lila despite what she's done. "Just tell the truth and let Kitty Section appear on the show! That's all we're asking,"

 "Yeah," Mr Roth replied in a disbelieving tone before he pointed at them. "First, they'll want to be in the show then they'll be asking for a cut of the profits! No way! Never show or heard of Kitten Division!"

 Luka gritted his teeth as he felt his anger rising but Tikki gently pressed her paw to his chest, causing him to remember that he couldn't risk been akumatized. He took a deep breathe and turned to Marinette.

 "Forget it, Marinette," He gasped, gently grabbing her shoulder to lead her away. He didn't her to get akumatized over this either. "It's no big deal. Let's just go,"

 "No!" She gasped, pulling away from him. "It's not fair! I won't stand by and let my friends' work get stolen!"

 She stormed over to Mr Roth and XY as Luka looked at her in amazement. Despite the situation, he could feel himself falling for her harder then before. 

 "If you won't tell the truth then I will!" She threatened, surprising Luka again as she pointed to Bob Roth. "Right now! On the air! Live!"

 She stormed pass Mr Roth but suddenly grabbed her arm, making look at him and Luka to step forward as the urge to protect her kicked in.

 "If you do that, I'll tell them that you're the copy cats, not me!" He declared as she yanked her arm free from him. Luka gritted his teeth as his anger began to rise again. "I've got all of the music biz eating out of my hand! So who do you think they're gonna believe? Me or a group of nobodies?"

 He glanced over at Luka as he spoke, causing Luka to narrow his eyes and growl a little. He wasn't a nobody and neither was Marinette. None of Kitty Section were and how dare Bob Roth imply that they are. Mr Roth turned back to Marinette as he continued to threaten her.

 "You'll never have a future in this business! You'll never make another costume!" He declared, pointing his fat digit at Marinette, who stepped back. "And there will be no more music for your buddies! Because as far as everyone's concerned, you'll be the rip off artists!"

 He pointed at Marinette, making her flinch back as Luka flinched and glared at the man, getting angrier as he watched him. Not only was Bob Roth threatening Marinette but he had also stole their project and the way he was acting was reminding Luka of his step father. The way he towered over Marinette was mirrored how Issac would tower over Luka when he was younger. It was making him more angrier then he already was. How dare Mr Roth threatened the girl he loved?! How dare he steal her hard work and claim it as his own?! Sure, he was pissed that he had stole his work but he was more annoyed at that Marinette had been caught up with it. He growled as he gripped the mask in his hand, seething with anger.

 "I can destroy your future with a snap of my fingers!" Bob Roth laughed as Marinette looked up at him in horror. He laughed as she stepped away, causing Luka to growl again as he failed to notice the akuma that was fluttering towards him. "Not quite so cocky now, are we?!"

 The akuma entered his mask, opening the psychic link to Hawkmoth.

 "Silencer," The super villain stated, causing Luka's body to freeze up as he realized what was happening. "I am Hawkmoth. This man is the voice of evil and I'm giving you the power to silence him for good! All I ask in return is-"

 A buzzing noise interrupted Hawkmoth's speech, confusing both him and Luka as they heard it.

 "What?" Hawkmoth gasped as he wondered what it was. It resembled white noise but confused the hell out of Hawkmoth. He had never came across this before. Meanwhile, Luka gripped his head, groaning as white noise continued to filled his mind, causing him to drop the mask. He lifted his other hand to his head as it began to get louder and louder. He could hear Marinette yelling but it sounded so far away. "Silencer, I-"

 "Shut up!" He shouted, surprising everyone around him. It felt like his mind was going to explode. "G-Get out of my head!"

 "Luka!" Marinette gasped somewhere from in front of him but she still sounded really far away and the white noise was still around but he could hear something else within it. It was a voice saying something in a language he didn't understand. It seemed to be repeating something and it almost felt like it was trying to break through but he couldn't handle it. The sound was tearing his mind apart. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor as his body began to convulse violently. He heard Marinette's scream and he was afraid of what was happening but he couldn't stop his body as he fitted.

 ~Meanwhile~

 "Silencer! Answer me!" Hawkmoth shouted as he had no idea what was going on. He could feel extreme fear and panic coming from the boy and he could hear the white noise but it was dramatically reduced for him. "I demand an answer!"

 "You're not welcome here," A deep voice that definitely didn't belong to the boy replied, sending shivers down his spine before the connection was forcefully broken. He blinked in completely surprise as he hadn't called back the akuma nor had the boy rejected it and it wasn't purified. It had just been pushed out. He blinked in surprise before ordering his akuma to move around. He frowned as he used it's eyes to see what was going on but gasped in surprise. The boy who he had targeted was on the floor, violently fitting as Marinette Dupain-Cheng was trying to helping. Bob Roth was stood to the side, looking completely shocked while XY was backing away in fear. 

 "Go to XY!" He ordered, causing the akuma to flutter over to him and enter his head band. XY growled as the connection opened to Hawkmoth. "Blackout, I am Hawkmoth. These wannabe rock-stars are accusing you of stealing their original material. Well, I'm giving you the ability to take away something from them. All I ask in return is for you to get me Anatis' and Lady Noir' miraculous and find out what happened to that boy. Do we have a deal?"

 "Yes, Hawkmoth," XY replied, accepting the power.

 ~Back to Marinette~

 "Do you have any idea-" XY stated as Luka suddenly groaned, causing the three of them to look at him as he gripped his head, dropping the rip off mask as he did. Marinette gasped as she saw it had turned black. She rushed over to him as he stepped back and groaned. 

 "Luka!" She gasped, worried. "Luka! Listen to me, you don't need-"

 "Shut up!" He shouted, gripping his hair as his face screwed up in pain. She covered her mouth as she wasn't sure what to do. "Get out of my head!"

 "Luka!" She gasped, going to encourage him but his eyes suddenly rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor, convulsing violent. She let out a scream and rushed to his side. She grabbed his head as tears filled her eyes before she looked up at Mr Roth and XY. "Phone an ambulance!"

 Bob stepped back in fear as Luka continued to fit. Marinette tried to calm herself as best as she could. Since Mr Roth and XY weren't helping, she grabbed her phone and dialed 112. The phone rang for a few seconds before it answered.

 "Hello! I need an ambulance!" She gasped in a panicked voice. The woman on the phone told her to take a deep breathe and explain the situation. Marinette took one. "It's my friend. He's having some kind of fit. He needs medical-"

 "Yes, Hawkmoth," XY suddenly declared, causing her to gasp and look over as he got consumed by the purple smog before some kind of shock wave exploded from him, knocking everyone back and plunging everyone in darkness as the purple smog disappeared. Marinette pushed herself up and looked at her phone, gasping as she saw it was now dead before she looked over at Luka. He had stopped fitting but his eyes were still rolled up and he didn't appear to be responsive. Marinette leaned over him and frowned as she wasn't sure what to do. She had to get him out of here. She thought about transforming but the sound of footsteps caught her attention, causing her to gasp as the akumatized XY walked over. He was one of the more scarier akumas she had seen. His hair was made of blue flames and his headband was black. He wore a black vest with spiked shoulder pads and a bright blue hem. Underneath it was a black fishnet top that covered some of his stomach. His pants were blue with yellow triangles and he had a black belt around around his waist with a lightning bolt shaped belt buckle. It was purple with a yellow line. The same lightening bolt was on his mask but the rest of it was purple. His eyes were light blue with purple scleras and he had black lips as well as fangs. His skin was light blue and he had black fingerless gloves on. His boots were black with blue flames on them and his fingers were skeletal. His ears were pixie like, had two black bands on his right arm and he had a bass guitar around his back that was back with a blue flame on it. Marinette gulped as he stood in front of her. "Hawkmoth wants to know what happened to your little boyfriend,"

 "Leave him alone!" She gasped as he leaned down and grabbed her, shoving her aside. "He needs medical help!"

 "I could crush him right now," He smirked, causing Marinette to get scramble and try to find something in the darkness. Her fingers found something, causing her to feel it. She smiled as she realized it was a fire extinguisher. She pulled it off and set it up as XY leaned over Luka. She aimed it at him and sprayed him with it, causing him to yell out as she managed to out his flames for now. She picked it up when it ran out and threw it at him, causing him to scream and dive out of the way as she rushed over to Luka. She slapped his cheeks, causing him to groan but he wasn't quite awake yet. She tried to pull him out of the studio as XY got back up. "You little- ahhh!"

 He dived out of the way as several rafters came crashing down as Marinette managed to reach the door. She tried to find the handle but it suddenly opened, allowing her to drag Luka out with difficulty. It wasn't that he was large or anything but he was a dead weight. She gasped as she saw to green eyes before letting out a sigh when she realized it was Plagg. She gasped and pulled Luka to the side before letting out a breathe. He groaned, causing Plagg to hide in her purse as he coughed.

 "M-Marinette..." He gasped, making her let out a sigh of relief. "W-why... dark..."

 "There was a blackout and we have an akuma who seems to want to know what happened to you," She explained, making him groan.

 "Need... Anatis..." He muttered, trying to move. Marinette helped him leaning against the wall as he groaned. "Feel.. sick..."

 "I'm not surprised," She mumbled, gently placing her hand on his head before her fear got the better off her. "Luka, you scared me. You started to fit and I didn't know what to do,"

 "I'm.. sorry...." He muttered, making her let out a small sigh.

 "It's not your fault," She replied as they heard a crash. She gulped as she realized it was probably Blackout. "Think you can walk?"

 "M-Maybe. Might... need help..." He admitted, making her nod. She moved over to him and helped him up, getting him to lean on her as they began to walk away from where they were, feeling the wall as they did. They turned the corner, just as Blackout burst through the door. Marinette's eyes began to adjust in the dark as she looked around, still feeling the wall as she did. She made felt a door and moved her hand over it, realizing it was a push door. She felt something on it and realized it was a metal sign. She moved her hand across it and gasped quietly as she realized it was the woman's toilets. She pushed open the door and helped Luka inside before helping him sit against the wall. 

 "Stay in here," She ordered, going to get up but Luka grabbed her hand.

 "D-Don't go," He muttered, making her frown. She had to leave him but part of her didn't want to.

 "I'm just gonna go on the roof and flag down Lady Noir or Anatis," She replied, gently placing her hand on his cheek. "You'll be safe in here as the akuma won't think to look in the women toilets for you,"

 "Me-Melody," He muttered before groaning. "B-Be careful,"

 "I'll try," She replied, biting her lip before she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'll get them to send paramedics as soon as they can for you and I'll be back as soon as I can too,"

 Before he could answer, she rushed outside and away from the bathroom. She hated leaving him, especially given how weak he was but she had to protect him. He was too important to her not to and she could keep the akuma away from him as Lady Noir. As soon as she was far enough, she transformed into Lady Noir and went looking for the akuma.

 ~Back to Luka~

 As soon as Marinette left the room, Tikki flew out of his pocket and pressed her hand to Luka's cheek. She gasped as she realized he was hotter then usual and his breathing was weak.

 "Luka, you need a doctor," She gasped as his breathing got swallow as if he was struggling with it. "Luka!"

 "I'm... ok..." He gasped, trying to get up but he fell back onto the floor. "I... need to... protect... her..."

 "Luka, you're in no fit state to transform let alone fight," She gasped, concerned. She had no idea what happened. She knew he was close to been akumatized but because of the seizure, he hadn't. Had his natural luck causes it? She wouldn't consider it lucky but in a backward way, it was.

 "I h-have to..." He gasped, pushing himself up again. "T-Tikki... spots o-on,"

 She got sucked into his earrings, transforming him in Anatis as he fell to the floor again. He pushed himself up and took a step forward, groaning as he felt dizzy. He felt the room shake, causing him to frown before he took a step forward and left the bathroom. He made his way through the building blindly, using the wall as a guide. He managed to make his way up where the shaking and crashes were coming from before he held a voice yell that he recognized as Lady Noir. She came flying through the doors of the studio and landed near him as the akuma stepped out.

 "Now you'll see why they call me Blackout!" He declared, taking out his bass guitar and strumming it. Anatis uses the last of his strength to rush in front of her and used his yoyo to block the attack as Lady Noir got up but he couldn't hold it back and was knocked into her, causing him to fall to the ground as he breathed in heavily as his head began to buzz again and feel like it was splitting. He could feel himself falling backwards into darkness as he began to lose consciousness. Lady Noir didn't notice as she jumped up and used her baton to redirect Blackout's attack. Blackout growled as she smirked at him.

 "Think you can get us a lucky charm, Annie," She grinned but frowned when he didn't reply. She redirected Blackout's attack before kicking him back and attacking him. "Annie! A little help here!"

 He didn't answer again, causing her to look behind her and gasp. He was slumped to the ground with his head bowed, causing her to gasp.

 "Annie!" She cried out, allowing Blackout to take advantage. He hit her with his sound wave, throwing her back into the wall but when she got back up, she gasped as she could no longer see properly in the dark. All she could see was Blackout's flaming hair. He laughed and began to walk over to her as she held out her baton but she couldn't fight Blackout and protect Luka while protecting Anatis. She had to get him out of there. She bit her lip and prayed that Luka would forgive her. "Cataclysm!"

 She slammed her hand onto the wall behind her, causing it to crumble as a hole appeared in, allowing sunlight into the building. Blackout cried out and jumped from it, allowing her to grab Anatis and lift him up before she jumped out of the building and to the next one. It wasn't easy but she managed to carry him as best as she could to Master Fu's. He was slipping in and out conscious, making her worry. She burst through the door, causing Master Fu to look up in surprise before he gasped and rushed over to them.

 "What happened to him?" He asked as he helped her get him to the massage mat, getting him to lie down. "Lady Noir?"

 "I d-don't know..." She gasped, tears in her eyes. She explained that she had been fighting Blackout and that he had tried to protect her from been hit by a sound wave. Master Fu frowned as he listened. "But it weaken him dramatically and I don't understand why! I mean I got hit by the wave but all it did was take away my night vision,"

 "This is most unusual," He replied, getting up and gesturing for her to come over to him as her ring beeped. He led her into a different room, just before her transformation dropped and turned to her as she handed some cheese to Plagg. Anatis may be semi-consciousness but that doesn't mean he wanted to risk their identities. He grabbed some equipment that made Marinette give him a strange look as Plagg ate his cheese. When he was done, Marinette transformed back into Lady Noir and followed Master Fu back into the main room. He placed the equipment down next to Anatis and got back up. Wayzz was sat with him as he breathed shallowly. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was pain. Master Fu walked over to the phonograph and took out the miracle box before bringing it over to her. "Lady Noir, you must chose an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Once the mission is over, you must retrieve the miraculous and return them to me,"

 "What about Anatis?" She frowned as she looked over at him. "Don't we need him to fix everything and capture the akuma?"

 "I will see if I can restore his energies and heal him but you must try and capture the akuma," He replied, making her nod. "I will give you one of my enchanted jars in case,"

 "Alright," She nodded before glancing at the miraculous. "I don't know these as well as Annie does but I do know that Blackout didn't like it when I created a hole in the building and sunlight came in and I could also use someone who can sneak up on him,"

 "In that case, I recommend the Rooster and the Tiger," Master Fu recommended, making her look at him. "The Rooster can use Flare, which allows them to create a burst of bright light and the Tiger can use Veil, which makes it's user completely invisible until they either touch something or they run out of their time,"

 "Those two would be perfect!" Lady Noir gasped before frowning. "But can I even bring two out?"

 "Normally, I wouldn't advise it but with Anatis out of commission this time, I am suggesting it," Master Fu replied, causing Lady Noir to nod and grab the two miraculous. Master Fu got up and walked out of the room as she went to the draw and put the two miraculous in their boxes before placing them in her pocket. She moved over to Anatis and knelt down next to him, gently moving his hair as his eyelids fluttered a little.

 "Don't worry, Annie," She whispered. "I'll find a way to fix this,"

 Master Fu came back in and handed her a jar before she took off out of the window and jumped across the rooftops. For her allies, she needed people who have a strong sense of justice and who can handle tough situations. She also needed someone who is a quick thinker and logical and she knew exactly who was perfect for it. She landed on the school roof and jumped down, heading straight to the computer room. It was a bit of a shot in the dark as it was a Saturday but she knew a number of students did extra classes on a Saturday if they weren't hanging out with their friends.  As soon as she entered the room, she saw who she was looking for. Max was trying to get the computers and Marvok to work again.

 "Max Kante," She called, getting his attention. He gasped and jumped in surprise as she strolled over to him. "I need your help,"

 "Is there an akuma?" He asked, getting a nod of her. "Anatis sent you to get help?"

 "Anatis... is hurt..." She muttered, looking to the side. "I've got him to someone who can help but I can't just let this akuma continue to rampage,"

 "I understand but I'm not sure how I can help," Max replied, frowning as Lady Noir reached into her pocket and took out the box that contained the Rooster miraculous. Max blinked as he looked at it.

 "Max Kante, here is the miraculous of the Rooster which grants the power of Illumination," She explained, making him stare at it at surprise. "You will use it for the greater good,"

 Max gaped at her in surprise before slowly taking the box.

 "Once the mission is done, you must return the miraculous to me," She explained, making him nod. "Can I trust you?"

 "You can count on me one hundred percent, Lady Noir," He replied, opening it. A bright orange glow appeared out of it and circled around him, causing him to gasp before it manifested in a small creature that resembled a rooster, who stretched and looked at him.

 "Hello, I'm Orriko," It stated, making him know. "Who are you?"

 "Um... hello, my name's Max," He replied, making Orriko nod before they turned around and frowned as they looked around. "Is something wrong?"

 "Where's the young master?" Orriko asked, looking at Lady Noir. She glanced to the side sadly. "Is he ok?"

 "He's with Master Fu," She answered, making the rooster nod. "Orriko was it? We need to face Blackout but I don't know much about your power so I can't really explain it to Max,"

 "No need to worry, mistress," They replied, making her blush a little before turning back to Max. "To transform, all you need to say is Orriko, Sunrise and to detransform it's Orriko, Sunset. The power you will have is called Flare. Calling upon it will allow you to create a flash of bright light with your arrows,"

 "Ok," Max replied, nodding as he slipped on the thumb ring. "Orriko, Sunrise!"

 Orriko got sucked into the ring, charging it up. Max swiped his hand over his hand, changing it's color to red and orange before the golden energy spreaded across his body, creating his outfit. It was most orange that faded in yellow but his legs had dark teal green on them. He had red shoulder pads and a bright orange neck area that was triangle-shaped. His gloves were a dark teal green with red spikes and his boots were yellow. He moved his hand across his eyes, creating his mask which was most red but with a yellow nose area that was shaped like a beak. His quiver appeared on his side and his bow appeared on his back before a red belt appeared around his waist, completely the transformation. 

 "Whoa," He muttered, holding his hands up as he looked at him.

 "Not bad," Lady Noir smiled, making him nod. "You'll need a name though,"

 "Call me Apollo," He smiled, making her nod. "What's the plan?"

 "We just need to pick up one more person," She explained, making him nod. "Would you mind waiting for me on the rooftop?"

 "Of course, Lady Noir," He nodded, making her smile. "Would you like me to do anything while I'm waiting?"

 "Well, you could study your user's guide," She explained, making him nod. "Your bow will have a build in phone and manual,"

 "Interesting," He replied, jumping up to the roof as she rushed to the art room and looked around. There were but none of them called out to her for the tiger. She apologized to them and rushed back out  before looking around the other classrooms. She frowned to herself as she continued to do so. She needed to find someone and soon.

 "Lady Noir?" A voice called, making her turn around as Nino stared at her. "Is everything ok, dudette?"

 "Are you alone?" She asked, making him nod.

 "Yeah, I wanted to work on some lyrics," He replied, making her nod. "Where's Anatis?"

 "He's... um... he's hurt... the akuma did something to him. I got him to safety but I need help," She admitted sadly, making Nino gasp before clearing his throat and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I can't defeat Blackout on my own,"

 "I'll help you as best I can, dudette," He replied, making her nod. "Though not sure what use I'll be,"

 "Actually," She muttered, wiping her eyes a little before taking out the box with the tiger miraculous before holding up. "You can be more helpful then you realize,"

 "Is that what I think it is?" He asked, making her smile.

