#they close at midnight and it is apparently gonna take an hour so in theory it should?

[seokmatthewz]

this file is taking 89 years to download pls manifest for me tht it works before I have to leave NSNSN

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 35

Reverser is finally done! Ok, so this one does differ from canon. The reason why I changed it a bit is because I didn't want Nath to be a dick and I wanted to hint at Lila still been in Alya's life and influencing her plus Alya does tend to go over the top when it comes to her 'investigations'. Also the whole situation in the episode could have been avoided. Anyway hope you guys like it :D

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Chapter Thirty-Five: Reverser

Marinette jolted as her phone vibrated, making her look away from her sewing machine. She was working on making Luka another gift to help cheer him up since he found about his father. A few days had passed since then and he appeared to be coping well but Marinette wanted to make sure he was ok. He had taken some time off from school so she hadn't seen him yet but she was glad that he was taking a bit of time to himself to deal with the shock. However, the rest of their friends might not getting it. Alya certainly hadn't but that didn't matter to her. She was annoyed at Alya's reaction to her and Luka coming into the bakery together. She had been there to walk with Marinette to the school and almost fangirled when she saw them walking into the main area together. She had demanded details and when Marinette mentioned that Luka had stayed over that night because he was upset, she ignored the whole he was upset part and squealed about how Marinette could have used it as a reason to getting closer to him. Marinette corrected her and told her that it was because he was upset and while she liked him, she had respected him enough not to hit on him while he was in clear distress. Alya had brushed off his feelings, stating that Marinette was a fool not to take up the opportunity. It reminded Marinette of how bullheaded Alya could be. She had insisted that she was right about Lila and now she insisted that she was right about how Marinette should have taken the chance to confess her love to Luka. Marinette told her to drop it, causing her to get a bit huffy but she did. Later, Juleka found Marinette and thanked her for looking at her brother. Marinette jumped again as her phone continued to vibrate, causing her train of thought to break. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Alya's face lit up as she called. Marinette sighed and pressed answer, causing to join the video call. To her horror, Alya was talking to Lila, who was bragging about something.

 "Ciao, Marinette," She smiled falsely. "I was just telling Alya about my current travels. I'm currently in Japan but I won't be able to stay on the phone for much later. As you know, it's around about midnight here,"

  "You're in Japan?" Marinette asked, clearly not believing her. There was no way Lila was in Japan. Marinette suspected that she was just hiding away in her room until everyone forgot about her defeat as Volpina. Alya rolled her eyes as she realized Marinette didn't believe her. While she understood where she came from as Lila had lied before but she had apologized for that and promised not to lie again. In fact, she was in therapy for it and her akumatization. Apparently, Marinette had yet to let it go and for give her.

 "Not this again, Marinette," She gasped, shaking her head. "Lila isn't lying,"

 "How can you say that when she got me expelled?!" Marinette gasped.

"I know and I'm sorry about that, Marinette. I thought Chloe was telling me the truth,"

 "See? We already know Chloe framed you and she even got akumatized over it," Alya pointed out, making Marinette frown. She closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten in her head. "Marinette?"

 "I'm just thinking, Alya," She mumbled before opening her eyes. "Why did you call anyway? I'm in the middle of a new piece,"

 "Oh, are you still designing Marinette?" Lila asked in her clear fake voice. "If you want, I could recommend you-"

 "No thank you, Lila," She cut her off before she could finish, causing Alya to stare at her. "Alya? Why the video chat?"

 "Oh... well, there's a new rumor going around the school. Apparently, one of the students has got hold of Anatis' diary!" She gasped, excited. Both Lila and Marinette started at her with surprise. "It said that it's the diary that he writes everything in, including his secret identity!! Now I've been looking into which student has it and I found out that it is Marc Anciel! I tried to approach him earlier today but he ran off. I reckon that either he is trying to protect Anatis' identity or he is Anatis! I suspect that he might be Anatis giving his love for the color red, his height and his hair. Now I know that Anatis has those red highlights and blue eyes but what if that's a disguise!"

 "Oh my gosh, Alya. If you got hold of that diary and posted it on your blog, it would get you so many likes," Lila encouraged, causing Marinette to look between them with disbelief.

 "That's what I was thinking!" Alya grinned before looking at Marinette. "Which is where you come in, Marinette. I know you and Marc are sort of friends so you can distract him while I grab the diary,"

 "No!" Marinette gasped, shocking Alya. "Firstly, Marc isn't sort of my friend... he is my friend, secondly, that diary might not actually be Anatis'. Marc does writing so chances are he is the author, making it his property. Thirdly, if that is Anatis' diary then we should leave it alone and not post it's context on the internet that everyone including Hawkmoth has access too and finally, that is stealing and I won't be part of that!"

 "Girl, this is a chance to find out Anatis' identity and maybe Lady Noir's! This is my chance at becoming a world famous journalist!" She gasped, making Marinette frown. "You have to help me,"

 "No, I do not,"

 "Marinette, that's really mean of you," Lila pointed out, making Marinette frown deeply. "Alya, if I was in the country, I would totally help you. It would be my duty as your friend,"

 "Thanks, Lila," She mumbled before looking at Marinette. "All you have to do is distract him long enough for me to take photos. I'll be quick and put it back,"

 "I said no, Alya!" Marinette gasped, ending the call. She flopped onto her seat and let out a sigh. Plagg flew out of his hiding place and landed on the top of her head, purring a little. "I can't believe after everything Alya is still in contact with that lying toad!"

 "I could cataclysm her," He suggested, making her sigh.

 "I wish it was that easy but we can't just murder her," She sighed, frowning. "But she's more then likely going to try and encourage Alya to try and steal Marc's work from him,"

 "Are you certain that it's his work?" Plagg asked. "What if Bugboy did in fact write a diary and this Marc boy found it?"

 "Well, firstly, Annie is not that careless and secondly, Marc has been into writing forever and he's really good at it. This 'diary' is probably his latest work and someone in his class saw him with the book and made the rumor based on that and even if it is Annie's diary, Marc wouldn't have just found it and kept it. Marc would have tried to return it to it's real owner,"

 "So it probably isn't Bugboy's,"

 "Exactly but Alya is going to try and steal it. I know it," She sighed, thinking back to when she thought that she was Ryuko or when Adrien was Anatis. "She'll probably be akumatized when she discovers it's a fake then go after poor Marc! No, we need to make sure that this doesn't happen!"

 "And how are you gonna do that?" Plagg asked, making her groan and face palm the table. He sniggered a little at her reaction.

 ~Next Day at School~

 "This is so tiresome," Marinette groaned as she splashed her face with water. It wasn't even lunchtime yet but she had already stopped Alya twice from trying to take Marc's book and had listen to her theories and ideas. She got that Alya wanted to be a journalist but what she didn't get was why she was so adamant to uncover Anatis' identity, despite him making it perfectly clear that he had no intention of sharing it. On the few interviews that they had been on, he had made it very clear that his identity or hints towards it were off limits. Not just that but Hawkmoth was still at large. She sighed and splashed her face again. "Ok, new plan! We get Marc to stay with us and then we can protect him. Sound good?"

 "Sound good to me as long as I get my cheese," Plagg grinned as Marinette dried her hands and took out a chunk of cheese. He flew over and swallowed it whole before holding up his thumb. "Sounds good, doll face!"

 "Alright!" She grinned before dusting down her top and opening her purse for Plagg to hide in. He flew in and she exited the bathroom before making a beeline for wherever Marc was. It took sometime and a good amount of searching but she finally found him hiding under the stairs. "Hey, Marc. How's it going?"

 "Oh, hey Marinette..." He mumbled, looking up from his writing shyly and waving a little. It made Marinette want to gush over how adorable he was before she noticed the book in his hands. She wondered if that was the subject of Alya's desires. 

 "Where's the rest of your class?" She asked, concerned about him been alone.

 "Oh, we're done with classes for today," He mumbled, looking around. "The others probably went home,"

 "Perfect timing!" She grinned, clapping her hands together. "Our class has a spare hour so some of us are heading over to the art room. You should come check it out,"

 "Sure. Why not?" He mumbled, looking down. Marinette smiled a little. If she could get him to the art room then she could protect him for the last hour of the day. She moved a little bit closer to him, trying to see if she could read a bit of his book to determine if it was the 'diary' but he jumped a little and moved it away from her line of sight. 

 "Maybe you'll find let me read some of your writing," She smiled softly, making him blush a little. 

 "Yeah... I don't know... Maybe..." He mumbled, looking at it. She could tell he felt like it wasn't good enough but she was hoping to prove him wrong and of course to protect him from Alya's plan. She grinned and gave him a thumbs up. She wouldn't drag him up with him as right now, he was safe. Alya was in the library, working on a new plan but giving him the idea won't hurt.

 "Awesome!" She grinned before running up the stairs and heading to the art room. She walked in and waved to Rose, who was sat listening to music and writing lyrics for Kitty Section. Nathaniel looked up and smiled as she waved at him while Alix continued to spray her wall. Marinette stopped and looked over at it before grinning. "Look good, Alix,"

 "Thanks, Marinette," She grinned back as she kicked up a spray can and began to work. Marinette smiled and set up her little area, taking out the guitar strap she was working on for Luka. She was hoping to finish it tomorrow as he was coming back to the school then. Luckily, it was mostly done, apart from a little bit of embroidery which she could finish today. She began to work on it, sticking her tongue over as she pressed the needle through the material. The Art teacher moved over to her and smiled.

 "That's some of your finest work, Marinette," He commented as she continued, thanking him as she did. "A guitar strap? Do you play?"

 "Oh, no, sir," She replied, looking at him. "It's a gift for my friend,"

 "Well, I'm sure he'll love it," He smiled, leaving her to it before he moved over to Nathaniel. "How are you drawings coming along?"

 "They're coming along great, sir," The red haired smiled, grabbing one of them and handing it to him. "This is a team up between Anatis, Lady Noir and Mightyllustrator fighting Queen Wasp together,"

 "You mean Evillustrator?" The Art teacher asked, making Nathaniel shake his head.

 "He changed his name after Anatis deakumatized him and became a superhero," He explained, smiling as he did. The art teacher nodded impressed.

 "A bad guy who comes over to the good side," He smiled, handing the paper back to Nathaniel. "Great idea. You should make a comic book about that,"

 "Yeah but I'm only good at drawing stories, not writing them," Nathaniel sighed as he sat back down and rested his hand against his head but the art teacher smiled.

 "Then you should team up with a creative writer," He suggested, making Nathaniel sigh.

 "Maybe but I don't know anyone who is in that," He replied, looking up at him. Marinette looked over, interested in their conversation.

 "Don't worry about it," Alix stated, taking down her mask and turning around. "There's gotta be someone out there, just waiting to meet you. Red, please?"

 She held up her hand as Nathaniel grabbed a spray can and tossed it over to her. She caught in and smirked, just as Marinette saw Marc lingering in the doorway. She jumped up and rushed over.

 "Marc, you made it!" She grinned, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "Come meet everyone,"

 "Uh," He gasped as she dragged him over to the teacher, who smiled kindly at him.

 "Marc, this is Mr Beauregard, our art teacher," She grinned, gesturing to the older man before she gestured to Marc. "And this is my friend, Marc. He loves writing and is very creative,"

 "Uh... I'm sorry..." He gasped, hunching in on himself. "I didn't want to disturb you,"

 "Welcome to room 33," Mr Beauregard smiled, stepping forward a little as Marc looked up at him. "You're never disturbing anyone here. You come whenever you want, outside of classes or after school. Anyone can create what they want, anyway they want,"

 He gestured to the whole room before walking over to Rose, who was happily writing with her head phones on.

 "Rose is writing lyrics for her rockband," He explained, lifting one of her headphones and gesturing towards Marc. "Rose, I'd like you to meet Marc,"

 "Hey there! It's nice to meet you, Marc!" She yelled, making him jump a little before she went back to her lyrics. Mr. Beauregard turned to Alix, who grinned and flipped her can in her hand, catching it as she did. "Alix is our expert in street art and Nathaniel-"

 "He likes to draw people in skinny outfits," Alix grinned, causing Nathaniel to throw a ball of paper at her. She laughed as he turned around to face Marc. 

 "Welcome, Marc," He smiled as the shy boy stared at him. "As you'll find out, the good thing about this place is you can say whatever you want and no one will judge you or only in good fun,"

 Marc gasped as he noticed Nathaniel's drawings and walked over to them, surprising Nathaniel a little bit.

 "I s-saw your drawings on the school website," He mumbled, staring at them and soaking in the details. His fingers itched to turn them into stories as he took them in. "but they're nothing compared to the real thing. The movement, the expressions, the attitudes. They're also so..."

 He went quiet as he saw how close he was to Nathaniel, causing him to blush. Nathaniel smiled softly as he looked back at the shy boy.

 "Thanks... that's nice," He smiled, causing him to go redder before he gasped and stepped back.

 "Sorry but it's true," He mumbled, holding his arm across his waist and looking down. "I've never seen drawings so amazing and uh... just ignore me,"

 "No need to be shy, Marc," Mr Beauregard smiled as someone cleared their throat, making them look towards the door. Chloe was stood there with Sabrina next to her. "Ah, Chloe, are you here to show us your own art project?"

 "Actually, I came looking for Dupain- I mean.. Marinette.." She gasped, surprising everyone as she walked up to her. "I want you to make me a dress for a party that my mother is hosting. Of course, I'll pay you for your time and effort,"

 She was looking at her nails as she talked, making Marinette blink in surprise before she looked over at Nathaniel.

 "By the way, while your drawing is pretty good, Anatis is a good couple of inches taller then Lady Noir," She grinned, making him blink. "And if you need any information of Queen Wasp, I will happily tell you what I remember,"

 "Oh... um... thank you?" He asked, unsure how to take Chloe's behavior. She nodded and moved over to Marinette.

 "Anyway, Dup- I mean Marinette... I have drawn out some designs to help you work out how to do it," She mumbled, clicking her fingers. Sabrina rushed over and handed Marinette a couple of pieces of paper that showed the kind of dress Chloe wanted. "Now the party isn't until early spring but since my mum works in the fashion world, I know how long these things take. I want your best work, Dupa- I mean Marinette and we can come up with an official contact to make sure both parties get what they want,"

 "Um... ok?" She asked, surprised and causing Chloe to smile. 

 "Excellent. I'll arrange a meeting for us to sort it out," She grinned, turning on her heel before stopping. "Oh, Cesaire is looking for you,"

 "Oh... thanks," She smiled as Chloe walked out, followed by Sabrina. Marinette looked down at the paper as she was still unsure of what happened. She knew that Chloe had seeked help after the whole Queen Wasp incident and she knew she was trying to be nicer to people but she was expecting a repeat of the aftermass of Despair Bear, where Chloe returned to her old ways but apparently, she wasn't. Sure, she had far to go but whatever Anatis said to her... it must have gotten through. She even corrected herself when she called her Dupain-Cheng and she was even offering to pay her to make a dress and had seeked her out early to ensure she had time. Mr Beauregard smiled and gently patted her back to encourage her before he turned to Marc and smiled.

 "You know you shown up at the perfect time," He smiled before gesturing towards Nathaniel. "Marinette mentioned that you're a writer and it just happens that Nathaniel needs a script writer,"

 "Me? A script writer?" Marc gasped, feeling overwhelmed. Especially with the look that Nathaniel was giving him. "Oh no. I don't write that kind of stuff! I mean I don't write anything interesting honestly... sorry! Gotta go!! Thanks for everything!!"

 "No! Marc!" Marinette called out as he bolted out of the room. She ran after him as he accidentally bumped into one of the poles, dropping his book before running off. "Hey! Wait!!"

 He kept running as she noticed the book. She picked it up and called his name as he ran off but he was too far ahead and her eyes drifted back to the pages. Her eyes widen in surprise as she read the title, realizing it was the subject of the current rumor. She bit her lip and closed it before running towards the direction he went in. She followed him down the stairs, trying to capture up with him but before she could, she saw Nino talking to him while Alya was trying to sneak up on him. She went to step forward but Marc manages to get away from them and rushed out of the building, making her gasp but Alya saw her and waved at her.

 "Yo, Marinette, I thought you were in the art club!" She yelled, causing Marinette to gasp. The last thing she wanted was to alert Alya to the fact that she had the so called Diary of Anatis.

 "Um I am... just nipping to the bathroom!" She gasped, grinning before she rushed to the bathroom and locked herself in a cubical. She let out a little sigh as Plagg floated out. She looked at him and held up the book. "I need to get this back to Marc before Alya realizes I have it,"

 "Or we could just keep it and protect it from her," He suggested, placing his paws behind his head. "Alya can't get hold of it, Marc isn't harassed and no akumas. Everyone wins,"

 "Expect Marc because I have his work, which he has worked hard on," She pointed out, making Plagg make a thoughtful look.

 "You have a point there, Doll face," He admitted. "But... at least read it before you give it back!"

 "Oh no, I couldn't!" She gasped but her eyes glanced at it before she shook her head. "Marc wouldn't want me too,"

 "But you want to..." He grinned, diving into her purse and flying back out with a chunk of cheese. "We both know you'll regret it if you don't,"

 "Plagg, you're a terrible influence," She scolded but she knew he was right. She could feel her fingers inch to turn the pages. She closed her eyes and carefully opened it on a random date before she began to read it out loud. "I saw that Evillustrator again today. Now that he's freed from Hawkmoth's control, he's been trying his best to become a true superhero. He even assisted with Kung Food's capture and put up with Lady Noir's little puns. I have to admit I'm impressed. Maybe I should ask him to join me and Lady Noir's team. Since he has his own powers, I wouldn't need to loan him a miraculous and he clearly knows how to fight. He could be extremely useful against an akuma like Queen Wasp. I'll have to talk to Lady Noir about it... Wow, this is so good! I really can imagine Annie writing this!! Marc is so talented!"

 "Eh. He's ok," Plagg stated, making Marinette glare at him. He held up his paws in defense. "Hey! I'm the kwami of destruction, not creation! That's Tikki's area and as her old friend, I can tell you that she would love this. Anyway, we now know that the rumor is completely bogus,"

 "Not completely, Plagg," Marinette replied. "Technically, Anatis' diary does exist but it's not the real deal, it's fan work. Marc is creating stories based on Nathaniel's drawings. Someone must of seen him reading over it and saw the title then spread the rumor around.... that means we have good news and bad news..."

 "Good news first,"

 "Well, it isn't real and Marc writes the kind of stories Nath draws... which means they would make an amazing comic book if they worked together..."

 "And the bad news?"

 "Alya is still gonna try and get her hands on this," She sighed, frowning. "And like I mentioned before she could get akumatized once she realizes it isn't real,"

 "So we need to keep Alya away from the book as well as help Marc and Nath work together?" Plagg asked, getting a nod of her before she suddenly jumped up.

 "I have it!" She gasped, shocking him before she turned to him. "We convince Marc to let Nath read the book! Nath sees how talented Marc is and Alya doesn't get her paws on the book because she won't realize Nath has it and not Marc! Come on! We need to find Marc and convince him!"

 With that, she rushed out of the bathroom to find him. Only she heard the sound of books hitting the floor. Curious, she moved over and saw it was Marc raiding his locker. She realized he was trying to find his book so she opened her purse for Plagg, who flew it and walked over to him as he muttered to himself. She gently cleared her throat, making him jump.

 "Looking for this?" She asked, holding out the book as he closed his locker door. He took it and hugged it to his chest, closing his eyes in relief before they snapped open again with fear and worry. He moved back at little as he looked at her.

 "Did you read it?" He asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.

 "Oh, no!!" Marinette gasped, waving her hands but she couldn't lie. She sighed and looked to her left before slouching her shoulders. "Yeah... sorry, it was too tempting,"

 "Oh, how embarrassing," He gasped, turning away from her. "It's so, so lame,"

 "No, it's not!" She gasped, making him look at her. "You should turn it into a comic book. In fact, why do you team up with Nathaniel?"

 "Uh... I'm sure he won't like it...." He muttered, looking down but Marinette edged closer.

