#nathanial

[inqrabbit]

buncha narrator art!

first belongs to @janirah, second belongs to @demonicrhythms

[beloveddawn-blog]

What do you mean I built Nathanial A WHOLE-ASS ROOM in my house and I'm not allowed to touch any of it?!? It's my house! Go back to the barracks if you don't like it!

Fic below cut.

"So what do you think?" Teleri asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was new to this human concept of spouses, but the part that sounded the best was having a whole other person around who loved you. She'd been so excited for their wedding. Nathanial still spent most of his time at the barracks, which she could mostly understand due to his work, but she hoped this would entice him over even a little bit more.

"I love it!" He replied in awe, looking around him in delight. "It's perfect! Did Roza help you decorate?"

"And your Mom." She confirmed, still feeling giddy. "She told me you liked truly dark spaces to sleep in, that light bothers you, so I built one without windows right next to the entry so you could still hear someone if they knocked on the door. I had to move the piano, of course, but that's fine. I don't usually get a chance to play it, and I'm kinda shit anyway. Every now and then I consider asking Claude for lessons, but honestly when would I get the time?"

"I love your music." He assured her, "Even if it's just experimental messing around with the keys or strings, it's always wild and fierce in a way that suits you so well. Formality would ruin it, I think."

Teleri blushed, her cheeks darkening as they pinked. "I have a drum set too, but it's in Nel'Vari. You should come there sometimes and hear me play it."

"I'd love to." He assured her. "Sometime after the danger has passed, I'd be delighted to take some time off and travel with you. Why Nel'Vari, though? I'd think the piano would suit better there, and the drums... Maybe in Withergate?"

"DRUMS IN AN APARTMENT?" She brought her hands up to cover her mouth, not quite sure if it was in horror or shock. "No. Hell no. FUCK no. That's such a mean thing to do! The forge is bad enough and it's mechanized! Xyla would kill me, and she'd be right to do so!"

"Sorry, sorry." He laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I didn't think that one through. Why Nel'Vari, though? Surely it's the same sort of issue? Don't they value their peace there?"

Teleri shrugged, the movement as fluid through the shoulders as it was in her watery hair. It was her innate grace that had first drawn Nathanial to her, and he often felt like some hulking brute holding a delicate teacup near her, never mind that she was actually tougher than anyone in the town including both him and Roza. She shot him a grin that he couldn't help returning, as totally smitten as he was. "They do. But Wesley told me not to make a nuisance of myself and made me climb the massive safety violation on the outside of The Great Tree by barring me from using the wind lift, so the first chance I got I bought some drums and moved them in. You can't hear them in the town proper, I'm too far away, but the sound travels to the bridge. You should have seen the look on his face!" She broke down into giggles, and Nathanial joined her, his booming laugh echoing through their house.

"He didn't cause you any trouble over it?" He asked, still chuckling. Nathanial had met Wesley at the most recent music festival, and the man had seemed like the sort to take that personally. Especially when it was.

"Nah," Teleri replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Every time he tried to, Lucius would intercept him and Wesley would get an hours long 'friendly conversation' about how the Moon Goddess delights in my joy and blesses my work. My dude's got my back, and he loves my drums. The fairies and the fish supposedly do as well, so he doesn't feel as lonely or misunderstood when I'm playing. And he's awake anyway, he's a devotee of the Moon Goddess."

Nathanial sobered at that, remembering suddenly the one very important thing he had to tell Teleri about his room...

"Beloved..." He began, and her joking demeanor fell away in an instant. He wished he could get that sort of response from his soldiers most days, but it was still heartening to get it from his wife (Wife! They were married now! Teleri had picked him to be with officially and forever, despite not truly understanding human monogamy). "About that... About how you can be... A bit disruptive..." He trailed off, really not wanting to insult her, but...

"Is this about that merchant?" She asked, eyes narrowing. "Because I didn't mean to scare him. I was just in a hurry to get to the farming store before it closed. I needed more flower seeds."

"No, this is not about how that man ran blubbering to me that an invading warlord was terrorizing the town on their hell-beast and I had to explain that it was just my wife, the local farmer. I knew it was you, I've met the owlbear and he's a sweetheart, and it never would have been a problem if he didn't like to block the whole street with his self-importance. No, this is about your sleeping schedule." He took a deep breath and dove right in. "I'd like it if you didn't use my room. At all."