 "Nino Lahiffe, here is the miraculous of the tiger which grants the ability of invisibility," She declared, making him stare at it. "You will use it for the greater good, if you are willing?"

 "Definitely, dudette," He replied, taking the box.

 "Once the mission is done, you must return the miraculous to me," She explained, making him nod. "Can I trust you?"

 "I got your back, dudette," He reassured as he opened the box, causing a magenta colored ball of light to appear and fly around him before it manifested into a small tiger like creature. "Whoa, what are you? Are you like a genie or something?"

 "I'm a Kwami," It replied, crossing it's arm. "The name is Roarr and I can grant you powers,"

 "Um Roarr, would you mind explain your power to Nino?" Lady Noir asked, causing Roarr to look at her before they glanced around, frowning. "Anatis isn't here... I know you're more familiar with him but-"

 "No worries, Lady Noir," Roarr grinned, making her look at them in surprise. "The boss talks about you quite a bit and since he trusts you, we trust you. Besides, us cats gotta stick together,"

 Lady Noir smiled before nodding. Roarr turned to Nino.

 "So, Cub, the transformation words are Roarr, Leap out and to detransform, it's Roarr, Crouch Down," They explained, making the DJ nod. "And then there's your special power. My specialty is been sneaky. I grant the ability to turn invisible. Since you're a cub, it will only last five minutes then you'll transform back... but if you touch anything before that, you will be revealed. To activate it, just say Veil. Got it, Cub?"

 "I think so, Dude," Nino replied, taking out the Panjas Bracelet and putting it on his hand. He glanced at it as it turned into a simple silver bracelet connected to a simple silver ring before looking up at Roarr, who nodded. Nino held up his hand and grinned. "Roarr, Leap Out!"

 Roarr got sucked into the bracelet, charging it up before a magenta light moved up his arm as he moved around. It created a dark purple suit with magenta colored strips around it. His boots were black with dark purple strips on them and styled as combat styles. His gloves and mask matched his boots and he had a dark purple hood over his head with two tiger ears poking out. His eyes were catlike and brown in color. The light created a purple belt that was long enough to resemble a tail, finishing the transformation. 

 "Whoa, this is so cool," He gasped as he looked at himself. "This is legit,"

 "I'm glad you're impressed," She smiled, making him nod. "You're gonna need a name,"

 "Call me Sabertooth," He grinned, making her smile before the two of them left the room and jumped onto the roof, where Apollo was waiting. Lady Noir walked over to him and greeted him as Sabertooth walked behind her.

 "Sabertooth, this is Apollo," She introduced, causing the boys to shake hands before Apollo turned to her.

 "I have analysed the user's guide but I also discovered that there is an ongoing live stream with Blackout," He explained, showing her on his bow. "He is demanding that we hand him the miraculous as usual but he is also demanding that Luka Couffaine be handed over to him,"

 "What does he want with Lu... I mean Mr Couffaine?" Sabertooth asked, making her frown. 

 "The akuma Blackout is XY. He stole music from Mr Couffaine," She explained, making them frown. "And Mr Couffaine found out. I think Blackout wants to get rid of Mr Couffaine so he can't tell the truth. What's the threat this time?"

 "He's threatening to plunge the city into darkness," Apollo replied, making her nod. "But he hasn't left the TVi studio. Instead, he's been live streaming from there but I don't understand why he hasn't left,"

 "Because he can't," Lady Noir replied, making them look at her. "He can't go in light,"

 "Then my power will come in use," Apollo replied, making her nod. "What's the plan?"

 "We need to get into the studio and confront him," She replied, frowning. She wondered how Anatis did it. "Let's go!"

 ~Back to Master Fu's Place~

 Master Fu frowned as he crushed up some herbs in a bowl to create an incense that might help with Anatis' condition. He was really weak and kept slipping in and out of consciousness. He added the crushed herbs to another bowl that had a charcoal disc in it before picking up the bowl and knelt next to him, picking up a fan and using it to waft the smoke towards him. Anatis groaned and moved his head, making Master Fu frown.

 "Luka, if you can hear me, I need you to detransform," He explained, hoping he could. He needed to talk to Tikki and find out what had happened. He had a feeling that it wasn't to do with the akuma. Luka didn't reply at first, making him frown. However, Luka groaned, making Fu look at him.

 "T-Tikki..." He muttered, making him gasp. "S-Spots... off..."

 The red light appeared as his costume disappeared, causing Tikki to manifest. Luka's head flopped to the side as Master Fu caught her but she flew out of his hands and landed next to Luka's head, gently placing her paw on his cheek.

 "Luka," She muttered, frowning before looking up at Master Fu. "Can you heal him?"

 "I can try but I need to know what happened," He replied, making her nod. "Lady Noir told me he got hit by Blackout's power but the miraculous should have protected him from any physical effects,"

 "It wasn't Blackout," Tikki explained, making Master Fu looked at her as she looked worried before she let out a sigh. "Luka almost become an akuma today. He and Marinette were trying to deal with a man called Mr Roth and the DJ XY stealing their artwork. Luka was willing to let it go but then Mr Roth threatened Marinette and Luka got so angry that Hawkmoth sent an akuma to him. It technically possessed him but something happened to him. He started to grip his head and told it to shut up and get out of his head. I thought he was talking to Hawkmoth but then he collapsed to the floor and had a seizure. While he did, Hawkmoth recalled the akuma,"

 "Oh my," Master Fu replied, frowning. "I've never heard of an akuma causing someone to have a seizure. Of course, I imagine him getting hit by Blackout didn't help. I think I may be able to restore his energies to heal him,"

 "Please do, Master," Tikki gasped, looking at Luka. "I'm worried,"

 Master Fu nodded and went into over to the equipment he needed to heal Luka's chi. He began to work using his crystals and gongs but it seemed to taking longer then usual. Tikki bit her lip as she watched, hoping that Luka would be ok. She didn't understand what had happened but she knew that he needed to be ok. She would never forgive Hawkmoth if he wasn't. Master Fu tapped his gong again before holding his hands over Luka's chest, reading his energies. He gasped as he opened his eyes before doing the action again, causing Tikki to frown.

 "Master, what's wrong?" She asked, making him frown as he moved his hands. "Master?"

 "It is most strange," He replied, making her frown. "I can sense Luka's aura but I can also sense a second aura or present. Are you sure the akuma was called back?"

 "Yes," She replied, certain. "It went into XY's headband, turning him into the Blackout,"

 "That can't be right," Master Fu stated, making her frown. "When a butterfly user recalls an akuma, it is purified but if it is rejected by the host, it remains charged,"

 "That means Luka rejected it," She gasped, causing Master Fu to look at him as Luka's eyes lids flick. "Can't you get rid of the second aura?"

 "No, it could damage Luka's soul if I did," He replied, making her frown. "I don't know if this second present is just his subconscious manifesting itself or if it is something possessing him. Either way, it is too dangerous, especially if it causes his seizure,"

 "You think this other presence might possessing him?" She asked, frowning as she glanced over at him. She bit her lip again before glancing back at Fu. "Do you think it could be Hawkmoth himself?"

 "I don't know, Tikki," He replied, frowning. "I don't know,"

 ~Back to Luka~

 Silencer, I am Hawkmoth...

 Luka!!  Leave him alone!

 Luka, you need a doctor! Luka!!

 I could do with a little help here! Annie? Annie!!

 You're not welcome here... Luka groaned and gripped his head as images flashed through his mind, causing his headache to feel so much more worst then it already did. He didn't understand why he was seeing them but he knew that they weren't his memories or even times where he had been in them but at the same time, he did know them. They seemed very familiar to him but he couldn't explain why. He groaned and gripped his head even more before slipping farther into darkness before he jolted awake. He slowly sat up as he heard a strange humming and could smell herbs been cooked. It instantly reminded him of the special potions that Master Fu made for the kwamis. He rubbed his eyes as he still felt tired and his brain still hurt but he instantly went on edge when he heard someone moving around. Finally paying attention to his surroundings, he realized very quickly that he wasn't in Master Fu's apartment or in his room at the Liberty as he looked around. In fact, he didn't recognize the place he was in. He jumped up but instantly felt dizzy, causing him stumble back and grip his head as the buzzing came back. He slid down the wall to the ground as he gripped his head. He had no idea how he got where he was but he knew he had to get back. Marinette and Lady Noir needed him. There was an akuma and he had to save people but he felt so weak and tired. He wasn't sure what was wrong but he knew something was. He couldn't remember exactly what happened but he had heard Marinette screaming. He gripped his head as the buzzing noise continued to get louder and louder until it got to the point where he had to cover his ears. He flinched as someone touched his arm, making him look up in surprise at a man who was knelt in front of him. He was dressed in clothing that was definitely not modern. In fact, it reminded Luka of the kind of clothing he expected a farmer from ancient China would wear. The majority of the man's hair was short but the part that was long was tied into a low ponytail. He wore a simple gray hanfu with loose pants that were tied just below his knees. He had a short robe over his main clothing that was blue in color and had short sleeves and had flat black shoes on that resembled martial art shoes. He was taller then Luka and good few years older. If he had to guess, he would say this man was in his early twenties. He looked at Luka, taking him in with his silver eyes, causing Luka blinked and looked again. Yeah, this man's eyes were definitely silver. That wasn't natural but Luka found he wasn't afraid of him. In fact, Luka felt like he could trust him and that he wasn't a threat. Despite not knowing that he had never seen him before, Luka found that he somehow recognized the man. He was extremely familiar to him. He felt like an old friend who he hadn't seen in years. He couldn't explain it but he instantly felt calmer in the man's presence. The man smiled gently at him before gently placing his hand on his head, causing Luka to gasp in surprise as he felt his energy been restored. He tilted his head back as his eyes turned completely silver before he slumped into darkness. When he woke up, he found himself back in Master Fu's apartment. He groaned and slowly sat up, causing Tikki to flutter over

 "Luka?!" She gasped, making him blink and look at her but to her surprise, his eyes were silver instead of his usual blue. She frowned a little. "Are... are you ok?"

 "I'm fine, Tikki," He smiled, standing up causing her and Master Fu to look at him quite confused. He glanced around before noticing Master Fu and realized how he got here. Lady Noir must have brought him but she was no where to be seen, which mean she had gone back to fight Blackout. He transformed before saying goodbye to Master Fu and leaving the apartment. He swung across the buildings until he came to the TVi studio. He swung into the building through the hole in the side of it and landed down, frowning as he noticed the majority of the building was dark. He frowned to himself and decided to proceed with caution as he walked through the darkness. To his surprise, his eyes adjusted a lot quicker then usual and while it wasn't perfect, he could see better then he expected. He heard yelling and shouting coming from deeper in the building and broke into a run as he followed it. He stopped at the door and carefully opened it, slipping inside. Two heroes he didn't recognize were trying to take out Blackout and protect Lady Noir who was down on the ground. Blackout growled and used his guitar to knock both of them back, repeatedly hitting them with the sound wave before they felt on the floor. He stalked over to Lady Noir who was weakly trying to get up. She got to her feet and tried to attack Blackout, only for him to punch her before he lifted her up by the throat, causing a wave of panic and angry to flow through him as she struggled against him.

 "Now to take your miraculous, Pretty Kitty," Blackout smirked as she tried to grab at his hand. He lifted his other one but Anatis threw the yoyo, wrapping it around his arm and pulling him back, causing him to drop Lady Noir as he fell. She gasped for breathe as Blackout to get up and growl as he faced him. "Oh, you're back. I thought you had ran off with your tail between your legs, Anatis! Well, now I can claim your miraculous!"

 "Not on my watch, asshole," He growled, spinning his yoyo around as Blackout ran at him, swinging at him. Anatis blocked his fist and knocked him back as one of the other heroes managed to get up and rush over to Lady Noir, helping her up. Anatis spun around and kicked Blackout, sending him flying before he threw his yoyo and wrapped it around some of the rafters before pulling them down on Blackout, causing him to scream before he rushed over to the last hero and helped him up, following the other hero out with Lady Noir. Anatis led them to the area where the hole was. "Is everyone ok?"

 "Annie!" Lady Noir gasped, hugging him and catching him off guard before she pulled away and cupped his face, causing him to blush. "Are you ok?! I was so worried,"

 "I'm fine, Kitten," He smiled, making her frown a little as he pulled away from her. He seemed off to her and why were his eyes silver? Was it from Blackout's attack? She frowned a little.

 "Are you sure you're ok?"

 "I'm still weakened from Blackout's earlier attack but the cure should fix that," He replied, smiling before he looked other at the other two. "I see you made some friends.,"

 "Oh, this is Sabertooth and Apollo," She replied, smiling shyly. "I needed help,"

 "Blackout is tough," He replied, frowning. "But hasn't followed us out,"

 "It's probably because of the light," Lady Noir replied, making Anatis give her a puzzled look. "It seems that he can't go in it,"

 "I'm guess that's why you picked the Rooster," Anatis grinned, making Lady Noir smile before he glanced over at Sabertooth. He realized he was using the tiger miraclous but despite that, it seemed that they were struggling to fight Blackout. He frowned as he thought about it. "What's Blackout's power?"

 "He can create sound waves that are is more then just shock waves," She sighed, making him frown. "He has caused a literal black out but it seems he is able to take away abilities from people but not in a traditional way. When you were hurt earlier, he took advantage and hit me with his sound blast. It took away my ability to see in the dark,"

 "I'm sorry, Kitty" He muttered, making her frown. "I should have been more careful. As a result, you-"

 "No! It's not your fault, Annie," She gasped, holding up his hands. "I was reckless,"

 "Still," He muttered, looking to the side before shaking his head. "We need a plan to defeat Blackout. Do we know what where his akuma is?"

 "In his headband,"

 "Ok," He nodded before throwing up his yoyo. "Lucky charm,"

 A pair of glasses appeared out thin air, causing him to frown as he caught them. Just what was he suppose to do with these? He put one pair on, gasping before taking them back off. Lady Noir rose an eyebrow.

 "Night vision glasses," He smiled before glancing around in the luck vision. He frowned as he couldn't see the solution before sighing. "But I can't see how to use these so let's review what we know,"

 "Well, he's taken away your ability to work out how to use the lucky charm and my ability to see in the dark," Lady Noir sighed before Anatis gasped and clicked his fingers.

 "Of course, he may have taken away our sight in a way but what if we could restore yours?" He asked, making her blink at him before she gasped as she realized what he meant.

 "Night vision glasses!" She gasped, making him nod. "But won't he be able to switch them off?"

 "These aren't modern night vision goggles," He replied, making them look at him. "They have special lens that will help you see in the dark. Admittedly, not as well as your actual night vision but they'll work and it also means that they don't have a power source,"

 "Meaning Blackout can't switch them off," Lady Noir gasped, grinning. "So what's the plan?"

 "You wear these but we need to work out what else we know," Anatis replied, making the others nod. "Let's start with what did I miss?"

 "Well, he freaked out when I used my power to create this hole," Lady Noir replied, making Anatis give her a confused look. "That's why I grabbed the Rooster. It has Flare,"

 "The ability to create a blast of light," He muttered, nodding. "I think I'm forming a plan,"

 "Do tell,"

 "Ok, Lady Noir, me and you are going to distract him while Apollo fires his arrows from a distance. When he's distracted with us, Apollo can use Flare to blind him..." He muttered, frowning. The three other heroes gave him a confused look. "But even blinded he could still grab our miraculous and use his ability. How does he use his ability?"

 "He uses a guitar," Sabertooth replied, causing Anatis to look at him before nodding.

 "Ok, revised plan," He nodded, grinning as he did. "Me and Lady Noir will distract Blackout and disarm him while Sabertooth.. you uses Veil and sneak up on him. Apollo, you're gonna need to use Flare but don't use it straight away. Wait until my signal,"

 "Yes, Anatis," The Rooster nodded.

 "Also, Sabertooth, don't use Veil straight ok? Try and get behind him first as you'll only have five minutes of invisibility when you use it," He replied, making him nod. "Alright, let's go!"

 The four heroes rushed back into the darkness. Lady Noir put on the night vision glasses and gave Anatis a thumbs up before they burst through the door. Blackout growled and went to blast them with a sound wave as Sabertooth sneaked through the shadows. Blackout gasped as Lady Noir blocked it with her baton and attacked him as if she could see in the dark again.

 "No! I took your sight from you!!" He shouted, shocked before trying to block Anatis' attack and Apollo's arrows as they heard Sabertooth move.

 "Veil," He whispered, completely disappearing from everyone's sight. Lady Noir knocked out the guitar out of Blackout's hand and Anatis threw his yoyo, wrapping it around the guitar and putting it towards him. He smashed it on the floor, causing Blackout to gasp.

 "How dare you!" He shouted, charging at him and trying to hit him. Anatis blocked his attack and kicked him back, making him growl as he fell to the floor.

 "Apollo! Now!" He shouted as Blackout got up, saying something about ripping Anatis in half.

 "Flare!" Apollo crowed, causing his arrow to glow a little before he fired it at the ground. The moment it hit the floor, it exploded into a bright light, causing Blackout to scream and cover his eyes. Sabertooth suddenly appeared as he grabbed his headband.

 "Lady Noir, catch!" He shouted, throwing it to her.

 "Cataclysm!" She shouted as she caught it, turning it into dust. It crumbled onto the floor as the akuma escaped, allowing Anatis to take out his yoyo and capture the akuma as Blackout slumped down, now completely docile. He walked over to Lady Noir and took the night vision glasses she was holding out, smiling a little at her before he threw them up in the air.

 "Miraculous Ladybugs!" He called out, causing it to explode into the cure before it spreaded over Paris, fixing everything then came back to the Studio and swarmed around, fixing everything in the studio before wrapping around the heroes as the lights turned back on. Blackout turned black into XY and looked around confused as Bob Roth came out of his hiding place. 

 "Finally!" He declared. "It took you heroes long enough to fix everything! Where's that musician?! It's his fault my son got akumatized! I'm gonna sue him and his little girlfriend,"

 Lady Noir let out a growl and stormed over to Bob Roth, making him blink as Apollo and Sabertooth crossed their arms. Anatis glared at him before glancing around and smirked as the camera was lit up in his luck vision. He tapped Sabertooth's arm and nodded towards it. Sabertooth smiled and moved over, turning it on and pointing it towards Bob Roth and Lady Noir.

 "With all due respect, Mr Roth! None of this would have happened if you hadn't stole Kitty Sections' music and costumes!" She gasped, growling. "That akuma wasn't even intended for your son! It was intended for the musician who you ripped off and if you had told the truth in the first place, none of this would have happened... but you can still fix this. You can tell the truth, Mr Roth,"

 "Are you crazy?!" He growled, causing Lady Noir to make a hissing noise. "Do you really think that I'm gonna do that?  That I'm tell the world that I stole Kitty Section's songs and that kid's girlfriend's costumes for my useless son?! Ha! Not if I can help it!"

 Lady Noir gritted her teeth as Anatis walked over and gently put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him.

 "Don't worry, Lady Noir," He smiled, making both Bob and Lady Noir look at him. "I think the truth will out,"

 "Oh and why's that, you overgrown beetle?!" Bob growled, making Anatis smirk before he pointed to the camera.

 "Because, Mr Roth," He smiled as Bob glanced over. "You're live on air,"

 "W-What?!" He gasped, shocked as Sabertooth waved at him. Anatis' miraculous beeped, causing him to move his hand to his earrings before he turned to the others.

 "Sorry guys. This bug has to get going," He smiled, getting a nod of them before Lady Noir turned to the other two.  He rushed outside and made his way into the bathroom where Marinette had originally hid Luka. The transformation dropped and he caught Tikki as his eyes turned back to blue. However, a sudden wave of nausea hit him, causing him to suddenly gag before he let go of Tikki and rushing to the toilet. He gasped as he threw up before slumping to the ground, causing Tikki to rush over to him. He groaned and curled up as his headache came back with a vengeance, closing his eyes as he did. It was too bright in there. Tikki gasped as she heard someone opening the door. She quickly dived into his jacket as Marinette rushed inside and over to him.

 "Luka!" She gasped, kneeling down in front of him. She gently placed her hand on his head as he groaned and slowly opened his eyes as she looked away. "He's in here!!"

 "M-Mari..." He muttered, making her look back at him. "Need... to..."

