#:) my friend started an embroidery club thing

[comfortfrogblog]

so i learned how to embroider

[maybestoryideas]

TWST Imagine #1

Imagine the students’ reactions to finding out you enjoy making fiber arts (weaving, sewing, embroidery, etc.).

Since Ace and Deuce spend the most time with you, they’re the first ones to discover your hobby.

The three of you were having lunch when the two boys realized that you hadn’t said a thing since they sat down to eat. Deuce looks over to ask what’s wrong and sees you hunched over in your seat, fiddling with something in your hands.

“What’ve you got there, (Name)? (Name)?”

You looked up and around, as if not realizing where you were, before smiling and showing him your hands. In one, you’re holding a very familiar sash of grey and white fabric. In the other, you’ve got a needle with some thread. And beside you lies a small sewing kit.

“Grim ripped his collar while trying to sneak out of class, so I figured I'd fix it up before it tears completely.”

Then you immediately go back to sewing. It’s a little jarring for them; seeing their usually blunt and sarcastic friend taking on such a dainty endeavor. But what’s even stranger is the amount of skill and concentration you’re investing in said endeavor. Your hands and eyes are moving with surgical precision, and the tray of food you brought has barely been touched. Ace wants to make some snide remark about how you, of all people, know how to sew, but he’s not even sure you’ll hear him. In hindsight, it’s probably for the best; you’re holding a needle in one hand and are within arm’s reach of scissors.

If Kalim finds out that you can make charms or trinkets, he’ll immediately ask you to make him one. Expect other students to follow soon after.

“So, how did I sound?”

“You were great!” you answer, stopping the recording.

Cater had run into you earlier that day and invited you to stop by the Light Music Club; to come listen to him play and give some feedback. This resulted in you becoming their impromptu cinematographer and filming his performance. Personally, you think that was his whole plan from the start, and he just wants a good video to put Magicam; not that you mind, either way. As you hand Cater back his phone, his eyes flick down to your wrist.

“Hey, that’s a pretty cool bracelet! Did you get that from the school store?”

“Oh this? Nah, this is just something I made in my spare time.”

“WHAT?!”

You practically jump into Cater’s arms, certain that half of the school could hear Kailm. The latter of the two runs over and takes your wrist in his hands. Despite practically bouncing with energy, he’s careful not to grab or pull too hard as he stares down at your wrist.

“You can make jewelry? That’s so cool!”

“I don’t know if I’d call it jewelry since it doesn’t use metal or, well, jewels.”

“That doesn’t matter. The fact that you can make something like this just goes to show how talented you are.”

You know Kalim’s just being a proverbial ball of sunshine because that’s how he is, but the compliment still makes you go a little pink.

“Thanks, I guess? I mean, I learned how to make friendship bracelets when I was a kid one Summer, so it just sort of stuck with me.”

“Friendship bracelets…” he parrots, like you just spoke in a foreign tongue. Then he smiles up at you. “Say, could you make me one? I mean, we are friends, after all!”

How can you say no to a request like that?

“Hah, of course, Kalim. Did you have a preferred color in mind?”

“Hmm, maybe something blue. Like a sky blue?”

“I’d prefer something in an emerald-green.”

“Gah!”

You swiftly turn to face Lilia, who’s standing right behind you. It comes as more of a surprise than it really should.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I simply assumed the offer was open to all of us. We’re all friends here, are we not?”

He smiles back at you.

“If you want me to make you one, you can just ask. Cater?”

“Red and white, please!”

…And look forward to even more of them asking for you to fix their clothes

Knock-knock!

“Hang on a sec…”

You open the doors to Ramshackle and are greeted by the sight of Ruggie holding a small stack of hastily folded clothes.

“Again?”

“Yeah, things got a little out of hand during our last Magift practice. I already washed ‘em. D’ya think you can fix it?”

You take one of the shirts and examine the damage; just some unraveling along the seams, nothing longer than an inch.

“Yeah, I can take care of these no problem.”

Ruggie follows you into the lounge, closing the door behind him. He takes his usual spot on the couch and sets the clothes on the table, while you go to get your things. Perhaps he should stop by Sam’s next time and pick up some more supplies; you were starting to run low the last time he was over. A moment later, you’re back with your tools and are already at work fixing up the tears.

“You know, you don’t have to stay here and wait for me to finish; I can just text you when they’re done.”

“It’s fine. Besides, it gives me an excuse to not go run errands for Leona.”

“Aren’t you bored, though?”

“Nah, this is the only chance I get for downtime.”

You chuckle softly, finishing up one shirt before moving on to the next. It looks like you’ll just barely have enough thread to finish the job.

“Maybe you should start charging a fee to people for fixing their clothes.”

“You sound like Azul,”

“I’m just sayin'; if someone can afford to buy a new shirt, they can afford to pay for some thread. At least that way you’re not spending your own money.”

“Does that mean you’d be willing to cover the expenses?”

“Does it have to be my money?”

“Well how else do you plan to compensate me?”

“I could cook your meals?”

“Tempting, but I think I’d rather just take the money. Besides, didn’t you just say this is your downtime?”

You can’t help but laugh as his smile lessens just a little.

“Relax, I’m just kidding,”

“No, it’s fine. I was gonna buy you supplies anyways…”

“That’s good. Because I’m pretty sure this is the third time I’ve had to repair this exact tear in this exact spot on this exact shirt.”

“Huh, what a weird coincidence…”

While a lot of students will tease you, some of them admire the dedication you have to your craft.

You hold one end of the thread up and use your hand to cut it with your scissors. The snip could barely be heard over the sound of Idia furiously typing away at his computer.

At first you were shocked that Ortho had come to you, asking for help with something on Idia’s behalf. And you were even more confused when he all but dragged you to Ignihyde dorm, insisting that you had to come to his brother’s room and that there was no way he could bring ‘it’ to Ramshackle. But then Idia showed you a rather large demon-plushie with some torn seams and bits of stuffing poking out.

Yeah, no, that’s more than fair.

However, despite your respect for discretion and almost total silence, Idia was internally panicking. More so than usual. You’re with him. In his bedroom. And you’re handling one of his stuffed-imps. The only reason he hasn’t suffered a TKO is thanks to Ortho, who asked to watch you work.

If you were aware of the two brothers staring at you - one with pure curiosity and one in pure terror - you showed no sign of it. Instead, your attention was solely focused on the task at hand; at least you weren’t trying to talk to them. The minutes ticked by and Idia found himself looking less at his screens and more at you. And the longer he looked, the more things he began to notice. The way you smile when you pull the needle through, how your hands brush over the fabric as if trying to soothe an actual living thing, the slight movement of your fingers as you weave the needle in and out.

Once you’re done with one part, you pluck another thread from the spool, pulling more and more until you’ve drawn a length of string that goes from the tips of your fingers, down the length of your arm, and to your other hand. Still holding the thread in one hand, you grab the shears beside you, nest the thread between the two blades, and cut.

Snip!

And you continue working. Like the Fates from the age of Myth. Focused, graceful, confident.

His own little Fate…”

“Did you say something?”

“Ooh! What’s this thing for?” Ortho asks, pointing to a small metal tool beside you.

“Oh, I use that in case I need to split a seam,” you explain to him with a smile, “But it looks like I don’t have to use that this time,”

Thankfully, the school is somewhat lenient when it comes to customizing your uniforms...

“Hey, Deuce! Check it out!”

Epel’s eyes scan the sports field, making sure that no one was paying attention to him and the fellow first-year. Once the coast is clear, he unzips the top half of his uniform, just enough to hold out the right side of his jacket. It takes Deuce a moment to understand what he was supposed to be seeing, but then he notices a patch in the shape of a grinning skull lining the inside of Epel’s jacket.

“Woah!” he can’t help but be in awe, “When did you get that?!”

“You remember how we talked about getting designs put on our uniforms, right? I went to (Name) and actually did it!”

“That’s so cool! It’s like it’s staring right at me!”

“I know, right?! I wanted to go with the dragon, but (Name) said that something that detailed would be too big for a patch. And then Vil would inevitably see it and freak out.”

“That’s too bad. Still, it looks really impressive. Like, you open your jacket and people see that looking back at them.”

“Totally! Plus, it’s right over where the pocket is, so no one’ll know it’s there,”

“No one will know what’s there?” 

The two boys jump before turning to see Pomfiore’s vice housewarden smiling down at them.

“Ah… Hello, Rook. I didn’t see you there.” Deuce smiles as he not-so-subtly stands in front of Epel, who’s fumbling with his zipper.

“My apologies,” the third-year began, “But I couldn’t help but notice the two of you talking and had to know what it was that ignited that spark in your eyes. So…”

He moved Deuce to the side and took a step towards Epel.

“You’re not hiding anything, are you? Epel?”

The younger boy’s eyes are looking everywhere except at the upperclassman.

“Um… I-”

“Rook!” All three of them look over to see Coach Vargas marching over to them. “You better not be hunting my students again!”

“Ah, je suis désolé,” Rook sighs, “I’m afraid I must depart. How tragic, if only that I could stay a little while longer.”

He starts to walk away, but pauses and turns back to them with a smile.

“And rest assured, I will not breathe a word of this to Vil. Adieu, mon ami!”

Deuce and Epel watch Rook leave, only relaxing once he’s completely out of sight.

“...I’m glad you didn’t get the dragon.”

“Me too.”

…Because the teachers have noticed some of their students looking a little more colorful lately.

[journey-to-the-attic]

my back hurts like hell and i'm stuck inside for the day SO i've just been thinking about the newspaper club and their dynamics with characters outside the club

honestly this is more for me than anything but i thought i'd give em a post anyway :^) these aren't 'finalised' in the sense that they're all going to end up in the fic (especially since i also talk about the s4 trio, who won't even be appearing), but i'd call these 'canonical' to jtta in a broad sense of the term

^for reference in case anyone's not aware - from left to right, mephisto (pink), astaroth (blue), wiz (purple), alecto (green)

alecto & lucifer

we already see belphie calling alecto in to deal with caim in ch42, so kind of building on that idea: alecto sort of becomes the student council's secret agent in all but name

so lucifer (being the de-facto leader, even if diavolo's technically the president) calls on her more often

at first lucifer just has her dealing with trouble-makers in school; then, seeing as she's so reliable, he has her helping run errands - and eventually he starts asking for favours outside of school, such as helping him track down a cursed record, seeing as she has a nose for magical contraband - in return, he helps alecto source certain artifacts for wiz, who's obsessed with them

then at some point along the line it becomes a less transactional relationship and more just being buds

they'll catch up with each other in the corridor and have a brief chat, occasionally they'll meet up for a coffee. they peak when alecto starts calling him 'bestie' as a joke and lucifer finds that he doesn't actually mind it

though unfortunately lucifer'll never get the opportunity to take advantage of his new friend's talents on the harpsichord, since alecto reserves those nearly exclusively for wiz

if i had to describe their dynamic it'd be: drinking buddies at the pub

one thing that lucifer did not foresee from this though: alecto really wants to fight him. no magic - that's boring and a foregone conclusion - just good old-fashioned hand to hand combat. he's been steadfastly refusing so far, but maybe one day she'll break him down...

alecto has seriously considered offering to play for him (which she's NEVER done for anyone outside the club) in exchange for a fist fight

alecto & raphael

ideal duo: one is goofy and the other has catholic guilt

more seriously, these two really do get on like a house on fire, even though you'd never be able to tell from a glance

whenever they're hanging out it just kinda looks like alecto's doing her own thing with raphael silently following along - but this is just what works for them

basically, raphael normally can't handle hanging out alone with someone who's above a certain energy level. and, while alecto is above that level, somehow she hits a sweet spot where she makes up for raphael's lack of energy in a way that doesn't overwhelm him

it does sometimes seem like alecto's talking to herself, but often raphael's comments are just too quiet for an outsider to hear

alecto regularly begs raphael to use his shower of spears on her to test her dodging skills, and unlike lucifer, raphael usually indulges her

one time she reflexively broke one of the spears and had to apologise profusely while raphael sadly held the shattered remains

(he wasn't that bummed, he just thought it was funny how guilty she was about it)

also alecto's got a talent for embroidery (if you look at her design - she stitched the daisies on her trousers and shoes herself), and raphael enjoys sewing, so they bond over that

wiz & levi

need a super specific prop complete with special effects for a cosplay? wiz is your gal

she's good with arts and crafts, and also knows SO MUCH about magical artifacts and their mechanisms that you could give her anything and she'd be able to reproduce it

and i need to make this clear: levi absolutely does NOT approach wiz first. he's terrified of her! why would he do that!!!!!