Her face fell, and Nathanial immediately felt like such a jerk, but he knew he couldn't waver on this. Not if he wanted this relationship to last.

"But why?" She asked, sounding truly lost, and he stepped forward to lay comforting hands on her shoulders.

"Teleri, Beloved, light of my life... You are a morning person. You're up literally every single day at or even before the sunrise. And not only that, you come skidding in every evening you actually sleep here in the last moments before midnight, rushing for your bed and smelling of magic and metal. I know you need less sleep than me, you've proven that time and time again, but I need more sleep than that. I'm a light sleeper and you wake me up, both coming and going. I always end up a complete bear the whole of the next day, and my focus is shot. That's not safe for me, it's not safe for Sun Haven... And it's not good for you either. It's not good for us. I don't want to spend our time together exhausted, cranky, and resentful of your energy. That's not fair to either of us."

Teleri's pout had deepened as he spoke, but Nathanial knew her well enough by now to know she was feeling petulant rather than actually upset. "I suppose that's not entirely unreasonable." She allowed, still sulking. "So I'm not to wake you at all?"

"Wake me if you need me." He assured her. "I'll always be here for you, just don't wake me consistently every evening and morning. I'll be no use at all if I'm consistently sleep deprived. If something's on fire or... I don't know, a dragon shows up, or even if you just need me you can always, always count on me."

Teleri tilted her head in confusion. "Why on earth would I wake you if a dragon shows up? Dynus drops by any time he feels like he's being ignored to hiss out some philosophy, loom ominously, and leave scales all over the place. He's really quite needy, to be honest."

Nathanial blinked at her. "Dynus does what?!?"

[honeybeenrw]

Dr. Olivas - Now office hour

[ruined--eclipse]

You good, Breakfast?

[renee-writer]

Nathanial

I lay, covered in the sweat of childbirth, listening to my newest son, cry. A midwife is stitching up my tear as the nurse weighs the newest member of my family.

Her utterance of disbelief has both of us looking to her, as well as my brother and mom. After a very long second stage, with hours of pushing, no one has the energy for any surprises.

“Is he okay?”

“Yes just…”we hear her lift him and the readjustment of the scales, “it was right. He weighs ten pounds and eight ounces.”

“No wonder,” the midwife utters, “I thought around eight pounds, “ she turns back to me as my big boy is wrapped up, “I can't believe you delivered him naturally. I would have scheduled a C-section had I known.

I take Nathanial in my arms and all the pain is forgotten. “It is alright. No one expected him to be this big.”

[pleasanttaleexpert]

Nathanial is a gental soul and wouldn't hurt a fly,

Unless threatened.

[cobra422]

[vgckwb]

ML: Isolation Chapter 47: The Girl With the Cinderblock Garden (Finale)

Marinette was getting herself ready. It was her first day back to school ever since she was forced out of it. A lot has changed since then, not the least of which she was allowed to go to school again. However, because of all the changes, she felt ready.

She went downstairs, and ate her breakfast. Once she finished, she went down to parents. “Bye mama! Bye papa!” She gave each of them a kiss.

“Bye sweetie!” Sabine said.

“Have a good first day back!” Tom added.

“Thanks,” Marinette replied. She left the bakery only to bump into Adrien a few seconds later.

“Oh. Sorry” the both said. They giggled in unison.

“What are you doing here?” Marinette asked.

“Well, seeing as it is your first day back,” Adrien said, “I figured I could walk with you.”

Marinette blushed. “That’s really sweet.”

Adrien blushed in response. “So, shall we? We don’t want to be late.”

Marinette giggled. “Of course.” The two of them walked to school.

As they approached the stairs, Marinette looked up. Despite everything, she was still a little nervous coming back. Adrien took her hand. “Hey,” he said, gently Marinette looked at him. “It’ll be alright.”

Marinette smiled. “Thanks.” Hand in hand, the two of them entered the school.