 "You should have him read it before you jump to conclusions," She smiled, making him bite his lip and look down.

 "But... what if he doesn't like it?!" He gasped in clear distress before he hid his face in the book. "I'll be so embarrassed! I'll have to change schools so I never run into him again!!"

 "Now you're been silly," She stated before smiling. "Look, he draws Anatis and Lady Noir all the time and you write about Anatis and Lady Noir... just let him read it..."

 "But..."

 "Would it help if I gave it to him?" She asked, making him bite his lip.

 "Y-You do that?" He asked, nervously. She nodded and gave him her best smile.

 "I know it's scary doing new things but your writing is really good and I think Nathaniel would really enjoy it," She suggested, making him bit his look. He still seemed unsure. "How about we don't tell him you're the author and get him to read it first? That way it's a win-win. If he likes it, great but if he doesn't, we just won't say anything. Sound fair?"

 "O-ok..." He mumbled, carefully handing it to her. "I... I trust you..."

 "Thank you, Marc," She replied before grinning. "Just leave it to me,"

 He nodded and she took the book back to the Art room. Mr Beauregard asked her if Marc was ok and she told him he just got overwhelmed due to his anxiety issues before she took her seat and carefully erased his name from the book. She walked over to Nathaniel and trapped his arm. He looked up at her and smiled as she sat down.  

 "Is your friend ok?" He asked, making her nod. 

 "Yeah, he's just not use to been around some many people," She explained, making him nod. "Anyway, I need a favor,"

 "What is it?" He asked as she placed down the book.

 "I want you to read this over. A friend of mine wrote it but they wanted a second opinion on the writing. I suggested you since I'm gonna be busy with my commissions and other things," She asked, sliding it over to him. He carefully opened it and gasped, looking at her. "It's not... it's not the real thing... this person is not Anatis... they're like you and a fan of his... but where you draw, they write..."

 "I see," He nods, looking at her. "Sure, I'll read over but can tell me who the author is?"

 "I can't just yet. They're really shy and-"

 "It's your friend Marc, isn't it?" He asked in a hush voice, making her eyes go wide. "It is, isn't it?"

 "I- he- yeah...." She admitted. "I suggested not telling you because he's convinced you'll hate it but you'll give it a read right?"

 "Sure," He smiled. "And don't worry. I won't tell Marc I know it's his work ok? I get what it's like to have anxiety,"

 "Thanks, Nath!" She grinned before skipping back over to her part of the desk and continued work on the guitar strap.

 ~Next Day~

 "Girl, I need that book!" Alya groaned as she walked next to Marinette, who was trying her best to tune her out. "It's like the scope of the century!"

 "And it probably is just a rumor," Marinette pointed out, making her frown. "Alya, let it go. Seriously. I don't think it's the real deal. Anatis is so careful about his idenity so why would he write a diary that could easily be found and more importantly, why would he give to a random student that has no connection to him?"

 "Or so we know!" She pointed out, making Marinette frown. "Marc could be Anatis' confident and that's why he has the diary or as I've pointed out, he is Anatis!"

 "Or it's a work of fiction," Marinette countered, noticing Marc walking in. She waved at him and excused herself from Alya to walk over to him. "Hey, Marc. How are you doing today?"

 "I'm nervous..." He gasped, playing with his hands. "What if he hates it? What if he thinks it's really Anatis who wrote it and then hates me when he discovers I'm the author?! Oh god, I can't do this! This was a bad idea!"

 "Hey, it's ok. Just take slow, deep breathes," She smiled, helping him calm down. "Now I don't think Nath will hate it and he won't think Anatis wrote it. The only person who seems to think that is Alya bu-"

 "What?!" He gasped, panicking again. "No... how does Alya know about it?! Oh, god! That's she been following me!!"

 "Marc, it's ok... calm down..." Marinette gasped, taking his hands in her. "Alya heard a rumor that you have the diary of Anatis and that it's the real deal. However, I'm trying to get her to stop seeking it ok?"

 "R-Really?" He asked, getting her to nod. "O-ok..."

 "Why don't we go see Nath?" She suggested, making him gasp. "Well, not going up to him directly but go see how he's doing with the reading,"

 "F-From the other side of the courtyard?" He asked, hopefully. It's not that he didn't want to be near Nath. He did. He was just too shy. Marinette smiled and nodded before leading him there. The two of them saw him on the other side of the courtyard, sat on the stairs. He was reading the book and clearly hooked on it. The two of them hid behind one of the opposite staircases and watched him. "Do you think he likes it?"

 "He's completely enchanted by it," She grinned, making Marc smile a little.

 "It's rude to spy on people," Adrien's voice made Marinette jump and spin around, causing her to flush and shake her hands in defense. 

 "N-No! It's not what you think!" She gasped, panicking. One, Adrien was in front of her and two, Marc wouldn't want her to tell him that it's about his book. "Uh... it's Nathaniel's birthday soon and me and Marc are planning a surprise!"

 "Cool... very typical of you, Marinette," He stated, going to leave before snapping his fingers. "Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Luka was looking for you. Anyway, see ya... oh and if you need any help, let me know,"

 "Sure will!" She gasped as he waved and walked off. Marc cleared his throat a little as she waved back.

 "Who's Luka?" He asked, causing her to blush. "Is he your boyfriend?"

 "Oh! What?! Nooo!" She gasped, going bright red. "I mean he's amazing, super cute and really cool but he's way out of my league...."

 She sighed and slouched a little, making Marc chuckle.

 "You're just as shy as I am," He mused, causing her to look at him.

 "Just do as I say and not as I do," She smiled as they looked back at Nathaniel, who was still read. "Would you mind if I went to find Luka? I actually have a gift to give him and he hasn't been at school for the past few days..."

 "S-Sure," He smiled before biting his lip. "B-But could I come with you?"

 "Sure, I'm sure Luka would love to meet you," She smiled, taking out her phone and texting him. A few seconds later, he replied. "He's in his home room and it's a good while before class starts so we can go say hi,"

 "O-ok," He mumbled, following her as they headed upstairs and to Mrs Mendeleiev's classroom. The two of them entered and saw that only Luka was in the room. He was sat at the back with his head phones on and hunched over a notepad. There was no else in the room so Marinette grabbed Marc's hand and walked over to him, who paused his pencil as soon as she walked over and looked up, taking his earphones out.

 "Hey, Lu," She grinned, making him smile before she gestured to Marc. "This is my friend, Marc... Marc, this is Luka..."

 "H-Hi..." Marc mumbled, causing Luka to smile.

 "Hey, it's nice to meet you, Marc," He smiled in a welcoming way before he tilted his head to the side and smiled a little amused. "Huh..."

 "Huh?" Marc repeated, confused as the worst case scenarios came into his head but he was taken back when he noticed Luka's expression change to one of concern.

 "Oh god, I'm so sorry," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as Marinette giggled, making Marc between him and her with confusion. "That must have seemed really rude... uh..."

 "Luka isn't great with words," Marinette explained, making Marc look at her. "But he is amazing with music. Right, Lu?"

 "Y-Yeah...I mean... it's just easier then words..." He mumbled, shaking his head. "I wish I had my guitar,"

 "W-what did you mean by huh?" Marc asked, playing with his hands.

 "Oh... I was interested by your song," Luka replied, making Marc blink. "It's nice... reminds me of the fluttering of a butterfly's wings... not like an akuma but as in a real, nice butterfly... sorry, I'm gonna shut up now,"

 "My song?" Marc asked, confused. "Like... my theme tune?"

 "Not quite," Luka explained as Marinette smiled. "Melody, you're so much more better at explaining these things then I am,"

 "Lies, you're excellent with words," Marinette grinned before turning to Marc. "Luka has the ability to hear people's emotions and the songs in their hearts,"

 "Oh wow... so you're a musical empath?" He asked, looking at him. Luka smiled and nodded. "T-That's cool..."

 "Thanks," Luka smiled as Marc bit his lip shyly. Marinette turned to Luka and opened her bag.

 "I made you something," She mumbled, taking out a wrapped gift. "It's not much but I wanted to cheer you up and I was worried... you are ok right?"

 "I'm ok," He nodded before looking up at Marinette. "But you didn't have to make me something, melody. You've already done so much for me,"

 "I k-know..." She blushed as Marc watched how to the two interacted. Luka had this soft look on his face when ever he looked towards her and Marinette was all blushy and cute. He honestly felt like he was intruding so he cleared his throat, making them look at him.

 "I'm gonna head to my home class," He mumbled before turning to Luka. "It was nice to meet you,"

 "Likewise," Luka smiled, making him feel calm and welcome. Marc smiled shyly and waved again before leaving. "He seems sweet,"

 "He is," Marinette smiled back before facing him. "But seriously, are you sure you're ok?"

 "I'm dealing with it as best I can and I'm better then the other day," He admitted, looking to the side before he glanced at her. "But I mean it. You didn't have to make me anything. You just been there for me was enough,"

 "Good but I wanted to so here," She mumbled, pushing it towards him. He opened it and stared at the guitar strap that had little music notes embroided in it in his signature colour. Tears filled his eyes as he stared at it, making her panic. "Oh god, you hate it... I'm such a klutz and now you're probably aware-"

 He suddenly stood and engulfed her in a hug, making her blush but hug him back.

 "I love it, Marinette," He mumbled before letting go and wiping his eyes. "Sorry... I almost cried on you again..."

 "That's ok... I mean it's not ok that you'd be crying because I don't want you to be upset but I'm not gonna judge you for crying cause that's totally normal," She smiled as he traced his fingers over the music notes with a small smile on his lips. "So...."

 "I'm lucky..." He mumbled, making her look at him.

 "Well, yeah... everyone knows you're literally the luckiest guy ever,"

 "Not what I mean..." He mumbled, looking up at her. "I'm lucky to have you in my life,"

 A blush came across her face as he looked at her with such a gentle and loving look but before she could do anything about it, the bell rang causing her to jump. Luka chuckled a little before smiling at her.

 "Better head to your class, Melody," He suggested, making her nod. "See ya at lunch?"

 "S-sure..." She gasped, running over of the room and waved him at him. He waved back before looking down at the guitar strap and smiled a little again before carefully placing it in his school bag, where Tikki gave him a thumbs up when she saw it. He smiled back at her before looking up as the rest of his class came in. Aurora and Kagami rushed over to him and welcomed him back to the class, making him smile as he chatted to them.

 ~End of School~

 Marinette let out a sigh as she rushed over to Nathaniel, who smiled at her. She was still tired at Alya's rants about the diary but now was the time to get Nathaniel and Marc to work together. She waved at him and smiled as he looked up from the book.

 "How's it going?" She asked, walking over to him. He smiled and closed the book. "Did you like it?"

 "Like it? I loved it!" He gasped. "It's seriously amazing! I can't believe how well he writes. Oh that scene about how they defeated Animan!! Amazing!!"

 "Excellent... would you be willing to meet... you know who?" She asked, looking around in case Marc was around. Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "Brilliant. Ok, go to the Place des Vosges fountain in an hour. He'll meet you there,"

 "Sounds great, Marinette," Nathaniel smiled before the two walked off, completely unaware that Alya had overheard the whole thing. Marinette rushed home and dropped off her bag before grabbing some snacks for herself and some cheese for Plagg before she called Marc and let him to know to go to the Place des Vosges fountain as soon as possible. With that done, she headed up into her room and used her phone to watch them. Four o'clock roll around and Marinette smiled as she saw Nathaniel approached Marc. The two of them chatted and Nathaniel handed him the journal back. Marc gave him a shy smile and the two of them shook hands before Nath walked off. Marinette squealed happily before she noticed Alya heading into the park but she looked angry. Marinette frowned and got up before rushing downstairs. She left the bakery and frowned when she heard shouting. She ran to the park and gasped at the sight in front of her. Marc was trying to pull his book out of Alya's grasp.

 "Give me that!!" Alya screamed as she yanked it.

 "Give it back! That's mine!!" He shouted as Marinette ran towards them but to her horror, the book ripped apart as Alya kept pulling at it. Marc cried out as he began to try and grab the pieces. “My writing!!”

 "Your writing?! No, this is Anatis' diary!" Alya snorted, causing Marc to shake his head.

 "No, it isn't!" He shouted, making her blink. "It's a story I wrote based on Nathaniel's drawings! I just called it that because I thought it would be clever!"

 "You mean this isn't real?!" Alya gasped, clearly annoyed. "What the hell?! Why did you lie?"

 "I didn't!" He cried back as Marinette rushed over.

“I tried to tell you that it wasn't real, Alya," She stated, making Alya frown. "And you still tried to steal it off him. What is wrong with you?"

 "I thought it was Anatis' actual diary!" Alya argued, crossing her arms. "It's not my fault that he was pretending to be someone he's not,"

 "Marc was never pretending! It was obvious from the beginning that it wasn't real," Marinette gasped. "But you just refused to listen to anyone again. This is the same as when you thought Adrien was Anatis and I was Ryuko. You refused to listen to reason and tried to get the 'proof' no matter who got hurt and now you've hurt Marc!"

 "I was just trying to get the scope!"

 "By hurting people and trying to steal their stuff?!" Marinette shouted back, failing to notice the butterfly that was fluttering by. "God, Alya. I've said before and I'll say it again! It wasn't real! And even if it was, you should have respected Anatis' choice to hide his identity!"

 "I just-" Alya stated but Marc suddenly stood up, making both girls look at him with surprise. Marinette gasped in horror as she noticed one of the torn pages was black and he had a purple butterfly mask around his face.

 "Nothing will ever be the same, Hawkmoth," He declared, causing Alya to take out her phone but Marinette grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the scene as Marc threw his book, causing it to grow large. He jumped on it and turned into his akuma self before he flew over to where Alya and Marinette were running. He landed in front of them, causing Marinette to push Alya behind her. "Move aside, Marinette! I don't want you! I want her!"

 "Marc, please, this isn't-"

 "I'm not Marc anymore!! I'm Reverser!" He roared, surprising her. "You're always so sweet and helpful! Well, not anymore! Reversion!!"

 He summoned a paper plan and threw it towards her but she dodged it and hit someone else. She grabbed Alya's arm and began to run with her again, causing Reverser to growl and chase them as Alya began to film. However, Officer Roger blew his whistle in annoyance. 

 "Hey you!" He called, causing Reverser to notice him as he gestured towards his glider. "What is this thing?! Vehicle registration please!"

 "You're all about law and order? Well, we're all done with that! Reversion!" Reverser shouted as he summoned another plane and threw it at Roger, giving Marinette a chance for her and Alya to escape. She grabbed Alya's arm and ran off with her, shoving her into the bakery to her parents' surprise. She ordered Alya to stay there before she closed the door, ignoring their protests. Officer Roger ran past her a few seconds later, shouting and acting like he didn't care. He ignored her as she slipped into the alleyway and transformed into Lady Noir, jumping up on the roof and looking for Reverser. She wasn't sure where he had disappeared to so she jumped across a few roofs and spotted him flying through the street. She jumped towards where he was going and threw her baton between the buildings and walked across them. She stopped in the middle, causing him to come to a stop.

 "Reverser, listen to me," She started, trying to reason with him. "I get that you're upset but-"

 "Upset?!" He growled. "Upset doesn't even cover it, you mangy cat! Alya destroyed my work then had the nerve to call me a liar! Well, everyone will see how useless she is when I get hold her off!"

 "We don't have to fight!" She argued, making him growl. "I agree that Alya was in the wrong but this isn't justice. It's revenge!"

 "Then let me change your idea of justice! Reversion!" He shouted, summoning a plane and throw it at her. She jumped down and spun around her baton, dodging his paper plans. He growled and kept throwing them at her but she kept dodging. A yoyo wrapped around his arm, stopping him from firing another plane at her and causing him to look at Anatis. "You just had to interfere, didn't you?!"

 "I'm not sure what the problem is but Lady Noir is right," Anatis pointed out as Reverser glared at him. "We don't have to fight so make the right choice and give up. Besides, I couldn't let you change her sense of justice!"

 "You sure talk a lot, Anatis," Reverser growled. "But what will you do without your powers?! Reversion!"

 He threw paper plans at him but Anatis dodged them, jumping around as he did. Reverser glared at him but stopped firing his planes. Instead, he smiled as if he was amused by the turn of events.

 "You can't keep still, can you bugboy?" He asked, making Anatis raise an eyebrow. "Well, let's go for a ride then,"

 "Wait what?!" Anatis gasped but Reverser suddenly flew off at a fast speed, dragging Anatis along with him. Lady Noir gasped and grabbed her baton before she began to chase them. Anatis held on for dear life as Reverser sped through the city, laughing as he did. They flew past a traffic jam and Anatis looked back in confusion as he saw Officer Roger running down the street and shouting something about doing whatever you wanted. He also had a two dufflebags full of money. Anatis assumed that he got hit with one of Reverser's plane. He began to try and climb up his yoyo to get closer to Reverser as they flew over the Seine but Reverser began to throw more planes at him, causing him to dodge. A butterfly mask briefly covered his face, causing Anatis to dread what Hawkmoth suggested. Reverser smirked when it disappeared and summoned one of his planes.

 "You used to be quick on your feet? Well, now you've got two left feet! Reversion!" He shouted, throwing the plane at Anatis but he dodged again. However, the plane continued to fly and hit a nearby cyclist, causing him to forget how to ride a bike. "Oops,"

 "Whoa! Sorry!!" The cyclist cried out as he attempted to try and ride the bike but he was moving around, almost hit people as he did. "How do I ride a bike?!"

 "Oh no!" Anatis gasped as he accidentally turned towards the edge of the bridge and flew over the side. Anatis freed his yoyo from Reverser's arm before diving towards the man as he flew. He threw the yoyo and caught him, using it to swing and jump back onto the bridge. "Are you alright?"

 "Yes... Thank you, Anatis but I don't know what happened," He gasped, confused but before Anatis could answer, he heard the sound of the plane. He used his arms to protect him, causing it to his forearm. Reverser smirked at the success. 

 "Got ya," He declared, causing Anatis to take out his yoyo and throw it towards him. Only it didn't work. Instead, it hit the fence, bounced back and hit him in the face, which in turn caused him to trip over the bench and fall down. He pulled himself up but his yoyo then landed on his head. Reverser laughed and moved closer to him, causing almost everyone run off in fear. "How do you like your new role, Klutzy bug?"

 He smirked as the purple mask appeared around his eyes again before it disappeared.

 "Your miraculous will be mine!" He declared, reaching out towards Anatis but before he could, Lady Noir landed in front of Anatis and whacked Reverser's hand back before spinning her baton.

 "I don't think so, Reverser!" She declared, getting into a fighting position. "Sorry I'm late, Annie. I ran into some trouble on the way here but now I'm ready to cause our new friend some trouble,"

 "It's fine..." He muttered, trying to get up and failing.

 "You ok, Annie?" She asked, glancing back at him a little.

 "You think you're so brave, Lady Noir? Well, we can change that!" He declared, summoning a plane. "From puss to wuss! Reversion!"

 He threw it at her but she dodged it, causing it to fly over the edge and into the Seine.

 "Oh, I'm so scared," She teased, flicking her braid as Anatis pushed himself up. "You'll be the one afraid when me and Annie are done, Reverser!"

 "Lady Noir! Wait!" Anatis called out as she charged towards Reverser before he lost his balance and fell over the bench again. Lady Noir stopped, turning to Anatis with worry but while she was distracted, Reverser hit her with his plane, causing her jump back in fear as Anatis was trying to get back up. She accidentally knocked him, which caused both of them to fall over the railing and straight into the Seine. Lady Noir began to panic and swam up to the surface. She broke through, taking a breathe and looked around. Reverser wasn't around but neither was Anatis. Her eyes widen in fear as she realized he must still be under the water so she placed her baton into her mouth and dived back under, her fear for Anatis's drowning was far greater then the fear of the water. She swam him near the bottom of the Seine, struggling badly to swim. Luckily, he had put his yoyo in his mouth so he breathe underwater but he was struggling to swim. She swam over to him and grabbed his arm, helping him move through the water. He tries his best to move as well but it was mostly Lady Noir doing the work. She pulled him to the side of the Seine and towards the surface. She helped him grab onto the edge of the shore before pulling herself out of the water then helping him. He crawled on the ground and let out a sigh as she shivered.