 "Ssh, it's ok, Luka," She whispered as two paramedics came in the bathroom. Luka felt his eyes getting heavily before he fell back into darkness. "Luka!"

 ~At the Hospital~

 Luka groaned as he opened his eyes and looked around. The room he was in was dimly lit but he recognized it as a hospital room. It was getting dark outside as the sun was setting. He let out a little sigh before glancing over to the side. Marinette was sat in a chair with a blanket wrapped around her. Her hair was messy and she was breathing lightly, making him smile a little as he looked at her. Next to her was Juleka and Rose. Like Marinette, they were also asleep but Rose was sat on Juleka's lap. A third seat was near the other side of his bed but didn't contain anyone. He frowned a little but the door to his room opened, causing him to look over as his mother walked in with a doctor.

 "The good news is his brain scans showed no damage and- oh," He replied, looking over at him before he smiled as he walked over. Anarka gasped and rushed over to him.

 "Luka! You're awake!" She shouted, hugging him. Her yells causes the three girls to jolt awake before they blinked over at him.

 "Luka!" Rose cried, joining in on the hug.

 "I'm ok," He mumbled, though his voice was a little horse. The doctor called them off and checked out him, shining a light in his eyes and asking him a number of questions. He answered them as best as he could before the Doctor declared that he was alright for now. He smiled at Anarka before walking out of the room. Luka sighed and looked at his friends and family. "S-Sorry for worrying you all,"

 "Luka, you don't have to apology," Marinette gasped before a dark look came into her eyes. "That piece of trash, Bob Roth, should be the one apologizing! If he had to the truth then you wouldn't have nearly been akumatized!"

 "I was nearly akumatized?" He asked, a little confused. As he thought about it, his memory was a little blurry even as Anatis. Anarka cleared her throat and gestured for Rose and Juleka to leave, joining them and promising to get some food for them and Marinette.

 "Yeah and you... you had a seizure, Luka," Marinette gasped, surprising him as she had tears in her eyes and a haunted look. "I was so scared and then XY got akumatized and he tried to go after you... I tried my best to protect you... Luckily, Lady Noir and Anatis turned up with some new friends and defeated him but we got separated and I was terrified you would..."

 A sob escaped her lips, causing Luka to reach out and take her hand.

 "I'm ok, Melody," He smiled, making her look at him and nod. "But what happened with Bob Roth? Is he still insisting that he didn't steal?"

 "N-No, actually Lady Noir and Anatis exposed him live on air," She gasped, making him blink. "And Jagged got involved. He's suing Bob on your behalf. He was here earlier with Penny and Adrien came by with Chloe and Kagami to see how you were. Ivan and Mylene were here yesterday and Marc came with Alix, Nathaniel and Aurore. Even Alya came by with Nino. Lila tried to get in but we blocked her,"

 "H-How long was I out for?"

 "A week," She explained, surprising him. "You were in and out of consciousness,"

 "I'm sorry," He muttered, making her shake her head. "Do they know why I had a seizure?"

 "They have no idea," She frowned. "You've had brain scans but they all came back normal. No damage was done either,"

 "That's good," He nodded as she linked her hand in his. "What else did I miss?"

 "Well, Mr Roth has offered Kitty Section a record deal and a place to play 'I love Unicorns' Live at the TVi studio as his attempt to deal with the damage to his reputation," She explained before telling him what he missed. Luka happily listened to her as she spoke before his mother came back in. She told him that the doctors wanted to keep him over night to make sure he was ok. He nodded and talked to them before having something small to eat. Gradually, Marinette and his family had to go home, leaving him alone. He let out a small sigh before closing his eyes.

 "Luka?" Tikki's voice caught his attention, causing him to open his eyes again and smile at her. She rushed over and hugged his cheek. "I was so worried,"

 "I'm ok," He reassured, gently stroking her head. She looked up at him.

 "Master Fu came by to see if you were ok," She explained, making him nod. 

 "Does he know what happened to me?" He asked, making her sigh. "Tikki?"

 "He has a theory," She explained, making frown. "He believes that the akuma made have clashed with your empathy and basically you got hit with a backlash of magic,"

 "Oh," He replied, making her nod as he began to feel sleepy again. Tikki gently placed her hand on his arm as he closed his eyes again.

 "Rest, Luka,"

 ~At the TVi Studio a Few Days after Luka got Released from Hospital~

 "And now please welcome the next big thing in town! Kitty Section!" Alec declared at the camera. Luka smiled and went to walk over with the others but Marinette gently grabbed his hand and said his name, causing him to turn to her. She had a light blush on her cheeks and was looking down shyly. He smiled a little and stepped closer to her.

 "Luka, did you really mean those things you said when you were recovering in hospital?" She asked, surprising him. He had talked to her a couple of times since waking up but she had explained that he had said some things to her during the week he was recovering from the akuma attack but he didn't remember what he said. He only remembered the day he probably woke up but the week before he had no memory of. Tikki explained that it was probably a side effect of the magical backlash he experienced but it disappointed him a little. He let a small sigh.

 "I'm sorry, Marinette," He muttered, frowning. "But I don't remember... what did I say?"

 "Oh, nothing," She gasped, blushing even more. "It was nothing at all. You were recovering from Hawkmoth's attack after all,"

 "I don't know what I could have possibly said. I just hope it wasn't anything mean," He sighed, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a blush on her cheeks. He felt Tikki gently tapped his side as if to tell him just to tell her. Sure, every time he had tried something had gone wrong but not this time. "Cause you're the most extraordinary girl, Marinette. As clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You're the music that's been playing inside my head since the first day we met,"

 He gave her a soft smile as she blushed at his words before gently pulling away and walking over to the rest of Kitty Section as Marinette blushed. He had no idea but he had repeated the exact words he had muttered to her when she had visited him. She had been so worried about him and visited him every day she could after school. Sometimes he was conscious and sometimes he wasn't. When he was conscious, he was kind of out of it, like he was drunk but she figured it was a side effect of the seizure he had. Of course, it was during this time he told her those exact words. It had caused her to have a mini spiral of panic but by the end of it, she had come to a conclusion. She was in love with him and judging by the fact that he had repeated those words while he was lucid, he may feel the same way.

 "T-That was a declaration of love," She gasped, blushing before looking at Plagg. "Right, Plagg?"

 "Yeah and one of the most gross I've ever heard," He gagged, making her chuckle. "Tikki would love it though,"

 She shook her head and looked up as Kitty Section started to play.

 "You know I love Unicorns! And nothing makes me feel better!" Rose sang as Luka and Juleka leaned against each other as they played. Luka moved over to Rose and the two of them made the clawing movement with their hands before he moved away from her and glanced over at Marinette, causing her to smile gently as her eyes met his. Yep, she was well and truly in love with Luka Couffaine.

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

Next Chapter: Chapter 51

[adultswim2021]

Squidbillies #1: “This Show Is Called Squidbillies” | October 17, 2005 – 12:00AM | S01E01 

Hey! a new show! And it’s even uglier than usual! Will this one be a “whole lotta fun” or a “nasty piece of work!” let’s find out together, shall we? Here:

Squidbillies had a few false starts. It was meant to premiere in late 2004 but an entirely different show called Perfect Hair Forever debuted instead, causing everyone to think that Squidbillies (teased in bumpers with production drawings and whatnot) may have just been an elaborate hoax. Then came the clowns, those patron saints of the April Fools holiday, and they brought us a stealth showing of a half-finished Squidbillies pilot. I covered it a bit in Ephemera corner and I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually watched this episode in that state. Not interested!

With April flowers come MAY showers, except this May MAY be more of an October, because that’s when the series proper finally saw the light of MAY, I mean DAY. Damn, I’m hella good at wordplay. Isn’t this fun? Anyway, Squidbillies finally premiered tonight, telling the origin of Early Cuyler, and his semi-legitimate son Rusty. Early is a jailbird about to fly the coop and reconnect with his little boy. The story isn’t really that important here, it’s more about the little asides into flights of fancy. This episode makes a point to introduce us to the Sheriff (voiced by Charles Napier in the first season, replaced by somebody who SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE HIM later on so much so that I had no idea it wasn’t him), Dan Halen (voiced by Todd Hanson), and give them little sketch-like moments that don’t actually have much to do with the plot. There’s also an extended interlude of Rusty being raised by wolves, which turns out to be a dream.

The show is a mixed-bag, humor-wise, and this episode kinda doesn’t really let you know what the show truly is going to be. It’s almost like a prelude to a series, rather than the first episode of one. It offers little tastes of each character. Dave Willis deadpans narration throughout and the entire thing feels like a cold open before the opening sequence is meant to start, but never does. I remember when Tim & Eric discussed the first episode of Tom Goes to the Mayor, they originally wrote an insanely long, plodding episode about Tom Peters moving to Jefferton, meeting the mayor for the first time, etc, and Bob Odenkirk urged them to toss all that out and just pick one of their regular episode ideas and do that instead. This kinda feels kinda like that tossed-out Tom pilot, a little.

I should say now that I’ve seen about a dozen episodes of Squidbillies and I mostly don’t like this show, but I do like a fair amount of it. I think there’s a handful of good episodes of the several I’ve seen. This one is above average. I like scenes that show you how braindead and insane each character is. The scene where Early robs a convenience store and then takes his mask off so he can use that same money to purchase things at the same convenience store is a good example of how the humor can work well on this show. Is that the first time that joke has ever been done before? Eh, probably not, but it’s still fairly solid.

I have a story to tell, later. Maybe. I don’t know. Okay, I’ll tell it now. I once spoke to a guy who worked on an Adult Swim show I will not name. It was not a show created in-house, unlike Squidbillies. and the initial idea behind the series was to have the main character to do stuff roughly as stupid as the above joke. Adult Swim HATED THIS, and constantly discouraged them from making the main character that dumb. I wonder if they felt possessive of that kind of humor or if they just felt like it didn’t land on Squidbillies or what, and I’m not sure what my point is bringing this up. I’m just noticing things.

I’m on a roll here with INSIDER STORIES, so I’ll share another one: I was working on a TV Show I will not name (because it never actually became a TV show, so it’s pointless). It was set in a store with security cameras, and one running gag was going be about a guy who was always in one section of the store hanging out, and the main characters are always just checking in on him and he’s doing something weird each time. The go-to example the creator of this show always said was “he’ll be like, eating a CORPSE on the floor!” I always HATED this, it struck me as enormously uncreative.

I bring that up for a reason: another element to this show is gruesome violence. I have a pet peeve with adult comedy shows, which I illustrated above in my story, and that’s when the punchline to a joke is just showing some kind of gory spectacle. There are two moments in this episode that are like this (the sequence where Rusty is raised by wolves is also violent, but I would say is technically gory, and also I think that sequence is funny and good). There’s a scene where a towns person wanders into the road and is immediately obliterated by a semi-truck, exploding into a red mist. The next is when Sheriff gets a hair treatment mistakenly infused with crystal meth, causing him to tear his own face off.

I don’t know, I just think gags like that only serve one purpose and it’s to shock. But on a show like this? Stuff like that happens pretty frequently so it’s not even shocking. There just needs to be another layer to it to come off as funny to me. I find myself only laughing at gore when it’s in a movie that mostly isn’t a comedy. Tarantino can place a squirmy gore scene in a movie and it’ll make me laugh uncontrollably. When it happens in Squidbillies I’m just like “oh, come on”. Just seems uninspired. I know jokes like that can get a strong reaction in most people, but I just find them simply too nasty.

But, I’m actually excited to watch all of Squidbillies. I know I’ll mostly not like it, but it’ll be nice to pick out the small number of good to great episodes. Honestly it’s sorta rare to have a show that you neither fully hate or fully love. That’s what this show is for me. It’s almost like modern Simpsons; a good one pops up every ten or so episodes. Hey, did you know I have a Simpsons blog?

--MY SIMPSONS BLOG!!!!

EPHEMERA CORNER:

The Friday Night Fix (September 16, 2005)

Somebody reminded me this existed so I’m doing this now! Okay! Please enjoy the above video which is very real, and very era appropriate.

Adult Swim didn’t broadcast on Fridays at this time, so it was highly significant to premiere the Friday Night fix as an online exclusive for those who couldn’t stomach not watching Adult Swim on Fridays. I was personally a snob about deigning to watch VIDEO on the INTERNET, so I avoided the Friday Night Fix like the plague. Was never a devotee at all. I don’t think there was an elegant way to watch this stuff on a television screen like there is now (you had to go to radio shack and buy a special cord that ran from your computer to your TV, basically; I actually did do this at one point before I ever owned a SmartTV. I remember using a DVD Recorder to record internet videos. Different time, man.

Honestly, I can’t really write about the fix with any kind of meaningful insight, because I turned my nose up at it. I guess they sometimes premiered stuff on there. My blog will only focus on TV premieres. Sorry NET-HEADS! So, I guess I’ll pathetically invite you to google it. I’m... so sorry.

MAIL BAG:

EPHEMERA CORNER - The Mouse & The Mask by Danger Doom (October 11,2005) - This classic album features an intro from Brak and Zorak, angry voicemails from Master Shake throughout because Danger Doom ignore his pleas to collaborate, and ends with a Meatwad cover of a DOOM song. Space Ho’s features Space Ghost pissed after Danger Doom hijack his show, and the beat will later be recycled for a Perfect Hair opening. And track Perfect Hair is dedicated completely to Perfect Hair Forever. RIP Doom :(

Hey, thank you! That’s two EPHEMERA CORNERS in one post! WOW! Hey, wait, I just streamed this and I noticed that--

Well, Zorak WAS on the intro of the Danger Doom album originally. For some reason, the version that’s streaming cut him out and only left Brak.

Damn! That sucks dude. I guess I’ll kill myself! Goodbye!

[cutegirlmayra]

I love your jealous Sonic and I think the most canon one is boom, so may I ask for Boom!Sonamy with jealous Sonic? If you need a more specific idea maybe Amy gets a pet like a puppy that takes up all her attention so Sonic feels left out and in competition and feels the dog doesn't like him and doesn't want to share Amy.

You can find me talking about this prompt at 21:16 on the Pajama Blogs!

Hehe, jealous Sonic, it would be more canon in Boom, you’re right. I agree and share your opinions lolol but I think this would be cute and I hope I do it justice!

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN! Sorry, you missed the grand opening and will have to wait till next time :( You can still ask questions though! But they need to be in accordance to the blog rules~<3

Prompt:

Comedy Chimp was in a hysteria of panic, the news had just announced the most popular celebrity pet: Tinkle Dipples, to be housed in Hedgehog Village while preparing to shoot a cameo in the famous Tommy Thunder movies.

Eggman and Amy compete in a tournament/competition to win the right to take care of Tinkle Dipples for the shooting, since his manager is going fangirl over Tommy Thunder, she doesn’t want to care for him and instead, has Amy--the winner of the tournament--sign some legal documents and take off to pursue her hero.

Sympathizing a bit with the manager but more excited about the cute, idol puppy, Amy takes her job very seriously as Eggman whines and complains about his loss and plans to do something about it..!

“I knew I should have played Dynamite Dalmatian but she had Rover Clover on the field, you can’t EXPLODE ROLL WITH MAXIUM LUCK ON YOUR OPPONENTS TEAM!” he wept and tossed his arms about as they wacked against his bed.

Orbot and Cubot just looked to each other, unsure how to comfort him. “Sir, perhaps scheming against Sonic and his friends while one of their prominent members is distracted could prove useful and make you feel better?” Orbot stated, as the two held up a pen and some graph paper, “Scheming always puts you in a better mood for evil...” He encouraged again.

Collecting himself and rubbing his massive hands under his glasses, he sniffled as he took the paper and started sketching. “Ohh...hoo... hoo...oh-ho? Oh ho! Oh-ho-ho-ho-wha-hahaha!!!” with soft cries that suddenly turned manic with evil, he scribbled more furiously and immediately cranked his back and threw his arms to an angle in his signature laughter.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were playing beachball when Sticks poked her head out of the local garage dump, “Heeeey, wait a minute!” she threw a banana peel off her head a second, “Volleyball and Beachball are the same things! Why are they called differently!? Do they respond to the same name!?”

“Guess you could call it Beach Volleyball.” Tails shrugged, “Though, technically, beachball is the thing you use to play volleyball...” As he continued, Knuckles spiked and knocked him down while he was contemplating it.

“Haha! Snooze you loose!” Knuckles mocked, throwing his arms down to point at Tails.

“Grr... Knuckles! We’re on the same team!” He spat out sand and dusted himself off.

“Oh.” Knuckles then gestured to himself, “Well, then I was awake and quaked!”

Tails shook his head, “Sonic, do you have to play on your own team?”

“What? I’m fast enough for two!” Showing off his amazing speed, Sonic zipped around the court to where it looked like Sonic was literally playing by himself, “I could even play all teams!” He snatched the ball from the ground and pushed--or lightly placed--Knuckles and Tails out of the field to then play the game by himself.

“Still seems a bit unfair, though.” Tails pouted, folding his arms.

“No, no. Shh!!! I wanna see which team wins!” Knuckles became excited, “Woo! Go, Left field Sonic! Ah! No! Watch out, Right field Sonic! Nooo..!!! Oh, phew... Wait-Sonic!” Knuckles went through typical spectators reactions, gripping his head, tugging on his hair, before cheering yet again, “Yeeeahhh! Good forward arm there, Left field Sonic! Rooted for your along! ... Hey, which one’s Sonic again?” he looked to Tails.

“At least you got the fields right.” Tails side-commented before stepping back up to Sonic. “Is this because Amy wouldn’t come down to the beach today?”

“Yeah, we can’t help it if I’m too good for the two of ya.” He twirled the ball on his finger, “Besides, Amy can’t--and won’t--part with that Tinkle... Dinkle... Winkle... whatever his name is!” Sonic fanned a hand out, masking his own opinions on it. “Amy’s obsessed with that thing...”

“Huh, I always thought Amy was obsessed with y-” Tails seemed to panic and jumped up to cover Knuckles’s mouth.

“Knuckles-!” he cried out, then lowered his voice to whisper down to him, clinging to his head and shoulder. “We’re supposed to pretend we don’t know anything about that...”

“Anything about what now?” Sonic was still doing tricks with the volleyball.

“N-nothing!” Tails waved his hands out and flew a moment in the air. “An-anyway, I don’t think I’m really in the mood to keep playing. I’ve got uh... some... some engineering stuff to work on! Bye, Sonic!” He waved and took off.

“Engine-erring!?” Sticks spat out a flat tire that had been thrown away that she was gnawing on to find the trapped gerbil that she believed made the car’s wheels turn and free it from it’s imprisonment at last. “Oh no, you don’t!” she jumped out and rushed after him, barking as he flew up and in a bit of surprised fright, tried to dodge her but she jumped and grabbed his foot. “You aren’t making nothing to torture these gerbils anymore!”

“W-wha-what are you talking about!? Le-let goooo!!!” The two flew off and seemed to crash somewhere.

“I-uh... better check on that.” Knuckles saw Sonic offering to share the ball with him but decided to check on his friends first. “Sticks! Wait! I’m sure that nice village of Gogobas are still safely in their pity parties!”

Sonic sighed, “Oooh...” And let the ball go to kick it, letting it roll as a Eggman spybot was hit out of a bush and flew up.

“Guess I’ll check on Amy then...” Sonic took off towards her house.

“Hehehe-huhuhu...” Eggman rubbed his hands together, sitting happily in front of his screen in his evil lair. “There we go... I’ll snatch Mr. Tinkle Dipples the second Amy’s distracted by Sonic!” He roared confidently in laughter. “My machine is almost complete! Orbot! Cubot!”

“Yes, Doctor?!” Cubot nervously saluted as Eggman turned around to face the two in his spinning chair.

“Make sure my robot pooch is fully operational!”

“Yes, doctor!” The two took off...

Sonic raced to the door, but before knocking, looked himself over in the reflection of a window and adjusted his quills, then tightened his bandana. He choked, loosening the bandana again and grumbling to himself something but the only audible line one could hear was--”Never learned to tie a tie...” before rushing back to door and knocking this time.

“Busy!” Amy cried from within.