ik is the one who first asks wiz for help when levi's in a prop dilemma - he needs a specific wand

wiz makes it, PLUS adds in a feature where it makes colourful sparks when waved that correlate to the actual magic system of the show it's from

and levi's so blown away that he overcomes his fear to thank her in person, and after realising that overly friendly people aren't the scourges he views them as, slowly gets brave enough to ask her for help on his own

generally he just views wiz as, like, the super cool seasoned warrior that occasionally swoops in to save the main character from danger and deliver a life lesson

meanwhile wiz adopts him a little bit. not in the same way you adopt, like, a little sibling - more the way an older student adopts someone lower down in the school

she'll barter with fabric vendors in his stead to make sure he doesn't get ripped off buying materials and tell the cashier that he doesn't want pickles on his burger for him

wiz & om mephistopheles

i've sort of mentioned these in the s4 post, but i'll re-iterate (and explain) my point a bit here

wiz is really good at adjusting her own mannerisms and lingo to set whoever she's talking to at ease - so she's good at the sort of noble formal-speak that mephistopheles is used to

which is how they initially become sort-of friends; mephistopheles finds it easy to talk to her, and is subsequently a lot less standoffish and haughty than he usually comes off as - so wiz isn't immediately put off by his rich bitch attitude like most are

though mephistopheles does NOT like that wiz is so blase about breaking rules when it comes to magical artifacts, because she's usually disregarding direct reprimands from diavolo to do so

but (because he's got a good first impression of her), he has to begrudgingly respect the audacity

and since diavolo has sort of given up on getting her to listen, mephistopheles has decided he might as well look the other way as well

he enjoys consulting on the various puzzles wiz puts together for the newspaper, though it does sting whenever she gives him one that he genuinely can't solve

alecto cannot STAND him at first, but wiz keeps inviting him around to their house for tea (she feels bad for him because everyone seems to hate him), and she starts finding it really funny how much sugar he gets through

though whenever mephistopheles gets a little bit too royalist, wiz is quick to move the conversation somewhere else

astaroth & belphie

ohoho these guys...... (listen i promise the stargazing boyfriends will be a reality in-fic eventually)

they'll have been dating for months before either will admit it (it pisses asmo off because how is his baby brother going to start dating BEFORE him and not even acknowledge it?!!?!!?!?)

astaroth doesn't like talking about them and belphie's solution to just about everything is to sleep on it, but somehow they've both developed a radar for the other's problems

often belphie will just show up at his house without warning, and it's usually there that they spend time together - because tbh belphie would rather go without his brothers constantly butting in on his quality time

of the two of them, belphie gets the most nervous early on in the relationship - he's used to being able to read those he's close to easily (his twin connection with beel, ik's complete inability to keep her emotions from showing on her face), but astaroth's got a habit of just. forgetting to emote

belphie will be completely overthinking whether or not he's completely messed up this date and astaroth will just be staring blankly into the distance thinking "this is the happiest i've ever been"

he gets better at understanding him over time, though - to the point where he can somehow tell how astaroth's feeling based on the vibe of his silences whenever they're on call with each other

on that topic, they spend quite a lot of nights on the phone to each other when belphie's not over at his, since astaroth feels awkward staying the night at the hol - though most of the time belphie will fall asleep halfway through a conversation

astaroth & thirteen

these two don't seem like they'd get along at all, because astaroth seems way too normal to be interesting to thirteen

but here's the thing. he is not at all. and thirteen realises this as soon as they meet

get him talking and this guy has stories about having done the stupidest things, and somehow he thinks that it's normal behaviour - this is the only reason he can project that image

thirteen can never bring herself to explain to him that, no, astaroth, it isn't normal that your one solution for accidentally burning food is to rip out the entire cooker from the wall to shut off the fire. how are you even strong enough to do that????

astaroth isn't really one to get involved with the making of her traps (though he'll offer suggestions if she needs them) - thirteen doesn't go to him for that sort of thing, she goes to him for vibes

astaroth's visited her cave enough times that she's just installed a secret ramp corridor so that he doesn't have to deal with the security spells every time

they're very in-sync when it comes to making fun of other people - essentially they're that "true friends judge other people.... together" post

they're not super close emotionally, but with astaroth being so into the stars and ~the endless universe~ and thirteen being in close proximity with death, occasionally their conversations take a turn for the intensely philosophical

mephisto & solomon

*slaps head of boys* these bitches have a relationship SO complicated

they're in a weird place after the whole sonno thing, where solomon's finally gotten some closure on having been abandoned, but he really doesn't like it

meanwhile mephisto doesn't think it's a good idea to try to bridge the gap after all this time, so he just kinda withdraws emotionally

which solomon hates even more, because he's just perceiving this as a second abandonment

whether in a romantic way or not, back in that time where they were each other's only company during his studies - solomon might have loved him then. and to be honest he's never really let it go

there's this whole cocktail of resentment, grief, guilt, relief, hope and devotion going on, and neither of them know how to handle it

it gets weirder because eventually they settle in with a new dynamic - of good-natured banter while carefully ignoring what they both know the other is thinking

and it's comfortable, but the thing about these two is their relationship has never been static like this

the one constant has always just been each other; even back then, feelings were mixing and flipping on a dime, which is probably why neither's ever used a label for whatever the hell they were

figuring it out was always going to messy, but mephisto left before they could, and now they're at this motionless stage where both are avoiding moving forward - for fear that the other isn't willing to take the plunge

mephisto & diavolo/barbatos

diavolo and mephisto SEEM like they really don't like each other - which would have been true pre-jtta, but after the whole ordeal with sonno, they've both silently agreed to let bygones be bygones

but they still tend to avoid each other's company, though not necessarily deliberately - it's just that they share a lot of bad memories from that old time, and seeing the other tends to remind them of it

however, they've also both developed an odd, subconscious sense of duty to the other; essentially, they'll go out of their way to assist/defend each other, but only if they don't have to be alone together to do so

neither feels they have much to say in terms of reconciling their pasts, so they don't

meanwhile, mephisto and barbatos don't tend to hold much stock in their shared past - but, unlike with diavolo, they do share some fond memories, so there's still a certain degree of affection to their relationship

similarly, they feel an obligation to each other - if anything, theirs is stronger, since as chronodae they share a sort of mutual connection that's beyond ordinary comprehension

and, while they'd describe each other as 'an old friend', they're not close in the same way that friends are; rather, they're close in the same way that two moths seeking the same light have an instinctive mutual understanding of what drives the other - though neither would be able to put it into words

some more misc ones that i don't have a lot to say about, but i like

astaroth and raphael are pretty chill - they like hanging out together bc neither likes talking a bunch, but enjoys passive company, so their hangouts mostly entail being in the same general area but doing completely different things

lucifer and astaroth share a lot of their tastes in music, so occasionally lucifer will ask astaroth for recommendations. sometimes when belphie's feeling nice and he knows lucifer's been overworking lately, he'll call astaroth over to perform a little concert in the music room

mephisto and levi don't tend to talk, since their history makes it kind of awkward (even though levi's mostly forgiven him at this point), but when they do mephisto's always weirdly nice to him. no ridiculous jokes, no antics - tbh it's kind of unnerving how pleasant he is

wiz and satan don't talk a lot, but when they get started they'll go on for FOREVER, because they're both magic nerds with special interests in curses (wiz used to be a curse-breaker herself) and magical artifacts. a similar thing happens with solomon, except that tend to engage in more scholarly debates rather than just gushing or throwing fun facts back and forth

lucifer respects wiz as a mage, but finds it difficult to talk to her because she has a disconcerting habit of looking very hard at whoever she's talking to, and he doesn't do well with perceived scrutiny

alecto and belphie have a mutual understanding going on where, if one needs assistance from the other, it's given without question - but they don't hang out a lot, since alecto's the type of demon that belphie can't really handle without a buffer

lucifer finds mephisto insufferable but he also thinks he's really funny, so he's constantly having an internal struggle whenever he's around

mammon has wanted to ask astaroth how fast he can go on his wheelchair for a really long time but he's never worked up the nerve to (astaroth's whole monotone stoic deal intimidates him)

simeon gets along super well with the girls and will usually ask them first if he needs someone to babysit luke for whatever reason

astaroth doesn't like sugar, but one time luke offered him a cookie and he felt too awkward to refuse. but now luke KEEPS offering him sweets, and now he's trapped himself

mephisto and thirteen are thick as thieves - but, don't get me wrong, they'd NEVER emotionally confide in each other. what they've got going on is some kind of troublemaking goblin solidarity

wiz's expertise also makes her a perfect consultant when it comes to thirteen's traps, so you'll often see them poring over blueprints together

[baldurspeen69420]

Get To Know My Tav! (Part 2: Electric Boogaloo - Sophie Edition)

I did one of these for my first BG3 OC Byron a long time ago and I've been wanting to do one for Sophie since forever, now I finally have a minute! These are just so much fun to do. Might even do my Honor Mode Githyanki next if I get around to it!

Sophie Beaumont - Half-Orc - Champion Fighter - She/Her - 31

favorite weapon: She's a built lady with the power of bonking on her side, so she tends to lean towards various hammers, clubs, maces, and blunt objects. But her favorite gear is definitely her shield to protect her teammates.

style of combat: Tackles combat with a more defensive weapon and shield style. Fighting is always a last resort even though she's skilled at it, but Sophie is someone who'd always prefer to mediate her way out of conflict when possible.

most prized possession: Her favorite childhood book of poetry. The cover is battered and the pages are yellowed, but it's filled with doodles and notes in the margins from over the years.

deepest desire: To find her place in the world and someone to share it with. She's wandered a long time feeling lost and alone, so she really just wants a new start.

guilty pleasure: Definitely has an appreciation for the more frivolous pleasures of life, which people don't usually expect from a seasoned mercenary. Enjoys chocolates, makeup, soft clothes, and a warm bath fit with salts and candles.

best-kept-secret: Under that quiet and serious disposition is a deeply lonely person who wants to be understood and seen as more than a half-orc or soldier for hire.

greatest strength: Her compassionate heart and also rippling abs. Any problem that can't be solved with empathy and communication can be solved by punching it really hard.

fatal flaw: Low self-esteem city. Struggles to see her own worth and value, which can lead to her accepting treatment that's less than what she should be receiving. Very insecure about her half-orc heritage and appearance.

favorite smell: Baking bread and fresh flowers.

favorite spell or cantrip: Sophie has never had a talent for magic and isn't particularly well-versed in it. Her experience with Gale where he shared a bit of weave with her and helped her cast a spell was her first time ever experiencing magic for herself, and is one of her fondest memories of their tadpole adventure.

pet peeve: People assuming she's uneducated, brutish, or violent due to her half-orc heritage. She's so used to being called all kinds of things to the degree it hardly registers in the moment, but every comment still cuts and stings.

bad habit: Has accustomed herself to self-sacrifice and receiving very little in return. Doesn't expect much from anyone which can cause her to be distrustful of others intentions. Very much a mindset of "expect the worst" minus the flipside of hoping for the best.

hidden talent: A surprisingly skilled needleworker. Spent a lot of time shut away in her home growing up, and sewing/embroidery was one of the only things she and her mother did together that gave them common ground.

leisure activity: Tends to run low on social battery and go off on her own later in the day at camp. Reads, tailors her clothes, and writes poetry when no one is around. Spends a lot of time in the mornings training and keeping fit, however. Enjoys sparring with Karlach in particular since her intensity and aggressive fighting style keeps Sophie on her toes.

favorite drink: Loves a cup of warm milk with cinnamon and chamomile, not a treat she gets to enjoy often.

comfort food: She's spent a lot of time on the road eating rabbit and roughage, so any chance to indulge in sweets from the city is a blessing from the gods. Pastries filled with chocolate or cream are her favorites!

favorite person: Gale and her grew very close throughout their journey together, but she's also good friends with Wyll and Karlach. Halsin's flirtations (while flattering and flustering in equal measure) were eventually gently turned down in favor of the affections of the camp wizard and resident chef.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): She's a romantic at heart but definitely prefers simple gestures when around others. Basic things like holding hands make her warm inside. She hasn't had someone before who's proud to be with her, so even small displays of affection in public are a change of pace and very welcome.

fondest childhood memory: Her childhood was definitely not a happy one by any stretch, but she'll always remember the first day she snuck away to go past the walls of Baldur's Gate for a festival. After seeing the city from its outskirts for so long, even being in the lower city was nothing short of magical. She realized how much of the world she hadn't experienced and how much was truly out there beyond her distant mother and childhood home.

Just putting out a tag to @kelandrin to see this post because they've always been a number 1 Sophie fan and their asks have meant so much to me in the past 🥺

[lady-wildflower]

So I had a busy weekend and didn't wanna get bogged down writing because that always gives me The Executive Dysfunctions. So I got bogged down arting instead!

My OC Tegyd Lowri Humphries! She originates from Birds of a Feather, my spite-motivated fic wherein I queer the fuck out of the Potter universe and pointedly do better wherever I can than Her Despicable TERFness did when it comes to disability, nonhumans, etc. She's a Welsh half-human, half-caprid centaur, which are centaurs but goat instead of horse. So she's effectively a faun. Lives in a lil cottage in a secret village in the Bannau Brycheiniog called Pen ôl y Ddraig with her father, the caprid centaur. Her Mum comes and visits frequently, though she lives in Cardiff - it's not a broken family situation, it's just the most convenient arrangement for them. Tegyd's adventurous, and loves a good hike up a mountain. At the current point in the story I'm writing, she's in her third year at the wizard school, and a prominent member of the Nonhuman Club, with her dryad friend Blodwen, who is a crab apple tree, whom she grew up with.

Tegyd is one example of how I actually deal with the implications and consequences of my worldbuilding (looking at you, Jowling), she's an exploration of the Statute's fuckery as it affects anyone visibly nonhuman, as well as just in general, what it's like for a nonhuman to grow up in that world, though post-Kaleidoscopic Grangers (my original spite-fic, BOAF is a sequel to it, where I made Potter a blind trans girl adopted by the Grangers and had a whole heap of fun).

She's also getting migrated to an original story idea where she's a Welsh fae who's gone off to live among humans who are in that universe her special interest. Finally she doesn't have to deal with fae bullshit- oh wait, she gets the crown princess of the Seelie dropped unwittingly in her lap along with a package deal quest. But that's the Seelie Princess version, not the BOAF version - the SP version got combined with another BOAF OC, Alpin Faughn, a Welsh-Scottish lil lad with heterochromia and a penchant for sewing and embroidery.

