#i also just bought rain world so like. no new video games for me for a bit

[the-owl-tree]

unpopular opinion but I like frostpaw getting spayed. obv I hope it’s done right and obv I know it won’t but once I did that to my wc oc because it could be interesting!! like being kidnapped and experimented on by aliens. if it’s done through a horror lense it could be something so cool. not “I’ll never be whole again because I can’t bear children :(“ but “I’ve been taken by mysterious creatures and only barely escaped with my life- I’ve had things done to me healers can’t explain or treat. my very nature is corrupting further before my eyes and I’m scared I’ll lose myself forever” is this about cat’s personalities being changed post visit to the cutters or is it about baldur’s gate 3? /hj

i've been staring longingly at baldur's gate 3 on steam waiting for it to go on sale because the 90 dollar price tag gives me psychic damage if i so much as glance at it

but man...i don't know i can't really see this team handling this with any sort of respect, especially when they wrote frostpaw's fantasy of her "happier life" being a mother to splashtail's kits. it feels like set up and, with their handling of sparkpelt's post-partum depression, dotc, dotc super editions, and so on....i am just not feeling confident about the handling of this. i'm kind of bracing myself for them to put out some vile misogynistic shit and i'm hoping the fandom will also be ready to tear that shit apart. just not feeling confident about it.

i get like. idk the horror of it might appeal to some people and if it was any other series, i guess maybe i could see it? but this is wc and i do not have faith in these authors.

[violetgreenlife]

What colors represent to me and why-

White- When I think of white I think of snow and clouds, the relief of seeing white cover the sky with the promise of rain after seemingly endless scorching summer days. White is all light reflected, white is a barrier. White pushes things out and leaves space behind it for something new. The blank canvas. The beginning. The new year is celebrated under the cover of snow, as it muffles the sound and lets the world sleep, like a big midnight. It is beautiful, but it is cold, unforgiving, and uncompromising. Not all will survive the winter, but spring will come.

Red- rich, velvety, warm, sweet. Decadent cherries, soft-centered candies, the vanity of velvet cloaks and lipstick. Saying I’m not cold in my over-the-knee socks and miniskirt even though I very much am. Red is indulgence and not doing anything in half measures. Red is passion, it is love and it is hate, for those are just two sides of the coin of obsession. Red is lust—not just physical, but the greedy kind too. Look at me, look at me!

Pink- pink is safety and softness, I sit at this moment in a pink room, pink pillow supporting my leg as I lie on my side. Pink is the safe choice, comfy. But pink is strong. Pink is the man who I wish is known sooner, and his unending, innocent love for the world and for the simple beauties in it. Pink is the gentle love of wanting to hear someone’s voice forever. Pink is drawing fan art of your favorite video game. Pink is listening to your friend infodump about a new show they’re hyperfixated on. Pink is playing for the love of the game. The feeling in your chest when you see a puppy. What it’s like for someone to give you a nickname.

Orange- orange is bright and acidic, too much to handle sometimes but that’s what makes it unique. The feeling of finally, finally waking up well rested and motivated, the kitchen hasn’t been this clean in ages. It’s five am and you’re finally taking up dad’s offer to go hunting and you’re so tired and kinda cold but he bought a huge back of snickers and you can have as many as you want and you haven’t gotten to spend this much time with him in ages. Orange is native wild poppies you planted in the ditch on the side of the road on a whim. Get up and go. Go!

Yellow- school busses, pencils, the sun rising above the roof of the theater building. Yellow is learning. Yellow is spring, picking buttercups in the field and sneaking up to rub the pollen on your friend’s skin. The daffodils peeking up from the ground. Winter is over, and it isn’t quite so warm that it’s uncomfortable. It’s time to get working, but slower and calmer than orange is.

Green- what isn’t green, really. Lukewarm tea you drink in a gulp after forgetting it on the counter. The soft, hypnotic sway of long grass in the wind. Morning dew, pine needles, and fresh air. Things are growing, changing, expanding be it fast or slow. Older things are darker, the new growth is bright. But green is also other things. Green is a separation from the manufactured reality. Green is to look in the mirror and be honest: I know what I want, and what I don’t want.

Blue: blue can be the open sky, or the dark water of a lake. But blue is also slushies, and twilight, and my mother’s eyes. Blue is intelligence, deepens, infinity, and the murky depths beyond perception. It’s endless, and deep, and Knowing and kinda scary if you aren’t ready for it. But it also feels safe in its infinity, because it’s much to big for me to damage. And as long as I’m careful and don’t drift too far, I can play by the shore as much as I like.

Purple- purple is a friend of green. Not the same, but similar, it’s rare though, and hard to find. It’s a favorite of mine, when I think of purple I think of me! I think if lilacs, and how their scent fills my house every spring. Purple is loud, unapologetic, and personal. It is beauty in every sense, and it is home to me.

Brown- brown is cinnamon, brown is bread. Brown is garden soil. Nurturing, feeding, comfort. Brown is the tree first I used to make as a kid, the raw feeling of my hands after pulling on branches and bark, the satisfaction of building with my own two hands. Brown is steady, brown is kind, it may be plain but that’s alright. The movement is slow but continuous.

Black- black is nighttime, after everyone else has gone to bed, the world is quiet. Black is cast iron—for better or worse. Something that can be built up over time, but ruined in an instant by your mother leaving it in the sink for two days. The comfort of solitude, the agony of isolation. So good in the correct doses, but easy to mis-measure. I’ve yet to really find how to work with it. It is sweet, but it is temperamental. It is, physically, all light combined, none reflected. It is deep and complex and so, so MUCH. It is beautiful, and I am not used to handling such beautiful things.

[kyndaris]

The Return Flight Home

In 2020, I had intended to travel overseas and revisit the United Kingdom in order to see the sights and sounds I’d missed on my first trip. COVID-19 prevented that from happening. It was only after three years of isolation and staying within the borders of Australia that I finally ventured onto a plane to take me away from the familiar. But instead of reinstating my original travel plans, I went one step further and joined a tour headed to Turkey and Egypt. Accompanying my grandmother, of all people.

And what an adventure it was!

True, it might not have been the one I had been hoping for but it was certainly something to experience, given my interest in Ancient History and love for mythologies that date back several millennia. 

Although, as it soon came to pass, many places throughout Egypt and Turkey didn’t feel like I was enjoying their own cultural history so much as also getting a dose on Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome as well. That isn’t to say it’s a bad thing. Far from it! It shows how interconnected the ancient world was with trade ad culture. On the downside, it did dampen a little of my enthusiasm to realise that many of sites we visited weren’t exactly built by the local populace but rather the remnants of another civilisation that had dominated the area in ages past.

I suppose, though, that it goes to show the complex and interconnected nature of world history. After all, no nation can truly rise and fall in isolation. History has shown us time and again how greed and the entrepreneurial spirit of humans has led to new discoveries and the subsequent shrinking of the world. 

That said, on the day of our flight back to Sydney, we made one last pit stop at the Suleymaniye Mosque as the Blue Mosque was still under renovations and not open for visitors. Smaller, it seemed than the Hagia Sophia, the Suleymaniye Mosque was decorated with a rich red carpet underfoot (that didn’t stink too much of unwashed feet) and had the usual trappings that I’ve come to associate with Baroque style mosques.

Built in 1557, it took about seven years for completion. Inside its walls, it contained medreses (a type of educational institution), a hospital, a hospice and Turkish baths to name but a few of the amenities.

For us tourists, it served as simple shelter from the drizzle that had hounded us since waking that morning. The rain, it should be known, followed us throughout the entire day with a vengeance. Even when we had finished looking at the mosque and headed to a retail outlet centre, the rain followed. All up until the time we headed to the airport for our flight back to Sydney.

As for the shopping centre, there wasn’t much difference to what we might see in Australia. What caught my eye as I wandered through the food court of the megaplex, though, was the fact that it had a Shake Shack! Of all things!

We don’t even have a Shake Shack in Australia yet! So, how come Turkey has one of the most popular East Coast burger chains and Australia doesn’t? It’s completely outrageous and I demand that a Shake Shack or an In-N-Out be properly established in Sydney.

They even have a Popeyes (although Google tells me that there is one in Melbourne)!

Other than the food court, I also saw shops that could be found in Australia as well as a few international brands. There was even a bookstore, the first I’d seen while overseas. Granted, it wasn’t just a bookstore but it had books as well as video games on display. For the first time in twenty or so days, I got a taste of actual normalcy!

I also caught sight of a spiffing leather jacket. Red, like the blood that would flow from when I’ve decapitated my enemies, and it was rocking a detachable hood. Sure, it cost 5000 Turkish lira, and was a little on a the expensive side. But you know what? I bought that sucker because it was screaming my name. And yes, it was a bit tight around my girth but I can always wear it unzipped...

Besides, they also say that leather stretches! And I was wearing multiple layers before trying it on.

Which, I know, sounds like excuses considering that it was XL but I’ll be the first to readily admit that I am on the overweight side of things. But only just a little! And...you know, that my face is too round. Which is why I hate photos and why it’s been tough on the dating scene as I have a minimal amount of photos that star me in them. Also, posing is an issue. How ought one stand? What should these upper appendages called arms be doing? Is it still acceptable for me to be doing the classic ‘v’ sign or is that too stereotypical of every Asian ever?

Gah! I’m having a meltdown over photographs!

What was I writing about?

Ah, yes, the last day in Turkey. Well, after downing a burger from Shake Shack - which, honestly, was my favourite meal during my entire trip - it wasn’t long before we waved a fond farewell to Turkiye. On the drive to the airport, we parted with the remaining lira we had, tipping the driver and the tour guide, Abdullah, for their services.

And then, it was a short-ish flight to Dubai before we were on our way back to Sydney (wherein I managed to sneak in Woman King and HBO’s adaption of the Time Traveler’s Wife starring Rose Leslie). 

Overall, I must say, that the trip was one that I’ll remember fondly. While it had its ups and downs, I still learned a lot and got to see more of the wider world than if I’d still been too afraid to leave Australia. Books and movies and documentaries can bring the world to me but there is something about actually going out there and seeing things for myself that makes travelling so eye-opening and special. A picture might say a thousand words, but they’re almost always especially curated to evoke a feeling. Actually walking beside remnants of the past, interacting with the locals and trying their food is an entirely different experience. And one I hope to continue to experience now that the rest of the world is back on the menu.

COVID-19 might not be gone (and it might never be gone) but that shouldn’t stop people from living their best lives and seeing what the world has to offer. True, there might be limitations based on a person’s socioeconomic status and the physical capabilities, but for those that can, it’s something that can change you. 

The world may be small in the grand scheme of things, but it’s also so much bigger than just a pretty blue bauble hanging in the heavens. There is a rich history here that is begging to be uncovered to its fullest extent. And from what I’ve learned from travelling, as well as reading a history book as I travelled, the progression of the human race as a whole is all about engaging with their culture, beliefs and way of life rather than crushing it all under an imperialist heel or the misguided attempts of defending one’s interests.

We can all learn from being a little bit more open-minded and tolerant of the ideas of others rather than falling back into a tribal mentality of us versus them. As history has shown, it never works well and it’s all fuelled by self-interest. Open dialogue is the real path forward to success. Here’s hoping people can see that before they allow themselves to blindly trot down the path of mutual destruction.

Now, to end it all with inexplicable photos of animals. Mostly cats.  Why? Because both Turkey and Egypt had way too many feral animals on the prowl. So, while they may appear cute, do not approach! You can, however, take quality photos of them from a distance.

[pics-and-fanfics]

Wassup bbg

I bring numbers for your asks🤲. (You absolutely do not have to answer them all lol)

3 5 12 14 15 19 20 32 38 39

I go to look at the post bc I screenshoted it and my draft disappeared 😭 I’m gonna cry if this happens again

3. I actually have 4 movies and they are: The Princess Bride, Legally Blonde, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Jumanji (the original one from last century (I don’t remember the year unfortunately))

5. I got bored. My parents bought my phone so I have to follow their rules and that means no social media and this was as close as I could get. Also I saw a lot of tumblr screenshots on Pinterest and wanted to see the hype

12. Make sure you take care of your mental health, even if it means cutting out “friends”. You’ll be better off for it. Trust me, I know. Also, probably don’t have kids

14. Try new things. It’s stupid, but I know what I like, and what if I try the new thing and I don’t like it or it’s something that turns out to be bad for me?

15. My friends. “Home” is where I go when I’m tired and just want to chill. Home is where I go when I’m feeling sad or just got great news and want to share it. My friends are my true home

19. It’s either getting to see my friends (during the school year) or getting to chill and relax, read or write or play video games. Really, it’s just when I can relax and enjoy myself, either with friends or alone.

20. The sound the cicadas make during spring and summer while I’m falling asleep. The beautiful awe inspiring stars. How the moon makes everything practically glow after it rains.

32. On my phone? Over 300. On my laptop? Maybe around 12?

38. Uhhhh either “What the World Needs” from the Ride the Cyclone musical or “Concertina Ballerina” by Alternative Radio (thank god for friends that like different music)

39. This dude (I’m not trying to spell his name) Why? HES THE BEST CAT DAD EVER AND HIS CAT IS SO ADORABLE SHES SO BABIE!!!

Damn this is long lol

Thank you this was so much fun! But damn I had to restart like twice bc of notifications popping up in tumblr as soon as I switched out of the app 😭

[fadebolt]

My brother and I both have our birthdays in March, so our uncle has bought gifts for both of us simultaneously. He has decided to pick a Steam game that has been peaking his interest due to how much he's been hearing a lot about it from someone else recently (and from a rather popular CA video too, I guess).

I suppose it's not very hard to guess what game I'm referring to here. He's even going to wait for me to get home before he'll try it, which is just so incredibly sweet. I hope he'll end up liking it, but considering how he's played a bunch of very unique games that are difficult, have pixelart, or require a boatload of patience, Rain World should be right up his alley.

This is the first time I've managed to get anyone outside of my 4 and 6 year old cousins interested in the game, and I'm frankly quite pumped about it. Though I pray he isn't gonna come over to the Tumblr fandom of the game, cus yeah, he's an amazing guy and I love him, and the same goes for this community, but sometimes, it's simply for the best to keep some things nicely separated, even if you hold both of them rather dear to yourself. As sweet as Tumblr is, it does have a bit of a scary side to it, and it already gives me enough anxiety about the stuff I'm putting out, so I really don't need the stress of having to worry about someone else too.

On another note, I'll have to travel right when the anniversary stream is happening, so I won't get to see the art and announcements live, together with everyone else :(

Thankfully, Akupara does archive its streams, and I doubt any of my stuff would show up anyway, since they only get to showcase, like, 1% (or maybe even less) of the art month drawings, and as much as I'm improving, I'm definitely not even close to the top 1% yet.

Also, again, apologies for the bits of silence, I'm often forgetting to post stuff, cus there's just too much stuff happening, and it's difficult to keep track of it all. I guess I should look through my stuff to see if I forgot anything good, but outside of that, I'll probably just put up everything in a Google Drive as proof that I actually did the darn challenge (even if I attempted some things that were a bit much for me to handle in such a short timeframe, but you know, we live and learn).

Oh, and what did I choose for my birthday gift? Why, the La Ilusion Renata Glasc skin from League, of course! I spammed the heck out of the Chem-Baroness when the Arena was around, and it sounded nice to have a new look for my girl for the next time when the mode rolls around :D

Fright Night is a cool choice too, but I prefer the 'evil mistress of nature' vibes, plus I wanna keep the mask!

That's it for my ramblings! I'm honestly very excited, but also tired as all hell, and I'm definitely taking a bit of a break from drawing once March is over. I might get back to it fairly soon, but that depends on a ton of factors I can't really predict. We'll just have to see what the creative part of my brain will desire during my somewhat sparse free alone time!

[jmagnabo92]

Harry teaches Sirius to Cook

This is a snippet from a much longer fic that I have yet to post.  Still, thought it was cute for Sirius and Harry Saturday. (Note Sirius has returned from the Veil as a sixteen year old because James and Lily sent him back to protect Harry).  