His entire confident air deflated, and he drooped forward with his arms hanging down, “Oooh... Uh, it’s me! Sonic! ... Sonic The Hedgehog!” He puffed himself up just a little bit more, calling and leaning more towards the door. “Hero extraordinary! ... So much better than a puppy...” He folded his arms and mumbled the last bit to himself.

“Oh-oh... C-coming!” Amy seemed to scramble but Sonic could hear multiple layers of locks, chairs, wooden-door stoppers and more start being cleared away like a construction site. She peeked open the door, “Come in!” she chimed, “Quickly, quickly, quickly..!” She then rushed him in and put one single lock back on the door. “Eh, I’ll take of that later.”

“Woah, what’s with the, uh... high-end security arrangement, Ames?” Sonic thumbed-back to the door but Amy rushed over to a stool with a soft pillow on it, making the little puppy look like royalty as his tongue hung out and he drooled.

His eyes grew intensely large like in anime and shined, trying to such Sonic into his cuteness as Sonic felt the pull but leaned away.

It shone with heavenly aura as it’s eyes kept growing bigger but Sonic about-faced and turned to Amy, “Uhh... How’s the pooch-sitting coming along-” he was surprised to see she was completely captivated by the puppy and already squatting by the stool, gawking and taking pictures as her own eyes looked bigger than normal.

“Aww, cute puppy! Sweet boy! Look over hereee~” she cooed and coddled as it continued to pant, it’s eyes normal to Sonic now. “Who’s the cutest, wutest, sweetest, squishiest cheek boy ever?~” she then scrunched up his cheeks and played with them as they jiggled and wobbled to her touch, spraying drool everywhere...

“Oh.” He realized he was being ignored. “Alright, no worries, just the most dashing man of the hour in your house... No need to over-celebrate.” He frowned and pushed his arms straight down again. “Dumb dog.” he muttered under his breath.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!?” Amy’s big, sparkling eyes went right into his face, as though a brainwashed-slave to this puppy as he shook his head in intimidation at her creepy smile.

“N-no-nothing! Just how cute the puppy iswh! Is-!” he almost mimicked Amy’s baby-talk on accident. “Ehem, Amy, I normally would never do this under typical and honorable circumstances but in this case-” He shoved her hands to his cheeks, “I think you see my point.” he beamed.

“...Uh, I guess?” Amy took her hands off his cheeks, “You hungry or something?”

He deflated yet again, his eyes just saucers of white. “N... No.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“...Yes.” He shrugged down, and as she went to the kitchen, he glared and clenched his jaw at the puppy. He zipped over to it, “Listen you, I don’t know what fame has done to your head or anything, but I’m not here to stand for your pompous treatment of my friend!”

The dog continued to drool, one eye blinking.

“But I’ll have you know that I’m the big shot in these parts! And Amy just happens to be madly in love with me!” He pointed to himself and then picked up the constantly panting dog. “Not you. So you can wag your little tail and stick out your tongue somewhere else!” He dashed to one of Amy’s bird cages and shoved the dog in, causing a minor yelp from it but it wasn’t hurt, just surprised as Sonic tarped it and headed back to Amy.

Sitting at the counter, he then crossed his legs, “So-ho-ho~ Amy~ Have I told you about the one time I-”

“Yep.” Amy continued to work on the food.

“I-I didn’t even say it.” Sonic squinted his eyes in suspicion at her.

“Uh-huh.”

“...Are you even listening to me?”

“All done!” she poured something into a bowl.

“Awesome! You’re cooking, might I say, is way better than Meh Burger when it comes to the ol’Sonic engine!” he rubbed his stomach and licked his chops before Amy swiped the bowl away from him as he went to bite down. “H-huh..? What just happened...” he spoke with his mouth open, mid-bite again, before he saw the puppy had mysteriously wound-up on the pillow stool again, Amy bringing the deluxe dog food over to him.

“Here you go, Mr. Tinkle Dinkles~ Yes, who’s hungry? Who’s the biggest star in Hedgehog Village and the world? And the whole wide wittle world? You are~ You are, you good boy~” she petted him as he leaned his head back, thumped his leg at her praise and loving scratches, and then flopped over her lap to gorge himself in her home-prepared dog food.

Sonic leaned against the couch, narrowing his eyes at the sight as he muttered more curses for the dog under his breath...

He had a thought bubble that then showed a chibi-version of Amy and the pooch, her scratching his belly and loving on him but the dog faded and a Chibi-Sonic replaced it. Snickering and cackling as Chibi-Amy continued her smothering but the Dog was now whining with it’s tail between it’s legs, trapped in a Meh Burger costume with a sign that read: ‘Will pee for attention’.

Sonic continued to snicker to himself before the doorbell rang again.

“Oh?” Amy lightly placed the dog back on his stool and used a finely made napkin with ‘Fuzzy Puppy Buddies’ logo on it to clean up his mouth before heading to the door. “Who could that be?”

While Amy was distracted, Sonic sped over to the dog, grabbed it, pulled back the window and tossed the dog with a under-handed swing out the window. It hung in the air a moment before going, “Oof?” like a little woof and fell straight down...

Into Eggman’s hands...

“Hehehe, hohoho..!” Eggman placed a mechanical dog down, doing the exact animations as the dumb little creature in the first place. “Now you’re coming with daddy sweetie~ Who’s a big, bright, beautiful star? You are~ You are Mr. Tinkle Dipples~ Uncle Eggy has a nice place set up just for you~” he wiggled his finger to the puppy and continued to adore it secretly while sneaking away.

“I’m gonna miss Metal Pooch.” Cubot wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “Such beautiful destruction he caused...”

“Yeah... The steel heart mends, Cubot. Give it time to rust.” Orbot patted Cubot and helped turn him away from the sight.

When Amy closed the door again, she turned around with a shriek, panicking and tearing her house up looking for the dog. Sonic tried everything to get her to turn her attention to him, even momentarily throwing away his pride and setting up a floor-lounge with candle-lit setting with a rose in and across his mouth,... but she was too busy searching to see.

He spat out the rose and it hit her on the back of her head, “Ah! Sonic! We don’t have time for-...” Her eyes shrunk at the scene, and it might have been enough as their eyes met and romantic music started playing as he lifted up his foot and clicked a radio with his heel.

“Who’s a good boy..?” he flirted, but suddenly...

“BARK. BARK. I AM BARKING LIKE A CUTE, WITTLE BOY. BARK. BARK.”

“Oh my stars!” Amy raced to the window, “Mr. Tinkle Dipples!? What are you doing out here?” she had big, anime eyes again... as though love was blinding her from seeing the fakeness of the dog.

She cradled it in her arms after reaching down the window to get it.

“BARK. BARK. I AM THE GOODEST OF BOYS.” It’s robot voice was a dead giveaway, but Sonic was amazed to see that Amy kept caring for it, spoon-feeding it as it took the food but lifted its tail to dispel it out the other end.

“Ohh~ Did Tinkle Dipples make a wittle present-mess-le?” Amy put her hands to her hips as Sonic couldn’t take it anymore.

“HE’S A ROBOT!” He spindashed the Eggman robot as it powered down.

“Ohh... Goodest of b-b-boys...” and shut down.

“NNNOOOO!!!” Amy freaked out, crying and holding him in her lowered arms.

“Amy! Snap out of it! It’s a decoy!” Sonic put his hands on her shoulders and shook her, and her eyes returned to normal. “H-huh? Sonic? When did you get here?”

He lowered his eyes in agitation, but then the news came on.

“This just came in, T.W Barker is suing Amy Rose for a violation of her contract, that’s right, MR. TINKLE DIPPLES IS MISSING! AHH!! THAT POOR, INNOCENT BOY! AHH! AHH, THE AGONY! Amy’s reputation is ruined by the way and the world will never forgive her awful crime of LOSING THE MOST ADORABLE PUPPY IN THE WOR-RL-RLD!!!” The eagle was losing himself in his grief, as Amy’s eyes twitched and she brought out her hammer, looking ready to murder Sonic.

“Wait!” He dodged, “Amy, listen to me! YIKES!” he had to dodge Amy all the way to Eggman’s, where they defeated him to get the puppy back, who was still as still and in a loop-animation as ever, but wagged its tail and licked Sonic’s face when successfully brought to the manager.

Amy’s reputation was spared and Cubot and Orbot got Tails to fix Metal Pooch, leaving him to a happy life with Mombot.

She sat and stroked him, “THERE. THERE. WHO’S THE GOODEST BOY IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD BESIDES MY TWO OTHER EVIL BOY SONS?”

Metal Pooch continued the animation cycle, “I AM. I AM GOODEST BOY OF YOUR TWO EVIL SONS. BARK. BARK.”

Eggman frowned, watching from a window, “Ohh... Wait, how’d he end up there!?”

Cubot still visits to give him screws as a treat.

Amy looked to her friends, “Huh, I guess the moral here is to not let celebrities take over your lives and make you forget about your real friends...” She opened her arms up to everyone but instead, T.W Barker popped up, shocking everyone.

“And always keep your contractual obligations~” he winked to the camera with a sly grin. 

“Evenwhenabluehedgehog,that’sbeentheloveofyourlifeforwhoknowshowlong,isflirtingwithyoujustbecausejealousyisapartofacopingmechanismoftennotprescribedwithourcompany’sproductremembertobrushyourteethandsayyourprayerssuckersthisistotallylegitmarketingschemes.” 

he muttered under his breath as though the legalities at the end of a radio or t.v commercials.

END.

[vaguely-concerned]

The Mandalorian Chapter 11 reactions; the ‘the sea is a harsh mistress’ edition

- on first watch this wasn’t really one of my favorite episodes. I think it’s something to do with... one of the many things I love about the mandalorian is how it made the star wars universe feel HUGE. big and surprising and unknowable, there could be fucking anything out there man we don’t know. so having first bo katan show up and then ahsoka being set up right after (quite aside from who’s rumoured to play her, which is an entirely different can of wormy beans) in additon to opening the season on tatooine... eh. I’m not that into it, it feels like shrinking the world. we haven’t even gotten to see any other type of force user yet. it is only early/mid season tho so they’re probably going to pull some unexpected twists on us 

my opinion might change with rewatches too, that happens quite a bit with this show!

- 

🎶I’VE COME TO TALK WITH YOU AGAIN🎶

honestly I had kind of a hard day yesterday and watched this the next morning and kept pointing tiredly to the crest like ‘it me tho’ 

- I was unreasonably happy about seeing the calamari flan again hahaha he’s been keeping that shit in his pockets for a season and a half now (didn’t he pay with some at one other point too?)! also the sound effects for them are SO EXCELLENT, I keep thinking about how well this show does texture which is wild considering how it’s filmed 

- the warm pat din gave frog lady’s arm when he thanked her and said goodbye 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I love the small ways he’s thawing 

-

my heart ached so much for him at this point, he just looks so small and tense and lost, like a kid who’s lost his parents in a supermarket

(he keeps his hand on the blaster the whole time too so he knows this is a bad scene but now they’re right out in the middle of the ocean already soooo) 

- din’s very very very dry sense of humour is so blessed. ‘a bowl of chowder for my friend’ faklhfsadkjlfhsadkjhfsd

the baby’s look when he poked the squid thing with his knife too -- yodito’s like ‘dad is a wizard??’ haha. some good baby & dad stuff in this one 

- oh din... side quest boy, side quest booooooyyy

- the shot when bo katan helped him out of the water is perfectly mirroring the scene of bb!din being pulled up to safety by the mandalorian in the flashback, which seems Very Intentional

I Extremely Do Not Trust Her in the larger scale tho. I think it’s important that din knows now that he was raised in a very specific offshoot of the mandalorians ant that there’s some Stuff he hasn’t been told, but I also think it’s crucial to remember that her pov is not unbiased either and she, in fact, already has an established tendency to selectively share information with him to manipulate him into fulfilling her goals. (which he realizes because he keeps saying ‘that is not my mission, my mission is the child’ and I could not love him more). hell, I’m not sure exactly how ‘the children of the watch’ were positioned within death watch, but she was fucking death watch too for the longest time! and she hardly left for particularly noble reasons, she just didn’t like maul! she already lost mandalore like twice, do we just have to trust that third time’s the charm or what! 

she lied to him about the scope of the mission to force him into a position to do what she wanted (fully knowing he’s responsible for a child!!) and she called that ‘the way’ just as easily as the thing about not letting his bravery be forgotten! big red warning lights, NO! I think the thing is that din is having to find his own ‘way’ of being mandalorian (/how does one be a person exactly help?? relatable content, and he’ll get there in the end I’m sure he’s so good), but her way is no less fucked up to me than the children of the watch from what we’ve seen so far. she’s good at killing imperials though which is of course a mark in her favour

(considering that the episode gives her the epithet ‘the heiress’... yeah that’s probably a hint that she’s loyal first and foremost to her entitlement, getting the position she considers hers by right of inheritance. guess we’ll see if the text agrees with her)  

- ‘mandalorians are stronger together’ yeah that’s probably why the cosmic balance makes sure they’re mostly engaged in being at each other’s throats lol 

- so I might be feeling kind of sketch about these guys but on the other hand... when that one lady saved the baby and then promptly took off her helmet to reveal she looks like t h i s ?

you better BELIEVE I was ready to fall down on one knee and propose right then and there holy shit

- ...wow if he didn’t have the jet pack din probably would have just sunk like a rock and drowned there huh 😨 that armour’s pretty heavy, turns out

- in happier news: din has become so good at reading what the child is expressing and responding/labeling the feeling for him! that’s so important to his development! ‘I know you’re hungry’ and both telling and showing him there’s a solution! still a bit of an issue that he thinks he can inform the baby of things like it’s a reasoned adult and have it understand, but we’re getting there we’re getting there lol

- that poor lady guiding them in for landing and sounding more and more worried fhkasjdlhfkjsdlahf (and he fucking TURNS OFF THE RADIO or whatever he’s using to talk to her through sdkfhaksdfhjs he takes a precious split second just to cut her off asfdjhaslkdfsdfhsda I love my salty dad) 

- when the fisherman asshole tells mando he knows where to find more of his people there’s the tinkling bell sound in the background music, I think it’s meant to convey almost childlike longing for belonging and connection, for finding someone who’ll know what to do? 

- when they took off their helmets and baby looked up at din like ‘???dad what the fuck? can you do that???’. (or like he just sensed his father taking a shitload of psychic damage all in one go)

- the way din didn’t start breathing again until they got the baby up from the water and he had him in his arms... the way he held him... sladfhasdklfhsjakdhfjsakldhfsakjldhfsjkadhfjaskdhfskajdhfjsdakhfslakhfskladhfsakljdhfjskadlhfkjsld

that whole scene was like a nightmare, so desperately unpleasant, in a way it mirrors the way the mandalorians have been hunted down and pummeled these last few generations, this must sort of be what it feels like to him subconsciously 

- din isn’t particularly inflexible as a person, after the initial kneejerk rejection he did listen to what they said and is carefully considering it (he did say ‘this is the way’ back at the end!)   

- the baby’s babbling when he wakes up and looks around in the beginning sounds half like ‘baba?’ and I almost had a heart attack

- loved how greasy and awful and dumb all the empire dudes were (and the comedy on board the ship too it was good for me) 

- the boob plates huh. shit they’ve shown with the armorer that they don’t have to do that in any way shape or form and they still brought the boob plates back :/ I guess it’s so they match up with the rebels/clone wars look, evoking that ~*era*~ and everything, but I don’t have to like it lol  

- I feel so validated in my theory that the razor crest is symbolic of din’s sense of self  (now with beautifully added commentary!) after this haha (and also so so scared now they might be ditching it for a new ship eventually). it’s in pieces, his world view is going to pieces and can’t be patched together the way it was before, from what he knows he’s about to deliver the baby to someone else who’ll understand/love/deserve him better (I do think that feeling is still in him) and he doesn’t even have the certainty of the code anymore to fill the void. oh buddy. 

the discomfort I felt when we got back into the cockpit -- into where it’s supposed to be familiar and safe! -- and saw all the ocean junk lying around, making it feel weird and changed and dirty (it probably smells like rotten seaweed in there now :( no likey)... I mean it was also very funny to see the pilot’s chair held together with a literal fishing net, but please favreau leave my dad’s car/ego alooooone 

- baby laughing his little bum off at din catching the small sea monster before it got him and then munching it......... the ‘there’s nothing in this world my dad can’t fix’ safe energy.......... I’m so scared we’re coming up on something din can’t fix 

- knitwear in star wars: I didn’t know I wanted it, but I am ELATED with having been given it

- moff gideon’s amazing evil voice... back in our ears, in our hearts, I gleefully hate him 

- at least din’s armour is clean again after that (awful) swim? one must appreciate some silver linings along the way I suppose

- din goes straight for the main pilot’s seat once they get the imperial out of it, so he must feel really secure that he’s probably the best man for the job; he is genuinely a good pilot! (and after this I am wondering even MORE who taught him. who raised you within the mandos din??)

- even while everything is new and scary and falling apart we can live safe in the knowledge that at least frog lady and frog husband had a good day and will have a good and happy frog life together with their frog children

couple goals tbh 

(I don’t necessarily know how it works for frog people but I uh. guess they got busy quickly huh hahaha good thing mando didn’t turn up again until later)

[marriael]

1 Year Blogiversary

So. Hello people. Since 100 followers is still far away for me this was just me taking a chance to appreciate mutual, let me have this. 

All of these could be started with we've never talked/we haven't talked much so. Ehe. That one’s on me folks.

This is just a big, dumb, sappy post that I wouldn't recommend reading tbh.

Thank you to everyone who follows me, no matter for how long. It must get exhausting to see my dumb ass so often.

@wydyuto You were my first follower! When you first followed me it gave me so much confidence to keep going and making moodboards. Thank you so much! 

@igot7-penta-seo You've been dming me all these posts and I feel bad since I never send anything back. One day I will, I promise! It feels so long ago but I just remember reading all your pentagon stuff when I was getting into them and loving your writing and them even more. 

@mrchoiholic Alright since I’m dumb and don’t know when we became mutuals I’m putting you here. I remember my first interaction with you (technically) was I requested a Hoshi fic and then reblogged it because the title was incredible. Then I was Tea anon for a while, which was a good time. You’ve always given me caring older sister vibes even if you’re my ‘mom’. 

@cxvert-edits Oh my goodness hello! So I deleted my insta app. Since you’re mostly on there and I’m mostly on here we don’t really see each other much :(.It took me far too long to realize but I kind of sounded like an ass in our my last dm’s on here so. Very sorry about that, I didn’t really realize how my words sounded at the time. Honestly you were among my first inspirations for moodboards. 

@ladyluck852 Hey bub! I haven’t seen you around much but I hope you’re doing well. You’ve seen a lot of my blog and I hope you’re here for a lot longer. 

@mixtapejoon It seems like you started @/chulobangtan again so I think you’ll see this. I love reading all your stuff and since it seems like you enjoy writing so much I really hope you get the chance to again. With all the crap that went on with that guy and your school I hope you’re doing better now. 

@peachy-bangchan I feel like I don't talk to or about you enough which is an issue I must remedy immediately. I didn't know how popular you were when you followed me so I didn't properly lose my shit. You've really been here for a long time and never once have you stopped supporting me. Thank you, I appreciate that more than I could ever put into words.

@luvhannie Moodboard queen Anna! You’ve given me so much inspiration for moodboards. Motivation, too. I remember when you said you liked my moodboard, I felt amazing for like a week. 

@queerjunhui I just remember being so intimidated by you (still am lol) because you were friends with so many cool people. I think I sent you an anon once as Emotional anon? Maybe that was a dream or something. I started a conversation with you once and I’m pretty sure that was before we became mutuals, interesting. 

@middle-of-a-wonshua-sandwich Your URL will always be a mood lol. A lot of your more recent stuff has been Monsta X and non-kpop related but you still follow all my weird bullshit.

@stray-kids-stuff My first official stay mutual! You’re such a darling and I’m glad I found your blog and that discord. I hope you’re doing at least a little better now. 

@han-jxsungs  I clowned myself as ao3 anon that was fun lmao. OMG I just looked and ROSE HELLO MY DARLING ANGEL. If you didn’t get my last ask, just now it was super sappy and gross. I’m glad you’re back but if it gets too much again, don’t hesitate to leave. 