Once they got to class, Adrien took his usual seat next to Nino, while Marinette took her old seat next to Alya. As soon as class started for the day, Miss Bustier got everyone’s attention. “Class, as you may have noticed, we have a returning student. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is back with us after being away for wrongful charges, which have been dropped. Marinette, do you have anything you’d like to say?”

Everyone looked at Marinette. “Oh, um, not right now…” she said. “Um, I might need some time to, you know… readjust.”

Miss Bustier nodded. “As you may have also noticed, Lila Rossi is no longer in our class for, well, obvious reasons. They are still working out what’s going to happen with her going forward, but she is no longer allowed within 30 meters of this school. Anyway, with all that said, let’s get started.”

The day went on as normal. Classes were held. Lunches were eaten. It was almost as if Marinette hadn’t missed a beat. The only difference now is that Adrien was with her. Still, despite all of that, things were pretty much the same. And as relaxed as Marinette was at the beginning of the day, this caused her to worry.

By the end of the day, Marinette was a bit miserable. When class ended for the day, Adrien turned around and said “Hey Marine…” However, she had rushed off before he could finish what he was saying. Determined to help, Adrien followed his girlfriend.

Marinette rushed across the street, into her house, and up to her room. Adrien followed behind. He knocked on her hatch. “Marinette? May I come in?” He didn’t hear an answer, so he let himself in. Across the room, he saw Marinette curled up into a ball. He walked over to her. “Marinette? What’s wrong?” Marnette didn’t answer. “It’s OK. I’m here.”

“Hmmmmmmm,” Marinette groaned. She sighed. “I…I don’t know.”

“Hm?” Adrien replied.

“I said I don’t know!” Marinette shouted. Adrien was surprised. “Sorry…”

Adrien laughed it off. “It’s fine.” He sat down next to her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Marinette was a little anxious, but she looked at Adrien. She knew he would go through ridiculous lengths to make her feel better. She sighed. “Fine… I just feel… I don’t know… Out of place? Out of time?”

“How come?”

Marinette hesitated again. “I just… Nothing feels like it’s changed. I’m just back to school now, and that’s it.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Well…kind of…” Marinette answered. “I mean…I don’t know.” She looked at her hands. “I mean, I went through something really traumatic. And it took a miracle to get me back into school.”

“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t call it a miracle,” Adrien said. “We just worked really hard.”

Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes. “You’re my miracle, sweetie.”

“Oh!” Adrien blushed.

Marinette pouted again and sighed. “I feel like…after all that…to have things go back to the way they were…it almost feels like a slap in the face. Like, things aren’t the same anymore. They can’t be the same. And yet, everyone’s...pretending like it is. Even the most tacit acknowledgment that I’m Ladybug would mean a world of difference.” Marinette sighed. “It just seems like I don’t mean a thing after everything that’s happened.”

Adrien saw his girlfriend moping. He was a little nervous. “Well, uh, sorry…”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Marinette assured him.

“Well, actually, I might,” Adrien admitted.

Marinette looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain in due time,” Adrien answered. “For now, do you trust me?”

“Of course,” Marinette said.

Adrien nodded. He checked his phone. “Then do you mind staying here a little while longer?” Marinette nodded. “OK. So, what do you want to do in the meantime?”

“Well…” Marinette said. She got up and walked to her desk. “I was kind of thinking of working on some new outfits for our first date out in public.”

Adrien walked over to her. “I told you, we don’t need anything like that.”

“Yeah, but I kind of want to,” Marinette said. “Unless you’re scared.”

Adrien was confused. “Are you…threatening me?” Marinette giggled. “Hm. I really shouldn’t underestimate you.”

“Relax,” Marinette assured him. “It’ll be fine.”

“Of course,” Adrien said. “You’re not Paris’ best designer for nothing.” Marinette chuckled some more and then did some more design work. A little while later, Adrien checked his phone again. He smiled. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Just let me finish this little bit,” Marinette said.

“OK,” Adrien replied.

Marinette wrapped up what she was working on. “OK,” she said, putting her designing tools down. “So, what’s going on?”

Adrien smiled. “Follow me.” The two of them left Marinette’s room, and then her house. Outside, Adrien’s limo was waiting for them. Marinette was surprised, and a little confused. Adrien opened the door, and Marinette got in. Adrien followed her, and they were off.