 "Even swimming is impossible with this curse," He muttered, shaking his head before looking up at her. "You ok?"

 "I'm gonna catch a cold!" She gasped, shivering as he crawled over to the stairs and used a concrete block to get himself to his feet.

 "We need to find a way to defeat him," He stated, making her gasp and look at him.

 "You want to face him again?!" She asked with a fearful tone. Anatis nodded, making her whimper. "But I don't wanna face that bad guy again.... he looks so mean..."

 "We don't have a choice, Lady Noir," He muttered before sighing. "Besides, he's gonna come looking for us sooner or later. Hey, you were fighting him first. Do you know why he got akumatized?"

 "Well, he had wrote this story that he called the Journal of Anatis but people in his school believed it was your journal and one of the students... Alya... tried to steal it off him but in the attempt, the book the story was in got destroyed and then she called him a liar when she found out it wasn't real," She explained, shivering. Anatis frowned a little. "T-that's why I was late to the fight on the bridge. Alya was heading to where he was to film him, despite been his target! So I grabbed her and took her to the Grand Paris hotel. Her mother is watching over her,"

 "My journal? She really believed that?" He asked in disbelief. "Wow... hmm... well, at least we know she's safe from Reverser so let's focus on moving away from here. Once we've gotten up those stairs, we can try and track down where Reverser would look for her,"

 "I can't! Those stairs are way too high!!" She cried, making him frown before he held out his hand to her. She blinked and looked at it before looking back at him. He gave her his best reassuring smile.

 "Come on, kitten," He stated in a gentle tone. She pouted a little as she looked at his hand again. "It's ok, kitten,"

 She carefully took his hand and he began to gently pull her towards the stairs.

 "That's right," He encouraged as they moved closer. "See? You're gonna be just- ah!"

 He knocked into the block and fell over it, letting out a sigh before carefully getting back up. He eyed up her baton and formed an idea.

 "Can I use your baton as a walking stick?" He asked, causing her to give it to him. He tried to extend it to the right size but hit himself in the chin. Lady Noir helped him, making it the right size. He leaned on it before gesturing for her to come over. He offered her his arm and smiled to her reassuringly. She hooked her arm into his and moved closer to him. "Ok, we're gonna do this one step at a time,"

 "O-Ok," She nodded. It took them almost ten minutes to get up the stairs but they managed it. Of course, Anatis almost fell once they were on street level. Lady Noir was able to help him plus he used her baton to regain his balance. He let out a sigh before looking at her. "W-what now?"

 "We go to Dupont High. If Reverser is after Alya, chances are he'll look there... right?" He mumbled, causing her to nod.

 "S-She goes to the art club to work on her blog... but how are we gonna get there?! You're in no state to fly around on that dangerous thing!" She gasped, pointing to his yoyo. He looked at it and sighed as she was right before he looked to the street and noticed a cab.

 "We're getting a taxi," He mumbled, pointing towards one. Lady Noir gulped but helped him move over. He carefully knocked on the window, causing the taxi driver to wind down his window and gasp in surprise. "Hi, how much would it be to get to Dupont High? We need to get there as soon as possible,"

 "Um... why don't you just swing there with your yoyo?" He asked, confused. Lady Noir gasped and let go of Anatis, causing him to fall.

 "Are you insane?! He could kill himself if he did that!" She gasped, placing her hands on the car door. The taxi driver blinked at her in surprise before looking down at Anatis, who was on the floor and rubbing his spine.

 "Ouch," He mumbled before trying to get up but failing again. "This is getting old!"

 "Yeah, you're right. He would die," The taxi driver mumbled as Lady Noir tried to help him up. He got out the car and helped get Anatis inside the backseats. He put on his seatbelt as Lady Noir climbed in next to him. She was shaking as she did up her seatbelt. "So Dupont High right?"

 "Yeah," Anatis replied, looking to Lady Noir. "Kitten?"

 "I'm scared of small spaces," She whimpered before let out a cry as the car began to drive.

 "It's ok, kitty," He tried to calm her down.

 "There's a blanket next to you, Lady Noir. You can wrap it around yourself for comfort," The Taxi Driver stated, causing her to do so. "So what happened?"

 "Got hit by the latest akuma," Anatis sighed as Lady Noir shivered. He took one of her hands in his to calm her down. "He has the power to reverse people's personalities and abilities. Hence my lack of ability and her crippling fear,"

 "Ah, well wherever you need to go, I'll take you there... free of charge as well," The driver stated, surprising Anatis. "It's the least I can do, given how you and the little lady save Paris from that maniac and his freaks almost every day,"

 "Thank you, sir," Anatis smiled as the car pulled up. Lady Noir undid her belt and got out, shaking and muttering to herself that he was driving too fast. Anatis shook his head and apologized to the driver before he got out. He went to close the car door but trapped his yoyo in it. He sighed in annoyance and opened the door again, taking out the string then closing it before he walked forward. Only the rope got caught around his legs, causing him to trip and fall. He groaned before forcing himself up. He made sure his yoyo string was no where near his leg and then walked extremely slow and careful into the school. He literally pulled himself up the stairs and almost knocked into Lady Noir. "Kitten?"

 "I think Reverser got here first," She mumbled as paintings got thrown out of the art room. They heard the art teacher shout about how he hated art and music. He ran out and slammed a painting to the ground, followed by Rose who threw her lyrics down. Juleka followed them and slammed her guitar against the ground, breaking it. Anatis flinched at the instrument's destruction. He carefully moved toward the guitar but slipped on a piece of paper, causing him to fall down and the paper to flutter down onto his face. He frowned and picked it up. However, his eyes widen at the picture. It showed him and Lady Noir facing Queen Wasp and possibly Evillustrator but it honestly looked like Evillustrator was actually helping them. Lady Noir rushed over and helped Anatis sit up. "Are you ok?"

 "Yeah, I just slipped over this," He mumbled, showing her. 

 "Oh, that's one of Nathaniel's!" She gasped, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "He was Evillustrator. They're on the school's website,"

 "How do you know that?"

 "The Ladyblog linked it and I checked them out," She admitted, making him nod. "Anyway, he drew himself as a hero. That's not Evillustrator but Mightyllustrator, who helps Anatis and Lady Noir fight the bad guys. It was these drawings that inspired Marc to write the journal of Anatis,"

 "Mightyllustrator hmm?" He muttered before an idea pop into his head. Apparently, his natural luck was still working. He looked up at Lady Noir, who was holding her blanket around her shoulders. "I have an idea,"

 "You do?"

 "Yeah," He nodded, looking up at her. "We need help,"

 "But you can't get a miraculous like this. You can barely walk so I can't leave you. If I do, I'm afraid you'll end up badly hurt," She gasped but he shook his head.

 "Not that kind of help," He mumbled, tapping the picture. "Now where does Nathaniel hang out?"

 "I'm not sure," She mumbled, playing with her blanket. Anatis sighed a little before looking over at the pictures on the floor. A lot of the battles that he had drawn seemed to take place at the Louvre museum. Anatis clicked his fingers, causing Lady Noir to jump and hiss.

 "Sorry... but I think I know where Nathaniel hangs out," He smiled, pointing to the pictures. "The Louvre is in almost all of Nathaniel's drawings and while I can't be sure he's there, it's a start,"

 "Does mean we have to get another cab?" Lady Noir whimpered, causing Anatis to nod before the two of them carefully made their way to the cab. They climbed inside, causing Anatis to let out a sigh. He was really getting annoyed with this curse. He shook his head and turned to the driver.

 "Can you take us to the Louvre please?" He asked, getting a nod of the guy as Lady Noir's baton vibrated causing her to jump. She calmed down and checked the notification, showing him the video. He frowned as he watched the video. It was of Nadja Chamuck reporting on the protest about the space dumpster program but thanks to Reverser, the mayor had ordered the dumpsters to return back to Paris, meaning the city will be covered in a pile of trash. Naturally, Reverser was using the situation to make a threat. Lady Noir turned up the volume so they could hear what he was saying.

 "Anatis! Lady Noir! I demand that you bring Alya Ceasire to me right now!" He growled, making Lady Noir quake. "And I demand you give me your miraclous!"

 "He's so scary," She mumbled as the taxi pulled up at the Louvre. Anatis and her quickly got out and carefully made their way into the museum. They made their way through the areas before they came across where Nathaniel was. He sat on one of the benches, drawing while Alix skated around him. They seemed to be talking about making a comic. 

 "Nathaniel," Anatis called, getting both of their attention. "We need your help. It's an em- aah!"

 Both Nathaniel and Alix stared as Anatis proceeded to trip over himself, knocking Lady Noir down in the process. He groaned and threw up his arms.

 "Seriously?!" He yelled, clearly frustrated. "This is getting annoying!"

 "Are you two ok?" Nathaniel gasped, rushing over to them with Alix. The two of them helped the heroes up to their feet. Lady Noir instantly pulled her blanket around her while Anatis leaned on Nathaniel. "What happened?"

 "Reverser," Anatis mumbled, causing both of them to look at them with confusion.

 "Who's that?" Alix asked, frowning.

 "Only the meanest akuma we've ever faced!!" Lady Noir gasped, her ears twitching. "He turned Annie into a total klutz!"

 "um..."

 "He has the ability to reverse people's personalities and abilities," Anatis sighed. "I got hit by one of his planes that took away my natural abilities. I'm not even sure if I can use the miracle cure yet and Lady Noir got hit with a plan that made her a literal scaredy cat.... which brings me to why we're here. We need help. Reverser is after a girl called Alya Ceasire-"

 "Why is he after Alya?" Alix asked, concerned. Anatis frowned before sighing.

 "She tried to steal a book from him, thinking that it was my diary but it was actually a work of fiction. Anyway, when she was trying to take it, it got destroyed and then she got annoyed that it wasn't real," He explained, frowning. "And now he's after her. He probably wants to destroy her reputation,"

 "Marc is Reverser?!" Nathaniel gasped, making both Lady Noir and Anatis look at him. "Marc Anciel. He's usually this really shy boy who Marinette introduced to the Art Club. I'm suppose to be making a comic book with him as my writer. Honestly, his story is amazing but why would Alya think it was real?"

 "Cause it's Alya," Alix snorted. "She's obsessed with getting the next scope and doesn't think about her actions. I mean she did try to take a photo of Adrien's locker because she thought he was Anatis and she's been akumatized twice because of her 'hunches'. Not to mention she doesn't exactly check her facts before posting stuff,"

 "Ok, I get the point but how can we help you?" Nathaniel asked. "I mean he wants Alya, not me. Won't he just attack you when he sees Alya isn't there?"

 "I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Anatis answered, typing on his yoyo before showing them. Alya was already at the scene and filming. "Now we're gonna grab her but we'll need help which is why we've come to you. You're one of the few people who isn't reversed right now,"

 "I'll help however I can but... does this mean I get a miraculous?" He asked, curious. 

 "Not right now... I think I'll need Nathaniel the artist," Anatis smiled.

 "In that case then I'm coming," Alix declared, making Anatis look at her.

 "No, I'm already taking a big risk bringing in Nathaniel so you're staying,"

 "You know, Annie, I could totally stay here and keep Alix company," Lady Noir suggested, clearly not wanting to fight Reverser. However, she didn't pay attention to Alix, who moved closer to her then shouted boo, causing her to scream and jump on Anatis. He tried to catch her but due to his lack of ability, he fell to the floor. He groaned as Alix offered him her hand as Nathaniel helped Lady Noir to her feet. He took her hand and Alix helped him to his feet.

 "It looks like to be you both need a hand," She grinned, making him sigh in defeat. "And I'm not leaving Nathaniel alone. He's my friend,"

 "Alright," Anatis nodded. "You can help,"

 "Alright! So how we getting to the Eiffel Tower?" Alix asked, causing Lady Noir to whimper.

 "We're riding in that death trap again, aren't we?" She asked, causing Alix and Nathaniel look at each other as Anatis nodded. "I don't wanna,"

 "It'll be fine, Kitten," He smiled, making her look at him with big eyes. "You know I won't let anything bad happen to you,"

 "A-Alright," She stated as Alix and Nathaniel helped them outside and into the taxi. They got in after them and told the driver to take them to the Eiffel Tower. Lady Noir hid her face in Anatis's shoulder for the whole ride. He gently patted her head to reassure her. 

 "Stop here!" Anatis called out, making the Taxi driver stop. Nathaniel opened the door, causing Alya to look behind her. Anatis narrowed his eyes at her, making her gulp as Lady Noir hissed. "Get in,"

 "Uh... is there even room?" She asked. Alix climbed out and grinned. 

 "Now there is," She stated. Alya frowned and got in, allowing Alix to close the door. "I'll meet you guys at the tower,"

 "Ok," Anatis nodded as the car drove off again. Alix skated towards the tower. Alya turned to the two heroes and Nathaniel as they drove to the tower.

 "Um... so would this be a bad time to ask for an interview?" She asked, gulping at the looks the heroes were giving her. They didn't answer her as the taxi pulled up. Lady Noir got out first and pulled out Alya, muttering about the speed of the driver again. Nathaniel helped Anatis out of the car as Alix arrived. "What's wrong with you two?"

 "That's strange," Alix stated, looking up into the sky and ignoring Alya. "The stars are out earlier,"

 "Those aren't stars, Alix," Anatis replied, looking up as well. "The trash is entering the atmosphere. In a few minutes, it will be like a meteor shower but with dumpsters instead,"

 "You can fix that right?" Alya gasped as Lady Noir whimpered. She moved the blanket over her head and was shaking. Anatis looked over at her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him with big, fearful eyes.

 "Don't be afraid, kitten," He smiled, gently moving the make shift hood down. "We can do this,"

 "Y-You're right as usual, Annie," She mumbled, giving him her best smile. "Our powers might be messed up but we still make a great team,"

 "Exactly," He smiled, patting her head before he winked at her. "Now I think it's time I changed our luck,"

 He took out his yoyo and threw up in the air, summoning his lucky charm. To his surprise, it actually worked and created a bamboo roll. It dropped down and hit him on the head then bounced into his hands. He frowned before he began to look around. His luck vision highlighted a safety cone, Lady Noir's blanket, his yoyo and his belt. He smiled as he formed a plan before handing Nathaniel the roll. He took off his belt and grabbed Alya's arms, securing them with the belt as she protested.

 "Alix, pass me that cone please," He asked, making her grab the cone and hand it to him. He held it up to his mouth. "Reverser! Listen up, I've got a deal for you! I'm sending Lady Noir up to you,"

 Lady Noir gasped as a terrified look came over her face. 

 "In exchange, you'll reverse the mayor to order the dumpsters back into space!" He shouted as Reverser looked at him. "Only then will I give you my miraculous and Alya,"

 "I'll only reverse the mayor back if I have Lady Noir and Alya!" He shouted back. "Then I'll reverse Alya and everyone will see what a horrible creature she really is. Her reputation will be irreversible by the time I'm done with her!"

 "Um... Anatis, you're not gonna let him do that right?" Alya asked but Anatis frowned before holding the cone up again.

 "Deal!" He shouted back, making her gasp before he lowered the cone and helped take Alya and Lady Noir to the lift, along with Nathaniel. "I have a plan. Use Lady Noir's blanket and the bamboo roll to make a kite,"

 "A kite?" Nathaniel asked, surprised as Alya glared at him. "How will we fly it?"

 "Use this," He stated, giving him his yoyo before he turned to Lady Noir, who is shaking. "Kitten, I need you to be really brave. This plan relies on you to make it work,"

 "W-What do you need me to do?" She asked, looking at him.

 "I need you to ride the kite," He stated, making her look at him with shock and fear. "I know how it sounds but you need to destroy his glider,"

 "I... I can't do it," She gasped, tears in her eyes. "Don't make me,"

 "I'm sorry, Kitten but you're the only one who can," He replied before leaning closer to her. "Use my belt as a blindfold. That way you don't have to look down,"

 "I'm too scared," She admitted but he smiled at her.

 "Trust me," He winked before closing the door and heading back to the street with Alix. He grabbed the traffic cone again. "Lady Noir and Alya are on their way up. I've sent Nathaniel with them to make sure they don't try anything! Now reverse the mayor!"

 "If you try to trick me, it'll cost you,"

 "Yeah, I get it but what tricks do you think I could actually pull off?" Anatis shouted back. "I'm a super klutz and Lady Noir is now scared of her own shadow. We don't stand a chance against you, Reverser,"

 He smiled at that answer and turned round, summoning a plane to reverse the mayor. He stopped as the lift came to a stop and opened, revealing Lady Noir holding onto the kite. She had Anatis' belt around her eyes and his yoyo in her mouth but she was shaking.

 "Go, Lady Noir!!" Nathaniel yelled as Alya began filming again. Lady Noir gulped but broke out into a run, stepping off the tower. She let out a scream, dropping the yoyo. Anatis reached for it but it missed and hit him on the head. Alix, however, grabbed it and yanked it. With Anatis' direction, she steered the kite and dodged Reverser's planes. Anatis moved her arms, directing Lady Noir to fly directly under Reverser's glider. He grabbed the cone and held it up again.

 "Lady Noir! Now!" He shouted, causing her to hold out her hand.

 "Cataclysm!!" She shouted, tracing her fingers across the bottom of the glider. It turned to dust and released the akuma as Alix yanked the kite, causing Lady Noir to let go and fall. It fell to Anatis and Alix, causing them to grab it. Alix helped him through up in the air and call out the magic words, releasing the cure as Lady Noir and Reverser fell towards the ground. Reverser let out a scream as he turned back into Marc and Lady Noir was already screaming. The magic ladybugs swarmed around her, making her blink before she took out her baton and threw it between the legs of the Effiel tower. She grabbed hold off it and caught Marc as the cure fixed everything else. Finally, they swarmed around Anatis, giving him back his balance and ability.

 "Hey, Anatis, you're gonna need this," Alix grinned, throwing the yoyo to him. He grinned as he caught before he opened it and threw it, catching the corrupted butterfly. He snapped it closed then released it as Lady Noir brought down Marc, who had reverted back to his shy self. He was looking down and holding onto his left arm. He took a small step forward and went to open his mouth but the mayor, Nathaniel and Alya came over. Marc instantly stepped closer to Lady Noir as Alya grinned and held up her photo.

 "So got time for a quick interview?" She asked but flinched at the look he gave her. "Um... is that a no?"

 "Miss Ceasire, do you know why this young man here got akumatized?" He asked, crossing his arms. Alya bit her lip with a guilty look. 

 "Uh... his book got ripped..." She mumbled, causing Marc to look down. "But he shouldn't have been claiming it was your diary!"

 "I didn't..." He mumbled but Anatis shook his head.

 "You shouldn't have gone after it, even if it had been real," He stated, making her frown. "I've made it perfectly clear that I don't want my identity revealed but you insist! Do you realize what would happen if my identity was revealed to all of Paris, including Hawkmoth? He would target my family, Alya and that would be on you! Do you understand? Back off from my identity!"

 "But... Paris deserves to know?"

 "Oh well by that logic so does Hawkmoth!" He shouted, making her flinch. "I don't want my identity known or anyone else on my team and you will respect that! Is that understood?!"

 "Y-Yes, sir..." She mumbled, looking down.

 "And while we're at you, you can apology to this young man for wrongful destroying his property and accusing him off been a liar," He declared, glaring at her. She looked up at Marc. "I also expect you to buy him a new notepad,"

 "But your cure fixed it," She gasped, pointing to it. However, Anatis glared at her. "O-ok... I'm sorry, Marc... I jumped to conclusions and I blamed you when it was me in the wrong. I should have done my research,"

 "Exactly," Lady Noir added in. "I highly recommend you get into the habit of fact checking,"

 Anatis went to add something but his earrings beeped, along with Lady Noir's ring. The two heroes ran off as Alya turned back to Marc, who was joined by Nathaniel.