I don't often draw, so this one was a Process™. I started off by finding a reference pose, which I then destroyed by photoshopping the goat legs, ears, and horns onto. Then I gave up for several months lmao. Then I decided to resurrect it with some art tips a friend gave me (shout out to @brewbellwizardry and later @death-munchkin who babied me through shading), starting by tracing a skeleton and general shape onto paper on my screen - 'cos one of the things that pissed me off previously was trying to use a drawing tablet, which I discovered is actually a skill. Then I began iterating, tracing over traces, general shape first which needed a little adjusting since Tegyd's canonically a bit curvier than the model. I used that as a reference for the clothes, did the tops first then the skirt, then I traced all of the components onto a master trace, which I then scanned with my printer into my computer. Did the hair on a separate piece of paper so it wasn't hell.

And then came my second ordeal of computering it. Started off by blocking out the colours, then doing outlines (which are still manky but shush I don't need to fix thoSE-) and then other details. The tartan be wonky as hell, but hey. Thanks to my friends I was able to figure out how the fuck to do shading, and voila!

And there we have her, my shoddy attempt at my funky six foot satyr lass.

[ausetkmt]

A quilt resurfaces with stories from a long-gone Detroit neighborhood : NPR

The signature quilt hanging in a museum display. The pattern is made of blue and white fabric with 20 X-shaped blocks. There are embroidered names, telephone numbers and addresses in each, done in red and blue thread.

Sophia Saliby

Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood thrived as a center of African American life and culture in the first half of the 20th century, until the construction of a highway and government-mandated redevelopment all but wiped it out.

Now, a recently discovered quilt is providing a peek into what life there was like more than 50 years ago.

The minute Marsha MacDowell saw it in an online sale in 2018, she knew it had to come home to Michigan.

Quilted in blue and white fabric, the design includes 20 X-shaped blocks. Embroidered on each are names like Sister Roberta Wilson and Mrs. Mollie Mason, along with addresses and telephone numbers.

As someone who grew up in Detroit, the Michigan State University Museum Curator of Folk Arts and Quilt Studies recognized the street names.

"It is in a location where urban renewal in the 1960s pretty much took down every residential building," MacDowell said. "If you go on Google Maps, what you see are vacant lots."

One of the few buildings still standing is the Zion Congregational Church of God in Christ on Mack Avenue. The nearly-century-old church is near what was once Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood. The community, which grew from African Americans migrating from the South, included dozens of Black-owned businesses and a well-known music and night club scene.

In 2021, MacDowell decided to post photos of the quilt to a church Facebook page.

"We were flooded with responses that, 'I know this person. This is my mother. This is my aunt. This is a person I knew in the Zion Church.'"

Marsha MacDowell says the blanket is what's known as a "signature" or "autograph" quilt because this group of women inscribed their names on it. Women like Mrs. Mollie Mason embroidered their names, along with their addresses, in Detroit, Michigan. Sophia Saliby hide caption

toggle caption

Sophia Saliby

"The most exciting thing for me was to know that some artifact that my mother had been a part of still existed," Quinn said.

Quinn, who's in her nineties now, remembers her mother being involved in a sewing circle with other women of the church. She's positive the quilt was made for a fundraiser sometime in the 1940s.

"She found her niche when the sewing circle started. She was always making something and having us do embroidery," she said.

A year after that first post, in April 2022, MacDowell worked with leaders of the church to bring together people like Quinn to reflect on their close-knit community.

Quinn called it a reunion of sorts. They remembered the sewing circles, the women who ran them and how church life wasn't just about church, such as when she and her friends were old enough to sneak out of service to stop by the local candy store.

MacDowell says the quilt is more than just a blanket or even a piece of folk art. It's a piece of history.

"This quilt is a textual document of what was a thriving neighborhood and a thriving relationship amongst those individuals whose names were inscribed on the quilt," MacDowell said.

Marsha Music is a current member of the congregation. She says it's significant the women of the church put their names on the quilt.

"There was a part of them that wanted to make sure it was known that 'We made this,' and it has stood the test of time," Music said.

MacDowell is continuing to dig into the origins of the quilt and its creators and hopes to use recently released census data to learn more.

[putschki1969]

『KEIKO fan meeting chocolate meating #2』Live Commentary

Keiko’s exclusive fan club event is about to start. I got tickets for both performances of course so I will be live commenting on some of the stuff that’s happening. As always, I will also try to provide a report/summary. Very excited to see Keiko with her guitar again, she has been practicing like crazy so I am expecting something pretty neat for today. We might also get a new song reveal so YAY for that. Still hoping Keiko and Kaori will cover “cynical world” at some point during the event. It’s unlikely but a girl can dream XD

Tweet by Keiko | Instagram post by Keiko

Keiko is wearing a gorgeous black dress with floral embroidery, will try to find it somehow. She immediately starts with the live section and later mentions that this event will be more focused on singing rather than talking (compared to her previous fan club event which was live stream only). For the evening section, we got an outfit change. A beautiful shimmery blouse and a long black skirt.

1. Alcohol: You know how I feel about this song. Not my fave but okay 2. [DAY]Toori Ame/通り雨: For the second song, eji joins Keiko on stage. 通り雨 sounds quite different today, maybe a slight change of key! I love it! Very emotive performance. [NIGHT] Genjitsu no Metaphor/現実のメタファー: Ohhhh, love this acoustic version 3. Hitori Janai Kara/ひとりじゃないから: I like the live version a lot more than the studio version but once again, it’s not my fave Talk with eji (Q&A): They talk about how eji really loves Disney music. 4. End-roll/エンドロール: OMG, I am officially deceased. This might have been the hottest thing ever!! Keiko on her guitar singing with that super sexy voice. Such a rockstar!! Ughhhhh!! Talk: Kaori joins Keiko on stage. 5. Akamusubi/紅結び: I am not at all familiar with Kaori’s songs but this was ABSOLUTELY beautiful. 6. Cleome: Meh, wasn’t a fan during the YouTube broadcast and didn’t particularly like this either. Just not my cup of tea. 7. Nanairo no Finale/七色のフィナーレ: Love her version with Kaori. Their harmonies are great and Kaori sings some of the higher parts that are sometimes a little tricky for Keiko. Aww, she got really emotional during the evening performance. It’s kinda funny how she tries to distract from it by drinking water and going straight to the Q&A. Talk with Kaori (Q&A): Apparently Kaori’s fan club would have a name related to alcohol because that’s what she is obsessed with. During the evening, someone wants them to hold hands while singing so Keiko gets all grabby XD And they remember their time together in New York when they were doing FictionJunction work. 8. [DAY] New Genesis=Shinjidai/新時代: Apparently one of their favourite karaoke songs. Don’t know it but it’s pretty cool. Nothing to write home about though. [NIGHT] synchronicity: OMG!!! It’s not “cynical world” but I voted for this as well!! So excited!!! *sobs* What can I say? The acoustic version of this is just WOW! I have no words! Talk 9. Burn in the Wind: Might be my favourite live version so far. Absolutely flawless. Encore 10. [DAY] 夜の噓と: YESSSS! Was hoping she would perform this. It was everything I expected. Simply beautiful, especially the end!! LOL tho at that random announcement during the song (someone apparently made a mistake and accidentally played one of their recorded announcements for the show) [NIGHT] Inochi no Hana/命の花: It’s been a while. Lovely as always.

Keiko started doing a little raffle at the venue but for us streaming viewers it seems like they prepared a prerecorded “After Talk” session in which Keiko answers some more questions. There was no raffle for us but I guess that makes sense since it’s still possible to buy streaming tickets for a couple of days.　Last but not least, here’s my haul (courtesy of my friend). So happy! I even got a message. BANZAI!!!

[foggyfanfic]

Hi!

Can you answer ☔ from the WIP ask?)

Hello! Thanks for asking, that’s very sweet of you! Hearing from you always makes me smile. As usual, I have many words. I really thought I was going to be able to keep this within a paragraph. But I failed.

I have one I know I’ll never write because it has wandered far enough away from the source material that if I change two names it’s an original story. It started as a story where Bruno grows old, dies, goes to heaven, then gets resurrected by a necromancer for mysterious reasons; and originally the main thrust of the story was 1) exploring how the Encanto may have grown in the past few decades since the movie, plus how they'd handle how unavoidable the internet is becoming, and 2) Bruno gets to meet other LGBT/mentally ill people (and mentor those within his own family). But then it kinda spiraled out from there. That internet thing turned into the theme of isolationism vs globalism, and now there are more OC's than characters from Encanto, and it's not even in the same universe anymore. Even my self indulgent OC has ended up wandering miles away from being a self insert and is now an allegory for the benefits of globalism. (Where as the villain has become an allegory for the downsides of globalism).

Incidentally however, within that story one of the main OC’s was Camilo’s grand daughter, who could look into the past. And of course I had to come up with a wife and kids to give Camilo so the girl could have a father, and that spiraled into its own story that I’ll probably never write. (This is where the long part starts).

So! One day, when Camilo’s like 25 or something, he’s trying to figure out what to get Mirabel for her birthday. He comes up with the idea that he’ll turn into one of the girls from her embroidery club and find out if there’s any embroidery supplies she needs. He goes out into the market, finds Mirabel, hides behind the corner, and turns into one of the women from the club. He gets two steps out from where he was hiding, before a quiet girl he’s never really spoken to steps into his path, and says, “Oh good, there you are! I have got to tell you what Camilo did this morning.”

Camilo, of course, already knows what he did this morning, he helped one of the kids practice being goalie in anticipation for try outs. But he’s only human, so when somebody gives an intro like that, he of course needs to know what they’re gonna say next.

“You don’t mind, right?” she asks, before he can prompt her, “If you’re busy this can wait until Saturday.”

“No, no, not busy at all,” Camilo says, even as he watches Mirabel walk away past this girl’s shoulder.

And the woman (who thinks she's talking to her best friend) proceeds to tell him all about what he did that morning, only where as he saw it as just a fun way to help one of his neighbors, she saw it as the “sweetest, most wonderful thing”. He’s flattered of course, but very confused and a little surprised, he’s pretty sure he and this woman were in the same class growing up and she never seemed all that interested in him. In anything, really. She always seemed very flat, he would never (again) be so rude as to call somebody boring, but… well, she definitely never seemed so expressive or lively in group settings.

Then the woman really throws him for a loop when she says something wildly inappropriate. I haven’t nailed down exactly what, but think something from one of those “celebrity reads thirst tweets” videos. Something that’s hilarious and extremely horny. The sort of joke you would only make with your most trusted best friend and never ever want your crush to hear.

Camilo is so shocked he accidentally drops his disguise, even while he’s laughing at the joke she made (he had no idea this girl was so witty).

Her face goes from a conspiratorial grin to a look of absolute horror. He has just enough time to realize how this probably looks to her, before the horror gives way to humiliated rage, and she punches him. Knocks him flat on his back. (He had no idea this girl could punch so hard, or that he liked that in a woman).

She runs away, but not before Camilo sees the tears welling in her eyes. He heads to Tía Juli, gets a healing arepa, then goes back out to find the girl so he can explain himself. And reassure her that he thought her joke was hilarious, not that she was.

He isn’t able to pin her down and actually spends the next three weeks trying. In that time he learns things about her such as her name is Adelaide, she teaches young kids, volunteers every chance she gets, loves astronomy, and has apparently been stopping by Casita since the gifts came back to ask Tío Bruno for visions about space.

He begs Tío Bruno for help, but Bruno (pretends) he has no interest in helping Camilo. Truth is, Bruno picked up very quickly that Adelaide was actually using the visions as an excuse to drop by Casita and catch a glimpse of Camilo. When Camilo and Adelaide were teenagers he felt sorry for her, because she was clearly head over heels, but they seemed completely incompatible. But now, in their mid-twenties, she’s gaining confidence while Camilo is gaining maturity, and Bruno is becoming super invested in this potential relationship. So, after letting Camilo squirm just a little, Bruno agrees to help by saying he’ll convince her to talk to him, if he comes up with the best damn apology anybody has ever given.

Camilo eagerly agrees, and decides that the best apology he can think of is a new telescope, the only reason he knew she liked space was because she’d been trying to find a new lens for her current one but couldn’t afford one. He buys her the telescope, but looking at it, it doesn’t seem quite enough. So he throws in a bouquet of flowers, and also some chocolate, and also a moonlit picnic so she’d be able to use the telescope right away, of course. Bruno leads Adelaide to Camilo’s not-at-all-a-date-shut-up-Antonio, then has to immediately excuse himself to keep from giggling maniacally. Leaving the two young adults standing awkwardly by the picnic blanket. Camilo wordlessly holds up the bouquet, she wordlessly accepts, then they both sit down and just sort of stare at the food.

Eventually, they talk it out, Camilo explains himself, and admits he may have developed a bit of a crush on her when she punched him. Adelaide figures she’d already humiliated herself as mush as she can, so she apologizes for hitting him, and admits she’s been in love with had a crush on Camilo ever since they were six and he shared his lunch with her. Camilo has zero memory of this, but alright, this works. Let’s go! So they date, and fall in love, and live mostly happily ever after (her family causes problems, which is a major part of the granddaughter OC’s backstory, but this is already very long).

[facetsofthecloset]

15 Questions 15 Mutuals

Was tagged by @meteor--shards​, but tumblr tumblred and didn’t notify me at all! I just happened to see the post while scrolling luckily lol

(idk why this keeps happening even when people tag my main blog. should probably contact support about that >_>)

Were you named after anyone?

Yes, my first name came from my dad’s tai chi teacher’s wife. Which sounds like a weird random connection, but they were practically his second set of parents so, yeah.

When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday. This morning? idk man i’m on an emergency trip back home at my parent’s place for mental health reasons i am not at my most resilient rn

Do you have kids?