Marinette was confused. “Where are we going?”

“My place,” Adrien answered.

“If you wanted to do that, we could have done it sooner,” Marinette told him.

“Eh, you’ll see…” Adrien replied.

When they arrived, Adrien got out and held the door open for Marinette. Marinette got out, and she was stunned. “Wha…What is this?” The front plaza was decked out with balloons, streamers, lights, tables, food, and guests.

Adrien smiled. “It’s a party.” Marinette was a little confused. Adrien guided her into the gate.

That was when Marinette saw the banner that read “Welcome Back Marinette!” “Wha?”

Her classmates were there. When they noticed her, they turned and shouted “SURPRISE!”

Marinette was still stunned. “Wha…buh…I don’t understand.”

Adrien chuckled. “It’s a welcome back party.” Marinette was having trouble processing this. “So, this is what I was apologizing for,” Adrien admitted. “I asked the class not to make a big deal out of your return until this party, so it could be a surprise.”

Marinette started to tear up. She shoved Adrien. “You jerk! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, then it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Adrien said.

Marinette smiled, and pulled him in for a kiss. “You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to,” Adrien said. Marinette rolled her eyes. “Well then, shall we get this party started?”

“Let’s,” Marinette said.

Adrien nodded. “Nino! Hit it!” Nino nodded, and got up to the music booth and started playing some jams. Adrien turned to Marinette. “Are you hungry?”

“A little,” Marinette said.

“Well then, let’s grab a bite to eat,” Adrien said. Together, they went to get some food.

As they got in line, Mylene and Ivan approached them. Mylene said “Hey Marinette. Welcome back”

“Oh, thanks,” Marinette replied.

“We’re sorry,” Ivan said. “About…well…”

Marinette chuckled. “It’s OK.”

“Yeah, but…” Ivan said.

“Take your time Ivan,” Mylene instructed.

Ivan sighed. “I feel like I should have known.”

“Well, like I said, it’s fine,” Marinette said. “After all, Lila was working really hard to make sure you didn’t.” She grew more serious. “But thank you. It means a lot to me.”

Ivn smiled. Mylene pulled him in. “Did Adrien tell you we’re going out now?”

Marinette nodded. “He did, but still, congratulations you two!”

“Thanks,” Mylene said. “So, now that this has all been cleared up, I mean, you don’t have to, but will we be seeing you volunteering from time to time?”

Marinette nodded. “Of course.”

“Oo! I’d like to help out as well!” Adrien chimed in.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll be happy to have you,” Mylene said. She hugged Ivan even more. “Although you might have trouble keeping up with this guy.”

“Mylene…” Ivan said, slightly embarrassed. They looked into each other’s eyes and shared a kiss.

“Well, we’ll try our best,” Adrien said.

“Yeah, it might take me a bit to get readjusted,” Marinette said.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll help you however they can,” Mylene said.

“Yeah, they were really helpful when I was first starting,” Ivan added.

Marinette nodded. “I can’t wait.” They progressed through the line to get more food.

They soon bumped into Max and Markov. “Oh, hey Marinette,” Max said.

Marinette smiled. “Hi Max.”

Max got a little nervous. “So, um, after the event, Markov explained everything to me.” He sighed. “I feel so pathetic. I should have known, but…I was so lost in my own worries that…I guess I didn’t notice.”

Marinette glanced away. “I…know how that feels,” she admitted. Max was curious. Marinette sighed. “For a while after I was forced out of school, I kind of felt the same. I didn’t notice what was happening around me, or how to fix it.”

“What changed?” Max asked.

“Well, someone showed me the light,” Marinette answered, gesturing at Adrien.

“Ohhhhh, Max said.

“What I’m saying is sometimes it takes someone else to help you put things into perspective,” Marinette said.

Max looked at Markov. “Right. Thanks buddy.”

“No problem,” Markov answered.

Max smiled. “You know, you’ve come pretty far all by yourself.”

“Well, shucks,” Markov said. “I mean, I only got this far because of you, Max.” Max’s smile widened.

Marinette and Adrien continued onward to grab more food. “Hey!” Alix called out.

Marinette and Adrien turned to face her. “Are you here to apologize too?” Marinette asked.

