#just like sketching. i need to clean a bit so I can get my sewing machine set up I want to make little bags so I can carry more things

[monsterbroth]

i woke up early today and am way too energised my brain is like spilling in circles but I still have not the right energy to be coherent or focus on actually doing anything with it

[malacandrax]

Had the enlightening thought that I could use my blog for blogging. I don't love splitting myself into separate marketable entities, so I'll probably post more craft stuff here. (I have a passing knowledge of So many hobbies it's a bit ridiculous- my most developed are probably doll customisation (wigs, faceups etc), sewing tiny clothes and maybe crochet.) I thought I would share some patch process from...2021? (ugh)

I don't know how many of you will have seen on twitter, but I've started making patches for my jacket after being deeply dissatisfied with what I could find online (I find that I need to know & search for a creator specifically or I just get mainstream patches... 'bee happy' etc)

The Billie patch (of the painting) was actually me going 'I wonder if posca works on fabric' and I tested it on the smallest scrap, which bit me in the ass, because I did that face with no planning or sketch and it came out perfect, no way I was going to do it that good again. SO i stitched it onto a bigger bit of black fabric, which is surprisingly unnoticeable in the end!

The rainbow strip was made because I didn't like how clean and manufactured store bought flag patches are, I wanted something undeniably gay, but a little more subtle and personal. I chose the colours to be a bit softer (I'm aware the dark brown should be black, I had no grey to pastel-ify it with, like I did the others) and I've seen little rainbow strip lapel pins before, so I sort of copied that in fabric form.

The next is Brian Molko in the 'Pure Morning' video, which I watched so much when I was younger. I put a screenshot through a binarization filter, and tried my best to copy it down. It was going really well, and then I foolishly placed it over my photo to see how it lined up (badly) and I went back in and completely ruined the likeness. While it wasn't a good copy, I still think it looked good before I went over it. SO I made another :'). I also sort of fixed up the first, because seeing it on the desk was embarrassing me.

I also added the embroidery in the colours I think of when I try and remember the video (his lips particularly were sort of coral coloured and the androgyny struck me hard as a teen)  The Eve Elloree was from an old gay magazine- the art director asking for assistance, I just thought it was really fucking cute haha Way more info on my long ass twitter thread.

The extremely badass black and white one is from superpose! And the fruits wizard is here (because im a fruit, har har)

Hopefully I can make more this year, I have too many hobbies and not enough wrist stamina!

[arengnera]

The Flesh Dress

All of the fabric for this was reclaimed from curtains, scraps, tights, discarded tule from a local highschool prom that I snatched up like a horrible little vulture. The boning in the bodice was done with huge zip-ties but I’m not convinced getting real sewable boning wouldn’t have been worth it. The channels on the reinforcement were a bit of a bitch. The swords I also forged myself, but this ain’t about them. A lot of (mostly fake) blood, sweat and tears went into this one and I’m super pleased with the results. Huge shout out to @spoonbendersanonymous​ who was kind enough to lend me the fake blood, their anatomical text book, and had me sit down to watch Bride of Reanimator for inspiration.

Process photos and bonus photoshoot pictures below the cut!

Original sketches! A lot of me trying to figure out how to make boning look like bones while maintaining a classic shape. I said edwardian on the sketch but it honestly might be Victorian I'm really not sure. This was a combined art project for one of my classes, the idea was using old fashioned mourning traditions and clothes in a modern and campy way, to complain about how much capitalism erodes our time to mourn. At least that’s what I told the professor, It’s really about making a weird and off putting dress first and foremost.

Tape pattern and paper pattern! This was my first time doing this so don't take thus as any sort of guide.

It worked though, as shown by the world’s worst corset fitting - the pink thing on my arm was where I was planning on putting the upper sleeve, I was trying to see if my poof was good since my sleeves were a lot thinner and a lot longer than what would have been optimal for the amount of poof I wanted, I had to do some work around with the fabric I had

Now I’m just bragging about getting eyelets to look clean and good for once in my life. If I was going to do anything different about this though, I would ad more eases in the back, because I need to contort horribly to get out of the bodice, I fit it too well

This bad boy was really the crux of the whole project. The entire thing was a pun so I could applique an anatomically accurate heart on a sheer sleeve.

This was was it’s intermediary stage, where I was suddenly very much out of time for the first deadline and had to put off adding all of the gore I wanted to, so the simple applique heart had to do. The skirt itself was way less poofy than I would have liked, and didn’t quite give the silhouette I wanted. I ended up going with the train because the under skirt isn’t actually connected in the back. Thus is the nature of working with weird panels of curtains you’ve already cut into for a few other projects. God bless the thrift store curtain section.

The guts were made by sewing together sheer tights, and filling them with polyfill. Here they are, before they were stippled with liquid flesh colored latex and soaked in fabric paint - and after where you can see all that extra TEXTURE

I was able to use it for another project though, and I was very happy with the beading work here, although I did end up losing my biggest strand at some point.

Here’s my makeup test! I played around with doing some blood red lips but decided the blueish corpse look was better. Fun fact! I drove home wearing a sweatshirt that says “I heart corpse desecration” on it through the snow storm, and pulled over to offer some guy a hand with his car, forgetting I still looked like this. He turned me down.

The face of someone who can definitely be trusted for road side assistance. - Also I was posing as the two of swords tarot illustration for the final gallery exhibit.

[raytorotits]

Hi!! what do use to make your patches??

youve activated my trap card (talking about my jacket)...

I use black denim from jeans i jorted, white acrylic paint (I like liquidy paint best; I use the Michael's store brand), and a thin thin brush (this is the only thing I splurge on but they're easy to steal not that expensive for just one)

you can use fabric from old t-shirts (I have never personally) or a woven cotton situation (I've used these and they just need more layers of paint).

in my experience, a thin little brush lets you gets so much crisper lines! I tend to do 2 coats of paint. of course not everyone is going for a super clean line; it's literally punk. get messy etc

I also use a tailors marking pencil to sketch out my more complex patches, like my against me and scorpion patches:

others I freehand, which just takes a bit of practice and patience:

I used to hem my patches but I got lazy and now burn the edges off. this is fast and looks sick as hell

Once that's done i sew them on with the biggest embroidery needle I can find (usually a tapestry needle) and dental floss (it's easier to tie off and frays less than embroidery floss).

you can also iron your patches to melt the acrylic into the fabric! it waterproofs them a bit and helps with wear. be careful if you're using a fabric that has polyester tho!

thanks for asking, I looove talking about my patches!!

[starfall-spirit]

She's in Love With the Boy

Summary: One photograph can change a duo’s whole dynamic. When Marinette's Adrien shrine is replaced with friendly photos as well as a selfie she took with Cat Noir one night a few weeks ago, even our blind boy Adrien is a little suspicious about that.

Chapter II: Love & War

Adrien’s POV:

“Check this out!” Nino said his head popped through the entrance to Marinette’s room. 

“I could if you’d move it already,” I quipped back, a few steps lower than him. With my path clear I followed him up, Tom's food tray in hand. "Hello, ladies." I whistled at the picture wall. "Nice, Marinette. You've got everybody up here."

"Thanks." She gave a little smile. "Yeah, I got a bunch of stuff printed a few days ago and decided to work a little collage here." 

“Cool,” I said. “Maybe you could email us some if you have them backed up somewhere?”

”Of course. Hey, I’ve got a little setup on the balcony so we can eat and start our project. Come on up,” she invited us.

More pictures of our friends, mostly the girls, were to be found over her bed. Marinette,” Nino said teasingly. “A number one fan of the heroes, are you? Or just the bug and cat?”

She blushed as he pointed out the picture. “W-well, were all sort of fans, right? I mean, you know I’ve made dolls for my babysitting gigs and Alya’s got her action figures.”

Except this wasn’t a news clipping or internet download. It wasn’t an obvious selfie, but I wouldn’t forget that first night, settled together on the Arc de Triomphe after Monarch—Shadow Moth renamed—had claimed the majority of the miraculous.

You couldn’t see the red rimming in her eyes in that photo on top of the legendary monument, but I remembered every detail from that night. Her every look towards me had changed. I didn’t dare hope she was in love with me, but in a snap we were a team again. The two of us against the world. I heard the pastry tray clang to the floor and was brought back to the present moment.

My three friends were frozen and I realized I must have said the words aloud. Nino once again paused halfway through the skylight, the girls staring up from below. I was looking at Rena Rouge, Carapace, and...

”M’lady.” She stumbled back, not seeming upset by my identity, but nervous at what knowing the truth could mean for us. “All this time,” I whispered. I climbed back down, Alya taking my place and heading outside with Nino to give the two of us a bit of space to talk. “Marinette, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it like that. It was wrong of me. I was just shocked, seeing a private picture there.”

”I was stupid. I couldn’t imagine any of my friends were you. I just wanted one thing somewhere I could see it everyday. We can’t have anything, can we?” I frowned. “Well, since you know anyways...” She took my hand as Tikki and Fluff silently joined us from the other corner of the room. Guiding me over to her desk space she opened her sewing box to show a tidy box of thread spools generally organized in the order of the rainbow. Her hand hovered over the green and yellow section. “As we get the miraculous back I want you to have the code in case I’m not around for some reason. Or if you ever need to grab another.”

After she pushed down four buttons slowly so I could memorize them the box opened further, revealing the spotted miracle box and a book. “Marinette, you don’t need to prove your trust in me.”

”Even so, I prioritized Alya as my successor because she wasn’t active when I told her. That needs to change. I already discussed it with her and I was going to bring it up when we met tonight. Not come clean entirely, but tell you she could guide you to the box, should something happen to me.”

I really hated when she talked like that. ”What about this?”

She grimaced as I ran my finger down the spine of what looked to be a scrapbook. She silently nodded for me to take it out as our friends entered the room again. Pictures and sketched in quotes littered each page. “I plan to fill a whole lot more of those.”

”Ah, a baker’s dozen, then.”

She swatted my shoulder, trying to hid a grin. “That was awful. I’m trying to be serious and you always—” Her voice broke. “Please don’t let me forget, Adrien.”

So that’s what this was about. Her memories. I slid the book back into the box, stepping away so Alya could close it. “Come here.” She wrapped her arms around my middle. “You’ll be old and grey by the time you pass that box on, m’lady. And I have no doubt whoever you choose will be close enough to you that you’ll still have all of the kwamis around. Maybe it’ll be your own kid you train. Everything will work out just fine, I promise.”

”Alright, you two,” Nino cut in. “Maybe we push this to tomorrow?”

I nodded, moving towards the chaise after our friends had gone and my partner released me. “Kitty.”

My little nick name was barely audible. “Yes?”

”I don’t know how exactly you feel about me after everything, but...” I waited in silence, unwilling to sway her in what she needed to express, only daring to hope this amazing girl could love me back. “I’m sorry I built that wall between us. Not as a guardian, but as your partner. As your friend. When I sensed... other feelings, I was scared. I didn't want to change the team. I didn't want to have another layer of temptation for either of us to expose our identities. If one of us is captured it could be a very dangerous situation. Adrien, there are only three miraculous in our keeping. If this slips and someone learns where to look I don't know what will happen. I don't want my family involved and that's the first move someone will make if they need the box opened."

"I'll wait."

"What?"

"I told myself I could let you go in time if you didn't love me. But if you do then I'll wait. We can date as civilians now and never as heroes. We can be friends in both forms if you need that sense of security. All I need from you is your honestly and faith. The rest we'll find in time."

"Even if I'm admitting I love you?"

"I will always wait for you, Marinette. If I'm young and wild or six feet down, I'll wait for you."