 "I really am sorry,"

 ~Next Week at School~

 "The art room is great! You'll love it there!!" Marinette grinned as she and Luka walked up the stairs. "Everyone is so friendly and you already know Rose and Juleka!! Since you have a free period, you should come with me! I'm heading there now!"

 "I don't know, Melody," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to intrude,"

 "You won't be," She reassured before giving him her best puppy dog look she could. "Please!!!"

 "... Alright..." He sighed in defeat but he had a little smile on his face. She let out a happy yell before grabbing his face and dragging him into room 33. As soon as she walked in, Mr Beauregard looked up and smiled at her.

 "Found another stray, Marinette?" He asked with a smile. Marinette giggled as Rose waved at Luka. He waved back

 "This is Luka, the guitarist I told you about," She smiled, making Luka blush at the fact that she mentioned him to people. Mr Beauregard turned to Luka and smiled as Marinette began to talk to Rose.

 "Welcome to Room 33, Luka," He smiled. "You can come here anytime you want between classes or after school. Marinette told us you play guitar and Rose mentioned you were in her band,"

 "Yes, sir," He mumbled, nodding. "I'm Juleka's older brother..."

 "Ah, another Couffaine huh?" He smiled. "Then you're definitely in the right place. We have a lot of different equipment here so I'm sure you'll be able to find a guitar somewhere. Ah, Marc, Nathaniel. This is Luka, Marinette's friend,"

 "Hi," Nathaniel smiled, waving.

 "I remember you. You're the musical empath that Marinette made the guitar strap for," Marc mumbled, playing with his hands. "It's nice to meet you again,"

 "So you're the lucky person who got that guitar strap?" Mr Beauregard asked, making Luka smile shyly and nod. "Well, feel free to look around as much as you want, Luka. You're always welcome here. Now, boys, how is your comic coming along?"

 "It's great, Mr Beauregard," Nathaniel grinned. "We based it off Marc's akumatization and had Mightyllustrator help Anatis and Lady Noir deakumatized him! Once he's been saved, he joins their team!"

 "Wow! That sounds great, boys," Mr Beauregard grinned as Luka felt Tikki's song beat with excitement. He smiled a little before walking over to the musical instrument area. He found an acoustic guitar. He strummed the strings and listened carefully before tuning it. Tikki peaked up at him and smiled, hidden behind the guitar before he smiled and began to play, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and listen. Once he finished the song, they all clapped, causing him to blush a little. "Wow, that's some talent there, Luka. Marinette wasn't kidding when she said you were the best guitar she knows,"

 "I never lie, Mr Beauregard," Marinette grinned as Luka went bright red. 

 "I'll say," Nathaniel smiled as Marc clicked his fingers.

 "Oh, Marinette... we just want you to know that we dedicated the first issue of our comic to you," He smiled, making her go bright red. "Since it wouldn't exist without your help, we thought it would be a nice thank you,"

 "R-Really?" She gasped, getting a nod of the boys. "Thank you,"

 "Aww, now they match!" Rose gasped, causing both Luka and Marinette to turn a brighter shade of red that caused everyone, including them to laugh.

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

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/636532022128574464/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-36

[astrodances]

F.O.W.L. Case Files: The Unknowing Traitor

Some people have made some fantastic theories about Beakley being the traitor. I and others have speculated about it being Duckworth. And the show itself has pointed at it being Donald.

But Beakley and Duckworth, if they were it, would most certainly be in the know about it (no sleeper agent roles for them). Donald, if it’s him, wouldn’t be a sleeper agent (necessarily), just an unknowing traitor.

(Rest is under the cut!)

(Disclaimer: I know many have already speculated that Webby might be a sleeper agent for F.O.W.L. - but if that’s the case, that has yet to happen. I’m talking about Donald being an existing/current traitor.)

This is basically just gonna be a list of evidence for Donald being the traitor, in no particular order, except for the first point being my main piece of evidence (and the second one being a kinda wild sub-theory):

Donald wasn’t just the “ruse” for F.O.W.L.’s mechanical mosquito in “Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!” - he was bitten. I think he was their target.

Right after this shot near the end of the episode, and after the close-up on the mosquito, where we see that it’s a camera, the scene changes to F.O.W.L. HQ and specifically shows Gandra first, looking quite in her not-really evil scientific element. And what has Gandra made it clear she’s worked with?

Nanites (microscopic robots) and eyebuds.

What if that mosquito was more than just a camera? What if it injected Donald with some specially-made nanites that didn’t necessarily use Donald’s body’s electricity for external power (although, maybe in the finale?), but to spy on him and the family from his own eyes and maybe ears? (Whether it’s eyebud technology at work here or a different method is up for debate.) This way, F.O.W.L. was able to spy on them all a little closer from the beginning of this particular season, and know where all the Missing Mysteries were. The mosquito was just for this one trip, as they could have easily known about the Ducks going to Woodchuck Island, and they wanted to see if they found the journal.

Bonus crack theory: I was taking this one step further and thinking that, at the end of “Double-O-Duck”, when he brought them back from the lighthouse, Bradford could’ve totally injected Dewey and LP with nanites while they were still unconscious. XD

To put the icing on the above, I’d just like to point out that there’s that Donald/spying-centric episode of DT87 called “Spies in Their Eyes”. Between the major hints coming from that title, Donald being hypnotized into being a traitor in that episode (he does look hypnotized in the top pic of this post...), and one of the main themes of it being “loose lips sink ships,” it all seems veeery suspicious.

(A side thought I just had, but speaking of sinking ships and that DT87 episode dealing with a secret sub, I just remembered that in last week’s “Life and Crimes...”, Louie “accidentally” sold the sub. Gonna keep my eye on that...)

But anywho, actually speaking of “loose lips sink ships”...

Remember the fact that Donald has that “PARTY FOWL” fanny pack?

In this post, people were saying that Donald was accidentally around F.O.W.L., either at a party, where he got this fanny pack, or in general, and the fanny pack is just a hint. I’m personally thinking (and kinda half-joking) that said party is connected to the 3 Cabs concert in Acapulco. You know how there’s that very prominent, now-suspicious moment in “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!”, where Donald says, “You did? Why don’t I remember that?” in regards to Panchito breaking his guitar over his head, and that he apparently got a concussion from getting hit with a chair but also doesn’t remember that? Well, what if it wasn’t just a concussion?

But what if it wasn’t a concussion? What if it was F.O.W.L. messing with his memories?

I don’t have any specific reason for why they would want to erase his memories - if they did, we’ll probably find out why, when, and how tonight. (I had some ideas though when I first got this theory - maybe they needed info or something else from him, and then didn’t want him to remember being questioned or whatever; he accidentally (or even purposefully) found out something about F.O.W.L. - ooh! after the whole Papyrus of Binding incident, maybe that Bradford was F.O.W.L.? or maybe something about Webby/the clones? or something to do with why Beakley went into hiding as Scrooge’s housekeeper and all that?; maybe it was a literal “loose lips sink ships” revelation about the Spear of Selene?; after “The First Adventure!” though, I am leaning towards it having something to do with the Papyrus - if Donald didn’t re-discover that Bradford was F.O.W.L., maybe it was that F.O.W.L. was trying to use Donald to get the Papyrus again?)

Regardless of the why, if F.O.W.L. did mess with his memories, it would explain why Donald didn’t know about Beakley being a spy at the beginning of the series, but Della did.

Anyway, some more quick points of evidence for Donald being the traitor:

the bottom-right corner of this screen in F.O.W.L. HQ:

Sure does look like the houseboat at the dock, huh?

the accountant parallel here (and I’d like to re-emphasize the fact that Donald’s moment there is from the pilot)

the way Donald was acting in “Impossibin!” - Beakley was definitely suspicious, but Donald had his own questionable moments, and he seemed suspicious of Beakley up on the roof with that eye glare in a way that seemed more than just about her immediate behavior, like he does know something (which goes against my earlier points, but still)

This is very much a stretch, but at the beginning of “Golden Spear!”, Penny’s all “treacherous spy” about Della, but then the scene transitions to Donald. And in the rest of the episode, most (if not all) transitions to Donald have a line or moment before that specifically seem to reference him (like Della’s “My family is fearless!” before it goes to Donald clinging to his hammock). So, if the transitions are supposed to be about him, then this could be a very cleverly-hidden hint.

young Donald and his lyrics are against Scrooge’s wealth and all XD (just another point for being on opposite sides in the future, should the theory hold)

a very small hint, but if the nanite theory above is true, then Gyro’s whole “genetic experimentation” line in “87 Cent Solution!”, with the footage of Donald facing the traps, might have been foreshadowing?

Ok, I think that’s it. My last F.O.W.L. Case File before the end. (I had a couple more pieces of evidence for the traitor being Duckworth - he disarms Scrooge of his cane - perhaps the Action Cane? - before pushing him towards the buzzards at the Christmas party, and in his intro episode, there was that whole “fake ghost axe” thing - and some other smaller theories and parallels to make, but I think I’ve said everything important that I wanted to theorize about.)

Anyway, by this point, I’m sure some people on the east coast have seen the finale, or are watching it now, but I still have about 2 hours until midnight now, so I’m gonna keep drawing this one thing to post tomorrow while finishing my rewatch.

Let’s dewey this, people! 💜

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 3

It was a couple hours before the bar started to empty out, and despite what he had said earlier, Kit reluctantly agreed to serve Link two more bottles. It was close to midnight when the last of his customer’s had gone, leaving Kit and Link the only two left in the building. Kit stretched his arms over his head, opting to close up early by simply locking the door and flipping the sign in the window. He then poured himself a couple of shots and took them one after the other before helping himself to two more.

Link raised a brow at him. “Really?”

“I’ve got some catching up to do,” Kit said between shots.

Link grinned. “You’ve been drinking all night.”

Kit shrugged. It was true that he had been helping himself to the occasional beer or shot between serving patrons. He and Link even toasted to some nonsense he couldn’t remember earlier in the evening. He finished another two shots, then worked at clearing the glasses along with Link’s empties. He wiped the bar down quickly with very little effort, then joined Link on the other side of the counter, taking up the empty barstool next to him. He pulled out a tin that Link was all too familiar with, along with a lighter, and he offered one of the joints to Link.

Link rolled it between his fingers in between inhalations, watching it burn. They smoked quietly for a moment before Kit finally spoke.

“When are you gonna sack up and talk to Mipha? Get back together with her already.”

Link said nothing. He brought the joint to his mouth and inhaled. A single light lit the bar leaving them otherwise sitting in the dark. It felt better to be there in the dark than at home where the darkness only made him feel claustrophobic.

“Or are you still on board the Zelda train?” Kit continued.

“There’s no Zelda train,” Link said simply.

Kit grinned. “That’s not what I’ve seen on tv.”

“Do you really believe everything you see on tv?”

Kit nodded. “When the reporters say ZeLink is a thing, I do.”

Link raised a brow and inspected his joint. “ZeLink?”

“Your celebrity couple name,” Kit said. He inhaled deeply, then added, “Obviously.”

Link snorted. “That’s not a thing.”

“Don’t lie,” Kit said. “You’re totally banging.”

Link took another hit and stood. Without another word, he left the bar, leaving Kit to scramble to catch up to him. He waited outside in the cool night until Kit caught up, stumbling and swaying for a moment.

“Fuckin’ shit,” he muttered under his breath as he caught his balance. He brought the joint to his lips, inhaled, then sighed dramatically. “The night is ours,” he said with a grin. “What kinda trouble should we get into?”

“Zelda yelled at me last time,” Link said.

Kit laughed. “Hey, you’re not a thing, what does she care?”

“She can’t be associated with my antics,” Link said with a smirk. “Makes her look bad.”

“Well, not for nothing,” Kit started, pausing for another hit. “Your presence can make anyone look bad.”

“That’s what I aim for.”

“I still think you should make up with Mipha,” he said. “She was the one thing you got right.”

“She doesn’t need to be dragged down into my shit,” Link muttered. He took another hit, speaking again as he blew out smoke. “She’s better off.”

“I disagree,” Kit said frankly. “The way I see it, you’re just a stupid ass who pushes everyone away.”

“No, I’m just a stupid ass that everyone leaves.”

“Are you gonna cry about it?”

Link snorted. “No. I drink.”

“Poor Link has no friends,” Kit mocked.

“Look who’s talking.”

Kit nodded. “No shit, huh?” He paused for a hit. “Guess that makes us a pretty good team.”

“I prefer to run solo.”

“You do a lot of things solo,” Kit said with a grin. His face turned serious as he spoke again. “It’s been like, five years. I don’t think either of you are better off.”

“Well,” Link started, “I’m not about to start taking relationship advice from you.”

“You should,” Kit said. “Because whether you believe it or not, you would have been better off.” He paused for a long inhale. “You’re not the hero anymore. You don’t have to do what you think is best for everyone else.”

Link took one last hit, inhaling deeply. He blew the smoke out with a sigh. “You’re a wise man.”

“I know you’re being an ass, but it’s about time you recognize and heed my wisdom.” Kit stretched his arms over him, working out the kinks as his body cracked and he groaned. He muttered about getting old as they made their way through the city.

“I haven’t heard any Aryll stories lately,” Kit said thoughtfully. “Anything new and exciting?”

“She’s gonna get expelled if she doesn’t get her shit together,” Link muttered.

Kit frowned. “What did she do this time?”

Link shrugged. “Punched some kid.”

“Why?”

Link sighed. “Conspiracy theories.”

Kit grinned. “Oh, I love hearing those,” he said. “I’m still convinced that Yiga Clan is up to something.”

Link shook his head. “Zelda was pretty adamant about that.”

“Well, maybe she should get her head out of her ass.”

He shrugged. “It’s been ten years. Don’t you think if they were an issue, they would have been, you know, more relevant by now?”

“They’re waiting for something,” Kit said. “Plotting.”

“Right,” Link said. “Nothing I can do about it, anyway. I don’t exactly stand a chance against an army of rogue Sheikah.”

“Too bad,” Kit said. “You could use a good comeback.”

Link smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“So, since we’re on the topic of crashing on your couch,” Kit started.

“We weren’t.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Pretty sure my landlord is going to kick me out. He hates me.” He shrugged. “I know Aryll hates me, too. But I don’t owe her money, at least.”

“She hates me, too.”

Kit frowned. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Well, she’s pissed at me. Hasn’t said a word to me.”

“I’m sure you put in the effort,” Kit said, and Link shrugged.

It wasn’t long before they got to the house. It was completely dark, and Link wondered if Aryll was asleep, or if she had taken advantage of his absence and snuck out for the night. He decided he should at least own up to his responsibility as her guardian and check in on her. He knocked softly on her bedroom door, and when no answer came, he poked his head inside. If she had attempted to fake her own sleeping body with pillows, the blonde hair poking out was a nicely added detail, but Link felt confident that it was indeed her, sleeping soundly, and he wasn’t about to wake her.

What he didn’t realize, however, was that Aryll was awake. Though she comforted herself in her nest of blankets, she hadn’t found a moment of sleep. She called her brother’s name softly, but he apparently had not heard her as the door closed again.

“Is she out terrorizing the city?” Kit asked when Link returned.

He dropped onto the couch beside Kit and took the beer Kit handed him. “Don’t think so,” he said.

“You don’t think so,” Kit said, then shrugged. “You have such a natural, fatherly instinct.”

Link snorted. “I learned from the best.”

Kit frowned. “Are you suggesting your father was terrible at the parenting thing?”

“A bit unorthodox.”

Kit shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“You didn’t know him,” Link pointed out.

“Maybe not,” he said. “But I can’t imagine he was that bad.”

Link shrugged. “Guess not.” He paused. “He did let me play with a ten thousand year old sword.”

Kit grinned. “Every sixteen year old’s dream.” He flipped through the channels on the tv, settling on some late night talk show. They continued to chat casually with one another. When the late night commercials came on, they teased one another about dialing the 900-lines. At some point during the night, they both finally passed out where they sat, not stirring until morning when Aryll slammed two pans together above them. They jumped violently, then groaned loudly as Aryll let the pans drop noisily onto the counter.

“I'm going to school, idiot,” she called over her shoulder.

Kit waved a hand over the couch. “Bye, Sweetie.”

“Get the fuck out, Kit,” she shouted before slamming the door behind her.

With another groan, Kit rolled over, falling off the couch and onto the floor. He lay with his face down on the floor for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh.

“What time is it?” he muttered.

Link's hand felt for his phone on the end table. He clicked it on and squinted his eyes. “Seven.”

Kit sighed again. “Three more hours before I gotta get to the bar.” He slowly pushed himself to his feet, wavered for a moment, then moved across the living room. “I gotta take a leak.”

Link let his arm rest across his forehead. His head was pounding, but it was hardly his worst hangover. After a few moments more of laying on the couch, he got to his feet and moved toward the bathroom. He leaned against the door and banged on it.

“Get out, Kit,” he grunted.

The door jerked open and Link nearly fell through. “Can't a guy take a piss?”

Link pushed Kit out of the way. “I need a shower.”

Kit scrunched his nose and smirked. “Yeah, you smell like ass.” The door closed behind him and he lifted his arm, smelling his pit. He shrugged. “You going to work?” he asked through the door.

“Unfortunately.” The shower turned on.

“Cool. I'm sleeping on your couch for two more hours. Don't wake me.”

“Whatever.”

“See you tonight?”

“Sure.”

Within fifteen minutes, Link was showered, dressed, and headed out the door, taking a moment to throw a pillow at Kit who was stretched out on the couch. In another fifteen minutes, he was grunting a good morning to Sera before hiding behind the desk where he hoped he could sleep most of the day away.

*****

“What's up with you?”

Aryll looked up from her untouched lunch, only noticing then that Anju had sat in front of her. The cafeteria was buzzing loudly with afternoon chatter, though Aryll had managed to tune it out completely. She had floated by through half the day already, not paying attention to a single thing in her classes, her mind elsewhere. “Hm?”

Anju frowned at her best friend as she sat across from her. “I'm worried about you,” she said. “You've been super emo for the last couple of weeks.”

Aryll rolled her eyes. “I'm not emo.”

“You look like you're going to kill yourself.”

Aryll frowned down at her lunch.

“Why won't you talk to me?” Anju’s voice softened.

Aryll sighed. “There's nothing to talk about.”

“I know there is,” Anju pressed. “Is it still Link?” Aryll didn't answer, but that was answer enough for her. “Don't you think you should talk to him?”

“Clearly you don't know my brother at all,” Aryll muttered. “He doesn't talk about shit.”

“What about Aryll's hot brother?” Cremia slid into the seat beside Aryll, grinning. “When are you going to give me his number?”

“Gross,” Aryll muttered.

“Hot,” Cremia said. “Hot damn. I could look at him all day long.” She put her chin in her hand and batted her eyelashes playfully.

“Oh my goddess,” Aryll said, burying her face in her hands. “Shut the fuck up.”

“I bet redheads are definitely his type, so I’ve got an edge there.” She sighed dreamily. “I'd let him do anything to me.”

“Cremia!” Anju narrowed her eyes at her.

“Oh, come on,” Cremia said. “I am so not the only one. He’s got stupid ass fangirls all over the world.”

“Like you?” Anju said, pointing at her with her plastic fork.

“Can we talk about something else?” Aryll muttered.

“Fine,” Cremia said with a sigh. “We should make plans this weekend.”

“Agreed,” Anju said. “Aryll needs to get out of the house.”

“And her brother needs to get into me,” she whispered.

“Cremia!”

“Oh my Goddess,” Cremia whined loudly. “Let me have my fantasy!” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Mm, mm, mm.”

“For the love of Hylia,” Anju said, shaking her head. “Keep it in your fucking pants.”

“Fine,” Cremia said, coming back to reality. “So, sleep over at my place? We can totally get crunk!”

“Crunk?” Anju said with a frown. “Really?”

“Live a little, Ary,” Cremia said. “You could use a night to loosen up.”

Anju shrugged. “She’s not wrong.”