“No,” Alix replied. “I mean, sort of. I mean, I kind of did.. I mean! Blah. Welcome back!”

Marinette chuckled. “Thanks.”

Alix smiled. “You know, despite your clumsiness, I did miss having you around.”

“Well, now that I’m back, you’re going to see me a lot more often,” Marinette said. “Clumsiness and all.”

“Well, I’m sure we can work on that,” Alix said. “After all, I’m working on my hot-headedness.”

“Besides, you were so graceful at the fashion show,” Adrien told her. “Maybe you could be a model full-time.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Your mom said the same thing.”

“Well, I’m not surprised,” Adrien said.

“I’ll let you keep going down the food line now,” Alix said.

“Thanks,” Marinette replied. They continued on.

Down the line, they ran into Juleka and Rose. “Oh, hi Marinette!” Rose said.

“Hey,” Juleka added.

“Hi you two,” Marinette said. “How are things going?”

“Fantastic,” Juleka said.

“REALLY fantastic!” Rose added.

“We’re, uh, kind of dating,” Juleka said.

“Really?” marinette said. They both nodded. Marinette hugged them “That’s real great you two!”

“Congrats!” Adrien added.

“Thanks,” Rose said.

“Yeah,” Juleka added. Marinette let go.

“And it’s REALLY great that you’re back!” Rose exclaimed. “When Adrien told me to keep calm about it, I tried my hardest, but I felt like I was about to EXPLODE!”

“It is nice having you back,” Juleka said. “Especially since it turns out everything Lila was saying was a lie.”

Marinette blushed. “Thanks you two.”

“Anytime!” Rose said. Marinette and Adrien moved down the food line.

“Hey Marinette! Adrien!” Kim greeted. The two turned to face him to see that Ondine was hanging off his arm. “Welcome back!”

“Thanks Kim,” Marinette said.

“Oh yeah,” Adrien said. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Kim asked.

“Well, uh, eh heh,” Adrien laughed, embarrassed. “Well, ya see, when you two found us, we weren’t actually dating.” Kim was surprised. “But thanks to that moment, we started figuring this out, and we started dating because of that. So thanks.”

“Psh, don’t mention it,” Kim said. “If anything, it sounds like I was just returning the favor.”

“I guess,” Adrien said.

Ondine giggled. “Well, I’m just glad Ladybug’s going to my school again!”

“Hm hm,” Marinette chuckled. “I’m glad to be back.”

“Ooo! Do you know when that outfit you modeled at the fashion show will be available?” Ondine asked. “It looked REALLY gorgeous!”

Marinette chuckled again. “Sorry, but that’s not up to me.”

“I could ask my father,” Adrien said.

“Thanks,” Ondine said. She turned to Kim. “You know, you should get that suit Adrien wore too. It would look really good on you!”

“Well, if you think so…” Kim said. Ondine giggled.

Marinette and Adrien continued down the line. “Hey Marinette,” Nathaniel said. Marinette and Adrien looked at him to see Marc was also there. “Welcome back.” He paused for a moment. “Sorry…for…well, everything…”

Marinette put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s OK.” Nathaniel smiled. Marinette let go.

“Welcome back, Marinette!” Marc said.

“Thanks,” Marinette replied.

“So…um…” Marc hesitated.

Marinette was confused. “What is it?”

“Well…uhhhhhh….” Marc said.

“Go on,” Nathaniel said. “It’ll be alright.”

Marc nodded in determination. “Well, you see…” Marc began. “Nathaniel and I have started working together on a comic book project.”

“Oh!” Marinette said, surprised. “Well, better late than never, I suppose.”

“Right,” Marc said.

“He’s a really good writer,” Nathaniel said.

“Yeah, so, um, anyway…” Marc continued. “I was working on some drafts to turn Cat Noir into this superhero, when it occurred to me that maybe Cat Noir would work better with a partner. I mean, I’m giving him powers and everything, and, well… I mean, I don’t want to spoil it.”

Marinette giggled. “Go on.”

“So, I thought of using Ladybug as another hero,” Marc went on. “And, um, in my writing, I kind of ended up making the two, uh, romantically involved… but since Adrien said he was dating Ladybug, and it turned out to be you, I’m starting to have second thoughts. So, I guess, what I’m saying is, is this OK?”