@gryffindor925 lmao hey Aaykta what’s up. I don’t think you use tumblr because wow you must be tired of all this kpop shit. I forget you follow me most of the time. If you ever thought I was curbing my tags to seem less weird at some point it was because I see her in real life and thought that me freaking out about this stuff was super weird. I actually had a dream last night I found your secret kpop blog. 

@finn-shitposts I honestly didn’t connect this blog and your art one until after you were revealed because I’m dumb. You seriously made the most amazing thing. Pun + Jilix, gah that was seriously amazing, and when I think about it I smile. 

@pikachulein Even though I had several very popular blogs follow me before you were the first one I seriously like, panicked about. I have an official offer for you. Feel free to decline because time zones are crap but french learning buddies? 

@ult-bee So we met in a discord server but I feel like I left it? I honestly couldn’t tell you what server it was though. Sorry, boo. Love you though <3

@dreamsevens You made the cutest Junhao drawing ever. You were such a sweet lil anonnie, too. We haven’t really interacted but I see you, boo. 

@jihan You’re both such lil sweeties! Honestly just a wholesome jihan blog, would recommend. Loved being an anon even if it was just a little while. 

@nerdynerdynerdy Iyoniiiiiiiii! You’re just the sweetest lil babe and I feel like I need to protect you. 

@visualgiggles I don’t know how I didn’t see you before we were platonically shipped, but I didn’t. I’m really glad that happened though, and that I had my brief anon stint. 

@3rachad Clowned the hell out of myself and revealed as CB anon (who I still am because I’m cowardly and dumb). Love the new hair cut bb.

@0hyja Ya seem super cool but also. You called Park Jisung rat boy and I don't know if I can truly forgive you for that  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ jkjkjk. I just feel like you don’t like me. One day I’ll get over that and send some asks or something. 

@nanjaemin I always forget you’re younger than me because you talk exactly the same as the other people on here. You baby. Love you darling, don’t let those give you shit.

@ethereal-lix I so often go to send you ask games and then forget entirely. I will make a better effort to interact with you! 

@soulclub My first aroha mutual! I really like seeing all your edits and thank you for co-creating the idea of Aroha Village! I’m trying to write a kind of tour thing for it but it’s not great so. This is embarrassing but you and Bex kind of meld together. I don’t know what it is but the best reason I have is my terrible memory.

@cherry-seungmin My stay host(?)! Wow going to your blog is such an explosion of happiness and Seungmin I love that. It felt like ages ago we were freaking out about Miroh teasers but it was actually March.

@ultkyu You were my lil stay anon! I feel bad that I haven’t made anything for 99kdh. It might take me a little longer yet but I will do it.

@uwujpgs Heeeeeey Bex. I don’t really know what to say :(. Actually. This is embarrassing but sometimes you and Rae just meld together. I don’t know why and then when I get you mixed up I feel bad. But yeah. Stay safe and know I’m figuratively sending you nice candles.

@jinniesmeow I’ll be honest I thought you didn’t like me at first. It sounds dumb but after I joined skzrequests you didn’t follow me so I was just like ‘:} ok.’ I want to honestly apologize because I was kind of ignoring you in the kakao chat. I don't have a reason/excuse for that. An official question for you as well. Feel free to decline because time zones suck but be my unofficial french teacher?

@staytion-nine Pitchfork anon! I have no idea where the anon name came from. I was pretty surprised when I saw the post about you getting a tumblr. Overall you’re just a little dol and I hope to know you better.

@kimwoojin-s I thought I was going to cry when you followed me istg. I’ll talk in the TGS chat. One day, eventually. Take care of yourself and try not to burn out lovely.

@bbywooyoungie  We have interacted exactly 0 times (i’ll send an ask soon, promise). Scrolling down your blog I now notice we have mutual mutuals. I don’t understand how I didn’t see that before, but ok brain sure. 

@re-biirthday Anyone who organizes an anon event is automatically a sweetheart in my book, so there you are. I really liked that sketch you posted today and I hope you’re doing well sweets. 

@xiaocity I saw you in others ask boxes for a loooooooong time but only followed you recently for some reason. Yeah, you just seem super dope and I’m glad we have something in common. Even if it is finding our bias intimidating lol.

@luvjisungs I’ve only seen you around recently but you are an absolute darling. Thank you so much for helping me out that night, I really needed it.

[simpsonsnight]

Episode #458

WHAT THIS?

American History X-cellent Season 21 - Episode 17 | April 11, 2010 Eh, not so good. Homer the Simpson fucks up big time by being rude to Mr. Burn’s stuff, because Mr. Burns makes his employees wait on him hand-and-foot (is that a phrase [it doesn’t make sense if it is?? {like where do the feet come in? because you walk around while waiting on people? that’s dumb}]) during a fourth of july celebration at Burns manor. Homer Carl and Lenny crash his wine cellar and go on a drunken rampage in his house. When Burns calls the cops, they find a stolen painting on his wall and send him to prison, where they parody The Green Mile and probably also The Shawshank Redemption. I’ve only seen these movies once each and honestly if there isn’t a large deep-voiced black guy being magic in it I won’t recognize the parody at all I’m sorry. The first act is passable, with enough funny ideas to keep me interested. The rest of the episode plays out a little limp. Smithers takes over the plant while Burns is away and tries to be a better boss. When his subordinates stab him in the back he becomes even more of an authoritarian than even Burns was. So the Homer Boys go break Burns out of prison and I guess he’s just allowed to not be in prison anymore. Huh. Anyway, this one is bad. THE B-SODE:

Robot Chicken: “Fridge Smell” Season 8 - Episode 11 | March 13, 2016 Was there an episode of Superjail where Jared takes over the prison and is mean about it? that would have been perfect. Oh well. This episode of Robot Chicken was interesting enough that I decided to stick with it, despite my historical hatred for this show. Here they had a three-part Green Mile sketch where Tom Hanks (voiced by his son or something) walks Michael Clark Duncan to the electric chair and instead of cutting away as they make the slow, plodding walk, they shrink the sketch down into a little picture-in-picture window. In the second part, Hanks forgot his keys and has to run back to the cell to go grab them and run back. Then there’s a third part. Oh man. Okay, so I did watch a little bit of this and there was a sketch about a killer vespa that seemed like it was okay. I guess my next blog will be me watching every Robot Chicken. Damn.

[mewmewchann]

Danganronpa Despair From the Heart (prologue) - Nostalgia

Every end has a beginning.

Shocking, I know. I’ve actually started a fic for this. Wow, it’s such a surprise. XD

Sarcasm aside, this was a long time coming. And I’ve finally started it! Yay!

What do you guys think? (please send me asks!)

“O-oh, is it on already?”

“Yes. Please state your number and name.”

“...Number 45. My name is [REDACTED].”

“What is your reason for applying?”

“Well...This sounds dumb, but... I-”

[REDACTED]

“Ah, so that's your reason?”

“I guess...It's pretty stupid, I know...”

“It isn't. And...I think that's all we needed to hear.”

“Really?”

“Yes. you will get a letter within the next week regarding your result.”

“Oh...Thank you.”

“No problem. And good luck.”

The girl clicked the remote, and the screen turned into a flurry of static.

“Really?” She said, turning around to face the only other person in the room with her. “THAT’S the one you want? REALLY!?”

The man nodded. “Of course. Do you have a problem with that?”

The girl pouted annoyedly and tapped her foot on the ground. “Multiple.”

“Well tough. We’ve made the choice.” He folded his arms. “The character designers already have an idea of what to do; costume and makeup department are already making sketches, writers already have backstory drafts up; you got a problem? Too bad.”

“Why didn’t I get to choose who it was!?”

“You already had a say in who got the callbacks.”

“Yeah, but that’s different!”

The man’s eyes narrowed, as if the teenage girl was a toddler throwing a tantrum. “Of course it is. You’re just lucky we haven’t fired you.”

“Fired me? HAH!” The girl laughed. “You can’t fire me!”

“Either way,” He continued, turning to leave the room. “That’s the choice we’ve made. Stick with it or leave.”

The girl rolled her eyes just as the man closed the door behind him.

“Want me to work with this?” She said, clicking the remote a few more times to reverse the footage on the screen, before pausing on a single frame.

“I’ll work with this.”

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

A voice suddenly cut through the dark silence.

What…? Ugh, my head hurts...What’s going on?

“Heeeeey, are you awake?”

Huh? Who’s…Who IS that? What-

“Hey, I’m talking to you, guy with green hair! Rise and shine, buddy!”

...I guess I should try to…

He reluctantly forced his eyes open. His vision was a little blurry, but from what he could see, a girl was standing over him.

“Ngh...” He put his hand to his head and slowly sat up.

The girl’s eyes widened as she shot backwards. “Whoa, okay!”

He blinked a few times to get his vision clear.

This definitely wasn’t his bedroom.

From what he could tell, it looked like he was on one of the beds of a school’s nurse’s office.

“Huh?” He rubbed his head in an attempt to get rid of his throbbing headache. “Where-”

“Honestly, I don’t know either.”

He stopped at the girl’s voice and turned to face her.

The girl had long blue hair – which faded into a lighter colour – which was secured with a star-shaped hairclip. Some of it draped over her right shoulder and a rounded spike had been styled at the top. She was wearing a sailor-style uniform with a blue collar and a dark navy bow underneath a light blue hoodie, as well as a blue skater skirt with a white stripe, white stockings and dark shoes.

She was looking directly at him with bright blue eyes.

“I woke up here as well,” She continued, gesturing towards another bed on the opposite side of the room to him. “I didn’t really know what was going on, and you were knocked out too, so...” She shrugged. “Yeah.”

He focused his gaze on her.

Something about this girl made him feel...Nostalgic.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear the part when I said I woke up here too?”

“...Good point.” He slowly eased himself off the bed.

The girl looked at him, a little concerned. “...Are you...Okay?”

“Well my head still hurts...” He replied. “I still have no idea what was going on, everything was black for a long time and-” He gestured towards the general area around him.

“Ah. Good to know we’re in the same boat.” She fiddled with her hair a little.

It took a few moments before some of his memory came back.

“Wait a second.”

The girl stopped and looked back over to him.

He continued. “Did…” He pointed in her direction. “Did you get scouted by Starlight Academy?”

“Uh...” The girl nodded. “Yeah.”

“That means...You’re an Ultimate student, right?”

“Oh! Yeah!” The girl smiled a little. “Somehow...Ehe...Wait, are you one too?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I got a letter from Starlight Academy a while back saying that I’d be doing my next few semesters here.” “Ooh! Me too!” She replied cheerily. “Maybe that’s where we are!”

“What, the academy?”

“Yeah!” The girl gestured to their surroundings. “I mean, this does look like the kinda nurse’s office you’d find in a school.”

“Well yeah, but...Why?”

“Hm?” She spun back around.

“Why would they do it like this instead of, y’know...A proper induction?”

The girl shrugged. “I dunno, maybe they just have a really weird perception of trust building exercises.”

“Yeah, evidently.”

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.

The girl cleared her throat a little. “I think it’s about time we introduced ourselves.”

“Oh. Right.” The boy nodded. “Well...My name is Rantaro Amami. And I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.”

The girl’s eyes lit up. “You’re an ADVENTURER!? THAT’S SO COOL!”

Rantaro laughed it off. “Hehe, not really...”

“Well it is compared to mine...”

“Speaking of. It’s your turn.”

“Oh yeah! Well, uh...” She paused for a few seconds. “I’m Kokoro Hikari, and I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student. Nice to meet you!” She offered a hand to him.

He shook her hand. “Likewise. So, uh...” He started to ask. “Ultimate Lucky Student? What does that mean, exactly?”

“Well, it’s kinda dumb...” Kokoro replied with a shrug. “The academy does a country-wide lottery or draw thing and picks a random high school student to attend. And...” She gestured to herself.

“You won that draw?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “It’s not really an Ultimate talent, though. They probably just hand out the title out of pity...”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly do anything to earn my title. A lot of the students here get their titles by excelling in their craft, right? I mean, look at you!” She gestured towards him. “You’re an adventurer, for crying out loud!”

Rantaro shrugged. “I guess.”

“Point is, you actually did something to get your title. You earned it.” Kokoro sighed. “All I did was win a draw.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

“Actually,” Rantaro said. “I...Think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Kokoro stopped. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s just...Your name, your face, your voice, I just...” He turned around to think. “I just remember it from somewhere, but I can’t quite put my finger on it...”

“Hm...” Kokoro said. “I do idol work I guess.”

Rantaro turned back to face her. “Idol work?”

“Yeah!” She nodded. “Y’know, stage idols and stuff? I initially picked it up as a summer job, but it’s kinda a part of my life now.” She laughed a little. “I mean, I’m not as popular as a lot of the idols you see, but I would rather have gotten into here for that than just a lucky draw...”

Rantaro slowly nodded. “...Yeah, that’s probably where I know you from.”

But part of him was still skeptical of that really being the case.

Kokoro shrugged. “Maybe.” She stopped. “Hold up.”

“Hm?”

“Well, you’re an Ultimate student and I’m an Ultimate student, right?”

“...Yeah…?”

“Well, there might be more Ultimate students here!”

“Really?”

“Going by the fact that both of us were scouted for this year, I think the rest of the class might be somewhere around.”

Rantaro put his hand to his chin. “If that’s the case...We should try to find them.”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah, good call.”

Rantaro headed over to the door and walked out, with Kokoro following behind him. This lead them to a hallway with some other doors apparently to different classrooms appearing at random on either side.

“So, where should we start-?” Kokoro started to ask, but was cut off by a voice from behind them.

“Why not start here?”

The two of them spun around to face the source of the voice.

The boy behind them was about Rantaro’s height. He wore a pair of glasses over his violet eyes and had long purple hair that was tied into a ponytail. He wore a light royal purple shirt – partially tucked into his grey shorts – under a dark purple short sleeved thin jacket with two breast pockets on either side, and wore grey fingerless gloves on both hands. He had semi-transparent purple tights and grey boots, and it even looked like his skin had a slight lilac hue.

He smiled a little. “You wake up here too?”

“That was quick...” Rantaro said to himself, before turning to the stranger. “Yeah, we woke up in that nurses office a few rooms down.”

“Huh.” He replied. “Looks like everyone here’s the same, then...”

Kokoro’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, everyone?”

“Yeah, I asked everyone. They all woke up somewhere here with no memory of how they got there.” He shrugged. “Pretty weird, huh?”

“Understatement of the century...” Kokoro shook her head and put her hand on her hip.

Rantaro shrugged. “At least we know now there’s more people here.” He looked over to the boy. “How many were there?”

“Well...” He tilted his head a bit as he thought to himself. “Counting myself and you two...Fourteen.”

“Fourteen people?” Kokoro asked.

“Don’t look at me, the school board were the ones who decided on the class’ numbers.”

“Hm. So, uh...” Kokoro continued. “Why don’t we get introductions outta the way? I’ll go first. I’m Kokoro Hikari, and I’m this year’s Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“And I’m Rantaro Amami.” Rantaro followed. “Ultimate Adventurer. And you are…?”

“Jasper Shion.” The boy extended a hand to him. “It’s a pleasure.”

There was still some air of mystery about him, so Rantaro was a little cautious when he shook his hand.

“Uh...Yeah.”

“Wait,” Kokoro said questioningly. “What about your talent?”

Jasper looked over to her. “What about my talent?”

“You, uh...Never said what it was.”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, Rantaro and I both said ours.”

“Mm-hm. And your point is…?”

“I think what she’s trying to say is,” Rantaro decided to ask himself. “Aren’t you going to say what your talent is?”

Jasper paused for a few seconds, staring at Rantaro questioningly. “...Why should I?”

Rantaro and Kokoro looked at each other for a few seconds.

“Uh,” Kokoro asked. “Do you...HAVE an Ultimate Talent?”

“Of course I do.” Jasper answered. “I mean, why would I be here if I didn’t?”

“Good point...”

“I do have a talent.” He continued. “I just don’t want to say what it is.”

“Why not?” Rantaro asked.

“I have my own reasons.” Jasper replied cryptically. “But I don’t have to say it if I don’t want to.”

Rantaro flinched back a little. Jasper’s seemingly mysterious aura had almost forced him to instinctively step back.

After that the boy in question immediately snapped back to normal.

“Anyway,” He said. “Why don’t you continue searching?”

“Huh?”

“For the rest of the class. I’ve already met them, but you two evidently haven’t.” Jasper pointed towards Rantaro and Kokoro.

Kokoro looked up to him. “…The man’s got a point.”

“Right...” Rantaro nodded, before turning back over to Jasper. “It was nice meeting you.”

He smiled. “Likewise.”

Rantaro quickly turned back around on him and Kokoro’s initial course and continued walking.

“Any idea where anyone else could be?” She asked.“I mean, it’s not like they’ll all be gathered in one place or something, huh?”

“No clue...” Rantaro shook his head.

“I could help you if you want.”

Rantaro stopped and turned around to see that Jasper was trailing after them.

“...Are you following us?”

Jasper shrugged with a deadpan stare. “I have literally nothing better to do.”

“Good point-”

“Hey,” Kokoro said from up ahead. “What’s this over here?”

Rantaro immediately headed over to the source of her voice, with Jasper following behind. Kokoro was standing in front of a red door.

“To answer your question,” Jasper said, very matter-of-factly. “...It’s a door. It’s also red.”

“Yeah! I figured!” She said. “But it has no doorknob!”

“Yeah of course it- wait it has no what.”

“Look!”

Rantaro and Jasper took a closer look at the door.

There was a large grey circle with the shape of what looked like a large chess pawn carved into the middle. And other than a decal of another chess piece – a king – Kokoro was right.

Rantaro looked over to her. “...Are you SURE that’s a door?”

“Of course that’s a door, dumbass.” A voice said from behind the three of them.

A girl was standing behind them, with blue hair tied in a ponytail and secured with a hairclip shaped like a pink wrapped candy, and fake-looking golden baby-doll eyes. She was wearing a white sailor shirt with a baby blue collar and a pink bow, a white and blue pleated miniskirt and blue boots with stockings with pink candy stripes.

She was glaring right at Rantaro.

Jasper rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. “Oh, god...”

“Huh. Polite introduction.” Kokoro said sarcastically.

“I don’t care.” The girl replied.

Rantaro sighed.

This will evidently be a fun one…

He decided not to rise up to the girl’s rude remarks. “Are you an Ultimate student too?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I? Don’t ask stupid questions.”

He was finding it very hard not to rise up to the girl’s rude remarks.

“Well then...I’m Rantaro. Ultimate Adventurer. This is Kokoro, Ultimate Lucky Student, and this is Jasper, Ultimate…...Uuuhh...”

“Don’t bother.” Jasper quipped.

“Could’ve said that earlier. Anyway,” He turned back to the girl. “And you are…?”

“Tsumugi Shirogane.” The girl introduced. “Ultimate Confectioner.”

“Ultimate Confectioner?” Kokoro asked.

“What, do you need your ears cleaned out or something?”

Well, Rantaro thought. Makes sense given her aesthetic. But you’d think someone who makes candy would at least try to be sweet or something, right? But with her…

He looked over to Tsumugi, who just scowled.

...She’s more sour.

“Anyway as I was saying,” Tsumugi continued. “Of course that’s a door.”

“There’s no doorknob.” Jasper replied, pointing at the door.

“Just because it doesn’t have a doorknob doesn’t mean it’s not a door.”

“There isn’t a keyhole either.”

“There is.” She replied smugly. “You three are just too dumb to see it.”

Jasper groaned. Rantaro decided to take the helm again.

“Well then, where is this keyhole?”

Tsumugi scoffed. “Why should I tell you? I mean, you’re not the kind of person I’d associate with.” She pointed at him mockingly. “With your tacky jewellery and your fake green hair.”

He growled a little. “It’s not fake you bi-”

“O-KAY!” Kokoro said loudly, detecting the rising intensity of the situation. “We will look at this door...Later!” She suddenly grabbed Rantaro by the arm and started dragging him off.

“Wh- hey! What’re you-”

She continued dragging him away as Jasper had started to also make his leave.

“It was nice to meet you! BYE!”

Kokoro stopped and released him after rounding a corner.

“Okay,” She said, just as Jasper casually arrived after them. “Looks like we’re out of earshot.”

“Um.” Rantaro turned over to her. “Why did you do that.”