“One of these days,” Cremia started, “she’s gonna come in with black hair and black lipstick and stupid black skinny jeans and then I’ll have to kill you. For your own good.”

“So, this will happen if I don’t go out and get crunk with you?” Aryll said dryly.

Cremia nodded. “Most def. And I’m your best friend. I won’t let that happen to you.” She straightened and grinned. “So, it’s settled. Maybe we’ll sneak into some clubs. Meet some hot guys. Get laid.” She put her head in her hand and spoke into her lunch. “And then I’ll go over your house and seduce Link.”

Anju punched her shoulder. “What is with you?”

“I appreciate hot men! Why is that a crime?”

“You’re an animal.”

“What about Revali?” Aryll asked. “Can’t it be anyone else besides my fucking brother?”

“Hm. Yeah. He’s hot, too.” She sighed. “Alright, fine. For the sake of our friendship, I’ll put Link on the back burner.”

“I am so uncomfortable,” Aryll muttered.

“I’m almost afraid to go into her bedroom,” Anju said. “I bet she writes terrible smut starring herself.”

“I don’t need to hear this.”

Cremia slapped Anju’s shoulder excitedly. “Dude! You should see some of the fics out there!”

“Fics?” Aryll questioned hesitantly.

Cremia nodded. “Oh, yeah. I’m tame compared to what those fangirls want to do to your brother.”

“What if I got my tongue pierced?” Aryll asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

“Don’t be a cliche,” Cremia said. “We all know you’re going through your angsty teenage phase. No need to fucking announce it to the world.”

“I don’t know why I’m friends with you,” Aryll said.

“Funny how that happened?” Cremia said. “It’s almost like I planted myself in your life to get closer to your brother.”

“Sounds about right,” Anju said. “Actually. I thought he was with Zelda or something.”

“No,” Aryll said fiercely. “Why?”

“Well, they were all over the news for a while,” she said with a shrug. “Hanging out, being secretive.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Cremia. “I don’t think you can compete with the Queen of Hyrule.”

Cremia made a face of disgust and disapproval. She scoffed. “Please,” she started. “She ain’t got nothing on me.”

“They’re not dating,” Aryll insisted.

“But they’re probably fucking,” Cremia said.

Aryll frowned down at her lunch. “Link’s gonna get back with Mipha,” she said softly.

Cremia rolled her eyes. “Right.”

Anju bit her lip. “Why are you like this?”

“That’s how this friendship works,” Cremia said. “You can baby her and let her be emo all she wants. But I’m a realist. I’m gonna talk some damn sense into her and pull her up on her feet and push her forward whether she likes it or not.”

“Lucky you,” Anju said to Aryll sarcastically. “You get the best of both worlds.”

Aryll smiled. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s get crunk. But under one condition.”

“Anything,” Cremia said excitedly.

“Stop drooling over my brother!”

Cremia frowned, then turned serious. She put her hand over her heart. “This is how much I love you, Ary. For you, I will never say a thing about your smoking hot brother ever again.” She grinned and winked at her. “Starting now.”

[midnightechoes]

Five Firsts

Catradora Week Day 4 - Soulmates

[Yes, I know this is late. It took WAY longer than I thought it would. I’m still gonna try to get through all the prompts. Late or not I really want to.]

[WARNING: Includes referencing and allusions to child abuse, both physical and psychological. Also some angst.]

Catra wouldn’t mind being done with First Ones temples. Nothing good ever came out of visiting them. This one was no different. At least it had been useful. Catra’s mind wandered back down the path that led her to her current situation of hiding high up in the rafters of the main hall, waiting for Adora to show, who was apparently taking her sweet old time. The waiting was excruciating.

It had started two weeks back. Catra and Scorpia had been visiting the kingdom of Midnight Sands, far to the north, along the edge of Horde controlled territory. They were looking for recruits and potential allies, something that the Horde suddenly had to do now that Second-In-Command Catra had put an end to the practices of enslavement and baby stealing. She thought she had found someone with potential. A magician, shunned the by kingdom of Mystacor and subsequently bitter with the Princess Alliance that Mystacor aligned itself with. The magician would need to prove himself though. He chose to do so with what he said was a mind reading spell. He asked Catra to think of a specific word, and he would use the spell to find out what the word was. Catra was skeptical, but the magician assured her that it’d be quick and simple.

It turned out to be anything but simple. The spell caused a reaction in Catra, a flash of an event that she had supposedly been present for, but an event Catra had no recollection of ever experiencing. It was disorienting. It made Catra light headed to the point where she almost passed out. She would have collapsed onto the ground if it wasn’t for Scorpia, who caught her mid-fall. After a few moments Catra regained herself. Her first instinct was to slash that bewildered smirk off of the magician’s face, but she fought that urge. After some arguing, and threatening, and pleading on the magician’s part they finally figured out what had happened.

Stolen memories.

The magician was able to confirm his theory that what Catra had saw was in fact a fragment of a memory that had been erased from her mind. On Catra’s back, running along her spine in a haphazard line between her shoulder blades was a series of seven marks. At first glance they easily could have been simple birthmarks. But on further inspection what they were were tiny little jagged spirals. Apparently each one represented a memory that had been stolen from Catra.

Even after all this time, after she was dealt with and gone, Shadow Weaver was still finding ways to hurt her former pupil.

Catra had tried to forget about it. A day passed, then two. There was no forgetting about it. So she put Entrapta to work on finding something that might let her regain her memories. It only took Entrapta three days to find a solution. Unfortunately, the solution wasn’t ideal. There was word of a First Ones temple in the rocky cliffs of the eastern part of the Midnight Sands kingdom. That part of the kingdom was firmly in rebel alliance territory. Catra had to know though.So her, Entrapta, and Scorpia set out to find the temple.

Getting to it wasn’t so bad. It was the getting in that was the problem. It took Entrapta hours to get them in and get them safely to the center of the temple where a holographic AI named Thread Spinner greeted them. Catra got what she wanted though. Thread Spinner was able to dive into her mind and fish out memories long sealed away by Shadow Weaver. She was shown three in total, each featuring their own revelations. Thread Spinner said that the rest of her memories were fragments that involved other people. The other person would be required to complete the memories. Catra’s mind was reeling. She was having trouble coming to grips with the memories that had been returned to her. Yet, she wanted to know the rest. NEEDED to know the rest. She had a pretty good idea where to start.

Adora.

If these were childhood memories that required others to complete, there was a good bet that Adora was necessary for at least a couple of them. Probably most of them. On top of that, Adora had been present in one of the memories that Catra DID have returned to her. It was an odd memory that Catra didn’t want to deal with, but at the same time, she knew that if Adora had remembered this memory Catra would have NEVER heard the end of it. Meaning that Adora had at least one confirmed stolen memory.

All of which brought Catra back to her present situation. Through the Horde’s impressive network of spies, she had put word out about Horde finding a First Ones temple. It was obviously a trap. So obvious that Catra was a little scared that Adora would see through the deception and elect to not come. She knew Adora though. Trap or no trap, it would be hard for her to not at least investigate the possibility of a First Ones temple falling into the Horde’s hands.

Catra let out a bitter chuckle. It was ironic to her that even after all this time, all this trying to push her away, once again Catra needed Adora for something. An uncomfortable feeling washed over Catra. Needing Adora. Catra had put in too much work to prove herself to everyone to be okay falling back into this place where she needs Adora. Anger and resentment started washing over her again, along with something else. Faint feelings that she’d also worked very hard at burying deep into the recesses of her soul in the hopes that they’d be snuffed out completely. They always managed to claw their way back though, even if just briefly. Seeing Adora in her memory, a young Adora, maybe nine or ten, had not helped.

For a moment, Catra almost let her thoughts run wild. There were so many, so many conflicting emotions, conflicting desires. Catra could feel herself starting to get knotted up. Which is why when a loud “clunk” noise echoed through the chamber Catra was more than a little thankful to have something to refocus on. The noise had been the sound of the temple door sliding open violently. Before she came into sight Catra could hear her. Adora, and thankfully for once without her new friends, the pink haired girl and that bubbly boy who, if you asked Catra, was always way too cheery.

---

Adora entered the temple. As soon as she was through the door it slammed closed with a “clunk”. She spun around to examine the door. It didn’t seem to be opening anytime soon. “That’s not ominous or anything,” she mumbled to herself. The straight hallway before her was mostly dark, lit only by random streaks of blue light that pulsed on the wall.

“Well Catra, you’re here somewhere. Time to find out why,” Adora said to the dark hallway. She was worried. A couple days ago the Best Friend Squad had been eating lunch on the lawn in one of the gorgeous courtyards in Bright Moon Castle. Bow and Glimmer were showing Adora what a “picnic” was. Adora didn’t mind. She loved spending time with her friends, although she really wasn’t able to figure out what the point of a picnic was. In the middle of it they were approached by a man who called himself Simonno. He had heard rumor that Horde soldiers, led by the Second-In-Command, had stumbled upon a temple to the north. The exchange was tense, but Simonno left willingly after delivering the message. Bow and Glimmer didn’t understand Adora’s tenseness, and she didn’t know how to tell them: she knew Simonno. His name wasn’t Simonno though, it was Arn. Adora knew him because Adora remembered him from History 101. They had hung out in a study group a few times. Arn was a Horde spy. Except for the name Arn wasn’t even trying to conceal his identity to Adora. It couldn’t be chance that he was the one to deliver the news.

Even for a linear path, it took Adora some time to make her way down the mostly dark hallway. Eventually she reached a doorway that spilled out into what seemed like an ocean of blackness. Carefully Adora continued on, and suddenly, everything was lit up. She stood in a large, open room. The walls were made out of what seemed like purple crystal pillars clumped together. The floor had a glassy blue sheen to it. A few tapered columns rose out of the ground. At the far end was a raised pedestal where the hologram Thread Spinner stood, appearing calm, with their fingers pressed together in front of them.

“Greetings,” Thread Spinner called out from across the hall.

“Oh, hello. Are you here by yourself?” Adora inquired.

“Hey Adora,” a voice called out from behind them, as if on cue. The way the cat girl drew out the “e” sound in “hey”, the way she let the second “a” in Adora’s name linger in her mouth, even after all these years, still made Adora momentarily forget to breathe, until she had to let out a low, mostly inaudible gasp. That it was still so effective annoyed Adora to no end.

Adora turned to face Catra, who was standing a few feet away, one hand perched on her hip, the other arm hanging lazily to her side. “Hey Catra,” Adora stated flatly. Adora’s posture was tense, defensive. Not aggressive, but ready should the situation start going bad.

“Believe it or not I’m not here to fight. In fact, and this brings me NO joy to say, Adora I need your help,” Catra huffed out the word “help”, like she had to be forced into saying it.

Silence fell back over the room for a moment. Adora tilted her head slightly, taking in her former friend. She was trying to read Catra, her body language. It used to be so easy, but now Adora feared that her reference points were outdated. Still, Catra had gone through all this trouble to, so far, just talk and not attack her.

“Help with what?” Adora finally said. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point the defensive stance had morphed. She was now standing with her hands loosely clasped behind her back, casually kneading the arch of her left foot into the ground.

Catra took a moment to compose her sentence in her head. It was a struggle to find the right way to put this. Finally she settled on, “okay, first, I need to see, uumm, your back just to make sure I’m right.”

Adora looked at her slightly confused but simply shrugged and spun around. There was no sort of response. After a moment she looked over her should to see Catra with her head planted in the palm of her hand. “What?! You said-”

“-I need to see your back! Like, your back back,” Catra huffed, cutting Adora off.

“...Oh.” Suddenly, Adora’s jacket wasn’t the reddest part of her. “Um, why,” she stammered out.

Yep, there was no avoiding this. Catra sighed and turned around to face away from Adora. She began tugging at the back of her shirt, so that it bunched around the base of her neck, but leaving most of the rest of her body covered. “Because of these.”

For a moment there was no response. Catra was starting to feel very exposed, and stupid, when she felt something. A finger. Two fingers. Pressed against her skin. They gently began sliding their way along the path of the markings, stopping at each one, as if trying to commit each to memory. The contact caused Catra to start sucking air in through mostly clenched teeth. An involuntary action. “They aren’t birthmarks,” Catra airly said, as if answering a question that the fingers were asking.

The fingers drew away from her back. Catra was unsure how she felt about that. Something soft flopped onto the ground next to her. She looked down to see Adora’s jacket. Catra turned around. Adora was maybe two feet away, with her back to Catra, in the middle of untucking her shirt. At first Catra stopped herself from doing what she wanted, but something in her brain convinced her that you’ve gone this far, don’t stop now. Catra grabbed the back hem of Adora’s shirt, and slowly started sliding it up. Adora didn’t protest. Instead she just used her own arms to try to hold the front down as best she could.

Adora had her own set of markings. “Six,” Catra said after trailing her finger between them all. Catra let out an amused grunt, “looks like I win.”

“How many do you have? And what are they?” Adora prodded.

“I have seven. They’re remnants, markings left from a memory erasing spell,” Catra answered. They were both silent for a moment. “Shadow Weaver keeps finding ways huh,” she mumbled.

“It appears that way,” Adora said as she pulled her shirt back down and turned to face Catra. “What can we do about it?”

“That’s where I come in,” Thread Spinner suddenly said from where they were suddenly standing, just a couple feet away from both girls. Their voice was loud and confident. A sudden explosion that blew up the atmosphere of the room. Thread Spinner’s appearance had so startled them that both Adora and Catra shrieked and jumped back.

Thread Spinner paid no mind to their reaction. “Welcome to the Temple of Sifting Memories. I am Thread Spinner. I, and this temple, were built specifically by the First Ones to provide mental clarity and guidance for those whose minds have become clouded. This includes, for your needs specifically, retrieving memories that have been lost.”

Adora smiled and pointed at Thread Spinner. “Wow, you’re so much friendlier than Light Hope. Maybe you could teach her a thing or two.”

The AI looked at Adora inquisitively. “Light. Hope? No, that name has no meaning to me,” they said. Before Adora could respond, Thread Spinner continued, “now, if you are ready-” Thread Spinner disappeared, then reappeared atop the pedestal across the room, “-we can begin,” they finished, voice booming so the entire room could hear.

Adora turned back to Catra and gave her an inquisitive look. Catra sighed again. “So, Thread Spinner’s shown me three of my memories, and one of them cuts off when you enter the room. Thread Spinner says that memories that are shared between people that are taken away from everyone can only be fully reconstructed if everyone involved is present.”

“So basically, if a memory is shared together, and stolen together-” Adora began.

“It can only be recovered together,” Catra finished. “Don’t you want to know what Shadow Weaver took from us?”

Adora held out her hand to Catra and nodded. Catra simply began to walk past her towards the pedestal. Adora started to sigh until she felt Catra’s tail brush her hand and loosely wrap itself around her wrist. Adora looked up. Catra was looking over her shoulder and nodding towards the pedestal. “Let’s go,” she said. They casually crossed the room, the entire time Adora being led by Catra’s tail. When they got to the stairway Catra released her grip and continued up the stairs. Adora stood at the base. Catra was standing at the top of the pedestal next to Thread Spinner. “It’s pretty simple. Thread Spinner here scans your mind and then,” Catra spun around and spread her arms in front of her, gesturing to the dark, sizeable platform in front of the raised pedestal area. “The memory is shown to us here. We don’t have to ‘experience’ them this time, thank goodness, we’re just watching them. Kind of like those, oh,” Catra began snapping her fingers errantly, “what are they called? Rebellion kingdoms do them,” Catra continued snapping her fingers as if trying to snap a memory into existence.

“Oh, right!” Adora responded. She began rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “What were they. Hmm. Parties? No, no those were something else. Platitudes?”

“Are you talking about Plays?” Thread Spinner interjected.

“That! Yeah, that’s it,” Adora exclaimed.

Catra turned to the empty platform. “I guess we should start with my memory first, since it is at least partially relevant to you,” Catra said. She looked back over her shoulder to Adora with a grimace. “Look, just try not to make a big deal out of this after you see it. Please?”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “No guarantees,” she said smoothly.

Catra huffed and turned back to empty space and nodded at Thread Spinner. The AI began glowing. The empty space on the platform began filling with light. At first it was blinding and all encompassing, but soon shapes started to take form. A scene emerged, and began playing out in front of them.

---

Shadow Weaver was toiling over control panels in the Black Garnet chamber when a young Catra, about ten years old, burst into the room. The young cat girl was holding a book large enough that she had to cradle it with both hands. The book looked old, worn, with an ornate design etched into the cover.

“Shadow Weaver! Shadow Weaver!” Catra called out. Her voice was full of enthusiasm, even as she labored to carry the book that was almost half her size.

The cat girl’s enthusiasm was lost on Shadow Weaver, who didn’t bother looking up from her control panels at first. “I thought I told you that I was not to be disturbed today Catra. How many times do I have to discipline you before start following my or-” Shadow Weaver stopped in the middle of her thought as she looked up to see the book that Catra was holding. Shadow Weaver flexed her hands in and out of a claw shape as her eyes narrowed. “WHERE did you get that book?!”

Catra gulped. “I didn’t steal it! Well, I mean, I didn’t steal it from the library! There were these fifth year cadets who had it and were making fun of me! So I stole it from them!”

The Black Garnet chamber began going dark around Catra. Shadow Weaver was still in front of Catra, but her voice was everywhere. “I will only ask you this once Catra, tell me the names of these cadets and I will deal with them MYSELF, and you will hand me that book right this second or-”

Just as quickly as Shadow Weaver started to bend in to encompass Catra’s entire field of vision Shadow Weaver retracted herself and the room returned to normal around Catra. Barely a second later a ten year old Adora appeared in the doorway, huffing and struggling to catch her breath.

“Sorry Catra, I tried to keep up, but you lost me like two hallways ago,” Adora said, between breaths. She looked up to see Shadow Weaver, standing, hands pressed together and looking patient. “Is it true Shadow Weaver?!” Adora beamed, finally mustering some sense of energy back into her body.

Shadow Weaver glided over to Adora and gently brushed a finger along her cheek. “Is what true my child?”

Catra held up the book. “Am I, a princess?”

“What did you say?” Shadow Weaver turned back to Catra.

“It says in this book that I’m a princess!” Catra exclaimed. “Does that mean I have super powers?! Do I have a kingdom?!”

“You probably have a huuuuuge kingdom!” Adora interjected. She was holding her arms over her head, trying to measure out the hugeness.

---

The scene stopped abruptly. Catra was still staring at the still images when she became aware that Adora had joined her on the pedestal. She could feel her eyes burrowing into her. Catra slowly turned to see Adora, just a few feet away from her, staring at her with the evilest grin Catra ever saw on her face. Adora’s excitement was palpable.

“You’re. A. PRINCESS?!” Adora exclaimed.

Catra was rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. “See, I knew you were gonna make a big deal out of this.”

“I mean, YES. HELLO? Miss “I Hate Princesses” IS a princess?!”

“We don’t know that I’m a princess! It stops there. It doesn’t end, it just stops.” Catra pressed her index finger against Adora’s forehead. “Meaning the rest of it’s somewhere in there.”

“Right,” Adora said with a nod. “What do I have to do?”

“For shared memories to be completed, the parties involved have to be joined,” Thread Spinner interjected.

Both girls glared at them. “Excuse me?!” Catra exclaimed.

“In my experience holding hands is the most common way to join,” they added.

Catra let out a sigh of relief. She held her hand out at Adora, who stared at it thoughtfully for a moment before grabbing it with her own. “Alright Thread Spinner, show us what was taken from us.”

The scene before them came back into focus.

---

“Nobody has a kingdom!” Shadow Weaver huffed. She snatched the book out of Catra’s hands.

“Am I a princess though?!”

Shadow Weaver glared at her for a moment. “You’re a princess that no longer has a people. Now,” she grabbed both girls by the arm and drug them to the door. “Get OUT. We will deal with this LATER,” she hissed. The door slammed shut immediately after.

Adora was a ball of energy. “Oh my Hordak you’re a princess!” she squealed.

“I wonder when my superpowers are going to show up!” Catra cheerily mused.