***

“So, what do you say to teaching me how to cook?” Sirius questions as he sits across from Harry in their sitting room where Harry is playing a video game that Sirius had immediately bought because he knew he had always wished he could play it when Dudley got to and he didn’t. It was raining and he’s looking for something to distract him from the fact that he’s stuck inside.  Despite having a lot more freedom to go outside and do whatever he wants in the last couple of weeks, every time he can’t go outside due to the weather, he starts to feel trapped and needs a distraction.

         What better distraction than focusing on non-mission bonding time with his godson?

         “You want to learn how to cook?” Harry questions.  “Why?”

         “Well, A) because I should be taking care of you rather than the other way around…”

         “You are!” Harry insists.  “You’ve been great with everything so far – particularly the fact that you got me away from the Dursleys – you gave me a home, you don’t need to do anything else.”

         Sirius laughs, “Fair, but my second thing was that I wanted to bond with you regarding something other than the mission.”

         “We’ve been bonding with other stuff – going on rides, going out with our new identities, and telling me stories about mum and dad… you’ve been doing great.”

         Harry’s praise has Sirius feeling like a good dog that made his owner happy, and he almost blushes, but instead just smiles.  “Okay, kid, you win.  I just thought it could be something else…”

         Harry pauses his game to turn to him, “I’d be delighted to teach you, I just like the idea of you keeping me around ‘cause I feed you.”

         Sirius laughs because he’s half-sure Harry is joking, “You don’t have to feed me for me to want you around kid.”  He ruffles Harry’s hair.  “Besides, we do have Missy, who’s been taking care of things.”

         “So, you tell me every day,” Harry blushes.  “I was only half-joking.  I know that you don’t need that.  I’m just… I kind of like the idea of … this being something I do for you...” he trails off and mutters something about ‘earning his keep’ which causes Sirius to frown.

         “What was that last bit, Harry?”

         “It’s not important,” Harry states.  Then because he clearly wants to avoid whatever he said, he adds, “You know, I learned that you liked crosswords from spying on the Minister when I snuck into Hogsmeade and almost got caught.  He mentioned it and the fact that you’re my godfather.”

         Sirius grimaces, he hadn’t realized that was how Harry had heard, he had hoped it had been Petunia or Remus.  “Oh kid, that’s how you found out?  At the same time that you also discovered what the world thought I did?”

         Harry nods, “I was pretty angry at you – it hurt to think that they were betrayed by their best friend and the day after Ron and Hermione had to talk me out of going after you.”  He pauses, looking down, “I wanted you dead – I am still surprised that I couldn’t do it after the things first and second year and then… I talked you into not killing Pettigrew and now…”

         “Hey, kid, it’s not your fault,” Sirius states, stopping him from thinking that he was responsible for the war just because he had stopped Sirius and Remus from killing Pettigrew.  “You did the right thing – if we had killed him, then we wouldn’t be here right now because I would’ve gone back to prison and that would’ve sucked for all of us.”

         “Yeah, true, but he –”

         “Is at fault for his own actions.  He chose to go after Voldemort and that’s his own damn fault.  It’s not yours.  You are not responsible for other people’s actions,” Sirius states.  “Otherwise, it’s really my fault – I could have gotten him from Ron sooner or Remus could have remembered his potion or something – it’s not on you, you made the right decision.”

         Harry shrugs, “I guess.”

         Sirius nods, slightly before giving him a look when he realizes that he had gotten distracted from Harry’s muttered words.  “So, kid, back to what you mumbled before…”

         “It’s not important – have you always loved the crossword or were you just bored because you’d gotten enough of your magic back?”

         “Kid,” Sirius states, giving him a look.  “I want to know what you said and then I’ll answer your question.”

         Harry sighs, clearly annoyed.  “Fine. I said that I wanted to earn my keep.”

         “What would make you think –” he stops, realizing that Harry likely cooks because it was one of his chores.  “That bitch. Harry, listen to me, you do not have to do any chores to ‘earn your keep’.  I take care of you – you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do – I don’t need you to ‘earn your keep’ any good guardian would never make you feel that way.”

         Harry looks up at him, surprised.  “So, you – you don’t want me to – to cook or clean and stuff?”

         “Only if you like to cook, but if you don’t then – that’s just fine. We’ve got Missy and we don’t need you to cook.  I thought you liked it – if that’s not the case…”

         “No, I do,” Harry assures him.  “I just also figured that I could earn my keep, too.  Make sure that I was worth it to you.”

         Sirius’ heart breaks at those words.  His godson should absolutely not feel like he has to earn his keep or make sure he’s worth it to Sirius because he was just for being Harry.  “Aw, kid, I’m so sorry that you felt like you had do earn it or something because you are worth it.  Just for being Harry, my godson.  You don’t – you never should’ve had to feel that way.”

         Harry frowns, “But you – you wouldn’t let me pay for anything and you bought me all these things…”

         “Things that you should’ve had from the get-go and things that you deserve. Things that I should’ve provided for you a long time ago.  You deserve so much better than this, Harry.”  

         Sirius is upset by the revelations, determined more than ever to make sure that Harry feels love and gets to have the best summer of his life.  

         Harry nods, uncertainly.  “Thank you, Sirius.  You – you have done so much for me, and I appreciate it.”

         “And you deserve it, you know that right?”

         “I do now,” Harry assures him.  “And you know if you’re … if you wanted to learn how to cook so that we’re doing something together instead – I do think it’d be cool to show you.”

         “Yeah?” Sirius questions, liking the idea.  “Because I think we could make it fun – even make a huge mess that Missy will enjoy cleaning up.”

         Harry grins, “It’ll be nice to have that rather than being the one that has to do the cleaning up.”

         “Good. Then let’s do it.”

***

         The kitchen was a mess.  They’re both laughing their arses off about the fact that they are both covered in flower and somehow managed to get it everywhere.  

         “Is this really how you make biscuits?” Sirius teases.  

         “It’s not my fault,” Harry jokes, flicking some flower at him.  “You’re the one that took the mixing bowl from me trying to show off your lame mixing skills.”

         “They’re not lame!” Sirius insists, laughing.  “How hard is it to mix ingredients together?”

         “Judging by the state of the kitchen – very hard.”

         “Cute, kid,” Sirius states, still smiling.  “Maybe we should try something simpler.”

         “I picked something that I thought was easy to teach you – you didn’t you say that you used to watch dad cook?” Harry questions.

         “I did,” Sirius states.  “It’s just – I didn’t memorize how he did it… besides you’re the teacher here.”

         Harry laughs, “Are you saying that I’m a bad teacher because I’ve got some references that say otherwise.”

         Sirius laughs, “I suppose you do… maybe you’re better at teaching DADA than teaching me to cook.”

         “Maybe I had better students,” Harry teases, flicking more flower at him. “But seriously, we can try again? Maybe try cooking dinner instead?”

         Sirius grins, “Sounds brilliant.  Let’s get Missy to clean this up first.”

         Missy appears and it’s clean within moments.  

         Harry laughs, “Wow, I love magic.”

         “Me too,” Sirius states.  “I have certainly taken it for granted, but I love it.  Makes life easier.”

         “Definitely.”

         Once they’re both back on their feet, Harry says, “Let’s cook something simple – pasta with meat sauce and garlic bread.  Since I like homemade sauce, we can make a whole pot of it and then whatever we don’t eat we can save for later.”

         Sirius grins, “Sounds good, Chef.”

         Harry laughs, “I’m not a chef, I just … happened to enjoy cooking.”

         “I’m glad you managed to like something that you had to do.”

         “Me too,” Harry states, before pulling him to beside the stove. “So, cooking a new sauce from scratch is going to take some time.  We start breaking up the ground beef into this large saucepan with the onion, garlic and green pepper until it’s all cooked.  It’s only going to take a few minutes.”

         “And then what?”

         “Well, then we’ll put it in a nice pot with tomato sauce and a few other flavors and simmer it for a while, cooking it nice and slow.”

         “Alright then,” Sirius shrugs.

         Harry smiles, “And once we feel like we’re close to having it ready, we’ll boil some water for the pasta and cook it.  It’s the easy bit and we’ll turn on the toaster oven for garlic bread.  We can spend some time mixing the ingredients for the garlic part of the bread in the meantime.”

         “Okay, sounds good.”

         A little while later, the sauce is starting to finish, so Harry puts on the pot of water and turns on the toaster oven.  He helps Sirius coat their garlic bread before offering him a taste of the sauce.

         “What do you think?”

         Sirius smiles, “I think you’re a good cook.  How do you know it from memory?”

         Harry smiles, “I didn’t really get to keep many things that I liked – they weren’t big on me being happy.  So, I had to think about it and sort of get the idea of it without help.”

         “Well, you did a great job,” Sirius praises.  “Because this is really good.”

         Harry preens under the praise reminding Sirius that Harry hasn’t gotten a lot of praise growing up and that he should do it more often.  “Thanks, Sirius.”

         It’s quite for a bit before Sirius says, “Oh, look, the pot’s boiling.”

         “Right, so we take a fistful of the pasta and break it in half like this and put it in the pot,” Harry says as he breaks the pasta and puts it in the pot.

         Sirius smiles as he, too, grabs a fistful and does the same.  Then he watches as Harry puts the garlic bread into the toaster oven.  “The pasta usually takes twenty minutes so we’ll have some time before it’ll be done – we just have to watch it, stirring it and such.”

         “And what would you like to do while we’re waiting?” Sirius questions.

         “You could tell me more about your crossword habit?” Harry probes, clearly caring enough to get to know Sirius more than as his protector, which makes Sirius smile.

         “Well, I – I was always curious and sort-of needed distractions sometimes, and I stumbled across the crossword.  Suddenly, it kept my attention for a while and helped me a lot. It’s like it gives me a focus away from my other thoughts sometimes.  You know – like needing to forget about my mother’s howler or my brother’s distance at school.”

         “Oh, that makes sense – I used my broomstick servicing kit that Hermione bought me for my thirteenth birthday to distract me from Marge’s tirades about me or my parents when she visited… it didn’t work the last night though.”

         “That’s the night I saw you?” Sirius questions.

         Harry nods, refocusing on the sauce.  “It was – I had enough.  I accidentally blew her up.  I thought I was a fugitive because Dobby had gotten me into trouble the year before… it was a mess, but it worked out.”

         “Hmm-mm,” Sirius hums.  He can tell that Harry doesn’t want to go into the details and he won’t force it.  “Well, yeah, like that.”

         “So, then, we should get you some more crosswords – muggles have entire books of them, so you don’t have to get them just from the paper,” Harry offers.

         “But wouldn’t they include muggle things – things that I wouldn’t know.”  Harry frowns, looking upset that Sirius didn’t like his idea, so he adds, “But you know, it would be great to learn.  We could do them together?”

         His offer is rewarded with a grin, “Don’t worry, you’ll know lots of muggle things by the end of the summer!”

         Sirius grins, “Good, I look forward to it.”

         “Dinner’s done,” Harry states after a minute.  “Time to eat the delicious meal we cooked.”

         “Good. Thank you for teaching me, kid.”

         “Anytime,” Harry replies with a grin as they settle down to eat their delicious homecooked meal.

[thechangeling]

But you like her better: Part 2

Sorry it's been a minute! I hope you like it.

Cw: Some brief ableism, mentions of internalized biphobia, and self injurious stimming.

2013

It was raining when 16 year old María Machado Sotomayor first met Kit Herondale.

Marí had always loved the sound of the rain. It was peaceful and rhythmic, creating a nice tingly feeling in her skull running straight down her spine. It also good for the plants. Which meant that Marí arrived (on time for once) at her favorite class in a pretty good mood.

Marine biology was their one of their three special interests, the other two being lacrosse and Base guitar. So Bio was usually pretty fun for them. However this time was different.

Her mood was instantly dampened when she walked into class and saw someone new sitting in her usually seat. A blond, short and white kid who looked far too pretty for his own good. A new kid most likely.

A new kid who didn't realize that Marí always sat by the window every single day. It was their spot. Still Marí was determined not to overreact. They marched over to the new kid  and approached him with their best masking smile.

Remember eye contact. She told herself. Keep your tone light and breezy but not too lifeless. Smile. Appear friendly and non threatening. Try not to sweat. Try not to scream.

"Hi excuse me," Marí began in a sickly sweet tone. "That's actually my seat! Sorry!"

The boy instantly looked embarrassed and apologetic. "Oh I'm sorry!" He blushed. "I didn't realize there was assigned seating." He had an American accent, California maybe?

Wonderful. A white American boy. Just what they needed.

Marí chewed their lip and fought the urge to rock or tap. "There isn't actually," they admitted. "I just usually sit there. So can you please move?"

Now the new kid looked a little offended. A cold look settled over his face. "Well why should I?" He bristled. "This seat isn't really yours. It's not like it has your name on it."

Marí rolled her eyes in frustration. "I tried that already but then I got in trouble."

He stared at them curiously for a moment. Marí took the opportunity to break eye contact finally and scuff their heel against the floor. They were wearing the new black suede chunky heels with the gem stones that Marí had gotten when they went thrifting with their friends.

"María!" The harsh voice of her teacher snapped her back into reality. Everyone had arrived and taken their seats while she was arguing with the American and now everyone was staring at her. "Could you please explain why you are not seated young lady?" She snapped in her extra pretentious sounding posh English accent.

The one that said, "I'm better than you."

Marí tried not to growl at being called a young lady. They weren't feeling particularly female today. Not that Marí was going to bother explaining that to some old British hag.

"He won't get out of my seat!" Marí protested. Instantly laughter broke out around the classroom. Cruel mocking laughter that made Marí feel like her skin was crawling.

"It's ok!" The new kid cried out, practically jumping out of Marí's seat. "I'll move! I'll go sit over here." He grabbed his bag and moved to the back of the room as quickly as possible.

Marí smiled in spite of themself. His random act of kindness was surprising, but they were grateful. They took their seat near the window and sighed in relief.

Marí would always look back on that day with fondness no matter what. It may not have seemed like much to him, but it meant the world to her. After Bio class she had asked Kit to come eat with her and her friends. They had made their introductions and the rest was history.

They became close friends very quickly, bonding over movies and music. They sent each other playlists of their favorite songs and songs that reminded them of each other. Marí made Kit a queer playlist with songs by queer artists and told Kit that they were bisexual and a demigirl. They hadn't even told their friends that last part yet at that point.

Marí also told Kit that they liked to use she/they pronouns, but so far was only using them online. Kit asked Marí a lot of questions then confessed to Marí that he was also bisexual but he was still kinda getting used to it.

"I grew up in a shitty situation," Kit had told them. "I guess I still have a lot of shame."

Marí didn't hold it against him. She bought him queer literature and resources for queer history including "Bisexuality and Queer Theory" and her printed copy of the article published in the 90s called "The Bisexual Manifesto." She gave him advice on websites and people to follow online.

They also just talked. Talked about life and their experiences. Their feelings and their relationships with their sexualities. Bonding with another queer person was always special but spending time with Kit always made Marí feel so...light.

Despite how close they were getting, Marí didn't always want to touch him. They were touch averse in most cases unless they were very comfortable with someone. Sometimes it just depended on the day. On the days where Marí found they could not hug Kit they had invented their own way to show affection.

They would place a hand over their hearts and tap it, as if to say "I care about you" or "I love you." Sometimes Kit would say "tap my heart" as a substitute for actually doing it.

He introduced her to his close friend Janessa, the wayward vampire who was incredibly hot and kind of made Marí all nervous and tounge twisty at first. But as they got to know her, Marí realized that she was also incredibly kind, passionate and clearly cared at great deal about Kit. Janessa was a gamer who had named herself after a video game character. She drank cups of warm blood in novelty mugs with giant swirly sparkly straws and was pretty good at making people laugh.

Janessa, or Nessie as Kit had affectionately nicknamed her, was flirtatious and charismatic, but also brutal and deadly in a fight. She was full of surprises. And maybe, just maybe Marì was a little bit into that.

However as much as Marí didn't want to admit it, they were also were starting to realize that they were way more into someone else. Someone with perfect golden curls that Marí wanted to curl their fingers into.