She walked over, hugging me tight. With a shaking breath she pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Thank you, kitty."

~~~~~

Two years later they looked over the city of love. Paris was so beautiful at night, even broken by Monarch's war. Their city needed some patching up. Rebuilding. Too many funerals to count. Short of a few required legal matters, Adrien Agreste had washed his hands of his father and cousin. Mercifully-unbelievably-it was over. The fighting was over. They had won. They shared the first mutual kiss they could both say they remembered. Yes, their city needed healed, but from that moment forward Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste lived happily ever after.

Tikki looked on with a sigh of contentment. "Like every other holder of mine," she told her fellow kwamis. "She's in love with the boy."

Previous

[mochegato]

Jasonette Protection Program

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Marinette pulled her coat closer around her as she made her way from the bus stop to her apartment.  She had made the brilliant decision when she moved here not to get a car because… Gotham.  The likelihood that it would get damaged or destroyed in some kind of attack was ridiculously high.  The likelihood the bus would get blown up or taken over, while definitely still present, was significantly lower.

But today she was regretting that decision.  It meant she couldn’t isolate herself like she wanted to.  It meant she was exposed to anybody and everybody at the bus stop and on the bus and on the sidewalk and any one of them could have been the one to drug her.  She eyed the people around her as she walked.  Okay, maybe not the woman who looked like she was in her 90’s and could barely walk… and dropped her knitting out of her bag.

Marinette rushed over to her and paused right before reaching her. She twirled around and scanned the faces around her.  She could feel somebody watching her.  She could feel their eyes scrutinizing her every move.  She studied the shadows and the windows, but couldn’t find anyone watching her.  She frowned slightly and shook her head.  She was getting paranoid.  She was seeing and feeling things that weren’t there.  

She sighed and turned back to the woman, crouching down to help her put her knitting back in her bag.  The woman smiled in appreciation, which Marinette returned with a shaky one of her own.  She walked the remaining few feet to her apartment building and took a cautious look up and down the dark street before turning into it.  She made sure she heard the click of the door latching before continuing up the stairs, not that it would do anything.  Logically she knew that, but her anxiety still demanded it.

She kept her eyes on the stairwell as she made her way up to her apartment on the top floor, eyes hyper vigilant for any movement, her ears hyper sensitive to any sounds from the stairs.  She got to her floor and paused for a few moments waiting to see if any sounds or movement indicated someone behind her.  She let out a relieved sigh when there was no noise and turned to her apartment before letting out a muffled screech.

Jason jumped, dropping his phone he had been scrolling on, in his rush to hold up his hands in a placating motion.  “Just me.  It’s okay. It’s just me.”  He watched her for a few seconds.  She was starting to breathe hard, her eyes were boring into him. “Although I just realized you may not remember me.  So this was actually an incredibly stupid plan.”  He took a few steps away from her door, his hands still held up to let her know he wasn’t a threat.

Marinette continued to stare at him for a few more seconds, forcing her breathing to slow.  “You… you’re Tim’s brother, right?  You… you were…” she squinted at him, “you were in my bedroom?”

Jason grimaced and looked down to the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “Yeah… that doesn’t make me sound too good, does it?”

She eyed him suspiciously.  “What are you doing here?”  

He perked up slightly and gave her a small, reassuring smile. “I wanted to check on you and see how you’re doing today.  It can hit a day or a few days later sometimes.  And I’m a security expert.  I consult on it for people and companies.  I wanted to offer to check your security for you so you’d feel safe, at least when you’re at home.”  He turned to her door and knocked on the doorframe.  “I can already tell that you need better locks.  I could have broken in easily, but I didn’t think you would appreciate finding me in your apartment.”

She raised an eyebrow at him but let out a quiet chuckle and looked away after a few seconds.  “You would be right.”  She looked back up at him and tentatively walked over closer to her door.  “But, I don’t think I can afford to hire you.”

Jason waved off her concern.  “I wouldn’t let you.  I’d charge Tim for it.  He can afford it and he’s worried enough that I’m actually kind of surprised he hasn’t contacted me already, but I suppose that has something to do with him not wanting you to meet me in the first place.”

Marinette quirked her lips to the side and studied him.  The longer she watched and talked to him the more memories came back and the clearer they became.  She was slowly starting to get bits and pieces of the night before, not enough to create a coherent picture, just incredibly short scenes, a word here, a smile there.  Regardless of what she could remember though, this was Tim’s brother and although Tim didn’t want them to meet, he trusted him, not that she would ever be allowed to say that out loud to either of them.  

She finally nodded and pulled out her keys.  “Well, I can at least offer you dinner while you’re here. If you’d like.”  She gave him a small smile as she passed him into the apartment taking off her coat and dropping her bag on the small dining room table.

Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise.  After the way she had reacted when she saw him, he honestly didn’t think she would talk to him let alone let him into her apartment.  He was starting to understand how she could have gotten drugged so easily if she was that trusting.  But then again, Tim had said they all were being careful. Her even more so than the others. So why was she so trusting now?  “I would never turn down free food,” he said slowly.

He closed the door behind him with a quick glance at the inside part of the lock, confirming his original suspicions.  Standard issue, not particularly secure.  He could have picked it in all of three minutes when he was only eight.  He didn’t have to lean down to study the doorknob to know it was in worse condition. One good kick and the door would be wide open.  He sighed. If anyone wanted to get into her apartment, it wouldn’t take them very much effort.

He turned back to the apartment, letting his frown morph into a smile.  Her apartment was cozy and lived in and very much her.  There were touches of her everywhere along with some touches that he wouldn’t have expected.  He shook his head at the condition of the apartment.  It wasn’t terribly messy but it also wouldn’t count as anything close to clean.  He could see why she and Tim got along so well.  Neither could clean up after themselves to save their lives.  

There were bits of fabric and half completed sewing projects scattered around along with random pages of scientific reports.  He raised an eyebrow at that.  Odd combination.  His eyes caught on men’s shoes by the door.  He scrunched his forehead in confusion.  If she lived with someone, where were they?  Where were they last night?  Why hadn’t Tim mentioned him?  “You live with someone?  A boyfriend?”

Marinette looked up from the refrigerator.  “No.  Well, yes, but no.  I live with my best friend,” she explained quickly, “but he’s visiting friends this week.”

Jason nodded.  That was good at least.  She wasn’t living alone.  There was someone else with her usually.  That makes it less likely someone could just break in and attack her.  He moved over to the window and sighed again, more deeply this time.  It was worse than the door.  “No curtains. You should probably get some, preferably lined ones.  This lock is ancient too.  It wouldn’t take much to jimmy it.  We’ll get you new locks for your windows and your door.”

Marinette looked at him wide eyed as she set a bunch of grapes and a jug of filtered water from the refrigerator on the counter.  She hadn’t been expecting the locks to be that bad.  She knew it wasn’t amazing, but then again, she hadn’t really been too concerned about being specifically targeted here.  Nobody really knew who she was, or rather used to be.  She was just an average citizen here.  

She stared at the window for a few seconds, her head cocking to the side and her eyes unfocusing as her mind wandered through the possibilities of what could have happened and what still could.  She was no longer safe, not even in her own home.  But then again, she never really had been had she?  She had just thought she was.  She thought she was safer after they’d defeated Hawkmoth, but she’d just traded one danger for another.

Jason watched as her face morphed from one expression to another, her eyes distant.  Her face clearly displaying each and every emotion she was going through, no matter how flitting.  Jason could guess where her head went.  When her eyes started shimmering, he opened his mouth to bring her out of it when her phone rang.  She jerked back violently, knocking over the jug of water.  

She cursed as she tried to stop the jug’s descent only to knock it further away, further spreading the water.  She gave a defeated groan and grabbed a towel from a nearby drawer to start sopping up the water.  Jason jumped to grab a few more towels to help.  It took a few minutes, but they were finally able to clean up the water with a minimum of damage to papers left on the counter.  Luckily, none of Marinette’s sketches were on the island anymore but Adrien was definitely going to have to reprint some of his papers for research.

Marinette gave Jason an appreciative smile and threw the papers in recycling and the towels in the sink.  She let out a deep frustrated sigh as she leaned against the counter.  After a few seconds, she ran her hands through her hair and laughed.  Jason frowned at the sound.  It was short and mirthless and sounded utterly wrong coming from her.  He could see her starting to spin but didn’t know her well enough to know how to help.  God, he really hadn’t thought this through.

Jason very slowly started reaching for her so she could see his hands coming.  Shen she didn’t shy away, he set a hand on her arm to ground her.  She looked up into his eyes, panicked eyes meeting concerned eyes. They both jumped when her phone started ringing again.  They both chuckled quietly at their reactions.  

“Sorry…” she started but was cut off by another ring.  She shook her head at herself.  She hadn’t even noticed the original call had dropped.  She checked the caller id and smiled at the phone. “Hey Tim.”  She paused to listen to him.  “No, I’m fine.  I just… I knocked something over and was cleaning it.  Sorry for scaring you.”

She gave Jason an apologetic smile as she listened to Tim.  “I’m doing okay, I guess.  I think I’m just jumpy… and getting paranoid.  I could have sworn someone was watching me walk home, but when I looked nobody was around or rather nobody was paying attention to me.” She missed the slight grimace Jason shot toward the floor.  “No, thank you though.  Actually, your brother is here already.”  She smiled at Jason again and put Tim on speaker.  

“…that so.  That’s very thoughtful of him,” Tim quipped in a clipped tone.

“Yeah, he’s checking my locks,” Marinette continued, seemingly oblivious to the tension in his voice, or attributing it to his concern.  “Apparently my door and window locks are pretty bad,” Marinette frowned at the thought.

“Uh huh.  Well it’s just so great that he came over then,” Tim gritted out.

Marinette did a double take when Jason’s phone dinged repeatedly with an extended series of text notifications.  She blinked at it a few times before looking questioningly at Jason. He rolled his eyes and turned his phone off.  He met her eyes with a shrug and a wink as he sat at her island.

“Tell him I say hi and remind him he has plans with Bruce soon,” Tim continued tightly.

Jason huffed.  “Tell him to tell B, I'm not going on patrol until Demon Spawn calms down.  And tell him I’m sending him the bill for this.”  He motioned vaguely around them.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Tim conceded easily before his voice turned harsh again, “And tell him…”

“You two do realize you can hear each other and you two both know you can hear each other and I know you can hear each other and I’m not an owl!” Marinette admonished them sharply.

The room was silent for a few seconds before Tim started chuckling.  “Sorry, Hermione.”

“Thank you, Harry.”  She nodded at the phone even though he couldn’t see her.

“Hey!  That makes me Ron?  What the fuck?” Jason objected raising up from his seat in offense.

“Oh come on, you’d look good with red hair,” Marinette teased him lightly.

“You better fucking not be Ron,” Tim growled.   “You’re more like Draco anyway,” he continued flippantly.

“Fuck you, Pretender,” Jason growled.

“Yeah, this is making me feel better,” Marinette sighed, leaning against the counter.

There was a guilty pause as the men took in her words.  “Sorry,” Jason finally spoke up after a while.

“What?”  Marinette gave him a curious look until realization set in.  “Oh!  No, I was serious.  You two remind me of my friends.  It feels comforting, normal.”

Tim waited a second before speaking up cautiously. “So… you’re okay for tonight?  You feel safe?”

Marinette smiled at the phone again.  “Yeah, Tim.  I’m okay.  Thanks for checking on me.”

“Of course.  Let me know if that changes.  I’ll be over in three minutes flat,” he promised.

Marinette grinned mischievously.  “Do I get a free pizza if you take longer?”

Tim huffed out a laugh.  “Absolutely.”

“Sweet.  I might test it just for that,” she teased him.  “Night, Tim.”

“Night.  And tell Jason to turn his phone back on before I do it for him.”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Still not an owl,” she singsonged before she hung up.  She looked over to Jason with a concerned smile. “Do you have to go?  It sounded like you already had plans?”

Jason waved her off and took the battery out of his phone before leaning against the counter near her.  “I have plenty of time.  Like I said, if I show up now De… Damian is going to attack me.” Marinette’s eyes widened in concern but Jason waved her off again.  “It’s fine. He isn’t as tough as he thinks he is. He wouldn’t be able to hurt me, but Bruce would yell at me for it and Dick would give me his disappointed in you lecture.  It’s better for everyone if I stay away for a few days.”  

He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tim just doesn’t want me stealing his friend away with my superior looks and charm.”

Marinette scowled lightly at him.  “Tim is very handsome and charming,” she insisted defensively.

Jason shot her a devilish smile.  “But not as much as me, right?”

Marinette scoffed at him and rolled her eyes.  “You certainly seem to think so.”  She rinsed some grapes and set them in a bowl between the two of them. “But he’s the only reason you’re here right now.  If you weren’t Tim’s brother and we hadn’t met last night when you were fairly respectful of me in my… state…”

“Fairly!?” Jason squawked.

“I’d have called, well, not the cops, but Tim, to take care of you,” she continued over him.  She grabbed a grape and chewed on it while she watched him appraisingly as she leaned back against the counter opposite him.  “Do you make a habit of stealing his friends?”

Jason shrugged and grabbed a few grapes.  “No, we generally move in different…” he searched for a nice way to phrase it, “circles.”

She hummed in response.  “And yet here you are, willingly entering in a circle with one of his friends.” She eyed him pointedly.  She quickly broke their eye contact to look down and cross her arms over her chest protectively.  “Thank you for breaking into this particular circle to help me out. Last night spooked me more than I want to admit.”

“Did you want to talk about it?  Or pretend like it never happened.  I can help with either,” Jason offered.

Marinette stared at the grapes for a while without talking. Jason was certain she was about to start spiraling again when she spoke up quietly.  “I was keeping an eye on my drinks.  I only took my eyes off of them when I was around people I trusted and we weren’t exactly close to other people for someone to just slip something in.”  She frowned and looked at nothing in particular. She poured herself a glass of water and held the rim of the glass against her lips without drinking it as she remembered the night before.  “I don’t know which scares me more, that someone was that good to get it in with all of us there or…”

“That one of the people you trust might be responsible,” Jason finished for her after a few seconds of silence.  When she looked up to meet her eyes, she looked so shaken and uncertain, he wanted to pull her into a tight, reassuring hug, but after the night before, he wasn’t sure a virtual stranger’s embrace would be the most reassuring.  He settled for moving to lean against the counter next to her so their arms were almost touching, but she still had her personal space.

“Yeah,” she said wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her arms.  

“You think you were the intended victim?” he asked curiously.  He and Tim had already discussed the night and decided that she had to be, but he was curious what her thoughts were.  “You don’t think it was just opportunistic.  You think whoever was with targeting you.”

She shook her head and looked down, frowning at the floor.  She gripped her arms tighter.  “I don’t know.  I was never alone and I only drank with my friends at our own table away from other people.  I mean someone at the bar could have drugged it before it was brought over when the waitress brought drinks but…”

“How would they know who it would go to,” Jason finished again.  “Seems unlikely they’d risk the drug like that if they didn’t know who it would go to. If they didn’t have a plan to get the person out.”

Marinette looked up at him anxiously and nodded.  She studied him for a few more seconds before she shook herself out of her daze.  She looked up at him with a fake smile.  “So what are you feeling for dinner?  I can make some pasta.  I can do stir fry.  I can whip up a casserole.  What do you want?”

“I’ll be happy with whatever you feel like having tonight,” he assured her with a smile.

“I don’t… really… feel like eating,” she mumbled, looking away again. “This is more something for me to focus on instead of last night.”

Jason gave her a gentle smile and lowered himself to her level, trying to gain her attention.  “Look, I know you don’t know me but why don’t we order take out and we can watch a movie, or if you want to be alone, I can leave.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” she answered quickly, instantly looking over to him with a desperate look in her eyes.

Jason nodded slowly and gave her a gentle smile.  He rested his hands lightly on her arms to reassure her he was there and not going anywhere unless she wanted him to.  “That’s understandable.  I wouldn’t want to be either.  Do you want me to call Tim over?  I know you probably feel safer with him and when he can’t be here in three minutes, you get a pizza.”

She gave him a wan smile.  “No, I trust you.  And I’m not really feeling pizza right now.”

Jason smiled back.  “I want to joke and say that’s a terrible decision, but now doesn’t seem like the best time.” She gave him a deadpan look that made his grin widen.  “I’ll save that for later,” he finished with a wink. His expression quickly turned serious as he watched her.  “You should eat though.  What kind of food do you want to try?  There’s a good Indian restaurant around the corner.”

She looked away.  “I don’t want to order out.  I don’t want food that I…”

Jason nodded and moved closer again.  “Yeah, that’s reasonable.  Let’s make something together, yeah?  I saw some eggs and milk in your refrigerator and there’s bread on the counter.  How do you feel about breakfast for dinner?  French toast sound good?  I think you call it Lost Bread?  And how do you feel about Clueless?”

“The movie?” she asked confused.

“Yeah, adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.”

“Fan of Alicia Silverstone or Jane Austen?” she teased weakly.

“Both,” Jason answered with a wink.

Marinette snickered and nodded.  “That all sounds amazing.”  She moved away to start getting the pan and bowls out, watching him while he got the ingredients prepared.  “Thank you, Jason.  You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“No problem.  We’ll get things figured out so you can feel safe, or at least as safe as you can feel in Gotham,” he assured her, and himself.  They were going to find who drugged her and make her feel safe again.  Whoever it was messed with one of Tim’s friends, one of the few he really trusted, that means whoever it was messed with his family and nobody messed with their family.

Tags:

@jasonette-july-event @maribatserver @aespades @demonicbusiness @read-fantasy-to-escape-reality @jayjayspixiepop

[cinamel]

Random Ninjago Hcs + Oc

Kai

Definitely owns his own merch and wears them regularly

Either a Fashion disaster or drippy there's no in-between

If he gets angry enough his spars can get out of control

While it seems like he's mastered his element he still has issues with it when angry enough

Likes to breathe fire as a trick

It burns his mouth but he tries to power through it

Speaking of burns he's landed himself in the hospital multiple times via overuse of his powers

He and Gale have caused at least one Firenado via fighting

So overprotective of his sister 

"Hey Kai I think I like Nya"

Kai, melting whatever was in his hand with fire: DO YOU NOW?

The embodiment of that fuckboy emoji

Does not know basic life skills like cooking and cleaning

The only exception being cooking foods that only need to be heated with fire.

Wants to strangle Gale

The feeling is mutual with Gale.

Somehow this is grounds for my friend to ship them but whatever go off ig

Swears a lot but surprisingly isn't the one who swears the most

Jay

The goodest of boys

Doesn't know how to dress himself but always ends up looking good

Like an outfit that looks like a fashion disaster suddenly looks good on him

He likes wearing this one scarf his mother made from him that he's had since he was a kid.

It's visibly patchworked and old but he doesn't care he loves it

Definitely has lightning scars on his stomach from being the resident lightning rod

Okay but consider the following: the scars glow blue when using his powers

When he's absorbed too much electricity he becomes supercharged and shocks himself a lot.

When he is you'll hear him say bttzz and he'll twitch randomly

Needs to discharge the electricity ASAP or else it'll affect his health

Probably causes lightning strikes when he sneezes

Pretty nervous around Gale because he usually is the one to fall victim to his pranks.

Legally not allowed to swear but does it occasionally

Zane

I feel like he just wears white n gray and calls it a day.

Not one for fashion.

He was actually built to be warm but as soon as he got his powers he was as cold as the Arctic

You can feel when he's around

Definitely uses his powers when asked by others

His favorite thing to do is to make it snow if Nya agrees to help him.

The downside of him using his powers is his circuits getting frozen and needing to be thawed out

Is Demi/Ace and I won't take any criticism. Mainly on the Ace bit.

Was originally programmed so he wouldn't curse but when he rebuilt himself he made it so he could. Still doesn't curse that much, it's a rare event

Intrigued by Gale and his lineage

Cole

Puts on a Tank top, short, and headphones 'n calls it a day.

Sometimes wears a hoodie if it's cold

Has a ring that belonged to his mother he wears whenever he can

Ik that there's already a master of nature but I usually associated Cole with plants

Like he has a natural affinity for taking care of them.

Outside of fighting he only uses his powers to try and calm natural disasters

Definitely more wary about using his powers because he doesn't wanna experience the negative effects the rest do

Better at cooking than the ninja give him credit for

Swears at minimum once a day but not enough for ur to be brought up.

*Take me to church plays in the background*

Gale and Cole are what historians would call "best friends"

Lloyd

Only wears hoodies to hide the pain

His entire wardrobe is just oversized clothing stolen from the other ninja

Has a habit of using his powers as a crutch still

Keeps a picture of him, Misako, and Garmadon on him at all time

Sometimes does the laugh he did back when he was a kid for old times sake

Usually gets made fun of it a bit

During march of the oni, Lord Garmadon heard it and felt a wave of nostalgia for something he had no memory of

Can drain energy from things but hates to do so

Gets fatigued if he uses his powers too much or too often

Definitely, doodles when he can't focus

Inherited his father's red eyes that turn green when he uses his powers

They're dragon-like eyes. And by dragon-like I mean cat-like

You know those kids who unironically hissed. That's Lloyd.

"you got any games on your phone?"

"Do you read warrior cats?"

Wants to swear but if he does he'll be yelled at

Causes problems with Gale sometimes. just because

Nya

PUNK AND BIKER CLOTHING STYLE GO BRRRRRRR

Mainly wears leather jackets and crops tops though

COMBATS BOOTS AND RIPPED JEANS AAA-

Uses her powers casually the most

Trains the most too since she wants to get as much control of her powers as possible.

Gets dehydrated if she doesn't pull water from the air and instantaneously makes it instead.

Knows basic life skills

Sewed together Mister Cuddlywomp for Jay

When she's bored or can't sleep she'll tinker  and take apart random things, as well as sketch designs for new vehicles and mechs

Like her brother she's overprotective

She's taller than her brother and pokes fun at him about it

Definitely a biker

Either hates Gale or is friends with him there's no in-between

Swears the most out of everyone

Gale

Wears light clothing that won't get him caught while he's stealing things

Uses his powers to mess with Jay and Kai

Mainly just pranks/Torments Jay

Annoys the Ninja by switching sides. 

Gale: Hmph I'll never join your side