Marinette was stunned for a second. “Well…” she said. “Sure.”

Marc was shocked. “Really?”

Marinette nodded. “I doubt Adrien would mind a fictional me having a fling with Cat Noir. Isn’t that right, sweetie?”

Adrien nodded. “Truthfully, it sounds like he’s missing out. After all, I have the real Ladybug all to myself.”

“Yay!” Marc cheered. He paused. “Wait. Something just occurred to me. Adrien, do you think you’d be my Cat Noir?”

Adrien was surprised. “Um, sure. But what brought this on.”

“I dunno,” Marc said. “It just hit me. But seeing you two being so cute together, it inspired me.”

“Oh. Well, thanks,” Adrien said.

Nathaniel giggled. “You inspire me too. If it was for your willingness to lend an ear, I might still be stuck where I was.”

“Well, like she said, better late than never,” Adrien said.

“Besides, now that I’m back, a friendly ear won’t be far away,” Marinette added.

“Thanks Marinette,” Nathaniel said.

“We’ll be sure to show you an advance copy of our first big production!” Marc said.

“Can’t wait!” Marinette said. They continued down the line.

They bumped into Kagami. “Oh. Hey,” Kagami said.

“Hi,” Marinette replied.

Kagami smiled. “I’m sure it’ll be nice to see you in school.”

Marinette smiled as well. “Likewise.”

“So, um, do you think you’d still have time for me now that you’re back to hanging out with your old friends?”

Marinette chuckled. “Of course. I LOVE spending time with you.”

Kagami nodded. “Thank you.” She peered over the two of them. “Excuse me.” Kagami walked off. Marinette and Adrien shrugged at each other. They continued down the line.

They met up with Chloe and Sabrina. “Oh. Hey Chloe,” Marinette said.

“Oh!” Chloe said, somewhat surprised. “Hi.”

“So, are you two friends now?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, I guess you could say that,” Chloe said.

“It IS a little weird when you think about it,” Marinette said. “But hey, that’s life sometimes.”

“No kidding,” Sabirna said. “To think, Lila threatened to keep me away from Chloe.”

“Say, Sabrina…” Chloe said. “Do you think it would have worked?”

“Hmmm,” Sabrina replied. “I don’t know.” She gave Chloe a hug. “But I’m glad it didn’t.”

Chloe blushed. “Thanks.”

Sabrina let go. “Well, any friend of Chloe is a friend of mine.” She reached out her hand.

Marinette reciprocated the shake. “It’s always nice to make new friends.”

Once they finished their shake, Sabrina turned to Chloe and asked “Are you ready to sit?”

“I…think so…” Chloe said. She looked at Adrien. “You always have the best food here.”

Adrien pulled Marinette in. “Well, it’s because our guests deserve the best.” Chloe rolled her eyes and went to go sit down with Sabrina.

“I think we should get seated too,” Marinette said.

“Good idea,” Adrien replied.

“OVER HERE!” Alya called out. They looked at her and saw that she was at a table with two plates . Marinette and Adrien went to join her.

Meanwhile, Luka was just hanging out at the party, minding his own business. “Hey,” Kagami said.

Luka turned to see her. “What are you doing here?”

“I was invited,” Kagami said. “You?”

“Well, I came because my sister was coming,” Luka said. “And I don't feel like being alone.”

“I see,” Kagami said. “Well, I have something for you.”

“Oh?” Luka said, inquisitive. Kagami pulled out a cookie. “A cookie?”

Kagami shook her head. “Not just any cookie,” she explained. “You gave one of your cookies to me, only to reveal you bought me a whole bag of them. So, this one’s from the bag I got.”

“Oh,” Luka replied. He smiled. “Nah, you eat it.”

“It’s yours,” Kagami said. “I insist.”

“You can have it, Luka said.

“No!” Kagami protested. She thrust it in front of his mouth. “Come on! Eat it!”

Luka chuckled. “No!”

“Eat the cookie!” Kagami said. Luka started to struggle. “Don’t do this.” Kagami grabbed one of Luka’s arms with her free hand. “Eat it!” Luka kept fighting back. Kagami placed the cookie in her mouth to subdue Luka’s other arm. In the scuffle, Luka fell back and Kagami fell forward. Kagami had Luka pinned to the ground. “Now ea da cookie!” Kagami insisted through gritted teeth.