“They’re gonna be the coolest!”

Catra held her head high as she placed each hand against her waist. “I don’t care what Shadow Weaver says, if I’m a princess I’ll make my own kingdom! It’s gonna have everything! My own personal guards!”

“A moat!”

“My own throne room!”

“A royal court!”

“Ooh, a giant ballroom where we’ll hold balls every night!” Catra exclaimed. After a second her mood dropped though. “Oh,” Catra said with a sense of deflation.

“Catra? What’s wrong?”

Catra was hanging her head. “Maybe I won’t host balls. A princess can’t host a ball without a prince. Pretty sure that’s a rule.”

There was a couple seconds of silence before Adora’s hand appeared in Catra’s view. She looked up to see Adora’s arm outstretched. “I’ll be your prince,” she beamed.

“Really?”

“Of course!” Adora said. They both giggled as they took each other’s hand and began spinning around, poorly dancing to a song that only they could hear. They spun and twirled and laughed for while before Adora accidently misjudged their spacing and sent them both slamming into the wall. Neither seemed especially upset. Instead they kept laughing as they both leaned against the wall, facing each other. Adora stopped laughing first and watched as her friend continued giggling.

After a moment Adora had a sudden urge she couldn’t explain. She leaned in and pecked Catra on the cheek with a brief kiss. Catra stopped laughing and raised her hand to rub the area Adora had kissed.

“Gross,” Catra whispered.

Adora looked down. She could feel a burning sensation inside her cheeks. “Oh! Oh no, I’m so sorry!”

“No, hey,” Catra began, then she kissed Adora on her cheek, “I like gross,” Catra said with a soft smile.

---

The scene began fading back into nothingness. Both Adora and Catra stood there, unmoving, in silence. Slowly Catra was tightening her grip around Adora’s hand.

Finally Adora spoke. It was barely audible, she was speaking mostly to herself. “Our… Our first kiss. I… I don’t remember…”

“Of course we don’t,” Catra responded. Her voice was calm, but shaky. “That’s the whole point.”

While they were talking the light in front of them was reconstructing itself into a new scene.

“Wait, what’s happening now?” Adora asked.

---

A 15 year old Catra was sitting on the dark grey railing that lined the roof of their barracks. Her feet were dangling free, facing outward away from the building. The sky was a swirl of deep oranges and reds, and Catra was trying to get lost in them. That was easier than dealing with the pain in her left arm. Something was broken, it had to be. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting up here, losing herself in the inky patterns of the sky when she heard the door swish open.

“There you are!” a 15 year old Adora called out. She strolled over to where Catra was sitting and leaned against the railing. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I  thought we were going to get dinner together,” she started. Adora lost her train of thought as she noticed how Catra was holding her arm. “Catra?” she asked, slowly bringing her hand to Catra’s arm. Catra winced and pulled her arm in closer. Adora pulled her own arm back, giving her friend room. “Catra, what happened?”

“I’m fine,” Catra scoffed.

Adora put her hand on Catra’s shoulder. There was no wincing, so Adora left it there. “You’re not fine, you’re in pain.”

Catra looked down at her arm, as if regarding it for the first time. “I’m usually pretty good at hiding it. It’s just really bad today, I was trying to avoid you until it healed a little,” she said. Her voice was low, deflated.

“What? Has this happened before? Did someone do this to you?” The anxiety in Adora’s voice was noticeably rising. Catra didn’t respond. She barely even acknowledged that she heard Adora. Determined, Adora began rubbing Catra’s shoulder. “Hey, please talk to me?” Adora asked. Her voice was soft, and warming.

With a smooth spin, Catra hopped down from the railing and leaned on it, just next to Adora. “Can we please talk about something else?”

Adora moved to stand in front of Catra. She grabbed each of the cat girl’s shoulders and gently rubbed them. Catra seemed to shrink in Adora’s grasp. Adora stared intently at her friend. After a moment of silence between the two, Adora gave a heavy sigh. “Did, did Shadow Weaver do this to you? Has, has she done this before?”

Catra looked up at Adora. Her eyes were puffy, as if just holding back tears. “Adora can we please just talk about something else? Anything else!”

“Why?! We can’t let this keep happening Catra! We’ll talk to Shadow Weaver! Let me talk to Shadow Weaver. I’ll talk to Lord Hordak if I have to!”

“No! Adora! This is why I DIDN’T want to tell you about it. I knew you couldn’t just let it go. Talking’s NOT going to help anything! If anything it’ll only make it worse!”

“Then why stay here? You don’t care about the Horde, and you’ve always wanted to get out and see the world. You shouldn’t put up with this Catra.”

Catra pressed herself harder against the railing, as if trying to shrink away from Adora. “Why do I stay?” Tears were beginning to stream down Catra’s face. “Why do I stay? I stay because I don’t want to leave you!” Catra exclaimed with as much force as she could muster.

It was apparently a decent amount of force, because it caused Adora to take a step back. Catra peered into her friends eyes. She could tell that Adora was thinking, debating herself. It seemed Adora had come to an agreement in her head. She leaned in and began gently scratching the back of Catra’s ear in just the right place. The place only Adora knew. A few involuntary purrs rattled out of Catra. Adora simply smiled. “Then let’s leave.”

“But, your training? Being a Force Captain is the most important thing in your life!”

“Catra, you’re the most important thing in my life,” Adora replied.

Adora’s words smacked into Catra. She stared at her friend, peering into her bright blue eyes. There was a softness, an earnestness, a sea of invitation in those eyes. Catra couldn’t say no anymore. With her right hand she grabbed the back of Adora’s head and pulled her into a searing kiss. Adora rested her arms on Catra’s shoulders and began tangling her fingers into Catra’s hair.

Eventually their mouths separated, more out of need for air than want. “Let’s get out of here,” Adora said airily as she scratched at Catra’s scalp. “Tonight. Right now.”

“Where would we go?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really care though. We can go anywhere,” Adora contemplated for a moment. “Let’s go everywhere. Let’s see the world. I want to. I want to see everything Etheria has to offer, with you.”

Catra leaned in to kiss Adora again. “Then let’s go,” Catra whispered through their kiss.

Adora took Catra by her hand and led her to the door. It slid open to reveal Shadow Weaver standing in the doorway. The girls both jumped back.

“Shadow Weaver?! What are you doing here?” Adora asked, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible. Shadow Weaver didn’t answer, she simply began gliding out of the door onto the roof.

---

The scene faded away. Before Either Catra or Adora could even react, another scene began forming.

---

Thirteen year old Adora and Catra were running down the hallway of their barracks. Adora was leading them, dragging Catra along, their hands firmly clasped together.They were giggling, and running as fast as they could. They turned a corner, and then a couple more until they reached a door. The girls quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind them. Adora hit the light switch. They were in a cleaning supply closet. They both bent over in exhaustion and continued laughing.

“Did… Did you see the look on Annera’s face?!” Catra huffed.

“She sure… sure was mad!” Adora responded. “Who was that person she was with?”

“I think they were one of those advanced level cadets. What on Etheria an advanced level cadet was doing hanging with Annera is anyone’s guess.”

Adora pulled herself into an upright position and tapped her lip repeatedly. “I think they were wrestling? Which is weird, right? Wrestling in your barracks? We have so many great training rooms.”

Catra let out a hearty laugh. “Pretty sure they weren’t wrestling, Adora.” Catra walked up to her friend, who was leaning against the wall. “They were, you know, I think they were kissing.”

As if on cue Adora’s face turned beat red. “Oh!” She gasped.

Catra laughed at the obvious discomfort of her friend. “Oh wow, you’re so red! You never even think about that kind of stuff do you?” Catra teased.

“I have too!” Adora blurted out. If it was possible, her face had turned redder. She tried to compose herself. “Have, have you?” She asked. Her voice had fallen to a low squeak. Part of her hoped Catra hadn’t even heard it. Part of her needed to know Catra’s answer more than anything else in this world.

“Of course I have,” the cat girl responded. Her tone had become more thoughtful. Not a laughing matter to her apparently. “When you, thought about it, were you imagining anyone in particular?”

Adora didn’t say anything. She simply nodded. “What about you?” she asked after what had felt like a painfully long stretch of silence.

“Yeah,” Catra simply stated.

“Were you ever tempted to actually try it? Like, with that person I mean?”

Catra pushed herself off the wall they were leaning on and moved directly in front of Adora. She was gazing at Adora, her mismatched eyes fixated on the blonde. “What if the person doesn’t want me to?”

Adora met Catra’s and smiled softly. “I think they would.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sur-” Catra cut off the end of Adora’s sentence with a kiss. Both of their lips were closed. It was as if they were both trying to push their faces through each other. Adora grabbed Catra’s shoulders and pulled her closer. It was an inelegant kiss, but it wasn’t sloppy, not like what they saw Annera and the cadet were doing. And yet to Adora it felt like every nerve in her body was exploding with energy.

A sudden and sharp sense of dread fell over them as they heard the sound of the door sliding open. Catra pulled away from Adora with lightning speed and they both turned towards the doorway. Standing in it was Shadow Weaver, with Annera just behind her. “WHAT do you two think you are DOING?” she demanded.

---

That scene fell away and another immediately began forming. Adora could feel Catra’s hand, gripping hers tighter and tighter, her nails were digging into Adora’s skin.

---

Adora was sitting propped up in her bunk, leaning against her pillows, which were pushed against the back of the bunk wall. She was early 17, less than a year before she would end up finding the sword of She-Ra and leaving the Horde. She was still in her pajamas. Blankets were pulled up to her waist, and on top of them was Catra, also in her pajamas and still fast asleep. Catra was nestled between Adora’s spread legs, using her right thigh as a pillow. Adora was busy reading a book. Every minute or two she’d use her free hand to turn a page, then let it fall softly into Catra’s mass of hair that she’d lazily stroke.

After a while Adora’s attention was pulled from the book by the sound of a yawn and a gentle pushing into her stomach. She looked down to see Catra yawning and stretching her arm over her head, pushing her hand into Adora’s stomach.

“Good morning sleepyhead. You made it awake before noon. I was beginning to have doubts,” Adora teased. She pressed her hand farther into Catra’s hair and began gently scratching her scalp.

A sleepy moan rose out of the cat girl as she slowly rolled over to rest the back of her head on Adora’s left thigh. Her eyelids were still half shut as Catra stared up at her human pillow. An amused smile grew on her face. “Are you really reading, a textbook no less, on our one day of the week off?”

“It was the only book within arm’s reach, the rest are up on the shelf.”

“Well why didn’t you get up then?”

“I. Didn’t want to,” Adora said. Her smile was soft, happy.

Catra pressed her head harder into Adora’s thigh and closed her eyes again. “Dork.” Adora’s response was to tickle the top of Catra’s ear, causing it to flick wildly. “Hey you!” Catra exclaimed and responded by tickling at Adora’s stomach. A full on tickle fight broke out. After a few minutes exhaustion from laughing washed over them and they fell back into their original positions.

“What did you wanna do today?” Catra asked.

“I don’t know. Was kind of thinking it might be nice to just lay around reading all day.”

Catra groaned. “That sounds boring!”

“Training was grueling this week. I think my back could use ‘boring’ for a day.”

“Ugh, fiiiiinnne,” Catra moaned and got up.

Adora stared at the spot that Catra just previously occupied for a moment and gave a little smile. She straightened the blanket over her legs and picked her book back up. After a moment Catra reappeared, flopping back into her spot between Adora’s legs. She was holding a few books in her hands as well as a small device, one of the Horde’s best new inventions, called a PlayKid.

“If we must sit around reading, you are NOT reading textbooks,” Catra said, handing most of the books she brought to Adora.

“I thought you said it was boring?” Adora teased with a smirk.

“That’s why I brought the game, duh.” Catra nestled her head back into Adora’s thigh and turned on the PlayKid.

Adora looked at the selection of titles in her hands. All Adora’s favorites. She picked one and set the rest down next to their bunk. Adora began scratching the base of Catra’s ear, teasing out a few purrs and leaned over, her head hovering just above Catra’s.

For a moment Adora simply stared at her friend and smiled. “Hey,” Adora finally said, sounding like something between a warm greeting and a question.

Catra propped herself up on her left elbow. With her right hand Catra began massaging the back of Adora’s neck. “I don’t REALLY care what we’re doing, as long as we doing it together.”

“Same here,” Adora responded. She lowered her head closer to Catra. “Hey, Catra?” Adora meekishly asked.

Catra pushed herself up farther on her elbow. “Yeah, Adora?”

Adora didn’t say anything else. Instead she lowered herself into a kiss.

---

The scene froze before anything else happened. Adora realized it was because Catra had tugged her hand away, breaking the bond. Catra had her back to Adora, both of her hands were balled tightly into fists. Adora turned her attention back to the platform in front of her. Her heart felt twisted and crushed. Stray tears rolled down her cheeks.

“She… Took them all. All of our first kisses,” Adora breathed. Her voice was strained, in pain.

“Not all of them,” Catra said. Her voice was low, full of defiance.

“I can’t remember any of them,” Adora exclaimed.

Without giving her any more time to think or react, Catra grabbed Adora’s arm and spun her so that they were facing each other. Catra sprung forward, slamming her lips into Adora’s. She placed her hands on each side of Adora’s face, using her thumbs to gently caress her cheeks. Catra teasingly bit Adora’s lower lip and pulled. She slipped her tongue past Adora’s lips and licked her teeth. Adora let her in, and their tongues began dancing together in each other’s mouths. Adora put her hands on Catra’s hips and pulled her closer. She could feel Catra’s tail loosely wrapping itself around Adora’s leg. Adora couldn’t focus. In that moment she wasn’t even sure if the world existed beyond her and Catra. She felt enveloped in the warmth coming off the cat girl pressed against her. Loud purrs reverberated through both of them.

They pulled their mouths apart after what felt like an all too brief eternity. They stood there, mouths just inches apart, foreheads pressed together. Catra was still gripping Adora’s face and caressing her cheeks. Adora’s hands had wandered their way up to Catra’s ears, scratching them in that special spot only Adora knew how to find.

“She can’t have this one,” Catra breathed.

Adora moved in, and inquisitively flicked at Catra’s lips with her tongue. Catra greeted her with her own tongue, and guided them back into another kiss.

It was their fifth first kiss. Adora still didn’t know what their future had in store. There were plenty of messy details and obstacles that Future Catra and Future Adora had to deal with. What she did know though was that she was pretty confident this first kiss would stick. And that it wouldn’t be their last.

[espanadiarywriter]

Don’t Bother Reading this Blog Post

Don’t bother reading this blog post because it can’t possibly convey the craziness of the Fallas festival. I’ve never seen anything like this. Ever. My theory is that the Valencianos heard someone from Texas say “Everything is bigger in Texas.” And they said “F* that! Know what we are going to do? We are going to build building-size monuments in the streets, and we are going to do it ONE WEEK. And then we are going to burn them all down! And we are going to have fireworks! Every day for 19 days! And they are going to be bigger and louder than you’ve ever heard! It’s gonna be great.”

The closest thing to an origin of Fallas that I found was that carpenters burned their scraps each spring. At some point, a local paper turned it into a contest for the most beautiful sculpture before the burning. Today, the fallas monuments are multi-story sculptures that look like they could be plopped into a Disney theme park. Some of the monuments are the size of entire street intersections and extend up to be the same size as the 8 story buildings next to them. Each one has its own theme, with multiple layers of political satire or current events stories woven into them. On the surface, the monuments might look like a woman in a dress, or a pirate, or an Egyptian king, but you have to look closely at the faces. There’s usually another layer when you look at the faces of the characters, and then read the signs put up around the sculpture that explain the meanings. Without the ability to read Valenciano or knowledge of Spanish politics most of the satire was lost on us. But here are a few photos of one small part we could understand. Note the multiple layers including the signage.

The expressions on the characters faces are vivid—curious, laughing, evil, kid’s wide-eyed with wonder, green monsters coming out from under a house and grabbing started people in a bed, or a lifeguard crying about all the plastic in the ocean.

If they just built the monuments and scattered them around the city, you would think the fallas celebration was amazing. But that’s really only part of the celebration. Or as I am saying, “Dayenu.” It would have been enough.

Not only are the falla monuments themselves lit up at night, there’s also elaborate street lights and flags hung across the streets. The quiet neighborhood that we walk through to get to school has been completely transformed. At night, the streets are lit with 30 foot tall white and gold “palm trees” and street lights that look like elaborate chandeliers. They have jammed in temporary pop up bars, sandwich shops, churros stands, and stages and DJ for in-street dance clubs. (Although apparently all the pop-up discos and street bars were not here in the mid-1990s. It was really all about the Fallas themselves with some extra churros trucks; not a street party on every corner.) Actually, in most of the neighborhoods outside of the center, the night life centers around the fallas themselves.

Official fireworks displays happened on every night of Fallas. (Why would you have just one night?) And they were massive and spectacular. But everyone is playing with fireworks, and they are near-constant on all streets at all times during the day and late into the evening. They really take their fireworks seriously here. We took the kids through two neighborhoods to see the monuments on la planta, which was the first day of the school vacation and the day when the fallas were finishing erecting their monuments. The Falla Infantil have to be done by 9:00 am that day, and the big ones have to be done by midnight. (The Fallas Infantil are small and aimed at kids but are no less intricate than the big ones.) The street corners had fallas tents, where the members of the fallas sit and drink and eat. Each falla tent has an area next to it surrounded by barricades where the kids can throw small spinners and not-so-small firecrackers. Kids in Valencia traditionally get a wood box with a red string, they fill it with fireworks, and they walk around carrying the box hanging around their neck. You can’t walk more than a block without getting startled by the BOOMs of fireworks small and not-so-small.

If Fallas was just the monuments, lights, and fireworks, dayenu. But there was more to come.

The phrase of the week was “Oh look, there’s a band...” Do you know the saying:  “life is better with your own sound track”? Well, the Valencianos have their own sound track, and they have bands that follow them around in the streets playing the music. I can’t really tell, but it sounds like a handful of songs are on heavy rotation. During Fallas, we couldn’t go more than a block from our house without hearing a band walking around in the street. Sometimes they were in one of the formal parades, but lots of times they were just hanging out in matching jackets at the mascleta, or just wandering down the street, or getting on a bus, or sitting in one of the areas next to the fallas’ tent. You get the picture. 

If Fallas was just the monuments, lights, fireworks, and bands, dayenu. But I haven’t even described the ever-present, never-ending parades and processions. And the DRESSES!

Of course, there were official parades, with cultural floats and bands (and on the final evening floats spewing fire), but those were totally overshadowed by the parades of people from the fallas. During Fallas, people dressed up in traditional Spanish outfits were parading everywhere, all the time. I bet you think I am exaggerating. I am not exaggerating. Basically, the processions started in the afternoon of the first day, when the fallas started to come to Plaza Ayuntamiento to claim the awards for the Falla Infantil. (Think about the fact that there are almost 600 fallas across town and there are 7 main categories, with ~2-3 subcategories in each. That’s a lot of ribbons to give out—it took hours.) Then the next morning at 9:00 am, Fallas were already parading into the Plaza Ayuntamiento to get prizes for the winning large falla monuments. And then in the afternoon the oferanda started. More on that later, but first you have to have a sense of what I mean when I say “parade.”

Before Fallas started, I thought there would be a number of women and some of the older girls who got dressed up in the really elaborate gowns made of silk in traditional patterns, and a handful of men in the outfits that look almost like a classy pirate. In reality, there were times when I felt I was the only person in Valencia who wasn’t in traditional dress. It is people of all ages—women are dressed in gowns with their hair done up in braids and gold accessories pushing strollers with babies in mini-sized gowns sucking a pacifier.  They are all in traditional dress down to the tiniest babies in arms. (Look, when Nate was one-years-old, I considered it a success if both he and I had clothes on when we left the house. I cannot even imagine getting myself into a gown and my baby into a traditional outfit and then marching many miles to a cathedral or city square.)

If Fallas was just the monuments, lights, fireworks, bands, and dressed up people, dayenu. But I haven’t even described the oferanda, one of the most important parts of Fallas.