As in actual kids I birthed myself, hell fucking no, but considering the age gap between me and my brothers I half-consider them my own kids in some ways.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Why no, never. Not at all. Not even the tiniest slightest bit. Perish the thought.

[^i’m lying for the bit] What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Uhh, never really thought about it, but if we’re meeting in person, probably their height?? Just because most people are taller than me so the first thing I have to do is crane my neck lol

If we’re talking about online, I only ever use tumblr, so probably their tags

What’s your eye color?

Brown. Pretty much black though.

Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, usually, because for a long time I was too wimpy for any kind of horror. In recent years I’ve really started getting into it but I still tend to go to media for happy endings because real life generates enough horror for me most days MY GOD what is happening with the chickens!?!

Sorry our flock of chicks was being really loud just now because one got separated by a thin concrete wall that was very echo-y lol (they’re fine now)

Any special talents?

Eh, dunno about that. My party trick used to be leaning over backwards really low (think, like, for playing limbo or Matrix bullet-dodging) without falling over or touching the ground, but the pandemic nuked my stamina and all physical ability, so I’ve just been in mild but constant pain for the past year or so.

I guess I’m decently quick at picking up the very basics of new creative mediums (paints or embroidery or whatever), maybe that counts.

Where were you born?

Japan. Oh dear that chick got separated again hang on

nvm it was a second chick that got separated earlier as well and was hanging around the kitchen door, which was why it was so loud. It’s fine and much quieter now.

What are your hobbies?

Writing and drawing mainly, but I’m the kind of person who has five million hobbies because I need to rotate between them to keep myself interested. So auxiliary hobbies include costume making (covers a lot of different hobbies honestly), swimming (in the ocean. and not like, proper forms and all that. just being in the water basically), parkour (can’t at present for physical condition), roller/ice skating (once again, not atm), started woodcarving the other day (kinda falls under costume making because i’m trying to make a wizard staff lol) and whatever else I feel like taking a stab at for one day and then maybe never again (I should try fencing. maybe when my back isn’t in constant pain)

Have any pets?

At my parent’s place, there’s a cat, a dog (both fairly elderly), bunch of half-wild chickens, various fish, and a tortoise (the kind that get big). Don’t keep any pets at my place because I travel back and forth too much and it wouldn’t work logistically.

What sports do you play/have you played?

Like on an official team/club? None, aside from parkour briefly. Otherwise it’s stuff I mentioned in hobbies that I learned either on my own or had a friend casually give me tips or something. My parents have been teaching me tai chi on and off through the years? Does that count it’s a martial art isn’t it I mean

How tall are you?

5′2″ is what I tell people. Technically I’m just a hair too short for that but it sounds defensive to say 5′1.8″ when I don’t actually care that much lol

Favorite subject in school?

Art, enjoyed the marine biology course I got to take in hs. Was good at English but never loved the way any of my teachers taught it. Technically my hs history class was my favorite but that was bc of the teacher and not the subject matter.

Dream job?

I’ve always wanted to be a fantasy writer, but I figure that can be a long term goal. For now, for a job that would sustain me? I would LOVE to be involved in theater costuming or even just grunt work in a production company. Something creative and silly. I’m considering applying to work at Tokyo Disneyland despite grievances with the company overall just because being in a themed environment every day and getting to see “behind the scenes” does sound fun. Even though I’m sure the work culture is probably horrible. idk something to do with costumes or practical effects would be amazing.

I also love bugs and animals but I have a harder time visualizing myself working in related fields there

I don’t have 15 active mutuals, but: @mariegoos, @vonlipvig​, or anyone else who wants to play, feel free! No pressure tho

Thanks for the tag! It was fun :)

[u2fangirlie-blog]

U2 Fangirlie's Blog Introduction

Hello -

I'm not sure what focus or purpose this blog will have or if it's ready for prime time. I want to explore a new blogging and social media platform. Mainly, I want a repository or archive for all the weird, funny, obsessive things I write about. If no one else reads it, I'm okay with that. My captive audience on Facebook is very small, just friends and family. (My hard and fast social media rule is that I don't accept friend requests unless I know the people in real life.) Here on Tumblr it's a scary audience of total strangers, bots, and fake accounts.

To begin with, I'll copy some of my favorite posts and comments from FB and YouTube. I'll share some of my analyses or criticisms of TV shows, movies, books, and other entertainment media. Then I might copy some messages I wrote on various topics and go more in-depth. Eventually, I might share photos of my cats and my various craft projects.

See my post from 5 Sept. 2023 on why I don't write fiction.

Blog topics may include the following stuff I Iike: Cats, fantasy, sci-fi, movies, books, TV series, nature, animals, plants, rocks, crystals, science, metaphysical, occult, witchcraft, pagan, tarot, paranormal, ghosts, psychic phenomena, dreams, sleep, psychology, archetypes, mythology, ancient history, language, linguistics, etymology, writing, researching, creative non-fiction, literature, satire, parody, comedy, absurd, sublime, art nouveau, impressionist art, astronomy, photography, learning about cultures, travel, and a wide variety of crafts including: beads, beaded jewelry, shiny things, knitting, crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, coloring adult coloring books, paper bookmarks and cards, decoupage boxes, terrariums and dioramas with miniatures, container gardening with flowers and houseplants, and sewing costumes. Former hack-amateur tribal belly dancer.

Finally, if you haven't figured out my username, my favorite boy band is U2. Liked them starting with Joshua Tree. Been a fangirl since Achtung Baby. Expatriate from the fallen Zootopia - the former online fan club. Got a photo pass to take pictures at their concert in Chicago in May 2001.

12 Sept. 2023

[daydreaming-optimist]

15 questions & 15 mutuals

I was tagged by @permanentreverie - thank you, lovely!

Were you named after anyone?

My middle name is named after one of my mom’s really close friends, and my first name was a book character (my mom doesn’t even remember the book, she was just reading and liked the name)

When was the last time you cried?

Well I watched Dead Poets Society last night with my roommate so that should be answer enough

Do you have kids?

Nope

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Depends on who I’m with - my family, especially my brothers? All the time

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Usually their hair and/or smile

What’s your eye color?

Grey

Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings!

Any special talents?

To quote Lindsay, idk you tell me

Where were you born?

United States

What are your hobbies?

Reading, embroidery, singing

Do you have any pets?

My family has two dogs and a cat. I was originally going to get a kitten when I graduate from college, but I’m gonna be staying in university housing for grad school and they don’t allow pets :(

What sports do you play/have you played?

I started gymnastics when I was 3, started competing when I was 8, and did it until I graduated high school! Now I’m in the gymnastics club at my university, but it’s super casual

How tall are you?

5′7.25 (the quarter is very important because it’s what makes me taller than one of my brothers)

Favorite subject in school?

I liked all of them, but probably English or Spanish?

Dream job?

I want to go into forensic linguistics! But if we’re ignoring what I’m going to school for, then running a tea shop/used book store/bakery with @just-a-cup-of-anxietea

open tags <3​

[sherifftillman]

first off, congratulations on your milestone. I'm so happy for you, and I'm obsessed with this carnival theme!

I'll take a hall of mirrors please🪞💕 - I am the literal worst at talking about myself, but hopefully I paint a good enough picture of myself for this.

I work in a library where I design book displays, trivia games, and escape rooms, and I run a DnD club where I am the DM but I'm still learning so I'm kinda terrible at it lol

I'm a big musical theater nerd, a reader and writer (duh lol), and a book hoarder. Sometimes, I act in plays and musicals, but I also have horrible stage fright, hate being the center of attention, and can't easily speak in front of large groups of people to save my life. I am aware it makes no sense. I'm also big on all forms of sewing type crafts (cross stitch, embroidery, crochet, plushie making, etc). I just really like keeping my hands busy.

I am the kind of person who loves discovering new media, but when I find something that I really enjoy, I will watch the same movie over and over again, listen to the same album on repeat for months at a time, rewatch the same shows again because I like what I like.

My favorite piece of clothing is this very flowy black dress patterned with sunflowers, and it makes me feel beautiful. I have a mood ring that I wear every day that I will admit I only started wearing because it looked like one of Eddie's rings, but now I feel naked if I forget to put it on before I leave the house.

I'm unintentionally loud, a fierce protector of my friends, and a hopeless romantic.

Please take this info dump of probably unhelpful information and put my dumb ass into the narrative lol

not me reading all this intensely as if i don't already know all of this about you lmfao though you missed out the bit where that dress is also eduardo's favourite 😉

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 2k follower celebration event ongoing! ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

okay so, not to just copy and paste one thing about you into it lol, but i do think you'd work at the hawkins library, too. eddie had practically begged you to take it once you both graduate, anyway, since he can't exactly keep running sessions from the school now he's left, and it's not like people use that conference room in the back, you could just let him keep his throne there, right?

you'd always wished you could have been more than just a sub for hellfire stuff, you always had fun playing with the party and they were forever inviting your character to join bonus oneshots, but theater always took up too much of your time to commit to d&d full-time. the only downside to getting the library job is that now that consumes all your time, so you still never really get to join any campaigns. eddie'll still visit between sessions to plan, though, and he's forever bending your ear for inspiration.

once eddie gets a job, he doesn't have time to get to the school in time, pick up the kids AND get to the library quick enough to get a good session in. so he relies on his ol' pal steve to play chauffeur so he can meet his party there. steve doesn't even question that there's another person in his car every week that he's never met, let alone spoken to. he hears the name gareth get thrown around, but he assumes that's part of the game, he doesn't believe that name really exists.

steve doesn't know what to do with himself while they play, and since you're the only one within 30 years of his age range, he pretty much hangs off of you. he's useful to keep around, though; he can carry way more than you, he's happy to fetch you stuff, and he can reach up to put things on higher shelves with ease - in fact, after seeing the makeshift way you pile things up to reach those shelves, he insists. As payment for being your little assistant, you'll make him little thank-you gifts - a woven bracelet here, an ewok plushie there. but, since his love language is acts of service, he always retaliates by trying to do even more while he's at work. meaning you feel more obligated to make him stuff to show your appreciation for all this extra effort. which makes him believe he's gotta do more to earn all those extra gifts. he gets the message eventually, though.

[itskyliedarkplaz]

Sword bounded

Chapter: 1

Prologue

I seriously have the worst luck, don't I? Mom told me to clean the attic on the day off! Daman is lucky that he has his club thing that he needs to do. And that's not even the worst part! While I was cleaning the attic (it's a good thing our attic is not like the other creepy attics), some boxes almost fell on me!!! And now that room is even messier and I probably have a head injury! Why does this happen to me? I should be used to this, but I still get surprised.

"Aria!! Are you alright?! I heard a loud crash" [Aiyana's mother said coming hurriedly]

Mom helped me get up from the floor, and I got up but something sharp fell on my ankle. My mom sighed looking at me, "You should be more careful!"

"I was being careful Mumma!"

"Ok, ok, let's see if you are hurt anywhere"

"So mom, are you going to tell me about the new book you were going to publish?" I asked my mom as she took out the first aid kit.

"It's not a new book but a story I wrote during my time in high school, it's honestly really bad." Mom said as put the medicine tube and bandage down on the table and started to apply it on the injury in my arm, "I don't know why I even wrote it. I mean I even created a side story!"

"Well, then why are you even posting it?"

"That's because I want people to know that not everything starts off as perfect. I want to show people that people don't just start off with a masterpiece. Our talents are like seeds, we need to thoroughly water them to let them grow, if we let them go at one point, they might wilt."

"Yeah, but why do they need that anyways? Yeah but don't people know that they need to work hard so they can be successful in life?"

"That is true, but people sometimes lose confidence after some people become successful they feel like it's 'just a waste of time' or 'the other's work is much better than mine I should probably give up' stuff like that makes people insecure. We can do nothing but this is the least I can do"

"Wow... That's surprisingly nice"

"Ohh, you don't think I am nice?"

"Hmm, maybe? But when are you going to publish it in your website?"

"Why are you asking? Do you want to read it?"

"Well, yeah. You know that I love reading your books!"

Mom chuckled after hearing me say that and patted my head. She got up and said "Alright but don't tell anyone about this, even friends. I have it on my laptop, let me just get it."

"Okayyy"

After my mom left I punched my hand in the air and did a little happy dance. I love reading my mom's books, she is a world wide known writer, with her most famous story 'The little Star' series.

Hmm, I shouldn't just idly sit here, I guess I can fix some.

Many people think I would be a writer (donno why they think that) but I am more into art and craft, embroidery, origami, painting sketching, calligraphy, sewing, knitting, and much more!

My brother is the smarter one, I am not good at studies and never have been, and even if I try I won't be able to compete with my brother. But that's fine! All of us have our ups and downs! I may be average in looks and studies but as long as I am good in art, I'll be satisfied with myself.

"Aiyana!" I heard someone call my name

"Oh, hello Mausa! Do you need something?" I replied

My family moved foreign when I was six, coincidently the rest of our family lives here too, so we all live in a big house together, though some came quite..... bothersome.

"Where is your brother?" asked my other mausa, Surandra

"Oh, he's at school, it was supposed to be a holid-"

"Then why aren't you going to school? Oh my, Did you lie to your mother?"

"...No, like I was saying before, it was supposed to be a holiday today but my brother needs to go since he has some club thing he needs to do."

"Oh, is that so. Hmm, alright"

"Do you guys need anything else?"

"No, you can go"

"Okay, bye"

My family owns a rather big house due to my mom's famous carrier, while there is only my mom, brother, and grandma and my my aunty and her daughter, so it has just been us. But from time to time our relatives come and visit us. I don't really care about them but I know they don't like me because I look more like my so-called father whom I have never heard from before. I have only met him a few times but they weren't rather good. I don't really get how me, looking like him make them dislike me, I mean I am me not him. Well, I can't do anything about that it's better if I don't want to waste my time on stuff like that, if they don't like me that's fine, it's their loss.