Lka smiled. “OK.” He ate the cookie in one bite, and in the process gave Kagami a kiss.

This flustered Kagami to the point where she stood up. Her face was beat red. “Wha…Wha?”

Luka stood up. “Um, well, I was wondering… Would you…like to go on a date with me?”

Kagami huffed. Luka seemed disappointed. “Friday. 5:30 pm. Wear something nice.” Kagami demanded. “And no more tricks like that!” she added.

Luka chuckled. “OK. Do you want me to pick you up?”

“Yeah,” Kagami said. “I’ll text you my address later.” She stormed off. She turned and smiled at him. Luka smiled back.

Nino had put on a mix, so he was free to come sit down and eat. “Hey, there’s the girl of the hour!” he said. “Welcome back, dudette!”

Marinette chuckled. “Thanks Nino.”

“Hey listen,” he said. “I’m sorry about, well, all that stuff. You know. With Lila.”

“Right,” Marinette said. “It’s… It’ll be OK. I mean, I forgive you all, and all that, but…it was a lot…”

“Heh, well I’m sure you’ll do great!” Nino said.

“He’s right,” Alya said. “You’re amazing, and I know you can do this!”

Marinette smiled and blushed. “Thanks you two.”

Alya and Nino smiled. “Oh hey,” Nino said. “I’ve got something that might cheer you up. Ahem. Marinette, did you know that your boyfriend, Adrien Agreste, is actually Cat Noir?!”

“Uh, yeah,” Marinette responded.

Nino was confused. “Really?” Nino said. Marinette giggled and nodded.

Adrien giggled as well. “I became Cat Noir to meet her.”

“Oh,” Nino said.

“I’ll tell you the full story later,” Adrien informed him.

“Thanks,” Nino said.

“It’s OK,” Alya said. “You were just trying to help Marinette.”

Nino looked at Alya. “You say that like you knew as well.”

“Well, I, uh, did?” Alya said. Nino sighed and planted his face on the table. Alya chuckled. “Well, for what it’s worth, it’s not just him.” She got out her phone. “Look.”

Everyone gathered around her phone to see a Noir Notes post from a few minutes ago talking about a Cat Noir sighting from earlier today. Adrien was confused. “But Kagami and I are here.”

“SHE’S Cat Noir too?” Nino said.

“Hm hm. We’ll catch you up, sweetie,” Alya said. “But yeah. It looks like you’ve inspired other people to take up the moniker and perform random acts of kindness.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess,” Adrien said. “Let’s hope they don’t get too reckless.”

“More reckless than some of the stuff we pulled off?” Marinette asked

Adrien giggled. “You know what I mean.” They shared a kiss.

“Well, I’m kind of hungry,” Nino said. “Manning the DJ booth really takes it out of you.” He started eating, and everyone at the table joined in.

Nathalie was looking out at the party. “Hm. You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Adrien.” She turned to head back to her office, when Henry stopped her. “Yes?” He held up some flowers. Nathalie took them. She noticed a card. She took it out and read it. “‘Will you go out with me?’” Henry was looking at her sheepishly and blushing.

Nathalie rolled her eyes. “Is this why you wanted to keep me around?” Henry nodded. “And seeing Adrien do all of this for Marinette made you want to do the same for me?” He nodded again. “Well, how could I say no to that?” She gave him a peck on the cheek, and she continued to her office. Henry followed behind her.

The party continued on. People were dancing, eating, talking with each other. They felt freer than they had in a while. It was a very liberating experience.

Suddenly, a limo pulled up to the gate. Adrien got excited. He turned to Nino. “Hey! Once this song is over, you can stop!”

Nino was confused. “Uh, is the party over?!”

Adrien shook his head. “I just got a different musical guest for a live show!”

Nino shrugged.“Well, OK dude!” he replied. He began to make preparations for when the song would be over.

“Who’d you get?” Marinette asked Adrien.

“How many surprises do you want ruined for you?” Adrien retorted.