Eventually Kit came out to Marí as genderfluid and requested that she use alternating he/they pronouns for them. They both made the decision to collectively tell their friends their pronouns. Marí, Kit and Nessie sat around her gorgeous leather couch and talked for hours about gender, identity and transness. Kit pointed put that they may never be able to fully explain their gender to the other two, just like Kit might have a hard time fully understanding Janessa's relationship with gender, or Marí's because everyone was different.

"It's personal Nessie," he had said. "Everyone has their own unique perspective on gender and every trans person has their own complicated feelings about gender and what their own gender identity means to them, and those feelings might not completely match up with another trans person's. But that's ok. You don't have to understand the other person but you do have to respect them."

Janessa's understanding of gender came from being a trans women. It was about a strict  binary with clear lines and rules. Rules that Kit was starting to make a habit of fingerpainting all over and Marí could tell that it was stressing her out.

And Marí had no idea where the hell they fit in these rules. They had stopped playing the game.

But those two loved each other more than anything, and Marí knew they could work anything out. And sure enough approximately seven hours and four margaritas later (only two for Marí,) they had come to an understanding.

2014

She kissed Kit for the first time a month into the new year.

They had been trying on clothes in Marí's room and Kit was wearing one of their old dresses that Marí thought they looked amazing in, but Kit wanted to give it away. It was dark navy blue and sparkly with spaghetti straps, coming to about mid thigh. There were cut outs on the sides, filled in with black sheer fabric, and it had a low v cut at the neckline which was also filled in with black sheer.

Kit had been infodumping about one of the Marvel movies again, Marí couldn't remember which one, and she had kept getting distracted by his tan smooth skin peaking through the sheer fabric and fullness of Kit's moving lips. He smiled excitedly and Marí had stepped forward and kissed him.

Their first thought was that Kit tasted like chocolate. Their second was that they should have done this months ago.

Kit had melted into the kiss, smiling slightly against her mouth and pulling her closer. They kissed her feverishly, sliding their tounge inside Marí's mouth and moaning when she deepened the kiss eagerly. They moved against each other with almost lazy, comfortable precision, kissing each other for what could have been hours or days or maybe only seconds.

Marí couldn't have said.

When Kit finally broke the kiss and pulled away from Marí, his eyes were practically gleaming with joy and love. And that was when they knew.

I love him.

2015

I love him.

Ty's words ran in her ears. Repeating over and over again, maddenly bouncing around inside of her skull until she was forced to utter out loud,

"I love him".

They whispered it under their breath but Marí could tell that both Alyssa and Ty had heard them. It was so quiet you could probably hear a pin drop.

But of course. Of course he does. It was obvious. This whole time Marí had noticed there was something wrong with Ty. Just like there was something wrong with Kit. The way they stared after each other when they thought the other one wasn't looking. The loving and worshipful glances mixed with the bitter glares.

Marí had already known that Kit was in love with Ty of course. But the way they had told the story made it seem like they were positive that Ty couldn't be in love with them.

But then again maybe that made sense. Given Kit's history and who he was. But then Marí couldn't help but think of Ty and how confused he must have been. God it was a giant mess.

Speaking of...

The room was still silent. Marí found that she couldn't read Ty's expression as he stared back at her flatly. But his body was shaking, his fingers fluttered at his sides. She wanted to soothe him.

They stepped forward carefully. "I'm not mad at you," Marí assured him. "I was hoping we could talk?"

Ty's left eye twitched. "We are talking," he pointed out. Alyssa snorted.

"Ty, they mean about the proverbial bomb you just dropped a few seconds ago," Alyssa said with a laugh.  Marí smirked to themself slightly.

It wasn't really a bomb. More like a flare.

She really needed to talk to Ty. The only problem was Alyssa had an annoying tendency to never leave his side. It wasn't like she had a problem with the girl. Of course not. But her presence meant that Marí hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Ty one on one.

They cleared their throat. "Alyssa could you please give Ty and I some space to talk?" They asked. Marí hoped they didn't sound too rude. Alyssa looked to Ty and he nodded slightly, signaling that he was ok with her leaving.

That was so strange to Marí. Their relationship. The way Alyssa, a werewolf who hated shadowhunters even more then Marí did, essentially took orders from him and clearly trusted him more than anyone else. But perhaps she wasn't one to judge.

After all, she loved Kit.

Alyssa left the room with a pat on Ty's back and a quick, "call if you need me." Marí shifted their weight back and forth as they rocked slightly from side to side as they waited for Ty to speak.

He stared back at her silently, most likely doing the same. Marí blew out a loud breath and forced herself to stay still, crossing her arms.

"Are you going to say something or should I?" Ty asked expectantly. Marí bit their lip and shrugged.

"I'm still thinking of what I wanna say," she admitted.

Ty smiled at her softly. "So am I."

There we go. Cracks in the armour.

"I'm sorry," Ty whispered suddenly. "I never meant to-"

"You don't have to apologize!" Marí blurted out. Whoops they had interrupted him. "Oh shit sorry you were still talking!" They reached for their hair nervously and realized that they were wearing that Morticia wig for their costume.

Great. Marí moved on to chewing on her knuckles.

"It's ok," Ty reassured her. "I don't really know where I was going with that sentence. And you shouldn't do that." He pointed to her hand.

Marí scoffed, "yeah well you shouldn't dig your nails into your palms." He glared at them and they laughed.

"Not so fun playing a game of Mirror Image is it?" They teased. Ty didn't respond, just stared at Marí solemnly.

"You know I really admire you," he said, aiming his gaze close enough to hers to create the illusion of eye contact. "I always have. I never wanted to hurt or upset you."

Marí wished for a brief moment that they could touch him and then shrugged the impulse off. "I know love," they cooed. "Me too."

Without really understanding why, she pressed her hand to her chest directly above her heart and tapped, just like how she did with Kit. Ty studied Marí for a moment and then followed suite.

Marí in spite of themself, actually felt bad for him. They could clearly see the toll the last three years had taken on him, specifically the last few weeks. Maybe his family couldn't see it, and they definitely knew that Kit couldn't, but Marí could.

Marí of all people could see past the mask because they knew what masking looked like. It wasn't just about appearing normal, whatever that word meant. It was about hiding your feelings. Taking that heart you wore on your sleeve and locking it up tight. But everytime Marí looked at Ty, they could see it. And it was bleeding.

Ripped and bloody and broken, just like her own and yet they both still had the sheer audacity to keep breathing. Marí was proud of them both.

"You need to talk to him," Marí prompted. "You both need to be honest with each other."

Ty furrowed his brow. "Honest? About what? He doesn't feel the same way." He had gone back to flicking his fingers as he stared at her, looking puzzled.

Bloody hell between the two of them, Kit and Ty were giving Marí the mother of all headaches.

They took a deep breath. "Yes they do Ty," Marí tried not to sound exasperated. "Kit is in love with you, believe me. They told me."

It hurt Marí's heart to have to say it, but it was true and Ty deserved to know the truth. And they knew deep down that Kit wouldn't really be happy, he wouldn't be Kit until he had Ty. And Marí had to make their peace with that.

Ty looked understandably confused. He ran a frantic hand through his hair. "But why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?" He asked. "Don't you love them?"

She fought the urge to cry as tears gathered in her eyes. She found herself digging her nails into her palms despite chastising Ty for doing it a few minutes ago.

"I'm telling you all of this because I love them" she cried desperately. "Because Kit cries out your name in his sleep Ty! Because everytime he sees you, he stares at you like you are the moon the sun and the stars! Because everytime you speak they hang onto absolutely every word, and when you laugh-" Marí cut herself off.

They squeezed their eyes shut and took deep long breaths. Ty said nothing. Marí opened their eyes to see Ty staring at them in dismay. He looked like he was trying to think of what to say to help.

Marí shook their head. "I know Kit loves me. And they probably always will. We were close friends even before we started dating." Marí groaned and shook out their entire body this time, jumping up and down a few times as well to get rid of the tension. If Ty thought this was weird he didn't comment on it.

Marí wiped her eyes carefully trying not to smudge her mascara. "But you Ty?" His eyes refocused on her again at the sound of his name. Marí chuckled humourlessly. "Fucking hell, he is in love with you. And right now he is thinking that you hate him and I know it's tearing him up inside."

Ty stared at Marí hopelessly, looking overwhelmed and exhausted. "So what do I do then? What am I supposed to say?"

Marí shrugged. "I can't help you with that I'm sorry. It has to come from you." Ty looked even more panicked.

They gave him what they hoped was an encouraging smile. "Don't be scared Ty," they murmered. "It's Kit remember. They're not scary. You have nothing to worry about."

Ty didn't answer her. He had wrapped his arms around his body, squeezing tightly. "Marí do you remember those dead moon jellyfish we buried on the beach?" He asked.

She was a little confused as to why he was bringing this up now. "Yeah? Why?"

"That's what I feel like right now," Ty admitted. "Like I've washed up on the beach and now I'm just waiting for someone to come along and step on me."

Marí's heart sank. "Oh Ty," they breathed. "I promise that won't happen with Kit. I can't make any promises for anyone else, but I do know that Kit has absolutely no intention of hurting you again love."

Ty looked pensive. Marí could only hope that Ty would make the decision to trust them.

With a sudden jolt Marí remembered the party.

"Hey we still have the Halloween party to go to," she said, shaking Ty out of his stupor. "Do you still wanna go?"

To their surprise, Ty nodded. "Sure. I think Alyssa might kill me if I back out now."

Marí snorted. Alyssa Reyes could be pretty terrifying at times.

With surprise Marí found that their spirts were lighter having cleared the air with Ty and with the prospect of a party being renewed.

She smiled. "All right then let's head out!" Marí smoothed down the long black wig over her shoulders and quickly smoothed out the long skirt of her black slinky dress before turning and exiting the training room.

She knew that she would have to talk to Kit at some point and that conversation would be brutal. But at least they could have one last night together.

It's better this way. Marí told themself as they walked back towards the main living room where everyone was gathered.  At least now Kit can be happy.

It's for the best.

It has to be.

So I'm actually planning on writing a part 3 from Kit's pov because the drama isn't over yet! 😏

Tag list: lmk if you wanna be added/removed.

@playwithravenclaw @lavender-scented-rat @jazzkaurtheglorious @waterlillies   @nott-the-best @stxr-thxif @magnus-the-fabulous-entp-bane @foxglove-airmid @littlx-songbxrd @clarys-heosphoros @queenlilith43 @arangiajoan @hardlymatters @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @tired-vin @phoenix-and-dragon @the-blackdale @adoravel-fenomeno @the-wckd-powers

[skellfamily]

Sans’s and Papyrus’s house

This post goes into detail on some of the weird stuff going on with the skeleton brothers’ house. This is long rambling speculation so I hope it won’t be too hard to follow

Initially, this was going to be a shorter post about a little theory I had regarding how they can afford their house. When talking to Undyne and Papyrus in Snowdin, Undyne questions how Sans is able to pay for their big home

I thought maybe this was just a joke regarding how Sans works a lot of jobs but thinking about it, that doesn’t make much sense. Why would it be a mystery how Sans can afford the house? Unless they’re trying to imply he’s making money in a shady way (is he an assassin or drug dealer or something???) I don’t see why it’d be a mystery. I guess, even with the multiple jobs he has, that income still shouldnt be enough to cover the costs of a nice big home. Sans himself makes a joke about how ‘well paying’ sentry jobs are

So...either Sans does make a lot of money in a secret way that he doesnt want even Papyrus to know about for some reason or...what if he doesnt have to pay rent on the house at all (tbh the idea of monsters having to pay rent in the first place is rather odd to me but thats neither here nor there)

Connecting this to other ideas I’ve had on this subject, I believe their house might be the one Sans and Papyrus lived in in their former home, the dimension/timeline/world they were originally from. The event that brought them into the world of Undertale also carried their entire house with them (a house I would assume was bought and paid for by ‘their’ Gaster but the specifics of that dont matter too much here)

The reason I started on that train of thought is because of this fascinating little room:

The basement contains several items: the photo album with pics of people Frisk doesn’t recognize, a badge, blueprints, and a big broken machine. The room’s music is It’s Raining Somewhere Else, the same track that plays during the hotel date where Sans briefly alludes to having a home he wants to go back to. What I wonder about this room is, how in the world did Sans bring a large machine and a photo album with him to Undertale? Those don’t seem like things you’d just have on hand in the event of being thrown into another dimension. 

But, if the whole house was dragged into Snowdin along with Sans and Papyrus, it would explain the issue quite neatly (I’m thinking either a mishap with that machine is what caused them to be torn from their home dimension, or perhaps UT Gaster’s accident had a rippling effect on alternate Gasters and his presumed family as well?)

It could also explain other aspects of their house. There’s a bunch of weird, sometimes physics-breaking things going on with the place. What if the space-time bending event that landed the skelebros + their house in another world also gave the house those strange properties? For example, if you complete a True Pacifist run then perform a true reset, the picture of Sans with you and your new friends will still be in the photo album - is the basement somehow protected from the effects of a reset that should otherwise erase all traces of the deleted timeline? 

There’s also the shrine to Annoying Dog within the kitchen sink (found in console versions) and Mad Mew Mew’s room in the Switch version. Now, it’s not unusual for a video game building to be much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside but the shrine and MMM’s room take it to pocket dimension territory. Why is there a shrine to Annoying Dog there in the first place? How did Mad Mew Mew even find that room??

Papyrus comments on how Sans’s room is “like another world” and others have noticed his door resembles the door in the Dark World that teleports the party to different locations

Fun fact: the door to Mystery Man’s room is also the same as the doors to the skelebros’ rooms (admittedly, Undyne has that door sprite for her room too...however I doubt it’s a coincidence that MM specifically has the same one the skeletons do, rather than one of the many other door assets that could have been used)

Speaking of these doors, when you enter Papyrus’s room, it plays the audio file mus_doorclose. When you open Mystery Man’s door, it plays the  mus_dooropen sound effect. Taken on its own this isn’t too interesting...however, afaik they’re one of only two instances in the entirety of Undertale of those sound effects being present.

The other time they play is at the very end, when Toriel opens Frisk’s door to give them pie - mus_dooropen plays when she opens the door, then mus_doorclose when she leaves. Maybe I’m overthinking it but it sure seems odd those audio files were specifically chosen for Papyrus’s room and Mystery Man’s room, and almost no where else. Plus it seems they’re supposed to be paired with each other...(note: in Deltarune, those sound fx show up a few more times, also paired together - when opening/closing the dimension door or when Kris enters the classroom; not sure if there are other instances in DR?)

Continuing on the subject of Papyrus, his room has another oddity and similarity to Mystery Man’s: they are always silent. The rooms don’t play music at all, not even Reunited which plays in almost every room (the only other exception is the Dog Room, which has its own theme that isn’t overridden). It’s difficult to speculate on the noticeable silence of Papyrus’s room, as we’re not given much to go off of. I think it could be related to how Papyrus suspiciously never brings up his past. What if he forgot his past, and perhaps ‘forgot’ his room theme?

Going on a tangent here about Papyrus’s music, sorry - it’s also interesting to me how Papyrus borrowed his themes (Nyeh Heh Heh! and Bonetrousle) from Deltarune, where Bonetrousle was originally going to be the battle encounter music - that was Toby’s plan way back when he first tried to make Deltarune, before he started on Undertale. Despite how interconnected Undertale’s soundtrack is, his leitmotifs show up nowhere else except in Bring it in, Guys! His theme and Sans’s themes aren’t referenced within each other’s, which is odd. There is a ‘missing link’ in Sans’s unused fight theme, which incorporates Papyrus’s music, but that obviously isn’t actually in the game proper. Is it possible his themes may be different in Deltarune? Will we finally get to hear his room’s missing music?