Villain of the week: *Throws gale like 300 bucks*

Ninja: Ha! Do you really th-

Gale: AHAHAHA YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT US

Can't think of a drawback to his powers yet except he's unable to put out fire since fire grows with oxygen and in low oxygen situations he's rendered useless. 

Likes irritating Kai and starting fights with him

Has scarred Kai before and Kai has done the same to him.

Crashes at the Ninja's place often regardless of what just happened

"Yo you mind if I say over?"

"YOU GAVE ME A SCAR OVER MY EYE"

"...Is that a yes or?"

[98prilla]

Acceptance

Remus has a breakdown. 

A03

...

He’s shaking, trembling, really, curled up on the bed, rocking back and forth, arms wrapped tightly around himself, nails digging into his skin, but he can’t stop, he can’t stop, he’s so exhaustedly broken, but if he stops moving he’ll die.

 His room is a mess. He’s destroyed everything in it, all the furniture, his desk and his chair and his shelves, his morning star shattered to pieces. He’s already torn through his imagination, his castle in ruins, burned to the ground, ash scorching the air, the force of his screams blowing out the stained glass, and not in a fun way.

 His sketches are ripped and torn and scattered across the floor, his notebooks ripped in half, his paints stomped on, staining the floor in sticky puddles of colors, splashed against the walls, ruining the mural he’d worked so hard on, all mixing and melding into an ugly brown color.

 It’s ugly and disgusting and gross and he hates it, hates it all, hates himself, hates everything, everything here.

 The voices are so loud. They’re so loud in his head and he can’t drown them out, they eat away at his brain like acid oozing in through his ears, they rip at his skin with the force of a hurricane, peeling off his layers of skin, then muscle, then flesh, then bone, until he crumbles to dust, scraping him apart with his own bones, his own teeth turning against him as they clench down on his tongue, hot blood dripping between them, down his chin, and he can’t see anything, he’s lost, so lost, deep in his own head.

 He wants it to stop! He wants it to shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!

He’s choking on his blood and he coughs, spits, not caring that it lands somewhere on his bed, on his usually tidily made sheets, staining them red, red, red, too much red, and his fingers dig deeper into his flesh, more red dripping down his arms. He’s too hot and too cold and it aches and it burns and everything is too loud and too much, his clothes are scratchy and rough against his skin, his every breath in and out sounds like thunder, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

 He’s screaming. He thinks he’s screaming? He can’t tell if it’s him or someone else, but the sound is earth shattering, ear piercing, it gives him something to focus on, but soon his lungs are burning and despite everything his voice gives out, but there’s still too much left, he hasn’t let enough out, it’s still bubbling under his skin in ulcerous blisters. He screams again, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter, because no one is coming, no one is left, no one is here anymore. DeeDee is gone, Virgil is gone, his brother is gone, Patton never liked him, and Logan barely tolerates him, he’s all alone, no one is coming to save him from himself, and it hurts, it hurts more than a knife to the heart, it hurts more than splinters in his eyes, it hurts more than tacks in his feet, it hurts more than swallowing fire ants alive, and distantly he’s aware of hoarse, desperate sobs cracking through the silence, but it doesn’t feel real, nothing feels real.

 His world is spinning, spiraling, colors blurring and blending and reality is cracking, and he can’t even name the strange horrors he’s seeing, just vague images and ideas, filled with pain, and hurt, and violence, and he cries out for someone, anyone, for Dee, please, please, please! Then it fractures into a million, billion fractal reflections and facades and broken, empty reflections, and he knows it is hopeless.

…

It’s Logan, who finds him. Remus has been oddly silent for the last three days, and though the others brushed it off, it has him worried. Still, he was hesitant to breach Remus’s walls, but Janus was backsliding, and he knows how good Remus is with the scaled side when it comes to this.

 The room is a mess. Which is what he is expecting, to be honest, Roman’s always is too, papers and ideas and sketches hung to cork boards, plotting out his next grand adventure or novel. But this is a different kind of mess. A destructive kind of mess. Which, again, may not be unusual, until he looks closer.

 Journals. Notebooks. Beautiful drawings done in ball point pen, incredibly detailed, it would have taken hours to make some of these, and he recognizes the ripped and trampled shreds of some of them, remembers Remus showing them with pride. He can’t imagine Remus destroying them, and he adjusts his glasses nervously, taking another step deeper into the dark room, having to squint to make anything out. He fumbles around, and finally finds a light switch. It turns on green fairy lights, and all the air rushes out of his lungs before he practically sprints to the bed.

 “Remus. Remus, can you hear me?” The creative side’s eyes are open, staring blankly ahead, unseeing. He’s rocking just a bit, mumbling incoherently under his breath. He’s wearing only boxer briefs, small shivers wracking his frame, and he can’t tell if it’s from cold or shock. Dried blood covers his chin, stains his arms, and he realizes that Remus is scratching at his chest in a steady, methodical pattern. It is oozing blood, a deep X mark, nails digging deep into his flesh as if trying to claw his heart out of his chest.

  He lets out a strangled sound and catches Remus’s hands firmly, though once he’s holding them, they go limp.

 “Remus. I am going to sink out with you now.” He doesn’t think Remus can hear him, but he narrates his actions anyway, taking a deep breath and sinking out to the commons.

 “Logan?” Virgil asks as soon as he appears on the floor with Remus, setting aside his headphones. Then he catches a good look of the two of them and curses, leaping off the chair, crouching by Logan's side.

 “He appears to be in a dissociative state. He is unresponsive to both noise and touch.” He explains, voice wobbling. “I am going to fetch the first aid kit and attempt to clean off the blood to determine the extent of the injuries. Stay with him?” Virgil nods instantly, taking Remus's hands as Logan stands, shifting to kneel before him.

 “Rem. Oh, Rem, what happened?” Virgil asks softly, not expecting a response, surprised as he feels Remus squeeze his hands, eyes shooting up to Remus’s face, finding it just as blank as it was moments earlier, but his grip doesn’t loosen. He keeps a tight hold of Remus’s hands as Logan returns.

 Remus doesn’t make a sound as Logan carefully wipes away the blood, wincing at the deep scratches running down Remus’s arms, careful around the deep gash on his chest. He wraps bandages all the way up Remus’s clawed arms, then carefully sews up the gash, before packing it with gauze. Virgil is wincing in sympathy, but Remus doesn’t flinch or acknowledge them even once.

 “He’s freezing. We need to get him into clothes and warmed up. Hopefully that will help bring him out of his shock. Familiar faces and voices will also help.”

 “Janus’s room.” Virgil says automatically, grabbing hold of Logan and sinking out.

…

He's warm.

 He's wearing clothes, but they don’t scratch and scrape and dig into his skin. They’re soft and perfect.

 The voices are quieter. Still loud, still there, but quieter, and he realizes someone is speaking.

 “Rem? Can you hear me?” Virgil. His senses snap to, and he blinks, clearing his vision.

 Virgil is before him, legs curled under him on the bed, Virgil's hands in his. His eyes are wide, breath held.

 He's curled up on someone's lap, and realizes it's DeeDee, humming softly, his hands gently rubbing up and down his arms, grounding him.

 Logan is the voice. He’s sitting beside the bed, a book open in his lap, reading aloud, the even, gentle noise quieting his mind further. He lets out a deep, shaking breath, slumping back against Dee, exhausted.

 “hi.” He whispers, letting a soft gasp as Dee's hand cards through his hair.

 “Hello, darling. How’re you feeling?” Dee's voice a soft murmur, a purr against his ear.

 “Oh, ‘m fine. You know me, always getting into something or other.”

 “Remus. You were and are not fine. You have been in a dissociative state for about a day now since I found you, though it very well may have been longer as you have been absent for about three, and done significant harm to yourself in that time.” Logan, setting aside his book. He swallows hard, pushing himself out of Dee's lap, moving to the edge of the bed.

 “oh. S-sorry.”

 “For what?” He blinks, looking up at Virgil.

 “what?”

 “What are you sorry for, Remus?” He swallows hard, squeezing shut his eyes, idly scratching at his arms, before he feels someone once again take his hands. He almost whines, because he needs the pain, he needs it, it’s the only thing that helps.  

 “everything. I know I’m too much. I kn-know that’s why you left, cause I’m too loud and too annoying and too much. I can’t control myself, no matter how hard I try I just can’t and I ruin everything, and I’m not… not good.”

 “Remus. Is that what triggered you to shut down?” He picks at his bandages, before those hands corall his again, and he shakes.

 “D-dee’s gonna leave. You’re gonna leave. I’m gonna be all alone in the d-dark and it ma-kes it so much louder, it gets so loud, and I can’t make it stop, it won’t stop, but the p-ain makes them shut up, just for a bit, but it’s enough, it stops and it’s enough, and it hurts, but it’s f-fine, it’s fine! I deserve it. I can de-al with it, that’s my job, right? Handle all the bad, all the b-bad no one else wants, who cares if I can’t stop thinking what Roman would look like with his guts pulled out and strung across the bedposts, who cares if I can’t stop seeing plucking every shiny scale off of DeeDee, who cares if I try to rip my own heart out so I can crush it in my own fist, so I can never, never hurt anyone? It’s not enough, it’s never enough, it’s too much, too loud, too loud, too loud!” He screams, ripping his hands away from whoever is holding them, breath speeding as he falls off the edge of the bed onto the floor, clutching at his head and shaking.

 “nonononono No! I don’t wanna… I won’t, I WON’T! Don’t make me, don’t… I won’t hurt them, iwon’tiwon’tiwon’tiwon’t-“ Visions are filling his head, terrible, awful, horrible, and he’s clawing at himself, his face, his hands, his legs, anything, everything, because he’s bad, he’s being bad, he deserves to be punished.

 “Remus! Remus, Stop!” Virgil is pinning him down, and he snarls, kicking, fighting, gnashing teeth, then one of his hands gets loose and he swipes at Virgil with a hiss.  Virgil yelps, drawing back, and his vision clears, horrified. Four long scratch marks mar Virgil’s face, going from his left temple, across his eye, rather like Scar in the lion king. He lets out a small wheeze, scrambling back, unable to look away from the red, red, red, he hurt Virgil, he hurt him, he did that, he hurt him, he’s terrible, awful, this is why he deserves to be alone, this is what’s wrong with him, he’s not normal, he’s not good, he’s a mess and a wreck and a problem, everything that Thomas didn’t want, everything wrong with Thomas, everything wrong with the universe and they’re going to leave-

 “Ree, it’s ok, I’m ok, I promise.” Virgil, arms open, and he howls as he falls into them, clutching at him, whimpering and whispering apology after apology. “I know. It’s ok, Rem, I forgive you, I know you didn’t mean to, I know.” Virgil murmurs in his ear, rocking him.

 “I’m not leaving you, Remus. I wouldn’t ever leave you behind. I will never leave you all alone. I promise.” DeeDee, slipping behind him, wrapping both him and Virgil in his arms, and he presses tighter against Virgil.

 “It’s f-fine. I can’t hurt anyone if I’m all alone.”

 “Falsehood. You’ll hurt yourself, Remus. And that is an unacceptable outcome.” Logan, soft but firm.

 “S-so? Why… why does it matter? So what if I hurt myself? Its not… im not like all of you. I’m not important, I don’t matter.”

 “You do. Rem, you matter. I’m sorry I just… left, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t your fault. It was… a lot of things all combining, but it wasn’t all on you. It… it was mostly me. You scared me. When Lo popped up with you, there was so much blood and you weren’t talking and I thought… I just… I care, ok? I never really stopped caring, so don’t you dare give up on me. You’re the most stubborn, headstrong person I know, Rem. You’re not bad, just like I’m not bad, even if we can’t control ourselves sometimes, that doesn’t make us bad.” Virgil mumbles, holding him tight.

 “You always take care of me, Remus. I will always do the same for you, if you just ask. You hide it so well.” He curls further into a ball, new, silent tears flowing down his face as the voices finally go silent, leaving him alone in his own mind.

 “I scare Patton. Roman hates me.” He argues weakly.

 “patton has warmed up to you. He understands that you have your own intrusive thoughts, and he can see through them to your actual distress and meaning. And Roman… is difficult but he misses you more than he would ever admit. Regardless, we are not leaving you alone or behind simply because of their feelings. Not when it is a matter of safety. Your safety.” Logan replies, and he sighs, a long, shaking breath, fists uncurling from around Virgil's sweater.

 “I’ll hurt you. I have hurt you.”

 “Ah. You referring to your introduction video, when you threw a ninja star into my head and ripped out two of my teeth.” He nods, looking down at the ground. “You know you did not actually cause me any harm, Remus. I can see through your actions and recognize they are not reality. Your actions did not actually damage me in any way. You knew that would be the case, which is why you targeted me, instead of Virgil or Patton, who would take the injuries literally.” Logan counters, and he’s surprised Logan can see through him that well, even then.

 “I love you.” He mumbles. “I love you and I’m terrified I’ll go too far and actually hurt you.” Exhaustion creeps into his voice. He knows what he wants, what he’s always wanted, but he won’t ask for them to stay, he won’t obligate them like that, when they should want to run as far and fast as they can. “you should leave me behind.” His throat feels dry when he says those words, the opposite of what he wants, but it’s what’s right.

 “Remus. Would it be accurate to state the thoughts get louder and progressivly more violent and dark in nature the longer you are without contact?” He furrows his brow, confused.

 “I… I guess. It… in the dark and the quiet there’s nothing else, just my own head and I can’t get out of it.”

 “Have the thoughts stopped now?”

 “yes, I mean, they never really stop, but they aren’t the only thing anymore, I can push them to the back of my head and only let the smaller ones slip out. It’s like a whisper when it was a scream earlier.”

 “Then why would we leave, darling?” Dee asks, and he blinks.

 “What?”

 “You pretty much just said that being around people and ambient noise makes your intrusive thoughts easier to manage, and stops you from getting so sucked in you end up hurting yourself, you idiot. So if you’re hanging out with us, yeah, they’re still gonna happen but they’re not gonna be as bad. Probably easier to control, just like my anxiety. That’s what a support network is for, Ree. It… it took me a long time, I guess, to actually learn that for myself, but it was worth it.” Virgil mutters, face a bit red, though he doesn’t miss the small, proud smile on Logan’s lips, the gleam in his eye as he looks at Virgil.

 His own mind is reeling. Of course, it’s easier to keep them quiet when there’s other noise around, of course touch is grounding and helps keep him centered in the present, of course doing things, activities, writing, drawing, helps keep his mind focused and allows him to let out the thoughts without hurting anyone, he just… he didn’t think the others would care about all that enough to justify letting him be around them.

 “I mean, I know that! I just… I didn’t think any of you would want to be part of mine.” He mumbles, hugging himself with a slight shiver.

 “Of course we will. We love you too, or whatever.” Virgil mumbles, pulling Remus back into a hug, before grinning and hefting him up in his arms, depositing him back on the bed despite his surprised screech of protest.

 He laughs as DeeDee settles beside him once again, stretching out and resting his head in Dee’s lap, legs laying atop Virgil, who snorts, but doesn’t move, simply grabs a fluffy throw blanket and tosses it over him.

 “We’ll speak to the others tomorrow. I don’t expect a problem integrating you into the group, Remus. It will be beneficial for everyone. All of us working together is what is supposed to happen, anyways.” Logan says, voice smiling. “For now, you need to rest and let everything heal.”

 “ok. Keep reading? I… it helps, I think. He mumbles, already half asleep. He hears Logan’s voice start again, steady, feels Dee’s hand in his hair, feels Virgil holding his hand, and he smiles, tears dripping down his face. He didn’t think it was possible, any of this, and it feels… good. So, so good. For once, he doesn’t think he’s going to ruin everything. For once, he thinks the voices whispering in the back of his mind aren’t him, at heart, just a side effect of who he is and what he represents. And he knows, he’s safe from them, with so much warmth surrounding him.

[theluckiestwitchathogwarts]

Winter Love

HELLO hi @coffeecomicsgalore this is my @mlsecretsanta fic for you! I had so much fun writing this one, happy holidays! Massive thank you to @adrienettes-hamster for beta-ing!

Also on FFnet and AO3!

Mid-November is when the chill of the impending winter started to set in. Not cold enough for snow, but cold enough that Ladybug had begun to notice her kitty shivering while on patrols. Granted, she was quite cold herself, but she was handling it better than Chat Noir.

“Do you need to stop, Chat?”

“No, I’m fine,” he stuttered out between chattering teeth.

“Chat, go home and get warm. We can patrol again tomorrow night.” Her voice was soft but commanding, and his ears drooped. “I’ll bring some hot chocolate, okay?” His ears perked up a bit at the mention of that.

“Okay then. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he replied with a small smile, turning and bounding away with his staff.

She watched him for a moment before turning herself, luckily only needing to travel a few blocks to her own home. The dull light of the lamp she had left on before heading out cut into the darkness. It was still relatively early in the night, only around 9 o’ clock, but she knew that her parents would already be in bed, ready for next morning’s early rise.

Marinette landed on her balcony and hopped down through the skylight onto her bed before calling off her transformation. When Tikki swirled out of the earrings and into her hands, she was also shivering.

“Yeah, it is a bit too cold tonight,” Marinette mumbled to her as she cupped her hands around her kwami. “Let me grab us some hot chocolate, okay?” Tikki nodded, her little head bobbing up and down as vigorously as Chat’s jaw was. Marinette gently slid her onto her pillow then climbed down the ladder to the rest of her room, then the ladder to the rest of the apartment. Finding her favourite mug clean and ready to be used, she ducked down and grabbed the teacup she had hidden for Tikki. It was almost matching with her favourite design, covered with florals over a white background, and it had belonged to one of the dolls from her childhood doll house.

Marinette hummed while she filled the mugs with the still-steaming hot chocolate from the flask her mother had left out for her. She wondered whether or not it would snow soon, and if it would shut the school down. Would the snow mean Hawkmoth would slow down on attacks? Or would he send out more akumas?

She wondered about her friends. Alya would probably spend most of the time babysitting her sisters, Marinette by her side of course. Nora might be home for the winter. Nino would probably be glued to his computer, creating new tracks and networking with other DJs. Adrien…

Adrien would keep up his studies with Nathalie. Marinette knew how tough his dad was on him based on how detailed his schedule was. Mandarin lessons, fencing, piano, modelling and school? And she thought she was busy between school, sewing and saving Paris. Then again, saving Paris was never on a set schedule. She supposed she and Adrien weren’t too different in that aspect.

Adrien had been shivering a bit in class recently. While everyone else bundled up in their warmest sweaters and thermals, Adrien’s outfits didn’t seem to hold the same temperature. Did Gabriel favour style over comfort? The very thought burned Marinette.

She stopped pouring as she realised it was about to overflow her mug, and set the flask down with a hardened resolve. This Christmas, she was going to knit something warm for her two favourite people. The gears in her mind began ticking over as she thought of what to give each of them. She still had Adrien’s head measurements from when she created the hat for the contest a year or two back, and his body’s measurements from the designs she had made for her website... maybe a sweater? Or a beanie?

She didn’t have Chat’s measurements though. She supposed if she worked hard and fast enough she might be able to squeeze in a blanket. Now she had to think of patterns for both...

Marinette made her way back up to her room, carefully balancing the mugs in one hand as she pushed the trap door up then set them down on the floor to climb inside.

“Tikki?” She called out gently. “Hot chocolate has arrived.”

She set them down on the bench by her computer as she opened up her sketchbook. Knowing it would take longer, she began working on the blanket’s design, but stopped short as she realised that while she knew her partner, she didn’t really know him. She vaguely remembered his favourite colour was green, and funnily enough was a cat person, both literally and figuratively. Marinette began to worry that what she makes wouldn’t be good enough for him, or that he wouldn’t like it.

“What are you working on, Marinette?” Tikki asked sleepily while sipping her hot chocolate.

“Both Adrien and Chat Noir haven’t been dealing with the cold well, so I figured I’d knit them both something warm for Christmas,” Marinette replied as she began writing in some notes. Tikki peered over the book and looked back at Marinette.

“A blanket? Will you have time to make that? Christmas is only a month away.”

“I know, but I figured if I work on it in all of my spare time then I might be able to get it done in time. Hopefully there’s a few snow days in the next few weeks,” Marinette said as she glanced out the window. The window stubbornly continued to show no sign of snow, though there was the twinkling of stars between the clouds.

Tikki took another sip of her drink. “Who’s the blanket for?”

“Chat Noir. I have Adrien’s measurements, so I was thinking either a beanie or a sweater, but I’m not sure of Chat’s. What do you think?” Marinette picked up a green pencil and began to shade in the sketch. In each corner there was a small, blocky cat face with light whiskers.

“He does tend to wear that short sleeved top a lot. I think sweater.”

Marinette hummed and nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right. What about the middle of this?” She held the page up to Tikki, who had ditched the now empty cup and was snuggled into her neck. “I was thinking maybe the initials C.N. but that might be too obvious.”

“What about a Yin Yang symbol, but a ladybug as the white dot and whiskers on the black dot?”

“Tikki, you’re a genius!”

And so Marinette got to work, having most of the yarn colours she required already. Quite a few rows in, she started to nod off and, seeing that it was now well past her bedtime, climbed the ladder to her bed and whispered goodnight to Tikki.

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

“That’s… a lot of yarn, Marinette,” Alya said with mild concern. “You surely haven’t gotten this low by now?

Marinette shrugged, or at least shrugged the best she could with her arms piled up with rolls of yarn. “I’ve got a few commissions and wanted to be sure. I can use what’s left to make some gifts as well.”

Marinette had dragged Alya on a shopping trip for materials after school the next day. She had some pocket money saved up from chores and her birthday. Half an hour later, they emerged from the fabric store with a lot of yarn and some new shearing scissors, an early gift from Alya.

“Ooh, who’s commissioned you? It must be a big project!”

Marinette almost stumbled, unsure if she should tell Alya, even if she did have the perfect cover up for it. But then again, she knew her best friend.

“Uh, Ladybug commissioned a blanket as a gift for Chat Noir. Apparently they’re having a tough time on their night patrols with the chill.”

Alya’s eyes bugged out of her head and she squealed, “Oh my god, that is so cute! She’s totally in love with him!”

This time Marinette did really stop. “No way! She did not give off that vibe at all when she came around! It’s just really cold at night!”

“Babe, you don’t just commission a whole BLANKET for your friend!” Alya shook her by her shoulders, a few rolls threatening to fall out of Marinette’s arms, who gasped a loud “careful!”

“They’re friends, Alya, and friends can share a blanket when it’s cold. Can we please drop it?”

Alya huffed and rolled her eyes. “Sure, but you know I’m right!”

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

Later that night, Marinette was zooming through rows of knitting on her balcony. She barely stopped for a few bites of the dinner that her mother had brought up earlier. When her hands began cramping, she turned back to her sketchbook to work on the design for Adrien’s sweater. She figured it best to keep it simple, and made it light green in shade with darker green and black accents. When the cramping had lessened, she picked up the needles again and started knitting furiously again.

Around 8 o’ clock, Tikki nudged her and reminded her that she needs to meet up with Chat Noir. Marinette thanked her and transformed, grabbed the bag of treats she had snuck up earlier, then leapt off the balcony with her yoyo flying off into the distance.