"I am back!!" My brother shouted as he came in.

"Yo! You look rather happy."

"Yo! Where is mom?"

"She should be in her office, so how was-" before I could finish, my brother rushed to my mom's office. I followed behind him, calling out to him.

"Hey! What happened?!" I asked him but I only got ignored in the end.

Daman went to my mom's office and said in an excited voice, "Mom! I won the national maths quiz, I came in as first!!!"

My mom got the brightest smile on my face i have ever seen before and rushed to hug my brother, "Oh my god! I am so proud of you Daman! You have made me so proud!!"

"Oh nice, Congrats dude" I went and did our signature handshake (don't tell Aisha we did that)

Our happy family was soon interrupted by some of our relatives(Were they seriously eavesdropping on us?) "Oh my! This calls for a celebration!!" one of my uncles said enthusiastically and gave my brother a pat on his back, "You have certainly proved you are the man of the house here!"

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea." My mom said "Oh and we can do it for Aiyana too, she got 3rd prize for her art competition too!"

Wait wa? But I got my results tomorrow, and it's not like it was a big deal either way. I only got a third prize which is incomparable to my brother's achievement, I mean he got first prize in MATHS QUIZ!! I only got the 3rd prize in arts. I wanted to argue with my mother but Mausa, Surandra. "Didi, no offense but shouldn't we just celebrate for Daman? Aiyana already got her prize yesterday, and Daman still hasn't received his prize yet plus he won a maths competition, I think it is better than any art competition"(for the last statement he gave me a stingy side eye).

"Yeah, Surendra is right Didi, c'mon I am sure Aiyana would understand" Mausa Suraj agreed, while giving me a nasty side eye.

"Well, if you don't like it you don't need to come." my mom said with a stern tone. She looked so cool while saying that.

"D-didi, I was only advising you na. Why are you getting so angry about it?"

"Hmm alright" My mom said before turning to my brother, "Why don't go and freshen up? Are you hungry?"

While my mom was talking to my brother, my mausa's quickly fled from the scene (did mom seem that scary to them?). "Y'know mom they are right. I only won 3rd prize, it's not even that special. Plus, it's Daman's day, not mine."

"Aiyana, you still won 3rd place right? There were so many participants but it was you who got 3rd. You shouldn't listen to what your mausa's says." My mom reassured me with her comforting words.

"They are probably jealous that you have better art skills than them" Daman joked

"Yeah, totally Bhaiya." I replied while chuckling at his joke. "If Bhaiya is fine with it, then so am I"

We looked at my brother for an answer he shrugged and said, "I am alright with it"

"Alright then, If you are fine with it then I am too." I said with a smile.

The party (well i guess it was just our family) went fine, everyone enjoyed themself. Neither me nor my brother really aren't interested in parties but we do bear with them from time to time. Oh and my mom gave me her book to read and it was... okay. While it has a good plot there are many plot holes in the story. Like the prince didn't like people who lack confidence or appear weak but when the heroine has a 'weak body' and self-esteem and she is basically given everything without much effort. It would be nice to see her struggle and do things on her own to get her own goals but nope, whenever she is in trouble, she just calls for her knight in shining armor or her prince charming (I don't know why I feel like she is a pick-me girl). The side character is way more interesting than the MC! I don't want to tell my mom about this, how bad this story may be my mom was the one who wrote and it may not make any sense but the world-building is excellent. And I loved the side character and the villainess! OMG, she is A~MA~ZING~!! Purple hair with red eyes! She sounds so beautiful! 'The butterfly of the society!! That sounds like such a cool name!!! I like the second male lead too! He is a magical knight with a magical sword, who is searching for his lost sister.

When I was reading the story my mom told me that she wrote some stuff about the side characters too! And there is even about the sister of the second male lead! Kylie Everette the long-lost sister of the second male lead. I think I forgot to mention that the crown prince (Male lead like always) and the second male lead are cousins, they fight to the death, with the ML(male lead) coming out as victorious. And the second male lead dying without ever finding where his dearest sister went. The FL is sad for him for literally two seconds and then go to her prince charming and congratulates him. Oh, and did I tell you about the two other male leads who died while protecting or curing the FL. It was kind of disappointing that the male leads died the way they did, they had sp much potential.

I was soon brought back to reality when I suddenly was distracted by the vibration I felt on my phone and then pick up to see that my mom had sent me a file with the title "Backstories of SC".

I immediately looked up and made eye contact with my mom she had a massive smile on her face. She looked at me and winked. I smiled and quickly opened it, I have got to read it!

After reading the Backstories of the side characters, I was really excited to talk to her. I quickly went to talk to my mom and we discussed about it but my mom got dragged away by the adults, I felt really tired and went to sleep. I woke up thirsty and went to the Kitchen to get a glass but while I was going to the kitchen i heard some noises coming from the dining room. It was our relatives and... grandma?!

I could hear them talking, the conversation went like this

"Today was amazing, wasn't it. Yes, I could be more proud of Daman" Suraj mausa said (I mean who wouldn't be he is so awesome)

"Yes, but I don't know why didi, insisted to make a party for her daughter! I mean, she isn't good at school nor good at art either, if she was she would have got first place" Said Surendra Mausa

"I don't even know why Didi keeps her with her, I mean she could have just left her at the orphanage" I heard my Mausa say, and then he started cackling

A third voice came up which took me by surprise "Well this is what we should expect of Roy's child, I mean he was basically a good for nothing fool who had no job. I guess she inherited it all from him"

The voice belonged to grandma?!!

I know that my other relatives dislike me but I didn't really expect it from grandma. Wow, that... really hurts. I guess i was to hurt by the new information that I have gotten that I didn't notice the vase near the shelf and bumped into it. The others heard it and i could hear them question about it inquiring if they should investigate the source of the sound, I quickly fled like a coward, I was scared I reached the staired and heard some call me, I flinched

"Aiyana, I knew it would be you." it was Surendra Mausa. "Of course it had to be be you, you are the trouble maker of this family."(I took a step back, he reeked of alcohol)

"What do- do you mean?" I managed to ask

"My sister was happy before you and that man came into this household" He stepped a bit closer ad put his hand on my shoulder "There is no need for you here, never come back" and with that, he pushed me.

Huh? I don't know why but I expected this. I guess this is how I die. I am sorry mom. I am sorry Daman. For leaving you guys so soon

Then everything turned black.

I opened my eyes but My body felt weak. I felt.... tiny?

Wait why can't I move my body?!

"That's my little sister?" I heard someone say.

"Yes young master"

Y-young master?! What's going on?!

[eimearkeys]

Week 1:

During this week I have started by creating a collage of things I feel represent the club life. Things I felt were important to include were tickets of clubs I attended during fresher week and a bottle cap of my favourite drink. I also collected a few images of clubs i have attended recently and a picture of my friends and me in the busy environment. I arranged all of these pieces overlaying them to mirror how it feels in the club busy and overlapping.

Embroidery:

The introduction included allowing us to create pleats and stitches to allow us to build our skills before experimenting further. I started of by hand stitching box pleated and trying out multiple different stiches ranging from size to change of direction. This helped me recap what I already knew about the bernina while also building on that.

Weave:

The introduction to weave included us trying out the weave machine and using the paper we were given to help us know which patterns we wanted to create.

Print:

We started off by using different tools to create shapes that we feel link to our project. I used paint brushes and pipetties to start my mark making process and start to understand how using paint and how different tools create different images. My first attempts were trying to display ways in which large crowds could be interpreted by what I created. However I found my more random attempts were successful compared to ones where I was trying hard to replicate. Instead of making actual faces a more generalised look was better

[nxrthmizu]

kill em’ with kindness

fandom | miraculous ladybug 

genre | lila salt, so much salt 

summary | marinette takes the high road to a better life. 

w.c | 8.1k 

author’s note | had this idea for a few days after i wrote victory tastes bitter, which really blew up on ao3 (thanks for all the support <3). always wondered what it would be like if marinette just. played nice. so here she is, being an absolute badass. 

author’s note.2 | okay so since i did not write this in one sitting, i get that the story probably doesn’t flow as properly as it should. will edit if i ever find the will to do it. 

Marinette was done. They wanted her to be a model student? Fine. They wanted her to stop being mean? Fine. They wanted her to be friends with Lila? Fine.

Luckily for Hawkmoth, no akuma plagued the sky of the previous night, or she would rain hell on him. There was no more tolerance left inside her to spare, and she certainly wouldn’t go out of her way to make some for the manipulative pest problem Paris has had for way too long.

She looked up into the mirror, having exchanged her pigtails for a low ponytail, strands curled to frame her face. Bluebell eyes glistened with a fire that burned brighter than hope— Hope that her ‘friends’ would see sense. Hope that Adrien would be there for her. Hope that the good guy would always get the happy ending. No more being patient, no more being passive, no more putting up with things she didn’t have to.

If Lila Rossi wanted a battle, then fine, a battle she would get. Marinette was lowering her white flag, replacing it with a battle emblem that scorched red, redder than blood and redder than the anger her friends would feel when she was finished. No more peace negotiations. Rossi wanted a fight, Rossi wanted a challenge. Who was Marinette to deny her from what she wanted?

They didn’t know what was coming for them.

The power of makeup was truly one that reigned apex among the world. A few touches of her makeup brush was all it took to erase her dark eyes from existence, give her skin a more radiant glow (She promised that she’d take time to give it a natural glow after she was done being nice), and ease a cherry-pink blush onto her cheeks, making her freckles stand out more in contrast. Marinette Dupain-Cheng meant business, and when she meant business—

“Good morning, Marinette! You look great today!” The head of the student council, a sensible, down-to-Earth blonde by the name of Noelle smiled, speeding up slightly to catch the bluenette on the steps of Francois Dupont. “Love the new look.”

Ah yes. The new look— A royal blue blazer, detailed with golden embroidery of cherry blossoms bursting at the sleeves and the collar, accompanied by a classy-looking silk blouse tapered with a soft, black felt. The pleated black skirt (Made from heavy cloth so that it wouldn’t flap about in the wind) was lined with a beautiful scarlet at all the edges to complete the look. Knee-high black socks trailed all the way into the slight heels that Marinette had added flower adornments on, just so she could tap a little of her own touch on it.

“Thank you,” Responded the bluenette with a smile.

“Woah! Someone looks like they got a good night of rest.” Madeline, the president of the Art Club teased, flocking to the other side of the girl. “That mascara looks sharp enough to kill, girl!”

Sharp enough to kill?

Oh, that wouldn’t be necessary, Marinette mused to herself, sending out thanks to those who had complimented her on her way to class. Nothing sharp was going to be required for the liar’s downfall— No, no. That would just be too messy, and she wouldn’t even think of staining her new outfit. Of course, the ensemble was crafted from her own hands, as stated by the classic MDC that graced the inside of her blazer, the collar of her blouse, and one of the pleats of her skirt. Besides… Lila wasn’t worth getting her hands dirty.

She was going to do things the right way.

The kind way.

“Good morning, everyone.” She greeted, walking into the classroom, garnering their attention with her punctuality. Every set of eyes in the room were attracted to her, like iron fillings to magnets. Some of the gazes were malicious, hateful; Some were doubtful, wary; One was pleading, as if spelling out ‘Please keep taking the high road!’— And then there was Chloe, who was entirely uninterested.

Good, Lila was already present.

“I’d just like to take a minute of your time. Won’t be too long, I promise.” She took a deep breath, ignoring the imploring gaze that dug at her side, courtesy of a blonde that sat in the front row (And no, it wasn’t Chloe she was referring to). “I’d just like to say…”

The class watched with bated breath.

“I’m sorry.”

Alya blinked. So did everyone else in the room. Stunned faces greeted Marinette’s apologetic one, including Lila’s— She didn’t even have to fake her reaction. What on Earth was Marinette trying to pull off? What kind of stunt was this?

“I realise that I’ve not really been the best version of me lately,” She admitted sorrowfully. I haven’t been the best version of me because I was being boycotted and isolated, “It wasn’t fair to put you all through this,” It wasn’t fair that you idiots had to lose all your reputations because of the words of one liar, “And people got hurt as a consequence,” Me. I was the one who got hurt. “I realise that things haven’t been all smooth-sailing in our class lately, so I’d like to apologise to everyone.” I’d like to apologise for not being able to save you from a liar who only sees her own personal gain.

A practiced breath escaped Marinette’s throat as she waited for her cue— The school bell— And set her bag on the teacher’s desk. Good, everything was unfolding right on time. Not quite far away, there was a distinct clack-clack-clack of someone’s heels— An auburn teacher, perhaps? Marinette reached into her backpack and drew out a package she had meticulously wrapped in brown paper and tied in golden ribbon. Sitting passively on top of the package was a small note, decorated in hand-drawn flowers and a hummingbird in the corner.

“Here,” Marinette strode up the steps of the class, stopping right in front of her former seat— Now Lila’s— Internally taking pleasure in the first time she’d seen the Italian’s true expression. “For you, as a token of my apology. I understand if you don’t want to forgive me,” Marinette swallowed painfully, biting her lip, as if she was trying not to cry, “But I just want to make things right.”

Lila blinked.

What the hell was happening?