One last tidbit regarding their house and music from the Undertale wiki on Reunited: 

This track is slowed down when played in-game (compared to the file version), just like many other Undertale tracks, however, if the protagonist enters Papyrus's room and exits, enters Sans's room and exits, or if they restarted a save file during the epilogue of the True Pacifist Route, the track starts playing again, however at the same speed as the file.

idk if that means anything but I thought it was neat enough to add

As pointed out in this great post, the positioning of Sans’s and Papyrus’s rooms is odd. They shouldn’t fit properly in the house (but if they were flipped, would fit perfectly) and not only that but there’s a conspicuous space between their rooms. A space where Mystery Man’s room would fit nicely. And look at where their doors are oriented in their rooms - Papyrus’s to the very right, Sans’s to the very left, and MM’s smack dab in the middle. Coincidence?? I think...probably not?

If I’m right about the house being taken with the skeleton bros into the Undertale world, then if there was a room in the middle for Gaster, Sans presumably got rid of the door and covered it up with the painting. 

Okay, I think that’s everything I wanted to cover. I hope this all made sense! If anyone has anything to add feel free

[gryffindorcls]

Plot Twist

Summary: Even though she still gets nervous around him, Marinette has been happily dating Adrien for several weeks. However, after agreeing to a mutual reveal with Chat Noir, Marinette postpones her date night with Adrien. Luckily, he also has plans with a friend that night.

Length: 7,178 words 

Hello, lovely readers!  This was written for the 2020 JV Art and Fic Trade on Discord. There is accompanying art for this fic by @supergirl9130.  Be on the look-out for it soon! Enjoy! 

(Shout out to my beta for this fic, @miss-congeniality-of-ml) 

— AO3

Fanfiction

Marinette snuggled further into Adrien’s embrace, relishing in his warmth. In response, he kissed the crown of her head and sighed.

If someone had told her six months ago that she would be in this position, she would have laughed, cried, and then laughed again. Never in a million years did she actually think that Adrien Agreste would ask her out on a date, let alone want to become her boyfriend.

“Are you still feeling cold?” Adrien whispered into her hair. “Do you want me to get you a blanket?”

She shook her head. “I’m okay.”

“You say that now, but you always get cold again when I let go.”

“Then don’t let go.”

“As you wish, my love.” He held her even tighter, sending her heart into a frenzy.

Much to her chagrin, six weeks of dating still hadn’t taken away all of the nervousness that she felt around him. She quickly discovered that Adrien’s love language was all of them; as a result, he constantly showered her with affection, gifts, and attention. While most of the time Marinette didn’t know how much more her heart could take before it exploded, she’d never been happier.

Ever the gentleman, Adrien never showed her anything less than boundless patience whenever she became a blushing, stuttering mess in his presence. If anything, he seemed to enjoy it, and that only made matters worse.

Whenever she had a “Marinette Moment” (as he affectionately called it from time to time), he would simply smile, pull her into an embrace, and whisper reassuring words into her ear. Sometimes, his soothing would work, but other times it sent her heart off to the races, leaving her to slowly melt into a hyperventilating puddle.

“Marinette, breathe.” Adrien’s hand was running up and down her back. “You’re turning redder than you usually do.”

She wanted to kick herself.

It had happened again.

She hadn’t even realized that she’d been holding her breath this time. Shaking herself back into reality, Marinette exhaled and buried her face against Adrien’s collarbone, relishing in the soft cotton of his designer t-shirt.

“Sorry,” she whispered, slowly feeling the embarrassment fade away.

“You know that you never have to apologize when this happens.” He kissed her cheek. “Like I would really complain about having another opportunity to hold you in my arms.”

“Yeah, but it happens all the time.” Marinette pulled away, bit her lip, and looked down at her lap. “Aren’t you getting tired of it?”

Adrien took her hands in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles. “Never. I love everything that makes you, you.”

Had it not been for the warmth that filled her chest upon hearing his declaration, she would have combusted again, but instead, she pulled her hands away and launched herself into Adrien’s arms. “You’re amazing. How did I get so lucky?”

He nuzzled his cheek against the crown of her head. “I ask myself the same question every single day. You are not only the best girlfriend I could have asked for, but you are also the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. My only regret is that I didn’t ask you out sooner.”

Momentarily forgetting how to breathe, Marinette choked on her next intake of air. The coughing fit left her breathless and lightheaded.

So much for staying calm.

With sheer panic in his eyes, Adrien’s hands fluttered around her as she gasped for air. “Are you okay? Do you need water? What do I do? Please be okay!”

Taking a sharp intake of breath, Marinette managed to partially regain her composure. “I’m fine.”

The worry still hadn’t left his features. “You didn’t look fine. At least let me get you some water.”

Adrien hopped off of the couch and ran to the mini-fridge under his desk. Upon returning, he handed her a chilled water bottle and sat down next to her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He put his arm around her. “Did you choke on air again?”

She sighed. “No. It was your cuteness this time.”

“Oh, really?” The panic in his eyes melted away, leaving behind a dazzling smile. “Twice in one day. I’m on a roll!”

“You can’t just tell me that I’m the best girlfriend without warning me!”

“I can’t help myself. Complimenting you has become a hobby of mine.”

“Well, your hobby is going to kill me.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“I’m serious! You’ve watched me launch objects across the room and trip on air when I’m around you. One day you’re going to be so adorable that I’m going to get spooked and fall to my death or something.”

“You know I’ll never let anything like that happen to you, right?” Leaning in close, his breath ghosted her cheek. “I’ll always be there to catch you when you fall.”

The heat moved to her ears. “Adrien…”

Using his index finger, he tilted her chin upward and captured her lips under his. “Okay, I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.” Satisfied, she returned the gesture with an even deeper kiss, eliciting a contented hum from her boyfriend’s throat.

“For now.” His mouth curled into a Cheshire grin as he pulled away from the kiss.

With a pout, Marinette stood up and made her way to the opposite side of the couch. After crossing her arms and sitting down with a playful huff, she turned her head and stuck out her tongue.

“Marinette!” Adrien jutted out his bottom lip and pressed his hands together. “Please come back! The couch is getting cold.”

“Nice try, Agreste. Those kitten eyes won’t work on me!” Marinette looked away and pointed her chin in the air. “Have fun sitting by yourself.”

“NOOO! You have to come back!” Marinette choked back a laugh, and Adrien held his hands up in surrender. “Fine! You win, my love.”

“Good.” She crawled across the couch and resettled herself against his shoulder. “Now, hold still. I’m tired after almost dying.”

“Oh, so now I’m nothing more than a pillow to you? I see how it is.”

“Shhh! Pillows don’t talk.”

“GASP!”

Marinette snorted. “Oh my God...did you really just say the word ‘gasp’?”

“So what if I did?” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back to his side.

“Who even does that?”

“I do!”

“You are such a dork.”

“And you’re surprised?”

No.

At least not anymore.

On their first date, Adrien had spent thirty solid minutes trying to balance a salt shaker on its edge while gushing over his new favorite movie. As she watched him hunch his body over the table, stick out his tongue, and maneuver the salt shaker into the perfect position, Marinette realized that the person who had been taped all over her walls was Adrien Agreste, the perfect model and son, not the boy who sat before her.

No, this was not the Adrien who went to photoshoots, took perfect pictures, and sat up straight during interviews. This was not the Adrien who smiled politely when approached and shook hands with powerful men and women. This was not the fabricated Adrien from the magazine quizzes whose personality was defined by his favorite color and the brand of shampoo he used to wash his hair.

This was the Adrien who had swallowed his pride and admitted that he didn’t know how to make friends. This was the Adrien who had seen a girl standing in the rain and sacrificed his comfort by giving her his umbrella. This was the Adrien who loved video games, whose eyes lit up when he saw a plate of cookies. This was the Adrien she’d fallen in love with, the Adrien she’d lost sight of when her mind had been clouded by infatuation.

That night, Marinette rediscovered what love meant. She’d silently cursed herself for getting lost in the glossy, ten-page spreads and towering advertisements that brandished his face, for jumping to conclusions without knowing the full story.

At that moment, she vowed to learn the full story, to truly get to know the Adrien behind the flashing lights and perfect etiquette. She’d dreamed of a life with Adrien, but in actuality, she’d only dreamed of a life with the idea of him.

Marinette didn’t know that she could love a person more than she already did, but at that dinner table under the soft light of a chandelier, her heart expanded to make way for all that she had to discover about her new boyfriend.

So yeah, he was a dork. A kind, selfless, sometimes clueless, wonderful, and amazing dork.

She smiled and tapped his nose. “No, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

He beamed. “Good! Because I’m not going anywhere.”

“And one day I’ll be able to handle your sweet nothings without turning into a puddle.” Marinette picked the water bottle off of the table and took several long sips.

“Once again, I will repeat this until the day I die. Your blushing is one of the cutest things on the planet. It rivals videos of kittens eating loudly and ducklings wearing hats. You’re absolutely purr-fect.”

Water nearly came shooting out of her nose. “Adrien Agreste, did you just make a cat pun?”

“Yup!” He looked so proud of himself.

All the nervousness from before disappeared, for if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was how to deal with a cat-pun slinging boy with a smug grin on his face.

“Is there a reason for the puns, or are you just trying something new?”

“I think you meant to ask if I was trying something mew.”

“Nope, that’s all you.” “Well, to answer your question from before, punning is a part of my purr-sonality. C’mon...just admit they’re claw-some.”

“Goodness gracious, just how many cat puns do you have in your arsenal?”

“I can go all night, Marinette.”

“And pray tell, where did you learn all of these puns?”

“I have a few cat pun websites bookmarked on my computer and my phone. I also have a cat pun translator app, and I bought a pun dictionary. But I put all of the best ones I find in my notes app.” He whipped out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and held it out for her to see. “I’ve always liked puns, but the cat ones kind of took over.”

She bit back a laugh. “Who are you? Chat Noir?”

An indistinguishable emotion flickered behind his eyes before quickly being replaced by a mischievous glint. “Would that be the worst thing?”

No.

But something like that happening would be too good to be true.

Her partner was the best, and there was no doubt in her mind that whoever was behind the mask was brave, kind, loyal, and an all-around amazing human being, so it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for the love of her life to be Chat Noir. However, Marinette knew that she wasn’t that lucky. At least the world had been blessed with two equally as amazing blond boys...who both apparently loved puns.

“Not at all.” She smiled and shook her head. “He’s a pretty cool guy.”

“R-really? You think so?” His voice uncharacteristically cracked on the last word of his question.

“Yeah, he’s my favorite hero.”

“Wait, really? It’s not Ladybug?”

“Nope. It’s Chat.”

And how could it not be? Her partner was incredible, and soon she would be able to tell him that not as Ladybug, but as Marinette.

Chat had been overjoyed when she’d suggested a mutual reveal. It was long overdue, and now that she was comfortable as the new Guardian, she was ready. It would make things safer for both of them to know. Not to mention she was excited at the prospect of being able to double down on their search for Hawkmoth.

Oh, how she dreamed of the day that Hawkmoth’s reign of terror came to an end! With her and Chat working together as both heroes and civilians, that dream might finally have the chance of becoming a reality.

If only Adrien could know about my life behind the mask, she mused, He’d probably be super helpful. Perhaps that’s something Chat and I could dis-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a piercing ring.

Adrien picked up his phone, turned off the blaring alarm, and sighed. “As much as I would love to stay here and cuddle, I have to go meet with my work friend now. Are you sure it’s okay that we’re skipping date night for this?”

Oh, right.

He was meeting with a friend today, as well.

She’d been worried about canceling her plans with Adrien, but he’d seemed relieved when she had brought it up earlier that week. When he revealed that he had also made dinner plans and needed to postpone their date, she couldn’t help but marvel at how in sync their lives were.

“Of course! It’s important for us to hang out with other people sometimes.” Marinette looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled. “And we’re not canceling date night. We just moved it to tomorrow.”

“That’s right!” He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “And to make it up to you, I will make sure that it is the most amazing date you’ve ever been on!”

“Even more amazing than the time you took me to Gabriel’s annual investor’s gala?”

Adrien nodded his head. “Most definitely.”

“Oh?” Marinette bit back a laugh. “And why is that?”

His face fell flat, matching the tone of his voice. “Because my father won’t be there.”

Giving in and falling into a fit of giggles, she held her stomach and doubled over. “Yeah, that would definitely do it! He made things so awkward when he demanded that you dance with that girl.”

“Sadly, it’s not the first time he’s done something like that. He’s always using me as a marketing tool with the investors. Let’s just say that having me spend time with a rich man’s daughter is one of my father’s many business tricks.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with that.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “At least he’s out of town for the next few weeks.”

“Yeah, thank goodness.” He leaned in and pecked her on the lips. “It means that I have you all to myself with no interruptions.”

The alarm on his phone went off a second time.

He took a deep breath and tapped the screen. “Except for right now. I really do have to get going soon.”

Marinette took her phone out of her purse and looked at the time. “Me, too. I told my friend to meet me at 6. If I don’t leave within the next five minutes, I’m definitely going to be late.”

“Same.” Adrien pocketed his phone, hopped off the couch, and grabbed his shoes. “So, where are you meeting up with your friend?”

“Oh, at some cafe I suggested. I went there with Kagami a few times.”

“Have we ever been there together?”

“No, but maybe we could go tomorrow! On our make-up date!” Marinette hopped off of the couch and slipped on her flats.

Adrien returned to her side and took both of her hands in his. “I’d like that.”

Marinette had picked the restaurant because she knew Chat would love it, and the more she thought about it, she knew that Adrien would probably love it, as well. “You know, you and my friend...you and he are really similar. I think the two of you would be really good friends.”

“And if we’re being honest, you and my work friend are so alike it’s insane. I guess there’s a reason why I used to be in love with her.” His eyes blew wide as he clasped his hands over his mouth. “I mean…”

Marinette took a step back. “The girl you’re meeting with today...she was the girl you-”

He frantically waved his hands in front of him. “No! It’s not like that anymore! I swear! I don’t love her...I mean, I do, but not like that. She’s like family? Also, she’s dating someone now. She only saw me as a friend, so it didn’t work out.”

“I always thought it was Kagami.” She collapsed back onto the couch, feeling her heart sink. “That means I wasn’t even your second choice. I was your third.”

Adrien scrambled onto the couch. “No, no! Please don’t start thinking like that.”

“But it’s true.” Feeling smaller than she’d ever felt, Marinette buried her head in her hands and pushed back tears that threatened to fall. “I’m sorry you didn’t wind up with either of the people you loved before me.”

“Marinette, I need you to look at me.” He carefully pulled her hands away from her face and held them in a steady grip. “You weren’t my third choice. You weren’t even my second choice. You were my always choice.”

“Your...always choice?” A tear slipped down her cheek and fell onto her lap. “I don’t understand.”

“You know what? Neither did I until the day I found out that you had a crush on me. Sure, I was in love with the girl I work with. It consumed me and didn’t let me think about anything else, but she didn’t want a relationship with me. I was heartbroken, and while I respected her wishes, I didn’t know how I could ever love another person the same way. Then Nino made his little slip-up, and I realized that I already did.” He leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. “I’ve been in love with you since the day we met.”

“But…”

“No buts. Please. I care about my work friend a lot, but I am in love with you. Yes, loving her was exciting, like fireworks, but loving you feels like…” His face softened, his gaze filled with adoration. “It feels like home.”

Her breath hitched. “Adrien…”

“Marinette.” The reverence in which he uttered her name set her entire being ablaze.

“You’re going to melt me into a puddle again.”

“Good.”

She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and closed herself around him. Returning the gesture, he drew her into a tight embrace. With his chest flush against her own, Marinette could feel the pounding of his heart and the depth of his breaths.

When he pulled away, she immediately felt the absence of his warmth. She sniffled, and using his thumbs, he wiped away the wetness from her cheeks.

“Now go have fun with your friend.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I want to hear all about it when I call you tonight.”

Marinette couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped. “Thanks, you, too.”

“And maybe the both of us could convince our friends to hang out as a group one day...you know, since we’re all so alike.”

“It’s funny. My friend used to have a crush on me, and I turned him down. It sounds like our friends wouldn’t just hit it off, but they might just be made for each other...like you and I are.” She couldn’t help but laugh as she pictured Chat and Adrien’s work partner meeting for the first time. “Too bad my friend is already dating someone.”