She found Chat Noir on their rooftop an arrondissement away, huddled next to the chimney for warmth.

“Chaton, look what I brought!”

His ears perked up and his lips curved into a wide smile. “That doesn’t just smell like hot chocolate, m’lady. Is that…” his eyes lit up as she lifted the Dupain-Cheng bakery box out of the bag after the flasks, “croissants? And macarons?”

She matched his smile and replied, “all of the above, plus pain au chocolat. Only the best for the cat hero of Paris!” She had to set down the box quickly as he crushed her in a hug. She wrapped her arms around him as well, happy that he was happy. She didn’t miss his murmur of “what did I do to deserve you?” and simply hugged him tighter, almost shielding him from the cool wind. He let go after a few more moments, diving for the flask of hot chocolate and sitting against the chimney.

“Half hour of snacking before we make the rounds?”

“Works for me,” Chat Noir replied in between sips, visibly settling down as the drink warmed him up from the inside. “How did you get the Dupain-Cheng goods? Aren’t they closed by now?”

“They are, but I picked them up just before they closed for the day, so they’re pretty fresh.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, she did get them from the last batch her father made for the day.

Chat Noir hummed as he bit into a macaron, savouring the taste. “They are the best in town, no competition.”

“You’re not wrong there.” Ladybug took this moment of comfortable silence to take the top off of her flask and have a long drink of her hot chocolate. They sat together, shoulder to shoulder against the chimney and the wind started to settle down.

The sun had well and truly set by now, the moon as bright as ever with the stars shining like the streetlights below them. Tonight, there were no clouds, and nothing above them but the open sky. Ladybug loved the sight, and found it to be the second best perk of being a superhero, the first being partnered with Chat Noir. Her friend, Chat Noir, she thought, thinking back to Alya’s words earlier in the day. She was in love with Adrien and absolutely, definitely, totally had no such feelings for Chat Noir.

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

Marinette was exhausted, to say the least.

It was now the beginning of December, and the blanket was just over half done. She had resorted to bringing in her spare needles and knitting before and after class to start on Adrien’s sweater, and ignored anyone and everyone that asked about it with a small blush.

She also resorted to ignoring any pressing by Alya on Ladybug’s “commission” of the blanket, which had not died out as time had gone on. Alya wanted to know everything from the words Ladybug said to her expression and body language as she spoke about Chat Noir. Marinette now highly regretted giving in and telling her anything.

Thinking of the blanket, she thought about the surprise she was given when Chat Noir dropped in a few nights before.

A gentle rapping on the window shook Marinette from her concentration as she began a new colour for the Yin Yang. She looked around as she heard the telltale swoosh of Tikki hiding and saw Chat Noir waving from her balcony with a sheepish look on her face. She set down the blanket, laying it flat on the floor, and climbed up her ladder to open it.

“Chat Noir? What are you doing here?”

“Forgive me, but I saw your light on while I was out for a run. It’s getting very cold and my own place is a bit too far for me right now. Do you mind if I warm up in here for a few minutes?”

She wasn’t aware of any patrol they had planned. She double checked the day it was in her head and confirmed yes, it was their night off.

“O-Of course you can, would you like anything to eat or drink?” She moved aside for him to jump in, and watched as he looked around the room in wonder.

“Some hot chocolate, if you have any, please,” he replied, eyes moving from the chaise to the various mannequins and designs strewn about the room.

Marinette dearly hoped he wouldn’t know it was the same he had had just a few weeks ago, and a few times since as the temperature continued to drop.

“S-Sure thing, I’ll be right back.”

She climbed down after him, throwing a panicked glance to where Tikki was hiding and subtly gestured for her to follow. She climbed down the trapdoor to the kitchen and turned to Tikki.

“What is he doing here?” Tikki asked.

“I don’t know! It’s not patrol night! He’s going to recognise my recipe for sure!” She began to pace the kitchen.

“Calm down Marinette, he might just think you sell it here. You said you bought the treats from here didn’t you?”

“I mean yeah, but what if his civilian identity comes here often enough to know it’s not sold?” Marinette could not keep calm, but she kept her voice quiet. No need to freak out both her parents and her unexpected guest.

“New product for winter?”

That stopped Marinette in her tracks. “That could work.” Her nerves stilled, she grabbed two mugs and the flask, filling them and turning back to Tikki again with a smile. “You always know how to calm me down.”

Tikki giggled, “Kwami of luck and maybe logic as well. You best get back to him, we’ve been down here for a while now.”

As if on cue, they heard a soft knock on the door, and an even softer, “You okay down there?”

Marinette took the mugs by the handles, calling back, “Can you please open the door?”

The trapdoor opened as Marinette climbed up, and Chat Noir hastened to take one from her hand, and helped her up with his other one. Claws brushed her wrist as his grip tightened on her hand and while she shouldn’t have been surprised, his strength as he pulled her up caught her off guard slightly.

“I just couldn’t find my mug, I always have hot chocolate in it,” she raised her mug as she spoke.

“That’s a nice one. And this is really good,” he said, taking a sip. Marinette watched his eyes as a hint of recognition flickered over them, but he didn’t say anything about it.

“It’s a… family recipe. We just began selling it in the bakery for the winter.”

His face relaxed, and Marinette let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“What are you knitting?”

Man, if this cat didn’t stop. Sure, it’s an innocent question on his part, but Marinette was getting increasingly worried about hiding the truth.

“Oh! Uh, it’s a blanket for a friend of mine. They’re a… big fan of you and Ladybug.”

“And the other needles? I like the different shades of green on it.”

“That’s going to be a sweater, for another friend. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of warm clothes so I’m hoping this will help him.”

“That’s a really lovely gesture, Marinette. One of my friends is into fashion as well, you would get on great with her.”

Marinette hummed in agreement, then said, “I hope you don’t mind me returning to it, I’m trying to get them both done by Christmas.” “Of course not. I should get going now though,” he tipped his mug towards her, empty already, “Thank you very much for the drink, Princess.”

Marinette’s jaw dropped slightly and almost dropped her needles as well. “I-I… you’re welcome, a-any time.”

“I’ll take you up on that,” he replied suavely, adding a wink. Marinette waited until he was safely back out onto her balcony before rolling her eyes with a smile, and got back to her knitting. Stupid cat and his flirting.

Seeing that Madame Bustier was running late, she took Adrien’s sweater out of her bag and began to knit. She had switched out her small clutch for a larger, water-proof bag once she realised she’d need to bring the yarn and needles to class in order to finish it in time. Most of the class had been asking about it so far, including Nino and Alya, but Adrien had been quiet about it until now, when he walked in right as Marinette started another row.

“Hey Marinette, you’re early. What are you making?”

“Oh! Adrien, sweater- hi, uh, I mean-”

“It looks great so far. Green would look nice on you.”

Marinette squeaked and went bright red. “O-oh, uh, thank you, but it’s for a friend,” she giggled nervously.

“Well then, they’re a lucky friend!” Adrien smiled as he began unpacking his notebook and pencil case, and turned to the front. Madam Bustier walked in a moment later, gesturing for Marinette to put away the needles. Marinette didn’t miss the slight shiver that Adrien had to his frame, nor the goosebumps beginning to raise on his arms and the back of his neck.

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

“Chat Noir!”

It was the week before Christmas, and Marinette was in the home stretch of finishing this blanket. She was knitting on her balcony, hot chocolate by her side and just sheltered from the light snowfall. But now, she could just see the silhouette of the cat hero a few roofs away. He turned his head in surprise and as a result, almost fell off of his staff. She waved her hand, gesturing for him to come over to her.

As he got closer, she called out, “What are you doing out in the snow? It’s way too cold for someone in a skin-tight suit to be out here!”

“But Princess, you’re out here too!” he called back, now standing in front of her.

“I am wrapped up in sweaters and fuzzy pants, with a blanket over me, not a skin-tight suit, as I said! You should be at home, as warm and wrapped up as I am,” she finished on a gentler note as his ears drooped.

“I… don’t want to be home right now. I got into a fight with my father. Can I stay here for a bit?”

Her heart dropped and her eyes filled with sympathy for him. She knew it was a bad situation, but not leave-the-house-in-the-middle-of-winter bad. “Of course you can.”

She opened the skylight, carefully plopping down her almost-finished blanket and needles, then climbed in after it. He shook the snow from his hair, passed her half-empty mug of hot chocolate to her and hopped down onto the bed. She put the mug on a ledge next to her bed and said, “Do you need a hug?”

Almost immediately, he wrapped her in a bear hug not unlike the one he gave Ladybug a few weeks prior. She raised her arms just in time and curled them around his neck and if she happened to feel a tear or two slide onto her shoulders, she didn’t mention it.

Her hands weaved themselves into his wild hair, holding him close. She stayed silent, knowing words couldn’t convey the comfort she tried to give him. His arms were so long, they almost doubled back to himself. Together, they shivered, as he cried onto her shoulder silently and the wind blew through the skylight above. She untangled one of her hands to reach up and close it, but Chat Noir took this as a sign to let go and step back. Her other hand still tangled, she lost balance and they fell, Chat Noir landing on top of her as she hit the bed with an “oof!”

Marinette drew in a sharp breath as Chat Noir’s head hit her collarbone. That’s going to leave a bruise, she thought with a wince.

“I’m so sorry, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just knocked the breath out of me,” she replied, finally removing her hand from his hair. She sat up as he hurried to get off of her and sat at the end of her bed, both of their eyes wide open.

“So, um-”

“I-”

They both tried to speak at once, giggling when they stopped. Chat Noir gestured for her to speak first, so she did.

“Do you want some hot chocolate?”

“Please,” he replied gratefully, moving aside so she could climb down the ladder, following after her. She returned after a few minutes, setting their mugs down next to her computer. “Can you pass me down the blanket, please? I’m so close to finishing,” she asked as she held out her arms for it to be dropped into. She stumbled when it landed; it felt heavier than she expected it to be. Oh well, she thought, this means it should be extra warm.

She got settled in her desk chair, the blanket flowing down past her feet as Chat Noir settled on her chaise with his mug. They sat in a comfortable quiet, the only sounds in the room coming from the whirring of her computer, the clacking of the needles and a sip from Chat Noir every once in a while. She’d look up from time to time, and see his bright eyes staring back at her with a shy interest. There were hints of dried tears on his face, and she subtly elbowed the tissue box beside her towards him.

At last, she finished the last row of the blanket. She cast off, spreading it out on the floor and stepped back to look at her work. Chat Noir joined her, looking over it in wonder.

“How long did this take you?”

“Just under a month. I’ve been knitting as fast as I can and spent almost every waking moment on it. Except for when I’ve been at school, which I spent working on this,” she said as she pulled out the sweater for Adrien. “It’s for my friend Adrien. His father doesn’t really let him wear clothes that would give him comfort. I mean, I get that as a model he’s always representing the brand, but what kind of father chooses style over comfort for his own son? I’m surprised he hasn’t frozen to death already,” she tried to lighten the end of her rant as she realised she was getting angry.

He took a gentle hold on her elbow, and she looked up to face him. He had an odd look on his face, like he was embarrassed, though he had no reason to be.

“You’re an amazing friend, Marinette, and I’m sure he is going to love yo- it.”

She beamed at his praise and set it down on the chair, hugging him again with her whole body, his own arms wrapping tightly around her.

“Thank you for the hot chocolate, but I think I should go before my father realises I’m gone.”

She squeezed him tighter for a moment and whispered, “Will you be okay there? You know you’re welcome at any time, okay?”

He squeezed her back and replied, “I think I’ll be okay, but I will let you know,” and stepped back, taking care to not step on the blanket. She watched as he climbed the ladder and up onto the balcony, only looking back to wave her goodbye. She waved in reply then folded the blanket up, putting it into the bag she had reserved for patrols.

With only half a sleeve to go, she picked up the needles and set herself back down on the chair, continuing her work on Adrien’s sweater.

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

Conveniently enough, the next morning was announced to be the last school day before holiday break, as the weather predicted heavy snowfall for the coming days. Unfortunately though, it gave Marinette only today to give the now-completed sweater to Adrien. It was wrapped and labelled to and from (both Marinette and Alya made sure of it) but Marinette was frozen when she reached the classroom, causing Alya to bump into her back.

“Marinette! You can do this,” she heard her hiss, but she just couldn’t. There Adrien was, sitting and laughing at something Nino had said. She squeaked, almost losing her balance trying to step forward, which caught Adrien’s attention.

“Hey Marinette! What’s that you have there?”

Alya nudged her, and this time she did start to slip. This is how I die, she thought with a great internal sigh.

Quick as lightning, Adrien was in front of her, keeping her steady with concern masking his face.

“You okay?”

Marinette couldn’t do anything but stammer. “U-uh, you, I- gift! For you!”

“F-For me?”

He looked down to her hands, which were now shaking with the present between them.

“I-I mean…” Marinette looked helplessly back to Alya, who gave her a gentle nod, then looked back to Adrien and took a deep breath. “Yes, it’s for you. Merry Christmas, Adrien.”

The whole class was silent now, watching the two. Even Chloe watched, clearly fuming with a glare in Marinette’s direction.

He took it from her gently, their hands brushing for a moment. Marinette could swear she felt a spark, something warm in the cold room when they touched, but it disappeared as the package left her hands. She didn’t expect for him to set it down and sweep her into a hug so loving it reminded her of Chat N- no. No feelings for Chat Noir, only Adrien.

“Thank you,” he whispered into her ear with a squeeze.

In the middle of winter, Marinette felt like she was on fire. She tentatively raised her arms to hug him back, only for him to step back at the same moment and suddenly she was cold again.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered back as he turned away to open the gift. His eyes lit up with happiness as he unfolded the sweater, gushing, “I’m the lucky friend?!”

Marinette giggled, “You have my lucky charm, remember?”

That made Adrien snort, “Marinette, I think you are my lucky charm.”

The class dissolved into a chorus of “aww’s” and the two suddenly remembered where they were, both blushing furiously. Fortunately for them, Madame Bustier walked in to start seconds later.

He wore the sweater proudly for the rest of the day, and home, as far as Marinette saw.

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

“Tikki, spots on!”

Later that night, Marinette transformed once again into Ladybug. She made sure the lamp was on and her goodie bag was secured around her body before launching off of the balcony towards their meeting place for patrols. The snow was falling lightly, looking magical in the night. Chat Noir was already there, holding his own bag that fell by the side of the swea- sweater?

Her jaw dropped and she almost missed her target with the yoyo. Chat Noir caught on evidently as his face dropped with fear and he reached out for her.

“Ladybug, are you okay? What happened there?”

“Where did you get that sweater?”

His face split into a grin as he ran his claws along the accents. “Oh, isn’t it so cool? A friend gave it to me for Christmas!”

The pieces both fell together and shattered at the same time. Her face dropped in shock. “But I… y-you… I mean… Adrien?”

His mouth fell open and he stuttered back, “M-Marinette?”

They stared at each other in shock for a few moments before Chat Noir snorted, which made Ladybug break and they both just burst into laughter. It felt unbelievable, but made so much sense to the pair. The two who always got everyone to safety so they could be alone; they felt like idiots. Finally their laughter died down, but as Ladybug brought out the Dupain-Cheng box, they started up again. More things began making sense and they couldn’t help themselves.

They found their way to each other, holding on like they’ve been separated for years.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” Ladybug mumbled. Chat Noir’s body shielded her from the oncoming snow as they held each other.

“I can’t believe it either. We thought we were smart,” he laughed, and she could hear his smile.

“You’re gonna love this then,” she stepped back and opened her back, pulling out the blanket. She actually thought he might cry then and there. She held it towards him, who took it with such soft hands.

“You made this, for me?”

“I didn’t know your measurements- well, as it turns out I do, but I figured it would be something for us to keep warm under before patrols.”

“Marinette, I love you.”

They both paused, the phrase seemingly slipped out on its own, but she couldn’t help but reply, “I love you too.”

Winter patrols suddenly became a lot warmer.

[sandpumpkin]

Birthday King

Happy Birthday dear Tulip!!! 

Selfship ahoy. 

Under the cut because it’s a little long.

The moment Hana learnt of Kid’s birthday, she knew exactly what to make for it. Sure it could have been for Christmas but she held birthdays in higher regard. Locking herself in her sewing room, she sketched up her ideas. Needs a hat too..yes..and..some chains?..spikes?...Red..what shade..what fabric?

Once she was happy with the design she hurried to find the one person that knew Kid the best.

“Killer,” she found Killer in the kitchen as usual. He was in the middle of preparing the marinade the beef for cooking later, “sorry..I can come back later-”

“Did you need something?” he asked, noticing the drawing pad she was holding at her chest protectively.

“Yes..I just need your advice on something for Kid’s birthday.” she explained, shuffling nervously on the spot. Maybe this is a bad idea..maybe I should do something less extravagant? 

“His birthday? You’ve got a while for that-” Killer hummed, setting a bottle of soy sauce down.

“Oh well..I need to start it soon or I won’t finish it,” walking towards Killer opening the book and showing him it “Sorry about the terrible drawing but..what do you think?” she asked, Killer cleaned his hands and took hold of the sketch pad.

“Isn’t this similar to Roger’s coat?” Killer stated, Hana jolted and panicked.

“Is it too similar? I wanted it to be Pirate king but Kid’s theme..if that makes sense..” she rambled “Oh! This is too much isn’t it?” Killer rested a hand on her head as if he were stopping an alarm clock ringing.

“It's fine, but why? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well. He’s going to be King of the pirates eventually right?” Killer nodded “So King needs his robes..or coat in this case. Do you think he’ll like it?” she asked squirming on the spot.

Killer’s shoulders shuddered in a silent laugh and handed her the book back “he’ll love it. Don’t make it too red, a darker red would be better like his old coat, he won’t admit but he liked that coat.”Killer suggested.

“Duly noted! Thank you so much!” Hana smiled brightly and hurried on her way. She had much to do and time was of the essence. Oh...how do I get his measurements?!

“Just measure his current coat.” she replied to her own question out loud “I’m such an idiot.”

-

She made sure she collected the best fabrics for the coat and used the crew’s help smuggling large amounts of deep red fur and other elements onto the ship. Plaster after plaster was applied to her hands and fingers from her severe concentration. Each chain was clipped and twisted together to get the perfect drape and length. Killer had been roped in to test the width of the coat, since he was closest in shoulder size to the coat’s desired host and Hana’s mannequin lacked big shoulders. “It’s nowhere near finished but what do you think so far?” she asked nervously as Killer carefully set the coat onto the small mannequin best he could.

“It’s good. What are these bits for?” Killer asked, gesturing to the loops and pockets on the inside of the jacket.

“Oh, well you can never have too many pockets and well..maybe a hipflask, extra knives, compass, bullets? Treasure map.. Small stuff..” she rambled nervously, which made Killer uncharastically snort “bad idea?”

“Great idea. You got all bases covered it seems.” Killer ruffled her head and patted her shoulder proudly “keep up the good work. Don’t forget to sleep though.” he scolded.

Hana spent most of her free time toiling away on Kid’s new coat. sometimes losing track of time. It was a lot of new techniques and a good chance to practise her embroidery a little more. I can’t rush it. It has to be perfect!

Thankfully Kid was easily as absorbed in his work but he did start to notice her absence during the day when she would bring him lunch now it was Killer. Kid would grumble when Killer set his lunch on his workbench.

“She’s not your maid you know.” Killer chided, 

“I know that, where is she?” Kid asked, sourly shoveling cabbage rolls into his mouth

Killer shrugged “busy.” Killer’s short responses made Kid grumble more. 

Kid was not completely blind, he saw the plasters decorated most of her fingers and the weariness in her eyes when she finally shuffled into his cabin at night. But she was tight lipped as ever with her project. Kid had an inkling what she was making, he knew it was for him since everyone went to great lengths to keep him away from her sewing room, ushering him elsewhere with fake problems or promises of alcohol. 

What a little troublemaker.

-

The day of Kid’s birthday came around sooner than she’d realised but it was done. She was proud of it. I hope Kid likes it...maybe I shouldn’t have made the hat. She held the large tricorn with Kid’s pirate logo embroidered on the front with a large feather and golden chain hanging between two of the points in her hands. It’s fine..it looks good.. I just hope he likes it...

-

Kid was a party person, he loved a good excuse to celebrate and drink and what better excuse than his birthday. Killer had made a huge feast, including his personal favourite: cabbage rolls. The crew often gifted Kid alcohol for his birthday or sometimes they enjoyed giving him prank gifts like: an udon bowl one year. Courtesy of Killer’s mentioning he later found out. 

This year was different. This year there was a new addition to the crew. Hana had dressed up especially for this ‘little’ party wearing her best tartan dress and she was smiling and laughing with everyone, enjoying the atmosphere. 

Childish as it was, Kid waited expectantly for her gift to be presented but everyone elses gifts were brought round in rotation. Once the last gift had been brought forward, Hana pushed her chair out “excuse me a moment.” she said, resting a hand on his arm and kissing his cheek softly.

Kid slumped in his chair and watched as she left the mess hall with Killer in tow. He grumbled reaching for one of the bottles of whiskey. The crew quickly set to entertaining Kid with various card games.

It felt like an eternity until three sharp knocks at the kitchen door. Everyone stopped what they were doing. “Oh, they're done.” 

Kid frowned and watched them all rise looking at him expectantly. Some of the crew have huge grins across their faces: terrible poker faces these idiots.

Wire went first, his tall stature hiding the scene in front of them. They part as they get on deck, Kid still feeling salty about being ditched on his birthday but those feelings are quickly swept away by the crisp sea air when he spotted Hana shuffling nervously.

Once Kid was properly on deck, she stepped aside revealing the mass behind her. She..what a woman.. Kid closed his eyes and chuckled deeply. He recognized the gift before him.

“Happy birthday Kid..” she smiled, watching him stare at the coat taking in all the intricate detail. He almost didn’t watch to touch it. It was a coat that rivaled the great Gol.D Roger. No..this is better. His hand reached for the spiked pauldrons on one side of the side, trailing down to gold chains that formed an elaborate design down the front, the soft short pile fur and on the back his pirate flag carefully embroidered in gold. 

“Kid..”

He didn’t reply, pulling his coat off his shoulders, chucking it to one of the crew to catch before he picked up the new coat and threw it over his shoulders, putting his good arm through the sleeve. It was heavy from the fabric and the metal accents but the love that had been woven into the jacket made him feel light as a feather. On one of the inside pockets he noticed a little pumpkin stitched there, he smiled softly, she too shared his dream. One day he would be pirate king and this coat was proof of it. He finally turned to face her with a faux stern look on his face.