The silence was broken by a quiet sob, one that did not originate from Marinette. Instead, Mlle. Caline Bustier stood in the doorway of the class, clutching her books and notes for the day’s lesson, wiping away a tear that dropped from her eye. “Oh, Marinette,” The teacher sobbed, “I’m so proud of you.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Marinette.” Rose sniffed, wiping away a few tears of her own that had started dripping during the bluenette’s speech. Juleka patted her girlfriend’s back, trying to calm the emotional blonde before she cried out a tsunami on top of her textbooks, giving Marinette a thumbs up to show her approval.

Alya beamed, seemingly proud of her former best friend, who had (In her opinion) finally started to see sense. “I’m so proud of you, girl!”

(Adrien was too shocked to form any words.)

“Could you… Open it?” Marinette asked hopefully, ignoring the teacher for the favour of the liar who ruined her life. “I… Just want to know if you like it.”

The Italian could do nothing more than grit her teeth when Alya urged her to open it. What kind of trick was Mari-Brat up to? Never mind— She’d just spin it into something stupid and the class would take to it like starved animals. With no other choice, she tore apart the brown paper, discarding the golden ribbon on her desk. The class gasped, oohs and aahs echoing all around as the package unfolded to reveal a pretty, beige-coloured cardigan, hand-stitched with murals of foxes, jumping livelily among berry bushes.

Stitched into the inside of the cardigan in pastel blue were the words ‘Lila Rossi’, done in an exquisite cursive that could no doubt only come from Marinette’s hand.

“I made it for you myself,” Marinette sniffed humbly. “I know you’re a really great model and you’ve probably seen clothes that are much better than this one, but I poured all my feelings into it. I spent every night of last week working on it, and—” She hiccuped rather loudly, instantly covering her mouth with her hand in embarrassment. “I just hope you like it.”

“I…” Lila was at a loss for words. She had an itinerary full of the lies and stories she would spin that day (“Marinette texted me mean things last night,” she would weep tearfully to Alya, sniffing and wiping away tears on Alya’s shirt sleeve, “I just want to be friends but she just keeps… Attacking me!”) but no matter. A smirk danced along the Italian’s lips. “Did you design this yourself?” 

Judging by the smirk that Marinette could practically hear in the other girl’s tone, the liar already had a trick up her sleeve. If Marinette had to guess... 

Something along the lines of she stole this design from [random designer], who just coincidentally had the time to be Lila’s friend. Or maybe the friend of Lila’s grandmother. Whichever didn’t matter much, because Marinette was prepared. 

Marinette crossed the room in mere seconds, returning back to Lila’s seat with a sketchbook that she’d pulled from her bag. “Here!” She chirped, flipping open the page with an exercised movement, not even having to shuffle through the pages to find the correct sketch. “I brought the original sketch, just in case you wanted to see it so you could get a professional to redo it for you.” 

Lila opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish out of water. Beside her, Alya’s eyes sparkled, envy still glowing in her eyes at the sight of the intricate foxes, coloured in hazel, gold, and orange threads. 

“Thank you, Marinette.” Lila gritted through her teeth, basically seething at the thought of having to thank the girl in front of her, who was smiling like an innocent sunshine child. 

The bluenette then turned her attention to her homeroom teacher. “Sorry for interrupting and taking up class time, Mlle. Bustier.” 

“It’s not a problem, Marinette,” Mlle. Bustier wiped at her eyes, slightly embarrassed now that the whole class was watching her cry at the sight of her ‘model student’ correcting her wrongs. “E— Excuse me.” She mumbled, clearing her throat. “Let’s pick off from where we stopped yesterday. Open your textbooks to page 63, please.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

The rest of the day went along smoothly. Marinette sat at the back of class, as usual, sighing in boredom as class was derailed off course, whisked off by another one of Lila’s tall tales. Honestly, they were already weeks off schedule— How the hell were they expected to sit for the final exam, at this rate? 

She huffed quietly to herself, watching Bustier trying (and failing) to act like she wasn’t interested in Lila’s story. The woman— An actual adult— Fell for Lila’s usual tricks like a fool, taking in every single word in drunken thirst. Did Mlle. Bustier really have nothing better to do than get absorbed in a teenage girl’s wild fantasies (in a way it was like that). At that thought, Marinette sat up straighter in her chair, an idea going off like a lightbulb above her brain. 

Was it...? 

After further thought, Marinette settled back into her chair, humming thoughtfully as she drummed her fingers against her table quietly. Yes... Yes, perhaps. 

Perhaps it was possible. 

The rest of the lesson passed in wasted time as the class took a major detour to go on a warped journey through Lila’s lies, and before Bustier knew it, the lunch bell had rung. Students chattered animatedly as everyone got up, Mlle. Bustier’s announcement of ‘please go home and study this chapter by yourselves, everyone’ was pathetically drowned out by the rest of the noise. 

Marinette collected her things quickly, needing her exit from the classroom to go off without a hitch, exactly the way she planned it. “I’ve got to go back to my parents’ bakery for lunch,” She said shyly, shrinking into herself as her classmates turned to look at her. “I... Was thinking of bringing some macarons back later. Before I go, though... Lila, is there anything you’re allergic to?” 

“What?” The girl being asked snapped back as a reply, the words leaving her mouth too fast for her to register. Before she knew it, the whole class was staring at her, mouths agape. “I... I mean.” Clearing her throat, the liar plastered on a sweet smile. “What was it, Marinette?” 

“I wanted to bring some macarons back for everyone.” Shyly, the bluenette repeated her plans. “And... Since I’ve been in class with everyone else here for a while, I know their allergies, but not yours. Is there anything you’re allergic to that could be in baked goods?” 

The Italian cursed under her breath— Mari-Brat really wasn’t letting up. The bluenette had made sure to cover any ground that the Italian could use and turn back against her. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m not allergic to anything.” 

Brightening visibly, Marinette nodded, shooting the Italian a smile. “I know things between us aren’t going to get better immediately, but I promise to do my best in fixing things! See you guys after lunch.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

Lila was getting really, really fed up. For the whole morning, she wasn’t able to come up with any reason to blame Marinette. If things kept going at the rate that they were, the class would be fully convinced that the bluenette was a changed woman, and that couldn’t happen. There was, in the end, a downside to having such a gullible bunch of classmates— Sure, they swayed easily to her side, but that meant that they swayed back to Marinette’s just as easily. 

Hissing under her breath, Lila looked up to catch Alya and Nino’s concerned looks. 

No. 

She was Lila Rossi. She was resourceful. She had Gabriel Agreste behind her back. She was powerful. She was not going to let Mari-Brat halt her plans in their tracks ever again. 

“I’m going to go use the bathroom real quick,” She said, excusing herself from the lunch table. Perfect! Now all she had to do was come back in tears, saying that Marinette confronted and mocked her in the bathroom, and the class would be all hers, once again. 

Little did she know that Dupain-Cheng was one teensy step ahead. 

As soon as Lila rounded the corner of the cafeteria, Marinette appeared, having just had a lovely chat with Rose (And Juleka, although it was Rose who did most of the talking). The two were at the front steps of Francois Dupont, having a lovely couple moment that Marinette hated to interrupt— But she needed to have at least a word with them. 

“Rose, Juleka!” Marinette greeted, box of macarons held carefully in her arms, as if it were a box of important jewelry instead of just a box of pastries. “Oh— Rose, is that a new watch? I’ve never seen you wear it before!” 

“Yep, it is!” Rose beamed, delighted that someone (Besides Juleka) had finally noticed it. “Isn’t it pretty?” Indeed it was. The watch in question was a pretty, intricate-looking thing done in rose-gold metal, with a pastel pink leather strap holding it down. The background of the watch face was a white background with a thin film of rose-gold metal, cut to resemble a wall of precious rose vines. 

“It is!” Agreeing wholeheartedly, Marinette offered her classmate a smile. “Oh by the way, what time is it?” 

Rose peered at the watchface, returning the answer with an equally-bright smile. “11.47.” 

“Thank you.” Marinette thanked, continuing her way through the school until she reached the cafeteria. Just before she fell into line of sight, though, she hid behind a wall, peering over the corner until she spotted the table she was looking for. 

Perfect— Lila just walked away. Marinette thanked the gods for all the luck that she was having— Okay, maybe she thanked one god in particular more than the others. Gently, she patted the secret pocket that was sewn into the lining of her blazer— Tikki, who had magic powers, managed to create a miniature ‘room’ inside the secret pocket, with the pocket itself acting as a portal of sorts to the room. After a few seconds, she felt the pocket tap back, managing a small smile of gratitude for her kwami’s constant love and support. 

“Hey, Alya, Nino.” Marinette greeted shyly, box of macarons propped up against her hip. “Where’s... Lila?” She hesitated slightly with her question, acting as if it was a little out-of-place to ask about the Italian girl. 

“She went to the bathroom.” Nino provided, mouth still full of unchewed food. This gifted him with a smack from his girlfriend (“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” she scolded,). 

“Oh, I see.” I definitely see. I know what she’s going to try and pull later— I have to time this properly. Timing is everything. 

Marinette continued to make small talk with the two, whom she had not talked to for a very long time. Much to her surprise, they were very warm and accepting, quite unlike the people who slung slurs and accused her baselessly a few days ago. One morning made all the difference to people who believed anything, she supposed. 

All of a sudden, something in her chest buzzed, as if it were a fire alarm, vibrating in warning— She had to go. “It was nice talking to you guys again.” She admitted, having briefly dipped into a pool of what their friendship used to be like. “But I have to go. I promised Kagami I’d meet her for a few minutes before lunch ended.”

Alya’s eyebrows jumped up comically in surprise. “I didn’t know you still talked to her. I thought you two were… Love rivals.”

“So what if we were love rivals?” Marinette shrugged with a simple smile. “Adrien is… As much as it’s odd to admit, he’s just a boy. Neither of us let him get in between us. He’s just a boy, and it’d be stupid for us to not get along just because we like the same boy. It doesn’t bother Kagami that we used to like the same boy, so why should I let it bother me? Besides,” Marinette tilted her head slightly. “It’d be stupid to give up a great friendship just because of a boy.”

With her last words still hanging in the air, Marinette turned tail and left, walking faster than usual. She had little time left— As she neared the wall that would shield her from the view of the cafeteria, she sped up her footsteps, practically half-sprinting just so she could get out of sight before Lila Rossi returned, looking like someone just killed a puppy in front of her very eyes.

“Oh my god, what’s wrong?” Alya jumped to her feet instantly, reaching out to comfort her best friend, who was moments away from having tears stream down her cheeks.

“I… I thought she’d changed.” Lila sniffled, biting her lip to appear as if she was desperately trying not to cry.

Alya frowned. “Who?”

“Marinette.” Lila stated as if it were obvious, faltering for a moment— Why had Alya bothered to ask? Shouldn’t it come pretty obvious? The liar dismissed the thoughts and continued in her performance. “She threatened me in the bathroom. She… She confronted me and mocked me, saying… Saying that all of you… All of you are idiots for believing that she’s changed. She… She said everything was an act to turn you all against me.”

Nino’s jaw dropped so far that it touched the floor. “Uh… Dudette, are you sure it was Marinette?”

“Yes!” Lila spun to look at him so fast that it was a wonder she didn’t break her neck. “Are… Are you doubting me? Oh my god, it’s working. She’s turning you guys against me. I just want to have friends, I don’t get why she hates me so—”

“You’re… Absolutely sure it was Marinette? You saw her face?” Alya repeated her boyfriend��s words, emphasising each and everyone of them as she looked Lila in the eyes.

“Alya, not you too.” Lila sniffled, tears basically dropping out of her eyes like big, fat droplets of salt water. “It was her— I saw her blazer, it had MDC stitched onto it.”

An uncomfortable silence settled in between the girl and her boyfriend, neither quite knowing what to say. “Oh. I… I see.” Alya said at last, turning back to her food. “Well… Lunch is almost over. Let’s… Let’s get back to class.”

“Marinette just threatened me in the bathroom!” Lila puffed up, clearly upset now. “She mocked me! She called you guys stupid for believing her act!”

“Dudette.” Nino shattered the ice-cold silence at their lunch table, swallowing heavily. “Marinette was with us the whole time you were in the bathroom.”

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

The tension inside the room was so thick that Adrien could cut it with his bare hands. God, what had happened? The day had started off so well— Marinette agreed to be friends with Lila, god bless the girl— But as it turned out, one hurdle folded over only to be towered over by a taller one. 

“Alya—” Lila began tearfully, her pitiful look attracting the sympathy of those who still didn’t know what was going on. 

“You claimed that Marinette threatened you in the bathroom.” Alya interrupted. “While she was with us the whole time in the cafeteria.” 

Faltering, the Italian struggled to find a way to squeeze herself out of the tight spot. “M— Maybe it was someone else.” Reluctantly, she backed out one trap into another one. 

“You said that you were sure! You said that she was wearing a blazer with MDC stitched on it. Marinette was wearing that blazer during lunch!” The reporter shot back, Nino at her side, trying to extinguish the conflicted fire blazing inside Alya’s heart. 

The seeds of doubt had been sewn, and Lila was going to have a tough time weeding them out. “I... I’m sorry!” She burst out into tears, sobbing pitifully in front of the class, most of which were already in attendance. “My lying disease is acting up again. I... I can’t help it. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone!” 

“Uh... Is this a bad time to ask if anyone wants macarons?” Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly, standing at the front of the room. Her royal blue blazer had been shed, and it now hung over her arm, properly folded into half. Earlier, she had asked Rose for the time to make sure that she had a witness in case Lila tried to pull another act— But as it seemed, the Italian was determined to dig her own grave and all the work had been done. 

The students of Mlle. Bustier’s class shared looks. 

“I’ll... I’ll have one.” Mylene cleared her throat, hoping that it would diffuse the situation. 