“My co-worker is dating someone as well.” Adrien chuckled and shook his head. “But for real, it sounds like they’d be a match made in heaven.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if they were actually dating each other?” It was a ridiculous thought, but it felt good to laugh after crying.

Adrien nearly doubled over. “That would be the most insane plot twist. Their relationship would be like one of those romances from a movie or something.”

“Only if it’s a really cheesy movie!” She thought back to all of the times she’d dealt with Chat’s flirtations. “I know for a fact that my friend is the ultimate hopeless romantic.”

“You mean like me?”

“Well, I did say that the two of you were alike.”

“Then I must meet this classy gentleman friend of yours!” Adrien held a finger in the air as he spoke. “He and I shall be the best of friends.”

An infinitely more ridiculous idea popped into her head. “I just thought of an even bigger plot twist!”

“Let’s hear it.”

“What if you’re actually the friend I’m meeting today?”

“Well then, may I suggest the biggest plot twist of all? You and I are actually each other’s friends, and we didn’t know because until today, we’ve been dressing up in disguises every time we’ve met up.”

Marinette slapped her hands against her cheeks and feigned surprise. “Then that would mean that you fell in love with me twice!”

Yeah, it would! And it would also mean that you turned me down because you had a crush on me but didn’t know it.” Adrien flopped dramatically onto the couch. “My poor brain can’t handle the confusion.”

“Same. Can you even imagine trying to keep something like that straight?”

“Nope! As crazy and cool as something like that would be, I’m pretty relieved we don’t have to deal with that kind of mess in our love lives.”

“Yes! Agreed!” But you’re right. I do think that the four of us would have a lot of fun together! I’ll ask him about a possible group hang-out session. I’m sure he’d be down for something like that.” Marinette straightened her purse strap, bent down, and pecked Adrien on the lips. “I’ll talk to you later. Love you!”

As she walked towards the door and out of his room, she heard Adrien call out behind her. “I love you, too!”

Carrying his words with her, Marinette bounced with each step she took. She skipped down the steps of the mansion and basked in the warmth of the summer sun.

How could she have been so silly to think that Adrien loved her less than he did? Of course, he loved her! She could see it in his eyes every time they were together. She could hear it in the way he spoke to her. She could feel it in each kiss.

Adrien Agreste loves her just as much as she loves him, and there was nothing that could ruin the high that came with this knowledge.

Nope. Not a single thing could ruin her day.

She was in love.

Someone loved her back.

And she was about to reveal her identity to Chat Noir.

Marinette froze.

She was about to reveal her identity to Chat Noir.

What was she thinking?

She couldn’t do something like this. She and Chat were fine the way they were. Right?

Opening the clasp to her purse, she ducked into an alleyway and did her best to not hyperventilate. “Tikki!”

Her Kwami zipped into view. “What’s wrong? Is there an Akuma?”

“No...it’s just…”

“Yes?”

“Just…”

“Marinette, what is it?”

She clenched and unclenched her fists several times before finding the words to say. “I can’t do this. No, I shouldn’t do this. How could I have possibly thought that this was a good idea?”

“What?” Tikki squinted. “Are you talking about meeting Chat?”

“Yes! Didn’t you always say that we had our secret identities for a reason?”

“Yes, but that was before. You’re the Guardian now, and you’re supposed to know where every single Miraculous from the Miracle Box is at all times.”

“But what if-”

Tikki cut her off. “No what if’s! This is the right thing to do, and you know it!”

Is it? Worry still clouded her mind. Am I going to regret this?

“I don’t know.” Marinette fiddled with the strap on her purse, fighting the urge to turn around and run home. “What if everything goes wrong?”

“It won’t!” Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek. “Also, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Don’t forget...I already know who Chat Noir is.”

“That’s right! You do!” She cupped her Kwami in her hands. “Will you tell me a little bit about him? It’ll make me feel better about all of this. Please?” Tikki shook her head. “Marinette, you already know everything you need to know about him.”

“I do? But I thought the Miraculous magic was supposed to make that impossible.”

“The suit masks your features, not your heart, and trust me, you know Chat Noir’s heart inside and out. He’s never tried to hide who he was from you.”

“I guess you’re right.” She fixed her eyes on the pavement below. “But I’m still nervous.”

“And you think he’s not? He’s most likely freaking out as we speak, and it would probably make him feel a lot better if you actually showed up.” And once again, Marinette knew Tikki was right.

She had to do this.

If not for herself, for Chat. Her partner deserved the support that came with knowing her identity. She never wanted him to find himself in a position where he needed help from the Guardian and didn’t know where to find it. Chat needed her just as much as she needed him.

And now it was time to meet him.

Doing her best to shake off the sinking pit in her gut, Marinette smoothed out her skirt and straightened her back. “I can do this.”

“Yes, you can!” Tikki threw her tiny paws into the air. “This is so exciting!”

“Sure, if by exciting you mean that nauseous feeling in your stomach, but I can do this. I’m Ladybug.”

“And more importantly, you’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You’re the girl who’s an amazing designer, class president, and friend. You are kind, and you always stand up for what’s right.”

Marinette could feel her confidence grow. “That’s right...I am! I’m great in and out of the mask. Just like Chat is.”

“Just like Chat is.” Tikki smiled. “And I’m sure he would love to know your name.”

“And I would love to know his.”

“And all you need to do is walk into that cafe.”

“And find the boy wearing the black hoodie and the silver ring.” Marinette held up her purse for her Kwami. “C’mon, Tikki. Let’s go have dinner with the boys!”

“Boys?” Tikki cocked her head to the side. “As in more than one?”

“Are you telling me that you’re not excited to see Plagg without having to sneak around?” Marinette couldn’t hold back her laughter when she saw Tikki’s face light up before she enthusiastically dove into the bag.

With a renewed spring in her step, Marinette made her way to the cafe. Within minutes, she found herself standing outside the glass door, gripping the metal door handle. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and crossed the threshold.

A blast of warmth hit her face as she walked into the intimate dining space. She scanned the room and felt a rush when her eyes landed on a hunched figure clad in black.

Chat.

If it was indeed her partner, he was sitting at the far end of the cafe, facing the wall and scrolling through his phone. He had a hood pulled over his head, so she couldn’t see the color of the person’s hair. During their last patrol, Chat had divulged that his hair was actually blond so she would recognize him when she saw him. While this stranger wasn’t making it easy, there was almost no one else it could be.

And there was only one way to find out.

It’s now or never, Marinette. She psyched herself up as she walked over to the hooded stranger. Just walk up and ask…

“HEYISTHISSEATTAKEN?” Marinette slapped her hands over her mouth when she realized how loudly the garbled strand of words had come out. “I mean…”

The cafe had gone quiet, and she could feel all eyes on her.

This is a disaster. What am I doing? If this is Chat, he’s going to think I’m such a weird-

“Marinette?” A hand wrapped around hers, bringing her catastrophizing to an end.

Wait.

The hand was warm and familiar. “My sweet, beautiful Marinette. Come here.”

I know that voice.

The hand tugged her closer. “Come here, my love.”

Adrien.

A pair of green eyes filled with love and surprise locked with hers. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Her brain continued to short-circuit. “What are you doing here? And why are you hiding under that hoodie?”

“Ahhh, yes.” Using his free hand, he scratched the back of his head. “I’m meeting my friend here, and I really didn’t want anyone taking pictures of me meeting with a girl who wasn’t you and getting the wrong idea. Having another media presence conversation with my father is the last thing I need.”

“I totally get that. I remember you telling me about the last time your dad sat you down for one of those talks.” She smiled, but confusion continued to swirl around her mind.

She could have sworn it was Chat; however, she couldn’t have asked for a better outcome to her mistake.

“I know it hasn’t even been an hour, but I’m happy to see you.” A gentle kiss pressed against her knuckles. “So, what are you doing here? You’re not following me, are you?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and took a seat across from him. “No, my days of following you are far behind me, thank you very much, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t remind me of all my embarrassing pre-dating decisions.”

“They’re so cute though!” He rested his head in his hands. “I’ve never had someone care about me as much as you do before.”

“Adrien, stop!” Her cheeks started to burn. “My friend is going to be here any second, and I can’t look like a tomato when he shows up!”

“Ohhhh, so that’s what you’re doing here! Wow...what a crazy coincidence!”

“You want to know an even bigger coincidence? My friend said that he was going to be wearing a black hoodie when I met up with him. I thought he was you.”

Adrien leaned back in his chair. “Wait...really?”

“Yeah.” Marinette nodded her head. “He said that he would be wearing a black hoodie with a silver ring. He wanted me to be able to recognize him.”

“Hold on.” He opened and closed his mouth several times before continuing. “Have you never met your friend in person before?”

“Uhhh.” Panic started to settle in her gut, but luckily she knew how to keep a straight face. “Well, it’s complicated.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah, we've met in person, but our outfits were kind of weird.”

“Uh-huh, and what’s your friend’s name again? I don’t think you ever mentioned it.”

“Umm...you see, we’ve only been using nicknames, so I’m not totally sure.”

He held up a hand. “So let me get this straight. You two don’t know each other’s names, and there was a chance that you wouldn’t recognize him because you were dressed weird every time you saw each other before today.”

“Yes.” Marinette looked away. “That’s right.”

“And I’m guessing that means that you gave him something to look for to help him know that it’s you?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

She swallowed, sincerely hoping that she wasn’t giving too much away. “My black earrings.”

His eyes immediately locked on her ears, sending him into a near trance-like state. Several emotions passed over his features before his eyes grew wide.

“Oh my God.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Oh my God.”

Her cheeks grew hotter as his unrelenting stare continued. “I-is there something on my face?”

“It all makes sense now.”

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

He grabbed her hands from across the table. “I was close a few times but you always shook me off your scent. You’re so clever, but I guess you already knew that.”

“What are you talking about?” She pulled her hands away. “Adrien, I don’t understand.”

“You’re joking, right?” Without breaking his stare, he leaned in and curled his mouth into a smirk. “Oh wow, you’re not.”

The panic and confusion that clouded her thoughts began to melt away as her annoyance grew.

Why would Adrien freak her out like that and then...laugh?

He was laughing.

Why was he laughing?

“Would you care to share what’s so funny?” she asked with a huff.

He wiped a tear away from his eye as he attempted to compose himself with several deep breaths. “I just can’t believe it!”

“Can’t believe what?”

“Marinette.” He got up, walked around the table, and knelt in front of her. “Don’t you think it’s interesting that you’re waiting in this cafe for a boy in a black hoodie and you ran into me?”

“Yeah, it’s a funny coincidence. Great minds think alike, right? Wait...speaking of friends.” Her eyes scanned the cafe. “My friend still isn’t here.”

“I guess we’ll have to do this a different way then.” Adrien stood up and grabbed his phone off of the table. “Can you do me a favor?”

“If I do, will you finally tell me what’s going on?”

“Yes, but I think you’re going to figure it out soon enough.”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

He pulled her onto her feet. “I’m going to go call my friend because she’s not here yet either. While I’m gone, could you call your friend, as well?”

“What, no!” Marinette did another scan of the cafe before turning back to Adrien. “I have to stay here in case he shows up. If he gets here and I’m not here, he’ll think I stood him up.”

“He won’t. And don’t you want to see if he’s okay?”

She bit her lip and watched as a pair of giggling girls walked through the door. “Yeah, I do.”

Relief washed over his face. “Thank you! And then when our friends get here, maybe we could all eat together?”

“And you’ll tell me what’s going on?”

“Yes, I promise that if you haven’t figured it out by the time we both return, I will tell you everything, but you’re going to facepalm when I do.”

His sincerity calmed her agitation. “We’ll see about that!”

Adrien laughed again and disappeared into the men’s room. Following suit, Marinette pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, checked that she was alone, and transformed.

Before she had the chance to pull out her yo-yo and make the call, it started to ring.

She grabbed the device and held it up to her face. “Chat, where are you? Are you okay?”

“Can you meet me on the roof?” She could hear a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Right now?"

"Yes."

“Why?”

“Purr-lease, my lady? Do it for me?”

"Is this something I'm going to regret?"

"Nope! I purr-omise. Cat's honor!"

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Awesome! See you there!” Before she could respond, the line went dead.

Great.

Now she had two boys who were acting weird.

After finding a window that was big enough for her to squeeze through, she leaped through the opening and hooked her yo-yo around a chimney. With a tug of the wire, she flew into the air and landed on the edge of the roof.

“Hey, Ladybug!” She whipped around and was met face to face with the most excited-looking Chat she’d ever seen. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“You asked me to come up here, you silly cat!” She sheathed her yo-yo and rested her hands on her hips. “What are you up to?”

“Even after saying the same opening line? Really? Nothing?”

“Chat, what are you talking about? I swear, between you and my boyfriend…”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Oh, right.” She pressed her pointer fingers together. “So, my boyfriend is here, and he’s also waiting to meet with a friend, but he’s acting all weird right now...just like you are. But anyway, I know that today is a big deal for us and we have a lot to talk about, but since he’s already here and I don’t want to make it any weirder than it already is, do you think it would be okay if we ate dinner with my boyfriend and his friend?”

He took a step closer. “That sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to.”

“That’s a relief! I was worried you’d get mad and say no.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “But we may have to get our stories straight before we go back in there. I kind of told him that we only knew each other by nicknames until now, so unless we want to tell him that we’re the heroes of Paris, we should do the reveal here.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Oh, and one more thing. My boyfriend is kind of famous? He’s Adrien Agreste.”

“The model whose face is plastered all over the city?” Chat’s expression was unreadable. “Does that mean you’re the girl from all his Instagram posts?”

Marinette hoped it wouldn’t be a problem. “Yeah, that’s me. He’s wearing a hoodie so no one recognizes him, so I hope that’s okay.”

“That's fine with me.” He took another step closer. “So, would you like to do it on the count of three?”

“Do what?” They were so close.

“Drop our transformations.”

“Right! We should do that!”

He was now inches away from her. “On the count of three?”

“Sounds good to me.” Her heart hammered against her chest.

This was it.

It was now or never.

She took a deep breath and counted with him.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

They spoke their detransformations at the same time, and Marinette’s brain ceased to work as the magical green light left her boyfriend in Chat’s place. Taking a step back, her foot slipped off the ledge, and everything went in slow motion as Adrien yelled, grabbed her hand, yanked her back onto the roof, and fell with her into a heap of tangled limbs.

Without letting go, Adrien sat up and pulled her into his lap. “Are you okay? Please tell me you’re alright!”

Still stunned speechless, all she could do was nod.

“See? I told you I’d always be there to catch you when you fall.” He gave her a once over before wrapping his arms around her and holding her against his chest. “Sorry, I thought it was a good idea. I should have moved us to the middle of the roof.”

Her brain began to sputter back to life.

Adrien was holding her.

And Adrien was Chat Noir.

Which meant Chat was holding her.

Which meant…

“I’m in love with Chat Noir.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Yes, you are.” He rested his mouth against the crown of her head. “And I fell in love with the same girl twice. Best. Plot twist. Ever.”

Marinette thought back to earlier that day, a time that now felt like a thousand years ago. “How did we not see this?”

“I don’t know, but now it all makes sense why you never agreed to go to the movies with me as Chat Noir. We were too busy living in our own movie.”

“We have so much to talk about.”

He held her even tighter. “Yes, we do, but we have a whole lifetime to talk. Let’s just enjoy dinner tonight.”

“Dinner sounds perfect.” She let all of her muscles relax and allowed herself to melt into his embrace. “I’m surprised you’re not freaking out right now.”

“Oh, trust me, I am, but I’m just going to focus on how amazing it is that my girlfriend and my lady are the same person and worry about the rest later. How are you holding up?”

“I’m still processing, but there’s a good chance that I will freak out and scream into a pillow later.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“What makes you think that you’ll be there to see it?”

“What makes you think that I’m going to leave you alone tonight?”

“And how do you plan on doing that after I go home after our date?”

“I was thinking that purr-haps a certain cat could come and visit you on your balcony? It sounds a lot more interesting than a boring phone call if you ask me.”

Of course, they were the same person.

It all made sense now.

This was Adrien. This was her Chaton. This was her best friend. This was the love of her life. This was her everything.