After the award parades wrap up, the oferanda starts on the afternoon of the second day. People from each falla in the city dress up in the aforementioned outfits and bring flowers to a massive (50 foot tall) towering wood frame of the Virgin Mary at the central cathedral in town. As the thousands of people arrive bearing flowers, the “dress” of the Virgin Mary forms out of flowers.  

Each falla is led by a flag bearer with their ribbons, followed by the women and girls carrying flower bouquets, men (some of whom are carrying a larger floral display using two poles on either side), and boys, women pushing strollers with tiny falleras and baby pirates, and men carrying babies. It is an amazing sight: young and old together; families holding hands; girls and boys marching with their friends. For this procession, the women had added to their dresses sparkly lace aprons and special lace mantles on their heads. 

And of course, they are followed by their band. For the oferanda, the bands are dressed in dark colored suits and dress skirts and tops emblazoned with the coat of arms of the falla on the jackets. Each Falla arrives and offers their flowers. The larger floral arrangements are placed around the outside of it. A team of flower receivers takes the bouquets and passes it to the team that is building the dress. The falleras cry, probably because it’s a moving religious experience, but also possibly because they have walked miles through the whole city in a massive dress next to their dressed up kids. Who can say for sure.

But none of these descriptions or pictures can possibly give you a sense of scale. The processions were everywhere, at all hours, for THREE days. The celebrating in the streets and shooting off fireworks was constant. Every corner in the city center had a falla with a tent and a large and small monument, and every neighborhood had multiple fallas too. 

And then on the final night, after all the processing, and drinking, and dresses, THEY BURNED ALL THE MONUMENTS DOWN. Of course, it isn’t enough to just set fire to them, but they set the fires with fireworks! The baby monuments went up at 10:00 p.m. And then just before midnight on the final evening, it was one fireworks display after another, at every street corner, followed by a massive plume of smoke engulfing the sculptures. The firemen stood close by and sprayed the surrounding buildings and trees with water to contain the fire, but otherwise the monuments go up in flames unobstructed. And then another brilliant shot of fireworks and flames, and then another, and then another. And then all the corners are on fire throughout the city. Finally, the massive fallas monument at city hall goes up with a dramatic fireworks display and then is engulfed in flames.

In the end, the day after Fallas, by 8:00 am all the streets were swept. The empty beer bottles were picked up. The churros stands and pop-up discos were gone. And all that was left was a faint smell of burning and slightly blackened streets. And if you weren’t here to experience it, you can’t possibly imagine how crazy it really was.

[spideycents]

Far From Home: Chapter 3

Blurb: When Ashlyn wins the Brother’s Trust event to visit the set of Spider-Man: Far From Home, it’s a dream come true that she doesn’t want to wake up from. Here’s hoping she doesn’t turn it into a nightmare.

a/n: I’m the worst at descriptions. Don’t ever say I didn’t warn you that this is god awful. It’s seriously so bad. I have many regrets.

Warnings: This is shit. Read at your own risk. Also language and some extremely cringey uses of memes. Sorry not sorry.

—-

We’re the last people to board the plane. Literally the last. Which is my fault though because I had to run to the bathroom and Matt didn’t want to get on without me. Brownie points for him.

“You’re lucky I love you,” he gripes when I come back to find everyone else gone. Jesus, I wasn’t in the bathroom that long.

I make a face at Matt and scramble to collect my bags. We shuffle onto the plane and find our seats. We argue over who gets the window seat and ultimately I win the 2-out-of-3 game of rock-paper-scissors so I put my carry-on in the overhead bin then climb over to my seat and shove my backpack below my feet.

“Oof,” Matt exclaims as he drops into his chair. “I am so glad we went for the side with two seats instead of three.” His eyes scan over the completely packed flight.

“Same,” I nod. Our mutual loathing for all things social interactions really comes in handy in situations like this.

We plug in our phones and headphones, then Matt disappears into his Twitter and I try to go back to Two Dots, but my hands are kind of shaking and my heart’s beating faster and my throat’s really dry and I wanna get up and run laps around the plane while I scream bloody murder and then I wanna run back home and lock myself in my room and turn off all the lights and curl up in the corner under my desk and rock back and forth while I cry because holy fucking shit I can’t believe this is actually happening.

“We’re going to London.”

“I know,” Matt says emphatically while still looking at his phone.

“We’re actually going to London. Like this is happening. We’re on a plane.”

He looks up, his eyes wide. “I know. I’m literally going to scream when we land.”

“I’m expecting you to,” I laugh lightly.

He looks at me, but before he makes more jokes, his eyebrows knit together. “Do you need water or some food? You look pale. Like paler than normal. Like are you sure you’re alive?”

“I’m not,” I say flatly. “It’s okay though. My ghost will follow you through London and stay with Tom when you leave.”

“Fine by me,” Matt smirks. “Your ugly mug won’t ruin my selfies.”

“You’re welcome,” I smile.

He goes back to scrolling through Twitter and rambles to me about some drama that’s happening right now while I dig around in our shopping bag of goodies from the concourse and find my Dr Pepper and a bag of Goldfish.

I take a swig from my drink, but I’m gonna hold off on the goldfish until we’re up in the air. I send a quick text to my parents to let them know we’re on the plane then I put phone on airplane mode.

Matt grips the armrests while we zoom down the runway.

“It’s like a roller coaster,” I say, kind of loudly so he can hear me over the engines and the wheels. “Just with a really long climb and we stay at the top of the hill for a very, very long time before the drop.”

“Don’t say drop,” he says curtly.

I grimace. “Sorry.”

“I’ve flown before,” he adds. “You don’t have to comfort me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I thought you said you like flying? That it’s just the security and getting through the airport that stresses you out.”

“I do,” he nods slowly, “but shakey planes are never fun.”

I turn away and look out the window as we lift off the tarmac. “Here’s hoping there’s no turbelence,” I mutter.

“I’m gonna kill you.”

My cheeks burn. “Sorry.”

I leave Matt alone until we reach 30,000 feet and the plane levels out. The fllight attendants come by and give us the typical plane goodies, then another cart follows with drinks.

I manage to talk Matt into watching a movie with me by hitting play at the same time on both of our screens. It takes us a few minutes to decide on something and I’m not even slightly surprised when we settle for Civil War.

“Can we just skip to-“

“No,” I interrupt Matt. “But rewinding and watching it 20 times is definitely an option.”

Which we do. Not 20 times, but we definitely rewatch the Peter Parker scene a few times and the airport twice and squeal our way through the end credits scene.

It ends up taking almost four hours for us to get through the movie cause we keep pausing it to talk then having to get back in sync only for us to pause it again a few minutes later.

It’s midnight Atlanta time when we finish so we both agree to try to get some sleep. It feels like minutes before Matt’s mumbling in his sleep. I don’t know how he does it. It’s like he’s got a superpower for falling asleep in the blink of an eye.

I think I blink a few times and that’s all the sleep I get.

Sleeping on planes is practically impossible already, adding my excitement and energy and racing thoughts on top of that, it's just painful, honestly.

I put my headphones on and listen to music with my eyes closed until the lights come back on in the plane and someone cracks their window a few rows up and daylight floods in.

After I wake Matt up, we spend the rest of the flight rambling about all things Spider-Man and Tom and Marvel and Avengers 4 theories and questions we might ask Tom and things we might try to weasel out of him and our plan to try to convince him to let us be extras in a scene.

We try to see the UK and London outside the window, but the clouds are too thick and rain starts to pelt the glass.

I look at Matt. “I’m so sorry.”

“You can’t apologize for the weather. You’re not God,” he laughs. “I’m not upset anyway. Now I get that real London experience.”

He still watches out the window while we go in for landing and I tell him about walking through Heathrow and taking the train to Paddington, which we won’t be doing because apparently Mrs. Holland and possibly one of Tom’s brothers will be waiting for us at Arrivals and they’re going to drive us to our hotel.

My hands are shaking when we finally unbuckle and get up to collect our stuff and get off the plane.

“Oh my god, it’s happening,” I say excitedly under my breath.

“It’s happening!” Matt mimics. “We’re here!”

“If you had to pick which twin might be with their mom outside, which one?” I ask while we walking down the aisle.

“Neither,” he says, without hesitating. “It’ll be Paddy. Not a doubt. And he won’t be happy about it.”

“You’re so right,” I laugh.

Which, of course, he is.

He always is.

It takes us a second to find them when we walk out, but Mrs. Holland is holding a sheet of paper with our names on it in big bold letters, so it’s not that hard. I am glad though that I emailed them a picture of Matt and I, so they’re not surprised when we walk up to them.

Paddy’s on his phone when we first notice them, but it’s put away by the time we reach them.

“Hi,” I smile and hope my voice isn’t croaky. Matt and I stopped by the bathrooms after we got off the plane so we could change clothes and brush our teeth, so at least I don’t have to worry about morning breath. “I’m Ashlyn and this is Matt. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello, it's so nice to meet you as well." Mrs. Holland smiles and shakes our hands. “I’m Nikki and this is Paddy.”

He waves and half-smiles. “Hi.”

"Thank you for donating to The Brother's Trust," Mrs. Holland adds.

"Oh, of course," I smile. "You're so welcome. I love all the work you guys do."

"Thank you very much," Mrs. Holland smiles. “Shall we take your things to the car?” She reaches for my suitcase.

“Oh it’s okay, I got it,” I say politely.

“Me too,” Matt adds.

“Are you sure?” she asks. “It’s no trouble, really.”

“We’re good,” Matt smiles. “I feel bad that I didn’t pack that lightly anyway. I don’t want to make you drag my bag around.” He laughs lightly and I nod.

“We’re the worst at packing,” I say. “I might ask Tom for some pointers. He looks like he’s good at it.”

“He really isn't,” Mrs. Holland laughs lightly. “He certainly didn’t use to be, at least. You should’ve seen everything he brought when they filmed The Impossible. I thought he was trying to bring his entire bedroom.”

We roll our suitcases out of Heathrow and across the parking garage while Mrs. Holland tells us some stories about Tom and airports. Who doesn’t love embarrassing anecdotes from parents? I have to remember to mention one of these to Tom when we meet, just to see how red his face gets.

Huh.

Oh wow.

This really is happening.

We’re meeting Tom soon.

Cool.

My brain is melting to soup right now.

It’s no big deal.

It’s fine.

This is fine.

I’m fine.

—-

So, this is back. We'll see how regularly I update. lol - K :P

[anistarrose]

More Alike Than They Realize (Gravity Falls One-Shot)

Word Count: ~1700

Summary: Stan finds a jittery, apologetic Ford up late one night, and the following conversation doesn’t go anywhere near where he thought it was going. Post-Weirdmageddon.

Warnings: None

Contains a lot more fluff and meta jokes than the summary suggests.

For the first time since Weirdmageddon, Stan woke up knowing exactly who, where, and when he was. The bulk of his memories, especially the enjoyable ones from the past summer and his childhood, had returned within about forty-eight hours, but six days later he was still having occasional lapses, the worst of which occurred upon waking up – until now, apparently. He hoped it would last.

He rolled over and looked at his clock. 12:15 A.M. Well, that was less cause for celebration. His head hurt – not unusual lately – and his mouth was dry – not anything to worry about, but still unpleasant.

Careful not to make any sound that could wake Ford or the kids, he made his way down to the kitchen. Warm milk usually helped him get to sleep.

I hope there’s still some left, he thought. The kids and I have been going through a lot since –

“Stanley, is everything alright?” Ford had been sitting at the kitchen table in complete darkness aside from the multi-colored glow of his laptop screen. “Do you know who I am?”

Stan hurriedly rushed to the fridge. “Don’t worry, Sixer, I remember fine. Just wanted get somethin’ to drink before I go to back to bed.” Ford’s concern was pretty reasonable given the state Stan was usually in when he wandered the Shack at night, and had Stan actually been in the middle of a lapse his brother’s presence would have been appreciated, but at the moment he didn’t want Ford worrying about him. He wanted to sleep.

“That’s great to hear,” Ford told him. “But Stanley, we need to talk.” He put himself between Stan and the door. “I was a fool, I realize that now. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Ford, you already apologized,” Stan replied. “About a hundred times. I promise, I’ve forgiven you –”

Stan suddenly noticed Ford’s eyes were bloodshot and his hair was even more of an unkempt mess than usual. “Stanford, are you feelin’ okay? You look… paranoid. Do you need to run more tests to make sure Bill is –”

Realization dawned on Ford’s face – and then he chuckled sadly, like he was laughing at himself rather than Stan. “Oh, no, Stan. This isn’t about Weirdmageddon. I didn’t worry you too much, did I?”

“Wait, then what is it –” Stan noticed the bowl on the kitchen table next to Ford’s laptop. “Is that popcorn? How the hell did you make popcorn at midnight without waking up the whole house?”

“It’s just simple sound-wave cancelling technology I picked up in Dimension B-56,” Ford replied automatically. “But the point is, I need to completely and sincerely take back what I said to you and about your… taste in entertainment on my second full day back in this dimension. I made a hasty judgement based on the show’s… target demographics, and I see now that I was wrong. So very, very wrong.”

“Sixer, you’re not making any… wait.” Stan suddenly remembered what had aired on Ford’s second day back in Gravity Falls. “You started watching Ducktective, didn’t you?”

“I did, Stanley! And it’s so much better than I was emotionally prepared for! After you saved me from Probabilitor that one day, I asked Dipper if I could join you watching the new episode, but he said it would be full of spoilers and showed me how I could stream it from the beginning when I had the time – and now I’m addicted! I can’t believe I called it a kids’ show; the mysteries of the overarching story transcend age demographics like nothing I’ve ever seen before! I’m nowhere near caught up and I already have so many theories! I’m not even sure if the younger Ducktective we saw in the time travel episode was actually him!”

“Whoa whoa whoa, Poindexter, slow down.” A grin was spreading across Stan’s face. “How far in have you gotten? Ten episodes?”

“Twelve,” Ford corrected. “I just finished the one where his rival Pete the pelican was wrongly accused and came to Ducktective for help –”

“Hey, that’s a really underrated one!”

“Wait, who didn’t like it? That was some of the finest comedy I’ve seen in the entire multiverse!”

“Dipper said Pete’s change of heart was unrealistic! Can you believe it?”

“If I wasn’t indebted to him for introducing me to the show in the first place, he would be dead to me,” Ford agreed in an overly dramatic tone.

“You gotta watch the next couple episodes right now, Sixer. Episode 13 is a goddamn emotional journey, and Episode 14 – well, I don’t want to spoil it. It needs to be seen to be believed, anyways. And then rewatched multiple times after learning what happens in the season finale.”

“Are you going to stay to watch alongside me?” Ford asked as he sat back down in front of his laptop.

“And miss you tearing up?” Stan pulled up a chair. “Pass the popcorn, would ya?”

“We’ll see about that,” Ford replied, but when Ducktective was finally reunited with his long-lost partner Steve, he couldn’t help but shed a single tear. Stan shed quite a few more, despite having seen the episode at least twice before, but Ford didn’t rub it in his face.

Ford was a bit confused, however, when the town erected a hyper-realistic statue of Ducktective to honor him for his continued work, and Stan bawled his eyes out seeing how Ducktective refused to look at the monument for longer than a few seconds.

“He’s just not used to the attention! What’s so sad about that?” Ford asked.

“You don’t understand,” Stan sobbed. It took all of his willpower not to explain that the statue reminded Ducktective of his long-lost twin gone evil. Ford had more or less guessed the twist already thanks to the time travel episode and the extra room in Ducktective’s childhood home, but Stan was drawing on all his con man power to act like Ford’s theory was crazy.

During a lull in the action in Episode 17, Ford paused the video and said: “I’m getting a little tired, but I can’t stop watching yet. Do you mind if we go sit somewhere where I won’t wake up with back pains in case I do fall asleep?”

Stan was also very tired, but there was no way he was going to miss Ford’s reaction to the next episode’s reveal. “While we’re at it, let’s go someplace where you won’t wake up the kids when you scream. There’s a big plot twist comin’ up.”

Ford closed the laptop. “I’d suggest the basement, but it’s probably pretty cold down there. We can go to my private study.”

Stan frowned. “Not exactly a lot of comfortable furniture in there, is there?”

“No, especially not after I cleaned it out. I was thinking we could bring blankets – wait, you’ve been in there? It’s supposed to be a secret!”

Stan snorted. “Sixer, I lived in this house for thirty years. Now go get those blankets.”

“Great Uncle Ford? Grunkle Stan? Are you guys okay? What are you doing down here?”

Stan tried to sit up, but something above him slipped, and several surprisingly heavy blankets fell on his face. Besides, he didn’t really want to get up. He was reminded of the good old days when he and Ford would hang some blankets from the top bunk, then sit on Stan’s bed together reading comic books, telling ghost stories, and generally making a mess with snacks.

“Morning, Dipper,” he heard Ford mumble. “I’m sorry we didn’t make breakfast…”

“Grunkle Ford, we were so worried about you!” Mabel yelled. “We thought you got kidnapped by gnomes or one of the last few eye-bats or something! But this whole time, you were just down here in your secret room?! You even built a whole blanket fort without us!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Ford pulled his laptop out from under his blankets. “I didn’t even consider the possibility that you wouldn’t realize where we were. We just didn’t want to wake you with our reactions to Ducktective.” He glared at Stan. “I can’t believe I predicted Ducktective’s twin brother almost a whole season in advance and Stan just pretended that my theory was ridiculous.”

“Hey, what was I supposed to do, spoil the ending of the best episode in the whole show?”

“How about simply not making fun of me for ‘looking too deep’ into everything?”

Mabel shook her head. “I can’t believe you nerds.”

“Hey, you can say that about Ford, but not me,” Stan complained. “I’m not like him and Dipper, not at –”

“You kind of are, though,” Ford told him, trying and failing not to laugh. “Obviously not to the same extent as myself, but we did just stay up until three in the morning watching a children’s show and discussing elaborate conspiracy theories about it. We’re more alike than you realize, Stanley.”

“So? It was one time!”

“I seem to recall we did this kind of thing pretty often when we were kids. Obviously not on a laptop, but with equally nerdy works of fiction nonetheless.”

“You’re an honorary nerd now whether you like it or not, Grunkle Stan,” Dipper added.

Stan shook his head. “Ya know, I was gonna apologize for making you worry, but now I’m not so sure.”

“You should apologize for ruining our blanket fort, Stanley,” Ford chided jokingly. “It was an absolute marvel of engineering before you decided to drag down the roof.”

“A real marvel of engineering wouldn’t let its roof get dragged down that easily!”

Ford frowned. “Uh, let’s go get breakfast. Kids, do you know if there’s any pancake mix left?”

“Ha, so you admit I have a point!”

“Honestly,” Mabel interrupted, “I’m not mad anymore that you guys disappeared into the basement to build a blanket fort and eat popcorn and watch your show. I’m just mad that you didn’t invite us.”

“Yeah!” Dipper added. “I wanted to see Ford’s reaction to the season finale.”

Ford smiled. “Well, we still have about… ten episodes before I’m caught up?”

“Eight,” Stan corrected. “Plus the shorts. But yeah, you kids could join us.”

“Will there be popcorn?” Mabel asked.

“Of course!”

Mabel and Dipper exchanged a look.

“Are we forgiven?” Stan asked.

The kids nodded in unison. “You’re forgiven.”

Thanks for reading! Ford’s reaction to Ducktective is loosely based on my own reaction to Gravity Falls: skeptical when first learning of it, then genuinely interested after hearing good things, then way too emotionally invested in it.