“Me too.” Kim followed, not missing the way Marinette flinched slightly at his words. Most of the words he had said to her of late had not been nice at all— But he justified that with the fact that she was being a bully to Lila, like Chloe had been to Marinette herself. 

“Great!” Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly, slapping on a strained smile. She passed the box to the front row, where Sabrina and Chloe were, gesturing for them to pass the box along until everyone got their fill. 

Internally, Lila seethed, anger burning like a wildfire that tore down every lush sign of life in her path. The girl had never felt that livid in her entire life— Who did Dupain-Cheng think she was, having a change of heart out of nowhere, pretending to play along with those oh-so-innocent eyes of hers? 

“I... I think I know why my disease acted up again,” Lila sniffled, loud enough to gather attention again. Unsure glances passed around like an object that no one wanted, carried from hand to hand forcefully as no one wanted to hold onto it for too long. “It... It must’ve been because of... Of the cardigan that Marinette made me! You must’ve known that...” The Italian squinted at the cardigan on her desk, “... Cotton triggers my lying disease!” 

The bluenette, still passing around macarons, stopped in her tracks. Inside her mind, Marinette was shaking her head, an amused smile on her cheeks. She had to give Lila credit for that one— She would’ve never anticipated that lie from her nemesis. “That’s terrible!” She sucked in a breath, putting on a dismayed look. “I’m really sorry, Lila! I know it seems like I did this on purpose, but I promise I didn’t! To make it up to you, I’ll make you another one.” 

Is she serious right now? Lila scoffed mentally. How long does she plan to keep this going? No matter— She’ll eventually drain herself out and I won’t even have to meddle in this matter. 

Marinette sniffled, collecting the cardigan pitifully from Lila’s desk. “But to prevent future incidents, Lila, I just want you to know that this isn’t made of cotton... It’s made from the highest-quality of star silk, which is incredibly difficult to produce and is rather expensive. It’s such a pity... I thought that only the best of materials would be deserving to be used to make an apology present... I guess you can’t wear it. I’ll just make another copy of the cardigan with some normal-range silk.” Sighing, the bluenette pretended to mull in sadness for a few seconds before an idea struck her. “Alya! You aren’t allergic to star silk, right?” 

The flow of conversation redirected suddenly, with the reporter snapping to attention and nodding eagerly as she realised what was about to happen. 

“Then... Since I’ve spent so long on this, I don’t want it to go to waste... Why don’t you have it, instead?” Offered Marinette with a sweet, shy smile on her face. 

Lila, still caught up in shock by the reveal of the material— Was then slammed with a wall of flaming anger as Alya squealed, coddling the soft, fluffy material that made the cardigan the exquisite product it was. 

“Marinette’s right,” Adrien chipped in with his own two cents, “Father can rarely get his hands on that material— It costs a fortune, and if hand-made... It takes forever.” 

“Oh, I wove the silk by myself,” Marinette added shyly after Adrien’s contribution, “So I apologise if it’s not up to the quality of industry-level star silk.” 

The reporter gushed, still cooing and running her hands over the gorgeous threads of fabric that made up the cloud-like base of the cardigan, eyes sparkling and the details of the embroidery. 

Marinette smiled, returning to her seat without a fuss. The rest of the class continued to pass the pastries around, the perfect description of ‘ignorance is bliss’ as they pretended as if they couldn’t see the way Lila was shaking in anger. Alya, on the other hand, could see nothing but the garment in her hands, her ‘best friend’ having become invisible for the time being. 

Just as well that it turned out this way, Marinette hummed, twirling her pen in hand, Let that be my departing gift to Rena Rouge. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

Tomorrow arrived like clockwork, never late and always on time. The crowd of students clamouring by the front of Francois Dupont hushed to silence as they parted for two dark-haired women, both of which were giving off waves of confidence. Simple conversation flowed between the two, who were perfect examples of elegance and grace, their traditional-inspired attire complementing the royal-like aura they had. 

“This dress is really lovely, Marinette,” Kagami smiled gently, admiring the way the fabric flowed around her. The designer had gifted her friend with a maroon-coloured hanfu-inspired dress, complete with hand-sewn embroidery of a golden dragon curled around Kagami’s waist and neck. The dress was completed with a pleated skirt that went all the way to the heels. At first, the fencer was reluctant about the skirt due to the limited maneuverability, but then Marinette revealed that the skirt was very simple to take off as it was just tied around the waist. 

“You look gorgeous in it. It suits you.” Marinette replied, dressed in a similar looking dress. Her hanfu-inspired dress was light pink in colour, with silver threads depicting cranes flying about freely. The pleated skirt was grey in colour, lined with a soft circle of white. 

Kagami blushed slightly. “Thank you.” Briefly, the Japanese girl wondered why on Earth Marinette would go and embroider a dragon onto her dress— Was it purely a coincidence, or...? 

“I’m really glad you decided to transfer here,” Marinette smiled softly, her dark blue bangs framing her face as the rest of it was gathered into a braid that Kagami had helped weave. “It’s going to be nice! I’ll get to see you a lot more often.” 

“We’re in different classes, though.” Frowning, Kagami wondered if she should request a change of homeroom. 

“For now.” The designer winked playfully. “Oh, I have to get to class. See you during lunch?” 

Without waiting for a reply, the blue-eyed girl moved away gracefully, leaving Kagami in confusion. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Good morning,” Marinette greeted gracefully, sweeping into the classroom with her bag over her shoulder and a package in her hands. This package was clearly not as exquisitely-wrapped as the one from the day before, as it was just brown paper and some rough string. 

Alya brightened at the sight of her friend, shrinking away slightly whenever Lila tried to say anything. Sure, the reporter did shake off the initial reaction and respond to whatever her ‘best friend’ said, but the damage had been done. 

“Here’s your new cardigan. It’s made from the same material as your shirt,” Marinette smiled warmly, placing the package on Lila’s table. “It’s a little different from the one I brought yesterday, but I still poured in all my emotions when I made it, so I hope you’ll accept it.” 

Through a gritted smile, the Italian thanked the designer, clenching her fists under the table. That was the second time in two days she had to thank Mari-brat! She swore that if she had to do it again a third time, she was going to slap someone. 

“Oh, Marinette!” Alya called out excitedly, wearing the cardigan that was originally supposed to be Lila’s. “This cardigan is so soft! It’s really amazing to wear! As expected of you, girl!” 

The bluenette stared back at the reporter, wavering for a bit. She had a feeling that Alya wanted something from her... 

“So... I was wondering...” The reporter’s expression turned sheepish, with Marinette’s internal thought-train going ah, there it comes— “Could you remove this and put my name instead?” Alya picked up the corner of the cardigan, pointing to the inside of the garment, where ‘Lila Rossi’ was embroidered on. 

“Ah...” Marinette didn’t even have to fake her nervousness. We already agreed on this, She told herself, No more doing free stuff for people. No more. “Sorry, Alya. My parents need a lot of help in the bakery recently,.. You know how it is! Family always comes first. I’ve already taken out a lot of time to make the cardigan for Lila... And I promised Kagami I’d go out with her this weekend. I’m afraid I don’t have time...” 

There was no missing the way Alya’s face fell instantly. “Couldn’t you put off Kagami for me? Aren’t we best friends?” 

“I thought Lila was your best friend,” Feigning an expression of innocence, Marinette tilted her head slightly. “You shouldn’t go around saying things like that, Alya. You might hurt Lila’s feelings. Besides, a promise is a promise. I wouldn’t want to hurt Kagami’s feelings either. Not to mention— I gave you that cardigan for free. That was two weeks’ worth of hard work. I’m afraid I don’t have the ability to take time out to alter it for free either. If you really want to get it done, you could ask an external tailor to do it for you. I know a few who can do really good embroidery.” 

Alya faltered. “But... We used to be best friends...” 

Snorting mentally, Marinette continued to hold her calm composure. “Like I said, you really shouldn’t say that, Alya. Lila might get upset and we don’t want to hurt her feelings— Right, Adrien?” 

The blonde jumped when the conversation turned to him out of nowhere. All of a sudden, every eye in the classroom was fixed on him. “R— Right, of course.” He said, forcing out each word. 

Satisfied, Marinette nodded, still wearing her ever-so-kind smile. “Exactly.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Hey, why don’t we all go out and have a picnic outside during lunch?” Alya suggested loudly, jumping up as soon as the lunch bell rang. “Marinette, you can come along too!” Something inside the reporter’s chest was stirring, and with the events of the past few days, Alya felt like she just had to quench that unsettling feeling— And the first step to that was to mend things with Marinette, even though it was the bluenette’s fault for always having been biased to Lila. Alya smiled, proud of herself. She would be the bigger person, she would forgive Marinette, she would integrate the designer back into the class again. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Marinette replied just as quickly, “We don’t know what Lila might be allergic to— She could easily trigger a reaction if we go out, especially since it’s spring.” 

A collective choir of groans rounded the class. 

“Well, I’m going to go back to the hotel to have a first-class meal,” Chloe turned her nose up at her classmates. “... Dupain-Cheng, would you like to come?” 

Shock painted the faces of the whole classroom. Did Chloe just... Ask Marinette something... Politely? 

“I’d love to take that offer, Chloe.” Responded the bluenette, graceful and flawless as ever. “Perhaps tomorrow?” 

“Suit yourself. They’re serving lobster today.” Chloe huffed. “If you’re really that busy, then fine. We can discuss...” The Mayor’s daughter trailed off as she blushed. 

The bluenette giggled knowingly. “You’d like to commission a dress from me, right?” 

“... No.” 

“...” 

“... Maybe.” 

“Alright.” Marinette nodded. “Then maybe it’ll be more convenient if I head over to the hotel after school. I’ll need to take your measurements and we can discuss the prices after.” 

“Whatever.” Chloe waved her away haughtily, a poor effort to cover up her embarrassment. “Sabrina. Let’s go.” 

“Chloe?” Alya guffawed. “Why are you commissioning something from Marinette?” 

Rolling her eyes as if Alya had just asked the stupidest question ever, Chloe answered plainly. “Because she’s one of the up-and-rising designers in the industry? Have you seen what Dupain-Cheng is wearing today? Celebrities are already fighting for spots in her commission list. Even my mother and Gabriel Agreste acknowledge her talent. I’m not dumb, Cesaire. I can recognise a future fashion queen when I see one.” 

Wow, Marinette breathed, looking at the stunned faces around the room, Chloe sure knows how to create an impression. 

“W— Well.” Stuttered the reporter after Chloe made her big exit. “Then... What about going to the bakery for lunch?” 

“Didn’t Lila say she saw a rat in the bakery the last time she visited it?” Marinette pointed out. “The health officer checked the surveillance and the claim was dismissed, of course, because my parents make sure the bakery is as hygienic as possible— But I’m sure Lila is traumatised from that incident. I wouldn’t want to force her to come along to the bakery— And we wouldn’t want to leave her out either, right?” 

This elicited another round of groans. 

Oh, I am enjoying myself way too much, Marinette chuckled mentally. 

“Then— Then...” Alya struggled visibly before she was put out of her misery. 

“It’s fine, Alya.” The designer reassured her. “I wouldn’t want to bother Lila. I’m sure she’s still upset at me. You guys go ahead. I have to go back to the bakery to help my parents out. See you guys after!” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

Slam! 

Lila fumed, hand still pressed on her locker door. What. The. Hell. Was Mari-brat trying to do? She didn’t miss the way some of her classmates sent her unsatisfactory looks after that pre-lunch stunt that Marinette had pulled. 

And what was the thing about high-and-mighty Chloe commissioning from Marinette? 

Sure, Lila would admit that the cardigan that the designer made was indeed gorgeous, and the fabric was smooth and velvety, a quality unlike any of the clothing that Lila had ever had the privilege to touch— But surely a lowly brat like Dupain-Cheng couldn’t be that popular... Right? 

Dammit, hissed the Italian girl, Maybe I should’ve tried being friends with Mari-brat instead of Cesaire. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Is that... Marinette and Kagami?” Nino gaped, prompting Alya to turn around. It was true— Walking up the steps of Francois Dupont together were the two blue-haired girls, a gentle smile dancing on Kagami’s lips as Marinette talked animatedly, her hands waving around quickly to further elaborate her point. 

Students lounging around the entrance for lunch couldn’t tear their eyes off the two and their matching dresses. Sure, the two girls had walked into school the same way that morning— But now that the afternoon sun was high up in the sky, the golden and silver embroidery was glinting luminously, revealing the true caliber of Marinette’s craft. 

“But... They’re rivals.” Stuttered Alya. She just couldn’t understand... Weren’t they supposed to hate each other? 

“They both like Adrien but they can still get along,” Nino remarked thoughtfully, taking a bite from his sandwich. “So Marinette wasn’t lying about going to meet Kagami yesterday.” 

Alya was silent. 

“Alya? What’s wrong?” Worried, Nino put a hand around his girlfriend’s shoulder, care and concern shining through his honest eyes. 

“If... If Marinette doesn’t get jealous or biased over someone who also likes Adrien...” Alya started quietly, eyes still fixed on the two girls, “Then why was she so against Lila?” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Mlle. Bustier?” The teacher looked up at the voice of her favourite student. Fondly, she smiled. Marinette had finally seen the light and changed her ways, becoming the helpful, generous, kind Marinette that served as a great example for her peers. “May I make an announcement before class ends?” 

“Of course, dear.” Mlle. Bustier gave permission instantly— Marinette was taking up the reins of leadership again! The teacher couldn’t help but do a happy dance internally. 

“I have an announcement to make, so if everyone could listen, I’d be really thankful.” Marinette started, her clear blue eyes meeting those of her classmates. 