“Fine.” She pulled away and tapped his nose with her pointer finger. “But the cat has to bring hot chocolate if he wants to stay.”

“Deal!” He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “And may I just say that I am so excited for our next patrol.”

“Oh, no…”

“I wonder what the pictures on the Ladyblog will look like when Alya captures Ladybug turning into a blushing, stuttering mess after Chat Noir flirts with her!”

“Don’t think that I won’t end you just because you’re cute.”

“Awwwww!” He nuzzled her nose. “We can be cute together!”

“I said it before, and I'll say it again. You’re going to be the death of me, Adrien Agreste.” She buried her face against his hoodie and shivered.

“Nope! Not on my watch.” He got up and lifted her into his arms, prompting her to squeak. “Let’s get you warmed up inside.”

As he called for his transformation, Marinette found herself unable to look away. Here he was, holding her like she was his world, ready to do seemingly anything for her.

How did she get so lucky?

“Alright, hold on.” She braced herself against him as he leaped into the alleyway below.

He set her down on the ground and called off his transformation once again. After telling Plagg to join Tikki in Marinette’s purse, he took her hand and began walking towards the cafe.

Before they reached the door, Marinette stopped in her tracks. “Hey, Adrien?”

“What’s up?” He turned to look at her. “Did you want to go somewhere else to eat?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I’m just really happy that it’s you.”

“Oh, Marinette.” He pulled her back into his arms and dipped her into a kiss. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but knowing that it’s you is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I thought having me as your girlfriend was the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“Life would be boring if that stayed my favorite thing. Besides, if we’re going to be together forever, do you really want to stay just my girlfriend?”

“We’re only sixteen, Adrien.”

“And that means that we have many, many years to experience even more plot twists and greatest moments with each other.”

His declaration warmed her from her head to her toes, but to her surprise, she managed to keep herself composed and stutter-free.

“I guess that means we’re still in this together? Just you and me?” She snaked her arms around his neck.

“Always.” She couldn’t help but smile as he kissed her again.

[lovelylou]

female larry fic recommendations 

pink like the paradise found by @disgruntledkittenface disgruntledkittenface

“So what brings you all the way here on this fine Monday night, Harold?”

“It’s just Harry, actually,” Harry replies, biting back a smile. “And we’re celebrating.”

“Celebrating? Celebrating what?”

It takes Harry longer than it should to answer because Louis’ tongue darts out to wet her pale pink lips, which is just unfair honestly. She stares at Louis’ mouth until she realizes that a smile is tugging at the corners of Louis’ lips.

“I’m gay,” she blurts out, clapping a hand over her mouth as Louis’ face brightens. “I mean, um, fuck, no… well, yes, I am gay, like so gay, but that’s not… I meant–”

Harry's friends take her out to the local lesbian bar to celebrate after she comes out. They joke about getting her laid, but the way the hot bartender is looking at her makes her think it might actually happen.

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Must be the Season of the Witch by @evilovesyou 4ureyesonly28

Harry desperately needs a new coat. Louise has a feeling she should donate the old coat that she bought on a whim years ago to her favourite charity shop.

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reckless serenade by @thepolourryexpress thepolourryexpress

Harry’s not too sure how she’s gotten to this point either. So, she understands where the incredulous look on Liam’s face is coming from.

“You mean to tell me you’ve been dating Louis for three years and she doesn’t know it?” Liam raises an eyebrow, blinking.

Or, Harry's Google search history may or may not look like 'my girlfriend doesn't know we're dating.'

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at the end of the day by @captivekinqs sky_reid

if harry dies with her head between louis' legs, she'll die a happy woman.

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Tell Me This Is Paradise by @becomeawendybird QuickedWeen

Harry Styles has been lucky in love but unlucky in the bedroom with all of her previous boyfriends. When her best friend Niall finds out that she's never had an orgasm, she knows just what Harry needs: Louis Tomlinson. Niall sets Harry up to get sorted out.

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it's your flawless soul that bleeds my stone by @loveonwallstour sunflowergolden

“I think you have to see this for yourself. Look at the girl that just walked in.”

Everyone turned their heads towards the door. And. Harry was going to faint. She was sure of that. The girl that just walked in, looked like an actual angel. The sunlight was streaming in through the windows, and she looked gorgeous. Her hair was long, her make-up was done, and she was wearing a dress. Not just a regular dress, but a wedding dress. Which… was wet. When Harry took a good look at her, she could see that the girl was also soaking wet. Huh, guess it was raining outside. So, she also looked like a drowning cat, but honestly, Harry could look past that.

or, the one where louis runs away from her wedding, harry lets her stay with her, and there's not a universe where they don't fall in love

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daydream about me by @adoreontour louistomlinsons

“Anything else going on for you at the moment?” she asks, leaning forward on her elbows across the table, mindful of the radio equipment in front of her. “What about you and that Louis Tomlinson?” Harry sputters, mouth moving but no words coming out. She can feel her cheeks heat up, darkening with embarrassment. “It’s not, Louis and I, we don’t—” Harry can’t finish the sentence, tongue heavy in her mouth. She takes a deep breath, thankful they’re not being videoed, and tries again, “We’ve never even met, actually.” alternatively titled 'harry styles does not have a crush on louis tomlinson and other lies she tells liam payne'

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Sugar by @missyoutoosweetcheeks missyoutoosweetcheeks

Her solemn thoughts came to a halt when soft giggling reached her ears.

Now, Harry wasn't that much of an uptight twat who poked around in someone else's business, but she knew that giggle. That mischievous sweet giggle that usually led to a myriad of migraines, for Harry had to deal with the aftermath of them.

Louisah Tomlinson. The very bane of Harry's existence. The one who constantly got into trouble: vandalising, pranking the teachers, breaking rules, the whole lot.

So you see, Harry had to investigate.

OR

In which Harry finds Lou in the staff bathrooms.

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tempted by the fruit of another by @disgruntledkittenface disgruntledkittenface

Zayn didn’t mean to look. And she certainly didn’t mean to watch.

It’s just that Louis and Harry are the worst hosts in the world; they’re in their bedroom, clearly fucking (again), and so loud that Zayn can’t concentrate on her game of Among Us in the living room. Liam has killed her twice. Liam. So she just went down the hallway to make sure their bedroom door was at least closed.

It wasn’t.

Zayn stumbles into a world of possibility when she stays with Harry and Louis for a few weeks.

(note: this last fic is a zourry fic)

[theheavenlymoon]

I totally did this out of order, so let’s try this again!

I would like you to meet Uzuki Hanako! (うづき- Uzuki はなこ- Hanako)

(My first introduction was a hot mess, so I wanted re edit that one and put up this one instead!)

(I can’t draw for crap so I’m using picrew.)

This will basically be me talking about her rather than all the fandoms she’s in. I’m gonna be making post about her and the fandoms later, but for now it’s all about her!

First Name: Hanako

Last Name: Uzuki

Gender: Female

Race: Demigod

Age: ??? (Depending on the fandom, her age changes)

Birthday: December 27

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 6’3.3

Sexuality: Bisexual

JP CV: Ami Koshimizu

ENG CV: Amanda Céline Miller

FRENCH CV: Indila

(Couldn’t find a Greek CV 😔)

Nicknames: Shachi-chan (Floyd), Child of Hearth (Malleus), Ms.Herbivore (Leona), Princess, Wifey (Gojo)

Favorite food: Cheesecake, literally anything sweet

Least favorite food: Hummus, mushrooms, candy, and beans

Likes: family/friends, cooking, singing really loud to her music, working out, making clothes, nail polish, memes/vines, rain/cloudy weather, animals, purple, doing anything around the house, video games, anime, fictional books, roughhousing, and day dreaming about her crush/significant other

Dislikes: Fights between friends and family, Candy, crying in front of people, and bookshelves

Since I can’t draw I have to use picrew, but sadly some of the makers that I find have limited options so allow me to go into detail about her looks. (I’ll probably make another post about her abilities later)

Hanako has bright gold eyes and long lavender hair that goes all the way down to her mid thigh. She has two beauty marks, one under her right eye and one on the left side of her lip. Her signature hair style is space buns with the rest of her hair down in the back. Like I’ve said before, I can’t draw so I’m using characters I know as reference! This is what her body looks like.

(^ This is Flare, a character from fairy tail! I recommend watching it if you have time. Fairy tail is a very long series, but it’s really good!)

(I’m pretty sure you can look at almost all the women in Fairy tail and get the idea.)

Obviously I know that Hestia doesn’t have any demigod kids but demigods don’t have to be born the normal way. Hanako was born from fire and was given to her father. With that being said, when Hana was first claimed she was given a fire place poker but traded it in for a sword so she it could help control her pyrokinesis. (Her sword is disguised as a charm bracelet!)

As for her sword...

Hana’s sword helps her control her pyrokinesis a little better and it’s fun to try and see who can pick it up. Her sword can reach up to about 2000°F (1093°C). She has a few special moves but those are for another time.

Although Hana acts like her mom in some moments, she met Apollo and Hermes when she was quite young and those two have had a big impression on her personality. One moment she giving motherly advice, and the next moment she screaming vines across the room.

Random facts about Hanako 🌸✨

Since Hana means flower I use cherry blossoms and lavender to represent her.

Has a huge soft spot for children!

Hanako is super understanding and open. Wanna try something new? She’ll come with you, so you aren’t lonely and scared. Skydiving? What time are we leaving? Want to be left alone? Call her if you need something! Wanna try working out? She’ll be your personal trainer! Feeling down? She’s coming over with movies and snacks! Can’t make it to game night? It’s alright just be safe with whatever your doing!

Once Hanako falls, she falls hard.(Romantically speaking) She is a SIMP. She’ll wear the most giddiest smile after talking with them. Probably screamed in her pillows at least a few times. “They make my heart beat so fast, and they make me feel like the happiest girl in the world!!” - Hanako.

Attempts her best not to be obvious about her crush, and for the most part it works. Until anything other than platonic stuff comes up. Her face is gonna turn crimson if ANYONE mentions her crush in not so platonic ways, gods forbid anything even more intimate. Children of Hestia are so shy when the idea of sexual things is even bought up that they blush deeply and cannot articulate any coherent words, and any fire nearby also turns crimson as if it were blushing like the child of Hestia. This shyness is amplified if they are around their crush.

Gets kind of anxious when she’s beside a bookshelf.

She’s a smart ass. It’s gotten to the point where she does it automatically. It doesn’t even have time to process, it just comes out.

Hana is actually really good at acting and singing. She was in a few commercials and videos when she was younger but only as background characters.

Hana is amazing with kids. She grew up with 3 little brothers before she was moved into the orphanage, which meant even more kids to watch over. (she takes her big sister role very seriously)

Since she was born from fire, she can raise her body temperature up if she wanted too, and she rarely gets hot or cold. Heat based attack have no effect on her. Hana’s hugs feel like a warm blanket wrapped around you while sitting next to a fireplace, all in all just really comforting

Hana grew up around a lot of guys and so she calls everyone ‘bro’ and ‘dude’ a lot. She has a few friends who are girls but most of them are guys. That being said, she grew up rough housing and yelling.

Hana also comes from a very affectionate family. (Hugs, kisses, feeding food to each other, smashing food into someone’s face, etc.) So it’s not uncommon to see Hana tackle all of her friends into hugs and kisses.(platonically)

Hana also likes to tease a lot (curtsy of Hermes) so don’t be surprised when she tease about you burning food.

Is super flexible. I’m talking like, Mitsuri flexible. Her friends have at least saw her in the scorpion pose a few times. The more flexible she is, the easier it is to move in battle.

The woman is a tree. I’m pretty sure all of her lovers (with the exception of Gojo) are shorter than her.

She can not, for the life of her, wear heels. Anything above a 3 inch that isn’t thick, would make her snap an ankle. Besides she’s already tall enough

In terms of anger, Hana has the patience of a saint. She still gets annoyed here and there, but very rarely does she get genuinely angry. On the rare occasion that she is angry, she gets pretty violent. Veins showing from her forehead, her body temperature spikes, and she wears one of the most nastiest glare ever. (from what she’s been told) Only a select few have seen her mad.

When thrown into a new situation (or a new world-) that isn’t familiar, Hana will come off a bit sarcastic (more than usual) and aloof. She wants to get a feel for her surroundings before she can actually be herself. Give her some time to come around and she’ll be back to hyper and happy.

Hana has a bunch of hobbies. She plays volleyball and is known as the queen of the court. She loves to paint her fingernails and her toes as well. Her cooking is top tier! As a Hestia child obviously she would excel at anything that has to do with domestic and home type things.

She 100% would/will make her own dress. Once made a huge ball gown dress because none of the place had what she was looking for.

When she isn’t doing any of her hobbies she’s working out and practicing her pyrokinesis. Hana trained a lot back where she was from, so she could master her pyrokinesis and her sword. She’s gotten to the point where she can lift a car. Just because she’s in a different place doesn’t give her the excuse to slack off!!

Ironically her mother is a virginal goddess and isn’t married to anyone. Hana on the other hand, wants to get married and have kids. She shooting for 4 but it all depends on what her partner wants. (2,6,8 it just depends)

Hestia children can induce serenity and make tense situations a lot more calmer. Hanako has defeated a lot of enemies and monsters this way.

Hanako knows 4 different languages. English, Japanese, Greek, and French. She was taught Japanese by her father and Greek by her mother. She learned French and English herself

Even though Hana loves to do girly things, makeup is not one of them. She always thought it was pretty cool but she never had the time to sit down and practice it.

Thank you for reading✨ I had a lot of fun making this and I can’t wait to write more stuff about her! I’ll probably have to learn how to make a master post so her stuff is easier to access. If you have any questions about Hana my inbox is open, or you can message me in private, either way works!

I hope you stick around for more content with Hanako! 🌸🔥✨

[babysubinnie]

road to kingdom imagines masterlist

f - fluff                 ✨- requested a - angst             🕶 - working on it              e- emotional      🧩 - my favorites

mine - kino ft. hongseok (f/a)

hongseok is kino’s boyfriend but he hid it from you while you guys dated. hongseok finally comes back from his “trip” but now what? 

2 am runs - ko shinwon

shinwon picks you up at 2am and you guys go to a park while it rains constantly and heavily.

you work for me, not him - lee changyoon // e-tion (f/s?)

CEO!changyoon has a thing for you. he’s acting really weird on the first week of your new job as his secretary. 

dont talk - lee seungjoon // j-us (a) 🧩

as stray kids’ makeup stylist,  you’re very close to the boys, so when of course your ex shows up, they’re gonna make you talk to him even if they don’t know the back story.

you’re late - mizuguchi yuto (f) 

being stood up isn’t something that yuto did, but after 45 minutes maybe that’s what’s going to happen. he shows up 45 minutes late, the reservation is done, how is he going to make it up?

not jealous - kim hyojin (f, a little bit of a) 

hyojin has a study buddy even though he doesn’t even study with y/n. he’s tried to make y/n his girlfriend for a thousand years but nothing is going to make you change your mind.

whisper game - park minkyun (f)

remembering the past isn’t always fun but when it’s the happiest moment of y/n’s life, it’s the moment that minkyun knew he was going to be a dad.

why him? - son dongju (f, a)

son dongju always liked you, but when ravn finally makes his move on you, dongju finally snaps. 

sprite and patio chairs - lee keonhee (f)

keonhee’s been your boyfriend for two years but you’ve never met his parents or sisters but meeting his sister is the most nerve wracking thing that will ever happen.

i love you - kim youngjo (a, f, e)

saying i love you for the first time was not easy for youngjo, but it wasn’t easy for you especially since nothing came out of your mouth when it was your turn to speak. 

my type - yeo hwanwoong (f)

you’re a model, that models with loads of different people, but when you get the chance to model with yeo hwanwoong, that’s a chance that you would never miss out on.

don’t change the channel. - lee jangjun (f, a)

every ONE (lucid dream) performance, jangjun always has that one part that his looks are just breathtaking, and he changes the video while you admire that one part over and over. 

the real best friend - hong joochan (a)

best friend!joochan is starting to fall in love with this girl. she’s clearly a bitch but that one day when joochan comes in to talk to you about the feelings that you had for him, it’s actually to tell you he’s engaged.

dance with me - bong jaehyun (f)

dancing with jaehyun isn’t hard, well only when he starts nagging you about how you need to practice harder so that you guys can do a duo on stage on day together. there’s only one thing that makes you want to work harder.

run to me - choi sungyoon (f)

you and the twins got to be in the audience of golcha’s isac win for 60m and 400m relay. the twins always got babysat by the golden child boys so when they won, the twins congratulated the boys but not sungyoon.

my joochan - hong joochan (a,f)

you liked joochan more than anything in the world, but your dad made it clear that he forbade me from going out with him. when he gets fired from your dad, there’s not much you can do. 

do it, i dare you - kim jibeom (e)

being the fiancé of one of the biggest mafia bosses in korea isn’t easy, it’s actually quite difficult especially if his one mission is the worst one he could ever be assigned.

choi bomin as your boyfriend 

fire - bae hoyoung (f)

you’re friends with the 6 boys of verivery, your boyfriend being hoyoung. at the club, gyehyeon flirts with you, pissing hoyoung off so much that hoyoung needs to prove that you’re his.