“The situation was escalating and I panicked!”

“All she did was insult his hair.” Jasper replied. “And his jewellery. And practically all three of u- oh I see what you mean now.”

“Exactly! I didn’t want it to turn into a full blown screaming match!” Kokoro turned around and started to look down the hallway in front of them.

Jasper turned to Rantaro. “You didn’t need to introduce me to her, by the way. I’ve already talked to everyone.”

“I was just trying to be polite.” He replied. “Doesn’t seem to register with her, though...Was she the same way when you talked to her?”

“Tried to talk to her.” He corrected. “She kept saying something about me looking like the ‘edgy one’ from a knockoff anime.”

“Damn.” Rantaro said, sighing. “I don’t really watch anime. Some of my sisters do, but-”

“Sisters?” Kokoro perked up, turning back around. “As in...Plural?”

Shit. That slipped out without thinking.

“...Uh......Yeah.” He confirmed.

“How many?” She asked.

Oh god, here we go...

“………...Twelve.”

Rantaro could practically hear Kokoro’s eyes widening.

“TWELVE!?” She exclaimed.

“Yeah, twelve?” Jasper added.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that a lot...” He sighed. “My dad remarried a lot after I was born, and two of them were adopted, so...”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “...Huh. Sibling rivalry must be hell.”

Rantaro shrugged.

“Twelve younger sisters!? That’s awesome!” Kokoro squealed, jumping up and down a little. “Tell me about them! Tell me about them! Tell me about them!”

“Ahahah...” Rantaro laughed it off nervously, already guessing her and Jasper’s reactions if he did. “...I’d...Rather not...”

“Aaawww, pleeeeaaaase?”

“No.” He affirmed bluntly, before brushing off his tone with a slightly forced smile. “I’ll...Uh...Tell you about them at some...Point...Later.”

“Pleeeaaaa-”

“Kokoro.” Jasper said firmly. “He said no.”

Kokoro pouted.

Rantaro was just about to say again that he was going to tell her at some point (which he wasn’t actually planning to), when the three of them heard something from a nearby room.

The door was marked “stage room” with a sign. The three of them headed inside to investigate.

The room inside was like a typical stage room you’d find in a school – only without sets of chairs on the floor in front of the stage. Said stage had two sets of red curtains; one opened set at the front, and a closed set at the back, as well as a door nearby the stage to get to the backstage area.

There were also two people inside.

One was a girl, with silver hair tied into a messy ponytail. She wore a light lavender-pink jacket with a collar and the sleeves rolled up, with darker trousers and light grey shoes. Her easily most notable features were a medical eyepatch over her left eye, and a bag – holding a bow and some arrows – over her shoulder.

The other was a boy. He was very short, so he almost looked like a middle schooler. He had bobbed pink hair with a fringe styled with a diamond-shaped emerald hairclip. He had a short trench coat and two chunky bangles to match the colour of his hairclip, salmon-coloured trousers and light pink shoes, and an almost coral-coloured bead necklace. He had emerald green eyes and a 4-pointed star-shaped symbol under his left eye.

The boy cheerily smiled at them, while the girl closed her eyes – well, eye – and looked away.

“Okay,” Rantaro asked. “Let’s be real here. What on earth would we need a stage room for?”

Kokoro shrugged. “If one of us was the Ultimate Actor or something. Or Ultimate SFX Artist. Or Ultimate Anything to do With Theatre.”

“Well, there’s something close-” Jasper started, but was cut off by the other boy walking over to them with his shoes clicking on the ground, almost like they could be mistaken for tap shoes.

“Hey there!” He said with a smile. “It’s good to see some other people.”

Kokoro discreetly leaned over to Rantaro. “Hey Rantaro, who let a third-grader in here-?”

“I’M NOT A THIRD GRADER!” The boy snapped, causing Kokoro to jump back in surprise.

“Aah sorry!”

He sighed, pouting a little. “It just REALLY gets on my nerves when people do that.”

Well, he IS really short.

“Anyway,” Rantaro said. “Let’s just do introductions. I’m Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Adventurer, and this is Kokoro Hikari, the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“I’m Yuuma Todoroki.” The boy introduced. “The Ultimate Jeweller.”

A jeweller, huh? Rantaro thought. He is wearing quite a few accessories, so it makes sense.

“So does that mean you, like,” Kokoro asked. “Make jewellery and stuff?”

Yuuma nodded. “Yup.”

“Actually,” Jasper asked, looking to Rantaro and Kokoro. “Ever heard of the company The Velvet Box?”

“I guess.” Rantaro replied. He had heard of the company from TV adverts and such.

“Yeah,” Kokoro said. “Some of my friends at school wear their stuff. Why?”

Jasper nodded towards Yuuma.

It took a few seconds for the two of them to realise what he was getting at.

“Wait, that’s YOUR company!?”

Yuuma shrugged. “Kinda. I mean, it’s my dad’s, but he got sick so I had to take over.”

“A lot of the jewellery The Velvet Box sells is his designs.” Jasper added.

Rantaro was impressed. “Nice.”

“Oh, it’s nothing!” Yuuma replied casually. “I’m honestly just glad to see other people here.”

“What about that girl there?” Kokoro asked, briefly signalling towards the only other person in the room.

“I tried.”

“...You...Tried?”

“Yeah, not much of a socialite I don’t think.”

“Hm...” Rantaro said thoughtfully. “Well, it was good to meet you.”

“Same here!”

Rantaro turned around and started to walk over to the other girl, with Kokoro and Jasper following not too far behind.

She barely reacted when Rantaro walked over.

“Uh...Hey.” He said.

The girl didn’t say anything.

“...Hello?”

The girl didn’t say anything at first, but then sighed before finally responding.

“…...Hey.” She turned to look at the three coldly. “What do you want?”

I think I can see what Yuuma meant now.

“We’re just introducing ourselves.” Rantaro answered. “We haven’t met you-”

“I have.” Jasper corrected.

“Well, Kokoro and I haven’t.” Rantaro refuted, before turning back over to the girl. “Anyway, I’m Rantaro Amami, and I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.”

“And I’m Kokoro Hikari.” Kokoro introduced. “The Ultimate Lucky Student.”

The girl looked at the three of them for a few seconds before saying “...Can’t we just skip this?”

“What? No!” Kokoro argued. “We’ve literally just met you-”

“Already met her.” Jasper corrected again.

“Zip it, you’re not helping!”

“Ugh, fine...” The girl said with a groan. “Ahmya Aika. Ultimate Archer.”

Rantaro wasn’t surprised, given the fact that she carried a bow and arrows on her back, but then realised something.

“Wait.” He said. “Do I...Know you from something?”

Ahmya blinked. “...What?”

“Wait a second!” He realised. “You were on the news a while ago!”

“She was?” Kokoro asked.

“Yeah,” Rantaro continued. “She’s a respected archer despite her young age, but someone shot her eye out during a competition.”

Kokoro took a step back in shock. “What!?”

Ahmya didn’t respond for a few more seconds.

“...Oh yeah.” She replied. “One of the competitors really didn’t want me to win, so they hired someone to shoot me in the eye.” She shrugged. “I still managed to win, though. It’s how I got my title apparently.”

That explains the eyepatch. Rantaro thought. And her aloof nature I guess...I mean, she lost her eye. If someone lost a part of themselves, it would make sense for them to turn cold.

“H-how can you say that so casually!?” Kokoro exclaimed.

Ahmya just tutted.

“Did you do any other competitions afterwards?” Jasper asked, slightly shifting the subject away from her injury.

“Some.” She replied. “But not the large-scale ones I used to do. I didn’t want the news coverage all up in my face.”

Jasper shrugged. “Makes sense.

“Well, um,” Rantaro said, sensing that Ahmya didn’t want to talk for much longer. “It was...Nice meeting you.”

Ahmya nodded every so slightly. “Hm.” She turned away from them to stare vacantly at the wall, twirling a lock from her messy ponytail with her finger.

I think she’s more comfortable in her own company. Rantaro thought. We should leave her be for a few minutes.

“Well I dunno about you,” Yuuma said from behind them, catching their attention; well, aside from Ahmya, as she wasn’t paying attention to them. “But I’m getting kinda bored of this place.”

Kokoro briefly looked over to the door to behind the stage. “We haven’t checked backstage yet.”

“Don’t you think I would’ve done that already?” Yuuma smirked. “There’s nothing really there, aside from some sandbags, crash mats, some kinda area where people would get changed for a show I think, I don’t really watch theatre so I don’t know.” He turned and headed towards the door. “I’m gonna explore to see if there’s anywhere that’s interesting.”

He left the room, the clicks from his shoes getting quieter as he got further and further away.

The room was silent for a few moments, when surprisingly Ahmya broke the silence.

“Some kid.”

“Oh, uh, indeed.” Rantaro was a little surprised by the fact she said anything at all. “I guess we’d better make a move too...Do you want to come with us?”

Ahmya said nothing, but eventually shook her head.

That’s a no…

“Let’s just head.” Kokoro said, pointing towards the door. “We’ve still got places in the academy to check out.”

“Okay.” Rantaro said, briefly nodding towards Ahmya as if to signal a farewell.

Ahmya nodded back, before turning back to the wall, prompting Rantaro, Kokoro and Jasper to leave.

“I’m still not getting the point of having a stage room,” Kokoro said as the three of them walked through the hallway.

Rantaro shrugged. “Every school has one, I’m pretty sure.”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah, the high school I used to go to had one.”

“Yeah, it’s a mandatory thing I guess.”

“Looks like it-”

They were stopped by what sounded like a bang from somewhere they just walked past.

Kokoro froze. “What the hell was that!?”

“I’m no expert,” Jasper replied. “But I think that sounded like someone punching something.”

“We should head in.” Rantaro said, Kokoro nodding in response.

The three of them headed into a room, which appeared to be some kind of open-plan dining hall, with a few tables and chairs and an empty doorway to a kitchen. There were two vending machines – one dispensing snacks and the other dispensing drinks – against a wall, and a girl was angrily pounding her fist against the drink dispenser.

They couldn’t see her face, but the girl was short and had long dark hair tied into a braid with a golden tie. She was wearing a dark jacket and a white skirt with white semi-transparent stockings and black heeled boots. She was carrying what appeared to be some kind of katana in a bag over her right shoulder, with a golden dragon design on the back.

“Dammit…!” She hissed, punching the machine again. “Why won’t this damn thing work!?”

“Um, hello?” Rantaro said, trying to get the girl’s attention.

“Okay,” The girl completely ignored them and prepared to kick the machine’s glass in. “Fuck it.”

“WHOA, WHOA!” Kokoro ran over in a panic to stop her. “CALM DOWN, PLEASE!”

“Huh?” The girl stopped and turned around as the three of them approached.

She had dark skin and golden eyes with some dark eyeshadow, and a small scar below her left eye. Her hair was styled in a messy fringe over her right eye, and some areas had been dip-dyed gold. She had a white shirt under her jacket with a faded blue ribbon tied in a droopy bow underneath the collar.

She sighed and put her hand on her hip annoyedly. “What the hell do you want?” She then took notice of Jasper alongside the two. “...Oh. It’s you again.”

Jasper shrugged. “I have literally nothing better to do.” He pointed at the machine. “You DID try putting money in that thing, right?”

“Tch. Would if I had any. The bastard who kidnapped me stole my cash and my phone.” She folded her arms. “Which is a real pain in the ass right now...”

“Wait, what?” Rantaro asked. “You don’t have any money on you? Or your phone?”

“Didn't you hear a word I said?” The girl replied bitterly.

Rantaro stopped to think for a few seconds, before holding his finger up to signal the group to wait.

“Hold on.”

He quickly searched both of his pockets.

Both of them were empty.

“Wait, what the hell!?”

He suddenly turned over to Kokoro, who was looking at him in bewilderment.

He gave her a determined look. “...Check your pockets.”

“Huh?” She asked. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Okay, fine.” She put her hand in the left pocket of her hoodie. “But I don’t see why you-”

Her expression suddenly shifted to confusion. She stopped and checked the other pocket, also coming up empty.

She started to panic. “Wait, where the hell is my phone!?”

Rantaro put his hand to his chin. “Just as I thought...”

Jasper narrowed his eyes, bemused. “...Shouldn’t that have been the first thing you checked when you woke up?”

“Zip it punk, you’re not helping.” The girl snapped.

“Wait,” Kokoro asked, pointing at the vending machine. “What would be the point of having vending machines if we weren’t gonna have any money?”

“Maybe it’s a card-op thing.” Jasper suggested. “Some schools have cards you can swipe for this kind of thing.” He mimicked swiping a card against a scanner. “They might give it to us at some point later or something.”

“I checked.” The girl replied. “It’s coin-op. Not only that,” She pointed at a small sign next to where you would put your coins. The sign had a picture of a coin, but with the shape of a bear’s head that appeared to be split into two halves.

“It says it only takes...Whatever this means.”

Jasper shrugged. “Then I’ve got no clue.”

“I think the real question is why the academy would take it in the first place.” Rantaro said. “I mean, they don’t have a real reason to take our phones and money off of us.”

“Because they're authoritarian fuckheads, that's why.” The girl replied.

“I’m...” Kokoro started. “Not sure that has anything to do with it.”

“Whatever. Whoever the fuck is running this place, I already hate them.”

“Okay...” Rantaro couldn’t shake the unease this new revelation had given him, but decided not to focus on that for now.

“That aside, we should get introductions out of the way.”

“Why? I already know him.” She pointed over at Jasper. “And I don’t know if I can trust either of you.”

“Well, we haven’t tried anything yet, have we?” Kokoro asked.

The girl tutted. “That doesn't prove anything to me.”

“Whatever...” Rantaro said. “Anyway, I'm Rantaro Amami. I'm the Ultimate Adventurer.”

“And I’m Kokoro Hikari, the Ultimate Lucky Student.” Kokoro added.

“Tch...” The girl folded her arms and sighed. “Fine...Sachiko Akahana. Ultimate Delinquent. There, you happy now?”

Kokoro froze, suddenly taking a slight step back.

Rantaro couldn’t help but be a little shocked either.

...Did...Did I just hear that right?

“What the fuck are you two staring at me like that for?”

“Sorry, I just, ah...” Kokoro stammered. “Don't think I heard that last part right.”

“You did.” Jasper answered.

Kokoro’s eyes widened in shock. “E-eh!?”

Ultimate Delinquent? Rantaro thought. I guess that explains the sword and her confrontational attitude…

“If you don’t mind me asking,” He started to ask. “How did you get your-”

“Don’t even think about it.” Sachiko snapped.

“Huh?”

“I'm not gonna tell you how I got my talent unless I know I can trust you.”

Rantaro sighed in resignation. “Okay then...”

“Hey, it isn't nice to be so distrusting!” Kokoro objected.

Sachiko’s glare narrowed on her. “...What was that?”

“Bad idea.” Jasper said from the side.

Kokoro ignored him. “Well, I think you're being really rude!”

“I don't give a damn what you think about me. Now fuck off before I have to hurt you.”

“Please don’t antagonise her-” Rantaro started, only to also be ignored.

“I know you're not exactly the model student type,” Kokoro argued. “but you could stand to be a little nicer to people!”

“Who the FUCK do you think you are!?” Sachiko snapped angrily, grabbing the handle of her katana. “Get out of my way before I break you!”

Kokoro froze and took a step back.

“Okay.” Rantaro said, swiftly grabbing onto Kokoro’s arm. “We’re leaving now.”

“Wait what-” Kokoro started, before Rantaro sprinted off with her in tow.

“SORRYWEGOTOFFONTHEWRONGFOOTTHEREHOPEFULLYWE’LLBEABLETOTALKAGAINATSOMEPOINTBYE.”

The door slammed shut, leaving Jasper and Sachiko in the room together.

Jasper clicked his tongue. “Well. That was a thing.”

“Was that REALLY necessary!?”

“Hey, you did it to me earlier. And you were pissing her off. It was pretty necessary.”

Rantaro had dropped Kokoro off in what he assumed to be a safe distance away from the dining hall.

“Well she WAS being rude!”

“She’s literally called the Ultimate Delinquent. I don’t think making her angry is a good idea.”

“Hey!” They heard someone say. Both of them looked up to see Jasper walking over to them.

He shot an annoyed look at Rantaro. “Thanks for leaving me in there.”

“I’m sorry, I panicked. How is she?”

“Well she hasn’t broken the glass on that machine yet, so that’s a good sign.”

“I guess...”

“Hey, guys!” Kokoro suddenly said, running over to a nearby door. “I found another weird door!”

Rantaro and Jasper immediately followed over to see what she was talking about.

The door in question was painted a dark lilac colour, with a white decal resembling two band-aids crossing over each other.

“Another one?” Rantaro asked. “It’s like that one we found earlier.”

“At least it actually has a doorknob this time.” Jasper pointed out the door’s silver knob, with a similarly coloured keyhole underneath it.

Rantaro tried the door.

“Damn. It’s locked.”

“What do you reckon is in there?” Kokoro asked.

Jasper shrugged. “The symbol is of two crossed band-aids, so I reckon it’s probably some kind of nurse’s office.”

Kokoro shook her head. “No, Rantaro and I woke up in a nurse’s office when we arrived here. And that was all the way down the hall.”

“Then I have no clue.”

“Well, we can’t get inside...” Rantaro sighed and stepped back from the door. “So there’s no way of knowing right now.”

“That’s a pain...” Kokoro agreed, before something else caught her eye. “Hey, what do you think is up there?”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned to look at what she was looking at.

Not too far away from the door was a staircase leading upwards.

“Oh yeah.” Jasper recalled. “There’s another floor to this building.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Rantaro asked, irritated.

He shrugged. “Neither of you asked.”

“Would’ve been pretty good to know!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kokoro brushed both of them off, already walking towards the staircase. “Looks like the next step is this way.” She stopped once she got onto the first step and laughed to herself a little. “...Pun not intended.”

Rantaro smirked a little, starting to follow her. “It totally was.”

“It wasn’t!” She argued playfully. “Let’s just go.”

Rantaro nodded as him and Jasper followed after her to the next floor.

[wolfie-dragon-rider]

Bursts of Light, Day 23: Arguing

Hey everyone, I'm back with another drabble. This one takes place during the first half of their honeymoon! Next day's drabble, Making Up Afterwards, will be a sequel/conclusion to this one, so don't worry: They'll realize how dumb they're being and figure out how to live together.

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

Day 1

Astrid woke up at dawn as usual, though she instantly felt on alert. The blanket she was lying under had a different texture, and a sunbeam hit her face at a different angle than it normally did. She kept her eyes closed, groaning softly at the ache in her thighs when she shifted. What was going on? Her brain was too sluggish for this.

All of a sudden something moved behind her, and then something cold and rough touched the back of her leg. Her naked leg. She yelped loudly, jumping away from the freezing thing behind her. Cold air all over her body told her she was naked, and she instinctively grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around herself.

"Astrid? What's wrong?" Hiccup's voice mumbled, and it was only then that Astrid realized that he was in the bed with her.

Just as naked as she was, everything on display now that she snatched the blanket.

Everything came flooding back. They got married yesterday. They moved into their own house, made love, and this was the first day of their new life together.

"'Strid? Are you hurt?" Hiccup asked again, clearly still sleepy.

"No, no, it's… sorry, I'm not used to waking up with someone else. I panicked. But it's okay now," she told him, pressing herself against him and pulling the blanket back over them. "Your feet- Uh, foot, is freezing cold, by the way."

He chuckled awkwardly, and memories of last night came flooding back. That explained the soreness. But it was a good soreness. Like the ache she got when she did a new training exercise.

"I guess we'll have to warm up then," he mumbled, pulling her a little closer to him (oh gods, he was cold everywhere!). She turned her head to see his smirk. Huh, that's a different attitude from last night. But not an entirely unwelcome one, despite the fading soreness. She'd had worse pains.

"Oh, getting cocky, eh? Ready for more?" she asked, climbing on top of him. She was about to kiss him when her leg brushed his foot again.

"Okay, seriously though, I really hope that foot won't always be this cold," Astrid said, before they stopped talking for a while.

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

Day 3

"Astrid, where is my whetstone? I put it on the workbench yesterday but now it's gone!" Hiccup shouted, blindly digging through the pile of scrap metal and chips of wood that was stacked in his workshop.