The song came to an end. Nino grabbed the mic. “Thank you! That will be the last song from me for the evening!” He packed up the turntables, and moved them away.

The crowd was confused, until they heard a hearty “Hello there!” They turned and were surprised to say the least.

“JAGGED STONE?!” Mainette said. “YOU GOT JAGGED STONE?!”

“Hm hm,” Adrien chuckled. “Only the best for you.”

Marinette hugged him. “Thank you!”

Jagged Stone strutted in, as people began preparing the stage for his performance. He headed straight over to Marinette and Adrien. “Well, if it isn't my favorite designer? How've you been?”

“Well, uh,” Marinette said, nervously, “to be honest, things weren’t too great until recently.”

“Yeah, I saw that,” Jagged said. “But hey! Now you’re back!”

Marinette giggled. “Well, it looks like you’re back too.”

“Of course!” Jagged said. “Ever since that XY got figured out for a liar and a thief, I’ve been rocketing back up to the top. Hey, if you see that Cat Noir guy, give him a thanks for me.”

“We will,” Adrien said.

Jagged nodded. “Well,” he said, stretching himself. “I gotta get ready. I wanna make this a killer performance, all for you Marinette!”

“Well, all your performances are Killer, Jagged,” Marinette replied.

“Ah! You’re too kind,” Jagger said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He hopped onto the stage. Everything was checked and accounted for. “HEY EVERYONE!” Jagged shouted. The crowd cheered back. “ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?!” They cheered some more. “Well good! Because this entire set goes out to a very special lady. Give it up for MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!” The crowd roared with applause for Marinette as she was stunned. “Let’s kick it!” Jagged started playing.

He played on into the evening. Everyone was excited. After Jagged finished another song, he took the mic once again. “Alright, now this one was specially requested! And while I usually discourage people from this, this was so cute, I just had to! Now, I want everyone to clear the dance floor except for Marinette and her boyfriend, Adrien!” Everyone was confused, but followed his instruction. Jagged started playing one of his power ballads.

Adrien reached out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Marinette was intrigued. She took his hand. “You may.” The two of them danced to their heart’s content. It was a moment of pure magic. Jagges Stone performing just for the two of them. It almost felt like it WAS just the two of them, dancing in perfect harmony, and getting lost in each other’s eyes.

Once the song came to an end, Jagged said “Thank you!”

Marinette and Adrien were still entranced with each other. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” Marinette replied. They shared a deep passionate kiss. It was the perfect way to end the party, and the perfect way to begin Marinette’s journey out of isolation.

[xray-vex]

do you think Ed chose to wear Buttons' old clothes because to him, Buttons was proof that a person could change, and he was ready to start believing that?

[inqrabbit]

Happy 4/27

[sherlockig]

[beloveddawn-blog]

I am honestly not old enough to have this conversation without snickering.

[vinyl-artwork]

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique, 1989.

Cover photo by Nathanial Hornblower.

[ruined--eclipse]

Okay gonna start posting OCs on here as well. Most of my OCs are DnD characters I either never got to play/ are NPCs for my bf's homebrew. Anyways this is Nathanial, an Arcana cleric who was supposed to be played for a campaign but the DM ghosted us after session 0. He is a character with DID (I myself have DID so he's based off my own experiences with it). His system is larger than shown, but for the sake of mechanics only 2 other alters would have been active, which are Niels and Nikolai. He exists as a "what if" situation. They were all originally an elf, Nikolai being the original host of the system. They got lost in the feywild, and Nikolai, being surrounded in an environment he did not vibe with, went dormant and Nathanial formed and became the host of the system. He reveled in the chaos of the feywild. Something something happened and he got changed into a tiefling (which is what he looked like in the headspace) The campaign would have had his system becoming active again and resolving trauma they endured to get where they are now (and also trying to coexist with each other) and Y e ah I love him. He jokingly calls the system "The Breakfast Club" since they're all hot pink bitches now. He also will answer and go by Breakfast. He tells you two names to call him and judges you on what you choose. If you choose Nathanial then he's not gonna like you. If you choose breakfast, then he likes you. (Nathanial is his name he gave himself, but if you call him the funny name he likes you more lol)

[mayanhandballcourt]

Photographer Nathanial Schmidt

[guttercoop]