24 hours - hong minchan (a?) 1 | 2 

fuckboy!minchan is known for breaking hearts, but everyday, he stops by your locker, stopping your heart, and of course, the girls of the school hate you for it.

we like a thunder - ju yeonho (f)

as their practice of thunder was shown to you even before a comeback was announced, you realized that your boyfriend yeonho isn’t the innocent boy you made him out to be.

don’t break my heart - jo gyehyeon (a)

you knew that when the time came, gyehyeon would break up with you. but when it actually happened, the only thing that you can do is to tell him no. it’s not going to happen.

make up for it - jo gyehyeon (f,a)

fuckboy!gyehyeon always takes girls on classic dates, the restaurant, then back to his house. but the one time he begged you to go out with him, was the best date you had ever experienced.

rainy days - lee hyunjae (f) 

hyunjae always went on dates with girls that were always ditching him just when he starts to fall for them. you’re his best friend, clearly in love with him.

stay with me - kevin moon (f)

your family always attacks you cuz you ‘don’t do your work’ so you leave the house. the only person you can go to is kevin’s and the boyz’ dorm.

rule number 7 - eric sohn (a, e) 1 | 2 🧩

the 7 rules that were one of the most important things in your friendship. when he breaks all 7 in a span of two days, especially when you’re head over heels for him, it’s gonna hurt more than anything. 

15 minute naps - kim younghoon (a, f)  ✨

fighting with younghoon isn’t a usual occurrence, but since he’s working so hard lately, you finally pop off at him but he freaks out and says things that are not something he usually would say.

complete me - kim younghoon (f)

ex- husband!younghoon you guys have a son but after the divorce, you guys haven’t talked since then, but your son runs away to his house, it makes you realize how much you miss each other.

surprise baby - kim sunwoo (f)

long distance is hard and sunwoo loves throwing tantrums when his members bother him. the four idiots (jacob, juyeon, changmin and hyunjae) bought you a ticket for you to come to korea as a surprise for sunwoo’s birthday.

the last - jacob bae (f, a)

jacob was the sweetest man alive, once you found out why you never went out for dates, your relationship was on the line. when you started helping jacob, there was one thing that the boys were hiding from you, the last mission.

most wanted - ji changmin (f)

y/n is a private investigator that is amazing at everything she does, including getting her first love back. but the only thing wrong with that? he’s the most wanted thief.

vending machines - lee hyunjae (f)

first day at creker as the new makeup manager? yikes. but y/n is tough enough to do whatever she wants to. the first time you see hyunjae? was something that you couldn’t even believe. he was insanely gorgeous.

lee hyunjae and period cramps 

count 1, 2 - oh sungmin // jerome (f,e)

jerome always had feelings for you, but you and chihoon were dating. he wanted to confess and when he did, how would you reply?

golden hour - kim jeyou (f)

TOO put you into a car with jeyou, it turns out of be a drive in movie where he finally confessed to you after donggeon tried for a long time to separate you two

my thoughts - cho chanhyuk 1 | 2 

soulmate!chan,, one day you wake up with a guy’s thoughts, you guys have never met, neither of you have social media to find each other, with only his voice to find your soulmate.

world klass fuckboy - song donggeon (f)🧩

rich boy!donggeon is known for being able to get into a girl’s heart but also the way out. he knew exactly what he was doing, but when he’s supposed to be your fiance? that’s something you really don’t want to get into.

be my valentine - choi chihoon (f)  ✨

j.you was your fake boyfriend so that the two of you guys could get chihoon jealous or something along those lines. so when chihoon does a whole bunch of romantic things, that was a hint he might know about the act.

cold - choi jisu (f)

you went to your boyfriend’s house but he was acting really weird so when you guys finally got a chance to talk, you realized, that last night, you cheated on him. with kyungho.

[lannisterdaddyissues]

Your turn to do all the cafe asks haha

soooo sorry i'm taking so long to answer my asks!!! i have an exam today and an exam tomorrow so i've been busy as HELL lately

anyway thank you for this wonderful ask allison i love you to death <3

cinnamon latte— would you ever want to dye your hair? if you have before, what color was it and why? hmmmmmm i wanted to get pink streaks in my hair back when i was 13 bc i was a cringe fail middle schooler lmao. my mom finally agreed after 6 months of begging and when we bought a DIY kit at walgreens, it turned my whole head purple for 3 days and then washed out. i'm glad it didn't work anyway bc i'm not one for dyeing my hair or other such cosmetic ventures. my mom does redo my blonde highlights every few weeks tho!

peppermint cappuccino— what’s your favorite genre of movie, tv show, or video game and why? hmmm idrk if i have a favorite genre tbh. i love action, comedy, sci-fi, thriller, romance, drama, anything! i think my favorite movies to watch are the ones based on true stories though. that's not really a genre in and of itself but those stories are always the most incredible to me because they really happened! as for tv shows, i like to watch anything really, but mostly stuff with violence in it. for video games i like strategy-based games like fire emblem and pokemon!

warm mocha— would you rather be in a sunny field of flowers and grass, or would you rather be in an ambient cafe with rain outside? a sunny field of flowers for sure :)

caramel macchiato— do you sleep with stuffed animals? if so, do you have a favorite? i do! i only have one with me at college, my parents bought me a new stuffed cat the day i started my first semester :) she's weighted and microwaveable to help with period cramps and she's also scented with jasmine to relax the nerves! you have no idea how overjoyed i was when they gave her to me, it just felt like the perfect gift showed up right when i most needed it

vanilla chai— do you have any hobbies that your followers don’t know about? or any hobbies that you once had, but stopped doing? i post sometimes about tennis, but besides that i also play the piano and i LOVE jet skiing. the other day i went out on our jet ski with my dad and we kicked it up to over 60mph which was the best fucking thing i have ever experienced in my life

strawberry milk— what’s your way of showing someone you love them, platonically or romantically? i tease them, i buy things for them, i spend time with them, and i open myself up to them. most importantly though, i just tell them (if it's platonic at least. if it's romantic i might just die before doing that)

iced frappe— how quickly do you fall asleep? do you only go to bed when exhausted so you fall asleep quickly, or do you lay in bed with the world on your mind? eh takes me about an hour, give or take. and i definitely lay in bed with the world on my mind, that is for sure

hibiscus tea— how often do you stay up all night instead of sleeping? what was the reason you stayed up all night? never. never. never. never. i could never do that. people who pull all-nighters are monsters. they don't deserve to be classified as human. i need my sleep or i can't function properly. regularly scheduled hours are where it's at my dude

cold brew— what percent is your phone on right now? 80%! for once. i got a new phone this past weekend, my old one would have already been down at 20% by noon.

steamed espresso— do you like roller coasters and other thrill rides at amusement parks? why or why not? i LOVE roller coasters, it's all about the need for speed with me (as evidenced by my love for jet skiing)

almond milk— would you ever want to plan a road trip with friends? or would you rather visit one area and enjoy what’s there? maybe! i wouldn't mind bringing some friends of mine back to my house or going to meet their families either. aside from that, i wouldn't want to leave the city with them because i hate to waste gas and/or time.

[blazehedgehog]

What was the honest reaction to Sonic 06 back in 2006?

It was a long time ago, so I can only really speak to my own perspective.

Sonic 2006 was the time that Sega’s marketing department really started cranking the hype train really, really hard. Sonic 2006 was announced as a fresh start. A soft reboot. Sonic Team said they were treating it like “the first Sonic game on the Sega Genesis.” You still had Tails, and Knuckles, and Shadow, but it was the start of a new era. A new type of Sonic the Hedgehog. More serious, more realistic, more “epic.”

At this point, there was no reason to necessarily distrust any of that. Yes, Sonic games had been slipping in quality, and yes, Sega was still more or less pretending that everything was “okay.” But that was always in the typical, “we’re trying to sell a video game and not go bankrupt” sense. This felt like a tacit acknowledgement that things weren’t so great and they were going to start over and refocus. Set things right.

Early gameplay footage looked rough. I distinctly remember a Gametrailers hands-on where they were demoing the Mach Speed Zone in Kingdom Valley, and the Sega representative was very clear and upfront that the game wasn’t done yet, and all of the empty space Sonic was running through would be filled in later. (It wasn’t.) There was also the typical debate over the TGS 2006 “Bringing it Home” playable demo, where people argued then, too, that the game wasn’t done yet, and not to judge things too harshly. The final version will be better.

The final version also wasn’t done yet. So, y’know.

I had effectively bought an Xbox 360 for this game. I was broke as per usual, but I’d gotten lucky and won a Gametrailers video competition, which landed me $1000 in Gamestop gift cards. I bought a PS2, a Nintendo DS, and an Xbox 360, plus more than a dozen games between the three platforms. I knew there would be more Xbox 360 games besides Sonic 2006, and I’d even originally wanted a 360 primarily for Elder Scrolls Oblivion, but the simple fact is that once the money was in my hands and I spent it, Sonic 2006 was the only actual Xbox 360 game I owned.

Or was going to own, anyway. I think I’d won the contest in September or October of 2006, when Sonic came out in November. So I bought the 360 a few weeks early with some original Xbox games, and spent the interim with Spider-man 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, and the copy of Halo 2 I borrowed from my cousin.

Sonic 2006 was the first game I’d ever pre-ordered. The second game, pre-ordered on the same day, was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Gamecube. I still have the tiny pre-order statue that came with Sonic. His gloves and socks, once white, have begun to yellow with age, and the skin tone on his face and body is turning an ashy gray.

Even 72 hours before launch, there was not a clear picture what Sonic 2006 actually was. Sega was deliberately obfuscating certain features; early in development they’d sworn up and down that there were only three playable characters in the game, something that blatantly wasn’t true. Perhaps it was miscommunication from Japan, but it meant they were now going out of their way to hide how many other playable characters were actually in the game. I naively distrusted most (if not all) professional reviewers back then, and the earliest scores for Sonic 2006 were all over the map.

As a Sonic fan, you kind of had to know how to read between the lines on the more negative reviews, because we were definitely in the era where it felt like critics were starting to dogpile on the Sonic franchise now that Sega was a third party developer. There weren’t a lot of professional reviews you could trust regarding Sonic games, or at least, that’s what it felt like. This was the rise of the podcast, and snarky hosts were taking whatever low hanging fruit they could get.

I remember waking up on launch day -- friends had gotten up early and picked theirs up in the morning, when I’d rolled out of bed somewhere closer to noon (or maybe even afternoon). I had plans to pick up my copy later that evening, after sunset. My friends did not sound happy, but again, there was always this vibe of “Wait and see.” They had only just started the game. First impressions were still too fresh to really call.

But I had this moment, this cold spot in the pit of my stomach, where I thought “Maybe I can cancel the pre-order and get Gears of War instead?” Reviews for Gears seemed pretty good. I’d probably be happy with it instead of Sonic.

I couldn’t let myself do that. I was a Sonic fan. This was the first big Sonic game of a new generation. A new start. I bought the console for this. First game I ever pre-ordered. The second Sonic game in the history of the franchise I’d bought on launch day. This was it. This was the event. No backing down. Besides, Sonic 2006 was a big 15th Anniversary celebration game. They wouldn’t make such a big deal about the anniversary without just cause, right? Sonic 2006 was going to be great. I just needed to calm down.

So we drove out to Gamestop -- and it was the sort of thing where I think we couldn’t do the pre-order at my local Gamestop for some reason, so this one was a town or two over. It was a journey. I was nervous the whole way there. Something told me I was making a mistake. But I had to do this.

I think it may have been starting to rain as we rolled up on the store. It was around 8pm, and people were starting to camp out on the sidewalk. Literally camp out, tents and all, because of the rain. Today was the launch date for Sonic 2006, but tomorrow was the launch of the Playstation 3. These guys were here for Gamestop’s “Midnight Madness” launch event. They were going to be some of the first to get a PS3. I was probably the last person to pick up a Sonic 2006 pre-order.

Sonic 2006 might have been the first Sonic game to ever make me angry. I’d had a lot of internet debates on how I felt about Sonic Adventure 2, but most of those amounted to splitting hairs about things that felt disappointing when compared to the original Sonic Adventure. I was not angry then, I was simply let down. I was similarly let down when I finally got a chance to play Sonic Heroes. But again, not angry. Baffled, maybe. A little sad. But not angry.

With Sonic 2006, I slammed head first in to all of my excitement and uncertainty at 200mph. This was a Sonic game unlike anything I’d ever played before, and in all of the worst possible ways. Enough has been said about the quality of the game that I don’t need to describe anything that’s wrong with it -- also because literally everything was wrong with it. Perhaps the first video game I’d ever played, ever, on any platform, that actually fought back against your efforts to play it. A disaster in every sense of the word. A broken nightmare. After finishing Sonic’s story, I was mad. How could they let this happen? What was wrong with them?

I was less angry after having finished Shadow’s story. Shadow had even buggier gameplay than Sonic, but it also felt more complex, more action-oriented. His story was better, too -- instead of the sappy Princess love story, Shadow’s story was about how the world was against him, and the crossroads that brought him to: rise above his past and strive to be a better person, or give in to the temptations of evil? It was still dumb as heck, but it was less dumb than Sonic’s story.

By the time the credits rolled, I had accepted the fact that this game was a mess. More of a mess than any Sonic game ever had been before. It was clearly a deeply unfinished game. Friends theorized maybe they could patch the game, because that was a thing games could get now. Sonic 2006 could still be saved. The PS3 version wouldn’t be out for another month, surely that means they’re working on a fix, right? Some were even theorizing over an achievement called “Nights of Kronos” -- it mentioned a “complete ending to the last hidden story.” Perhaps that meant there was going to be more? Maybe we got the bad ending, and a better, more finished ending was waiting for us on the disc somewhere?

There wasn’t. And no patch ever fixed the game. That was Sonic 2006 -- the kiss, the loading screens, the strange mannequin NPCs, the stiff controls, the glitchy physics, the empty overworlds, the bizarre dialog, the plotholes and time paradoxes, that’s just what the game was, and was always going to be, forever.

Before Sonic 2006, you could say that 3D Sonic games were bad, but there was always a place to defend them from. They had problems, but they were never irredeemable. Sonic Heroes may have had frustrating controls and repetitive level design, but it had great art direction, nice music, and fun concepts. They were always trying, dang it, and it was obvious to see that.

Sonic 2006 felt irredeemable. Offensively terrible. A failure on such a level that it was hard to comprehend. Beyond simply “a new low” for the franchise. This felt like rock bottom. It was the kind of bad that spread like a virus. Even good games, like Sonic 2 on the Sega Genesis, felt notably tarnished by the existence of Sonic 2006. It threatened to ruin the entire franchise by proximity alone. For some, it probably did. I definitely had a moment where I wondered if I would ever enjoy a Sonic game in the same way ever again. They were all tainted now. Infected by memories of Sonic 2006, the game that was supposed to save the franchise, but condemned it to the lowest pits of hell.