"well..Pirate King needs a coat...and I couldn't resist a hat too,” She said, holding out the hat to him. Kid blinked and pulled his goggles around his neck, kneeling slightly to allow her to place the hat upon his head. “Happy Birthday my king." She smiled brightly, cupping his face and kissing him boldly in front of the whole crew. 

Kid grinned, scooping her up in his metal arm “guess that makes you my queen then.” Hana blushed and threw her arms around his neck “well then you idiots, let's party and get back to conquering this damn ocean!” The crew cheered around him. “I am going to be Pirate King!” he declared loudly, which made them cheer again. The feel of pride swelling in his chest, how could he fail now with such high hopes resting upon his shoulders as well as such a splendid coat. He was invincible.

[taki118]

How I’d Rework Miraculous LadyBug

Miraculous Ladybug is one of the series that has such a good solid gimmick behind it that I like tricked myself into thinking it was good for far too long (a similar thing happened with Once Upon a Time). So I finally sat down on wrote out how I’d rework the series. It’s really just slight character, role and magic changes but I think overall it’d work out much better than what we got, in my opinion.

What I really strive for is the idea of real vs persona which each character show casing a duality in both and how different people act behind a mask. Honestly this to me is the most important accept of the series as its set with teenagers and aimed at a younger crowd who are just starting to find themselves. Anyway enough with the preamble changes below its a lot.

Marinette

So I’ve had a problem with Marinette since season one and it’s never gotten better if anything its only gotten worse. She has what I like to call romcom protag syndrome, Marinette is really good at a lot of things, with a wide array of interests that she's competent at and is very well liked but unlike a Kim Possible type where the narrative owns this and her being hyper competent is just part of her charm Miraculous wants you to think that Marinette is just like you’re average girl by giving her really like cosmetic flaws like a romcom protagonist. She's clumsy! (but only when its convenient) She’s shy and bashful! (but only when it comes to adrien), She overthinks and worries! (but not in a way that impedes her in a meaningful way).

You see what i’m getting at right? How can Marinette be your average girl when she’s already a skilled designer, makes friends with like everyone, can pick up skills insanely quick, is always in the right (even when really she should not be), gets good grades, is class president and her only real (in narrative) flaws are she’s clumsy, sometimes.

So in my reworking I want to make a clear distinction between their true self and persona and Marinette needs this the most.

First things first keep Marinette as very talented fashion designer BUT her sewing skills are not quite there yet. Look I cosplay as a hobby and let me tell you taking something from a 2D sketch to an actual piece of clothing is VERY difficult. Like and even if you manage to make it again what looks good on a sketch might not look good on a real person. So I want to showcase her struggling here, things not looking quite right and maybe give her a bit of a perfectionist problem like her friends don't notice the flaws but SHE does. I would also make fashion and clothes her hyper focus so much that while she CAN do other artistic things she doesn't really like it and struggles with it in a way she doesn't enjoy.

Next up I’d have activities she just can’t do, most important being she’s bad at baking. Like she can’t really help out at the bakery because she’s so bad at it, only able to take orders and clean up because her pastries always come out looking awful. This is because she lacks the patience for baking and the eye for it, though her food tastes fine they just look terrible. And it depresses her a little, even though her parents are fine with it.

I’d also up her clumsiness, like she’s not a good dancer, she slips a lot, gym is not her strong suit, is not graceful in any sense of the word the only time she is is when she’s sewing. Thus adding to her confidence issues.

Another thing I’d add is Marinette is CONSTANTLY over thinking things like to her determinate, like a lot of her clumsy moments comes from her overthinking things (this doesn't just apply to Adrien). And this aspect is shown to be a negative a lot in the narrative adding to her confidence issues. Like she’s constantly afraid Alya won’t be her friend anymore if she messes up, thinks that Tiki would be better off with someone else, and second guesses herself a lot.

Overall the picture I want to give Marinette is a girl holding herself back more than anyone else.

Ladybug

On the other hand when she’s Ladybug all her doubt is thrown out the window because she HAS to be decisive. She doesn't have the time to over think and talk herself into a tissy and because of this every time she succeeds as Ladybug her confidence in her persona grows. Putting that costume on makes her feel stronger, but the second it comes off the doubts sink in. If they depower during a battle Marienette is noticeably less sure and confident. Marinette

associates her powers with her confidence and as such can’t even picture acting like Ladybug without it. She does so so strongly that she thinks if Chat Noir saw the real her he’d be disappointed. In her mind Ladybug is everything Marionette is not and it adds to her complex.

Adrien

My biggest issue with Adrien is that there is very little difference between him and Chat Noir. One of my favorite things from the anime PVs was how very different you could see between Felix and Chat and how you could see so very much with so very little. I don’t think Adrien is as big a mess as Marinette but then we don’t get much from him  (which I would 100% change)

So in my reworking here Adrien would be a much more obvious people pleaser. He’ll agree to just about anything if asked because he’s terrified of people disliking him. He’ll let people take the last one of a thing he likes, will help with projects even if he doesn’t actually want to be a part of them and will assist people even if they are wrong because he desperately wants to befriend everyone. This will often lead to people taking advantage of and misunderstanding him. Like I want on more than one occasion a girl Adrien is friendly with seeing his people pleasing nature as a genuine interest in them leading to heartbreak and akumaization. This will also play into Marinette’s own worries about confessing to him as in my version he does treat her like a friend. A friend who’s gotten close enough to confide in at times (but less than Nino) but a friend all the same.

Also I would have Adrien just now returning to Paris having been living with his Aunt and cousin up until now due to his mothers passing making his relationship with Gabriel more strained than like abusive. And his experience in his last school was not great as it was a private school where his cousin made things difficult.

I’d also add in that Adrien feels like he has to be on his best behavior at all times for his family name and father’s company and will confess feeling stifled by it and that he doesn’t even like modeling, but its the only time he really sees his dad anymore.

Overall I want it to feel like Adrien is who he feels he has to be.

Chat Noir

When it comes to the Chat Noir persona this is what Adrien feels is his truest self. He acts and speaks and does as he likes, and sometimes he just messes around in the costume at night as stress relief. (maybe even have him not wanting to help sometimes because he just didn’t like the person akumatized and having to be bribed by ladybug) As Chat Noir adrien speaks more casually says whats on his mind no matter how cruel or crude it may be, and is 100% honest with himself and his feelings. To him Chat Noir is freedom and he’d rather die than give it up, it’s Adriens one real act of selfishness.

As such Chat Noir is the true Adrien and the person he is at school is the mask.  

Love Square

So with these changes how does the love square work? Um better in my humble opinion.

Adrienette: Marinette is attracted to Adrien for a similar reason to the series in that he’s nice and sweet and handsome, I wouldn't have her start being confrontational with him just not impressed until he does something she views as special to her, but to him it was nothing. Marionette is head over heals (but not to the creepy level she gets in the series) and jealous of any girl confident enough to ask him out. She’s constantly tripping over herself wondering if it’s better to try and move forward or stay where she is as a close friend. But Adrien doesn’t see Marinette as anything more than that he thinks she’s nice but isn’t attracted to her and never does anything he wouldn’t do with another friend and is oblivious to her interest.

LadyNoir: Chat Noir is attracted to Ladybug for her confidence and straightforward attitude and finds her lack of romantic interest in him all the more alluring. He’ll make grand romantic gestures without much thought and flirts regularly but Ladybug isn’t interested seeing him as a showboat who isn’t all that serious. She is good with them being friends but firmly stands that they are nothing more as she views being a superhero as a job.

MariChat: Marinette still finds Chat Noir obnoxious and nothing more than a flirt, but she also believes that if Chat Noir saw the real her he wouldn’t be interested. And he’s not. He flirts but not to the same degree as Ladybug ad Marinette hides her mocking nature of his more ridiculous moments. But when she’s just Marinette she sees just how genuine Chat’s feelings for Ladybug are and he compliments her in ways Adrien never would and seeing a slightly more confident Marinette

Ladrien: Adrien hides his feelings for Ladybug from others thinking they’d laugh (expect for Nino) so when he’s face to face with her he often doesn’t know how to act. For Ladybug her confidence does fall a little but is far calmer and more upfront with Adrien than Marinette is. As a superhero Ladybug tires to hide her feelings for Adrien but lets it slip more than once that she has preference for him making Adrien think he has a chance.

I would also have a moment where Adrien confesses his feelings to Ladybug and it leaves Marinette in a weird state. Cause he likes her but not HER her, and things become awkward between her and Adrien. Ladybug herself confides in Chat that the person she loves doesn't love the real her he tries to say how stupid this person is but she pushes back that he doesn't really know her either. Leaving things weird between all parties. just yes this is the drama i live for

Alya

So Alya I think is a pretty solid character, but I’d have her pushing Marinette more and be less coddling towards her. My Alya would practice more tough love and also would be less invested in her friends love life. I would 100% make it an issue for her too like have an ep where Marienette is so busy obsessing over Adrien that she forgets something important for Alya and she snaps at her. Also she’d me more into news coverage in general not just Ladybug. I’d keep her confident and self assured and make it a little more obvious that Marinette is mimicking her when she starts out as Ladybug.

Rena Rouge

Now I’ll get into kwamii changes and such later i’m just talking about persona changes for now. But as Rena she’d be more cocky and arrogant and would butt heads with Ladybug on strategy. Her confident nature as Alya is great for Marinette but as Rena it’s frustrating for Ladybug. Remember Alya is a superhero fangirl so she’d be all about the action and would think she knows better. And while she and ladybug don’t get along well she and Chat and two peas in a pod a difference from how Alya is with Adrien who she regards kindly but doesn’t think they gel well.

Nino

First off get this boy a better outfit. Second again i think he’s a good start to a character but I’d have him be in a similar situation to Adrien. His parents are rich and away a lot but unlike Adrien they allow Nino to do as he likes and most people aren't aware oh just who his parents are. So he and Adrien bond easily and he confides in him more than in the series. His laid back and trouble maker nature mix well with Adrien but he knows when not to push. However because of his easy going nature people dont expect a lot from Nino and don’t really register his serious side that Adrien does notice.

Carapace

As a hero I feel like he gets the short end in the series, so here his more serious personality comes out. As Carapace he takes super heroing very seriously and is more cautious willing to stand back and follow Ladybugs lead, and butting heads with Chat over jokes. Rena finds him a stick in the mud and he thinks she takes it too lightly.

Bonus for Alya and Nino i think they should date but i’d totally have them being that on and off couple who you can never tell if they’re dating at the moment or not. Just very chill and teenage.

Chloe

Ok I wanna make it apparent I could rant for hours about all the missed opportunities the series has taken with her. Like Chloe is by far the most compelling character they have and they seem to hate it. But not here not with me.

First things first no personality changes Chloe is queen and i will here nothing on it, but we will be altering how she engages with others and the narrative.

For instance she is Marinette’s rival but it’s not for no reason. Chloe also has goals to be a designer and feels threatened by Marinettes work and a little embarrassed they both want the same thing just for very different reasons. While marinette just purely loves fashion Chloe wants to be acknowledged by her mother (more on this later) As such her designs are more avant guard and less favored by her peers she also has professionals make her looks herself. So she gets infuriated that Marinette work is praised over hers. Add in that they both like Adrien and this makes for volatile interactions.

Now i’d also want to play more into Chloe being Adrien childhood friend. I’d have Adrien note that Chloe wasn’t always this way, and remake about how kind she was when they were younger. I’d also have him say she wrote him everyday when he wasn’t in paris and she never liked talking about school. I’d also make it apparent that her cutesy nature with Adrien isn't fake and that’s how she’d always been with him. I’d also have times where Chloe says no for Adrien on things she knows he doesn’t want to do (like he gets invited to something that involves a thing he’s afraid of and knowing he’d go she acts like its beneath him to do). I’d also have her crush being somewhat protective like her saying that she’ll only accept someone else dating Adrien if they’re good enough for him.

I’d also have her relationship with Sabrina similar only make Sabrina a little crueler on her own. But I’d have her agree with Adrien that Chloe has more to her than everyone thinks. My backstory being that during a time when Adrien was away but before Sabrina Chloe herself got used by kids who wanted to take advantage of her position instead of crying she chose to be mean taking the kids down a peg and vowing to not let others get the advantage of her. (Also her father didn’t help in her spoils nature but still)

I’d also have her being a long time fan of super heroes not always for the right reasons but a fan all the same and use this as a means of her and Alya not getting along.

All in all I’d want Chloe to be mean and bitchy for a reason not just a sometimes obstacle for Marinette.

Queen Bee

As Queen Bee Chloe is much more honest with herself, she still has some attitude but she excitable and eager to prove herself to Ladybug who she idolizes for being like her favorite heroes as a kid. With Ladybug she’s definitely a side kick sometimes to her determinate ignoring her own intuition. And with Chat Noir they have a more relaxed friendly nature with the two feeling an odd ease around each other. Like they’ve been friends all their lives and you can see this is how Chloe and Adrien would be if she were more honest. She also gets along so better with Rena and Carapace than Alya and Nino

Master Fuu

This guy needs such an overhaul I mean honestly if i were writing this I wouldn’t even have a guardian the kwamiis would just be chaotic objects of chance. But we got him so I’d make him far more mysterious I wouldn’t have him interacting directly with Marinette and I wouldn't make him the last just one sent to Paris to find the peacock and butterfly miraculous as they had been lost ages ago. I’d have him meet both Marinette and Adrien but have them not know who he is, just a kind old man who gives good advice. I’d also have him be the only one giving out miraculouses and keep all identities secret. Eventually he’d reveal himself to the main pair but it’d be more equal.

Changes to kawmi

So heres my hot take there should only be 7 active, the ladybug, cat, butterfly, peacock, fox, bee and turtle. Theres just too many we loose focus I’m not saying we shouldn't have more heroes but they’d be more minor recurring like they’re in two for the day or something type deal. The zodiac ones also act too much like dues ex for my tastes.

Another change would be the time uses, it’d go like this:

Ladybug and Cat those two can be used multiple times a day this is what makes them so powerful amount other things

Butterfly, Peacock, Bee, Fox and Turtle can only be used once a day or a week this being why we dont have Rena, Cara and Queen in every ep after their intros they have to be sure they’re needed.

(If we NEED the zodiac ones they can only be used less frequently making them more careful in choice)

Another thing is that while Tikki and Flagg have been approved for use the rest have to be activated by Master Fuu theres like a guardian magic thing that makes it so they can only be in stand by unless summoned by Fuu or Ladybugs Lucky Charm.

Another thing is that they can’t like psychically can’t reveal their identities while in hero form and if they transform or de-transform in front of others they will no longer be able to use the miraculous. Adding in further drama as even if they wanted to tell each other the truth they couldn’t.

I think these changes would make the story far more engaging and more definitive in rules.

Luka

His overall personality and role would be the same but he’d be more direct with Marinette none of this I’ll wait for you stuff he’d make his feelings apparent but would be open to other options if they come around and he’ll tell Marinette so. He also wouldn’t be very close to Adrien what I mean is he’d be nice to him but he’d be one of the few people who sees through Adriens mask and call him out not in a mean way but a like “you cant please everyone” and “you’re gonna hurt people like that” way. His main thing would be getting Marinette to not overthink and gain some confidence.

Kagami

Hers would be similar but less um stereotypical. She’d still be Adriens fencing rival with a crush on him, but like Luka she’d be more direct with Adrien with little interest in him acting nice. Stating things like she doesn't want to be his friend. She also would not befriend Marinette my Kagami wouldn’t have problems making friends she is just very hard to be friends with because of her personality, and finds Marinette’s wishy washy nature annoying. Kigali wouldn’t be cruel to her but she wouldn’t go out of her way for her. Overall Kagami would be stoic, sincere, straight forward, competitive and blunt. Her main thing would be to get Adrien to be more honest with his wants and putting himself first.

Class Changes

One thing that has always and will continue to annoy me about Marinette and Adriens class is how they’re all friends with each other, have these writers been to school????? Like I’m not saying they should be nasty but like they should just have different levels of caring. Not all the girls should be siding with Marinette all the time have one or two like Alix or Juleka being annoyed with her and Alya’s “plans” to get the two together (alix cause she’s seen this episode before and dense want to hear it and Juleka cause of her brothers feelings and Marinette not giving him a clear answer). Have one or two of the guys being annoyed with Adriens “Mr perfect” persona, again not overtly mean just don't get along. Like I’m not looking to make them antagonistic but just i think its weird that Chloe is the ONLY one who cant get along with everyone. Cause it’s just not possible especially with teenagers.

Change to Audrey Bourgeois & Mayura

Ok this is the big one and it might seem small but it changes things fundamentally Audery can’t stand Gabriel but was best friends with Emilie.

In my version Audrey is Gabriels biggest critic and never says away from taking shots at him particularly after Emilie “death”. She always considered him not good enough for someone she considered a sister, and blames him for what happened. Hinting that she may know more than we do.

She would also confess to Chloe that she left Paris out of grief she had so many memories in the city with Emilie that after her sudden death it felt wrong being there. Andre suggested she go on a trip to clear her head a few weeks, turned into a few months, turned into a few years as she avoided thinking about the loss. Of course a causality of this avoidance meant avoiding her daughter as well. She came back after Gabriel gave her a cryptic message and now is where this get interesting.

We start with Natlalie using the peacock miraculous but when Gabriel says this is too much for her and she wont use it anymore he means it. He brings Audrey into the fold showing her Emilie and asking for her help, thus she becomes Mayura.

As Mayura she’s very snide and snippy with Hawkmoth and often questions his plans and methods. She also notes Natalie’s growing feelings for Gabriel and remarks that she’s putting her life on the line for Emilie and insinuating that maybe he doesn’t love Emilie as much as he thought. An insinuation Gabriel doesn’t care for.

Anyway thats how i’d changed the characters, and powers for a more solid show in my opinion, I got no idea for plot cause I got no clue what they are doing. But I think this set up would yield better results regardless.

[wowweeharrystyles]

Part 1 | Kindness & The Perfect Fit | 9.2k words

‘Sequins & Zippers’ Summary: An internship with Harry Lambert transformed into a job of a lifetime - Aurora Del Gatto finds herself touring the world with the one & only Harry Styles as his ‘Head of Wardrobe.’ Aurora is nothing but nerves & excitement as she packs her bags & almost 100 custom designer suits that belong to an unbelievably kind rockstar. She never thought she’d fall in love on top of it all.

A/N: So here’s part 1 of Sequins & Zippers. A MASSIVE shoutout to @niallhoranapologist​. If it weren’t for Gwen I probably wouldn’t have continued to work on this story. Thanks for always helping me brainstorm ideas, listen to me talk about these fictional characters all the time & for continuously supporting my writing. you da best. 

“Ugg, this is useless,” Aurora groans as she throws the t shirt she had in hand across the room. Aurora has been attempting to pack her suitcase for hours now. “How the hell am I supposed to pack 4 months worth of clothes in a single suitcase?” she whispers in defeat to herself.

“Rory? Everything alright?” Aurora’s mother calls from the other room. Rory is the nickname her mom gave her when she was only a baby. Her mother walks into her room and sees the frustrated look on her daughter’s face. 

“25 countries? The weather is gonna be different in every freaking country,” Rory lets out a frustrated sigh, falling onto her bed. “I can barely pack properly for a weekend trip.” 

“Hey, you’re thinking too hard and overwhelming yourself,” her mother says softly as she sits on the bed next to her. She places a hand on her shoulder, “Let me help. We’ll figure it out.” 

Aurora is currently trying to pack for her new job. After the craziest year she’s ever had, packed with graduating college, moving to London to work with one of the most well-known stylists in the fashion industry and having the time of her life doing what she loves most, she was offered a career-altering job for the next 4 months. Never did Aurora think she would be sitting in her room back home in a small suburb of New York surrounded by cardboard boxes labeled with things like: “NYC Apartment - kitchen,” “London - winter clothes,” “School things,” “London Flat - bedding,” “I have no idea, from london.” Organized Chaos explained her life best right now. 

“Rory, sweetie, where’s your list?” her mother asks, looking around to locate the papers she’s been carrying around for the past week that’s covered in scribbled notes, lists upon lists and small sketches here and there. “Should’ve really been keeping that stuff in a journal or something.” She finds the papers scattered on Aurora’s desk and a few laid on top of boxes. “Probably wouldn’t be so overwhelmed if you could be a little bit more organized,” her mother sighs gathering the papers into a stack, tapping the bottom edges on the desk to line them up. “You’re normally so much more organized,” her mother continues before pressing a kiss to Aurora’s hair. 

“It’s a lot, Mom. I don’t know where to start.” She stands up from her bed and grabs her phone as it dings, indicating she’s received an email. “Finally!” she exclaims with a sigh of relief. “Harry’s just sent me my official itinerary and all of my flight info.”

“Harry Styles himself emailed you your travel plans?” her mother asks in disbelief. 

“No, mom, Lambert. Harry Lambert, my boss.”

“Oh yeah, of course,” she laughs lightly, “How many mix ups has there been with that name?” 