"I don't know! You probably misplaced it! You know, it's been two days and the place is already a mess!" she shouted back as he dropped a sheet of metal he had been looking under. It clanged loudly as it hit his prosthetic, echoing through the house with an angry chime.

"Kicking it won't help!" Astrid said, entering behind him. Her words made him want to actually kick something.

"I didn't- It fell, okay. And it's not a mess. I have a system. A system that you interfere with," he said, breathing heavily in an attempt to keep his temper.

"Oh really, I always figured the system was that you just put stuff on the pile closest to you. And then when you inevitably forget which pile you put what in, you ask me to find it for you," she said in a teasing tone, but it stung all the same.

"It's not like that! You never pay attention-" he forced himself to stop there. Finishing that accusation would lead to nothing good.

"Look, it's right here, in between these very precariously stacked piles of jagged metal. Real safe there, Hiccup," Astrid said, pushing him aside to take something from the bench.

"Says the girl who nearly threw an axe into my head this morning," he muttered, remembering the terror he had felt at the cold iron grazing his cheek when he walked outside to get some water.

"Oh, come on, you know the backyard is my place, I train there, even when we're cooped up in this house!" she said, slamming the whetstone into his open hand. He flinched, nearly dropping the small tool.

"Well, this room is my place, so how about you stop complaining about my stuff in here, and I stop talking about your axe throwing out there!" Hiccup shouted, turning away from her. Some part of him wanted out, wanted to run as far away from this stupid argument as possible. But isn't this what married life is supposed to be? Always being together, happy in the same space all the time?

"Fine! But don't call me next time you lose something," Astrid shouted, leaving the room.

"And I won't fix your axe when you hit the rocks again!" he shouted back. The only response he got was the door slamming hard, shaking in its hinges. He felt like a complete idiot. But surely this was over, they established their boundaries for some personal space, and now they could move on.

Just 24 days to go until the Honeymoon was over.

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

Day 8

Astrid flinched, dropping the soap she was holding when the loud crack of shattering earthenware rang through the room. She turned around to see shards all over the floor of what had been her mug just two seconds ago.

"Hiccup!" she shouted, taking the soap again and putting it away as he stood there sheepishly, surrounded by the broken shards.

"Sorry! I didn't know it was there! The counter was empty a minute ago so I wanted to put my plate away!" he said defensively, not moving to clean it up. His dirty plate sat on the counter where the mug had been, and for second she got the ridiculous urge to smash it as revenge.

"Yeah, I put it there to wash it. Like I was gonna wash your dirty dishes," she snarked instead.

"Hey, you have a dirty plate too, it's not just my mess," he said, still not doing anything about the shards on the floor.

"Funny since I always seem to be the one to do the dishes. You just put them on the counter and expect them to magically clean themselves!"

Astrid didn't know what it was about this honeymoon that made her just so… annoyed at everything Hiccup did. Things that had been endearing or cute while they were just dating, like how he never dared to get in her way, or his bumbling when he broke something, were now infuriating.

Maybe it was the fact that they had gone so suddenly from living separately with their families to being forced to be in the same house together for literally an entire month. Before Astrid had been able to get away and cool off if he did something annoying, and she didn't have to endure the stupid habits he had that she never noticed.

Like how he kept making this ticking sound with his tongue, or would roll over constantly in his sleep, or barely offered to help her with housework.

It was so confusing. Astrid still loved him so much, still wanted him so much. Despite their fights they could barely keep their hands off each other, taking advantage of every flat surface in the house.

Sometimes it was like everything Hiccup did either infuriated her or turned her on. It was a confusing whirlwind of emotions that she just hadn't expected three years into their relationship.

"I don't do the dishes because the last time I tried, you complained I missed spots I couldn't see!" Hiccup shouted, and she was brought back to their current argument.

"Fine, just go and… do your thing. I'll clean your mess. Again," she sighed, grabbing some big shards and throwing them in the trash. For a second Hiccup looked really sad and guilty, and she thought he was going to say something, but then the moment passed. He turned and left the kitchen, slamming the door to his workshop with a loud bang.

She knew it wouldn't last, that in a few hours they'd be all over each other again and declaring their love amidst heavy sighs and deep moans, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried about these fights. What if they'd get worse?

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

Day 13

"Hiccup, come to bed!" Astrid shouted as he sketched his newest invention: a sewing machine that could do the work of 8 spinsters.

"Just a minute," he mumbled, ignoring her long groan.

"That's what you said an hour ago! That's it, I'm going to bed now. You better not wake me when you finally get tired."

"That's the first time you complain about my inventing at night," he chuckled. There was a short silence that suddenly ended with a smack when Astrid threw a pillow at him.

"Because back then we didn't get to sleep together dammit! Gods, I thought it was the men always trying to get their women into their bed, not the other way around!" she shouted, and Hiccup wasn't entirely sure if she was actually angry or just joking. Either way, the remark stung, and he couldn't help stinging back.

"At least this way I'm not freezing you with my cold feet."

He almost instantly regretted the words, but Astrid's growl only made him want to dig in further.

"Fine, have it your way. I'm going to sleep now and if you wake me later, I swear to Thor…" she muttered, grabbing the pillow from where it had bounced off to and getting in bed with a loud huff.

"Good night," he said, more sarcastic than really necessary.

"...G'night" eventually came from the bed, very softly like she didn't really want him to hear it. It made him feel guilty. Still, this machine he was sketching required his focus, so he refused to listen to Astrid's breathing slowly turning to snoring.

Even when her snores quieted Hiccup had a hard time focusing on the invention. His thoughts kept turning back to the past two weeks they lived together. Before he hadn't expected it to change their lives much. They already spent a lot of their waking hours together; marrying just added their non-waking hours. And yet something had shifted, and he wasn't sure what it was.

Maybe the source of his frustrations and snarkiness wasn't really her, maybe it was just being stuck in this house for the honeymoon. He missed Toothless, and their morning flights. But no, the council had decided that the honeymoon isolation included their dragons. So he didn't get to fly, didn't get to play with his best friend.

And yet it wasn't just that either. Astrid could be so overbearing, so imposing, and that gigantic presence was hard when they were stuck inside such a tiny house. He felt like he was suffocating at times, like he couldn't even breathe without her noticing something that would lead to a fight.

Maybe that was why he was still awake now, long after she had gone to sleep. He felt free somehow. Alone.

Could there be such a thing as 'too much Astrid' in his life? Just two weeks ago he'd have said no. Now he wasn't sure. His thoughts kept going in circles, veering between annoyance at some of the things she had said and guilt over what he had shouted back.

It was only when he crawled into bed behind her hours later, as gently as he could to avoid disturbing her, that he whispered "I love you, and I'm sorry," in her sleeping ear.

[akatdollie]

SASOKARU for the ship meme thing

Send me 💘 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

SasoKaru,Sunan Sweethearts Verse

where they first met andhow - They met on Karura’s sixth birthday, which is only a coupledays after Sasori. This was the first year that his parents weren’t there tocelebrate with him, and the date passed him by. He was wandering theneighborhood and was drawn to the sounds of a party, which Sasori had to crash(naturally). He becomes great friends with Karura and Yasha and is invited tothe next birthday party (which he would have crashed anyways).

how long their‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved - They just? Naturally came together. Therewasn’t much flirting between them, just two kids that had fun making flowercrowns and eating rock candy who noticed one day that their hearts beat fasteraround each other.

who fell for who first (if applicable ) - Karura fell for Sasori first. She tends to get crusheseasily, I feel. She realizes she loves him after he steals medicine for her(and is caught and punished). Meanwhile Sasori is kind of dumb and - he noticesthat he fixates on her a bit, and just stares at her trying to figure out why,and then she looks up and smiles and his pulse skyrockets like - oh.Probably should have a doctor check that out.

where their first datewas and what it was like - On the cliff just outside Suna. There is a small pathknown by village children which they use to get out of the city withoutdetection.

who asks who out and how( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? ) - When they’re in their young teens, Karuraprepares a bunch of food and asks Sasori if he’d like to go on a picnic whenthe sun is low/setting. He agrees, though at first he doesn’t get why Yashawasn’t invited, but then she grabs his hand and leans in close. He gets thehint, and ducks his head.

if they keep / kepttheir relationship secret or let everyone know right away - Karura told Yasha immediately, not onlybecause Sasori was his friend, too, but because she kinda gushes over theromantic details. Yasha doesn’t always get it but, eh. As long as she’s happy…

if they adopt any petstogether - Sasori has his own collection of bugs which Karuraoccasionally cares for when he asks. Though I feel that Karura may bring homean injured bird that causes mayhem when it tries to eat some of Sasori’scollection.

who’s more dominant - Sasori, though Karura tends to make the firstmove.

where their first kisswas and what it was like - It was on their first date, on the cliffs outside Suna.

if they have anymatching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? ) - To be fair, civilian Sunans seem to wear theexact same outfit everywhere (blue robes, eggshell/white scarves), but Sasoriin particular likes to match, or at the very least not clash.

how into pda they are - Adult Sunans aren’t very affectionate (in myHCs), but Karura is all hearteyes whenever Sasori holds her hand or puts hisarm around her shoulder. He makes excuses to do so.

who holds the umbrellawhen it rains - I think they both stare at the sky dumbstruck, then Karurabreaks out in a smile, because it hardly ever rains in Suna. At least notenough to need an umbrella.

where their usual ‘datespot’ is ( if applicable ) - They meet by the well that no one notices anymore. Thebottom is dry but filled with coins where they have made wishes - a traditionthat is not strictly Sunan, but is popular among younger people.

where the proposalhappens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded byducks? at a disney park? ) - See above.

who proposes first - Once Sasori figures out they’re together, he’spretty much determined that they’re going to get married and be like a betterversion of his parents. He proposes as soon as he’s of age. A young marriage (but then again, life expectancyprobably isn’t great in canon).

who’s more protective - Sasori would kill for Karura. But Karura tendsto notice his shift in moods/emotional vulnerabilities. (He’s more physicallyprotective, while she’s more psychologically protective).

how long it is beforethey sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ ) - They’ve had sleepovers since forever haha.

if they argue aboutanything - If they argue about anything, it’s about how Sasoridoesn’t communicate needs, particularly when he’s in a dark state and relyingon Karura to help him. (Feelings? What feelings?)

who leaves more marks (lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. ) - I’m not really sure about this, but I’mleaning towards Karura; Sasori doesn’t like it when his things get damaged.

who steals whose clothesand how often - Sasori steals Karura’s clothes, especially herheadscarves, which is very funny when Yasha tries talking to him from behindthinking Sasori is his sister.

how they cuddle (spooning? facing each other? ) - Spooning. Karura likes hugs and Sasori needs them.

what their favouritenonsexual activity is - I want to say going to the greenhouse and picking flowers(some poisonous, some pretty).

how long they stay madat each other - As a general rule, Sasori can stay mad at anyone foreternity… but I don’t think he gets mad at her.

what their usual coffee/ tea orders are - Sasori has thick, imported coffee while Karura has icedtea (maybe sweet?).

if they ever have anychildren together - I HOPE SO. At least four.

if they have any specialpet names for each other – Karura @ Sasori, “Love.” Sasori @ Karura… wordshe traces on her skin but doesn’t say.

if they ever split upand / or get back together - I feel like there is a period in their young lives wheretheir relationship is strained (maybe Rasa is attempting to court Karura andSasori dislikes it), but in this verse, at least, they don’t split up.

what their shared livingspace is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? ) - Sasori is an organized hoarder within hisworkshop - he keeps everything he thinks he can use. His stuff in livingspaces, however, is contained to the bookshelves; all the other space is filledwith Karura’s things. Pictures of family, pictures of them, some sketches thatSasori has given her, flowers on the kitchen table. Warm, light decor. Shemakes it feel like home.

what their firstchristmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like - Suna doesn’t celebrate either holiday in myheadcanons, but there are plenty of festivals devoted to various gods, wherethe city swells with merchants and food vendors from all across the Land ofWind and sometimes other countries. It gets very crowded, so Sasori grabbedKarura’s hand to make sure they didn’t lose each other. (That was his excuse.Karura was very delighted, of course.)

if they have any ‘coupletraditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking everyfriday evening? ) - For various reasons, they celebrate their birthdaytogether. Yasha is always invited.

who falls asleep firstand who wakes up first - Karura falls asleep and wakes up first; if consumed in aproject, Sasori may not sleep until dawn.

who’s the big spoon /little spoon - They switch depending on who needs comfort more. Sasoriprefers to be the big spoon.

who hogs the bathroom - Sasori, who doesn’t leave home withouteyeliner/perfectly messy hair/occasionally face paint

who kills the spiders /takes them outside - Karura takes the spiders outside after they initiallystartle her. Sasori keeps them as pets.

X

[tellywoodtrash]

Heyy! I really loved your analysis on The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family! Could you give your honest review on it? I mean how did you find it's plot, the story, acting, directing all in all the show and what would you rate it? Thank You! Have a nice day! :)

Hello anon!

I’ve got to thank you for sending in this question, coz I did mean to do an overall review for the show beyond the lbs, and was just dragging my feet and being a lazy POS about it. You’re keeping me honest. :)

Tbh, I’m not sure how exactly to rank or rate this show. Until Ep 6. (the one with the big reveal) I really liked it. I really really liked it. But then the show just took a bizarre turn after the reveal. The plot went kinda off the rails, most of the characters were acting very strangely, and I was just left wondering why they built all this up and made me care about these characters just to bring it all crashing down like this.

The story

Nothing new, it was basically a Kapoor & Sons ripoff; right down to the whole vibe; everything from the setting at this hillstation-esque area, to the house parties, to the interpersonal dynamics (the feuding brothers, one of whom is oblivious as to why the other one is so resentful of him; the chill idgaf elder with the shenanigans; husband-wife tension; one of the characters is gay…) to how it all played out (reveal at a fun party right after a troubled marriage got a second wind, sudden untoward death of a parent, brothers making peace after…) all seemed straight up taken from that movie. They adjusted it a little here and there to accommodate the characters and make it seem different, but overall, it was just Kapoor & Sons, the TV version.

The plot

Like I said above, I really liked the way the show was written till Ep. 6. They built up the world really nicely; the family dynamics were uneasy yet stable in a manufactured way, and it all goes to hell with the entry of the ‘outsiders’ Samar and Sonali. I liked their relationship; they seemed like a couple who not only loved each other romantically, but also genuinely liked each other as who they are as a person. They’re still in their honeymoon phase, unaware/blind of each other’s more icky personality traits. Their coupling is so perfect, that even his own mother feels vindicated when they have a minor tiff, claiming no husband and wife are ever THAT happy. On the other hand we have Vikram and Geeta, who are barely holding on to their marriage; their tension is out in the open, even as much as Geeta tried to play it down. I liked how they paralleled the two couples. They also built up the suspense well; it was pretty obvious that there had been infidelity on Geeta’s part and Mridul’s paternity was in question, but the way they ramped it up was good. All this playing around Addu’s coming out, and the social ramifications of such an act in small town India, was well done. It’s after Ep. 6 that everything goes downhill. Samar and Geeta’s characters get reallllllllly unlikable. Their only regret seems to be that everyone found out, rather than the actual deed. And neither of them seem to be really apologetic? Samar kinda brushes it off after making two, three guilty faces/dialogues, Geeta picks fights with Vikram who’s trying to make peace with her despite the fact that she slept with his brother? Ek toh chori, upar se seena jori. Just distasteful. The pace of the show also suffers post ep. 6; everything just unfolds so quickly, yet nothing is really happening, and I was just confused as to what the point of all this was, and how the characters would eventually resolve this emotional quandary. But also, with the insufferable way most of them were acting, I didn’t really care either. I was just like eh, whatever, you’ve made your beds, now lie in it. The writing for all the characters just made me apathetic to their fates. The convenient killing off of PL was just dumb and contrived. Also confusing, because they had this story-telling device of starting every episode a little bit in the future and then flashing back to the point that led to this. Idk why in just that one episode (#9) they start with that scene of her at home, high on pain meds, signing to Begum Akhtar in her sleep and then suddenly it was cut to her dying in a hospital? Just weird, and it really bothered me. But again, I was just so done with these dumbasses that I didn’t actually care.

But I do have some questions about stuff that was faulty/left unresolved:

Why was Geeta talking to Kashyap on the phone saying she “needs” him and asking him to take her away from all this? Just a random red herring to throw us off? That’s pretty bullshit.

The “clues” that Sonali used to put together the secret were pretty shaky at best. He apparently lied about landslides in the area (which… is a weird lie to keep telling over and over about a place? But also the policeman who stopped the vehicle in the earlier ep. clearly stated that it was because of a landslide. So he wasn’t even lying…) and about when/why he learned sign language? How does that lead you to ‘OMG Samar’s the father of Mridul’?? 

The whole Mridul is premature thing and was conceived when Vikram wasn’t in Kannuri thing. Geeta/Samar clearly slept together when Vikram was there. So……… That whole plot point is just null and void. He could be either brother’s kid.

Did Addu get to go to Delhi afterall? I hope she did. She deserved to get outta this close-minded small town and go live her life in a place where she could exist on her own terms. 

What were we supposed to make of the ending for Samar/Sonali? I mean, the show seemed to imply they stayed together; but from what we’d seen of Sonali as a character, she didn’t seem like the type who could make peace with disingenuity like that… Even if Samar and Sonali did stay together, it was highly unlikely she would be able to hang around with Geeta/Mridul ever again. Idk, they just left that hanging up in the air, and it was unsatisfying.

The cast

Kay Kay as Vikram: It’s completely his show. His character is the best written, and the most satisfying one to follow from start to finish. And he plays all the different facts of Vikram well: the angry, bitter man who’s lost himself as well all emotional connection with his family, the exasperated dad trying to come to terms with Addu being gay/Mridul’s effeminate tendencies, the more charming husband/loving big brother he was in the past before all of it went to shit… He plays all of it really well. You start off disliking the character, but the more you see of him, you gradually come over to his side. It’s not that he hasn’t made/isn’t currently making mistakes of his own, but you grow to sympathize with him. I also loved his brief bits of comedy. I’d like to see Kay Kay in lighter roles like these more often.

One qualm though; idk why they had him wear those tacky light-coloured lenses (reminding me of that 2006 -2010ish time in tellywood, when everyone wore those damn lenses. The entire cast of DMG used to wear the same colour and it just looked bizarre.)

Swaroop Sampat as PremLata: She was the actor is was most excited for in this show, and they just fucked me over so bad. She’s hardly in the damn show. I don’t understand why they would underutilize her talents like that. Also I’m not sure of how to feel about PL as a character; she did seem to love her family a lot, but was also very hands-off and just a witness in the bg to everything? She just seemed very uninvolved in whatever was going on, to the point of apathy, just caring about her daily chais and nothing else. But whatever few scenes Swaroop did get, she was radiant and lovely in, as expected.

Barun Sobti as Samar: I always enjoy watching Sobti. Especially in the role of a straight-man to all the madness around him. He’s so enjoyable with his genuine reactions of perplexed and exasperated and amused. But I feel like… Other than in IPK, he isn’t really ACTING. Both in Tu Hai Mera Sunday and here, he plays this chill dude, which is just who he is IRL. It’s just toooooo easy breezy, and I can see that he’s not really putting any major effort into it; compared to Arnav, whom he played in a very measured manner. Also Samar as a character stops being likable after the reveal. His reason for sleeping with Geeta is hardly compelling enough, and so is his demeanour towards Sonali after the reveal. He just doesn’t seem to understand the gravity of what he’s done. The character didn’t deserve to get the easy resolution that he did, especially because he didn’t do any work for it. Bas sabne aise hi maaf kar diya.

Eisha Chopra as Sonali: She’s a revelation. I think I’ve seen her here and there in some web sketches, but this is the first time I’m REALLY seeing her. She’s very charming and confident and a delight to watch. I’ll surely be watching her web series What The Folks in the coming days. Sonali as a character is kind of a mixed bag though. She seemed like a strong, intelligent woman coming into the show, but her bizarre turn into becoming an obsessive snoop who just wants to uncover the family secrets gets pretty annoying. There’s also a brief bit where she’s being a whiny brat for no real good reason? Other than that, I really liked Sonali as a character.