In isolation, that might have been the end for me. I might have continued to drift away, bit by bit, until I found greener hills outside of the Sonic franchise.

I’ve said this before, but what saved me was getting hired to write for TSSZ News. Now, suddenly, I was paid to play and write about Sonic games. It was a duty. And it helped that the first Sonic game I reviewed for TSSZ ended up being Sonic Unleashed, a game I continue to openly gush about to this day, more than a decade after its release.

But never forget that Sonic 2006 was such a disaster that it nearly made me give up Sonic the Hedgehog. It really was that bad.

[taurusicorn2400]

Christmas Proposal:

Word count: 1010

Can also read on Ao3

One week before Christmas

"Minnieeeeeee! Tell me what you want for Christmas." 

Clementine and Minerva were in the mall doing some last minute Christmas shopping. And to also get those sweet sweet savings deals on those new video games. Clem still hasn't bought Minnie anything because yeah. Life be like that sometimes.

"I don't really want anything."

"Please just tell me. You know it's difficult for me to shop for you. You want everything and nothing at the same time."

The redhead thought about what she wanted. "I just want you to say yes to the question I'll ask later."

"You want me to say yes?"

"Mmhm."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"Mmhm, yeah OK. Don't cry when you get nothing on Christmas then."

"I probably still will. Depends." The redhead chuckles.

"Yeah whatever. Let's just go get these shoes AJ wanted."

They make their way into footlocker to buy these dope ass shoes AJ wanted. They are dope trust me on that.

--------

Four days before Christmas

"I am once again asking, what do you want for Christmas." 

Clementine was on her laptop, scrolling through some online store, trying to find something to get the redhead. Listen, she's going to get her girlfriend something awesome, even if it kills her. If she has to murder someone for it, that's fine too.

Minerva takes a sip of her coffee, before answering. "And I'm once again telling you, I just want you to say yes to the question I'll ask in the future."

"That's fucking stupid. How am I supposed to know what question to say yes to?"

"Oh don't worry. You'll know."

The brunette stared at the redhead. "That sounded so fucking ominous."

Minerva just chuckles as she takes another sip of her coffee. Clem is terrified now.

-------

Two days before Christmas

"Alright, you giant redhead blob of hotness, I'm giving you one last chance to tell me what you want for Christmas."

The redhead in question just got out the shower, and is looking for clothes to put on. She's debating between a onesie or some grey sweatpants. The dilemma. Anyway, the redhead turns from her drawer to look at the brunette, with a smile.

"You think I'm hot?"

"......yes, but that's not the point. Tell me what you want.

Minnie walks to the bed where Clementine is laying on, getting beside her, missing her lips. "Just say yes."

"I'm getting real sick of you saying that. Reaaaaal sick."

"Good thing I'm here. Can be your nurse and bring you back to top notch health." Minnie rains down kisses on Clem's cheek

The brunette blushes, hiding her face in Minnie's chest. "......I hate you."

"I love you."

".....love you too."

--------

Christmas Day

Clem, Minnie, and all their friends were gathered in their living room, exchanging gifts and such. Just generally having a dope ass time. The redhead sat on the couch, watching as her girlfriend gets excited over opening present after present. Grand ole time. But now it's time for what she's been wanting to do for the past couple weeks.

"Clem, can I ask ya something."

The brunette in question looks up from her newly opened present. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"Oh shit is it time?" Ruby questioned

"Yeah it's time."

"Oh my lord." Ruby gets her phone out and starts recording. This is gonna be good.

"Time? Time for what." Clementine is a confused bean.

"Time for my possible Christmas present."

"Oh really? Hit me."

"Well, first I wanna say that I freaking love you. Like a lot. A crap ton. Like take the size of Jupiter, and multiply that by like eighteen, and that still won't show how much I love you." The redhead laughs in nerves. 

Clementine laughs along because the rambling do be kinda cute though.

"Anyway, I'm getting off track. Uh, you're pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to me. You made my life , and me, better. You remember how shitty I was."

The brunette snorts, along with everyone else in the room because yeah, Minnie was a little shit.

"I was horrible, then you called me out on my bullshit. And that's how I fell for you. You were pointing out how I was being horrible to everyone, and I just couldn't stop thinking about how pretty you looked." Minnie grins at the brunette, who grinned in returned. "Then I realized you were right, and that I had to change. And you helped. You helped a crap ton. Kept me in check, that's for sure."

"I did do that, yeah." Clementine smirks.

"You did. And I fell for you more. Then, I asked you on a date, which you for some reason said yes to, god knows why, where I spilled all that lemonade on myself."

"God, it got everywhere. Looked like you peed."

"Yeah, yeah it did, and yet you still decided to date me this entire time. Anyway enough reminiscing. You made me a better person, and I love you. So, and this is where my present comes in," The redhead pulls out a ring box, while getting on one knee, causing the brunette to gasp. She opens the ring box to reveal a dope ass ring inside. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, wake up everyday with you b my side, and everything else. So, uh, will you marry me?" 

Clementine stood there, awestruck. She didn't know this was going to be happening. At all. The redhead just fucking got down on one knee and proposed to her. This was what Minnie wanted for Christmas, and she's going to give her that.

"Oh my god. Yes."

"Wait, really?"

"Mmhm. I'll marry you."

"Holy shit. Holy fucking shit, you said yes."

"I did."

The redhead tales the ring out of the box, and puts it on Clementine's finger before standing up and pulling the brunette into a kiss. Their friends were cheering, but all sound seemed to slip away. They were in their own little world. They're getting fucking married. Best Christmas present ever.

[wosofan14]

Jackie Groenen House Tour Interview - 22/10/20 (Rough English Translation)


Little note - The format of the interview was a little weird. The interviewer guy was very random with what he said, so some things in the translation are very random. But other than that, the video was super interesting. Hope you enjoy the translation :)


Interviewer: Welcome to a brand new episode of “Inside”, a show where we get an inside look into the houses of professional footballers, e-sports players, Youtubers etc... I’m very excited about today’s guest, as we get to go international on this episode. We are going all the way to Manchester, England to get an inside look in Jackie Groenen’s house.

*On screen text*
Woonkamer = Living Room

Badkamer = Bathroom

Slaapkamer = Bedroom

Logeerkamer = Guest Bedroom

Balkan = Balcony

Interviewer: There is an Easter egg hidden in this video, so if you pay attention, then you can spot it, then you’ll have a chance to win some cool prizes. If you’re as excited as I am about this video, don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to the channel to not miss any cool videos. Hopefully after this video, there will be more people that will want to give house tours. Or not, I’d also understand if no one wanted to show me their house. Haha just joking. Now let’s ring the (imaginary) doorbell, or we can knock. Please ignore the huge headphones I am wearing.

Jackie: Hi Matthy (interviewer’s name) and viewers of this show. Welcome to the tour of my crib and welcome to Manchester!

Jackie: Come on inside, this is the hall. I can’t show you too much of the guest bedroom, as my dad is currently visiting. He is also currently filming this video and he’s filming for the first time, so don’t be too cruel on him.

Interviewer: I think your father is doing very well to be fair.

Jackie: Because of the current situation we are in, I’ve frequently had people sleep over and it’s been fun, as it’s meant that I haven’t been alone very often. Now here is my fantastic closet with, if I’m being honest, way too many clothes in it. And I see my father is already looking a little bored behind the camera, as this is his least favourite part.

Interviewer: Yes, I could hear him sigh deeply or take a deep breath behind the camera. You could also see him in the reflection of the closet.

Jackie: This is Mimo (it’s a cushion of a bunny) and he’s my best friend’s bunny. I’ve been able to take this cushion of with me so that I can always think about Mimo and Jenny because I miss them a lot when I’m here in Manchester. I also have a sweater here from training with Manchester United. As most of you will probably already know, I’ve always played with number 14 and I’m lucky enough to be able to play with that number here at Manchester United as well. That’s something I’m very proud of if I’m being honest. I’ve always been a huge fan of Johan Cruyff and I’m always very proud whenever I get to wear the number 14.

Interviewer: Very cool.

Jackie: Alright, here we have the first bathroom. I’ve never actually watched MTV Cribs before, so I don’t really know how people present their bathrooms to the camera.

Interviewer: I’ve never watched MTV Cribs either, but I can tell you that this is a very nice bathroom.

Jackie: People brush their teeth here.

Interviewer: (laughs). I hope that people brush their teeth in the bathroom. People at home, if you don’t brush your teeth, then start now!

Jackie: One of my favourite things about my apartment is obviously my bedroom.

Interviewer: If you have the same bed in your own bedroom as you do in your guest bedroom, then you know that the guests are really well cared for. That is really good to see. I’m adding points on for that!

Jackie: Another of my favourite things about my house is the view. At the moment, you can’t see too much because of the rain. That gives you a good idea about what the weather is like in Manchester.

Interviewer: I was just about to say, that’s typical in Manchester. The view is really pretty though.

Jackie: And here is my very very first guitar. I began playing on this guitar in Frankfurt. I take this guitar with me if I ever go with the girls to the park or somewhere like that. I’m still very careful with it though, as it’s my first ever guitar

Interviewer: I used to play guitar as well. The fact that you have the courage to play the guitar in front of a crowd of in public is very impressive and something I never would have done. I am intrigued though to know how long you’ve played the guitar for.

Jackie: Ummmm I think I’ve been playing the guitar for around 3 years, but I’ve only started taking it more seriously in the past 6 months or so with taking lessons. In Germany, I also had some lessons, but there weren’t very many of them. At the moment though, I play a lot and take a lot more lessons than I used to. I try to have 1-2 lessons every week and I try and play as much as I can before I go to bed so that I can keep improving. I’m still not very good, but I can play some songs. For example, if my dad is sitting on the couch in the evening, or if we are sitting by the heater, I always find it fun to then play a song on my guitar. Slowly but surely, I’m getting better and better at playing.

Interviewer: *says something about the Easter egg in the video and not wanting to spoil anything*

Jackie: Moving on, this is my record player. I’m obsessed with LPs and I find it lovely to put some music on in the evening before I go to bed. Because of my dad, most of my LPs are from the 70s and 80s.

Interviewer: *sees Black Stories in the cabinet* Black Stories is a fantastic game. It’s good to see that you play that game too. But LPs are old music aren’t they? I see and LP of the Beatles, which I like listening too as well. No modern music ever comes out on LPs though, so what do you listen to? Do you only listen to older music?

Jackie: There’s a bit of everything here. 80s music, Beatles, Queen, Jeff Buckley. My absolute favourite LP though is this one of Jim Croce. My dad first introduced me to his music and now I listen to it nonstop. I also love Fleetwood Mac, which is in the record player right now.

Interviewer: I think that most of the people watching this show will have never heard of Jim Croce. This type music is really not something I would enjoy listening to. But I do like that you have such a specific taste in music. You could have also listened to the Top 40 or Despacito.

Jackie: This is something that might be nice to show everyone. I feel like I don’t look at it enough, but I always enjoy holding it. This is the medal from when we became European Champions in 2017. I also have the silver medal from the World Cup in 2019 here where we got 2nd place and lost against the USA. Hopefully now everyone has forgotten about that though (laughs).

Interviewer: That’s still super cool though. A silver medal from the World Cup and a gold medal from the Euros is something that not many footballers can say they’ve achieved.

Jackie: Moving onto my nightstand, I have a picture of all my friends. One of my friends made this painting of us. She’s a very good artist. This is actually my friendgroup, and this painting reminds me of them a lot. And umm... (picks up book of crossword puzzles)

Interviewer: Yes! Zweedse Puzzelboekje (crossword puzzles). Those puzzles are so fun people!

Jackie: I know, I’m old (I guess because she likes doing those types of puzzles that makes her old).

Interviewer: If you’re old then I’m old too.

Jackie: Alright, on to the second bathroom. I think they call this an en-suite. Here is also a place where people brush their teeth.

Jackie: Alright, moving on again. Welcome to my living room/kitchen. This is the room where I study a lot. I also have my Player of the Match award from the World Cup semi-final game against Sweden.

Interviewer: A Player of the Match award is so cool to get, and especially in the semi-finals of a World Cup. It doesn’t even seem that much smaller than the trophy you’d get if you won the whole competition. Obviously they can’t give the big trophy to everyone though. That award is still super cool though.

Jackie: This is my most recent player of the match award from last Sunday from the game against Tottenham.

Interviewer: I think they have those awards in the Premier League for every game as well. Super cool that you have one of those.

Jackie: Someday I’ll make a nice decoration with all these Player of the Match awards.

Jackie: Welcome to my kitchen! I’ll give you guys a small look at what’s in my refrigerator. There’s not too many interesting things in here. I have some fruit and some yoghurt in my fridge.

Interviewer: I think I see some vanilla yoghurt or honey, one of those two things. There are lots of Dutch foods in the fridge though, which is good to see even if you’re in Manchester.

Jackie: Something that is more fun to tell you about is my guilty pleasure. I am obsessed with beschuit met muisjes (a sort of cake like thing with sprinkles - it’s a little hard to explain, so here’s a link to a picture: https://www.iamexpat.nl/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/strange-and-funny-dutch-traditions-beschuit-met-muisjes). I always have some beschuit and some muisjes here, as my dad always brings them for me from the Netherlands.

Interviewer: I assume that they don’t have De Ruijter (company that makes muisjes and hagelslag) in England, so it’s good to see that there’s still lots of Dutch foods in your kitchen in England.


Jackie: On to the living room, and this is where I relax a lot. I lay on the couch a lot to recover after trainings. For me, this is the most comfy part of the house. I’m always ver relaxed here.

Interviewer: I see another guitar there.

Jackie: Now, this second guitar is one of my most prized possessions. I bought this right before the lockdown and I am really proud of this guitar. I try and play some songs on it as much as I can in the evening.

Interviewer: Now this is the third or fourth time that music has come up on this tour and the second or third time that the guitar has come up. I don’t know if I dare to ask you this, but Jackie, I think that you should play a little bit of a song for the viewers of the show and for me.

Jackie: Now, I don’t play very much on camera because I’m not very good yet.

*plays song and sings*

Interviewer: I did not expect this at all! Jackie can sing! You acted as if you were shy and didn’t want to play the guitar, but then you started singing as well.

Jackie: The song goes on like that for a while, and for the viewers, anyone who can guess that song has a good taste in music.

Interviewer: Unfortunately, I do not know that song. Clearly I don’t have much knowledge about music.

Jackie: Another fun little thing to know is that since the lockdown, I have a Nintendo switch. I must say that I’ve used this quite a lot. Especially when some of my teammates where living with me in my house and we all played Mario Kart. A little secret about that that I have to tell you as well is that we always used the Player of the Match award from the World Cup to hold conversations and give a little speech (thanking your parents friends, etc - think about thank you speeches after awards ceremeonies) thanking people after someone won a game of Mario Kart.

Jackie: This is my balcony.

Interviewer: That’s really high up.

Jackie: It’s really nice to have. I’ll point to some things now.

*points* Here are some restaurants that I would usually eat at frequently.

*points again* That’s one of my dad’s favourite restaurants.

Interviewer: I’m not very familiar with the city of Manchester and I don’t recognize the area that you live in, but is the stadium close to your apartment?

Jackie: *points towards stadium* The Man United stadium is right over there behind that building. It’s about a 10 minute walk away from my apartment. I go there quite a bit as well.

Interviewer: A 10 minute walk?! That’s so nice to have the stadium so close.

Jackie: So, from rainy Manchester, I’d like to say thank you for watching my crib tour. I hope you enjoyed watching, and I hope to see everyone very soon again in the Netherlands. Bye!

Interviewer’s report of Jackie’s crib tour:

Inside Challenge: 5/5. I think that everyone who saw that was flabbergasted by your singing.

Football Factor: 3,25/5. The location relative to the stadium is perfect for a footballer. The fact that you can walk 10 minutes to the training as well is so nice to have as a footballer.

Food: 5/5 I saw a lot of Dutch food there, and you also get some bonus points for the beschuit met muisjes.

Chill area: 2,75/5. The chill area was okay. I don’t think you need much room for a chill area as long as there is somewhere to brush your teeth (laughs).

Final score: 4,5/5