Aurora’s new job is ‘Head of Wardrobe’ for Harry Styles’ Arena World Tour. In all honesty, she has no idea how she got here. Well she does, but it still doesn’t feel real. Lambert’s original hire for the tour ended up needing to stay in London to help him with his styling work there and she was next in line, but she still isn’t too sure how she got this lucky. The past year happened so fast and it was one opportunity after another that landed her here. She’s barely had a moment to breathe after the holidays and some small jobs here and there to keep her busy. Last January, just over a year ago, Aurora traveled to London for a six week menswear design course at Central Saint Martins for some extra credits before her final semester of college. During this course, she was lucky enough to met Harry Lambert. After he saw her collection of work from the past few years, what her thesis plans were and what she had been working on during the CSM course he kept her information on file for the future. When Aurora left london at the end of the course she had no idea if she would ever hear from Harry Lambert again, but around mid march she received an email from him about an internship position he needed to fill and thought she would be perfect for. Starting the internship in NYC before she even graduated, May was a whirlwind and was the perfect indication on how the rest of her year would be. She moved to London in June and was put to work without a second to spare. 

“Okay, so here’s what we’re gonna do,” Aurora’s mother starts before launching into a detailed plan on how they’re both gonna tackle packing up Aurora’s life for the next 4 months on the road, traveling. They’ve got barely 3 days until her flight leaves for London.

Nearly 4 hours later and they’ve organized Aurora’s room. Unpacking the appropriate boxes, written a new packing list, and they’ve also written a shopping list. They’ve got organized piles surrounding them. Again, Organized Chaos best describes Aurora’s life, always. 

“Oh, what about that long pleated skirt you made last year? The emerald green one? You definitely need to take that.” Aurora’s eyes lit up at the idea. She loved that skirt, it was versatile enough that she could pair with heels or sneakers. Versatile pieces were key to packing she found out quickly. Her mom reaches into her closet and searches for it. “Probably at the back, haven’t worn it in awhile,” she motions towards her closet while sorting through the box of her bags, making decisions on which ones she’ll need with her. 

“Oh gosh, Rory, look what I found,” her mom emerges from the closet with a handful of rolled up posters. 

Aurora goes bright red knowing exactly what is on those posters. “Oh no. I kept those?” her mom sets them down on the floor but keeps one to unroll. Once the tape is off and her mom has got it flat, she turns it around to face Aurora. It’s a large poster of One Direction from a TigerBeat magazine. Aurora drops her face into her hands. 

“Remember when you couldn’t see a bit of the wall cause of these posters? If I remember right, you liked that blonde one yeah?” her mom laughs, rolling the poster back up. “Maybe you should take one with you and have Harry sign it? He’d get a kick out of it, I’m sure.” 

“Mom!” Aurora whines. “This is my job, my career. I have to be nothing but professional.” 

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a joke or two. Gotta have fun still and honestly, he’d probably think it’s cute.” 

“Mom, it’s embarrassing and I’m gonna be working with him and his team for the next 4 months.” Her mother can see the panic on her face. “I cannot just show up with a One Direction poster.” 

“Ror, I’m just having a bit of fun with you. You need to relax or you’ll just be frustrated and stressed the entire time.” She sets the posters aside and goes to join Aurora on the floor. Placing a hand on her cheek, “Baby girl, my baby girl, promise me you’ll have some fun? This is a chance of a lifetime and I know you’ll work your butt off and do your job perfectly, but you need to enjoy it too. Okay?” Aurora nods slowly. She knows her mother is right, she always is. 

“Okay,” she says softly giving her mom a weary smile. 

“You’ll be okay, I know you will,” her mom says before leaning in and hugging her daughter. “I’m so proud of you.”

Aurora and her mother continue bustling around her room until the sun sets. By the time there is no daylight left there are 2 large suitcases completely full, all organized and packed with Aurora’s belongings. They spend the next hour packing up Aurora’s rolling caboodle. The large, rollable, sturdy set of drawers and compartments is from Aurora’s days as a competition dancer. It used to carry her stage makeup, extra pairs of tights, accessories and an emergency sewing kit. It was always covered in glitter and there were bobby pins in every nook and cranny, a few stray sets of false eyelashes too. But for the past 4 years, she’s used it for all things sewing and design. She never went to class or the design studio without it. Aurora and her mom empty the drawers and reorganize the contents. They make another list of things they need to pick up at the local sewing store the next day. Aurora pulls out her old sketchbooks and sets them to the side and adds a new clean book to the now empty drawer along with her cases of Micron pens, drawing pencils and prisma coloured pencils. 

Aurora continues to organize each little compartment as her mother prints out small labels and adds them to the section dividers. Aurora loves to be overly organized and have everything in its place. It keeps her calm and stops her from getting overwhelmed in stressful situations. There’s nothing she hates more than being backstage at a fashion show and needing a simple needle and thread to fix a small seam quickly and having to dig through the drawers to find what she needs. Backstage life, anywhere, fashion shows, dance competitions, or even a world tour, can be stressful if you’re not prepared properly. 

“Oh, keep the box of sequins and swarovski crystals in there. I actually might need them.” Aurora finishes the sentence with a giggle as she’s setting her scissors in their respective home. 

“Really?” her mom laughs too. 

“Yeah, some of the looks for this tour are actually pretty sparkly. You never would’ve thought. I actually might have to bedazzle a few things on the road.” 

“You’re home!” her mother sing-songs. They both laugh again thinking about the countless hours they spent bedazzling dance costumes with 100’s of crystals. 

After saying goodbye to her parents through a continuous flow of tears, Aurora got on an 8 hour flight. She kept herself busy on the flight to occupy her mind and stop her from overthinking or panicking about the next 4 months ahead of her. She landed in London on the 3rd of March, just a few days till she’d be back at this exact airport with the same luggage plus a few crates labeled ‘Wardrobe’ that she’d also have to care for. She made her way to the Air B’N’B that had been set up for her for the next few days and headed straight to bed. One thing Aurora, jokingly, prides herself on is the ability to sleep anywhere at anytime. 

When the morning rolls around and her alarm wakes her, she’s preparing herself a cup of coffee when her phone rings. She notices Lambert’s ID on the screen. She answers and they exchange good mornings before he asks her about her travels from the day before. 

“Okay, so, I’m sending a car to where you’re staying in about an hour to bring you to the arena.”

“Arena? I thought we were meeting at your studio?” 

“Oh no, change of plans, sorry should have mentioned that in an email. Harry is in full rehearsal mode and everything for the tour is at the mock stage space at Wembley Arena. They’ve just finished the final tech rehearsals and Harry will be there today to start running the show,” Lambert continues. The new knowledge of Harry Styles being there on her first day makes Aurora jittery, small butterflies erupting in her stomach. She’s met Harry before. They’re friendly, but she was only just Lambert’s shadow anytime they were together. He was sweet and kind, just as everyone always says, but she was still a tad nervous. She will be with him almost everyday, on her own, without Lambert there to be a buffer. Aurora tended to be a nervous person, especially if she doesn’t know someone all that well. She can keep her nerves at bay and save a proper panic for after the situation ends most times, which is the best she can do right now. It’s something she’s working on. It’s what she hates most about herself, not being able to keep her nerves in check. 

“Oh yeah, makes sense,” Aurora responds, surprisingly with no jitters evident in her voice. 

“Great, I can have the run of show lookbook all put together for you when you arrive and we’ll go through it and make notes.” “Do you mind if I actually set it up when I get there? I would feel much better and more settled doing it myself as we do a walkthrough of the wardrobe.” 

“Of course, Aurora, whatever you think will work best for you.” 

She thanks him and they end the phone call after confirming the time and car that will be picking her up. She finishes off her coffee and heads to the living room where she left her suitcases last night. One of the large suitcases was lying on the ground, opened, exactly where Aurora left it last night. She ruffles through the contents of her suitcase, moving around different packing cubes until she finds the cube that contains her favourite black jeans. She locates a creme hooded knit sweater and some clean undergarments. She pops into the shower and continues to bustle around the small flat getting ready. At some point she turns on some music to distract her mind. There’s an airy feeling in the flat, the sun shining in london for a change and it calms Aurora down despite the nerves running through her veins. Aurora checks her watch, 10 minutes until her car is due to pick her up. She slides on her all white leather court sneakers and laces them up, tucking in the excess laces for a clean finish. She grabs her black bomber jacket and slips her arms in, then pulls out the hood from her sweater so it lays comfortably on the outside of the jacket’s collar. She takes a quick look in the full body mirror that leans up against the white brick wall across from the large, unmade bed. She’s reminded by the reflection in her mirror to text her mother and thank her for convincing her to pack her favourite clothes instead of all her fancy stuff. She looks put together but is still extremely comfortable, prepared for anything today has to offer her. 

There’s a short honk from the street in front of the building. Aurora grabs her rolling caboodle and her purse before rushing out the door to meet the driver. 

20 minutes later she finds herself stepping out of the car and thanking the driver for holding the door. He grabs her caboodle from the trunk and hands it to Aurora and wishing her well and to have a nice day. Harry Lambert greets her at the door giving her a big hug and exclaiming about how excited he is to have her there. He takes her an office where the tour manager, Michael is set up. The office is busy with several people working at desks on laptops and people taking phone calls. Lambert introduces Aurora to the team and gets her set up with her tour pass and all the nitty gritty stuff. Within half an hour she’s all set for tour and has her new lanyard tied to her on a belt loop. They walk through the never ending halls plastered with signs that state “Treat People With Kindness” and Aurora smiles everytime she sees another. Lambert points out different places, important notes posted on bulletin boards and casually introduces her to people as they quickly pass. 

Everyone seems to be on a mission, darting in and out of rooms and talking on headsets. It’s a busy atmosphere but nobody seems stressed or upset. Aurora appreciates the hustle that everyone seems to have. There’s smiles and high fives passed between crew members and coffees getting pass along. Lambert points out where Harry’ band’s dressing room is and then Harry’s as well. Harry’s reads “Hershel” on the sign that sticks out from the wall. 

“Hershel?” Lambert chuckles when he sees the confused look on her face. 

“Yeah, Jeff, his manager, you’ve met him, calls him Hershel 95% of the time.” She nods along with a smile. After making their way through a few more halls they reach a larger dressing room. “Okay, so here’s our space for the week.” Aurora rolls her caboodle and sets it against the wall near the door for now and sets her purse down on an empty space on the counter that lines one of the shorter walls. On the wall directly across from the doorway there are 3 large black cases that stand about 6 feet tall, opened and filled with garment bags. 

“Is everything here already?” Aurora makes her way towards the case farthest left. 

“Hopefully!” Lambert picks up a large binder that’s sitting on the table across from a small leather couch. “That’s where we’re starting. Checking through each night’s look and making sure it’s all here.” She takes the binder that Lambert has handed her and opens it up to the first page.” 

“Oh wow. I almost forgot how beautiful these suits are.” Towards the end of her internship in London, Lambert let her help him pick some options for the tour. She thumbs through the book quickly to get a glimpse of the beautiful designer suits. She notices quite a few of her favourites made the cut. The 2 of them sit down and devise a plan to best get through this large task of double checking the 60 looks in front of them. They’re about ¾ the way through around 1pm when they mutually decide to take a break and grab some lunch before they power through the rest of the wardrobe. After meeting more members of the crew and grabbing another cup of coffee, Lambert and Aurora make their way back to their dressing room. 

“Hey, let’s go take a look at the stage,” Lambert said as he made a sharp turn in the opposite direction of the room they’ve been working in. “I haven’t seen the final setup yet.” 

“Oh, I’d love that!” Aurora’s face lights up at the idea. They enter from the back of the stage. The stage itself is fully constructed but the light trees are currently hanging low to the ground and crew members are working carefully to change the direction, colour or size of each bulb. Lambert excuses himself as he takes a call, telling Aurora he’ll meet her back in the dressing room in 15 minutes. Aurora continues the theme from today and introduces herself to the stage crew. “Mind if I check out the stage?” she asks Jack, one of the crew members who introduced himself as the Stage Manager. 

“Go ahead, just keep an eye out, we haven’t cleaned up much.” She nods and smiles while walking up the metal steps at the side of the stage. She takes careful steps as she steps to center stage. She looks out into the empty arena. The lights are low and the noise from the powertools is echoing through the arena. 

Though there isn’t any music, the stage lights aren’t shining, and she isn’t in one of her rhinestoned costumes, she still feels at home standing center stage. The nerves she’s been holding on to all morning wash away as she takes a deep breath. Her eyes flutter shut for a moment and she remembers the last time she performed on a stage like this one. It was her senior year of high school at nationals in New York City. It was her farewell to her dance career. A smile starts to grow on her face, the nerves from this morning, the the whole trip to get here, completely washed away now. 

“Oi!” a voice booms through the air, making Aurora jump and she searches for where it came from. She turns around, her hair following her as she turns. Her hair continues to follow her movement, falling in front of her face a bit but she can still make out the face the voice comes from. “What’re you doing on my stage?” She’s met with a smiley, broad shouldered Harry Styles. He’s got his hands in the pockets of the tartan trousers he’s wearing. The strong feeling of embarrassment brings heat to her cheeks as she looks down at the black and white vans he’s sporting. 

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry, I-,” she starts rambling apologies. She watches his vans take a few steps closer to her. Aurora’s fumbling with her hands, a nervous tick of hers. “-I was told, told, I could, could, check out the stage,” she’s stuttering over her words and pointing in the direction of Jack. She finally stops talking when she meets Harry’s eyes. He’s still beaming and her stomach drops at the fact that he’s enjoying this situation. His confidence paints an incredible stark difference from her mumbling nervousness. Her brain is a bit fuzzy right now but that doesn’t stop her from noticing the way his eyes sparkle. 

“I’m only joking, love” he says as he pulls his hands out of his pockets with a chuckle. “The stage suits you.” 

“I’m sorry,” Aurora offers again. “I’m-” She’s reaching her hand out when he cuts off her introduction.

“Love, we’ve met. How could I forget you, Aurora.” She’s startled a bit when her name comes out of his mouth. “Ya fixed the hole in my pink jacket, remember?” He’s stepping closer to her and before she’s able to process what’s happening he’s wrapped his arms around her torso, his tattooed arm rubbing her back briefly before pulling away. 

A small laugh leaves her mouth, “I remember, didn’t think you would is all.” Her voice is soft and trails off towards the end of her sentence. 

“Not got much a reputation then if I’ve got people that work with me thinking I’ll forget them.” He lets out a soft chuckle and his smile elicits a dimple on his cheek. 

“No, no, you’ve got a much better reputation than that, promise. You must meet a lot of people day to day is all.” Aurora is calming down, now, realizing that there is no reason for her to be so nervous around him. She’s interacted with him before, this shouldn’t be so jarring to her. Though this time is different. She wouldn’t be working behind Lambert or running errands. She’ll be with Harry just about everyday and she terrified she’ll never be comfortable, always anxiety ridden. Although his life is much different from hers, she’ll be getting a real taste of it and they’re close in age. They’re bound to find something in common. Right?. There’s a bit of silence before Aurora speaks up. “Well, your suits aren’t gonna organize themselves. I better go find Lambert.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t let me stop you from your work.” Aurora nods. She excuses herself as she makes a comment about how she thinks the stage looks great so far. Just after she’s walked past him she feels him grab her hand. “I’m excited to have ya on tour with us, love. Happy to have you making sure I sparkle just right on this stage.” He’s let go of her hand and presents his arms out to the sides as he mentions the stage. 

She’s beaming back at him. “Packed extra rhinestones just for you.” She’s almost skipping down the stairs after that. A weight of relief falling from her shoulders in a light sigh.  First, interaction with Harry? Check. She finds her way back to the room she’d been working in all morning. She settles down on the couch again, pulling the large binder into her lap. She jots down a few notes and adds to the ever growing list of things that need to be done. She stands up and walks over to one of the open wardrobe cases. She’s sliding hangers across the rack before she gets to the next look. Aurora takes the hanger off the rack. The sleek black hanger is labeled Yves Saint Laurent and an emerald green sequined button down shirt hangs off of it. There’s a pair of black straight leg trousers folded over the hanger as well. Aurora carries the ensemble across the room and hangs it on one of the vanity bulbs that sticks out from the light bulb framed mirror. She fixes the collar so it’s sitting straight. She takes a step back with one hand on her hip and another on her chin. 

“What’re you thinking?” Lambert asks when he sees Aurora’s furrowed brow. She hums, still processing her thoughts. 

“You know Michael Jackson’s black sequin jacket? The one he wore when he did the moonwalk for the first time?” He nods, following along. “Think we could play with that idea. What if Harry wore this open, with the Calvin tank?” In the small section of a wardrobe they’ve already gone through is a slew of clothing articles that will be used for multiple shows. The Calvin tank she’s referencing is one that will be, in Aurora’s opinion, an iconic, staple for the entire tour. It’s a simple white ribbed tank but on the left side, “Treat People With Kindness” is embroidered in black. “It’d be closer to Michael’s ‘Billie Jean’ performance in Munich that same year, but it’s the iconic sequin jacket that will sell it.”  

“You really know your stuff huh?” Lambert chuckles, impressed by her knowledge and the way her brain works. Lambert walks away and grabs the tank from the rack and brings it back to Aurora. 

A smile creeps onto Aurora’s face. “My mom loves Michael Jackson. Loves him like everyone loves Harry. I grew up dancing around the house to his music.” She takes the tank from Lambert after he slides it off the hanger. She’s quick to unbutton the YSL shirt in excitement but does it as carefully as possible. She hangs the tank under the shirt, turning it into a overshirt now. The smile on her face is growing. She’s in her element, doing exactly what she’s always wanted to do. Lambert places a hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze. A silent approval. Aurora walks back to the table and writes down their decision for this look in the notebook she’s been working with. They go through a few more suits and make a note that they’ll need an extra white button down from Gucci. Lambert is sending Aurora there sometime this week to pick a few more things up that are getting finished and some extra shoes for Harry as well. Lambert says Harry likes to wear his shoes to dust and that Aurora will have to make sure he doesn’t go on stage with holes in his shoes cause he will, especially his rainbow loafers.  They finish going through the rest of the suits before calling it a day. Lambert fills her in on the next few day’s timeline to prepare her for the week. Aurora leaves the arena feeling like her heart could burst. She couldn’t have imagined a better first day at her new job. Aurora heads to bed early, after she orders a Domino’s Pizza, to rest up for the days ahead and beat the jet lag that’s bound to hit her in the next few days. 

When she gets to Wembley the next morning, Aurora grabs a coffee from craft services and says hello to a few people she recognizes from yesterday. She’s thankful that everyone has a lot to get done and people are jutting off to their own areas to get to work. Aurora would be lying to herself if she didn’t acknowledge that she’s a bit overwhelmed by all of the new faces. She knows faces will become familiar as time goes on but right now she’s content with her coffee and knowing that she’s walking to a room to work on her own for awhile. 

When she finds herself in the familiar green room she sets herself up for the day. Aurora pulls her laptop out of her leather bag and presses play on her current spotify playlist. She likes working alone, but not in silence. After collecting her notebook from yesterday and the envelope of images that Lambert left for her she sits down and starts putting together the final look book for tour. She’s organizing the book by tour dates, making a section for each city. 

“Basel, Switzerland” is written on the top of the 1st page in bold all capital letters. Aurora tapes an image of the black glittered Gucci suit that Harry will wear for the opening night of his world tour. She copies any notes she made about this look from yesterday onto the space underneath the photo. After she’s finished the page for Switzerland she goes to the large cases and pulls the black glittered Gucci suit to the empty rolling rack that she set up yesterday. Each of the traveling cases will need to be organized by date to make traveling and set up easier throughout the tour. She continues this process for the next 2 hours. Once her coffee is empty at the end of the 2 hours she has almost 6 cities complete. Aurora takes her empty coffee cup as a sign for her to take a break. Before leaving the room to get more coffee she checks her phone. There’s a few notifications, emails from lists she keeps forgetting to unsubscribe to and a string of texts from her mother. She laughs at the first text - “I know you’re probably fine, but you’re in a different country and I need to hear your voice to make sure you’re still alive and it’s not some kidnapper texting me back” - then another text about 20 mins after that one reads “I love you, I know you’re busy, but please call me” and the last one delivered just a few minutes ago, “I’m your mother, it’s my job to worry.” Aurora shakes her head and feels a bit guilty because she hasn’t texted her mom as much as she probably should have and before knocking out last night she texted her back apologizing for not calling after her first day and that she was just too exhausted. 

Her mom doesn’t answer and is greeted with an automatic voicemail greeting, “Classic,” she chuckles as she hangs up without leaving a message. She shakes her head, standing in the doorway as she sends off a text saying she’s taking a break and to call her back, adding a “I’m good, everything’s amazing! Just calling to chat” as she always does so her mother doesn’t worry any more than she is. As she finishes the texts she mumbled a bit to herself about how her mother is always worrying but never picks up her dang phone. It isn’t until a familiar voice rings through the hallway that she realises she was mumbling quite clearly. 

“Sorry, everything alright, love?” Harry’s distinct voice travels closer to her as she looks up from her phone to him. She’s made her way into the arena hallway completely now. There’s a small furrow in his brow but a slight grin on his face. 

“Ah yeah, didn’t realise I was talking out loud.” She holds her phone up, “You know mothers, always worrying but never actually answering their phone when you call.” Harry laughs, his shoulders shaking. “She sent me this string of texts about being worried and 2 minutes later doesn’t pick up when I call her.” She sighs before sliding her phone into the pocket of the track jacket she’s got on today. 

“My mum does the same. Always saying we don’t talk enough or that she misses me and when I do get the chance she’ll text me back saying she’s out with friends drinking wine or s’thing like that.” Aurora laughs along with him. When she takes a proper look at him she notices he’s wearing black adidas joggers today with a white t shirt and a black nike jacket. 

“Looks like we both had the same idea when we got ready this morning,” she continues to laugh while gesturing between to two of them. They’re dressed almost identical right down to the white sneakers. Aurora’s got on her favourite black lululemon leggings instead of joggers but her tshirt and track jacket look just the same as Harry’s. Harry takes a good look at what he’s got on and back to Aurora and his eyes begin to crinkle and his nose scrunches up before he’s laughing. The laugh is almost a giggle and Aurora has to hold back from flashing him the most endearing smile. 