Shriswara as Geeta: A good measured performance. Her character wasn’t clearly defined in the promo, and I thought she’d be a long-suffering wife, but I’m glad she wasn’t. She did keep mum a lot to keep the peace with Vikram (because of her guilt?) but did counter him when required. Her bond with Mridul was the purest, but it was strange how she had no connection with Addu at all? Most of Addu’s parental interaction is with Vikram, despite their tension. She seems to have zero relationship with her mom. I also disliked the turn Geeta’s character took after the reveal. Like I said before, there was no real good reason for her to sleep with Samar. It was just such a flimsyyyyyyyyyyyy plot point. Upar se, she didn’t even seem contrite about it. Like, idk where she got off having that tone with Sonali asking her what her problem is, for wanting to leave after the reveal. It was just jarring. Overall I liked how Sriswara played all the different bits of Geeta; the patient wife just on the brink of losing it, the indulgent mother to Mridul, the woman in a million different clubs because she’s just trying to fill the void in her. As an actor she was very likable, it’s just that the writing for her character was shaky af.

Sanaya Pithawala as Aditi (Addu): I don’t really relate to teenage angst anymore and get annoyed by it, so I can’t really say I connected with her character, but I did feel for her and her heartbreak when Nandu crushes her brutally. I also liked her cool ‘deal with it’ attitude post the incident and the confidence with which she navigated her coming out. The plot with that boy Shashi though, it was confusing… There seemed a legit moment where she was into him. I guess she’s still really figuring out who she is as a person. Her best scenes have to be with Vikram, whether they’re clashing, she’s purposely taking the mick outta him, or trying to make up with him. She was fine, watchable, but I was very distracted by her bad wig.

Prithviraj Sarnaik as Mridul: The purest. The face of an angel. The only character worth rooting for in the show. (I mean Addu too, I guess, but I found her kinda obnoxious at times.) I normally do not like child actors, but this kid was very adorable. He really seemed to have a maturity to him; silently observing and taking in everything. Other than PL, he’s the only one who really gets everything that’s going on here in this shitshow of a family. I felt really bad about how all these badly behaved adults probably traumatised the kid for life. But overall, it was a charming little performance and I wish they’d made him the overarching narrator of the show, coz I loved his little voiceovers every now and then.

Overall

Overall, I’d say this is okay for a one-time watch. It will disappoint you towards the end; because you just stop caring for these characters, which is a mark of crappy writing. But it does have an able star cast that does the best they can with the material on hand, so if you have some time to kill, and like these actors from other stuff, it’s worth a dekko (esp. since each ep is only about 15 - 18 minutes long; you can be done with the whole show in about 3 hours…)

[autumn-pines]

Blank State-Chapter 2: Dipper

   Chapter 1

Before...

Switching. Danger.

A handshake.

Laughter.

  Unlike the girl, the boy wasn't saying anything. And even though he was quiet, he looked just as upset as the other child. He was simply staring at you with a depressed, knowing face, while rubbing his arm, like he was unsure what to do.

And when the girl is on her knees, crying, the boy puts on one hand on her shoulders while the other goes up to pull down his cap, partially hiding his face.

But even from where you were, you could see something shining on what was visible.

And maybe, there was a hitched sob.

 "We saved the world, but what's the point? Grunkle Stan's not himself anymore." The boy mutters, scuffing at the ground with his foot.

He looks like despair is starting to grip him, the same going for the rest of the people.

However, after the girl finds the scrapbook, he walks over to the right side of the chair, perching himself up on the arm.

"That time we went fishing?" He breaks in, sounding cautiously hopeful. Or desperate. "That Summerween we spent together? Don't you remember anything?"  

You don't.

But then you do.

Something small. Only a name. But then it turns into two names. And now the boy is happily saying to keep going as you sit down, scootching closer when you do.

After the laughter, you gently reach over to rub your knuckles into the boy's head. He only lets out a wide grin, his expression near giddy, and punches your arm in return.

Afterwards, you are told that the boy and the girls are twins...

And that they are your great niece and nephew.

Which makes a part of you glow with giddiness and pride. Though you didn't admit that.

And like your niece, your nephew has his own quirks, too.

He's sort of an awkward child, with a cracking voice resulting from puberty and his tendency to burst into rants and then stutter off when he realizes what he just did.

However, you notice he is a little firecracker, too. Not so much the way Mabel is with her happiness, but more like a determined feisty kitten.

It didn't help that he sometimes sneezes like a kitten, too.

"I do not sound adorable!"

You also note that the child wears the same clothes everyday. Literally.

A red short-sleeved shirt, a blue vest, gray shorts, and his blue hat with a pine-tree on it.

You never bring it up, but you hope that he at least changes to another pair of the stuff he wears instead of keeping the same pair on.

He also sometimes carries a red book around and writes in it while chewing on the pen or clicking it relentlessly.

One time, you saw a golden six-fingered hand on the cover. You felt a pang of familiarity, something itch your mind, but when you tried to delve down into your memories, the feeling disappeared.

But a image of the elder man flashed.

Whenever there are scrapbook memory sessions, the boy is always there, correcting details and adding to them.

"Uh, Mabel, the zombies were not made out of pink putty."

"Oh, no. The wax guys actually meant to kill you."

Once, he tells how he went into your mind and saw a memory of yours that he will never forget.

"...And when I opened the door, you were saying that I was a loser, and weak. That you just wanted to get rid of me." The b-Dipper paused, studying the table, not meeting your eyes.

You wince, feeling like an absolute jerk. You open your mouth, about to apologize when the boy raised his hand.

"But when I listened more, it turned out you were only talking about your past experiences, and that you were just trying to help me get stronger so I could fight the world if things got tough." He finishes, finally looking up at you, smiling.

Then, with some hesitance, he slides off his chair and walks over to hug you. "Thanks, Grunkle Stan."

"...Eh, no problem, kiddo." You pat him on the back, feeling a lot lighter than just a few seconds ago. But then suddenly having less breath when your nephew decides to turn the hug into a playful chokehold.

He is a bit stronger than he looks, and you feel pride for him.

Dipper though, is also a bit jittery.

Once he asks for a dollar, and when you hand him a one-dollar bill, he glances at the back and drops it, watching it as it floated to the ground. He didn't move to pick it up but nor did he move away from it.

You gingerly put a hand on his shoulder, "You okay, kid?"

"I-I'm fine." He utters, starting to look a little scared. "C-Can I just have some quarters, please?"

Swiftly you offer the silver coins, and with a nod of gratitude, Dipper snatches the coins and speed-walks out of the room.

When you pick up the dollar, you scan it, trying to see what frightened him. There was nothing suspicious looking, except for the weird triangle thing with an eye on the left side...

...a cackle. Screams. 

You leave the dollar on the counter.

Later that night, you had to your best to calm down a panic attack.

"Will he be okay?" Mabel frets from beside you. Earlier, she ran into you while you were heading to your room. Frantically, she brought you to their bedroom, where you found your nephew sitting on his bed, with arms wrapped tightly around his knees, breaths short and erratic.

You nod, putting your hands gingerly on Dipper's shoulders, causing for him to look up at you with wide, terrified eyes. You can feel your heart crack. "Alright, kid, deep breaths. Inhale...exhale..."

After about a minute, Dipper finally calms down. "S-Sorry," He mutters. "It was j-just a stupid nightmare."

You shake your head. "Hey, there's no such thing as a dumb nightmare. It's alright to be scared. Just uh, come get me if you need to, okay?"

Dipper smiles slightly, and nods. With his sister's help, the two go back to bed, and you can hear them chatter as you leave the room.

You had a feeling that the dollar-bill sparked this. But why, you don't know.

Sometime later, Dipper takes off his hat and shows you his birthmark, making you recall his real name, a hospital, and you holding two tiny babies. One that punched the doctor when she came out and the other already having something strange the day he was born.

You never have seen something so adorable.

So naturally you tried to hold them as long as possible.

That same day, the two of you go on a trek through the woods. Dipper saw something that he wants to check out, but since his sister and the other man were busy, he asked you to come with him.

"What are we looking for again?" You shove away a branch that just slapped you in the face.

"I don't know, actually." Dipper glances down at the notepad he brought along while holding the end of a pen to his mouth. "All I saw was a bunch of neon colors. It did kinda look reptilian, though. And I heard a screech type sound."

If you die because of this, it is 100% not going to be your fault.

"And what's your plan to track this?" You tighten your grip on your bat. You don't like going in blind, especially when you're with a child.

"Grunkle Stan, we've been following it's footsteps for the past six minutes." Dipper responds, sounding deadpanned.

You tilt your head downwards and realize that the two of you were walking on a trail of footsteps, with each one having four toes and what looked like claws. Huh. What an observant person you are.

You are preparing a snarky comeback when your nephew stops, perking up as if he spotted something. "Shhh," He hisses as he leans forward, carefully lowering a bush.

Ah, you see what he's looking at.

Just a few meters away, a tall, bright-colored...thing is standing on eight legs, sniffing at a tree. You guess it does appear similar to a reptile with it's scales and face structure. But there is something strange about it. Pure black covered the neck and head, making the rest of it's body stand out even more. And even from where you are standing you can see it has small red pupils.

That just flicked back and caught direct sight of you.

The thing lets out a purr and turns around, staring at you with a curious expression.

"Hey, kid." You whisper, not taking your eyes off it. "Do you think this thing is friendly?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Dipper mutters, writing and sketching on his notepad. "It might be. Like, I guess it did purr at us."

The creature then smiles.

It. Smiles.

Making it look a lot more creepy than it had a right to be, almost like a serial killer. It takes a step towards you, flexing it's sharp, hooked claws.

Oh boy.

"RRREEEEEEEEEEE!" The monster screams and charges.

Yup, that would be a no thanks to you.

You snatch your nephew around the waist and throw him over your shoulder before running as fast as you can without face planting into the ground.

There were a few times when you thought it would catch and brutally kill you both, but with Paul Bunyan's luck it get's lost somewhere behind you.

The two of you are covered with leaves and mud when you finally reach the Shack, and after you set your nephew down, you both burst out into hysterical laughter.

But then you remember being on a mist-covered mountain, letting some kids loose to destroy things, the slowest and most irritating sky-tram on earth, a spider lady that tried to eat you, and specifically you saying, "What do I look like, an amnesiac?"

You slap your forehead.

So far, your past was something, to say the least.

But the most important thing you recall, was Dipper smiling up at you, and saying sincerely.

"Hey, we're both losers."

After you tell the adventure the two of you had in the woods to the rest of the family, whose shocked faces making the event totally worth it, you go to the chair, feeling exhausted. 

What you didn't expect was to feel something lay on your side. 

When you look, you discover that Dipper was resting on you, already asleep. Without saying a word, you wrap an arm around him.

It was a pretty good day.

Your nephew is lots of things. Books that are scattered everywhere. Annoying and relentless pen clicking. Typical teenager awkwardness combined with eager curiosity. A constellation on Earth, in a spot least expected. A quiet type of happy, that shows itself in subtle ways. A secret name that only a few know.

A pine tree.

All that resulted in Dipper.

I always enjoy writing some Stan and Dipper bonding. They are such a stubborn pair.

Okay, the next chapter is Ford's! Which should be posted tomorrow, but don't worry if it doesn't. I'm a little busy right now, however the next chapter will probably be on schedule. Thanks for reading!

@stanuary

[felixeslee]

92 q tag

hello this tag is highkey irrelevant now but it’s been in my drafts for ages so !! laskdgjasodigjsaldkgasodigjasdg which is why i wont b tagging anyone bc im so late but !! yeah !! ok !! !!!!!!!!!1111!!! lets !! go !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

tagged by @hyuunjins @hyunjinh @straykiz and @dae-hwee from my w1 blog (lmaoo hi pindi this is sarah!! AIddgsdfk if youre aware of this blog but hope its ok if i do it here alskdg ) 

rules: once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 92 truths about you. At the end choose 25 people to be tagged. 

🌙 LAST

Drink: the water that I drank this morning!! Aka around 12 hrs ago asdgasdgoij pls stay hydrated kids 

Text Message: i texted my brother if he knew where my dad was lol,,,,,,, sldkjgaosidgj 

Phone Call: CALLED MY BROTHER BC HE WASNT RESPONDING MY TEXTS,,,,, he also didn’t pick up ldskgjsoidgjsldkgsjdg

Song you listened to: Goodbye My Love by Aileeeee <3 lovv 

Time you cried: TODAY ,,,, i was getting super anxious bc i didn’t know where my dad was ??? he was supposed to pick me up but he forgot abt me until like an hr later… sldkgjaosidgj 

🌙 HAVE YOU EVER

Dated someone twice: no :00 lmao i’ve never dated… ever alskdjgaoijsdf 

Kissed someone and regretted it: i havent had my first kiss yet HEH 

Lost someone special: unfortunately, yes :( 

Been depressed: sdgksjadoiglskdfosdijgalskdfaosdigjaksdgoaisdjf idk 

Been drunk and thrown up: lmao i’ve never drank ,,, at all,,,, the smell of alchohol scares me,,,,, evn my little brother has had a sip once and he’s 5 yrs younger LMAO ,,, but im a noob and don’t wanna try sldkgjosidjgs 

🌙 IN THE PAST YEAR HAVE YOU

Made a new friend: yay yes yeslgkdgsdf

Fallen out of love: i dont think i’ve ever evn been in love…. Sdlgksjdoigj 

Met someone who changed you: yes,,,,,,,,, 

Found out who your true friends are: uhhhh idk aslkdgjaosidjf i honestly can never tell when someone’s being a fake friend so!!!!!! Idk honestly lmao

Found out someone was talking about you: i did ! but it wasn’t for anything bad or anything……… they just criticized me behind my back?? But i agreed w their criticism so alsdkjgaosidgj  

🌙 GENERAL

How many people on tumblr do you know in real life?: ummm,,,, like 4?? We r mutuals evn though none of them r actually kpop blogs,,,, so i always feel guilty spamminig their aesthetic feed w my screaming tags and annoying shit LMAO but i lov them <3 

Do you have any pets?: NO :”( I WANT A DOGGO THO …. REALLY BAD…..

Do you want to change your name?: uhhh ik so many sarahs its not evn funny and my last name is hella basic too????? Theres 3 ppl that share my first+last name in my school alone….. So maybe i’d change it to my chinese name (yue) ?? also bc it sounds more sophisticated,, and i lov anything that makes me sound smarter than the reality of my dumb self LOL 

What time did you wake up this morning: LOL so my alarm rings at 6:40 but i get out of bed at 7:10 SLDGKJSODIF … and i need to get out of the house by 7:20 lsdkgsdoig 

What were you doing last night: physics and apush :SLDGJOSIDFJ the 2 most dreaded classes UGH

Something you cannot wait for: DINNER .. i love me some gud dinner

Have you ever talked to a person named tom?: thomas jefferson my mAN 

What’s getting on your nerves right now: when it’s so heckin cold i can’t concentrate + i hate taking notes when it’s cold??? Bc then my hands r like half numb and it HURTS WHEN I TAKE NOTES sldkgsoidjf ALSO WHEN I DRAW ,,,,, STIFF FINGERS R THE WORST WHEN DRAWING

Blood type: i think a????????????

Nickname: my most common ones r swisso + salad (i promise these make sense in context LOL ) 

Relationship status: return NullPointerException; //im a cs person,,, dont judge

Zodiac sign: capricorn!

Pronouns: she + her

Favorite show: i dont watch many shows but i love watching a gud studio ghibli movie when im feelin down

College: this QUESTION LSDKGJSODIGJ ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i wanna go to college but will any accept me ??!?!

Hair colour: its naturally black but it’s currently dyed ombre from black → brown !!!!!!

Do you have a crush on someone: i havent had a legit crush in 3 yrs lmao……. 

What do you like about yourself: the fact that im a deep sleeper. Idk how light sleepers function omg like wouldn’t u wake up to like,,,,, everything??! :((( that makes me sad bc u hav no idea how much i lov a nice long undisturbed slumber

   🌙 FIRSTS

First surgery: okAY so like i've had 2 procedures done on my eyes lmaooo like (1) when i was a smol beb of like 1 yr old i rolled off my bed aaaannnnddd the corner of my eye hit the edge of the sharp corner of the bedside table!!! and then y1ke$ things got ugly loll (((yes, i wuz dum + clumsy since the day i popped from the womb))) its all stitched up now and i hav a tinie tinie scar aslkdgs okay and (2) there was something weird abt my tearducts LOL so u know when u get sad nd stuff ur nose gets runny and u sniff a lot??? well like that wasn't the case for me bc the passage way from my eyes to my nose was completely blocked off,,,,, which resulted in me lookin like i was full blown cryin like every 2 seconds... like if i kept my eyes open for too long my eyes would get watery and tears would flow out LMAO ,,,, i looked like i just never stopped crying,,, but it was just my eyes were just ALWAYS WATERING sdlgjsdif damn u have no idea after the procedure i was like 'do ppl live like this??? not having to wipe tears every 0.2 sec??? oh my god,,, i am livin THE LIFE' 

First piercing: i hav no piercings!!! Bc stabbing holes thru myself scares me sdlkjgsoidg but i love the way earrings look tho so :///// 

First sport you joined: dance or gymnastics???? I dont rly remember

First vacation: CHINA prob???? 

First pair of sneakers: i think sketchers LMAO ,,, the big thing  

🌙 RIGHT NOW

Eating: nothing!!!!!

I’m about to: do som sketches for my AP art class 

Listening to: my dad sing som old chinese folk stuff behind me LOL 

Want kids: i already adopted all 9 members of stray kids tho ??? idk if im ready for more atm 

Get married: LOL This question just reminded me of smol story from my childhood: so like i used to b rly close w these 3 other kids,,,, one other girl and 2 guys,,, and our parents were all rly tight too,, and our four families would just go camping together and it was rly :’’D fun and so we all made a pact that I would marry one of the guys and the other girl would marry the other guy and we’d all go camping together forever but then KINDERGARTEN HIT,,,, we moved schools and yeah im still rly close w the girl but i miss the 4 of us dkgjsodigjsdlkgsdf LOL 

Career: waterbottle 🌙 

WHICH IS BETTER

Lips or eyes: eyes? Eh idk i just never rly considered lips ?? LOL 

Hugs or kisses: hugs? I dont hav experience w kisses so sldkgjsoidgjsd yike syikes yikes 

Shorter or taller: TALLER

Troublemaker or hesitant: uhhhhh neither??? Like i just want someone playful + extroverted bc im quite introverted,,,,,,,,,, so if he was hesitant we’d just b super awkward and quiet,,, and i don’t like getting involved w sketchy troublemaker shit either LOL ,,, 

Older or younger: as long as they r in the same school grade level,,,, and i guess 1-2 yrs older is okaY? But lowkey freaks me out if too old 

Romantic or spontaneous: sldkgjsoidfj both? Like i lov someone who is unpredictable and spontaneous,,,, but on the other hand im lowkey a helpless romantic lasdkgjaoisdjf 

Sensitive or loud: both i guess too??? Its good to have someone understanding and sensitive but also someone who knows how to have fun  :) 

Hookup or relationship: hookups,,,,,,,, just dont make sense to me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, like i get attached to someone p easily so even if i dont plan on being attached,,,, i’d probably get attached :(  

🌙 HAVE YOU EVER

Kissed a stranger: YIKES no 

Drank hard liquor: nO 

 Lost contacts/glasses: UH I HATE THIS BUT YES….. 

Sex on first date: yikes * (6.02 *10^23) adkgaosidjgaslkdf no thaNK you 

Broken someone’s heart: i dont know,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, like i might’ve but maybe im just not aware ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but on a sidenote i think my old comupter science teacher gets a migrain everytime he sees me LOLLLLLL sdlgjsoidgjsldf 

Been arrested: no,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, :0 

Turned someone down: yeah lmao i kinda feel bad tho bc they were all good ppl,,,,  lskjgosidjf but thankfully im still good friends and pretty tight w all of them ~  

🌙 DO YOU BELIEVE

In yourself: ocassionally i try to :’’D

Miracles: lol yes 

Love at first sight: i used to ? but not anymore,,,, like i believe u can be attracted to someone at first sight ?? but i feel like love cannot be attained thru visual contact only asldgjoasidjalsdg