She took a deep breath. This is it. I’ve done what I needed to do, now it’s time to finish the job. 

“These past two days... Have been great,” Marinette started wistfully. “I really missed hanging around everyone, just like we did before,” Before you all turned your backs on me and stabbed me when I wasn’t looking, “But I can’t deny— And neither can you— That the things that have happened... They had a really deep impact. And I’ve realised that I can’t just ignore that damage that has been done.” The damage that has been done to me. “So, for the better of everyone— I’ve decided that I... Will transfer classes.” 

It was as if an explosion had gone off in Mlle. Bustier’s classroom. 

“Girl! You can’t do that!” Alya exclaimed in dismay, “We can fix things! Everything has been going well these few days, haven’t they?” 

“Dudette! Honestly, we forgive you.” Nino sighed, “Things just aren’t the same if you’re not here anymore.” 

Adrien didn’t say a word, but the imploring gaze he wore said enough. Please don’t leave me here alone. We promised we’d fight together, right? As long as both of us know... 

Marinette held her hand up to silence them, and the classroom, just as swiftly, became the deadly silence that followed post-disaster. “I understand. But once again, this is for the better,” — Of my mental health, “I’ve talked to Mlle. Mendeliev, and she’s agreed to take me in. I believe that once the changes have taken place, we can all grow more freely without restrictions.” 

In the corner, Mlle. Bustier was tearing up and dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. 

“Mlle. Bustier,” Marinette turned to her teacher, no malice in her eyes. “I’ll be under Mlle. Mendeliev’s care now.” 

“Marinette...” The teacher sobbed quietly, with Chloe shooting her a look of disgust from the front row. 

“It’s not going to be easy for any of us,” Marinette turned back to the class, “But with time, I’m sure we will all prosper. Especially since you will now be under the care of our one and only Lila Rossi.” 

Adrien looked like someone had just killed a puppy in front of him. 

“Since I am the current class president, I thought I’d pass on the duties onto the most capable person in our class.” Marinette explained warmly, never moving her gaze away from the bewildered Lila. “Lila has the most connections in our class out of all of us, and she’s met so many CEOs and entrepreneurs that she must know a lot about organising and planning. I’m sure you can do it, Lila, but...” She paused. “You can handle it, right?” 

“Y— Yeah. Of course.” Lila stuttered. 

“You promised the class that you’d get BTS to perform for the year-end fundraiser since you were supposed to be in an arranged marriage with their youngest member, Jungkook.” Marinette continued, God I am enjoying myself too much honestly, but I ain’t going to stop now, “And you said you could convince your godfather, Bruce Wayne, to allow the class to go to Wayne Enterprises for this year’s class trip.” 

“She said she could convince Tony Hawk to give me an internship, too!” Alix chipped in. 

“And that she’d bring me along the next time Prince Ali asks for her help for a charity cause!” Rose smiled. 

“She said she’d introduce me to the CEO of Graham Films!” Nino’s eyes shone at the idea. 

The class continued to talk all over one another until Marinette silenced them once more. “Now, now. Let’s not overwhelm Lila. We wouldn’t want her to be overworked or to feel like the expectations are set too high, right?” 

The class agreed, nodding along. 

Marinette made eye contact with Lila, offering her a sweet smile as she did so. Lila, on the other hand, had no taste for such politeness. Instead, she straight-out glared at the former class president. 

This is your problem now. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Marinette! I was hoping to catch you before you went home,” Alya panted, having been able to find the bluenette in the locker room before the designer slipped out of her reach. “You... You’re really serious about leaving?” 

“Yeah.” Smiled Marinette, organising her textbooks into her bag, dusting down her skirt. Noticing Alya’s crestfallen expression, she took the initiative to continue the conversation. “Is there anything else, Alya?” 

“Did you... Did you really hate Lila because she liked Adrien, too?” The reporter asked somewhat timidly. 

Marinette giggled. Normally, when the girl giggled, you could hear a gentle tinkling of wind chimes— But at that moment, Alya heard the freezing winds on Mount Everest instead. “Don’t be silly, Alya. All this over a boy? Besides, I’m over him.” 

“Then...” Alya swallowed difficulty. “Lila... Really was lying this whole time?” 

The gaze that swept across the reporter was stone cold, and it made Alya feel as if she was dangling over a valley of jagged rocks. “What do you think, Alya?” Even so, the bluenette maintained a sweet smile. 

“She was. She was lying the whole time.” Alya suddenly felt as if she had a shortness of air. “This whole time—” 

“Oh, good for you. You finally learned how to see further than one feet in front of you.” Marinette hummed. “I’m proud of you, really. But I’m afraid that I don’t have the time to listen to you slowly come to conclusions after I’ve tried making you see sense for the past half a year. I tried to stop you from ruining your futures, but I guess determination was always one of your good traits.” 

Alya slipped to the floor, having lost the feeling in her legs. She placed one hand against the lockers for support as she shook, weakly looking up at the girl who she was once so proud to call her ‘best friend’. 

“Marinette?” Kagami’s voice rang through the room, indicating that the girl was waiting at the doorway. “You said you were heading to Bourgeois’s hotel after school— Would you like a ride?” 

“That’d be nice, Kagami. A moment.” The designer looked down at her friend and smiled, albeit a little sadly this time— And then she lowered her voice. 

“Determination was always one of your good traits.” 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

“Marinette,” Adrien perked up at the sight of the bluenette leaving the school doors— Side by side with Kagami, who looked ready to draw a sword and start a duel then and there. 

“This’ll just take a minute, ‘Gami.” Marinette reassured, gently patting her friend’s arm. “Why don’t you get in the car first? It looks like it’s going to rain.” 

Reluctantly, Kagami nodded. “Alright.” Warily, the fencer stepped down the stairs and into the car— But even as she sat in the vehicle, she watched over her fellow bluenette like a hawk, ready to jump out and challenge the blonde if the situation called for it. 

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say. Luckily for him, the designer decided to start the conversation. 

“I just wanted to say thank you.” Marinette smiled softly. A few months ago, when she looked at Adrien, she would see the kind, generous, pure-hearted boy with the finest golden hair and the brightest green eyes. Now? All she saw was a spineless, sheltered, passive child that was afraid of confrontations. 

“For what?” Adrien looked at Marinette, and no longer did he see the cute, pigtail-adorning girl that would blush fiercely everytime he tried to talk to her. Instead, he saw a beautiful, young woman, a rock that had pulled through all the odds to become a vibrant, iridescent diamond. 

Marinette was glowing with confidence, her presence diffusing into the air around her and triggering eyes to look up every time she walked by. There was something about the way she held herself that just made the woman demand awe and respect from those that crossed her path. The old ‘Clumsinette’ had been shed like an old snake skin to reveal a treasure, a better version of the bluenette that had always been waiting for her time to come. 

Bluebell eyes met green ones just as rain began to patter down onto the streets of Paris. Marinette glanced up slightly, not at all bothered as she smoothly retrieved an umbrella from her bag, holding it out for the blonde to take. A flush of deja vu burst through Adrien’s veins and through his skin as he took it with a mumbled thanks, eyes blown wide as Marinette let loose her hair from her ponytail, pulling her blazer over her head to avoid getting her head wet. 

Adrien could only gape as Marinette uttered familiar words back to him, a knowing smile dancing across her lips as she ran off into the rain as if an invisible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The bluenette looked lighter, brighter, ready to take flight and soar towards the success that her crops of hard work had finally started to bear. Before the blonde model knew it, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had slipped out of his grip, already spreading her multi-coloured wings to land among the stars. 

“Thank you for telling me to take the high road.”  

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

this was both satisfying and tiring to write... 

[eat0crow]

I’ve been seeing an increasingly large amount of people get into fic binding lately, which is fucking amazing! I love each and every one of you guerilla publishers! With the history of fandom takedowns, purges, and the bull shit legislation corporations try and start every few years, it’s so good that fics are being given permanency. 

I’ve noticed that fic binders seem to be focused on longer fics, ones in the 50k onward range, which makes sense and is great because these fics absolutely deserve to be put into print! But, the thing is, my favorite fics have almost always been short one-shots, and no one seems to be talking about binding them.

So! I’m gonna show you how to bind short one-shots.

A couple of things before we get started, the method I’m going to show you is called saddle stitching, it works best for works between 5-20k. This method is affordable, utilizing things you most likely have already, and lasts years. (I have booklets that are literally a decade old and still holding strong.)

For longer works Coptic binding is my personal favorite, it’s not only affordable but also produces some beautiful spines. (Video talks about different types of string, but shows off some gorgeous spine work). If you have a little more money to spend on a project, I recommend hardcover binding. I don’t like perfect binding and while Japanese style binding is pretty it’s a nightmare on your margins.

 @armoredsuperheavy​ has an amazing list and perfect tutorial that has everything you need to know about bookbinding and typesetting . The tutorial goes into in-depth detail on exactly what you need to do every step of the way. The only thing I do differently when printing one-shots is that I only have one signature so I  print everything as one booklet. This orders the pages for you.

The most important thing you have to remember is to select flip on the short edge.

Also, add page numbers, trust me when I say it makes everything a world easier.

What I use:

Body text: Garamond 10.5

Meta information: Garamond 8

No gutter

A 1 inch top and bottom margin, and a .7 inch margin on both the inside and outside (Note: If your work is closer to 20k you’re going to need to account for page creep, so I recommend adjusting your outside margin to .9 and your inside margin to .5, this will even out when you cut)

What you’re going to need: 

Mircosoft word—Sorry, I know everyone uses google docs now, but you’re going to need Word in order to print this as a booklet. If you have Adobe Indesign you can use that too, but it’s more expensive.

Card stock or craft paper—Anything 75lbs or more.

Embroidery Floss and Needle. Super cheap compared—and if you have beeswax on hand—the exact same as bookbinding string.

Ruler

Scissors

Craft Knife

Nail file 

Index cards

Clips

Thumbtack

(Washi tape is an extra to add decoration and protect the string, though, if you really want to reinforce the spine duct tape is amazing.)

Okay! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started.

What you’re going to do is carefully fold your card stock and pages in half, ends flush together, running the edge of your ruler or bone folder, if you have one, over the crease. You’re then you’re going to start placing your pages inside the cover. To minimize page creep, each time you add a page, first push it in place with the needle, then go back over the crease with your ruler or bone folder. It should look like this when done—

You’re going to prep your booklet for sewing next.

What you’re going to do first is open the booklet up, make sure everything lines up as close to perfect as you can, then fold the index cards over the side of the book, to prevent the pages from creasing due to the clips. Then clip them in place to prevent wiggling and make the hole punching easier. Do this to all four sides.

Traditional saddle stitching uses three holes, and you can too, but I like to use seven because it maintains better tension. For my hole guide, I measure 1 and 1/4th of an inch up to my first hole—this leaves me about 1 and 1/4th of an inch between the bottom of my page and the seventh hole. From the first hole, everyone after that is measured 1 inch apart.

After you’ve measured everything, it’s time to jam the thumbtack through the marks you’ve made. The pages have a tendency to move as you do this, so it’s vitally important that all four sides are being held in place with those clips. (If you have an awl, cool beans, they work better.)

For the love of God do not put the crease between your thighs when you start hole punching. I know it’s easier, but learn from my dumbassery and don’t do it bitch!

You should have something like this—

Now it’s time to sew. Which, because I’m weird and love hand stitching, is my favorite part.

I use one strand of floss, folded over for a double-stranded effect. I find this works best because each hole is gone through twice, leaving a four-ply binding. When measuring how much string to use, my rule is double the length of the spine, triple if you’re feeling unsure.

Now traditionally you’re going to start from the inside outward, leaving your tail within the book. I like to leave my tail on the outward spine because I cover it with washi tape. What you’re going to do now, is go in through your 4th hole(Leave around two inches for a tail, more if this is your first time), out through 5, back in through 6, like this—

When you get to seven you're going to follow the same pattern until you get to hole 1, where you will turn and sew toward the middle. When you get to hole 3 for the second time, you’re going to double knot the tail to your string and cut off the ends.

A note about tension, it’s important that you maintain even tension throughout each hole, this takes practice, but it gets loads easier the more times you do it. You want your string to be tight, with just enough give to make closing the book easy. If you have too much tension, over time the strings will wear through the pages. Too little and the pages will move around inside the binding.

Essentially your sewing pattern will be: in 4, out 5, in 6, out 7, in 6, out 5, knot the end, in 4, out 3, in 2, out 1, in 2, out 3, knot.

It should look like this when done—

Now you might notice this along the edge of your book—

That’s page creep. Some people leave it, I cut it away. This is the biggest pain in the ass of the entire process, and I have yet to get a perfectly clean edge any time I’ve done. The only way to get that clean edge is with a guillotine, but I don’t have one, so this is where the craft knife comes in. (If you don’t have one, you can use a box cutter, provided the blade is fresh.)

What you’re going to do now is place your ruler along the edge of the paper you’re going to cut away. Pro-tip, I recommend cutting 1/16th of an inch into the card stock, 1/8th of an inch into the entire edge of the book so that each of your pages have the same starting point, like this—

Becuase my hands shake really bad when I apply tension to them, I stick my book under a sheet of glass, hold it down with a big old book, and use my body weight to keep everything in place.

It’s important that you go slow, cut page by page, and apply even tension from the top of the book down to the bottom.

Now if you’ve done this and still get these little fly aways—

Join the club! Fortunately, they’re really easy to get rid of and smooth out, just use your nail file to sand out the edge.

And that’s it! Congratulations, you’ve bound your very first book!! If you want to hide the spine add your tape, but if not, you’re done, my friend!