“Guess it’s a good thing that my Head of Wardrobe and I match. Must mean I’ve got the right person taking care of my clothing then.” He swings his arm around her shoulder before asking if she’s got a minute to grab a snack. 

“Probably should eat and I definitely need some more coffee,” she replies with a smile and shoves her hands into the pockets of her jacket not knowing what to do with them. There’s something about Harry, it’s that thing that people always talk about, his ease around everyone, the way he makes you feel like you’ve known each other forever. His kind demeanor relaxes Aurora and she’s sure this is how he makes everyone feel. Harry starts to go on about different things that are happening around the arena as they walk to the green room, pointing out different people and what they’re working on. Harry doesn’t know this, but the more Aurora knows about her surroundings and the things people are doing, the more comfortable she feels. Aurora likes knowing what’s going on. She knows it’s got something to do with wanting control over as much as she can but she also knows that there is so much going on that she can’t control anything and she especially knows that it isn’t her job. But knowing is good for her. Just as they turn the corner to the green room her phone rings. She pulls it out of her pocket and “Mother” with a pink heart is flashing on her screen. She shows the phone to Harry and she slides out from under his arm. “Rain check on the snacks?” she offers him before answering the call. She smiles as he shoots her a grin and voices an ‘of course’ before he turns around and goes back the way they had came. She questions his actions for a moment before saying hello to her mother. 

Aurora pulls out her notebook while she’s in the car the next morning to review what she needs to get done today. Written in red, at the top of the page under today’s date is: final fitting with Harry @ 12pm. She’s excited to get some of the newer pieces on him and finally have all the looks together. She’s nervous too. Lambert won’t be there again today or barely at all the rest of the week, her part time buffer ripped away sooner than expected. She knows there’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just Harry. ‘Just Harry,’ she continues to mumble under her breath. 

“Miss Del Gatto, we’ve arrived,” Steven, her driver, who she’s come accustomed to after the past few rides, announces. Aurora looks out the window and sees the Gucci store front. 

“Thanks, Steven. I’ll only be a few minutes.” She smiles at him before stepping out of the car. She got dressed this morning in slightly more put together outfit that she had on yesterday, knowing she had to stop into a few stores on her way in to pick up some pieces that were still missing. Her black chunky heeled leather boots make a clacking sound as she walks towards the entrance. Before she can even reach for the door, she’s welcomed by a man in an all black suit that is welcoming her into the store. 

“Welcome to Gucci.” His voice is deep but bright and welcoming, she thanks him with a smile. 

Once she’s a few more steps into the door she adjusts the small gold airplane necklace that is sitting on the outside of her black turtleneck before speaking up. “I’m here to pick up some shoes for Harry,” she rattles out. A questioned look appears on the man’s face. “Harry Lambert and Styles.” She clarifies. 

“Aurora Del Gatto, yes?” another woman’s voice speaks up from across the store. 

“Uh, y-yes,” she stammers while turning towards the women. 

“I’m Lauren. Nice to meet you, Aurora. Harry told me to be expecting you this morning.” Aurora shakes Lauren’s hand with a smile. Lauren looks like a seasoned pro, her black suit fits her perfectly and her greying hair is pulled up into an elegant low bun. “Go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” she says motioning towards the plush dark purple couches. “Would you like any water or coffee, dear?” 

“Oh, I’m alright actually, thank you.” 

“I’ll be right back with everything.” Aurora nods in acknowledgement while sitting down on the couch. She slides off the lightweight, long, camel coloured coat she’s wearing and drapes it over the couch next to her. She checks her watch to make sure she’s good on time. She’s got to stop at Calvin Klein as well before heading to arena to prep for Harry’s fitting. It’s just gone on 10am, she’s got plenty of time but still anxious at the thought of arriving just before the fitting, not getting a chance to set up. She’s brought back from her thoughts when Lauren returns with 3 shoe boxes in her arms and a garment bag.

“I think there are only 2 pairs of shoes I’m supposed to be picking up,” Aurora questions, “the rainbow loafers and the Spring 18 leather boots.” Lauren’s face lights up in a smile. 

“Yes, those are both here and there’s a pair of sneakers here for you as well.” Aurora’s face reflects exactly what is going through her mind: surprise, shock, and other emotions she couldn’t put words to. Her jaw has dropped and her eyes are wide. “Harry called last night and wanted us to fit you into some Ace Sneakers for the tour.” 

“Lambert said that?” Aurora is confused, giddy and nervous, always nervous. She doesn’t even know how to accept a gift like this. She’d also be lying if she hadn’t been looking at these sneakers forever. 

“No, dear, Harry Styles.” Aurora is beyond caught off guard at this point. 

“I’m sorry, I think there must be a mistake. There’s no reason for Harry to be giving me anything.”

“He specifically called these in for you. I don’t know the details, he just wanted to make sure you walked out with the perfect fit.” She set 2 of the boxes down on a glass table and brought over the 3rd box. “I grabbed the 7.5, I’m normally pretty good at guessing.” 

“Well, you would be right.” Aurora laughs nervously. She slides off her boots in order to avoid the overwhelming thoughts in her head. She’s afraid if she doesn’t keep moving she might go into shock. She’s trying on the sneakers before she speaks up again, “Uhm,” Aurora starts to speak, “Does Harry, uh, do this often? I-I mean, uh call in for gifts?” 

“I wouldn’t say often, but I’ve fulfilled a few of his gifting requests over the past few years. Just a handful though. There really hasn’t been many, if I’m honest.” 

Aurora smiles to herself. She’s still confused about it all but still that same familiar feeling rushes through her when she’s reminded of Harry’s incredible kind demeanor. And before she knew it, she's walking out of Gucci with a smile on her face, a tingle in her fingers, a garment bag and not 2 but 3 boxes of shoes.

She’s setting up one last suit on the tall silver rolling rack before she checks her watch. 11:59. She made great time getting to Wembley after grabbing the pink plaid jacket and custom boots from Calvin Klein. There’s a light knock on the slightly ajar door seconds later. 

“‘Ello, love,” Harry’s voice booms through the small, concrete walled room. Aurora turns towards the door. “All ready!” He exclaims as he makes his way towards her. 

“Hi Harry,” Aurora responds before Harry has a hand at her waist and is placing a light kiss on the top of her cheek. 

“How’s your morning been?” He’s now made his way to the rolling rack she had just filled. 

“Good,” she wants to ask him about the shoes but she doesn’t know how to bring it up. “I did uh- I, I-”

“Can I try this one on?” Harry interrupts, suddenly distracted by the garments he hasn’t seen yet. She’s grabbing her book from the table across the room when she hears the sound of hangers hitting the floor. “Oooff,” there’s a chuckle that follows. “That one’s a bit slippery.” 

“Oh gosh, yeah I need to add some hanger loops to that one,” Aurora sets her book down and rushes over to pick up the fallen garments and hangers. Harry utters a few sorry’s before stepping away. She swears she hears him mumble about being in the way. Once she’s got the fallen garments gathered on the crook of her arm, she grabs a hanger adorn in the pink plaid Calvin suit. “That’s what you get for being so nosy,” she quips at him and hands him the suit. His jaw drops slightly but before he can say a thing Aurora’s speaking again, “Try this one on first, please.” Aurora lingers on the please and shoots him a sweet smile. “There’s a small room through there you can change in.” She turns around after motioning towards the door and sees that Harry already has his trousers down to his ankles. “Orrrr you can change right there.” 

“Oh, don’t wanna make you uncomfortable, darling,” he responds as you quickly turn away, sliding the plaid trousers all the way up and buttoning them just as fast.

“Oh no, you’re fine, don’t wanna be rude is all.” Aurora is flipping through her book finding the section for Stockholm. “The black ribbed tank was on the hanger with the jacket, yeah?” She asks as she skims over the page in front of her. He hums back letting her know it’s there. Aurora lifts up her coffee cup from earlier this morning to her lips, turning around to find Harry fully dressed in the Calvin Klein suit she picked up this morning. She frowns realising there’s no coffee left in her cup. 

“What?” Harry asks, his brows knitted together in concern after seeing the frown on her face. “Does it look that bad?” He’s messing with the way he’s tucked the shirt into the waistband of the trousers. 

Aurora giggles at his frantic hands. “Harry, nothing could look bad on you.” She shakes the empty cup in front of him. “I’m out of coffee.” 

“Well, that frown was badly timed. I’ve got a brand new suit on and that’s the first reaction I get?’ 

“Oh you’ll be fine, rockstar. Plenty of ego pumping in the near future,” Aurora quips backs at him as she makes a circle around him. “They did great with this one,” she’s pulling at the shoulders of the jacket so it sits just right on his broad frame. “How do the trousers feel?” She asks as she smooths down the fabric of the sleeves before rounding back to face Harry straight on. 

“The trousers? Yeah they feel good. Fit perfect, I think.” He’s pulled up the bottom of the jacket and is twisting his hips round. “Wha’ d’ya think?” 

“I think Calvin Klein knows exactly what he’s doing,” she says with a smirk. “Okay, that one’s all set, go ahead and put this one on now.” She hands him another pink jacket, this one velvet with embellishments and it has a Gucci tag on it rather than Calvin Klein. She hands him black trousers with a gold trim as well. “You’ll wear this with a button down but just try with the tank. I just need to make sure all the alterations were done properly.” 

“Did you stop at Gucci this morning? Lambert mentioned you were going,” he asks while handing her the plaid suit he just took off. Aurora busies herself with hanging them up. 

“Yeah. Got your loafers and boots. I also-”

“Oh nooooo, Aurora,” Harry’s voice is panicky. 

“Wha-,” is all she gets out before she sees and hears the beads rolling on the floor. “Ahhh I had a feeling that was going to happen. And THIS is why we try things on 100 times. Wouldn’t want you unraveling on stage.” She runs over to her kit that stands in the corner.

“I’m sorry, not sure what I did,” Harry’s face shows worry like he’s done something wrong. 

“Hun, you didn’t do anything, promise. I think it might have been from the alterations.” Aurora is tying a knot in a piece of thread before walking over to him. “I’m just gonna close this strand up while it’s on you and I’ll re embellish it later.” The piece that’s come undone is on the right shoulder. She slides her hand under the jacket to find the back of the spot she needs to fix. Her hand brushes the skin of his shoulder, reminding her he’s only wear the tank underneath and he flinches. “Sorry, my hands are probably cold. This will only take a second.” 

“S’alright, love.” There’s silence while she focuses on the work in front of her. Once she’s finished she carefully slips a small pair of gold scissors underneath the jacket and cuts the thread and needle she had been working with loose, detaching herself from Harry’s shoulder. “That was quick,” Harry says with a tone of surprise and Aurora thinks she can hear a little bit of disappointment as well. Aurora shrugs her shoulders in response. 

“Could you put on the black version of that jacket for me?” Aurora asks as she grabs a spool of black thread. “Think we might have the same problem with that one too.” She slides the needle she’s threaded with black thread onto the cuff of her sweater so she doesn’t lose it. She helps Harry into the black jacket and hangs up the one he just had on. 

“Aannddd there it is,” Harry says with chuckle as a strand of beads comes loose on his right sleeve. Aurora gets to work on the one on his sleeve as 2 more make themselves known on his back. “So you got my boots and loafers this morning? Up to anything else before I came in and ruined all the garments?” Aurora laughs and moves to his back to take care of the broken pieces there. 

“Uhm picked up that Calvin jacket and your custom boots. Let me tell you, those boots are glorious. The glossed leather with the steel tip will look incredible with your suits. ”

“Oh can I see them when we’re done?”

“‘Course you can!” There’s some silence between them again as she concentrates on the job in front of her. She catches a glimpse of the white gucci bags that are sitting by one of the wardrobe cases and it’s like those new sneakers are burning a hole in her head. It clicks in her head now that he’s been directing the conversation this way trying to get it out of her. “Hey Harry,” she’s met with a hum, “can I ask you about something?” She continues to work on the jacket, keeping her hands busy. She’s thankful that the strand she’s working on is on his back so she doesn’t have to make eye contact with him. 

“‘Course, Aurora.” 

“Uhm, at Gucci this morning, they uh, they fitted me for sneakers,” Harry hums in response, “and um, I-I, um, that was very kind of you.” She’s stuttering through her words. It wasn’t until now that she got a tinge of nervousness. “Y-you didn’t need to do that. Really.” 

“Aurora, I wanted to. And I thought you deserved some new shoes.” She can’t see his face but she can hear the smile that’s formed on his face. “We’ve got a few countries to trek around the next few months.” 

Moments later she’s finished repairing what she can and she’s sliding Harry’s jacket off his shoulders. “Thank you, Harry,” she says finally after the black jacket is hung back on its Gucci hanger on the rolling rack near them. “Seriously, too kind.” 

“No such thing as too kind, Ror,” he quips back and before she can comment on the nickname, he’s talking again. “Now what else do you need me to try on?” 

The afternoon goes by quickly and Harry is patient with her. He stands up straight in each new piece and asks questions about different things she’s making notes of or checking off of her thousands of lists. She checks her watch quickly as she’s making one last note. 

“How is it 3 o’clock already?” Aurora stammers out. “Sorry to take your entire afternoon from you.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Ror.” Harry’s pulling down the hem of his white tshirt he walked in wearing earlier today, “Nice to spend some time with ya and seems like you’ve been able to check a lot off your list.” 

“You probably have a list a mile long of things that need to be done this week too, though,” she rebuttals. “Or do you have someone to take care of those things for you?” she jokes. 

“Oh yeah, don’t remember their name, but I just tell them everything I need done and they do it for me.” The look on Aurora’s face is utter disgust, unable to politely react because she wasn’t expecting that answer.  There was no hint of sarcasm in Harry’s voice. Harry’s face is still and he’s silent for a moment before his nose scrunches up and a giggle erupted from his mouth. “Ror, I’m totally kidding.” He’s placed a hand on her shoulder now, rubbing his thumb soothingly. 

“Harry,” she’s giggling along now too, “you had me for a second.” 

Harry thanks her for her work and the time spent together today and leaves only after giving her a hug and a short kiss on her cheek. 

The next few days are spent hand stitching gold and silver beads onto those 2 Gucci jackets, labeling every single piece of the wardrobe and then organizing the giant crates for the travel managers to take and get ready to fly. She walks through all of the wardrobes multiple time and completes fittings with all of Harry’s band members as well. Brief 1 hour time frames are scheduled with each of them, Clare, Sarah, Adam and Mitch. Lambert pops in to make sure the final fittings went well and pays complements to Aurora’s new sneakers she’s sporting with a knowing look on his face. 

There’s one day left till the first tour stop and the arena is just about empty. The stage is packed up, the wardrobe crates have been taken from Aurora and the number of people in the arena is starting to dwindle down. Since everything is already loaded on a truck making its way to the airport Aurora didn’t have much to do today but she kept herself busy at the apartment she’s been at all week for the majority of the morning. She’s repacked multiple times getting everything to fit perfectly, almost committing the perfect folding techniques and order of adding things to her suitcase to memory. Everyone is to arrive at the airport early the next morning but Harry has arranged for a group lunch at the arena for one last collective meeting before the tour starts.

Aurora arrives a few minutes early to the lunch and says hello to a few crew members she’s gotten to know. Lambert is there too - seems that Harry has invited anyone who has helped with the prep of the tour regardless if they’re coming along or not. She also meets a few more new faces like Ayae, Harry’s hair and makeup stylist. She’s new to the tour group and hasn’t been needed for prep so this his her 1st time meeting a lot of the crew too. She sits down with Aurora and Lambert at a table and is engaging in a conversation about this and that when Harry comes up to the table with Jeff. Jeff is a familiar face to Aurora even though she has only interacted with him a few times.  Jeff always seems to be everywhere - Aurora always makes mental acknowledgment about how he is consistently working on something but always is seemingly available to everyone. 

Alicia, a woman probably in her late 30’s, is following Harry and Jeff with a grey rolling cart like you would see in an old cafeteria and it’s filled with large cardboard boxes. Aurora has met Alicia and remembers Lambert introducing her as the Tour Merchandise Manager. 

“Aurora, Ayae, Harry, great to see all of you! Doing alright, I assume?” Jeff asks while rounding the cart and reaching a hand in the box. 

“Got some tour sweatshirts for everyone, treat people with kindness and all that,” Harry adds in, running a hand through his hair. It isn’t until now that Aurora notices the length of his hair. It’s not as short as it was when she first met him but it’s nowhere near the length she remembers him having while still in One Direction. There is one curl that won’t stay back no matter how many times he runs his hand through it to push it back. The lone curl falls against his forehead one last time before he gives up. 

“Oh, very humble of you, Harry,” Ayae says with a chuckle while examining the sweatshirt Alicia had just given her.

It’s a plain black Champion hoodie with 2 small pieces of embroidery, 1 on the left of the chest and the other on the inside of the right arm. Ayae is referring to the large embroidered “Harry” on the chest. Underneath his name is ‘World Tour 2018’. Hah. He’s gotta love this shit. His name written on everything. Clothing, signs, his name is branded everywhere. 

“Heyyyyy,” Harry’s voice is slightly whiny, both of his eyes scrunch up and his brows furrow. The ‘hey’ turns into a giggle and they all laugh along with him. Harry then hands Aurora her sweatshirt. “Here ya go, Ror.” She thanks him softly after taking it from him. 

Post lunch, Harry, Jeff and a few others talk about how excited they are and how successful the prep went all week. The Head Travel Manager, Daniel, reminds everyone to double check their itinerary when they get home tonight and to double, triple, quadruple check they’ve packed everything. Harry yells something about making sure everyone’s got their passport cause “long story short” he forgot his once and it was not a day full of kindness. The large group chuckles at his little antidote before the room begins to clear out and everyone heads home to get ready to travel the next day. 

Thanks for reading !!! Feedback & comments are always welcome !!! 

[whereyoursoulresides]

Without Words II - Our Orbiting Paths, Chapter 1

Summary: In their third life, Kunzite has finally won the heart of Zoisite’s civilian reincarnation, Kozakura Izou. However, as their lives become progressively more intertwined, certain challenges begin to crop up… Between the stresses of work, adjusting to modern expectations, and old familiar faces flashing from the shadows, can Kunzite maintain a meaningful relationship with his partner successfully?

Rating: T+

Characters Featured in Fic: Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite, Naru, Umino

Chapter Summary: It's been a few months of dating now, and Kunzite thinks they're ready to take it to the next step.

AO3 Link Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826732/chapters/68145631#workskin

“Oh, you should’ve seen it, Kunihiro-sama,” the voice was saying over the phone. “Absolutely atrocious, I had never seen anything like it!”

“Hmn,” was all Kunzite said, albeit with a bit of a smile. He didn’t usually have much opinion on the matters of Izou’s latest gossip, but he was happy to hear Izou talk about anything at all. He took another bite of his dinner - plain white rice and grilled salmon. “And then?”

“Oh, I took myself right out of that business,” Izou continued, and Kunzite could just imagine his curls frazzedly waving in exasperation.

“It sounds like you might be out-growing that coffee shop,” was Kunzite’s observation.

Izou huffed over the phone. “Entirely possible. The staff is completely different now. Honestly, Kunihiro-sama, these new girls, sometimes their attitude is just appal- ow! ”

Kunzite quickly pushed some loose grains of rice past his lips. “Mn. Izou? Are you alright?”

There was a little hiss, and then a whine.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Izou answered. “Just a prick, that’s all.” The words came out mumbly as Kunzite could hear him suck on his finger. “Shoot, that smarts!”

Kunzite shook his head fondly. “Be careful,” he chided as he began to clean up the remnants of his dinner. He had about another five minutes of his break left. “Perhaps we shouldn’t chat if you need to concentrate...”

“Mn, oh no!” Izou insisted. The sound of the phone being adjusted to his ear cackled over the receiver. “At any rate, what time are you finishing tonight, Kunihiro-sama?”

“Late,” Kunzite answered. He glanced at the clock. “About midnight, I think.”

“Oh.” Izou sounded disappointed. “It’s been so long…”

It had perhaps only been a week since they'd last seen each other in person, but to both it had felt like an eternity. Between Kunzite’s long and odd working hours at the precinct and Izou’s equally erratic shifts at the coffee shop, it was difficult to set a real date time consistently, and every window of opportunity was never wasted. Although they chatted every night (and occasionally stumbled to work from either other’s homes), it seemed that their craving for the other’s physical presence was only growing exponentially by the day.

“I know,” Kunzite said kindly. He missed Izou too.

Izou seemed to gather up some strength. “Were you able to eat? You’ve mentioned before it’s tricky to get a meal in sometimes…”

Kunzite threw the plastic container out into the garbage under the sink.

“I managed to grab something. Although I must be hanging up soon, Izou…”

“Oh, okay,” Izou said in a rush. “Well, um, maybe I could drop by tomorrow, before my shift? I start late in the afternoon…”

Kunzite smiled. “That’d be lovely. Whatever works for you.”

“Okay.” Izou paused as though to say something pressing, but Kunzite chalked it up to their usual anxieties of never wanting to hang up. “Take care,” he finally said.

Kunzite tilted his head warmly.

“You as well. Chat soon.”

After hanging up the phone, Kunzite finished tidying up the break room and returned to his desk. In one corner stood the small rosebush that Izou had managed to resurrect. It was Kunzite’s pride and joy in the office, a perfect reminder in lieu of their photo from the Dark Kingdom. As he settled himself amongst his papers and computers, he thought briefly of how lucky he was. It was so surreal to think that this was where they - he and Izou -  were now.

In the past few months, Izou’s memories of his third life had rapidly solidified, and it had been fascinating to Kunzite to learn everything about Kozakura Izou. His parents - a concept that Kunzite was still struggling to come to terms with - lived in the countryside, on a small, modest farm. His mother was an artist, and his father was a photographer. Izou himself had moved to Tokyo at age fourteen to better his schooling and career opportunities. In between part time work and school, Izou loved to read, thrift, garden, and shop. His creativity energy would burst into little endeavours - sketches, doodles, collages - and was increasingly weaving into his sense of style and fashion. It wasn’t uncommon for Kunzite to hear a little yelp or hiss over the phone as he had earlier- followed by the endearing dismayed whine - from sewing accidents wherein Izou had stabbed himself at his fingertips. As Kunzite flipped through his briefing updates in his hands, he wondered which project Izou had been working on today, and if he would be seeing it soon.

“Saitou-san.”

Kunzite glanced up to see a younger officer leaning over the corner of his cubicle. He was holding two folders in one hand, while the other was scratching his head under his cap. Behind him, Kunzite caught a glimpse of the civilian as she left the precinct, her dark auburn hair swinging behind her.

“Yes, Kobayashi-san?”

“I just got another statement about the nondescript white van. That makes five so far.”

“No attacks?”

“None, just trailing.” Kobayashi scrunched up his nose. “It’s hard to get an idea though on where to begin. No identifiable markings, and none of the license plates line up. Still seems worth investigating.”

Kunzite’s eyes drifted to the other folder. “And the other case?”