[happyhollow-mellowmarsh]

Defense || RIP || Trial 1.3 || Re: Haven, Nya-o, Kashmir, Blakeley

There was a lot­ to respond to, first of all, the thought that Yoichi was aware of his imminent demise somehow, and that he’d been the one to place the venom on Kash’s person. “I think we’ve mostly moved on from this, but… I just want to touch on something. Yoichi wasn’t poisoned ahead of time or whatever the ‘goodbye’ meal and hug theory is about. He just likes cooking. I found him cooking some tempura soba yesterday. Between the smell, and the texture, it was still pretty decent even without the sense of taste. He was trying to make things easier on us. He even made some mocha with gummy-vitamin filling to try to make people eat nutritiously even if they weren’t eating a lot. He cooked because that’s what he enjoyed… He was probably trying to prep a meal for all of us to show us this motive wasn’t that bad… But some LOSER couldn’t even wait that long.” “Besides… For him to have put the poison in Kash’s pocket, he’d either have had to of been already poisoned, somehow stopped himself from bleeding temporarily, wandered into the bar, planted it on him, and gone back to the bathhouse to resume bleeding, which… makes absolutely no sense. Alternatively, he’d have had to find the poison after the scalpels were already prepared, and for some reason placed this bottle he couldn’t see, and wouldn’t have any reason to know was special, in Kashmir’s pocket during a hug…” RIP shakes his head. “Which also makes absolutely no sense.” “Also… the smear is because Yoichi’s body was in front of the exit door, which opens inward. The killer would have had to move him out of the way to leave. He was apparently dragged by his feet, which… explains the direction of the smear in relation to his body.” “Haven’s bringing up a lot of good points though… I think figuring out how and when the watch got changed is the crux of this. If he woke up and left his room at 3 which is a deviation of 1 to 3 hours from his normal time… the watch being two hours late at that time explains that well enough. So… if the theory is that it was changed before he left his room in the morning, who had access to him and his watch prior to that? Does anyone know what time he went to bed last night, and who he would have been with?” RIP pauses a moment second guessing himself. “Or… I guess he could have just gotten up early? I mean… I know I couldn’t sleep, so I wound up staying up later than normal last night… Probably why I wound up using my keyboard as a pillow.” At Nya-o’s mention that RIP was lacking an alibi for an hour the beyblader just nods. “Yeah… There was a good bit that I was just hanging out out here… Stargazing… Like I said, I couldn’t sleep, and it was something relaxing…” He sighs. “I was hoping it’d help me wind down for sleep. Dunno if this gives a sense of what time it was, but there was a book of Mtn. Dew recipes out here?” “But there’s still enough info to prove I wasn’t doing anything bad during that time… If Haven was in the infirmary until 11:30, and the bars hadn’t been removed at that point, and I wasn’t seen going into the mud hut until midnight, at which point I’m accounted for by Erika, that kinda makes it more or less impossible for me to have done anything? Especially since Haven and I both went back to our rooms at 12:30, which is right after Erika would have seen me leave. I’m not sure when Blakeley woke up, but… I was in my room since then.” “As little as it probably means, I promise I didn’t do this to Yoichi… He was my buddy… He was gonna teach me how to cook once we figured out a way to fix this…” RIP lets out a shaky breath. Crap… He’d made it this far without crying. The beyblader closes his eyes, and takes a couple deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. Seems like he’s done for now.

[olympus-summit]

Belated But Not Empty-Handed | Evren | Re: Trial Start, Adelina, Ryu, Rusty, Mingxia, Setsuna, Leland, Mitsu, Rei, Menai | ATTN: Everyone

This all sure is... something. Evren had taken a brief turn around the room while waiting for the trial proper to start, but only enough for a cursory glance at the setup. It all seemed very ostentatious and tonally inappropriate, which is more or less what he's come to expect from this place. Eventually he arrives at the throne apparently meant for him, and all but flops into it, grimacing for a moment. Well, it's not comfortable, but it's also not the worst. He slings his legs over one of the arms since he is too gay to sit properly, and leans over towards where Adelina is sitting next to him to mutter to her in what sounds like Spanish.

That done, he scoops up the straw owl doll next to his throne, glancing over it in approval and proceeding to fidget with the thing as he listens to the others speaking. There's no urgency or rush to his demeanor, though his gaze does dart sharply from one speaker to the next, indicating he is at least paying attention. Closely.

"Alright, so," And now it seems he's decided to speak up. Although he pitches his voice to carry without sitting up. It's not like the atmosphere is overly formal, with Setsuna acting like this is a friendly get together and Ryu being... Ryu. Evren will not give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

"I lugged the damn saxophone all the way to Spring's Bounty to compare it to Sabi's head wound, and it's a match. Boom, confirmed. Also surprised no one's mentioned yet, but in case anyone didn't see, the whole instrument rack in the music room was knocked over. It wasn't just the sax on the floor. Meaning that there's just as good of a chance that the rack was shoved over, or she was shoved into it, and it fell on her. Did the sax hit her on the way down, or did the killer snatch it up and whack her? Hard to say, either's a pretty good option, though judging by how hard the blow had t'be I'm gonna say the latter is more likely."

He sets the straw doll down and starts twisting a lock of his hair around his finger instead.

"So here's the thing 'bout brain hemorrhages. They don't actually kill ya that fast, even without treatment. It can take hours. It's fact. Médica can confirm if ya want. And here's the other thing, talkin' to Ms. Liu over here, we managed to narrow down the actual time frame of when the attack would've had to take place. See, the last time Ms. Liu remembers seein' Sabi was at the dinner party, which ended around 8:30pm. Ms. Liu says she went back to their room after, and went to bed around - what was it, midnight? Anyway, according to her, Sabi's usual routine was to be in bed around 10pm. Buuuuut," He holds up a hand, "Sabine never came back to the room. She wasn't there last night, and she wasn't there when Ms. Liu woke up in the morning. Which means that the attack most likely took place between 8:30pm and 10pm. If anyone can report seeing Sabine between those times, we could narrow it down further, but for now, that's what we got. If you've got a verifiable alibi for that time, might be good to share it."

Finally, Evren shifts around to sit up properly, aiming a mirthless grin out at the rest of the group.

"But wait! There's more!" He rests an elbow on one of the arms of the throne, leaning on it while he gesticulates with the other, "See, we also found a black glove in the trash can in Songs of the Sun. It was I guess medium sized? And for a right hand. I got a picture of it on my iRis if anyone wants to take a look. And the thing had a cut on the back of it, along with some dried blood. Could be a red herring I guess, but since people've already mentioned the chipped knife found in that room - by the way, it had some blood on it, too - we might as well go with the theory that the killer got cut or stabbed. So, if everyone could hold up their hands for inspection, that'd be cool. Rus an' Ms. Liu already checked mine, but I'll go again if folks want." 

[handsingsweapon]

9. For the October challenge with Phichit and anyone else you'd like to scare a bit 😂

9: A fun, creepy night of urban exploration gets the character(s) into trouble.

1. This is a college/frat AU because why the heck not2. credit: https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/thirteen-haunted-creepy-or-spooky-detroit-places3. putting all of these below cuts just in case

“Yuuri.” Phichit has a specific tone of voice he uses when he’s whining, which Yuuri now knows is his cue not to look at the Thai skater. Looking, he learned, back in Phichit’s first semester in Detroit, when they were both still living with Celestino, was always a fatal mistake. Phichit has better puppy-dog eyes than an actual puppy-dog, and Yuuri would know, he’s got experience. “Yuuri,” he repeats, forlornly, and finally Phichit Chulanont forces himself to endure the indignity of standing between Yuuri and the television screen. Normally he’s got the other playstation controller, but not tonight; tonight he’s trying to talk Yuuri into going along to the Halloween party that Sigma Theta Upsilon has put together this year. “It’s called a ghost float.”

“Phichit, nothing about walking through old Detroit until midnight at the end of October sounds even remotely reasonable,” Yuuri grumbles.

Phichit tries a series of enticements:

“Drinks are going to be half off at every pub along the way.”

“No.”

“We can wear a couple’s costume so nobody hits on you.”

“No.”

“Victor Nikiforov’s the one giving the haunted tour talks.”

This, at least, makes Yuuri die on-screen, and he tosses the controller aside, and looks up with a scowl. “Liar. Christophe Giacometti’s giving the haunted tour talks.”

Phichit has a sinister grin whenever Yuuri’s walked into a trap. “Oh,” he hums, innocently. “So at least you looked, huh.”

“No.”

“Yuuri,” Phichit repeats. “Ghost float.”

Yuuri grumbles something about Phichit, Christophe Giacometti, and the phrase notice-me-senpai, but he eventually agrees. “This has nothing to do with Victor Nikiforov,” Yuuri says, in a tone of voice that Phichit imagines Yuuri likes to think means something like let’s be clear or I want to be understood.

It actually means: I am lying through my teeth. 

“Right,” he chirps, ignoring Yuuri Katsuki’s no-good, mega-crush on Sigma Theta President Victor Nikiforov for the millionth time. Their first-ever discussion on the topic ended with this: He’s probably not even gay, Phichit. Phichit thinks Yuuri’s out of his goddamn mind and his gaydar is broken: nobody dresses like Victor Nikiforov does and is straight. Not that Phichit’s interested. He’s seen Victor and Christophe both in a swimming pool: one of them turns a strange shade of red with exposure to just forty-five minutes of sunlight; the other one turns into bronze Adonis. “I’ll take care of costumes.”

“I get veto rights if you do anything ridiculous,” Yuuri mutters.

“I’m offended,” says Phichit, who is only offended because his top three ideas are now entirely off the menu.

The party starts at 9 PM at Belle Isle. In spite of a significant amount of honking, there’s no sign of a white deer, or a woman’s ghost.

Phichit has done Yuuri a favor: together, they’re the dynamic duo of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Yuuri is the curmudgeon in a Red Wings jersey; Phichit thinks he’s in-character already. Phichit is Ferris Bueller, of course; he found the awful jacket and the leopard vest at Goodwill and counted his lucky stars. Currently, he’s counting them again, because Sigma Theta’s Vice President has shown up as Hansel from Zoolander, which means … Ah, yes. Phichit only has to look over his shoulder at Yuuri to witness his reaction to Victor Nikiforov in red leather pants. “He dyed his hair,” Yuuri whispers, with a choked, cut-off whisper towards Victor-masquerading-as-Derek. “Why did he dye his hair?”

“Gonna wash it out for him, sweetheart?” Phichit offers, batting his eyelashes. Yuuri hits him. “Ow!” 

The Ghost Float turns out to be mostly large-group pub crawl, with a few of Detroit’s landmark stops along the way. A few people peel off with Georgi Popovich at the Leland Hotel, evidently intending to brave the Industrial club in the basement. At the Alhambra Apartments, Christophe tells a story about a scorned chef who once poisoned the residents after her demotion. Apparently two people died. 

Victor Nikiforov’s eyes sparkle like he might actually cry, and he wraps his arms around himself and looks like a very distraught Derek Zoolander. 

Yuuri looks at Victor like someone’s kicked his puppy. Blue steel, indeed.

By 11PM, Phichit’s officially daunted: he’s able to walk in a straight line because Yuuri is able to walk in a straight line. Even though Yuuri’s face is already flushed from drinking and the cold, he’s got legendary endurance when it comes to this sort of event, the kind of reputation that got solidified last year at a New Year’s Eve party where he wound up running across the snow-covered quad with a tie wrapped around his head and his pants missing. They are nowhere near pants-missing territory yet. At least not in Yuuri’s case. Phichit makes no promises for himself because Christophe’s been the one telling all of the ghost stories.

Christophe tells the story of an Italian immigrant who set up shop as a mystic and would-be cultist. “Evangelist prescribed all kinds of strange medicine,” Giacomtti intones as they stand on the grass lot that was once the Evangelist home on St. Aubin Street. “He did expensive psychic readings, gave out herbal remedies, wrote a four-volume Occultist bible.” 

“Love potions,” says Victor Nikiforov, who has been uncharacteristically quiet for a great deal of the trip. It’s unusual for Christophe to do all of the talking. He smiles, tight and quick, when the assembled crowd whistles and hoots; Phichit elbows Yuuri; Yuuri stomps on his toe. “He made love potions.” 

Phichit thinks he might be looking at Yuuri. Yuuri is trying to look anywhere except Victor Nikiforov’s ass in those pants. It’s not working. Phichit is working off of two hypotheses currently: one, he is beginning to suspect that Victor Nikiforov might have a no-good, mega-crush on Yuuri Katsuki; two, he’s starting to think that Victor hates ghost stories.

What he needs is the right environment to stage a test of these two theories, but he keeps getting distracted by Christophe, gorgeous Christophe, Christophe who could read Phichit the dictionary and leave him hanging on every word. It’s not fair that someone in the universe has a body constructed for sex and gets to possess that voice. “Had a lot of enemies, too,” Christophe is explaining. “People who thought they’d been ripped off.” Phichit’s not sure where Christophe manages to pull pictures of Benny Evangelist’s creepy, paper-mache God-dolls from, but he’s got them, and they’re being passed around. He shivers. It’s not because of the beer, and it’s not because of Christophe’s voice. 

“He cut a business deal involving some lumber, promised to pay the delivery man in cash the following morning,” Christophe intones. “Morning came and went. So did a neighbor, who found all six bodies: Benny, 43, his wife, Santina, 36, their four children, Angeline, 8, Matilda, 5, Jay, 3 and their 18-month-old son, Morrio. According to the police report, good old Benny’s head was sitting on a chair next to the bed he and his wife died in.”

“Yuuri,” whispers Phichit, who quickly passes off the handout, and who tells himself he’s getting two drinks at their next bar, “that’s messed up.”

“You want a real ghost story?” Yuuri raises his eyebrows. Apparently he’s just getting started. “You ought to hear about some of the shit from back home –”

“Hard pass,” squeaks Phichit. 

They make it to Elmwood Cemetery at midnight. It’s supposed to be the last stop of the tour, so to speak, largely because the gates are closed at this hour, and Victor and Christophe have some responsibility, when it comes to university rules. The problem with this is simple:

Yuuri Katsuki is drunk. “What,” he complains, after Christophe tells another round of stories. “That’s it? We’re just going to stand here?”

“You have a better idea?”

Phichit hooks his fingers into Yuuri’s Red Wings jersey, uselessly: Yuuri’s an athlete, and he’s over the fence like a shot, waving his arms from the other side. “C’mon,” he taunts. “You scared?”

Phichit looks at Yuuri.

Victor looks at Yuuri, and then Victor looks at Christophe. Phichit does not understand the reason for Christophe’s smirk; he only knows it’s unfairly attractive. “You just gonna let the ghosts get him, then?” Christophe asks.

This is how about six or so of the party-goers wind up climbing over the fence, and how Phichit Chulanont gets lost by himself in the cold of a cemetery, wondering how it is that Yuuri Katsuki could ruin something called a Ghost Float, put on by Christophe Giacometti. Everywhere he turns he hears distant voices; probably his friends, looking for him, but who can be sure? It’s dark, and his phone has already protested the use of its flashlight once with a low battery warning, consequence of his overuse of Instagram earlier in the night. 

Leaves rustle behind him. 

Phichit thinks he hears footsteps.

When he turns around, nobody’s there.

Yuuri, I love you, and I’m going to kill you.

There’s breath on his neck, a whisper against his ear. “Boo.”

Later, there will be conflicting stories about this incident. Christophe Giacometti will insist that Phichit Chulanont screamed; Phichit Chulanont will tilt his chin up, dark eyes flashing, and insist that he roared like a lion.

He shrieks, he nearly falls over, he finds himself in Christophe’s arms.

“Have you seen Yuuri?” Phichit asks, far too rapidly, trying to play it cool. He’s Ferris Bueller. He’s the coolest kid.

“He’s with Victor.”

“With Victor or With Victor?”

Christophe’s eyes sparkle in the dark. His innocent face somehow betrays both nothing and everything. The story will come out by Christmas, by the time Yuuri and Victor make it official: Nikiforov hates ghost stories, and horror movies, and junk food, and a lot of other things Yuuri loves, and somehow they’re still disgustingly perfect for each other. “We’ve got everyone,” Christophe says instead. “Came to get you. Were you really that scared?”

“No,” Phichit lies, putting on a brave face.

“Oh.” Christophe looks thoughtful. “Cold?”

Now Phichit’s not sure where this is going. “… No?”

“That’s a pity,” Christophe murmurs, making sure Phichit’s righted on his feet before letting go and taking a few steps back towards the path he must’ve come through on. He tut-tuts underneath his ridiculous blonde wig. “Now what am I supposed to offer, huh?”

Phichit catches on quick. “Oh,” he says, falling in step behind Christophe, and trying to tell himself it’s not because he’s looking at Giacometti’s ass. 

“In that case, I was fucking terrified, and I’m freezing, too.”

[ladyleadon]

Memorable Week

I haven’t blogged in quite awhile. I’m embarrassed about this because, of course, a TON of stuff has gone down this summer. 

The kids and I had the majority of the summer to ourselves again because Daniel was gone again for a couple months. We stayed busy with library trips and free movies at the movie theater and a never ending stream of birthday parties!!!! Seriously. We had AT LEAST ONE party every every weekend...often more than one. Summer was crazy!

Daniel came home about a month ago and we had my in-laws come visit. That was a nice shake up to our usual routine :) Daniel had one week of “summer” with the kids before Matthew went back to school as a 1st Grader! He’s doing really well and likes his teacher a lot. He has a couple of kids in his class that he knew from last year, so that makes him pretty happy.

I know I’m talking about the last 3+ months here, but I promise I’m getting to the meat of our memorable week.

Aria started school this week. My baby :( She was BEYOND ready. The school district truly tortures kids by making them wait two extra weeks to start school. But the day she has been counting down toward finally got here this last Tuesday. She LOVES school! She loves that they have new puzzles for her to do there (puzzles are her most favorite thing in the world) and she’s thrilled that she gets to have a snack at school EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!! In fact, it’s the first thing she tells Lainey and I about when we pick her up every day. Go figure. She’s there to learn her ABCs and the highlight of her day is the fact that she had some Nilla Wafers (to be fair, though, Nilla Wafers are quite a treat because I don’t keep them in my house). I was only allowed to take her into the school once because apparently it’s way cooler for her to walk into school with Matthew than with me. So little ‘ol me just drops the both of them off in the car line and continues on my way. 

It’s been quiet. Lainey and I have been busy this week for some reason. It feels like we’ve had continuous appointments or errands to run every morning that Aria has been gone, so we haven’t been able to just do our thing here at home. In theory, the only times we should leave our house is for Story Time and bi-monthly grocery shopping. So this week has been crazy! We could use a little quiet, though, so I’ll be happy to see things slow down a little bit next week...maybe...

Another memorable thing happened this week- today in fact. My neighbor moved away. 

In the military, you never say “goodbye.” You only say “see ya later” because otherwise I think every parting would become unbearable. It’s the first time I’ve had to say “see ya later” to someone who has become part of my military family. She was the other half of our duplex...so she’s been close by for months. She was one of the first friends I made after moving to Georgia. I got to watch her get ginormous and then birth the most adorable little boy. I got to watch her oldest boy color for hours with Aria. We literally spent hours together in the back yard playing referee for the kids and talking about everything and anything. She’s one of the only people I know who likes The Bachelor franchise...so we would alway be able to compare notes after each new episode. While I would spread the wealth a bit, she was the one who got to try all my new baking concoctions and the one I dumped the most goodies on when I would go through a stress-baking spree. She was our family’s hair stylist and approver of birthday party theme ideas. In fact, she was up until past midnight with me the day before Aria’s party this year: Daniel was gone,the weather was against us, and we had to change the party time and rush to get the food and decorations up. I couldn't have done it without her.  She’s the kind of person who almost always has something nice to say about other people and who almost always had a positive spin on anything I was freaking out over. She also agreed with me when we had to have a rant, and commiserated with me when we had to have serious talks. It has been so nice to have her sparkle in my life every day and I will really, REALLY miss her.  I’m terrified that we will get stupid neighbors when their house is turned over. I mean, who will I share my okra brownies with? Who’s gonna notice I am wearing a new shirt and that it looks cute? Who is going to tell me what to do with this hot mess that is my hair? WHO?!?!?!

A void is in my heart today. I hesitate to say I will ever get over it. I’m not sure I want to. But I wish her all the best in all of her new endeavors and blessings on her family as they start their civilian life.

Happy trails!