“Mn? Oh. Just another sighting of the cargo truck with the black star. No attacks yet this week, but it’s definitely suspicious.” He looked at Kunzite sheepishly. “I guess you’ll probably want the more exciting one, huh?”

If it was one thing Kunzite knew very well, it was patterns. And he knew what would follow the cargo truck with the black star all too well.

“I’ll take the van,” he said curtly, taking the folder.

The younger officer grinned in excitement, holding the remaining case to his chest.

“Maybe this means I’ll get to meet a Sailor Senshi…!”

“I think you have much more pressing concerns than that,” Kunzite said crossly. He gestured to some of the boxes stacked up at the farthest wall of the precinct. “Why don’t you start setting those up instead.”

Flushing embarrassedly, Kobayashi straightened immediately.

“Yes sir!”

As the younger officer hurried off to set up the precinct’s newest surveillance testing program, Kunzite shook his head. Although he was the senior officer, occasionally Kunzite felt more like an unofficial mother hen than a leader. Quickly, he brushed the thought aside and returned to his paperwork with a sigh.

And when else had he felt like that before…?

---

It had been a long night. While his precinct also technically dealt with thefts, burglaries, and other emergencies, Kunzite found the public-facing aspect of his job far more draining. Although he usually could leave it to the younger officers, the fact remained that most of them still needed guidance and training, which Kunzite had to deliver. By the time he climbed his way up to the top floor of his low-rise apartment, Kunzite’s stomach was rumbling, and he was ready to hit the hay.

However, upon arriving at his door, Kunzite was greeted by a little surprise that woke him right up.

“Izou?”

The young man had been sitting by the door, shrouded in a thick winter jacket with a backpack to his side. Seeing Kunzite, he jumped to his feet. “Kunihiro-sama, welcome home!” It was the biggest grin Kunzite had seen all day.

Despite himself, Kunzite couldn’t help but reflect a slightly confused smile back. He gently laid a hand on the small of Izou’s back. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh, yes,” Izou assured, lifting what looked like a large stack of lunch boxes wrapped in a spring green cloth. “I thought you could use something heartier so late after dinner time,” he said cheerfully. “It’s just some takeout, but…”  His cheeks glowed faintly. “But...I couldn’t wait until tomorrow.”

As Kunzite inserted his key, he had to do his best to keep from growing into a ridiculous grin. Izou was just so sweet and thoughtful.

“You really shouldn’t have,” Kunzite finally said, as the bolt unlocked. Izou glanced up uncertainty.

“Was it too forward of me?” he asked.

Kunzite finally let the fondness of his smile show, and gently nudged Izou into the door.

“Not at all.” I’ve missed you too. “Please. Come in.”

Splitting into a grin, Izou slipped off his shoes and leapt inside. As he got settled and began to unpack the food, Kunzite’s smile faded when he realized how late it truly was. One in the morning, and while his area was safer than Izou’s neighbourhood, the city could still be a very dangerous beast at this hour.

“How long were you waiting for?” he asked as he slid out of his own shoes, watching Izou for any indication of polite refrain.

“Oh, not long,” Izou answered merrily, now plating the food into bowls. He gathered up the paper and plastic and swirled around to throw them into the garbage, not noticing Kunzite’s knitting brows.

“Izou.”

The boy paused for a moment to look up at Kunzite hesitantly. “About an hour,” he answered quickly. “But I knew you might be late so I brought a book, so it’s okay, really.” He then returned to cleaning up and setting the kettle for some tea.

Kunzite glanced down at the key that was still in his hand, and made up his mind. As Izou began undoing the tea tin, Kunzite gently but protectively began to wrap his arms around the younger man’s waist, bringing him close to his chest. Izou was clearly delighted by the closeness and looked over his shoulder to shyly smile at Kunzite.

“The city can be dangerous this late at night,” Kunzite murmured quietly into Izou’s soft hair. “You should be more careful…”

Izou was obviously touched by Kunzite’s concern, and brushed it off. “I’m fine, I can take care of myself,” he insisted. He placed one of his own hands on Kunzite’s forearm. “Don’t worry.”

Of course Kunzite couldn’t help but worry, he’d been worrying about Izou even before he had met him in this life.  

“Maybe you should consider a different place to live,” Kunzite suggested. “Somewhere safer.”

Izou shrugged and began to swirl the tea leaves budding in the hot water. “Maybe once I have a little more money,” he agreed.

It took Kunzite a few moments to consider what his next words were going to be. Eventually, he pulled one arm away from Izou and placed the key, with purpose, onto the counter in Izou’s line of sight.

“I was thinking…” Kunzite mumbled softly, “that maybe you’d like to live with me.”

At first, Izou blinked at the piece of metal on the counter, not entirely sure if he was understanding, or had correctly caught what Kunzite had said. Unawares, Kunzite tightened his hug marginally, hoping that his suggestion wasn’t a step too far.

Slowly Izou turned his head around to look up at him. When Kunzite saw those big, bright and breathless eyes, he knew his fears were unfounded.

“Really?” Izou whispered, almost shyly. “You...think we’re ready for that?”

It was clear by Izou’s exhilarated whisper that he clearly was delighted to think they were, and Kunzite was definitely certain they were. Well, he was also certain because of how well he and Zoisite had lived together in the past… So, surely they were more than ready to move in together by now.

“Absolutely.”

It was clear Izou could hardly believe this turn of events, trying his best to hide the big grin Kunzite could tell was growing on his face. Finally, after rolling his bottom lip between his teeth, Izou beamed and nodded.

“Sure.”

It took nearly all of Kunzite’s willpower to not pick up Izou and swirl him around in his new home. Instead Kunzite simply broke into a smile again, followed by a short, relieved chuckle...Very quickly, the two of them were grinning and flushing together with excitement. Was this it? Were they really ready for this? It was as if both men were suppressing an armory of feeling that they were not yet ready to give words to, and giggling and laughing was the closest way they had to release the tension of mounting exhiliation that they were both trying to restrain.

“I’ll help you move in, the next time you’re free,” Kunzite said earnestly, seeing that he wasn’t alone in wanting to live together as soon as possible.

“I don’t have much stuff,” Izou replied, who couldn’t stop grinning behind his hands. “Although...I don’t have much money for my share of rent...”

“You don’t have to worry about any of that,” Kunzite reassured immediately. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Izou’s eyebrows stitched up together. “But...what about food?” He glanced around. “Utilities…”

“I’ll take care of everything,” Kunzite repeated again, firmly but gently. “I want to share my home with you. I want it to be our home. I’ll get everything ready.”

It was clear Izou couldn’t believe his luck. He was practically dancing into Kunzite’s arms when suddenly realization flickered across his face. Kunzite caught it instantly and his smile disappeared. “What is it?”

Izou didn’t say anything, but green eyes darted over to the bathroom. There was a moment of silence as both of them realized what Izou had just remembered... and Kunzite suddenly felt a bit awkward and unprepared.

“It’s okay,” he insisted, although he knew the memory of it wasn’t exactly pleasant. “Everything’s  been removed, I promise.”

Hesitantly Izou glanced up at Kunzite, and it was clear how conflicted he felt about the situation.

“It’s empty,” Kunzite insisted again. “You can fill it with your things when you move in. Izou’s things.”

This seemed to make Izou feel a bit better, and the smile slowly resurfaced back up a bit. “Well it’s...not like I didn’t like the stuff ,” he mumbled a bit. “I mean, I did like that stuff and I still do like it but...it was just a bit weird seeing it all there ready for you, you know?”

“I understand.” Kunzite gently gave Izou a bit of squeeze.

“Did you really throw it all out though?” Izou asked. “It would’ve been a waste...I suppose I wouldn’t mind using it if you still have it.”

At that, Kunzite paused. He had gotten rid of it from the bathroom, but hadn’t actually thrown the items out…

Izou looked up curiously. “Kunihiro-sama?”

“Truthfully?” Kunzite asked.

“Truthfully,” Izou answered, but the smile on his face gave away that he was going to be okay with whatever Kunzite answered.

“Don’t look in the closet.”

Despite himself, Izou couldn’t help but giggle, and Kunzite’s shoulders released with relief. As Izou tried to hide his laughter behind his hand, Kunzite glanced up at the clock and saw how even later it was getting.

“Let’s eat.” He slowly undid his arms around Izou and lightly grazed Izou’s cheek as he pulled away. “I’ll undress and we’ll have supper.”

“Wait.” Izou took a step forward and placed his hand on Kunztie’s chest to stop him. There was a moment, and Izou’s eyes slowly trailed up from the bottom of Kunzite’s uniform, from its hem to his belt, to finally his eyes. “...Keep them on?”

Kunzite could tell that look anywhere and, hiding a smirk, he obliged. Gathering the food from the counter, the two of them made their way over to the couch to settle in for some cozy dinner. As Izou made himself comfortable nestling in Kunzite’s arms as they flicked the television on, Kunzite couldn't help but relish this humble but incredible moment between them.

Zoisite was finally home.

[fitz1813]

Polymer clay tips from someone who's been experimenting with it for the past three years:

I started with a sculpey brand set so I had a lot of colors to work with, then replaced the ones I needed

Buy colors you use often, like white, in bulk

If you use jump rings for charms or jewelry, get pliers and wire cutters, it's not worth destroying your scissors and fingernails

Use baby wipes to clean your hands and surface

Invest in some tools, but most things you can substitute. I use a sewing needle to cut and make details, a baby knife to cut big chunks, and aluminum foil and not-for-teeth toothbrush to texture.

I did get nail art tools that have little balls on the ends and can double as rolling pins

When making larger objects, fill it with aluminum foil

Turn scrap clay into beads

Don't put polymer clay in airtight containers, it'll become sticky and gross. It's plastic based, not real mud clay

Polymer clay is still squishy right out of the oven. The colder it is immediately after being taken out, the stronger it'll be

Liquid clay is amazing and even if the tiny bottle is expensive, it lasts for a long time

If you coat it in mod podge before it goes in the oven, it gets nice and shiny afterwards, and is a sort of glaze/glue

It doesn't matter how much you think you suck, most people don't know what polymer clay is and will hail you as a supreme deity regardless of skill

Use fimo brand clay to make canes, sculpey is too soft since it's good for kids and beginners and people with weak fingers (I am the latter)

Premo brand clay has good colors and isn't too soft or too hard

Fimo may be hard to squish, but work it between your fingers a bit gradually and it'll get softer

You can buy canes online, they're super cheap

Superglue fixes everything but don't bake it

You can mix clay with glitter, chalk pastels, and some makeup. I haven't tried nail polish but I have a feeling it won't work

Piping tips are a bitch to clean but clean them anyway, you'll thank yourself later

Mix the premo color pearl with any other color and it'll turn sparkly too

It helps to have a sketch beforehand of what you're making, labelled with colors so you know where to start

Start with light colors first, then gradually get darker

If you need to switch back to light after using dark, wipe your hands on those baby wipes

Red, certain greens, and glittery colors are ones you should wipe your hands and surfaces thoroughly after using. No not black so much unless you're switching to a super light color

Mix media!! Paint it, glue it to something else, etc. Art is beautiful in its variety!!

Liquid glue does not disappear when it's finished baking, it comes out white

Try new colors!! They won't bite

When eye pins are too long, cut them down to size and make other smaller ones with the ends you cut off

Don't put your creations on the edge of a shelf... I am speaking from brokenhearted experience

Bead organizing boxes are an excellent way to store your creations

If you suddenly are struck with inspiration, text/email the idea to yourself, write it down, or put it in a notes app

Reference photos are not just for drawing and painting artists

Follow YouTube tutorials and watch their collections and trades because not everything they make comes with a tutorial and you can discover other artists this way

If there isn't a tutorial, picture how the pieces fit together. Three dimensional art is easier for me to puzzle together, so imagine how it comes together. It'll get easier with time as you watch more tutorials, and soon you won't have to

Imitation is the sincerest compliment, or however the saying goes. I copied everything I made when I started out, then gradually had my own ideas. It comes with time

If you copy or heavily draw inspiration from someone else and put pictures of your creation out on the internet, make sure to give credit where it is due

Crochet thread makes for excellent tassels if you make jewelry

Practice practice practice

Take breaks when you need to, especially for your eyes

If you make slabs, lots of people use pasta makers to roll them out flat, but rolling pins are cheaper

Make what you love

If you don't love it, give it away. Most people don't have standards for what they don't know

Don't be discouraged by the talented artists out there. It takes time and money to get that good, and that isn't readily available to many people. Talent is also in short supply

I don't sell on Etsy because I don't want to get sued, but it's a vague future plan. If you want to motivate yourself that way, go for it if you think you're ready. There are plenty of sellers out there who make fabulous creations, and some who are simply average, so don't let a lack of skill deter you

Clay isn't for everyone. I have small hands, which definitely helps, and some people (or fools) just aren't drawn to three dimensional art. If you don't love it, it's okay to move on to something else.

Fancy clay can be bought only online, so I haven't done it, but it looks pretty cool in the pictures

Have a designated area for clay, and keep it generally clean most of the time so wipedowns at the beginning aren't too bad

Your designated area for clay should be one solid, light color so you can see any dirt specks, hairs, etc. that might appear in the middle of your work

Gold foil is pretty cool and can be baked with clay

Read the baking instructions on clay packages

It's ok to mix brands, bake somewhere in the middle if the baking heat is different

Acrylic paint goes well on everything, including polymer clay

Paper clips are bakeable too

Small thin things don't have to be baked for as long

It's okay if you forget about your clay. Once I left mine in the oven for forty minutes and it was fine

Suede brown in sculpey is a pretty lit color

Ecru clay in premo is good for mixing, mix it with white for vanilla cakes

Art is beautiful heck yeahhh

[laceymorganwrites]

Character rant: Kidd

okay so, the biggest hc i have About him and that a lot of People share is that he has a band

 listen, I´m very passionate About this guy having one

 his band is called Stale Rose 

 and he can actually sing decently, I imagine his voice sounding like Corey Taylor´s, the gruffness Kind of fits

 and you can just feel his emotions while he sings, his Anger, his Passion, his loss, his misery

 used to write fun Songs as a teen, but nobody liked them and they didn´t seem Right to him after all the shit he´s seen

 so not only can he sing and writes amazing lyrics, he can also Play the piano, drums, bass and the guitar

 Kidd has anxiety

 he still can´t stand when People look at him, he gets extremely nervous in crowds and with strangers

 his two Solutions to that are:

 either drown himself in alcohol if it´s a sexy, willing stranger

 or beat the shit out of the stranger who looked at him like he was a Monster

 he already knows and hates being reminded of it

 envies Luffy

 wishes he could be as Kind, relaxed and careless as him

 he stole his first ship

if he wasn´t an idiot, him and Shanks would´ve been great Friends

 has to Keep himself busy to avoid getting mad or anxious

 mostly he tinkers on Things, but when they land on a new Island, he also goes around Fixing mechanical Things

 likes to sketch and draw, can´t do it very clean and perfectly, but has developed his own rough style

 not only does he write lyrics, but he also keeps a diary to distract him from his thoughts

 so now to my take on his childhood:

 i think he grew up without a dad and that his mom was an alcoholic prostitute who couldn´t take good care of him and neglected him

 his love for violence came from the guys who beat him and his mother up

 he didn´t hate his mom, just felt sorry for her

 Kidd still feels guilty about leaving home and leaving his mom all alone

 but him and Killer Always dreamed of running away together and in the end they did

 is so grateful to Killer, he saved his life many times and is the reason Kidd listens to

 Kidd had to work hard under a cruel captain who abused his Crew before he could leave and be a captain himself

 he killed the guy actually

 and the reason his apathet is captain is because he wants to Show that asshole what that word really means

 it means taking care of your Crew, Standing up for them, protecting them, trusting them

 Kidd Needs constant reassurance

 not in the way that you´re supposed to tell him that he did a great Job causing an unecessary Massacre, but in the way that you should tell him that he himself is doing great, that he has come far and is a great captain

 he Needs someone to stand up to him, be that Killer or anyone else

 it gets his masochistic side going a bit, since he´s so insecure and others confirm that

 but on the other Hand he really tries to improve and be a better Person and Talking back to him helps Gather different opinions

 he is pansexual

 loves cats, cats are cool

 such a fucking Softie

 has a sweet tooth for chocolate

 loves cuddles, but don´t tell him

 CRADLE HIS HEAD PLEASE

 actually wears make up to remind himself of his mom and that he left her behind because of selfish reasons

 fucking hates the Cold

 he´s such a Baby when it Comes to Cold weather and he´s Always more grumpy on winter Islands

 and finally:

 had an emo Phase and dyed his hair black once, Boy was he glad that it grew back to red.

 the only Thing he likes About himself is his hair

 he can sew and Always mends the clothes of his crewmates

 sews his own clothes too

 sucker for Accessoires 

 Always goes to rusty old Shops to find good ones

 he feels a lot

 meaning he feels Things more intensively than others

 which is why he has such emotional outbursts

 brutally honest, says what´s on his mind when it is

 falls in love too fast

 and he´s naive in that regard too

 see, Kidd´s very insecure so when someone tells him they love him the rational side of him will tell him it´s a lie while the emotional side will tell him it´s true

 and while he knows it´s not true, he just desperately wants to believe it

 that´s why he had so many past relationships with Groupies

 Kidd wants to be in a relationship where he can trust his Partner and is loved by them, he wants someone he can share everything with on an intimate Level, yeah he has Killer, but he wants someone in a romantic sense

 so he´s very lovesick

 but he wants a relationship too because he wants to prove to himself that he is capable of love

 normally Kidd falls in love and it only lasts a week or so

 he wants something that lasts forever

 now, he´s not a fan of marriage, but he would give his Partner some trinket he made to Show everyone that they´re his

 literally worships the old Generation 

 wants to visit all Islands they´ve been on and go to all bars where they drank

 tries to get as much Intel on them as possible

 fanboyed so hard when he met Rayleigh in Shakky´s bar

 not Canon, just something I came up with in something I´ll never post

 contrary to popular belief I think he prefers to stay silent

 he only ever speaks up to someone if they Insult him, his Crew or the old Generation

 cause he rambles a lot and it embarrasses him

 collects wanted posters of his Idols

 that´s why he hates new pirates from his Generation

 they just don´t have guts anymore, they´re just whiny babies who do stupid Things and underestimate everything while overestimating their own strength

 he knows that too well and because he does he hates it so much

 their attitude makes him hate them so much like he hates himself

 can´t stand spicy Food at all

 is a really picky eater

 i like to think he´s vegetarian

 he´s more of a boob guy, likes all boobs no matter whether small or big

 but thinks small ones are really cute

 sex with him is amazing

 wants to make the old Generation proud of him

[unapologeticallyjaylos]

descendants 12 days of holidays: decorations

title: walk walk fashion baby 

rating: cursing maybe? 

pairing: jay x carlos ; mal x evie

------ 

“No! No! No!”

From the look on Evie’s face and the disgust in her voice, Carlos would’ve thought Mal was handing her a basket of cockroaches not a sweater. Evie was holding up both of her hands, as if the thick red knitted thing would burn her.

“E!” Mal whined, shoving it at her girlfriend again. “You have to wear it! Jane made me promise that I’d get one of you to wear it! It’s supposed to be ugly.”

“I,” Evie held up a hand. “Will do many, many things for you, Mal. In fact, I will do just about anything for you. Except wear that sweater.”

Carlos reached over and took it from Mal, holding it up to get a better look at it. As sweaters went, it wasn’t terrible; certainly it wouldn’t be his first choice of attire, but if were really cold, he might put it on. He’d learned not to complain about warm material a long time ago; but warm material provided him with a chance to make it better - a clean slate. And while he hated to think he’d inherited anything from Cruella, if he had to pick something, he’d choose her fashion sense.

“E,” he said thoughtfully. “We might be able to salvage this.”

She looked a little less repulsed and more interested now. She often let him give his opinions on her new designs for Evie’s4Hearts, and he secretly enjoyed doing it more than he cared to let on.

“No.” Mal huffed again, crossing her arms across her chest. “You’re not supposed to make it look better! It’s supposed to be ugly! It’s sort of a tradition here or whatever.”

“Since when do you care about traditions,” Evie said with a laugh, looking closer at the sweater. “If we take it in on the sleeves a little,” she mused. “Oh! Carlos! We’ll make it cropped! You’ll look so good in a cropped sweater!”

“Me?” Carlos blinked, surprised. He had been expecting to modify it for her, not him. “Why me?”

Evie smiled, squinting and tilting her head like she was already imagining it on him. “Because. I need a model, and I know how much you like partnering with me on design stuff.”

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Carlos chewed on his lip. “I suppose.”

“And besides,” she winked, strutting over to her sewing machine. “I just know someone’s boyfriend is going to drop dead when he sees you.”

Now Carlos was really blushing, and even Mal snorted in agreement. He approached Evie’s workstation and picked up a pencil, sketching out a quick set of measurements and draft design. Picking up her pin cushion, he began to pin and tuck the knitted fabric, muttering softly to himself.

“You know,” Evie smiled. He hadn’t realized she was watching him. “You really would make a good partner.”

“Helping you out is nice.” Carlos hummed a bit, glancing back from the drawing to the pinned up sweater. “Gives me something to do.”

“I didn’t say assistant,” Evie said, sweeping her arm. “I said partner. Think about what a powerful team we could make. Evie’s4Hearts could use the insights of the heir to the de Vil fashion empire.”

“Evie…” Carlos fidgeted with the sleeve of the sweater. “I’m - I’m not… she was -”

“You don’t have to be her.” Evie stared at him, and Mal nodded her agreement. “You can like this sort of thing without turning into her.”

“Thanks,” Carlos smiled softly. “But this feels like hers. I’m still learning how to separate Cruella from Carlos.”

“Just think about it,” Evie offered gently, returning her focus to the sweater.

-----

Evie had been right about one thing: Jay loved the cropped sweater. By the time Carlos had returned to their dorm wearing the new and improved item of clothing, he whistled in approval.

“Damn, de Vil.”

Carlos smiled softly, smoothing it down. “You like?”

“Love.” Jay licked his lips, winking. “Very sexy.” And then paused, seeming to notice Carlos’ demenar. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

Jay raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Uh huh.”

Sighing dramatically, Carlos sat down on the bed. “Evie asked me to be her fashion partner or whatever. Help her design shit.”

“And… you want to do it?” Jay sat beside him, staring into his face quizzically.

“My mother was in fashion.”

But Jay only shook his head. “No. Your mother wanted to murder animals. That’s not fashion. But you, ‘Los? You shouldn’t not do something because of Cruella. Then she wins. Don’t let her win.”

Carlos watched him for a few moments before leaning in for a gentle kiss. When they pulled away, the corner of Jay’s mouth lifted. “Not that I’m complaining,” he smiled. “But what was that for?”

“A thank you.” Carlos adjusted his new sweater. “For being… my voice of reason.”

Reaching out, Jay ruffled his hair affectionately. “Well, one of us has to be the brains in this relationship.”

At the comment, Carlos couldn’t help scoffing - shoving Jay’s shoulder just a bit. “Shut up!”

But he didn’t mean it. He let Jay retaliate playfully, grinning all the while. Jay didn’t see him as Cruella. Jay saw him as Carlos. Just Carlos.  

And that was enough.